Another Misplaced Sukima P-15

With the first event done, Ail, Reimu, Sanae, Maribel and Renko can rest for a while, until the next event comes around... however, something wasn't right. Her day with Flandre changed Agava more than she could ever imagine, and something else...

Kyo and Medicine arrive late at night to the Hakurei Shrine, causing poor Budou to get so nervous that she cries out for her "papa". At Makai, Yuki exploded in such a manner never imaginable by those that know her well, and leaves them awestruck as she runs away to her room, so Mai is determined to explain with detail what she saw happen at Alice's house. Luna, having become Aya's apprentice, quickly realizes Aya wasn't playing games with her. It's going to be a long winter for the tengu and her human apprentice.

At the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Ail helps Patchouli with Remilia. Naturally, Patchouli Knowledge was beyond herself with anger toward Ail, even though it's not his fault, and understanding that he can't tell her exactly what is going on, she feels what he made her do, to deliberately set the book that could help Agava within her reach, was inexcusable and lacked planning from his part. "Patchouli, I'm really sorry for all this. I swear, I didn't know things would get this ugly." desperately says Ail as he and Patchouli work on speeding up Remilia's healing. Patchouli growls softly then says "Ail, I understand you know something. Something very important, and if I am not mistaken, you knew something like this was going to happen. You went and did things recklessly without taking in consideration the consequences!" Ail lowers his head and sighs. They keep silent for a moment as Remilia's wings completely grow back again, then Ail says "you're right. I should have been more careful. Specially after so many things changed from what I had been told originally." Patchouli gasps and looks at Ail. He slowly raises his head and says "Sakuya wasn't supposed to be injured, for starters, and Meiling was supposed to be at the town, buying supplies, not helping the fairy maids." Patchouli silently stares at Ail as he shakes his head, trying to rattle some facts in his mind. He balls his right hand into a fist and strikes his own forehead and says "I am... quite angry at the moment. Remilia wasn't suppose to get injured like this either. I overlooked something, maybe..." Patchouli gasps and shouts "hey, don't DO that! You could hurt yourself!" As if not listening, Ail continues to manipulate Patchouli's healing energies and says "something's not right. Even Agava herself was injured, and pretty badly too. I feel... I feel this isn't over by the least. This time, I don't know what might happen. Flandre never told me about this..." Patchouli loses her concentration when she hears Flandre's name and asks "Flandre!? What do you mean? How does she know all this!?" Ail looks at Patchouli so seriously; she could feel a cold chill expelling from his eyes as he says "I said too much. Flandre's not at fault here. She doesn't eve know anything. Not in this era." Patchouli gasps and shouts "not ANOTHER WORD! I understand now. Ail, that is serious business! You already said things have changed from what you already know. This is dangerous." Ail looks at Remilia as she starts to moan. Patchouli immediately continues the healing, while Ail manipulates the energy as Patchouli says "you just said that things have changed from what you know. Ail, don't treat these events like you know them, because if you do, things like this could happen again, understand!? You understand that time doesn't go in a straight line. It's always moving in different directions, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. Just knowing what lies ahead is just the beginning, since you don't know what path you'll take to reach that point." Ail opens his eyes widely and stares at Patchouli as she continues. "You already know what's going to happen, that's good. Now you have to prepare yourself to deal with these things as unknown to you! You've already experienced what I'm talking about. Now, at least, you have gained this wisdom, so please, for whatever is to happen next, treat it as something unknown to you. Take precautions, have backup plans, but DON'T treat these like you already know what's going to happen." Ail continues to stare at Patchouli for a moment, and just as Remilia wakes up he says "thank you so very much... Patchouli." Patchouli smiles and says "please... call my Patchy." Remilia yawns and rubs her head and asks "so, what's going on here?"

