Opening AN: I'm gonna revise up my previous chapters, add a retcon in chapter six, and add portraits of important characters after this chapter is published(as best as I can on this site, anyway), though the only two added details that are relevant(including the retcon) are that Meira is one of the taller 2hu characters in my fic and that Kotohime is a Dreamer much like Madotsuki, Urotsuki, Sabitsuki, Yomika, and Maribel. To give a sense on how tall Meira is, Rinnosuke and Yuugi are one of the few 2hus than her. There is another 2hu that's taller than her, but merely mentioning their name is a massive spoiler, so I ain't gonna reveal them lol.
As for Kotohime being a Dreamer, after discussing it with a friend that I share details with, we agreed that this retcon would be more interesting for Kotohime, not to mention that I think it would make her at least a bit more relevant in the story. Plus, I honestly didn't have any details cooked up for Kotohime asides from a single bullet point of her backstory, but revealing it now would be a spoiler. Without further ado, let's begin.
Shit, I'm gonna be in so much trouble, Sumireko thought as she and everyone looked at the magenta orb Marisa pulled out from under her hat.
"What is that thing?" Renko asked.
"No clue, da~ze," Marisa answered as she shrugged. "What I do know is that it can give you a cool power that can supplement your danmaku!"
"Ah, so that's why you wanted a danmaku battle!" Kotohime said in realization. "So what is this new power you got?~"
"Hah, as if I'd tell y'all!" Marisa answered. "That would only give y'all an advantage over me, da~ze!"
Meira snorted. "If you ain't gonna share what's the new power you got, then I might as well beat it out of ya with this danmaku battle you seem so eager to start."
"Oh, it's on, lanky-ass!" said Marisa.
As Marisa and Meira began to banter, Urotsuki felt a feeling that told her someone was caught red-handed. She looked around and quickly spotted Sumireko, who was the source of the feeling. "Hey, Sumireko, you alright?" Urotsuki asked, causing the rest of the Sealing Club members and Yomika to look at Sumireko.
Sumireko flinched, acting exactly like she was caught red-handed. "Y-yeah, nothing to worry about, Uro!," she answered placatingly.
"Did you forget something, Sumireko?" Madotsuki asked.
"It's nothing important, Mado, really!" Sumireko answered once again.
The rest of the Sealing Club members and Yomika didn't look too convinced, but they had all decided to drop the matter and returned their gaze towards Marisa and Meira.
Sumireko took a sigh of relief when the rest of the Sealing Club members and Yomika looked elsewhere. Whew, that was close, she thought to herself.
"Ooh, I'll be the referee!~" Kotohime said in-between Marisa and Meira's banter.
"Fine by me," Meira said as she handed over her backpack chest to Kotohime, who retrieved and wore it.
"I'd prefer if Reimu was the ref, but whatever, that's also fine," Marisa said while shrugging.
"You always want Reimu to do things with ya," Meira teased as she unsheathed her katana. "There something between you two?"
Marisa stammered for a few seconds before she recomposed herself, flustered by Meira's teasing comment. "Shut it, you!"
While Meira and Marisa continued their banter, the Sealing Club members and Yomika were surprised when Meira had unsheathed her katana.
"Uh, Reimu? Are you sure this is safe?" Maribel asked.
"It is," Reimu answered. "Meira's katana is only made of wood, and her blade's also blunt. Marisa theoretically might get some bruises at worst, but even then, Meira's skillful enough to turn even her most powerful swings into light taps, and that's before you factor in her ability."
"Ooh, an ability?" Sumireko asked with curiosity. "What ability does Meira have?"
"Meira's ability is to push and pull things," Reimu answered.
"That doesn't sound too powerful," Sumireko commented.
Reimu huffed in amusement. "While it is true that Meira's ability doesn't sound powerful at all, believe me when I say that she's among the strongest in Gensokyo."
"Okay, everyone!" Kotohime shouted, getting everyone's attention. "Ready to start this danmaku duel?~"
"I was born ready, da~ze!" Marisa said with excitement.
"Born ready? The previous me before my soul reincarnated was ready," Meira bantered.
Marisa rolled her eyes in response, but made no further comment.
"Alright, then, time to set the ground rules!~" Kotohime said. "Don't use attacks with lethal intent, don't cast spell cards that your opponent can't dodge, Spell Cards can only last for a minute at most, and unless the decision is unanimous, don't Awaken your ability!"
"Hey, I wanna use my Awakened ability!" Marisa said.
"I refuse," Meira responded. "We got some spectators here that are mostly magicless, and I'd rather be safe than sorry."
Marisa pouted. "You're no fun, da~ze," she grumbled not-so-quietly.
"Oh? Not confident that you aren't able to defeat me without your ability being Awakened?" Meira taunted.
