Crossing the Border to Gensokyo

Toru did not know how long they traveled through the portal. It could've been seconds. It could've been hours. But he and Ceres eventually fell onto solid ground and Toru couldn't feel any happier.

At least until Ceres fell on top of him, knocking his glasses off of his face.

"Oops, sorry," Ceres said as she scrambled off of her companion and the young man groaned in pain.

"No problem," Toru strained, pushing himself in a sitting position and stretching, receiving from satisfying cracks from his spine. "Where are we now?"

Ceres looked around. "Looks like we're in a shrine. We must've made it." That was when she spotted the other members of the Sealing Club as well as what looked like a shrine maiden. "Oh look, they're over there. What luck, I was sure we'd land in some other place."

Toru only eyed the blob that was Ceres (his eyesight was horrible) as he felt the ground for his glasses. Unfortunately he kept missing it by a few inches.

"You've dreamed of Gensokyo..?" Reimu asked a little astonished to hear this. How could someone have dreamed of Gensokyo, and why did this girl remind her of someone. Reimu was about to say something else when Migiwa suddenly spoke up.

"Hey! Two people I vaguely recongnize just appeared!"

Renko and the rest quickly turned their head to where the small girl was pointing. Sure enough, there was two people Renko knew from Kyoto University.

"More outsiders? Why are so many outsiders appearing in my shrine today?" Reimu pondered aloud, "In any case, you guys can't all stay here. I'm going to have to take you to the human village for the time being."

Maribel nodded in response to Reimu's astonishment. She was about to describe all of it until she heard that other people had appeared too. She was definitely surprised because of it and she just stared at them, baffled. "E-Eh? I don't remember bringing those two... H-How did they get here?"

While everyone was minding the two new people who had appeared, Tsuuka went over to Reimu and looked to her side. "... Please help me... The reason that I wanted to come to Gensokyo even if I had little doubts... I have this strange power..." she then looked straight at Reimu. "... I believe a normal human like me is incapable of it... I can separate truth from lies by seeing wisps that follow people... they change from black to white and white to black which tells me if it is a lie or the truth..." she then bowed in respect. "Pardon me for talking too much... I am usually not like this..."

Akira approached the two new people who just had arrived, he knelt down picking males glasses up and placed them in his hand. "Here, how did you two got here exactly?" He asked straight from them with little confused face.

Toru breathed a sigh of relief as he felt his glasses being pressed onto his hand. He didn't know what he'd do without them.

"Thank you," he said as he slipped them on.

At Akira's inquiry, Ceres said, "Oh, we went through the same portal you came through. You see we want to join your club but we keep on missing your members and then I overheard about you guys talking about going to some rendezvous point and so we followed you and now here we are."

Toru stared at Ceres, who had talked quickly, and he shook his head a little. He knew going through that portal was a bad idea and now they're in a strange place with probably strange people (considering what the shrine maiden looked like) and he doubted that they were going to go home any time soon.

"Hmm... that is peculiar, but not unheard of for a human to have special abilities such as that," Reimu answered. She cupped her hand under her chin in deep thought, "Though I'm not exactly an expert on this sort of thing, I believe you can get a better answer from Keine-san in the human village."

Meanwhile, Renko walked over to the two stowaways, "Well since you found youselves here... and wanted to join our club..." She then stuck out her hand grinning, "Welcome to the Sealing Club!"

"... I'm sorry for trying to ask what you don't know..." Tsuuka said as she walked away from Reimu to go see the other two people who were also transported to where they were. She eyed them closely and then remembered their faces. "... I think... that they used to spy on our club meetings... or it looked like it..."

Maribel also walked over to the two and wanted to hit Renko upside the head but decided not to. She just gave her an annoyed look. "Hey, I don't think it's a unanimous decision yet to let them join us... Anyways.." she looked at the two. "Didn't you even consider how dangerous it was to enter a crack in the boundaries?"

Both Ceres and Toru looked sheepish. "No, we haven't thought of that," Ceres said, rubbing her had awkwardly.

Toru narrowed his eyes at the girl. "You mean you haven't thought of that. I was just dragged along!"

Ceres rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah, whatever," she said before standing up and dusting off her dress. She then bowed towards the club members and smiled. "My name is Ceres Montgomery. I'd say that I'm sorry for not thinking ahead, but I'm not very sorry at all to be honest."

Toru gaped at his companion before sighing and following her lead. "I'm Fukuzawa Toru. I'm sorry for following Ceres, but I'm glad to be here I guess if it means that I meet other people who are like me..."

"Come on Mari, they're already here and all. No point in not letting them join," Renko said shrugging her shoulders. She then turned her attention back on the two new comers, "Usami Renko, co-founder of the Sealing Club at your service."

"And I'm Migiwa," The shorter girl said suddenly appearing beside Renko. She was grinning broadly at the two, probably already trying to think up new pranks to try on them.

