The Hakurei Shrine not only consists of the main building wherever the god resides there but also the grounds at the top of the hill that the main shrine sits on, including a building as big as the main shrine that sits at the slope of the hill near a hot spring behind the shrine.


A few moments ago

I stare in anticipation of her response.

Now that I think about it, I might have been a bit too direct, but for now, it is better if I let it go out of her hand first.

Letting her hand go and putting a bit of distance from her. The Shrine Maiden is still a bit shocked by my request, only being able to say in a low voice.

"Why?"

"T-The way you flow through that witch magic, your speed your beauty in doing so that I truly want from the bottom of my heart to be like you!" That's a bit hard to say upfront but throwing my shame away.

…..Oh wait this looks like a confession.

The Shrine Maiden seems to be melting, her entire face is now a big red tomato struggling to find words.

Uh, I think it is better for me if I rephrase it.

"W-what I want to say is, that your performance in this "duel" has truly shaken me! I have never in my life seen such a show of skill and confidence that made me wish I could do the same"

Bowing my body a full 90 degrees in a bow I conclude. "So that being said, please allow me to be your disciple!"

I waited in that bowed position until I felt a hand on my shoulder, tilting my head slightly so I could see the witch from before with a confused expression.

"W-wait a minute! I won the duel! I managed to hit her with my Master Spark then why are you asking her?!" She seems a bit upset, but I know the answer to her response.

"Because you cheated" I left my bowed position to face the Witch who looked taken aback by my response but even so I continued.

"You cheated by targeting me, which made Reimu-sama…" Reimu made a weird sound at that. "...Go in front of your attack to protect me, so of course you won" She took a step back with a mixed expression but I finished my piece.

"Don't misunderstand me, I also think you are cool but not as much as Reimu-sama and I think that riding a broom is old-fashioned" With that said she starts…..crying?

"Y-Y-You don't know anything about danmaku! About beauty and what is cool or not! I swear that I will make you regret of what you just said!" without letting me reply she springs into her broom (How did that piece of wood survive all that?) and flies away at absurd speed almost throwing me away by the air current it made.

I think I did go a bit overboard with it.

"Don't worry about it" Reimu walked by my side (A bit distant I noted) looking towards the direction where her friend went.

"She is quite prideful of her magic and style so when someone like you sees all the shows she puts on, walks by, and tells her that someone else is better in her own category is no mystery that she would get hurt a little" We observe Marisa fly away until her figure is only but a dot in the now already darkened sky.

Oh right, I still have business with this Shrine maiden.

I turn to her to ask about my response but I am stopped by Reimu lifting a finger to me.

"I will think about your request, partly because it is my duty to protect humans since teaching your danmaku would be part of that and the other part the other because….. well" she stops a little and recompose herself I can see that is still a little embarrassed by request "I believe your praise is genuine, however!"

She turns around and starts walking towards the shrine.

"You are an outsider, who, until settled in the Human village as a normal villager or becomes strong enough is still fair to pray for man-eating youkai"

Reaching the shrine's sliding door she spoke for last.

"I will not train someone seriously if they are going to die so easily, so be ready that once I train you just enough I will send you to a task that will prove to me you are worthy of my time"

She steps into the shrine and closes the door, leaving me alone in the wild grounds of the shrine.

Can't believe it! I got a rough start but if I am successful then I can be her disciple!

"Also" Reimu slides the door of the shrine covering her nose with her sleeve.

"There is a hot spring behind the shrine, go there and take a bath, you stink!"

With that, she closes the door one last time and goes to do whatever a shrine maiden does.


Before the hot spring, there's a dresser room sticking out of the larger building that has two doors: one for the outside from where people enter and the other at the opposite side of the room to enter the hot spring proper, this room houses towels and buckets made of wood to someone bathe themselves with the hot water of the hot spring.

Sliding the door open is exactly what you see in typical anime, a wooden building with a hot pool of water spring a.k.a the hot spring, however, the building was quite large with a good capacity for some 100 people or so and the ceiling is as high as 10 feet! the wall had some windows here to let out the hot steam but now they where closed.

