Fantasy and Illusions

The first thing that Izuku noticed was that he was in the middle of the forest.

Well, not exactly. He was actually standing on a dirt road with tree after tree being the only scenery on both side of the road. So, it was too soon to decide that he was indeed in a forest.

In any case, his mind started to race as he begun to think about his situation, hand on his chin. He was pretty sure that he was walking towards home after witnessing several heroes arresting a villain that robbed a bank. As he trying to remember the event just minutes ago, the boy realized something.

There seemed to be a gap within his memory, between him walking home and arriving in this place. He couldn't help but starting to panic, wondering if his situation was caused by a villain. Some of them were known to commit crimes that were more harmless in comparison to others. He remembered hearing the news of a trio of villains that simply stole women's panties. Not an acceptable behavior, of course, but no one was hurt.

Izuku shook his head. This was not the time to think about that. At least, he should have focused more on getting back home. He didn't want to make his mother worried. Looking around for a while, he hesitated at first before deciding a path.

As he walked through the dirt road, Izuku noticed that something wasn't right. It took him a minute or two to realize what it was; it was quiet, too quiet in fact. There was no sound of the wind making tree branches move or birds chirping while flying around. He gulped, sweat started to form on his forehead.

Suddenly, he heard something moving through the bushes. He jumped a bit in surprise, wondering what it was that moved. The boy could see that it was slowly moving towards him. He clenched his hands, making fists, putting them at the height of his chest, his right foot in front of the left; it was one of poses that All Might made in a video of his feat. Despite his fear, Izuku was ready in case he had to defend himself.

When the one that moved through the bushes emerged, he relaxed and breath again, not noticing that he was holding it.

Emergin from the bushes was a young girl, somewhere between 10 – 14 years old; a pre-teen. She was wearing a black vest and skirt, and white blouse with a red tie bordered by two large red beads around her neck. On her short blond hair was what appeared to be a red ribbon. Her red eyes focused on the boy, showing curiosity.

"Hello there, mister." The girl greeted him before tilting her head. "You look lost."

"Um, yeah, I am..." Izuku replied as he scratched his head. "D-Do you know where we are..."

"I am Rumia." She introduced herself before straighten up her head back. "You don't know where we are, mister?"

"N-No. I suddenly find myself..."

"'Suddenly?'" For some reason, Rumia seemed to be very interested in that word. "You don't live in a village?"

"I don't. I live at Musutafu." He realized that there was something...strange regarding the girl in front of him.

"Is that so?" She slowly smiled. "Hey, mister. Can I ask a question?"

Izuku didn't reply. He had a really bad feeling about this. The way she looked at him, the way she smiled, there was definitely something wrong about her.

"May I eat you?"

Without waiting an answer, Rumia jumped towards the boy, mouth wide open. He immediately jumped to the side, causing the girl to missed her target and hit the tree. During the brief moment when he could see her mouth, Izuku saw that she had a set of sharper-than-normal teeth.

The green-haired boy watched as the girl fell towards the ground, rubbing her head in pain. Not even a minute passed and she already rose up. When she turned her head towards him, Izuku could see that she was mad, gritting her teeth at him.

"That was hurt, human." Rumia stated as she continued to glare at him.

Wasting no more time, Izuku decided to run away from the crazy girl.

"Is that so?" The girl commented as she started to float. "Well, nothing better to work up an appetite than hunting your own meal!"

While he knew that the time was not right and he should be focusing on escaping with his whole body intact, Izuku couldn't help but started to think about Rumia's quirk upon seeing her flew towards him.

"She could fly. Why does she stretch her arms, making a T-pose? Is it some sort of requirement or simply a style? Anyway, the way she flies, simply floating from the ground and then moving towards me. Is she using the air? No, there's no strong enough wind to indicate that. Gravity manipulation? That's a possible – wait, why is she surrounded by a sphere of darkness?!"

As if it wasn't confusing enough, the girl started to shoot a stream of energy balls. Fortunately, Izuku managed to avoid them. Unfortunately, Rumia didn't give up and shoot up some more.

"OK, OK, she could fly, cover herself with darkness, and shoot energy bullets! What kind of quirk that could do that? Think, think!"

"Mister, I am hungry! Just give up and let me eat you!" Rumia shouted towards him.

