Sanae meets Shuuichi Minamino and proceeds to dump plant fertilizer all over him.

But hours before that, she's waking up in the mountains on the floor of an ancient shrine.

The Hakurei Shrine is the kind of thing good ghost stories are made of, she's always thought. It's old but well-kept, not existing entirely in one world or the other. From time to time, the door slides open by itself and a spring breeze blows through the mountains, even in the winter. If one were to peer inside, they might see a ripple in the air as the translucent figures of shrine maidens and youkai fade in and out of reality.

Of course, she laments, people don't tell ghost stories like they used to. Nobody believes in meeting on summer nights dressed in yukata, whispering eerie tales by candlelight as their shadows flicker on the walls around them. It's all virtual now, one isolated soul typing their lonely ghost story into message boards and blogs for each isolated individual of their audience.

Stranger still, before leaving the outside world, she hadn't once heard anyone mention the Hakurei Shrine. She can't tell if it's because it's just too isolated, or if people just aren't interested. All the stories people her age tell nowadays are about petty vengeance, ghosts coming back to punish cheating boyfriends. It's one of the things she likes better about Gensokyo.

Of course, the stories are alive and well there because the subject matter is fairly active. It's hard to ignore youkai when they're visiting your shrine and eating stragglers who stray too far from the village.

Her first stop is the library, where a quick glance through a book on folklore narrows down the youkai that might be at work at Happy Hana. No one has died yet, and all that's manifested in the shop is a dark aura perceptible to normal humans as a creepy, haunting feeling, ruining the business. There are still a lot of options.

A tanuki? Sanae doesn't think so. Though they tend to be harmless tricksters, they're very recognizable. She's sure she would have found it the other day.

An akaname? Unlikely. Sanae checked the bathroom. Not only is it modern, but it's also spotless.

She's inspected the trees in front of and behind the shop for disembodied limbs and fruit resembling human faces. She's set up a purifying barrier to thwart deliberate, corrupting influences from vengeful spirits or amanojaku. She's tried just about everything, save going back to Gensokyo to ask Reimu for help, but she's not going to do that. She's not going to say it's a pride thing, but okay, it kind of is. It's about belonging, and being self-reliant and independent. It's about more and more things the longer she thinks about it. She wonders if she needs a therapist.

Sanae heads for Happy Hana with a spring in her step, schoolbag swinging at her side, because having a job in the outside world gives her an excuse to stay there even longer. She doesn't plan on dragging this out longer than necessary, because she has responsibilities back in Gensokyo, but she wouldn't mind if it took a few days longer.

The shopkeeper, Momoka, greets her when she comes in with a grateful smile and an apron, the name "Sanae" written in a cutesy, hiragana font on a nametag, and directs her to the backroom to deposit her school bag.

"Thank you so much for coming," Momoka says, sounding like she hadn't been sure Sanae would show up, "I know it's the weekend, and you'd probably rather be with your friends taking a break from school, so I really appreciate this." Sanae smiles and does not tell her that she doesn't go to school anymore. "Anyway, I managed to get another volunteer yesterday. He came in not long after you did, actually…."

She's not really listening, because she feels something strange again, something muted and filtered and distorted, but something close by nonetheless. It feels like a youkai, and yet not, nothing like the presence she feels in the shop, and nothing like any youkai she's encountered before. It's faint, hidden very carefully, like it's stuffed in a jar on a back shelf somewhere.

"…between the three of us, everything should be fine. And let me know when your exams are coming up so I can schedule you accordingly. I remember what it was like to juggle a part-time job and studying for entrance exams."

Sanae sets her school bag down in the back and ties the apron around her waist, making sure her nametag is visible. She's halfway back to the register, getting that strange feeling again, when she hears Momoka ask her to grab some plant fertilizer. She hurries to the backroom again and stands on her tiptoes to get a sack off of the top shelf when she hears the front door jingle and Momoka greets someone with her usual enthusiasm. When she comes back with the bag, the register counter comes into view, along with a redhead in a Meiou school uniform, but it's not until he turns to notice her that her brain short-circuits.

His eyes are greener than the bamboo thickets of Eientei and a friendly smile is playing at his lips as he says, "hello," and Sanae loses all of the dexterity and grace that she usually possesses. The bag in her arms begins to slip, and she tries to catch it, and her fingers tear holes into the sides and grains of plant food and dirt spill all over the front of the boy's uniform and shoes.

Nobody moves.

Sanae notices somewhere in the back of her mind that Momoka's eyes are sliding cautiously from the boy's shocked expression to her own horrified face, which is becoming paler by the second. She's really, really trying to say something—preferably an apology, but anything will do at this point—and she finally manages a shaky, "Oh my god, I am so sorry," as she clutches the half-empty bag to her chest.

The boy laughs very softly and she lets out the breath she was holding. "It's alright," he says, "You can't work in a flower shop without getting a bit of plant food on you from time to time."

Sanae's first impression of him is that he is a man with godlike patience and a smile with enough warmth to thaw a frozen lake. The expression "head over heels" comes to mind, even though she's always doubted that it was a real phenomenon.

She remembers that he said something and tries to come up with a reply. "You're volunteering here, too?" she asks lamely, and he nods.

"Why don't I grab a fresh bag?" he offers, disappearing into the back.

