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Wakasagihime’s life was, if nothing else, stable. Her schedule was figured out from morning to night for each day of the week, just as she liked it; that prevented any surprises, you know? Wouldn’t want any surprises with how faint of heart she was, after all. As a result, when a surprise did come along she was often paralyzed, uncertain of how to proceed, a state which would last for several minutes until either someone else came along to help her or the problem solved itself. Curse it all, Waka hated these problem days.
Today was, unfortunately, one such day so far. She was just planning on spending today pondering life while she waited for her girlfriend Kagerou to show up for another rousing day of nothing in particular, but alas, a third party had to enter the fray, and it sure as Hell wasn’t Sekibanki. A girl she didn’t recognize was standing idly, arms outstretched in front of her and not even looking in her direction. It was some humanoid individual with blue hair, though with her eerily pale complexion and the way her arms and legs seemed completely rigid, she didn’t seem quite right. She looked… well, she looked quite positively dead, there was no dancing around it.
Oh shoot, what do I do?, pondered Waka, who hid partway behind a rock to avoid being spotted by the undead stranger. Do I say hi? What if she attacks me? You know how other girls can be, just randomly chucking danmaku at you until you faint. But what if she is friendly? People say I need to be more open, and maybe they’re right, maybe I do, but what if they’re wrong? I-I have plenty of friends, I have Sekibanki, I have those goofy fairies who hang out here, I have that umbrella girl Banki likes, Kagerou’s… certainly more than a friend. Maybe that’s enough… but what if it isn’t? Oh, what are you gonna do now?
Poor Waka was stuck in her spiral of thoughts for a good few minutes. She remained completely silent while her face gave away the varying conflicting emotions battling to express themselves. It was going to take a special kind of someone to break her out of her self-inflicted trance. Someone like…
“Waka? Are you okay?”
Oh thank goodness, there she was. A familiar brown-haired werewolf was already on her way over as if she’d somehow sensed her distress. Kagerou Imaizumi was a calming presence whenever she was around, always cool and collected enough to know what to do in a situation but also outgoing enough to make sure it got done. There was no way the mermaid could quantify how grateful she was to see her here.
“Oh Kagerou, thank goodness, I don’t know what I’d do without you here.”
Wakasagihime gestured toward the undead girl, hoping that would stand as a good starting explanation. Kagerou just tilted her head, thus requiring her to use actual words to explain her issue. And by golly did she try her best to use her words, even if they all came out sort of jumbled and confused. She managed to convey that there was some pale white person-like thing standing creepily, and thankfully that was all Kagerou needed to connect the dots.
“So a stranger’s making you nervous, is she?” Kagerou immediately glanced over in the strange, pale individual’s direction, scratching her chin in thought. “She doesn’t look violent or threatening. Can never be sure though. I’ll tell you what, I’ll approach her myself. If it’s clear that she’s not dangerous, I’ll beckon you over to talk.”
“T-to talk? So soon?”
“Only if you want. But please trust me on this.” Kagerou stretched and turned to face the stranger with a faint smile on her face. “I have claws, she can’t even seem to move her arms that well. If anything happens, I think we both know who wins.”
Waka sighed but ultimately gave her partner a nod. As anxious as she could be, she knew to just trust Kagerou when she had to. What choice did she have? Kagerou was always the more social of the two, she understood people and how to interact with them better than she ever did. It was honestly admirable how effortless she seemed to make it, pretty much to the point of making her jealous. And now she was about to watch another display of mastery in the field of socialization.
“Watch and learn, funny fish.”
Letting her smile grow just a bit, Kagerou casually, yet carefully approached the figure, her dress dragging along slightly as she did so. When she got close enough, the stranger’s head seemed to perk up, before turning toward the werewolf. It was a very, very awkward turn, stiff and rigid much like the rest of them. Waka got a closer look at her face, which seemed oddly vacant but not altogether unfriendly.
“Hello, stranger. I’ve never seen you around here.” Kagerou looked down at her nails, then up at the stranger. “What brings you to this pristine, misty lake?”
