/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>45075451
Dusting herself off, Aya could tell the backdoor made her far more resilient than usual. Unfortunately, Sanae’s rage must have had the same effect on her. Gohei grasped in both hands, she charged at Aya, gale force winds at her back. Betting it all on one last counter-attack, Aya dahsed to meet her, concentrating enough magic in her fan to blow Sanae clear out of Gensokyo. The point of contact was imminent. Both combatants raised their weapons and swung true-

Like a mole, the Earth goddess sprang out of the ground between the two, twirling a great iron ring. “Hold on Sanae, she’s on our side!” Suwako’s words came out just fast enough for Sanae to start bracing herself against the ground. It took a fair amount of magic to counter her initial headwind, but the miko was able to catch herself just before colliding with her divine ancestor head-first.

Empowered by truth, justice and Okina’s limitless energy, Aya couldn’t pull off the same miracle. Despite her best attempts, she couldn’t stop the full force of her blow from colliding with the short goddess. While Suwako’s appearance may have belied her true power, it did not belie her current mass. Like a yellow and purple cannonball, Suwako was sent flying at mach speed in the opposite direction of the tengu, directly into Sanae. Both ancestor and descendant were sent flying into the Wind God’s Lake, skipping a few times across the surface before sinking somewhere in the middle.

Rising out of the back walls of the main building, a set of doors opened to reveal the dignified figure of Yasaka Kanako, Goddess of Wind and Rain, mastermind behind the Moriya Shrine. Turning to the dusty tengu, she spoke with clear authority. “Aya Shameimaru. I’ve just received word from Okina that you’ve joined our alliance.” She allowed herself to crack the tiniest smile. “Welcome to the cause. I look forward to working with you.” Looking around in apparent confusion, she turned back to Aya with a confused expression: “Hmm. Suwako was supposed to tell Sanae and meet with you earlier. Do you have any idea where she is?” Aya pointed towards the drenched goddess floating out of the lake, carrying a waterlogged Sanae in her hands. Kanako shook her head and held the her face, apparently worried something like this could have happened.

“Well, before they come back, I do have an important question to ask you.” Summoning all her courage and widening her legs into a battle stance, Aya began her question: “Kanako-sama, representative of the Moriya Shrine, what do you have to say regarding rumors about you visiting the Anon at odd hours of the night at the Hakurei Shrine Experience?” Aya was ready to deflect an onbashira. Instead, it appeared that the goddess had the opposite reaction of her disciple.

Her face reddening and sweat forming on her neck, Aya could almost see the steam coming out of her ears and hearts in her eyes. “M-Me and Anon?! I could never! H-He’s a human and I’m a goddess! And I have to watch over Sanae! But not that there’s anything wrong with him! He’s a very fine man, one of the best I’ve ever seen! N-Not like that! I’ve never seen Anon romantically, ever! I don’t see him like that or think of him as a lover or how good of a husband he could be-how good he is! He’s a very good husband, so good I don’t think of him at all! Ever!” As the Aya’s mental image of Kanako crumbled it became abundantly clear that she hadn’t seen Anon since he was kidnapped. Starting a rumor this serious without evidence had to be part of someone’s plan. If Megumu thought Yukari would be surprised, then it had to be someone else influencing the daitengu to spread it.

“Thank you for your time, Kanako-sama. You’ve helped my investigation far more than you can imagine. I should probably go now, so please apologize to Sanae and Suwako-sama on my behalf. There was a little misunderstanding between us.” Giving the goddess a small bow and a light offering to restore a bit of her dignity, Aya turned towards the tengu settlement. “Before I go, I think you should be careful about the rumors on the wind.”

“Moreso than usual? What are the tengu plotting that we should be worried about?” In front of a threat to her shrine, the goddess regained the composure and aura befitting a deity in her role. It set Aya’s mind at ease that she had strong allies while reminding her what she had to lose if Yukari got her way.

“Someone’s trying to get people to lose faith in you. I’ll bet Yukari knows about it, but I’m going to stop the person behind it myself. They’re ruining the entire mountain and I won’t stand for it.” Giving Kanako a resolved nod, Aya set off to find a lead for her real investigation.

(Part 39)

I'll stop bullying Kanako now. She has enough to deal with.