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On a sunny spring day in Suwa, Japan, shrine maiden in training Sanae Kochiya peeked inside her shrine’s donation box to find not a single yen. With a sullen humph, she dropped the box lid for a resounding close and scampered off to do some beetle catching, trading away her training gohei for a bug’s net.
Finding the box empty was becoming more commonplace these days, Lady Kanako had told little Sanae. In generations past, the Moriya Shrine had accumulated a generous amount of “faith” and “capital” that gave them strength for centuries and then some. Compared to then, it would be considered a lucky day if they got even a dozen people to give their faith to the shrine.
“ If the rate of faith we receive continues to decline, we may have to consider changing our marketing strategy.” Lady Kanako once said this to someone, Sanae remembered. It was a conversation behind closed doors, but she managed to eavesdrop on it out of curiosity. “Perhaps we can create a hybrid approach with both magic and technology to attract more followers, or maybe even a demographic change?”
Sanae didn’t understand most of the business words Lady Kanako used in that conversation, but as a shrine maiden in training, she knew she would learn what they mean when she gets older. Plus, now that she’ll be starting fourth grade in a few weeks, maybe she’ll be able to learn cool things that will help the donation box get full and make Lady Kanako happy!
I’ll learn about money talk in math class, and robots in science class! Sanae thought excitedly as she had a stag beetle in her sights, Robots are cool, and people like robots. Maybe Lady Kanako will help me build a robot that does cool tricks, and that’ll get more people to follow our shrine!
“Robots . . .” She mumbled, stepping close to the beetle with her net poised by her side. She raised it high, ready to strike . . .
“Ribbit!”
PLOM!
Something long and pink slapped onto the beetle, ripping it off the tree before Sanae could make a move. She whipped her head to where it came from, and lo and behold! A frog with a glassy stare, croaking its chin to a cheeky size.
“H-Hey!” Sanae pouted, pointing her net at the frog, “You ate my beetle!” She took an adamant step towards the frog, but the little creature turned around and hopped back into the thick of the woods beside the shrine.
Puffing her cheeks, Sanae marched towards the woods with her net gripped tightly, heckbent on finding that frog. For the honor of that beetle it ate 5 seconds ago, and for her honor of being good at bug catching! I’ll get you, froggy!!
Poking through the bushes of the woods, Sanae followed the sound of rhythmic croaking. The twigs of the trees poked and tugged at her skin, but nothing could deter this little shrine maiden.
That is, until she tripped over something.
“KYAA-!”
POOMF!
Sanae fell to the ground, barely bracing herself with her arms covering her face. She scrunched her eyes tight from the light pain blooming in her arms. “Owie . . .”
“Ribbit.”
Upon hearing that familiar ribbit, Sanae peeked an eye open. Right in front of her was the same frog, glassy-eyed and tongue stuck out. “Mlem.”
Sanae blinked, and furrowed her eyebrows. “I’m gonna getcha, froggy!” The moment she pushed herself up from the ground, the frog hopped away once again.
Sanae continued to run through the forest with renewed vigor, swinging her bug net side to side with energetic arms. “Come back here! Hey! C’mon, don’t . . .” She trailed off as she slowed to a stop. A faint strum of plucked strings steered Sanae’s attention from her chase, coming from a cleared out glade in front of her.
In front of Sanae, the bushes didn’t prick at her as much. The trees thinned away, leaving tall grass and weeds to grow freely in the sun. There in the center of the clearing was the frog, crouched comfortably with its head turned up to a lady in a hat strumming a banjo on a tree stump.
The lady looked quite silly, Sanae noticed from the edge of the glade. Her dress was a royal purple in the sunlight with froggy designs on it, stitched together with red strings. That, along with her straw-like hair, was nothing like Sanae had ever seen before, not even with Lady Kanako’s old-fashioned clothing choices. But the silliest looking thing about the lady was her wide straw hat, with giant googly eyes. It hung a shadow over the lady’s eyes, so Sanae could only see the lady’s mouth as she mumbled away unhearable words with her fingers lazily plucking the banjo.
It was only when the lady chuckled, laid the banjo on her lap, and tilted her head up to Sanae’s direction did the little shrine maiden see a glimpse of old but playful eyes. “Ya gonna stand there, kid, or are ya gonna sit with the rest of the audience?”
