Chapter 6

"Ribbit, ribbit."

Gurgle. Croak. Ribbit?

Suwako Moriya tilted her head and ribbited a few more times. She smiled as she was met with a chorus of croaks and ribbits, their owners overjoyed that their froggy goddess had finally visited them since forever, and on a wet and rainy day. Green and brown bodies of all sizes and age appeared all around her, previously hidden underwater or under the green plants around Moriya Shrine's pond. They jumped, moved, and swam over to where she stood near the pond's edge, eager to hear from her. After adjusting her large, brown hat to fend off more of the rain, Suwako squatted down in a frog-like position and began talking a series of ribbits and croaks.

For a while, she chatted with her rubbery friends, catching them up on what had been happening lately around the Moriya Shrine. The tengu and wolf youkai still fought each other, although it seemed to lessen in the past month. More and more humans were going to their shrine and increasing their faith. The kappas were making crazier and crazier inventions, and some of them had been donated to their shrine. Of course, she left the juiciest of Gensokyian gossip for last.

With a large smile on her face, Suwako recounted the tale of how a certain green-haired girl fell in love with the red miko of Gensokyo. It had been a very messy beginning, starting with them moving to Gensokyo. The girl cried when they had finally left their original home, and she secretly cried in her room when they finally arrived and had settled in. To take her mind off of things, one of the Moriya Goddesses suggested that the young girl become acquainted with the inhabitants of their new home and spread their new faith.

That had proved to be a mistake on her part.

Long story short, the girl was beaten up by the miko at their very first meeting, and then the two Goddesses were beaten up once she found out about them. But things somehow turned out well in the end, and now their shrines tolerated the other (although begrudgingly by the red miko). To get on the better side of her, the green-haired girl was sent on a few incidents to assist the quick-to-anger red shrine maiden.

As the girl spent more and more time with her, she slowly became infatuated. Sure, for a while they had fought long and often whenever they met. But her loneliness eventually faded away, only for it to be replaced by yearning. She lost focus in her work, staring off in the distance sometimes and forgetting what she was doing. Her two goddesses became concerned after a while, and they sought to help her (well, at least she did. Kanako had been in that don't-touch-my-daughter phase, but she was empathetic enough). Soon, they saw what the cause of the girl's worry was, and they saw that this was good thing. They gave her advice and many hugs, comforting and supporting her through and through this difficult period. Finally, the girl became courageous, and she confessed her love to the red shrine maiden.

The green-haired girl was somewhat afraid of what the other girl would say. Would she be turned down? Or would she be ignored? Would her friendship turn for the better or worse? But as it turned out, her feelings were mutual. The red shrine maiden had also fallen in love with her, expressing the same yearnings and longings that she had. On that special day, they professed their love to one another and kissed. And now they lived happily together at the Hakurei Shrine.

Suwako shifted a little in place and looked around her. The frogs, toads, and tadpoles were silent, stunned in awe of her narration. She smiled a little inside. She, of course, had missed having Sanae at their shrine at the start of her new relationship. It felt like a part of her family was gone, and it was just her and Kanako. But she was happy that Sanae had found love, even if it meant that she wanted to be with Reimu.

"Wow," a female frog finally croaked on her left, breaking the silence of the pond.

"Tell us another story about them!" one of the tadpoles bubbled in excitement. The other amphibians took up the call.

"Story!"

"Yes! Tell us another story!"

Suwako grinned as the chorus of ribbits grew louder. She held up both hands to quiet them, and soon the noise died down. Like a mother entertaining her children, she leaned forward and put on a deep and mysterious voice.

"Ok, here's one. This actually happened a few years ago, before Sanae fell in love…"

…

…

It was a quiet and peaceful Winter day at the Hakurei Shrine, the home of the infamous Shrine Maiden of Paradise. Inside the home, Reimu Hakurei was sitting at her kotatsu, nodding off in light of the comforting warmth. Outside, the snow gently fell onto the ground, steadily piling up in rough and uneven layers.

Indeed, it was a very peaceful-

*SLAM*

"Reimu Hakurei!"

The dozing girl suddenly jolted up in attention at the mention of her name. But as she did so, her knees crashed against the kotatsu's table when she stood up.

*CRASH*

"Ahhhh!" Reimu cried out in pain and fell back down in her seat. Her knees throbbed in pain and she instinctively put her hands on them. She leaned forward to ease the pain and slightly moaned.

"Reimu! Have you seen the state of your shrine!?" The voice said again, not caring one bit about the fallen girl's predicament. "The front of it is covered in snow!"

