The next chapter is here! You can tell I'm on a hot streak in continuing this story!

Enjoy! ;)

Chapter 13: Horse-napping

[BGM: Majestic Castle – Dragon Quest VIII]

It was the dawn of a new day… and a new life for the kingdom of Ascantha. Now that King Pavan was back to his old self before the mourning happened, all the residents were allowed to finally wear clothing of bright colors and open up shops and stalls. Even the castle's dropping black banners were removed, now being replaced by the original banners that were red in color and bore possibly the kingdom's crest in the middle.

Meanwhile, I and my party were at the castle's dining room enjoying a nice meal with Pavan, who was also back wearing the same clothes his past self wore, as thanks for saving him and his kingdom.

"Never again will I forget the things Sasha told me." Pavan spoke up as we looked at him… well, all of us except Angelo and Yangus, the former drinking from his wineglass while the latter was scarfing down the food like a wild dog (which got a chuckle out of me when I saw that). "It felt like a dream, but I believe in what I saw. Thank you. Thank you so much…

"Thanks to you all and Emma, I've finally woken up from an unbearable nightmare. Now I can be a proper king to my people again. I cannot thank you enough. If there is ever anything I can do for you, please do not hesitate to ask. I swear I will do anything in my power to repay you. Anything at all I can do to help."

"Well, we're chasing after a jester called Dhoulmagus." Reimu said. "Have you by any chance seen or heard of him somewhere around here?"

Pavan shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I haven't heard talk of anyone like that passing through Ascantha. That's not much use to you, I know." he let out a sigh. "And there I was, just now, saying I wanted to help you…"

"Oh, it's fine. We can try to track him down ourselves."

After that, we all ate the rest of our food in silence. When we were done, I and my party stood up from our seats, ready to leave.

"Farewell, my friends." Pavan said. "May fortune ride with you on your continuing journey. I hope we will meet again soon."

"I must say, that was quite a celebration we definitely won't get out of." Marisa remarked, as we had exited the castle and were now walking through the now lively town. "Though really, why we wouldn't want to celebrate I dunno. After all, it's not like we didn't earn it."

"True, we really didn't – it was mostly Ishmahri who did the work." Reimu pointed out. "…Although we did have to climb a tall mountain to fetch him, I'll admit."

"Plus, if it weren't for us, Ishmahri would never have known what was going on in the first place, much less fix it." Remilia added.

"Where'd that Itchy-Marie bloke disappear to, anyway!?" Yangus wondered. "Almost feels like it was all some kinda weird dream, dunnit?"

"Or he could've just teleported back to the Moonshadow Land, you know…" Reisen sweatdropped.

"I'm happy for King Pavan, anyway. He seems to be cheering up again." Jessica said. "And he had a chance to see his beloved Queen one last time… That made me think about Alistair. I suppose he lives on too, in my heart…"

"Oh, he definitely is." I smiled, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Besides, you are following your heart just as he told you, remember?"

A small tear escaped Jessica's eye. "Yes, I do. Perhaps one day, I could request Ishmahri to bring some memories of Alistair just so I could see his face or hear his voice again."

"Either way, I'm just glad that sissy of a King has finally pulled himself together and started to behave like a real man again." Angelo blurted out… which earned him a small kick in the shin by Jess. "Ow!"

"How rude to call the King a sissy!" she scolded.

Angelo blinked. "…Er, you know what I mean. I didn't mean to blurt it out quite like that, though. Maybe I've had a bit too much of the old moonshine…"

'Oh, so he's been drinking a lot… Why am I not surprised?' I thought with a deadpan expression.

"Seriously, you really need to lay off the alcohol a bit." Jessica rolled her eyes. "Otherwise, we won't let you into pubs again."

"Hey, come on now." Angelo soothed. "I just took my joke a little bit too far. There's no need to get carried away!"

Jessica sighed. "You're lucky that we're in a public area, or I would've set you on fire by now."

"Heh, you can thank the Goddess for these small mercies."

"Putting that all aside…" I spoke up. "Now the people of Ascantha can finally carry on with their lives." I smiled while looking at the people around. "And I also heard that King Pavan gave Emma some time off as well. A happy ending all round!" I paused for a bit, thinking about what to say next… only for my response to come off a bit awkward, "So, um… Back to chasing Dhoulmagus, I guess!" and this led everyone to laugh at my awkwardness, causing me to blush.

[BGM End]

[BGM: Strange World – Dragon Quest VIII]

After leaving the town of Ascantha, we started walking down the bridge while having a little friendly chat, only stopping once we reached the bottom. There we found Trode, who was looking down at the ground…for some reason, and Medea waiting for us.

"Good morning, Your Majesty." I said to Trode formally. "We have officially finished our detour."

Trode looked up at us. "Well it's all right for some, isn't it!?" he replied harshly. Uh, this wasn't what I expected to come out of him…

I tilted my head. "What do you mean?"

"No doubt King Pavan treated you all to plenty of fine food and drink! You lucky toads!" Oh, now I get it… Yeah, since Trode can't come into the towns with us (due to what happened all the way back in Farebury, if you know what I'm talking about), he's forced to eat canned food that we stored in the carriage.

"Hey! We're not the toads here, shorty!" Cirno retorted, folding her arms.

Trode ignored her and just continued rambling, "The Princess and I have been waiting, you know! Stuck here outside town! And Medea isn't much for conversation these days, hm!" he finished by kicking a nearby rock.

