Chapter 13: I believe I can fly
It is a rather normal day in the world of Gensokyo. We see a large mountain, the Yokai Mountain. This is the place in Gensokyo, where numerous Kappa and Tengu live peacefully, while humans normally arent welcome. Except of course Sanae, the Moriya Shrine Maiden, as well as Reimu and Marisa in certain occasions. In the forest at the slope of the mountain, we see a wooden building constructed on a tree. This is the building of the Bunbunmaru Newspaper.
"Aw, shucks! Its quite uneventful today. Man I am bored! No material for a new story whatsoever... " a female voice says.
Inside, we see the girl whom the voice belongs to. She had red eyes and semi-long black hair. She also wears a white blouse, black skirt and a tokin. She possesses black wings on her shoulders and completes her outfit with a pair of geta sandals. Her name is Aya Shameimaru, a Crow Tengu and the resident reporter in Gensokyo. Like always, she is looking for a new story, but cant seem to find one.
"If something doesnt happen, I dont know what am I going to do next..." she complains, laying across the floor.
Suddenly, the Tengu feels a powerful presence for a moment. Quick to stand up, she rushes to the window, but it is no one there. Then, Aya notices a note on her desk. Curious, she picks it up and reads it, then a smile creeps to her face:
"Finally, a story material! I dunno who left this tip here, but thank you!"
She then picks up her notebook and camera, puts them into her bag and leaves by flying out of the window. Unbeknowst to her, the one who left the note is observing her:
"Te-he, this is going to be interesting." Yukari smirks and withdraws into her gap.
...
Meanwhile in front of Kourindou, we see Nijiko and Marisa training by having a mock danmaku battle. The witch releases some explosive shots, which the heterochromatic girl dodges with quick movements, though almost gets hit by the last one:
"AH!" she braces herself.
"Come on, you have to be more faster than that!" Marisa exclaims.
"Hey, I am doing my best!" Nijiko responds and returns the fire with her own rainbow light bullets. The witch however easily avoids them and throws some more explosive danmaku around Nijiko, who braces herself from the explosions. As the smoke clears, Marisa appears just in front of our heroine, pointing the Mini-Hakkero at her:
"Got ya!"
"Darn, you won again..." Nijiko groans as she sits down into the grass.
"Well, if you increase your intensity and speed... " the young witch descends down next to her.
"Thats not the issue here! How do I supposed to hit my opponent if they are flying around?!"
"Oh my, I see..." the Ordinary Magician ponders. "Maybe I am going too fast?"
"I think Nijiko-chan is pointing out her inability to fly, which puts her into a great disadvantage." Cassida walks up to the two, bringing some tea on a tray to them.
"Oh, is that so?" the witch looks at her disciple, before taking a sip from her tea.
"Yeah, and I think its not fair..." Nijiko sighs, sipping from her tea as well. "You, Hakurei-san and almost everyone here capable to fly... Cassida-san is right, I am at a huge disadvantage."
"Heh, then I know what to do! We are going to teach you how to fly." Marisa offers. "And for that, Reimu-san is the perfect instructor."
"Wow, really?! Wait, cant you do it?" the black-haired girl asks.
"Well... I maybe the fastest, but Reimu is the real expert when it comes to floating and flying, that being her specialty and such."
"A...alright, lets do it."
"Lets go then!"
Putting down their tea, the duo then proceeds to climbs onto Marisas broom. Nijiko cautiously sits behind Marisa, clearly still being worried that the witch might go too fast again.
"Cassida, tell Kourin that we went to visit Reimu as the part of the training. We will be back soon." Marisa tells the Tortoise Beetle Yokai.
"I will." Cassida nods.
"Ok then, we are off! Hold on tight, Nijiko-chan!" the witch exclaims and is quick to fly away on her broom with Nijiko in a tow.
"Be careful guys!" Cassida waves after them.
"Where does those two go again?" Rinnosuke walks to her, having noticed that the two girls took off.
"To the Hakurei Shrine, in order to teach Nijiko-chan to float and fly." the beetle-like Yokai responds. "Since she is at a huge disadvantage as long as she remains on the ground."
"Oh my, Akimitsu-san and flying? That doesnt sound good." the shopkeeper mumbles under his breath.
"Huh, did you say something, Morichika-kun?" Cassida glances at him.
"N-nothing." Rinnosuke responds, trying to hide his worries, but still looks at the sky: "Just be careful with the flight, Akimitsu-san."
...
Aya is soaring though the sky, heading towards Kourindou at the same time. The mysterious note she received, said that she most likely would find a girl working there, who was from the Human World. The crow Tengu is ecstatic: This is going to be such an awesome story! She is so enthralled in her thoughts, that she completely misses Marisa and Nijiko flying besides her to the opposing direction.
