Hikari Hakurei was asleep.

In another room, Reimu and Marisa were celebrating a year well done- in the way you'd expect, of course.

"Oooh, ho ho ho!" Yukari giggled with glee as she sent enchanted sake bottles slowly twirling through the air, the drink spilling everywhere.

...It also happened to be a wild, drunken party.

"Wazzafrazzawazza…" Reimu grumbled, her head on the counter.

"Ya...y'know Reimu…" Marisa brought her arm around and slammed her friend in the back.

"Yaae!" Reimu squealed, sitting up.

"Yer daughter's been awfully quiet, zee~hehehe…"

Reimu turned to her friend, giving an uneven glare. "Shesh… Alwaysh quieht!"

"Aye dunno…" Marisa rolled her head around.

"Shaddap!" Reimu smacked Marisa on the back of the head with her sake bottle, knocking her out cold.

One of the twirling sake bottles then flew near Reimu, and she violently lashed out at it, causing an explosion of sake.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

ThudThudThud!

"Waaaugh!"

Hikari's eyes blinked open. '...W-what…'

Rising from bed, she walked near the door to her room, only to hear the murmur of a merry party, coupled by her mother's tendency to inflict violence on moving objects when drunk.

'Oh. Mom's drunk again. Not entirely surprised.' Just the Gensokyo way of celebrating the new year, she supposed.

ThudThudThud!

"D-damn it, Yoohkari!"

Smash!

Thud!

"A-aaa~h!"

'...She's a little rowdier than usual. I guess it's just the party atmosphere. I don't want anyone to get it wrong, Mom's not a drunk… but when she did get drunk, I really couldn't say so with confidence.'

Hikari looked a lot like her mother did around her age, but they've got a major key difference of being very different in attitude. Where her mother was typically quite headstrong and brash, she was far more reserved. Whether or not this would be a good trait for the Hakurei miko has yet to be determined.

She was also far less vocal, and far less experienced than her mother had been at this age. She'd seen a few places, namely the human village and the forestry around the shrine. She's gone down to the Misty Lake before and been through the Forest of Magic a few times, but only to get to Marisa's house- a friend of her mother's. She's seen a mansion across the lake, but only from afar.

Her room was plain, but there was a plentiful bookshelf near her futon. There were also some clothing supplies in a dresser nearby, and in the corner of the room was an oversized present.

'...I don't remember that last thing.' Hikari narrowed her eyes as her eyes ran across the present.

Approaching it, she kneeled down and opened it gingerly.

Inside was…

Hikari obtained Hand-me-down Gohei!

Hikari obtained twenty Ofuda!

Hikari blinked. "...Ah."

'...I guess it's a step up from that wooden pole I had before.' She looked across the room to the wooden pole she had been using in place of a gohei. Her mother wanted to make sure she knew how to use one before she did, but considering her mother used it the overwhelming majority of the time as a whacking stick, she really couldn't see why.

'It's about time. I'm already eighteen…'

She gave a lopsided smile to the ofuda.

'I already know how to make these, too… but I guess more couldn't hurt.'

She moved up to her window. Looking out, Hikari was able to see the bright cluster of stars and other colors in the night sky. 'Mom always said that Gensokyo had the best sky of anywhere. I could probably count the number of times she's been outside of Gensokyo on two hands.'

Or so Hikari thought, anyway. She didn't really know, even though her mother told her a lot about what she did in the past when she was her age.

'...I'm not really inclined to believe most of it, though. Just like I'm not inclined to believe that I'm having a self-reflective session. I think too much in bed.'

Comparing life then, versus now? Either her mother and her mother's friend were losing it, or for whatever reason life got ten times as mundane when she was born. The most spectacular daily thing was fairy shenanigans, and the most spectacular occasional thing was either 'aunt' Yukari playing practical jokes or the occasional youkai who actually means business- whom her mother would seal readily and without hassle.

As such, books seemed relatively more exciting right now.

She was about to look away from the window, when outside she saw something. For only a moment, though.

'Aunts are family friends, right? I'm just going to assume they're family friends and not blood relatives or something…'

…

'Wait, there… there!'

Hikari's eyes widened when she saw an orange comet descend. It was coming closer to her shrine… and kept coming closer…

Eventually, it landed in the forest-

Boom!

-just outside the shrine, and beneath the grand slope of the Hakurei hillside.

The shrine shook as the meteor struck nearby forestry.

"Yeaa~h!" cheered the drunken crowd inside, oblivious to the source of the noise.

Hikari froze up. '...Of all the times for my mother to be drunk off her ass…'

…

The partying inside the shrine was still going on as normal.

Hikari sighed. 'I guess it's up to me, now…'

She looked down to her pajamas. '...Not in these, it's not, though.'

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Leaping from the window, now clad in her miko outfit, Hikari readied her new gohei and ofuda as she marched into the darkness of the night.

'Next time this happens, I don't care how drunk Mom is. I'm marching out there, pointing her in a direction, and just letting her go to town.'

An angry, drunken Reimu was a scary Reimu, and also a very tanky Reimu, which more than made up for her intoxication.

It was for this reason Hikari only drank on occasion… and in moderation. 'If I ever decide to.'

Barreling down the hillside, Hikari quickly exited the shrine grounds, and in no time she was in the forest. Despite some of her friends knowing flight already, Reimu told her it was one of the last things she wanted to teach her, mostly so that she wouldn't endanger herself by exploring somewhere with vastly less considerate and more powerful youkai.

Wherever Reimu took her, though, the Hakurei were met with swell reception.

The sudden shuffling of leaves caused Hikari to stop on a dime.

'...Someone's here!'

Hikari pointed at the shimmering leaves. "Sh-show… you-yourself!"

'...When you haven't talked all night, and you suddenly talk and it comes out all weak. Dang it...'

Hikari wasn't one for linguistics.

Out of the tree's leaves came a crow. It was a crow wearing sunglasses.

Hikari blankly observed it.

"Caahahaaw!" The crow sneered at Hikari, appearing more like a cartoon character than an actual crow.

'...Just what the hell is this?'

It wasn't any youkai she had ever heard of, and most of the fear inducing ones were humanoids. Yet, this thing… it was unique.

Hikari felt a trace of something she didn't like, though.

"Cahahahaw!"

It was laughing, apparently.

Suddenly, Hikari was forced to shield herself as the crow swooped for her eyes.

'Egh…!'

She stumbled back as it pecked at her arms, cutting her skin with surprising force.

'Da-damn it…'

Hikari winced at the new, bleeding cuts she obtained, and shook her head.

"St-stupid crow!"

'...Could I really not think of anything better than that?'

She winced at her own verbal jab, and readied the gohei.

"Cahahahaw!"

Bracing herself, Hikari swung the gohei as hard as she could-

SMAAAA~SH!

"Caaa~w!" The crow flew back, and landed on the grass with a thud. It stopped moving.

…

'...Was that it?' Hikari furrowed her brows and examined the gohei. 'Surely a stick this thin isn't this strong…'

Suddenly, a red mist emanated from the crow.