Reimu sighed. She had not expected this to happen today, She had wanted to relax today, maybe enjoy a cup of tea. Marisa or Yukari would appear for a surprise visit. Business as usual, but that was not to be. And speaking of Marisa..

"Hey, Reimu, I'm just gonna let myself in," called a voice from outside. The door was slid open to reveal a young blonde woman wearing a black and white dress with a witch's hat atop her head and a broom was in her right hand. "Woah, did I miss one of Suika's parties, ze?"

"No Marisa..." Reimu stated, "They're from outside Gensokyo."

"Yamaki Akira, nice to meet you two."

Tsuuka nodded and introduced herself as well to the others who were in the room at that time. "... My name is Tsuuka..." she said as she bowed in respect to the two.

Maribel looked at Renko again. "Well... I guess you do have a point. Fine then, I'm Maribel Han, welcome to the Sealing Club, you two." she said with a slight smile. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to get a little more help with whatever they might face in Gensokyo. The two mentioned that they were like them so for sure they had abilities as well.

Maribel and Tsuuka both looked over at the door as it slid open and Marisa entered. Tsuuka kept quiet and just looked to her side, sighing. Maribel looked at Reimu and then to Marisa again. "Oh, you two must be friends, right? As Reimu said, we are from the outside world."

Ceres threw her hands in the air. "Yes! We're in the Sealing Club! Told you we'd get in Toru-kun!"

Toru rolled his eyes half-heartedly. "Not exactly how I would do it, but yeah we're in."

Ceres dropped her arms and looked around at the other members. "Now what?"

"Uh... guess we should ask Hakurei-san," Renko suggested, scratching the side of her cheek. She then turned to Reimu and her friend, "So what do we do next?"

"Well I say you should go to the Human Village," Reimu said, "And since Marisa is here now, she can escort you there."

"Hey wait!" Marisa protested, "Don't just volunteer me like that, ze!"

Reimu put her hands on her hips and stared down Marisa, "Now you can't expect them to go by themselves, especially with those pesky fairies around. Someone has to take them."

"Why don't you do it?" The blonde witch crossed her arms over her chest, responding to Reimu's stare down with her own.

"Because I have to look after the shrine," Reimu retorted.

"Yeah right, you just don't want to do it, you lazy shrine maiden."

Migiwa looked from Reimu to Marisa then back again, "Why don't you both take us?"

"STAY OUT OF IT!" They both yelled at the girl causing her to jump back and hide behind Tsuuka.

Renko looked at the scene sighing, "I have a feeling this is going to take awhile..."

"A looong while...." Akira stated while watching Reimu and Marisa argue with sweat drop.

Tsuuka was watching the argument and found it quite tiresome to listen to. She really didn't like arguments in the first place. They were noisy and they gave her headaches, which she already had at some random times because of her condition. She walked up to Maribel and politely called her attention. "... Excuse me, miss Maribel..."

Maribel turned to Tsuuka and smiled slightly. "Hm? What is it?"

Tsuuka whispered something to her and then nodded, going back to where she was just standing idly. She turned to Migiwa and patted her head to comfort her.

Hearing that, Maribel stepped closer to Reimu and Marisa. "I think Migiwa had a good point. The only way to solve this argument is to either take us both together... or as Tsuuka suggested to me, a friendly game of rock-paper-scissors. Loser takes us to the village."

"Good idea, ze," Marisa said with a grin, "You heard her Reimu, let's decide this with a game of rock, paper, scissors."

"You're on," Reimu agreed.

They both held out there hand and placed their fist on top of it. Then they both yelled out at the same time, "Rock Paper Scissors!"

"Ha! I got rock, that beats your scissors, Marisa."

"Damn it," Marisa muttered, sure enough she had gotten beaten Reimu. "Well, it can't be helped, ze. If you guys are ready, I'll take you to the human village."

Renko nodded and looked over at the other group. She had to make sure everyone was prepared to go into the wilds of Gensokyo, "Is everyone ready to leave?"

"I'm ready!" Migiwa said popping out from where she stood with Tsuuka.

Ceres smiled. "Ready as I'll ever be," she said and next to her Toru nodded his affirmative.

Akira gave a small nod as sign that he was ready to go also.

Maribel stepped beside Renko, facing Marisa. She smiled and bowed in respect and thanks to her. "Thank you for agreeing to lead us to the village. I'm Maribel Han, very pleased to meet you." she said in a light tone. If Marisa looked close enough, she would see her close semblance to someone she might know.

Tsuuka walked over to the group as well and nodded. "... Yes, I'm ready..." she then looked towards Reimu and asked her. "... So this Keine-san might know the answers to my situation, if I could remember correctly.. am I right?"

"Nice to meet you, ze," Marisa said, before leaning in to get a closer look at Maribel, "Have we met before? You look awfully familiar... your friend does too for that matter."

"I do?" Renko blinked in confusion, she was pretty sure she never met this woman before, "Oh I'm Usami Renko, by the way."

