Renkoquest DX (5/?): Not without Proper Introductions

The slow morning sun was already well-past the Forest of Magic's treetops by the time Luna Child, first of the Fairies to rise that morning, gradually peeled her eyes open after the previous night's rest. She did initially wonder where Renko might've scampered off to after noticing her sleeping spot was a humanless tangled wreck but, before she could dwell over the matter much, the rapidly healing shrine in front of her took up all available attentions.
If she wasn't fully awake before, she certainly was now.

"I can't believe it...Sunny! Star, wake up! You gotta see this..!"

The remainder of the Fairies all slowly started coming to for the day until, one by one, the regrowth of the foliage around them captured their amazement in totality. Everyone except for Cirno anyways, who continued to snore uninterrupted through everyone's gradually-budding realizations.

Star Sapphire and Daiyousei both stared up at the Radio Tower with awe until Sunny Milk managed to notice something nobody else had yet. "The plan actually worked, it's already so much better..." "Wait...is that Renko up near the top there..?"

Indeed, it seemed that Renko had long since scaled the tower via its neglected mechanic's ladder and was now straddling the cross-beams near some of the lower satellite dishes in an attempt to better survey her surroundings. From where she'd been leaning, unkempt hair blowing in the breeze slightly, she could just barely make out the far edge of the Forest and what surely must've been the very edges of the Village's walls not much farther beyond.
If there was anywhere she could go to get her bearings while remaining relatively safe, it would be there.

"Renko! What the heck are ya doing up here?"

The college girl would've been nearly startled by the sudden arrival of the nearby hovering Sun and Star Fairies had the atmosphere not been as tranquil as it'd been for some time now. Renko had been quite careful not to disturb any of the personal artifacts Luna bothered to place this high, Star taking notice and appreciating Renko's mindfulness.

"Oh, morning Sunny! Sorry, guess I got a little bored waiting for everyone down there. Isn't it all so nice though? Looks like the plan worked!"

"You can say that again, even the broken branches are all coming back! Looks like we'll have the prettiest spot in the Valley this season by far at this rate~!"

"Don't get too ahead of yourself Sunny, we should just be thankful the night went as smoothly as it did to help with all this. Right, Miss Renko?"

"U-Uh yeah, right...smooth as Ice."

It hadn't even felt like it'd been a full hour since her dreams had taken her on a rapid-fire tour of several random locations, feeling well-rested but still semi-rattled from the few choice encounters all the same. Actually, that reminds her...she was so close getting her hands back on that hat. Maybe she should've went for it when she had the chance? She usually does, there was just so much going on...but it was too late now. She'd need to somehow track down that Bunny Girl from here and likely take the thing back in person. She's survived worse by now, all she needs is that hat again...

"Well we should probably try and get Cirno up so we can start getting at least the blankets together, what the shrine needs now is space to grow more than anything else."

The two fairies head back down to find Daiyousei had already gotten the jump on such efforts, leading Renko to slowly scale down the tower all on her own. She'd at least need to stop somewhere to change first before simply waltzing right into the Village, maybe even find a good place to temporarily hide her things so she isn't carrying too much around. If she still gets into trouble in a place like that then it'll be important that she has a way to leave quickly without leaving too much of an imprint.

Her shoes touch down into the dewy grass below while the other two do their best to rouse the Ice Fairy from her deep sleep, Luna carefully walking up to Renko with something of her own to say.

"Miss Usami, this is your handbag, right?"

She held it before Renko with one hand on the packed leather and the other gingerly cupping the snapped shoulder strap.

"Oh, yeah, of course it's mine. Why, what's up..?"

"What happened to the strap here..? This surely isn't on purpose, right?"

"No, of course not. Just an accidental casualty from when I was escaping the Vampire Mansion I guess."

The others finally managed to wake Cirno up by clapping loudly at the same time, Sunny looking nearly ready to throw something at Cirno if what they tried hadn't just worked.

"Well, if you'd like, then you can leave the bag with us for just a little while and we could easily sew the strap back on for you."

"Really? I was fully prepared to find some quick fix to that on my own, but..."

"Oh it'd be no trouble at all! Just an easy sew and a clean and we'd hand it right back over~"

Renko's spirits were raised even further at Star's idle comment while Cirno took her time finally catching up with the rest of the current situation. "Woah! The Shrine looks better than ever now you guys!"

A few laughs were shared between everyone before the blankets and some of the more incidental & frivolous items were all gathered together. Other trinkets apparently "needed" to be left behind but it wasn't long at all before everyone seemed ready to go their separate ways for now. However, there was still at least one question that happened to be on everyone's minds unanimously.

"So...where would you even be headed now, Renko?"

She paused to think for a moment, holding the briefcase with the outfit she wanted to be in for whatever this next move would be and what few parcels from her handbag she wanted to hang on to for now. Guess she might as well commit if she's in this for the long haul...

"The Village. I've been thinking about it on and off all morning but it has to be the next obvious place for information gathering. I just need to find a spot to change clothes around here first is all."

"And where do you even think ya might find a place like that? Closest place that isn't just more forest around here is that Puppeteer's house...well, Marisa's Shop might actually be a little closer..."

"You might as well just go back there if you need somewhere private, Miss Renko. Even with the state that it's in right now."

Part of Renko already knew that'd be the obvious spot to use as the checkpoint, she was just afraid of it being a little too obvious is all...but it's not like Alice's would be any better.

Hopefully she's still doing okay if nothing else at least...

"(sigh), so be it. I'll try and catch up with you three again at some point within a day or so. It's great you're so willing to help with that but that handbag is Immeasurably important to me. Don't make me regret trusting you with that, now!"

