Nice use of the Magical Astronomy story.
Contrary to what I like to let people think, I do in fact read ZUN's fiction. It's where I get my hypothesis that ZUN's drunkenness is directly proportional to the quality of his works. The reason the games' plots don't make sense is not because he's too drunk, it's because
he's not drunk enough.
Anyway, thanks to fate conspiring against me to not let me go on vacation, here's chapter one in its entirety.
Chapter One
Estimated total average waking hour capacity: Seventeen hours, forty-five minutes-----
Oh dear. Three questions left, five minutes on the clock, and then I'll be free. Two weeks of break, excellent. I'm gonna go to visit the Hakurei Shrine with Maribel tomorrow night, and then we're going to go out to do momijigari in the forest, and on Saturd--
Oh, right, right, four and a half minutes now. Gotta concentrate. Let's see... ?Suppose that p and q are prime numbers, n = pq, p>q,...? oh wow, can this get any easier? First, prove that p+q = n + \phi(n) - 1, then subtitute in n = pq, \phi(n) = (p-1)(q-1), distribute, cancel, receive answer. Three minutes and fifty-eight seconds to go, moving on.
Explain what prime numbers and irrationals are.... oh, this is going to be fun. Any arbitrarily long, but finite sequence of the form sqrt(p_1) + sqrt(p_2) + sqrt(p_3) + ... + sqrt(p_n) with p_k, 1 \leq k \leq n is prime. On the other hand, the irrationals are just all of the limit points of Cauchy Sequences of rational numbers (which is just a sequence where after a certain point in it, the terms in it are arbitrarily close to each other), also defined as the non-rational numbers in the completion of the reals, also defined as the set of all Dedekind Cuts over the reals. There is c many of them, i.e. they are uncountable, and they have infinite Lebesgue Measure. They also form a G_{\delta} set under the definition R \ Q = \cup_{n=1}^\infty R\{q_n}, where {q_n}_{n=1}^\infty is an enumeration of the rationals. Mathematically, it's \exists N_0 \in N s.t. if n,m \geq N_0, |a_n - a_m| < \epsilon, \forall \epsilon > 0-- oh, crap, I'm taking too long on this! One question left, moving on!
Explain Cauchy sequences using Fourier Analy-- why, that's what I was going to get to! Fourier Analysis is incredibly awesome. It states that, with some limitations, we can represent almost any periodic function as the infinite sum of a bunch of sines and cosines. All right, how to answer this question... Consider, for instance, the sequence s_n = \sum_{i=1}^n 1/n! This forms a sequence something like 2, 2.5, 2.65, 2.7, 2.71, 2.715, 2.1755, 2.716, 2.7165, 2.7175, and so on... Essentially, it gets arbitrarily close to the number e ~ 2.718281828... Now, each number in the sequence is rational. It's a finite sum of rational numbers. The rationals are a field and thus closed under addition. But when you take the limit as n -> \infty, you get e, which is not a rational number. As for Fourier: Calculate the Fourier Coefficients of 1/t, and then plug them into Parseval's Identity which gives you \sum_{i=1}^\infty |c_n(f)|^2 = \int_{-\pi}^\pi |f(x)|^2 dx. Throwing in Parseval's Identity: \sum_{i=1}^\infty 1/n^{2k}, k \in N. it all winds up converging to expressions of the form pi^{2k}/n, where n is a natural numb-- oh boy, look at the time, this test is OVER and I'm on break!
I put down my pencil and gathered my things while all my fellow students clustered around the teacher's desk, dropping off their exams. I waited out the crowd, then came up to turn in my test. Then I rummaged around in my pocket and pulled out an apple, and placed it on the teacher's desk.
?Ha, ha. Very funny, Renko.?
I grinned at the professor, who happened to be the Sealing Club sponsor. ?Just wanted to say hi before break, since you'll be busy and all.?
?Ah. Yeah, you and Maribel go off and dig up graves and whatnot and tell me all about it when you get back.? She turned away from her desk and looked at me, then blinked. ?My goodness, you look awfully pale.?
?I'm exhausted,? I admitted, and I was. The adrenaline of test-taking had worn off, and the hours I had spent awake over the past few days studying for my midterms had managed to catch up with me in a space of minutes.
?You sure you don't want a strawberry to raise your blood sugar??
She offered me one from her basket of goodies, but I shook my head no. ?I'm gonna go take a nap, I think.?
?That's probably best. Have a beautiful dream, Renko.?
