Scarlet Weather Rhapsody/Story

This article details the story of Scarlet Weather Rhapsody.

Prologue

Following the events of Mountain of Faith, summer arrives in Gensokyo with a fanfare of weird weather. Shortly after the abnormal weather appeared, there was a large earthquake that leveled the Hakurei Shrine, causing Reimu Hakurei to investigate the cause of the incident.

Main Story

Reimu's Story

Reimu laments that her shrine was destroyed by an earthquake when Marisa decides to drop by. After talking about the weather and finding out that Marisa didn't feel the earthquake, they conclude an incident is afoot and have a duel to decide who should resolve it. Upon defeating Marisa, Reimu decides to check the Forest of Magic first and meets Alice. Alice guesses that Reimu is resolving another incident, but that leads Reimu to suspect Alice and fight her, only for Alice to claim she doesn't know the shrine has collapsed. Shortly afterwards, Komachi passes by them, and Reimu, noticing some odd energy surrounding Komachi, thinks Komachi is involved. Upon beating her, Reimu thinks the incident is resolved, but Komachi points out that it is abnormally sunny around Reimu. Reimu then heads to Youkai Mountain and is intercepted by Aya. While ascending towards Heaven, Reimu meets Iku Nagae, a messenger of the Dragon Palace. Iku warns Reimu of an earthquake much larger than the one that destroyed her shrine. Reimu beats up Iku hoping to prevent another earthquake, but Iku tells Reimu that the only person who can prevent one resides in Heaven. Once she reaches Heaven, Reimu finally confronts the person who destroyed her shrine, celestial Tenshi Hinanawi. Tenshi reveals she started the incident simply because she was bored watching everyone else getting involved in incidents and wanted to start her own. She also claims she destroyed Reimu's shrine so Reimu would be motivated to resolve the incident; Reimu promptly resolves the incident by defeating Tenshi.

Marisa's Story

In the Forest of Magic, Marisa is complaining about the endless rain when Alice drops by and complains about the constant hail. Marisa guesses (incorrectly) that Alice is the cause of the rain and fights her. Reimu comes over sometime later. Noticing the clear and sunny weather surrounding Reimu, Marisa accuses Reimu of being too lazy to resolve the incident, only for Reimu to claim she is only surveying the damage caused by the earthquake, which Marisa is unaware of. Reisen arrives after their fight and takes Marisa aside to point out the oddly colored clouds around Youkai Mountain. Marisa then climbs Youkai Mountain only to be caught by Aya. After getting past Aya, Marisa meets Iku, who Marisa initially assumed was the one behind the incident since by Marisa's reasoning the person controlling the weather would be in a place with barely any weather at all. Iku claims that the person Marisa is looking for is above the clouds and warns Marisa of another earthquake. When she reaches Heaven, Marisa meets Tenshi, who reveals she is the one who caused the earthquakes and the strange weather. Marisa was more interested in avoiding the rain, but decides to beat up Tenshi anyways.

Sakuya's Story

Sakuya notices a weird mist coming out of her body when she runs into Marisa, who is planning to take more books from the Scarlet Devil Mansion's library. Sakuya tells Marisa that she is emitting some mist as well, but Marisa decides to beat her up. After taking care of Marisa, Sakuya heads for Hakugyokurou, where she meets Youmu. Sakuya tells Youmu something ghostly is coming from her body, but Youmu thought Sakuya was refering to her ghost half. After they fight, Yuyuko appears, summoning snow in her wake. Yuyuko sees nothing unusual about having snow in summer, which makes Sakuya suspicious of her. After Sakuya defeats Yuyuko, Yuyuko tells her to go the place where the mist is converging. Sakuya then climbs Youkai Mountain and runs into Aya. Aya tries to prevent Sakuya from going up the mountain, but Sakuya persuades Aya to let her through by telling her about the snow in the Netherworld. On her way to Heaven, Sakuya meets Iku, who tries to prevent Sakuya from going into Heaven since ordinary humans aren't allowed there. Nevertheless, Sakuya defeats Iku as well. When Sakuya arrives in Heaven, she meets Tenshi. Tenshi is pleased that Sakuya noticed the scarlet mist, but she is disappointed that Sakuya doesn't know what else she is plotting.

