A-d-v-i-c-e

From the dim afternoon sky clad in silvery-gray clouds, a single flake of snow slowly descended down onto the stone pavement in front of the Hakurei Shrine, bringing billions of its sisters soon afterwards. A cold breeze swept past the shrine yard, creating faint howling in the interior of the shrine and playing its own musical score with the wind chime hanging over the entrance. The chills that it sent into the living quarters forced the lazy girl who lived here to stand up from the comfort of her kotatsu, abandon her half-finished cup of tea and walk an incredible distance of several meters to close the sliding door.

"Another snowfall?" Reimu muttered as she briefly poked her head out to check the weather. "It looks quite intense. What a pain…" she sighed as she shut the door, knowing that she'd eventually have to get out there into that cold air and shovel the snow off her shrine yard and stairs, as her duty of a shrine maiden demanded. But she didn't want to. Her body was automatically drawn back to her kotatsu, as if she wasn't even in control of her own muscles. She was tired, both physically and mentally. Not only because shoveling snow was more exhausting than sweeping fallen leaves or cherry petals, but also due to the recent events in the village she had to resolve. A few days ago, she, like pretty much every human living in Gensokyo, heard the rumor about a suspicious meeting of youkai called "symposium" taking place right in the Human Village. Not long after hearing the rumor, people have directly asked her to do something about it, and so she did.

"A peaceful coexistence of humans and youkai…" a thought that was presented during her short attendance of the said symposium still echoed inside her head. "Ha! What a load of crap!" she disdainfully tried to dismiss it and let it out of her head by self-suggestion. Her reaction to the participants of the symposium was not unlike her current train of thought. She dissolved the meeting with a threat of using force. That part wasn't necessary, as the meeting was nearly over anyway and all its members left the scene more or less willingly. Marisa Kirisame, Hieda no Akyuu, Kanako Yasaka, Byakuren Hijiri and Toyosatomimi no Miko have exhausted all the necessary topics they wanted to before Reimu took action. And while the shrine maiden was glad that she managed to look like she saved the day in the eyes of the villagers, one thing that the Taoist leader, Miko said to her kept resonating in her mind, like a catchy tune that keeps playing over and over in one's the head once they hear it.

"So you say you want to exterminate youkai and create a human-only world. But you truly desire a peace that doesn't require violence, don't you?" the echo of Miko's words floated up to the surface from the depths of Reimu's mind again.

"As if!" Reimu spoke out loud in a vain attempt to banish the thought.

"Hmhm, I can read you like an open book. Shall I offer you some advice on how to keep Gensokyo's peace, another time? Some "a-d-v-i-c-e"." the voice continued teasingly.

With a heavy sigh, Reimu slumped down on the pillow which she had conveniently placed right at her kotatsu. She was in a state where deciding her next activity for the day seemed beyond her abilities. She wasn't feeling sleepy, as it was only afternoon and yet, any place outside the warmth and comfort of her kotatsu was very uninviting to her. No visitors were coming to the shrine, especially in winter. It was a very lonesome season for most of those who lived beyond the premises of Human Village. Since Marisa was a part of the symposium which Reimu forcefully dispersed, the blonde witch thought it would be wiser to stay out of Reimu's sight for a couple of days. Sanae most likely had as much work to do as Reimu had around her shrine. For Yukari, this was a time of her usual hibernation. Even that nagging hermit Kasen hasn't been seen around the shrine in a longer while. Had it not been for the snowfall, Reimu would probably not have anything to do for today, but now that she spent a few hours just staring at the wooden ceiling and sipping tea, it was about time for her to stand up, fetch a shovel from the storage and maintain her shrine yard in an easy-to-access condition.

"It's a pain, but it has to be done." she said to herself while she parted with her kotatsu and put on the upper layer of her usual winter shrine maiden outfit: thick woven kimono, two layers of warm socks, high boots and a bright red scarf. Before opening the door and stepping out into the cold, she put on a pair of red woolen mittens on her hands. Finally she was ready for work. She moved the sliding door to an open position and almost instantly received a ticklish barrage of snowflakes right into her face.

"Wow! What a blizzard!" she covered her mouth and nose with her scarf and quickly closed the door behind herself. One positive side effect of a snowfall was that the temperature was slightly higher than during a clear-sky winter day. All that was troubling the resident miko now was the piled up snow, forming a carpet all over her shrine yard. Flakes kept showering from the sky silently, with no indication of stopping in the following minutes.

"Alright, let's find that shovel."

Without any delays, Reimu trod through the white dunes that emitted a light squeaking sound under her feet. The wind was strong and the visibility really poor. She'd have to take an extra look of caution just to make sure she was heading towards the storehouse and not somewhere off towards the woods. Finally she reached the door and unbolted it clumsily. It was already a feat of strength for her to open it with all the piled-up snow in the way. When the gap between the hinge and the door was wide enough, she squeezed herself through and exhaled.

"I better clear the way to the storehouse too or I won't be able to open it in the morning."

With that in mind, she searched the dusty and not-so-well-kept interior of her storehouse to find the necessary tool for her job. This time a mere bamboo broom wouldn't do. After some minutes of stumbling and tripping over various items lying about on the floor, she found what she was looking for.

"Ah, that's where I put it. Okay, let's do this!" she pepped herself up for some manual work.

She grabbed the wooden handle of the shovel and marched towards the door like a soldier with a weapon ready for battle.

"Storehouse access can wait." she thought as she planned her strategy. "The shrine and the donation box come first."

And so, she returned back to the front yard, ready to form a road in the snow for any potential shrine visitors. And as she turned around the corner, walked to the center of the shrine yard and was about to dig the shovel into the cold white mass, she noticed something out of the ordinary. There were two trails of footprints leading all the way from the opposite end of the shrine yard all the way to the donation box and back.

