Given the recent instability of SB, I figure now would be a good time to create a backup of my...
[Touhou/Exalted] The Tourist
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sasahara17
Just Another Random Author
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Given the recent instability of SB, I figure now would be a good time to create a backup of my stories in case anything happens. So, without further ado...
-=-
The Tourist
by Sasahara17
Disclaimer
Exalted and Touhou Project belong to respective copyright holders and this work is strictly a not for profit fanfiction. Thank you.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1, A Descending Sun Goes On Vacation
A Sunny Girl in the House of Night
+ Chapter 2
+ Chapter 3
+ Chapter 4, Coming Soon!
-=-
Other stories:
Exalted, TH Edition
+ Let's play a game... Part 1, Part 2
The gatekeeper who knew too little:
+ Chapter 1 (draft)
-=-
The Tourist
by Sasahara17
Disclaimer
Exalted and Touhou Project belong to respective copyright holders and this work is strictly a not for profit fanfiction. Thank you.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1, A Descending Sun Goes On Vacation
A Sunny Girl in the House of Night
+ Chapter 2
+ Chapter 3
+ Chapter 4, Coming Soon!
-=-
Other stories:
Exalted, TH Edition
+ Let's play a game... Part 1, Part 2
The gatekeeper who knew too little:
+ Chapter 1 (draft)
Last edited:
sasahara17
Just Another Random Author
- Location
- Brisbane City
Proofread 21/09/2014, Version 1.1
Still moving through the stuff, albeit very slowly.
Please let me know if there are any mistakes I missed.
Cheers!
-=-
"Reimu this is Renko Usami. She's a friend of mine who popped in for a visit. Renko, this is Reimu Hakurei, shrine maiden and the closest thing Gensokyo has to a sheriff."
"It's a real honour to finally meet you, Miss Hakurei. I've heard a lot about your many adventures from Merry over here!"
The young woman that was sitting across the table from Reimu wasn't very impressive by any stretch of the imagination. Her chestnut brown hair, chocolate eyes, fair complexion and soft features many have made her stand out elsewhere, but compared to some of the beauties of Gensokyo, she seemed more homely than anything else.
Her clothing, a simple long sleeved blouse, long black skirt and red neck tie, were positively mundane compared to the outrageous clothing worn by Gensokyo's personalities. The only thing that really jumped out was the dark bowler hat, adored with a simple white ribbon, that sat atop the woman's neat chestnut brown hair.
As far as Reimu could tell, Renko Usami was the textbook definition of 'normal'.
Reimu Hakurei kept her opinions to herself though. It wouldn't be polite to criticize the poor outsider for not measuring up to the standards of her home. If anything, Reimu pitied the poor girl: another poor soul who somehow fell into the Eastern Wonderland from the outside, and who caught the attention of Yukari Yakumo, the powerful Mistress of Borders, of all people.
Outsiders being trapped in Gensokyo might have been an uncommon sight, but they did happen from time to time. However, an outsider who managed to have the Youkai of Borders, who was sitting between Reimu and Renko at that very moment, become her patron was a rare thing indeed.
In that respect, Renko Usami wasn't so normal after all, but whether that was a good thing or bad thing Reimu had yet to decide.
"Please, call me Reimu. Everyone does," Reimu smiled warmly at Rekno, keeping her reservations at Yukari's involvement to herself, "I'm just grateful that you're alright. So many outsiders fall into Gensokyo and run afoul of something nasty before anyone can help them."
"So Merry tells me! It's a good thing I ended up in her mansion then, didn't I? I probably would have been so excited if some strange creature came up to me I would have forgotten to defend myself!" Renko laughed nonchalantly, as if the thought of running into a flesh eating youkai didn't scare her at all! Reimu couldn't help but turn to Yukari with a questioning glance.
That was not the normal reaction any old human would have to the thought of being placed in a life threatening situation.
"Renko is an academic from the outside world," Yukari explained with that damnable, all knowing smile plastered over her face, "Interestingly enough, she is quite keen on the occult."
"Gensokyo in particular is one of my favourite topics," Renko declared proudly, "You have no idea how long I've waited to see this place after all the stories I've heard!"
"I wasn't aware Gensokyo was known to the outside world," Reimu said.
"It isn't. Why do you think I'm so excited to be here?"
As it turned out Renko, a professor from some university Reimu had never heard of before, had a hobby of looking into the occult and the supernatural in general.
Unlike many other so called experts of hobbyists, Renko had made the realisation that many of the supernatural creatures she so loved had retreated somewhere for a reason she couldn't discern. This epiphany had allowed her to trace the path of these creatures, though rumours, legends and heresy, to one location…
Gensokyo.
"You have no idea how much I've looked forward to finally be inside the Hakurei Border," Renko finished her explanation, "I know it must seem crazy to you that I'd risk my life to get in here, but it's been my life's passion to go interesting places, see interesting things and meet interesting people."
"Fair enough," Reimu said, "But you must know how dangerous this place is. Even with the spell card rules in place, there are still plenty of feral youkai that could hurt you."
"That's why I brought her to you, Reimu!" Yukari clapped her hands happily, the smile on the youkai's face so bright that Reimu couldn't help but feel a lump form in her stomach.
Damn-it, Yukari… what was she up to now?
"I want you to be a tour guide for Renko over here," Yukari explained cheerfully, "You've been everywhere in Gensokyo at some point or the other, and everyone knows you. You could help show Renko around and introduce her to all your friends!"
"What." Reimu said.
"Basically, she's asking you to show me about and keep her out of trouble while I sightsee. Maybe even help me meet some of the big wigs," Renko agreed all readily.
Reimu immediately knew this was a bad idea.
Gensokyo may be at relative peace, but it didn't mean that it was peaceful. It was a land where very powerful beings, all with equally powerful and eccentric personalities, lived in very close proximity to each other. Even when left alone to their own devices, their 'day to day lives' could be quite 'interesting' and Reimu who was one such person herself, knew this all too well.
Her displeasure at their request must have been evident on her face, because Renko quickly spoke up to allay her fears.
"It's only going to be for a little while! You won't have to play babysitter for me very long," Renko hastily explained, "Believe it or not, I actually do have work elsewhere and will need to get moving in about three weeks or so. Merry's even made arrangements to see me out safely. It'll be fine!"
"Merry?"
"She means me," Yukari said, now with much less enthusiasm than before for some reason, "It's a nickname that she has for me. I'm surprised that you hadn't brought it up before, Reimu... the nickname I mean."
"It just slipped my mind," Reimu said, before quickly focusing on the matter at hand, "Look, Renko. I am not going to play 'tour guide' for you."
"Why not?" Yukari and Renko asked simultaneously.
Huh, freaky.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble this is going to be for me?" Reimu folded her arms and glared at the pair as she slowly went into detail as to why their idea was completely unworkable.
Knocking on doors like Renko wanted to was a recipe for trouble that Reimu didn't want to handle, especially if Reimu was to be guarding an ordinary human being who was acting like an out of control tourist at the same time. Even if she did end up doing just that, the effort would likely run Reimu ragged. Why would she ever want to give herself stress for no reason?
Furthermore, there was a more basic problem: the trip itself was unworkable.
Getting into some places, like the Tengu village or Higan, would be nearly impossible even for the Hakurei shrine maiden. There were procedures, rules and guidelines involved that could send Reimu's heads spinning. Worse, she could just buck those rules like she normally did: those actually existed for a reason, and disobeying them would have consequences.
Getting into other places would be comparatively easier, but fraught with peril. Remi's mansion and Old Hell might readily take Renko as a visitor, but the things that happened at these places on a regular basis meant that they were definitely not locales a fragile human like Renko should visit. Then there were the places which had other… dangers… that could leave Renko completely traumatised.
Simply put, it was far more trouble for Reimu than it was worth her time to deal with.
"So that's that. I am not going to be your tour guide," Reimu said firmly once she had finished her triade, "You're friends with 'Merry'. Get her to do it."
"I guess I'll have to go around on my own then." Whereas the resigned sigh Reimu's rejection elicited from Renko was expected, the reaction from Yukari wasn't anything Reimu expected, at all.
"I can't, Reimu. As much as I want to do it myself, I have too high a profile to accompany her. I'm also not welcome in many places. That's why we came to you," Yukari explained, "Please, Reimu. I need your help. Just this one time: please."
It took Reimu a few moments for her to realize that Yukari was doing something she had only rarely seen the youkai do before… be completely honest. It was clear that, Yukari actually wanted to show Renko around herself but her personal circumstances prevented her from doing so.
For some reason that the two hadn't yet revealed, Yukari wanted Renko to experience Gensokyo. The sheer honestly in Yukari's eyes was so profound, it almost swayed Reimu on the spot due to the sheer unnaturalness of the situation.
However Reimu quickly caught herself.
No, if she accepted now Reimu would be picking up a crap load of trouble that she really didn't need. No matter that Yukari was being completely honest with Reimu, to the point 'please' was actually used. Babysitting a tourist was a recipe for trouble that Reimu most certainly did not need!
No way, no chance, no…
"I am of course willing to donate a sum of at least 10,000,000 yen to the shrine for your trouble. Tour guides are expected to be paid after all."
"I'LL DO IT!"
-=-
What followed was a quick discussion of what Renko's holiday was supposed to entail. Much to Reimu's initial chagrin, the outsider would be lodging with her instead of Yukari. This was mostly due in part to Renko wishing to get the 'Full Gensokyo Experience'.
However Reimu's annoyance at having to put up with the outsider was quickly alleviated when Yukari revealed than Ran, a most excellent house servant (considering Yukari's living habits, Ran had to be), would be helping tend to Reimu's shrine for the duration of Renko's stay.
This was necessary, as Renko's tour would definitely take Reimu away from her shrine. She would be gone for days at a time when visiting some of the more out of the way locales. While the journey between her shrine and, say, the human village or the Moriya Shrine wouldn't take more than a few hours, the two of them were definitely going to need lodging when visiting Old Hell.
Thankfully, this wouldn't be eating into her 10,000,000 yen paycheque: Yukari was willing to cover those expenses.
As the discussions progressed, it struck Reimu as very weird on how much time, money and effort Yukari was spending on this supposedly random outsider… so much so that Reimu was beginning to suspect Renko wasn't just any ordinary person after all.
-=-
"Now that we've settled all the details, I'm just going to hop back to your place to pick up my stuff." Renko declared.
"Ask Ran to help you. It'll be faster that way." Yukari offered as she opened a gap for Renko, "
"Thanks, Merry. You're too kind!" With those parting words Renko stepped into the gap Yukari opened for her, presumably leading to Yukari's mansion. It soon closed, leaving Yukari and Reimu alone in private for the time being.
