Chapter 5
"Reimu, watch out!"
Wham!
"Sanae!"
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Eirin Yagokoro picked up her stethoscope and brushed her long, white hair back to wear the instrument. With an immortal expert's medical knowledge and well-practiced hands, she proceeded to examine the green haired girl lying in front of her, moving her stethoscope over her body to listen for her breathing and heartbeat. Behind her, Reimu sat in her appointed chair, anxious for the diagnostic.
It had been a simple accident. Nearly half an hour ago, Reimu had reached up to take down a box from a high shelf in their closet. But while taking it down, she shifted awkwardly under the weight of it, and her hands knocked over a few large and heavy boxes next to them. Sanae, who had been next to her, pushed her out of the way but was struck in the head by them. When she didn't move from the floor, Reimu went into full panic mode.
The red miko had never flown so fast in her life while carrying another person. At first, she had considered going to the human village for help, but she didn't know anyone who was a healer or a doctor. However, she knew that Eintei boasted the best care available to both humans and youkai, and so she went there. Despite being deeply nestled in the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, Reimu flew over the bamboo canopy and spotted the place from above.
Without forewarn, Reimu burst through the doors and into the home of the Lunarians and demanded for Eirin. Frightened by her appearance, the rabbits and Reisen immediately did so. And after a few frantic minutes of explaining the situation and moving towards the hospital portion of the mansion, Reimu now awaited the fate of Sanae, fearing for the wellbeing of her lover.
Eventually, the red and blue dressed doctor took out the stethoscope's earpieces and laid the instrument down on the counter next to her. She turned to face Reimu.
"I'll need you to step outside for a bit while I examine her brain," Eirin said emotionlessly.
A little bit taken back, Reimu did what she was asked and closed the door behind her. It was very quiet in the hallway; evidently, the hospital was not busy at the moment. Reimu felt tears began to well up in her eyes, and she shook her head to get rid of them.
It'll be alright, it'll be alright, she thought to herself. But her fear lingered. Finally, the door opened again.
"Ok, you can come back in," Eirin called out, and Reimu went in as instructed. She saw Eirin holding and looking at several illuminated pictures. As Reimu closed the door, the Lunarian put her pictures down and pivoted in her seat to face Reimu.
"Are you ready to hear this?"
Reimu nodded.
"Alright," Eirin said. "As far as I can tell, her sensory nervous system is undamaged. She, at least, retains the senses that I could test. Her eye coordination is intact, and she responds appropriately to physical contact. She reacts to noises, and I would also wager that her smell and taste senses are unaffected. And after running a full body scan, I could detect no other anomalies, bruises, or damage on her body. Therefore, the good news is that there is nothing wrong with her physical wellbeing."
Although her heart jumped a bit in relief, Reimu immediately picked up on the insinuation.
"And the bad news?" Reimu asked fearfully.
Eirin leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temple a little, unsure of how to give the next part in an understandable way. She steam ahead anyways.
"A mild concussion, of course, is not without some problems. I've determined that a part of her brain may have been affected. Her overall neuron system is mostly unharmed, but there were damages to the cognitive portions that translate and filter the stimuli information from her sensory neurons. When firing, the executive functions of her brain were functioning abnormally and inconsistently. And upon comparing her brain from now and when she first came to Gensokyo, I've determined that they are not the same anymore. Any natural development already taken in to account, of course."
"Meaning?" Reimu said, confused by all the terminology.
"…In other words, she lost her common sense," Eirin said professionally.
Reimu stared dumbly at her. She opened and closed her mouth, shocked at what she just heard. A part of her rejected the diagnosis. But she also trusted Eirin (enough) to accept it.
"She, she at least remembers things, right?" Reimu choked out. Remembers me, you mean, she thought internally.
"I believe so. The portions of the brain responsible for memories are fine."
Reimu slumped against the wall of the room and dropped her head a little. She was both relieved and saddened that Sanae was both ok and not ok.
"So, what now?"
Eirin sensed the red miko's lingering unease and smiled.
"She will be waking up soon. I don't think your normal activities will be disrupted because of this, but you might have to adjust for her new personality."
"However, I will have Reisen look into creating a cure to return her back to her normal state," she added. "Medical cases such as these are very rare but not unheard of. But it is unfortunate that Eintei does not carry the necessary ingredients at the moment. You can expect one to be ready in a week."
Reimu's spirits raised a little at hearing that.
"T-Thank you, Eirin," Reimu said, relief starting to flood through her heart. "How much do I pay you for this?"
To her surprise, Eirin shook her head.
"Medical examinations are free. When Reisen and I create the cure, I suppose some payment will be in due. But for now, I think there is little to worry about." With that said, she got up to go. Just as she opened the door, a thought crossed her mind, and the lunarian doctor turned back to the red miko.
"When you are done, please leave in a more respectable manner," she stated, and she finally left the room, closing the door behind her.
Reimu walked over to the chair that Eirin was sitting in and sat down on it. Then she pivoted around to face Sanae and waited for her to wake up.
The minutes ticked by as she watched the white and blue clothed body steadily rise up and down. Despondent, Reimu grasped Sanae's open hand and held it. Sanae stirred a little from the sudden contact of warmth, and she suddenly opened her eyes.
"Wha?"
Seeing the green-haired girl wake up, Reimu's heart lifted.
"Sanae, you're awake!"
"Reimu?" Sanae said uncertainly. She gently sat up and winced, feeling her head. "Where am I?"
"Eintei's hospital. You got a mild concussion."
