Author's Note: This is my first attempt at fanfiction, a little idea that was born while talking with a friend, the story will be about a new habitant of gensokyou, who is half OC, half public domain character, it should be obvious who he is if you do know about him, I'm simply not that sure how famous he is as a character, so I would love to see people guessing his identity.
As I mentioned. This is my first actual attempt at writing, so I would appreciate any feedback.
I have two main worries about this work, one is whenever I'm getting the characters right, as well as the spell cards, since, honestly, as much as I love the fandom and official mangas, bullet hells are just not my thing, so I haven't really played the games.
The other is, that English is not my native language, so, while I'm quite confident in my ability to maintain a conversation in it, I just might not be experienced enough to write correctly, so again, criticize the hell out of this fic.
Disclaimer: I'm doing this just for the sake of protocol; I own no character or anything mentioned in this fic, all rights of Touhou project, go to ZUN.
It was a quiet summer afternoon in the Hakurei shrine, it was an old shinto temple, a bit shabby looking and not in the best of conditions located at the top of a hill. At the edge of an outer walkway that offered a view to the tranquil forest surrounding the shrine; a young girl could be found sitting, a simple red top and long skirt of equal color. She was drinking tea, taking care of not dirtying the white dethatched sleeves that she wore. A gust of wind that forced her to drop the bored expression on her face, went through her beautiful raven hair, that was decorated by a big red ribbon on the back, and two tubes of equal color on the sides. When she opened her eyes, she let them set on the horizon, allowing her to see a black spot approaching from the sky.
"Yo, Reimu, I came to play!" The one to talk was that who had been the black spot in the sky; as she got close enough, it was possible to see her for who she was, another young girl, much more merry than the one in red. She was riding an old broom. A black top and skirt over a white shirt, and over that, a frilly white apron. As she tried to land, another gust of wind unsuccessfully attempted to steal the big black hat that covered her golden hair. The best way to describe her would probably be; a book example of an stereotypical "Cute witch".
The shrine maiden simply sighed and offered her new guest, who she referred to as Marisa, a cup of tea and some snacks. The witch happily accepted and sat down next to her. They started some idle chat about this and that; how the shrine never received donations, how it had been a long time since the last incident, how it was too hot, and many other trivial things. After about 30 minutes, when boredom was starting to set, they were surprised by a loud whistle and mumbling voice they couldn't quite understand. They looked at each other with blank expressions before turning to the direction they believed the sound had came from. This time what they heard were steps.
"Someone's coming…" Pointed out the shrine maiden with a suspicious look on her face. Meanwhile, the merry witch wore a more expectant look.
And meeting the suspicious and expectant stares of the shrine maiden and witch, a man walked from the corner. He was tall, and somewhere between his thirties or forties. Wearing a complete dress suit that included a long coat that could be nothing but too hot for this weather, a tie, and a fedora, all of black color, with the exception of his white shirt. Black messy hair and a light beard, as well as dark eyes defined his face which currently looked a bit surprised.
"Umm… Hello?" Said the man with a really thick accent. He was a foreigner, that much was clear. While waiting for a response, he watched both girls with a bit of caution, but seemed to try not to do so too much, probably for the sake of politeness. Once again both girls looked at each other with a bit of confusion before turning back to the newcomer.
"Just who are you? I have never seen you in gensokyou before" the shrine maiden finally asked, while she stood up in order to diminish the height difference, and that still left her at least 10 inches short of reaching the man's size.
The man mumbled something to himself in some language the girls didn't understand before speaking with the same thick accent "Name's Jack, and as you must be guessing, I'm new around. Just arrived a while ago from the forest in the back" he pointed nonchalantly to the forest behind the shrine.
"Another human from the outer world who got spirited away?"Asked the witch with a smirk and curiosity in her face.
"Those usually appear near the path of remorse, and something tells me he isn't lost at all Marisa" said the shrine maiden, pointing out the flaws in her friend's theory.
"Heh, no, I'm not lost. I never am" replied the man with a amused smirk, not very different to the witch's.
"Which means you crossed the Hakurei barrier voluntary…" Said Reimu with quite some hostility while shooting a glare to the man in black.
"Er… I suppose?" Half asked the man while dropping his smirk. And not quite missing on the aggression obvious in the girl's voice.
"If you did anything to weaken or damage the border…" Said the young priestess sharpening her glare to the man.
"Whoa whoa whoa, easy lass. I did nothing of the sort. I passed through a gap, already there, just used the path" the man quickly replied on his own defense. Seeing the girl raise an eyebrow at his remark, the man continued "no matter how proud of it you are lass, no barrier is perfect, you can get pretty damn close, but there is always a way. I Posses the ability to find said path".
"The ability to find holes in barriers? That's kind of a lame power" The witch said with a merry voice "but… I guess it would have its uses in danmaku. Ain't that Right, Reimu?" She asked while looking at the red white shrine maiden.
"Not exactly" the man said before the priestess got a single word out of her mouth "my ability is that of finding the right path… Wherever I want to go, I'll know what way to go. I did say I never get lost. Didn't I?" His explanation earned him another raised eyebrow from the red white and an amused laugh from the black white witch.
