Chapter one - Another noisy summer
Summer had only started a few days ago, but already the citizens of Gensokyo could feel its warm presence, the obfuscating sun rays passed through the trees ruffled by the soft wind, forming bizarre dances of light and shadow all over the grass, at night the cicada would happily cry for hours and hours, feeling the fresh breeze, reminiscent of a passing spring. Gensokyo, the land of dream, a wonderland where reality melts with the fantastic, where the legends of old are the everyday reality, on the edge of this place, that yokai and humans share, sits an old shinto shrine, it was, by no means, a wonder to look at, definitely not the kind of place where tourists would gather around to take pictures, Gensokyo rarely had any tourists anyway. This was the Hakurei Shrine, the cornerstone of Gensokyo, rustic but, somehow, full of charm, was it to fall down and Gensokyo would crumble too, this shrine hold the barrier that kept Gensokyo separated, invisible, from the outside world, people from inside didn't go out, people from the outside didn't come in, at least, not normally, and everyone was fine with that, Gensokyo was a safe haven for yokai, and that's how it had to be, but, of course, where there are yokai there must also be humans, or yokai will no longer be yokai... Like every Shinto Shrine, this one too had a shrine maiden, Reimu, the carefree and honest shrine maiden. Reimu didn't have the most fortunate popularity among the villagers, she was seen as lazy and weird ("A Shrine maiden who hangs out with yokai rather than hunting them? That's odd"), she was aware of this, that's why it annoyed her so much to host so many parties with "weird" people.
-Hey! You still haven't clean this up? - The voice was rash and youthful.
The questioner was Marisa Kirisame, the ordinary black mage, although she wasn't much of an ordinary person, in fact, she was very fond among Yokai, much like her friend Reimu, her bashfulness seems to shatter even the mightiest of the Yokai's barrier.
-I'm asleep, go away. - Said Reimu, annoyed.
-Sleeping in the middle of the grass? What will the visitors say? "Oh my, that drunkard shrine maiden did it again"
Reimu planted her hands on the ground and pushed her body up, her expression was of complete drowsiness, she looked around for a few moments.
-Ah... It's always the same, you guys come here, you drink 'till you're dead drunk and then you leave it for me to clean this mess up.
A few dishes of sake, bottles and whatever was left of last night's meals were lying around in the white floor that led to the main shrine.
-But...You were the drunkest...
Reimu ignored her friend's remark, stood up and looked around for a broom.
-Anyway, I came here to talk about something. - Marisa continued - Don't you think it's kinda odd that there've been so many parties lately? Doesn't this remind you of something?
The shrine maiden's still half asleep mind took her a few seconds to realize what her friend was referring to, but eventually she got there, a few summers ago a small oni, Suika, had increased radically the number of parties around the Shrine, by literally 'gather' the people around the shrine.
-You mean Suika? Don't think she's the reason for all this...
-Well, the villagers have been complaining that lately the yokai have been fighting too much, it's getting hard to sleep with so much noise. Think this is some sort of incident?
-Well...whatever it is I'll take a look around later, or the villagers will say I'm being lazy again...
Reimu grabbed the broom and lazily started wiping the floor, the broom was old and barely gathered any garbage, but she figured if she scratch the floor a few more times the garbage would eventually gather, no need to buy a new expensive broom.
-Anyway, I'm thinking about visit the vampire, I always wanted to know if a vampire is able to get hangovers. - Said Marisa
-Oh, if you do that be sure to warn Remilia not to bring any more devil's cake, it leaves ... - Reimu stopped talking.
Marisa was already flying away at an impressive speed, Reimu released a small sigh and got back to wipe the floor. In her thinking she questioned if there really was an incident, or if the number of parties had just increased naturally, however, she learned, from experience, that in Gensokyo nothing happens "naturally", if spring could be stolen and if the moon could be replaced, then it wasn't all that unlikely that Suika would be up to something again. But one question lingered in her mind "Why is she doing this again?" last time Reimu beat the Oni in a spellcard game, a little after Suika moved into the shrine until she got a spot on heaven, where she could drink and sing all she wanted.
"I haven't seen her since she attacked that monk's shrine... If all she wants is party, then I was sure heaven would suffice, with all that drinking and with so much celestial food she wouldn't be bored, so why is she doing this all over again? I'll have to get up again..."
