東方プロジェクト二次小説・オリジナル小説サイト
Chapter 6:Undefined Fantastic Object

—16—


Carrying the both of us while also flying, fighting and trying to capture flying objects required a little reorganization to be at all feasible. Instead of the usual configuration with Renko and I holding either one of Sanae's hands, she had Renko hold her left hand while I clung onto Renko.

Over the course of our journey, Sanae shot down numerous suspicious looking fairies, gathering up the fragments of floating wood they were playing with as we went. Along the way we also happened across an umbrella youkai who attempted to bar our path. Unfortunately, I wouldn't have enough space to go into detail about an aerial battle here. The umbrella girl merely jumped out at us, soaring up out of the Forest's canopy and yelling "Surprise!" None of us were even a little surprised. Even I hadn't been spooked.

Sanae ended the fight quickly, dismissing the youkai completely with comments like"that’s a weird character you made up" and "what’s with the eggplant-colored umbrella, that’s kind of old-fashioned."

Sanae then dispatched the youkai with a wave of her wand that sent the umbrella girl tumbling end over end, blown away by a wall of forceful wind along with all of her bullets.

"This youkai extermination business is kind of fun!" she declared.

I wondered if we had awakened something in her that might have been better left dormant.

—

We proceeded onward, looking for the treasure ship. We ended up searching in a wide, counter-clockwise spiral, starting from the human village and heading north toward Youkai Mountain before arcing west over the Forest of Magic. From there we flew over the Garden of the Sun and the Bamboo Forest of the Lost. It was there that we encountered Reimu and Marisa.

Renko was just beginning to suggest that we should pass them by without drawing attention when Sanae waved and called out to them.

"Oh! It's them! Ooooooiiii! Over here!"

"Ah...." Renko said, grimacing and pressing her hand to her forehead as our course turned to intercept them. Honestly I don't know how she could have harbored any hope that we could have reached the ship without meeting the two of them, given how little information she had given Sanae. Reimu and Marisa stopped in midair and turned to face us. Reimu glared at us with a furrowed brow as we approached, but Marisa laughed happily as she saw the two of us flying in Sanae's grip.

"I wondered what you were getting up to after we both flew off to find the treasure ship," Reimu said to Sanae, "but I wouldn't have expected you to go get those two."

"This seemed like the perfect case for the Hifuu Detective Agency!" Sanae chirped excitedly.

"Sorry for clinging onto Sanae like this, but the two of us can’t fly."

"I know you're new here, but don't bring a regular human who can't fly with you to an incident! It's dangerous!" Reimu scolded.

"Reimu, are you worried about us? I'm touched. We'll be fine though we have Sanae looking after us."

"Yeah, they're under the protection of a living god! What could go wrong?"

"Actually Marisa, would you mind letting Merry ride on your broom? It's got to be hard for Sanae to fight while carrying both of us."

"Hmn? Sure, hop on." Marisa said, laughing as she swerved to bring her broom into position just beneath me.

"Not you too, Marisa..."

"No harm in havin' a peanut gallery to watch the incident get resolved. First one to the ship still gets the loot though."

I looked nervously over at Renko before settling myself onto the broom and wrapping my arms around Marisa's back.

"Geez, why do you guys always have to stick your noses into stuff like this? You can't even fight."

"Curiosity's just in my nature," Renko said, smiling at me as Marisa steered us back into position.

"Oh, which way did the treasure ship go?" Sanae asked.

"We lost sight of it somewhere around here," Reimu replied with a shrug.

"It’s hiding somewhere in these clouds," Marisa said, fishing her hakkero out of an apron pocket. "I'mma master spark them out of the way."

"Wait a minute, what if you hit the ship!?" Renko cried, reaching out to try to interfere.

"It’ll be easier to find if it crashes. Do it, Marisa."

“Alright!” Marisa said with a grin as she took aim at the nearby clouds. There was no time for Renko to say anything more before she locked her arm in position to fire.

"𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐊!!!"

There was the briefest of pauses as the light coalesced into a point at the front of the hakkero. When the roaring beam died away a few seconds later, the clouds had been reduced to a huge void circled by a thin ring of wispy vapor. Near the edge of that ring, the 𝐻𝑜𝑙𝑦 𝑃𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑛 floated, listing as it rapidly turned.

