...So uh, yeah. I don't know what the hell happened here, but this chapter came together far faster than I expected. Would you believe that I busted out a large chunk of this chapter in one night? Like, I don't know what happened, but one night I thought "Haha, I'll just do a few hundred or so words" And the next thing I knew there was about an extra 4,000 words on the page. That aside, I just wanna give a quick thanks to those who wished me well on getting married! I really do appreciate that. There's not much to say here besides that, so please enjoy the chapter.
It had been a few weeks since the incident with Odin, and while things had ended well enough for the members of Favor Trade, John couldn't help but feel on edge. He was still trying to figure out just how on earth Odin appeared, and he'd become slightly paranoid at the possibility of other primals appearing. The reason for this was due to what kind of primal Odin was, since he was an elder primal he didn't need to rely on brainwashing innocent people into believing in him, but if say Ifrit or Titan showed up, then he couldn't guarantee that the same wouldn't happen to his friends...and that was the last thing he wanted to happen to a group of woman who had the strong prospect of becoming his future spouses.
Wait...spouses? With an S? Dammit, Yuuka and the others really were getting to him with that whole thing. Speaking of which, ever since that day, Yuuka had become far more attached to John. He couldn't figure out why, but she had begun following him around. If he was working guard duty for the night, she'd follow along and make some snacks for the other guards, if he did some work at the school, she wouldn't be far behind, and even when he was just enjoying some time off she would still be there, holding tightly onto his arm. When John tried to question her, she merely said that he'd thank her one day.
Of course, Kogasa didn't like this and so she began doing the same when she could, granted she wasn't as clingy and with the rainy season underway, having her around to shield him from the rain was actually pretty nice. As for everyone else, things had been fairly normal, Medicine was as sarcastic as ever, Flan enjoyed coming in when she could (the rain was making it difficult for her) and Kaguya was still being herself, though thanks to her planning for the eventual wedding, that brought us to today where John and the others were all sitting on the first floor office while Byakuren, Reimu, A girl with light hair that was done up in a way that made it look as if she had animal ears, she had a magnificent purple cape and in a weird compliment to her outfit, she wore a pair of purple headphones. John had to admit that he didn't think anyone in Gensokyo would wear something like that, but he had to admit that they were pretty cool. Alongside her was another person he didn't know. She was a green-haired girl wearing what could basically be called the inverse of Reimu's outfit. Instead of red and white, it instead was blue and white. The only other notable thing about her was the snake shaped hair accessory that wrapped around a bit of her hair and a frog-shaped hairpin. It was actually kind of cute. That aside John gave Kaguya a sideways glance.
"Alright Kaguya, I'll bite, what the hell is this?" John asked motioning to the women in front of him
"Isn't it obvious? We need to pick a venue for the wedding."
"You're kidding right?" Medicine said sighing "Isn't this a waste of everyone's time? I mean, why plan for something so early?"
"It pays to plan ahead." Kaguya replied casually
"Oh I like this! I vote Hakurei Shrine, the oni would be able to attend right Reimu?" Yuuka asked excitedly
"I can definitely make that happen so long as you pay me!" Reimu replied with a wide smile
"The greed in your eyes is painfully easy to see." Byakuren said with a sigh "That said, the Myouren shrine is more than willing to host the event. I'd even be willing to chant a few sutras for you as well."
"Senile as always." The headphone wearing woman scoffed "I am Miko Toyosatomimi, unlike that greedy shrine maiden and the senile old nun, if you have your wedding at the Mausoleum, I can guarantee you it'll be a celebration worthy of the princess's standing, I am sure that the denizens of the Scarlet Devil Mansion would be quite happy with such a celebration as well.
"She's not wrong, big sister does enjoy her fancy parties..." Flan said rubbing her chin. "I guess I'll throw my vote in for them."
Miko couldn't help but let out a small grin at her words, casting a glance over at Byakuren who maintained a fake smile.
"I'm going with Byakuren. She's done right by me in the past, so I'm sure it'd be fine. Besides, they always have drinks at their parties anyways." Kogasa said
At this Byakuren's smile became a bit more relaxed and smug as she shot a glare over at Miko, the latter not saying anything.
