Chapter Text
Sanae Kotiya(I)
I was sweeping rubble off the walkways of my Shrine. Suwako-sama and Kanako-sama had cleared out most of it, and my friends had helped out a lot in rebuilding the place yesterday, but it’s my duty as the shrine maiden to keep the place clean I suppose.
We should probably be open by tomorrow morning. Sure, there was this massive battle that happened a mere two days ago. Sure, we proceeded to trek through the demon world to free a group of youkai Buddhists to avoid a glowing fireball and nuclear hell raven from killing us all. Sure, we then had to rescue one of our number from said fireball, and the half-phantom swordswoman nearly died in the process.
But this is Gensokyo. Such things are a given. I should just be glad that none of us actually crossed the Sanzu.
Today’s been a… particularly peaceful day. There hasn’t been any youkai intrusions in the human village, nor anyone trying to start incidents. Hell, the humans themselves haven’t even had spats or anything! I’d say it was some kind of incident itself, but having dealt with so much back to back, don’t we deserve a break?
By tomorrow everyone will be leaving. It’ll just be me and my two gods here once more.
I’ve gotten used to the laughter, the noise. Trekking down the Mountain will be… a bit of a hassle. I think that my powers can be used for flight? Best not risk that. It’s times like this where I miss the city-
“Kochiya-san!” I turn towards the voice. How did this person even know my name? In the old language(1), even?
The torii- which is, the shrine’s gate- was gone. Not as if “it was blown up again” gone… it’s a bit hard to explain what I had seen. Imagine a painting with a hole ripped through it. That was what had happened.
“Surprised you’re wearing an actual miko’s outfit today!” The person that greeted me had a spiky mess of blue hair. That was the first thing that stood out, hair so sharp it could be used as knives. That, and the fact that they looked and sounded…neither male nor female. Somehow. They seemed friendly enough.
“This place looks… off?” A feminine voice emerged from that hole, followed by its owner. She was wearing a dark brown coat, which was somehow shimmering despite clearly being made of a non-reflective material. And hair that could rival Sakuya’s in terms of how silver they were. This day was getting weirder and weirder.
I heard footsteps from behind me. “Who are you people?” asked Suwako-sama, looking just as shocked as I was. “What are you doing in my shrine?”
More people were coming through that hole, which was slowly closing. Someone wearing a great top hat with a blinking eye? Was that ink surrounding them? A pink-haired ‘child’ that radiated an aura to match the god standing beside me. Two purple-clothed people, one black-haired, one green-haired.
The silver-haired girl looked at the ancient god that could end her in an instant… “Name’s Yabusame Houlen, co-caretaker priest of the Senri Shrine. Nice to meet ya!” …and held out her hand.
… … Suwako-sama reached out her hand as well.
“Houlen,” the top hat guy said, “this isn’t even our destination. Let’s just go.”
“Oh come on… this place seems quite fun! Can we please check it out? Please…”
”What the hell’s the fuss about?!” It was… Sakuya Izayoi! (2) Being carried by Reimu-san, since her legs still haven’t healed completely yet. “Who are you people, anyway?”
“We certainly aren’t in the right place,” said the blue-haired person. “Izayoi should have silver eyes, not blue. And why the hell is the Hakurei shrine maiden wearing that anyway?”
“But this place looks fun, doesn’t it? A lot more adventurous than that Gensokyo. Or even our Mugenri, for that matter.” I just realized something. Yabusame and the blue-hair are still speaking the old language. I was born a Japanese speaker, landed here, and had to relearn the thing more or less from scratch.
“Hello? I was asking you a-”
“Are you implying that there is another Gensokyo out there?”
Wait, when did she get here? “How did you people even enter my domain in the first place? None of you are gods. None of you should be able to withstand the Boundary’s power.”
Yukari Yakumo, youkai of boundaries and de facto ruler of Gensokyo, walked up to the intruders with a wide smile on her face. “So how are you people still alive?”
Yabusame didn’t respond. Evidently she didn’t speak the new language. The top hat guy spoke up instead: “God alone knows. We came here by accident.”
“While trying to port to another world. Even I can’t pull that off.”