Reimu, Meiling and Mima help the injured fairy maids back to their rooms and regroup close to Sakuya's room. There, Reimu takes a look at Meiling's neck. Mima hands Reimu and few bandages after she treats Meiling's neck and says "you're very lucky, Meiling. A little deeper and you'd be in trouble." Meiling tries to turn her head and face Reimu, but instead is met by sharp pain. She yelps and Reimu tells her "don't move, you idiot. I'm almost done here." Meiling sighs and says "well, at least the little sister is back to her senses again. I really wasn't looking forward to lock her up like that again." Sakuya comes out of her room wearing a white robe over her sleeping clothes and asks "and what exactly is going on around here?" Mima, Reimu and Meiling all freeze in a shock and surprise. Meiling and Reimu stand up next to Mima and stutter for a moment. Sakuya looks at them seeming a little annoyed and says "ok, calm down, you three. I just want to know what's going on? Why are you here, and more importantly, who let the evil spirit inside? And... Meiling, what happened to YOU!?" Reimu gets closer to Sakuya and takes a deep breath. From outside the mansion, Sakuya's "WHAT!?" echoes in the distance, all the way to the Misty Lake. Sakuya tries to run to her mistress' room, but she was still a little weak from her injury. Reimu and Mima get beside her, pull her up, wrap her arms around their necks and walk as fast as they can toward Remilia's room. "My poor mistress. I should have healed faster!" said Sakuya. Reimu scolds her "calm down. Getting all emotional now won't help either of you. Besides, Ail and Patchouli are with her. She probably walking around just-" Right in front of them, Remilia, Ail and Patchouli stand, listening to their conversation. Immediately, Ail says "Reimu... This isn't over." Reimu smiles and says "well, hello you three. My, Remilia, you got your wings and leg back I see. And Ail, what the hell are you talking about?" Sakuya frees herself from Reimu and Mima, then kneels to her mistress while saying "my lady, I'm so sorry! I'll protect you with my life from now on!" Remilia blushes a little and says "Sakuya, you're making a scene! Get up! And it's not your fault!" Ail says "Patchy and I talked about this event, and we think things happened to quickly and too easily." Reimu's smile vanishes and asks "so you think it's not over?" Patchouli shakes her head and says "from what we can understand, something did not happen, that should have happened." Reimu sighs and asks "any ideas when something might happen?" Both shake their heads, then Mima asks "is there something I should know?"

Meiling rushes to a lonely corner in the mansion, holding her neck in pain, breathing heavily and cringing her face, trying to hold back her tears of pain. Even with the treatment and the bandages on, blood still comes out as if there was nothing holding it back. She whimpers and looks around, hoping nobody would see her, then heads to her room and locks the door. Flandre watched everything, but thinking Meiling hated her now, after biting her like that, she decides not to go to her, or say anything to the others.

Morning at the Hakurei Shrine. Somehow, Maribel and Renko managed to calm Budou down during the night. The little bat youkai was sleeping next to Kyo and Medicine, completely unaffected by the doll's poison. Ail, Mima and Reimu arrive and quietly enter the shrine, Reimu and Mima finding the sleeping Budou so adorable, they had to kneel down and pat her head, waking her up while doing so. She yawns and smacks her lips, smiling at Mima and Reimu, who blush as they smile back. She spots Ail, and lunges to him shouting "papa Ail, you're back! *Gasp* You got hurt!" Ail smiles as she give him a hug, hugging her back and saying "it's nothing, Budou. Just a little scratch." Budou stares at Ail's neck for a moment then says "ah, the sparkles are curing you." Ail wonder what she means, but just rubs her head as they both smile and places her on the floor. Kyo wakes up and Budou says "look, large brother. Papa Ail is back!" Ail laughs and asks "large brother?" Budou giggles and says "well of course. He's really large, but very kind too." Kyo looks at her a little annoyed and says "I'm getting on a diet!" Ail chuckles and says "don't think about it too much." Reimu stares curiously at Kyo and asks "and... where is Luna?" Ail turns his face away to look outside upon hearing Luna's name. Kyo looks at Reimu and says "the most odd thing happened yesterday. She decided to become that reporter's apprentice, so she's staying with her now." Ail turns around to face Reimu. She had a smirk on her face that suggested success as she says "really? Well, that's good. Seems she made a good friend out of Aya." Medicine moans while she sleeps, getting everyone's attention. Reimu's smirk disappears as she says "poor youkai. She won't see her friend for some time." Kyo shouts "WHAT!? What do you mean?" Reimu looks at Kyo and says "until the tengu decide she is fit to be released, she'll have to stay with them, and obey their every commands." Kyo gets very agitated and shouts "wait, that's not fair! What about us!? What about those that care about her!?" Reimu stares dangerously at Kyo and says "they are doing this for her sake, Kyo. Just endure it. The alternate outcome would have been much worse anyway." Kyo grabs his hair in a rage, pacing back and forth and asking "but why!? What did she ever do to them!? I don't understand this... I'm going to find out-!" Ail gets in front of the door and lightly shakes his head. Reimu calmly says "Kyo... she tried to kill Sakuya in a most brutal way. I told you to keep an eye on her, but then again, you did try to help her." Kyo was about to complain again, but he just sits down and asks "what was the alternate outcome, Reimu?" Reimu closes her eyes and says "death." Kyo rubs his head and tries to smile as he says "I-I see. I never though she would try to kill here too... I'm sorry for bringing her over." Reimu smiles and says "when the tengu are done with her, you won't be thinking that."