"Oh! There it is!"

"I can catch it at that range without even shootin' it down! Hang on, Merry!"

Before I even had time to comment, we were in motion, rushing forward at a breakneck pace as I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut and clung to Marisa. There wasn't time to look back, so I could only assume that Reimu and Sanae were following along behind us with Renko in tow.

By the time I recovered enough to risk opening my eyes, I saw that we were rapidly approaching the ship, which now loomed large in my sight, its shattered mast poking up jaggedly from the deck. All around the massive ship, tattered streamers of clouds clung to the hull, drifting toward us on the wind. Or actually moving much faster than that. It was only at the last second that I realized the wispy clouds were flowing against the wind at speed, racing toward us as they gathered together.

"Uuwwaaaa!?" Marisa howled as she rolled her broom to the side, barely skirting a blow as the cloud rushed toward us, whistling past us like a high-speed train. My sense of equilibrium spun wildly as we rolled through the sudden turn. Looking behind us, I saw that the thing that had barely missed us was not a mere cloud, but a gigantic pink fist.

"Humans, fairies and everyone else. A whole crowd is dropping in this time. Have you all come to raid our treasures?" Just ahead of us, interposing between our flightpath and the ship's was Ichirin, hovering in mid-air with her arms crossed, a bladed ring in each hand and Unzan looming over her shoulder.

"'Treasures?'" Marisa shouted back to her, "I like the sound of that!"

"No point in talking then!" Ichirin declared. "And no mercy for bandits!"

Before I could call out to Ichirin, Unzan's fist rushed toward us again and Marisa pulled an aerobatic dodge, making sharp zigzag turns as more blows from Unzan whistled around us. Anything I might have been trying to say was drowned out by the wind, and my own voice became a long wordless whoop of fear and excitement as we raced through the maneuvers. Ichirin didn’t seem to have noticed me as more and more rushes of enormous fists came hurtling our way.

"What the heck is that thing with her, a flying giant?" Marisa asked and we juked and spun, weaving around Unzan's fists and through a field of strobing laser bursts directed at us by Ichirin. If Renko had been here, I have no doubt she would have corrected Marisa, saying something like 'no, the Giants are a Tokyo team, he's a disciple of Bishamonten, so he's more likely to be a Hanshin Tigers fan.'

"I'mma just shoot them and the whole ship down. We can pick up the pieces later."

"Wait!" I cried, yelling into Marisa’s ear to avoid being drowned out by the rushing wind.

"Ah! Merry, what're you doin'? Don't interrupt me, jus’ hold on! It's not my fault if you catch a stray."

"I know her! She's a friend! We don't have to fight!"

"Say what?"

"Ichirin!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, "It's me!" She was too far away, or perhaps the howling of the wind was too loud for her to hear me. As another cannonball-like fist raced past us, Ichirin and Unzan began to close in. I wondered if Ichirin might notice me before Unzan could swat us out of the sky, but somehow I doubted it. I didn’t have Renko’s daredevil instincts or improbable luck.

"I don’t think she’s gonna hear you! I don’t know what’s goin’ on but just lemme shoot ‘em down and we can sort this out after."

Another fist rocketed toward us, this one came closer than most, Unzan’s knuckles clipping the very edge of the broom’s bristles. We lurched to the side and Marisa slumped to one side, clinging onto the broom with all of her might to avoid falling. With her overbalanced, there was no time to steer in another direction as yet another blow rocketed through the air.

I squeezed my eyes shut. Two humans had been overcome and hopelessly outmatched by a nyuudo. I wondered if the impact of Unzan's fist would be enough to carry us across the Sanzu river on its own.

Somehow, the blow I was waiting for didn't come. Cautiously, I opened my eyes. Unzan's punch would have smashed into us both dead on, if not for the fact that his fist was hovering in place, unmoving, just centimeters away in front of my nose.

"Miss Merry!? Is that you?" Ichirin's hysterical voice came from behind the wall and a moment later her head peeked out from over the top of the fist. "I'm sorry! I never would have known it was you if Unzan hadn't told me! I'm so glad you're not hurt! I thought you were a bandit!" She bowed her head several times rapidly in apology.