Naturally, once Renko was out of earshot, Reimu wasted no time in confronting Yukari with her suspicions.
"Merry?" Reimu asked with a raised eyebrow.
"An old nickname she has for me," Yukari gave a weary sigh, "It's not something anyone here is going to understand."
"Why do I get the sense she isn't just any random girl who fell through the border?"
"What gave it away?" Yukari let out a tired sigh.
"What didn't give it away?" Reimu rolled her eyes sarcastically.
Really, Yukari couldn't have been more obvious just now. The youkai of borders was famous for her sedentary nature, and never exerted herself more than she absolutely had to.
However Yukari was practically bending over backwards to accommodate Renko, even shelling out a small fortune for the outsider's benefit.
Combined with the pet name, Reimu would have to be blind to not realize that something was amiss about Renko Usami.
"Wait, you didn't abduct her from the outside did you?" Reimu's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "I mean, she was looking for this place before, so…"
"No, no, no, no! I didn't abduct Renko," Yukari quickly said, "She found her way in here all on her own. Renko suddenly appeared on our dining table during dinner a few days ago without warning. Gave Ran and Chen a big scare when it happened! That part is true. Renko is the last person I expected to see in Gensokyo!"
"…you know her," Reimu observed, "Who is she?"
Yukari went uncharacteristically silent, clearly thinking about how best to answer this simple question. The internal conflict raging within the ancient youkai's was very apparent to Reimu.
Considering how old and how wise Yukari really was, whatever had managed to unsettle the millennia old being this much was definitely cause for concern.
"A friend. A very, very dear friend of mine who I never expected to see again," Yukari finally spoke after a short period of silence, "Reimu, you must have guessed by now that I didn't bring Renko here purely to ask for your help in taking her around."
"That was pretty obvious," Reimu shrugged. Besides, Reimu knew Yukari well enough to know that nothing she ever did was ever so straightforward. "So what did you bring her here for, really?"
"Renko plans on leaving in three weeks. That part is true. The part that we lied about is that I'm not the one showing her out. She is fully capable of leaving on her own, and there isn't anything I can do to stop her," Yukari revealed carefully, "Believe me, I've tried. Sut she won't listen and I don't want to use force to stop her. I… don't want her to leave."
That caught Reimu's attention.
Yukari was easily one of the most powerful individuals in Gensokyo. There were very few who wouldn't be able to resist her will. For Yukari to all but admit that Renko was capable of defying her will had all sorts in implications that raised plenty of red flags that Reimu couldn't ignore.
"I can't stop her from leaving Reimu. Not even by force, if it came to that. That's why I came to you," Yukari looked at Reimu with pleading eyes, "Don't tell her I asked you to do this for me, but can you please help me give Renko a reason to migrate to Gensokyo from where she normally lives?"
"What do you mean by that? What do you expect me to do?"
"Introduce her to people, try and have her make some friends, show her why this might be a nice place to actually settle down in and not just visit… that sort of thing," Yukari elaborated, "Give her a reason to stay so that in three months' time the only reason she'll leave Gensokyo is so that she will be arranging for someone to move her belongings in here. Make Renko want to make Gensokyo her home."
"This is… a very strange request, Yukari."
Why would Yukari want Renko to stay in Gensokyo? How did the two of them know each other? If the two of them were friends and Yukari wanted Renko to be about, why wasn't Yukari's wish enough to sway her? More than that, how was Renko able to defy Yukari, a thousand year old youkai of immense power, in the first place?
Who was Renko Usami anyway?
Such questions whirled around in Reimu's head as she slowly grasped the mystery she had been presented with. However, with all that had happened Reimu didn't even know where to begin.
"Please Reimu, you know I never ask for favours," Yukari whispered, "But today I am asking. Please Reimu, just this once. Please."
Reimu mulled over what the youkai had just asked of her.
The situation had changed.
This wasn't just showing around a powerless human anymore. No, if what Reimu was reading between the lines was true, Renko was far from powerless. The problem now was convincing someone who could give Yukari pause to make Gensokyo her home, potentially opening up a whole can of worms Reimu was wary of thinking about.
Things had become infinitely more complicated, but one thing stuck out more than anything else, something Reimu could not ignore no matter how much she wanted to.
Yukari Yakumo was asking.
For all the mischief Yukari was capable of, despite the fact she was one of the most enigmatic, inhuman and mysterious youkai in existence… it didn't change the fact that one of the most selfless individuals Reimu knew was asking a rare, selfish favour.
For as much as people believe Yukari to be the most 'youkai-like' of the youkai, Reimu was one of the people who knew that, beneath the layers of enigma Yukari wrapped herself in, Yukari was a person who truly loved Gensokyo and would do anything for it and it's people.
Reimu would have to be a really heartless person to turn this request down.
"Fine I'll do it. Just one last thing. She isn't human, is she?" Reimu said, "If she managed to get through the barrier and can leave on her own, she has to be something else. Something powerful."
"She is human… but she is also more than human. Something powerful? You have no idea," Yukari gave a sly, knowing smile at those cryptic words, "But if she chooses to stay, I guarantee she'll bring more stability to Gensokyo. Renko has some very unique skills I think will help us out a lot."
"All the more reason for me to find a way to get her to stick around, I assume?"
"Now you're getting it!" Yukari giggled. It seemed that Reimu's agreement seemed to have lifted Yukari's spirits to the point she was beginning to look more and more like her usual self again. "Renko may advertise herself as an academic, but from what I understand she's something of a problem solver and peacekeeper in her current home. I'm sure she'll make our lives a bit easier if she decides to set up shop somewhere."
Reimu could spot a flat out lie when she saw one. Yukari wanted Renko to stick around for personal reasons.
What those reasons where, Reimu couldn't begin to guess.
-=-
"You know that Yukari-sama is probably trying to convince Reimu to help her try and get you to stay, right now."
"I know Merry is trying to convince Reimu to go along with her schemes," Renko chuckled as she emptied the guestroom wardrobe of her effects into a small four wheeled suitcase open on the floor, "It's nice to know she wants me to stick around so much, but I'm not going to change my mind."
"Why not?" Ran asked curiously, "You two are friends, aren't you? The way the two of you talk with each other, you must have been very close."
"That was a lifetime ago… literally. Things change, and so do people," Renko said, "She has her own thing, and I have mine."
"Didn't you say that you spent seven hundred years dreaming about this place. Now that you've actually found it you're going to just leave after taking a look around?" Ran pointed out quizzically, "If you've quested for Gensokyo for so long, why leave when you've just found it? Even if you have business elsewhere, maybe you could set up a holiday home here and make this a place where you can come back to."
"Nice idea, but I'll have a pass on that one. Someone like me attracts trouble. Gensokyo is peaceful, at least compared to some of the places I've been to. It doesn't need me hanging around attracting the wrong sort of attention. I don't want Merry to have problems from my enemies."
"I thought you said you got rid of those enemies of yours."
"I wish. Those guys are hardier than roaches. Besides, I need to go back. I have something that I really need to look into. A lot of good people might get hurt if I don't," Renko sighed, "Look, Ran. I appreciate what you're trying to do for Merry. I know she's excited to see me after all these years, but we aren't kids anymore. I have things to do, things that no one else can do, and three weeks really is all that I can spare."
"So you're just sticking around looking enough to be a tourist?" Ran said defeated.
"That's the plan," Renko chuckled, "I've dreamed of being here for so long, it'd be criminal not to have a look around while I'm here. If even half of what I've read about this place is true, Gensokyo is still even wackier than the wackiest place I've been to in Creation, and that's saying something considering where I live!"
"And Reimu finding a reason for you to stick around?"
"Not going to happen Ran," Renko chuckled, completely dismissing the idea as an impossibility, "There are many miracles in the universe, but trying to talk an Descending Sun out of doing something she's set her mind to is most definitely not one of them!"
-=-
THE TOURIST
An Exalted/Touhou Crossover
By sasahara17
-Chapter 1, a Descending Sun goes on vacation-
-=-
Thanks to Yukari's gaps, it didn't take very long for Renko to retrieve her effects and get settled down in the Hakurei shrine. This was helped by the fact that, as the shine often had to play host to her various guests who liked to stay over after a night of partying, Reimu had always kept at least one extra futon and pillow on hand in case any of her friends were unable to make the trip back.
With Suika out on a bar crawl visiting her old friend Yuugi and old Genma the tortoise already asleep, this left Renko and Reimu alone in her living room after having a modest dinner. While Reimu quietly was warming herself using the kotatsu, Renko was flipping through a copy of the Gensokyo Chronicle, with a highlighter, a ballpoint pen and something called 'post it notes' close at hand as she made all sorts of annotations in it.
"Yuuka Kazami, a youkai of flowers. Threat level… very high?" Renko said as she seemed to squint at the words before scribbling down something on the page, "Well, I guess I'd have to be careful when I go down to this 'Garden of the Sun' of hers. I don't want to piss this chick off."
"Kazami isn't as bad as her reputation would suggest you know." Reimu spoke out.
In Reimu's opinion, Renko using that particular book was a mistake. For one, the damn thing had managed to get Reimu completely wrong by calling her lazy, easy going and lacking in any sense of danger. While some of it (okay, a lot of it) may be true, it was a rather unflattering entry that Reimu wished Akyuu would revise.
Moreover the entry completely discounted the fact that nearly all her friends were youkai, and instead seemed to paint a picture of Reimu as an uncompromising youkai exterminating machine that stomped down one everyone who looked at her way funny.
Still, there weren't many other written, commercially available records about Gensokyo. For all of Akyuu's 'slight inaccuracies', it was still a fairly good introduction into the Eastern Wonderland, especially if one were an ordinary human who wasn't aware of where the dangers were.
However, if Yukari hints were correct, Renko wasn't an ordinary human. Not by a long shot.
"Hm, sorta guessed that," Renko said with a frown as she continued scribbling in the margins, "Eyewitness accounts here seem to say she never initiates combat on her own unless provoked. Scary powerful, but only if you actually start a fight. Probably just wants to be left alone now that she's old. Reminds me of a couple of people I know."
"Really? You know a few people like this?" Reimu asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Lady named Lillith, for one. Leave her alone, she won't make a fuss. Piss her off, kiss your ass goodbye. Arianna's sorta gone down that part as well, although she's more 'cranky old cat lady' than hermit in my opinion," Renko shrugged before flipping the page and deepening her frown, "Okay, now I know this 'Gensokyo Chronicle' has some serious problems. Merry's entry is f'ed up the b."
"Merry? You don't mean Yukari do you?" Reimu had to find out how that nickname had come about. Yukari didn't look like a 'Merry' at all. There must be story behind that one.