At Makai, Shinki wakes Yuki up early in the morning. Normally, Yuki would fall asleep again, even at the table, while eating breakfast, however this time, she managed stay awake the whole time... or so they thought. Shinki looks at Yuki almost impressed and asks "Yuki, don't you want to go back to sleep?" Yuki did not reply, or do anything. Just continues to stare at her meal. Shinki sighs and says "Yuki, please answer me." Yumeko gets closer to Yuki and says "Yuki, you are being rude. Lady Shinki asked you a question!" Yuki slowly raises her head, and very slowly turns her face to them. She smiles and waves, then lowers her hand and stays in that position. Yumeko and Shinki both jump up while yelping. Yuki's eyes look empty as she smiles at them. Shinki trembles and asks "Yu-Y-Yumeko? I-I-Is Yuki... alive?" Yumeko sweats and gets closer, trembling as she did. "Yuki?" calls Yumeko softly as she waves her hand in front of Yuki's eyes. Yumeko suddenly scowls and says "she's just ASLEEP!" Shinki places her hand on her chest, takes a deep breath of relief and says "oh, thank goodness. I though she was dead." Suddenly, Yuki shakes her head, smiles and ask "Oh, Shinki... what did I miss?" Yumeko looks surprised and says "Yuki? Are you back to normal now?" Yuki realizes she was being her old self, so she immediately turns to face her plate and says "I'm sorry, Lady Shinki... miss Yumeko." Yumeko gets disappointed, and goes to help Shinki back to her chair. When Shinki is back on her chair, she says "well Yuki, glad to see you so well behaved. Today we are going into Gensokyo and will be visiting Alice." Yuki's face turns pale. She bangs her hands on the table and shouts "but why must I go too!?" Yumeko angrily says "we do NOT bang the table, young lady!" Shinki then says "Well, you've been to Gensokyo twice already, and I could use your help so I don't get lost, alright?" Yuki tries to argue, but cannot find any way to escape, so she drops her arms and sounding almost depressed she says "okay~ I'll go." Shinki smiles and says "excellent. We leave in a few hours."

After arriving home, Ail and Budou sit on the living room's couch. Ail grabs a book and starts to read it, and soon after, Budou gets on his lap and just watches him read. Ail smiles lightly and says "hey Budou... GRAH~!" Ail had put on plastic vampire teeth and was now teasing Budou. She twitches and gasps, then suddenly she starts to cry. Ail immediately takes off the fake teeth and says "wait, wait, don't cry. Look, their fake" From the kitchen, looking fiercely angry comes Sanae, punches Ail hard on the head, growling "leave her alone, you bully!" then grabs Budou in her arms and says "shh, shh, it's ok. I took care of that mean monster!" Budou stops crying and realizes she's safely in Sanae's arms and shouts "mama Sanny~!" giving Sanae a hug. Ail rubs the sizzling bump on his head and says "Sanae... what a pleasant surprise." Sanae angrily replies "can it! Now care to tell me why you went and took on that first event WITHOUT telling me a thing?" Ail sadly sighs and says "it happened too fast. I barely had time to prepare, and... so many things went wrong." Sanae changes her expression from anger to concern and asks "what happened. That gate guard didn't... 'go away', right?" Ail pats Budou while Sanae keeps holding her and says "no... sit down. I'll get you some tea and then we can talk. Before that..." Ail looks at Sanae with the outmost of curiosity and asks "how did you get in here? Budou and I only just got back." Sanae places her index finger on her cheek and looks up as she hums and thinks, then asks "lady Moriya? How DID we get here?" Suwako was rummaging around Ail's kitchen, but stops and stares at Sanae. The only thing the others could see were the eyes on Suwako's hat as they blink at them. Suwako takes a deep breath and says "well, it's simple-" Outside Ail's house, the wind blows strongly, trapping poor Wriggle in the strong gales. She flaps her arms desperately, trying to break free of the gusts or manage to hang on to a tree, but fails. Back inside Ail's house "...and that's how we go in so quickly." finishes Suwako. Sanae smiles and asks "ohh, I see... And what are you doing there?" Suwako's hat blinks again when she says "ah, I saw this-..." Back outside, poor Wriggle manages to hang on to a branch, but as soon as she takes a breath of relief, a snake hisses in her face, threatening to eat her. She panics and lets go of the branch, preferring to ride the strong gusts, than to be eaten by a vicious snake. Just below the tree, three mischievous fairies giggle, then the snake vanishes as they continue their way back home. However, the branch Wriggle was holding on to snaps and falls on Sunny and Luna. Star just panics and tries to fly away, but is carried away by the winds. Back inside, Suwako finishes her story saying "...but I lost it, so it's ok." Both Sanae and Ail look at Suwako with disgust as Budou giggles and says "big sister is funny!"

