Gensokyo?
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
… What are you doing? You're a reporter! If this is Japan, then there must be a Hakurei Shrine. See if Gensokyo exists.
No. No, no, that's wrong. The first thing is to gather information, and the thing you can confirm most easily is where you are. You fly even higher, high enough to start looking at the geography of the land. To the south is ocean, very close, and it follows the land to the east, curving north, and to the southwest. Inland, you see plains, and forests, and mountains, and you narrow your eyes as you start to recognize where you are. You look down, looking, and after a few seconds you find Edo Castle. The Imperial Army is trying to lay siege to it, but even with the oni-like beings that serve them as living siege rams, you don't think they'll be able to break through. Not before you get back, not until the defenders have run out of powder for their guns.
"A-Aya? What's that?" You follow Hatate's pointing finger as a human flying machine chases down a squadron of wyvern-riders. Seconds later, after two of the wyverns dart between buildings on different sides of the street they're on, something flashes out from the machine and the middle wyvern falls apart, its neck and left wing becoming separated from the rest of its body. Another flying machine follows the first, and you find yourself snapping several pictures of the machines and the falling wyvern.
"... Like I said, they don't need our help," you mutter, shuddering as you put your camera away. Hatate looks up at you, but you simply turn toward where Gensokyo should be. This close, even the slowest tengu should be able to get there in a matter of minutes, and Hatate's not that slow, so there's no need to carry her along; if you were going someplace like Hokkaido, that would be one thing, but from here, you can go at a speed she can manage without wasting much time.
"Where are you going?" You force yourself to not roll your eyes at the near-panic in her voice.
"We are going to see if Gensokyo exists here. We're above Edo right now, so it's not far." She looks down, confused.
"Edo? This …? But -" You clear your throat and her head whips back toward you. She jerkily nods and flies up to your height, just a bit behind you, and you start flying. West, and a bit north, to the mountains that shelter Gensokyo. "Edo – I've been there, it doesn't look like that!" Now you do roll your eyes; humans change, and humans change things and places. Besides, the new look makes sense, since steel and glass burn a lot less readily than wood and paper, and someone seemed to have a grudge against the place.
As you come up to the mountains that shelter Gensokyo, you scowl unhappily. These mountains aren't the forsaken wilderness that you remember. There are well-traveled paths, maintained roads leading to permanent stations, even hotels scattered among the foothills and mountains. You glance back, and Hatate is looking around worriedly. She has to recognize where you are, and the significance of the human presence around it. There. The Hakurei Shrine … or what should be the Hakurei Shrine. You withdraw your wings and plummet, aiming for the clear steps so you aren't noticed by the humans wandering around the shrine grounds, and Hatate follows you. She looks frightened now, not just worried, and you pat her shoulder, smile, and tap the necklace you're wearing. She looks down at her own necklace, takes a breath, and nods. Even if your reassurance didn't work, at least now she looks more composed, and the two of you walk up the steps, so familiar to you, and pass through the torii gate.
It's noisy, like a flower-watching festival, but no one here is a youkai. Too many of them have cameras, and are speaking some language other than Japanese, babbling excitement and curiosity. There are several people dressed as shrine attendants, two men and three women, not just Reimu. None of the attendants you can see look like her, either; oh, they could be related, but their features are different enough. Initially, you and Hatate are unnoticed, and you walk toward the donation box. You've rarely seen Reimu's donation box completely empty; even during slow seasons, when youkai would make sure she had food and drink, there would often be at least some money that showed up. She would be so shocked if she could see this one, though.
"What are you doing here?" You look at the little girl huddled behind the donation box, not exactly dirty – she looks rather like someone cleaned her quite recently and thoroughly, for that matter – but giving off the impression of someone who spends their time in mischief. You smile, but her glower only deepens.
"Are we not allowed to be here?" The girl presses more tightly against the donation box, still glaring at you, but another young woman comes out of the shrine.
"Hana! There you are." You look up at the newcomer, dressed as a shrine maiden, and looking like she could be Reimu's sister – her much younger, much softer sister. She looks at you, blinks for a moment, then shakes her head and smiles before bowing. "Oh, my apologies. Welcome. My name is Aoi - ah, I hope my sister hasn't bothered you." She steps forward to pull the girl against her, but Hana squirms away, then shelters behind her sister.
"You shouldn't be here! Tengu aren't allowed here!" Her voice is quiet enough that no one else hears her hissing at you, but Aoi pales, flustered.
"H-Hana! No, don't say things like that!" She pulls Hana in front of her, probably to try and get her to apologize, but you just chuckle and shake your head.
"No, no, it's fine. We are tengu, after all – see?" Aoi looks up at you, frightened, and Hatate hisses behind you as you raise one leg. "Who else but tengu would wear tengu geta?" Aoi stares, shocked, then holds one hand to her chest as she tries to keep from overreacting. You can see the questions dancing in her eyes, but she's much too well-brought-up to ask them.
