Chapter 7: You mistook me for someone else…

Above the skies…

I have to say; for such a special place, Gensokyo is surprisingly small. Its size is roughly that of a small continent, maybe smaller.

But hey, you won't see me complaining.

I wonder where I should visit first.

"Ayayayaya~ who do we have here?"

What the hell?

I quickly shot some danmaku bullets in the direction of the voice, only to find nobody there.

"That wasn't very nice, shooting at someone trying to greet you." This time, it was behind me.

Turning towards the direction of the voice, I found that it was a girl... Okay, I know that majority of the population here are female, but there has to be some males here! This getting very awkward for me!

Anyway… the person in front of me has red eyes, semi-long black hair and wears a white blouse with brown leaf-print sides, a black short skirt with brown leaf-print portions, and a Tokin with several white puffs of feathers hanging from it. I also noticed a hauchiwa fan in one of her hands and… is that a camera hanging around her neck?

I countered, "Maybe, but sneaking up on someone like that isn't very nice either."

"I suppose, but I didn't think I'd see anyone flying up here." She frowned for a moment, peering at my face, "You look familiar… have we met before?

I raised an eyebrow, "I don't know, have we?" though I'm pretty sure I've never met her before. Maybe I remind her of someone?

The girl frowned before shrugging, "Maybe not." She then took a picture with her camera, before taking out a notebook and a pencil.

"So tell me young man, what's a fellow Crow Tengu like yourself doing out here, far away from the Tengu Village?"

… Excuse me? Did she just call me a...

"I beg your pardon?" I asked.

"Oh, don't play dumb with me." The girl scoffs, "If you weren't flying with your wings out in the open, I'd almost mistaken you for an outsider since you're wearing these clothes and all." She pointed for emphasis.

My wings! So that's why she thinks I am a Tengu!

Wait a minute… I thought male Tengu had red faces or long noses? Or is that just something humans made up, just like with the Oni?

"I have to admit, without your wings, you'd look just like an outsider. But given what has happened here before, I'd recommend that you return the village before anyone else sees you."

… So she was involved in that incident too? Oh for- Wait a minute…

I circled around her, eyeing her back. She called me a fellow Crow Tengu… yet I don't see any wings on her back!

"Hey, how are you flying without your wings?" I asked.

The tengu paused then winked at me, "When you've been around as long as I have, you come to learn of other ways to fly besides having wings. Also, it makes flying in tight spaces and fighting in Danmaku battles easier."

I see, having wings can definitely be a burden in those situations. Who knew?

Oh yeah… I've been asking all kinds of questions except one, "By the way, who are you?"

I watched as the girl's smirk slowly turned into a frown. Did I offend her?

"You don't know who I am? Me, Aya Shameimaru? The Humble Tengu Newspaper Reporter? Writer of the Bunbunmaru Newspaper?"

Aya Shamei… that's a mouth full.

"Wait a minute, what was that last part? The Bunbunmaru newspaper?"

Aya suddenly looked hopeful, "Yes! Have you read it?"

"Nope, can't say I even heard about it." And now, she's crestfallen. Sorry Aya, but I can't lie just to make you feel better. Besides, I just wanted confirm that you are using a weird name for your newspaper.

And now she's grabbing me by the collar and… Whoa! Why are you shaking me?

"How is it possible that there is a single person in all of Gensokyo who doesn't know my name AND my newspaper? And you are a Crow Tengu! We live in the same village, for crying out loud! What kind of rock have you been living under for all this time?"

… Doesn't take a genius to figure out what I said is a serious blow to her pride. And since she was also involved in that incident, I can't tell her that I really am an outsider either. Seriously, one fight is enough as it is.

C'mon Seido! Think of something before she literally shakes your whole head off!

"I-I'm s-s-sorr-r-ry! I-I've bee-en livi-ing a shelt-tered l-life b-bef-fore t-thi-is!"

Well, it is partially true. My family is quite well-off and their source of income comes from the various businesses they do. I would tell you about them if I could, if I could remember what they are that is.

And hey, I'm not exactly lying right? I'm just giving a different answer.

Oh, Aya's stopped! A few more seconds and she would have twisted my neck. Ouch.

… And I don't think she believes me. I should have known that this wouldn't-

"I see… So you're from one of the noble families. Ayayayaya~ No wonder you know nothing about me or my newspaper."