"Renko... Renko..." Marisa tapped her chin in thought, "Name doesn't ring a bell, but I could of sworn you two look like people I know..."

Reimu, meanwhile, turned her attention to Tsuuka, "Correct, Keine-san should know at least something of your powers."

Maribel chuckled a little and nodded. "I'm not sure, but I've been in Gensokyo in my dreams as I've said before. I might have met you, although I don't remember much of it." she said in reply to Marisa's question. "Renko here's new to Gensokyo, though. I doubt you've met her before."

Tsuuka looked over to Migiwa and crouched down to talk to her. "... So what do you plan on doing now in Gensokyo...?"

Marisa cupped her hands under her chin, "Hmm.. I guess it might just be coincide..." She then stopped in her tracks looking at the miko, then at Renko, then back at the miko. It was as if a light bulb went off above her head as she hit her fist into her palm, "I can't believe I didn't notice before!"

"Notice what?" Reimu asked her friend looking as confused as Renko felt.

Marisa had a chesire like grin, "Oh nothing important Reimu, nothing important."

The black and white witch had decided to keep her little discovery to herself for now. It would be more fun that way.

"So where is the human village?" Renko asked. She figured it would be useless to ask what the witch had meant earlier.

"Just through the forest," Marisa answered, "We should get going soon before it gets dark."

Migiwa scratched the side of her cheek, "Huh... never really thought about it... well I think I'll just come along for the ride and see what happens. I mean I don't have to decide right away what I'm going to do right?"

Maribel was a bit surprised with Marisa's reaction. She seemed like some kind of scientist making a new discovery or having that 'a-ha!' moment or 'eureka!' moment. The other thing is that Marisa wouldn't tell at all. She had the suspicion that Renko might have seen Marisa before. Of course, she knew it wasn't true and someone might just look like her. However, there was still the suspicion in her. She turned to face the people who were in the shrine and nodded. "Everyone, gather up! We're going to the human village now!" she said with a voice loud and clear.

She then stepped closer to Renko and looked at her with one of her eyebrows raised. "... Don't tell me you've met Marisa and been to Gensokyo before... She seems to know you." she whispered to Renko.

Tsuuka nodded at Migiwa's answer. It was true that they didn't need to know what to do right away. However, she had her mind set to only one thing. It was to know about what was wrong with her and her strange power. She was still feeling a little headache and maybe a little fatigue but she stood up and went to the group.

"You're the only one with the dreams Merry Berry," Renko said with a grin using her favorite pet name for her friend, "I can honestly say I've never met Marisa before in my life. And If I had, I would have told you right away."

Hearing Maribel call for the group to gather, Migiwa followed behind Tsuuka, looking as upbeat as usual. Even having a light skip to her steps.

"M-Merry What...?!" Maribel said with a slight blush of embarrassment in her face. It was a really strange and awkward way for someone to call her, even if that someone was Renko. She turned her face away and sighed. "Geez, don't ever call me that! I don't call you any awkward names!"

"Aw, but I think Merry Berry is a cute name," Renko said with a fake disappointment on her face, though she couldn't keep the smile from appearing on her face soon afterward.

Migiwa had to suppress her snickers. Not only did she find Maribel's pet name to be funny, but she also found the two's obvious lover like interactions to be very entertaining.

Toru looked around at the group, reading their emotions. There were varying degrees of happiness and excitement as well as mischievousness, suspicion, indignation, and awe. He wondered why no one was panicking at being thrown into another world. But then again, they all chose to be there (well, maybe except him) and they all want to have a better grasp on their abilities. It was understandable.

Ceres stepped forward, smiling a little. "So, are we just gonna stand around or are we going?" She turned to Reimu and Marisa. "We need someone to lead the way, since we obviously don't know."

"Your actually awfully calm for being one to suddenly rush through a dimension and into another world" Akira stated to Ceres.

"S-Shut up...." she thought for a while. Maybe she could get her back by calling her an embarrassing nickname as well. It only took her a minute before she came up with a nickname. "... U... Usamimi Renko!" she said as she pointed her finger at Renko.

"... This might get quite troublesome..." Tsuuka said with a sigh as she sat down beside Migiwa until the argument was settled.

"U-Usamimi..? RABBIT EARS?!" Renko touched the top of her head as if rabbit ears would suddenly pop out of her head. "Don't call me Usamimi, Merry Berry!"

Migiwa was now outright laughing. Oh how she loved these disputes between Maribel and Renko. "Tsuuka~ Should we think of embarrassing nicknames for eachother~?"

Reimu meanwhile face palmed. She was ready for these guys to leave her in peace, "Okay break up that lover's spat already. Marisa get these kids out of here before I lose my patience."

"L-lover's spat?!" Renko exclaimed, flushing at the idea. "Why do people keep saying that..." She then murmured.

"Okay, ze" Marisa said as she headed out the door, "Move or lose it, don't want to get on this lazy miko's bad side."