"Is that a turtle or a moving rock? What are you two doing here with something like that?"
Reimu had spotted the three of us as we emerged from the reeds surrounding the pond and into the clearing behind the shrine that contained the storehouse and Keystone. Those had been the first words she spoke to us, rather than a greeting or anything else.
Genji didn't seem surprised by her manner of address, but his expression was a pitiable mixture of sadness and resignation as he swung his venerable head to face her.
"Lady Reimu, you forgot all about me, didn't you?" he asked in a mournful tone.
"Ah! You're that talking turtle! I didn't know you were still alive."
Genji looked up at Reimu where she sat on the porch with a sad, soulful, but not at all surprised look. "Lady Reimu, you haven't changed a bit." He pronounced.
"Renko, what are you planning to do with my turtle? I don't think you could cause another Incident with something like that, but I don't trust you not to do something stupid."
"I was hoping we could take him home to live with us, if that's alright with you. He can fly and we can't so it would be really convenient."
"You want to bring him to the human village?" She seemed like she was about to object, but then paused for a moment in consideration. "Actually I can't think of any way that he could cause problems for anyone, but what about you? You're not going to use him to go annoy the celestials into attacking or start a war between the tengu and oni or something are you? I don't know if I like the idea of you having an easier time getting around and interfering wherever you please."
"Perish the thought, Reimu. I was just hoping to have a more convenient way to go visit the Moriya shrine or the Scarlet Devil Mansion from time to time. Having Sanae fly us around all the time is a bit of a burden to her, and now that she's resolving Incidents, we wouldn't want to hold her back."
"I suppose there's no harm in letting you travel around, but I don't know why any human would want to go to the Scarlet Devil Mansion. As for Sanae, I'd be happy to see her spending less time collaborating with the two of you, but there's no need for her to try and interfere with any Incidents in the future. That goes double for you."
"Oh come on, Reimu. We're not that bad. Merry was a big help in catching that nue, wasn't she?"
"That nue would never have needed catching if you hadn't caused that whole Incident!"
"I was only trying to help out a friend. It all worked out in the end anyway, didn't it? Byakuren's kept to herself in the temple and people can travel safely to and from the kappa bazaar on the road north of the village now. That's a happy ending for everyone, isn't it?"
"Both of those things just mean more work for me!"
"Well even that's not so bad, right? You were just sitting here being bored and now that you're regularly coming to check on the Myouren temple, more of the villagers get to see you. That could even lead to more visitors coming to your shrine. Wouldn't that be a benefit?"
"It'd be more beneficial if the mastermind behind the last few Incidents could be properly exterminated and sealed!"
After that their conversation went back and forth a few times more, but eventually Reimu was happy to let us go along with Genji, who flew us safely back to the village. Flying with Genji was relatively pleasant. There was more wind to worry about than when flying with Sanae, and his shell was both uncomfortably hard and rather slippery due to all of the moss, but it was certainly a more pleasant and safer ride than being on Marisa's broom ever had been. I made a mental note to give Genji's shell a thorough scrubbing and see if I could find a pad of some sort we might be able to tie to his back. If that could be managed, then I might have to admit that Renko's idea had actually have been well thought out for once. That's what I was thinking until we ran into Keine, anyway. We landed just outside of the village's eastern gate with Genji, and while the gate guards didn't give us any trouble as we approached, it wasn't long before we ran into Keine, who was standing and chatting with Kotohime just outside of the neighborhood watch office.
"So, I was thinking Keine. We found this turtle at the shrine and I'd like to bring it to live in the pond at the school. I think it would be a good educational opportunity for the children." Renko said after Keine had greeted us and then immediately asked about Genji, who was plodding slowly along to catch up with us.
"Absolutely not, take it back to the shrine straight away."
"Ah." Renko said, her finger, which she had raised to begin enumerating her arguments, falling limp. "Just like that, huh? You're not even willing to consider the idea? The natural sciences are an important part of a well-rounded education, Keine."
Keine looked down at Genji, who's wizened face looked back up at her. She crossed her arms, looking very much like a parent confronting a child who had just brought a stray animal home to keep as a pet.