… It worked? Seriously? Are you telling me the nobles don't even read newspapers?

Heck, I didn't even know that there were nobles among the Tengu community!

Aya smirked, "I see~ so you finally got tired of being pampered all the time and decided to run away from home! Am I right?"

… Funny she should mention that. It is true I got tired of being pampered all the time, but I didn't run away. Rather, I had to beg my parents to move out of the estate instead.

Now don't misunderstand. I love my grandparents who live there, even the servants feel like family to me. But literally tending to my every whim and getting worried over every little thing that happened to me? I had to get out before I went insane!

And now that I'm old enough to take care of myself, my little bro, Ryuuga is the target of their "affections". I wish him good luck.

"Well, it looks like I hit the nail on that one." Aya grinned while she stares at my face, "But before we continue, I have to ask one question. Do you know a Hatate Himekaidou?"

I shook my head, "Nope, should I?"

The grin on your face tells me you're pleased with my answer.

Better change the subject before she asks something else, "Anyway… why are you flying out here? Hunting for some news?"

Aya's grin disappeared in an instant, "I wish I could. If I wasn't investigating under Chief Tenma's orders…"

"Chief Tenma?" Now Astro Boy is involved in this too?

Aya clapped her hands over her mouth. Looks like I heard something I wasn't supposed to.

"Don't tell anyone I said that!" Aya starts shaking me hard again, "I'll lose my head if this got out or worse, the chief will revoke my reporter's license!"

So this is supposed to be top secret? And you fear losing your job more than losing your head? That's some dedication…

"O-Oka-ay! I-I ge-et i-it! J-Jus-st le-et me-e go-o!"

Geez… If this keeps up, I really will lose my head.

Aya then crossed her arms, looking rather serious, "By the way… did you feel anything weird while you were here?"

"Feel anything weird?" I parroted while gingerly rubbing my neck, "What do you mean?"

Aya hesitated for a moment, probably wondering whether she could tell me or not.

"Well… it's like this. A while ago, Chief Tenma detected some sort of weird energy spike, though it only lasted for a moment. The problem is that the location where the spike transmitted was pretty vague, so even he didn't know where it came from."

Aya then came closer, covering our faces with her fan while whispering, as if afraid that somebody might overhear the next part, "To be honest, if I didn't felt it myself, I would have thought the old man had gone senile."

"You felt it yourself? How would you describe it then?"

Aya placed the tip of her fan on her chin, "Well, it feels as if the beating of my heart became stronger for a moment, like it wants to burst out of my chest."

Wow, that's some energy.

"So did you feel anything like that? Or seen anything that looks like it might be the cause of it?"

I frowned while giving it some serious thought. I don't remember feeling anything like that, unless it happened while I was in lunatic mode.

Then, there's…when I got my wings.

Nah, it couldn't be. Besides, since Marisa and the fairies didn't mention it, I don't see how it could be tied to that.

"Nope, I haven't felt anything like that at all. Can't say I've seen anything that could cause something like that either."

The Crow Tengu sighed, "Well, it was worth a shot. Might as well go back and report to the chief." She paused, "Hey, I never got your name."

You never asked, "Just call me Seido."

"Well Seido, it was nice meeting. And don't worry- "She gave me a wink, "I won't tell anyone in the village that you ran away from home!"

"Err… thanks, I guess."

"See ya! And don't forget to buy the latest issue of Bunbunmaru!"

Waving goodbye, Aya then took off towards the Youkai Mountain.

And… she's gone. Just like that. Damn, she's fast!

Now that I'm alone now, I can…

PANIC!

Why did I just do that?

What kind of situation did I just get myself into?

I may have dodge the bullet by "passing" myself as a Crow Tengu, but there's no doubt Aya will check with the village about me!

And once she finds out that I was never there, she'll come after me for sure!

She'll definitely find out that I'm actually an outsider! And when that happens…

NO! I don't want to think about it!

Oh goddamit! What should I do, what the hell should I do?

GERONIMO!

…

Hakurei Shrine

I return to the shrine in rather low spirits. As soon as I touched down, I noticed that my wings dissipated as soon as my feet touch the ground.

Slowly making my way, I noticed that nobody is around, not even Reimu. Must be patrolling the village or something.

Sitting down and laying my head on the table, I soon noticed a handwritten note. It's from Reimu.