'Of course…' She braced herself for a tough fight ahead.

The mist took to the air, whirling around in a seemingly idle pattern, before dissipating, becoming too thin to see anymore. In its wake was a normal crow.

"Caaaw!"

It flew away frantically, flapping its wings desperately.

"...Oh."

'That happened.'

Advancing forward, Hikari was on guard for more adversaries.

Pressing forward, finding no adversaries, she found herself staring down into a hole…

'...I think I found the culprit.'

...and found herself looking at a bright, orange, glowing meteorite.

'Now what?'

...

Suddenly, there was more rustling amongst the bushes.

'Ah. Well, at least I'll have some better lighting…' Hikari readied herself, assuming something else had come to take a chance at her.

Out of the bushes came guardsmen, from the human village.

Hikari relaxed. 'Oh… I suppose they'd have felt it, too. Now I feel silly, coming out like this by myself…'

One of the guards walked up to Hikari. "At ease, Hakurei. We're the town guard."

'I'm not putting this gohei down.' Hikari's adrenaline was still spiked after that vicious crow attack.

The guard stared at her as she still held the gohei and ofuda, not bothering to put anything away. "...We came to check out this disturbance."

'From the looks of it, there wasn't really much to check out…'

There was only the glowing meteor. Not terribly exciting, Hikari had to admit.

"...Say, uh… Reimu, if I can call you that…" The guard began.

Hikari didn't say anything. 'Who are you?'

Stepping in place idly, he gave his best attempt at a casual smile, scratching the back of his head. "...How's uh… how's my man doing? How's Hikari coming along, too?"

...

'This is awkward…' Hikari half wanted to not reply, but the silence began to feel crippling.

She scratched her head. "...We-well, you see…"

The guard instantly recognized the voice. "O-oh, sorry! You're, uhm… Hikari, aren't you? Sorry about that… you just act a lot like your mother did- does... It's late at night, and… yeah…"

'...Mom's not nearly as scrawny as me. She's not nearly as awkward, either.' Hikari wouldn't say anything, though.

Suddenly, some guardsmen were elbowed aside by a particularly chubby member of their ranks.

"Hey!"

"Agh- watch it, buddy!"

"The hell!?"

A tubby, childish looking man dressed in overalls with bits of armor adorning them barreled his way through the guards.

"Out of the way! Make through! Come and get… em? Whatever!"

Hikari sighed deeply. 'Not this clown again…'

The guardsman near Hikari groaned. "Aw, geez…"

The manchild glanced at Hikari, and suddenly did a double take. "Aaww, look who it is! Reimu Junior decided to actually do her job for once!"

'This gohei is going so far up his ass.'

"Wha-what're you doing here, Porky...?"

'Damn it, voice box...' Hikari felt herself strain to get the last part out, running out of breath prematurely.

"What am I doing here!?" Porky Minch looked around to the other guardsmen in faux exasperation. None of the other guardsmen humored him, all just settling to stare at him awkwardly.

"What are you doing here!?" He jabbed his finger towards Hikari abruptly. "Shouldn't shut ins like you be reading books while mommy goes out to do... whatever it is stupid mikos do?" He accented his final point by flailing his arms in the air lackadaisically.

'He's an even bigger shithead past bedtime. Who knew?'

Withholding a sigh, she tried to continue talking. "Yeah, y-yeah… What are-"

Hikari's quiet voice is cut off. "Look, look, look, Hikari, you're getting in the guard's way! Just go back to bed, and in the morning I, the great Porky, will stop by to tell you all about tonight's great adventure! Just you wait!"

As much as Hikari wanted to beat the shit out of him then and there, she contained herself. After all, she didn't want the first impression with the town guardsmen to be beating up the captain's son, no matter how much he deserved it.

With another sigh, Hikari began walking away.

"Ah-ah, wait!" The guardsman from before called out to her, but she didn't stop.

'Typical…'

After a long trudge back up the hillside, she reached her window, and she climbed in.

'What a waste of time. I should be sleeping, now…'

Stripping herself of her miko attire, she decided she was too lazy to throw the pajamas back on and just decided to sleep in her bindings. 'It's not like it made any difference anyway. Aside from being a little uncomfortable...'

The sound of partying had died down too, everyone having presumably drank themselves into comas or something. Hikari didn't really care about the specifics, as long as it was quiet...

…

Hikari is now sound asleep, snoring peacefully.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari was sound asleep.

Violent shaking stirs her awake.

"Hu-huh- what!?" She shouted, the comfort of sleep quickly leaving her.

"Hi-Hikari! Hikari~! You gotta wake up!"

'What the hell!?'

Hikari normally doesn't like foul language all that much, she'd like to believe.

Sometimes the reaction is completely warranted, though.

"Hikari~! Hikari~!"

She flails her limbs at the person shaking her. "I-I'm up! St-stop!"

She rolls out of the futon, taking the covers with her.

"Hi-Hi-..."

...Hikari realizes she had nothing but her bindings on… and the person waking her up was Porky.

Standing up and whirling the blanket around herself, Hikari glares at Porky.

'What the hell is he doing here!?'

Porky grins. "Heheh… You know, for such a stupid miko, you're hot!"

Hikari blushes... 'Rea-really?'

...and then violently shakes her head. 'No! No! What the hell!'

Blushing, he stuffs his hands into his pockets. "...You know, I guess I wouldn't mind if you wanted to, y'know, make out with-"

Porky didn't get to finish his sentence as Hikari's foot went into his crotch.

"Mee-heeeee~!"

"Ge-get out…" Hikari glared at Porky.

"B-but… Hikari…!" Porky whined, his voice now higher pitched.

"Get out! Pervert!"

Bam! Porky was kicked in the chest, and despite his armor bitlets, he was sent flat on his butt.

He held out his arms to defend himself. "Augh! W-wait, Hikari…!"

Those efforts were in vain.

Bam! Hikari's foot slipped past his forearms, hitting his upper torso.

"St-stop!" Moving to grab her ankles, Porky missed.

Bam! He was pushed against the floor by another kick from Hikari.

"N-no…!" Putting up his dukes, Porky readied to fist fight the incoming feet.

Repositioning herself, Hikari readied to put the guy into a coma.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Winded, Hikari fumbled for her gohei to deal the finishing blow. After grabbing it, she was swifter...

SMAAAA~SH!

Porky was knocked unconscious…

"Hah… ha~h… hah…" Hikari panted, finished venting her frustrations.

'...I suppose I should get my clothes on, now…' She was still seething. 'Porky doesn't deserve shit, especially not a glance at any woman's body.'

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"My-my brother! He came out after me, only to get his stupid butt lost! I mean, who does that!? Come on!... Please, Hikari! Help your best friend out! C'mon, old buddy!" Porky playfully nudged Hikari in the side, as if they were old friends.

'Seriously?' Here she thought she could sleep in peace. 'Apparently I can just write that one off the list…'

Fully dressed and armed, Hikari marched around the shrine now other knickknacks, abandoning Porky in her room. 'Maybe he was never here at all. I'm just having a bad dream, or something.'