"Ugh...did Tenchi have to put up with this I wonder?" John sighed to himself
"Well, knowing his luck, Ryoko would have just whisked him away." The green-haired girl replied with a smirk
"Wait..." John said staring at her with awe "Say that again..."
"Er...Ryoko would have just whisked him away?" She replied with unease in her voice
"You...you know about Tenchi Muyo?" John asked in disbelief
"Yeah, I do! I remember enjoying it back in the day."
"Okay uh...what is this pose from?" John said placing an open palm in front of his face
"OH MY GOD!" Sanae replied laughing
"Okay okay so you'rea Jojo girl too, that's good to know, now for a hard one: What is the story of Kingdom Hearts?"
"Last I recall nobodies didn't have hearts, Ansem from KH1 actually wasn't Ansem and Donald still barely healed me when I needed him to. Oh, has KH3 released yet?" she asked
"No it hasn't, but they're working on it! I can't believe it, you're really from the outside!" John said grabbing the green-haired girl and hugging her "What's your name?"
"S-Sanae Kochiya. You're John Graham right? I've heard the villagers talk about you a lot. I...didn't expect you to be so...friendly."
"It's just...I haven't talked to someone from the outside at all. Or at least, they don't know the same things like you and I...wait...tell me you know what Final Fantasy is!" John said breaking the hug and holding onto her shoulders.
"Of course I do! I've had a lot of fun playing it. Though I think my favorite would have to be X. I quite enjoyed that one, silly voice acting and all. Auron was of course the best thing of that particular game."
John didn't know what it was, but he felt as if a large weight had been lifted from his shoulders, it was as if an extreme amount of loneliness he didn't know he had been feeling had suddenly disappeared all at once. Byakuren was right, he and Sanae would definitely get along with one another if they sat down and talked more.
"Er...John are you okay?" Sanae asked as he continued staring at her
"Will you marry me?" He blurted out without thinking
This turned out to be a very bad thing to say as John felt an extremely powerful aura of rage directed at him from behind. Craning his neck around slowly, he saw Kogasa, Yuuka, Kaguya, and Flandre all staring at him with looks that could only be described as murderous.
"Hey...Big Sis Yuuka...it's okay if I kill her right? One less shrine maiden isn't an issue right?" Flan said creepily
"Oh quite right Flanny...but explosions aren't fun...we should make her death slow." Yuuka replied grinning evilly
"Worry not, I can provide us with more than enough time that should be sufficient in allowing you both to enjoy yourself." Kaguya said with the same grin
"I'm going to show you what true fear really is." Kogasa threatened in such an uncharacteristically menacing manner, that everyone in the room (except the angry women) even Reimu visibly recoiled from her words. She'd even managed to surprise everyone with her blood lust, but she was too angry to notice…
Medicine sidled up next to John looking at him "Now John, usually I like to see you squirm, but I have some advice for you and that shrine maiden."
"W-what's that?" John stammered
"Run. Run far and fast."
Taking Sanae's hand, John bolted out of the door and not a moment too soon as a blast of concentrated magic appeared from Yuuka's parasol. The other women following after the two with only the thoughts of maiming Sanae (and brutally beating John) in their minds.
"Well...now that they're gone, lets get back to business." Medicine said taking John's seat
"Uh...should we help them?" Byakuren asked
"Nah, it's best to not get involved in couple disputes." Reimu said with a shrug "Anyway, we're left with a conundrum now. Just where will we host the wedding?"
"Well, why not make it a joint event?" Medicine said casually
"A joint event?" Miko said with her eyes raised "Why should we do that?"
"Look, I know why you all showed up here. You came in person instead of sending someone. Well, Reimu doesn't have anyone to send so that's different."
"H-hey!"
"You know it's true." Medicine said "You all want John to pick your place because it'd be one hell of a boon to your image. Let's face it, John is kind of a celebrity in the village and if he showed favoritism to one of you then that'd really boost your followers wouldn't it?"
