Clashing of Danmaku can be heard.
Reimu blocked a sword from Youmu. "Come on, we stopped the Scarlet Mist together, why are you protecting whoever is the reason for this mess? ".
Marisa blasted at her as she put Chris behind her. "Seriously, who thinks of stealing Spring".
Youmu stepped back as she spoke. "It's Complicated".
Remilia and Sakuya were firing from behind.
The forest floor shook with each clash as petals of danmaku lit up the sky.
Reimu parried Youmu's blade again, their feet sliding across the melting snow. "Complicated? You stole spring. There is nothing complicated about that!"
Youmu flinched at the accusation but kept her stance firm. "I–I can't tell you. Lady Yuyuko ordered me to retrieve all the spring in Gensokyo. That's all I know!"
Behind Reimu, Chris peeked from behind her sleeve, little wings fluttering anxiously. Every time a danmaku bullet came near, Marisa would point her laser staff at it, blasting it away instinctively.
"Jeez," Marisa muttered, shielding the boy with her cloak, "first mist, now stolen seasons. What's next? Someone gonna steal night? Air? My mushrooms?"
Remilia hovered beside them, firing elegant crimson bullets with a frown far too refined for the chaos around her. "Blocking the sun was at least artistic. Who steals spring?"
She glanced at Youmu with an annoyed sigh. "My sister finally came out to play, and now she wants to go back inside because it's cold again. Fix this."
Sakuya threw a barrage of knives, pinning Youmu's next danmaku pattern long enough to speak calmly, "Lady Remilia means: 'Stop being difficult.'"
Youmu gritted her teeth, deflecting the knives. "I told you—it's complicated!"
Reimu flew forward, cracking Youmu's next bullet pattern with a swipe of her gohei. "Then uncomplicate it!"
Youmu hesitated. Just a fraction. Enough for everyone to see there was something wrong behind her eyes—worry, fear, and something heavier.
Chris tugged Reimu's sleeve. "Reimu… she's scared."
Youmu's eyes widened, shaken that the little spirit could read her so easily.
Sakuya and Marisa exchanged glances.
Remilia, however, narrowed her crimson eyes. "Scared? Of what?"
Youmu finally lowered her blade slightly, voice trembling.
"…Lady Yuyuko won't survive without spring."
Silence.
Reimu froze mid-flight.
Marisa's next spell fizzled out.
Even Remilia lowered herself to the ground.
Youmu looked down, gripping the hilt of Roukanken. "If spring does not return to her… she will disappear."
Youmu's ghost half puffed up like a startled balloon as she pointed her sword at the newcomer.
"And—AND WHO'S THAT?!"
Everyone turned.
Akyuu stood there calmly with her brush and scroll, completely unfazed by the hail of danmaku still flashing overhead.
"Don't mind me," she said with a polite bow, "just taking records."
Marisa blinked. "Akyuu, why are you even here? This is an active battle!"
Akyuu adjusted her sleeve, utterly composed. "Well, the last time I relied solely on tengu newspapers, Reimu threatened to bury me under her shrine."
Reimu groaned. "I SAID that once—and it wasn't even a threat!"
Akyuu kept writing. "And I took it very seriously."
Youmu wavered between panic and confusion. "W-Why is a chronicler documenting while I'm fighting for my lady's life?!"
Akyuu didn't look up. "Historical accuracy."
Remilia floated past her, blasting danmaku lazily. "She's harmless. Mostly."
Chris peeked out from behind Reimu, blinking at the calm human girl. "She… writes everything?"
Akyuu smiled warmly. "Everything important. And you, little one, are very important."
Chris hid behind Reimu again, wings fluttering rapidly.
Reimu sighed. "Akyuu, please stop scaring the half-dead spirit child."
Akyuu bowed again. "Of course. I'll only observe from over here."
She took exactly one step to the left. No further.
Youmu stared. "That's the same place!"
Akyuu nodded. "Yes. But now I am observing from over here."
Sakuya whispered to Remilia, "Lady Remilia, her deadpan game is becoming too strong."
Remilia nodded. "Truly terrifying."
Marisa dragged a hand down her face. "C'mon, Youmu, please just let us in. We can help! We already fought an ice lady, a human mage, Chen, and the Prismriver sisters— not in that order, mind you."
Youmu winced. "Lady Letty wasn't supposed to fight you! And Alice—wait, you fought Alice?!"
Before Marisa could respond, Chris peeked out from behind Reimu, eyes bright.
"Alice was nice," he said cheerfully. "Treat."
Reimu sighed. "She bribed him with cookies to leave her dolls alone."
Marisa grinned. "Yeah, Patchouli tried the same thing. Didn't work. The brat's smart enough to know Patche's snacks taste like old paper."
Akyuu, still scribbling, murmured. "Flavor description… accurate."