"You can count on us, Renko! Handing it back to you will be the first thing we do when we see you again!"

Renko was surprised to see Sunny even going so far as to extend an arm for a firm handshake, but it was an offer she wasn't going to stand up either way. The Fairies around here hadn't been all that bad so far, right?

Daiyousei began to lead a half-awake Cirno back towards the Lake while the Fairy Trio began the slow march back to their own home with everything gathered in-tow. Renko was once again on her own, ultimately left to trek back towards Marisa's thrashed abode in silence which was actually done with a surprising amount of ease. It seems like she was finally learning her way around the area after all! It wouldn't be long before the whole Valley would surely be at her fingertips...but for now she needs to reign in her focus and stay in the moment. Every second today has to count.

The natural ambiance around her told Renko that, fortunately, nobody else happened to be around the KMS. If she could just unload a few of her belongings, hide them amongst the debris well enough, get changed and leave with nothing but the suitcase to hold then things ought to work out as well as they need to for now.

Heading into one of the few backrooms Marisa had first, Renko quickly got herself situated into the most pedestrian outfit that she'd bothered to bring for this journey. It seemed like little more than an even more casual version of her previous semi-formal ensemble in hindsight but it surely had to be good enough to not stick out too terribly around here. Though she was starting to miss her shawls a bit...and it didn't help that the hat she ought to have paired with this outfit was currently in the hands of some lagomorph! She'd settled on one of her more circular flat-brims in its place but it still didn't feel totally right.

On its own, she thought that the hat almost looked like an older-fashioned UFO of some kind...funny, but slightly annoying for her in this context.

She'd soon made just enough room in her briefcase to hold what few artifacts she plucked from her handbag, the Merry Doll and that 'Okazaki' book she'd found included, plus the Occult Orb which had somehow already been nestled within a secure corner of the briefcase. Convenient, but still weird...
Everything else was inconspicuously scattered to the four winds of Marisa's shop well enough to blend in with the very mess itself. The things she was keeping here weren't even items that looters would want anyways; the perfect plan.

She was just about ready to head out when she did manage to hear someone sneaking up on her before it was too late.

"Uhh...Miss Marisa..? Is that you in there? Miss Narumi said it's been a little while since she's seen you around, but..."

The voice stopped as soon as the young man came within full range of the Shop, pittering off into a pathetic stuttering mumble at the sight of what surely must've been some incredibly horrible accident he was most fortunate to not have been apart of. But, Miss Marisa...had she finally been done in by her own ambitions?? Renko came into view of the boy, someone who had to've been been no older than 18 or maybe 19 at most and was dressed in the garbs of a rural peasant from at least the Nara period...or perhaps some other era just a little more closer to her own.

Renko wasn't completely sure if Marisa had made any mention of him or not during their short time together, but he appeared mildly startled at the Physicist's presence amongst the carnage all the same. Fortunately enough for her, this actually was a situation she'd learned how to work her way out of many times before over the past few years.

"It really isn't what it might look like here, I was just as surprised at seeing all this mess when I passed by as you."

"Is...that so? Do you...know what might've happened then?"

"Nope. But whoever lives here sure isn't going to be too happy with that."

"Y-You can say that again...I actually have my part-time job at this place with the girl who runs it, Marisa Kirisame."

"Marisa, eh? Well hopefully you two can pull through with this."

"Yeah...hopefully."

"Uh, by the way, I must've taken a wrong turn then cause I'm just trying to get back to the Village. If you happen to have a second now, would you mind..?"

"...mind helping you back?"

"Yes! That'd be just wonderful, uh...what might your name be? Sorry."

The young man gave Renko one last quick glance over before finally easing up, the reality of his plans today being swept away by fate becoming all too apparent to resist any further. "...Tetsuo. That's my name, nice to meet you ma'am."

"Call me Renko, and it's no trouble Tetsuo. Just trying to find my way back is all."

The Village boy did think that Renko's briefcase seemed just a little out of place compared to the rest of what was usually passed around in the Village, certainly a fancy and well-designed object if he's ever seen one, but maybe it wouldn't be too wise to keep pressing for details at a time like this.
"So, how long have you been in the Forest today then anyways?"

"Ohhh...maybe no more than about an hour or two. I usually don't end up this far out on mornings like this but the walking sure was nice!"

The two began their slow but steady trek south together through the Forest towards what should eventually be the Northern Gates of the Village, Renko mostly keeping to herself while Tetsuo wasn't sure if he should say much more than he already has. There had to be more tanuki than yesterday on their tail as well, she was sure they were running through the nearby bushes as the two were walking and talking, but now wasn't the time to get paranoid. Especially not with someone who might be made even more jittery than her by the thought of that alone. It was a forest, there were going to be animals, that's normal. End of story...it wasn't even nighttime! Nothing to fear anyways.

"Honestly, I'm surprised you haven't run into Miss Narumi yet if you've just been wandering around outside this whole time. She'd be able to help you find your way in a jiffy."

"I...can't say I'm familiar with the girl really. I'm, uh...not all that social."

"Eh, some people wouldn't know her anyways. She's a local magic user and guardian of the Forest known for being a bit on the reclusive side herself, which makes sense considering what she used to be I guess."

"What she used to be..?"

"Well yeah, before she was animated a couple seasons ago she was just another stationary Jizo statue like all the others around here."

"A Jizo statue??" Renko nearly froze in her tracks hard enough to drop her briefcase, but now wasn't the time to stall over anything too frivolous and raise further suspicions either..! She had to press on and carry the wherewithal to survive long enough to get somewhere important. Hopefully even far enough to find her hat somehow...but there was only one way she was going to find that out for sure from here.

