Touhou -- Aimless and Mystified Eastern Light

by HunterOfTheHunters

When Reimu and Marisa find a strange young woman sleeping near the Hakurei shrine, Gensokyo's veteran incident resolvers assume it'll be business as usual. Meanwhile, Luka is lost and confused. She doesn't know anything about youkai, gods, or anything. And now everything she thought she knew about her life has been uprooted, leaving her with only one objective: 'Find an answer'.

4. STAGE 3 - Discrepancies & Boundaries

Author's Note:

Alright, before you skip this note (like most of you will), please read this—

Important note:

As of this upload, I updated the description of Luka's outfit back in Stage 1, so if you'd like, you can reread that year-old chapter to refresh your memory. It was mostly me realizing that I'd somehow accidentally given her outfit a color palette that was INCORRECT and WRONG and holy crap, how did I not notice that until recently. But yeah, if you ever notice Luka's jacket is no longer black, congratulations! You've spotted the change in the timeline.

Okay! With that out of the way, skippers feel free to run on ahead!

They gone? Cool.

This chapter took a while to get out the door, as I'm sure you can see if you were one of the people following it up until now. There were a lot of reasons. Procrastination, stress from work, lack of time, etc. On the whole, it was mostly a result of me thinking that I could juggle all of the things I wanted to do at once in my current living situation without having to sacrifice anything.

I was completely wrong about that. So my recent comeback is mostly a result of me deciding to axe a hobby that I was super into (MFRP, for the curious) and instead fully dedicate the time I was spending on that to writing. It wasn't a very easy choice, but it got us here! In terms of actual fully-focused time, I'd say this chapter actually took about 2-3 months to crank out, if I'm going to count the time I tried to squeeze in amidst MFRP.

Anyways! Glad to say I've sorted out my schedule issues, though no word on how it'll affect my pace so far. I think by now most of you've picked up that I tend to write at my own pace. Thanks for waiting, and please enjoy Stage 3 of Aimless and Mystified Eastern Light!

---

~ STAGE 3: "Discrepancies & Boundaries" ~

[START]

---

She wakes up in her bed.

Another dream, another place she saw in that dreamlike world. A small town, but she can't remember the name. Familiar faces, but she can't remember any of them. It's not the first time it's happened. She vaguely remembers other places, too. A walk on the side of a mountain. A rowdy party someplace dark and festive. A mansion in the middle of a clearing. Vivid, yet faint. They're lost to her as soon as she finds them.

None of that poetic crap really matters, though. The dream leaves as soon as it arrives. She's just back in her room like nothing happened; just a random girl curled in sheets.

Who soon realizes she's late for work.

"Ah, crap!"

She moves quickly, shaking off the morning haze. Clean up; wash thoroughly, yet hurriedly. Change clothes; it's the same black 'uniform' as always, pairing with a jacket since it's chilly today. Breakfast; no time to cook, slap something on a bagel and run. She moves faster than her silhouette can match and is practically out the door in an instant.

Late again… It's been a recurring problem for the last few days. For whatever reason, she finds herself assaulted by a surreal brand of exhaustion at random points of the day. Even worse, it's impacting her sleeping schedule too, and she finds herself sleeping in more often, too. She's tried going to sleep early, and even overloading herself with caffeine. Neither helps. As soon as the exhaustion hits, it's like her body demands she pass out and flop over.

"Don't tell me I'm developing narcolepsy…" She grumbles inside of a peanut-butter-covered bagel, the resulting words sounding pretty much incomprehensible. Gah, she should've brought juice or something...

At the very least, it isn't an immediate problem for work. Her dad owns the pub they work at. And while she's only one of three employees, she knows business isn't going to turn overwhelming anytime soon. It's just a tiny hole-in-the-wall, after all. Really, her main concern is worrying the boss of the place.

She makes her usual commute through the bustling city streets. It seems to her like, no matter what part of it she goes through, New York is always busy, and her route will always have a crowd flowing through it. A short walk—now a run—down the street from their apartment. Colored in red-and-black, she flies around and between passersby like a ladybug, and zips through the door to the bar. As soon as she enters, someone catches her at the door.

"Morning, Luka. You alright?"

She knows it's her dad before she even so much as glances toward the gruff-looking older man. Rough as he looks, he's a friendly sort. Stone-faced as he usually is, she can usually read his subtle tells. His tone of voice, a shift in his brow, his eyes focused on her wholeheartedly; he's worried about her. Rather than being frustrated about his employee being thirty minutes late, he's more concerned about his daughter's abnormal sleeping habits.

Even if not by blood, they're a family.

(... It makes her wonder what her original family was like, to leave her alone like they did.)

—Ah. She realizes she's been standing there, staring off at a wall without responding for a solid few seconds. She scratches the back of her head. "Yeah, I think. Still not sure what's causing these sleeping spells…"

"If this keeps up, you might want to see a doctor!" Another voice interrupts them. A short distance away, there's a young man about her age at the counter, wiping down a glass. "Wouldn't want dear old Mr. Clint's daughter to turn out sick with something, would we?" He smirks. She thinks about throwing her jacket at him.

Clint huffs. "Alright Miles, you smarmy shit. You finished cleaning those glasses already?"

"Yup. Speaking of," he sneaks a glance at the front door. "Now's about the time a certain bunch of regulars are about to start coming in. We might want to set up soon."

"Yeah." Clint sighs, and he sneaks a worried glance at her. "Go ahead and get set over in the back, alright?"

She nods, and gets to work. A familiar apron slides on her, and soon the same old faces begin to trickle in. Before she knows it, it's just another day. Taking orders. Making drinks. Making food. Talking to people. Hearing about their lives. It goes by slowly and quickly all at once, and soon enough the sun outside begins to set. It's a satisfying day, all in all.

"Ah, damn…" She hears her dad casually curse over in the storage room. "Hey, Luka. Got an errand for you."

"What's up?"

"Looks like somebody screwed up somewhere in this delivery, this isn't going to be enough barley to cover us for the next week. Can you head out and get some? Here," he hands her a small note with some scribbles on it. "This amount should cover us until the next shipment. I added a few more things, if you can find them."

Luka looks over the note. "That's gonna be a train ride to the nearest homebrew place, you know. I'm probably not going to get back before closing time."

"Yeah, I know. Miles and I can cover things here for the rest of the day. You just head over and take care of this." Clint scratches his chin. "If you get back after everything's closed up, you can just drop it off in the storeroom. You got your key?"

"Yep, I've got it." She's already sliding her jacket back on. "See you in a bit, old man. Love you."

"I'm not that old. Love you too."

And she's off, just like that. She can't afford to waste much time. The trains aren't going to wait for her. Off and away, through the bustling crowds. She needs to squeeze, but she's just barely able to get through and steal a seat.

"Phew…"

The doors shut, and the train starts off. As she settles into her seat, it starts to hit her. That familiar, annoying exhaustion slowly creeps up on her. Can she even call it plain sleepiness at this point?

"(Ugh, seriously… Hope I don't have chronic exhaustion or something…)"

She catches herself nearly closing her eyes, and shakes her head. She flips open her phone, looking down at the map on the screen. She's got at least an hour and a half until the train reaches its destination. What then? Could she stay awake that long? If she passed out, would she end up sleeping through her stop? She sighs, putting her phone away as the feeling cuts through her line of thought.

The steady sounds of the running train begin to blur together. The faceless crowd around her begins to blur together. Her vision itself slowly blurs together. She tries to fight it, to stay awake. She bites at her lip a little, pinches at her arm. But her idleness as she sits in the train begins to gnaw at her consciousness.

"(Crap… Not…)"

She fights it. She fights it as best she can. But eventually, without her even realizing it, her exhaustion hits its peak, and her eyes close.

---

Luka woke up again. This time, she wasn't in her bed.

"-you sure there's nothing weird about her, z̷̡̠͛̒é̵͚̳͚͙͊̾̓̚̚-"

She winced. It sounded like someone scraped their nails against a chalkboard. It definitely didn't help her headache.

"Again, I've told you all I can. There are limits to what I can look into without literal dissection. Unless…?"

"Er, let's not. Damn, you're scary sometimes…"

Luka groaned. Can I stay out of this conversation? No? Fine, I'm getting up...

Trying to get up after a nap was always the hardest part for Luka. It was like trying to tune an old radio; a scrambled mess of sounds and signals until she could eventually turn the knob to the right place. Only this time, a dull throbbing sensation in her skull kept kicking her hand off the dial.

Eventually, she managed to regain her focus, and she slowly began to take in her environment. It looked like she was in some kind of library, with shelves stretching out into what seemed to be an infinite void of higher learning. She was lounging on something like comfy leather, like a therapy chair, positioned right next to a desk with a stack of books on it. A short distance away, huddled around a table, she could make out two distinct silhouettes. One colored in black and white, another in purple.