"I … thank you, Miss, but you really shouldn't encourage her." You bow politely and she takes a calming breath. "Um, anyway – I, I mean -!" You chuckle as she blushes shamefully, and Hana actually growls at you.
"We just came here to look around a bit, actually. Is there any place we shouldn't go?" Aoi takes a moment to recover and nods.
"Mm, please don't enter the shrine itself, not without permission from one of the elders." You nod, then look around, as if considering the other people around.
"Are we allowed to go behind the shrine? I've heard that the gardens of shrines are more beautiful than other gardens." Aoi smiles.
"There isn't much of a garden, I'm sad to say. There's a pond, and of course there are the trees … would you like me to show you?" You bow respectfully and she leads you and Hatate around the shrine, Hana sticking by her side and never ceasing to stare suspiciously at you. The shrine grounds are much the same as the one you know by heart. There are little differences – there are more people here, and they care for the place more diligently, and the variety of plants is quite different – but it's much too similar to be a coincidence. But then you walk past your guide, studying the trees. You saw the preparations for the Barrier's erection, if not the ceremony itself, and none of the trees that were planted are there.
You can't feel the boundary. You can't sense any power. None of the conditions are right. There are too many humans who don't believe around here. You turn around, but Hatate has already figured it out as well. There's no Gensokyo in this world – at least, not here. If there is a Gensokyo, it's not a Gensokyo you would know or recognize.
"... What is wrong?"
What do you do?
[ ] Go back through the Gate and destroy it.
- [ ] Give the Japanese a bit of unnecessary help and clear out some of the larger concentrations of the Empire.
[ ] Go back through the Gate, but don't destroy it.
- [ ] Go to Belnago and see if you can pick up something for Patchouli.
- [ ] Go back to the Mansion.
[ ] Other?
NOTE: Because I'm sure someone noticed it, and I'm not sure I'll find a good place to slip it into the story: yes, Aya's been shot before. Basically, someone in the late 16th century decided that guns were so good at killing people, he'd give a shot at filming a live-action version of Princess Mononoke. After a little success dealing with small fry, the tengu found out and decided to deal with him. Aya and a few other tengu intercepted him and told him to knock it off, and Aya purposefully let him blow a hole in her chest – and then went and butchered the fifty or so of his followers before telling him again to knock it off and going home.
No. No, no, that's wrong. The first thing is to gather information, and the thing you can confirm most easily is where you are. You fly even higher, high enough to start looking at the geography of the land. To the south is ocean, very close, and it follows the land to the east, curving north, and to the southwest. Inland, you see plains, and forests, and mountains, and you narrow your eyes as you start to recognize where you are. You look down, looking, and after a few seconds you find Edo Castle. The Imperial Army is trying to lay siege to it, but even with the oni-like beings that serve them as living siege rams, you don't think they'll be able to break through. Not before you get back, not until the defenders have run out of powder for their guns.
"A-Aya? What's that?" You follow Hatate's pointing finger as a human flying machine chases down a squadron of wyvern-riders. Seconds later, after two of the wyverns dart between buildings on different sides of the street they're on, something flashes out from the machine and the middle wyvern falls apart, its neck and left wing becoming separated from the rest of its body. Another flying machine follows the first, and you find yourself snapping several pictures of the machines and the falling wyvern.
"... Like I said, they don't need our help," you mutter, shuddering as you put your camera away. Hatate looks up at you, but you simply turn toward where Gensokyo should be. This close, even the slowest tengu should be able to get there in a matter of minutes, and Hatate's not that slow, so there's no need to carry her along; if you were going someplace like Hokkaido, that would be one thing, but from here, you can go at a speed she can manage without wasting much time.
"Where are you going?" You force yourself to not roll your eyes at the near-panic in her voice.
"We are going to see if Gensokyo exists here. We're above Edo right now, so it's not far." She looks down, confused.
"Edo? This …? But -" You clear your throat and her head whips back toward you. She jerkily nods and flies up to your height, just a bit behind you, and you start flying. West, and a bit north, to the mountains that shelter Gensokyo. "Edo – I've been there, it doesn't look like that!" Now you do roll your eyes; humans change, and humans change things and places. Besides, the new look makes sense, since steel and glass burn a lot less readily than wood and paper, and someone seemed to have a grudge against the place.