-

Close to about 40 or 50 minutes later and there Renko finally stood at the entrance to the closest semblance of genuine Human civilization she had to fall back on in this entire valley. The gates were overtly traditional in design, both as spiritually and culturally charged as was to be expected, but still rather imposing considering how far they seemed to tower above every idle passers-by below. She probably should've figured as much considering how far away she was able to see its upper edges. Tetsuo made his quick farewell not long after bringing Renko within throwing distance of the place, saying something about needing to ask around and see if anyone knows what might've happened to the KMS without much extra fanfare. Maybe she should've just been honest with the kid...but it'd only hurt her to dwell over that too much. Nothing else was stopping her from taking a good look through the Village now. The civilians around her didn't seem to pay her too much mind, maybe the occasional glance or double-take from the especially elderly, but it looks like she was dressed just plain enough to come off as normal after all. As long as she didn't get herself into trouble, exploring around ought to be a cinch!

But, if she got bored enough, maybe just a little bit of rabble-rousing would be harmless enough in the moment. But nothing crazy, she still had to be mostly serious about this after all.

Carefully walking in through the shade of the gates above revealed nothing terribly surprising considering what she knew of classical Japanese culture, though it was awe-inspiring all the same to see a group of people thriving so steadily under such relatively simple conditions. As far as Renko was aware, there wasn't a single place like this left in her Japan that hadn't been up and abandoned or simply brought to ruin somehow. Maybe she really should've tried bringing that old camera for this after all...

Right away she could spot a street vendor peddling what had to be some kind of freshly cooked bird meat prepared in front of an open-faced tavern, carts full of Autumn harvests being wheeled from the nearby farms, shops with early 1800s residential spaces built above them and many naturalistic architectural features that the metropolises of her time could only partially replicate at best. But here it all was, preserved for what surely had to be some ridiculously long stretch of time since its true prime elsewhere. The way she stood soaking everything in with her little black-and-white ensemble while holding her briefcase in front of her almost made her feel like some kind of European tourist, but she still knew not to linger in one place too long regardless. That was just bad form!

The thin crowds idly parted around her as Villagers mostly seemed content on sticking to their own business. Perfectly fine by Renko, as long as their eyes weren't on her then that meant she was free to run about as much as she needed to. If anything, the fact there'd be less pockets of people clustered together like sardines on their work commutes to weave her way through was yet another breath of fresh air provided by Gensokyo's apparently endless supply.
She tipped her hat up and began her casual stroll through the northern end of the Village. Renko was fairly certain that none of the places she'd visited in her dreams last night had actually been inside the Village walls...maybe it'd be best to get some info over the Bamboo Forest? Something like that...she has time. The Physicist looked up at the murky afternoon sky and saw the faintest edges of the moon visible for a brief moment before it was overtaken by the autumn clouds overhead. Damnit...it wouldn't take much to triangulate her location from here based on last night's few coordinates. Even easier with a map, but who around here might be giving away something like that?

She continued to walk alongside the well-trodden paths as a few crows crooned away on the rooftiles above, taking in the sights as she went. It was a little hard to tell what was and wasn't a business around here honestly but sometimes there was a good sign or two that would help, or at least refresh her on old Kanji she'd partially forgotten. She walked past some kind of large gazebo-like structure housing an open-air market within only to arrive at what must've been the Village's equivalent to a town square. Open dirt and fenced patches of grass surrounded her as small groups, young and grown alike, mingled closer to the buildings. The center of the clearing in front of her held a large stone statue carved in the shape of a great Dragon. Was this their local guardian deity, perhaps? Its eyes were beset with jewels currently shining a dimmed whiteish color, mirroring the skies above quite well actually with a subtle twinkle.

If there was any place here to stop and ask for some decent directions, this had to be the best spot to start from. But who could help a girl like her at a time like this?

Scanning some of the crowds didn't reveal anything too surprising...actually, a quick double-take does reveal some tall blonde in blue & white that seems to stick out a little. Renko can only see part of her front from where she's standing but the woman seems to be actively engaged in some kind of barter over food right now anyways. What the college girl needs is someone more available...but everyone's too clustered together in groups right now to casually interrupt anything.
Damnit..! Isn't anyone around here willing to just keep to themselves on a weekday?!

And that's when she spots her. What's with the random people with more eccentric hair colors around a place like this anyhow?

Renko spots a lone girl sitting on a distant bench reading some kind of book to herself idly. She was clad in red and black with a high collar to her shawl and a light blue bow to top everything off. She seemed a little bored as she suddenly yawned and closed the book, getting up for a stretch and to presumably head somewhere else. The perfect opportunity to stop her for a question before she gets too far..! Renko sprints across the clearing much faster than she admittedly ought to've and makes it within a foot of the red-headed stranger just in time for her to look over the college girl with a surprised concern.
This girl seemed...new. "Uh, do you...need some water or something?"

"No...No I...I'm fine, I...(ahem), sorry. I'm just looking to ask for some simple directions."

"'Directions'? What, is this your first time here or something?"

"I-I...uh...maybe..?"

The stranger stares down at Renko with a barely masked skepticism towards her true intentions. She really just wanted to get home before it got too late in the day...but maybe she can just send this strange newcomer off somewhere and still be done with things relatively quickly.

"(sigh), alright, Listen. There's a lot of eyes on the place sometimes but, if you just keep walking towards the end of the Village canal to the West, you'll reach a little book rental that should help you out better than I can right now."

"Oh..! Actually, that sounds great...thanks a lot Miss!"