It took her a second, but her memory clicked back into place. Everything that had happened earlier replayed in her mind. The awakening in another weird world, flying, tea with a girl with bat wings… Then something hit the back of her head, and she woke up. Or, didn't. Maybe she was still asleep somehow. She pinched her arm. Nope, today's nightmare was still reality.

Everything seemed to match up, barring one exception: she didn't remember anyone around her speaking English before. Not fluently, anyways. That should have been the case when she went back through her memories, except it wasn't.

The recollections subtly changed. The events were the same, without any obvious differences, but what she 'heard' was different. Conversations that sounded like total gibberish flowed through her like she'd understood them from the start in proper English.

… Oh, god, that was what they were talking about earlier?

Among other things, Luka's translated memories gave her context. She recalled names being exchanged and could put faces to them. Reimu, Marisa, Patchouli, Sakuya, etcetera. Knowing that didn't explain any of the ominous, vague conversations she'd overheard, but it was something.

Speaking of. It seemed like neither the witch or the pajama girl noticed she was awake. They continued to chat away, lost in their own little conversation. Which, by itself, was also a little strange. Luka recalled some explosions being exchanged before she'd been knocked out. Whatever, that wasn't the concern right now. What really concerned her was where to go from here, especially after that 'dissection' comment. Should she make a break for it? Try to sneak out of the mansion at this point?

Or, crazy idea, approach the two over in the distance?

If they wanted to kill me, she reasoned. I probably would've gotten more than a broom to the head earlier. Plus, Marisa did shoot down the dissection bit…

It was probably fine? Maybe? Then again…

"...?" Suddenly something flitted in front of her face. It curled, then held its position.

It was a tail. A devil tail?

Then, something breathed on her neck. Right behind her.

"GAH?!" Luka rolled forward, squeaking in a totally dignified fashion as she landed on her face. She could hear some mischievous cackling through the stars in her eyes.

"Hey! Koakuma, what are you doing over there?!" Someone shouted. It sounded like Patchouli.

"Just letting you know your human experiment woke up, Lady Patchouli!" The giggles quickly grew distant, as if fleeing from any potential retribution. Yeah, you better run...

Luka grumbled, slowly rising back to her feet. She only got to see a vague flash of red hair zipping behind a distant bookshelf. Great. Now she was getting punked by devils.

"Honestly…" It seemed like Patchouli shared her exasperation. "She's always up to these foolish antics…"

"I thought it was a pretty good one." Marisa tried to hide her own laughter. Luka shot her a glare, and she cleared her throat before turning back to Patchouli. "Anyways, didn't you say it'd take her a while to wake up and process the whole language?"

Patchouli stared a hole through Luka. "Yes, I did."

So much for making a break for it.

"Uh…" Luka had a lot going on in her head. She rubbed the back of her head; should she start with the obvious question? "So, uh, you speak English now?"

"No. I'm speaking Japanese." Patchouli studied her. "As are you, from my perspective."

Luka tilted her head. "No? I'm speaking… English?" She realized her lip movements weren't matching up with what she was saying. She was saying something else entirely. And yet, it felt like the words matched up with what she meant to say. "What the hell?"

"Calm down." Patchouli huffed. "All this means is that my work was successful."

Luka hesitated to ask. "What work, exactly?"

"Careful application of phonetics and linguistics knowledge woven through your conscious and subconscious mind, so as to grant your mind a basic enough understanding of the language you're hearing, followed by some careful adjustments of the language center of your brain to both allow you to communicate verbally without issue and to understand the other language without needing to consciously perform the translation process."

Luka made a funny face.

"Magic." Marisa jumped in, waving a hand nonchalantly. "She means magic. Basically, she saved you a good couple months of Japanese 101."

Luka stared disbelievingly. "Magic, right. Sounds closer to brain surgery."

Ten questions in Luka's head turned to twenty. Before she could ask any of them, Patchouli's feet left the ground, and she hovered menacingly towards Luka.

"Uh?" Luka got ready to jump out of her chair. "Oh god, wait, I'm sorry—!"

"Don't." Patchouli ordered. "Sit still for a moment."

As if those words had a special power to them, Luka froze in place. She didn't get this 'magic' business, but she didn't think it was used to stop her just now. It was just that if Luka didn't listen to such a simple instruction, parts of her were going to be passed around as afternoon reading snacks.

Patchouli floated right up, leaning her face dangerously close to Luka's. Her eyes bore holes through her, like she was expecting something to jump out of Luka's body. Then, she started circling her, poking and prodding with no seeming rhyme or reason.

"Uh." Luka's face warmed up and her patience thinned. "E-Excuse me. Can you, maybe watch some of the places you're touching? I'm going to get mad."

"My, Lady Patchouli, so forward..." muttered a familiar impish voice from a distant bookshelf.

Patchouli ignored both of them. Her brows furrowed and she snapped her fingers. There was a loud noise, and the impish voice squealed from afar, shouting out a hasty apology. Looking satisfied, Patchouli continued probing Luka. "Fire… and Moon…"

Luka decided to stay quiet for the rest of the procedure.

"... Hm." Eventually, that hell ended, and Patchouli backed off. She disinterestedly floated back to Marisa. "I thought there might be something interesting, given how quickly she processed an entire language. Nothing. As far as a cursory glance can tell, she's neither noteworthy or irregular."

"Thanks?" Luka took it as a compliment.

Marisa cupped her chin, as if she was thinking about something. "Huh. I was wondering, since she looked a little Japanese…"

"Mm?" Patchouli hummed inquisitively.

The witch and pajama-mage soon went off into their own little chat. Luka stared at them from afar, not sure where to even begin with her questions.

"Probably not my place to comment, but," Luka said. "You two seem pretty agreeable for a pair who tried to kill each other a few minutes ago."

The two turned to her.

"Well, it wasn't really killing. More like a game." Marisa shrugged.

"Indeed." Patchouli nodded. "We were only settling a dispute through a Spell Card duel. A simple game. It's a natural part of living here, though I can't fault an outsider for not understanding."

And right back to their conversation. Like she hadn't even said anything.

Luka had so much to say about that, it wasn't even funny. Firstly, there was no way something as serious-looking as that was just as casual as playing a game to settle a dispute. That would've been playing rock-paper-scissors to decide where to go for lunch. No, what she'd seen was, without a doubt, a fight to the death. Sure, both of them were still alive, so it technically wasn't that, but that was like the distinction between attempted murder and murder.

Twenty questions doubled into fourty, and Luka got ready to cash in.

Then. It was just for a split second. For just a split second, everything 'stopped'. It was so fast and sudden Luka wasn't sure it even happened; like a video buffering for a fraction of a second. Wait, didn't this happen before?

A soft tap came from behind Luka, and Patchouli and Marisa's now-moving eyes moved to the source.

"Oh," Marisa said. "What's up Sakuya?"

Luka, reacting last, turned around to find a vaguely-familiar, silver-haired maid standing half-a-foot over her. Right in front of her. Right in front of her.

M'am, your chest—

"Gah!" Luka snapped backwards, landing on her butt. "Stop that!"

Sakuya looked down at her, tilting her head slightly. "Hm? Stop what?"

"Stop… that!" Luka jutted a finger at her, like that would somehow explain it. "You did it earlier, now you're doing it again! That 'thing', stop it!"

"Hm?" Sakuya raised her eyebrows. "I'm not quite sure I understand what you mean. You want me to 'stop it' again?"

"No, what are you even saying?!" You…" Luka ran out of steam, and let herself flop onto the floor. "Forget it. Just forget it."

The maid smiled. Luka couldn't tell if it was the smile of an awkward airhead who had no idea what she was saying, or the knowing smile of a devious, teleporting cleaning lady. She didn't even care at this point.

"Given our guest here seems to be speaking properly," Sakuya said. "Would I be correct in assuming you've finished your business?"

Marisa nodded. "Yep. Has Reimu finished interrogating Remi yet?"

"If you're referring to their conversation in the guest room, then yes." Sakuya's dignified smile never seemed to falter. Luka wasn't sure if she was just naturally graceful or concealing something. Maybe it was a knife. That would've been morbidly funny to see. "I was sent here to inform you that the shrine maiden is currently waiting for you back in the main hall, along with Lady Remilia."

Luka vaguely recalled a tired-looking girl in red-and-white and a smug-looking rich girl with bat wings. Only just now did she realize the two were nowhere to be found.

"Huh, already?" Marisa cupped her chin. "That was pretty fast. What was she asking about…?"

"Who knows." Luka rose from the floor with a grunt, dusting herself off. "I just know I'd rather not hang around this haunted house any longer than I need to." She stopped short. "Er," she glanced nervously at Sakuya. "No offense."

"Oh, don't worry about that." Sakuya lightly laughed. "If it were that easy to offend me, I'd have carved you into a fine meal for the mistress by now."

"—" Luka suddenly found her earlier thought more morbid than funny. "Okay."

