A New World (book 2) Complete

~Hakurei Shrine~ > Kosuzu's Grand Bookstore

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Sefam:
This is awesome, I looked forward to Book 2 so much and I am impressed by the speed at which you are writing quality material.

can I have your babies IcedFairy? 8D

Alfred F. Jones:
I actually am not overfond of the Lunarians, but I love this take on them. Ironic, yes, but thanks to Iced, I am warming up to them, if you will. :3

That posting schedule seems fine, too. No worries here!

Iced Fairy:
?How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.?
Renko sat on the roof of the house that belonged to her and Mary. One of the nice things about Gensoukyo was the space. A house this size would have been hard to get in Japan. Here in Gensoukyo Renko could afford it even with the money she earned teaching, leaving Maribel's stipend from Ran untouched. Admittedly teaching paid a lot more in Gensoukyo then it did in Japan. A skilled private tutor like Renko was considered a luxury only the rich families could afford.

Renko put those thoughts aside and pulled out the device Marisa had given her after the meal. It was an armillary sphere. Apparently it had been bequeathed to her by a friend. Renko had felt a little odd taking it as a gift, but Marisa said that it was a youkai tool, so she didn't really find it useful.

There was a twist in space, then Maribel carefully stepped out onto the roof. Renko frowned at her. ?Didn't Ran tell you off at dinner for using your power too much??

?Ah.? Maribel grimaced. ?Not you too, Renko.?

Renko waved a finger at Mary. ?She's right you know. Abusing your powers like that won't teach you anything. And it's safer to just fly..?

Maribel sighed. ?Fine, I'll fly down instead of teleporting.? She sat down beside Renko and leaned on her. ?So do you know how this thing works??

?Yeah actually. I leaned how to use one a while back. It helps that I know where the stars are just by looking at the sky. But the constellations are weird.? Renko tweaked one of the rings just a bit to get Mars lined up right. ?For example they call all the planets Tengu stars. And for some reason most of the stars are just named on their own. There aren't a lot of multi star constellations.?

Maribel leaned a little more towards the device, but Renko could tell it was more to be close then to see. ?Hm... Strange. Still it looks like there are some. I can see Orion's belt. And the Big Dipper.?

Renko nodded. ?Apparently they call the belt Ibuki Doji's belt, and the Big Dipper is the Celestial Dragon.? She looked again. ?And it looks like they have Myouken Bosatsu, instead of Amatsu-Mikaboshi as the pole star.?

?Hm, that's odd.? Maribel actually sounded mildly interested in that. ?I'd have thought they wouldn't place a god that weakens demons so highly.?

?Maybe it really is him,? Renko said. ?After all we've met Suika Ibuki briefly, and we visited the mountain gods once.?

Maribel groaned at Suika's name. ?Urgh. Right. Suika. She almost made me hate sake.?

Renko remembered that day as well. Or at least the start of that day and the morning after, the evening itself was somewhat spotty. ?Yeah. At least we didn't agree to any contests when we were drunk. That could have ended poorly....?

The two lay on the roof a little in silence, Renko occasionally tweaking her armillary sphere.

After a little longer, Renko asked, ?So what do you think about that lunar rabbit? Reisen??

Maribel sighed. ?Not sure. She seemed nice, if occasionally arrogant. But maybe I'm projecting.?

?Nah, I felt it too. She was like my rich aunt. She knows she can buy and sell everyone, but thinks bringing it up would be gauche,? Renko chuckled a little. ?But I can't really blame her that much. It's not like half the youkai we meet don't do that.?

Renko could feel Maribel shift a little bit, then sigh. ?Yeah, you're right.? She blinked. ?Oh right, I should check the mail.?

Maribel reached into space time, through Makai, and out into the small mailbox in the outside world they owned. She fished about and pulled out two pieces of mail. ?Junk, and a letter from your parents Renko.?

?Thanks Mary.? Renko accepted the proffered letter, and opened it, positioning it so that Maribel could read over her shoulder.

?Looks like everything's going well with my family,? Renko said, after perusing the letter.

?I noticed they're still asking you when we'll get married,? Maribel said with a sigh.

Renko chuckled. ?It's your fault for not being willing to show them your powers. I couldn't prove the existence of magic until a year later, so I had to go with the eloping excuse.? She rolled over on top of Maribel. ?Besides, it's not like it's entirely wrong.?

Maribel giggled. ?Well, it's more the order is off. We didn't make it official until two years ago.?

Renko sighed. ?Well I guess I'll have to remind them that going back home and having to make up excuses for where I've been to everyone for the last seven years isn't going to go well.?

