Chapter 224: Placing it in the Hakurei Shrine
Kazami Yuuka halted before the rusted machinery. Atop the weathered, peeling paint of the old merry-go-round, the spectral Little Girl swayed in tandem with her wooden horse. A nursery rhyme drifted from her pale lips, the melody looping in a continuous, off-key hum.
The lyrics bleeding into the air were thoroughly macabre, painting gruesome imagery that clashed violently with the carnival setting. Had an ordinary human stumbled upon this midnight spectacle, their sanity would have likely snapped on the spot.
Haruto sidled up beside the flower youkai, jabbing a thumb toward the ghostly apparition.
"See? This is the one. Most of the time, she's not noisy or troublesome. Just sings a bit to pass the time. I just need you to keep an eye on her occasionally."
The final syllable had barely left his mouth when a sickening crack echoed through the clearing.
The Little Girl's neck snapped backward, her head rotating a full one hundred and eighty degrees at a grotesque angle. Dead, pure white eyes locked directly onto the pair.
The haunting melody cut off in an instant, leaving behind a suffocating silence.
Without missing a beat, Haruto executed a flawless tactical retreat, diving squarely behind Yuuka's back.
Yuuka blinked, her crimson eyes reflecting a flicker of mild confusion as she processed the boy's sudden cowardice.
The ghost's jaw unhinged, stretching into a mangled, ear-to-ear grin. Emitting a shrill, manic shriek, she launched herself from the wooden horse. Her spectral arms extended like claws as she hurtled through the air, laughing hysterically.
Yuuka did not so much as flinch. Her serene expression remained entirely undisturbed. She simply gave a light, lazy swipe with her parasol.
A muted thwack sliced through the shrieks.
The terrifying apparition detonated mid-air, scattering into a cloud of harmless white mist.
"Is this what you meant by 'not noisy or troublesome'?" Yuuka glanced over her shoulder, an amused arch to her brow.
Haruto cleared his throat loudly, stepping out from his makeshift shield. "This... this can at most be considered 'loving to interact.' Don't you like children? Kids are naturally hyperactive, you know that. Maybe she just took a liking to you and wanted to play."
Yuuka stared at him, momentarily robbed of words by his sheer audacity. After a long beat, she asked, "Then why are you hiding so far away?"
Haruto, who had subtly backed up another five meters during his excuse, froze. He jogged back to her side, offering a brazen grin.
"Who says I'm hiding! I was just afraid this kid would like me too much. Since I know you have a soft spot for children, I didn't want to steal your thunder."
A sigh escaped Yuuka's lips, her crimson eyes swirling with a mix of exasperation and amusement. Just as she was about to drop the subject, the ambient energy shifted. She cast a sidelong glance back at the rusted carousel. A slow, dangerous smile curved the corners of her mouth.
"Actually, if it's you... I really don't mind sharing."
Before Haruto could process the shift in her tone, Yuuka vanished. A faint breeze ruffled his hair, and suddenly, she was standing directly behind him. A slender, pale hand rested lightly on his shoulder. Meeting his bewildered gaze, she gave him a gentle, yet entirely irresistible, shove forward.
"Holy crap!"
Haruto stumbled, his arms flailing to catch his balance. He looked up just in time to see the white mist coalesce. The Little Girl reformed in an instant, her jaw unhinging as she lunged directly at his face with another ear-piercing cackle.
Pure survival instinct took over. Haruto whipped out his own parasol, swinging it like a baseball bat with bone-crushing force. The heavy fabric slammed into the ghost, sending her rocketing backward into the dirt.
Not giving her a fraction of a second to recover, Haruto scrambled forward. The moment she hit the ground, he descended upon her, raining down frantic, terror-fueled blows.
Yuuka watched from the sidelines, her expression twitching into something resembling utter bewilderment. She simply could not fathom the boy's logic.
If he were weak, if he were genuinely outmatched and fighting for his life, his fear would make perfect sense. Yet here he was, ruthlessly battering a terrifying apparition into a pulp, completely and utterly dominating the entity. So why was he acting like the victim? He was literally shrieking in horror with every devastating strike he delivered.
The sheer absurdity of the spectacle defied all reason.
Having successfully beaten the ghostly girl back into a fine mist, Haruto let out a shaky breath. He raised a hand to wipe the non-existent sweat from his brow, only to freeze as two slender, jade-white fingers gently tilted his chin upward.
Yuuka stood over him. Her free hand, cool to the touch, pressed flat against his forehead. A sudden, potent surge of youki flowed from her palm, washing through his meridians as she probed his internal state.
Haruto didn't resist the intrusion, merely blinking up at her in confusion.
After a long moment of silent inspection, Yuuka withdrew her hand, her delicate brows knitting together.
"Your mental state is perfectly normal," she noted, a distinct thread of surprise weaving through her tone. She had half-expected his mind to be fractured by some unseen curse.
