It's really remarkable what being bored will do for you. I muse as I read the Bunbunmaru while sitting on a cushion next to a door that opens onto the garden.

A few days ago, I started experimenting with some of my Keyblades' abilities, to see if I could develop them further in some way. One of the things I found out was that Wavebreaker could do more than just camouflage; it could actually change my appearance a little. Combine that with a mini Wire Performance to provide some structural foundation, and I can disguise myself pretty effectively.

Which is why I'm sitting less than twenty meters away from Aya, who's here yet again trying to find out more about the mysterious guest of Myouren Temple, a.k.a. me. In this case, my disguise is an old man who's just here to spend time at Byakuren's invitation.

I'm surprised that my disguise is this convincing though... She didn't even notice when I asked her for a copy of her newspaper. I turn to the next page, and spot a small note that mentions the outsider Ikuto was currently staying with Remilia Scarlet. Then again, maybe she already noticed, but thinks that I'm just sneaking out from the mansion.

I don't recall if Aya gave any clue when she dropped by the mansion in the past though, plus she didn't really come that often once she started investigating the mystery guest.

But back to what I was thinking about before I go any further off-track. I was bored, I discovered a new aspect of my borrowed powers by combining two of them, and I decided to make use of it by stalking Aya whenever she comes by.

Something's definitely wrong with me.

"The fight is over!" Byakuren announces, raising her hand up in the air. "Winner, Ichirin Kumoi!"

"Ayayaaa... guess I'll have to withdraw for today..." Aya quirks her mouth ruefully, looking a little battered after her duel.

Naturally, Aya's constant attempts have garnered the irritation of the temple's inhabitants, so she ends up having to fight for her right to stay whenever she comes. Being a tengu, her fighting ability is top-notch; speed, power and accuracy, she's got all of them.

So how did she lose? The answer lies with me. After I started observing Aya's fights, I noticed several patterns to her movements. I ended up giving into my wish to see her lose, and started training the others to adapt to Aya's movements. Needless to say, it's been paying off.

"I'll come again tomorrow~" Aya waves cheerily and flies off.

"Don't." Ichirin grumbles.

With the tengu gone, I abandon my disguise and pick up the tray that's nearby. I load it up with cups of water, as well as a wet towel that I use my magic to warm up. Once that's done, I emerge out onto the field and make my way over to Ichirin. I make use of Wavebreaker to change my appearance so that I look like I'm wearing a butler suit, with the tray balanced perfectly on the fingers of one hand. Thanks to my training under Sakuya, I might not one hell of a butler (1), but I'm a pretty good one nonetheless.

"Here, have a hot towel." I hand her the towel for her to wipe off the sweat. "My thanks for chasing her off for me."

Ichirin smothers a laugh at the cultured manner I'm putting on. "Thanks." She takes the offered item from me. "And no need to thank me, you're also partially responsible for it."

I chuckle as I hand her a cup of water to drink."Haha, I guess so."

Next to us, Byakuren's smiling as she watches the two of us get along. I turn to her and offer her a cup as well, which she accepts gratefully. I offer one to the observing Murasa too, but she declines it. It doesn't seem I'll get any more entertainment out of playing the butler, so I let the mini Keyblade fade, and the glamour along with it. Taking Murasa's cup for myself, I tuck the empty tray under my arm.

"Well, time for an after-action review, shall we?"

Byakuren and Murasa head off to take care of other stuff, leaving me with Ichirin. The two of us sit on the veranda, looking out over the area where she had been having a spell card duel with Aya. I break down the patterns that she used, manipulating my ice crystals to provide illustrations. Unzan hangs around behind us watching over our shoulders, since the two of them are battle partners.

"So, when she dodges to the side, like here, you should move over to these points in quick succession while you are using that pattern, which will corner her." I explain.

"Oh, I see... that's very interesting. I'll try that out next time." Ichirin nods.

Lately, my relationship with this youkai has been improving quite well. After we finish going through Aya's movement patterns, the topic moves on to other things. Before she became a youkai, she was a human, so her personality has quite a lot of human-like qualities. It makes her easier to talk to compared to someone like Nazrin, for example.

"You're getting really good with your control of your own magic now." Ichirin comments, watching me as I play around with the ice crystals.

"It's all about practicing regularly. The affinity does help, though."

I cause one crystal to break up into smaller shards, which I then manipulate to form the shape of a human figure. There are about fifty different pieces, and I can move them all in concert to make it look like an actual marionette.

"I learned some of this from Alice, you know." I make the ice doll fly up to sit on my shoulder. "Without what I know, I'll probably be stuck to moving the whole block of ice as it is."

"You mean Alice Margatroid? I've met her before." Ichirin stares at the doll, which waves to her on my command. "Her skill with all those dolls is incredible."

"I know, right? It takes a lot of concentration for me just to move one doll this smoothly, but she can do it better with dozens of them."

On a whim, I break some of the bigger pieces up further, and shape them into two rings and a skirt. It's obvious to anyone who knows her that I'm trying to make it look like Ichirin.

Even as she watches, I make the figure go through the motions Ichirin does when she's fighting; attacking with the rings, dodging, flying... then feeling a bit mischievous, I make it act in more normal ways, such as praying, walking, sitting down, and other stuff.

"What do you think?"

"That's... a very good imitation of how I act. You must have watched quite closely..." Ichirin comments.

"Well, it was interesting to watch." I reply, glancing at her. Wait, why's she blushing?

Over in a corner, Unzan is drifting around unconcernedly, leaving me and Ichirin sharing this moment in private. Feeling a bit shy, I glance away, but when I look back, her position is somehow slightly closer now.

"Say," I start uncomfortably, "Since you've been helping me a lot so far, how about I treat you to a meal in the village?"

"Eh?" She's surprised by the sudden invitation. "U-um, that's alright, you don't need to..."

"No, really, I'll feel bad otherwise." I insist, turning to face her.

"We-well, if you say so..." Ichirin trails off, not meeting my eyes. "I'll go with you."

