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Ch. 8: Best friends stick with you when you're drunk

"Well, all I can say is that when she wakes up? She's going to have one hell of a hangover," observed Kirisame Marisa. The blonde witch was seated next to a sleeping Reimu in Reimu's bedroom, Suika seated next to her, looking on with worry as the rather intoxicated Reimu lay weakly snoring on her futon. Some distance back, Yuugi was leaning against the wall, guilt etched in her face, but otherwise keeping calm.

"You sure showed up fast," Yuugi quipped as a compliment.

"Well, Reimu and I are long time friends, so we sort of worked up a system in case anyone of us was in trouble," Marisa looked behind at Yuugi and smiled. "We both carry these holy charms that can magically monitor our status. One of us incites a spell with our own holy charm, and it will glow a certain colour, depending on the other's status," Marisa explained. "Red means 'I'm weakened or injured and in danger'. I regularly check up on her just to be sure, so I can come to her aid when she needs me."

"You sure are good friends with her, are you?" Suika said with newfound respect and a little envy for the witch.

"It's also how I know she's preoccupied at the moment," Marisa continued with a grin. "If the charm doesn't glow, it usually means she doesn't have the other with her, like if she is in the bath or something. Then I can come in to borrow stuff."

"Oh, should have seen that coming…" Suika's newfound respect for Marisa melted away. Behind them, Yuugi chuckled.

"Well, at least she's okay," Yuugi smiled with relief.

"Yah, I guess the best I can do now is to make her some medicine to relief her hangover," Marisa began pulling out more mushrooms and herbs, "Although I'm no miracle doctor, mind you." Next to Marisa already lay several used herbal mixes. There was one she had prepared as an emetic, to force Reimu to throw up undigested, excess alcohol. Then there was another batch of pre-prepared herbal mix that Marisa had obtained from Eintei that she claimed could calm the nerves. That was applied to Reimu as well, hopefully to give her an easier sleep.

"Ah… That was quite the episode, huh?" Suika shook her head and looked at her large blue gourd. Her gourd, once closer to her than even her heart and liver, now seemed so foreign to her. It nearly harmed Reimu, and it gushed something other than sake. But worse of all, she did not know how to fix it. Suika took a swig of the Umeshu to soothe herself, than swallowed definitively and stopped there. Marisa could do all sorts of things for her good friend Reimu, but she could not even fix a little gourd of sake… Suika felt pained, and not just because of the lack of sake. The gourd truly held strong sentimental value to her.

Yuugi watched Suika's various facial expressions flash across her face, then knelt next to Suika with a hand on her shoulder, "C'mon, I'm sure there is some way to fix your gourd."

"How?" Suika asked sadly.

"Hey… If you can break it on purpose, chances are you can fix it," Yuugi shrugged.

"Pffft, since when?" Marisa laughed. "And trust me, it's not that easy to fix things. I know."

"Heh… Thanks anyway," Suika smiled. "Going to need a miracle to fix this though…" Suika turned to Reimu. The miko was still sleeping soundly. "C'mon, let's give the princess here a little bit of space," she said, and the three left the room to let Reimu sleep in peace.

Suika, Marisa and Yuugi were seated in Reimu's living room, drinking tea. Marisa felt uneasy about leaving Reimu in her current state, Suika practically lived here, and Yuugi was just tagging along for company. From time to time Suika looked at her gourd sadly, and moved as if to grab a cup to tip herself some alcohol, but stopped when the realization that it would not be sake hit her.

"Hey, Suika, Umeshu's not that bad. It's pretty good. Don't torture yourself," Yuugi said, and slid a cup across the table to Suika.

"Don't wanna," Suika slid the cup back. "I know Umeshu's tasty, but its sake I want. Didn't you bring any?" she asked Yuugi.

"Didn't expect to have to bring any," Yuugi replied, and drank her cup of tea, then grew tired of tea and tipped herself some plum wine from Suika's gourd. "Doesn't Reimu keep any around the house?" Yuugi asked.

"Won't feel right to raid Reimu's larder when she's out like this," Marisa said.

"Really? That's so unlike you Marisa," Suika.

"Hey… I'm noticing that you're not up and about raiding her kitchen either," Marisa grinned at Suika.

"Guess I'm a better person than I thought," Suika grinned back sheepishly.

"T'ch, you guys are so cheesy," Yuugi said. "Ah… but these kind of drinking partners are the best kind of drinking partners!" she declared, toasting to the heavens a cup of Umeshu. "Camaraderie and friendship forever! Too bad we have no sake…"

"We have Suika's fruit flavoured wine there," Marisa pointed out. "Hey, pour me a glass- Oh? Reimu? How are you feeling?" The trio at the table turned to see a stumbling Reimu walk out of the bedroom. Reimu's face had all the signs of hangover misery.

"Horrible…" Reimu croaked. "Need water…"

"Here," Suika took a dish of water and offered it to Reimu's lips. "Drink."

"Thanks," Reimu gratefully said, and sipped the water. "Oh, and Marisa, I saw your medicine for hangover relief next to my bedside. I took some, thanks for that."

"No problem daze!" Marisa smiled. "How was it? Did it help?"

"Made me throw up," Reimu weakly grumbled, eliciting a chuckle from Suika and Yuugi. "Throwing up made me feel better though, so it wasn't all that bad."

"Hey, you really shouldn't be standing," Yuugi said. "Come and sit by the table, at least," she took a cushion and laid it by the empty side of the Japanese-styled table.

"Thanks guys," Reimu said weakly, although one could detect embarrassment at being showed so much kindness in her soft voice. Reimu sat herself at the table, then promptly threw herself back onto the tatami, grabbed the cushion from under her bottom and shifted it to under her head instead.

"Haha… Maybe lying down is best for you after all!" Suika laughed.

"Ah, shut up… Your voice sounds like thunder in my head…" Reimu said snappily, but not even the cushion could hide her grin from the other three.

"Heh… Don't worry Reimu, we love you too!" Marisa said in her sweetest tone possible.

"Oh… I said shut up!" Reimu said even more snappily, her grin widening. The troublemaking trio laughed at Reimu's cute little response.

"Oh, by the way," Reimu began as the laughter started to die down, "How did I get into such a predicament anyway?" she inquired.

The laughter was truncated there and then. Marisa and Suika turned to Yuugi.

"Oh um, hehe… Do you remember any of it?" Yuugi asked nervously.

"Oddly enough, I do," Reimu whispered.

The rest of the evening was oddly still and quiet.

Hoshiguma Yuugi is alive. Just to clarify.

Also, I've actually grown rather fond of her. Might make her a supporting main in this story. That's all for now. Until next time.