Ch 3
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Despite Reimu's, enthusiasm, they did not, in fact, go that day to Moriya Shrine. Even though she had already chosen their first destination, she still needed to decide where else they would go. So most of the day was spent wracking her brain and drawing up their schedule. Sakuya couldn't really help with the planning, so she took over Reimu's shrine duties and meticulously cleaned the home multiple times over for the upcoming week.
By dinnertime (which was a large serving of somen), this was their vacation plan.
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Day 1 - Moriya Shrine/Youkai Mountain
-Stay for 3 days
-Interesting places: Waterfalls, Tengu Village
-Note: Bring a swimsuit!
-Warning: Be suspicious of Kanako (bigger goddess) + Aya
Day 4- Underworld/Old Hell
-Stay for 3 days
-Interesting places: Jealous youkai's bridge, Oni Village, Palace of the Earth Spirits, Nuclear Reactor
-Note: visit Satori + pets at some point
- Warning: Do not look into Satori's third eye
Day 7 - Myouren Temple (return to surface, stay in human village overnight)
-Visit for 1 day
-Interesting places: Myouren Cemetery, the Great Mausoleum
-Talk to Everyone! (I forget who's there)
-Kokoro!
Day 8 - Human Village
-Explore for 1 day! Discover new places?
-Possibly visit Akyuu?
Day 9-10 - FREE!
-Revisit Hakugyokurou, Eintei, Hell?
Day 11 – Relax at Home
-Spend last day relaxing at home (shrine)
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It wasn't perfect. It was also a very short list. Reimu sadly couldn't remember or cared to remember everything about every area she visited, so the idea of their vacation was to spend a few days in each place and explore, eat, and find any fun activities to do there. The last three days were also 'free,' so if they wanted to they could stay longer in one place for another day or so. And thanks to Yukari, they now also had the money to pay for their meals and lodgings.
"Though I could always just threaten the youkai with extermination if they refuse to serve us. We could even get service for free if we wanted to," Reimu cheerfully said to Sakuya earlier during planning. "After all, no one is going to refuse ruthless Shrine Maiden of Paradise and the equally dangerous head maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion on the threats of death or a knife to the face."
"What happens if there is an incident while we're out?" Sakuya asked, thinking of the many things that could go wrong.
Reimu shrugged. "Then we deal with it, I suppose. Who knows? Incident-solving might even be another breath of fresh air for you."
Back in normal time, Sakuya browsed over the plan again and quirked an eyebrow at the warnings. She looked over at Reimu, who was happily slurping down noodles in an unmannerly way. She wrinkled her nose a little at the display but asked, "What do these warnings mean?"
Reimu, thankfully, swallowed her mouthful before answering. "Kanako is one of the two Moriya Goddesses who likes to meddle a lot in Gensokyo. She's been directly and indirectly involved in several incidents and problems, so I'm always suspicious of what she's up to. Aya, you know already. As for Satori…" Here Reimu shivered a little, "…She's a satori. So, let's just say that her danmaku spells are literally your worst nightmare and more."
Sakuya stared at Reimu. "But you want to visit her?"
"W-well, a few of her pets like to hang around here ever so often. And Satori's not actually that bad of a youkai and kind of nice to talk to once in a while. But you don't fancy having your mind read without your permission, do you?"
"Well, no," Sakuya slowly responded.
"Thus the warning," Reimu pointedly affirmed.
After dinner, they took it easy and spent the rest of the night packing clothes and getting ready. They woke up early the next day eager and excited, and by midmorning they were almost ready to leave the shrine.
Sakuya stood near the front of the shrine with their luggage of clothing and toiletries and waited for Reimu to finish a few last things for the shrine. To prevent anyone or any youkai from getting in, Reimu was busy applying multiple warding talismans to the sliding doors and windows. Anyone who tried to remove them would get several giant ying yang orbs to the face.
"Annnd done!" Reimu declared when she slapped on the final talisman. She walked over to the waiting maid and grinned at her. "Ready to go?"
"Yes. Though, aren't you going to ward your donation box?" Sakuya asked.
"Nah, its fine. No one's gonna steal an empty box," Reimu said rather dismissively. Then she meekly added, "On the off-chance that someone does donate something, I don't want them getting an unwelcome danmaku bullet."
