Youmu's first love
For as long as she could remember, Youmu had done everything for her lady, placing her own needs second. Well, Lady Yuyuko was kind enough to raise her after her parents suddenly disappeared one day. She owed it to her to do everything she could for her. And she did it all very seriously, no matter how unimportant or menial the task was. That was just how Youmu was. Serious. A busybody. Youmu was not the type of person to just "kick back" and relax(although it's not as if she ever had time for that anyway), and she despised people she felt were too easygoing.
But, because of her uptight attitude, the only person she was close to was her Lady Yuyuko. A woman that, in her mind, seemed more like a mother or an older sister than someone to have an intimate relationship with. But she was fine with that. While Lady Yuyuko wasn't a taskmaster, she certainly was not easy to work for. As a ghost, Lady Yuyuko could consume mountains of food and neither gain weight nor feel entirely full. Youmu was not bother by this, however; she enjoyed cooking and trying new recipes, something that made both of them happy. And, for a long time, Youmu was simply satisfied with her life just like that.
Then, long after Lady Yuyuko's attempt to bloom the Saigyou Ayakashi and the odd flower incident, divine spirits began to appear. Youmu had thought that the shrine maiden and her friend would take care of it, as always, so she had not even considered worrying about it. That is, until Lady Yuyuko had a request for her.
"Youmu, I would like you to investigate these spirits." Yuyuko stated with a serious look Youmu rarely saw on her face. "This could mean trouble."
"Yes, Lady Yuyuko." Youmu replied straight away, as always.
"Good. Oh, but…" Lady Yuyuko had seemed to realize something. "If you pass by any places that seem like they'd have good food, don't hesitate to get some!" she beamed.
"Yes, yes." Youmu sighed. Then suddenly, she heard two familiar voices… and one unfamiliar voice.
"So y'see, when we came here before there were tons of ghosts around here-ze." Came the slightly masculine voice of the black magician.
"Ohh…" Responded a feminine voice Youmu had never heard before.
"I have this feeling like this might not be it, though…" The Hakurei shrine maiden's voice also rang out. "They have a different energy than the ones here… or something like that."
Youmu turned to face the group of three girls who were approaching her. At the top of the long stair way she had fought both Reimu and Marisa on before(along with another woman by the name of Sakuya) were who she expected: Reimu, Marisa, and one other girl. This girl also appeared to be a miko, Youmu figured.
She had waist length curly green hair. She seemed a bit nervous, though she was glancing around frantically as if trying to take in the entirety of Hakugyokurou right now. While her shrine maiden uniform was similar to Reimu's(although it was blue and white as opposed to Reimu's red and white), she wore ornaments in her hair that resembled a frog and snake instead of a bow.
A bow like Reimu's wouldn't really suit her, anyways. Youmu found herself thinking. Wait a minute, why do I care? As she was pondering this, she was oblivious to the trio approaching her.
"Are you three here for tea?" Youmu heard Lady Yuyuko ask from behind her. She walked up next to Youmu. "Although, my attendant will have to be leaving soon, so we may not be able to have much.."
"No, we just-"
"Are you really a ghost?" The green haired girl asked enthusiastically.
"Shut up, Sanae." Reimu snapped at her. She was rather annoyed at being interrupted. The girl named Sanae(Youmu felt a bit relieved that she could now attach a name to her) seemed rather saddened.
"Anyways, we were hopin' you could tell us what's goin' on." Marisa picked up.
"Well, I can assure you I am a real ghost." Lady Yuyuko giggled. She placed her hand on Youmu should, pushing her forward slightly. "Though unfortunately, I can't help you much with your second question. However, Youmu will be joining you in my place."
They all stared at Youmu. Reimu seemed to think Youmu would just be a burden, Marisa was giving her a bemused look, and the girl named Sanae was looking at her curiously. Youmu was not sure she wanted to go along with them… But Lady Yuyuko has said that she would. So, she must.
After defeating a mountain echo youkai and a jiang shi, Youmu began to wonder why Reimu and Marisa had brought Sanae along. Sure, she was pretty(What does that have to do with it?), but she really hasn't been much help. She was far too interested in the sights around her and in any youkai they passed by. It was like she'd never met any youkai before.
"So you're a half-phantom?" She turned to Youmu enthusiastically as the now quartet were walking out of the graveyard. The jiang shi had said something about a mausoleum somewhere ahead that seemed important.
"Y-yeah…" Youmu replied. She wasn't really sure what she thought about this girl. She didn't seem strong, but surely Reimu would never bring along someone weak, would she?
"That's so cool!" She exclaimed. She then revealed the reason why she seemed curious about everything: "I mean, I'm from the outside world. I've never seen a youkai or anything like that except for Lady Kanako and Lady Suwako; but they're gods, they don't count and nobody around me believed there were gods and youkai and magic and things but I knew, because-"
"Wait, you're from the outside world?"