"Okay then-"

The next moment, I dive out of the way to avoid being impaled by a trident falling from above.

"Tch!" I hear my attacker grumble over her failed attempt.

"Nue!" Ichirin exclaims.

If there's one youkai that doesn't like the idea of me staying at Myouren Temple, it would be Nue. It's not just because of how I overpowered her when we first met, but for some reason, I can somehow perceive through her ability to make things unidentifiable. It's not a complete nullification of her power, as I hadn't noticed her hiding above me until she attacked, but it's enough to piss her off.

"Ho~ Come to try your luck again?" I taunt her.

"Kiii!" Nue hisses at me, pulling her weapon free and turning it towards me. "I don't care how long it'll take, I'll get you eventually!"

"Well then, let's see if today's your lucky day!"

And she takes that anger out against me. Byakuren tried to put a stop to it at first, but I persuaded her to just let it slide, since Nue's more receptive to the others after we've had our now regular fights.

"Excuse me, you two..." Someone interrupts, drawing our attention.

Ichirin is clutching her rings tightly, trembling. What I didn't expect was that she was wet; apparently when I dodged, the cup of water was knocked flying by Nue's attack, and its contents splashed over her. Unzan is already forming up behind her, and he doesn't look pleased either.

"TAKE IT OUTSIDE!"

As I and Nue get punted over the wall, the only thought going through my head is: What's she mad about?

Once Nue reasserts control over her body's momentum, she comes straight for me. I activate my glide, and swerve out of the way. Naturally, it starts a game of chase as I lead her away from the temple, twisting and dropping to avoid her attempts to give me three new breathing holes. Whenever my altitude dips too low, I let myself drop so I can kick off the ground once more.

Eventually, we reach a clearing in the forest, and I perform one last backflip to dodge Nue's attempt to grab me, landing right in the center.

"Finally given up?" She asks threateningly. "Then-"

"Let's get started." I pull out my key and manifest my Keyblade.

"Hah! I'll beat you for sure this time!"

Oi, just how many times have you said that already? I lunge forward, and thrust Phantom Blossom at her face.

It's an attack I have been starting with nearly every time, and it wasn't done at my full speed either, so she brings up her trident and intercepts it. Nue smirks, and disengages with a spray of danmaku. Already expecting something like that, I leap back the same time she does, and steal the speed of the bullets with Sakuya's Keyblade, creating a gap for me to dodge through.

A flick of my wrist spawns two ice daggers in my hand, which I fling at the youkai. Nue ducks under the first and spins away from the second, before countering with more danmaku. I defend against those with a summoned earth wall, which I then demolish to launch boulders at her.

"Too slow!" Nue soars upwards, out of my effective range.

She's getting the hang of it, huh. I summon out Sky's Embrace and begin darting all around the entire clearing, building up the energy charge. At the same time, I'm grazing her bullets, making it seem like I'm being harassed by the intensity. Let's see if she falls for this...

Nue does fall for it; she descends closer, tightening up the pattern her bullets are forming. That's when I spring the trap.

A quick switch over to Spellbinder, and the familiar key darts to the side, approaching Nue through a roundabout route. Her attention focused upon me, she doesn't realize the danger until she's suddenly soaked by a spray of water.

"Kyah- Glbrbuh!" Nue throws her arms up to shield her face, so I alter the stream of water to aim an accurate squirt right into her mouth.

While she's still recovering, I call Iku's Keyblade out again, and unleash all the pent-up energy in a single bolt of lightning. Perhaps sensing it somehow, Nue dodges hard to the left, but I alter the bolt's course to intercept her. It strikes perfectly.

"GYAAAAAAH!"

I wince at the sound, even though I know very well that it wasn't that serious. Youkais are a hardy bunch, and even if Nue looks like a young girl, she's centuries old, and has quite a lot of fighting experience. Which means she knows how to take a hit.

I quickly dive aside to avoid a huge bullet that rips a crater into the ground where I was standing. And knows how to give one, too.

"That... HURT!" Nue screams, turning around to dash at me again.

Enemy Nue is enraged! Enemy Nue has increased attack status! (2) I parry her stabs furiously, wincing at the force behind them. Based on the last time this happened, she can keep up this pace for another few minutes, so I need to increase my defense or dodge if I want to get through this.

I sidestep an excited thrust, and grab the handle of her trident with my free hand. Before she can react, I toss her into a spin with some application of Purple Ki, switch over to Meiling's Keyblade in my other hand. The look on her face when she sees me winding up with the heavy weapon practically screams 'OH SHIT'; if not for the amount of focus I was putting into the strike, I might have laughed.

"BAM!" I yell out as my weapon makes contact with her midriff.

Nue goes flying across the clearing, but I don't relax; not only did I make that strike slow enough that she could block it, but I also infused it with Green Ki so as to send her flying rather than cause damage. Sure enough, her next move involves red UFOs, which my eyes manage to pick out as oddly colored snakes twined around stones and pieces of wood. Despite their appearance, those things are still able to fire bullets at me.

Channel Purple Ki, and activate! I maintain my position and begin deflecting the homing shots away from me.

"Come on, is this the best you can do?" I call out to her.

This time, she sends out waves of snakes, which move around in a slithery motion that seems confusing at first, but is easy to avoid at the long distance we're keeping each other. It's not until lasers suddenly start shooting at me that I realize she was using them to hide the fact that she was calling out blue UFOs.

"Heh, how about that, huh? But that's not all!" Nue calls back.

The blue UFOs are joined by green ones, which spam laser bullets to a ridiculous degree. I end up having to use my Orange Ki shield to block them directly, those that I can't dodge myself. By spellcard rules, this sort of thing is definitely illegal, but I think I pissed Nue off enough that she doesn't care. And now she's cloaking everything in a black fog, reducing my field of vision to nearly zero.