Gritting her teeth, Reimu looked up to glare at the intruder. Sanae Kochiya, the rival shrine maiden from Moriya Shrine on Youkai Mountain, had slammed the front sliding doors open. She wore a slightly modified version of her traditional blue and white shrine maiden clothing, with the sleeves fully covering her armpits. She also had a long, blue scarf with the same design patterns on her shrine skirt wrapped around her neck. With both hands on her hip, she glared down at her fellow miko with a deep frown on her face. She stomped her foot down in apparent anger.

"This isn't how a respectable shrine maiden should act!"

Reimu wasn't quite done nursing her knees, but she was attentive enough to reply back.

"It's literally the first day of Winter. At least let me be for one day," Reimu said weakly. "Besides, no one ever comes here besides you, Marisa, and the youkai."

Sanae crossed her arms and stomped her foot again.

"That isn't an excuse! It's the duty required of us shrine maidens. You have to maintain the appearance of a shrine every day, whether that be sweeping the grounds, giving offerings, or shoveling way the snow that's piling outside of your home! If you stop doing it, the kami will not like it and might even curse you."

"Well, nothing has happened to me so far," Reimu retorted. "And like it or not, this is my shrine. I do whatever I want with it, regardless of what you say."

The two girls continued to glare at each other for what seemed like an eternity. But finally, Sanae broke eye contact and looked elsewhere to vent her frustration on. Reimu harrumphed and turned her body away so she wouldn't see Sanae anymore either. The heavy silence in the room compounded. Finally, she heard Sanae sigh heavily from her side and a little rustle of clothing, indicating that she had dropped her arms down.

"L-look," Sanae wearily said. "As my senior-in-shrine-maiden, I just want you to be successful, whatever that means to you. And I want you to be happy about it."

Reimu murmured some unintelligible words under her breath. Sanae looked back at her, uneasy and unsure of what to do. The silence in the room grew again as the green-haired girl stood there in the doorway watching the other girl. She shivered as a small gust of wind blew past her.

"Close the door," Reimu said tersely.

Sanae complied and shut the front sliding doors, thankfully with a little more respect and grace. She took off her shoes, set them off to the side, and tentatively sat next to the table edge closest to her. After a few moments, Reimu sighed and turned around to face Sanae.

"Do you want tea?"

The other miko's eyebrows raised in surprised. She had thought that the red miko would be still be angry at her.

"Y-yes please," she stated meekly.

Reimu nodded, and soon, two cups of steaming hot tea and a large teapot rested between them on the table. Sanae moved to pick up her cup of tea, but she yelped as her hand brushed against the hot surface of the cup. She looked at Reimu, who was calmly sipping hers.

"Something wrong?" She said, almost a little too sweetly.

"N-no," Sanae replied shakily. Evidently, the red miko was still mad at her.

Trembling a little, Sanae picked up the unbearably hot cup and drank a small mouthful. She sputtered and coughed as the scalding tea went down her throat.

"So, what brought you here today?" Reimu asked.

Relief that she didn't have to drink any more tea yet, Sanae put down her cup. She held her hands in her lap as a smile crept onto her face.

"Do you know what Christmas is?"

Reimu warily nodded. Marisa told her once that Christmas was about getting gifts from other people. Or in her case, stealing. But when she asked the were-hakutaku/resident historian, Keine Kamishirasawa, about it, she descended into a long lecture about religion and how it was about some guy's birthday. So she never quite understood the point of it or why they celebrated it even though he was dead (Not that she wasn't grateful. Marisa always spent the whole day with her, and they ate a larger-than-normal hotpot for dinner). Sanae's smile got bigger when she saw the other girl nod.

"Kanako-sama, Suwako-sama, and I had a talk together, and we would like for you to join us for Christmas this year!"

"Huh?" Reimu said ineloquently after a few moments. "Why?"

Sanae looked down sheepishly.

"Well, it's because all we do whenever we meet is argue with each other. Kanako-sama didn't like that, so she was hoping that we, meaning all of us at the shrine, could improve our relationship with you."

Reimu thought for a bit. She didn't disagree that she and Sanae fought a lot, both verbally and in danmaku. Although it was Sanae who started the arguments…mostly.

More importantly, though, she was surprised that the Moriya Shrine goddesses had formally invited her. She had never been on good terms with them, probably ever since she first sent Sanae packing (again, her fault for starting it). At best, it was a cool and distant relationship between their shrines. Reimu couldn't help but wonder if there was some ulterior motive behind it. Kanako, for sure, had been involved in several of the incidents and events in Gensokyo. Yet Sanae's excitement seemed genuine.

Reimu sighed internally, knowing that her answer would hurt the other miko.

"I'm sorry, but I can't. Marisa usually spends Christmas with me," Reimu answered.