Normally she'd stay just as reserved as any other introverted Villager, but something about this girl... "It's Sekibanki, and you're welcome. Be careful out there, even the Village has it's dangers..."

She may not have been looking Renko in the face when she said that after beginning to walk off, but the college girl was just glad to have been finally pointed in the right direction for a change. Something akin to a public library would be perfect to find out more about Gensokyo on her own terms! Local resources still never fail in the end it seems.

Renko picked up the pace to her stroll until she found the canal she'd been directed towards, partitioned with small bridges and lined with shrubs & trees alike that were parallel to the western wall the whole way down. The further she walked, the more she noticed that idle townsfolk seemed to be drifting towards what must've been some kind of small event going on in the next street over. She wasn't able to make out exactly what however, only managing a glance towards the edge of some small crowd at the end of a path over and nearly bumping into an innocent stranger in the process. Nonetheless, Renko was able to recollect herself just in time to see an almost ramshackle-looking shop stationed at the very end of this row of buildings.
It appeared to be open, some random Villager walking out happily with two or three books and, once Renko got close enough to fully make out the sign, she knew that this had to be the place.

"'Suzunaan'...alright then. Do they sell bells, too..?"

She made sure her shirt was properly dusted off before calmly brushing herself past the outer curtains. She was immediately smacked in the face with the smell of incense and the sound of some phonograph playing classical ambient music nearby, her eyes taking their time to adjust as Renko instinctually took off her hat and squinted at the customer bell ringing just overhead.

"Welcome to Suzunaan! Please take your time, would you like me to set your luggage somewhere while you browse?"

"Ahh, no, that's fine. I'll just keep this with me..."

"Alrighty then! Coatrack's to your left if you'd like to set your hat down at least."

Renko was hesitant at the thought at first for obvious reasons, but it's one thing to find a random fancy hat in the woods to take home and another to just swipe it off a public rack like some petty thief. For the sake of convenience, she's willing to take the risk for just this one moment.

The college girl finally began to take in the sights of the quaint space before her by first noticing the rows and rows of exotic books neatly organized in hand-carved shelving. It made her wonder how much free time people must have here to create a backlog this robust but now wasn't the time to drown herself in miscellaneous knowledge...yet. Across the way from the entrance sat a table and some scattered papers, the Shop's front counter proper not far from that and holding the record player adding to the atmosphere. A young girl, Kosuzu Motoori, sat behind the counter ready for the next day's customer. Her orange hair swayed behind her glasses gingerly as she smiled at Renko and let the college girl take things at her own pace. It looked to her like she could use a small reprieve anyways.

"So, you run this rental all on your own here?"

"Oh, goodness no! My family owns the building and have been running this business for years. We do a little bit more than just rent books y'know..."
She takes off her glasses and closes the store ledger she'd been keeping tabs over.
"Is this your first visit to Suzunaan, Miss?"

"Yeah, I was told this might be a good place for some information and the lady who told me wasn't kidding! You got one solid setup over here!"

Kosuzu giggles, Renko taking in the décor of the many tapestries and other scrolls scattered around her.

"Why don't you try taking a closer look at that 'setup' for yourself then~"

Setting her briefcase down near the counter for now, Renko humored the offer and walked over to the nearest shelf to start picking through. It's been a while since she's fully brushed up on her classical Japanese literature, but... Wait a minute. This book here isn't classical at all..! A quick scan over the inner cover clearly shows that this book is only from the early 21st Century!

...and it's a trashy TV 'Thanksgiving' cooking guide. Yeah...even for it's time, it surely must've been an extremely forgettable object.

Another 3 second jump landed Renko's attentions on a book that actually did seem to be published around here, and it was a...parody Agatha Christie novel?? Renko sets that one back and walks down a few rows only to stumble across a book detailing Lovecraftian lore and myth from the mid-20th Century, translated entirely into legible Japanese by an anonymous editor. And that was only the first three books she bothered to pay attention to...

She could be at this for the entire day, she had to stop herself now for the greater good.

"Now what's a place like this doing with completely random books like these? Where do they even come from around here..?"

"Well, as others might know, Suzunaan prides itself on providing a well-rounded selection of books that have been ultimately outsourced from the Outside World."

"You mean beyond the Valley? From around the globe, even?"

"Well...yes, sometimes I guess, but it's more along the lines of what we can rely on that happens to drift through the Hakurei Barrier in certain areas most often. All these books have been recovered from our own frequented sites, or sometimes traded and donated otherwise. We even publish! If you have the right materials that is."

"What drifts through the Barrier...what a concept. This sort of stuff just washes up on Gensokyo's shores like dead jellyfish after a storm?"

"I-I suppose?? But that is a very specific comparison to make..!"

"Yeah, I know...look, I'm really just here to reorient myself a little. I'm trying to work my way through the land around here and maybe even find something important of mine that I lost but my search has been a little slow so far..."

"Oh? Well do you know where you happened to lose it maybe?"

"The Forest of Magic..? But I couldn't get to it right away and now it's in the Bamboo Forest somewhere. It'll be hard for me to just move on from things without that...Object."

"The Old Bamboo Forest of The Lost? The only place interesting in there would be Doctor Yagokoro's Clinic as far as I'm concerned."

"That has to be the place then! Do you, uh...have any...books on the subject I guess??"

Kosuzu places the tip of her glasses between her lips for a moment to think things over.
If she can help it, she'd maybe even like to be able to help this visitor long after she leaves Suzunaan as well...
"I'm not sure if we'd have any sort of specific 'good' book for that, but I can at least offer you one thing..."

Renko instantly chirped up as the Librarian carefully dug through a nearby opened drawer for the right bit of parchment she needed.