She was free to roam into the shrine grounds because everyone was in an alcohol induced coma. It wasn't that her mother didn't want her out and about; quite the contrary, Hikari simply didn't like the party atmosphere.

Stepping outside her room, she was greeted into the room by the strong scent of alcohol.

Porky was followed her, because he was awake.

"Whe-where're you going, Hikari!? You have to help me! If you don't, I'll say something rea~lly mean about you!"

'Oh, the dread. The sorrow. The agony.' Hikari smiled to herself. "Look, Porky, I'm just looking for some things to set out, first."

"Pffft! Like your mommy? Hahaha- oof!"

Hikari stuffed an ofuda in his mouth. "Shut it, lest you wake up the sleeping dead."

'I'm quite proud of that one.' Hikari felt she was getting the hang of this whole 'witty banter' thing.

"Mmph!" Porky found that his vocal chords didn't transcend paper.

Hikari tip-toed around the sleeping forms of multiple very uniquely dressed women, as Porky loudly stomped behind her. She recognized a few faces here, and a few others she didn't recognize.

Byakuren Hijiri, the 'superhuman'. 'Mom says she's really a youkai, and so do a ton of villagers… not that the village is that great of a place, usually. She's really nice and stuff, and I saw her during… last new years, I think? I can't bring myself to trust her.'

Remilia Scarlet, an unaging vampire mistress. 'She's come over a few times, but I've never really talked with her. She seems kinda mean, really… and Mom keeps telling me to be wary of her. She's definitely a real vampire, though.'

Tenshi Hinanawi, some kind of heavenly super person. 'I really don't hear too much about her, but she's stopped by sometimes. She brought me peaches once, too. I didn't talk with her for more than a few minutes. She's kinda all-over-the-place.'

Yuuka Kazami. Her folks said she was a monster. Everyone she met says she's a monster. Why she's sleeping under a pile of smashed flower pots and dirt, she'll never know. Hikari was still pretty confident she was a monster, though.

These were just a few of the faces Hikari could make out from her mother's tales. It was a little surreal seeing them all just… here.

Porky worked the ofuda out of his mouth. "Duu~de… Look at all these hot babes…" he spoke in a hushed whisper.

Hikari glared at him. "If you touch any of them, they will wake up and literally rip your dick off. Mark my words."

Porky scoffed. "Yeah, okay, Hikari. You just don't want me getting sexy with mommy, do you?"

'What's with him and my mom!?' Hikari twitched. "...No, I just don't want to have to clean up your blood once Yuuka Kazami over there turns you into a fine mist."

Porky smiled widely. "Yuuka Kazami!? Why the hell would-"

Porky's eyes stopped on Yuuka's sleeping form.

"...Ok-okay, I'll be outside the window. Follow me... if you're not chicken…" With that, Porky fled.

'Stupid.'

...If there was one thing Hikari learned from her mother, it was that a little thievery went a long way… and who else to practice it on than family-friend Marisa, the acclaimed master thief?

Tip-toeing up to her sleeping figure, Hikari reached for her pocket…

"Whad'dre ya doin'!?" Marisa suddenly sprang up towards her, holding up her arms and grinning widely.

"A-ah…!" Hikari leaped back, and tripped over, falling onto Suika, resident oni and drunkard.

"Heheheh… Shoulda seen your face, ze. Priceless…" Marisa grinned jovially.

'Classic aunt Marisa…' Hikari clambered off Suika's sleeping figure. This wasn't the first time Marisa thwarted her efforts, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

'I'm a bit relieved I fell on Suika. I know she's not waking up any time soon…'

"Thought you could one up your 'ol aunt, now?" Marisa let her teeth show as she grinned. "You're gonna have to try a 'lil harder than that, da ze."

'That's not how being an aunt works…'

She ran her eyes up and down Hikari's figure. "...I see yer all dressed up and ready to go. You've even got that gohei… Heheh, you look so~ much like Reimu s'almost scary..."

'I get that a lot. Particularly from you.' Hikari smiled casually.

"I heard that stupid village kid in here. I dunno what you kids are up to, but it's pretty late, so y'know, be safe and all that, alright?" Marisa's grin shifts to a more sincere smile as she stares at Hikari.

"I will, aunt Marisa…" Hikari somewhat awkwardly assured her 'aunt'. 'I think she's still drunk…'

"Heheheh… Go get'em, Hikari-chan." With that, Marisa laid her head back down on the bar counter that was set up in the shrine. "...I'll just catch a little shuteye. Got one he~ll of a hangover, ze…"

'I probably can't try the whole 'thieving' thing again for now. But...' She looked over at the other party guests, particularly Remilia and Yuuka. '...Nuh-uh. No way. Not worth it.'

With that, Hikari entered her room once more, and made for the window.

"Psst! Hikari! Out here! Out here!" Porky yell-whispered from the window.

"Shut it." Hikari snapped, leaping into and out the window in a few fluid motions.

"Oh, crap!" Porky ducked, not expecting Hikari to fluently leap out the window.

"Come on, we don't have all day." Assertively, she begins to try bossing the manchild around.

Porky jerked his head back. "Day? It's night, dummy." It didn't work so well.

"I don't care." she replied simply. 'Ugh…'

"...'Cause you're stupid."

'...You know, Porky's a real piece of shit sometimes.' Hikari thought the obvious.

Hikari raced down the hillside while Porky took his sweet time slowly stumbling down the whole way. Even if she wasn't taught how to fly, Hikari still knew how to manipulate the wind to guide her running a bit. 'I'm going downhill, too- the perfect combination for a sweet superspeed run!'

'Those were the days…'

One of her old hobbies was seeing how fast she could take off down the Hakurei hillside- and how far she could ride that speed until she defaulted. Unfortunately, the climb back up was always a chore. 'Once I learn how to fly, I could effortlessly try over and over!'

'I'm getting excited just thinking about it!' Hikari grinned, bringing her arms together, long having reached the bottom of the hill while she was recollecting nostalgia.

"...What stupid miko stuff are you doing now?" Porky sighed. "Look, dad's gonna beat me rea~l bad if you don't find my brother Picky quick! You're the Hakurei Miko, do something!"

'Look, Porky, can you stop being… infinitely insufferable, for literally just five seconds to let me enjoy myself? The sooner a youkai ambushes us and decides to take off with him, the better.' She'd make sure to tell nobody. Porky? She never saw a Porky that evening, not after she went home and went to bed. 'Perfect cover story.'

The bushes rustled. 'Could the Hakurei god- whoever it was- be answering my plea? Are they sending a youkai to whisk Porky away?'

"Awoooo~!"

It was the piercing howl of…!

...a stray dog.

'You're kidding me.' Hikari hunched over.

"Oh-.. oh my God, What is that!?" Porky held her hands to his face, and began tearing up. "Do-do something, Hakurei! Do something already! Let it eat you first!"

