Chapter 2: The Hakurei Shrine Maiden
Scarlet Devil Mansion
This mansion is well-known to Gensokyo as the very home of the Scarlet sisters. Inside, we see a white-haired girl dressed in a maid outfit carrying what seem to be a tray with a cup on it. She opened the door in front of her, revealing a room where one of the Scarlet sisters is currently sitting on the throne.
"Mistress, I brought some tea." said the maid to Remilia.
"Took you long enough, Sakuya..." said Remilia in a bored tone.
"I'm very sorry, Mistress. I had to go outside to buy more ingredients." said Sakuya calmly.
Remilia then proceeds to drink the tea that Sakuya prepared.
"By the way, how's Flandre doing right now?" asked Remilia.
"She seems to be enjoying the new toys you brought for her." responded Sakuya.
Just after she said that, we then saw Flandre, the younger sister of Remilia, in her own room playing with her 'new toys'.
"Good. That should keep her occupied." said Remilia.
"What are you gonna do now, Mistress?" asked Sakuya.
"Hmm...I was thinking of paying a short visit to the Hakurei Shrine. It's been a while since I've seen that shrine maiden..." answered Remilia with a smile.
"Shall I accompany you, Mistress?" asked Sakuya.
"No need, Sakuya. I can handle things on my own." said Remilia to her.
While this is going on, on the outside of the mansion, a bright light suddenly appeared. After a few seconds, the light disappeared and in it's place, we suddenly see the appearance of Black Widow and Falcon. When they came into their senses, they suddenly realized that they ended up in a different place.
"Ughhh...What the hell just happened?" asked Falcon.
"I don't know." answered Black Widow. "More importantly, where are we?"
The two fugitive Avenger looked around and they have no idea as to where they are, as they are unfamiliar with the environment they're in.
"Hmm...I'm not sure where we are...but I can definitely tell that we're no longer in Japan." said Falcon.
"Also, where's Steve? Isn't he with us when that happened?" asked the Russian spy.
"Yeah, he's with us this whole time." answered Falcon.
"...And yet, he's not here with us anymore..." said Natasha.
"You don't think he's been separated with us, do you?" asked Falcon.
"That is possible...After all, he was fighting with Baron Zemo while we were in the sidelines fighting against HYDRA goons." responded Natasha.
"Then let's go and find him! He should be nearby." said Falcon as he prepares himself to fly.
"Wait, Sam. We don't even know where we are..." Black Widow told him. "We should explore this area first before we can focus on finding Steve."
"And where are we supposed to go from here?" asked Falcon.
Black Widow looked around for an area that they can explore until he noticed the Scarlet Devil Mansion in the distance...
"How about that one?" said Black Widow as she points to the mansion.
"A mansion? In a place like this?" Falcon was rather surprised at the sight of a mansion out of nowhere.
"Hey, at least we have something to explore. Besides, there could be someone inside who knows everything about this place." Black Widow told him.
"I guess you're right." said Falcon.
"Alright, let's not stand here any further. Let's go." Black Widow told him.
And with that, both Natasha and Sam began walking towards the Scarlet Devil Mansion in hopes of finding some answers as to where they ended up.
Human Village
The Human Village is the only known village in the entirety of Gensokyo. As it's name implied, it is the only place where humans living in Gensokyo are usually found. Alice and Steve have managed to arrive into the village after navigating through the Forest of Magic a bit.
"What is this place?" Steve asked.
"This is the Human Village, the only village you'll ever find here in Gensokyo." Alice answered.
"The only village?" asked the Captain.
"Yeah. Gensokyo is a fairly small place compare to the ones from the Outside World so it's only natural that it had only one." Alice explained.
"This village looks Japanese for some reason..." said Steve as he looked around the village.
"Well, Gensokyo used to be part of Japan, after all." Alice told him.
"Wait, used to be part of Japan?" asked Steve out of curiosity.
"It's a long story, really...but the shrine maiden can fill you in about that." Alice told him.
"I see..." muttered Steve.
While roaming around the village, Steve used this opportunity to use his communicator to see if he can contact either Sam or Natasha. But once again, he gets no response. Alice noticed him doing it and wonders what he's doing.
"Still no response...What is going on?" Steve wondered.
"What are you doing?" Alice asked out of curiosity.
"Just trying to contact my teammates..." answered the Star-Spangled Avenger.
"And you got no response?" Alice asked.
"Yeah. Normally, I would be able to contact them no matter how far away we are, but I can't seem to contact them here..." answered Steve.
"I see..." muttered Alice.