"That means you did come to gensokyou willingly. So, why did you come here? You better not be planning to cause any trouble" said the shrine maiden attempting to sound threatening. However, she seemed to be much calmer after the man's explanation and assurance that he didn't bring any harm to the barrier that she protected.
"Trouble…" The man thought for a second, hand on his chin, before talking to the girls "no, not really. I would rather keep good relationships with those who live around. Too many enemies are never a good thing lass" after a shrug and a short pause he continued "as for why I came to this land… Well, I had heard the rumors of Gensokyou; an orient wonderland, a sanctuary for all things that should not exist, hidden in the land of the eastern sun. when every passing day people believe less and less in spirits like myself… I would be a fool the let the chance go" looking at the witch with a smile on his face, he added "the place looks promising so far".
"Ain't ya a bit too old to be hitting on me?" Said the witch with a happy laugh, not seemed to be bothered by the attention.
"I am, yes. But I wasn't hitting on anyone lass, I simply happen to like witches in general. They are always good company" replied the mature man shrugging once again, with a small laugh of his own.
"Your bad taste on people aside…" Commented the shrine maiden who had been quiet during the past exchange "if you are going to stay in gensokyou you better hear some of the rules we have here, especially if you are a youkai" she reached the inside of her sleeve to pull out a small card before talking again "here in gensokyou we solve disputes with danmaku… non lethal magic duels using these spell cards" she showed the card to the man to make a point and continued her explanation.
After about 10 minutes the three were sitting, with the man still listening to the priestess explanation, making a question once in a while, and the witch interrupting occasionally.
"So… to summarize; beauty over power, limited attacks and time, you have to name your attacks BEFORE the duel, and no killing under any circumstances…" Said the man wearing black, in an attempt to memorize what he had been explained "yep, I think I can adapt, sounds quite nice actually. Those rules might just work in my favor more often than not"
"Oho ~ you sound quite confident in yourself. What about a practice round old man?" said the witch the man now identified as Marisa with an expectant look. It was obvious she enjoyed these contests.
Raising from his seat the man talked "Very well. It would do me good to see how I would fare against the habitants of this land, were the need to arise. That said, I don't particularly enjoy battle" he paused for a second, looking at the witch thoughtfully "but if it's just a friendly competition... I guess it's okay" he finished a little more cheerful.
"That's the spirit old man!" The witch said while making a jump and landing on her now floating broom "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you! 3 spell cards, no time limit. Just so you understand how it works" she continued while rising to the sky.
The man let a small laugh out and talked, looking at the now flying witch "would you give me a moment to decide what... spell cards to use? I believe I need to think up a few before we start, hope you understand" said the man while he pulled some papers and a pen from a pocket and started to write something down. After no more than five minutes he seemed to be happy with whatever he has thought up, and started to float in the air himself.
"Are you finally done old man?" said the witch with a wide smile as she looked at the raising man.
"I hope so" answered Jack "you will have to tell me if they are alright by your rules after the duel. I'm not exactly familiar with this danmaku of yours" he continued with a shrug.
"Don't worry too much about that, this is just for fun" replied the witch with a happy smile "we'll tell you if anything is not allowed after the duel" she said while pointing to the still sitting shrine maiden "and tell you what. Since you are a newbie, you can make the first move" she finished while looking at the man wearing black.
"Very well then... in that case..." He said while reaching for his pocket: as he pulled and raised a piece of paper he exclaimed "Night sign: Wings of darkness!" and as he did, with a quick spin he seemed to cover himself in a mantle of countless bats made out of dark energy. They formed wide and thick ring; and spreading his arms as if to command then. He made them fly away in all directions; however, the witch didn't seem to have too much trouble avoiding the night fliers. But not giving up and with resolve. He repeated the process once more, sending a second wave of bats. Once again without too much difficulty the black witch avoided the man's assault
"Not too shabby for your first try old man!" said the witch avoiding a third wave, and then she called her own spell card "Magic sign: Milky way!" and as she did so, thousand of colorful stars were born around her and started to spread and spin around her. They formed something some sort of pattern that truly resembled a spinning galaxy. One that the man in black was avoiding as if he knew exactly where to go before a star would get too close, all while maintaining his own attack. But eventually the sheer number of projectiles were too overwhelming, and a star hit him in the shoulder forcing him to stop his spell card. Noticing this Marisa stopped her own, but not before 3 more stars collided with the man "that's one point for me old man! call your next spell card and lets continue with the duel!" said the girl with eager enthusiasm
"That hurt a bit... but very well, let's continue" answered the man shaking the dust from his shoulder. He took a deep breath in preparation; and with a determined expression, called his next spell card "Ghost sign: Carnival of wandering spirits!" he said these words, and two more of himself appeared at each flank of the girl. Both replicas, as well as the original stretched one arm in the direction of the girl. Palm wide open, and the other hand supporting their arms. Suddenly white ghosts started to surround the men. Then, with a movement of their arms, the ghosts flew away in a wide arc in the direction of the witch. She, seeing herself assaulted by three different sides, found herself dodging with more difficulty than the first time. When she managed a break from the assault, she called her own spell card "Magic sign: Stardust reverie" as she did countless of small stars colored of all the colors in the rainbow shot out from her. Forming a ring around the magician, and continuing to spread in wide spirals. The three Jacks avoided without too much trouble... Until they changed directions, that is. And the stars did so several times. Both parties were avoiding the bullet hell skillfully, until the stars reached one of the identical men. However, it simply went through him, without affecting the ghostly barrage in the least.
