2/12

"Good morning, Akechi-san."

A familiar voice called out from the door. It was Kana.

"Good morning," I said. "It's nice to see you again. Can I help you with something?"

Kana shook her head. "Actually, no. I came here to see you specifically. We promised to meet again last week, didn't we?"

I thought for a moment, then said, "ah, yes, we did. I apologize, it's been a busy week for me, so I can't remember everything I agree to."

Kana chuckled. "Oh, no, it's alright." She looked back up at me. "I actually wanted to go visit the Shrine today."

"Is that so?" I was a little surprised; I was told the Shrine was not as popular among the villagers due to its reputation as a "youkai shrine." "Any particular reason?"

"Well, I just wanted to make a wish," she said. "You know, they say if you visit a shrine and make the same wish a hundred days in a row, it'll come true."

"I haven't heard of that belief," I said, "but, then again, I was so overwhelmed with school and work that I never had time to visit a shrine. And of course, the Meiji Shrine is far more popular than the Hakurei Shrine…"

"I'd bet. I've heard that it's right in the middle of the city."

"Indeed. The crowds on New Year's in particular are so thick, you can barely get to the offertory box."

I put on my snowshoes and heavy jacket, and accompanied Kana up the hill toward the Shrine. When we got there, the stone steps leading up to the Torii were clear, with the dampness and water puddles suggesting they had just been cleared of snow. We ascended the steps, and just as we crested the top…

"Funyuu…"

...we could see Reimu standing over a blue-haired girl in a white-and-blue dress with rainbow ribbons, with one boot on the girl's back.

Kana sighed. "Seems like the Hakurei Shrine is the same as always…" We used the wash basin briefly before approaching the pair.

Reimu looked over at us, then waved and smiled. Curiously, though, she didn't say a word. She got off the girl, allowing her to push herself off the ground.

"You're too rough, Reimu," she complained. "Why do you always have to beat people up when they do something you don't like?"

Reimu only pouted in response.

"Hello there," I said. "I'm Goro Akechi."

"And I'm Kana Samaon."

The girl looked at us, then put her hand on her chest and said in a haughty fashion, "ah, visitors! Allow me to introduce myself. I am Tenshi Hinanawi, a Celestial!" She dropped her shoulders. "Or, well, fallen Celestial, due to some stuff I did several years ago. Now I'm living as Suika's roommate in her personal spot in Heaven."

I looked over to Reimu, who stood there, very obviously miffed. "Seems you got on Reimu's bad side," I said.

"I mean, yeah," Tenshi shrugged. "I wrecked her shrine once, but we rebuilt it and then we made up. But today, she took one of my peaches and scarfed it right up, even though she should know damn well that Celestial peaches taste so heavenly that they can leave a mortal literally speechless."

Reimu fumed and flailed her arms around. "Is she… stuck like that?" I asked.

"Oh, no." Tenshi shook her head. "It wears off after a few hours. If you ask me, though, watching her like this is pretty funny." Reimu came over and pulled her cheeks.

I shook my head, and we walked toward the bell and the offertory box. Kana looked over to me. "I… didn't bring that much for a donation. Do you happen to have any extra money?"

I took out a stack of cash, part of our Metaverse winnings and speckled with shadow blood, which, again, I was thankful Kana could not see. "I can split this in half with you," I offered.

"You're going to offer that much?" she said in shock.

"Why not?" I smiled. "I also have a 'side gig' that pays a lot, and with this our wishes will surely come true."

Kana smiled. "Well, I suppose so." We split the money, dropped it in the box, took turns ringing the bell and clapping our hands. I personally prayed for opportunities to redeem myself and atone for my past, wicked ways, driven by my loneliness and isolation, and rage toward an unjust society.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around, and saw Reimu grabbing both of our shoulders, her face plastered with a huge smile and stars in her eyes.

"What's with her?" Kana asked.

Tenshi snickered. "Well, you dropped a huge donation in that box. She'll probably treat you like royalty now."

"Treating us like royalty" apparently involved Reimu fixing up poke bowls for all of us, as well as offering some sake to go along with our tea. We sat in the main shrine, in front of Maruki's cell.

"So," Kana said, "you came from Outside."

"Indeed I did," Maruki said.

"Oh, yeah," Tenshi said. "You're that guy Reimu said tried to do something out there that threatened the Border, you somehow ended up here as a result, and now she's got you locked up."

