"Once again, what are we doing out here? I feel like an idiot," A purple-haired girl mumbled as she shuffled along behind a springy blonde, who seemed uncaring of her friend's attitude.
"Oh come on 'Kanako', I needed to pick up some groceries in the village, and anyways all you ever do is sit at home drinking tea and eating mandarins," The blonde girl replied, a large ear-to-ear smile lighting up her face.
"Hey, I also have to keep track of what's happening in Gensokyo you know, you half-rate S-" But the taller woman was cut off by a pair of hands over her mouth, and was forced to settle for glaring at her companion.
"Easy, Remember the rules, stay in character," The blonde girl said, winking up at her companion with her grey eyes, which made the other woman huff, her cheeks glowing a pale red.
"Fine, but let's get this over with so we can go home, 'Froggie,' The purple-haired woman hissed back, smirking down at her companion before marching ahead.
"H-hey, that's uncalled for you know!" The short girl shouted, chasing after the taller woman while keeping a tight hold on her hat.
From what it appeared to the villagers, two of the resident gods of the mountain, Kanako and Suwako, had decided to come down from their perch atop Gensokyo's highest peaks, and were bantering playfully with one another, as the stories went.
Leaning into her partner in crime, the taller woman whispered, "Don't you think that people will notice how odd this is? Kanako and Suwako aren't often seen off of the mountain unless they're causing trouble, and their grudge for one another is kind of legendary."
"Oh relax Kanako," 'Suwako' replied, putting her arms behind her head, "We'll just pick up our orders and head back to the shrine, and no one will be the wiser."
"It's not the villagers I'm most worried about," 'Kanako' grumbled, still taking furtive glances at the busy streets, where vendors shouted out their prices and attempted to drown out their competition.
"What could possibly have you so on edge?" Suwako asked, looking up at her partner curiously.
"What do we have here, two Gods that wandered away from their mountain, you two aren't here to start another incident, ey?" a snide voice asked, causing both girls to freeze up.
"That's what I was worried about," The purple-haired woman mumbled, as the pair looked up, where a certain black-white witch was hovering atop a simple wooden broom, with a familiar frail-looking girl hanging onto her friend for dear life with her arms wrapped tightly around her waist.
"Marisa, get me down to the ground before you start picking a fight, please," Alice whimpered into her friends back, making her fellow blonde chuckle.
"Geez Alice-Chan, I thought by now you would be over your flying sickness, considering how often we go out together," Marisa commented as she floated to the ground, quickly hopping from her broom and half pulling the puppeteer along with her.
Alice stumbled as she tried to regain her bearings back on solid ground, and Kanako noted her face looked slightly green around the edges, though the blonde was trying her best to hide it from the three.
"As I was saying, what are two Gods doing off of their mountain, don't you two usually trade with the Tengu, not come down the mountain just for groceries?" The magician remarked snidely, catching her broom as it jumped into her hand.
"Are you implying something, black-white?" Kanako asked, narrowing her eyes at the other girl, and noticed as her smirk widened.
"Kanako, easy," Suwako warned, grabbing onto the taller woman's sleeve as a precaution, not sure just how volatile the other woman was at the moment, but unwilling to take a chance.
"Marisa, I thought you said you weren't going to pick a fight today, especially after what happened the other day," Alice reminded the girl, causing the blonde's face to pale, and Kanako to have to hide her smirk with her hand.
"Oh I would love to hear this story, Alice, perhaps we can recount it over tea some time," Kanako offered with a small smile, it growing wider when she noticed how the blonde puppeteer's face went hot pink at the suggestion.
Spluttering and trying to form a response, Alice was most likely out of the stand-off for now, leaving just Marisa, whose own face had seemingly gone pale.
Finally growing sick of the group's antics, Suwako pulled more forcefully on her partner's arm, forcing her into step beside her, "Come on Kanako, we have to get our errands finished and get back up to the shrine before the party begins, or before Sanae ends up breaking something."
"Fine..." The wind goddess huffed, and waved at the two, "It was nice to see you again I suppose, I hope to see you both at the party tonight," before the pair rounded the corner.
Once out of sight of the two magicians, Kanako's composure broke, and she bent over, panting heavily as if she'd just run several miles, her clammy hands holding tightly to Suwako as a sort of lifeline as she tried to regain her composure.
Suwako seemed unperturbed by this breach in character, and simply waited out the other girl's panic attack even going so far as to run her fingers through the other woman's hair soothingly.
Finally, once she calmed down, Kanako straightened back up, turned to Suwako, and cried out, "Sanae, what the hell was that!"
