Chapter 9: Unknown X ~ Wrath of Mother Nature
Minutes earlier, Alex found himself anchored to the S.S. Suwako as she took her dear sweet time moving through the "seas" behind the shrine. She had an almost unhealthy desire to play hopscotch along the brimstone path leading down the mountain's back. She put her tippy toes onto each individual stone and waddled her arms out to pretend she struggled to remain balanced.
Leaps between stones could take up to five seconds at a time, making what should have been a simple trip into a physical labor similar to what Hell must be like.
It might have been worth it had Suwako been talking, then Alex could've at least had something to bounce some "witty" retorts off of. Instead, all his gripes and groans remained echoes in the steadily boiling bot that was inside his head.
"I'm starting to think Kanako would've been the better choice..." He closed his eyes, stiffened his head up, and let out a long muffled sigh, "A snaky businesswoman or an absent-minded child...Might as well kill me now!"
Suwako spun around and began to top on one heel while tucking her sleeves back. She had a playful look in her eyes that would be inviting to any youth. But for Alex it was just an anuerysm waiting to happen.
At least now the little goddess chose to speak up, her attitude as casual as a friend's would be, "Did you REALLY need to take Kanako's bait?"
Alex closed his eyes and laid a hand up by beside his chest while quietly saying his gripes, "Even if she's full of it about the Cosmos Drive, it doesn't hurt to play along."
Plus with a cocky smirk he proclaimed, "Besides, don't you think she could use a heaping helping of humble pie?"
Suwako made a particularly large hop then plopped both feet on the ground, swinging one sleeve up near the mouth before getting blunt, "Sure she could. The old hag gets too big for her britches sometime."
With a sly turn of the head she then snickered and said, "But are you really up for the task?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Alex replied with a fiery glare.
"Nothing! Nothing!" She insisted and threw her arms up in the midst of laying them on the back of her head, "Come on! Lets just have fun!"
With a swift bound forward she sprinted down the path and held her arms out. Alex tilted and shook his head before picking up the pace himself, albeit just a little. Suwako soon vanished into a thin veil of steam that left the atmosphere feeling humid and relaxing. He had never felt this kind of heat before. His body wanted to sweat, but in a good way. Every last concern he had seeped out through the pores and melted to the ground like goop.
The source of his alleviated woes was a set of hot springs. Each one was the size of a pond and could fit a dozen people, and there was plenty of space between each one to ensure privacy. Suwako had stopped at the edge of the biggest hot spring and leaned juuust enough to not fall in.
Alex entertained the idea of tipping her in, but only got as far as smiling about it before Suwako spun around. She looked incredibly happy, even for her, as she proclaimed unrestrained of sensibility, "Well what are you waiting for? Lets get naked!"
Her bold comment was the bullet that shot through and shattered Alex's fragile young mind asunder. His face turned bright red as he stammered like a brainless dolt, "W-What the hell are you saying?!"
"What? You can't go dipping in a hot springs clothed." Suwako replied baffled at first, then spread one hand's worth of fingers before he grin and teased the poor boy, "Oh relax, not like you've got much worth seeing."
"Like you've got room to talk you flat-chested-!" Alex turned away, bit his tongue, and swung his right arm out to try and fend off the perverted imagery that attempted to penetrate his mind, "Forget it! For-get IT! This conversation never happened!"
Suwako leaned back and tipped one leg up while commenting, "You somehow snagged a girlfriend, but with that attitude you'll be a virgin 'til death."
Hiding his beet red face as his eyes rolled back into his skull, Alex groaned with his breath ragged, "A-Aren't we supposed to be having a duel?"
"I don't know? Are we?" Suwako smiled smugly as Alex turned and gave her his patented 'I want to strangle you' glare.
"Alright, alright...Guess it'll have to wait." She shrugged it off and wiggled her left arm at the water. A dozen large lily pads appeared in an instant, and she was no less exhausted for it.
"So...I think a normal duel won't cut it this time..." She turned to look over her shoulder and remarked, "I think we can spice things up with our particular talents, Mr. Elemental Overlord."
