Chapter 1: Gaps and Sweets

The day was just beginning to the people in the neighborhood as the sun started to bathe the whole scenery with its warmth. Most people started to get ready for another day of work and school. Well, except for this girl whose eyes still shut, not wanting to wake up anytime soon in her sleep. The sunlight wanting to pass through the windows was intercepted by the window shades, rather giving the interior of the room a warm glow and the birds outside did their usual chirping.

She didn't pay notice to them as she shifted her body to the other side. Settling in a more comfortable position, she gave off a small smile while hugging her guitar. Her alarm clock, which was now knocked off from its place after a pillow was impulsively thrown against it, already went off around five minutes ago. She covered herself entirely with her comfy sheet after feeling that it was already bright. She enjoyed some more minutes of peace until someone knocked at her room for three consecutive times. She ignored it for a few seconds then another set of knocks was heard, making her utter a rather drowsy reply to the person who was eagerly waiting outside the room.

"Just... Five more minutes... Ui..."

"Onee-chan, breakfast's ready!" Her sister said with a little more volume to her voice.

"It's Sunday today, right?"

"No, it's not. Please get up, okay?"

The last resort would be seeing her younger sister waking her up to prevent another day of being late to school. This almost happened every day, and thankfully, her sister wouldn't get tired of it and never would. She had the habit of setting the alarm clock of her sister an hour before school starts, but to no avail. She would go upstairs anyways and check on her sister if she was already awake. You could say that today was no different.

Ui Hirasawa opened the door, knowing that her sister resumed back to sleep mode. She slowly crept towards the bed and uncovered the sheet on her sister. She just let out a sigh as she saw her sister cuddling the guitar as if it was a stuffed animal.

"Oh... Good Morning, Ui~!" The girl greeted with a beam on her face, like the same look she always give to everyone. Her sister crossed her arms and sighed.

"Good Morning too, Onee-chan. We're going to be late if you don't hurry..."

"...What's for today's breakfast?"

"Oh, the usual. Get yourself ready first," Ui replied and gave a wink before she went out of the room.

"Okay~ I won't take long!"

Yui Hirasawa was a senior student in Sakuragaoka high school. Desite of being an airhead and she was not that much special when it comes to academics and other school stuffs, she could get outstanding results if she would had the motivation to study. Even before entering high school, she did nothing in particular. She was just waiting for another day to come, lazing around their house as if life itself was problem-free. She only then found a new purpose in her life as she joined the light music club. You could easily spot a Yui Hirasawa from a mile away as she herself radiate this warm and carefree nature of hers.

This particular high school girl never forgot to bring her beloved guitar. She's quite a bit pessimist without it on her side, thinking that her it might suffer untreatable damage and could end up days of depression and sleepless nights knowing that it was her responsibility to take care of the guitar. She cared for the instrument so much that she did things together with it most of the time, from eating breakfast to watching television to sleeping. She also never let a day pass without even holding or playing some tune or two from her instrument.

After stretching a little, she wore her uniform and fixed her hair in its usual style before going out of the room and went downstairs with her precious guitar and schoolbag while humming a song that her band usually played during practice. She was a member of the light music club in their school and already done some live performances on stage. Some students even wondered how the club can pull off amazing performances when they hardly practice at all. Everything she did with the other club members was fun and memorable for her. Not to mention that they did training camps during summer break, eat and drink exquisite food and all other stuff, but never called it a day without having a cup of tea together, which turned out to be the club's trademark and their band's name was named after their usual relaxing activity.

Ui always made their breakfasts special for her sister. She had to wake up an hour or two earlier than her older sister, depending on the chores needed to be done. Since they were the only ones together in the house, she had to make an extra effort to everything, from cleaning the house to cooking meals for both of them. For a strange reason, she didn't mind about asking for help from her sister and will serve her with the best she could, often getting trouble for herself. Yui's friends find it hard at first that the more mature and responsible one had to be the younger one but Ui would often sheepishly defend the strong points of her beloved sister.

The guitarist sat across her sister who was already done preparing the food on the table. They gave thanks to the food they and began eating. As expected, Yui finished her meal as soon as Ui reached halfway on her own. That alone would tell you that she liked to eat and better prepare considerable amount of money if you wanted to treat her. She left the table to go upstairs maybe to fetch something that she forgot or do something else. After Ui cleaned up the kitchen and ready to go, she called her sister as she waited at the door.

They didn't need to worry much about the time since it was half an hour early before school starts and considering that their school could be easily reached by just walking from their home. She barely noticed that her sister stumbled on the stairs. Fortunately, Yui regained her balance.

Ui sighed her anxiety out of her. She knew things like that happened most of the time on her clumsy sister but didn't blame her for such.

"I didn't have much sleep," Yui muttered to herself while gazing at the clear sky.

Ui couldn't help to be concerned at her. They were sisters after all. "Is there something wrong?"

"I have this feeling that something bad might happen again..."

"About your snacks getting stolen inside the music room?"

"Yes, and I'm number one in their suspect list. Mugi-chan just giggles about it. Those sweets were her sweets and she just brought in extra ones for us to save the problem. I'm kinda confused myself how could those happen."

"Don't worry, I'm sure those things would work out eventually."

"You think so?"

Ui jested as she nudged the side of her sister with an elbow, "That's not so like you. Where's the carefree sister of mine?"

"Ha! It's not like me alright. Blame the author for this."

The younger brunette could only raise an eyebrow in thought, her mouth slightly open. "The what?"

"Nothing." Yui smiled blithely. "Oh...what's for dinner tonight?"

"Now that's more like you!" Ui said as her sister giggled in response.

The two gave each other a nod before they continued walking.

In class, Yui's mind would usually fly off somewhere far away from the seemingly endless discussion. She would think of something nice while staring outside. Besides, she was seated in the back row near the window and the teacher wouldn't probably notice that she was already dozing off or daydreaming about cotton candy heaven or the invasion of the cake celestials. Most of the things talked about in class seemed uninteresting; more reason for her to think about something else.

After school, she finally packed her things and went straight to the music room as she anticipates the sweets they will have later. On her way to the café and music room, a teacher of hers asked her a favor of bringing some papers to the student council president, Manabe Nodoka. She served as Yui's second official caretaker and sometimes her personal tutor in their lessons.

Yui wanted to protest, but it would only take precious time of hers. Why do some teachers let their students do their dirty work? Anyways, she heavily marched to the room of her new objective.

Upon arriving to the student council room, Yui greeted her as of custom and handed over the requested papers to the president who gave her a thankful smile. Luckily for her, Nodoka seemed to be very persistent like her sister and didn't have any regrets whatsoever in being part of Yui's life. After all, patience was all you need when you had a friend like Yui. After waving a goodbye to her friend, the lead guitarist took off to the music room. Unless, there would be another person who would give her an errand, she would be there in a good three minutes or less.

She knew that the same incident for two days might happen today as well. She decided to stay vigilant on what could happen now. The moment she reached the door of the club room, she could hear bickering inside. Something that she already feared that might occur. She slowly opened the door. The room's occupants shifted their attention to her as if they were waiting for her arrival. Yui saw their anxious faces as they resumed finding an apparently missing thing that would be of course... edible.

"It's about time you showed up!" Tainaka Ritsu, the light music club's self-proclaimed president and drummer, said. She gave Yui a glance of contempt and nervousness. The previous days made her quite suspicious on Yui since food was involved in those incidents.

"Uhm... Did I miss anything?" Yui asked after she closed the door and placed her bag and guitar at the side. She got more confused in the tension engulfing the whole music room.

"Yui-senpai? The cake that Tsumugi bought was gone!" Nakano Azusa, the pigtailed guitarist and the only junior student in their club, cried in panic as she checked the shelves containing most of their food supply.

"T-The cake? The WHOLE cake?" The brunette exclaimed as her mind couldn't accept what she heard just now. One could steal a bite or piece but today was a whole cake which no human could have ever done, at least, in her own perspective.