The girl stared at Kagerou for a moment, before seeming to look at… something. More than likely the brim of her hat; huh, what was that about? Did she see something? Was she expecting to see something? Waka couldn’t tell from where she was, only take a lucky guess or two. Eventually, she looked back at Kagerou, seeming more alert.
“Oh, hi there. Sorry, I zoned out.” The girl’s expression finally changed to a smile. Waka breathed a sigh of relief knowing that there was something behind those eyes of hers. “Are you from here?”
“I’m here visiting someone.” Kagerou continued to look as composed as ever. “I’m actually from the bamboo forest south of here. My name is Kagerou, do you mind if I ask for yours?”
“Not at all, uh…” The girl tilted her head very, very slightly, almost like it took her actual effort to do so. “Right, right. I’m Yoshika. I’m here waiting for someone.” Yoshika looked down at her arms, which remained stretched out. She then lowered them partway, even as the elbows remained completely rigid. “Uh, sorry if my arms take up too much space. I do calis, uh… calisthenics, that’s it, I do calisthenics to be more flexible, but it can only do so much.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Kagerou noticeably didn’t ask why Yoshika needed to do calisthenics in the first place. Maybe she’d simply come to the same conclusion that Wakasagihime had: She had rigor mortis, a common result of being, well, dead, or in her case undead. Neither of them knew for a fact that she was undead, but… well, it was a likely assumption, right?
“So, uh, who are you visiting?”
“My girlfriend.”
It was then that Kagerou turned back over to Waka, apparently looking to gauge her emotions. The mermaid wasn’t about to lie and say she wasn’t feeling a bit calmer now, especially given how the conversation played out. Though she still had her reservations… well, she had those with everyone, it wasn’t this stranger’s fault she was so shy. With bated breath, she swam over to a different section of the shoreline, closer to the duo. She then positioned herself onto a rock to sit so she wouldn’t have to hurt her neck from looking up.
“Speak of the devil. Or rather, the fish.” Kagerou gestured to Waka as she maintained her demeanor. “Yoshika, this is Wakasagihime, the girlfriend in question.”
“Huh? Your girlfriend’s a…” Yoshika’s eyes seemed to light up upon seeing Waka for the first time. “Oh, wow, a mermaid. I never thought I’d see one in person, she’s as… uh… sorry, do either of you mind compliments?”
“I don’t mind them. Waka?” Kagerou asked her girlfriend. The mermaid responded with a shake of her head. “She doesn’t mind.”
“Okay.” Yoshika pivoted to face Waka more properly, smiling. “She’s just as I imagined a mermaid would look like, in the best way imaginable. Some people would say that mermaids were monstrosities of the deep, but I knew better, I knew the beauty that was hiding beneath the water. To be romantically involved with someone as illusive as this… you must be quite lucky, miss Kagerou.”
Wakasagihime let out a quiet gasp, hand firmly placed to mouth. She truthfully didn’t know whether to take the compliment with grace or be completely taken aback by the sudden pivot in tone. Yoshika had mostly been using fairly simple language, but the way she spoke now felt… hmm, what was the word? Majestic? Flowery? It was as if a different person was saying it, that much she could say for sure. The fact that she didn’t respond for a while seemed to take Yoshika by surprise.
“...huh? Did I say something wrong?”
“N-no, no, not at all, uh, thank you.” Waka hurriedly shook her head to attempt to reassure the zombie-like fellow. “I’m just a little off-guard, is all, your vocabulary, it…”
“My vocabulary?” Yoshika paused, tilting her head slightly before something seemed to click. “Ohhhh. My words, right? Sorry about that, sometimes I’ll get in a headspace where my words just… flow really well. And other times it’s not the easiest in the world.”
“I-it’s fine, really…”
Wakasagihime tried to think of something else to talk about. Gods, this was always the most difficult thing about socialization, wasn’t it? Just trying to think of things to talk about when her interests were so severely limited. Does Yoshika even care about shiny rocks? Or singing? There was no way for Waka to know for sure, so she tried to think back to those placeholder topics that Kagerou taught her. What was that one that seemed to work exceptionally well? Something like… oh, oh yeah, that one.