"That about sums it up," he nodded.

She glanced over at Reimu, who was in the middle of slurping up her poke. "Pretty strange that she didn't just croak you," she said, "given that you tried to wreck the Border."

"She said she's waiting for the Sages to come and give me their judgement," he said.

Tenshi sat down. "Well, whatever. It's her job, not mine. Certainly, I don't know how to run a shrine, much less keep Gensokyo in balance. Hell, I tried to majorly disrupt it that one time."

"What exactly happened?" I asked.

"Well… the short version is I got bored." Tenshi took a drink. "Here's the longer version: back when I ascended with my family, I thought Heaven was just the best thing ever. But after a long time of just eating, meditating and enjoying the peace, I got restless and wanted some excitement in my life. Even in my family, I was always something of a black sheep, since I was playful, like adventures and was a bit of a daredevil as well." She held up her hand, then clenched it. "I can create and control earthquakes, have the ability to predict natural ones, and can manipulate heavenly keystones to further control their strength. Combined with the Sword of Hisou, a sword which only Celestials can use and which can manipulate Spirit, I rose merry hell in Gensokyo, which, among other things, levelled the Shrine, causing Reimu and some of her friends to come up to Heaven and personally beat me up." She took a bite of her poke. "After that, I was pretty much cast out of Celestial society. At first, I was unrepentant, but as time passed and I matured, I came to realize the damage my actions had done, and so I went around repenting and apologizing."

I smiled and nodded. "That's very responsible of you."

"I agree," Kana said. "What you did back then also caused the Village to have a bad harvest that year. The following winter was tough for our family, since we sold less than usual and so we had less money to go on. But, at least you realized what you did was wrong and you've apologized for it."

"Yep," Tenshi said. "Actually, a few years back, I sensed that a colossal earthquake was about to strike." She sipped her tea. "The Barrier can stop most things, but earthquakes aren't among them. Outside earthquakes can still hit Gensokyo with their full force, as though it were still in the area of Nagano that it would be if the Barrier didn't exist. I used all my power and all the keystones I could to try and reduce the damage it did here. There were some landslides and some damage in the Village, but no deaths. I wanted Yukari to let me Outside to reduce the impact of the earthquake, but she refused, saying it wasn't my business."

I thought about recent earthquakes, and knew that the Tohoku Earthquake was the only one that could be described as 'colossal,' being a 9.0. I asked her, "do you remember what year it was?"

Tenshi thought for a moment. "I think it was 2011, your calendar."

"Ah, okay," I nodded. "Then it was definitely the Tohoku earthquake, one of the strongest earthquakes in recorded history. Not only did it cause massive damage around Japan, but it generated an even more powerful tsunami that drowned much of Sendai and caused damage all around the Pacific. And to make matters worse, it damaged a nuclear power plant, causing one of the worst nuclear disasters in human history."

"Ouch," Tenshi said. "Sounds like things just got worse and worse."

"Indeed," Maruki nodded. "I was at Tohoku University for a conference when the tsunami sirens started blaring. Thankfully, Mt. Aoba park was close by, so we quickly rushed up to the top, joining a large crowd which had already huddled up there. We had an unobstructed view of the tsunami's devastation: houses were being swept away from their foundations and up streets and highways. Entire neighborhoods were inundated. The whole port area was annihilated. It was a horrifying sight, and all I could do was watch the devastation unfold."

"That's awful," Kana said. "I can't imagine how many people must have died."

"I was only thirteen at the time," I said. "It struck right in the middle of my school's end-of-year ceremony. Windows shattered and objects flew around the room like missiles. Officially, the earthquake lasted for six minutes, which at the time felt like six hours. Once it ended, the ceremony was hastily wrapped up, and we focused on getting to safety. Luckily, Tokyo sits on a sheltered bay, so the tsunami's damage was limited there, but after I became a detective, I travelled around the country, seeing damage from the tsunami even years after it had occurred."

Tenshi grumbled. "Damn that Yukari. Why couldn't she let me go out there and save the day…"

I looked behind me, and saw Reimu standing behind us, pouting and crossing her arms.

"Oh, I apologize," I said. "You weren't talking, so we forgot you were here."

Reimu opened her mouth as if to shout something, but all she could manage was jumping up and down, angrily swinging her arms. Me, Kana and Tenshi chuckled at her plight.

