X day, O month

Silence has become the habit of the Hakurei Shrine. I paid yet another visit this morning to find it empty as usual, yet somehow the air felt heavier. There was a feeling of overwhelming solitude. No sign of the shrine maiden, Hakurei Reimu, could be seen anywhere obvious. Many times recently, I’ve feared the shrine might be abandoned at any time. Could the next visit be the end of the end? I was immersed in this anxiety when the sound of sweeping brought me back to myself.

Following the sound, I came upon a rare sight these days: the hermit Ibarakasen. Once a fixture of the shrine and its gatherings, she became a more uncommon visitor in the past few years following a sudden disappearance and reappearance. However, her visits to the Hakurei Shrine have seen a sharp uptick as of late. It seems she started showing up more regularly within the past couple of weeks. This marks the second week I’ve encountered her more than four days out of the week.

“Reimu is out of sorts,” Ibarakasen admitted after some pressing about the Hakurei shamaness, continuing in sweeping the neglected walkways as we spoke, “but what can be done for it? She gets this way from time to time. She has little motivation in the best of times, and there’s little anyone can do, much less me, to shore that up. I’m just picking up slack so things don’t get any worse. There’s nothing more to it than that.”

While it’s certainly true that the resident medium and keeper of the shrine is notoriously unmotivated, doubts rage as to how typical this degree of lethargy is. There have been past episodes where the shrine has also appeared nearly abandoned from lack of evident activity, with the cause being everything from sudden sicknesses to binge reading on Miss Hakurei’s part. Ibarakasen has filled in for her in some of these instances. Nonetheless, neglect hangs particularly heavy over the shrine at the moment. Case in point, the walkway went possibly weeks without sweeping before the helpful hermit stepped in, and became piled up with leaves, acorns, and dirt.

Sources in the village paint a grim picture as well. “I thought she was stocking up for a party. I’d worry a little if she were having it all to herself,” says one sake vendor, remarking on a recent large purchase by the shrine maiden. Meanwhile, a certain tea shop’s employee noted that, though she’s ‘a pain’ and ‘a bit stingy’, they’ve noticed a lack of patronage from Miss Hakurei. “She’s spent a lot before, but I haven’t eaten this good off of her maybe ever,” reports a rice cracker seller. Beyond these comments, no other purveyor of foodstuffs or other everyday goods has seen Miss Hakurei lately, all expressing some concern given her otherwise regular patronage.

Later, while hauling away a tray laden with dishes from the back, Ibarakasen swiftly and emphatically denied that Miss Hakurei might be living off of rice crackers and sake. “She has bad habits, yes, but I’ve never let her get that bad. While it can be easier if she drinks herself drowsy, she makes an absolute mess if allowed too many rice crackers. Even if it’s a battle, I keep her fed. That said, it wouldn’t kill her to come out and have a proper meal at table.”

As far as the festival announced in answer to the upcoming Moriya Shrine festival announced some time ago, that appears to be called off indefinitely. I saw numerous boxes that looked to have been hauled from the shrine’s storage lying about; I was asked firmly not to touch any of them. Preparations had been in progress for an antiques and curios exhibition, according to Ibarakasen, before Miss Hakurei suddenly became harder to contact. Whether those two things coincide, she claimed ignorance, having not questioned Miss Hakurei about it directly.

Many questions remain unanswered to date. Regardless, one thing remains clear: without support, the Hakurei Shrine is apt to fall into ruin once more. For reasons to be determined, Hakurei Reimu has become almost a shut-in and has left her normal duties to those willing to help. Yet, how long can that help last? Miss Hakurei’s lacking social network provides few substitutes, and it doesn’t seem likely that figures like Ibarakasen will be in a charitable mood forever. Once their help is exhausted, what will happen? It’s my hope that we never find out.

Still clad in her ceremonial tengu garb, Aya threw herself down in her seat, fanning out her wings, relieved but also irritated. Scraps of half-laid-out papers lay haphazardly across her desk. A lot of the material, she opined, was now less than fresh. At best, perhaps some minor touch-ups could be done to make it more ‘current’, but she hated using rhetorical tricks to stretch bad material. She also resented that many of the photos taken would probably have to also be scrapped. All of the business with the Moriya Shrine and its fickle, closed-off goddesses had been having a knock-on effect on the Bunbunmaru.

She pulled a closely bundled stack of notes and half-written pieces closer and looked over them yet again. Journalistic pride all but required her to crow from the rooftops that it was all about the story. Yet, looking over images of the Hakurei Shrine and its neglect, Aya felt a sting of worry. In all this time, not once had she managed to speak to Reimu. When it wasn’t a hermit keeping her away, the shrine maiden’s own sullenness gave no opening for questioning. Struck by a thought, Aya quickly scribbled “Bring drinks?” on one of the drafts and circled it. Not the most innovative plan, for sure, but it was a work in progress.

Setting that notion aside, to the pile of photos, she joined a few fresh snapshots. These featured an entirely different backdrop: the Moriya Shrine. She gave a joyless smile at the memory of today’s chance ‘lead’ having all but walked up to her after a lack of chances to search. Nothing like pursuing one’s hobby on the job.

