The living room, Hakugyokurou
Moments later, Yuyuko did return with the tea refilled as she said she would do.
"Ya done thinkin' bout it?" Marisa asked casually.
Yuyuko placed the tray of tea down before sitting down in seiza and reassuming her position next to Youmu.
"I've made my decision." The Herald Princess announced to her guests. "I will cancel my banquet and return all the energies of Spring that were siphoned from Gensokyo."
"That is... acceptable. I think?" Reimu acknowledged the announcement with some doubt about it.
"But what about the bod-" Youmu look up at Yuyuko and protested, only to be interrupted by her master smacking her forehead with a folding fan.
"Let me finish first, would you?" Yuyuko told Youmu before turning back to the Guardians. "Anyway, as an apology for all the problems caused by the extended Winter, I am willing to pay as much as necessary for reparations, as well as having Youmu assist in said reparations." She then stated.
The Guardians gave the statement a thought.
"That would be great." Reimu is the first to give her response. "But..."
"There's a catch, right?" Marisa spoke out what the shrine maiden was going to say.
"The way that you interrupted your servant's protest suggest that you had an ulterior motive for stealing Spring away from Gensokyo." Sakuya voiced her analysis of the moment. "Though you are genuine about cancelling your plans and compensating all of Gensokyo in return, you are expecting us to pay for something else as well..."
"Lemme guess, you want us to compensate for the damages done to your front yard?" Marisa then asked.
To say the yard is severely damaged by the Guardians' fight against Youmu earlier is an understatement. In fact, it'd be easier to count what isn't damaged by the fight in question.
Reimu and Sakuya glanced at all the damages, and nodded in agreement with Marisa.
"Not that. Youmu could easily repair all of them by the end of the day." Yuyuko informed the Guardians. "Rather, I'd like to, perhaps it isn't the right word, have a duel with you."
At that, the entirety of Hakugyokurou became silent.
The Guardians remained silent for an entire minute as they processed what they just heard.
"A duel, you say?" All three Guardians said in unison once they regained their composure.
...
The courtyard
Thankfully, there isn't any wager to the duel proposed by Yuyuko. The Herald Princess said that regardless of whether the Guardians beat her and Youmu or not, she is still going to pay reparations to Gensokyo for the damages done by her siphoning Spring away.
The duel has one simple rule: no killings allowed. Otherwise all bets are off.
"That's it?" Marisa, standing in position with her fellow Guardians, asked Yuyuko for confirmation. "Nothing funky?"
"The duel will be exactly as I proposed." Yuyuko answered. "There will be nothing 'funky' as you put it."
The Guardians looked at each other, then back to the Herald Princess.
"Anything 'funky' would be considered cheating and thus dishonorable." Yuyuko reassured. "Dishonor is not welcomed in Hakugyokurou."
"In that case," Reimu is the first to assume a battle stance. "I'm ready."
"Me too!" Marisa held her magic wand with one hand and twirled one of her revolvers with the other hand.
"Then I look forward to an honorable victory." Sakuya readied a handful of throwing knives.
With all three Guardians having shown their readiness, Yuyuko nodded in confirmation before turning toward Youmu.
"Youmu, fight them to the best of your abilities." The Herald Princess ordered her servant-cum-guard. "But don't kill them." She then added a warning, just to be sure.
Youmu nodded to acknowledge the order (and nervously heeded the accompanying warning), as she then unsheathed both of her swords.
"Hey, you're a ghost, right?" Marisa decided to take the opportunity to engage in some pre-battle banter. "Ya know who to call?" She turned to Reimu.
Reimu rolled her eyes. "Can't you ever take anything serio-"
The shrine maiden's statement got interrupted as she raised the Sacred Hakurei Gohei to block an attack from Youmu who suddenly appeared right before her.
Yeah, yeah, it took me another four months to get another update to this story out. I'm sorry for the schedule slip and yet another short chapter. All I have to say is...
I. HATE. WRITER'S. BLOCK!
"And that, as they say, is that..."
Afterword ends here.