Author Note: I've never written either of these characters before, so this is a little new for me. I also don't know very much about shrines, so if the shrine isn't quite accurate please forgive me.
If asked, Yohane would say she'd had a difficult week at school. If pressed for details, she would admit that Zuramaru's absence caused her some distress, and multiple fallen angel incidents.
If no-one asked, she would never admit it.
Somehow she made it to the end of Friday without alienating the entire student body. As the last teacher of the day packed up her papers, Yohane allowed herself a sigh of relief. Zuramaru had spent the week helping out at her family's shrine due to a family members illness, so she'd missed five whole days of school. Aqours practice also occurred while she was gone, though Chika excused her with a grand flourish and grin.
Monday was when she was scheduled to be back and able to keep Yohane in check once again.
Yohane had packed up her bag and was about to head to practice when she heard the teacher calling her alternate name. "Yoshiko," the teacher waved her over to her from the front of the room, leaving Yohane no choice but to comply. "I have all of the homework Hanamaru missed this week." She held up a moderate stack of papers. "She volunteered to bring you work at the beginning of the year, so you must live close, right?" The teacher didn't give Yohane time to respond to that question, but even if she had Yohane wouldn't've been able to form a coherent statement. Zuramaru volunteered for that task? Yohane had thought that she was assigned the job. "Could you please take these to her to complete this weekend?"
Yohane's brain kicked back into action just in time to respond. "Yes Ma'am." She accepted the stack of paper with two hands, bowing her head slightly.
"Thank you!" Her teacher smiled as she relinquished the paper. "Have a good weekend!"
"Same to you." Yohane completed the small talk as she retreated back to her desk. She moved some stuff around in her bag to fit the papers in, and was able to close it without harming them. As she slung her bag on her shoulder, she realized something. Yohane had absolutely no idea where Hanamaru lived.
She turned slowly, moving her gaze to the back corner of the room where her unsuspecting prey lurked. Ruby would know, and even if she wouldn't admit it Yohane had ways to make her talk. Weaving through the tables quickly, Yohane approached the timid girl.
"What did the teacher want?" Ruby asked as Yohane stopped in front of her.
Yohane smirked and raised one hand in a broad gesture. "Merely to bask in Yohane's radiance." She followed up with a laugh, though to her own ears it sounded a little forced.
"Right." Ruby gave a small nod as she secured her own belongings. She believed almost anything she was told, much to her older sister's dismay.
Yohane raised the volume of her voice. "Aqours will also be blessed with my presence today." A couple other students turned to look, and she quickly lowered to practically a whisper. "And so will Zuramaru."
"She'll like that." Ruby replied simply, the corner of her lips curling up slightly.
"Do you, um…" It was hard to admit, but she'd never make it there without directions. "Do you know where she lives?" If possible, her voice was even quieter for that part. Luckily, Ruby was used to quiet sounds.
The shorter teen nodded. "O-of course. I can help you after practice." As if that was a cue, the two started walking towards the door.
"Thank you." More relief made it into Yohane's voice than she wanted it to. "Even a fallen angel needs help sometimes."
Ruby giggled at that as the two exited the classroom and moved towards the clubroom. Everyone else was already there, due to Yohane's delay with the teacher, and practice soon started.
After practice and a slightly longer than expected bus ride, Yohane stood down the road from a shrine. She got on the bus with Ruby, who stayed on for about ten stops. When Ruby left, she told Yohane to count five more stops, so she did. At the fifth one she hopped off, took a few steps from the curb, and posed until the bus drove away. She was right up the road from the shrine, and only had to walk for a few minutes to reach it.
Yohane didn't know that much about shrines, since fallen angels didn't spend too much time around them, but she was still impressed with Zuramaru's. It was surrounded by trees that filtered the light in just right and created a beautiful environment. The main shrine stood at the back, and had a place to hang ema's off to the side. A few benches lined the path, with lamps between them.
