Once they heard the signal, everyone begins a race in their own style. Some of them choose to go all-out from the beginning and sprint as fast as they can while some choose to conserve their strength for later.
"The race is already started. Let's see who will be the fastest runner in Gensokyo." Aya reports from the sky.
"Spell card: Freeze Sign [Perfect Freeze]" Cirno starts using her spell card. Everything around her become frozen include all competitors. She uses this spell card for immobilization purpose.
"Ha ha ha. Eye am not a baka, you all are." Cirno laughs as she runs pass the frozen racers. This spell card gives her a huge advantage from the very beginning.
"Oh wow. Cirno immobilizes everyone and get pass them in a breeze. Despite her small figure, she is very fast at running. Maybe Cirno will win this race… er… If she runs to the right direction, that is." Aya looks to where Cirno is heading. It is definitely not the direction to Hakurei Shrine but the idiot still not realizes it. The ice starts to melt as time pass and then everyone can break out. The race begins again.
"Ugh! That baka… She can't even figure a direction correctly." Reimu feels amazed with Cirno's (9) I.Q.
"You still have time to worry about the other? Don't forget that if you lose, you'll have to do whatever I tell you to do." Alice runs up to the shrine maiden.
"You talk like you're gonna win for sure. You'd better concern about how to keep up with me first."
"That is too easy. If I win, I'll have you turn your shrine into a resort exclusive for me and Marisa only." Alice begins to daydream.
"There's no bloody way I'm gonna let you do that to my shrine. I'll beat you in this race and have you donated every last bit of your money to me." The shrine maiden and the seven colors puppeteer start to bear their fangs to each other.
"Hey. While you two are arguing, the others just went ahead of us you know." Marisa speaks to them.
"Right now the Youkai who possess greater stamina than human are in the lead. But wait, there is someone being left behind. That darkness sphere is no one else but Rumia." Aya reports the situation.
"Ouch! I hit a bamboo again. Ouch! Argh… Where is the way to Hakurei shrine?" Rumia whines as she runs in a random direction.
"The Youkai of Darkness can't stand the light of the sun so she covers herself with a sphere of condense darkness. As a result, she can't see a way ahead. It almost looks like she tries to hit every last bamboo in this forest with her head." reported the crow Tengu.
"She should've considered her own limit before joining this." Alice says with a pitiful feeling.
"Out of the way! Out of the way!" Orin rushes from behind Reimu's group with her blazing wheel wagon. Marisa and Reimu barely evade the clash.
"Hey! Watch it! That's dangerous."
"Oh! Rin uses her wagon as her fire shield. If you get hit, it'll be more than hurt for sure."
"Out of my way!" Orin warns Youmu who is ahead of her. Youmu does a side-step to evade the blazing wheel with ease. She lets Orin get ahead of her a bit before she starts chasing her.
"Like you can beat me with that pathetic trick of yours, Nekomata. How will you bump the one who is faster than you? This time try to catch up with me if you can." Youmu accelerates her speed and start to out-speed Orin.
"I know your weak point well. Take this." Rin throw something at Youmu. The half-ghost gardener readies her sword to repel Rin's attack. But when she sees what it is clearly, Youmu burst out a scream from bottom of her lungs.
"KYAAAAAAAA" Youmu falls on her knees and shudder in fear. Three phantom spirits float around her, haunting.
"Ahaha. A half-ghost like you afraid of ghost yourselves? Shame on you. See ya." Rin mocks Youmu as she runs pass her.
"Hey! Watch out! Ah!" Orin forgets the iron rule when travel on the road. 'Always keep your eyes on the road.' Who should imagine that a wagon and a boat will clash with each other on the ground? But it already happened here in Gensokyo.
"Ouch. Damn you Orin. Haven't you got eyes in your head? Or are you eager to die and ride my boat to the other side that much?" Komachi becomes angered because her boat is now burned to a coal.
"It's not my fault but yours. Who in the right mind would ride a boat on the land?"
"Are you tried to pick a fight with me? I ride on my boat all the way here safely until an idiot cat bumps its wagon to it. Now, you must pay."
"Like I care. Without a boat, you have no choice but to run on your own feet. I can't imagine a slacker like you can make it to the finishing line by running. Catch me if you can, Shinigami." Rin sprints away from Komachi. She's certain that the god of dead will never able to catch her up.
"Did you forget what ability I possess? Though I prefer to leave all the works to my boat, it seems that I have to compete by myself now" Komachi begins to use her ability to manipulate the distance. She reduces the distance between her and the shrine to 0 which make her reach a finishing line in an instant.
"What? Komachi has already reached the Hakurei shrine. Is this means she is a victorious?" Aya reports with surprise. All the racers stop running when they heard that there is a winner already.
"Ha hah. The outcome is obvious from the start. Now I'll make all of you work for me while I take my long day off somewhere..."
"Komachi is disqualified." A judgment from Yamada shatters the Sinigami's dream.
"What? Why am I disqualified?" Komachi appears at the referee table in Eientei with her ability.
"This is a marathon race. It's a running race you slacker. Riding on any vehicle is against the rule. You ride on your boat, correct?"
"But… What about Orin and her wagon?"
"Rin didn't ride on her wagon. She ran while pushing it so it counts as running."
"What?"
"You got a problem?" Yamada looks at Komachi in the face.
"Er… No. 'sigh' It can't be helped then. Guess I will go inside and take a nap or watch the race with the other." Komachi walks to the manor.
"Wait a minute Ko~ma~chi~." That stretch tone of voice from her boss sends chill down Komachi's spine.
"I've told you before not to ride the boat of Sanzu River (Styx) on the land. Now it is burned down to a coal thanks to you. What'll you gonna do now?"
"I… er… haha…"
'Smack' a rod of remorse strikes on Komachi's head so hard that she feels like her brain is shaking.
"Fix it before we return to netherworld. Or I will have you carry the soul of the dead on your back and swim across the Sanzu River instead"
With that sentence from the Yama, Komachi must spend her time fixing a boat while the others enjoy watching the race inside of the manor. A tear from her eyes almost become another Sanzu River in Eientei.