False Advents (Chapter 5: Information):
"So, you're telling me that this kid has absolutely nothing to do with you, Yukari?" Reimu asked.
"That is indeed correct." Yukari confirmed. "Mine is still…"
She conjured a gap about the size of her palm and peered into it.
"Hm. He's still on the fifteenth page of the first guidebook."
Reimu scratched her head, "As convincing as you may seem, I still find it difficult to trust you on that…"
While Eirin was busy injecting more medical serum into Reol's limbs, he was listening into the various conversations that the six of them were having. So far, he's learned about two undeniable facts regarding this fantasy land they call Gensokyo.
The first being that idiots end up dying, and the second being that you should keep a low profile.
He honestly wished he knew that before lighting up the sky like a midday sun.
Reol listened as Reimu and Yukari continued to speak and argue about incidents and something regarding irresponsible children. The maid and the vampire were talking about their own agenda while the other blonde haired lady was tending to her dolls. The only person willing to strike a conversation with him was Marisa, which he found rather ironic, given much she wanted him dead. The two of them were talking about his encounter with Rumia.
"So you survived through sheer dumb luck?"
"Yep." He nodded, "Either she didn't know that her left was my right, or she simply didn't know where the heart was located."
She burst out laughing. "That is pretty stupid. Either way, congrats! That makes you one of the first outsiders who successfully fended off Rumia."
"So what about the other… Gappies, as you called them?" He inquired.
"Oh, them. Most of 'em either just die. Others end up having their sorry hide saved by a bystander. You wouldn't believe how many tried to physically attack a youkai despite having access to a guidebook"
"Is that so…"
"There are a few exceptions here and there, 'specially those who're more physical than they are spiritual. Beast type youkai, if you will; although they'll undoubtingly regenerate after a long enough period, and even if they do "die" they just reappear elsewhere."
"So in short, she's still out there somewhere?"
"Mhm. Oh yeah…" Marisa mentioned, "You never told us what your ability was, right?"
That question caught the attention of everyone within the room, including Eirin. All of them were quietly waiting for a response.
"Well," he explained, "I'd like to pass it off as firing lasers and such, but that's clearly not what it is, given all of these Lichtenberg scars."
"So… what is it?" Reimu asked while resisting the urge to question what a Lichtenberg scar was.
"Eirin, is it alright if I remove the bandages on my arms?"
"Considering it's you, those wounds should have healed long ago." She reached for a pair of suture scissors. "I'll help you with that."
With high speed and precision, she swiftly severed the bandages encasing his limbs, revealing a pair of surprising unblemished arms. Even the bite marks that Rumia left had faded away significantly.
"Just out of curiosity," he asked while checking both arms, "How long was I unconscious for."
"Four hours total." Eirin approximated, "Two when Mokou found you, and two when during your most recent accident."
"Twice in four hours. That's not normal is it?"
"Oh, forget about that." Marisa blurted out impatiently, "Show us what you can do already!"
"Well, what you witnessed earlier was this, but toned up"
He directed a stream of energy into the center of his right palm, shaping itself into a small orb that grew brighter by the second. He then cut off the stream of energy and fired it at an empty space. Unlike the beams he had fired earlier, this attack was but a pulse of white energy that lasted only a split second, with a maximum diameter of only six inches and a length of a meter. Most of the girls looked rather uninterested.
"That's… kind of lacking." Reimu admittedly said. "That flower youkai can fire those as naturally as she breathes."
"Eh, I suppose..." Marisa shrugged, "Hey Reol, what didja use to tone the attack up?"
He cocked his head, "I just fired it as is."
"Wait, you mean you fired that with your hands? You're kidding, that shouldn't be possible!"
"That's just how I did it though."
"Ah, never mind. Alice, mind explaining to this kid?"
The other blonde haired girl stopped tending to her dolls and looked up.
"Us mages can cast simple spells with ease," she explained, "But for higher scaled magic, we require the usage of a medium. For me, it would be my dolls, and for Marisa, the mini-hakkero she's currently holding."
