Underneath the boughs of ancient oak, above the stone stairs to a crimson torii, to the back of the bustling city, and to the front of a fading mountain range, a little shrine rested.
A freshly painted torii is the first thing he notices, the paint only beginning to dry as the man passed through the boundary of the shrine.
"I'm home!" He calls out, a noticeable thump thump sound ringing out at his voice.
A blur of colors leaps into the air, the man's arms automatically held out to catch them.
"Welcome home dad, welcome home!" The little girl cries out, a smile already beaming on her face.
He pats her head, smiling as he says, "Thank you Ena. Where's your mother?"
Her hand grabs his own, leading him into the shrine proper as she babbles, "Mom is cleaning the shrine because it's autumn, and said that there's a new incident across the border! She said that 'Gael should come home soon to join me', and at school today, I..."
She continued her tirade, Gael listening to her every word as he prepared himself to join his wife, carrying Ena on his shoulders as they walked towards the observation room.
Within the room, which was really just their bedroom, sat a woman staring into a gap. The gap in question was one of a few points of weakness in the Great Hakurei Barrier, designed for both entry and exit, or mere observation. Why it was there though, was an incident several years ago.
His wife, Yuna Hakurei, was from an old line of shrine maidens dating back centuries. With the passing away of her mother came the property rights of the old family shrine, Yuna's childhood home, and they went to investigate the new property.
It was not what they expected.
Well cared for and polished, the shrine had obviously had a most devoted owner. And so the couple settled down, selling their apartment and making the necessary arrangements.
There were a few abnormalities here and there, playful whispers drifting through the air with no voice to accompany them, or the odd sighting of a ghost or two, but really, nothing to worry about his wife assured him.
It was a month after settling down that a visitor came.
A woman came to the shrine. A white and purple dress, fair blonde hair, piercing gold eyes, she was beautiful yet so very dangerous.
The couple invited her in for a cup of tea, asking her why the visit. She smiled, and spun them a tale most extravagant.
Of a land of youkai and gods. Of a great celestial plane, of the Sanzu River, of Hell, of the Forest of Magic, and of course, all of Gensokyo. A land separated from reality, with the Hakurei Shrine as the focal point for its concealment.
Gael couldn't believe his ears. A land across the hidden from reality, linked to his wife's shrine? It was preposterous, and yet...
His wife believed her. Memories from her childhood she said, when her own mother spoke of such a land. She said that she would do whatever they could to help.
The mysterious woman stared back, then burst into laughter, saying through her tears about how no one in the outside world was so willing to help, so eager to jump at a chance to assist a complete stranger. She said that the only thing that the couple needed to do was take care of the shrine, to ensure that it didn't fall into disrepair, and to help those lost around the area, as outsiders sometimes wandered into Gensokyo and needed to get out. In times of emergency, she would need their help in repairing the barrier. Nothing too complicated, just a few basic spells of power transfer, something to temporarily mend holes until the specialists arrived.
She instructed the pair on magic and rituals for several weeks, before departing through one of her gaps with a farewell.
Thus did the small family continue to live in the shrine, keeping it clean and helping those lost nearby. Every so often, a gap would open as the barrier fluctuated slightly, the pair and later trio observing the world on the other side.
There was a western magician crafting dolls, an elegant maid shopping for supplies, a swordswoman trimming an ethereal garden, a fantastic battle of colors and bullets, and countless other moments of the lives of Gensokyo's residents.
Normally, work called the pair away, and the child was usually in school. And if not those, there was homework, studying, late nights, overtime, finances, plenty of things that required their attention.
But today there were no tasks to be done, and as such, the three humans watched the gap, bearing witness to a legendary battle between a red and white shrine maiden and a goddess of the wind...