24! Just one more chapter to a quarter of a hundred chapters. I feel so happy!

Infact, Im so happy I'm gonna go give Flandre a hug!

Enjoy this chapter! And RNR too! It make me even happier!

Vault

Dutch woke up in bed, looking at the serene sleeping face of his daughter. Yesterday, she had once again cried herself to sleep. Again Dutch had had to carry her to bed, as gently as he possibly could so he would not disturb her. Once he had tucked her in, a wave of drowsiness had swept over him leaving in a bone-tired state. Climbing into bed with her, he had settled into an inescapable sleep.

Now, he simply stared at her sleeping face and pondered. In just a couple of days, he had brought tears to her eyes more than once. Not exactly the best of things a father could do.

And there would be more to follow.

Dutch knew, with absolute conviction, that the Lunarians must not know of the existence of Vale. A life created from the recording of experiences from the ages of humanity by an impurity? At best, they may take her and examine her. At the worst, they would destroy her.

And as long as she was in the vault, she was connected to him. That was one of the reasons he worked on a magical process to allow her to leave the vault. When he left, Vale would be in Gensokyo, relatively safe from the prying eyes of the Lunarians.

Dutch decided when the time came, he would leave as fast as possible. No need to prolong Vale's sadness.

A clean break. As Edward Cullen had said. And look how that bloody well turned out.

It would be a necessary act. He told himself. But it would still be one that hurts.

Easing himself carefully from the bed he entered the kitchen. He went about the task of making a cup of tea and as he sipped the warm, olive green liquid, he took a look at the room. Apparently Vale had done some interior redesigning while he was gone, which was why the kitchen was there. Looking around, she must have gotten it from his memories, seeing how it looked remarkably similar to the one in his house on the outside.

Dutch left the kitchen and entered the interface room to find an unexpected sight. Sitting on the chair, her parasol held high even though she was in shelter, Yukari waved to the human.

"What are you doing here?" The worry worn man asked as he leaned back against the closed door, forgoing the rather worthless question of how she got there. He continued to sip the cup as he stared at Yukari, demanding an answer with his eyes.

The gap youkai smiled. "I came to take a look. Every vault owner has a personalized vault. I came to check it out. I found some thing interesting along the way."

She tapped a key on the interface keyboard and two things popped up on screen. The prototype template for entity existence outside the vault and a 3D wireframe blueprint for a building.

"Surprising, for a person who has no magical affinity to attempt to create a magical process. Even more surprising since it is one involving life. Magicians with a competent grasp would regard this as a particularly difficult endeavor. Are you sure that you know what are you doing?" Yukari asked as she examined the many different equations and other text scrawled across the screen.

Dutch shrugged. "The vault adapted the magical knowledge it had at its disposal and changed it to a manageable level for me. I plan to have it checked by someone of competent magical capability but it's just the beginning for now."

Yukari tapped an equation on the screen. It highlighted itself in blue. "This equation will not work. You need at least a basic knowledge of magic if you're going to get it right."

Dutch downed his cup. "Anyone with a repository of magical knowledge you would recommend?"

"Gensokyo has several such repositories, Mayohiga included. But they are too general and you wouldn't want to waste too much time searching for the right ones, wouldn't you? As such, I recommend visiting a puppeteer living in the forest of magic. She is a youkai magican and her name is Alice Margatroid. She is trying to create artificial life for her puppets and has several tomes that may contain useful knowledge on the subject. They will provide the knowledge you lack." Yukari stood up from the chair.

Dutch nodded. "I see. Anything else helpful?"

Yukari then highlighted the blueprint for the house. "If you want this done in the shortest amount of time, head to the Kappa. Their construction expertise mean that they will finish your design in the fastest way. You wouldn't want to spend your time here waiting for a house to finish, won't you, Tenma's pet human?"

Dutch gave her a questioning look. " Repeat that last part, please?"

Yukari smiled, her hidden laughter visible from her expression. "It appears that you have achieved somewhat of a reputation among the youkai community. One for your actual deeds and two because of your relationship with the tengu lord."

"Explain." Dutch returned.

"The tengu community named you that because you had conducted the attack under Tenma's guidance. They believe that you are under the employ of the house of the tengu lord. That was cemented by you accepting the seal from the the tengu lord. While it is a key that allows entry to many youkai establishments, it also is a badge of office for those working for the tengu lord. Although no one else knows that you have the seal, they will assume that you have one. It's not a free pass though. You will still need to show tengu guards the physical seal if you want entry into tengu facilities." Yukari explained.

Dutch sighed in disappointment. "And I asked to keep my identity secret. I guess I should have expected that. Far too many people had seen me. At least they don't know my actual name."

