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"Taiko... master?"
"Taiko no Tatsujin! It's an amazing fun game from the Outside World, I used to play it all the time when I was a kid! I never expected one to just show up here of all places!"
"That tends to happen more often than you'd think here." Rinnosuke Morichika replied, casually going for a sip of coffee from his '#1 Dad' mug that had just shown up here, of all places.
"Yeah, but what are the odds of it being the best cutest rhythm game of all time!?"
Kourindou was quite a bit more energetic than usual today, and that meant his odds of getting a headache were about as high as Sanae's arms - which she'd been waving in the air out of sheer, unadulterated excitement, of course.
"So... this Taiko Master machine, it's a game? A challenge of some sort?"
Hardly having been able to get a response in between the shrine maiden's frantic exclamations, Raiko Horikawa regarded the Outsider device with intrigued confusion. "That's more than enough to get my attention, but I really don't understand how it's supposed to test my skill as a performer." The tsukumogami tapped the machine a few times, frowning. "The drums are clearly fake, and the sound quality is..." She made an awkward face.
"Well of course they're not real drums, it's just a game with drum-shaped controllers. You hit them to the beat, and try to be as accurate as possible. It's all about staying with the rhythm, so it's the perfect game for you!"
"Makes sense. I have to ask, though, what made you seek me out? Don't get me wrong, this sounds like fun, but we don't even know each other."
"Oh, well that's simple! I was on my way to the Hakurei shrine to tell Reimu about it, but I was excited enough that I may have been talking to myself about it just a little-"
"And then we overheard and made you come with us!"
...Gleefully exclaimed Yatsuhashi Tsukumo as she bounced a little with her hands on her sister's shoulders.
"Well, correction: We overheard and thought Raiko would find this very interesting, so politely asked to accompany the human," Benben chimed in.
"Uh-huh, yeah, what she said! And now we're gonna play the drum game with Raiko!"
"And you're a drum youkai, right? I'll bet you have the skill of a pro player," Sanae declared. "I bet you could even beat every song on Oni mode!"
"This all sounds mildly complicated, but... from what I gather, it seems you're all pretty eager to see a master prove her skill on this test of rhythm, is that it?~"
Raiko's question was met with an eager chorus of "Yeah!"s from the other three girls present, and a disinterested shrug from Rinnosuke.
"Well then, you'll very well see. Though I'd have to ask someone to set up the machine for me. Operating these Outsider machines is... confusing, at best."
"Oh, right! Here, let me!" Sanae replied, taking the game's sticks and beginning to navigate the menus. "We should probably start you off with an easy song to get you used to the game's mechanics... umm... ummm... no not that one... what the heck is 'Touhou Project'... oh, there! Inu no Omawari-san! That's not too hard!"
Raiko looked on curiously as the screen changed and the song began. She was in the middle of admiring the small, adorable taiko mascot when Sanae pressed the sticks into her hands.
"Okay, so when you see a red symbol on the screen, you hit the center of the drum! When there's a blue symbol, you hit the edge of the drum."
"That's hardly a realistic representation of the taiko drum."
"Yeah, I guess, but it's fun, trust me! Get ready, the song's starting!"
As the music began, little symbols began to move slowly towards the edge of the screen. 'Challenging' wasn't quite how Raiko would have described the experience. Timing her hits wasn't difficult in the slightest, and the children's song almost felt as if it were mocking her. By the time the end of the song rolled around, she had accumulated a perfect score.
"This is child's play. I assume it gets tougher?"
"Well yeah, but I wanted to familiarize you with it first! Now we can go up a difficulty... maybe play the same song since you're used to it-"
"Give me the hardest."
"Wh-what?"
"I came here for a challenge, young shrine maiden, and you came to watch the hands of a master at work. Give me the hardest difficulty!"
"Yeah, you'd be surprised at what our Raiko can do!" Yatsuhashi exlcaimed, to which Benben gave a nod of agreement.
"Well... if you say so! But trust me, it does not go easy on you."
Cranking the game up to Oni mode, Sanae went for a more difficult song, and Raiko grinned, cracking her knuckles. She took the sticks back, and prepared herself with fiery passion.