"Here we go!" She gently unfurled the trifold and blew the decades-old dust off its surface to reveal a semi-comprehensive map of the entire Valley.
"They are outdated by well over a hundred years or so, but we have a few copies of these basic topographical maps lying around and I'm willing to provide one on one simple condition."

"Hmph, some kind of catch I take it?"

"Nothing of the sort! Just a single question is all."

"Well..?"

Kosuzu beamed at Renko before moving forward with her thought. "What kind of books do you like to read?"

Renko actually was taken aback slightly by the simplicity of the young girl's question, but it felt simple enough to answer with only one action in return. Opening up her briefcase, Renko pulled out her copy of Controlled Applications of The Scientifically Improbable and presented it to Kosuzu wordlessly.

The young girl quickly put her glasses back on and went to scanning through the small tome.
"Oh my, it seems you have your own interest in foreign books! This certainly isn't one of ours..."

"I wouldn't think so, I actually got that one from the depths of the SDM if you can believe it..."

"The Mansion of the Scarlets? This would be some pretty advanced reading even for their Librarian! If I'm being honest with you ma'am, a lot of the concepts behind the more...grandiose vocabulary in here are going right over my head..."

Renko may not have had the right moment to read through the book more herself yet, but quickly taking the book back revealed the Shopkeep here really wasn't bluffing...

Some of this information inherently deviates from the Grand Unified Theory all-together..! And it's including intertwined concepts firmly rooted in the sacred and numinous that Renko's been trying to prove since...since...

"...I-I'm sorry, what was your name? I'm Renko."

"U-Uh, Kosuzu Motoori. It's a pleasure..?"

"Thank you, likewise. Have you by-chance ever heard of this author around here then?"

Kosuzu looked over the name at the bottom of the leather-bound cover once more, gathering nothing greater than what she could feel within the text the first time she held it. It was a first edition directly from the desk of someone long since settled down from greater ambitions, largely educational in nature with hints of lingering spiritual potential, maybe even a small collaborative work of some kind, but it's not like this was anyone's simple personal profile to make out concretely.

"I'm sorry Miss Renko, I really don't know who that author might be. It's an original printing but it isn't even constructed in the same way that Suzunaan-published books would be. I'm not sure I can offer much more over the matter really."

"Ah...of course, no, that's alright. Just figured I'd try..."

"I'll tell you what though, if something like that really does catch your interest then you have to be one of the smartest customers I've seen all day. I think it'll only be a matter of time before you figure it out and find what you're looking for!"

"I appreciate it Kosuzu, do I really not have to pay for the map..?"

"Go right ahead and take it. Just make sure to remember where you got it from now~!"

"Easy, I wouldn't forget a shop like this for years!" The college girl carefully places the stolen book back in her briefcase and gets ready to head out, an old map in a place like this still being invaluable for further independent travel.

"Thank you for stopping by then, glad to be of assistance! Oh! And if you're still around the area in the next two days then stop by if you want a look at some exclusives we're revealing for the first time!"

"I'll keep that in mind, take care!"

'Cute little girl', Renko thought to herself while putting her hat back on. Definitely the kind of person she could spend an afternoon in deep discussion with but it's amazing even that much was able to fetch her a map like...

...this..? The first thing Renko noticed with the map after stepping back into the outside light was that the Village, an apparent centerpiece to Gensokyo, had to at least be a mere third of the size it was today! The Forest of Magic was simply referred to as any other local forest and what was surely the Misty Lake didn't even seem to have any greater features to it. The Hakurei Shrine was still listed just past the Forest in the mountains to the East, though it stood among a peppering of other local Mountain Shrines and strange altar locations that practically sounded straight from Folklore. There was apparently even an entirely separate Village to this one that was situated at the foot of the mountains not much farther North than where that Radio Tower had to be. Youkai Mountain stood as imposing as ever to the West, though it seemed that name was simply a subtitle to its true moniker of 'Yatsugatake', various random loose borders marking ancient territories long disbanded peppered around its base. This really had to all still distinctly be Nagano-adjacent land then, no wonder that mountain always looked so massive...

Of course, to the South of everything sat the enigmatic Bamboo Forest of The Lost, apparently being one of the few truly unchanged places around here throughout the ages. No pathways had been traced throughout the location itself, but it was separated from the Human Village by a small canal branching off from the western farmlands. Easy! All she had to do then was make her way down the...

down the...uhh, actually...now that she wasn't lost in thought, where had all the crowds that were mulling about earlier run off to? She'd been wandering around completely unimpeded for far too long. There was an almost eerie lack of distinctly Human activity from the nearby shops and houses.
Was everyone just staying inside for some reason..?

It wasn't until Renko recalled the path over to the street beside this one that she did pick up on a small hint of activity on the other side of the buildings. What could even be going on over there at a time like this..?

Right away she noticed the crowd visible at the end of the pathway earlier was considerably larger compared to its previous state before she entered Suzunaan, making her way through a small winding garden filled with many naturally-growing local plants until she reached the open end on the other side. ...the only issue was that it wasn't exactly 'open' with how many Villagers had all seemed to gather in one place..! Even in a place like this there was still the insatiable draw of the crowd?! But What was even the POINT!!

Then Renko realized something else, the sounds coming from the crowd itself weren't being raised above much more than a murmur. There was only one single voice that seemed to rise above the rest during this particular moment.

"And of course, we as Faithful Gensokyans must never forget that the Gods will always show reflections of ourselves in our best and worst moments alike!"

Damnit damnit..!! She was too far back in the crowd and everyone else was too tall to see anything!
Ungracefully shoving and shimmying her way through towards the center would take so long...

