Chapter 4 : Shared Motivation

The night continued like the previous others. The bright, prominent moon gave ample light to the whole of Gensokyo as the stars gave their dim share of brilliance in the dark sky. By that point, the youkai of the night began their usual affairs unlike to most of the humans in the village who were in a rush to finish their remaining tasks for tomorrow, save for those stores and shops that were intended to be open the whole night, especially for youkai customers. In fact, the day was just starting for them as it would be busier and livelier with the full moon the next night.

A youkai wearing blue and white, her tattered dress slightly charred in some parts also including an almost detached sleeve hanging on her arm, was having her usual routine of flying above Gensokyo's landscape. She just liked the gentle cool breeze as she sped through the air as if cleaving it on purpose.

Seeing her like that was a natural occurrence, especially when invoking the wrath of a more powerful target of her schemes, like the shrine maiden who just happened to be enjoying her usual afternoon tea time in her shrine's porch. The shrine maiden didn't need to hold back as she would allow herself a few minutes of exercise with a quick spellcard battle.

Tatara Kogasa was an umbrella youkai with high hopes and enthusiasm despite of her past as an ordinary purple umbrella. Her self-proclaimed career of scaring and surprising people was her life's calling. So far, her efforts seemed to be at naught as she didn't have much success so far.

After arriving at her workplace during the morning, she learned that today was a day off for her. It was either that she was not informed beforehand or she just completely forgot. It was not more than a month since she took the job anyway. It would be considered a waste of effort for coming there as she was currently lodging in the human village. It was not like she had a lot of things to do but that only means more time to get into her actual job, something that she always believed that a true youkai must possess or all would be in vain.

She stopped as she rummaged the contents of her waist bag and took out a pocketbook filled with gruesome youkai tales. She happened to found some of those books in a certain antique shop and happily bought one, hoping to find new tricks that would definitely give her victim a scare that she wished for. She furiously flipped the pages until she found a small ruffled sheet of paper with a couple of persons scribbled on it, including the Shrine Maiden of Paradise herself.

"I have to rework my strategies this time," Kogasa muttered to herself with a subtle frown. "Geez, I thought I already had the shrine maiden that time. I'll need to wait for quite some time before returning there. She nearly...huh?"

Something got her attention – a dim but visible pink-colored flash partly obscured by the thick mist of the forest not far from her. It was brief, making her rub both of her eyes. She waited for some more seconds but nothing happened.

"Eh? Maybe it's just my imagination." She shrugged and shifted her attention to her checklist, pressing an index finger to her lower lip. "Where was I? Hm...It seems that the witch is always out of her house. It's hard to meet her when..."

Another flash lightened the particular area with more intensity than before, coloring the mist with pale pink hue for some seconds. She squinted her eyes for the source of the weird light which slowly faded.

"I definitely saw something this time. Maybe the youkai tonight are really active, huh?" Looking at her list once more, she mumbled, "The shopkeeper wasn't in the mood either. He's too absorbed in fiddling that rectangular thingy and his other stuff. Then-"

Then, a series of pink bursts that seemed like a monotonic lightshow brightened the vicinity which startled her a bit. She smiled to herself as her urge increased even more. "What was that all about?"

Submitting to her curiosity, she went to the direction of the pink flashes as she summoned her purple umbrella in her hand.

"A-Are you hurt, Hirasawa-sama?" asked the chocolate-haired tsukumogami as she descended from her viewpoint, cautiously scanning the area as both smoke and fog lazily floated around her, significantly crippling her vision. Her whole frame was engulfed with a pink fiery glow which eventually subsided in each passing second.

"Ah- I'm fine. Just a bit shocked, that's all," there came the response of the ditzy guitarist behind the spirit girl. Yui gave a encouraging thumbs up. "Anyways, that was awesome! That flashy barrage surely got them surprised!"

"Because of that, I only attracted more of them now. We must hurry or more would come."

Yui's eyes sparkled as she grabbed the hand of the girl. "I can't believe that you can actually do something like that! You can be a superhero with all that power, Gitah! "

"It's not that I don't like that idea, but I only wish to serve you. After all, I'm just your guitar."

"Don't worry, you'll do fine! The world needs you!"

"Uhm, I will...think about it."

The brunette had gotten more comfortable with her guitar's spirit as they continued finding any exit. A trusty companion that could create pink exploding projectiles was definitely a must-have when venturing to one of the youkai's territory. That alone should be a good deterrent for any would-be attackers who would think that the two were easy pickings. The spirit girl appeared not exhausted after several bouts earlier but Yui knew that they wouldn't last long for the next encounters.

Despite that, they were having a hard time navigating through the forest with the dominating darkness and mist, and the occasional youkai that would show up that would prey on them. The pair didn't anymore expect that they would accidentally meet someone, whether it would be human or youkai who would be willing to help and teach the way out instead of eating them face first. After all, human meals were hard to come by in the forest those days – a luxury rare enough for them to have.

No human in their right mind would dare to enter the forest at those hours. Even stepping just outside the village's outskirts still had its risks as a few cunning creatures wouldn't hesitate drag them out to the darkness when they get the chance. The thicket was considered a mutual hazard zone to humans, especially those without any capability to fight the local youkai on their own. Only brave and experienced bamboo harvesters were always seen walking on those parts. Of course, they only harvested bamboo during the day or that would be suicide.

Occasionally, Yui and her guitar youkai would find themselves climbing a slope or entering an area with denser fog which made things ahead indiscernible for a few feet from them. The two were moving forward, but the forest itself was making otherwise a different impression. Fortunately, Gitah's patience for her master was thick enough to motivate the girl when she was about to give up.

Truly, the monotony of the forest would easily consume the bearings of the weak-willed, specifically to humans, as if no one could get out alive in the mercy of the youkai.

On a more positive perspective, Yui had the opportunity to see a great variety of things along the way. She saw swirling, faint orbs of light dancing here and there. It looked like transparent balloon or round and compact cotton candy, but Yui learned that approaching them was a pain since the air around them was colder than the temperature of the forest itself. What more if she directly touched them? Her guitar spirit firmly opposed that idea to save their selves from more trouble.

Aside from those floating orbs, small shadows seemed to appear from a distance as if observing the progress of the pair. Then, muffled giggles could be heard if they listened carefully. It was annoying, at the same time, disturbing. Once, Yui's guitar youkai hurled an accurate bullet to the source and went on afterwards.

There were also rabbits that would pass by in a carefree manner, seemingly ignoring any possible dangers that they might come across on their way. Then again, she knew that rabbits from the mansion could freely assume animal form as if they were normal harmless rabbits. It might be the same case here, since Tewi, being the leader of all rabbits living inside the thicket, employed some of her kind to work for the manor. She opted to catch one as souvenir or as a pet when she returned back to her home, but her guitar's spirit reminded her once again of their situation.

Then came a few annoyingly persistent monsters that would battle them, craving for human flesh. Most had their humanoid form but vaguely characterized as such with their sharp fangs, large claws and other scary features which was widely conspicuous from everything else. With the guitar tsukumogami's abilities, they wouldn't lay a finger on her master anytime soon.

Well, she also had a problem of her own aside from being lost inside the bamboo forest filled with youkai that sees her as a fitting main course for the night.

Yui looked up to the sky and stared at the moon which was nearly full. Reminding her of mochi and all other food that Tewi Inaba told her for the next night's festival, her ever-conscious stomach started to revolt again. Time was running short or her stomach might decide to take over Yui's consciousness and gain control of the girl's body, much to its content.

Other possibilities were plausible too...

She might even resort to eating the surrounding bamboo, at the same time, leaving nifty trails for them to remember in case they went back to that particular area or, instead, devouring every youkai that would foolishly come in their way.

The mere thought of it was frightening...

"This is harder than I thought," The guitar spirit said as she floated beside her master whose arms already wrapped on her stomach. "This forest sure lived up to its name."

"I'm going to die here. I'm so hungry that I'm seeing mist everywhere..."

"Hirasawa-sama, you need to be strong at times like this. Also, the mist here seemed to be a natural occurrence at this time."

"I'm really hungry," complained Yui once more with more emphasis in every syllable. "It's unbearable..."

"I presume you already ate a lot before this happened."

"I did, but..." The brunette dramatically paused as she caressed her middle. There was a faint grumbling noise afterwards, flailing her arms in embarrassment. "I'm still hungry. Tewi told me to perform with you before I could even have my second course!"

"Ah, I see. My apologies."

"Plus, those scary youkai are after us. Aren't they kind enough to let us eat for awhile?"

"What do you suggest?" asked the spirit girl with a pleasant face despite of the gloom around them. "From the looks of things now, we are sure to be overwhelmed by the youkai if we can't get out quickly. I strongly oppose creating further noise in this forest before we could attract us more youkai. Leaving you here while I call for help is definitely a no either. The thick fog above us won't do any good either."

"I wanna go home! I want to eat a lot then sleep! Then eat again after that!" Yui whined in response. Her artifact spirit shook her head in response, patiently doing her best to encourage her master.

"You can't go home yet without Miss Yukari's help."

Yui cried out at the top of her lungs and arms on her side, "What did I do to deserve these things? Is this some kind of punishment! No, I think this is some kind of a hard-to-solve riddle that needs to be solved for us to reach our much awaited salvation! I demand an explanation of all this madness! I don't want to end like this!"

In the spirit girl's astonishment, she grabbed her master's shoulders and stared at her eye's nervously. "Hirasawa-sama, please don't do that again. It's for the better us both."

She couldn't blame her master though. She thought that the forest had some kind of way to get into someone's mind as if to alter thought patterns. Then again, maybe it was just Yui's hunger or the thicket's atmosphere to begin with.

The guitarist glanced sideways, breaking their eye contact. "I know...still..."

"Yes? What is it?"

Yui began to twiddle her index fingers. "I still can't believe that you're a girl. I never knew..."

"A-Ah, that?" The spirit stuttered, blushing deeply as her master revived that same topic for the fourth time since the start of their adventures inside the forest. "I-I'm sorry..."

"Also, I can't think of another name that would suit you. I hope you don't mind if I'll be calling you 'Gitah' for awhile..."

"That's no problem. You don't have to stress yourself out with something like that. Then again, I would definitely prefer the original name you've given me."

"Well, first things first," Yui started as she walked a few steps as she decided their first course of action, "we need to find food. Anything edible, like bamboo shoots. Too bad we can't get cake out of the wilderness."

Gitah blinked twice as if she just heard the ridiculous. "Don't you mean the way back to Eientei, Hirasawa-sama?"

"Huh? What do you mean? Food comes first in this situation. See, if we can't find food in the next few hours, we cannot even walk our way out of this forest."

"That's a valid point," uttered the tsukumogami, careful not to upset Yui and her wearing patience. "Still, we can't afford to look food in a dangerous place like this. The sooner we find the manor, the faster we can address your hunger."

"Then, we should find ourselves some grub to eat!"

Suddenly, the spirit girl caught movement behind them. It was very faint rustle, but it didn't make much effort for her to notice even if the mist wasn't any help at all. In a youkai-filled forest, one would always have a feeling of something stalking from the surrounding bamboo as if being hunted. "Hirasawa-san? Did you feel something weird behind us?"

The carefree girl looked behind her before giving a shrug, apparently not showing concern to her surroundings. "Nothing weird, I guess."

Frowning, Gitah couldn't help to glance back. "I definitely felt something."

"Maybe it's just your imagination? Sometimes, I get to see weird things like this fog all around the place."

"I'm seeing the fog too, Hirasawa-sama. Like I said before..."

Before she could continue, Yui leaned her face towards Gitah with an index finger pointed at her chest. "That means you're hungry too! Admit it~"

"I'm not," Gitah sternly replied as she forced a smile. "Don't worry about me."

"Well, we wouldn't know if we're not going to check, right?" asked Yui as she got the tenseness in the spirit girl's tone. "It's fine!"

With each careful step, Yui crept towards the source of the rustling but with a more carefree air than her guitar youkai who was observing in worry every subtle signs of life around them. "Be careful now..."

Half-expected by her partner, the brunette yelped as she fell to her bottom. With haste, the guitar youkai gathered magic to her whole arm in reflex which looked like it was covered in a pinkish flaming aura, ready to exterminate the assailant who was brave enough to pounce on her master. Yui burst out a giggle, making the tsukumogami stop completely with her jaw hanging, dumbfounded.

"Waah~ It's just a rabbit!" cried Yui as she ruffled the fur of the rabbit's head. "Look! I finally caught one!"

After some seconds of recovery in the shocker she didn't expect, Gitah stuttered, "D-Don't surprise me like that. It could be a youkai!"

"Come on, Gitah!" Yui brought the snow-colored rabbit up, cuddling it with her face. "Isn't he cute?"

The guitar youkai lowered her head in resignation. She could only be thankful that the rabbit was a normal one.

