he magician named Patchouli Knowledge was so completely different from the wizened wizard’s image I had been fostering in my mind on the way here that I could not think of anything else at the moment. Looking her up and down, at least her demeanor was befitting of a wise sage who read an uncountable amount of books. Her eyes were fixated on me for some inexplicable reason, until I realized that everyone else’s were, too. Apparently they expected of me to respond to the magician’s question.

“Uh, yeah. I’m Kagami Kyôma, I come from the outside world. It would appear that you are aware of the occurrences in Gensôkyô, so I’ll cut to the chase,” I introduced myself and began by quickly explaining the occurrences surrounding the group of newcomers under O-hakuka. “The large-scale ritual that was performed on top of Yôkai Mountain, do you know what it was for?”

“I am sorry, I did not witness it. I have been in this library for the past...” Patchouli remarked with a neutral expression and fell into thought for a moment, before the library attendant who had led us in stepped forward. “You have not left that chair for the past 271 days, Lady Patchouli.” Once again, I was astonished at the scale these timeless beings counted things in, but the more pressing matter was the fact that she was not aware of the ritual we specifically came to ask about. “I would most likely have had an answer, if I had seen it with my own eyes, but from your explanation I cannot deduce the nature of the ritual.”

“Would you be able to tell, if we gave you a catalyst used in it?” Suika suddenly said, earning a surprised look from me. Had she procured something from the site where Koishi had been held?

“That should suffice,” The magician responded, shifting her gaze to the little oni beside me. “Be it Western or Eastern magic, this library covers it all. My expertise is, despite appearances, Eastern magic.” I wondered what she meant by saying “despite appearances”, since many yôkai that were supposedly Japanese did not look the part one bit. Then again, her name was clearly foreign, and with my little knowledge of the language, I understood that her last name was English.

“Here, this little satori yôkai was the catalyst during the ritual, but I took her out of it before it was finished,” The little oni gestured at Koishi, who looked at the extended hand with her expressionless smile. “The ritual was meant to claim her life, so I would think that it must be somewhat incomplete.” Despite saying that she had no understanding of rituals, Suika seemed to display a certain amount of knowledge about their workings. Then again, she was quite old, so maybe she spoke from pure experience.

“I see. Come here, little satori yôkai.” Patchouli gestured for Koishi to walk up to her, which the latter did without questioning the reason. “What is your name?” Suddenly, I could only think of the magician as a doctor who was about to examine a child and spoke to it to reassure it of the safety of the procedure. “I’m Koishi.” The response was as childlike as expected. As she came to stand beside Patchouli’s chair, the magician lifted a slender hand and held it out towards the satori. A set of seven crystals emerged from her wide sleeves, each about the size of a thick marker pen. They began to circle around her wrist and a faint light began to shine within them.

“I see... that was quite a grand ritual for something so simple.” Apparently she had already found the answer, as mere moments later she put her hand back on the armrest and sighed, as if tired from the physical exertion. The floating crystals returned into her sleeve on their own. Turning to Suika and me, her sleepy purple eyes did not give away the direness of the words she spoke next. “The satori yôkai were only two in a set of three. However, the third was the actual catalyst, while this one was an ingredient to be used up.” At her words I was reminded of Satori’s death again. Indeed, a catalyst in a chemical reaction remained untouched, while the ingredients oftentimes underwent drastic changes.

“What was produced?” I asked, questioning the choice of words, considering we were talking about living beings rather than chemical components.

“Rather than produced, it would be better to say that something was shifted, just like in an actual chemical reaction.” Patchouli’s gaze rested on Koishi, who did not seem to understand the situation. “And its effect can still be found in this girl’s nature.” I was unable to comprehend what she meant, but before I could hastily interrupt her explanation with an impatient and redundant question, she continued. “The nature of the two satori yôkai were meant to be taken away and given to O-hakuka. As a nurarihyon, her existence is somewhat special among yôkai. Her nature allows her to control those of lesser mental strength and influence those who possess some resistance. However, if you were to add a satori’s mind-reading to it, she could achieve unprecedented levels of control - after all, knowing a target’s mind inside out can grant greater sway over it.”

I was shocked to learn that the aim of the ritual had been to empower O-hakuka’s abilities as a nurarihyon, and that to such an end two lives were supposed to be sacrificed. Luckily, Suika had at least been able to save one, although I now had to wonder in what way Koishi’s survival had affected the ritual.

