Work Text:
Snow whips around fiercely. Despite the new year featuring warmer than usual weather, Winter has come to remind Gensokyo of its power. Inside Hakurei Shrine sit Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame, cuddling under the kotatsu out of both affection and a desire to keep warm. They use the table in the kitchen to maximize the distance between themselves and the outside.
"Ugh, I'm not looking forward to shoveling all this when the blizzard dies down," says Reimu with a groan.
"I could maybe try blasting it away with a Master Spark," jokes Marisa.
"Yeah, and then we could maybe try rebuilding the shrine again," Reimu says mockingly. "I'd really rather not deal with this place getting damaged."
"You're cute when you're angry, y'know."
"I can kick you out at any time."
"Noted."
The couple's playful bickering helps pass the time as they wait out the weather.
I've been stuck at the shrine with Reimu before, but now that we're together it's way more fun. Just the two of us trapped inside with only each other for company. I could stay like this forever...
Reimu hugs her partner a bit tighter. Marisa takes it in stride and returns the favor.
I swear every subtle burst of affection like that makes me love her even more. She doesn't need words; her actions tell the whole story. Her style has always been assuming that others will pick up her meaning. Luckily we've been with each other more than long enough that I've gotten pretty good at interpreting her signals. ...Hmm?
Marisa feels a slow and steady breath near her face and sees that the shrine maiden has dozed off, arms still wrapped around her.
Guess we'll be waiting here for a while yet, not that I mind. I still have a hard time believing I get to spend the rest of my life with her.
...
There's always been a part of me that's been interested in becoming a full-on Youkai magician or otherwise achieving immortality in some form. I saw that as the ultimate goal, being able to study and become more powerful forever. But things are different now. Ever since I realized how I felt about Reimu, I can't imagine a world without her. She became my ultimate goal. The desire to be with her, support her, experience life with her. Immortality seems trivial in comparison. Who wants to see their loved ones pass them by? No amount of knowledge is worth living eternally in a world without the person next to me. Maybe if she wound up a similar case to Sanae where she becomes part-god or something then I'd reconsider the option, but as of right now I'm more than satisfied.
Man, what's with Reimu and making me wax philosophical like this? She's really that important to me, I guess. And it includes simpler stuff, too. Recently I've considered things I never cared about before, like learning a wider variety of recipes to cook for her or spells that can help keep the shrine warm during colder months. But that's enough thinking for one afternoon, might as well join her.
With a kiss on her partner's forehead, Marisa closes her eyes and drifts off to sleep.
"It's not fair! We can't prank them if they always look so content, it feels wrong," bemoans Sunny Milk, the fairy of the sun.
The moon fairy, Luna Child, gives her companion a skeptical look and says, "That sort of thing has never stopped you before."
"She's only saying that cause she knows it'll be even worse than usual if we get caught in here spying on them," says the fairy of the stars, Star Sapphire, with a smile and knowing glint in her eye.
"That makes more sense," says Luna, her disappointment plain to see.
The three Fairies of Light sit in the room next to where Reimu and Marisa sleep, huddled together underneath a blanket. They avoid detection using Sunny's light refraction and Luna's sound cancellation.
Luna continues, "Besides, we came here to find Piece and get her to warm us up, but she's not here."
"I don't detect anyone nearby besides us and those two," says Star, using her power to feel for any presences in the shrine's proximity.
"Ugh, I didn't think the shrine would be colder than the tree. This is awful," says Sunny while she shivers. "We made it here right before the blizzard got worse, so now going back would be a pain."
"And whose idea was this again? The tree would have been fine, but you insisted we come here to 'relax in the warmth,'" says Luna indignantly.
The sun and moon fairies argue for a bit until Star stops them and says, "Wait, hold on, someone's approaching the shrine."
S-s-s-s-s-so c-c-c-cold.
Kosuzu Motoori, bookkeeper of Suzunaan, slowly approaches Hakurei Shrine as the blizzard rages around her.
A blizzard had to start when I was already over halfway here for a book pickup. Now everyone back at home's gonna worry. Hopefully Reimu won't mind me staying over.
The young bibliophile reaches the deck with tremendous effort and quickly slides the door open to get inside.