"Oh, I did?" Sanae looked unsteadily around. Reimu grew a little uneasy.
"Sanae?"
"Hmm?"
"…It's nothing," The red miko said. "Eirin said you are…mostly fine, and that we can leave when we are ready."
"Uhm, ok." Sanae accepted, and she move around to put her feet onto the floor. She tentatively tried getting up, using Reimu as support.
"Woah!" Sanae stumbled down onto the floor, bringing Reimu down with her. "Aha…I guess I'm still not ready."
"Take your time," Reimu encouraged.
It was a little while before Sanae felt fully ready to stand and walk, and together they left the ward. As requested by Eirin, they walked back to the mansion's entrance and tried to not disturb the various activities happening around them. Reimu felt Sanae look at each passing rabbit with surprise and excitement.
"They are soo cute!" She squealed. "I want one at the shrine!"
"Er no, that's probably a bad idea. Eirin will get mad at us if we brought one back," Reimu quickly intervened, thinking of a fast excuse.
Sanae's shoulders dropped a bit, but that did not stop her from staring at them. Eventually, they reached the front doors. The white rabbit Tewi and Reisen were standing there to send them off. Reisen bowed quickly and respectfully upon seeing them, but Tewi just stood there and picked her nose.
"Master just told me. Your medicine should be ready in a week," the lunar rabbit said.
"Thank you," Reimu replied, and she made to move pass them. However, she felt herself unable to move any further from her spot. She was stopped by Sanae's hand, and she turned around to see the green-haired girl now gapping at Reisen.
"Wow…"
"Er, Sanae?"
"Hmm? Oh, right!" At the mention of her name, Sanae quickly stopped staring and bowed.
"Thank you for having us!" She blurted out, and then unexpectedly, she let go of Reimu's hand. And before anyone could react, she went over and kissed Reisen on the cheek.
"Kya!"
Reisen instantly fainted. Tewi looked at the fallen lunar rabbit, shocked and confused. Before they could make more of a scene, Reimu quickly grabbed Sanae's hand again and spirited her out through the doors and into the late morning sunlight. After putting some distance between themselves and Eintei, Reimu slowed down her pace and then turned furiously towards the other girl.
"What in Kami's name was that?!" She yelled.
Sanae looked confused.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, you kissed Reisen on the cheek!"
Still, Sanae looked confused.
"But isn't that how I usually say goodbye to you?"
"That isn't how you-" Reimu started to say and then stopped.
Oh right, no common sense, she thought. Her anger dully dissipated away as she remembered why Sanae acted she did, and she looked at the curious girl with slightly pained eyes, trying to decide what to do with her.
"With me, it's fine," Reimu finally said. "But for other people, a wave or a bow is enough."
Sanae nodded happily.
"Ok!"
Suddenly feeling very tired, Reimu took Sanae's hand again.
"Ready to go home?"
Sanae nodded, and they took off to fly back to the shrine. As they flew, Reimu recalled what Eirin had said to her.
I don't think your normal activities will be disrupted because of this, but you might have to adjust for her new personality, Eirin warned.
Reimu sighed out loud. Not even half an hour since they left Eintei, and it already felt like there were one too many problems on her hands. But, she was an optimist. Only a week of this, and then Sanae would be back to normal.
Maybe things will be alright, Reimu thought, and her heart lifted a little.
"I wonder what Reimu looks like in bunny ears," Sanae said aloud, and she giggled.
Or not.
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The first few days back were hard. Despite what Eirin had told her, Sanae's lack of common sense definitely affected their normal routines, and not in a small way. For instance, as they had been unable to clean the shrine grounds before the accident, Reimu and Sanae spent a part of the day cleaning away the leaves. In reality, though, Reimu was the one who had to clean away all of the fallen foliage. While Sanae did clear a particular spot on the shrine grounds, she didn't sensibly brush the leaves into a single pile. And when it came to lunchtime, Sanae offered to cook fried vegetables and rice for lunch. Reimu reluctantly accepted, but as she had feared, the green-haired girl didn't manage the temperature correctly, and the food was burnt to crisps. That same afternoon, the green-haired miko refused to let Reimu leave from her side, even when she needed to go to the bathroom.
It was one new annoyance and aggravation after another.
Reimu became glad when nighttime fell, as things seemed to quiet down. In her new state, Sanae seemed to lose a lot more energy after a day of constant activity, and she would be unable to stay awake by ten o'clock p.m. And exhausted from trying to get used to the new Sanae, Reimu would turn in as well and go to bed with her. She would instantly fall asleep whenever she felt the soft and inviting futon from under her, and like a loyal pet to her master, Sanae would curl up next to the red miko and also fall asleep.
.
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"Eh? She lost her common sense, ze?" Marisa exclaimed, astonished. Alice, who was by the witch's side, merely sipped her cup of tea.
It's been three days since Sanae had lost her common sense. In order to give the green-haired girl something to do while they talked in private, Reimu asked Alice to hide her dolls in several places and make Sanae find them. As soon as the delighted girl was out of sight, Reimu let her fatigue show through to the two magic users, sighing and laying her head down on the table. The tired, red miko raised her head slightly and nodded.
"So, what's it like for you two now?"
Reimu coldly glared at her friend, as though it were not obvious enough. Alice put her cup down and cleared her throat.
"If you want, we could try to fix it with magic-"
"Oh, right we could do that!" Marisa said brightly.
"-but nothing can cure stupidity, I'm afraid," Alice finished.
"Da-ze?"
Reimu weakly smiled at the other couple.
"Thank you, but Eirin said she would make a cure for us already," Reimu said.