All the way in the back, right near the shrine, stood Zuramaru. Yohane had to look twice to make sure it was her, since her outfit was completely different than usual. Zuramaru wore a red and white miko uniform, which was standard for a shrine priestess. She was sweeping the shrine with a long wooden broom. Yohane's breath caught in her throat as the sun reflected off Zuramaru's form, but she gathered herself quickly.
"Zuramaru!" She yelled as she walked up the path, waving at her peer.
"Yoshiko?" Zuramaru said her name as a question, tilting her head as Yohane approached.
She made it there with a few long strides, stopping right in front of the girl. "It's Yohane." She insisted as usual.
"What brings you here, Yoshiko?" As usual, Zuramaru ignored her request to be addressed by her true name.
"N-nothing in particular." Yohane struck a pose as she cursed internally for stuttering. "I merely wanted to impose Yohane's presence on this shrine." That was a lie, but it slipped out beyond her control. Damn her fallen angel impulses.
Despite her slip up, Zuramaru seemed happy. "I see, I see." She smiled in a way Yohane never saw on anyone else. "Thanks for coming zura!"
"It's no big deal." Yohane wasn't going to mention asking for directions, or fretting about getting off at the right bus stop.
Maru shook her head fervently. "It is!" She insisted. "I've been so busy this week I hadn't really thought about it, but I missed seeing everyone." Her mouth had eased back into a much lesser smile and her eyes shimmered slightly.
One moment, Yohane thought to herself, was she interrupting Zuramaru's work by showing up here? Clearly the answer was yes. "I could h-help out, if you want."
Zuramaru's amber eyes widened and she moved one of her hands in a sideways back and forth motion. "No no, I've got it." Her other hand was clenched tighter around the broom. "But you're welcome to hang out around the shrine. I only have a couple more jobs for today zura."
"Very well then." Yohane struck her classic fallen angel pose. "I will await the completion of your tasks." That was smooth, she told herself as Zuramaru turned back to the shrine and walked away. She only released the pose after the other teen had turned away, allowing herself another look around the shrine.
The ema's called to her, so Yohane made her way over there. She glanced over towards the main shrine as she moved, but wasn't able to spot Zuramaru. Shrugging once, she let the thought go and snagged a blank ema from a pile. She dug a pen out of her bag, and scribbled down the message:
I want to return to heaven.
That would be suitable. Satisfied, Yohane tied her ema on one of the slots, holding her hands together in a silent prayer to complete the process.
The sun was starting to set over the horizon, which was her cue to head home. She still didn't see Zuramaru in front of the shrine, so she would have to wait for her to return. Anyway, she still needed to give Zuramaru the homework. It would be bad if the teacher got made at Zuramaru because of something Yohane forgot to do. She walked back to one of the benches and took a seat, opening her bag and making sure the papers were still there. The stack remained secure and surprisingly undamaged.
As Yohane leaned back on the bench, she soaked in the quiet of the shrine. Only a few birds chirped in the peaceful afternoon, and the setting sun bathed the area in a soft orange. It was the opposite of the city. Even Numazu, which was small compared to Tokyo, buzzed with activity. Cars and people rushed from place to place, constantly creating waves of activity. It was never truly quiet in the city, so this was a nice change.
Lost in her thoughts, Yohane didn't notice someone approach the bench.
"Would you like some tea?" Yohane snapped out of her reprieve, a jolt running through her system as she felt a tap on her shoulder. Zuramaru stood to her left, holding a small tray with one hand outstretched and looking a bit confused. What had she asked? Yohane's pulse was thudding too loudly for her to hear the question. "All I could find was green tea and a few dango, but they'll make a good snack." Oh, she was offering her tea.
"Yes, thank you." Yohane put a simple response together. She scooted to the right on the bench so Zuramaru could sit down next to her. Once the tray was placed down, Yohane could see that there were two teacups and a handful of dango. She was impressed; she never expected Zuramaru to reappear with food.