All of the sudden, a much more audible rustle was heard by the pair, also making the rabbit's ears twitch in the sound. This time, it came from their far left, behind a shrubbery.

"Maybe it's another rabbit!" The brunette said cheerily then she brought up the captured rabbit to her eye level, rubbing its nose with hers affectionately. "Are your friends finding you now?"

"I don't think this is the right time for rabbit hunting."

"You're right. I already know what to do next." Feeling a bit of sympathy emanating from her chest, the guitarist released the rabbit from her hands, making the white furry critter leap its way towards the bushes.

"Kyaa!" A distinct, high-pitch yelp made it clear as day that someone was actually there as the rabbit jumped inside the foliage. "N-No! Huh?"

"Uh, Gitah, I didn't know that rabbits go 'kya' when talking to each other," said Yui with a baffled expression, imitating what she just heard. The guitar youkai

"H-Hirasawa-sama. Let me handle this," Gitah replied and turned to the direction of the noise with a commanding poise. "You! The one hiding in the bushes! Show yourself!"

As expected, there was no response although she could see a protuding silhouette just above the bushes. Was that really intentional? A trap conspicuous enough to be seen by its prey in the first place? There was only one way to find out...

The spirit girl sighed and said out loud, "That's no problem. I'm going to blast the area anyway." Gitah giggled a bit before raising a palm forward, creating a low humming sound. "Prepare yourself."

"W-Wait! Don't shoot!" came a nervous reply from the foliage. "I'm not even ready yet!"

"Uh...that was quick," Gitah mumbled to herself before addressing the unknown person in the bushes again. "Out you go, then!"

"Then promise me you won't shoot?"

"I won't make any promises, but it is for the better if you comply."

From the thick bushes, a girl reluctantly emerged carrying what seemed to be an umbrella. She walked a bit closer to the two as the spirit girl prepared for a decisive counterattack. Her clothing were shades of blue and white but one of her eyes stood out different, which was dyed deep red. She was also carrying the silliest umbrella that Yui saw in her entire life. The purple-colored umbrella had a creepy single eye and dangling tongue which the girl happily twirled. Her free hand was held up to her chest, indicating she didn't mean any harm to them.

"A girl with an umbrella?" asked Yui as she blinked her eyes.

"I thought I could give you two a good scare, but it looks like that you're having trouble searching for the way out here," said the girl with the umbrella, apparently fixing her messy turquoise hair, as she continued her approach to the pair. "But, I admit that you scared me good with that rabbit. I never thought of using rabbits as surprise material..."

The artifact spirit opened up a palm, a swirling pink orb instantly materialized which gave off a dim light. "Hirasawa-sama, permission to shoot the potential threat."

"W-Wait! I'm against this kind of violence!" cried the karakasa as she repeatedly shook her head. "Also, I already had enough beating for today!"

"But you youkai attack first regardless of your reason. I have the better position to doubt your intentions."

"N-No! I only surprise people, not eat them! That's disgusting!"

"I think she's not going to hurt us," replied Yui after a clear inspection of the youkai before them, the clothes of the poor karakasa was enough evidence on the damages she had incurred beforehand. "She's friendly, at least."

"You think so?" The spirit girl withdrew her hand, the pink orb was dismissed without a trace, and relaxed herself for a bit. "Very well. If you don't have any business with us, you may leave now," she warned in the friendliest tone that she could offer.

The umbrella youkai smirked in response as if she just heard a joke. "Aw, come on. I haven't given you the scare of your life yet! You've been busy fighting the youkai here, so I figured this would be a good chance."

"Huh? What's with the point of scaring us at this time?" The ditzy guitarist could only look at her spirit partner. "Gitah, is she a youkai too?"

"Yes. Apparently, a tsukumogami just like me. In her case, an umbrella youkai – a karakasa to be precise."

"Oh, so she's like you?" confirmed Yui, glancing back to the girl with the umbrella. "But she came from an umbrella instead?"

"So it seems."

"Ah, that's why the air around you is quite familiar. That explains a lot," The umbrella youkai said while nodding. "By the way, what are you doing inside the thicket? It's not your usual place to have a test of courage. It's far too dangerous with all the youkai around. It's nearly full moon, see?"

"What do you mean?" asked the guitar youkai, lost in track.

"On second thought, this is a perfect place to have a test of courage although you're going to end up being eaten here! Anyways, the youkai are more rowdy when the full moon is near. It's not safe and all, unless you're here for youkai extermination." She then gazed at Yui, examining her dress. "Are you a shrine maiden in disguise?"

"Nope," Yui replied. "Never worked at a shrine before."

"Goodie. I thought I'd get another beating or anything like that. If you're not here for exterminating wild youkai, what are you doing then?"

"It's either we can't find our way back to Eientei or we don't have an idea on how to navigate through this forest. You can freely assume what could be our case now," Gitah vaguely replied. "Unfortunately, we're not yet making any visible progress with the repetitive scenery of the forest."

"Can I tag along?" the blue-white youkai asked expectantly. "I can show you the way to the road leading to the human village. I was so bored in my meaningless, nonexistent life that I tried to memorize all of this forest for a month just for the sake of memorizing it."

Yui stared at the youkai, tilting her head in the claim. "...Nonexistent? Meaningless?"

"Well, considering you're the first youkai in this forest who didn't try to eat Hirasawa-sama, it's worth a try."

"Since we're much nearer to the human village's road, we should take this path!" Kogasa proudly announced with an index finger pointed to her right as emphasis.

Gitah looked back where they went through. "Ah, we wandered too far from the manor then," she said. "Are you sure?"

"Yep! I already confirmed it before going here. It's a pain going back with all of the fog above, especially with the nocturnal fairies and all."

"It will be better if we could return to the manor sooner but I guess this would do."

"Do you have a name?" asked Yui.

"Tatara Kogasa," replied the cheery youkai. "Nice to meet you!"

"Please lead the way then. We can chat along the way."

A man in black suit was seating comfortably beside a small round table, admiring the countless gleaming stars scattered about and accompanied by the nearly full moon with its subtle glow as the most dominant figure in the sky. It was an entrancing sight while catching some cold evening air but that would only remind him of the tasks he needed to do soon. Whenever the full moon was approaching, the youkai-related incidents would increase and eventually reach its peak, adding more of his workload for those particular days. In most youkai, they relied on the moon's power, giving them a significant boost to their abilities and in turn doing reckless, vicious things that could result in several cases that the police couldn't control themselves, much less explain firsthand.

It was troublesome. Along with a few of his acquaintances working under the Kotobuki family, they could just exterminate every last renegade youkai and call it a day without much to worry in the future. He thought if that was as easy as fixing his trusty handgun like it was brand new, he could now rest longer than usual and spent his days enjoying his own life after retiring from his former profession.

Truth to be told, even if he was not active in the youkai business, he would still be busy either way. Managing the Kotobuki household was one of it. Thankfully for him, the staff didn't need his presence to do their respective functions inside the house. They were all diligent and trustworthy to begin with.

He closed his eyes for a moment, contemplating to relieve himself from any stress and other negativities. Then, he spoke up out of the blue without moving anything as if he was greeting an unseen visitor, "You're here again. You really like this place, huh?"

There was a petite girl wearing a faded lavender dress on the left side of the terrace, sitting at the end of the elaborate balustrade encompassing the place with her back rested comfortably on the wall. She had a shoulder-length hair which was cutely curled at its tip and with a pair of seemingly transparent wings on her back which noted her nature significantly. The fairy answered with a small nod, her eyes looking at the night sky in great admiration.

"Why don't you go play with your friends? It seems they're enjoying this night, especially under this moonlight."

The fairy motioned her head sideward with her attention still on the stars scattered above them.

Heh. This fairy's so hard to convince in any way. I don't really want her to leave though.

Fairies are quite a rare find nowadays... Still, didn't she knew that we exterminate youkai?

"Stubborn as ever, huh? I guess it can't be helped."

A much younger silver-haired man, apparently about to exit his teenage years if were to describe him physically, appeared as if he was already there. He was wearing the same suit like the older man – the only evident difference was the color of their tie and shoes. He bowed down in respect as if he was intentionally summoned there.

"Do you have anything to report as of now?" The man asked expectantly as he sensed the presence of his subordinate.

The newcomer nodded. "Sir, about Mistress Tsumugi..."

"How is she doing? I presume you're keeping an eye on her whenever she goes somewhere else. With the youkai going rampant these days, I cannot guarantee her absolute safety. Her father's instructions are very clear to us..."

"In fact, I have news that I can't seem to put if its really a good or a bad one. I can only assure you that Tsumugi is unscathed in any way."

The brown-haired man raised an intrigued eyebrow. "Enlighten me then. I could tell that this might be interesting. Haven't heard much of Tsumugi's actions lately."

"First of all, Mistress Tsumugi met a very sophisticated youkai named Yakumo Yukari. Apparently, the youkai claims that she could control boundaries and resides in a place that she refers as 'Gensokyo'. I don't know much of the specifics in how such ability works as it is out of my field. I could tell that the youkai have taken a liking to our mistress for some reason as she would visit again sometime in the future."

The man repeated the familiar name inside his head as he broke a sweat, hearing just the ability of the youkai sent chills down his spine. He somewhat expected that one day, Tsumugi would meet someone out of the common variety of youkai but not exactly that particular youkai. "Continue."

"Yesterday, I suddenly lost track of her as Mistress Tsumugi, along with some of her friends, went to a somewhat different dimension with said youkai. She makes this gap in space where they use as their transport. They weren't gone for too long though, only for about less than two hours. I'm not entirely sure but they visited their injured friend somewhere. Maybe it's the place where the youkai lives."

"So, if that youkai could really manipulate boundaries, it's not impossible, is that right?" asked the brown-haired man, still having doubts. "This proved to be intriguing, don't you think?"

"Also, there was a small skirmish during the afternoon, involving two local youkai. It was nothing to be concerned of though since Mistress Tsumugi fortunately didn't participate in."

"Two other youkai? Are they somewhat connected to her?"

"It seems like it. They address each other as if they knew each other for a long time now."

"Hm, we will leave that aside for now." The brown-haired man gazed back at the star-filled sky. "Are you certain that the youkai was Yakumo Yukari?"

"Yes, the blonde-haired youkai who always carries this fancy parasol in one of her hands. Are you familiar with that youkai? Is she something of importance I'm not aware of?"

"Yakumo Yukari, the youkai of boundaries, out of her domain? Now, making friends with our dear Tsumugi?" The man closed his eyes for a moment as the unintentional silence continued to grow every second, at the same time, increasing the tension in the air. The younger man gulped as he fixed his necktie just to make him relax more.

Another person entered the neatly-decorated terrace. This time, a blonde girl in the mansion's prescribed maid uniform, carrying a tea set fit for royalty on the steel tray. She also had a striking resemblance to her young mistress that would probably confuse them for twins when placed next to each other. The maid stopped midway as she sensed the tenseness in the air. Thinking that she just stepped in a whole different world, she tried to open her mouth to say something but failed to pronounce any word.

Finally, after what seemed to be a whole minute of silence, the man took noticed, slightly turning his head to acknowledge the girl. "Oh, it's just you."

"A-Am I interrupting something?" The blonde girl asked worriedly as her hands began to tremble on its own, along with the tea set on the tray. "I-I could just..."

"It's nothing important. In fact, your timing was perfect. I could use for some tea of yours now. Can't end the day without drinking your tea." He smiled a friendly grin. "Good alternative for wine and brandy if you ask me."

The maid calmed down as she displayed a small smile of her own. "That's too much credit, sir."

She went to the elegant round table where the brown-haired man was seated. She carefully placed a tea cup near him and filled it with steaming fragrant tea. In turn, she also placed the tea pot on the table's center in case the man needed a refill.

"Ah, yes. Thank you for the trouble," said the man as he took his tea cup from the table. "You can rest now if you like. It seems that you're done with your duties anyway."

"Thank you." The blonde maid elegantly bowed with the tray against her chest. She stepped backwards before turning her back.

Suddenly, the man spoke up which made the girl stop midway, surprising her for a bit. "Are you feeling well?"

The young maid turned and softly said, "It's just that...I'm quite worried about Lady Tsumugi. She tends to spend more time outside these days where youkai are more active than before. I mean, something bad might happen to her..."

The man gazed at the face of the concerned maid and gave a reassuring smile. "You may be right but she's not empty-handed as you might think."

"W-What do you mean?"

"Even though I'm sending this young man here to watch over Tsumugi, I don't have doubts in her fine judgment and capabilities in any way. I can ensure you that she will be fine on her own. You should trust her more of all things."

The maid was quite relieved as she managed a smile, sweeping away all of her worry.

"I trained her well! Why doubt about it?" The man heartily chuckled as he brought the tea cup to his lips and took a sip while allowing the relaxing aroma to enter his nostrils. The young maid's face was now riddled with confusion, imagining what kind of training the man gave to her mistress. "The tea's good, as expected from you."