"I see. Then my catalyst should be my own body, shouldn't it?"
Marisa shook her head. "You don't understand, do you? My hakkero's jam-packed with magic-infused fuel, and even then she can only fire so much before I have to reload or she starts smokin'. In all seriousness, there shouldn't be anything left of ya."
"Well, firing it does take a toll on me…" He admittedly said.
"It seems you humans are the ones who don't understand."
Marisa turned to face the vampire who, along with the maid, had been silent this entire time. "Enlighten me then, bloodsucker."
She interlaced her hands and rested her chin on them, "This boy isn't human."
"That does make sense now that you mention it. So is he supposed to be a youkai?"
"I don't believe so." She turned to face Reol, "Are you, boy?"
"...I don't know nor remember."
"Well if he does happen to be one…" Reimu pulled out a set of paper talismans, "I can simply exterminate him."
Between her exorcist's wand and various talismans, he found it safe to assume that "extermination" was a term which roughly translated to "leave nothing of the victim"; something that he certainly did not want to be on the receiving end of.
"Alright, so before, you said that your ability wasn't firing lasers." Marisa mentioned, "What is it then?"
"Well… Anyone have an item they can lend me for a second?"
"Sakuya." The vampire said.
The maid standing next to pulled a knife, seemingly out of nowhere, and handed it to Reol. After inspecting it for a few seconds, he handed the knife back.
"Now if this works…"
He directed a stream of energy into his right palm and formed a mental image of the knife, like he did when he pictured plasma forming within the compressed sphere. He first pictured the blade, then added extra details as he went along, including its size, weight, hilt color, and material. A few seconds later, a replica of the knife that Sakuya had handed to him earlier appeared in his hand. Most of the onlookers were now staring with interest.
"A creation type, huh? Haven't seen one of these. What about you Reimu?"
She shook her head, "Nope. Although it does paint him as a potential threat. How long have you had this?"
"I only just found out, but something tells me I've had this innately. Here, you can keep this."
He chucked the replicated knife towards Sakuya, who caught it with two fingers.
"Much appreciated."
"Any recollection of your past?" Reimu questioned.
"Incoherent fragments. My first was when I woke up in the forest."
"That so? Alright, nothing to worry about then." She slipped the paper talismans into her outfit, "Now I know you have a few questions you want answered, so if you have any, please do so."
"Why do you keep those talismans there?" He blurted out of curiosity.
"Oh I can tell you if you wish for me to do so, my dear." Yukari piped in.
"Shut it, you peeping Tom!" Reimu's face was beginning to turn a shade of red. "Now start asking proper questions before I change my mind!"
"Hmm… Tell me a little more about this place. I'll fill in the gaps myself."
She took a deep breath and exhaled, "Okay, so as you can likely already tell through context, this land is known as Gensokyo. It's a location cut off from the outside world by a barrier managed by Gap Hag over there."
"How rude of you. I'll have you know that I'm seventeen."
"You were seventeen," Reimu corrected, "And over a millenia ago at that."
"So how old are you?" He asked.
"According to ZUN, sixteen."
"ZUN?"
"The omnipotent one. He's…"
She glanced over at Yukari and noticed that she was now giving her a strange look, and immediately abandoned the topic.
"Anyway, back to history. The creation of Gensokyo dates back to some centuries ago, although it may only have been decades in the outside world…"
Reimu went on to give a detailed explanation about the full history of Gensokyo, the events which unfolded, the various locations and their inhabitants, along with a few shameless plugs involving her shrine somewhere in the east. By the time thirty minutes had gone by, the majority of the bystanders were struggling to keep themselves awake. Marisa was snoozing away on one of the hospital beds while the puppeteer, Alice, began tending to half a dozen dolls she pulled out of seemingly nowhere. The vampire, who Reimu mentioned was Remilia, was now leaning on her maid Sakuya, who seemed to be enjoying the situation, and Eirin had left long ago after another rabbit-eared girl wearing a black business suit and a pair of beige skirts came to fetch her. Yukari was keeping herself occupied by peering through a palm sized gap she made. Even Reimu herself didn't seem very eager to continue the explanation.