Wincing as the facade was broken, Sanae continued to run her fingers through the other girl's hair in an attempt to calm her down, "Relax Reimu, they didn't even have a clue that it was us, and you did a good job of imitating Kanako-Sama."
"A Good job?" Reimu cried, "I almost lost it under all of that animosity! Since when has Marisa ever been that nasty to anyone?"
"Well...," Sanae began, taking back her hand and scratching at her cheek, "Marisa might still have some hard feelings for the Moriya shrine after the Subterranean sun incident, but since we usually only see each other at big events, it's never really come out into the open like that before."
"You mean all those times I've seen Kanako and Marisa glaring at each other during the flower-viewings, it's not just because they are like that?" Reimu asked in surprise.
"Yeah, kind of. Marisa seems to really hold a grudge, especially against Kanako-sama, for what they did to Utsuho-san, and I think their personalities clashing play another part," the naturally green-haired girl explained.
The currently purple-haired girl sighed as she leaned back against the wall and sunk to the ground, and noted as Sanae followed her, setting down the wide-brimmed hat she had borrowed from her ancestor between the two.
"And why did we have to go out today as Suwako and Kanako specifically again, why couldn't we simply wear some of those outside world clothes that you introduced me to earlier?" Reimu asked in a tired voice, her body feeling like lead all of a sudden.
This seemed to brighten up the Moriya shrine maiden, and she cheerfully replied, "Because we knew that Kanako-Sama, and Suwako-Sama would be at the shrine all day, and wouldn't have to worry about running into them."
Reimu gave her friend a deadpan look, and sighed again, choosing to ignore the girl as she attempted to regain her composure.
Sanae seemed to take this as encouragement to go on, as she sat beside her friend, "You know, I'm surprised how quickly you picked up on Kanako-Sama's speech, it normally takes a lot of practice for cosplayers to learn to mimic the voices of their targets." The green-haired girl seemed to contemplate something for a moment, then perked up, "I'm also surprised to find out your natural hair colour."
Reimu winced at that, which Sanae decided to file away for future questioning, when Reimu wasn't being thrown head first into an uncomfortable situation, "Relax Reimu-san, you're doing just fine so far."
"Maybe next time we do this you can choose something a bit less public," the purple-haired girl hissed out, "I don't think I was anywhere near ready to go out dressed like someone else."
"Well, yeah, I suppose I rushed things a little bit, but don't worry it will get easier with time," Sanae tried to comfort the other shrine maiden, then caught onto Reimu's words more closely, "Wait, you actually want to continue doing this?"
Reimu seemed to look sheepish as she half-turned her head away, "well yeah, we don't really get to do that much together, since we're both usually too busy with our shrine maiden work, and despite that little...encounter," Reimu winced again involuntarily, "I have to admit dressing up like this is kind of fun."
Sanae beamed at the surprisingly endearing words from her fellow shrine maiden, and pulled the girl into a surprise hug, "Aww, Reimu-San!"
"H-hey! Sanae, get off", Reimu cried, attempting to push away the green-haired girl, unsuccessfully, "Come on, we still have to pick up those supplies for your party tonight, remember!"
"Oh yes, we can't disappoint Kanako-Sama," Sanae stated, suddenly all business, grabbing her hat and replacing it atop her head, before grabbing her fellow shrine maiden's hand and pulling her back to her feet, "C'mon Kanako, let's go get the rest of the stuff on the list...and maybe some ice cream!"
'What, h-hey! Slow down Suwako, you don't need any sugar, I need you to help finish preparations!" Reimu shouted, slipping back into character surprisingly easily after her small freak-out.
"For a wind goddess, you're so slow Kanako-Obaa-San!" The curse goddess teased, getting a rise out of her companion.
"Hey, We're both plenty old, no matter how young you make yourself look physically Froggie!" Kanako replied, though there was no bite to her words.
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The Moriya shrine party was in full swing, and many big names around Gensokyo had shown up to celebrate, even some of the most notorious rivals. Thankfully an unspoken rule about most of these events were to check your personal grudges at the Torii gates, and it was a rule no one was eager to break, especially when Yukari could be just around the corner to "enforce" this rule.
Reimu sighed as she straightened the bow in her hair one final time, taking a quick look in the mirror to make sure that it was straight, and quickly did a once-over of her outfit, looking for anything creased or crooked, and gave a curt nod when nothing stuck out.
Turning to regard the other girl in the room, Reimu hid a small smile as she saw Sanae doing the same with her own outfit, and turned to face the still purple-haired shrine maiden.
"I'm surprised you didn't suggest we Cosplay as each other tonight, just to see how many people we could trick," Reimu commented, as Sanae hooked her arm with Reimu's own, and the pair departed down the hallway of the Moriya shrine.
