Okay...before I go and start with the story, I might as well tell you what this is and how this idea transpired.
This is the very first, and likely the only, official side-story to Be Careful What You Wish For. During the beginning of the Albion Arc, I introduced a certain original character to that story. That character is Touya Hakurei, the Shield of the Eastern Wonderland and the current representative of the Hakurei Clan.
He was simply created and introduced in order for me to show that the Hakurei clan is still alive and well and is still enforcing the spell card rules. I just threw in his quirk as an alleged reincarnation of Reimu as well as inheriting her laziness for kicks.
The story continued without much more from him until the middle of the Valliere homecoming arc. Specifically some time after I posted up the fourth interlude over at the thread for this at the Spacebattles forum.
A certain user there posted a short scene snip for the story since it seemed like a cool idea at the time and said that it was a way for him to say thanks for the story...while being rather tsundere about it too.
That scene was a short one about Cattleya waking up in Hakugyokurou and meeting with Yuyuko and an adult Youmu. Obviously, since she ended up there, that scene was a bad end that depicted the aftermath of Cattleya dying before Yuka and the gang could treat her illness.
The scene, while short, was well written and managed to time the mood whiplash between Yuyuko's sweet silliness to the realization that Cattleya had just passed away very well. However, with Spacebattles being Spacebattles, what set off the other posters and readers on the thread wasn't the scene itself. Instead, it was a offhanded teasing comment that Yuyuko made to Youmu when the woman didn't seem enthused about greeting Cattleya to Hakugyokurou. The comment was Yuyuko teasing Youmu about not to take out her frustrations on Cattleya just because she was part of Touya's harem comedy. Obviously, Youmu denied such allegations and it wasn't spoken of in the scene again.
The one who posted that scene, one Jomasten, stated that it was just a passing joke that seemed a bit funny at the time and didn't really think much of it. He just thought that it might have gotten the scene a few chuckles.
He had no idea what he had unleashed on the thread.
Posters immediately latched onto that comment by Yuyuko like a headcrab and ran with it. Soon afterward, several ideas and the like from other readers and posters popped up on how Touya could be in a harem comedy situation, who the members of said harem are, how said harem members developed their feelings for him and try to fall for them, and how he would handle such a situation. It consumed such a large number of posts on the thread that it surprised both me and Jomasten himself when he came back to the thread.
Obviously, we both just added more fuel to the raging inferno.
Further scene snips from him, myself, and Flere, along with more ideas from other posters eventually gave the concept so much ground that I finally decided to make it an official part of the Gensokyo of BCWYWF. The results of this on the main story can be seen on Chapter 24 of BCWYWF.
I don't really plan on making Touya a main part of the cast and his harem antics will only be touched upon or referenced lightly in the rest of the main story. That issue was the cause of a small debate on the Spacebattles thread because, while hilarious, Touya's circumstances didn't really contribute anything to a story about Louise and Yuka.
However, the ideas and scenes that the concept generated were just too much of a waste to just throw away so...I made this. This is a culmination of all the crazy that happened in that thread with Touya and the groundwork to his side-story. It wasn't easy to try to reason out a starting point to his story especially since his situation didn't really have any solid backdrop. This is based on the ideas and the snips that were contributed along with some of my own in order to make out a starting point for the story.
Further installations of this side story, if any, will be directly fueled by the Spacebattles thread for BCWYWF and I will just try to make everything coherent for publishing here. I stated before that I did not want to make any stories about Gensokyo directly in BCWYWF since dealing with all the in-between backstory and such to make things make sense there in relation to BCWYWF would be tantamount to writing a new story altogether.
Well...here is a new story altogether about my Yuka's Gensokyo. Heh.
Also, this story will be more heavy on the Touhou than it is on the Familiar of Zero. I still put it on the crossover section since it is a side-story to Be Careful What You Wish For, which is a crossover. So, yeah.
Disclaimer: Yeah...I blame Spacebattles for this.
...
Touya Hakurei's birth was a special moment for both his parents and the many 'friends of the family' that the Hakurei clan collected over the centuries. However, unknown to most residents in Gensokyo, Touya's birth held a very special meaning to one particular resident.
Yukari Yakumo, the Youkai of Borders, was the only one that noticed that the next heir to the Sacred Lot of Gensokyo was born exactly five-hundred years to the day when his now legendary ancestor Reimu Hakurei was born as well.
That observation by Yukari was the start of a series of events that eventually helped define the person that Touya became.
Touya grew up mostly being raised by both his parents and the resident Oni of the Hakurei clan, Suika Ibuki. After the debacle of Remilia Scarlet trying to relive the scarlet mist incident, Yukari made it very clear to everyone in Gensokyo to not interfere with Touya's growth until he was old enough to take care of himself. The reason why the Scarlet Devil redid the incident that she incited when she first arrived in Gensokyo was because a certain little bird spread around the rumor that Touya was the reincarnation of Reimu. That possibility of that being true was most enticing for the vampire since Touya would basically be a male Reimu.
That didn't work out too well for her because Touya's parents and Yukari put a stop to that very quickly. Even so, that did not stop the rumor from gaining ground especially since Yukari herself was much more protective and caring of the child than any other member of the Hakurei clan save for Reimu herself.
Thanks to Yukari's intervention, Touya's childhood was mostly normal...for a Hakurei anyway. Whenever his parents went off to take care of incidents, he always found himself being cared for by his 'Auntie Suika' or by the various other Gensokyo residents that his clan had befriended. Oddly enough, the ones who came by to visit Touya the most were Youmu Konpaku, Sakuya Izayoi, and Reisen Udongein Inaba.
Everyone always just played it off as the three women just treating the young boy as a little brother of sorts. Indeed, even when Touya himself asked Suika about it, the oni came to a similar conclusion.
...
"I'll be seeing you then, Touya. Don't give Suika a hard time." The Scarlet Devil's Maid bade farewell to the ten year old Touya Hakurei after looking after the boy for his parents.
"Okay! Take care Big Sister Sakuya!" The boy enthusiastically returned the gesture before going back into the shrine grounds after he lost sight of Sakuya. Touya found Suika lounging around the grounds with her trademark gourd that supplied her with an infinite amount of Oni-grade sake.