As you come up to the mountains that shelter Gensokyo, you scowl unhappily. These mountains aren't the forsaken wilderness that you remember. There are well-traveled paths, maintained roads leading to permanent stations, even hotels scattered among the foothills and mountains. You glance back, and Hatate is looking around worriedly. She has to recognize where you are, and the significance of the human presence around it. There. The Hakurei Shrine … or what should be the Hakurei Shrine. You withdraw your wings and plummet, aiming for the clear steps so you aren't noticed by the humans wandering around the shrine grounds, and Hatate follows you. She looks frightened now, not just worried, and you pat her shoulder, smile, and tap the necklace you're wearing. She looks down at her own necklace, takes a breath, and nods. Even if your reassurance didn't work, at least now she looks more composed, and the two of you walk up the steps, so familiar to you, and pass through the torii gate.
It's noisy, like a flower-watching festival, but no one here is a youkai. Too many of them have cameras, and are speaking some language other than Japanese, babbling excitement and curiosity. There are several people dressed as shrine attendants, two men and three women, not just Reimu. None of the attendants you can see look like her, either; oh, they could be related, but their features are different enough. Initially, you and Hatate are unnoticed, and you walk toward the donation box. You've rarely seen Reimu's donation box completely empty; even during slow seasons, when youkai would make sure she had food and drink, there would often be at least some money that showed up. She would be so shocked if she could see this one, though.
"What are you doing here?" You look at the little girl huddled behind the donation box, not exactly dirty – she looks rather like someone cleaned her quite recently and thoroughly, for that matter – but giving off the impression of someone who spends their time in mischief. You smile, but her glower only deepens.
"Are we not allowed to be here?" The girl presses more tightly against the donation box, still glaring at you, but another young woman comes out of the shrine.
"Hana! There you are." You look up at the newcomer, dressed as a shrine maiden, and looking like she could be Reimu's sister – her much younger, much softer sister. She looks at you, blinks for a moment, then shakes her head and smiles before bowing. "Oh, my apologies. Welcome. My name is Aoi - ah, I hope my sister hasn't bothered you." She steps forward to pull the girl against her, but Hana squirms away, then shelters behind her sister.
"You shouldn't be here! Tengu aren't allowed here!" Her voice is quiet enough that no one else hears her hissing at you, but Aoi pales, flustered.
"H-Hana! No, don't say things like that!" She pulls Hana in front of her, probably to try and get her to apologize, but you just chuckle and shake your head.
"No, no, it's fine. We are tengu, after all – see?" Aoi looks up at you, frightened, and Hatate hisses behind you as you raise one leg. "Who else but tengu would wear tengu geta?" Aoi stares, shocked, then holds one hand to her chest as she tries to keep from overreacting. You can see the questions dancing in her eyes, but she's much too well-brought-up to ask them.
"I … thank you, Miss, but you really shouldn't encourage her." You bow politely and she takes a calming breath. "Um, anyway – I, I mean -!" You chuckle as she blushes shamefully, and Hana actually growls at you.
"We just came here to look around a bit, actually. Is there any place we shouldn't go?" Aoi takes a moment to recover and nods.
"Mm, please don't enter the shrine itself, not without permission from one of the elders." You nod, then look around, as if considering the other people around.
"Are we allowed to go behind the shrine? I've heard that the gardens of shrines are more beautiful than other gardens." Aoi smiles.
"There isn't much of a garden, I'm sad to say. There's a pond, and of course there are the trees … would you like me to show you?" You bow respectfully and she leads you and Hatate around the shrine, Hana sticking by her side and never ceasing to stare suspiciously at you. The shrine grounds are much the same as the one you know by heart. There are little differences – there are more people here, and they care for the place more diligently, and the variety of plants is quite different – but it's much too similar to be a coincidence. But then you walk past your guide, studying the trees. You saw the preparations for the Barrier's erection, if not the ceremony itself, and none of the trees that were planted are there.
You can't feel the boundary. You can't sense any power. None of the conditions are right. There are too many humans who don't believe around here. You turn around, but Hatate has already figured it out as well. There's no Gensokyo in this world – at least, not here. If there is a Gensokyo, it's not a Gensokyo you would know or recognize.
"... What is wrong?"
What do you do?
[ ] Go back through the Gate and destroy it.
- [ ] Give the Japanese a bit of unnecessary help and clear out some of the larger concentrations of the Empire.
[ ] Go back through the Gate, but don't destroy it.
- [ ] Go to Belnago and see if you can pick up something for Patchouli.
- [ ] Go back to the Mansion.
[ ] Other?
NOTE: Because I'm sure someone noticed it, and I'm not sure I'll find a good place to slip it into the story: yes, Aya's been shot before. Basically, someone in the late 16th century decided that guns were so good at killing people, he'd give a shot at filming a live-action version of Princess Mononoke. After a little success dealing with small fry, the tengu found out and decided to deal with him. Aya and a few other tengu intercepted him and told him to knock it off, and Aya purposefully let him blow a hole in her chest – and then went and butchered the fifty or so of his followers before telling him again to knock it off and going home.