"By the way," I decided to ask, "are the peaches really that good?"

Tenshi removed her hat and pulled out a plump, pink peach. "Celestial peaches," she said. "We eat them to fortify and shape our bodies. For a long time, I looked and acted like a child, but I used these to not only make myself virtually indestructible, but also make myself look more like an adult." She stood up and put her arms to her side. "Giving myself a recognizable figure no man could ever resist, and a stature that conveys my newfound maturity and confidence."

Kana pointed at her. "It doesn't look like that includes your chest."

Tenshi held her chest, and sighed. "I've never understood it myself. I try to make them grow, but all my effort seems to go to the other side instead." She looked over behind herself.

I shrugged. "Well, I guess you can't have everything. I, for one, could never get Sae-san to join me for non-conveyor belt sushi."

Tenshi pulled out a small knife and cut the peach into slices before popping a piece into her mouth. "Of course, like I said, only Celestials benefit from the peach's effects. A non-Celestial who consumes them will find themselves rendered speechless by their unparalleled taste - and so they literally become speechless."

"I've never cared for peaches myself," Maruki said. "I've always enjoyed apples."

"I've only ever had peaches from a can," I said. "Since I never had time to prepare fresh produ-"

All of a sudden, I felt a pair of fingers shove something sweet into my mouth. They were Reimu's, and she had a predatory look in her eyes.

I realized what had happened: she had taken one of the peach slices and force-fed it to me. At first, I panicked. But then, the indescribable, succulent sweetness of the peach slice filled every corner of my mouth, the aroma wafting up into my nose and eyes watering in sheer delight. I relaxed a bit as I smiled and let the slice dissolve and melt down my throat.

Reimu stepped back, and Tenshi stared at me for a second before asking, "well, how was it?"

I opened my mouth to reply… except I could speak. I simply could not attempt to form words, as though that part of my brain had been shut off. I was, rather literally, speechless.

Reimu pointed at me and mimed laughing. Kana shot her an aside glance before looking at me and saying, "I guess she was fed up with being made fun of."

"Seems like it," Tenshi said. "I swear, she's hard to understand sometimes."

I pointed to the door, indicating if I could leave. Reimu nodded, still smiling. Me and Kana got up and exited the door, with Tenshi saying behind us, "like I said, you'll be back to normal by morning at the latest."

"It was nice talking to you, Tenshi-san," Kana smiled. "Let's visit again."

"Alright, sure, it's a date," Tenshi said back.

As I walked Kana back to the Village, she said to me, "and it was nice spending more time with you, Goro."

Unable to reply, I simply smiled and nodded.

Later that night, as I prepared for bed, my communicator buzzed, and I went to check it.

aburaage: You were a big dummy for making fun of me earlier.

pancakeman: I wasn't making fun of you. You couldn't speak, so I was simply remarking it was as though you weren't there.

aburaage: Even though it's my Shrine.

pancakeman: Well, I suppose.

aburaage: Thanks for the donation, by the way. It'll buy me groceries for at least a month.

pancakeman: Thanks for the lunch, likewise.

aburaage: By the way, how did you meet that girl you were with? Kana, I think her name was?

pancakeman: We just happened to bump into each other in the village one day. I guess you could say we struck a chord with each other.

aburaage: Well, alright. Just keep the PDA to a minimum around me.

pancakeman: Oh, it's nowhere near that. More like our own friendship.

aburaage: Alright, if you say so.

pancakeman: And, if I must say, Tenshi is quite the character.

aburaage: Her ass is as big as her ego, I swear. Maybe they're like that because the peaches look like asses.

pancakeman: I've never thought of it that way. Although like I said, I had only ever eaten canned peaches.

aburaage: It sounds like Outsiders constantly eat garbage. Sumireko showed me a food wrapper once, and I couldn't pronounce most of the ingredients. Like seriously, what the hell is butylated hydroxytoluene, 2,4,5-trihydroxybutyrophenone, or acesulfame-k?

pancakeman: To be honest, I have no idea, either. I'm surprised you even remember all of those.

aburaage: It's because I kept the wrapper so that Marisa could try and copy that stuff for her own experiments.

pancakeman: By the way, how are you doing? Can you talk again yet?

aburaage: Not yet, but I know it'll pass by morning. This isn't the first time it's happened.

pancakeman: Why do you eat the peaches even though you know they do that?

aburaage: Because I was hungry, okay? I can't control myself when I'm hungry.

pancakeman: Well, hopefully that money will keep you fed for a while.

aburaage: It will. Again, thank you very much.

pancakeman: You're very welcome.

aburaage: I hope you get whatever you wished for, too.

pancakeman: I do, too.

aburaage: Alright. Good night.

pancakeman: Good night. See you soon.