Too bad for her I know what she's going to do. I close my eyes, which are pretty much useless under her fog's effect, and extend out my radar sense. To my surprise, she's already quite close; her weapon is already within a meter of me. If I had been any slower in activating the radar, she might have actually managed to stab me.

"Die!" The trident goes through where my head would be if I hadn't leaned it to the side instinctively.

Calling out like that really doesn't help you when you're trying to do a sneak attack... I turn towards Nue's position, only to realize something else. Too close!

Let it be known that the accidental kiss isn't really nice when one of the two sides involved is moving at a very high speed, fast enough to cause the teeth to knock together. In addition to that, the force at which she hits me is enough to knock me off my feet, which causes me to wrap my arms around her body automatically. And when our joined bodies hit the ground, the back of my head hits something hard, which once again causes my teeth to hit something; it's like everything hurts.

Ow. Ow, ow, ow... I reach up to cup my mouth, only to find something wet and hairy in the way. What's this thing that's between my hand and my mouth? It's pressing against my mouth too... I stick my tongue out tentatively.

There's something soft and wet inside whatever's covering my mouth, and it reacts when I press my tongue against it. I don't know why, but I feel like I should do this and that to it with my tongue, which somehow causes the thing to react by squirming slightly.

Then my brain reboots, and I realize that I'm smooching Nue, who is just as surprised as I am.

"MMMM!" She starts flailing about, and I quickly release her.

It's amazing how fast we spring apart after that, and in her haste, Nue trips and falls over backward onto her butt.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to..." I trail off as my dropped gaze catches sight of something incredible.

When Nue fell over, she ended up with her legs spread slightly, and with her short dress, it means that I've got a full view of what's underneath. Contrary to my expectations, it's not any conventional form of underwear. However, I've seen something like it before, in an anime.

Woah, an actual Echidna-type underwear. (3)

Nue notices where my gaze is directed, and quickly closes her legs, but her face is extremely red. That's when we both notice something else; because of my water attack earlier, her clothes are now sticking to her body, clearly showing off her modest curves.

"Ah, ah, ah... aaaaAAAAHHH!" She suddenly bursts upwards flying. "I'LL REMEMBER THIIIIISSS!"

I stare after her, struck dumb by the sheer coincidence of it all. A few seconds after she's gone from sight, a painful twinge reminds me of my own injury, and I give myself a quick dose from Burst Needle to speed up my healing.

Well, that was weird. I think after my injury has recovered. Now what do I do? Go back to the temple?

"U~RA~ME~SHI~YA~!" Kogasa suddenly pops out from above me, upside down. Her wide eyes and stuck-out tongue add a whole new degree to the surprise factor.

"HOLY SHIT!" I leap back automatically, but I manage to stop myself before I end up hitting her with my Keyblade.

"Eh?" Kogasa blinks, then suddenly breaks out into a huge grin. "YES! I did it! I managed to surprise you!"

"Haa..." I sigh, my heart rate starting to go down. "Yes, you did." I can't believe she actually surprised me.

I had been so focused on the fight with Nue that I neglected to pay attention to my surroundings, plus the concussion didn't help things either. Besides, Kogasa's sneaking skills were pretty poor in the first place, so all in all, I feel really dumb having her get the drop on me.

"Whoops." Kogasa flips around the right side up.

"Where did you come from, anyway?" I ask irritably.

"Well~ I was sitting around the graveyard thinking about how I could surprise someone, when I heard some shouting, then saw you and that weird girl getting thrown out of the temple. I wondered if something was up, so I decided to take a look, but you were so fast that I nearly lost you. If not for the sounds you were making, I think I really might have."

Wow, she really chatters on. Is it because she succeeded in surprising someone? I think as I wait for a chance to speak.

In fact, even as Kogasa is speaking, she's dancing around, a wide smile on her face. The tongue on her umbrella is wagging happily as well.

"Well, I didn't see how the fight went, but I thought it was kind of strange how the two of you were hugging each other like that. Is that some kind of grappling move?" Kogasa gives me a quizzical look. "Anyway, I thought that since you weren't paying attention, maybe I could surprise you. And it worked!"

"Yes, yes, well done..." No point getting mad at her. It's just what she does.

"Eh?"

"What?" I suddenly realize that Kogasa had paused her celebration for some reason.

"Just now... you said 'well done'.." The small youkai's tone gives away her shock.

"Ahh... that, huh?" I scratch my head, then decide to just go with it. "Well, you did surprise me, so that deserves some praise." I pat her head.

"..." Kogasa doesn't react, but a blush crosses her face.

...did I just raise a flag? I wonder, but I continue patting her head.

In the end, I end up giving her more advice on how to better go about in surprising people, as well as warning her to be careful about who she targets. Kogasa thanks me fervently, enough that I feel kind of embarrassed myself, before flying off somewhere to try out what I told her.

"That was very nice of you, Ikuto."

Wha- Goddamn it, someone else approached without me noticing for the second time?! I turn around slowly, since I recognized the voice. "Byakuren-san, I didn't expect you to be here." She's not alone though, but the other person doesn't seem to want to join in yet.

Byakuren steps out from behind a tree, her presence now registering on my senses as she releases whatever technique she was using to repress it. She starts walking closer towards me.

"I was worried about you and that child, so I came along to keep an eye on you two."

The part 'and stop the both of you if necessary' went unsaid, but I can tell even through the faint smile on Byakuren's face.

Should I start referring to her as Theresa? (4) She certainly does seem to fit the image. "Well, things kind of got a bit messy towards the end... did you see?" The nervous question drops out as I recall the incident.

Her smile widens as she continues to approach. "Yes."

Oh shit, it would not have looked good from her point of view. A chill runs down my back, and I prepare myself for one of Byakuren's mild lectures. Not on the level of what Eiki's would be, according to Komachi, but she's like the master of the guilt-trip.

"It's good to see the two of you getting along so well." Byakuren stops in front of me and clasps her hands in front of her body.

Then again, she really believes in the good in others. I smile back at her. If only there were more of her, the world would be a better place. "I think she might disagree with you about that, though."

