~Hakurei Shrine~ > Patchouli's Scarlet Library
Magical Girl Lyrical Animism
Hideki:
Hi MotK residents! Well, I got very much into the Touhou games after reading through its TVTropes page about six months ago. I am also into the Nanoha fandom, so I decided to combine the two. Hey, both continuities fit reasonably well for crossover material, so I did one. The setting is slightly after Nanoha A's epilogue, and retells Subterranean Animism. Yeah, you'll probably need to be familiar with Nanoha to get this though. Enjoy.
"]?If you look to our left, you will see the Benkei shrine. Dedicated to the warrior monk who served the famed warrior Minamoto Yoshitune, it now??
Nanoha Takimichi mentally tuned out the tour guide. Sure, it was interesting, but she had other things on her mind. She was troubled at what was to come ahead. Not at the end of the school trip, but after, when Hayate, Fate and herself were planning to move to Mid-Childia. However, Nanoha was having second thoughts.
?Nanoha? What?s wrong?? a voice startled her out of her reverie. Nanoha turned to look at her two seatmates on the bus.
?Hayate, Fate?? Nanoha sighed. ?Don?t you have any feelings for our decision to move right after school? It seems like a lot to go through, and I don?t know if I?m ready yet.?
Hayate Yagami turns her eyes to the ceiling as she pondered the question. ?Um, a little anxiety sure, but I think we?ll be ready very soon if not already.? Hayate replied. ?I mean it?s not like we?re off world a lot of our time already, and if we are to be fully fledged members of the TSAB, it?s not like we could continue to support our commute.?
Fate Testarossa nodded her head in agreement. ?Also,? she chimed in, ?It would be best to leave before we become too entrenched on Earth, and have people ask about us if we did not appear as expected. This way, we could explain our long-term absence as we are going to some far off school or some such.?
Nanoha turned her eyes towards the ceiling. What her friends said made perfect sense of course, but she still wasn?t feeling it.
?I know all of that; it just seems different for me somehow.? Nanoha looked down. ?I?ve been fine with leaving my family for extended lengths of time before, but that?s because I knew I could always come back home.?
Hayate looked at Fate, then turned her attention back to Nanoha. ?This may be the reason you feel so differently from Fate and I about this; only you have strong ties to this world through your family.?
Nanoha thought about it, then realized that Hayate was right. Fate?s family was not native to this world, and was in the TSAB as well, while Hayate?s family as far as she could tell consisted of only her Guardian Knights, who would follow her to the ends of the universe if need be. In contrast, her family was closely tied to earth.
?It?s just hard to get my mind around the fact that I?m leaving home. It almost feels like I?ll never see my family again.?
?Of course you will.? A new voice interjected. ?It?s not like any of ?em are gonna die anytime soon. Now stop acting so emo about all of this before I have to knock some sense into you.? Startled, Nanoha turned around to face the speaker and her seatmate on the bus.
?Arisa??
Arisa Bannings gave Nanoha a scowl. ?Just because you?re leaving doesn?t mean they stop existing.? She said irritably. ?They?re going to keep existing the same way they?ve always done. Your presence isn?t required for their continued existence.?
?That goes for me and Suzuka here too.? Arisa added as she pointed to her partner on the bus. ?We?re not going to go away just because you are.?
?Besides, you can always call us or find some other way to contact us whenever you start feeling lonely. ? added Suzuka Tsukimura. She smiled. ?I?m sure that there are other ways to contact us when you?re off-world, and we?ll gladly talk to you anytime.?
?So call us, E-mail us, send us presents.? Arisa said, grinning. ?Just make sure you don?t forget we?re here to support you too. And so is your family.?
Feeling better about her whole arrangement, Nanoha smiled. ?Thank you everyone.? She said as she returned her attention back to the tour guide.
"...On our right is the former location where the Moriya shrine used to be, and has since disappeared. Investigators are still looking into as to what could make the entire shrine complex disappear, along with the priestess who was residing here..."