Picking up the cup closest to her, Yohane held it gingerly with two hands. Breaking Zuramaru's ceramics would be an unideal end to this encounter. She sipped the tea slowly, finding it to be just the right temperature. As she put the cup down again, her hands brushed her own bag, and she once again remembered the papers.
"Oh yeah." Yohane put one hand in her bag and it emerged with the only slightly ruffled stack of paper. "Our teacher sent this for you to do over the weekend." Zuramaru put her cup down as well to accept the paper.
"I'll have to get started tonight zura." She muttered under her breath, flipping through the homework. Amber eyes shot up to Yohane, piercing in their intensity. "Thank you, Yoshiko!"
"Y-you don't have to keep thanking me." Yohane hid part of her face behind the teacup. Her face felt warmer than usual. "I like coming here." Wait wait wait that was wrong. "That's not, I mean… Your shrine is nice…" She trailed off, deeply sipping the tea to cover up her embarrassment. What was she even trying to say here?
Zuramaru seemed to get whatever it was, since she giggled softly. Yohane inhaled sharply at the sound. "I like having you here." If Zuramaru had looked good in the filtered light earlier, that was nothing compared to having the sun setting overhead. The mikan colored light shimmered through Zuramaru's hair and emphasized the deep color of her eyes. Yohane couldn't tear her gaze away. A long moment passed like that. A bird chirped overhead. The sun inched towards the horizon.
"Well," Yohane cleared her throat. "I guess I'll have to come by more often then." Yes, if only to see Zuramaru's smile and hear her laugh, she would. "You've been chosen as my little demon after all." She struck a dramatic pose to hide her accelerated pulse. Her heart rate had been a real problem that day, though she wasn't sure why.
"Of course." Zuramaru gave her widest smile yet, and even though Yohane's heart had been racing it seemed to skip a beat. "I'll look forward to it."
The shrine maiden put her cup down and reached for one of the dango. As Zuramaru raised it towards her lips, slowly, tantalizingly, her tongue flicking out for a small taste, Yohane flinched back out of her seat. Since she had made space for Zuramaru, she was right on the edge and, well, there was no bench to retreat to.
As her butt hit the ground, she raised the teacup in an attempt to save it. It remained unharmed. "Are you ok zura!?" Zuramaru stood up immediately and was quickly by Yohane's side. She leaned over to help Yohane up, but her touch on Yohane's arm was far too warm, too close.
"I'm fine." Yohane rose to her feet, gently brushing Zuramaru's hand off her upper arm. She offered Zuramaru the crack-less cup. "My fall from heaven was much farther than that." Zuramaru looked relieved, and retook her place on the bench. Yohane, on the other hand, couldn't bring herself to sit back down. "Thank you for the food." She said politely and bowed her head slightly.
Now Zuramaru seemed confused. "You're welcome." She said as she nodded.
Yohane grabbed her bag, closing it and putting the strap over one arm. "I hear someone summoning me, so I must be going. See you at school Monday!" She waved frantically, stepping back with every few waves. A lamp made for an unhappy obstacle, but it only hurt a little bit.
"Goodbye?" Zuramaru's farewell sounded more like a question, but Yohane accepted it. She spun around, moving much more quickly now that she was going forward, and called one final farewell over her shoulder. The urge to rub where she collided with the lamp was strong, but she resisted.
She didn't allow herself to relax until she was back at the bus stop. What had happened back there? She was just talking with Zuramaru, and then she acted like a complete idiot. Her heart was still running at what felt like double speed, even minutes later. She hadn't felt this way before, but for the time being she would just have to accept it. On Monday she would see Zuramaru again, and by then she would have her racing pulse under control.
The bus pulled up and stopped right in front of Yohane. She climbed aboard and payed her fare, taking a seat near the rear. The shrine vanished completely as the bus pulled away, but it didn't leave Yohane's thoughts.
It wouldn't for a long time.