(Bunbunmaru's link: http://bunbunmaru.com/wakaba/general/res/11021.html
Bunbunmaru's Prologue, Part I and Q&A: http://bunbunmaru.com/wakaba/general/res/638.html
Touhou-project's Prologue, Part I and Q&A: http://www.touhou-project.com/th/res/93229.html)

>>95844

This is how I saw the matter of Yukari's original invasion of the moon, a case of Yukari teaching a bunch of restless egotistical youkai a lesson.

>[x]Try and get bearings both physically and mentally. What can you remember? And are there any landmarks, is the sun rising/setting in which direction? What have you got on you?
>[x]This, and take a look at yourself. Are we still Aome?

You take a look at your hands. They hurt a bit like the rest of your body but they seem to be fine. You stand up and clear your purple dress from the dirt. Everything seems to be in order.

You look around. It looks like it's beginning to dawn. The sun is on your left... that means... eh... that you are looking south right? It's hard to orientate in a desert place like this. There are no significant landmarks anywhere. The rocks and sand seem to be placed around randomly.

You search your pockets. Mmm? There's something inside your dress. You take off and see an Ace of Spades deck card. Oh, that's right, you had a deck card when you woke up near that lak-

"Aaaah..." you hold your head.

Your headache is getting stronger. Wait, what was this just now? Isn't something strange here?

You sit down. How you got here in the first place? The image of several hands wrapping around you and pulling you inside that 'gap' comes in mind. After that...

"Ooooh... this sucks."

Really, that headache is making your life difficult. At least when you were with Keine you could have enjoyed a hot bath and a relaxing sleep.

You sigh. Is this supposed to be the outside world? If yes, what the hell are you doing here, Gensokyo was way better. Oh well, you know that, that's not the case. Something obviously went wrong halfway there.

"Now what?" you sigh and hug your knees.

This might prove dangerous. You have no idea where you are, why you end up and how to get out of here. If things come to worse you might starve to death, no... thirst will get you first.

"Ah! I had enough!" you grumble and lie down looking at the sky.

Several moments pass while you are trying to figure things out. What was with that dream anyway? It felt so familiar, yet you know that this wasn't you. Are these someone else's memories? Why are you remembering them though?

A gust of wind makes the sand go up to your face. You sit up and lean in front in order to cover yourself from it. Great, a sandstorm is all you need now...

As the wind calms you open your eyes again. In distance you see someone walking towards you.

You get up in order to look more carefully. He or she walks slowly towards your direction. That person might have not notice you yet.

You focus your eyesight more. It appears to be a man as you can see him wearing dark red overalls along with a light brown shirt. He has long white hair that wave in the air.

Maybe you should...

[ ]shout to him in order to notice you.
[ ]wait for him to come to you.
[ ]hide behind a rock and observe him for a while.
[ ]do something else (say).

[ ]wait for him to come to you.

>[X]wait for him to come to you.

Several minutes pass.

The man is now at close range. He is looking down at his feet, with a joyless face. He has his hands in his pockets. You notice that his overalls are randomly decorated with paper charms. His hair is also tied with these same red and white paper charms.
His clothes are worn out, full of holes and look like they have been discolored from fire.

"Excuse me...sir?"

It looks like he ignores you. He passes right next to you without looking at you. This is strange...

"Eh, well... sir? Excuse me, sir?" you insist but he acts like you aren't there.

What the... is he trying to be rude or you really aren't there? Maybe you are a ghost? No, no... stop doing that; you are definitely alive, you can tell by your body and head aching.

"Sir..." you grab his arm.

At that moment a flame engulfs your arm, burning it from your hand up to your shoulder.

"Ah! AAAAAH!" you scream more from terror than from the pain.

"Shut up, you..." he whispers in a soft voice and continues walking away from you.

You roll onto the ground trying to put out the flame. You succeed, but now the pain comes.

"Aaaaah... wh-why..." you can't hold back your tears.

Who the hell is this person? Why is he being so cruel? Did he use magic or something? Why he keeps ignoring you?

A mix of anger, fear, surprise and pain surround you.

You...

[ ]who the hell he thinks he is? Punch him on the back of his head.
[ ]why are you doing this? Shout to him.
[ ]try your best to stay quiet.
[ ]do something else (say).

[x] "I'm sorry if I bugged you, but why did you do that to me?"

Seems our heroine isn't aware that it's a girl not a guy.

>>96107
Unless we're in some AntiGensokyo.

>[x] Pathetically ask where you are. Don't bother following - getting roasted doesn't seem very fun.
>[X]From behind a rock, pathetically ask where you are.
>[x] "I'm sorry if I bugged you, but why did you do that to me?"

This person is scary, yet you can't just stand there doing nothing. You crawl back behind a nearby rock.

"I-I'm sorry, but why did you do that to me?"

You watch the man walking further away.

"E-excuse me! At least tell me where I am!"

Another futile attempt, he just walks away.

"Excuse me! Sir! I really need some help here!"

"I TOLD YOU TO SHUT THE HELL UP!"

The angry voice is followed by a burst of flames around your body.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" you scream on top of your lungs.

You clothes and your body are set aflame. You experience horrible pain, accompanied by the smell of burnt flesh.

You roll to the ground trying to put out the flames, but your actions prove fruitless.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! HELP ME!!! HELP!!! WHY? WHY? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?"

You claw your own chest, trying desperately to get your burning clothes off. Along with it, your own burnt flesh is getting ripped off.

"...wait, don't tell me...YOU ARE REAL!?"

You watch the person kneeling right next to you, trying to put out the flames by throwing sand on you.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry-"

A despaired voice keeps repeating. That's strange. It actually sounds very feminine.

The flames are put out but the damage done is beyond help. You gasp for breath as your lungs no longer function properly. The, as it seems, white-haired girl, holds your hand and asks for forgiveness with her eyes full of tears.

Her sad face reminds you of someone you met just a few days ago.

"Haaaa..." your final breath leaves your body.

You die.

//DEAD END 10//

Now it's time for:

'KEINE SENSEI'S SPECIAL CLASS ON HOW NOT TO BE A ⑨, PART X'

"Kyaaaaaa!!! Mokou-chan's so cool!!!"

"Sh-shut up, you..."

"You were mistaken for a guy too~ So cute!"

"H-How that's cute, st-stupid..."

"Well then about this part; I know you have many questions but that person looks scary right? She has already shown to be hostile, so maybe you should be more careful while interacting with her. Also, you don't know if there are any special circumstances, so observing for a while is also recommended. Well, unorthodox methods might be also helpful in extreme situations..."

"...sorry"

"Hmm? What was that Mokou-chan?"

"I-I...I-I'm s-sorry..."

"Kyaaaaaa!!! Embarrassed Mokou-chan's cute too!!!"

"Keine, you have a nosebleed..."

'HAKUTAKU MODE ON'

"Mooookoooou?"

"Wh-what is it? Y-you have a scary look...Wh-why are you grinning like that?"

"Hah...Hah... Come here, Mokou-tan!"

"No! Wait! No! Get away from me! Stop! No! NOOOO!!!"

//HISTORY CHANGED//

>1 step back

[ ]who the hell he thinks he is? Punch him on the back of his head.
[ ]try your best to stay quiet.
[ ]do something else (say).

>2 step back.

[ ]shout to him in order to notice you.
[ ]hide behind a rock and observe him for a while.
[ ]do something else (say).

[X]hide behind a rock and observe him for a while.

It's not often that someone regrets killing us...

[x]hide behind a rock and observe him for a while.

It seems something intangible has been bugging Mokou.

>>96164 here

Changing my vote.

>1 step back

[X]who the hell he thinks he is? Punch him on the back of his head.

>[X]Throw a smaller rock at him.
>[x]hide behind a rock and observe him for a while.
>[x]who the hell he thinks he is? Punch him on the back of his head.

This person is scary, yet you can't just stand there doing nothing. You crawl back behind a nearby rock.

"I-I'm sorry, but why did you do that to me?"

You watch the man walking further away.

"E-excuse me! At least tell me where I am!"

Another futile attempt, he just walks away.

This gets on your nerves. Who the hell he thinks he is? Why he keeps ignoring you after attacking you like that? That's it, you had enough! You take a rock that you find nearby and throw it at the back of his head, while he's walking away.

"Ouch! I told you to stop-! Eh?" he looks at you confused.

"What? Telling ME to stop!" You burned my freaking arm!" you shout.

"I... I, what? W-wait, YOU ARE REAL!?" he rushes surprised at you.

"Wh-what? Of course I'm real you-" the man takes your arm in his hands. "...what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry... I'm really sorry... Honestly I didn't... hold on a second." he searches his pockets.

Wait, that voice and those hands... This person is actually a woman? She looks like a young girl from up close.

She takes out something that looks like a gallipot.

"Here, this will make it feel better." she starts to apply some sort of cream on your arm.

"Ouch! Hey, this stings!"

"I'm sorry, just bear with it for a while... I'm really sorry, it's my fault, I'm sorr-"

She looks remorseful.

"Yeah, yeah, if you are sorry then it's ok-ouch!"

"I'm sorry..."

Even though you are still angry and hurting you can't help but smile a bit. She appears to be an honest and gentle person. Keine comes in mind.

"Ouch!"

"I-I'm sorry."

"Just forget it already."

No, Keine is more decisive. She looks much more like a diffident person.

"You are...?"

"Eh?" she looks at you. "M-Mokou... Fujiwara no Mokou."

'no'? Is this person a noble of some short?

"...yours?" she takes a peek at you.

"Aome Maigo, please to meet you." you smile.

"...mmm" she nods.

A few moments later she finishes applying the cream. She tears a piece of her shirt and bandage your arm with it.

"Say, about this place-"

"How long have you been here?" she interupts you.

"Eh? Half an hour, I guess?"

"...that's good." she gets up and offers you her hand. You accept.

"If we begin now we might be able to make it before night falls."

"Make it? Where?"

"The place I'm staying."

...

You walk towards...well her 'place' you guess. The rocky ground makes it hard for you to walk. You follow Mokou who's a few steps ahead.

"Say, about this place... where exactly are we? What is this place?"

"...nothing anymore." she makes a sad smile.

"I-I see..."

Silence returns.

"Say, why did you attack me earlier?"

"W-well... Desert make me see 'things' sometimes... I guess."

"You mean mirages?"

"Y-yeah..."

People attack mirages? She obviously lies for some reason. You decide to drop the subject for now.

"Say, about-"

"You know, you should better keep your strength for walking. It's going to be long. You can ask me anything you want when we get there okay?"

"S-sure."

Silence returns once more.

...

Your legs hurt. You sweat a lot under the hot sun and you feel your skin burning. Well, not as much as your arm. Even though the cream made it feel better, it still hurts. Your headache is getting worse too.

You look at the sky. It's almost noon. You have been walking for several hours already. You feel thirsty.

"Say, why don't we make a break?"

"Not yet. Just hang on a bit, if we make too many stops we won't make it by evening."

"But..." oh forget it, you are too tired to argue.

More minutes pass.

You feel dizzy. Your eyes lose their focus as your steps become more uncertain.

You look at the mountain ridge in the horizon. A small rocky hill can be seen in the distance.

It seems that you are going there.

More minutes pass.

You can barely stand. Your throat's dry. You have no longer any idea where are you stepping. Your body moves by its own. You look Mokou right ahead of you.

"Say..."

You feel a sudden fit of dizziness. Your eyes close as you lose your balance.

...

You look at the little girl crying in front of you.

"What's the matter?"

"My...my tummy hurts..." she sobs.

"Are you hungry?"

The little girl nods as she wipes of her tears.

You slash the air with your fingernails in order to open the gap. You enter your hand in it and take 'that' out.

"Here, have some of this."

"Eh? What's this?"

"Try it, it's tasty." you smile at the girl.

She tastes 'it' for a while and then starts eating it smiling.

You wipe of the blood from your hand. You feel happy that she enjoys her meal, but you can't help feeling sorry about all those other little ones that won't have her luck. Since the 'moon incident' the strong ones have left this world. No, it's not just the moon, they have already been disappearing one after another long time ago. The era of myths is long gone; you are living at its twilight. After all that's why you came up with the 'plan'.

"You like it?"

"Mmm, it's really tasty!" she smiles with her mouth full.

"What's your name?"

"Lamy!"

"Tell me Lamy, would you like to come with me to a place where you won't be hungry anymore? A place where you won't be scared of humans anymore?"

"Is there such a place?"

You smile.

"Soon Lamy, soon..."

You turn your look towards towards the east.

There, in the land of the rising sun, you'll create the place that every youkai is dreaming of.

...

You slowly open your eyes. It's almost dark. You can hear someone panting. It looks like

Mokou is carrying you.

"M-miss Mokou?" you say with a soft voice. Your throat is dry, you can barely speak.

"Oh...you are...awake..." she says between breaths.

"H-How long have I-"?

"Six... hours... or so..."

She has been carrying you for that long? You try to get of her back.

"No... stop... we are... almost there..." she points ahead.

In front of you is a small cave, a few steps ahead.

"I-I can walk..." you say and get off her back.

You try to stand but you quickly lose you balance and fall.

She smiles gently and leans over you.

"I told you... let me do this..."

She puts her hands under you and lifts you up.

"Wha-"

"Just a few more steps..."

When you reach the cave she puts you down and starts digging a hole.

"Wh-what are you going?"

"Water..."

She tries to dig up water? This is going to take a while...

"Ah! Here!"

Eh? It looks like she found a small pot inside that hole.

"The humidity from the rocks is gathered each day." she smiles and offers you the pot. "Drink."

You look inside. There are just a few sips of water inside.

"What about miss Mokou?"

"I'm fine, drink up!" she smiles.

She doesn't look fine though. Like you she looks thirsty and can barely speak.

You drink two sips and hand her the pot.

"It’s okay drinking it all. I had some while you where sleeping."

She is bad at lying. But it doesn't look like insisting will change anything. You drink the rest of the water.

"I'll go prepare a fire. It's going to get cold soon."

She carries what appears to be a big black trunk and put it near you. She snaps her fingers and the trunk is set aflame.

"Quite useful skill you've got there." you joke.

"Isn't it?" she smiles.

She sits next to you and watches the fire.

"So... you better get some sleep."

"I'm okay, I slept to much." you smile. "What about you?"

"I'm fine, I can go on like this. I hate sleeping anyway..."

"Eh? Why?"

"Bad dreams." she smiles with a sorrowful look.

You look at the fire for a while too.

"Say, if that's okay with you... want to chat for a bit?"

"Sure."

(Reimu/Patchouli style. It looks like you are doing well with original questions so I'll leave it to you.)

[x] "Where are we?
[x] "Could I ask what you're doing out here?"
[x] "You heard of a place called Gensokyo?"

This is all I could come up with at the moment.

>[x] "Where are we?
>[x] "Could I ask what you're doing out here?"
>[x] "You heard of a place called Gensokyo?"
>[x] Explain to Mokou your situation. Ask where you are.
>Tell Mokou about what just happened and ask her where you are. Right now you could use all the help you can get.
>This, but also ask about her situation. Why she was in the desert, etc.
>[X] Check if we're still in Gensokyo
>[X] Ask how the girl came to be there.
>[X] Explain how you got here.

(The following is two parts.)

"So...where are we?"

Mokou looks silently at the fire for a while before answering.

"...nowhere."

She said something similar the last time you asked too.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't mean anything; this place is 'nowhere'."

"...I don't get it."

"In order to describe something, don't you need to use something else as reference?"

"I guess so..."

"Then this place is 'nowhere', because there's nothing else left."

Eh? What does she mean by that? You want to ask her more but her sad face stops you. This subject appears to be a sensitive one for her.

"What about miss Mokou?"

"Eh? Me?"

"What are you doing out here?"

"Heh... there's nothing else left for me." she makes a sad smile.

"What were you doing wondering around then? Looking for food?"

"Something like that..." she kicks a small rock into the fire. "I was looking for some wild herbs for an acquaintance of mine."

"Eeeeh? So there are more people here..."

"Just two."

"Two?"

You look at the fire troubled. If there are two more people in this desert why doesn't she live with them? But you are also troubled by another thing.

"Say... aren't you surprised to find me? I'm not from around here..."

"I know..."

"Eeeeh? You can tell?"

It only takes a few seconds to realize how stupid your question was. Still Mokou answers in the same manner.

"You look healthy that's why..." she makes a small pause. "...usually, I find them dead."

The macabre turn of the discussion sends some shivers down your spine.

"'Them'?"

"People end up here once in a while, from other places."

End up here? Perhaps they arrived in the same manner you did?

"You know, I ended up here by accident."

"I see..."

"You know, she tried to send me back home but then another 'gap' opened and some hands pulled me in and then I woke up here and..." ah… how can you explain it when you don’t understand what happened yourself.

You look at her. She is still watching the fire. Well, she doesn't seem to care much. Perhaps, this is something usual for her.

You sigh and lie down. You turn your look towards the cave's entrance. You can see the stars from here. It's nice knowing that the night sky is still the same...wait what?

You sit up. The night sky is awfully familiar. You have seen it before. Right back at Keine's house. You can tell exactly where you are. This is...

"...Gensokyo?"

"Eh?"

Mokou turns and looks at you with a confused look.

"What did you just say?"

"Ge-gensokyo..." her eyes twitch. "...you heard of it?"

"We-well, I might..." she scratches the back of her head. "How you know about that place though?"

"I found myself there three days ago. I don't know anything more than that, except that I'm originally from the 'outside' world and I was trying to get back there. "

"I-I see..." she gazes at the fire again with a sad look. "Well, time for sleep."

"Y-yes you are right."

You probably shouldn't bother her any more. She should be very tired. It's not like you feel any better too. You have a terrible headache, plus you are still a bit thirsty and hungry.

You lie down.

"Goodnight."

"'Night."

...

You feel the wind messing up your hair. You look at the sun slowly rising from the sea far away. Perhaps you should stop for today.

"Still, this is a very tall mountain." you comment.

It's true. It took you almost three days to climb this up. Well normally you could just 'gap' your way here, but that's not the case. You want to experience this land by yourself. That way you will 'know' where you should set it up.

"But for now, sleep, sleep!" you say with a joyful tune.

...

