Sure enough, a few days later an agreement was reached and formal negotiations were conducted over a banquet on the grounds of the Hakurei Shrine.
In attendance as representatives of the Moriya shrine were just two people, Kanako Yasaka and Sanae Kochiya. In attendance as representatives of the tengu were a half dozen important looking tengu nobles, their servants, various courtiers and negotiators, all of their servants and of course Aya Shameimaru as an official recorder and representative of the press.
Reimu Hakurei, Renko Usami and myself were all there as official observers and witnesses. Marisa Kirisame, who hadn't been invited, but couldn't be kept away once she realized something was going on at the shrine and there would be free food, was also in attendance.
Two long, parallel lines of rush mats were laid out in the courtyard of the shrine, with the tengu sitting on one side and the Moriya congregation sitting opposite them. The meeting grounds were surrounded by a blaze of beautiful autumn leaves that were now beginning to fall and clutter the courtyard as well. The atmosphere was tense as the meeting began, with almost 30 tengu sitting on one side and staring cautiously at the two women on the other.
"Don't be so scared, this is supposed to be a party." Kanako called out from her side of the courtyard. The tengu turned and looked amongst themselves in response, seemingly judging one another and deciding who would make the first move. Surprisingly, it was Aya who stepped forward and spoke first, emerging from her position at the end of the row where she had been leaning up against the uprights of the torii gate. This was a fact that many of her own delegation greeted with sour looks. Kanako and Sanae nodded in greeting as she approached.
"Thank you for inviting me to cover this banquet today. My name is Aya Shameimaru, crow tengu reporter and official proxy empowered to negotiate in the great tengu's name. I've been asked to speak on behalf of all of tengu society today, so please consider my words to be those of the great tengu themself."
"Whoa, when did you become so high an' mighty all of a sudden?" Marisa asked, rudely interjecting.
Aya laughed brightly in response, turning up her nose proudly. "Well, it seems my initiative on this matter was appreciated by those higher up." Behind her several grumbles and bitter glances passed among the nobles of the tengu delegation, but no one spoke up. "As for this party, we would of course love to join you in partaking in feast and merriment, but doing so is difficult when in the presence of a stranger with unknown intentions. If you would be so kind as to tell us your purpose in coming to Youkai Mountain as you have, then perhaps we can all drink in peace."
"Our purpose? Our intention is the same as any shrine's: to gather faith and provide the blessings we offer to the people of this world, that all may be enriched by our presence."
"If you'll forgive me for saying so, that story smells a little fishy as a motivation for moving an entire shrine and lake here from the Outside world."
"I will forgive that, but you have no reason to suspect us. It's not our intent to swindle your people out of their savings or homes. We have nothing to sell and no expansionist plans. We merely seek a place to practice our faith in peace and the opportunity to bestow wisdom, truth, moral decency and stoutheartedness to those who would hear our message. Those who choose to follow our faith shall find me to be a beneficent and bountiful goddess, able to enrich both the physical and spiritual lives of those who devote themselves to my service." Kanako spoke with a solemn and determined delivery, but a mischievous smile played on her face as she did so.
"Though, to be honest," she continued, "I would rather be less formal than that. My intention for today is merely to drink sake with you. All I desire is that your people invoke my name as casually as they choose whenever they should lift a glass. I require no ceremony or ritual of propitiation. Merely give thanks and enjoy the liquified essence of a god's power." Directly on cue, Sanae stood up and placed a glass bottle of sake in front of Kanako. It was one of the big ones - 1 sho or 1.8 liters. The goddess grabbed it by the neck and removed the cap as she raised it in toast. "How does that strike you?"
Aya grinned at her and shooed two of the nobles who were sitting on the mat closest to Kanako away. The two glared at her, but moved back, clearing space for her to sit down. Kanako placed the bottle in the space between them and Aya took it up. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet such a frank and straightforward goddess then. If you're going to make such a reasonable request, I don't see why the tengu cannot accommodate you that far. To your health then!" She raised the bottle high.
"Hey, it was going to be a pain for me already if gods and tengu were fighting on the mountain. If you fight here though, you're all going to get exterminated." Reimu warned. "Take it easy with the sake."