"Yo, Sakuya," Marisa was already marching ahead of them. She glanced back, poking a thumb behind her and toward a large set of doors. "If you're done picking on the newbie?"

"Of course. Right this way." Sakuya led the way, prim-and-proper, as though she hadn't just threatened to serve Luka with a side of coq au vin. Luka wasn't sure how to feel about that.

Actually, Luka wasn't sure how to feel about anything right now. From the moment she woke up, she'd been locking down feelings of uncertainty and fear. Wasn't that pretty natural in a situation like this? It was probably a little more miraculous she wasn't freaking out. A normal person would've probably gone into the fetal position by now. Fortunately (for once), her tolerance for things like this was a little different than normal.

Either way, she'd just have to keep all of that under lock a little longer. Breaking down wouldn't fix anything. And if she was reading the situation correctly, she was already on her way out. 'Just stay calm and work with what you have. Never panic when things get rough.' She remembered her dad saying something like that once.

Thinking about it, she could also hear him shouting 'That advice was for dealing with rowdy drunks and violent punks! The hell're you doing, kid?!' or something like that. It made her smile a little, which was kind of unnerving, but it also calmed her down. She could focus on getting back to that. All of this would just be a funny story to share when she got back home.

With Marisa already ahead of her, Luka walked after the pair, and back into the mansion's corridors.

---

A short while ago…

Reimu had a bad feeling.

From the moment she'd walked into the vampire's manor, she'd had that feeling. It wasn't something that could be put into words. It was like a hunch, a gut feeling that something was wrong. That feeling started from a pretty simple observation.

"You knew we were coming, didn't you?"

Seated at a table, Reimu stared questioningly at her host. Both she and the vampire had moved from the library where Marisa and Patchouli were working and into a smaller room… somewhere else in the mansion. Trying to figure out where she was in this place was always a headache. Just another reason why she didn't make a habit of visiting this place.

The other reason was sitting across from her, a haughty smile on her face. Remilia Scarlet laughed vaguely, like that somehow made her more mysterious. "My, what gives you that impression?

"Well for starters, that laugh tells me pretty plainly you know something I don't." Reimu squinted. "Secondly, you greeting us at the door so suddenly wasn't very subtle."

Honestly, she hated dealing with youkai, especially powerful ones. They rarely needed to directly show off their strength to create fear, and many decided to make a game out of playing with people instead. This one in particular, fitting to her childish appearance, was always looking for ways to avoid boredom.

A normal human would be paralyzed with fear being in this situation, like a mouse cornered by a stray cat. Reimu just felt irritated.

The vampire seemed to notice that, and took enjoyment in it. "I'm glad to see you're as observant as ever. It would be a shame if the shrine maiden let something like that slip past her."

"Was that supposed to be some kind of praise?" Reimu felt herself growing exhausted already. "Whatever, just answer my question."

"Why so hasty? Can't the lady of the house enjoy having guests over?" Yet another laugh. At least one of them was having fun here. "Maybe I was. Or maybe I wasn't. I am a vampire, after all; my network of information is certainly wide and vast enough to inform me that some humans are approaching my domain."

"So someone tipped you off."

"I didn't say that."

"You're playing to it."

Reimu cupped her chin, staring into the table. The implication that Remilia had been informed of her and Marisa's arrival had a ton of other implications attached to it. To start, someone would had to have been watching them or know they would have been headed to the Scarlet Manor ahead of time. And since the latter hinged on Marisa having the idea to take Luka there, it was just too far-fetched to consider.

"When were you told?" Reimu's eyes returned to Remilia.

"Hm…" Remilia angled her eyes upward and around. "I wonder..."

Reimu frowned. "Don't play coy. You either know something, or you don't."

"My, so forceful. Is that how one should ask a favor of an all-powerful, all-knowing vampire?" Remilia postured. "Perhaps, if it's knowledge you seek, I might be willing to share… if you swear a blood oath to me, and become my-"

"'Servant', right? Pass." Reimu frowned. "I have enough trouble as it is, I don't need cleaning your mansion on top of it." Remilia fake-pouted in response.

Remilia was obviously trying to throw her off. She could tell. Someone tipped her off, but they clearly didn't want anyone knowing any specifics about their identity. Who could have that kind of information so readily available? Especially when it concerned activity on the barrier.

Reimu pondered. She dwelled on it. And then, it hit her. She was actually a little mad she hadn't put it together sooner.

"I see." She stood up from her chair, and bowed politely to Remilia. "Thank you for answering my questions, but I really should get going."

"Leaving so soon? What a shame." So said Remilia, as she merely smiled. "Might I ask why?"

Reimu turned away and began walking for the door, but not before answering:

"I have to track down a certain gap youkai."

---

Double-check the pockets… Nope, still no phone. Where'd it go? Screw it, worry about it later.

The walk back was pretty uneventful. Luka was starting to worry that they were going in circles after the third time they passed the same fairy fighting a dust bunny to the death, but neither Sakuya or Marisa seemed worried.

"This place isn't non-Euclidean, is it?" Luka half-joked.

"Sometimes." Sakuya said.

"... Oh."

That… shouldn't have been possible in real, physical reality. Not without someone quite literally bending space-time. Or this could be a place that didn't obey the laws of physics, but that probably wasn't the case. Probably.

Luka thought back to that earlier teleporting trick the maid pulled. She opened her mouth to speak, only to close it. Better to not think too hard about it. Pretty soon, it wouldn't matter.

Speaking of questions. Marisa shot her an odd look. She'd been doing that since they arrived. What was her deal? Once they regrouped with Reimu, Luka intended to ask about that.

It didn't take too long.

"Took you long enough." Reimu narrowed her eyes. She looked like she was in a bad mood.

"Hey, it's not our fault you don't have an appreciation for taking the scenic route." Marisa said.

Sakuya frowned. "I was quite careful to make you the fastest route I could."

('Make?' No, ignore it.)

Reimu sighed. "It doesn't matter. Is she able to speak Japanese now, Marisa?"

Marisa's shoulders slumped. "Unfortunately, we totally botched it. She's stuck speaking Mandarin for the rest of her life."

"Oh, so it worked."

Luka stared. "You know you can just ask me, right?"

"Ah, it definitely worked, then." Reimu nodded casually, like someone confirming their house keys were still in their pocket. "Good. Let's not stay any longer than we need to." She gave a light bow to Sakuya. "Right, thank you for your cooperation and so on. We'll be on our way now."

"Of course." The maid returned the bow. "The Hakurei Shrine maiden is always welcome here."

Marisa gave a lopsided smile. "What, I'm not welcome?"

Sakuya's smile seemed a little tight-lipped. "You'd break in anyways, so it'd be a pointless gesture."

Marisa hung her head like a wilted flower. "So cold! I think I might freeze to death..."

"Wear a coat next time." Reimu shrugged.

Once that pleasant conversation was over with, the three of them finally prepared to leave.

"Just a moment!" Oh, come on.

The childish voice came from above, and Luka immediately pieced together who it came from. Turning to see a bat-winged silhouette peering down at them from the top of a staircase confirmed her guess. 'Remilia', right?

"Er, yes?" Reimu spoke first. She looked like a retail employee getting snatched at closing hours by that one last customer lining up at check-out. "What do you want?"

The vampire smirked, and Luka felt the room grow a little colder. "You didn't think you could leave without me exacting the proper payment for my services?"

Reimu visibly cringed. "No thanks. I have no interest in giving you any right now." She shot a glance at Marisa.

Hm? What were they on about?

"Uh, suffering from anemia." Marisa shook her head. "Nope, no can do."

'Anemia'? Wait. Hold on a second.

"As flattering as your offers are, it's not yours I'm interested in." Luka felt a pair of eyes. "I'm more curious about a different flavor I haven't tasted in quite some time… Mm, I wonder how it's aged?"

A little wheel in Luka's head titled 'FIGHT OR FLIGHT?' started spinning.

"Uh. Excuse me." Luka felt every set of eyes in the room turn to her. Sakuya flashed a dark smile and slowly started walking towards her. "H-Hold on, can we talk about this?!"

"It's already been settled." Remilia smiled regally. "Think of it as sealing a contract."

"I DON'T REMEMBER SIGNING ANYTHING!" Luka shouted. Sakuya drew close, and gently yet firmly gripped her arm. "Wait, wait, wait wait WAIT WAIT WAITWAITWAITWAIT-"

… Elsewhere in the mansion, the younger Scarlet was awoken by an odd scream. She rubbed her eyes before clutching a stuffed bear and rolling back over to sleep.

---

Luka felt lightheaded for a variety of reasons.

"Why'd you freak out like that?" Marisa casually asked.

"Why didn't either of you clarify that it was just a regular blood donation?!" Luka absentmindedly rubbed at a bandage on her arm. "I thought she was about to drink me, seriously..."

"Nah, she's not really the type. She doesn't usually drink blood just by itself." Marisa shrugged. "Ease up, she's probably just gonna have it stored somewhere and use it like a fancy ingredient for other stuff."

