…
Running away and hiding doesn't solve anything. You can't plug your ears and cover your eyes forever. When the thing you're running from catches up and you can't run away anymore, what will you do?
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Be the change you want to see in the world. Your destiny awaits. Wake up…
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…
"..ecking…ssure…." The voices faded in and out.
…
"Blood pressure is stable, and his heartbeat is normal." A voice announced, giving off a muffled echo as Vali opened his eyes slowly. It took a while for his eyes to focus on his surroundings.
The first thing he noticed was that he was laying on a soft but solid bed, a pillow propped under his head. The lights were bright, but not blinding. Vali started to panic when he noticed several IVs inserted in his arm, but calmed down when he realized that they were regular ones, not the sedatives that the organization that captured him used.
Sitting up, he carefully pulled the IVs out of his arm and looked around. In the corner of the room checking X-ray scans was a petite black-haired girl wearing a blue jacket and skirt, carrying a large green backpack. Next to her was a similarly-dressed girl with blonde hair.
Hearing Vali move, the black-haired girl turned around and exclaimed, "Oh, you're awake! I'll let the others know. " She quickly reached for the door, and closed it.
The blonde girl approached Vali and began to perform standard integrity checks on him.
"Okay…Listen up, I'm going to do some standard checkups so I can make sure that you're okay, is that fine? She said, pulling out a notebook.
[Yes]
"Okay…please open your mouth wide…"
Vali opened his mouth, revealing a set of sharp teeth, some a bit darkened and four dangerously sharp fangs.
"Teeth…Check..Now…your tongue, please…"
Vali took out his tongue. It was fairly long, and covered by rough taste buds that were probably used to shred the meat. The tongue itself ended in an arrow-point-like cut.
"Tongue…Check…Now, please take a deep breath, and exhale until you feel out of air." She said, taking a stethoscope, and placing it on Vali's back.
Vali filled his lungs with air, and released it. After coughing for a while, he recovered his breath.
"Hmm…Something is wrong. I can perceive something that isn't filling up there. Is it your…flame…sack? I don't know if it's said like that." She asked.
[Yes]
"Okay. I need you to use that sack, so I can check its condition. Not a lot, just a short use will be enough."
Vali was hesitant, as he wasn't in a situation in which he needed to defend himself, but since it wasn't anything big, he did it. Taking another smaller breath, he inflated his flame sack, and opening his mouth, he let out a short burst of fire. After that, steam came out of his mouth.
"Special Organ…Check. You know, communication would be easier if you could speak, but since we found out you somehow don't have vocal cords, I'll just continue like this. Your eyes seem fine, too, as well as your hearing, since you were able to hear me perfectly. Now, could you lend me one of your arms?
Vali stretched his left arm, letting the girl examine it. She had a good look at his claws, and his scales.
"Your hands seem to be just fine. And your scales don't look damaged at all!. Good, we're done here." The girl said, writing the last information needed, and going back to the desk. Vali then waited for someone to come and then…
*BLAM*
Suddenly, the door opened, and a girl entered the room holding a notebook. She wore a white buttoned shirt, a skirt with leaf patterns, and a pair of strange red shoes with a thin platform in the middle of them. Apart from that, she wore a hat that was noticeably smaller than her own head, with fluffy pom-poms hanging from each side.
"Hi! I was told that you woke up, so I came here!" The girl said.
"...?" Vali looked at the girl, as if trying to say "Who are you?"
"Oh, sorry! My name is Aya Shameimaru! Nice to meet you…What's your name?
Vali looked around for something to write in, but there was nothing. Luckily for him, one of the kappas that were still in the room stepped in to talk for him.
"Looks like the one who told you he was awake forgot to mention it, but he can't speak. You might want to give him something so he can communicate." He said, explaining.
"Hmm…wait here a moment." Aya said, as she suddenly warped out of the room, creating a soft air current. Some seconds later, she returned with a second notebook and a pen. "I sure hope you can write in Japanese. Preferably not in fancy kanji, everyone hates that stuff."
[Sure]
Vali took the pen and notebook, and a few seconds later, a message was written on the notebook.
[My name is Valentin Fieraru. It's nice to meet you.]
"So what's your story?" asked Aya. "I mean, we gotta document you down since you'll be staying here for a while."
Vali wrote some more. [I spent the first few years of my life being raised by my father, who was a dragon. And then I left to grow on my own, as is in dragon culture.]
Taking notes, Aya nodded and prompted, "Continue."
[Soon after, I was taken in by a nun named Gracia, who taught me to read and write. And since she's from an onmyouji family on her father's side, she also taught me Japanese so I could make my own talismans to help control my power.]
"I see," muttered Aya. "That explains why you know Japanese, as well as your excellent calligraphy. You might even be able to learn how to write in the tengu's written language."
[After Gracia took me in, I grew up in a town in the high mountains of Romania. There, I made friends, attended school, and other things. Ever since, that's where I've lived my life.]