Yukari chuckled. "Hiding in Gensokyo is impossible. Youkai communication is far more extensive compared to the outside human networks. So expect to be known and be prepared to get used to it."

Dutch nodded. He threw the cup over the edge and walked to the exit platform. He faced the creator of Gensokyo.

"Don't disturb her." He said before disappearing in a ring of energy.

Yukari watched the energy die down. "I assume that you did not tell him about the contract?" She asked the air around her.

Vault appeared in front of her. "Just like you said, it is only when or if he is ready. But would you? We both know what is in the last portion of the contract. It will end like all it's last owners have."

Yukari shook her head. "Surprisingly, he has proved to be an effective wielder of the vault. Shouldn't that be enough to sway the final line?"

Vault changed color to red. "So many others have tried. So many have been taken. How different can this one be?"

Yukari kept a thoughtful face. "But this one in particular has made far more progress than any other. Keep that in mind, Vault Dweller."

With that said, she disappeared into a gap.

Moriya shrine

Dutch stood at the tori, looking down on the mountain pathway.

"What are you thinking?" Renko asked him from behind. She and Maribel were back in their original uniforms.

"Nothing much. Just wondering what to do now. What about you?" Dutch answered. Apparently Yukari had only left instructions for the shrine to provide lodging for them if they require it. What they could do was totally up to them.

Renko pointed at the shrine. "I'm staying for now. This place is a great place to train. Maribel will be going somewhere else to train as well."

Dutch nodded. However, before he could answer, Yukari dropped in.

"Fufufu~ ready to work your ability? Oh and Dutch, you apparently have challengers. Youkai that want to beat you. You might want to nip this problem in the bud quickly." Yukari said.

Dutch growled in frustration. "Great. More attention. Alright, I shall go deal with these challengers."

Renko grabbed his shoulders. "Are you sure?" She asked her voice full of concern.

Dutch nodded. "Yeah, it's either that or have them draw up even more attention to draw me out. I'll be fine."

Yukari smiled. "Right then. You will need to go the youkai market. That is where you will address the challengers. Let's go!"

With that, all three were swallowed up by a quivering gap in a split second. Renko stared at the gap as it winked out of existance before returning to the shrine.

Sanae waited for her there.

"Let's start." She said.

Mayohiga

The gap opened.

Yukari appeared, upside down and gracefully flipped before landing while Maribel dropped into the ground in an uncomfortable heap.

"Ow~" Maribel groaned as she painfully got up.

Yukaro chuckled. "Oh dear, you haven't learnt how to fly? Oh wait, of course you haven't. Oh well, I suppose that should be the first item on our agenda."

"Can't I get some time to prepare first?" Maribel asked.

Yukari's answer was to snap her fingers. The ground where Maribel was standing on turned into a raised platform. The ground below became a pool of liquified danmaku that lit up the area with a bright glow. Above the platform itself was a ring, floating above the platform just beyond Maribel's reach.

"The best training is crash course training. You have to take that ring." Yukari said simply. As Maribel reached up for it, the platform started to down and the ring just passed beyond her fingers.

Maribel glared at the gap youkai. Yukari returned the look. "I said grab the ring." She intoned.

Maribel jumped up for the ring but the platform dropped further down. "I can't grab it if you keep dropping me!" Maribel hissed in frustration.

Yukari smiled. "Oh but you can. You just need the right skills. If you can't use your physical skills, think. What other skill do you have at your disposal?"

"But I haven't learnt flying yet." Maribel whined pitifully. Yukari laughed at her answer.

"My god, learning flying? Flight is not something that you learn, it is something that you already have inside you. It is a gift that almost all magical beings have. It is as natural as breathing. You just need to coax it out." Yukari smiled evilly.

"And I have the best ways to bring it out." The gap youkai finished.

The platform plummeted all the way down, right into the pool of danmaku.

"Kyaa!"

Forest of magic

Youkai market

The youkai market.

Situated in the outer edge of the forest of magic close to the tengu village, it is where all non-feral youkai go to trade, buy and sometimes fight for items that they might require in their daily life. As such, it is the centre of commerce in Gensokyo, at any one time having a population that far out numbers the human village or the mountain villages.

One could find every kind of youkai here. This is where the tengu village goes to get their materials from the mountain regions of Gensokyo. Kappa also ply their trade here, although the number of them here is far less than in Riverside, the trading come surface village for the kappa. It even boasts a small but sizable population of humans in it. For obvious reasons, the humans all have at least some level of combat magic proficiency. Important for them when you realize that one could easily find human flesh in the back alleys of the market. Although they all swear that their meat is supplied via outside means, how does one keep meat fresh when it has to go through a journey of epic and magical proportions before reaching Gensokyo?