"It's a dog, dumbass." 'Seriously.' Red mist poured like smoke from the dog's hide, quickly and gradually calming until it rested on the dog's flesh, as if more like mist. '...That mist really makes me wonder, though…'

It still undoubtedly looked like a dog, and she knew Porky didn't know his lefts and his rights, let alone anything about unholy mists… 'I mean, I still confuse left and right myself, sometimes… I don't think anyone knows, though. Besides Mom.'

'...Look, I never had to really think about it that much!' Hikari argued with herself mentally.

The dog leaped forward, and leaped back, prompting Hikari to take a defensive stance.

'Wh-what am I doing? I can't afford to be careless now…'

"Arf! Arf!"

The dog charged for Hikari, who swung her gohei at it.

Thwack!

The dog reeled back, but quickly brushed its head past the blow, and charged into Hikari.

Crunch! Its teeth sunk into her thigh, which was exposed by her dainty shrine maiden clothing.

"Aaaa~h!" Hikari wailed, the dog sinking its teeth deeper into her thigh when she tried to pull away.

'Shit! Not good, not good…!'

"You-you good for nothing, stupid miko! If I die- if I die… I hate you!" Porky began crying, because that helps.

Thwack! Thwack!

Hikari smacked the dog, forcing it to release its hold on her leg.

"A-ah…" Scrunching her face, Hikari began crying, pain forcing her to clench her teeth.

As the dog ran back, she took this moment to lob an ofuda at it.

'Di-die, you stupid, awful thing!'

The ofuda struck the dog, and emitted a holy white light.

"Ar-arf! Awooo-"

Flash!

Bam!

The dog was blown back into a tree. A red mist was violently shot from the dog, which promptly faded away in the light of the ofuda. Moments later- free of violent red mist- the dog shook itself, as if getting water from its hide. Red mist continued to violently expel from it as it awkwardly strutted away, the ofuda fluctuating in brightness wildly.

…

"A-ah...a-aah…" Tears streamed from Hikari's wide eyes, as she examined the open, bleeding bite mark in her leg.

'Th-this can't-... it hurts…'

Rarely before had she had to really deal with serious injuries like this.

'It-it hurts…'

She watched the blood flow from the wound. She always had someone around when she was hurt.

'Ma-make it stop…'

Porky was babbling something, but Hikari wasn't listening. Someone was always there to pick her up when she fell down.

Her voice cracked. "Mo-mom…"

…

'...make it stop!'

Hikari shut her eyes.

With one last forceful thought, combined with Hikari's will and focus on her injury…

Hikari Hakurei learned Lifeup α!

...Hikari opened her eyes, and the pain was gone. Her wound was gone.

"Wh-what…?"

She blinked in realization of what had just happened.

'Did I just…?'

Her hearing expanded again, now including Porky's incessant babbling.

"If-if you die, then my dad will beat me super hard, and then- and then Reimu will hurt me and- and I'll be like, grounded for for… for… I don't even kno~ho~hoow! Don't die, idiot!" He began jumping in place, chanting. "Don't die! Don't die! Don't die!"

'...That's somehow the opposite of heartwarming.'

Now that she thought about it... 'Why couldn't that dog have bitten Porky? Surely no one would have missed him.'

Pressing forward, they eventually reached the meteorite again. It was where it always was, still glowing and everything.

"Just where the hell is your brother?" Hikari was fed up with this evening.

'Surely you must have some idea…'

"I-I don't know! That's why I got you! You forget already!?" Porky scoffs, his voice still louder than normal, as he was still uppity from before.

'...Does this guy come with an off switch?' Holding up her gohei, Hikari considered finding it.

...

"Po~rky! Po~rky!" A tinier voice called from the nearby brush.

'That's probably him.' Sighing in relief, Hikari relaxed her posture.

"Hey!" I call out, because apparently Porky picked this time of all times to shut up.

Picky makes his way through the brush, and emerges into the clearing. "Porky, there you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Porky is suspiciously quiet.

'...Hold on…'

Hikari swiftly turns her head towards him. "Di-did-"

Picky interjects. "Yes, Hikari, Porky got scared and ran away when all the guardsmen ran off without him. I tried to come out and find him when they came back without him, but he was long gone by the time I was at the meteor."

'Porky, you insufferable sack of-'

"Did not! It was just dark and- and I had to scout for the patrol! Yeah!" Porky's face reddened up, his eyes flaring.

Picky rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Porky. Look, let's just get back before dad breaks out both shoe horns."

Porky blanched. "Wh-what!? They know!?"

Holding his arms out, Picky yelled back. "How could they not know, Porky? How could they not know!?"

With that, the two brothers began to walk off into the night- only to stop in their tracks.

"Say… do you hear a buzzing sound?" Porky questions.

"Porky, please…" Picky tiredly sighs. "I'm supposed to be the little brother, here."

"No! I definitely hear it!" Porky whirls back around, eyes wide and mouth open in complete mystification.

'...He might not actually be wrong about this one…' Hearing it herself, Hikari looked around in a more reserved, casual manner.

Hikari turned to the meteorite, when suddenly a beam of light shot from it, into the air.

'Wo-woah!'

Her eyes widened as the beam faded out.

...

BuzzBuzz…

That buzzing was louder than before.

BuzzBuzz…

Out from the meteorite flew a large bee, prompting Hikari to brace herself.

'Is- is that a bee? If it's possessed- ugh…!' The night's end could not come faster for Hikari.

"No! Not the bees! Anything but the bees!" Porky hollered. "A-aaah!"

"Please wait, my friends! I have news from ten years in the future!" The bee's extremely high pitched voice began to conduct diplomacy.

'...That bee just talked.' Hikari blinked. '...There's no way I can't be sleeping right now.'

...After a few moments, Hikari started smacking herself in the face with her gohei at an irregular pace.

"Hakurei miko, please! Do not harm yourself!"

'...Well, my mother's stories have been weirder…' She was still never going to buy the one where the moon was somehow stolen by an alien clinic.

'...even if I did see some of the 'characters' from that story unconscious inside the shrine.'

Whirling through the air, the bee circled Hikari and her… 'friends'. "I bring terrible news! The future of Gensokyo is in your hands!"

'Yeah, that is a pretty terrible future. Gensokyo, in my hands? We'll be dead by tomorrow evening.'

"The forces of the evil Giygas are coming! We must make haste!" It dutifully informed them.

'The evil guy gas? I'm sorry?'

The bee began flying towards the village, only to stop as another beam of light shot down from the sky.

Porky back away from it, and looked back to HIkari. "Ooo~h, you're in bi~g trouble now Hikari… Just wait until your mom finds out!"

'We're not on a playground, you dolt.' Hikari shook her head at Porky.

Out from the light was a strange humanoid figure. The entire figure was clad in a grey suit of sorts, which Hikari couldn't really recognize.

'...What is that?'

"Buzz_Buzz…" began the grey suited humanoid.

"Stay back, comrades!" Buzz Buzz, the aptly named bee, commanded.

"I_have_come_from_ten_years_in_the_future_to_stop_you. I_will_squash_you_like_a_bug!"