Byakuren laughs, a pretty sound. "I suppose you may be right about that." Turning around, she calls out behind her, "What are you standing all the way back there for, Shou? Come on closer."

"If that's what you want, Hijiri-san." The tiger youkai finally approaches from where I had sensed her earlier. "Good afternoon to you, Ikuto-san."

"Good afternoon, Shou-san." I look between the both of them. "Are you two going visiting?"

"No, we're just taking a walk." Byakuren replies.

"Ah." She doesn't have her straw hat with her. I notice."Any destination in particular?"

"Nowhere in particular, but you're welcome to join us."

"If you don't mind my presence," I accept her invitation.

The rest of the day passes peacefully in the company of those two. It appears that Shou is doing her best to maintain a dignified appearance in front of me and Byakuren, but other than that, she does actively take part in the conversation. Still, she does slip up a few times, which shows a different side of her. Looking at Shou using her spear as a walking stick is kind of amusing to me, for some reason.

After a while, Ichirin comes by to call Byakuren back for something happening at the temple. She gives me a stern look, but I'm clueless about what she means by it. Shou offers to go back as well, only for Byakuren to tell her to stay and get to know me better.

The other meaning of Byakuren's words brings up imagery in my mind. I really need to get my urges under control... I look away from where Shou is bidding farewell to the other two, feeling a blush on my face.

"Soooo~..." I finally ask. "What now?"

"Continue the walk... I guess?" Shou sounds uncertain.

"Guess so." We continue onwards for a bit. "Since Byakuren's not here... want to talk about your favorite drink?"

As it turns out, she does have quite a lot to say on that matter. On my end, my friendship with Boss and Suika gives me a good deal of knowledge as well. What I didn't expect was her suddenly pulling out a small bottle from a pocket and taking a swig from it before offering it to me.

Well, drinking buddies is a good step to progress to next. I take a sip of the drink. "Mm! This is pretty strong." Even by oni standards.

"I like it that way, actually." Shou confesses as she takes back the bottle for another drink.

Just as I smile at her, I feel an odd tingling in the air, as though something just passed out from my body. What was that? Is Yukari peeping on me or something?

"Um..." Shou's mumble breaks me out of my thoughts, and I notice that she's quite flushed.

"Woah, this drink really is something..." I blurt out. "Are you okay? You seem kind of..."

The tiger youkai twitches, then tucks away the bottle. "I-I'm fine. But I should go back."

She gives me an oddly familiar look, before flying off in the direction of the temple. I'm left bewildered at this turn of events, but eventually I decide that she probably has her own issues to handle, and doesn't need me butting into them.

"So, why is this guy here?" The person next to me asks her shogi partner as she indicates me with a pointed finger.

"Well," Nitori responds awkwardly, "He came by my place to discuss some invention ideas, and the topic of shogi came up..."

"I've honestly never seen a match of shogi." I admit to Momiji Inubashiri, who is currently glaring at me. "I did play some chess while I was at the mansion- the one in the middle of the lake," I explain to her, "But other than that, I didn't really play that many games."

Momiji glowers at me, but thankfully she doesn't kick me out. Instead, she just hands me a tea set with a look that says 'make yourself useful'. So I make tea, and serve it to them.

As much as I'd like to ask them to teach me, the amount of concentration the white wolf tengu is focusing on the game makes the air tense. Well, let's just see how much I can pick up from watching.

Evidently, the pieces are: King, Rook, Bishop, Gold General, Silver General, Knight, Lance, and Pawn. That much is obvious as they have the text on them.

Of those, the movements of the King, Rook, Bishop, Knight, and Pawn are same as normal chess, so I focus on the remaining three pieces. Given that both players take a while to consider before making their moves, it takes me quite a while to figure out what are the possible movements those three pieces can make.

Lance pieces, just as their name suggests, can only move forward, but is unlimited in length. Basically, a Rook that can only advance. As for the two Generals, both can advance into any of the three spaces in front of it, but while the Gold one can move to the sides and back, the Silver cannot do the same, only able to retreat in a diagonal manner. It takes me a while to figure those two out, since their first match was played aggressively by both sides, thus I didn't realize their different retreat patterns until the second match.

In the short interval in between matches, I take the opportunity to ask and confirm my guesses, and find out that I'm right. It's nothing to celebrate about, but I feel slightly good about myself.

As they start on the third match, I turn my attention to the promoting part. Unlike Western chess, the pieces can promote once they are within the last three rows on the opposite end, which is the same area occupied by the enemy pieces at the start. However, other than that, both players play the game well enough that promotion rarely comes into play for the pieces I'm interested in.

Wow... this is... kind of... boring. I glance at Momiji's frowning face, keeping it short so I don't distract her. She really looks kind of cute with the way her brow's all furrowed up.

I purse my lips and blow a small puff at her wolf ears, which flick irritably, but Momiji doesn't react otherwise. Not wanting to push things any further, I look elsewhere.

Nitori's kind of quirky in the way she never puts down her backpack, even though she's sitting down playing shogi. Then again, it's more a matter of convenience; when the teapot has cooled off, she simply pulls out a tool to boil more water and hands it to me... using a mechanical hand from the backpack instead of her own hands.

Mad scientist stereotype, I would say... if not for the fact that pretty much the entire group of kappas act just the same. That said, I haven't really interacted with any other kappa other than Nitori in a normal manner. Maybe I should ask her to introduce me to some of her friends?

As I continue to watch these two play, my mind starts to wander. It starts with about how I don't feel like interrupting just so I can do something to keep myself awake, which then goes on to a short reminiscence about how I used to have trouble staying awake during early morning lectures back in university, which I don't miss in the least, then to wondering about how Iku would deal with this sort of situation given her ability, which goes on to what sort of stuff me, Iku and Komachi would do...

Huh... when did Momiji and Nitori dress like that...? Sleeveless and short skirts... and was their chests that big? Well, it does look good on them...

