"The Dream of Akinosuke," Fakir read the book. "It's part of a collection called Kwaidan. The collection even details information about insects and has an entire section devoted to Horai itself. It's pretty much exactly what we experienced, everything down to the marriage, the island, and the ants." He set the book down on the table in the library.

"This hardly even makes sense," Autor picked up the book. "All the tales you've experienced aren't even connected. They're not even from the same country."

"None of it makes sense," Fakir frowned. "The legends are pulled from Chibiusa's world, which seems almost as magical as ours when the previous story was controlling the town. Now she has three people from her world here, only one of which is aware this is a story."

"You explained it all to him?"

"He took it surprisingly well," Fakir nodded. "Then again, he seems to be more accustomed to being pulled between worlds than I thought. I still can't find any references to his home kingdom, other than a handful of Greek myths, but given his description, he might very well be from a place that inspired these myths. Or he's just a myth himself." Fakir wasn't sure which was which. Helios had described how he served Endymion, the prince of earth who had fallen in love with Serenity, who was an incarnation of Selene, the moon goddess. He was entwined in as many stories as Fakir himself was. It made sense how Helios took the information incredibly well.

"Another story blending in with ours," Autor frowned. "When will the spinning actually end?"

"We still haven't found a spinner yet," Fakir shook his head. "Notice anything on your end?"

"Nothing," Autor pushed his glasses up his nose. "I haven't even seen the Book Men move. The old man is still manning the bookstore as if nothing's unusual. It's like he doesn't seem to even notice that a story is playing out again."

"It's not one of Drosselmeyer's stories," Fakir added. "It's possible they only can recognize his."

"Even with the return of Princess Tutu and someone who has a striking resemblance to Prince Siegfried," Autor pushed his glasses up his nose again. "It's like they've been written not to notice."

"This spinner is powerful," Fakir pointed out. "He's been able to pull us directly into a story without us realizing it. I don't think the spinner has noticed you, though. You may be able to spot the spinner while we fight the dreams."

"Oh so now you need my help?" Autor commented snidely.

"Do you want to be included in this or not?" Fakir hissed.

"Fine, fine," Autor conceded. "I'll keep an eye out for things."

...

"You look so cute in the Academy uniform!" Chibiusa gushed, seeing Helios in the blue and white school outfit.

"You truly think so, Maiden?" Helios smiled brightly. "I'm a bit uncertain about fitting in here, but Fakir has been very reassuring."

"You'll do fine," Fakir nodded. "Since you weren't introduced into the story by the spinner, I've written you in as a ballet student with all my understanding of dance. I didn't know enough about drawing to work you into those classes."

"Can you write me with better dancing skills?" Duck begged him.

"I'm not a miracle worker," he replied with a bit of a grin.

"Stupid Fakir I just want to dance with you like you dance with Illia!" Duck shouted at him.

Fakir sighed. "I don't want you dancing like Illia. I want you to dance like you." He reached forward, bopping her on the head, but then taking her hand as if he were inviting her to dance.

"Really?" Duck stared back at him. "Even though I can't point my toes or do point like Tutu can?"

"I want you to be you, dummy," he replied. "Now let's go. We'll be late for class."

Chibiusa waved them off, smiling at her group of friends. She never thought she would count Helios among the people here, but it was really nice to have him around. She could finally spend time with him like a normal person who just happen to be helping save people's dreams. But when they weren't they could actually chat and perhaps even date. She blushed profusely.

"You have a crush on Fakir's roommate?" Momoko wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Perhaps it's an affair," Diana suggested, peeking out of Chibiusa's school bag.

"D-diana!" Chibiusa stammered. "I-it's hardly an affair if I already like him, right?"

"I hear he'll be dancing as the King of the Moon in the ballet," Shobolan recalled. "I hear he's as good as Fakir. Hopefully he'll get a bigger part in the next ballet."

Chibiusa nearly tripped over her own feet. Fakir sure wrote that part in fast. And the part he'd given Helios in the ballet was rather fitting, given his association with the Earth and the Moon. Part of her wondered if Helios was truly okay with this, but he seemed rather happy about the whole situation. At least as this whole story played out, she'd be able to spend more time with him and the new friends she'd made.

