Touhou Miss Adventure
Episode 21: Divine Atonement
It was a warm summer morning and the garden's flowers at the Scarlet mansion had just bloomed. Sakuya had just fed the vampires their type A positive meal, when she noticed that they had received mail, after a quick look at the address saying 'Youkai Mountain' she took the letter and called, "Sanae, you've got mail."
Sanae, who was sitting in the living room, replied in surprise, "What!? From who?"
"It's from mom and dad," Marisa grinned, in passing.
Looking at the sender, once Sakuya handed it to her, Sanae just casually commented, "From grandma and grandpa, Marisa, don't be silly."
Letter sent was by Suwako, who wrote, "Sanae, I'd like to see you at home, Kanako's anger has subsided, so now we can have a proper discussion."
After seeing Sanae being silent for a moment, Mokou asked worriedly, "Everything okay?"
"...They want me to come home," Sanae muttered, not sure what to feel or do.
Mokou laid a hand on the green maiden's shoulder and said, "If you need us to come with you, you know we have your back."
Sanae gave Mokou a hug, "Thank you, but I think I'm okay." She thought for a bit, "Nue, will you go with me?"
"Sure, I'll help if I can," Nue replied, unsure but happy to assist.
Mokou pondered for a moment, "If I may make a suggestion, Sanae, you take Nue with you, but Marisa and I will be within signaling distance."
"Why do I have to go?" Marisa complained.
Mokou returned a scrutinizing glare, "And all the help that Sanae has given you, doesn't compel you?"
"Fine, but I don't have to like it," Marisa crossed her arms in annoyance.
The real reason Mokou wanted herself and Marisa out of the house, was to give Reimu and Sakuya some alone time.
Sanae was flabbergasted, "I don't know what to say, except… I love you all so much, you are like family to me," she literally cried, tears going down her chin.
Despite Mokou standing closest to her, it was Nue and Sakuya who came over to embrace and comfort her. It was clear that Sanae enjoyed the closeness, especially when Nue carefully wiped her tears away, it was the first time she felt that kind of kinship.
It was with a heavy heart that they set out for the Moriya shrine and most of the trip was done in silence.
Mokou gave Marisa the hint that they should land half a mile below the shrine, and said to the rest, "If anything happens, send a signal in this direction, we will be there in a second's notice."
"You got it friend," Sanae beamed, as she and Nue ascended the reminder of youkai mountain.
When they landed, Sanae went and knocked on the door, "Lady Kanako, Lady Suwako…I'm home.
"Oh there you are… come in." Kanako's stare was cold but not malicious.
But while the wind god was cold, the contrast could not be more different, when Sanae was embraced by Suwako, "You are home, my girl."
Nue carefully entered and walked behind the shrine maiden.
Suwako noticed the youkai with a smile, "Oh, and who might you be?"
"I'm Nue…" not sure what to say, she tried, "Sanae wanted me to come with her."
"You seem like a wonderful youkai, bright and powerful," Suwako uttered, delighted by the look of this beautiful youkai.
"Uhm …Thank you." But in her mind, Nue thought, "This is her mother, I guess."
While Nue and Suwako were talking, Sanae had approached Kanako and had most of their talk,
"Okay look, what you did... We've had Keine talk to the ones involved and it doesn't seem like you did anything unsettling aside from sleeping in the nude where you did. If you can reflect on your actions, I can forgive you," Kanako concluded firmly.
"Yeah… I'm reflecting on my actions," Sanae replied in a somber voice ...not that she remembered why she ended up where she did in the first place.
It was only at this point in time that Kanako even noticed that Nue was here, "By the way, why have you dragged a youkai into our temple?"
"This is my girl," Sanae introduced her alien friend.
Kanako gave her a perplexed look, "...Why a youkai?"
"You told me to chase them," Sanae feigned innocence.
"I didn't mean skirt-chase them! You casanova!" Kanako's vein looked just about ready to burst.
"It's Marisa's job to be the casanova," Sanae felt mildly insulted to be compared to Marisa.
"Relax Kanako, it's just a fad to be into bad girls, let them be young." Suwako flashed her a devilish smile, "As I recall, you were a bit of a bad girl back when we first met."
Nue was a bit surprised to be considered the bad girl, she thought she was very well behaved, "So this must be her… father?"
Kanako's face flushed bright red and turned her gaze away, "...Long time ago."
"You're so adorable, when you're like this, Kanako~" Suwako poked Kanako's face tenderly.
"I feel like I shouldn't ask…" Sanae really wanted to know, but she also had a feeling that now wasn't the time for that.
"Some other time perhaps." Suwako said wistfully, "All I can say is that we used your absence to re-ignite some old feelings."
"Don't you dare give them details, Suwako!" Kanako had turned around to prevent Sanae from seeing her mortified face.
"Don't you worry, Kanako. I have things to talk to them about, other than your cutie patootie." Suwako gave her a fox-like grin.
"Ugh, do what you want." Kanako said in revulsion as she left the room.
"So Nue, I would like to know more about you," Suwako said with a smile. But seeing just a question mark on Nue's face, she elaborated, "Like your faithfulness? Do you have any hobbies? Plans for the future? Any love in your life?"