“This little one’s nature was shifted slightly. If you have known her for a while, you should be aware of that more than I could be.” The magician was referring to the green-eyed girl by her side. “As you may know, losing one’s nature as a yôkai equals death.” I looked at Koishi, the prime example of someone who had overcome that notion, and wondered in what way she had been changed this time. “But I believe you should be more worried about the third party, the catalyst of the ritual. Through this one I could only glimpse a little of its nature... but I am ashamed to say that I cannot even begin to grasp its true form.” Despite her words, she remained as expressionless as always, as she turned around to her attendant and asked for her to bring her a certain book.

“This means that O-hakuka has grown much more powerful in that ritual...” I remarked with a bitter expression. Yet, one question remained unanswered. “But what for?”

“Those who seek power usually don’t do so just for the sake of it. She is aiming to overpower someone, and apparently it’s someone she’s willing to make an enemy of even the mountain kami to defeat.” It was Suika who responded to that question, as she pumped her fist. “Either way, she has to be stopped.” Our thoughts were in alignment in that regard.

“It would appear that we are dealing with something far greater than I first thought,” Patchouli’s voice interrupted us. She closed the book her attendant had brought her with a definite sound. “I now know the nature of that third party. It is an existence from another plane, an antithesis to Gensôkyô and the outside world. In fact, the only way I could describe it would be with the word ‘god’.” She specifically used the English expression, to put it into contrast with the Japanese definition of kami, which included a broad range of beings with powers ranging from far weaker than a human’s, to those that were able to influence the very fabric of space and time. The English “God” referred to something akin to a concept, beyond human notions such as life and death, or even existence itself.

“What do you mean?” I could not comprehend her choice of words, although it may have been more along the lines of refusing to accept it. “She has help from a god?”

“Not just any ‘god’, but one that is an absolute existence within her plane,” The magician said and a hint of uneasiness crept into her eyes. “I know three people who have had contact with that god, in one way or another. Two of which are... fellow magicians.” The pause before mentioning their occupation made me wonder about her relationship with those two. However, these were indeed alarming news; O-hakuka had the backing of a being more powerful than any I had encountered so far. This explained how she had dared to perform a ritual at the Moriya Shrine, despite the fact that the two resident kami could have interfered at any time.

“Now we can’t just make any rash moves against her, even if we know where she is,” I grumbled in dissatisfaction. Suika had told me about the tortoise castle in the west during our short downtime after the battle.

“Actually, I would not count on Genbu still being there. Passing through the Garden of the Sun along its way towards the human village should mean it was either completely annihilated or has changed course before then.” I did not understand what Suika meant when she dismissed my statement. “I’ll explain another time,” She added when she noticed my puzzled expression.

“You should contact either of the two magicians, although I believe the best choice would be the Hakurei Miko.” Patchouli looked resigned as she made this suggestion. “After all, she is the most connected person in all of Gensôkyô... aside from the Great Yôkai Sage herself, maybe.” She clearly meant Yukari, whom I had not seen since meeting Suika for the first time.

“Then I guess we should head for the Hakurei Shrine next,” I said and turned to the little oni beside me. Rumia was still clinging onto me, appearing drowsy as she rubbed her eyes. I had to wonder about a yôkai of darkness becoming sleepy during nighttime, which should have been her peak time, but I guessed that because she had no inkling as to what we were talking about, her attention shut down. She was a child, after all. The other child - the one with the green hair - returned to my side, appearing as much the wiser as Rumia was after the conversation.

“Please, dear guest, do not forget your promise to the mistress,” The maid suddenly remarked and I was reminded of the fact that I had indeed agreed to play with Remilia’s younger sister in exchange for the information Patchouli had provided us with. Her tone was neutral, but I understood that if I went back on my words, she would most likely mete out punishment in place of her mistress.

“No, I wouldn’t forget that. Time to meet the little lady then,” I said and shrugged. Since it was still the middle of the night, and I heard from Suika during our training days that Reimu valued her sleep to the point where she became very cranky when disturbed, I did not want to be the reason for that. Therefore, we still had quite some time left before she would be up, and as O-hakuka’s whereabouts were not entirely known, we could not do much before consulting with the miko.

In either case, what harm could there be in playing with a little vampire girl?

For some reason, I was made to part with the others from my group, who were led away by a fairy maid to have a midnight snack. Sakuya showed me the way and brought me deeper into the mansion. We passed through a heavy two-winged door and I noticed that the wallpaper had been replaced with blank walls of cold stone. Before me was a short corridor with something I perceived to be a guardhouse, before a reinforced portcullis blocked our way. Beyond was a flight of spiral stairs, leading down into darkness.

