第一回 开天地女娲造人，争高下共工触山
Translation: starting up the world, Nvwa creates human beings; Fighting for the throne, Gonggong strikes Buzhou Mountain.
Disclaimer: I don't own Keroro Gunso. As for the legends, the earliest author died about 5000 years ago while the youngest one died 500 years ago. How can I find them?
English is my second language and I'm currently a high school student, though I will graduate within a month. Please forgive me for spelling and grammar mistakes. And if you find anything need improving, please tell me in review, PM or email. Thank you!
I suck at writing romance, but two of the stories are adapted from romantic folklore. There will only be FuyuMomo and GiroNatsu. But most of the one-sided crush still has its place. I don't like pairing off couples non-exist in canon. It felt like tokenism.
I don't hate any characters or parings in particular. They are only tools...mostly...for me.
Future chapters will be written after the Gaokao. And by then I desperately need a Beta reader. Will you be so kind as to help me?
Once upon a time, the world had yet to be built. And suddenly there came a god-or to be precise, a goddess. She created everything we see today, including human beings...
There was initially nothing. No time, no space, no energy, no substance. That's a dead universe.
However, from nothing the Tao came into being. It's the fundamental rule of everything. It's the beginning of time. It's the consciousness of the universe.
The Tao felt it necessary to put an end to the eternal chaos. So it created a being with low entropy. It also gave the being a shape, which we may call humanoid today. To balance the Yang everywhere, the humanoid was made female to represent Yin. At last, she was endowed life and mind. She was sentient now, but still asleep.
Then the Tao gave her free will, and woke her up.
She woke up with a yawn, blinked several times, and soon she realized her origin and responsibility.
I'm going to make this place more lively. She thought. She tried to stretch and stand up, but failed. It's too narrow. So she pushed with all her strength. She felt some resistance at first, but it faded immediately. The heaven and earth began to separate at a high speed, then there's enough space to construct new things.
The sky was as dark as ink while the ground was bare. Need to make them less boring. She determined. With that thought in mind, she summoned a spear from nowhere. On one end it's a ball and on the other end it's a crescent moon. She spun it clockwise and tapped it on the firmament. A golden raven with blinding light appeared. "From now on you are the Sun. Your task is to circle around the earth once a day." But the golden raven didn't like the arrangement, saying that flying around all the day was too tiring. She frowned, and created nine more golden ravens, as well as a giant tree in the east. "You ten can take turns to shine the world, and when you rest you can stay in the tall tree called Fusang." They still wanted to argue, but after seeing her power, they didn't dare to disobey her anymore, and hurriedly left.
This time she tapped the other end on the firmament to build a flying palace with a shade of silver. She called it the Moon and planted osmanthus trees around the palace. Maybe I will go there for a holiday sometime. She fancied she could have fun there. But not for now.
After spreading glittering gems around as stars and the Milky Way, she landed on the ground. Creating various plants, animals and germs was an easy task, and she enjoyed her works very much. Nevertheless, she was not content, because none of those creatures could think and speak in the same way as her. She needed to find an equal.
She wandered on a river bank, thinking about the next plan, but without any luck. Frustrated, she walked up to the water, whose surface reflected her appearance perfectly.
She had silver hair under her purple crown. An exquisite purple and white outfit shaped her body. A cape floated behind her and a spear of life and death was in her hand. This gave her inspiration.
"I will create human using my own image! You could say, imitate a cat to draw a tiger?" She claimed cheerfully and didn't waste any time. She got some mud from the river and molded it into an ideal shape. When it looked like herself, she gave the figurine life. It- or rather, he- ran and jumped happily, will speaking and singing loudly. She felt so satisfied with her work that she made hundreds of men and women next time. They surrounded her with respect and love, asking for her name.
"My born name is Angol Mois. But if you like, you can also call me Nvwa."
Day after day, human beings lived in the world without changing. They could grow crops, gather berries and hunt animals. Nvwa was their leader, making every decision for them. However, my fellow audiences, nothing could remain the same. Some rebellious individuals hope for a change, and Gonggong was a typical one of them...
"Who is that woman? She's just a goddess who comes here randomly, taking away the best food and giving us useless demands! We don't need her! We need to live a life of our own!" The one who gave that speech was a teenager with coal-black eyes and hair, who had just reached puberty. But he was not a normal teenager. He was one of the few lucky ones who was born with special talents. His strength was matchless.
"You shouldn't speak ill of Nvwa, Gonggong." Another one said. "It's disrespectful. Don't forget that she created the first generation of human beings. And it's her wisdom that helped us going through every obstacle."
