Request Number 1: Hata's origin story
Along a beach in southern Honshu, in XXX Prefecture, there is a shrine dedicated to Taikou Daimyuojin, an avatar of Bishamonten. There today there are two girls, Maribel Hearn and Renko Usami.
"Hey, Renko, why are we here?"
"Because this shrine is the shrine of a god who is said to be the spirit of the founder of Sarugaku, Hata no Kawakatsu. "
"...but aren't we a Ghost Sealing Club? What does this have to do with what we do?"
"Don't you see, Mary?" said Renko with a degree of exasperation, "it's said that the god enshrined here was once a man! That must mean that his spirit is still wandering around somewhere! Which means that it is directly relevant to our interests!"
Maribel gave a sigh of resignation and sat down beside Renko on a beam that ran around the shrine.
"So how long are we going to wait here?"
"As long as necessary."
After giving another sigh, this one much louder and annoyed, Maribel just took her bag and began rifling through it.
"Good thing I packed lunch, then..."
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the girls, there was a slight temporal disturbance just several hundred meters to their immediate right, in the woods that surrounded the shrine.
A small gap in space-time opened up, neatly tied at the ends with red and white riboons. Out through the dark hole filled with a mysterious red-purple-bluish glow and covered with staring wide eyes stepped a young girl, with long pink hair, a cute blue shirt with multiple-shaped buttons, and a large, poofy, pumpkin-shaped skirt with patterns cut out of it in alternating happy and sad faces.
"Now, young menreiki Hata, you only have a few moments here. Be sure to remind that useless shrine maiden I'm doing you a favor."
The girl called Hata only nodded, and began walking toward the shrine.
Father, at long last, I've come to see you again...
Hata no Kokoro could only remember a distant scene, a crowd full of various faces and emotions.
That's right... I was only a collection of masks, then...
She also remembered a face; vague now with the passage of time, but a face full of conviction, and bursting with any number of emotions.
This must be my father, Hata no Kawakatsu...
Next Hata no Kokoro can only remember darkness, the feeling of being alone. Though only few of her masks had sentience then, it was enough to remember the feeling of dread that surrounded her as she lay in the back of some storage shed or another.
Father, where are you...?
The pain and loneliness of the isolation was nigh-unbearable. However, she then remembered a stormy night, a sudden feeling of a presence.
"Wh-what are you... who are you?"
The being was a monstrous form, simultaneously man, beast, and fish. He reaked of the sea.
"Kokoro... for that shall be your name... you are but young. I am your maker, having transformed from my mortal remains out at sea. I am currently traversing the countryside, ravaging the place, until I am rightfully enshrined. I come to give you your purpose: you are to live, and grow one day. Though you will be confused by your emotions, you must find yourself. Have faith in your own identity, when the day comes. I go now."
Next Kokoro remembered the day she finally gained full sentience She was but a pile of masks, and then they began to float. They began to circle about a central point, before manifesting energy in a variety of colors before finally coalescing into the shape of a young girl.
The girl floated to the floor, where she sat down on her knees.
This is... myself...
Kokoro returned to the present, finding herself before the shrine.
It was then that Kokoro noticed that she was not alone.
At about the same tine, Maribel perked up as well, and began wildly looking around.
"Eh, Mary? What is it?"
"I think that there's something here."
"What, the ghost? Is is is it the ghost? Really?"
"No, I don't think so, it feels... different..."
Kokoro hid behind a bush and looked at Maribel and Renko.
Damn... I didn't know that there would be people here...
When Kokoro was born, she didn't really know what to do. She ended up wandering around from village to village, usually to entertain people. But she herself was directionless. Till finally one day. She learned of the stories about her father, and sought out the shrine in XXX Prefecture. Once she found it, she decided to stay in the region; fortunately, a small fishing village was nearby, which made it convenient to live there.
One day, though, she looked to she sky and say several planes. The planes filled her with a feeling of dread, even though she did not know what they were. In the course of time, the small fishing village had grown into a minor port, which inevitably became caught up in the war. The village had became also a manufacturing place for war materials, making it a natural target for bombing missions, though so far it had been spared.
Not today, though. From out the sky came a scream and then a loud noise, and the town before Kokoro was engulfed by several small explosions. Everywhere people were running, and she saw one person on fire; the factory had been demolished, and several more explosions from the harbor made clear the destruction there as well. Though Kokoro understood little of what was going on, she knew that she did not like it at all.
Following the devastation, she attempted to put on a play to lift the spirits of the people, not knowing what else to do. However, this only angered the people, and she was chased from the town, being confined to the immediate confines of the shrine grounds.
After a while, she just decided to sleep; she slept for a very long time... days ... months ... years ...
She finally woke one day, where she decided to explore the shrine grounds. It was during this that her mask mysteriously vanished; her mask of hope. And before she knew it, she was gone, too: she woke in Gensokyo.
"Let's go check it out." said Renko.
Kokoro did not know what to do. She did not want to fight with ordinary humans; however, she could not possibly pull herself off as a human. Just then, there was a small boom noise, which distracted the two girls.
"Geeze, what was that?" yelled Renko.
"I don't know, but I don't want to stay around any longer. Let's leave, Renko! shouted Maribel.
"Hey, wait for me!"
As the girls ran off, Kokoro took the chance to sneak inside the shrine.
She approached a small statue of an angry-looking man, two arms folded, one other holding a knife, the other a spear. Kokoro took several furtive steps before the statue, bowed slightly, and then sat down onto her knees.
"Father, I have returned..." she said as she closed her eyes and clasped her hands.
"Much has... changed. I don't know how, but I wound up in this strange new world. But I'm okay - I even have emotions now! I don't know how, but I don't need to rely on the masks anymore to commute with people. Just as you said I would."
Just then, she heard a gasp from the shrine's doorway.
She turned to look, and there stood Maribel, shocked at the sight before her.
"Uh..."
Kokoro got up and prepared herself for a confrontation.
"Um... hi... I'm only here because I forgot my bag, alright?"
Kokoro relaxed, and adopted the elegant woman mask.
"Oh. I see."
The mask switched to a monkey.
"Go on your way, then. Don't mind me, you didn't see anything..."
The mask switched to a Hannya.
"...got it."
"Yeah, sure, got it, heh heh, see ya!"
Maribel quickly left.
Kokoro stood there, and thought for a while. Her mask switched to Hyokotto.
"Well, I sure showed them, right, father?"
"Indeed, you did."
Yukari appeared beside her suddenly.
"It's time to go. That was close."
Kokoro turned to look at the statue of her father.
"Well, time to go, father. I'll try to visit again sometime soon, okay?"
Her mask switched to a fox.
"I go now."
Yukari opened a portal, ans stepped through it. Kokoro followed suit, turning back once to look at the statue, and both disappeared from this world.
Back in Gensokyo, Kokoro asked "Lady Yukari, thanks for the distraction earlier."
"Hm? What do you mean? I didn't cause any distractions. I was busy taking a cat nap."
"Um..."
Back at the shrine, the statue's face had changed: instead of a scowl, a light smile, almost a smirk, was in place. Kokoro's father was pleased indeed...