"Of course I'm normal." Haruto swatted her hand away with a huff, straightening his clothes. He cast a disdainful glare at the rusted ride. "You know what? I think I'll put this merry-go-round somewhere else."
A brilliant, highly opportunistic idea had just sparked in his mind.
He would dump the entire thing right at the entrance of the Hakurei Shrine. He could let Reimu deal with the haunting. With her shrine maiden powers, she could easily suppress the Little Girl and keep her from manifesting.
And as long as the ghost was kept in check, this cursed object would effectively become a zero-cost amusement ride that ran endlessly without electricity. Any believer who hiked up the mountain to worship could get a free ride. Any donation money or talisman cards they raked in from the attraction could be split fifty-fifty.
It was a flawless business model.
Haruto's eyes practically sparkled with capitalist glee. Catching Yuuka's scrutinizing stare, he quickly schooled his features. "Don't misunderstand. I just thought of a much more suitable venue for this thing."
Yuuka offered a noncommittal hum, her gaze sweeping over his frame, noting the subtle refinement in his stance. "You've improved quite a bit."
"Naturally." Haruto puffed out his chest, tilting his chin up with a surge of misplaced confidence. "Want to exchange a few blows?"
A genuine flash of surprise danced in the Tyrant of Flowers' crimson eyes. She certainly hadn't expected the usually lazy boy to willingly initiate a spar.
"But you have to hold back your strength," Haruto quickly amended, raising a cautionary finger. "Don't get too serious."
"Alright." Yuuka took two measured steps backward. The smile curving her lips deepened into something thrilling and dangerous. "Come."
...Five hours later.
Haruto dragged his battered body through the torii gates of the Hakurei Shrine, practically collapsing onto the engawa's tatami mats with a look of hollow, utter despair.
"Haruto-sama! Tell me! Who did this to you?!"
Seeing the mosaic of black and blue bruises painting her favorite patron's skin, Reimu practically vibrated with rage. She summoned her Yin-Yang Orb, swinging it wildly through the air.
To dare lay a hand on the shrine maiden's personal God of Wealth... That was tantamount to severing her primary source of income! Did they want to force her back to the dark ages of eating nothing but plain ochazuke for dinner?! It was absolutely unforgivable!
"The Tyrant of Flowers," Haruto wheezed.
Reimu froze.
Without a single word, she smoothly banished her Yin-Yang Orb back into the ether. She pivoted on her heel, rummaged through a wooden cabinet for a jar of medicinal ointment, and returned to silently dab it onto his bruised face.
"...Didn't you just say you were going to avenge me?" Haruto muttered, wincing as the cold paste hit a particularly nasty welt.
"I thought about it carefully," Reimu replied, her tone perfectly even. "Taking a step back opens up the world. We should endure what we must. Besides, I believe in your great potential, Haruto-sama. Sooner or later, you will surpass Kazami Yuuka and claim your revenge personally!"
She delivered the shameless pivot with such practiced ease, it sounded like deep wisdom.
Haruto's mouth twitched violently, but he lacked the energy to call out her blatant cowardice. Once the shrine maiden finished patching him up, he groaned and forced himself into a sitting position.
"Anyway, I'm here to talk to you about a new business venture. Let's see if you want to—"
Before he could even finish his sentence, Reimu slammed her hands onto the low table. She leaned forward, throwing herself into a flawless, ninety-degree bow.
"Please accept this humble shrine maiden's deepest salute!"
"You really don't have to do this every single time. It's way too much." Haruto rubbed his temples.
Whenever he approached Reimu with a scheme to make money, she would put on this ridiculously exaggerated display of reverence. On three separate occasions, Marisa had walked in on them mid-bow, mistakenly assuming they were forming some sort of secret syndicate to cause trouble, and immediately demanded to join the racket.
"How is it too much?" Reimu lifted her head, her eyes burning with sheer, unadulterated greed. "This is a shrine maiden's simplest, most devout expression of faith toward her God of Wealth!" She pressed her hands to her chest, vowing solemnly, "If you give the word, I will personally carve a statue of you and erect it right at the shrine's entrance."
Haruto stared at her. "Then what about the actual deity your shrine is dedicated to?"
"Oh, it's fine." Reimu waved a hand dismissively. "I don't even know which god this shrine actually worships anyway."
A shrine maiden... who didn't even know the name of her own patron god.
Haruto's eye twitched with enough force to rival a muscle spasm. Then again, considering Reimu's entire personality, this tracked perfectly.
"Never mind." Haruto swiftly rejected the offer. He had absolutely zero desire to wake up in the middle of the night only to find a deeply resentful, forgotten god standing over his bed with a knife.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the cursed merry-go-round—currently shrunken down to the size of a harmless wooden toy. Setting it on the table, he began to outline its unique features and exactly what kind of exorcism services he required to get their new amusement park ride operational.
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