"T-Thank you, sir. I will retire now."

"You are a great help for Tsumugi. Rest well."

After the maid left, he promptly looked at the direction where the fairy was enjoying her solitary stargazing. As expected, she promptly left some minutes ago. He managed a faint smile before looking back to his subordinate. Maybe he could use to invite the fairy into an idle chat while having tea one evening.

"What was it you want to ask? Gensokyo?"

The silver-haired man stood in attention as his master spoke. "Yes. I've been wondering about that place. If I recalled it right, the mistress is also interested in it. The one that she calls 'fantasy land of youkai' or somewhere along those line."

"To keep it simple, Gensokyo was once a youkai-filled region of Japan that suddenly disappeared without any trace. Despite that, it used to be a great place or so it seemed to be."

"D-Disappeared? How could such thing possible?"

"Hold it right there. I know what you're thinking," the man said as he held up a palm, suppressing an already visible smile in the reaction of the other. "I mean, physically, the place is there as of today, but everything in it was gone like nothing happened there in the first place, save for an abandoned shrine that was rumored to be sitting in the middle of the barrier itself."

"A shrine in the middle of a barrier?"

"You heard me right. They called it the 'Hakurei Shrine'. For the record, they still haven't found a single descendant of the Hakurei anywhere which was a disappointment in their intelligence unit. It's either that all of them died before they could continue their lineage, but that's very unlikely."

"Sounds like an unusual folk tale to me."

"Trust me. What I said is even more than that. Wanna place a bet? Who do you think has the ability to make it possible?"

"No idea, sir," replied the other man bluntly.

"Ha! I thought you already know much of Yakumo Yukari! She's the youkai of boundaries after all! It was said that she sealed the place with her ability and never to be found again as it should be. Sounds like a fairy tale, no?"

Doubting on what he just heard, the younger man shrugged. "I'm sorry, but I find that hard to believe."

"I'm not convincing you to believe this nor I wanted to spread the word about this whole thing either. It's not like that alone could change the present." He paused, organizing his thoughts. "If you must know, Gensokyo is once inhabited by youkai beyond your imagination. A single one could easily burn down a village with almost no effort. Life at those times was full of hardships where the humans would spend their days in fear, locking themselves inside their houses as the youkai ravaged the lands. Some said that it was the time where hell was raised to the surface of the earth. It doesn't sound like much of an overstatement if you were there too."

"Yes. The destructive nature of the youkai in the past was almost uncontrollable. Up until now, we still deal with a few, particularly the hard-headed ones."

"Of course, the humans couldn't possibly allow the youkai to continue all of that. As a form of retaliation, they enlisted powerful humans that would exterminate those youkai, either of them volunteers or freelancers who do that kind of work for a living. Yes, anyone that would be willing to defeat the youkai regardless of reasons. The battle between the two forces continued on until the place was sealed which made things even more confusing. The humans already got the upper hand at that point too as their power increased along with time."

"If that was the case, why did the place disappeared all of the sudden?"

"The true reason for the sealing of the place is still unknown as of now. What we know is that the gap youkai played a vital role in this little project of theirs since it would require her ability for it to happen and the Hakurei shrine is said to be the barrier's foundation. Well, I might be wrong but that's what I know."

"So, in that sense, they made themselves independent from our world?"

The brown-haired man slightly nodded, rubbing his chin. "That seemed to be the case but knowing the nature of youkai, there might be something off with those accounts. We can never know without seeing the true Gensokyo first. You might learn a bit from following the youkai of boundaries herself."

"Sir, sorry to interrupt but who is this Yakumo Yukari anyway? You looked like you know her a lot."

"I don't know her personally, but I already read much info about that woman. To make things short, she's a very dangerous youkai. Fighting her won't do anything good. She'll just fiddle you like a keyboard until you surrender without even giving you a chance for a good comeback. Seeing her serious is a whole lot different story, especially when her border manipulation ability comes into play."

The silver-haired man shuddered as if the evening breeze's temperature dropped a few numbers. Was that youkai really that powerful? Although he couldn't disagree that the ability of border manipulation opens up a plethora or possibly limitless possibilities. Opening gaps in thin air as if tearing reality itself was one of it. Maybe it was a good thing he wasn't yet compromised with all of his sneaking around his mistress.

Then again, he knew her mistress well. He swore that Tsumugi already knew him as if he was a mere shadow.

"From what I have seen, she's a very refined youkai with this intimidating aura around her. She seemed like a deity at a glance, from her looks and in her actions."

"I heard she's quite a beauty too. Can you confirm that to me?"

"U-Uh, do you fancy her, sir?"

The brown-haired man chuckled, taking another sip from his teacup. "Well, you saw her already. You're the best person to ask with that simple question."

"Ah...sir, aside from that," the younger man gulped down in distress as he tried to process all what he just heard, "are you sure these information are not classified? Also, if Gensokyo is protected by said barrier, then there's this possibility that it could be penetrated and eventually reach the place anytime."

"Ah, finally got curious? The others might know something else. They are more active in searching for the 'lost land of youkai', if you know what I mean. Funny, eh? If you wanted to know more, ask them yourself."

"I suppose it would be best to not indulge myself further on it. If they're already living conveniently in a different place from us, that shouldn't be a problem now. Humans should be thankful for that."

"Needless to say, they are too eager to discover a way to Gensokyo. They're definitely hiding something new from us, but no matter. So far, they've only recovered a few accounts and records about the youkai region. I have yet to collaborate with them regarding about it."

"I think the mistress is glad to meet someone like that youkai. She even experienced being inside Gensokyo without much effort."

"One more thing..."

"What is it, sir?"

"If anyone from them asked you about the appearance of Yakumo Yukari around these parts lately, just feign you don't know anything. We would need to confirm it ourselves first without breaking Tsumugi's interaction with her and to know more info. Of course, that would only provoke the youkai of boundaries if anyone of us would make a move against her. We must take account of Tsumugi's safety, which will always be our utmost priority."

"Understood, sir."

"Other than that, continue monitoring her and the youkai. You're dismissed."

"I can't walk anymore...go without me," Yui weakly muttered under her breath, collapsing to the ground as if she had run around the whole forest incessantly. Well, it wouldn't be an exaggeration that they already did prior to Kogasa's arrival.

Gitah bent over in front of her master and said, "Hirasawa-sama, we're already here..."

The guitarist reluctantly scanned her surroundings as they were now in a clearing where the road extended from both sides. She looked over her shoulder for good measure to see that they were already out of the bamboo forest. "At last! I thought we're going to be stuck in that forest forever!" The guitarist squealed as she stood up in excitement and newfound energy, glad that she finally saw something other than bamboo and that distracting mist.

"Wow, my guess is right! I thought I was wrong all along," said the karakasa as she anxiously laughed.

Gitah stared at Kogasa with suspicion, knitting her eyebrows together. "That was a guess? Are you sure you really know what you're doing?"

"Wait, It's not what you think! I didn't mean it like that! Of course, I know!"

"What's important now is that we got out of the forest, right?" asked Yui, easing the building tension between the two youkai.

"Y-Yes, by all means," the guitar youkai replied.

"Thank you, Hirasawa-san!"

"It took us quite some time, but thank you for your help," said Gitah, bowing down as she remained floating a few inches above ground.

"Well, now that we're here. May I ask where you are two going next?" asked the curious karakasa.

"Like you said, we should head to the village. It's not safe when we camp in the wilderness."

Kogasa happily twirled her purple umbrella. "I'll join too! I got nothing to do for the night anyway."

"You're too eager to join us. Are you sure that you're not here to eat my master?"

"No! Trust me! Also, our kind doesn't eat humans! You know that!"

With a quick glance to the youkai's purple umbrella, Gitah mumbled, "Your umbrella seems to tell the opposite..."

"Err...Gitah, it's okay. She's pretty cute for a youkai, so it she doesn't count like the rest of them!"

Kogasa's face turned scarlet as she stared at the ground, awkwardness slowly piling up. "Ah...you think so?"

"Your umbrella is cute too! Never seen like one of that before..."

"Y-You liked my umbrella?" asked Kogasa, almost spacing out. "An eggplant-colored umbrella? You're delirious..."

"Who cares about the color? You're still cute! Both you and the umbrella!" said the brunette as she gave the karakasa a hug. "Oh, eggplants are good too!"

However, Tatara Kogasa knew nothing on Hirasawa Yui's definition of something being cute. Perhaps everything in the scope her interest was cute and ready to be cuddled anytime. Gitah closed her eyes as she remembered a rather similar scene in the music store where she first saw a ditzy brunette fussing over a guitar she claimed 'too cute' compared to the rest of the displayed instruments, disregarding quality, price and other factors to suit her.

It was thanks to Kotobuki Tsumugi who eventually sealed their fate with her small intervention, noting that her family coincidentally owned said music store and being the one who insisted Yui to get the guitar despite of its price tag.

Snapping back from her trance, Kogasa reminded them in a fashion similar when telling a scary tale, "The road to the village is quite tricky since some youkai lurks in the shadow, waiting for any passersby. We should be a bit careful~"

"I guess we won't be in the safety zone just yet."

"Kogasa-chan? Are you okay? You're spacing out just awhile ago…"

"A-Ah..." The question seemed to register in Kogasa's mind after a few seconds. "Y-Yes! Of course!"

"Shall we start walking then?" Gitah said.

"W-Wait! Wait!" cried Yui as she stretched out her arms to her sides, retaining her position. "I smell something."

"Huh? What is it?"

"Something good. Something…" The brunette closed her eyes, sniffing the air as if she was a dog searching for food. "Grilled!"

"What? Something grilled?"

"Do you smell anything?" asked Gitah expectantly to the umbrella youkai. "I doubt my own senses."

Kogasa shook her head. "Nope. What is it anyway?"

"Let us find the source!" The brunette enthusiastically pumped a fist to the air, making the other two exchange looks. "At last! Food!"

"A food that's grilled, huh? I don't want to doubt her about this..."

"Come on, you two! LET'S FIND IT!"

"She's so fired up! I hope it's something interesting!"

"We're getting sidetracked again. I hope we won't get attacked again or anything like it," muttered Gitah anxiously.

"Don't worry, Gitah, I can tell it's just straight ahead. We're not going in the woods."

Yui hopped her way to find the source of the grilled food she noticed using her seemingly extraordinary perception for food while the other two youkai could only follow her trail. It didn't take long for them though as the human village could already be seen from their position in the distance. What caught their eyes was a pseudo-stand adorned with red lanterns located halfway from the village itself. A few people could also be seen eating in makeshift tables and chairs just beside the stand to accommodate a few more of its customers.

"So, this is the place?" asked Yui as she watched a trail of smoke drifting away from inside the stand. "Maybe a yakitori stand?"

On the other hand, the guitar youkai was slightly impressed for her master's extreme food senses. "Hirasawa-sama, you're right. I shouldn't have doubted you in this matter."

Kogasa opened her mouth as she finally recognized the stand. "Ah, that's the sparrow's grilled lamprey stand. She moved her cart here this time around too."

"Lamprey stand? So it's not a yakitori stand?"

The umbrella youkai nodded. "Popular to humans who wishes to improve their eyesight. Well, most of her customers keep coming back not for that reason alone. Her menu's all good too."

Gitah thought of what she heard for a moment. "Wait. I'm sure you mentioned a sparrow."

"Yep, a sparrow operates that stand - A night sparrow to be exact."

As they further approached the stand, the aforementioned night sparrow turned out to be a girl wearing a simple white apron for cooking purposes with feathery wings that spans on her back which a feature that would easily identify her as a bird youkai. She noticed the presence of the new group, eyeing them carefully before resting her eyes back to the karakasa. She sighed annoyingly before tending the recently-placed lamprey on the grill. Her expression after recognizing Kogasa seemed to change almost instantly. The other two men silently drinking sake shifted to both opposite sides to accommodate them. "Oh, you're here again. Don't make me throw live charcoal at you~"

Kogasa gulped once, doing her best not to break a sweat. Staring at the blazing grill as the smoke slowly filled the crowded cart didn't help her a bit. "No. I'm here as a customer, see?" She ran behind the pair and nudged them forward. "I brought in some friends of mine here too."

"Are you sure? That was your excuse the last time around~"

"Yes! I'm a real customer this time! Don't worry about me," said Kogasa before facing Yui and Gitah. "Hey, I'm sure you're hungry with all that walking." Before the two could react, she added, "My treat! So eat all you want!"

Yui jumped in glee to hug the umbrella youkai. "Yay! Thanks, Kogasa-chan!"

"I'm grateful for the offer, but you don't have to go this far."

With a thumbs up and a silly smile, the karakasa said, "Don't sweat it! I'm hungry too."

"That's not what I meant..."

The guitarist broke from the embrace as she pleaded, "Come on, Gitah! You must be hungry too!"