A look passed through the assembled tengu that was a mix of astonishment at Reimu's rudeness and apprehension at Aya's ready acceptance of Kanako's proposal, but Aya ignored them all. "Reimu, please. Who do you take me for? A tengu is not about to lose in a drinking contest. This much is nothing to someone like me."
"I should hope not," Kanako replied. "To a divine entity like myself, a bottle like that is barely the equivalent of a single drink. I had hoped that, in inviting the tengu to drink, I might find someone who could match my tolerance."
"Ayayaya, is that a fact? Well, in that case we're going to need a few more of these."
Kanako raised her hand, signaling to Sanae, but never looking away from Aya's fearsome grin. "If you will allow it then, I will have Sanae bring forth some of my private reserve. Sanae, show them the blessings of my divine power."
Sanae sighed and rose to her feet, heading into the shrine and coming back with a barrel of home-brewed sake. One tō worth -18 full liters. Carrying it with both hands and waddling slightly side to side, she set it down between the two parties.
"Ayah, are these the sorts of blessings that can be expected from the new god on the mountain?" Aya asked, smiling greedily as she looked at the cask.
"These and many more."
"Well, in that case, in my role as a proxy for the great tengu, I, Aya Shameimaru do officially declare that the tengu people are hereby willing to establish a friendly relationship with the Moriya shrine, on the sole condition that our people continue receive blessings that meet with our satisfaction."
"But of course. It is natural to expect a god to repay their followers faith with blessings in kind. I find your terms acceptable. Would our three witnesses be willing to vouch that these negotiations have concluded favorably with the agreement to a treaty of friendship between the peoples of the mountain and the Moriya shrine?"
"Yeah, whatever." Reimu answered.
"Witnessed and verified." Renko said with a nod.
"Yes, yes." I sighed, anticipating that, somehow, I'd have some explaining to do to Keine again.
"Good then!" Kanako declared, slapping a hand against her thigh. With that she reached over and deftly removed the lid from the barrel with one hand. "In that case, all that's left to say is 'Kanpai!'" She turned then, looking toward an empty space just beside Aya and saying "Before I pour though, why don't we invite the last of our guests to partake? Who is that there beneath the hood, are you a kappa?"
"Hyui? No way! My optical camouflage should be impenetrable this time!" There was a smearing of light and color and Nitori appeared on the spot.
"Ayayaya! Nitori? The kappa weren't invited to this meeting." She turned to Kanako. "Believe it or not, she's not here as a spy. This is a complete surprise to me."
"I see no harm in it. Kappa dwell on the mountain too. Drink with us, and let your people know of the blessings we bring to all who call Youkai Mountain home."
Nitori looked from Kanako to Aya with a worried expression, then over to the cask sitting before her. With her sitting down, the cask reached almost to her eyes. "That's... that's... That's way too many ethanol molecules!" She yelled and scampered from her seat, sprinting for the torii gates and once again disappearing in a blur of indistinct color.
"Oh, she escaped. I wonder if I should chase her down." Aya commented. There was a scattering of laughter, even from among the stoic tengu.
"I'll act as her proxy and drink in the name of the kappa then!" Marisa yelled from her position lounging on the shrine's veranda.
"You just came here for free drinks and food, didn't you?" Reimu grumbled.
"This meeting's only being held here because you wanted the same. Don't be stingy."
"This is the beginning of historic pact, it deserves commemoration with a drink!" Renko declared. "Come on, Merry, you have some to. It's liquid divinity."
"...I'll try a little."
From there, the party continued just as you might expect, a typical Gensokyo party, held in the typical Gensokyo place. The fact that there were so many new faces at the shrine didn't change the atmosphere a bit after that.
-.-.-.-.-
After that, the disturbances centered around the appearance of the Moriya shrine came to a close. If my goal here were to write a history of the beginning of Gensokyo's first religious war, then I would put my brush to rest here. As this is instead intended as a mystery story and a tale of my partner's grandiose delusions, however, there's a bit more to cover.
This next bit of the story took place a few days after the banquet, again at the Hakurei shrine, or rather off to one side of the shrine, in a small clearing just in front of the storage shed, behind a young zelkova tree that hid the area from the path in front of the shrine.