Welcome back, brave souls. Surprised, I managed to grab some people's attention with the last chapter. Well, anyway, I am going to state that I am going to try to keep as cohesive of a story as possible. Some deviations from canon may happen, but in general, I will try to stay true to the original stories. Also, while I try to assume that you guys have a decent knowledge of both series, I will be explaining a bit of lore in chapters mostly related to Touhou. There are parts that a small group knows all about due to the story being very separate from the games. By the way, please tell me if I am detracting from the personalities of characters; I try to make each one seems competent and try not to lean on their tropes heavily, but that can sometimes lead to OOC. Anyway, let's get on with the story.
Chapter: 2
The Keeper of Obscure Fortunes
For Reimu, flight is freedom. Blistering winds blasting past her skin, and the feeling of sheer adrenaline that came with it always tingled a part of her nothing else really could. The only thing that topped the experience was that of a danmaku battle. Although those experiences mostly ended in the extermination of some creature yokai or not. Few survived such battles, like Marisa, the companion flying before her on a simple brown broom.
Reimu and Marisa had both gotten the attention of each other from their first encounter. To both of them, each never really acted the way they expected. The fascination was perhaps the wing beat that lead to Reimu deciding to create a new form of battle. One that wouldn't result in bloodshed, a system that would resolve each conflict without death. Though the system was still a work in progress for Reimu since no individual had yet to use the rules.
"Ya know having your eyes closed like that will probably end in a face full of tree bark ze~." The quip Marisa made broke Reimu out of her stupor just in time to see a building in the distance.
"So, would you distracting me. So, is that the place?" Questioned the Miko staring at the homely building as they both descended.
"That would be it. I have known this guy since forever, so he should probably help out. You still got that paper, right?"
"It's right here," Reimu stated, pulling the slip out of the bind on her arm sleeve. Recognizing the artifact, Marisa nodded toward the building and stepped toward it to ascend its steps into the wooden home.
"Yo, Kourin, are ya home?" Shouted Marisa as they entered the building to see a young man donning glasses. He wore a black and blue kimono with black drapes towards the bottom, revealing loose blue pants. He turned his silver eyes to Marisa, expressing a mild annoyance in his stare.
"Where else would I be; I have a business to run."
"Can't be much of one considering you are getting more items than money ze~." Marisa shot back as she hinted towards the plethora of items in the 'store.' Each ranged from mundane, to rare, and even to curiosities. The interior seemed to be a cross between a home and a business as items seemed orderly in some places and a little chaotic in other areas. The layout emphasized certain things (mainly the mundane) and hid the more fantastical objects behind them.
"(sigh) When will you understand that those are the items that have value to me more than just monetary? Besides, I doubt you popped in just to greet me since you brought company." Stated the shopkeeper pointing to Reimu, who had been staring off at the fascinating collection.
"Man, can you people not be so serious all the time? I like being able to just talk to friends sometimes too, ya know. You always want to get to the point way too fast to actually enjoy a conversation." The magician donned a downtrodden expression as she made her point but suddenly perked back up as she remembered her original intent.
"Ya would be right about it not being a simple visit, though."
"Yes? Well, I assume that is what she is here for."
"My name is Hakurei Reimu. Thank you very much."
"Morichika Rinnosuke." Replied Rinnosuke as he held out his hand to the shrine maiden that begrudgingly accepted.
"So, would you like to explain why you are here, or are we just going to wait for daylight to run dry?"
"Well, Mr. Rinnosuke Marisa found something that could very well be a danger to the Hakurei Barrier," Reimu stated as she turned the parchment over to the shopkeeper. As she handed the paper over, Rinnosuke suddenly found himself engrossed in fascination with the article.
"First things first, this paper is magical in nature or at least has been touched by magic. The purpose being to breach dimensions to deliver messages across multiple planes. I wouldn't be surprised if there are more of these lying around somewhere." Rinnosuke continued to pore over the paper, seemingly not aware that it held any words at all.
"How in the world does a simple piece of paper just throw itself into Gensokyo from another dimension like that?" Pondered Reimu confused even more by the slip.
"I can only tell you what it does, not how. Heck, Marisa would probably have an easier time figuring out how it worked with her field of expertise." Rinnosuke mentioned as both him and Reimu turned to the magician seeking answers.
"Hey, I just got it from some random lady; I have no idea what that thing is all about." Marisa defended as she waved her hands in front of her.
"I can tell you didn't make it this paper is not made in Gensokyo; it feels like something from the outside world. It is in a good abundance out there as the parchment was made to be both practical and easily produced." The shopkeeper mused as he put a hand to his chin, expressing a deep search in his memory for the knowledge.
"Oh yeah, you lived in the outside world for a while, didn't you?" Marisa added in as Rinnosuke was broken from his train of thought.
"Yes, I did for years before I decided to move to Gensokyo. Now that you mention it, I vaguely remember before I left a Yokai Academy being announced. I haven't an idea as to what it was other than an educational institution made for Yokai. There is no telling as to what has become of it since then."
"What does this all have to do with the Hakurei Barrier? Nothing from the outside should even know about it much less find a way to enter." Reimu stated as she started to get anxious at the lack of answers to the actual problem.
"Actually, I don't imagen that this was as intentional as you are implying. I mentioned earlier that this paper was easy to make in large quantities; likely, this single paper was thrown out across a multitude of dimensions to advertise the academy." Rinnosuke stated as he started to form an idea around the mystery in front of them.
"Why would someone do that? If this paper is from the outside world, then wouldn't it make more sense just to advertise out there?" Reimu questioned.
"Normally, you would be correct, but that would assume all Yokai existed in just the outside world. When Gensokyo became a separate realm, other Yokai took notice and decided to attempt such a feat for themselves. Although they never really separated themselves as well as we did. Each species of Yokai eventually managed to find a way to create their own realm. Each would be accessible from the outside world if one knew what to look for; otherwise, they are separate from the main world." Rinnosuke lectured as he started to put together the few pieces of the past still in his memory.
"So, what makes Gensokyo different?" Reimu question as one of her problems had finally reached its end.
"The Great Hakurei Barrier." Rinnosuke finished.
"Hey, so what we just forget about this slip of paper and go on with our lives? Come on. There is a whole load of stuff still left out there to explore with this." Marisa chimed in, getting fed up with the back and forth between her two friends.
"I never said that. What we should do is find out what this Yokai Academy is about and why they were able to find a way, albeit most likely unintentional through the barrier. If you want my advice go to the Hakurei Shrine; that is where the edge of Gensokyo truly lies. It is also the only place where you could possibly find any way out of Gensokyo." Rinnosuke Stated firmly as he handed the paper to Marisa. The girl eagerly snatched the paper out of his hands as she stared out it in newfound wonder. Reimu, although more composed, was just as, if not more excited about the potential adventure in front of the two. Eagerly the two took off from the shop as they went back to the shrine.
Cut Action
Whew, I had to write a few circles around myself to make this flow as best as I could. I can't wait to get into writing the action, as that is probably my most enjoyable part of the process. Anyway, I hope I added a little to the story without just feeling like an info dump that quickly got boring. I do have to ask since I am not sure about it, what do you guys think about having Tsukune in the story. I am not too sure about it, but I could find a way to make it work well. I hope to hear some good feedback from you guys.