// somewhere… //

“So… he’s still alive.”

“Yes, sir. All reports are pointed to him living in exile in the sealed land.”

“How can that be possible? The Soviet Red Army is not supposed to exist in modern days.”

“That’s what I first thought, sir, but he lives. In fact, he stumbled across the expeditionary team and led an attack on them.”

“He fought them?”

“Yes, sir, with the help of his… non-human team. I don’t want to give him credits, sir, but he… he completely annihilated our troops.”

“Impossible. Our technology’s supposed to be superior to that of Earthlings.”

I think I'm doing a pretty good job at not panicking.

When you consider how quickly and how thoroughly everything went off the rails, you could excuse me if I was panicking a bit.

But I'm not.

Seriously.

Instead of panicking, I'm just going to calmly try to assess the situation. Now that I saw that girl finally leave the area, I feel like I can head back into camp without getting danmaku'd or magic'd or whatever'd to death. I'll think about what lead up to this point while I'm heading back, then decide what to do from there. I will behave properly like rational military mind. I will not panic.

So initially, I was out checking on the mechanical purification spider probe to make sure it was still doing its purifying thing. On the way back down the mountain I decided to take some time away from camp to make some mochi for the other rabbits. I do that from time to time. I have my mallet, so I might as well do something productive with it. Everybody likes it and I like to keep morale up if I can. Suddenly out of nowhere I was challenged to a duel. I tried to act tough and do my job, but honestly I wasn't that hopeful about it. Danmaku is hard. I still haven't really got my head around using spell cards, and my power is unexpectedly bad for it.

I have various excuses for it, but they don't change the fact that I got trashed. There isn't really much of a better way to say it, though losing wasn't as bad as I had expected. It did stop me from making the mochi, which I was sad about, but otherwise it's better than getting blown up or shot with actual weapons. I guess these spell card rules that we're supposed to follow for some reason do make losing much nicer than some of the horror stories I've heard from the Lunar War. It did kind of leave me in an awkward situation though. I couldn't exactly head back to camp along with her when I lost. After I used my comms to tell the others she was coming I was just stuck outside stressing out until she was done doing whatever she thought was necessary to make us stop purifying the earth. Us rabbits don't really care that much about puri

You awaken to the cries of cicadas, an indication of the blistering day to come.
Rolling out of your sweat-soaked futon, you drowsily push the wooden window open, exposing your
bosom to the sun and allowing the fetid air of your room to escape. The gardens stretch out in front
of you, the small river glistens in the morning light as a mercifully cool breeze wafts lazily
through the window.
During a pause in the cicada's song, you hear the door to the hall slam shut.

"My apologies Ojou-sama." whispers a voice from behind you. "I had not realized you had awoken."

"Sorry Akane." You reply, stretching in a vain attempt to dispel your drowsiness as you turn to
face the servant. "I couldn't hear you over that racket."

"You need not apologize Ojou-sama." she replied, head pressed against the tatami mats with a bundle
of clothing to her side.

Tewi is hungry.

She is holding a carrot.

Reisen is carrying a large stack of boxes and has her back turned.


[] Eat Carrot and be Full Bunny.
[] Chuck Carrot at Big Bunny.


--------

I said I would, and I did.

Scanning...

Probable detected by [COBRA DANE] @ 22:17:05 GMT @ .082 degrees/horizon, est. slant range 16,215,034m.

Interrogating bogey...

Identifier code for ROCINATE-01 received by [MILSTAR-03 UHF] @ 22:17:38 GMT. Attempting contact...

Link established.

>EXIT NODE: DSCS-III-04
>TIGHTBEAM 28.27GHZ @ 153mbps
>ROCINATE-01 initial ping: 4/4 packets verified.

Authentication complete - telemetry datalink begun at 22:18:17 GMT:

So. New thread. I was gonna write a lot hating the new image, but what-the-fuck-ever, let's move on.

To more waiting around, I guess.
------

[x] Look for real food, no way that abomination the "good doctor" gave was actually food everyone within ate; never mind the stereotypes on "hospital food".

…That was some real bullshit, what she just pulled; I can’t believe any self-respecting doctor would have an ass like that. Be an ass like that. Sure, it was all in good fun except for that part where I was coerced into obligatory contractual labor, and the part where a man’s hunger is no joke, but I can understand that; I can be sympathetic. A private hospital like this, ritzy and generous all at once, it probably needs to take advantage of any fiscally-sound opportunities it can get. I get that!

There’s just one little thing I can’t quite wrap my mind around: why am I still sitting here in this sort of situation? Like hell I’ll just politely wait around and starve.

With the faint groaning of – couldn’t be springs could it, I mean the bed’s a bit too thin for springs – something and the soft clap of bare feet onto cold tile, I’m standing confidently on my own two legs again for the first time in… too long. Deep breaths now, in and out – breathe in, good; breathe out – no nausea, no vertigo, and no loss of balance. The world doesn’t feel as though it’s been tilted on its side.

One step… Two steps, three steps…

Where are we?

What? Oh, haven’t the foggiest, my dear. But then, regaining consciousness somewhere strange is nothing new, hmm?

This time is different. There’s a breeze.

Oh, so there is. It’s wonderful. Where do you suppose we are?