"Sup Touya~? Hic!" Suika greeted the boy when he walked up to her. The boy nodded back with a smile before sitting down on the ground next to her.
"Big Sister Sakuya came by again to check up on me. Miss Reisen and Miss Youmu checked up on me yesterday too. I wonder why they keep doing that whenever mom and dad are away? It isn't like I'm in any danger with you here at the shrine." Touya asked the oni with a tilted head. He was very appreciative of the gesture by the women for sure, but he couldn't quite grasp why they continued to do so. The boy obviously had the natural intuition of the Hakurei but he was also personally quick-witted and creative when it came to certain things. Unfortunately, for all his talent, he was also rather lazy...like a certain Shrine Maiden of Paradise once was.
"They're all just being good friends to you, is all! Hic~!" The Deva of the Mountain responded after taking a swig of her gourd.
"Friends?" Touya repeated the word that didn't feel all that familiar to him when being said in the same sentence with the names of those three. He more or less considered them like his Big Sisters or like his Auntie Suika since they were more or less there when he was growing up. In fact, they were there when his parents were growing up.
"Friends?" Touya repeated the word that didn't feel all that familiar to him when being said in the same sentence with the names of those three. He more or less considered them like his Big Sisters or like his Auntie Suika since they were more or less there when he was growing up. In fact, they were there when his parents were growing up.
Though, when he thought about it, they were more like friends to him than Rise Kochiya was. The nine year old girl and heir to the Moriya shrine worshipped Kanako Yasaka both literally -as her god- and figuratively -as her life model-. Because of that, the girl ended up enforcing the belief that Kanako was the best goddess ever. She has ended up bullying Touya on the several occasions whenever the two encounter each other during festivals or during visits. The young girl justified those moments as a way to show how superior the Moriya Shrine was to the Hakurei Shrine. The respective families just laughed it off as children playing around, though Kanako was honestly very proud of the girl's passion and dedication for her which quickly made her a favorite of the goddess. It did not really help that the Hakurei Shrine did not actually have a named deity or god to worship either...as far as anyone knew anyway.
"Yep! Friendship is one of the most important bonds that you will ever have! Hic~! So you better make sure that you always treat those three as your friends no matter what, alright? Hic~!" The oni responded before explaining what she thought was going on. Now, Oni such as Suika pride themselves in always telling the truth. They see lying as a personal insult and are more than willing to kick the ass of anyone who lies to them. Because of this fact, Touya always took Suika's words in face value because there was no reason for her to lie. Hence...
"Alright Auntie Suika! I'll make sure to treat them as my friends for the rest of my life!" The boy declared before sharing a high-five with Suika.
"That's my boy!" The oni responded before the two of them started laughing, completely unaware of the eventual ramifications of that statement.
Time passed and Touya began training in the art form of the magic and fighting style of the Hakurei clan. Those two things famously would either go hand in hand or one would dominate over the other and would result on that person's primary means of keeping the peace in Gensokyo. Reimu's mother, Reika Hakurei, had thrived practicing, revolutionizing, and perfecting the Hakurei Musou Tensei. On the other side of the coin, Touya's parents utilized the purifying, sealing, and protection magic that their family were also vey famous for.
Touya, once his parents started training him in the ways of their art, showed a very comprehensive proficiency in both aspects...once again giving credence to the idea that he was either the reincarnation of Reimu Hakurei or was a member of their family that was of comparable skill and power as her. Because of this, the future of the Hakurei clan seemed rather bright indeed.
Unfortunately, much like Reimu was in her teenage and early adult life, Touya was a very lazy guy. He had talent to spare but, since he didn't really have to work that hard to be able to become stronger, he never worked as hard as he could have to hone the talent he did have. Touya's parents didn't really approve of that but couldn't complain since his natural talent was enough to offset is lax approach in training.
Obviously, three women in particular did not take well to the growing boy's increasing laziness...regardless of how talented he was.
...
"Can we...take a...break...?" The thirteen year old Touya heaved, barely able to catch his breath, as he collapsed into a sitting position in front of his current foe and combat instructor. The teenager was wearing his customized Hakurei Priest Garb. The white-on-red ensemble looked like a standard priest's clothing but the sleeves were much shorter, reaching only halfway past his biceps. The reason why was because Touya had discovered a rather potent affinity toward close quarters combat using his fists and feet. This eventually developed into his own unique style of full contact magic attacks and defense but he never really refined any of it. He made them usable enough with his chosen style of combat...but to the more seasoned veterans of Gensokyo, his self-taught combat style felt half-baked.
Which was precisely why one Konpaku Youmu, the Half-Ghost Gardener of Hakugyokurou, decided to do something about it.
"What's wrong? We're only an hour into our spar. You usually last much longer than that." His opponent commented with a raised brow but maintained her air of calm elegance. A natural Yamato Nadeshiko so to speak...with swords. Over the centuries, the earnest if albeit shy swordswoman grew up into a prim and proper embodiment of Japanese etiquette. Youmu had traded in her old outfit for a more traditional looking white kimono with a red inner layer and a deep blue obi which was topped off by an evergreen haori. In addition, Youmu had replaced her black shoes with a traditional pair of sandals.
The kimono and haori combination was predictably adorned with a cherry blossom motif but was of a much lighter tone than Yuyuko's. The only piece of clothing that survived the makeover was Youmu's black ribbon that was now being used to tie the end of her now waist-length hime cut hair. Her trademark swords, the katana Roukanken and the wakizashi Hakurouken, were in their respective sheaths which were suspended in mid-air close behind Youmu thanks to a special enchantment on her obi. Touya merely gave out a tired sigh as Youmu's ghost half floated around him once before returning to the gardener's side.
"Give me a break Youmu-nee. I had to help Reisen-nee and Rumi-nee stop a bunch of upstart youkai from trying to invade the underground to overthrow Auntie Yuugi as the boss of the former streets of hell." The boy explained in a tired tone as he struggled to ge back to his feet. Seeing the honest fatigue that the boy was showing, Youmu could tell if someone was faking, the woman nodded to the boy and offered him a hand.
"Thanks." Touya accepted the gesture with a smile. Youmu couldn't help but frown when she noticed that the boy really was pulling himself up using her. It was like he didn't have any strength left to stand up on his own power anymore.
