I apologise in advance for any spelling or grammatical errors
Somewhere within the boundary of Gensokyo, Yukari Yakumo, the Youkai of Boundaries, lived within a house separate from the rest of Gensokyo. Her hand flipped the newspaper from the outside world she had taken using her boundary manipulation ability, as she read about what had been happening outside of Gensokyo. She stopped flipping the pages, as a news headline caught her eye.
"Ah," she said, looking through the article. Her Shikigami, Ran Yakumo, looked over as Yukari read the article.
"What is it, master?" Ran asked, as her interest seemed peaked as well. It was unusual for Yukari to act this way about the proceedings of the outside world, after all. She would usual flip through the pages, not finding anything of interest as she only looked at the headlines.
"The humans began an expedition to Mars," Yukari said, looking up from her paper. "They attached incredibly long range, powerful signals to make sure they reached it, however, a few minutes after their arrival the signals went dark. They know it wasn't a fault, the signals worked perfectly when they arrived. They fear it has something to do with life-forms on Mars."
"This sounds familiar to the moon incident," Ran said, sitting down. "The humans went to the moon, and their attempts to claim it as their own were sabotaged by the Lunarians. To think they would go as far as an entirely different planet after such a defeat seems not to make sense."
"Ran," Yukari said, standing up. "I'm going to investigate Mars."
"What?" Ran asked, surprised by her statement. "B-but who knows what may be there? Martians have gone under the radar from both us and the outside world, they may be too powerful!"
Yukari shook her head. "I'm going," she said. "To see what I can find."
And with that, Yukari opened a gap between boundaries in front of her and stepped through, leaving Ran behind.
On the surface of Mars, Yukari stepped out of her gap filled with eyes and onto the red-tinted surface. The gap closed behind her, as she looked around at the barren landscape. There were a few craters scattered around, but as far as the eye could see there was nothing resembling a city or anywhere for life-forms to exist, for that matter. She turned head into outer space, looking at two crescent shaped objects, as one seemed to move slightly around the other.
"Hm…" Yukari said, looking around. "Based on when it said the humans left for Mars, their transport should be in this area. However, there is nothing. Perhaps the Martians took it," she added to herself, before catching something out of the corner of her eye. She walked over to what appeared to be a crater, seemingly smaller than all the other craters. "This would be where they landed. If it only took minutes for the Martians to find them, and based on this mark from when someone seemed to have jumped off a rocket…" she said, looking to the side of the crater where a small mark was present. She then created a gap and used it to move about two hundred meters away from where she was. "Hello!? Martians!? I'm here to question you about a few things!"
After she shouted out to gain some sort of attention, a girl, about up to Yukari's nose, appeared out from nowhere. She had long, lavender hair and the same coloured eyes.
"Human… how did you find this place?" she asked, approaching Yukari as her expression appeared to stay neutral.
"Ah, an invisible city. Just as I figured," Yukari smiled. "I found this place by my own accord. I come in peace, and I have some questions for your higher-ups. Unless, of course, you are a high ranking person on Mars, which would make my job a lot easier."
"I am not who you would be talking to," the Martian said, grabbing Yukari's wrist. "I am the Minister of Chemicals, Saiko Kurosawa. I believe you would want the Minister of Intelligence, Hiroko Amagai."
"Ah, I see," Yukari said, smiling again. "So, the invisible city of Mars operates upon ministries. That's some good information, thank you. However, could you please release my wrist?"
Saiko, to Yukari's surprise, released her wrist and walked away from her. She turned around after walking about twelve steps away from her, before turning around. "However, i'm afraid you can not meet with the Minister of Intelligence. You will be locked up, and I am afraid you will not be able to meet the outside again. This is merely a precaution against you humans."
"Oh, that's a shame," Yukari sighed, seemingly not affected by Saiko's words. "Here I am, a normal tourist and you must lock me away," She took her fan out with the same hand at which Saiko grabbed her wrist, and fanned herself with it, smiling. "Well, if you must. Take me to your cage."
Saiko narrowed her eyes, seemingly not paying too much attention to what Yukari was saying, as she raised her hand in a clicking formation. With a swift movement of her thumb, Yukari suddenly passed out on the ground, her fan and umbrella falling next to her. Saiko walked over to her, picking up both the umbrella and fan for herself. "Guards! Take her to the prison!" She shouted, as she walked back into the invisible city. Two guards walked out and picked up Yukari's body, taking her into the city.
Yukari woke up in a cell, as she stood up. "Hm…" She said, looking around. 'So, that Saiko was the Minister of Chemicals… when she touched my wrist she must have put some Chemical in the germs she passed onto me that would cause me to pass out. Interesting ability.' she thought to herself, smiling. 'Of course, that's just an assumption.' she shrugged, before looking around. The cell was small, and red bricks was the foundation of these cells. There was also a bed, which she didn't wake up on, as well as a small, barred window. 'So, all this was inside the city unseeable from the outside.' she thought to herself, as she pushed her arm out of the cell. "Go out, my cute little familiar." She whispered, as her familiar, Goki, flew out from beneath her sleeve.
