Welcome to the Hifuu Detective AgencyCase 7: Scarlet Weather Rhapsody Chapter 7:Scarlet Weather Rhapsody
所属カテゴリー: Welcome to the Hifuu Detective AgencyCase 7: Scarlet Weather Rhapsody
公開日:2025年01月31日 / 最終更新日:2025年01月31日
[𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐢 𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞]
—19—
"Victory!"
I was beginning to feel a little tipsy by the time Sanae landed at the edge of the grove and made this declaration, dragging Tenshi along behind her by her collar as she did so.
"Oh, good job, Sanae!" Renko said, raising her cup in salute.
"Wait, were you guys just snacking and getting drunk while I was saving Gensokyo from disaster? Cheer me on! Precures grow stronger when everyone cheers for them, right?"
"Renko, what's a Precure?"
"It was a magical girl anime at the beginning of the century which went on for decades, I think. Usually there'd be a whole team of them though wouldn't there?"
"There were some versions of Pretty Cure with just two girls. Really though? Decades? I'm glad to hear it stayed successful! I wonder what the current season is like? Nevermind that now though. Who needs a Precure when Kochiya Sanae has vanquished the evildoer and resolved the incident?"
Tenshi, who was sitting on the ground behind Sanae with her arms crossed and a sour expression, grunted unhappily.
"Now, since I've beaten you, I demand you make the scarlet clouds disappear and stop the earthquakes!" Sanae said, striking a pose and thrusting her wand in Tenshi's face.
"Huh? I can't do that."
"What do you mean you can’t?' I beat you! You're the one causing all of this, aren't you?"
"Well yeah, but I can't stop now, I haven't got to fight the shrine maiden yet. You said you're not her, right?" Tenshi asked, looking over at Renko.
"I'm not her, but why does it have to be Reimu?" Renko asked.
"Because that's how incidents work! You cause a problem, and then the Hakurei shrine maiden comes and solves it. If she doesn't come, it's not over yet. That's the whole reason I created this incident!"
"You have the right to remain silent, criminal. I nabbed you fair and square so now you have to give up your plans and come along quietly! "
"You may have won, but if I say the incident isn't over, it's not over."
"That’s stupid! You can’t do that!"
"Well she has a point. If the mastermind behind an incident refuses to surrender it’s not like we could actually force her to. Even if the detective solves a case, they rely on the authorities to take the culprit into custody and there's no prisons in Gensokyo."
"We could take her back to my shrine and seal her behind a barrier! Lock her up and throw away the key until she repents!"
"Go ahead if you like," Tenshi said, lifting her chin and closing her eyes. "The earthquake will still happen either way."
"Then just get rid of the scarlet clouds!"
"No. Not until the shrine maiden comes."
Sanae grabbed either side of her head and groaned in frustration. "What did I come all the way here for, then? I could just hurt you until you couldn't fight Reimu even if you wanted to!"
"Let's not go that far, Sanae. She acknowledges that you beat her already and kicking someone while they're down wouldn't look very good for your shrine. Danmaku's supposed to be a game about beauty, right?"
"Well, what do we do then, Miss Renko? We can't let her go free! She's a terrorist out to destroy Gensokyo!"
"Well, not exactly. Tenshi, if you get to fight Reimu you'd be satisfied, right? After that you'd get rid of the clouds?"
"That's Miss Tenshi to you, mortal. But yes, that's right."
"Well then, all we have to do is wait for her to show up. Now, Sanae, would you like to try one of these delicious peaches while we wait? We have some nice drinks too."
Sanae looked between Tenshi and Renko, then back again before sighing and plopping down on the grass, her cheeks puffed out in a pout. "I don't drink alcohol, but I guess I could try one of the peaches," she said.
Renko smiled and handed her one. Suika, however, seemed confused and scandalized by the response. "You don' drink alcohol? That's like cutting 300% of of all fun out of your life!"
"300%? That'd be like going through life three times with nothing to look forward to but alcohol, right? I'll pass."
"No, no. It's more like if you've got booze then life is three times as fun!" She laughed and rolled backward, taking a long pull from her gourd as she rose back up.
Sanae seemed annoyed and turned away from her haughtily, but immediately forgot about being irate as soon as she nibbled on the peach. "Whoa! These are amazing!" She said with a wide-eyed smile.
As the four of us sat, enjoying the fruit, Tenshi turned to face us, then rose to her feet, looking us over before starting to tap her foot impatiently. Eventually she asked "So are all of you just going to sit here and eat and drink all day?"
"What's wrong with that?" Renko asked. "You've been letting Suika stay here for a while now, haven't you?"
Tenshi looked incensed. "Well these two beat me at least. You two haven't even fought. We can't have people just coming up here and hanging out whenever they please! If you're going to squat in Heaven you'll have to earn your place!" She grinned fearlessly and pointed her sword at Renko's nose.
Renko shrugged dismissively. "Enh, I'm not any good at danmaku. I'll accept your challenge in some other arena though."
Tenshi pondered for a moment. "Another arena? What should we do? Do you want a singing competition?"
Sanae looked up at her excitedly "Like karaoke? I call the tambourine!"
"I don’t think that’s what she meant, Sanae."
"How about something simpler? Something we could resolve right away," Renko said, climbing to her feet. "I'm a detective by trade. A great detective who reveals the hidden secrets behind strange occurrences, in fact."
"It's not very impressive if it's just you saying that about yourself."
"Well then I'll prove it. You're playing the part of the mastermind behind an incident, right? So how about a quick little game: I reveal the truth of the matter and tell you the 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙 reason you did all of this. If I get it right, we'll say I win at this little game of deduction."
"Given your track record aren't you being a little overly confident?" I asked. If anyone heard me they gave no sign of it.
Tenshi considered for a moment, tilting her head. "Alright, that sounds interesting. If you think you can figure out my true purpose, then let's hear it."
Renko stood up and made a show of preparing, clearing her throat, adjusting her tie and shaking out her legs and hands before bracing herself, poking the brim of her hat backwards with one finger and fixing Tenshi with a troublesome grin beneath a clear-eyed stare.
"Hinanawi Tenshi." She declared, flinging her arm out accusingly, "You smashed the Hakurei Shrine for one reason and one reason alone: in order to rebuild it!"
—20—
Upon hearing that, Tenshi's face immediately went pale. Somehow, it seemed the smug smile that she had been wearing a moment before had leaped over to a new home on Renko's face.
"You told us you found life in Heaven boring and wanted to fight the Hakurei shrine maiden, so you caused an incident and destroyed the Hakurei Shrine itself to make sure Reimu would come," Renko continued. "That makes sense, in a twisted, self-centered way, I suppose. It leaves one big problem though. That's just a single-use time killer, the sort of scheme that someone who is busy and doesn't have time to work out the details might come up with. Just smash the shrine and enjoy the extermination match when she comes to get revenge. One and done, right? For someone like you though, with too much time already, that would only be a momentary distraction. You would want something you could use again and again. A more continuous source of enjoyment."