"Hey, Kochiya-san," Yatsuhashi asked, "What's a Vocaloid?"
"Oh, I'm glad you asked! You see-"
Whatever conversation they were about to have was drowned out by the sudden sound of Raiko's furious beats against the plastic drums - the symbols were pouring onto the screen in a deluge of drumbeats, and the tsukumogami had to move with lightning speed in order to keep up. The longer she went on for, the bigger the incredulous looks on Sanae and the Tsukumo sisters' faces became - Raiko was not missing a single beat. Not one.
"H-how are you doing that!?" Sanae gasped. "You're like a machine!"
"Well, as a-"
"ONE HUNDRED!"
"As a tsukumogami of-"
"ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY!"
"As a tsu-"
"TWO HUNDRED!"
"'Cause I'm really damn good is how!"
It wasn't long before Raiko's combo hit a thousand, and yet she was still going as strong as ever. There was a beautiful ferocity in the way she moved her arms and a deep focus in her eyes; the arcade machine had probably never been blessed with such a devoted player in the history of the Taiko no Tatsujin franchise. Every note hit perfectly even when there were dozens per second, every movement calculated and graceful, it was clear that Raiko was a born master.
When the song finally ended, there was a moment of stunned silence before all three girls burst into frenzied praise, in utter disbelief that the youkai had managed to acquire a perfect score on such a punishing difficulty.
"I can't believe it! That must have been a world record or something!" Sanae gasped.
"Raiko, you're so cool!" Yatsuhashi squealed. "I wish I could play half as good as you! ...Hey, I can try, can't I?"
"There's a second drum," Benben pointed out, "so one would assume the game is created with two players in mind."
"Exactly! Player one and player two can compete with each other to see who's the best!"
"Well, I don't believe there's any question, but you're welcome to try." Raiko announced with a smirk.
For the next few hours, the four took turns playing against each other. Raiko continued her streak of not missing a single beat every time she played, and it soon became apparent that there was no beating her. Sanae, on the other hand, was actually performing quite poorly compared to the three youkai with an inherent understanding of music, but seemed to be enjoying herself nonetheless. The only truly fair match of the day was between the instrument sisters themselves, who came within such a small score margin of each other that it may as well have been a draw. At one point, the girls even convinced Rinnosuke to try his hand against Raiko, and it ended up just about exactly how you'd imagine.
After a good bit more playing, the sun began to set in the distance. It was about time for Sanae to return to the shrine - there were probably duties she'd missed out on today, and it would be best if she got them squared away as soon as possible. The tsukumogami sisters were clearly a bit tired out from their energetic day, and were quite happy to head home as well.
"Ah, what a day," Sanae sighed, a contented smile spread across her face. "Who ever thought I'd still be able to play video games all day after coming to Gensokyo? Thank you for playing with me!"
"No problem!" Yatsuhashi replied. "It was super cool, and I got to see an Outside game for the first time ever! You're really fun to play with!"
"Raiko, aren't you coming?" Benben asked as they were about to leave.
"Later! I just want to play a little bit longer. I haven't had this much fun in a very long time. I'll see you two soon, don't worry!" Raiko hadn't even taken her eyes off the screen as she replied, so focused on the rhythm of the game as she was.
"Well... if you say so!" answered Yatsuhashi. "Seeya later!"
"Mhm, bye."
"Sanae... Sanae! Sanae, you have visitors."
"E-eh, me...?"
Slowly sitting up in bed, Sanae rubbed at her eyes and gave a long yawn. Looking up, she saw Kanako waiting expectantly.
"...Who is it?"
"I'm not quite sure. They only said that they had to speak to you urgently. I wouldn't keep them waiting."
Sanae nodded, and quickly made herself presentable before heading to the door. To her surprise, the visitor - er, visitors - waiting at the front of the shrine were Benben and Yatsuhashi Tsukumo, back only a day after they'd parted ways, and looking quite worried to boot.
"Eh? You again? What brings you all the way up here?" the shrine maiden asked, stifling another yawn.
"It's Raiko! She won't stop playing the taiko game!" Yatsuhashi explained in a panic.
