Am I real or just an illusion? ~The Night Terror Incident

The pair reached the edge of the blood red Lake, and looming ahead was the stately manor of Mugenkan. It's walls were red, but it was difficult to discern if this was because of the brick or if it was a reflection of the lake. As always above this area, the sky was dark, and the lighting dull. The windows looked as if they had not been cleaned in years, and if it wasn't for the lights that had been left lit inside, it wouldn't look too far off from a ghost house.

Yuuka stepped up to the door, and knocked. It felt odd to her, knocking for entrance into her own home, but since she had not been there for so long it felt like it didn't belong to her. No response from inside, not even a shuffling. "I guess we can just barge in, then. Elly's not home." She opened the door, and walked into the dusty lobby.

The green-haired sprite followed Yuuka as she entered the manor. "This is your home? But..." she looked around. "It doesn't look like anyone has lived here in some time... And who's this Elly, if you don't mind me asking...?"

"Elly," Yuuka walked over to wear a curve-handled scythe was leaning against the wall, and picked it up, "was my loyal little slave that guarded the mansion while I lived here." She put the scythe back down, and wiped her finger across the bannister at the bottom of the stairs, but there was no dust. Someone had been up there recently. "I entrusted her with the place after I left, although I wasn't expecting her to leave it in such a state."

Dai looked at the scythe for a second before turning back to Yuuka. "Is that Elly girl a Shinigami...?"

"I don't believe so, or if she was she had abandoned her duties long ago. Regardless, there's no need to dwell on this past. She's obviously moved on with her life, about time too! In order to get to the Dream World, there's a passageway in a room at the back of the house. Follow me." She pulled at a plank of wood that had been jutting out from underneath the stairs. It swung back, revealing an opening and a dark corridor. "I always disliked how cliche this method of hiding something was," Yuuka chuckled about her bad taste.

"Wouldn't it be easier to just seal the entrance with some sort of magic spell...?" she said, while entering the corridor. "Regardless, why does this need to be hidden...?"

"I didn't know any magic until decades after constructing this. Besides, I was young and naive at the time. It's kind of a cute memory." Once both of them were inside, the door shut behind them, throwing them into darkness. "Mugenkan itself is already between Gensokyo and the Dream World. We are in fact, almost there." She grabbed Daiyousei's hand, and cautiously walked through the black corridor until a glimmer of light appeared on the horizon. "Can you see that?"

The ascended fairy narrowed her eyes. "Y-yeah... Is that the Dream World...?"

The flower youkai smirked, even though she couldn't be seen. "No, that's not the Dream World, it's one of its inhabitants. We'll be able to see more of the World as we get closer, but very soon our top priority will be avoiding that creature." As the pair walked more, the darkness surrounding them became a twilight, and then a dim moonlight. The sky did not have a moon, though, but was a plethora of glowing objects that did not resemble anything in particular, but were merely the manifestations of rogue dream thoughts. The ground in seeable distance was hilly, but its surface was a grey, gravely sand. Looking behind, the corridor they had walked out of was nowhere to be seen.

Dai covered her eyes with her free hand. The sudden light hurt her eyes quite a bit. Once her eyes had grown fond of the light, she looked around the area. "I... I thought that the Dream World would be more... I don't know... 'Distorted'"

"I can understand why you might think that way. Dreams feel irrational, unexplainable, messy, amongst other things. It's often difficult to spot the order in all of the clashing thoughts. That's what the Dream World is - it's an organised mess. A blend of all the dreams that have ever been, that are happening, that will ever be; a mish-mash of the irrational that comes together into something comprehendable. It's quite beautiful, really. I love the flowers here."

Yuuka left a slight pause after her monologue, then suddenly grabbed the fairy on her arm and shouted "BOO!"

"An organized mess, you said...?" Dai rubbed her chin. This was nothing like she had imagined. Regardless, as pretty the Dream World might be...

And then something suddenly grabbed the fairy's arm. She let out a high-pitched scream and fired a bunch of green danmaku at the one who grabbed her. She then realized who the person was. "S-sorry!! You startled me and, well... Sorry!" She apologized and bowed.

Yuuka reflexively put up her parasol and blocked the shots. "Ah, so you were paying attention when I told you to keep your guard up. That's good. Now this little flurry probably drew attention to ourselves, so we'll need to get moving. The village is this way." She started to fly, but kept low to the ground and moved slowly, so as not to make themselves any more obvious.


“’It’s unusually noisy today’ I thought. I can’t exactly say I’m surprised to see who the source of the racket was.” A humanlike figure stood floating above them as the duo stopped on their tracks, wings flapping lazily despite the fact they clearly weren’t needed to keep their owner in the air. “Well, I suppose I could say I am a little surprised.” She continued, eyes stopping on the sprite. “Welcome to the Dream World. Or would” Green orbs shifted back to the flower youkai. “'welcome back' be more appropriate?”

The green-haired fairy took out a spellcard and stared angrily at the figure. "W-who are you?!" She was slightly trembling. Something about the figure gave her the chills.

Yuuka waved at Daiyousei to put her spellcard away, "Calm down. Don't attack unless attacked first." She turned up at the person floating above. "Who are you?"

The figure smiled at their question. “You do know who I am to some extent, don’t you?” She asked Yuuka. “Otherwise you wouldn’t be here.” Her tail twitched about. “And that isn’t a relevant question, is it? Susan, Layla, Chidori, would my name really matter? This isn’t a tea party to justify irrelevant pleasantries.”

A smug grin filled Yuuka's face. "You must be, the Ripper. We were going to look for clues, but I didn't think it would be this easy." Her smile vanished. "It's not that easy, though, is it? You're not really here, with us. I can see you, I can hear you, but I don't feel your presence. What is it you want, showing your face to us here?"

“Perspicacious, as expected.” She chuckled amused. “It wouldn’t be wise to meet you face to face, would it?” With a soft sound, she elegantly landed on the ground, he hills standing taller than her in the background. “Curiosity, is the answer to your question. I tried my best to make the witch forget and yet… here you are.” Her arms opened wide, motioning to their surroundings. “So… contrary to the angry fairy standing at your side, you don’t strike me as an aspiring incident-solver. Why are you here, I wonder.”

"I'll admit, my motives are nowhere near as... noble as the others involved. I'm here to make a friend, and if I can't do that, at least defeat you in a show of power." She put up her parasol, and twiddled it in her hands. "So how about it? You seem intent on destroying lives, crushing weaklings. It's a common interest. I imagine your dream magic is more advanced than mine - but we could teach each other a few things. In all my time alive, I've never been as naive to think that life is worth living alone. And, being honest, I've never met someone even get close to my full strength. Going by the stories I've been told, you'd make a worthy opponent... or ally."