“Uhm, where are we going, Izayoi-san?” I asked with a hint of unease. I could not imagine that the little sister of the mistress could be in a location that clearly looked like a castle dungeon.

“The young mistress is waiting downstairs. Let us proceed,” The maid responded coolly, not letting my apprehension affect her everlasting neutral expression. With this, she walked ahead, as the portcullis was seemingly lifted by a ghostly hand, expecting me to follow - which I did, despite all alarm bells going off in my head at the strangeness of the situation.

The spiral staircase seemed to only lead down one floor, which seemed strange in light of the security upstairs, but even stranger was the fact that it opened up to a hall large enough to encompass the floor we had come from just earlier. It was completely empty and there was only one door at the end of it, another double-winged door in crimson. As we approached it, alarm bells I didn’t know had not yet begun to ring started; the door was covered in paper strips - seals written in unknown runes and utilizing western magic circles.

“The young mistress is behind this door. Her name is Flandre Scarlet, and you are to address her with utmost respect. I wish you good luck.” The maid bowed lightly and I thought I saw her take out something shining in silver, before the scenery around me changed from the blank stone hall to a large room that seemed to be somewhere else inside the mansion. It featured a soft blood red carpet and burgundy wallpapers, as well as mahogany furniture, of which one was a large canopy bed with heavy crimson curtains and golden trims. I noticed that there were many broken toys and stuffed animals lying around, seemingly the leftovers of a child’s tantrum. However, when I saw that some of them were singed or even melted, I reconsidered the use of the word “tantrum” to be an understatement.

I turned around to see a double-winged door behind me, surely the other side of the heavily sealed one I had seen just moments ago. This side looked completely normal, without the hint of a sign as to what it looked like on the outside.

Rustling behind me made me spin around again. It clearly came from the bed, which was covered in stuffed animals in various states of destruction.

“Lady Flandre?” I muttered, wondering if she understood Japanese.

“Who are you?” Came the response, clearly in Japanese. I was still unable to make out where it came from exactly. There was more rustling from the bed and finally I saw something move. Something like a crooked tree branch, about the thickness of a glass bottle’s neck, stood up from inside the pile of stuffed animals. Hanging from it was a set of crystals in the colors of a rainbow, reminiscent of the ones Patchouli had conjured up from inside her sleeve earlier. Then, another one came up, stretching like a pair of wings. Over the spectacle before me I forgot to answer. “You are... a human?”

“Ah, right, um. I’m Kagami Kyôma, tonight’s entertainment.”

At these words, a blonde head popped up from the bed and a pair of crimson eyes stared into mine. Their sight seemed to burn into my very soul, as something disturbing seemed to radiate from their depths. However, at the same time, I was reminded of the cold green eyes of a certain other younger sister. What would otherwise have been a reaction of anxiety was replaced with a feeling of protectiveness. What had this girl lived through to look at the world with such eyes?

“Kagami Kyôma... is it alright to play with you?” Flandre asked, her bell-like voice brimming of innocence. An shy smile was on her lips, but paired with her eyes, I would have turned and fled, if I had not experienced all the things I had since coming to Gensôkyô.

“Yes, what would you like to play?”

“... Danmaku,” She requested, almost timidly, as she rose from the large bed slightly. Only now was I able to see her figure, which was as childlike as her demeanor suggested. She was about the same height as her older sister, her apparent age close to Koishi’s, too. Slender, almost frail-looking arms and legs extended from a red and white dress tied with a yellow ascot. The branch-like appendages were indeed attached to her back, and they swayed with every one of her movements. “Let’s play danmaku!” This time, she spoke with more confidence.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know how that works.” It was hard for me to deny her wish, but never having learned danmaku or the Spellcard Rules, I was unable to utilize them. “I never learned it... but maybe you can teach me?” Children usually had a feeling of superiority when they were given the opportunity to teach an adult something new. I hoped that this one was no different.

“... teach you?” The vampire girl looked at me with surprise, as if it was a strange suggestion. Then her face lit up in a radiant grin, its innocence befitting of her apparent age. I found myself thinking that this was the natural state all children should be in, before the image of Koishi’s empty smile entered my mind.

“Although I do have a question before that... why do you know Japanese?” It was a legitimate point I was having trouble understanding. From the seals on the door to the state of the room and the toys strewn across the ground I had already deduced that Flandre was treated somewhat like a dangerous mental institution patient. This meant that she had little to no contact to the outside world. Leaving aside the fact that this was far to cruel to subject a girl as innocent as the one before me to, her having learned Japanese while her sister upstairs had not was strange, to say the least. “Your sister doesn’t seem to know it.”