You open your eyes.

You find it hard to focus. There's a figure leaning over you.

"M-Mokou?" you whisper.

You can't talk clearly, your throat is dry. You can feel your head burning. Are you having a fever?

The figure lifts your head and gives you to drink some water from a small pot. You greedily gulp it down.

"Th-thanks."

You close your eyes again.

(part 2)

...

"Excuse me."

"Yes?"

"What's the name of this lake?"

"Oh, Suwa lake you mean?"

"Thank you very much." you smile.

"You aren't from around here miss?"

"No, I came from far away."

"It must be true, a woman this beautiful would be hard to pass unnoticeable."

"Ahaha, thanks for the flattery."

"Well then, good day to you."

You watch the old man walking away. In front of you the Suwa lake looks peaceful. Yes, this place looks perfect.

You've spend almost two decades looking for the perfect spot. At last, you can see your journey coming to an end.

You look around. There are hardly any people around. The old man is now gone too.

"Well then..."

You step on the lake’s surface and walk towards its center. When you reach it you close your umbrella and hit the water with its tip. A small gap appears and from inside, one after another, thousands of hands sprout. They slowly cover the whole surface and extend to the land beyond.

"This is going to take a while." you comment cheerfully. Still, after such a long journey, what's a few more decades?

...

You open your eyes again slowly. You can see that figure walking back and forth nervously. When it notices you it stops and looks at you.

"We can't wait any longer. I'll take you to her." you hear that person's voice. Mokou?

You feel her lifting you up to her shoulders, giving you a piggy ride.

"You can sleep, I'll handle the rest."

You really don't want her to do this. You'll just trouble her again. But you have almost no more strength left.

Your eyes close once more.

...

"-ukari? Miss Yukari? Are you okay? Miss Yuk-"

"I'm awake, I'm awake. You are too loud Ran..." you complain.

"But miss Yukari, you were sleeping for so long again!"

"It's okay, that's normal for me."

"That's not true and you know it! Ever since you start that barrier you've been like this..."

You smile at the worried shikigami. She is really cute when she waves her five tails nervously. You ruffle her hair.

"Mi-miss Yukari! Stop that, this is serious."

"Don't worry, I'm just an old lady, I need to rest a bit." you joke.

"Th-that's not true! Miss Yukari is young and beautiful and-"

"Ahahaha" you laugh out loud. "Ran, if someone could hear you, he would say you have a crash on me or something."

"Really, miss Yukari... I hate that side of you..." she puts her face down embarrassed.

This girl... You are so lucky of having her as your shikigami. Perhaps, this could be a good time to start training her as your... future replacement. Well, it's not like you'll retire so soon, but this is going to be hard work so...

"Tell me Ran..."

"Yes?"

"Want to learn something cool?" you grin.

...

You open your eyes.

The air is cold and it's dark. It appears to be nighttime. You are still on Mokou's shoulders.

You take a look around. It looks like you are on top of a high hill or something.

You look in front of you. Two figures are standing there. It's hard to say because of both your eyes and the dark but they look like two women. One with dark hair wearing a long dress and another with a long silver-colored braid.

They are several meters ahead just looking at you. You notice that Mokou also doesn't move. They just look each other.

Once again you lose your senses.

...

"Like this?"

"Yes, you are getting better each day that passes!" you smile.

The shikigami gives a happy wag to each of her six tails.

"Th-that's not true, I still have way to go... After all I can't do it properly yet..."

"Eh? You mean the card?"

"Yes." she lifts up the glowing card. "I have to use this in order to open 'them'."

"That can't be helped. My 'ki' doesn't flow into you properly yet. You have to use that as a catalyst."

"But even so... all I can do is opening already existing 'gaps'." she sulks.

"Well that's..." you sigh. "You can't create something that's not there."

"But miss Yukari...I mean you even made up that place."

"That's not true. I just separated from the outside. I'm not almighty you know." you smile.

She still looks troubled.

"Well then, why don't you open 50414349464943 for me?"

"What here? We will flood!"

"Ahaha, don't worry, don't worry."

She looks straight at the 50414349464943's 'gap' and lifts the card which glows with a white light. She then slowly slashes the 'gap' with it till the seawater starts flowing from inside.

"That's great Ran, let me close it now... oh and get the mop."

"I knew it..."

...

You slowly open your eyes again. Something cool is on your forehead.

A female figure stands before you. You try to focus your eyesight.

A woman with dark grey eyes and long silver hair that forms a large braid on her back is before you. She wears red and blue clothing with constellation patters on it. You can pretty much name all of them. On her head she wears something that looks like a nurse's cap.

(Sorry for the long parts, but it's pretty hard to find a place to stop in Part II's intro.)

Interesting... seems Mokou and Eirin are somewhere... but I wonder if it's Gensokyo or some weird part of the outside world.

But it seems our lead seems connected to Yukari somehow (since we dream of her past life, including a cute young Ran)

>[X]See if you have the strength to get up
>[X]Ask about where you are, what's wrong with you, and who is helping you
>[X]Start naming the constellations.
>[X]Work out from where these constellations would be visible, and thus predict where the person originated from

You try to sit up. You find it really easy to do so, considering you couldn't even open your eyes properly until now.

You take a look around. It looks like you are inside a cave, though this one looks more like an actual dwelling. The hollow walls are filled with numerous gallipots and herbs.

"You feel better?" the woman smiles at you.

"Where am I?"

"In Houraisan's residence."

"Where's that?"

"Nowhere." she chuckles a bit. Great another weirdo.

"Then, you are miss Horaisan?"

"Ahaha, no, I'm Eirin Yagokoro, please to meet you."

You make a small bow, but you feel a bit dizzy as you do so. You bring your right palm on your forehead. There's a wet towel there. You take it off. Hey wait, your arm looks fine now. No more burn marks on it.

"Take it easy, you are still recovering." she notices you looking at your arm. "Oh, I fixed that too. It should be fine now. As for the dress... I'm sorry but I'm just a doctor." she chuckles again.

"What's wrong with me?"

"You had high fever caused by an infection from the burn, plus dehydration and exhaustion. You should be fine now."

It seems that you were lucky enough that Mokou knew a doctor at this place. Oh, that's right-

"Where's miss Mokou?"

"Oh, she's outside entertaining the princess."

"Princess?"

"Want to take a look on how they are doing?" she offers you her hand.

You accept her offer and lift yourself up. You feel a bit dizzy at first but you quickly adjust in the sudden change of posture.

Eirin turns around and starts walking towards the exit of the cave. You can't help but notice the constellations on her dress. You can easily name them. 'Ursa Major', 'Antlia' and 'Tucana', 'Triangulum Australe' and... is that an upside down 'Cassiopeia'?

The gear-wheels of your mind are set in motion. Unlike the past days, where your headache made it hard for you to think, right now your mind is clear. You create a notional map of the night sky. You try to correspond the constellations with the night sky, in order to find out where one would be able to see all of them. That's strange... it's almost impossible for someone to see them all together unless he travels a lot or he's from somewhere else, outside of earth; the moon perhaps? …Nah, that's stupid.*

You both get out of the cave. The sun is sunning outside. The landscape is still the same, with sand and rocks seen everywhere. Mokou and the 'princess' are nowhere to be seen though.

"Oh, it looks like they have just finished." Eirin comments while looking up in the sky.

You follow her look. There's something coming down fa-

"HYAAAAAAAA!" you scream.

Right before you a headless body falls, splattering the surrounding area with blood. You recognize the clothing.

"Really... Eirin, you should have fixed her too. It's not fun like this..." the young black-haired woman in a pink shirt and a long dark burgundy skirt, casually remarks.

You feel the world spinning around. In front of you Mokou's headless body is still twitching.

"Mmm?" the young woman looks at you. "Is she okay now?"

"Yes, princess."

"Ah, that's good." she smiles. "She seems a little pale though..."

"That's mostly because of 'this'" Eirin points at Mokou's body.

"Eeeh? Oh! I think I've got an idea!" she joyful says. "Maybe if I kill her, then Mokou will fight more seriously right?"

The young princess takes a step towards you.

"Don't be afraid, it will end in an instant..." she says with a wicked smile.

She lifts her hand towards your face but stops halfway and looks at her own leg. A bloodstained hand is pulling it.

"KaAAaaaAGUUUuuUYYyaAAA!!!" a groan can be heard.

You look at Mokou's body. It's no longer headless. From her neck, flesh expands and remakes her head. Her newly created eyes look at the princess full of hate.

"...I knew that would stir you up." the princess says with a grin.

In an instant they both take off to the sky exchanging insults and hits, leaving you just standing there confused on what just happened.

"...well, this is how things are. Don't let it bother you too much." Eirin gently pats your back. "I'm sure they both actually enjoy this in a twist way."

Up in the sky, the two figures exchange more things than simply insults and hits. Mokou throws fireballs at the princess, who on her turn launches some kind of light bolts. Their fight reminds you the one with Marisa and the fairies, but in this case the blows end up in serious wounds.

"Why do they..."

"It's an old story, long forgotten. Right now, it's more because of a deal. I provide Mokou with medicines and she entertains the princess in return. Well, it's more like an excuse, I'm sure they both have their reasons for this..." she looks at you. "Boredom is an incurable poison for an immortal body."

You look Eirin for a bit. That's right! You still haven't introduced yourself.

"I kind of forgot before, I'm Aom-"

"Aome Maigo, correct?"

"Eh?" you look at her surprised. "Oh, that's right Mokou should..."

"Yes, Mokou said your name was Aome. She couldn't remember the other one though." Eirin makes a slight grin.

Wait, how does she know your full name then?

"H-how...?"

"That’s because everything has begun after that blond-haired girl named Aome Maigo has left Gensokyo... Or should I say when she arrived there three days before?" she looks at you.

You look at her trying to figure out what just happened but your line of thought is interrupt by another event. From inside your dress a bright white light is being emitted.

"...eh?"

At that exact moment the time freezes. Smell, sound, air, everything stops. Even though the sun still shines as before, it seems like its radiance can't reach this place anymore.

Thumb thumb.

You can feel it.

Thumb thumb.

In this desolate place, everything that holds a meaning, loses it in an instance.

Thumb thumb.

You slowly turn around.

Thumb thumb.

You can see it.

Thumb thumb.

Several meters away from where you stand, yet its darkness choke you.

Thumb thumb.

Right there, slowly forming from the 'gaps' around it...

Thumb thumb.

...Chaos itself stands.

(Please keep anything you want to say or do short. Not much time for actions.)
*(It is stupid indeed. Screw astronomy, this is Gensokyo!)

>[X]Stand there like an idiot and wait to see what happens.
>[x] Pull out your card
>[X] Get ready to dodge.
>[X] Set spellcard, ready shift for focused movement.

Your breathing has stopped.

The only thing you can hear right now is the sound of your heart beating like crazy, telling you that, that thing is dangerous.

About twenty meters ahead from you, the dark thing in humanoid shape, stands. Around it, small 'gaps', 'cracks' and 'flaws' like the ones you've seen at the shrine the other day, pour a dark mist in that thing's 'body'.

Its 'body' becomes more solid each second that passes. It looks like a black full plate armor, full of spikes and harsh edges. Its 'head' is nothing more than a black helmet. From every small opening the armor and helmet has, a dark mist flows, giving it an eerie feeling.

A single step.

That all it takes to bring you back to reality. By making just a single step, that thing marks you as its target.

"...what is that thing?" you hear Eirin's voice next to you.

Another step.

It seems that Eirin understands how dangerous that thing is, because she quickly retreats inside the cave. You want to do the same but your legs don't obey you anymore. You stand there frozen as a rabbit in front of a car's lights.

Another step.

With each passing second, your death draws near. Still, there's another thing that bothers you. You look at your dress. A blinding light comes out from your pocket. You put your hand inside and draw the card. There's nothing on it now, it's just shining with white light.

"███████████████"

At the exact moment you pull the card out an eldritch howl can be heard, coming from that thing. The howl freezes your blood. With a dash, it thrust itself towards you.

Unable to do anything else, you are about to close your eyes and accept your fate, when you notice the beautiful succession of red and blue patterns right next to you. Eirin stands there, stretching a bow string with her left hand. Several bullets made out of red and blue light dance around the arrow that is ready to be fired from her bow. Their speed increases with each passing second till they are nothing else than a bicoloured beam of light.

The dark creature hurls itself on you. The two and a half meters figure blocks the sunlight. In a few seconds you should be trapped in eternal darkness, but...

...the red and blue beam of light crashes on its 'body', sending it flying several meters away.

"...what the hell was THAT?" Eirin asks again with a puzzled expression.

The creature raises itself from the ground. It lifts its 'arm' to his 'back' and grasps its own 'spine'. With a sudden movement it rips it apart and holds it in its 'hand'. The dark 'spine' turns itself into a giant sword.

"███████████████"

Eirin quickly grabs another arrow from her quiver in order to arm her bow, but...

"HNGGGGG"

...she is too late.

With a speed that your eyes couldn't possibly follow, the creature hurled itself to Eirin and pierced her stomach with its giant sword.

"Puuuah..." Eirin spits some blood.

"EIRIN!"
"EIRIN!"

The two immortals that should have noticed the creature from its previous howl, rush down towards your direction.

The creature pulls its sword out, from Eirin's shoulder, effectively slashing her chest in half. Blood sprays all over the place as Eirin falls on the ground.

The creature turns towards you and lifts its sword up, in order to squash you beneath it. Trembling in fear and shocked by what just happened before your eyes, you just stand there waiting for your end.

The sword comes down but is stopped halfway as a storm of fire splashes upon the creature.

Mokou, covered in blazing fire, hurls herself upon the creature, while unleashing a torrent of fireballs on it.

"Eirin! Eirin! Eirin!" the tearful princess next to you shouts, as she kneels and hugs the dying Eirin.

Eirin's trebling hand slowly rises and tenderly caresses the princess's cheek, leaving a trail of blood on it. With a single smile as goodbye, the light from her eyes vanishes forever.

"Eirin! Eirin! EIRIIIIN!!!" the sobbing princess screams while hugging Eirin's head.

A few meters away from you, Mokou throws everything she's got on the creature, till she's out of breath. That small pause is enough for it to regain its balance and slash Mokou in half with its sword. Leaving the dying Mokou behind, it turns and dashes towards you.

"Unforgivable... COMPLETLY UNFORGIVABLE!" the princess shouts and lifts herself up in the sky.

Above her head a stone bowl, a jeweled branch, a red robe, a colored jewel and a shell float. Following her sign all of them launch unto the creature leaving a cloud of dust and smoke behind.

After a small pause of silence, the creature dashes out of the cloud and decapitates the princess.

Once again, it turns towards you and lifts its sword up.

"HaaAAAAAaAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaAAA!!!"

Mokou lets out a blood-curdling scream and delivers a series of fireballs on the creature again. Her only eye is full of rage, as her face is still regenerating. On her back there are two wings made out of flame.

"DIE YOU FUCKER!" she screams as she steadily increases the amount and speed of the fireballs.

Unlike before, she shoots the creature from below and lifts it in the air, as she nukes it.

You watch as they both slowly rise in the sky, the creature unable to move due to the tremendous speed the hits from Mokou are delivered.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!!" Mokou lets out another battle cry as she punches the creature back to the ground, several meters away.

"KAGUYA!" she shouts towards your direction.

"GOT IT!" the recently resurrected princess answers.

Above the princess, the five artifacts float around in steadily increasing speed till they are nothing more than light. At the same time, Mokou shouts some more battle cries midair and set herself in flames.

About a hundred meters away from you, the creature slowly gets up, as if nothing has happened so far. You also notice that the amount of the 'cracks' and 'flaws' in the sky has increased.

Together, the two immortals launch themselves from opposite directions towards the creature. A beam of blinding light and a fiery blaze meet where it stands, creating an enormous cloud of dust and smoke.

You don't know how much time has passed since you took your last breath; you don't even know if your heart still beats, as you watch with awe the clash between the two immortals and the creature. But that's not the only thing going on right now.

It wasn't as much visible as it's now, but the sky was 'cracking' since that thing got here. Like a thin vase's glass that cracks from a single spot progressively, the sky itself slowly falls apart. All the 'flaws' and 'cracks' slowly unite into a larger 'gap' that devours this world.

The cloud of dust and smoke slowly settles down. You can see the creature still standing without a scratch, while the two immortals slowly recovering from yet another death.

The creature turns towards you but doesn't leave its place. The enormous 'gap' above it devours its 'darkness' and swallows it in a matter of seconds.

Sound of broken glass can be heard coming from everywhere. The whole place is falling apart.

At that moment you see it. Only a few steps away from you a tiny 'gap' different from the 'cracks' and 'flaws' around it can be seen. In your hand, the card still glows with blinding white light.

(Last 'blank' choice for a while. Use your knowledge from the hints so far to do the right action.)

>[o]With the glowing card, slash the "gap"

'Well then, why don't you open 50414349464943 for me?'

You have a sudden flashback. A person that you're suppose to know uses a card that glows, exactly like the one you are holding right now, in order to slash a 'gap'. Did that actually happen or was it just a dream your fever made up?

You look at the tiny 'gap' a few steps away from you. Well, it worth a try...

You lift up your glowing card and with it, slash the 'gap' a bit. Inside an eye opens up and looks at you.

That's it. This is the same feeling you got the last two times you entered 'it'. You look behind. Half of the sky has already been sucked into a dark void. This world is about to collapse.

You look at the 'gap' again and swallow. It's now or never!

You slash the 'gap' further till it's big enough for you to fit. From inside a dozen of eyes open up and look at you while several hands sprout from it. The hands grab you from around your waist and hands, pulling you inside the 'gap'. Another hand gags your mouth.

You look at the two immortals. They both slowly stand up and look around at the collapsing world. It's useless. Even if you could call them to join you, you know that they wouldn't come. You can tell by the look on their faces. They must be glad their journey is about to end.

Mokou says something to the princess in which she simply nods. They both rise up in the sky and attack each other once again, for the last time.

...

The feeling is different.

Unlike your previous experiences inside those 'gaps', this time everything is more peaceful than usual. You don't feel your head about to explode, you aren't forced to see images and memories from both past and future, you aren't being pulled apart; you simply float inside a dark void. Around you several eyes of all shapes and sizes look at you.

