"Victory!"

I was beginning to feel a little tipsy by the time Sanae landed at the edge of the grove and made this declaration, dragging Tenshi along behind her by her collar as she did so.

"Oh, good job, Sanae. Thanks for all your hard work." Renko said, raising her cup in salute.

"Wait, were you guys just snacking and getting drunk while I was saving Gensokyo from disaster?"

"Well, I'm not sure what more you would expect us to do, we couldn't really hope to join you up there."

"Cheer me on! Pretty Cures grown stronger when everyone cheers for them, right?"

"Oh I've heard of that. Renko, what's Pretty Cure?"

"It was a magical girl anime at the beginning of the century. It went on for decades, I think."

"Really, decades? I'm glad to hear it stayed successful! I wonder what the current season is like? Never mind that now though. Who needs a Precure when Sanae Kochiya has vanquished the evildoer and resolved the Incident?"

Tenshi, who was sitting on the ground behind Sanae with her arms crossed and a sour expression, grunted unhappily.

"Now, since I've beaten you, I demand you make the scarlet clouds disappear and stop the earthquakes!" Sanae said, striking a pose and thrusting her wand in Tenshi's face.

"Huh? I can't do that, the Incident's not over yet."

"What do you mean 'not over yet?' I beat you! You're the one causing all of this, aren't you?"

"Well yeah, but I can't stop now, I haven't got to fight the shrine maiden yet. You said you're not her, right?" Tenshi asked, looking over at Renko.

"I'm not her, but why does it have to be Reimu?" Renko asked.

"Because that's how Incidents work! You cause a problem, and then the red and white shrine maiden comes and solves it. If she doesn't come, its not over yet!"

"You can't do that, I beat you!"

"You may have won, but if I say the Incident's not over, it's not over. And I say it's not solved until I fight the miko."

"Renko, she can't do that, can she?"

"Well, the rules say no, but I don't see how we could actually force her to abide by them. Even if the detective solves a case, they rely on the authorities to take the culprit into custody, and there's no prisons in Gensokyo, not that I think one could hold someone who causes earthquakes."

"We could take her back to the shrine and seal her behind wards! Lock her up and throw away the key until she repents!"

"Go ahead if you like," Tenshi said, lifting her chin and closing her eyes. "The earthquake will still happen either way. There's enough energy gathered up now that it's inevitable. It's just a question of where I aim it."

"Then just get rid of the scarlet clouds!"

"No. Not until the shrine maiden comes."

Sanae grabbed either side of her head and groaned in frustration. "What did I come all the way here for, then? I could just hurt you until couldn't fight Reimu even if you wanted to!"

"Let's not go that far, Sanae. She acknowledges that you beat her already and kicking someone while they're down wouldn't look very good for your shrine. Danmaku's supposed to be a game about beauty, right?"

"Well, what do we do then, Renko? We can't let her go free! She's a terrorist out to destroy Gensokyo!"

"Well, not exactly. Tenshi if you get to fight Reimu you'd be satisfied right? After that you'd get rid of the clouds?"

"That's miss Tenshi to you, mortal. But yes, that's right. All I want is to meet her."

"Well then, all we have to do is wait for her to show up. No making any more earthquakes until Reimu gets here. That seems like a reasonable prize to request for Sanae having beaten you, doesn't it?"

Tenshi grumbled and looked away. "I suppose." she muttered.

"There we go. Now, Sanae would you like to try one of these delicious peaches while we wait? We have some nice drinks too."

Sanae looked between Tenshi and Renko, then back again before sighing and plopping down on the grass, her cheeks puffed out in a pout. "I don't drink alcohol, but I guess I could try one of the peaches," she said.

Renko smiled and handed her one. Suika however seemed confused and scandalized by the response. "You don' drink alcohol? Thash like cutting 30% of of all fun out of your life!" She laughed and rolled backward, taking a long pull from her gourd as she rose back up.

Sanae seemed annoyed and turned away from her haughtily, but immediately forgot about being irate as soon as she nibbled on the peach. "Whoa! These are amazing!" She said with a wide-eyed smile.

As the four of us sat, enjoying the fruit, Tenshi turned to face us, then rose to her feet, looking us over before starting to tap her foot impatiently. Eventually she asked "So are all of you mortals just going to sit here and eat and drink all day?"

"What's wrong with that?" Renko asked. "We're just waiting for Reimu to show up. You let Suika stay here for a while now, didn't you?"

Tenshi looked at Renko and I, incensed. "Well, these two beat me at least. You two haven't even fought. We can't have humans just coming up here and hanging out whenever they please! If you're going to squat in the heavenly realms, you'll have to earn you place!" She grinned fearlessly and again summoned the thing that like the boundary of all swords, pointing its myriad blades at Renko's nose.

Renko shrugged dismissively. "Enh, I'm not any good at Danmaku. I'll accept your challenge in some other arena though."

Tenshi pondered for a moment. "Another arena? What should we do? Do you want a singing competition?"

Sanae looked up at her excitedly "Like karaoke? I call the tambourine!"

"Oh please no." I pleaded. "You don't want to hear her sing."

"How about this?" Renko said, climbing to her feet. "I'm a detective by trade. A great detective, in fact. And you, at least at the moment, are playing the part of the mastermind behind an Incident, right? So how about for a quick little game, since you've already gone to the trouble of setting up your Incident, complete with its deceptions and twists, I reveal the truth of the matter and tell you the real reason you did all of this. If I get it right, we'll say I win at this little game of deduction."

"You're a great detective?" Tenshi asked, looking confused. She considered for a moment, tilting her head. "Alright that sounds interesting. If you think you can figure out my true purpose, then let's hear it."

Renko stood up and made a show of preparing, clearing her throat, adjusting her tie and shaking out her legs and hands before bracing herself, poking the brim of her hat backwards with one finger and fixing Tenshi with a troublesome grin beneath a clear-eyed stare.

"Tenshi Hinanawi." She declared, flinging her arm out accusingly, "You smashed the Hakurei shrine for one reason and one reason alone: in order to rebuild it!"