Before I start, I would like to say the Touhou world and its entirety belongs to ZUN, not me. I only own the story I'm about to tell you.

Rumia : A New Winter

December 15

"Oww… Stupid tree", I cursed loudly as I back away from the empty tree. I rubbed my head and looked up at the lone plant. The leaves all seemed to have abandoned the tree at the dawn of winter, except for one tiny leaf.

The freezing season, great… All the humans would be inside their house with a warm fire to keep them from freezing, while I'm stuck out here with snow and that ice fairy.

No one understands me. The humans all have kind friends and neighbors to keep them company. It's unfair to be left out.

But I can't let thoughts drag me down. I need to find shelter fast before it begins to precipitate with frozen water droplets, maybe a nice, dark cave where I could settle down.

I began to fly away when I spotted something in the distance. I glanced at the thing from behind the tree. Great… The witch was striding towards the tree with what looked like a bag. I held my breath and covered my mouth to try to conceal myself from the witch.

Luckily, she stopped before she reached the tree and was off to the side picking mushrooms off the ground. She paid no attention to the lone tree which I was hiding behind and was more interested in the other trees that were grouped together. But I had to get out of there before she decided to go looking for other mushrooms and wandered upon me.

I glanced back at the busy witch. Good, she wasn't facing me. I began to fly off when I noticed someone in front of me. She looked colorful in so many ways and had dolls circling her. Her blue eyes were focused on me. It didn't look like a look of murder or disgust. Instead, it looked like hope.

She and I both looked towards the witch that was almost done picking the mushrooms. Her sack looked full and was no slung over her shoulders. I looked back at the colorful person and she mouthed one word towards me. I instantly knew what the word was and flew off in my protective dark sphere. I had to leave before the witch finished. I couldn't stay around or else I'm going to be beat up again.

I flew away from the two figures and I looked back to see both of them walking off together. She had hope in her eyes, was this it?

Something warm slid down my left cheek and I touched it to find my fingers wet with tears. I couldn't help but keep crying softly to myself, even after I landed somewhere in the Youkai Forest. I only stopped crying when I smacked my head into another tree.

"OWW!" I yelled out loud. I bounced backwards and landed on my bottom. I rubbed my head once again and looked around. Where am I? This part of the forest looked different from where I was just at. The sunlight didn't seem to venture into this section with the dense clump of trees. The grass and trees were a dark color. But the weird thing was that most of the leaves were still on the trees. It's like summer just started in this section.

Maybe I can wander around here for the winter. It was pretty cozy and dark, which was an extra bonus for me. All I need is to find an object to mark that this is my territory.

Looking around, I stumbled upon many sticks and stones of different shapes, sizes and colors, but nothing unique that would be easy to spot. It felt like night just turned when I found a black flag. Both sides were empty and the pole was a little bit golden. I think I'd be able to spot this easily, especially because the pole will be like a glowing sun in the dark environment. I didn't feel the need to go backwards to the first spot so I just stuck the flag in the ground where I was.

My stomach began to growl in hunger. I realized that I hadn't eaten anything today at all. Some cherries sound nice to have for dinner, but I'd doubt I'll find any in this vast forest so I had to fly above the trees. The night did just come, which means I have an advantage now. The darkness is my home, but I can also travel in the day, I'm just partially blind behind my darkness. The night breeze felt cool on my face and I was actually enjoying myself when I stumbled upon a bush full of cherries. Perfect.

I dove downwards to get some cherries but someone got in my way. I saw something green before getting smacked backwards into a tree. My back hit the trunk and luckily my head was spared in the act. I slid downwards with my head down, the taste of blood in my mouth. I heard laughing in front of me.

"Oh look, what's this?" The laughing voice inquired at me. The voice definitely belonged to a guy. "Hey guys, I've captured the legendary human-eating youkai," the man boasted with an arrogant tone. He seemed to be talking to his friends as I heard more voices from behind the man's voice. The group seemed to be mumbling and laughing along with the man.

Someone kicked me in the leg with a great force. I let out a whimper as it hurt really badly. The group was still laughing while they gathered around me. I could hear people talking about me from all around me. I started crying with my head on my knees. The air seemed to be getting colder, and I began to shiver.

I felt lonelier than I was used to. Even with people around me, they weren't my friends, they were my enemies. Time seemed to slow down and the other parts of the world seemed to fade away. I tried to mute out the snickering and pretend I was just having a bad dream, but it just wouldn't go away. It felt like the end of me before I actually noticed the laughing stopped.

I looked up and saw a blurry world with everyone gone. I looked around and saw that everyone fell backwards in a mess. Instead, the group was replaced with a familiar face. Her blue eyes sparkled with anger. The dolls circling her had their swords out.

I was a bit relieved to see her until I saw the witch again. The witch looked annoyed to be there. It's not like we were ever friends. I was only a normal victim of her during the Scarlet Mist Incident. At the time, she thought I caused the red mist so she defeated me. Luckily, I wasn't hurt too badly with only a few scrapes and scratches on my arms and legs.

Now, she might not attack me, but we aren't people who would talk with each other. I looked back at the colorful person with the dolls, and she commanded the dolls to put away their swords. She turned towards the witch and began to speak.

"There, just wanted to see what was going on here, we could go now." She said. The witch mumbled something to herself which seemed to be a question of why she was here. The colorful puppeteer walked off with the witch stumbling after her. The witch inquired why she was there, and the puppeteer answered sternly. Even from a distance away, I could hear them talking to each other.

I didn't want to stay there for much longer as the humans might wake up and torture me again. I almost forgot to take some cherries with me and I quickly flew away.

I neared the Youkai Forest and tried to locate a denser part of the forest. There weren't any sections with a very dense group of trees. I panicked because I thought I had lost my new home when I noticed another forest in the distance. I casually flew over there and noticed that the forest was really dense and dark. I don't think this is part of the Youkai Forest, but it might be where I was at.

I dove down and landed to see a black flag with a golden pole, the same one I planted in the ground! I hurried over there and stored my cherries in a nearby tree after eating five. I think I took a considerate supply but I'm going to need more for the winter. I can't go back there so I need to find more cherry bushes.

I wandered around the forest when I find a small house in the middle of the forest. I curiously go up to the house and look in the windows. I see dolls scattered all over, on the table, on shelves, and on the ground. I theorize that this must be the puppeteer's house. I feel stupid for not noticing this house before. It isn't even that well hidden.

I didn't want to be caught looking into someone's house so I left before she got back from her hike. I quickly walked back to my flag and decided to store in somewhere more hidden so people couldn't locate me.

I felt really tired, especially from the physical beating. I was sore all over but the good thing was that the taste of blood was gone. I didn't want to experience that ever again.

I sat with my back to a tree and closed my eyes and let my drowsiness take me into a slumber. I slowly fell into a deep sleep and my last thought was about cherries. The sweetness of cherries was like a treat to me, but I couldn't survive the whole winter unless I had a variety of food. Maybe some other berries and some chicken. Yes, that sounds really nice…

~Sometimes, all you need is a simple friendship to have happiness~