Gonggong sneered at him. "Who saw that? They are all rumors. And by the way, I don't want this name any longer. It's named by Mois herself. From now on, my name is Tamama! The great Tamama! All of you will see me kick her out of the throne and become the new leader! Believe it!"
With those words he set off, looking for the goddess. When he met her, he challenged her to a fight, stating that the winner would continue to rule. The goddess accepted the challenge, and defeated him without breaking a sweat...
"How...how can it be possible..." Tamama struggled to stand up, murmured incredulously.
"Because I'm a goddess while you're just a mortal. Gods are always greater than mortals. Stop being childish, and face reality." Mois said coldly.
"Greater?" Tamama grinned, chuckled, then laughed hysterically. "I don't believe in this kind of crap, and I will prove it wrong! He rushed off, and disappeared from her sight.
Tamama ran in rage, but his head was cool. His destination was Buzhou Mountain, one of the four great mountains that kept the sky stable. If that mountain was broken, the disaster would be even beyond Mois' reach to fix.
Due to his enhanced ability, he reached there in less than one day. He looked at the mountain, calm and determined, then his pupils shrank. "Hateful woman, you will surely regret it!"
He gave out a battle cry, drew on all his strength, and hit Buzhou Mountain with his own body. The mountain, the ground, and even the sky was shaken by the collision. Several cracks appeared, then, suddenly, the mountain broke into countless pieces. A huge hole emerged in the firmament, and from there an ocean of water poured out. Needless to say, a flood was on its way to wipe out tribes in the world.
In deafening noise, no one heard Tamama's last words. "I'm sorry, big bro..."
My fellow audiences, you may not know it, but the flood was the severest disaster human beings had ever encountered. No one knew how to stop it, so they all turned to Nvwa for help. Nvwa was anxious, too. She had really underestimated mortals' power. Feeling regretful, she decided to make up for her mistake...
She flew to Tiantai Mountain. At the peak she set up a furnace and melted stones in it. After they became magma, she put her own magic inside to get three hundred fifty-eight pinkish-purple stones. With these stones she patched the hole little by little. Finally the sky was as good as ever, but one single stone was left unused. Mois called it Angol Stone for her magical power in it.
The hole was closed but the flood had not stopped. Mois came back to the mortal world in hope of finding survivors. But to her surprise, mortals seemed to have found their own way to conquer the flood. Amazed at their strong will, Mois went to meet the leader of tribes.
She found a young man with bright green hair, who was guiding people to build a channel. Greeting her politely, he introduced himself as Keroro. When being asked his motivation for doing such a good job, he admitted sadly. "My little brother caused this havoc, and he died by doing that. I think I should take the responsibility since I'm his big brother."
So they are brothers. She wondered why they didn't look similar. "Your work is highly appreciated, and I want to give you something as the award." She summoned a dozen of scrolls made of satin. "The scrolls will tell you how to design and make useful tools. They also tell you the basis of science and technology. Some may be hard to comprehend at first, but you human beings have been proved to have high intelligence, and one day there will be someone who can acquire all the knowledge." Keroro was more than grateful to receive such valuable gifts. "On behalf of all the mortals, I thank you for your generous devotion!"
Mois smiled. I didn't lose anything. In spite of her power, she didn't understand her own abilities in reality. All her skills came as instincts. She didn't need to learn, but couldn't even account for them thoroughly. They are as natural as speaking and sleeping. Sometimes she was even confused with her own actions. Although she had those scrolls, she wasn't able to read a single character in them. "You could say, goodness is rewarded with goodness?"
After the flood was overcome, the tribes began to recover. It's said that they found primitive society no longer suited their need, so they set up several kingdoms based on slavery. Mois didn't like this idea. Instead, she founded a kingdom based on feudalism. She had expected her choice would take the lead, but after the flood her reputation was degraded. Mortals didn't believe in her any more...
"We shall attack Mois' kingdom, to expand our territory." One of the kings, Garuru, announced to his ministers. "Our troops are more disciplined and deadly than hers. Not to mention that she is just a woman. How can a woman rule a kingdom? We must defeat her!"
Many ministers and generals approved of the idea. Especially the red-head commander in chief, Garuru's little brother Giroro. "We need to fight! We need to start a war! All the generals and soldiers are urging to march on her vulnerable kingdom! Big brother, please give out your command, and next day we will occupy her capital and execute Angol Mois!"
