20th Hakurei Shrine Reitaisai

The joyous atmosphere beckoned me to the shrine. It was the day of the Hakurei Shrine Reitaisai. Continuing further, I heard the voice of the shrine maiden.

"Hands off. This is an offering to the enshrined god."
"Stop being so stingy. If you're handing out drinks to gods, you should give some to oni too."

An oni was trying to take the square masu sake cup held by the shrine maiden. It was Reimu Hakurei and Suika Ibuki. Seeing those two made it all the more real. The festival had finally begun.

Flower petals danced in the wind as gods and youkai meandered through the lines of various stores and booths stretching from one end of the shrine to the other. There was even a store run by kappa. The god of marketplaces couldn't have wished for a more bustling festival.

What to buy? What to see? The possibilities were endless.

I pictured the shrine grounds in my mind as I carefully planned how to make the most of the festival this year.

A girl wearing a blue-and-white shrine maiden outfit passed in front of me as I was thinking everything over. It wasn't Reimu but Sanae Kochiya of Moriya Shrine.

"Come on, Lady Suwako! Let's look for ideas that will help us gather more faith!"

The native god, Suwako Moriya, casually followed the excited shrine maiden while watching over her. Suwako probably knew that Sanae would get caught up in the fun of the festival and forget all about her mission again, but perhaps that's precisely why she smiled so warmly as she followed Sanae through the crowd.

"Let's go there next! C'mon, hurry up, Marisa!"
"You're gonna fall if you don't calm down a little. My hat's already swinging all over the place!"

A magician was carrying the vampire's little sister on her shoulders. Flandre excitedly directed Marisa to go this way and that way as they explored what the festival had to offer. They could both fly in the sky if they wanted to, but they probably preferred being a part of the festival on the ground. The owner of the booth they visited couldn't help but give them some extra sweets upon seeing how much genuine fun they were having. No one stood in their way... but behind them, in the shadow of the torii, Flandre's older sister and her maid watched on anxiously.

I decided to rest for a while on the outskirts of the shrine. It's important to periodically rest your legs if you want to enjoy a festival for as long as possible. Glancing around, I noticed Reimu sitting down and looking at the festivities with her chin resting on her hands.

"Geez, they're all partying without a care in the world."
Her gentle and content smile ran contrary to her harsh words. And she must've already been resting here for a little while because after saying that, she suddenly stood up and placed her hands on her hips.

"Well, I guess that's what festivals are all about!"

Reimu confidently strode back to the festivities. As the Hakurei shrine maiden, she probably planned to see the festival through to its conclusion. I figured she had the right idea and ran off after her. The lively Reitaisai wasn't ending any time soon.