Sanae visibly deflated, but she soon brushed off her disappointment.

"Oh, alright. The offer is still up, though, even after Christmas passes."

"I'll keep that in mind," Reimu responded.

Sanae nodded, happy enough that her message was received. She took another sip from her cup of tea, and she stuck her tongue out in slight pain.

Sanae left half an hour after her initial appearance, stating that she had a few errands to do. This had left Reimu once again in a state of blissful and sleepy laziness, and she didn't move from her spot till her stomach demanded dinner. The thought of Christmas didn't come to Reimu's mind again till she had turned in for the night. As she was pulling the futon's cover over herself, she recalled the event being a few days after the first day of Winter. Which would explain why Sanae had come in today and invited her. Now comfortable under her futon's covers, Reimu closed her eyes and let the darkness take over.

.

.

The next few days passed by in a rather sluggish but eventful manner. The day after Sanae's invitation saw Reimu clearing the snow around the shrine. Because she had let the snow pile up to nearly her upper thighs, it took her nearly an hour to clear up even a decent path to her donation box. As she shoveled the offending piles of white to the side, she begrudgingly conceded that Sanae was right about maintaining the shrine every day. It took her twice as long to clear away the snow, but the hot tea and manjuu she prepared afterwards made it somewhat worth the tiring ordeal.

Much to Reimu's further chagrin, the fairies that hanged around the Hakurei Shrine became rowdy with the onset of Winter. The three fairies, Sunny Milk, Luna Child, and Star Sapphire, pranked her at least once a day by dropping snow on her, blinding her with light reflected off the white snow, or running off with her broom and shovels when she wasn't looking. Even the ice fairy, Cirno, wanted to boast about herself and challenged Reimu to an all snow and ice danmaku battle. Or a snowball fight.

Needless to say, she was swiftly beaten in less than ten seconds and kicked off the shrine grounds.

Surprisingly enough, though, a few of the inhabitants from the human village made an effort to travel up the snow laden route up to her shrine. In previous years, many of them avoided the place because of the youkai constantly hovering around it, despite it being a youkai-exterminating shrine. Now, after having solved many of the incidents in Gensokyo, it seemed that some people wanted to thank Reimu in some way. One day, while Reimu was busy shoveling the snow around the veranda, she heard the rare sounds of human boots walking across the snow. A few words were exchanged, and something heavy was placed down. Short prayers were whispered, and the sounds of fast, fading crunching told Reimu that the owners had walked back across the shrine grounds and down the steps. Putting her shovel against the wall, she went around the corner to find a large, cloth-wrapped box sitting on the donation box.

The cautious girl looked around her and saw two different sized pairs of footprints walking to and from the shrine. She surmised that a parent and a child had come and deposited something that …couldn't fit in the donation box, at least. She turned back to the box and brought it inside the shrine.

The present turned out to be a large assortment of meats encased within ice, desserts like yokan, and two bottles of sake. A small notecard rested on top of the inviting pile, which read:

You aren't appreciated enough for all the work you do, Reimu Hakurei. So my family and I put together a gift for the Winter season.

Happy holidays!

There was no name appended to the greeting, but a smaller thank you was written in a child's handwriting below it. Reimu supposed that they wanted to remain unknown for whatever reason.

In all, the days leading up to Christmas were eventful.

.

.

"Mmm."

Reimu rustled in her futon and blearily cracked one eye open. Dim sunlight hit her face, and she instantly squeezed her eye shut. Turning over a little, she peeked again and saw that her clock read 7:49 a.m. She shivered as the cold parts of the futon brushed against her, and she curled up to preserve what warmth she had.

A few more minutes, then I'll get up, she thought to herself, already slipping back into unconsciousness. When she woke up again, it was already 9 a.m.

She groaned but got up all the same. After going through the motions of brushing her teeth and washing her face, she was now busy tying up her hair with a red hair ribbon.

It's Christmas, she idly mulled as she pulled on each of the ribbon's ends, tightening it. Her hands froze as she finished tying the fluffy cloth.

It's Christmas! She said to herself again, and a small smile crept onto her face.

Normally, she wouldn't have been so excited, especially not in cold mornings. Blame Sanae for it, if you will; because of her, Reimu had been subconsciously anticipating this day. It just felt much more special and appealing to her now.

Dropping her hands, she turned around to walk back to her room to change, humming a little. Her cheerful mood didn't dissipate for the rest of the morning, even when she had to clear away the snow that had densely fallen overnight. The thought of Christmas and Marisa fueled her. But, for some reason, the witch had not appeared yet. Usually she arrived at the Hakurei Shrine in the morning. Reimu presumed that her friend had been held up by something and would come later. Shrugging off her concern, she continued to shovel away happily. By the time she finished, it was already near lunchtime. Taking one last look towards the sky, she leaned her shovel against the wall of the shrine and went inside to have a meal.