Nue had to think a bit before replying, "I guess I joined that monk Byakuran, but I'm open to shrine maiden stuff too, they are way more impressive."
"Not really what I was asking, but the answer is fascinating." Suwako smiled mysteriously.
"As far as my hobbies goes, Saving humans, I do enjoy playing piano and also laser magic."
"Just like all youkai, she loves Danmaku… Her playing the piano is curious… Keeping her friends safe is always a good quality." Suwako smiled and nodded at Nue's replies.
"Plans… So far I am hanging out with magical humans, otherwise I have no plans at the moment."
Suwako raised an eyebrow, "Huh…Not really the ambitious type."
"Sanae is teaching me what love is, I'm still a novice I think."
"This girl is so cute, my heart can't take it." Sanae beamed inside, doing her best not to burst out in joy.
"That's actually kind of adorable. Make sure you study well," Suwako grinned widely.
That response puzzled Nue more than all the other responses combined, "Um… I will?"
"Excellent." Suwako exclaimed, "You have my blessing."
Sanae choked on some air when she heard that, it took her by surprise.
"Thanks?" Nue couldn't help but wonder, "Blessing for what?"
"Oh, you know, just some God stuff we say here." Suwako grinned and winked at Sanae in secret.
"That makes sense." Nue remarked to herself, it was, after all, the job of the gods to give blessings to people.
"She is just so precious," Suwako stated, with tears literally running down her eyes.
"I know, right?" Sanae responded in the same manner.
Nue was sure she had known what was going on, but these people suddenly started to cry out of nowhere, making them more strange than she had originally thought. "What even are these people?"
"Sanae, It's been a while since you've been home, what exactly have you been up to?" Suwako asked curiously, while pointing out, "Aside from… you know."
"Well, I have been back home, you know, Kyoto." Sanae said it in an offhand manner, just to startle her ancestor a little.
"Well now, what possessed you to go beyond the barrier?"
"Ah… Marisa had some marital problems."
"I feel like that doesn't explain anything."
"Did you read the news story about Marisa's many marriages? Suffice to say, they were not happy when they got sober, so they all ganged up on her, so we had to bail and fast." Sanae got shivers just remembering that day.
And so, Sanae told Suwako all about their misadventures, from the funny, to the frightening, and it honestly felt good to share these stories with her family, she had truly missed them.
Even Kanako came in to just listen halfway through, both goddesses were surprised by the sheer amount of danger their shrine maiden had been through.
"Well, it's been good to see you again, and I'm glad that you're no longer angry with me, but I think it's about time, I head for ho- …the Scarlet Devil Mansion." Sanae quickly changed her slip of the tongue, it was still hard to see the Moriya Shrine as her home again so soon.
Suwako looked up in surprise, "Why?"
"You haven't said if you want me to move back home or not… and if you do, I'd still need to go pick up my things. So either way, I need to go back for the evening."
"I think you should move back in, commuting all this way would be hard on you as the shrine maiden." Kanako had finally softened her tone and was making real amends.
Two tears streamed down Sanae's face and she hugged Kanako tightly, "Thank you, lady Kanako."
"Not sure if she should move in or not." Kanako contemplated it audibly with herself, if Nue lived long enough away, she might make an exception, "Where do you normally live?"
"Until recently I lived with Byakuran's group." Nue replied, sensing some hostility.
Kanako's eyes darkened, "So, you're with another faith?" She hadn't heard Suwako's interrogation.
Sanae chided her god lightly, "Be nice, lady Kanako, she lived with them, but she wasn't actively involved in spreading their religion."
Kanako was mulling it over in her head, trying to find some kind of flaw, something at all to berate Nue for, but eventually gave up, "Alright fine, if Suwako can find a room for her, I guess she can stay."
"That should be doable sweetie," Suwako snickered all too victoriously.
With those words, Sanae got up and gave both of them a hug, and Nue waved goodbye,
After a few minutes of flying Sanae asked, "...I hope you don't mind staying with us?
"Well, I have never lived with gods before, It'll be a change of pace." Nue muttered with a shrug.
As Sanae and Nue descended the mountain, they were intercepted by an angry Marisa, "Never again, this was sooo boring!... and cold. Mokou wouldn't even make fire to heat us."
"That would alert possible enemies to our presence." Mokou relented a little, "Fine, I'll do it myself next time."
"I don't think that would be necessary, we're on good terms now." Sanae smiled, but with a hint of tiredness in her voice.
The smile made Mokou ask, "So, how did it go?"
"Fine I guess," Nue replied, still not sure how to interpret the day as a whole.
"I'll tell you the details, when we get back to the others at the mansion, I need a couch for story telling." Sanae commented.
Marisa was shivering, "I'm so glad you said that."
As soon as Sanae and Nue set foot inside the mansion, Sakuya greeted them in the doorway, "How good of you to return now, dinner is almost ready."
"I see you returned unscathed, I assume that means it went well." Reimu commented, already sitting at the table.
Marisa was still shivering slightly, "Unscathed!? I nearly froze to death."
"You could have just gone home…But instead you stayed to watch over your friend, downright commendable." Sakuya praised her friend.
"...Never utter those words again." Marisa sulked as she sat down at the table.
During dinner Sanae gave all the details to the others.