The other women were silent, she'd hit the nail on the head.
"You're surprisingly smart for someone who lived out on a hill just a little while ago." Reimu said with an exasperated tone
"You share a home with a princess and you pick up on some political knowledge. That being said...those weirdos are my friends...it still feels weird saying that...but it's true. They're my friends, so I'm gonna give you all an offer: We have a big gathering at the Hakurei Shrine and-"
"YES! MONEY!" Reimu shouted cutting Medicine off
"But!" Medicine said regaining control of the situation "While the Hakurei Shrine is hosting the venue, we'll leave it up to the Mausoleum to provide food for the entire thing. As for the Myouren group, I'm sure you can provide some decent security?"
Byakuren rubbed her chin for a bit "Well, Nazrin does have the mice at her command, so I suppose they'd be useful for spotting things is something seems awry."
"Perfect. As for the Moriya group, I'm sure simply being there will be enough to waylay any potential fears the townsfolk would have should any youkai get rowdy and if they 'bless' the married group, then it'll just make them look good."
"Hmph, would allowing youkai be wise? I don't think many humans could stand being around them for too long." Miko inquired
"It should be fine, and no matter how you slice it, youkai are going to appear. Look at who John's getting married to. Flandre alone will attract the Scarlet Devil Mansion."
"She's right..." Reimu sighed "Remilia will no doubt boast about this and send word to some of the other more noticeable figures in Gensokyo. Then, we have Suika and I'm sure I shouldn't have to tell you about the kinds of parties Oni are likely to get involved with."
The other two women gave her looks of understanding. There really was no way around this and with the people John had come to know and work with youkai attendance was absolutely assured, no matter how you looked at it.
"Okay, but why a joint event?" Reimu asked "The usual youkai who visit wouldn't get into a serious altercation or attempt to eat anyone while on the shrine grounds."
"That's true." Medicine replied "But just think of this as a favor to all of you, if you all come together for this event then I'm pretty sure it'll just make all of your respective shrines look good in the eyes of the public. Showing that you're all willing to come together for a wedding of this size? The people will sing praise of your 'generosity and 'kindness'."
"I can't help but feel like she's mocking us." Miko said with a deadpan stare
"Totally." Reimu muttered
"Agreed." Byakuren mumbled
"Still, it's a pretty good deal all things considered. "Consider the residents of the Mausoleum in agreement." Miko said
"The Myouren temple is in agreement as well, I have to admit I'm actually really looking forward to this now!" Byakuren said smiling happily "A union between a human and youkai is quite momentous!"
"Yeah yeah, I'm on board as well, I just better get paid." Reimu said with a shrug of her shoulders "I guess we'll just be waiting on word from Sanae...provided she doesn't get killed."
"Uh yeah, aren't you gonna go help with that?"Medicine asked
"Nah, she'll be okay, besides, it's good experience for her."
"Er...right, well, if that's all I guess we're done here then."
"Indeed. Have a good day." Miko said getting to her feet and exiting the office, the other two women right behind her.
"Hey. Nun." Miko said once they were all outside and a little ways away from the office
"Yes…?"
"You noticed it too didn't you?"
"There's something weird about that John Graham."
"Weird? How so?" Reimu asked
"Well...for one thing I couldn't hear his desires."
"You were doing that while he was there?" Reimu said with a deadpan look
"Of course, I was curious as to what kind of person he was...but I couldn't get a read on him. I mean, his desires were there...but it was jumbled, almost as if multiple parts of him were yelling out all at once. That's...not normal."
"Indeed...he's done something to Kogasa as well. I don't know what it is for sure, but something about her is fundamentally different now. I had heard tale from a few villagers that visited the temple that she was being seen as some sort of good luck youkai."
"Good luck? You mean like that rabbit from Eientei?" Reimu said with a raised eybrow
"I am not sure..." Byakuren said thinking "But suffice to say, being around John has changed her. I..I'm pretty sure she's actually a fair bit stronger than before now."
"Really? That Karkasa?" Miko said "I doubt that."