"Yeah, sorry. That's the name she was going by when I first met her on the outside world and it kinda stuck," Renko said as she started sticking post it notes on the pages, before her eyes widened when she came to the bit about Yukari's powers, "Holy geez! Can Merry, I mean Yukari, really do all this with her powers?"
"Sort of," Reimu replied, "As long as she can picture a boundary and understand it, she can manipulate it. At least that's my understanding of it."
That wasn't actually true though. Yukari had confided in Reimu that her power did have its limits, especially when using it on conceptual boundaries that physically did not exist. That was part of the reason Yukari was tired so much, after all. Yukari hadn't chosen to share that information with Renko yet there probably was a good reason for it.
"Whoa. Never figured she'd be able to do stuff like that," Renko whistled, "Damn. Merry has manipulation of reality on a conceptual level? That's a broken ability if I ever saw one."
"Renko, a personal question if I may."
"Sure, shoot." The academic said without looking up from her book.
"What exactly do you do in the outside world?" Reimu asked with all seriousness, "Yukari said you were a scholar of some sort, but she never went into any detail about it."
Actually, what Reimu wanted to really ask was 'who are you really'. However, Renko had been quite evasive whenever the subject came up… no, not evasive: Playful. Yukari's friend appeared to share her mischievous streak in that she deliberately dropped tantalizing hints about being more than just some random professor, in passing, before deliberately changing the subject.
For example, when she talked about Yuuka, Renko actually deduced what the old Youkai was actually like and even made a direct comparison with some other figure she'd known. Better yet, Renko wasn't trying to hide it.
It appeared that Renko was playing a game with Reimu, trying to see how long it would take the shrine to piece together the puzzle she was setting up for her.
Damn, she was just like Yukari.
No wonder why the two of them were friends.
Bookmarking her page using a white ribbon she'd pulled from somewhere and setting it to the side, Renko turned to Reimu with a reassuring smile, "Well, if you must know I used to be the Professor of Physics at the Lookshy Institute of Technology before I gave up teaching and well full time into academic research. Hell, I helped establish the place."
"Lookshy? Never heard of it."
"There are other places outside Japan, you know. Like the Americas and Europe for instance. Gensokyo's like Lichtenstein or the Vatican City. Iddy bitty state inside a bigger country," Renko said with a shrug, "Really big world outside these borders."
Reimu had no idea where Litchenstein or the Vatican City were, but she got the gist of what Renko was trying to say. She'd check with Sanae or Mamizou to figure that out later. Regardless, 'Institute of Technology' sounded impressive.
"So you used to teach?"
"Yep. Theoretical Physics. Pretty high level material."
Damn. Reimu didn't know much about this sort of science stuff, being a shrine maiden and all. So much for that line of questioning.
"So why'd you stop? Did you get tired of it or something?"
"To be honest? I stopped because a friend of mine, Wind, he's a… judge, discovered a big problem and needed my help looking into it. Like, really big problem that affects a whole lot of people that I know. That's why I quit my teaching job and went into full time research."
"What sort of problem would a judge need a physicist for?" Reimu wondered. Reimu was actually acquainted with a judge herself, Shikeiki Yamaxanadu, and knew what the celestial judge's job entailed. She couldn't imagine what a judge would need a professor for, much less that the professor had to quit her teaching job over it.
"A big one," Renko admitted sadly, "and this one I'm really not at liberty to say. Admiral Sand, another friend who is also working on the same problem, decided that everyone who was working on the solution needed to be discreet. We're not sworn to secrecy or anything, but we're trying to keep it on a need to know basis."
Admiral? A military rank? Renko knew an Adimral? Reimu resisted the urge to sign. Oh, this rabbit hole kept getting deeper and deeper didn't it?
"Sounds pretty serious."
"It is. There's a lot riding on my research. Like, an entire country could be affected by what happens," Renko admitted, "That's why I do need to get out of here in three weeks. This is the kind of thing that I can't let lie."
It was becoming pretty clear to Reimu that Renko wasn't just an ordinary teacher, but was a person of some importance from where she was from. More than that, Renko actually was working on something really important with a group equally talented individuals, all from a variety of fields, before she had arrived in Gensokyo… which meant that the professor actually had a very real reason for wanting to go back to wherever she came from.
The prospects about convincing Renko to stick around were getting even slimmer.
Damnit Yukari. Why'd she have to have Reimu do this impossible favour instead of something simpler, like cooking a meal or something?
-=-
As it turned out, Renko had been quite tried after the day's events, and following their conversation, the travelling ex-professor had retired to her room before the night had gotten really late. Seeing as how the tour would officially begin tomorrow, Reimu decided an early night was in order and soon went to sleep herself.
Despite all the lingering questions about her mysterious guest and the enormity of the task Reimu had unwittingly undertaken, she nevertheless had a pleasant night's sleep.
The following morning though… now that carried its own problems.
"I think I want to see the Scarlet Devil Mansion first."
Reimu choked on her breakfast, a bowl of plain rice, when Renko had offhandedly said this outrageous statement aloud. "There are a whole bunch of places that I want to visit, but that library is too big a draw for the academic in me to pass up."
"The Scarlet Devil Mansion?" Reimu, coughed, hoping she had misheard the former professor.
She didn't.
"Yeah, that's what I said," Renko confirmed with such whimsical tone, like she hadn't just declared that the very first place she wanted to visit was the home of one of the most powerful vampires in the world, "The Scarlet Devil Mansion. I want to see the library."
Granted Reimu knew she would have to being Renko there at some point, but the shrine maiden had been hoping the tourist would have been able to give her some practice first at a 'safer' location before jumping headlong into the really dangerous sights.
This was her first time doing this sort of thing, damn it!
"What about the Human Village?' Reimu suggested hopefully, "It has the largest concentration of humans in Gensokyo and is also home to Hieda no Akyuu. You know, the person who wrote the Gensokyo Chronicle…"
"Eh, pass. Feudal age farming village. Seen one of them, seen them all," Renko shrugged offhandedly before looking at Reimu with an excited smile, "Won't bother with going down there unless I absolutely have to, not with all the other places I could visit!"
"Other places?" Reimu asked hesitantly, already dreading the answer.
"I made a list last night. Here you go." Renko reached over to her belt and unclipped the small, well-worn and well used pocketbook, likely a journal, which she was keeping in a hip mounted pouch. She then handed it to Reimu at the appropriate page.
Reimu took one look at what was written on the page and felt her heart skip a beat.
Renko had gone through her copy of the Gensokyo Chronicle and, from there, made a note of every single place and person of interest in her journal she would like to visit over the course of the three weeks. This wouldn't be so much of a problem if Renko's wish list couldn't also have doubled as a list of the most dangerous, inhospitable and downright in assessable places in all of Gensokyo.
Some, like the Scarlet Devil Mansion and the Youkai Mountain, were populated by dangerous youkai who were extremely powerful and extremely vicious if given reason to become violent. A fight could very well break out if they weren't careful.
Others, like Hakugyokurou and Higan, were normally inaccessible to living humans, and for good reason. While Reimu could get in because of her status as the Hakurei shrine maiden, the headache of clearing Renko wasn't something we was looking forward to.
And then there were utterly ridiculous locations no one in their right mind would want to visit, like 'the Underground Nuclear Reactor'.
While there were a few tourist friendly locations like the Myoren temple or Eientei, it was very easy to see how this could become a colossal headache for the poor shrine maiden. Yukari had hinted that Renko was more than she seemed, but Reimu couldn't help shake the feeling that this was a disaster, or worse a full blown incident, just waiting to happen.
"So, what do you think?" Renko asked.
"These are some of the more… interesting locations in Gensokyo, all right," Reimu commented on as she closed the book and handed it back to Renko, who placed it back on its pouch.
While Reimu wanted to reach over to Renko and slap the older girl upside the head to bring some sense into that idiot, Reimu had both been asked by Yukari to show Renko a good time and also had been paid a very large sum of money to do this. As much as it annoyed Reimu, and also made the shrine maiden worry that her future was going to be a pretty stressful one, she couldn't do more than try and talk Renko out of it. This was a paying job after all.
"Are you sure you want to visit all those places? Some of them are pretty dangerous or hard to get in to, you know," Reimu pointed out, "Higan in particular will give us a lot of problems. Living people aren't supposed to be there. I don't think just asking Komachi a favour is going to cut it."
"A celestial bureaucrats and their red tape…" Renko chuckled, seemingly lost in a memory, "Anyway, I don't think this is as big a problem as you're making it out to be. Besides, this is what I have you here for, don't I? Smooth over all the bumps and hiccups to make sure I can enjoy myself, right miss tour guide?"
"You do know tour guides are supposed to be the ones setting up the tour route right?"
"Who is the one paying you again? If I so recall, this is a private tour so I expect to get my money's worth, or Yukari's money as the case may be," Renko grinned as she leaned back, "Seriously though. Don't worry about it too much, Reimu. Just leave it on the list. No harm trying to go there. If we get in, we get it. If we don't, we don't. Cross that bridge when we come to it, okay?"
Reimu swore quietly that the next time Yukari paid her to do something like this, she was going to double her rates. "Fine, but just be aware that some of these places are inaccessible for a reason."
"Well, we shall see about that, won't we?" Renko grinned. "I've been waiting for this my whole life, and I'm not about to let some paper pushing square stop me from seeing the sights and meeting the people."
Reimu pretty much gave up trying to convince Renko at this point.
The traveller was dead set in her wish to see every one of the locations she'd put down in her journal, and there wasn't anything Reimu could do to convince her otherwise. Come hell or high water, Reimu was going to have to show Renko every location on this list and hope they didn't cause an incident while they were at it.
With this foreboding in mind, the pair soon finished up their meals and were soon on their way to their first destination… the Scarlet Devil Mansion, manse of the Scarlett household.
Well it could be worse. At least Remilia was a friend, and Renko just wanted to see the library. What could horribly go wrong with a plan like that…
…
…Hopefully Reimu hadn't just jinxed herself.
-=-
TBC…
-=-
Still moving through the stuff, albeit very slowly.
Please let me know if there are any mistakes I missed.
Cheers!
-=-
"Reimu this is Renko Usami. She's a friend of mine who popped in for a visit. Renko, this is Reimu Hakurei, shrine maiden and the closest thing Gensokyo has to a sheriff."
"It's a real honour to finally meet you, Miss Hakurei. I've heard a lot about your many adventures from Merry over here!"
The young woman that was sitting across the table from Reimu wasn't very impressive by any stretch of the imagination. Her chestnut brown hair, chocolate eyes, fair complexion and soft features many have made her stand out elsewhere, but compared to some of the beauties of Gensokyo, she seemed more homely than anything else.