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Later that night, Nanoha was waiting in the hotel room they were assigned to for the school trip. Because of the curfew assigned, all three combat mages were trying their best to pretend to sleep, while waiting for everyone else to fall asleep.
Mmm, this is such an excruciating wait. She thought drowsily. Maybe I can get a little rest before the mission?
?Nanoha, Fate, you awake??
Nanoha snapped her eyes open, all drowsiness forgotten. Next to her, Fate did the same.
?Yeah.?
?Yes.?
?Good, everyone else seems asleep. How about we make our move now?? Hayate got out of bed and moved towards the window. Nanoha and Fate followed suit. Soon they were standing on the roof of the hotel.
?Where to Hayate?? Fate asked as she took out Bardiche. ?That location we passed on the bus??
Hayate shook her head. ?No, not this time.? She said as she pulled out Schwertkreuz. ?A TSAB Special Investigations crew already went over it; some of the detectives there currently are TSAB plants. According to them, there?s no way that the Moriya shrine could have moved the way it did without a huge amount of magic emissions that should have shown up on the sensors we have at your house. I?ll have Rein show you where we?re going.? She held out Schwertkreuz in her hand palm up. A ghostly hologram of a tiny figure floated up from it.
?Yes Mistress Hayate!?Reinforce Zwei bubbled happily. A translucent screen floated up above Rein?s head, showing a map of the general area. A red dot started blinking on the map a short ways northwest of their current location.
?The target location is located at a shrine approximately two-point-five kilometers northwest of this current location.? The Device started in her exposition. ?The shrine, called the Hakurei shrine by locals, is a small abandoned complex within a forest located at the base of the local mountains. A TSAB survey found anomalous readings near the site, suggesting further investigation of the site. However, the Moriya Shrine Incident forced any investigations of the Hakurei shrine back until there were free investigators to attend to the site.? Rein concluded. She bowed. ?I?m sorry, that is all there is to know about the site from TSAB information.?
Hayate looked at her device. ?Don?t be,? she reassured Rein. ?That?s the fault of the TSAB Database, not you.? She turned her eyes on Nanoha and Fate. ?Any questions??
Nanoha smiled. ?No questions here. You seem to be getting the hang of mission briefing.? She added. ?Maybe you?re thinking of going into the command branch??
?Eheheh, thanks, but I think I prefer the Special Investigations branch.?
?I have a question,? Fate said. What are we going to be doing at the Hakurei shrine??
?Oops, I forgot to add that part? Hayate said sheepishly. ?We?re supposed to go into the shrine and to assess whether or not there?s a Lost Logia in there, or something else that?s producing the anomalous readings, and to report our findings to the local planetary head of operations, a.k.a. your mom.?
?Ah.?
?Any more questions? No? Then how about we get going!? Hayate exclaimed as she held Schwertkreuz above her head ?Reinforce!?
?Allright!?
?Okay!? Nanoha joined in ?Raising Heart!?
?Standby ready.?
?Yes Bardiche!? Fate followed suit.
?Yes sir.?
A ball of light flashed on a hotel rooftop, followed by three streaks heading to their destination.
Hideki:
No one was there to observe the three girls arrive at the Hakurei shrine. They touched down amidst a patch of vines. Nanoha, Fate and Hayate looked around at their surroundings. An overgrown entryway surrounded a worn-down looking shrine that nonetheless stood proud in the middle of the grounds.
?This place looks abandoned.? Nanoha said as she looked at the shrine.
?Yes, but there was some kind of reading here, or else they wouldn?t send us here.? Fate responded as she looked around at the grounds. ?What?s interesting here is that the shrine itself isn?t overgrown at all, while the grounds around it look like part of the forest.?
?Huh, that?s strange.?
?And adds evidence to this shrine being not what it seems.? Hayate chipped in. ?Well, we?re not going to get anything done here by standing and looking. Let?s split up, so we can cover more area.? She pointed at the shrine. ?Rein and I will cover the back end of the shrine, and work our way forwards, while you two start from the front and work your way back. We?ll meet in the central courtyard to compare notes, and then we?ll see where we need to go from there.?
