Part 16: Chapter 5R: Shameimaru, God of Wind - Part 1

Music: Secret Mission!

*thump, thump...*

Hmm, where did Luna go? I can't find her anywhere...

(...You're not going to either. My hiding spot is perfect this time.)



Burying yourself alive seems kind of extreme for hide-and-seek.

(There's no way someone like you can see through it, Sunny.)

Hmm, she's not anywhere around. Maybe I'll go take a look at the lake again...

(Hah, I win!)



Gwah!

Found you, Luna! Heheh, I bet you were thinking I'd never find you, right?

Wait... How did you find me? I thought I hid myself perfectly... I even used my power to hide my sounds to make sure!

Stupid, hiding your sounds means nothing if you stick this here for everyone to see.

What do you mean...?



I was worried that the hiding spot was so perfect, I wouldn't be able to find it.

Uh huh. And seeing your face on that flag made it obvious that you were here.

I bet if Luna had put the flag somewhere else, Sunny would've spent hours digging at that spot looking for her.

...

My, what are you two doing there? That hole would be a tight fit for both of you.

Ah, that's no good, Star! You're not supposed to show yourself! I'm one of the seekers today, so you need to hide until I find you!

I'm already tired of it. I always know where the seekers are by using my power.



We'll find out where in Marisa's story.

And besides, even though you're the seeker, you went and took an afternoon nap.

Ooh... How did you find out?

I can sense your movements, and I was bored, so I went to check up on you.

...Is it just me, or have you gotten more sly than usual for awhile now?

That doesn't matter, I've found something more interesting.



The shrine maiden? You mean the one from the shrine?



Uh huh. Flying through this mist is just asking to be pranked, right?

I get it. Since we're tired of hide-and-seek, let's go prank the shrine maiden! ...Oh, where'd Luna go?

...Urgh... Ooh...



Ah, so there you are. I was wondering where you went.

You're the one who jumped on me! I couldn't get out cuz your butt is so huge.

What? It's more because you're slower than anything!

Now now, calm down you two. The shrine maiden will leave if we don't hurry.

...Yeah, that's true. Okay Star, show us where to go.

This scene served mostly to introduce the three fairies to people playing the Reimu route. You get an info dump on their powers, their personality, and how astoundingly they are. It establishes another plot point (the fairies are all playing hide and seek) too, but honestly that's not really that important.



There are many different interpretations of the very essence and meaning of youkai. In short, youkai were originally a logical existence. And the ultimate effect of the Boundary of Illusion and Substance was to...

Is that so~.

This is a line Rumia says once in Touhou 6. It has since ballooned into a catchphrase that defines her character and in many instances turns her into a visual gag. Yes, the Touhou fandom is weird, what about it?

Hey, are you listening properly? I'm not done yet.

Ehhh~.



Isn't that blonde a youkai? I thought that the shrine maiden was really tough on youkai. What's she doing with them?

I can't hear them clearly. Sunny, get a bit closer to them.

Roger. Don't get too far away from me though, I won't be able to hide you two otherwise.



Her lecturing is accurate and all, but it's too long. It's not getting in my head even though I'm listening. There's no way a youkai could understand anything from it.

It is said that sufficient rain will eventually wear a stone down. Repetition actually works quite well to get others to remember something.

You think youkai would ever reform themselves? For them, "in one ear, out the other" is the more appropriate idiom.



But leaving the matter to rest would cause harm for humans, would it not?

Uh huh. That's what youkai are all about. Keine isn't telling them to stop attacking humans. The most important thing is maintaining a good balance.

...I have not studied enough. I do not understand how that would lead to harmony.

It's not something you can understand just by thinking about it. You haven't talked to youkai much, have you?



Only twice, actually, and this is her second trip.

I have spoken with ghosts, but I had not communicated with living youkai before...

This is a good opportunity then. Watch closely.

Save me, I don't wanna be lectured anymore~..."

The screen shakes. Presumably Keine headbutted Rumia.

Oww!

Wha...!

Hey, those humans are just standing there, go do something about them instead!

Why would I do anything with them? Naughty children are the ones who need to be punished hundredfold!

Eeeek~, please stop~!



Hehe, that may well be true. When I look at situations like these... it makes me think they are not as dangerous as I thought.

...Heeey, don't ignore me~!

Why not? You should be grateful that Keine is taking the time to lecture you. If you follow her teachings, you could become a true youkai after all.

So uncaring...

It might be prudent to be careful from here on, though. It is difficult to see at the moment. There may well be enemies surrounding us.

