2Have you ever wondered what the sky ever felt like?
To touch the clouds, to fly through the thin atmosphere...
To probably die due to the lack of oxygen...
To truly experience everything?
A girl who has gone nearly the entire globe is about to experience it...
To walk the trails in the sky...
Lyrical Nanoha INNONCENT:
Trails of Lyrical: Sora no Tsubasa
Chapter 1: Chronicles of Innocent: The Tanuki, The Writer and The Bookstore
Uminari City, the streets
"Ughhhh...Another boat wrecked... Why is it that ANYTIME I go on a sea-craft, a crazystorm just happen to come by and crash-wreck my ride?"
A girl with green waist-length hair that is parted in the middle and a strange dialect complained, a small duffle bag hung on one of her left shoulder and a map on her right hand. Her emerald eyes shifted on the map, trying to locate her current location. Her side pony-tail on the left side of her head moved gently with the breeze, its lenght longer than the rest of her hair, which falls to just above her waist and cut straight.
Her outfit was simple, with a green and white biker jacket and a medium-length skirt, covered by a bike short underneath. It was a traveller's wear, simple and effective, perfect for adventures.
"Hmm...From Kyoto to Uminari... At least this time I didn't get too far...Alright! I'll settle here for a while until I get enough money -while also finishing my next book- to buy a plane ticket and wind-fly back home!...Assuming I find anything interesting in this boring town to write about, that is..." She was a novelist who travels across Asia, detailing everything in those adventures in the form of fictional fantasy stories. Under the pen name "Tsubasa" (Translate: Wings), while she isn't the biggest name in the literature community, she never minded that. It was the experiences that she valued. And the money. But mostly the experiences.
"There's supposed to be a hotel nearby, but I didn't bring enough money with me... And I didn't bring my Yato outfit, so begging for 5 yens from otakus ain't gonna work, either..." She sighed "Well, the money is safer in Ichika's hand anyway. He doesn't have any interesting hobbies to spend money on." It was at that moment that she walked across a particular bookstore.
"House Yagami, eh? Let see if they have any of my books. Maybe if they're a fan, I can ask them to let me stay until I find a tempt job!" With that slightly delusional thought, the green haired writer walked in.
...
"Welcome to the Yagami House Bookstore! How can I help you ?" a young girl with short, brown hair who looked around 9 years old cheerfully greeted in a Kansai accent.
"And I'm Chifuyu Andoh. But you probably know me under the pen name "Tsubasa", who-"
"Eh? Sorry, but I don't know any autha' like that at all." the brown haired girl replied.
"Wha- ?! A-At least you have some copy of the "Ys" books, right?" The green-haired author panicked, her "full-proof" plan falling apart faster than North Korea.
"Ah, THOSE books. We do have a surplus of them-"
"Thank goodne-"
"-in the storage room for months now. Most people don't seem to like them all that much. They say it would make for a great game, though." The petite store owner finished her sentence, dashing away any hopes of pulling the old "this place is going to be featured in my next famous work, so please let me crash here for a while" for the miserable writer, who's now making a noise close to a moan, a whine and that amazing sound it makes when you twist your back in the morning. Just then, a well-endowed white haired girl walked down from the floor above.
"My master, what's the matter? I heard some strange noises down h-?"
Chifuyu spotted the white haired girl, and memories flushed back.
"England Church-Chan?!"
"Kanjiragana-Chan?!"
The two girl said at the same time, surprised at the other's presence. The brown haired girl noticed this, and a mischievous smile spread across her face.
"Ooh! Could this be?! My dear Eins' secret lover reunion?!"
"M-My master, it's not like that, we're j-just..." The white haired girl panicked, still referring to the younger girl as "master", for some reason
"She's NOT my girlfriend! I can't spend my life with a girl who keeps gushing about some old European church?!" Chifuyu said
"It's a CATHEDRAL! A GOTHIC CATHEDRAL! Beside, at least I don't change between Kanji and Hiragana sporadically whenever I write!" The white haired girl said.
"How was I supposed to know your friend's name "Hayate" was written in Hiragana?!" Chifuyu tried to defend herself.