Alice's Story

Alice arrives at the Hakurei Shrine to find it in a state of disrepair. Alice tells Reimu she predicted an earthquake would happen because of the scarlet clouds and endless hail, but Reimu becomes annoyed that Alice didn't warn her about the earthquake sooner. Alice then goes to Hakugyokurou, hearing that it was in bad shape. However, she simply finds that the Netherworld is covered in snow. Youmu appears to prevent Alice from entering Hakugyokurou, and Alice warns her about a potential earthquake. Alice then decides to browse Patchouli's library, hoping to find more information about earthquakes. However, Patchouli thinks that Alice should concentrate on the weather. After they fight, Sakuya arrives to serve Patchouli's tea, and Patchouli orders her to kick Alice out of the mansion. Later, Alice meets Iku, who verifies that an earthquake is going to occur. Alice battles with Iku hoping to prevent the earthquake, but Iku reveals that the earthquake will happen no matter who wins. Afterwards, Alice encounters Tenshi, who reveals she is manipulating the weather in order to summon earthquakes. Tenshi was hoping the shrine maiden would interfere, but decides to have Alice attempt to defeat her.

Patchouli's Story

At the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Patchouli summons Sakuya so Patchouli can presumably test a theory involving weather and temperaments. Patchouli then goes to the shrine and checks up on Reimu. After the pair spar with each other, Marisa arrives at the shrine. Patchouli then instigates a match with Marisa as well. Patchouli then is going to Heaven, where the mist is gathering, when she meets Iku. Iku hints that an earthquake may happen, prompting Patchouli to fight with her. When Patchouli arrives in Heaven, she meets Tenshi. Tenshi tries to tell her that she is the one gathering the mist, but Patchouli ignores her and accuses Suika of being the mastermind. Suika denies the charge, but Patchouli fights with her.

Youmu's Story

Noticing a sudden decrease in the number of ghosts, Youmu decides to investigate the matter, but not before Yuyuko tests her to see if Youmu is able to handle the incident by herself. After the fight, Youmu visits the recently leveled Hakurei Shrine. Reimu tells her that a catfish destroyed her shrine but knows nothing about the ghosts. Youmu then seeks out Komachi, who claims Youmu is the person slaying the ghosts. After Youmu clears her name, Yukari appears and gives Youmu a hint about the culprit. While flying through the clouds, Youmu meets Iku, who Youmu mistakes as the perpetrator. When Youmu gets to Heaven, she meets the actual perpetrator of the incident, Tenshi, who reveals she slayed the ghosts to find someone who can defeat her before she creates an earthquake.

Remilia's Story

Due to the unpredictable weather, Remilia can't go outside; she decides to determine the cause of the problem by having Sakuya bringing potential suspects to the mansion where Remilia will interrogate them. While Sakuya is looking for the first suspect, Remilia bumps into Patchouli, who tells her she is conducting her own investigation, though Remilia believes Patchouli is somewhat unreliable. Throughout the day, Sakuya brings in Alice, Reisen, Youmu, and Komachi as suspects, each of whom claims she is innocent, and Remilia fights with each of them before she is convinced of their innocence. Sakuya also brings in Reimu, who is annoyed her shrine is destroyed. Remilia fights with her to relieve some of Reimu's frustration. Shortly afterwards, Remilia orders Sakuya to stop bringing in people when Yukari pops in. She tells Remilia the criminal is above the clouds, and Remilia decides to have Yukari deal with the criminal in her stead.

