Entry 3: Code-05

If you were to ask anyone in Gensokyo how they would describe the Hakurei Shrine, you would no doubt get vastly different answers.

To the humans of the village, they would say it's a bit run down, and attracts a few too many youkai for them to feel safe visiting it. To the youkai, it was a kind of safe place, where they could openly and easily mingle with humans, under the supervision of the Shrine Maiden.

To gods like Yasaka Kanako, the shrine was a bit too much like a den for youkai. For someone like Ibaraki Kasen, the state of the shrine stood as parallel to the lackadaisical nature of the Shrine Maiden who 'didn't do her job properly'.

To Hakurei Reimu, however, the Hakurei Shrine was home, and honestly, she wouldn't change a single thing about it. Sure, she might have liked to have more regular patrons donating, but considering the company she lived with at the shrine, being a Komainu, an Oni, an Inchling, and as of recently, a Lunar Rabbit, Reimu found that life in a shrine like this was just right for her. Despite how much others might nag her ears off, or how much Reimu would appreciate a few more donations coming through, when her life was like this, she didn't have to hide who she was most of the time. It was nice, to say the least.

So, with all that said, when Yasaka Kanako arrived this morning, and announced that an Incident had occurred, where Suzunaan had been set on fire, Reimu couldn't help but feel like this was going to be the start of a very unpleasant day.

"So, Kosuzu-chan's with the Hieda family right now?" Reimu surmised. "A good call, to say the least. Even the strongest youkai knows better than to target them."

"It was advice that you yourself suggested long ago," Kanako stated. "That if anything where to happen to Motoori-san, she was to be passed on to the Hieda estate."

"And what about Marisa?" Reimu asked. "You say you 'cleared her alibi', but I can still hear the doubt in your voice."

Kanako let out a small sigh. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't have any," she admitted. "Tell me, Hakurei Reimu, what does your intuition say? There is little out there more trustworthy that it, Sanae tells me."

Reimu thought for a moment. "It's hard to say," she answered. "Too many variables. Too much ambiguity. For all I know, it could have been a Youma book taking Marisa's form when it broke free."

The two nodded in agreement. It was far too early for even Reimu to be able to draw conclusions.

Just then, something on the wind prickled at Kanako's ear, and she turned to face the horizon. "What's up?" Reimu asked.

"It's Sanae," Kanako stated. "She's heading towards the SDM. Why?"

"Something must have changed," Reimu noted. "A lead, perhaps?"

"Maybe, but that's not all that concerns me," Kanako continued. "Marisa should be with her, yet I do not feel her presence on the wind." With concern in her eyes, Kanako looked back at Reimu. "Sorry for cutting this short, but I need to check in with Sanae."

"You do you, Kanako," Reimu said. "Just be sure to share what you learn, got it?"

Kanako waved an acknowledgement, before taking to the skies, and flying towards the Scarlet Devil Mansion on the far side of the Misty Lake, which itself was on the far side of the village. Travelling at her max speed, Reimu estimated that Kanako would reach her destination in at least half an hour.

From the shrine, the short haired Lunar Rabbit named Rei'sen approached. "Sounds like things are getting rather hectic today," she commented. "Are you going to join the investigation, Reimu-san?"

"Not just yet," Reimu replied. "My gut tells me that this is something I'll regret rushing."

Rei'sen hummed in acknowledgement. While usually, her hunches would lead her to a 'shoot first, ask questions later' approach, but right now, it was telling her 'slow and steady'. Certainly a weird feeling, to say the least.

Rei'sen's ears perked up. "Reimu-san, someone's coming," she said. "Several someones, for that matter, from the direction of the Forest of Magic."

"Almost as if fate demanded it," Reimu muttered. Looking up at the sky, Reimu saw what, at a distance, looked to be a swarm approaching. Granted, it wouldn't have been unnatural, given the sort of place Gensokyo was, but that idea was countered by the simple fact that it was presently still winter. On closer inspection, it could be discerned that what was approaching was, in fact, an small army of dolls, being lead by one Alice Margatroid, who was carrying Kirisame Marisa on her back.

Definitely a concerning look, to say the least.

"What the heck?" Reimu asked, quickly flying up to meet them half way. "Alice, what's going on?"

"Where do I even begin?" Alice replied. "How about we start with 'what in God's name is Code-05'?"