Her clothing, a simple long sleeved blouse, long black skirt and red neck tie, were positively mundane compared to the outrageous clothing worn by Gensokyo's personalities. The only thing that really jumped out was the dark bowler hat, adored with a simple white ribbon, that sat atop the woman's neat chestnut brown hair.
As far as Reimu could tell, Renko Usami was the textbook definition of 'normal'.
Reimu Hakurei kept her opinions to herself though. It wouldn't be polite to criticize the poor outsider for not measuring up to the standards of her home. If anything, Reimu pitied the poor girl: another poor soul who somehow fell into the Eastern Wonderland from the outside, and who caught the attention of Yukari Yakumo, the powerful Mistress of Borders, of all people.
Outsiders being trapped in Gensokyo might have been an uncommon sight, but they did happen from time to time. However, an outsider who managed to have the Youkai of Borders, who was sitting between Reimu and Renko at that very moment, become her patron was a rare thing indeed.
In that respect, Renko Usami wasn't so normal after all, but whether that was a good thing or bad thing Reimu had yet to decide.
"Please, call me Reimu. Everyone does," Reimu smiled warmly at Rekno, keeping her reservations at Yukari's involvement to herself, "I'm just grateful that you're alright. So many outsiders fall into Gensokyo and run afoul of something nasty before anyone can help them."
"So Merry tells me! It's a good thing I ended up in her mansion then, didn't I? I probably would have been so excited if some strange creature came up to me I would have forgotten to defend myself!" Renko laughed nonchalantly, as if the thought of running into a flesh eating youkai didn't scare her at all! Reimu couldn't help but turn to Yukari with a questioning glance.
That was not the normal reaction any old human would have to the thought of being placed in a life threatening situation.
"Renko is an academic from the outside world," Yukari explained with that damnable, all knowing smile plastered over her face, "Interestingly enough, she is quite keen on the occult."
"Gensokyo in particular is one of my favourite topics," Renko declared proudly, "You have no idea how long I've waited to see this place after all the stories I've heard!"
"I wasn't aware Gensokyo was known to the outside world," Reimu said.
"It isn't. Why do you think I'm so excited to be here?"
As it turned out Renko, a professor from some university Reimu had never heard of before, had a hobby of looking into the occult and the supernatural in general.
Unlike many other so called experts of hobbyists, Renko had made the realisation that many of the supernatural creatures she so loved had retreated somewhere for a reason she couldn't discern. This epiphany had allowed her to trace the path of these creatures, though rumours, legends and heresy, to one location…
Gensokyo.
"You have no idea how much I've looked forward to finally be inside the Hakurei Border," Renko finished her explanation, "I know it must seem crazy to you that I'd risk my life to get in here, but it's been my life's passion to go interesting places, see interesting things and meet interesting people."
"Fair enough," Reimu said, "But you must know how dangerous this place is. Even with the spell card rules in place, there are still plenty of feral youkai that could hurt you."
"That's why I brought her to you, Reimu!" Yukari clapped her hands happily, the smile on the youkai's face so bright that Reimu couldn't help but feel a lump form in her stomach.
Damn-it, Yukari… what was she up to now?
"I want you to be a tour guide for Renko over here," Yukari explained cheerfully, "You've been everywhere in Gensokyo at some point or the other, and everyone knows you. You could help show Renko around and introduce her to all your friends!"
"What." Reimu said.
"Basically, she's asking you to show me about and keep her out of trouble while I sightsee. Maybe even help me meet some of the big wigs," Renko agreed all readily.
Reimu immediately knew this was a bad idea.
Gensokyo may be at relative peace, but it didn't mean that it was peaceful. It was a land where very powerful beings, all with equally powerful and eccentric personalities, lived in very close proximity to each other. Even when left alone to their own devices, their 'day to day lives' could be quite 'interesting' and Reimu who was one such person herself, knew this all too well.
Her displeasure at their request must have been evident on her face, because Renko quickly spoke up to allay her fears.
"It's only going to be for a little while! You won't have to play babysitter for me very long," Renko hastily explained, "Believe it or not, I actually do have work elsewhere and will need to get moving in about three weeks or so. Merry's even made arrangements to see me out safely. It'll be fine!"
"Merry?"
"She means me," Yukari said, now with much less enthusiasm than before for some reason, "It's a nickname that she has for me. I'm surprised that you hadn't brought it up before, Reimu... the nickname I mean."
"It just slipped my mind," Reimu said, before quickly focusing on the matter at hand, "Look, Renko. I am not going to play 'tour guide' for you."
"Why not?" Yukari and Renko asked simultaneously.
Huh, freaky.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble this is going to be for me?" Reimu folded her arms and glared at the pair as she slowly went into detail as to why their idea was completely unworkable.
Knocking on doors like Renko wanted to was a recipe for trouble that Reimu didn't want to handle, especially if Reimu was to be guarding an ordinary human being who was acting like an out of control tourist at the same time. Even if she did end up doing just that, the effort would likely run Reimu ragged. Why would she ever want to give herself stress for no reason?
Furthermore, there was a more basic problem: the trip itself was unworkable.
Getting into some places, like the Tengu village or Higan, would be nearly impossible even for the Hakurei shrine maiden. There were procedures, rules and guidelines involved that could send Reimu's heads spinning. Worse, she could just buck those rules like she normally did: those actually existed for a reason, and disobeying them would have consequences.
Getting into other places would be comparatively easier, but fraught with peril. Remi's mansion and Old Hell might readily take Renko as a visitor, but the things that happened at these places on a regular basis meant that they were definitely not locales a fragile human like Renko should visit. Then there were the places which had other… dangers… that could leave Renko completely traumatised.
Simply put, it was far more trouble for Reimu than it was worth her time to deal with.
"So that's that. I am not going to be your tour guide," Reimu said firmly once she had finished her triade, "You're friends with 'Merry'. Get her to do it."
"I guess I'll have to go around on my own then." Whereas the resigned sigh Reimu's rejection elicited from Renko was expected, the reaction from Yukari wasn't anything Reimu expected, at all.
"I can't, Reimu. As much as I want to do it myself, I have too high a profile to accompany her. I'm also not welcome in many places. That's why we came to you," Yukari explained, "Please, Reimu. I need your help. Just this one time: please."
It took Reimu a few moments for her to realize that Yukari was doing something she had only rarely seen the youkai do before… be completely honest. It was clear that, Yukari actually wanted to show Renko around herself but her personal circumstances prevented her from doing so.
For some reason that the two hadn't yet revealed, Yukari wanted Renko to experience Gensokyo. The sheer honestly in Yukari's eyes was so profound, it almost swayed Reimu on the spot due to the sheer unnaturalness of the situation.
However Reimu quickly caught herself.
No, if she accepted now Reimu would be picking up a crap load of trouble that she really didn't need. No matter that Yukari was being completely honest with Reimu, to the point 'please' was actually used. Babysitting a tourist was a recipe for trouble that Reimu most certainly did not need!
No way, no chance, no…
"I am of course willing to donate a sum of at least 10,000,000 yen to the shrine for your trouble. Tour guides are expected to be paid after all."
"I'LL DO IT!"
-=-
What followed was a quick discussion of what Renko's holiday was supposed to entail. Much to Reimu's initial chagrin, the outsider would be lodging with her instead of Yukari. This was mostly due in part to Renko wishing to get the 'Full Gensokyo Experience'.
However Reimu's annoyance at having to put up with the outsider was quickly alleviated when Yukari revealed than Ran, a most excellent house servant (considering Yukari's living habits, Ran had to be), would be helping tend to Reimu's shrine for the duration of Renko's stay.
This was necessary, as Renko's tour would definitely take Reimu away from her shrine. She would be gone for days at a time when visiting some of the more out of the way locales. While the journey between her shrine and, say, the human village or the Moriya Shrine wouldn't take more than a few hours, the two of them were definitely going to need lodging when visiting Old Hell.
Thankfully, this wouldn't be eating into her 10,000,000 yen paycheque: Yukari was willing to cover those expenses.
As the discussions progressed, it struck Reimu as very weird on how much time, money and effort Yukari was spending on this supposedly random outsider… so much so that Reimu was beginning to suspect Renko wasn't just any ordinary person after all.
-=-
"Now that we've settled all the details, I'm just going to hop back to your place to pick up my stuff." Renko declared.
"Ask Ran to help you. It'll be faster that way." Yukari offered as she opened a gap for Renko, "
"Thanks, Merry. You're too kind!" With those parting words Renko stepped into the gap Yukari opened for her, presumably leading to Yukari's mansion. It soon closed, leaving Yukari and Reimu alone in private for the time being.
Naturally, once Renko was out of earshot, Reimu wasted no time in confronting Yukari with her suspicions.
"Merry?" Reimu asked with a raised eyebrow.
"An old nickname she has for me," Yukari gave a weary sigh, "It's not something anyone here is going to understand."
"Why do I get the sense she isn't just any random girl who fell through the border?"
"What gave it away?" Yukari let out a tired sigh.
"What didn't give it away?" Reimu rolled her eyes sarcastically.
Really, Yukari couldn't have been more obvious just now. The youkai of borders was famous for her sedentary nature, and never exerted herself more than she absolutely had to.
However Yukari was practically bending over backwards to accommodate Renko, even shelling out a small fortune for the outsider's benefit.
Combined with the pet name, Reimu would have to be blind to not realize that something was amiss about Renko Usami.
"Wait, you didn't abduct her from the outside did you?" Reimu's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "I mean, she was looking for this place before, so…"
"No, no, no, no! I didn't abduct Renko," Yukari quickly said, "She found her way in here all on her own. Renko suddenly appeared on our dining table during dinner a few days ago without warning. Gave Ran and Chen a big scare when it happened! That part is true. Renko is the last person I expected to see in Gensokyo!"
"…you know her," Reimu observed, "Who is she?"
Yukari went uncharacteristically silent, clearly thinking about how best to answer this simple question. The internal conflict raging within the ancient youkai's was very apparent to Reimu.
Considering how old and how wise Yukari really was, whatever had managed to unsettle the millennia old being this much was definitely cause for concern.
"A friend. A very, very dear friend of mine who I never expected to see again," Yukari finally spoke after a short period of silence, "Reimu, you must have guessed by now that I didn't bring Renko here purely to ask for your help in taking her around."
"That was pretty obvious," Reimu shrugged. Besides, Reimu knew Yukari well enough to know that nothing she ever did was ever so straightforward. "So what did you bring her here for, really?"
"Renko plans on leaving in three weeks. That part is true. The part that we lied about is that I'm not the one showing her out. She is fully capable of leaving on her own, and there isn't anything I can do to stop her," Yukari revealed carefully, "Believe me, I've tried. Sut she won't listen and I don't want to use force to stop her. I… don't want her to leave."