At the gate to Makai in Gensokyo, Shinki and Yuki walk toward Sara. Sara sits on a stump, next to a sign that said "Gate to Makai. Keep Out!" Once she sees Shinki and Yuki, she spring up and bows her head to Shinki as she says "Lady Shinki. Welcome. Yu--ki? Is something wrong?" Sara quickly realizes Yuki's face is filled with both fright and anger. Shinki smiles to Sara and says "good morning, Sara. Please, don't mind us. We're just here to visit." Sara stares at Yuki for a moment, then turns her attention to Shinki. Sounding a little worried, yet managing to smile, Sara says "yes, of course, Lady Shinki. Is everything ok?" Shinki smiles and says "why yes, thanks for asking. OH, could you tell me where to find the Maiden in red and white?" Sara points her to the shrine and says "it's that way. Please tell me if you need anything else." Shinki smiles again and says "thank you. Oh, that'll be alright. Yuki will help me from here on. Come on, Yuki." Just before lifting to the air, Shinki and Yuki bow their heads to Sara, while Yuki quietly mumbles "s-sorry to bother you." Sara tries to reply, but both lift up to the air and fly away quickly. She waves at them and quietly says "no bother... at all. Oh dear. Was that really Yuki?"

At the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu is quietly sweeping the courtyard, while Mima cooks breakfast, promising it was going to be 'to die for'. She rests her head on the broom and yawns, then, without turning around, she says "Shinki, Yuki, welcome to Gensokyo. How can I help you?" Shinki was surprised, but politely replies "miss shrine maiden. You knew we were here already?" Reimu stands up straight, and while still holding on to her broom she turns around and says "your presence is too easily recognizable." Shinki smiles and bows at Reimu and says "is it ok if I visit her today?" Reimu tilts her head a little to the right and says "sure, go ahead. But why ask me?" Yuki steps forward and says "because it's the... p-proper thing to do. Right Lady Shinki?" Shinki smiles and nods. Reimu was so surprised at the polite reply from Yuki, she leaves her mouth open as she stares. Yuki gets a little uncomfortable and asks "w-what is it?" Reimu closes her mouth, having realized her rude staring and looks at Shinki. Shinki nods at Reimu, and immediately realizing there was another reason for the visit, Reimu nods back and says "Oh, I'm sorry Yuki. I didn't mean to stare like that. I'm probably still a bit sleepy, that's all." Yuki stares suspiciously at Reimu, but she nods and politely says "i-it's ok. No need to apologize." Shinki smiles again and says "well, we better get going then. Yuki, be a dear and take me to Alice's house." Yuki twitches when Shinki mentions Alice's name, but manages to hide her emotions and says "sh-sure thing L-Lady Shinki." As they lift off onto the air again, Shinki says "thank you for your time, miss maiden." Reimu waves and casually says "sure... have fun now." As soon as they leave, Reimu feels a great amount of fear and sadness, making her feel breathless, her heart beating so fast she feels as if it's about to pop out. She clenches her chest, trying to divert her attention from the pain in her heart as she kneels on the ground, gasping for air, tears falling from her eyes. Suddenly, the pain goes away, the tears dry up, her heart relaxes, and she is able to stand up again. She looks toward the Scarlet Devil Mansion, then toward the Human Village, and then to the Forest of Magic. She asks herself "what-- what the hell was that!? Where is it coming from?" She continues to look around, when she is suddenly trapped inside a bloody room, the walls beating to the rhythm of her heart and spewing out blood. She looks around and tries to call for help, but she can't shout. She notices a door and runs toward it, but as soon as she got close, a blue figure that looked just like Ail gets in her way. She smiles at him, but all he does is look away with a sad expression, then vanishes. Reimu reaches for the door as soon as Ail's figure vanishes, and as soon as she opens it, a pair of violet eyes meet her own, then suddenly, everything goes dark. Reimu gasps as she wakes up and gets up from the floor. She touches her chest and says to herself "what... I'm... alive?" From inside the shrine, Mima shouts "Breakfast is almost ready. We just have to wait until the tentacles stop moving!" Reimu feels sick for a moment and says "great. I think I rather be dead after all."