Sanae jumped at the sudden notice, but stilled herself. She was a shrine maiden! Not even a banjo lady can scare her. Nodding slowly, Sanae walked towards the lady and sat down.
The lady huffed with amusement. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” She hefted her banjo again and gave a light cough. “Aight, here’s an oldie but a goodie.”
Sanae sat in silence, listening intently to the song. It wasn’t any song that Sanae had heard of before, but it still drew her in, like she heard it before in the back of her mind. She glanced down at the frog crouching beside her, but the fella didn’t seem interested in her at the moment. It, along with some other smaller frogs and snakes, sat around, just as mesmerized by the lady’s playing.
As the lady’s plucking fingers slowed and came to a stop, Sanae gave a hesitant applause. That was the polite thing to do after a performance, right? “Th-that was some good playing, ma’am.”
The lady grinned with pride. “‘Course, kid! It’s an old standard, though, so ‘course I’d be good at it-” Suddenly, the lady went into a wheezy coughing fit, scaring all the froggish audience away from the clearing. It even seemed that her hat’s googly eyes were fizting about, though Sanae was too focused on the lady’s sudden fit.
“O-oh, are you okay?!” Sanae stood up from her seat to help the lady, but the tree stump the lady was sitting on appeared to morph in front of her, its wooden grooves shifting into an ashen gray with scales instead of bark.
The lady swatted Sanae away with lackluster effort. “I’m- AHCCHCKC- I’m, I’m good, I swear.” As the coughing subsided, she gave a tired sigh. “Do mind the Mishaguji, though; they get nervous.”
Sanae looked down at the scaly, squirming “tree stump,” and heeded the lady’s advice. She took a tense step back, and the squirming seemed to stop.
“Aw, curses . . .” The lady muttered under her breath, letting out a wheezing chuckle, “It’s gotten worse today, hasn’t it?”
Sanae stood still for a few seconds, not sure how to carry on. Then, from an urge in her heart, she looked back at the lady. “Do you need any help with that?”
The lady raised an eyebrow, her weak smile dropping. “Eh?” She croaked, “Help with what?”
Sanae gulped. “If you’re feeling sick, I can make you feel better. I can make miracles happen!” She said this with a loud pride, but faltered at her own volume. “But, uh, only if you’d like me to, ma’am.”
The lady adjusted her seat on the tree stump, and giggled something long and dragged, akin to sifting through soil. “I’m no stranger to miracles, kid. If you can whip me up something good, then I’ll let you help me with this dang cough o’ mine.”
Sanae nodded. It wasn’t everyday that a grownup believed she could do miracles, let alone allow her to help them out right then and there without Lady Kanako’s help. “A-Alright, let me . . .” She hesitated as the tree stump began to shift and squirm even more as she stepped close.
The lady merely scoffed and slapped the squirming Mishaguji. “Calm down, boys, she’s just helpin’ me out.” The slithering instantly ceased, and the tree stump went quiet. The lady looked up at Sanae with a strange glint in her eye. “Well? Work your magic, kid.”
Sanae clasped her hands together and closed her eyes, holding her bug net upright. Although she usually used her gohei when performing miracles, the net would have to do for now. For now, she just ran through Lady Kanako’s training in her head. Okay, I gotta channel the Moriya goddess’ power through my faith! Direct it towards what needs fixing, and it will come! That’s what Lady Kanako said, at least. Uh . . . this lady would like her throat to feel better, O Goddess, so maybe something as soothing as rain? I think that’s something in her domain, yeah.
Sanae put a gentle hand over the lady’s throat, eyes still shut tight. “Y-You ask for good health and, um, you want your coughs washed away like the sky’s soothing raindrops. Is that- is that your prayer?”
The lady gave a chuckle filled with mirth with a warm smile, though Sanae couldn’t tell with her eyes closed. “I do wish for that, yes.”
Sanae nodded, her face tightened a bit more. “Okay. Put faith in me, and this miracle is yours!”
A faint glow emanated from Sanae’s palm over the lady’s throat, and the air around them became slightly more humid than before. The lady inhaled deeply, taking in some of the humid air.