"I'm starting to feel bad for him…" Youmu whispered to us. "Forced to remain outside of town with someone they can't even understand, not to mention the big risk of being attacked by monsters, must be tough to deal with…"

"No kidding." Alice agreed, while the rest of us nodded.

"I know 'ow ya feel, grandad." Yangus said to Trode. "If only you weren't so…green, eh? Maybe we could get ya into town and you could 'ave a drink or somefin'. I ain't exactly a looker meself. I know wot it's like to be discrimated against."

"It's discriminated, Yangus…" I corrected while sweatdropping.

"Yeah, yeah, wotever…" Yangus merely dismissed… then his eyes widened as if an idea just came into his mind. "…Oy, guv! I've got an idea. The town I used to live ain't too far south of 'ere. How about we 'ead off down there, eh?"

"Wait, you're not talking about Pickham here, are you?" Angelo interjected.

"I am. Sure, Pickham ain't no rose garden, but it's in the middle o' nowhere, right. Even a strange old geezer like grandad would fit in no problem. This means old grandad 'ere 'll be able to get 'imself a drink! An' we might get a clue about where that Dhoulmagus 'as got to an' all."

That last statement definitely made our eyes perk up. "Wait, really!?" Aya exclaimed.

"Yup. There's a bloke there who knows ev'ryfin' about ev'ryfin'. We call 'im Brains. He's a mate o' mine. He'll know somefin'! Dead cert!" Yangus puffs up his chest proudly as he continues, "See, two birds wiv one stone, eh! I ain't just a pretty face! Come on, now! Let's get goin' south! Pickham 'ere we come!"

"I swear, if this is going to be another detour…" Trode muttered.

"I don't think it will be, Your Majesty. I'm sure of it." I said as I pulled out the map. "Yep, there's a town marked just south of here. We just need to head down through the woods over there." I pointed at it.

"…We're not seriously heading over to Pickham, right Eight!?" Jessica questioned.

"What's wrong about that? If Yangus said there's someone who knows everything, they should possibly point out to Dhoulmagus. You know I'm not losing on this opportunity." I then turned to the Gensokyo girls. "You girls are on board with me, aren't you?"

They exchanged glances, and then Reimu spoke for them while shrugging, "As long as this new destination won't detract us from our objective… then sure, we're on it."

A grin formed on my face. "Then it's settled. We're heading to Pickham."

[BGM: Fragrant Plants – Touhou: Scarlet Weather Rhapsody]

As you might expect, not too long after we entered the woods, we were attacked by new monsters. First, a bunch of Gorerillas jumped out of the trees and pulled out their clubs before charging directly at us.

"Wave Sign: Luna Wave!" Reisen called out, firing several red bullet-shaped danmaku at the Gorerillas in front, while Cirno would create a ball of ice and roll it along the ground as if it were a snowball to make it gain mass, then she hurls the now larger ice ball at the remaining ones, knocking them around like bowling pins.

"Heh, suckers!" Cirno taunted as we moved on, where we next encountered some Night Foxes. Before we even knew, one of the Night Foxes used the Mercurial Thrust skill where it would swiftly zip straight towards Youmu to strike her… but she manages to actually parry the attack with her wakizashi before cutting the Night Fox down with her katana, then Angelo finished it off with a Flame Slash. At this, some of the remaining Night Foxes began doing a Fuddle Dance that managed to confuse Angelo and lead him to attack Youmu…

"Hey, snap out of it!" but before he could do that, Youmu acted first and slashed him with her wakizashi… which caused him to immediately come to his senses, much to my surprise.

"Thank you. And now…" Angelo turned his attention back to the Night Foxes and, as payback, casted Fuddle to make them confused, where a few started to attack their own comrades while others did nothing. With that done, Angelo and Youmu looked at each other and nodded before proceeding to slash through some of the confused Night Foxes. Yangus and I decided to join in as well to take on the remaining ones, with the ex-bandit insta-killing a few of them with the Grim Reaper skill while I used a Firebird Throw at the rest.

"Very impressive, managing to counter a Mercurial Thrust right there." Angelo complimented Youmu once all the Night Foxes were history. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone do that."

"You could say that I excel in anything involving fast reflexes." Youmu smirked… but then Angelo began to suddenly stagger, as if he was in minor discomfort. "Oh… I was afraid that would eventually come." Youmu sighed. What did she mean by that?

"It's no big deal… I can just heal myself." Angelo said and casted Heal on himself, recovering quickly. "See?"

"…Well, good on you!" Youmu smiled as we resumed our trek… until Reimu suddenly got hit by a stone thrown at her.

"Ow! Who did that!?" she asked as the culprit revealed itself to be a Hood, who began flexing at her. "Oh, you're asking for it!" she retorted, flying closer to the Hood. "Treasure Sign: Yin-Yang Treasured Orb!" she thrusts the palm of her free hand at its chest, where a large glowing orange yin-yang orb materialized from it that utterly destroyed the monster as it got launched away and exploded.

"Cor… Ain't that goin' a bit overboard?" Yangus asked Reimu as she flew back to us.

"I just don't like to be disturbed." Reimu replied with a huff as we continued, eventually arriving a lakeside. As we did, a group of Paprikans came out and stood there grinning at us as if they were plotting something.

"Leave them to me!" Aya said. "Whirl Sign: Fluttering Fey Fan!" she flies up in the air and launches razor-sharp wind gusts that flew in an erratic pattern, managing to take out a few of the Paprikans. The ones that managed to dodge made their retaliation move: launching a Fizzle spell at Aya, sealing off her other spell cards. "Crap!"

