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It was a bright and warm day in the garden of the sun. While the fairies and sunflowers thought nothing of it, Alice Margatroid noted how different the weather was from the rest of Gensokyo. Here it appeared to be a fine day in early summer, but in the forest of magic, it was the gray gloom of midwinter.
The only place to find sunflowers at this time of year in Gensokyo were these eternally blooming fields. Alice needed some ingrediants for a spell, and was manipulating her dolls to gather the sunflowers quickly.
Just as the last doll returned with suitable flowers, Alice collected the ingredients and her servants, prepared to say goodbye to this glimpse of summer and return to cold reality. She paused for a moment, and counted the dolls under her control. Surely this couldn't be right. She recounted and sure enough, one of her dolls was missing.
Even an expert magician like her sometimes lost a puppet, she just needed to find it again. She recalled which area of the fields the missing doll was assigned to. As she headed towards that region, eyes peeled and scanning the ground, she stopped in her tracks.
A green-haired youkai holding a parasol appeared to have located her doll first. Alice immediately recognized Yuuka Kazami, the wizened and mighty youkai that dominated the garden of the sun. If Yuuka had found her doll, she probably knew Alice was nearby. The flower youkai probably thought that she was intruding on her territory, and would retaliate violently.
Yuuka would likely not return the doll, and Alice definitely could not take it by force. It pained Alice to leave one of her precious puppets in the hands of such a dangerous youkai, but she could see no way to get it back. Slowly and regrettably, the magician retreated from the doll and the sunflower fields.
Yuuka was taking a stroll through her precious flower fields, enjoying the vibrant greens and yellows of the sunflowers. By her recollection, it was middle of winter outside of her fields, and the thought of humans suffering from the cold gave the old youkai some mirth.
As she was imagining the gloom of the season, she noticed an out of place shape among the fields of flowers. As Yuuka approached it, she recognized it as a doll whose strings had gotten tangled on a particularly large sunflower. She knelt down and untangled the puppet by ripping off its strings. She recalled a few youkai associated with dolls—most of whom were dead by now—and this one seemed to belong to the magician youkai from the forest of magic.
Yuuka scanned the horizon for the dolls owner, and caught a flash of blue vanish over the hill. The flower youkai considered chasing after the owner, but quickly concluded it was too much work. If Alice even noticed a doll had gone missing, she would probably be back for it. If she wasn't, she could probably return it on her next excursion to the human village or the hakurei shrine. Yuuka pocketed the doll and resumed her stroll as the sun began to set.
Alice knew that she shouldn't be doing this. She was breaking into the home of a powerful youkai at night. If she was caught, she would surely perish. But this was the only way. Yuuka was a sound sleeper, and Alice had experience in larceny.
The flower youkai lived in a large manor, something which seemed to clash with her affinity for nature. Alice detected that there was some magic at play to ensure it did not take up much space or disturb the flowers, but unusual dwellings were typical for powerful youkai. The puppeteer had prepared a spell to detect the location of the doll in the mansion, and unfortunately it was in the room she dreaded intruding in the most.
The magician slowly opened the door to Yuuka's bedroom, using silence spells to muffle any noises the door or her footsteps made. She immediately saw the doll on a nightstand next to a slumbering Yuuka in her pajamas. With nerves driving her crazy, Alice stepped slowly towards her doll.
A rustle under the sheets stiffened every muscle in her body. For several seconds elongated by fear, Alice watched the bed for any further movement. The sound of Yuuka's sleeplike breathing was enough to encourage Alice to continue her expedition across the bedroom.
One step...then another...and one more. Now the doll was in reach. The most important part of this trial would be over. If Yuuka was alerted, the magician could flee as fast as she could without worrying about the safety of her doll. Being careful not to disturb the air too much, Alice extended a hand towards her prize.
She felt the grip on her arm first. It was noticeably warmer than the surrounding night air, but it was like a vice. Her eyes finally registered the hand reaching out from the bed and grabbing onto her wrist. Her gaze traced the arm back to its source, a now awake Yuuka piercing her with glowing red eyes. She looked like a demon reaching from beyond the earth to drag innocent souls to endless torment.
