An invitation to Gensokyo

Chapter 14: an imperishable night part 1

Ran had touched down on the grass near the front porch, Ryusashi came up close behind, stopping when he reached the porch. Yukari was sitting on her gap, waiting for them. She looked somewhat disappointed, frowning with a furrowed brow. Chen knelt next to her nervously. "Where have you two been?" She asked, annoyed. Ran bowed down on her knees quickly. "M-my deepest apologies, lady Yukari. I had just-" Ran said, but Yukari cut her off. "You left for the village in a rage because Ryusashi had the scent of a Tanuki on him, am I correct?" Ran shuddered with fear and shame. She tried to swallow, but her throat had tightened, making it hard to breath. Beads of sweat began to appear on her forehead. "Y-yes, Lady Yukari." She replied shakily. Yukari scoffed at her. "It would seem that yet again you forget your place as my Shikigami." Ran's breathing grew heavy as her sweat dripped down from her face to the grass below her. Yukari forcibly grabbed Ran by the collar of her robes, lifting her off her knees with ease. "Urk! L-lady Yukari, I'm sorry! P-please don't!" Ran begged. Chen rushed back inside, and quickly shut the door behind her while Ryusashi stood, dumbfounded by what he was seeing. "You do know what happens with disobedience in our household, don't you?" Yukari said calmly, and Ran barely mustered a reply. "Y-yes Lady Yukari." She said, but Yukari shook her head. "No, I don't think you do. Here, let me help you." Yukari raised her umbrella over her head and Ran sealed her eyes shut, bracing herself. But, before Yukari had the chance to swing, Ryusashi caught her by the wrist, stopping her before she could. "You've made your point, now that's enough. Let her go." Ryusashi said, trying to calm the situation. Yukari looked at him, then back at Ran, who was shivering in her grasp, her face wet with a mixture of sweat and tears. Yukari released her and she dropped back to her hands and knees, and Ryusashi did the same. "I suppose I can forgive this minor discrepancy." Yukari said and Ran bowed down gratefully, but Yukari wasn't satisfied. "However..." Yukari snapped her fingers as Ryusashi walked over to check on Ran. A gap opened next and something popped right out. A large, metal road sign came and hit Ryusashi right in the face. He stumbled onto the ground and Ran covered her mouth in surprise. Yukari walked over to him as he tried to reorient himself. He tried to bring himself onto his feet, but Yukari used her umbrella to force him back down to the ground. "And who said you could get up? I don't remember giving you permission." She said as she stomped her high heel into the back his hand, causing him to groan in pain. For some reason his body had gone limp, he tried moving his arms and legs but they wouldn't respond. "I think you need to be taught some discipline more than anyone else here." She dug her heel into his hand, twisting it as she pressed down. Ryusashi clenched his teeth in pain as Yukari's long heels dug into his skin, he could feel his bones cracking under the pressure. He dug his fingers into the dirt to try to bear with it. "Now then, first of all, you think to raise your voice to me, when I so graciously offer to return your home to you. That took a lot of work on my part you know." She dug her heel deeper, making him wince a little. "And now, not only do you think that you have any right to grab me, but you also think that you can tell me how I should discipline my Shikigami?! How DARE you?!" She raised her foot back up and slammed down on Ryusashi's hand again. He sucked air through his teeth, clenching his free hand hard enough to make his nails dig into his palm. Yukari knelt down, pulling Ryusashi up by his scalp to bring her face up to his ear. "Now then, I think we should establish some rules. Don't worry, there are only two of them." She whispered loudly. Ryusashi looked past her to see Ran with her back turned, hands over her ears. "Listen up. I don't need you to be my friend, I don't WANT you to be my friend. All I need from you is your compliance, without question. Do you understand?" Yukari said calmly, still stabbing her heel into his hand as she spoke. Ryusashi wanted to spit in her face, see how she liked having her hand broken, but he knew he couldn't do that. Not in front of Ran. His only choice was to comply, as enraging as it was for him. "Yes." He said, trying to remain calm. "Now then, on to rule number two. From this point forward, you are to refer to me as LADY Yukari. No exceptions, understand?" She said loudly into his ear, but not loud enough to be shouting. "Yes." Ryusashi replied calmly, but only received a harsh tug on his hair. He clenched his eyes shut, enduring it. "Yes, what!?" Yukari said impatiently as she dug her heel deeper into his hand, making Ryusashi groan painfully. He rolled his eyes. "Yes, Lady Yukari." With that being said, she smiled at him. "Now... that wasn't so hard, was it?" She replied, releasing his hair from her grip and raised her foot. "Ran, tend to him will you? I have matters to attend to." Yukari said impatiently, but Ran didn't hear her. She had her back turned and was covering her ears, whimpering quietly to herself. "Ran!" Yukari shouted, catching her attention. Ran sprung to her feet and turned to face her. "Y-yes lady Yukari?" She said nervously. "I'm asking you to take care of him." Yukari said calmly. She looked down at her shoe, the heel had a small bloodstain on it. When Yukari noticed it, she sighed. "You bled on my good shoes. Good grief..." She opened a gap and stepped through it. It closed behind her. After regaining her composure, Ran quickly darted over to Ryusashi. "A-are you alright?" She asked nervously, her voice quivering with her hands as she knelt next to him. "I'm fine, I think. My head really hurts though." Ryusashi replied weakly. Ran brushed his hair away from his forehead, and blood trickled down her palm. "Is... is it bad?" Ryusashi asked. "Y-you're bleeding... It hit your head really hard..." Ran replied. Ryusashi sighed. "Can I just ask, was that a stop sign that hit me in the face?" He said, slurring slightly. "I believe so, if that's what that thing is called. I'm not too sure." She said timidly. The front door slid open, and Chen poked her head out. "Lady Ran?" She said quietly, but still loudly enough to catch the attention of Ran's razor sharp hearing. "Ah, Chen, there you are. Please bring out a wet cloth and some bandages as fast as you can." She asked, trying to remain calm. Chen nodded and rushed back inside while Ran rolled Ryusashi onto his back. "You're not bleeding too much, Chen is going to bring some bandages and a cloth. I'll get you cleaned up soon." She assured him. Ryusashi struggles to keep his eyes open, his head fell backwards onto the dirt as he lost consciousness.