"Don't worry, I got them!" Marisa exclaimed. "Black Magic: Event Horizon!" dozens of colorful star-shaped danmaku completely surrounded and trapped the remaining Paprikans, limiting their movement and thus eliminating all of them.

With those guys out of the way, we traversed the rest of the woods until we finally found a dirt road we can follow. After all, dirt roads always lead to towns. But not too soon after we stepped on the road, the next group of monsters appeared by literally jumping in front of us: Headhunters. The ones in front proceeded to swing their axes at us, but we dodged them as Jessica casts Bang at them, damaging them all… only for them to heal back up with their own Medicinal Herbs.

"What!?" Jessica exclaimed.

"They have Medicinal Herbs!?" Reisen asked.

"Well, then I'll just take them all out at once!" Remilia grinned, tossing her parasol into the air to go for a spell card. "Heaven's Punishment: Star of David!" she called out, firing a combination of blue danmaku and red lasers, instantly killing all the Headhunters in a single blow.

"…I guess that takes care of them." I said with a shrug as we resumed following the road, and as we got closer to the town of Pickham, the final monster we encountered showed itself up: a Minidemon. The little guy launched a Frizzle spell at us, but we easily avoided it as Jessica casted Crack at it to freeze it in place.

"I'll finish this." Alice stepped in. "Magic Sign: Artful Sacrifice." she throws a doll at the Minidemon that exploded on contact with it, killing it.

[BGM End]

"That should be the last of 'em." Yangus said. "And good thing too; we're almost there at my 'ometown!" he pointed over as we made our way to it.

"Do you think I'll really be able to walk around that town without any problems?" Trode questioned. "How can I be sure to trust the likes of you, Yangus? Oh, I don't know…!"

Yangus sighed in exasperation. "Yer an ungrateful one, ain't ya!? Here I am tryin' to be nice, an' wot thanks do I get!? If I'd known you'd be this much of a pain, I wouldn't 'ave bothered, grandad!"

Trode's eye twitched. "Will you STOP calling me grandad!?" he snapped, making Medea give out an irritable snort while rolling her eyes. "You're no child of my precious Medea! So address me as 'Your Majesty' or 'King', understand!?"

"Ugh, some king he is…" Jessica rolled her eyes. "But still, it's so weird to see King Trode suddenly go off in a sulk like that."

"True, he's usually so full of beans and everything." Remilia threw in. "I guess he must be starting to feel the pressure or something."

"Hopefully going to that town might cheer him up a bit." Reisen hoped.

"You know, I had been starting to wonder whether King Trode really is a king, but that little display has taken care of any doubts." Angelo said. "That kind of self-centredness smacks of royalty, that's for sure."

"In fact, I've been wondering if he was always like this to begin with." Reimu said.

"Funny you should ask that, Reimu… But he wasn't. At least from my experience while growing up in Trodain." I replied. "Before the curse happened, he was a very good monarch; He always cared about the well-being of his kingdom and especially his own daughter. However, now that he's been cursed into a hideous form, he's trying so hard to be taken seriously that he comes off as egotistical and sometimes narcissistic as a result."

"Oh…"

"That's exactly why I'm sayin' we should go to Pickham." Yangus spoke up. "Grandad's upset 'cos 'e always gets treated like a monster, an' is forced to stay outside of towns 'cause of that. But if 'e can go to Pickham and 'ave a drink, then 'e's sure to brighten up; nowhere better than a pub to brighten a man's spirit, ain't that right, Angelo?" he lightly elbows Angelo at the last sentence.

"Okay, don't get me wrong, I might know all about the healing effects of a pub… but why on Pickham of all places!? Surely there's a better one than that!?" Angelo questioned. "Mark my words, because we're talking about a town run entirely by bandits, and you certainly know that nothing good comes out of them."

"'ey, I know that bandits are a bad thing comin' from wealthy people like you… but I turned out alright, eh? Look, people say ta me Pickham's full o' crooks and the like, but it ain't a bad place. Again, it's not the fanciest place, but I can guarantee that they ain't gonna kick up a fuss 'bout any funny-lookin' people like the ol' codger 'imself, an' that's the important thing!"

Trode then sighed, apparently finally giving in. "Okay! Okay! Sure, whatever!"

It was at this moment that we finally arrived at the entrance of Pickham; as expected from a poor town, it had no entry gate and so we could make out the worn-down houses up ahead. "Well, we're here." I said, then I turned to Yangus. "Yangus, you might as well take the lead for us – this is your hometown, after all."

"Leave it ta me, guv! Don't worry, yer king's gonna be right as rain in 'ere!" Yangus replied, giving me a friendly pat on the back… which made me stagger a bit, but I gave a light amused chuckle in response. With that, we walked into the town.

[BGM: Chatting – Dragon Quest XI S]

Like I stated earlier, all the houses were worn-down and looked like they've seen better days. In fact, the appearance of this entire town could be summed up like that. All the streets were incredibly narrow and there were alleys everywhere, which definitely fits a town inhabited by beggars and thieves and the like. Despite all of that, there were still a decent number of merchants and stalls like in any other town we've been to, and the residents, who have the reputation of being villainous and unsavory by the rich people, did not bat a single eye at us as we made our way carefully through the main street.

"Well Yangus, at least you were right about something! No one here so much as bats an eyelid at me!" Trode noted, cheering up as we walked past the marketplace. "So…the pub awaits! I'll go on ahead. I wouldn't want to get in your way. You go and find this Brains fellow. I'll be waiting for your report!" and so, he and Medea make their way ahead to find the local pub.

