Author's Note: Hello, this is my first try at a real, serious Touhou fanfiction. It's Renko-centric, with Maribel and Yorihime as supporting characters. Will contain Maribel x Renko and Yorihime x Reimu, possibly other pairings. I hope you all like it!
It was a cold winter's evening, and Renko Usami was cursing her luck as she sat in the front row of a bus that had just broken down about a mile from her dorm building. Even bundled up in a thick coat, she was dreading the long walk ahead of her. Everyone else had already filtered off the bus to start on their way home, and she supposed it was about time she followed suit. She stood, tossed her simple black bag over her shoulder, and started off on her way.
Unbearably cold? Yes, Renko thought as she walked on alone. The first minute had been bad. The few following had been better, as she'd adjusted somewhat to the cold. But a few more minutes, and a breeze started to pick up. Even with a coat on, she was shivering and clutching her arms to her sides, and without a hat, she couldn't even feel her ears after a minute. The streets were almost empty, and the few others who were about dashed by between doors, hurrying out of the cold as quickly as possible. She wished she could follow them, but she did have to get back to the dorm before it got too late, cold or no.
The wind howled unpleasantly, and Renko tucked her frigid hands under her arms in a vain attempt to shield them. She had been walking for close to half an hour, and she had passed several familiar signs. She was so close, and when she saw the corner of the dorm building come into view, she started to run for it. Warmth and shelter, so close!
…until she tripped over something and went tumbling to the sidewalk with an undignified squeak.
"Oww…" Renko winced as she got up, minus her dignity and plus a bruised knee and scraped palms. She glanced back to see what she had tripped on, only to see another student (weren't they in Ceramics together?) lying on the concrete, her white mob cap in her hands instead of its usual place on her head. A foreigner, judging by her face and her blonde hair, and rather quiet, from what she'd seen of her. Renko didn't even know her name.
"Hey, you okay?" Renko asked, going over to the girl and kneeling next to her. She mumbled something that Renko couldn't understand. It sounded like English, and the less said about Renko's performance in her English classes, the better. "…I don't speak English, could you say that again?"
"A-ah… I said, 'ow, great, not only am I freezing but now my side hurts'," the blonde said in a soft, slightly hoarse voice. She looked up at Renko with vivid gold eyes. Renko had never seen anyone with gold eyes before.
"Sorry about that. What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be inside?" Renko asked.
"I should… I feel awful. I went to buy some cold medicine and collapsed out here on the way back. I'm too weak to get up... I'm so cold, please help me…" the girl said. She sounded, and looked, completely pitiful. And if she was sick, lying out here in the cold was probably just making it worse.
"Don't worry, I'll get you inside. Here…" Renko pulled the blonde into a sitting position, and with one of the girl's arms around her shoulders and one of her arms around the girl's waist, managed to lift her even though she was taller. It didn't take long to carry the girl inside, and Renko set her on one of the chairs in the common area. It was refreshingly warm, and Renko rubbed her hands together to warm them faster.
"Thank you," the girl said.
"Yeah, of course. I couldn't just leave you there. I'll help you to your room too," Renko said, offering a friendly smile.
"Thank you again. You're being very nice, and I hardly know you. I don't know how I'll ever repay you," the girl said. "If you really don't mind helping me, I'm in 208 W."
"Ah, you live just a couple rooms away from me! I'm in 212 W. So it'll be no trouble. Come on, then," Renko said. She carefully lifted the other girl again, and started up the stairs with her. It was a bit of a struggle for Renko, but luckily it was just the one flight of stairs, and by the time they got up to the top, the other girl could partly support herself, though Renko still had to hold on to her.
"By the way… I don't think I know your name," Renko said while they walked down the hall.
"Maribel. I'm Maribel Hearn, and I don't think I know yours either," the girl said.
"Mari… ber?" Renko tried. "No, that doesn't sound right… um, my name's Renko Usami. Nice to officially meet you, Mariber…. Meriberi… Mari."
Maribel giggled.
"Mari is fine. It's nice to officially meet you too, Renko." They stopped outside of Maribel's room, and Maribel fished the keys out of her pocket. Inside, Renko was greeted with the messiest dorm room ever. The desk was covered in arcane-looking scribbles on notebook paper, a pile of textbooks sat at the foot of the unmade bed, and you could barely see the carpet under the scattered clothes.
"Nice Pikachu panties," Renko commented as she stepped over the undergarment in question.
"Sh-shut up! I didn't think anyone was going to come over… ah, how embarrassing…" Maribel sat down on the bed, crumpling the sheets even more.
"Haha. Anyways, will you be alright if I leave you here?" Renko said. Maribel nodded, a small smile on her face.
"Yeah. Thank you so much for helping me, I'm glad to be out of the cold. I'll take some medicine, get some rest… hopefully I'll feel better in the morning. I'll have to find some way to repay you for this," she said.
"Don't worry about repaying me, Mari. Just get better, and maybe we can study together sometime," Renko said. Maribel smiled, and waved as Renko left to return to her own room.
It had been a week, and Renko had yet to see Maribel again. She walked into the Ceramics classroom, set her backpack by the door, put on an apron, and started over to her usual spot- and Maribel apparently had switched spots with the chatty girl Renko sat next to and had never liked.
"Hi, Mari! What are you doing over here?" Renko said, sitting down next to the blonde girl, who was molding some clay onto an already-large chunk that looked vaguely dragonish.
"Renko, good morning. Well, it just so happened that I sat next to the best friend of that girl who used to sit here. I thought maybe I'd ask her to switch. I hope you don't mind," Maribel said with a sweet smile.
"Haha, I don't mind at all! What are you working on?"
They talked all through class, and while Renko was almost finished with a rather pathetically lopsided teapot, Maribel had made an intricate statue of a dragon.
That evening, Renko was in her room just typing up the last lines of an essay for her required English class when she heard a knock on the door.
"One second," Renko called, quickly saving her work before getting up. She opened the door to see Maribel standing there with a grin on her face.
"Oh, hi Mari. What's up?"
"Well, I got you a thank-you gift since you helped me out last week. I really could have died if it hadn't been for you. So here, I hope you like it," Maribel said, pulling a cute purple gift bag out from behind her back and offering it to Renko. Renko took it, blinking twice in surprise.
"Ah… thank you, Mari, you didn't have to…" she said. Maribel continued to smile at her, and it was obvious she expected Renko to open it immediately. She reached into the pink tissue paper, and her fingers met fabric. She pulled out a brand-new black fedora, with a trim white ribbon for a band and a cute bow on one side.
There was a moment of silence, Renko staring at the hat, as Maribel's smile slowly started to vanish.
"…I-if you don't like it, you can return it and get a different ki-" Maribel started, looking timidly off to the side.
"It's fantastic! I've always wanted a cool hat!" Renko interrupted, cheerfully placing it on her head. It was a perfect fit.
Maribel's delighted squeal could be heard several rooms away.