Arriving at the shop, she lands ant enters:
"Yo Rinnosuke-kun!"
"Oh, Aya-san!" the half-Yokai shopkeeper notices the Tengu reporter. "Can I help you in anything?"
"Well, yes. I am looking for a girl named Nijiko Akimitsu. According to an intel, she is working here." she responds.
Hearing that, Rinnosuke flinches. Just how could the Tengu know about Nijiko?! Maybe Marisa couldnt keep her mouth and bragged about her disciple. Before he could respond, though, Cassida speaks up:
"Well, you arent in luck, she and Marisa just left. You will find them at the Hakurei Shrine."
"CASSIDA!" the shopkeeper yells at the beetle-like Yokai. Oh, that oblivious Cassida...
"Oh, there? Thank you so much!" Aya grins happily and flies out. Rinnosuke, on the other hand is glaring at his other assistant in disappointment.
"Huh? Did I do something wrong?" the Tortoise Beetle Yokai tilts her head in confused.
"You are sometimes such an airhead." the half-Yokai shopkeeper sighs.
As he begins to explain it to Cassida, Aya has been long gone. The Tengu reporter is now flying towards the Shrine excitedly, when she suddenly stops in shock:
"Wait a minute, did she just say, Hakurei Shrine?!" she then moans: "Oh my, how do I supposed to make the story now? If Reimu catches me spying..."
...
Unaware that Aya is about to spy on then, Marisa and Nijiko arrives at the Hakurei Shrine. Reimu is already witing for them:
"I have already suspected you two are coming. What can I do for our Magician-in-training today?" she asks, with a slight annoyance in her tone.
"Well, I want you to teach Nijiko-chan how to fly." the witch says. "Because We all know, you are the go-to expert with it."
"Why dont you just teach her how to ride a broom? Like you do." the shrine maiden folds her arms.
"We...well..." Marisa glances sheepishly aside.
"Let me guess... you dont even know where your spare broom is."
Marisa sighs and nods: she knew very well it got lost in the trash heap that was her home.
"Umm, can you teach me how to float and fly, Hakurei-san? Thing is, I am at a disadvantage if my remain stuck on the ground all the time, while my foe is flying around." Nijiko explains.
"Well, I can see that as an issue." the Hakurei Shrine Maiden looks at her. "We can see what can I do in that regard."
"Thank you so much, Hakurei-san!" the heterochromatic girl bows.
"No need to thank me." Reimu responds and glances away to a certain direction, narrowing her eyes.
"Huh, is something wrong, Reimu?" the blonde witch asks her friend.
"I will be back in a minute." the shrine maiden says and walks away, while taking out her gohei. Nijiko and Marisa looks at each other, confused.
...
Actually, Reimu sensed Aya lurking nearby. The Crow Tengu is hiding behind some bushes, trying to get a good look at Nijiko.
"So that girl is Nijiko Akimitsu, whom the note was about? At first glance, she looks like an ordinary human to me..." she mumbles while trying to take a picture.
"Aya Shameimaru! Dont you know that isnt nice to spy on other people?" a stern female voice suddenly says behind her, causing Aya to tense up. The Crow Tengu knows well whom the voice belongs to.
"Oh crap, dont tell me she is behind me... " she slowly turns around, seeing none other than Reimu behind her, who was clearly upset, holding her gohei in her right hand and the two yin-yang orbs floating next to her.
"Tell me, why are you here?" the shrine maiden demands.
"W-well, you know, I am just seeking for a new story... Ya know, the usual." Aya grins sheepishly, while clearly sweating on her forehead.
"I know that." Reimu points her gohei at the Tengu. "Who told you about Nijiko-san?!"
"Oh, that... Well, thing is, I found a random note on my desk about this girl who is a newcomer in Gensokyo. I thought that an article about her would be sensational..."
Hearing this, the Hakurei Shrine Maiden sighs and rolls her eyes: she knew exactly who might be behind this. She glares back at Aya, preparing the yin-yang orbs:
"Sorry, but Nijiko-san is curretly a forbidden topic. Please seek out an another article."
"Please, w-wait! Reimu-san! AAAAAAAAAAH!" the Tengu screams as she is sent flying by an attack from Reimu, blasting off into the sky with a twinkle.
"Huh, what was that?" Nijiko asks Marisa, having briefly noticed that something was sent into the sky.
"Beats me..." the witch shrugs. "Maybe Reimu had to deal with something annoying."
"Sorry for the little wait, I just had to deal with something important." the shrine maiden returns to the two other human girls. "Alright, we can begin the training at the lake."
Both Marisa and Nijiko nod as they follow Reimu to the lake. After this, we also see Aya briefly knocked out atop a tree with swirling eyes.