"Waitin'? Boozin' more like!" Yangus snorted, then he looked at me. "Come on, guv! Let's forget about 'im an' 'ead over to Brains's. Some of us 'ave gotta keep our minds on the job, eh? We gotta find that Dhoulmagus."

"You got it." I nodded.

"You two can go on ahead." Angelo said. "The rest of us will stay by the marketplace and buy some supplies."

"Okay, then we'll see you all later." with that said, I and Yangus turned around and walked away.

"I was one 'ell of a thief back when I was livin' 'ere. A real top-class bandit." Yangus told me as he led me down another narrow street. "But I got fed up wiv all that criminal stuff, so I decided to wash me 'ands of it an' leave Pickham for good."

"And that led to us meeting for the first time back then, right?" I recalled.

"Yup." Yangus then took a moment to look around his surroundings. "Goddess, 'ow long's it been since I was last 'ere, I wonder? It feels funny bein' back, I can tell ya!"

I gave an amused laugh. "I can tell!"

Yangus looked back at me with a smile. "Yer such a cheerful fella, eh guv? Just lookin' at you 'appy like that makes me 'eart warm up inside." Huh, I knew I was quite cheerful myself, but I never imagined that I could put a smile on people's faces so easily… Perhaps it's my innocence and optimism that does it?

"H-Hold up, you two!" just then, we stopped as we heard a familiar voice from behind us. Turning around, we were surprised to see Youmu running towards us and stopping to catch her breath once she was close enough. "Huff… puff… I've finally caught up…"

"Youmu?" I asked. "What brings you here with us?"

"I decided to go with you after my friends began making fun of me yet again…"

We both blinked. "Pardon? Makin' fun of ya?" Yangus tilted his head.

Youmu sighed and folded her arms. "How should I put this… You two might have noted how unique each of us from Gensokyo are in terms of personalities, right? Well… I tend to be perhaps the most straightforward out of all of us; the one that takes things more seriously and not thinking too hard on them. Thus, I come across as simple and naïve to them and start picking on or even bullying me as a result. Right now, it got to the point where I'd rather accompany you two than sticking with them."

"Oh… I see." I frowned.

"I feel ya, kiddo." Yangus sighed sadly. "I 'ave been through the same thing too, after all."

Youmu smiled amusedly. "I appreciate your sympathy, but I'm not really a kid. I'm over 50 years old."

Yangus' eyes widened. "Wot!? That much!?"

"Honestly, considering that you belong to an unusual species, I'm not surprised." I admitted.

"Well, it is one of the perks of me being half-phantom, as phantoms naturally don't have distinct lifespans." Youmu replied.

"Makes sense. But back to that previous topic… Aren't you bothered by all the constant teasing you get?"

"Well, about that… I tend to not demonstrate that when I'm with my friends, since even my mistress, Yuyuko, teases me whenever we interact. However, sometimes it does come at a point where it annoys me and I wish it would just stop already. Like, everyone in Gensokyo who knows me would always refer me as 'That absent-minded gardener of the Netherworld'… despite the fact that I don't really work as a gardener, and instead I'm supposed to be a swordsmanship tutor. Doesn't help the fact that I don't possess any of those amazing powers that my friends have."

"Oh, right… Your ability is just handling sword techniques, correct?" I asked, recalling what Reimu had told me at the very beginning of our journey.

"Yep. And even so, my training in swordsmanship is still considered incomplete because my disappeared teacher, Youki, has left me without teaching me everything about the way of the sword. As a result, I had to train to become stronger all by myself and come up with techniques of my own to become who I am today." she crestfalls as she stops walking, leading me and Yangus to stop as well. "But with all the people in Gensokyo treating me as some kind of joke… What did I ever do to deserve this? Why won't they take me seriously? Am I not…capable enough?"

"Youmu…" I started to sympathize with her as well, and so I knelt down and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't say that. I saw the way you fought all those monsters we encountered throughout our journey so far… and you got some pretty amazing skills, I must say!"

"I agree wiv that too, especially when you yerself stated that you're good wiv fast reflexes!" Yangus threw in. "If all that ain't considered capable ta me… I dunno wot else is! And if yer friends don't think the same… Well, it's their loss."

I playfully rolled my eyes at that. "Anyway…" I spoke to Youmu. "I think you're perfectly capable already, and there's still room for improvement."

"Really? Why do you think that?" Youmu asked.

"Because you said it yourself; you dedicated yourself to training and learning sword techniques all on your own. And the way you demonstrated your fighting skills on the monsters shows that all your dedication to build these up had paid off in the end. It's a long way to achieve what you truly want, but if you have the strength to keep going and never give up, all of that becomes worth it."

"Eight…"

"Your training might be considered incomplete, but I'd say you've managed to accomplish most of it already. All you need is to remember this: good rewards always come through hard work and dedication."

After I said those words, Youmu looked like she was really inspired by them for the way she kept looking at me. Then, out of nowhere… she hugs me. And that's where I felt her body temperature; it was a bit lower than a regular human's, which makes sense considering she's technically half-dead.

"…Thank you." Youmu spoke with a sniffle. "I'll gladly keep those words in mind. Not even Youki would say something like this, to be completely honest."

"Is that so? How was he like before making you his successor?" I asked as I hugged her back.

"As far as I can remember, he was very stubborn, prideful and sometimes intimidating. And when he did give me lessons, he hardly ever spoke anything… but when he does, he would only say a few words in a thundering voice."