"Yukari could just take it before we come back," Sakuya mused back.
"Ah, right," Reimu slowly said as she remembered the encounter with gap youkai. "…Well, it hasn't hurt me in anyway yet, and now I know why I've never seen any money. But at the same time, that money's mine, and she has no right to take it."
The troubled shrine maiden became so absorbed in her own thoughts that Sakuya had to snap her fingers in front of her to get her attention.
"Reimu?"
"What? Oh, sorry!" Reimu apologized. "I'll deal with her after this trip then. Let's get going!"
And with that, Sanae's true vacation started!
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It took almost half an hour to reach their first highly anticipated location. As she flew, Sakuya marveled at the sight of the forested mountains crossed with rivers and waterfalls below them. It was such a beautiful, hidden side of Gensokyo that she almost felt a spark of jealousy towards Reimu. If this was what the shrine maiden saw during her incident-solving, it was no wonder that she chose these kinds of places for their vacation. As it were, the largest mountain in front of them was where they were headed, and Sakuya could see the faint outline of a massive shrine. Strangely enough, there were numerous giant pillars around it and several more acting as a ground path to it.
Eventually they reached Moriya shrine, and Reimu led them down towards the paved grounds. A green-haired shrine maiden who was sweeping away fallen leaves noticed them approach.
"Oh, Reimu!" She said in surprise when they landed.
"Hey, Sanae," Reimu said cheerfully. "How you doing?"
"Pretty good, thanks Reimu," Sanae replied. She saw Sakuya awkwardly standing and said politely, "um, hi. Welcome to Moriya Shrine."
"Sanae, this is Sakuya, the head maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Sakuya, Sanae," Reimu introduced. "Sakuya, Sanae."
"Hello," Sakuya said.
"So, what brings you two here? Is there another incident?" The green-haired girl asked. Her shoulders rose slightly in hope.
"Nah, we're on vacation," Reimu answered.
"Aw." Sanae replied disappointed. Then she looked at them confused. "Wait, vacation?"
"Yep. Poor Sakuya here got forced to go on vacation because she's apparently overworked, and I'm here to help her to try and relax."
"I wouldn't have quite put it that way, but yes, I was ordered to go on vacation by my Ojou-sama," Sakuya clarified.
"I…see," Sanae said slowly but not really getting it. "But why are you here for vacation then?"
"I thought it would be nice to visit the places I've been to over the years, so Moriya Shrine and the surrounding area is first on our list," Reimu explained. "Just think of us as regular humans who are just looking to have a good time and forget it's a 'youkai eat human' world we live in."
"Um…"
"That would be a little hard to, considering you are our competitor and the ruthless sort of shrine maiden," Another voice dryly replied.
Sanae turned around, looked up, and exclaimed, "Kanako-sama!"
Sakuya looked towards the owner of the voice and saw a purple haired woman dressed in red floating slightly above them.
"Kanako," Reimu acknowledged a little tensely. "How's the shrine?"
"Prosperous, as always. Unlike yours," The goddess replied. Reimu pointedly ignored the jab. Kanako gave the slightest of victorious smirks and then turned towards Sakuya.
"I heard a little bit of your conversation. On the behalf of the Sanae and the other Moriya Goddess, I personally welcome you to Moriya Shrine."
"Thank you," Sakuya replied politely but warily. She now saw why Reimu had added those warnings; she sensed there was something ulterior in the goddess, and many of her senses were telling her to be on guard. Beside her, Reimu muttered darkly about the other kind of personal welcome she got. Kanako landed on her feet and walked up to Sakuya.
"Since you're interested in Moriya Shrine, would you perhaps also be interested in a tour of our grounds and becoming a follower of faith?" She said eagerly.
"Er…," Sakuya hesitated, feeling suddenly put on the spot by the imposing woman. She glanced at Reimu, who thankfully realized and came to her rescue.
"The tour and only the interesting bits about faith, thank you," Reimu answered. "We're not interested in become followers. Oh, and have Sanae guide us."
Kanako nodded. "Very well. Sanae, if you will?"
"Uh, of course, Kanako-sama," the green haired girl graced.
