Morioka, Iwate, Japan
It had taken longer than they expected to get to their destination. But Maribel and Renko were closing in on the old shrine that they had read about. For now, they were taking a small break in the capital city of the Iwate prefecture. Renko had picked up a copy of the day's paper, this one with the headline of "Battle at the UN: Gensokyo stands fast against international community". What really surprised the pair was the picture under the headline. It was of a woman that looked like an older version of Maribel with a parasol. Behind her a woman with fox tails stood stoically.
The news article described how the newcomers had somehow made their way into the main meeting room and confronted the UN General Assembly. But the newspaper had somehow managed to get a transcript of the entire incident, in which the woman had delivered an embarrassing rebuke to the American ambassador over an alleged invasion and assassination attempt. With that, the United States had demanded an apology but had not received a response. Political experts had predicted that the US was going to pursue embargos but had no idea what they how would. None of the pundits had any idea about what Gensokyo exported or imported. But the rumors were running wild.
Renko was trying to figure out the big picture based on the newspapers while Maribel was trying to figure out the meaning behind all of the recent dreams that she had been having. They were of various environments, but she knew that they were somewhere in Gensokyo. There were some of mountains, of plains, of a village, and of what looked like the moon's surface. The unsettling thing was that she could hear the sounds of machines in the background, something that she had never heard before. She had also seen dozens of what looked like bullet casings everywhere. The only explanation that Maribel could think of was that Gensokyo was preparing for a war. And the atmosphere of the outside world would not let them back down.
They both jumped when they heard the loud sound of a group of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters fly over them. They bore the markings of the US Army and were flying low over the forest near the city. The residents of the city were busy staring at them, giving Maribel and Renko the impression that this did not happen every day. Behind them a fair distance away were a flight of AH-64 Apache attack helicopters. All of the helicopters were flying deeper into the mountain, towards the shrine. The pair began to hurry and finish their lunch, a pair of sandwiches from a local shop. Once they were done, Renko pulled out a map of the surrounding area. The shrine was northwest of them, deep in the mountains and at the top of a long set of stairs.
"This is starting to get serious, Mary. If the entire international community goes against Gensokyo, it's not going to be pretty. And we still don't know much about it either. Are you still sure about going there?"
Maribel nodded. "There's a reason why I keep having those dreams. And I'm starting to warm up to them. I want to be able to visit and get to know Gensokyo, so that means that I have to protect it until I get the chance."
"We won't be able to do much if a war breaks out. Remember that we have no military experience."
"I still want to go. My family has had the ability to see Gensokyo for generations and I want to know why it's been pulling me lately. I know that I'm going but it would mean a lot to me if you would come too."
"Why do you still think I'm here? You know as well as I do that I'm always going to be right next to you. Don't ever doubt that."
Kirisame Magic Shop, Forest of Magic, Gensokyo
For once, Marisa was cleaning up the massive mess that she called home. On the nightstand, her dual revolvers had a bright sheen, a result of the witch's through cleaning. For most of the morning, she had been moving the books that she "borrowed" from Patchouli and Alice into separate piles. Then she noticed a very old one. The fact that it was old didn't catch her attention. It was that it looked familiar. She opens it and freezes.
Inside the book wasn't the list of spells or potion ingredients that she expected. It had pictures of a family. The family was made up of a mother, a father, and a little girl. The little girl had blonde hair and bright golden eyes. Marisa was so shaken that she didn't notice Alice had walked in. The puppeteer could tell that Marisa had stumbled across something that affected her.
Marisa had a storm of emotions that raged inside her as she stared at the pictures. Then something fell out of the book. The magician picked it up and saw that it was a medallion. It had the mini-hakkero etched on it, along with a book and a rose. She could feel a strong amount of power coming from it. There was a little hole on the top of it, perfect for a necklace. Alice sees it but still stays silent.
"Alice, why are you here?" Marisa speaks first to get her mind off the pictures. "You're never around these parts."
"Nitori had wanted me to stop by and give you this," She hands her a cell phone. "This is one of the things that Yukari wants everyone to have on them. All of our numbers are already in it. Marisa, do you want to talk about it?"
The witch shook her head and put the coin away in her pocket. She resolved to take it to Rinnosuke when she had a chance and to write a letter. Seeing how it had the mini-hakkero on it, Marisa knew that it had something to do with her. And who better to ask then the person that knew her the longest?
"Alice, why don't you go get yourself something from the kitchen? I'm sure that you haven't eaten yet." Marisa flinched inside at how out of character she sounded. Alice hesitated but went into find something anyway. The witch took the chance to quickly scan the photo album and take out a picture. She looks at it for a moment, then folds it and puts it under her hat. Wiping a tear from her eye, she joins Alice in making lunch.