“Oh, sister? She’s just putting up an act,” The little vampire responded with a slightly annoyed expression. My image of Remilia Scarlet’s powerful attitude received a notable crack. “Patchouli learned the language quickly after we arrived and taught everyone.” Now that she mentioned it, I had wondered why the magician spoke perfect Japanese despite having a foreign name. “She doesn’t get many opportunities to do it, but it’s kind of become her hobby since coming here.” Flandre and her older sister’s relationship seemed to be a difficult one, but I was not in a position to bring it up. Another thing, though, I thought to be important enough for me to ignore proper form to speak about.

“Why are you locked up in the basement?” I asked, despite understanding that the little girl before me had, to a certain degree, psychotic tendencies - enough for her to maim every single one of her toys.

“Because I can only destroy,” Flandre responded, an infinitely lonely expression on her face. “Whenever I play, something breaks.” It felt like physical pain was running through my heart at the sight, and I found the determination to ease that loneliness - and not just for tonight. What had started out as a task based on an exchange of services had become so much more after the little girl’s unadulterated show of emotions.

“Kyôma, are you cheating on me?” An all-too familiar voice said behind me, in a tone I could only imagine being spoken with a pout. I spun around and found Koishi, with the expected pout and a rare scowl darkening her features. Patchouli had mentioned that the little satori’s nature had been changed, and I finally understood what she had meant; apparently Koishi was slowly regaining her conscious thoughts and emotions.

“I won’t even play along with this... In either case, this is Komeiji Koishi, a satori from the underground.” This was directed at Flandre, who looked at the newcomer with a surprised expression. “Actually, how did you get here? I thought you went with the others to have a snack,” Turning back to the green-eyed girl, I asked in slight confusion. She had not been there when the maid had transported me to this room, although her appearing out of thin air was a quirk that seemed to be inseparable with her existence.

“I told you that I want to be with you. So I will never leave your side again, Kyôma,” Koishi stated with a definite expression. From that I could tell that this was not her usual shenanigans and it caused a tingling feeling in my chest.

“Another toy?” The vampire girl asked with a twinkle in her eyes, interrupting our moment.

“Lady Flandre, you shouldn’t think of living beings as toys.” I was reminded of how Remilia had worded my task here, adding to that fact the results of the little sister’s treatment of her toys, and her statement about her destructive nature, I understood why she had been locked up here. It was cruel without a doubt, but worse was the fact that seemingly nobody was teaching her common sense. Before I had noticed, Flandre had gotten up from her bed and stood only a few steps from me. Her appendages, doubtlessly bizarre wings, were drooping slightly at my light chastisement.

“You want to play?” My companion asked, finally shifting her attention to the vampire. The blonde responded with a shy nod. “If it’s danmaku, I can accompany you.” I looked at Koishi with an astonished expression, but then remembered that supposedly all supernatural beings in Gensôkyô knew how to play danmaku - whatever exactly it was.

“Really?” Flandre’s face brightened up at the offer.

“Let’s go at it!” With these words, the two girls flew up into the air of the large room, which I only now noticed had an exceptionally high ceiling, and faced each other. I watched from the ground, a part of me noting that I could clearly see up their skirts and see the pumpkin pants underneath, while another was intrigued to finally see what the Spellcard Rules were.

Suddenly, a storm of light orbs began to swirl around the two girls, heart-shaped red ones coming from Koishi and cranberry red ones from Flandre. These orbs began to move in intricate patterns, flying towards their opposites like a hail of bullets. As the two girls weaved their ways through the tiny gaps between the projectiles, summoning more and more lights to throw at each other, their flight began to resemble a dance. I noticed that the bullets hitting the walls disappeared, but those that came into contact with the furniture left scorching craters or exploded into smaller bullets that spread all across the room, leaving small holes everywhere. Even though I was only on the sidelines watching, I had been dragged into it and would become collateral damage if I did not actively dodge.

“In the first place, that’s not playing!” I shouted when Flandre, who had procured what looked like a twisted clock arm from an unknown location, created a crimson laser from its tip and cut the bed in half. Koishi skillfully avoided it and continued to spread her love in the form of burning red hearts that floated around the room and started to crowd its space.

“This is danmaku, Kyôma!” Koishi sounded excited as she spun around her self, avoided a curtain of bullets and released more and more hearts. Flandre’s face was flushed and a wide smile spread on her face, revealing her sharp canines. Her pupils had turned into slits, like those of a cat, and her crimson irises seemed to be glowing eerily. They were clearly enjoying what I could only perceive as a life and death battle.