Reimu looked up to the cerulean sky, there were a few white clouds, the sun was strong and she could feel its warm embrace. It was a nice day to go for a flight. If she wanted to reach heaven, then she'd have to climb the Yokai montain, home of many gods and tengu. At the top of this mountain rested a special shrine, this one too was a shinto shrine, however it's complete appearance was much more polished than Reimu's, the entrance was composed of pearl white marble and soft stones, the main shrine was carved in the finest black wood with various sculptures of shinto gods on its walls, the gray roof reflected the sunshine and showed absolutely no signs of dirtiness. This was the Yasaka Shrine, the shrine on the yokai moutain, where two gods habited as well as their personal Shrine maiden, Sanae Kotichya, a naive but hardworking shrine maiden. Due to its peculiar localization it was far too dangerous for humans to visit, so, much like the Hakurei shrine, it was pretty much void of visitors, but that was alright, Kanako Yasaka, one of the shrine's god, didn't care so much for the visitor but for her influence of the tengu, kappa, yokai and other gods who lived on the mountain.
-Gensokyo will soon face a crisis like never before. - Said Kanako
The line was so coldly delivered that Sanae took a moment to make sense of it, Kanako's expression didn't change as she spoke, her expression was that of someone who was lost in thought for a good while.
-A crisis? What do you mean? Is it an accident?
Kanako noted a small pitch of enthusiasm in Sanae's voice, the girl was still new on the incident solving business, but Kanako knew well that a shrine maiden going around solving incidents would bring her good reputation among the mountain dwellers, besides Sanae was fine and aware of this.
-Yes, it's some sort of accident
The answer came from Suwako Kotichya , a god with the appearance of a blond young girl, she was actually a few centuries old but her body was that of a 10 year old.
-Can't you feel it? It's almost as if the sky's trying to suck us in... - Suwako continued.
Sanae hadn't notice nothing similar, she was too distracted to notice something like that. Kanako sit over the stairs that led up to donation box of the shrine, Sanae looked at her confused, practically begging an explication.
-Yes, like the sky's sucking us in... Sanae, have you ever wondered what would happen if Gensokyo was to collapse into a war? - said Kanako with her hands crossed over her mouth.
-No... I mean, I'm sure Reimu and her Friends would intervene, maybe there'd be talk? Like a conference ? Then maybe the war would be avoided!
Kanako grimed at the girl's optimism, the grim slowly turned into a small laugh.
-Is that what happens in the real world? Kanako asked.
Both knew it wasn't, they had moved to Gensokyo only a few years ago, when the faith in their shrine began to decay, they knew how it worked in the outside world, if there was even the smallest hint of war then it would break down sooner or later. Suwako approached the stairs and rested her back on a pillar next to them. Their expressions had changed, they were no longer expressions of casualness, they seemed worried. Sanae had only seen those expressions a couple of times, she remembers seeing them a few weeks before moving into Gensokyo, they were not a common sight.
-Whatever's going to happen is really serious...right?
Kanako nodded.
-This isn't a normal accident, Sanae. Gensokyo is about to go out on a full-fledge war. Maybe you've noticed, but lately Yokai have been partying too much during the day, and fighting too much during the night... -Said Kanako.
Sanae felt as if for a moment the ground had shaken, "not a normal accident" was something serious, a "war" was even more serious.
-Those are just signs that something really big is about to happen... in maybe a week or two Gensokyo will turn into a battlefield... - continued Suwako.
-But why? - Sanae asked, nervously.
The gods exchanged a quick look at each other.
-Because... Judgment is coming. - Said Kanako.
Somewhere, in a realm connected to gensokyo, Hakugyokuro, where the dead could lay to rest until there was space in heaven for them, if any living human dared to enter this place he'd be the same as dead, the conversation of the gods was echoed between a Ghost and a Half-dead.
-A war, lady yuyuko? Between the religious factions? - Asked Youmu
Youmu konpaku was the Hakugyokuro's loyal gardener, a half-ghost , this is, a human who's only half dead, always accompanied by her ghost self and her two Japanese blades. Youmu was a quiet and introspective girl, although she had a young appearance she was very collected, only losing her cool when hearing scary stories.
-No, nothing like that my dear Youmu, I'm afraid this one will be on a much larger scale...
Yuyuko, the ghost queen of the netherworld. Yuyuko was one the "top yokai" of gensokyo, feared by humans and other yokai alike. Despite of her apparent clumsy conduct, she had the power to invite people into their own death, later they'd appear on Hakugyokuro. Yuyuko was laying on front of a window, watching the cold and starless sky of the Netherworld, her pink hair spread across the floor, resembling the roots of a tree nailed to the ground.
-This time, Yokai, humans, celestials, gods, tengu, oni, ghosts and even the judge will participate... A war to settle Gensokyo's fate...