"It seems that at least your claim to a lack of energy is truthful. If that was the case, why didn't you just tell me earlier rather instead of continuing with our sparing as if nothing was wrong?" Youmu asked after helping the boy to his feet with a deepening frown. The woman knew that being upset of such a thing was unbecoming of someone like her, especially after all the work she had put into to become the woman she now was. However, it still stung at her feelings that Touya would hide something from her and act like nothing was going on. It was silly, it was juvenile, and Youmu didn't like having that kind of thought...but she couldn't help it...and she couldn't figure out why.
"Well, these sparring sessions have been the only times when I get to see you these days. With all the hectic stuff that has been going on lately, we barely get to see one another anymore..." He explained before giving out an awkward laugh and rubbing the back of my head.
"Just trying to imagine having to go through all that time without getting to see Youmu-nee just didn't feel right for me." Touya explained sheepishly. It was the honest truth though. The boy literally grew up with Sakuya, Youmu, and Reisen almost constantly around him and the thought of them drifting away as he got older was something that genuinely scared him. They were his closest and dearest friends and he never wanted to lose that.
"I...see. I now understand..." Youmu responded with a smile and a nod, her cheeks betraying only the slightest hint of a blush. The boy's gesture was an honestly heartwarming one and Youmu could feel the sincerity in his words. And somewhere deep down, Youmu could swear that she felt her heart flutter. The woman all but scoffed at the implication. After all, she and her two good friends practically raised the boy. The idea that feelings beyond that would ever develop for the boy...Youmu concluded that such a thing was impossible and shrugged off the notion.
"Well, we won't be able to do anything productive for the rest of our training time. If we try to push it, you'll just end up hurt and that won't help anyone. With that in mind, it is a wonderful afternoon so would you like to have some tea with Yuyuko-sama and I?" The swordswoman offered the boy with a warm smile. Touya immediately beamed at her words, his previous fatigue seemingly vanishing in an instant.
"Yeah! That'd be great!" He immediately responded like the boy that he still was. Youmu thought to herself at the time that this kind of thing was all she needed for now.
Yes...just seeing the boy's smiling face was enough...
...
"Is it this one?" The fifteen year old Touya Hakurei asked as he picked out a single jar filled with purple viscous liquid from a cabinet filled with other identical jars, albeit filled with other things.
"Not that one. Reisen, could you please give Touya a hand?" A girl with long black hime-cut hair responded while working on something with a mortar and pestle. The girl looked no older that Touya was, but both her eyes and presence implied great wisdom and knowledge from her. This was the truth since the young looking girl was in fact the immortal former princess of the Lunarian Empire and the basis of one of Japan's oldest and most well known legends. Touya was wrangled by Kaguya Houraisan while he was visiting the human village in order to help the former princess, now doctor, with a quest of great importance.
The Eternal Princess of the Moon recruited the Shield of the Eastern Wonderland to help her bake a cake for one Fujiwara no Mokou, the Phoenix of Gensokyo.
In the past few centuries, it had been common knowledge that the two immortal girls were in a special relationship with each other. However, those who have read the Gensokyo Chronicles or were just old enough to have actually been there at the time, Kaguya and Mokou were very bitter rivals who frequently tried to kill each other. With their ability to resurrect, one could imagine that their bouts would almost always end in a fatality...however temporary death was for them.
All the more ironic since there were unconfirmed rumors and accounts that suggest that Kaguya and Mokou used to be close friends during the time when Mokou was still mortal, around the time when the Legend of Kaguya-hime occurred.
It took the Lunarian Invasion of Gensokyo for them to finally go past their differences and eventually become friends, once more if the old rumor was true. It took another two-hundred years of denials and 'she's-not-my-girlfriend' statements before the two finally admitted that they shared feeling for one another that went beyond mere friendship. So it was that Mokou moved in with Kaguya at the eternal mansion of Eientei at the former princess' request. Even after Kaguya took over the clinic from Eirin, the decision initially had people questioning the wisdom and sanity of the Brain of the Moon, Mokou continued to serve as a guide to those unlucky enough to get lost in the thick of the Bamboo Forest of the...Lost.
Although that was, of course, ancient history.
"What? Oh, it should be that one." Reisen Udongein Inaba leaned closer to Touya before pointing at another jar...that had contents that looked exactly like the same stuff inside the jar Touya was holding.
"What? How can you even tell?" Touya voiced out as he took the other jar and held the two right next to each other. The color, texture, even the amount was the same between the two jars. Even Touya's rapidly developing intuition couldn't help him tell the difference between the contents of the two jars. Kaguya and Reisen looked at the two jars, then to each other, before turning back to Touya and shrugging.
"Experience." The two of them stated at the same time. The lunar rabbit took the correct jar from Touya's hand before walking over to where Kaguya was working and setting it on the table she was using. Reisen's attire never really changed that much as time passed. She was still wearing her standard lunarian rabbit suit but she traded in her miniskirt for a pair of black slacks, much to the distraught of young men everywhere in Gensokyo when it first became public. Other than that, Reisen looked no older that she was back when Reimu and Marisa were still around. That meant that she still looked like she was in her late teens as opposed to Kaguya and Mokou who looked like they were still in their mid-teens. Of course, both Kaguya and Mokou refused to change their outfits...at all...even after all this time. Immortals.
"Right. Why do you need all of that...stuff...if you're just going to bake a cake for Mokou?" Touya asked as he put the other jar back into the cabinet. It was then that the young man suddenly felt a surge of intent that he rarely experienced before, certainly nothing this intense either.
"Kukukukuku..." Kaguya Houraisan started giggling in a manner both unbecoming of a princess as well as being creepy in general.
"Ka-Kaguya-sama..." The lunar rabbit called out to her mistress even as she started to pant rather heavily while seemingly locked in her own thoughts. The princess did not seem to notice and simply continued to giggle and was even starting to drool as well. It was times like this that Reisen wasn't even sure who was worse to work under...Kaguya or Eirin?
"Oh yes, this isn't just an ordinary cake. Any idiot who can bake can make a cake. No...this is something different, something I've been working on for my precious little Moko-tan." Kaguya started to ramble on by herself while wiping the drool from her mouth. Touya had no idea what he should do or what his emotions were supposed to be. So he just stood there looking like a fairy looking straight at an oncoming Scarlet Weather Rhapsody of all Mankind.