"This, too, shows our own connection to the divine even when you may believe they have not been on your side in your life lately."

If it wasn't for the risk of stumbling and causing a huge scene, Renko really would be fully tempted to just barge her way into the front of the crowd...

"On that note, if there's anything that you may take away from what I've had to say today then please let it be this, as a humble Maiden and Devotee to the Greater Forces of the Moryia Shrine:"

Actually, it seems like she was almost to the front of where the crowd had actually parted after all! She could barely make out a figure standing atop an upturned fruit crate that had to be the one delivering the speech...or more like a sermon really.

As she got closer, she could make out the Maiden's outfit clad in blue adorned with...
'Green hair..? Wait a minute...'

Renko finally stumbled her way into the front just in time for the final few lines the girl had been working her way towards.

"Your Gods, your Caregivers, think about you. They can hear your cries and observe your falls but also support your efforts and ease your temperaments. They know what you struggle with but have the full ability to answer you should you choose to truly open your heart and reach out. That is what it means to hold yourself properly amongst The Faithful~!"

A few people politely clapped at the end of Miss Kochiya's lecture for the day while the Shrine Maiden herself bowed before thanking the many Villagers for making such great company today.

"And please don't forget that next week will be our seasonal random fortune raffle event at the Moriya Shrine itself! Bring your Faithful and don't be afraid to speak with me on details or this week's selection of amulets."

While a few individuals stayed behind to mostly chat amongst themselves, many other Villagers simply went back to their day-to-day and slowly made way throughout the streets once more. Renko watched as Sanae handed the fruit box back over to its original vendor, thanking the man for his assistance profusely and nearly levitating off the ground itself with enthusiasm. She was sure that had to be one of the people she ran into just last night, and yet here she was come down all the way from the upper cliffs of Youkai Mountain apparently. Maybe Renko looked just different enough to not actually be recognized..?

That potential familiarity aside, it was far too late before Renko realized that her lingering stare had been fully noticed by the Shrine Maiden with unwavering glee to boot. Her glimmering emerald curls bobbed in the open air as she casually strode over to Renko for a proper hello. She couldn't have been taller than someone like Maribel, though it was clear that she'd been gifted with the sort of blessings that would make even Merry turn a head all the same. It was like the Physicist had suddenly struck up a conversation with the human equivalent to a Golden Retriever...

"Hiya~! Nice day, isn't it? Cool suitcase..."

"O-Oh, what, this old thing?"

"Well sure, it's not everyday you see something like that in the Village. Your whole look sort of reminds me of this one girl I know actually..."

"You don't say..? The name's Renko," she extends a hand, "how about yourself?"

"Oh! It's very nice to meet you Renko-chan, I-o-oh, oops, uh...are you okay with me calling you something like that? I wasn't exactly uh..."

"It's fine, I guess...you were saying though?"

"I'm Sanae! I've never seen you attend a speech of mine before, what did you think of what I had to say?"

"Uhhh see, the thing is, I was really just coming over here to see what the crowd was for but..." The Living Goddess looked on at Renko patiently, eager to hear whatever she may choose to share. "I suppose it is quite fascinating to see this sort of public ritual still actively engaged with, you must be saying Something right to them. It's not like that still happens around my home..."

"Oh really? You're from the sort of place where public sermons have grown outdated then?"

"That would be one way of putting it!"

"Hmm, hmm~" Sanae rocked on her heels for a moment. "Y'know, that hat you're wearing sort of looks like an alien spaceship. Anyone ever tell you that back home?"

Though Renko was shocked to hear such an echoed comparison at first, it was soon followed by uncontrollable laughter in the face of someone who may finally actually understand a thing or two about modern life..! "Oh! Oh that's..! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I was just thinking that to myself earlier is all."

"I understand! You're okay."

Then, a nearly invisible shift in her tone took place.

"Though, if I understand some other things correctly too...you're saying you come from a place where you know about UFOs casually and people are less reliant on Religion~?"

"That's...I...Oh dear."

The Maiden leans in close to the Physicist, almost sinisterly if it wasn't for her suffocatingly cheery disposition. "Say, you haven't stopped by the Hakurei Shrine yet during your time here, have you?" "Of course not!! You know what that girl would do to me if..?!"

Sanae simply crosses her arms under her chest and smiles coyly at Renko, giving her some breathing room once again. Renko can only click her tongue and sigh with frustration.

"Alright, look, you got me, okay? I'm an Outsider! But I came here on purpose I'm telling you!"

Sanae continues to smile knowingly. "So did I once, but please continue Renko-chan."

"..! W-Well...I wasn't lying about wanting to see what the crowd was for! I just came from that Suzunaan place after the girl in there handed me a map for my trouble, see?"

"Oh, you got to meet Little Kosuzu! How fun, well I guess you would need the map when your GPS wouldn't work around here, huh?"

"No kidding! But it's not like I'd be caught dead with some GPS tracker on me anyways."

"Eh?? Why say something like that so harshly..?"

"Oh, a girl like you wouldn't understand, it's a complete non-issue in a place like this anyways. I just need this map so I can get to the Bamboo Forest for now." By this point during their chatter, most lingering bystanders had finally gone their separate ways to leave the two girls alone amongst a steady stream of passers-by. "Wait, why would you need to be heading to a place like that from here? It's pretty dangerous for people like you y'know, you're already in the safest place around!"

"I know, I know..! But I just lost something really important to me that's now with people that happen to be living in that Forest and I NEED to get my hands back on the thing before I..!"