"Romania?" asked Aya in confusion. "Where's that? I know it's in the Outside World, but that's about it."
[You don't know where it is? Fine, I'll tell you. Romania is a country located in eastern Europe, having Ukraine and Belgium as some of its neighboring countries. Its capital is the city of Bucharest, and it has direct access to the coast of the Black Sea.]
Blinking, Aya sighed, "You do know that I barely understood half of that, right? All I got is that Romania is in eastern Europe, and I have no idea where that is either."
Vali furrowed his eyebrows in incredulity. [Where am I? What kind of place am I in if nobody knows about Romania or even where Europe is? Did you pay attention to your geography lessons?]
Rubbing the bridge of her nose, Aya sighed. "Oh boy, here we go. We're in Gensokyo. Surely as a non-human with knowledge of magic, you know about that."
[Gensokyo? The same prefecture in Japan that's always involved in important conflicts, and is the most important point of reunion for the Hakurei Barrier Coalition? How is it possible that you don't know where Europe is?]
Aya was stumped. "The hell? What are you talking about?" Turning to the nearby kappa, she asked, "Are you sure he's fine? I think he hit his head too hard. Gensokyo is sealed off from the rest of the world."
[But…Gensokyo isn't sealed off from the rest of the world! There's a lot of important and famous people from there who are renowned worldwide! Many technological and medical advances came from there…and the Hakurei Barrier peace pact was signed over a hundred years ago!"]
"Wait up, I think I figured it out!" called out a female voice. Getting up from the bed, Vali turned to see who it was, before stopping as his eyes landed on the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She was around his age, and had a surprisingly well-developed body, along with slender arms that had visible muscle tone. She had blue eyes and blue hair held up in pigtails. She wore a mechanic's uniform, with the shirt tied around her waist rather than being worn, revealing that she was wearing a form-fitting black tank top underneath.
Snapping out of his daze, Vali quickly wrote down, [Hi, I'm Valentin. What's your name?]
Taking off her gloves, the girl held out a hand and replied, "Nice to meet you, Valentin. I'm Nitori Kawashiro." As they shook hands, she continued, "Now then, could you explain how you got here? I think I know what happened."
Nodding, Vali started to write again. [I was kidnapped by a group of armed men while I was heading home. They took me to a facility somewhere, and the scientists did multiple experiments on me, for about two months or so.]
Holding up a hand to stop him, Nitori rephrased her question, "I mean, how did you escape? I don't need to hear everything, just the part that caused you to end up here."
Vali took a moment to remember what happened. [I used a talisman to try to send myself home, but something went wrong. The light was all wrong, and then the plane rumbled and started to fall quickly. I don't remember anything else after that. And now I'm here.]
Stroking her chin, Nitori analyzed, "So you tried to teleport yourself home, but somehow your talisman messed up and you ended up here. And the Gensokyo you're describing is completely different to how Gensokyo we know is." Pursing her lips, she looked Vali in the eyes and finished, "Looks like I was right. Well, welcome to this dimension's Gensokyo."
Aya dropped her pen and notebook. "Wait, what?" she exclaimed. "Are you saying that he's from a different dimension?"
The kappa replied, "Seems so. While we were going through the plane wreckage, I noticed some stuff that didn't add up. It's supposed to belong to an Outside World military group, but some of the bullets for the guns had anti-youkai measures on them, meaning that they were specifically made to fight youkai. And given what you said earlier, the Hakurei Barrier Coalition implies that Gensokyo works together with at least one other country in the world."
[You're close. The Hakurei Barrier Coalition works alongside the most powerful countries in the world, both in firepower and magical strength, such as Britain and Japan.]
Connecting the dots, Aya's eyes widened. "He really is from another dimension…" she breathed. Suddenly, she became serious. "We need to keep this secret from Reimu," she said. "We can trust Sanae since she's more open-minded and is from the Outside World herself, but chances are that Reimu might kill him on the spot."
"...!?" Vali looked at Aya, shocked. He panicked, and tried to run, but stopped as a headache washed over his senses.
Patting Vali on the back, Nitori tried to soothe him. "Relax," she said, "You're safe here on Youkai Mountain. Believe it or not, we actually have four gods here on Youkai Mountain. If they know about your circumstances, they'll look out for you since as a new variable, you're more important alive than dead."
"...?" Vali looked again, like trying to seek confirmation.
Aya explained, "Suwako and Kanako are the gods of Moriya Shrine and came here from the Outside World with Sanae. Shizuka and Minoriko are minor gods, but they'd still look out for a newcomer like you since it's in their nature."
[Suwako and Kanako? The gods who spearheaded the nuclear fusion revolution? Thanks to them, the world made massive leaps and bounds towards environment-friendly energy sources as alternatives to oil and fossil fuels. Shizuka is well-known for her nature conservation efforts, and Minoriko is famous for her contributions to agriculture and is loved by most of the world for her fight against famine and starvation! The four of them are even hailed as the true gods of the world by many environmentalists and nature conservation groups!]
