The two girls looked at each other nervously, trying to think up an excuse while the younger girl stared up at the pair with her big blue eyes.
"Er,, Y'see Cirno-Chan..." Youmu began, but Reimu quickly laid her hand on the silver-haired girl's shoulder.
"Cirno-Chan, obviously what you saw was a delusion, because of what happened to you guys," The older girl quickly came up with, "You hit your head when you fell over, so you were imagining things."
"But I'm sure that I saw it!" Cirno argued, but the two girls just gave her a look, and hurried inside, forcing the girl to follow them.
True to her expectations, They found Marisa and Letty sitting at her table, and, to Reimu's chagrin, were drinking her tea, "Damnit you two, stop using all of my groceries!"
"It's never been a problem before," Marisa commented, before smirking at her friend and taking another sip. Letty remained quiet on the other hand, until she spotted her little sister, "Hey Cirno-Imouto, how was the lake?"
"Onee-Chan, Reimu-Sempai and Youmu-Sempai saved us from a big monster!" The younger girl announced, making the Tenshi choke. Reimu was quick to try and save face.
"That is, Youmu-Chan heard something, and texted me to come over, and we found the girls playing rough with each other, and decided to join in for a little while," The shrine maiden offered, "Rumia-Chan played the part of an evil Youkai and we had to "defeat" her."
"That's not what.." Cirno began to argue, but Reimu quieted her down as she crossed the room and collected something from on top of her fridge. "Here Cirno-Chan, for being such a good girl."
"Yay Cookies!" The young girl cheered, taking the jar and sitting down next to her sister, who told her to only have a couple.
"So you ran off without telling us anything because Youmu-San messaged you?" Marisa asked, and Reimu noticed how hurt the girl sounded, which made her own heart hurt slightly.
"It sounded important, and Youmu-Chan was worried about whoever was screaming, so of course she did the logical thing and called in her Sempai, there's nothing wrong about that Marisa-Chan," Letty covered, and Marisa huffed childishly.
"Still didn't mean that she had to run off on us without saying anything," Marisa complained, but considering Letty began to laugh at the girl's comment, Reimu was sure there was no heat behind it.
"If you'll give us a moment, I need to talk to Youmu-Chan about something real quick, and we'll be right back," Reimu stated, and the two girls nodded, so Reimu grabbed onto her junior's hand and pulled her back outside, "Think we should contact Yukari-sama about team (9) seemingly knowing about us?"
"It would probably be wise to inform her, and ask her about what to do with the girls," Youmu admitted, "We can't just have them telling everyone what they saw, if someone believed them then we would have a lot of trouble in the future."
"Okay, I'll go back in and monitor Cirno-Bozu for now, while you handle Yukari-sama?" Reimu offered and received a small nod from her partner, "Thank you, I still feel uncomfortable speaking with Yukari-Sama, now that I know her position."
"It's no trouble Reimu-Sempai, I've known Yukari-sama for a very long time, so it's kind of worn off for me."
With a nod of understanding Reimu returned inside, and found both girls staring at her rather intently, while Cirno continued to eat cookies, "Err, Hello?"
"Reimu-Chan, be honest with us," Letty started, but was unfortunately cut off by Marisa.
"You ain't in love with Youmu, are ya?" The blonde haired girl shot in the dark, causing Reimu to choke in surprise and begin coughing.
once her impromptu coughing fit had died down some, the Brunette managed to cough out her denial, "W-where the hell is that c-coming from? Youmu-Chan and I are just m-mutual friends."
"Friends with benefits maybe," Marisa muttered, "After she saved your life, you've been doing a lot to try and "make it up to her," She reasoned.
"You're saying that just because I've been trying to become friends with Youmu-Chan after she saved my life, Marisa, that you think we're something more?" Reimu couldn't believe that she was hearing this from one of her oldest friends.
"We don't mean it like that Reimu-Chan, it just seems sort of odd that you and Youmu-Chan appear so," "Buddy-buddy," "Marisa-Chan, please just shut up for a moment. That you two spending so much time together after school is rather odd when before this you two didn't even acknowledge each other's existence."