"Reimu, I'm really sorry, but I screwed up and-" Kosuzu cuts herself off as she scans the entry room where her friend normally lounges and finds no one. She looks around before peeking into the kitchen and seeing Reimu and Marisa blissfully snoozing underneath the kotatsu.
Awwwwww, they're adorable! I don't want to wake them up, so I'll close the door and make myself comfortable in here. I'm sure Reimu will understand.
Kosuzu sets her things on the table and begins looking for a blanket, quietly humming to herself. Unbeknownst to her, three fairies sit nervously only a few feet away, doing their best not to attract any attention.
A fairy dressed in star-spangled attire carefully flies through the snowstorm.
T-t-this really sucks. Why did Lady Hecatia have to choose today of all days to have a meeting? I had to go all the way where Komachi works to meet her, too.
Clownpiece, the Hell Fairy, presses on despite her annoyance and eventually spots her home in the distance. However, before she arrives, she sees a person-shaped lump lying in the snow about half a kilometer away.
Huh, stinks to be them.
...
Why do I feel guilty? I'm from Hell! This isn't the worst I've seen. Whoever that is bit off more than they could chew by going out today.
...
GAH! Fine, fine. Stupid shrine maiden is rubbing off on me.
With immense displeasure, Clownpiece makes a beeline for the lump and discovers it to be an unconscious girl with extremely fluffy and curly green hair. She bears a large horn on top of her head and two horn-shaped ears.
Is this a Youkai? I think I've met her before... Aunn, was it?
The fairy manages to pick up the living jizo with a great deal of work, but doesn't get very far as the weight is too much for her to carry.
Alright, fine, we'll do this the hard way. Time for a wake-up call.
Grabbing her torch, Clownpiece manually opens one of Aunn's eyes and forces it to gaze into the torch's maddening light.
Never tried using it this way before, hope it works...
Aunn's eye, glazed over from her lack of consciousness, begins moving to track the flame. Soon after the rest of her body follows suit, and she manages to stand up.
Now to hide the torch, one quick glance shouldn't make her crazy for long.
The awakened girl stands still at first then bolts in the direction of the shrine, ignoring Clownpiece entirely.
...That might be bad.
Oh, Aunn, where are you? I shouldn't have sent you back to Reimu's today. I doubt anything too bad will happen, but I don't want her getting buried in the snow.
The Moriya Shrine Maiden, Sanae Kochiya, flies through the blizzard with relative ease using her power of miracles in tandem with a very warm jacket. In order to deduce her friend's route, Sanae prayed to the gods for guidance before she left; as Kanako and Suwako had no idea which route Aunn took, the mountain shrine maiden elected to follow her instincts instead. Thirty minutes of searching for signs yields no results, even as Sanae gets closer to Hakurei Shrine.
Perhaps I should head there directly. Aunn might have made it after- What's that?
Sanae spies a faint light a little ways from the shrine, quickly chasing after something that swathes a path through the snow.
Uhhh, what? That doesn't look good.
The green-haired girl goes after them, soon realizing the two figures are quickly approaching the shrine.
Is this an attack?!
Sanae speeds up and manages to get close enough to see the one holding the light: Clownpiece. She matches pace and yells, "What in the world is going on?!"
Clownpiece is surprised by the other girl's sudden appearance but quickly puts that aside and says, "I found Aunn collapsed in the snow! I tried waking her up with the torch but as soon as she stood up she bolted!"
"You did what?! How long until the effect wears off?"
"I don't know, I've never used it to wake someone up before! But she only saw it for a few seconds, so normally it shouldn't be too long!"
'Normally,' she says. Lovely.
The unlikely duo continue their pursuit but barely manage to gain any ground. They all reach the shrine when Sanae finally cuts Aunn off, Clownpiece right behind.
"Aunn, it's me, Sanae. You in there?"
Aunn gives Sanae a look that the latter can only barely make out through the snow: a dead-eyed, emotionless stare. She raises her hand and says in an uncharacteristically manic voice, "Spinning Top - Curl Up and Die!"
It had to be the curving lasers, huh?!
Sanae and Clownpiece weave through the spell card, stopping any bullets or lasers that would hit the shrine.
Beating her is one thing, but making sure the shrine doesn't get wrecked puts us at a disadvantage. And why isn't Reimu coming out to help us?!
Right on cue, the door to the shrine opens, but it is not Reimu standing there; the one in the doorway is Kosuzu.