Alice nodded, understanding. Her doll, Shanghai, floated over and patted Reimu on the head. Just then Sanae barged into the room carrying a number of dolls in her arms. Reimu recognized Hourai among them.
"Here you go! I found them all!" She said triumphantly, and she unceremoniously dumped them onto the table. Upon landing on the table, the dolls propped themselves back on their two feet and then bowed towards Sanae. Alice gave the beaming girl a warm smile in return.
"Thanks, Sanae."
.
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After an hour, Marisa and Alice felt that it was time to go. Reimu saw them off and waved goodbye as they flew back to their home in the Forest of Magic. As she let her arm fall, she felt another two arms slide around her waist.
"Aw, they already left?" Sanae's soft voice murmured. Reimu felt Sanae's breath tickle her ear a little.
"They had some things to do," Reimu explained. She turned around carefully to face the other girl.
"Actually, I was thinking that we could go and visit Kanako and Suwako today."
Reimu thought it would be a good idea to let the Moriya Goddesses know what happened to their shrine maiden. They were, after all, the closest thing to parents for Sanae. Plus, she wasn't fond of the idea that they could drop a surprise visit on them, find out Sanae had lost her common sense, and then cause a much larger scene than necessary (e.g., destroying her shrine).
At the mention of the Moriya Goddesses, Sanae's eyes lit up.
"Great, I'll bring them something!" She said excitedly, and she scurried off to the kitchen to prepare…something. Reimu leaned against the wall and sighed. Only four more days.
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"Eh?! Sanae lost her common sense?" Kanako exclaimed.
Half an hour or so later, and Reimu was sitting with the Moriya Goddesses at their low table in the Moriya shrine. And like previously, Reimu quietly got Suwako to persuade Sanae to go sweep the shrine grounds so she could talk to them in private. Sanae's gift, which was a haphazard mess of sandwiches, rested neatly against a bowl of plums in the middle of the table.
"Well, that explains why she greeted us so strangely today," Suwako commented. Reimu bowed over the table in apology.
"Our Sanae…" Kanako repeated in shock.
"So, what's gonna happen?" The froggy Goddess inquired. The situation with Sanae did not seem to bother her as much as it did to the other Goddess.
"Eirin, the Lunarian doctor, is going to make a cure to restore her back to her former state that will be ready in a week. For now, I guess I'm just trying to adjust to it. It's just so…different from her before," Reimu confessed. Suwako nodded.
"It can't be that bad, right? I mean, she is still our Sanae…" Kanako said, still clinging on to a previous memory of her wind priestess. At that moment, the girl in question reappeared, apparently having finished cleaning(?) the Moriya shrine grounds.
"I'm baaackk! Hey, fruits! (lol)," Sanae annouced, and she picked out a large plum from the bowl in the middle of the table for herself. She sat down next to Reimu and started to eat the succulent fruit.
"…That is pretty bad," Kanako finally assented.
"It does get a little hard predicting her thought process," Reimu admitted. Sanae paid no attention to what was being said about her and continued eating. Suwako watched her for a bit before speaking up.
"Hey, Sanae? Do you want to stay with us for the next few days?" Sanae froze mid-bite and then shook her head. She put her half-eaten plum down on the table and then wrapped her arms around Reimu.
"As much as I would love to, I think I'm happiest when I'm with Reimu," she said brightly. Despite herself, Reimu blushed hard.
"Geez, Sanae." Suwako laughed and then leaned back a little in her seat.
"Definitely sounds like no end to your troubles, Reimu."
.
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For a change of pace, Reimu (and thereby also Sanae) decided to stay at the Moriya shrine for the rest of the afternoon, sleep there for the night, and then leave in the morning. Given the current situation, Reimu largely helped the Goddesses around at their shrine. Admittedly, though, there wasn't too much work for her to do; the shrine grounds were well cared for because of their faith-followers, and the actual household required little in terms of cleaning. But she did help place a new food offering on the main Shrine altar and burn the numerous piles of Bunbunmaru newspapers that had been stacking up in the foyer.
For dinner, the goddesses cooked Sanae's favorite dishes and provided an ample supply of sake with it (Like the oni, they enjoyed alcohol with every meal). Unfortunately, they had underestimated Sanae's condition. After her insistence on her fourth bottle of sake of the meal, Reimu decided that enough was enough and took it away from her. Upon realizing that her bottle was gone, the drunk girl began to cry, and Reimu reluctantly gave it back to her (with some glares from the other drunk goddesses dangerously stabbing into her). Sanae instantly cheered up, but instead of continuing to drink, she set the bottle aside and clung to Reimu, refusing to let go of her and giggling madly.
Sanae finally passed out around eight o'clock, relieving the red miko of her ordeal. Kanako carried the girl to her old room, and Reimu helped Suwako clean the table and wash the dishes.
"I'll admit, it's so strange seeing Sanae like that," Suwako said after a while. "Even as a kid, she was very kind and receptive of others."
She paused and laughed a little.
"I guess we can thank ourselves that she's only like that for a week."
"…I guess. But it doesn't make me worry any less about her," Reimu replied back.
"Me and you both. I wonder how it came about, though."
Reimu didn't answer, and she started to wash a little slower. The frog goddess soon noticed the red miko slight change in behavior. She finished washing her current plate and then hugged the saddened girl. Startled, Reimu looked down at her.
"Hey, it's not totally your fault that things happened as they did. Sanae wanted to protect you," Suwako said, correctly guessing what had happened. Tears started to well up in Reimu's eyes, despite herself. She quickly wiped them away with her sleeve (as she had a soapy plate in her hands) and awkwardly hugged the goddess back in comfort.