"Dang, so you 'ad quite a serious teacher, eh?" Yangus said with a chuckle, causing Youmu and I to crack a laugh together as we broke from the hug.

"You two are just so lively when you interact together, huh?" Youmu smiled. "*sigh* If only I and Mistress Yuyuko had this same type of chemistry as well…"

"Sounds like you're incredibly loyal and devoted to your mistress, am I right?" I guessed.

"You bet I am. Even though I have to deal with her carefree-ness all the time, I still enjoy being her bodyguard. Besides, Youki was her former servant, so I'm merely following in his footsteps."

"Ah, I see it now."

"That aside, I feel much better now. Thanks for cheering me back up, Eight!"

"Hey, I 'elped out too!" Yangus chimed in.

Youmu giggled. "Right, you too, Yangus."

"That's more like it! Now come on, we should resume lookin' for Brains."

"Sure!" I said as I stood up to my full height and resumed following Yangus, with Youmu by my side. "Say, Youmu…" I looked down at her. "Now that you're with me on your own, I've been curious about something…"

"Oh? What is it?" Youmu wondered.

"Back during the fight against the Night Foxes, you gave Angelo a quick cut with your wakizashi and he immediately snapped out of his confusion. Is there something special about it?"

"Ah, you mean the Hakurouken?"

"Eh? Yer sword 'as a name?" Yangus asked.

"Oh, right, I never told you about this. See, both of my swords have a name each." she first pokes the handle of her katana strapped to her back. "The Roukanken, forged by youkai, is said to have the power to kill ten phantoms in one slice."

Both I and Yangus were taken aback by that. "Wot!? That's insane!" Yangus exclaimed.

"However…this claim is quite debatable, since one can't actually kill phantoms. But one thing's certain; the things that cannot be cut by the Roukanken, are close to none."

"So, in other words, it can cut through anything?" I claimed.

"Pretty much."

"Wow…"

"And for the other one, the Hakurouken…" Youmu then pokes the handle of her wakizashi, which was strapped to her lower back. "This is the ancestral sword of the Konpaku family, passed down through generations. As for what it does, you already saw it before; it can dispel the confusion of those it cuts."

"Ah, so that explains it!"

"And… wot about the part where Angelo began to stagger in discomfort shortly after?" Yangus asked.

"Oh, that's due to the fact that using the Hakurouken on humans will cause them a bit of pain and discomfort." Youmu answered.

"Oh, okay."

"The Roukanken and the Hakurouken… They're both very dear to me. I never ever leave the Netherworld without them."

"You must take really good care of them, then." I smiled.

"I sure do." Youmu nodded, then she sighed sadly. "But even though I'm fine with training with them on my own, I still wish I had a training partner…"

"Hmm…" I pondered… and then an idea came to me. "You know… As a royal guard of Trodain, I do some sword training often. And since I'm interested in improving my sword skills, you don't mind if someday we…"

Before I could finish, Youmu immediately caught on and finished my sentence, "…Spar with each other!? Yes! I would love to!" she squealed as her eyes sparkled. "And while we're at it, I could teach you about dual-wielding too!"

"Dual-wielding, you say? Huh, I actually never thought about this…"

Yangus playfully elbowed me. "Hey, ya should definitely give it a try, guv! Nothin' 'urts 'bout learnin' new stuff, eh?"

I chuckled before turning back to Youmu. "Sure, I could give it a try."

"Then it's settled!" Youmu winked… and it was at this moment that Yangus led us to the rooftops. "Uh, why are we going up the roof?" Youmu asked.

"In order ta access Brains's, we need to 'ead through an openin' on the rooftops." Yangus replied as we began walking through the narrow winding paths over the rooftops, being mindful of not accidentally falling off.

"But if this Brains is so useful, why does he live in an almost hard-to-enter place?" I wondered.

"I believe it's a sort o' test from 'im. If ya can find 'im and get 'ere, then you can see 'im. Otherwise, you ain't 'worthy' or somethin'. B'sides, it's a way to stop everyone from buggin' 'im all the time so they only come to 'im if it's urgent."

"…I guess that makes sense."

Soon enough, we came upon a flat roof that had some steps on the floor leading inside. We went in as Yangus quickly made his way over to a door at the end of a short corridor and knocked on it… but there was no answer.

"Oi! Brains! You there? It's me, your ol' pal Yangus!" Yangus called out loudly as he gave another knock, but there was still no answer from the other side as he decided to just open the door and peek inside while I and Youmu stood waiting… but it didn't take long for Yangus to shut the door back and turn to us. "Well, this is Brains's gaff, but it looks like 'e ain't 'ome."

I and Youmu glanced at each other and sighed exasperatedly. "Great…now what?" I questioned.

"Oh well. We better get back to the pub an' ask the old codger wot 'e wants to do."

"Not much choice, I guess." Youmu shrugged, and so Yangus lead us both back outside and eventually to the local pub, where Medea and the wagon stood just outside of it. "Wait… I need to stay outside, right?" Youmu asked.

"Nah, there's no need to." Yangus said. "Like I said before, no one's gonna bat an eye at a little girl enterin' a pub." Wow, are the people in Pickham really that apathetic? I'm not complaining, though.

"If you say so…" and then we entered the pub.

[BGM: Boogie-Woogie in the Bar – Dragon Quest VIII]

Honestly, this pub looked quite respectable for a poor-looking town like Pickham: it only had two broken windows, there weren't many stains on the walls, and the whole place was quiet compared to some of the rowdy pubs we've been to so far in our journey, yet still not as quiet as the oppressive ones where everyone would stare at you. This pub definitely feels like one where you could just sit down for a drink to drown your sorrows or gently drink yourself into a stupor, which is probably what Trode seemed intent on doing.