2/13

This morning, Reisen came by to drop off Masato's medicine, before turning to me to speak.

"Master was wondering if you are free to come by Eientei to test out more medicine," she asked. "She says it's been a little while."

"Indeed it has," I said. "Tell her I will come by when I finish my work for today."

"Understood," she bowed, before exiting.

Later that day, after I had finished my work and had lunch, I took off just outside the village and made my way to Eientei. Touching down, I approached the door, where I found Seiran and Ringo engaged in a conversation.

"Good afternoon," I said.

Seiran turned around toward me. "Hello again, Akechi-kun. I trust that Master sent for you?"

"Indeed," I nodded. "I noticed you two were chatting, however."

"Oh, yeah," Seiran said. "I was just talking to Ringo about how it had been a while since I last had a Spell Card Duel with someone. I want to practice, since I'm not very good at it…"

Spell Card Duels… I thought about how, ever since I figured out how to use spell cards myself, I had not conducted a real duel with someone. Seiran herself admitted she wasn't very good. Perhaps if our skill levels were similar, she would be an ideal sparring partner.

I put my hand on my chest and bowed. "Then, may I be your sparring partner?"

Seiran's ears shot up. "Wha- you can do spell cards?! I mean, I knew you could fly, but…"

"I can engage in Spell Card Duels, and have a few cards in my possession as well. I was taught by Reimu herself."

"Reimu… herself…" Seiran steeled herself, then brandished her mallet. "Then, if you challenge me, then by my honor as a Moon Rabbit, I hereby accept!"

I floated into the air and took out my pistol. "I hope you're ready. Just because I'm still fairly new does not mean I won't give it my all!"

When Seiran jumped into the air, she wasted no time firing off her first wave of bullets. It soon became apparent that her basic bullet pattern involved densely packed lasers in a cone shape, chased by either a sweeping large wave of larger bullets, or short beams of bullets which erupted out like a corona. I had since upgraded my pistol to a model which shot two rows of bullets at once instead of only a single row, increasing the thickness of the "whip" which I was able to create. I managed to get the first hit in, prompting Seiran to declare her first card.

"Bullet Sign: Eagle Shooting!" She created a wave of large, spherical lasers to shield her immediate person, before shooting out more of the tight cones, as well as snaking streams of red bullets which creeped around the arena. I was fast enough to wholesale avoid the cones; the really tricky part came with avoiding the red bullet streams while shooting at the same time. The spheres around her sometimes dissipated, allowing me to refocus my shooting for a few seconds and try and catch her before the lasers appeared again, shielding her and forcing me back on the defensive. Eventually, I managed to catch her off-guard for long enough and stuck her, capturing the spell and breaking it.

"Not bad," she complimented. "For an Outsider, you've gotten the hang of this very quickly. But I shall still-"

I shot her in the chest.

"Wha- hey!"

"Never give your opponent a window to attack," I said.

With only seconds to act, she whipped out her second and final spell card. "Lunatic Gun!" Now, she was firing several cones at once, as well as a spiral of bullets which swept around like a dial. This one was much harder to keep up with, and inevitably I messed up and got hit.

I only had a few moments to counterattack before I was forced to concede, so I took out the top card of my deck, one which I had only recently created, and declared "Hierophant Sign: Iron to Gold!" This card summoned Berith, one of my first Personas, to release waves of bullets which, upon contact with enemy bullets, turned them gold, causing them to linger in one spot for a few seconds, countering one other bullet before disappearing. This allowed me to create a shifting "shield" which was able to block her shots, while I continued to look for an opening. Then she adapted her attack to fire several cones in my direction at once, overwhelming my defense and causing my card to break…

...or at least it would have, except the bullets seemed to dissipate just before impact. And they just kept dissipating. I didn't know why this was, but I immediately capitalized on it, aggressively closing the distance, plowing through waves of bullets until I was at point-blank range, where I could easily get a hit in, causing her card to break, and giving the fight to me.