"Uhm, I'm not."

"No need to be modest. It's my treat after all!" She then glanced at the menu hanging beside a decorative lanturn. "Mushroom kebab, my favorite!"

"Ooh! I want that too!" Yui said, going for the kebab as well.

"Okay. Three of the usual order, then two of the good stuff."

"Sorry, but we aren't serving anything called 'good stuff' in here," replied the night sparrow bluntly. "You might try the next stand for that."

"Eh, I mean the kebab! That's the good stuff!"

She paused as she mentally reviewed the orders. "Three orders of yakitori and two orders of shiitake special. Anything else?"

"I think that's it! Oh, extra sake for my order too!"

"Ah, whatever. Take a sit over there," The sparrow girl said in an almost singing voice, pointing to an empty table through the window. "As long as you won't do something stupid, I'll serve you grilled lamprey. Just let me finish this batch first..." She gave one hesitant look to Kogasa before returning her eyes to the grill. "Just to be sure, Rumia, keep an eye on her, okay?"

The owner of the name didn't respond as two of the intoxicated customers exchanged looks. "Hey, Rumia?" She sighed as she stepped out of her stand with a lamp in one hand, proceeding towards what seemed to be a blob of pure darkness beside the farthest table. If it weren't for the night sparrow, Yui and the others wouldn't probably notice its existence. It also made them wonder why the light from the lamp couldn't even penetrate the ball of darkness. "Rumia, help me out here."

Unexpectedly, a girl's head poke out of the mass of black which made the sparrow girl jump back defensively with a muffled yelp, almost dropping her lamp she was holding. "Sorry about that! What's up?"

"I'm sure you already heard it, but I'll say it again. Keep an eye on that umbrella girl while I do my job, okay?"

"B-But you don't pay me!" The petite blonde-haired girl whined as if she was going to do the most boring, non-productive task in her life.

The sparrow's feathery wings twitched as she thought of a response. "I give you free food everytime!"

Amazingly enough, Rumia easily conceded with a reluctant shrug. "Okay. Okay, I get it. You don't have to be so pushy!"

"We can hear you!" reminded Kogasa playfully, waving a hand to the two. The lamprey stand owner just returned the gesture with a glare before returning to her post.

"It looks like the sparrow youkai doesn't trust you at all," Gitah noticed.

"Well, I can't blame her. She nearly burned her own cart that time but it was an accident!" The guitar youkai continued her doubtful stare to the karakasa as she firmly added, "Really! Believe me!"

Gitah said particularly nothing as she watched the girl named Rumia jumped out of the sphere of darkness which instantly dissipated like a cloud of smoke afterwards. Well, she had to imagine what trick Kogasa pulled out for making the lamprey vendor grill her own cart instead. She recalled earlier about the lamprey vendor throwing charcoal to Kogasa, which could be the case. Maybe something entirely different happened instead? Regardless, the night sparrow would serve anyone as long as they were customers regardless of their kind, which was quite surprising for being a youkai herself.

After the small argument between the two, the sparrow girl went to her business of grilling while the other approached the group as they seated on their assigned table with her lively grin.

The girl, by appearance, was surprisingly young for someone like her to be working that late in a location outside the village, including that she was 'working' with the a bird youkai. She had short blonde hair decorated with a rather unique hairclip. If it weren't for the dim lighting from the lanturns or moonlight, they might not clearly notice the girl's deep red eyes. She sat on the last unoccupied chair as she greeted, "Good Evening! Can I take your order?"

"She already has them," Kogasa said as she pointed at the stand with her thumb.

Rumia's face remained neutral for a moment before she flashed another cute smile. "Just wanted to say that."

"Miss Lorelei hired you?" asked the karakasa, as she placed her still-open umbrella on the grass beside her. "It looks like her business is growing now..."

"Nope, just hanging out with her as usual but she asks me some errands from time to time. It gets annoying sometimes, like fetching some charcoal for her."

"Is she a human?" the blonde girl suddenly asked as her eyes were now fixed onto the only human with them.

"Uh, yes, if you put it that way."

She bit her lower lip as she inquired, "It's weird to see a human together with youkai. Do you need her for something?"

"We're just on our way to the human village. Since it's not that far ahead, we decided to stop by here."

"If you two don't need her anymore," the girl stopped mid-sentence as she slowly licked her lips, "Can I have her instead?"

"What?" uttered Gitah, processing what she just heard from an innocent-looking girl like it was unbelievable. "Sorry, but I cannot allow that."

"Ohh...she's a youkai too?" asked Yui.

"She may not look one, but she is," Kogasa confirmed.

Yui, from seeing all of the more ferocious man-eating youkai earlier, didn't appear to be much surprised, except for the fact that the youkai was in the form of a cute, innocent girl. "You two know each other?"

"Kinda. I just often see her around," the umbrella youkai replied. "Well, her darkness bubble, that is. She travels around with it all the time."

"Is that so? Too bad." Rumia beamed in response. "I want to have something new for a change other than grilled lamprey."

Yui slumped over as her stomach reminded her of its priority once again. "Yeah, I already miss Mugi-chan's yummy parfait."

"Hirasawa-sama, eating desserts on an empty stomach is not advisable," Gitah reminded. "Your sister tells you that every time."

"What's a parfait?" asked the now-curious darkness youkai as her eyes sparkled as the guitarist mentioned something edible and yummy.

Yui perked up as she started to imagine having some. "It's delicious! If only she was here, she'll give you one! Oh, her fruitcakes too! All fresh and satisfyingly good!"

Now, Rumia was more than interested and couldn't help to ask, "Are those more delicious than humans?"

The guitarist paused for a moment as she went considerably pale for comparing the dessert to human flesh. "O-Of course! A cute youkai like you shouldn't be eating...humans."

"Maybe Mystia should add that to her menu," said Rumia, almost dreaming what those desserts could possibly look, smell and taste like. "Hey, tell me more about that kind of food."

The two tsukumogami could only stare to one another as they waited for the sparrow girl to finish the order, leaving the other two food enthusiasts to discuss matters concerning delectable desserts and such.

"This is not good," Reisen muttered as she stared at a few bodies of youkai rabbits that littered the ground, knocked out of alcohol. She had a bit fun earlier but not enough to compensate everything she had done. After all, that chance of releasing her stress was rather short-lived as she searched the whole mansion for Hirasawa Yui who vanished out of the blue for some reason. She thought that everything would turn out fine, but the winds suddenly shifted against her. It was an exhausting day. She wanted to rest her fatigued body. She wanted to lay down on her futon and sleep, but only to realize that she couldn't. She had duties, as Yagokoro Eirin's apprentice and Houraisan Kaguya's pet and servant.

A handful of rabbits that were still 'functional' started cleaning the place after an hour of rest, stacking up plates, bowls and cups, and bringing them back to the kitchen where it will be washed. In the end, she was still the one who would do most of the chores, especially if Eirin ordered so.

If the rabbits didn't start a food fight in the first place, it wouldn't be too hard...

Tomorrow was certainly going to be busier. She just wished that things wouldn't get more hectic. Infusing a bit of determination into her mind, she fought the urge of sleeping as she stood up from the floor stretched her arms up, getting ready to continue her search. At that same time, Tewi walked towards the moon rabbit in a clumsy manner with her mind still clouded with alcohol, eyes already half closed. "Hey, what's with that face? Something wrong?"

"You forgot already? That serves you right for drinking too much."

"How should I know?" Suddenly, Tewi's alcohol-induced drowsiness somewhat decreased. You still didn't find her?"

"I've looked everywhere. She's not in the mansion."

"Damn. After a few hours of enjoyment, we have to work already?" whined the rabbit girl of good fortune and pranks. "Not cool."

Reisen's face looked like she was about to cry. "Master's going to kill me for this."

"Well, she'll definitely cook me alive. I'm supposed to watch her too," Tewi pointed out as she gently slapped her cheeks with both hands."Or maybe not."

"Yakumo-san won't be happy too. You know what I mean, right?"

Tewi nodded in accord as she stomped her foot in emphasis. "Yep. Definitely screwed, Rei-chan. It's your fault all along!" A grin slowly formed on her child-like features. "Your fault~"

"What? You just said that it's your responsibility too!"

"Is there a problem?" asked Eirin as she opened the door just behind the gloomy moon rabbit.

"M-Master? Since when..."

The pharmacist took her time of surveying the area before her. "It seems that the rabbits enjoyed the party. I guess this would be enough for you to work harder for tomorrow."

"Also, I haven't seen Hirasawa-san since the last hour. Where is she?" inquired the lunarian as the two rabbits looked at each other for a few seconds.

Reisen glanced upwards as she deeply sighed. There was no point in hiding already discernible things. "She's missing. I think she went to the woods during the party..."

"Indeed, this is quite problematic. Yukari won't be happy if she heard this," Eirin said as if she instinctively repeated the same words of the moon rabbit earlier. She pondered for a moment, glancing at their surroundings, apparently needed more cleaning before they could finally call it a day. "I also saw that black witch earlier. Are you sure she didn't took Hirasawa-san by any chance?"

"That's probable if you think about it," said Tewi, not thinking much of the situation at hand. "Yeah, that could be it."

Clearly not accepting the possibility given by the youkai rabbit, Reisen interjected, "I doubt about it. Marisa won't steal her from us."

"I see," muttered Eirin. "So, she disappeared just like that?"

The moon rabbit decided to try once more. She knew that even though Hirasawa Yui was only their patient that only needs healing from her accident and completely unrelated to any of Eientei, they should show concern, even a sliver of it, to the girl who was probably struggling for survival in the bamboo thicket. "Master...you seem to take it lightly. She's in our responsibility, right?"

"Yes, in a way," Eirin began as she conformed Reisen's point, "but we already did what was instructed. She's healed and can pretty much do anything she wishes now."

Somehow, she was expecting that kind of argument. "So, you're saying that from the point that Hirasawa-san was healed, our liability to her is gone too?"

"Well, that was we agreed on. Know this Udonge: I'm not expecting this to happen either. Also, I don't want to make my efforts go to waste in this way. That is to say, Hirasawa-san being eaten by the wild youkai."

"Oh, I almost forgot," uttered Reisen as she remembered something that added up to her speculations. "Her instrument in the room was gone as well. Don't you think...she really left on purpose?"

"She can. But I think you filled her in a few details about the bamboo forest. Not all youkai are friendly and accommodating. With this nearly full moon, it won't be awful to say that it will be a miracle if she's still alive, which I hope to be the case as we speak here."

Hearing the response of her master, Reisen cursed herself as she should be doing that now. "Whatever the reason is, we need to find her."

"You should, Udonge. I can't imagine what kind of punishment from Yukari is waiting for you," said Eirin in a straight face, perfectly concealing the playfulness contained in those words.

The moon rabbit shuddered. Now she had to pray for any gods willing to listen to her, hoping that the gap youkai wouldn't come to the mansion until she finds Yui. Her master's punishments were cruel but she didn't have to know which one would be the worse. She couldn't even assure herself if she would see another day afterwards.

"Should we start searching now?"

"I will leave that to you. Be careful with the youkai around and come back here before midnight, regardless of your search's result. The preparations for tomorrow will continue on schedule."

Reisen grimaced at the thought of not being able to bring back Yui before the given curfew. Well, the bamboo forest was also their home, given that Eientei was standing smack-dab in the middle of it. Navigating through the thicket turned out to be a simple chore to her now, especially when Tewi would play hide-and-seek at the worse moment.

"Understood." She then turned to Tewi who was now admiring a line of ants carrying bits of food. "Tewi, let's go."

"Ah, right~"

The moon rabbit looked at her companion annoyingly. "You're still drunk. Just help the others in cleaning. Wait, maybe you only want to avoid doing the chores!"

"Eh? What do you mean? I could use some of my rabbit buddies to help us with the search! After all, these forest is crawling with them~"

"Good point. Do anything stupid and I'll tell master about it the moment we return, got that?"

"Yeah, cranky rabbit girl."

The lunarian watched the two rabbits vanished to the mist shadowing the deeper darkness of the forest. Knowing them, they could hold their own without much trouble as the two weren't any ordinary, random youkai. She called one of the rabbits that recently woke up, who in turn gulped on the mess she and her friends made awhile back. "Please wake the rest of your companions now. All must be in order before Udonge and Tewi returns, unless you want your workload to stack up until Reigetsusai."

The rabbit with a carrot-shaped hairclip on her short wavy black hair nodded and said, "A-Ah, understood, Miss Yagokoro!" She stood up and immediately went to fetch something from the kitchen. A full minute had passed before the same rabbit came out carrying a bucket full of water. She opted to watch the rabbits for awhile before returning to her room.

"This is amusing."

Eirin didn't bother to move anything as the gap youkai was standing by the doorway. She just watched the clever rabbit girl splashing water to the faces of her still-unconscious friends, not needing anymore further effort to wake them up. The sleeping rabbits grumbled as they got up from the ground. "I figured that you already knew this, Yakumo Yukari. Yet, it fascinates me why news like this reaches your home quickly."