"When you find Suwako, tell her that lunch is in an hour. And if she brings all of her frogs in again, she'll be making her own meals for the next few months." After Sanae affirmed that she'll do that last bit, Kanako turned back to Sakuya. "Once again, I welcome you to Moriya Shrine. If you do find yourself wanting a bit of faith, please see any of us or Sanae."
And with that, the tall woman walked towards the shrine's inner doors and went inside. There was a few seconds of silence as the three humans soaked in what just happened.
"Well, that was dramatic," Reimu remarked.
"Is she always this…forward?" Sakuya asked unsure.
"You mean uptight and up in your face about faith? Yea."
"Hey," Sanae halfheartedly protested.
"You know that's true, Sanae," Reimu rolled her eyes. Sanae sighed and rubbed her head.
The mood was turning a little sour, so Sakuya decided to throw the poor Moriya Shrine maiden a bone. "About the tour?"
"Oh, right," Sanae perked up. She became a little happier, having been given the chance to talk about one of the things she loved. "This way please. Normally we would have groups of people, but you two seem to be the only ones today."
After storing away their luggage near the donation box, Sanae slowly led them around the shrine for the next half hour, talking about various historical things the shrine went through before and after coming to Gensokyo. Sakuya paid close attention to the green-haired girl and absorbed the information. To her slight amusement, she saw that Reimu looked similarly invested in the talk, though she tried to act somewhat disinterested.
As they walked, Sakuya took in the surrounding area and sights. They had started in the wide open shrine grounds and then began a counterclockwise path around the shrine. Massive pillars decorated the shrine and loosely presented the grand entrance up to the top of the mountain. On the left side, there was a grand view of the mountainous region, of which Sakuya could see many waterfalls and rivers trailing down towards the fields and flat plains of Gensokyo. Behind the shrine, interestingly enough, was a large water habitat comprised of ponds and small bridges and waterways. Finally on the right side were smaller mountain ridges, trees, and large standing pillars. It was a very peaceful yet powerful place.
When they came to the water habitat, Sakuya noticed a small girl crouching on a faraway lily pad and…talking to a bunch of frogs? Sakuya blinked at the sight.
"Suwako-sama!" Sanae called out. The girl looked up and bounced over several lily pads with unnatural large and light-footed springs. She quietly landed next to them, and Sakuya noted her interesting attire. A large brown hat with eyes on top, long white sleeves and a purple dress with frogs on them.
"Hi Sanae! What's up?" She cheerfully chirped.
"Kanako-sama wants you to know that lunch is in an hour. Well, half an hour-ish," Sanae relayed. "Oh, and Kanako-sama doesn't want the frogs to come inside the shrine again, or you'll be making your own meals for the next few months."
"Aw," Suwako slightly pouted but complied. "Ok, give me a sec to say goodbye to them then."
The childish goddess returned back to the edge of the pond and shouted, "Sorry guys, I'm eating lunch now. But don't worry, we can talk and play later!"
There was a chorus of goodbye ribbits and croaks, and the little goddess bounded back over to them.
"So, I see there's someone I don't know," She said gleefully. "Welcome to Moriya Shrine! I am Suwako Moriya, the other goddess of this beloved shrine!"
"Thank you," Sakuya said. "I'm Sakuya."
"Did Kanako already try and fail to sway you to our faith?"
Sakuya nodded warily.
Suwako shook her head, lamenting her companion goddess. "That Kanako. I always tell her that sometimes people don't want to be forced into faith. It's better to come by it naturally or offer some hospitality first. But don't worry! I won't try to encourage you since Kanako clearly failed!"
The froggy goddess grinned at Sakuya, and the maid got the chilly feeling that the goddess in front of her was actually the deceptively more dangerous one.
"We'll leave you guys to lunch then," Reimu said. "Thanks for showing us around, Sanae."
"You're welcome Reimu," Sanae said.
"Thank you for the tour and meeting you," Sakuya added.
As Reimu turned to leave and Sakuya was about to follow, Suwako suddenly clapped.
"Wait you two!" She said brightly. "How about you two have lunch with us? It's been a long time since you've been here, Reimu. And we can chat with your guest at the same time!"
"W-wait, Suwako-sama!" Sanae tried to interject, but she was swiftly silenced by a quick look from Suwako.
