The six men entered in the Eientei, taking care not to make any noise. They were all armed and ready, two of them using submachine guns while the four others were using assault rifle. They were wearing riot gear, save for the weapons, and all knew that the armor offered more protection than the kevlar vest they were usually using, but it wasn't a consolation for the loss of mobility. But luckily, the excitation compensated the frustration. After all, it was the first time they went out for something else than collecting informations. They've been warned before that the contract would be long, possibly several months, but no matter how experienced someone is, the first phase is the most annoying one, as negligence would surely leads to death once the real operation started.

The men quickly moved, with the point man ahead, followed by his teammates, the rest of the squad behind him in a triangle formation. There was supposedly no risk at all, but given the current state of the Eientei, they decided not to test their luck. Just in case whoever did the damage was still around.

Before soon, trouble erupted, and they were unprepared

The woman leaned over the poor body she just dragged out of the lake. He was still alive, but unconscious, both from the torture he received as well as being thrown in cold water. If the blood loss failed to do it, then the exposure would surely kill him. Unfortunately, the woman's hands were ill-suited for manual labor, and even if she could, the etiquette would never let her carry a man. Not that she ever worried for the etiquette anyway, but even turning into a monster doesn't remove your habits. She briefly remember a former friend of her, a man who turned into some half-beast after an angry god cursed him. No matter how stupid it sounded, he always insisted on wearing proper clothes. Over his fur. The whole sight was hilarious, and at the same time a bit depressing.

Luckily, she was never really alone. If there was a need for it, she could easily conjure the Man In The Prison to assist her. He was too hot-headed to be really helpful, and his insanity would make him useless if the task was too complicated. Otherwise, there was also the moon rabbit from the Eientei. She maintained most of her sanity, even while being under the woman's influence, which was an asset, as it allowed the moon rabbit to fulfill advanced task while never questioning orders.

Unlike that half-dead fool who went ahead and got captured by the gap woman.

"Hey, Ran. Rings a bell?" Called Yukari, as she was swinging a silver watch, sitting in the living room.

In front of her, at the same table, was sitting her servant, coldly breaking open the man's suitcase. "Yeah, that's the vampire's maid's watch. What about it?"

"Nothing. I just wonder why our guest had it in his pocket."

The suitcase opened silently, displaying a bloody mess of several metallic pieces. "I don't know. Maybe you should've asked him before killing him." While answering, Ran began to place the pieces in order, on the table.

"Are you criticizing me, servant?" Said Yukari as she started to spin the watch.

"Not at all, you are as wise as you are patient, great youkai sage." Answered Ran, still focused on the pieces. It looked like a bunch of garbage tin, but she has the conviction it was useful somehow. Otherwise, the fool wouldn't have brought it.

"You're becoming sassy, Ran. Maybe I'll get your tan once I'm done explaining the black and white what to do with that." Playfully said the purple sage.

She got the one responsible for Reimu's wound, and to her relief, it was just a human. Surely that inept wizard from the forest could take care of whatever accident would happen.

What kind of world would it be if Yukari Yakumo, who helped creating the Hakurei Border, was to fix every little problem in Gensokyo by herself?

When Atlas woke up, it was to his great surprise, as he was in an unusual place. Maybe he was sent back in time further than he expected.

He tried to move, and managed to roll on his side, slowly but methodically scanning the area for any kind of landmarks. In vain, as the room he was in was devoid of any decoration. It was clearly Japanese, so he was in Gensokyo. That was the first thing he was sure about. The second thing he was certain of, was that trying to seal Yukari by himself has been a stupid idea. His arrogance got the best of him, and as a reward for that, he's been tortured, and got send back in time. The most damaging thing for his ego was the fact that his mistake was a lack of preparation, and a lot of arrogance. Clearly, his disguise as a priest was half-baked, Yakumo never fell for it. And he was lucky that the vixen didn't recognized him, otherwise Yakumo would've tortured him until he was totally broken, mind and body.

"Hang on, it's possible to check..." He raised a shaking hand to his face, and touched it. On his face, he could feel the wounds that the youkai inflicted to him. Which means that this was the present, and not the past. "Which means..."

Which means that he was burned -not literally- by the Yakumo. Tricking her was now impossible, as she would instantly recognize him. But on the bright side, she's been arrogant enough to get rid of him before pressuring him for details.

