Chapter Text
Ran hung another tabard up on the clothesline. A string of blue and purple garments fluttered in the breeze as the sun beat down on them. It always reminded Ran of medieval banners, or a collection of national flags. Despite the colorful display, she always hated this part of doing laundry.
Ran clipped another purple tabard to the line. Why can't Lady Yukari open up a gap to the desert? Or just get one of those dryers from the outside world?
A single drop of rain fell on Ran's head. She instinctively looked up. Dark clouds were rolling in. The shikigami groaned and started pulling clothes down from the line. By the time she'd collected everything, it had sprinkled enough to undo most of her work.
Ran retreated inside and watched as the drizzle turned into a downpour. “So much for that.” Thunder rumbled in the distance. “I hope Chen isn't stuck out there.”
“What do you mean?” Chen asked.
Ran flinched for a second, then spun around. Chen was lying on a mat, reading the comics from the back of a tengu newspaper.
“I thought you were playing with your friends outside,” Ran said.
“Nope.” Chen held up a page of the newspaper. “They said it was gonna rain.”
“I'm surprised they were right.”
Chen nodded and continued to read.
It looks like I won't be able to do any more laundry for a while. What other chores are there for today?
Ran turned to Chen again. “How many days has Lady Yukari been asleep?”
“Yukari? Maybe four... five days?”
“Then it's time to wake her up and make her take a bath.”
“Can't she handle it on her own?”
“Probably, but she ordered me to make sure she kept clean. Excuse me.”
Ran walked deeper into the house and headed towards one of the furthest interior rooms. She pushed the door open. Yukari was sleeping in a futon away from any of the walls. The rain was pounding on the roof now.
“Lady Yukari,” Ran said softly.
Yukari remained totally motionless.
Ran walked into the room. “Lady Yukari, you wanted to get up and take a bath, didn't you?”
Yukari refused to stir.
Ran walked over and put her hand on Yukari's shoulder. “Lady Yukari, please wake up.”
Yukari muttered something totally incomprehensible. Ran sighed and gently shook Yukari. Yukari batted at Ran's hand until the shikigami gave up.
Ran raised her voice. “Lady Yukari, wake up.”
In response, Yukari began to snore loudly. Ran silently stared at her. After hesitating for a second, she pointed at Yukari's face.
A single blue bullet appeared and slowly sailed towards Yukari. It struck the old yokai in the nose, causing her to stir. Yukari tossed and turned for several seconds.
Ran smiled. That did the trick.
Yukari sneezed. Ran felt some of it hit her still outstretched hand. Yukari sniffed, then turned over and continued to sleep peacefully. Ran forced herself to keep smiling as she violently shook her hand in an attempt to clean it.
So, if Yukari won't wake up and take a bath on her own, does that make it my responsibility?
Yukari started loudly snoring again. Combined with the rain, Ran could barely hear herself think.
Ran couldn't really remember Yukari's exact instructions. As far as the shikigami was aware, Yukari had wanted to be clean when she finally decided to wake up for good, no matter what it took. Reimu had been very clear that if Yukari visited the shrine smelling like that again, then the sage would be banned.
But, how can I clean her?
The sound of the rain hitting the roof started to fade away. Ran grabbed Yukari from behind and lifted her up. Yukari felt heavier than she remembered. The shikigami dragged her master towards the door. It felt a bit like disposing of a corpse.
Ran could take Yukari to the tub and properly wash her, but would that be worth all the effort? Yukari could end up sleeping for several more weeks. Surely a basic rinse would be more than enough.
Ran had an idea. She dragged Yukari towards the nearest door that led out of the house. Unfortunately for Ran, the rain had already turned into a light mist, but she quickly remembered an alternative. She headed towards the forests that surrounded them.
“Leave me, or you’ll never get back to our trenches,” Yukari muttered.
Ran stopped for a moment, shook her head, then kept walking.