Speaking of Trode, we would look ahead of us and spot him sitting at the bar's counter staring at his drink. And judging from the empty bottle next to him, it definitely wasn't his first. He seemed to be muttering about something, so we cautiously approached him in order to not disturb him and listened:

"It never used to be this difficult to get a drink… Another thing that wretched Dhoulmagus is responsible for! Confound him and confound this curse! But it's Medea who's really suffering. Turned into a horse just when she was betrothed to be married…" then, he somehow sensed our presence and turned his head around to look at us. "Oh! You're back already! That was unduly expedient of you. So, have you found out where Dhoulmagus is?"

The three of us exchanged nervous glances. "Well, about that…" I began nervously. "We-"

*NEIIIIIGH!*

[BGM End]

Suddenly, I was cut off by a horse neigh coming from outside, soon followed by sounds of hooves and what appears to be a creaking cart. Wait…a horse neigh!? Oh, no…

"What was that!? I thought I heard Medea…" Trode said while glancing at the exit, before he quickly jumped out of his seat and rushed outside without another word.

"I didn't like the sound o' that, guv!" Yangus exclaimed. However, I wasn't listening to him; I was standing there, paling in horror… and before I knew it, I found myself rushing outside after Trode.

"Eight, wait up!" Youmu called out from behind me as she and Yangus ran after me.

Unfortunately, once we were outside… it was already too late. Both Medea and the wagon were nowhere to be seen. "Medea! Where's Medea!? She's gone!" Trode cried.

Yangus' eyes widened up in realization. "…Uh-oh! Guess I shoulda known better." he spoke up as we all stopped and looked at him. "People round 'ere don't care where ya come FROM, they care about wot ya come WIV!"

I facepalmed at the most obvious statement to ever come out of him. 'Seriously, Yangus, have you forgotten what thieves even ARE!?' I thought annoyed.

Meanwhile, Trode was trembling furiously. "Are you saying some ninny-hammer crook from this slum has kidnapped my daughter!?" he growled.

"Oh, keep yer 'air on, grandad!" Yangus soothed. "Whoever it was can't o' gone far… They'll still be in town somewhere."

"Well we must find them then! Forget everything else! Getting Medea back is all that matters!" Trode then turns to me. "Well what are you waiting for, Eight!? You heard me didn't you!? We must find the culprit immediately and save my precious daughter!"

Youmu began reaching for her swords. "Whoever did this unacceptable act, they're going to pay… Uh?" but suddenly, she froze when her left hand grasped nothing but air… and that's where I noticed that the Hakurouken wasn't strapped to her back. Ah, crap… she got robbed too!? "Wha… Where is it…?" she wondered as she fumbled around her lower back in a panic. "Where's my Hakurouken!?"

"Hakurouken…? Oh, that's one of yer swords, ain't it?" Yangus said, then he realized, "Wait… Ah, shoot…!"

At this, Youmu began crying what the Author always describes as anime-like tears while a depressed aura surrounded her. "My precious family heirloom…now stolen from me…" she stumbles to the ground on her knees. "Why me…?!" Gosh, now I'm starting to feel bad for her…

"…Alwright, that's it!" Yangus snapped. "I can't stand someone robbin' a poor little girl like this!" he turns to me. "Guv, let's go search fer the culprit right away!"

"Right!" I nodded. "But… where should we start looking?"

"Er… Now that you said it, I 'ave no idea either. In fact, we don't even know if the culprit who took the 'orse-princess is the same one who took the sword…"

"We don't have time for idle chit-chat!" Trode interjected, stomping his foot angrily and impatiently. "My precious Medea has been kidnapped! So stop dallying and find her at once!"

"And my Hakurouken too!" Youmu added as she stood back up.

I and Yangus sweatdropped. "Okay, okay! We're going!" and we all began moving.

"Heeeeey!" just then, Cirno's voice shouted as we looked over to see the rest of the Gensokyo girls, along with Jessica and Angelo, coming over to us.

"There you are! We've been looking all over for you!" Reisen said.

"Good to see you all again." I said, only to frown immediately after. "Unfortunately, you came at a bad time."

"Why? What happened?" Reimu asked, and I proceeded to tell them the bad news.

"What!? Medea was kidnapped and one of Youmu's swords got stolen!?" Aya exclaimed.

"That's wot 'appened." Yangus nodded, before he began muttering in despair, "Cor, I must be losin' it! No one would ever 'ave got away wiv pinchin' an 'orse or a sword from under me nose back in the old days! I might've pinched one from under someone else's mind, but that's totally different!"

Angelo groaned as he confronted Yangus. "See, I warned you! I've been saying how dangerous this place is, and you didn't listen! Now we're in this mess because we stayed too long!"

"Too long? We've barely been 'ere an 'our!"

"We should have never come here! I knew it was a mistake from the start!"

"Oy, we needed the information 'bout Dhoulmagus! We can't just go wandering 'round the world aimlessly 'til we find 'im!"

"But you just said this Brains fellow isn't home, didn't you? So not only did we not get the information, but now we've lost our old equipment and Medea as well!"

"Alright, break it up, you two!" Jessica yelled as she got in between Yangus and Angelo and pushed them away. "Arguing isn't going to get anything done. We need to find out who stole the Princess and Youmu's weapon and why. What if it was Dhoulmagus!? Don't you think there's a possibility that he's behind this?"