I just asked you that. You’re the one with control.

So you did. Right, just a moment.

I open one pair of eyes, then the other. Several blurry seconds later, they adjust to the light. We seem to be on our side, else gravity isn’t working here. The sky is blue, the clouds wispy. All around are tall, tube-like plants. The ground is…

Ah…

Well it's been a while since I've wanted to write something and after many ideas this one won out. For the most part it's meant to be a semi-serious story. In terms of updates I'm not really sure how often I will be getting around to this but I will attempt to keep it regular. Originally I had intended to draw something for each of the updates but I've decided against that and will instead do for the ones that I deem important.

Overall the main goal is for both the readers and I to enjoy creating this tale together.

----

Vividly, memories are being called one by one. Segments of senses assorted seemingly random come together creating short windows of the past. Childhood, family gatherings, accomplishments, and even seemingly pointless events like eating out one night, they merge together to flow through your mind. Each of them as real as the next, visions and sensations that one could easily lose themselves in. Yes, it would be nice if one could live on dreams and in the past.

However, these feelings are short lived as reality slowly creeps its way back in. Those reminiscent senses fade and are replaced with new ones. The candle on the desk in front of you flickers, illuminating your vision to a dull red as it hides behinds the lids of your eyes. The nostalgic smell of home that is rarely visited is accompanied by the soft chirps of the insects emanating from outside the room.

You open your eyes and are reminded by the sight of scattered pieces of paper covered with ink brushed lines. They belonged to your father, each sheet contained designs that were created for his line of work. Both complex and simple clothes sketches are surrounded by various notes and patterns. They are legible and understandable enough thanks to the fact you had been working under his guidance.

A familiar feeling you had recently gained looms over your body once more; it has been a few days since your father passed away. While not a talkative person, he was able to give you the life style you have today. You were given the ability to live as you see fit and to work as an artisan. Another memory flashes before you, one that you may never forget.

"

// DAY ONE //

The situation is critical.

You’ve been hiding from the German troopers for- how long it has been? Hours? Days? Weeks? You cannot tell; all you know is that you’re the only surviving member of a Soviet division assigned to defend an outpost that had been killed by German artilleries. All you know is that you’re supposed to hold the line until reinforcements arrive, yet your Commissar has ordered you to retreat to Headquarters seconds before a piece of shell obliterated him.

It just does not make any sense.

You, the cream of the Motherland, the best there is, is supposed to hold the line until the last blood is spilt. You, who strongly believe in nationalism and have vowed to defend your homeland to your last breath, cannot accept the idea of retreating without giving out any fight. Yet you assume that your division leader knew things better than you are. A bitter fact to digest, but you have no time to cuss over it as the sound of stomping marches is fast approaching.

You notice that the cave you’re in seems to go deeper than you previously thought. Curious at the anomaly you slowly venture in, taking great care of not notifying the troopers outside. The deeper you go the further you are from the entrance, but you aren’t daunted. It may connect to underground tunnel network, and the prospect of meeting your comrades is enthralling.

You see a spot of light at the end of the passage. You’re excited at the sight, but you are also aware of the possibilities of traps set up by the Germans. So you have your weapon locked and loaded and you march slowly towards the light. As you approach the light, you swear you could hear the giggling voice of a woman; so vague but it was clear for your ear to pick up. You pay very little attention to it as your distance becomes closer.

You finally make your way out. Instead of fellow comrades you’re so hoping to be reunited with, or showering rains of hot lead fired from German bunkers, you find yourself standing next to a river facing what looks like a bamboo forest.

The First Genso-Lunar War.

The very first encounter between youkai and lunarians is shrouded in mystery. But now, after more than 1000 years, a portion of the truth behind it has been revealed. After the publishing of Hieda no Akyuu's update of her Gensokyo Chronicles, in which the First Genso-Lunar War was briefly mentioned, I used powers and my sources to further delve into this obscure period of the history of youkai. Following my newshound's instinct, I searched for more and more details, cross-checking and corroborating tiny bits of information, pulling from minuscule and hidden threads.

There was a reason for my obession. The roots of the war lie in the invasion Yukari Yakumo led against the Lunarians. After somehow amassing a whole army of blood-thirsty and rowdy youkai, the Witch of the Boundaries modified the boundary between truth and falsehood, and plunged into the moon's reflection on the lake's surface.

Although the might of the combined forces of oni, tengu and kappa was astounding, they still couldn't fight against the Moon's dominion over the youkai's biggest weaknesses: science and exorcism. Yukari's army retreated to Earth after being crushed by the Lunarian's advanced weaponry and spiritual magic, and because of this humilliating defeat, youkai learned not to attack anything outside their territory.

This, of course, can be found in any history book written by youkai, or even in Hieda's Gensokyo Chronicles. But I noticed a strange similarity in the materials I gathered. There were several accounts about a warrior, all followed by the title "Astral Knight".

She is the woman I seek.

This mysterious knight fought across the Moon's surface at the youkai's side, and disappeared from history after the war ended. She was a lone warrior who inspired both fear and admiration on her enemies and allies alike.

But most of the information I found was incomplete. Still, I was intrigued. My newshound's instinct seldom betrays me, and I was certain I would find something interesti