"Don't be impulsive. We shouldn't consider attacking her, at least not for now." A minister, Mutsumi argued. "He walked up, facing the king, and bowed deeply. "Your Majesty, we should be patient and plan cautiously. After all, we know nothing of her true ability. If the legends are real, that she is an ancient goddess, it's more significant to look before you leap."
Some other ministers voiced their opinion. The views differed from person to person, but it seemed like the pacifists were getting the upper hand. Finally, Garuru decided to put off the discussion for now, and ministers were dismissed.
Glaring at Mutsumi, Giroro clenched his teeth. He had always hated Mutsumi, partly because of their contradictory values, partly out of sheer jealousy. Few people knew that Giroro's wife had had a silly crush on Mutsumi when she was a young girl. Although she loved Giroro single-heartedly now, he still felt uncomfortable that his own wife had loved someone before him, even if it was nothing more than a little girl's fantasy.
This time, he will make Mutsumi pay the price for everything.
Because of Giroro's high position, he was a trusted adviser of Garuru. With some gossips alone, he managed to destroy Mutsumi's reputation. Days later, a decree was made and Mutsumi was exiled from the capital...
Mutsumi was sent to an area south to Yunmeng Lake. Walking alongside Xiang River, he felt inconsolable. What had he done wrong? He was just fulfilling his duty to offer advice within his power. Was it a mistake? Or was it because he shouldn't be a minister from the very beginning? He found no answer. But he had made up his mind- if there was a second chance, he would not concern himself with politics any more.
He traveled around, meeting different people with different dates. On the way he composed a series of poems, some of which was widely read even after thousands of years. Below is a quotation from one of his poems:
I wiped my tears and heaved long sighs
I lamented over the hazard of life's journey
In spite of the fact that
I paid attention to self-cultivation
And have been strict with myself
In the morning I was insulted
And in the evening I was dismissed from office
They abused me for wearing orchids
And cursed me for plucking orchids
Which I have longed for, I won't regret
Even if I die several times
On his journey he could only inquire about his homeland from locals' talks. One day he heard that Garuru was attempting to bring Mois down again, and one day he heard that the attempt failed but Mois gave away her throne for no reason, the other day he heard that the slaves had revolted against Garuru because of crueler and crueler oppression, and Garuru had died of over-working after letting his brother rule the kingdom. Things had changed so rapidly that he couldn't bear all of this anymore. On May Fifth of lunar year, he tied himself to a rock and jumped into Miluo River, drowned himself.
When the cat's away the mice will play. The same thing goes with those golden ravens. They found that Mois had been absent for a long time and there were no signs showing she would return. So they decided they would have fun and come out all together. The world became extremely hot and dry, as if being put in an oven. In the drought a hero stood out, and he was not some random person. He was Giroro...
Giroro didn't get the position of general solely because of his brother. Instead, he was appointed for his excellent skills in archery. Now he was ready to shoot down the willful ravens.
After saying farewell to his beloved, he set out for a mountain. Upon there he added an arrow to the bow, aiming at one of the ravens. They saw him and laughed at him. They didn't believe a mortal could do any harm to them, until the arrow penetrated a raven's heart. It fell down lifeless.
Before they could get panicked, the second arrow shot down two golden ravens in a line. Then he shot three arrows at the same time, bringing down a raven each. The remaining four began to release all their light and heat, expecting to drive him away.
His eyes stung because of their light, but he still shot down three of them. The last one was wounded and scared. It flew away.
Giroro chased after it for three days. Since its wings were wounded and its sense of direction was influenced by fright, it only covered more than eighty li. Eventually it stopped and surrendered. Giroro forced it to swear in the name of the goddess that it would never be irresponsible again. The one and only golden raven took the oath as instructed. So that it couldn't do anything wrong from then on.
But Giroro was exhausted after three days' marathon. He collapsed heavily, and passed away on spot.
His wife, Natsumi, had never stopped missing him. When news came that Giroro was dead, she was overwhelmed with grief. She packed her belongings and went to look for his grave...
When she reached there, she burst into tears, calling his name. "Don't leave me alone, my love. Please wait for me. I will accompany you in the afterlife soon."
She stood up, and a miracle occurred. The surroundings began to shake, vertically at first and horizontally at last. A gap on the ground took form in this earthquake.
Natsumi wiped her tears and gazed at the gap. "Guess you're welcoming me? Don't be impatient, I'm coming. But in next life, please let me fight on your side."
She jumped in and fell like a leaf. Someone said with certainty that they witnessed two butterflies fly out of the grave side by side.