"Hey! That one hit you!" complained the witch annoyed, while looking at the man who was hit. And never interrupting her own attack.
"No it didn't" exclaimed the one man who had stayed in the position of the original, forcing the witch to turn her head. She did so just in time to see a star hit the man in the back of the head, erasing the smirk from his face. Both spell cards were canceled and a silence settled for a moment that seemed an eternity. With an awkward expression the man talked again "but... that one did... I better learn to keep my focus" he said with an embarrassed look.
"Serves you right for using fake clones!" Said the witch as she noticed both replicas of the man disappear "but I guess something like that is not against the rules" she pondered for a moment before continuing to speak "You got some creepy danmaku by the way. Were those real ghosts?" she said with a puzzled face.
"Haha, I like creepy" Answred the man with a shrug "no, they weren't. Manipulating the souls of the deceased is well beyond my powers. I simply make my projectiles look like that for mere show" he added with a laugh "Shall we continue lass? I would like to make at least one point before losing" he finished as he raised his last spell card "Living Nightmare: Waltz of false menaces!" and so, six orbs of black flames surrounded him. Smaller flames were born from the orbs and formed chains between them, resulting in an hexagram of black fire. Five more such patterns appeared around the girl. Once again they were linked by fire chains, creating a giant version of the first.
"Not so fast old man!" Claimed the girl. She then reached for the pocket in her white apron and pulled out an hexagonal box covered in symbols "Love sign: Master spark!" Energy accumulated in the center of the box. Then a gigantic laser surged from it. thousands of her characteristic colorful stars shot in all directions from where the witch was flying. Jack, with a hand gesture made the pattern he had formed spin. Black flames shooting out from everyone of the hexagrams. He added some more black flame orbs from his own person. Doing that, he barely had time to dash to one side so he could evade the colossal beam of magical energy. Unfortunately that was not the only danger. The loose stars were probably even more dangerous, if only for their sheer numbers. It took all of his focus to evade them while he continued his own attack. Both contestants were focused on the last point of the match. That is, until one small orb reached Marisa. It did so while she prepared to shoot her beam once more in Jack's direction. By the time she noticed it, it was obvious she wouldn't be able to dodge it. she closed her eyes, bracing for the impact... and nothing.
"Hey, that didn't hur-" she was interrupted by a second orb of black fire hitting her side, forcing her to finish her assault. When the black flames dissipated, she talked once more "The hell was that old man!?" She said shooting a annoyed glare in the direction of the man.
"An illusion. You didn't mention any rules about fake danmaku" he answered with shrug "But I have to say lass; that's some firepower you got. And you indeed are good at this" he finished as he started to descend to the ground.
The witch followed the man. And seeming to forget she was angry "Oh, stop hitting on me, will you?" She said with an amused laugh "And I guess that's true... but you should add some sort of way to differentiate between the real and fakes. For the sake of fairness, ya'know?" she finished as her feet finally touched the ground.
"I suppose that's reasonable" said Jack wearing a thoughtful expression on his face.
"You got some interesting abilities there, Jack" this time the one to speak was the shrine maiden who had been watching the two black dressed duelists "I'll make myself clear; if you go around causing trouble for the humans in the village, or gensokyou in general, you will have to deal with me. And, unlike Marisa, I will not go easy on you. As the Hakurei shrine maiden, it is my responsibility to resolve any incidents, understood?" She said with a serious expression.
"You seem to take your job very seriously lass... Very well, I'll be quite careful of not hurting any humans I meet. But I do hope you don't mind one or two harmless pranks..." This earned him a glare from the red white priestess "... Right" he looked around, in an attempt to avoid the stare of gensokyou's guardian "well, if that's all you need... I would like to explore a bit of this land before nightfall. So, if you will excuse me, I will take my leave now" he turned towards the stairs that leaded to the hill's bottom. Then, after not even two steps, he stopped. He reached for his pocket, producing two small bags of assorted sweets, throwing one to each of the girls "A little goodwill gift before I leave" he said with wide smile.
"I still will be watching you" said Reimu with a serious expression. Despite which, she opened the bag to reach for its contents.
"Oh, thanks old man!" Answered Marisa with a much more cheerful voice than her friend. And then, she too decided there was no point in waiting to enjoy her sugary gift.
So... that was it for the first chapter. If anyone actually enjoyed it, feel free to criticize it. I'm aware I'm not exactly a sage of literature, but I want to improve as much as I can. I'll try to keep in mind whatever feedback I get and keep on writing this thing.