Yuyuko's Story

Yuyuko is going around Gensokyo using her newfound power to cover everything in snow. She first goes to the Hakurei Shrine and sees Reimu, who is suspicious of Yuyuko's new ability. Yuyuko then visits the Forest of Magic, where she surprises Marisa. Afterwards, Yuyuko heads toward Youkai Mountain where she meets Komachi, who is taking a break from work. Once Yuyuko gets to Youkai Mountain, she covers the mountaintop with snow when Aya appears trying to chase her away. Making her way through the clouds, Yuyuko meets Iku. They have a short chat, and Yuyuko asks if an earthquake is going to happen. Once getting to Heaven, Yuyuko bumps into Tenshi. Tenshi assumed Yuyuko wants her to return the weather to normal, but Yuyuko seems uninterested in changing the weather.

Yukari's Story

Yukari drops by the Hakurei Shrine, which is still being reconstructed. Reimu tells her that Tenshi hasn't yet come to fix the shrine, and Yukari decides to look for Tenshi so Yukari can punish her. On her way up Youkai Mountain, Yukari runs into Komachi. Yukari assumes Komachi knows about the reduction in the number of ghosts, but Komachi seems unaware of that. Later, Yukari runs into Marisa. Marisa was also on her way to Heaven to "borrow" some stuff, but changes her mind after she fights with Yukari. When Yukari reaches Heaven, she meets Iku. Yukari asks about Tenshi's whereabouts so Yukari can make her "deceased". Iku states that Tenshi is on earth, and Yukari, not believing her, fights her. After being beaten by Yukari, Iku gives Yukari permission to punish Tenshi. After going to Heaven, Yukari revisits the Hakurei Shrine, where she meets Suika. The two chat and have a friendly fight. The next day, Yukari confronts Tenshi at the newly rebuilt shrine. Yukari decides to destroy the shrine, claiming that Tenshi selfishly rebuilt the shrine to suit her own purposes.

Suika's Story

Suika decides to go up Youkai Mountain when Aya stops her from coming up the mountain. Aya only lets her proceed further after making sure Suika will not intrude on the Tengu. Suika then goes through the clouds when she meets Iku. They discuss the nature of the clouds and note that an earthquake is about to happen. After reaching Heaven, Suika meets Tenshi. Tenshi reveals that she is gathering everyone's spirits but doesn't have an objective. Suika then reveals her objective: to claim a piece of Heaven, which she does get after defeating Tenshi.

Reisen's Story

Although most of the weird weather has disappeared, Reisen is still worried about the earthquakes. She first goes to the Scarlet Devil Mansion to see if Remilia has uncovered any information, but Remilia hasn't noticed anything new. Reisen then goes to the Netherworld when she meets Yuyuko. Yuyuko makes Reisen fight her before she suggests that Reisen head over to the Hakurei Shrine, where the shrine completion ceremony is being held. Upon arriving at the shrine, Reisen discovers it is destroyed and meets Yukari, who claimed there is no need to investigate the shrine. Tenshi appears right after they fight, and Reisen asks her about the earthquakes.

Aya's Story

Searching for a story to cover, Aya first visits Reimu at her shrine, where Reimu was hanging her laundry out to dry. The weather changes from sunny to stormy, causing Reimu to gather her laundry while Aya tries to prevent her from getting away. The next day, Aya decides to trail Marisa when the weather suddenly changes to a tempest. Marisa decides to head back to her home, but not before she drives Aya away. The day after that, Aya heads to the Scarlet Devil Mansion but runs into Sakuya. After defeating Sakuya, Aya interviews Remilia, with Remilia playing the role of the Mokele-mbembe and Aya acting like newsreporter in distress. On the day of the earthquake, Aya is on Youkai Mountain lamenting the lack of good scoops when Reimu tells her that the shrine has been destroyed. Reimu plans to ascend the mountain, but Aya tries to stop her from going further.