“So, uh… what do you personally like to do? As in, uh… how do you spend your time?”
“Oh, me? Well, uh… not much actually. Mostly just… poetry.” Yoshika shifted about and even hopped backward once, even as her limbs remained in the same pose. “Writing it is a challenge for me now with my limbs and all, so I mostly just come up with it off the top of my head now. Sometimes my girlfriend’s there to write it down for me.”
“Oh wow, poetry? That’s neat.” Kagerou sighed quietly, subtly breaking eye contact as she did so. “I never was very good at it. Hard to be much of an artist when you spend most of your life in the woods, doing… things. Non-poetic things, like eating rabbits. Not the youkai kind, just normal rabbits.”
“Hey, it’s okay.” Yoshika raised an arm up and quite stiffly patted Kagerou on the head. “Actually, uh, that’s a good way to pass the time before my girlfriend gets here. Did you want to try learning how to do poetry?”
Oh, poetry. That sounded fun, Wakasagihime thought, not too far from singing all things considered. She was familiar with coming up with lyrics on the fly, she figured she could do the same with the words spoken instead of sung. And hey, maybe she could even help Kagerou out in coming up with something. That was something to look forward to, certainly.
“I’d be up to the task,” she finally said. “It could be fun.”
“I’m glad you agree, miss… uh… Waggysaggy.”
Sure. She could handle being called Waggysaggy for today. She looked over at Kagerou, hoping to hear her thoughts.
“...well, if you’re willing to give me a chance, I guess I’ll join in.” Kagerou was able to muster up a smile once more. “Maybe there’s something I’m missing, and if there is, then surely you know what that might be.”
“Great!” Yoshika grinned. It was honestly refreshing to see her so excited for something, Waka thought to herself. And to see someone who was, up to this point, rather sedate show so much emotion made her feel a little inspired. “Poetry is… very simple. If it sounds good, and it has at least a little meaning behind it and some cohesion, then it probably is good. And I think I know the right kind of poem to teach you to start, Kagerou.”
“Oh really? Tell me all about it.” Kagerou held her hands together, clearly anticipating what was to come. Wakasagihime could swear she saw a hint of a waging motion to her tail as well; usually a sign of sheepishness. It was damn cute.
“It’s simple. It’s called tanka. This kind is all about counting the syllables.”
Yoshika seemed to attempt a gesture, though visibly struggled. Evidently giving up, she instead switched to raising her fingers to represent the syllables.
“Five, seven, five, seven, seven. It’s a type of poetry I’ve only tried to do more recently, but I think it’s a nice form, and the limited syllables let you stretch your other creative muscles more. Like your vocabulary, since you’re not confined to rhyming.”
Oh, that sounded pretty simple. Thirty-one syllables altogether if Waka was counting, just needed to be cohesive and it would be good. Shouldn’t be too hard to help Kagerou figure that out, right?
“Let’s try collaborating on one.” Yoshika kept her smile up, visibly eager to start. “I’ll start with the first line, then you two can follow it up with the next two. We can figure out what to do with the last two when we’re done, okay?”
That made sense. By setting the first sentence, the poetry master was effectively establishing a prompt for the others to follow, like a teacher assigning a test for her students. Hopefully, it was vague enough that the duo had some freedom in deciding where the story could go. The girlfriends nodded, ready for the task at hand.
“Okay, here we go. Ahem…” Yoshika feigned a cough to start. The mermaid figured this was a display of showmanship on her part. “A, uh… mm… oh, I know, I know. ‘A fish swims upstream.’ That’s a good first line, right?”
Ooh, a fish poem. Waka and Kagerou both liked fish, they knew they could do something nice with this. Waka was already thinking of a bunch of directions this could go. Maybe the fish would go to see its family, or to start one? Or maybe it was just swimming to prove that it could? Both were interesting reasons for why it could be swimming upstream instead of down. She soon came up with a nice second line to follow up the first.