"We're so dead if she found this out," Ritsu said nervously as she dipped her face to her hands. She stared at Yui like she was going to eat her alive. "My mind tells me that you might know something about this, Yui..."

"Huh? Whatever is going on in your mind, I won't ever steal something!" Yui answered with a pout as she grasped what Ritsu was implying.

"Even if the cake is said to grant immortality?"

Azusa shook her head slowly on the absurdity of the question. In all honesty though, she was impressed in the drummer's somewhat creative mind. "You and your fantasies senpai..."

"If the cake doesn't taste good or went pass the expiration date or grew stuff like mold on it, I won't touch it," replied the lead guitarist. She glanced around then she only then noticed that Tsumugi was not inside the room. "Oh, she's not here yet?"

What Yui said only added panic to the others.

"Don't think of that now, we should find that cake instead!" Ritsu shouted frantically as she began to search again.

"It was just here, right? How could someone get into so much trouble just to get a cake?" Akiyama Mio, the ever-popular bassist and vocalist of the club, pondered. She knew that panicking won't do good and thought of some plausible explanations. After all, this was not the first. These incidents often led to ghost stories by Ritsu who would earn a good strike and a lump on the head from her.

"Yeah, Tsumugi's freaking cake...gone completely. We got to think of a damn good excuse for now!"

"How about we tell her that Sawa-chan took the cake?" asked Ritsu as soon as she thought of the idea. "Heh. She'll pay for scolding me the other day..."

"Wait. She'll tear our limbs apart if we blame her!" Azusa objected as sweat trickled on her face. "I...I don't like that idea..."

"Huh? Who do you think is more scarier? Sawa-chan or Mugi?"

"Uhm..." Azusa couldn't answer, whether the hesitation was coming from fear or the fact that the two were both good friends. Truly, their club adviser was scary as she would release her 'true form' and unleash her fury to the poor girls. Tsumugi, however, was the most benevolent one of all and always maintained her soothing atmosphere around her. Doing something bad against the young mistress of the Kotobuki family would be the greatest mistake in anyone's life. Azusa once thought that calamities might happen if someone would plot a scheme to the keyboardist. Maybe on a smaller scale, the offender would get struck by lightning or swallowed by a fissure alive.

"Giving lies won't do good either," Mio said worriedly. True enough, she was the conscience of the club aside from Azusa but sometimes being outnumbered in decisions. "As if Mugi would buy that obvious lie."

"So, what do we need to do now?" asked Ritsu once more. "If we didn't come up with a compromise soon..."

"Hello, everyone!" A blonde girl greeted them, cutting off Ritsu. They were too troubled about the cake that they didn't even noticed that the music club's keyboardist already got inside and stared at them for a full minute to apprehend the current situation at hand. They were literally frozen in their place as if the time itself was intentionally stopped by the girl. Ritsu whispered something incomprehensible to herself, cursing about the keyboardist's bad timing as Azusa held her breath as hard as it could get.

"What's with those faces?" Kotobuki Tsumugi asked as she gave them a curious expression, carrying a decorated box of silver and peach stripes.

"Err...you know, uh...where have you been? We're about to...yeah, practice!" Ritsu stuttered as she dashed towards the drumset with her drumsticks in her hands. Mio stared at the club president in the eye as if about to give Ritsu a purging smash to the head with her bass guitar to cleanse her friend's soul.

"Liar..." The bassist whispered to herself. If things wouldn't end well, she might go for her last resort - a good beating for the drummer.

"Don't you want to have tea and cake first?" Tsumugi asked her friends as she placed a box seemingly fresh straight from the bakery on the middle of the table before going to the mini-kitchen corner they arranged themselves for preparing food.

"W-We just had some biscuits and tea earlier, Mugi-senpai," informed the rhythm guitarist, intentionally supporting Ritsu as she went to her position with her own guitar at the ready.

Tsumugi blinked with mouth slightly open. Her lips formed a smile afterwards.

"Oh, everyone seemed to be so eager to practice today!" She said happily as she finished brewing tea and went back to the table and placed a plate full of macaroons and served each of their respective cups. The others were watching her every action, hoping that she didn't remember the previous cake she bought in the morning. Tsumugi opened the box and revealed a large vanilla and chocolate flavored cake with cherries as a finishing touch.

"This one's freshly baked when I bought it."

"Mugi, that looks really good," said Mio as she got a better look of the cake. "I bet it's a tad more expensive than the usual."

"You bought another cake?" Ritsu asked in almost a shouting voice and dropping her drumsticks in her hand in disbelief.

"Wow. You bought another cake?" Yui followed, eyes shining in delight.

"Hm? Is there something wrong with that?" Tsumugi asked innocently as she sliced the cake in equal portions. She seemed quite oblivious on what was making her friends quite flustered.

"I...I mean, well...that's so kind of you," Ritsu mumbled reluctantly, her chest feeling lighter than before.

They started eating as if nothing happened earlier. Ritsu and the others just assumed that they were too focused on that cake and they didn't notice about another spare one. It was better to think that way than to worry more about the lost cake or their blonde friend would noticed and probably would unleash her wrath to them. After some few good minutes, they finally settled down and instead enjoy their relaxing tea time. Tsumugi now distributed the slices of cake to each of them while Yui saw something, though the whole process happened very fast which made her jump on her seat with a finger pointed to the plate full of macaroons.

"What on earth is that?"

"Huh? What is it, senpai?" Azusa asked as she noticed Yui's flustered reaction.

"S-Someone snatched a macaroon from the plate!"

Ritsu quickly grabbed the plate near Tsumugi and started to count the macaroons on it. "Eh? What the...? You're right! One piece short! Now who the hell took that?"

"You actually counted all of them?" Mio asked with a raised eyebrow, slightly impressed.

"You can never be to sure to everything!"

"There it is again!"

"Where?" The rest said in unison as their eyes followed the direction where Yui was pointing. They saw only but air itself and nothing more. Ritsu just sighed and almost automatically, a fist landed on Yui's head, thinking that they actually fell into a trick made by the club's carefree guitarist.

"Is this some kind of prank? Don't tell me you just wanted to have an extra for your share today."

"Believe me! I'm not lying!"

"My cake! It's gone!" Azusa exclaimed as if she just saw the impossible. "M-My cake..."

Everyone's faces turned white in horror as said cake completely vanished, along with the plate and the fork.

"What the hell?" Ritsu blurted out.

"T-This is..." Mio was now shuddering in her own thoughts. "T-The club room's hunted?"

Tsumugi just smiled before speaking, "I don't think that's the case, Mio-chan. It could be something else."

"H-How can you say that with that face of yours?"

"I doubt that too, Mio-senpai..."

"Now, Yui. Explain what the hell's happening here!" Ritsu demanded with a slam on the table.

"It's not me, I swear! I saw something like a hole that appeared in thin air some time ago! It has two ribbons fastened on both ends and suddenly, a hand went out and grabbed one of the macaroons! It's like someone is inside of that...opening...or gap," She firmly defended as a bead of sweat went down on her face. Her friends stared at her in disbelief. She didn't know how to explain how did it happen but surely, she didn't take it. Besides, she was no magician that could take something without the rest noticing. Now, she wondered herself why she was the only person in the room who saw such things as that. Before things would get out of hand, Tsumugi gave another slice to the enraged Azusa, who eventually calmed down as she received the replacement.

"Don't worry, there's still a lot of slices left for everyone," Tsumugi reminded to everyone as she took a sip of tea. Her idea quickly extinguished the pressure forming up and they continued eating the snacks and driking tea.

"S-Seriously...I think you would kill someone just with those sweets, Ritsu..." Mio said as she calmed herself with a sip of warm tea.

Ritsu leaned on her chair comfortably as she held her tea cup. "If not for the fact that these sweets that we eat are expensive and bought by Mugi."

"Mugi-senpai? What made you buy this large cake anyway?" Azusa asked before she placed a piece of the cake in her mouth.

"Actually, nothing in particular. I just feel like it..."

"And you seemed not to mind the cost, senpai..."

