Youki's disappearance had left Youmu Konpaku with so many unresolved feelings. She had barely been a fledgling warrior as far as he was concerned, yet to truly connect with her phantom half and take her hybrid genetics to their greatest extent. There was still so much for her to learn, so much that she never could learn until she could track down her mentor again, all under the assumption that she could even find him to begin with. To say that her decades of training grinding to a complete halt for reasons even she, his pupil, had no knowledge of was extremely anti-climactic to say the least.
The fact that this left her as the supposed swordsman teacher of the princess of Hakugyokurou was just another problem to add to the list.
From day one, it was clear that said princess, Yuyuko Saigyouji, was nothing like what she'd expected her to be. Contrary to Youmu's vision of a kind, diplomatic, and otherworldly beauty, the pink-haired woman was cheeky and teasing, doing whatever she felt would get a rise out of the human-phantom hybrid. Now, Youmu was well aware that she was easy to catch off-guard and that her steely, focused temperament made her an easy target for pranks, but she certainly hadn't expected the leader of the Netherworld to be the type of person interested in games like that. Yuyuko was simply frustrating to be around, the antithesis of the traditional princess Youmu had been expecting based on what Youki had told her and the little she'd seen of Yuyuko herself.
One thing that had become painfully clear within days was that Yuyuko was not interested in learning swordsman skills. Whatever. It wasn't like she particularly needed them, what with her immense power and her (for all intents and purposes) immortality. It brought about the question as to why Youmu was even necessary to begin with, but that was something she could slide by easily enough. Maybe the Konpaku clan had made a pledge to protect Yuyuko no matter what and it had simply stuck even when no longer needed. It wasn't like Youki had ever told her the reason why he was protecting a woman clearly capable of defending herself. Maybe it just came with the image. After all, it wouldn't feel right for a princess to be living all on her own. Maybe she was just lonely and had pestered a clan into accompanying her for the next few centuries. After what Youmu had seen of her, it certainly wouldn't be out of character.
Secondly, the truth of the matter was that Youmu, talented swordswoman and one of the few remaining members of the reclusive Konpaku clan, those of a condition so rare that Youmu herself barely knew any other members aside from her former mentor, was little more than a glorified butler. Decades of rigorous training nearly every day, and she was now in a position just about anyone could fulfill. To say that Youmu felt like her abilities were being egregiously wasted was an understatement.
Still, she supposed she didn't have anywhere else to go. She'd never really given much thought as to where she'd end up after Youki was done teaching her since she'd never imagined living in a world without him guiding her. With no future plans, she supposed she could do a lot worse than working under one of the most prominent people in the Netherworld.
At the moment, she was overviewing the abundant fields of flowers that surrounded their house, scanning over all of the different varieties that Yuyuko had accumulated over the years. Even though the flowers may not technically be living anymore, they were still a marvel to look at, barely any different from their living counterparts as far as Youmu was concerned. She could spend hours going through the fields, naming every variation she saw with pin-point accuracy. Flowers were something she had always been familiar with, and even now they brought a sort of comfort to her new lifestyle, a symbol of everything she had ever known.
While Youmu gazed throughout the massive sea of not-quite-alive petals, Yuyuko stepped out from the porch as quietly as possible, careful not to let her sandals make a single sound. After painstakingly moving one step at a time, she finally found herself facing the half-phantom's back, the younger girl painfully unaware of her master's presence. A small grin appeared on Yuyuko's face as she quickly tapped Youmu's shoulder, the latter jumping a bit and shaking in response to the sudden movement. The ghost woman let out a small chuckle as the swordswoman turned ever so slightly red.
"Lady Yuyuko, was that really necessary?" Youmu said, trying hard to cover up the red tint on her face.
Yuyuko smiled a bit. "Maybe not, but if you're scared of something as small as that, then how will you ever be able to protect me?"
"I'm sure when the time comes, I'll be able to handle myself," Youmu responded, having appeared to recollect herself.
Yuyuko ran a hand through her short pink locks, contemplating for a few moments. "Are you truly that confident in your own abilities, even though you're working completely on your own now?"
Youmu froze for a moment even though she had been expecting a question like this to arise at some point. It was to be expected after all; her training was, at most, half-complete, and yet here she was, taking on the (ultimately pointless) task of defending the ghost princess, equal parts powerful and irritatingly charming.
"I… will admit that I'm not as strong as I could be. I still have room to grow, but," she reaffirmed her resolve by looking Yuyuko dead in the eye, "I will never stop honing my skills as long as I work with you. Protecting you is of the utmost importance to me, no matter my own personal feelings."
Yuyuko gave this declaration but a few moments to sink into the air, the steely look in her eyes telling Youmu that she was analyzing every bit of what Youmu had just said to her. Her neutral expression finally softened into a smile as she walked forward a bit past Youmu before grabbing her wrist.
"Come with me for a bit."
Youmu could feel her face becoming warm again, but ignored it in favor of focusing on how cold Yuyuko's hand felt in hers. It was almost icy, and this was coming from someone who was already naturally colder than the average human due to her background. She instantly felt her mind clear as the two contrasting forces were neutralized, nodding as she followed her mistress, Yuyuko letting go of her hand as she began to walk to some specific point in the garden.
All throughout the walk, all Youmu could think about was if, for just that one moment, her hand was as warm to Yuyuko as hers was cold to Youmu.
The two finally stopped before a patch of daffodils. Yuyuko plucked one of the shortest ones, no more than 6 inches and shining golden yellow, and brought it to her nose, sharply inhaling as her eyes closed and Youmu simply watched her admiring the flower's beauty. Opening her eyes, Yuyuko tugged out another of similar length before walking off in a different direction. When Youmu simply stared at her back in response, she stopped in her tracks.
"Come along, Youmu. It'll only be a bit longer, I promise," she said, a smile evident on her face. Youmu could feel her own face lightening in response to the happiness on her mistress's face, following closely behind her as she forgot what she had even been doing before.
Yuyuko walked, practically on autopilot, throughout the garden, carefully selecting a couple of flowers from each patch she stopped at, Youmu following her all the while. A few red carnations, a bunch of white buds of lily-of-the-valley, topped off with an exquisite white rose. After plucking the finest one of the bunch, Yuyuko reached deep into one of the pockets of her kimono and pulled out a small bit of ribbon. Carefully, she held the small collection of flowers she'd obtained over this miniature voyage and held it out to Youmu. Youmu looked at the spontaneous bouquet incredulously, unable to believe that Yuyuko had gone out of her way to make a nice little arrangement just for her.