Remilia's face popped into my mind as Renko said that. She had also caused an incident out of boredom, blocking out the sun so that she could explore Gensokyo at her leisure. If that plan had succeeded, then it would have provided her the opportunity to go out whenever she wanted. Doing something that would only amuse her once wouldn't have been worth the effort for her. Her plans had been foiled, however, and what had she done afterwards? When I asked that question of myself, I suddenly understood what Renko was thinking.
"In short, Tenshi, you wanted to find a way to have fun for a long time going forward, and what could be better for you than an excuse to go down and visit Earth yourself? Fighting the shrine maiden was one thing, but since you went to all the trouble of causing an incident rather than just popping down and issuing a challenge to Reimu directly, I'm betting that Celestials like you aren't supposed to go down to the world of mortals. If they could, then you wouldn't have to bother with this, and you wouldn't be bored enough to want to. If you did something terrible though, made some sort of mess that you were obliged to clean up down on the surface, well, then you'd have the perfect excuse. You'd ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 to go down to the surface, rules be damned, right?"
Renko's unceasing smile was met with only stony silence.
"Of course there was more to it than that. You wanted to have your little incident game with Reimu, sure, but you had to destroy the shrine to ensure that you would be the one who would get to rebuild it. Because of a little something you were planning to put in the shrine during its reconstruction. A keystone. Lots of shrines have those to prevent earthquakes and if you put one down then you would have an excuse to go down to Earth whenever you like."
Tenshi had been silent up until now, glaring at Renko with her arms folded, but at this point she blurted out "How did you..." before catching herself.
Renko beamed with pride as she continued. "Since you have the ability to control earthquakes, that should also mean you have the ability to seal them away. The traditional way to do that would be with a keystone, something I heard you mention as soon as we met you. If you could insert such a keystone into the Hakurei Shrine grounds as you were rebuilding everything then you could go down there whenever you felt like it to check on the keystone. That was your real plan all along, and it's why you wont stop this incident until you've fought Reimu." Renko ran her fingers along the brim of her hat as she grinned. "Well? How'd I do?"
It was indeed just like Lady Remilia. After the end of the Scarlet Mist Incident, Remilia had begun visiting the Hakurei Shrine quite regularly. Bored youkai of all stripes often did, according to Reimu. What was it about that girl that so captured the attention of powerful women with too much time on their hands?
Tenshi, who had been watching Renko with a furious expression and tightly sealed lips had changed her complexion again, going from pale to a livid scarlet as she puffed out her cheeks. She said nothing for a moment, then stabbed her sword to the ground in frustration.
"Who are you?" she shouted. "You look like a human but you have the temperament of the shrine maiden and you can read my mind! Are you a satori?"
"Can I take that as confirmation that my theory was correct?" Renko asked, still grinning.
"You can take that as confirmation that you need to shut your mouth! If you tell anyone about this, I'll shut it for you." She extended her arm towards Renko and instantly placed the tip of her sword a hair's breadth from Renko's nose.
Renko raised both of her hands, palms up. "Easy there, I have no intention of telling anyone, so long as I'm allowed to claim my prize and stay here with my friends. I won't mention a word of it to Reimu."
Tenshi glared at her, seemingly unconvinced.
"Honestly, none of us would even mind if you came down to visit the shrine. I'm sure it would be fine. We don't want another earthquake though. If you could implant that keystone like you planned but actually use your power to suppress earthquakes rather than cause them, I'm sure you'd be a welcome guest. And, if you rebuild the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu probably won't mind you being there either. Nobody loses anything that way and you get what you want."
Another long moment of silence stretched on as Tenshi continued to glare at her.
"Really! I promise. If you get bored hanging out with Reimu you could even come and visit our office in the Human Village. The Hifuu Detective Agency is always ready to welcome visitors."
"Seriously, Miss Renko? You're inviting her over? Do you think that's a good idea?" Sanae asked, incredulously.
"Why not? If we get a reputation as the sort of detective agency that even a Celestial would visit, that's bound to bring in more clients, right?"
I wasn't thrilled about the prospect of entertaining a celestial in the storeroom of a schoolhouse either, but I was at least used to Renko making ridiculous suggestions like this so I merely sighed. Tenshi, for her part, looked deflated as the anger drained from her face and she lowered her scarlet sword.
"You're a very unusual human," she said.
Renko nodded. "Why, thank you. It's not everyday I get a compliment from a Celestial."
"Was that a compliment? Well even though you won you should leave here for your own good. It's not good for Earthlings to remain in Heaven for too long."
"Acshully, she's right. We should probably get goin'." This had come from Suika, who had been quiet up until now. She turned to leave, but then turned back and gestured at us, waving us over. We walked to Suika's side and lowered our heads so she could whisper in our ears. I only wish she could have done something about the eye-watering stench of alcohol that carried on her breath first.
"I don't think that Celestial knows what she's doing." Suika whispered to me, no longer slurring in the least. "All those temperaments she’s built up could actually be a problem. An earthquake could happen on its own if she doesn’t put a keystone down pretty soon."
I nodded to her. "Alright. Do you think it's safe to just leave her alone for now though?"
"Yeah, I kinda expect Yukari’ll show up soon."
"The Youkai Sage?"
"A major earthquake would be too much for her to ignore. She's probably watching to see what Reimu does for the time being, but if what you were sayin’ about that Celestial’s plan is true, then Yukari won’t let that happen. I dunno what she’ll do exactly though, so probably best if you’re not nearby to find out."
We all looked at Suika with surprise. Her face was still as red as a beet, flushed with alcohol and smiling her lopsided grin.
—
"Ugh, this stinks! After all of that I don't get to be the one to solve the incident?"
We left Heaven behind with Sanae holding each of us close just as we had arrived, though with Sanae in much lower spirits. As we made our way through the clouds, watching the distant ground slowly come into focus beneath us she continued to grumble.
"Look on the bright side, Sanae. You managed to beat Reimu to the mastermind. I'd say you're every bit as skilled an incident-resolver. The fact that you were unlucky this time doesn't diminish that."
"Yeah, but what am I going to have to do to get to the point that youkai start saying 'I'm going to cause an incident so I can meet that wind priestess from the Moriya Shrine?' The name of the living god Kochiya Sanae should be one that every youkai knows!"
I couldn't help but think that being the sort of person that every youkai knew about would be a rather unpleasant condition.
She sighed. "Well whatever, let’s just go home." As we drew nearer to the Moriya Shrine part way up the mountain, it became obvious that the rain clouds had not yet dispersed. Dark and heavy, they loomed over the shrine and its surroundings. Beneath them, the rain fell continuously, clattering urgently against the tiles of the roofs as we sped to the ground and ducked under the eaves. We made our way quickly into the entranceway. While we were drying off and removing our shoes, Kanako appeared suddenly in the hallway, manifesting into being in the house where she simply hadn't been a moment earlier. Sanae seemed completely comfortable with this phenomenon, but it continued to startle me every time it happened.