"Yeees...by the time she's done with this cake, she will be an unstoppable force of lust that will not cease to ravage its closest target until complete exhaustion. I better remember to sound proof our room first...yes...we might be at it all night and even all morning or so if I'm lucky. Yes...eeeexcllent..." The princess continued to mutter to herself, completely uncaring if anyone heard her or not. At this point, both Reisen and Touya were as red as tomatoes at the blatant implications of what Kaguya was planning.
Reisen made a mental note to keep everyone else as far away from the cake or anything else Kaguya was personally cooking for Mokou. Touya, for his part, was blushing simply because of what Kaguya had said. Being a teenager, even someone as naturally dense as him could understand what Kaguya was planning. The teenager himself never really had such thoughts about anyone else, despite being in constant contact with a great many attractive women, either human or otherwise.
The reason why was because, like Reimu, Touya saw everyone in Gensokyo as equal. He never personally saw anyone as being more or less special than anyone else. On one hand, this let him gain friends at an impressive rate since he does not discriminate. On the other hand, this also meant that it was unlikely for him to simply single out someone as being more special to him than everyone else, meaning it is difficult for him to develop feelings for anyone that goes beyond friendship.
"T-T-Touya! Why on earth are you blushing like that? Just what are you thinking about?" Reisen suddenly changed target from Kaguya to Touya, much to the latter's surprise.
"Wh-wh-what are you talking about? I'm not thinking about anything, I swear!" Touya immediately went on the defense by denying such claims while holding both of his hands up hoping to enforce the gesture.
"Liar! If not, then why is your face all red huh?" Which did not work since Reisen called him on it. However, Touya wasn't even thinking about what Kaguya was planning on doing with Mokou. The real reason why he was blushing was simply because of the implication of such activities. Unfortunately, it wasn't like anyone, least of all Reisen, was about to believe him now. With diplomacy failing immediately, the young Hakurei priest decided to go on the attack instead.
"Well, you're blushing too! What are you thinking about then Reisen-nee?" The Inaba in question flinched at the accusation before wondering about that herself. She immediately blushed deeper...not because she imagined herself and Touya in a similar situation. Most certainly not! Such a thing would be absolutely unacceptable! She had helped take care of Touya when he was a baby for goodness sake! Just because he grew up into such a fine young man doesn't mean that-
"Ummm...are you okay Reisen-nee?" Touya asked worriedly when Reisen just continued to blush but did not respond to his words in any way.
"No! No no no no no nonononono!" Reisen suddenly yelled out in sheer panic before tackling Touya, knocking both of them out after hitting their heads on the wall. Kaguya was still too busy with her own fantasies to notice or care what just happened.
And Tewi? Tewi was just chilling outside and preparing for another series of betting that she was anticipating in the next few years. She already even knew who she was going to bet on to get Touya's heart.
The Inaba of the Earth grinned to herself as she waited for another big pay day. Nothing compared to the amount she got when Mokou and Kaguya finally got together, but an impressive pay day nonetheless.
...
"Is there something wrong? You've been quiet for quite some time?" The Perfect and Elegant Maid asked the sixteen year old Touya as they walked through the human village. It was late in the year and the first signs of snowfall were starting to show. The change in temperature prompted Sakuya to get some last minute shopping done for Remilia before most of the shops close down for the winter months. Touya had offered to help her in this task after she mentioned if offhandedly during one of her visits to the Hakurei Shrine. Sakuya accepted even though she could have done it by herself. Touya was there mostly to keep her company and a little extra help never hurt anyone.
"No...it's...nothing." Touya muttered. Sakuya raised a brow at his response. She had known the young man long enough to see that something was very clearly wrong. Besides, whenever someone says nothing, it was almost always guaranteed to be something.
"You know that you are a terrible liar, Touya. If it is anything that I can help with, you know better than anyone that I would do so in a heartbeat." Sakuya declared as they got near one of the shops the maid was planning on visiting. Touya knew that Sakuya was serious about what she said. She, Reisen, and Youmu had been the most constant thing in his entire life. They were always there for him. Always. Because of that, Touma treasured the three of them more that anything else in Gensokyo. However...
"No...this is something that..." The young man gave out a sigh before recomposing himself and giving out a half-hearted smile to Sakuya.
"This is just something that I need to work through...alone...I appreciate the offer though, I really do Sakuya-nee...err...I mean, Sakuya." Touya explained before slipping on the way he addressed the maid. It happened a few months ago but all three of them suddenly wanted him to drop the big sister honorific and just to call them with like one normally would another person. Touya was still trying to get used to it.
"...Understood. Just know that Youmu, Reisen, and I are always here for you." Sakuya let the matter drop but not until reminding Touya who he had to lean on if he needed support. The maid adjusted the yellow scarf that was wrapped around her neck before entering the shop. Like Reisen, Sakuya's attire and appearance had remained the same as it had always been. The only difference was that she now always wore a simple yellow scarf around her neck whenever she ventures outside the Scarlet Devil Mansion.
The scarf was a gift that Reimu gave her as a new years present. It was nothing expensive or special. It was simply a scarf to keep her warm with. It was also the only thing left that truly reminded her of her old friends. It had been long, so very long, since she last saw the red-white miko and the black-white witch. She misses them dearly but she knew that her fate was different than theirs and they would want nothing more than for her to live the life she wanted. Although, Sakuya was starting to worry about the scarf. After so much time, even the immaculate care she had given the scarf and the preservation spells that Patchouli had applied on it, the scarf was starting to show its age and break down little by little. Sakuya knew that there was nothing she could do about it, so she simply decided to enjoy the scarf for as long as she still could.
"I know that...it's just..." Touya trailed off and remained quiet through the rest of their stop in that store. Sakuya chose not to pry yet and purchased what she needed in that store instead.
Of course, doing so just let Touya wander back into his own thoughts. Thoughts of 'her'. The young Hakurei priest was no stranger when it came to the concept of love. He knew, intellectually, what love was, what it can do to and for someone, and he even knew that one could harness it into a coherent beam of destruction thanks to reading the legendary 'Grimoire of Marisa'. However, those were only things that he knew. As far as actually experiencing it, being in love, the concept was much harder for Touya to comprehend. That was until a few weeks ago though.