Undressing my clothes in the room before the hot spring picking my bucket and picking a towel in a basket in the corner of the room.

Glancing at the far side of the hot spring a small fountain that pours hot water into a big pool of water. There were also a few rocks gathered in the far corner of the hot spring with a little broom at the side.

I decided to enter the hot spring and sit far side, behind a big rock that was almost 10 feet in size I couldn't see the dresser from this angle and it seemed that the pool's interior was also rock, which is quite smooth by the way.

The pool is not actually that deep, It barely passes my hips.

Sitting there for a minute or so I realize something.

…..How am I supposed to bathe myself without soap?

*Thud*

Something in the dresser room just fell over, peeking from behind the rock I can see three outlines (and their wings) of the paper door of the dresser, one of which is getting up from a fall.

"Ahh! Luna, I think you slipped in his clothes!"

I heard a childish voice from one of the outlines in the dresser.

Are they perhaps children? but I can see the outline of wings behind the door.

"Shhh! Sunny, you are talking way too loud! He's going to hear us!" The other, as much louder as the other, spoke putting a finger in her lips.

"You two are hopeless, what if he hears us? Our plan to kidnap him will be in vain, If that happens we won't get any candy from Reimu!" the third one spoke with a far more composed choice than the other two but just as loud.

But wait, they said they are going to kidnap me?!

Looking around the only cover I have is the big rock in the middle of the room and nothing else, the windows are too small for them to cramp though and I am not leaving this place naked.

I need to reach my pants in the room they are in right now and go call Master or…


"Okay then, are we going to do this or not?" Star and Luna nod in response and Star, with Star opens the door.

"Shouldn't we cover ourselves first?" Star seems skeptical.

"Nah, is just a human that Reimu has taken in, it seems he was injured so this will be a piece of cake!" Luna seems confident in herself.

"Then where is he?" it seems the human is nowhere to be seen.

"Maybe he is behind the big rock?" Luna points at the center of the hot spring where there is, well, a big rock.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's pick him up already!" Luna starts flying towards the rock

That seems suspicious. I am sure he had heard us. "Luna, wait! He this might be a bad ide-" *Thud* "Oh" A rock the size of a human hand just struck Star.

"Ugh~" She flies a bit before falling off into the hot spring. I can see some bubbles forming in the water in the place where she fell off.

But wait, this rock came from the direction we came from!

Looking around I can see the guilty, with one hand clinging to a window above the door we just came from and another holding his towel wrapped around his waist.

Smiling he says "I am very sorry but I have no intention of being kidnapped so if you excuse me." He then releases his grip on the window corner and rushes into the changing room.


Well, that's one out, I still don't know what they are capable of but now the odds are more on my side.

Searching for something on my pants I find a ball of firecrackers in one of the pockets, but how can I use it? but I don't have time to think now.


"Sunny, go and use your ability. I am going to see how Luna is." Sunny just nods and goes flying toward the now-drowning Luna. I think she's out by now.

Why is Star so clumsy? Now the human has gone away!

Sliding the door of the changing room open I can see that he already left since the door to the outside is open.

But it is alright, he doesn't seem to know how to fly. I can reach him before he can call the Shrine Mai-.


*Thud*

"What?" Someone fell over again. I think the human was caught!

… I think Star is not coming.

The dresser's door is slid open with the human, a hand on the towel still warped around his waist and the other holding a ball of tubes. it doesn't seem dangerous though.

Oh right, I should have rescued Luna! Looking back at the water, there are not any bubbles anymore, I think Star is dead by now.

"It seems we are alone now" Looking back at the human, the dresser room is closed, and just stays there with a cool expression doing nothing.

I think Luna is out of them but don't worry! He is just a human. I can take him with danmaku.


Looking at this….Fairy I think? She has short orange hair with braided red ribbons at the side of her head, blueish eyes, and a pair of white wings.