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Reimu stayed up with the other Goddesses for an hour, conversing with them about how life recently was, how the wolf and tengu youkai were acting, and how was their faith collection. But she was soon yawning, feeling the fatigue of the day win her over. She got up from her seat.
"I'm going to bed now," She said, and she headed towards the hallway of the home.
"Good night. Try not to disturb Sanae too much," Suwako lightly teased. Likewise, Kanako mumbled good night.
Reimu slowly made her way towards Sanae's old room. On previous visits, she had left a few spare sets of her shrine maiden clothing in cases like these when they stayed over. Once she was there, she opened the door slowly and peeked in.
When Reimu had first seen Sanae's old room, the first thought that came to her head was "lake." Painted in complementing swaths of blue and green, the room gave off a feeling of a calm, underwater atmosphere. A number of snake and frog dolls rested on a shelf on one side of the wall, and a desk, dresser, and bookcase filled with many Outside World textbooks and regular books faced them on the other side. On the far wall, there was a double bed (put in for Reimu and Sanae to sleep together in) and a window that looked over the forests of the Youkai Mountain. Currently, Sanae was tucked in and resting peacefully.
Quietly and quickly, Reimu nipped into the room and rummaged through the dresser for a set of sleepwear. Locating them, she closed the drawer and prepared to exit the room again. Just as she crossed the doorway, Reimu heard Sanae stirred a little.
"Nnn…Reimu…"
The red miko froze and turned back. But the girl had only spoken out of her sleep. Thinking for a moment, Reimu went back and lightly brushed aside Sanae's hair on her forehead.
"I love you so much," she whispered, and Sanae seemed to relax a little better. Reimu stood up and finally closed the door behind her, ready to take a good, long bath.
.
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The miko couple took their time waking up and eating breakfast, and a good part of the next morning had passed before they felt ready to leave. They now stood outside on the grounds with the two goddesses giving their goodbyes.
"Come back soon and visit us," Suwako said, giving the red miko a warm, froggy hug.
"We will," Reimu replied, smiling. Sanae knelt and gave Suwako a bone-crushing goodbye hug, which she didn't seem to mind at all. Kanako gave Reimu an awkward embrace and Sanae a loving one. Their goodbyes all done, Reimu and Sanae held hands and took off to fly back to the Hakurei Shrine.
.
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Upon arriving at their destination, Reimu noticed that there were a few leaves strewn about on the shrine grounds.
"I'm going to clean the grounds first," she said to Sanae.
The green-haired girl nodded. They lightly landed in front of the donation box, and Sanae went off to the side to enter the home. After a brief check in the donation box (which was empty), Reimu picked up the broom beside it and started to sweep around. As she had already swept the day before, it didn't take her long to clear away the fallen debris. Satisfied, she put the broom back in its usual place and went inside to find Sanae.
Reimu found her in their room, concentrating on something. She looked over her shoulder and saw that she had several of her swimsuits laid out. Sanae noticed her looking and turned around.
"Hi Reimu!"
"Er, hey," Reimu said. "What are you doing?"
Sanae tilted her head and smiled.
"I think I want to spend the day at the lake today!"
"Uh, ok." Reimu stated. "Why though?"
"Because I just realized that Summer ends in a few days, and I want to spend a day somewhere where there's water!" Sanae said cheerily.
Reimu frowned. She didn't like the idea that, in her current state, Sanae would be alone at the lake. And while it was isolated, there were a few very dangerous youkai living very close by in a certain scarlet red mansion. But her immediate fears were assuaged in the next few moments. As she was thinking, Reimu suddenly felt Sanae's hands around hers.
"You'll come with me to the lake, right?"
"…Of course," Reimu affirmed, giving in to her worries.
"Yay!"
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An hour later, and Reimu was lightly floating above the Misty Lake and directly under the noon sun. Just seconds earlier, Sanae had dove down to put their things on an open patch of grass. Reimu watched as the fairies scattered upon seeing the green-haired miko, fearing that it was an extermination. A bluish fairy with icy crystal wings lingered a little longer and had actually thrown a few danmaku at her (which, luckily for Sanae, missed) before being pulled away by a green-haired fairy with a side ponytail. Meanwhile, Sanae, who had been oblivious of her intrusion, had found a pleasing patch of grass and landed there. She waved up to Reimu.
Reimu sighed and flew down to help her. Soon, she reached the spot. The place had a good view of the lake, but it was also in plain view of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Reimu hoped that they wouldn't be noticed too much.
They began setting up their place, spreading out a large blanket over the grass. As they had planned on staying for lunch and the afternoon, Reimu had prepared a picnic basket with half a dozen sandwiches, a few thermoses of tea and water, and some light snacks such as rice crackers.
Unfortunately, she had forgotten that the mist floated in at noon, and soon they couldn't see beyond a couple of meters of themselves. Instead of worrying about it, though, the miko couple decided to eat lunch and wait for the mist to dissipate a little. They sat down and got themselves comfortable. Reimu opened her basket and took out two of her sandwiches, passing one to Sanae.
"Itadakimasu!"
Sanae bit down into her sandwich and made a pleasing sound.
"Mmm!"
Reimu smiled and bit into hers, savoring the taste as well. They each had a second sandwich afterwards. As they ate, they watched the mist crawl slowly around them and over the lake. The sun was still hot enough to pierce through, and so they did not feel the chill of the watery blanket around them.