Marisa blinked in confusion, still slouched over the broom, the crooked point of her hat just barely brushing against the cloud stuff of Unzan’s fist. "So how do you two know each other?" she asked as she sat back up.

Reimu and Sanae (with Renko) caught up to us a moment later. They arrived just as Ichirin was bowing down, apologizing deeply to Marisa (and me behind her) for having mistaken her for a thief. "What's the situation here?" Reimu asked, looking over in confusion.

"Ichirin! Over here! Yoohoo!" Renko called out as Sanae drew up alongside us. Ichirin looked over to her and gasped in surprise.

"Miss Renko! You're here too! We were on our way to try and find you two in the village, we had no idea that you'd be coming to us. Who are all these people you're with?"

"I don’t know what’s going on here," Reimu said, brandishing one of her ofuda and glaring at Ichirin. "But this whole thing seems fishy."

"Um, boss?" Sanae asked, looking inquiringly between Ichirin and Renko in search of some explanation.

"Uh wait, I can explain..."

Unzan's face suddenly drew close to Ichirin. As always, I neither heard anything nor saw his lips move, but she seemed to be listening intently and soon her face broke into a joyful smile.

"...What? Are you sure?" Unzan nodded in response to the question. "Miss Merry, Miss Renko, Unzan tells me that you and your friends here have all brought us several of the missing pieces of the mast! Is that true? That must mean that you're all here to assist with Saint Byakuren's resurrection. Oh, thank you so much!" Ichirin bowed deeply again, quivering with emotion.

"What are you talkin’ about?" Marisa asked incredulously.

"Yeah, explain it to the rest of us in terms we can understand," Reimu added.

"Um... How to explain this. Reimu, Marisa. Did either of you grab any UFOs on your way here?" Renko asked.

"Yuefohs? Sanae was saying something about that. Do you mean these things?" Reimu asked, drawing a chunk of wood out of her sleeve.

"Oh, those?" Marisa asked, taking off her hat and reaching into it to retrieve another glowing sliver.

"Hah! I got more than both of you!" Sanae crowed, opening her bag.

Ichirin peered into the bag and let out an elated gasp. "That's them! You've gathered so many treasures! With this and what we've already caught, we may have enough to release the seals! How splendid! I can’t believe there are so many kind-hearted humans like you in the world now!"

"What are these treasures you’re talking about? Do you mean these flying things the fairies were dropping?" Marisa asked, incredulously.

"I thought there were supposed to be riches on this treasure ship!" Reimu added, incensed.

"Riches? The treasures left to us by Saint Byakuren aren’t something you could trade away for money. They contain her sacred power, which has mostly dispersed since she was sealed away. But that’s alright, the sparkle of gold cannot compare to the divine radiance of Saint Byakuren's revival!"

"Revival?" Reimu asked. "That sounds suspicious."

"All your questions will soon be answered," Ichirin said, her voice giddy with excitement. "Come and join us on the ship and you can witness the resurrection of Saint Byakuren alongside us! Unzan, please carry Miss Merry and Miss Renko, it's the least we can do for our guests." With that, Ichirin departed, flying back toward the ship. Unzan unfolded his palms, forming them into soft platforms for Renko and I to sit on.

"Come on, Sanae, we'll explain everything," Renko said as Unzan turned to carry us toward the ship.

"Uh, sure Boss. Okay..." She said as followed uncertainly behind.

"Well Reimu, what do you think?" Marisa asked.

"I don't think there's any treasure," she said, scowling. "But we may as well find out what this ship is all about."

"That's true. I'd hate to have come all this way for nothin'."

"Besides, we need to follow Renko and Merry. If I didn't know better, I'd think the two of them were behind all of this."

"They're just ordinary humans, don’t go too hard on ‘em."

I decided to pretend very hard that I hadn't heard the last bits of that conversation.

Thus, without further confrontation, the five of us, Reimu, Marisa, Sanae, Renko and myself, all boarded the 𝐻𝑜𝑙𝑦 𝑃𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑛 on it's voyage to Makai to release Hijiri Byakuren from captivity.


—17—


When we entered the confines of the ship, we found it infested with fairies. They were flitting about senselessly, playing with blocks of glowing wood and dancing cheerfully.