"Ah! I remember now!" The young girl pulled out a book, with the line "For my soon-to-be loyal reader named Hayate Yagami, from the singsong Falcom" written on the cover in a spastic mix of Kanji and Hiragana. "You're the writer of the "Legend of Heroes" books, right?"
"Eh? "Falcom" ? That was my pen name 3 years ago, when I was 14." Chifuyu said, slowly remembering her old days. "Ahh, do I ever-remember those days. So, you're Hayate, eh? Which books did you like the best?"
"I kinda like the Gagharv trilogy. I don't like the English translations, though. They got the localization all messed up. Not to mention the fact that the fourth and fifth book wasn't as good, which is why I dropped the series." Hayate said.
"Ah, so you're must be quite a fan of my old works if you can identify them as the Gagharv Trilogy. Really though, that trilogy was the combined work of me and my mom."
"Wow! So, where's you mom? Did you bring her along?" Hayate asked with slight excitement in her voice.
"Well, my mom is… someplace far away now…" Chifuyu said, slightly melancholic. Hayate seemed a bit shocked
"Oh! I-I'm sorry. Your mother was a great writer. Her passing means a lot to u-"
"Whoa whoa whoa! Who said my mother was bone-dead?!" Chifuyu shouted in annoyance "She's just helping Makoto Shinkai with his new movie, that's all!"
"Your strange wording didn't help, hippy…"Eins jabbed sarcastically, probably due to her ire with Chifuyu's dialect.
"I'm having some darkthoughts that I reaaaally wants to realize right now…" Chifuyu said, drawing out her pen like it was a weapon. Judging by the sharp tip, it might as well be one.
"Now now, let's not start a fight here, you two." Hayate stopped the two older girl from fighting "I know that you're pulling the "I'm a chronicler and I'm gonna make you famous, so can you shelter me" schtick, but I can't exactly ignore the co-writer of one of my favorite books…" The brunette pondered for a moment. Eins didn't like to see her master so troubled, so she suggested:
"We do need a writer and a fourth tester for the "Story Mode Hub" function of Brave Duel, so why don't we…" Eins gulped, knowing that she's gonna regret this."…H-Hire her…?"
"YOU'RE RIGHT!" Hayate shouted in excitement "With her writing, we could finally flesh out the world of "Brave Duel Story Mode", and since she's an employee, she can live here-albeit in the attic- and don't have to worry about cash since she's getting paid! I love you, my dear Eins!" Hayate said, hugging Reinforce. Reinforce's face was filled with bliss for a moment, until she noticed Chifuyu hugging her and crying out a river.
"…what are yo-"
"Thank you~~~~~~!" Chifuyu said, tears streaming down comically.
Reinforce raised an eyebrow, but her expression quickly changed into one of compassion. "Don't mention it…
…Kanjiragana-chan."
"England Church-loving titty manas."
"Hey!"
"Eins, she's not wrong…"
"M-Master…"
Moments later…
"Quite boring, actually. Who knew a quick-speed elevator ground-bounding to an underground facility can be so lame?" Chifuyu expressed her discontent with the ride down to the Yagami house big underground facility. The two was walking towards a big black d-
"Wait, how are you so…calm about all of this?" Hayate asked, slightly puzzled at how a first time rider could be so calm.
"I came to this city by wind-riding a tornado. Actually, that's how I go to most places, actually: get on to a boat that somehow only has me as the passenger and then I get caught up in a storm and thrown somewhere I didn't intend to go."
"Wow, that's… awfully Y-ish…" Hayate exclaimed
"Funny how life imitates art, eh?" Chifuyu said with a smile, uncharacteristic for someone who's an unintentional storm chaser.
They finally were standing in front of the big black door. A robotic voice came from the door.
[Please preform voice authentication]
"Registered Name: Hayate Yagami. Gate open!" Hayate replied, causing the door to open.
"Well, to Makai we go." Hayate said cheekily as she and Chifuyu walked through the gates of Magus. They were faced with a gigantic underground arena, lined with gigantic tubes everywhere that seems to be able to fit a person. Three of them were closed, seemingly occupied.
"Wow. Some game you're playing if it needs a room this big." Chifuyu said with a wistle
"Well, it's the store's pride, after all: an oversized underground arena." Hayate said "It's kinda lonely without Vita and the others here…"
"Fret not, young one!" Chifuyu said, her hand over Hayate's shoulders " For I, Chifuyu, is quite the spirit-lifter and is all too happy to accompany one of her fans!"