"Uh, you do realize what you just said right?" Reimu pointed out very suspicious.
Suwako pouted. "I know I probably sound hypocritical, but I'm being 100% honest! No faith-gathering. I just want us shrines having a peaceful meal together for once. It wouldn't hurt, right? And you're already here…"
"Well," Reimu slowly drawled, the prospect of fast and free food clearly swaying her, "If Sakuya's alright with it, I guess."
"I suppose I am," Sakuya eventually also answered in agreement. Then she and Reimu wouldn't need to try and find somewhere to eat, which would take more time. And she would be able to get to know the Moriya Shrine inhabitants better.
"Great! Then follow me!" Suwako cheerfully said, and she turned around to go inside the massive shrine.
At that moment, Sanae finally couldn't stay silent any longer and politely protested. "Suwako-sama, I'm really sorry to interrupt, but I don't think we have enough food for all five of us. Kanako-sama only made lunch for us three."
"...Ah," Suwako ahhed as it occurred to her. "Right. Darn."
"Um, if it's preparing more food, perhaps I can help," Sakuya offered, seeing a chance to repay them. "It wouldn't take much time. In fact, no time at all."
"Oh yea?" Suwako said curiously. She stared a bit longer at her. "Now that I think about it, your name sounds familiar."
"I am the head maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, whose ownership is under my Ojou-sama, Remilia Scarlet," Sakuya explained.
"…Ah, the vampire!" Suwako lightly tapped a fist. "I knew I heard it from somewhere!"
"Yes. One of my duties is cooking food for the whole mansion," Sakuya said, feeling a bit better by being in her element now.
"Hmm," Suwako looked at Sakuya with much more interest now. "Alright, you can help. I want to see what a head maid can do."
Sakuya slightly bowed. "Thank you, erm…"
"Just Suwako, please," Suwako laughed.
The froggy goddess led the four of them into the shrine. Once inside, she instructed them to put on the indoor slippers and gave them a small tour of their home. "So this is the backdoor entryway, and this is the hall connecting our rooms to the rest of the shrine, this is the meeting room where we personally meet with people and hear their requests…"
Eventually, Suwako came the large dining room. "And here we are! The kitchen to the far left and the dining room!"
Kanako looked up from her seat and the sprawl of dishes of their lunch on the table. She saw Reimu and Sakuya still there and stood up. "I didn't know we were going to have them eat with us."
"It's not a problem, right?" Suwako said cheerfully.
Kanako looked sternly at her. "I didn't make enough for all five of us."
"Don't worry, don't worry," Suwako waved away. "Sakuya is going to help make more."
Kanako raised her eyebrows at the maid. She slowly said, "We're going to finish eating by the time she makes lunch again. And I haven't agreed to this yet."
Suwako pouted. "Come on Kanako. Stop being so uptight and go with the flow for once."
Sakuya looked at the smaller goddess, once again a bit thrown by how how brazen the smaller goddess was. Though this seemed to be her natural tendency, and Kanako sighed.
"Fine. Use anything in our kitchen, it's free at your discretion."
Sakuya bowed respectfully. "Thank you, and it'll only be just…a second."
Sakuya snapped for effect, and suddenly two full lunch sets appeared at the table. Kanako did a double take while Suwako clapped in delight.
"Wow!" she exclaimed.
Reimu rolled her eyes, used to the display. More concerning was why Sanae also looked abnormally excited; like she had just seen magic for the first time. Reimu decided not to dwell on it and sat down at one of Sakuya's lunch sets. "Come on, let's eat."
Kanako and Sanae slowly obeyed, the goddess a bit disgruntled, and sat at their places. Meanwhile Suwako sat across from Sakuya as the maid sat down next to Reimu.
"Itadakimasu!" Everyone said, and they all dug in to their lunches. As her companions began eating, the froggy goddess leaned forward.
"I didn't know you could make food appear out of thin air! Even Kanako and I can't do that. Tell me, what's the secret?" Suwako said slyly. "Do you conjure it using magic or just pull it from a gap like that one gap youkai? Though, I didn't even see a gap appear."
Sakuya smiled as she picked up her bowl and rice and started picking vegetables and fish from the other dishes. "There's no secret. Only a little time manipulation."