She took a step forward, and leaned in slightly, "Of course, maybe the rumours are wrong, and you're just as weak as everyone else. In which case, you'd make a nice trophy. "

“’A friend’, you say.” She chuckled. “It’s astonishing how easily that word rolls out of your mouth, is it because it doesn’t hold any particular meaning to you?” There was no malice in her voice, it echoed as a genuine question.

"You amuse me, Susan. But you're also wiser than you look. I don't have friends, and I never will. My alliances come and go according to my whims," Yuuka's voice drifted. "It makes little difference to me the choice you make. I mean, it's a shame. Having an oneiromancer on good terms would be a an excellent opportunity to learn, but if it won't be you, I can find one elsewhere." She stepped back, closer to the fairy. "That also means, however, that the game has begun, and the hunt is on. I thank you for showing up, it's let me get a good look at you, at what you are. You can expect a proper visit soon. I'll make sure to bring the tea."

“I have yet to answer your question, however.” The figure answered, her amused tone ever dripping from her voice. “You seem like an interesting conversation partner, things get uninteresting and old when your only company knows nothing more other than crying over past mistakes.” Her smirk grew bigger. “If a partnership was to be formed…” Her hand pointed at Dai. “Then, you wouldn’t mind if I took her as a souvenir, would you?”

"I'm kind of wondering if my sincerity is putting me at risk of being used. It's an opportunity I'd like to seize, though, so..." She pushed the fairy forward, towards the figure. "Be my guest."

Dai looked back at Yuuka. "You... You traitor! Was this your intent all along?!"

The flower youkai held back the urge to laugh, "Traitor? That would imply we were ever on level terms. Besides, you never asked why I was interested, not that I would have told you the truth at the time! So go on then! Be a good fairy and do what fairies are meant to do: die."

The Ripper’s strong hand clenched on sprite’s arm, a cold grip that felt like it could freeze the fairy on the spot. “Don’t be afraid, I’ll be sure to turn you into a useful tool.” She chuckled.

"N-no!" she tried to break free from the Ripper's grasp. "Leave me alone! Blazing Spirit [Briggid]! " With her free hand, she fired a quick barrage of fireballs directly at the Ripper. "Fire is its weakness so...!"

The dark robed figure didn’t bother with moving, the fireballs connected with no effect, her chuckle became louder at the fairy’s attempt. “You’ll feisty. I’m sure she’ll take a liking to you.”

Like a picture, slowly fading away into nothing, body started disappearing, along with Dai’s, the Ripper turned at Yuuka. “You’re going to be used by me and I am going to be used by you. Isn’t it an obvious synergy between living beings? We treat the expression as taboo, something to be avoided out of fear of admitting our own weaknesses. But it is what it is. We cannot exist alone, we all be used eventually, such is being alive.” Her smile grew bigger. “I’m certain our partnership will yield interesting results. I’ll be looking forward for a tea party at the Garden of the Sun.”

The green-haired sprite was still struggling to get out of the ripper's grasp. "Let me go..!" her eyes were humid at this point. "Just let me go....! What would you gain from me, anyway?!"

"Sounds agreeable. It was nice meeting you Daiyousei. Remember the first thing I said to you, though. You're too quick to trust. I also told you that's a bad thing." Yuuka shrugged, "If you didn't get the hint then, you probably aren't worth my time in the first place."

Without another word, both the Ripper and the sprite disappeared, leaving Yuuka in the grey, gravely sand.

“I need to get out of here!” Seija jumped out of her seat; she nearly spilled all of her hot tea onto her skirt; she looked around at the empty room. Sighing and she knew what needed to be done. She slipped into the hospital, finding paper; she began to scribble a note.

Thank you Satori Komeiji, for your amazing hospitality; but I’ve mooched on you for far too long. I think it’s time we finally parted ways, I may return but of course; I need to get back into the race of life. Although after all this passes; I may return and become a full resident of your beautiful mansion. Although it’s a bit orderly for my liking…
P.S. Your tea is amazing; where do you find it?
P.S.S Tell Kitty I will miss her the least.

Signed, Yui Kawaru

She left the letter on the table where she was sitting at; she also left her tea cup and a steaming pot of tea, she smiled and began to silently walk towards the entrance. Yui was in a trance; gazing at the cryptic pieces of stain glassed windows that hung across the main entrance to the mansion.

I wonder what dark past this mansion holds?

She soon found herself near the door, she kept looking back at the corridor; she was thinking back when she first entered the mansion. Back then, Yui Kawaru was Seija Kijin; who forced her way to join Yuuka Kazami on her plan to find the mysterious Ripper.

What the hell is this Ripper anyway, I have been dragged into a world where paranoia rules the hearts and mind of Gensokyo.

Paranoia of the unknown.

As they say, the thing that we fear most is the things that we cannot explain.

“Fear rules our hearts; we push it away; shed away our skin but it’s all in vain; the past creeps up on you. We cannot push away the fear of that unknown thing.”
She put her hand onto the door, she looked back one more time and nodded.

Thanks for everything.

Collab with Dani and blah blah blah.

---

The sprite, tightly constricted by her hand, has stopped struggling. She didn’t know if the girl had passed out or just realized how futile her thrashing around was, and honestly, she didn’t care. Effortlessly, the creepy dark figure dragged her through the transparent tiles of a badly lit house. Maybe it was a castle, maybe it was a makeshift house in a cave, the lack of a strong light source made it hard to distinguish, but the walls and the grounds they were stepping on were clearly made of glass or crystal, reflecting nothing but the darkness within the walls. Big windows stretched through the walls but strangely enough, no light seeped through them, the air felt stale, heavy and sad. Despite its wide walls of translucent matter, the place’s semblance made it unbearably claustrophobic.

The Ripper entered a room, a dark, wide room, only lit by two flickering candles. Something moved in one of the corners, there was a strangely ornamented cage, glowing faintly in green, oddly not illuminating its surroundings with the light. Whispering in a low voice and pointing her open palm forward, creating an identical cage, safely apart from the other one.

Carelessly, she threw the sprite inside, having removed the spell cards in her possession, she closed it with a metallic clank, even though it was obvious the bars weren’t made of iron.

“I brought you a friend.” She said, amusingly. “Maybe she’ll be willing to listen to your sobs, more than I would ever be.” The figure approached the cage on the opposite corner. “I need you to keep your wits, just a little longer. So bear it for a little while longer, yes?” There was no concern or care in her voice, it was very businesslike, cold and pondering.

Without another word, she left, her steps echoing farther and farther away in the overwhelming silence of the location.


The fairy opened her eyes a little once she was thrown into the cage. It took her a few seconds to realize just in what kind of situation she was in. She got up and grabbed the bars of the cage, shaking them a little, and screaming at the dark figure. "H-hey! You don't plan to leave me here, do you?!"


Dai’s answer was silence. For the longest minutes of her life, no sound but her own heartbeat could be heard. And then a small sob could be heard on the otherside of the room.

