Day 1:
It was the last day of June. This meant that, a week from the next day would be the
seventh day of the seventh month, the Tanabata star festival. Of course, the Hakurei shrine
would throw a feast for such an event, but that means that it also had to prepare for it.
In other words, Reimu would have to spend the next seven days getting the shrine ready.
Luckily for her, a visitor happened to stop by just when she was about to start
working.
"Hey, Reimu. 'Sup?" Marisa Kirisame showed up, unannounced as usual.
"Marisa, would you mind doing me a favor? I'm working on getting the Shrine prepared
for Tanabata. It's in a week, from tomorrow."
"Really? Hey, wait, you mean... you're actually going to throw a festival for it?"
Reimu's lack of laziness surprised Marisa. In fact, she seemed determined. Wait a minute,
was she just planning on tricking her into doing everything, while she lazed around and
drank sake all day?
"Of course. To be honest, I am using the festival as a fund raiser and maybe bring in
some donations. Though with as many visitors as I get normally, it could prove an utter
failure."
"No way, this is a festival thrown by the one and only Hakurei Shrine! Who wouldn't
want to go to that?" Marisa exlaimed, trying to cheer Reimu up. A third voice came from
another room.
"A festival? When?" Suika Ibuki showed up out of no where. Her breath reeked of sake,
as it always did. And of course, she was as drunk as she could possibly be.
"About a week. I am throwing a feast, and need to prepare the Shrine for it. Care to
help, Suika?"
"Sure. I can help lift things or move them around easier." Suika volunteered. Yukari
was still sleeping, as usual, and would probably find an excuse to get out of doing
anything anyway. Or make Ran do it. Oh well. Suika and Marisa would be enough help. Though
there was a lot of work, and a lot of invitations needed to be handed out.
A few hours later, Reimu looked outside at the temple yard. It had been swept,
cleared, and readied for the festival. There was still a lot of work to be done inside, but
that would be saved for later. She had decided to call it a night for now. Marisa stayed at
the shrine for the night, as she had to deliver invitations the next morning. She was
picked because she did not live in the shrine, and was also one of the fastest in all of
Gensokyo. Speaking of fastest, she figured she'd try to find Aya first. While she's at it,
the residents of the other shrine on Youkai Mountain.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 2:
By the time Reimu woke up, Marisa was long gone, and the sun had risen halfway up the
sky. She would have to start work immediately.
"Suika, wake up. We've got another busy day, today."
The oni girl was passed out still, liquor lining her open mouth and her foul breath
filling the room. Reimu was used to the stench by now, though, and barely noticed. Suika
had been up all night drinking, as she always did. Probably kept Yukari entertained in
whatever way was seen fit. Reimu had merely to pass more time for now, too lazy to do any
of the work herself, even if all that was left were the decorations.
A chilling breeze blew from higher up on the mountain, chilling Marisa, who was
wearing a summer outfit. "Where is that crow Tengu at? Wonder if anyone has seen her."
"You lookin' for Aya? She ain't here." Hatate Himekaidou appeared from somewhere
indeterminable.
"Yeah. There's a ... never mind. You know where she went?"
"Nope. Why should I?" Hatate had an arrogant look on her face.
"Well, you're friendly...." Marisa commented to herself before flying off.
A little later, the shrine's temporary delivery girl had come across another familiar
face. Hina Kagiyama.
"Ah. What trouble do you bring here?" The green-haired curse goddess appeared in
front of Marisa out of thin air, and immediately began to spin, hum, and fly around Marisa
all at the same time.
"Trouble? No trouble. Just news."
Hina's spinning continued. No response.
"The Hakurei shrine is throwing a festival, and I was told to invite as many people
as I could."
Hina disappeared after completing her second loop around Marisa. The witch continued
her journey up the steep slope of the mountain to the Moriya Shrine.
After a few hours, Marisa finally made it to the Shrine. Sanae Kochiya was busy
sweeping the courtyard and stairs. "What in Gensokyo could have brought you here again? And
where is Red-white?" Sanae didn't even look up at Marisa, but merely resumed her work.
"The Hakurei Shrine is throwing a feast for the Star Festival. I'm sure the Shrine
Maiden would like a few extra guests."
"Why doesn't she ever come here, always making us go to her shrine for fun stuff?"
Sanae complained. Perhaps it was just due to Reimu's extensive laziness. Sanae was more
dutiful than Red-white had ever been. In the end, she agreed, and said she would tell the
gods of the invitation. Marisa declared her work done for the day, and returned back home.