He sighed. “Yabu’s power is… a bit weird. Let’s put it like that.”
“Tsuba-chan! Why don’t you introduce yourself to the kind old lady?”
The blue-haired person stepped up instead. “My name’s Haiji Senri, and I collect spellcards. I will like to challenge you to a duel.” Draws a set of colourful-looking cards. “The other Yukari once lost to me, I might add.”
“… we’ve only just met. Do you hate me so?” It’s a bit hard catching up to everyone speaking the old language. “I don’t even have spell cards anyway. Too limiting.” The ground shook.
Haiji floated upwards. Not by machine, not by magic, just floated.
“... wait, so how have you been resolving your duels? Don’t the rules say that you have to use cards to fight?” Somehow, they sound… not horrified? Just a bit hesitant.
“Rules?”
“Heys, let mes try.” According to her closest friends, Marisa’s accent grows on people. For me, not yet.
“Marisa?” called out Alice. “Do be careful with that person!”
“I actually knows how to use these things.” She drew her old hakkero, a wooden thing barely patched back up after the events of last week. “Spell card collections, you say?” Apparently, while Yakumo-sama had made her a new one in anticipation of the coming battle, she insisted on repairing the thing with Alice as soon as it was over.
“A symbol of our love”, she said.
“Something-colored Mugenri!” “Love Sign- Master Spark!”
“Why aren’t you flying- holy god were you trying to kill me with that?! It singed!” “Heys, these red bubbles barely tickles. Also what elses are spells for?”
-“Hey, I remember seeing this one before,” remarked Yabusame, tilting her head. “Isn’t that laser thing supposed to be more… colourful? This thing looks more like one of Tsuba-chan’s spells.”
“SPELLS ARE MEANT TO BE SHOWY! THEY’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE LETHAL!(3)” “Yous use these for self-defenses! What cans haphazardly aimed bullets even dos? Waste magics?”
-“I’m quite sure that I’ve seen this before…” muttered Sakuya. “The name somehow rings a bell…”
“Dear heavens above, I can’t use these! They don’t have an ounce of beauty within! If you aren’t playing fair, neither should I! Memories Moving Upstream!” “ Stop throwing knives everywher-”
A knife, two, four were sent sideways by silver blades. Their original trajectory seemed to be for Marisa’s back.
Both combatants halt fire.
Sakuya was gripping tightly yet more knives, her fingers white from strain.
Yabusame started chuckling. What was so funny about this?
“Heys, you might be rights about beautys.” Marisa sheathed her hakkero. “Wheres is this other Gensokyos?”
Tatara Kogasa(K)
I’m dead. There’s no way around it, I’m about to die.
She’s gaining, closer, closer, closer. Not even firing anything. My spells aren’t even slowing her down! I can’t do this for much longer…
“Little yokai~ you must be exterminated~” I dare not look back. What’s the point?
She’s enjoying this. Dear gods above, this is playtime for her.
She can catch up at any moment… just chooses not to.
I don’t wanna die… someone help me…
Yet a single glimpse at the world below me tells otherwise. The human village is burning. Likely anyone that could possibly do something is down there… maybe I can return to the cemeter-
“Esoterica~Gray Thaumaturgy”
High walls as far as the eye can see can’t avoid I turn around and aim-
“Over the Rainbow!”
“Got you~” wait what-
When did she-
Sanae Kochiya stands in front of me, holding her bloodstained gohei(4) aloft. Her clothes and hair are tattered and clumped of dried blood, dyed brown like wood. She is smiling.
I force myself upwards. Danmaku.
Danmaku to the right of me, damnaku to the left of me, danmaku behind and in front.
“Naughty, vile little yokai~ you tried to evade my justice~”
Please dear god no
“So let me have some of fun with you~”
- Apparently, Yakumo-sama likes the outside world so much that she made English our Gensokyo’s official language.
- A My Immortal reference? In Gensokyo?
- Now that I think about it… they might have a point. Why do we even have to declare spells for them to work? Without rules, aren’t we incentivised to just yell “Fire” and let the cards do the work?
- It doesn’t even look like a gohei anymore! More a rusty cleaver!