"I want you to have this," she said, placing it in Youmu's hands and walking off without another word, leaving the half-phantom to look down at her hands and contemplate the meaning behind this seemingly random act. Yuyuko always seemed to have more going on than met the eye at first, and this was likely no different. The question was where to begin with it all. Her movement through the garden was completely random from Youmu's perspective, so maybe it had to with the flowers themselves. Youmu was well-versed in flower language, and she wouldn't put it past Yuyuko to be intelligent enough to be fluent in it as well. This has to be the code, right? she thought as she sat down on the frigid stone steps to think.
Well, daffodils have a lot of meanings, but the main one is new birth. The red carnations are for admiration, and giving them usually means that the giver wants the receiver to like them. Lily-of-the-valley are for new beginnings, so there's a trend forming. Youmu smiled as she finally felt like she was understanding her enigmatic mistress. She trusts my intelligence enough to give me a message like this in a roundabout way. And, of course, white roses are for… a new life together. Either that or… marriage.
She instantly felt her face flush up at the mere thought of something like that with someone like Yuyuko. Go figure her mistress would put a little tease in what was otherwise a blatant message. It was slightly irritating… but also slightly endearing. I shouldn't have expected anything less, Youmu thought. I wonder how serious she is… of course she's beautiful, but… what am I doing? Why am I even considering this? I need to stop this kind of thinking if I'm going to serve her well.
Either way, it was (mostly) clear what message Yuyuko was trying to send: she simply wanted the two to get along. It wasn't like Youmu didn't want that either, it was simply difficult given their personalities, and that probably wouldn't change. It didn't change the fact that Yuyuko was clearly putting in effort to try and help with the transition… in her own way, of course, but it was still crystal clear. Youmu got up and started walking back to the main house, her pace quickening as she came closer to the house and, more importantly, the woman waiting in the front. The mere fact that she was outside to begin with spoke volumes.
She knew I would figure it out, she thought, a wave of bliss settling over her at the thought. Nearly jumping up the steps entirely, she panted out a declaration, "I want us to get along, too," to her mistress before she even had a moment to catch her breath or think about what she was saying.
Yuyuko's smile became just a bit bigger as she looked at the earnestness expressed on Youmu's face.
"Then let this be the birth of a splendid partnership," she announced.
That single white rose could always be discussed at a later time. They had an entire afterlife to do so after all.
Making tea gave Youmu plenty of time to mull over things, and her current predicament was no exception to this. She knew Yuyuko was a woman capable of her own relationships that Youmu certainly had no business infringing on, that was for sure. But, of all the people in the world, living and dead, why did she have to be best friends with none other than Yukari Yakumo?
Youmu had never known Yukari personally before working with Yuyuko, but trivialities like that were unnecessary in knowing someone's reputation, and Yukari certainly had one. As the youkai who had reportedly been pulling Gensokyo's strings for the past few centuries at the bare minimum, she was intelligent, powerful, and, above all, dangerous. What Yuyuko was even discussing with her, never mind how the two even knew each other to begin with, couldn't be anything good, that was for sure. The fact that this was hardly the first time the two were - talking? conspiring? (Youmu certainly hoped it wasn't the latter) - didn't help matters.
Youmu could hear their muffled voices coming from the main room, barely catching any word of their conversation. What sounded like Yukari was saying something… free? Me? Tree? Either way, it was incomprehensible to Youmu, so there was little point in trying to overhear their conversation. She walked away, heading across their little house to where Yukari's head shikigami, Ran Yakumo, had been pleasantly waiting for her. While she hadn't known her for that long, Youmu liked Ran, what with her maturity, kind and maternal demeanor, and soothing tone of voice that made Youmu feel like she could tell her literally anything and Ran would continue to give that soft smile of hers without a trace of judgment.
"What do you think's going on over there?" Youmu asked, if only to alleviate the slight tension in the room. Ran apparently wasn't the most talkative person, seemed more the listener type, so it wasn't too unexpected. It wasn't any less frustrating though.
Ran gave a brief moment of contemplation before responding "It's really not my place to say. I am Yukari's shikigami and nothing more. Whatever she does outside of me is none of my business, and whether or not she tells me is entirely her own decision."
Go figure she would have such a smart response. Unfortunately, that was not what Youmu wanted right now. What she did want was for Ran to be just as curious as her, if only to give herself an extra reason to try and eavesdrop as much as humanly possible. She couldn't be the only one wondering just what was so secretive that Yuyuko wouldn't utter a single word to her about it. The fact that the most infamous youkai in the land was seemingly in kahoots with her regarding the whole manner didn't help in the slightest.
"You really trust Yukari that much?" Youmu asked, still finding it hard to believe that someone as intelligent as Ran seemed to have no doubts regarding her mistress.
Ran's face softened as she picked up the conversation. "Yukari and I have known each other for a very long time. If she truly felt that it was something that I needed to know, then she would tell me, simple as that." She paused to take a sip of the tea, still warm but now cool enough that it wouldn't scald her. "I know that there are plenty of things she keeps hidden from me and even from Yuyuko sometimes. It doesn't mean she doesn't trust us." Setting down the cup, she looked at Youmu and said, "You want Yuyuko to be able to rely on you too, don't you?"
Youmu could instantly feel her face flush. And now for the question she didn't want to bring up, but one that she should have known was inevitable. Of course she wanted Yuyuko to feel she could trust her, and she hated that it seemed she was the only one in the room who desperately wanted to be in the know. What could be so important to Yuyuko that she couldn't trust her partner?
"...She shouldn't have to carry the burden of whatever this is on her own," Youmu carefully worded, not wanting to give any more information than possible. "I… want her to know that she can trust me too."
Ran paused for a moment. She really was a great listener; if she weren't already a talented shikigami, she could make for an excellent therapist. "She'll tell you when the time is right, I'm sure. In the meantime, why don't you try to earn her trust?"
Seemed Ran was the optimistic type. She was way too kind for her own good. Youmu looked down at her cup as though it were the most interesting thing in the world. "I don't want to be too obvious with it. Trust is supposed to be natural, right?"
Ran continued, "Preferably it should be… just go with whatever feels right to you. You've just got to find some way to communicate with her. Yukari and I have had to. Just remember that you don't need to find one right away. After all, the two of you have only been working together for a year or so, right? It's sweet how much you care about her..." She took another sip of the tea as she waited for Youmu to refute her observation. The girl was irritatingly observant as well; within a couple of casual chats, it seemed she'd, knowingly or not, been able to force Youmu to reconsider the focal point of her new life in ways that Youmu hadn't quite been ready for.
"I'll… figure something out," Youmu said after what felt like way too long of a pause. Before she could spitball ideas off the kitsune, Yukari popped up out of a gap to the side of the table.
"Ran, it's time to get going," she said, her presence indescribable even when she lacked an audience. Ran nodded quickly, and a short "It was nice to talk to you, Youmu" later, the two were gone as though they had never been there in the first place.