After that conversation, they moved on and continue wandering around the Human Village. Eventually, they reached a stairway leading to the Hakurei Shrine.
"Alright, beyond that stairway is the Hakurei Shrine. That is where the shrine maiden, Reimu, lives." Alice explained.
"So, this is it, huh..." Steve muttered.
"Yes. And once you talked to her, she'll immediately bring you back to the Outside World." answered Alice.
"Then we have no time to waste! Let's go!" said Steve.
But, before they could go up the stairway, they heard someone calling out to Alice.
"Alice?" a voice called out.
Both Alice and Steve looked behind them and we see a certain red-white girl with a ribbon on top of her head landing in front of them.
"Reimu! What are you doing in the Human Village?" Alice asked.
"Oh, I was doing my usual youkai extermination job. I'm getting bored just sitting in the shrine, so I decided to do some youkai exterminations once in a while." answered Reimu.
"I-I see..." Alice muttered.
"By the way, who is this man that is beside you?" Reimu asked.
"This is Steve Rogers and he's from the Outside World." Alice introduced him to her.
"From the Outside World, huh?" Reimu asked. "Let me guess, you want to get back?"
"Are you the Hakurei shrine maiden?" Steve asked.
"Indeed I am. The name's Reimu Hakurei." Reimu nodded.
"As you have guessed, he wanted to go back to the Outside World to meet up with his teammates." Alice told her.
"I see..." Reimu muttered. "Well, if you wanted to go back, then let's get this over with. Let's go to my shrine!"
And with that, Reimu, Alice and Steve head their way towards the Hakurei Shrine in order for Steve to go back to the Outside World.
India
Back at the Outside World, in India, we see Tony Stark having a vacation in the place. We don't know why he was there, but he seems to be having fun in there. He can be seen driving a vehicle on the road. While driving, he seem to be having a communicating with someone...
"I guess I was right on taking a vacation in India after all..." said Tony. "This place has everything I wanted. Drinks, clothes, hell they even had a Wi-Fi in here. It's like a perfect place for me!"
"Wow...You're really having fun in there, huh?" said Rhodey from the other side.
"Hell yeah! This is, like, the best day I've ever had in my entire life!" answered Tony. "I wish you were here with me, Rhodey..."
"Yeah..." said Rhodey in a sad tone.
"Don't worry, though, the next time I'm doing this, I'll make sure to tag you along." Tony told his best friend.
"Heh. You better be." Rhodey responded before changing the topic. "Anyways, I've heard from Happy that you went a little rough to the kid."
"Yeah. I give him a scolding every now and then..." said Tony.
"Tony, I appreciate you looking over for the kid, but I think you're doing it way too much." said Rhodey.
"What do you mean?" asked Tony.
"I mean, you're using one of the remote-controlled armors to constantly spy on him. Don't you think you're invading his privacy?" answered Rhodes.
"I'm not. I'm just monitoring his actions." said Tony.
"That's still considered an invasion of privacy, Tony..." Rhodes replied back. "Look, why don't you let him do whatever he wants? If he wants to be like a hero like you, then you should let him."
"No, I'm not taking that risk, Rhodey. What if he gets himself killed out there without my notice?" said Tony.
"Tony, I know you mean well, but seeing him in action during the airport battle a year ago, it's very clear that he knows what he's doing." Rhodes told him.
"I know but he's still a kid. He could be doing something reckless, like that one time at the bank. It's not like I'm stopping him to become a hero like me...I just wanted him to be a better hero than I'll ever be..." said Tony.
"Then why not give him some word of advice instead of scolding him every time he does something?" suggested Rhodes. "If you keep scolding him, then he's not gonna grow up as a hero you wanted him to be, Tony."
Tony went silent for a while...
"...You know what, Rhodey? You're right..." said Tony. "Maybe I DID go a little rough to the kid...Maybe I should give him a second chance..."
"That's the spirit, Tony." said Rhodey before changing the topic. "Anyway, are you still driving?"
"Yeah. I'm still driving." answered Tony.
"Where are you heading, anyway?" asked Rhodes.
"I'm heading to this restaurant that most people here recommended." answered Tony. "They say it's the best restaurant in all of India. And I'm rather hungry right now, so I decided to check it out."
"I see..." muttered Rhodes. "Well, I better go. Got some stuff to do in the facility."
"Alright, see ya later, Rhodey." said Tony before turning off the phone.
After the conversation, he finally arrived at the restaurant. He then parked his car somewhere in the parking zone and gets off.
"Well, this must be it..." said Tony as he looked at the building.
But before he could even go inside the restaurant...
"Tony Stark..." a voice called out.