Komachi's Story

While taking a break from her work, Komachi decides to observe people's weather in order to predict what their afterlife may be. She first encounters Marisa, who tells her that a celestial is repairing Reimu's shrine. Komachi then strolls by the Scarlet Devil Mansion, where she has a friendly bout with Sakuya. Later, Komachi visits the Netherworld when she meets Youmu. Komachi mentions that the number of murdered ghosts has decreased, and Youmu tells her that it was the celestial's doing. Afterwards, Komachi heads to the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, where she has a friendly fight with Reisen. Finally, Komachi reaches the Hakurei Shrine and has a match with Reimu. After their match, Komachi is introduced to Tenshi. Tenshi was initially surprised to learn Komachi is a shinigami, but she becomes interested in fighting with Komachi after Komachi reveals she is a ferryman rather than a reaper.

Iku's Story

Iku is looking for Tenshi (whom she refers to as "eldest daughter") so Iku can file a report about an earthquake that's about to happen. Iku runs into Suika, who tells her Tenshi isn't in Heaven. Iku then decides to go warn the people of Gensokyo. The first person she visits is Aya, who tries to prevent Iku from leaving so she can pry more information from her. The next person she warns is Remilia, who is reluctant to accept the news. The last person she meets is Yuyuko. Yuyuko questions whether an earthquake will really happen, tells Iku something is happening at the shrine, and makes Iku fight with her for some random reason. Iku does go to the shrine, but finds nothing suspicious. When she returns to the clouds, Yukari comes to meet with her. Iku tells her an earthquake will strike, but Yukari concludes an earthquake will not happen. Yukari directs a confused Iku underneath the shrine's roof, where Iku finally meets up with Tenshi. Tenshi verifies an earthquake won't happen because she just inserted a keystone in the center of the shrine. Iku, annoyed her warnings were for naught, decides to chastise Tenshi.

Tenshi's Story

On the morning after the shrine was destroyed for the second time, Tenshi was in Bhavaagra when she was greeted by Yuyuko, who had been invited by Suika for the shrine's groundbreaking ceremony. The ceremony isn't set until midday, so the two fight to pass the time. Later, Suika arrives, and Tenshi, who is pissed that Suika invited so many people by herself, beats her up. Throughout the rest of the morning, each of the other guests (Patchouli, Alice, Marisa, Sakuya, and Youmu, in that order) arrive and fight with Tenshi. Before the ceremony begins, Tenshi notices Reimu isn't there and seeks her out at the shrine. Reimu tells Tenshi she didn't go because Suika told her the ceremony was a "Celestial torture-fest" and she didn't feel like beating Tenshi a second time. But after Tenshi told her she beat up all the other guests, Reimu decides to have rematch with Tenshi.

Endings

Reimu's ending

It starts with it stating even broken down, it still works as a shrine, just not a home. It also states all the weird weather is starting to revert (though the constant sun Reimu had would be better for the reconstruction efforts) At the shrine, Reimu and Tenshi are talking while various celestial maidens are rebuilding the shrine, mainly about the oarfish's warning and the fact Tenshi was the one who destroyed the shrine in the first place. Then as they sit away from the rain that's now coming down, Tenshi talks about putting down a keystone to prevent any more earthquakes, also stating it's not a good idea to dig up a hot spring (she gets one anyways in SA) and that taking it out would cause an earthquake. It goes on to state while the shrine was rebuild with the key stone, Reimu had a sense of unease about the new shrine (given what's revealed in Yukari's story mode, it's for good reason)

Marisa's ending

She's at home cleaning up her house due to fears of being buried in books in an earthquake. Her thoughts turn to Tenshi and why she was doing things and not using her power to prevent earthquakes. She wonders if Tenshi did it just to play (she's correct but she doesn't know it). She decides to leave the incident to Reimu as she resumes cleaning. It goes to state in a way the Celestial did warn her and that the earth was still alive.