Eyes sparkling, Nitori excitedly asked, "That's so cool! What about the kappa?"
[The kappa are famous too! Many of them are responsible for technological advancements all over the world! Mars is actually terraformed now thanks to their contributions! Sure, the terraforming and construction crews are still finishing up the first colony, but it won't be long until people can move there!]
Leaping on the bandwagon, Aya asked, "What about the tengu?"
Vali stared at her blankly. [Thanks to the tengu nearly causing a fourth world war with their articles, the news industries worldwide got overhauled and it's now illegal to write libelous or questionable opinion pieces, and writing news that isn't entirely factual or is outright fake is now a crime punishable by life in prison, depending on how bad it is. As for you specifically? You're currently serving nearly fifty consecutive life sentences in a maximum security prison run by oni from hell for leaking classified government information from several countries, illegal espionage, and libelous articles. And several times you nearly ended up on death row.]
Aya froze, feeling her world shatter. Getting out of her chair, she went over to the corner of the room and curled into a ball, mumbling to herself incoherently.
[Looks like I really am from another dimension, judging by all your reactions to how Gensokyo is where I am. I can continue explaining more things, but right now I'm hungry. I would like to get something to eat, if you don't mind.]
"Sure thing," replied Nitori. Turning to the nearby kappa, she ordered, "Go get him something to eat while we figure things out."
[And Nitori, since you said you were figuring out what the weapons are, I can probably lend a hand, since I'm pretty sure some of them have instructions written in Romanian.]
Suddenly, a green-haired girl ran into the room. "Your food is here! Da da da daaaaa!" she declared, striking a pose while raising a bento box into the air.
"-_- ' " Vali looked at her, unamused, and waved in response.
Vali was confused when he thought the green-haired girl looked familiar. [Excuse me] he wrote, [but who are you?]
The girl struck a pose. "I am the one who grants miracles, bringing them into the world. Men want to be with me, while women wish they were me. As the shining idol among the stars, it is my duty to lead humanity on the path of salvation. I am… Sanae Kochiya!"
Vali was shocked, realizing just why she looked so familiar. [You're that famous model!]
Sanae blinked in confusion. "Say what now?"
The half-dragon continued to write. [You're a model who's famous for high quality cosplay, and you've even collaborated with other famous cosplayers, both human and youkai. And that's not even counting how you also work part-time as the assistant of the goddesses Suwako Moriya and Kanako Yasaka!]
"What are you talking about? Sure, I was a pretty popular cosplayer back when I was in the Outside World, but I wasn't a model or famous, and I definitely never did a cosplay collab before." said Sanae.
"He's from a different dimension where Gensokyo is a major power in the world," both Nitori and Aya said monotonously.
"A different… dimension?" asked Sanae, stiffening. Suddenly, she leapt at Vali, grabbing him by his shoulders and looking intensely into his eyes. "That's… that's… so COOL! So what is-"
Cutting the girl off, Aya quickly said, "I asked him questions earlier and took notes, so you can read them later."
"_' " Vali flailed his arms, wanting to have some personal space. [What are you doing?!]
"Please let go of him," said a black-haired woman wearing dark blue clothing as she entered the room. "We can't get answers if you're doing that to him."
Sighing, Aya held up her notebook. "I took notes on his answers to my questions," she repeated. "Just read it, it's faster than explaining. Seriously. I'm still trying to understand what's going on."
The woman took the notebook, and started to read. Her face went from neutral, to shocked, to even more shocked, to impressed, to weary, and finally into a concerned face. She started to walk around a bit nervous.
"So…let me get this straight. You're telling me that this boy, who comes from an alternate dimension where this place we call home…is an extremely politically important place in the ENTIRE world?"
"Yes," replied Nitori.
"And that by some insane twist of destiny, he not only managed to teleport himself to this dimension, but an aircraft full of never seen before artifacts and materials that will probably give us a MASSIVE advantage over the rest of the factions existing in this land?!"
"...yes?" said the blonde kappa nervously.
"And that we will have to either find out how to get rid of a small number of weapons, or keep them under strict restriction, because they have anti-youkai tech?"
"... yes?" squeaked Aya.
Staring at the group, the woman sighed. "It's barely noon, and I already want to get drunk and fall asleep. It's like someone up there really hates me." She then looked again at Vali, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Looks like you're under our protection now. It would be such a waste to let you or any of the things you unknowingly brought here reach the Hakurei Miko's ears. For now, we'll make our best efforts to keep the whole thing confidential, and decide what to do with the rest of things."
*groooowl*
"./." Vali blushed, after hearing his stomach rumble. Aya and Nitori giggled a little, seeing Vali look away sheepishly for a moment.
"Oh yeah, here's your food." Sanae handed the bento box over to Vali, who promptly opened it and started eating after a quick prayer.