"Once again I would like to point out that girl saved my life Letty-Sempai, and besides that, when have I ever shown interest in anyone before?" Reimu argued, causing both girls to fall silent.
"Well...she does have a point, Reimu-Chan hasn't ever been in a relationship before, and has never shown signs of getting into one," Letty supplied, which Reimu noted with some amusement made Marisa pout.
"Fine, fine, we're sorry for accusing you of having a fling with Youmu, now c'mon you half-rate shrine maiden, come and drink your tea," Marisa teased, causing Reimu's face to heat up.
"Half-rate? what about you, Black-White Thief?" Reimu shot back, but did as she was told and took a seat across from Letty.
"Hey, like I tell everyone, they can have their things back when I die!" Marisa announced proudly, causing Reimu to blanche.
"Well the way you're going, you're going to end up dead by age 25, if you keep stealing things from everyone," Reimu warned, and the pair continued to argue.
Letty listened intently to the fight, up until Youmu returned to the room, and then her eyes followed the swordswoman as she took a seat between Reimu and Cirno, looking uncomfortable in the atmosphere that surrounded the table.
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"Thank you for letting me stay the night Reimu-Sempai," Youmu said as she set down her Kendo sword beside the futon her partner had laid out for her.
"It's no trouble Youmu-Chan," The older girl replied, "Considering what we faced today, and how far away you live, I wouldn't want to put you in unnecessary danger by having you run all the way home."
Youmu looked sheepish as she scratched her red cheek, "Well, I suppose I could make it, considering my stamina, but I appreciate you putting me up for the night regardless, as well as the clothes you lent me."
Reimu smiled down at her Kohai, and sat down cross-legged across from the girl, "Okay so Youmu-Chan, what did Yukari-Sama suggest regarding team (9)?"
Realizing it was time to talk business, Youmu quickly became the stoic girl Reimu had seen facing off with that Vampire Youkai earlier, "Yukari-Sama suggests ignorance, and honestly believes that as long as we can keep up a cover story with Letty-Sempai and Marisa-Sempai, that our cover won't be blown."
"Well, okay yeah I can see where she's going with that," Reimu admitted, "Out of the lot, Only Cirno-Chan really knows us, and was the only one that saw us transformed, so as long as we can keep Marisa and Letty from believing her, it should simply disappear over time."
"Though, it was the strangest thing," Youmu began, "What was?" "When I mentioned the other girls by name, it seemed as though Yukari-Sama froze up at the mention of Rumia."
"How odd," Reimu thought, "Out of the lot of them, Rumia is probably the most harmless. She's the most innocent of the group, and really always says what's on her mind. Her grades aren't half bad, or so I've heard from Cirno-Chan, but to be honest, she's always struck me as a bit of an airhead."
"Well I am sure that Yukari-Sama's reaction has some merit to it, just that we do not have all of the information that she does, and should thus simply forget about the matter," Youmu suggested, and Reimu nodded her assent. "With that said, Good night Reimu-Sempai."
"Good night Youmu-Chan," Reimu echoed, and reached over to shut out the lights in her room, bathing the pair in darkness.
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The next day had passed relatively quickly for Reimu, but she found her mind was still stuck on the topic of Rumia, who she had noticed was missing that morning from Cirno's group, and all attempts to brush it off were proven fruitless.
As Lunch rolled around, Reimu bid her two friends farewell, and admitted there was something that she needed to look up for an assignment in one of her classes, which meant a visit to the school library.
stepping through the large double-doors, Reimu took a deep breath of the smell of paper, and wondered to herself why exactly she hardly ever came in here.
The matter was quickly answered as she noticed almost everyone in the room staring at her unnervingly, forcing her to put her head down and shuffle into hiding deeper in the library, behind the shelves. The book-lovers rarely accepted anyone outside of their pack, and treated everyone that entered the library as an outsider.
"Ah Reimu-San, what a surprise to see you in here," An airy voice stated, causing Reimu to turn and find Patchoulli Knowledge approaching.
"I see you aren't part of that pack mentality the others follow, Patchoulli-San," Reimu said with relief, causing the purple-haired girl to laugh.