"Yeah, and she and her gods have sure caused us a bunch of trouble-ze." Marisa interjected.
"I didn't mean to, neither did Lady Kanako, I'm sure." Youmu felt it would be wise to not ask what.
"Ahhh, I thought I ordered Yoshika to keep people out of this place." Came a rather tired and uninterested voice.
"You own that girl? What kind of youkai are you?" Reimu asked.
"I'm not a youkai, I'm a hermit, a being of eternal youth and life. Do you not have a hermit with you?" she asked, glancing at Youmu. "Regardless, my name is Seiga Kaku. Yoshika is my jiang shi, and beyond this place is a tomb that-"
"That holds some taoist person, right?" Sanae asked. Youmu was a bit surprised at her inference, as she did not seem so astute…
"Why yes. You're quite observant." Seiga's eyes lit up and she appeared flattered… for some reason. Sanae began to add how she had learned about Taoism in school but was interrupted by Yoshika showing up once again.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't hold them back, but there's too many of 'em!" she announced to Seiga.
"That's quite alright, Yoshika , dear." Seiga assured her. " We just need to delay them anyways. The 'prince' shouldn't need much longer, and her lackey most definitely shouldn't."
"What the hell are you talkin' about?" Marisa asked, followed by Reimu exclaiming:
"Just shut up and let us through already!"
And so the fight began. Reimu and Marisa teamed up on Seiga while Youmu and Sanae fought Yoshika. Well, Youmu was doing most of the fighting. But she wasn't worried much about Yoshika. She was likely tired from their previous match and wasn't a difficult match earlier. Except… that wasn't the case. Suddenly her skill and danmaku seemed to escalate. She seemed to be more motivated. Perhaps because her master is here. Youmu thought. Youmu knew she would be more motivated if Yuyuko were with her…
Unfortunately, this series of thoughts caused Youmu to be distracted. Yoshika took this opportunity to charge in close. Youmu noticed Yoshika a moment too late. She had failed her Lady, who had put her trust into her, for she now would-
"Esoterica 'Gray Thaumaturgy'!" Sanae shouted, pushing Youmu out of the way. A giant star appeared, knocking out Yoshika. Sanae had pushed a bit too hard, as Youmu had fallen down because of it. But she didn't care she was amazed. "Th-thanks." Youmu stammered.
"All in a day's work for a living god!" Sanae exclaimed, very satisfied, with her hands on her hips in a heroic pose. Youmu, while appreciative of her, wasn't sure what to make of this gesture. Sanae then turned towards Youmu. "Ah, I'm sorry. Let me help you up."
"Eek! Yoshika!" Seiga shouted in a mock dramatic voice. "I must save you." She knelt down to the dead girl's body and raised her face up to hers, all the while ignoring Marisa and Reimu's small barrages. She kissed her. She kissed her MUCH harder than necessary.
"Oh my." Sanae said. "I'm not quite used to Gensokyo yet, so maybe this isn't unusual, but such passionate acts of love are usually reserved for when you're by yourselves in the outside world."
"That's true for here, too." Youmu told her. After a time, the hermit and her jiang shi broke away.
"I believe that's all we can do for now." Seiga said regrettably. "You may press on."
The remainder of the incident was resolved without problem. Sanae had gotten more involved in the remaining fights in a way that almost seemed protective of Youmu. Normally, Youmu would've been insulted, taking that kind of protectiveness as Sanae assuming she was weak. But, for some reason, she actually kind of… liked it.
As Youmu rarely left the Netherworld, she had plenty of time to ponder this girl. In fact, she found that she could hardly stop pondering this Sanae. She was becoming distracted, making mistakes on the most simple of tasks. She began to mess up even more as she started …imagining. Her fantasies at first consisted of Sanae kissing as she had seen Seiga kiss Yoshika. But they then moved on to be more… explicit. More like the things she had heard Lady Yuyuko and her friend Miss Yukari discuss while they had tea and snacks, which they usually found amusing. When she first heard about those, um, activities she had been embarrassed if what they said had ever come to her mind. Now, she wished whenever Miss Yukari was over that they would talk about those things, even in jest, to give her some idea of what she and this girl would do.
All in her mind. It would only ever be in her mind, she believed.
Lady Yuyuko, being observant as she is, realized quite quickly that Youmu's distraction was not merely just that. Though she had avoided the subject, she knew she could not leave Youmu by herself for much longer. Her work was becoming lackluster and she has begun to forget multiple dishes at dinner!
"Youmu." Lady Yuyuko called. "Come here a moment."