"Welcome back, Sanae," the goddess said from the hallway. "I see you've brought your friends again. Hello Renko, hello Merry."
"Oh, Lady Kanako! We tracked down and exterminated the mastermind behind all of this bad weather!"
"Oh? The rain doesn't seem to have stopped though." She said, eyeing the towel in Sanae's hands and her still-wet hair.
"Because she refused to listen to me and end the incident! Even though I beat her! Just because I'm not the Hakurei shrine maiden! It's completely unfair!"
"That sounds like quite the adventure. Come on in and tell me all about it. I'll make you all some tea." Kanako gestured toward the living room.
"I'll join you in a minute, I need to get out of these clothes, I'm all sweaty from fighting." Sanae said, padding down the hall toward her room.
We followed Lady Yasaka into the living room and happily accepted the steaming mugs she brought out. I imagine Renko and I must be members of a very elite minority of people in the world who have enjoyed having tea served to them by a god.
"It sounds like you've had quite a day. I hope Sanae didn't cause you any trouble." Kanako said as she took a seat on a cushion opposite us.
"Quite the opposite!" Renko said with a grin. "We've had a lot of fun today thanks to her. Humans like Merry and I who can't fly would never make it to Heaven with only our feet."
"Heaven? I take it you've been up to the peak of the mountain then. What were you doing there? Does it have anything to do with the Hakurei Shrine being destroyed by an earthquake earlier today?"
"Oh, news travels fast."
"You forget I have a branch shrine there. I saw it all, but neither the mountain nor anything in the village shook, so I suspected the quake might have been artificial. That, combined with all the odd weather lately lead me to conclude the culprit might be in Heaven. Let me guess, it was a bored Celestial?"
"Very impressive, Lady Yasaka. Even as a great detective there's nothing I can add to that. We should have come and talked to you first, you're even more of a divine detective than Sanae."
"The market's getting crowded for detectives, Renko," I quipped. "You might have to hang up your hat if we keep meeting so many armchair detectives."
"In this case it would be an Onbashira detective rather than an armchair, but that's beside the point. Lady Yasaka, if you already had deduced all of that, then there's something else I want to ask you."
"Go ahead."
"How long have you known that all of this unseasonable weather was unnatural in origin? It must have been for some time now, correct?"
Kanako smiled pleasantly at us, resting her chin on top of her interlaced fingers. "Of course. No need to hide that. The moment I first saw the scarlet clouds I knew it must be a Celestial having a temper tantrum."
"But you did nothing to try and stop this unusual rainy season. I take it to mean that while these events aren't your doing, they also meet with your approval, is that right?"
"Well, I don't object. This extended rainy season is a result of Suwako's temperament. I've been using my abilities to strengthen her temperament and suppress my own. This is her favorite kind of weather, after all. Because of this constant deluge, she's been in a good mood lately, and finding things that make her happy is more difficult than you might think." Kanako sipped her tea and exhaled a warm sigh. "I am worried about the possibility of an earthquake though. Even if our shrine won't end up like the Hakurei, it could still be bad for us."
"You're assuming your shrine will be protected because of your divine virtue?"
"Suwako is a goddess of the land. We won't be harmed by an earthquake. If it becomes a disaster in the village, that would be regrettable, but we at the Moriya Shrine have enough space and supplies that we could assist with the disaster recovery efforts and temporarily house many people if the need arose. If your house, for example, should collapse just let us know and I'll put out the spare futons."
"Well, thank you for that very generous offer, but I hope not to take you up on it. Would it be possible for Suwako to extend the protection she offers this shrine to all of Gensokyo?"
"I'm afraid we don't have enough faith there yet to demonstrate her power to that degree, but we wouldn't want the village to be destroyed either as it's the basis of our faith. Suwako will do what she can to lessen the damage in the village and if the people's faith in the Hakurei shrine maiden is not misplaced she may well resolve this incident before an earthquake occurs. We'll just have to wait and see."
As she finished saying this, Sanae came around the corner, toweling her hair and dressed casually in a pair of denim jeans and a t-shirt. Given the heat and humidity, it was a much more sensible outfit to wear than my partner's trenchcoat. "Lady Kanako," she asked as she put down the towel "what do you think we should do to prepare for an earthquake?"
"There's no need to worry, Sanae. This shrine is earthquake-proof. All the necessary preparations have already been made."
"Really? Even for a big one?"
"Don't you remember the quake we had years ago? You helped us nail the furniture to the wall after that."
"Oh, right. Is that all there is to it? Well I guess if you can forget that you've already prepared that's a good sign!"
Sanae laughed while Kanako shook her head, smiling despite it. They must have been referring to the Niigata Chuetsu earthquake of 2004. The Moriya Shrine would have been located in the Nagano Province of the Outside World at the time, so they likely would have been close enough to have felt the effects.
"In that case, we should help Renko and Merry earthquake-proof their detective agency and the temple school too! They're not built like this shrine, and nailing furniture to the walls won't help if the roof collapses."
"That’s a good idea. Since you’ve been helping Sanae out so much, I’ll lend a hand too," Kanako said with a smile.
"Oh, we couldn't ask that of a god," Renko said quickly.
"I think it's a grand idea," Kanako countered. "Consider it a divine blessing upon your house. Faith is all about give and take, after all."
"Well, in that case, I'll accept it with gratitude." She clapped her hands together and then rose from the table to bow exaggeratedly. I hurriedly did the same.
And so, when we returned home that night, it was with Kanako and Sanae at our side, to inspect the temple school and our storeroom behind it. After looking about only briefly, Kanako's opinion had been that it would be easier to rebuild from scratch with proper safety measures than to hope to reinforce either structure in any practical way. Sanae had offered to start immediately by bulldozing everything on the lot with a divine wind, but in the end we had declined.
—21—
After a day filled with so much commotion, the resumption of classes at the temple school the next day was a welcome return to normalcy. At this point rumors about the collapse of the Hakurei Shrine were already filling the village and as no one here had felt any hint of an earthquake the general consensus was that someone or something else must have been responsible. Stories of a divine curse, or a youkai out for revenge after Reimu had exterminated them warred with more mundane explanations like a shoddily maintained house or Reimu herself having destroyed her shrine for sympathy after having gone too long without an incident to resolve. If Reimu had heard those last rumors she probably would have exterminated the speaker on the spot.