As the glow subsided, Sanae’s face loosened up, and she let go of a breath she didn’t even know she was holding. She opened her eyes and smiled at the lady, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of her face as she stepped away. “Do you feel any better, ma’am?”
“Hmm, lemme see . . .” The lady rubbed her throat with a finger and rumbled for a bit. “Hm. Okay, okay. Seems good. Ya did well, kid. It’s not as bad as it was before.”
Sanae beamed and gave a wide smile. She did another good deed! I can’t wait to tell Lady Kanako about this! “You’re welcome, ma’am!”
The lady scoffed and patted Sanae’s head. “Call me Suwako.”
“Okay, Ms. Suwako, ma’am.”
Suwako made a froggish face at that. “Ah, whatever . . .” She heaved her banjo up again and gave a couple of test plucks before resuming her playing. “Wanna hear another song?”
Sanae nodded and sat down criss-cross applesauce beside the Mishaguji tree stump, looking up with wonder in her eyes. “What song are you gonna play next?”
Suwako looked off into the distance, wist clouding her expression. “A song from a younger, kinder timeㅡ nothing you’d hear on the radio these days. I’m feelin’ nostalgic in this humid weather.”
The chords came to life in a swing-like rhythm, and Sanae couldn’t help but sway her head along. From the edges of the glade, the frogs and snakes from before slowly hopped and slithered back to the center. Their croaks and hisses added to the song, filling in holes to the music Sanae hadn’t noticed were missing in the first place. Somewhere in her gut, it felt like this was how the song always was supposed to go, even though this was her first time hearing it.
It felt right, and it made her feel complete.
In the midst of the song, Sanae felt calm, and her eyelids felt heavy. With a serene heartbeat surrounded by humid air, she leaned into the tree stump and began to drift away into a happy sleep.
Before conking out completely, she heard Suwako’s croaky chuckle as she continued to strum and pluck away softly. “You’re gonna do great things, Sanae. I just know it.”
. . .
Sanae woke up on the living room couch of the shrine, just by the entrance. She rolled around groggily, only to roll off the couch and plop onto the floor. “Oof!!”
“Sanae? Are you alright?” Footsteps squeaked across the wooden floor, and Sanae looked up to see Kanako towering in front of her. “Oh, you’re awake now. Did you enjoy your midday nap?”
“Huh- nap??” Sanae twisted her body towards the entrance; the sun was setting underneath an orange-pink sky. “Oh . . . it was all a dream?” But that’s weird . . . I don’t remember going to sleep on the couch.
“Hm. It must’ve been a good one, cuz I couldn’t wake you even if I tried.” Kanako mused, walking towards the kitchen. “You can tell me all about it at the table, but help me set it up, first.”
“Ah- yes, Lady Kanako!” Sanae scuttled across the floor until she could push herself up, racing Kanako to the kitchen.
“Hehehe, you go on ahead, kid.” Kanako laughed, walking at a staked pace. She trailed off to sneer an exasperated look at the couch, but quickly tore her gaze back to the kitchen. “But don’t eat the fried rice yet, save that for me!”
“Haha, I finished!” Sanae said from the kitchen, “So, I remember I was doing my shrine duties, and then I wanted to build a robot with you. Then I wanted to go beetle catching, and then I saw a-”
“Hold on, hold on, a robot? Where are we gonna get the budget for that?!”
“I dunno, maybe a small one? One that shoots lasers with science and magic!”
“That’s-! Actually, that might be a good potential venture to experiment with. You can continue.”
“Yeah!! That’s what I thought!”
And so, life for the Moriya Shrine Goddesses went on.
Even for the wheezing frog left hidden on the couch.
. . .
On a cloudy spring day on Youkai Mountain, Gensokyo, wind priestess Sanae Kochiya heaved another stuffed donation box onto the entrance of the shrine, plopping it down with a satisfying thud.
“Geez,” She wheezed between a much needed breath, “I appreciate the villagers for being so eager to donate . . .” She stretched her back between mutters. “But man, it’d be even nicer if they took the tramway instead of leaving it all down at the roadside shrines! Less pressure on my back . . .”
“Learnin’ to take care of your back now instead of later?” A voice called out from above. Sanae walked out of the shrine porch and peered above at the rooftop. Up there, a familiar sight was seen, with two shiny googly eyes rolling on her hat.