The room suddenly seemed too empty for Youmu to be in alone. It was so strange, she'd had no problem with solitude years before, but it seemed within a dozen or so months of being with Yuyuko day in and out, solitude now felt completely foreign to her, so unnatural she could barely stand it anymore. She didn't want to think about the implications of that any more than she had to.
Padding her way around the house to reunite with Yuyuko, Youmu couldn't help but ponder Ran's suggestion. Earning Yuyuko's trust was certainly something she wanted to do, but she doubted that Yuyuko would feel comfortable telling her anything about this machination of hers for now. She couldn't say that she blamed her per say, but it didn't change the slight envy that she felt towards someone like Yukari having so much of Yuyuko's trust.
Now for a subtle way to show Yuyuko that she could trust her… Yuyuko certainly wasn't stupid. On the contrary, she was probably the smartest woman Youmu knew; obviously she would pick up on any sort of action Youmu made to implicate anything. At the very least, that meant she wouldn't have to try hard to find something super out-there; anything she did would be transparent to the ghostly woman.
As she came out to the front of the house while lost in thought, petals floated all through the air, spinning in countless different directions. The answer that she should have been able to come to instantly smacked her in the face.
In hindsight, it should have been the obvious answer for Youmu to come to. Yuyuko had been able to convey a simple idea in a spontaneous bouquet, why shouldn't Youmu be able to if she was just as knowledgeable on flowers as her mistress? Now for what to pick…
She began by walking up to a patch of irises a few meters away, plucking a couple with the most vivid purple petals she had seen. Thoughts of freesia caught her mind, and she plucked a small handful of the bright, warm flashes of color. These two flowers alone had already made for a colorful assortment, and Youmu was not about to give Yuyuko a garishly colorful bouquet when Yuyuko herself had been so quietly thoughtful in the arrangement of hers. The colors did not contrast each other in the least, each enhancing the other and allowing the overall product to be soothing on the eyes. One more was all that was needed, something subtle. She thought of the ornithogalum plant a ways on the other side of the garden, knowing that they would be the final touch she would need for this physical manifestation of her feelings. After taking only a few, she ran back to the main house, taking a small bit of ribbon from a drawer and tying up her spontaneous creation. It was… not perfect, certainly not as elegant-looking as Yuyuko's, but it was passable, especially seeing as this was the first time she was giving flowers to someone. It could be worse, right?
Against her better judgment, Youmu walked to the room where Yuyuko and Yukari had been talking, hoping that she was still waiting in there. Fortunately, it seemed she had not yet left, instead giving her attention to the package of sweets on the table (most likely a gift from Yukari. Seemed she could really give Yuyuko anything she wanted…). Youmu was hesitant to disturb her mistress, but Yuyuko cut the tension for her by saying "What do you have there, Youmu?"
"It's… for you," Youmu managed to say after a pregnant pause. Slowly walking forward, she placed the bouquet on the table and was ready to leave just as quickly as she had entered before Yuyuko's voice cut through the air once more.
"Thank you for the sentiment, Youmu." She turned back to face the half-phantom. "I understand that this was not easy to do."
Well, at least she understood it, not that Youmu was expecting her not to. Yuyuko was too smart to not be able to see the meaning behind the arrangement. Youmu felt herself smiling a bit at Yuyuko's words. Knowing that Yuyuko was seeing her effort made her feel so… warm inside. To think that she had ever doubted her…
For now, all Youmu could do was try to become worthy enough to earn that trust back.
Youmu has never been much of a celebration person. Too much hassle, and, besides, she never had the time to waste on such frivalties. It was unnecessary to her training, so she never bothered.
She supposed it was only fitting then that this would be yet another point of contrast between her and her mistress.
Yuyuko liked to celebrate as often as she could it seemed. Moon-viewing party, flower-viewing party, some obscure celebration that only the oldest in Gensokyo would know? All of them were a big check. At the very least, over the past couple of years, Youmu had become accustomed to this. She was prepared, always knowing the dates and exactly what Yuyuko wanted to do most that day, whether it be going out, eating some specific kind of food, or just sitting with Youmu on the porch, staying out until the wee hours of the morning (if time ran normally in Hakugyokurou, that is). Youmu would never admit that she liked those ones the most, when Yuyuko would stay out so late and, intoxicated and uninhibited, fall asleep on Youmu's lap, the younger girl hoping that the darkness in the atmosphere would hide her ferocious blush.
Today, the nineteenth of March, marked the anniversary of Yuyuko Saigyouji's death.
The fact that the ghost could not remember a lick of it hadn't prevented her from seizing the opportunity to celebrate it, even though Youmu quite honestly found the whole idea to be more than a bit morbid. Yuyuko didn't seem to have a problem with it; after all, to her, it was the "birth" of herself as a ghost, so why would it be weird? It still didn't change the fact that Youmu found it creepy. Even Yukari, who had presumably been the one to tell her in the first place, seemed a tad unsettled by Yuyuko's vigor in celebrating the day of her own demise. Youmu couldn't deny the fact that seeing Yukari even a little disturbed made her far happier than she had any right to be.
Every year, Yukari would visit Yuyuko in the afternoon, give her sweets from the outside world that Yuyuko could never get enough of, stay for a few hours to talk with her old friend, and finally leave just as abruptly as ever. Youmu had asked Ran once why the two left a lot earlier than Youmu would have expected. She definitely appreciated the extra hours of time she got with Yuyuko as a result of Yukari's early departure, but it seemed a bit odd that Yuyuko's best friend would always leave within a few hours, especially knowing that the only other people that showed up were a couple of members of the Ministry of Right and Wrong and, of course, Youmu.
Youmu hadn't quite been ready when Ran's face became sullen, the only response she could give being a soft, "She goes to the place where Yuyuko's body was buried every year and leaves flowers. It's the only time I ever see her cry." Hearing that even big, bad Yukari Yakumo had emotions (enough to the point of crying over her friend's death every year), Youmu couldn't help but feel just a bit bad for how poorly she'd thought of her for the past couple of years. She still didn't like Yukari, no she did not, but she could at least respect her after hearing that. The fact that she'd apparently been one of the first to come across Yuyuko's body only furthered Youmu's begrudging respect for the youkai.
Regardless, it was Yuyuko's special day, and she got permission to do whatever she wanted, nothing less. Youmu had already been stocking up on ingredients for the past couple of weeks to make the finest cake she could (she could begrudgingly already tell that Yuyuko would like Yukari's sweets more, she always liked Yukari more), planning to utilize the time she spent alone with her mistress as best she could. Anything Yuyuko asked of her would be given, no questions asked.
By the time Youmu got to Yuyuko's room to wake her, she was stunned to find that the ghost woman was already awake, and dressed at that. Seemed she was pretty excited about today, a bit of a bounce in her step as she grabbed Youmu's hands (a gesture that Youmu's body infuriatingly had to respond to) and said, "Let's go out to the porch. More space there." Youmu spared no thought in nodding and following her mistress, who had (disappointingly) let go of her hand in favor of moving down the corridor a few paces ahead of the younger half-phantom.