Her confident, competitive spirit resonated with Alex on a finer level, and with his arms crossed hs urged her on with, "Alright, what's your game?"
"Nature vs. Nature..." She spoke plainly while standing at her side and bridging her arms towards the springs, "We'll keep to using Danmaku based on plants, water and wind. Just bullets though, no lasers."
"And the lily pads?"
"Platforms. Fall off 'em and you lose. So no flying either."
"How about your spell cards?"
"I've got stuff for this kind of duel, no problem!"
Alex nodded and Suwako yelled out a quick 'Great!' before making like a frog and hopping across the lily pads. He just went to the closest one, surprised by how rock hard it was. Suwako was hunched down on all fours and looking rather jolly.
"Today's a nice day for Danmaku. Every day's great for Danmaku!" She closed her eyes and rocked the lily pad a little.
Alex was glad he could her through the steam, since he was already at a disadvantage. While cracking his knuckles to prep himself, he listed those restraints off quietly, "Three elements, no beams, no flying, can't fall off..."
After a hefty puff he remained confident, "Piece of cake..."
Suwako propped a spell card up in front of her face and said, "Alright! Lets see what you've got!"
Using just a spout of water from the mouth she punctured the Spell Card and made it break, then declared with glee, "Fountain Parade for Native God!"
She swung her right arm up and a plume of shiny water droplets sprayed into the air from her sleeve. Alex held his ground on the lily pad and glanced up just a bit. The droplets were going to fall around him, and their pace was glacial. So he decided to focus on Suwako for now.
He thrust his palm against the air and send a burst of wind her way. She leapt to the right with her hat stuck to her like glue and positioned herself perfectly on the center of the new lily pad. Then she hopped high and threw her arms into the air as though cheering the sun, sending a bountiful bouquet of lotus colored bullets out in a blanket.
Alex thrust his other palm out to hit Suwako with a blast of air that barely qualified as a shove, then leapt to the right to avoid the bullets as they danced like falling petals. The second lily pad he was on started to sink into the springs right away, He gripped his hands together and stabilized it, albeit with a bit of bumbling on his part. Suwako could only chuckle at that, and the boy responded with a twitchy scowl.
He used the tops of the lily pads to create large daisies and threw them out like razor sharp discus. They crossed right where Suwako was, but she kicked her rear straight up and hopped over them. And just to rub salt in the wound, she landed atop one and used it to ride over to a lily pad a couple feet back.
Alex grabbed at the air and yanked his arms back so the elbows would be adajcent to his shoulders, and the daisies flew straight back as Suwako landed. She poked over her shoulder and ducked, her hat left spinning as the daisies passed her by.
The water droplets began to splash upon the surface and make it harder to see what Suwako was up to. Plus, each time they hit the water it sent ripples to disrupt the lily pads. Alex wanted to pay attention to where the drops landed, for he suspected the goddess was planning some nasty tricks in the water.
"Hey! Watch out!" She shouted merrily, shifting the boy's focus up right as a large ball of water burst upon his face and left his whole body drenched. He stumbled back to the edge of the lily pad and shook his head dry, with the steam taking care of the rest slowly.
Suwako stuck her thumbs in her ears and pivoted her hands around, then poked her tongue out and hopped a couple lily pads to the left. Alex rushed to the edge of the platform and smashed his fist against the water, setting a jet bullet across the surface to intercept Suwako's platform, capsizing any other lily pads along the way.
The goddess grabbed onto the lily's edge the moment she landed and held on for dear life as it was knocked up, keeping stuck to the hot spring only thanks to its thick stalk. The lily pad sprang back into place with a hefty splash, and Suwako got right back up on all fours without losing her smile.
Alex squeezed the water as he started to stand back up, only to be blindsided from behind when a string of watery bullets rammed into his back in an arc. Their combined pressure nearly forced him off the edge, but he caught himself just in the nick of time to leap on over to the lily pad straight ahead.
