Touhou Project Fan-Fiction

Confusing and Reckless Boundary Traversal

「東方・混乱と無謀な境界縦貫」

Written by Marcosias Isif

For those who are aware of the Gensôkyô Timeline, this is the start of the story:

[Year of Star, Winter, and Fire

Season 131 (2016), January 1st, 1903 hours.

The Third Snowfall of Winter]

1

I had fallen. Like in that one commercial from around two or three decades ago. I couldn't feel my legs, and my back was sore, like I had just fell some distance. A puff of mist came out of my mouth.

Was it winter when I fell?

For a moment, I lay staring at the sky, with snow lightly falling around me.

Something was… off. It felt different.

This sky seemed very odd compared to the sky I grew up with… I think.

I struggled to get up, spending no less than two whole minutes wriggling on the ground, before I finally sit up. My legs are still there, they're just numb; a strange kind of numb that I don't recognize.

Why did I fall...?

I looked around. It seemed that I was no longer in my home town – rather, I was at a Japanese shrine. It seemed fairly abandoned, as if no one had visited in… ever. An offertory box sat alone in the doors of the shrine – and above it, a shimenawa hung fairly high. There were two stone lanterns near the shrine, but otherwise, the place seemed very humble. I tried to stand, but simply fell with my legs shaking.

This place…

I felt at a loss. I'd remembered going to a shrine on New Year's without my friends. The place was abandoned, save for some rats and snakes. I had thrown some money into the offertory box (a solid 10,000 yen), and clapped my hands. I had figured that if any god would take pity on me, it would be the one of the run-down, abandoned shrine outside my hometown.

But this place… is unfamiliar.

True enough, while this shrine seemed to be similar to the one I had visited, it was not nearly as decrepit or poorly maintained as that one. In fact, at the very least, it seemed someone had made a life nearby – upon a second glance, it was clear that there was little dust on the stone path, and the grass was fairly well-cut… with some exceptions here and there.

But then, if this isn't -my- shrine…

"Where in the world am I…?"

I checked my person – my backpack had a notebook, some pens, my laptop, and a few snacks (I was planning on resting at the shrine for a few hours), while my pockets were almost barren – save my wallet… and cellphone. As the small flicker of hope appeared, I whipped it out and started to dial… but that hope just as quickly disappeared.

No bars…

I anxiously tried to call home anyway. The busy signal didn't even register – there was no beep, no voice, and no static, just the sound of cellular silence.

My heart sank to my numbed feet. I was hopelessly stuck in a strange place… I think. There was no telling when I would die, either from starvation or madness.

What do I do? Lie down and wait? Search for help?

Or maybe I should just-

…Pray.

Maybe that was it…! After all, the last thing I could remember was praying at the shrine… so maybe, just maybe…

They say that true insanity is repeating the same process to expect different results… or something. So maybe, in a way, this was the most logical solution?

"I'll find out shortly."

I struggled once more to stand – this time, my legs didn't give out (they were still shaking, though). The wind rustled the grass around the area. I reached into my wallet, and pulled out… crap.

I only had seven 500 yen coins.

Maybe the gods wouldn't be picky, as long as I was donating.

Hopefully.

I tossed two of the coins into the box (I'd keep the others for bus fare), and started. Bow twice, clap, clap, then a third bow, as deep as possible. I prayed as hard as I possibly could.

"Gods, if you can hear me, I wish to go home – no, I need to go home."

Please.

And then it hit me. Across the back of my head. I don't know what "it" was, but it hurt quite a bit. I quickly looked back. There was no one there, but there was a fairly thick stick on the ground behind me, with a slight dent in the shape of my skull. I looked around for the culprit, but saw no one and nothing. After coming back to the front of the shrine, there was no sign of any stick either – just leaves and flower petals, which blew away a few seconds later. I rubbed my aching skull and wondered for a moment.

Maybe that was the Gods refusing me.

As I thought that, I heard a feminine voice behind me that said simply, "Oh my, a visitor?"

Turning once again, I spy not one, but two girls: one was dressed in a red-and-white miko costume, and the other seemed to be dressed like a witch, albeit with a black overcoat. I could have sworn that it was January when I passed out, not October. The one who seems to have addressed me was the miko, who shifted a paper bag in her arms.

"It's rare that we ever see guests here," the miko said.

The witch-girl nodded, and said (with a very boyish manner), "She doesn't seem to be from here, yeah?" They both looked me over, and I them. Although they were… odd, maybe they knew better than me what had happened.

Unlikely, but a chance nonetheless.

"Excuse me, but can you tell me where I am?" I asked in earnest. "I think I'm a little lost."

They looked at each other, and the witch-girl laughed. The miko turned to me and said very… indifferently, "You came to our shrine without learning its name? How rude…" She shook her head at me as the other girl continued to laugh.

"C'mon Reimu," the witch-girl said through her laughs, "you should be happy that the shrine has a human visitor for the first time in ages."

The miko seemed to mull over this, as the witch girl tried to stifle herself.

Wait… did she say "human" visitor?

"In any case," the miko started again, "this is the Hakurei Shrine. I appreciate you coming to pay your respects, but I have some business to attend to."

Hakurei… I recognize the name, but I can't recall where I heard it. As they walked by, the witch-girl put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't mind Reimu," she said. "She's a pretty nice person, for the most part." As she said this, a soft thud came from the offertory box… followed by a louder thud.

I looked over, and the miko was staring intently into the offertory box. The paper bag was on the ground, a single apple rolling into the grass.

"What's wrong, Reimu?" The witch-girl seemed genuinely confused, as she looked over at her friend.

The miko reached into the box, and pulled out the 500-yen coin that I had offered. "Is… is this your doing…?" She fumbled with her words a little, but I couldn't tell if it was from anger or shock.

"Yes," I answered honestly. The miko stared at the coin for a long moment. I felt like I had done a faux-paus by giving such a meager donation. "Sorry, it was all I had."

For the most part. But the gods would understand, right?

After a while, she clutched the coin in her hand, and smiled very widely. "Thank you for your patronage," she said happily. "The Hakurei Shrine would be glad to assist you."