"Oh yeah?" Marisa answered, rising to the taunt. "I'll show ya lanky-ass not to underestimate me, Kirisame Marisa, the Ordinary Human Magician, even without my Awakened ability, da~ze!"
Meira grinned excitedly in response as her battlelust began to show. "Now that's more like it, Kirisame Marisa! I, Meira, the Bladed Buddhist of Force, shall be your opponent!"
"In that case, both participants are not allowed to use their Awakened Abilities!" Kotohime declared. "Without further ado, on my mark…" Kotohime said as she slowly raised her right hand and Meira readied herself, her stance prepping her to dash towards Marisa. "...Get set…" Marisa hopped on her broom and began to hover in place, ready to fly at a moment's notice. "...Let the battle begin!~" Kotohime then swung her arm downwards, signifying the beginning of the duel.
(Begin Touhou OST: Power of Darkness)
MEIRA
Bladed Buddhist of Force
X
KIRISAME MARISA
Ordinary Human Magician
Marisa was the first to make a move, as she immediately flew away from Meira to gain distance and height and began to fire danmaku at Meira, to which meira's responded by flying and closing in on Marisa, dodging all of Marisa's danmaku and receiving grazing hits at worst. Despite Marisa's incredible speed, Meira was faster, especially since Meira used her ability to pull herself towards Marisa, increasing Meira's speed even further.
Marisa, having long known of Meira's speed advantage over her, had anticipated this, and with her also knowing of Meira's preference in close quarters combat, Marisa waited for just the right moment to dodge. When Meira began to prepare herself to swing her katana, Marisa knew that the time to dodge was now or never, so she suddenly did an aerial backflip over Meira as the latter swung her katana horizontally, causing Meira to miss.
The two duelists quickly reoriented themselves to face each other and simultaneously fired danmaku at each other all while dodging their opponent's danmaku, with Marisa's danmaku being star-shaped and Meira's danmaku being crescent-shaped.
While the aerial duel raged on, the Sealing Club members looked on with varying degrees of awe and wonder.
"Wow, so this is what a magic battle actually looks like!" Maribel exclaimed.
"It's certainly a pretty sight," Madotsuki commented.
"What you're seeing here is the Spell Card System in work," Reimu informed the Sealing Club members and Yomika, causing the group to look at her. "The Spell Card System allows even the weakest to get their word across not through pure might, but through showmanship and beauty."
Going back to the two duelists, Marisa and Meira continued to fire danmaku at each other while dodging their opponent's danmaku. Eventually, Meira's grin widened slightly as she pulled out a Spell Card from her right sleeve. Time to kick things up a notch, Meira thought.
Marisa, seeing that Meira was preparing a Spell Card, heightened her alertness as she prepared herself for whatever Spell Card Meira was about to cast.
Meira sheathed her sword, bit the tip of her right thumb, causing it to bleed, and smeared her blood on the Spell Card. Meira then pulled out her sword and threw the Spell Card towards the sky, which burned up shortly afterward.
"Raifu: Rai Ten Retsuzanari!" [Thunder Sign: Thunderous Heaven-splitting Slash(雷符「雷天裂斬り」)]
Meira coated her katana in a shroud of lightning with her left hand and then began to fly around Marisa in a square at high speeds, creating lines made of lightning with her katana that turned into lightning bolts that fired perpendicularly, with Meira also throwing in ordinary danmaku between the lightning bolts to corral Marisa into the lightning bolts. Marisa managed to dodge and graze most of Meira's danmaku, with only a few of them hitting her directly. Eventually, she managed to survive Meira's Spell Card for one minute, and Meira called off her Spell Card, the two duelists stopping their danmaku barrage.
"So you managed to survive my Thunderous Heaven-splitting Slashes for a full minute," Meira said in a mildly impressed tone, playing up the role of an arrogant fighter. "I suppose that is worth some acknowledgement."
Marisa grinned in response as she decided to play along. "How 'bout I show ya what I can do, da~ze? It's only fair, after all."
"Hmph, I doubt you'll land a scratch on me, but go ahead," Meira answered in a haughty tone.
"I'll make ya eat your words, lanky-ass da~ze!" Marisa said as she pulled out a Spell Card.
"Kougeki: Shoot the moon!" [Light Blast: Shoot the Moon(光撃「シュート・ザ・ムーン」)]
Balls of light suddenly appeared from behind Marisa and began to fire lasers straight ahead, all while Marisa began to fire star-shaped danmaku both in a spiraling formation and a wide five-pronged formation.
Meira resumed firing her danmaku at Marisa, forcing her opponent to resume dodging them, and dodged all of Marisa's danmaku while keeping distance from the laser beams, using her ability to pull herself away from marisa's danmaku in tandem with her natural agility. Eventually, a minute had passed without Meira getting hit even once, and Marisa dispelled her Spell Card.