But awaiting him to the right was another arc of water bullets, something he narrowly missed from the corner of his eyes. He pulled his abdomen back and let the bullets graze on by, all while straining to look at Suwako. The little goddess had sat down and was waddling her feet in the water while bobbing her head back and forth.
"Oh give me a break..." When the bullets had run their course Alex sprung forth and sliced the air with a heavy chop, sending a crescent of wind at the goddess. She popped her eyes open and raised her arms up high, causing the lily pad to lift ten feet into the air. The stalk took the brunt of the wind and trembled, but not enough to disrupt Suwako's leisurely sit.
She leaned her head out for Alex and said, "Its a nice day for rainbows isn't it?"
"What?" Alex's mouth squirmed along the side of his face until he decided to look right. Traveling along the same path as the water bullets was a sparkling, solid rainbow. In fact, many of them were cropping up across the hot springs, leaving little room to move.
Alex tipped a little bit forward to get out of the rainbow's path and glared at the goddess, swinging his pointer finger out and proclaiming, "Hey! Rainbows have nothing to do with-"
She swiped her arm up and threw another large water bubble into Alex's face. His eyes were forced shut and he got knocked over the rainbow, where his landed crash landed right in the hot spring. The goddess tilted her head and was more concerned with the rainbows vanishing as she spoke up, "Rainbows need raindrops to blossom yeah? I don't see the problem here."
Alex pulled his head up and was a little steamed both figuratively and literally. Suwako propped a hand under her chin and murmured after seeing how drenched his ears were, "Oh sorry, guess you didn't hear me."
He laid his palms on the ground and kicked out both his legs, slicing a horizontal storm of air blades at the goddess. She hopped over all of them and then fired a spout straight down to vault over Alex. After a couple twirls she landed standing up and grabbed her hat to take a bow.
Alex's face squirmed into an indescribable expression of irritation before he turned around and glided his open palm along the air. The water got picked up and carried around him in a curve, growing taller as though a mammoth shark was preparing to leap out from underneath. Inches away from Suwako's platform, the water submerged and erupted in a geyser.
She leapt back and twirled around, throwing splashes of water from the sleeves before she landed. Alex got brushed back as the water went into his face, but he swiped it right off and retaliated by clapping his hands. The lily pad Suwako was on attempted to clamp shut like a flytrap, but she just hopped on top of the fold on one foot and wiggled her arms around.
Alex swung his arms down by the hip and tried to dunk Suwako in the water, but she made a slippery escape once more onto the lily pad to the left. She then threw her right hand up to send up another plume of water droplets, though not without throwing out a well-mannered taunt, "You should try some more tricks."
His response? Another attempted air blast, this one as big as his body. Suwako hopped to the left and with a flick of the wrist threw a couple large water bubbles into Alex's body. His heels slid off the edge of the lily pad, so he hopped back to get better footing on another platform. He then twisted his body back and hid a clever grin behind his flexed right hand as some ideas brewed in the mind.
"Fine...You want some tricks? I'll show you tricks!" He mumbled to himself and whipped his right arm out. From the palm he summoned a thick vine and whipped it towards Suwako in a second. She hopped over it and then flapped her sleeves to levitate as it came back around.
He whipped it back and forth a couple more times and moved forward, bending down to tap the surface with his pointer finger. He took the bubbles underwater and both solidified and filled them with air before spreading them around underneath the lily pads.
He reeled the vine back in and crossed his arms to patiently wait for Suwako to land. She hovered for a couple more seconds, during which the water droplets fell into the hot springs to repeat that bothersome pattern. Alex sprung to the left and kept on the move around the edge of the arena, evading every arc in his way.
Suwako started leaping in the same direction but was a fair bit more agile, and along the way she threw water bubbles to get in Alex's path. He flipped right over them and stretched his right arm out to snap his fingers, causing the bubbles he set to burst. Suwako's balance was thrown off as the lily pad she landed on flew high into the air, and she stumbled right off onto another one.