Hayate giggled at the older girl's cheerfulness "You sure like your airspeak, don't you?"
"Yeah, after years of writing it, I've come to accept it somewhat. Mom said she hated writing characters who speaks like that, though, so I was always in charge of writing airspeakers-if that's even a word- in the LoH books. I'm surprised that you noticed it at all!"
"Well, it's rather obvious (to me at least), and Eins dislike for the dialect was quite noticeable. She's usually not that passive-aggressive…:
"What, was she usually full aggressive?"
"Nah, more like full passive."
"Hard to believe if you ask me…"
"Well, now is not the time to be talking about that." Hayate said "We're here so you can get a feel for the "Story Mode Hubworld" and figure out the direction of the…well, story. What are your current plans?"
"If I have to comment about this game's current state, I'll have to say it's like Quake 3: No story, but have loads of arena so people can duke it out. I think a World of Warcraft-esque overworld will fit this "social hub" quite nicely." Chifuyu said
"We're not even implementing cross-store multiplayer yet, so you can take your time with the world building." Hayate replied. She then instructed Chifuyu to enter one of the tubes.
"Are you sure about this whole VR thing? What'll happen if I clip through the ground?! Won't I be in trouble-danger of falling into a coma?!" Chifuyu asked, only now realizing the fact that video game glitches can be terrifying in VR
"I'm pretty sure that you'll come out alive, for better or worst…" Hayate said as she pressed a button on a virtual keyboard.
"WAIT WHA-"
Location: The forest of Le-Langran, on the island of Belka Nui
Chifuyu fell through numerous branches, until she managed to grab a tree trunk and grab it with all four of her limbs…
…and grinded painfully to a halt when she slowly landed on a branch "…owie…my baby maker…"
"Alrighty then. Let's see that Brave Duel decky-wecky stuff that Hayate gave me…" Chifuyu said as she reached into her skirt and drew out a holder that contains a deck of cards. "Hmm…Levitation, Wind Attack… Needs more creative names." She was looking through the deck until she spotted a card with her image on it, but with…
"A katana? This must be that "personal card" Hayate was talking about. But where's my-"
[WWWHHHYYYYYYYY?!] a voice shouted in despair. It source was closing in on Chifuyu, and it landed onto the tree branch…
…And it was a katana. Like the one in her card. It has a gold guard, with an emerald gem attached via a golden plate that was molded in sideway to the guard. The pommel was a white part with another emerald attached to it.
[Owww. Why didn't you held on to me, master?]
"M-Master?" Chifuyu was talking to a katana, and it isn't natural for her at all.
[Anyway, welcome to the island of Belka Nui, one of the many "social zones" in Brave Duel. We are currently in-]
"Wait a minute. First, tell me your name. Second, are there any NPC implemented into here yet?"
[I'm LJ-8535, your weapon, or Device. And I'm pretty sure we have all of the NPCs implemented already, not to mention fauna. Look, I need to tell you how to operate me first. If you want to fly-]
"Wait, I can wind-fly?"
[Yes…]
"Nah, that can wait."
[Oh thank Gra-]
"Let's do some vine-travelling first."
[I…I…Ah, forget it.] The device went silent, seemingly defeated.
"This sturdy clingtwiner will do, I expect." The greenette murmured to herself, stretching to grab a thick vine that was hanging down in front of her. She glanced into the canyon below, then shook her head and grinned.
"No second-thinking, just go…!"
With that, she leaped off the tree branch overhanging a canyon. She swung herself halfway across, then let go. Momentum carried her in a graceful arc over and past a gorge.
She laughed with delight as she landed cleanly on a nearby tree.
"Now that was fun." She exclaimed.
Chifuyu hadn't been sure that she could make such a leap. But now she knew at least one thing: The air was her friend!
"Maybe it's time I do a little jungle-looking, just to see how much effort the devs has put in to this game." she muttered to herself. Chifuyu had immediately found herself drawn to the lush, dripping jungle and the canyons and valleys. Now that she was here, she felt at home.
As she reached the edge of a large stand of oak trees, Chifuyu jumped onto a slender branch. The motion flung something out of a nest of feathers and twigs farther along the branch.