That caught Reimu's attention.
Yukari was easily one of the most powerful individuals in Gensokyo. There were very few who wouldn't be able to resist her will. For Yukari to all but admit that Renko was capable of defying her will had all sorts in implications that raised plenty of red flags that Reimu couldn't ignore.
"I can't stop her from leaving Reimu. Not even by force, if it came to that. That's why I came to you," Yukari looked at Reimu with pleading eyes, "Don't tell her I asked you to do this for me, but can you please help me give Renko a reason to migrate to Gensokyo from where she normally lives?"
"What do you mean by that? What do you expect me to do?"
"Introduce her to people, try and have her make some friends, show her why this might be a nice place to actually settle down in and not just visit… that sort of thing," Yukari elaborated, "Give her a reason to stay so that in three months' time the only reason she'll leave Gensokyo is so that she will be arranging for someone to move her belongings in here. Make Renko want to make Gensokyo her home."
"This is… a very strange request, Yukari."
Why would Yukari want Renko to stay in Gensokyo? How did the two of them know each other? If the two of them were friends and Yukari wanted Renko to be about, why wasn't Yukari's wish enough to sway her? More than that, how was Renko able to defy Yukari, a thousand year old youkai of immense power, in the first place?
Who was Renko Usami anyway?
Such questions whirled around in Reimu's head as she slowly grasped the mystery she had been presented with. However, with all that had happened Reimu didn't even know where to begin.
"Please Reimu, you know I never ask for favours," Yukari whispered, "But today I am asking. Please Reimu, just this once. Please."
Reimu mulled over what the youkai had just asked of her.
The situation had changed.
This wasn't just showing around a powerless human anymore. No, if what Reimu was reading between the lines was true, Renko was far from powerless. The problem now was convincing someone who could give Yukari pause to make Gensokyo her home, potentially opening up a whole can of worms Reimu was wary of thinking about.
Things had become infinitely more complicated, but one thing stuck out more than anything else, something Reimu could not ignore no matter how much she wanted to.
Yukari Yakumo was asking.
For all the mischief Yukari was capable of, despite the fact she was one of the most enigmatic, inhuman and mysterious youkai in existence… it didn't change the fact that one of the most selfless individuals Reimu knew was asking a rare, selfish favour.
For as much as people believe Yukari to be the most 'youkai-like' of the youkai, Reimu was one of the people who knew that, beneath the layers of enigma Yukari wrapped herself in, Yukari was a person who truly loved Gensokyo and would do anything for it and it's people.
Reimu would have to be a really heartless person to turn this request down.
"Fine I'll do it. Just one last thing. She isn't human, is she?" Reimu said, "If she managed to get through the barrier and can leave on her own, she has to be something else. Something powerful."
"She is human… but she is also more than human. Something powerful? You have no idea," Yukari gave a sly, knowing smile at those cryptic words, "But if she chooses to stay, I guarantee she'll bring more stability to Gensokyo. Renko has some very unique skills I think will help us out a lot."
"All the more reason for me to find a way to get her to stick around, I assume?"
"Now you're getting it!" Yukari giggled. It seemed that Reimu's agreement seemed to have lifted Yukari's spirits to the point she was beginning to look more and more like her usual self again. "Renko may advertise herself as an academic, but from what I understand she's something of a problem solver and peacekeeper in her current home. I'm sure she'll make our lives a bit easier if she decides to set up shop somewhere."
Reimu could spot a flat out lie when she saw one. Yukari wanted Renko to stick around for personal reasons.
What those reasons where, Reimu couldn't begin to guess.
-=-
"You know that Yukari-sama is probably trying to convince Reimu to help her try and get you to stay, right now."
"I know Merry is trying to convince Reimu to go along with her schemes," Renko chuckled as she emptied the guestroom wardrobe of her effects into a small four wheeled suitcase open on the floor, "It's nice to know she wants me to stick around so much, but I'm not going to change my mind."
"Why not?" Ran asked curiously, "You two are friends, aren't you? The way the two of you talk with each other, you must have been very close."
"That was a lifetime ago… literally. Things change, and so do people," Renko said, "She has her own thing, and I have mine."
"Didn't you say that you spent seven hundred years dreaming about this place. Now that you've actually found it you're going to just leave after taking a look around?" Ran pointed out quizzically, "If you've quested for Gensokyo for so long, why leave when you've just found it? Even if you have business elsewhere, maybe you could set up a holiday home here and make this a place where you can come back to."
"Nice idea, but I'll have a pass on that one. Someone like me attracts trouble. Gensokyo is peaceful, at least compared to some of the places I've been to. It doesn't need me hanging around attracting the wrong sort of attention. I don't want Merry to have problems from my enemies."
"I thought you said you got rid of those enemies of yours."
"I wish. Those guys are hardier than roaches. Besides, I need to go back. I have something that I really need to look into. A lot of good people might get hurt if I don't," Renko sighed, "Look, Ran. I appreciate what you're trying to do for Merry. I know she's excited to see me after all these years, but we aren't kids anymore. I have things to do, things that no one else can do, and three weeks really is all that I can spare."
"So you're just sticking around looking enough to be a tourist?" Ran said defeated.
"That's the plan," Renko chuckled, "I've dreamed of being here for so long, it'd be criminal not to have a look around while I'm here. If even half of what I've read about this place is true, Gensokyo is still even wackier than the wackiest place I've been to in Creation, and that's saying something considering where I live!"
"And Reimu finding a reason for you to stick around?"
"Not going to happen Ran," Renko chuckled, completely dismissing the idea as an impossibility, "There are many miracles in the universe, but trying to talk an Descending Sun out of doing something she's set her mind to is most definitely not one of them!"
-=-
THE TOURIST
An Exalted/Touhou Crossover
By sasahara17
-Chapter 1, a Descending Sun goes on vacation-
-=-
Thanks to Yukari's gaps, it didn't take very long for Renko to retrieve her effects and get settled down in the Hakurei shrine. This was helped by the fact that, as the shine often had to play host to her various guests who liked to stay over after a night of partying, Reimu had always kept at least one extra futon and pillow on hand in case any of her friends were unable to make the trip back.
With Suika out on a bar crawl visiting her old friend Yuugi and old Genma the tortoise already asleep, this left Renko and Reimu alone in her living room after having a modest dinner. While Reimu quietly was warming herself using the kotatsu, Renko was flipping through a copy of the Gensokyo Chronicle, with a highlighter, a ballpoint pen and something called 'post it notes' close at hand as she made all sorts of annotations in it.
"Yuuka Kazami, a youkai of flowers. Threat level… very high?" Renko said as she seemed to squint at the words before scribbling down something on the page, "Well, I guess I'd have to be careful when I go down to this 'Garden of the Sun' of hers. I don't want to piss this chick off."
"Kazami isn't as bad as her reputation would suggest you know." Reimu spoke out.
In Reimu's opinion, Renko using that particular book was a mistake. For one, the damn thing had managed to get Reimu completely wrong by calling her lazy, easy going and lacking in any sense of danger. While some of it (okay, a lot of it) may be true, it was a rather unflattering entry that Reimu wished Akyuu would revise.
Moreover the entry completely discounted the fact that nearly all her friends were youkai, and instead seemed to paint a picture of Reimu as an uncompromising youkai exterminating machine that stomped down one everyone who looked at her way funny.
Still, there weren't many other written, commercially available records about Gensokyo. For all of Akyuu's 'slight inaccuracies', it was still a fairly good introduction into the Eastern Wonderland, especially if one were an ordinary human who wasn't aware of where the dangers were.
However, if Yukari hints were correct, Renko wasn't an ordinary human. Not by a long shot.
"Hm, sorta guessed that," Renko said with a frown as she continued scribbling in the margins, "Eyewitness accounts here seem to say she never initiates combat on her own unless provoked. Scary powerful, but only if you actually start a fight. Probably just wants to be left alone now that she's old. Reminds me of a couple of people I know."
"Really? You know a few people like this?" Reimu asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Lady named Lillith, for one. Leave her alone, she won't make a fuss. Piss her off, kiss your ass goodbye. Arianna's sorta gone down that part as well, although she's more 'cranky old cat lady' than hermit in my opinion," Renko shrugged before flipping the page and deepening her frown, "Okay, now I know this 'Gensokyo Chronicle' has some serious problems. Merry's entry is f'ed up the b."
"Merry? You don't mean Yukari do you?" Reimu had to find out how that nickname had come about. Yukari didn't look like a 'Merry' at all. There must be story behind that one.
"Yeah, sorry. That's the name she was going by when I first met her on the outside world and it kinda stuck," Renko said as she started sticking post it notes on the pages, before her eyes widened when she came to the bit about Yukari's powers, "Holy geez! Can Merry, I mean Yukari, really do all this with her powers?"
"Sort of," Reimu replied, "As long as she can picture a boundary and understand it, she can manipulate it. At least that's my understanding of it."
That wasn't actually true though. Yukari had confided in Reimu that her power did have its limits, especially when using it on conceptual boundaries that physically did not exist. That was part of the reason Yukari was tired so much, after all. Yukari hadn't chosen to share that information with Renko yet there probably was a good reason for it.
"Whoa. Never figured she'd be able to do stuff like that," Renko whistled, "Damn. Merry has manipulation of reality on a conceptual level? That's a broken ability if I ever saw one."
"Renko, a personal question if I may."
"Sure, shoot." The academic said without looking up from her book.
"What exactly do you do in the outside world?" Reimu asked with all seriousness, "Yukari said you were a scholar of some sort, but she never went into any detail about it."
Actually, what Reimu wanted to really ask was 'who are you really'. However, Renko had been quite evasive whenever the subject came up… no, not evasive: Playful. Yukari's friend appeared to share her mischievous streak in that she deliberately dropped tantalizing hints about being more than just some random professor, in passing, before deliberately changing the subject.
For example, when she talked about Yuuka, Renko actually deduced what the old Youkai was actually like and even made a direct comparison with some other figure she'd known. Better yet, Renko wasn't trying to hide it.
It appeared that Renko was playing a game with Reimu, trying to see how long it would take the shrine to piece together the puzzle she was setting up for her.
Damn, she was just like Yukari.
No wonder why the two of them were friends.
Bookmarking her page using a white ribbon she'd pulled from somewhere and setting it to the side, Renko turned to Reimu with a reassuring smile, "Well, if you must know I used to be the Professor of Physics at the Lookshy Institute of Technology before I gave up teaching and well full time into academic research. Hell, I helped establish the place."
"Lookshy? Never heard of it."
"There are other places outside Japan, you know. Like the Americas and Europe for instance. Gensokyo's like Lichtenstein or the Vatican City. Iddy bitty state inside a bigger country," Renko said with a shrug, "Really big world outside these borders."