"The Hakurei Shrine and its maiden are a symbol of protection for the village. With the shrine now destroyed, people are uneasy," is how Keine put it. When we told her about everything that had happened yesterday, she seemed equally on edge. "It's a difficult situation to handle." She had said with a sigh over lunch. "If we knew for sure that an earthquake was coming, then we could mobilize more resources and put everything into getting people to prepare. Similarly, if we knew it wasn't coming, then we could say that everything to date was just a drill and leave it at that. Having it be unknown means we have to keep preparing. Everyone agrees that the Hakurei Shrine was definitely destroyed though, even if they don't know why, so hopefully that puts safety on people's minds. That's good at least, right?" I suppose I should have expected that the end result would somehow have been more work for us.
—
And so at the end of our teaching day Renko and I were once again scheduled to go marching through the streets of the village, calling out slogans and clapping boards to promote earthquake preparedness.
We were just about to leave to head to the neighborhood watch office when all at once the wind picked up all around us and a voice called out. Looking to where it had come from, we saw the form of Shameimaru Aya perched on top of our office, standing just beside the nest of songbirds that also called the storehouse home.
"Ayaya. Hello again, detectives." She said with a smile, lowering herself to sit on the roof with her legs dangling over the edge, just in front of our door.
"Miss Shameimaru," Renko said, doffing her hat and nodding. "Always a pleasure to see you again. To what do we owe the honor?"
"I'm just coming by to convey my thanks to a valued informant. That was a good tip you gave me yesterday. Look forward to the next issue of the 𝐵𝑢𝑛𝑏𝑢𝑛𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑢 𝑁𝑒𝑤𝑠 in a couple of days. For now though, have you heard that the reconstruction of the shrine has already begun? Rumor has it that some shady Celestials are involved with the efforts. Since I'm already here anyway, would you two like to go see for yourselves?"
Renko and I looked at each other, both of us wearing surprised expressions.
—
"Don't throw the broken wood away, I can use it for firewood. Any of the roof tiles that aren't cracked can be re-used too."
"Ugh, really? I don't want to have to sort through that. It would be easier for me to just bury the whole lot. Why are you being so stingy about everything, doesn't this shrine have any funds for new materials?"
"I don't want to hear a single word from you about it. Who do you think is responsible for me losing everything?"
"Look, I'm fixing it already, aren't I?"
"I expect new furniture too. And all of the other stuff that was squashed in my house."
Aya had flown us from the village to the shrine at a speed so quick it can't have taken her more than a dozen wingbeats, even loaded down with Renko and I each under one of her arms. As we landed near the torii gates, we heard words like those above coming from the wreckage of the collapsed shrine, along with the clamor of carpentry and labor. Most of the debris had already been pushed off of the foundations of the shrine and the last of it was being cleared away by flying people wearing floating scarves, like the one Iku had wrapped around herself. Reimu and Tenshi stood with their backs to us, overseeing the work and arguing.
"Oh, that must be one of the 'shady Celestials' you mentioned, right?" Renko asked as we landed.
Rather than bothering to respond, Aya released us and leapt into position drawing out her camera as she did. The flash of her camera and the click of her shutter somehow stood out even amidst the din and bustle of the construction. Tenshi was the first to react, whirling around to face her with a look of surprise on her face. "A tengu? And those humans from yesterday?"
"What are you doing here? Don’t take pictures without permission."
"Ayayaya, I'm merely documenting the scene in my role as a reporter for the public interest. I'm Shameimaru Aya, the pure and honest crow tengu reporter, with the 𝐵𝑢𝑛𝑏𝑢𝑛𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑢 𝑁𝑒𝑤𝑠. The mysterious and unprecedented collapse of the Hakurei Shrine is a matter of front page news, but seeing it being rebuilt by a mysterious Celestial is a new and unexpected twist. Who are you, and what are you doing here, exactly?"
"...I’m just here to assist in the cleanup." Tenshi replied, dismissively turning to Aya with a look of open contempt.
"Aya, is that so? And are those people behind you also Celestials who came to help out? Were they hired by the Hakurei Shrine? Reimu, is this true?"
"Shut up. I already gave you a long interview yesterday. I’m not your new cash cow."
"Ayayaya, but the collapse of the Hakurei Shrine is a story of vital importance for every citizen of Gensokyo!"
"Nobody gets important information from your newspaper and I don't have time for a gossip rag. I'm trying to rebuild my home here."
"Reimu, I'm hurt. The 𝐵𝑢𝑛𝑏𝑢𝑛𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑢 𝑁𝑒𝑤𝑠 is a fair and honest news source with unquestionable integrity. Good journalism is the bellwether of a fair and just society."
While the two of them continued to argue, Tenshi sighed and turned to us, her shoulders drooping. "Why are you two here?" She asked, walking over to us. "Are you working with that tengu now?"
"No, no, we merely accepted her offer to give us a lift here to come see you. I take it from the fact that you're already engaged in rebuilding that you were able to have the fight with Reimu you wanted yesterday?"
She nodded, smiling. "It was a good fight! I'll make sure to put a keystone under the shrine to suppress any future earthquakes, so don't worry."
"I'm sure that will be appreciated. While I have you here though, I realize now that there was something I forgot to ask you yesterday, Tenshi."
"Oh, what was it?" She hadn't seemed to notice or react to Renko addressing her by her first name. In all, her mood seemed to have improved significantly after having achieved the aim of the incident she had instigated.
"Does my temperament really resemble Reimu's?"
Without warning she drew forth her sword from her hip again. She raised it to point at Renko and tilted her head in consideration for a moment. "It’s similar, but that’s not so uncommon. Some people have similar temperaments. Why do you ask? "
"I was just wondering. If the weather were to adjust to my temperament what would it be like? I assume it would be hot and sunny, like it is for Reimu then?"
"Yes, that sounds about right. A clear, unclouded sky."
"I see. Just one more question then, what about my partner over here?" Renko asked, jerking her thumb back at me.
Tenshi turned her gaze on me, swinging the sword to point at me as she did. Even standing an arms length away from the point of it, just having its indeterminate, impossible form pointed in my direction was enough to make me feel as if it were penetrating me somehow. I fought the temptation to hide behind Renko as she looked me over.
"...It would be a rain shower, but a sudden one, the sort that stops and starts and stops again without any warning. An indecisive, annoying sort of weather."
At that comment Renko burst out laughing and I could only frown in annoyance. Hearing I am indecisive was not a surprise to me, but in my opinion such a trait doesn't constitute an entire temperament.
"Hah! That's why you got caught in a rainstorm the other day, and why we kept seeing the weather come and go wherever we went. My sunny temperament and your rainy one were switching back and forth, making the weather unstable. That makes sense now."
While Renko continued to laugh boisterously, Tenshi muttered something under her breath. I can't be sure if I heard it correctly, but I thought at the time she might have said "Why are both of your temperaments all mixed together though?"
—19—
"Victory!"
I was beginning to feel a little tipsy by the time Sanae landed at the edge of the grove and made this declaration, dragging Tenshi along behind her by her collar as she did so.
"Oh, good job, Sanae!" Renko said, raising her cup in salute.