"Yes, I feel much better knowing the vampire is going to use my blood as a special sauce." Luka's voice was dry enough to cut someone. "Thank you, Marisa."

"No problem!"

Luka resisted the urge to pull Marisa's hat over her face. Both she and Marisa stood a short distance from the front gate of the mansion. Their third, Reimu, was chatting up the gatekeeper for some reason. Luka didn't get the impression that Reimu was the social type from her general attitude. Was she trying to gather some more info? Eventually, she seemed to reach some kind of conclusion, and walked back over to them.

"Yo Reimu, you figure something out?" Marisa seemed to be far ahead of Luka's guess. "Usually you'd just brush right past Meiling. You got a suspect in mind?"

"Somewhat," Reimu replied. "I'm honestly mad I didn't think of her sooner."

Marisa raised an eyebrow. "You wanna be more specific? There's a whole lotta 'her's here."

"Think." Reimu said. "Who do we know in Gensokyo that's remotely as involved in work with the barrier as I am? And who has a penchant for playing subtle games like this?"

Marisa thought for a moment. Then her eyes widened. "Oh. Y'know, yeah, that is sorta obvious, isn't it."

"Mm." Reimu nodded. Whatever the two of them were thinking of, they seemed to reach some kind of mutual understanding. Their body language made it obvious; they were going to move out again. For what exactly, Luka didn't know. But Reimu's expression, at least, seemed decisive. "Alright, let's get-"

"Hey, time out?" Luka called out.

Reimu and Marisa both stopped and turned to her.

"What is it?" Reimu looked a little impatient, which irritated Luka a little. "If it's not important, can it wait?"

"Slow down already. If you want me to keep following you, yeah, I'd say it's important." Luka held herself back from saying anything ruder. Up until now, she'd been going along rather patiently with this entire mess. She wasn't going to keep flying blindly. "I only have a loose idea of what's going on here. Can we stop for a second so I can catch up?"

It took Reimu a second to realize Luka's plight. "Oh." She cupped her chin, and her expression got complicated. "Uh… Right, um…" Her gaze drifted to the sky, which was steadily being overcome with a dark purple gradient. She turned back to Luka, and fumbled like she got a piece of food stuck under her tongue. "L… 'Luka', right? Sorry, this explanation might get a bit complicated, and it's getting pretty late. How about we talk and fly at the same time? I'd rather not deal with any youkai popping up while we're out like this."

After nearly staring God in the face last time, the last thing Luka wanted to do was fly. She also didn't even know what a 'youkai' was, which made it hard to grasp what Reimu meant. But she recognized that kind of wary look in association with nighttime. It was probably best to trust the local expert's judgement there.

"Alright, sure." Luka sighed. "Just, please don't fly super fast this time."

Begrudgingly, Luka found herself back on Marisa's flying broom. Getting an explanation while they flew to their next destination was probably the best case scenario for everyone, but that hardly settled Luka's nerves. Both Marisa and Reimu also found it a helpful chance to ask their own questions, so the conversation turned into an information exchange at 3000 feet. All while she was trying to shake off a vision of her obituary, reading 'she sneezed then fell to her death' right next to an ad for laundry detergent.

Reimu and Marisa questioned Luka in more detail regarding her arrival, but she couldn't offer much in the way of details. She recounted what she remembered from the previous morning, all the way to her falling asleep on the train. Though, she kept the bit about her own chronic exhaustion to herself. It didn't seem altogether important, insofar as figuring out why she was there. The two questioned if she'd seen any 'strange characters', offering a rather specific and detailed description of a shady-looking blonde woman with a parasol. She hadn't seen anyone like that, which somehow only seemed to confirm whatever suspicions they had.

On her part, Luka found the information she was given more than a bit confusing. It was only a brief summary, but basically, she'd been 'spirited away' to another world (as if she didn't already gather that part). The region she was in was called 'Gensokyo', and it had a slight history of people being dragged into it from the 'outside world'. The difference being that in most cases, the people brought over seemed to be Japanese or lived in Japan.

Eventually, the topic of their 'suspect' came up.

"So you think this 'Yukari' person is behind all of this?" Luka asked. "Behind kidnapping me and dropping me off at your shrine?"

"I'm not putting it past her." Reimu said. "She's got a habit of being irritatingly vague and playing games with people. At the very least, she's the only other person in Gensokyo I know with a deep understanding of the barrier. If she happens to be innocent this one time, then I can at least try to get her take on what could have happened."

That seemed sensible, but...

"I'm a little confused," Luka said. "You keep talking about this 'barrier' like it's a wall between worlds or something. In that case, is it really that weird for it to drag someone in from overseas?"

"Not exactly, but there are some rules that should prevent that." Reimu said. "It works with a pretty specific purpose in mind. It blocks the 'common sense' from the outside world, only allowing certain things in. Also, while it is separating 'worlds' like you said, we're also technically based in Japan. So most of what bleeds through the barrier should only be from around here."

"Huh…" Luka didn't follow, but she nodded anyway.

The flight got quiet again as both sides ran out of questions. Reimu slowly drifted ahead of them, leaving just Luka and Marisa at the rear.

"... Sooo, work talk aside," Marisa looked back curiously. "You worked at a bar back home, huh?"

"Pub, actually." Luka replied. "Bars are all about good drinks. We need to juggle good food too. Not always the easier act, but if our regulars are any indication, we haven't let either hit the floor yet."

Marisa hummed. "Sounds pretty good! Gensokyo's got no shortage of people looking for that sorta stuff."

Luka raised a brow. "Are you assuming I'm staying here?"

"Just a joke, a joke!" Marisa laughed. "I'm just feeling a little thirsty is all."

"Uh-huh. Tell you what," Luka said. "If you two can get me back home and happen to find yourselves in New York, I'll cover the first round. Consider it my repayment."

"I'll hold you to that, y'know." Marisa smirked. "Ah, if only it were that easy to just walk out the barrier…"

"Hm? I thought it only blocked out 'common sense'."

"Well, yeah, but you also can't just fly outta Gensokyo. I tried, believe me." Marisa pouted. "The barrier's weird mind-bending magic goes both ways. Try to go straight through and you'll just keep flying by the same terrain for hours on end. Then, the second you turn back, it'll be like you never went anywhere. It's super creepy."

"..." Luka thought back to Sakuya and the manor they'd just left. Along with that, other thoughts crept through her head. She didn't want to think about it, but the idea of a closed reality that didn't adhere to the normal laws of physics—it wasn't all that unfamiliar a concept to her. "Yeah, creepy…"

Marisa gave her another one of those curious looks, as if she'd noticed the tone in her voice. It seemed like she'd finally run out of patience, since she spoke right before Luka did. "Okay, now I've gotta ask: is this your first time in a situation like this?"

Well, she'd beaten Luka to the punch of approaching the subject. At least now she knew why she kept looking at her like that: she was picking up on Luka's… less-than-reactive responses to everything. If there was some sort of scheme going on, it didn't exactly look good on Luka to be acting so calmly in a situation where she was supposed to be freaking out.

"Not… exactly." Luka hesitated to answer properly. If she were being specific, it was her first time dealing with this kind of situation in a physical sense, real-world sense. But how could she explain that world to a complete stranger? No, more specifically, she couldn't. She'd promised a certain someone to not do that for a very specific reason. "They're just dreams. Really vivid, repetitive dreams, like I'm in someplace else and everything's all weird."

"Huh." Marisa seemed skeptical of that answer. "For them just being dreams, you sure sound pretty familiar with that kinda weirdness. You sure you were asleep?"

"Have you ever heard of lucid dreaming?" Luka said. "It's something like that."

"Hmm." Marisa eyed her carefully, but seemed to take that answer. "Eh, I'm not so good with that sorta stuff. I'll take your word for it."

Luka let out a breath of relief. She didn't want to keep following this line of questioning.

In truth, the answer she'd given was only partially true, in a way that deeply bothered her.

Every direction had a different sight to it; a large town off in the distance horizon, sprawling forests, a towering mountain that seemed to rise past the clouds. The sight of the setting sun changing the colors of the sky; the edge of dust in a foreign land. It should've been a pleasant memory. Maybe even a terrifying one.

Instead, from the moment she'd woken up, it felt… familiar. Like she'd been here before, even if she knew she never had been. Like a surreal deja vu, the view from up high only seemed to intensify that feeling. She'd been trying to ignore it. It was probably just her mixing up the locale with some scenery she'd seen in that 'other place'. Her calmness was due to her exposure to the supernatural in that world. That was all. There was no other reason.

But it kept sitting in the back of her head. Like an uncomfortable itch she couldn't scratch.

She just needed to keep ignoring it. It'd go away as soon as she left this place.

"How much farther do we need to go?" Luka moaned. "Feels like we've been going in circles."

"We probably are." Marisa said.

"... Please don't tell me we're lost."

"WE ARE NOT LOST!" Reimu shouted from ahead. "Just, give me a minute!"

