A/N: Welcome to the another instalment of the (Phantasmagoria of Dimensional Scar) Project. It is recommended that you at least have some basic knowledge of Gakuen Alice (up to the War Arcs), and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle (the entire series).

PCB, PoFV and 10D will occur simultaneously.

The Darkness Within
Part I ~ Homecoming and Preparations

The silhouette grinned, before slipping quietly into the shadowy depths of Makai.

Let her be the first...

And let there be none left...

However, the silhouette stopped abruptly as it heard the lines of a way-too-familiar poem.

"…. And then there were none..."

Hajime grimaced as the Gap threw him onto the front porch of the Hakurei Shrine. He really had no idea if his Great Aunt Yukarin was a sadist who simply relished in his pain when exiting from her Gaps. Or was she really a sexist, who made the female population dominant in Gensokyo?

Soon after he landed on the grass face-first, another young boy came tumbling after him.

Hijiri Youichi, Hijiri Byakuren's distant relative, who had the Alice of Ghost Manipulation.

The five-year-old was deposited on Hajime's back, inciting a pained groan from the bearer of the Insect Pheromone Alice.

Hajime waited for Youichi to get off him before staggering up, spitting out a mouthful of grass and wildflowers. Looking around at his surroundings, he came face to face with the Princess of the Saigyou Ayakashi, Saigyouji Yuyuko, and her devoted servant, Konpaku Youmu.

"Ah... Youmu~ Would you mind bringing these two to Yukarin~? Yukarin requests their presence~" the Ghost Princess giggled, carefree.

Youmu blushed, before nodding; she had never seen men in her entire life, being surrounded by the Spirits and her precious flowers. Still, she hastened in her actions, bowing formally to the males and requesting them to follow her, leading them deeper into the Youkai Forest, and towards the Hakurei Shrine.

Ibaragi Kasen sat with her distant relative, engaged in a staring contest while casually sipping tea. The young Alice of Ice stared back, unaffected.

What Kasen had said earlier had definitely warranted a staring contest, much more a duel. The Hermit had insulted the raw power of humans right in front of her. And there was the fact that she was a human. Of course, Nobara'd not taken to the statement very well and had of course, retaliated to the best of her ability without risking possible death.

By inciting a staring contest.

And the two females stared and glared at each other silently, unsaid words understood by each other.

Kasen hated humans; Nobara was one. Yet somehow, the Hermit had managed to tolerate her drastically younger relative, who, had somehow gained power over Ice, much like the Greater Ice Fairy.

Then again, it was because of the Humans that had mobbed her when they found out about her powers and her Hermit status. In fact, she was one of the causes as to why the young Kirisame heir was exiled from the Village and scorned by her own race.

The magenta-haired girl tore through the cobblestone streets of the Human Village.

They wanted her. Her blood. Her flesh. Her death.

All because of her power.

The angry mob had lessened the distance between them as she panted heavily, bending down to tighten her boots. The mob had come across her engaging in small talk with some animals and Youkai of the Forest of Magic and decided that she was a traitor. Of course, in the Humans' eyes, all Humans associated with Youkai had committed treason. An exception, of course was the Hakurei Miko. The Village Elders knew, of course, with Yukari's informal, that an orphan child was to be given to her every thirty years to become the next Hakurei the Gap Hag had her eyes on the Ibaragi child, the assumed 'Human' who had a natural affinity for animals. The girl had tamed a wild beast that had decided to run rampant in the Village and had released it back into the Forests after training it to avoid the area.

Kasen, getting back up, glanced behind her and took to the hills; or more exactly, Youkai Mountain. Gathering all her Magical Reserves, she channelled them to the soles of her feet and took off like lightning towards the gloomy and overgrown Youkai Forest.

The angry mob, of course, refused to relent, and chased the Hermit far and across Gensokyo, until the Elders had demanded the Villagers to stop the chase, fearing possible Youkai-related repercussions.

And thus, Kasen had finally found her true home on Youkai Mountain, where she could finally display her true power without the baseless discrimination of those of the Human Village. She'd also discovered her Youkai Pride, as well as germinated the seed of hate of Humans.

Reimu frowned, a headache growing upon her. The Inter-Dimensional Conference would be commencing in a few days, and would last at least a Gensokyian year. Pity we're gonna miss out on the Hakurei Sakura Viewing this year...

And when the decadely Interdimensional Conference took place, all festivals held by the Hakurei Shrine were held off to allow the day-long meetings and plans to take place. But that wasn't to say that there were no festivities to be held. Extravagant banquets for the Supreme Rulers of the Dimensions were held, with entertainment and lodging provided for other extra-Dimensional visitors.

To put it simply, everyone in Gensokyo enjoyed the Inter-Dimensional Conference.

The raven-haired man smirked as he set the crumpled note down. The Inter-Dimensional Conference was 'round the corner and he would use it to his advantage.

Of course, he'd be adding more Youkai to the DA. Especially that Hermit.

"Woi, Reimu! I'm here to help out, ze~!" a certain blond kleptomaniac yelled out, shifting her broom to perform a feint in front of the Hakurei Shrine.

As Marisa nearly crashes into the Shrine's donation box, she startles a bunch of Fairies and conveniently grabs Suika's Sake Gourd, taking a huge swig from it. Finally, after slowing down by making circuits around the Hakurei Shrine, Marisa stops and hops off her broom, coming face-to-face with an irate Suika and annoyed Hakurei Miko.

Swinging her Gohei down onto Marisa's hat-clad head, Reimu starts to rant about the commotion that the witch had caused during her 'grand' arrival. "Damn it, Marisa! You nearly destroyed the donation box, stole Suika's Gourd, scared the Hell out a bunch of Fairies, blew up a ton of ancient dust and woke Yukari. Sooner or later you're gonna destroy a whole lot more than the Shrine. Now make sure everythinggets back to the way it was before you appeared."

Marisa groaned as Suika grinned evilly. The Oni slammed her fists to the ground, creating a mini shockwave throughout the Hakurei Shrine, scaring off even more worker-Fairies, making the witch's job harder.

Reimu facepalmed at Suika's childishness, before returning back to her broom to start re-dusting the area. Preparations, at this rate, definitely had to speed up, otherwise the entire Conference would be a disaster.

Preparations had officially begun in Gensokyo.

The Human Village was draped in several multi-coloured lights, all blinking innocently, as they hung in wait of the dimensional travellers.

Youkai Mountain promised a magnificent bloom, wildflowers of all kinds starting to sprout and bud, lying in wait for the nearing spring.

And of course, the other parts of Gensokyo were unrivalled in their festive beauty, standing elegantly as they waited for the winter to pass.