“Ahhh, I haven’t had this much fun in a long time!” She shrieked in excitement and spread her twisted wings wide, bullets of various colors emerging from the crystals attached to them, creating a seemingly unavoidable rainbow-colored barrage. At the same time, Koishi threw her hat into the air, as if in celebration, and all the hearts floating in the room turned blue and pink, as they accelerated back towards her own position.

The two girls avoided each other’s danmaku in graceful moves, sometimes almost grazing them as they passed. Still, neither of the two had been hit by even a single bullet, while I had to give my all to not be at the receiving end of the destruction they spread. There was absolutely no form in my movements and I sometimes lay low, jumped up or twisted my body, looking less than graceful. There was no way I could grasp the concept behind this display of supernatural feats and learn to do it myself seeing two at such a high level going at each other with it.

“Watch me, Kyôma! My rekindled love is only for you!” Koishi announced and pink glowing hearts burst forth from her chest like meteorites, a myriad of smaller bullets separating from their trail to cover the room in their radiance.

“Love is a labyrinth, it’s a long and arduous path!” Flandre, for some reason picking up on the “love” part, responded in kind and released a new barrage of bluish danmaku. It was so dense that I could not see any way to avoid them, but then I realized that there was a substantial hole one could easily pass through at one point within the sphere that spread out from the little vampire. Suddenly, I understood what was meant with “playing danmaku”. Apparently it was still only a game, as the patterns of the bullets shot at each other always had openings for the opponent to slip through. The beauty was in finding them and avoiding them. But for now, I could not pat myself on the back for realizing this, as I had to do my best to avoid both of their projectiles at the same time.

“Why are you avoiding it, Kyôma!” The little satori pouted, when she saw me dodging one of her hearts by a mile.

“Don’t be unreasonable!” I shouted as it passed by me and blew up the remains of the bed.

This continued for a while, three people performing a ballet of death - or at least I perceived it to be deadly, while my performance was certainly not worthy to be called a ballet.

Sitting on the ground and breathing heavily, I was as exhausted as on the first day of Suika’s training. The two girls lay on the ground, each with singed or shredded clothes and completely out of strength, but smiling widely. Especially Koishi’s expression was refreshing to see, as it was a genuine one. Flandre’s eyes were no longer the slits of a predator’s, and had a glint that suggested satisfaction. They looked like girls their apparent age after playing to their hearts’ content.

“Even if I almost died in the process... but everything for the little princesses.” I sighed and caught my breath. Walking over to the two, I confirmed that neither was hurt and sighed again. “It’ll be a while before I will learn how danmaku works. In fact, how do you even create it?”

“I just think about it and it happens.”

“When I think about it, they come out.”

The two of them sat up and stated at the same time, with practically the exact same response and expression on their faces. Sighing for the third time, I sat down in their middle and looked at them in turn. Koishi’s eyes held emotions, more than ever before, while Flandre’s showed the remaining embers of excitement from the battle. There was no hint of sadness or loneliness in either of their unclouded eyes. I smiled at the sight and stroked both their heads.

“Hm, what?” Koishi asked, as she nuzzled into it and enjoyed my touch.

“... what... is this?” Flandre asked, too, but her tone was different. She blushed at the sensation of being petted, unsure what to make of it. “It feels... warm.” For some reason the thought that she had never been caressed like this before crossed my mind. Koishi interrupted that thought by rounding me and embracing me from behind, cuddling my cheek with her own.

“Did you have fun?” I asked Flandre, who looked at me with a surprised expression. Then she nodded with a radiant smile. “Yes!” It warmed my heart, even though I had not done anything at all and it had been Koishi’s merit.

“You’re the third person who didn’t break after I played with you,” The vampire girl said, looking at Koishi. The way she worded it and the hopeful shine in her eyes was painful to witness, but the satori on my back responded to it in a way that answered the hope. “If you want, we can play again,” She stated, showing a smile of her own. Her face brightening up, Flandre leapt up in excitement.

“But for now, let’s do something else,” I added, showing my exhaustion. I was still human, to a certain degree, and did not have the immense rejuvenation powers of yôkai and most especially of vampires. “Let’s play something that doesn’t involve the chance of dying... for me.” The little vampire’s dejection turned into slightly apologetic bashfulness. If she could show such an expression, it meant she was aware of the fact that her playing was quite destructive. Maybe she simply could not control her powers well, although her actual age should have suggested otherwise.

“What do you suggest?” Koishi asked, wondering what we could do in a completely devastated room.