"Well, I'm not expecting that she would wander in the forest," said Yukari bluntly as she made a stern frown. "Minus credibility points for you, Yagokoro Eirin."

The lunarian chuckled before looking at the gap youkai's golden eyes as if analyzing them. "If you don't act quick enough, the chances of her getting eaten by the youkai will only come closer."

Yukari wasn't fazed as she did nothing but to open another gap in front of her. "That's why I brought her guitar to her before, remember? She will do fine."

"Then you'll just allow her to wander around until she finds the exit on her own?" Eirin raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Also, what could possibly an instrument do in her situation?"

"Your questions aside, I'll pick her up tomorrow and like I said, she would do on her own. It's not like she's alone to begin with." Yukari glanced back for the last time, giving the lunarian a smile. "Payment is at your office. It's not much, but I'm sure you'll like it."

"How thoughtful. I'll trust your words about it then. Maybe Udonge and Tewi could find her instead."

"Rest assured, she will manage."

The boundary youkai vanished upon entering her own gap as if swallowing her. Eirin noticed that the rabbits earlier were awake and now dumbly staring at her, intrigued on Yukari's sudden appearance. She clapped twice, quickly earning their attention before asking, "How about we start cleaning now?"

Yui learned a few things about her guitar friend while eating the night sparrow's specialty under the moonlight. She seemed to be a floating ghost at a glance, but she could actually take in food like any normal human although Gitah corrected that she didn't need to eat in the first place. Kogasa was quite different however, as she happily ate her serving as if she never had food for days. Aside from that small detail, Yui didn't need to carry her heavy guitar anymore as long as the instrument's 'spirit' was summoned out of the physical object itself.

It only meant that both entities couldn't possibly be present at the same time. The guitarist was confused herself in that specific condition she only realized just that time, but her missing guitar was enough evidence since the 'spirit form' of the guitar appeared out of the blue. In any case, she was not rushing to cram all of that info in one night alone.

Her new friend, Rumia, apparently an average youkai girl that could make artificial darkness around her, was an unexpectedly good company at the dinner table despite of her diet mainly composed of humans. She would occasionally talk about weird things and had an unending curiosity about anything edible. Perhaps she was acquiring new tastes to enjoy with other than her usual food. Her companion, the night sparrow girl running the stand was a very interesting bird too. From the looks of things now, sparrows and rabbits in Gensokyo could cook great dishes like humans. To top it off, much to the guitarist's admiration as she was a vocalist herself, the bird youkai could also sing pretty well, although most of the lyrics didn't make any sense at all. Still, it was enough to keep customers entertained while enjoying grilled lamprey with warm sake. Unknown to Yui, songs from night sparrows had other purposes.

The darkness youkai wanted to join the group but was literally grabbed by the neck as the sparrow girl insisted to stay with her until the last customer left. After the good meal which took for half an hour, the trio walked their way to the village and eventually reached the place without encountering more trouble.

The night life of the village was far from being dull either as decent variety of shops and stands could be seen along the main pathway where both human and youkai could be seen enjoying the lively scene as lanterns of different shapes and colors complemented the mood with a brighter tone. Yui looked around excitingly as if she was in an amusement park, effectively removing her fatigue while the two youkai followed.

"It looks like a very carefree place to me. Good to see that the youkai here are in good terms with the humans," Gitah remarked as she floated beside the karakasa.

"It is, right?"

"Why don't they attack the humans here in the first place? That would be the same case for the humans allowing the youkai to enter the village as they please."

"Well, for one thing, this village is protected by both powerful humans and youkai. The folks at the Myouren temple near the village or the half-beast historian living here, for example. You don't want to anger them for messing up this place."

"Hm, it makes sense that the residents aren't much afraid of the youkai."

"Yes. It's always peaceful here. I can assure you that."

Gitah remarked, "You sure know awfully lot about this world. I mean, about Gensokyo."

Yui chipped in, "Yeah, like a tour guide or something."

Kogasa embarrassedly blushed as promptly replied, "I don't know more much detail about Gensokyo other than the places near the village and where I work to."

"Don't forget the bamboo forest," Gitah immediately added. "It's not something like a youkai would do. You should be proud of it."

The compliments only made her blush more. "Oh, that. It's not much, really!"

"This place reminds me of summer festivals," said the brunette before her face went pale, anxiousness building up once again as she remembered something fairly important.

Her tsukumogami took notice and asked with an expression of concern, "Hirasawa-sama, is something wrong?"

"W-Wah! We need to get back to Eientei! T-The festival! I don't wanna miss it!" cried the guitarist frantically as if the world was on the verge of collapse.

The guitar youkai sighed in such minor detail. "You're still thinking about it? The festival is tomorrow evening. We still have time."

Yui dumbly stared at her with an open mouth for some good seconds. "Oh."

"Uh, so, what are your plans now?" Kogasa asked as she carefully selected her words. "I still have time left before I work again tomorrow."

"I guess we should find some place to stay for now." The spirit girl stared at her master hesitantly. "Hirasawa-sama, do you, by any chance, have a few coins with you now?"

Yui's hands automatically went inside her blazer's pocket, only to find nothing but air. "Ah, well...about that..."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

The guitarist wasn't worried as she looked above. "It's not all bad when sleeping outside, right? The moonlight feels nice."

"No worries," The blue-white karakasa began as she twirled her umbrella for a dramatic effect. "I'll cover your expenses for the night! My new place still need some cleaning after all~"

"That's remotely suspicious," started Gitah, casting a doubtful look at the umbrella youkai. "You already helped us in the forest and treated us with grilled lamprey. I don't want to be rude for all of that, but I want to know your goal in treating us kindly."

Kogasa leaned closer to the kimono-wearing spirit and gave her a playful wink. "Please have more faith in me! Besides, I'm currently in my day-off. It's my chance to get a break and to scare people since tomorrow's business's going to be busier."

"Ah, so do you work here too, Kogasa-chan?" inquired the brunette.

"No, I work at a small eatery in the Road of Liminality, mostly yakisoba, udon and some other yummy snacks."

"Road of Liminality?"

"You don't know? It's a very lively place which always have this festive feeling, despite the fact that it's the road used by deceased spirits to get to the Sanzu river."

"Really? I want to go there!"

"Hirasawa-sama, did you already forgot about going back to the outside world?" reminded Gitah, only to be ignored after her master ran to the row of stalls that offers food, souvenirs and games. She conceded with a pout. "We don't have any other choices, do we?"

"Great! Nice spending the night with you two! Even youkai like me could get lonely too, you know?"

"W-Wait," she uttered sheepishly. "A-Are you sure about this?

"Very sure."

"Kogasa-chan~ they're serving yakitori here! Hurry!" shouted Yui as she was already next to the yakitori stand, waving her hand vigorously with hopes of a treat. "It looks delicious!"

The two went towards the stand while Yui continued to watch the owner prepare his special yakitori. "You two are pretty close, huh?" Kogasa suddenly said as she stopped walking. Gitah did the same. "I can tell that you two are best buddies. I'm sure everyone could."

"Do you think so? I only had this form a few hours back."

"You're saying that you're born in this very same day?" asked Kogasa, mildly astonished. "I never knew!"

"She was attacked by youkai by that time and I couldn't just watch all of it happen before me. It's still vague to me on what miracle happened in those moments."

"I-It must have felt nice, huh?" She casted her gaze downwards. "To be honest, I'm quite jealous."

"Why is that?"

"I-It's a good thing that there's someone with you when that moment happened. You have someone that treats you pretty well, an owner that cares for you so much. You know, there are only a few people who would really cherish their things as if they were irreplaceable."

"Yes. I'm grateful for all she has done to me. I'm quite envious that you could pick up details like that quickly."

"I do that sometimes when picking out someone to surprise. It turned out to be an entertaining game to me. I learn a few things from them too."

"Out of curiosity, how is your life back then as an ordinary umbrella?"

There was a reluctant pause for Kogasa's part as she carefully selected her words. She finally said, "Uhm, it's nothing special, really. My original owner got me misplaced for some reason. Then that's that. After awhile I ended up here in Gensokyo, now as me."

"And you're okay with that?" Suddenly, Gitah felt guilty for asking the umbrella youkai's history.

"Maybe I got used to it by now. Heh, I don't know. I just feel that thinking about it won't get me anywhere."

"Kogasa-chan, let's eat!" cried the guitarist once more.

"Coming!" Kogasa called out. "I want some of that too!"

"She just ate awhile ago, but Hirasawa-sama is just being herself."

"That's why you're lucky to have someone like her, don't you think? Oh, its better you forget all about that," said Kogasa, forcing a bitter smile. "Come on, she's waiting."

"Tatara-san, I-"

"What's with that look? It's no big deal! She'll get mad if you'll just float there!"

"I-If you say so..."

The whole night ended well for them, aside from staying up too long than planned. For a modest and comfortable room such as the one they were staying now was worth the price, at least on Kogasa's tab. The room was intended for only two persons, but actually quite spacious with its usual oriental feel that resembles Eientei. Everything was dead silent, save for the snoring umbrella youkai who drank a whole bottle of sake before she finally passed out.

It would be bad if I'll wake her up now but it's already quite late...

The chocolate-haired tsukumogami, without anything to do other than wait for the two to wake up on their own, floated by the window as she watched the local townsfolk do their morning jobs. The most prominent sight would be a caravan passing by with a group of humans armed with pitchforks, spears and other weapons alongside the carriages. She assumed that the men would venture quite far from the village to acquire needed resources from there, not to mention the youkai that might attack them any given time upon leaving the village.

What she had learned from Kogasa boggled her mind as their small talk accidentally broke something inside of the umbrella youkai. She could tell that the youkai was coping with the past as she indulged herself in some pastime such as surprising people. Anyways, the karakasa seemed to be enjoying herself, at least most of the time in the 'hobby' of hers.

She turned around to see the guitarist raising her upper body before giving off a loud yawn. She smiled to herself at the thought of seeing her master wake up in her new form. It was like a dream come true for some that was originally an inanimate object. To be frank, that thought didn't cross her mind at all.

"M-Morning already?" Yui said groggily as she held her head. She slowly examined the room until she met the eyes of her guitar spirit who stared back with a welcoming smile. "Gitah, you're already up?"

"Yes. Good Morning, Hirasawa-sama. How was your sleep?"

"I feel great!" Yui replied before setting her eyes on the bed beside her where the karakasa was still sleeping soundly. "Oh, Kogasa-chan's not yet up?"

"Probably the sake knocked her good last night. Maybe we should wake her up now?" asked Gitah.

"Well, let her be for some minutes."

"Hm...hmmph," Kogasa grumbled in a muffled voice as she impulsively placed a pillow on her face. "Can that wait? I...need some sleep."

"We're not waking you up, Kogasa-chan."

As if on cue, Gitah remembered something she had to tell to the half-asleep youkai. "I'm certain that you mentioned about working today..."

Hearing what the guitar tsukumogami said, Kogasa sprang out of her bed, eyes wide open and now flailing her arms. It seemed to be an effective alarm clock for her. "A-Ah! I'm late! I knew drinking too much is a bad idea!"

"C-Calm down, Kogasa-chan!"

"Okay, relax…" The karakasa sat down as she took a deep breath before asking, "Well, you guys need to get back to the rabbit mansion later, right? Can you just wait for me until my shift is over?"

"It would be better if the residents of the mansion are informed of our condition first. They probably searched for our whereabouts last night. Also, if we are lucky enough, Reisen-san might drop by in this village later."

"That's easy then!" declared Kogasa as she caught an idea of her own. "I'll be dropping by the mansion on my way back and tell them you two are here in the village. Even though I'm used to go around the bamboo forest, I still take time in reaching a particular destination in my mind."

"Thank you, Tatara-san."

"Yeah, thanks for everything too!" followed Yui. "So, what do we need to do for the rest of the day?"

"Uh, sightseeing?" The umbrella youkai suggested. "If you exited on the other side of the village, you'll see the Myouren Temple, then the Misty Lake and even further that will be the Forest of Magic. The lake is quite a sight but don't wander too far though!"

"You won't eat breakfast first?"

"No need! I'll just eat when I get there."

All of the sudden, their benefactor was now rushing to get to work. Gitah inwardly panicked as they hadn't thought of something yet to somehow repay the umbrella youkai's expenses, starting with the grilled lamprey until their overnight stay. "B-But what about-"

Kogasa beamed, waving a hand as she said, "Don't worry about your breakfast. I already paid it in advance last night." The karakasa looked over her shoulder before giving an assuring wink. "Uhm, I better get going. See you again another time!"

Well, she had to worry about those miscellaneous fees too. Just how much money was the umbrella youkai carrying anyway?

