Chapter 1
She could have sworn she last heard it here.
It was difficult to see as it was already dark, probably close to midnight by now. Nitori Kawashiro knelt down carefully inspected the surface of rock she was standing on for any irregularity that might reveal the source of the sound. She took out a small pickaxe and began gently tapping around, listening carefully.
It wasn?t just the strange noise. This spot felt like it clashed with the surrounding environment. It was a place devoid of any trees or plants of any kind, and the ground appeared to be made of solid rock. It didn?t seem right that there was this area of exposed rock here in this clearing when the surrounding area was mostly soil and forest growing over it. Shouldn?t it have eroded long ago? Why was there nothing growing here?
Suddenly the ground shook. There was a low rumble along with that sound again, a deep groaning sound like that of metal rubbing against metal. Birds from the nearby trees took flight and she could hear other forest creatures stirring in response to noise as well. This time it came from directly beneath her. Now she was sure this was the right place.
Nitori thought for few moments. She then stood up and gently raised the pickaxe over her head before swinging it down on the surface with all the force she could muster. The pickaxe was bounced back into the air with just as much force, sending her stumbling backwards as it slipped from her grasp before landing a short distance behind her. There wasn?t even a scratch on the surface.
This definitely wasn?t ordinary rock, at least not as she knew it. Whatever this material it was, it was standing between her and whatever strange things lay below. Nitori wondered whether she should come back with explosives.
?Looks like you picked a fight with the ground and lost.?
Nitori looked over her shoulder and spotted Marisa Kirisame approaching from between the trees, briefly stopping picking up the pickaxe on her way over.
?I guess you heard it as well.? Nitori asked, as Marisa handed her the pickaxe.
?Of course, curiosity can be a wonderful thing sometimes.? Marisa replied. ?So, found anything interesting yet? Treasure? Machines? Magic??
Marisa stopped in mid-sentence and looked upwards, briefly gesturing to Nitori to stay silent before pointing up at the sky. Nitori glanced up as well and immediately understood why. A winged figure was passing quickly overhead, barely visible in the moonlight. They both stayed silent for few moments more after it disappeared in the distance before resuming conversation.
?Nothing, unless it?s possible to get through whatever this stuff posing as rock is.? Nitori said, tapping her foot on the unknown material they were standing on.
?Let me try.? Marisa said.
Marisa stepped out into the center of the clearing then brought out her mini-hakkero, holding it out at arm?s length and pointing it straight at the ground.
?Are you sure that?s a good idea?? Nitori said, taking a few steps back.
?We?ll find out soon enough.? Marisa replied with a laugh. ?What could possibly go wrong??
Before Nitori could say anything else, for a brief moment ground shook slightly and there was sound of grinding metal again. After a few moments of silence Marisa went ahead with her little plan, and there was a bright light as the Master Spark beam shot out of the mini-hakkero and into the ground. Marisa was floating a few feet off the ground, struggling to keep the Master Spark pointed downwards.
Unfortunately, like a jet of water against a metal object, a few stray beams shot out from the point where the beam met the surface. Nitori dove to the ground barely dodging one which shot just over her, snipping a few hairs off her ponytails and a button off her backpack. Afterwards, the place the Master Spark hit was glowing red hot, but there was no effect otherwise. There wasn?t even a scratch on the surface.
?Damn it Marisa, you nearly took my head off!? Nitori shouted.
?Well sorry, I didn?t know it would reflect that much.? Marisa said apologetically.
All of a sudden the ground shook again and the sound of grinding metal returned, this time stronger than before. The ground underneath them rose up ever so slightly. A large crack opened up through the middle right next to where Marisa was standing. Never mind trying to break through it and get to whatever was underneath, it seemed like whatever was down there wanted to come up towards them instead.
?RUN!? Marisa shouted.
Both of them dashed off into the woods to find cover. As they did, the ground began to shake violently and Nitori thought she could hear explosions. She looked back from behind a tree, and watched as one blast after another sent chunks of rock-like material flying into the air.
_____
Two days later?
?I?ll be leaving for a while. Don?t try to follow me.? Suwako said.
?Wait! Where are you going? What?s going on?? Sanae asked as she turned half-startled.
Suwako paused as if unsure what to say. She glanced down at the stones on the path, briefly avoiding eye contact.
?If all goes well, you?ll never have to know.? Suwako said as if in a hurry.