Upon seeing them, Ichirin immediately grew incensed. "Ah! Not again! Put those down! Don't touch Saint Byakuren's sacred treasures! Unzan!" Having deposited us on the floor of the hold, Unzan responded to the call and sent one enormous hand swooshing down the length of the ship, sweeping from side to side, bowling over a handful of fairies as it flew and scattering far more as they fled out of the way. Several of the fairies dropped pieces of glowing wood, which hung in the air or began moving around the hold on their own, pinging off of the walls at odd angles.

As Ichirin rushed to gather up the floating fragments, several of the fairies gathered and approached us with crazed looks in their eyes, seemingly drawn by the pieces of the mast that the three of them were holding.

"Fairies, how annoying." Reimu said disinterestedly.

"Totally," Marisa said, nodding in agreement.

"Let's just blow them away," Sanae concurred.

A swarm of charged ofuda and a galaxy of tiny stars rippled through the hold. A moment later a gust of wind blew the smoldering, twitching forms of several dozen fairies away from the ship. May the Buddha have mercy upon their souls.

"Alright. Merry, Renko, how about you tell us what's going on here." Reimu said, glowering at us with her hands on her hips.

"Hold on Reimu, no need to be rude. You've just come aboard, you should come meet the captain of the ship first, don't you think?"

"The captain?" Reimu asked, her eyebrows knitting together.

"Miss Merry, haven't you told these people what we're doing here? I had thought they were collaborators you had found on the surface," Ichirin said, looking at me quizzically.

"Oh... um, how should I explain? The situation has gotten a little complicated..." I began, unsure of where I was heading. "It would probably be easier to explain everything to everyone all at once though, so let's go do as Renko suggested."

"If you say so," Ichirin said with a shrug. "We were able to join up with Shou and Nazrin, so I suppose we may as well introduce everyone. Alright, everyone come this way," she said, raising her voice to address the group before leading us to a steep and compact set of stairs that led up toward the deck.

Renko quickly jogged up to walk alongside me while Sanae chased after her. Reimu and Marisa followed behind, looking suspicious. Ichirin led us straight across the deck, past the shattered stump of the mast to the aftcastle at the aft of the ship.

"Murasa! Miss Renko and Miss Merry are here! They've brought a whole bunch of pieces of the flying storehouse with them! We should have enough to release Saint Byakuren now!"

As Ichirin finished exclaiming her greeting the three figures in the aftcastle all turned to look at us. —wait, three?

"What, really? That's great! Praise God, Buddha and Renko!" The first of the figures in the room was Captain Murasa, who had been standing at the helm. Upon seeing us, she rushed forward with an astonished expression, looking between Renko and Ichirin with her arms spread wide. She swept Renko up with both arms, squeezing her with enough force to pin Renko's arms to her sides. "Is that true, Renko? I could kiss you!"

"Well I'm flattered, Captain, but I think Merry might get jealous."

"Don't even start, Renko," I said, reaching over and pinching Renko's cheek as Reimu, Marisa and Sanae filed into the room, all of them looking not entirely sure what to make of the situation.

I let go of Renko's face and looked over to the other two figures who had been in the room since we arrived. The first was a tall woman whose hair was cut in a short, boyish bob. Both her hair and part of the multi-layered, martial-looking robes she was wearing appeared to have been dyed in irregular stripes, intercutting golden blond with a bold black in a tiger-stripe pattern. The other figure was...

"Ah!" Sanae cried, as she extended one arm, finger pointed at Nazrin.

"Ah!" Nazrin cried, mirroring the gesture toward Sanae.

"You're that youkai who attacked Renko!" Sanae said, pulling out her wand.

"You're that shrine maiden who attacked me!" Nazrin replied, snatching her dowsing rods from the spot where they had been leaning against the wall.

"Nazrin, why were you attacking Miss Renko?" Ichirin asked from the position by the wall she had been crowded into.

"Nazrin! Calm down! What were you doing attacking humans?" The tiger-striped woman chided.

"No time for questions!" Sanae declared. "Any youkai who threatens humanity must be exterminated!"

"Wait a minute, what's going on here?"

The scene was a chaotic mix of acquaintances, enemies and first-time meetings. Sanae was trying to attack Nazrin, Nazrin was trying to evade her while Murasa steered the ship and Ichirin tried to defuse the situation. Shouts and the sound of scuffling feet filled the room as everyone tried to move around everyone else until all at once one overwhelming shout rang out. "EVERYONE SHUT UP OR I'M EXTERMINATING THIS WHOLE BOAT!"