Reimu had no idea where Litchenstein or the Vatican City were, but she got the gist of what Renko was trying to say. She'd check with Sanae or Mamizou to figure that out later. Regardless, 'Institute of Technology' sounded impressive.
"So you used to teach?"
"Yep. Theoretical Physics. Pretty high level material."
Damn. Reimu didn't know much about this sort of science stuff, being a shrine maiden and all. So much for that line of questioning.
"So why'd you stop? Did you get tired of it or something?"
"To be honest? I stopped because a friend of mine, Wind, he's a… judge, discovered a big problem and needed my help looking into it. Like, really big problem that affects a whole lot of people that I know. That's why I quit my teaching job and went into full time research."
"What sort of problem would a judge need a physicist for?" Reimu wondered. Reimu was actually acquainted with a judge herself, Shikeiki Yamaxanadu, and knew what the celestial judge's job entailed. She couldn't imagine what a judge would need a professor for, much less that the professor had to quit her teaching job over it.
"A big one," Renko admitted sadly, "and this one I'm really not at liberty to say. Admiral Sand, another friend who is also working on the same problem, decided that everyone who was working on the solution needed to be discreet. We're not sworn to secrecy or anything, but we're trying to keep it on a need to know basis."
Admiral? A military rank? Renko knew an Adimral? Reimu resisted the urge to sign. Oh, this rabbit hole kept getting deeper and deeper didn't it?
"Sounds pretty serious."
"It is. There's a lot riding on my research. Like, an entire country could be affected by what happens," Renko admitted, "That's why I do need to get out of here in three weeks. This is the kind of thing that I can't let lie."
It was becoming pretty clear to Reimu that Renko wasn't just an ordinary teacher, but was a person of some importance from where she was from. More than that, Renko actually was working on something really important with a group equally talented individuals, all from a variety of fields, before she had arrived in Gensokyo… which meant that the professor actually had a very real reason for wanting to go back to wherever she came from.
The prospects about convincing Renko to stick around were getting even slimmer.
Damnit Yukari. Why'd she have to have Reimu do this impossible favour instead of something simpler, like cooking a meal or something?
-=-
As it turned out, Renko had been quite tried after the day's events, and following their conversation, the travelling ex-professor had retired to her room before the night had gotten really late. Seeing as how the tour would officially begin tomorrow, Reimu decided an early night was in order and soon went to sleep herself.
Despite all the lingering questions about her mysterious guest and the enormity of the task Reimu had unwittingly undertaken, she nevertheless had a pleasant night's sleep.
The following morning though… now that carried its own problems.
"I think I want to see the Scarlet Devil Mansion first."
Reimu choked on her breakfast, a bowl of plain rice, when Renko had offhandedly said this outrageous statement aloud. "There are a whole bunch of places that I want to visit, but that library is too big a draw for the academic in me to pass up."
"The Scarlet Devil Mansion?" Reimu, coughed, hoping she had misheard the former professor.
She didn't.
"Yeah, that's what I said," Renko confirmed with such whimsical tone, like she hadn't just declared that the very first place she wanted to visit was the home of one of the most powerful vampires in the world, "The Scarlet Devil Mansion. I want to see the library."
Granted Reimu knew she would have to being Renko there at some point, but the shrine maiden had been hoping the tourist would have been able to give her some practice first at a 'safer' location before jumping headlong into the really dangerous sights.
This was her first time doing this sort of thing, damn it!
"What about the Human Village?' Reimu suggested hopefully, "It has the largest concentration of humans in Gensokyo and is also home to Hieda no Akyuu. You know, the person who wrote the Gensokyo Chronicle…"
"Eh, pass. Feudal age farming village. Seen one of them, seen them all," Renko shrugged offhandedly before looking at Reimu with an excited smile, "Won't bother with going down there unless I absolutely have to, not with all the other places I could visit!"
"Other places?" Reimu asked hesitantly, already dreading the answer.
"I made a list last night. Here you go." Renko reached over to her belt and unclipped the small, well-worn and well used pocketbook, likely a journal, which she was keeping in a hip mounted pouch. She then handed it to Reimu at the appropriate page.
Reimu took one look at what was written on the page and felt her heart skip a beat.
Renko had gone through her copy of the Gensokyo Chronicle and, from there, made a note of every single place and person of interest in her journal she would like to visit over the course of the three weeks. This wouldn't be so much of a problem if Renko's wish list couldn't also have doubled as a list of the most dangerous, inhospitable and downright in assessable places in all of Gensokyo.
Some, like the Scarlet Devil Mansion and the Youkai Mountain, were populated by dangerous youkai who were extremely powerful and extremely vicious if given reason to become violent. A fight could very well break out if they weren't careful.
Others, like Hakugyokurou and Higan, were normally inaccessible to living humans, and for good reason. While Reimu could get in because of her status as the Hakurei shrine maiden, the headache of clearing Renko wasn't something we was looking forward to.
And then there were utterly ridiculous locations no one in their right mind would want to visit, like 'the Underground Nuclear Reactor'.
While there were a few tourist friendly locations like the Myoren temple or Eientei, it was very easy to see how this could become a colossal headache for the poor shrine maiden. Yukari had hinted that Renko was more than she seemed, but Reimu couldn't help shake the feeling that this was a disaster, or worse a full blown incident, just waiting to happen.
"So, what do you think?" Renko asked.
"These are some of the more… interesting locations in Gensokyo, all right," Reimu commented on as she closed the book and handed it back to Renko, who placed it back on its pouch.
While Reimu wanted to reach over to Renko and slap the older girl upside the head to bring some sense into that idiot, Reimu had both been asked by Yukari to show Renko a good time and also had been paid a very large sum of money to do this. As much as it annoyed Reimu, and also made the shrine maiden worry that her future was going to be a pretty stressful one, she couldn't do more than try and talk Renko out of it. This was a paying job after all.
"Are you sure you want to visit all those places? Some of them are pretty dangerous or hard to get in to, you know," Reimu pointed out, "Higan in particular will give us a lot of problems. Living people aren't supposed to be there. I don't think just asking Komachi a favour is going to cut it."
"A celestial bureaucrats and their red tape…" Renko chuckled, seemingly lost in a memory, "Anyway, I don't think this is as big a problem as you're making it out to be. Besides, this is what I have you here for, don't I? Smooth over all the bumps and hiccups to make sure I can enjoy myself, right miss tour guide?"
"You do know tour guides are supposed to be the ones setting up the tour route right?"
"Who is the one paying you again? If I so recall, this is a private tour so I expect to get my money's worth, or Yukari's money as the case may be," Renko grinned as she leaned back, "Seriously though. Don't worry about it too much, Reimu. Just leave it on the list. No harm trying to go there. If we get in, we get it. If we don't, we don't. Cross that bridge when we come to it, okay?"
Reimu swore quietly that the next time Yukari paid her to do something like this, she was going to double her rates. "Fine, but just be aware that some of these places are inaccessible for a reason."
"Well, we shall see about that, won't we?" Renko grinned. "I've been waiting for this my whole life, and I'm not about to let some paper pushing square stop me from seeing the sights and meeting the people."
Reimu pretty much gave up trying to convince Renko at this point.
The traveller was dead set in her wish to see every one of the locations she'd put down in her journal, and there wasn't anything Reimu could do to convince her otherwise. Come hell or high water, Reimu was going to have to show Renko every location on this list and hope they didn't cause an incident while they were at it.
With this foreboding in mind, the pair soon finished up their meals and were soon on their way to their first destination… the Scarlet Devil Mansion, manse of the Scarlett household.
Well it could be worse. At least Remilia was a friend, and Renko just wanted to see the library. What could horribly go wrong with a plan like that…
…
…Hopefully Reimu hadn't just jinxed herself.
-=-
TBC…
-=-
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SolipsistSerpent
Endlessly Devouring
Hm... Now I'm rooting for Reimu and Yukari.
sasahara17
Just Another Random Author
- Location
- Brisbane City
Note: This snippet has not been proofread yet. It will be when the chapter is completed, compiled and properly beta'ed. However, it is still readable. Enjoy.
-=-
Scarlet Devil Mansion
A Sunny Girl in the House of Night
Chapter 1, Snip 1
-=-
Being the gate keeper to the Scarlet Devil Mansion was a thankless, and oftentimes boring, job. Aside from the usual 'intruders', one of whom was such a frequent guest she might as well have been a resident there, the mansion rarely received any visitors.
This was quite understandable, as it was far out of the way of most of the usual travel routes and situated across the misty lake. Nobody in their right mind would visit the mansion unless they had legitimate business to do so, and even the fairies had long since grown bored of trying to break in.
At the rate things were going, her job was pretty much ceremonial. It wasn't as if there were dozens of wannabe vampire hunters out to stake Remilia through the heart, for what little good that would actually do, in Gensokyo.
Hong Meiling thus had come into the bad habit of taking afternoon naps while on duty. Really, who could blame her? Nice weather, perfect climate, no visitors, nothing to do… it would be better to take a nice nap rather than watching the same old scenery day in and day out, right? It's not as if anyone, besides Marisa of course, is stupid enough to try to break into the mansion of a mighty powerful vampire, right?
"Well, this is one entry in the book that's spot on," Renko said as she looked down at the page in the Gensokyo Chronicle, then back up at the sleeping gatekeeper that was laying on the grass just next to the huge gate that led into the mansion's grounds.
Reimu couldn't help but wonder how much trouble Meiling was going to be in when Reimila found out the tourist's first impression of the Scarlet Devil Mansion was that of a sleeping gatekeeper.
"Sleeping on the job. Wow, I'm surprised she hasn't been fired yet." Renko said as she walked closer to Meiling and crouched over the gatekeeper's sleeping form.
It had taken hours for the pair to make the journey from Reimu's shrine to the mansion, mainly due to the fact that Renko was unable (or perhaps, unwilling) to fly under her own power. So, while they had departed early in the day, it had taken them the entire morning to finally reach the mansion. Reimu had always known that the mansion was off the beaten track, but it wasn't until she'd had to walk the way there, as opposed to just flying, that she'd realized just how isolated it could be.
On the upside, avoiding flying over the trip had meant the pair maintained a lower profile and thus escaped the notice of Cirno, who would definitely have caused them, or more specifically Reimu, some problems.
"Let her sleep. We should probably just go in," Reimu said with a sigh as she moved to direct Renko away from the sleeping gate guard. Really this was an unnecessary distraction from what Reimu really wanted to do: talk with Remilia. "I can just fly over the wall and open the gate from the inside, then I can speak to the lady of the house and we can get down to the tour proper."
Renko held out a hand to gesture that Reimu wait a moment. "Hold that thought."