She looked up saw the look of worry on Sanae?s face.
?Don?t worry, I?ll be back soon.? Suwako said with a smile, in a last second attempt to reassure.
Suwako Moriya took off before Sanae Kochiya could say anything, leaving Sanae standing there at the steps leading up to the Moriya Shrine. She hadn?t even noticed Suwako was there until just then. It was still early in the morning and she had only just woken up and began seeing to the maintenance of the Shrine as usual, going through her simple daily routine.
Come to think of it, Suwako had been acting strangely as of late. Kanako Yasaka told Sanae not to confront Suwako about it. This was probably for the best as Kanako, being a goddess, had known Suwako much longer than Sanae, a mere mortal for most intents and purposes, had even been alive. This didn?t do much to reassure Sanae, because to her the fact that Kanako also knew next to nothing about it was even more unsettling.
It all began just few days ago. There was a small earthquake in the middle of the night. It was barely strong enough to interrupt her sleep. It didn?t seem so insignificant anymore, as Sanae now struggled to remember anything else about that night that could have changed. That morning as she swept the leaves off the steps leading up to the shrine, Sanae saw Suwako a short distance away. They had a nice view of much of Gensokyo from where they were on mountain. Suwako seemed anxious however, as it was more like she was watching for something to happen rather than admiring the view. It had been that way every morning since that night, with Suwako often just standing there until noon.
Sanae returned to her duties. Kanako would be returning soon.
_____
Reimu Hakurei admired the beautiful sunset as she sat on the steps leading up the the Hakurei Shrine and sipped her tea, watching the color of the sky shift from blue, to yellow, and then finally into a brilliant red as the sun sank in the horizon. The day was coming to a close, and along with it went it?s many, often arduous, chores and responsibilities.
Things had been rather quiet, relaxed, and, if you desired a more pessimistic view, boring as of late. There was no troublesome youkai causing some great catastrophe, no outside force threatening to destroy Gensokyo, and no strange happenings from the afterlife or other such places adversely effecting events here. The ever looming threat of impending disaster seemed to be absent this year, granting a perhaps much needed, and hopefully uneventful, year of peace.
There was the question of where her friend, Marisa Kirisame, was and whether she intended to visit at all that day. Marisa had told Reimu she would be visiting the shrine today. Reimu was beginning to worry whether something had happened to her, or perhaps she had been forced into some last minute obligations elsewhere.
?Reimu!? Marisa called out enthusiastically. ?Sorry I?m late?.
While she was glad to see her friend again, there was a hint of uneasiness in her tone of voice. It was this uneasiness that, though slight, would have betrayed a sense of uncertainty. However, Reimu, while being somewhat aware of this, did not consciously take notice at first knowing Marisa?s often eccentric behavior.
?Hello Marisa.? Reimu replied. ?I was starting to wonder whether you fell into a bottomless pit or something.?
?What? Oh of course not, I?m more careful than that you know.? She replied as she walked closer.
Marisa seemed to stumble a bit much as one would after consuming far too much alcohol. She turned her broom upside down and leaned on it as if it were walking stick to make her way towards Reimu. Reimu was now becoming very concerned about her friend?s well being and the possibility that she was injured or sick.
?Are you sure you?re ok?? Reimu asked, setting her teacup down as her just-then insignificant and almost subconscious anxieties quickly turned into worry, and perhaps even fear.
?Oh don?t worry, I?m just fine.? Marisa replied trying, obviously in vain, to keep up the appearance of being fine. ?I just hurt my leg a bit yester-.?
Marisa put her hand over her mouth and started to cough. By now it was clear something was terribly wrong. Reimu could see that she was coughing up blood, as she briefly glimpsed a drop fall from Marisa?s chin. It was at that moment that Marisa, unable to maintain her balance anyway, let go of her broom, and collapsed down on all fours in the middle of the path. Any illusions of normality she had attempted to maintain was now gone.
?Marisa! What?s wrong?? Reimu shouted as she ran over to her side.
?Sorry Reimu.? Marisa said with difficulty. ?I think I might have really messed up this time.?
?What happened? Are you ok? ? Reimu asked, attempting to help her back on her feet, though it quickly became clear that this was futile.
?Something? ?that smoke? ?I think maybe? ?toxic?? Marisa said as she lost consciousness and leaned limp against Reimu?s shoulder.