At least the gate guardians don't allow just any random human to enter the place. You must have either some sort of reputation among the youkai community(The red-white, the black-white for example) or be under the patronage of a powerful group(The head maid of a vampire mansion, being in the employ of the tengu for example) or simply be linked to a human working in the market(gate guardians usually test your combat skills via danmaku before allowing entry)to enter the place.

For youkai however, they are allowed undeterred entry. Most youkai can hold their own in a fight and youkai meat is rarely sought after among the non-feral magical inhabitants of Gensokyo. Underscore rarely.

So when Tenma walked through the gate, she wasn't even given first glance. Being so close to the tengu village meant that most tengu usually brought their goods straight from the village instead of storing them at the market. It allows for product security for them. It also means that the biggest traffic in and out is always the tengu in the market.

Tenma entered the youkai market clueless of what to do. She had decided to head here for some strange reason that she could not remember. Was it to head to the arena again?

Frankly, Tenma was clueless for her journey. Adventure is more worth it when going to places you don't know. Being the thousand year head of the tengu means that you have knowledge of almost every place in Gensokyo. It spoils the adventure when you know what is coming next.

At least she knew where to go to first. The guild within the market. In truth, it was the centre of tengu activity within the youkai market, all administrative affairs relating to the tengu within the market handled within its premises. It also functioned as a go-to place for tengu who needed a temporary room, featuring its own tavern and lodging for tengu and people who had a tengu seal.

As she approached the guild, Tenma wonder who named the guild the guild. Definitely wasn't her, otherwise she would have named it something that sounded more tengu-ish.

Outside the guild, a pair of white wolf tengu guards stood by, chatting leisurely. They gave Tenma a welcoming nod as she passed them and returned to their conversation.

As she entered the guild, the smell of maple struck her. But it wasn't all maple. Hidden within the smell was a hint of spices, oils and all the other scents that clung to a person who had passed through the market. It offered her a feeling of preparation that perked her up. Maybe she could get something useful here.

Maybe coming here wouldn't be an entire waste after all. Just maybe.

But first she had to get a room to store her items.

As she went up to the register and asked for a room, a conversation next to her caught her ears.

"...pet human did something amazing." A Hanataka tengu also at the counter next to Tenma said to his Yamabushi partner. The words made Tenma grit her teeth as she had to fight back the urge to retort.

"What did he do this time?" The Yamabushi asked as she checked a ledger she carried by her side.

"What I heard, he managed to defeat twelve mountain youkai. With a knife." The Hanataka spoke, his eyes ablaze with admiration. The Hanataka tended to give those who accomplished deeds a some level of respect, even those that were not tengu.

The Yamabushi looked up in surprise. "A knife? Wow, if those Wolves had trouble with their scimitars, to beat them with a knife..."

For background detail, once Tenma had tried to clear the mountain base of the mountain youkai because they were a threat for the tengu traders traveling along the base of the mountain. So she dispatched a force of white wolf tengu to take care of the problem.

At first it was going well until the tengu got to the cave that the youkai were using. Then wave after wave of youkai charged the tengu and the battle degenerated into a confusing scrabble. When the day was over the tengu had 3 severely injured troops but no deaths, a testament to their skill. On the other hand, the youkai had lost a fair amount of their brethren. They retreated back up the mountain using the caves and the base was safe for journey.

The white wolf were armed with their classic long scimitars and shield. Dutch was only armed with a knife which was why it was cause for admiration.

"But you know what's the best part? The human tore out the heart of a youkai and ate it." The Hanataka gushed, his face a mixture of admiration and the tengu equivalent of awesome.

Tenma's lips pulled up at the sentence. She could not see tearing out a youkai's heart and eating it sounding like something the Dutch she knew would do. She chalked up that last part to tengu imagination.

The Yamabushi had the same idea."...Are you sure you did not listen to your crow friend again? You know, the one that believed that the barrier was a big bowl because he heard it on the rumor mill?" She asked, slightly exasperated and amused from her partner's rather weird statement.

"Maybe." The Hanataka answered sheepishly.

"Your room is set, Teri-san." The tengu at the counter said to Tenma. The silver-haired beauty nodded and left the two tengu to their conversation. She had heard enough.

Youkai Market

Gate entrance

The gap popped open. Dutch fell out and landed in a heap.

"Damn Yukari." He said as he moved to pick himself off the ground. He opened his eyes to see two pairs of eyes stacked on top of each other staring at him.

What the hell?

Dutch blinked. The four eyes now sharpened into a pair of eyes and nostrils on the head of a massive bull youkai. It looked at Dutch like some kind of curious object.