"I don't think it was his doing." Youmu said. "Because if that was the case, I would've sensed him sneaking behind me and stealing my Hakurouken, even if he was invisible."

"Oh, that's right… You have strong sensitivity, correct?" Jessica recalled, as Youmu nodded in response.

"Wait, so you're telling me that you can sense an evil wizard… but you can't sense an ordinary thief sneaking up on you?" Reimu questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't ask me why…" Youmu groaned.

"Anyway, we should focus on finding the culprit behind Medea's kidnapping and Youmu's stolen sword right now." I spoke up. "How about we split up into groups to cover more ground quickly and ask around?"

"Good idea, guv." Yangus agreed. "But I guarantee ya; the people 'ere are definitely goin' to ask fer cash before givin' us any information…"

"Say what!?" Angelo exclaimed. "Nuh-uh! Absolutely not! We are not going to pointlessly spend our money after we have just come back from shopping for new stuff!"

"We have no other option, Angelo." I replied. "If we don't pay for information, we won't get any information. And if we don't get information soon then we won't get Medea and Youmu's sword back. Right now, we have to do everything in our power to get them back, so we can worry about anything else later, okay?"

"No, it's not okay!"

"He's right, you know." Alice told him. "It's the way this place works. We have to do it, or else we'll end up nowhere."

"*sigh* I knew this was a bad idea…" Angelo sighed irritably, brushing his hair out of his face. "If we hadn't come here, none of this would've happened."

"So you keep saying that…" Marisa rolled her eyes. "But going on about it won't do us any good! We need to get Medea and Youmu's sword back, and that means doing as Eight had suggested!"

"Exactly!" Remilia threw in. "And maybe you could start by dropping off this superior attitude of yours! What else do you know if you've never left the Abbey before? What makes you such an expert in the first place? But most importantly… Why don't you just lay off Eight a bit and start thinking about how to get our stolen things back?"

Angelo was about to retort something, but stopped as if he knew that what Remilia said was right. "…Fine. Let's just get this over with." he said coldly.

Now that this heated argument was finally done (hopefully), we all followed my suggestion and split off, with me deciding to stick with Yangus, Youmu and Trode.

A few minutes later…

Yangus was right; every time we wanted to get information from the beggars, we had to pay them some gold. But hey, at least it was better than not getting any information at all. In the end, my group found out that the one who stole both Medea and Hakurouken was a thief named Mitts, who was hiding in a hut that was right next to the watchtower. With the information and directions given, we made our way to it and crept inside so as to not make any noise; we wanted to catch the thief unnoticed, after all.

And there he was: Mitts was at the far corner of the room, sitting down while holding a bag that definitely contained gold. Glancing at each other and nodding, we crept closer to him as we heard him muttering something and not paying attention to his surroundings.

"…Nine 'undred 'n' ninety eight…nine 'undred 'n' ninety nine…nine 'undred 'n' ninety…er…oh, yeah! A grand! Sweet!" Mitts exclaimed delightedly, appearing to sound drunk as well. Guess he must've gone for a drink right after committing his crimes. "He knows 'is stuff, that ol' merchant! He could see 'ow much they were werf. Half-inchin' that 'orse and that sword was a piece o' cake! Easy dosh, Mitts, eh! Easy dosh! He he heh!"

"…Ahem." I cleaned my throat as sternly as I could, causing Mitts to jolt in startle and spin around before scrambling away from us until he hit a wall, where he shrunk back against it.

"Eh!? W-Who's that!? Oh, no! Y'all ain't the owners o' that 'orse an' sword, is ya!?"

"So it was you! You're the scoundrel responsible for taking the Princess!" Trode scowled as he barged past us.

Mitts jumped at the sight of Trode. "Wot the 'ell!? Get that monster away from me! Wot's it on about? Wot princess? I only knocked off an 'orse an' a li'l sword!"

"Well, that little sword happens to be an heirloom of my family!" Youmu barked.

"And who are you calling a monster!?" Trode yelled while flailing his arms frantically. "Give my Medea back right now or suffer the consequences!"

"H-Hey, easy! Take it easy! I swear!" Mitts stuttered, sweating in fear. "I didn't know! I didn't know it was no monster princess or nuffin'! Here…'ave it all! This is all the dough I got for 'em, I swear! Just don't 'urt me!" he tries to hand over all the gold, clutching at any hope to save his life.

"What!? You sold my daughter!?" Trode bellowed in fury. "That's it! Eight! Slay this worthless wastrel!"

My eyes widened, practically dropping any anger I had left in me. "Woah, woah there, Your Majesty! Resorting to violence isn't the best solution for this!" I exclaimed. "I may be your most loyal knight and obey every order you throw at me, but even I draw the line somewhere!"

"Hold yer 'orses, grandad!" Yangus exclaimed while picking up Trode, as he began struggling in the ex-bandit's grip. "Sorry…I mean, take it easy. This toerag ain't good enough for the guv's sword." after that, he placed Trode down next to me and Youmu and went to confront Mitts himself. "Awright, you! Let's 'ear it! Sell 'em down beggars' alley, did ya? To ol' Dodgy Dave, eh?"

"Y-Yeah, that's it…" Mitts replied. "Know 'im, do ya?"

"Right then, 'and over the dough! If I find out you've been tellin' me porkies, you're brown bread, d'you 'ear?"

"Look, I ain't been lyin', mister, I swear! Here…a thousand gold pieces! That's wot he gimme for 'em!" Mitts hands over the money bag, in which Yangus immediately snatches it from him before we decided to turn around and leave the hut.