The sprite jumped a little. The sob had actually scared her somewhat, being so sudden, in such a silent room...

She knew better than check who was crying -or faking-, since there was no telling what might come out. But... She was curious. She created a small fireball on her left hand, to provide a little more light, and got as close to the source of the sound as her prison would allow. "Uhm... Is someone there...?"

A sniffle and yet another sob. The crouched figure on the other cage was badly illuminated by the candle light, but her silhouette was visible. Head buried in her arms, sitting on the ground with her legs bended, someone shook. The figure said something, but it only came as an inaudible whisper.

The fairy was getting even more intrigued. "Uhm... I can't hear you..." she said, slowly. "Have you also been captured by the Ripper...?"

“I’m sorry…” The voice said tremulously. “You’re here… because of me, it is my fault.”
She was shaking even more now. “That thing… that thing did not capture me…” She clenched her hands. “I was captured by my own foolishness.” Her voice seeped through clenched teeth.

"What...?" Dai couldn't help but ask. "Uh... I don't think I get what you're talking about... What do you mean that I'm here because of you. And what do you mean by your own foolish--..." Dai stopped and took a deep breath. "Okay... One thing at a time... I'm Daiyousei. Can you tell me your name, Miss?"

“Layla…” It felt like an unfinished sentence, a sentence she struggle to continue but couldn’t. “I… can’t… remember my surname…” Her hands were now holding her head. “I… can’t remember… my memories… they’re mostly gone… But I know, my heart knows, I’m to blame for this… I trusted it… I trusted it and… I was foolish, so very foolish…”

"Layla, you say? That's a pretty name." Dai said, with a smile. "And hey. Calm down... I don't need your surname..." something was troubling that girl. That much was clear to Dai. Not that it was hard to guess. "What do you mean...? Who did you trust? The ripper?"

“Yes… I trusted that thing… I did not wish for anyone to get hurt and yet…” The voice struggled to be heard through the crescendo of sobs. “It… killed… it destroyed… and it was my fault… I was selfish… all I wanted… was for us to be together… even if I dirtied my hands, I would want us to be together… but not like this… not… tearing loved ones apart… How could I…?!”

"'Us be together'...? You and the ripper? Are you related to it...?" the fairy said. "Also, Layla, please stop crying a little... I can't make half out of what you're saying like that..."

“No… I hate that… that creature!” Layla said, her voice dripping with poison. “I wished… all I wished… was to have my family back. We could not, in the other world… perhaps in this one… this one… kyrie eleison! …There are things that are simply not meant to be, in this world or the next… foolish are the ones who pursue it, ignoring the god’s will.”

Seishi Begins.


Seija stood firmly at the Wind Hole, she looked up into the dark abbys; she had quickly rushed through the grimy city, she was amazed that at one point, she was dragged underground by Yuuka and then brought back up to only be brought back down by Suika and Marisa.

"If I go up, will the surface accept me..."

Koishi looked at the sky, hopping slightly as she absent-mindedly followed the weird hat lady and the blueberry zombie.

How great it was to be outside, to enjoy the sun, to go on adventures and explore the world! Even if Gensokyo was fairly small, she could find wondrous sceneries, weird people, interesting and weird happenings… She hoped that someday, someday soon, her sister would understand what she was missing, understand that there, anyone could find a place to be.

And then, Seija smiled as she felt the wind grazed against her uncovered legs; she flew at a fast pace; but she couldn't shake the memories of Yuuka dragging her to the surface. This time she was a free bird; and then she saw the bright light of the sun, nearly blinding her.

The satori stopped on her tracks, her face fell. How much time had gone by since she last visited? Her hand rested on her chest as a pang of guilt made itself known.

No, big sister was in the wrong here! Overprotective, afraid of the world surrounding her, caging her and telling her that the whole world was against them because they were creepy, because they were born with this weird power to invade people’s minds… Not everyone, not everyone would judge her for it, she knew it now…

Seija finally overcame the blinding sun; her eyes burned as her eyes adjusted to the dark conditions of the underground; looking around, her target was the place where it all started. "I must go, the people need me. The new and improved me!"

And then, Seija blasted off at the speed of light, gliding towards the village.

Yes, she didn’t need her sister, she would find more people like the Myouren folks, she would brave her on path in life unafraid of the consequences. If only she had realized this sooner, if only…

The purple eye remained tightly closed as if in an eternal slumber.
But now she hoped, now she would keep hoping that her friends would remember her.

A smile formed in her features. She knew that one day, all would be better.

The sudden silent woke her from her reverie as she realized that the weird hat lady and her undead companion had kept going, unware that the girl had lagged behind.

“Eh? Where did they go?” She tilted her head confusedly.

All of a sudden, Seija lost control of her flight, smashing into the all familiar tavern in the human village, smashing into a table and sending it flying across the bar, smashing into the bar keep's face, he fell backwards in a daze, smashing into the sake bottles.

A sudden crash, pieces of wood flying in the skies.

Koishi turned completely unfazed to the location of the ruckus.

“Ah, that looks interesting!” She smiled happily, approaching the tavern as the yells of the owner got louder and louder.

"Ow!" She rubbed her head as many of the occupations looked at her, all with deathly gazes. "You people don't understand art!" She sighed, reaching over the counter and picked up a bottle of sake that wasn't destroyed in the ruckus, unscrewing the cork and she took a single swing of it.

“It’s you again, you wretched youkai! This time you won’t run away!” The satori heard the barkeeper shout. “You’re all nothing but trouble!”

"Ah, atleast this time! I brought a tip!" She grabbed the barkeep by the neck, throwing her in the direction of the satori, unaware she was even there.

Koishi side-stepped away from the barkeeper and smiled. This weird girl seemed fun.
Casually walking her way to the offending youkai, she positioned herself behind Seija and whispered in her ear. “You know, bullying people is not good~”

"Wah!" She looked around for a source. "Who said that?!"

“The little voice people call a conscience, the little voice in your head, of course!” Koishi chuckled. “Never heard about Jiminy Cricket?”

"Stop with your lame ass pop culture jokes!" She wondered and sighed. "Look, if you're here to guilt trip me, I already had a few weeks with Satori Komeiji to have that..."

The girl with the closed purple eye froze in her place. The feelings she had felt moments before threatened to return but she shoved them away, drowning them in a pit of blackness.

“Then, why are you doing this? The scary miko will come and hunt you down, you know?”

"That barkeep gave me hell the last time I came here; I decided to give him his long overdue bill." She sighed. "And scary Miko, she's too busy doing unimportant things."

“You’ve destroyed his shop now that ought to be enough, besides… Wouldn’t it be more fun if we hanged him by his pants on the tree in front of that book store?” The girl smiled looking at the big tree standing imposingly in front of Suzunaan.