At the Scarlet Devil mansion, by the gate stands Meiling, continuing her lonely gate guard duties since Sakuya has recovered well enough to work again. Meiling's eyes look dark, and she was feeling more tired and colder than usual. She also returned her breakfast shortly after positioning herself by the gate. She passes her left hand by the bandages covering the bite wounds on her neck and realizing the bleeding had stopped, she sighs with relief. She stands up straight and crosses her arms behind her, remaining alert to her surroundings. As the minutes pass she starts feeling more and more winded. She breathers through her mouth and lightly coughs. She continues to breath through her mouth, more and more heavily as time passes by. She sees her own breath against the cold winds of winter as she continues to breathes through her mouth, and suddenly a sharp pain strikes her stomach. She grits her teeth, holds her sides and kneels on the ground. For a second, the pain subsides, but suddenly it returns. Her eyes go blank as she holds her stomach as tightly as she could, then vomits an unusual amount of blood on the ground. She was frightened. Even for a youkai as tough as her, vomiting blood is a bad sign.

From the front door Sakuya calls "Meiling~! Meiling, could you come over here!?" Meiling!?" Meiling panics and desperately punches the ground beside her blood, softening the dirt and managing to dig out enough to hide the blood under it. Sakuya walks to the gate and spots Meiling digging, and a little angry she asks "Meiling, I'm calling- What are you doing?" Meiling springs up from the ground, ignoring the unpleasant feeling in her entire body, salutes Sakuya and exclaims "I-I'm sorry miss Sakuya. Please don't be mad! I was just, err... training! Yeah, that's it!" Sakuya looks at her suspiciously for a moment, but then shrugs and says "well, whatever. Look, I need you to help me carry the clothes basket. My wound still hurts a little and I can't lift it up on my own." Meiling salutes her again and exclaims "RIGHT! Leave it to me!" Sakuya gets a little annoyed and says "you don't have to sound to enthusiastic about it." Meiling shivers, trying to hold her posture as she nervously chuckles. Sakuya looks at her suspiciously and asks "are you ok? You look a little pale." Meiling chuckles nervously again and says "I'm fine! Just like every day. Nope, nothing wrong with me, you can be certain about that!" Sakuya sighs and says "fine, fine... Just... come inside and help me a little." Meiling sweats as she follows Sakuya inside, hoping she won't have another one of those fits in front of her.

At Alice's house, Alice wakes up from a dream where she hands a silver dagger to Yuki, telling her to 'do it' and snickering as she did. Alice gasps as she remembers how in the dream, Yuki slices her own throat without hesitation. Alice continues to think that it was all her fault. She jumps out of bed and says to Shanghai "I'm going to Makai. I have to speak with Yuki and tell her I'm sorry." The little doll blinks and nods, then follows Alice outside after she was done dressing up. When Alice opens the door, she's met by a surprise, as Shinki is just about to knock. For a moment, Alice and Shinki stare at each other without making a move, or even smiling at each other. Suddenly, Shinki breaks the awkward moment with a smile and says "A-Alice? Is... is that you, Alice? It's me... It's Shinki!" Alice covers her mouth, which she leaves wide open as she gasps. For a moment, it looked like she was about to close the door, run away, or possibly even faint, but instead, she dashes toward Shinki and gives her a hug. While they hug, Shinki says "Alice, my little Alice. You've grown so much... and so quickly too." Alice repliess "lady Shinki. I missed you so much!" as they continue to hug by the doorway on Alice's house.