Reaching the porch before Youmu did, Yuyuko turned around, smiling wide before putting her hand out, as though an offer, asking Youmu a question that should have been so simple:
"Have you ever danced before?"
No, Youmu had not. Unless Yuyuko counted her training as the most abstract form of dance out there, then, no, Youmu was clueless when it came to dancing. She had always known that Yuyuko knew how to, often seeing her do so while alone, her movements so haunting and enchanting that Youmu couldn't look away (it was a lot easier telling herself that it was only because of her trance-like movements, nothing to do with the beautiful spirit performing those motions). She had never considered for a moment that Yuyuko would want to dance with a partner, never mind her. It wasn't like she could just refuse her like this (never mind the fact that this opportunity provided itself with close physical proximity to Yuyuko, that didn't matter).
So, how was she going to do this?
"I… don't know how to… at all," Youmu finally responded, barely even being able to look at Yuyuko, who just looked so endlessly perfect in her attire and the soft glow of the atmosphere of Hakugyokurou illuminating her even further.
Yuyuko didn't skip a beat in asking, "Would you like me to teach you?" Her smile pierced Youmu's soul, and, before she knew it, the half-phantom was nodding and stammering out an agreement, a "please, if you don't mind". Honestly, Youmu was so weak when it came to her mistress that it was almost pathetic. Youki would cringe if he saw just a fraction of her red faces around the ghost girl.
Yuyuko took Youmu's hands in hers, setting her left on her shoulder and continuing to hold her right as Yuyuko's own right set itself underneath Youmu's left. "It's been a long time since I've danced with someone else, so forgive me if I'm not all that great at it."
"You'll be great," Youmu responded immediately. It was just instinct at this point to be good to Yuyuko, no matter what it was about, even if it was about something as small as this apparently.
Yuyuko smiled a sign of thanks as she continued with her lesson. "It's not that hard to slow dance really, just moving to the movements really. It would be nicer if there was a bit of music playing." She let out a slightly dejected sigh as she thought about how infinitely better their dancing could have been if everything was proper. After a moment or two to lament, she perked up, saying "I'll just make some," before humming softly. Youmu was entirely sure it was made up on the spot, and it seemed to loop every 10 seconds, but it didn't matter as she held Yuyuko and moved in time with her.
For just those simple moments, it felt like time had stopped and they were the only two people that mattered. Being with Yuyuko, being close to her like this, it all just felt so right to Youmu in ways she could never describe, never wanted to as long as the other girl could hear her. It didn't even matter that she felt so cold (something Youmu had been expecting from the spirit in the first place); all that mattered was that Yuyuko was holding her and, for just a moment, she was the center of her mistress's world. The pink-haired beauty turned Youmu slowly, the latter feeling like she really was revolving around a planet, her mistress as her world.
"Trust me," Yuyuko whispered as she gently dipped Youmu, making sure to not drop the other girl as her red eyes pierced the half-phantoms blue ones. Youmu hoped she hadn't become tomato-red, but it wouldn't be the first time her body failed her in Yuyuko's presence. At the very least, she hoped it wasn't noticeable enough for Yuyuko to ask questions. All she had to do was look at her face and only her face.
The tension in the air between the two became instantly palpable as Youmu was left dipped in Yuyuko's arms, not sure how to proceed with the situation. The question of whether or not saying anything would make it more awkward or not… she really ended up with an interesting mistress to follow.
Yuyuko decided to make the first move, righting Youmu up and removing her arms from the smaller girl's frame. "Thank you, Youmu. You were pretty good for a first-timer."
Youmu shook her head quickly. "The honor's all mine, Lady Yuyuko."
Yuyuko pursed her lips for a moment. "Give me a moment." She started to walk out to the garden, going down the first couple of steps before a quiet whisper cut through the air: "You can come if you want."
Youmu instantly followed the ghost woman down the steps as she strolled over to a bunch of roses towards the side of the garden, floating a bit to land in front of a vibrant pink bush without trampling any of them. She took only two before floating off to the carnations. All the while as she was floating, all Youmu could think of was deciphering the meaning of Yuyuko's every action. Pink roses were for happiness and appreciation, so that was a good sign, right?
She would just ignore the fact that they could also represent happiness around a lover.
The dark pink carnations that her mistress plucked were for fondness and tenderness, so it seemed there was a trend forming. Youmu smiled a bit at knowing what Yuyuko seemed to be conveying for once. It was like the flora was its own separate language that only the two of them could understand, no Yukari, no anyone to infringe on that intimacy that they only had with each other.
This possessiveness was certainly because Yuyuko was her mistress and nothing more, she told herself. Nothing more, nothing less. It was not as though Yuyuko could ever think of her as anything more than a subordinate. No, that was crazy, even if she seemed to like to (as indirectly as possible) tease Youmu with the possibility of something more every now and then. There was no point in even thinking about it, Youmu told herself, but it seemed no amount of logical thought would prevent that little well of hope from latching onto her like the hopeless idiot she was.
Finally, the two stopped at a patch of purple, and Youmu felt herself holding her breath for a moment. These were morning glories. Sure, they could mean affection, and even mortality in a pinch, but their primary meaning most of the time was love.
Now the question of whether this was just Yuyuko being teasing or not. It could go either way at this point and Youmu wouldn't even be surprised. The half-phantom watched as the ghost plucked a couple and pulled a bit of ribbon from her pocket (did she just keep some in there? Or had she kept some there for moments like these…?), tying them up before placing the impromptu bouquet in Youmu's hands.
"A token of my appreciation," she said to the flustered girl, eyes not quite meeting her. She started to walk away before turning back, saying "Yukari's coming over in a bit. We should get back." Youmu nodded, wanting to spend more time ruminating about the bouquet, but she supposed that would have to wait.
After all, it was Yuyuko's day; her own confusing feelings could always be held off for another time.
From the moment Yuyuko had said "Yukari will be coming over at around noon. Be sure to stick around", Youmu had been more than a little anxious. What was something this ambiguous supposed to mean? Yukari showed up practically every week, so why was Yuyuko making a big deal about it this time? Combine this with the fact that she was inviting Youmu to their conversation, and the half-phantom was left unsure of what to think. Regardless, she knew that she would do what Yuyuko said. After all, it was her duty.
Within the next hour, the gap youkai had made her appearance known once more, hopping out of her spontaneous gap, but, for once, Youmu was slightly anticipating the master manipulator. After all these years of being kept in the dark, she would finally know just what Yuyuko and Yukari had been plotting all this time. The fact that she could see that Ran was in tow only made things more satisfying.