He was alerted by the voice and looked behind him. When he does, he saw a blonde-haired woman approaching him. She's wearing a white and purple dress and seem to be holding a parasol.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, at last." said the blonde-haired woman.
"I'm sorry, do I know you?" asked Tony.
"Oh, how rude of me...I am Yukari Yakumo. And I have come to give you a proposition..." She introduced herself.
Hakurei Shrine
Back at Gensokyo, Reimu managed to arrive at her own shrine alongside Alice.
"Alright, here we are..." said Reimu as she turned back to them, but she doesn't see Steve. "Huh? Where's Steve?"
"I believe he's still out there...climbing the stairs." answered Alice.
"Oh, right. I totally forgot he can't fly..." said Reimu as she face-palmed herself. "I guess we should wait for him."
After a while, we finally see Steve reaching the shrine. But he seems to be exhausted after reaching the top.
"Whew...I never thought those stairs are long..." said Steve.
"Yeah, you have to get used to it, especially since you can't fly..." Reimu told him.
"I can see why Hulk really hates stairs so much..." said Steve.
"Who's Hulk?" Reimu asked.
"One of your teammates, I assume?" Alice guessed.
"Yeah. He really hates long stairs like these..." responded Steve.
"I see..." muttered Reimu. "Anyways, now that we're here, let me call someone...Yukari!"
She called out for Yukari, but so far, no response...
"Come out, you stupid old hag!" Reimu shouted.
But once again, she gets no response from the Border Gap Youkai...
"I guess she's still sleeping..." Alice stated.
"Ugh, of all times to slack-off..." Reimu said while scratching her head in frustation. "Well, I guess I have no choice but to do it myself..."
But then, Steve suddenly heard a static noise. He looked around for the source of the static noise.
"Hmm? Is something the matter?" Reimu asked Steve.
Soon, these static noise cleared out and he began to hear a familiar voice in the communicator.
"Cap, can you hear me?" a voice called out on the other side.
"Sam, is that you?" Steve asked.
"Cap! Are you alright?" Sam asked on the other side.
"Yeah, I'm fine." responded Steve. "What about you and Nat?"
"We're fine here too, Steve." Natasha responded from the other side.
"Good. Are you two still in Japan?" asked Steve.
"I don't know, Cap. Seems like we ended up in front of a mansion or something..." answered Sam.
"Mansion?" said Steve.
"Yeah. A mansion out of nowhere, it seems..." answered Natasha.
"And I can already tell that we're not in Japan anymore..." added Sam.
But then, he realized something...and decides to tell the girls about the mansion.
"Hold that thought, Sam!" said Steve before turning his attention to both Reimu and Alice. "Do you girls know any mansion around here in Gensokyo?"
"A mansion? The only mansion around here that I know of is the Scarlet Devil Mansion." answered Reimu.
"You think your friends are in there?" asked Alice to Steve.
"That's what they said." answered Steve.
"So, you're not the only one who ended up here..." said Reimu.
"Apparently so." Alice nodded.
"Well, looks like we're gonna have to find your friends first..." suggested Reimu. "If they're in the Scarlet Devil Mansion, then they might be in trouble."
"What do you mean?" Steve asked.
"You see, the owner of the Scarlet Devil Mansion are quite hostile against humans, especially to those who tried to enter the mansion." Reimu explained.
"I see..." muttered Steve.
"You don't have to worry, though. As long as they don't enter the mansion on their own, they'll be fine." Reimu reassured him.
Steve nods and contacts them again.
"Sam! Whatever you do, do not enter the mansion!" Steve ordered. "They're quite hostile against intruders!"
"Got it, Cap." responded Sam.
"Just stay wherever you are. We're gonna come over there and pick you up!" said Steve.
"Wait, you mean you're somewhere around here?" asked Natasha.
"Yeah, but I'll explain once we get over there." answered Steve.
"Alright, we'll be waiting for you, Cap." said Sam before the conversation ended.
"I guess that means we're gonna go to the Scarlet Devil Mansion." said Alice.
"Alright, let's go then!" Reimu said.
"Well, back to the stairs again..." said Steve.
"Just try and keep up, old man." said Reimu before she and Alice began flying off towards the bottom of the stairwell.
And with that, Reimu, Alice and Steve decides to go to the Scarlet Devil Mansion in order to find and rescue both Falcon and Black Widow.
A/N: And that's Chapter 2. Hope you enjoyed it.
When I wrote this chapter, I was thinking about what Tony Stark did during his trip to India in Spider-Man Homecoming, so I decided to add that little scene here.
Also, can you spot an Avengers: Endgame reference in this chapter?