The only person who was actually listening and showing mild amounts of interest was Reol.
"So instead of "beating each other into piles of unrecognizable flesh", disputes are settled through a system called spell card duels?"
"That is correct." She confirmed, "Although it doesn't apply to outsiders and most individuals who attack you out of the blue, and even then, only non-lethal attacks are used."
"To level the playing field I assume? Sounds fair enough... Hold on, what about my run in with Rumia?"
"Ah, her. Unless you specifically requested a spell card duel, youkai like her will simply just attack you on the spot."
"Okay, I see..."
"Yes. The spell card dueling rules, however, does not apply to those who have gained so much power that they're considered a threat. At that point, the individual is to be exterminated immediately. No exceptions."
"Just out of curiosity," he asked, "How many individuals have reached that point?"
"Too many to note. One of the more recent individuals grew paranoid over the fact that he might die due to a lack of power and met his end to an arguably manic celestial." She sighed and averted her gaze, "I don't think we've even fully recovered from the collateral damage he caused yet."
"So in other words, stay out of trouble."
"Yes. Don't take this personally, but I do not trust you, and the others likely won't either; not after the incidents which occurred. Eirin's lenient only because you're unassociated with Yukari. My word of advice: don't fall to your vices. I'd hate to have to exterminate another one of you." She then turned to the others who were present. "I'm done here. You can all wake up now."
"Wuh..?" Marisa sat up and rubbed her eyes, "Oh... it's finally over?"
"Lady Remilia, wake up."
Sakuya gently tapped the sleeping vampire's shoulder a few times before her eyes shot open.
"Took you long enough, shrine maiden."
"They have a few words to say to you too." Reimu stood up and began walking towards the infirmary's entrance, "If you have any more questions, I'll be at the Hakurei Shrine. Oh, and I'm not answering any without donations."
With that, she walked out of the infirmary and down the long corridor of Eientei.
"Reimu! Wait up!." Marisa picked up her broom and rushed over to the entrance. Just before she exited the infirmary, she turned to face him, "Reol, was it? Swing by my place later, I'll tell you why when you get there. See ya!"
She immediately hopped onto her broom and took off afterwards, leaving Reol with Sakuya, Remilia, and Yukari.
"I suppose I'll go next." Remilia crossed her one leg over the other and interlaced her hands, "Do you understand how much trouble you caused me and my attendants, boy?"
Reol didn't quite know how to answer. Despite her childlike appearance, she struck him as "strangely charismatic".
"Uhm… my apologies, miss." was all he could manage after thirty awkward seconds of silence.
"That will not do." The vampire said while shaking her head, "See me at my mansion no later than today. There will be consequences if you arrive late, and more so if you bring the kleptomaniac with you. Sakuya, hand me my parasol. We'll leave at once."
"Understood, Lady Remilia."
The maid posed for a short second, then procured an umbrella seemingly out of nowhere and handed it over to her mistress. The two of them got up and, like everyone else he had met, flew down the corridor. This left Reol with the single most ominous, and equally dangerous individual he's met by far.
"So, my dear, anything you might request of me?"
He thought about it for a while and answered, "You mentioned something about guidebooks earlier, yes?"
"I figured you'll ask." She snapped her fingers and a gap materialized in front of Reol, dropping three moderately sized books and a pile of coins on his lap.
"What's with the coins?"
She tapped the tip of her paper fan against her chin, "Think of it as an investment. I'll be looking forward to your show."
Before he could ask Yukari anything else, she formed a gap beneath her and quickly transported herself elsewhere. Seconds later, he once again felt himself being stalked.
"Seems like privacy wasn't an option here."
He got off the bed and tore away the remainder of the still red bandages and tossed them into a nearby garbage bin. Upon tearing off the bandages, he realized two things; the first being that with the exception of some stiffness, all of his wounds were now healed, and the second being that he wasn't wearing much of anything except for a pair of boxers which were likely his.