"She's not wrong." Reimu said her voice becoming a bit more serious "I didn't pay it any mind before, but a few weeks ago, there was a small incident with some weird black horseman guy running around in the forest of magic. I worked with John to help seal it, but thinking back...Kogasa was actually helpful in that fight."
"Helpful?" The other two said in unison
"Yeah, she didn't go down in a few hits, she kept on fighting alongside the others...and this wasn't some danmaku duel either. This was the real deal, an actual battle with lives on the line."
"That's..intriguing. I think it'd be wise if we keep an eye on this John Graham...maybe he's planning something. Maybe he's planning a social upheaval of some kind?" Byakuren pondered
"Perhaps he wishes to create his own youkai army?" Miko said thinking out loud
"Frankly, I think he just wants to drown himself in women." Reimu said casually "Come on, Kaguya, Yuuka, Kogasa, and Flandre? That man has some 'interesting' tastes to say the least."
On this the other two agreed. "Well who cares? If something happens, I'll put him in his place, but for right now I'm just looking forward to pay day!"
The other two women sighed as Reimu walked off cheerfully "Still blinded by money..." Byakuren said with a sigh
"Indeed...it could be worse though." Miko muttered
"That it could..."
The two women went their separate ways, not really wanting to be in each other's company any longer than they had to be.
Meanwhile, as John ran for his life
John and Sanae had been running for their lives throughout the village. Sanae for her part had been dragged along as John attempted to find somewhere for them to hide. The issue is that the four women chasing him were no slouches, and they practically zoomed after the two of them, kicking up dust throughout the village as they gave chase. John was currently thinking hard as he ran with Sanae in tow on where he could go to get away from the super powerful women chasing after him. Eientei was out, Eirin is extremely loyal to Kaguya and him going there to hide from her wrath wouldn't be any help, as she'd more than likely serve them to the angry girls on a silver platter if necessary. The same could be said for the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Remilia would probably rip his heart out for making her baby sister angry...or worse.
Yuuka's place was a no go, she could talk to flowers and they'd dime him out in a heartbeat (he still had to pause for a second to believe that was an actual possible outcome). Really, he was hard pressed for ideas and he quickly jumped into an alley to catch his breath.
"O-okay, I think we're safe for now." John said huffing to catch his breath
"Y-yeah...for now." Sanae said "I...um...I can sort of understand why they're angry though."
"I...I didn't mean to uh...look it's not like you aren't cute or anything! I mean, you're really cute! Perfect 10 actually but-!"
"Um...I understand, but lets focus on the issue at hand okay?" Sanae said with a small blush
"R-right..." John replied calming down "The issue now is hiding out. They're way too mad to listen to reason, and I can't think of any place to go for safety..."
"We can go to my shrine." Sanae said simply "It's on the mountain, and the tengu there would act as a perfect shield to keep the girls away from us. At least until they calm down."
"Are you sure?" John asked "I don't want to bring trouble to your shrine
"It's the best option we have, and like you said, they aren't going to listen to reason...and I'm sure they'll flay me alive if I try to say anything. Let's just go for now."
"Right, now we just have to sneak out and-"
"I CAN SMELL YOU JOHN~!" Flandre said in an unsettling voice as she stared at the two of them from the opposite end of the alley with a terrifying look on her face "COME CLOSER SO I CAN TAAAAAAAALK WITH YOU~!"
"Let's go!" Sanae said taking to the sky with John transforming into his Scholar form and flying after her.
The two took off as fast as they could, Flandre following behind them. It wasn't too long before three other women joined the chase, all of them with manic looks on their face.
"YOU CAN'T GET AWAY!" Kogasa exclaimed
"YOU'RE IN FOR A REALLY BAD PUNISHMENT~!" Yuuka yelled in a singsong voice
"YOU'RE GOING TO THE DUNGEON JOHN!" Kaguya called out
"DIE SHRINE MAIDEN!" Flandre called out as she began shooting out explosions
"W-WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE DYING!" Sanae shrieked as she dodged one
"Don't bother talking to them, just go!" John called out dodging blasts and flying as best he could, though it was difficult given how strong Flan's attacks were.