(End: Touhou OST: Power of Darkness)
"Hmph, was that all?" Meira asked in an arrogant tone. "Surely, you could do better than that."
Marisa grinned, deciding not to take the bait. "I suppose I could, da~ze, but then again, I did say I wanted to show off the new power I got, didn't I? It wouldn't be right to reveal it right off the bat, ya know."
(Begin: Naruto Shippuden OST: Blind Animal)
Meira smirked in response. "I'll admit that you're right that it can be foolish to show one's hand early." Meira then dropped her smirk. "However, sometimes it is prudent to deliver a crushing defeat to your opponent as soon as possible, and I will show why right this instant!"
Meira sheathed her katana, pulled out a Spell Card from under her left sleeve, bit the tip of her left thumb to make it bleed, and smeared the blood on the Spell Card. Meira then threw the Spell Card upwards and slapped her hands together.
"Tenfu: Sūsenju Kannon!" [Heaven Sign: Several Thousand-armed Kannon(天符「数千手観音」)]
Meira unleashed a burst of holy energy from herself, creating golden particles of magic all around her. The golden particles then coalesced into a form of a large holographic and thousand-armed Buddha statue behind Meira.
"You should feel honored that you face my ultimate Spell Card," Meira boasted. "This is as powerful as I can get without breaking the Spell Card rules, let alone unleashing my Heavenly God Incarnation."
As soon as Meira finished boasting, the Buddha statue clenched its torso-sized fists and extended its arms to deliver multiple punches to Marisa, all while Meira fired lasers in Marisa's general direction. Marisa began to dodge the chest-sized fists coming from the holographic Buddha statue while staying clear from Meira's lasers and returning fire at Meira, forcing Meira to constantly evade Marisa's danmaku and move away from Marisa's line of fire.
While Marisa initially did well on dodging the barrage of Meira's Spell Card and landed some danmaku hits on Meira, the hits on Meira weren't enough to defeat her, and eventually, Marisa took a hit from one of the fist-shaped danmaku.
~PICHUUN!!~
A flash and a high-pitched sound rang out from Marisa as she briefly plummeted down and Meira dispelled her Spell Card. Marisa quickly flipped herself back up and flew back to be level with Meira, looking none worse for wear. "Wow, those fists hurt, da~ze," Marisa said as she shook off the pain and dusted herself. "I guess that's a loss for me."
Meira humphed in response. "I would be disappointed if you had immediately lost against Thousand-Armed Kannon."
Marisa grinned. "Oh, I'll wipe that stupid grin off your face, da~ze!" Marisa then pulled out the magenta orb she had under her hat and crushed it with her hand, causing it to turn into a dissipating mist.
"Suteki! Kawaya no Hanako-san!" [Lovely! Miss Hanako of the toilet!(ステキ！厠の花子さん！)]
All of the sudden, the world around Meira and Marisa turned black and rows of public restroom toilet stalls appeared from behind Marisa. One of the stalls' doors soon opened and sickly green hands began to fly towards Meira, who immediately began to dodge them, but she was soon caught by the hands and thrown into the opened stall, which Marisa then slammed the stall door shut.
(End: Naruto Shippuden OST: Blind Animal)
Soon, the world around Marisa returned to normal, revealing that Meira was plummeting to the ground, though Meira soon shook herself out of her daze and flipped herself back up.
"Uh… Marisa wins this round!" Kotohime said with uncertainty. "...I think."
"Yup, Marisa did," Meira said as she dusted herself and flew down to land. "So that was what you wanted to show off."
Marisa grinned as she also landed herself. "You'd be correct, da~ze! With that, I'm certain that I've won this duel!"
Meira snorted as she grabbed her backpack chest she gave to Kotohime earlier and put it back on. "You sure? I'm pretty certain that I've won this duel."
"I don't mean to interject here, but I think Meira's right," said Urotsuki. "While the two did get K.O.'d by their big spells at the end, Marisa did get hit by Meira's first spell a few times, while Meira seemed to not get hit at all with Marisa's first spell."
"Yeah, I also saw Meira not get hit by your first big spell," Madotsuki said, with the other Sealing Club members agreeing.
"Unfortunately, Marisa, they're right," Kotohime said. "Meira is the winner of this duel."
"Well, there's always a next time," Marisa said. "Now, how about that breakfast, Meira? I'm starvin', da~ze."
"Right, I forgot we kinda interrupted your breakfast," Urotsuki said.
"Sorry about that," Madotsuki chimed in.
"Nah, it's cool, da~ze," said Marisa. "I also interrupted our breakfast with my duel."
"If I'd brought more food, I'd offer an invitation to you folks to join our breakfast," Meira said.