“‘Knowing its future is bright.’ How does that sound?”
“Oh, I like that,” Kagerou responded. “Lot of ways that can go.”
“Yep, it’s really nice. It’s making me happy for that fish, you know? Way to go, little guy!” Yoshika then hopped to pivot back over to Kagerou. “You can do the next line, right?”
“I should be able to just fine. Just give me one minute and I will figure it out.”
And thus the others watched as Kagerou went into thinking mode. Whenever she got deep into her head like this, she always seemed to have such a cool expression, like nothing in the world could bother her. Just what in Gensokyo could her mind be conjuring up?
“How about… and then the… no, that’s six… no, that… oh, got it!” Kagerou clapped her hands together and grinned. “‘Then a wolf eats it!’”
The given answer was followed by several seconds of silence. No, Waka couldn’t say she expected that to be where this poem was going, especially only halfway through it. The protagonist of the tale, the fish, just… dies partway through. And such a sad ending too, eaten by a big scary wolf. Waka would mourn for the little guy if they were real. Maybe she was already mourning the little guy now.
“That’s… a little abrupt,” Waka said with a faint stutter in her voice. “Yoshika, uh… is there anywhere this story can go from here?”
“Huh? Of course there is!”
“R-really? The main fish just kind of died, is there…”
“Think of it like this, Waggysaggy.” Yoshika shifted about as she stood, looking up and clearly in thought. “Sure, there’s one fish and one wolf in the story so far, but who’s to say that’s all that exists in the world of the poem? There’s a whole world around them maybe, like the stream the fish is going up, or maybe… or maybe there’s other fish!”
Huh. That made a fair bit of sense actually. One fish goes, but there are tons of fish in the sea. How does this one fish’s passing affect the lives of the fish around them? Maybe there was more to say after all, and maybe this didn’t have to be such a tragedy.
“O-okay… sorry, I just felt really bad for the fishie…” Waka frowned. She wasn’t about to lie to herself, that fish was the main reason she felt so bummed about the poem.
“...oh no.” Kagerou strolled over to Waka and kneeled by her, concern showing on her face. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I just said the first thing that came to mind. Jeez, to do that to the fish so abruptly, that was insensitive of me, it’s my fault, I’m…”
“I-it’s fine, Kagerou, I swear.” Waka nabbed Kagerou’s hand in an attempt to reassure her. “We can find a way to salvage this. It’s like Yoshika said, the fish getting eaten doesn’t have to be the end.”
Kagerou sighed, taking a second to recompose and reassure herself. Eventually, she nodded.
“Alright. We’ll figure something out… mmm, kneeling with a dress on was a bad idea…”
Kagerou groaned as she released Waka’s hand and rose back to her feet. She brushed her dress off, clearly a bit miffed that they’d gotten grass stains on it, but tried her best to recompose. She looked around at the others after getting up.
“Okay, so what if… what if the wolf…” She paused, as if second-guessing herself, but eventually pushed through. “What if the wolf… was eaten by a fish?”
“Kagerou, are you hungry?”
“...maybe a little.” Kagerou gripped her stomach. “Let’s grab something to eat when we split off, okay?”
“Alright, alright. For now, uh… Yoshika, how’s that sound?”
“Mmm. You know what?” Yoshika managed a nod. “I think this can work as a comedy. Let’s work on the wording for this, because I think we have a real gem right here… heck, I even already have two lines decided! I’ll let you two figure them out though, you’re the ones learning here.”
“Thank you, Yoshika…” Waka returned to thinking. Seven syllables, seven syllables, what could fit within those seven syllables? “Let me see… sadly for the… unfortunately… wait, that’s five syllables, how do you structure a satisfying line around that? No, that needs to be… oh, I know! ‘Though as the wolf will soon find…’”
Waka looked up at Kagerou, gesturing for her to finish with the last line. This prompted the werewolf to get to thinking once more, a process that would last another few minutes. Both people surrounding her could practically envision the gears turning in her head as she worked on a line.