"We rarely had this kind of cakes since the start of this year, right?"

Yui said nothing at that moment. She thought that she might be imagining things but whoever who took the cookie was an expert in this kind of job or maybe had this ominous power that could do something like she witnessed earlier. If this continues, it would be bad for her part as well. Sets of eyes were watching her every move during their tea time and continue to be a subject of false claims when something might disappear again. The day ended for the light music club without even touching their instrument. This was to be considered normal in the perspective of other students in their school. You could only see or hear them practicing seriously when their performance was around the corner. After cleaning up the club room and reaching the school gate, they finally parted ways as each of them had individual errands to do.

Yui Hirasawa was still in thought about the things she saw earlier while she walked back to her home. Because of those disappearances, she became the center of all accusations for the last two days in the club room for anything edible that went missing without even a trace. A thought also crossed her mind that the culprit might be someone far from just being human. No one could pull a trick that a hand would appear anywhere and snatch your food when you're doing anything else. Knowing that the equal distribution of sweets per person inside the club room was feared to be altered and her share of food was about to be decreased, she couldn't let this one unnoticed. Even a small percent of loss was a big matter for the likes of her. Anything for Tsumugi Kotobuki's sweets, that is.

I won't lose to that hand-stealing cake! It's either all of the cakes in this world will get stolen or that thing will fall first before that nightmare would happen!

After their club activities the next day, all of them were packing up except Yui who was nowhere to be found. After the last period, they saw Yui immediately dashed out of the classroom for an unknown reason. They supposed that it was an emergency she needs to tend with or probably, she just felt going home early. The club president stated that there was no point practicing without their lead guitarist, they just had tea time then called it a day earlier than the usual. Mio thought that it was just another excuse from Ritsu to unwind. Unexpectedly, they met the carefree guitarist in the hallway, exhausted and carrying a white and red box with a ribbon. She seemed to ran to the place where she got the box then returned here without any chance of a break at all.

"Oh, Yui. What's with the hurry?" Mio asked.

"W-Where...the...key...music room?" She said as she tried to catch her breath.

"Huh? The key is with Sawa-chan now," Ritsu told the other brunette. "What are you going to do in the club room anyway?"

"I bought this, see?" said Yui as she brought the box up. "Well...It's nothing important really. I also need to fetch some of my things there."

Azusa went closer to inspect the box. "A cake? What is it for?"

"Yup!" Yui answered with a nod.

Wait...I wasn't suppose to say this...I hope they don't get too suspicious.

"Just clean the club room if you're going to eat there, okay?"

"~Thanks!" The guitarist said as she continued her way to the faculty room to get the music room key. She knew that it was the perfect time to initiate her simple 'plan'.

"What's with her? We better ask her tomorrow about that."

The group continued to walk as they talked about a new horror film going to be shown that weekend. When it came to those things, Mio just simply avoid them but would sometimes after getting teased by Ritsu. They moved except for Tsumugi who was looking above as if she could see the music room, assessing the same quaint feeling she sensed in the other days. She was smiling now as she was anticipating this to happen.

"Mugi-senpai, what's wrong?" Azusa called the keyboardist who was spacing out.

"N-Nothing," said Tsumugi as she gave her friend an eerie smile. "Let's move on..."

Upon getting the key from their club adviser, Yamanaka Sawako, she quickly went upstairs without another word. The teacher was intrigued at first but didn't forced Yui for too long on knowing what her student wanted to do in the club room considering the time. After all, the club room was considered her haven thanks to her students, especially Tsumugi who constantly bring those delicious desserts. The only place of her relaxation, very far away from stress and work and delicious tea and sweets as bonus for staying there. Today was an unlucky one for her since she was occupied with a lot things which didn't gave her a chance to visit the music club. She reluctantly continued her work after giving the keys to her student, mumbling curses about giving her an enormous load of work for that week.

The moment Yui reached the club room, she excitingly opened up the box and placed the strawberry shortcake on the table and patiently waited for something to happen. She wasn't that sure if the cake would actually disappear in front of her eyes but it was worth trying though. She suddenly received a text message from Azusa:

Yui-senpai, please don't forget to lock the door before you go.

Oh, if you're going to eat the cake you bought, please clean up the table, okay?

She just nodded and returned her eyes to the cake. The next thing she saw was simply inconceivable. The cake was gone on the table. The cake was gone in a flash. The cake vanished in such small period of time of checking her cell phone that she wanted to throw the table through the window. Unfortunately, that was the last straw which made her burst out in frustration.

"Hey! Don't you dare hide yourself! I know you're around here!"

"I see that you finally acknowledged my presence. You're quite a perceptive one, dear. I guess there's no point hiding now."

A young woman somehow not that far from her age emerged from a tear in space that appeared out of nowhere which Yui quickly recognized; the same one she saw that was used as an effective way to grab food. She was wearing a peculiar and elaborate set of clothes Yui had never seen before and implying that she was a very important person where she came from or she just simply like sophisticated clothes. The strange woman was wearing a combination of white, pink and lavender dress, a fancy mob cap fitted with a red ribbon and she was carrying a large, stylish parasol in her hand. From those golden eyes of hers, one could see the years of experience and knowledge that she acquired throughout her life as if she had lived forever.

She just sighed as she saw Yui staring at her, dumbfounded with enlarged brown eyes. Yui herself wasn't expecting the culprit would actually appear in front of her. Now she didn't know what to do next and all she could do was to wait the next thing could happen. Yui felt bad to herself when she shouted furiously at the woman like that.

"That was quite an entry back there. I'm Yakumo Yukari," the blonde woman introduced herself as she opened her pink parasol and twirled it gracefully. An unnerving silence followed the rather surprising introduction. Yui's eyes were still fixed at her as she took a step back. Of course, the natural reaction from any person who would see a woman appear from a magical portal would be running for the exit and never look back as if being chased by an angry but cute polar bear. "Don't be afraid, even though I'm a youkai, I don't fancy human flesh."

The woman claimed herself as a youkai but she looked entirely human at the same time far from being one. Her tone was refined and mature compared to some of her kind and even to other humans, knowing that youkai attack people and even feed on them without any display of mercy. Yukari noticed that fear in the girl's eyes was quickly replaced by curiosity.

"You? Eat humans?" Yui asked in a surprised tone. "What is a youkai by the way?"

Hearing this, the woman slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand. Well, she was interested lately on how a typical person outside her world would react upon revealing that fact of her kind having human flesh as a delicacy. She tried this time around, but she wasn't expecting such response from this particular girl.

People didn't believe in youkai existence, keeping them at bay as only a mere creation of the human mind. Even so, these fantasy creatures were recognized but only limited to folk tales told each and every generation due to their mysterious, albeit fascinating nature.

"You haven't seen a single youkai in your entire life? Not even heard a story or two about them?"

"Oh...can you really eat humans? You look like human to me..."

"I guess I have to eat you now for you to believe me."

"Why steal cake and sweets if you eat humans? What are your plans? Why are you here?"

"Are you suggesting that we youkai only eat humans?"

"I dunno. So, you eat other stuff too?"

Yukari's eyelids slightly twitched in annoyance. She never met someone like Yui before. Wait, there was that crow tengu journalist. That makes two of them for the 'returning one's question with another question' category. Those traits for the most part were amusing but only in a given time and place. The straightforward tengu was entertaining to converse and circle with, but Yui was far different to be a source of amusement as if the brunette would win unintentionally.

How many people in the outside world still believe in youkai anyways? In ghosts? In gods? Well, I didn't come here to play anyway...

Calming herself, the youkai spoke again, "You may forget about that part. Also, you wouldn't mind if I ask your name as well?"

The brunette was hesitant at first but gave her name after considering it for a few seconds. "I'm...Hirsawa Yui."

"Oh, such a lovely name."

"So...you're the one stealing some of the food here in the club room?"

"Straight to the point, aren't you? My, yes, you certainly got the right person."

"Give them back!" Yui retorted angrily as if she just lost something dearly.