…

Dear Seido,

I'm out patrolling Gensokyo, so help yourself to some food if you're hungry. Some yokai are known to be active at this time of day, so don't leave the shrine unless you absolutely have to! Just because you can use Danmaku doesn't mean you can go challenging every yokai you see!

Reimu

…

"Thanks Reimu." I muttered.

I am feeling a little hungry right now, but I'm in no mood to eat.

Setting my head back on the table, I gave out a huge sigh and closed my eyes.

However, I soon opened my eyes again due to a feeling I had and met the gaze of a pair of familiar dark golden eyes.

…

I blink once, the eyes are still there.

…

I blink twice, they are still there.

…

And 3… 2… 1…

"GAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

*BANG!*

I threw myself backwards and my head collided with the door.

"OW!"

A familiar giggle, "No matter how many times I see that reaction, it never ceases to amuse me."

I roared at the top of my voice, "GODDAMIT YUKARI!"

The few birds who are roosting nearby immediately took off into the sky.

And now I'm glaring at Yukari, who is currently peeking through one of those… gaps with her head upside down. Yeah, let's just call them that.

If it wasn't for the fact that I'm furious with her, I'd be staring at her silly with my mouth open instead.

"My apologies, Seido. But I couldn't resist." Yukari's head disappeared along with first gap before she walked into the room with another gap. "You looked so gloomy when you returned, so I decided to come cheer you up."

If your method of "cheering" people up is by scaring the bejesus out of them, I'd rather get myself into a fight.

"Just leave me alone, Yukari."

"Oh come now, Seido. Don't you trust your Yukari onee-sama?"

I deadpanned, "I would say, yes… But if I did, then I'd be lying."

Yukari pouted, "Come on, Seido. Don't be like your grandfather."

I was about to make another witty comment when my stomach rumbled.

Yukari looked at my stomach and grinned, "I see you haven't eaten yet. How about coming over to my house for lunch?"

I raised an eyebrow. This has to be the first time I have heard Yukari offered something since I got here.

"What's the catch?"

Yukari pouted again, "How rude! You assume I'm offering my hospitality simply because I want something in return? You hurt me greatly, Seido."

I took all of my willpower just keep myself from rolling my eyes.

Oh screw you, Yukari. I ought to just Spark you right here and now!

… And you'd just gap me to your place anyway, where you'd use your own method of retribution to get back at me. Yeah, I know you THAT well.

"Alright Yukari." I sigh in defeat while getting up to stretch myself. "Let's go."

"Fufufu~ I knew you would make the right decision." Yukari then opened a gap and gestured me to follow her.

"Hold on a sec." Looking around, I noticed a pen and a stack papers nearby. Flipping the Reimu's note, I wrote my message on the other side for Reimu.

"Alright, now we can go." Placing both hands inside my pocket, I followed the Yokai of Boundaries through her gap, heading towards her home.

…..

Well, this is unexpected. The home of Yukari Yakumo looks no different than the homes of the Outside World.

Then again, Yukari is the only Youkai I know who has been to the outside world.

A sofa, a cozy chair, a high definition flat screen television, a coffee table… Oh, this is the living room.

"Welcome to my humble abode, Seido. What do you think?"

I answer honestly, "Nice and cozy. Like a home should be"

"I see. Ran, Chen! We have a guest!"

WHOORP!

Hmm? That's a familiar sound… "I'm here, Yukari-sama."

Whoa! I turned immediately to face the newcomer.

She has yellow eyes, short blonde hair and she wears a light pink two-tailed hat with many amulets and a blue and light purple dress with a blue print on the front. She also has… nine… fox… tails?

…

NO. F*CKING. WAY.

"This is Ran, my shikigami. Ran, this is Seido, our guest."

A kitsune? A real live kitsune? Is she related to Tamamo-No-Mae or something? And she is working as your shikigami?

…

Oh, boy, I think I unnerved the kit- I mean Ran with my staring. Damn it, Seido… Say something!

"Err, my name's Seido! Nice to meet you!" I nervously bowed. Phew…

"N-No, the pleasure is mine, Seido." Ran returned the bow.

Yukari looked around, "Where is Chen? Isn't she with you?"

Ran looked around her, as though expecting to find this Chen right next to her.

"I told her to come with me just now… OH!"

