Sanae squeezed Momiji's hands as they lay next to each other, watching the autumn leaves fall. Before she would have worried about meeting here, where any tengu with a camera could take a picture. But the two's relationship was an open secret now, so most reporters wouldn't bother. They could just relax together.

"Still it would be nice if we could go into town on a date," she muttered absently.

The wolf tengu's ears twitched. Of course Momiji would hear her. "It would be nice." The woman grinned slightly. "But I've read enough novels to know the downsides of forbidden romance."

Sanae smiled a bit in return. She hadn't expected Momiji to love romance novels, or enka songs, but she had to admit the wolf tengu had really good taste. Even if she prefered mecha shows herself. "Hm, that reminds me. You never told me which book was your favorite."

"The Yojimbo's Secret." Momiji's grin widened.

"Wait." Sanae thought for a moment. "Wasn't that the one with the swordswoman, the young noblewoman, and the maid servant?" She blushed as she remembered some of the choice passages.

"That's the one."

Momiji's tail wagged as Sanae felt her face burn. She knew Momiji could be passionate but… Well romance was about fantasy right! She fanned herself to try to cool down.

Fortunately Momiji took pity on her. "My second favorite is 'The Dutch Lady.'"

Sanae tried to remember that one. "Oh. That's the one set in the Meiji era isn't it?I remember reading it right after I came to Gensoukyo." The lack of mecha manga had really forced her to broaden her reading base. "The daughter of a noble family meeting the duchess from across the sea beneath the changing leaves."

"Two souls destined to part joining together for a brief moment. A moment of perfect joy." Momiji caught a leaf. "It was nice seeing a writer use autumn leaves instead of cherry blossoms for a romantic meeting."

"Even though we started dating at a flower viewing festival?" Sanae pretended to look hurt before giving Momiji's arm a squeeze.

Momiji returned the hug. "It's just overdone in fiction. I prefer the leaves, but I don't hate flowers."

Sanae looked above to the leaves. Shizuha had outdone herself as usual, painting the maples a deep red. She had to admit the display was more colorful than the sea of cherry blossoms. But she still preferred the spring festivals. "Do you like it more because of your name?"

"That might be part of it, but I suppose it's more because of the meaning." Momiji pointed to a tree. "Flowers bloom and die because of love. But the leaves change and die to save the tree. So that more leaves might sprout after winter." She smiled. "I guess I appeals to me as a warrior."

Sanae sighed. "You really think too much about dying dear." She poked Momiji in the side. "And saying you like duty over romance isn't the most romantic thing to tell your girlfriend."

"I don't like duty more than romance. I just have priorities," Momiji protested. "Besides you have that same sense of duties as well. After all, you sacrificed your old life to stay with your family didn't you?"

"That's one way of looking at it." Sanae shifted on the bed of leaves to look at Momiji. "And I found love doing it."

Momiji shifted to look at Sanae. "Yes we did. And a duty that goes beyond that."

Sanae gazed into her lover's eyes and smiled. "Well, maybe I can learn to like autumn more."


"Now." Momiji's ears twitched towards her. "Back to your first question. I know you weren't just interested in my reading habits. You were worrying about something, aren't you?"

"You caught me." Sanae sighed. Having a girlfriend with supernatural senses was both a blessing and a curse. "Well… I just wonder if I make you feel like you aren't feminine. Like you have to be strong and in charge. The experienced one in the relationship."

Momiji sniffed, but she seemed more amused than annoyed. "Strong not being feminine is human nonsense. And I'll always be the more experienced one in our relationship Sanae. You aren't going to become older than me."

"I know I know, it's just-" Sanae shook her head. "You like stories about girls who are cute and who get excited over flowers and frilly dresses. But you're always cool and collected and strong when we're together. I'm just wondering if you afraid I'll judge you for that, and-" Sanae stopped as Momiji stared at her.

"Ah." The tengu girl was blushing. Very brightly. "It's not that I'm afraid of it. It's I've never been good at it. And well, I enjoy the company of strong women. Which means I'm usually following the path of the warrior."

Sanae nodded slowly. "I get it. I mean I didn't really fit the girly girl stereotype myself back home." Apparently giant robots weren't girly or some nonsense. "But wait, you like strong women? So what about me?"

Momiji leaned forwards and kissed her on the cheek. "Sanae. You've beaten me in danmaku every time we've dueled. I'm not some oni who cares only about physical strength. You've got plenty of strong points."

She snuggled up to the other woman. "Thanks. That makes me feel better." She had a hard time seeing herself as strong, especially compared to someone as cool as Momiji, but she was happy her girlfriend appreciated her.

They hugged each other before Sanae sat up. "I'm glad we're both comfortable with who we are. But maybe we could do something girly together?"

Momiji's ears twitched. "And how would we do that? I don't think we can go shopping in the human village. That's pushing the open secret a bit far."

"You're right." Sanae grinned. "So we'll go to Makai instead! I got Alice to tell me about the best places, so we'll put on fancy clothes and just go be tourists."

"Makai?" Momiji blinked a few times. "Hm… I didn't realize there was much there besides demons. But that does sound interesting." The wolf tengu smiled. "It's a date then."


The hardest part of the date so far had been getting into her dress, Sanae decided. The second hardest part was not staring at Momiji.

Youkai tended to stick to their favorite outfits. The only time Sanae had seen Momiji in something other then her patrol uniform was when the wolf tengu wore a swimsuit. She considered herself lucky the few times she managed to get her girlfriend into modern clothes.