"Yes, they can be rather abrasive at times, but as long as you do not let them smell your fear, then you should survive small trips into our realm," The girl supplied knowledgably, this time making Reimu laugh, "So just what brings you in here today?"
"Oh, I was coming in here to," Reimu slipped off as she realized she wasn't actually sure what had brought her to the library, but suddenly an idea popped into her head, "Do you know of any books about Gensokyo's urban legends?"
"A book of Fantasies and tall tales?" Patchy asked curiously, "Sounds like something more along Marisa-San's lines than yours Reimu-San, but I will see what I can do for you today."
"Thank you very much Patchoulli-San," Reimu said with a small bow, and followed the other girl as they weaved between shelves full of books that would make the shrine maiden's head spin.
Finally they stopped before a shelf occupied with only a handful of books, and Patchoulli quickly picked out a rather thick book, which she held out to the brunette girl, "Here you are Reimu-San, a full compendium of Gensokyo's Urban Legends, written by Hieda No Akyuu herself, said to be one of the oldest residents of Gensokyo."
"Thank you so much for this Patchoulli-San, I'm sure that this will help a lot in my research," The younger girl said, offering her Sempai a smile, Patchy seemed unmoving, and simply gave the girl a look.
"I should warn you that what you are looking for might find you first Reimu-San, and that it might not be What you are expecting, or something you are ready to face," The woman offered sagely, making Reimu pause mid-step.
"What do you mean Patchoulli-San?" Reimu asked, turning to regard the woman, but found the older girl gone without a trace, almost like she had not been there at all to begin with.
"How odd," Reimu muttered, before quickly going to check out her new reading material, and ignoring the needling feeling of someone watching her until she left the library.
Making her way up to the roof, Reimu was thankful to find the door was unlocked, and let herself upstairs, though she wasn't expecting to find a silver-haired girl standing near the edge, overlooking the courtyard where the rest of the students wandered about, lost in their own little world.
"Ah Youmu-Chan, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your solitude," Reimu hurriedly apologized, beginning to back out to the door, but was stopped by the smaller girl, "No Reimu-Sempai, you aren't interrupting anything, I just needed to get away from the rest of the school for a little while. It's still a free roof, and I wouldn't mind the company."
"W-well if you are sure," Reimu muttered nervously, and stepped out fully onto the roof, squeaking a moment as the wind caught her hair and began to blow it about, but thankfully it quickly calmed down, allowing the brunette to walk up beside her partner, "So you like to spend time alone up on the roof?"
"Sometimes I feel like the world is crashing down on me, and I need to get up somewhere high to put things back into perspective," Youmu admitted, still looking over the edge, "Everyone else seems small and insignificant below us."
"Yes, but sometimes you need to be immersed in that sea, so you don't lose yourself in the clouds, Youmu-Chan," Reimu argued, which surprisingly made the silver-haired girl laugh.
"True enough Reimu-Chan. So what brings you up here?" The younger girl asked curiously, eyeing the book under the girl's arm.
"Oh, I just wanted to find somewhere quiet to read this book about Gensokyo's urban legends," Reimu explained, receiving a nod from her Kohai.
"You would be surprised Reimu-Chan, to find that not all stories in that book are just that, and that some might actually be more real than you think," Youmu suggested, making Reimu blink at the girl.
"What do you mean Youmu-Chan?" Reimu asked, and handed over the book when Youmu gestured for her to pass it. She watched in surprise as the girl cracked the book open, and began to expertly flip the pages, until she stopped on one exact page.
"The Angel of death," Youmu narrated. "It is said many years ago, before Gensokyo was founded, there was a small cherry blossom field just on the outskirts of what would later become this city, known as Hakugyokurou, where a lustrous mansion stood."
Within that mansion lived a sickly girl, whose father had passed away fairly young due to unknown causes, that took care of the cherry blossoms all by herself, and some believed it was the only reason she was alive. She loved the cherry blossoms, and treated them all with care, watering them and feeding them.
One day, a travelling merchant appeared at the doors of the mansion, claiming that he had been called here by a powerful force beckoning him. The sickly girl did not know what to make of the merchant, but allowed him to stay the night in exchange for some of his wares. The merchant went missing by the next morning, and the girl brushed off his disappearance as him moving on, though all of his supplies and wares remained where they had been left the previous night.