"...not the master..."
"...she's tricked us..."
"...why she summoned us...?"
"...can she see us...?"
"...we cannot obey..."
"...the power called us..."
"...where's the master...?"
"...just a human..."
"...why she smells of master...?"
"...can we devour her...?"

You can hear dozens of whispers all at once inside your head. After a few moments, they all pause though.

In front of you a giant eye opens up and looks at you.

"WHO ARE YOU HUMAN?" a loud deep voice echoes inside your head.

"I-I don't know...I-I don't remember!" you mutter.

"WHY YOU POSSESS THE POWER?"

"I-I don't understand... what power?"

"THEN YOU ARE USELESS TO US"

Beneath your feet several hands sprout up and pull you down with them.

"Wai-!"

But you never manage to finish your sentence, as you are once again surrounded by complete darkness.

...

The red-clothed shrine maiden of the Hakurei stands before you. She's exactly as you have heard of. Even though she's just a human, you can feel the sheer pressure of a strong lineage as hers. Wearing a serious yet friendly expression on her face, she welcomes you with a nod.

Ah, this is great. Even though you've existed for hundreds of years, this is the very first human that doesn't run away screaming in terror or kneels before you. You can’t help but feel awe for the girl standing in front of you.

"Greetings, maiden of the Hakurei."

"Greetings, youkai of the boarders."

You grin. Not only she carries no fear, but it looks like she can talk to you as equal. This can't possibly get any better than this.

"Well then, are you sure you want to do this? I'm a youkai you know..."

"That's exactly why I 'have' to do this. Someone needs to keep an eye on you."

"Ahaha, really, you are truly amazing." you offer your hand. "It would be great to do business with you."

"Indeed." the shrine maiden shakes your hand. "This day marks the beginning of a new era."

The sun rises in the background and lights the other figures, who were witness in the formation of this pact between youkai and humans. The lord of the tengu, the lord of the kappa, the creator of Makai, the guardian of the Hakurei and some more of the youkai sages, stand on the top of the highest mountain in Gensokyo, along with you two.

"Well then, shall we?"

Still holding the maiden's hand, you walk to the edge of the mountain peak and kneel before the enormous cloud above you. The rest of the youkai and the shrine maiden do the same.

The cloud, that just a few days ago almost drown all of Gensokyo, slowly changes its shape to represent the god of all that this land holds.

"MORTALS" the gargantuan dragon head speaks. "WHAT IS THAT YO-

'ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTT'

The background is getting torn apart.

"Why..."

'ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTT'

The 'image' of the dream you were having just know is getting ripped apart.

"Why..."

Like a wallscroll, the 'image' of the youkai sages kneeling before the dragon-god is getting torn apart...by HER.

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU IGNORING ME!?"

With eyes full of rage she turns to you.

"First you push me away..."

She takes a step towards you.

"...and now you let 'her' inside?"

Her features darken.

"I WON'T JUST SIT AND WATCH ANYMORE!"

SHE grabs your neck and starts struggling you.

"Kkkghhhhh..."

"IF YOU WISH TO IGNORE ME, YOU MIGHT AS WELL GO AND DIE!"

Once again, the hateful crimson color feels your visual area.

"THAT'S... THAT'S..." HER grip weakens. "...doesn't matter anymore, does it?"

HER eyes fill with tears.

"Why can't I go back?" SHE cries. "Why won't you let me out anymore?"

The background changes once more. Everything is white now. A beeping sound can be heard every few seconds.

"At least...let us go as one..."

SHE sits down and hugs her knees.

You feel the need to pat HER head, tell HER that you haven't forgotten about HER; that everything is going to be okay.

But you can't.

You can only watch your trembling hands, right before your legs lose their strength. You fall on the ground writhing in pain and puking blood.

The beeping sound stops.

...

You open your eyes.

Something hot runs down from your nose. You wipe it with your hand.

"Blood...?"

You sit up.

A beautiful soft light baths the forest.

In front of you a woman wearing a blue and white dress stands. She has curly pink hair and lavender eyes. She greets you with a smile.

"Excus-"

A small drop of water falls from a nearby tree. The woman before you slowly fades, still smiling at you.

"Wait!"

But she's no longer there.

You stand up and look around. It looks like you're alon-

Ching.

Bells?

You turn to look.

Behind a tree a little girl hides, looking at you. Well, she isn't doing a good job, you can clearly see her. She has brown hair and a pair of cat ears. She wears a red and light pink outfit with gold trimming.

"Cheeeen! Lunch time!"

"Nya!"

You watch the little girl running away, towards the voice. On her back you see two tails waving.

[ ]Follow the catgirl.
[ ]Keep up with the catgirl while hiding.
[ ]Stay where you are.
[ ]Do something else (say).

[x]Follow the catgirl.

I don't think Ran'd prove that hostile to her.

[x] Follow the catgirl.

[x] Follow the catgirl.

>[x] Follow the catgirl, slowly and in plain sight
>[X] Quickly check for gaps
>[X] Call out to catgirl
>[x] check self for anything out of the ordinary. Still got the/a card?

"Excuse me! You there!" you call to the little catgirl.

She turns and looks at you for a second but then continues to run towards her previous direction. You notice that there is a Japanese looking house a few meters ahead. Probably that's where she's heading.

You look around for anything strange. The last thing you remember was... beh, you can no longer tell what a dream is and what reality is. Nevertheless, there are no 'gaps' or something like that around. This place looks pretty normal. What's supposed to be 'normal' anyway?

You look at yourself. Everything looks fine, if you count out the fact that your dress's right arm is half-burned and that you could use a bath, that is.

You check your dress's pocket. The card is still there. You take it out and take a look at it. It's a queen of hearts deck card again.

It appears that you have escaped the worst. You look for the catgirl. You saw her just a few moments ago entering that house. Might as well follow her.

After walking for a bit you reach the house.

"Excuse me, is anyone here?"

"Yes? Who's there?" a voice comes from inside. Strange, you feel like you've heard that voice before.

A few moments later a woman comes out.

"You are..."

In front of you stands the lady with the tails you met during the first day in this place.

"...miss Ran, was it?"

"Eh? We know each other?" Ran pauses to think for a bit. "Ah! The girl from area 4c4f424259! Wait, hadn't you left... when was it... around four months ago?"

Four months? There has been four months since you entered that gap then? Those things not only let you travel through space but also through time?

"You look awful, what happ-"

GRRRRRRROWL

You blush as your stomach announces its existence. Ran smiles gently.

"You must be hungry. Why don't you join Chen and I for lunch?"

...

The sound of dishes can be heard.

Both Chen and Ran watch dumbfounded as the person in front of them devours plate after plate. When you realize who that person is, you stop eating and look down embarrassed.

"No, no, it's okay, there's more." Ran realizes your embarrassment. "I was just surprised. How long has it been since you last ate?"

"I really don't know anymore" you say and take another bite of the fish next to you.

"Would you like to take a bath too?" Ran smiles.

"N-No, that's okay!" you refuse her offer. After all, right now there are some other things you could do.

[ ]Talk about what has happened to you since you left.
[ ]Ask about what has happened during the time you were gone.
[ ]Ask if something went wrong during your departure.
[ ]Talk about those dreams you were having.
[ ]Show the card to Ran.
[ ]Ask something else (say).
[ ]Do something else (say).

(You know the drill. One + any extras. Also a proofreader has joined. Better quality can be expected from now on, at least in the grammar/spelling department.)

[x]Talk about what has happened to you since you left.

This would be most interesting to Ran, and it might help shed light on what she's seen happen.

[x]Talk about what has happened to you since you left.

[ ]Talk about what has happened to you since you left.

>[X]Talk about what has happened to you since you left.
>[X] Take a bath

(Part 1 of 3)

You take a look at the empty plates before you. It's kind of embarrassing that you ate so much and that fast, but the rewarding feeling of being full is great.

You watch Ran feeding Chen. The image strongly reminds you that of a mother and child.

"Now, chew properly, you are not a child anymore!" Ran scolds the catgirl.

You can't help but smile. Ran notices it.

"What?"

"You really look like her mother."

"Eh!?"

Seeing her embarrassed like this is just too cute. You want to tease her a bit more but she changes the subject.

"So what happened to you? Why are you in such a mess?"

...

"I see..." Ran says while thinking about all the things you just said.

You've spent the past half-hour recounting what has happened to you since you left. About the desolate place, the girl that found you, the doctor, the princess and about that 'thing'. Ran was paying attention all the time while nodding.

"So? What do you think Miss Ran?"

Ran pets Chen who's sleeping on her lap.

"How should I put this... I don't understand what that place was either and what exactly has happened to you..."

"I think... I think that, that place was Gensokyo."

"Eh!" Gensokyo? Are you sure?"

"I don't know... I just... It felt like I was still in Gensokyo."

"Mmm..." Ran thinks again for a bit. "No. I don't think so."

"Eh? Why?"

"Well, the place you just described was a desolate, dying world correct?"

"Well yes, it looked like that..."

"So it can't be Gensokyo."

"Why's that?"

"Well... how should I put this..." Ran scratches her chin "It's almost impossible for Gensokyo to 'die' like that. Technically speaking, Gensokyo is forever."

"What you mean by that?"

"Ah well... It's going to be a bit complicated, are you fine with this? Don't you want to rest for a bit first?"

You shake your head. You are a bit tired but you can feel that this is too important to pass it by like that.

Ran sighs and takes a look at the table. She clears the area in front of you of plates and bowls and then places some breadcrumbs and a bean there. After that she dips her finger into some soy sauce and draws some lines between the breadcrumbs and the bean.

"Okay... this should make things easier for you to understand... What's your knowledge of Cosmology?"

"You mean how the world was made?"

"Yes."

"Ah... The Big Bang took place and then time and space began to expand..."

"You talk about your own material world. I'm talking about the Cosmos. How you, Aome Maigo and everything else began? Where you originate from?"

"I... I don't understand."

"Let me put this this way." She points at the big breadcrumb in the center. "Let's say this is the 'Origin'. It looks like the others but it's nothing like them. This is where every world is connected to, the origin of the information about how everything should work. Think of it as a deity, or like a big library full of information about what's going on everywhere and how things might turn out." she pauses for a bit. "Better yet, think of it like a place where souls originate and return to."

"Okay..." you nod. You don't understand what this has to do with anything yet.

"Now, let's say this one is your own world." she points to another breadcrumb. "Unlike the 'Origin' all the other breadcrumbs are physical worlds. Mmm... maybe I should use something else for the 'Origin'..."

"No, it's okay... what's the bean then?"

"I'll get to that later. Okay now, see the sauce connecting each world with the 'Origin'? This is the flow of information, of 'souls', to and from each world. The 'you' is coming from the 'Origin' to your world to take shape and live its life."

"And when I die, I go back to the 'Origin', right?"

"Well... what are you made of?"

"Eh... you mean my body?"

"No, your existence. What defines Aome Maigo?"

"Ah... my body and soul... I guess..."

"So you're a combination of your physical body and the 'information' about what Aome Maigo is, correct?"

"I think..."

"What about your memories then? Your dreams, your ideals, your hopes and your fears? What happens to them? Are they part of your body or of your soul?"

"Eh... I don't know..."

"Let's call this additional information that you gain throughout your life 'spirit'. What happens with it when you die?"

"Goes back to the 'Origin'?"

"No, 'Origin' has only information about 'you' and how things should work, remember? Not the ideals, dreams and everything else that made up during your lifetime."

"So what? It stays in my world?"

"Pretty much yes. In a sense a part of you never dies."

"Okay... what all these have to do with Gensokyo?"

"See that bean? Let say that bean is Gensokyo."

"Wait, there's sauce going there from the breadcrumbs."

"Which means...?" Ran smiles.

"Ah... 'souls' flow to Gensokyo too?"

"Aaaah, almost there... 'Souls' flow to the 'Origin', but 'spirit' flows to Gensokyo. Those dreams, hopes and fears end up here."

"Wait, there's no flow from and to the 'Origin' from Gensokyo..."

"That's because Gensokyo was made artificially, rather than naturally. There's no 'information' about it in the 'Origin'. Everything here originates from the other worlds."

You think over this for a while. Something doesn't fit...

"Wait, you've said Gensokyo was made artificially, correct? Then, where did 'spirit' go before that?"

"Well... What do you think about ghosts?"

"Well, I'm interested in them. I think they are people who left unfinished business behind and the like. Why?"

"When you die your 'spirit', the collection of everything you came up with during your lifetime, dissolves in the physical world. In some cases, the process is slow, which means a part of 'you' will be left behind like a 'ghost'."

Somehow things are starting to make sense.

"So... monsters and ghosts are leftover 'spirit'?"

"Not only those, but fears or hopes of the people that have taken shape."

"And Gensokyo was made so that those creatures would gather in one place!" you say with enthusiasm.

"Correct!" Ran smiles.

You look at the table again. Everything start to make sense but...

"...you said Gensokyo can't 'die'. Why's that?"

"That's because Gensokyo, like the 'Origin', aren't physical worlds, but rather they are created by the 'souls' and 'spirits' that flow from and to them. What should happen for Gensokyo to 'die' then?"

"Stop the flow of 'spirits'?"

"And how can that happen?"

"...destroying all the worlds?"

"Correct. But that's impossible right? At any given time a world dies but another one is born, so the overall flow never ends."

You lean back and look at the ceiling. You find all of this interesting somehow but you can't decode its meaning yet... You should probably take a rest first. You could discuss all this again, at a later time.

"Was I too difficult to understand?" Ran looks at you with a worried look.

"No, no. It's just too much information for now and I should probably take a rest first."

You look at your clothes again. They are dirty and in a mess. You are in a mess too. Maybe you should take that offer that Ran made earlier.

"Excuse me..."

"Yes?"

"About that bath..."

Ran smiles and tries to take Chen off her legs.

"No, no, you don't have to! Just tell me where and I'll do everything else by myself!"

"But..." she hesitates.

"It's fine really! I can't put you in more trouble that I already have." you insist.

After giving it a bit of thought, she points you to where the bathroom is. You thank her and go there.

(Part 2 of 3)

...

"Aaaaah..." you take a deep breath after getting your head out of the hot tub's water.

The hot water relaxes every single muscle of your body and takes off the previous days' stress. You take a look at your legs on the other side of the tub. Between your legs and your head there's a rubber duck floating on top of the water's surface. You smile while thinking how surreal this is.

You look around. Actually, it might not be that strange. This bathroom is no different than any regular bathroom seen in the outside world. One would probably mistake this for the outside world... well if he knew how the outside world is.

"Still... that's all I remember..." you mumble while making a few bubbles with your mouth on the water.

You still find it strange how you can remember most of the things from the outside world, yet you haven't got the slightest idea of who you are.

"It's almost... as if my 'soul' gone missing..." you make a sad smile while remembering Ran's words from before.

Soul eh?

Keine called it 'ideal'. Patchouli called it 'purpose'. Ran called it 'origin'.

"But in the end, they are all the same thing, right?" you splash the water with your legs. The water movement makes the rubber duck come closer to your head.

You stare at the water's vibrations. The movement reminds you of the 'gaps' you saw distorting the air, during your first day here and during the day you left.

"...and there too..." you remember the air full of those 'gaps' at that 'dying' world you found yourself in.

Ran said that that place couldn't possibly be Gensokyo; and yet you remember you were sure it was. According to her explanation, only if every single possible world were to be destroyed - only then would Gensokyo cease to exist.

"But that would be impossible... right?" you stare again at the water's vibrations.

The soy sauce on the tablecloth connecting the 'worlds' with 'Gensokyo' was meant to be 'spirit'… and 'spirit' would be created forever, as long as these worlds existed...

...hey, wait a minute. 'Spirit' is created because intelligent life exists in those worlds... and life is created as a combination of the 'body' and 'soul', right?

"...there was only one place that the 'souls' were coming from thought..."

What if the 'Origin' was to be destroyed? No, not destroyed, all you had to do was to block the 'flow' and...

"...everything would fall apart..."

You stare at the water surface for a while. You can see your reflection on it.

"Bah, this is stupid..." you mumble and look at the bathroom's ceiling.

Why can you understand all these things, anyway? Well, to be honest you don't really get it all but you still find them exciting. Nevertheless, all you have to worry about is how to get to your home before something like 'that' happens again. The image of that 'thing' coming out of nowhere and annihilating everything with just one move makes you tremble, even though the water is still hot.

"...better get out now."

You get out of the bathtub and wipe yourself with a dry towel. If you'd spend a few more minutes inside you might have fallen asleep. Apart from being dangerous to fall asleep in a hot bathtub, the thought that SHE will wait for you in your dreams makes you fight the sleepy feeling.

'I WON'T JUST SIT AND WATCH ANYMORE!'

You softly touch your neck. Yes, you won't be sleeping for a while...

On the bathroom's desk are your clothes, folded. You didn't ask Ran for clean ones; it's not like she would have any that fits you anyway. You proceed to wear your clothes again. You would prefer to have them cleaned of course, but now is not the time.

You open the bathroom's door and get out.

"Miss Ran, I've fin-" but you stop halfway as you can hear a soft hum coming from inside the room you were eating before.

You slowly walk towards the soft melody, trying not to interrupt Ran who's ruffling a sleeping Chen's hair on her lap.

I now remember when I was a child, the dream I had about that world.
Azure sky and a green valley, was what the dream spoke of.
No more tears and pain, no more fear and cold,
Just lying down with everyone, under the sun's warmth.

As I grew up, in the years past the dream got lost,
Somewhere between discovering how this world works.
I threw away the memories of the dream I once had,
And moved on with the life I was meant to have.

Yet, in this path you and I were able to meet,
Through your eyes I found what I once seek.
You were the one who reminded me of the path I had to walk,
The world of dreams I should shape, a world that you would love.

(Part 3 of 3)

Leaning on the wall next to you, you listen to the lullaby Ran sings softly to Chen. The soft melody gives you a warm feeling, something you feel that you should have lost along with your memories, but it's still there, warming your insides. Your eyes slowly close. A sleepy feeling takes over.

You would have fallen asleep just now, if only the lullaby hadn't stopped that abruptly.