Meanwhile, Suika had finally woke up, drank enormous amounts of sake immediately, and
kept shouting "Let's throw a PAR-TEH!"
"I told you, we will in seven days from today. But first we have to get ready. Here,
help me put up these ribbons."
"You do it. You can fly, cancha?" Suika opted out of any work that she wasn't needed
for, such as heavy lifting or otherwise.
Reimu sighed to herself, and decided to do most of the work herself.
Long hours slowly passed by, more and more work got done, Suika did wind up helping a
little, and then Reimu went to sleep for another night.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 3
"Who next, who next...?" Marisa repeated to herself over and over until she could
think of a name. She began to hum a tune to her question, until a thought appeared in her
head. A singer. Vocalist.... The songbird, Mystia Lorelei. But, would she be awake?
Besides, Marisa had no intention of going to the Bamboo forest for a while. Then again, she
could invite Reisen while she's there, if she can find Eientei. Either way, Marisa put that
off until tomorrow. Speaking of putting things off, why was she so motivated to be tracking
down all these people so early in the morning? Then Marisa's thoughts began to wander. She
began to think about more people, and a certain name rang through her mind. But, she put
that aside for now.
She continued to wander aimlessly, until eventually realizing how close she was to
her house, and began to find various plants with which to make her next spell. "I would
probably make a much better Shrine Maiden than Red-white. But, she has the bloodline thing.
Sucks, too. Oh well, she came up with the Spell Card system, which is quite fun." Again, a
name echoed in Marisa's brain.
"No, no, no, no, NO!" she screamed at herself. She had to keep working, keep
working....
The decorations looked rather lame in the daylight. But, in less than a week now, the
shrine would be ready for the second largest festival all year. Hundreds of people would
show up, humans and youkai alike. A few names shot through Reimu's mind of who to NOT
invite. But she had no idea who Marisa had planned to bring. She did say to her the other
day, "If you can find someone who will willingly come, invite them. The more the better,
Marisa." She began to regret that wording. Then again, there wouldn't be too much of a
problem no matter who showed up. Either way, she had to begin some event planning, most of
the set-up completed. This she didn't mind doing as much as even menial, basic, physical
tasks. Considering the vast number, variety, and specifics of her guests, she had to plan a
wide range of events. This was going to be the most amazing thing that happened all year,
and maybe until the next festival.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 4
Alice returned from the forest. Marisa happened to see her on her way out. "Hey,
Alice. Anything going on, ze?"
"Ah. Hello, Marisa. Why, yes, actually. I have a bit more research to be doing. I
will probably be busy for two weeks or so. Anyway, I won't be around here for long."
"Ah. The shrine maiden... on second thought, I've got to go, ze." Marisa went back
inside her own house, grabbed her broom, and took off. Alice sat inside for a little while,
before leaving into the forest.
Marisa began to follow a long dirt path out of a nearby village. Perhaps she should
go into the village and invite a few humans to the Star Festival. After all, they were the
ones who would donate. But no one really paid attention to the Shrines much. Plus, Marisa
preferred staying far, far, away from that place.
Another obnoxious tune filled Marisa's head, this time though, from an outside
source, drawing her into the Bamboo Forest of the Lost. After several minutes of being
pulled in by the song, Marisa's vision went black. She could see nothing anymore. The tune
she had been hearing changed pitch, and suddenly ceased.
"Boo!" A high pitch whistle-like voice announced itself to Marisa. "Hey, a human!
Prepare to be - huh? I recognize you." Suddenly, Marisa's vision returned.
"That's a neat trick you got there, Mystia. The night blindness thing that is. The
song was pretty cheap. I came here on my own, ze, pretending to be pulled in by you."
Marisa bragged confidently. "Reimu Hakurei is throwing a feast in a few days. You can come
to it, if you wish."
"A feast? There... won't be any... Yakitori being served, will there?" Mystia asked,
frightened.
"Hmm, maybe. You can set up your Lamprey stand there if you wish."
Mystia then disappears, presumably agreeing to go to the festival. Hey, if she sets
up a stall there, more visitors will show up and donate. Or Reimu can extort some of her
profits. Either way, the Shrine gets more money for it. "Why am I worried about that when I
have other things to worry about... never mind that either though." Marisa argued with
herself. She had kept thinking about the same thing for days now. The same person, rather.
But, she wouldn't let that get to her. She had a job to do. Well, there wasn't much of a
way out at the moment, so, to Eientei.