"W-what's going on? Sanae, is that you?"
Crap, this is bad.
"Kosuzu, stay inside! Aunn isn't in her right mind and-"
Clownpiece interrupts to yell, "Laser coming for you, get down!"
It zooms right past Sanae, who did not react fast enough to stop it, and shoots towards Kosuzu. The bookkeeper is too in shock to move, but before it reaches her, another fairy appears in front and dissipates the attack.
"Sunny?!" says Clownpiece in disbelief.
"Piece, you're here!" says Sunny happily. "I'll use my power to make sure none of her light-based attacks hit the shrine, you focus on taking her down!"
This keeps getting weirder, why are Kosuzu and that fairy here? Gah, now's not the time to think about that!
"Will you stop it already, Aunn?!" yells Sanae.
The jizo pauses briefly and grabs her head, as though she is in pain. She then lets go and says, "Koma Sign - Solitary A-Un Breathing!" With the declaration, Aunn splits into two and both let loose a flurry of projectiles.
Sanae and Clownpiece each focus an Aunn with their own attacks, blocking what they can and letting Sunny take care of the rest. Kosuzu takes shelter inside, but cannot help watching the battle in amazement. Aunn's attacks begin to slow down, giving the duo the opening they need.
"Frog Sign - Wily Toad!"
"Hellfire - Striped Abyss!"
All of Aunn's remaining attacks disappear, replaced by toads and red lasers that knock both Aunns to the ground. They merge together and the girl falls unconscious.
"Huff... huff... we did it!" proclaims Clownpiece in victory.
"We wouldn't have had to do anything if you didn't use your torch on her," says Sanae.
"I didn't know what else to do, alright? I couldn't bring myself to leave her there as much as I wanted to."
"Well... that's appreciated. Thanks for looking out for her. You weren't bad just now," Sanae says before flashing a grin. "For a fairy."
"Piece, you were awesome!" says Sunny before running up to hug the star-spangled fairy. "You were cool too, Sanae!"
"Your saving Kosuzu like that was quick thinking and helped us out a lot, thank you. It's Sunny, right? I don't think the two of us have properly spoken before."
"We didn't want Miss Reimu to get grumpy if something happened to the shrine or her friend. That's why when Star warned us something was coming, I had Luna make sure no sound would reach Miss Reimu or Marisa while they were sleeping," says Sunny with confidence.
A few seconds pass as Sanae takes a moment to process Sunny's statement.
"What."
"Pretty ingenious, huh?" Sunny says while rubbing her nose.
"Reimu and Marisa are here. And you could have woken them up to help. Yet you decided to not only not get them, but also make sure they couldn't be woken up. While Clownpiece and I were defending the shrine from a berserk Youkai."
Clownpiece, sensing the mounting tension, quickly cuts in to say, "Hey, we should check on Aunn, it looks like she's coming to."
The group gathers around Aunn as she sits up and assesses her surroundings.
"Miss Sanae? Fairies? What's going on?" she asks.
"Uh, don't worry about it, Aunn," says Sanae with a smile that betrays her exasperation. "Clownpiece here found you collapsed in the snow and made sure you got to the shrine. I met her along the way and helped out. Now then, let's go get Reimu and Marisa so we can have some tea. It's freezing out here."
"Alright!" Aunn says cheerfully, not a care in the world.
They all head inside to see Kosuzu, still in awe at what just transpired, and Star sitting across the table from each other. Through the inner doorway they see Luna next to the still sleeping Reimu and Marisa, doing the job Sunny assigned her.
...Dang it, how can I wake them up when they're so cute?
"Actually, change of plans; thanks to Luna, I should be able to make some tea myself without disturbing them."
"Yay!" yell the others in unison.
"Hmm... ugh..." moans Reimu with a yawn as she rises from her nap, noting Marisa sleeping next to her.
She's so beautiful...
We must have fallen asleep. I need to check the time and see if the blizzard is still going. Sorry if I wake you up, Marisa.
The shrine maiden rises and notices that her tea pot is out.
Didn't I put that up? Weird.
Putting that aside, she steps into the main room and is completely caught off guard by what she sees: the three Fairies of Light, Clownpiece, Kosuzu, Aunn, and Sanae all having a fun time drinking tea and playing cards. Reimu cannot hear them at all.
