Chapter 4: Will of the Gods Part 1

Spacious. More spacious than should be possible. Those were Nanoha's first thoughts upon stepping into the main hall. Then again she was dealing with a self-proclaimed god, if she truly was as powerful as she claimed, spatial distortion should be no problem. Heck, Midchildia even made use of this sort of magic from time to time. She remembered briefly getting lost in the Infinity Library the first time she visited for exactly this reason.

Looking around, she could see shoji doors lining the walls all the way to the end of the chamber, as well as two more traditional doors at either end of the back wall. At the center of the room was what she assumed were stairs to the upper level. She couldn't be too sure, since if they were, they would lead back to the front of the shrine.

So, you're not allowed to look upon god as you ascend. She narrowed her eyes at the mural covering the stairs. Snakes. Is she really that strong that she can think that highly of herself?

Murmuring to herself a quick spell, Nanoha created three orbs of light in her hand. Whatever secrets this place held, she would find them.

Wait, Nanoha! Yunno's voice ripped through her mind. Quickly banishing the spell, she turned to look at her partner.

What's wrong?

It's too risky. Even with minimal magic, it's too risky to cast anything here.

I suppose, but… The mural caught her eye. She had heard of gods taking the form of various animals. It was certainly possible they behaved like the animals they mimicked as well.

"Miss Nanoha? What's wrong?"

Pulled out of her thoughts by Sanae's voice, Nanoha looked over to see the girl peeking out from behind the stairs. "Sorry. I was just looking around. I'm quite impressed."

The green haired girl blushed slightly before laughing at the compliment. "T-thanks. But it's not really anything special." Seeing her new friend look at the various doors, she stepped out into the center of the hall and gestured to the sides. "There really isn't much here. We have sitting rooms for guests on either side." She pointed towards the door on the left end of the back wall. "That way leads to the facilities, the kitchen and the like." She gestured towards the other door. "And that way leads to the living quarters. We have plenty of rooms, even though I'm the only one living here." She sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.

"You're the only one here? What about any family members?" An innocent question, but seeing the sad smile that graced the girl's face; she wished she could take it back.

"There isn't anyone else. Sanae Kochiya is the only one who serves the Moriya shrine."

Only… Sanae Kochiya? The wording of the statement caught her off guard. However, before she could ask anything, the miko shook her head and flashed a smile at the mage.

"Well, we should get going. I really want you to meet Lady Kanako." With a bit more pep in her step, Sanae walked back towards the stairs and began climbing. Without much to do, Nanoha followed.

Turning around to climb the stairs left her feeling uneasy. It took more willpower than she would care to admit not to erect a barrier behind her. Fortunately, she had two friends to help defend her if the need arose.

"Lady Kanako! I'm back." With a small jump, Sanae reached the top of the stairs and turned towards the rear of the shrine.

Reaching the top herself, Nanoha quickly turned around and surveyed the area, Raising Heart never leaving her side. An open room met her analyzing gaze. The only things that caught her attention were the large statue at the back of the room and several wooden figures sitting beside it.

"Frogs?"

Her question went unanswered as a voice boomed throughout the temple.

"Welcome home Sanae. And I believe I should welcome our… guests."

Instinctively, Nanoha jumped back and turned her gaze to the woman sitting in front of the statue. No, that woman was the statue; she just didn't notice her until now.

The woman that took the place of the statue at the back of the room wore a dark red blouse with white sleeves as well as a long red skirt with what looked like flower patterns at the end. Her blue hair didn't seem out-of-place, considering Sanae's own green hair. However, the large mirror on her chest and the twisted rope circling behind her were enough to catch her attention.

The woman in red regarded her with a curious look, but didn't say anything. She seemed to be waiting for Nanoha to introduce herself.

Regaining her composure from the blue-haired woman's sudden appearance, Nanoha stepped forward. "Kanako-san, I presume." Receiving an amused smile as her only response, Nanoha continued. "My name is Nanoha Takamachi. I'm a mage within the Time Space Administration Bureau. I believe that name should sound familiar."

"Oh, them? I guess they are still around." The woman averted her gaze briefly, an unreadable expression clouding her face. "I suppose that explains how you managed to enter the city."

This is it. Tightening her grip on her device, Nanoha took another step forward, drawing the god's attention back to her. "Then I'll cut to the chase. Are you responsible for the barrier surrounding this city?"

The air suddenly grew heavy between the two. Neither one moved an inch as they sized each other up. Sanae, however, worriedly looked back and forth between the two, seemingly oblivious to the seriousness of the question asked.