Then Renko did the stupidest thing Reimu had seen someone do in a while do: in one smooth motion, Renko's right hand dipped down to the six shooter pistol at her side (wait, when did she have something like that?) draw it and bring it up to Meiling's hea-
Faster than the eye could see, Meiling's right arm darted out and slapped the barrel of the weapon away from her face. Then, without even stopping her hand wrapped itself around Renko's wrist in a vice grip, just as Meiling lept from where she had been lying on the ground to her feet…
Before Reimu could even blink, Renko was face down on the dirt with Meiling's knee planted on the small of her back and her outstretched arm, and her gun, held in a rather painful position above her in Meiling's hold.
Reimu's jaw dropped.
She'd never seen Mailing move that fast before!
"Ow, ow, ow! Bad joke, bad joke, bad joke! Uncle, uncle, uncle!" Renko squealed, tapping her free hand on the ground to display her submission to the redheaded youkai, "I give, I give!"
"It is not nice to point dangerous things at people," Meiling admonished in an even tone of voice as she applied more pressure to Renko's back, eliciting a girlish squeal from the pinned academic, "Who are you and what are you doing here? This is private property. Answer me quickly, or else!"
"REIMU, HELP!"
-=-
"Wait, so she's a tourist?" Meiling tilted her head in confusion as Reimu finished her explanation.
"Yeah. Yukari's paying me to give her a round the barrier trip of the place, and she happened to decide that the mansion was the first place she wanted to visit."
Meiling, reacting to what had seemed like a clear and present threat, hadn't actually noticed Reimu until Renko had started squealing like a little child for help. When she did, it had taken quite a bit of convincing for the gatekeeper to finally release Renko.
The trio were now standing off to the side of the gate as Reimu explained to Meiling just why someone she'd never seen or heard from before had shown up out of nowhere and decided to put a weapon to the side of the gatekeeper's head.
"How come she pointed that gun at my head then?" Meiling frowned, folding her arms suspiciously as she turned to regard Renko.
"I was wondering about that myself actually." Reimu muttered as she turned to Renko with a look of annoyance and disbelief. "I can't believe you, pulling a weapon on Meiling like that. Don't you know how much trouble you'd be in if this were anywhere but Gensokyo?"
"Yeah. This is the kind of thing that could have you thrown out of places or put in jail, you know." Meiling nodded with agreement
Renko gave a sheepish smile and apologetic shrug, clearly trying to lay on the charm to get around her little misstep. "Hey, I just wanted to see what in the book was right about Meiling."
"What book?" Meiling frowned
"This book!" Renko produced the Gensokyo Chronicle and flipped it open to the appropriate page, then laid on the charm to get Meiling to see her point.
"See, here? This page gives so such an unflattering review of you I didn't know what to think. Is she lazy? Is she friendly? Is she dangerous? So I figured that the best way to see what you were really like was to put a gun to your head to see what kind of reaction I'd get out of you. It was a perfectly legitimate course of action. I just wanted to see if you were any good as a gatekeeper, and since you were already asleep… Sorry about the misunderstanding, Miss Hong! Can you forgive me?"
Reimu stared at Renko in disbelief, unable to wrap her mind about the insane troll logic she'd just heard. What sort of excuse was that? Renko might as well have said she'd eaten Meiling's hat to see if it tasted like grass! There was no way-
"That sounds reasonable," Meiling nodded with a smile, "Well, no harm done."
"What."
"Yeah, that's the way the cookie crumbles," Renko laughed, "So, why don't you show the two of us in? I'd love to meet the lady of the house now. This place looks fabulous!"
"What." Reimu looked between Meiling and Renko, trying hard to comprehend what had just happened. Did Meiling just listen to that bullshit excuse for putting a loaded gun to her head and… just accept it? Like that? What?
"Certainly! Come on right in!" Meiling walked open to the gate and opened it to allow the mansion's latest guests to enter… "Oh, but I'll be needing your gun though."
"What? Why?"
"Well, it's a dangerous weapon, and even as a guest I can't allow you to wander around with such a dangerous thing on the premises. You might hurt someone!"
Then Renko started laying on the charm again.
"But I'm just this helpless human being who is about to go into a mansion full of deadly things like vampires, succubi and who knows what else. I need this gun to protect myself... I mean sure it won't really help me very much in there, you saw how easily you disarmed me... but at very least let me keep it around as a safety blanket. Please let me keep my gun."
"…Hm, that sounds reasonable too," Meiling agreed heartily, "Well then, come on right in Ms Usami! The Scarlet Devil Mansion welcomes you!"
"See Reimu? Getting into places isn't as difficult as you made it out to be, after all." Renko grinned as she clasped the still shocked shrine maiden by the arm and slowly pulled in her in after her.
"What the hell?" Reimu muttered to herself as she tried, and failed to understand what had just transpired at the gate.
That was bullshit!
-=-
A/N - Yep, Renko is a bit of a troll. She's also Essence 5. Her backstory was over in SB, but i do have it saved (somewhere). If anyone wants to see it, let me know and I'll throw it up here on SV tomorrow.
-=-
Scarlet Devil Mansion
A Sunny Girl in the House of Night
Chapter 1, Snip 1
-=-
Being the gate keeper to the Scarlet Devil Mansion was a thankless, and oftentimes boring, job. Aside from the usual 'intruders', one of whom was such a frequent guest she might as well have been a resident there, the mansion rarely received any visitors.
This was quite understandable, as it was far out of the way of most of the usual travel routes and situated across the misty lake. Nobody in their right mind would visit the mansion unless they had legitimate business to do so, and even the fairies had long since grown bored of trying to break in.
At the rate things were going, her job was pretty much ceremonial. It wasn't as if there were dozens of wannabe vampire hunters out to stake Remilia through the heart, for what little good that would actually do, in Gensokyo.
Hong Meiling thus had come into the bad habit of taking afternoon naps while on duty. Really, who could blame her? Nice weather, perfect climate, no visitors, nothing to do… it would be better to take a nice nap rather than watching the same old scenery day in and day out, right? It's not as if anyone, besides Marisa of course, is stupid enough to try to break into the mansion of a mighty powerful vampire, right?
"Well, this is one entry in the book that's spot on," Renko said as she looked down at the page in the Gensokyo Chronicle, then back up at the sleeping gatekeeper that was laying on the grass just next to the huge gate that led into the mansion's grounds.
Reimu couldn't help but wonder how much trouble Meiling was going to be in when Reimila found out the tourist's first impression of the Scarlet Devil Mansion was that of a sleeping gatekeeper.
"Sleeping on the job. Wow, I'm surprised she hasn't been fired yet." Renko said as she walked closer to Meiling and crouched over the gatekeeper's sleeping form.
It had taken hours for the pair to make the journey from Reimu's shrine to the mansion, mainly due to the fact that Renko was unable (or perhaps, unwilling) to fly under her own power. So, while they had departed early in the day, it had taken them the entire morning to finally reach the mansion. Reimu had always known that the mansion was off the beaten track, but it wasn't until she'd had to walk the way there, as opposed to just flying, that she'd realized just how isolated it could be.
On the upside, avoiding flying over the trip had meant the pair maintained a lower profile and thus escaped the notice of Cirno, who would definitely have caused them, or more specifically Reimu, some problems.
"Let her sleep. We should probably just go in," Reimu said with a sigh as she moved to direct Renko away from the sleeping gate guard. Really this was an unnecessary distraction from what Reimu really wanted to do: talk with Remilia. "I can just fly over the wall and open the gate from the inside, then I can speak to the lady of the house and we can get down to the tour proper."
Renko held out a hand to gesture that Reimu wait a moment. "Hold that thought."
Then Renko did the stupidest thing Reimu had seen someone do in a while do: in one smooth motion, Renko's right hand dipped down to the six shooter pistol at her side (wait, when did she have something like that?) draw it and bring it up to Meiling's hea-
Faster than the eye could see, Meiling's right arm darted out and slapped the barrel of the weapon away from her face. Then, without even stopping her hand wrapped itself around Renko's wrist in a vice grip, just as Meiling lept from where she had been lying on the ground to her feet…
Before Reimu could even blink, Renko was face down on the dirt with Meiling's knee planted on the small of her back and her outstretched arm, and her gun, held in a rather painful position above her in Meiling's hold.
Reimu's jaw dropped.
She'd never seen Mailing move that fast before!
"Ow, ow, ow! Bad joke, bad joke, bad joke! Uncle, uncle, uncle!" Renko squealed, tapping her free hand on the ground to display her submission to the redheaded youkai, "I give, I give!"
"It is not nice to point dangerous things at people," Meiling admonished in an even tone of voice as she applied more pressure to Renko's back, eliciting a girlish squeal from the pinned academic, "Who are you and what are you doing here? This is private property. Answer me quickly, or else!"
"REIMU, HELP!"
-=-
"Wait, so she's a tourist?" Meiling tilted her head in confusion as Reimu finished her explanation.
"Yeah. Yukari's paying me to give her a round the barrier trip of the place, and she happened to decide that the mansion was the first place she wanted to visit."
Meiling, reacting to what had seemed like a clear and present threat, hadn't actually noticed Reimu until Renko had started squealing like a little child for help. When she did, it had taken quite a bit of convincing for the gatekeeper to finally release Renko.
The trio were now standing off to the side of the gate as Reimu explained to Meiling just why someone she'd never seen or heard from before had shown up out of nowhere and decided to put a weapon to the side of the gatekeeper's head.
"How come she pointed that gun at my head then?" Meiling frowned, folding her arms suspiciously as she turned to regard Renko.
"I was wondering about that myself actually." Reimu muttered as she turned to Renko with a look of annoyance and disbelief. "I can't believe you, pulling a weapon on Meiling like that. Don't you know how much trouble you'd be in if this were anywhere but Gensokyo?"
"Yeah. This is the kind of thing that could have you thrown out of places or put in jail, you know." Meiling nodded with agreement
Renko gave a sheepish smile and apologetic shrug, clearly trying to lay on the charm to get around her little misstep. "Hey, I just wanted to see what in the book was right about Meiling."
"What book?" Meiling frowned
"This book!" Renko produced the Gensokyo Chronicle and flipped it open to the appropriate page, then laid on the charm to get Meiling to see her point.
"See, here? This page gives so such an unflattering review of you I didn't know what to think. Is she lazy? Is she friendly? Is she dangerous? So I figured that the best way to see what you were really like was to put a gun to your head to see what kind of reaction I'd get out of you. It was a perfectly legitimate course of action. I just wanted to see if you were any good as a gatekeeper, and since you were already asleep… Sorry about the misunderstanding, Miss Hong! Can you forgive me?"
