Bountiful Harvest

An Incident is an abnormal phenomenon in Gensokyo triggered by powerful beings, affecting the entire realm. Depending on the identity of the instigator, the phenomena and types of Incidents vary wildly. For instance, a certain vampire girl once used a red mist to shroud all of Gensokyo just to block out the sunlight so she could head outside during the day—an event known as the Scarlet Mist Incident.

Generally, once an Incident occurs, no matter the reason, the maintainer of order in Gensokyo, the Hakurei Priestess, must set out to investigate the cause and, ultimately, resolve the Incident alongside her partner. And this time should have been no different.

In the Human Village, at an open-air ramen stand, Reimu sat, dressed in her modified red-and-white miko outfit. She was focused entirely on devouring a bowl of ramen, her expression one of utter concentration. Sitting beside her was a blonde girl wearing a black-and-white dress that resembled a maid's uniform and a wide witch's hat. Her name was Marisa Kirisame, a human magician of Gensokyo, Reimu's friend, and her partner in resolving Incidents.

"...It's definitely strange. This is the scent of an Incident. The Human Village has become so lively today. Even during festivals, it’s never been this crowded. It feels like everyone has come out; every shop is doing great business, and everyone looks incredibly happy. This must be an Incident..." Sitting in her seat, Marisa scanned the bustling crowds with a serious expression, speaking slowly. Such a scene was rare in the past, and today wasn't even an important holiday.

"...There are just a few more people than usual. Everyone just wants to walk around and relax. Where's the Incident?"

Reimu spoke while eating her large bowl of ramen. Hearing this, Marisa's brow furrowed, and she continued solemnly.

"Reimu, I asked around the Human Village just now. Apparently, many people have encountered good fortune this morning. Either their chickens and ducks suddenly laid a bunch of eggs, or their lost cows came home. So many people are like this! They say they only prayed a little, and their long-standing troubles were resolved! This is definitely an Incident!"

"...It's just a coincidence. Isn't it good that their troubles are gone?"

Continuing to eat her ramen, Reimu didn't even look up. Hearing these words, Marisa suddenly slapped the table and pointed into the distance.

"Then what about that! Look at the fields outside! All the crops have suddenly grown to full height! The rice is growing so tall! It's not even autumn yet, it's nowhere near time for the harvest!" Marisa shouted, her finger pointing toward a vast expanse of golden rice fields on the edge of the Human Village. These fields had practically grown overnight, suddenly appearing in a state of bountiful harvest.

"...This is Gensokyo. It's not strange for plants to suddenly grow a bit faster."

Continuing to eat her ramen, Reimu didn't turn her head. Marisa was stunned for a moment, then she puffed out her cheeks and pointed even further into the distance.

On the horizon at the edge of the golden rice fields, a towering mountain peak stood tall. Marisa, a resident of Gensokyo, knew for a fact that there had been no mountain there before! This mountain had literally appeared out of thin air overnight, just like the other abnormalities!

"Huh? A mountain? Where is there a mountain? Isn't it normal for Gensokyo to have mountains? They're everywhere, don't make such a big deal out of—gulp." Hearing Marisa's shout, Reimu continued to eat her ramen and drink the soup with perfect stability. Finally, after finishing every drop, she let out a satisfied sigh.

"Ah! That was delicious. I'm full! ...Let's go, Marisa. We need to buy some other things; the shrine still needs to stock up on food."

Placing the bowl on the table, the finally satisfied Reimu stood up and walked toward the noisy streets of the Human Village. Marisa, watching this, paused for a moment before puffing out her cheeks and following angrily.

Next, the well-fed Reimu began purchasing various foods in the Human Village. Finally, after spending every bit of the money she had obtained from the shrine's saisen-bako, she flew back to the shrine carrying a pile of bags. She dumped the groceries into the storehouse and let out a long breath.

"Whew... alright. Now that I'm fed and watered, I have enough food for a while. This is great." Looking at the piled-up food, Reimu nodded with her arms crossed. Marisa, standing beside her, was speechless. After spending the money brought by the Incident, Reimu stepped out of the storehouse and looked toward the high mountain that had suddenly appeared in the distance. Her expression suddenly shifted to one of shock, and she spoke seriously with a furrowed brow.