At the Youkai Mountain, Kyo is trying to infiltrate the tengu's domain along with Medicine. They want Luna, and they plan on getting her back. They manage to get behind the waterfall, on to a large opening, leading onto a well lit cave. Kyo signals Medicine to follow him closely, but quickly realizes they are trapped. Medicine was surrounded by three tengu, all pointing large lances at her neck. Kyo unleashes his energy, generating his energy sword and shield. He though he could take all three out with a single swipe, but from behind him Momiji says "miss Aya though something like this could happen and asked to keep you away by any means necessary, mister Kaizo" Kyo slowly turns around with an annoyed look on his face and says "don't call me that!" He notices Momiji has a shield with a maple leaf design, and a really long scimitar. He smirks and chuckles then says "don't get in my way. I don't want to hurt you all." Momiji prepares a defensive stance as she glares at Kyo. Again, Kyo chuckles and says "I beat an oni, and a pretty powerful one at that. What hope of stopping me do you think you possibly have?" Momiji continues to glare at Kyo, strengthening her stance as she did. Kyo chuckles again, shrugs and says "fine. Have it your way." Kyo rushes toward Momiji and strikes with his full power. Momiji uses her shield to defend herself, avoiding a direct impact, but the raw power of Kyo's strike sends her flying back against a wall, cracking the stone wall upon impact. Kyo smiles as Momiji falls on the ground, thinking he has attained victory. He turns around to free Medicine from the other tengu, but they were all gone. "What the-? Where did they go?" Momiji struggles to stand back up, but using her sword as at support, she manages to get up. She takes a few breaths and says "I will not let you pass." She struggle a little, but manages to stance defensively again. Kyo makes the energy shield on his left arm turn to formless energy, then he joins his hands together and generates a large sword the same size of his own body. He glares at Momiji and says "I'm not leaving without Luna."

Back at Alice's house, Alice, Shinki and Yuki sit in the living room, Shinki and Alice catching up with each other as Yuki quietly listens, looking nervously at Alice every time they looked into each others eyes. Alice feels a tug in her heart, and wants to say how sorry she is to Yuki, but she gets distracted when talking to Shinki. "Are you sure you're ok living like this? So far away from others, always by yourself?" asks Shinki. Alice smiles and replies "yeah, I really do. My dolls keep me company, and believe it or not, I do have some friends." Yuki giggles, but immediately covers her mouth while looking at Alice with panic in her eyes. Yuki lowers her arms and tries to calm down while saying "I'm so sorry. I-I didn't mean to-" Alice gets up from her chair and slowly walks toward Yuki. Yuki's heart beats faster as Alice gets closer. She could feel her entire body trembling, fearful of what Alice might do, or say to her this time. Alice stops right in front of her and kneels so that their eyes could meet. Yuki's eyes get filled with tears as she trembles violently, looking into Alice's eyes. "I-I'm so sorry sis... Alice!" says Yuki, hoping her apology was not in vain. She looks back into Alice's eyes and notices she was also crying. Suddenly, Alice bows her head and says "please forgive me, Yuki!" Shinki smiles while still sitting on the chair, but doesn't turn around. She just waits and listens. Yuki could not believe her ears. She stops trembling and looks at Alice, directly into her eyes. Alice then adds "I'm sorry, Yuki! I said really mean things to you, and I hurt you, and.. I'm so very sorry. Can you ever forgive me?" For a moment, Yuki thought she was dreaming, so she touches her face, then Alice's and says "I'm not dreaming... Sis? You forgive me for being a nuisance?" Alice sniffles and says "no, don't apologize! I'm the one who must apologize. I didn't mean all those things! I was just so angry, and I wasn't thinking. I just... I acted like a child. I'm sorry." For a moment, it looked as though Yuki wouldn't accept Alice's apology, but very suddenly she gasps with a smile on her face, and in a high-pitched tone of voice she exclaims "of course I forgive you~!" Yuki spring up from her chair, grabs Alice and forces a tight, bone-cracking hug. As she hugs Alice she adds "but you gotta forgive me as well, ok!?" Trying to gasp for air, Alice replies "of course... I forgive you... sis..." When Yuki realizes she was hugging Alice too tightly so she loosens her grip. Alice falls limp on Yuki's hands with a smile on her face as a little white spirit floats upward from inside her smiling mouth. "Alice, are you ok?" asks Yuki, looking curiously at the ghost escaping from Alice.