-The judge...you mean the enma? - Youmu asked.
Yuyuko nodded gently. Both of them had met the enma in different occasions, she was a reasonable and compassionate person, even though she was a little too fond of going around telling people how to live their lives... but that was her job.
-For the enma to participate...this is going to be really big, right?
-Yes...the enma will want to watch over this war, to select the winners.
-Winners? Lady Yuyuko, will we also participate in this war?
Youmu was a little more nervous than she'd like to admit, her hands formed knuckles on her legs, the tension rose on her shoulders, her eyes didn't move an inch from yuyuko's lazy position.
-Yes, I am afraid so, Youmu... Even though we're not living in Gensokyo, we've become too attached to that world, a little more so than our own... Lately we've been going out pretty much every day, our link with Gensokyo is getting stronger, and , as such, we are required to participate in this war...
Youmu anxiously waited for Yuyuko to continue, but she remained immovable, like a cat taking a nap in the warm summer sun.
-Lady yu... - She continued
Behind youmu's back a face stretched, slowly approaching her ears, without giving away any sound.
-I'm gonna eat you!
The sound came from behind her, Youmu rapidly crawled clumsily her way across the room, her eyes were filling with tears and her breathe had increased its rhythm. Lady yuyuko was no longer in front of the window, laying lazily, she had sneak up on Youmu using a mirage, she was a ghost, after all.
-Lady yuyuko! Please don't do that again! - Said Youmu, with her voice cracking with fear.
Yuyuko threw her head onto her back, laughing. A few tears rolled her cheek, she grabbed her stomach, as if it was in pain from so much laughing.
-I wonder if you'll ever not fall for this, Youmu.
Her face was no longer distant and cold, her purple eyes were wide open and her lips were still forming a smile from the laugh.
-I'm sorry, I just wanted to break the tension a little bit. - She continued - But I'm afraid this war is no funny matter... Gensokyo is about to change, we should come up with some strategies, don't you think?
Youmu, still sitting with her hands together across her chest, as if begging for mercy, looked up to her master, who was now gazing at the moonless sky of the netherworld. Youmu didn't know, but Yuyuko had a plan, a strategy not to lose in this war, for now, Youmu just wanted to know why there would have to be a war, but she knew her master would be dodgy about the answers... She'd have to visit Gensokyo, once more.
Meanwhile, Marisa was flying over a small azure lake, where both fairies and frogs gather. As usual, and even though it was summer, the lake was always cold, a very fine mist hanged over it.
-It's always so chilly here... That ice fairy is up to no good again...
In the mist, Marisa could see a dark silhouette of a house, no, a mansion, the Scarlet mansion, home of the Scarlet family. This mansion was located in a small island in the middle of the lake, no one had noticed it was there for a long time due to the mist that surrounded it, but eventually Marisa ended up there a few summers ago, when she tried to stop a mysterious red mist from covering Gensokyo night and day. Marisa flew over the enormous red wall, she didn't feel the need to ring the bell to enter, she had been there too many times before. The Scarlet's mansion garden was always a sight to behold, all of it was covered in red and white roses, a few pine trees popped in a few spots. The mansion itself was a huge European building painted in dark red. Marisa didn't care much for the arquiteture of the building, all she was thinking about was sneaking into it.
-You're not here to steal, are you? We have a pretty strict policy towards criminals
The voice came from Marisa's back, surprised she turned around swiftly. The person standing behind her was Sakuya Izayoi, the elegant maid, she was kneeling down, cutting a few rose flowers and placing them into a small bag. Sakuya was the head maid of the Scarlet Mansion, a young human lady with a very sophisticated and elegant posture.
-Criminals? I'll warn you if I see one! - Answered Marisa
Just as she was about to approach the huge black wood door, Sakuya grabbed her by the shoulder.
-I'm sorry... today the mistress is unavailable.
Sakuya's expression was pretty serious, most of the times Marisa could sneak into the mansion without great problem, and even when she didn't sneak in she was usually welcomed. This was odd behavior, even for the residents of the scarlet. ("Why is the security so strict today?")
-Then I'm here to talk to Patchouli, she asked for some books. - Said Marisa.
-And... Where are those books?
Marisa looked around embarrassed.
-Oh, shoot, I must have dropped'em on my way here...
-For someone who's so used to lying... you're being a pretty lousy liar. Anyway, my mistress told me no trespassers were allowed today, please do not insist...
-So all the other days trespassers are allowed in? Anyway, I'll really have to insist, the yokai are acting weird, I bet she knows something! I'll have to go in, even if it is by force!
