"For someone or something to have been deliberately sealed away, there has to have been a reason," Renko said, hunching her chin to her chest. "'Holy Mother Byakuren' as the crew of the Holy Palanquin calls her, is said to have been sealed in Makai a thousand years ago. But why was she sealed, and why in Makai? From what captain Murasa told us, her crime was sheltering and aiding youkai in her temple and pretending to be a human. For this, the Hakurei miko of that era and the Yama sentenced her to eternal imprisonment in a world full of demons. Murasa, and Ichirin got punished to, basically just for the crime of being youkai, and they, along with the remnants of the temple got sealed in the Underworld. Since this predated the return of the oni and other reviled youkai to the city, the Underworld would either have actually been Hell at the time or have been in the abandoned state it existed in after Hell was moved but before the oni arrived, where it was basically a toxic waste dump for the earth spirits. In either case it would seem like the sentence given by the Yama to both Byakuren and her disciples was intended to be an eternal one."

I nodded. "That's more or less what Murasa told us, yes."

"Now I know a thousand years ago humans and youkai were much more hostile towards eachother, but doesn't that seem a little extreme? Wouldn't just burning down the temple and chasing the youkai away have been enough for the humans who lived here? What was it about both the temple and Byakuren that required that they be sealed away, never to return? Moreover, why did Byakuren have to be sealed in Makai, specifically? Why not put her down in the Underworld with the rest of the temple?"

Renko and I were sitting on the edge of the shrine's back porch, letting our bodies cool down after the soak in the hot springs. Marisa and Rumia had both already left for their homes and Reimu was busy preparing dinner, so it was just the two of us.

"Well, we know she was a nun and a preacher. Maybe they thought it would be inappropriate to condemn a religious figure to Hell. Or maybe they were worried about her trying to spread her teachings among the earth spirits. If she's sealed in a world full of demons, I can't imagine she'll find much of an audience for the wisdom of the Buddha."

"I suppose it could be something like that, but if she were actually preaching the Dharma, I wouldn't think the Yama would actually be bothered by that. She might even welcome it. If she were a heretic and just running the temple as some sort of scam or feeding her human parishioners to her youkai disciples or something then that might make sense, maybe..."

"We've met her disciples though, Renko, do Ichirin and Murasa really seem like the sort of people who would do that? I don't think Ichirin would harm a fly if she could avoid it."

"I'll admit it does seem a little far-fetched. We can't fully trust anything either of the two of them have said about Byakuren either though, as they both see her as an infallible saint. We have two irreconcilable narratives here -one story says Byakuren realized that rather than humans being haunted and tormented by youkai it was the other way around, with youkai being unjustly persecuted and hunted. The other says that Byakuren did something so evil and unforgivable that the machinery of divine justice condemned her to eternal imprisonment in a world full of demons. I don't think both of those stories can be true."

"If you look at the story from the point of view of the people who were attending her temple it might make sense. They thought they were coming to her for salvation from a world full of monsters only to find that she was a monster herself. They would have felt betrayed."

"I'm sure that's why they burned the temple to the ground, but doing that already removed her ability to shelter youkai and spread her teachings. Why go a step farther and imprison everyone, and why in two different places? Why did the Yama have to get involved? If something like that happened nowadays where a bunch of youkai were gathering up somewhere and trying to scam humans, Reimu would go out and knock some heads together. Maybe whatever they had set up would get destroyed. But that would be it. No one would think to get the Divine Ministry of Right and Wrong involved. I wish I could have gotten some more information about it out of the Yama when we saw her." Renko said, fanning herself with her hat and groaning.

As we enjoyed the view I leaned back and kicked my feet as they dangled over the edge of the veranda, trying to remember the details of our last encounter with Shiki Eiki three months ago. We had gone to Muenzuka with Sanae and Komachi to see her, and Renko's question about why Byakuren had been sealed away had been the last thing we asked about, just as the Yama was trying to leave. The answer we had gotten from her had amounted to little more than an admonition to mind our own business.

"Well, the Yama told us that Byakuren did commit some sort of crime, so we know there was some definite transgression of heavenly law. She isn't just a political prisoner."

"Yes, and that's the real question Merry. Just what sort of crime was it? Murasa admits she doesn't know what the Hakurei miko and the Yama talked to Byakuren about. Could she have been doing something that even her disciples weren't aware of?"

"Is that what you're going to investigate this time, o great detective? What sort of guilty conscience did a monk who lived a thousand years ago have? Whatever it was she's already been punished for it, Renko. Everyone has a few moments in their past their not proud of."

"Don't make it sound so sordid, Merry, I'm not a gossip columnist. This is a practical concern for us. Byakuren committed some sort of crime for which she was sealed in Makai. I don't think the Yama would be likely to lie -I'm not even sure they could, to be honest, so we can treat that statement as fact. We also know that the Yama is aware that we had been talking to Byakuren's disciples when she saw us, but she didn't warn us away from continuing to do so, so I don't think it bothers her if we help Murasa and Ichirin. Byakuren is still imprisoned in Makai though. She confirmed that. So whatever it is she did, the Yama seems to think its fitting that she still be sealed away. I kind of expected that if things had gone as planned and we had gone with the captain to Makai, the Yama would have interfered before Byakuren could be released and we'd be turned back. I just wanted to see what a world of demons was like, but now I'm starting to think Murasa's cause might actually be a righteous one. What if Byakuren really was unjustly imprisoned?"