Soon enough, waves of danmaku were being shot at the two, and it took all he had for John to not get hit, even then he took a few hits, the same going for Sanae. Four people using danmaku all at once made it difficult to dodge properly and it was only by luck that the two managed to reach the mountain.
"We-we're almost there! Just a bit farther!" Sanae called out dodging still
"GET BACK HERE!" Kogasa roared out letting loose more danmaku
"Just a bit more!" Sanae said flying up a waterfall, to which John followed, after that the two kept going as they flew over a settlement nestled in the mountains before landing in front of a shrine that had to be near the top, there were large wooden pillars strewn throughout and since they were in the air still, John could see a tram leading down to the foot of the mountain, as well as a large lake behind the shrine. Looking behind him, John could tell that the others had finally given up the chase...for now.
"Okay...we should be safe now. Lets get inside." Sanae said floating down to the ground and entering the shrine
"Yeah...er...sorry about all this Sanae. I really messed up."
"It's fine. Let me just go let Lady Kanako and Lady Suwako I'm home."
"Yeah...I'll be right here." John sighed as he sat down at the entrance, he didn't realize it, but his entire body had been shaking, is this what being engaged is like? Walking on eggshells and hoping you don't say the wrong thing to piss off the girl (or in this case girls) that you're supposed to be spending your life with? If that were the case, then maybe married life wasn't something he was cut out for.
"Wow, I didn't expect Sanae to actually bring a boy home." Came an unfamiliar voice that was looking at John from above.
"What the crap?!" John exclaimed falling over in fright "Jeez, don't sneak up on me like that, my heart definitely doesn't need that today."
Looking her over she was rather peculiar. She looked as if she could barely be over twelve years old, and was wearing a short simple purplish-blue dress with a frog print design, white kneehigh socks, black shoes, but most notable about her was the light brown wide-brimmed hat she had on. The notable part being the two large frog eyes that sat atop it. They were certainly eye-catching, and John could swear he saw them move ever so slightly.
He really hoped he just imagined that…
"Did something happen to you? You seem a bit jumpy...hmmm...hang on..." The girl said getting a bit close to his face "I've seen that look before. So you're having girl troubles?"
"Er...how did you know that?"
"I've been around the block a few times. I've seen that face more than once. Come on inside, I'm sure you and Sanae have a lot to fill us in on."
"R-right..."
"Following her inside, John sat in a small dining room. It was actually fairly modern looking, there was even a sink and stove inside, a far cry from most other places he'd seen in Gensokyo. It almost felt like he'd gone back home. At the head of the table sat a blue haired woman wearing an elaborate red shirt with long white sleeves and a round mirror over the center of her chest. Like the smaller girl before her, the most noticeable thing about her was the large rope that she had behind her.
"So this is the one getting married to that moon princess?" The woman asked sizing John up
"That's correct Lady Kanako...I had to bring him here after things got...complicated."
"Complicated?" she repeated "What happened?"
"Well..."
John and Sanae spent the next hour describing what all had happened, the entire time the other girl breaking out into hysterics as she laughed at their misfortune.
"I see..." Kanako said shaking her head "I like it!"
"Wait, you like what?" John said not following her
"Marriage! It'd be great for the shrine, and seeing as you're an outsider it's a perfect fit!"
"Hold on Lady Kanako what are you-" Sanae started
"John Graham as the resident goddess of this shrine, I give you my blessing to take Sanae's hand in marriage.
"WHAT?!" Sanae and John yelled together
"It is as I said!"
"You want me to marry him!?" Sanae sputtered
"You're a god?!" John exclaimed in disbelief
"Yes to both of those questions." Kanako replied casually
"Hey don't forget me, Goddess number 2 right here!" Suwako said laughing "Welcome to the family son-in-law!"
"I feel like we're deciding things just a bit too quickly!" Sanae pouted
"Yeah I agree! And uh, nice to meet you...never thought I'd get to meet two actual gods before.
"Really? I figured you've met at least one...you've definitely got a blessing already, or at least some kind of gift from one." Suwako said looking you over "Who do you follow?"