"A-Ah, it's not what I meant!" Kogasa already took off through the window before she could say anything further. She lowered her shoulders with a disappointed sigh.

"Thanks, Kogasa-chan!" Yui waved her hand, watching Kogasa fly out of the village. "W-Wait, she could fly?"

Smiling, Gitah felt that she would meet the umbrella youkai some time again later. She might think first of ways to repay Kogasa before that. "She's a somewhat busy youkai, don't you think?"

"Gitah, let's have some sight-seeing to kill time. She mentioned a lake nearby this village, right?"

"Uhm, Hirasawa-sama, I don't mind going for that idea but I'm sure Yagokoro-san and the others are worried for your safety. It's not particularly safe exploring outside the village, regardless of the time."

The guitarist stopped walking as she considered the words of the guitar spirit for a moment. "You're right," she said, nodding. "But, you're here with me and your powers! No need to worry!"

Gitah thought that she could use some of the lightheartedness her master possesses. "Well, I guess so…"

After having their breakfast, they gave their thanks to the middle-aged innkeeper and went their way to see more of the human village, now bustling as people did their respective chores but that had to wait since the same man by the counter called them for some reason. "Hey, the girl with her...uh, floating friend, spare me some few seconds, will ya?"

"Uh? Do you need something, Mr. Innkeeper?"

"Can you do a small errand for me?"

"Sure," Yui responded then she looked at Gitah. "We don't mind, right?"

"Yes, as long as it won't take much of our time."

"Good then. Can you return these to the flower shop for me?" requested the innkeeper, bringing out a couple of tools under the counter. "I got tons of things to fix here before nightfall. A lot of youkai would come here later."

"Those are quite heavy for us to carry..."

"Well, you're a youkai, so you'll do fine, I guess."

"That reasoning of yours is not that convincing."

The innkeeper chuckled. "Well, as thanks, have these." He took out a small box, apparently containing pastries. "My daughter likes baking, so have her homemade treats. It's not much for compensation but accept it anyways."

Yui brightened as she gladly took the box from the man. "Okay, we'll do it! Right, Gitah?"

The guitar youkai sighed to herself, knowing that she couldn't stop her master now. "We'll accept it."

Gitah took the most of the heavy steel tools - a garden rake, a spade and a hoe, leaving her master to carry a small tool box for gardening purposes. Even though Gitah was far from a human, her physical strength was not anything exceptional compared to other youkai. "Aw, Gitah, I want to carry the rake!"

"Uhm, you might drop it on your foot instead, Hirasawa-sama. You shouldn't carry things like these carelessly," replied the guitar youkai while she hefted the tools, expending much of her energy in that process alone. Yui only puffed her cheeks in defeat.

"That's all of the tools. Say thanks to the owner for me," said the man as he lifted a crate to the other side of the room.

The door swung open before the two could open it themselves. Yui was literally thrown to her bottom while Gitah regretted not saving her master on time as she was shocked herself. A woman with wavy green hair flashed an elegant smile which earned Yui a cold chill on her body the moment she glanced on those brilliant red eyes matching the stranger's dress. She looked very refined as she casually held her pinkish parasol. Yui felt that the woman was no ordinary villager.

"O-Oh my. Pardon me. I'm not aware that you're standing behind the door."

The smile of the woman didn't cease in the apology which made Gitah quite infuriated, but she opted to politely reply, "We are just about to leave ourselves. Please be careful next time."

The guitar youkai's words seemed to work as the woman's smile loosened for a bit. "Worry not; I will take note of that."

The pain somehow registered just now as Yui winced, putting a hand over her throbbing nose. "I think I broke my nose."

"H-Hirasawa-sama, are you alright?" Just as Gitah could help her master stand on her feet, the green-haired woman casually extended her free hand in front of the brunette. She didn't seem to mind closing her parasol, even indoors. "Here." She smiled again as Yui took the motion, although slightly hesitant.

"T-Thanks. Well, I'm sorry too for that."

"Ah, it's my fault, so you don't need to apologize."

"To be honest, I'm not expectin' you to be here at all! What can I do for you?" The innkeeper asked as he finished arranging the stack of crates, addressing the newly-arrived woman who was a familiar face to him.

"I'm here to fetch the tools for the owner. You've been keeping them for awhile, yes?"

"Convenient." He then looked back to the pair with a hearty grin. "S'ppose I won't be troubling you two anymore, eh?"

"H-How about this?" Yui asked as she brought up the box given to them.

"Ah, you can keep it yourselves. Who knows? Maybe you'll like it then come back for more."

"You shouldn't make these girls do errands for yourself," the woman remarked with her ever-present smile in response. "That's not good for one's reputation."

What she got was a grin from the man. "I did nothin' wrong. Honestly speakin', I'm glad they didn't refuse. I could use all the help here."

In a matter of seconds, the fancy parasol of the green-haired lady completely vanished in a burst of yellow and pink petals that slowly vanished in the air as they swayed to and fro. Now that she freed her hand from the parasol, she first took the toolbox toppled on the floor.

"Please allow me." She offered her other hand to Gitah who blinked confusingly before giving the tools. Without needing assistance, she used the hoe as a hook for the toolbox's handle, allowing herself to carry the other two garden equipments with her other arm effortlessly. For an elegant woman such as her, it was astonishing to see that she was carrying them just like the way she carried her parasol earlier. "Thank you."

Kotobuki Tsumugi could also do something similar when they had to move something heavy from one place to another, particularly heavy speakers, Tainaka Ritsu's own drum set, and even single-handedly moving the club room's cupboard as well. Not to mention that the blonde could carry her own keyboard with such ease as if it was a shoulder bag. Yui silently speculated where these kind of people got that kind of upper body strength. She could use a bit of those too.

"These are all of them, if I'm not mistaken. Thank you." The woman then calmly asked the guitar tsukumogami observing her, "Can you open the door for me?"

Gitah obliged, pulling the door's handle for the lady. She called her master afterwards. "Hirasawa-sama, let's go as well."

"Thanks again," Yui said to the owner as she waved the box before following the woman outside.

After the guitar youkai closed the door behind her, she noticed that the woman was just standing there, waiting. "Do you need something from us?"

"Oh, nothing in particular," the woman responded with another smile. "If you have the time, please visit the flower shop situated along this path. Good day to you both." She turned her back and began to walk her way to the aforementioned shop, humming an unfamiliar tune to herself.

"That woman is strange," Gitah said as she crossed her arms.

"But she was kind to help us with the errand."

"Didn't you sense anything else from her? The air around her is..." The guitar youkai paused as she searched of a proper word in her mind but instead smiled nervously.

"Gitah, I want to check the lake first!" Yui suddenly declared as she raised a fist to the air, not entirely minding the concern of her partner.

"We're still going for that plan, huh?"

"Why not?"

They continued walking on the main pathway, occasionally meeting humans on their way to the lake. Upon reaching the village's outskirts, they met a fork up ahead, the right path leading to a nearby temple where both youkai and humans could worship together. Yui suggested visiting the temple before they head back to the village. The dirt road was then split yet again, but this time to the left which would lead them to the Misty Lake. The main road seemed to extend up to the north which they pondered while walking where would the path end.

One thing that would be in common with the bamboo forest and the lake was the mist that was slowly gathering in an eerie manner, making it more questionable. From the other side of the large lake was an imposing structure painted in red which was partially secluded by the light fog. It was odd to see fog on the lake when it was only closing twelve noon, where the sky appeared to be clear from clouds. Nevertheless, the fine mist still allowed sunlight to reach the water's surface.

The subtle charm and eccentricity of the lake before them was somewhat fascinating.

"Wow! I have never seen something a lake this big before! It has that annoying 'misty effect' too!"

"It wouldn't be called by its namesake if that's the case."

"Hey, is that a castle?" asked Yui as she squinted her eyes for a clearer view to the structure.

"Well, it looks like one since it's partially surrounded by water," said the guitar youkai. "But I don't think it's a castle, Hirasawa-sama."

"I know! Let's walk around the lake for a closer look!"

"Tatara-san told us not to venture too far! What if a powerful youkai lives there?"

"We're not! We're just going to see if it's really a castle!"

As they proceeded to check the red structure, they noticed a picnic mat splayed under a tree nearest to the lake's edge. On the mat were a few bowls and plates, two small baskets and chunks of different kinds of food scattered around as if thrown around on purpose. For a nice, clear weather such as now, it was a wonderful time for an outdoor meal.

"A picnic here in the open? I don't think ordinary humans would even consider such thing, unless they could defend themselves."

"But it looks like they already left whoever they are."

Yui managed to salvage a single sandwich inside a small container. "Ooh, lucky!"

"Is…it even safe to eat?"

Before Gitah could even protest, her master already took a large bite off the sandwich. "Yep! It's safe and delicious! Let's see if we can find something for you, Gitah!"

"H-Hirasawa-sama, I don't think this is a good idea eating other's food."

Four fairies, each carrying a basket of their own, arrived at the scene after they floated their way from the other side of the lake. Each had the stature and appearance of a child, likely to be a tad taller or smaller than Yui's waist. They would be easily mistaken as humans in appearance if it weren't for the wings on their back.

"Fairies? So this is what they looked like at close," muttered Gitah as she inspected the humanoid creatures of nature.

"Wow, they're so cute!" squealed Yui as if she was going to give them a tight hug. A common habit of hers usually demonstrated with her junior friend, Nakano Azusa.

"Hm, so it's true that fairies are common in Gensokyo. How come we only met them just now?"

The fairies took notice of the pair's presence. Their faces portrayed somewhere between shock and disbelief, apparently not expecting anyone standing near the picnic mat. "Hey! This is our secret picnic spot; find one of your own somewhere else!" The brown-haired fairy pointed a finger angrily as she tried to be more threatening and impressive than her looks, but failed nonetheless. "Get out of here!"

"This is a secret picnic spot?" Yui repeated as she glanced to her partner who in turn gave her a shrug. Gitah expected the fairies to be at least friendlier than the youkai in the bamboo thicket.

"Our food! It's gone!" the fairy with cherry-colored hair squeaked as she released the basket she was holding in shock, seeing the food they left earlier literally vanished.

"No! I was looking forward to that!"

"I can't believe this! All of my work preparing that mushroom salad!"

Altogether, they started to speak incoherently as if a great disaster fell upon them. Yui and Gitah looked to the mess beside them then back to each other in confusion. The commotion stopped as they shot fiery glares of hell to the pair far from their innocent, childish appearance a few seconds back.

"Oh, it looks like mushrooms are popular here. I never had a mushroom salad before." Yui wondered loudly. "What do you think, Gitah?"

Gitah glanced at her master. "I think we're in trouble," she said slowly as she prepared herself for the worst. "We should get out of here."

"Hey! You two aren't going anywhere!"

The brown-haired fairy floated forward as she pointed accusingly. "Where's our food?" she demanded.

Yui took a step forward as well. "We didn't take them! We just arrived here a minute ago!"

"Really? The bread crumbs on your face is a very clear evidence!" the blonde-haired fairy pointed out before crossing her arms. "How will you explain that?"

A bead of sweat rolled down Yui's cheek. "W-Well..."

"Uh, Hirasawa-sama?"

"I...I only did the right thing! The sandwich is all lonely!" Yui retorted decisively as if her reasoning was the most superior that moment. "You can't just leave something that good in the open!"

"B-But you still ate the sandwich in the end. That's what matters to them..."

"Aha! Guilty!"

"You'll pay for that!" The fairy with the purple hair exclaimed as she brought her two arms forward, releasing a wave of round projectiles no larger than full-grown oranges. Yui could only cover her mouth and she found herself unable to move.

The guitar tsukumogami was quick to react as she pulled her master out of the line of fire and found herself thanking the gods that the projectiles were quite slow and relatively linear. "W-Wait, this is a big misunderstanding! We didn't-"

"Let's fry 'em, girls!"

Not waiting for any more explanation from the accused pair, the rest of the fairies started their own barrage of multi-colored projectiles, forming a cone of bright lights outward to the pair. As a desperate act, Gitah directed her magic around her and Yui, enclosing them in a pink transparent barrier that strongly shook in the impact of the bullets.

There were gaps and holes they could use to weave through the danmaku, but the guitar youkai doubted if they could dodge those patterned projectiles without getting smacked by one. She couldn't possibly take such risk, especially concerning her master's safety.

It was like playing dodge ball in a whole different level. Consequences of getting hit were far greater too.

"What should we do?" asked a Yui in panic. "Gitah, we can't hurt innocent fairies! They're not like those other youkai!" She yelped and closed her eyes as she saw a red-colored orb about to collide with her face, only to be blocked by the pink barrier.

The guitar youkai wanted to go for an offensive, but that would be risky as well. Her master insisting to resolve the food problem without harming anyone made the situation more awkward. "B-But they're attacking us! We can't just let them do what they want!"

"I wish they just poof away or anything! We didn't do anything wrong!"