The woman in red sighed, breaking the heavy atmosphere. "No, I'm not." Nanoha could feel her body relax as she let out a sigh of relief. "I never did have any skill in curse manipulation. It's too messy anyways." Despite the possibility of her lying, the woman's tone of voice seemed to suggest otherwise.

"Geez. Don't scare me like that. I thought the two of you were going to start fighting." The brunette looked over her shoulder to see the miko waving her arms around, her sleeves flailing wildly as a result. "You could have died Miss Nanoha. What are you thinking talking to a God like that?"

The two women fell silent as they just watched the blue-green miko mumble to herself. The silence was broken as the god started laughing.

"Well, this certainly is interesting. How long has it been since a human stood up to me like that?" The woman continued laughing to herself, a large smile on her face. "Here I thought you would be like the ghostly princess based on your outfit. But now you seem more like the Hakurei Miko from so long ago."

A twitch from her shoulder drew her attention. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her friend hunched over as though he was trying to remember something.

"I suppose I should introduce myself then." The blue-haired woman brought a hand to her chest. "Welcome to the Moriya Shrine. I am its Goddess, Kanako Yasaka." The woman leaned against the wall. "Then again, I must ask. Sanae, just where did you find such a human? Weren't you supposed to be out gathering faith?"

Sanae flinched. "I-I was Lady Kanako. I searched the town, saved Miss Nanoha, and… well, w-we just started talking I guess." The girl hastily gave a summary of the day's events to an increasingly annoyed Kanako.

"Sanae." The girl flinched again at the harsh tone. "I know you want to go around 'saving' people, but right now gathering faith is much more important. You know that." The woman's voice softened at the end, as the miko nodded in understanding.

"Faith? What do you mean?"

"Ah, that's right. I didn't tell you did I?" Sanae fumbled with her jacket as she turned to the brunette. "I told you I was a God right? Well, Gods don't grow or age like normal humans. Their life, as well as their power, is based on the amount of faith they gain from humans." Finding what she was looking for, she pulled out a small wooden statue and placed it in the mage's hands. "Therefore, in order to survive and manifest their powers, a God must gather faith from believers. A God with no faith will not only be unable to manifest their powers, but may end up disappearing as well."

"I see. So it's not for some selfish reason like gaining power, but rather a means of survival." A nod from both goddesses confirmed her statement. "But," Nanoha turned the small statue over in her hand, "why frogs? From the murals downstairs, I figured you would use something related to snakes."

Kanako reached over and picked up one of the frog statues next to her. "Ah, that. The truth is… I'm not the original God for this shrine. I actually won the shrine some… long time ago." She brought the wooden frog up to her eye level. "The original God loved frogs, so I modeled myself after a snake. The only problem is, snakes don't have the best reputation. So I decided it would be easier to gather faith using the image of frogs."

I suppose that makes sense. However… "That seems a bit… evil." Kanako laughed.

"I guess it does. But, the winner can do whatever she wants right? So it doesn't really matter." Kanako continued to laugh at the expense of her old enemy. "Really though, why didn't you just ask Sanae earlier?"

Now it was Nanoha's turn to be confused. "The ornaments in her hair." She stopped and narrowed her eyes at Sanae. "She is still wearing them right?"

Sanae brought a hand up to the side of her head. Pulling away a few loose strands, she revealed a white braid resembling a snake, as well as a green and white pin further up on her head. Sure enough, the white would be enough to draw attention normally, except when there was something else that grabbed that attention because it was so out-of-place.

Kanako sighed. "It's because you keep wearing that dusty old thing."

Sanae puffed up her cheeks. "It's not dusty. And I happen to really like it."

The red God simply waved off her comments. "That's enough. Just go and get changed. Your sleeves are getting all messed up."

With a dejected sigh, the miko turned back towards the stairs. As her footsteps gradually disappeared, Nanoha became very aware of her position. She was standing in front of a literal god, in her own home. Without Sanae around to lessen the tension, things could get out of hand very quickly. Unconsciously, the ace's grip tightened on her device.

"So then, now that we are alone, I believe the two of you have a few questions for me."

"I guess there's no helping it." Soft paws hit the floor as the two mages stared at the living god.

Kanako raised an eyebrow at the small animal. "Aren't you going to change forms? Surely it can't be comfortable staying like that for so long."

"Thank you for your concern, but I quite like this form." Kanako simply shrugged. Accepting this, Yunno cleared his throat. "Now then, Miss Kanako I was wondering, would you happen to know of a place called Gensokyo?"

The red god narrowed her eyes, uncaring that the white mage had taken up position next to the ferret. "I do. The question is, how do you know that name?"