On the way there, well, more or less, on the way somewhere, Marisa nearly stumbled
into a large pit dug in the ground. "This was clearly done on purpose. But, why? Probably
some childish, idiotic youkai." Farther along, Marisa found more and more holes in the
ground. Judging by the size, they were clearly meant to trap somebody. Who? Why? Ah, who
cared?
Just then a white rabbit appeared in front of Marisa. "Who are you?!" it screamed.
Well, rabbit was inaccurate. More like, rabbit youkai. She had the form of a young,
black-haired girl in a pink dress, wearing an amulet shaped like a carrot around her neck.
But, she had fluffy white rabbit ears in her head, as well as human ears. Odd. Marisa
recognized the rabbit, though, as Tewi Inaba.
"Oh. It's you again. What are you doing here?" Tewi asked again.
"Looking for Reisen. I guess you will do, ze. I need people to go to the Hakurei
Shrine in about four days for a feast. Crap, I shouldn't have told you. Look, don't make a
mess. If I have to get yelled at for you by the Shrine Maiden...." Marisa let that one go.
Tewi never cared for consequences anyway, so Marisa was free to make one up when the time
came. It certainly would.
"Psh, like I'd ever go to that dump."
"Fine. Suits me. Anyway, take me to Eientei."
"You wish." With that, Tewi disappeared. Marisa had to find it by herself, it seems.
Which was almost impossible.
After what seemed like hours, Marisa found something finally. A small, 5-yen coin at
her feet. It was incredibly small, but when she picked it up, another one seemed to appear
a few feet in front of her. She went to follow this trail of coins, planning to donate them
when Reimu isn't looking, and realized what was going on once a coin dropped on her head.
She looked up, and saw Tewi guiding her. To Eientei?
Several minutes later, Marisa found what she was looking for. A large wooden mansion,
made out of bamboo stalks and other woods, hidden amongst the forest. Large numbers of
rabbits, some of them youkai, some of them harmless animals, infested the place. Tewi
descended from the bamboo, playfully laughed, and then hopped away. "Just call her name.
She'll show up. Someone will, at least."
"Reisen! Udonge Reisen Ina- no wait, Reisen Inaba Udon... what was her name, ze??"
Marisa clumsily tried to remember her name.
"Just call me Reisen." Another youkai rabbit appeared, this one in a short skirt,
wearing an odd looking button-down suit and an undershirt.
"I decided for no particular reason to invite you to the Hakurei Shrine in a few
days. Well, nights, really. The Shrine Maiden is having a festival."
"Interesting. I don't know if I can, oh, you mean Tanabata? Of course I can go. My
master will have to come with me though, as will Yagokoro-sensei." With that, Marisa had
grabbed her stuff, and began to leave the Forest, with Tewi's help. She avoided the human
village, and rather returned home for the rest of the day to continue working.
Reimu began to tell more people, humans and youkai alike, of the festival, spreading
its word as rapidly as she could, leaving the rest to rumors, and Marisa. She waited up
later that night to tell Yukari of her plans. Other than that though, the day dragged on
with nothing of much importance.
And so it went for a few more days.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 7
One day left until the Festival. The shrine was ready. The guests had been invited.
Some had been left out, some declined the invitations, Marisa returned to the shrine and
informed Reimu of her business the last few days.
"Good you talked to every- hey, wait, you missed out on one of the most important
guests. Remilia Scarlet." Reimu stared at Marisa.
"Uh, well... I kind of forgot about them." she tried to make up excuses. Reimu wasn't
buying it, and noticed a second discrepancy.
"What about Alice?"
"Ah, she skipped out, ze. Wouldn't come." Reimu thought this a lie, even though it
wasn't.
"Invite her, dammit." Reimu began scolding Marisa. She realized why Marisa never went
to the Scarlet Devil Mansion.
"I did, you stupid Shrine Maiden! She said herself she was going to be gone for a few
weeks."
"Liar. You just didn't want her to interfere with..."
"Shut up! I'll admit I avoided the Mansion on purpose. But I did tell Alice." The
pair began arguing heavily.
They continued to yell at each other violently, until their lips were sealed
together. Muffled sounds attempted to force their way out.
"Shut the hell up. You woke me up, dammit." Yukari Yakumo was sleeping nearby, and
awoke from their argument. She opened their mouths back up.
"Abusing your powers, again, are we, ze?" Marisa bitched at Yukari while she had the
chance.