The fairies burst to a unified giggle as they created more and more bullets as if they were just playing a game. "You won't get away until you two replace what you ate here!"

"I'm hungry! Can't we finish this now?"

"Then hush and keep shooting!"

"After we're done beating you up, you're going to pay us double of the food you just ate!"

"Hey, don't contradict what I said!"

The guitar youkai flinched as she started to feel the pressure poured onto them. While the youkai of the bamboo forest mostly relied on brute force and close-range attacks to mow down their prey, the fairies of the lake were somehow expected, given their magical nature. However, given their deceiving features of being like they were powerless, fairies were not to be underestimated.

"G-Gitah, are you okay?"

"I could manage but the barrier will get overpowered soon if they keep this up!"

"A-Are they going to kill us for just eating their sandwich? I don't remember them in stories to be violent!"

"I don't have an idea for that as well! But I do have an idea to get you into safety." She breathed in deeply before she continued, "I'll create a temporary distraction for you to run as far as you can. We'll do it once I found a gap through their attacks and use those few seconds of opportunity."

"How about you? I can't leave you here!"

"Trust me, Hirasawa-sama. I'll catch up afterwards."

"G-Gitah!"

Yui's wish seemed to come true before the pair could execute their plan as a single surge of dense danmaku from above completely silenced the fairies. Yui and Gitah looked above to be greeted by a familiar nine-tailed fox youkai.

"I can't believe you two got out of the bamboo forest safely, only to have trouble in these fairies," she said as she hid her hands inside her sleeves like always.

Gitah dismissed the worn-out barrier for a clearer look to the youkai. She called out, "Miss Ran? H-How did you found us?"

"Yukari-sama didn't give me details where to find you other than her assumption that you two should be out of the forest already. Fortunately, the search was rather short for me."

The fairies seemed to be more resilient than Ran assumed as they were still conscious, apart from their overall appearance lightly charred and blackened by the attack.

"H-Hey, what's with you?"

"Don't interrupt us like that! If you want to join them too, so be it!"

Shifting their attention to the floating fox youkai, they immediately began to open fire at her with a more complex barrage than the first. For a high-caliber youkai like Ran, she only did little effort in dodging the fairies' bullets without bothering to counter their attacks.

A stray yellow bullet found its way towards the shikigami's right arm, making a clean hit. Ran placed a hand on the rather sore spot then she patted it gently. The blonde fairy who scored the hit smiled blithely as if it was considered an achievement in her whole life while her friends cheered in the feat. Ran, however, didn't show any form of resentment after she received the fairy's bullet. In fact, she smiled in amusement as if she hadn't experience anything like it for a long time. "What a persistent bunch."

With a flick of her hand, a horde of orb and kunai-shaped danmaku formed around the shikigami. The sheer amount of the colored projectiles was intimidating enough for most of her opponent to surrender or beg for forgiveness.

Sadly, the fairies couldn't back out now in their grim situation.

The moment she opened her eyes, the projectiles rained themselves down to the four targets below. The fairies were awestruck, eyes widening at the display of their impending death. Gitah summoned her barrier once again, in case some of the bullets would accidentally hit them. The targets were completely overwhelmed as their cries were replaced by the sound of the rapid impact of danmaku harshly pelting the ground.

The smoke finally subsided as the fox youkai slowly descended near the pair, admiring her handiwork that she felt regretting some time later on. "I...I think I overdid it. Oh well, work is done either way."

"T-Thank you for your help," said Gitah in a shaky voice. "But that last attack was a…bit unnecessary."

"You must be the tsukumogami Yukari-sama told me about," Ran replied as she nodded slightly. "It's a pleasure meeting you."

Yui looked at her guitar youkai then to the gap youkai's shikigami. "Yakumo-san knows Gitah? Since when?"

"I haven't asked her further in that matter, but I digress. That detail is of minor importance."

"Where are they?" asked Yui as she looked at her surroundings. "The fairies earlier?"

Gitah surveyed the area as well, but there were no signs of fairies near them. Yui somewhat got the same message as she started to tremble on her own. Again, the guitar youkai gazed blankly at the shikigami. "D-Don't tell me that..."

"You killed them, you cruel fairy-murdering fox-lady!" exclaimed Yui as she dropped to her knees almost hysterically, weeping on the little fairies that tried to fry them with seemingly harmless bullets.

The nine-tailed fox youkai felt a little guilty but the girl was missing the important point. The fairies were not 'dead' and never would. Even using her most powerful spellcard would only be a grand waste of energy to them.

"I'm wondering about that as well," Gitah said. "You attacked those fairies without holding back."

"About them? As entities of nature, they will recover almost instantly after taking lethal damage," Ran explained as she kept a serious expression. "Besides, those fairies owe an apology to my shikigami."

Yui raised her head as she wiped her tears with the sleeve of her blue coat. "B-But aren't you a shikigami too?"

"Hirasawa-sama, she meant that she has her own shikigami as well aside from serving as Miss Yukari's shikigami."

"Ah, you mean Chen? Sorry, almost forgot about her."

The shikigami's smile was genuine as she said, "I'm truly glad you remembered her name, even if you haven't met her personally."

"But, what about the fairies?" The guitar youkai asked as she glanced back at the spot where the fairies were assaulted by danmaku, evident smoke rising above the scorched ground.

"Right about now," declared Ran as if she was counting the fairies' restoration time in her mind each second. "See for yourselves."

The aforementioned fairies began to appear one by one from their previous position as if nothing happened at all – hair and dress without a mark from the blasts beforehand. They seemed to be fine although pain and displeasure was evident on their childlike features as if they had a wild tantrum before materializing again. The four exchanged bewildered looks as if they forgot what they did earlier.

With the only food they had brought left for them to eat that particularly fine afternoon, they each grabbed their respective baskets they brought earlier fleeing as fast as their wings could carry them to the opposite direction, bickering along the way who should return back later to retrieve their remaining picnic utensils which miraculously survived Ran's assault.

Yui's eyes widened in amazement. "Wow, you're right!"

"This is quite something," Gitah remarked. "In that sense, fairies are somehow invincible?"

Ran watched the fairies disappear into the slowly-forming mist of the lake. "It's true that they cannot die in ordinary circumstances but that doesn't make them powerful," she explained. "Knowing their sneaky and playful nature, they do not attack anyone unless cornered or agitated. What did you do to provoke them to the point they go spraying danmaku all over the place?"

"A-Ah, they have mistaken us eating their afternoon picnic. They're really mad at that but I only ate the one and only sandwich left there! Aside from it, we didn't find anything else more than that!" Yui defended herself as if she did eat the picnic food instead.

"Maybe someone else already ate the food beforehand," stated the guitar youkai. She speculated that whoever did the act of downing almost all of the food on the picnic area in record time was amazingly swift but predictably messy eater. Still, she didn't know how long was the time frame where the fairies went back to their house to fetch their remaining food that allowed anyone to finish everything in one sitting or just how many food was left on the picnic area before any of that happen.

Gitah had come to a conclusion that solving that tiny mystery wouldn't merit her anything other than putting the blame on the person who was indirectly liable to any injuries that could transpire in the fairies' outburst a minute back.

"Also, who would leave their things unattended in the open just like that too?" Yui added to her previous stand earlier.

"Uh, Hirasawa-sama, you tend to do that sometimes too," Gitah reminded sheepishly.

Hearing the pair's story, Ran simply blinked her eyes as she got nothing to say about the matter. "Sounds like a reason for them to attack."

"Quite a rash decision for them to make. Something tells me they do that quite often."

"It can't be helped. Fairies often take actions without considering much of the consequences. Although I admit that those fairies are quite more than the average. Despite being simple creatures as they are, working together allowed them to create a wider range of attacks which makes them more of a nuisance."

"Maybe the term 'excessively carefree mindset' fits them well."

"Small talk aside, please give me a moment."

The shikigami brought out her cell phone, pressing a few buttons on its keypad and placing it near her ears. She turned her back and waited for ten seconds before the receiver finally picked it up then a small yawn greeted her.

"Sorry for disturbing you Yukari-sama, but I found her. Yes and she's not hurt or anything," the fox youkai replied as the two waited for the conversation to finish. "I will take it from here." She finally terminated the call before returning the phone to its place.

Yui's eyes shone brightly. "Wow, you're using a cell phone too? That's nice! Can I have your number, just in case?"

"It's not that necessary, Hirasawa-san. Let's just say this phone functions quite differently from the typical one you use."

Yui looked a bit disappointed. "Bummer," she whispered. "I wish we could stay in touch." She returned her eyes to the painted-red stone building which was now closer than before and pointed excitingly. "Ran-chan, is that a castle over there? What's inside it?"

Ran followed the gesture with her eyes. "Ah? The Scarlet Devil Mansion? The mistress of that mansion is a vampire."

"A…v-vampire? They exist too?"

Gitah wasn't sure what to say next as she preferred to stay silent instead. Suddenly, a gap in the space between them opened which was the same one that Yukari used. Ran shifted a bit sidewards. "My master will take you back home as promised."

Yui looked around for any signs of the gap youkai but she was nowhere to be found. "Where is she? What is she doing now?"

"I presume she returned to sleeping after the call. Anyways, it's nothing important."

"Wait. How about Yagokoro-san and the others? H-How about the festival?"

"After this, I'll personally visit Eientei to inform them of your return to the outside world. I am certain that they will understand, since this was the intended plan from the beginning. You have not much to worry about. Regarding the festival, as the matter of fact, is held monthly on the night of the full moon. I suggest attending the event in your free time."

"A karakasa named Tatara Kogasa will do the same favor after her shift in her work. I'm not entirely sure when - maybe before nightfall."

"I will inform Yagokoro-san about her arrival to their mansion then."

"You're supposed to be a fox, right?" Yui suddenly asked, earning a raised eyebrow from the kitsune. It came out of nowhere anyway.

Hearing the simple question, Ran nodded. "Why do you ask?"

The guitarist stared at the two-tailed hat of the youkai. "I was just wondering what's under your hat. Rei-chan has two set of ears, one being her rabbit ears. Same in Tewi-chan's case."

"Yes, these are my fox ears," Ran replied, slightly tilting her head. "Any more questions?"

"Okay... W-Where does this portal-thingie leads to?"

"To your home, specfically your room. Kotobuki-san already gave my master the precise location, so things would be in order." Ran gestured to the gap in an inviting manner. "Now that everything's settled, I'm sure everyone back there is waiting for you, Hirasawa-san."

"Last question!" declared the brunette as she raised her hands before looking at Ran squarely to the eye. "Are you already tired of my questions?"

"I also act as Yukari-sama's voice when she's not available to speak with. It's only natural to be used to it, I think."

"Good to hear! Thanks!"

"Well, that sums it up," commented the guitar youkai as she gave a final look to the scenery behind them. Yui followed as she reached for Gitah's shoulder, smiling.

"What's with that look? It's not like this is going to be our last here."

The guitar youkai nodded. "You're right. Let's go home."

"Ohh...I wonder what Ui cooked for lunch today. I missed her cooking..."

"I suppose your sister is in school at this time."

"I have an idea!" Yui then addressed the fox youkai, "Can you change the location of this portal to the school?"

The fox youkai frowned to the request. "Only Yukari-sama has the ability to configure her gaps," she said. "Though I'm her shikigami, I don't have such ability."

"I was thinking that we'll surprise my friends in the club room instead!"

With her warm smile that only a youkai like her could show, Ran gave a hint to the guitarist. "In any case, they were not expecting your return today. That alone is enough to surprise them if that is your current intention."

"You're right! Thanks, Ran-chan!"

After school was always the golden period for the light music club. Drinking tea while contemplating the things they have done for the day was a good relaxation for them. Surprisingly for today, they decided to practice for half an hour to break the boredom. They also had to adjust since Yui wasn't around yet, so Azusa took the role of lead guitar. Suddenly, the door slowly opened and a young man with ruffled black haired and cap in one of his hands, stepped inside together with their club adviser, Yamanaka Sawako who was smiling at the display of enthusiasm shown by the club.

"This is something new. What made you girls practice today?" she asked as she placed her hands on her waist, somewhat impressed. "Got tired of tea time?"

"Good afternoon, sensei," The keyboardist greeted as she bowed accordingly like always. "Welcome back."

The others followed to greet their adviser as well before Sawako waved her hand in response. "Oh, it's not like we're not seeing each other every day."

Ritsu, after recognizing that her homeroom teacher brought along a rather suspicious man, allowed herself to smirk impishly. "Hey Sawa-chan, I admire your reckless bravery and all but you can't just bring your boyfriend here like that!"

"Can you repeat that, Tainaka-san?" asked Sawako as her lips formed a sinister smile but retaining her serious vibe. "To be clear with you all, he's not my boyfriend and will never be. He was just discharged yesterday after his innocence had been proven and I thought bringing him here would shed some light to you girls." She looked at the girl with the yellow headband once more.