“The big fish… that’s silly… uh… oh, isn’t there a common saying involving fish that I can use? Two fish with one stone? A fish in the mouth is worth two in the bush?” She then glanced back at Waka, who was giving a faintly uneasy stare, and quickly course-corrected. “No, no… oh, I’ll remember soon, just give me a minute.”
And so they did. Seconds passed, each feeling slightly longer than the last as they listened to Kagerou go through several phrases with the word ‘fish’ in them.
“Fish… big fish… it’s definitely a big fish, it’s a saying involving a big fish. Big… juicy… n-no. No, don’t get distracted, you can do this.”
“You can do this dear, I believe in you.”
“You’ll get there. I always get there, so I know you can too.”
These comments seemed to rejuvenate Kagerou’s efforts, and she began to run through various phrases and sayings at a rapid pace. Teach a man to fish, no, that’s irrelevant to the story. Like trying to drown a fish? That’s not a thing people say as far as she knows. Think, think, it’s about a big fish. What phrases involve big fish? If not big, then try bigger… wait, bigger… oh! That’s it!
“I got it!” She declared. “I got it! ‘There’s always a bigger fish!’ That’s the line!”
Five, seven, five, seven, seven. That was it, that was the exact correct pattern. Regardless of the content, they doubtlessly met the criteria for a tanka. Yoshika was already grinning at it.
“A fish swims upstream, knowing its future is bright. Then a wolf eats it. Though as the wolf will soon find, there’s always a bigger fish.” Yoshika awkwardly hopped to change the direction she was facing, getting a better look at the couple. “If I could clap, I would. I’m sure you two can be great at the craft if you decide to keep at it.”
“Aww, thanks Yoshika.” Waka smiled as she responded. “You’re a good teacher, I hope you know that.”
“Agreed,” added Kagerou. “Who would have thought it’d be so simple to just get out there and make something? I’m certainly not one of the greats, but I get the basics now, things are finally starting to make sense for me. That girlfriend of yours must be truly fortunate.”
“Gee, now you got me wishing I could blush.” Yoshika laughed a little. “Hopefully she’s here soon, it did take us a few minutes to make that poem.”
“What is she like, by the way?” Wakasagihime found herself asking. “Is she a human or a youkai?”
“She’s, uh… uhhhh…” Yoshika soon got back to thinking. “It’s, uh, well, she’s youkai-ish. What does she call herself again? It’s… oh, I feel like I should know what the term is, but I forgot… it’s, uh… it’s a…”
“A hermit… you’re thinking of a hermit, dear.”
The celebrations were cut by the introduction of a fourth, unforeseen voice. The youkai soon sound themselves looking around anxiously, trying to figure out the source of this voice. They would not have to search for long however, as soon a woman leaning on the tall side of things walked forth, eating some kind of sweet bun and holding a basket in her arm, which oddly seemed to be covered in bandages. Pink hair, white shirt, green skirt, she had an odd vibe that neither youkai could quite place. Youkai-ish was a good word for it, though beyond that it was hard to figure out anything else.
“Oh! Kasen! Good to see you!”
“Sorry I got held up, that damn Suika got ahold of me, I had to keep track of her and prevent her from doing anything stupid for a while…”
Kasen took a break from eating to slip between Yoshika’s arms and hug the undead girl. The latter seemed notably at ease, as even though her limbs remained stiff her overall energy seemed more relaxed. The pink-haired girl soon looked over at the youkai, tilting her head. Her face seemed to change to one of apprehension.
“Youkai? What are you hanging out with them for?”
“They were just kind of here while I was waiting for you,” Yoshika admitted. “Don’t worry, they’re safe, they don’t eat people. At least I don’t think they do.”
Kasen raised an eyebrow at the youkai, who were swift to try and back up what Yoshika claimed about them.
“I-I can’t bring myself to hurt people like that,” Waka admitted. “I couldn’t even hurt a fly, I’m mostly vegetarian except for what Kagerou gets me.”