"Both of you, shut up please. Whether or not Marisa invited Alice should not be of
your concern, Haku-chan."
"When did you start calling me Haku-chan?"
"Just now. I thought it was cute." Yukari teased Reimu as she usually did. The room
fell silent, Reimu out of remarks, a little confused.
Suika's cheering (and drinking) could be heard in the background. "Woo! Twenty-four
hours to go until the fun~!"
"Anyway, I'll go out to the Mansion tonight. I don't think I have ever been there
before, and since they are night-active, like myself, maybe we can get along." Yukari
reasoned. She had nothing else to do, and had met the Scarlet sisters a few weeks ago when
they came to the Shrine. Of course, that wasn't the first time they met, either. Her and
Flandre were actually pretty good friends.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 7, Night.
Yukari left the Hakurei Shrine, noticably leaving behind her parasol. She headed
through the temple yard to a large lake. The air around her was incredibly cold, even for a
summer night. The lake was always colder than the surrounding land though. It wasn't really
the water, though that probably didn't help much. It was not of any importance, really,
though. She continued on, finally getting to a large island in the middle of the lake, with
an out-of-place, foreign building surrounded by huge gardens, fencing, and several other
areas. A clock tower stuck out from the top of the nearly-windowless mansion, proudly
displaying the time. Yukari freely walked in, uncaring, but fully aware, of who ran it.
"Stop disturbing my clean- huh?" Sakuya appeared in front of Yukari, terrified when
she saw tonight's visitor. Not even Sakuya was willing to fight the nocturnal youkai of
boundaries.
"I am here to see Remilia. The Shrine Maiden wanted to deliver a message to her."
Yukari explained her presence.
"Y-yes, s-she's... I mean, the Mistress is upstairs in her room. Please, bring her
down here for me." Sakuya was shaking in fear.
"Don't worry, Sakuya-san. I don't want to fight anyone. The opposite, actually."
Yukari headed upstairs, and found Remilia sipping tea and eating a raw steak, or at
least what appeared to be steak.
"Lady Scarlet, the Hakurei Shrine Maiden wanted to formally invite you and whoever
you wish to bring to the Shrine tomorrow night." Yukari stared at the moon as she said
this, basking in its light.
"Ah. Sounds fun." Remilia didn't look at Yukari either, merely looking down at her
food, slowly eating it.
"Did you plan on bringing your sister?"
The question startled Remilia, almost making her spit out her tea. "Are you insane?!
Why would I ever think of such a stupid thing?"
"Oh, relax. Your sister is fine. She doesn't get out much, so let her have some fun,
will you?"
"THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I DON'T WANT! My sister's idea of "fun" typically involves
destroying everything in sight. And plenty of things that AREN'T in sight. She is NOT
leaving this mansion."
"Don't yell so loud, she could hear you. How about you make her mad twenty-four hours
in advance of the party you are so rudely excluding her from." Yukari taunted Remilia. She
wanted to see Flandre there, and was concerned for her feelings.
"Look, it is not like I am not concerned about my sister's feelings. It's just, I am
more concerned about the Shrine Maiden's opinion. She said to invite me, right? So why risk
bringing her?"
"Such a loving sister." Yukari angrily left, leaving the mansion and going into a
forest, sealing everything off with borders, and then blowing everything inside her fantasy
borders to smithereens, releasing her frustration. "If Flandre got out of hand, I could
keep her under control. Why didn't that bitch want to let her sister have any fun?!"
Remilia finished her meal, and when Sakuya arrived to take it away, she told her what
Yukari came to say, and asked her to tell everyone in the Mansion.
"Yes, Mistress." Sakuya obediently agreed, and headed first to the library.
"Patchouli-san, come here for a minute."
Instead, a panting Koakuma answered. "She's busy practicing right now. What is it,
Sakuya?"
"We are going to the Hakurei Shrine tomorrow night. If Patchouli can make it, she is
invited to come. Of course, you can as well if your mistress will allow for it. As for
China, well, she stays behind guarding the gate." Sakuya left after giving her the
information, and then went to tell a bit more of the staff.
Patchouli herself was standing in a large, empty, area in the middle of the library,
surrounded by a colossal pillar of magic energy coming off of an insignia formed in the
ground. The pillar erupted in a huge column of fire, spiraled inwards, turning into water,
which then dropped to the ground in a beautiful display of refracting colors.
"What do you call that spell, Patchouli?" Koakuma asked. Her mistress's magic never
ceased to amaze her, either with its power or its sheer beauty.