"Er, you ok with revealing that?" Reimu said, pausing in her own devouring of her lunch. "These are actual goddesses with power you know."
Sakuya shrugged. "As far as I'm aware, I'm the only one who has expressed control over it."
"Time huh. Yea, nothing Kanako and I can do anything about that. And we've done lots of things," Suwako said, leaning back and starting in on her food. "Clever, though, making it seem as if you do have actual magic."
Sakuya let out a small smirk, revealing a bit of her inner personality. "It has its uses."
For all of the lunch time, the five ate merrily and shared stories and updates to one another. Sakuya eventually told them she was on a mandatory vacation, which made even Kanako crack and smile at the idea. She also regaled a bit of what her daily life was like at the SDM, though she made to sure keep certain things (a certain vampire sister) secret. Sanae lightly chatted with Reimu, curious to know if there had been anything interesting happening outside of Moriya Shrine, and Reimu coolly talked to Kanako and Suwako about encroaching on her shrine more, never mind that they already had a minor shrine post already there. After lunch, Sakuya cleaned up all of their dishes in a time-stopped instant as thanks for the Moriya Goddesses letting her use their food and ingredients to make lunch. She carried out a tray of hot tea and set it down on the table.
"Such a handy ability," Suwako sighed wistfully, thinking of the things they could do with it. "So, what are you two going to do this afternoon?"
"Well, we're planning on visiting the Tengu Village and seeing what's there to see," Reimu answered.
"Really now," Suwako said, taking and sipping her tea. "Surely they won't run at the sight of you before you get a chance? Heehee."
"If it happens, oh well," Reimu dismissed indifferently.
Suwako put down her empty cup. "Tell you what. This vacation thing has really got me interested. I'll have Sanae accompany you for the rest of the day and evening. That way, the tengus will see Sanae and probably won't run away or deny you service."
Sanae started to protest, but Suwako had already preempted that and gave her a look.
"That's very…generous of you," Sakuya said to steer the smaller goddess's attention back to them. "Wouldn't it interfere with her duties today?"
"Nah. And really, why not," Suwako giggled. "Sanae's probably also due for a bit of time-off and relaxation. It'll be good for her too. What do you think Kanako?"
Kanako rubbed her chin, thinking. "If we give her a list of groceries, then I'll accept."
Suwako huffed. "Always some kind of additional condition with you."
"I like to think of it as forward thinking," Kanako replied back.
"Don't I have a say?" Sanae complained. "I'm also young, thinking teenager."
"No," Suwako cleanly nipped. "So how about it, Reimu? Sakuya?"
"Sure," Reimu said. "It would be nice to have someone show us around."
"…Alright," Sakuya slowly answered, seeing that the froggy goddess wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer. She felt a shred of pity for the Moriya shrine maiden, seeing Sanae was basically in the same position as she was in now.
"Great!" Suwako clapped.
The group spent a little bit more time drinking tea and resting from their lunch, but soon Reimu and Sanae got up to leave.
"Do you mind if we leave our luggage here for now?" Reimu asked the two goddesses once they were outside and standing in the shrine grounds. "We're going to come back supposedly."
"Not at all!" Suwako cheerfully said.
"We'll help Sanae bring back her groceries," Sakuya amended.
"Thanks Sakuya!"
"Enjoy your time, Sanae," Kanako said in her own caring way.
Sanae reluctantly bowed goodbye to her goddesses with her list stuffed into a pocket, and Reimu and Sakuya took off the ground with her. Sanae then adjusted her position and led the way to the Tengu Village.
"Sorry about this," Sakuya said, speeding up a bit to be head to head with the other girl.
"It's…ok," Sanae said, sighing a bit. "I'm not that mad about going. But sometimes I wish they realized I'm a growing person with her own wishes and wants."
"…I can sort of relate," Sakuya offered in apology. It was more so that she responded to the wishes and wants of the SDM inhabitants. "So, do you know any good places to go to in the Tengu Village?"
As Sanae began telling her of some well-known restaurants and places to visit with a bright smile on her face, Sakuya felt she and the other girl would get along pretty well.
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A/N I only briefly went over this, so there might be errors.