...
"Here we are." Reimu says as she leads her friends to the lake. It was a large body of water, with beautiful blue water.
"Wow, so pretty." Nijiko remarks.
"And believe or not, this is the place where I personally learned how to fly." the shrine maiden reminescens briefly to the past. In a flashback, we see a younger Reimu riding a large turtle whose features are obscured.
"Wait, that means... you also werent able to fly initially?" the heterochromatic girl is surprised, to which Reimu nods:
"Yes."
"And believe or not, she was taught by a giant old turtle!" Marisa grins, though the shrine maiden gives her a disapproving look.
"Wow..." Nijiko is at awe hearing all about that.
"Alright, enough about reminescing the past, lets dive in directly into the lesson." Reimu claps with her hands, getting Nijikos attention. "At first, everyone who is able to fly without wings in Gensokyo are using their own Spiritual Power. Because we all know you have your own, I believe you can also learn this skill."
"Right!" the black-haired girl nods.
"To do so, you have to use your Spiritual Power to defeat the concept of gravity. Take a deep breath, concentrate and visualize yourself floating. Like this."
The Hakurei Shrine Maiden then does so. Her body glows briefly with soft light as she slowly floats into the air.
"Wow, awesome!" Nijiko gasps.
"Now, its your turn." Reimu says to her.
Nijiko nods and closes her eyes, trying to concentrate her Spiritual Power, causing her body to glow in a rainbow-colored aura. She then jumps up, but unfortunately lands back on the ground.
"How was it?" she asks.
"Just practise." the shrine maiden says. "This was just your first attempt."
The day then goes on with just Nijiko trying to get off the ground, but unfortunately without much success. She is trying to concentrate her Spiritual Power, then jump into the air, but she falls back onto the ground every time. The Sun is about to set as she is seen trying an another attempt.
"Remember, try to defeat the gravity." Reimu tells her.
"Defeat the gravity, defeat the gravity..." Nijiko repeats those words. She concentrates once again, causing her body to glow with the rainbow-colored aura once again. "HAH!" she then jumps into the air. However, this time she doesnt hop back to the ground.
"Wow, she is floating!" Marisa exclaims."
"Huh? I am doing what?" the heterochromatic girl opens her eyes, upon hearing what the witch said. She then looks down, finding that her feet doesnt touch the ground. She indeed floating in mid-air! "Huh? What? AAAAAH!" She suddenly gasps and begins to flail and break her concentration, causing her to fall back, landing on her butt.
"Well, that something." Reimu walks up to her. "But you still has a long way to go."
"This is similar to learning Magic. It doesnt come just after day." Marisa adds.
"Oh, okay." Nijiko nods, then looks towards the lake.
"Hmm, it seems the Sun is almost under the horizon. Shouldnt you two head back?" the shrine maiden asks.
"Well, she should but why dont we spend the night here? I am too sleepy to ride my broom." the witch shrugs, heading towards the shrine. Her friend just sighs:
"I should have seen that coming..."
The three girls then head back to the Hakurei Shrine, with Reimu prividing them some tea and sleeping bags, just when Nijiko spent her first night in Gensokyo.
...
Meanwhile, Aya regains conciousness and sneaks back to the shrine:
"I dont care. I will get that story and you wont stopping me this time, Reimu."
She cautiously sneaks around the shrine using the bushes, then peeks in. Thanks to her excellent night vision, she can see everything clearly. She sees Reimu and Marisa sleeping, but Nijiko suddenly stirs. The Tengu gulps and jumps back into the bushes. The black-haired girl rubs her eyes and stands up, walking out of the shrine.
"Will I ever able to fly?" she asks herself out loud.
From the bushes, Aya witnesses her walking towards the lake and sitting down to its shore. Nijiko pulls her legs close to her chest as she observes the lake, with the moon and the stars reflected on it.
"There she is... and alone this time!" Aya is about to take out her camera to take picture. However, as she is attempting to get closer to get the perfect frame, she suddenly slips. The Tengu almost screams, but manages to cover mouth with her hands. The slip still causes her to roll down the hill and land into the water with a loud splash.
"Huh? Who is there?!" Nijiko hears the splash and is about to investigate, when she suddenly hears a voice behind her:
"Are you the girl who is trying to learn to fly?"
"Wha?!" the heterochromatic girl jumps back in surprise. Behind her, illuminated by the moonlight, she sees a large turtle emerging from the water, with its shell large enough for someone to rise. He also has a long white beard protuding from his chin.
"Please, dont be be afraid of me, young lady." the turtle speaks. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Genji, the old turtle who lives in this lake behind the Hakurei Shrine."