Momiji picks up a piece, bringing her hand near her face as she contemplates where to move it. Her lips look very plump and pink, like she applied lip gloss. She places it down, taking one of Nitori's pieces.

The kappa takes her cap off and fans herself with it, shaking her head slightly, causing her twin tails to shine enticingly in the sunlight. As she dons her cap back on, I see two evident clues that she forgot to put on her bra. It's almost impossible to see the key she usually carries around, though.

"Hey, Ikuto." There's a nudge from my right.

I jolt straight upright and look around quickly. "What?!"

Nitori is looking at me with amusement on her face, while Momiji wears a disapproving expression. Oh. Oh, crap. I ended up dozing off from watching their game.

"Really, how disgraceful." The wolf tengu frowns at me. "You can't let your guard down like this around this place."

"Sorry." I bow my head.

"If a dangerous youkai catches you like that, you'll be done for."

"Sorry." My head goes lower.

"And if the superiors catches you like that, it means punishment duty."

"Sorry." Wait, what?

As Momiji continues to lecture me in a manner reminiscent of Shikieiki, her words give me an insight into her character. She's quite focused on personal responsibility, but it seems like she has a kind side that shows concern for others. Part of me wonders if she's secretly jealous about the fact that I can just fall asleep so nonchalantly because I don't have a job to perform like she does.

Oh my God... I'm a NEET... wait, I'm technically still in training, so that doesn't entirely apply to me, right? Then I notice something odd as I peek upwards slightly. Both of them are blushing a little... but why?

The way the two of them are fidgeting, and the scent that I can smell from them when I use Ki to enhance my senses, it's a state I'm familiar with, having experienced it on quite a number of girls whose Keyblades I have. The weird thing about it is that they shouldn't be reacting like this in the first place, especially for someone like Momiji, who has practically no reason to like me.

Okay, this is definitely strange, and I'm quite sure it's something that I'm the cause of. I continue to nod contritely in response to Momiji's speaking, and use that to check myself over.

At first I don't detect anything, but then I realize that the usual magic emanations that I'm putting out have something else mixed in with them. But before I can properly identify what's causing it, Momiji notices that I'm not giving her my full attention and whacks me on the head.

"Ow!"

"Are you listening to me?!" She says crossly.

Thankfully, Nitori intercedes for me. "Momiji-san, I think that's enough already, don't you think?"

Huffing, the wolf tengu lets me off with one last reprimand, and turns back to her game, which concludes after another six turns. Rather than go another round, the two youkais decide to end things there for now, and I accompany Nitori back to her lab. A propeller comes out of the top of her backpack to serve as a flight system, while a cable from a side pocket drags my slow-falling self along.

"So, what do you think?" The kappa asks me.

That's a remarkably open-ended question. What exactly is she asking about? The shogi game? Or the players? "Well, I thought it was kiiiind of interesting... maybe I need to see more."

Nitori doesn't reply right away. "Well, you're welcome to come again." She finally says.

She lands outside the entrance to her lab, and turns to me after releasing me from the cable. Judging from the look she's giving me, it doesn't seem like she wants my company right now. At first, it doesn't make sense to me, but then I finally click as to the reason why.

"Ah, you have some invention to test?" I ask her.

Nitori blushes a little, but nods. "It's something that has to be done alone."

I nod back solemnly. "Well then, I'll just leave you to it."

If anything, she goes even pinker, and flees into the privacy of her lab.

Better not waste any more time here. I look up at the thankfully empty sky. It was a bit of a risk going where Aya could have seen me, but I think I've pushed my luck enough.

Once I'm under moderate cover, I go back to analyzing the problem I noticed earlier. Without any interruptions this time, it doesn't take long for me to narrow down the reason. But there's a difference between knowing the reason and believing it.

Goddammit, Koakuma, did you give me some kind of succubus STD? Now I'm like some kind of pseudo-incubus that's influencing the opposite sex into arousal. Is that even possible?

I used to think that the power that allowed me to get new Keyblades for forming close bonds with other girls was just that, with no extra strings attached. Then something like this pops up, when I least expect it.

Then again, Spellbinder represents my bond with Patchy, not Koa. Koa was an extra during that time... and I have no idea how she affected the whole thing. I ruffle my hair in irritation as I bring out the Keyblade in question to examine. Dammit, if possible, I would go to Patchy for answers, but I can't do that because my past self is there. Just how long more do I have to keep hiding? Wait, I shouldn't be thinking about that, I have a current problem to solve!

It takes me a while before I finally come up with an idea; my mind keeps going off on a tangent, like wondering how this was going to affect everyone else I was in contact with, or whether it did anything for my physical abilities. However, it wasn't really much of an idea, since my lack of knowledge on that issue meant that I should ask someone for help, and the list was quite limited.

I considered Alice for a moment, since she's a magician and she was somewhat alone, allowing me to avoid a paradox. On the other hand, I can imagine just what she would do once she finds out about this new change in me. Things probably wouldn't get solved anytime soon.

I attempted to contact Yukari by calling out to her, but there was no response. Just as well, since I have a feeling she would hold it over my head as a favor owed to her, and I really don't like having that sort of thing happen to me. The Moriya Shrine goddesses were also candidates, except there's no easy way for me to get up the mountain without being turned back by the tengu.

Byakuren would certainly help, even if her magical knowledge is more about buffing physical abilities, but I don't feel comfortable bringing this issue up in front of others, especially since it's hard to get her alone. So that left...

In the end, it's the Taoists I'm going to for help, huh... I stab ineffectively at the air in front of me with Spellbinder, trying to replicate the way I got out of Senkai before. But how the hell do I open the path there?

I start saying random phrases with each stab. "Open. Da kai. Warp. Open sesame. Aparturum. Mellon." (5) With each failed attempt, I focus more and more of my attention on making that crack in the air.

"Um, what are you doing?" I hear a guy's voice from just behind me.

"HOLY SHIT!" Didn't pay attention again!?