"Huh...I've never...met a god before..." John said slowly as his mind began to catch up, it was true he hadn't met a god before. But if he was taking the powers of his character from XIV, then he has in fact met a god before.
"You didn't…?"
"No...strike that. I most definitely have." John said with a sigh
"Okaaaay, so who is this god?"
"Are they coming to Gensokyo?" Kanako asked with a raised eyebrow
"Oh uh...no, or well, not that I know of. Honestly, at this point I wouldn't be surprised if she did show up."
"You sound...really unsure. Just what kind of god is this woman?"
"Hard to say, haven't really spoken to her too often. At least it not some of the others...I hope."
"What others?"
"Well they aren't nice. And I really don't want to have to kill them again and-"
"You kill gods?" Kanako interrupted giving him a pointed look
"Well uh...kinda? B-but only the bad ones! Like these guys were really bad. Like actually sucking up the life force of the land bad!"
"That does sound pretty evil..." Suwako said rubbing her chin "Gensokyo could really do without gods like that. So hey, where are you from anyway? You're definitely not a native from Japan."
"Oh, I'm from America and-"
"Oh now that is something I didn't see coming." Suwako grinned "Your people did a real bad number during that war ya know. So many bodies and a lot of land contaminated you know.
"Oh y-yeah, that did happen...well er...sorry?"
"Lady Suwako, don't blame him for that, it wasn't his fault!" Sanae chided
"Take it easy, I'm just stating the facts, besides I'm sure he has some choice words for me. After all Japan did strike first."
"Um...I mean, it wasn't your fault, so I can't in good conscious blame you for anything."
Suwako looked at John for a moment before laughing "You're a good kid. I like you, if you weren't for Sanae, I'd take you for myself."
"H-he's not for me!" Sanae remarked blushing "I barely even know him!"
"Well get to know him then." Kanako said "He'll be here for a while."
"I will?"
"He will?"
"Think for a moment John." Kanako said with a sigh "You pissed off four women you're engaged to, three of which are very notable figures in Gensokyo. I doubt they'll calm down for a while, and I think the best place for you now is here. They won't dare attempt to force their way through the tengu territory, so until they've calmed down I'll allow you to use our guest room."
"But how will we know when it's safe for John to go back?" Sanae asked
"Leave that to me!" Suwako said hopping up and down "I'll do some spying for you, I'll let you know when the heat has died down enough for you to go home."
"Really? Thanks, I really appreciate it." John said sighing "But...what about my business? I can't take requests from here."
"Hmmm, perhaps I can speak with the tengu. Surely they wouldn't mind giving you some work." Kanako said
"I'll ask the Kappa! They're usually always in need of extra hands with whatever projects they have going on." Sanae chimed in
"Okay, so for now John, this is your temporary headquarters! Kick up your feet and relax tonight and if you and Sanae want to get frisky, then just don't be too loud!"
"L-Lady Suwako!"
"What? You're two young kids! I know how full of energy you young folks can be."
"You…! Ugh, just forget it, come John, I'll show you to your room." Sanae said getting to her feet and heading down the hall.
"Er...thanks." He said getting up from the table and walking after her, a part of him had to wonder if Suwako was really a god with her saying things like that. Then again, this was Gensokyo, so expecting anything normal was silly on his part.
As the two exited the room, Suwako shot Kanako a curious glance "Marriage? Really? What made you jump to that so quickly?"
"It's as I said, it'd be a good for the shrine's image. Besides, Sanae had mentioned that John person a few times whenever she'd come back from the village. From what I can gather he's some kind of celebrity or at the very least is known as a 'youkai tamer'." Kanako said "So if he and Sanae get together it'll be good for us overall."
"Right, but you are aware that it was the moon princess who put this all together right? And judging from that story, if John brings a new girl home the other ladies won't be too happy."
"He can handle it, I can tell from the boy's eyes that he's seen his fair share of battle."
"That is true. Now I wonder who that god is he mentioned. It doesn't feel like any of the ones we know...it feels...otherworldly." Suwako said with a dark look "I mean, it didn't feel like Raijin, or Zues, or even Vishnu."