A few days later, a group of lumberjack appeared at her door, saying they were scouting out new locations to collect materials for a small town they were working on nearby, the place that would later be called Gensokyo. The girl adamantly refused to allow them to cut down her Cherry blossoms, and drove the men from her property. The men never returned to the lumber camp they had come from, and some say they had attempted to try and sneak onto the girl's property in order to cut down the trees, but were killed by her.
Slowly, more and more people came to the girl's door, for varying reasons. Some were equally sickly, and said that they only needed to rest here a night before moving on in their journey. Some claimed they had come to seek the girl's hand in marriage, but had more impure intentions in mind. Some claimed to be simple researchers, wanting to study the beautiful cherry blossoms that the girl had cultivated. All of them never remained for more than one night, and in the morning all of their things would still be laying where they were left, or no word would come back from the places they made the journey from.
Finally the sickly girl reached the end of her days, and the girl, now a beautiful young woman, went out to her backyard, where a single, grand cherry blossom tree stood, towering over the mansion and shading the area in it's leafy boughs. The girl felt the tree calling out to her, and laid down beneath it's branches one final time, before passing on.
This was when the woman realized what had been calling all of these people to her mansion, and why they had all disappeared. For as the girl's spirit drifted away from her body, she could at last see the dark, evil, corrupted aura surrounding the grand tree, and all of the skeletons that fed it's roots, like a giant graveyard. And the woman wept for their lost lives.
For you see, as the tree was cared for it gained sentience, and as it was loved it grew more powerful. Eventually the tree became a powerful Youkai, and began to emit it's siren song, screaming out for blood in all directions, being passed from tree to tree for miles, and bringing in hundreds of worthy sacrifices. and the girl wept.
Finally another Youkai caught the attention of the Great evil tree, and came to investigate. The Great Sukima Youkai appeared before the woman's spirit, shackles to the tree for all eternity much like it's thousands of previous victims, and spoke to the woman.
"Why do you cry young one?" The Gap Youkai asked, halting the woman's tears. "My tree, the great tree which I cultivated and cared for over many years, has become a monster, which drinks the blood of innocent men and women to become more powerful."
The Gap Youkai took in the woman's words, and looked up at the great tree, which had only grown larger as it continued to feed, and finally came up with a solution. "Young lady, do you wish to free all of these spirits shackled to the tree, including your own?"
The woman was surprised by this offer, but quickly accepted, wanting to be able to be free and move on into the afterlife. Unfortunately, the Gap Youkai's plan would not allow that.
"I will use your earthly body as a vessel to bind this great tree, to silence it's song forever, but at the same time, your spirit, and those spirits who have already been sacrificed to the tree will not be able to move on, and instead be forced to walk the human world, an eternity as a warden of countless souls, and the only thing stopping this great tree from devouring the entire world."
The woman wept once more, as she realized what the Gap Youkai was offering her, but finally agreed to the plan. Her earthly body, with the help of the Gap Youkai's knowledge, was used to seal away the evil trees power into a vessel, and that vessel became the ghostly woman, who could once again walk the world, but could never move on into the afterlife.
This agreement was not without gifts in the woman's favour, though it could be argued if they were favourable. For you see, all of the evil trees powers were sealed into the womanly vessel, allowing her access to these same abilities.
Because it was only her spirit given tangible form, the woman was much like a ghost, able to phase through anything, and a cold aura constantly surrounded her. The woman received the ability to call anyone to their death, a power from the great trees own abilities, though one the woman was said to largely shun, as she did not want to take any more victims upon her conscience.
"And thus the woman was left in Hakugyokurou, with the hundreds of souls of other beings who had all been victims of the demon tree, able to watch the human race advance, but unable to be a part of their world," Youmu finished the story, and noticed how quiet Reimu was.
"T-that's," Reimu stuttered out, "That is a real story?"
"That is the story of my mistress, the woman that you met several days ago," Youmu revealed, "That is the story of Yuyuko Saigyouji, the Angel of Death."
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Chapter 6 complete
Stay tuned for Chapter 7