It took a short while, but Ryusashi eventually regained consciousness. He slowly opened his eyes to see he had been moved into his room. It was illuminated by dim candlelight and was filled with the sweet smell of strawberries. He sat up slightly, holding his forehead in discomfort. "Oh, you're awake now." He looked to his right to see Ran, who spoke with a chuckle. "Ran? What happened? Is the incident over?" He asked, Ran turned to face him with a smirk on her face. "What incident?" She said as she began to crawl over to the futon Ryusashi was laying in. Ran unbuttoned her apron, and it fell to the floor revealing her massive cleavage. Ryusashi blushed deeply. "U-umm, Ran? What're you-" He couldn't finish before Ran pushed him back down onto the futon with a chuckle. "There's nothing to worry about, sweetheart. Just let me take care of you." She said, breathing heavily. She lifted her leg over Ryusashi and began straddling his waist. Ran leaned down, letting her breasts rest on Ryusashi's chest. "Think of this as a thank you, you saved me from that punishment by taking it yourself. I'm sorry you had to endure that. You deserve some tender love and care as a reward~" Ran said as she brought her face down to Ryusashi's. She passionately pressed her lips against his, wrapping her arms around him. Ryusashi didn't hesitate for a moment, he gently wrapped his arms around her waist as he returned her kiss. There was nothing he could do to stop himself, as he found himself intoxicated by everything about her. Her feeling, her scent, her taste, Ryusashi had fallen into a trance. "Ran... d-don't stop..." He said quietly, and Ran chuckled. "Ryusashi. Wake up, Ryusashi." She said, her voice began to seem distant. "What? But I am awake." Ryusashi replied. Suddenly, his vision began to blur, Ran's sweet smell had begun to fade. He couldn't feel her chest pressing against his anymore. "Ryusashi..." She called out distantly. "What's going on? Ran, come back!" Ryusashi tried grabbing onto her, but even though she was right in front of his face, he couldn't touch her.

"Ryusashi!" He gasped, sitting up straight in the futon. His eyes darted around the room, searching desperately for Ran. She was standing to his right, fully clothed, holding a pail of water and a cloth. "Jeez, you were calling out my name in your sleep... were you having a nightmare or something?" Ran asked worriedly, Ryusashi just looked down at the comforter over him. "Something like that I guess." He said sadly, and Ran sat next to him. "Would you like to talk about-" Ran began. "NO." But Ryusashi cut her off. "Thank you, I'm fine." He continued, realizing his sudden response had startled her. "Okay then... does your head still hurt?" She asked calmly. When she brought it up, a sharp pain went through his forehead, causing him to wince while he gripped his temples. "Yeah, it does." He said, and Ran sighed. "Oh dear, here, drink some of this." She handed him a cup with a warm liquid. He quickly drank the whole thing, and placed the cup down on the floor next to him. "Goodness, you finished it in one go. I'm surprised, but that should help with the pain for a little while." She explained as Ryusashi rubbed his forehead in discomfort. "I'm going to remove these bandages and wipe your forehead, alright?" Ran said, and Ryusashi nodded. She gently unravelled the bandages on his forehead. "Alright, I'm going to wipe your wound now, so try and hold still." She told him, but Ryusashi was fixated on her chest. He knew it was a dream, but her chest seemed smaller in reality. He needed a better look. He leaned to the side a little, to try to get a peek from under her apron. "Hey!" Ran said, making him freeze in fear. "Stay still, I won't be able to clean it properly if you move too much." She said before she went back to rubbing. Ryusashi's shoulders fell in relief. If he couldn't look under the apron, he'd have to move it. He slid his finger underneath the apron, and checked if Ran had noticed. She was completely fixated on cleaning his wound. He began to slowly push it out of the way, droplets of water dripped down his forehead. He could almost see where the hole in her robe was revealing her chest in his dream. Suddenly, the door swung open. "Lady Ran! I have what you asked for!" Chen said as she barged into the room. Ryusashi retracted his hand back suddenly. Chen brought a fresh roll of gauze and some rubbing alcohol over to Ran. "Thank you Chen." She began unraveling the gauze roll, slicing it from the roll with her sharp claw. "Just relax, this might sting a little." She said as she began applying alcohol to the cloth. Afterwards, she pushed his hair back and began rubbing the cloth over his wound, wrapping the gauze around it afterwards. "That should do it. If you feel uncomfortable at all, just tell me alright? Now try to get some good sleep." She said as she stepped out of the room, closing the sliding door slowly behind her.