...Hm, that's true. I got a bit too engrossed in my lecture. I suppose that will have to do. I'll save the lecture for later.

Whew...



I'm the one who said I'd do it to begin with. Just follow after me.

Reimu literally just flew off in a random direction and had everyone follow her. That is her standard method of procedure, and it's just as ridiculous as it sounds in-universe.

Where are we heading towards? If we continue in this direction for the time being... We will soon arrive at the Misty Lake and Youkai Mountain.

I guess we're heading towards something suspicious. We'll know when we get there.

You're like a compass without a dial.

Hey, hey, why are you all flying around like this anyway?

Oh, yes. We never did tell Rumia about it.



You saw how Akyu was faring, correct? Youkai such as yourself may be relatively unaffected... But to humans, this mist is like poison.

Huuuh, but it's so pleasant when the sunlight can't get through... And what should I do anyway?

Eh?

You all will get angry if I run away, but it's boring just doing nothing.

That is true. I doubt you will be of much help in terms of reasoning or theorycrafting either...



Ahh, I see, so I help out when we're playing danmaku.

Indeed. When we find the evil ones, we will be sure to inform you.

I guess Rumia is supposed to be the team's muscle, but honestly she's more of a mascot.



Yeah, it's hard to imagine that she's the shrine maiden of a shrine.

Who knows~. Maybe shrine maidens capture youkai when they're running low on food... I bet she's fattening her up to eat her. And her next target will be us.

Geez, stop that. You're giving me the shivers.



Maybe I've been cursed by the shrine maiden...

You two are exaggerating. There's no one better than us at hide-and-seek after all.

I really do feel that gaze on me. My spine feels all chilly and...

...Eeeep!?

?

!! S...Sunny, behind you...

What's wrong with you two? What's behind...



The Evil Eye is always watching.

...Gyaaaah!?

...What? Did I just hear a scream?

(Wait, Luna! Didn't I tell you to hide our sounds!?)

(I was so frightened, I stopped! That eyeball was flying right at us!)

(Let's run away for now!)

What is all that noise...?

!?

......



What is the meaning of this? Could this be related to the scarlet mist...?

...What is this bunch doing here!?

Reimu, you know about these youkai?

Yes, they were fodder that I dealt with during the previous incident. It's a bit unnatural for them to appear by themselves, though.

FMW explains the sudden change in stage enemies between Touhou 5 and 6 by having all of the PC-98 trash mobs be minions summoned by the bosses.



A red dress, and a scythe...?

That appears to be the case, Reimu!

That one may be the boss. Let's give chase!



I'll be collecting some good information from this.





Elly's appearance here is why I didn't give a preview for this chapter.

At least I got the parasol back safely. But I bet I'm going to be ordered back to work once I get back... Hmm, I kinda want to take a detour, but oh well. I'll go straight home, I've got to do my best!





Eek!?

There she is! It is the youkai in a dress with a scythe!

So she's the boss of these beasts!

We'll get rid of you, no questions asked!

Keine and Youmu have embraced Reimu's method of dealing with strangers.

This is how they beat me up before, huh.

What? Boss? Who the heck are you all? ...No, wait...

Hm... I feel like I've seen that one somewhere before.

I've heard nothing about a youkai like that from the villagers...



Both you and that magician looked like normal humans, yet... Geez, this is the second time already...

That's right, you're...

...

...

Prepare yourself!!

Gahhh! Geez, my name is Elly! If you forgot about me, just be honest instead of pretending you might know!

Ahh, Elly. Yeah, it was something like that.



Wow, they just met, and Reimu is already getting angry at the victim.

They're both being antagonistic to me. Did you meet her before, Reimu?

Yes, that was before the spellcard rules became popular. But the Gensokyo then is a bit different from the world now. What are you doing here?

Prior to all of this, Elly was living in a parallel dimension, acting as a guard to a giant mansion.

...I was planning on heading straight back, but this is an understandable exception.



Magician? You must be referring to Marisa. Did you get revenge on her?

Er, well...

...You got beaten to a pulp, huh.

I couldn't help it! I couldn't help it! It's been so long since I last fought!

A-Anyways, I won't lose this time!

Let's do this. I'll send you packing!



This is another chapter more concerned with plot than gameplay.



The only thing I can do on the first turn is move everyone forward.



I wonder what you call it when a ghost tries to kill another ghost?



There's a lot of weird ghosts along with those eyeballs. What should we do? Hide until the danmaku battle is over?

That's kind of annoying. But I guess this isn't the right atmosphere for pranks...

...Oh?



...

What's up, Star?

There's someone hiding in that grove of trees. Maybe it's a fairy who didn't get away in time?