She kicked up running as more bursts went off around her, trying her hardest to escape while having the biggest grin on her face. Each hop she made carried her an inch off the ground and thus she rounded the arena in seconds, landing on the lily pad behind Alex. But by then she got struck with a surprising revelation.
Alex had launched all the lily pads save for the one him and her were on, and with a sly smirk he slowly turned around and had a small marble of wind propped on his pointer finger and thumb.
"Gotcha bitch." He flicked the marble off and it flew straight into her chest as the eyes on her face and hat went wide. The marble expanded into a bubble the size of her body and burst wide open with a deafening 'Pop!', launching her back a good twenty or so feet.
Unfortunately one of the lily pads fell back down to catch her on her back, where she propped up on one elbow and rubbed the side of her head with a somewhat frazzled expression. She then hopped onto all fours and smiled unfazed, "Whew! That was a close one!"
"Son of a..." Alex lowered his hand and was beside himself with disbelief.
Suwako kept balanced even as she clapped her hands together and commented, "Alrighty! I think its time for a change of pace!"
"What, done already?" He said with snide.
"Done? Why would I be done?" Suwako lifted her shoulders for a feathery shrug, "What are you the fun police?"
Alex raised his brows and sniffed the air. The heat was growing stronger, and the surface water reflected that by the amount of bubbles increasing in magnitudes. Suwako grabbed onto the rim of her hat and lowered it over her face while remarking, "You know what's great about hot springs?"
The bubbling intensified and Alex knelt down to grab onto the edge of the lily pad, where he then got a good look at the godly crimson gleam in Suwako's irises. With a little more maturity in her voice she said, "They're really...uplifting."
The hot springs they were on unleashed a geyser half a mile tall, snapping the stalks right off the lily pads. Suwako's powers kept them alive as they were all hurtled into the air by the hot and powerful updraft. She clung tightly to her hat and the edge of the lily pad and looked towards Alex, whose face turned a mild, swampy shade of green for a second.
"The same rules still apply, so don't think you can relax just yet!" Suwako stood up no problem and summoned another Spell Card, breaking it with a tiny water spout before proclaiming, "Last Word...!"
She threw her head back and her arms to the sky and with a couple leaps declared its name, "Rain, Rain, Rain 'A Blessing of Frogs'!"
Alex stood up on the wobbling lily pad and spread his legs a bit to stay on, then tried to blindside the goddess with a blast of air. But right as it left his palm it was intercepted by an actual, real-life giant brown frog plummeting from out of nowhere. And there wasn't just the one, dozens of frogs rained down every few seconds between the lily pads, filling his eardrums with a grating cacophony of croaks.
"Frogs? What are you, a child?!" He proclaimed in a flabbergasted manner, but Suwako didn't care. She just flung her arm up and launched a broad wave of lilac colored bullets in a flash, a couple ramming straight into Alex's gut to wind him.
"Come on come on! Quit complaining and just have fun!" She cheered him on in good natured faith.
After rubbing his stomach a little he looked right at her in spite of the frogs blocking his way and scoffed, "Hmph! Don't be so ridiculous..."
He swung his right arm back and declared, "As long as I'm winning, I'll keep having the time of my life!"
The frogs were a nuisance to the eyes and kept him from having constant vision on the goddess, who leapt across the lily pads like a cricket on crack while throwing more waves of bullets out. Her attacks were precisely timed to not get ruined by the frogs, so all Alex could do was stand helplessly as his feet were dragged further back towards the edge.
Each frog weighed a lot, for every one that passed rocked the lily pads as though they were in the middle of the ocean during the start of a storm. Alex sought to take advantage of that predicament by throwing air blasts at the lily pads Suwako was using, but if it wasn't the frogs stopping them the goddess merely clung on for dear life as they spun around.
Once Alex had enough of that, Suwako got onto the central lily pad and formed a ring in front of her lips with two fingers to blow out a stream of featherweight bubbles. Alex popped them all with a flick of the wrist to summon an air blade that Suwako then vaulted over to get in closer. The frogs didn't even come close to hitting her, and it was doubtful they ever would.