I try to jump away, spin to see who had spoken, adopt a fighting stance, and swing my weapon around to put it in between us, all at the same time. All this combines to cause me to trip over my own feet and fall, the Keyblade in my hand sweeping out in a wild swing which hits something.

"OOF!" Unexpectedly, I didn't land on grass, but on hard stone.

"What the- he disappeared?! Was he a youkai?!" The voice I heard just now exclaims in shock and fear. "Th-this place is strange! I-I'm not staying here any longer!"

There's the sound of footsteps on grass fading into the distance, but when I look around, there's nobody who could have made that sound. Not only that, but somehow I had entered Senkai; I was no longer in the forest, but the cloudy dimension Miko made for hermits. On closer examination, there's that crack in the air less than a meter away, but it repairs itself into nothingness even as I watch.

I really hope I don't have to trip anytime I want to enter or leave by my own power... it seriously sucks. I turn towards the temple, which was already completed. Would be funny if my password to come here was 'Holy shit' though.

Stifling a chuckle at that thought, I start walking towards the temple. There doesn't seem to be any door guard; I doubt Miko would approve of Yoshika standing guard anyway, if that jiangshi even goes anywhere Seiga doesn't want her to go. That said, now that I'm paying attention, I can tell that there are quite a number of people inside, mainly because most of them possess more power than the average human.

Were there really this many hermits hidden around Gensokyo? Who are the normal ones I can barely sense anyway? Hmm, maybe ordinary people who just stumbled in here. I should ask Miko or Futo if that's even possible... Pausing in front of the gates, I look up and whistle appreciatively at the characters naming the place 'Divine Spirit Mausoleum'. Well, this is quite an impressive building. More eye-grabbing than Myouren Temple, that's for sure.

The gate itself has three tiers of roofs, with the carvings of mythical creatures such as dragons and phoenixes perched at the corners. On either side are two pagoda towers, three levels high; I can sense a few hermits inside both of them, possibly meditating or doing other hermit-y stuff.

Seeing no point in hesitating outside any longer, I head for the doors and push them open. They don't make much noise moving, which is kind of disappointing to me for some reason.

Contrary to my hopes, the receiving party isn't Futo, but a ghost in a green dress. There's a lack of legs due to her ghostly nature, leaving only two milky white tails poking out from beneath the hem of her dress, but the rest of her looks human enough. On closer look, her hair and eyes are green as well.

Ah, Tojiko, that's her name. I seem to recall from Touhou lore that she's at odds with Futo. I wonder... is her dress style some kind of statement against Futo? She's all one color, while Futo has different colored ribbons decorating each limb... Meh, for now, let's just greet her first.

"Greetings. I come in peace. Take me to your leader." I recite the first thing that comes to mind, which doesn't sound all that smart once it's left my mouth.

Naturally, Tojiko doesn't take it well. "Hah? Are you taking me for a fool? Name yourself!"

Oh crap, she's setting off my danger senses, really bad degree. "Pardon my rudeness. I am called Ikuto." I bow formally. "I seek to have an audience with Toyosatomimi no Miko."

"For what purpose?" Tojiko demands.

"I was referred by the one known as Motohage no Futo." (6) I raise my head as I say this so I can catch her reaction.

There's a barely restrained snicker, before the ghost reasserts herself. "Impudence," Despite her words, her tone doesn't reflect that much anger. "My colleague's name is Mononobe no Futo."

"Sorry, I bit my tongue." I lie automatically. "Might I know your name?"

"Soga no Tojiko." Tojiko's reply is short; she's getting over her amusement at the joke I made at Futo's expense. "So you desire to meet the Crown Princess."

"Yes."

"Very well, I shall convey you to her. Follow me."

She turns and floats away, heading deeper into the temple, and I trail along behind her, observing my surroundings. The interior architecture is just as ostentatious as the outside, which doesn't seem to match the image of a hermit's refuge.

Separation from worldly desires and such. Well, if anyone's responsible for this... My eyes flicker towards where Tojiko is leading me. It's got to be her.

After another two minutes of walking- or floating in Tojiko's case, my ghost guide knocks on the ornate door we arrived at.

"Your Grace, there is someone who wishes to speak with you."

"Enter." Miko's muffled voice orders from within.

Tojiko pushes the door open and enters, directing me to follow with a look over her shoulder. As I step over the doorsill, my attention is drawn to a familiar purple cloak hanging nearby. The inside is quite well-decorated, and the inhabitant herself is seated on top of a raised platform, leaning to the side with one elbow on a red armrest while the other hand holds a sake dish. In front of her is a tray with a jar on it, and my trained nose catches the scent of alcohol coming from it.

Miko perks up at the sight of me. "Well, this is a surprise! Welcome, Ikuto."

"'ello." Momentarily forgetting about Tojiko's presence, I wave to her flippantly.

The hermit chuckles, and beckons to me. "Come, join me for a drink. Tojiko, fetch him another jar and dish."

Tojiko bows in acknowledgment and leaves, shooting me a glare on the way out. Shrugging, I make my way up onto the platform, shedding my footwear before stepping onto it. As I sit down, Miko cocks her head curiously at me.

"Interesting... truly interesting..."

"What is?" I ask, though I'm pretty sure I know the answer. As long as Satori's words weren't a lie...

"I can tell you seek my aid, but there's quite the difference compared to our last meeting." Miko scrutinizes me. "Never would have thought a person could change this much. No wonder I have trouble reading your past and future."

"But the present is no problem?" I inquire.

"Hardly." She refills her dish.

Tojiko returns with the requested items, and almost looks like she wishes to stay, but Miko dismisses her, so she has no choice but to leave.

"She's likely to hang around outside, you know." I comment, looking at the closed door.

"So she is." The barely audible sound of flowing liquid tells me that she's filling my dish for me. "Try not to go overboard."

I nod as I pick up the porcelain dish. "I know."

My current situation isn't that urgent, so it should be okay to take it easy like this for now.