The tale was spread widely and a young man named Fuyuki came to investigate. He was an energetic sceptic interested in all kinds of myths. He wished he could see the legend on his own...
He didn't see the grave. In reality, he didn't even see any empty space for a grave. What he saw was hundreds of peach trees.
The air was laden with sweet scents and the clouds was dyed by the flowers' color to have a pinkish tinge. Were they planted by someone or did they just grow here on themselves? He didn't know, and he didn't care either. The only thing he knew and cared now was the fact that he was deeply attracted by the scenery here.
He had traveled to many places, every one of which had its own beauty. But none of them was like this one. Wandering among peach trees, he had a homely feel. He decided to settle down.
Fuyuki built a hut outside the woods. Every day he read books and classify notes. He collected three hundred and five poetic folk songs and recorded them in a book called The Book of Poetry.
Unknown to him, one of the peach trees had gained consciousness during his stay. In these years this kind of thing happened now and then. Mois' magic had some special quality. Human beings affected by it could get enhanced power, just like Tamama's strength and Giroro's accuracy. On animals, plants and lifeless objects' case, as long as its volume was big enough to serve as the anchor of mind, chances are that they could become sentient. And if they spend enough time training and practicing their qi, they could become immortal yao and have their own magic. Although Mois had disappeared from thin air, that patch of Angol Stone in the firmament still had her magic. And the power in it wouldn't run out in thousands of years.
This peach tree was one of those fortunate ones. And the first human language she heard after she was conscious was Fuyuki reciting a poem in The Book of Poetry-
The peach tree is slender and sturdy, and flaming red is its blossoms...
It's said that Fuyuki lived there until he died of old age, remaining a bachelor in all his life. By the time, all the characters featured in the original story had either died or disappeared. Some of their stories became legends and were still told among people thousands of years later.
The society had changed greatly as well. As productivity increase, slavery was gradually replaced by feudalism. Although it still had many flaws, it's the best possible social system based on current situation. Despite the ups and downs, many kingdoms became one empire at last. That was more than one thousand years after the original story took place.
But this is not the end of this story.
The story has just begun.
My fellow audiences, the main characters didn't just die. They're reincarnated into someone else after a set time. According to an unspoken rule, they all kept their names and appearance in their last life.
In the nine hundred eighty-third year of the empire calendar, over two thousand years after he died for the first time, Tamama was reborn to a fisherman's family, in a small village on the coast of East Sea.
To know the following occurrences, please listen to next chapter.
The first chapter is only an introduction. Here I will interpret some confusing parts for English readers.
[第一回...山]: This is a type of title called 章回体. The title is composed with two parts with the same structure, sort of like couplets in English poems. It's often used by classical literature writers, and, of course, by those who wanted to make their poor story look better as well...
[Once upon a time...]: it's the words of Narrator, or 说书人 in this fic. I promise he will have screen time later. The story's style imitates 评书, a style of literature. 说书人 tell the story orally in tea houses or radio(recently). The line "it's said that ","my fellow audiences ", "to know the following occurrences..." are all their signature lines.
[Nvwa]; Refer to Wikipedia please. I really don't know how to tell those stories. Every story used in this and later chapters is adapted more or less to be more international and modern. But some are translated directly from my Chinese textbooks or story books. In this chapter, Mois is mostly Nvwa and Jiutianxuannv, and Pangu to some extent. Tamama is only Gonggong while Keroro is Dayu. Mutsumi is a real-world poet called Quyuan. The quotation was translated from one of Quyuan's best poems, Lisao. Giroro is Houyi and Kuafu while Natsumi is Zhu Yingtai. Serious GiroNatsu and FuyuMomo will be in future chapters.
[The peach tree is slender...]: Quoted from 《诗经·周南·桃夭》, and its Chinese version is 桃之夭夭，灼灼其华. The first and the last characters, 桃华, is exactly Momoka's name written in Japanese kanji.
[You could say...]:In the canon, Mois used four-character Japanese idioms; and in this fanfic, she uses fout-character Chinese idioms. But the usage in canon is often wrong, so it is wrong in the same way: a common reader can hardly find out but a Chinese teacher will never tolerate...
[Tao]: I couldn't really explain it. Even Laotzu himself couldn't give a clear definition. If you are wondering "what the hell is this" you can read Tao-te-ching for information.
Gaokao is only 15 days away and I'm still writing and posting fanfics, in ENGLISH! I'm sure I will get the true meaning of "no zuo no die" very soon. May the Buddha, Laotzu, Confucius and whoever concerned bless me. Ramen.