Aya took up her pen again and began composing a new draft. Something had to be done with her latest notes.

XO day, O month

In the course of other duties, I had the privilege of visiting the Moriya Shrine. Shown to the veranda of the lecture hall, I took tea with the resident shrine maiden while discussing business. As we talked, we were joined by someone unexpected: Komano Aun, the lion-dog most often seen at the Hakurei Shrine.

Based on my recent investigations, affairs at the Hakurei Shrine appear to not be in order. The shrine seems to be in a general state of neglect, with its infamous medium and sole proprietress, Hakurei Reimu, hardly ever seen on the grounds lately. A recent festival has even been cancelled suddenly and without explanation before solid arrangements could be made. Speculation has run rampant in the past weeks about Miss Hakurei and her soundness of mind and body. As far as I've uncovered, the shrine is being held aloft by the efforts of a few close to Miss Hakurei.

That does not, however, include Miss Komano. Previously seen so regularly as to be practically counted as a resident there, the lion-dog has been a noteable absence from the Hakurei Shrine since the shrine maiden’s sudden isolation. Questions as to her whereabouts netted little clue, leading me to believe she had all but vanished. As she tends towards places housing gods and Buddhas, taking it upon herself to be their guardian, I shouldn’t have been surprised that she might also be at the Mountain shrine. Nevertheless, it was my duty as a journalist to question the lion-dog as soon as I had the chance.

“I haven’t been around to know anything about Reimu,” Miss Komano said of the situation, obviously reluctant to share much. Repeated questioning got an unsure answer as to when she was last at the shrine. Neither did she seem to remember the details of the cancelled event. “I helped clean some things up. Or I tried, anyway.” At this point, Miss Komano teared up and needed consolation.

Asked if she was relocating to the Moriya Shrine permanently, she had this to say: “I don’t live anywhere. I just try to help out shrines and temples. That’s what a lion-dog does, right? But I kind of wonder if I can even do that right. It doesn’t matter where I go if I can’t do my job. I just don’t know now. I don’t know why I’m here.”

Further details weren’t forthcoming about exactly what transpired between Miss Komano and Miss Hakurei, but it’s obvious a quarrel of some sort has strained relations between shrine maiden and shrine guardian-beast. Previously, Miss Hakurei seems to have left much menial work to the lion-dog, up to and including sweeping the paths, wiping the verandas, carrying in firewood, heating the bathwater, checking over sales records, and many other critical everyday tasks. By exploiting Miss Komano’s naturally helpful nature, the Hakurei shamaness was able to obtain stable unpaid labour to offload undesirable work. “Sometimes I got fish bones to suck on. When she could afford it. Or a rice cracker. Never any tea, though. She said it was too expensive to let me have. But I know she drinks cheap tea.”

“Reimu’s really bad at saying thank you. There were a lot of times I did things and she said nothing. Nothing good, nothing bad. Just nothing. Most of the time it was like that. She expected me to keep doing stuff without even a ‘good job’. I hate to say it, but I didn’t feel rewarded,” the lion-dog said of the labour conditions at the Hakurei Shrine.

Based on the picture of the situation laid out by Miss Komano, it shouldn’t be any surprise that she won’t likely return to the Hakurei Shrine anytime soon. Yet, when I informed her of the shrine’s current state, she seemed regretful. “If I could just be better…” she started to say, but refused to elaborate further.

Does all of this mean the Hakurei Shrine is truly in decline now? With the departure of its guardian-beast, perhaps for good, the picture is grim. Of course, the question does remain about what might have caused this state of affairs. The burning of bridges between Hakurei Reimu and helpful figures like Komano Aun certainly suggests many things. Perhaps the Hakurei shamaness has shed some of the few inhibitions that keep her from total despotism against youkai. Perhaps Miss Komano is a lucky escapee from being first in a line of victims. Or maybe Miss Hakurei has simply started to crack under the pressure of her position. Given her unreasonable isolation, knowing may prove difficult.

OX day, O month

The fall colours deepen and the Hakurei Shrine is still as dormant as it’s been in the past few weeks. The resident shamaness, Hakurei Reimu, after events as yet unknown, has largely ceased acting in any public fashion. She has been spotted outside the shrine as of late, but never for too long and always with the minimum interactions possible, making herself relatively inconspicuous in both dress and bearing. It seems that she’s usually out shopping for snacks and alcohol on these excursions. Pressing Miss Hakurei for comment during these outings has yet to produce any result beyond ill-tempered denials.

Having only just escaped a potential heated moment in the village, I withdrew to have a look around the Hakurei Shrine once more and bask in its sombre tranquility. I arrived at the main hall when I noticed a diminutive figure skulking away as if trying to flee unnoticed. My journalistic curiosity piqued, I detained the figure with superior tengu speed and strength, only to behold the ineffectively thrashing sight of Kirisame Marisa, human magician and noted friend and rival of Hakurei Reimu. A jingle of coins hitting the ground sounded, dropped from her hand.