Reimu's eyes widened in shock. Much to Alice's surprise, Reimu quickly turned her attention to Shanghai, whom handed the letter with Reimu's name on it over. Alice wasn't entirely sure how to feel about Reimu being so 'in the know' about whatever was going on.

Reimu looked over the contents of the letter with a solemn look on her face. "So, it's come to that, then," she muttered. "Rei'sen! Get some tea going! We might be at this a while."

Rei'sen made a quick, crisp salute, before darting back into the shrine. "So, you do know something about what's going on," Alice said. "Feel like sharing it with the rest of us?"

"Inside," Reimu replied plainly. "Gensokyo has far too many 'ears' that might hear us."

Sanae would admit, when she arrived at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, she wasn't sure what to expect.

She'd never been there that often, truth be told. Sure, she'd seen it in the distance regularly, and was a close acquaintance to some of the residents (Izayoi Sakuya in particular), but largely, she had little reason to visit there on the regular.

But, of course, she knew that the front gate wasn't suppose to look that damaged and destroyed.

She looked around, and saw no sign of the gate-keeper, Hong Meiling. Meiling might have been a habitual slacker (or maybe a narcoleptic, but who could say), but she was still remarkably diligent at her work. So, for her not to be here, and the gate in this state, something very powerful must have passed through.

Sanae slowly hovered over the rubble. She could sense... something, in the mansion. Something powerful and familiar.

She crept through the busted down door, and surveyed the foyer. Really, the only way she could describe it was 'like a typhoon had passed through'. The defeated bodies of maid-fairies littered the ground, filling Sanae with a great deal of concern.

If the maids were here, then... where was Izayoi Sakuya?

As if timed perfectly, a knife flew out of a door, and embedded itself into the stairs. Now, if memory served Sanae right, that door in particular led into the library. Sanae rushed over to the door, and peered in.

There, she could see several figures. First, the red haired Meiling stood defensively before the crumpled form of the purple-clad Patchouli Knowledge. Second, she could see the silver-haired Izayoi Sakuya, violet-haired Remilia Scarlet, and blonde-haired Flandre Scarlet, all doing battle with a broom-mounted figure dressed in purple with red hair.

The unfortunate thing was, the trio of Sakuya, Remilia, and Flandre, were losing.

Sanae sized up the purple-clad woman. Witch robes, pointy hat... truthfully, she could see how, at a glance in the dark, she could be mistaken for Kirisame Marisa.

That, however, could wait. Right now, Sanae needed an opening. A chance to bind that lookalike in place.

In a brief moment, Sanae's eyes connected with Sakuya's, and a silent understanding was reached between them. In the span of time it'd take to blink, Sakuya had vanished from her previous position, and began drawing the culprit's attention as far from the door as possible. Remilia and Flandre, seeming to realise that, at the very least, Sakuya had a plan, followed suit.

Very soon afterwards, Sanae saw her chance. She moved quickly through the door, and with quick, deliberate chants, summoned numerous long, astral snakes that shot towards the target.

By the time the culprit had realised what was coming her way, it was too late, and the snake had her bound up, and she fell to the floor with a hefty (and, maybe, just slightly satisfying) thud.

Sakuya and company decended to the ground, where they met up with Sanae. "You're timing is quite remarkable, Kochiya-san," the maid said.

"Indeed. Almost too much so," Remilia Scarlet added. "You do not usually come to this part of Gensokyo, Moriya Shrine Maiden. What led you here?"

"A tip-off, let's say," Sanae answered. "A similar incident happened in the village this morning, where a person that looks like Kirisame Marisa attacked Suzunaan."

"And you took initiative to investigate?" Flandre asked. "How diligent of you, Sanae-san!"

Sanae sheepishly rubbed the back of her head, before taking a look at the captured culprit.

It really was uncanny, just how much this girl looked like Marisa. The main differences were her shorted red hair, crimson eyes, and purple attire, but everything else about the face, from the shape of her cheekbones, to the curve of her nose, was completely the same as Marisa's.

"Well, ya certainly took yer sweet time, Kochiya," the lookalike said. Gods, she even sounded like Marisa. "Finally done playing house with that wimp?"

"Well, you're a barrel of laughs, aren't you?" Sanae muttered. "Now, who are you, and why do you look so much like Marisa-san?"

"Why do I..?" the culprit burst into sinister laughter. "What, ya can't tell?! Dumb-ass!"