"No, there are too many people here tonight that know us well, Yukari-Sama alone would be able to tell immediately that I wasn't her precious Reimu, no matter how well I can act," Sanae explained, the other shrine maiden nodding in confirmation.
"And Remilia would probably be able to smell the difference in our blood, she spends enough time around me that she probably has it committed to memory by now," The purple-haired girl grumbled, making Sanae chuckle lightly.
"I think just these outfits will turn a few heads tonight, in addition to the two of us being together like this," Sanae explained, "It seems like everyone expects us to be enemies, just because we're Miko of competing shrines."
"It's not completely unreasonable, I know I put up quite the fuss when you first appeared in Gensokyo," Reimu mumbled, but Sanae seemed to simply laugh it off.
"Come along now Reimu-Hime, your adoring fans await," Sanae teased, and was rewarded as Reimu's face lit up like a stop sign, allowing the shrine maiden to pull her friend out into the raging party.
A few people turned to regard the new arrivals, and Sanae was amused to see some jaws drop in surprise at the pairs outfits, the green-haired girl feeling a burst of pride for her outfit choices for the night.
She did notice how Reimu was half-hiding behind her, but that wasn't unexpected, as the girl was largely unused to being the centre of attention, even during one of her own Shrine events, and grinned as she made plans to pull the girl further from her comfort zone.
Sanae had quickly decided since it was a party being hosted tonight, that she would pull out some real-world fashion, and, after fighting with Reimu over it for a short time, had managed to argue her into changing.
Reimu was now wearing a spaghetti-strapped red dress, with a white bow tied around her waist, and her customary red and white bow in her hair, with a pair of detached sleeves, much like her normal outfit, though her hair remained it's natural purple colour.
Sanae had, likewise, chosen out a blue-and-white dress, with her hair tied into a side-ponytail by a green-and-white ribbon, and blue-and-white detached sleeves. She'd decided to forgo the waist ribbon, as it didn't look the same on her.
It appeared that Yukari was the first to regain her voice, and quickly crossed the courtyard, now half-hanging out of a gap beside her favourite shrine maiden, hands on the girl's shoulders as she purred into her ear, "Oh Reimu dear, you look wonderful tonight."
"Shove off Yukari," Reimu replied cattily, pulling away from the Gap Youkai and moving closer to her fellow shrine maiden in an attempt to stop the woman's teasing.
"My Reimu, you look rather nice tonight, may I ask about the origin of those outfits?" Alice asked, as she half-pulled Marisa along with her, her inner seamstress out in all it's glory.
Reimu blinked twice, and turned to Sanae, "Err, you'd have to ask Sanae here, she told me these come from beyond the border, and something about it being party clothing, I don't know, I wasn't really paying attention," The Shrine maiden stated, scratching her cheek absently.
Alice quickly turned her attention over to the other shrine maiden, and Sanae winced as she noted the hungry look in the doll maker's eyes. Marisa and Reimu chose to ignore Sanae's cries for help as Alice pulled her off to a dark corner of the shrine as they shot the breeze.
"Oi Reimu, Not used to seeing you in something other than your Miko outfit," The blonde casually stated.
"Not used to seeing you being dragged around by a Youkai," Reimu shot back, making Marisa grin at her long-time friend.
The two girls settled into a comfortable silence as the party continued to rage around them, until Marisa piped up with a question for her friend.
"So, what's up with your recent closeness with Sanae, you guys becoming an item or something?" The blonde asked bluntly causing Reimu to splutter incomprehensibly.
"W-where would you get such an idea from you baka?" Reimu shouted, red-faced, and gaining the attention of a few party-goers, though they quickly averted their eyes when they noticed whom the outburst had been from.
"Well, you've been spending a lot more time together with her up here," Marisa began, taking a seat on the edge of the shrine's steps and beginning to kick her feet, gesturing for her friend to join her. Reimu hesitated for a moment before taking the offer, straightening out her skirt before sitting down next to the rambunctious girl, "and you guys are kind of wearing matching outfits, which just screams couple."
"I could ask the same about you and Alice then," Reimu grumbled, "when you aren't at my shrine mooching tea and snacks off of me, you're at either Alice or Patchy's place, harassing them for new spells to steal or doing research together."
"Alice, Patchy and I are just friends," Marisa stated firmly, "and that's not the point."
"Oh I would love to talk about your little love triangle Marisa, but please go on," A familiar voice purred between the two girls. It appeared that Yukari was back into the conversation.
"Ooh, this sounds interesting, Youmu, take notes," Yuyuko commented, plopping down on the opposite side of the shrine maiden, along with her faithful gardener. Youmu at least had the sense to look apologetic.