"That's fine, Meira, we just so happened to arrive at an inopportune time, that's all," Renko replied.
"In addition, we already had dinner, but the offer is appreciated," Maribel added.
"Dinner?" Kotohime asked with a confused look. "But it's morning here."
"I'll answer that," Reimu said. "While I don't know much about the outside world, what I do know is that time between Gensokyo and the Outside World rarely synchronizes, with it synchronizing only once in a blue moon."
"Reimu's right, da~ze, though only the Great Sages know of the specifics behind it," Marisa added.
"'Great Sages'?" Renko asked. "I remember you mentioning them in passing once, so who are they?"
"I'll answer that, as well as any other questions you Outside World folks have," Meira said as she took off her backpack chest and turned to Kotohime, Marisa, and Reimu. "You three mind prepping breakfast while I answer their questions?"
"Sure, 'bout time we got to eat," Reimu answered as she went to grab Meira's backpack chest.
"Will do, Meira!~" Kotohime cheerfully replied.
"I don't mind, da~ze," Marisa responded. "Speaking of breakfast, what are we havin', Meira?"
"Rice porridge, both pickled and steamed veggies, onigiri, natto, and omelets," Meira answered.
"Aw yeah, now that's a nice meal, da~ze!" Marisa said with excitement. "These foods won't cook themselves, so let's go!"
"Right with ya!~" Kotohime said as she, Marisa, and Reimu went to the Hakurei Shrine to prepare their breakfast.
As Marisa, Reimu, and Kotohime walked towards the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu turned towards Marisa and asked her a question. "So you had an orb, as well, Marisa?"
"Huh? What's that mean, da~ze?" Marisa asked in confusion.
Reimu decided to answer Marisa's question by pulling out a green orb from her pocket, which was similar in size and appearance to Marisa's orb.
"Wow, now that's interesting," Kotohime commented.
"Wha- where'dya get that, da~ze?!" Marisa asked in surprise.
"I came across it on the ground while taking a leisurely walk one day," Reimu answered.
"Aw man, now I really regret not having a duel with you," Marisa said before she pouted and slouched in an exaggerated and melancholic manner, which Kotohime chuckled at.
"I'm not in a danmaku mood right now, sorry about that," Reimu apologized as she pocketed her orb.
Marisa straightened her pose and pointed at Reimu. "Just know that you owe me a Spell Card duel for this, da~ze!"
Were it anyone else, Reimu would've outright denied the supposed debt, but as Marisa was her closest friend, Reimu accepted the debt thrusted upon her. "I'll keep that in mind," Reimu said as she smiled. "For now, however, let's make our breakfast, shall we?"
"You got it, boss!" Marisa answered as Kotohime nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, back with the Sealing Club members, Yomika, and Meira, Meira turned towards the Sealing Club members and Yomika and bowed at them as she began to apologize. "Sorry 'bout that interruption."
"It's alright, It'd be rude of us to hold up your breakfast any longer than we already had," Urotsuki said, with the rest of the Sealing Club members and Yomika nodding in agreement.
"In that case, let's get to answering some questions, shall we?" Meira rhetorically asked.
(Begin: Naruto OST: The God Awakened)
"To answer the question on who the Great Sages are, they are a group of very powerful magicians who created Gensokyo, with Yakumo Yukari being the most well known," Meira answered. "Despite this, not only are they fairly hands-off in Gensokyo's affairs, they also hold little formal authority over Gensokyo, if any at all, and outside of Yukari, they tend to keep to themselves."
"Ran mentioned Yukari once or twice when she came by to check up on us yesterday, so who is Yukari?" Madotsuki asked.
Yesterday? Meira thought. They came here a few days- Oh right, time difference. "From what I know, Yukari is one of the more recent additions to the Great Sages, relatively speaking. With most of them preferring their privacy, Yukari is practically the face of the Great Sages.
"So what exactly does Yukari do as the face of the Great Sages?" Renko asked.
"She tends to send out Ran on at least a weekly basis to keep up with affairs and share whatever she deems important to the rest of them," Meira asked. "That's not to say that the other Great Sages don't have their way of keeping up, of course. Outside of that, however, I have no clue."
"You know any more of these Great Sages?" Sumireko asked. "They sound pretty powerful if they created Gensokyo."
"I'm only aware of three other Great Sages, though the only one I'm willing to name is Shingyoku," Meira answered. "As for why I won't name the other two, one won't be named for personal reasons she has that I respect, and the other… she's amoral at best, and with you all being a curious group of Outsiders, I'd rather not speak of the devil and have its shadow appear over you all."
"Oh, that makes sense, especially for the last one," Sumireko said a bit nervously.