Alex leaned forward and swung his arms together, launching three waves of water at rapid speeds. Suwako backflipped and landed with one foot onto one, then skipped and jumped onto the other two no problem. She then had a mischievous glimmer in her eyes as she leapt up and swung her arms overhead.
From a puff of smoke she created a wooden hammer twice as big as herself and brought it down towards Alex's head. He widened his eyes and leapt to the right, the splinters in the hammer's head grazing his kneecaps. Suwako smashed the lily pad into oblivion and threw the hammer back, then started hopping away while Alex was too flabbergasted to respond.
After shaking his head the boy snapped his fingers and surrounded her with whirling orbs of wind. She snatched onto the edge of the lily pad as they burst into whirlwinds, and the eyes on her hat squeezed shut when it looked like it was going to go flying.
But for as powerful as the maelstrom was, they served as a mere distraction for the likes of Alex, who waited out the frogs to jump to the right and get a clear view of Suwako's side. Even before he landed he mentally latched onto the lily pads at his sides and set them to spin rapidly before tossing them straight at her.
Suwako perked up with a chuckle and smirk then ducked down into a puddle of water she just created, leaving only her hat exposed to the harsh elements. The puddle vanished and she sprang back up diagonally to the right of Alex, suspending herself with fluttering legs while blowing a stream of hot bubbles into his body.
Each bubble couldn't have hurt worse than a mosquito bite, but a hundred coming in contact with him a second? That easily ticked him off, and he retaliated by pounded the center of the stream with his fist to send a bullet of air straight at her.
She dove back down into the puddle and reappeared where her hat was, immediately throwing a spread of lilac colored bullets shaped like a frog at him. He hopped to where Suwako just was and the frog landed upon the lily pad, dragging it down with its weight.
Half the platforms were gone now, but this was detrimental to both parties and Alex was confident he'd get Suwako with this disadvantage before she could conjure up any sort of tricks. With a firm smirk he swung his right hand up and sliced through three of the lily pads with an air blade, leaving just the row of three the two were aligned across.
Suwako's brows perked up and she hopped back, throwing a couple big water bubbles as fast she could to try and topple Alex over. He met her attacks with his own of equal power, dousing the battlefield in hot mist. He tried to hop over to the center lily pad but a frog fell down before his feet left the ground, giving Suwako the time necessary to throw a seed onto that lily pad.
A human-sized tulip blossomed from the seed and began spraying Danmaku everywhere, leaving Alex no choice but to deal with that first. Once another frog passed by he swiped his hand at the air and sent an air blade at the tulip's stalk. He had plenty of stamina to spare and thus didn't give a shit about the Danmaku falling upon him like pollen.
Suwako threw a water bubble over the flower to deal with the air blade, then floated in mid-air and tossed out a couple more for good measure. Alex braced himself with legs of steel and only budged a couple inches when they hit. But then he blinked, and Suwako was gone.
There was just a ripple of water on her lily pad, but surely she couldn't be planning on going to the center? No, Alex knew exactly where she was heading, and spun around right as she emerged for an ambush. Her extended sleeve met his outreaching hands, and the two fired off simultaneous bubbles of water and wind.
The moist burst rang into their ears for a second, and Suwako just managed to drop into another puddle to return to where she was. Alex, on the other hand, stumbled until he was slanting off the edge of the lily pad. With the shadow of a frog's underside looming terribly close, he widened his eyes, bit the bullet, and leapt over to the center platform.
His back smashed the tulip but all the Danmaku it released at that moment stung terribly. Nevertheless, he got right up and threw an air blade to slice the platform he was on. Left with just the two, he started a quiet but resounding chuckle of victory as he turned around and swung his fist up by his shoulder.
"Nowhere to run for either of us now, Suwako." His fist tightened along with the gritting of his teeth, and the goddess got on all fours and tilted her head looking puzzled.