You open your eyes only to find Ran looking straight ahead of her with a serious expression.

"...Chen."

"Mmm..."

"Chen."

"Mmm...Miss Ran?"

"Chen, wake up. Go and play with your friends in the forest."

"But Miss Ran... I'm still sleepy..."

"Chen go now."

The little catgirl opens her sleepy eyes slowly only to find a serious Ran looking at her.

"...Miss Ran?"

"Go Chen."

Even with a forced smile, Ran still has a serious tone in her voice.

"...yes." a scared Chen answers before leaving the house in a hurry. The serious look of her guardian face should have warned her that Ran's request was merely an order that she shouldn't disobey.

"Miss... Ran..." you slowly walk towards her.

But she ignores you. When she makes sure that Chen has left the house she gets up and continues to stare at the same direction she did before, towards the dark side of the room.

There, there's a man standing.

"Really... I didn't mean to interrupt anything."

Time stops.

A deep clear voice is heard.

"I was just wondering whether she was around."

Maybe it's because of the imposing tone of the man's voice. Maybe it's because of the ominous feeling you get. Maybe it's because of Ran's subtle trembling.

You can't move.

You are frozen in your place, right behind Ran.

"But it seems..." the man takes a step forward. "...that she isn't here."

A single step was enough for you to start shaking.

You can see Ran's face changing into a face of a beast. Her eyes, her teeth, her pulled muscles make her look like a wild animal, ready to attack.

The man, dressed in elegant black clothes, looks like someone that came out of a 19th century book. He has a youthful appearance but something tells you that he might be the oldest one in this room. He’s wearing a carefree expression, but you know that he’s only faking it.

"Perhaps... I should leave a message then?"

A pause.

The world freezes as if preparing of the coming storm.

"'MAKAI'"

At the exact moment the man opens his mouth Ran sends you flying at the wall behind you with her elbow while she takes a long jump backwards.

You are taken by surprise but you can now see why she did that.

The area around the man is disrupted. Everything around him, in a radius of five or so meters, has changed into a crimson color. The floor beneath the man's feet looks like it's boiling. From inside, what appear to be tentacles full of teeth sprout out searching for their prey.

"I should expected nothing less from her shikigami." the man grins. "But it ends here."

While leaving no openings Ran comes closer to you. With her left hand and without losing sight of the man for even a second she 'opens' a 'gap' next to you.

"Get in."

From the 'gap' on your left some eyes pop up and a few hands sprout out. On your right the door through which Chen just went outside is still open.

You understand that you shouldn't stay here for even a single moment.

[ ]Try the gap.
[ ]Try the door.

(Hello again. I know this might get annoying but I'll apologize again for being away for so long. It couldn't really be helped, but that's no excuse for me not notifying you and the proofreader. I hope that you won't have to go through this again. Anyways.

Thank you all for your support so far. I'm really enjoying this and reading your comments just make me even happier. Reading that you might have doubts, no, I'm not planning on stopping till I finish this. The only reason I can see for stopping is when noone will be enjoying this anymore. Even then, I won't simply go away. I'll make sure that I’ll make a proper post about it. So when I'm gone missing again (hopefully not anymore) there’s something else going on.

That's all I guess. I don't want to bother you anymore with my stupid rant. Thanks and sorry again.)

[x]Try the gap.

Well Ran did say to get in right?

[x]Try the gap.

[x]Try the gap.

[x]Try the gap.

>[X]Try the gap.

You stand there confused, unable to think of what to do. The 'gap' next to you, with all those eyes and hands sprouting from inside, doesn't lure you as much as the door the little catgirl just left through...

"Hurry up!"

But still... Ran told you to get in, right?

You take a single step towards it before the hands circle and clutch your body.

"Find the shrine maiden of Hakurei and tell her that 'he' is back." Ran says without losing sight of the man.

The hands pull you towards the gap, covering your mouth, chest and waist.

Ran stoops a bit, as if she's an animal that prepares to dash forward to its prey. Her tails are raised and from her mouth two canine teeth can be seen. From her fingertips, long nails can be seen.

"Also tell her..."

You are already inside the 'gap' as the 'opening' closes.

"...to take care of Chen."

The last thing you see before the 'opening' closes completely is Ran attacking the man.

...

'Ran... I'm sorry... but I...'

...

You look at the 'gap' above you just before gravity pulls you down to the floor, about three meters below you.

"Ouch!"

You hit the floor on your back. You feel the pain of the impact as you watch the 'gap' closing and disappearing above you.

There's something wet running down your cheeks. You wipe the salty liquid with your hands and look around.

It looks like you are inside a tall room. You are surrounded by bulky figures that appear to be bookcases...

"...aaaah...aaaah..." you hear someone close breathing while making wheezy sounds.

You turn only to find the devil girl you've met before, on her knees, just a few steps away. Her eyes, that have black circles under them, give you an ill feeling. Yes, she might not have been very friendly to you last time, but right now she looks like she could attack you just because you gave her a strange look.

"What was that sound? Did you drop something again?" you hear a familiar voice coming from somewhere behind the bookcases.

The devil girl slowly turns her head toward the voice.

"N-No... It wasn't... me..." she says with a tired voice.

She seems to be sick or something, as she's supporting herself to the bookcase next to her in order to stand up.

"Then who was-"

From the corner of the bookcase in front of you, you see the young woman dressed in pajama-like clothes.

"You are... what was it... Miss Maigo?" she looks at you.

"Y-yes." you nod. It looks like you ended up somewhere familiar this time.

"...What are you doing here? Haven't you gone 'back'?"

"I... well things happened and..." you remember what was happening a few moments ago "Anyway, that doesn't matter right now! Miss Ran has..."

"You look awful! What happened?" Patchouli interrupts you.

"Like I was saying...!"

"Come, I'll ask Sakuya to bring something for you to drink. Let's take things from the beginning."

You are still confused as to what's been going on. Taking a moment to relax won't be bad. After all, it's not like you can do something else right now.

As you follow Patchouli, you pass next to the devil girl who still supports herself on the bookcase. Just as you pass by her, she gives you another cold look.

...

The silver haired maid pours some hot tea in a cup in front of you. You take the cup, blow at the hot drink and take a small sip.

"Thank you Sakuya."

The maid takes a small bow before Patchouli and turns to leave.

"Well then. What was that about Miss Ran?" Patchouli looks at you.

You look at the hot liquid inside your cup.

"Miss Ran send me here... There was a man... I have to find Miss-"

Mmm? Are you trembling? The tea looks like it's vibrating.

"Who?" Patchouli asks.

You look at her.

"I have to find Miss Reimu as soon as po-!"

A loud noise is heard. It's like something suddenly exploded. Patchouli and Sakuya look each other.

"The young one?"

"I'll check."

The maid pulls an old stopwatch out of her pocket and presses the button on top of it. At that exact moment she disappears.

"What was..."

"Maybe the young sister is out again?" Patchouli stands up. You follow her.

Before two minutes pass the maid reappears in front of you. She looks straight at Patchouli and nods.

"Okay then, let's go."

Patchouli turns towards the devil girl who has just joined you.

"Stay here and look after her okay?"

"Yes... Miss Patchouli." the devil girl makes a small bow.

You watch Patchouli and the maid running towards the enormous door. The devil girl looks at you with a serious face, while taking slow, deep breaths.

You don't really enjoy her company. Well the feelings must be mutual. Still, it looks like something big going on.

You...

[ ]stay with the devil girl.
[ ]follow Patchouli and Sakuya.
[ ]do something else (say).

[x]stay with the devil girl.

If Flan's running amok, it'd be a good idea to stay still

>Also, OP, do you mind telling us what would have resulted if we chose to go out the door? Probably a dead end, but I wonder if there was ever a chance for Ran... ;_;

(Choosing to go out the door didn't have an immediate dead end. You would end up meeting with Chen in the forest and hide with her. She would insist on you going back with her to see what's Miss Ran doing. You would get the choice to follow her or stay there. Following her leads to a dead end for both you and her. Staying there will eventually lead into a different path, much like the Part's I 'go to SDM with Marisa' or 'go to the human village with Keine' one.

In order to catch up with some other questions you might end up with:

>So Ran is...
With the other choice you see her dying. With the one you made, well, we might never know, right?

>How should we know that there was a path choice there?
You don't. The default choice is entering the 'gap'. There were little hints pointing that it would be safe to go through the door too, but I'm just stretching it out right now.

>What hints?
Well, Chen (which appears to be very precious to Ran) went out the door right? Also, the man's radius appears to be of 5 meters or so and you are outside of his area of effect. Plus, it doesn't look like he cares much about what you would do in the first place. But like I said, this is just me stretching things out. If I wanted to, I would easily put a bad end even here.

>So we missed some things?
Yes and no. Ny going to SDM and not at the Human village in the first part, you had access into different type of information and events, but in the end the two paths meet up again. Both get their own bad ends, new characters and different information. You won't 'miss out' critical information though. The things you'll need to know, you're going to meet them one way or another. Your choice is in what order you access the information. After all, if something goes wrong due to lack of proper information, there are always the Higan ends.

This turned out to be a little longer than expected, but I guess giving you a look of how I handle things might help you later. Feel free to ask anything else you want but my opinion is that it would be better to use the end of each part to do this.

On a side note, I added a list with Part I endings. You can find them in the previous threads. No flowcharts yet, they'll only confuse you at this moment.)

>[X]stay with the devil girl.
>[X]We have a request from Ran. We must alert the shrine maiden of the appearance of this man. Talk to Koakuma- "Sorry, I'm aware...[]...to contact Miss Reimu?"
>[X]Ask if there's a magical way to contact Reimu, fast. Someone (Ran's) life is in danger!

You watch Patchouli and the maid leaving the room. Something big is going on; staying right here might be a good idea. They seemed to be very worried about that 'young sister'. You don't want to get involved in something strange again.

You turn to the devil girl.

"Excuse me... I know this might not be the best time but I do have to contact Miss Reimu as soon as possible. Is there a way-"

The devil girl seems to ignore you. She supports herself on the table with her right hand and claws at her neck with her left one.

"...are you okay?"

The wheezy sound returns. She looks to be in pain.

"...not enough..."

"Eh? What's not enough?"

"... mistress... mana... not enough..."

You go near her.

"Is there something I can do to help-"

"... must... aaaaah... blood... aaaaaah..."

There's something strange going on here. For some reason you feel like it's not wise to be near that girl.

"...aaaaaah ...you ..." she lifts her eyes and look at you. "... yours... human..."

You take a step back.

"E-excuse me... I-I think I'll join the others a-after all..."

"... you... humans... aaaaaah... pathetic..." she takes a step closer to you. Her facial features change. Her eyes start glowing red.

That's it, you're out of here. Staying with her was never a good idea after all. You turn around and start running.

"... petty creature..."

The wheezy sound stops. But you won't stop to look what's going on. The door is now only a few steps-

You feel someone grabbing your shoulder. Nails claw at your back.

You turn around. When did she...

"... I can't stop it... anymore... at least... you're not... mistress..." she glares at you.

"Ah..."

But you don't get to say anything. Her left hand rakes your neck. You manage to avoid a fatal hit by taking a small jump backwards.

"Kghhhh..."

You hold your bleeding neck with your right hand, trying to stop the bleeding.

The girl stretches her arms and wings on her back. She lifts her head up and lets out a cry.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH"

Her scream freezes your blood. She lowers her look again and looks at you with a grin.

"Goodbye... human..."

With a dash she claws at your face. One of her claws rips out one of your eyeballs.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

Both you and her scream. You from the overwhelming pain and her from the ecstatic pleasure.

You block her next attack with you left arm but she almost rips it off. Her blows are becoming stronger with each hit.

"Aaaah... aaaaah... no..."
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

The next hit is near your stomach.

Your face again.

Your right arm.

You can no longer follow her movements. You kneel down.

"AHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

You feel her hand grabbing your head.

"GIVE MY GREETINGS TO THE OTHER SIDE HUMAN!!!"

With a sudden movement she breaks your neck.

You die.

//DEAD END 13//

Now it's time for:

'KEINE SENSEI'S SPECIAL CLASS ON HOW NOT TO BE A ⑨, PART XIII'

"...Explain to me once more why your employee has killed her AGAIN?"

"She is my familiar, not my employee."

"That has nothing to do with this! You have to take responsibility of your familiar's actions!"

"It couldn't be helped, I wasn't around."

"Last time though-!"

"Last time was an accident."

"She said the same!"

"Then it must be true."

"Aaah! This is meaningless. You there! Yes, you! Why would you do that? Even if you managed to avoid her the previous time, it was still obvious that something wasn't right with her behavior. I also understand you being enthusiastic over carrying out the task Ran has trust you with, but the dead don't speak, right?"

"Actually, it's possible to communicate with the dead."

"That's... not really helpful right now, is it? Anyway..."

'HAKUTAKU MODE ON'

"Let's take care of ourselves better next time, shall we?"

"I'm going back to reading."

//HISTORY CHANGED//

You don't really enjoy her company. Well the feelings must be mutual. Still, it looks like something big going on.

You...

[ ]follow Patchouli and Sakuya.
[ ]do something else (say).

[x]follow Patchouli and Sakuya.
[x] Ask Patchouli if there's something a matter with her familiar since she's looking kinda haggard.

(Part 1 of 2)

>[X]follow Patchouli and Sakuya.
>[x] Ask Patchouli if there's something a matter with her familiar since she's looking kinda haggard.

You watch Patchouli and the maid leaving the room. It looks like something big is going on that you shouldn't involve yourself into but...

You turn to the devil girl. She supports herself on the table with her right hand and claws at her neck with her left one.

There's definitely something wrong with her but you don't want to stay here alone to find out. You decide to follow Patchouli and Sakuya.

The devil girl doesn't look like she cares that you're leaving. No wait, was that actually a smile you just saw on her face? Whatever, you're out of here.

Only a few moments pass before you catch up with Patchouli and Sakuya.

"Eh? Why didn't you stay in the library?" Patchouli asks you with a puzzled look.

"But that girl... she didn't look too well and..."

"Ah yes, her. I don't know why but she's been like that the past few months. I might look into it when I have time."

That was a bit cold of her. What's her relationship with that girl anyway?

"Anyway, you can come along, just make sure you stand behind me and don't do anything unnecessary okay?"

You nod.

You proceed down the corridor when you reach what appears to be a small gathering of maids. They are all close to each other, whispering in front of a door. As you come closer to them you can hear their soft conversation.

"That's awful."
"Didn't expect it."
"Are Maria and Christine the ones?"
"I don't know."
"I was in the kitchen when I heard the noise."

When Sakuya gets near them all of them stop talking and take a small bow.

You enter the room. In front of you is a short little girl. She's looking straight ahead with her arms crossed, at the other side of the room. Because of this you can see her back, on which she has a pair of black bat-like wings. She wears a light red poofy hat and dress, with bright red trimming. Her hair is short with a light-blue color.

There's another little girl on the other side of the room. She's sitting down and hugging her knees. Her back is also turned towards your direction so you can see that she also has a pair of wings, although her's look like they are made out of iron and prism shards. She wears a red dress and has short, blond hair. In front of her two maids lie unconscious. There's a lot of blood spilled on the floor. The girl looks like she's playing with it like a child, making drawings with her right hand's index finger.

"Flan, why did you leave your room?" the girl in front of you asks with a strict tone.

The other girl continues to play with the blood, clearly ignoring the question.

"Flan, I asked you some-"

"But sister... I tried not to..." the other girl mutters, still drawing circles with her finger. "But you know... the voice kept going KILL THEM and KILL THEM and I couldn't take it anymore..."

Her tone changes a bit on the 'kill' part.

"Go back to your room, Flan." her big sister says with a commanding tone.

"You say that..." the little sister turns her head towards her sister's direction. She wears a grin on her face. "...but you are the same also, aren't you? You can hear it too, right? That voice..."

"Flan, go back this instant."

"..." the little sister gets up and faces the ground. "...or what?"

"Or I'd have to force you to."

The silent moments that follow are disrupted by a quiet chortle which gradually becomes louder and louder. The little sister covers her face with her bloodstained hand.

"...ahahahahahaha... ahahahaha..."

She bends backwards and lets out a maniacal laugh.

"...AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

She looks at her big sister with the expression of a lunatic.

"AHAHAHAHA!!! FORCE ME!" YOU!" AHAHAHAHA!!!"

She lifts her left hand on the side.

"BUT SISTER!!! I'M STRONGER THAN YOU!!!"

In that instant two other girls that look exactly like her appear on either side of her and run towards where you all stand. A third one jumps over her head and does the same.

"SPLIT UP!"

Following the older's sister command, Patchouli and Sakuya run towards the left and right side of the room respectively.

Sakuya on the right runs towards one of the 'clones' while throwing several daggers.

The clone blocks them with her right hand and lifts her left one. With her palm open and facing Sakuya, she follows her while she's making swift movements trying to avoid her.

Seeing the clone about to close her hand to a fist, Sakuya takes out her stopwatch of her uniform's pocket and press the button on its top. She instantly teleports behind the clone while a countless number of daggers appear, almost floating above the girl. At the exact next moment she reappears in front of the girl with even more daggers appearing.

Almost like disobeying the rules of gravity, the daggers despite where they originally were floating, thrust towards the girl. She tries to block them but several find their target, wounding her.

On your left...

"'AGNI SHINE!'"

Patchouli rises above the ground while declaring her spell. A magic circle appears around her while a whirlwind of fire bathes the clone below her.

From a small cloud of smoke and debris the clone dashes towards her trying to reach her.

"'RAGE TRILITHON!'"

Several tumbling rocks appear and cover the clone a split second before it reaches her.

Ahead of you...

"aaaAAAAAH!!!"

The older sister grabs the third clone from the face and sends it flying towards her little sister on the other side of the room. Clone and original both end up hitting on the wall, partly bringing it down. A cloud of smoke and debris covers half of the room, leaving only the big sister, Patchouli and Sakuya in sight.

As the cloud slowly clears you notice something passing over you. You turn to look but it was way too fast. You look back to where the little girl and the clones are, only to find three of them standing there.

"Three..." Patchouoli mutters.

"Go find her. I'll handle these three." the big sister says.

"But mistress..." Sakuya tries to argue her decision.