A strange thing I’ve noticed in my investigations into the Hakurei Shrine has been the random mysterious donations found in the donation box. On most days, one would never expect to see more than leaves or other detritus stuffed in by faeries, tanuki, or others of that ilk. Yet, time after time, I saw the glint of small coins on various days, as if spirited into the box by some whimsical god. When I asked hermit Ibarakasen, the current most regular custodian of the shrine, she denied any knowledge, and I staked out the donation box in hopes of catching her in the act, to no avail. In retrospect, it seems obvious that it was more a matter of timing than anything. In every case of the mysterious offerings, Miss Hakurei was absent for a period of time.

Once I had her calmed down, Miss Kirisame was most concerned with whether or not the Hakurei shamaness was present. “I really can’t stay around too long. You never know when she’ll [referring to Miss Hakurei] get back. I don’t really want to talk to the hermit, either. She’s too much of a pain in the hind-end.” Asked if she was the only donator as of late, she had this to say: “I haven’t seen anyone else offering anything. As far as visitors, there’s me, the hermit, you, and a couple of others. Nobody from the village, for sure. So, you know, nobody normal.”

I was able to extract a promise for further comment later and caught up with the witch at Geidontei in the village that evening. In a less excitable mood, if not outright subdued compared to the norm, she detailed her own lack of presence around the Hakurei Shrine as of late. “She’s been really hard to talk to lately,” she said of Miss Hakurei. “There are times where she’s like that, but this is something else. I’ve tried. I’ve really tried. It hurts when words don’t get through to a friend. That’s the truth.” That difficulty communicating, she says, stems in part from the shamaness’s present intractability. As to what she’s being stubborn about, I was surprised to hear Komano Aun’s name mentioned. “Reimu treated her okay for a while. Not great, but okay. Then, all of a sudden, they had this argument over something. I think it was an argument, anyway. Whatever it was, she goes and kicks Aun out. She says Aun left on her own, but I know better. And that’s what doesn’t sit right with me. That girl didn’t deserve that. Reimu didn’t want to hear that, but I said it anyway.”

Recently, I ran into Miss Komano at the Moriya Shrine and gleaned from her that her treatment at the hands of Miss Hakurei was less than ideal. The nature of their disagreement and her departure remains unexplained as of yet. Hearing that the lion-dog was at the Moriya Shrine, Miss Kirisame didn’t appear surprised, though she did seem more downcast at the notion. Asked why she hasn’t visited Miss Komano, the witch had this to say: “That place is… hard to visit. That shrine maiden there is a weird one, and there’s always tengu hanging around. No offence. It’s a bit much, is all I’m saying. In any case, what good would it do? I don’t think I can convince Aun to go back. Even if I could, I’d still have to convince Reimu. Easier said than done, as you can imagine.”

“Even if we’re not on the best of terms, I can’t just sit by and let her go to seed,” was Miss Kirisame’s eventual comment on the phantom donations. Most of the donations consisted of small change from purchases in the village. Based on what I saw, I would figure the total amount to be enough for a few rice crackers. “She’s still a friend. I can’t do much for her, so I’m doing what I can. Not that I’m going to break my own bank doing it.”

Asked what she knows of the current state of the Hakurei Shrine, Miss Kirisame offered little insight. She herself seemed unclear on many aspects of the shrine’s lacking upkeep and lagging business. Despite her awareness of Ibarakasen’s presence, she looked slightly caught off-guard when told that the hermit was feeding her friend and sweeping the grounds. One small insight she did inadvertently offer was that others visiting included noted oni Ibuki Suika. However, the witch couldn’t say what those visits might be about, just that she herself often dodged the oni as she came in to make her surreptitious donations. Should I encounter her in future investigations, I will be questioning Miss Ibuki.

For the time being, Kirisame Marisa remains a friend of Hakurei Reimu’s, albeit with their friendship somewhat under strain. The issue of lion-dog Komano Aun’s departure has become a point of disagreement and has left the witch with concerns about her friend’s management of shrine affairs. Perhaps the future may bring reconciliation. As far as Miss Kirisame is concerned, all it would take would be frank dialogue and a willingness to admit fault from Miss Hakurei. Until such time, the diminutive witch will continue sneaking her equally small donations into the Hakurei Shrine’s donation box as a form of covert support. Given that donations usually attend prayers, I closed by asking Miss Kirisame what she was asking the gods. “For Reimu to not be so thick-headed.”

Despite what she said in the interview, the little witch did pay a visit to the Moriya Shrine soon after. Aya couldn’t be sure, but she felt that her own suggestion had played a role. As she watched over the witch and the lion-dog talking from afar, she felt a certain hope that she couldn’t quite name, uncertain and a little fearful. There was no reason to hope for such a small thing to be any sort of catalyst. Yet…

At length, Marisa sped off in the air on her broom, leaving the mountaintop shrine behind her. The lion-dog’s reaction to the conversation was muted. She appeared troubled as she swept the large shrine walkway. Aya gnawed on the end of her pen. Curiosity similarly gnawed at her, yet she felt she couldn’t go down just yet. The story still had yet to play out.