I yawned and turned away, waving to her over my shoulder as I left. ?You too, Okazaki-sensei.?
?As soon as I get all these papers graded!? she yelled, and I laughed and closed the door behind me.
I sighed and leaned on the door. I wanted to fall asleep somewhere as fast as I could. My eyes already felt like they were going to close and not open again for a few more hours. I was ready to crash.
?Renko, Renko...?
?Mary.? I tried to be cheerful, but I was just too tired.
Mary came up beside me, also looking like she hadn't had a good night's sleep in a while. ?Renko, let's go to your room, it's closer.?
I nodded, my vision already getting bleary. I didn't have a fraction of the panic energy I had felt in my last class, and I staggered out of the building and headed to the dorms with Mary by my side. I shuffled along down the hallways, opened my room, dropped my stuff on the floor, and fell over onto the spare mattress. Maribel shut the door behind us, tossed her bookbag to the side, fell somewhere next to me on the bed, and the two of us fell fast asleep.
A few hours later, I woke up. I had woken up at 7:00 AM this morning after having fallen asleep four hours before. I finished my midterms at 1:30 PM, had made my way here to sleep, and it was now 6:23, according to the clock.
I groaned a bit and yawned. I was insanely hungry and I had a headache. I had had nothing for breakfast and had managed to swallow an orange during lunch while I had been cramming for my Solid State Physics II midterm. I wanted something to eat. I sat up, wondering where my wallet was--
?Mm...?
I looked down. Mary's arms were around my middle. She had fallen asleep next to me and must have decided to use me as a teddy bear. I was going to pat her head and go back to sleep, and then my stomach rumbled. She murmured in her sleep; my right eye twitched. I had to get something to eat as fast as I could.
So reaching down, I gently pried Maribel's fingers apart. She had intertwined them, which made my task a little harder, but I knew I had to do it. When she woke up, she'd be as hungry as I was.
Speaking of, she'd probably wake up soon and find me missing. I didn't want her to panic, so I pulled a bright neon orange sticky note off of my desk and placed it on the inside of my door where she would surely see it. Then I grabbed my wallet and rushed off.
The cafeteria wasn't far, and it wasn't packed either. Most of the commuters on campus had left long ago, and the only people there were students talking with one another over food, teachers with huge cups of coffee, and--
?Wait, Sanae? Is that you??
?Ah!? Green hair, blue skirt, white sleeveless button-up with blue tie. Yep, her. She turns around, surprise on her face. ?Renko? It's been so long!?
?Hahaha, nice to see you here.? I ran over and hugged her.
Sanae Kotiya is technically my underclassmen and one of my favourite people. She's about four years younger than me and Maribel. As one of the brightest students in her high school, she was allowed to take some courses here at the university before she even graduated. One day, while walking through the religious studies hallway, she saw a sign Mary and I had hung up outside of Prof. Okazaki's class (she teaches physics and a course on esoteric cults of the world, for some bizarre reason) advertising the Sealing Club. We tried to portray ourselves as necromancers back in those days, to scare everyone else away. It backfired horribly at first, since we attracted every New Age freak in Japan, but then they realized that we didn't do ghost summoning or exorcising as a proper necromancer group did. So they left, and now they all just believe we're incompetents, which is fine.
Sanae, though, wasn't fooled. She stuck around, and we couldn't exactly kick her out without her going around and telling everyone we were looking for gaps in reality. That was what the Sealing Club was secretly devoted to: finding the spiritual boundaries of this world, and possibly finding an entrance to Shangri-La. We had good reason to believe that there was a separate reality around this area, occupying the same physical space but not the same... dimension. There was a barrier separating the two, though, so we could not get in and the people or creatures in there could not come out.
But there are cracks. There always are. And after Sanae accidentally managed to stumble into them more than once, Maribel and I were forced to tell her the truth: we were looking for Gensokyo, the paradise of legend for all the things that have been forgotten over time.
After we took her into our confidence, she would come by with permission from her guardians at the shrine where she worked late at night to join us on our expeditions. I swear we were... luckier when she was around. We found more clues with her around than we ever had before. A shoot of bamboo, a large autumn leaf in the middle of spring, cherry blossoms that lit up the sky like fireflies-- all this and more happened when she was around.
She had had to leave a few months ago. Her shrine was relocating, she told us, because the two main guardians were sick and had to go to a different city to get the constant care and attention they needed. The entire shrine staff had to go with them, which meant Sanae had to go. She said good bye to us, and then she left the next day.
And now she was here!
?Why did you come back? Are you moving back for good?? I asked.