Yukari sat down on a bed, looking out through the bars of her cell. There was a larger room outside, that she could not access. It appeared there was nobody else in the room, as there were no other cells. "Ah, appears i'm alone. Looks like i'm special," She joked to herself, as she sighed.
A few minutes later, the door to the larger room outside of her cell opened, as Saiko again walked through the door. "It appears Hiroko is interested in speaking to you. Come with me," She said, opening the cell as she narrowed her eyes at Yukari.
"Ah, brilliant," Yukari said, standing off her bed and walking out. "What did you say about me never meeting your Ministry of Intelligence?" She joked, walking behind Saiko out of the room. Saiko didn't answer, ignoring Yukari. "Talkative, aren't you? Where's my umbrella and fan, by the way?"
"I'm holding onto them both," Saiko said, not looking at Yukari. "I'm looking at their chemical compositions to see if there is anything wrong with them."
"Ah, yes, the Minister of Anxiety," Yukari whispered to herself, rolling her eyes.
"We're here," Saiko said, ignoring Yukari's words as she opened the door. "She waits for you," She said, walking away as Yukari stepped into the room.
The room was mostly made of a wood-like material than the red bricks of the other areas, creating a more calm atmosphere and a decent change of vision. There was a table in the center, with two chairs, one on the side of the door and the other on the opposite. There also appeared to be books laid upon the shelves around the room, almost like a small library. On the chair facing Yukari, a young looking girl was reading a book. As she laid it down, her short, light green hair and golden eyes were revealed, as the top of her dress was tied together with ribbons.
"Sit down, please," She said politely, gesturing to the chair across from her.
"Ah, thank you," Yukari said, taking the chair and sitting down. "I'm Yu-"
"Yukari Yakumo, Youkai of the Boundary. You have the ability to manipulate Boundaries, including the ability to use portals to make your way to many different places, which is how you made your way here. You serve as a sort of Guard Dog to a place named 'Gensokyo'," Hiroko said.
"Ah, it appears i'm famous even among Martians," Yukari said, surprised by Hiroko's knowledge. "And I assume you're Hiroko Amagai, the Minister of Intelligence."
"Correct," Hiroko said. "It appears we don't need to introduce ourselves. I would like to ask about this 'Gensokyo' place first. What is it?"
"A city," Yukari said simply, not going into much detail.
"We haven't found a place known as 'Gensokyo' yet. We have someone who can find different planets and places on those planets, yet Gensokyo seemed to have gone under her radar," Hiroko added, resting her head in her hands. "So, what is it?"
"Well, it's a city," Yukari said, still refusing to go into detail about the place. "What else is there to say?"
"I see," Hiroko said, sighing. "It appears you're going to be defiant. No matter, I have more questions to ask. You're planet has a moon also, correct? We found a city-like structure on that moon. Is there anything you'd like to say about that city?"
"Ah, the Lunar Capital?" Yukari asked. "I never really learnt too much about the people there. I have no comment about it."
"I see," Hiroko said, once again. "Why did you come here?"
"I found out about the humans coming here losing signal, so I wanted to investigate. Then a certain someone made me pass out and took me to a cell," Yukari explained, sighing.
"So, you came here by your own curiosity," Hiroko said, taking her head out of her hands.
"Now, my turn," Yukari smiled. "What's with this invisible city? And what do you plan to do with this city? And what's with the Ministries? And when do I get my umbrella and fan back?"
"Ah-ha," Hiroko said, smiling as her eyes closed. "May I remind you who the captive is here? I will not answer your questions, i'm afraid. Though, I still have one more to ask. We saw a crow around that we had never seen within the city before. Was that your doing?"
"No, I don't own a crow, yet alone would bring one here to Mars with me," Yukari said, sighing. "Though, I came here to learn about the Martians, and all I learnt was two of however many ministries and about an invisible city."
"Five ministries," Hiroko smiled. "And you should be rather proud of that. Many people do not find out anything of this planet before being captured. You, of course, can leave whenever you want with your ability. We do not have an ability to hinder that."
"Good to know," Yukari said, sighing. "So, my ability is why you're so adamant to answer my questions. Well, is that all you'd like to know about all this?"
"Well, I would have preferred to know about this Gensokyo place. I would also be interested in this crow that's flying around everywhere, but it is what it is. I apologise for any inconvenience with this questioning. I'll lead you back to your cell," Hiroko said, leading Yukari back to her cell.
Yukari sat down on her bed as Hiroko walked out of the larger room. Yukari stood up, standing near the window and bringing her arm out of the window, as Goki landed on her index finger. "Thank you, Goki. We may leave now," She said, as she opened a boundary beneath her, falling through.