His arrogance has been his loss here, and led to him being "burned" and to the shikigami being recovered by the Yakumos, but he learned something crucial about Yukari, her arrogance, and her underestimation of human resilience. How typical from supernatural beings.

Finally, Atlas stood up, and observed his surrounding with interest.

It was a Japanese room, that was obvious. Two door, on the two opposites walls. If it weren't for the total lack of decorations, he would be betting on a mansion, as a lot of effort went into the building. It clearly wasn't a shed built in the middle of the wood, even through something was familiar. It was with some unease that he noticed the real lack of furniture. He was dropped on the bare floor, without even a mattress or a blanket. Well, at least that explained why his back was a bit sore.

That didn't explained why the door was locked. Maybe it was another trick of that Yakumo, pretending to release him while she was still holding him prisoner. He pinched his arm, briefly enjoying the sharp pain as a proof that he wasn't again lost in some twisted limbo, slowly wasting his time while trying to find a way out of Yukari's demented labyrinth.

He turned around, and tried the other door, only to have it open by itself, with the woman coming in. She walked straight and stopped in the middle of room. Then she took a deep breath, and turned her face toward the man.

She was unknown to him. In fact, even through he met quite a lot of people in Gensokyo, he would easily bet his left eye that he never saw her before, and he was right. The woman was ridiculously tall, with black hair and brow eyes. Looking at her reminded the man of the princess at the Eientei, there was definitely something common between these women, if it weren't for that one's height, and her extremely ostensible kimono.

"I do hope you will find the pardon for me to not speak." Said the woman, with a very strange expression and a horrible accent. She was obviously smiling, but her eyes were focused on the man, staring at him, never blinking.

Atlas shrugged. "Say what you need to say, I'll listen."

The woman's smile grew wider. "It is simpler if I tell you of a small story..."

One day, there was a man. He looked like a very normal man, he paid his taxes, loved his wife, had a family. It was a boring and yet satisfying life, and the man was happy, but in his heart, he wished for adventure to find him. He wanted to see the stars from afar, he was sick of the city, and even through he loved his family, he selfishly wanted to be alone. And the man died, with his wish unfulfilled. He lived his small, boring life until the bitter end. He was called a loving husband and an perfect father. He was even quoted as a model to be followed, even through he hated his life.

Very surprised, the man was, when instead of the emptiness he expected in the afterlife, came a young girl in rags with dirty silver hair. She said nothing, and just touched him.

When the man opened his eyes, he was a young boy again, with a whole life before him. And just with a spin of the wrist and some time magic, the man's wish was fulfilled. He lived as he desired, listening to his own desires, worrying family, friends, teachers, and even enemies. When the man died, he died unhappily, crying over his foolishness. He fulfilled his own desires, but ignored the desires of his family, of his friends, and as a result, his parents perished miserably. When he saw the girl in rags, the man begged, and asked for her opinions. He asked if it was alright to ignore his own selfish desires, or if he was supposed to follow them. The girl didn't answer, for she was nothing.

When the man lived for the third time, he looked for answers. Why was he allowed to live for so many times? All his life, he looked for answers, from gods, from priests. He traveled and walked, and when death came, he was still unsatisfied. The girl came again, and he tried unsuccessfully to run away from her.

When he woke up, he was not a young boy anymore. He was almost a man, still learning and studying. He was confused. Who wouldn't be? Two times he woke up as a kid, and the third, he was almost adult. Of course, he wondered and asked what was the point of this, and nobody could answer him. Eventually, that incarnation killed himself out of frustration, leaving one more time his family behind him. However, this time, the silver-haired girl talked, and even if it was just a single line, it was enough for him to have a purpose in living. She told him to study in Cardiff.

The man didn't ask any question, he just obeyed. Maybe, he thought, there was a greater purpose in that. So, for that reason, the man obeyed. He went to the university, became a successful tycoon, and died happily. But it wasn't all. The girl spoke again, this time telling him to leave his country, and to receive a military training.

And so did the man. Or rather, so tried the man. The first time he tried to leave his home country, he got captured and interrogated, before being executed. The second time, he was betrayed and drowned in the sea. The third time, he decided to wait several years before attempting to leave, but then a really sad event happened. The details are unknown, but one of the man's friends was involved in a strange case, and, as a result, the country turned into a battleground, ultimately leading to the man sneaking out of his country. Finally free, the man was suddenly unsure what to do, and eventually got killed. As a punishment for his stupidity, the girl in rags send him back in time just as he was killed, and he got to die again and again. Physically, he endured death, and psychically, he endured the traumatizing event of dying, several times, slowly eroding his mind.