"Sakuya..." the big sister says with a strict tone. "...go."

As she turns her head a bit to face Sakuya you can see that her features are distorted. Every muscle of her face is tense, her eyes radiate of crimson color and in her mouth a pair of fangs can be seen. On her neck and hands her veins are visible.

She lifts her right hand and opens her palm. Inside it a red mist slowly transforms into what looks like a spear.

"Yes." Sakuya takes a quick bow and leaves the room, followed by Patchouli and you.

At the exact moment that you get out, the maids close the doors behind you and barricade them with a thick piece of wood.

"Guard the door and keep it closed, even at the cost of your lives." Sakuya throws an absurd order to the maids.

"Yes ma'am!"

Still they answer with a tone that you would except from a soldier, rather than a maid.

(Part 2 of 2)

"This way!" Patchouli shouts. In front of her floats a small glowing crystal.

Sakuya and you follow her as she runs down the corridor. She stops right before an open door.

"In here!"

Patchouli and Sakuya enter the room, followed by you. Inside you can see a large area that looks like a dining hall. On the other side of the room, the little sister or one of her clones stands looking around. She seems not to notice you.

"Go!" Patchouli orders Sakuya.

"Eh?" the girl turns toward you when she hears Patchouli. She looks a bit lost.

As before, Sakuya teleports around the room, while lots of dagger appear and fly at the girl.

"KYAAAAAA!!!" the girl screams as some of the daggers find their target.

"'GREEN STORM!'"

A tornado of autumn leaves sends the girl flying towards the wall at the other end of the room.

"'SILVER DRAGON!'"

Several silver coins are launched in all directions, leaving nothing but smoke and destruction behind. A big cloud of smoke and debris appears.

"That's enough. Let's go back." Patchouli says clearly satisfied with the result.

As the two leave, you take a final look of the room. The cloud of smoke has almost cleared. You see the girl barely conscious on the floor. Her clothes are half-ripped apart and there's some blood on them. She looks in front of her with a blank look while trembling.

"Cruel..." you mutter. No matter what that girl has done, or how dangerous she is, something like that...

Still, you have to follow the other two for now or you are going to be left behind. You are about to leave the room when you notice a huge block of stone hanging above the girl. It seems that Patchouli's last attack almost destroyed the ceiling, as it looks about to come crumbling down.

"Be careful!" you shout to the girl but it doesn't look like she can move anytime soon.

You hear a cracking noise coming from the ceiling above.

[ ]Run inside to save the girl!
[ ]This is dangerous, better go get someone else!

(Small talk - part 1/2)

(Okay, small talk time.
I might have used >>13902 anon's post, but I've read all the comments as always and answer to all of you. Everyone's opinions are welcomed and helpful.

>Op you are a good writer....and this is nothin g personal..but you sure like to kill us off. you are like an asshole dungeon master

First of all, there's no need for euphemisms or to reassure me of your good will, that's a given. Any criticism is more than helpful for me and also shows that you do care about all of this, which makes me happy by default, so no need to hold back.

There are a couple of thoughts that I want to share with you.

I've been thinking about all this (the 'we die too much' thing) since the first part and seeing that you also feel like that has put me in thoughts.
Let me explain myself.
There are some facts about the whole story that I had mentioned before or you might be aware by now.
This is more like a fanfiction with CYOA elements, than an actual CYOA. It's somewhat long and well, let's say, serious (or grim and dark if you prefer that expression). Moreover, it's the first time I write something longer than thirty pages and trying something like this; which adds up to my general inexperience. I am by no means a writer, I just try to look like one and experiment along the way with things.
The 'bad ends' are there as a way to give you the 'grim and dark' feeling, making you pay more attention to any details and yes, play with your sentiments in order to give you a greater satisfaction later and to provide you with a catharsis alongside with the heroine.
All these are plotwise of course.
The moment you feel fluctuated outside of the plot, not because X has killed the heroine, but because the author has lead you to a bad ending, is the moment I fail my purpose. I try to find the perfect balance between keeping the suspense and not making you feel that your actions are meaningless. I'm still trying to work this out, so all I can do right now is to ask you to bear with me for the time being. I hope I won't let you down.

About freedom of choices.
Personally I can't agree more with this anon:
>I personally prefer more open-ended quests that don't have a reload function
I too, enjoy open-ended worlds, not just quests. But, let's see some things together.

First of all, I made sure that this began as an open-ended world, well Gensokyo anyway. Aome is someone that you (the readers) and me created together. We have also shaped the world together. There are several things that I've created and added to the story but all of you are an undenialable factor, especially in the early steps of the story. But...
First of all, a 'white' or 'newborn' world has its problems. The most usual is the 'what to do now' one. I wanted you to have complete power over the choices, but in the progress it turned out that it's difficult to know what to do when you don't know anything about what's going on yet. That's when I decided to add the preselected choices, but left the [ ]do/say something else there. So, why the choice is missing in some parts? This gets us to my next point.

When you create a world and a character, there are some things that put limits to your choices as the story advances. In example, Aome clearly has developed feelings about Keine. You can't expect her to, let's say, kill her out of the blue, that would make her act out of character. So, when you make your choices, you also create a history that can't be undone and affects your future choices.
Another thing. Let's say this is Middle Earth during the LotR events and you play as Frodo. You can go to the first town and search for a whore, get drunk or kill some random dude. Hell, you can just go back to your village and become a farmer. Is this interesting? First answer, yes, at least for me. But why is it interesting? That's because I know what's going on in LotR and this is fun mostly because it's a parody of the main story. I think you can understand what I'm trying to say here. You can choose to go to the human village with Aome and play house with Keine, but in the end will that satisfy you?
Let's see another thing. Same setting, you are Frodo and you are now a farmer. Do all the wars and death happen? Do the other characters exist? The answer is yes. Whether you choose to save the world or not is up to you, but the bad things WILL happen with or without you. In our case the best example is the dead end in the end of part I. There's definitely something going on in Gensokyo. You can choose to ignore them but they will eventually find you. There's no happy end for anyone without going around and doing things.
I've decided and designed the storyline before even the prologue ended. There was the problem of railroading though. There are things you should be doing, if you want to understand what's going on and actually make it till the end. On the other hand, I don't want to make you go around, doing only what I want you to do, this would beat the purpose. I'm trying to use any methods I know and can think of to move you with the plot, while not clearly railroading you. That's pretty much how I came up with Higan endings. I really don't want you to meet one, but I keep them as a safeguard.
Giving you freedom of choice, while advancing the plot and keeping everything in character and interesting, is another bet I'm taking while I'm writing this story. Once again, I can only ask for you patience and understanding.

(Small talk - part 2/2)

So... You want get only two or so choices but you feel like you might want to do something else? Please DO say it. YOU are the ones who make the story more rich in content, sentiments and descriptions. You want to go and JUMP INTO THE LAKE? Yes, you know I won't use that right now, it's out of character, BUT I can use it in another form, such as feelings of nervousness or fear for Aome. So, please, don't restrict yourself. If you feel like you want to do something just say so. I'll try to fit it in the story.

'Yeah, that's so sweet, but how about NOT dying all the time?'
Well, about that... I had a bit of a chat with the proofreader about this. He says that he likes the 'visual novel' style I'm using, but I do understand that some others don't. I want to both keep everyone happy (that includes me also), but at the same time, not sacrifice the actual story/feeling/style.
One of the things I don't do (or at least don't want to do), is talking about the plot outside of the storytelling (these damn brackets). This is why I can't give you hints or advise except with the 'bad ends' part. Sometimes, dying is helpful and I do know it sounds stupid. At the same time some of you (sometimes me also) get annoyed or discouraged when the heroine dies.
There are things that point you what to choose still, for not dying. I will never (or at least I don't want to) give you a 'bad end' out of the blue. If you die, you'll die because of something that happened in-plot and not because of out of character knowledge. Let's take the previous 'bad end' as an example.
Everyone, both boards, choose to stay with Koakuma. Most of you justified their choice, as 'well I don't want to go near Flandre in this grim and dark setting, that's sure death'. Well, I can't say you are wrong about that, but you are forgetting something important. Aome doesn't know who Flandre is. From Aome's PoV we have a choice to stay with a some sort of devil which has been clearly annoyed, if not hostile with you since the beginning and to follow two humans (or at least that look like humans). The mentioned 'humans' are one that has saved your life before and another one which has been at least helpful and friendly so far. So from Aome PoV, I think going after the other two is the obvious answer, right?
Still, I can't blame you about this. When not even one has made that choice the problem is mine, not yours. I still need to work more with my descriptions and to make the 'correct' choices more obvious. So this is another thing you'll have to excuse me with, while I'm trying to get better to. Till then, all I can say is try to act from Aome's PoV, trust your instinct and hope for the best!

Okay, once again, I've written too much. I tried to make some points and I hope I succeed. Again, thanks for you patience, your interest and well, your love (?) and I do want to read your opinions, comments and criticism whenever that's possible. And since I think I haven't done it here already, I'd like to give my thanks to the proofreader for his great work, patience to my repeated mistakes and his comments about many plot or writing stuff.
By the way, all these were written AFTER writing the next part, whatever that might mean.

Bye for now.)

[x]This is dangerous, better go get someone else!

Still learning about things and such, and we're slowly getting used to it, but so far innocent seeming actions have gotten us killed.

[X]Run inside to save the girl!

Taptaptaptap.

The sound of your shoes tapping on the floor resonate through the large room.

You running full speed towards the girl, risking your life like this for someone you just met, not to mention someone that appears to be dangerous as well... Yet, you would never forgive yourself if you let a little girl get hurt, no matter the circumstances.

You can hear the cracking noise from above getting louder. The ceiling will fall any moment now but it's too late to turn yellow. You should take that fear...

With a loud noise the ceiling gives away.

...and turn it to strength!

"Little girl - Get!" you shout as you quickly lift the little girl's frail body.

"...eh?" the little girl slowly opens her eyes, trying to see who's the person who has just lift her in her arms.

Debris and big stones starts falling all around you, with the first one being right where that girl was just a second before. Yet, you have no time to be in panic. Right now all you have to do is sprint for the door!

"Kgh!"

The pain from your joints and muscles is immense, as you push your body to its limits.

"Haa...aaaaaaAAAAAAAAH!!!"

You turn the mixture of pain and panic into power to make your legs run even faster. If you want to get out of here in one piece without being squashed under the falling ceiling you must turn each drop of adrenalin into strength!

"...M-miss?" the girl says something with a soft voice.

You see a large piece of the falling ceiling about to block your only exit.

"...HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

With a kick, you propel yourself strong enough to graze under it and make your exit.

Behind you, the room is now nothing more than a collection of debris and fallen cement blocks.

"...safe." You say with a sigh.

Still, your sense of ease doesn't last for long, as you see a familiar face fly right before you, half-conscious.

"M-miss Saku-" you turn to your left.

Near the end of the long corridor, where the maids where standing before, there are the three 'clones' of the girl you have now in your arms. Behind them, you can see the broken door and the maids lying down unconscious.

"Ah-" you freeze in place as you watch the three girls flying rapidly right at you.

"Miss, I'll handle it from here."

The small girl jumps out of your arms and stands in front of you as if she wants to protect you. She lifts her right hand and opens her palm.

"LAEVATEIN!"

Following the girl's shout, a metal wand appears in her right hand.

Wielding it like a baseball bat, she sends the first clone straight at the ceiling. She makes a quick spin and sends the second one towards the wall on the side.

"Useless!" the third clone shouts as she dashes towards the girl, wielding an identical wand.

The two wands clash.

Again.

And again.

Sparks, followed by the clang of metal-on-metal can be heard with each clash, as the two girls try to hit each other.

You curl in a corner while covering your head with your arms. From the corner of your right eye, you see Sakuya trying to get up again.

One of the two girls misses her target and lands a hit on the wall, making a big hole. The colors of the coming dusk can be seen from outside.

The other one swings her wand causing everything in a three meter radius to explode.

"Kyaaaa!"

You try your best to cover your head with your arms, close your eyes and pray that everything will end soon.

The fight gets more intense. Each clash now is followed by loud noises of breaking things. With each hit, another part of the walls gives in and falls.

At that moment…

"STOP THIS INSTANT!"

Your heart almost obeys the older sister's command. Complete silence follows the girl's strong voice, as if a strong charm was mixed into it.

You open your eyes only to see the two girls lowering their wands.

"Go back to your room. I won't say it again." the older sister says with a softer yet equally strong tone.

"Yeeeees!" one says with a sarcastic tone. The other one just looks down with a sad face.

The other two clones that lie unconscious nearby get liquefied and absorbed by one of the two girls. Passing right by their big sister the two girls disappear into the distance. Just before they pass out of sight, the sad one turns and gives you a final glance and whispers something.

Sakuya appears next to the older sister, as elegant as ever.

"Casualties?"

"None."

"The maids?"

"Just unconscious."

"...and the other two?"

"Those too."

"Hmph!"

The older sister turns around and disappears into the background. Sakuya gives some orders to the maids nearby and follows her mistress.

"Are you okay?" Patchouli approaches you from behind.

"Y-yes, just a bit... well, shocked." you try to force a smile.

"Your clothes are in a mess..."

"No that's-"

Before letting you finish, she touches your damaged dress's right arm with a glowing index finger. The fabric miraculously grows back, as if new.

"...wow."

"Sorry about all that. Well, everything's fine since you're okay, right?"

"Y-yes." You're still busy staring at your dress. Was that magic?

Patchouli starts walking back to the library. You follow her.

"We never got on why you were here on the first place."

"Ah, that's right!" you remember what has happened right before you came here. "About Miss Ran... no, I need to find Miss Reimu fast!"

"Reimu... Why what happened?"

"It's a long story. Anyway, can't we get in contact with her somehow? With magic or..."

"Well, normally yes but..." Patchouli pauses for a moment.

"But?"

"The last three...no, four months, Alice and I experienced some problems with spells, especially long range ones..."

"But, just now didn't you..."

"That was different. I used Geomancy patterns in order to be able to cast. Alice on the other hand uses no other form of magic besides puppetry."

"Can't you draw a pattern then to..."

"Unfortunately no. All of those are for short-range spells. If I want something bigger, I should have drawn the pattern before."

This is troubling. It seems you'll have to go there on-

"Oh, I remembered now!" Patchouli searches her pocket and takes out a small amulet. "You've asked me before about magic and flying right?"

"Y-yes..."

Patchouli hands over the amulet.

"I spend some time researching a method that would allow a non-magic user to fly. I embedded some of my magic inside this amulet with the 'FLY' function. If you wear this you should be able to fly."

"Eh? Fly?" you look at the amulet. It has a chain attached to it. It looks like it can be worn like a necklace. "But, didn't you just say that magic..."

"This should be fine. After all the magic was stored inside long before the recent diminish in magic power."

"I see... so how I...?"

"Just wear it."

You wear the necklace around your neck.

"...well?"

"Just think of 'going up'"

Going up? What does she me- "AH!"

"See? It's easy right?"

"Ho-ho-how I ge-ge-get down no-no-now?" you stammer as you find yourself floating above the ground.

"Just think of 'going down' of course!"

Your feet touch the ground again.

"...handy."

"Isn't it?" Patchouli smiles. "Well then, what are you going to do?"

It should be late in the afternoon, almost dusk outside. Judging from your previous travel, if you hurry you might make it before it gets dark, still...

"Can Miss Patchouli come with me?"

"I'm sorry, but I cant. Despite a lot of other things, I still have to help with the repairs here. The little mistress has made a mess again..."

It looks like you'll have to do this alone. You look at the amulet. At least this time you have some extra aid. Still it's getting dark and the forest isn't really a safe place. You can't hope for a sudden interference from Keine or Alice again.

[ ]You're entrusted with an important message. You need to stop depending on others for everything. Go outside and hurry to meet the shrine maiden before dusk!
[ ]You're in a hurry, but asking one or two questions Patchouli won't hurt, right? (Suggest, if any)
[ ]Your life is more important. You probably can't do this alone. Better ask if you could spend the night here and hope that someone will join you tomorrow.
[ ]Do something else (say)

[ ]You're entrusted with an important message. You need to stop depending on others for everything. Go outside and hurry to meet the shrine maiden before dusk!

[x]You're entrusted with an important message. You need to stop depending on others for everything. Go outside and hurry to meet the shrine maiden before dusk!

>[x]You're entrusted with an important message. You need to stop depending on others for everything. Go outside and hurry to meet the shrine maiden before dusk!
>[x] Ask if there's any sort of weapon (or defensive item) you could borrow. After all, Gensokyo is pretty dangerous at night and we're still no match for anything even if we can fly.

Why are you second-guessing this so much? You're entrusted with an important message. You need to stop depending on others for everything. You should just go outside and hurry to meet the shrine maiden before dusk! Still...

"Excuse me but can I ask a favor?"

"Yes? What is it?"

"Is there something I could borrow? Something to help me defend myself?"

"Defend? From wh-oh I see..."

Patchouli thinks for a while before speaking again.

"I think...I think I have something that could help you. Wait for a moment here please."

You watch Patchouli walking away, towards the library. You lean on the wall and look around. The mansion looks old yet well maintained. Also, it didn't look that big from outside. Maybe you're just tired and you're over-thinking things?

Two maids pass by, ignoring you. They seemed to be in hurry. That event just now seems like it messed up their schedules.

You hear footsteps on your side. You turn to see Sakuya slowly approaching you. She stops a few steps away and takes a bow.

"I'm sorry for what happened earlier."

"N-no it's okay. Everything's fine now, right?"

Sakuya ignores your question.

"You're Aome Maigo correct? I still haven't introduced myself properly. I'm Sakuya Izayoi, head maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion."

"Th-thanks for taking care of me!"

She takes another elegant bow, which you answer with a bumbling one of your own.

"So I take it you are leaving already?"

"Yes, I need to meet Miss Reimu."

"The red-white? Why, what happened?"

…Red-white?

"Someone told me to let her know something. I must meet her as soon as possible."

"I see..."

Wait, this is actually a good chance...

"Would Miss Sakuya want to join me?"

"I'm sorry but we are all very busy at this moment as you can understand."

That's right. Also didn't you just decide not to depend on others for everything?