Alice screamed. Her legs wouldn't respond from the sheer terror she felt, but her magical flight did. She rocketed out of the room, down the hall, out of the foyer, and through the front door in what felt like milliseconds. Seconds and miles later, she was still screaming, and tears were now streaming down her face. She was almost back to her home in the forest of magic before she realized she somehow had grabbed hold of her doll.
Once inside the relative safety of her hut, she slammed the door and activated all the magical locks and wards that she could on the door, all the windows, and the walls themselves. Yuuka was probably strong enough to rip the house out of the ground if she wanted to, at least these spells might be able to slow her down. Alice watched, hyperventilating, for any sign of her pursuer, but there was none.
Slowly, Alice calmed down enough to stop breathing normally. Maybe Yuuka had let her go for some inscrutable reason. Or maybe she was hiding somewhere in the forest waiting for the magician to let her guard down.
Alice didn't sleep that night.
Yuuka observed the winter dullness around the forest of magic. She had decided to stop feeling the cold decades ago, but she still perceived the natural aspects that marked the season. Bare tree branches and piles of snow were rare sights for her these days. If she had to live in this, she would probably just hibernate for months.
She remembered her reason for coming here. When Alice broke into her house last night, Yuuka decided to give her a little scare. That 'little scare' seemed to absolutely terrify the magician rather than the little start she had intended. It was certainly a cute reaction, but Yuuka wanted to dispel any anxieties that lingered with her fellow youkai with an apology gift.
Yuuka was a stranger to the forest of magic, but with her incredible navigation ability and some directions threatened out of a fairy, she was able to find Alice's hut. She knocked gently on the door, as not to startle the seemingly skittish youkai.
There was a loud crash, the sound of toppling dolls, and then the door was cracked opened by an exhausted looking Alice. It took the sleepy youkai a second to register her visitor, upon which time her eyes nearly doubled in size and she slammed the door shut.
Yuuka sighed. "Did I scare you last night? I'm sorry, you're not in any trouble."
The door creaked open a small crack.
"Look, I brought you some gifts. Come outside, will you?"
Alice opened the door fully. "I suppose I should apologize for breaking into your house." She mumbled.
"All is forgiven, it's always nice to have visitors. Here, I got you some flowers and some sake." Yuuka presented the booze and bouquet.
"Ah. Thank you, Ms. Kazami." Alice graciously accepted.
"Have some! It will warm up your soul on this cold winter's day."
Alice, still too nervous to refuse the flower youkai, retreated inside and returned with a pair of sake cups. Yuuka had already claimed a lawn chair by a table usually reserved for summer recreation, so Alice served the sake there.
Yuuka watched intently as Alice poured herself a cup, but she did not touch her serving at all. Alice might have thought suspicious if the anxiety from being near Yuuka wasn't drowning it out. The flower youkai let out a small smile as the fluid passed through the puppeteer's lips.
Although she felt sorry for scaring Alice so badly, Yuuka did not feel sorry enough to not perform another prank with her apology gift. In many aspects, it was a good present that many people desired. It was just that Yuuka had taken off the label that identified the beverage as Oni sake, and Alice was nowhere near prepared for the strength of her drink.
The magician felt the effects immediately. What was supposed to be a courtesy toast had imbibed her with the equivalent of a full night of drinking. Her vision was blurring unless she put effort into focusing, an action that was quickly becoming harder and harder to do as the ethanol reached her brain.
"What the hell is this?" Alice asked.
"It's my apology gift sake" responded Yuuka in an overly sweet tone. "I always make sure to get the best possible quality for my good friend Alice."
"It's strong...way too strong for this early in the day." groaned Alice.
"What else are you doing during winter? It's the season to medicate depression with alcohol."
"I have research to do and spells to perform. I can't do magic like this!" said Alice, beginning to slur her speech.