"Sooo...that means I'll win soon, yeah?" It was the most obvious taunt in the world, but sadly it fell on deaf ears. Alex swung his arms down by the right hip and formed a condensed ball of air as big as his head. His plan was simple. Leap over to Suwako, hit her point-blank to send her flying, and the recoil would land him safely back onto the lily pad.
"No..." He leapt straight out and began to thrust his arms out with an overzealous expression, "It means you LO-"
It was a picture perfect moment. The sharp shift from arrogant certainty to complete dumbfoundedness. The miniature, beautiful smile the goddess wore. All of it this could be captured thanks to a single frog, which dropped its girth straight on top of Alex's head and dragged him down, down, down into the hot springs before he could even say one word of profanity.
The splash his body made could be seen even at the bottom of the mountain, with the lingering, steaming dew making for a rare and vibrant rainbow. Suwako made her way down beside the hot spring by slowly fluttering her sleeves, and landed on all fours atop a rock. She looked down and saw the boy face-first in the water, and he wasn't moving. But there were bubble coming from under his face, so at least he was breathing.
She took her hat off and spun it around on one finger, playfully talking to the boy in spite of his misfortunate accident, "Soooo...will that serving of pie be for here or to go?"
He started to grumble, but the water left his words inaudible. Considering the intensity of the bubbles rising from his mouth though, he was probably furious. Suwako tilted her head, closed her eyes, and tried to leave the match on a good note, "Hey hey, I had a lot of fun, and you did too. So keep your chin up! Tomorrow's another day."
Alex raised his right point finger up for a second, then plopped it right down and clenched it in with the rest of his fist, and though his voice grew weak he was clearly trying to say "Damn you..." though his bubbles.
Suwako put her hat back on and hopped into the hot springs, getting only up to her thighs wet as she waded over to the boy and effortlessly picked him up. She then jumped to dry land and laid him on his back. He wasn't choking on water, and the heat around his body was enough to dry him and his clothes off in seconds. But he didn't feel like moving, and just laid there wallowing in defeat.
Suwako hunched down next to him and gave his face a couple pokes, but backed off when his muscles started to tense up. After one long sigh he started to push himself back up and only had a drab 'Whatever...' to say about all this.
He lifted a hand up half-assedly and closed his eyes, then said to Suwako, "Look...no hard feelings ok?"
"What do I care? Like I said, its all about having a good time in Gensokyo," She smiled as she stood up, but got a little louder and snide as she noticed Kanako walking down, "Well, to some people anyways."
Kanako narrowed her glare at Suwako, who just turned aside, laid her hands back at her head, and began to whistle innocently. Shina suddenly sprinted past the goddess and stood beside Alex, ready and eager to bombard him with questions.
But as he turned his droopy eyes towards her she clammed up and bit her teeth with a deflating hiss. She then laid some fingers by her chin and had no hesitation saying, "Ooooh...you lost, didn't you?"
His eyes flared up and he briefly snapped at her with his arms held snug against the chest, "You don't have to act so damn unsurprised about it!"
He bit his lip and jerked back to let off a little steam, and Shina remained patient until he could more calmly speak to her, "...So, what about you?"
Shina opened her mouth but only got a gasp of air out, as Kanako took the lead in the conversation by answering on her behalf, "She performed admirably."
"So she won?" That got him smiling, and he leaned his fists against the side of his hips and let out a puff of relief, "Great, so we'll just be taking that Cosmos Drive info you got and be on our merry way."
"Not so fast Alex." Kanako firmly replied, and he broke out into a groan.
"What? What is it now?"
She closed her eyes and pointed out, "Shina may have won, but you still lost to Suwako. And since this situation doesn't warrant a draw, that means you must still fulfill your end of the bargain."
He widened his eyes and with a gritted scowl rubbed the back of his head to grumble "Son of a bitch..." to himself before relenting surprisingly quick, "Fine, fine. I'm not someone who breaks a promise."
He looked the goddess in the eyes and asked, "So what is it you've been so desperate to tell me, Kanako?"