Suwako Moriya blepped, looking down upon the world of youkai. “Smart.”
“Lady Suwako!” Sanae exclaimed, straightening up at attention. “I’m not slacking off, I swear!! See, I just finished with today’s-”
“Calm down, kid! I don’t mean any strict nonsense like Kanako does.” Suwako hopped off the shrine roof and whistled, summoning a powerful Mishaguji from the ground. It shot up into the sky, which Suwako used to slide down on with a simple grab drag. When she landed, she patted the fella twice, sending it back into the earth from whence it came. “You’re doing a great job, trust me. I have some friends checking on you every now and then, and I’ve heard nothing but good things.”
Sanae blinked. “Friends? Oh, you mean the froggies?” Then the rest of the comment hit Sanae, causing her to blush in embarrassment and twiddle her thumbs. “O-Oh, I guess- well, I dunno if I’ve been doing enough lately, honestly . . .”
Suwako waved Sanae off. “Don’t be so humble, Sanae. I think you’ve been doing more than enough these past few months.” She sauntered away from the shrine and off to the lake’s edge. “If you want a break, you know where I’ll be.”
As Suwako’s figure disappeared past downhill, Sanae turned back to the loads of donation boxes left on the shrine porch. Just looking at them put a weight on her shoulders. After a long, thoughtful inhale, she turned her back to the porch and walked towards the lake.
With the calm rolling waves of the lake in sight, Sanae saw Suwako sitting on a thick tree stump that wasn’t there before. With a closer look, she could see the stump shifting and slithering above the earth, ashen gray scales and all.
“Don’t you ever give the Mishaguji a break, Lady Suwako?” Sanae asked with a smile tinged in her voice.
“These guys could use some work doing stuff other than cursing humans all day,” Suwako smirked, “And since my job’s to control them, I’m being efficient with my break time! Killing two tengu with one stone, am I right?”
Sanae giggled at the notion. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I suppose Lady Kanako’s sense of business is rubbing off on you finally, then.”
Suwako scoffed at the thought as Sanae laid down beside the Mishaguji stump. “Bah, I’ll let that old snake keep her marketing-business-whatever nonsense to herself. I’m just enjoying myself in my early retirement.”
Sanae didn’t argue any further on that topic. Instead, this scenario of her sitting beside Suwako in the spring made her nostalgic. “Hey, Lady Suwako . . . do you think you can play me a song? Like you used to when I was little?”
“Sanae, I’d thought you’d never ask!” Suwako lifted her giant hat and gave it a light shake. Out fell a small banjo, scuffed with age. “To be honest, I’ve been looking for a reason to play for a while, but I’ve found that it’s more fun to play for an audience.”
“I’m glad I got premiere access to one of the concerts of all time, then!” Sanae beamed and looked up at Suwako with rapt attention. “So, what are you gonna play this time?”
“Hm . . .” Suwako pondered as she tuned the banjo strings into shape. “Maybe an oldie, yeah.”
“Nothing the radio would hear these days, right?”
“Oh, definitely.” With a few test strums, Suwako breathed in, as if the earthy air around her was the song itself. And so, the concert began.
Sanae didn’t remember when the frogs hopped out of the lake mud shore, or when the snakes came out of their hiding spots from the tall grass. She didn’t remember when crickets gathered around to add their chirps to the song, either. None of it mattered as she remembered back to that fateful spring day from the sway of Suwako’s soft plucking and strumming.
Her thoughts instead drifted into retrospect. A song from a younger and kinder time . . . was life truly kinder to us gods back then?
A light spring breeze drifted past Sanae, and she weaved her hand through the grass beside her. Everything around her was brimming with life, and stout with a faithful magic that rose and fell with her every breath.
Beside the lake . . . beside the shrine standing tall and proud above them . . . and the rest of the land below the mountain, as well. That was a sense of peace and kindness that Suwako played this song with, and being here let Sanae see this emotion in a clarity she never did before in the Outside World.
Eventually, as the song reached its end, Sanae hummed some of the lyrics, barely a whisper in her breath.
“Someday we’ll find it,
The rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers, and me~”
The End.