It was then I saw a cute little face with black cat ears with a gold earring on the left and a green mob cap, peeking from under Ran's skirt. Huh, so this is be Chen… and she's one sly little devil, isn't she?

"Chen! I told you to stop doing that!" Ran said with a furious blush on her face.

The little Nekomata giggled while sticking out her tongue, "Sorry, Ran-sama~" How do I know what Chen is? The twin tails behind her are a dead giveaway. I also noticed that Chen is wearing a red dress with a white bow on the collar, with gold trimming and light pink frills at the bottom and light pink sleeves.

Chen then turned towards me with a puzzled look on her face. She then closed her eyes and… is she sniffing me?

And what happened next was totally unexpected.

"PAPA!" Was the first word Chen cried out before tackling me with a huge glomp. Ouch… And now I'm lying on the floor, with Chen affectionately rubbing her cheek on my chest.

"PAPA… PAPA! I missed you so much!"

This scene would have melted my heart completely, if it wasn't confusing the hell out of me.

"Aw~ this is so sweet. You just became a daddy, Seido~" Not helping, Yukari!

"Err… Chen?" Ran came closer, placing a hand on Chen's shoulder, "Chen, I'm sorry to tell you this, but he's not your Papa. He's human who just came to Gensokyo yesterday." Thank you, Ran. Nice to see you didn't inherit your mistress' habits.

Chen got up and sat on me, looking at Ran in disbelief "What? But he must be Papa! He smells just like him!"

I smell like whom now?

"Hold that thought." I said, gently lifting Chen up and off me. Huh, she's lighter than I expected. I then set her on the ground and looked at her in the eyes.

"Are you saying that I smell like a Nekomata?"

Chen shook her head, "I don't know. All I know is that you smell like Papa."

Okay… "And who is your Papa?"

"… I don't know, I never got to meet him." Chen said sadly, her ears drooping down.

So wait, she says I smell like her father, but she doesn't know who he is or what he looks like?

"But, I do know he took good care of me. Yukari-sama and Ran-sama told me."

Is that so? Wait a minute… Yup, they're still here… And why are you two looking at each other like that?

"Now Chen…" Yukari spoke up, "I know you miss your Papa, but this man isn't him. You should know that, right?"

Chen looked down at her feet, "Yes, Yukari-sama…" Oh man, I'm getting sad just looking at her.

"However…" Yukari added, "If you'd like, Seido can be your new papa. What do you think, Chen?"

… Say WHAT?

"Y-Yukari-sama?" And it seems Ran shares my disbelief.

"REALLY?" What the… don't go along with Yukari's scheme, Chen!

"Wait a minute! Don't I have a say here?" I cried out in desperation.

Yukari glanced at me over her fan, "Oh, are you saying you don't want to become Chen's new papa?" What the, I never said that! Don't go twisting my words!

"Y-You don't want to?" Not you too, Chen! I never said- Oh no… don't tell me you're gonna cry. Please don't cry!

Ran, help me! I turned desperately to the shikigami, who could only helplessly shake her head. Right… can't go against your mistress' will.

"Oh, alright…" I caved, "I'll be Chen's new papa." You win this time, Yukari. But I'll get you back for this, just you-

"YAY! I LOVE YOU PAPA!" Another glomp from the cute little Nekomata.

"Now that we've settled this, it's time for some lunch. Ran?" Yukari turned to her shikigami, who bowed and went to set the table. Now that I think about it…

"Hey Chen, are you also Yukari's shikigami?" The cat girl shook her head.

"Nope! I'm Ran-sama's shikigami!" So… she's the shikigami… of a shikigami? Meh, I've heard weirder stuff.

"C'mon Papa! I'm hungry~" Chen whined while dragging me by my arm, which she is succeeding since she's a yokai.

"Okay, okay! Stop pulling my arm before it comes off!"

So to sum up my day, I learned how to use danmaku, got some Spell Cards, got into a fight with a bunch fairies, nearly fell to my death, got myself a pair of wings, was mistaken for a Tengu by an actual tengu and now…

"Let's go, Papa." I have a cute little Nekomata for a daughter.

Gensokyo, I sort of both love and hate you now.

…..

And done!

Well, I can tell you I had a lot of fun writing this. A few changes here and there, but here it is.

Hope you enjoyed it!

Read and review, please and thank you.