"My word, this one's a right pain," Remilia commented. "Mind if I blow a hole in her for what she did to Patche?"

"Oh, like that hording bitch deserves it," the culprit said. "Alright, I'll tell ya. The name's... Kirisame Marisa. Got it memorised?"

"Yeah, I call bullshit," Sanae stated plainly. "I was literally with Marisa-san this morning, up until twenty minutes ago, where I left her with Alice-san. Unless you're some kind of body-snatcher or something, you're gonna have to try again."

'Marisa' slammed her head against the floor. "You serious? Ya can't even tell?"

"More that you're not fooling anyone," Sakuya said. "Everyone here is, for liberal use of the word, friends with Kirisame Marisa. A third-rate hack of a magician like yourself has no grounds to use her name."

"Third...rate hack?" she spat, before an unnatural burst of mana erupted from her, breaking the bindings. "You... DARE compare me, student of the great Mima-sama... to that cowards who can't even bring herself to abandon her humanity?!" She shot up into the sky, glaring at them through the hole she'd just made. "Thanks for telling me where you left 'er, ya dumb broad! Gonna have fun breaking that coward. And who knows? Might just send Alice after her parents once I'm done 'playin' with her!"

With that, 'Marisa' shot off in the direction of the Forest of Magic. "Wait!" Sanae called out. Naturally, however, she didn't wait.

"She... won't make it there," Patchouli groaned, struggling back to her feet with Meiling's help. "Her existence... too unstable."

Remilia quickly flew to Patchouli's side. "You alright, Patche?"

"Still... in one piece," she replied.

"Are you sure she won't make it to Alice-san's house?" Sanae asked. "I mean, whoever she was, she seemed pretty fast."

"Whatever magic she managed to absorb from the books here, she's already burnt up escaping your bindings, and then some," Patchouli said. "That girl, whoever she is... she no normal youkai."

Sanae rubbed her temple out of stress. "This just makes less sense the more it goes on," she muttered.

And, as if things weren't confusing enough, Yasaka Kanako took this opportunity to descend through the hole in the roof.

"Looks like a hurricane blew through here," Kanako commented. "Everyone still alive? What happened here?"

"Bit late to the party, Yasaka," Remilia said. "The criminal just broke out of your miko's binds, and bee-lined it out of here."

"She escaped?" Kanako asked. "A shame, but nothing we can do now. Sanae, what can you tell me about them?"

"Well..." Sanae thought for a moment. "She called herself Kirisame Marisa, and looked a bit like her, but..." Then, fear quickly etched itself onto her face. "Ah! That girl said she was going to Alice-san's! I left Marisa-san there as well, and she...!"

"It'll be fine," Kanako interrupted. "I had already noticed you were heading here without Kirisame Marisa, and as I left the Hakurei Shrine, I'm fairly certain I spied Margatroid heading towards the Hakurei with Kirisame in tow." Sanae breathed a small sigh of relief. "So, how'd you figure the culprit would come here? And, more pressingly, why 'here'?"

"She was... targeting the books," Patchouli answered weakly. "Absorbing their power. I think... her existence is in a state of flux."

Kanako nodded sagely. "Thank you, Patchouli Knowledge," she said, before turning back to Sanae. "But, that still doesn't explain how you figured out this place would be a target, Sanae."

"Honestly, I don't know how to explain it," Sanae admitted. "While we were at Alice-san's place, Marisa-san... had a panic attack and passed out. Then, she started muttering stuff that led me to assume the Mansion was being targeted."

Kanako mused the information that was presented. "It certainly matches up with the testimonies we got this morning," she muttered, before turning to face Remilia. "I realise this attack is a stain on your pride, Remilia Scarlet, but may I ask you to leave tracking the criminal down to us, and fortifying your defences in the chance she returns?"

Remilia had a rather pensive look on her face, before she let out a small sigh. "I'm no fan of the idea," she said, "but on the off-chance that that fake comes back for Patche, I'll cooperate."

"My thanks, Remilia Scarlet," Kanako said with a bow. "Sanae. We're giving chase."

"Understood, Kanako-sama," Sanae said, before turning to Sakuya. "Sorry I didn't get here to help sooner, Sakuya-san."

"You're flat against the wall as it is, Kochiya-san," Sakuya replied. "We'll just be thankful that you were able to provide any assistance at all."

Sanae gave a polite bow, before flying off to catch up with Kanako.