An incident happened in the middle of autumn that led him, Rise Kochiya, and Youmu Konpaku across the Sanzu River where they encountered the Yama of Paradise. Shikieiki Yamaxanadu, as the judge of the dead and the one in charge of sending the souls of the departed to heaven, hell, or reincarnation, was one of the most powerful and important entities in Gensokyo. Even Yukari herself tended to keep away from the Yama simply because she was far too important to the continued existence of Gensokyo to mess with. There was literally nothing to gain from antagonizing the judge and there was a lot to lose if anyone did mess with her.
Unfortunately, due to some misunderstandings, Shikieiki fought against the three of them in a danmaku battle. She managed to take down both Youmu and Rise, a testament to her power and skill, and had Touya on the ropes. That was when it happened. That was when Touya did something that changed his view of the Yama. That was when the incident took a turn for the...unexpected. He talked to her...and she responded. And they talked, and talked, and talked. They debated, they discussed, they bounced opinions and ideas off one another...and Touya enjoyed it. From the varied expressions that Shikieiki made during that time, it seemed that she enjoyed it as well.
In the end, that particular incident was resolved through dialogue rather than through danmaku, a first for Touya. It also caused a different reaction from the young man. He found that he liked talking to the yama. A lot. So he tried to do so again. He got scolded by Shikieiki because of it since she was an extremely busy person and simply did not have time for casual chatter.
He started thinking more about her day after day until he couldn't take it anymore and told Suika about it. The revelation was a surprise to him as much as it was for the oni.
Touya Hakurei had developed a crush of Shikieiki Yamaxanadu.
When Touya finally understood what those feelings were, he immediately asked help from Suika on what he could do about it. Particularly, how he can talk to Shikieiki again. Unfortunately for him, Suika told him...in all seriousness...to give up on the yama. Suika laid down every single reason why it wouldn't work out between them and Touya could not refute any of those points. He agreed with Suika's words and the oni's stand against lying only added to the credibility of her statements.
Thus, the young Hakurei's first love ended right before it even began. Hence, his current state.
"Touya!" The young man in question finally managed to snap out of his thoughts when Sakuya yelled out his name. He blinked and saw that she was already holding quite a number of bags.
"Ah..." He squeaked out when he realized that he had just basically left Sakuya to do all the work on her own while he just wallowed in his own misery, despite the fact that he tagged along in order to help her in the first place. They were already outside and it seemed like Sakuya was getting ready to go back to the Scarlet Devil Mansion.
"I'm...I'm sorry, Sakuya." Touya immediately apologized. Sakuya raised a brow before trying to adjust her scarf again.
"Is there something wrong with your scarf?" The young man asked worriedly.
"No...well, yes. My scarf is starting to wear down after so long. Thus, it is no longer as warm as it used to be." The maid admitted with a shrug.
"Why don't you just replace it then?" Touya asked with a blink of his eyes. Sakuya paused for a few moments, temporarily caught in the irony of Touya's question.
"This was...a gift from a dear friend. It is too precious for me to simply throw away. However, I do understand that even this would someday wear out." Sakuya explained with a hint of resignation in her voice. Touya closed his eyes and tried to recall something. Sakuya was about to get his attention when he suddenly opened his eyes again and ran back into the village.
"Wait there! I won't be long!" Touya yelled out even as he continued to run. Sakuya wasn't sure what to do but to wait, so she did. It took nearly half an hour but Touya managed to return with a small bag. Sakuya wasn't sure what he was playing and but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and waited to him to stop hyperventilating. The young man was finally able to recover and stood up straight again. Touya looked at Sakuya straight in the eye and handed her the paper bag he was holding.
"What is this for?" The maid asked. Instead of answering, Touya simply gestured at the bag in his right hand while asking to hold the bags Sakuya had with his left hand. The maid hummed at the gesture but trusted Touya all the same. She exchanged the bags in her hand with the paper bag that Touya had. She checked what was inside and nearly gasped.
"But this is...I mean...why..." Sakuya muttered as she pulled out the content of the paper bag. It was a yellow scarf. A scarf that was nearly identical to what she was wearing, the scarf that Reimu gave her lifetimes ago. In response, Touya took a deep breath before smiling.
"That scarf of yours is old but really important right? So you should just keep it somewhere safe and use that one instead. It's probably not as precious as the one you have right now, but it should be enough to keep you warm." Touya explained and Sakuya had no response but to ask him why again. The young man laughed awkwardly before rubbing the back of his head.
"It was thanks for waking me up. I was...mulling...well...sulking about something. It was something that bothered me so much that I just stopped caring about a lot of things. I didn't realize that I also stopped paying attention to one of the most important people in my life. This is thanks for being there for me...and an apology for acting like a jerk today." The young man responded with a warm smile. Sakuya could not help but smile back with a bit of a blush on her cheeks. She shook her head before walking up to Touya and giving him a hug.
"Thank you, Touya." Sakuya said while Touya returned her hug. They stayed like that for a moment longer before making their way back to the Scarlet Devil Mansion in comfortable silence.
"So...do you want to talk about it?" Sakuya asked, now wearing her new scarf. The one Reimu gave her was now stored in the bag that originally held her new one.
"Yeah...it's pretty embarrassing and silly when I think about it...but if you're willing to hear me out then..." Touya trailed off before recounting the events of the incident that past autumn and what came about because of it.
...
"There's nothing here..." The fifteen year old Touya Hakurei deadpanned as he surveyed the surroundings. He was dragged out here in early spring because someone alerted him to a potential incident that was occurring. The person who alerted him to that possible incident was the very person he was complaining to.
Whack!
"Ow!" And it was the very same person who smacked him on the upside of the head. That person had long mint green hair tied up into twintails. That person had green eyes and a perpetually offensive expression whenever Touya was nearby. That person was wearing the standard white on blue detached sleeve shrine maiden outfit of the Kochiya along with a frog symbol broach and a snake symbol choker. That person had a gohei in her right hand and had a set of prayer beads wrapped around her left hand. That person was Rise Kochiya...and Touya was wondering what possessed him to go along with her by himself. He could have at least asked a member of Seventh Heaven to help. Certainly Reisen or Cirno would have been eager to help him out.