She cried out in dismay, realizing that she had just ejected a baby bird out of its nest. Without thought, she flung one arm upward through the air in the direction of the falling chick.
"Up you go!" she cried.
For a moment she thought that the baby bird was flying away. Then she realized the truth.
No, not flying – the wind had caught it and carried it aloft.
Leaping across to a closer branch, Chifuyu reached up and caught the chick gently in one hand. She placed it carefully back in its nest.
"Now, what kind of happyluck was that?" she murmured "Or-Or was it?"
Struck with a sudden impulse, she flung up her arm. Once again, a quick gust swooped up from below with a swirl of leaves.
"I-It was me!" Chifuyu breathed in amazement. "I did it. The wind answers to me!"
[Kinda ironic that a girl name "A Thousand Winters" (chifuyu) would be controlling air. But then again you seems to have a lot of greens on ya', so… that's kinda fits, I guess.] The katana- now sheathed on her back- spoke up again.
"Oh, hi Eljay! Glad to see you back!" Chifuyu greeted happily.
[Is that supposed to be my nickname? I like it.]
"Just as always, the singsong Falcom never ceases to amaze! Now, can you elaborate on my abilities?" Chifuyu said.
[Sure! Now a pro to your ability would be its versatility. The "Air" attribute can be used to create anything from a small skirt-flipping wind to a city-flipping tornado, so that's always neat. Another pro would be its accessibility, as most of the skill you use won't need an Ability Card.]
"And the cons?" Chifuyu asked
[Now a con would be the fact that it locks you into a Fragile Speedster: Fast, Furious and as Fragile as a swallow.
Another con would be the fact that you can never wear a skirt without shorts, but it seems that you have no intention of going shortless, either.]
"Yep." Chifuyu confirmed "Now, I haven't seen the other players yet, so they're probably on other parts of the island."
[How did you-]
"There were occupied tubes. And the devs have to interact directly with the game if they want to see the full effect of it, no?" Chifuyu analyzed.
[You're quite the perceptive one, aren't you?]
"Thanks. It runs in the family." Chifuyu then continued her romp through the forest, until she saw a jet of flame nearly hitting her.
"?! What the heck was that!?" Chifuyu turned to the source of the firebolt: a pink-haired red-eyed 20-something girl with messy bangs that have many strands sticking up and few framing her face and long twintail braids who's cutting and slashing away at the trees, sometime burning down ones that are in her way.
"HEY YOU!" Chifuyu shouted angrily, leaping at the vandalist. To her surprise, the pinkette blocked her attack with a sword. The sword was distinctly European, unlike Chifuyu's katana. It was more akin to a long sword in its shapes and form, with the hilt shaped in a strange symbol, with two e-like shapes surrounding a center orb.
Her clothes were also strangely modern yet old-school. It was a coat with an impressive coattail with a color scheme that was comprised of mainly red and orange, with a few black accents here and there. A black breastplate adorned the costume, with metallic red armguards adorning the orange detached sleeves, giving off an air of regality, not unlike that of a knight in medieval time, but yet modern enough that it feels like a secret agent.
"Ah, you must be a new staff member. I'm Hikaru. Hikaru Martinozzi, and I'm this game's gameplay designer. It's a pleasure to meet you." The pinkette was surprisingly nice when conversing with Chifuyu.
"Yeah, I'm Chifuyu Andoh, and I was assigned as the storywriter and world building person. But enough about that. Why are you burning down the forest?! Did Smokey the bear kill your parents or something?!"
"Ah, I'm sorry if my actions had startled you. You see, I tried placing a bunch of cards all over the island, so players are rewarded when they explore the island, and I'm testing the placement to see if they are challenging enough but not too hard."
Chifuyu was visibly angry "So you just turn to burning down the forest?! Don't you feel anything for the very environment that your co-worker designed?!"
"Well, he can always just reload an old save. If anything, these are just virtual trees. Nothing special." Hikaru answered innocently, not understanding why Chifuyu was being mad at her attempts to start a forest fire. Suddenly, an idea same to the firespitter's mind.
"Say… I haven't tested out 1v1 combat in these areas yet…Can you please assist me in a training match in this area?" Hikaru asked, much to the shock and surprise of Chifuyu.
