"...So the power I was sensing beneath the ground was the legendary ruler prince Shotoku, who has been reborn as a woman now and is going by the name Toyosatomimi no Miko after being resurrected as a deathless hermit. Meanwhile, all of these desire spirits we've been seeing are simply a natural byproduct of that resurrection and will soon fade away. And as for the prince and her new companions, they're planning to move their entire mausoleum into a senkai, then begin working to become the new Administrator of Gensokyo. Do I have all of that correct?"
We were back at the Myouren temple, sitting on the floor of the artfully spartan room in the main prayer hall, surrounded by the smell of incense and the quiet stillness of the night. The sweetly perfumed air and the long hours we had been awake were beginning to get to me and I could feel myself growing drowsier by the minute. After reaching the surface we had come straight here with Sanae yawning broadly, but wanting to see how things played out before she went home. Renko had agreed, feeling it was important to fulfil our duties as detective and report the resolution of our case as soon as possible, regardless of the hour.
Behind Byakuren Nazrin was sitting next to Shou, looking awkward and uncomfortable in more ways than one. I rather suspected that after Reimu and the others had broken into the underground passage she had finally managed to escape from the mausoleum and come back here only to catch a beating and scolding from Byakuren and Shou for having abandoned us. Our meeting with the Myouren crew had begun with a big apology from their side, in which Byakuren had bowed deeply to Renko, almost groveling for having put us in danger. I personally didn't hold anyone responsible other than Renko, who had been the one to suggest we explore the shaft leading down in the first place. Renko, for her part, seemed to hold everyone blameless, most especially herself.
"Yes, that's about the shape of it, miss Hijiri," Renko said with an easy grin.
"I'm impressed you were able to accomplish so much so quickly and report back in such detail. You... went much further than I had expected on this matter," she said delicately.
"Well, that's just the sort comprehensive quality you can expect from the Hifuu Detective Agency. Please feel free to contact us again if you should ever have need of our services in the future." Renko laughed cheerfully, perhaps a little giddy from exhaustion. I subtly reached over and pinched her thigh to quiet her down, then looked the other way when she turned to glare at me. Expecting her to reflect on her own recklessness or how this could have been resolved in a much quicker, much simpler way if we had just come back after opening the doors beneath the grave was, of course, absolutely hopeless.
"So, if I may ask, what will the Myouren temple do now?" Renko queried, turning back toward Byakuren. "The prince and her companions seemed to expect some sort of interference from you. Do you intend to try and deal with them in some way?"
Byakuren closed her eyes, laying a hand on her cheek and tilting her head slightly.
"Well, she's already been revived now. I would have liked to prevent that if I could have, but now that it's happened and if she's intending to become the next Administrator of Gensokyo, I'm sure she'll be putting in a public appearance of some kind soon. I suppose we'll have to wait and see how that goes before we make any plans."
"And once they do show their faces, then what?" Sanae asked. "A raid? A no-holds-barred wrestling match? Some sort of fighting tournament?" For some reason her eyes were shining with excitement. I decided to chalk that up to sleep deprivation as well.
"We of the Myouren temple would prefer a nonviolent solution," Byakuren replied softly. "However, if their aim is to oppress or persecute all youkai without question, then we will of course defend ourselves and the freedom of our worshippers and practitioners." She nodded her head slightly as she spoke, her eyes still closed.
"It might not work out that way," Renko suggested. "They may even ask for your help. During her last reign, the crown prince was famous for spreading the influence of Buddhism across Japan. Now that she's back, she may try to conceal her allegiance to Taoism again."
"I suspect not," Byakuren said with a sigh. "During her previous life, she was a mortal. If she's been resurrected now, I know all too well how hard it can be to conceal one's inhuman nature. I doubt a former imperial prince could be satisfied with merely being the elected leader of a village of humans and as such, it seems inevitable that they will see us as enemies to their cause, or at the very least as competitors for the belief of not only the villagers but the youkai of this world. Even if they do not, however, we have a duty not to let the people of Gensokyo be lead astray by false profits. The tenets of Taoism make no accounting for morality in their teachings and it would be a tragedy if the souls of the people were lead away from the light of the Buddha by the false preaching of an amoral charlatan. Namusan."
"Well the crown prince seems to like me at least. If you like, I could act as a negotiator. Would you like to continue our commission?"
Byakuren shook her head. "If, as you say, she has the ability to read people's desires then she would know you were in my employ right away. As it is, I fear that having you in her presence may have revealed more about the nature of this temple than I would like."
"Ah, I see. You're worried that she will persecute you not just as Buddhists, but as Buddhist youkai specifically. Well, she's not human any more either. Maybe she won't care. In fact she tried to convince me to abandon my humanity as well."
"I'm glad that you rejected that offer. To embrace immortality as a hermit is to stray from the cycle of rebirth laid out for us by the Buddha. It is a sin of the most irredeemable sort."
And with that, it seemed negotiations were at a close. There was no more place for our detective agency in the affairs of the two organizations and given each side's opinions of the morals of the other, it didn't seem likely that their conflict could be peaceably resolved either.
"Well then," Renko said, slapping her hands against her thighs and rising up. "I suppose I should bid you farewell. Feel free to send someone by our office when you're ready to settle the bill or if you have any more work for us. Merry? Sanae? Let's get going."
"Right, boss," Sanae said, climbing to her feet. I bowed slightly and then stood up as well. We were just turning to leave when suddenly the shoji on the far side of the room was thrown open, a thin, shadowy figure barely outlined in the doorway, a black blot against the deeper darkness behind her.
"Byakuren!" the figure shouted "Check this out, I -auuugh!" The cry had come from Nue, who had thrown open the door excitedly, then recoiled as soon as she saw me. "Ugh, it's that human with the awful, horrible eyes. Don't look at me with those, they make me feel like I need a bath," she said, cringing away and interposing a hand into the line of sight between me and her face.
"Nue! Apologize to these humans, there's no reason to be so rude." Shou shouted, glaring at her.
Byakuren seemed more concerned than angry, however. "Nue! Where have you been? We've been looking all over for you."
Nue smiled evilly, hunching up her shoulders and steepling her fingers as she cackled softly. "I heard you talking about how someone powerful might be about to be reborn, so I thought it only fitting that we call in a powerful ally of our own. Someone who could put down any enemy that dares threaten us here!"
"An ally?" Everyone spoke the same word at once. We looked around at each other blankly.
"Oh come on, what sort of a reaction is that? I had to call in favors all the way from the Outside world for this! Where's the praise? You should all be happy!"
"...Nue, they've already been resurrected. We were just talking about them."
Nue blinked at us incredulously for a moment then tilted her head back and screamed in frustration, a terrible sound, somewhere between the keening of an alarm, the scraping of metal on metal and a horrendous bestial screech.