"I will do that now, but first, reveal yourself. I'm sure we could get along rather nicely~"

The satori paced casually till she was in front of Seija. “Are you sure I’m not just a figment of your imagination?” She made her presence known, smiling cheerfully at Seija, her eyes brimming with attentiveness and curiosity. “Like, an imaginary friend or something?”

"Oh, so you’re the being who tells me to do what I do?" She smirked at the Satori, then realizing that she slowly appeared in front of her and the biggest shock came to her. "Hey, you're that girl who's clothes I wore once."

“You wore my clothes?” The girl asked as her lips went round with surprise. “And my sister didn’t kill you for it? Ahahaha, you’re even more interesting than you seemed~!” A bright grin formed in her features.

"Oh, I got a scolding from you sis-" She looked, she was gob smacked as it slowly hit her. "You're Satori's sister?!!"

“Of course, silly! Didn’t you just say you wore my clothes?” She chuckled cheerfully.

"Yeah. By the way, your clothes are very nice." She smiled as she proudly showed off her gothic clothing, the barkeep looked up at Seija, barley remaining awake.

“Huh?” Koishi tilted her head slightly, maintaining her smile. “But those aren’t mine. Those are my sister’s. You know, when she went through her phase.” She moved her hands explicatively. “She went through this really weird phase where she only read tragedy books and there was this strange one with pictures from the outside that had a girl called Black Rabbit or something, and since that girl had gothic clothes, she kinda started obsessing about it.” She approached Seija and whispered conspiringly in her ear. “There was this time me and Orin-chan entered her room as she was wearing bunny ears, it was awkward for everyone involved. I think that book is also the reason why she likes tea so much.” The satori stepped back. “Anyway, it’s kind of a taboo issue we never mention around her, ahahaha!”

"Your sister goes through some weird ass phases." Seija sighed as she spoke to the mysterious satori that appeared. "Also, have you heard of personal space? I'd rather have you facing me."

“Personal space?” Koishi tilted her head in thought, pondering for a few seconds. “Can’t say I have! My sister never taught me about that~!” She answered cheerfully, disregarding the importance of people’s personal bubbles.

"Your sister must be a terrible role model then, I would of thought she'd teach you about personal space." She sighed, she felt like a single mother; looking after a child she never knew about.

“Ahaha, not really! My sister is terrible with social interactions!” Putting her index finger on her chin, she smiled. “She also has a think for silky looking hairs, she can’t help but touch them. I never got it but last time I tried doing that, people thought I was creepy!”

"She also has a tendency of chatting to objects, During my stay, I found her chatting to a tea pot; it was crazy I tell you!" She chuckled, she had pulled a lie from the depths of the brain, now she hoped that Koishi would believe it.

“Really?” The girl was wearing a weird expression now. “That’s a new one…” There was a mix of worry and confusion in her features but she quickly shook it off. “Anyway, should we hang the human on the tree? I heard the do this sort of things during winter on the outside, tree decorating.”

"I guess we have to now.... Hey, go and get a rope or something, I'll drag him!" She bent down, slumping the unfortunate victim onto her shoulder, she turned back seeing the crowd nodding their heads and returning to their ordinary lives.

“We don’t need a rope, we can grab him, fly up and hang him by the pants.” The girl commented, looking up and deciding in which branch he’d look better. “Maybe atop of the tree, like a beautiful star!”

She smiled at the girl, and nodded; she slowly flew up to the tip of the tree. "Sorry, I hope ya love your underwear showing but..." She grabbed his underwear, hanging it around the tree, however they spilt just as Seija let go, he fell from the top, smashing into leaves and trees and smashing face first into the floor. "Sorry!"

“Aww, it fell!”

“Huh…. Excuse me,” A confused voice ringed and Koishi turned to see a polite looking girl wearing a yellow apron in front of the old library. “what are you doing?”

"Awww crap, it's the ordinary folk uprising!" She quickly hid behind Koishi.

The girl whose reddish brown hair whipped slightly in the wind looked awkwardly as the taller youkai tried to hide herself behind the shorter one. She smiled awkwardly, hoping that would show she meant no harm. “No, no, I don’t plan to fight anyone! It’s just that it was so loud outside that I---“

“Ah! What’s that thing?” The shorter girl interrupted, apparently finding something of interest happening inside the library and quickly hopping her way inside.

“Oh, please, wait! If you’ve found a book you’re interested in I can help you!” Following the youkai, she silently prayed that the girl with an apparent lack of attention span didn’t touch anything valuable.


Seija sighed. "Wait for me!" And she quickly followed after the two.

Collab with the cat

---

After a few minutes of silence, the blonde witch closed the book she was looking at. "So, Ms.Ibaraki..." she looked at the hermit with a suspicious look." Those chignon buns on your head... Do you wear them because you like them, or is there some sort of reason behind it? I'm rather curious." she said, with a smile.

“Do you need a reason to be fashionable?” Kasen replied, a bit of perspiration forming on her forehead.

"No, not at all. Like I said, I was just curious." she said, before getting close to Kasen and poking one of her buns. "The thing is. To me you seem to be quite the special hermit, Ms.Ibaraki. So, maybe, just maybe, you were hiding something beneath those buns." Ellen shrugged. "But maybe it's just me being weird and you're just a weird human that likes to do hermit stuff." she turned around and started to pet her cat, who was sitting on top of a pile of random objects.

“I’m weird. That much I can’t deny.” The hermit replied with a sigh, looking at Flandre’s sleeping form. “What I am… not even I can say for sure. You lose something and you keep searching for it, always searching.” Kasen sat down on the ground, back supported against the bed as particles of dust danced through the air. “And when you come to, you realize you’ve transformed into something else you can’t quite define because you were seeing nothing else in front of you but the goal.” Her eyes were cast on her hands. “What am I, really?”
Something in her tone said that question was being asked more to herself than the blond witch in front of her.

A weak croak on the bed woke Kasen up from her reverie and she quickly stood up, raising yet another cloud of dust. “Kume! How are you feeling?” The hermit smiled, petting the eagle gingerly. “That’s good to hear.” She replied as the bird croaked again. “Listen, have you found Marisa or…”

She looked at Ellen. “’The Seven Colored Puppeteer was near a big house in ruins by the lakeside.’”

Ellen crossed her arms. "I think Kana told me about that house before. Apparently, some ghosts live there. Anything about that Marisa girl?"

Kasen nodded negatively. “No news about Marisa, but…” Her eyes shifted to the cabinet with the potions. “If she was in such a hurry, chances are she went after Alice.”

Ellen sighed. "Well. Time to go back to the cold outside. I swear I hate winter..." she looked at the young vampire. "Shall we wake her up or...?"

"If we lose too much time here, we might end up missing them again." Kasen shook Flandre lightly, speaking softly. "Hey, sleepy head, wake up, we have leads."

The young scarlet sister opened her eyes slowly and grumbled. "Mmrgh... Have you found something out...?" she said, rubbing her eyes.