Hikari blinked. 'Did I just walk into one of Alice's saturday morning puppet shows? What is this!?'

Buzz Buzz tried PSI Shield Σ!

Hikari was protected by the pale blue psychic shield!

Porky was protected by the pale blue psychic shield!

Picky was protected by the pale blue psychic shield!

Buzz Buzz was protected by the pale blue psychic shield!

"Useless_endeavor!" the humanoid bellowed.

Hikari examined the cyan aura of the shield around her and her friends. '...Well, that's new.'

"Aaaah, aaaa~h!" Porky was screaming.

"Shut up, Porky!" Picky shook his brother.

The humanoid tried PK Fire β!

Everyone's psychic shield made the flames disappear on contact!

Fwoom…!

The flames lashed out from an initial fire blast, easily overtaking the trees and starting a fire.

"Ho-holy…!" Hikari stumbled back from the display of pure power. 'What the hell!? Where did that…!?'

"Don't worry, friends!" Buzz Buzz assured the party.

'I'm worrying, friend...' Hikari sarcastically thought towards the bee. 'How could I not worry!?'

Buzz Buzz tried PK Freeze Σ!

FwwwwWaash!

A bright flash quickly showered the nearby forestry in ice, freezing trees and producing snow everywhere.

Everyone's psychic shield made the incoming frost disappear on contact!

"Aaau-_Gaah!" the grey figure shouted, its suit now coated in frosty artifacts and imperfections.

"You_will_pay,_Earth_insect!"

'I'm having a hard time taking this thing seriously.'

The grey figure raised both of its arms. Arc lightning spontaneously shot from them, continuing towards the four.

A long stream of lightning reached out towards Buzz Buzz, but...

Buzz Buzz's psychic shield made it disappear!

Hikari flinched, jumping back as the lightning shooting from its other arm went for her, but…

Hikari's psychic shield made it disappear!

"Hey! Pick on someone your own size!" Buzz Buzz shot towards the grey figure!

Fwww-BAM

Hikari's ears rang, since Buzz Buzz shot forward like a bullet, producing an immensely loud noise.

'Wh-what's going on!?' She felt like hiding.

"Grah… Aragh!"

Boom!

The grey figure exploded into light particles, bits of its suit raining down around the forest. Weird glowing parts blinked and fizzled on the forest floor, before all went quiet.

...

'...I didn't even interact. That… that just sorta happened.'

Suddenly, Buzz Buzz floated up to Hikari from the battlefield. "It is you, Hikari! The chosen hero!"

Hikari jerked her head back once the bee flew close to her face. 'Whoever chose me was an idiot… Hold on, how did it…?'

"The prophecy said that the three girls and one boy will be the chosen ones!"

'Do I get a say in any of this?'

Porky nervously pipes up. "Uuhh, mister bee… That boy wouldn't be me, would it?"

Buzz Buzz turned to Porky, then turned back to Hikari.

"I will follow you, chosen hero!" It ignored Porky's question.

'This night…' Hikari shook her head. 'I now have a psychic bee companion, and I have to escort this manchild and his brother, at what I can only assume is three in the morning, all the while getting assaulted by rabid animals and assassins from the future. Life is good.'

"W-well, come on, Hikari! We need to get home!" Porky quickly moved behind Hikari.

Picky just sighed.

'Gotta burn that midnight oil, I guess.'

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Reaching the village walls, Hikari walked up to the guard stationed there.

The rather average man narrowed his eyes. "You look a little young to be the Hakurei…"

Hikari moved over, gesturing to Porky before commenting, "And he looks a little young to be out this late."

'...And a little old to have a curfew.' Hikari wished she had said that, but by the time she thought it up, it was too late.

The guard blinked. "...Oh, there he is… I don't know who you are, but uh… Oh! You must be her daughter, then! Aaahh, I~ get it now…!"

The guard smiles into the night, now incredibly smug.

'...Freak.' Cynically, Hikari stared on.

Porky stomped in place. "My parents are going to be soo~ pi~ssed! Let me in, let me in, let me in!"

Taken aback, the guard moves to open the gate- "Al-alright, just let me open the-"

Smash! Porky barreled straight through said gate with the might only a manchild could possess.

"-gate…"

…

"To-to be fair-" Hikari began, but the guard suddenly ran in after Porky.

'Me and the adventures of my nonexistent voice. I was gonna go 'to be fair, if a youkai wanted to bust in, they probably could if Porky did it' but now that's not really a big option.'

Picky sighed, and walked through the gate after his brother.

'I suppose I'll see where this leads.' Idly, Hikari trailed after Picky...

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

'Walking into the Minch household is always a cringe inducing experience. It's like a 'what not to do' regarding parenting, though I suppose it's none of my business.'

"Oh, if it isn't Hikari! How are you on this fine day?" greeted the captain of the town guard, Man Minch.

'...Don't ask me what kind of name 'man' is. I don't know, either.'

Man suddenly scowled. "...I'd have a lot more work if it wasn't for your meddlesome mother. Why doesn't she just take the memo and know where she's unwanted?"

Hikari blinked. 'You sure you should be having this conversation with me? I suppose there's nothing I can do about it, but… it's a little weird.'

"Just know where your boundaries are, little girl." Man glared at her.

'This is escalating quickly.' Hikari hoped she didn't have to fight the captain due to his accelerating steam train of a temper. She was also pretty certain she couldn't take him head-on right now, but it wouldn't be nothing a little running couldn't save her from, she was sure.

"Si-sir…" That guard was also just awkwardly standing about, watching the squabble commence.

"What!?" Man barked, turning to his cohort.

"Don-don't you need to speak with your kids, sir?"

Man twitched. "...Oh! Yes, yes, right, I am terribly sorry for the trouble they caused you, miss Hakurei, I'll be just a moment…"

Man walked into the back room.

...

Boink! "Yeeow!" Porky wailed.

Whomp! "Yeeaae!" Picky yelled.

Hikari sighs. 'This is going to be a long night.'

Man stomps back out of their room, and sits down at the couch, face extremely red.

'He looks like he's going to explode.' Mildly amused by his demeanor, Hikari grinned to herself.

Mrs. Minch, 'Whatever her name was…' walked out of the back room after her husband.

"Hee~y Hikari! Look! I think you should go!... now!"

'Did she always have to shout…?' Hikari rubbed her ears.

Buzz Buzz flew out from behind Hikari and landed on Mrs. Minch's hair.

Mrs. Minch recoiled violently. "Eeew! I think it's a dung beetle! It needs a goo~d squishin'!"

Hikari grinned. 'I can't wait to see that bee just destroy her…'

Whack!

Buzz Buzz promptly nosedived towards the floor, and crashed.

Sprinting- bumping into some chairs- Mrs. Minch quickly mobilized. "Let me get the mallet! Stupid beetles!"

Mrs. Minch marched off mirthfully.

...The guard started backing out of the house. "...I think I should uh… go now…"

Hikari kneeled next to the bee.

'Is… is it dead?'