“Usually the threat of eating humans is enough to scare them for my needs,” Kagerou said, “but no, I just hunt for game in the forest. Wild rabbits, things of that sort. Oh, and the occasional plant, Wakasagihime here is the one who got me into a more balanced diet.”
“Hmm…” Kasen still seemed visibly apprehensive but relented and nodded to the youkai couple. “Apologies for the apprehension, you know how some youkai can be. You lot are definitely on the weaker end, definite non-threats… what were you all doing together if you don’t mind me asking?”
“The werewolf walked by to say hi, then she invited the mermaid over. They’re girlfriends. Then I decided to teach them about poetry to pass the time until you got here.”
“I see.” Kasen patted Yoshika on the back, continuing to hold her close as she did so, but kept looking at the youkai. “Well, thank you for keeping her company. She tends to zone out without mental stimulation, it’s… well, being undead doesn’t have many perks. She’s been like this for a while, I remember when…”
Kasen paused and closed her eyes. There were a few breaths while the others waited for her to speak again. Whatever she was thinking about at that moment would remain a mystery, however, as her next words would go on to change the topic.
“...again, thank you. Is there anything I can do to offer my thanks?”
Waka tried to think of something, but couldn’t think of anything. As she went to say so, she noticed that Kagerou was eyeing something. Something small, something… sweet. Right, it was the sweet bun in Kasen’s left hand. Her eyes seemed to have a sparkle to them, and her tail was wagging faster than she could measure. Of course, she’d complained about being hungry earlier, and now with food right in her face, it was no wonder she was so trained on it. Waka finally decided to answer with a question.
“Kasen? How much food do you have in that basket?”
“Huh? Let me see…”
Kasen broke from the hug and slid out from Yoshika’s arms, giving herself enough room to browse the contents of the basket she was holding. She started sorting through the food she had while the others watched, taking a surprisingly long time to do so. Even she seemed perplexed by how deeply she had to look through.
“I can’t say I got ripped off, but why did that clerk give me so much? It’s… probably not malicious, so do you two want any?”
“Please.” Kagerou nodded at an energy level not far from that of her previous eureka moment. “Please, please, and thank you.”
“Aha…” Waka then looked up at Kasen and nodded. “If you have the extra food, I think I’d like to share it as well, please, and thank you.”
“Alright. I can do that.”
Kasen first started by letting Yoshika pick out whatever food item she wanted. Yoshika chose another one of the buns, which Kasen gladly gave over. The pink-haired girl then shuffled over to the youkai and held the basket open for them. Kagerou ended up taking the largest item, while Waka settled on a more modest portion. Once received, the pair offered their thanks as Kasen returned to Yoshika’s side.
“If anyone wants seconds, feel free to ask. For now, I’m happy to just get to eating. No need to toast, let’s just be thankful for the day. Enjoy.”
And it was with those simple words that everyone could finally begin to enjoy eating. The youkais’ mouths were watering; this was some of the best bread they’d ever had; it was fluffy and flavorful, comforting, and still possessing that fresh-baked smell. Kagerou was visibly holding herself back from just scarfing the thing down, though try as she might she couldn’t quite stop herself from indulging a little. And as for Waka?
Well, Waka found herself reflecting on the day as she ate. It all started by seeing someone she assumed would be spooky, scary even, someone who could easily beat her in a fight if she were attacked unprompted. Fortunately, as Kagerou helped her figure out, that wasn’t the case at all. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try to be more open with people after all… though, so long as people like that shrine maiden were around to shoot danmaku at her just because she was slightly in the way, she guessed having some reservations might still help in the long run.
Still, Waka could afford to take those baby steps, right? Even if things wouldn’t always work out, they sure worked out this time. And heck, even after those danmaku attacks she was perfectly fine and well. Hell, she met her girlfriend after she confused her for a fish, and… well, the rest of the story was a bit silly so she didn’t feel like relaying it to herself right now. Yeah, things tended to work out even when some things went wrong. There was no doubt about that after all. Smiling to herself, she continued to eat as she planned what she could do with this newfound confidence. She had plenty of time, but she couldn’t help but look forward to whatever she chose to do.