1 Chapter 1
It has been 10 years since I reincarnated in this world. There wasn't any random omnipotent being, A system to accompany me, or any absurd cheats for that matter.
I was simply reborn in here in this world. At first glance, this place appears mostly reminiscent of sengoku era of Japan. With how the people still use carts with horses, or how severely underdeveloped the entertainment is.
A village surrounded by mountains and nature is where my origin lies, A place known as gensokyo. A humble beginnings you might say, but it cannot be any further from the truth. The presence of individuals with mystical abilities and unique features excited me to no end.
Especially the person whom I spent the longest time with, someone named Sekibanki, my sister and a self-proclaimed 'youkai'. A rokurokubi with the ability to detach her head from her torso and other supporting abilities.
Because her existence implies that this is the world of Touhou. As dangerous as it may be, the chance to be acquainted with the characters beyond the screen is simply once in a lifetime!
But I found it odd that some characters don't exist, and that most if not all of them have a nerfed version of their powers and abilities. Even more baffling is that everyone isn't saying that they are a youkai of some kind, shape or form. Only my sister was saying so, hence my referral 'self-proclaimed youkai'.
The supernatural phenomenon of having meta-abilities seem to be the norm, perhaps this may be an alternate universe of Touhou? Similar to the plot of the game Touhou: Lost word? An AU where Yukari has weaker powers or she found my reincarnation intriguing? That would explain why she did not confront me of my existence and let fate run its course.
Gensokyo is an area managed by a small council of individuals. Contrary to the original Touhou where they have factions, in this world they only gather in small groups as some members don't exist. I am not aware about a lot of characters from Touhou but among the council members that I was able to recognize was Reimu, Yukari and Kiene.
Reimu is an optimistic adolescent girl who works as the local shrine priestess in the hakurei shrine and is usually found either sweeping the shrine or drinking tea. She has the power to manipulate her spirit in various and creative ways. Although she has a considerable amount of power, she always slacks off in training.
Yukari is a mischievous mature woman with dark gold eyes and long blonde hair who prefers to be laid-back and unassuming. She usually only makes a move when things go south, otherwise she mainly does things out of pure self-interest. She has the ability to manipulate boundaries but the limit of said ability is vague.
And lastly, Kiene is a kind young woman with white hair that has light blue strands mixed in. She works in hieda temple school as one of its teachers. No one knows for sure what her ability is, but rumors say that it has something to do with time.
The other two council members were an elegant lady in a kimono and Onee-san with half Purple and half yellow hair. The first one gave out an air of royalty and momentum and the other one had a gentle aura, almost as if she was a saintess.
These five are in charge of any and all affairs that transpire in the place, promoting public security and upholding order as well as being the bridge that connects the other small groups of whichever version of Touhou character here.
It is a peaceful place save for a few dangerous animals with abilities of their own but otherwise a safe location that I can call home.
Growing up here was unsurprisingly dull after a few years. Surrounded by the same trees and mountain scenery, there is hardly much of anything to keep people occupied outside of chores and the casual gossips.
As most children here are taught by Kiene in the hieda temple school and the occasional guest teachers who give lessons about their respective fields of interest, the diversity of our knowledge wouldn't lose to the modern education system in terms of quantity. Although that doesn't mean that some of the students don't get bored in class, the same as any other world.
Occasionally playing all sorts of games or exploring certain areas in small groups bond us kids closer together but I initially had a small amount of trouble with this, as the other boys in class didn't really have any note worthy powers, most of them often ignored me out of childish jealousy. At first some tried to befriend me but have given up once they noticed how I barely talk.
Cirno, who doesn't care for class dynamics, dragged me to her circle of friends to which I became acquainted with. I am grateful for this gesture and have always remembered it to this day. I got closer to the other fairies and spirits and came to visit some of them occasionally to play as there are barely any entertainment around these parts.
Today as well, I am out trasversing a particular forest to visit the fairies to play since not much can be done around here for fun. Arriving at the lakeside which is near the home of the fae, I take in a breath of fresh air to enjoy the scenic greenery around me and briefly glance at the still water of the misty lake.
What greets me is the appearance of a young 10-year old boy with red hair and red sanpaku eyes, with pale skin wearing a blue bow with red trimmings on my left wrist and a red and blue capelet that covers part of my face. I am also wearing a black and red long sleeved shirt, as well as a dark red pair of pants and red and black boots.
'Yup. I look like a mini gender-bent version of Sekibanki.' I muse to myself silently inside my head before heading over to the fairy area.
"KIZUKI!" Cirno greets me with her usual enthusiasm. "Ya here to lose again?"