The two lay there for a little longer before Renko rolled over and stood up. ?Well even if tomorrow's our free day we shouldn't stay up too late.?

?Yeah,? Maribel replied. She stood and started to make a gap opening motion, but stopped when Renko gave her a glare. ?Oh right. I'll fly like a normal girl...?

The two made their way down off the roof, and to their bed for the night.

---

The following morning went by pleasantly, and the afternoon found them wandering through the forests closer to the village. Maribel smiled as a cool breeze blew past them. ?I guess it'll be autumn soon.?

?Soon? It's fall now.?

The two looked up, Maribel grabbing Renko's hand in case a hasty retreat was required. Renko might be able to fight off the average youkai, but that was still dangerous.

The woman who bowed in greeting to them, however, didn't look like a youkai at all to Maribel's eyes. ?Sorry, did I startle you? I'm Shizuha Aki, Goddess of the Turning Leaves.? She waved her hand, and the tree beside her slowly turned a brilliant shade of yellow-orange.

Maribel clapped at the display. She wasn't certain about gods, but she knew enough about youkai to know when she was supposed to show praise. Besides, it was a pretty impressive trick.

Renko tipped her hat. ?Pretty nice. Why haven't we seen you before??

The woman smiled. ?Well it would be showing off too much to personally appear for every tree. Not to mention it'd take forever. Usually I pass through unseen. But since you two seem a little different from the normal humans, I decided to introduce myself.?

?Well I'm Maribel Hearn and this is my friend Renko Usami. It's a pleasure to meet you,? Maribel said.

?Oh, I've heard rumors about you. Let's see, the witch in training and the future successor to the youkai sage right?? The goddess thought for a moment. ?Though you don't look like a youkai to me....?

Maribel twitched, but fortunately Renko covered for her annoyance. ?Ahaha, that's a little off. I'm just learning a bit of magic, and Mary here's a human with an interesting power. That's all.?

The woman nodded. ?Ah, sorry. I mostly get my information from the kappa, and they get their info from tengu newspapers. I guess this time they were exaggerating.?

?Huh, didn't think I'd ever make the papers,? Renko smirked, ?though I knew if I did my work would be misrepresented. Reporters never seem to cover stuff right.?

Shizuha giggled. ?Well that's tengu for you.? Then she looked a little more somber. ?Though I am a little saddened to hear that though. I was hoping that the rumors of a fixed Hakurei barrier were true.?

?They are,? Maribel said quickly. ?It's just I'm not a youkai.?

Shizuha blinked, then smiled again. ?I see. Well, as a goddess I'm not so foolish as to underestimate humans. I hope things continue to go well in that endeavor then.? A rustling wind picked up and the goddess slowly took to the sky. ?I'm happy to meet you, and I hope to see you again. But right now I've got to get to work. This year I'll show my sister the true meaning of autumn, so be sure to take a good look at the leaves!?

The wind picked up again, and the goddess was gone.

?Hm... In quite the rush,? Renko said.

?Well she does have a lot of trees to work on,? Maribel replied. She thought for a moment. ?I wonder if she paints the leaves of the outside world as well. I'll have to ask her next time.?

The two began walking back towards the village. ?Yeah. Perhaps we'll see her again.? Renko adjusted her hat. ?Still, she's an interesting personification of a season. Much more low key then Lily.?

Maribel winced. She still remembered the bruises from her meeting with that particular fairy. ?Yes. Thankfully.?

The two walked along without speaking for a while, letting the sounds of Gensoukyo fill the air.

After a while they reached the more cultivated fields that designated that they were starting to move into the village proper. The boundary of the boundary as it were. Maribel couldn't help but smile at the thought.

A familiar figure rose to greet them as they returned. Fujiwara no Mokou dusted her odd work pants off before waving. ?Heya. Have fun out there??

They both nodded. ?Yeah. We ran into a goddess too. Apparently autumn has started,? Renko said.

Mokou sniffed the air appreciatively. ?Huh, guess that seems about right.? The immortal turned to them, ?So I'm guessing you met Shizuha? Then I imagine Minoroko will be around to see you soon.?

?Minoroko?? Maribel asked.

?Shizuha's sister. Goddess of the harvest. They have a contest every year to out autumn the other.? Somehow the immortal's words managed to convey the futility of the contest without judging the people involved. ?Usually, when one of them takes an interest in someone the other will too. I hope you like sweet potatoes.?

Maribel couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that. ?An interest??