Sakuya's Ending

It notes that the shrine was destroyed during Sakuya's time in heaven as she visits the shrine's remains where Reimu and Marisa are. They talk about how the building collapsed like that and into ideas on how to get it rebuilt. Sakuya then mentions Tenshi (not by name) and her ability to stop earthquares. The discussion goes on to basically implicate Tenshi in it as Sakuya gives her directions. It states while Sakuya gave Tenshi a good lecture, she was still rather upset and figured sending Reimu would be a good idea as she'd be more forceful as the notion of the supposedly invincible celestial losing to Reimu cheered her up.

Alice's Ending

Alice visits the shrine where Reimu and Suika are, wondering about Tenshi (not by name) saying she was needed to prevent them. Alice attempts to get Reimu to go after Tenshi but not having much luck due to Reimu insisting on finishing the shrine. Alice even suggests making Tenshi repair it afterwards. It goes on to say that Tenshi while having the power to prevent earthquakes, was able to cause them and that she caused a quake at the shrine to provoke Reimu, so Alice figured she'd try convincing Reimu to do just that.

Patchouli's ending

She's back at the SDM finding the weather's not going back to normal despite beating Suika. She's reading on earthquake portents, a main one being oarfish (such as Iku) appearing. She wonders why temperaments are being sucked up as Sakuya appears. She tells Patchouli about the quake at the shrine as Patchouli is disbelieving the tie between Iku's appearance and the quake at the shrine. She thinks back to what she heard in a fight (if it's too late to break the shrine) and realized she had gone after the wrong person. She wonders why the Oni was in heaven as she orders Sakuya to have Reimu see what's going on in Heaven.

Youmu's ending

Back at Hakugyokuro, Youmu notices how the snow stopped and how the ghosts stopped disappearing, figuring it was Tenshi's fault though she's not entirely satisfied by how things went. They talk about the incident and how Yuyuko would rather have it still be snowing. She reveals she knew the nature of the incident and that she wanted to exploit it, surprising Youmu. She tells Yuyuko that she resolved it as the mist caused an earthquake though Yuyuko replies that it's not enough to prevent any future ones (and that her judgement was too naive). It goes to note that while there's earthquake preparations, Youmu departs for Heaven as to listen to what the Celestial (Tenshi) had to say.

Remilia's ending

She's at the SDM trying to investigate all the odd weather she's been hearing about, but not much luck as she can't leave the mansion with the current weather. She looks through some books, finding one about soybeans among other thing as Patchouli helps her find a weather book. She tries to get Remilia to let her do the researching but noticing Remilia's bored. In the end she suggests getting some tea. It goes to say Remilia was trying to do things on her terms in spite of the odd rain locations popping up as she already knew where the enemy was.

Yuyuko's ending

At a snowy Hakugyokuro, she's getting Youmu to get a heater with the younger girl wondering the point of a heater in the summer (for health reasons). The discussion goes to the strange weather and the likely incident as Youmu faintly expresses an interest in trying to resolve it. It goes on to say that Yuyuko was grateful to Tenshi for making things interesteing though, for a being in heaven, she was imperfect.

Yukari's ending

At the ruins of the shrine (destroyed in the battle between Tenshi and Yukari), and Reimu's (understandably) upset over her shrine getting wrecked AGAIN right after it got rebuilt. Youmu, Sakuya, and Marisa are there talking about it as they find the keystone, and being suspicious of it when Suika appears (with a long wooden beam) who tells them it's real. Suika reveals that Yukari told her to rebuild and look over the keystone and that it'll be faster than when Tenshi did as she'd order some Tengu to help out as well. Reimu's doubtful of it when Suika suggests a party before the construction starts, promoting a "not again!" from everyone else. Reimu's doubtful over who's better though she thinks it might be better to rebuild it every so often.