Deep in the Forest of Magic, 'Kirisame Marisa' let out a heavy sigh of exhaustion. She had expected opposition, but not to that extent.

"Damnit, that was suppose to be easy!" she cursed. "Just get in, woo that bookworm, pinch some mana, and get out! How was it that damn hard?!" She hissed, as she pressed her hand against her side. Those bindings had burned her something fierce. "Damn Player 2 miko. This has nothing to do with ya!"

She came out into the clearing, where she spotted a familiar, western style house, and smirked. "Well, I should still have enough juice in the tank to have some 'fun'," she said sinisterly. With a wave of her star-tipped wand, she blew the door off its hinges, and barged her way inside. "Yo, Alice-chan!" she called out. "I've come... to..."

But, nobody was home. The house was completely quiet, and the cups of partially drunken tea that sat on the table were ice cold.

Rage flared in her mind, and with a loud scream, 'Marisa' shot a large beam of magic upwards, reducing the house to rubble.

For anyone curious, the scream sounded distinctly like 'fuck'.

A small groan escaped Marisa's lips. Slowly, she opened her eyes. "Wha... what happened?" she asked, half expecting to not hear a response.

"Well, according to Alice-san, you had a panic attack and passed out," someone familiar answered. "Afterwards, when Sanae-san went to the Scarlet Devil Mansion to investigate a lead, she brought you here."

Marisa looked over to the side, and saw a familiar, blue haired girl with rabbit ears. "Rei'sen?" she asked weakly. "Then... I'm at the Shrine?"

Rei'sen nodded. "How are you feeling right now? Think you can stand?"

"I..." Marisa pushed herself up, and onto her feet. She felt... honestly, like absolute shit. She could probably get to her feet, but if she tried to fly at all, she felt like she'd just end up face-first in the mud. "I can at least manage that much."

Marisa staggered a little, and Rei'sen quickly caught her. "Here, use my shoulder," she said. "Let me get you to the others. Reimu said she needed to tell you and Alice-san something important."

"Oh? Finally dropped the 'san', have ya?" Marisa prodded, causing Rei'sen to blush slightly.

"O...only when she's not around!" Rei'sen responded in hushed yelling. "Please, don't tell her this."

"Scouts honour," Marisa replied.

In the main living area, Marisa saw Reimu and Alice sitting at opposite ends of the table. Both quickly took notice of her, and Alice sprang to her feet. "Marisa! Are you alright?"

"Head feels like absolute shit, not gonna lie," Marisa replied, "but I'll live. Sorry for... worrying ya."

Reimu, for her part, seemed to be sizing Marisa up. "So, it is a Code-05, then," she muttered. "Both of you, take a seat please."

It was the 'please' that really caught the two off guard, but they complied, with some assistance from Rei'sen.

"Now, I'm sure you have a lot of questions," Reimu started. "Actually, who am I kidding? You both are probably nothing but questions at this point. First, I need to confirm something." She looked at Marisa. "Marisa, when you were last at Suzunaan, did you, at any point in time, open a book with a white cover on it?"

"Yeah, I know the one," Marisa said. "Gave me a splitting headache the moment I opened it. But, that thing was empty, and Kosuzu had no recollection of it in her collection."

"I feared as much," Reimu muttered. "That book was a seal. One I made on the wish of... an old friend, let's say."

"Old friend?" Alice asked. "Why does that sound... familiar?"

"You called me that when we met during the Stolen Spring Incident," Reimu answered. "Tell me, both of you; what do you think is the first major Incident we faced?"

"The first major Incident?" Marisa repeated. "That would have to be the Scarlet Mist, right? That was when we were, what, 13? So... 12 years ago?"

Rei'sen looked mildly surprised. "I didn't know you two were 25," she said.

"Marisa's actually 26," Reimu corrected. "At the very least, she's half a year older than me. People in Gensokyo just age slower than the Outside World. I'm personally more surprised that Sanae's only 19, but that's for another day." At that moment, Reimu's expression shifted to one of a teacher looking at her students, who had guessed the answer to her question and were, as she expected, wrong. "What if I were to tell you both... that there were Incidents before the Scarlet Mist?"

A/N:

And so, the plot picks up. The culprit's existence has been confirm as... 'Marisa'? And a bombshell is about to be dropped by the magnanimous Hakurei.

How will our heroes survive? Find out, next time!