At the tengu's mountain, behind the waterfall, Kyo holds a large energy sword he made by using both hands, sacrificing his energy shield. Momiji holds her defensive stance, awaiting Kyo's next move. He rushes to her and swings the enormous blade at her. Momiji sprints out of the way and shoots some danmaku at Kyo that quickly impacts him. He takes a few deep breaths to ignore the pain as he lifts up the large energy blade. The blade had left a large hole where it landed. Momiji looks at it and thinks "it's powerful, but I'm faster, and he can't manage it well enough. I can win this, miss Aya!" Kyo stances with his sword at the same height as his head, pointing at Momiji. He keeps his sights on her as he says "I don't really want to hurt you, but you're in my way. Back-off now and let me pass, or I WILL use force." Momiji changes her stance, lowering her shield and raising her scimitar above her head and says "invaders must be dealt with, regardless of who he, or she is." Kyo smirks and quickly runs toward Momiji, shouting as he did. As soon as he was in range, he thrusts the energy sword toward Momiji, but she manages to jump away just in time, flips while in the air, releasing danmaku on top of Kyo's head, then lands a few feet away, repositioning herself in the same stance as before, glaring at Kyo. He rubs his head and growls, then turns around and shouts "now you're gonna GET IT!" Again, he summons one sword in each hand, then joins them together, creating a large energy blade once more. He feels tired. His body is starting to feel sluggish. Kyo knows he can't take much more of this. "Dammit all! Why the hell am I so tired already? I defeated Suika, so why can't I beat this weakling!?" thinks Kyo as he looks around, hoping to find something he could use against Momiji. He fails to find anything to use to his advantage and thinks "If I lose now, Youmu will never let me hear the end of it! Let alone Suika... That's it. I'm going all out with this attack." Kyo shouts as he expels great amounts of energy and sending it all into his energy sword, making it grow in size and glow with power. Momiji flinches for a moment, but quickly recovers and firmly remains in her stance. Kyo shouts as he rushes to her again. He is just inches away from her, so he raises his sword and swings it down with might. Momiji lunges to him and swings her sword straight to his neck. Kyo manages to block her blade just before it reaches his neck, but fails to notice Momiji spinning like a top beside him, gaining momentum by the second, then she uses her shield and strikes Kyo at the back of his his head, sending him flying out the waterfall and down to the river. Before he plunges into the water, Momiji manages to quickly catch him by the back of his shirt, and tosses him back on dry land next to Medicine, who was sitting by the other three tengu, quietly fishing.

At Alice's house, Yuki and Alice, having finally made up, were having a good time, just talking and enjoying a peaceful chat along with Shinki. Alice gets up and says "ah, I'll go make us some more tea. Would anyone like some cookies as well?" Yuki raises her hand as she smiles and shouts "ooh, ohh, me, me, me! I want cookies!" Alice sighs and says "fine, just calm down." Shinki giggles, getting the attention from Alice and Yuki. Shinki stops giggling and says "look at you two. You both look so happy now. Yuki, I'm glad to see you back to yourself again, but..." Yuki and Alice look curiously at Shinki as she gets up and says "Yuki, child. Don't you think that after this experience, you should behave a little more?" Yuki thinks for a moment as Shinki continues "and Alice. You see how a little patience can go a long way, am I right?" Both girls look at each other, unable to say anything. Shinki laughs and says "what I'm saying is, through this experience, didn't you two learn anything about yourselves and each other?" Alice smiles and says "I guess... you're right. I did learn a little something." Yuki sighs and says "I guess behaving a little more maturely wouldn't hurt." Shinki wraps her arms around Alice and pulls her down as she wraps her other arm around Yuki and says "but you know, even mature women like ourselves can have some fun from time to time, right?" Alice blushes a little as she says "well... yeah, I guess." Yuki adds "sure. Fun is always fun!" Shinki smiles and says "glad to hear it." Suddenly, bursting through the door come Mai, Yumeko, and Luize, all smiling and shouting "then let's have some fun today!" Alice sweats when she sees all of them together like that in her house, but Shanghai pats her shoulder, then Alice smiles and says "this is going to be a fun reunion after all." then walks toward the three girls at the door and says "Yumeko, Luize, so glad to see you. It's been so long. Mai, so glad to see you again." Yuki and Shinki smile, then Yuki says "whoa, Luize... you look so skinny. What happened to you?" Although Luize smiles, a vein on the side of her forehead showed great anger as she says "I've... been on an unnecessary diet, thanks to SOMEONE here!" Yuki looks at her curiously, then smiles and says "aww~ You're in love? Who's the poo--lucky fella?" Luize clenches her fist and shouts "I'll SHOW you 'fat hag' you brat!" and suddenly, Alice's front yard becomes a small battle field. Shinki sighs as she stands by Alice's side and placing a hand on Alice's shoulder she says "how about that tea?" Alice gulps and says "y-yeah... good idea."