"So my Hakurouken has already been sold…" Youmu sighed. "Well, at the very least he didn't steal Roukanken."

"I still can't believe my precious Medea has been SOLD! And in a black market, no less!" Trode complained.

"No need to worry!" Yangus said. "The black market geezer Mitts was talkin' about is a mate o' mine. He'll give us back the 'orse-princess an' the 'akurouken if we give 'im back the dough…I mean, money."

"Then why are we dallying around here!? We must go to this 'geezer's' shop immediately!"

"Can you lead us the way to him then, Yangus?" I requested.

"Say no more, guv! This way!" Yangus exclaimed.

Soon enough…

[Replay "Boogie-Woogie in the Bar" BGM]

I certainly did not expect that this black market business happened to be located in Pickham's other pub, the one located in the beggars' alley. Unlike the other one, this pub was actually crowded, but still fairly quiet despite that. As we got in, we did get a few discreet stares from the people before they soon turned back to their drinks or went back to sleep; their usual method of minding one's business, I presumed.

"We're 'ere ta see Dave." Yangus told the pub's barman bluntly.

"Ah, Yangus. Got some business to do as usual, eh?" the barman grinned before he raised a portion of the counter so that we could pass through and head into the door at the back. "Be my guest!"

"…Well that was easy." I remarked as we made our way to the door behind the counter without another word, where we were met with a tall and muscular bandit wearing a yellow helmet that obscured his entire head (once again, he resembled the weapon shop salesman… seriously, what's the deal with all these people resembling one another?) standing behind a counter that was loaded with chests.

"Well, well, if it ain't old Yangus! Ain't seen your mush round 'ere for a while." Dave said, leaning an arm on his counter. "Got some knocked-off gear you wanna get rid of, 'ave ya?"

"Nah, mate! Washed me 'ands of all that. I'm travellin' round wiv the guv'ner 'ere now." Yangus replied, directing to me at the last sentence. "But that's not why I'm 'ere. That legless old runt Mitts was in 'ere before sellin' you an 'orse wiv a cart an' a li'l sword, weren't 'e? It's just that we need 'em back. The 'orse belongs to the guv while the sword belongs to this girl 'ere, see. Mitts only went an' 'alf-inched 'em! I gave 'im the squeeze, an' 'e said 'e sold 'em to you. That's why we're 'ere."

"You 'ad 'em pinched by Mitts!? You!? You must be goin' soft Yangus, gettin' stitched up by someone like 'im!" Dave scolded, causing Yangus to stare down at the floor in embarrassment. "Yeah, 'e was 'ere sellin' the 'orse 'n' cart an' the sword. I gave 'im a good price for 'em. So I did have 'em, but…" he paused, as he began rubbing the back of his neck. Oh, I don't like where this is going… "I dunno 'ow to tell ya this… I sold 'em already." I knew it…

I can seriously tell that all of us did not take this news well; I had gone even paler with worry as I could even feel my heartbeat racing, but then I looked over to the others: Yangus' eyes widened as a way of showing that he now looked seriously worried for the very first time, Youmu looked like she was breathing faster as a result of her panic seeping in, and Trode was looking downright horrified, his lips and hands trembling nonstop.

"You wot!? Who to? We need 'em back, desperate like!" Yangus demanded.

"Well… I dunno 'ow to tell ya this either… I sold 'em to Red."

"YOU WOT!?" Yangus yelled, now sounding more shocked than worried as I, Youmu and Trode glanced at him in confusion. "Red!? The old artful dodger 'erself!? Yer 'avin' a giraffe, intcha?"

"Sorry Yangus, straight up. Look, it's out o' my 'ands now. You'll 'ave to sort it out yerself."

[BGM End]

"Gah, I don't believe it!" Yangus groaned as we left the pub. "Now Red's mixed up in all this… It's the last thing I wanna do right now, but we're gonna 'ave to pay 'er a visit."

"What's so bad about her?" Youmu asked.

"Ya don't wanna know, girl. Anyways, she lives in a gaff south-west o' town. Nice little pad, it is. Slap bang wallop in the middle of a lake. So come on, now! If we wanna 'elp the 'orse-princess and get this phantom girl's sword back, that's where we gotta 'ead."

"Right! To the south-west it is, then!" Trode chimed in. "We will not stop until we get my Medea back from this lady-bandit!"

"Don't forget about my Hakurouken." Youmu threw in.

"Whatever! Let's get a move on this instant!"

"At once, Your Majesty." I nodded. "But first, we better meet back up with the others before we leave."

To be continued…

Looks like the next Touhou girl to get the spotlight is Youmu! She's honestly one of my favorite Touhou characters since I found her easy to write (she has a simple and straightforward personality, after all), and I just really like the concept of her character in general too. Because the major point of the Pickham arc is about Medea getting stolen, I decided to come up with the idea of one of Youmu's swords getting stolen as well and thus lead to her character spotlight.

Eight: Hopefully we should be able to get both of what was stolen from us back as soon as possible!

I'm sure you and the others will, Eight! Stay tuned for the next chapter!

PS: You might not be aware of it yet, but I decided to change Reisen's design to that of how she first debuted in the series (the one where she wears a black business suit, which is considered an iconic feature on her). I even updated her description from the first chapter as a result.

Trivia for this chapter:

1. Youmu's line of "The things that cannot be cut by the Roukanken, are close to none." is taken directly from her debut game, Perfect Cherry Blossom. She says almost this same line right before the player begins her boss fight.