—18—


In all there were a total of nine people (plus a Nyuudo) in the aftcastle. Renko had managed to get everyone to sit down on the floor in a circle.

"Alright," Renko said, trying to sound confident. "I know tensions are a little high here, but I believe that stems from a number of misunderstandings. Let's all just go around the circle and introduce ourselves and state why we're here, then I think we can begin to clear the air. Captain, this is your ship, why don't you go first?"

"Right," Murasa said, climbing to her feet. "I'm Murasa Minamitsu, captain of this ship, the 𝐻𝑜𝑙𝑦 𝑃𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑛. Ichirin and I escaped from the Underworld aboard this ship in order to revive Hijiri. We've been gathering up the pieces of the floating storehouse and now that we've got those and the jeweled pagoda, we can set course for Makai to free her."

"Who is this 'Hijiri' person?" Marisa interjected.

"I'll answer that," Ichirin said, rising to her feet next to Murasa. "My name is Kumoi Ichirin and the nyuudo is my partner, Unzan. I, along with most of the others here, am a disciple of mother Byakuren, a Buddhist nun and living saint who taught the dharma in these lands about a thousand years ago. During Saint Byakuren's time, she was betrayed by humans and sealed into Makai. Murasa and I were sealed into the Underworld at the same time, along with this ship. It is only because of the efforts of Miss Renko here that we were able to escape to the surface. This ship is a divine treasure left in our care by Saint Byakuren, and now that we've found all the missing pieces of it we should have the power we need to free her from her imprisonment."

"A sealed saint, huh?" Reimu asked, crossing her arms and frowning.

"Forget that, what do you mean Renko helped you escape from the Underworld?" Marisa asked. "What'd she do?"

Renko laughed nervously. "I suppose there's no getting around that. I'll go next then." She scratched nervously at the back of her head, then gestured for me to stand up with her. I did so. "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Usami Renko and this is my partner Merry. I run a detective agency in the human village. We're both just normal humans."

"There's nothing normal about you." Marisa retorted.

Renko continued as if she hadn't interrupted. "Back during the Vengeful Spirit Incident last winter, Merry and I ended up falling into the Underworld, where we met the captain and Ichirin. I assisted them in formulating an escape plan by acting as a negotiator and getting various factions to work together to make it possible for this ship to return to the surface."

"She's helped us out a bunch!" Murasa said from behind Renko. "Big Shou, Little Naz, you should be grateful to her."

The woman in the tiger-stripe clothing stood up then and bowed to us. "So you're the people Murasa was telling us about. Thank you very much." Nazrin made a slightly sour face as she looked from Renko, to me, to Sanae, but bowed her head at Shou's urging.

"Miss Renko, you've been helping these people out since last winter? Why didn't you introduce me?" Sanae asked, sounding genuinely hurt. "I could have helped out too!"

"Well, you seemed really busy lately," Renko replied, scratching at her head.

Reimu and Marisa glanced at each other for a moment before turning back to Renko. "Hold on," Marisa began, "If you helped ‘em get this whole ship outta the Underworld then…"

"...This is all 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 fault." Reimu growled, rising to her feet.

"Ah, well, it can be difficult to sort out the interwoven chains of cause and effect. One thing leads to another and whatnot. But I suppose if you were to look at the big picture...Yeah, I guess you could say it was all my idea."

Marisa burst into laughter, leaning backwards clutching her stomach and roaring as Reimu glowered and ruffled her fingers through her hair, one of her eyebrows twitching.

"Wahahah! You're the mastermind, Renko? Oh man, I shoulda known. What're ya gonna do, Reimu? A regular human causin' an incident? Who knew that could happen? Should we exterminate her?" Marisa said, laughing uproariously.

"How am I supposed to know? I don't think exterminating everyone here would fix the problem though." She sighed and crossed her arms, staring daggers at Renko before sitting back down. "Alright, let's hear the rest of it, I'll decide what to do once I understand just how big a mess this is."

