This was a project I wanted to turn into an original Touhou game. With new youkai and new theme songs to go along with it. However, the project was canceled due to lack of volunteers and I could not have time to learn danmakufu or learn to sprite and draw. I would like to give thanks to those (Especially Roukanken, Casercan, ChaoStar, Formless God and others(if i forgot anyone)) for the tiny yet hugely impacted contributions that made me fell in love with this story more. At the beginning, I intended to have a story of how Senritsu and Hakushi met and I didn't have the time. Well, to make sure my story is clear I listened to Senritsu's theme once more and finished the beginning. There will be more though(depends on how many want it to continue and how my crappy inspiration is). Enjoy.(Comments on the story. Skip it if you like.)
"21. I win."
"Dammit! Thats the third time in a row!" an angry man yelled as the winner laughed.
Near a restaurant in the Human Village, there was a crowd surrounding two people. On one side, was a village local. The other was a young man with red hair wearing a dark blue kosode. On his side he had a string of dice and the other, a pocket to put his deck of cards in. He wasn't just any human in the Human Village.
"You already bet 10,000 yen. Now hand it over." The young man held his hand out. The local, pissed, slammed a heavy bag of money in the middle of playing. Inside it was many coins and yen dollar bills. That even looked like his savings! The local stomped off and and the crowd looked at him. The young man put his cards away, grabbed the bag. stood up and walked off.
"Three blackjacks in a row..." Someone said.
"That's nothing. Any chance he took he came out alive of it. I heard he walked out of the village where most Youkai are and he came back unscathed!"
"Is that so?" a woman gasped.
This human was not just any human. Sure, there are humans who have skills like being a perfect archer, or one who can catch any fish he wishes. There is even a human who knows all of Gensokyo's history, but is that even human? There is even an immortal human that was shunned, a human that was a descendant of a goddess, and a human who was sealed up somewhere for forbidden magic done. Can humans like these even be called human?
This human was Hakushi Mahou. As the rumors you heard, it is all true. Hakushi can supposedly win at any game. Any gamble, any risk, any chance. Only the idiots dare to try their luck, as their luck is nothing compared to his. In his situation, how did he obtain such skill? Was it just some sort of good fortune that happened? No. Actually it had been like that ever since he was born. Having a skill that is unique is something to be proud of. At first, you think having magnificent luck is such a poor skill. However, this skill affects everything during your whole life. So far, he didn't feel it consumed him. He is not addicted at all to gambling and taking risks. That would be idiotic. Even if it hasn't consumed him however, it has bored him quite a bit.
The young man walked into a small cabin. Right at entering, there were shelves of antiques and ancient writings. Well, we all know where that came from. Ahead, he also had a bookcase with interesting books. In his home, he had a lavish rug with a table on it. There were four luxurious pillows surrounding it too. But, all bragging aside, Hakushi took a look at the bookcase.
"This...is becoming boring. Same thing as everyday. Five snake eyes in a row, four aces in a hand twice, and three blackjacks in a row..."he sighed."Don't the idiots get it?"
He glanced around the bookcase once more, and one came to mind as he saw it. He took out an dusty, old, tattered book. "I won this a week ago...what's so special about it?"
He blinked and sighed."It's just garbage...might as well make garbage a currency." He threw it on the ground and the book opened. Before he sat down to think, something caught his eye.
That page that was shown had a magic circle on it.
"A...magic book?"Hakushi looked.
A door slammed open, without knocking. He looked to see another man, excited. "Sheesh...barging in my home as if it was nothing."
"Hey you! I heard you beat that other guy with three blackjacks in a row today! I want to see if that's true!"
Hakushi picked up the book and looked at it. The man became impatient. "Hey! Are you listening?!"
"Another time..."Hakushi said.
"Huh?...Weird..."He shrugged and walked out. "Didn't expect that to happen."the door closed.
Hakushi sat down at his table with the book opened.
Some of the lettering on the pages were nearly fading, but at least they were readable. The edges of the pages were torn a bit. The page he was reading seems to tell instructions of how to perform a certain spell. He also noticed a little box on the page on the proper way to draw a magic circle if it was needed.
He then turned a couple of pages back, feeling he was behind something. He was. In the book, it told of certain ingredients that were needed. Pictures were drawn to show how they looked, but they looked nothing of what he had seen normally.
"What...is this?"
The pictures showed a distinct flower, a disfigured mushroom, a peculiar lizard, and a bark of a tree. He couldn't make out the wording of what kind of tree it was from. But the words at the end stated they were needed for the next step which was intermediate. He didn't even read the basics yet.
He turned right into the beginning. No introduction. No preparations. Just clear instructions on the basics of magic: the elements.
"In order to even begin with magic, one must have a clear mind. The time it takes to even get to that is only known by your willingness of it. The magic before you will come from different sources. Some sources can be from certain items that seem to hold spiritual power (Sorry, this book does not have it if you were suspecting that). For example, if you were in the middle of the deep in the lake you notice that you can move and change the flow around you. To put it short, you are trying to swim up. In the common state, you would panic and your mind in a frenzy. That will do nothing but only swimming up. However, if spiritual power is in the lake somewhere, you acknowledge its presence. If your mind is clear...and if you can grasp that power, then you can control most of the flow in the lake and are able to surface.
On a clear, windless day, the only way to get wind is physical force on air. There are charms that can have a little breeze (Paper fans do not count by the way). Wind charms are a good start if you wish to begin immediately. However, don't expect too much from it. The charm is only an assist item, and do not expect to master it in one day. The unlucky ones take many years to-"
SLAM.
Hakushi gazed into space after reading aloud all that was in the book.
"Wait...is it saying that it depends on luck?"He whispered."Even if you do it correctly, it won't work..."