Marisa chuckled a little, easing her weight into her broom. "Don't sweat it, she knows where she's going. Reimu's probably the only one out of us who could figure out where to go anyways."

"'Figure out'?" Luka said. "What, is it some kind of mystery?"

"Sorta." Marisa hummed to herself, keeping her eyes trained on Reimu. "The person we're looking for lives somewhere by the outer edge of Gensokyo. Thing is, her house usually doesn't stay in the same place, so we've gotta figure out where it is."

Luka was having a hard time parsing what she meant. "What do you mean? Does she live in some kind of mobile home?"

"Hm." Marisa scratched her chin. "I don't think it's got legs, but I've never checked."

She imagined a suburban house sprinting away from them with a pair of muscular, human-like legs, dodging laser fire as it ran.

Luka shook her head. "Taking that as a 'no'. So, how does Reimu know where to look?"

"That's her secret." Marisa smirked. Luka almost thought she saw a twinge of jealousy in her eyes. "She's just flying around at random until she finds it."

Luka's eyes glazed over. "Please don't joke when I'm expecting a serious answer."

"Ahaha…" Marisa laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, it sounds stupid, doesn't it?"

"It is stupid."

Marisa's jealous smirk returned. "Like the leading lady said, give her a bit."

A few seconds passed in silence, nothing but the wind rushing past them.

"THERE!" Reimu cried and suddenly dove, cutting a line straight down. Tracing her movement with her eyes, Luka could faintly make out a building down at ground-level.

"You're kidding me."

"Told ya." It was hard to describe the look in Marisa's eyes. "She's the kinda bullshit lucky person who can always win games of chance or luck without even thinking about it. She's practically channeling Lady Luck 24/7."

Luka glanced uncomfortably at Marisa. "I'm, sensing some env—"

"Anywayslet'sgetdownthere!"

Luka yelped as the broom shot downwards. Gripping it as tight as she could through the rushing wind, she could begin to make out their destination. She didn't have any familiarity with Japanese-style architecture, but she got the impression she was looking at some kind of mansion. It wasn't on the same level as Remilia's residence—the house looked closer to a larger-than-average-home than a manor—but it definitely had the air of belonging to someone influential. As an aside, it did not sprout legs on contact and run. Nightmare averted.

Eventually, they regrouped with Reimu at the ground.

Luka wobbled a bit as she stepped off the broom. "Woogh… Damn, are you trying to kill me...?"

"You didn't fall off, didja?" Marisa smiled smugly.

'Don't push that particular button'. Noted… rurgh...

Once Luka coped with her newfound motion sickness, they started their walk to the building. As they approached, Luka spotted a silhouette at the front gate. She didn't notice anything strange at first, but the closer they got, the more Luka could see. Tails. Multiple fox-like tails, nine in total, all flowing from the figure's back like a big, fluffy bouquet. Their attire seemed mild by comparison: a long dress with oversized cuffs, pressed together and hiding her hands. Atop her head was a hat with what seemed like two pointed 'ears' to it.

Luka, a rational human being, stopped in her tracks and stared at the figure like she'd just locked eyes with a wild bear. Reimu and Marisa didn't even slow down and continued marching without any pause. Luka was starting to wonder what kind of daily life the two of them lived to be so completely unphased by everything. Eventually, after staring a little uncertainly at the silhouette, she pushed forward.

Of course, the fox-tailed person acknowledged their approach, and stepped forward to greet them.

"Well, this is quite a surprise." Her voice was orderly and firm not unlike Sakuya's, but where Sakuya's tone held refined yet aloof grace, hers seemed to carry a sort of gentleness to it. "What brings the two of you…" She laid eyes on Luka. Luka waved, flashing her best 'I am not a threat' smile. "... the three of you here?"

"Yo, fox shikigami." Marisa gave a devil-may-care smirk. "Your master in? We've gotta punch in an appointment."

"That's right." Reimu followed up. "If you don't mind?"

There was a moment of silence as the fox glanced between the three of them. Her gaze lingered on Luka a little too long for her liking. "I'm sorry, but she's still resting, I'm afraid. I've been ordered to make certain nothing disturbs her in the meantime."

"... She's asleep?" Reimu seemed confused. "No, nevermind. Just let us through anyways. We just have a few questions for her."

"I cannot." The fox spoke firmly. "As I said, nothing is to disturb her rest."

Reimu grimaced, like she'd just been called in for overtime. "Please don't make this difficult."

"I'm afraid it's going to be difficult."

Reimu let out a loud groan. Suddenly, a soft light caught Luka's eyes, and an orb with a glowing blue yin-yang pattern appeared behind Reimu. It flashed again, splitting into two orbs, both orbs orbiting around her. From thin air, she produced a small slip of paper with an inscription on it. Luka heard Marisa 'oooh' nonchalantly, and suddenly she had a witch standing next to her to watch the upcoming fight. Wait, when did I become the designated sidelines?

"I really don't care if it's your master's bedtime!" Luka definitely recognized that tone. It was the tone of a retail employee who'd had enough. "I don't have the time or the patience for this! Either get out of the way or get exterminated!"

Myriad lights of various colors surrounded Reimu. The shikigami said nothing and only braced herself.

"Fine! Have it your—!"

"Whoa whoa, time out again!"

Right in-between the on-guard fox-person and the increasingly frustrated not-retail-worker, Luka shoved herself. In an instant, the tense air dissipated, the lights surrounding Reimu popped like soap bubbles, and somewhere in the back there was the sound of a witch going 'aww'.

"Wh…" Reimu looked incredulous. "What are you doing?!"

"I could ask you the same thing!" Luka fussed. "Look, I don't really get this whole 'Spell Card' business, but can we try and settle this without any more unnecessary violence? You know, like reasonable human beings?"

"Y'know she's a fox and not a human, right?" Marisa poked.

"Not helping!" Luka said.

Everyone present stared at Luka like she was completely out of her mind. Why? Wasn't it totally normal to break up a stupid fight before it happened? Was it really so bizarre for her to get in the middle of this weird 'game'?

The fox shikigami's hat (ears?) twitched. "I respect your resolve, but you really don't need to intervene like that. This is just how we settle disputes here, especially between humans and youkai."

Luka groaned. "Can we just make this round an exception? We just need to ask your, uh, 'master' some questions. It's not like we're going to barge in and start a fight."

"I am not going to promise that." Reimu commented.

"Ignore that." Luka said. "Besides, if you start a fight outside the house like this, the noise'll just wake her up anyways, right? That's no good."

The fox narrowed her eyes, her mouth twisting a little in confusion. "Are you trying to bargain with me?"

"A little?" Luka shrugged. "Listen, I don't really know the whole score here, but I'm pretty sure both of these lunatics here will probably bulldoze right through anyways. And even if they don't," Luka jutted a thumb to Marisa. "From what I've seen? That witch over there could probably wake up everything in the next square kilometer if she just started shooting."

Marisa nodded. "It's true, I'd light this whole damn place up."

"See? All we're asking is for you to just let us through so we can have a chat with your 'master'." Luka watched the fox's expression turn contemplative. She just needed to push a little more… "I can even throw in payment later, if you'd like. Money? Food? Drinks?"

"And now you're bribing me?" The fox squinted.

"Not bribing, making a deal." Luka said. "You'd be sticking your neck out for us, right? It's only fair that I pay you back if you decide to go along."

She heard Reimu and Marisa whispering to the side. ("Does she even have any money on her?" "All I know is I'm sure as hell not payin'.")

The shikigami seemed to hesitate, her eyes focused directly on Luka. For a terrifying moment, she worried that she might have taken her attempt too far. Then, the fox nodded thoughtfully. "Perhaps some fried tofu will do…"

Phew. Luka couldn't hide her sigh of relief. "Thank you, seriously—"

"On the condition that I escort you to her room, and you leave as soon as you've had your talk with her." Ran said firmly. "No later. Break your word, and I'll hold all three of you accountable."

"Sounds good to me." Luka smiled eagerly and extended a hand. Agreements needed to be sealed with a handshake, right? "A deal paid in tofu it is, Miss…?"

There was another brief moment of silence as she stared at Luka's hand. What was with her? Luka was pretty sure she didn't have anything on her face. Maybe what Luka was doing really was that bizarre. Either way, it wasn't weird enough, as the fox took Luka's hand and shook it. "Ran. Yakumo Ran."

"It's a deal then, Ran."

A 'hmm' came from the side. "You're a bit of a pacifist, aren't you?" Reimu said. "You really shouldn't waste that effort on youkai."

Luka's irritation bubbled just a little. "I'm not a pacifist, I just don't like burning bridges or dealing with pointless fights." She sighed. "And I don't really know what you mean by 'youkai'. She's another person still, right? Let's not rough people up if we don't have to, okay?"

Reimu looked like she wanted to say something else. "... Oh, forget it." She frowned. What was her problem? "Anyways, fox." She turned to Ran. "Let's go. We don't have much time to waste."