You look at Sakuya. She looks like a normal human, but from what you've seen so far she is equally strong, if not stronger, than the youkai you've met so far. Wait, didn't she throw some knives before?

"Excuse me..."

"Yes?"

"Those knives... Could I possibly borrow one?"

She looks at you with a puzzled look.

"What for?"

"...For defense."

She stands for a while, looking dumbfounded and then let's out a laugh.

"Hahahaha, you want to use my knives as a weapon?"

Even her laugh is stylish. She slips a knife out from a garter on her right thigh, usually hidden beneath her skirt.

"This..." she says while she balances the knife blade-first on her index finger. "...isn't something an inexperienced person should use. Actually, wielding a weapon might prove dangerous for someone who doesn't know how to use it effectively."

She tosses the knife in the air and grabs it with her other hand.

"One should use what one's gifted with."

You watch as Sakuya conceals the dagger below her skirt again. So, what she pretty much told you right now was that you shouldn't play with fire unless you know how to use it...

"I'm sorry I'm late!"

Both Sakuya and you turn to see a panting Patchouli, holding a small wooden box.

"I found it." she says and opens the box. He takes a small purple jewel from inside and hands it over to you.

"What's this?"

"Amethyst. It's used for storing magical energy inside."

You study the gem.

"...What should I do with this?"

"You can use it in order to release that magic energy all at once. Just hurl it at what's after you."

"So it's like a magical grenade..."

"A gura-what?"

"Ah, nothing!"

That's right. There shouldn't be any grenades in Gensokyo.

"So, I just toss it, right?"

"Like a bomb."

Wait, she knows what a bomb is though?

"Normally you should chant a proper magical spell in order to release the magical energy, but since you are not familiar with magic, I canceled it."

"I see..."

"Just be careful though."

"Of what?"

"Don't rush to use it on someone. They can really be hurt by it. Only use it if you really need to, okay?"

...

The sky wears a reddish color, as the sun is about to set.

You had thought that flying would feel strange, but it's actually easier to move than when you used Alice's doll. You fly as fast as you think you need to go in order to reach the shrine before darkness falls.

Sakuya had escorted you to the mansion's entrance where she pointed out the shrine's location to you.

While passing over the mansion's front gate you noticed the gatekeeper from the other day, only awake this time. You had waved at her in order to greet her but she just looked at you puzzled.

You are now flying over the forest, much like that time with Alice. Only this time everything should be-

A small shake.

"Not again..." you mutter and hug the amulet tight.

Right before lifting off you had noticed that when you were flying it shines with a strong white light. Except now the light's flickering.

You notice that you're slowly losing height. You look around nervously while praying for this to not end badly.

Your slow descent continues. You see a familiar clearing. It seems that the gem gave up in about the same area Shanghai had stopped working. If it's going to be like this, you might as well try to land there.

You lower yourself and land in the midst of that clearing, only a few seconds before the light in the amulet fades.

"Well... now what?"

You look around, trying to stay calm and decide what to do now.

At that moment you notice a familiar face. Well... too familiar, you could say.

The expressionless girl appears from out of the woods. She stops and looks at you, with the same blank look as always, only a few meters away from you. She slowly raises her hand and...

...waves at you.

[ ]Aggressive stance. When she appears, bad things happen. This time you have to take the initiative! (Optional you can use the gem too, if you like.)
[ ]Passive stance. Better observe her for a while before doing anything hasty. She's never actually harmed you so far, right?
[ ]Flee! You can't hope that Keine or Alice or anyone for that matter will show up now! Your best chance is to run away from here, hoping that the amulet will reactivate again.
[ ]Do something else (say).

[ ]Flee! You can't hope that Keine or Alice or anyone for that matter will show up now! Your best chance is to run away from here, hoping that the amulet will reactivate again.

>[X]Passive stance. Better observe her for a while before doing anything hasty. She's never actually harmed you so far, right?
>[x]Do something else (approach her slowly).
>[x] Wave back.

You watch the girl waving at you. She doesn't seem dangerous. Actually, she's never done anything to harm you so far, right? Better observe her for a while before doing anything hasty.

You decide to wave back.

The girl stops waving and just looks at you. This is awkward...

"He-hello there..."

No answer.

"I-I'm Aome. Aome Maigo." you point at yourself.

Still nothing.

You decide to approach her slowly. You take each step carefully, ready to draw back if she shows any hostility.

One step.

Two steps.

Nothing. She just stands there with the same blank look as always, observing you.

"You don't talk much do you?" you sigh.

She slowly raises her hand again and...

...waves at you.

"Pff...Ahahahahaha!"

You can't hold back your laughter. This is ridiculous. She acts like a little child, yet you are so tense. She looks friendly all right.

She seems to be troubled by your laugh, as you see her tilt her head to one side with a puzzled look on her face.

"Ahahahaha... sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."

She stays like that for a while and waves her hand again.

"Ahahahahaha."

It looks like she thinks that waving causes you to laugh, mostly because when you stop laughing she does it again.

"Hahahaha...say, do you speak at all? Trying saying my name. 'Aome'. 'A', 'O', 'ME'!"

She tilts her head again.

You sigh.

"Your name then?"

No answer.

"Well... we can't have that right? Let's see... how about-"

(Once again, you are able to name a character. Same rules as Aome apply. You are free to choose any name you like, it has nothing to do with the plot whatsoever, just make sure you don't use something that you'll regret or confuses you later. If there's no agreement or you can't think of something, I'll do it myself. Oh yeah, you can propose things you might want to do too.)

>[X] Slowly take her hand, see if she'll come with you by pulling her along (gently)
>[X] See if the magic dampening field is still active, or if we can take off again.

(part 1 of 2)

"How about...Aiko?"

The girl slowly tilts her head to the side again.

"After all 'Aiko' is a good girl, right?" you smile and gently pet her head.

She closes her eyes as to enjoy the feeling more.

"Haha, you like it don't you?" you pet her some more. "But... it's going to get dark soon..."

You look around in worry. You should get going soon if you wish to get out of the forest before dark. But still...

"I have no idea which way to go..."

You look at Aiko. She stares you with the same blank expression as ever. Wait, that's right!

"Aiko knows how to get to the human village, right? We met there, besides Keine's house, remember?"

She leans her head to the side again.

"Aaaah, this is getting nowhere! You don't understand what I'm saying, do you?"

If only you could show her what you mean...wait, what if-"

You take her hand slowly and try to pull her gently, towards your side. She complies.

"Well, I guess you still don't get it, but at least you're going to come with me it seems..."

That's right. In case something happens, being with someone else is probably the best, even if this 'someone' is Aiko.

You take a look at the amulet that Patchouli gave you. It still looks like it's inactive.

You look around. You're sure that this place is exactly the same where Alice's doll stopped working. Perhaps there's something around here that affects magic? If that's true then maybe if you distance yourself from it, you'll be able to take off.

You choose a random path and gently pull along Aiko. Even if it's a wrong path it's still better that staying here, right?

...

"...We're lost."

You sigh and sit down.

You spent the last hour walking at random, hoping for the best. It looks like you were running in circles.

To make things worse, the amulet still doesn't shows any signs of working.

Aiko stares at you with her usual expressionless face.

You sigh again and look up at the sky.

Even though it's dark now, the moon's light illuminates your path despite it being one day before it would be full. You can clearly see the rabbit on the moon, pounding mochi.

The stars are visible too. This view reminds you pretty much of the night sky you saw at Keine's house and at that desolate place as well. Actually, it's too familiar... Maybe... Maybe, if you tried to, you could-

(part 2 of 2)

A gentle touch on your hand interrupts your thoughts.

You look up only to see Aiko gently trying to grab hold of your hand and pull you up.

"What is it?" you ask and get up.

She doesn't answer but starts pulling you towards god-knows-where. You decide its worth a shot.

...

Even though you've been walking for over two hours in that forest, you haven't met anyone or anything, with the exception of Aiko of course. You feel the tiredness taking over you, as you follow for over an hour now Aiko, walking to... someplace.

"Say... is this some sort of a game?"

"..."

You watch her back as she continues pulling you along silently.

"You know, I'd love to play, but I'm really tired..."

"..."

"Can't we stop for a bit to take a break or something?"

The path has been uphill for a while. That makes it even more difficult to follow her.

"Hey... Can't you show me what you want another day? I need some sleep."

"..."

"...Are we even going somewhere?"

Aiko stops on what appears to be the tallest part of this path. She looks forward without turning to you.

You follow her and look at the same direction.

"...Ah!" your voice has a cheerful aura. "This... this is the human village right!?"

You turn to look Aiko. She understood what you meant after all! She brought you all the way back to the village. You can see Keine's house from up here, a ten-minute-walk tops.

The smile on your face quickly fades though, when you realize that Aiko isn't facing the village or you anymore, but something on your left.

You turn to look there too.

It's probably something she heard. You can hear it too. The sound of something hard being chewed on, like a dog crunching on a bone.

The sound grows bigger as you see something slowly coming out of some nearby bushes.

A red-colored, eyeless beast stands there, eating... something. You can't tell what exactly it is.

It's shorter than you - a bit taller than a wolf, but with a length of more than 3 meters. Its four paws have long claws and in its elongated mouth a series of sharp teeth can be seen. Two big horns sprout sprout of its head. On its body you can see scales, like a reptile's.

More sounds of bone-crunching can be heard, as the creature looks at your location and takes a few more steps closer.

"...Aiko ...let's go." you whisper to the girl next to you, but she just stands there, looking at the creature with her head tilted to one side.

"Aiko!"

Aiko's appearance slowly changes. Her face and clothes appear to melt and then reform to make her look like... the shrine maiden you've been looking for.

"Aiko! Don't!"

The girl ignores you and starts walking towards the creature.

You...

[ ]ignore Aiko and run towards the village. You can make it in a minute or two if you run! Aiko can probably take care of herself.
[ ]observe Aiko. It looks like she knows what she's doing. She helped you as 'Reimu' before as well, right?
[ ]can't abandon Aiko! This creature is certainly not friendly! Get her out of here by force if you must! (Option to use the jewel too).
[ ]do something else (say).

[x]observe Aiko. It looks like she knows what she's doing. She helped you as 'Reimu' before as well, right?

(Tie e.t.c. Also it would be a pity not to use >>15738 suggestions.)

>[X]observe Aiko. It looks like she knows what she's doing. She helped you as 'Reimu' before as well, right?
>[ø]Check if the Amulet is glowing. If the amulet is NOT glowing,
>[ø]can't abandon Aiko! This creature is certainly not friendly! Get her out of here by force if you must!
>[ø]Use the jewel only if it is necessary.
>[ø]When running, yell for help towards the village.

You quickly check if the amulet is glowing.

"...tsk!"

There's a faint glow, but your best guess is that it still doesn't work.

You decide to observe Aiko for a while. It looks like she knows what she's doing. She helped you as 'Reimu' before as well, right?

Aiko slowly approaches the creature mimicking Reimu's posture and movements... wait. Something's not right here...

The creature starts sniffing at the air, as Aiko casually approaches it. She must assumed have that form in order to scare the beast off but...

"It's blind! Get away!" you shout but she ignores you again.

"HHRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" the creature lets out a high-pitched shout while opening its mouth.

Maybe it got Aiko's smell or heard your voice. Either way, it now rushes towards Aiko with its fangs open. You catch a glimpse of what it had in its mouth. It looks like a human hand.

Aiko stops moving and stares at the creatures that advances towards her. Rushing to save her will probably get you in its range but...

"Aiko!" you move forward.

...you can't abandon Aiko! This creature is certainly not friendly! You'll have to get her out of here by force if you must!

You grab her hand and push her towards you at the exact moment when the creature's mouth closes where she used to stand.

"Run you idiot!" you pull her along with you towards the village.

She looks at your hand for a moment and then starts running along with you.

"HHRAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" the creature hisses once more and starts running after you.

You are running a descending path yet the creature is faster than you. If this keeps up for a bit longer it's going to get you before you reach the village.

"If things are going to be like this..." you turn around.

"HHRRRRAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

"...TAKE THIS!" you shout with all your might as you hurl the jewel Pathouli gave you at the creature.

The jewel bounces on the creatures back and explodes. But...

"Damn!"

That was too small to be called an explosion. The sound and damage done are nothing more than what a simple fire-cracker would do. Still, even though it didn't damage the creature, it catches its attention for a moment.

That was the extra moment you needed.

You grab Aiko's hand again and rush towards the village. You can almost see Keine's house now.

"MISS KEINE! SOMEONE!"

You turn to look behind. The creature is following you again.

"HELP! OVER HERE!"

You only need half a minute or so, to exit the forest. Your panting matches that of Aiko's. You are both at your limit.

"HHRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

The creature opens its mouth again. You are in its range.

"Ah-!" you turn and look in terror the sharp teeth that are about to tear you apart.

At that exact moment-

"FIRST PYRAMID!"

Red and blue balls of light fall onto the creature. They don't appear to harm it but they do make it stop for a bit before it starts to move again.

"HHRRRRAAAAAAAAAAA-"
"KUSANAGI!"

A mirage of the mythical sword stabs the creature right in the mouth and sends it flying a few meters away.

You turn around. Keine stands there.

"Ke-"

"Miss Aome? Is it really you?"

"Miss Keine!"

You ran towards her and hug her tight.

"Miss Keine, miss Keine, miss Keine!" your voice is distorted while you fight to keep yourself from crying.

"Ha- easy, easy, your hug is too tight!"

"Miss Keine, miss Keine, miss Keine!" you ignore her protest and hug her even tighter.

A gentle touch on your head. You look up. Keine's face wears a kind smile.

"...I'm back, Miss Keine."

"Welcome back, Aome."

Your legs give in to the tiredness.

"Hey, are you okay?" Keine supports you.

"I-I'm fine... just... just tired."

You feel your eyes slowly closing. All the day's fatigue starts to show as you find yourself in the arms of possibly the kindest person you've ever met. You are safe once again.

You look back at the forest. Aiko is standing there, half-hidden behind a tree. Her usual blank look is still present but just before you close your eyes you notice something different...

...the sides of her mouth are turned slightly upwards.

...

"This is an outrage! A barrier? What are we, some kind of animals?"

"Watch your tone, you are standing in front of one of the sages!"

"I also agree with him, we are youkai! Why should we accept a pact with humans? Since when does the rabbit order around the fox?"

"I, for one, agree with this plan. I'm tired of this endless hunt..."

"Then you are an offense to everything a youkai should be!"

"Do you want to test which of us is the best youkai?"

"Is that supposed to be a threat?"

You close your eyes and rub your forehead. It's been like this for three days now. You have gathered the other sages and the Hakurei people and presented them with the suggestion you came up with, but those youkai keep on fighting each other. Is a peaceful Gensokyo such a far-fetched dream after all?

You look at the man on the other side of the room. In addition to you, he's the only one who hasn't said a word. He notices that you're looking at him and greets you with a sarcastic smile.

"That man..."

You can feel your nails digging into your chair. You really hate that man.

He's sharply dressed in a dark, elegant 'ditto suit', like that favored by the wealthy then in a certain country called 'England'. A white waistcoat and matching dark trousers complete his ensemble. His youthful appearance and his carefree expression could trick almost anyone into thinking he's just another insignificant youkai.

But you know this is not the case.

Back then, when you were gathering the strongest and most prideful youkai from around the world in order to conquer the moon, he was on your list too. Still...

'I'm sorry, I'm not interested in petty conquest.'

Lies! You should have known better back then. This man has 'pride' written all over him. Him not following you on that fateful night means he's probably one of the strongest youkai still around. You would have taken care of him a long time ago but he had just vanished without a trace into the outside world.

But he's back now. But why now? Why has he returned? Has he caught the scent of the imminent bloodletting between the youkai, like a wolf on the prowl? What is his objective? Maybe he means to screw around with your plans once again? Your intuition tells you that you should probably take care of him soon...

"Eh?"

You stare as he sedately gets up and leaves the room. Deep inside you know that this is not the last time you'll be seeing him...

...

You open your eyes.

A pair of brown eyes is looking straight at you. Your head is resting on something soft.

"Miss...Keine?"

You realize that you are lying on Keine's thighs. She watches over you while ruffling your hair.

"It's still dark outside, you can rest some more." she softly says.

"But..."

"Ssshhh" Keine stops you. "I'm sure whatever it is, it can wait for the morning right?"

[ ]Of course not! You've been through that much just to get to Reimu. You can't wait any longer now that you're so close!
[ ]Well, you've been through that much just to get to Reimu. You deserve another hour or two of rest right?
[ ]Do/Say something else.

[ ]Of course not! You've been through that much just to get to Reimu. You can't wait any longer now that you're so close!

[X] Of course not! You've been through that much just to get to Reimu. You can't wait any longer now that you're so close!

[x]Of course not! You've been through that much just to get to Reimu. You can't wait any longer now that you're so close!

>[X]Do/say something else. Quickly explain as briefly as possible that something went wrong with trying to get back to the outside, mentioning what appeared to be the dead Gensokyo with only Mokou, Kaguya and Eirin, the black armour, seeing Ran, in particular mentioning the dark person mentioning Makai, and that you need to see Reimu. If she doesn't believe you, protest with the fact you wouldn't know these people or names if you hadn't really heard them. Incidentally, now would also be a good time for a cry, after seeing Eirin, Kaguya, Mokou and Ran basically sacrificing themselves for you.

>If by that time it's near sunrise...

>[X]Of course not! You've been through that much just to get to Reimu. You can't wait any longer now that you're so close!

>Let's go see Reimu after she wakes up, but not before she starts lazing off. She's unlikely to be that talkative at any other time.

Going with the write-in that was posted on /bun/

(Part 1 of 2)

>When OP said '...the sides of her mouth are turned slightly upwards.' I get the image of an evil smile.
My bad. I was trying to describe an awkard smile, like >>15784 said 'Huh, I thought it just meant she had learned to smile.'
What that smile meant is up to you though.

>[X]Do/say something else. Quickly explain as briefly as possible that [...] sacrificing themselves for you.
>[X]Of course not! You've been through that much just to get to Reimu. You can't wait any longer now that you're so close!
>[X]Do/Say something else. I think we ought to quickly tell Keine everything and ask her to take us to Reimu ASAP. It shouldn't take all that long if we fly, and we can always crash at the shrine once we get there.
>[ø] Tell Keine about Aiko and her apparent ability to disable magic around her.