Suddenly the bull youkai moved. It grabbed Dutch by the shoulders and lifted him up, focusing its eyes on him.

"You that Tenma humie?" The bull youkai asked as he casually held him up with no problem what so ever. Dutch tensed up as he awaited a violent response to his next answer.

"Yea, what about it?" Dutch returned as he took stock of his surroundings. He was in front of a gate and there was a lot of youkai traffic going in and out of the gate. Already some of the youkai were looking at him and some had even stopped. If it broke out into a fight, the odds were not good.

The bull youkai bellowed in happiness. "What da ya know! The humie appears! How was it fighting those mountain gits?" He said as he put down Dutch. Dutch blinked as he realized that the bull youkai had no ill intentions for him.

"It was okay I guess. They came at me in small groups so they were pretty manageable." Dutch answered as the bull youkai lead him in. He was slightly surprised by the reception he got. He expected to be mobbed by youkai challengers, not given a welcome by a massive friendly bull youkai.

And he got a group of starers following him. Some had that challenger look on their faces but others had a predatory gleam in their eyes. The kind that prequels eating.

The bull youkai laughed. "Thats true. Those mountain gits do fight ya in small groups if they can. The bests first, then the scraps for last." He said as he gave Dutch a slap on the back.

Nevertheless to say, Dutch stumbled from the force of the hit. He gave the bull youkai a pained smile as it continued on its path, happily oblivious to the effects of its strength on the human body.

The duo traveled further into the market. As they walked, they continually drew stares from the passing youkai. How could they not? The massive bull youkai and the comparatively small human next to it going together was something that was uncommon in the youkai market.

Soon, the two came to a small tavern. A pair of Makaian demon guards stood in front of the building, their very presence a deterrence to would-be youkai that wanted to enter the tavern. As Dutch and the bull youkai approached, they stepped forward.

"Sorry Ushi but the human stays outside." One of the guards said as he held his lance ready. The bull youkai, now known as Ushi, bellowed in good natured laughter.

"Do you know who this humie is? This is Tenma's humie, the one that beat twelve of the mountain gits. Let him in you gits." Ushi answered as he slapped Dutch again on the back. Again, Dutch stumbled in pain.

The two Makaians demons stared at each other. Both coming to a silent agreement, they stepped back and let Dutch and Ushi through.

"What was that all about?" Dutch asked.

Ushi chuckled. "Humie, you got a reputation. Beating the mountain gits is not easy, even for those tengu gits. You got some good skills and the youkai gits like that. Which is why you are here. Welcome to the league. Special tavern for the best group of fighter gits anywhere." The bull youkai said as they entered the tavern.

Inside the tavern, a variety of youkai drank, ate and discussed with each other. When the door opened, they all turned to it. Dutch tried to return a tavern worth of stares to the youkai. He also realized that the air had just dropped a few degrees.

"Hey Ushi, who is the human? Another fool who thinks he's good?" A crow youkai cackled as he reached for a a painful looking spiked mace. His actions were mirrored across the room as all the youkai either reached for their weapons or already held them at the ready.

'Wow, there's more exotic weapons here than in a museum.' Dutch thought.

Ushi laughed. "Put down your weapons you gits. This here is Tenma's humie, the git that beat the mountain gits. He's genuine material."

The room fell silent. Dutch stood there, unsure of what to do. The silence could mean many things and he was half tempted to run out the door. Rule number one of being a covert operative was that you do not draw action to yourself. Even though that was in the past, Dutch still prefered to follow it.

"Well then, I have to go back to the gate. Have fun, Tenma's humie." Ushi said before turning and leaving out the door. Dutch kept an expressionless face while inside he mentally yelled for Ushi to return. Sadly, he was not a telepath and so Ushi left the tavern.

Right now, he was a fish amongst sharks. A fish that was proficient in combat but still a fish nonetheless.

All the youkai slowly started to approach him. Dutch mentally selected his carbine and prepared to phase it into existence. But it did not look good.

Then the youkai roared. But it was not a fighting roar. Nor was it a frightening roar. In fact, it was the total opposite. It was a roar of approval.

Now Dutch was in a state of deafened confusion. But hey, at least he did not have to fight them.

The youkai rushed forward to give him a big hearty welcome. It involved friendly punches and slaps. Of course by human standards, this meant pain on a massive level. So as they bought Dutch to the bar, he was buffeted by friendly and painful attacks.

But at least it was less painful than fighting them. Probably only by a slightly lower level.

"Oni sake!" The crowd shouted out loud. The amused bartender, used to the antics of the youkai, brought out a sake dish filled with clear liquid giving out an evil alcoholic smell. The crowd roared as Dutch was placed on the seat and looked at the dish presented to him.