"Are you saying that I was lying? You would dare imply that a servant of the Great Goddess Kanako Yasaka would stoop to something as stupid as deception?" Rise yelled at him while pointing her gohei at the young priest. Touya could have pointed out that Rise had tried to use deception to prove her superiority over him multiple times...but the young man's intuition reminded him that it would just lead to more unnecessary pain.
"I never said anything like that. I just said that there's nothing here. What even happened here that made you think that an incident was occurring?" Touya asked while rubbing the back of his head.
"There is something here. Just shut up and trust me." The green-head answered irritably before flying ahead of Touya. The young man sighed and just followed her. For all the grievances that Touya had against Rise, he couldn't deny that she always comes through when the going gets bad and he desperately needed a hand.
The scenery at Youkai Mountain it a lot different in spring than it was during autumn. The trademark falling leaves of maple trees were replaced with a vast unending sea of green. Touya had seen this place in spring before but it always gets to him just how big and how vast Youkai Mountain really was. Put simply, it was beautiful.
Touya followed Rise all over the mountain. They flew above the canopy of the many many trees that covered the mountain. They followed the river upstream and flew up the face of one of the largest waterfalls at the mountain. They flew high. They flew low. They went all over the place, scenery that Touya didn't even know existed like they did during spring. All in all, it was a rather breathtaking experience. Before he knew it, the sun was already setting and he was really getting hungry and tired. It seemed that Rise was the same as the shrine maiden landed near the edge of a cliff near the summit that overlooked the rest of Youkai Mountain, including the Moriya Shrine. Touya landed nearby and took a breath. He hadn't stayed in the air that long in quite a while but it was hard to feel bad about it considering what he got to see.
"Looks like whatever you saw before was gone." He pointed out as she walked up to stand beside Rise. He took in the beauty of Youkai Mountain from this angle and couldn't help but smile at the wonder. He turned back to Rise when he noticed that she didn't respond to him. Touya wondered if she was upset at something since she looked rather displeased at the moment.
"That's it? 'Looks like whatever you saw before was gone'? That was the only thing you cared about?" Rise yelled at him before shoving him with her shoulder. Touya yelped at the sudden 'attack' and nearly tripped over a piece of rock.
"What was that for?" Touya yelled back. As well as he and Rise could work together whenever the situation demanded it, the Moriya Shrine Maiden never really grew out of her habit of being mean to him whenever the opportunity presented itself. Touya couldn't even understand 'why' she seemed to always try to antagonize him. Unfortunately for him, that was the cause of many an argument between him and Rise. Most of which he found himself on the defensive simply because he didn't understand what the argument was even about.
"That was for being blind, dense, and inattentive! Be glad that I just rolled everything into one punishment." Rise answered with logic that was once again beyond Touya's reach. Touya looked around and grimaced. He couldn't understand it. Aside from the scenery, he couldn't pick up anything at all that would indicate that something untoward was happening at Youkai Mountain. Was Rise picking up something he couldn't? If so, what was it and why didn't she just share what she knew instead of leading him on a wild kedama chase then blaming him for not finding anything. He gave out a tired sigh...mainly because he really was tired...and hungry...and confused.
"Rise, you were the one who dragged me away from the shrine and started yelling at me to follow you because there was something going on at Youkai Mountain. I thought it was something really serious because you NEVER ask me for help when it came to trouble at Youkai Mountain because it was the Moriya Shrine's territory. So I followed you. I followed you, fully ready to go to town on any youkai, or god, or evil spirit, or whatever it was that even you couldn't take down in the place where you are at your strongest. Instead, we fly around all day with nothing to show for it and you blame me for not noticing anything. Well, I'm sorry. If you noticed something I couldn't, then please tell me what it is so we can just get this over with and go home. I'm tired. I'm hungry. I kept getting hit by you. I just want to go home and rest." Touya ranted out while pacing around with a troubled expression. He hated this. He hated it whenever he and Rise get into a fight or an argument. He hated it because he didn't want to argue or fight with Rise. He hated it more because he usually couldn't even comprehend why they were fighting in the first place. He looked back at Rise and saw that she had her head down and was trembling slightly. Touya set his jaw and took a few deep breaths. If worse comes to worse, it might come down to a danmaku battle between them...no matter how much Touya didn't want it to.
"Don't speak as if you know me that well..." Rise hissed at him with an angry expression. That was what the last straw for him. Touya gave out an audible sigh before roughly scratching his head with his right hand. He then looked straight at Rise and returned her glare. The shrine maiden could sense his hostile intent and prepared to defend herself. However, the attack never came. In fact the hostility that she sensed from the young Hakurei priest suddenly vanished. Touya's glare even changed into something akin to a hurt expression. Rise gulped since she wasn't used to Touya switching moods like that. The irony of that was lost to her sadly.
"Of course I know you that well, Rise. In case you've forgot, we grew up together." Touya calmly stated with the same expression. Rise blinked at him before recoiling at his words as if struck.
"I know your habits, your likes, your dislikes. I know that you're scared of spiders. I know that your favorite dish is tonkatsu that is practically swimming in sauce. I know that you hate having to memorize all those science books that the Kappa kept telling you to read up on. I know your danmaku patterns. I know your habits during a match. I know just how much faith and love you have for Yasaka-sama. I know how much you treasure Youkai Mountain and Gensokyo itself." Touya calmly stated with closed eyes and a much more relaxed expression. Rise stiffened at each point that Touya made, her face getting more and more red with each statement. The Moriya Shrine Maiden was utterly shocked at how much Touya knew her and she didn't know how she could even respond to that. She suddenly flinched when Touya finally opened his eyes and gave such a sad and longing expression that it very nearly broke Rise's heart to see.
"The only thing about you I can never understand is why you seem to dislike me so much..." Touya admitted before glancing away. That statement made Rise's mind completely freeze over. It wasn't fair! Why did he have to say those things with that kind of expression! Why does it look like she was the bad guy here?
"I just wanted to be your friend...even back when we were still kids..." Touya muttered in a resigned tone of voice, the way he said it just made Rise blush harder. She grit her teeth and clenched her fists. This wasn't like her at all! Kanako would have laughed at her for letting something like this get to her! She was better than this! With a growl that got Touya's attention, Rise stomped over to the edge of the cliff they were standing on before turning around and facing Touya. The young man was fully expecting another argument or a full on danmaku assault, but what he got was something completely different.