"Yes, Lady Yuyuko?" Youmu asked, not moving from her position. She was supposed to be pruning the flowers, but had begun to daydream and had stopped halfway through.
Lady Yuyuko motioned for her to come close. After Youmu had finally realized she would not walk unless she moved her legs, Lady Yuyuko asked, "Is there something bothering you? You've seemed rather distracted after returning from your adventure."
"Uh, n-no! Nothing! I just-" Youmu stammered her face turning red.
"Perhaps you've grown tired of this world that never changes." Yuyuko said sadly. "I would understand if that's the reason, you know."
"No! That's not it at all!" Youmu insisted. "I just- I- I-"
"Yes?" Yuyuko gestured at Youmu, signaling her to continue.
"I, uh…" Youmu began again. "I met this girl."
"Oh?" Lady Yuyuko replied simply. So this was what had caused Youmu's work ethic to drop.
"Yeah." She responded. "Her name is Sanae Kochiya."
"The girl who asked if I was a real ghost?" Lady Yuyuko smiled. "Well, she was pretty, I suppose. Although I wouldn't have thought she was your type."
"I don't think I have a type."
"Hm, yes, I suppose so!" Lady Yuyuko giggled. "You have lived a rather enclosed life, Youmu. Perhaps too much so." Her expression suddenly turned regretful.
"What?" Youmu asked.
"I know this may seem like something huge and unprecedented to you, Youmu, but it's something I've been thinking for some time now." Lady Yuyuko told her. "Yes, for some time…" She mused, closing her eyes and remembering the last few years. "Youmu, I would like you to take some time off."
"So you just told her to take time off and then kicked her out of here?" Yukari, Yuyuko's long time friend, laughed.
"I wasn't so cruel." Yuyuko insisted. "I assume you did as I asked?"
"Yes, Reimu should be able to let Youmu stay with her for however long is necessary. Though she may gripe about it, she's a good girl."
"I do hope Youmu receives a satisfactory answer from the girl she likes." Yuyuko sighed. "I know how difficult it is to be rejected, and this is Youmu's first love."
"I'm sure she'll be fine." Yukari assured her. "I've heard Reimu admit that Sanae is a nice girl, so she's likely to let her off easy if the answer is no."
"Perhaps." Yuyuko said. "But I wouldn't mind if Youmu's first love was her only. That's what happened to you, didn't it, Yukari?" Yuyuko smiled at her friend, remembering her reaction many years ago.
"Yes, well, Ran and I were an unusual case." Yukari was blushing, causing Yuyuko to let out a light laugh.
"Still, it would be nice. For her."
Youmu stood outside the Moriya shrine's gate. After receiving directions from Reimu(along with other along the mountain as she got lost), she had finally found where she lived. Youmu merely had to walk inside, and she'd be merely-
"Hey, are you gonna stand around looking nervous all day or what?" Youmu was startled out of her trance by a voice that sounded young, but also sounded like it belonged to an older woman. She turned.
A seemingly young girl with sandy blonde hair and a hat shaped like a frog or a toad was staring up at her from a crouched position with a sarcastic look on her face.
"This is Moriya Shrine, correct?" Youmu asked her.
"What if it wasn't?" She asked back.
"Suwako, don't confuse the possible donor!" A more mature voice called out from the shrine itself. A tall, shapely woman with short purple hair and wearing lots of red approached Youmu. "I apologize for my friend here." She said, smacking the girl named Suwako upside the back of her head. "My name is Kanako Yasaka and my silly friend here is Suwako Moriya."
"Silly?" Suwako questioned, earning her another smack.
"Welcome to the Moriya Shrine! We are both co-resident gods of this shrine, and if you give us a big donation, we can grant any wish you might have!"
"No we can't!" Suwako complained, getting yet another smack. "Ow! Asshole…" Suwako grumbled, rubbing the back of her head.
"The shrine maiden Sanae Kochiya is here, right?" Youmu asked Kanako, the more receptive of the two.
"Oh, you want to see Sanae?" Kanako asked. Youmu nodded in affirmation. Kanako grinned, then turned towards the shrine and took in a huge breath. "HEY, SANAE! GET OUT HERE!" she yelled.
Youmu could hear someone running inside the building. Then the sound of someone tripping. Tripping over something that ended up falling. Followed by the sound of Sanae squeaking as it had apparently almost (or maybe it had) fallen on top of her. After a moment she called out, "I'm okay!"
Sanae ran out of the shrine in a hurry after a few moments.
"What is it, Lady Kanako?" she asked. She then noticed Youmu. "Oh, hello." She beamed. "That was fun before, wasn't it?"
"Yes…"
"Oh, was this the girl you were talking about?" Suwako asked her.