Finishing off her second sandwich, Reimu took a drink out of her thermos of tea and sighed blissfully. Sanae soon finished eating hers and then held out her hands to Reimu.
"Can I have a thermos?" The red miko rummaged around a little in the basket and then passed a blue thermos of water to her.
"Thank you!" Sanae said, and she opened it up and drank about half of the liquid inside. She burped loudly.
"I'm gonna go swim now!" She said, starting to get up. Reimu noticed and quickly stopped her.
"Ah, wait a while for your food to digest! Otherwise you'll cramp up while swimming," Reimu said. She had no idea how she knew that, but it seemed like common sense. Sanae started to pout a little, but she did as she was told.
It was a painful ordeal (for Sanae), but a necessary one. Reimu, who was an expert at lazing around, didn't mind waiting for the minutes to pass by. However, Sanae fidgeted the whole time, looking at Reimu at the corner of her eyes ever so often in a plea to go. The mist rolled over time, and soon, Reimu was able to see more of the lake and the bright, yellow silhouette of the sun. Finally, Reimu decided that it was a good enough time to enjoy the water.
"Are you ready to go in?" Sanae jumped to her feet.
"Yep!"
Sanae began taking off her shrine clothing, and Reimu started to do the same. Before they left, they had changed into their swimwear. Sanae chose a plain white bikini to wear. Unfortunately for Reimu, she didn't own any swimsuit or bikini, so instead, she stripped down to just her breast wraps and a flowery white bikini bottom from Sanae. As soon as her red shrine skirt was off, her hand was instantly grabbed and pulled towards the lake's edge.
"W-wait, Sanae!" But Sanae did not wait, and she jumped right into water.
"Eeek!"
Splash!
"Waaa, cold!" Sanae exclaimed. Dripping from head to toe, Reimu shivered from the sudden shock of coldness.
"Y-you could've warned me!" She said angrily, but Sanae merely laughed and dove underwater.
Sanae was like a bundle of never ending energy. While Reimu tried to stay closer to the shore, the green-haired girl went everywhere, wading in the shallow parts and swimming in the deeper portions. But she always tried to get Reimu to be with her. At times, she would manage to persuade the red miko to swim with her, and they would dive down to explore the underwater environment. They also played in the shallows, lightly splashing one another as if in a battle of watery danmaku.
Of course, their antics were not without attention. Eventually, Reimu spotted the mermaid Wakasagihime peeking from the middle of the lake. As soon as she saw the red miko looking at her, though, she quickly dove back down, the last sight of her being the tell-tale fishtail. A few fairies also presently came back to the lake, but they stayed far away from them and hid in the trees near the lake's waterfronts. However, after watching them for a while, a certain blue among them decided that she had had enough, and she sprung out from her hiding place. She flew above Sanae and inhaled deeply.
"Hey! This is our lake!" Cirno yelled at the top of her lungs. The other fairy Daiyousei fluttered next to her, terrified that her friend had just confronted two of the incident solvers. Sanae looked up curiously.
"It is?"
"Yea!"
"C-Cirno, I don't think this a good idea," Daiyousei stammered.
Sanae had put a finger to her chin and then smiled.
"How do we know it's your lake?" Stepping right into the trap, Cirno belted out her answer.
"Because I said so!"
"But, I can say that it's also my lake, and it would be mine, right?"
"Uh…" Cirno looked confused for a second. Sanae clapped her hands.
"I know! Instead of saying whose lake it is, how about a danmaku battle?"
Upon hearing the word danmaku, Cirno puffed out her chest.
"You're on! I'm the strongest!"
Reimu sighed and swam back to their picnic blanket to dry off and wait. She could already see the outcome.
Or so she had thought.
The battle of a lifetime began between stupid and no common sense. And it was extremely unbearable to watch. Sanae seemed to have retained her combat potential, and she was relatively able to dodge in and out of Cirno's ice crystals and spell cards. But Reimu could see that she was struggling to hit the fast and child-size fairy, aiming where she had been only seconds earlier. Similarly, Cirno was just spraying danmaku everywhere, not bothering to aim at her opponent. In fact, Reimu could easily describe how the battle was going, as it was that slow.
Cirno fired a stream of icy crystals. Sanae dodged and returned fire with a burst of blue stars. Cirno moved out of the way and fired another wave of projectiles. It missed, and Sanae is now trying, and failing, to score a hit.
It was truly a unique danmaku battle (one that would take a lifetime to finish, Reimu thought wryly). Daiyousei sat a little ways from her, both nervous for her friend and wanting to cheer for her to win. Reimu stifled a large yawn, and then she heard a voice speak next to her.
"Ara, now isn't this a sight?"
Reimu turned towards the voice and saw a small girl wearing a pink dress and mobcap. A white-haired maid held a parasol above the girl's head. Upon seeing them, Daiyousei squeaked and fled for the trees behind her.
"Remilia and Sakuya," Reimu said. The vampire bared her fangs in reply, and the maid smiled politely.
"I really didn't expect you to be here, Reimu," Remilia said coolly. "You look…out of place." The red miko shrugged.
"Speak for yourself. I didn't fancy you out here as well in the hot sun."
Remilia grimly smiled.
"Well, I guess you could say that a certain red miko who wasn't wearing her normal attire AND wasn't exterminating everything on sight attracted my attention."
Reimu leaned back, unfazed by her description.
"Sanae wanted to come here," she said simply. Remilia turned and watched the blue and green spectacle for a bit.
"Hmm…" she said. She looked back at Sakuya.
"Sakuya, this is boring. Let's go back."