"You're right...that is interesting, but he claims that whoever she is, she won't be coming here and if that's true, then it's nothing to worry about."
I suppose you're right. That being said let's keep an eye on him for a while, see what he's got up his sleeve."
"Agreed."
The next few days had come and gone without too much incident. Suwako had kept to her word and had gone to the human village (in disguise of course) to gather information on what was going on in Favor Trade. According to the villagers, the women of the establishment had all been walking around with clear anger etched on their faces. They were still going about their work, but it was more so out of habit than it was with the usual friendly air that they'd give off. Several rumors had flown around that John had lost control of the youkai women, however Kaguya had put this at ease as she had managed to tell some people that there had simply been a disagreement between John and the women...and that when he returned he was sleeping on the couch.
This in turn caused many of the men to laugh at his misfortune as Kaguya saying that was all the information they needed to get what kind of 'disagreement' had occurred. The only one keeping things together at the moment was Medicine who had taken it upon herself to answer requests, since there was a sort of problem when Yuuka appeared angry.
That problem being that Yuuka is terrifying when she's mad.
While Suwako had gotten the information from the village, she decided to stop by the Hakurei Shrine, as she figured that Reimu would have the information regarding the wedding (Kanako had sort of jumped the gun and that could cause problems if they weren't careful). And she was quite surprised to find out the other people invited had actually agreed to a joint event. She'd have to let Kanako know about that, as she wasn't too sure if Kanako would be on board. She couldn't just decide for herself, after all Kanako was better at this kind of thing. She really knew how to keep the faith for the shrine at a decent level.
Once her information had been gathered she'd returned to the shrine and gave everyone a rundown of the information.
"Man, I am so screwed." John sighed as he buried his head in his hands
"Comes with the territory. Don't worry too much about that." Suwako said "Now, how about you Kanako? You want to take part in this joint event?"
"Hmmm, I don't see why not. With Sanae marrying John, it'd be wrong if we didn't participate."
"I'm not marrying him!" Sanae exclaimed
"So you say, but you two have really hit it off these past few days." Kanako smirked
"T-that's well-!"
"W-we're just good friends is all!" John sputtered
Though he said that, John couldn't deny that he and Sanae had spent a good amount of time talking to one another. Since they were both from the outside, they were able to talk about a lot of things. At first, Sanae had figured that him being from the States and her from Japan would cause some sort of rift, but the two shared many common interests. From video games to anime to movies, the two had actually spent a fair amount of time talking , the only thing the two had come to disagree on where which was better: burgers or pizza. She was even knowledgeable on Final Fantasy topics though she wasn't privy to XIV, which lead to John explaining how things worked and the general story of that game, which only made Sanae somewhat envious that she didn't have a computer of her own to enjoy playing while in Gensokyo (granted there'd probably be several hoops involved in getting a decent internet connection.
One issue had been Suwako and Kanako had been doing their best to get the two of them to give in to more carnal desires, as Suwako had prepared a bed for two on his first night, Kanako had offered him some food that would 'increase his stamina' and the two had tried to get him to walk in on Sanae bathing more than once. Which had only succeeded once...and John totally didn't see anything. Not at all, his eyes only just happened to drift down and get a full view of Sanae's posterior, and it was an accident. Completely. Totally. 100% not intentional. And he totally didn't stare for at least 3 full minutes. Scout's honor.
"Well regardless, we know what's up now. I'm gonna go. I have to work with the tengu today." John said getting to his feet.
"Hang on, I'll show you the way." Sanae said getting to her feet as well
"You kids have fun~!" Suwako called out as the two left
As Sanae and John made their way to the tengu village, he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous, according to Sanae, the tengu were a bit arrogant and so they may treat him a particular way considering he was human. If what Sanae said was true, the only reason he was even able to get some work with them was thanks to Aya who stuck up for him being in her words 'a capable warrior who was willing to work diligently for something as simple as a small sack of apples.'