"It needs some altering to be useful in danmaku. Also, I have not come up with a name
for it yet. It is purely experimental."
Koakuma thought to herself for a while. "How about... Fire and Water Sign ......."
She tried to come up with a good name for it. "Condensation?"
Patchouli considered it. "Not bad, except, well, condensation first requires
vaporization. The water is doing quite the opposite. It is not dropping from becoming
cooler or denser, but becoming water. Perhaps.... Ah, your name works. I still need to work
on this more. Maybe if I make the column an hour glass shape with myself in the center, and
make it stretch outward instead of inward, no, both directions. Though I don't know if I
could cast such a massive spell."
"That reminds me! Miss Hakurei invited us to her Shrine for a festival tomorrow. Do
you think you can make it?" Koakuma liked to think she was as faithful and good a servant
as Sakuya, who was in some ways, her mistress as much as Patchouli was. But, she tended to
be too weak to help Patchouli out in much more than sorting books, naming spells, or
slowing down any intruders.
"Reimu Hakurei? Well, if it is at her shrine, then hopefully...." Patchouli's words
cut off as her chest began to beat under her dress. She couldn't help but think of Marisa.
Even if she could barely get out of bed or lift a feather pen tomorrow, she was going to
the festival.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 8, Day of the Star Festival
Reimu woke up around noon, and looked at the shrine around her. It looked beautiful.
It would be so much better once night fell. Yukari had returned to the Shrine long before
sunrise and was sleeping. Marisa was, for some reason, relaxing on the Shrine courtyard,
staring at the sky.
"What are you doing?" Reimu curiously questioned.
"Ah, nothing much, ze. Hey, know what I realized? We never did invite those new
youkai either. Mizuko or whatever her name was, and her sister."
"Ah. Good thinking Marisa. They haven't been in Gensokyo for very long, so why don't
we give them a warm welcome?"
"Speaking of which, it is rather chilly out here for a summer day." commented Marisa.
The pair then remained in the temple yard for a few more minutes in silence, with nothing
much to do. "Hey, Reimu. I'm going to uhh... nevermind. Excuse me." Marisa got up and
walked up, hoping Reimu wouldn't follow. To her luck, she
didn't. Marisa found a part of the shrine where she could not be seen, clapped her hands
twice, bowed twice, and clapped again. "Please, Gods of the Hakurei Shrine, bring Patchouli
to me!" She begged and prayed to the gods of the shrine. She had been trying to avoid
thinking about her all week, but now could not hold herself back.
Reimu didn't bother to look for Marisa, instead going to try to find the storm
sisters from a few weeks ago.
"Nazuiko-san, Mizuko-san?" She had no particular area to look in, so relied on
intuition to find them. A few hours later, she decided to turn to Aya Shameimaru to ask if
she had seen them.
"Hey, Aya, you around here?" Reimu asked after arriving at where she was most likely
to be, the Youkai Mountain.
"Yep." came the simple answer.
"You remember those storm youkai that Alice fought off a few weeks ago?"
"Ah. I do remember them. I did a good job of remaining undercover and covering the
whole thing, including that vicious Yuu person. Did terrify me a little bit, but I'm used
to that by now. Why you ask?" Aya was puzzled a little bit. Why would anyone be looking for
them?
"Well, you see, I was planning on inviting them."
"Inviting them? To what?" Had Aya failed to be informed of some major event that was
going on at the Hakurei Shrine, presumably? Then she remembered a rumor she heard going
around recently, that the Hakurei Shrine was having a festival on the seventh... That's
today! "Oh! The festival! That ... was official? I thought it was just a rumor!" Aya was
excited. "I want to go to that, Miss Hakurei. Is there anyway I can go?"
"Of course there is, Aya! You were supposed to be the first person Marisa invited,
but she couldn't find you. Speaking of finding people, do you know where those storm youkai
are?"
"Oh right. Them. Yeah, actually, I do. Try the Misty Lake. They haven't had much to
do, recently, so they've been hanging out with whoever they could find. With the older
Nazuiko being a water youkai, they decided to hang out at a lake. Thank you very much for
letting me go to the festival, Miss Hakurei!" Aya disappeared in her excitement to get
ready for the Star Festival. She was going to look her best.
Reimu followed the tengu's advice, and, she was right. The storm sisters were
floating around the lake, with their superiors. "Nazuiko, Mizuko! Kouzokuko! Yuu!"
"Eh?" They all said simultaneously, while turning around to face Reimu.