She could've gotten lost while playing hide-and-seek too, maybe.

Yeah, that's worrying. Let's go take a look!



Now that that cutscene's done, I have Reimu break away from the group. She'll be handling most of the south side.



Reimu only took 30 damage from that laser. One of the nice thing about Reals in this game is that if you're Focused, you don't have to worry that much about unlucky hits; assuming you have anything resembling a good dodge percentage you'll take barely any damage. Of course Focusing slows you down, but when you've got to go through Danmaku anyways there's no reason not to do it, right?



Rumia finishes off this ghost,



and Youmu and Keine double team the second one.



On the enemy phase, the two Evil Eyes try and attack Reimu.



That wasn't a very good idea.



Since Reimu had already weakened one too, she gets a kill and picks up a Bomb.



"The shrine maiden encounters suspicious eyeball youkai upon departing the shrine. It is not going to be an easy ride."

...Hmm. The article and the danmaku are too plain. This won't even make page 3. I'm sure they won't lose, but I guess I'll watch a bit longer.

(...There she is, on the second highest branch.)

(I can't see clearly, but the shape looks nothing like a fairy.)

(She's muttering to herself and jotting something in her book... What's she up to? I guess the best way is to ask her directly!)

That shrine maiden doesn't seem to differentiate between youkai and humans. She addresses both normally, I see.



Whoa whoa! Who was that!?

Hm? There's some fuss going on over there.

I can see someone there. Is that a human?

I love lines like these, because they never take into account where the unit is on the battlefield. Keine could be on the opposite side of the screen and she's still be able to see Aya in the trees.

Ayayaya, I seem to have been spotted thanks to you all. What business would you have to pop out in front of me so suddenly?

Business? Er, well...

We were just wondering what you were hiding there for.

Do learn to read the atmosphere, please. Fairies are always so blissfully unaware.

Who's there? Show yourself!

It might be youkai reinforcements. We should be cautious.

If that's the case, we'll just get rid of them.



I suppose I will give them a proper greeting while I am here.

Music: Shameimaru, God of Wind

If you're familiar with SRW, you'd probably figure that with a name like that this track would homage Cybuster's theme. Well, you'd be wrong. Aya's theme is an arrange of a Lord of Elemental song, but not the one you'd think!



For maximum accuracy, imagine a after every single one of Aya's lines.

!

There you are, youkai!

Good afternoon everyone, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Aya Shameimaru, a crow tengu and newspaper reporter. I am honored to have caught your attention. Please feel free to read a copy of this.



The Bunbunmaru is certainly fast and "fantastic", but that's all I'd say about it.

Ah, a crow tengu...

...And a newspaper reporter?

Yeesh, that sounds like a really bad combination.

You should save your surprised looks as well. There are three others still present.

Eh? Does she mean...

I am referring to you three, of course. Now now, do show yourself if you please.

Err, are you calling out to us because you're mad...?

My, of course not. However, since you spoiled my pursuit of information... I will be taking something more interesting in return.



Dwahhh!?



Those are fairies, it appears. A strange combination.

Those three are just some unremarkable prank-loving fairies. They were probably hiding themselves in order to play some trick on us.

N-no, you've got it wrong! We're innocent!

Those fairies are pretty daring to join forces with a tengu.

Surely you jest. Those fairies have nothing to do with me. I am merely a reporter who puts her heart and soul into collecting information.



Aya proceeds to zoom all the way around the map at lightning speed.

S-so fast...!

It is the duty of a reporter to be honest and modest. My motto is to be sincere to those who offer potential information.

Huh, if that's the case, then write an article about these people. They abduct youkai and force them into slavery.



Ah, my deepest condolences. However, you should report criminals to the police, not to a newspaper reporter.

Y-you demon!

Nope, I am a tengu.



I like how Elly's had to force herself into every conversation since the chapter began.

I ally myself with no one. If you really want an answer, you could call me an ally of the truth.

Then don't get involved. This battle has nothing to do with you.

Of course I would refrain from such unrefined activities. I am only here to collect information on the scarlet mist.



*twitch* What does a pigeon tengu like you know? You think you're so great? I'll take you out along with this bunch!



More enemies spawn. This is why I divided my group up into north and south halves, by the way.

Eek, she's going for us too!

Please wait, we're innocent bystanders!

You appeared with that tengu, so I'll punish you all together with her.

That's just crazy...

Hey you, stop making our amount of enemies increase.

Oh, am I not giving you more of a chance to show your skills? If you do the best, you might even make the cover page, you know.

Hah, as if.