As the two made their entrance, Yukari looked at Youmu, who was seated next to Yuyuko at the table and was desperately trying her hardest to not look the youkai in the eye.
"So, you're letting her sit in, Yuyuko?" she asked the ghost princess.
Yuyuko nodded. "It's time for her to know her part." Youmu just decided to ignore the questions that such a simple statement brought up, hoping that they would all be answered shortly.
Yukari made a small affirmative sound before sitting down across from her old friend, Ran choosing to sit at her mistress's left so that she could be across from Youmu. Before needing to be told to do so, Youmu picked up the steaming teapot already at the table and poured out cups for the guests, having already prepared the table so that she could stay in the room and catch every little bit of information that was revealed. The moment that everyone had a steaming cup in front of them, Yuyuko broke the silence in the room.
"In a month, the Perfect Cherry Blossom Incident will begin."
Well, off to a great start. Youmu was already completely clueless.
Fortunately, no less than a moment later, Yuyuko began her explanation. "Our plan is to steal spring so that the Saigyou Ayakashi will bloom."
Great, more questions. "Lady Yuyuko, why are we stealing spring exactly?" Youmu asked bashfully.
"Well, Youmu, the spring isn't what we want. According to Yukari," she nudged in the direction of the other girl, "there is a corpse that has been sealed under the tree. With enough spring, we can make the tree fully bloom and revive the soul underneath it."
That was… an interesting plan. Certainly not one Youmu had been expecting, that's for sure. It even sounded altruistic enough that they might not get punished for doing so. She honestly thought that this plan of theirs was going to be more dangerous, so this was a pleasant surprise.
"Yukari, are you bringing any reinforcements?" Yuyuko asked, though Youmu was sure she already knew the answer.
Yukari shook her head. "It's too high-profile for Ran or I to get involved, but Ran said she may have someone up to the task." She then directed the flow of conversation to Ran with a simple gesture, putting the spotlight on the kitsune.
"Well, I can't guarantee anything, but my shikigami, Chen, may be able to help ward people off if she's in the area. She's been getting pretty strong lately for someone so young, and I'm sure she'd want to test her skills. It's simply a matter of whether she wants to fight or not. You should have some sort of backup just in case she doesn't cooperate," Ran finished, slightly red from having so much of the attention focused on her for a while.
Yuyuko responded, "I'm sure we can handle ourselves, but thanks for the warning."
Yukari shrugged. "I wish I could help, but it's best to keep the Yakumo name out of the limelight for a while. We wouldn't want to draw attention so soon after an incident."
Yuyuko nodded, although Youmu was convinced that she looked the slightest bit irritated. "I see. Good thing I was never relying on you to begin with," she chuckled.
Yukari smiled as the conversation became more light-hearted. "What can I say, the shrine maiden's going to come after you, and I don't want to get on her bad side. It's far too early for that."
Yuyuko simply responded with, "She's just a human."
Yukari chuckled as though Yuyuko had said something completely absurd. "I wouldn't underestimate her so quickly. Did you hear about how swiftly she was able to defeat those nuisances from the Scarlet Devil Manor? She even took on the younger sister and won; how many can say that?"
Yuyuko's face looked as though she were in deep thought for no less than a moment before she retorted, "You, getting interested in an insignificant little shrine maiden? I never thought I'd see the day."
Yukari's face contorted a bit before she laughed off Yuyuko's comment as though it were some kind of joke. All the while, Youmu could only think one thing: That's how Yukari shows affection? No wonder she's crazy…
Yuyuko broke the light air in the room with "The main matter at hand is collecting all the spring within a month. It isn't going to be an easy task, so I can't trust just anyone with it." She turned to Youmu as she punctuated her sentence. The younger girl's heart was practically beating out of her chest as her mistress took her hands in hers and asked, "Youmu, will you do the honor of collecting spring for me?"
Youmu's heart raced and she was almost certain that her face was heating up (and in front of Yukari and Ran too, how lovely. The latter she didn't mind so much, but the former was looking at the two with an expression that Youmu just knew was condescending). Ignoring those around her (to the best of her ability), Youmu responded with a shaky, "Of course I will, Lady Yuyuko."
Her mistress smiled in response and (regretfully) removed her hands from Youmu's, placing them around her cup as she took a long sip of the lukewarm tea.
Their "meeting" did not last much longer than that, concluding less than a half hour later. Youmu had managed to not embarrass herself in front of everyone, so she considered that to be a small victory, as was knowing that she was worthy of her mistress's trust. For the rest of the day, she threw all of the excess energy she had (no doubt the result of Yuyuko's little displays of affection) into her swordsman training, every calculated motion she made clearing her head just a little bit more until, before she knew it, it was time to make supper. She'd let hours fly by without even realizing it, how unprofessional to just leave her mistress all alone for so long. She mentally kicked herself as she entered the kitchen and began preparing that night's meal.
By the time she had finished cooking and had set everything up on a tray, over an hour had passed. She walked out to find Yuyuko leafing through a book that Yukari had brought from the Outside World, a fat one about… relative psychology? Whatever that was… Yuyuko looked up, placed a small tab into the book and got up from the spot she was sitting at. "Dinner's done?" she asked, to which Youmu nodded as she set the tray down. Yuyuko's smile grew as her eyes took in the hefty tray before digging in.
For a while, the two were just sitting there, enjoying their meals and the other's simple presence. They didn't need conversation right now, just a bit of company and knowing that the other was there. A little voice in the back of Youmu's head was telling her how painfully domestic this all was, but she quashed that thought the moment it entered her mind.
Eventually, Yuyuko, as she often did, broke the silence. "Youmu, did you only agree to going along with everything because the other two were there?"
That was… thoughtful. Youmu honestly hadn't even thought of the topic in hours, never mind expected Yuyuko to address it. In all honesty, she would have gone along with it either way. She had made a vow to stay by her mistress's side, right or wrong, and she planned on sticking with her through everything. The presence of others would never be the influence she needed to follow her mistress.
"Not at all; I would have agreed whether they were there or not," Youmu responded. It was the truth after all.
Yuyuko looked at the younger girl, asking a follow-up, "Sure?" to which Youmu nodded.
The conversation petered out again, and Youmu's mind went back to their meeting earlier. There was one question that she'd thought about earlier, but had ultimately talked herself out of asking. One thing about the whole incident plan was making her think…
Taking a deep breath, Youmu asked, "Lady Yuyuko, why is reviving the Saigyou Ayakashi so important to you?"
The silence in the room became tense, neither of the two saying anything for at least a full minute. Youmu immediately regretted asking anything, ready to try and leave before Yuyuko finally gave a quiet response.
"I wanted to give something life for once."
The room was silent again, although this time for a completely different reason. Yuyuko decided to continue, seeing as Youmu was too stunned to even say a word.