"My, you're really cute. Well, even if I wanted to, I'm afraid that's not possible. I do admit, the first-class sweets that you girls are having here captivated my taste."

"Where did you come from anyway?"

"I live in a place called Gensokyo. Will that answer your question?"

"I never heard of that place before..."

"Of course, you wouldn't. It's literally sealed off from this world."

Yui raised a questioning eyebrow to Yukari, who was now cooling herself off with a fan that appeared from one of her gaps. The guitarist crossed her arms before she spoke. "What are you going to do now? We don't have any food left in here, you already took my cake..."

"Actually, I have a proposal for you..."

"Proposal?"

"Yes. Since I got fond of your sweets you had eat. I am just wondering if you could send sweets like those to me if you could spare some."

"Oh...you could ask Mugi-chan for that. She the one bringing those sweets for us."

"It seems that I got the wrong person...I mean, you could ask her to that, right? For one thing, those heavenly delicacies that you have everyday in this room are really matched with high value. In my stead, if you agreed to my small request, you could access Gensokyo anytime you wish. Sounds fair, no?"

Now the youkai that had the ability to appear everywhere was offering a lifetime pass to Gensokyo. Her curiousity suddenly increased to a new level. But what could she benefit from traveling to an unknown place as she would supply Yukari with sweets? If she was a youkai, then her home could be also home to other weird beings. This was somewhat an absurd deal with your expensive sweets was at stake and you need to bother yourself on explaining these things your supplier, although seeing a world beyond she could reach would actually push the buttons of interest of anyone.

"Yui-chan, that would be a splendid idea!"

"M-Mugi-chan? You're still here?" Yui stuttered as she turned her head as she recognized the familiar voice. From the club room's doors, Tsumugi was standing with both hands clasped together.

"Actually, the moment we reached the school gate, I sensed a very powerful presence in here. So, I went back to check it while Mio-chan and the others went ahead," The blonde keyboardist explained, her voice filled with excitement which Yui wondered what could be interesting with the woman in front of them. "My intuition was correct. I only heard about the proposal part though."

"You could sense youkai? From that alone, I could tell that you're no ordinary human then. Perhaps you would be the one referred as Mugi-san?" Yukari asked as she gazed at the newcomer. "Then, why didn't you knew my presence from the beginning then?"

"Oh, that...I was thinking that you wouldn't appear yourself soon, so I continued bringing a lot of sweets with me. I wouldn't want to force you out," Tsumugi replied. "I don't have any idea about you, of course. You might be a dangerous youkai."

"I see. So, you're just waiting for me to come out?" The elegant youkai asked as blonde girl replied with a small nod. "It seems that you're interested in my bargain."

"Yes! I have read a few accounts about Gensokyo. Now that I've heard it from someone living in that place, the legends might be true after all! I can't believe it! Is it true that you could transport us to Gensokyo?" Tsumugi asked; the energy of her voice was getting higher.

"That would be easy, I'll even leave a 'portal' of mine for you to get there. Just to be safe, it will transport you near a certain shrine." The gap youkai's expression slightly darkened. "Although, I cannot guarantee your safety as you traverse our place."

"Huh? Why not?" Yui asked as she tilted her head to the side.

"Gensokyo is home not only to humans but to youkai and other creatures, even gods as well. Do your best to survive," Yukari replied in the most simple, straightforward way she could put it. "Also, I won't be responsible to injuries or even loss of life in our deal. Venture our place in your own discretion."

"Mugi-chan? What do you..."

"Splendid! I'll have the whole month supply for you to be delivered next week."

"Mugi-chan?" Yui uttered in surprise. The deal was somewhat one-sided for her. They would get something that carried more risk unlike on their side giving costly sweets that the only side effect was the food itself being calorie-loaded. Unless you won't eat too much or you have a metabolism like Yui's or any similar ability like that, there won't be any problem at all.

"Oho~ho~ho, that would be too much, too much. I like you Mugi-san! You should pay me a visit in Gensokyo if you have the time." The two began to laugh hysterically as the confused guitarist just shrugged and continued to listen.

"Well, are you sure about that?" The youkai asked again as she wanted to hear a concrete confirmation from Tsumugi.

"We have plenty of those that ended up being spoiled or thrown out. Even if we eat them everyday in the club room, they seemed to be endless though. Actually, I would be glad to give them instead. I won't mind," Tsumugi said with her usual innocent smile which could easily pierce through anyone's soul. "This is already a golden chance for me!"

"I see. Well, time to do my part," Yukari said as she scanned the room with slight interest. "Hm? I think I should put a gap somewhere hidden. For one thing, I don't care for other humans who would enter the gap, but it might save some trouble later."

"How about in the storage room?" Tsumugi suggested. "Only the light music club members are allowed to use this room."

"Why, of course!" Yukari enthusiastically replied. "After you then..."

Tsumugi led the youkai to the said room while Yui followed in curiosity. The keyboardist opened the door and revealed a lot of items placed on a shelf and cabinet, ranging from books, old electronic equipments and school supplies. She was quite thankful that Mio insisted to clean the storage room or there won't be any space for a portal leading to another world. Yukari waved her hand in a downward motion to the empty wall and a tear in the space in front of her opened. Multiple gazing eyes decorated its interior, giving off an eerie feeling to the other girls.

"I guess that should do it! Using that gap will safely transport you to Gensokyo and like I said before, near to a shrine with a miko around your age. She's friendly and would probably give you more details about our place."

"I think we just need to put a curtain or something similar to hide it," Tsumugi said, considering that the probability of someone could find the gap was never zero.

"Yes, that would be better."

"Thank you very much," Tsumugi said as she bowed as an expression of gratitude.

"No...no, I should be the one thanking you girls. The cake yesterday was immensely satisfying. I even game some to my shikigami and she was surprised as well. This might turn out to be better than before, simply grabbing food from convenient stores or fancy restaurants."

"That's a bit, well, straightforward of you."

"What about the cake you took just now?" Yui asked before she could forget about it.

"I would take that as an initial payment for our deal."

Yui wanted to protest. The cake was quite expensive and she had to spent the money originally kept for emergencies and maintenance for her guitar and other stuff. Well, the cake served its purpose anyway but she didn't expect it to be snatched as well...

"B-But," Yui sniffled as she was about to break in her place. "That was..."

"Don't worry, Yui-chan, I'll replace the cake that she took earlier."

Hearing that her efforts wouldn't go to waste, her worries was washed instantly from her and looked at her friend with gleaming eyes. "Really? Thanks!"

"Well, I should leave for now. I have important matters to attend to," Yukari said, already drowsy for some reason then another large opening formed behind her. She stepped inside and the gap disappeared as if nothing was there in the first place.

The two stared back at the gap that the youkai made earlier. It was a weird but convenient method of transporting them to the place called 'Gensokyo'. If they wanted to do so, they should prepare themselves as it won't be an easy exploration. The inhabitants of the place would be their problem as well. Tsumugi already had at least small background about the place but she could only confirm it by getting in there herself.

Yui faced to her friend who was now occupied on her plans exploring the place in the other side of the gap. "Mugi-chan, what if Mio-chan and the others found this out?"

"I think they wouldn't even notice if we just act naturally as if we didn't met that youkai. Everything would be normal," Tsumugi explained. "Oh, this is our little secret, okay?"

"Uh...sure," Yui reluctantly replied as she received another text message, this time from her sister who was currently in the grocery store buying their necessities good for a week. With Yui on your household, food should be in the top of your grocery lists. She was not yet home, so it might be a good idea to drop by the store. She was interrupted in the midst of deciding when Tsumugi asked her.

"Yui-chan, what was her name again?"

"Yukari..."

"Yukari. The name seems," Tsumugi mumbled as she repeated the name over and over in her head. She certainly heard the name before but it was too early to tell. She got too occupied in thinking about Gensokyo that she forgot to ask the name of the youkai before she left.

"Mugi-chan..?"

"Ah...right, we should leave now so I could prepare the one-month supply package for Yukari-san. I'll bring a curtain tomorrow too."