"Um... my... my name is Nijiko Akimitsu. A ple-pleasure to meet you, Genji-dono." Nijiko bows, but still clearly spooked by the fact that the turtle just spoke.
"Nijiko Akimitsu, huh? Thats a pretty name." Genji smiles. "You know, I observed you from the water today, while you were trying to learn how to float."
"Wa-wait, you did?"
"Yes. And seeing you doing so reminded me greatly of how Reimu was trying to fly from under her own power."
"Wow..." Nijiko gasped and then realized: "Wait, were you the one who taught Hakurei-san how to fly?!"
"Yes. And I am here to show you that there is nothing to be afraid of flying."
"Wait, I am not afraid of..."
"But I saw it. After you managed to muster the energy to finally float off the ground and you opened your eyes and looked down. This caused you panic and break your concentration." Genji explains.
"Well, indeed." Nijiko thinks back. "It is such an alien feeling if you have nothing underneath your feet."
"Its not something you have to be ashamed of. Thats pretty normal for someone who havent flown before."
"But I did! Albeit with Mari-san on her broom. And she goes so fast, unless Hakurei-san convinces her otherwise..."
"Okay then..." Genji then crawls out of the water, positioning himself directly in front of Nijiko. "Hop on, Akimitsu-san. Let me show you what flying is really about."
"You mean it?" the heterochromatic girl asks.
"Yes." the old turtle nods.
Gathering her courage, Nijiko climbs onto Genjis back.
"Hold on tight into my shell."
The old turtle then walks forward and floats into the air higher and higher. At first, Nijiko closes her eyes.
"Now you can open your eyes, Akimitsu-san." Genji tells her.
Nijiko opens her eyes and gasps in surprise what she sees: the Moon shining on the sky and the stars all around. This is the first time she has ever seen the Gensokyo nightscape from the sky.
"So pretty..." she remarks.
"Yes it is. If you take your steps slow and steady, you can enjoy what you are learning. Flying is not just about gaining the edge in battles with speed. There are things you can only see and enjoy from above."
"Wow, you may be right..." Nijiko then looks down, seeing the lake and the Hakurei Shrine underneath them. From above, they indeed look much smaller than they really are. As they are flying in a slow pace, black-haired girl marvels everything around her – riding the slower Genji is really a whole other experience compared to the fast and reckless flight Marisa does.
...
On the land meanwhile, Aya also climbs out of the lake, with her whole body soaked wet.
"Darn, why is everything against me today?" she groans as she squeezes the water out of her wet clothes. The Tengu then looks up, noticing the siluette of the flying Genji and Nijiko against the Moon.
"At least, I will get the photo. Lucky that my neweet camera is waterproof."
Aya begins to take pictures, when suddenly Reimu appears behind her again:
"Did you forget, what I said?!"
Before the Tengu could react, Reimu unleashes an explosive attack which sends her flying again with a twinkle on the sky.
"Wow, a shooting star!" Nijiko exclaims.
"Yep, but quite a weird shooting star..." Genji adds, beginning to descend towards the shore. Our heroine looks down and is surprised to see both Marisa and Reimu standing there.
"Mari-san! Hakurei-san!"
"Can you explain this, Gramps?" Reimu asks the old turtle.
"I just showed this young lady what is the real meaning of flying." the old turtle responds as he lands on the shore.
"Yep, that was amazing!" Nijiko smiles. "Now I feel I can fly for sure!"
She then stretches her arms out and begins to run around like a plane. Seeing her happy, Genji, Marisa and even Reimu smiles.
"Still, you never cease to impress me Gramps. Even though you are just an old turtle." the shrine maiden remarks.
"Dont forget that you were once just like this your lady, Reimu." Genji responds. "We all start out beginners making mistakes, but then slowly and steadily becoming something great."
"Oh Gramps..." Reimu sighs as she looks at Nijiko. In her mind she is beginning to understand slowly why Yukari brought Nijiko from her world. The girl has a lot of potential, which may be brought out only in here, Gensokyo.
...
The scene then switches to Yokai Mountain, where Aya falls into her workplace... literally.
"AAAAAAAAAAH!" the Tengu crashes in through the opened window, near her desk. She then slowly stands up, visibly battered from Reimus attack.
"Darn, that Reimu... cant she understand the importance of a great story..." she then takes out her camera. "At least, I have the pictures..."
Aya begins to check the photos. As she is doing so, she becomes more and more frustrated: they all became blurry, while the one which didnt, only shows the underside of Genji against the Moon.
"NOOOO WAAAAAAY!" she screams in frustration.
The scene then pans outside, where we see Yukari partially emerging from a gap, giggling to herself:
"Just keep up the work Aya-san. I am sure you will get your story one day."
To be continued...