"It's your birthday tomorrow, right?" Rise asked him while folding her arms under her chest. Touya blinked a few times at the unexpected tangential question.
"Well...yeah. What does that have to do with anything?" Touya answered before asking a question of his own. Rise huffed at him before spreading her arms out wide.
"Behold! Is there no greater wonder to appreciate for your day of birth than the majesty of Youkai Mountain itself in spring?" Rise declared and asked him in a very boisterous manner. Touya could only gape at the girl and respond coherently in one possible way.
"What?" Touya asked, honestly lost with what Rise was trying to get across. The shrine maiden flinched before giving him an irritated expression again.
"Hello? Your birthday! I couldn't think of a present to give you this year so I just decided to have you behold the awe inspiring beauty of our mountain! Surely no other gift could compare to this!" Rise answered admitted her motive for bringing Touya all the way out there.
"Wait...so you did all this so I could see Youkai Mountain during the peak of spring...as a birthday present?" Touya asked in clarification, still unable to fully understand what it was that was happening at the moment.
"Of course! Couldn't you figure that out by yourself? That's why I said that you were blind, dense, and inattentive!" Rise snapped at him with a shake of her head.
"How could I have known? My birthday is tomorrow!" Touya immediately shot back. Rise flinched before making another displeased expression.
"That doesn't matter! You'd be too busy to come with me here tomorrow because of those three old hags!" Rise pointed out...while pointing at Touya with her gohei. It was Touya's turn to flinch after that statement. While it was true...
"Hey! No disrespecting Sakuya, Youmu and Reisen!" The Hakurei priest retorted immediately. Rise puffed up her cheeks in response.
"See! Those three will be occupying your time all day tomorrow and there'd be no chance for you to be able to truly appreciate the full beauty of Youkai Mountain!" Rise reasoned and Touya blinked since she was right. Since he didn't have a response to what Rise told him, their previously fiery argument suddenly dying down into cold silence.
"That's...that's right..." Touya managed to say out loud, his voice distant. His admission broke something within Rise that she was using to hold back a lot of things. And with that block broken...everything just flooded out.
"See! How am I supposed to even give you a present when those three keep taking up you time? How can we become friends if the only time we ever spend around each other is during incidents or during formal visits between our families? I wanted to be your friend too you know! But how can I even do that when you keep giving your time and attention to those three all the time?" Rise snapped at Touya, pointing out things that the young man hadn't even considered before. Touya was at a loss. All this time, he had wanted to become friends with Rise but it turned out that he was partially to blame about the whole thing as well.
"Rise...I..." Touya managed to let out but Rise was already too upset at this point and scowled at him.
"If you're going to apologize, then forget it. If it took you this long to realize that, and only after I shoved it into your face, then there isn't any meaning to it." The young woman bitterly stated before turning away from him and preparing to fly away. Touya immediately moved and grabbed her wrist before she could leave.
"Wha-" Rise was fully ready to try to kick Touya's ass if he tried to stop her, and was just about to, but the young man's next words put a halt to that train of thought.
"Thank you!" Touya almost yelled out in a mildly desperate manner that made the young woman give pause.
"Thank you...for both this present and for making me realize how stupid I've been..." He repeated and elaborated on the point with an awkward smile. Rise did not move and just stood there staring at him.
"Youkai Mountain is beautiful, especially today. Even though I was trying to look for anything suspicious and out of the ordinary, I still couldn't help but admire just how amazing this place is. So thank you...thank you for showing this to me. It's a great birthday present." Touya stated with as much sincerity as he could possibly muster while giving Rise a warm smile filled with gratitude. The young woman in question suddenly blushed bright red before turning away from Touya.
"...you should have just said that in the first place...idiot..." Rise muttered to herself before giving out a sigh and turning back to Touya.
"Well, as long as you understand now. Anyway, I'm tired and hungry too so follow me back to the shrine. You should at least eat before heading back home." Rise said before freeing her wrist from Touya's grasp and flying off to the Moriya Shrine. Touya simply smiled and nodded before following her, making a mental note to spend more time with his friend from now on.
...
"So..." One Yukari Yakumo stated at the head of a long table inside an oddly dimly lit room. She eyes each and every one of the occupants of the table and smiled. They had each personally asked for this unexpected meeting and the border youkai just couldn't help but become excited as to what all of them were up to now. Gathered along with herself at the table were Remilia Scarlet, Yuyuko Saigyouji, Kanako Yasaka, Suwako Moriya, and Eirin Yagokoro via a gap that led to her chambers at the Lunarian Capital.
Yukari had been surprised when Ran suddenly woke her up in the middle of winter with a letter of request that was signed off by all of the women present there right now. Whatever it was they wanted, they seemed serious.
"Anyone want to explain why we are all gathered here when I could be sound asleep?" Yukari asked with a raised brow. Much like Yuuka Kazami, Shizuha Aki, and Minoriko Aki, Yukari liked to spend her winters unconscious and just wait for spring to pop up when it does. The five other people present there looked at each other before looking back to Yukari.
"We are here because we managed to strike an agreement with each other about a certain something. Our arrangements seemed to be fair for all of us until one of us pointed out a certain variable that could mess up the whole thing. You." Eirin was the one who finally spoke out. Yukari blinked at her words and the rather serious way she said them.
"You all aren't planning a major incident are you? Because if you are and it messes with Gensokyo's balance..." Yukari reminded them all in a warning tone of voice. Ever since the Lunarian Invasion of Gensokyo, Yukari had been much more serious when it comes to large scale incidents. If there ever came a time when someone was dumb enough to cause an incident that threatened the actual balance of the realm, then she would take care of it herself. There are very few things in Gensokyo more frightening than an angry Yukari Yakumo on a warpath.
"Don't be ridiculous. We wouldn't be stupid enough to try anything that would threaten the balance of Gensokyo. We live here, remember?" Remilia responded with a dismissive wave and a bored tone.
"Besides, if anything, what we're planning would be nothing if beneficial to Gensokyo in the long run." Kanako added with a confident smirk while settling into her trademark pose of propping up her cheek with her right hand.