"For as long as I've ever known, I could only cause death." The taller girl looked down at the table, trying as best she could to avoid contact with the younger half-phantom. "I wanted to try the opposite for once."
This was… difficult. It was a slippery slope. On one hand, this was quite possibly the most open Yuyuko had ever been with Youmu in regards to personal details, but, on the other hand, Youmu knew she shouldn't be invading her privacy. She promised herself that a long time ago. But still…
Luckily for her, Yuyuko would always be there to bring the conversation back when Youmu couldn't think of what to say herself.
"I don't remember anything from when I was alive. All I can remember is from when I was already a ghost." She finally looked up at Youmu before saying, "Your hands were so warm when we were dancing all that time ago.
Is that what living feels like?"
Another cut of silence. What could Youmu even say in response to that? I never thought that you contemplated your inhumanity? I thought that you were content with who you were? I never knew you cared about the fact that you couldn't remember your human life?
None of that was proper for Youmu to say. The best thing for her to do here was speak from her heart and be completely genuine, and, against her better judgment, she was gonna to do just that. For the sake of her mistress, she was willing to put down her boundaries and be emotionally intimate. Now to hope that this didn't count as overstepping her boundaries...
Youmu tentatively reached across the table and, after a brief moment of hesitation, took her mistress's hands into her own. Looking into her scarlet eyes, she began to ramble.
"Lady Yuyuko, I… will admit that I have only ever known you as you are now, but," her grip tightened as she continued, "I don't care who you were before everything. All that matters to me is who you are now; that is the person that I vowed to protect, and I will stay with you until the end."
Yuyuko looked slightly dumbfounded at Youmu's declaration of protection; it was hardly the first one she'd done, but it was the first one where she had acknowledged that her mistress even had a past before herself, Youki, and the entire Konpaku clan. Just a subtle way of wording, and Youmu was showing unconditional support for Yuyuko the individual, not Yuyuko the princess of Hakugyokurou. It was a small technicality, but small technicalities had always been Yuyuko's forte, and she could instantly see the significance of this tiny distinction.
The ghost smiled in response to everything she had just been told. "Thank you, Youmu. I appreciate your concern for me." She then proceeded to get up from the table, having already finished her meal long ago, but Youmu continued to hold her mistress's hands, a rare show of defiance from her part.
With a shaky breath, Youmu asked, "Will you come with me outside?" Yuyuko seemed to pick up on what she was suggesting, and, in an atypical role-reversal, she acquiesced to the younger girl's request.
Youmu, being the one in control for once, chose to continue holding her mistress's hand throughout the walk. Yuyuko didn't seem to object to it, so she figured it was fine so much as neither mentioned it. She did not want to have a conversation with Yuyuko about why her cold hands made Youmu feel so warm inside. Never mind that that didn't even make any sense.
As the two reached the outside porch, Youmu (reluctantly) released her mistress's hand before saying "I'll be back in a bit."
Yuyuko got a little mischievous smile on her face as she said, "I'll be expecting something nice for making me wait out here in suspense."
Youmu got a small smile on her face as she said, "I'll do my best!" before flying off. She first dropped down in front of a bunch of veronicas, plucking a few of the tall purple flowers as she envisioned how the rest of the bouquet would look. After seeing how elegant the colors of Yuyuko's bouquets were, Youmu felt that she was obligated to try and make hers a bit nicer looking. Besides, while the bouquets were mainly meant to be a thinly-veiled message, a beautiful bouquet was never unwelcome, especially with someone as interested in flowers as Yuyuko.
Satisfied with the few that she had picked, Youmu then turned her way over to the purple scilla flowers, plucking a number of the bright and lively blossoms before going to the violets and taking the most vivid ones. This bouquet would be simple enough; all the flowers had one connecting theme to them: loyalty. It described Youmu's feelings towards Yuyuko rather well and, after Yuyuko had placed so much trust in her, Youmu felt it was her duty to support her mistress until the very end. There was only one little touch missing…
As she floated above trying to find the last little touch she needed, her eyes landed on a patch of chrysanthemums of all different colors. They wouldn't be a bad choice: they were large where her other flowers were small, and the colors that the garden had were quite complementary to the purples she already had. White ones were the simplest: loyalty and honesty; it was straightforward enough. But still, Youmu couldn't help but look at the red ones close by, the ones that stood for love.
Youmu could feel her face flushing over at the possibility of presenting a red chrysanthemum in the midst of an otherwise relatively innocuous bouquet. It was one thing for Yuyuko to give Youmu ambiguously romantic flowers because she was playful like that, and Youmu knew to never take what she said at face value. With someone as straightforward as Youmu on the other hand, it would be utterly transparent what she meant by such a gesture, and she certainly wasn't prepared to risk such a thing. She was Yuyuko's servant and nothing more, and a proper servant did not go around muddling their feelings with their duty.
She shook herself out of her internal thought, and went to the safer white chrysanthemums. After taking only a couple, she speedily headed back to the main house where Yuyuko was (fortunately) still waiting in the front for Youmu to come back. Somehow, just that tiny gesture alone made Youmu feel just a bit happier.
A smile appeared on Yuyuko's face as Youmu landed in front of her, and the half-phantom reached into her pockets. Her blood ran cold as she found them to be completely empty. It was at that moment that Youmu realized she had forgotten something very important: she was holding a bunch of flowers with nothing to tie them up. Sure, she could run inside and there would probably be some lying around, but where was the magic in that? She'd had an opportunity to be smooth and really impress Yuyuko, and instead she'd messed up one of the most crucial details.
"Looking for something?" Yuyuko asked playfully. Before Youmu could begin protesting, the ghost princess pulled a pastel pink ribbon of medium length from one of her own pockets and handed it to the younger girl. "I guess you owe me now, don't you?"
"Hardly," Youmu retorted, but even she could not stop the tiny smile that continued to remain on her face. She tied up the bunch as neatly as possible before handing it to Yuyuko.
Yuyuko smiled as though it were the first time she had ever seen the bouquet. She turned it over in her hands and said, "Thank you, Youmu." She certainly could have been referring to the bouquet in general, but Youmu knew her better than that. She got the message loud and clear, and that was all that mattered right now. In such desperate times like these, she couldn't afford to be saddled with the personal feelings of a confused half-phantom .