An hour and a meal of double boiled chicken in soup later, and Reimu was resting at her warm kotatsu, content and with a full stomach. A large teapot and two empty teacups laid on the table. Pouring herself a steaming hot cup of tea, Reimu waited for her friend to show up, anticipating and watching the slightly open doors in front of her.

But still, no black and white witch on a broomstick appeared. As the sun crossed the sky and dipped lower and lower, Reimu's heart fell deeper. It wasn't until the sun had disappeared below the Youkai Mountains and the first stars started to appear that Reimu accepted the impossible: Marisa wouldn't be coming.

Reimu forced herself up, feeling the dull soreness in her body for sitting too long in one place. The teapot had long lost its warmth, and she could feel the coldness in and outside of her body. She slowly walked over to the sliding doors and closed them. After thinking for a moment, she straightened up and headed towards the kitchen. She came out with several bottles of sake and slammed them on the table. With a determined look on her face, she pried one bottle of the succulent liquid open and prepared to drink herself into oblivion and forget about this awful day. But as she lifted the bottle to her lips, she heard light knocking against the wooden frame of her living room.

If it had been Marisa, she would've opened the doors with a bang and announced her presence right then and there. Frowning a little at who it could be, she lowered the bottle and walked over to the sliding doors. She opened them and saw Sanae standing in front of her. She wore a thick, wooly coat over herself, and two of her hands were behind her.

"H-hi," she said meekly.

"Uh, hello," Reimu replied back.

An awkward silence descended as they stood there in place looking at each other.

"Am I intruding?" Sanae finally asked. Reimu noticed that green-haired miko was staring at her hands. She looked down and saw that she was still holding the sake bottle. She quickly hid it behind her as a light, embarrassed blush appeared on her face.

"Er no," Reimu said quickly.

Sanae nodded, and she brought out a large bundle from behind her.

"Merry Christmas!" Sanae brightly cheered. "This is for you. "

Reimu looked at her slightly stunned. Putting her bottle down, she reached out and took the Christmas gift.

"Thank you," she said, remembering to speak.

The smiled on Sanae's face became bigger, and then she bowed slightly.

"You're welcome. Kanako-sama also wanted to remind you that you are welcome to visit our shrine anytime."

"Well, I guess I'll see you later," Sanae said, and she straightened up.

As Reimu watched Sanae turn around to go, the uneasy feeling she had during the afternoon returned. Small pangs started to pound in Reimu's heart, and she realized she would be alone again.

"Uh, wait," Reimu called out before she could stop herself.

Sanae looked back at the other miko. Reimu felt a lump come up in her throat, and she swallowed a little. It wouldn't hurt her to change things a little. Just for today, at least.

"Can I…come by right now?" Reimu tentatively asked.

It was Sanae's turn to look surprised, but she quickly recovered.

"Of course," she replied with a little twinkle in her eyes.

Unseen relief flooded into Reimu, and she went inside to put away the gift and sake bottles and put on something slightly warmer to travel in. Two minutes later, she returned to where Sanae was standing with a long and warm scarf. The green-haired was blowing hot air over her hands, but she dropped them when Reimu came out again.

"You ready?" Sanae inquired.

Reimu nodded, and together, they took off and flew towards Moriya Shrine. The cold wind bit at Reimu and threatened to freeze every part of her. But she flew on in anticipation and a little trepidation of the next few hours.

…

…

Suwako's voice dwindled off again, and she leaned back in retrospection.

"And?" The same, curious tadpole which had spoken up earlier prompted.

Suwako's smile grew on her face. The tadpoles were always the curious ones.

"Reimu had a fun time at our Christmas party. But I don't think it mattered if she had decided to stay home. Kanako brought out our own sake, and both she and Reimu decided to see who was the better drinker of them."

At this the froggy goddess laughed.

"They were moaning in bed for pretty much the whole day after."

"Kanako-sama and Suwako-sama, we're here!" A voice suddenly called out.

Suwako briefly looked behind her and then back to her amphibious audience.

"Well, looks like that's all I have for now," she said apologetically, and she stood up carefully.

"Wait, is that Sanae?" A frog squeaked out. "I would love to meet her."

"Me too!"

"Yea!"

Suwako laughed as the chorus of ribbits and bubbles started up again, and she put her hands up for the second time that day.

"Alright, you pushy lot! You'll get to meet both of them."

"Hooray!"

.

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