"Pl-please… List-listen…"

Saddened, Hikari shook her head. 'Yeah, it's dead. I guess it was too good to be true. A pet bee, I mean.'

"Hakurei! You are the chosen savior…!"

'That's got to be the tenth time you told me.' Hikari's eyes lowered in annoyance.

"Here, take this… it's the Sound Stone…"

Suddenly, a rock dropped next to the bee. It had a musical note engraved on it.

'...Sure. Why not?'

"Yo-you need to record… the eight sacred melodies of Gensokyo…"

'Any excuse to do some exploring. Honestly, this is the most exciting thing since that time I just decided to sprint into the forest of magic. Too bad Alice was there to reel me back in, though… she was really, really fast. I don't even know how she found me, I took so many turns.'

Then, Hikari spent the time thinking about her other short explorations in dangerous places. '...There were a few other times, but compared to this crazy night, they seem a little mundane in comparison…'

Hikari pocketed the Sound Stone.

"What-...whatever you do… don't let Giygas take over Gensokyo…!"

'Who?'

"My-my life… is fading…"

'Sucks to be you, bee person.'

Buzz Buzz ceased buzzing.

…

Standing up, Hikari looked back over to Man, who was still fuming and staring at the wall from his chair.

'I think I should go, now…'

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

A faint blue glow tinted the village. The sun was beginning to rise…

'...Was I really doing things that long? Geez… I guess going to sleep is out of the question…'

...Looking around, Hikari decided to pick a direction and walk.

"Hmm…" While walking, she thought.

'...So, Sound Stone, and chosen ones, and all that…'

She looked into the horizon, thinking.

'...Just what have I gotten myself into all of a sudden?'

Villagers began moving about. Guards changed their shifts, and the shuffling of commerce and agriculture in the village began once again.

Hikari grinned to herself. 'If I actually told anybody about this quest, they'd call me crazy. I mean, chances are I am going crazy, but you never know…'

Suddenly, she saw Keine Kamishirasawa, the village ambassador, psuedo-leader and school teacher.

Keine was charging down the road after two very questionably dressed villagers.

'Are… are they wearing gimp suits? You know what, I don't want to know…' There were some doors just best left unopened, and this was one of them. Hikari had enough weird for one day- and the day had just begun.

Walking through town, Hikari stopped at the square and just stood around. Villagers passing her gave her a questioning glance or two…

"What's the Hakurei disciple just doing standing around there?"

"What's wrong with her?"

"I wonder if an incident is about to occur…"

'...My mother left me quite a reputation, didn't she?' Hikari tried to tune out the judging opinions of the villagers.

'...Let's see… something about magical locations? I wonder what qualifies as magical enough to be considered a special place, here…'

'Maybe I'll ask around, or something. Someone has to know something.'

Just as she was about to walk across the square, another man dressed in what Hikari could only consider a gimp suit hopped by on a pogo stick.

'...It's official, the village has gone to shit.' Hikari snorted. '...It didn't have very far to fall, to be honest.'

She liked the homey atmosphere, but she liked the outright outlandish mishappenings even better. Men in gimp suits in broad daylight were a first for her, though.

Walking up to a fruit market on the corner, she approached the vender.

"Hi…" Hikari cleared her throat, because she pretty much needed to.

The man looked up and did a double take at his customer. "O-oh! Hello! What can I do for you, miss Hakurei?"

"Do-do you know of any special magical locations around here…?"

'...I could have phrased that so much better. I am a freaking… moron…'

The man blinked. "...Well, not that I really know of myself. I wouldn't be the person to talk to about that… I'd go to Keine or the town guard if I were you. That's what I would do."

'...Surprisingly more helpful than I had anticipated.' Hikari nodded. "Tha-thanks…"

The man smiles softly. "Any time."

'...He probably thinks I'm weak because of my voice…' Hikari grimaced as she turned away.

'The bad part is that he wouldn't be entirely wrong.'

...Leaving the fruit stands, Hikari looks around for Keine.

Looking over at the north road, she considered her options. '...I saw her head down that road just a moment ago…'

Following the road towards the northern end of the village, Hikari put a spring in her step as she felt the cold Fall winds gently blow past her.

'Nothing like temperate breezes.'

Out of nowhere, an individual dressed in gimp gear shredded on their skateboard out in front of Hikari. "Hey, lamer! You're on the turf of the Wild Wolves! If you don't get off, that gives us permission to like, to~tally own you!"

'...Uhh?'

"Mother said to never talk to strangers." Hikari scowled at the skateboard gimp.

The skateboarder jerked their head back. "Ahaha-alright, noob! You asked for some pwnage!"

Despite the road being dirt, the skateboarder managed to skate in circles around Hikari.

Hikari was unimpressed. "...Is uh…"

Suddenly, the skateboard abruptly cut into the dirt and shot towards Hikari.

"Wh-wha-!?"

Barely dodging, Hikari's side was scraped as the skateboard grazed her.

'Agh!'

Hikari felt her side, and then moved to glance at it, and saw a red slash where the board cut her. Her hand had a small splotch of blood on it.

'Damn it…'

The skateboarder laughed. "Hahah! Dude, I'm too cool for school! You're just a goodie-goodie!"

Glaring, Hikari readied her gohei. 'I can't afford to be careless here…'

'I don't know if I can heal myself again… but I don't think I'll have to.'

Looking around tensely, Hikari watched the skateboarder do circles around her.

'I don't want to be in a situation where I have to heal myself again.'

She carefully stanced herself, moving with the skateboard as its rider moved it around her in a circle again. Abruptly, the board cut in the dirt and shot towards Hikari again. As the boarder made it jump, going for her torso again…

Whack!

Hikari had sidestepped and gave a clean whack to the torso of the skateboarder.

"Ouch! Dude… not cool!" The gimp chastised Hikari for her violence. "It was just a prank, bro!"

'When I shove this gohei up your ass, I'll make sure to use that excuse.'

The skateboarder was now skating in an irregular pattern in front of Hikari.

"...Come on, then." Hikari tried provoking the skateboard gimp!

Pausing, the skateboard gimp, stared at Hikari. "You're going down! Old style!"

'Old style.'

Suddenly, the skateboarder quickly skated towards Hikari!

Hikari braced herself, except…

Swoosh!

The skateboard suddenly slid around her at surprising speeds. Hikari dove out of the way onto the dirt path, barely dodging a direct hit from the skateboard.

'Ugh…' Hikari grimaced. 'Now I'm all dirty…'

The gimp blew a raspberry at her. "Nee~rd!"

Standing up, she gripped her gohei tightly. "Geh…"

Spinning around, the skateboarder was pretending to show off…

...when suddenly he stopped on a dime and rocketed towards Hikari again!

Surprised, Hikari raised her gohei and slammed it down in front of her with all her might.

SMAAAA~SH!

The board stopped harmlessly at Hikari's sandals.

"...Duuu~de…"

The gimp fell onto the dirt harmlessly, neutralized by the force of the blow which connected directly with his forehead.