"Wait, were you guys just snacking and getting drunk while I was saving Gensokyo from disaster? Cheer me on! Precures grow stronger when everyone cheers for them, right?"
"Renko, what's a Precure?"
"It was a magical girl anime at the beginning of the century which went on for decades, I think. Usually there'd be a whole team of them though wouldn't there?"
"There were some versions of Pretty Cure with just two girls. Really though? Decades? I'm glad to hear it stayed successful! I wonder what the current season is like? Nevermind that now though. Who needs a Precure when Kochiya Sanae has vanquished the evildoer and resolved the incident?"
Tenshi, who was sitting on the ground behind Sanae with her arms crossed and a sour expression, grunted unhappily.
"Now, since I've beaten you, I demand you make the scarlet clouds disappear and stop the earthquakes!" Sanae said, striking a pose and thrusting her wand in Tenshi's face.
"Huh? I can't do that."
"What do you mean you can’t?' I beat you! You're the one causing all of this, aren't you?"
"Well yeah, but I can't stop now, I haven't got to fight the shrine maiden yet. You said you're not her, right?" Tenshi asked, looking over at Renko.
"I'm not her, but why does it have to be Reimu?" Renko asked.
"Because that's how incidents work! You cause a problem, and then the Hakurei shrine maiden comes and solves it. If she doesn't come, it's not over yet. That's the whole reason I created this incident!"
"You have the right to remain silent, criminal. I nabbed you fair and square so now you have to give up your plans and come along quietly! "
"You may have won, but if I say the incident isn't over, it's not over."
"That’s stupid! You can’t do that!"
"Well she has a point. If the mastermind behind an incident refuses to surrender it’s not like we could actually force her to. Even if the detective solves a case, they rely on the authorities to take the culprit into custody and there's no prisons in Gensokyo."
"We could take her back to my shrine and seal her behind a barrier! Lock her up and throw away the key until she repents!"
"Go ahead if you like," Tenshi said, lifting her chin and closing her eyes. "The earthquake will still happen either way."
"Then just get rid of the scarlet clouds!"
"No. Not until the shrine maiden comes."
Sanae grabbed either side of her head and groaned in frustration. "What did I come all the way here for, then? I could just hurt you until you couldn't fight Reimu even if you wanted to!"
"Let's not go that far, Sanae. She acknowledges that you beat her already and kicking someone while they're down wouldn't look very good for your shrine. Danmaku's supposed to be a game about beauty, right?"
"Well, what do we do then, Miss Renko? We can't let her go free! She's a terrorist out to destroy Gensokyo!"
"Well, not exactly. Tenshi, if you get to fight Reimu you'd be satisfied, right? After that you'd get rid of the clouds?"
"That's Miss Tenshi to you, mortal. But yes, that's right."
"Well then, all we have to do is wait for her to show up. Now, Sanae, would you like to try one of these delicious peaches while we wait? We have some nice drinks too."
Sanae looked between Tenshi and Renko, then back again before sighing and plopping down on the grass, her cheeks puffed out in a pout. "I don't drink alcohol, but I guess I could try one of the peaches," she said.
Renko smiled and handed her one. Suika, however, seemed confused and scandalized by the response. "You don' drink alcohol? That's like cutting 300% of of all fun out of your life!"
"300%? That'd be like going through life three times with nothing to look forward to but alcohol, right? I'll pass."
"No, no. It's more like if you've got booze then life is three times as fun!" She laughed and rolled backward, taking a long pull from her gourd as she rose back up.
Sanae seemed annoyed and turned away from her haughtily, but immediately forgot about being irate as soon as she nibbled on the peach. "Whoa! These are amazing!" She said with a wide-eyed smile.
As the four of us sat, enjoying the fruit, Tenshi turned to face us, then rose to her feet, looking us over before starting to tap her foot impatiently. Eventually she asked "So are all of you just going to sit here and eat and drink all day?"
"What's wrong with that?" Renko asked. "You've been letting Suika stay here for a while now, haven't you?"
Tenshi looked incensed. "Well these two beat me at least. You two haven't even fought. We can't have people just coming up here and hanging out whenever they please! If you're going to squat in Heaven you'll have to earn your place!" She grinned fearlessly and pointed her sword at Renko's nose.
Renko shrugged dismissively. "Enh, I'm not any good at danmaku. I'll accept your challenge in some other arena though."
Tenshi pondered for a moment. "Another arena? What should we do? Do you want a singing competition?"
Sanae looked up at her excitedly "Like karaoke? I call the tambourine!"
"I don’t think that’s what she meant, Sanae."
"How about something simpler? Something we could resolve right away," Renko said, climbing to her feet. "I'm a detective by trade. A great detective who reveals the hidden secrets behind strange occurrences, in fact."
"It's not very impressive if it's just you saying that about yourself."
"Well then I'll prove it. You're playing the part of the mastermind behind an incident, right? So how about a quick little game: I reveal the truth of the matter and tell you the 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙 reason you did all of this. If I get it right, we'll say I win at this little game of deduction."
"Given your track record aren't you being a little overly confident?" I asked. If anyone heard me they gave no sign of it.
Tenshi considered for a moment, tilting her head. "Alright, that sounds interesting. If you think you can figure out my true purpose, then let's hear it."
Renko stood up and made a show of preparing, clearing her throat, adjusting her tie and shaking out her legs and hands before bracing herself, poking the brim of her hat backwards with one finger and fixing Tenshi with a troublesome grin beneath a clear-eyed stare.
"Hinanawi Tenshi." She declared, flinging her arm out accusingly, "You smashed the Hakurei Shrine for one reason and one reason alone: in order to rebuild it!"
—20—
Upon hearing that, Tenshi's face immediately went pale. Somehow, it seemed the smug smile that she had been wearing a moment before had leaped over to a new home on Renko's face.
"You told us you found life in Heaven boring and wanted to fight the Hakurei shrine maiden, so you caused an incident and destroyed the Hakurei Shrine itself to make sure Reimu would come," Renko continued. "That makes sense, in a twisted, self-centered way, I suppose. It leaves one big problem though. That's just a single-use time killer, the sort of scheme that someone who is busy and doesn't have time to work out the details might come up with. Just smash the shrine and enjoy the extermination match when she comes to get revenge. One and done, right? For someone like you though, with too much time already, that would only be a momentary distraction. You would want something you could use again and again. A more continuous source of enjoyment."
Remilia's face popped into my mind as Renko said that. She had also caused an incident out of boredom, blocking out the sun so that she could explore Gensokyo at her leisure. If that plan had succeeded, then it would have provided her the opportunity to go out whenever she wanted. Doing something that would only amuse her once wouldn't have been worth the effort for her. Her plans had been foiled, however, and what had she done afterwards? When I asked that question of myself, I suddenly understood what Renko was thinking.
