"Well, you three certainly seem to be having a good time!"
At that moment, as the three of us had been laughing together around a bowl of snacks, Lady Kanako had suddenly appeared. Not by simply popping into existence this time, as she had done before, but by coming unexpectedly into the living room where we were gathered around the kerosene lantern. Sanae wiped the tears from her eyes and rose to greet her, though the tears there now were from laughing so hard with the two of us rather than her earlier lamentations.
"Lady Kanako! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. We had quite the amusing match. Danmaku is a game worthy of the gods, I'd say."
"Don't try to be all coy about it," a familiar voice called out from behind Kanako. "I beat you fair and square."
As Kanako stepped into the room, Reimu and Marisa filed in behind her, looking around at the room and its furnishings. Upon seeing Reimu, Sanae took a step back, withering slightly under Reimu's unhappy glare. After a moment though, Reimu's eyes turned to Renko and myself.
"You two again," she said with a sigh of exasperation. "I suppose at this point I shouldn't be surprised to find you here. Wondering what you're up to and warning you to stop poking your nose into Incidents doesn't seem to accomplish much, so I'm going to assume that's just how things are going to keep going. You should know that means that you can't expect me to always be there to rescue you though."
"Thank you Reimu, I'm happy to hear you acknowledge our right to investigate these anomalies."
"I didn't intend it as any sort of compliment. If you're going to insist on showing up, at least make room for us at the table. We've got a bunch of issues to discuss."
Renko happily scooted to the side, laying out additional cushions for the three of them to join us. I did the same, as did Sanae.
"Ah, so now you're going to negotiate the takeover of the Hakurei shrine? Why is Marisa here then?"
"I can be a witness, or an officiant or somethin'. Plus this way you don't try to suggest anythin' crazy again."
"You can be a spectator. I won the match so this is just between me and Kanako. I don't need your help in restoring belief in my shrine. For that matter, I don't need yours either," Reimu said, staring across the table at Kanako.
"Ah, so you admit that your shrine needs something done in order to restore its faith at least."
"What?"
"A shrine that has lost its faith is nothing more than a shack. I was worried that you were a shrine maiden in name only, but you seem to at least understand the crisis you are in. That's a good place to start."
"Wait a minute. Did you only send Sanae to provoke me so that I would feel like the shrine was in danger?" Reimu shot Sanae a threatening look, to which Sanae responded by cringing away.
"No, of course not. It was a nice bonus though. I sent Sanae to help if she could, and claim the shrine only if it was beyond saving. We are newcomers to Gensokyo and are only looking for a means of spreading the word of our presence and gathering faith and worshippers from the people of this land. Who better to talk to about such things than a local priestess of the native faith?"
"Well the Hakurei shrine isn't abandoned. I live there and there are even a few worshippers from time to time."
"In that case, I have no intention of taking it from you. What I propose instead is that we setup a branch shrine, as a seat of faith at the foot of the mountain for humans to visit."
"What do you mean by a 'branch shrine?'"
"Just a small reliquary altar somewhere in a corner of your shrine's grounds dedicated to me. It would be one of many I plan to setup. Constructing one at the Hakurei shrine first is important though. It would be a first step toward getting the humans of the village used to the idea of viewing this mountain as a sacred place."
"That sounds suspicious. How do I know you wouldn't use it as a base from which to take over the Hakurei shrine?"
"I have no reason to do so. Visitors to your shrine will be visitors to mine if a branch shrine is in place, and there would be nothing for me to gain by trying to force you out. It's a mutually beneficial agreement that we can both enjoy. Your shrine would receive more petitioners and more donations, and I would receive more faith and recognition. You claim the worldly rewards, and I the spiritual. Neither of us is left wanting. Besides, the alternative to such a plan would be that the two of us complete for faith. Neither of us would benefit from that."
Reimu crossed her arms and pondered, a sour expression on her face.
"I can see you still distrust me. There's no need to make a decision now. Before I can set about improving a branch shrine I need to solidify my base of operations here on the mountain anyway. You can take some time to consider my proposal."
"'Solidify your base of operations?' What the heck does that mean?" Marisa interjected. "Now you sound like your plannin' some nefarious scheme involvin' the tengu or the kappa."
"I merely hope to recruit the tengu and their servants as followers. The tengu are a proud people, and it will take time to bring them around to my side, but I see no reason why a goddess in this world ought not seek worshippers from among humans and youkai alike. After all, this mountain and its bounty are something everyone in this world can enjoy."
Both Marisa and Reimu fixed Kanako with a distrusting stare.
"We'll need to get past your suspicions before we can have any sort of a productive discussion," Kanako said, then clapped her hands. "Sanae. Bring us some sake."
"Ah? What? Oh, sure." Sanae scooted out from under the table and made her way into the kitchen.
"Hey, wait a sec, are we talkin' or drinkin'?" Marisa asked. "Just cuz I was thinkin' it doesn't mean you should go an' say it."
"I see no reason we can't do both. Renko told us that newcomers to Gensokyo are often welcomed at banquets, so let us dispense with formalities and partake of this sacrament. Sake is the liquid proof of a god's power, and there's nothing in my proposal that requires complex reasoning to figure out. You either accept it or you don't."