And then he-

"Enough."

The woman smiled again. "This is just legend. The man who came from death."

Atlas, however, was not laughing at all. "How do you know who I am?"

"The girl out of time, was not giving order. She repeats what I say. You obey me, not by yourself. That is what I mean."

"Okay. What do you want me to do, then?" Answered the murderer, still frowning.

Still staring at him, the woman stretched her long arms. "I do have one problem. I used a femtagril from the moon to capture the Yakumo cat."

"Hang on," the foreign word irritated Atlas a bit, "femtagril?"

"I do not know how to pronounce it. I captured the cat, and have it given to you. I come out of the shadow to ask why you did that."

"Oh." Well, at least, he knew what everything was about. "An interrogation."

"Yes." Said the woman, and she wasn't smiling any more. "I give order to have you being trained, and you act like an incompetent imbecile. I want to know why."

Atlas groaned. He was aware he was subject to a constant watch, as the raggedy girl seemed to be aware of his flaws, but he never thought he would be interrogated on his actions before his death. "Well, you see-"

"Direct to the point. I do not speak perfectly, but I understand."

"All right then. I was not sure how what the rope was, but I could feel some power, so I decided to try my luck. Yukari Yakumo has been mentioned in the interviews I made while I pretended to be a journalist, but I was unsure if she was a possible threat or not. But I underestimated her servant, I thought her paper doll's destruction would've affected her, maybe even wounded her. Unfortunately, she wasn't, and I ended up caught between two fires, and I panicked."

During his speech, the man of many names alternated between talking quickly and talking slowly, trying to see if it confused the woman.

"You poor fool, dying a hundred time did not nothing to utterly destroy your mind. I should be surprised that you are still able to panic. Maybe I should break you myself, but I do not want a slave unable to move unless ordered to do so."

This time, she broke eye contact with the man, and opened to the other door. Instead of a closed corridor, the man could see the bamboo forest.

'Ha, so we are really in the mansion of eternity,' he thought.

"For a man able to panic, one can expect him to care about men he was tasked to lead. So they will pay for your failure."

The man with many names then heard the gunshots.

"I don't understand, Lady Ran." Complained Chen as she was sitting on the steps.

"What is it, Chen?" Said the vixen as she was cleaning the cellar's floor, now drenched with blood.

"Why isn't Lady Yukari taking care of this? She could easily kill the humans and fix this."

Ran sighed. "That's because Yukari believes in a thing called laissez-vivre. To put it in simple words, she believes that, the more she helps Gensokyo, the weakest it becomes. So she takes care of only helping when there's no other way, or where the one causing the incidents are powers from the outside world. In other cases, she's neutral, and, as much as possible, neutral."

"So what's going to happen now?"

"Well, the human who almost killed that horrible miko is dead, so Yukari thinks there's no more danger. She's entrusting the magician to do the clean-up."

"And what do you think, Lady Ran?"

"I'm honestly not sure. There are many things making me believe that there's something else, and Yukari believe that it's nothing really important. Nothing the magician can't fix by herself, anyway. But maybe I'm worrying too much."

"I get it!" And Chen ran off.

Left alone, Ran kept thinking. She finally managed to put the pieces recovered from the man together, creating a gun in the process. What shocked her wasn't the weapon, while strong, it wasn't enough to destroy or even wound a youkai like her. No, the really worrying thing was how easily concealable that thing was. With duct tape, she could easily hide these pieces on her own body, and it would still be extremely dangerous for human. The other thing that bothered her was the fact that this weapon wasn't from the outside world. It was too advanced, even for them. And there was also the problem of the femto-fiber. Namely, the problem of 'how the hell did a human from the outside world managed to get that?!'

The more logical explanation was that the human was an agent of the Moon, but after a brief meeting with the princess Toyohime, Ran was now ready to bet that this lunarian would rather blow up her own city rather than letting a human get in. Not to mention that relying on agents would be dishonorable, and that moon princess came in Gensokyo by herself rather than sending a vassal.

But at the same time, there was still the problem of the-

"I need a blackboard. And a lot of chalk. I need to write that down."