Reimu was beginning to panic, though she was trying her best to stay calm and think things through. What was wrong with her? Toxic? Was she poisoned or diseased somehow?
Being a magician Marisa had experimented with a number of unusual substances, but Reimu doubted that she would be so reckless try to come despite being sick, so perhaps whatever it was didn?t take effect until she was already here. Either that or perhaps the cause of this condition was also affecting her mental well being and impairing her judgment. Such speculations would have to wait, for now the best she could do was seek help as soon as possible.
Just then Reimu spotted her robotic maid, Ruukoto, who must have heard the noise, approaching out of the corner of her eye.
?I need you to look after the shrine for a while.? Reimu commanded as she carefully lifted Marisa.
?Yes ma?am.? Ruukoto replied, picking up the teacup that Reimu left sitting on the steps.
Reimu took off, carrying the unconscious Marisa towards the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, and towards Eientei.
_____
Rinnosuke Morichika waited patiently while a group of children walked quickly out the front door. Attendance at Keine?s school had noticeably improved over the course of the past month. Perhaps people?s lack of interest in history was beginning to change, though such a notion almost seemed overly optimistic. On the other hand, Keine had mentioned a while back about perhaps teaching more than just history, though he wasn?t sure whether anything had come out of that idea since it had been quite at least a month since his last visit.
As the last of the students left, Rinnosuke walked in the front door. It was clear this room was no longer the only classroom, or the only room for that matter. The rows of desks were gone and replaced by a couple tables with chairs arranged around them and a large desk was placed between two doors at the opposite end of the room. From what he could see as he came in, the left door led into a room which was still under construction during his last visit, but was now complete and appeared to be the new classroom. The door on the right led into a room which seemed to be as of yet unfinished.
?Hold on, I?ll be there in a second.? A voice said.
He looked to his right and saw a young boy, probably a little under ten years old, placing couple books on the shelf. The boy was standing on a chair because he was too short, a tad shorter than others his age Rinnosuke thought, to comfortably reach the top shelf and see the spines of the books while doing so.
After placing the last book he seemed to count the books on the shelf, and then he swapped the positions of two of them, appearing to have made and corrected a small mistake in sorting them. He looked over at Rinnosuke standing in the doorway after completing this task.
?Can I help you with something sir?? the child said as he hopped down from the chair and approached.
?Yes, I need to speak with Keine Kamishirasawa. Is she here right now?? Rinnosuke asked.
At that moment Keine emerged from the back room.
?Hello there Rinnosuke, it has been a while. Take a seat. Can I help you with something?? Keine said as she placed the book she was carrying on the desk at the end of the room and walked over take a seat at the nearest table.
?It just so happens that you can.? Rinnosuke said, taking a seat across from Keine.
The boy who had greeted Rinnosuke returned to his task, collecting another stack of books from the classroom in the back and sorting them on the shelves in the same careful manner that he had been previously.
Rinnosuke pulled a book out of the small bag he brought with him and placed it gently on the table.
?Marisa dropped this off yesterday.? Rinnosuke said. ?She didn?t tell me where it came from. All she said was take it to someone who might be able to decipher it.?
Keine picked up the book, inspected it for a moment. The pages were rather peculiar. They were one sided, and weren?t made of ordinary paper or parchment, but of a material that was as thick as the latter yet more flexible. The text was printed in ink as expected, but it was also ?engraved? into the material of the pages ever so slightly so that the text would be visible even if the ink somehow wore off. Keine had seen many books in her life but never one made in this manner. Whoever, or whatever, made this book put a lot of effort to ensure its durability. As fortunate as this was and as valuable to the recording of history such a document would be, Keine still had to wonder who would have gone to such great lengths to preserve the information in this book and for what purpose.
Perhaps most intriguing was the contents. The book was not written in the Japanese she was accustomed to, though a few characters were recognizable. The writing system used must have been very old, as even with her experience with ancient scripts she could only make out bits and pieces of it. This presented a peculiar anachronism, as surely this form of writing ceased to be used long before books in this form even came about.
?Can you read any of it?? Rinnosuke asked.
?Not enough for any of it make sense.? Keine replied ?I will have to show this to Akyu.?
Just then the boy who had been sorting the books approached.
?That should be the last shelf.?
?I see? Keine said. ?I?m going to have to be elsewhere for a while. Will you be ok going home by yourself??
?I?ll be fine? the boy replied with a smile.
...to be continued.