Since Miko's power has trouble getting a read on me, she resorts to the tried and tested method of simply talking; just talking about the stuff I've been doing since we last met took quite a while. Despite being a hermit, it's obvious that she's interested in the secular life.

It also gives me an insight into her personality; she's quite easygoing, which probably stems from her being able to read just about anyone she comes across, and her subsequent acceptance of how they're going to act. To her, people are like storybooks with myriad tales to tell, but they are forever changing through interactions with those around them, and Miko enjoys seeing the changes, which is one big reason why she doesn't act like a typical hermit and involves herself with other humans.

To her, I'm a kind of a wild card that she's having trouble predicting, and that piques her interest. When she explains about how her power has difficulty reading someone who lacks any of the ten basic desires, I mention that I know two other people who are likely to fall into that category. Naturally, Miko wants to know who those two are.

"One of them is a half-phantom, so she would lack attachment to life and envy of death, because she's in between the state of life and death." I explain. Come to think of it, maybe she was supposed to be one of those who goes up against MIko?

"Hmm, I see now." Miko nods contemplatively. "The other?"

"Well..." I scratch my head. "She's a youkai, a satori, actually."

"A mind reader. I have met their kind before, but I was able to hear their desires."

"Except she closed her Third Eye because she doesn't want to read minds." I sigh; Koishi's situation makes me feel sorry for her sometimes. "It also closed off her conscious mind."

Miko blinks a few times. "That would mean... she..."

I nod. "Chances are... you've already met her, but forgot about meeting her because that's what her ability does."

Now that I think back about it... I know I encountered Koishi before, but I just can't recall the specifics! I look around the room with narrowed eyes, as though expecting her to be present.

"What are you doing?" Miko asks amusedly.

"Er, just thought she might be hanging around..." I reply, somewhat embarrassed.

"Well, if she can actually come all the way in here, then I look forward to meeting her!" The Taoist exclaims.

Eventually the conversation declines enough for me to bring up the matter I came to see her about in the first place. Given her straightforward character, it's not awkward for me to just say everything straight out. It means divulging the trick behind my powers, but I'm quite sure I can trust Miko not to abuse that knowledge.

"Hmm... so a portion of your power is affecting those around you without your conscious control..." She closes her eyes for a few seconds. "Yes. Yes, now that you've alerted me to this, I certainly can feel a slight attraction to you."

I automatically back away, moving back about two feet from my current position.

"That wouldn't accomplish much." Miko points out, opening her eyes. "For now, I have taken steps to temporarily protect myself from your presence, so you need not worry about affecting me."

Huh, and all I noticed was her closing her eyes. Is it some other magical system? So far, I only know the basics of Alice's, Patchy's, and Byakuren's magics, which are puppetry, elemental manipulation, and physical reinforcement respectively. Maybe I should try learning some of this too?

"So if you can block me from affecting you, does that mean..."

"Fret not, I will help you overcome this problem." Miko beckons for me to approach her closer and turn around.

A warmth washes over my body along with a soft golden glow, as I feel her magical energy running through my body. I can't tell what exactly it is doing to me other than scanning, but it feels kind of pleasant.

After two minutes, however, I start getting a little worried. "Umm... how is it?"

"Be quiet and let me concentrate."

Well, that doesn't sound good at all.

Miko eventually finishes another three minutes later, and gives me the bad news. With the Keyblade ability being the catalyst for every single power I have, the Koa corruption in Spellbinder can't be removed without influencing the rest of the power in some way. She's able to seal it if I want, but the side effect of that is the loss of every power I have, putting me back to the point before I came.

Yeah, I'm not going to give up my powers, but neither am I going to just live with this. I'm going to take get a second opinion. I open my mouth to deliver my decision.

Miko interrupts me before I can say anything, however. "What you decide to do is up to you. I can tell you never thought of abusing its power in the first place, so if you are willing to let your power be sealed in order to prevent the corruption from affecting those around you, I will include you under my protection."

"I thank you for that offer," I bow my head deeply, "But I wish to pursue all other options first to see if there is an alternative."

When I look up, Miko's looking at me with approval. Apparently, my refusal to give up impresses her, though I don't know why exactly it does.

Traveling back from Senkai is easier than getting there, but the problem is coming out exactly where you mean to. In my case, I end up very far away from Myouren Temple, and have no choice but to travel all the way back there. It's harder than it sounds, mainly because the setting sun means that the youkais are coming out, forcing me to reduce my travel speed to avoid being detected. If not for that, however, I wouldn't have run across my old self.

No matter how many times I see it, Sakuya's moves are as beautiful as always. I think as I observe the maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion face off against Wriggle Nightbug. That said, I think there's something familiar about this scene, and not just because my past self is right there.

Playing witness to the battle between youkai and maid is another Ikuto, one who is watching the battle trying to analyze the movements of both fighters. Then Sakuya suddenly unleashes a spell card attack, firing off two purple-glowing knives that ricochet wildly around the place. I quickly focus on the thought of Flan in my mind, activating the small amount of vampire blood she gave me, thereby enhancing my own abilities.

He's having difficulty following their paths, but I suppose that's because he, -or I, -hasn't activated the blood ability. Even with it on, I still wouldn't want to go up against Sakuya if she was being serious.

After Wriggle has been driven off, my past self acts like a gentleman, offering Sakuya his hand like a guide. My night vision allows me to see her blush in response to that, which makes my own heart skip a beat. After that, the pair of them continue walking onwards, heading towards Eientei.

I don't follow them there; the risk of a bunny getting back to Tewi with the info that there's currently two of me is just too high. Instead, I head straight for the village, since they're going to end up there eventually, according to my memory. I know there's the chance I might be seen, but I can't help feeling that I have to be there.

Once again concealing myself with Wavebreaker, I enter the village under the cover of stealth. My first destination is Keine's school. At this time of the night, it's already closed and all the students have gone home long ago, but even so, the feelings I get when I'm there is just... indescribable. It's like I'm missing something. Something very important.