"No way! No way!" Izuku shouted back. "A girl like you shouldn't be a villain, especially at your age! I mean, it's not like becoming a villain at an older is any better, what I mean..."

"You talk too much!" She shot several bullets.

Alas, his luck has finally ran out. One of them hit him in the leg, causing the boy to stumble and fell to the ground. Despite the pain, he immediately crawled away from the girl that he knew was slowly approaching him.

"Finally..." Rumia said the word just like how one would react to a sizzling steak coated in barbeque sauce after not eating for a whole day.

"No, no way! Is...is this how I am going to die? Being eaten by a cannibalistic girl?" Izuku thought as he kept crawling away.

"Itadaki..."

"Love Sign, Master Spark!"

Suddenly, a ray of energy appeared from the sky and hit Rumia, sending the girl to the ground. It didn't stop there; the ray pushed her through the dirt road, creating a shallow trench. When the ray finally disappeared, the blonde girl ended up miles away from Izuku, who had turned around and watched in surprise.

"What...?"

"Hey, there. That's a close one, ain't it, ze?"

When he turned to look at the one who spoke to him, the boy saw someone wearing what could only be described as a witch outfit, especially the hat and broom; the latter which was used by her to fly. Her right hand was holding some kind of device, likely something that shoot out the ray of energy earlier. She was smiling at him; a mischievous one but nonetheless friendly.

"Um, yeah..." He scratched his head. "Ah, thanks for the help..."

"It's Marisa. Marisa Kirisame." The witch replied as she put the device into her pocket. "Considering she attacked you, you're not from around here, right?"

"I don't think so. What does that have...?"

"Ever heard of Gensokyo, ze?"

"N-No, I..."

"Yep, you're an outsider." Marisa turned around, her back facing him, and created a space on her broom before looking at him. "Come on, hop in. She's quite weak but can be quite persistent."

Despite being quite far, Izuku could her Rumia moaning in pain. Wasting not even a second, he immediately accepted Marisa's offer.

"Alright, hang on tight! This is going to be a wild ride, ze!"

As they gained altitude, the boy realized something as he hugged the witch from behind.

"Oh my gods, I am hugging a gggiiiiiirrrrrllllll!"

Marisa was right; it was a wild ride.

When they finally stopped flying and landed, Izuku finally knew why some people in the TV or manga kissed the ground after a not-exactly-smooth plane ride or flying in general. He didn't do it, of course, but he could understand it.

The boy looked around at the place where he and Marisa landed. It was a Shinto shrine, like the ones that he and his mother visited sometimes during New Year. The stairs, the torii, the building itself. Holding the broom in her right hand, the blonde walked towards the building, with the green-haired boy following behind.

"Reimu? Oy, Reimu! You're here?" Marisa asked aloud with her free hand on her mouth.

As she kept calling for "Reimu," probably someone that she knew that worked in the shrine, Izuku approached the building, a haiden, if he got the terminology correct. Upon seeing the donation box, he picked up his wallet and took two 500 yen coins. He tossed the coins to the box, creating a sound as they hit the inside of the box.

"Donation!"

The volume of the voice surprised both of them. It was followed by the sound of someone running. When Izuku turned his head to look, he saw a girl who was likely the shrine maiden. He was unsure due to her...unorthodox outfit.

Usually, a shrine maiden outfit was white for the upper part and lower part being a red hakama. The outfit that she wore, on the other hand, was almost entirely red with few parts – like the hem of her skirt – being white. On her head was a red ribbon with matching tubes on her sidelocks. The most eye-catching were the detached sleeves which expose her armpits.

"Marisa, who is the boy?" The brunette asked as she approached the witch.

"Him? He's..." It was at that moment that Marisa remembered that she didn't ask his name. "Hey, what's your name?"

"Eh?" The boy blinked at the sudden question. "I-It's Izuku. Izuku Midoriya."

"Yep. Izuku, he's an outsider, ze." The blonde turned her attention back to the shrine maiden. "Found him almost getting eaten by Rumia."

He was a bit surprised when Marisa referred to him by his given name. Then again, she did give out a vibe of someone not caring about politeness. The shrine maiden nodded her head before looking at him.