"I'm sorry for intruding on your conversation Reimu-San, Marisa-San," The white-haired girl offered, even as she pulled out a notepad and pen from an unknown location, and suddenly seemed to be wearing a pair of black-framed glasses.
"Youmu wears glasses?" Marisa asked, "never mind, anyways, as I was saying, There has got to be some chemistry there between you two, you only grudgingly accepted my presence at the shrine for the first couple of years because you were just too lazy to shoo me away, and here you are actively seeking to spend time with her and going along with her harebrained schemes."
"Hey, I'm not the one that goes to her, she's the one always coming to my shrine and half-dragging me up here every few days," Reimu replied, ignoring the smug looks of the three woman interrogating her.
"Ah, but Reimu-San doesn't try to get away whenever Sanae-San comes to her shrine, does she?" Youmu piped up, looking up over her notebook curiously at the shrine maiden.
Reimu spluttered at the question for a moment, before offering a sharp reply, "It's just too much work, and it's not like she would stop even if I did fight her, Sanae is nothing if not determined to achieve her goals, just look at her Kogasa hunts."
"So its the same reason why you put up with me back in the day?" Marisa asked, and when she received a firm nod, her grin broke out again, "Hah, she thinks she's simply humouring Sanae."
"How absolutely innocent of her," Yukari chimed in, "Reimu, dear, you can be so oblivious sometimes."
"H-hey, what do you mean by that you gap hag!" Reimu growled, but the three woman seemed to suddenly find other things interesting. "Ooh, Youmu dear, look at all that food, come, we must sample everything!" Yuyuko chirped, grabbing her gardener and pulling her away.
"W-wait, Yuyuko-Sama, please leave some for the other guests!" The poor servant cried.
"Oh, it looks like Mokou and Kaguya might be starting a fight, I'd better remind them why fighting isn't permitted during these events," Yukari said, opening a gap and falling into it, disappearing from view.
"Ah, looks like Alice is done roasting Sanae for secrets, I'd better go make sure she isn't planning another all-nighter," Marisa said in a nervously cheerful voice, sprinting away.
Reimu was left sitting there, growling slightly at what the other women had been implying "attention spans like a bunch of children," the girl mumbled crossly. She knew that she was only humouring Sanae because she was just too innocent, not for whatever perverted reasons those three had seemingly concocted in their heads.
Sanae staggered back over to her fellow shrine maiden in a daze, her hair and clothes slightly dishevelled, and looking like she had just gone a few rounds with Flande Scarlet.
Reimu looked up at the green haired girl, and could feel her cheeks growing warm as she watched her approach. turning away in a huff, Reimu waited for the other shrine maiden to sit down before trying to start their conversation again, "So, how bad was Alice?"
Sanae offered a small smile in response, which caused Reimu's cheeks to light up again, and she averted her gaze from the other girl, "She wanted to know all about fashion from the outside world, and I told her that I would bring her a few magazines and designs that I have. She seemed satisfied with that, and then started asking me about my own experience with fashion," The girl explained.
"Sounds nice, maybe you two can work together and create your own Gensokyo fashion line," Reimu teased, and got the desired reaction from the other girl, as she laughed.
"So what were you talking with Marisa, Yukari, and Yuyuko about?" Sanae asked, and Reimu stiffened up immediately.
"Err, oh they were just bothering me about when the next festival is going to be, and started to tease me about bringing their own food," Reimu lied, hoping her fellow shrine maiden would buy it.
"A potluck? Oh I can have Kanako and Suwako help me cook up something big, if Yuyuko talked you into it," Sanae stated cheerfully.
"And why did you immediately single out Yuyuko?" Reimu asked curiously.
"Who else eats as much as the Black hole of the netherworld?"
Both girls laughed at the teasing nickname for the ghost woman, and in the back of her mind, Reimu began to notice just how nice her fellow shrine maiden's laugh sounded.
it was a sound that Reimu wanted to hear more often.
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I didn't plan for this to be a follow-up chapter for this story, my original plan was to make it a standalone story that simply connected to my previous Touhou stories, but as I couldn't think of a good name for it, I figured tacking it on would be easier in the long run.
So yeah, this has kind of become it's own mini-series, but keep in mind these stories are written with the intention of being related to any future (or past) Touhou stories I publish, so there is an intended Canon here.
as an extra note, I'd like to state that if you intend to leave a review asking questions about future chapters, character interactions you aren't entirely sure of, etc, to please turn on your private messages. I'm not one to shirk questions from readers, and I try to keep on top of my reviews and to answer as many questions as I can (without revealing future plot points), and having your PM turned off kind of defeats the purpose of asking the question.