As Yukari had (annoyingly) predicted, on that day, a maiden clad in red and white easily overpowered the both of them, and spring was restored throughout Gensokyo once more. Youmu should have been mad about this; all of her hard work and (more importantly) Yuyuko's thoughtful planning all wasted. But, sitting under the largest sakura tree at the Hakurei Shrine, sipping sake as the flower petals drifted by, all Youmu could do was feel content. To the right of her, the black-white magician was trying to start up a conversation with the puppeteer seemingly to no avail, but the taller girl's soft chuckling seemed to indicate that the magician's flirting tactics were more effective than Youmu thought. To the left, Ran was sitting with Chen, the younger bakaneko's head in her lap as she gazed up at the blossoms. When she had turned around earlier, Youmu could have sworn that she saw Yukari, her body still halfway in one of her gaps, chatting up the shrine maiden away from everyone else, but she certainly wasn't going to ask any questions about that. And, of course, in front of her was her beautiful mistress twirling around and laughing like she hadn't just had a years-long plan foiled. All Youmu could do after seeing this was smile and, for once, not fight the heat reaching her face.
She's able to keep her calm even after everything that has happened today, she thought as she gazed upon the pink-haired beauty simply enjoying herself, living life like she wasn't already a ghost. It was honestly admirable, She's truly one of a kind, just so lovely.
And only now, after so many years, did it finally set in for Youmu what she had felt for her master all this time. It should have been so easy for her to realize it. It was as true as she was a half-breed. It was as simple as breathing. It was something she'd never admitted to herself, not until now, something she'd known for so long and tried to believe was something, anything, else only for the truth to smack her in the face.
"Youmu, come dance with me!" Yuyuko cried out, shaking Youmu out of her trance of introspection. She felt herself smiling again as she picked herself up off the ground and took her mistress's hand, only one thought permeating through her mind.
I'm in love with Lady Yuyuko.
The months drifted by easily after that. After her revelation at the shrine, it didn't take that long for Youmu to realize why she'd had so much difficulty accepting her feelings for what they really were; it had always been a matter of said feelings conflicting with her duty that had torn her up inside. Once she'd accepted that she'd never been a good servant in that respect, letting her personal feelings get involved in her obligations for so long, then everything had been so much simpler. Besides, if they hadn't faded away after all this time, then they were likely here to stay, and it was better for her to accept them now than to deny them under the thinly-veiled disguise of protection for years to come.
They only became a problem when February rolled around.
The way she saw it, Youmu had two options: either stay in this shaky master-servant relationship and hope that Yuyuko never asked about the true nature of her feelings (her mistress wasn't dumb, she definitely knew how Youmu felt about her, it was simply that the lack of either of them acknowledging it meant that it was never a question in the air) or face her fears and be the one to bring the question to the forefront of her mistress's mind. And even though the second option was terrifying in ways that she could never understand, more intimidating than all of the incidents she'd participated in combined, she knew that she couldn't put it off forever.
Against her better judgment, it was time for her to show her true feelings to the one that mattered most.
It was not as though she had only considered what to do for Valentine's Day just as the holiday was rolling around; no, she had been considering her plan of action for far longer than she would ever care to admit. Since September at the very least, she had been strongly debating about what she should do that day. She could do what she always did, make Yuyuko a special meal complete with sweets she'd slaved over the night before, as well as a neutral bouquet of devotion and loyalty, or she could face reality and give a bouquet full of the most romantic flowers known throughout the world. The option of playing it safe was so extremely tempting (she even had a backup bouquet arrangement in the back of her mind), but she'd been a coward for far too many years at this point. It was time for her to own up to the feelings, the desires, in her heart and make them open for once.
So when that ominous day finally arrived, she woke up at the crack of dawn, braced herself, and went to the front alone. Yuyuko was still sleeping, as expected (Youmu had always been an early riser), so Youmu knew she didn't have to worry about her mistress seeing her little plan before she properly showed it to her. She decided that she would give it to her mistress at night after their dinner and, until then, would have to hope and pray to some god out there that Yuyuko either didn't pick up on what she was planning or didn't acknowledge that there was anything different occurring. She'd already prepared the chocolate the night before (nothing fancy and out of the ordinary, after all, Yuyuko would be looking for this first), and she'd planned out every bit of dinner for the night. Everything should be perfect, but Youmu certainly wasn't planning on that.
Without further delay, she took a deep breath and took off.
A tense half hour later, she'd gathered a large mishmash of flowers connected solely by their meaning. Their colors clashed together, and there was no elegance or discernable pattern to their appearance, but Youmu honestly didn't care about how it looked. She cared far more about getting the proper meaning through in them, and, as long as Yuyuko knew her unambiguous feelings with them, then that mattered far more than superficial appearances. There were daisies, bellflowers, heliotropes, and red tulips (basic symbols of love, undying love, yes, but still simplistic), red roses (cliche but effective), and, the most important one: primrose. A meaning so simple, yet so powerful: I can't live without you. That one was definitely the scariest to put in there, but, if Youmu was being honest about her feelings at all, she may as well go all the way with it and not hold anything back. There was no more psyching herself out of this; it was happening today, for better or worse.
As she walked inside, she breathed out a sigh of relief upon seeing that Yuyuko wasn't awake yet. After a small celebratory sigh that maybe everything wouldn't go wrong, she went to her room, where she pulled out a lacy piece of red ribbon from her dresser that she had cut the night before. After tying up the physical manifestation of her feelings, she set them in her top drawer, the largest one so that they wouldn't be crushed. Even Yuyuko had standards with privacy, so she figured that this would probably be safe.
She took a deep breath before closing the room and walking to the other side of the house to wake her mistress. After all, today was a day she couldn't be asleep for forever.
After Yuyuko had risen from her sleep and the two had eaten a quiet (if enjoyable) breakfast, Youmu pulled out the chocolates she had made from the icebox, presenting them to her mistress with a triumphant smile.
Yuyuko's eyes seemed to widen as she looked upon the popped rice chocolates, not a single imperfection to be found on one of them. It was evident just how much work Youmu had put into making every one of them look like they could've come out of a store.
"They look lovely, Youmu!" the pink-haired girl said, reaching forward to hug the younger white-haired girl. Youmu could feel the red rushing to her face, but, at least with the position they were in, her mistress wouldn't be able to notice it. Pulling back, the ghost woman looked at Youmu in the eye, saying, "Thank you for everything that you do for me."
Youmu's smile softened. "It was no trouble at all. Everything I do is worth it if it's for you."
An hour or two later, a gap materialized and out popped Yukari, a box in her hands. "Happy Valentine's Day, Yuyuko. Now, if you don't mind me, I've got to get going."
As she started to go back the way she came, Yuyuko stopped her with a "Wait just a minute." Now with the gap youkai's attention on her, Yuyuko asked, "Just why are you in such a rush?"
"I just wanted to drop in on a couple of people. Is that so wrong?"
"No it's not; I was just wondering, is one of those people the Hakurei Shrine maiden?"
"So what if I want to annoy her for a bit? It's not any of your business."
"All I'm saying is it's risky. That girl attracts all kinds of people to the shrine; you think people won't start talking eventually? Do you really want to put her in that kind of danger?"
"I'll figure something out. After all, I always have."