What is this feeling in my chest? I grip the front of my shirt as I stare at the dark building. Damn it... Keine's... not in there. She's...

My head turns to the left, towards the main part of the village. I just know that Keine's there for some reason. Since she's nowhere near here, I open the door and walk into the place I stayed at before. Leaving my shoes at the front, I make my way towards the classroom.

"Oh hello, it's been a while, hasn't it?" A girl dressed in yellow greets me from where she's sitting on the teacher's desk.

"Good evening, Koishi." I greet her.

"Good evening." She kicks her legs up and down. "It's so quiet now... reminds me of the Underground."

"Were you attending classes here?" I inquire.

"Did a few times, but it was boring. It was more fun playing with the others after class though." Koishi replies without looking at me.

I turn my head to look around the place. "Yeah, it is, isn't-" When I look back, Koishi is gone. "Better than Batman, I'd say." (7)

I continue exploring the place. And this... was where I spent my nights... while Keine slept over... over... I look around, frown, poke my head out of the room, then pull it back to study the room again. Keine... was sleeping here... in her own room. Then I... I was sleeping here too... in Keine's room?

That didn't make sense. Keine wasn't one of the girls I slept with, so I shouldn't have been sharing her room. Yet I have clear memories of sleeping in here. But no memories of having anything other than a platonic relationship with Keine.

Something is definitely wrong... I grip my head. My memories... it's not like the thing with Koishi...

For the time being, I leave the place, taking a bit of care to make it look like no one has disturbed it. There's still some time before my past self returns, so I book a private booth at the youkai-frequented teahouse Yuuka took me to long ago so I can have some quiet time to think. It takes up quite a bit of my remaining money, which leads me to start considering selling some of the stuff I brought back with me.

You can think about that later, I tell myself, Right now, there's another problem to solve.

The basic gist of things is that one part of my memories says that I did not go beyond a normal friendly relationship with Keine, while another part indicates that I did. It's also entirely possible that she was just willing enough to let me sleep in her bedroom without... Nahhh, there's no way she would do that.

That's when I realize there's a way I can confirm it. The ring that the original bracelet transformed into came about when all ten chips were filled, and my current bracelet has six filled chips, none of which corresponds to Keine. So who were the girls that allowed me to form the first ten chips?

Okay, first there were Youmu and Yuyuko, I tick them off my fingers. After that was... the Eientei people, so Kaguya, Eirin, Reisen, then Mokou, which makes six. Next is Alice, which gave me Wire Performance. Skip Keine for now, move on to the Sanzu party, which is Komachi, Suika, and Iku. That's ten in total.

But according to the chips on my current bracelet, Iku is not one of the initial ten, so I have to deduct one from the count, which adds up to only nine.

I try counting again, and again, only to get the same result each time. I also try to see if there's a girl I've forgotten, as unlikely as it sounds, but the only possibility keeps going back to Keine.

Conclusion: Someone messed with my memory, and the most likely culprit is Keine herself.

Why though? Why would she erase the history of us being together? If there's a reason for that, it has to be within the hidden history, or else I would have been able to remember it. At least, I think I would.

In the end, since I managed to solve the mystery somewhat, it's time to go see what my past self is doing. By now, he should have finished his business at Eientei and arrived in the village. Turns out, when I go looking, he's window shopping with Sakuya.

I remember that. I turn my head, searching for the shop from my memory. There, the jeweler. And coming down the other way... is Keine.

As I watch, my past self buys a necklace for Sakuya, and helps put it on her. Then, just as Keine comes around the corner, he leans in and kisses Sakuya. She sees it, gasps, gets noticed, and runs away.

That bastard! Without thinking, I crouch down and pick up a stone, and chuck it at my own head with all my strength. Oh shit!

Luckily, my past self dodges what might have been a fatal blow, thereby preventing a paradox. I don't have the time to consider the possibility of such a thing happening though, since I'm already risking one by alerting them of my presence, so I immediately rung off as fast as I can. I don't stop until I'm out of the village.

After all that, I'm left feeling kind of down. There's so many things happening that I don't really know what to do. I have no memory of how I reached Myouren Temple afterwards, nor do I recall what I ate for dinner after that.

I certainly wasn't in any mood to ask Byakuren for help.

(1) Kuroshitsuji, or Black Butler, reference. Sebastian usually uses this term to define himself, indicating both his skills, and his demon nature.

(2) Guess the game reference here.

(3) Echidna from Queen's Blade. Uses her pet snake Keltan in place of underwear.

(4) Reference to Theresa of the Faint Smile from Claymore.

(5) Lord of the Rings reference. This was the password to open the Doors of Durin.

(6) In Japanese, moto means formerly or previously, and hage means bald. So Ikuto is saying that Futo was previously bald.

(7) Because we all know how much Batman loves leaving between one moment and the next.

And that's another chapter done! Was a bit of a slow start, but towards the end things went pretty quickly. As always, I have no actual idea where my mind is going with this plot, other than maybe just one or two chapters ahead.

Real life's becoming more and more tempting as ever, what with all the new games and stuff coming out recently. Played any of the hot new stuff recently, like Far Cry 4 or Dragon Age: Inquisition? Let me know how you're liking those.

Speaking of games, Majikoi A-4 just came out, and I'm eager to see what funny hijinks await me inside.

I know my update speed is far from ideal for most of you, but I would like to say I really appreciate my readers, both old and new, even though this fanfic is nothing more than a shameless self-insert fic. I have read a few interesting ones, such as the Dragon Age kinds, but quite a number of them have been abandoned... Pity.

That said, the next chapter in this one will be an X chapter. As you guys already know, I took them down when FF was undergoing a bit of a cleanup, but I uploaded them on the adult version of FF. So when the next update comes, it'll be just a reminder as to where you can find the actual thing.

Of course, I'm going to be working on the next chapter of Fate:Prophecy Break first.

Hope you guys have a pleasant Christmas holiday!