"In short, Tenshi, you wanted to find a way to have fun for a long time going forward, and what could be better for you than an excuse to go down and visit Earth yourself? Fighting the shrine maiden was one thing, but since you went to all the trouble of causing an incident rather than just popping down and issuing a challenge to Reimu directly, I'm betting that Celestials like you aren't supposed to go down to the world of mortals. If they could, then you wouldn't have to bother with this, and you wouldn't be bored enough to want to. If you did something terrible though, made some sort of mess that you were obliged to clean up down on the surface, well, then you'd have the perfect excuse. You'd ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 to go down to the surface, rules be damned, right?"
Renko's unceasing smile was met with only stony silence.
"Of course there was more to it than that. You wanted to have your little incident game with Reimu, sure, but you had to destroy the shrine to ensure that you would be the one who would get to rebuild it. Because of a little something you were planning to put in the shrine during its reconstruction. A keystone. Lots of shrines have those to prevent earthquakes and if you put one down then you would have an excuse to go down to Earth whenever you like."
Tenshi had been silent up until now, glaring at Renko with her arms folded, but at this point she blurted out "How did you..." before catching herself.
Renko beamed with pride as she continued. "Since you have the ability to control earthquakes, that should also mean you have the ability to seal them away. The traditional way to do that would be with a keystone, something I heard you mention as soon as we met you. If you could insert such a keystone into the Hakurei Shrine grounds as you were rebuilding everything then you could go down there whenever you felt like it to check on the keystone. That was your real plan all along, and it's why you wont stop this incident until you've fought Reimu." Renko ran her fingers along the brim of her hat as she grinned. "Well? How'd I do?"
It was indeed just like Lady Remilia. After the end of the Scarlet Mist Incident, Remilia had begun visiting the Hakurei Shrine quite regularly. Bored youkai of all stripes often did, according to Reimu. What was it about that girl that so captured the attention of powerful women with too much time on their hands?
Tenshi, who had been watching Renko with a furious expression and tightly sealed lips had changed her complexion again, going from pale to a livid scarlet as she puffed out her cheeks. She said nothing for a moment, then stabbed her sword to the ground in frustration.
"Who are you?" she shouted. "You look like a human but you have the temperament of the shrine maiden and you can read my mind! Are you a satori?"
"Can I take that as confirmation that my theory was correct?" Renko asked, still grinning.
"You can take that as confirmation that you need to shut your mouth! If you tell anyone about this, I'll shut it for you." She extended her arm towards Renko and instantly placed the tip of her sword a hair's breadth from Renko's nose.
Renko raised both of her hands, palms up. "Easy there, I have no intention of telling anyone, so long as I'm allowed to claim my prize and stay here with my friends. I won't mention a word of it to Reimu."
Tenshi glared at her, seemingly unconvinced.
"Honestly, none of us would even mind if you came down to visit the shrine. I'm sure it would be fine. We don't want another earthquake though. If you could implant that keystone like you planned but actually use your power to suppress earthquakes rather than cause them, I'm sure you'd be a welcome guest. And, if you rebuild the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu probably won't mind you being there either. Nobody loses anything that way and you get what you want."
Another long moment of silence stretched on as Tenshi continued to glare at her.
"Really! I promise. If you get bored hanging out with Reimu you could even come and visit our office in the Human Village. The Hifuu Detective Agency is always ready to welcome visitors."
"Seriously, Miss Renko? You're inviting her over? Do you think that's a good idea?" Sanae asked, incredulously.
"Why not? If we get a reputation as the sort of detective agency that even a Celestial would visit, that's bound to bring in more clients, right?"
I wasn't thrilled about the prospect of entertaining a celestial in the storeroom of a schoolhouse either, but I was at least used to Renko making ridiculous suggestions like this so I merely sighed. Tenshi, for her part, looked deflated as the anger drained from her face and she lowered her scarlet sword.
"You're a very unusual human," she said.
Renko nodded. "Why, thank you. It's not everyday I get a compliment from a Celestial."
"Was that a compliment? Well even though you won you should leave here for your own good. It's not good for Earthlings to remain in Heaven for too long."
"Acshully, she's right. We should probably get goin'." This had come from Suika, who had been quiet up until now. She turned to leave, but then turned back and gestured at us, waving us over. We walked to Suika's side and lowered our heads so she could whisper in our ears. I only wish she could have done something about the eye-watering stench of alcohol that carried on her breath first.
"I don't think that Celestial knows what she's doing." Suika whispered to me, no longer slurring in the least. "All those temperaments she’s built up could actually be a problem. An earthquake could happen on its own if she doesn’t put a keystone down pretty soon."
I nodded to her. "Alright. Do you think it's safe to just leave her alone for now though?"
"Yeah, I kinda expect Yukari’ll show up soon."
"The Youkai Sage?"
"A major earthquake would be too much for her to ignore. She's probably watching to see what Reimu does for the time being, but if what you were sayin’ about that Celestial’s plan is true, then Yukari won’t let that happen. I dunno what she’ll do exactly though, so probably best if you’re not nearby to find out."
We all looked at Suika with surprise. Her face was still as red as a beet, flushed with alcohol and smiling her lopsided grin.
—
"Ugh, this stinks! After all of that I don't get to be the one to solve the incident?"
We left Heaven behind with Sanae holding each of us close just as we had arrived, though with Sanae in much lower spirits. As we made our way through the clouds, watching the distant ground slowly come into focus beneath us she continued to grumble.
"Look on the bright side, Sanae. You managed to beat Reimu to the mastermind. I'd say you're every bit as skilled an incident-resolver. The fact that you were unlucky this time doesn't diminish that."
"Yeah, but what am I going to have to do to get to the point that youkai start saying 'I'm going to cause an incident so I can meet that wind priestess from the Moriya Shrine?' The name of the living god Kochiya Sanae should be one that every youkai knows!"
I couldn't help but think that being the sort of person that every youkai knew about would be a rather unpleasant condition.
She sighed. "Well whatever, let’s just go home." As we drew nearer to the Moriya Shrine part way up the mountain, it became obvious that the rain clouds had not yet dispersed. Dark and heavy, they loomed over the shrine and its surroundings. Beneath them, the rain fell continuously, clattering urgently against the tiles of the roofs as we sped to the ground and ducked under the eaves. We made our way quickly into the entranceway. While we were drying off and removing our shoes, Kanako appeared suddenly in the hallway, manifesting into being in the house where she simply hadn't been a moment earlier. Sanae seemed completely comfortable with this phenomenon, but it continued to startle me every time it happened.
"Welcome back, Sanae," the goddess said from the hallway. "I see you've brought your friends again. Hello Renko, hello Merry."
"Oh, Lady Kanako! We tracked down and exterminated the mastermind behind all of this bad weather!"
"Oh? The rain doesn't seem to have stopped though." She said, eyeing the towel in Sanae's hands and her still-wet hair.
