Sanctuary
If someone had told Murata he would be running away from a group of beautiful women all seeking his attention a few months ago he would have thought he was conversing with a lunatic. But as it was, the great sage turned high school boy turned great sage was most certainly trying to make his escape from the maidens of the shrine.
It seemed there was no end to the list of shrine-ly duties they absolutely had to have the great sage perform.
"My door is
broken. Fix it!"
"The garbage
is heeeeeavy!"
"I need to
practice knife throwing at a moving target."
Each of them was more grueling, humiliating, or tedious than the last and the woman, while prone to gushing, were also extremely demanding and would a kiss on the cheek be too much payment to ask for such efforts on his part?
His sagely senses, and keen ability to spot clearly visible doors, led him to what he believed was a small uninhabited room in a section of the Shrine less frequently used. Uttering a huge sigh of relief, he closed the door, barring it from reopening with his back as he sank to the floor.
The peace and quiet had only just begun to sneak in when it was abruptly broken by the small sound of a young woman clearing her throat to speak.
To say Murata shrieked like a girl and lurched to his feet would hardly be befitting of his status as the great sage. Nonetheless, it would be an accurate description of what followed.
"I'm sorry if I surprised you, Geika," said a sweet little voice from behind some stacked boxes. Ulrike maneuvered around them, so the very short girl could see the not so terribly tall Murata. "I wasn't expecting anyone else to be in here."
Rubbing his hand anxiously through dark hair, he flashed a huge, toothy grin at her. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you while you..." He trailed off as he got a better look at what was obviously a storage room with a strange lived-in feel to it. "What are you doing?"
"Oh! Well, actually, Geika, I...um..." Ulrike blushed and twisted her shoe against the marble floor. "You see, I found this room, and I love doing the Shinou's work and being his conduit to others and caring for the shrine and the maidens but sometimes..."
"They drive you crazy too?" Murata supplied helpfully.
"YES!" Ulrike all but shouted out in agreement, causing her to flush a very deep red while sending Murata into a laughing fit.
After a few moments of shock, Ulrike joined in and the two of them stopped only when it occurred to them that they might be heard. From that time forth, they would consider that room their shared, private sanctuary where they could take refuge from the chaos of everyday life.