Being escorted in should've been less stressful than barging their way in. But, as they stepped through the silent building, with only faint moonlight illuminating their vision, Luka felt something. Looking around at the interior of the building, which seemed both old and strangely modern, she felt… nervous. Afraid. Like she didn't belong here. It felt like a tiny voice in the back of her head, whispering: 'You shouldn't be here.' 'It's dangerous here.' Was it just the tension she'd been under since she woke up hitting its limit? She didn't know. She wasn't sure she wanted to know. If Reimu and Marisa weren't leading the way, her instinct might have had her turn around and leave. A part of her considered doing it anyway. For at least for the sake of her nerves, she told it to shut up and pressed on. It didn't, but trying helped her ignore it.

"Here." Ran stopped before a sliding door, turning back to the three. "You'll find Lady Yukari in this room. Please, be mindful when you wake her." Her tone seemed steeped in what sounded like mild regret. She might've been having second thoughts, but for now, she was honoring their deal. With a polite bow, she walked away. She probably didn't want to stick around and get scolded.

After a tense moment, Marisa stepped forward and slid the door open.

It opened into a small room, probably a living room given the furnishings. A square table in the center covered by a heavy blanket, some shelves, and slightly anachronistically, an old CRT TV paired with a VCR player off against the wall. They stood out, considering nothing else she'd seen so far indicated this place had any kind of electrical wiring setup.

"Zz… zzz…"

The sound drew Luka's attention back to the table, where she saw a blonde woman sleeping under it. Her head was resting on a comfy-looking cushion and she was wearing a purple sleeping mask with a pair of weird eyes on it.

Before she could process the sight, Reimu walked up to her. Luka felt a slight chill as she stepped forward. Reimu stopped just short of stomping on the woman's head, and looked down at her sleeping face. She smiled dangerously, tapping her foot against the floor.

The second before it happened, Luka had a vision of a goal kick.

"WAKE UP YOU OLD HAG!"

CRACK!

---

"What happened to not starting a fight?" Luka said.

"Like I said. I didn't promise anything." Reimu huffed.

Luka sighed, pinching at the bridge of her nose. This girl was going to seriously give her a headache. After that initial act of violence, the three of them seated around the table (which was called a 'kotatsu', apparently), all three taking a side. Completing the square was the formerly asleep blonde woman, who sat opposite to Luka while wiping her now exposed eyes. She yawned harmlessly. Combined with the comfy-looking purple pajamas she was wearing, it almost made Luka question if this really was Yukari.

Luka's mind went back to the questions she was asked about a 'suspicious person'. The only common detail she could see was that she was blonde. She didn't even look particularly suspicious.

But…

For some reason, just by looking at her, Luka felt like she knew. This half-asleep, lazy-looking woman was probably Yukari Yakumo. There was no aura of malice, or any sort of giveaway that she was dangerous. But Luka's feeling, that subconscious and instinctive feeling she'd been gripped with since she walked in here, was practically screaming when she looked at this woman.

'Yukari', naturally, was nodding off all the while. Reimu slapped her wooden stick against the table like a math teacher.

"Wake up. We've got a few questions for you." Reimu growled like she was a police interrogator. It was pretty obvious she had more than questions on her mind.

"Hm…?" Yukari yawned again, looking like she wasn't even processing what was being said. "This is the H…" Another yawn. "...nn, Yakumo residence, please leave a message after the beep…"

"Yo." Marisa leaned forward and snapped her fingers in front of Yukari's face. "C'mon, up and at 'em. Don't want our bad cop over here to get mean again." Reimu grunted appropriately.

"Oh fine…" Wiping her eyes for the final time, Yukari finally looked lucid. "Goodness, what a morning call. I was pretty sure I told Ran to direct any visitors away for the evening."

"This is important." Reimu said unflinchingly. "We convinced her to let us through.

"Is that so…?" There was a brief twitch of irritation on Yukari's face. "I'll have to correct her on that later. Honestly, when I tell her to do something..." She grumbled something unpleasant under her breath. Luka made a mental note to buy two helpings of fried tofu when the time came. "Well, so be it. What might your business be?"

Reimu sat up straight. "I'll be quick."

She proceeded to recap everything that had happened since Luka's first appearance. From her appearance in front of the Hakurei Shrine, all the way to her conversation with Remilia and Luka's language translation. Reimu went into all the details she had over Luka's history, highlighting her status as an outsider from overseas, carefully watching Yukari's expression the entire time. Throughout the entire explanation, Yukari's eyes retained a somewhat sleepy glaze to them, but every so often Luka thought she saw something else in them. It went by so fast, she almost wasn't sure she saw it.

"To summarize," Reimu's monologue cut through Luka's thoughts. "There's something amiss with the barrier, and I believe you would be the one to understand what's going on."

Yukari, who had been listening up until now, spoke. "My, I'm sensing a little bit of an accusation behind your tone there, Reimu." Her own tone was playful, like a cat pulling at a mouse's tail. "Would you care to share your theory with the rest of us?"

"I was going to try and get some more information out of you first, but if you insist." Reimu huffed. It was fairly obvious who her attitude was directed at. "This situation involves both an irregular human being spirited away through the barrier twice under unclear means, with both appearances being suspiciously close to my shrine. If we consider Remilia's inside knowledge, someone else had to have informed her. There's only one person who both could have snuck around so quickly from place to place through her 'gaps' to forward that information around and have access to it in the first place." Reimu glowered at Yukari unflinchingly. "You."

Yukari didn't seem to react to Reimu's accusation. Even as every set of eyes in the room turned to look at her, she hardly flinched. She merely hummed to herself, as though processing Reimu's claims. Then, a smile. "In any other context, I'd call all of that an astute observation and a well-done investigation. But, you're missing some decisive evidence."

"... What?" Reimu balked. "No, it's pretty obvious! How can you possibly argue against it?!"

Yukari's smile deepened, and she raised a closed hand as if counting. "Your claim hinges on some faulty logic." She extended her index finger, and continued extending fingers as she went. "Firstly, you're assuming that because the matter involves the Great Hakurei Barrier that I would be the only other person with the knowledge of someone passing through it. While I'm flattered you think I'm such a major force in keeping the barrier up-and-running, I'm hardly the only other person who keeps track of what goes in and out of it. Secondly, your assumption regarding the vampire would involve me still being awake at the time. As you can see, I was sleeping quite soundly."

"How's that a counterpoint?" Marisa asked. "You coulda just had let her know the second it happened, then gone to sleep while we were working. Or had that fox of yours do it instead. Can you prove that you didn't just do that?"

"Are you asking me to prove a negative, Miss Kirisame?" Yukari maintained her smile. "You know, the burden typically falls on you to prove that. So can you prove that I did something like that? Say, any definitive evidence that Ran or I was present at the vampire's manor"

"Well," Marisa opened her mouth, but couldn't seem to find her words. "No, but..."

"Tch, fine!" Reimu's patience seemed to thin. "I'll fly back to that vampire's mansion and beat the proof out of her myself—"

"My my, settle down. There's no need to go picking fights." Yukari laughed. "I believe I already have the answer to your problem."

'Huh?' was the collective response.

"What d'ya mean?" Marisa said.

Yukari's smiling expression never seemed to leave her face. It only shifted, turning from amusement at the accusations leveled towards her into a keen stare pointed directly at Luka.

"W-What?" Luka was mobbed by those unpleasant feelings all over again. "Just say what you're going to say already."

"It's really simple." Yukari's eyes bore straight through her. "You were brought here just like most things are."

"'Like…' what?" Luka squinted. "I don't even know what that's supposed to mean."

Reimu suddenly seemed troubled. "She's trying to imply you were forgotten somehow. Which shouldn't apply to her in the first place. She's human."

"Is she?"

The question silenced the room like a gunshot. Luka had no clue why. The answer should've been obvious.

"Of course I am. What else am I supposed to be?"

"Isn't that a question you should answer?" Yukari said. "If you're so certain you're human, would you mind saying who your parents are?"

"My-" Luka stopped short. "... I have a father."

"Just a father? What about your mother?"

"Don't have one."

"Hmm?" Yukari hummed. "Surely you had one. It's not like you were born out of thin air."

"Look, I…" Luka trailed off. "Okay, my dad adopted me. I didn't know my 'real' parents. But that doesn't mean I'm not human!"

"Maybe it isn't definitive evidence." Yukari said. "But it raises some questions, doesn't it?"

"That's enough." A wooden tap disrupted the conversation. Turning, Luka saw Reimu resting that wooden stick of hers against the table. Her eyes looked stormy, like she was about to shoot lighting at Yukari. "I won't sit and listen while you try to use an orphan's history to cover up one of your schemes."

"Oh, my. I thought we established I wasn't plotting anything?"

"You're always planning something." Reimu said.