Mokou waved the comment off. ?Gods spend most of their time totally focused on their jobs, so they get bored easily. Also those two goddesses are fun.? The immortal thought a moment more. ?Actually, the other mountain gods aren't that bad either, but Shou's far more interesting then Bishamonten. It's just the Aki sisters are extra pleasant, mainly because they're extra weak.?

Renko blinked. ?They're embodiments of a season, and they're weak??

?Yeah. Most people don't worship the leaves and the harvest outright. Just give thanks here and there. I bet either of you could beat them in a fight.? Mokou paused then laughed, ?Not that you'd need to of course.?

Maribel considered the oddity for a bit, then remembered she had a question for Mokou, ?That's right, we were supposed to meet Princess Kaguya last night, but she didn't show. Is that normal for her??

Mokou sniffed, then smirked. ?Nah. Kaguya would have loved to meet you I'm sure. I bet that was all Eirin's doing. They sent Reisen instead right?? She chuckled as Renko nodded. ?Yeah, Eirin's always a pain. She's the one that kept assassinating me to keep me and the princess from our little meetings.?

Maribel noticed Mokou's attention starting to drift. While Maribel was very interested in meeting the storybook princess in person, pressing Mokou on the matter didn't seem like a good idea. ?Anyway, I'm kind of curious, I've met someone from all of the places Ran's talked about except the underground. Why haven't any of them shown up??

Mokou frowned, ?Hrm. No clue kid.? She shrugged. ?I know that the only ones that came up often in the first place was the kassha and the satori no one can see anyways, so I never ran into them much. I think it's a youkai thing. Keine would know.?

?Would Mystia or Chen explain if we questioned them?? Renko asked.

Mokou thought about that again. ?Hm... Don't know if either of them knows the details. Actually Mystia probably does, and she'll probably speak on it. Just don't expect an unbiased view on matters.?

Maribel giggled at that statement. ?I've learned long ago not to expect that.?

Renko shook her head in mock sadness, ?Yeah, this place needs a lot of peer review work.?

Mokou blinked at the unfamiliar term, then shrugged it off. ?Hm, anyway I'd better move along. If I guard the place by just sitting in one spot all the time I'd be no better then that lazy Shinigami.? She waved as she walked off. ?See ya 'round.?

Maribel and Renko waited until she was out of earshot before giggling. ?Is there really any need to actively guard the place anymore?? Renko asked.

Maribel shook her head. ?Not this far out there isn't. But if she admitted that, she'd have to admit that she's staying in the village because she enjoys the company.?

?Well that's not allowed,? Renko stated with a gleam in her eye.

?Anyway, let's head back. Mystia should be opening her cart soon.?

Iced Fairy:
The smell of grilling lamprey had become familiar to Renko. They'd tried to keep up with cooking, but even with Maribel's loose training schedule there were lots of times where work and training combined left both of them too tired to make some time to for dinner. If they had a refrigerator they could cook something and leave it there, but unfortunately electricity remained difficult to acquire. They'd considered getting a generator, but the noise would be a nuisance in the village. And their attempt to get an ice fairy familiar to do the cooling for them had gone poorly.

So they'd been forced to rely on the large amounts of cash they had to enjoy the local eateries. And Mystia's was one of the nicer mid price range stalls. Especially if, like Renko, you enjoyed the night sparrow's singing.

It also helped that Mystia thought they were youkai in training as it were. Not that Mystia actually hated humans, it just seemed like she felt morally obligated to look down on them. She'd never said so directly, and fortunately Maribel didn't catch the night sparrow's hints on the matter, so Renko allowed the two to remain ignorant of the other's feelings. It kept things a little more harmonious.

Renko was brought back to reality when Mystia flipped the eel skewers one last time, then put them on plates next to the rice she'd dished out earlier. ?Order up!?

?Itadakimasu!? Renko clapped her hands, then started in on the meal. Renko had no idea what Mystia used for a sauce, but it was better then anything she'd come across in either world. ?Excellent as always, Mystia.?

?Yes. The vegetables you picked out today are an especially good match too,? Maribel added. Renko figured the fact that Maribel (who was much more of a gourmand then she was) agreed the place was good showed how broad the youkai stand's appeal was.

?Thank you, thank you kindly,? Mystia chanted in reply as she moved to start cleaning. ?Is there anything else you want, honored customers??

?A refill on the sake would be nice,? Renko said.

?No problem~♪?

Maribel shook her head as the bird youkai turned to her. ?I'm fine. Though I do have a question for you, if it's no trouble??