"Ssshhh... I'm sure whatever it is, it can wait for the morning right?" Keine gently ruffles your hair.

"No!" you lift yourself up.

"A-Aome?" Keine looks at you surprised.

"I'm sorry Miss Keine, but it can't wait any longer!"

"Wh-what can't?"

"I have to meet Miss Reimu as soon as possible!"

"C-Calm down, Aome." Keine nods you to sit down. "What has happened?"

"Miss Keine, can you take me there? To the shrine?"

"But, it's still dark outside..."

"Please, Miss Keine!"

Keine ponders for a bit.

"Okay then, let's go. But..." she lifts her finger in front of your face. "Promise me that you're going to explain everything to me along the way, okay?"

...

"..."

You've been walking under the moonlight for about twenty minutes now. Keine's been listening to your story with a serious look on her face. At first she looked at you with a worried expression when you told her about your possibly false trip to that other 'Gensokyo', but her expression turned steely when you mentioned the name 'Mokou' and 'Eirin'. From that point on, she seemed lost in her thoughts while you talked about that dark armor, Ran, that man and Ran's message to Reimu. You also told her about what happened to the mansion, the amulet, Aiko, and everything that happened till you fainted in her arms.

"...You don't believe me, do you?"

Well, you can't blame her. Seriously, who in their sane mind would believe such a tale? You can hardly accept the fact that all of this really happened to you.

"...It's not that I don't believe you..."

"Eh?"

That surprised you.

"I mean, everything is so detailed to be just a fable..."

"...But?"

"No, I have no objections. I'm just trying to decipher what you've told me... You said something about 'another Gensokyo' right? The desolate one..."

"Yes."

Keine looks at you.

"How do you know that place was Gensokyo?"

How, you wonder? It seemed like it... but was it really Gensokyo? Maybe it was because you have no real memories before coming here? No, that's not true, it definitely 'felt' like Gensokyo, still you don't remember what made you so sure about that.

"I..."

"You told me that went there through a 'gap', right?" Keine interrupts you.

"Yes, like I said, something must have gone wrong and-"

"That dark...thing, kept killing those two girls? Mokou and the other one?"

"Yes. And before that, it..." a sudden flashback of Eirin dying in front of your eyes, makes you stop talking for a bit.

"And then, that man attacked Ran?"

"He said something like 'Makai'..."

"'Makai'?"

You nod.

"Then some sort of tentacles appeared and the background-"

"Ran told you to say that 'He's back' to Reimu?"

You nod.

"Miss Keine... I just told you all these just now, why you..."

"I'm sorry." Keine forces a smile. "It's that... this is too much for me. I'm trying to see if I got everything right. You said you met a girl, the one you named Aiko?"

"That makes it the third time. She can change her looks in just a few seconds."

"She must be a Nopperabou then..."

"What?"

"Nopperabou. It's a transforming youkai. A mimic."

You stop walking.

"A you-youkai?"

"Don't worry. Nopperabou just frighten humans, otherwise they are totally harmless. From what you told be she looks like a young Nopperabou and..."

"...and?"

"It looks like she's taken a liking to you."

"Wh-what?"

Keine giggles. The atmosphere loosens up a bit again.

You start walking again towards the shrine.

"Oh, there's another thing."

You take the amulet and show it to Keine. There's a faint light in it.

"Hm? Is this the one Miss Patcouli gave you?"

"It stopped working around the time I met Aiko... The same thing happened before with Miss Alice's doll. I think Aiko might have something to do with this..."

"Like canceling the magic?"

You nod.

"Hahaha, I don't think so." Keine laughs. "Nopperabou don't have such an ability, especially a young one like Aiko."

Keine looks straight ahead again.

"There have been strange happenings in the past few months, disruptions in magic is but one of them. I highly doubt a Nopperabou... or any youkai for that matter, has anything to do with this."

"I-I see..." you put the amulet back into your pocket.

Keine might be right. Maybe you're overthinking this. Aiko doesn't seem like someone who would be responsible for any of this. It must be a coincidence, or maybe something else...

After a few minutes you finally reach the shrine. The sun's about to rise, and the sky's taken on a orange hue.

You climb up the stairs. Reimu is there, sitting at the shrine's patio, drinking some tea.

"Oh? A visit so early? It better be a dona-" Reimu looks at you. "...you."

"Good morning Miss Reimu, sorry to bother you this early." Keine greets her.

"G-good morning."

Reimu stands up and walks towards you.

"What... what are you doing here? Why have yo-?"

"I have to deliver a message!" you grab Reimu's hands. "Miss Ran has-"

(Part 2 of 2)

But before you can finish your sentence, you're suddenly interrupted by a faint voice calling out for Reimu. As the three of you turn to look, you see a pink-haired girl falling to the ground.

The three of you run to where where she lies. Reimu kneels besides her and lifts her head.

"Hey, are you okay?"

The girl's red dress is drenched in blood.

"Miss...Reimu..."

"Don't talk! Keine, bring me some water from inside!"

"Y-yes!"

You stare as Keine rushes inside the shrine.

"You...don't remember me... eh?"

"Huh? Do I know you?"

"It's... Sara..."

"Sara?"

The girl smiles a bit.

"You haven't... changed a bit... Miss Rei-"

The girl coughs.

"Hey, hang in there!"

"A-anyway... Makai has... Lady Shinki..."

"Shinki? Wait, are you-?"

"He has... Lady Shinki..." the girl eyes fill with tears. "We couldn't...I-I'm s-so..."

The girl stops talking. Her chest stops moving too.

"Hey, Sara! Sara, I say!" Reimu shakes the girl's body. "Sara, stay with me!"

You take a step back.

No more.

No more.

Please, no more.

You've had enough!

You lose the strength in your legs and fall to the ground.

"I-I'm ba..." Keine returns and stops before Reimu and the girl. "...back."

Reimu slowly passes her hand over the girl's eyes and closes them. She then lifts her up in her arms.

"Miss Reimu...?"

Keine and you watch as the silent shrine maiden moves the girl's body into the shrine.

"Is she-?" Keine asks but stops halfway. There's no need to ask the obvious.

You try to get up again. Keine notices you and helps you back to your feet.

You hug Keine. Well, it looks like it's you who's getting hugged. You're teary-eyed, but you decide not to cry. It's unfair. You have to be strong, for the sake of all those who have... damn, this is hard.

After a few minutes Reimu exits the shrine, alone. She strides to where Keine and you stand.

"So... what were you saying?" she asks coldly.

"Miss Ran has..."

"Ran has what? Stop babbling!"

You feel your eyes watering again. Why is she so mean to you suddenly? Can't she see that-

"Speak dammit! Why are you here for?"

"Miss Reimu, this is..."

"Keine, stay out of this."

Keine tries to say something but stops halfway.

"So?"

"Mi-Miss Ran told me to notify you...th-that 'h-he's back', a-and tha-that..."

You barely hold your tears.

"And what!?" Reimu asks angrily.

"To... to..." you can no longer hold back your tears. "To take care... of Chen..."

Reimu and Keine fall silent while you struggle to choke back your tears.

"Aome, right?" Reimu asks with a softer tone.

"Y-yes."

"Why are you back, Aome?"

"Eh?"

Reimu raises her arm and points at that giant swirling distortion.

"You can see it right?"

You nod.

"Then why are you still here?"

"E-excuse me...?"

"I'm asking you why you haven't gone back yet!" Reimu shouts again.

"I-I don't know! I-I don't understand!"

"You-" Reimu grabs your dress's collar.

"Miss Reimu stop!" Keine tries to stop her.

"Why the hell are you back? Didn't I send you home?" Reimu shakes you violently. "It's been four months, four months! You know what that means!?"

"Miss Reimu!"

"You can no longer go back now! Do you get it?!" her violent shaking calms a bit and it's replaced by teary eyes. "I can no longer help you..."

"Miss Reimu..."

As she relaxes her grip you seize the chance and start running away.

"Wait, Aome!"

Keine tries to stop you but she's too late. You're already beyond her reach, trying to stop your tears.

Why is she so mean to you? What does she mean 'not going back'? It wasn't your choice! Why? After going through all this just to get to her? After seeing so many people dying... Why? Why you? What have you ever done wrong to deserve all these?

"Young miss, wait!" you hear the voice of an old man.

You look in front of you. A large turtle stands there.

[ ]Haven't you met this turtle before? Maybe you should listen to what it has to say.
[ ]Ignore the turtle, keep running. Reimu is no longer friendly and dawn is almost here. You know the path to the human village by now. Better go back by yourself.
[ ]Do/Say something else.

(On a side note, in a few days the story will be stalled for quite some time due to mandatory service I have to do. I don't know yet if I'll have internet access available or not, so worst case scenario is this being stalled till summer.
I'm planning to continue and finish the story. That of course if there are still people around that want to follow it.
Sorry in advance for the disturbance. Thought I had to share that. More info with the following updates.)

[x]Haven't you met this turtle before? Maybe you should listen to what it has to say.

he should have words of wisdom, but what is it with people playing up peacetime Reimu as a bitch? The games don't really reflect everyone in non-eventful times.

[x]Haven't you met this turtle before? Maybe you should listen to what it has to say.

>[X]Haven't you met this turtle before? Maybe you should listen to what it has to say.

"Young miss, wait!"

A large green turtle stands in front of you. Its white goatee reminds you of something. You've met it before right?

"Don't do anything you might regret later, young miss."

Its voice sounds like that of an old man. His face is wrinkled with age, but his eyes still shine with a keen intelligence. The same eyes that are now focused on you.

"I've seen what happened. Don't rush to conclusions; they might prove to be wrong."

You look at him while trying to regain your composure. You wipe your eyes.

"What do you mean?"

The turtle looks towards the shrine.

"I've been here a long time. A long time... Even back when young Hakurei's mother was the one in charge of the shrine. That girl is strong, both in body and in spirit."

"Miss Reimu is?"

He turns back to you.

"From what my aged ears have heard, you've been gone for quite some time."

You sigh softly.

"Everyone keeps saying that..."

"Four months, was it?"

"For me, more like four days..."

He looks at you for a while and then lets out a sigh.

"Let me tell you a story."

The turtle walks further ahead and directs you to seat next to him. You follow his suggestion. He waits till you're seated and then looks away towards the forest, which would soon be bathed in the morning sunlight.

"This place, Gensokyo, is a result of a pact made years ago between youkai and humans. Before that, youkai were roam free to hunt down humans who would in turn hunt down the said youkai. Tired of the endless cycle of hatred, they decided to put aside their differences before they would vanish forever into myth."

The turtle lifts his front flipper, and points towards a tall mountain in the distance.

"You see that? That's Youkai Mountain, where the first of the Hakurei line and the Youkai of Borders shook hands before the eyes of the youkai sages and one of the Dragon-gods that rule heaven and earth, forming the pact that has lasted till this very day"

You look at the mountain, jutting proudly from the horizon. The rays of the morning sun bathe it in a soft light, creating a truly awe-inspiring spectacle. You try to visualize the scene he just described to you, yet your thoughts keep returning to a certain phrase he used.

"...Youkai of Borders?"

The turtle turns to you.

"So, they were right. There's indeed something going on with you and the boundaries."

"They?"

A smile forms on the turtle's face.

"Patience Miss, I'll get to that."

He looks into the distance once again.

"I've said that the youkai decided to end their differences, but that's not exactly right. There were some that were against the idea of forming a pact with humans. Several fights have broken out since the creation of the Great Hakurei Boarder but none of them were of any importance. Well, almost none..."

"Almost?"

The turtle lets out a small sigh and looks at you.

"Have you heard of the 'Spellcard rules'?

Spellcard rules? For some reason that rings a bell. Oh, that's right! Reimu has mentioned something like that before; a special set of rules enforced after a certain event.

"Miss Reimu has mentioned them once before. Something about protecting both humans and youkai..."

"That's right. The need of youkai for destruction, and the need of humans to prevent it - The spellcard rules were used as a way to accommodate those differences in a non-violent way."

"And Miss Reimu created them?"

"It was the only way after what happened..."

The turtle pauses for a moment, still staring at the forest, before he speaks again.

"A certain youkai from outside came and used the unrest between the youkai in order to rally an insurrection, something that would have reverted the power structure in Gensokyo. The young maiden of the Hakurei was the one who stood in his way, effectively stopping the commotion and returning peace back to our world. Since then youkai, both strong and weak, have co-existed peacefully with humans... or that's how it was supposed to be."

"What happened?"

"I'm not sure. In these past months there have been several reports of youkai attacking humans. All of them have been weak ones, that's why the victims are usually young children and newcomers."

'What does Reimu of the Hakurei have to say about the recent incidents?'

'There have been a lot of... disturbances since the day before yesterday'

'I-I couldn't... I couldn't stop it... I-I've tried but...'

You get several flashbacks of what the flying tengu and Sakuya told you before. But the image of Keine crying in your arms is what shakes you the most.

"It's like we're back again in those dark days before the spellcard rules. Everyone is so tense these days."

He turns to you.

"So don't be too hard on her. She's been through a lot. Being a Hakurei is a tough job for such a young girl."

That's right. Someone just died in her arms too...

"Even so..."

"Yes?"

"She didn't have to accuse me of not going back to my world... It's not like... It's not like I did it on purpose!"

"I don't think it was you who she blamed." the turtle gives you a gentle smile. "Like I said, being a Hakurei is a lot of responsibility..."

You mull over what he said for a while. Were you being too selfish just then? Even so, it's not like it has been any easier for you! ...right?

"You know..." he interrupts your thoughts. "The young Hakurei and the kyuubi have talked a lot about you."

"Eh?"

"There are humans once in a while with special... gifts, yet to be able to see the boundaries..."

He looks at you for a while.

"...There's something special about you, no doubt. Whether that's a gift or a curse though, is yet to be known. You'll have to eventually discover that, young Miss, and no matter what the answer will be, you'll still have to pay the price of having something special."

The old turtle turns his back to you and starts walking away.

"W-wait! What... what am I supposed to do then?"

He answers you without turning back.

"That, young Miss... is something that you have to figure out yourself."

He glances back at you one last time before wandering off.

"Follow your heart, young miss. I'm sure everything will turn out fine."

You watch him slowly walk out of sight.

Dawn is already here and with it, a new day. You have to make a choice.

[ ]Go back to the village. There are a lot of things going on in your mind right now, you are in no position to meet either Reimu or Keine.
[ ]Go back and apologize to Reimu. You've been through a lot but it's not like it should be any easier for her either. Running off like that was selfish of you.
[ ]Go back to where Reimu and Keine are. Reimu was a bit scary back then, but you can see her reasons now.
[ ]Do something else.

(Also, I'd like to thank you for your answers. I'm happy to know that there are people who will wait for that long just to see this story going on. You are my motivation after all.)

[x]Go back to where Reimu and Keine are. Reimu was a bit scary back then, but you can see her reasons now.

>[X]Go back and apologize to Reimu. You've been through a lot but it's not like it should be any easier for her either. Running off like that was selfish of you.

You decide that it's for the best to go back and apologize to Reimu. You've been through a lot but it's not like it should be any easier for her either. Running off like that was selfish of you.

On your way back you see Reimu talking with Keine. They both stop when they notice you.

"Miss Reimu, I'm so-"

"I'm sorry!"

The shrine maiden takes a sudden deep bow, cutting you off during your apology.

"...Eh? Why is Miss Reimu-"

"Keine explained your situation to me. Well, even without that I shouldn't have acted the way I just did. I'm honestly sorry." she takes another bow.

"I-It's fine really. I should also-"

"It's okay." Reimu smiles. "More importantly, Keine told me something about an amulet... May I see it?"

"S-Sure."

You take the amulet out of your pocket and give it to Reimu. There's still a faint light within it. She studies it for a while before talking again.

"I see... Patchouli gave this to you?"

"Yes."

"And it stopped working when you were flying over the forest?"

You nod.

"...Let me try something."

Reimu covers the amulet with her right palm.

"RELEASE!"

Reimu shouts out the command in a loud voice. A sudden gust of wind swirls around the amulet and it starts glowing again just as it did when Patchouli gave it to you.

"This should do it." Reimu returns the amulet to you.

"...What was that?" you say, as you accept it.

"Since Pathouli was involved, it should work through interaction with the surrounding elements. All I did was to increase the 'flow' towards it."

"I don't really understand..."

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway."

"But..." you look at her. "What if it stops working again?"

"I don't think it's going to happen anytime soon."

"Why?"

"Well, I guess Patchouli has told you about the weakened use of magic."

You nod.

"Marisa told me the same thing, but I don't entirely agree."

"What do you mean?"

Reimu looks towards the forest.

"I guess from their point of view it's the magic that weakens, but I get the feeling that it's the 'world' that's interacting differently."

You must have looked at her with a puzzled expression, since she gives a small sigh after seeing your response.

"...I can't really explain it... Oh, I know! Here, take a look around the shrine, what do you see?"

You look at the shrine. It looks pretty normal to you, the way a shrine should be.

"Not the shrine, 'around' the shrine! It should be easier to notice in the air."

The air?

You observe the sky around the shrine. There's nothing stra-

Oh, now you can notice them. They're so small that they didn't catch your attention before, but they're there. Those small 'gaps', the 'flaws' and 'cracks' are all around. They're almost everywhere around the shrine, small but numerous. They give off a surreal feeling, as if the sky is about break in pieces and fall of.

"You see them, don't you?" she looks towards the shrine.

"Wh-what are they..."

"Well, faults around the Border aren’t a rare sight. Still, I've never 'felt' so many. Really... Is this the time for her to slack around? She spends all winter sleeping again while I haven't had a good night's sleep ever since the yukionna returned!"

Reimu stops and turns around to you.

"I started mumbling again." she smiles.

Keine, who hasn't said a word so far, join you.

"So... What are we going to do about 'him'?"

Reimu closes her eyes. She seems lost in her thoughts. You have a vague feeling you know exactly who they're talking about.

When she opens her eyes again after a few moments, her demeanor has changed. Gone is the sad smile, her face is a quiet mask of determination now.