"Come now, it's important for magicians to have a day off as well. You're stressing yourself out too much. Relax a bit with your good friend Yuuka, consider this part of my apology gift." Yuuka picked up her own sake glass, but took a much smaller sip from it.
Through the haze that had descended upon her mind, Alice tried to weigh the benefits of forced relaxation with the work she could potentially get done. The scales quickly swung in favor of rest as the alcohol found the sleep deprivation and began to mingle with it.
"Ugh...I'm exhausted" Alice groaned as she slumped into her chair.
"Aw, did you start drinking on no sleep?" asked Yuuka.
"I thought I was drinking less, thanks to someone." Alice grumbled.
"You mean me? I'm flattered. You can take a nice long nap, you're safe with me."
".......I don't believe you."
"I'm hurt! Do you really think that I would ever want to hurt you, you cute little thing?" Yuuka reached over and ruffled Alice's hair. Alice was to tired to protest further.
"Can you please go back to your sunflowers so I can take a nap?"
"I'll tell you what, if you promise to go to the Kanamara Matsuri with me I'll take you inside and leave you to your nap."
"Mmmhmmm" Alice muttered, already advancing towards the boundary of consciousness.
"Fantastic, I'll pick you up then. Oh, and be sure to properly label that sake when you wake up."
Alice had been anxious all day. It was Kanamara Matsuri, and she could still remember the promise her inebriated half-asleep self had made to Yuuka Kazami. She didn't know why she was prepared to go or why she had put on her best dress for the occasion. What she did know was that Yuuka could snap her neck in an instant if she did anything to upset her.
The knock at the door shattered her thoughts and paralyzed her with fear. She stood mid-flinch for several seconds before finally gathering her nerves and answering the door. Standing there was Yuuka, wearing a very nice dress and holding a bouquet of summer flowers.
"Hello, these are for you" Yuuka said, offering the bouquet.
"Oh, thank you Ms. Kazami-"
"Please, call me Yuuka. We're on a first name basis now."
"Really? O-okay then, Yuuka."
"See? That's a lot less formal, isn't it? Come on, let's go have fun and look at the giant metal phallus."
The goddesses of the Moriya shrine had claimed Kanamara Matsuri as their own festival in Gensokyo. Suwako used her talents as an earth goddess to create the centerpiece statue which interested many residents of Gensokyo. The goddesses had also decided to move the festival two months early, during a slower time for the shrine, and to add elements of other romantic holidays. Sanae had tried to introduce a chocolate gift exchange, but it didn't catch on as well as the rest of the festival.
On the ropeway up youkai mountain, it was only Alice and Yuuka in the carriage. The puppeteer was trying not to make eye contact with her companion. Yuuka noticed the shyness of the other youkai, and put an arm around her.
"Brighten up, Alice. This'll be fun! When's the last time you went to a festival anyways? You're always cooped up in that hut of yours."
"I went to the new year's festival at the Hakurei shrine. When was the last time you went to a festival?"
Yuuka went silent, then slowly removed her arm from Alice's shoulders.
"A few years ago I think, I don't quite remember what it was."
"Why go to this one then?"
"Well, word gets around about a celebration of a giant metal penis. I knew I had to see it for myself at some point."
Alice did not respond, and instead shuffled away from her seating partner. For a while, the only sounds were the mechanical noises of the ropeway.
Yuuka, accepting it as her role on this outing, broke the silence again.
"What is there to do at this festival, even?"
"There's the statue, and there are merchant stands. A lot of the goods tend to be...themed."
"I'd be disappointed if they weren't."
"It's not what you think. Most of the stalls just sell trinkets in a suggestive shape, nothing too noteworthy"
Yuuka sighed. "You don't understand the value of an amusing trinket. When you get to my age, you have rooms full of them and they still make you chuckle."
"Is that why you chose this festival? Amusing trinkets?"
"No, there are other reasons too. You'll see~" Yuuka said with a sinister smile.
Alice tried to maintain a neutral face, but her brain was filled with unpleasant possibilities that Yuuka could have planned for this outing.