Sanae is still waving about half a minute after he's gone before she even notices he's not standing there anymore. "I didn't realize you could be so shy," Momoka says with a knowing smile. It would look stupid to argue, so Sanae doesn't say anything, scooping some of the wasted fertilizer into her hand and sprinkling it around the nearest potted plant. "He is cute, though, isn't he? I've seen him around town before, usually with a flock of girls with matching uniforms on his heels. Minamino, Shuuichi, in case you were wondering." Momoka leers at her. "And I know you were."

When Shuuichi comes back with a new bag of plant food, he smiles, tells Sanae that he'll sweep the floor, and hands it to her as she stands dumbfounded. It's disappointing, really, she thinks. She knows she can't like Shuuichi, or rather, she shouldn't. She's in the outside world for business rather than pleasure, or so she continually tells herself, and once her job is done, she'll have to catch up on her duties at the shrine.

Of course, this is much easier said than done. Sanae has known Shuuichi for all of five minutes and her heart is already beating fast every time he looks at her and stammering when she answers his questions. "I'll get that for you," he says when she has to strain to reach something, coming out of nowhere to retrieve the item. "Here, let me help," he offers when she has one too many plants in her arms. She doesn't know where he came from, but she's so disappointed that she didn't meet him before leaving her normal life behind. She would've loved to have had handsome, nice boyfriend. She would've loved to have met him earlier.

Shuuichi smiles at her warmly, and she smiles back.

You're too late, she thinks sadly, and gets back to work.


It's not something that she'll ever admit to Reimu or the others, but Sanae is not good with boys. Sure, she can prevent calamity and cause miracles and single-handedly defeat rogue spirits, but talking to boys is another thing altogether, a thing that she's never had any skill with, even before she left Gensokyo. Especially before she left Gensokyo, actually, not that it makes a difference.

So when Momoka tells them to take a break for lunch and Shuuichi invites her to sit with him at the park nearby, her face goes red and if she was holding something, she would have dropped it. "Oh. Um, sure," she says, "I, um, I'd love to. I-I mean I'd really like to! A lot." Minus five points for stuttering. Shuuichi pretends not to notice.

Sanae is meekly staring down at her bento box, keeping her eyes carefully away from Shuuichi's face until he asks, "So what brought you to Happy Hana?"

"Oh, I just," she fumbles with her chopsticks and drops the rice she was holding, "You know. I just. Wanted to do something helpful. I guess."

"That's kind of you," Shuuichi says with a gentle smile. Sanae is only vaguely aware that there are other people in the world around them, passing by with soft giggles and mutters of, "Oh, how cute!"

"What, uh, what about you?" Sanae asks. Keeping up the conversation, that gets a point.

"I like plants," he says, "My mother is fond of flowers, and she keeps an impressive garden, so I've learned a thing or two from her. It probably doesn't seem like the most masculine hobby."

"No!" Sanae almost jumps up from the bench to disagree, "I mean, who cares? You can like whatever you want, you know? You can like flowers. Um, if you want." He laughs. She blushes and looks at her food again. "I like flowers, too."

"Really?" At this, Shuuichi sounds interested. "Do you have a favorite?"

Sanae shouldn't be looking into this question as much as she is. She tries to just answer, but she has to think about it a little bit. What kind of flowers does she like? There's such a nice variety in Gensokyo. "I like white clovers," she says, "What about you?" Lost the stammering, bonus points.

There's something about Shuuichi other than his pretty face, something that's just a little unusual, and Sanae can't quite put her finger on it. But when he chuckles under his breath and smiles without really looking at her, his expression thoughtful, she kind of forgets about it.

"I prefer roses myself," he says softly, and Sanae can only think, Well, of course you do. She has yet to find anything about him to dislike, and is starting to wonder if she ever will.


They're headed back to the shop when Sanae feels the youkai's presence flare up in the distance, and she flinches at the sensation. Shuuichi stops a few steps ahead of her and looks back in confusion. "Are you alright?" he asks, and she shakes her head.

"Fine, sorry, I just…." She starts walking again, a little faster, "Remembered something I have to do later today."

Momoka welcomes them back and Sanae tries to discreetly investigate all corners of the shop again while the creature is active, but can't seem to detach herself from Shuuichi, who is always within earshot. She's sure she wouldn't mind the company normally, but it's hard to keep from looking suspicious, poking around behind the shelves and between the pots.

Before she can come up with a good excuse, the feeling is gone and the youkai is hidden again. Sanae frowns to herself; in its place, she can feel something else again, a dull, throbbing energy like a heartbeat all around her. It's not quite a barrier, but it feels similar, something stretching to all corners of the shop, warm and protective. Almost like a pleasant scent mingling with the blooming flowers.

A pleasant scent. Sanae's eyes narrow. It's tugging at the back of her mind now; she knows this scent, or something like it. But where…?

"Sanae?"

She turns around to find Shuuichi and Momoka staring at her with concern from the register. "Sorry, what?" she asks sheepishly.

"I was just asking if you wouldn't mind taking over the register for a minute. I have to step out, but I'll be right back." Momoka raises a brow. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Sanae insists, rushing to get her apron back on and taking up a spot at the counter. "I got it," she reassures Momoka, who doesn't look convinced, but hesitantly nods and heads for the door. She tells herself she has to be more careful. In Gensokyo, all of her friends can sense youkai, so everyone understands if she's momentarily overpowered by a strange or frightening aura.

Here, in the outside world, it's a painful reminder of another way she doesn't belong.