Renko stood up and put her hat back on her head. "Finding out what crime Byakuren was imprisoned for is central to our duties as forces for good in this world Merry. If she really did do something so unredeemable as to warrant eternal imprisonment, then we should be sabotaging Murasa's efforts to free her. I don't expect that's the case though. If the crime she committed doesn't fit the punishment that was forced on her, then we owe it to the world to do everything in our power to see this wrong righted. Maybe we can convince the Yama to admit their mistake and approve her release. The fate of the captain's rescue mission could well be in our hands!"

I sighed and stood up. "You realize that you're willingly stepping into the role of the mastermind behind this Incident, right? While standing right next to the Hakurei shrine, no less. I feel bad for Murasa and want to help her out too, but when the forces of divine justice are involved, might it not be better to let things play out and resolve themselves on their own? Don't you think we might be in over our heads, Renko?"

"You know I can't do that, Merry. I've sworn to make this world a more interesting place and reveal its secrets, and if I have to oppose the laws of heaven to do it, then so be it. Now come on, we need to head back to our office. There's a thousand year old mystery to uncover and the hidden truth surrounding a guilty saint to reveal. I can't think of a job more appropriate for a great detective like myself! The Hifuu Detective Agency is on the case!"

"And all great detectives need their assistant. Yes, yes. I'm coming. I thought it might have been nice to relax a little after a trip to a hot spring, but I see there's no stopping you."

"Sorry, Merry. We have to keep the momentum up. We don't have Sanae here to keep things lively at the moment."

"You know that the Yama told me that I should be trying to slow you down, right? As hopeless a task as that is, I feel like I should still be making an effort."

"Are you still trying to follow her advice? You're so diligent, Merry, that was years ago. I forgot everything she told me almost right away. It was all just a bunch of contradictory nonsense anyway."

"Renko, sometimes I wonder if you even possess the capacity for self-reflection. You didn't see any truth in what the Yama said to you?"

"I'll have you know I gave it very careful thought before I decided to ignore it. I reflect on and revise my behaviors all the time."

"Revise them? How? Toward being more reckless?"

"Toward ensuring the world is a more interesting place! That's my purpose here, Merry! Where would you be without me? Probably doing something boring."

"Or maybe something safe."

"Are you two still here?" Asked Reimu, interrupting our bickering as she walked out onto the veranda. "Why are you both hanging around my back yard? I hope you're not thinking that I'd feed you if you stuck around."

"No, no, our business isn't doing so badly that we have to beg for food here of all places."

Reimu shot Renko a seething glower. She raised two fingers and one of her ofuda appeared between them. "Go home," she said flatly.

"It was a joke, Reimu. A joke! Since you're here though, there is actually something I wanted to ask you. Do you have time for a few questions? I promise I'll leave a donation on my way out for all of your help."

"What."

"I just wanted to ask about the previous Hakurei shrine maidens. I know that there have been others before you, but how long has this shrine been in operation?"

"I don't really know. I've been working here as long as I can remember. There was someone who taught me how to do some basics a long time ago, but I can't even remember her face now. I presume there were other maidens before her too, but I never met them. One day I woke up and she just wasn't here any more. I've been running it on my own since then."

We had asked Marisa similar questions about Reimu's past before, but she wasn't much help either. "When Reimu was little there was this giant old turtle who lived in a pond a ways behind the shrine. He used to take care of her. That's all the parents she's ever known, so now she's lazy and slow to move, just like a turtle," was what she had told us. When dealing with Marisa though, it was always a good policy to not take more than 30% of any statement as an unvarnished truth.

"What about written records? Did the previous shrine maidens leave any teachings behind, or tales of their past deeds or the like? You're basically a hero to the people of the village, I would think there would at least be stories."

"That's what Akyuu's for, isn't it? Why not ask her?"

"I suppose that's fair. What about possessions? Did the previous shrine maidens leave you anything?"

"There was some old stuff in the storehouse, but I never really went through it all, and it all got flattened in the earthquake a while back. I gathered it all up and got rid of it."

"Ah, I see. Natural disasters are the constant enemy of history, I suppose. Though that disaster wasn't all that natural, really. At any rate, there's nothing left of any previous shrine maiden then?"

"Why the sudden interest in previous shrine maidens? Are you trying to get that green girl to take my job again?"

"Of course not, Reimu. Perish the thought. I just thought we've known you for a long time, but there's still plenty of things we don't know about you."

"You know all there is to know. I'm just what you see in front of you, it's not complicated. I run this shrine because that's who I am. I've always lived here. You guys can look into my predecessors if you want, but if you come here and start trying to mess with things I'm going to exterminate you. You've been connected to too many Incidents for me to think you're half as hapless as you claim to be. You're up to something and if it becomes enough of a problem that I have to find out what it is, I'm holding you responsible."

There was no hint of a question in any of her statements and the gaze she directed at Renko was still and disinterested. If it came down to angering the Hakurei miko, I'm sure that my partner wouldn't be able to get away with throwing a few coins in the offertory box and claiming it had all been a joke.