Youmu groaned. "This is supposed to be a serious incident! Lady Yuyuko is—she is—"
She clenched her fists, unable to finish.
Chris's wings drooped a little. "Sad?"
Youmu hesitated… then nodded.
Reimu stepped forward, gentle but firm. "We're not here to fight you, Youmu. We're here to fix spring. And whatever's happening to your mistress… we'll solve that too, okay?"
Youmu bit her lip, torn.
Chris reached out and tugged the hem of Youmu's sleeve. "We help. Promise."
His soft voice, shaky but sincere, hit harder than any persuasion spell.
Youmu looked between the group—the shrine maiden, the witch, the vampire sisters, the chronicler, and finally the little spirit boy with the glowing book floating behind him like a silent guardian.
She closed her eyes.
"…Fine," she said at last. "You may enter. But stay close. Hakugyokurou is dangerous in this state."
Marisa pumped her fist. "Now we're talkin'!"
Akyuu quietly dipped her brush. "Entry into the Netherworld permitted… by overwhelming emotional damage dealt to Youmu."
"You don't have to write that part!!" Youmu squeaked.
As they crossed the border into Hakugyokurou, everything shifted—the air grew lighter, colors softer, cherry petals drifting as if on an endless breeze.
Chris blinked. "Pretty…"
Reimu tightened her grip on his hand. "Stay close. Spirits get overwhelmed here."
Marisa snorted. "He is a spirit."
Reimu snapped back. "Yeah, and so are half the things that try to eat him!"
Before Chris could ask what she meant—
A voice like a drifting melody filled the air.
"My, my… what do we have here?"
Everyone froze.
A figure glided into view, soft blue kimono fluttering like a dream, pink hair flowing as she smiled with a serenity only the dead—or the dangerously insane—could manage.
Yuyuko Saigyouji.
Lady of the Netherworld.
And unrepentant serial soul-adopter.
Her eyes sparkled the moment she saw Chris.
"Oh?"
She floated closer, cupping her cheeks.
"Ohhhh?~"
Youmu paled. "Lady Yuyuko NO."
But it was too late—Yuyuko had already leaned down, face bright with pure joy.
"A child spirit? With such pretty wings, too! Awwww, what a sweet little thing you are! Come here to Yuyuko~!"
Chris hid behind Reimu instantly.
"Stranger!"
Reimu pressed a hand to her face. "Oh, not again."
Yuyuko made grabby hands. "Let me adopt hiiiiim~! Just for a moment! I've never seen such an adorable soul!"
Marisa muttered, "Here we go…"
Remilia raised an eyebrow. "Isn't she supposed to be the final boss?"
"No," Sakuya corrected softly. "She's something much worse."
"What?"
"A collector of cute things."
Youmu lunged between Yuyuko and Chris. "Lady Yuyuko, PLEASE—he's not a stray spirit! He's with them! They're here to solve the incident!"
Yuyuko floated back, pouting dramatically.
"Awww… but he's so small. And soft. And has that huggable look."
Chris peeked out from Reimu's sleeve. "No hug."
Yuyuko gasped. "Even his refusal is precious! Reimu, trade him to me!"
"NO."
"Aww, Reimu, come on~ I'll give you—let's see…"
She rummaged through her sleeve like it was a bottomless bag. "A thousand-year cherry petal? A sealed demon? A coupon for a free exorcism?"
Reimu: "STOP TRYING TO BARTER FOR THE CHILD."
Akyuu casually wrote on her scroll:
"Yuyuko attempted kidnapping by 'adoption'—the usual."
Youmu, exasperated, rubbed her face.
"Lady Yuyuko… can you please focus? They came to stop the Spring Incident."
Yuyuko blinked, paused…
"Oh. Right. That."
Her eyes drifted to the massive, sealed cherry tree behind her.
"Spring? I didn't steal it."
Everyone stared.
Then she smiled blissfully.
"Well… not all of it."
Youmu collapsed to her knees. "LADY YUYUKO PLEASE."
Reimu then looked at a Tree without cherry blossoms. "Hey, what's that, Tree".
Youmu looked at the tree as she spoke. "That's the Saigyou Ayakashi, if you're human stay away from it".
Reimu tilted her head. "Saigyou… Aya… what now?"
Youmu tightened her grip on Roukanken. "Saigyou Ayakashi. A youkai cherry tree. It kills humans who get too close. Seriously—don't."
Marisa squinted at the giant, blossomless tree. "Looks like it just forgot how to Spring."
Chris, however, stared at it in silence.
A faint ache pulsed in his chest.
Like an old memory.
Like a whisper.
Like… recognition.
'It's… similar. Agony.'
The thought surfaced on its own.
Then—
For the first time in a year—
Pages in his grimoire turned by themselves.
An ancient presence stirred.
A heavy, wyrm-like breath echoed in his mind.
'…Agony?'
Nidhogg's voice rumbled, curious and disturbed.