"Ah! Since when was there such a high mountain over there! Hmm... could it be an Incident!?"

Looking at the mountain that shouldn't have existed, Reimu spoke with a solemn expression, her attitude performing a complete 180-degree turn. Seeing this, Marisa's expression shifted from speechless to exasperated.

"Hey... didn't I remind you a bunch of times just now? You only noticed it now?" Marisa spoke flatly to Reimu. Reimu scratched her head in response.

"Huh? Did you tell me? I didn't even realize... This must be due to the influence of the Incident. ...How detestable! To dare influence me... I won't let the culprit of this Incident off easily!" As she spoke, Reimu clenched her hand into a fist. Marisa paused slightly.

"...Those coins you suddenly got this morning weren't from the Incident, were they? You were worried the money would vanish if the Incident was resolved, so you waited until you spent it all before going to fix it... That's why you played dumb the whole time."

Expressionless, Marisa coldly exposed Reimu's true thoughts. Hearing Marisa's words, Reimu scratched her head and laughed.

"Haha, what are you saying, Marisa... I'm the Hakurei Priestess, how could I do such a thing? Anyway~ resolving the Incident is the priority now. Let's go~"

As she spoke, Reimu grabbed an incredibly long gohei from the storehouse and took to the sky, flying toward the mysterious mountain. Marisa, left behind, sighed before following.

Above the golden rice fields of Gensokyo.

Although it was not yet the autumn harvest season, the rice in the fields showed an unprecedented scene of abundance. Amidst the celebrations of the farmers, the golden fields swayed like a sea, rippling with shimmering light in the breeze. Reimu and Marisa flew over these never-before-seen fields, their target being the mountain peak that had suddenly appeared overnight. Influenced by the Incident, countless excited fairies flew out of the fields, firing various patterns of danmaku at Reimu and Marisa. However, the duo easily dodged them, sending the fairies spiraling down with charms and star bullets.

"It feels like these yokai have become stronger... These guys always get more mindless than usual when an Incident happens," Marisa remarked as she repelled fairies above the rice fields. Reimu, flying beside her, nodded.

"Yeah. And following the usual routine, the first person to come and get in our way should be arriving right about now."

As she spoke, Reimu looked ahead. A gust of wind suddenly blew a flurry of red leaves toward them. Reimu swung her gohei, releasing spheres of spiritual power that scattered all the incoming red leaf danmaku.

"This danmaku is..."

Looking at the familiar red leaves scattered around her, Reimu murmured. At that moment, a cheerful voice came from ahead.

"Hehe~ they're here, they're here! That Great Being has finally returned!"

Two girls appeared before Reimu and Marisa. Both had short yellow hair and were dressed in festive red and yellow kimonos. One had a pattern of falling red leaves on her clothes, while the other had a pattern of growing rice ears.

Aki Shizuha and Aki Minoriko. The deities known as the Aki sisters stood before the Hakurei Priestess and the ordinary magician.

"You're... the goddess sisters we met on the mountain before? Why are you two here!? And why the change of clothes?" Reimu asked with some confusion. They had crossed paths when the Moriya gods first came to Gensokyo.

"Don't tell me you two are the culprits behind this Incident! It's not even autumn yet! Change this place back immediately!" Marisa shouted from beside Reimu. But the Aki sisters only smiled.

"No, we are only here to pay our respects to that Great Being~"

"That's right—an infinitely noble Great Being has descended upon Gensokyo. We are going to pay our respects."

"Who is this 'Great Being' you're talking about!?" Seeing the unusual behavior of the Aki sisters, Reimu shouted impatiently. The Aki sisters continued to answer in riddles.

"Who is it? You'll know if you go pay your respects, Hakurei Priestess. But before that, we shall serve as your trial~"

"Come~ let the danmaku game begin!"

As they spoke, the Aki sisters charged toward Reimu and her partner. Reimu and Marisa immediately took up the challenge.

"Watch out, Reimu!"

"I know! Let's give these two another lesson, Marisa!"