"Mugi-chan, why are you so interested about this Gensokyo place? It seems dangerous too..."

"I'll tell you some other time. It's quite a long tale actually."

It was late afternoon but it seemed like the sky appeared to be darker. Two girls entered a popular fast food restaurant like the usual. One of the girls had a large brim hat as her headgear and wore a brown overcoat reaching down to her knees. She had gray-colored hair and chestnut eyes. The other had brown hair with a pair of weird goggles on her forehead and she also had a strange set of eyes. One was pale magenta while the other was deep greenish-sapphire. She wore a simple one-piece black and purple dress. Odd enough, those suited them for some reason. People who came across the girls couldn't help to look at them for a second time.

Although both of them were regular customers in the place, the employees and some other customer were still afraid of them. You could say that they were famous in a way, their presence alone made them nervous but they were still loyal customers. There were also some incidents that the brown-haired girl released her rage in the restaurant and instantly, almost everything that runs in electricity malfunctioned. The employees didn't know what caused the breakdowns, but they were aware that this only happened when the girl had a terrible mood and her left eye grew into deep crimson as a match. It would be best if they won't do anything that would anger her.

The moment they ordered their food, the rain started to pour outside as the rainy season was about to enter its way. It could be a nuisance for some but looking from another perspective, it was quite a blessing for others.

"Why do everyone looks at us like that?" The brown-haired girl whispered as shot a threatening glare to the other people staring at them. "We come here often, right?"

"Don't mind them. They're oblivious as long as you don't do anything stupid," The other replied then drank her soda with a straw. "Hm~ It's a good thing that I made all some of my inventions immune to your nonsense."

"What was that?"

"Nothing, carry on."

"Where was I?" The brown-haired girl said to herself in deep thought then she clasped her hand together in delight. "Oh, right! It seems she finally showed up after awhile, huh?"

"You sure? Maybe you're just too excited seeing her..."

"Are you not excited too?"

"Not that much. It seems that she found something interesting which made her go back here more often."

"So, about that...our friend got some new pets of her own, right? Interesting~"

"If that's the case I don't mind them. I think you're planning to execute one of your shabby shenanigans again..."

"What's with that attitude?" The brown-haired girl asked with a frown, unwrapping her cheeseburger.

"What is it to me anyway? You even bugged me for a whole month to make a tracker for youkai. I don't see what are you trying to accomplish now, but remember that everyone's patience eventually wear thin. I won't be surprised if she would impale you to the point that you cannot move anymore."

Silence followed to the point that they could hear the voices of the other customers near them. The gray-haired girl was just staring at the scene outside the restaurant. She could see some unlucky pedestrians running while shielding their heads with anything that could offer good protection from the rain. She was not that interested in her companion's plan but they hadn't done anything interesting in the past few months and if Yukari was indeed in the city, which would be a golden chance. She was quite amused that her friend already finished her burger.

"Maybe something that would make Yukari-chan upset? That always work!"

The gray-haired girl nervously waved her hands in her friend's idea. "No, no, no. She would beat us up and throw us somewhere again...like the last time. Don't you have anything better to do this week?"

"How about her pet? I think we could lure her out that way."

"Somehow, I feel like you're just getting yourself another reason to be beaten up..."

"I'm getting bored and we hadn't seen Yukari-chan for awhile, so...why not?"

"Are you sure she would actually show up to save her pet? Why not just visit her normally?"

"Aw, come on! You are a youkai right? Have fun in things like these!"

"Whatever..." She paused for a bit as she took another sip from her soda. "I'm a human, dimwit."

"Really? That doesn't change anything if you asked me..."

An incident the next day made a couple of adjustments in her life. The Hirasawa sisters were about to cross the street on their way back to their house as a van unexpectedly rushed without prior warning to the two. Yui saw what could be the next scenario on the last few seconds before it could happen. It was dreadful and terrifying sight. Instead, she used the remaining time saving her sister and clutched her guitar to herself. Ui miraculously missed the van by a very small margin as she herself was shocked on her sister's fast response. The next thing she saw, her sister was already lying on the road, drenched on her own blood with her arms still around the guitar. Ui ran towards her unconscious sister as fast as she could.

"Onee-chan! S-Say something! Please..."

Yui felt cold and numb. It was only natural after being ran over by a fast vehicle. The guitar seemed to have more luck than its owner. The instrument was unscathed, which was inexplicable in every way. She may had absorbed the collision from the van, it wasn't enough to fully protect the guitar from being crushed when the van ran over her. Broken guitar or not, the owner's life was the utmost importance.

"S-Someone, please help!"

She tried to speak, but she only coughed out blood. She focused her eyes to see once more. Her vision was hazy but she could see her sister's tears flowing down to her face. She could only managed a weak smile. She knew that this might be her time. Other pedestrians and even the ones in their cars rushed to the scene, forming a makeshift barricade around them. For the passers-by, entirely concerned or not to both sisters, it was something that couldn't be seen everyday. Surely, anyone with a heart would see it a tragedy.

Sadly, they could only wait for the ambulance to arrive while they occassionaly spat complains about slow respond of the rescuers. The driver of the involved vehicle didn't escaped although he insisted that it was all an accident. He claimed that the van only accelerated more instead of slowing down as he stomped on the brakes. He even tried to turn the steering wheel in desperation but it suddenly moved on its own, aiming them directly to the sisters. As expected, those weren't enough reason to excuse himself from the case. Who would buy such claims such as that in the first place? He knew himself well enough that he didn't have the intention to harm anybody.

"...Hold on! I'm here for you, onee-chan! P-Please don't leave me!"

Some more minutes after, they finally heard the wailing siren of an ambulance approaching to the scene. Then, every second passed became minutes to everyone as a paramedic checked the vital signs of Yui while another person from the crew tried to control the bleeding. Judging from their faces, they looked like to be devoid of hope just looking in the state of the girl. They didn't waste much more time as they carefully put Yui on a stretcher and entered the ambulance.

Although they managed to bring Yui to the nearest hospital, there was no assurance if she would survive. Her friends waited for more than an hour and the doctor bought even more terrible news. According to him, Yui won't last long, even if she miraculously survive, she won't be able to continue her life normally given her grave condition. She was greatly injured; her legs were almost splintered, the impact from the vehicle crushed her rib cage along with the other vital organs. The doctor sadly stated that they were only delaying the inevitable. He even considered the girl lucky enough to reach the hospital alive and Yui probably consumed most of the luck alone in the process of surviving the initial collision. Still, it wouldn't be a reason for them to just give up. They assured that they would do what they can.

Certainly, the girl didn't deserve a punishment like that. What they could do was pray, nothing more. Each passing second seemed painful for the people around her.

Unless, a miracle happened. Miracles? Do miracles still existed in the world where such things weren't acknowledged anymore, much less believed in?

Unless, the time could be reversed to save her? That was even more outrageous...

Unless...

In Yui's room, standing in front of her bed, the blonde youkai was looking at her battered body. Pain was evident on the face of the once cheerful Yui, who was now relying on the life support devices surrounding her. The youkai wasn't expecting to see such distressing sight after she left them in the club room just a few hours ago. She thought that the girl would be fine at first despite of those injuries, then after a minute, she realized that the girl wasn't youkai. A human's regeneration was slow compared to youkai. She wanted to stab a syringe to one of her eye only because of that thought. It couldn't be help anyways; this already happened and the girl cannot be returned to her former, cheerful state. It was only a matter of time before the girl meets the shinigami who ferry souls to Higan.

She touched the cold forehead of the girl and her hand radiated a faint glow. She knew that the girl would soon give in. Suddenly, a grin formed across her face as she thought of an favorable idea.

Hm...you can't die yet, dear. Not now. Maybe I should call some help now? Besides, your friend probably noticed me the soon that I entered here. She's quite dangerous for a human, don't you think?

Her hand got brighter as she focused her mind with intense concentration. She was neither healer nor doctor to do complicated procedures or powerful incantations or life-saving miracles in such cases.

But she had her ways to improvise...