"First off, Izuku, you have my thanks for your generous donation." She told him with a smile. "I am Reimu Hakurei, the shrine maiden of Hakurei Shrine. Would you like a tea?"

"T-Thanks for the offer." He replied, once again surprised by how his given name was used.

"Jeez, give you a donation and you will act nice, ze." The witch stated. "You really are one greedy woman, aren't you?"

"Shut it, Marisa! Maybe if you act nicer, I will reply in kind as well."

"As if..."

As the two girls – likely friends from how they interact – walked towards the side of the building, Izuku couldn't help but wondered about his situation. Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame were clearly Japanese yet despite that, they didn't address him – a stranger – with his family name, something that was almost automatic for a Japanese to do due to being taught from childhood. Whether one was from the countryside or the metropolis, the lesson was the same.

"So, why did they act like that?"

Currently, the three of them were sitting on the platform of Reimu's house. He was kind of surprised that the shrine was also her home as well. After drinking a bit of her tea, the shrine maiden picked a rice cracker and took a big bite.

"So, Izuku..." Reimu spoke to him after swallowing the cracker. "...could you explain how you ended up here?"

"Um, well, I am not exactly sure myself." He replied while staring at his cup of green tea. "I was walking back home and then I was at the forest. Between the two events, there seems to be a gap of memory."

"A gap?" Marisa muttered before she and Reimu looked at each other. They then shook their heads. "Well, in any case, you managed to find yourself in Gensokyo, which I suppose for you an outsider a bad news, ze."

"Gensokyo? That's right, you mentioned it to me back then."

"Well, introduction is in order, I suppose." The shrine maiden declared. "Izuku, this place is known as Gensokyo, the Land of Fantasy."

As if on cue, there were voices of several people laughing. The trio looked upward and saw several girls with wings flew around while playing with each other.

"In case you're wondering, those are fairies, common sight here in Gensokyo, ze." Marisa said as she pointed at them.

"Eh, fairies? You mean like, in the fairy tales?" The boy asked with her nodding in response. "But, aren't they just, you know, have a quirk that's having a fairy-like wings?"

"You too?" Reimu commented before shaking her head. "Anyway, no, those are real fairies. And Rumia, the girl that tried to eat you, is not a human; she's a youkai."

"Y-Youkai?! B-But, youkai..."

"Is just a legend, myth without any backing? I understand your thought." She stared hard at him. "Answer me this, though; do you feel something not right with her?"

Izuku closed his mouth and started to remember about his encounter. He didn't remember anything strange about Rumia, apart from the part that she was a cannibal. However, when he recollected at the part where he was chased, he remembered how terrified he was. He remembered times when he felt fear because a villain would turn their attention towards him and other civilians rather than the heroes.

They were nothing compared to that.

"You may not realize it but when you look at Rumia, your mind know that she is a predator and that you are a prey." Reimu stated. "Your primal fear, your survival instinct, kicked in. The moment she chased you is the moment you know your place in the food chain."

Izuku gulped after she finished her sentence. Cold sweat formed on his forehead. Despite looking somewhat calm, the fact that the green tea inside the cup that he held was rippling showed that he was trembling due to the statement.

"Don't you think that's a bit harsh, Reimu?" Marisa commented as she ate a cracker. "The Outside World is different compared to our home. He's a fish out of water."

"The faster he knows the danger he's in, the better." The shrine maiden retorted. "Last thing we need is him ended up being seasoned with soy sauce."

"So, youkai, fairy, things from the myth..." Izuku spoke up. "They are real?"

"Indeed. You and other outsiders believe that they are not real and the creation of Gensokyo is related."

The brunette put down her cup and adopted a more serious expression.

"A long time ago, the world was not as safe as it is today. There were many threats that surrounded mankind. Being full of curiosity, our ancestors wondered about things beyond their grasp. Why did this person disappear during the night? What creature that kill and eat that person? And thus, youkai – manifestation of fear of unknown – was born."

"It's not only youkai, you know." Marisa joined in. "The same reason for the birth of youkai is also the reason for the existence of the gods. Only, replace fear with faith. Get it, ze?"

"Quiet! I am talking to him!" Reimu chided her friend. "Where was I? Ah, yes. It was the fear of unknow that give birth to the youkai. However, as humans become more fearless and start to create scientific reasons to explain phenomena, youkai found themselves unable to survive in the new world."