So in reality the tengu saw him as a means of cheap labor, one that they could fully exploit with little repercussion. Once they were at the gates Sanae stayed behind "Sorry, but this is as far as I go. Any further and I may end up causing trouble. I'll see you when you return to the shrine?" Sanae said
"Yeah, make me something good to eat okay?" John said with a grin
"Of course! I'll make you something really good tonight!" she said grinning back
"Get a room already." came a familiar voice
"Aya? Why are you here?" John said turning around
"Well, I stuck up for you, so the great Tenma assigned me as your babysitter."
"Oh...uh sorry."
"Nonsense, if anything, this lets me have you all to myself, I could always use some interesting stories for my paper."
"You aren't gonna make things up and get me roped into another marriage are you?"
"Hey now, I didn't make anything up at all! That goes against the journalist's honor!"
"Where's the honorable journalist?" John replied sarcastically
"Rude, but come on, we've got work to do."
"Sure, I can't just sit around at the shrine all day. What are we doing anyway?"
"Nothing to strenuous, just some information collecting around the mountain. I think about two or three hours and we'll be set to return." Aya said
"Huh, it takes you three hours to go around the mountain?"
"No, usually it takes about ten minutes, but I'm stuck with you, and humans aren't as fast as us crow tengu."
Yup, there's that arrogance that Sanae mentioned.
"Right well, let's get to it then. Sorry for slowing you down."
"It's no big deal. Let's get on with it."
The two of them continued around the mountain, checking out the usual haunts that Aya would visit to make sure that everything was okay, from some small tucked away places, to an area near the waterfall, and even further down, the two of them must have gone all over the mountain. The entire time, Aya would make small talk, attempting to get some new information out of him for an article.
"So you're saying you killed some god-like being named Odin?" Aya said scribbling it down "I'm sorry, but I find it hard to believe."
"Go ask Reimu, she was there to see it." John said "Are we almost done yet?"
"Yeah, just this one last spot." Aya said leading him to a small downward slope. "This particular spot gives a good view of everything to the western side of the mountain and-"
Her words were cut off as she and John stared at the creature that sat sleeping several feet away from them. It was 12 feet tall at least, with four clawed feet made entirely of bone. In fact, that was a key feature of the creature. As not only was it feet made of bone, it's entire body was nothing but bone. From the wings that protruded from his back, to the razor sharp teeth that lined his maw, there was nothing but bone. And it had craned its neck to stare directly at Aya and John.
"That wasn't here before...what the hell is that thing…?!" Aya shouted in panic
"That's...a bone dragon." John said still surprised
"A what dragon?!"
Before anything else could be said, the beast let out a blood-curdling roar as it spewed a sickly looking red and black mist at the two of them.
"Oh no ya don't!" Aya said with a swing of her leaf-like fan. The gust of wind following her swing was strong enough to knock the mist away from them as John just continued looking.
"What are you doing? You're the formidable warrior aren't you? Get in there!"
"No." John said plainly
"W-what do you mean no?!"
"This is...we need reinforcements. Retreat for now!" John said turning tail to run
"What, retreat?! W-why?! H-hey, wait for me!" Aya squealed flying after him, the two continued running as they looked back, the monster slowly giving chase. It was clear that it couldn't fly, so John took to the air with Aya in tow, realizing that it couldn't capture them, it could only watch as its prey flew off.
"What was that for? We could have taken that thing!" Aya growled clearly irritated at having to retreat "Now I'm gonna be knee-deep in paperwork reporting on that thing!"
"Don't worry Aya, think of this as a good thing."
"A good thing? How on earth is this a good thing?!"
"You've got just the material for a new article."
At this, Aya's look shifted from one of misunderstanding, to a wide almost sinister grin. "Oh, now I'm really interested."
I like to call these next set of chapters the "John screwed up and got kicked out of the house arc" Or JSKHA! Hmmm, nah, that's way too much of a mouthful. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, feel free to speculate on what its gonna be like whenever John gets home to the other girls...and how mad they'll be. Cuz hoo boy, that is gonna be one hell of a time. Anyways, thanks for reading!