"W-wait, she's still there?"
"I'm not even sure if she slept," Benben said. "I've never seen her like this before, but she has us both worried."
"Well, we'd better go and check it out, then. Let's hurry!"
The flight down the mountain to Kourindou was quick and urgent, and when they arrived at the shop, the sound of fast-paced music was there to greet them. Sure enough, Raiko was inside, and was blasting her way through a song as expertly as ever.
"Has she been here all morning?" Sanae asked worriedly.
"Oh, she's been here all night." Rinnosuke pointed out. "I tried to get her to leave, but in the end I can't really make a powerful youkai do anything, and she's obviously not a thief."
"All night!?" Benben gasped. "Raiko, this isn't like you at all! How could you have lost yourself over a game?"
"This is no mere game."
Raiko's words were filled with a surprising amount of vigor, her tone stunning the others silent.
"This is the truest test of taiko mastery! This... this is what I have been searching for since my awakening as a youkai centuries ago! This is my purpose! I am... the true taiko master! Gaze upon my perfection, for I am a god!"
"Surely you're joking, Raiko?" Benben asked, but received no response.
"What the heck is she talking about!?" Yatsuhashi cried, waving her arms. "Kochiya-san, do Outsider games usually make people go insane?"
"Er, no, I think she's just really into it. I probably shouldn't have shown a taiko game to a taiko youkai... um, come on, we should probably do something. Maybe if I unplug it she'll come to her senses?" The girl reached for the game's plug, pulling it out of the wall, and the machine shut off suddenly with an abrupt flash. Seeing the screen go dark, Raiko hesitated for only a second before blasting the machine with a bolt of lightning, powering it back on, and resuming the game from where she'd left off.
"...Whoops, that probably won't work." Yatsuhashi noted. "Umm, now what? If we can't turn the game off, how do we get her to stop?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Benben asked, and the other two girls looked at her intently. "We beat her at it."
"B-but... you saw how she was playing yesterday!" Sanae protested. "It was almost like watching a bot play! How are we supposed to beat that?"
"Yeah, yeah, Raiko has the power to make anything follow a rhythm, how are we supposed to beat her at a rhythm game?"
"She must be getting tired at this point," Benben pointed out, "so we'll just have to try as hard as we can. We're instruments, and good ones! Rhythm can't stop us either!"
"And I've been playing this game since I was five!" Sanae added. "If we combine our power, we might have a chance!"
"Let's do it!" the three chanted in unison.
The first to take up the challenge was Benben - holding the sticks with a new sense of determination, tense and prepared for the ordeal to come.
"So, you wish to challenge me for my title?" Raiko asked, grinning. "Know that you will fail, but I welcome you to try!"
The taunt only filled Benben with vigor, and she began to play, hitting nearly every note in an almost trance-like state. Though her sheer force of concentration was admirable, she had missed a few beats, and her broken combo simply couldn't top Raiko's score. When the song ended, she resigned herself to defeat, handing the sticks to Yatsuhashi.
"I'm next! You'll lose this time!"
"I doubt it, though I admire your enthusiasm! Come, face me!"
Yatsuhashi, full of energy, could certainly keep up with the pace of the track, but though she gave it her all it seemed she just didn't have the accuracy to hit every beat correctly. Having taken her second victory, Raiko looked over the trio with a smug gaze.
"Well, have you given up yet?"
"Not yet!" Sanae called out. "I played this game at the arcade every day after school for years! If anybody's going to take you down, it's me!"
"You may be well-practiced, but your skill will never match that of a true master. Come, show me your best!"
Sanae really, really did try her hardest on the ensuing game, hands flailing wildly, lip bitten in concentration. Though she managed to come out with a higher score than the Tsukumo sisters had been able to earn, it still paled in comparison to Raiko's perfect record.
"Give up! You cannot best me! I have found my calling in this game, and it is here I will forever remain, my skill unmatched for all eternity!"
"Dang it, Sanae got so close, but if Raiko doesn't miss we're not even going to be able to do anything but draw! Are we really just going to keep trying?" Yatsuhashi whined.