?Ask away,? Mystia replied, as she pulled out another small bottle of sake and placed it before Renko.

?I was wondering about the underground youkai,? Maribel asked.

Mystia whistled at that. ?Ah, you don't want to know about them. They're the youkai no one wants to be around. Disease carrying earth spiders, bridge princesses, oni and whatnot. There's some animal youkai down there, and satori too, which isn't so bad, but they're all a little weird in the head.?

Renko frowned. ?A satori? Hm... I've only heard a little about them....?

?There aren't many left. And that's even if Koishi still counts as one.?

Renko turned along with Mary to see the tengu, Aya Shameimaru, entering the cart with a smile. And a notepad. They'd spoken to Aya several times before, since she seemed to be friends with Ran, but they'd been warned about the notepad. Because usually the camera followed.

Mystia didn't seem thrilled either. ?Hey, you better not be bothering my customers!?

Aya briefly glanced skyward. ?Relax, I'm not going to interview them here unless they want to mix business with a meal. I'll just chase them down afterwards. And I'd like the special please. With beer if you have it.?

?All good then. I'll get your order ready right now!? Mystia ignored Renko and Maribel's glare. No matter how high they rated in Mystia's customer rankings, the bird was still fairly mercenary.

?Don't look so down,? Aya said, pulling out a pencil. ?I already know the answers to most of the questions. This is merely a formality.?

?Then why are you bothering?? Maribel asked. ?And why didn't you ask this all before.?

?Just because I know the answers doesn't mean I can just slam them together and call it an interview. The people need to hear you directly.? Aya shrugged. ?As for why I'm doing this now and not when we first met? Well that's because I owed Ran a favor.? She tapped her pencil against the pad. ?But now the rest of the Tengu are certain you two are the real deal, so I can't let the fledglings get the story out first. It'd ruin my reputation.?

Renko considered the matter for a moment. ?And because everyone else believes we exist now you won't have to worry about your story being ignored as gossip.?

Aya smiled broadly. ?Yep!?

Maribel sighed, ?Renko, think we can escape??

Renko shook her head. ?Not without owing Flandre a favor. A large messy favor.?

Aya winced. ?Hey now, no need for threats. If you want to wait until after eating....?

?I don't want to be the focus of Gensoukyo's paparazzi,? Maribel replied. ?But since I can't escape that, I'll just have to ask some things of you in return.?

Aya tapped her notepad. ?Let's see, the first will be about the underground. That's easy. What's the second??

Renko smiled as an idea came to her. She leaned forward and whispered it in Maribel's ear. Maribel grinned in return. ?Question number two: What's you're relationship with Ran.?

?Ayayaya? What makes you think we aren't just acquaintances?? the Tengu asked.

Renko pointed at the notepad. ?Because you said you owed her, and because if you didn't have some connection you'd have gone ahead with the interview anyway.?

Aya shrugged, ?Alright. No big deal I suppose. Anyway half in advance, half after the interview.?

?Mystia already told you about most of the youkai that are in the underground. Pretty much all of them are there because no one likes them, or because they don't want to hang around anyone else. It used to be the hell of blazing fires, but the Yama shut it down when she realized the oni were too easy to bribe,' Aya stated simply.

?It's sounds more like another nation then a group,? Renko observed.

Aya nodded. ?Yeah. Satori Komeiji and her pets are a powerful group, as are the oni, but the rest are just random youkai. No one of much import.? The Tengu shrugged. ?Satori wouldn't even be that big a name if those gods hadn't handed her pet crow Utsuho the Yatagarasu as a snack.?

Renko paused and stared at Aya. ?Wait, they fed a crow the Yatagarasu? The god Yatagarasu?? Maribel asked.

?Yep,? Aya stated. ?It was dead already, but they let a hell crow eat the body. So now there's a new god underground who runs a nuclear fusion reactor.?

?Gensoukyo has a fusion reactor?? Renko asked. ?Why didn't anyone tell me this??

?Because you're tasty with soy sauce, and the underground animals and oni play pretty hard even if they aren't hungry,? Aya said.

That was a good reason not to idly drop by Renko admitted silently.

Aya started scribbling on her notepad. ?So now that I've answered your first question, on to the interview. I already know how you got here, and your powers, so please tell me, what are your plans for the Hakurei barrier??

?Ran and I are going to look into a way to get the border to be naturally fluctuating without my presence,? Maribel replied.

?So you aren't planning on becoming a youkai then? Wouldn't that be an easier solution??

Maribel frowned but simply said, ?That's something for later. It'd be better if I fixed the barrier permanently, and I have a better chance of doing that as a human.?