When we touched back down, Seiran took a moment to catch her breath, before saying, "...hah… that… that was bullshit."

"Was it?" I asked, playfully.

"Seriously, it was," she said. "You just… absorbed the bullets at the end! I don't know if it was your spell card, but…"

"It was a unique spell card," Ringo complimented. "You declared an Arcanam, then a demon appeared to assist you in the attack. Do you, by chance, specialize in demonic magic?"

I shook my head. "Oh, heavens, no. My cards summon different figures depending on the card, raging from angels, demons, monsters, deities, and even pop-culture figures. If I had to describe it, I tap into the human unconscious and call upon figures significantly imprinted upon it to cast my cards." I held out my hands. "But, in the end, they're only cards, and my actual powers don't extend much beyond flight, being good at deductions and having high charisma, and I doubt those last two count as magical powers."

"But you managed to convince Reimu to teach you cards," Ringo said, "and you're getting friendly with Reisen. And she tells me you're friends with Marisa, as well. I gotta say, a man of your charms, winning over some of Gensokyo's big shots, I'd call that a special power in my book."

I chuckled. "Well, I guess I can't argue with that."

The two stepped aside. "In any case, we'll let you in now. And since you've dueled Seiran, promise me that you'll duel me someday, too!"

"I'll keep that in mind." I made my way inside.

"Welcome back, Akechi-kun," Eirin smiled, as she sat on her chair, one leg crossed over the other.

"It's good to see you too," I said, sitting down opposite her. "Reisen informed me that you wanted my help testing another medicine?"

"Indeed." Eirin produced another beaker. "I've been refining one of my more popular medicines, the Butterfly Dream Pill."

"The 'Butterfly Dream Pill'?" I asked.

"A pill which guarantees sleep and beautiful, pleasant dreams," Eirin explained. "This beaker contains the base formula for my latest iteration." She produced a glass bottle and a funnel, then poured the mixture into the bottle before corking it up. "Are you familiar with the concept of 'dream journals?'"

"I am," I nodded. "People keep records of their dreams in order to better remember them, in hopes that they can eventually become lucid dreamers."

"I am asking you to keep a record of the dream that this will produce," she explained. "You'll take this bottle back with you home tonight, and you will drink all of it; you will fall asleep very quickly and experience a pleasant dream. As soon as you wake up, whatever time that may be, I want you to immediately record the dream you experience in as much detail as you possibly can. Then, return the note to me promptly so that I may look it over; that way I can study the effect it had on you and decide whether it requires more work, or if it is perfect as it is and I can begin mass-producing it."

I reached over and took the bottle from her. "Very well. I wonder what dream I will experience."

"Hopefully, a very pleasant one." She winked. "Who knows, maybe it will be that sort of dream as well…"

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "If you don't need anything else, then I'll be going."

"Oh, alright." Eirin waved as I left the room. "Sweet dreams…"

Per our deal, Reisen showed me the "secret reserve" and allowed me to pick out somewhat more potent brews then before, both as a reward for participating in the medical trials as well as a more personal thank-you for spending time with her and hearing her out.

Later that night, back at home, I got myself ready for bed as usual. I held the bottle in my hand. The pink liquid gave off a rainbow shimmer, and I was unsure if I actually wanted to consume it.

I shrugged. This was part of the deal, and I would be renaging if I got cold feet. So, I popped the cork, and chugged it at once. It tasted like bubblegum. Then I put the bottle aside, laid down, and closed my eyes. Sleep overtook me in short order.


The room was dim, and a haze filled the air as quiet jazz music played in the background.

I was at a table, with a colorful cocktail bubbling on the table.

Seated opposite me was my best friend, Ren Amamiya.

We chatted for a long time, about our lives, about girls, about our exploits as Phantom Thieves. About how we had taken down Shido together, and brought peace and prosperity to Japan once more.

The bouncer came to our table, and remarked about how close the two of us were.

Why wouldn't we be close? We were such a good match.

It was hard for me to believe that I hated him so much that I tried to kill him.

...kill him…

...kill him…

...I didn't want to kill him, but at the same time those feelings of admiration and jealousy melded with my tortured past and need to get closer to Shido to ruin him, and in order to do that I… I…