Something seemed to stick out from the crowds for a moment that managed to hold Renko's attentions. Someone dressed just a little differently.

"Uh, before you what, exactly? Everything still okay..?"

"Yeah, sorry I just..."

Renko watched a Villager a few feet behind Sanae idly exchange a small box with someone tall and clad in the garbs of a peasant farmer girl, sun hat and all. She examined the contents of the box before sharing a few words with the other Villager, a nervous looking man with slightly unkept facial hair, and returned the box along with a small note.

It was something about her concealed stare, the delicately thorough nature of her wrappings and the strange familiarity of her hand-weaved back-basket that was seriously tipping Renko off to something.

It wasn't until she caught the shine of the midday sun off her blood-red eyes for a single fleeting moment, something white and crinkled brushing just behind her faded violet hair through the shade of the hat, that she realized just who she was not far from dealing with in person this time.

"It's you..!"

Sanae was extremely confused at the random comment out of nowhere directed towards seemingly nobody at first, though turned around just in time to see the concealed woman turn fully towards Renko with a start.

Reisen had no doubt about it, that was the SDM Marisa tag-along and Dream Interloper from the previous night come to reclaim her hat..! She really didn't want to start going through with the plan just yet if she could've helped it, but this nosy human was likely going to force her hand either way... 'What even was it with all these Usami girls anyhow..?'

Renko was nearly able to get another word out to the disguised youkai before she suddenly broke off in an incredible sprint, leaving everyone in the dust near-instantaneously as she ran towards the southern end of the Village wall.

Renko and Sanae were silent for a moment before Renko refocused herself and began a commitment to immediate pursuit.

"Hey, wait! Come back..!! THAT RABBIT HAS MY HAT!!!"

The college girl took after her target before the Mountain Maiden had a chance to ease her tempers in any way, watching as she fruitlessly attempted to keep up with a fleeing Reisen at a speed that was still considerable given her smaller stature.

"Wait a second...all of this is just about some Hat you lost?!" Maybe whatever she saw that morning really had been a little more than some strange dream after all...something about Renko had just started feeling a little too uncanny than usual for some reason.

Renko coughed as her briefcase swayed wildly behind her, just barely keeping sight on the Rabbit ahead while also managing to not crash into every single person they happened to run by. Reisen glanced behind her and was genuinely surprised to see this girl putting up such a ferocious fight to stay within range. She hadn't even managed to slow down yet during the chase!

As long as she could just lose her around this corner up here... Renko watched as the youkai girl turned on a dime down a narrow alleyway holding nothing but a single garbage bin, figuring she had her at last, until she reached the same location and saw that the alley ended right against the inner face of the Western wall. The only thing lingering above the tiles of the wall were the silent vines of great willow trees billowing in the breeze beyond.

Renko dropped her briefcase in silence. There was a tin can on the ground nearby which was swiftly kicked into the wall ahead with the force of a jackhammer.

"Damnit!!! And I was this close to the one person who had it..."
She keeled over on the ground in despair, slamming a single fist down and seething to herself over such a foolishly missed opportunity. She could've just started running! Maybe even taken her by surprise! THINK, Usami!!*

Renko was about ready to just lie there on the ground for a moment in silence when she noticed a single witness to her plight in the form of a nearby stray cat idly sitting by some fallen waste. Its right ear seemed to have been tagged but it provided a golden glint of sudden comfort that allowed Renko to lift herself off the dirt and pick her suitcase back up.

She cleared her throat and brought a hand to her head, wondering how much closer she ought to be towards that outer Canal when the stray cat decided to sit up for a stretch. It meowed at Renko before tenderly brushing by under her skirt and walking down a small ways back towards the East. It eventually sat down again and looked behind itself at the college girl, seemingly waiting for her to tag along.

"You...want me to follow? I'm talking to a cat, this is just crazy..."
Even with that being said, however, the few steps she took towards the cat to test the waters caused the small feline to break off into a sprint with a chirp. Renko could just barely follow its path as it darted under several verandas only to climb up a nearby fencepost.

It once again waited for Renko, prompting the girl to simply break out into another chase.

This continued for a few more minutes between them before the cat seemingly disappeared behind the corner of something grand and partially obscured. Renko eventually got close enough to realize that, while this may not have been the main Southern entrance, it was still a legitimate entryway into the Canal she'd been searching for.

The cat wasn't of any importance any longer, she was right where she needed to be.

Stepping out onto the moss-coated cobblestone pathway, Renko's nerves were once again soothed by the gentle trickling of nearby water rushing through the canal. Weeping willows lined the dirt-laden stones the entire way down, Renko beginning a steady walk underneath their spotted shade and clearly seeing her next destination straight ahead on the other shoreline.

The imposing and severely overgrown bamboo stalks of the Forest stood tauntingly, so thick and tangled that Renko wasn't even sure if she could see more than a couple feet past its edge. It really wouldn't have been too major of an issue to start with, a little time consuming maybe, had it not been for one tiny realization settling within Renko as she continued to walk...

"Does this Canal seriously not have any bridges leading across??" With an angry growl, Renko nearly humored throwing her suitcase across the wide stretch of water all together, though simply tempered herself again after looking up and noticing the faint impression of the moon finally revealed in the sky overhead once more.

Hey, now that was something she could work with! Maybe if there was no way across, there'd be an easier way around somehow? Looking ahead, nobody else was currently ahead of her on the path which left her free to stare straight up at the moon for a second or two as she tried to place herself relative to the right locations in her mental map. So if this is where the Canal was relative to the Village, and if the Forest is this far away from Youkai Mountain then...oh, actually, hold on. There did seem to be exactly one place she passed through last night that was relatively close to where she was now!