'That's why you wear a helmet, asshole.'

Suddenly, the gimp began having a spaz attack. "Egehuh! Egagaga!"

Hikari stepped back, and warily watched it unfold. Black mist emanated from the gimp, and as it faded…

...a child was revealed inside, unconscious. One of Keine's students, no less.

'...Oh. This is probably worse than I thought.' She realized the implications of all of Keines vulnerable school children being turned into delinquent gimp people.

...Next to the unconscious kid was a wrapped hamburger. Hikari picked it up.

'...Rinnosuke had a few at his shop. They didn't taste good when heated up, and he said that they needed to be eaten right off the grill or something.' The weird part is that this was exclusive to the rather messily made, wrapped hamburgers.

'This one is strangely warm, so~...'

Unwrapping the hamburger, Hikari casually took a big bite out of it.

'...!'

...Hikari takes a few more munches.

'That's actually not that bad. It tastes like it's not good for me at all, but that doesn't mean it tastes bad…'

The gash in her side was already starting to feel a little better.

'...Nothing a good meal can't fix, I guess… even if it's not necessarily a good meal.'

Hikari looked around for a trash basket to place the wrapping and remains of the burger in. They weren't entirely common on the streets, but she saw a few.

Finding one, she placed the waste in. For whatever reason, she had to resist the urge to dig through the trash can for sweet loots.

'...Come now, you're a Hakurei, not a beggar…'

Shaking her head, she walked back out into the road and set in the direction she thought Keine had headed in.

"...Hmm."

Hikari paused as the road split two ways, ending at the wall of the village.

'...I'm going to assume right. My mother always bragged about the Hakurei intuition…'

Looking down the right road, she saw nothing. Looking to the left, she saw a bunch of gimp-suited fellows.

'...I don't think I'm willing to believe in that, though.'

A skateboarder, hula-hooper, and a pogo sticker sighted Hikari.

"Dude, check out the babe!"

"Dude, swee~t!"

'Oh, no…'

The skateboarder circled Hikari, while the pogo stick rider bounced in a slower circle around her. The hula hoop hooligan just slowly spun towards, Hikari, prompting her to focus on simply avoiding the three's natural movements.

"Bro, check out this sick kickflip!"

The skateboard cuts in the dirt and shoots towards Hikari. The gimp leaps in the air, and the board twirls into the air under it.

Hikari dives out of the way, ending up on the floor.

The gimp lands successfully, and the other two cheer.

"Yeah, gnarly, brother!"

"Totally rad!"

Gritting her teeth, Hikari hopelessly writhed on the floor… 'I don't like this…'

Hikari decided she'd focus on the skateboarder again. Attempting to stand up-

Bonk!

"Aagh!" Hikari's face met the dirt after a pogostick bounced off her head.

'Ou-ouch…' She closed her eyes for a moment, before her adrenaline flared.

Deciding that getting up was imperative, Hikari quickly scrambled to her feet as fast as she could, paranoid that she would get struck again.

She just barely avoided a very abrupt attempt to slice her from the hula hoop gimp's hula hoop.

'Woah!' She stumbled back, before her eyes hardened, and she brandished ofuda. 'I'm going to need these at this rate…'

She tosses one at the hula hoop gimp, but suddenly his hula hoop spun a lot faster and sliced the ofuda out of the air.

'Wh-what!? You can do that!?'

"Look at this kid, broskis! She's just throwin' her papers at us!" He grinned at her, mocking.

The other two hooligans laugh in response.

'...Maybe I should run…' Cringing inward, Hikari considered getting away...

...She makes a very telegraphed ofuda tossing motion-

"Hah!"

-only to toss none and instead bolt down the other street.

…

As she runs, she turns and sees the skateboard gimp caught up with her on his board.

'No-no way…' A sinking feeling began to settle in her stomach, as she glared at the hooligan.

She was suddenly rammed aside by him, and ended up sliding to the floor again.

"Ugh…!" Hikari's eyes narrow, the flesh of her thigh grating against the rough dirt path, a scrape forming. 'Damn…!'

Slowly, Hikari stood back up, and by the time she did, the other two gimps caught up.

"What should we do wit'er, bros?" the hula hooper asks his friends.

"I 'unno." The pogo sticker shrugged, which threw off his rhythm, resulting in a few awkward bounces before he replied again. "...Take 'er back to the club? Maybe she'll wanna join!"

'N-no…' Hikari didn't want to become a gimp.

"She is kinda hot, bro. Maybe you can even ask her out!" The skateboarder replied, stopping to grin at his hula hoop cohort.

"Bro!" The hula hooper tried to attack his friend, only for him to skate away.

"Psyche!"

Hikari vainly watched the exchange from the floor. 'I-I can't be captured by these idiots…'

The skateboarder looked to Hikari. "So… who's gonna be carryin' her?"

His pogo friend rolls his eyes. "Du~de… Which one of us has free hands, bro?"

Both gimps stare at the skateboard gimp.

"...Oo~h. Right. My bad."

Skating up to Hikari, he stops and lifts her.

"Mo-mom…" Hikari exhaled, realizing how many wounds she collected throughout the fight, their collective pain weighing on her.

The skateboard gimp snorts. "Du~de, she wants her mommy!"

The other gimps didn't hear her say it, though. The pogo gimp shakes his head. "Dude, she's out. Just bring her back, I don't think she's even tuning in, bro."

'...I don't want to fail you!'

Hikari shut her eyes, focusing on her captors…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: FLASHBACK VIEW ====

Hikari stared at the brilliant light the bullets produced in the night sky.

"You see that?" Reimu pointed at the display. "That's danmaku."

"Wha~..." Hikari blinked at the display.

'It's so pretty…'

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"...And that's how we got the moon back from the lunar aliens." Reimu finished, smiling

Hikari smiled back.

'...That story's always so stupid, but at the same time…'

'Maybe it held a grain of truth in it, somewhere. One could dream...'

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari returned home from the village, finished with her weekly chores.

As she walked into the shrine, there was no one around… at the moment, anyway.

'...At least I don't have to waste time speaking with anyone, then…'

Swiftly walking through the shrine, Hikari made her way to her room, and to her bookshelf.

'Maybe I can finally finish this book in peace. It's rather silly in retrospect, but… it's a book about european vampires. My mother bought it for me because she thought I'd like it. It was even made somewhere in Gensokyo…'

'...to think there's actually writers somewhere in Gensokyo… then again, I don't know a lot about Gensokyo.'

The plot didn't have any specific direction, but the characterization drew her to it, even if the idea was a little farfetched. 'Sometimes a story was good just to be a story.'

Fantasy was Hikari's favorite genre.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

Hikari Hakurei learned PK Fantasy α!

Hikari opened her eyes, and suddenly felt power draining from her. It was as if her willpower itself began to drain away…

Then, the barren road lit up brilliantly. Brightly colored particles of red, blue, and yellow rained down with alarming power from the daytime sky-

Fizzle!