"Gah, everyone just shut up for a second!" Luka yelled without realizing it. Yukari's words had punched a hole straight through her. She stared at Yukari, that sense of 'wrongness' deep inside her intensifying. "You…"

"Hm?" Yukari raised her eyebrows.

Luka opened her mouth and,

.

.

.

.

.

nothing came out.

What was she about to say? It was something. What was it?

"Luka?" Reimu called. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Her head hurt. It felt like it was about to split in two.

Leave. You need to leave now.

"I—" Luka stood up. Her headache seemed to settle as she did so. "I, I need to leave. Now."

She walked back to the door they'd entered the room in. She wasn't sure what that feeling was just then. But she didn't want to stick around and find out.

"Whoa, hold on!" Marisa said. "Where're you going?"

"Away from here." The words came without her input. It was like an instinct. "Thanks for your hospitality and so on, but I have no interest in whatever it is you're trying to do, Yukari. Goodbye."

In a single motion, Luka slid open the door and stepped through—

She walked right back into the room.

"—huh?"

It was the same room she'd just left, there was no mistake. Luka had entered it from a different door. She could see the sliding door she'd just entered to her left, as well as the kotatsu with everyone seated in front of her. If she angled herself slightly, she could even see herself standing in the frame.

A playful 'tsk-tsk' broke Luka from her stupor.

"Let's not get too hasty, now. If my guess happens to be correct, you stepping back into the outside might just prove fatal." Yukari turned to face her. "You wouldn't want to take that risk, would you?"

Luka was barely registering what Yukari was saying. "You… How'd you…"

"It's just switching the boundaries of some doors for a moment. Trivial, really. I could show you some more interesting uses of that power, if you'd like."

Like staring into the abyss; the smile on her face didn't reach the hues in her eyes. Like a matchstick being plunged into snow, she felt at once suffocated by the cold, fear taking hold. The chill surrounded her like a hand slowly cupping. It could close at any time, snuff her out at any moment. It just chose not to.

Could she even run? Would she get that far? A single wrong twitch, and she might die. The migraine from before started to come back, once again pulling at her from both ends. The feeling became unbearable. She contemplated running, regardless of the consequences—

Whack! A familiar wooden stick smacked the side of Yukari's head. All at once, that unpleasant mix of pain and fear evaporated.

"Knock it off." Reimu scowled. "I'm not so sure what's going on here, but are you seriously trying something on a human right in front of me? Do you want to get exterminated?"

"Ow…" Yukari childishly rubbed her head like a kid being scolded. "My, can't this old youkai have a little fun?" Reimu glared silently, raising her stick again. "Oh, fiiine."

The room seemed to settle, but Luka's mind didn't seem to join it. She had no idea what had just happened. She had no understanding of what was going on. Thoughts, questions, confusion—all of it filled her head, and she couldn't quiet the storm.

"You know something," Luka spoke, maybe out of desperation, directing her words to Yukari. "Right? What is it? What am I? Tell me."

Yukari's expression failed to change. "As I said before: is that a question for me to answer?"

"Don't mess with me, just give me an answer!"

"I'm just putting forward my own theory based on the information put in front of me. You're the one who needs to actually find an answer to that."

'Find an answer'.

That splitting sensation. The feeling she had looking at Yukari. That surreal familiarity when she looked over Gensokyo. All of them brought their own questions, and she didn't have an answer for any of them.

Luka wasn't sure if Reimu or Marisa could tell what Yukari was doing. Maybe they could, but they weren't commenting. To Luka, it was pretty transparent. She was starting to realize why they had described this woman as 'suspicious'. Even though Yukari was talking like she had no preference one way or the other, her words felt like they were meant to point Luka in a certain direction. Just vague enough to be denied. Just specific enough to guide.

Luka knew what the smart thing to do was. She knew that. It would have been to ignore her words, to ignore everything she'd just laid on the table. Walk away, go home, pretend she saw nothing.

She thought about everything once more. One stray thought caught her attention.

"You mentioned before, me stepping back out might be 'fatal'." Luka said. "What did you mean?"

"The outside world's become a hostile place for youkai for quite a variety of reasons." Yukari said. "Above all else, however, humans just don't believe in us. They don't fear us. And so we cannot exist in that place."

Luka's face twisted. "What? That doesn't make any sense. People don't just vanish because no one 'believes they exist'. A tree that falls in the forest when no one's around to hear it, it still hits the ground. It's just that no one hears it."

"The difference is that a tree is a physical object, much like most things in the world." Yukari replied. "Youkai like myself, well… We're a bit more 'fantasy' than 'reality', if you understand. Our existence isn't quite so grounded. Hence, our need for a place like this. You might say that this place creates a situation where people will always be close enough to hear the tree fall."

Luka thought back to Marisa's earlier comment about the barrier blocking 'common sense'. Was that how this all worked? She shook her head. "That's stupid. Who decided that?"

"Who knows? I'd like to meet them, myself."

Luka puzzled over what she'd been given. "Then, what about me? If you think I'm some 'youkai', then how'd I grow up 'outside' this place?"

"Not all youkai have such illusory existences." Yukari said. "Some can survive for quite some time in the outside world before needing to be brought here. Others, like myself, can travel through it freely."

"Wait." Hope filled Luka's eyes. "Does that mean—?"

"I wouldn't count on it. Unless you'd like to risk fading away in mere seconds." Yukari sighed. "Even I can't exactly stay in the outside world indefinitely. It's like diving underwater. I just know how to hold my breath for a very long time.

Luka's gaze soon shifted to the table. There were so many questions she wanted to ask. Needed to ask. But she couldn't put all of them into words. And she still wasn't sure she truly wanted to. She wanted to crawl under the table, curl up into a ball, and never come out. It would've been so much easier than dealing with anything going on right now. She was tired. She was frustrated. Above all else, she just wanted to go home. And now it was looking like she might not have any chance of doing so.

Reimu seemed to pick up on that, because she finally spoke up. "Okay, that's enough. I think we've gotten all we can handle for one night."

"Yes, please," Yukari let out a hearty yawn, like she hadn't just been entirely lucid for that entire time. "I really must… get back to my sleep…"

Reimu frowned, her eyes narrowed, but she didn't say anything else. She rose to her feet. "Let's head back. Marisa, do you mind flying Luka back one last time?"

"Sheesh, aren't I in high demand today?" Marisa sighed and stood up. She gestured to Luka. "Sure, Kirisame Cab Service, right this way."

Luka almost asked how she knew what a cab was, but she didn't have the energy. A complicated, gross feeling permeated Luka's body, like she'd bathed in oil. She needed a shower, a bath, something to clear her head. Quietly following Marisa and Reimu outside, Luka glanced back at Yukari. She wasn't sure what she expected to see.

All she saw staring back at her was a devilish smile with eyes to match.

---

If there was one plus to the whole existential crisis thing, it was that she wasn't nearly as focused on falling to her death.

Luka remained silent on the flight back. She wasn't really in the mood to talk. What kind of topic would she even bring up? That her understanding of her existence was being totally unraveled and picked apart? That she might not be able to go back home, and could be stuck in some fantasy wildlife preserve? How could she sound even remotely calm about that? Gee everyone, thanks for making sure the endangered 'New York barmaid' youkai won't go extinct!

She wanted to scream, but she also didn't want to scare Marisa and cause them to go on a nosedive. That would've just been a humiliating way to die.

Marisa seemed to pick up on the mood. "So, we're totally clear that gap youkai's planning something, right?"

"Probably." Reimu grumbled.

"Are we gonna do anything about that?"

"You know it's not that easy with her." Reimu sighed. "She's still partly responsible for maintaining the barrier. Holding her responsible for anything without any actual proof is always a headache."

"You sure knocked her around however you pleased." Luka said. "Why not just go the whole way and pick that fight you wanted?"

"It's my job to keep troublesome youkai in line." Reimu said. "And I seem to remember you making a deal that said I couldn't start a fight."

"I changed my mind. She deserves it."

Marisa snickered. "And with that, you're now an honorary member of the 'Yukari Is A Pain In Our Ass' club. Meetings are on Friday afternoons at Reimu's place, make sure to bring snacks."

Luka laughed a little. She needed that. It helped her to realize that, as far from home as she was, she at least had some people looking out for her.

"Speaking of my place," Reimu said. The outline of her shrine appeared below them. She was the first of them to touch down, letting out an absolutely monstrous sigh as she did. "Home at last…"

Marisa seemed to remember something. "Oh, yeah. Double-speaking-of," The witch turned to Luka as she hopped off the broom for what she hoped was the last time. "What now?"

"Huh?" Luka froze. "Um, I don't know, I—"

"No no, not all that stuff. I meant do you got a place in mind to stay for the night?"

Oh. That. Luka exhaled. Sleep would definitely help calm her mind down, if nothing else. But Marisa's question brought up a pretty big problem with that.