"This will likely be a sensitive question for me to ask, but if you do not mind me asking, who is Reikou?" Yomika asked.
Meira snorted. "I suppose that question was coming up sooner or later. Under any other circumstances, I'd refuse to answer for Reimu's sake, but given how important the Hakureis are to Gensokyo, someone would eventually spill the beans on her. Even then, I'll only share what most people know.
To answer your question, Reikou was Reimu's mother, as well as the previous Hakurei Shrine maiden of Gensokyo. One day, while Reikou was out solving an Incident, she fought off against the one who caused the Incident and was hit with a killing blow."
Meira then darkly chuckled. "However, even while dying, Reikou, that tough woman, along with Reimu as eventual reinforcements, managed to solve the Incident before she passed away. Unfortunately for Reimu, she was merely a Hakurei Shrine Maiden-in-training, and a kid, to boot, but with her mother taking her last breath in her arms, Reimu was all but forced to take on the mantle of being the Shrine Maiden of Gensokyo."
"Oh, so that's why Reimu didn't like it when we brought her up," Sumireko said.
"Yeah, it brings up a myriad of memories for Reimu," Meira added.
"On a lighter topic, what does a Hakurei Shrine Maiden do?" Urotsuki asked.
"Their job is very important," Meira answered. "The Hakurei Shrine Maiden brings balance to Gensokyo, not just between humans and yokai, but to Gensokyo as a whole. They are not merely the Yin to the Yang, they are the Yin-Yang. To put it another way, they are the peacekeepers and protectors of Gensokyo itself."
"Sheesh, if being a Hakurei Shrine Maiden is that important, I can only imagine how much pressure Reimu must feel to live up to her job," Sumireko said.
You have no idea, Meira thought to herself. Hell, most of that pressure comes from herself, with Reimu trying to live up to her mother's legacy and strength.
"Besides Reimu and Reikou, do you know any other Hakurei Shrine Maidens?" Madotsuki asked.
"There's a few that I know, though one that immediately comes to mind is Hakurei Kazuko," Meira answered. "She's not exactly one of the Hakurei Shrine Maidens of Gensokyo, but she's an important figure in the Hakurei's history, especially since her participation in the Anti-Four Oni War had a profound effect not just in history, but to the Hakurei themselves."
"Anti-Four Oni War?" Renko asked. "Neither in history, nor in mythology, have I ever heard of it before, so how does such an important event seemingly get swept under the rug?"
Meira snorted. "That's what I asked when I first heard of it. To keep a long story short, during the mid-Heian Period, there were four oni who grew to prominence and had the ambition to take over the entirety of Japan. When the Oni's ambitions became known to the Imperial Court, they launched an expedition against the Oni. Unfortunately for the Imperial Court, said expedition dragged on, as little progress was made, and eventually, it escalated to an all-out war, even if the court never formally acknowledged it as such. Eventually, the war came to an end with Minamoto no Raikou and Kazuko defeating Shuten-Doji."
"Wait a minute, you mean to tell me that not only was Raikou slaying Shuten-Doji was actually related to a war, but that a Hakurei was also involved in it?" Renko asked in shock. "Why was this seemingly swept under the rug?"
Meira chuckled in response. "Good question. Considering that the Imperial Court never formally acknowledged that they were at war, I can only guess that they never wanted to admit that a group of 'bumpkin' oni and their minions were able to be a legitimate threat to their authority.
As to why Kazuko was specifically erased from history, not even the Hakureis and Shingyoku know, as Kazuko seemed to have kept the specifics to her grave. Given that she never wanted to mention Raikou after the war, I can only presume they had a falling out of some kind."
"Considering how important the war was, I highly doubt that the Imperial Court would erase almost everything about it," said Renko.
Meira shrugged. "That's just one theory. Another is that the records as well as Kazuko herself were simply lost to time, though I'm leaning more towards historical revision, at least when it comes to Kazuko."
(End: Naruto OST: The God Awakened)
Meira then suddenly looked towards the sky, as she sensed that someone was flying towards the Hakurei Shrine. "Oh, Suika's here."
The Sealing Club members and Yomika turned to the general direction where Meira was looking, and sure enough, they saw a short, long-haired girl who had two straight horns decorated with ribbons and a tattered light pink blouse, a long purple and white skirt, and four chain accessories, one on her right wrist that has a red tetrahedron attached to its end, one on her left wrist that has a yellow sphere at its end, one that tied the end of her hair into a tip and had a blue sphere attached to it, and one on her belt that had a purple drinking gourd decorated with tailsmans attached to it.
"IINCOOOMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!" Suika screamed with a half-drunken slur to her speech, causing everyone to get out of her way. Suika soon landed on the ground hard enough to kick up dirt and create a small but noticeable crater. "Alllright, Meira-*hic*-what's for breakfast?" Suika then began to take a drink from her drinking gourd.