Then a smirk came to his face. "However..."
Deep within Makai, the world of demons, there were cries of despair and pain. However, in that area, was nothing but darkness. Someone was sitting against a couple of rocks with her hand out, with a dim light of notes coming out of her hand. Something was heard from her hand, however. It was a melody of despair, composed in thin air.
The person who was sitting was an oni. Long ago, Oni were banished from the surface. It took a while for them to find the perfect place, which was underground. Not this underground, but the cave that was closest to hell.
"How boring..."She sighed. "I'm starting to get sick of this job..."
One of the people in the dark squirmed and started coming to its senses."Ow...oh...where am I? Huh? It's dark! What the hell! I can't feel anything! I can't move! I-"
The oni shot out harmful danmaku at where the noise was.
"GAAAA!!!!"
"Much better~" She sighed in relief as her taste of the melody improved. She took a small wine bottle and poured it in a tiny glass. "Such enjoyable moments to celebrate when you are not bored..." She took a sip.
This one stayed behind. This one wanted things her way. She made the best of the situation and moved to Makai. She had a peculiar ability.
She was able to hear melodies in the atmosphere around her. Rain, shine, snow, sadness, happiness, evil, you name it. Each different scenario had a melody of it's own. She is able to reveal it to others as well. But why would an oni, a powerful creature with immense strength, have such an ability?
It could be just a gift.
With time and time in Makai, her immense strength became immense magic. With great strength comes great magic, and with great magic comes with great strength. Of course, she could still beat you up in a physical fight.
"It was the same melodies over and over...each day. Why did I take this job?"
"Because when the Oni had no where to go when they were sick of humans. Instead of following them, you came here." someone approached behind her with red robes.
"Ah. Yes that's right."
At first, her time in Makai was interesting. Her lust came for her desire to hear melodies and, thus, why she stayed in Makai. With her job, she was allowed to stay and was given food and wine. It was simple to stay here. You work to eat and drink and a place to sleep. And plus, oni love to drink wine. But to her, it only tastes good when the occasion is just right.
"You seem to be slacking off."a voice of a woman sighed. The figure with horns looked behind her. "I always do so. I could blow them all into pieces...but that would be boring.~" she then took another sip. "The melody around you is...tense it seems."
"I wonder how Gensokyo is fairing..."The other voice said in wonder.
"Gensokyo? Why bring such a topic up?" She grinned. The figure started to sit on a rock. "Long ago, we were setting a tour for demons to visit Gensokyo. However, that resulted in them causing chaos. A young Shrine Maiden came and dealt with it."
"'Dealt with it?'"
"Yes. As revenge, she made Makai a wreck."
"So that's how the story ended...you.lost.~"The oni taunted and poured some more wine.
"Idiot! Should have I stand there and watched Makai going in a wreck? We would have barely survived!" She yelled and her voice echoed in the darkness.
The oni sighed and finished her glass and sat up. "I have a question for you."
"And what would that be?" The one in red robes asked.
"If you didn't wish for Makai to be in a wreck, then why send demons out into Gensokyo?" She grinned again. "Hmph!" the other said. "That was because the demons were interested in Gensokyo. I have to fill their wants if they worshiped me."
The oni turned around and looked at her, revealing her own face. "And what was so special about Gensokyo today? Long ago, it was so dark and dreary like these caves."
"Current, it is a place of beauty, where Youkai and Humans live. They do things differently than we do. Humans work to live and contribute to each other. Some Youkai eat them and in exchange for that, they have to be exterminated." The one in red robes continued. "But with the introduction of the Spellcard Rules, they now fight battles using danmaku which is a combination of patterns and bullets to sort out situations."
"Really..."The oni started flying up and before she could leave. "Spellcard..."
"Huh?"
"Heheh...hahaha..."she laughed silently. Her hand started flashing with power. Red, fearsome power. It then became an orb of uncontrollable energy that was flashing around. "Well...everyone. The moment was worth waiting...thank you for letting me enjoy...your 'company'."
She then aimed into the darkness where the suffering were."Spell Capture..."
"No! No wait-not here, NOT HERE!!!" The one in red robes yelled.
"Seven Deadly Sins "Irato of Wrath"!"
She let out the uncontrollable force of energy. With that, it went into the darkness silently. After a moment, a huge explosion came with screams from others. With the explosion, also came barrages of red danmaku released all over the place, fast as if it was the speed of light. Dust from the rocks came, and then something glimmered in the darkness. It was a red card. It then floated to the oni. She put it away and flew off.
"Where are you going!?"she asked.
"To Gensokyo of course. It sounds more enjoyable than here~"
"B-but what about the others?" The one in red robes panicked. "You can't just leave them like this!"
"Send them to hell...I quit."The oni flew off.
"W-wait! Dammit...thinking she could leave when she wanted to. How dare she!" The one in red robes disappeared into the darkness. "Yumeko!" she called for her servant.
The Oni flew fast, past Hokkai, where the area seemed like an orange sky and a blue floor with red areas on it. She then past an area that seemed like a frozen land because of the floor and decorations looking like glass. She then past another area where there was nothing but darkness and red lights sparkling around. She came around a small area with a lake of what seemed like blood. She saw the light ahead, and flew straight out.
The oni floated slowly in the sky, and landed on a cliff. She peered out into the open, where she could see all of Gensokyo covered in green and blue. Her ice, blue hair played in the wind.
"So...this is the Gensokyo of today..." she continued looking. She smirked. "That's funny~...I could have sworn it was filled with death in the air. No trees, no grass, not a living soul..."
Her eyes set upon Gensokyo with the eyes of envy, greed, gluttony, lust and wrath. Along with that, her pride consumed her, and the sloth she had in the caves were no more.
"This will be fun...."her teeth showed.