"Nope." Luka shook her head. "I'm not even sure I want to take a chance going back home. I mean, if Yukari's right…" Luka felt her blood running cold at the thought. Taking just a few steps outside, then fading away into nothing. Like she'd never existed, like she was never alive to begin with. That thought terrified her more than anything else.

"That's enough of that." Reimu waved her hand. "It's too late in the day to mull over stuff like that. You can stay at my shrine for tonight."

"Hm?" Marisa said. "Don't you have a pretty strict 'not-even-potential-youkai' policy at your shrine?"

"She seems polite, so I can make an exception." Reimu said.

"Can you not talk about me like I'm a lost puppy?" Luka complained.

"I don't know, you have the eyes for it." Reimu cupped her chin. Luka pouted angrily in response, which probably wasn't helping her case.

Marisa snickered. "Ah, wish I could stay, but I've gotta head home. Getting late 'n all."

"Naturally." Reimu said. "We wouldn't want you getting lost in the forest at night, would we?"

"Eh, I'd just blast whatever jumps out." Marisa grinned impishly. "See ya!"

Without a care in the world, Marisa zoomed back off on her broom. A literal witch flying off into the night sky. If it weren't for the rest of her day, Luka might've dared to call the sight surreal.

"Come on." Reimu yawned as if it were just another Monday and started for her shrine. "There's a guest room you can sleep in. I'll show you to it."

With a nod, Luka turned to follow her, but paused. Her eyes caught a glimpse at the dark sky. Through the large wooden gate at the shrine's entrance, spread out over the horizon, she could see everything. Covered in the darkness of night, the faceless land spread out before her. A place she knew nothing about. A world of the unknown and the forgotten.

And now, it seemed like she was going to join them. She didn't want to think of it as her home. She already had one. But she was going to have to figure it out anyways.

"Hellooo?" Reimu called out. "If you're planning to sleep out on the stone pathway again, let me know and I'll just lock up for the night!"

"Agh! No, no rocks, I'll take a bed, thanks!"

Luka sprinted over to the shrine. She would just have to take this one night at a time.

Getting set for bed wasn't all that difficult, though there was a bit of culture shock. Luka had no idea what a futon was, or how to set one (Reimu ultimately had to help out). She also was sorely lacking any kind of nightwear. She was bold enough to try and just sleep in the futon with her regular clothes, but got an earful about getting dirt all over it. Eventually, Reimu gave up and offered to lend her some pajamas.

"Er, you're sure this is fine?" Luka looked down at the outfit. It looked like just a plain set of white pajamas with a slight floral pattern to them. "These seem pretty traditional…" Also, you know, borrowing a near-complete stranger's clothes? Kind of weird.

"They're just pajamas." Reimu replied. "As long as you take responsibility for washing them, it's fine."

Luka studied Reimu. "... You're weirdly carefree about this."

"Oh?" Reimu raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, I mean… Earlier, you were treating this whole situation like it irritated you beyond belief. Like you couldn't wait to get me off your hands. And now you're offering me a room."

"Does it seem like it?" Reimu shrugged. "You seem like you're having a rough time, and I have a spare room to offer you for the night. It's just natural."

Luka sighed. "I don't really know what to make of you, honestly. But, if I've got to say anything else…" She smiled uneasily. "Thanks. Really."

Reimu blinked, her eyes widening slightly as if the genuine gratitude surprised her. "Um, a-ahem—Don't get too comfortable, you know." She cleared her throat. "It's just temporary. Tomorrow, we'll head down to the village and see if we can sort out some kind of living situation for you."

"Seriously?" Luka's face lit up. "You're a real great help, you know?"

"Hmph," Reimu huffed for some reason. "It's nothing, I'm just getting you off my hands. Anyways, goodnight!" With that, Reimu slid the door to the guest room shut, and Luka was left alone in the dark.

She's nicer than that cranky attitude made me think. I'll have to pay her back for helping me out, somehow…

She'd have to mull it over later. Luka pulled herself into the futon, leaving herself staring at the ceiling. That was normally the part where she would gradually fall asleep, like tuning the radio back to static. But once again, the various thoughts kept popping up and kicking her hand off the dial, no matter how much she tried to make them stop. Yukari. Youkai. Her dad. Her former parents. Herself. They all swirled around, asking her for answers to questions she didn't even understand.

As she lay there, wondering what she would do when she woke up the next morning, a loose idea hit her.

I guess it would be a good idea to start there, wouldn't it?

Luka did her best to close herself to all of the noise in her mind. She calmed her breathing, closing her eyes. She let time pass at a crawl. Slowly, gradually, it lost meaning. All blurred together, all became meaningless, and conscious thought gradually shut out. Darkness. Nothing. Silence.

Nothing.

Nothing…

…

… And then she woke up again.

"...!"

She sat up. Or, more accurately, she imagined herself sitting up.

She was in a building that seemed unrecognizable at first. But small pieces of it were familiar. Bits of her apartment, parts of the pub back home, even some of Yukari and the vampire's mansions. All small, stitched-together images from her subconscious memories. Marching aimlessly, up and around, on the wall and the ceiling, was a bagel marching parade. Two rows of breaded pastries with crunchy peanut butter on them, rolling along in an orderly fashion.

"Good morning, general!" One of them wearing an army helmet cheered. It wasn't quite the sound of a voice that reached her, but the concept of something being heard echoing in her mind. "We're just on our way to the coffee shop! Care to join us?"

"Maybe later, lieutenant. I've got urgent business."

"Aww."

Luka walked through the surreal space, even marching up the wall and seeing the world shift around her into various impossible forms that nonetheless always seemed totally natural. Various images continued to crop up. Her subconscious mind would recycle as much as it could from every loose or recent memory it could pull out. Wispy, mist-like images forming and breaking at a moment's notice; unconscious ideas being remembered and forgotten in the same breath.

It was always so surreal. That was a dream for you.

"Okay, here's probably a good spot…"

She knelt down on top of a sliding door. She could do this with just about any flat surface here, but doors were easier to visualize the process with. Placing her hand against it, Luka closed her eyes once more. It was difficult to describe the process from there. It was like both diving into a pool and coming up for air at the exact same time. Like waking up and falling asleep at once. She held onto that feeling, 'gripped' it.

Then, she kicked the sliding door to the side, and jumped right through.

What she saw once she fell through was even more difficult to describe. If she were to try to, the end result would sound something like a generic desktop screensaver. Red lines running off in random directions like an endless polygonal wireframe. Behind her, from where she'd just come, was a large bubble with a giant, oversized lock-and-chain wrapped around it. Right where she'd come from was a small square door opened in it. (It was always weird seeing how the exit never looked the same on the outside.)

"Just to be safe…" Luka looked carefully at the door and snapped her fingers. The door soundly swung closed, reforming back into the bubble. "There."

Now she wouldn't have to worry about any military bagels wandering outside. With that taken care of, Luka turned back to the open void. Where would she start looking? The person she was looking for wasn't always around. But, then again, wasn't it her job to make sure no one left? She had to know Luka'd just left her bubble somehow, right?

"Baah!"

Uh oh.

Before she could even react, a fluffy white cloud popped up on her flank. Then her other flank. Then every other side that could be considered a flank. An entire wall of sheep formed around her, practically trapping her in place. Almost all of them graced her with constant indignant 'baa-ing'. One of them was nuzzling her leg affectionately.

Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately), she knew what the flock showing up meant.

"I could have sworn we had a discussion about you and leaving that bubble."

Luka didn't even have to turn to see the source of that voice. She had already appeared in front of her. A woman floating a short distance away dressed in an unmistakable black-and-white dress with similarly-colored cotton balls adorning it. A thin tail that Luka always thought looked sorta like a cow tail flicked slightly. She looked annoyed, which… Yeah, that was fair.

"Hey Doremy." Luka replied. "Sorry, I know, you've got the whole 'balance of the Dream World' thing going on. But this is important."

Doremy looked at her with mild disapproval, but seemed to gather that she wasn't doing this casually. "Okay. I'll humor you. What is it?"

"I've got a few questions I need to ask."

If she was lucky, she'd have an answer to all of her questions by the time she woke up.

---

Author's Note:

Whew! That was a long one. The sheer length of this bad boy was a main reason why it took so long to get out the door. I tried to trim it where I could, but there ended up being a lot of things in this chapter that I liked, so here it is.

I'm not gonna go on for a whole short essay here explaining the thought processes like I did in Stage 2, even though I probably could. I will conclude this with a short note that I do find it strange how a pretty sizable number of "outsider-taken-to-Gensokyo" fics usually gloss over the notion of how utterly terrifying being kidnapped to someplace you don't know would be. I guess it's usually because most of the usual victims hate their normal lives, but Luka doesn't. I'm sure you've picked up that she's not too keen on being told she might have some super-complicated-and-elaborate backstory, too. Even though, honestly, she wasn't all that normal, no matter how you look at it...

Whoops, almost headed into another essay there. I'll stop here, I think. Thanks for reading, and see you next chapter!