She was the youkai of boundaries after all...

There...that should add time, even for a little... Now that I'm done here, I will have a chat with her for a bit. Maybe outside to catch some evening air.

A few hours already passed since the accident, although the girls felt that the time was particularly slower. They were all seated around a small table in a room of the hospital where Ui was currently resting, save for Nodoka who volunteered to fetch some refreshments and snacks for them. After they learned about Yui's condition, not one of them uttered a word although there were occasional sobbing. They were still in the state of shock, no one ever expected this to happen, no one did. Yui maybe a ditz but she was not that careless to let herself in a grave situation. For now, they could only hope for a miracle to happen. There was nothing they could do. Ui on the other hand, was unconscious and couldn't not apprehend what she just heard. Her only partner and sister would be gone soon. What hurt her the most was that she saw with her sister and she should have been the one struggling for her life.

Also, they had expected that their adviser would come, but her absence made everything more disheartening. In fact, she was already informed by Ui through a text message beforehand and still no Sawako. Until now, they were trying to contact the teacher since that last reply of hers saying that she might come late. After that, she didn't respond to the succeeding calls and messages they had sent. They assumed that the teacher was busy that moment, but she couldn't possibly ignore a student of hers whose life was already hanging by a mere thread. "What of Sawako-sensei?" Azusa asked in a muted voice as if it was a whisper. "Where is she now?"

Tsumugi blinked twice in the question. She had no idea either as their attempts of calling their adviser appeared to be pointless but she had to try once more. "Should I call her again?"

"Well, even if she's here. What can she do anyway?" The drummer responded dryly.

"I believe Sawako-sensei cares for us more than everything else! She'll definitely come!" Tsumugi defended as if the teacher was their mother. "She will! She probably ran into trouble along the way!"

"For how long? She was supposed to be here with us ages ago! If she cared for her students, she should be here now!"

Azusa's chest started to throb uncontrollably as she watched the tension between the two. "Mugi-senpai's right! She's not here but I could tell that she's worried sick of Yui-senpai since it happened! There's no one to blame here, Ritsu-senpai. No one would ever wish or expect for this to happen!"

"I can't help to think that Sawa-chan left us like this too!"

"You know well as much as us," the keyboardist replied softly then she went for a brief pause. "Sawako-sensei will not abandon us."

"Yeah, I know that she cares," Ritsu muttered as she calmed down a bit, her eyes fixed on the floor. "Still, I...I didn't think it would end like this. Everything was fine just the other day then this? Damnit!"

"This is a terrible dream. This is not happening, right?" the bassist suddenly asked with her hands covering her exhausted face as the rest looked at her worriedly.

"Mio-senpai, please stay strong...she needs us," Azusa comforted as she rubbed the back of the bassist.

Ritsu slowly shook her head in disbelief and out of the blue she mumbled, "I don't think we could continue the club after this..."

Those very words made Mio's sobbing intensify as if she heard the end of everyone's in existence. Even though the room was air-conditioned, Azusa was perspiring and found herself unable to speak.

"Keep your thoughts to yourself. She's not going to die," Tsumugi replied in a somewhat displeased tone. Everyone looked at her skeptically. The keyboardist was able to maintain her composure despite of the heavy, gloomy atmosphere circling them. "I know she could hold on."

Ritsu gazed at the eyes of Tsumugi as if she just heard a cruel joke. She stood from her seat to look at the keyboardist in eye-level. "What? You saw her condition right? You were there when the doctor explained everything. There's no one could survive..."

"R-Ritsu-senpai? Don't say things like that! I want...I want to believe," Azusa interrupted Ritsu as tears started to fall on her face. "Yui-senpai is a cheerful, strong girl!"

Tsumugi, not moving her eyes away from the drummer, asked in a still calm manner, "Are you implying that we should abandon her?"

The drummer was quite taken aback with the firm response but still retaining to her point nonetheless. "I hate to say this, but anyone who would suffer in injuries like those won't survive in a day! Of course, I wanted her to live! But what can I do? What can we do? Pray nonstop until a miracle saves her instead?"

Azusa was now struggling of keeping the worst but already apparent possibility that could happen which only made her chest tighter as if an unknown force was constricting her heart. Thinking of her beloved senpai gone was too much of her to bear. "Ritsu-senpai...stop it please...you're not helping. It's not going to happen!"

"Ritsu! W-What are you saying? S-She's our friend!" Mio cried.

"This is reality! Even if we wished that she would live, that won't change anything other than we tried hard!"

The keyboardist closed her eyes for a few seconds as she nodded in accord. "That's true..."

"Mugi-senpai...?"

Tsumugi stood up from her seat. Although the point of their drummer was right, Tsumugi knew that waiting wouldn't do nothing. She felt a familiar presence coming from the emergency room. The same one emanating from the youkai she met before. The presence lasted not more than a minute though and reappeared again somewhere outside the building. She gathered again her thoughts as the name Yukari struck her head again. Her friends attentively watched her walk to the door and finally disappearing from their sight as she closed it behind. As she walked through the quiet corridors, the student council president passed by unnoticed. Nodoka, seeing the determined expression of the blonde, decided not to disturb her as she went ahead back to their room.

If anyone here cannot help her, maybe she's my last bet...

I could only hope...

Asking help from the youkai was the only way she could think of now. She didn't even know if that youkai would help her in the first place. They had a deal, but that wasn't enough reason and not her purpose to begin with. Again, the name Yukari troubled her. She read some books and accounts regarding a place called 'Gensokyo', created by a powerful youkai who could manipulate boundaries. She heard from Yukari she was from Gensokyo and judging from her ability, she could transfer things from one place to another almost instantly. Her assumptions still need to be confirmed though and it wouldn't hurt to try.

Azusa stared back to the floor helplessly with her teary eyes. "What's going to happen now?"

"Aren't you a clairvoyant, Mugi-san?" The gap youkai was sitting on a bench by the wall with her parasol open, blocking the lanturn's light above her. She didn't bothered to ask the youkai what she was doing in an empty parking lot, she could just entered the hospital normally like any human, not to mention that Yukari's appearance was identical to them. Perhaps her flashy way of dressing would give her identity away or she just didn't feel like it. Whatever was going on in Yukari's mind was mostly incomprehensible which shrouded her in mysteries, even to some of her friends back in Gensokyo.

Silence followed in which the nightly sounds took over them.

Tsumugi walked towards the gap youkai and sat beside her. "Good Evening."

"Humans are very fragile, don't you think?"

Hearing this, the keyboardist's body tensed but still remained her composure at least. "She won't survive..."

"Yes. I'm well aware of that. I even checked her beforehand," The youkai replied then went for a brief pause. "I'm afraid it was no mere accident either."

That explains your presence earlier...What is she planning?

"Do you know something?" Tsumugi asked with interest.

"It's just a guess. They're getting troublesome at some point but I just let it slip though. Putting that aside, if you don't do anything soon, she won't be seeing another day."

"I'm no miracle worker..."

"True enough, and so am I. Well, I do know a certain shrine maiden with that power, but all we need is a doctor. Plain and simple, isn't it?" Tsumugi raised a baffled eyebrow to the youkai. They already heard the verdict from the doctor who examined Yui which also means any doctor would say the same as well. She didn't know if the suggestion of the youkai was a mere jest but Yukari's expression remained the same.

"Doctor? The problem now is beyond their capabilities," she replied in the most casual way she could put it. "They did what they can for my friend, but it was far more than they could handle."

"After all, she's no ordinary doctor unlike the ones you have here and she's the perfect person for the job. I believe she could help your friend." Yukari added, as she put away her parasol. Hearing this, she suddenly brightened up. Was there someone that had the expertise that normal doctors couldn't do?

"Bring Yui to that 'doctor' you speak of then."

Asking the girl of something obvious was futile, but Yukari allowed herself to ask in a way that would not offend Tsumugi, "You seemed very determined to save her life. What is she to you?"

"She is my friend," Tsumugi said with emphasis. "I don't want her to go yet..."