Oh dear, are you challenging me? You have not been in Gensokyo for long, I presume.

Allow me to educate you a little... on just how powerful the tengu are.


Watch Aya attack!



That video wasn't part of the cutscene, by the way. From now on, after every enemy phase there will be a NPC phase.

Her speed is truly amazing. My eyes are only just catching up to her now.

Absolutely. Those tengu are certainly something.

Youkai pretty much run the full spectrum. And you're on the other end.

What's that supposed to mean~?



This is the main difficulty in getting the bonus, especially since Aya has a ridiculous Move of 8. She's very good at stealing kills, so don't just leave enemies crippled!

Anything that makes our job easier sounds good to me. Maybe we should just go on ahead and let her handle this.

Of course we can't. Keep saying things like that and your main character position will get stolen.

Aya is indeed a player character in Touhou 9.5 and 12.5. And technically 10.5 and 12.3, but who counts the fighting games?

Ooh, that would be bad.

Oh well, let's head on in! We aren't going to lose to her!



Aya's pretty solid. Shame she's just making a cameo appearance.



Also this is her only attack, and the only way it's ever killing anything is if the target is pre-weakened. Once again, be wary of kill steals!



I start the turn by having Reimu kill that other Evil Eye.



Youmu then casts Accel, and weakens this ghost.



Rumia proceeds to finish it off.



Finally, Keine moves forward and parks next to those stupid flowers from earlier.



An Evil Eye tries in vain to hit Star. In an exception from the norm, the three fairies will spend every battle Evading. This means that nothing has a chance in hell at hitting them, unless you're on Lunatic anyways. Then the danmaku gets so thick they're kind of screwed.



The Evil Eye Aya crippled goes for Rumia. Hopefully she'll get a kill and bring my total up to 6.



She did.



Yeah, but that scythe youkai is waiting at the bottom of the mountain...

Oh right! Let's go to the shrine! The shrine maiden won't be there, so we can be up to as much mischief as we like!

Ahh, I see.

That's a good idea, Sunny.

That's decided then, let's set off for the shrine!

The screen quickly scrolls to the other side of the map.



On every NPC turn from now on, the fairies will move to the right. You can get in their way if you want, but you can't attack them. And if any of them die they'll automatically shift into turbo and escape in a cutscene.



Movement!



Out of a lack of anything better to do with it, I have Rumia blow the Bomb on the NPCs. Sadly, they don't take any damage.



This turn is practically a repeat of Turn 1.







Youmu dodges a 10% and a 36%,



then bumps the kill count up to 7.



Meanwhile, Aya steals a kill from Keine.



Rumia moves west so she can eventually deal with this Evil Eye,



and Youmu and Keine take out another ghost.



The chapter's almost over, so might as well have Reimu actually use some SP.



Reimu attacks this Evil Eye. Hopefully on the enemy phase it'll try and take revenge, because that means Reimu can get another kill.



Unfortunately, it went for Aya.



Also Rumia gets into another laser match.



Like hell she does.



On the next turn, Rumia misses a 88% kill.



So Youmu bails her out, getting a level in the process.



I was hoping to have Keine Bomb the ghost so Reimu could finish it, but she couldn't move far enough.



So instead Reimu goes for overkill. Unlike Marisa, who has to carefully plan her usage of Master Spark, Reimu can just drop one of her two Fantasy Seals whenever she wants. She's ammo-based, what does she care if she uses up a chunk of MP?







Keine engages Elly. I'd have her Headbutt, but I'm afraid that might lower her HP enough to let Aya get the kill.

Hey, you. Don't carry around such a dangerous weapon like that. What if you collide with someone while holding it!?

You can say all you want, but I won't listen. This scythe is my trademark.

That is still unreasonable. What do you plan to do if you need to slip out of a crowd of people?

Ehh? Well, my scythe is actually one of those foldable types, so...

Wait, that doesn't matter! We've just met and you're already lecturing me... what kind of personality is that!?

Hm, you are easily influenced, I see.



...wow those are some terrible pictures. Keine successfully hit, but Elly got knocked away with Parry. Parry's animation is just a really quick blue line, so it's really hard to get a screen capture of. The skill name doesn't even stay on the screen for more than a second too.



I could have Reimu counter, but I want to see how much damage Aya can do first.

You're honestly incomprehensible. Why would you purposefully show yourself just so we can defeat you?

...Hmm?

...What are you staring at?

You're wearing a skirt now... And you're showing off your armpits... When did shrine maidens start attempting to be seductive?

Wha...!?

You've grown a bit, too. I guess you've hit puberty by now, huh?