Sanae shook her head. ?Sorry, I'm not staying for good. But I am spending my break with Okazaki-sensei at her house.?
?That she is,? a voice said. I looked at her, and I wasn't surprised I had taken her for a simple high school girl at first. She was wearing a blue-trimmed sailor uniform and white skirt-- about as old-school as you could get. But it wasn't a student, it was Okazaki-sensei's assistant Kitashirakawa... which is even harder to pronounce than Maribel, so I just call her--
?Chiyuri-sempai.? I nodded to her, and she tipped her sailor cap to me.
?She's staying at our house,? Chiyuri confirmed as she walked to a table with a bowl of soup. She continued talking as we followed her to a table and sat down. ?Her guardians asked us to use one of our rooms so Sanae can wrap up some loose ends here.?
?Oh?? I turned to Sanae. ?What loose ends??
Sanae was smiling with undisguised joy. ?I want to get my Associate's degree in religious studies!?
?You do?? I was surprised. I didn't think she would have come back for that... then again, who was I kidding? She was a shrine maiden, after all.
?When I left, I only needed three more credits to get my Associate's,? Sanae explained. ?I thought it would be a shame to just leave it hanging... even if I don't really need it where I am or for what I'm doing. I just wanted to be able to say I had earned my diploma, you know what I mean?? She smiled again. ?So my pa-- guardians pulled some strings and I was able to come back here for a short while. Just long enough to earn my final science credits.? She ate a spoonful of her bowl of vegetable soup. ?Plus, I did want to see you and Maribel again. How are you two doing these days??
?We just finished our midterms today!? I said. ?After we stayed up for hours last night playing Melty Blood instead of studying!?
Sanae laughed. ?Just like old times.?
?Who won?? Chiyuri asked.
?Mary did, of course. She used Archetype Earth, and A:E's crazy combos never stopped terrifying m-- oh no!? I hit my forehead out of stupidity. ?I just woke up from falling asleep after the tests! I was supposed to bring her lunch so she wouldn't have to come looking for me!?
?Ah,? Sanae gasped as I rushed up to the counter and purchased two bowls of soup and two sandwiches as fast as I could.
I rushed back to Chiyuri and Sanae and bowed, apologizing profusely. ?So sorry I have to leave, I have to take these to Mary before she wakes up and wonders where I've gone--?
?No worries,? Chiyuri said, waving it off.
?I can see you guys later.? Sanae brushed her hair over her shoulder. ?Maybe you can come to Yumemi's place and we can play Melty together again!?
?That sounds great!? I said as I dashed off, leaving the two of them to talk. Chiyuri didn't look older than a high school girl, but she was actually just three years younger than Yumemi, though to be fair Yumemi Okazaki-sensei wasn't very old to begin with. Sanae and Chiyuri would be fine together.
As for me, though, I had to get this soup back to my room as fast as I could. Maribel, being Maribel, would have probably woken up by now and had headed out to look for me, ignoring the sticky note on the door, and being Maribel, she would then wind up getting horribly lost.
I opened the door to my dorm as soon as I could, ready for the worst.
?Mm,? Mary muttered as she turned over in her sleep, all wrapped up in a pillow.
I sighed and closed the door behind me. All my worry had been for nothing.
I set the soup down on the table next to the bed and walked around to Maribel. (Just because I can't pronounce her name correctly doesn't mean I don't know what it is. She has yet to figure this out.)
?Hey,? I said in a quiet voice. ?Hey, Mary, wake up. Wake up, aren't you hungry??
No response. I shook her arm a bit. ?Mary, wake up, it's lunchtime and you're way past sleeping off your exhaustion.?
She still didn't wake up. I sighed and backed off. I looked over at the balcony and pulled back my mattress where we had fallen asleep the night before. Moving the cups of soup off to the side, I moved that mattress back where it was supposed to be and sat down on it. Then I sat and ate my soup, waiting for Mary to wake up.
I had already gotten bored of drawing silly scribbles in one of my old notebooks when Mary finally opened her eyes and stretched.
?Mmm,? she groaned. ?Renko? What time is it??
?It's 7:19,? I replied, closing my notebook. ?You've been asleep for the past six hours.?
?Really?? Mary sat up and rubbed sleep from her eyes. ?Six hours??
?Eh, I guess it's not that big a deal,? I said, trying to put it into perspective. ?We've been pulling late-nighters and all-nighters this past week. At least now you're fine, right??
?Six hours? During the day?? Mary kept rubbing her head, her blue eyes wide.
