Teatime (12)

The flower viewing in the Netherworld may have seemed dismal to some, but to others, it held an ethereal beauty. Yuyuko sat beneath the boughs of the Saigyou Ayakashi, eating Senbei and drinking Tea. To any outsider, the sight of a pink-clad spirit beneath a dead tree would be unnerving. …Well, unless you were Yukari, of course.

“Well hello there! Have I made it in time for Hanami, or have we already made it to Yozakura?”

Yuyuko looked up at that. She considered Yukari for a moment, then looked down to the Senbei at her side. After a moment, she looked back up at Yukari and cocked her head in thought, pondering the question.

… “I think we’re halfway through a Yozakura. Unless you brought more snacks, that is.”

“No, all of our snacks have been set aside for the flower viewing tonight.”

“At the shrine, correct?”

“Indeed”

At this, Yukari took a seat beside Yuyuko on the picnic blanket. The two remained silent for a moment, contemplating the dead tree above them quietly. This silence was broken when Yukari turned fully to Yuyuko, indicating she had something of the utmost importance to say.

“So, does Youmu know you’re eating those now?”

A moment of hesitation was all that was needed to bring a grin to Yukari’s face in triumph. Yuyuko quickly masked her reaction with indifference.

“What makes you think Youmu wasn’t the one to serve me these?”

At this, Yukari proceeded to raise an eyebrow.

“The fact that she’s currently enjoying the company of the Yama right now, out by Higan”

This statement was met with surprise from Yuyuko, who proceeded to adopt an affronted manner.

“Oh? Are you stalking my cute little Youmu now? I won’t let you have her!”  

To emphasize this, Yuyuko pointed aggressively at Yukari.

“You already have a servant and a servant of a servant. No one needs a servant of a servant of a servant!”

“No, it’s nothing like that!” Yukari responded defensively. “She just wandered in front of one of my gaps while I was observing this… peculiar… state of affairs outside”

At this, Yukari’s grin was quickly matched by one from Yuyuko.

“Oh? How unusual, that Youmu would wander into such a strange place.”

“Yes, especially considering her duties here. It would be inconceivable, unless her mistress sent her there on purpose.”

At this, Yuyuko’s grin faded somewhat, and she paused to consider the limbs of the Ayakashi twisting above, before she resumed eating. Seeing this reaction, Yukari stopped smiling and the two were silent for a moment. It was Yuyuko who eventually resumed speaking.

“So… how’s Chen doing? I haven’t seen her in a while, and I would have expected her and Ran to be accompanying you today.

“Oh, both of them are currently keeping fairies out of Mayohiga, as the swarms are quite disruptive today. But still, I’m curious. You didn’t send Youmu away just to snack in peace, did you.”

At this, Yuyuko’s gaze rose to meet Yukari’s hard stare evenly, without any of the previous humor present.

“… No, I suppose I didn’t. If I wanted to have a snack, I would have just asked her to patrol for new souls past the stairs, after all.”

“So you wanted her to meet the Yama”

At Yuyuko’s affirming nod, Yukari’s glare softened, and she returned her gaze to the maze of branches above. Her expression suddenly turned impish.

“So, what has Youmu done to warrant such torture? Just because you can grant death without effort doesn’t mean you should sentence people to fates worse than death to compensate. There’s this quaint concept among humans in the Outside world that it is forbidden to subject even the most deplorable criminals to ‘cruel and unusual punishment’, you know.”

Yuyuko’s gaze returned to the barren branches where flowers should have been, flowers that should never be again.

“It’s not a matter of what Youmu has done, but what she might do, really.”

At this, Yukari’s gaze fell back upon Yuyuko, sensing her attempt at humor was rebuffed for a reason. As Yuyuko looked down, their eyes met, curiosity meeting concern.

“I had initially encouraged her to learn from Marisa and Reimu, but I fear she took the wrong lessons to heart, to the point where she lost sight of her priorities.”

Hearing this, Yukari’s confusion turned to understanding. Her gaze returned to the tree above, where formless spirits gathered.

“The Long Night Incident, huh?”

“Yes.”

Yuyuko’s voice had fallen to a whisper, but in the silence of the Netherworld, her words held all the weight as if she had shouted. It was as if the words she had to say held all the authority of death itself, an inevitability that could not be overturned.

“Youmu overstepped her bounds multiple times that night. I made it clear that we were only interested in eating, and later in indulging the vampire’s posturing, but Youmu still insisted on investigating the moon. If this continued…”

At this, Yuyuko fell silent, as if she didn’t want to finish her thought, out of fear that proclaiming it would affirm it.

“… Eventually, Youmu wouldn’t be able to return here.”

Once uttered, the words fell as if the weight of their meaning had dragged them to the ground. Yukari lowered her gaze to find Yuyuko silently contemplating the teacup in her hand, as if divining what course to take. Sensing her attention, Yuyuko looked up to see Yukari shoot her a knowing look.

“And you couldn’t have explained that to her yourself because….?”

At that, Yuyuko’s grin returned, with an equally knowing look.

“Ah, that was because I wanted to eat these snacks. Speaking of which…”

And with that, Yuyuko began decimating the Senbei that remained at her side. Yukari shook her head at her friend’s antics, then returned her gaze above to contemplate the winding trails of the Ayakashi’s limbs. She sighed in consternation.

“Well, as far as lessons go, the Yama is the best at giving ones you’ll never forget. I’ll give her that.”

Seeing Yuyuko’s knowing nod out of the corner of her eye, Yukari continued.

“I’d actually be interested in seeing how much Youmu li- hang on…”

That got Yuyuko to look up from the cracker she was currently devouring. Swallowing quickly, she looked to Yukari.
 “Is something the matter?”

Yukari was silent for a moment, then shook her head.

“No, only that I won’t have to wait long to see if Youmu has changed. She just crossed the border a moment ago.”

At this, Yuyuko paused a moment in thought, turning over the last Senbei in her hands.

“Is she headed here now?”

At Yukari’s nod of confirmation, Yuyuko abruptly stood up. Then, as Yukari watched, she began methodically crushing what remained of the Senbei in her hands until all that remained were crumbs. 

As she cast most of them aside, Yukari shot her an amused grin.

“That opposed to sharing, aren’t we?

Yuyuko didn’t even raise her head in response, rolling the remaining crumbs in her palm.

“Well, yes actually. But this is also a distraction”

At that, Yukari’s grin faded slightly and she raised an eyebrow, prompting Yuyuko to go on.

“Unlike you, I do know how Youmu will react. And if I don’t distract her after making sure she learned the right lesson, she won’t be any fun by the time the flower viewing comes. Now hurry up and hide already!”

“Alright, alright, I’m going, I'm going!” Yukari replied, waving her hands in surrender.

As Yukari teased open a gap in the boundary between [Here and There], she saw Yuyuko take the rice cracker crumbs and deliberately sprinkle them down the front of her dress. Quite a shame, she thought, since the slightest gust of wind would easily blow them off, and it was probably obvious to anyone what they were and where they must have come from. Yuyuko would never manage to hide the "evidence" of her snacking that way.

As Yukari entered the gap and faded from view, Yuyuko slowly rose and floated around to the other side of the tree, closest to the stairs. Before she had made it halfway around  the tree, however, a voice stopped her short.

“You really do dote on her, don’t you.”

Turning her head back to where she came from, Yuyuko saw two ribbons floating over the space where, until a moment ago, a picnic blanket and teacup had been.

“Of course,” She replied without hesitation. “She’s my adorable little subordinate”

Timeline
Youmu's Judgment
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