Reimu stared at Renko in disbelief, unable to wrap her mind about the insane troll logic she'd just heard. What sort of excuse was that? Renko might as well have said she'd eaten Meiling's hat to see if it tasted like grass! There was no way-
"That sounds reasonable," Meiling nodded with a smile, "Well, no harm done."
"What."
"Yeah, that's the way the cookie crumbles," Renko laughed, "So, why don't you show the two of us in? I'd love to meet the lady of the house now. This place looks fabulous!"
"What." Reimu looked between Meiling and Renko, trying hard to comprehend what had just happened. Did Meiling just listen to that bullshit excuse for putting a loaded gun to her head and… just accept it? Like that? What?
"Certainly! Come on right in!" Meiling walked open to the gate and opened it to allow the mansion's latest guests to enter… "Oh, but I'll be needing your gun though."
"What? Why?"
"Well, it's a dangerous weapon, and even as a guest I can't allow you to wander around with such a dangerous thing on the premises. You might hurt someone!"
Then Renko started laying on the charm again.
"But I'm just this helpless human being who is about to go into a mansion full of deadly things like vampires, succubi and who knows what else. I need this gun to protect myself... I mean sure it won't really help me very much in there, you saw how easily you disarmed me... but at very least let me keep it around as a safety blanket. Please let me keep my gun."
"…Hm, that sounds reasonable too," Meiling agreed heartily, "Well then, come on right in Ms Usami! The Scarlet Devil Mansion welcomes you!"
"See Reimu? Getting into places isn't as difficult as you made it out to be, after all." Renko grinned as she clasped the still shocked shrine maiden by the arm and slowly pulled in her in after her.
"What the hell?" Reimu muttered to herself as she tried, and failed to understand what had just transpired at the gate.
That was bullshit!
-=-
A/N - Yep, Renko is a bit of a troll. She's also Essence 5. Her backstory was over in SB, but i do have it saved (somewhere). If anyone wants to see it, let me know and I'll throw it up here on SV tomorrow.
jwolfe_beta
Semi Genre-Savvy Overlord
- Location
- Canada
Heh, the first instance of Solar bullshit strikes.
Damn she must be slipping if she's near 700, she's 200 years over the minimum to get E8. Course if you changed her backstory so she's only a decade or two past 100 max it makes far more sense.
Olive
Silent Princess
Or you could just acknowledge that real characters might not feel the need to powergame their own lives.
It's actually more a reference that in six hundred years she never once completed her Motivation, nor could find half a year to dedicate to such. Frankly I can easily see her not having max essence; hell I can honestly see her having E6 at 700, unlikely but I can. It's more the shear length of time we're talking about that shatters my SoD.
Olive
Silent Princess
Is this another one of those
Suspension of Disbelief is how plausible the author makes a concept in a story, and your ability to believe in that being possible. That's fine. What's confusing is that, in the SV terminology, it seems to be a go-to bitching comment about how the story isn't the way you want it to go[2].
[1] Like 'Competence' and 'Rational.'
[2] I should clarify that this is aimed at the community in general and not you in particular.
I wonder how long it'll take Reimu to get completely sick of walking everywhere and drag her old turtle friend out of retirement for Renko.
Or for Renko to get sick of it and attempt to solve the problem however Exalted solve it, I don't know. I can't imagine walking for hours being fun or something either of the two are used to.
and as far as the Essence level thing goes, her having a large variety of relatively low power charms is far more useful to the story than her having a higher essence level. That, and don't they get a larger pool, which would let her spam more charms without flaring anima? That's bad for the story, too.
Or for Renko to get sick of it and attempt to solve the problem however Exalted solve it, I don't know. I can't imagine walking for hours being fun or something either of the two are used to.
and as far as the Essence level thing goes, her having a large variety of relatively low power charms is far more useful to the story than her having a higher essence level. That, and don't they get a larger pool, which would let her spam more charms without flaring anima? That's bad for the story, too.
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SolipsistSerpent
Endlessly Devouring
Nah, it's a common internet reviewer got to when have a problem with something, it's definitely not limited to the SBV crowd. Sometimes it's justified, sometimes, not. It is, however, over-used.
That was a horrible joke, and you should feel horrible for making it
So she's taking her time with her Essence leveling. It's not like she's a Dawn caste, one of THOSE being 700 years old and only E5 would be kinda bullshit.
Something tells me she'll go up an E-lvl or two by the end of this.
sasahara17
Just Another Random Author
- Location
- Brisbane City
Actually from what I've seen E5 is pretty normal for an NPC exalt, particularly one who keeps herself very busy with day to day things. For instance, Ahn Aru exalted around the time of the Scarlet Empress, and she's around 700 years old. In the 2nd Ed Core, she's only E4.
Whatever you may think of the actual book, many Sidereals in the Scroll of Exalts don't break Essence 6 (IIRC, only Old Man Ketchup at E10, Ayesha Ura atE8 and Nazri at E7) were above that limit. The Lunars in general only had a few really high Essence individuals (Lilith at E8, Ma-Ha-Suchi at E7 and Tamuz at E8), but given they tend to have shorter lives, I figure they're not as good a benchmark as the long lived Sids.
Given that she and Renko tend to keep themselves quite busy with mundane things, I figure this is a good level of Essence to be in. Besides, Renko's pretty much overpowered anyway at E5, so what's the point in making her even more powerful?
Anyway, heres Renko's proposed backstory that I copypasted from the SB Exalted thread. It's not really spoilers since most of the fun is derived from what she's going to do next rather than what she's done, but I'm putting it in spoiler tags just to be safe. Here it is:
I'm thinking about how to explain the back-story I have for Renko in the tourist, but my current idea is that when Maribel was drawn into a gap (from the PV) Renko noticed what was happening and jumped in right after Merry in a futile attempt to save her friend. They got separated (obviously) and while Maribel ended up in the past in Feudal Japan, Renko ended up falling even further through the void and ended up in Creation cira end of the Age of Sorrows.
After learning the language, Renko came across something in the Cairocuso library that hinted of a place holding immense power from a forgotten age... however the location was hidden very well in a puzzle spread across many books. Figuring that this could very well be her ticket home, Renko solved the riddle, journeyed to this hidden location after braving so many dangers and found a manse… and just as she got inside and saw all the goodies, a bunch of jealous Dragon Blooded Dudes she'd offended on the way there came charging in to steal her stuff after she'd done all the hard work.
Oh, and there was the bit where they were trying to kill her too.
Naturally, Renko would have none of that shit, and her stubborn refusal to lay down and die (and give up her loot) after coming so far was the final nail that caused her to go all Suddenly!'Spontaneous Glorious Solar Exaltation' on the suckers.
Yep: her deeds (surviving falling through the wild, leaning an entire language in record time, figuring out where the manse was, finding the manse, getting into the manse, fighting to keep the lazy bastards from stealing her loot and a stubborn refusal to give up) caused her to Exalt.
Unfortunately, after beating the shit out of the Dragon Blooded, it turned out the manse couldn't send her home because the manse did jack shit (in her opinion at least. It did plenty, like have a whole bunch of neat stuff her shard's previous holder had... it's just that it didn't do the one thing she wanted it to do). So Renko was stuck on creation after pissing off a bunch of Dragon Blooded. Wow, she had a hell of a time there!
FYI, this was also the same manse Jasara had been after and Renko beat her to it by a few days, so the poor girl didn't Exalt.
After that, Renko went on a number of other adventures including making at least one powerful enemy (currently deciding between the Mask of Winters or the Princess) as well as helping one of the candidates for the Scarlet Throne (probably the Roseblack) safely ascend to and both the Realm and Creation (long story why she didn't get ganked by the Hunt while helping a DB of all people, but she's a persistent little Exalt).
Renko never stopped looking for a path home, even when she had more important matters on her mind (her primary motivation's changed several times). So it was that, after gaining access to Solar Circle sorcery while researching a cure for a certain big problem all Exalted (except maybe redeemed Abyssals) have (research is going nowhere BTW, dying curses from the Neveborn are a hell of a thing), Renko accidentally invented a spell that could help an Exalt cross the vast expanse of the Wyld to other planes of reality.
Naturally, given her virtue flaw is Insatiable Curiosity, she decided to try it out on herself (not the smartest idea mind you since it was the first time she ever tried casting it)… and ended up on Yukari's kotatsu upside down.
Then, after the tearful reunion, Yukari convinced Renko to go on a three week long sightseeing tour of Gensokyo to take a break from saving the world, and that's where the story starts.
Basically, Renko is supposed to be extremely powerful (Essence 5) as she is very old (about as old as Yukari Yakumo) and has access to Solar Circle Sorcery (how she got back to Gensokyo, although the specifics of the sacrifice she made to get it are still something I'm working out).
That's basically it.
Hope this is agreeable to everyone. Peace!
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Let me just google that--
hahahhahhahahahahah this is going to be fun
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Feng Lengshun
Z-Program Researcher
- Location
- Indonesia
This... looks like it'll be fun. I don't know much about Exaltation, certainly not much on the mechanics side, but as this isn't a quest I don't think I'll really need it to enjoy this. I do have to ask though, have you watched DiTR or something? Meiling's reaction wasn't as fanon or as the Guide tells us, but is an accurate interpretation of her canon actions that just reminds me of DiTR Meiling (and Spaztique's interpretation of her in general, like in his This Is Canon Gensokyo comic strip). Just wondering, really.
You know I keep having visions of Chibi-Flandre clinging to Renko like a koala after she uses charm.
jwolfe_beta
Semi Genre-Savvy Overlord
- Location
- Canada
Maybe. Though I expect that Reimu will be one of the few people that can fight off Renko's sheer charm. And as she watches the havoc TwilightRenko creates she will realize another Yukari class Troll is going to be in Gensokyo for three whole weeks.
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To be fair, that's basically almost exactly what it is. You expect X to happen, it doesn't, the story has now gone somewhere you didn't think it'd go.
It's just, sometimes your expectation is reasonable, and sometimes it's not, and it's hard to tell the difference from the inside.
*snerk* Well, that flaw sounds like your typical RPG protagonist that talks to everyone for random pieces of lore/backstory, and loots everything not nailed down. Yeah, this is going to be fun.
jwolfe_beta
Semi Genre-Savvy Overlord
- Location
- Canada
Patchouli's library isn't going to stand a chance is it?*snerk* Well, that flaw sounds like your typical RPG protagonist that talks to everyone for random pieces of lore/backstory, and loots everything not nailed down. Yeah, this is going to be fun.
Due to her Solar nature, I am going to guess Okuu is one of the few who on sight knows that Renko is more than human
Remilia might have a surprise if she tries to play with Renko's fate, and Patchouli is possibly the most knowledgeable magician in Gensoukyou.