An invitation to Gensokyo

Chapter 10: Hakkero VS. Hakkero

Ryusashi followed Yukari through her gap, and as expected, they returned home. Chen was seated in the living room, rolling her ball between her hands on the table when the gap opened. Chen turned to see Yukari step out first, who smiled at her and gave her a little wave, and Chen unenthusiastically waved back at her before returning to her ball. When Ryusashi stepped out of the gap, Chen's eyes widened before she zoomed into the main hallway. "LADY RAN! HE'S BACK! RYU'S BACK!" She screamed as she ran to bring Ran into the living room. Yukari giggled as Chen sprinted down the hall. "Those two certainly missed you quite a lot." She said as Ryusashi stood still with a small blush on his face. "Ryu... it's certainly been a hot minute since someone has called me that." He said and Yukari turned to him, smiling. "You've certainly made quite a good impression on them. It's nice knowing that Ran has someone special to her." Yukari said happily to him. Ran walked out into the hall, holding Chen's hand. When she saw Yukari and Ryusashi, she smiled and walked down the hall to greet them. She stopped once she made it into the living room and gave a small bow. "Welcome home lady Yukari, Ryusashi." She said warmly before she gave Ryusashi a tight hug. Ryusashi gently hugged her back and Chen joined in as well. "When you spent the night at Rinnosuke's, I didn't think you'd be there for more than a week, but an entire month just flew right by and I almost thought you weren't coming back." Ran said as she pressed her cheek against Ryusashi's chest. Chen purred as she nuzzled his leg, as she wasn't tall enough to give him a proper hug. Yukari popped her fan open. "Well, as cute as this little reunion is, we should give him a little space now. He needs to clean himself up a little before we have dinner." She said and Ran sniffed him a little. She recoiled from the scent. "Ugh, you're right. I'll run the bath, so just give me a moment." Ran said before she walked back into the hallway towards the bathroom. Ryusashi put his nose under his arm to smell himself, he also wasn't very pleased with his hygienic condition.

Ryusashi sat in the bath for awhile, exhausted. He just let himself soak in the warm water while he thought to himself. "Ran seemed really happy to see me. I wonder why." He splashed some of the water onto his face and began scrubbing his hair with a soapy brush. "Maybe I should just leave her alone about it, I don't want her to get distant from me. Besides, it's pretty nice." He thought as he let his short, brown hair soak in the water (It would be about the same length as Ran's). After finishing up in the bath, he stepped out in his housecoat that Rinnosuke basically gave him at this point, Ryusashi knew he'd have to pay him back for all he's done sometime. The four of them had sat down for dinner, and in celebration of his return, Ran had prepared Ryusashi's favourite chicken teriyaki and tempura again. Ryusashi smiled at the sight of food that wasn't cucumbers, he'd been eating those for breakfast, lunch, and dinner when he was working with Nitori and never wanted to eat them again. Unfortunately, there were cucumbers in his salad. As the four of them ate, Ran remembered something. "Ah, Ryusashi. Why don't you show lady Yukari that lovely device you showed me? That thing that played the music. Oh, what was it called?" Ran said enthusiastically, and Yukari chuckled. "Ran, do you mean his tape player? Yes, I know what it does. I am quite knowledgeable of the outside world you know?" Yukari said, hiding a smirk behind her fan. Ran blushed, embarrassed that she felt like she was left out of the loop. Ryusashi was still really tired, and began struggling to stay awake. He continued to eat his meal, albeit sloppily, before Ran took notice of his exhaustion. "Oh, dear. You don't look well, are you alright Ryusashi?" She said worriedly, but Ryusashi didn't hear her. His vision started to blur and his eyelids were getting heavier by the second. Yukari chuckled at him, he looked like he was going to fall over. Ran sighed and walked over to him. "Alright, maybe you just need some sleep, I'll help you get to bed." She said as she helped Ryusashi stand up. "Yes, that's probably a good idea. He's got a big day ahead of him tomorrow, so a good nights sleep is very important." Yukari said and Ran looked at her, puzzled. "What do you have planned, lady Yukari?" She asked curiously, and Yukari smiled. "Oh, I don't have a plan for him, but he has a Danmaku battle to attend." Yukari said and Ran looked at her, even more confused then she was before. "What do you mean? Who would challenge him to a Danmaku battle?" Ram asked, making Yukari chuckle a little. "Oh, he wasn't challenged. He challenged Marisa himself." She stated and Ran's ears fluttered with worry. "And you didn't stop him? He might not make it out of this!" She said, concerned. Yukari just sighed, brushing it off. "If he doesn't, he doesn't. We don't have use for someone who can't survive one Danmaku battle." Yukari explained, but Ran wasn't satisfied. "Please, at least give him a little more time. He's not ready for this!" She said, holding him up as he had already fallen asleep. "It's not about wether or not he's ready. He put himself into this situation, now he needs to get out of it himself." Yukari said sternly, and Ran looked down at the ground sadly before she turned to take him to his bedroom.