"Okay, so what is this whole thing about then? And why did you need to include me with this if you are all in agreement to whatever it is and it won't harm Gensokyo?" Yukari acknowledged before asking them what they were up to again.
"The reason why is because it has everything to do with Touya Hakurei." Suwako cheerfully said with a laugh, making the other women there smile as well. Yukari, on the other hand, wasn't smiling. In fact, Yukari bristled the second the native god mentioned Touya's name. All that did was elicit a giggle from the only member of the assembly that hadn't spoken yet.
"Fufufufu...I told you all that Yukari is very protective of Touya-kun." Yuyuko pointed out lightheartedly. However, even the words of her best friend wasn't enough to settle Yukari down and the border youkai continued to narrow her eyes at all of them there.
"Oh relax, Yukari. We're not going to hurt Touya in any way shape or form. If I tried, Sakuya would never forgive me." Remilia casually responded with a shake of her head. Yukari blinked at the vampire's casual dismissal of her implied threat to them...but that wasn't the end of it.
"Youmu wouldn't forgive me either." Yuyuko added with a smile.
"Reisen wouldn't forgive me as well." Eirin continued with a tired sigh.
"Rise would also go ballistic if we tried anything to harm him." Suwako also stated before giving out a laugh.
"I wouldn't expect any lesser reaction from my favored miko if Touya's safety was ever threatened by anyone." Kanako enforced Suwako's words with her own while giving a sagely nod.
"What are you all getting at? What do they have...to...do...with...oh...OH!" Yukari suddenly trailed of before exclaiming her surprise when she finally pieced together what was going on. She looked at each of the other women there with wide eyes as they all smiled at her.
"No...wait. So your big plan is to have Touya choose amongst one of your charges to be his woman?" Yukari already knew the answer but decided to ask anyway.
"Tis only fair. All of them seem very fond of Touya and it was about time for Youmu to finally settle down and start a family." Yuyuko responded to Yukari like a mother.
"You assume incorrectly, Yuyuko. It is clear that Sakuya is much more suited for him." Remilia countered with a smug smile.
"Please. Reisen clearly wins when it comes to pure sex appeal. Touya won't be able to resist her for very long once she gets serious about it." Eirin pointed out confidently with her own smirk.
"Please, that rabbit doesn't have any use ASIDE from her sex appeal." Kanako said with a sneer. Suwako laughed at the jab and picked up the conversation.
"Besides, Rise is the obvious choice since she's fully human unlike the other girls. In addition, it gives the added bonus of finally uniting the Moriya and Hakurei Shrines." Suwako added slyly while staring straight at Yukari. The border youkai flinched at the goddess' words since she had been intending on uniting the two families for quite some time now. She never went through with it since each of the priests and shrine maidens of each family chose different spouses throughout the generations. If Rise Kochiya was willing to marry Touya...and if Touya could develop feelings for her as well...
"And that is the very reason why we are having this meeting...in order to bring out a fair consensus for this situation." Eirin interrupted Yukari's train of thought with her words.
"Indeed. With the situation as it is right now, Rise-chan has an unfair advantage over everyone else because of her being a human and her status as a shrine maiden. I can't stand by and let that take place without giving Youmu a chance at her own happiness." Yuyuko added with a more than a hint of determination in her voice.
"Agreed. I'm sure that Sakuya will gracefully respect Touya's choice for a partner but I'll be damned if I allow my head maid to bow out of this without a fight." Remilia added her own opinion while glaring at Kanako and Suwako.
"And I assume that you want Reisen to win Touya's heart?" Yukari postulated while looking at Eirin.
"She deserves a happy ending for all the hard work she has done under me and the work she has been doing under Kaguya. A loving husband should make her more than happy enough." The Lunarian answered with a nod and a smile.
"Okay. So, if I got this straight, you all want your own girl to end up as Touya's wife right? Where do I come in?" Yukari finally asked the critical question after confirming the intentions of the women there. They all looked at each other again before turning back to her and giving their own sly smiles.
"You don't." They all chorused at the same time, much to Yukari's surprise and confusion.
"What?" The border youkai voiced her confusion in the most elegant way possible.
"As it stands, each of our girls are on even footing with one another. However, the only one who could tip the scales drastically is you. Your words and influence hold significant weight to Touya, which is why whoever you favor will have the best chance of ending up with him in the end." Remilia pointed out. She couldn't use her fate manipulation since everyone else would call her out on it and that won't end well for anyone. Besides, with the way Sakuya's fate was now set up, she couldn't even do it if she tried.
"We want to to stay out of this whole thing. Full non-intervention policy. Neither act for nor against any of our girls. That is the fairest way we can go about this whole thing." Kanako got down to the reason why they asked Yukari there in the first place. The youkai in question raised a brow at her words and gave out a thoughtful hum.
"Not just with our girls either. We want you to promise us not to interfere when it comes to Touya-kun's love life with any girl here in Gensokyo." Yuyuko said in a serious tone that didn't feel right coming from the usually bubbly ghost.
"So you want me to step out of Touya's life because you are all scared of what I 'might' be able to do to influence him?" Yukari asked, a bit put off that the others would even think of suggesting such a thing to her.
"Nope. We just want you to promise that you won't interfere with Touya's love life with anyone here in Gensokyo. Otherwise, you can treat him the way you always do." Suwako clarified for Yukari. The border youkai considered the whole thing for several moments. She weighed the pros and cons of such an arrangement. Then she remembered something when it comes to Touya and smiled.
"Alright. I agree to those terms. I swear never to interfere with Touya Hakurei's romantic dealings with anyone here in Gensokyo." Yukari stated in a clear and concise manner, making sure that they all heard her declaration. They all smiled at her in approval, happy that one less variable was taken out of their respective plans for their girl.
Yukari didn't care though. She knew that any girl trying to get at Touya's heart will have a monumental task before her. After all, he has the same problem that Reimu had when it comes to dealing with other people. It took superhuman effort from 'that man' for Reimu to acknowledge him and finally fall in love with him. If Touya was anything like his ancestor, any girl would likely have to go through something of equal or greater effort for the boy to fall in love with her.
Regardless, it would be very interesting to witness. Definitely something for the Gensokyo Chronicles