The hermit nodded. “Kume spotted Alice near the Ruined Mansion. It’s likely that Marisa went after her as well.”

Flandre opened her eyes wide and blinked a few times. "Then just what are we waiting for?! Let's get to that mansion!" she jumped off the bed and hurried outside the house.

The blonde witch sighed. "So hyperactive... Does she even know where that mansion is?"

Seconds later, the vampire entered the house again, head lowered in shame. "Uh... Do any of you two know the way...?"

Kasen sighed. “It’s near the Misty Lake, close to your home.” She looked at Kume with a smile. “Thanks for the good work, I’ll give you a treat later.” Making a movement with her hand, a pitch black gap opened under the bird and swallowed it.

"Misty Lake...? Oh. You mean that lake full with fairies? Fine then! I'm going ahead!" Flan said, leaving the house quickly seconds after.

Ellen looked at the spot where the bird had been resting. "Will you ever stop picking my curiosity, Ms.Hermit~?"

Chuckling, the hermit looked at the blond witch with a teasing smile. “Maybe. Are you interested in becoming my apprentice?”

The witch giggled. "No, thank you. You would have enough with tutoring Flan anyway..." she made a sign, and Sokrates jumped back to her shoulder. "Because you are planning on tutoring her, right?" the witch said, with a smile.

She chuckled once again. “I think I might have underestimated your keen senses.” A smile graced Kasen’s featured. “Is it that obvious?”

Ellen crossed her arms. "She seems to look up to you. That Marisa girl as well. I wonder if that hyperactiveness of her is only because she wants to make you proud...?" she sighed. "Vampires are well known to use blood -their own food- as magic catalysts. If properly trained, blood magic can become a type of magic that rivals the power of the one used by the ancient mages. If used incorrectly... Well. Blood magic can have quite harsh requirements for casting." the witch shook her head. "Sorry, I'm just rambling. I don't want to bore you."

“You’re not boring me. There’s hardly anything boring about knowledge.” Her hand stopped on her chin. “Blood magic, huh? I’m sure Marisa wouldn’t mind being a mentor and teach her the basics of magic. For all the carefree attitudes she has, she can be level-headed when she’s being serious. She would make for that kind of lighthearted, eccentric teacher every student likes. That’s an interesting prospect, though I do believe she needs to learn how to control her powers first. Adding fire to gunpowder, in this state, would end up in nothing more than an explosion.”

Kasen walked to the broken door. “As for looking up to me, I’m not quite sure if that’s the case. We’ve barely know each other.” She smiled. “She is a very likeable kid, though. I would love to get to know her better and guide her in whatever I can.” Her eyes looked down in thought, her voice sounding more serious. “But I agree when you say she wants to prove something. I think it’s due to have been estranged by her sister. Alone in a room, ignored as a meaningless and useless existence, locked away from everyone like some sort of monster.” She furrowed her brows. “That pisses me off. I wish I had a chance to punch her sister.”

"Maybe you should mention that possibility to both of them once we get rid of Marisa's sigil."

Ellen lowered her head. "She had such a bad life, huh...? Her sister must be such a great person." she said with a sarcastic tone. "You know, in the outside world there were these events called 'witch hunts'. People who were known to use magic were hunted down and burned in stakes. All because our arts defied the will of their almighty god." the witch sighed. "I know a few things about being treated like a monster. I still have nightmares regarding that."


Something in the witch’s word picked up Kasen’s attention, her brows arched. “What do you mean ‘I know a few things about being treated like a monster’? You’re from the outside?” Then something struck her. “Wait… you’re remembering it.”

Ellen raised her head and smiled. "'Ellen' is a name of Greek origin, you know. Yeah, I'm from the outside world. For that matter, I'm probably around 500 years old." she sighed. "The rest of my memory is still blank. But the witch hunts are something I could never forget. No matter how much I tried." Sokrates started licking her owner's face. "Self-inflicted curse. That's how I lost my memory."

Kasen crossed her arms. “You tried to forget about them and instead, you ended up forgetting everything but that.” She closed her eyes. “And then you ended up here… huh? Witch hunts in west, youkai extermination in the east. Religion played an important part in both. Humans are really…” She trailed off. “Even though witches were revered for their knowledge in herbs and medicine, it only took a god to change the whole social paradigm. It’s hard to believe that Gensokyo is the land with no common-sense.”

Ellen sighed. "I always found it somewhat funny. Gensokyo is a land with such a diverse amount of people... For the most part, almost everyone living here would be classified as monsters. And yet... We're probably more civilized than those in the outside world." she giggled. "Wars were common back in the day, and it was mainly because some random prince wanted some land to gift to his girlfriend or something like that. Not that I ever cared." she petted Sokrates.

"... Everyone back home would probably be dead at this point. Sokrates and I are the only ones that remain alive, and that's because I casted a spell that would stop us from growing old. That was soon after arriving to Gensokyo." she smiled. "After that, I just wandered around and did whatever I could. I remember this time there was some sort of tournament on this Hypervessel Time thingy." she stopped, her eyes opening wide. "Wait..."

Making Seija and Koishi a team was the best idea ever -2015



Seija quickly ran through the crowded streets, following the short human who was in turn running after a short satori. "DAMN IT YOU TWO! WAIT UP!"

In the middle of a myriad of dusty tomes and leather covered books, was a paper one, held together by thin strings as per usual when you’re a Gensokyo inhabitant, looking completely ordinary to the untrained eye but it seems that it was strange enough to catch the satori’s attention.

“There’s something strange coming out of this book!” The girl pipped excitedly, but before her extended arm touched the book, the human girl carefully, yet firmly, held her hand in place.

“Please… Miss, there’s a lot more interesting books around! That one is a little…”

Koishi raised her brows, presumably pondering her choices.

"Is this where you keep your naked pictures of yourself?" Seija causally remarked as she saw the young librarian becoming flustered by it. "It's only a book."

“Ooh~! Naked pictures!” Koishi covered her mouth with her oversized sleeves, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “My sister always told me that only perverts keep naked pictures of themselves. Naughty, naughty~!”

“What… No, no! That’s not it! That’s not it at all!” The girl looked flustered, taken aback by that comment she wasn’t expecting.

"Then allow us to open the fricking book!" Seija walked up to the girl, she then lunged out, going to grab her by the neck. "I will never obey your bullshit rules, now let us open the book!"

With a surprised squeak, Kosuzu stumbled back, unable to dodge Seija, but Koishi managed to stop the amanojaku’s hand in place by holding it with both hands as if Seija’s arm was a tree branch. With a smile, the satori looked at Seija. “We don’t need to hurt her, we just need to take the book!” Her eyes fell on the girl. “She seems like a nice person, we shouldn’t hurt nice people, or…” She hopped a little, hanging on Seija’s arm, swinging lightly. The little girl was incredibly light. “Do you hate humans?”