"Keine."

"Yes?"

"Go back to the village. Make sure that no one leaves. Things are probably going to get more intense for a while. You might want to get in touch with Akyu too."

"I understand." Keine nods. "I'll talk with the village's elders."

"You three there."

Eh? Who? You follow Reimu's gaze, but she doesn't seem to be looking at anyone in particular.

You hear the sound of rustling leaves from a nearby tree. It almost sounds like soft whispering.

"You better notify the others."

"Aren't you going to notify the others yourself?" Keine asks Reimu.

"Not necessary. Fairies talk a lot." she smiles and turns her gaze towards the tall mountain in the distance. "But... I'll have to visit a certain trio. They weren't around back then, so I'll have to brief them on the situation."

Reimu looks back at you.

"I'm sorry, but as you have guessed, things aren't going very smoothly." she sighs. "If only I was able to send you to the outside alone..."

"That's okay." Keine reassures her. "I'll take her back with me. She'll have to stay at home since I'll have to go around and meet the elders, but she should be safe there."

Keine gives you a gentle smile. On the other hand, Reimu looks like she's planning something again.

"Hey..." she finally speaks. "Why don't you join me for a trip to Youkai Mountain?"

[ ]Accept Reimu's offer. Go with Reimu to Youkai Mountain.
[ ]Refuse Reimu's offer. Go with Keine back to the human village.
[ ]Do/Ask something else.

[x] Accept Reimu's offer. Go with Reimu to Youkai Mountain.

let's do stuff

[x]Accept Reimu's offer. Go with Reimu to Youkai Mountain.

Let's try to help out Reimu.

(I was looking forward for another update before leaving, but unfortunatly, got no time. Hopefully, the next update will be in about two weeks from now. Maybe I'll be able to finish part II too.
Till then.)

After visiting the Moriya Shrine, we should go to Hakugyokurou afterwards. Although there is no way of Aome knowing about it, if we ask Reimu if there are more allies that can help us out, Reimu should think of Yuyuko: she is Yukari's best friend after all.

Also, it's been over 2 weeks.... where are you OP ;_;

(Yeah, I'm still around, no internet available though. Schedule is extremely busy and I get few free-days, but hopefully this will change in a week or so. Still, in worst case scenario, this will go on in summer. As soon as it's possible I'll update. Sorry for the inconvenience once more. I hate this situation too.
I'm really glad people actually like this and wait for the updates. I really hope you'll continue to stick around and support it. I promise I'll try my best not to disappoint you.
Till next time, be well.)

>>106666
I know that I'll be warmly waiting.

(Hey there, it's been a while. Got a week off. I'll try to finish part II by then.)

>[X]Accept Reimu's offer. Go with Reimu to Youkai Mountain.
>[X]Thank Keine for everything.

"Why don't you join me for a trip to Youkai Mountain?"

Reimu's invitation plays back into your ears as you watch her warm smile.

Youkai Mountain? Why would she want you to go there with her?

You turn and look at Keine. You sense her usual motherly presence. Going back to the village with her is probably the right answer. She should protect you from any dangers like she has done again earlier. Still...

'Being a Hakurei is a tough job for such a young girl.'

Even though Reimu looks so calm, you know that she is deeply affected by what happened just before. She might be one of this world's guardians, as they say, yet she's but a young girl. You can't just let her go alone. After all...

'There's something special about you. You'll have to eventually discover that, young Miss.'

That's right. Staying around Keine all the time like a lost child won't help anywhere. You are an outsider but you feel like there's a role for you somewhere in this play.

"Okay. Let's go."

Reimu smiles at your determined reply. Maybe you put a bit more feeling into this than you should have, leaving you feeling a bit embarrassed. Bah, who cares! If you're able to help somehow Reimu and the others you'll give your best!

"Well then..."

"Hold on a minute!" you interrupt Reimu.

You turn and walk towards Keine.

"Miss Keine!" you take a deep bow. "Thanks for everything till now!"

"Ah..."

Keine has a surprised expression in response to your sudden action, but quickly returns to her usual calm self.

"It's okay."

You feel her hand petting your head.

"You don't have to thank me for anything. I should be the one thanking you. You are such a brave girl Aome. Never lose that courage."

You lift your head up in order to look her face.

"Today is a special night for me." she continues. "I promise, everything will be over before the next morning comes."

"Well then, that means we should probably get going." Reimu asks you indirectly to hurry up.

You give another look at Keine and go towards Reimu.

"Use Patchouli's amulet in order to follow me." Reimu says before lifting up in the air.

Yeah. Everyone should be able to fly in Gensokyo, be it human or youkai. Just a few days before this would have taken you by surprise, but now that you are also able to 'fly', seeing the shrine maiden doing it so casually gives you no strange feeling.

You wear the amulet around your neck and focus your thoughts into 'going up'. You feel your feet leaving the ground instantly.

"It works fine, doesn't it?" Reimu asks.

"Yeah. I think it might work even better now."

Maybe it was because of Reimu's help or your sudden boost of determination, but you notice that it's much easier to move around now.

"Well then..." Reimu departs.

You turn one last time to Keine and wave goodbye to her before turning your back to her and focusing on the tall mountain far on the horizon.

...

"..."

You watch Reimu's skirt twirling in the air in front of you. You've been flying for several minutes, yet neither Reimu or you have said a word.

'It's been four months, four months! You know what that means!?'

You are reminded of Reimu's outburst earlier this morning.

'You can no longer go back now! Do you get it?!'

No, you still don't. Didn't she say she could help you back then? Then why now...

'I can no longer help you...'

Why can't she help you anymore? Was there a time limit or something? Was it your fault after all?

'I don't think it was you who she blamed.'

No. That's true, she wasn't blaming you, rather...

'Miss... Reimu...'

Herself.

You watch the determined young shrine maiden aiming for the tall mountain before you.

A shrine maiden. A guardian. A young girl carrying the name of the Hakurei. What kind of duties does this girl have? Is she responsible only for the humans living in Gensokyo or the youkai too? What kind of decisions did she have to make in order to maintain the balance between these two sides?

You close your eyes.

What were you thinking back then? That girl before you must have abandoned her 'self' in order to complete her duty several times in the past, yet you just run away...

'I'm sorry!'

...That's it. You won't run away anymore. You won't bring yourself to the disgraceful position of having someone like her asking for forgiveness.

You open your eyes with determination.

That's right! From now on, you'll...!

"Yo!"

"Gah!"

The black figure in front of you makes your heart skip a bit. You temporarily lose your balance but are eventually able to keep flying as before.

"What are you doing here?" asks the shrine maiden indifferently.

"Don't be so cold ze~"

Marisa uses her broom in order to get closer to Reimu, who hasn't slown down a bit.

"Who is she?"

"You sure have a short memory."

"Come on, you know I only remember important things ze~!"

Are you supposed to get offended by that?

"The girl from four months before. You took her to Patchouli, remember?"

"Ah yeah! I remember now." she looks at you. "I didn't know you were able to fly ze~"

"You are helpless..." Reimu sighs.

"So..." she looks back to Reimu. "Where are ya going?"

"To the Moriya shrine."

"What for?"

"Ah, you're annoying! Just stick around if you want to know!"

"I plan to do exactly that ze~" Marisa smirks.

Several quiet moments pass before the black and white witch speaks again, only this time with a soft tone.

"You know... I stopped by the village earlier for some shopping."

"..."

"The statue's eyes are red."

"...I know"

"Just like the old times, eh?"

Silence returns once more, as the two girls watch the horizon.

...

"Let's make a small stop here."

You look below. You can see waterfalls ending in several rivers. Nothing else is notable. Why would Reimu want to stop here?

"Are you gonna meet with the Lord of the Kappa?"

Kappa?

"Yes. Just stay here with Aome till I'm back."

Wait, did Marisa say Kappa? Aren't those creatures the ones who live near rivers and eat children?

"Well then, let's just stick around here for now ze~"

You watch Marisa landing near the river. You follow her while unconsciously covering your behind in order to protect your shirikodama from getting sucked out.

"A-are there Kappa around here?"

Marisa looks around.

"There should be... Maybe they are hiding inside the river. Who knows ze~" she shrugs uninterested.

Well, if Marisa is so relaxed that means they aren't harmful right? Well, even if they are, as long as she is here...

"Ah, that's right ze~! I should probably go and meet her. She must have some neat gadget prepared."

"Ah..."

...is all you are able to say before seeing Marisa departing the scene nonchalantly. Yeah, doing something like that looks normal for someone like her. But...

You turn around. Suddenly the river doesn't look quite so welcoming anymore. Once again you stand alone, in the middle of nowhere. Must be your bad luck.

A sound interrupts your thoughts. You quickly look in the opposite direction. There's nothing there. You'd swear that you heard something. What was it?

There it is again! You turn your head hasty once more. It sounds like a buzz of a bee. You can't pinpoint where exactly is coming from, only that it comes clos-

"Watch out!"

[ ]Duck your head down!
[ ]Jump on the side!
[ ]Turn towards the voice!
[ ]Do something else! (say)

[x]Jump on the side!

(Part 1 of 2)

(vote tie happened after I finished writing this, so last vote didn't count, sorry.)

>[X]Jump on the side!

"Watch out!"

Following the shout, you instinctively jump to one side. Whatever that sound is, it's coming right at you. Your first priority is to dodge it!

You put all your strength into your legs trying to move away as fast as possible. As you dodge, you see with the corner of your eye a mechanical construct coming right at where you were standing a moment ago. If you had stood there for just one more second, odds are that you would probably be lying unconscious now. You give a small sigh of relief.

"Be caref-"

But it's just too large. It hits you on the back of your head as it passes by.

"Ouch!"

You fall to your knees, your hands covering the part that that thing just hit.

"Are you okay?"

You turn towards the voice. You were too busy dodging whatever that thing was, but you were positive that the voice you heard belong to a little girl. It looks like you were right.

A short blue-haired girl stands before you. She wears a blue dress and a green hat. She's wearing a backpack with a golden key on the front strap.

"I'm so sorry miss! Does it hurt?" the girl looks at you worriedly.

"It's fine, I'm okay!" you say while rubbing the back of your head. There's a bump there.

The girl runs past you and kneels in front of whatever that thing was.

"I tried to adjust the equilibrium correctly this time, but it just won't fly straight."

She takes out a screwdriver from one of her pockets.

"Maybe if I make the rudder 5cm larger..."

You take a look at the mechanical construct. It appears to be some sort of flying machine. What hit you just before was one of its "wings". It seems like a convertiplane with an open cockpit. It appears well made... but for one glaring exception. There's a big smiling face on the front, making it look like it came out from a kid's manga.

"What is that supposed to be?"

"It's a hovering machine. Miss Yasaka said she wanted one in order to make it easier carrying stuff to the shrine." the girl answers while trying to fix it. "Actually, she said there are many like this in the outside world, so naturally I wanted to try building one."

Wait, outside world?

"Excuse me... This Miss Yasaka..."

"Ah, ah~ Where are my manners." she interrupts you while getting up and turns towards you. "I'm Kawashiro Nitori, pleasure to meet you, Miss..."

"Aome. Aome Maigo. Like I was saying..."

"Ah! You are 'that' girl! The one the tengu keeps talking about!"

"Ah... who? You mean that strange reporter?"

"Yes! Miss Shameimaru kept talking about 'a strange human girl' that has appeared few months ago, had an illicit relationship with the village's teacher and brought Gensokyo in disarray! Oh, also she said something about a connection between her arrival and the events around Gensokyo!"

"I suppose that's m-"

Wait, something's not right.

"She said -what- about me? Eh... Excuse me~ Little girl~"

You want to ask more about the falsities that the tengu girl was spreading, but you notice that the girl has been staring your neck for a while now.

"Wh-what?"

"Excuse me, but is that amulet yours?"

"Ah, this?" You take the amulet off and show it to Nitori. "Yes, it was given to me."

"By Miss Patchouli, perhaps?"

"You know her?"

"I knew it! I can tell by the gem. It's magical, yes? Maybe if I use something like that I could increase the stability..."

You watch the girl getting lost in her thoughts once again while looking her invention.

"Oooh, what's that?"

"Looks like a converti-AH! Please stop doing that!"

"Doing what?" the black-and-white witch asks.

"Popping up like that! Seriously, it's the second time today!"

"Ah, Marisa! You are here too?"

"Yo! Whacha doing?"

"Miss Yasaka has asked me to build a hovering machine!"

That's right, that name!

"Excuse me, about Miss Yasaka... Does she know stuff about the outside world?"

"Yes." the shrine maiden appears too. "And we are going to meet her soon."

"Miss Reimu too! What's going on? It's been a while since I saw both of you together here. Is a festival coming up?"

"You could say it's something like that. Marisa, Aome, let's go. We have to get there before noon."

"Okay! See ya later~"

"Bye Marisa, bye Miss Reimu!" Nitori waves. "Ah! Miss Aome..."

"It's Aome."

"Is your head okay?" she asks you with a worried look.

"Ahaha, I've already forgot about that! I'm really fine, thanks." you pet her head. "Bye, Nitori. I hope we meet again soon!"

You wave Nitori goodbye before wearing the amulet in order to follow Reimu and Marisa who have resumed flying.

"What a nice girl." you reach Marisa. "Why is a little girl like that here?"

"Who, Nitori? She's a kappa."

"...Eh?"

(Part 2 of 2)

...

"It's getting chilly." you say while rubbing your shoulders.

"It looks like it's going to rain." Reimu agrees.

Like she suggests, the sun is hidden behind some dark clouds at the moment.

"Reimu, aren't we going to the shrine? It looks like we're flying the wrong way."

"Sorry, just one more stop. I'll meet Lord Tenma for a bit."

You continue your ascent. The terrain is now full of mountain pikes and gorges. You must be flying pretty high, as you can feel your ears stuffed. Right before you, a small valley appears between two mountain pikes. There, a certain tengu girl stands mid-air.

"Ayayayaya, what would Reimu of the Hakurei be doing in our land, I wonder?"

"Drop the act, I have no time for this; I need to meet with your 'boss'."

"Oh my, is that proper behavior? I even made Momiji stay home so we wouldn't be interrupted."

"You still abuse that poor girl?"

"Hey now..."

"Anyway, it's not like you don't already know what's going on. Let me pass."

"Heh." A grin appears on Aya's face. "The question is, what exactly –you- know."

Like last time, she takes a notepad and a pen out of nowhere. Reimu answers by picking a card from inside her sleeves.

"Is it true that the gate to Makai lies open?" Aya asks clearly ignoring Reimu. "And that it's creator is 'gone'?"

Aya stares at Reimu with an inquiring look for a while before speaking again.

"Are the current events a reprise of the Vampire Incident? Or are they... a continuation?"

With a smug look, Aya keeps provoking Reimu. It appears that events like these are what she lives for. She would get so far as to pick a fight with Reimu just to get some more information. Somehow, you can't but admire her eagerness.

Her smile is lost though when she notices that you are there too.

"You..."

Her look is now less cocky and more surprised.

"...you are back."

"Eh?" It's Reimu turn now to be surprised. "You didn't know that? How's so?"

"I thought she'd left... wait."

She pauses and searches her pocket. From inside she picks a photograph.

"There it is."

She spends some time looking at you and the photo in turns.

"...I knew it. You are really a strange one."

"Mmm? What's going on?" Reimu draws near Aya.

Aya doesn't say anything but gives Reimu the photograph.

"What's going on? Is it a ghost-picture again?" Marisa takes a peek too.

All three look at it for a while, until Reimu breaks the silence.

"This is stupid. Ask Rinnosuke for a new camera."

"Hey! There's nothing wrong with my camera!"

While Reimu and Aya argue you draw near Marisa in order to take a look at the photo too.

You remember when it was taken. It's at that time when you first met Aya at Reimu's shrine. You can see four people in it. Reimu, Marisa, Keine...

...and a brown-haired girl. You remember her clearly. It's the same girl you saw in your dream, the same girl in that mirror. The girl from your memories, back in the outside world.

A familiar headache returns. The world starts spinning around slowly. You feel like you're about to faint. Your vision blurs.

====================================================================================================================

She sits on her patio gazing at the blooming Sakura trees.

==================================================a=================================================================

"Anyway, I'm going. You three stay here, it won't be long." Reimu's voice brings you back to reality.

"Wait, I'm coming too!" Aya says and takes the photo back from Marisa's hands.

"You're a real pain in the ass, you know? I said I have no business with you!"

"I'm just coming along. It's just..." Aya lowers her tone "I don't want to be around 'her'."

Even said like that you can understand that she's talking about you.

You watch the two leaving. Marisa is sitting on her broom, gazing the dark clouds in the sky in silence.

You take a look at your hands. Why are you getting that feeling again? Like there's something wrong with all of this. You don't belong here. This world is definitely not your home, but the feeling is much more deeper than that.

The image of HER, with her spooky grin, flashes in your mind. You feel a frisson of fear. This is not the time for memories like these. Maybe you should occupy your mind by discussing with Marisa.

[ ]Try to pick a conversation with Marisa. It looks like something is bothering her.
[ ]Ask Marisa about Makai.
[ ]Ask Marisa about the Vampire Incident.
[ ]Ask Marisa about the shrine you are going to visit.
[ ]Ask Marisa about Miss Yasaka.
[ ]Ask Marisa about Aya.
[ ]Ask Marisa about Nitori.
[ ]Ask Marisa what she thinks about the photo.
[ ]Ignore Marisa and try to remember about yourself.
[ ]Ignore Marisa and try to remember about the brown-haired girl.
[ ]Ignore Marisa and think about HER.
[ ]Say something else (say).
[ ]Do something else (say).

(Like always, popular choice gets to be asked, rest might be answered side-ways. Feel free to act.)

[x]Ask Marisa what she thinks about the photo.

[X]Try to pick a conversation with Marisa. It looks like something is bothering her.
[X]Ask Marisa about Makai.
[X]Ask Marisa about the Vampire Incident.
[X]Ask Marisa about the shrine you are going to visit.
[X]Ask Marisa about Miss Yasaka.
[X]Ask Marisa about Aya.
[X]Ask Marisa about Nitori.
[X]Ask Marisa what she thinks about the photo.