"But I've told you this all before. Do you really need to hear it again?"

"I need it on record." She says with a smile, ignoring my frustration.

Well, maybe even frustration would be a stretch. It's more like the feeling you'd get after being bitten by a mosquito. Insignificant, really, but she could at least acknowledge it.

"Fine, fine." I shrug, laying the blame on this voice recorder box for putting me in this situation in the first place. "It was about a year ago. I'm really not quite sure; without a calendar in sight, I've kinda lost track."

I break for a slight pause, thinking to myself for a moment. Silently, she urges me to continue. Dammit, I just can't win against that smile!

So I take a few minutes out of my time and explain to her exactly what happened. It's simple, really. That is, if you're completely insane and/or have been abusing morphine. I guess you gotta suspend disbelief indefinitely if you plan on living a good, sane life in this world.

Gensokyo, as the locals call it. I'd attribute it more to the Garden of Eden, plus magic and the ever-present man-eating monsters called youkai. Well, youkai is a general term, it seems; used to refer to any and all creatures that don't quite fit the bill of normalcy. Immortals, inhuman monsters, demons, angels--they're all youkai to the local townsfolk.

This woman before me, of course, is one of them. A Tengu she calls herself. And though I'm not quite familiar with the legend and lore behind the race, what I do know is this:

They like to talk a lot. And I mean a lot. They're a proud race of near-immortals, and they make sure nobody forgets it. Hell, some of them even go out of their way to prove their superiority over others.

And this girl is no exception--the self-proclaimed "Fastest in Gensokyo", though fastest what I'm not sure. I'm sure it's only meant as a joke. I get the feeling that she doesn't honestly believe herself to be such, but she sure likes to talk about it.

Though, for once, she's actually staying completely silent and letting me speak my mind. Probably, it's because she doesn't want her voice recorded by this machine she brought home.

Her name is Aya Shameimaru, and I've been living together with her ever since the incident was resolved. I guess you could say she's my wife. Well, that is, if it wasn't for the undeniable fact that Tengu laws prohibit marriage between their kind and what they call the lesser races. Those would be, of course, everybody but other Tengu. It's become a bone of contention between her and the rest of the folks up here on the mountain, but she tries not to let it get to her. But, putting all that aside for a moment..

As I listen to myself talk, I start to laugh. Hell, if you heard what I was saying, you'd probably have me committed. I'd probably have me committed, too, were it not for the sheer lack of asylums in Gensokyo and the undeniable fact that what I'm talking about really did take place.

Gensokyo was invaded, according to the words of one Hakurei priestess. Invaded by what, we're all still not sure. Contact between us and them was limited strictly to small skirmishes with some manner of mechanical drones sent out from a large ship in the mountains.

Though, as straight-forward as it sounds, it only gets stranger from there. A small scouting party, consisting of myself, Aya, and one other named Youmu Konpaku was sent to investigate what Reimu, the aforementioned Hakurei priestess, had referred to as The Mothership since she first saw it fly over the mountains. I suppose it fits.

But we never found it. The drones stopped coming, and everything just seemed to sort itself out. This, of course, didn't sit well with Reimu, who had over time developed a mentality that these incidents could only be solved by her direct intervention. If you want something done right, et cetera.

So she got angry, threw a bit of a tantrum, and during it all, she somehow managed to connect the appearance of this mysterious ship to my appearance in Gensokyo. Oh, sure, so it had become my doing, had it? Well, I tried my hardest not to take it personally. She was upset, right?

Well, that all went right out the window when she threw down the gauntlet. I was given a thorough introduction to danmaku that day. And, for those who don't have any clue whatsoever as to what exactly danmaku is, well.. it hurts. Probably about as much as getting shot in the face, though the damage taken is minimal by comparison.

So I was thoroughly beaten down that day, much to the horror and surprise of one such "Fastest in Gensokyo". Long story short, the case was considered closed, and everybody went back about their respective lives. The end, right?

Well, not quite. I'm still here, alive and well. Yes, that's right, alive. Between the end of that duel and sometime within the last year, all of the abilities I'd found myself possessing seem to have vanished. I suppose it has something to do with those strange amulets I kept finding all over the place. Funny how you can just walk to the town market one day and find a super-power granting piece of jewelry sitting just on the side of the road just waiting to be picked up. And here people wonder where all these youkai come from.. So I guess this is that kind of world.

So, aside from a few minor details, I'm perfectly normal. And, in this world, it would seem that perfectly normal would include such things as the ability to fly, the ability to create large showers of projectiles with mere a thought, and some such. Wings may or may not be included on the list.

Yep, perfectly normal.

"That ought to do it," Aya says, smiling her usual smile as she takes away the device.

"Hm?" I look up. Though I wasn't paying complete attention to what's going on, I'm able to gather enough from her body language. Interview's over, time to get back to work. Something along those lines.

The sun shines brightly through the window facing East. Still morning, it would seem. I've always liked how this place was set up like a giant sundial. One window on the East side, and one on the West. Whichever one the sun shines brightest through will give the indication of morning or evening. Between all that boasting about how great they are, the Tengu are some very clever engineers. It shows, even inside a one-room wooden shack like this one.

"Hey, you be a good boy, alright?" Aya jokes, heading for the door, "I've gotta go process this, so I'll probably be gone the rest of the day."

And I was going to say something about a goodbye kiss, but she's already gone out the door. "Fastest in Gensokyo" indeed. I hope I never have to find out how fast she'd out of my life if something were to go wrong. Thankfully, there hasn't been an issue worthy of note since the day we met, so no problems there. She's surprisingly easygoing, for what I've seen of Tengu.

Of course, that leaves me all by my lonesome, to do with the rest of the day as I please. I suppose I could..

[ ] Visit the Netherworld for old time's sake
[ ] Go to the Moriya shrine to pray
[ ] Go into the village to buy some supplies
[ ] Go visit Aya at work
[ ] Run out into the woods to live the life of a hermit