Using his ability, he swiftly conjured a pair of black shorts along with a teal t-shirt, a pair of socks, and a pair of black sneakers, the very same outfit that he had found himself wearing, and quickly tossed them on. While doing so, he couldn't help but ask himself the same question he has been holding back this entire time.
"Why… does all of this seem so familiar…?"
There came no response, not that he expected one anyway.
Just as he tugged on his last shoe, Eirin came into the infirmary carrying half a dozen syringes and what he recognized to be his katana.
"Ah, you're already up and moving." She placed the katana on the counter and walked over to him, "Are there any more problems with your body?"
He patted himself down and shook his head, "Other than stiffness, not much."
"Alright, hold still while I give you your last few shots. It might hurt a little."
She began to inject each syringe one by one; with one on each limb and two in the torso. The substances injected only stung momentarily, but he did notice that something changed.
"What was in those?" He asked.
"Just something to help your body attune to Gensokyo's atmosphere."
"Figures. Any side effects?"
"Other than the initial pain you feel, nothing else." She reassured him.
"Is that so. Thanks for saving me." He handed her a few dozen of those coins Yukari gave him. "Should this suffice?"
"It's enough…" She placed the coins into one of her many pockets, "Where did you get this though? An outsider such as you shouldn't possess any Mon coins."
He pointed towards the pile of coins lying next to the three guidebooks, "Yukari handed those to me under the pretext of an investment."
"I see…" She sighed, then leaned close to his left ear.
"Reol. You can't trust Yukari too much." She whispered, "Take my word for it if you know what's good for you."
Reol simply nodded. Long since he's faced her, Yukari had always struck him as an unusually shady individual, and Eirin's advice had served as confirmation.
She tossed the empty syringes into a separate garbage bin and handed him his katana, along with a bag which he placed his coins and guidebooks in.
"You're all good to go now. Be careful from here on out, got it?"
"Yes. Thanks again."
The two of them walked out of the infirmary, down the corridor, and into the courtyard, where Kaguya and Mokou seemed to be arguing over the situation involving her being tied up.
"Mokou, do you have time on your hands?" Eirin asked.
"Of course, I've an eternity's worth anyway. Got something to kill my boredom?"
"Escort Reol out of the forest."
"Might as well." She got up and began walking towards the exit. "You coming kid?"
"Yeah, just give me a moment."
Reol walked over to the damaged portion of the fencing and placed left hand on it. Seconds later, the hole within the fence began to slowly repair on its own. In about thirty seconds, the fence had been repaired.
He flexed his wrists and walked back to Mokou. "Alright, we can get going now."
"How did you manage that?" Eirin asked.
"Well, I just kind of visualized the fence regrowing itself. It still take a toll on me though."
"That's… interesting. Alright, you can get going now"
"Okay. Thanks again, Eirin."
"You're welcome. Feel free to come back if you want to buy prescriptions."
"I'll keep that in mind." He turned to Mokou. "Let's get going now."
Reol followed Mokou's lead as they walked out of Eientei and into the bamboo forest.
"Mokou, can we stop for a second?" He asked after they entered the forest.
"What is it?"
"...Thanks."
He stepped up to Mokou and gave her a hug, who was taken by surprise, but reciprocated seconds later.
"Finally acting your age huh, kid?" She sighed as she patted him on the head. "You remind me of those Human Village children."
He pulled himself away from her. "How old do you think I am?"
She shrugged, "Twelve?"
"...Fair enough. Let's continue."
"Do you know where you're going though?" She questioned.
"I think Marisa's place. She did mention wanting to see me."
"Alright, follow me." She pointed towards a thicket of bamboo to her right. "We'll take a shortcut."
Author's Note: Yes, I do intend on breaking the fourth wall every now and then, and yes, the references will keep coming. Also had to go an edit in a few things here and there to fill in whatever that could potentially be considered plot holes (ie. why Rumia didn't play by the spell card rules).