"Well, hell, that makes sense to me. As long as you're buyin' I'll drink to that."
"You'll take any excuse to drink, Marisa." Reimu said grumpily.
Marisa threw her arm around Reimu's shoulder and laughed. "Well I've gotta, if you're not gonna drink your share. It'd be rude to reject a loser's hospitality after beatin' 'em at danmaku, wouldn't it?"
Sanae came back holding a bottle just then and tilted her head in confusion. "Oh, will you two be drinking too? I thought this was just for Kanako. Aren't you both underage?"
"Huh? Whaddaya mean? If this is supposed to be a party, how're six people gonna share one bottle of sake? You're gonna need a lot more than that."
"Ah, I guess the laws of the Outside world don't apply here. In that case, Merry, Renko, should I get some for you too?"
"Who would turn down free sake?" Renko asked with a grin.
"I'll have a little, if you don't mind."
"And I'll need one of those just for me!" Marisa called, leaning over the table.
"Here, let me help you bring it in," I said, standing up to join her.
Sanae nodded her head and headed back to the kitchen as I followed her. As soon as we were through the door, I asked the question that had just occurred to me.
"Sanae, have you ever had alcohol before?"
"Back in the Outside world the legal drinking age is 20, so no. Is it not the same in your time?"
"In my time, real alcohol like this is pretty hard to find. Giving it to kids would still be a crime though."
"What should I do? How old are those girls anyway? 14? 16?"
"This is Gensokyo. You can't allow the common sense of the Outside world to invade here, it'd be like a foreign contaminant..."
I trailed off. Somehow my train of thought had gone off the rails. The thought of a foreign set of rules applying or having power in a place like this somehow seemed literally unthinkable. I couldn't wrap my head around the idea, and if I tried, my thoughts kept slipping off of the concept.
"Merry?"
"Huh? What?"
"You okay? You just sort of trailed off there."
I blinked twice. "Yes, I'm fine. Sorry about that. Hand me those two bottles." Had I really been here so long I was beginning to feel the affects of age on my mind already? Senility was a scary thought at the best of times, and I was still in my twenties. I resolved not to think about it. If I was going to start forgetting things, I had plenty of reason to do so right in my hands, and that would at least be more fun. "Right. Well, if this is your first time, try to take it slow and try to have some water now and then. You don't want to end up like Renko. I'll keep an eye on you."
"Thanks, Merry. How many of these do we need? Will this be enough?"
"It'll be enough to start. You've got a lot stocked up here, I see. If we're going to go through your stores though, won't the other goddess get mad at being left out again?"
"Lady Suwako? Hmmm. I'll cook her favorite dish tomorrow. Besides, Lady Kanako can make more whenever she wants. I'm sure she'll forgive us."
Personally I couldn't imagine being so nonchalant about the idea of so blatantly stiffing a curse god, but Sanae knew Suwako better than I did. "Alright then. Do we have any salty snacks we can bring out? People are going to want something to go with the drinks."
"I think we have a few bags of rice crackers left, but they're probably stale."
"Hmmm, do you mind bringing a light in here? Maybe I can throw something together really quick if you don't mind me using your stove."
"Oh, sure. Are you a good cook Merry?"
"Absolutely not. But I've learned a few things from Keine since coming here."
"Oh, teach me a recipe next time! I only know how to cook things that come in packages."
"You probably have more that you could teach me. I only know the basics." Certainly, I had never cooked for anything that might be called a 'banquet' before. That was the sort of thing normally trusted to Sakuya or even Youmu when people gathered up. Somehow though, I'd have to make do. "With what you've got here," I began, looking around at ingredients and rolling up my sleeves "...I think I can do something. Let's get to work."
-.-.-.-.-
After that, the so-called banquet continued well into the night, with much in the way of drunken carousing and little in the way of negotiation. Sanae proved herself to be a real lightweight, beyond even what her inexperience might suggest, and fell asleep early on. Kanako held herself well, spending the evening in good spirits and digging up plenty of information from Reimu and Marisa pertaining to the supernatural aspects of life in Gensokyo. Every now and then, Renko would join animatedly into this conversation with a question or observation about the mechanics of such things, but these were always met with glares from Reimu and looks of utter bafflement from Marisa.
I spent the evening quietly watching the interplay between humans and gods and tending to Sanae who was snoring softly atop a cushion on my lap.
-.-.-.-.-
Everyone ended up staying the night. Sanae was far too hung over in the morning to fly us back, so we ended up hitching a ride on Marisa's broom. Flying down the mountain was easier than flying up it, but with three people on the broom and all the power she had expended yesterday, it was still a rough, nerve-wracking ride with more than a few unexpected dips and bumps to add to the discomfort of riding on the overcrowded broom.
We ended up arriving midway through the first period and with Renko still smelling of alcohol. The kids were enthusiastically impressed with seeing us dismount from a flying broom, but our arrival was unprofessional enough to earn us both a grand lecture and a fearsome headbutt from Keine.