Finally, after a cheerful fight, the Aki sisters were successfully repelled. Watching them make their happy exit, Reimu let out a long sigh.

"...Finally handled. Why do those two feel so much stronger than before..."

"...I wonder if it's the influence of this Incident. Those two have become much more powerful. If it weren't for the spell card rules, I’d be worried about losing to them..." Marisa murmured, looking at a card in her hand. Spell cards allow practitioners to unleash techniques through a carrier. Since the energy a card can hold is limited, no matter how powerful a move is, it always has a ceiling. Stronger beings cannot break this limit to use their full power. Thus, when fighting under spell card rules, the gap between the strong and the weak is drastically narrowed. This restricted form of combat ensures that Gensokyo is not severely damaged by battles between powerful beings.

Continuing their flight, Reimu and Marisa moved forward. As they flew, the rice fields beneath them gradually vanished, and the strange mountain peak ahead grew larger. Finally, after some time, they reached the foot of the mountain. At the base, they saw a wide stone path leading upward. At the entrance to the mountain path, a grand, ancient gatehouse in red and white stood tall.

"...What a grand building. I've never seen such a tall structure in the Human Village. And this building... is it actually a gate?" Marisa marveled at the towering gatehouse. Reimu gritted her teeth beside her.

"Using such a big building as a gate instead of living in it... what a waste. No way..."

As Marisa and Reimu discussed the grand gatehouse, a voice drifted down leisurely from above.

"Oh... it's you two. You've finally arrived."

Hearing the familiar voice, Reimu and Marisa both looked up at once. There, they saw another figure.

Appearing atop the gatehouse was an elegant silhouette. Long white hair, a noble's Kariginu robe from ancient times, holding a small folding fan, and wearing an Eboshi. Handsome and heroic, she looked like an elegant young noble from the ancient past.

"You... you are..." Reimu said, somewhat confused by the slightly familiar figure. Seeing Reimu's bewildered expression, the figure smiled slightly.

"What, you don't recognize me, Hakurei Priestess?" As she spoke, the "young noble" snapped open her folding fan and chuckled. Painted upon that fan was a crimson firebird with its wings spread wide.

"You... you're that immortal from the bamboo forest? The one who uses fire?" Recognizing the voice, Reimu cried out in shock.

"What are you doing dressed like that today?" Looking at the girl named Fujiwara no Mokou in such an outfit, Reimu was momentarily stunned. In her memory, this girl usually wore a shirt and overalls, always appearing rough and even a bit delinquent. What was with this elegant noble attire that completely defied her character today?

"It's nothing. I'm just here to visit an old friend. To indulge in a bit of nostalgia, I put on my old clothes, that's all." Mokou waved her fan gracefully. Hearing this, Reimu asked, "Old friend? Could it be the culprit of this Incident? Who is she?"

"Who indeed. You'll have to go up the mountain and see for yourself in a moment. However, since you've encountered me, I can't exactly let you pass without a clash."

As she spoke to Reimu and Marisa, a flicker of flame appeared at Mokou's fingertips. Seeing this, Reimu and Marisa pulled out their charms, bracing themselves.

After the sky-filling weave of spiritual bullets and flames cleared, Mokou stood before the grand gatehouse. With a wave of her hand, she dismissed her technique and looked at the panting duo. "Alright, you can go up. Your level is barely sufficient."

"...You... you jerk, since when could you use so many techniques? Don't you usually just charge headlong while covered in flames?" Reimu panted, looking at Mokou, whose clothes weren't even singed. When she had fought Mokou before, the style was completely different.

"Techniques? I've always known how to use them, and quite a few, at that. I just usually find them too bothersome to use. But since today is for nostalgia, I figured I'd use a few more~" Mokou slowly responded to Reimu's words. Finally, she snapped her fan shut and pointed behind her.

"Go on, hurry up. Don't keep everyone waiting for you."

Hearing Mokou's words, Reimu and Marisa shared a bewildered look before flying through the grand gatehouse together, officially entering the mountain.

Upon entering, a long sando stretched out before them. More importantly, along this long path, a torii gate stood every few steps. Countless torii gates of various styles shrouded the path, stretching upward in a dense, packed line toward the unseen, deep end.