"Nothing," Meira answered.
Suika did a spit-take upon hearing Meira's answer. Though Suika unintentionally spat her alcohol in Meira's direction, Meira acted quickly.
Tenfu: Banchou Tensei. [Heaven Sign: Heavenly Push of All Creation(天符「 万象天符」)]
Meira suddenly conjured what seemed to be a forcefield of some kind with her left hand, stopping the spat of alcohol in its tracks before casually flinging and pushing it away from everyone.
"Wha'dya mean there's nuffin' fa me?" Suika asked in surprise and exaggerated despair.
"I mean exactly what I said, Suika," Meira answered, lying as easily as she breathed. "No breakfast, no nothin'. Even if we did make breakfast, there certainly wouldn't be enough for you."
"Wha-? Surely, you have at least sumthin' for my-*hic*-my hangover."
Meira raised an eyebrow. "Your treatment for hangovers is just more alcohol, and you of all people should know that I don't have any on me. In addition, alcohol will only make your hangover worse."
"Heey, if it wo-*hic*-works fa me, then it works, right? Besides, ya Buddhists wouldn't know fun if it was shoved up ya ass."
Meira and Suika's banter was then suddenly interrupted by Kotohime shouting. "Meira, breakfast's ready!~"
"Be there in a minute!" Meira shouted back.
Suika suddenly got a devious grin on her face and immediately flew towards the Hakurei Shrine, intending to mooch off of the breakfast Kotohime, Marisa, and Reimu made.
"Oh no, you don't!" Meira said as she extended her left arm towards Suika.
Tenfu: Shinra Ten'in! [Heaven Sign: Heavenly Pull of an Almighty God(天符「神羅天引」)]
Suika suddenly froze in place before she was quickly pulled towards Meira, the latter then grabbing the former by the back of her blouse collar.
Suika began to comically flail around and scream as she fruitlessly tried to break free from Meira's clutches. "Damn it, let me go, lanky-ass, I just wanna bite!"
"And risk you eating us out of house and home, Suika? I don't think so," Meira answered with an amused smirk. "Also, watch your profanity."
Seeing the antics between Meira and Suika caused the Sealing Club members and Yomika to chuckle in amusement.
"Well, I suppose I shouldn't have Kotohime wait any longer." Meira then looked at the Sealing Club members and Yomika. "Would all of you like to come into the Hakurei Shrine with me? I know it's a bit awkward to have breakfast in front of guests, especially if they ain't eating with us, but it ain't safe for Outsiders in Gensokyo without a guide, and I doubt Suika would be up to watch over you."
"Wha-? I can babysit just fine, ya know!" Suika indignantly said. "And can't I at least have a bite?"
Meira raised an eyebrow at Suika's response as the former looked at the latter. "No." Meira then turned to the Sealing Club members and Yomika. "So, how 'bout it? You gonna come with me?"
"Sure, not like we know the rest of Gensokyo beyond this shrine, anyways," Urotsuki answered, with the other Sealing Club members and Yomika replying in a similar manner.
"Alright, then follow me," Meira said as she turned, but then she stopped and turned back towards Suika. "While I don't have any alcohol for your hangover, Suika, at the very least, you could ask Reimu for some."
"I suppose I'll do that," Suika grumbled.
"Now that that's dealt with, let's head inside," Meira said as she went towards the Hakurei Shrine, with the Sealing Club members, Yomika, and Suika following her.
Once the group was inside, they were greeted with the quaint, if slightly messy interior of the Hakurei Shrine. The group then made their way towards the Japanese dining table, where they sat on any floor pillows that were available.
"Oi, Reimu, you got any alcohol for my hangover?" Suika asked.
"No," Reimu immediately and tersely answered as she, Kotohime, and Marisa set their breakfast on the dining table and sat down.
"Ah, come on, ya gotta have at least somethin' fa ma hangover!" Suika exclaimed.
"This likely ain't much, but are you fine with some tea?~" Kotohime asked Suika.
"Fine, I'll take some tea," Suika grumbled.
"Oh, that reminds me," Meira said as she turned to the Sealing Club members and Yomika. "While we can't offer you our breakfast, would the rest of you like some tea?"
"Yes, I would," Yomika answered, with the Sealing Club also accepting the offer.
"I'll pour some cups of tea for the rest of you while I'm at it~," Kotohime said while she poured tea for Suika.
Once Kotohime poured cups for Suika, the Sealing Club members, and Yomika, both she and Meira passed on the tea to them, which the Sealing Club members and Yomika gave their thanks.
When that was over, Kotohime, Marisa, meira, and Reimu grabbed their eating utensils and put their hands together. """"Itadakimasu!"""" the four said in unison before digging in.