At the bottom of the waterfall, Kyo lies face-up on the ground, but is unable to get up. Momiji stares at him with her ears lowered and says "I'm sorry, mister Ka-Kyo. Aya asked me to keep you away, and I will not fail miss Aya." Kyo calmly asks "how? How were you able to beat me so easily. I've beat Youmu, and Suika, but why not you?" Momiji replies a little shocked, saying "you don't have to say it like THAT!" She sighs and says "you are very strong and gifted, but you lack discipline with the sword and shield. You were just swinging wildly at me while I waited for my chance. Thanks to my training, I found a large gap in your defenses. *Sigh* I could have beaten you a lot quicker, if I wasn't so weak." Kyo stares at the sky for a moment. Medicine and the other three tengu were now playing cards, oddly enough 'Go Fish'. The tengu to the left asks "got any sevens?" Medicine calmly replies "go fish." Kyo manages to raise his head to look at Momiji and says "I understand...Luna will have to stay here for a while... I just wanted to see her, but..." Momiji extends her hand and helps Kyo up. He stays sitting on the ground and asks "can... can you train me? You know, to use my sword and shield a little better?" Momiji scowls as she says "mister Kyo, please don't make fun of me!" Kyo looks at her in the eyes and says "I'm not the kind to joke about this. Look, this isn't easy for me to say... I though I was doing great, the way I was going, but..." Momiji sighs and says "I can help you, but... I'm very weak compared to others, or yourself even, so I don't know how much I can be of help to you." Kyo manages to smile and says "then will you help me?" Momiji crouches beside him and says "on one condition." Kyo says "anything" Momiji smiles and says "you will do exactly as I ask you to, without any complaints from your part, AND you will respect the tengu rules around her, understand?" Kyo hesitates for a moment, then nods. Momiji giggles and wags her tail as she says "wow, this makes me your master now." Kyo looks up to the sky with disgust in his face as he thinks "great... now what did I get into this time? Gensokyo is such a pain... Great, I'm sounding just like Reimu now."

At the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu suddenly sneezes. She sniffles as she rubs her nose with her finger and says "if I get a cold now, I'm gonna be in trouble." From inside, Maribel is chasing a ball of yarn Mima was tossing around. When the ball of yarn bounces back to Mima, causing Maribel to follow it straight to Mima, she grabs the blond cat girl and says "you are just so ADORABLE!!! I wanna eat you up!" Maribel giggle, then suddenly she sneezes violently, sending out some of those pink energy hearts of hers, blasting Mima's face with a few. She sniffles and immediately realizes her cat tail was gone. She trembles as she touches her head, but feels the ears and says "*PHEW* still there *giggle*" Mima looks at her a little annoyed and says "crap, the spell is wearing off."

At Ail's house, while Ail And Sanae speak about the events to come, Suwako and Budou rummage around the kitchen, looking for who-knows-what in there. Budou opens her mouth and squeaks for a moment, then keeps quiet. The high-pitched squeak made Ail and Sanae cover their ears in pain. "What was that!?" exclaims Sanae. Suwako calmly says "geez, you two look like you've never heard a bat use it's sonar before." Ail asks "sonar?" Budou suddenly says "ah, papa Ail, there are some rotten berries inside the cabinet. I'll clean them for you." Ail looks at Suwako in shock. Suwako looks back a little annoyed and says "yes, a bat sonar. They use it to see things around them. You know, you should read some animal books." Sanae and Ail look at each other, smile and shrug.

At a small little house in an unknown area close to the Youkai Mountain, Minoriko and Shizuha Aki drop their heads on their table, looking depressed and continually sighing. Shizuha says "oy, sis." Minoriko replies without moving her head "yeah sis?" Shizuha then lazily turns her head to face her sister with a depressed expression and says "we didn't do much this autumn, did we?" Minoriko faces her sister, looking equally depressed and says "no... we didn't" Shizuha then says "and winter is here." Minoriko slowly nods and says "yeah... winter" Shizuha sighs again and says "I don't like winter, sis." Minoriko sighs as well and says "me neither sis. Me neither..." From outside, Shizuha's scream echoes "AUTUMN~~!!! COME BACK TO U~S *sob*"

To be continued...
Characters and scenario belong to ZUN
Ail, Kyo, Agava, Luna and Budou were created by Willie G.R.
Help, assistance and ideas in making this chapter by snapshot

SEP 6 2009
written by
Willie G.R.