"Then take the freaking book. And Koishi, let go!" She sighed, looking at the startled Kosuzu. "And to answer your question; I don't hate humans.
I just want to be edgy.

“Tha… that book…” Kosuzu started, getting back to her feet, the shock apparently disappearing into thin air and being replaced by a serious expression. “It’s dangerous for those who aren’t trained to handle them. Some of these books enclose—“

“Oooh!” Koishi exclaimed as two figures started materializing in front of her, they were tall and bulky, and by the silhouette you could see they were clasping some sort of spears.

“Uh-oh…”

"At least it's not your secret stash of hentai..." She saw the spears, and she gulped, looking at Koishi and then said. "Good grief."

“They can be our new friends!” The satori commented cheerfully, looking at the two fully materialized humanoid creatures: one with an ox-head and another with a horse head, each of them wearing armor and wielding a halberd and a spear, respectively.

“Oh no… I should’ve sealed it properly, I should’ve…” The girl continued mumbling behind the other two as the creatures looked menacingly at the little girl in front of them.

"Koishi, I wouldn't be friends with them, they'd rather gut you with their spears and halberd." She then stood in front of Koishi; smirking at the two. "Oi, book lady, are these things real?"

“Quite… That’s Gozu and Mezu, they’re two underground guardians. They’re dange---“

“Underground?” Koishi asked, a finger on her chin. “I’ve never seen them before…”

“Not Gensokyo’s underground they’re…” Kosuzu looked at Seija with pleading eyes. “Can we please lure them outside? I don’t want them to destroy the library, please?”

"Don't worry! They won't do much damage!"

“No, you don’t understand! If more books get damaged, the chances of releasing even more youkai is very big! Please, lure them outside!” The girl pleaded.

Normally, Kosuzu wouldn’t be as worried, she could always count on Miss Reimu to take care of problems like this, or even Miss Marisa, but neither of them were around and now she had to face this situation with two youkai who didn’t care or were ignorant to the consequences a complete destruction of her library would bring.

Seija looked at the panicked Kosuzu and struck a Marisa like pose, with the peace sign and she yelled "Yare yare da~ze!" She then conjured a small arrow and shot it at the halberd wielding beast. "Oi, ugly; over here!"

Koishi pointed at Seija, smiling. “Aaha, I got that reference!” She kicked the spear wielding one, her expression changing to a semi-bored, semi-annoyed one. “Hey, you annoying small-fries…” And she stretched her arm at them as if she was pointing a gohei. “Surrender now or I’ll smack you in your ugly mug with my Hakurei orb!”

The small librarian watched as both creatures started giving chase to the other two youkai, menacingly glaring at them as they prepared their weapons for battle, she could feel a trail of cold sweat running down her neck. ‘I don’t even know what’s happening anymore…’

Seija began to run as the halberd one was giving chase; she kicked off a wall, her black shoe flew off, smacking him in the face. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I shoe you by mistake?"

With quicker reflexes than expected from a bookworm type, Kosuzu dove to the ground, catching the books flying off from Seija’s leap, some with her hands, “Please be caref—agh!” some with her face.

The halberd creature stumbled back, rubbing its face angrily. “You dirty amanojaku, I’ll cut you in half!” It swung his weapon at Seija in a circular motion, attempting to loop her head off.

On the farthest part of the room, the spear creature was confusedly looking for the girl that had been in front of it just seconds ago, it groaned with frustration. “Where are you, brat?!”


“You can’t see me because you’re too slow!” The girl said from behind him as she was jumping in mid-air, the perfect replica of Reimu’s conceited smirk plastered on her face. “Divine arts! Sky-Conquering Hakurei Kick!” And both her feet hit the creature full force, making it keel, clumsily, forward.

Seija smirked, the halberd cut a single strand of her hair as she threw her head backward, narrowly avoid the halberd. "You're too slow!" She clapped her hands once as arrows began to appear in her hands. "ARROW SIGN, ARROW SPARK!" She screamed at the tops of her lungs as a multitude of arrows of all colours flew at the beast's abdomen, chest and neck.

"You're already dead da~ze!" She turned away from the creature.

The halberd creature slumped forward with a thud, connecting heavily with the ground.

The spear creature, on the other hand, turned at the girl in time to see her holding a spell card between her fingers. “Youkai must be crushed by humans.”

Without a second to spare, the creature stabbed at the satori in a flash, but the girl dodged, easily dancing away from it with a twirl, she chuckled. “It is my destiny.” Using her hand for leverage, she propped herself up onto the spear, standing on it lightly as if she was a feather. “So I will continue to crush youkai.” And she stretched her hand dramatically, calling the spell card in a serious voice, a determined expression on her face. “Barrier Sign! Philosophy of a Dirt Poor Miko!” A barrier of yellow orbs of light surrounded them in a crisscross pattern, moving slowly around as smudges that looked like badly painted yen coins appeared here and there, slowly constricting around the creature that tried to struggle against them to no avail. The orbs stopped moving converged together, promptly zipping to the spear wielding youkai, exploding with a loud bang of color.

Koishi jumped from the explosion and looked at Kosuzu with a smug expression. “I expect lots of donations from this service.”

Kosuzu looked aghast to both of the youkai for a few seconds, only getting snapped back to reality as the creatures started turning into a black smoke. She hurriedly grabbed the book that had previously grabbed the little satori’s attention and opened it, successfully trapping the smoke inside. Closing the book heavily, she returned her confused look to the youkai.
"I told ya we wouldn't damage your books, you worry too much." She smiled, her arms were on the back of her head now, she sighed, looking at Kosuzu. "Why do you carry around such dangerous books with you?"

With a relieved sigh, the librarian sealed the book and put it back into its rightful place. “I usually have no problems… alright, sometimes I do have problems dealing with them, but I can’t help it.” She looked back at Seija. “Demon books are so interesting to read! You learn about sealed youkai, youkai that existed on the Outside World but didn’t make it to Gensokyo, it’s truly fascinating!” The girl’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Yeah, that was reaaally interesting and fun!” Koishi said with a wave of her arms to emphasize the amount of fun she had. She paused for a few seconds, turned around to another shelf. “Let’s do it again~!”

Seija went to grab Koishi's hand. "Let’s not do that again; we could get the shrine maiden on our asses. I don't fancy running again."

“Aww…” The little youkai looked disappointed but then she looked at Seija. “I’m hungry, let’s go eat something.”

"You're paying, you clearly have enough money to buy some decent grub..." She looked at Kosuzu. "Oi Midget, you want anything to eat?"

On the other side of the room, Kosuzu tried not to have a nervous breakdown. “No, thank you… I’m quite alright…”

"Anyway Koishi, let’s leave her be, we'll be back."