'Child… why do you speak the name of a root-eater in this realm?'
Chris blinked. "Root-eater?"
Youmu instantly froze. "I—I'm sorry, what? Did he just say root-eater?!"
Marisa raised a brow. "Kid, you okay? You're sounding like Patchouli after three all-nighters."
Reimu pinched the bridge of her nose. "Great. A cursed murder-tree and now Chris is talking to dragons only he can hear. Perfect day."
Nidhogg continued, ignoring all of them:
'That tree… it devours Spring as the serpent devours rot. Different… yet familiar. Wrongly familiar.'
Chris felt a chill crawl down his spine.
The Saigyou Ayakashi almost seemed to look back at him.
A breeze passed.
And for a split second—
One petal
fell
from the barren tree.
Chris kept the mental link steady, answering Nidhogg calmly despite the chaos around him.
'Agony is… complicated. It's not a soul. It's not a ghost. It's just emotion—raw pain—that sometimes becomes alive. It can twist objects, give them shape, even… personality. Some good. Some horrifying.'
Nidhogg hummed, ancient scales rustling somewhere in the dark.
'Fascinating. A world where emotions gestate life. Primitive… yet profound. And dangerous. Very dangerous.'
Then the draconic tone shifted—curious, faintly amused.
'Unique, indeed. Your origin is stranger than most realms I have devoured.'
Before Chris could answer—
Yuyuko's voice cut through the battlefield like a pastel-colored guillotine.
"So, in short," she said cheerfully, "I stole Spring to make the tree blossom so I can see the cherry blossoms."
Everyone froze.
Reimu's brain rebooted.
Marisa dropped her broom.
Remilia physically stumbled.
Sakuya stopped time just to blink twice.
Akyuu scribbled "????" in her notes.
Youmu turned slowly, eyes wide.
"M–Mother… You SAID you were going to die if the spring didn't return!"
Yuyuko tilted her head, finger to her cheek.
"Ohhh, right, right. I remember saying that!"
She nodded proudly, like she just solved a math problem.
"That if spring didn't blossom, I would die. I was just saying what kids nowadays say."
Everyone stared.
Reimu: "Kids say what?"
Marisa: "Since when is 'I will die' modern slang?!"
Remilia: "Is this a cultural thing? Is she serious?"
Chris whispered, "I think she's serious."
Youmu's soul left her body. "M–Mother… people don't say that!!"
Yuyuko blinked innocently.
"They don't? But Youkai say it all the time. 'If I don't get this bun I'll die!' 'If I don't get my nap I'll die!' 'If I don't get my new kimono I'll die!' Very normal."
Reimu rubbed her temples.
"That's not normal. That's Gensokyo normal, which means it's horrifying."
In Chris's mind, Nidhogg quietly muttered:
'This place is… chaotic. Even for me.'
Remilia walked up as she spoke. "We should listen to the child and just take back the Spring energy to Gensokyo"
Reimu blinked at Remilia.
"…You're agreeing with the child?"
Remilia crossed her arms, chin raised dramatically.
"Of course I am. I may be a vampire, but I'm not suicidal.
When a tree starts twitching and a child with a floating demon book says don't,
you don't."
Sakuya nodded primly behind her.
"Lady Remilia is correct. The last time we ignored ominous warnings, we nearly fought a moon rabbit with a laser cannon."
Marisa squinted. "When did that—?"
Sakuya: "Future incident. Don't question it."
Reimu sighed heavily.
"Okay, fine… fine. We'll listen to the kid. But how do we get spring back without touching the seal?"
Yuyuko floated closer, still confused yet strangely calm.
"Oh dear. If we take spring out, the tree might get upset."
Youmu tensed.
"Lady Yuyuko! Please do NOT say it like it's a cranky toddler!"
Chris tilted his head.
"Feels like one."
Everyone stared at him.
Nidhogg echoed in Chris's mind:
'It does. A cranky toddler with the appetite of an eldritch beast.'
Remilia shuddered.
"…Yes. Exactly what I was thinking."
Akyuu, still scribbling on her scroll, quietly added:
"I shall record that the Saigyou Ayakashi is, quote: a cranky eldritch toddler."
Youmu: "PLEASE DO NOT WRITE THAT DOWN—"
But Akyuu was already writing.
Reimu exhaled, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Alright. We take the spring energy back slowly.
No touching seals. No poking the creepy tree. No waking up whatever nightmare is inside."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Except Yuyuko.
Yuyuko raised her hand cheerfully.
"One question!"
Reimu groaned.
"What?"
Yuyuko smiled.
"Why does it feel like the tree is staring at us?"
The Saigyou Ayakashi's branches creaked.
Everyone stepped back at once.
Chris hid behind Reimu again.
"Told you."
To be continued
Hope people like this ch and give me power stones and enjoy
Also should I add letty whiterock into Chris harem
1. Yes
2. No