"I really admire the bond you share with your friends. Indeed only a few souls in this world that you could give your trust."

"Is that mean you're going to help?"

"Oh...it would be very troublesome for my part," Yukari said as she crossed her arms. "This will definitely involve me with that lunarian again, but not that I hate her."

"Then what are you doing in Yui's room?"

Just as the gap youkai predicted, she smiled inwardly. "She's still involve in our bargain. If it weren't for her, our first meeting won't probably transpire at all."

"That doesn't sound convincing. Do you have an...ulterior motive or something?"

"What's important now is to save her, correct? I suggest you should focus to the most important first."

Silence dominated the area again, Tsumugi still staring at the eyes of the gap youkai as if searching something through them. Yukari was rather fascinated. The girl then smiled as she clasped her hands together while Yukari perked up with interest like she was anticipating it. "Hm? How about increasing the supply of the sweets by fifty percent?"

"Well...I'm not quite certain about," Yukari replied hesitantly with a bit of a playful voice.

Tsumugi sighed then a smile followed as if she already knew what to say next. "Okay, I'll double it..."

The gap youkai splayed her fan open to cover her face in a teasing fashion. "Deal~ You play your cards well, Tsumugi-san."

T-Thank goodness... Tsumugi breathed out a heavy sigh, relieved that everything would turn out fine in the end. So, all that trouble for that? I can't still follow her reasoning...I better be more careful then...

She paused as she tried to think of their next action. "We should bring her out of the hospital, first."

"I leave that to you. After that, I can assure you that she will be fine."

"One more thing. I've been thinking of this for awhile now. Honestly, starting from the moment that you left the club room yesterday," Tsumugi said as she stood up.

"Yes?"

"Are you really Yakumo Yukari?" Tsumugi asked, looking straight to the eyes of the gap youkai. Yukari's eyebrows raised in response to the question in curiousity.

"What kind of question is that? What do you want to prove now?"

"For the sake of clarification. I wish to know the truth."

"W-Where am I? I'm already dead, right?" Yui asked herself weakly as she slowly opened her eyes. She felt that almost all of her body was covered with bandages which was a bother for her. Compared to what she felt in the last time she was awake, she significantly improved. Her head hurts a bit but everything else seemed to be fine as long as she didn't move them carelessly.

She could hear some voices outside as if they were playing a game. The morning breeze was chilly and refreshing. She felt that she wasn't inside the hospital anymore although she was still on a bed; a very comfortable one. She tried to move her body up but to no avail. She almost forgot that she was mowed down by a van and somehow managed to wake up after that.

"Nope, you're not dead yet but pretty battered to the point that you have a very low chance of survival, considering that you're human. It's like you're ready to cross the Sanzu River the moment you were brought here. You just need to rest for now. Also, thank Yukari for bringing you here too," A woman explained as she fixed her glasses before she continued reading a book which appeared to have complicated contents. "Your name is Hirasawa Yui, if I'm not mistaken? Maybe I should tell that you're currently here in Gensokyo, specifically inside our home."

She paused for some seconds as she shifted to another page in her book before she spoke again. "Oh...I'm Yagokoro Eirin, if you might ask."

The woman had a long braided white hair, wearing blue and red dress, a matching cap and a pair of glasses, having a striking resemblance of a nurse. Like the blonde youkai, the woman was seemed to be human and possessed vast knowledge, apparently, on the field of medicine but there was still more than that. She was sitting in front of a table with a stack of books and other papers on it. She was reading a book which seemed very interesting, as her eyes were focused on its contents. Then again, maybe not interesting for Yui.

Huh? Yukari-chan? She...helped me...? That woman..is she a doctor? Maybe a nurse?

G-Gensokyo? I'm here in the place Yukari-chan was talking about? This doesn't make sense...I should be dead, the van surely hit me and...

"Good Morning!" A girl cheerily greeted as she entered the room. She was wearing a white dress, a cute carrot necklace and bunny ears hanging down on her head. Her childlike appearance perfectly concealed her true age which was believed that she was one of the oldest youkai in Gensokyo. The woman, which Yui assumed to be a medical practitioner of sorts, glanced to her side as she droned, "Please keep it down. We have a patient resting here."

"A-Ah...Good Morning," Yui weakly replied in impulse as she turned her head to acknowledge the girl. She saw something that gave her second thoughts. She focused her eyes to make her obscure vision better, something was surely wrong on the girl's head.

"Tewi, what are you doing here? Are the rabbits doing their morning tasks?" Eirin asked expectantly as she removed her glasses and closed the book she was reading.

"Yep...I just wanted to check our patient."

"My patient," corrected the white-haired woman.

"Of course. Yours. Whatever."

"W-What's that on your head?" Yui suddenly asked as she continued to stare at the girl with great interest since she entered the room.

The rabbit girl proceeded in checking her head with a hand. "M-My head? What's wrong with it?"

"Are those...bunny ears?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"How cute. We used to wear those sometimes."

The girl blushed for a bit. She knew that an outsider like Yui wouldn't know that the ears were real at first glance. Yui assumed that the people around here like wearing weird costumes too.

"Ah, my ears are the real deal. I'm a rabbit youkai anyway," the rabbit bluntly replied then faced Eirin. " She's finally awake now, huh? I thought she will be sleeping forever."

"Hm? Are you expecting me to fail or something?" Eirin said with a grin.

"Well, sometimes for a change."

"Uhm...you're a youkai?" asked Yui.

"Yes. Why do you ask? Is this the first time you've seen a rabbit youkai?"

"Yakumo-san said that she's a youkai but I can't see the difference besides that she have powers like those portal thingies. Is that magic she was using for those? She said that youkai eat humans. Actually...she's the first youkai that I've ever seen...but i'm not convinced about that."

"Huh? So youkai are really that rare in the outside world?" Tewi asked. "Or maybe your just an airhead to begin with? Also, not all youkai eat humans. You humans are the gluttonous ones! Eating our lesser kind to satisfy your stupid taste! Even youkai started to eat them too!" The rabbit youkai paused before shrugging. "That's reality I guess, humans wouldn't mind eating such a cute, harmless creature. Just because serving rabbit meat is tradition doesn't mean that it's already good..."

"Tewi, our patient here seemed to be not the one who will devour a whole rabbit on sight. You could ramble more about it outside. I don't want her to be disturbed."

"I-I don't eat rabbits...I didn't know that they can be eaten too," Yui nervously replied.

"A-Ah, I'm sorry. Just need to take it off my head. To think of it, we haven't had a human patient who stayed here this long."

"Hm? I thought you two already suggested alternatives for rabbit meat during gatherings and festivals?" Eirin asked the youkai rabbit.

"They're too stubborn, you know?"

"Youkai sure are interesting," came a sudden remark from the brunette.

"Going back to the topic, think of them as preternatural beings. Some even look entirely human and thinks like one. Some are savage and attacks anything within their territory like wild animals," Eirin explained then she earned a blank look from the girl. "Ah, don't think much about it. You won't survive in this place if you will try to know the logic and reason behind things happening here."

"M-May I ask how long I've been here?"

"You sure ask a lot of questions, huh? I guess that's only natural for an outsider," Tewi replied as she scratched her head.

"I suppose this is already the sixth day. I'm quite surprised. She's not that friendly to humans but she personally brought you here. What did you do anyway?"

"W-Who?"

"I mean, Yakumo Yukari, the youkai of boundaries. She brought you here in a near-death state. She's not the type who would do such things just for the sake of doing it."

She tried to extract an answer from her fuzzy memory. After that accident, everything in her head was rattled and went out of place. It didn't take much time for her to remember though as she concentrated harder but pain seemed to increase as well. "Ah...it was a deal made by Yakumo-san. She wanted my friend's sweets badly."

"Ah...really? That's Yukari alright." Eirin smiled. "It seems that she really does something outside Gensokyo..."

"I-If I'm here, then who's in the hospital back in...the outside world?" Yui asked, nervousness evident in her voice as she only realized it just now. That could create a hellstorm of problems, probably they were panicking right now since she was gone for more than three days.