"Of course, Ojou-sama."
Remilia turned back to Reimu and nodded slightly in farewell.
"Bye, Reimu. And I will have to say, nice outfit. The bunny ears suit you," she commented.
Reimu instantly put her hands to her head, but she didn't feel anything there.
"What bunny ears?" Reimu said confused, but the scarlet red vampire and her maid were already walking back to the mansion.
.
.
The battle had lasted far longer than Reimu anticipated, and it ended in an unexpected way. In a flurry of blue and green, both Cirno and Sanae activated their final spellcards, resulting in a spectacular explosion. Unfortunately, both were hit by their combined spells and were knocked out, and they dropped downward towards the lake. Reimu and Daiyousei both burst into action and flew to save them before they hit the water.
When Sanae came to, she found herself in the arms of a very wet Reimu on the picnic blanket. Cirno was similarly cradled in the arms of Daiyousei.
"Did I win?" Sanae said dazedly.
"You both knocked each other out," Reimu stated.
"Darn."
Unlike Sanae, when Cirno woke up, she didn't accept the draw with grace. She started to throw a tantrum, yelling loudly for a rematch and screaming at them to leave. Reimu threatened to exterminate the unruly fairy many times to shut her up, but it didn't seem to stick in her head. Cirno only screamed louder and hoarser. In a last effort, Reimu tried to bribe the fairy with a sandwich. And to her utter dismay, it worked. Cirno begrudgingly took the food, stating that she will overlook their intrusion only for today. However, the blue fairy sat down on the picnic blanket and began eating it, and she refused to budge from her spot despite Reimu's new verbal and physical efforts to push her away. It was only when Daiyousei started to look longingly at her friend that Reimu gave up and let things be as is. She sighed and gave the last sandwich to her to eat as well.
Reimu was certain that this looked like a ridiculous scene; Two mikos in swimwear, on a picnic near the lake, with two fairies eating with them. She quickly looked up and scanned the sky on the chance that an unwanted and nosy crow was watching, but it was clear and devoid of clouds.
The presence of Cirno and Daiyousei with Reimu and Sanae actually had a more significant effect. When the other fairies saw their fellow fairies not being exterminated, they grew a little bolder and started to come out from hiding. Eventually, the lake area was populated by the other fairies again, although they left the two mikos ample space. As soon as they were done eating, Cirno and Daiyousei both flew off to play once again with the other fairies.
Exhausted, Reimu turned towards Sanae to see how she was doing. She saw that the other miko had a very peaceful expression on her face, watching the fairies go to and from different areas of the lake. Sanae suddenly blinked and noticed her lover looking at her. She brightly smiled, and Reimu couldn't help but smile back. She felt the other girl's fingers creep into hers and her body slightly lean against her own. Now much more comfortable, Sanae sighed in content.
It appeared that Sanae was satisfied and done playing in the lake. But she didn't seem to want to move from her place anytime soon. Reimu was fine with it, as she was in no mood to move around either. And so they sat there in silence, watching the fairies play around well after the sun had set and the night had risen.
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The Next Morning
"Eh? The cure is almost done?" Reimu said in surprise. Reisen nodded.
"That was fast," Reimu remarked. There was still another two days until they had to go back to Eintei. The lunar rabbit shrugged.
"Master is a medical genius. She also told me that you should come by tomorrow, as it'll be ready then."
Having delivered the message, Reisen bowed, and then turned to go back to Eintei.
"Ah, thank you," Reimu quickly blurted out, and rabbit took off. Reimu closed the sliding doors and went to sit back down with Sanae. They had been knitting new scarfs for the coming winter when Reisen had knocked on their sliding doors to deliver her message.
"What did she want?" Sanae asked once Reimu was next to her again.
"Um," Reimu said awkwardly. "She said that we need to go to Eintei tomorrow for your, uh, medicine."
Sanae laughed.
"Medicine? But what for? I'm not sick or anything!"
"Er…," Reimu hesitated. Sanae noticed the other girl falter and tilted her head.
"Hmm?"
"…It's just something that will make you healthier," Reimu eventually said. Inside, her heart twinged painfully from the blatant lie.
"Well, alright," Sanae accepted, and she resumed humming as she knitted once again. Reimu also picked up her needle and returned to knitting as well.
But as she worked through the rhythmic weaving of her yarn, Reimu started to feel uneasy. She had thought that it was best not to tell Sanae about her condition, but the sudden visit from Reisen had made her unsure about her decision. Should she have told Sanae that she had lost her common sense at the start? How would green-haired girl have reacted? How would she have acted during the week knowing about it? Would it have or not have made a difference in the end?
All of these thoughts began to affect her knitting, and she soon found herself undoing and redoing many stiches in the same places. Frustrated, Reimu pushed her uneasiness aside and focused on the task before her. In the end, she was grateful that Sanae would be back to normal by tomorrow, and whatever regret she had inside now would not change the past.
.
.
"Mmm!" Sanae leaned back and stretched out her arms over her head. "Oh, that feels good!"
Reimu looked down at her unfinished scarf and thought it didn't look too bad. Well, it had a few strands sticking out in various places. She looked over to see Sanae's and took back her previous assessment. Despite having no common sense, Sanae was still just as deft with craftwork and the alike. Reimu began stretching a little as well, feeling soreness everywhere in her body from sitting too long. She felt Sanae lean on her, still in the satisfied afterglow of her almost completed work. Reimu looked at the digital clock on the table and was shocked to see that it was already near 6:00 p.m. They had somehow managed to skip lunch and continued without a single break during the afternoon. And almost in confirmation, Sanae's stomach rumbled. Reimu gently nudged the other miko away and stood up.
