A Warm Welcome Back
"And here she comes~" Yukari said, a moment before Chen's foot and leg emerge from the gap, the rest of her body following.
Chen certainly looked a lot different than she did when she had left. She had a ribbon tied around her hair to keep it out of her face, and her hair had turned black. Her mobcap was gone, replaced by a golden hat which, rather than coming to a single point, split into two points. Her usual clothing was gone, replaced with a gorgeous, refined looking coat, with a sturdy, dark pair of pants covering the bottom half of her body, some metal plating having been attached to the front of her pants, protecting her knees and shins. Her mary jane shoes had been repalced with black ninja tabi. Finally, she had what looked like a hairpin pierced through the lapel of her coat, a golden pin with a blue flower on it. She also had a rapier at her hip, a green handle, silver handguard, and a dark brown blade that grew lighter at the tip. And even as Chen simply moved, it was whistling through the air.
Chen raised her head, opening her eyes, which had changed from the brown-red that Yukari and Ran remembered to amber.
After a brief moment, she smiled.
"It has been a long time, my masters." Chen said, crossing one leg behind her and curtsying first to Yukari, and then to Ran. "I hope you have both been well, and that my absence has not caused you any tr-"
Chen was cut off by a certain kitsune scooping her arms around her and hugging her to her chest, causing Chen to give a small, flustered squeak and struggle for a moment. Yukari simply shook her head, with a small chuckle. That flustered squeak... it certainly was still Chen.
"R-ran-sama, please!" Chen squeaked, even as Ran cupped her face in her hands, raining kisses down upon her forehead and cheeks.
"I'm sorry, my dear Chen, but I missed you so much!" Ran said, slipping a word between each kiss. "Ohh, I know that your adventures had given you so much experience and you're far more powerful than when you left us, but you're still my little Chen!"
Chen simply huffed a little, pouting at Ran still thinking she was her 'little Chen', but the flush on her cheeks and the slight twitching at the corner of her lips betrayed how pleased she was with her welcome. Once Ran let go of her, Chen stumbled back a little, fixing her eyes on Yukari.
"What, no hug from you, Yukari-sama? Have you gotten even lazier since I've been gone?"
"C-chen! Watch your tongue-" Ran started, but was cut off with a laugh from Yukari.
"You've certainly gotten more confident, haven't you, little kitten?" Yukari cooed. "Don't mistake that confidence for strength, though. You may be stronger than you were when you left, but you're still nowhere near as strong as Ran or I. Granted, we do have centuries more experience than you... although it seems like you spent far longer in there than time that passed here."
"Of course. I'm still no match for old hags like you two~" Chen teased, getting a swift smack on the back of her head from Ran for her insolence, although they were all laughing afterwards.
"Now, we have prepared your room for you, so you can go and rest, and then we want to hear about some of your adventueres..." Ran said, but Chen interjected.
"Actually, if you don't mind... I would rather go and see how Gensokyo has changed in my absence... see some of my old friends." Chen said. "If you want to know about my adventures..." She pulled a old, tattered journal from an inside pocket of her coat, placing it down on the table in front of them. "I kept a journal, so you can read it." She paused for a moment before duplicating the journal, once again, so they would each have a copy. "And I shall answer any questions you have on my return."
Yukari and Ran shared a look, both smiling softly at how Chen had developed, not just in power, but in maturity. But deep down, it was still the same Chen as always, the same spark.
"Very well, Chen. You are dismissed for today. Go and see your friends, go and check on Mayohiga. We will be putting you back to work tomorrow though, so don't exhaust yourself." Yukari said, with a small nod, one of the journals vanishing into a gap before dropping from another one into Yukari's hand. Ran bent down to retrieve the other journal, both of them starting to read as Chen hurried out the door.
