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aardvark-123 · 6 years

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Gensokyo Festival Rewrite: Tales from a Blossomed Wonderland

I think I made this one a bit better and more consistent, although not too much of the actual structure needed changing. Here are a few tales of the first days of Spring.

Youmu was afloat in an ocean of pure beauty. Warm sunlight filtered through the boundless flowers above, bathing her in a soft pink glow. She closed her eyes, drank in the sweet, heady air and let out a deep sigh of ecstasy.

"These cherry blossoms are just perfect, aren't they?" murmered Yuyuko. She shuffled a little closer to Youmu, rested her head against the tall cherry tree she was snoozing under and gave her hair a little stroke. "I'm so glad we came out here. So beautiful..."

"Spring is the greatest!" agreed Youmu, snuggling up against her master's soft blue robe. "Nothing but flowers and beauty all around us, and this is just the first day! We don't even have to awaken any evil youkai in order to enjoy it."

Yuyuko laughed nervously. "I guess that's a plus."

"Yes..." Youmu frowned. "I do feel bad about what we did. All this life and beauty, all the birds and the butterflies and the blossoms and the bunnies... This is what you wanted me to steal! I just..." she sighed deeply. "Please don't make me steal any more seasons."

"Don't worry. After all this, I don't think I could ever bring myself to." Yuyuko smiled mischievously. "Then again, a couple more Saturday afternoons wouldn't hurt..."

"Y-you're not serious?!" Youmu sat up in shock, her eyes widening.

"Nope!" giggled Yuyuko. "Wouldn't mind an extra teatime, though. Come on, let's go to the shrine!"

"All right!" Youmu stood up and stretched. She took two steps and tripped over a sunbathing fairy.

"Oh, my...! Have a nice trip!" Yuyuko giggled as she stood over the sprawling samurai and confused fairy. "Say, have I seen you around here before?"

"Umm... Maybe?" The fairy tilted her head. "I'm Lily White! I herald the coming of spring!"

"Aren't you a bit late, then?" Youmu rose to her feet, rubbing her bruised shoulder. "Spring has already started!"

Lily looked at the clouds of pink blossoms in the air, then at the flowers blooming at her feet. Then she let out a piercing scream of horror. Youmu fell flat on her back.

"Oh, no! I don't believe it! This is the worst! I can't believe I overslept at the start of spring. I don't deserve to live!" Lily wept into her conical hat.

Yuyuko gave Youmu a worried look.

"No. This is not the last day of Lily White." Lily rose into the air, her whole body shining with the power of nature. Her diaphenous pink wings flared out behind her. "I may be late, but I won't give up! I will announce Spring to everyone! I feel the power of the universe radiating inside me! Onwards, Fairy Herald of Spring!" Lily soared away through the forest, accompanied by triumphant music.

"Okay... Okay. Very nice." Yuyuko noticed Benben and Yatsuhashi playing the triumphant music behind a stout tree and gave them a friendly wave. "Very... Very atmospheric. Uhh, come on, Youmu! Let's go eat!"

"It's Spring, it's Spring! Listen, everyone! IT'S SPRING!"

Resplendent in her white-and-red dress, Lily danced through the flowery meadows. Her socks and cute buckle-shoes were soaked with dew, but she didn't care. This was her time to shine.

Lily's face lit up. She'd spotted a couple of friends at the edge of the Great Youkai Forest. "Cirno! Eternity! Did you hear?! IT'S SPRING!"

Cirno and Eternity Larva looked up in amazement as Lily ran over.

"It's Spring, friends! It's finally here! SPRING!"

Cirno sprang up and punched Lily in the face. "Are you quite through?! Not everyone likes spring, y'know!"

Eternity gasped. "Cirno, you can't do that! It's her job to tell us when Spring starts!"

Cirno grit her teeth. "Believe it or not, I've known it was Spring all day. Just look! How could I not have noticed?! Look!"

"Ughhh... It's dothig persodal..." groaned Lily. Nevertheless, she tried to focus in the direction Cirno was pointing. Her eyes went wide. Sweating and hugging herself in nothing but a flimsy bathing suit, Letty Whiterock was curled up between the roots of a tall tree.

"She's been there since last week." Cirno's voice was tense. Cold tears were sparkling on her cheeks; Lily realised Cirno had been crying all along. "Another year sleeping, too hot to move or talk or have any fun... This is what Spring does to people, Lily. This is why I have to become the strongest fairy and cover the world in eternal winter."

Lily was horrified. All her life, she'd believed Spring was the greatest season ever, but now she was shaken to the core. Spring could hurt people, force them to sleep until their own season came again? It boggled her mind.