"Ah, we're here." Yuuka observed, as the carriage bumped into place at the top of the mountain. She grabbed Alice's hand and dragged her onto the festival grounds.
The Kanamara Matsuri was bustling. Throughout the morning, the ropeway had brought people up to the mountain a dozen or so at a time. Now, all of them were either running stands, purchasing things, or simply enjoying the festival.
Alice found it was too much noise for her. She had gone to festivals before, but they were at the Hakurei shrine and were much less busy. Internally, the puppeteer thanked Reimu for not having good marketing skills.
Yuuka paid no attention to her companion's discomfort and headed towards the large centerpiece with Alice in tow. The metal penis was everything she had hoped for. It was big, made out of metal, and in the unmistakable shape of a penis.
"Looks good, right?" said Suwako Moriya, walking up to the two youkai. "I wanted it to be very big this year, so I had that Oomukade from the base of the mountain bring me a bunch of iron."
"Yes, yes. It looks very good. Very...sensuous." Yuuka responded.
The goddess chuckled. "Well, I've seen quite a few in my day, so I know what I'm going for. What do you think Alice."
Alice's attention snapped towards the current conversation, and away from all the other noises surrounding the shrine. "Oh, it looks very well made. You must've worked hard on it."
"Thanks, I've been working on it since Christmas! Enjoy the festival. We're working to make it a staple at the shrine."
Suwako went off to discuss her creation with other tourists.
"Not a big fan of the male form, I take it?" Yuuka inquired.
"No, not really. The statue is really well made but it's not appealing in that sense."
"I get it, it's not really for everyone. What are you into then, breasts or thighs?"
"Thighs...wait what?"
Yuuka laughed. "I can tell you don't really have anyone to girl talk. Don't worry, this is the perfect place and the perfect person to chat about that."
"Still...I don't know you that well."
"We've looked at the steel phallus together, we share a unique bond that you'll never have with another person. You can talk about how you like your women thick."
Alice did not respond. When she had been human, she had been taught that ladies don't discuss those sorts of things. That repression had continued when she became a magician. Maybe youkai were more open about that sort of thing.
"Is that candy shaped like a penis? We have to get some." Yuuka interrupted Alice's introspection and started dragging her towards a food vendor selling genital-shaped confections.
Alice was sitting on the edge of lake Yasaka, her feet dipping in the water. While they were perusing the stands, the crowd had gotten so thick that she'd lost sight of Yuuka. Instead of trying to find her again—something she already wasn't keen on—she made her way over to the lake, away from the crowd and the noise.
"Ah, there you are." said the now familiar voice of the flower youkai. "I thought I might find you here." Yuuka took a seat next to Alice.
"Why?"
"I saw you struggling with that crowd earlier. I've ushered quite a few introverts in my day, so I've learned how to find all the quiet spots. Here, I got you one of these from the stands. That wind priestess was selling them." She handed Alice a small, handmade stuffed frog.
"No, why are you doing all of this? You normally sit in your house and I sit in mine. Our paths cross accidentally once and now we're going to this fertility festival together. This isn't normal for either of us. I mean, almost everyone else here is a couple."
"A chance encounter is all it takes to form a connection." Yuuka said in a serious tone.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means I've thought about you differently ever since I found that doll in the field. I figured after this festival we would have had such a good time together that I could ask you to go somewhere again and you'd say yes. Then we'd keep doing things together."
"So you just wanted a friend?"
Yuuka looked off into the distance. "Yeah. You seemed like you might need one."
"Well, thanks for taking me." Alice finally accepted the stuffed frog. "Feel free to come by again, I guess. I could make some tea for you I suppose."
"Yeah...thanks Alice."
The two youkai continued watching the sun set over lake Yasaka. Yuuka didn't break the silence this time, and the smile that usually adorned her face was gone. Alice didn't really know how to break the silence, so after the sun disappeared under the water's surface, she got up and left without a word, leaving Yuuka alone on the mountain.
Yuuka knew that she was strong. There were few people in Gensokyo that could rival her true power. Although Alice was a clever and capable magician, she had nowhere near enough strength. Why then, did Yuuka feel so defeated?
