Mentioned Characters: Aya

"Fly faster than them all, and no one will see your tears fall." Aya Shameimaru is a crow tengu reporter and the publisher of the Bunbunmaru Newspaper. I think you and I are probably the same. Because I... actually, never mind.

Crow tengu are said to be creatures born from the mouth. There is a reason people say words can bring disaster. Perhaps that is why tengu are sometimes seen as harbingers of calamity. In an information-driven society, that kind of power is anything but trivial. Today, words alone can do real damage. Crow tengu would do well to keep that in mind, and so would the rest of us. Words are like weapons, after all.

Those Who Create Heroes It is said that words are weapons. If that is so, then perhaps tengu are capable of creating heroes. They can teach swordsmanship. They can hone a warrior's body until it moves with such grace that they're able to dance around the great Benkei, a true giant of a man, with ease. Without the tengu, that legend might never have come to be. Maybe the same is true in Gensokyo. The Hakurei shrine maiden stands as its foremost hero. In ages past, there were others who made their names slaying youkai. Is it possible the tengu had a hand in their rise? True or not, it is a convenient tale for the tengu to tell.

Kin of the Secret God It is said that all people once lived in the mountains. Some chose to go down to settle in the villages. Others stayed. That difference gave birth to different roles and positions. Those who remained in the mountains became tengu, while those who descended into the village and hid behind Buddhism became secret gods. Both govern calamity. Both are well-versed in the arts. And both are secretive by nature. Almost no one lives in the mountains anymore. Modern society made sure of that. Names, addresses, and occupations are all recorded in official registries―for taxes, for public order, for the sake of stability. Back then, it seemed like the right thing to do.

The tengu may have originated from the Sarume clan. The Sarume were dancers and proto-shrine maidens, descended from the deity who famously danced before a stone cave to lure the sun goddess out of hiding. The secret god's servants also dance, but they dance behind others' backs, and the tengu dance through the sky. Different expressions, yet all of it is kagura. Sarume, Salome, the dancing girl. What did that head on the platter see?