Renko started taking faster steps eastward alongside the Canal, it took a good few minutes but she'd eventually passed the eastern wall of the Village entirely and had started straying from the path in an attempt to reach an intersection of Gensokyo's southeastern woodlands that happened to nearly cross into the Bamboo Forest itself. Soon even the outermost buildings of the Human Village were on long-distant hillsides behind Renko, the girl still making her way through the edges of a wooded thicket that likely hadn't been touched by humans in decades.
As long as she could still see a bit of sky overhead, she could hopefully stay on track towards where she was going. A crow from the Village had seemingly decided to trace her path all the way towards these woods, finally settling down up ahead past the treetops where Renko was sure it must've already beaten her to the punch.

She tripped over a gnarled root coated with mud only to fall into the very clearing she'd been able to pinpoint based on last night's journey. After she'd left the place full of stones and fog and before she found her hat again, her idle thoughts had landed her right in front of this same decrepit shack. The Village Crow cawed at her from the inner banisters visible through its uneven, cracked rooftop. In the dimmed, choppy light of the forest it looked quite similar to some of the noticeably older buildings she'd passed by in the Village itself earlier, though this wreckage seemed to have been more aesthetically pleasing than even those buildings at some point in its past. A form over function situation really.

She could also see how the Canal had finally begun to wane into a much more manageable stream not far from this ruined building, though developing instinct told her there had to be at least a half-decent reason for ending up at this place twice within the same stretch of time.

It's not like she was on a strict schedule, a small detour near where she wanted to be anyways couldn't be all that bad. She's explored abandoned buildings far larger than this before anyhow.

If she's in the neighborhood for it...

Renko carefully walked over the patchy foliage to the ruined doorframe, being especially sure not to make any sudden loud noises in case anything still called this its home as she tested the durability of the floorboards within with a single foot. The first few seemed okay despite the various rotting holes seen, Renko quietly continuing inwards while fishing out an LED camping light from the suitcase. She sat the case down on an incredibly neglected worn table in the main space, dust flying into the air around it from the gentle impact, before getting a full scope of the relatively simple interior. Blatant lack of a front door aside, seems like there wasn't even a separate room for sleeping in this place...the kitchenette being gutted of all relevant amenities and what sleeping spaces that did exist within the far walls looking more like abandoned tomb recesses more than anything else. Cobwebs and lichens alike were hard at work slowly reclaiming the space for the sake of the forest, though it seems like most animals that would hadn't yet joined those efforts. Most of the wood and what fabric hadn't been torn to shreds was in various states of rotting decay to the point where one of the supporting beams near the other wall had begun collapsing onto itself. Must've been what led to that partial cave-in with the roof outside, the amateur ceiling plaster alone that hadn't already flaked into chunks on the floor had enough cracks to...

"Hey, hang on a minute..."

There actually was something still potentially functional here: a steel ladder up to the attic space by the kitchenette! Brushing past the other cobwebs clogging the entry space as she climbed, Renko had herself up on the top rungs fairly quickly and began scanning the dust-coated space for anything of interest...perhaps some kind of small artifact to hold on to? Finding something for Merry or to add to their trinkets collection might be nice too.

A lot of what was up there would've been much too cumbersome to carry down all by herself, or simply too broken, but almost right away she spotted something that felt Considerably out of place among the discarded traditional household items even given everything else she's seen in Gensokyo so far; a wide-brimmed, floppy white sunhat that seemed a little less dusty than everything else sat all on its own near the foot of some crates by the entryway. Its worn crimson ribbon glinted in the soft, speckled forest light shining through the roof holes above, birds chirping away while Renko was left wondering who'd leave such a finely-designed antique hat like this lying around for years. It looked like something straight out of a Western Motion Picture from the early 1900s, there's no way it's been here as long as the house itself. The girl hardly even noticed that the crow from earlier had long since flown elsewhere, Renko gingerly picking up the hat herself before a small folded note tumbled out from underneath. It was swiped from the attic floor as quickly as it had appeared as Renko placed the hat on top of her current one to free up both hands.

The note didn't say much, but the blue-ink instructions written upon it in both Japanese and English cursive of all languages were as clear as day. They were carefully planned directions to bring this hat to an "undisclosed location" hidden in some building holding a specific "key object" that would essentially be the end goal, presumably to be then reunited with its original owner she supposes. An owner who could only be identified by two simple initials at the bottom of the paper...

"K.A.? Who the hell would be known as K.A. around here..?"

What was it that Cirno had said about lost objects before she'd met the other Fairies? Something about how abandoned things always remember their owners and carry that connection seemingly forever? She muses that it wouldn't be the craziest thing in the world to consider that someone else would lose a favorite hat around here, but...
Why not just come back for it if it's all alone here anyways? Why leave some note telling people to head to the eastern mountains with the thing? And such specific coordinates for those mountains too...it didn't take much to fish out her new map and confirm the worst with a little cross-referencing. This needed to be delivered right behind where the Hakurei Shrine was apparently located.

Maybe this was going to be a little more of a time commitment than she might've initially realized...but there was still plenty of day left, right? The mounting confusion was just too apparent to satiate otherwise, the dread of needing to get that close to the Hakurei Maiden aside, and Gensokyo was a place full of living mystery anyways. She now knew that she needed to fulfill this duty and find out why it apparently had to be Her of all people Now of all times to discover this.

Maybe if she could help this person with their hat, they could end up helping her with hers? The only thing stopping her from trying and finding out was still only herself. This could even be like practice for sneaking into the Bamboo Clinic for the real thing! What's one more little detour among a plethora of others in the end?