"What the heck are you all doing here?!" Reimu yells.
The merry group stops cold. They trade glances with each other. Before anyone says anything, a yawn escapes the kitchen as Marisa walks in, awoken by Reimu's yell.
"Did ya invite some people over?" asks the magician as she rubs her eye.
Luna releases her power and Sanae says, "Hey! Glad to see you're both awake. All of us had business in the area so we thought we'd hang out here for a bit while waiting for the blizzard to end. We didn't want to wake you up so we decided to settle down in here. I used some of your tea leaves, I hope you don't mind."
It takes multiple moments for Reimu to mentally parse through everything Sanae says. She notices the fairies looking away, nervous, as well as Aunn's outfit having multiple small rips in it.
"What happened?" Reimu asks in resignation.
The house crashers all take turns detailing why and how they came to the shrine. Reimu's expression shifts from annoyance about the fairies, to concern for Kosuzu, to utter bewilderment about what happened with Aunn.
"I don't know if I should thank or exterminate the lot of you," says Reimu. "Except you, Kosuzu, you just got caught up in it."
That girl is really unlucky.
Sanae says, "Hey, I didn't do anything wrong!"
"Your mistake," Marisa interjects, "was using Reimu's favorite tea leaves without permission."
"But, but-"
"I suppose you can consider that my thanks for making sure nothing bad happened," says Reimu as she rubs the back of her head.
"Aw, Reimu, I knew you couldn't be mad at me!" Sanae says, smiling, before going in for a playful hug. Reimu stands there, her signature annoyed look on display for all to see. Sanae lets out a giggle.
"Yeah, yeah. Now get off me. If I'm stuck here with all of you, I'll at least join in on the game. You too, Marisa."
Marisa grins and says, "Fine by me!"
Despite herself, Reimu finds her evening with the group enjoyable. The blizzard shows no signs of letting up, so she sets up the shrine to house her guests for the night. Clownpiece goes to her home underneath the building, Sunny, Luna, Star, and Kosuzu share the kotatsu, and Sanae and Aunn use the spare futon. Reimu and Marisa, of course, share the former's futon. The group wishes each other good night and quickly falls asleep.
"Reimu! Reimu! It's an emergency, I'm coming in!" screams a voice outside the shrine.
The residents and guests all sit up, awakened by the yelling, as the front door bursts open to reveal a panting and exhausted Akyuu.
"It's terrible, Kosuzu's gone missing and-" Akyuu abruptly stops upon evaluating the shrine's interior. She did not expect to encounter Sanae or the fairies here this early in the morning, but once she sees Kosuzu she rushes over to the bookkeeper.
"You foolish girl, didn't you realize people would be worried when you never came back yesterday! The snow was piled high outside the village all night so we couldn't send a search party until this morning!" Akyuu yells in a rage, tears forming in her eyes. "I came here hoping Reimu could help us find you!"
The still groggy Kosuzu's head spins. Everyone else looks on in bewilderment as they digest what Akyuu says.
"Wait, wait, wait," Reimu says while pinching her nose, interrupting the lecture. "You came all the way here in the cold weather, likely having to hike through some unmelted snow? Isn't that incredibly unsafe for you?!"
"I-I was worried! We didn't know where she went!" Akyuu retorts, red in the face. "And it's not like this hasn't happened before, I couldn't sit around and do nothing."
"Seeing ya this out of sorts is pretty rare," says Marisa with a mischievous look. "I wonder why you were so worried that you came here yourself instead of sending a messenger."
"Just what are you implying?"
"Oh, nothing. Unless you were hoping to... rendezvous with Kosuzu later?"
"WH-WHAT?!"
Revenge is a dish best served cold, eh, Akyuu?
Marisa is barely able to contain her inner laughter while Akyuu stammers all over herself after hearing the magician's words. Reimu, Sanae, and the fairies sit dumbfounded, unable to say anything.
"I'm really sorry I made you and everyone else worry," says Kosuzu with obvious guilt. "By the time the blizzard started it was too late to go back."
The record-keeper takes a moment to steady her breathing and calm down.
"I'm... I'm glad you're safe. I wasn't sure what I'd do otherwise."
"That being said," Kosuzu says with budding anger, "what were you thinking coming here alone in this weather?! You know better than anyone how dangerous that is! Just because you can reincarnate doesn't mean you should throw your life away, least of all for me!"