She emerged once again within the Gensokyo boundary, standing next to Ran and alarming her as Goki disappeared. "Ah, master Yukari, you startled me," Ran said, placing a hand on her chest in an attempt to catch her breath quicked. Yukari smiled, turning her head to face Ran. "Did you enjoy your trip? You were gone for two days… I was beginning to get worried."
"Two days?" Yukari asked, surprised at how long she had been gone. "Was I asleep for that long?"
"It appears so," Ran said, nodding her head as she fully caught her breath again. "What did you learn about the Martians?"
"Well, less than I should have in two days. They live in an invisible city on Mars and that city is ran by five Ministries, two of them being the Ministry of Chemicals and Intelligence. The former gave me some sort of chemical through her germs which caused me to pass out for two days, whereas the latter seemed more to interview me about Gensokyo and the Lunar Capital mostly. I also managed to learn about the area inside the invisible city thanks to Goki. The city itself is not invisible, rather is has a border around the outside that causes it to appear as invisible," Yukari explained.
"I see," Ran said, holding her chin in her fingers. "We still have no idea about any plans. I fear that your capturing and appearance there may lead the Lunar Capital and Gensokyo, as well as the world, at risk from a Martian invasion."
"Come to think of it, they didn't know of Gensokyo at all before now, and Hiroko, the Minister of Intelligence, did seem intrigued by it. Though, I think we need not worry about that for now. It would have been nice to learn more about them, however," Yukari sighed.
"Perhaps you could find a way to sneak in once again," Ran said. "Perhaps steal some sort of book about the history of the Martian City and find out what they've done in the past. I still do not trust them to stay silent now, however, having found out about Gensokyo."
"Hiroko did seem a little weird," Yukari nodded, closing her eyes. "She introduced me by saying I am the 'Guard Dog of Gensokyo', but then expressed no knowledge that she knew Gensokyo existed at all. By that fact, I think she didn't know me before that interrogation, which is rather concerning, and interesting."
"Do you plan to return there?" Ran asked, tilting her head to one side, onto her shoulder.
"Not myself, no. Though, it would be helpful if we could find a way to send someone there in disguise and get some knowledge about the Martian City. Come to think of it, on my way to Hiroko I did spot some pets, such as cats, around the place that did resemble the cats from Gensokyo."
"D-do you mean to tell me you wish to send Chen there as a spy?" Ran asked, surprised by what Yukari said. "She's in no form to go out to the moon, yet alone Mars. I'm sorry but I must object to that idea."
"I don't seem to think the Satori Youkai in the underground would allow her cat to go, either," Yukari said, adding a sigh in at the end. "Chen is our best shot. All she'd need to do is find any history book. Besides, I have a good idea of where everything is thanks to Goki. I can make sure she stays safe, so long as she doesn't materialise into her regular, human-like form."
"Master, I-" Ran began, before stopping herself midway though her sentence. "I don't want Chen to be risking herself like that. It's too dangerous for me to let her go."
"I understand that," Yukari said, nodding. "However, I believe it necessary we have some sort of spy on Mars, and Chen is perfect for that role. All I want is a history book, and I have a good idea where one would be. I promise to allow her back after she has found it."
"Master…" Ran said, seemingly thinking as to what she should respond with. "I… alright. Though, i'm sending one of our crow familiars with her to keep an eye on her, from a distance of course."
"Acceptable," Yukari smiled, seemingly happy with the response she got. "Send Goki with her. The Martians have already seen him, it won't be exactly out of place than another crow appearing. Besides, someone there may have an ability to see the difference between different crows."
"That's an… oddly specific ability to count for," Ran sighed, looking down. "I hope Chen will be okay on this trip."
"She'll be fine, you worry too much," Yukari said, walking past her. "I'll be seeing the area through Goki's eyes, if I see her in trouble i'll open a gap back here to keep her safe."
"Understood, master," Ran said, still seeming a bit uneasy about allowing Chen to go to Mars with little knowledge of what the Martian's are truly like.
*Spell Card!* Character Insight!
Yukari Yakumo: The Youkai that lurks within the boundary. She has a rather lazy personality, often preferring to use her boundary powers to move around. She is also rather manipulative, shown when she made Ran Yakumo send Chen to Mars. She found out about the Martians from a newspaper from the outside world, and chose to investigate the area. She has the ability to manipulate boundaries, allowing her to do many things, including open portals to different areas and much more. She has a shikigami known as 'Ran Yakumo'.
Ran Yakumo: Yukari's shikigami and Chen's master. She usually tends to follow what Yukari says, though is worried about the safety of her shikigami when Yukari persuades her to send Chen to Mars. She has the ability to use shikigami to her advantage.
Chen 'Yakumo': Ran Yakumo's shikigami, Chen, can be rather mischievous at times. However, she is still loyal to her master, as well as her master's master, Yukari Yakumo. She was sent to Mars as a spy and to gather insight into the Martians due to her ability to use sorcery, namely being able to give herself the appearance of a normal cat.