"Don't worry, I'm not here to fight you or anything. The opposite, actually...."
The girls then paused their conversation, and crowded around the Shrine Maiden. "What
is it then, Red-white?" Mizuiko inquired.
"If you four have the time tonight, my shrine is having a festival. I don't know if
you know, considering you are from outside Gensokyo, but, tonight is a star-viewing
festival. I have invited all kinds of youkai, and plenty of humans, too, although I left a
few out."
A voice echoed from elsewhere. "What about me?!"
Great. Cirno overheard Reimu. "Uhh.... I mean, oh yeah! Thanks for reminding me."
Reimu said, trying to hold back the sarcasm. Cirno did not recognize the obvious fact that
she was intentionally uninvited. Reimu had a feeling she would not even know how to view
stars and have a festival at the same time.
"Anyway, sounds fun. See ya' there. I know where your shrine is from that puppet
chick. By the way, is she going to be there?" Kouzokuko said, surprisingly
enthusiastically.
"Nope. She said she was busy, and had to be elsewhere for a few weeks." The three
other outsiders were disappointed to here that. They had become rather decent friends with
Alice, after getting the pulp beat out of them by her, and doing the same to Alice, despite
losing anyway.
"Fine. I'll just punish Alice for not being there by challenging her to another
duel." Yuu joked.
"Speaking of punish, I don't know if I've talked to Enma-sama either. She could help
Keine with the lights. Of course, that would mean Komachi would have to come, as would..."
Reimu gulped prior to uttering her realization. "Fujiwara no Mokou, and most likely Kaguya.
I mean, Reisen got an invite...."
"Fu...ji...wara... no Mokou? Who is that and what is with the strange name?" Cirno
asked. Of course, the others were wondering the same thing.
"You don't really want to know. Neither do you want to know Houraisan Kaguya. Believe
me. How I wish I didn't know those two."
"Alright." Yuu hinted she was about to leave, so Reimu said goodbye, and went off to
find Shikeiki.
Reimu began her long journey halfway across Gensokyo, all the way to the Sanzu, the
River of the Dead. She found pretty much what she expected to find there. That is, nothing.
"Honestly, with as little as things make any sense in Gensokyo, the desolation of
this place is kind of eerie." Reimu said aloud, although to herself.
"Ah. So you have finally decided you couldn't handle youkai hunting and the lack of
donations, and to commit suicide. I can't call that noble, but, hey, your choice." Komachi
Onozuka found Reimu, and went directly to assumptions, as usual.
"For the last damn time, I am NOT suicidal. Cut that out." Reimu got distracted by
the assumption, and then caught herself. "Where is Enma-sama? I wanted to invite you two to
a Star Festival tonight."
"Ah! That... um, sounds...." Komachi looked over her shoulder for a second. "That
sounds amazing! I'd love to go. But, my master...."
"Yes, Komachi?" Enma-sama appeared behind her consort, and greeted her with a smack
on the back of the head. Komachi winced in the pain.
"Enma-sama, would you like to visit the Hakurei shrine and attend a lovely Star
Festival? I could use your help, too, if you don't mind being a light show." Reimu said,
half-joking about the last part, but wholly serious, too.
"Eh?!" Shiki was a little surprised by Reimu's request. "Well, there have not been a
lot of deaths lately, Komachi has caught up, and we've been doing quite an efficient job
lately. If she wants to make up one night, and deal with the scoldings later, I think we
can pull this off. But, you see, Reimu, perhaps you should..."
"Thanks! See ya' tonight, Enma-sama, Komachi!" With that, Reimu evaded the Yama's
lecturing habit, and quickly fled back to the Shrine, having invited nearly every youkai in
Gensokyo. Of course, there were plenty that she wouldn't recognize, and a number she didn't
want to show, plus a myriad others she simply wasn't concerned with, as well as others she
left to the others to spread the news.
On the way back to the shrine, Reimu found a newspaper stand, and a copy of the
Bunbunmaru newspaper. "Page 1, Star Viewing Festival at the Hakurei... WHAT?!" Reimu was
stunned by the incredible speed at which the event was reported. Only an hour or two ago
had Aya gotten confirmation on the festival, and already, she had printed up several dozen
copies of a newspaper article! "She really is the fastest in Gensokyo." Reimu remarked to
herself in sheer astonishment.
Anyway, she needed to get ready for the festival. Already, the sun was going down.
Guests could NOT get there before the Shrine Maiden! That would ruin EVERYTHING.
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