"I'm glad you are being compliant, even if it took a little effort to to so," She had a small but pleased smile as she creaked her eyes open and got straight to the point, "How would you like to become a part of the Moriya Shrine?"
Sanae's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets and she ran right in front of her patron goddess to voice her displeasure, "Lady Kanako what are you saying? He'll drive off all the customers!"
Alex glared hot daggers into her back hoping that'd shut her up, but all it took from Kanako was two simple words, "Not necessarily."
She stepped forward and Sanae moved aside, allowing the goddess to better approach the puzzled boy. She laid a hand up underneath her mirror and gave it a slight twist, revealing on it a reflection of her own imagination. In her dreams she saw humans in dirty, dainty robes looking up and cheering for Alex, but the continued confusion on his face upon seeing that left a lot for her to explain still.
"The humans of this world are trapped in their village like cattle, serving their fear as nutrients to the many Youkai who live amongst them. Though it isn't a one-sided relationship by any means, there are many humans who feel better knowing there is someone who can protect them. That's why they turn to shrines like ours and the Hakurei maiden's, because they believe that we are their saviors."
"And they aren't wrong. Reimu and Sanae have been crucial in solving Incidents for years. However..." Kanako twists her mirror some more, this time showing off the two maidens spending their days laying down on the porch with drool running down the sides of their faces. Sanae turned beet red in a second, but Kanako just kept going while trying not to get too harsh.
"When it comes to other labors for the humans, they aren't the most reliable at times..."
"T-That was one time Lady Kanako!" Sanae swung her fists up in protest.
"But you don't tire, do you Alex? Nay, I say you could do the work of a thousand humans and not break a sweat."
Alex tilted his head and scoffed insultingly towards her, "So what, are you making a proposition for me to become the shrine's manual labor?"
"In some sense of the word, yes," She was upfront about her intentions without a shred of hesitation, and began to pull her hand away from the mirror to instead point at his body, "Remember how I said I can relieve you of the Elemental Overlord's soul without you losing your powers? Working for the humans is the key to accomplishing that."
"How so?" Shina spoke up with great interest.
Suwako then interjected all of a sudden, "Gods are born of faith and die of lack thereof. But what about a human whose powers aren't born of faith? What happens when they start receiving the blessings meant for a god?"
She turned around and faced Alex to further elaborate, and was acting more her age than ever before, "The general populace isn't going to know that your powers are attached to another soul. They'll just see a human flying around creating fire, plants and water and go 'Wow, who is this god who has come to give us these wonderful gifts?'"
Kanako picked up the slack from there, "Belief is a powerful asset in Gensokyo. It is what allows those denied existence in the Outside World to keep on living, but it can also create things that never existed before. But in your case, the belief humans have could transform the Elemental Overlord into an actual god."
"...Go on..." Alex's interest got Shina worrying, but she bit her tongue and hoped she was just overthinking things.
With a creasing smile Kanako spread her arms out towards the boy and her shrine atop the mountain, "With enough faith, his powers would be yours, and his soul could safely depart to the afterlife in peace."
"And what does the shrine get out of this?" Alex bluntly inquired, glaring right into her snaky pupils.
"Well, a god's faith is nothing without a shrine to attach themselves to. And as long as you are receiving faith, we too shall not have to worry about losing ours. Its of mutual benefit to us both."
She stretched her hand out just a tiny bit more, but Alex merely closed his eyes and puckered his lips to say, "Hmm, pass."
"Huh? Just like that?" Kanako murmured with her eyes briefly widening.
He crossed his arms and after a sigh bothered to explain himself, "I'm not looking to be worshipped. Godhood? With me that'd be the equivalent of trying to shove a square peg through a round hole."
He leaned one hand against his hip and tilted in that direction, opening his eyes to further nail the point home with how serious his stare was, "I'll do good because that's what I decide to do, not because I have to meet others' expectations of me."
He waggled a finger at Kanako and reprimanded her a little, "And besides, your plan would just throw the power balance in Gensokyo out of wack. And there's no way you'd be happy with that, is there?"