“Alright!” She turned at Kosuzu and waved as she walked away. “Hasta la vista, Miss librarian lady!”

‘“We’ll be back”?’ The little librarian felt a chill running down her spine. She slowly approached her desk and added a post scriptum to the letter she had been writing.“Miss Satori, I was just wondering… How does one control your sister and her amanojaku friend?”

Continue the collab with the Blazing Kitty of Astronomy.

---

The witch took the magician’s hand without a sound and stood up. Always the loudest and rowdiest, uncouth little thing that never knew quiet, yet, the lack of words from the puppet master reflected itself on the shorter girl, sucking away any of her own.

Thoughts flooded her mind and her heart hurt despite her belief that Alice rejecting her with harsh words definitely would hurt more than silence.

Golden orbs looked down to the paper on her hand, completely lost in a world other than that one.

“Marisa!” A bark that she had heard so many times before.

“Y-yes?” Hurriedly, the girl raised her head from the scroll she had, absent-mindedly, stared at for long enough a time for her master to take notice that she was looking at it without actually seeing it.

A defeated sigh echoed in the wooden house as the evil spirit approached her and glared at her intently.

Cold, but very physical for a ghost, two hands clasped each of her cheek. “Focus!”

The little girl said nothing, her eyes blinked slowly staring at the green ones in front of her. How curious it was, that ghost eyes shimmered as brightly as human ones.

“You’re all over the place. Your brain keeps filling itself with thoughts and theoretic hypothesis and you get so lost in all those possibilities that in the end you learn nothing, you test nothing and you make no progress in the slightest. Filter your mind and focus on the task at hand. One theorem is always more relevant than the other.”

Theories, calculations and hypothesis, trial and error, now, then and after. Such was the life of a magician. Testing and researching, time and time again, confirming and debunking myths and failed postulates. Magic, such as science, was intricate and complex, yet, in nature, mathematical. If something went awry, just like a clock, there was sure to be a little cog missing for it to tick. One would certainly spend time researching which piece of clockwork was absent – was it the canon pinion? The locking wheel? Or maybe the chime pin barrel? – but in the end, after further analysis, one would replace the piece and the clock would finally move, ticking and tacking endlessly until the next tiny piece vanished.

There were things that didn’t work like magic or science and those were always the kind of topics Marisa struggled to grasp and make sense of. Love had to be the first place in her list now. The very same thing she had chosen as reagent to her magic.

Marisa Kirisame, the wild, nonsense and carefree human magician that never planned ahead, chaotic as the universe.

She nodded negatively at her past self, wondering what she had been thinking back then - a memory that currently eluded her. Now, however, she had realized something. She had realized that love was…

‘Like Mira Ceti.’

300 light years away, always present in the sky but not always seen. Vanishing from the eye of humans and youkai alike, seemingly for ages, and then making its light known, out of the blue, sometimes pulsating so brightly to the point it altered the whole aspect of the Cetus constellation.

Only to vanish again, as if snuffed away by a strong wind.
A never ending circle.

"Focus!"

Marisa shook her head as if shaking herself off and then looked at the magician in front of her.

“Thanks, but you shouldn’t be using your magic, you were knocked out of cold a while ago. Scared the soul outta me ze.” She commented, her eyes quickly resuming her downward glance as she searched for the other ripped pages on the ground, collecting them and her notebook. “I’m glad to see you up and about though. Even gladder to see you not getting on my case for once.” The witch added jokingly.

Now, it was time for Stella Mira to rest and the sky to grow a little darker.

“I looked all over for you, thought you had gotten eaten by Yuuka or something.”

She held the pages closer to her hakkero, the water quickly evaporating from them. That one she had been clasping so nervously before was put in the middle of the notebook without a glance of hesitation, and her tired eyes started scanning the remaining ones, free hand idly playing with one of the vials on her belt while her weary mind tried to clasp at the memory of what had been written before she had slipped into unconsciousness. (*)

---

How quiet she was, how plain, such memories falling on top of her were transient and faint, a mere swallow to reality’s hawk. Through this curtain of tears someone drew under her eyelids, flashing in crimson leaning towards black, her eyes saw all but the future.

“Yuuka, hm. I did see her before.”

Bright red hairband glistening with salty water drops from a source unknown, her hands put on the top of her hair that had long become a mess.

“Probably she has caused a fiasco by now.”

That smile halted her breath, the petal that lived on the corner of her lips, was it always so dark, so wilted?

“Yuuka causing trouble… What else is on the news?” Marisa rubbed her temples in slight frustration. “She was at Chireiden when I woke up…” And that reminded her of something, something that had bothered for a long time. “Alice, you…” Golden eyes met blue ones without hesitation and then widened slightly in surprise. “Oi… Have you been crying?”

What was the reason for that, she didn’t know and she honestly was too afraid to ask. What ifs flooded her head but she ignored them and did what she did best.

“I would ask why you were crying…” Her eyes shifted to the side, a smirk forming on her features and sing-song, mocking tone replacing her seriousness . “But you’ve been a crybaby ever since I met you, so it’s not really surprising you’re crying for no good reason.”

Her face was like a board when she produced those monochrome words.

“You’re right, I don’t cry for my diary, no.”

Golden eyes looked genuinely surprised now. “You keep a diary? Wow.” Her smirk grew bigger. “Taking into consideration you’re an anti-social semi-hikikomori, I’m kinda curious about what you write there.”

She coughed and then did her best Alice voice impersonation. "Dear diary, today I made another doll. Today I decided to be extra adventurous and give the new doll red hair. ...It was a scary experience, I don't think I'll ever repeat it."

"Uh huh. Everything you say..."

"...pretty golden silky braid."

Marisa frowned at the last comment, a perplexed expression on her face. This time, her voice sounded serious. “Alice, are you feeling alright?”

For one reason or another, the sky seemed to rise higher as it cleared beyond what their eyes may see, as she turned her back around the moment she lifted her footsteps.

The eyes of that one were still glistening behind her eyelids.

“It’s all right, Marisa.”

It's alright.

The witch’s frown only grew bigger. She put her hands on the other one’s shoulders and forced her to sit down.

“No, it’s not alright. You’re acting strange.”

Stepping back, she murmured something under her breath and a black magic circle formed under Alice. It started moving, the top part counter-clockwise as opposed to the lower bit. It seemingly had no effect, to the naked eye.

“I don’t know exactly what kind of curse it was, but this should help a bit. Just… stay there.” She spared Alice another glance and moved to her notebook again, sitting down next to it, sighing tiredly.

This Incident had to be solved quickly.

Eyes running through torn pages and pages still safely attached to the old notebook, Marisa re-read what her own hands had written and what her own mind had forgotten. Whatever it was, it was getting worse. It was confusing to her why the memories she wanted to be clear as the morning sky were shrouded in darkness while those she wanted to push away with all her might stubbornly resurfaced, like a cork in the middle of a stormy sea.

