~The Rain in Japan Falls Mainly on the Moriya Clan~

Frigid gales were buffeting the Moriya Shrine. Water lashed down from the grey skies to hammer on the roof, spilling off the blue stone tiles in waves. It was hardly a day to be outside, hence how startled Suwako was to hear a knock on the door.

"Who the heck could that be?!" cried Suwako, her wide eyes betraying how startled she was to hear a knock on the door. She laid down her battered NES controller. "Kanako, could you get that?"

"Of course." Kanako took advantage of Suwako's lapse in concentration and hit the accelerator, overtaking her pixellated go-kart with ease. "Sanae, answer the door, won't you?"

"Okay!" Sanae stood up and ran to the door. She slid it open, only to cry out in shock as a sopping-wet Youmu fell into her arms.

"Sanae, you came for me!" gasped Youmu, clinging Sanae as her own damp, flimsy kimono clung to her shivering body. "It was awful out there. I don't understand..."

"Oh, Youmu, you poor thing... Come here." Sanae ushered Youmu inside, all but carrying her soggy weight, and let her slump down on a wooden chair. "What on Earth were you doing out in that monsoon?!"

"I was bringing you your book back and I got caught in the rain." Youmu sniffled and wiped her nose, which was useless with her arms so wet. "It's probably all waterlogged by now, though..."

"That's fine! I could probably dry it-"

"The door, Sanae, the door!" Kanako had taken notice of the lake beginning to form in the hallway.

Sanae ran to the door, slipping a little, and slammed it shut against the elements. "Sorry about that. Here, lemme take your boots."

With trembling, frigid fingers, Youmu unlaced her soaking geta-boots and passed them to Sanae, who laid them on an old Bunbunmaru next to her own froggy wellies.

Sanae sat next to Youmu, put an arm around her shivering shoulders and held her close. "Are you all right, Youmu? I don't know if half-ghosts can get colds or anything."

"They're caused by viruses, not just low temperatures!" Kanako pointed out.

"Although being all cold and wet and run-down can weaken your body and make you more vulnerable to all forms of disease, except maybe heat-stroke!" squeaked Suwako. "Wait, no, not the blue shell! Oh, for fu-"

Sanae clamped her hands over Youmu's ears and waited until Suwako seemed to have finished. She lowered her hands and wiped them on her dress. Youmu giggled.

"Are you all right?" Sanae asked her again.

"I'm wet, but I'll live." Youmu sounded less miserable than she looked. "I don't understand where all this rain came from. It was so sunny in the morning!"

"Yeah... I was gonna clean the roof today, but it doesn't look like I can," sighed Sanae.

"You can clean it another day." Youmu could feel herself warming as she snuggled up to Sanae. "You're lucky you and your, um, goddesses live on a mountain. There can't be flooding on a mountain."

Sanae's curiosity was piqued. "Do you ever get floods in the Netherworld?"

"We don't exactly get flooding, but it's, well..." Youmu wrinkled her nose. "Do you know why putting sugar on a cherry doesn't make it sweet?"

"Eh? They are sweet!" protested Sanae.

"It wouldn't make the cherry sweet because they're sweet to begin with!" Youmu smiled with a touch of smugness. "Most of the Netherworld is just marshes, which might as well be flooded all the time, and what's one more flood to a marsh?"

"Hm..." Sanae scowled in concentration as she mulled the question over. "You're saying there couldn't be as much of a relative net increase in the local water level as would fit the definition of a flood."

"That's right! And have I ever mentioned that, um, you..." Youmu blushed and fell silent as if her words had skipped straight into a tar pit. "Well, when you're confused, you look... Sort of... Adorable!"

"Adorable?!" Sanae's face lit up. "Oh, Youmu, that's so sweet! I'm glad my little sweetpea says such confusing things!"

"Unh?!" Youmu wasn't sure how to respond, but Sanae cut her dithering short by giving her a hug.

"I love you, sweetpea..." sighed Sanae. Youmu felt warmer in her arms, although a lot of water had soaked into Sanae's dress. "I don't suppose you brought a change of clothes?"

"Clo... Clothes?" Youmu's face fell. "No."

"Well, maybe some of mine would fit you," pondered Sanae.

"Yours?!" Youmu blushed vividly. "Oh, I-I couldn't! I mean, they're your clothes! I-I wouldn't fit! Would I?"

"Sure you would! We're pretty much the same size, aren't we?" said Sanae blithely, forgetting that Youmu's forehead barely came up to her nose.

"More or less..." Youmu glanced over at the coat rack, which was characteristically draped with coats. "Maybe I could borrow one of those? For the trip home?"

"Home?" Sanae's facial muscles arranged themselves into the Worried formation. "Youmu, it's awful out there! I don't know, maybe you could...?"

"Stay here for the night! I agree," Kanako piped up. She laid down her controller and stood up. "You'll need a bath, I expect, and some dinner."

"Kanako, your racing car! It's- Never mind." Suwako didn't seem hugely disappointed to watch her rival's simulated go-kart plunge into the lava moat.

Kanako rolled her eyes. "As for sleeping arrangements, maybe you'd like us to set up a bed in here?" She gestured vaguely around the sitting room.

"N-no, don't go to all that trouble for me! I'm notoriously low-maintenance!" yelped Youmu.

"My room it is, then!" Sanae jumped on her chance.

"YOUR room?!" Youmu redoubled her vivid blushing. "I-! I, um-! I'll go and find the bath!" she yelped, practically sprinting out of the room.

"Take the first left and watch out for the... Broken trellis..." Sanae winced at the faint sound of Youmu tripping over a broken trellis. "Poor thing. Uh, is something on your mind?"

"Why, no, of course not!" Kanako was smiling at her in a very meaningful way. "Just thinking on what a daring young romantic you turned out to be, Sanae."

"Is it that obvious?" Sanae nervously twiddled her hair. "I mean, my futon's big enough for two, and you heard her! She doesn't want to put us to any trouble! We wouldn't do anything, you know, without shoving a bookshelf in front of the door and putting a spell on the room so you couldn't hear us..."

"I'm sure you wouldn't. You're welcome for that storm, by the way," said Kanako.

Sanae's jaw dropped. "You- What?! You mean this was-?!"

"Enjoy your sleepover, dearie!"

~Author's Note~

It's a little late, but here's day five's prompt fill. For "rain", I decided to write something about the effects of rain, featuring Youmu and Sanae being really sweet. They're getting good at that.