"Because she refused to listen to me and end the incident! Even though I beat her! Just because I'm not the Hakurei shrine maiden! It's completely unfair!"
"That sounds like quite the adventure. Come on in and tell me all about it. I'll make you all some tea." Kanako gestured toward the living room.
"I'll join you in a minute, I need to get out of these clothes, I'm all sweaty from fighting." Sanae said, padding down the hall toward her room.
We followed Lady Yasaka into the living room and happily accepted the steaming mugs she brought out. I imagine Renko and I must be members of a very elite minority of people in the world who have enjoyed having tea served to them by a god.
"It sounds like you've had quite a day. I hope Sanae didn't cause you any trouble." Kanako said as she took a seat on a cushion opposite us.
"Quite the opposite!" Renko said with a grin. "We've had a lot of fun today thanks to her. Humans like Merry and I who can't fly would never make it to Heaven with only our feet."
"Heaven? I take it you've been up to the peak of the mountain then. What were you doing there? Does it have anything to do with the Hakurei Shrine being destroyed by an earthquake earlier today?"
"Oh, news travels fast."
"You forget I have a branch shrine there. I saw it all, but neither the mountain nor anything in the village shook, so I suspected the quake might have been artificial. That, combined with all the odd weather lately lead me to conclude the culprit might be in Heaven. Let me guess, it was a bored Celestial?"
"Very impressive, Lady Yasaka. Even as a great detective there's nothing I can add to that. We should have come and talked to you first, you're even more of a divine detective than Sanae."
"The market's getting crowded for detectives, Renko," I quipped. "You might have to hang up your hat if we keep meeting so many armchair detectives."
"In this case it would be an Onbashira detective rather than an armchair, but that's beside the point. Lady Yasaka, if you already had deduced all of that, then there's something else I want to ask you."
"Go ahead."
"How long have you known that all of this unseasonable weather was unnatural in origin? It must have been for some time now, correct?"
Kanako smiled pleasantly at us, resting her chin on top of her interlaced fingers. "Of course. No need to hide that. The moment I first saw the scarlet clouds I knew it must be a Celestial having a temper tantrum."
"But you did nothing to try and stop this unusual rainy season. I take it to mean that while these events aren't your doing, they also meet with your approval, is that right?"
"Well, I don't object. This extended rainy season is a result of Suwako's temperament. I've been using my abilities to strengthen her temperament and suppress my own. This is her favorite kind of weather, after all. Because of this constant deluge, she's been in a good mood lately, and finding things that make her happy is more difficult than you might think." Kanako sipped her tea and exhaled a warm sigh. "I am worried about the possibility of an earthquake though. Even if our shrine won't end up like the Hakurei, it could still be bad for us."
"You're assuming your shrine will be protected because of your divine virtue?"
"Suwako is a goddess of the land. We won't be harmed by an earthquake. If it becomes a disaster in the village, that would be regrettable, but we at the Moriya Shrine have enough space and supplies that we could assist with the disaster recovery efforts and temporarily house many people if the need arose. If your house, for example, should collapse just let us know and I'll put out the spare futons."
"Well, thank you for that very generous offer, but I hope not to take you up on it. Would it be possible for Suwako to extend the protection she offers this shrine to all of Gensokyo?"
"I'm afraid we don't have enough faith there yet to demonstrate her power to that degree, but we wouldn't want the village to be destroyed either as it's the basis of our faith. Suwako will do what she can to lessen the damage in the village and if the people's faith in the Hakurei shrine maiden is not misplaced she may well resolve this incident before an earthquake occurs. We'll just have to wait and see."
As she finished saying this, Sanae came around the corner, toweling her hair and dressed casually in a pair of denim jeans and a t-shirt. Given the heat and humidity, it was a much more sensible outfit to wear than my partner's trenchcoat. "Lady Kanako," she asked as she put down the towel "what do you think we should do to prepare for an earthquake?"
"There's no need to worry, Sanae. This shrine is earthquake-proof. All the necessary preparations have already been made."
"Really? Even for a big one?"
"Don't you remember the quake we had years ago? You helped us nail the furniture to the wall after that."
"Oh, right. Is that all there is to it? Well I guess if you can forget that you've already prepared that's a good sign!"
Sanae laughed while Kanako shook her head, smiling despite it. They must have been referring to the Niigata Chuetsu earthquake of 2004. The Moriya Shrine would have been located in the Nagano Province of the Outside World at the time, so they likely would have been close enough to have felt the effects.
"In that case, we should help Renko and Merry earthquake-proof their detective agency and the temple school too! They're not built like this shrine, and nailing furniture to the walls won't help if the roof collapses."
"That’s a good idea. Since you’ve been helping Sanae out so much, I’ll lend a hand too," Kanako said with a smile.
"Oh, we couldn't ask that of a god," Renko said quickly.
"I think it's a grand idea," Kanako countered. "Consider it a divine blessing upon your house. Faith is all about give and take, after all."
"Well, in that case, I'll accept it with gratitude." She clapped her hands together and then rose from the table to bow exaggeratedly. I hurriedly did the same.
And so, when we returned home that night, it was with Kanako and Sanae at our side, to inspect the temple school and our storeroom behind it. After looking about only briefly, Kanako's opinion had been that it would be easier to rebuild from scratch with proper safety measures than to hope to reinforce either structure in any practical way. Sanae had offered to start immediately by bulldozing everything on the lot with a divine wind, but in the end we had declined.
—21—
After a day filled with so much commotion, the resumption of classes at the temple school the next day was a welcome return to normalcy. At this point rumors about the collapse of the Hakurei Shrine were already filling the village and as no one here had felt any hint of an earthquake the general consensus was that someone or something else must have been responsible. Stories of a divine curse, or a youkai out for revenge after Reimu had exterminated them warred with more mundane explanations like a shoddily maintained house or Reimu herself having destroyed her shrine for sympathy after having gone too long without an incident to resolve. If Reimu had heard those last rumors she probably would have exterminated the speaker on the spot.
"The Hakurei Shrine and its maiden are a symbol of protection for the village. With the shrine now destroyed, people are uneasy," is how Keine put it. When we told her about everything that had happened yesterday, she seemed equally on edge. "It's a difficult situation to handle." She had said with a sigh over lunch. "If we knew for sure that an earthquake was coming, then we could mobilize more resources and put everything into getting people to prepare. Similarly, if we knew it wasn't coming, then we could say that everything to date was just a drill and leave it at that. Having it be unknown means we have to keep preparing. Everyone agrees that the Hakurei Shrine was definitely destroyed though, even if they don't know why, so hopefully that puts safety on people's minds. That's good at least, right?" I suppose I should have expected that the end result would somehow have been more work for us.
—
And so at the end of our teaching day Renko and I were once again scheduled to go marching through the streets of the village, calling out slogans and clapping boards to promote earthquake preparedness.
