Prologue
Matsue, Japan, 1890
A pretty cool mornings in the early of spring, from the western end of the horizon a ship trumpet sounded. It then slowly moved closer toward the dock. A moment later the anchor was lowered along with the crew that ran down from the ship to tie the boat rope. Bustle of passengers who want to get off began to sound, breaking the silence of the dock that morning.
Gangplank was lowered and the passengers began to get off in line one by one from the ship. It was clear that most of the passengers were oriental-looking, but there were four passengers that actually looked different, three of them were men, two boys and an old man while the other one was a middle-aged woman. Their faces looked more like the faces of the Europeans. They probably were immigrants from Western countries who wanted to try their fortune in Japan.
These four were the last to get off from the ship. Their luggage were quite a lot, about six large suitcases in which one of the suitcase was full of documents. Maybe they were journalists, or writers.
"Japan! Finally we're here!" cried one of the four as he raised his hands to the sunny morning sky after getting off from the ship. This short black-haired young man, whose hair was swept to the left, had dark yellow eyes, and his body was quite tall. He was wearing a long sleeved white shirt with brown vest and a long black cloth pants complete with brown leather shoes. He then closed his eyes, breathed deeply, feeling the cool morning air.
"Shhh! Keep your voice down, Lafka! Help me get this stuff!" said another young man who wore a black shirt and a three-quarter plaid patterned shorts and black leather sandals behind the young man who was screaming. He was carrying two large bags over his shoulders as he walked a little unsteadily down the gangplank. His body looked a bit shorter than the previous young boy, Lafka. However, this young man had a more muscular body, seen from a tight black shirt he wore. He had brown hair which length reached his shoulder and a bit disheveled, his eyes were red, full of spirit.
"Come on, Aldey, let a man express his happiness." said a middle-aged woman who was in front of the man who had shouted, interrupting Aldey's words while chuckling. This woman's body was very beautiful and tall like the daughters of the royal family or aristocratic women, an excellent combination with the pink dress which was worn by her. She had brown hair. Her hair is quite long. It was seen by her hairstyle, the Vortex Bun Braid. She also had light brown eyes.
"Going to Japan is his very first dream, let him enjoy it for a moment, Aldington." said the old man who was walking down the gangplank, approaching them. This old man slowly walked down through the gangplank while playing a wooden stick he carried on his hand. His gray eyes were looking towards the two young men. His hair was a bit grayish, indicating that his age was no longer young, but not too old, so did the mustache and beard. This old man looked very dignified with a white shirt, a black suit, and black long pants. All combined with a white tie worn on his neck.
"... Well, Mr. and Mrs. Vacille. But, I had such difficulty to carry all these stuffs." Said Aldey after a brief pause upon hearing what Mr. and Mrs. Vacille said earlier. He then put his luggage which he had brought down to the ground of the dock near to the ship which they were on earlier. Then he ran up, back on board to take another suitcase that was left on board.
"Ah .. Ahahaha. It is true. Hey Lafka! Help your friend.." said Mr. Vacille, calling Lafka while swinging his cane, looking at Aldey who was apparently being abit distressed while bringing the suitcases.
"Ah! Excuse me, sir Vacille! I will do it!" said Lafka quickly after hearing the call from Mr. Vacille. He opened his eyes which were closed earlier and ran up onto the ship, passing Mr. Vacille who was already in the lower end of the gangplank.
"There you are! Here, help me. You just need to bring two suitcases there, I'll bring the rest" said Aldey when he was approached by Lafka on the boat, pointing to the suitcase which he meant before, which was near the fence of the ship.
"All right. I will immediately execute your order!" said Lafka while giving a salute pose, mimicking a soldier who was saluting his the commander, then walked toward the mentioned suitcases.
"Stop joking ..." said Aldey while lifting the rest of the suitcases and then left while shaking his head. He was then walked off from the ship.
Meanwhile, while Lafka was running toward the suitcases he was supposed to bring, he seemed to be relaxed. He watched for a moment the scenery surrounding the ship, where many of the crew were then going back and forth cleaning the ship before returning to sea. He saw a calm sea, warm sun touched his skin that day. However, he suddenly noticed something quite amazing and strange.
Lafka saw two female figures, standing in the middle of a quiet sea staring at the horizon. Even more amazingly, one of the two women had fox ears and many tails. While the other woman, with long hair, holding an umbrella and was seen in a purple dress by a glimpse.
Lafka became more and more astonished when he saw the two women were slowly disappearing into the ocean through a mysterious black gap which suddenly appeared and swallowed them. Lafka immediately ran to the bow of the boat and tried to find traces of what he saw. However, it's useless, he did not find any.
"Hey Lafkaaaa ~ What are you doing there? Why did it take so long?" a sounding speech of Mrs. Vacille was heard from the dock.
"Ah! Sorry, Mistress! I thought I'd seen the dolphins!" shouted Lafka, answering the mistress.
"The dolphin? Near the dock? Ohohoho, you must be mistaken, Lafka." said Mr. Vacille while chuckling.
"I'll be there!" said Lafka quickly while running, carrying two suitcases that were assigned to him.
In the end, Lafka kept on thinking to himself about what he saw earlier, Japanese mythology creatures? Did they exist? Curiosity in his heart grew stronger as his steps to leave the dock with the other three getting further.
"Along with the creation of the Great Hakurei Border, a new Gensokyo was born.
Sealed from the outside world which began to forget the beauty of an illusion.
At the same time, there came a young man who was the first human to enter Gensokyo from the outside after its birth.
Who will become the dearest one for one of its creators... "
Unrecorded History - Hieda no Akyuu
Generations, Borders, and Illusion.
A fanfic tribute for Maribel Hearn and Yukari Yakumo
(Sorry if there are mistakes in the grammar and words)