"I don't know, and I'm running out of ideas. At this point it'd take a miracle for us to win."
"That's it!" Sanae suddenly exclaimed, causing the sisters to jump in surprise.
"What's it?" Yatsuhashi asked.
"A miracle!"
"I mean, at this point it might even be worth waiting for one..." Benben replied.
"No no no, I mean literally! My power is to cause miracles! If all three of us play at once - one of you concentrating on the reds, one of you on the blues, and me channeling divine power through us all - there's a chance we might be able to win! Evening out the load and adding a blessing... that might be the edge we need!"
"Huh, well it's worth a shot. You ready to give this one last go, Yatsu?"
"Am I ever!~"
"Very well then. Raiko, we challenge you a final time! Three on one!"
"I doubt even you three together can match my skill, but I eagerly await this last challenge. This machine is predictable. Let me face an opponent worthy of my talents, I say! Come, you three! We will drum at the summit of the world, and the heavens and earth will quake at the force of our beat!"
"She's a little dramatic, isn't she?" Sanae asked.
"Come on, let's just get ready to do this. Yatsu, you take the center. I'll hit the rim."
"Gotcha!"
"And Sanae... you... do your thing."
"Of course!" The shrine maiden cleared her throat and began a quiet chant, and the sisters took up their sticks, ready for whatever came their way.
It wasn't very clear if it was the divine power or just the sheer amount of determination that was responsible, but something about this attempt was different. A hundred beats in and they hadn't missed a single hit! Two hundred, three hundred, four... it seemed that together, they were actually matching Raiko's skill. The slowly-filling combo counter was an inspiration, a reminder that they were doing the impossible.
However, fatigue would catch up with them, and eventually Yatsuhashi would slip, breaking their combo and sending their score below Raiko's. The drum tsukumogami grinned, and the others felt disheartened. What hope was there now?
"The song's almost over! If we're going to win this, we need to go all out!" Benben announced. "In order to take this victory once and for all... we'll combine all of our will into a special attack! On the count of three, put all of your power into it!"
The three girls looked at each other determinedly.
"One!"
Sanae took a deep, anticipatory breath.
"Two!"
A bead of sweat cascaded against Raiko's brow.
"Three!"
With a sudden surge of might, the team of three let loose with a combined special attack. For the closing notes of the song, the group were ensuring that they did not miss a single beat, going at it with such vigor and enthusiasm that the shockwave of magical power tore Raiko's attention from her screen. For the first time, Raiko's combo broke, and it took the weary drum youkai a few seconds to find her stride once more. But by then, the damage was done. Sanae and the Tsukumo sisters had achieved a higher score, and this time, they were the winners of the round.
"D-did we do it?" Yatsuhashi asked nervously, eyeing up the score counters. When she confirmed that they did indeed beat Raiko's score, her eyes lit up in excitement. "W-we did it! Look, we did it! We won!"
The three shared a relieved hug, hopping and dancing and reveling in their victory. After a few moments, it seemed they remembered Raiko, and they turned to her with worry.
"...Raiko?"
The taiko tsukumogami was quiet for a long while, and then spoke.
"Well, looks like I'm beat. But man, that was fun!"
"Oh, Raiko, you're back to normal!" Benben cried out in relief, rushing forward to embrace the other girl.
"Well, if that spectacular performance of yours made anything clear, it's that this game probably isn't my eternal calling." Yatsuhashi came forward to embrace her as well, and she laughed gleefully.
"I suppose I must have gotten a little carried away there, huh?
"Only a little," piped up Rinnosuke from behind that morning's copy of the Bunbunmaru.
"Well," Raiko said, "I think we've all played more than enough of that game for today. Why don't we head on back?"
"You guys can go," Sanae said. "I think I wanna stick around and play a little more, actually!"
The three instrument youkai gave Sanae a long, judgmental look, and she fidgeted nervously.
"C-come on, I haven't gotten to play this in so long! Give me a break!"
Everyone had a good laugh at that. Raiko laughed, the Tsukumo sisters laughed, Sanae laughed, Rinnosuke laughed. And then Benben forcefully dragged Sanae out of the shop, because she was not dealing with this again.