"C'mon, we'll be late!" Momoko urged them. "I hear today's lesson is painting!"

"That sounds like fun!" Chibiusa smiled. Even if it was just a story, no reason she couldn't enjoy it. She bound after the others. Painting was always fun. She wondered what the subject was as she entered the studio. Miss Kitter stood at the center next to a pedestal with a large plush bird standing on it surrounded by feathers and flowers.

"Today we'll be focusing on still life," Miss Kitter announced. "Here we have a plush sparrow from the newly opened Sparrow Cafe in the next town over. We'll focus on still life since we'll be working with a medium that requires more time. Everyone make sure to use the aprons provided so you don't get acrylics stuck to your uniforms."

Pulling on the apron, Chibiusa went to work. She'd used acrylics before, so perhaps she had a leg up on the competition. It was the only thing they did all day, so she was able to finish the entire painting and present it to Helios after school. "I painted you something!" she handed him the rolled paper.

Helios unrolled it with a bright smile. "This is beautiful. We can hang this on the wall, right?"

Fakir shrugged. "Sure, why not. It is pretty good." It might go well with the ballet posters he had plastered along one side of the wall.

"Yeah, it's really good!" Duck chimed in. "You're really good at this art stuff!"

Chibiusa nearly pushed her face into her collar, blushing. "I really love art. It's the one thing I'm best at. And the subject was that sparrow. There's apparently a Sparrow Cafe open in Edo. Since that place seems to be a permanent addition to the area, I'd like to check it out. Maybe a….. double date?"

"Hey, that sounds like a great idea!" Duck cheerfully agreed. She smiled up at Fakir. "We should go."

"At least to check out the place," Fakir quickly conceded. He was still suspicious of Edo's sudden appearance and the significance of it. The others seemed like they wanted to have a little fun before another story showed up, and he couldn't exactly deny that having a brief respite would be good.

After dropping off the painting and changing out of their uniforms, the quartet headed through the torii and into feudal Edo. Fakir had shoved Helios into one of his casual outfits so the priest didn't look so out of place compared to the rest of the story. Fakir was somewhat concerned that the spinner might try to affect Helios, despite Helios being an outside source brought in by Chibiusa's wish. Yet so far, Helios had blended in pretty well.

"There it is," Chibiusa announced. "Just like Miss Kitter had said. The cafe nestled in the bamboo grove." Before them laid out a simple cafe nestled within the bamboo. It seemed somewhat out of place with the more modern and somewhat European accents, looking more like a popup cafe she'd find in Tokyo. There were anime-like drawings of sparrows on the more traditional flags and drapery and the menu sported modern European treats like parfaits. Dozens of sparrows littered the lawn, inviting customers with their friendly chirps.

Last time they'd encountered a modern element in the feudal era, it turned out to be just a dream. But this one also had elements that she found in Gold Crown Town, so perhaps it was just a fusion.

"Fusion cuisine," Fakir read off the menu. "At least the menu's written in something I can read."

"There are so many birds here, and they're all really happy!" Duck observed. "They all have delicious bread."

"Don't go all bird on me," Fakir grabbed her by the collar of her shirt. He still wasn't sure if duck-like actions would turn Duck back into an ordinary duck, but fortunately there was enough water around to turn her back into a girl. He flushed a bit but quickly covered it up by turning away and reaching for the door.

Duck clamped her hands over her mouth before she was able to utter a quack. "Oh haha, I'm sorry I'll be more careful."

"You spend far too much of our precious food on those damn birds!"

"But my love, even the cafe is named after them! I thought you loved the sparrows!"

Fakir paused at the door.

"You give away all our ingredients!" the woman hissed.

"But my love!" the man pleaded. "The sparrows attract our customers!"

"What customers?!" the woman seethed.

Heavy footsteps approached the door. The quartet plastered themselves against the wall as the door slid open and a women in a simple kimono with an apron stormed out, slamming the sliding door behind her and frightening the birds back into the bamboo trees. One of the birds didn't fly, instead stumbling a bit in the lawn. The woman approached, lifting her foot to stomp on it, but instead she ended up stomping on Fakir's shoulder.

