The day after Aya brought the manga by our office, we were again visited as we sat on the floor, relaxing after a day of classes. This time the face behind the door was Suwako's, who excitedly told us that the advertising balloon to be used at the bazaar had been completed and was about to be tested.
And so, with some trepidation on my part, we joined hands with the native goddess and were quickly flown up Youkai Mountain to the spot where we had descended into the Underworld for the second time, the borehole dug by Lady Suwako on a small, artificially levelled plain on the side of the mountain. The scene had changed slightly since the last time we had been here. A mechanical winch and pulley system had been erected around the borehole, festooned with a number of complex-looking gearboxes. Kappa were bustling to and fro over the apparatus, inspecting and adjusting details. In front of it all, a wooden sign had been thrust into the ground proclaiming the site to be the 'Moriya Underground Geyser Center.' Among all of the kappa moving busily about there was one familiar but unexpected face here standing to the side and watching with a vaguely disapproving stare.
"Hello Reimu, what are you doing here?" Renko asked as we touched down.
"That's my line. What do you two have to do with this? Is it going to turn into an Incident?"
"No, no, this is completely harmless little project, done for the good of the village, in fact. As to why we're here, well I guess this was all my idea to begin with."
"Why do two humans like you always show up anytime youkai are getting up to any sort of a big project? Have you become Byakuren's followers or something?"
"No, not at all, and this isn't a youkai project anyway, or at least, not entirely. Lady Suwako and Lady Kanako are kami, just like the one you serve, right Reimu?"
"I called Reimu here," Suwako explained, heading off any further discussion before Renko could take the opportunity to antagonize Reimu further. "Since we're about to test something big and flashy I figured it would be better to let her know about it ahead of time rather than have her come fight us over it afterward. As you will see, Reimu, it's quite a spectacle, but completely harmless."
"I'll be the judge of that," Reimu grumbled, crossing her arms. After the Treasure Ship Incident I couldn't help but think that Suwako's decision to inform Reimu was rather prescient.
"So, it's going to be something big and flashy then? I can't wait to see it, Lady Suwako. This sounds good."
"Oh it'll definitely be that. I call it Hisoutensoku. We wouldn't want to spoil the surprise for everyone else though, so I've asked Kanako to bring in a fog to cover this test run. It should be here any minute."
Just as Suwako finished saying that, a white mist began to gather around us, rolling unnaturally up the side of the mountain, as if drawn from Misty Lake far below. The shapes of the kappa working on the machinery became indistinct shadows as our field of vision was blanketed in white.
"Alright!" Suwako declared, leaping forward so that she was standing halfway between us and borehole. She turned back towards us and struck a pose, one hand on her hip and the other arm raised with her elbow bent, almost as if she were checking a wristwatch. "No need to wait any longer. Hisoutensoku! [Showtime!]"
As soon as she said that, there was a great rushing sound and an enormous black shadow rose up behind her. It rose and kept rising, shooting upwards seemingly without end until finally it reached its full height, stretching high into the sky. The object was perhaps a hundred meters tall, so tall that we had to crane our necks back painfully to look up at it. It was hard to make out the details of a form that was both so large and shrouded in mist, but it was clearly at least vaguely human-shaped, with two arms, two legs, a long cylindrical body and a head that looked to be surmounted by some sort of horns or crown.
"Oh, it's..." I began.
"A giant, bipedal, humanoid robot!" Renko cried with glee, cutting me off.
That most iconic Japanese creation, the staple of countless anime and tokusatsu dramas, born of fantasy and childlike imagination and such an irreplaceable part of Japanese culture that even in the Scientific Century it was still a common sight on TV - a fully realized giant mecha stood before us, treading the soil of the land called Gensokyo. Just days ago we had seen Alice's giant doll in the Forest of Magic, but the scale of that creation was far different than this one, which looked like something ripped directly from the animation cells of a century-old anime. I'm afraid I lack the vocabulary to describe in great detail exactly which old anime mecha it might have resembled, as I wasn't particularly familiar with that genre but it definitely was reminiscent in a vague sort of way of designs I had seen repeated and referenced since.
The towering figure seemed to be rising up, as if from a crouch, and slowly reached its full height. Once it did, it stood there, silent except for a mechanical hissing sound, swaying ever so slightly in the fog.
"It worked! Startup sequence successful!" Suwako cheered. She shook giddily for a moment then leapt into the air, soaring upwards. She kept flying until she reached the mecha's shoulder, landing there and unhooking a bullhorn affixed to its body. There was a blare of feedback as she switched the device on, then a crackle as she shouted into it.
"This is it! Our ultimate advertising trump card! Hear its name and be awed at the might of the gods! I give you: Hisoutensoku!" All around us the kappa broke into a chorus of cheers, their indistinct forms raising their hands high in celebration. Reimu arched an eyebrow but said nothing, standing still with her arms crossed.
"Now, let's test the movement. Hisoutensoku! Activate Arms!"
There was a faint hiss from somewhere high above and the enormous but simple cylindrical arms of the giant robot raised up, rotating smoothly at the shoulders, elbows bent and locked until the arms were raised above the mecha's head, mimicking the pose of an angry gorilla. The movement was simple, but smooth and relatively quick.
"Looking good! Now let's try walking! Forward march!"
