Sanae Kotiya took a deep breath, allowing the smells that she had forgotten to swell into her mind. The smell of metal, concrete and smoke. The smell of gas, grass and asphalt. The smells of café's , perfumes and baked goods. The smells of the city, of Suwa, her hometown and birthplace.
The city had always been of decent size, and was always growing, being propelled forward by both its traditions that brought tourism and its fertile lands. The traditions of course had been originally brought about by Suwako and Kanako, but now that they had left Sanae was curious as to whether they continued or not.
But that was not the reason for her being back in her hometown. She was gathering allies.
She was going to gather an army.
As Sanae walked along the sidewalk, wearing the casual clothing she had put on before leaving Gensokyo, she looked around, trying to find anything or anyone that seemed unusual. Before going to Gensokyo her powers had been weak and hard to control. Only through Danmaku and constant extermination of youkai had she learned to control her abilities and sense things she could not before, like youkai.
Sensing one nearby Sanae looked around and found a small roadside eatery, its stools empty as the sun began kissing the horizon. Stepping into the eatery Sanae took a seat directly in its center. "Good evening."
The shop owner turned his head to look out the corner of his eye and nodded. "Good evening. I wasn't expecting someone so soon, so anything beyond Gyoza will take a while to prepare. I'm sorry."
Sanae waved her hand to the side. "Gyoza is fine, it's good food for conversation after all, and I am looking for information."
The shop owner pulled a couple gyoza from a cooler and placed them onto the grill, "If you're looking for information on something shouldn't you look in your school's library?"
Sanae blushed slightly at the prospect of being confused for still being school aged. "I'm a few years out of school actually, and I'm sure you know what I'm talking about."
"I'm sorry but I don't." the shop owner said as he flipped the gyoza, showing off their golden brown sides.
Sanae waited until the shop owner finished the Gyoza and placed them before her. Taking one she bit into it and nearly giggled with delight at the taste. "Perhaps I should introduce myself then. My name is Kotiya Sanae, descendent of Moriya Suwako!"
Hearing these words the shop owner froze and he slowly turned his head to Sanae, a look of horror and fear covering his face. "Y-you, but that's . . . I . . . . um. I'm going to die, aren't I?"
Sanae shook her head. "No, no you're not. I am not here to kill youkai, I am here to converse with them. I guarantee your safety, so would you be willing to tell me what has happened in these past few years?"
The shop owner visibly looked calmer as he let out a sigh of relief." I – I suppose I can do that. Is there any place you'd like me to start perchance?"
Sanae shook her head as she plopped another gyoza into her mouth. "Just tell me what is important please, what happened after the Moriya shrine left."
The shop owner nodded as he took a scraper and began scraping the grill with it. "I've lived here in Suwa for most of my life, and I can tell you with perfect surety that when the two Goddesses of Moriya left with their shrine, the city fell to pieces in a sense."
"How so?"
". . . . . angry youkai. Because two goddesses held control in this city, no youkai groups or violent youkai dared to tread here, but when they left a power vacuum formed. Two groups of youkai yakuza are currently vying for control of the city's underground, and most of the cities youkai are part of one group or another, only a few like me keep to themselves."
"Do the human authorities not know of this?"
"No, the youkai yakuza groups are both smart enough to keep their violence to the underground or outside of town; they're violent, not stupid."
"Have any humans been caught up in the conflict?"
"Not without a direct connection to it, no. There is a small group of spiritually in tune humans that are trying to diffuse the situation, but they don't seem to get much done on either front."
"I see. That's good, I guess." Sanae said as she took her last Gyoza and stuffed it into her mouth, ". . . . . . . . Can I ask you one last thing then, Mister Fox?"
The shop owner looked at her in shock, "You, you knew what I was all along? I'm not sure if I should be impressed or worried, but yes you may ask me more."
"Where do those youkai groups operate from?"
The shop owner dropped his scrapper and looked to Sanae in shock for a full minute before shaking his head. "I – I cannot tell you that. I may know where they both are, but if I tell you my family will be in danger, and I cannot do that."
"I understand. Could you direct me to who could?"
The shop owner leaned over the counter nodded, whispering his words carefully. "The human group trying to stop the violence knows. You can find them at Suwa's high school. They operate as a spiritual exorcism club or something like that."
Sanae nodded as she spun on her seat and dropped off of the stool, dropping a handful of change on the counter as she did. "Thank you kindly, have a good night."
As Sanae walked down the street away from the shop she could feel many youkai in the area, a few of them making a beeline for the shop she was just at. Turning a corner as she looked around for a hotel she felt Granite stir. "You could've forced him to tell you. It would have been faster, dear."
"It would have, but that would've sped up rumors of my being here. " Sanae replied quietly. "Besides, I am curious about the humans at the high school that are trying to stop violence."
"Is there a reason why, dear?"
"Not really, but I'm wondering if any were juniors to me when I was in school, though I doubt it."
"I can understand that. But why did you want to know where both youkai groups were, one would be sufficient to control, and you could have gotten their assistance by defeating the other."
"If I know where both are I can speak to both. If I'm gathering forces to fight Yukari, I want as many allies as possible."
"I see. . . . I knew it was right to trust your judgment. I shall help in any way I can, dear."
Sane smiled as she entered a small hotel. Tomorrow she would begin gathering allies, and while she had said she wanted allies, she was fully prepared for many of them to be pawns. Her revenge against Yukari was all that mattered.