"Hmhmhm..." Kanako puckered her lips into a smile and crossed her arms under the chest to say with scarce traces of deniability in her words, "Indeed, I suppose you are right."
She then looked at him and said with as much grace a goddess could be allowed, "But I thank you for hearing me out regardless. Now then, about your Cosmos Drive..."
She faced the side of the mountain and stretched her arm straight down towards a temple in the center of the land, "There's a place down there called the Myouren Temple. They house hundreds of treasures from places far and wide. The chances of them having gotten a hold of the Cosmos Drive or something related to it are slim to none, but it can't possibly hurt to check. My qualms with the priest's methods aside, she is not a hostile host and shouldn't give you trouble."
Shina turned and gave the goddess a quick bow, "Thank you so much Kanako!"
"Feel free to come back anytime. I'll try not to be a burden if you do." She mentioned with a hint of embarrassment on her face.
Sanae looked at Shina and her lips were drooping on both sides, "Awww, do you have to leave so soon?"
"Hehehe, sorry Sanae, we're kinda on a time limit here..." Shina scratched the side of her face, hiding her mutual disappointment behind the usual smile. She then laid her hand out and said, "But I swear I'll come back and visit someday!"
"You got it!" The maiden shook hands once with all her energy, securing their vow.
Shina then turned around, wrapped her arm over Alex's shoulders, and pumped the other fist up high to say, "Alright! Lets head on down...to Myouren Temple!"
She grabbed on and made him hop off the mountain with her, where the two descended out of sight pretty quickly. Kanako observed their departure with a smile spread across her cheeks, puzzling Sanae. Suwako leaned forward and wobbled a leg up, looking up at her fellow goddess to say bluntly, "Alright Kanako, I think its time you stop keeping poor Sanae in the dark."
"Right, right..." Kanako closed her eyes and nodded a couple times, while Sanae just pointed at herself and said, "Eh? What're you talking about?"
Kanako looked at her from over shoulder and answered swiftly, "Truth be told, I was expecting him to reject my offer from the very start. That wasn't my true plan here."
"See, that vampire has provided us with a spectacular opportunity. Her message was broadcasted to everyone in Gensokyo, not just Youkai, but the humans as well. Now everyone in the village knows of the value of the Elemental Overlord, which means his defeat sends a very clear message to them..."
"Yep. Once everyone else tries and fails to take their shot at the Elemental Overlord, word will spread across Gensokyo that the goddesses of the Moriya Shrine were the only ones to put a chink in his armor. And from there, everyone will put further faith in us." Suwako added.
"And that's why its crucial that those two head out to deal with our rivals now rather than later. I can see right through that boy..." Kanako's eyes began to glow, but her words weren't the least bit malicious, "He won't let something like this happen again."
Sanae threw a punch right into Kanako's shoulder and puffed her cheeks with fury as the goddess blinked her way in confusion, "Lady Kanako! Shina was counting on you to tell the truth and you lied! How could you?!"
"...Who said I was lying?" Kanako answered honestly, "I do sincerely believe they'll find something down there. I'm merely turning this situation to my advantage."
"Though to be frank, once word gets out the humans'll be swarming to me, not you," Suwako noted with a smug grin. As Kanako's nostrils flared up and her glare turned sour, the little goddess spun away and delighted in taunting her fellow deity, "Guess I'll get my shrine back soon after all!"
The shadows of Kanako's four thin onbashira lingered over Suwako's body, as the iron-willed goddess levitated off the ground and delivered a firm ultimatum, "Perhaps you need a reminder of just why you lost it in the first place..."
With a deep guffaw Suwako swung around and a pair of metallic rings appeared like magic in her hands, "Fine fine, I guess there's still some time left. You better not use your earlier loss as an excuse when I win, Kanako."
"Hmph...!" Kanako swung her head up and then the two zipped straight for the hot springs to battle, and with a deflated sigh Sanae nevertheless perked up with a smile and went to go watch her patron goddesses do battle.
Next Time: Decadent Deception