"I'll go next then," said the woman wearing the tiger-stripe robes. "I'm Toramaru Shou. I'm an adherent of the god Bishamonten and I served at the Myouren temple as his avatar, receiving the prayers of Hijiri to carry to him."

"So you were the god enshrined at the temple?" Sanae asked, tilting her head interrogatively.

"Well, I suppose that’s sort of correct. However I am still one of Hijiri’s disciples, so she was the head of the Temple, not me. "

"The short version is that Big Shou is the number two in charge of the temple," Murasa said with a grin.

"I see," Renko said with a nod. "So you're the other youkai who escaped the destruction of the temple a thousand years ago."

"Yes. Nazrin and I were lucky enough to evade capture. Hijiri and most of the temple's treasures were sealed away though, so we had hidden ourselves deep in the mountains and waited for any sign of Murasa or Ichirin."

After finishing, Shou nudged Nazrin to stand. The mouse looked around the room resignedly for a moment then climbed to her feet. She stood and glared at Renko, Sanae and myself for a moment, then sighed. "I'm Nazrin," she said simply. "I was commanded by Lord Bishamonten to act as a valet and guard for my master, Shou. I'm not a disciple of Hijiri's myself, but I've been in this role for a thousand years, and will continue to carry it out to the best of my ability until commanded otherwise by Lord Bishamonten."

"Thank you Little Naz, I appreciate that introduction," Renko said. "As long as you're standing here, can I ask you to return my stolen property?"

"Huh? What?" Shou said, looking around in confusion.

"You said you were going to pay us for that pagoda, but you ended up stealing it and breaking a window on your way out of my office. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to cover those repairs as well."

"That's.—That's all only because that shrine maiden over there attacked me first!"

"Only attacked because I found you threatening my friend!" Sanae exclaimed.

"Nazrin, is any of this true?" Shou asked, looking flustered.

"What? Seriously, Little Naz? You stole this thing from Renko?" Murasa shouted.

"I didn't steal it! I was going to pay for it! But then.... I... Ugh." She stopped talking and clammed up, her face red either with anger or embarrassment, but I couldn't tell which. I couldn't help but think that Renko seemed to be enjoying watching her squirm. Was my partner the sort to hold a grudge?

Seeing that she was already caught, Nazrin let out a heavy sigh. "I hadn't mentioned it yet, but some time in the last thousand years we ended up losing the pagoda. I had intended to bargain for it, but when I was attacked, I didn’t want to risk letting it slip away so I grabbed it."

"Really, Big Shou? You had lost the pagoda?" Murasa asked, looking incredulous.

"It's true, I'm sad to say."

"Hey, at least we have it again now," Ichirin said, trying to cheer her up.

"So… regarding the cost of the pagoda and the repairs to our office…" Renko muttered pointedly.

Shou turned toward Renko and bowed her head. "I'll see to it that you're duly compensated for both the houtou and the damage to your office once we're done here."

"Leavin' all that business behind, you're plannin’ on headin' to Makai with everyone else to free this nun, right?" Marisa asked.

"Yes, that's the plan," Murasa said with a nod.

"Alright then," Renko declared. "That's that. Sanae, I think you're up next."

"Right!" Sanae said, shooting to her feet and standing stiffly. "I'm Kochiya Sanae, wind priestess of the Moriya shrine and part-time member of the Hifuu Detective Agency! Recently, I've decided to try my hand at resolving incidents like Reimu. Youkai extermination is a lot of fun! I'm pleased to meet you!" All of that came out in one rapid-fire torrent that was finished with a quick bow before Sanae sat back down, looking a little embarrassed. She seemed to take no notice of the way that most of the room's occupants stiffened up upon hearing the word ‘exterminate.’ I shouldn’t be surprised to see Sanae fail at reading the room, I suppose.

"Then you're not allies here to help us with Saint Byakuren's resurrection?" Ichirin asked.

"Ah, well, I suppose," Renko answered, scratching her head awkwardly. "Things are a bit confused right now, so that's what we'll have to work out. Let's move on for now. Marisa?"

Marisa didn't bother standing up, but addressed the room with casual ease. "Kirisame Marisa, just your ordinary human magician. I'm here because I heard rumors of a treasure ship floating over Gensokyo, but this ship doesn't seem to have much in the way of treasure on it."

"People are saying this is a treasure ship?" Murasa asked.