"Yes, I met her last time I went on an adventure with Reimu and Marisa. She was a lot nicer to me than Reimu or Marisa though. Quiet, but nice." She nodded at Suwako then turned to Youmu and smiled again. Youmu could feel her face turning red.
"I think we'll let you two talk by yourselves." Kanako said, grinning in a knowing way. "Let's go Suwako."
"I think I'd rather sta-"
"Do you want me to hit you again?"
"Ugh, fine…"
And so Youmu was now alone with Sanae. Youmu clasped her hands together and began fidgeting.
"I, um, I wanted to tell you something…"
"Yes?" Sanae asked. She had a polite smile on her face.
"Um, I, uh…" Youmu's face was turning bright red.
"Are you all right? You look hot…"
"I-I'm fine!" Youmu insisted. She thrust her hands down to her sides and tried to swallow her bashfulness. "When I first met you… I really liked you."
"Okay." Sanae stated and nodded. She then realized what Youmu might mean, her smile dropped along with Youmu's stomach. "Oh…"
Youmu's courage went down as Sanae's voice trailed off. "W-well, I mean!" Youmu explained, trying to step backwards. "This is my first time for this kind of thing, so, I mean, could we, maybe…" she squeaked, her voice getting higher as she went on.
"Hang out?" Sanae finished for her.
"Yeah." Youmu said quietly. Then Sanae surprised her. She broke out of the slightly worried expression she had before and smiled at Youmu.
"Okay!" Sanae exclaimed. "You're cute, and I've had a hard time making a really good friend around here, so sure! Why not!"
Sanae's friendly acceptance made Youmu very relieved. She exhaled heavily, as if it had taken a large weight off of Youmu's shoulders. "Good." She sighed.
"Alright!" Sanae exclaimed again. "So when should we meet up? I don't usually have much going oAUGH!" Sanae had stepped forward, though she tripped. What she tripped on, she did not know, though it's possible a mischievous god may have been about. Regardless, when she tripped, she fell straight on top of Youmu. Youmu thought she felt Sanae's lips touch hers, though she didn't know if Sanae noticed.
Sanae found herself sprawled on top of Youmu a moment after her fall. Youmu could feel Sanae's chest pressed against hers. Sanae got up quickly, her face turning red. "I'm so sorry!"
Youmu also sat up. "No… that's okay…" Her face was also turning red. Did they really kiss? Even on accident, it would still be Youmu's first. And with a girl she "really liked" too.
"Suwako! You can't just interfere like that!" Kanako yelled at her little friend. Kanako thought that, even though Suwako was older in terms of years, she had to be the big sister/motherly figure of the two.
"But they were going so slow…" Suwako complained, although she was grinning to show that it was all in jest. Secretly, Suwako wished that she and Kanako could be a bit more than friends. Despite this, she knew that if Kanako felt the same way, she was oblivious to those feelings… though that's a matter for another day.
–One week later–
Youmu and Sanae had scheduled their first time for "hanging out" to be the week after Youmu had confessed. They were about as awkward around each other as they were before as well, but they were now by the waterfall on Youkai mountain as opposed to in front of Moriya Shrine.
"So, uhm, last week, was that your…" Sanae blushed, feeling weird just asking about it. "Was that your first kiss?"
Youmu, whose face was already red, grew somehow redder. "Uh, yes." So Sanae had felt their lips touch as well. "That's okay!" Youmu insisted, to the pensive looking Sanae. "I mean, it wasn't the best first kiss ever, but-"
"I'm sorry." Sanae said, rather rudely interrupting Youmu. Before Youmu could ask her why she was sorry, Sanae continued: "I feel bad that your first kiss-your first kiss- was kind of ruined."
"But, it's ok-"
"Would you like me to make it up to you?" Sanae asked, looking at Youmu seriously.
"Uh.. uh…" Youmu stammered. But that was all she got to say, for Sanae had quickly, though gently, grabbed Youmu's shoulders and leaned down so her face was on level with Youmu's. She kissed her tenderly. Youmu's eyes, which had been wide open since Sanae asked if she wanted her to make it up, closed almost on their own.
From that day on, Sanae and Youmu began spending quite a bit more time with each other. About one month later, Youmu went back to working for Yuyuko. In exchange for working at a slightly more strenuous pace, Youmu got more time off. Well, anything would be more compared to her "absolutely no" hours before, but that wasn't the point. Now that she had time off, Youmu got to "hang out" with Sanae and was now focused on her work while she worked. Yuyuko was happy to see Youmu happy, and was especially that happy that she had gone back to normal.
Surprisingly, after spending time together, it was Sanae who suggested they go out.
(a/n: Yay, I finished it! It took me about a week to write all of this. The 3500 word count proves it. Anyways, this shipping just occurred to me one day. I thought it was cute, so I wrote this.)