Fate and Nanoha nodded, and watched Hayate fly off. They both turned and walked into the shrine.
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?Are you sure you?re feeling better??
Nanoha put the top back on the pot she was looking in and looked at Fate. ?Eh? What for??
Fate stood up from examining the chest in the room they were currently in. "From the bus.? She stated as she moved towards a box in the corner. As she was opening it, she continued. ?Are you sure you feel prepared to leave??
Nanoha surveyed the room once more. For an abandoned shrine, she mused, there was a lot of stuff here. There was also less decay of the shrine than she thought would be normal, adding to the suspicion that this shrine was somehow related to magic. ?There?s nothing in here. Let?s move on to the next room. Um, logistically prepared to leave earth? No, there?s still a lot of stuff I need to get done before we move to Mid. Mentally prepared to leave Earth?? She pondered as they moved to the next room. ?Um, the feelings I expressed on the bus still haven?t gone away completely; I?m still nervous at how far away Mid-Childia is. However, I don?t feel like moving away is anything to really fear anymore. ?
Fate smiled quietly to herself as they both walked into the next room. Nanoha?s mood on the bus had been bothering her; it was nice to see that she had gotten over her bout of nerves. Turning her attention back to the room, she took it in. It was a room very similar to the previous one; a squarish room with tatami mats and a few pieces of furniture scattered about. As she took in the state of decay of the room, an alarm bell tripped off in her head.
?Nanoha??
Nanoha looked up from the mats she was examining. ?Yes??
Fate swept Bardiche through an arc. ?Does this room look any different from the last room??
Nanoha looked around for a minute. ?It does look a little more worn than the last room.?
?That?s what I thought.? Fate turned around and started out of the room. ?I want to check something out.?
?Wait!? Nanoha got up and ran up to her. ?Let?s check it together; you should never split up into teams smaller than two.?
Fate smiled and let Nanoha catch up before she walked back to the entrance.
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Going through the rooms again, Fate felt that her suspicions were confirmed. Starting from the entrance, every successive room back was in a more advanced state of decomposition. By the time they reached the central courtyard, they were floating along as the floors were too rotted through to support their weight. As they landed in the central courtyard, they saw Hayate waiting for them. She waved them over.
?So what did you look at?? Hayate asked as they stopped in front of her.
?Well, the front of the shrine seems rather ordinary, if in unusually good condition.? Nanoha started. ?There are two rooms on either side of the entrance, framing one big room in the middle. Each side room is similarly decorated with several ceramic pots and boxes in each.?
Fate continued. ?The state of decay of each room is the most interesting aspect. As we moved deeper into the shrine, the state of decay was worse, eventually becoming so bad that we needed to hover above the floor. I suspect the cause of the abnormal pattern of decay is somewhere farther back.?
?Uh huh.? Hayate grinned. ?Rein and I found the same pattern of decay on the backside of the shrine. Only, it seems that the decay is slightly more pronounced than what you guys said. So we traced the decay to its epicenter, and??
Fate looked at Hayate questioningly. ?And??
Hayate?s grin got even wider. ?We found something interesting.?
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Hayate led them through several even more dilapidated rooms, at some points where even the roof had collapsed, and trees had started growing through the floorboards. They stopped in front of a room that looked like any other. The door was open, but judging by the holes in the paper walls, that wouldn?t have stopped anyone at all from peering inside. The room itself was as much in a state of disarray as any one of the others they had looked into. However there was one feature of the room that stood out from its surroundings. Nanoha was quick to point it out.
?That wall looks as new as the front of the shrine!? She said as she pointed to the back wall. Indeed, the wall, while looking a little worn, was not nearly in the state of disrepair that the rest of the room was. The entire wall was completely blank, save for a sliding door in the middle of it.
Fate walked up to the door and started to examine it closely. She turned to Hayate. ?Did you open this door yet??
Hayate shook her head. ?No, we didn?t open it yet. We weren?t sure that we would be ready to face whatever is on the other side of the door, and we still needed to talk to you guys before we did anything irrevocable.?
