Mentioned Characters: Yuugi, Parsee, Yamame, Kisume

Parsee Mizuhashi is a hashihime, a type of youkai despised by others. Parsee lives in the Underworld, with all the other outcasts. She harbors intense jealousy and enjoys listening to people's jealous ramblings. Perhaps that's why she acts as a counselor for the Underworld's vengeful spirits. Whether you're the one feeling jealous, the one inciting jealousy, or simply trying to understand the jealousy of others, it all starts by listening. In the 80th provisional Gensokyo, she's a jealousy-fueled counselor, tasked with collecting information spirits. Her work aboard the Probability Space Hypervessel can be likened to searching for sunken treasure by deploying divers, or voyaging to the depths in a submarine. The Parsee who reached the 80th provisional Gensokyo is one of countless Parsees in the L80 Universe. When a world in the L80 Universe came to an end, she was the final surviving resident. The people gathered in the 80th provisional Gensokyo may seem like long-time friends, but in truth, no two of them come from the same world. Their goal is to reclaim the days that once felt like they'd last forever―days that are now lost. And they intend to reclaim them for everyone.

[Part 1 of an unresolved investigation into a lost world] "Yeah, not interested." Sitting at her desk, Parsee Mizuhashi rested her chin in her hand. She'd just been forced to sit through an unbelievably dumb story. Love this, romance that. What a joke. Youth is short-lived. If you act like you've got all the time in the world, it'll be over in a flash. Surely a bit of urgency is called for. "Quit pouting, Parsee. At our age, this kinda thing's pretty normal, no?" "Yeah, Parpar! S-Smile!" "I'd rather not." The straight-talking Yamame Kurodani and the ever-nervous Kisume―two dear friends of Parsee's. Both were somehow willing to stick with someone like her. Because Parsee looked the part, girls from the class came to her for advice. Some just wanted to chat, while others were wracked with worry. But given everyone's youth, most of it came down to one thing: relationship drama. Lovey-dovey relationship drama. And Parsee absolutely hated it. She always responded bluntly. And yet, for some reason, that's exactly what made her so popular. Apparently, in this day and age, people would rather get a short, cutting reply than hear someone pretend to care or make contrived rationalizations. Maybe that's just how the minds of modern girls work. Parsee wouldn't know. In the end, each rumor spawned two more. That gave people new reasons to come and ask her for advice. What a pain.

[Part 2 of an unresolved investigation into a lost world] "Look, it's Lady Yuugi!" "Whoa, you're right!" Yamame and Kisume pointed into the hallway as Yuugi Hoshiguma passed by. There's no way they wouldn't have noticed her. Yuugi stood out that much. People gathered around her like a swarm of vengeful spirits. "Yuugi? What's she doing here?" Parsee's mood, already bad, took a nosedive. Yamame and Kisume winced. They knew they'd messed up. Parsee despised Yuugi. Yuugi was admired by her classmates, respected by her peers, acknowledged by those above, and idolized by those below. No one told people to like her, but somehow they always did. All she had to do was be herself. Even if she transferred to some remote mountain village where no one knew her, she'd end up with a group of followers in no time. The aura she gave off redefined her surroundings. It altered them, evolved them. It was like she gave off some kind of radiation. "Parsee? Can you hear us?" "Umm, Parpar?" Yamame and Kisume's words fell on deaf ears. Or rather, ears blocked shut with jealousy.

[Part 3 of an unresolved investigation into a lost world] Parsee might have overreacted a bit. Before she knew it, Yamame and Kisume had gone home. That was no surprise, though. No one was obligated to stick around through all her sulking. Parsee decided to head home, too. And as the evening sun bathed the classroom, she did just that. But the moment she opened the door―bam! Someone bumped into her. Who else could it have been but Yuugi? "S-Sorry, Parsee." "Hmph!" "Hey, why are you running away?! Wait up!" "Ow!" "S-Sorry again! Are you OK?!" "Quit following me!" Parsee yanked her wrist free, red finger marks left where Yuugi had grabbed her. A vortex of nameless feelings swirled within her heart. Part of her wanted to blame Yuugi. Part of her knew Yuugi had done nothing wrong. Part of her wanted to take the blame herself. Part of her insisted she hadn't done anything wrong. The vortex raged, consuming all her thoughts. She didn't even remember how she made it home. Yuugi had probably been waiting all that time for her to come out of the classroom.

[Part 4 of an unresolved investigation into a lost world] Parsee doesn't talk about it, but she used to spend her days with Yuugi. Because Yuugi stood out so much, people began to see Parsee as someone special, too. The brighter Yuugi shone, the more everyone expected Parsee to shine with her. She gradually started to hate it. It wasn't Yuugi she hated. It wasn't their friends. And it certainly wasn't her own feelings. What she truly, deeply hated was the confusion in her heart. At least, that's what she believed. Then one day, everything changed. Predictably, Parsee doesn't talk about it. Someone appeared before Parsee and Yuugi, clearly seeking to harm them. Parsee felt nothing toward them. Not then, not now. It wasn't some great, fated encounter. It just happened. If the weather had been different, if they'd been somewhere else, if the morning's horoscope had given different results, then it might've happened to someone else entirely. The attacker lunged forward, blade raised. Parsee felt it was aimed at her, at the shameless girl who bathed in Yuugi's spotlight. But the blade pierced Yuugi. But not because she jumped in to shield Parsee. No, the target had always been Yuugi. Why? Because she "stole all of Parsee's attention." "Don't apologize," said Parsee. That's what Yuugi had said to her that day, and Parsee repeated it now. She wasn't ready for Yuugi's reply, though. "Want to go see the ocean or something?" In the hallway, Parsee had run. But now, here she was at night, staring out at the ocean with Yuugi.