Now Momiji was wearing a orange-red kimono with gold embroidery, and a jeweled maple leaf hairpin. She carried a red paper umbrella on her shoulder. It wasn't extravagant or 'sexy' but it transformed the no nonsense warrior into a silver haired beauty. Somehow Momiji's stance and demeanor changed along with her clothes. Sanae could still feel the woman's confidence, but it felt softer.

Sanae on the other hand felt like an impostor in her dress. She'd ordered the pink, frilled, Victoriansque piece from Alice, complete with gloves and a parasol. But while the thing fit perfectly, pieces just kept twisting and folding every time she did something like walk a little too fast. She hoped her troubles were cute at least.

"Is something the matter?" Momiji asked. Even her voice seemed more feminine. Sanae felt a little jealous.

"No no, I'm quite fine. Let us see what Pandemonium has to offer us shall we?" Sanae twirled her parasol and tried to focus on the street. At least playing the role of 'foreign noble lady' let her fake some confidence.

The streets were pretty impressive. The passersby were all demons, but the shops were filled with curios and boutiques like any other tourist town back home. Perhaps better, since the goods here were less cheap manufactured shirts and more local high end goods.

And all above it the burning trees of Hokkai swayed, each leaf smoldering blue in the darkness that filled Pandemonium. The first time Sanae'd saw the strange plants she'd been worried about getting hit by a flaming branch. Now she'd gotten used to them, and the light they shed really enlivened the streets. Especially since they were burning bright before snuffing out for winter.

A tailor shop caught her eye as they walked down the street. She'd just been thinking about wardrobes. Maybe if she talked Momiji into buying something the wolf tengu would wear it. Besides the clothes were pretty nice. Makai seemed to have a better connection to the outside world and it showed in their fashions. "Let's take a look in there."

Momiji glaced past her then closed her parasol. "Why not?"

They slipped through the crowd into the store, nodding to the proprietor before heading over to the dresses. To her quiet delight, Momiji went to the modern section first as well.

"I'm surprised," the wolf tengu said. "I wouldn't think that outside world dresses would be easy to modify for wings."

Sanae looked at the backless black dress Momiji was inspecting. "That's just how it's made."

"Eh?" Momiji looked confused, and Sanae forced herself to stifle a chuckle. "I know that the outside world isn't as uptight as it used to be about arms and legs, but there's no back on this!"

"It has side slits too," Sanae pointed out helpfully. "Maybe I could find one in blue that matches it…"

Momiji covered her face with her sleeve. "You aren't trying to trick me are you? This is formal wear in the outside world?"

Sanae chuckled. "For high class dates and parties, yes."

"It seems I underestimated how much social mores had changed." Momiji looked at it again before stepping back. "Well it's a little risque for me."

"Too bad. I think you would have looked nice in it," Sanae tried not to seem too disappointed. It was a lot of money for something that couldn't be worn often.

Momiji glided next to her. "If I'm going to wear something only for you to see, I'm going to pick something a lot more risque then that."

The room spun for a second as Sanae's brain rebelled. Fortunately she got ahold of herself before she fainted. Though she supposed that was 'in character' for her currently. "Well," she coughed, "let's see if there's something better for us."

They peered through the rest of the selection, but there weren't really any dresses that were better than anything they could find at home cheaper. However just as Sanae was considering heading out, she saw two hairpins made of silver and turquoise. They were simple flower designs, but they added a bright splash of color. "What do you think about this?"

Momiji peered at the pins and smiled. "It's beautiful. I've never seen that stone before."

"They aren't found in Japan." Sanae, waved over the shopkeeper. "Excuse me. We'll take these."

One painful haggling session later she was the proud owner of the jewelry. "Here," she said, handing one to Momiji.

"Thank you." Momiji bowed, then reached over. As Sanae blinked in surprise the wolf tengu deftly slid the pin into her hair. Momiji then stepped back. "Would you do mine?"

"Of course!" Sanae carefully added the new pin next to Momiji's old one. She grinned as she stepped back. "The crow tengu are going to notice though."

"Notice what?" Momiji leaned against her shoulder. "It's just a gift between very close friends."

Sanae giggled . "I suppose that's true." She adjusted her gloves again then headed out the front of the store. "I think there's a street with some restaurants through that alley. Shall we have lunch?"

"That sounds like a good idea." Momiji's ears twitched. "Though I hope they serve something other than the salads Alice prefers."

"Maybe one of them will serve wyvern?" Sanae mused as they headed into the side street. Eating a magical creature would be something to talk about.

She felt the aura of the alley change a second before the large figure stepped in front of them. Sanae's heart started racing as she took a step back. Something that resembled a seven foot tall minotaur stood before them, holding a small stabbing sword. The creature's voice was gravelly, but calm. "Quiet now ladies. Drop your purses and jewelry and there won't be nothing to cry about. Better deal than most human girls get."

Sanae closed her parasol, letting her mind summon up her godly powers. The on and off roleplaying was over. "You don't want to mess with us. Leave or I'll exterminate you."

The man moved without speaking, but Sanae hadn't waited for his response. She swung her parasol forward calling up the wind. A massive gust tore through the alley sending the demon staggering back.

And then Momiji was there, a knife buried to the hilt in the creature's eye. The wolf tengu twisted the blade to free it, then pulled it out as she stepped back. The minotaur crashed to the ground.

With a quick flick of her wrist Momiji shook the blood off. "Well, maybe I should consider being girly more often against small fry."

Sanae felt her eyebrow twitch at that. "That was girly? You stabbed a knife in his face."

"The traditional technique is to cut open the femoral artery. But that sprays blood everywhere." The tengu slipped the knife back into her sleeve. "This was much cleaner."

The priestess sighed then hugged her wolf girlfriend. "I love you Momiji."