"It seems there's a rumor like that going around," Renko replied with a shrug.

"Well with Big Shou here valuable things will probably start to turn up sooner or later."

"Don't pin this all on me, Captain." Shou sighed.

"Alright, last, but not least, Reimu. Your turn."

Reimu remained seated and crossed her arms in indignation. "Why do I have to make a speech introducing myself to a bunch of youkai? Everyone knows who I am."

Beside her Marisa chuckled. "This is Hakurei Reimu, the shrine maiden of Gensokyo's poorest shrine. She's a greedy and worldly shrine maiden who came here to try to grab some treasure and get rich quick."

"You're one to talk!" Reimu growled, glaring at Marisa.

Tension spread through the room as Marisa finished speaking but it wasn't because of her and Reimu's bickering. At the mention of the word 'Hakurei,' a visible shock had gone through all of youkai gathered in the aftcastle.

"The Hakurei maiden..." Said Shou, in a tone of quiet dread.

"You're the Hakurei shrine maiden!?" Ichirin asked in alarm, jumping to her feet.

"Calm down," Nazrin said, turning toward Shou and the others. "You're thinking of the Hakurei shrine maiden of a thousand years ago. Humans don't live that long, so she's a different person."

"That's true..." said Murasa, hesitantly. "She doesn't have the same aura as the Hakurei from back then..."

"What?" Asked Reimu, noticing the tension from the other half of the room.

"Hey, you said you're all tryin' to free someone who got sealed in Makai, right?" Marisa asked tilting her head questioningly. "Ah, did that nun of yours happen to get sealed by a Hakurei shrine maiden?"

It was almost like the air in the aftcastle had frozen. No one drew a breath.

"I knew this whole thing seemed suspicious," Reimu said, climbing to her feet and brandishing her gohei. "Why would a bunch of youkai want to free a nun? Your so-called saint is a youkai too, isn't she?" A trio of ofuda appeared between the fingers of her free hand, snapping to rigidity as if electrically charged. "If she was sealed away by the Hakurei maiden of another age, then there must have been a good reason. I won't let you try to release her. Anyone who attempts it is getting exterminated!"

And just like that we ended up with the worst of all possible outcomes. I hadn't really expected any better from the moment Reimu had stepped aboard the ship though.

"Oh is that how it goes? Well that's straightforward," Marisa said, drawing out her hakkero as she climbed to her feet beside Reimu.

Sanae jumped up as well. "Me too! I want to help with the youkai extermination!"

There was a brief pause, then Shou rose to her feet on the opposite side of the room. "I suppose that means that you won’t be helping us to release Saint Byakuren?"

Taking that as a signal, Murasa and the others stood up. Three against four, sparks flew as the two parties stared at each other, with Renko and I standing in the middle between them.

"So it's come to this. I should have known that our quest would have been opposed by the Hakurei maiden. Our quest is too important to let you stop us… So get out of our way!" She said, thrusting her arm to the side. Instantly an enormous, heavy-looking iron anchor manifested there, wickedly curved and wielded easily in just one of her small hands despite its massive size.

"I'm grateful to you all for bringing the missing pieces of the flying storehouse to us, but if any of you intend to prevent Saint Byakuren's revival, I'll have to stop you," Ichirin declared as I saw Unzan's enormous hands flexing behind her. Nazrin quietly picked up her dousing rods and brandished them, taking up a fighting stance as she stood in Shou’s shadow. The tension in the room seemed likely to snap at any moment.

"Renko... what do we do?" I asked, rising to my feet and turning around, looking at all of the pairs of eyes glaring harshly at each other across the short distance of the room.

"Well, it's a bit of a tricky situation..." she said, scratching at her head.

"Don't scratch your head like it isn't your problem! Reimu looks really mad!"

"Ah, she has been under a lot of stress lately. Let’s just evacuate for now."

"Isn't that just shirking your responsibility?"

"Well It's probably best if we let Reimu do her job for a bit. And the captain and her friends aren't so weak that they can't stand on their own. Let's let them do their thing and we can talk afterwards."

After saying that Renko took my hand and dashed down the flight of stairs that led out of the back of the aftcastle and into the ship’s hold. The moment we had left the room, it exploded into a ferocious 3 on 4 danmaku battle behind us.