An invitation to Gensokyo

Chapter 16: an imperishable night part 3

Ryusashi, Ran, and Chen walked through the forest from the house, their evening adventure beginning after the barrier was taken down. Chen rested in Ran's fur, avoiding the long walk, though Ran was still dumbfounded that Ryusashi was able to take the barrier Yukari had made down, with a single swipe at that. "That sword... it isn't ordinary, is it?" Ran asked. Ryusashi turned to her, swinging the sheathed blade over his shoulder. "It's not. It was my fencing instructor's. He was a great man, but for some reason, he just vanished one day. No trace left behind." Ryusashi explained. He unsheathed the sword a little, revealing the kanji engraved above the hilt. Ran stared at it for a moment, it seemed familiar to her. "That sword reminds me of someone I know. Her name is Youmu Konpaku, she's a half-human half-phantom. She's quite a skilled swordswoman." Ran said to Ryusashi as they continued their trek through the forest. "Is that right? I wonder how being half human half ghost would work..." Ryusashi replied. Ran looked at the ground, fidgeting with her tail in her hands. "Your instructor, what was his name?" She asked in a strange manner. Ryusashi raised an eyebrow at her unsteady tone. "His name was Sanger. Sanger Zonvolt. Why?" Ryusashi's words struck Ran's heart like an arrow, piercing straight through her. She gripped her chest, trying to stop her heart from racing the way it was. She held her free hand over her mouth in shock. Ryusashi turned to look at her, as her footsteps had stopped. He saw that Ran looked as if she was feeling ill, and rushed to help her. "H-hey! Are you feeling alright?" He said worriedly, holding Ran by her shoulders. She quickly snapped out of her trance, lifting her gaze to meet Ryusashi's. "I-I'm fine. It's nothing." She said as she brushed past him, avoiding further confrontation. After Ran quickly walked a few paces ahead of Ryusashi, Chen poked out of her hiding place. "Lady Ran? What's wrong? Why are you going so fast? I can't lie down comfortably..." Chen said sleepily, though Ran didn't hear her over her own hyperventilating. She tried to make as much distance between her and Ryusashi as possible. Ryusashi stood still, watching her go. "What's up with that? Was it something I said?"

They walked for a few hours, needless to say that they didn't know where to start looking. "Let's stop here, take a little break." Ryusashi said as they came across a small opening in the forest. A few tree stumps were littered around. Ran walked anxiously behind him, she cleared away some clutter around one of the stumps and began making her tails into a makeshift bed. "What are you doing?" Ryusashi asked her, looking at Ran as if she were doing something unnecessary. Ran lifted her gaze to meet his. "I'm making a small mattress out of my fur so I don't have to lie down on the ground. Why? Did you want to join me?" She asked him nervously, Ryusashi folded his arms and shook his head. "That won't be necessary, my dear. I happen to have a solution to our camp out problem." He declared, pulling a small key out of his pocket. It was inscribed: 515. Ran looked at him the same way he had looked at her. "How is that going to help, exactly?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Ryusashi smiled at her, took a deep breath, and began to raise the key as if putting it in a keyhole. The air in front of him began to change, solidifying itself into a wood coloured ceramic door labeled: 515. The knob formed itself around the key, and Ryusashi turned it. The door unlocked with a small *click*. Ran stood still, dumbfounded by what she'd just witnessed. "H-how?" She managed to stutter. Ryusashi turned his head and smiled at her. "Courtesy of Lady Yukari." He said, turning back to the door. He pulled down on the handle, and the mechanisms within clicked into place. Chen poked out of Ran's fur with a yawn as Ryusashi began to open the door. "Welcome to my humble abode."

The three of them stepped inside, and Ryusashi closed the door, locking it behind him. Ran walked through the entrance hallway, her eyes darting from one point to another. A small kitchenette to her left, in front was a slightly messy living area, and on the right were two doors stood side by side. At the far end of the room was a large set of curtains pulled together, as if hiding something. "Oh my..." Ran said quietly as she began to walk down the isle. Ryusashi smiled, he found Ran's amazement with his simple little apartment pretty adorable. "It's not a whole lot, but it's home." He said with a sigh as he went and took a seat on his couch, kicking his feet up on the other end. Ran stared at him for a moment before walking over with a small blush on her face. Ryusashi looked up at her as she began fidgeting with her fingers. Her blush deepened, Ryusashi put his feet back down. "Would you like to sit here?" He asked, motioning to the empty space on the couch. Ran contemplated it for a few seconds, then she sighed and sat down next to him. As she let her weight go into the couch, she flinched when she felt herself sink into its cushions. "I've never seen a seat like this before... how interesting." She said as she allowed herself to relax, releasing a heavy sigh. She fell backward against the couch. The two of them simply sat for a short while in silence, which was broken by the rumbling of Ran's stomach. She sat straight up, her face bright red. "P-p-pardon me! How embarrassing..." She squeaked, followed by another gurgle from her belly. She held her stomach with embarrassment, hiding her face in the shade of her bangs. Ryusashi stood up. "It's fine, I'm kind of hungry myself. Let me see what we have." He began walking over to the kitchenette, when Ran sprung up. "I can prepare a meal for all of us, you don't need to trouble yourself." She stated, waving her hands in front of her, but Ryusashi had already began rummaging through his fridge, showing no signs of allowing Ran to do anything right now. "No can do, you're MY guest now. It's my job as your host to provide you with a nice meal." He said to her sternly. Ran quickly walked around the counter to urge him to reconsider. "Ryusashi, really. It's no trouble. I'm sure I can make something with whatever you have." She said, and Ryusashi closed the fridge, turning to face her. He quickly scooped her up by her legs and carried her bridal style. Ran's face, once again, turned bright red. "Wh-what do you think your doing?!" She squealed as she attempted to hide her blush, though her tails were wild with excitement. He began walking her around the counter, and back to the couch. He set her down with her head on the couch pillow, she immediately tried to get up, but Ryusashi had quickly covered her with his weighted blanket, preventing her from getting up so quickly. Ryusashi smiled at her. "You stay put right here, try to get some shut eye." He said, and Ran was dumbfounded at the weight of the blanket that was thrown on her. She didn't have energy left to put in the effort of moving it off of her, so she embraced it with a sigh of defeat. She rolled around, trying to find a comfortable position to lie in, though her tails were going to make that difficult. Carrying such a large mass of fur behind her would prove difficult in such a small area. She scanned the room, Ryusashi continued rummaging in the fridge and eventually found what he was looking for. "Here's the good stuff." He proclaimed, pulling a few small, red cans out of the compartment. In white writing, the cans were labeled in cursive: Coca-Cola. "What do you have there?" Ran asked tiredly. Ryusashi quickly walked around the counter and crouched next to Ran after popping a can open. "Taste it." He said, handing her the opened can before opening the second one and taking a swig. Ran brought the cab to her lips, taking a small sip. As the liquid touched her tongue, her ears sprung straight up, and her body shivered in revolt. She scrunched her face up, shaking her head back and forth. "I-it feels strange on my tongue!" She said, making Ryusashi chuckle. "That's the carbonation bubbles on your tongue. You don't like it?" He replied, and Ran vigorously shook her head in disapproval. She thrust it forward to him, insisting he drink it instead. He took it from her, and placed it on the counter. After her little outburst, Ran's eyelids had become heavy. She began to doze off, her eyes groggily wandered the room. They landed on Chen, who had curled on her stomach, and was fast asleep. Ran smiled, rubbing behind Chen's ear a little, before succumbing to the weight of her eyes, and went to sleep.