Suika's ending

In heaven, Suika and Tenshi are having a nice gathering as they talk about their views in heaven, with both agreeing the food's better on earth as it goes to who'll come next to earth as they talk about Tenshi's plan (Suika thinks she'd lose to Reimu) and the matter of leasing Suika some of the land. Suika agrees to help gather people as she goes to sleep. Tenshi's wondering about how long the Oni'll stick around and how people could find heaven enjoyable.

Reisen's ending

Over at Eientei, Reisen and Eirin are talking about earthquake and keystones and what keystones really are. Eirin then mentions Heaven was once a giant keystone and that a massive earthquake happened when it got pulled out (Eirin doesn't go into details, just that it happened long ago even compared to her age). Eirin also notes that Tenshi must be a Nawi, and that Nawi used to rule the earth with their ability and the fact one's appeared with a keystone may mean they're trying to regain their influence. They both agree that Tenshi needs to be observed as it notes that possibly the bamboo of the forest was affected by one long ago.

Aya's Ending

She's at the shrine thinking of how to report this as she realizes that only the shrine was affected by the quake and wonders what caused it. She thinks about going with a "building defect" angle when Reimu appears and reveals that she beat Tenshi and that she'd be repairing the shrine for Reimu. Aya decides to take some pictures of the ruins in case Tenshi does something strange, and that she trusts photos more than memories

Komachi's ending

She's at the Sanzu, trying to get a child ghost to stop stacking stones (as it creates attachement and possibly resentment) and not really succeeding, though she tells him/her that she could make a trip across when they get tired of the world. She wonders about changing jobs (in case of getting fired or sick of her current one), such as to one that fights Celestials, as she wants to show them why they should fear death. It notes that someone who doesn't even ferry spirits across well could get that job.

Iku's ending

She's watching over the reconstruction, and noticing the keystone in the ground as she talks about the double edged nature of them: They stop earthquakes but at the cost of a much bigger one should it be removed as time passes. The scene changes to heaven where she's hanging out with Suika and drinking as they talk about the keystone (and that Tenshi should have explained) and how Suika got the land in heaven and finally to Iku's complaints about Tenshi's behavior. It notes that with the Keystone in place, Iku will have less work but more unease as it talks about a bigger earthquake in the future.

Tenshi's ending

Reimu, Marisa, Alice, Patchouli, Suika, Yuyuko and Tenshi are having a party in heaven talking about the failure to gather everyone up here as the topic changes to people reflecting their experiences fighting Tenshi. They then talk about what kind of party it is as some complain about the plain food when Sakuya appears with a big catfish she caught in a mountain stream and suggests they eat that. It notes that the party was livelier than what Heaven usually has but Tenshi worries how long Suika'd stick around.

Timeline

It can be inferred from the characters' dialogues that the events of Scarlet Weather Rhapsody roughly happened as follows:

  • Strange weather starts appearing: Yuyuko's Scenario (Tenshi notes Yuyuko is the first person to confront her.)
  • Several days before the earthquake: Suika's Scenario (It's implied her scenario happens before Patchouli's and Iku's scenarios, which explains why they fought her in Heaven.)
  • Days leading up to the destruction of the Hakurei Shrine: (in no particular order) Patchouli's Scenario, Demo Scenario, Aya's Scenario (Stages 1 - 4), Sakuya's Scenario, Remilia's Scenario (Stages 1 - 6)
  • Day of the earthquake: (in no particular order) Reimu's Scenario, Marisa's Scenario, Alice's Scenario, Youmu's Scenario, Remilia's Scenario (Stages 7 and 8), Aya's Scenario (Stage 5)
  • Shrine is being rebuilt: (in no particular order) Iku's Scenario, Komachi's Scenario, Yukari's Scenario (Stages 1 - 5), Reisen's Scenario (Stages 1 and 2)
  • Shrine is destroyed again: Yukari's Scenario (Stage 6), Reisen's Scenario (Stages 3 and 4)
  • Groundbreaking Day: Tenshi's Scenario