He'd quickly reacted, practically diving from the entryway to draw the little sparrow into his arms. He had a soft spot for birds, including the human one that now stood at the entrance with her hands clasped over her mouth.

The woman huffed, not even apologizing to Fakir, turning and stomping out the front gate.

"She was very rude!" Duck fussed, approaching as Fakir sat up on the lawn.

He cradled the bird in his hands. "It's alright, the bird is fine."

"There's something about this that feels familiar," Chibiusa noted, approaching along with Helios. "Could this be another story?"

"I believe so," Fakir nodded. "I've heard of a tale about a sparrow where an angry wife had slit the poor sparrow's tongue in anger." The bird frantically tweeted. "We're not going to let that happen."

"That's The Sparrow with the Slit Tongue!" Chibiusa recognized the tale.

"I read a translation in a compendium," Fakir recalled. "The Pink Fairy Book. It's part of a series of fairy tales from around the world."

"If we're in the middle of another story," Helios reasoned, "then there must be a source. Are we to act out the rest of the story?" He glanced around. There were quite a lot of possible sources nearby. The cafe, the birds now clamoring on the bamboo stalks, the wife, the husband inside, and the sparrow now in Fakir's hands.

"This time we've realized the story before it could escalate," Fakir observed as he stood up.

"I don't really want it to escalate. Then that poor sparrow will get his tongue cut!" Chibiusa worried. "Should we act out the rest of the story ourselves?"

"That's what I'm thinking," Fakir nodded. "In this story, after the injury, the sparrow retreats into the mountains. That's when the story reaches its peak. What is the closest mountain in the area? At least in your version of Tokyo."

Chibiusa wrinkled her nose. She had to think about that for a moment. "I'm pretty bad at geography. Mount Fuji is really far away, but there's one that is on the outskirts of Tokyo. Mount... mount... there's even a big shrine there. I went with Mama Ikuko once..." She tapped a finger on her chin. "Mi something... Mi... taka? That's not it... Oh I know! I have a bus map in my backpack in my room! That'll tell us exactly what the mountain is!"

"Let's get the bus map so we can get this sparrow home without getting its tongue slit," Fakir agreed. This time, they could move the legend along.

Chibiusa dug through her bag, unfolding the map. It was filled with lines and instructions written in a language neither Duck nor Fakir could read. More of those moon runes. "If we're here by the shoreline," she tapped the waterfront with her finger, "the closest major mountain is Mount Mitake. It's a bit of a walk, though, without buses and public transportation and all."

Duck stared at her, uncertain she understood what Chibiusa was talking about.

Chibiusa blinked. "... right, that doesn't exist here….."

"Do not fret, Maiden," Helios reassured her, "we can always walk, perhaps pick up some street food along the way so we do not tire so easily."

"It's possible we may encounter another plot hole that will take us closer to Mount Mitake faster than in your world," Fakir suggested. "This Edo doesn't look as large as that map you're holding."

"Plot holes are so dizzying," Duck fussed.

"But it's faster than walking that distance," Fakir pointed out. "Come, let's head out before the spinner realizes we've caught onto the story."

Chibiusa nodded, folding the map and shoving it back into her backpack. "Let's save this sparrow and stop the story before things turn bad!" With a smile, she headed off through the cafe gate, pausing to dig for the map. Duck nearly headed off in the wrong direction as well before Helios guided the pair the right way.

Two peas in a pod, Fakir shook his head. With the sparrow nestled in his hand, he headed off, following the other three towards the mountains hoping for the best.

...

Author's notes

I'm pretty fond of the idea that Elysion, Serenity and Endymion, and the entire ancient timeframe in general inspired myths of the earth cultures later on after the world was reborn.

The legend at play here is exactly what they said, 'The Sparrow with the Slit Tongue.' I've found a lot of ancient Japanese legends are quite violent, just like the one that Fakir has described. The question is, will this tale turn violent as well?