?Eh, don't worry about it, we've been exhausted for the past week,? I reassured her. ?You didn't miss out on anything.?
She still looked worried. I stood up and poured Maribel's cold soup into a bowl, and tossed it into the microwave to re-heat it. ?Oh, that reminds me. I saw Sanae today.?
?You did?? That seemed to distract her a bit. Maybe Mary felt guilty about sleeping so long. ?She's back??
?Not permanently,? I replied. ?Just visiting. She's staying at Okazaki-sensei's house.? I took out the bowl of soup, pulled out a plastic spoon, and handed them to Maribel, who attacked it with hungry ferocity. ?You're welcome.?
?Thanks, Renko,? she told me.
She ate in silence while I opened up my notebook again to doodle. Then she spoke up. ?Uh... Renko??
?Hm??
?Can you toss me my day planner? It's right next to you inside my bookbag.?
?Sure.? I turned to my left and opened up her bookbag. Yep, her day planner was the small notebook right inside. I pulled it out and reached over the table to hand it to Maribel.
?Thank you.? She pulled a pen out of her pocket and wrote something down.
?I assume you've written down the date for our expedition tomorrow night?? I asked.
?Of course.? She tapped her pen against her chin, then spoke up again. ?Wait, if Sanae is back, will she be coming with us??
?Maybe. Damn, I forgot to get her new cell phone number.?
?She has a new cell phone??
?Probably,? I said, pulling out my cell phone and dialing her old number. ?Didn't her old number stop working when she left? Probably out of range.?
In only a few seconds, I had a response. ?Hello??
?Ah, Sanae. Your old number still works??
?Oh, Renko. Hey there. Yeah, I still have this old cell phone. I guess it works now that I'm back.?
?Did you never charge it while you were gone??
A short pause. ?Ah-- yes, I mean no, I charged it when I got back.?
?You didn't have electricity??
?Not really...?
?I didn't know Sendai was that backwards.?
?Uh....?
She was lying, I knew. I had known ever since Sanae had first told me that she was moving, all those months back. Still, if she was lying, it was probably for a good reason. Sanae was a good girl in the best sense of the phrase; she wouldn't conceal something from me and Mary for no reason at all. Oh well, I wouldn't press her for it.
?Either way, Sanae, would you like to come with us tomorrow night? Me and Mary are going on an expedition, just like old times.?
?Oh, searching for cracks in the boundaries.... sorry, I don't think I can. I've got stuff planned tomorrow.?
?Okay, then. Give me a call if you change your mind.?
?Will do. See you, Renko!?
?See ya.?
I hung up and closed my cell. I looked over at Maribel, who had pulled out a calculator for some reason and was jotting things down in her notebook.
I went over to the calendar and marked the day off. ?Wednesday finished... Thursday, expedition night.?
?How late are we going to be out?? Maribel asked.
?I don't know. Maybe 1:00 AM like last time.?
Maribel looked pained. ?That late??
?You stay up all the time, Mary. How is this any different??
She lowered her eyes. ?In that case, I should go to sleep now.?
?But you just woke up...?
?Can I stay here?? she asked, wrapping herself up in my covers. ?I don't want to go back out to my dorm.?
She looked so adorable wrapped up in my sheets that I sighed and nodded. ?Yes, you may.?
?Thanks, Renkobon.?
Such a silly nickname. ?Sweet dreams, Mary.?
She smiled at me and without another word, Maribel lay down. Before long I heard the sounds of her soft snoring.
I sighed and pulled out my research notebook. Tomorrow would be a long night, and fortune rewards the prepared.
My notebook fell open to a certain page. It was a sketch Sanae had herself drawn, a sketch of a mountain set against the autumnal sky, complete with orchards and rivers and a waterfall. It was what she had seen when she had fallen into the border the last time we had gone on expedition.
I looked up at Maribel's sleeping body and looked back down. I turned the page and wrote the next day's date at the top.
Expedition: Thursday, October 17th.
Site: Former site of Moriya ShrineSanae might not like this, but it was a hunch. And if she wasn't around to notice, well then...
I glanced at the overly detailed drawing she had produced the last time, and looked up at the title. I had to wonder.
?... Youkai Mountain, eh??
-----
Estimated total average waking hour capacity: Seventeen hours, eleven minutesEnd of Chapter One.
Boy, this is being written fast! Mainly 'cause I really wanna get the intro stuff out of the way. Also, thanks to bofh for rambling on IRC about math stuff, because there's no way I know any of that. :S