People needed Spring, though. They needed food and flowers and newborn lambs and mud to roll in. (The latter was mainly for the Aki Sisters.) Even if it could hurt people, it still needed announcing, and Lily was never going to let Spring be stolen again. Even if that meant becoming stronger even than Cirno... And killing her.

Eternity glanced up at the nearby tree from atop which the Tsukumo Sisters were playing some dark, suspenseful music. "Shouldn't you have a violinist with you?"

Benben shook her head. "Lunasa's busy right now."

"Bravo, bravo! Oh, that was simply marvellous!" Alice and Shanghai clapped appreciatively from their seats in the Prismrivers' expansive back garden. "I still struggle to believe three sisters can sound as good as an entire orchestra!"

Lyrica laughed. "I wouldn't say we're that good. Maybe a medium-sized ensemble, or a choir..."

"Or a barbershop quartet!" Merlin piped up.

Lyrica sighed. "Yes, dear sister, a triad of superlatively talented musicians can be compared to four imbeciles who can just about harmonise. Thank you for that insight."

"Lyrica, she doesn't mean any harm," said Lunasa sympathetically.

"I'm sure she doesn't, but... She really gets my goat sometimes."

Merlin grinned. "And I'm proud of it!"

Lyrica's eyes narrowed. She reached for a large cream cake, but found Alice's hand firmly upon her arm.

"Come now, Lyrica, you mustn't sink to your sister's level."

Lyrica pouted mightily. "I'll sink to it if I want..."

"Yes, well." Alice took a fortifying sip of tea. "I do love the classical European arts. Noh, kabuki, gagaku, ukiyo-e are all fine, and I won't deny that manga and J-pop deserve to exist, but there is nothing quite like the sweet melody of the violin."

Merlin and Lyrica bristled.

"Not that the trumpet and the piano are any worse!" said Alice hastily. "Beautiful instruments, they truly are. The very salt of the earth. And, well, what I am saying is... You should all be proud of yourselves. I have never met greater artists."

"Oh, Alice, thank you!" cried Lunasa.

"Yeah, that really means a lot!" said Merlin, blushing vividly.

"We put a tremendous amount of effort into our performances. Hearing that from you almost... M-makes me..." Lyrica wept with joy.

"You're most welcome, you three. I simply love your music!" smiled Alice. "Tell me, though... Do you think you could teach Shanghai to play?"

"Um," said Lunasa, "your doll?"

"Teach a doll to play music?" said Merlin, tilting her head in confusion.

"Yes." Alice's eyes were wide and innocent. "I deserve a favour after giving you all those compliments, do I not?"

The sisters shared a worried look.

Yukari closed her three gaps, sat back against her ten goose-feather pillows and smiled. "All is well again, it seems. In spite of all the chaos we've just had, peace reigns over Gensokyo. Perhaps it will last as long as a week!" she giggled.

"Unlikely, Mistress. According to my calculations, there will be at least one minor Incident the day after tomorrow, and a major one could be less than a month away," said Ran, who was standing patiently beside her master's massive four-poster bed. "I estimate a sixty-three point twelve percent chance that the Lunarians will attempt something at least mildly annoying, although what it will be I cannot say."

"Well, quite." Yukari cleared her throat. "Listen, Ran, I think I feel a nap coming on. Get me some warm milk."

"At once, Mistress." Ran rose to her feet and strode off. She paused in the doorway and turned back to Yukari. "By the way, Mistress, I've noticed that patches of the barrier are still weakening. Is there anything I can do to help you repair it after your snooze?"

Yukari was silently impressed with Ran's ability to nudge her to do things without ever giving a direct criticism. "Thank you, but no. I'm just leaving it to see what happens."

"I am sure that is a wise choice," said Ran levelly.

"Yes. Quite." Yukari smiled. "I mean, it's not as if Reimu and her little friends are going to fly all the way over here and force me to fix it now! They couldn't even get past Chen if you're with her."

"Damn straight they couldn't!" Chen poked her head up from under the quilt. "If anyone tries to hurt my master and her sleepy friend, I'll rip their kneecaps off." Ran gasped. "Chen! How could you think of hiding in-"

"No, it's all right. I asked her to lick my feet clean," Yukari cut Ran off. "And you've done a lovely job, too, Chen. You deserve a nice glass of milk!"

"Yay!" squeaked Chen, who couldn't wait to get the salty taste out of her mouth.

#Touhou #writing #my writing #my stuff #Youmu Konpaku #Yuyuko Saigyouji #Lily White #Cirno #Eternity Larva #Merlin Prismriver #Lunasa Prismriver #Lyrica Prismriver #Alice Margatroid #Ran Yakumo #Yukari Yakumo #Chen Yakumo

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