She stopped talking for a while and drank her tea to wet her throat. Izuku, unable to contain his curiosity, had started to deduce the rest.

"If youkai was born from fear and unknown, then that means the loss of fear and unknown will resulted in their demise. There are many stories of real historical figures existed along with creatures of legend, like how Minamoto no Yoshitune is a student of a tengu. The closer the historical event to the present, the less likely for a youkai to make an appearance. If youkai indeed exist, and need fear to survive, then that means..."

His rant was interrupted by Reimu, who cleared her throat. Izuku turned his attention to her, who was staring at him with a bemused expression and also looked irritated. Under her gaze, he couldn't help but squirm, resulting in Marisa laughing at his misfortune.

"Well, since it seems that you already figure it out yourself..." The shrine maiden folded her arms and closing her eyes.

"Ah, I am sorry! I-I don't mean any disrespect! I-It's just that, w-when I start d-deducing, I find it hard to...!"

"Fine, fine." She opened her eyes while waving her hand. "It was thanks to the changes that occurred that several banded together to create the Great Hakurei Barrier, which separated Gensokyo from the rest of the world, which we called the Outside World. Thus, our home was created; a sanctuary for those that no longer have a place in the outside."

It was quite unfortunate that Izuku had run out of pages in his journal since, while it had nothing to do with the heroes or anything related to them, it was nonetheless an interesting story. Maybe after he returned, he could get not only another journal to record the heroes and their activities but also a journal to record about Gensokyo.

"That's right!" Izuku suddenly exclaimed, surprising the other two. "Miss Hakurei, do you know how I could return home?"

"First, just call me Reimu. Second, of course." She nodded her head. "You're not the first and won't be the last outsider to arrive in Gensokyo."

"That's why I bring you here, ze." Marisa told him. "So, anything I could help you with, Reimu?"

"Just help me carry the stuff." Reimu put down her cup and stood up. "Izuku, just stay here and wait for us to finish the preparation."

As he watched both of them went off towards the warehouse, Izuku simply stayed still, simply enjoying the cup of green tea in his hands.

"Kid? Oy, kid. Wake up!"

Suddenly, Izuku straighten up and looked around. Looking around for a while, he found out that he was in a bus and the one who called him was none other than the bus driver.

"We're here, kid." The driver told him.

Confused, the boy looked outside to see a bus station. He looked at it for a while before finally remembering that this station was near his home; his destination.

"Ah, thank you so much, sir." Izuku said as he stood up, bowed, and walked towards the door.

"Not a problem kid." The driver replied with a smile. "Just remember to not fall too deep into sleep."

As he watched the bus drove away, the boy couldn't help but frown. He remembered sitting at the Hakurei Shrine while Reimu and Marisa went to pick up something that could get him back home. He also realized that between that and him being awoken, there was a gap in his memory. One moment he was drinking a tea and the next he awoke inside the bus.

Now that he mentioned it, he didn't remember taking a bus. Though it could simply part of the memory that he lost since he remembered that during the walk, he saw a bus station several meters away in front of him.

He wondered if he should contact the police about it. It was not something that he could just ignore. On the other hand, there was a part of him that doubt the wisdom of doing it. Maybe due to how nobody in the bus noticed anything strange happened to him, either not noticing him disappearing and then reappearing or simply appearing inside. Maybe it had something to do with Gensokyo and the fact that youkai actually exist.

There were simply too many puzzle pieces still missing for him to come to a conclusion.

Despite his frustration, Izuku decided to simply head home. In any case, he shouldn't make his mother worried.

When sunlight hit his face, Izuku grumbled a bit as he raised his hand to protect his face. He was pretty sure that he closed the window with curtains before going to sleep. So then why the sun managed to...?

"Izuku?! What are you doing here?"

Hearing that voice, the boy suddenly opened his eyes. Standing in front of him with a shocked face was none other than the shrine maiden of the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu. He looked around and found out that he was not in his room but instead on the shrine. He could only look at her in confusion and muttered a word.

"Eh?"

And thus, the prologue is complete.

If you have a question or suggestion, feel free to tell me.

Review, please!