"So…" Urotsuki said, pausing to figure out what to say. "...I heard Meira mention this 'Heavenly God Incarnation' once during the duel. 'wassup with that being banned in Spell Card Duels?"
"Oh, that?" Marisa said as she picked up a piece of an omelet with her chopsticks and ate it before speaking with her mouth full. "I thunk Meiruh can answer dat da best, ba-se."
"Manners, Marisa," Reimu chided as she picked up a steamed pea pod with her chopsticks.
Marisa swallowed her food before she began to apologize. "Sorry, Reimu."
"Yeah, I can answer that," Meira said, getting everyone back on track. "In its default form, Heavenly God Incarnation(Tenjin Keshin[天神化身]) is a shroud of dense and hardened magic covering the caster as a form of armor, though one can manifest it to be tall enough to dwarf trees. As the name implies, it takes the form of a god, or in a Buddhist's case such as myself, it takes the form of a Buddha. More specifically, it manifests as a god or Buddha you worship."
Sumireko whistled. "That sounds pretty cool." Sumireko then looked around for the tea kettle, grabbed it, and poured herself some more tea. "So how does one get Heavenly God Incarnation?"
"For one, you gotta be pretty devoted to your god or Buddha, and even then, you can't just simply 'learn' it," Meira answered. "In the case of a god, they are the ones who decide if you are worthy of having it, whereas for Buddhists, not only do you have to reach a certain level of enlightenment, it also more often than not just comes to you, though having a clear mind while meditating does help a bit."
"So in short, you have to be particularly religious and either have the favor of your god or reach a certain level of enlightenment, right?" Maribel asked.
"Yup, that's the gist of it," Meira answered.
"Since Reimu is a miko, and the Hakurei Shrine Maiden, to boot, does that mean that she has Heavenly God Incarnation?" Urotsuki asked.
A brief but uncomfortable silence emanated from Marisa, Meira, and Reimu as they briefly stopped eating and pondered how to answer the question.
"I don't," Reimu tersely answered, not wanting to answer any more than that before she and the others resumed eating. The Sealing Club members, for their part, caught on to Reimu's unwillingness to elaborate.
"Sooo…" Sumireko said, deciding to change the topic. "...Meira, what were those two spells you used earlier on Suika? The forcefield and the one where you pulled her in, I mean."
"Ah, those two spells?" Meira said before she slapped Suika's hand away from the omelets without even looking. "They were Heavenly Pull of an Almighty God and Heavenly Push of All Creation, and are collectively known as the 'Shinra Banchou' spells."
Unbeknownst to Meira, Kotohime took pity on Suika and used her chopsticks to hand over a piece of an omelet to Suika, who gleefully accepted Kotohime's pity gift and swallowed the omelet piece whole.
"Now those names sound rather impressive," Urotsuki said. "So how does one obtain the Shinra Banchou spells?"
"Ooh, I can answer that, da~ze!" Marisa interjected. "There are three main ways to get the Shinra Banchou spells. One: You master at least five different magical elements. Two: You have divine blood within you. Three: A god decides to bless you with them, or in a Buddhist's case, they gotta reach a certain level of enlightenment. In short, the third way of obtainin' the Shinra Banshou spells is to be particularly religious, da~ze."
"As their names suggest, the Shinra Banshou spells can pull things toward or push them away from the caster," Meira added. "The only real limitation to the power of the spells is how much magic you can output, meaning that if you're particularly powerful enough, you can either flatten an entire mountain or rip apart said mountain by pulling parts of it towards you. You can even pull someone from thousands of Ri away, provided you know their general location."
"Christ, now that's powerful," Urotsuki commented, with her specifically sprinkling in the English word "Christ" in her otherwise Japanese speech.
"Indeed, and because of that, the Shinra Banchou spells are also banned in normal Spell Card rules," Meira explained. "So, any other questions?"
"No, not really," Madotsuki answered, with the other Sealing Club members and Yomika having similar replies.
"In that case, unless anyone else wishes to start a new conversation, I suppose we'll enjoy our breakfast and tea in silence," Meira said before she chuckled and resumed digging in.
Eventually, Marisa, Reimu, Meira, and kotohime finished their breakfast while the Sealing Club members, Yomika, and Suika finished their tea, and with the assistance of the Sealing Club members and Yomika, the four Gensokyo residents not named Suika put their dishes away, with Reimu and Marisa relegating themselves to dish duty.
"Well, since you're all here and intend to stay, I might be able to take you all on a tour to the Human Village," Meira said as she stretched her arms and back.
"I can agree to that," Yomika said, with the Sealing Club members having similar answers.
"In that case, we'll be going right about now," Meira said as she put on her backpack chest. "Let's go home, Kotohime."