-striking everyone around Hikari… which was just gimps at the moment. Technicolor, bright energy flowered across their bodies, and the dirt of the street. The walls of nearby buildings flashed brilliantly, bright enough to hurt Hikari's eyes.

Fizzle!

More particles struck the ground like water drops, creating splashes of destructive telekinetic energy.

Hikari focused on the gimp holding her, his cracked glasses and fearful eyes looking down at her. Hikari's eyes flashed.

Bw~ash!

One final blast of psychic rainbow energy shot from Hikari, turning all the gimps back to children.

She fell to the floor, the gimp holding her now an unconscious kid far smaller than she was.

"Oof!"

…

'Tha-that took a lot out of me…'

Lying on the dirt path, Hikari stared straight into the sky.

'...Wha-what did I even just do…?'

Slowly, her eyes began to drift shut.

'...A-ah…'

Hikari was fast asleep.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari slowly came to after a dreamless sleep.

"...Haa~h…" Hikari yawned.

Looking up from the bed, she was in a house she didn't recognize.

'...Where am I?'

She quickly realized she was in a bed, too, instead of a futon.

"U-uh…"

She clambered out of the bed, and fell to the floor.

"Oof…"

...She groggily rose to her feet, and stretched. She was still clad in her shrine maiden getup, which wasn't the most comfortable for sleeping, but it was better than that dirt pathway.

She looked to her side, and saw that it was bandaged up.

'...Wherever I am, it's somewhere hospitable, apparently…'

Hikari walked through the bedroom door into the living room.

She was greeted by Keine Kamishirasawa, who was examining a layout of the village. "Oh… good morning, Hikari. Did you sleep well?"

She nods.

"...That's good…"

Keine went back to staring at the map.

Hikari walked up to it, and looked at it herself.

'...What am I looking at?'

She knew it was a layout of the village, but it was quite complex and detailed.

'...I don't really have the time to look at this indepth.'

Hikari went to leave through the front door, but Keine called out for her.

"Hol-hold on… It's dangerous out there, you know? You just got hurt, after all. It wouldn't do any good to just throw yourself into harm's way again."

Hikari considered her words. 'She's right… but nothing's going to get done if I just sit here and pray for safety.'

Afterall, when was the last time the Hakurei gods actually helped with anything?

Acknowledging Keine's concerns, but choosing not to heed them, Hikari opened the door and left.

Keine sighed. "That girl…"

Keine moved to the window in time to see Hikari walk down the street.

"...Just as troublesome as her mother."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari examined her surroundings.

"Let's see…"

'If I'm at Keine's, the school should be just to the right a bit…'

As Hikari expected, the school Keine managed wasn't far away. It wasn't in session, however; it seems to have been graffitied.

'Not what I was expecting, but I probably should have been.'

Looking around, Hikari saw another pogo stick riding gimp.

Said gimp also saw Hikari.

"Hehehe~y!"

He started hopping towards her, but Hikari was prepared this time, and vaguely pissed.

'This time, you're going down!'

The pogo hopping hooligan hopped around Hikari in a circle. Hikari tracked his movements, and once he suddenly hopped towards Hikari…

'Now!'

Hikari stepped out of the way and brought her gohei back…

The pogo gimp saw what was coming, but couldn't change the trajectory of the bounce.

SMAAAA~SH!

The gohei struck the gimp like a baseball bat. He flew off the pogo stick, which bounced away a little before falling over, its rider lost.

"Wh-what? Bro…" The gimp reached into the air, but let his hand drop moments later. The suit faded away into black mist, revealing a child on the inside.

This time, however, the child was awake!

His eyes were watering.

Hikari stared at it gingerly. '...Uhm?'

"...Waaa~h!" The kid began crying!

"Wh-wha~!?" Hikari jumped at the loud noise.

"Waaaa~h!"

'...He-he's awake, huh…'

Hikari suddenly realized she kinda left all those other kids for dead when she freed them. Whoops. Well, with any luck other good willed people were there to clean up shop…

"..." The kid was sobbing. "Hi-Hikari…?"

'Huh. The kid recognizes me.' Hikari didn't think anyone from the school would actually bother to remember her name. She only stopped by it now and then.

"...I-I'm so sorry, Hikari…"

'Maybe he knows something!' Hikari's eyes lit up.

"...Say, do you know what happened to you?" Hikari began softly.

'I can do soft.'

"...I-I don't know… Some mean lady…"

'...That helps.' Hikari sarcastically commented to herself. 'With that description, it could have been my mother.'

"What did she look like?" Hikari kept her voice soft, but she was slightly annoyed by how vague the last statement was.

"Sh-she… Mean…"

Hikari sighed. 'That didn't help at all.'

The kid began wailing again. "Waaa~h!"

'You're like eight! Stop crying!'

"Wa-wah… Waaa~h!"

"I-it's going to be okay…" Hikari tried comforting the child, but his crying was too loud.

"Waaaa~h!"

"Stop crying!" Hikari commanded.

Hikari Hakurei learned Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around the child.

"Waa-aah… ahh…"

…

The child was fast asleep.

Hikari blinked. "...Well."

'That works...' Hikari was thankful she didn't accidentally blow the child to pieces with something more potent.

Lifting the kid, she quickly made her way to Keine's house…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Keine jumped as the door to her house opened.

"...Hikari?" Keine questioned. She suddenly saw the child on Hikari's shoulder.

"Here." Hikari stated simply, placing the kid on a chair.

Keine recognized the student. "A-ah…"

She moved towards the student to see if he was alright, and he was.

"...Do you know who could have caused this? The-the incident, I mean…" Hikari asked.

'Me and diplomacy aren't going to get along, I feel.'

Keine paused, and turned towards Hikari. "...No, I don't. That's what I've been trying to find out."

'I suppose I'll have to ask around some more…'

"...See ya." Hikari graciously gave her goodbye and left out the front door within seconds.

Keine watched her brief exit. "...At least she's a better diplomat than her mother."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 1

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Hand-me-down Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Critical hits enabled.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Nothing

Misc: Nothing

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage.

PK Hypnosis α - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes.

PSI Lifeup α - Heals target a little.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things.

α-α-α-α

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

welcome to a new adventure friends

started as a freewrite that i really wanted to develop because yeah

also working with a FAR MORE QUIET main character this time for variety's sake, and the idea appealed to me

updates will be far more inconsistent than my current continuing work (mind you they were never consistent to begin with anyway)

updates for this will probably be published one at a time / whenever i feel like it

have fun

==== NEARLY A YEAR LATER ====

welcome to a new adventure INDEED

i am BACK from NEARLY THE FINAL CHAPTER. i took a look at this, and was like "well it gave me the cancer" and decided to fix it so that it'd stop giving people cancer when they walked in

the later chapters are going to take a dip in quality unless ai bother revising them ever, so be warned that things will get worse before they get better! i pretty much had to fix like every three lines in here with either stylistic changes or just general corrections because i made some pretty terrible, cringe-inducing, nightmare-bending mistakes back here

so anyway yeah as it turns out i uploaded like thirty more chapters of this

see you all next chapter!