Aya nodded. ?And do you believe that your relationship with a human is influencing your decision??

Renko quickly put a hand on Mary's shoulder to keep her from saying something that shouldn't be in the papers. ?Actually Alice thinks I'll be able to perform Shashoku within seven to ten years.?

Aya raised an eyebrow at that. ?I see. It seems I've underestimated you as a magician. In that case... when incidents begin again, are either of you going to interfere??

The two looked back and forth. ?Incidents??

?Oh, is the shrine maiden getting to be about that age?? Mystia asked.

Aya nodded to Mystia. ?Yeah. Two or three years I think.? She then returned her attention to her interviewees. ?Well back during the last age of spellcards, when the new shrine maiden grew up it was traditional to have a bit of fun. Test her by blocking out the sun or hiding the moon or something. At the start Marisa would occasionally interfere, not that that wasn't fun too. And sometimes other humans would mess around.?

?I'd kinda have a problem with people blocking out the sun,? Renko said. ?Though I'd probably let Kanon take a swing at it first.?

Maribel shrugged. ?Yeah. If it got too bad I'd probably do something. But if it comes to Danmaku Renko's better then me so....?

?Hm... Interesting.? Aya scribbled some stuff down. ?One last question. What is it like being the reincarnation of the youkai sage??

?It sucks. People keep bugging me about someone who's dead,? Maribel growled.

?So you have no real interest in taking her position within Gensoukyo?? Aya asked.

?If Ran wants it she can keep it. I'm not playing puppet master,? Maribel said before downing her sake cup.

?Thank you very much. And if you'll forgive me for injecting personal opinion I have to say I approve. One Yukari in a lifetime is enough.? Aya finished her notes. ?Now as to the second question, I suppose you humans would consider my relationship with Ran as being something close to Ex-girlfriend.?

Renko choked a little on her drink. ?What, really??

Aya laughed lightly. ?Well it's not as big a deal as you think. I'm married to my career of course, but a while ago Yukari tried to set us up. Sort of an omiai, except with more danmaku at the start up. Didn't pan out of course, but it was nice talking with someone my own age, so we became friends.?

Renko sighed and returned to finishing off her food. That wasn't nearly as interesting as she'd hoped.

?Ah, this isn't for the interview, but do you two have new spellcards?? Aya asked cheerily.

?I can't really steal anyone else's. Well I can but they'll still be different,? Renko stated.

Maribel added, ?I've made a few unique ones. And my variants of Yukari's spells are still variants.?

Aya smiled. ?Well I'll have to take pictures some day. Ah, and don't worry about the unavoidable danmaku rule then.?

?Why is it everyone is getting excited about shooting each other?? Maribel asked. ?It seems like it'd could get annoying.?

?Yeah but it's pretty fun most of the time,? Aya said. ?People need contests you know.?

?And it beats what we have now,? Mystia added solemnly.

Renko could see a haunted expression in the night sparrow's eyes, and she was forced to agree. Any annoyance that the dueling from spell cards could cause had to be better then the conflict that created such a face.

However the look soon faded to be replaced by the night sparrow's normal smile. ?And if you have spellcards we'll have to have a match sometime. It's been so long since I've been able to show off!?

Renko laughed weakly. ?I suppose we could set up a match sometime. It's got to be better then fighting Marisa....?

Sect:

--- Quote ---Mokou sniffed, then smirked. ?Nah. Kaguya would have loved to meet you I'm sure. I bet that was all Eirin's doing. They sent Reisen instead right?? She chuckled as Renko nodded. ?Yeah, Eirin's always a pain. She's the one that kept assassinating me to keep me and the princess from our little meetings.?
--- End quote ---
Hm, it makes me feel like I'm missing something here. It's probably the fact that, for whatever reason, I keep putting this in the same canon as your other stories (God!Utsuho and the Mokou/Kaguya future story): kinda seems like Mokou's relationship with Kaguya is much more relaxed than in canon, even keeping the Inaba of the Moon/Earth manga in mind. Also makes me wonder why Eirin bothers keeping Mokou and Kaguya from "meeting", unless the meetings are more than the two of them murdering each other.

Maybe I missed something in the first book...? Either that, or it's more of the Lunarian ethnocentrism in play.

Anyways, more interesting tidbits about Gensokyo life, about youkai... I guess Mari and Pippen Renko are headed to the underground next to get some powah. Also, I like the Ran/Aya friendship angle: I'm still surprised that Aya's a millenium old, though.

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