A small circle of light appeared on the floor, between the two girls, it quickly expanded, turning into the spellcard arena. This was the way citizens of Gensokyo dealt with their problems, a spellcard battle, a battle that allowed even the lowest of yokais and humans to hold their ground against higher beings. Both Sakuya and Marisa were formidable players. Sakuya held the power to manipulate time, while Marisa's magic skills were superb.
-Spellcard! - Sakuya screamed.
A small card made of light appeared in front of her, her arm stretched and her hand opened, still a few centimeters away from the card.
-The world! - She continued.
Her hand formed a knuckle, at the same time the card was crushed, forming tiny crystals of light that danced around Sakuya's arm. Sakuya spread her arms open, the wind blew through her hair, slightly raising it, and then, suddenly, stopped, her silver hair fell down again. Time had stopped, Marisa wasn't aware of it, she was frozen along with the whole world. Sakuya looked around, searching for a perfect spot from which she could throw her knives before time resumed its flow. The wind eventually blew again.
For Marisa it happened in a flash, suddenly hundreds of knives materialized out of thin air all of them or aiming at her, all of them approaching at an intimidating speed. Marisa jumped back, three knives hit the spot where she had been, she grabbed her broom, which immediately flew away, pushing her through the arm, a few knives followed Marisa's every move ("She's pretty serious today!"). Marisa regained her balance and pushed herself onto her broom, the knives didn't stop many were already nailed to the ground, but others kept materializing, shooting at an impressive speed. She looked for a safe spot, and came to the conclusion that there was none, no point in running, she figured if she found Sakuya she'd stop the materializing knives. But Sakuya was nowhere to be found, Marisa kept flying higher and higher, until the knives following her lose their power and fell on the floor. She was a few meters from the ground, there she could see the whole garden, but still no sign of Sakuya. ("Behind me?!") Sakuya was very keen of teleporting herself into blind spots, this allowed her to shoot her knives before her enemy noticed her. Marisa turned around quickly, Sakuya was a few meters away, up in the sky, her right arm was pulled back, holding two knives.
-You're not going to escape this!
Sakuya released her arm down, shooting the two knives with admirable strength. Marisa pushed her hands in front of her, forming a small green bubble, the knives were approaching too quickly, there was no time to dodge, Marisa's arms were pulled apart the green bubble expanded along with them forming a green shield, the knives hit it and were quickly deflected, Marisa's shield cracked a little where the knives hit it, the cracks invaded the whole shield and shatter it completely, pushing Marisa a few meters back.
-Oh, you've gotten better, didn't know you could use shield magic... - said Sakuya, suprised.
-Yeah, I learned from Patchouli... But more importantly, that was a pretty smart move, you counted my moves on the ground, so it became impossible to move there, so you'd pull me into the sky where you'd catch me off-guard! Smart!
Sakuya nodded with a small smile of pride.
-Well, it's my turn then! Spellcard! - Marisa shouted.
A card of light appeared in front of Marisa, she stretched her hand and closed her hand in front of her face. The card shattered into small crystals.
-Love sign, Masterspark!
The crystals rushed in front of marisa and turned into a huge ring of light, another one formed around the first ring, inside the first one a five-point star began to form with small lines of light, the rings began spinning on opposite way, a few bursts of electricity danced around them.
-This is my counterattack! - Said Marisa, aiming at Sakuya.
An enormous beam of light was shot at Sakuya, the beam had all the colors of the rainbow, so powerful it pierced through the frail white clouds, opening a massive gap between them, the mansion shook, as if it was hit by a small tremor, the windows were vibrating intensely.
-It's a good shot, but it misses a lot...
The voice came, once again, from Marisa's back. Marisa looked back, Sakuya was standing only a few centimeters from here, knife in hand, Marisa's beam lost her power.
-Actually...i was counting it would miss...
Marisa pointed down, to the floor, where a few meters away, her mini-hakkero was lying still. Marisa snapped her fingers and flew away as quick as she could. The mini-hakkero shot another huge beam of light, one not so powerful, but it was powerful enough to hit Sakuya and throw her a meters into the air. Sakuya fell on the ground, her body was bruised and her clothes were ripped, she was breathing heavily, her silver hair, now messy, was covering her face. Marisa slowly flew down.
-That was great... You planed your position from the start, right? - Said Sakuya.
-Yeah, I figured your move! So...uh, I'll be going in now, ok? Mind pouring me some tea? I'm a guest, after all.
Marisa pushed the old door, it creaked in response.