Her red and white consists of long sleeves and frills and another set of ribbons attached to them with a yellow neckerchief. Her shoes are just plain black and white.

I wonder where they got all these "fantastical" attires because they look really cute.

"Now human!" taking flight she takes a card from her sleeve. "You shall perish so the Shrine Maiden can give candy!" Is she trying to intimidate me? her threads just made her look cuter though.

She doesn't use the card right away, instead, she starts shooting various yellow orbs at me that are very easy to evade.

Holding tight on my towel I evade the orbs with ease but I suppose It won't stay easy that long.

"You did very well human but now is your time to perish!"

「Flickering Light "Fatal Flash"」

The card in her hand glows white for a second before she starts shooting yellow orbs again, however not only for shooting them directly but also at my vicinity and they are fast!

"Agrh!" One of the orbs hits me right in the arm holding my towel and my god does this HURT! These are harder to evade than they look!

I don't think I can keep up with this much longer.

After what appears an eternity the card in her hand shatters and the room orbs stop coming.

The fairy doesn't appear to be intimidated in the slightest and now wears a mischievous smile. I think she is having fun.

"Now human you can surrender or you….will….perish" Hm? She now goes from the slime face to a surprise one and then starts reddering like a tomato.

Why is she like th-OH MY GOD!

Looking at where my towel is supposed to I find out that, I am in fact, naked.

"w-w-what are you doing!?" Oh, she is panicking.

The red-faced fairy is again shooting orbs at me but now she doesn't even aim properly because of my currency status she can't bring herself to look at me and the orbs go all over the place.

Wait, this might be my chance! I still hold on to my firecrackers but I don't have any means of kindling them ... Or in fact, I do?

After a bit more of evading her

I toss them directly at the fairy "W-what" as she shoots directly at the ball of warped tubes that…

*BOOM~!*

…Exploded her face making her lose control of her flight and smash her head down on the big rock in the middle of the hot spring.

*Crack* Ouch that should have hurt quite a lot!

The fairy is now doing nothing but sitting in a crouch position while rubbing her head, weeping quietly.

You know I kinda feel bad right now, I used to work at a daycare, and seeing a "kid" cry like this moves me the wrong way.

After picking up my towel and making sure it will not fall again, I approach the fairy to try and say something to her but when I do she just rises (still rubbing her head by do way), with her hair in taters and crying face.

"h-human! Y-y-you!" Sunny clumsily flies towards her drowning friend and picks her up from the hot spring with an arm clumsily.

"I will make you remember this incident!" She then flies strength through the paper door of the dresser towards the outside but stops midway towards the exit picks up her other friend too and flies in the dead of the night defeated.

Is this place always like this? Have these random encounters all the time?! Oh, there is my towe-

"Manato!" Oh shit, it's Reimu! "I forgot to give you bars of soap so you can wash yourse-WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED HERE!?" Looking around I can see the Reimu-sama from the dresser, looking really really upset. Luckily I had already warped my towel around my waist.

"W-well I had a little fight with hm...fairies? Something about kidnapping me for candy?" Reimu-sama just signed at this revelation. "Look I am not even going to look at the mess, I can make these three clean later" She then placed a basket near the door " For now just wash yourself already"

I could hear her footsteps getting quieter and then after a while, I was again alone in the quietness of the hot spring.

I guess I should just finish already then. Picking the casket I can see that they were just your standard bar of soap

Picking up one and bringing it to my nose *Snif* *Snif* Oh can see that they smell kinda like cherries.

Anyway, better be quick. I don't want to upset Reimu-sama more than I already did today.

Chapter notes:

This chapter is more to wrap things up from the last chapter, so sorry if it is a bit short but don't worry! Manato's adventure in Gensokyo is just beginning and if you did not notice: he is not Japanese but that is all I can reveal for now, hopefully, I will be able to post chapters regularly.

Also, I forgot to write that the protagonist came over with his phone so yeah major miss but I am still figuring things out so the next chapters will probably be a lot better than the earlier ones.