"It's dinner time. What do you want to eat?"
Sanae raised her hand high, as if answering a teacher in class.
"Omurice!" She said.
"Ok," Reimu nodded, and she turned to go make them two dishes of it.
A little after Sanae had come to live permanently at the Hakurei shrine, she taught Reimu how to cook omurice.
It's not a hard dish to make, actually, Sanae admitted, Just cook the eggs till they are soft and fluffy, cook the rice like usual, and add as much meat and ketchup as you want to it. Lay the omelette on top of the rice, and then more ketchup on top of it all. Kanako and Suwako used to make for me many times when I was younger.
A child's dish, Reimu had mused. Sanae blushed red from embarrassment.
N-nothing wrong with liking something from your childhood, you know? Sanae said timidly. Reimu laughed lightly and kissed Sanae on the cheek.
I know.
As she was taking out the rice, a sudden thought occurred to Reimu. The current Sanae more or less had the mentality of a young kid, even though her actions were mature and adult-like. That's why she seemed to be enthusiastic about everything and possessed that child-like energy.
Well, she was somewhat like that from before, Reimu thought as she began taking out several eggs from the icebox and breaking them into a bowl. As she started to whisk the eggs into a smooth liquid, another thought struck her.
If Sanae was the child, then would that make Reimu the mother?
It was a very odd and startling revelation. She was so used to Sanae being in the mother role, that she couldn't really see herself as one. But she felt weirdly fuzzy and happy inside because of it.
Whatever the case, she needed to concentrate and make dinner. Putting on her apron, the red clothed mother carried her ingredients to the stove and got ready to cook them for her loving daughter.
.
.
"Yay! Itadakimasu!" Sanae clapped her hands excitedly.
"Itadakimasu," Reimu repeated, and she smiled as she watched dig into her plate of omurice.
The sounds of eating and soft blowing gently filled the room. Happy that she was eating her favorite dish, Sanae had almost finished her dinner by the time Reimu had just eaten half of hers. Noticing that Sanae had a bit of rice stuck on her cheek, Reimu reached over, picked it off delicately, and ate it.
"Oh thank you," Sanae said. Realizing what she had just done, Reimu furiously blushed.
"I, I just didn't want to waste food," she stuttered, but Sanae had already returned to eating.
After a few more minutes, Reimu finished, and they both gave their thanks for the food.
"Gochisosama!" Sanae exclaimed. Reimu repeated after her and started to pick up the dishes. Noticing, Sanae picked up her plates and stood up first.
"Ah, let me wash the dishes," Sanae offered. Reimu hesitated. Part of her worried that something would happen.
"Er, sure," She finally relented, and Sanae gleefully moved over to the kitchen area.
Reimu waited for the inevitable sound of breaking dishes, but they never came. Sanae eventually came out more wet than dry, but she looked happy at accomplishing her task.
The miko couple continued to knit for the rest of the night. By the time Reimu looked at the clock again, it was already 11 p.m. However, they had finished creating their new accessories, and two new six foot long scarfs, one woven with red and white patterns and the other with green and blue stars, now rested in front of them. Yawning, Sanae leaned against Reimu.
"Reimu, let's take a bath together," She said.
"Sure," Reimu replied.
They put their knitting supplies back in their drawer and got ready to wash. Like a little kid, Sanae rushed ahead towards their bathroom. By the time Reimu had arrived, the green-haired girl had already changed out of her clothing and started filling the bathtub with water. Reimu changed out of her own clothes, put them in the wooden laundry basket for dirty clothes, and stepped inside the enclosed room.
While they waited for the water to fill the tub, they took turns scrubbing themselves and each other's backs. Fully bubbled up, they rinsed each other off and got into the now full bathtub together. Reimu felt her body instantly relaxed as she touched the warm and comfortable water, and she sighed in relief. Sanae similarly did the same.
For a while, they enjoyed soaking in the water in silence. Reimu leaned back and watched the steam rise up and disappears into the vents above, which opened up to the sky. Most of her worries seemed to melt away.
"Hey, Reimu?"
"Hmm?" Reimu said serenly.
"…It's nothing," Sanae said, and she busied herself by washing down her arms.
They indulged a few more minutes in the bath before exiting it and drying themselves off. Soon enough, though, Reimu was tucking Sanae into their futon. Once satisfied with her task, Reimu got in next to her lover and made herself comfortable. She closed her eyes and let herself slowly sink into a restful unconsciousness. But just as she felt the reigns of sleep take over, she heard Sanae whisper her name.
"Reimu?"
"Mmm?"
"Are you awake?"
"Trying not to be," Reimu faintly heard herself say.
"…What's the real reason we are going to Eintei?"
Startled, Reimu opened her eyes and turned her head towards Sanae, whose green eyes were looking at her in the dim darkness.
"Um, you know, it's to…" Reimu dwindled off, unable to give a good excuse.
"…to help make me 'normal' again?" Sanae said quietly. At that moment, Reimu's heart plummeted.
"…You know about it?" Reimu asked fearfully.
Sanae slowly nodded, her eyes disappearing for a moment.
"I kind of…overheard some things when you were talking with Kanako-sama and Suwako-sama," Sanae confessed, her voice becoming even quieter. She turned to face the ceiling.
"You know what's scary? Not knowing the difference between right or wrong. Everything just feels normal to me."
Sanae paused before continuing.