Her hands crumpled the thick pieces of paper slightly as her exhausted being started to shut down both physically and mentally. She was thankful her wounds didn’t hurt as much, Alice’s magic had taken away the nasty effects of the bought time, but her human body still needed rest. A word she had been ignoring for a while now and it was starting to show.

Removing her soaking went trench coat from her, she spread it close to the furnace, hoping for it to be dry when they stepped out of the cave.
Heavily, her back laid against the wall, her shoulders slumping down and her eyes closing as she sighed tiredly.

There was no more need for recklessness, Alice was safe –e even if acting a bit off- and surely, there was no harm in postponing whatever she had been postponing till then for a few more hours, right?

Outside, she could hear the winds howling with increased vigor, the rain pouring down on the trees. But inside, she could hear the gentle burning of her hakkero, its warmth kissing her skin and lulling her.

“The storm is going to get worse, there’s no point in leaving now and freeze to death.” She commented as she semi-opened her eyes. “Let’s use this time to get some rest.”

Fluffing her hat, she put it on the ground and laid down herself, using it as a makeshift pillow. The ground under her was hard and cold but the simple fact she was laying down and taking some time to sleep was comforting enough to ignore everything else.

“’Night, Alice.”

---

Collab with The Fairy

---

The hermit’s brows were knitted together in thought as she repeated to herself. “’Hypervessel time thingy’?” And her eyes raised confusedly back at the witch’s face as her eyes went wide, apparently reaching a conclusion that Kasen didn’t seem to quite follow.

Ellen rubbed her chin. "On that hypervessel thing... I fought several people. One of them was an evil spirit. She seemed to be powered up by the night, and well... She didn't have a very nice face, to put it simply. If I remember correctly... she could also use magic. I don't remember if it was dark magic or whatever but... She was powerful, that much I know." Ellen sighed, a worried look on her face. "On the 7th match, I fought that spirit's pupil. At that point, I got to know that that spirit was trying to make the night in Gensokyo go on forever, so that she would remain powerful at all times and that way she would be able to achieve revenge."

The witch fell silent.

Kasen looked at her confusedly, still trying to grasp Ellen’s train of thought. “Where exactly are you trying to say? That that evil spirit is the culprit?”

The witch shrugged. "It's a possibility. Regardless, whether is that woman the culprit or not, it might be a good idea to ask her. Maybe we'll figure out something..."

“But… Remilia was the one behind the red mist covering the sun. As far as we know, the culprit only wants to suck life-essence from people.” Kasen replied, a hand on her chin in thought.

“Her pupil, huh?” Kasen scratched her head with a defeated sigh. “That means, yet another ‘missing in action’ person we need to find.”

"I wouldn't worry about that, little hermit. You may already know the pupil in question, and where she is~" the witch said, with a giggle. "Regardless... Don't you think we should go after Flan? Before she gets in trouble, I mean."

“Yeah.” The hermit replied, making her way outside. “I hope she hasn’t run into trouble already.”

The little vampire arrived in front of the manor, or at least, what was left of it. The few remains of the manor were only a small flame at this point. Upon seeing this, Flandre's eyes widened. 'No... Don't tell me that she...' she got near the ashes of what had been burned, and screamed as loud as she could: "Marisa?! Please tell me you're there!!" but no answer was given. The young scarlet sister searched through the remains, hoping to find something that would tell her that the witch she was searching for had not been burned alive.

After a few minutes, Kasen arrived to the scene. Despite the rain the smell of burned wood was intoxicating. In front of her stood the Prismriver mansion, now burnt into ashes.
That heavy feeling, corrupted with dark magic emanating from the debris of the ashes were only too obvious for the hermit. She clenched her bandaged hand and approached Flandre. “Flandre, stay away from this place.”

Ellen and Sokrates got to place just after Kasen. "Phew... What happened here...?"

Flandre turned back to Kasen. "What do you mean, stay away?! I need to see if Marisa is still alive or-- No, she must be alive. I just need to find out where she went!! What's so bad about this place anyway, it's already burned to the ground!" the young vampire ignored the rain that fell on her and made her skin burn, quite literally. She was too focused on finding Marisa to care about that.
“You’re hurting yourself!” The hermit moved her bandaged arm, making it detach itself from her arm and shielding Flandre from the rain as it grew bigger. “She wasn’t burned alive! Calm down!” Her voice was stern and so were her eyes.

"I don't care!! How do you even know she's still alive, anyway?!" her eyes were glittering with tears, and she looked quite angry at the same time. "If she was in there, then she probably..." the vampire lowered her head. She didn't want to believe it.

“Because the smell of burnt flesh would be the first thing you’d smell if that was true.” She answered, eyes devoid of any semblance of emotion. They searched around for clues, shifting from side to side. “And that is strong enough a smell for you to never forget it.”

"... Fine." She looked away from Kasen. "If she's alive, where is she, then? She can't have suddenly vanished..."

“You are such a depressing bunch… Nothing interesting to observe at all.” A coy voice came from atop of them, followed by an elegant chuckle.

Flandre looked upwards, only to find the familiar sight of the gap youkai. "What do you want from us... And why were you spying on us?!"

Ellen looked upwards as well. "Hey... I've seen you before on the newspaper... You're that gap hag youkai, aren't you?" she said, with a smile.

A dangerous glint was present in Yukari’s eyes as she heard the word ‘hag’, despite her smile remaining unwavering. “’Hag’, you say… It seems like I have to discipline a certain tengu again, fufu.” She looked slyly at Flandre. “It seems you’ve returned from Makai safe and sound. How did it go?”

Flandre crossed her arms and looked at the youkai, angrily. "Well, we met Shinki, and she gave us a book to help us get rid of Marisa's sigil and how to weaken the Ripper a little... I guess we didn't come out empty-handed... So thank you."

“Always the helpful woman, that Shinki.” She smiled. “I’m glad my assistance was of service. But I’m afraid the time for you to pay me back has come.”
Flandre scratched her neck. "Uh... I know that I did say that I wouldn't mind repaying you, but... Can it be at some other point...? I kind of want to find Marisa as soon as possible, so..."

Fan covering her sly smile, Yukari chuckled as her eyes lingered on Flandre. “Marisa is safe. I won’t say she’s exactly fine but she’s safe. It would also be highly inappropriate if you barged in on her and Alice right now.”

Kasen choked a cough and looked quietly at the youkai with big, wide eyes.

The scarlet sister looked at Yukari with narrowed eyes. "If we help you on whatever it is you want... Will you take us to Marisa whenever it's done?"

"Sure, why not. If she doesn't run off somewhere else, not that one can easily escape my watchful eyes." Another sly chuckle.

Flandre sighed. "Did anyone ever tell you that you're kind of creepy...? But fine, what do you want us to do?"

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.” Was all the gap youkai had as reply.