Fate put her hand on the door and pushed it open. The room on the other side of it was completely bare, with wood panel floors, much like the rest of the shrine. The three girls entered the room and looked around. Nanoha was the first to break the silence.
?There?s nothing here.? She said as she peered into the far corner of the room.
Hayate started to look confused. She walked over to the far wall and began to examine it closely. ?I was sure there was something here, there?s way to much ambient magical energy for there to be any other explanation.?
Something clicked in Fate?s mind. ?Maybe the room itself is the Los??
She never got to finish her sentence. Suddenly, the door slammed shut and glowing sigils appeared on the walls of the room. A tremor shook the room so violently, that they all fell down. Fate felt her eyes widen, and saw that Nanoha and Hayate looked as surprised as she was. She opened her mouth to shout out a warning, but in that instant, a wave of force overwhelmed her so completely that she blacked out.
Esifex:
...
Nice.
Hideki:
?So, tell me exactly why she?s in my bed???
?Not your bed ze. It?s the only flat surface in my home not covered in stuff. Besides, it was your idea to pick her up off the path.?
The first thing Nanoha heard when she regained consciousness were voices. It sounded like two people were talking at the foot of the bed she was in.
Bed? Nanoha wondered.
?And you would have just left her there??
?No, I was just waitin? for you suggest it so I could shove all the work on you, ze.? The second voice paused. ?At least I got this little gem from her.?
The first voice sighed. ?I really wish you wouldn?t steal stuff from random people.?
Gem? Nanoha thought about it for a little while before reaching a conclusion. Raising Heart!
Her eyes shot open. The first thing she noticed was that the second voice was right. This was the only spot that had any open space anywhere. Every table and chair was piled high with books, writing utensils, and other knickknacks she couldn?t immediately identify. At the foot of the bed were two girls, one dressed like a stereotypical witch (although she had her hat off), and the other was wearing a red skirt and blouse with detached sleeves. Nanoha thought it reminded her vaguely of the clothes that the shrine maidens wore during the school trip. The two were currently in the middle of a rather heated conversation.
?Says the pot calling the kettle black, ze. Or did I hear differently during the missing spring incident, ze? Stealin? from Mayohiga?? The witch leered at the miko.
?That was different! God knows I need the luck against Yuyuko.?
?Aw, I?m kidding, ze. What?s a thing between two thieves?? The witch put her arm around the Miko.
?Get off me!? The miko shoved the witch?s arm off her shoulder. ?And furthermore?Oh look, you just woke her up!?
The witch and the miko turned to the bed?s occupant. Nanoha looked back and at them and noticed Raising Heart around the witch?s neck.
?Um?? Nanoha started. She didn?t get far though, as the witch felt the need to introduce herself to Nanoha at that moment.
?Oh hi there!? The witch interjected. ?My name?s Marisa Kirisame, ze. How?re you feelin?, ze??
?Eeeeh?! Uh, fine?? Nanoha was startled by the outburst. ?Uh, can I please have???
?See, now look, you scared her! And give her back that gem! She probably thinks you?re going to use it to do something evil, by the fact that you stole it from her. Oh, by the way, my name?s Reimu Hakurei.? Reimu added as an afterthought.
?Er??
?Oh come on Reimu, It?s not like she?s going to need an artifact like this. She?s from the outside world by the look of her; she probably doesn?t know that magic even exists. I can always find her a replica somewhere. Maybe Kourin even has one.?
?Um??
?That artifact?s probably the reason she made it that far onto the trail in the first place! It was probably warding the fairies and lesser Youkai off.?
?Ah??
?Oh really? You of all people should know that a powerful artifact like this tends to attract lesser youkai.?
Nanoha was getting tired of being interrupted. ?EXCUSE ME I KNOW ABOUT MAGICPLEASE GIVE ME RAISING HEART BACK!?
That got their attention. They both turned towards her with shocked expressions before peppering her with questions.
?You know about magic??
?Are you really from outside the border, ze??
?How the hell did you end up unconscious in the middle of the road?
?Raising Heart, ze??
