Spirit Wrapped in Flowering Vines

“That makes this fight all the better. You see, I hate myself too. And you look how I did years ago. And more than anything, I want to beat my past self with a thorny two-by-four.”

The headbutt connected with her face. Yuuka flew backwards and skipped on the ground once with a groan, then immediately the vines of her body connected with the ground as she got to her feet. As the other Kazami came for her, black vines erupted from the ground and attempted to ensnare the other her’s ankles and legs.

It was winter, and the coming of the first snow signaled that it was time for her departure from the land of Gensokyo. If only briefly. Sure, she had stayed for a while, if only to witness what happened in her absence. To visit a few old friends.

However, the snow-cloaked land was cold, quiet, and undeniably boring. There was nothing the youkai disliked more than boredom.

Wind whistled by her ears as she descended into the depths that held her mansion, the place that she called home. The place she had been formed. Past the Lake of Blood, into the Darkness below.  Above the cracked red stone she flew, with all the certainty of one who had traveled this path many times before. She did not choose to return here every winter, but sometimes she felt the urge to vanish, to return to her mansion, to the world where dreams floated in starry space.

As the ground melted away below her, giving way to a void of stars, she slowed. Yuuka had almost arrived at her destination.

There they were. The Gates to Mugenkan, the border between dream and reality. She saw, before them, a familiar shinigami.

Yuuka touched down upon the glass surface in this black space that marked the gates. Her boots, now just damp, made barely a sound on the sturdy floor, and with deft hands she closed her parasol, allowing it to hang from her wrist.

Wordlessly, the Flower Master of the Four Seasons strode over to her gatekeeper, the golden-haired girl with her hat pulled over her eyes, and crouched before Elly. Her hand outstretched, her gloved fingers grasped and then lifted the brim of the hat, revealing the face of the one wearing it.

Softly, just loud enough for Elly to hear, she murmured,

But the smell about the air certainly wasn’t Kurumi, who permanently smelled of blood. No, this was... floral. Floral?

Her eyes shot open wide just as a voice so quietly reached her ears, gentle as a breeze. And right there was Yuuka, smiling down at her. That didn’t help her startled self. Elly quickly sat up and scrambled to get her hat back on her head.

“Ah, ah! Yuuka, I wasn’t expecting you to be back!” Her mouth felt like cotton in her embarrassment. She looked around slightly, then got to her feet, smoothing out her dress and adjusting her collar. “I was, uhm, just practicing out here while on duty and I just, uhm...” She closed her mouth and glanced to the ground.

“Ngh…” The small thing cringed and whimpered as her body was moved. Eventually, though, the unconscious firefly would manage to find some semblance of comfort in Yuuka’s arms, but her breathing was still heavy and labored… Blood dripped to the ground from her various wounds as entire measures of flesh were cut into by feral claws and teeth. 

She shook her head, then kept walking through the Garden at an increased speed. Eventually Yuuka got to her house and carefully got her door open, going inside and looking around in the dim. She had clean rags, a few medicinal herbs that ought to still work despite a few years in the cabinet. Without putting Wriggle down the flower youkai proceeded to gather these things before departing from her house once again.

These wounds needed to be cleaned, wrapped. Yuuka knew she couldn’t do that at her house, with no running water and a basin that was dry as bones. So she made the trip south, out of her Garden and to the floodplains, eventually reaching the tributary that separated her own location and the southern Nameless Hill. There, Yuuka placed Wriggle on the dirt and untied the now-bloodied blanket from herself. She laid it out on the ground and rolled the bug youkai onto it.

The trio stopped as they heard that voice, not really believing who it was until they looked towards her. “Shit, scatter!” The one growled, obviously recognizing the flower youkai. It scrambled off of its victim and ran on all fours away from the scene, the other two hissing and growling as they followed suit - not seeming keen to try and fight over… well, a beat down. 

So instead she looked to the ground, at the mass that the ferals were attacking. A small youkai... Green hair. That’s Wriggle.

“... Nightbug?” Yuuka’s tone was still quiet in its weariness, but it lost its roughness. She nudged the smaller youkai with her foot, then crouched down next to her when she didn’t respond. “What a mess...” Yuuka scratched the bridge of her nose as she thought to herself. Should she leave her here? No, other ferals would tear her to bits.

She was going to regret this. Endless, endless regret. Those words echoed in her mind as she grabbed Wriggle and scooped her up, carrying her in her arms like an unwieldy sack of rice. No, the girl weighed less.

“Oh come ooooon, “ One whined, tossing aside the basket and sinking its sharp teeth into the cold, stale bread - only to spit it out shortly after with a growl, “No fucking meat?! Nothing human, nothing steer, not even a fucking rabbit?!” It raged, standing up and delivering a kick to the victim, causing the shrill screaming to stop with only a gasp of breath and coughing. Coughing that was silenced as the feral atop the figure closed its hands around the small girl’s throat, squeezing the life from her. 

Once she crossed the grassy passage between the two areas, Yuuka realized why the smell of the blood was so strange. This was no human that these ferals were attacking.

It was another youkai.

“Hey.” Yuuka’s voice was a mere growl. She wasn’t upset that this youkai, bloodied and beaten on the ground, was at the mercy of these fools. No. She was mad that this wasn’t human. Yuuka could eat other youkai, but it wasn’t what she needed to survive. But even so, they were still going to pay for this deception.