"If you say so. Happy Valentine's Day to you too, Yukari."
Just like that, the blonde youkai vanished as though she had never been there at all. What a mess she had gotten herself into…
Everything else for the next few hours actually seemed to go as expected. It was almost too good for Youmu to believe in all honesty. Lunch and dinner had both gone on without anything out of the ordinary, and, considering Youmu had been expecting everything to go wrong, it was almost surreal that she'd gotten to this point without a glaring mistake. There was no turning back now, everything was lining up just right like the universe had willed it. She got up from where she was sitting with Yuyuko, gave a quick "I'll be a minute" and scurried off to retrieve the bouquet that may dictate her future.
It was still sitting in her top drawer, thank goodness, and, before she could get a chance to finally back out of everything, she picked it up and walked with determination back to the living room. Yuyuko looked dumbfounded as she walked in, and, after taking in a deep breath, Youmu said,
"This is for you, Yuyuko. Happy Valentine's Day."
Yuyuko didn't utter a single word, the silence overtaking their previously pleasant and open mood and creating a thick wall of tension between the two. Youmu herself couldn't bring herself to say anything more, placing the bouquet down on the table before quickly exiting the room.
She wondered how difficult it would be to get sent straight to hell, where her soul would be burned up and extinguished in an instant. Such a fate might be preferable to ever having to look her mistress in the eye again.
The days had dragged by after that. Ever since that fateful day, there had been an ever-present tension in the air that neither of the two wanted to discuss. They had an unspoken mutual agreement to simply never mention it. If Youmu turned red in Yuyuko's presence, then so be it. As long as no one mentioned it, they could proceed like normal. And so, the question that hung in the air remained there, collecting metaphorical dust and rotting away.
Youmu ended up leaving Hakugyokurou more often nowadays. It allowed for a moment of respite from the stifles of her day-to-day life. For as much as Hakugyokurou was her home, she no longer felt as comfortable there as she did once. At this rate, she wasn't sure if she'd ever feel the same kind of attachment to the realm that she once possessed again.
The fact that it seemed as though everyone else had everything together only made things worse.
While passing by the shrine for a bit a while back, she'd asked Reimu about how her day with Yukari had gone, and, while the girl flushed and denied such a thing, she was so blatant about her not-so secret affair with the youkai that it may as well have been a confession. It seemed that was yet another thing Yuyuko had been right about, what else was new?
A few minutes later, after she'd calmed down and sworn Youmu to secrecy, she'd confessed to wanting to repay Yukari for her Valentine's gift, leaving the half-phantom surprised that she'd even admitted such a thing to her in the first place. It was not as though the two were particularly close or anything, but maybe Reimu had decided that there was little point in trying to keep a secret from someone who already knew it, taking the opportunity to have a confidant instead. If Youmu was being perfectly honest, she wasn't sure why Reimu would choose Yukari out of everyone out there. The girl attracted dozens of youkai to the shrine without even trying, ones that were far more stable than Gensokyo's chessmaster, and yet, the one person she was legitimately courting was the most dangerous of them all. In the end, she supposed it wasn't her place to judge. After all, she happened to fall in love with someone similar, so she would be a hypocrite to condemn Reimu while continuing to carry a torch for her mistress.
While passing through the Human Village to stock up on some fresh vegetables, she had seen Marisa and Alice in the marketplace together, their hands intertwined as the shorter magician seemed to be relaying some kind of story to the taller youkai. Youmu chose not to disturb them, making sure to not make eye contact with the two. After all, she didn't want to ruin their happiness just because she messed up with her own.
Even when she was passing along some information to the Yama about the current soul capacity, she had to get yet another painful reminder that all of her cohorts seemed to have their love lives figured out while she was stuck at a standstill. This time, it was some small talk with Komachi, in which the shinigami had offhandedly mentioned that she'd spent the romantic holiday with the oni pretending to be a hermit (Youmu believed her name was Kasen), and planned on meeting up with her again in the next week. All Youmu felt she could do was offer her the best of luck before awkwardly leaving so that the redhead couldn't ask her about how her own holiday had gone.
At this point, it was going to be a month since the confrontation and she still had a hard time being around her mistress. Her feelings continued to linger, and no amount of her trying to stomp out what was clearly unrequited would stop them from hanging onto her.
Despite this, she tried to maintain herself as best she could, so when March fourteenth rolled around, she didn't even think anything of it. While in past years Yuyuko would give her a small arrangement with flowers of gratitude and caring, she wasn't expecting anything this year. It was fine, she was the one that had made things weird to begin with. It wouldn't be fair for her to expect anything in return after her confession when it was clearly not reciprocated.
It was only when she walked into the living room to find Yuyuko both already awake and holding a bouquet in her hands that she realized that today was going to be a bit different from the weeks of blur she'd faced.
"I hope I'm not too late."
The bouquet was small, with only a single flower variety in it to boot, long stocks of cream ambrosia. Such an act would have seemed random to most people. Youmu knew that wasn't the case.
Ambrosia was only ever romantic. It was one of the most romantic flowers in the known world. It meant mutual love.
Youmu's eyes widened as she was at a loss of what to say to her mistress. It was clear what Yuyuko's intentions were with this, the single flower choice showed how unambiguous she wanted this to be. Youmu just couldn't believe that she had just been shown that her love was reciprocated, that these feelings she'd been trying to push down for years were felt by the object of her affections. That her feelings weren't rejected and tossed aside, but mattered to the one that mattered most to her.
Noticing the quiet atmosphere in the room, Yuyuko asked, "Have your feelings faded since then?" She actually seemed a bit disappointed at the prospect of such a thing.
Youmu frantically responded, "No! It's just… something I wasn't expecting… at all. I didn't know… how long have you known? About your feelings, that is!" She could feel the heat on her face, but she didn't even care about trying to fight it.
Yuyuko's expression softened, her face actually seeming to look a little red. "Well, I only really began contemplating how I felt after your little confession last month. I'd always known how you felt, I just never considered the reverse until then. I hope you don't mind that my bouquet isn't as great as yours."
"It's fine! I don't care how it looks, how you feel matters to me far more!" Youmu said, a smile wide on her face as she still couldn't believe what was happening. Yuyuko actually liked her back!
But still… "Did you feel pressured to respond?" Youmu asked.
"No, not at all. I went with what felt right," Yuyuko responded instantly. At least that was comforting…
"Still, I have to wonder how things might change around here now though…" Youmu thought out loud.
"Things don't have to change at all," Yuyuko responded. "Unless you want them to."
Youmu paused to contemplate for a moment.
"I think, right now, I don't care what our relationship has to be called."
Yuyuko smiled. "I have to concur with you on that. We're simply us, and that matters to me far more than an arbitrary label."
The future of their relationship could always be discussed at a later time. They had an entire afterlife to do so after all.