The youkai was no stranger to romance. She had many girlfriends and boyfriends in her time, although she was always the one that was courted. This was her first experience as the suitor, but she felt like she had already failed.
It was that word Alice used. 'Friend.' Friendship could open the door for a romantic relationship, except when she said it, it sounded like that door was being shut and locked. Alice would think of Yuuka as a friend. A friend she could talk about youkai things and womanly things with. She would ask for advice about girls, but never the girl listening to her. She could barely tolerate the thought.
Something had to change. If she didn't say anything, Yuuka could bide her time, dwelling in Alice's circle of friends until an opportunity presented itself to advance into romance. That was the way of weak women who couldn't take rejection. Yuuka faced rejections in her time; each time it hurt deeply. But she was always able to get back up. That's what made her strong. If she couldn't risk rejection again, then she would lose that strength.
It would have to happen tonight. Yuuka couldn't think of sleeping without settling this first. The night was still young. An introvert like Alice would probably still be awake, recuperating from the day's social interaction with a book. If she was asleep, then she would have to wake her. By tomorrow, she would either have a new girlfriend or be dealing with her first romantic rejection.
Alice was reading one of her many magic tomes by the light of a flickering candle. She was tired, but not quite ready to go to bed just yet. She wanted some alone time before she had to start the next day. That alone time was interrupted by a knock at her door. Alice considered feigning slumber and not answering it, yet if someone was knocking at this time of night, it must be important."
"What is it—oh, Yuuka." Alice greeted her unexpected guest. "I see you brought more flowers..."
"Alice, I feel that there may have been a misinterpretation of what I said at the lake. What I meant to say was that...well, there was a reason I invited you to a fertility festival. I've fallen in love with you. I want to go on more dates with you."
Alice silently stood still, shocked by the sudden late-night confession.
"I know this might be a bit sudden, but ever since I found your doll in the sunflower field I've been thinking about you differently."
"...I think I need some time." Alice finally replied.
"I can wait. I just don't want you to feel any pressure."
Alice had never thought about Yuuka as a romantic partner. She had always perceived her as part of a separate world than her. She was an old, powerful, and established youkai, while Alice was a young recently-turned magician. She wasn't strong and she wasn't even that youkai-like. Hell, she was still getting used to liking girls openly. But now that the possibility of a relationship was within her grasp right now, her imagination started to run wild.
She thought of how nice it would feel to be held in Yuuka's strong arms, pillowed by her toned muscles. She thought about how soft her green hair would feel, how sweet her lips would taste, how captivating her maroon eyes were. She thought about how the more experienced youkai could guide her through the aspects of romance that were unknown to her.
All these thoughts and fantasies created a warm feeling inside of Alice's chest. She had felt it before at the festival, whenever Yuuka encouraged her to open up about topics, or tried to comfort her when she was anxious. She hadn't noticed it before because her nervousness had been drowning it all out.
"I love you too, Yuuka." Alice said. "I am very grateful- I mean, I hope we can-"
Yuuka embraced her new girlfriend. It felt just as good as Alice imagined. The firmness of her muscles and the softness of her face and breasts were both soothing and sensual. Alice felt her face turn flush as the warmness in her chest grew.
"You're so cute when you blush like that." Yuuka commented, ruffling Alice's hair.
The pair broke their hug. Alice was still flushed, which put a tender smile on Yuuka's face.
"Thanks for the flowers...and thanks for telling me how you really feel." Alice said.
"I can give you flowers every day, my love. I can cover your house in flowers if you would like."
"I think that might be a bit much, but thank you."
"Well, it's getting late, and you seem very tired, so I'll be going..." Yuuka said, turning to leave.
"Wait, don't go!" Alice exclaimed.
Yuuka stopped.
"I...well, I don't want to go to sleep. I want to stay awake and be with you some more."
"You're right. It is a bit rude to confess my love and expect you to go back to bed."
The two stayed together at Alice's hut all night. Even though the youkai didn't need sleep, the sun caught them dozing off together.