"Got it, Meira!~" Kotohime cheerfully said before turning towards Marisa and Reimu and bowing at them. "See ya later, you two!~"
"See ya, da~ze!"/"Bye, Kotohime," Marisa and Reimu said, respectively.
Once everyone had exchanged their goodbyes, the Sealing Club members, Yomika, Kotohime, and Meira left the Hakurei Shrine and walked towards the Human Village, and in that timeframe, Marisa and Reimu had finished washing the dishes.
"Well, it was nice having breakfast, da~ze, so I'll be off now, Reimu," Marisa said as she began to leave the Hakurei Shrine, with Reimu seeing her out and Suika following her.
"Bye, Marisa," Reimu replied as she walked Marisa out.
"Byeee, Murisah!" Suika said with a drunken slur.
Marisa chuckled. "See ya, Suika." Marisa then hopped on her broom and took to the sky, flying off to who knows where.
Suika turned to face Reimu. "I thunk I'll go as well," Suika said. "See ya!" Suika then jumped up into the sky and flew away without even letting Reimu say her goodbyes.
Bye, I guess, Reimu thought before shaking her head. Oh well. I suppose I should get to my duties as a miko now. Reimu then turned around and headed into the Hakurei Shrine, ready to do her morning miko duties.
However, just as she faced the shrine, she saw a woman standing at the shrine's entrance with an interested look on her face, with the woman having red, waist-length hair, red eyes, and two bifurcated horns, and wore a blue cloak over a white blouse, a red dress that had a sun and lightning bolt pattern on it, and a red bow over the cloak.
"Sh-Shingyoku-sama," Reimu said with surprise as she reflexively bowed towards the now-named Shingyoku.
(Begin: Naruto Shippuden OST: Senya)
Shingyoku hummed to herself. "So those were the Outsiders the crows were talking about. How interesting." It looks like Maribel intends to continue visiting Gensokyo if her second visit is of any consideration, Shingyoku thought. In addition, the one named "Yomika" seems to be holding quite some power within her, albeit one that is unrealized.
Reimu raised her head, confusion present on her face. "'Interesting'? 'Interesting' how, if I may ask?"
Shingyoku gave a knowing smirk to Reimu. "If you still have any concerns about the Outsiders, Reimu, you need not worry about them too much anymore," Shingyoku cryptically answered. "At most, they are of marginal concern, and even then, only one is capable of causing an Incident should her buttons be pushed. Other than that, the Outsiders are quite benign."
"If you don't mind me asking, Shingyoku-sama, just who is the one capable of causing an Incident?" Reimu asked.
"That, I will not tell you," Shingyoku answered before dropping her smirk. "After all, if you were murdered, Marisa would very likely start an Incident, intentionally or not."
Reimu froze upon hearing Shingyoku's answer as her mood suddenly dropped.
"Whether that one Outsider realizes it or not," Shingyoku continued, "her bonds with the other Outsiders are much like Marisa's bond with you."
"How could you tell?" Reimu asked in a frigid tone.
"I observed the Outsiders' two visits here, and the one Outsider's body language has always been the most cautious and protective out of all of them, even if she doesn't show it. Truth be told, during their first visit, even I was ready to intervene when you asked them how they got here, as the one Outsider was more than willing to lay down her life it meant protecting those close to her."
Reimu took a deep breath to calm herself. "I see."
Shingyoku, knowing that she pressed one of Reimu's buttons, walked up to Reimu and hugged her. "I'm sorry for making that comparison using Marisa. I didn't mean to hurt you with it."
"...It's fine," Reimu said after a tense and awkward pause.
"Is there any way I can make it up to you?"
Reimu gave Shingyoku's question some thought, and eventually, she gave an answer. "Can you make me some ice cream?"
Shingyoku stopped hugging Reimu and gave the latter a soft smile. "You just had breakfast." Shingyoku then turned around to leave. "Despite that, however, I will go ahead and make some for you." Shingyoku then went her way to enter the Hakurei Shrine.
Reimu clenched her fists as her thoughts returned to the comparison. Marisa wouldn't start an Incident over me, she thought as she made her way into the shrine. She wouldn't.
(End: Naruto Shippuden OST: Senya)
CLOSING AN: As you can probably tell, there's some influences of Naruto in this chapter. A bit strange, innit? Also, Shingyoku makes a surprise visit to the Hakurei Shrine. Just what is she doing there, I wonder?
Those familiar with ULiL(Urban Legend in Limbo for the uninitiated) will no doubt notice that details corresponding to ULiL here and the actual first half of the ULiL prologue are quite different. Instead of Reimu vs. Marisa for the first duel, it's Marisa vs. Meira. In addition, I decided to give Occult Balls differing colors mainly to give them some distinction.