Yunno sat back on his hind legs. "A couple of years ago, I came across an odd book while on a dig. The book itself was ancient, to the point where I had to keep it magically preserved just to read it. The contents of the book detailed centuries of life in this land known as Gensokyo. It detailed everything from the local landmarks, to the various beings that lived there." He chuckled. "It kind of read like a tourist guide."

"Anyways, most of the important names were worn off from time, but there was one name in particular that I remember. Hakurei. According to what I could gleam from the book, Hakurei was not only the name of the barrier that surrounded the land, but the name of it's guardian. Is any of this correct?" A simple nod was his only response.

"Wait, Yunno-kun. If you knew about this kind of information, why didn't you tell me before?"

The ferret looked up at his partner. "I wasn't sure it was related. I didn't make the connection until she mentioned that name."

"And? What are you going to do with this information?" An unreadable expression covered the god's face.

"As I stated, the book was incredibly worn. Yet, whoever wrote it took a great amount of care in preserving earlier entries. Everything from the creation of your magic system up to the death of the world's guardian is detailed. And among the various beings stated to have lived in Gensokyo, the book mentions the gods of the mountain." Yunno opened his eyes to stare at the towering being before him. "That's you, isn't it?"

"My, how nostalgic." The god raised her head, an amused smile on her face. "I haven't been called by that name in several millennia." She chuckled. "Has it really been that long? Yes. That name does in fact refer to me." The god's posture visibly relaxed. "And as for your next question: Gensokyo itself no longer exists. After the Hakurei miko's passing, the barrier started to fall apart."

"Was she the only one who could maintain it?"

Kanako looked at the brunette. "She might as well have been. None of her successors were as skilled as her. Eventually, the barrier shattered, and the real world and the illusion faded together. Our only options were to cross dimensions and gather faith from all who would listen, or disappear in a world that no longer believed in the Gods."

The nonchalant tone of her voice caused the brunette to cringe. To chose between the world you know, or a possible future in an unknown world. To make the choice so casually frightened her a bit. The being in front of her was willing to go to such lengths in order to continue her existence.

A sound from behind her made her quickly reconsider her previous thought. She forgot, Kanako wasn't the only one that would be in trouble.

"I'm back." Sanae bounced up the steps before looking back and forth between the white mage and the red god. "Did something happen?"

"No, it's nothing Sanae. Our guests were just leaving." The tone in her voice said everything.

"Yes. I guess we were." Nanoha turned back towards the stairs, a familiar weight returning to her shoulder. "Sanae-san, thank you. I'll see you later."


The God in red watched as the white mage turned to go down the stairs.

"Ah. Wait, Miss Nanoha. I'll go with you." Sanae started to head towards the stairs.

"Let them go Sanae." The priestess stopped to look at the God. "Let them do whatever they want. It doesn't matter."

"B-but…"

"You have an important job to do. Or did you forget that too?"

The miko shook her head violently. "No, I haven't. But, I can't just leave her alone. " Her voice dropped to a whisper. "She's my first friend."

Kanako sighed. Why is this one so troublesome? "Sanae, you…" Her train of thought stopped as she took in the miko's appearance. "What happened to your sleeves?"

Sanae held up her arms. "Oh, those? I took them off. They kept getting in the way anyways."

"Urgh." Another sigh. "Sanae. The sleeves are a necessary part of the outfit. Without them your overall abilities will be affected and you won't be able to call on us effectively."

She had lectured her hundreds of times before, and just like all the other times, the girl in front of her started to zone out again. "Hah. You really are nothing like the original aren't you?"

A small gasp pulled her out of her reminiscing and back into the present. Crap. I didn't mean to say that. Looking at the girl, she realized she was already too late. The clenched fists and the averted eyes were all the proof she needed to know she messed up. "Sanae."

"I-I should be going now." Without another word, the young girl rushed down the stairs, desperately trying to catch up to the mage that just left.

"Ah, crap." Bringing a hand up to her head, the God could only wonder whether this was all worth it. Closing her eyes, she could feel the miko leaving the barrier. Stretching her consciousness a bit further she could feel her meeting up with the white mage on the steps to the temple, and the two of them agreeing to search together. She still didn't trust the white mage, but after her mistake, she knew Sanae wouldn't listen to her for a while.

Now what should I do? Bringing her consciousness back inside the temple, Kanako leaned back to rest only to feel a strange magic presence. That girl's magic?

Following the presence, she felt it leave the temple, presumably because it found the girl more interesting than the temple. Whatever it was, she was glad it left. She didn't need anymore problems. Unfortunately, just as she thought that, another presence entered the room.

"Is this really all worth it?" Her eyes came to rest in the center of the room, and the blonde sitting on the floor. "Is it, Suwako?"