"Hah?! But I was… I just…what are you, anyway?"
"A Toa of Fire, one of the guardians of this island, a wife and a mother! Now come, Toa of Air!" With a shout, the pyromancer launched a firebolt at the green haired girl, who dodged it with ease.
"Whoa whoa whoa! Slow down there, firespitter! If your common sense is as bad as your aim, then maybe you should stick to bashing my face in with a sword!" Chifuyu taunted, only to be greeted with a giant flaming blade slamming down at her.
"As you wish, young one!"
Chifuyu drew her blade to block, but the fire lashes out, licking at Chifuyu skin. The pain was real for something emulated by a computer.
"Skill card: Flame Edge. Useful when your enemy has thin armor or is weak to fire." Hikaru said with a smirk, but her expression changed to that of a worried mother when she noticed Chifuyu moaning under the heat, her legs trembling and her arm shaking. Something was odd.
"Let us stop for a moment." Hikaru said, pulling back her sword, causing Chifuyu to fell to her knees, holding on to her katana for support. "My flames shouldn't have been that damaging, even to a Toa of Air. Have you preformed Striker Change?"
"Striker…what…now?" Chifuyu said, her sentence fragmented and her breathing uneven. Hikaru facepalmed and cursed herself for not realizing sooner. She came over to the tired greenette and helped her stand up, explaining while using her "Heal" skill card.
"Striker Change is akin to what you would call a "combat mode". It amplifies your skills, and grant you access to more offensive abilities."
"Sooo…How do I do this?" Chifuyu asked, her strength coming back to her.
"Simple. There should be two N cards within your deck. Take them out... your device should be able to handle the rest."
Chifuyu held two cards in her hands. "Card release, two normal cards!"
"Card fusion, Striker...
...CHANGE!"
[Drive Ready.]
"RERISE, UP!" Chifuyu shouted. For a moment, her body was engulfed in light, and when it died down, her clothes was different. She was covered in a big coat that was brown and green, with a white sleeveless shirt with blue rim underneath that goes well with her blue skirt. Her hands have green cloth gauntlets that seem to be more for cosmetic use rather than any protective capacity. The band that held her hair in a ponytail was replaces with a gold and green symbol resembling the letter "C" and a wing. It was close to nature, although a bit too old-schooled and mage-like.
"So… This is my Striker whatever. Nice!" Chifuyu explained as she turn around to look at her new clothes.
"Since I attacked you when you're not prepare, I'll give you a free shot at me." Hikaru said.
Chifuyu grinned like a madman "Eljay! Randomly name one attack from my newly available roster!"
[Sen No Namida~ One Thousand Tears]
"Let's do that then!" Chifuyu flew up through the trees, and as she passed through the trees, she threw a card into the air, which conjured countless green energy blades rained down upon Hikaru. But the pinkette didn't panic
"I said I'll let you have a free shot. Which means that I won't dodge…
BUT I CAN STILL BLOCK! SKILL CARD ACTIVATE! PROTECTION NUI!" Hikaru shouted as she throws a card in front of her, which forms a barrier to block all of the blades with ease. Chifuyu didn't let up, however.
"Eljay! Attack that involve dropping at high speed!"
[Tenjou Tenga~ Heaven's Wrath] Eljay announced, it's gems glowing bright.
Chifuyu then conjures a sword comparable in size to a large truck and then thrusted it down with assistance from a kick. Hikaru seems happy to return the favor. Her blade was set ablaze once more, but this time the flame was pink, indicating even greater heat.
"Come! Let's see how the wrath of heaven compares to a blade that pierces it! TJ-8534, you know what to do!"
[Tengen Toppa~ Heaven Piercing] The mechanical voice from her blade announced, its own gem also shining. The two of them was too focused on the match to notice a faint buzzing sound…
…that came from a bio-mechanical oversized dragonfly that rammed headfirst into Chifuyu's back.
A/N: Thank you for reading my fic! This is something I'm trying out: using subtlety and wit-based comedy instead of referential humor. I've…actually done this before, but I thought it wasn't my schtick and ditched it. With that in mind, please comment on what made the story feel off or feel right for you, and I'll adjust it accordingly.
With that said, goodbye for now, gathered friends.