"I have Reimu's permission to take him, if that helps." Renko said pleadingly.
"That's not the problem, Renko. Look at him. He has a human-like face and a beard. He's probably half-way to being a youkai. Besides, he's huge for a turtle. Who would take care of something like that?"
"We would! We come into the office every day, even if the school's not open, so it would be no trouble for us to see to his needs, and I'll pay for his food out of my own pocket."
"We already have koi living in the school pond. I don't think the groundskeepers would appreciate us ruining all of their hard work."
The manicured pond on the school grounds, the koi living in it and the services of the groundskeeper who tended to it had all been gifts from the Hieda estate to celebrate the first anniversary of the school's operation under its new name. Several hearty trees had also been planted along with a handful of flowerbeds surrounded by rings of arranged stones. The yard of the temple school, which had simply been bare dirt for the longest time was now rather beautiful, especially in the spring when everything was in bloom. Getting the children to help with the planting, maintenance and arrangement of the flowers also provided a good opportunity to foster patience and emotional wellbeing in the students, at least in my opinion.
"Oh don't worry, miss. I don't eat carp," Genji said, still staring up at Keine with an unchanged expression. She was only surprised for a moment by his speech then fixed the turtle with a hard glare.
"Would it help if I mentioned that he's not a youkai, but rather a hermit? He's really a rather pleasant fellow, and given his size and disposition, I think he'd be great with the children. I bet they'd love to climb all over him." Renko squatted down as she said this and tapped Genji's shell affectionately. She smiled earnestly up at Keine, her smiling eyes a counterbalance to Genji's sad ones.
Keine frowned and looked down at Genji for a moment longer then turned to Renko. "Renko, just what are you planning? It'd be better to tell me now than for me to have to find out later. You didn't just go to the shrine and decide to adopt a talking turtle for no reason."
"Why does everyone assume I'm planning something? Is it illegal for a girl to want a turtle?"
"Renko, that's not just a turtle! That's a person! Probably a youkai!"
"No, I really am a hermit." Genji said, patiently. "My name is Genji. I'm just a very old turtle who learned to fly."
"Well I'm Keine Kamishirasawa," Keine said, addressing the turtle. "I'm one of this village's protectors and these two girls' guardians. I'm afraid this village is for humans only."
"Is it now? You teach at this school as a half-youkai yourself, do you not? Surely you understand that not everything that isn't human seeks to hurt your kind. There are even numerous other animals like myself living in this village. Would it really be so bad to have one that could talk and play with the children? I mean no one any harm."
Keine looked a little flustered by Genji's sincerity. She looked him over, seeming to evaluate him. "Well that may be, but is this even something you'd want? Has Renko tricked you or forced you into doing this somehow?"
"No, no. I used to help out the Hakurei miko before she learned to fly, but now I'm simply retired. I had been living in a pond near the shrine, but I think being surrounded by children might be a nice change of pace."
Keine frowned for a moment longer then squatted down and laid a hand on Genji's shell. After another moment of consideration, she spoke. "Well, you really don't feel like a youkai and there's no rules about which animals can or can't live in the village, so I suppose it's not really my place to stop you if you'd like to take up residence in the pond. If you cause any disruption to classes or damage any school property we'll have to chase you out though."
"That's understandable." Genji said, nodding slowly.
"You said you could fly as well. I'm guessing that's why Renko asked you to come here? These two have a habit of indulging their wanderlust rather haphazardly."
"Yes, I rather suspected that might be the case. They had indeed asked me to act as their chaperone."
"Well in that case, I'll allow you to stay so long as you promise to look out for the safety of all of the children in the school. That includes not only the students but these two reckless teachers as well. Don't carry them anywhere dangerous, and let me know if they're planning anything foolish. You'll see me around the school grounds most every day."
"I understand your terms and conditions completely," Genji said with a wheezy lilt that almost sounded like laughter in his voice. He closed his eyes and nodded solemnly.
I'm not exactly sure how Genji had gone from being our ride to being recruited to spy on us, but Renko didn't seem to mind a bit, smiling up at me from where she was squatting with a grin like she was a newly-minted millionaire.