"Cirno-chan! Be nice!" Daiyousei told her scoldingly. "Good morning Kizuki-kun."
"Un. Morning." I nodded since communication has always been one of the things I wasn't good at, this life or the previous one.
Cirno, otherwise known as the Beloved Tomboyish Girl, has Blue eyes and aqua-colored hair. She wears a blue ribbon, a light pink blouse and blue jumper dress. Boisterous and energetic, cirno has the ability to manipulate 'cold'. Daiyousei on the other hand, has short green hair with yellow ribbon. She wears a blue dress with white trim and sleeves. She acts like the big sister of Cirno, is gentle and polite, and has the ability to create dazzling sparkles to either burn a bit or to give plants a minor growth boost.
Calling them fairies might have been a stretch on my part since they don't have their wings in this world as well as their ability to fly and float. They are hardly any different from humans with an ability albeit still as mischievous as actual fairies so perhaps that is why I still see them like that.
Just chatting and hanging out with them like this is relaxing in its own way even though cirno would usually drag us into all sorts of trouble like that one incident in the bamboo forest. She sometimes pull other people into her shenanigans but Cirno is just the kind of girl you can't get to hate. Me and Daiyousei are often the ones that clean up after her mess or at least act like the leash or voice of reason to steer her in the right path, but cirno is like a chaotic storm so it is quite difficult.
"So I found this really weird outsider in near the forest-" She points towards the southeastern direction "-and it looked like he's been there for a while! I say we mess with 'em!"
"I don't think it's nice to do that, Cirno-chan. Can't we just greet him politely?"
"...Or tell an adult."
"C'mon, you guys! It'll be fun! And we can just run back anyways, not like he's gonna be fast enough catch up to us!"
I share a look with daiyousei, both of us knowing that cirno won't back down. We let out a sigh before relenting to cirno's whims and thinking of ways to apologize to whomever we're about to visit.
The trip took more than a hour, maybe longer if we encountered some setbacks during our journey. During the long walk I tried to divert her attention to other things but she was so adamant to seeing that outsider, I couldn't help but be curious as to what made him so interesting.
It wasn't until when we were hiding behind some bushes and peeking at a person breaking a boulder did I understand why. It was a man with superhuman strength, perhaps the rebirth or even the descendant of the legendary Kintaro from Japanese folklore.
He is a lean man wearing a dark green hoodie with what appears to be black loose yoga pants, which are modern clothing articles. He has short, white hair that parts away from the base of his forehead, and thin, green eyes that slant slightly downward. With two scars going from the left side of his forehead down to his chin. Upon a closer inspection of his face I noticed that the scars were actually cracked skin.
'An anomaly' I thought.
It would make sense why he appeared close to gensokyo if he were one of us. I am a bit thrilled of the prospect of another man joining the village since most, if not all, of the ones with mystical powers are women.
As I brood in such thoughts, I notice Cirno conjuring snowballs and shoving a few to Daiyousei's hands before shoving some into mine.
Before either of us spoke, she already started throwing a barrage at the poor man. Despite being surprised at the sudden attack, he showed a great amount of agility and finesse to dodge the snowballs.
Laughing at the display, cirno froze the ground to mess with his footing before starting the second wave as I joined in on the fun. Daiyousei seemed exasperated but as they say, if you cant beat 'em, Join 'em.
As the minutes pass by with him trying to come closer to catch us only for us to scatter a bit and continue the wave, the man began slowing down from either fatigue or perhaps he simply just had enough of our games. He clenched his first and struck the ground breaking the ice, the shockwaves of the strike reaching the three of us and making us falter in our steps.
Seeing the situation starting to turn south, we decided to make a tactical retreat. As I considered whether it was better to leave a head or to apologize in person directly next time, the man watched us run away, confusion etched on his face perhaps pondering why small children are in the forest.
Reaching a nearby river to catch our breaths, Cirno is still laughing as I give a wry smile. Looking at the position of the sun, I realised that it was only an hour and a half left before the sky turns dark. We decided to end our short break and noticing that the man didn't give chase, we started walking back to the village.
Taking our time to enjoy the scenery, our chatter and laughs can be heard amongst grooves. Walking a little behind the two, I became a little melancholic.
'Today was also fun.' I thought. 'I am grateful for this second life. As much as I hated to admit, My previous one was mundane and monotonous.'
'Lets also have fun tomorrow, and the day after that, and the one after that...' I smile as I look on at the backs of my friends, the light from the
gaps of the leaves giving a picturesque sight. 'I wish days like this last longer.'