This is the clothing of the Hakurei shrine maiden! It has nothing to do with my interests!

My, is that so? Whose interests would that be then?



reimu.png



On the NPC turn, Aya predictably attacks Elly.

...Good grief, your speed is on a completely different level.

My my, did you just notice that now? Have a lesson from yours truly. The tengu are the fastest youkai in Gensokyo. They rule Youkai Mountain and are one of the pivots in the balance of power in Gensokyo.

H-hey wait. I don't care about the situation of youkai in Gensokyo today. I have enough worries of my own. Work has been really harsh on me, my allowance is too small... I don't have enough to do a decent amount of shopping...

Having my opponent start grumbling is a little off-putting. ...I can kind of sympathize with you, though.



I guess I could've had Reimu counter after all.



For the heck of it, I have Reimu use everything on the next turn.



I'd prefer it if Keine got the Graze, so I have Reimu pull her punches and use Evil-sealing Circle.





I-I give!!

Just as I thought, you were nothing to write home about.

I couldn't help it, I couldn't help it! My floor tiles were blown away earlier!

Uh? Floor tiles...?

I'm going to restock on them and show you who's boss next time! I won't forget this!

Elly gave 330 experience (enough to get Keine a level), 10 Graze, 3300 points, and a Ginjou Sake. Why am I saying that instead of posting a picture? Well... right after Keine nuked Elly, Fraps stopped working. I didn't notice until I hit the intermission screen though, so I had to load up an alternative save file to get the next couple of pictures. And since that playthrough went pretty differently (and was on another difficulty at that), I'm only going to be posting the cutscene pictures.

_{I guess I should've know that this chapter was going too well.}



The fairies vanish.

Now then, all the unwelcome guests appear to be gone.

Yep, that's about it. My main character role has been successfully protected!

...What are you talking about?

Thank you for your assistance. We finished up here quickly due to your help.

Oh, no need to thank me. I was doing what I wanted to after all. But if you truly wish to show your appreciation, you could always read my newspaper...



My, those defense mechanisms activated quickly. You should try it. My newspaper comes with a free bottle of detergent currently.

Oh, by the way, do you have a moment?

Yes, may I help you?

I heard something from Marisa yesterday regarding something about a tengu.



Ehh!?

That tengu must be you, right? She mentioned this "Buzz Buzz Maru Newspaper" too.

That would be "Bunbunmaru Newspaper". Please do not make it sound like an insect.

The name doesn't matter. So what's this shrine maiden business all about?

Ahh, I should be heading back now, or my superiors will get angry. Please excuse me!

Hey, what kind of way is that to avoid my question!?

It certainly wasn't one that took much effort or thought.



Until we meet again!

Aya zooms off the map.

Whoa, she's super-fast. I can't see her already.

Welcome to five minutes ago, Rumia.

She comes like the wind, and goes like a tempest... That youkai really goes at her own pace.

However, from her behavior... It seems like she does indeed know about the shrine maiden that is not Reimu.

The shrine maiden that isn't me, huh...



Yes, we should hurry.

...Huh?

Is something the matter?

Yeah, I wonder where those fairies from before went. Did they get beaten up?

Maybe? They didn't do anything bad, so who cares what happens to them.

Yes, let's hurry.



It looked pretty hairy there for a bit, but we've all made it through somehow.

Did you hear what she said? That we didn't do anything bad? Heh heh heh, what a stupid shrine maiden. She doesn't know that we're heading towards the shrine.

Let's get going ourselves. Who knows when the shrine maiden will return.

What should we do while no one's at the shrine? How about painting all those daruma doll eyes white?

We could poke holes in all the sliding doors with our fingers.

Fairies. Jerks.

...I somehow think we're starting to go a bit too far...

Even Luna agrees!



...That was rather close, though. So the Hakurei shrine maiden already knows about the other shrine maiden.

There are still many things about that shrine maiden's actions... They would make anyone suspicious.

There is no need for outsiders to know too much about such things. Not until her objectives are confirmed, at least. Hopefully Momiji is doing well in shadowing her, but...

...Oh well. I shall continue my own following of the Hakurei shrine maiden.

I'd show a chapter complete screen but, well, Fraps. Rest assured that I'm still at 0/0 saves and resets though.

------

Aya's single attack was pretty boring, so here's her in FMW2.

Aya Shameimaru (FMW P)

------

My, are you done?

Ah yes, please have a chat with Milady if you could. Recently, she has been playing games so much. She has not gone outside at all...

...Though to be honest, that does make my job easier.

Anyway, good day to you.