We were just about to leave to head to the neighborhood watch office when all at once the wind picked up all around us and a voice called out. Looking to where it had come from, we saw the form of Shameimaru Aya perched on top of our office, standing just beside the nest of songbirds that also called the storehouse home.
"Ayaya. Hello again, detectives." She said with a smile, lowering herself to sit on the roof with her legs dangling over the edge, just in front of our door.
"Miss Shameimaru," Renko said, doffing her hat and nodding. "Always a pleasure to see you again. To what do we owe the honor?"
"I'm just coming by to convey my thanks to a valued informant. That was a good tip you gave me yesterday. Look forward to the next issue of the 𝐵𝑢𝑛𝑏𝑢𝑛𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑢 𝑁𝑒𝑤𝑠 in a couple of days. For now though, have you heard that the reconstruction of the shrine has already begun? Rumor has it that some shady Celestials are involved with the efforts. Since I'm already here anyway, would you two like to go see for yourselves?"
Renko and I looked at each other, both of us wearing surprised expressions.
—
"Don't throw the broken wood away, I can use it for firewood. Any of the roof tiles that aren't cracked can be re-used too."
"Ugh, really? I don't want to have to sort through that. It would be easier for me to just bury the whole lot. Why are you being so stingy about everything, doesn't this shrine have any funds for new materials?"
"I don't want to hear a single word from you about it. Who do you think is responsible for me losing everything?"
"Look, I'm fixing it already, aren't I?"
"I expect new furniture too. And all of the other stuff that was squashed in my house."
Aya had flown us from the village to the shrine at a speed so quick it can't have taken her more than a dozen wingbeats, even loaded down with Renko and I each under one of her arms. As we landed near the torii gates, we heard words like those above coming from the wreckage of the collapsed shrine, along with the clamor of carpentry and labor. Most of the debris had already been pushed off of the foundations of the shrine and the last of it was being cleared away by flying people wearing floating scarves, like the one Iku had wrapped around herself. Reimu and Tenshi stood with their backs to us, overseeing the work and arguing.
"Oh, that must be one of the 'shady Celestials' you mentioned, right?" Renko asked as we landed.
Rather than bothering to respond, Aya released us and leapt into position drawing out her camera as she did. The flash of her camera and the click of her shutter somehow stood out even amidst the din and bustle of the construction. Tenshi was the first to react, whirling around to face her with a look of surprise on her face. "A tengu? And those humans from yesterday?"
"What are you doing here? Don’t take pictures without permission."
"Ayayaya, I'm merely documenting the scene in my role as a reporter for the public interest. I'm Shameimaru Aya, the pure and honest crow tengu reporter, with the 𝐵𝑢𝑛𝑏𝑢𝑛𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑢 𝑁𝑒𝑤𝑠. The mysterious and unprecedented collapse of the Hakurei Shrine is a matter of front page news, but seeing it being rebuilt by a mysterious Celestial is a new and unexpected twist. Who are you, and what are you doing here, exactly?"
"...I’m just here to assist in the cleanup." Tenshi replied, dismissively turning to Aya with a look of open contempt.
"Aya, is that so? And are those people behind you also Celestials who came to help out? Were they hired by the Hakurei Shrine? Reimu, is this true?"
"Shut up. I already gave you a long interview yesterday. I’m not your new cash cow."
"Ayayaya, but the collapse of the Hakurei Shrine is a story of vital importance for every citizen of Gensokyo!"
"Nobody gets important information from your newspaper and I don't have time for a gossip rag. I'm trying to rebuild my home here."
"Reimu, I'm hurt. The 𝐵𝑢𝑛𝑏𝑢𝑛𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑢 𝑁𝑒𝑤𝑠 is a fair and honest news source with unquestionable integrity. Good journalism is the bellwether of a fair and just society."
While the two of them continued to argue, Tenshi sighed and turned to us, her shoulders drooping. "Why are you two here?" She asked, walking over to us. "Are you working with that tengu now?"
"No, no, we merely accepted her offer to give us a lift here to come see you. I take it from the fact that you're already engaged in rebuilding that you were able to have the fight with Reimu you wanted yesterday?"
She nodded, smiling. "It was a good fight! I'll make sure to put a keystone under the shrine to suppress any future earthquakes, so don't worry."
"I'm sure that will be appreciated. While I have you here though, I realize now that there was something I forgot to ask you yesterday, Tenshi."
"Oh, what was it?" She hadn't seemed to notice or react to Renko addressing her by her first name. In all, her mood seemed to have improved significantly after having achieved the aim of the incident she had instigated.
"Does my temperament really resemble Reimu's?"
Without warning she drew forth her sword from her hip again. She raised it to point at Renko and tilted her head in consideration for a moment. "It’s similar, but that’s not so uncommon. Some people have similar temperaments. Why do you ask? "
"I was just wondering. If the weather were to adjust to my temperament what would it be like? I assume it would be hot and sunny, like it is for Reimu then?"
"Yes, that sounds about right. A clear, unclouded sky."
"I see. Just one more question then, what about my partner over here?" Renko asked, jerking her thumb back at me.
Tenshi turned her gaze on me, swinging the sword to point at me as she did. Even standing an arms length away from the point of it, just having its indeterminate, impossible form pointed in my direction was enough to make me feel as if it were penetrating me somehow. I fought the temptation to hide behind Renko as she looked me over.
"...It would be a rain shower, but a sudden one, the sort that stops and starts and stops again without any warning. An indecisive, annoying sort of weather."
At that comment Renko burst out laughing and I could only frown in annoyance. Hearing I am indecisive was not a surprise to me, but in my opinion such a trait doesn't constitute an entire temperament.
"Hah! That's why you got caught in a rainstorm the other day, and why we kept seeing the weather come and go wherever we went. My sunny temperament and your rainy one were switching back and forth, making the weather unstable. That makes sense now."
While Renko continued to laugh boisterously, Tenshi muttered something under her breath. I can't be sure if I heard it correctly, but I thought at the time she might have said "Why are both of your temperaments all mixed together though?"
Case 7: Scarlet Weather Rhapsody 一覧
- Preface/Prologue: Scarlet Weather Rhapsod
- Chapter 1:Scarlet Weather Rhapsody
- Chapter 2:Scarlet Weather Rhapsody
- Chapter 3:Scarlet Weather Rhapsody
- Chapter 4:Scarlet Weather Rhapsody
- Chapter 5:Scarlet Weather Rhapsody
- Chapter 6:Scarlet Weather Rhapsody
- Chapter 7:Scarlet Weather Rhapsody
- Chapter 8:Scarlet Weather Rhapsody
- Chapter 9:Scarlet Weather Rhapsody
- Chapter 10:Scarlet Weather Rhapsody
- Chapter 11:Scarlet Weather Rhapsody
- Epilogue: Scarlet Weather Rhapsody
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