Hisoutensoku's right foot lifted off of the ground, slowly rising up. It hadn't risen more than two meters before the whole robot began to tilt, however, swaying unsteadily.
"Whoa, whoa, put it down, it's unstable!"
There was another loud hiss, nearer to us this time, then the foot came back down. When it touched down there was a soft "phlumph" sound, but no tremor of impact.
"Okay, that was a little dangerous. We'll have to put in some sort of balance system before it can walk. For now, it's good though. Let's shut it down! Hisoutensoku, retreat!"
All at once there was tremendous roaring sound that gave way to a wailing, mechanical whistle that sounded sharply and then died out as the towering form of the robot dived into the ground, descending at terrific speed. As it rushed downward it propelled a column of mist away from itself, disappearing into a thick white cloud. After perhaps a minute the mist finally began to clear. When it did, there was no sign of the giant robot, nor any indication it had ever been there. There was only the machinery ringing the borehole and the dozen or so kappa we had seen before, who were now rushing over to the apparatus to check it over.
"What was that just now?" Reimu asked, tilting her head. It was huge, but it didn't feel like it had any spiritual presence at all. Even an animal would have been more dangerous."
"It was an ad balloon!" Suwako said, dropping out of the sky right in front of us. "We're going to use it as a landmark to attract people to the kappa bazaar that's coming up. What'd you think of it?"
"It looked impressive, but there's no way something like that could be a threat to the village. What was it exactly?"
"A hollow shell, filled with air. You can come and touch it if you want, its just made of a special kind of cloth blown up with a strong wind. Think of it as a mere decoration. I'll make sure it doesn't get turned into a tsukumogami or anything too."
"What was it you called it?" Reimu asked, still seeming unconvinced.
"Hisoutensoku, written as 'unthinkable natural law' -that which is demanded to exist by the will of the gods, but is not to be found in nature."
"Right..." Reimu said uncertainly. "If its just full of air though, how did it move like that?"
"Well, the specifics are a trade secret, but no matter what, it's still harmless right? You're not going to tell us we can't create a little wind?" Suwako asked, poking her tongue out impertinently.
"I don't get how you people from the Outside world think. Renko, was this all your idea?" Reimu asked, turning back to us.
"No, I just suggested that they make some sort of a landmark to advertise the bazaar, but I never thought they'd come up with a giant robot."
"If it's not your plan it probably won't explode or anything, at least. Where are you having this bazaar?"
"Near the kappa hideout, on the cliffs near the mouth of the Genbu Ravine," Suwako replied.
"Hmm, if it falls over in a place like that, then it won't hurt anything important. Go ahead and use it if you like. If it causes problems, I'll come and exterminate it," Reimu said, waving dismissively. "If that's all you wanted to show me, then I'm going back home."
Suwako nodded, a satisfied expression on her face and Reimu departed, flying away to the east. Renko waved, watching her go then turned back to Suwako with an eager expression. "Alright, Lady Moriya. I need to know all about that thing."
"I based the design on a mix of Mazinger Z and Big O, since one's the first giant robot ever and the other's my favorite."
"That's great and all, but really, what is it? How did you make a giant robot in Gensokyo?"
"Oh, it really is an advertising balloon, just a divinely-inspired, kappa-made one. Now we just have to put out an announcement in the tengu newspapers so people will know what it means when they see it. Oh, I can't wait!" she said, dancing happily on the spot. I couldn't help but smile to see her so enthused.
"Okay, but even if it's inflatable, how did you get it to move like that? A balloon shouldn't be able to pop up that quickly or independently move its body parts."
"Ah, like I said that's a trade secret," Suwako said, smiling mischievously. She hopped closer and cupped a hand to her mouth conspiratorially. "But if it's Renko asking, I suppose I can let you in on it. Hisoutensoku happens to be a nuclear-powered robot," she whispered as we both bent down to her.
"What? Is Okuu inside that thing? Or did you find a way to miniaturize and regenerate your cold fusion system?"
"No, no, nothing like that. I'm just redirecting a little bit of heat energy from our subterranean sun."
"Redirecting? Oh, I think I get it, its a pneumatic steam system. You're routing a geyser into that thing?"
"Yep!" Suwako said with a big smile. "There's a bunch of separate valves and chambers inside. When one is open, the steam can pass through. When it closes, it catches all the heat from below and rises up. The left foot is rooted to the ground, its the intake valve."
"I see, so there really is nowhere inside for a pilot to sit. Still, it's pretty impressive for an advertising balloon."
"Not bad, right? Don't tell anyone about it yet though, I want to keep it a surprise until we're ready to unveil it."
"Understood. Does Sanae know about it yet?"
"No, this is my project. I'm keeping it a surprise for her especially."
"Ah, I'm sure she'll love it."
"She will. But if she knew I was doing this, she'd want me to make it look like a Gundam or something more modern. The old fashioned super robots are the best though. I'm so happy with it, I really went all out. Hey, do you think I could get the that poltergeist band to compose a theme song for it? Something like this deserves a ballad, something like 'Hear our call, Hisoutensoku!'" She began crooning in the closest thing to a baritone she could manage, improvising the words on the spot, over the tune of what I assume must have been the opening of an old giant robot anime. Renko and I could only look at eachother and watch with bemusement.