"Don't tell me that the gap youkai took you from the hospital without thinking about that," said Tewi in a rather displeased tone.

Eirin replied with a slight frown, "I'm afraid Yukari only knew the answer but I'm certain that she already thought of that as well. I also asked her about the matter but she only said that everything was taken care of."

"What? Something like creating a perfect copy of hers then pretend to be in a near-death state? That's wicked!" Tewi said excitingly as she tried to imagine such ability.

"Can Yakumo-san do that?" asked Yui.

"I doubt that Yukari could do that. I mean, she's already powerful in a way but it is not our problem anymore," Eirin said as she put her index finger on her chin. "A youkai that could manipulate boundaries is not that far from being a god."

"Except that she's kind of a weirdo to me," Tewi remarked. "I guessed that balanced it...in a way or two."

Everyone's attention went to the door as they heard someone knocking behind it.

"Who is it?"

"Master, are you there?"

"Yes. Come inside."

The girl had deep red eyes, long lavender hair and she was wearing clothes similar to Yui's school uniform - black blazer on top of her white shirt with matching skirt and red necktie. The girl was somewhat around Yui's age but she was way older than she looked. Also, the girl had rabbit ears on her head, except slender and less fluffy than Tewi's. Now, another rabbit made an appearance but Yui seemed to accept everything and paid no worries if everyone inside the mansion were friendly.

"Master, good morning," a much taller rabbit girl greeted.

"Oh, Udonge, perfect timing! I need you to deliver these medicines to the village, " the lunarian requested, taking out a container under the desk. "These are just recently made too."

"A-Ah, yes. Also, there's someone that needs to visit our patient," The moon rabbit replied as she stepped aside, allowing the visitor to enter the room.

She had blonde hair wearing a strange hat decorated with amulets and an outfit very similar to Yukari. Achieving the status of being a nine-tailed fox, she had superior ability in terms of intellect and power surpassing most youkai. On her back, she carried a guitar case that made Yui remember her own. First, she saw the rabbits of Eientei, now a fox youkai serving Yukari as a shinigami. Any normal person would get their brain out of commission for a while being surrounded by youkai, unless those youkai saved you.

"Ah, Yukari's shikigami, right?" Eirin recalled. "You're early today."

"Good Morning, Yagokoro-san," The fox youkai greeted as she bowed in custom. "I see that everything's in order as expected since my last visit."

"What's a shikigami?" Yui curiously asked as she met the eyes of the fox youkai.

Eirin leaned to the guitarist and whispered to her ear. "To put it simple, she's the fox underling of that lazy gap youkai."

"Ooohhh..." Yui nodded while the shikigami raised an eyebrow.

"Whatever that was, I felt that I'm insulted there..."

Ran wasted no time as she approached the girl on the bed with the guitar case she was carrying.

"Yukari-sama wanted to give this to you. I believe this is one of your most cherished possessions, Hirasawa-san." The fox youkai unzipped the case and revealed Yui's Gibson Les Paul guitar. She remembered carrying it during the accident but was relieved as there were no visible damages at all.

"Thank you! I missed Gitah so much!" Yui said as she received the guitar then she hugged it tightly. They never saw someone who give so much affection to an object.

A lifeless, inanimate object.

"Why are you looking at me like that, Udonge?" Eirin asked as she noticed her apprentice gave her a frown.

"Master, what kind of medicine she took now?" The rabbit asked with an displeased face. She knew well enough that her master liked to experiment making different kinds of medicines with weird effects. Eirin just looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm certain that is not a side-effect of my medicines."

"I wonder that, master..."

"If you still have doubts, why not try one yourself?"

Yui caressed her guitar as brand new cheerfulness filled her body. "I'm glad you're safe! It's almost like a dream!"

"Your instrument has a name, huh? No, more like you named your instrument," said Tewi, more or less surprised in Yui's affection towards her guitar. "Are you sure that the medicine's side effects aren't kicking in?"

"Tewi, you're starting on me again."

The shikigami smiled. "Yukari-sama would be glad to see you in great condition."

"Where is Yakumo-san anyway?" Yui asked as she looked up at Ran who just blinked in the question.

"Lemme guess," Eirin said as she gave a sly grin to the shikigami.

"You don't have to say it, Yagokoro-san."

"Yukari sure does know how to laze around and let her shikigami do all the work."

Reisen whispered to herself, "Isn't that somehow the same for me...?" Her master sometimes went overboard to things and that inevitably involve her most of the time. The thought of it made her shudder, drinking all those new concoctions Eirin made and ridiculous amount of workload. Even when there were a lot of rabbits in the mansion at their disposal. Well, the rabbits only listen to Tewi anyways.

She now looked at the container handed to her. The same container that she would put in her backpack and distribute them personally to their regular customers. After the errand, she could predict the next ones like she always do. And there was Tewi, who sometimes interrupt with her annoying pranks. "It's early in the morning and I have to deliver these..."

"I heard that Udonge~ What are you complaining about?" Eirin asked in a playful way but Reisen could feel that it was exactly the opposite.

"M-Master, i-it's not like that..." Reisen stuttered, drops of nervous sweat trickled down her face.

"Tewi~ Can you get me those things in the cabinet?" Eirin requested in a rather sweet voice.

"Roger!" Tewi saluted and went to the said cabinet in the other end of the room. Her fellow rabbit was already cowering in fear as she slowly opened it. "Reisen~ It is time!"

"P-Please... I-I was just kidding. I'll deliver these now," Reisen said as she quickly grabbed the container's handle.

"What's inside that cabinet?" Yui asked, quite surprised in the moon rabbit's reaction. The cabinet seemed to contain something unpleasant, at least for Reisen.

"You don't want to know, Hirasawa-san. You don't have to," replied Eirin, still wearing her creepy and subtle smile. The shikigami just sighed in the sudden shift of the atmosphere. An awkward shift at that.

"Uhm...I-I think my work here is done. Although Yukari-sama wanted to bring you back to the outside world as soon as possible, it would be best to not return for awhile until things had gotten better. She mentioned that bringing you here made a minor commotion among your friends, especially your sister who wanted to know your current whereabouts," Ran informed as she took a step back. "Oh, another thing. One of your acquaintances wishes for your fast recovery. The other girl involved in your deal with my master. Tsumugi-san, correct?"

"Huh? How did she knew that I'm still alive?"

"I heard she's the one who requested Yukari-sama to bring you here. She also helped to get you out of the hospital. "If you worry about your businesses in the outside world, my master already taken care of any immediate problems."

The brunette made a confused expression. "I see. What do you mean by outside world?"

Ran directed her eyes to the ceiling for a few seconds as she pondered for a simple answer to Yui. "Gensokyo is currently separated from the outside world with a powerful barrier not seen by the naked eye. You cannot find this place in any conventional maps made in your world. Plus, the barrier that encloses Gensokyo prevents entry to outsiders, but there are some exceptions in this case."

"Like what?"

"Examples would be items and even humans themselves sometimes drift here unintentionally from outside."

"That sounds silly but...I don't think you're bluffing. I guess I need to stay here until I can move again."

Eirin was quite amused in the guitarist's unchanged reaction. Most outsiders' natural response to those details were screams and panic, only to get eaten by the local youkai for the next few hours after finding their way out. They would be lucky enough if they met someone that might lead them to the largest human settlement in Gensokyo. "You seem to take things lightly, Hirasawa-san."

"Thank you for your time. I shall take my leave then," Ran bowed down before she was accompanied her back to the exit by the moon rabbit. After a minute, the shikigami went back with an embarrassed face.

"I-I forgot. Yagokoro-san, do you still have those supplements for Chen?" Ran sheepishly asked as her other goal of visiting Eientei almost slipped out of her mind.

Eirin chuckled lightly. "Ah...I'd thought you would ask. I still have plenty of those."

"Who's Chen?" asked Yui as she heard yet a new name. Eirin sighed in response.

"Save those other questions for later, please..."