"I know that what I do is sometimes bad, but I can't seem to stop it. And even now, I think I'm saying things that I shouldn't have. It's like I am in control and not in control."
With apparent sadness, the green-haired girl turned to look back at Reimu.
"I bet I'm causing you a lot of problems because I'm like this. But…you've never brought up my 'problem' to me…only to Kanako-sama and Suwako-sama. And now we have to go back to Eintei tomorrow. It makes me feel…betrayed, because it was like you didn't trust me," Sanae said.
Deeply ashamed and guilty, Reimu shifted over and embraced the other girl.
"I'm really sorry. I should have told you from the start," Reimu said, her tears stinging her eyes. "But it was because of me that you got hurt, and I cannot forgive myself for that."
Reimu felt Sanae's arms gently reach around her.
"I got hurt because I wanted to protect you," Sanae whispered. "Because I love you."
Reimu closed her eyes to stop the inflow of tears now streaming out. She quietly sobbed into Sanae's shoulders as Sanae cooed softly and patted her back in comfort. After some time, Reimu calmed down, and she pulled back a bit to wipe away her tears. But, like the caring mother that she always was, Sanae reached up with her sleeve to clear them away.
"There, there. All better now," Sanae said. As the other miko lightly wiped her face, Reimu reached up to hold it.
"I promise that I won't ever do this again to you," Reimu swore. "And if I do…please be there to stop me."
Sanae faintly smiled.
"Thank you."
With some difficulty, Reimu cleaned off the rest of her tears and shifted back into her normal sleeping position. She felt Sanae's fingers creep into hers, like usual, and she closed her eyes. But sleep would not come so fast, especially not after this small incident. Soon, though, Reimu heard her name being whispered again.
"Reimu?"
"Yes, Sanae?" Reimu replied.
"Please kiss me. You haven't done it since the beginning of this week."
Reimu's heart throbbed guiltily again as she realized that she, indeed, had not kissed Sanae at all since the accident. She propped herself onto one arm to lean over the other girl. She stared into those rich, green eyes for a bit before lowering herself down and then kissing her in total devotion.
"Mmm."
After a few moments, Reimu pulled away, and she saw Sanae smiling peacefully up at her in the darkness.
"Good night, Reimu."
"Good night, Sanae."
.
.
"So, I drink this?" Sanae said, raising the small cup. There was a strangely pulsing purple fluid inside of it. Eirin nodded.
"It will fix whatever needs to be fixed."
Reimu squeezed Sanae's other hand in comfort. Sanae took a deep breath and then drank the medicine. They waited a couple of moments to see if anything changed, but nothing dramatic happened.
"How do you feel?" Reimu finally asked.
"Uhm, normal," Sanae replied. She tried moving her arm up and down. Reimu wracked her head, trying to think of a way to test her common sense, and she suddenly had a good idea.
"Oh, I know. How do you say goodbye to other people?"
Sanae looked confused.
"What do you mean? You can wave or say 'goodbye' to them," she answered. Reimu beamed and hugged the other shrine maiden in relief.
"Yep, she's cured," Reimu said to Eirin, and the lunarian doctor smiled.
"That's great news. There was a 50% chance that the liquid would have made her lose all of her intelligence and senses."
Reimu looked at the Lunar doctor in shock.
"But I thought you were a genius!?"
"I am. But Gensokyo only has so many ingredients before I had to substitute some things in. I only have rabbits to test these medicines on, you know?" She said benignly. Reimu made a mental note to herself to seriously decide if going to her or a human doctor would be more worth it in the end, especially when it comes to Sanae.
"Well, I'll leave you two alone for a bit. After you are done, Reimu, please see me about the payment," Eirin said, and she walked out of the wardroom that they were in to give the couple some privacy.
"So, do you remember, uh, everything that happened?" Reimu tentatively asked. Sanae nodded.
"Pretty much," she said, and then she blushed. "But I kind of wished I didn't."
Reimu pulled Sanae into another hug and kiss.
"As long as I am by your side, it's fine."
"Thank you."
.
.
"W-What is this?" Reimu stammered out. Eirin smiled knowingly.
"It's part of your payment, of course."
"But-"
"No buts, Reimu. Reisen and I spent quite a bit of time on this, and it would be a shame if it weren't put to its intended use. Now, please change into it in the room next to you."
Reimu looked at the room and then back at Eirin. She gulped and went inside to put on her "payment."
When Reimu came out again, she was wearing a specially made bunny girl outfit. It had the signature bunny ears sticking up and was colored a deep and rich pink. It even had shrine maiden arm sleeves (although shorter) that were specially tailored for Reimu. Sanae gasped and clapped her hands in delight. Reimu tried to cover as much of herself as she could.
"You look amazing, Reimu!"
Before the embarrassed red bunny girl could reply, Eirin stepped forward.
"Now, your full payment will be to work one day as our special bunny shrine maiden maid," she said officially.
"W-WHAT!? That is the most ridiculous thing I have heard since-" Reimu exclaimed, but then Sanae cut her off.
"Would it be possible for me to work with Reimu in one of those outfits?"
Eirin didn't even bat an eye.
"Of course! We also had one made just for you."
Reimu looked at the green-haired girl in confusion.
"Um, Sanae? I thought you were cured?"
Sanae beamed and wrapped an arm around Reimu's arm.
"Maybe. Or maybe not! But it'll be fun, right?"
Reimu could only groan.
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A/U: Hello, it's Kali Shima.
So sorry for the very, very late publish. I had this idea swimming in my head, and then, before I knew it, it became 7k+ words.
But it is here!