Kosuzu can be fierce if you manage to get her angry, these two will probably be going at it for a while.
While the two book lovers argue, everyone else sneaks away outside after getting dressed.
"I'm heading back to Moriya Shrine, give Clownpiece my regards!" says Sanae.
"Will do, see ya!" says Marisa with a wave.
Meanwhile, Reimu says to the fairies, "If I catch you sneaking into the shrine uninvited again, it's on sight."
"Yes ma'am!" the three fairies say with a salute. They fly back to their tree, already planning their next prank as soon as Reimu is out of earshot.
The last to leave is Aunn, who goes back to her "patrol" as she calls it.
"Do you even know where she goes?" Marisa asks Reimu.
"Honestly? No idea. But she almost always shows up when I need help so I'm not gonna stop her."
The couple sits down on the shrine deck, hearing bits and pieces of Kosuzu and Akyuu's ongoing argument.
"I know my limits!" Akyuu says furiously. "And you only get one life, I get multiple! This isn't a debate!"
"The only undebatable thing here is the value of your life," says Kosuzu in response. "It doesn't matter if you'll be reborn, this you is still you, Akyuu! Your next life won't be the same as you are now. I don't want to lose my best friend."
"Neither do I! But my time is limited anyway, you can't go out and do foolish things like this."
An immortal person constantly gaining knowledge and a loved one she's worried about losing. Oddly common dilemma.
"You always talk about how important your job is but never state the value of your own life!" says Kosuzu, her stifled sobs audible through the door. "It doesn't matter how long you live, what matters is what you do with it! And that goes beyond your records."
What you do with your life...
"Kosuzu..."
"I'm acutely aware of how limited your time is. It's because of that I want to spend it with you and help you experience the best life you can. And..." Kosuzu trails off.
"And what?"
"And I just love being with you! Sometimes you talk down to me, sometimes you act way too cold, and sometimes despite your vast knowledge you act thicker than one of your tomes. But your spark, your passion for what you do is inspiring."
"I could say the same to you, your desire to absorb as much as you can from the books you collect is why I first became interested in talking to you about things beyond business. The sheer optimism and curiosity you exude is captivating."
Silence falls on the arguing bookworms; Marisa and Reimu are on the edge of their seats outside as they eavesdrop.
"U-um, earlier, when Marisa joked about a rendezvous, why did you react the way you did?" asks Kosuzu timidly.
"Oh! Uh, well, you see, I-" Akyuu stutters.
Through the door, the eavesdroppers see the silhouette on the right hug the one on the left, with Kosuzu's hair bells jingling a bit. Their faces turn bright red and they turn away.
"We, uh, should probably leave them alone," whispers Marisa.
"But they're in my house!" Reimu whispers back.
"Akyuu, lets head back," says Kosuzu. "We can talk about this more there and I don't want to keep the village waiting on me."
"O-of course," says Akyuu, opening the door.
The two exit the shrine before Reimu and Marisa get a chance to hide. Both duos stare at each other for a few seconds. Kosuzu and Akyuu's faces instantly become crimson.
"You were listening?!" yells Akyuu.
"Your late fees just tripled, you two! And I'm collecting them now!" demands Kosuzu.
Reimu recoils and says, "You two are the ones doing this in someone else's home! Where else am I supposed to go?"
"I don't think they're gonna listen to reason," Marisa says, grabbing her partner's hand. "Hop on!"
As she says this, Marisa pulls Reimu onto her broom and flies away at breakneck speeds, Kosuzu and Akyuu's yells fading away behind them. Reimu wraps her arms tightly around Marisa's waist.
"That was quite the development!" says Marisa.
Reimu nods. "Yeah. You have money for the late fees, right?"
"What?! What about you?"
"You're the one who wanted to try out those recipe books!"
"Ugh. Our funds are practically shared now anyway, so fine. But you're making dinner tonight! And I think it'd be wise to stick around my place today. Let's give those two some space. Plus we can measure how much stuff I'll need to move later."
"Not a bad plan. Looking forward to seeing how things work out with them," muses Reimu.
"Oh? Wouldn't expect you to be overly concerned with that."
"Let's just say watching them felt familiar."
That I can agree with.
The two rocket away to the Forest of Magic, their heads filled with plans for the days ahead.