"I-It's nice that you clear things up quickly, Sawa-chan."

"I hope you don't mind if we asked what you have been doing these days?" asked the pigtailed guitarist as she stole a glance to the man beside the teacher. "You're not stopping by in the club room anymore."

"Well, there are a few things that came out lately," Sawako explained apologetically. "I guess this is the perfect time to cope up with you." She then fixed her eyes on Mio who cringed impulsively. "I'm sure Mio-chan here missed me the most, isn't that right?"

"Uh, I think we're losing the main point here," Azusa asserted.

Mio asked. "Sawako-sensei, who is he?"

"Are we getting to the point already? Fair enough," said Sawako before she gestured to the man on her left. "To simply put, he's the van driver involved in the accident."

The drummer's body twitched and a glare that could effortlessly pierce metal was immediately set to the man before them. She couldn't believe that the person who messed up the life of her friend would visit them!

"You jerk...!" Ritsu grabbed the man by the collar and pinned him on the wall by considerable rage. "You really have the guts to show yourself here, huh?"

The man didn't respond, averting his gaze from the furious drummer, not resisting to her now tightening grip. "Do you have any idea what you've done? Too bad you picked the wrong girl to mess with!"

Ritsu stopped as a hand was pressed on her shoulder. She turned her head to see her adviser slowly shaking her head. "Let us not jump to conclusions yet."

"What? You just said that..." Ritsu prodded the man on the chest before she continued, "he was involved!"

"As you can see, his intentions are clean. After learning that I'm Yui-chan's adviser, this man convinced me to check her condition, despite the consequences of it. The investigators seemed to allow this and I went along. I don't see the reason for turning it down."

"What are you talking about? What investigation?" asked the drummer as she lowered her voice. She might be in good terms with the teacher, but respect was a thing to be always remembered.

"R-Ritsu, I'm confused as much as you are, maybe you should calm yourself first," Mio suggested with a irritated look but also showed bits of worry. "You shouting won't get us anywhere."

"How about we sit together first before we continue? It's nice if we could relax along the way."

The girls immediately left their instruments as Mio and Azusa propped their guitars on the wall before they went to the table. As Sawako finally sat down last beside the man, she added, "I also learned something interesting during the investigation."

"You finally found out the fact that it was his fault all along?"

Sawako narrowed her eyes. She knew that she would have a hard time explaining. "First, I'll ask a few questions first if you don't mind. I want you to be honest, okay?"

Mio tensed up as she sensed a different around her teacher. "W-We will try."

"No trying, you will be honest. It's not hard to answer them at all."

"We got it. Just tell us already," said Ritsu, patience already wearing thin.

"Do you believe in ghosts? Ever seen one at least once?"

"Uh, okay that was just stupid, Sawa-chan. Did you join into some kind of occult group or something?"

Azusa shrugged. The question was already typical where she could hear it being asked almost everywhere yet, at the same time, a senseless one for bringing it up in the first place. "I haven't seen one yet."

"I...I don't want to see one. I won't ask for seeing...those things...I don't," Mio muttered incoherently as unpleasant thoughts started to spread on her mind like wildfire.

"Mio-senpai? Are you okay?"

"Okay, another question to make things easier. I don't usually deal with them too," Sawako glanced at the room's humble ceiling before she asked, "Do you believe in supernatural beings - youkai and the like? I just want to hear your thoughts on it."

The bassist's face went pale as her body began to shiver on its own. "Sawako-sensei, w-why are you bringing that up all of the sudden?"

The pigtailed guitarist sighed, rolling her eyes in such nonsensical question. "You're scaring us, intentionally!"

"Actually, we just met a few yesterday," replied the drummer. "Err...I wasn't supposed to say that?"

"Well, not a surprise about that. The accident is actually a manifestation of a paranormal entity. Whether it could be a work of a mischievous spirit or youkai, we are yet to solve this matter. I think the investigation team already has a few suspects in mind."

Collective gasps could be heard from the girls from their adviser's revelation as if it was the last thing they might hear.

"Sensei, you don't mean that the accident was caused by a youkai in the first place?"

"It would be natural for anyone to assume he's responsible for this incident, but was, in fact, the contrary."

The club's keyboardist who remained silent throughout the discussion directed her gaze downwards as if shutting herself down from the rest of them...

She's Amiya Hiromi, a youkai that could manipulate almost anything machine-related. Fortunately, not a very bright one and tends to break things instead.

Tsumugi's face slowly darkened in the thought of their first encounter. Hiromi was the last thing she needed to remember at those moments, noting that the keyboardist was doing her best to forgive the youkai's selfish actions. Most of the youkai wouldn't care about humans to achieve what they wanted. After all, the youkai disrupted the lives of humans for centuries which were their reason of existence.

It was a trait that would be a common thing for them to have. She just wished they could control their urges to just wreck things. In the end, she heeded the advice of the mistress of boundaries as it was the best thing to do. In fact, it really was. She wasn't like some of the people she knew as if the youkai was something to be eradicated on the face of the planet. She was not like them. Not a chance. Her interest in youkai would never deteriorate.

Tsumugi wouldn't blame all of the existing youkai just for the liability of a single one.

Finally, it was the van driver's turn to speak. "Saying sorry won't change what already happened, still," He took a deep breath, composing himself before he continued. "I'm sorry. It's not like I didn't do anything that moment. Everything happened so quickly."

"You don't even need to apologize," said the keyboardist in a rather exhausted voice. "You did nothing wrong."

Ritsu and the others went speechless as they stared at Tsumugi who found it somehow easy to say those words. The homeroom teacher grinned to the man beside her. "You're absolved now, to them at least. It's all good, huh?"

He nodded in accord as he released his apprehension with a deep sigh. "It's good that she survived and I'm grateful for that. I can't believe that there's a doctor who could patch her up that quickly."

"Who on earth could imagine she will be good as new for a few days? I want to shake her hand for that feat," Sawako commended. She needed to know what kind of miracle was pulled off to make her student's complete recovery possible in such short time.

"Ah, so you've heard sensei?" asked Mio.

Ritsu wasn't all surprised like the bassist. "I guess that saves us time for explaining all of it."

"Thanks to her," said Sawako, pointing to their club's keyboardist who broke out of her thoughts and gave a weak smile. "She already filled me in about Yui's condition."

Azusa was somehow taken aback, hearing those from their homeroom teacher who happened to know youkai as well and taking them lightly as if they were not out of the ordinary beings at all. More to that, she seemed to be working covertly into that matter. "Sawako-sensei, I didn't know that you're into that kind of work."

"Of course, you wouldn't know. But I want you to stay out of it," replied the teacher with a hint of warning in her voice. "Just a small tip: Don't go out unless it's necessary tonight. I don't want to hear that one of you will be abducted or eaten by youkai in the following days. It won't do well for me."

"We understand," the black-haired bassist replied.

"But nothing happens to me even when I go to the convenience store at night," came a quick response from the drummer as if inciting a response from the teacher. "Weird."

Sawako placed her arms in front as she leaned on the table. "It's either that you're just damn lucky or they're getting picky with their targets."

"What do you mean by 'getting picky'?"

Mio giggled. "I think I get it..."

"What the hell? That's just rude!"

"Also, I have this problem I have yet to solve..."

"Huh? Is it any related to the accident?" inquired Azusa.

The teacher slumped herself on the table as if her energy was being drained. "No. I need Mugi-chan's cake and tea. Like, now. Have to bear with it for almost a week."

Tsumugi smiled playfully. "As you wish sensei. I almost forgot about it..."

The blonde keyboardist brought out a box that contained a round caramel cake that she was saving after their practice. Like any usual day in the light music club, she began to brew tea while she equally served the dessert to everyone.

"I never knew you have it in you, Sawa-chan."

"It's a pain going through all of that trouble without having a single break. Youkai and their antics are getting old fast."

"So that's you've been doing on your free time?" speculated the drummer as she rubbed her chin. "Sounds pretty suspicious to me."

"It's not like you're any better, Ritsu," Mio replied.

Sawako groaned as she brought her palm down the tabletop. "Give me some credit! Obviously, school-related works are still my priority. Now, I got almost no time to rest…"

"Then you're the one to blame for adding more of your workload," Ritsu simply said.

"Mugi-senpai, there's an extra slice left. Who's going to have it?" Azusa inquired as she noticed the remaining slice of cake.

Tsumugi's thought processes went blank for a second before she embarrassedly replied, "Oh my, I included Yui-chan in the cake's partitioning again."

"Hey, can I have that slice instead? Please?"

"Obviously, I'm the person with highest authority here!" The teacher tapped the black-haired man beside her. "Don't you agree?"

"Y-Yeah, right. What she said." He didn't want to know what would happen to him if he said otherwise.

Ritsu retorted back, "Being a teacher doesn't mean anything here!"

"Oh, but it does. Why do you think that all of you coincidentally ended up in the same section this year? Helping you out in some of your problems here?" The club adviser huffed proudly and childishly. "If it weren't for me, this club won't probably survive!"

"You're bringing out those things again! Stop being a sore loser and fight fair, you old-!" She found herself unable to speak as Sawako leaned closer with a smile masking her unimaginable fury behind those diminished pupils of her brown eyes.

"I dare you to continue that sentence, Tainaka-san…"

Ritsu's forehead began to sweat uncomfortably. "Just…forget it."

"Well, I wish she's already here with us. It'll save us from this little problem," Tsumugi said as she sipped some of her tea.

Ritsu smiled. "That's silly talking again from you." Her expression quickly changed as she returned her eyes to the teacher in front of her. "Really, that cake is mine!"

Sawako raised an eyebrow, pretending to be oblivious. "Why? Do we need to start all over again?"

"Hello everyone! Ah~ It's good to be back!"

Everyone's attention immediately went to the door, hearing a much familiar voice that they least expect to hear at that moment. The adviser choked on a piece of her second caramel cake she just swallowed, nearly splattering it to the drummer's face in front of her. While the girls opened their eyes wide in bewilderment, save for Tsumugi who threw a doubtful look to the girl on the doorway. This particular girl had her signature pair of yellow hairclips on her short brown hair. Also, she was wearing an almost identical uniform issued by the school, save for the necktie that replaced the standard ribbon. Anyone who knew this girl would probably identify her right away but her closest friends might say otherwise.

Hirasawa Yui wasn't supposed to be out of Eientei yet.

"Hm? What do we have here?" said Sawako after she recovered from the caramel-flavored cake.

"She's got to be Ui," whispered Azusa to the rest, "right? There's no way she's Yui."

"Yeah, yeah. I know that," replied Ritsu. "But this is great timing too. Hey, Sawa-chan, why didn't you bring her along anyway?"

"I didn't get the chance. Bringing this fellow here inside is already a pain. You get the picture?"

"Yeah. It must be harder than that. How'd you get him in here in the first place? I can't just imagine that you proudly walked your way here with him on your side."

"That would between the two of us. Why don't you ask him instead?"

"Ehh? As if he's going to answer it!"

"Hi, Ui! Waiting for us to finish?" the pigtailed girl waved a hand to the brunette who just blinked then scratched the back of her head. "Eh...more importantly, why did you change your summer uniform?"

"Ui?" asked the girl. "What do you mean?" She went for a long, dramatic gasp. "What? Don't tell me you already forgot me, Azu-nyan! How could you! After all we went through…"

"Wait. Something's really wrong here," Mio mumbled.

"It's because she's not Ui," said the homeroom teacher flatly. She took another piece of caramel cake to her mouth as her students stared at her, tending not to accept her claim. "Not my fault if you won't believe me."

"I…I can't believe that there will be a time when my friends don't recognize me at all…"

"WHAT?" the girls shouted in perfect unison. "Who is she then?"

"An impostor! You're not Yui!" shouted Ritsu, casting a murderous glare to the man as if she would behead him using her drumsticks. "I think you got something to do with that copycat!"

"I know nothing of this! You have my word of not driving any vehicle for a very long time!"

"We didn't ask you about that either!" She looked back to Sawako who was cooling off her tea. "Maybe this is one of your tricks Sawa-chan!"

"What? You dare accuse me of something I'm not even aware of?"

They weren't expecting another visitor who would finally close the case. On the doorway, another girl, with her brown-hair tied to a ponytail, peeked inside the room as she beamed giddily. Azusa and the others became more bewildered.

"Oh, that's just great. Now there are two of them!"

"Now…that's the Ui you're looking for," stated Sawako candidly. "Oh, Mugi-chan, tea refill please!"

"U-Ui? What the hell's happening?"

"I can't believe you girls totally fell for that one," said the teacher with a dull-looking face. "But this is a shocker." She landed her gaze to Tsumugi and asked, "I thought she won't be discharged yet?"

"I have no idea either," replied the blonde girl as she went to the countertop once again to brew more tea. "But it's better, right? She's just in time for tea time."