"It's an initiation rite." The smiling Hanataka tengu bartender said.

"Drink it!" The crowd commanded. Dutch gave an incredulous look at the dish. The sake smelled worse than medical alcohol and Dutch had tried medical alcohol before. The fumes were so bad it made half the room half drunk at that time. Medical alcohol is some powerful stuff. And if Oni sake smelled stronger than that stuff, he could be looking at some serious liver damage. At least he could hold his liqour via unfair means.

'Activate alcohol blockers.' Dutch mentally commanded. However, instead of the robotic voice of the nanobots, Dutch was answered with his daughter's voice. No matter, it was more pleasant to hear.

'Alcohol blockers active. Don't drink too much Dako.' Vale giggled. Dutch gave a mental chuckle at the name.

Well then, back to business.

Taking the dish, Dutch tipped it over and started to down the sake. It lit up a fire as it went down his throat.

'This is the last time I drink this stuff.' He mentally grumbled as he continued to drink the sake.

Sometime later

Youkai market

Tenma approached the tavern. The Makaian demon guards, recognizing her, allowed her to pass.

The league was the name given to the tavern she was entering. While how it got it's name was a tale lost in the two and a half centuries or so of Gensokyo's existence, it's clientele was one recognized throughout the land.

It was where the best fighters gathered to socialize. All were welcome, human or youkai, provided that you have the sufficient skills. Sometimes, a cocky idiot would attempt to get entry. No problem. All they have to do is to beat one of the fighters inside and they get entry. Newcomers rarely got accepted this way.

The other way to get accepted was to do something of great skill, like beating a oni in a fist fight or beating a group of mountain youkai with a knife. Then a member could bring you into the tavern to enter.

For Tenma, she was accepted for deeds accomplished long ago. But in the tavern she went by a different name, one even her personal chief of staff did not know. In the tengu village, with her regal expression in front of her subjects, she was Lord Tenma, leader of the tengu village. But outside that, she went by the alias of Teri, tengu adventurer.

Tenma reminisced the last time she used that alias. It was so many centuries ago. So many centuries since she took up her position as leader. But at least the Makaian guards still recognized her face. Names can change but the face always remained the same.

As she entered, Tenma's ears picked up a voice that she did not expect to hear and one that made her heart race.

"...when the general woke up, his arms were missing and the doctor was never heard from again. Muahahahaha!" Dutch said as he reached the climax of his joke. The small youkai crowd around him roared in laughter. The rest of the tavern inhabitants were huddled among their own groups, doing their own things.

Dutch? Here?

Tenma did a mental victory jig. Heading to the youkai market was not a wasted journey after all. She got to meet Dutch and that was a victory in her view.

As she looked at the crowd laughing with the human, Tenma realized she wanted a private audience. Just her and him. She could not account the feeling to herself but all the same, she decided to follow it through.

Walking by the laughing group, Tenma did what she needed to do and headed out. The Makaian demon guards paid her no attention. The business of the clientele was theirs alone to mind.

As Tenma headed back to the guild, she realized that her heart was racing. Yet she could not find any logical answer to account for it.

Mayohiga

At the same time

Maribel lifted herself up wearily into the air, her mind focussed in concentration. Her clothing was covered with rips everywhere, the result of being immersed into the liquid version of danmaku.

But hey, at least she was flying in the air.

"Bravo. Learning to fly in under half an hour. See, that's why crash courses are the best form of training." The gap youkai clapped as she leaned against her floating gap.

Maribel simply panted. She was too exhausted by the danmaku immersion to speak. And probably for good measure. The words in her head were not for pure ears.

"But~ you still have to take the ring." Yukari finished. Maribel affixed the troll of trolls with a burning glare.

Yukari smiled. "Oh by the way, your male friend is at the current moment surrounded by the best fighters in the Gensokyo."

Maribel's heart skipped a beat. "Is he okay?" She forced through her exhausted body.

Yukari grinned. "He's laughing."

The answer was so unexpected that Maribel lost her concentration. The blonde human dropped out of the air like a rock and hurtled back towards the waiting pool of liquid danmaku below.

"Kyaa!"

At the same time

Moriya shrine

"Good!" Sanae cried out loud in midair as she rolled out of the way of a spray of minute hand danmaku. Renko nodded her thanks as she hovered above lake Suwa. Her wet clothing explained the motivation for her to learn to fly.

Sanae grinned. "Now let's try something harder." She drew a spell card from her outfit.

Miracle"Miracle Fruit"

The water was disturbed by a crashing body a few seconds later