Nanoha sighed as she braced for her explanation. ?Can I get out of this bed? This might take a while.?
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?So let me get this straight.? Reimu said as they sat around the hastily cleared off table. Reimu, Marisa and Nanoha were all nursing hot cups of tea by the time Nanoha finished her explanation.
?You and two of your friends are employed as investigators by this TSAB, an interdimensional police force specializing in magic. They sent you three to investigate an anomaly at an abandoned shrine, and in the process of doing so, you stumbled upon a room that simultaneously knocked you three out and sent you here. Your next memory is of waking up in that bed, with us two arguing over you.?
Nanoha looked up from her tea. ?Uh huh. Actually I?m in training to be an instructor in the magic arts.?
?And this,? Marisa added as she pointed to Raising Heart as it lay in the middle of the table, ?is an artifact that helps you use magic, ze. It allows you to transform into a stronger, magic-infused set of clothes, and allows access to a greater array of spells than you would be able to use otherwise, ze.?
?Yes?? Nanoha cocked her head and looked at Raising Heart. ?Why haven?t you told them of any of this??
?Oh no Master. You are doing a good job accounting for yourself right now.?
Reactions varied widely among the table?s occupants at that. Marisa and Reimu jumped up in surprise, while Nanoha just made a face. This had to be Raising Heart?s idea of a joke.
?It speaks?!?
?Yes she speaks. And she has a name, it?s Raising Heart.?
Reimu and Marisa gingerly picked up their chairs and sat back down in them. Reimu dropped her head to the table with a loud thunk. ?Why now?? She said in a resigned manner.
?Eh?? Marisa and Nanoha bent over Reimu. ?Is something wrong??
?I think I know why that happened to you and your friends.? Reimu said without raising her head. ?The Hakurei shrine acts as a gate to the Gensokyo border, as well as its anchor. Normally, the gateway through the shrine is one way, only leading to the outside world.?
?Gensokyo? Barrier?? Nanoha was confused at some of the terminology that was being thrown around.
Seeing Reimu indisposed, Marisa fielded the question. ?The land you?re in right now is called Gensokyo, ze.? She pointed out the window. ?Surrounding that is the Hakurei Barrier, which separates Gensokyo from the outside world. The Hakurei Shrine exists on either side of the border as a gate to the outside world, ze.?
Reimu lifted her head from the table. ?This week though, my shrine was destroyed twice, the first time by some idiot Celestial, and the second time by a certain border youkai. The destructions must have messed up the gateway between Gensokyo and the outside world. ?
Nanoha?s looked at Reimu quizzically. ?What do you mean??
Reimu looked at Nanoha ?It?s likely that your friends are scattered all over Gensokyo. Also it removed the main way to get you guys home until the shrine is rebuilt again.? She put her head down again. ?Why did you and your friends have to pick the absolute worst time to explore the Hakurei shrine on the other side of the Border??
?Ah?? Nanoha opened her mouth to say something but couldn?t think of anything to say.
?You mean they?re here for the duration, ze?? Marisa chimed in. ?That?s great, ze! Now I get to research a whole new set of magics!?
?And where would she stay??
Marisa looked at Reimu. ?Here??
?And where would I stay??
?Uh?? Marisa thought for a little while. ?You could ask Suika to build your room quickly, ze??
Reimu?s head returned to the table with a thud. Ignoring Reimu, she turned to Nanoha. ?You said you were a going to be a magic instructor, ze? Combat magics??
?Uh, yes, why??
Marisa grinned like the Cheshire Cat. ?How about you and I go out back for a little lesson, ze? You show me what your magics can do, and I?ll show you what a Gensokyo magician can do, ze.?
Nanoha smiled at Marisa. ?Okay.?
As the two of them left the table, she thought about Fate and Hayate. She hoped they were having a better start in this crazy place than she was at the moment, as she resigned herself to being stuck in this place for the foreseeable future. However, for the moment, things were looking up for her; she had two new friends, and some information that could help them get back home.
Esifex:
Typical Nanoha 'befriending' method - blast the crap out of 'em.
Marisa's about to get real befriended.