"Huh? Has somebody been here?" Reimu wondered. "I didn't notice these the first time I stepped outside. Someone must have come here when I was in the back…"

Instinct dictated her to check the donation box. "They left a donation?"

This custom that was so natural in any normal shrines throughout Japan was such a rare sight for the Hakurei shrine maiden that it almost felt to her like some kind of supernatural phenomenon. The bottom of the box was covered in a thin layer of snow from the flakes that have found their way even through the barred lid. And in that white icing, a few holes have indicated something has been dropped there.

Curiosity overtook her and in the next seconds she was already crouching and unlocking the side panel to slide it open. She wiped the snow from the box's bottom with her hands and the jingling sound has given her an ascertaining sign that she has indeed received a recent donation from a mysterious lone visitor. The sum was only symbolic, but the act itself in this season and on a day like this has put a bug inside her brain that wouldn't let Reimu's mind rest. Even more so than the events during the symposium. She pocketed the money and closed the box.

"I still haven't done a thing, have I?" she asked a rhetorical question, directed at the shovel's handle that was jutting from the snow. She took the tool and began removing the snow from the way. But it wasn't even a minute before she let go of the shaft and looked more closely at the two sets of footprints.

"Who could it be?" the burning question kept replaying itself in her head. "Someone from the village? Or was this Marisa's way of apologizing for that argument after the symposium? Yeah, right…" she immediately dismissed it with a forced chuckle. "Marisa would sooner take than give. But seriously... Who would be desperate enough to make a prayer here in this uninviting weather? Maybe they've done something bad. Or maybe their wish is a matter of life and death…"

The more she pondered it, the greater her curiosity grew. As one point, her curiosity was bigger than her. She dug the shovel into the snow and left it standing there. After correcting the position of her scarf on her face, she floated up and closely followed the fresh trail of footprints in hope that she could still catch the person who left them. She floated over her stairs, where the trail took a turn and led towards the direction of Human Village. The blizzard wasn't relenting, but neither was Reimu. Her flight continued over the foothills of eastern Gensokyo and all would indicate that the trail she followed would bring her all the way to the Human Village, but then she lost sight of it.

"Where did the footprints disappear to?" she turned her gaze right and left, but the trail disappeared just a couple of kilometers away from the village.

"Did they take flight from this point?" she asked herself, as that was the only logical conclusion she could arrive to. The fact that the mysterious shrine visitor would bother walking all the way from this point to the shrine and back, but then suddenly decided to fly was inspiring suspicion. With no trail to follow and not another living soul in sight, Reimu gave up on her attempt to find out who visited her shrine. She did one more thing before she turned around, though. She compared the size of the footprint with her own foot.

"Almost a match…" she murmured as she stepped into one of the depressions in the snow. From that she assumed that a visitor was probably around her size and most likely female. That didn't narrow down her list of potential visitors by much, though.

She returned to her shrine a little disappointed. She picked up her shovel and kept working until she made a neat passage from her stairs to her donation box. The snowing hasn't stopped even after hours and the shrine maiden figured she'd have to repeat this shoveling in the morning as well. The sun always went to sleep early in winter, and so, by the time Reimu finished her work, dusk has already crept into Gensokyo. No other visitors showed up that day.

"I wonder if they'll come tomorrow as well." she thought to herself as she was again lying in her futon and slowly drifting into the world of dreams.

When you'd ask Reimu's friends about what is she like in person, many replies would likely mention her laziness. But the biggest paradox to that claim would be her habit of getting up early, be it summer or winter, whether it's sunny, cloudy, rainy or windy. She was an early bird and a warm cup of tea was an inseparable part of every day's beginning for this dark-haired maiden. It was still dark inside her shrine, but she was already fresh and awake, enjoying her obligatory morning cup. Even if she had nothing to do, just relaxing inside with a cup in hand sufficed to satisfy Reimu at least until it got a little brighter outside. She got dressed and opened the door to let in some fresh air. The snowing has stopped, but now she had to plow the snow away from the center of her shrine yard yet again.

"So much has piled up just overnight? Maybe I should build a snowman or something." she contemplated how to kill time once she'd be done with her chores.

After a nutritious breakfast, Reimu didn't laze around and began shoveling the snow. The clear sky promised that she would not have to do it again tomorrow, but also foretold her that she was in for a frosty day and night. There were no signs of any footprints outside in her shrine yard, and no money appeared in her donation box. She wasn't even expecting it, though. It was still too early for anyone to come. Besides, getting two donations in two days would be quite an unlikely occurrence. With a shrug of indifference she began her shrine maiden's chores.

When she was done, and saw that nobody was showing up, she decided to play for a while by building a snowman. On a summer day, she'd just be sitting on her porch and staring at Gensokyo's sky, but now it was a bit too chilly for that. By building a snowman, she not only kept herself warm by moving around, but also turned the piled up mounds of snow into a form of decoration.

Reimu quickly got lost in this fun activity that reminded her of her early childhood days. She converted a decent mass of snow into her own personal snowman shrine guards. She did it both for fun and for a practical reason. She decided she could do the same thing in her back yard too, which her shovel neglected most of the time even during winter.

After having built a small squad of silent shrine guardians even in her back yard, the grumbling of her stomach reminded her that it was about time she cooked something. And so she returned inside through her back door and began preparing a meal that she could not only enjoy today, but also reheat tomorrow.

After satisfying her stomach, the fresh winter air beckoned again, and she stepped outside one more time. The unchanging scenery evoked a feeling of longing for company, but she quickly shook that out of her head. As always, she checked the contents of her donation box and widened her eyes as she saw another few coins glittering at her from its bottom.

"What the…?!" she quickly checked the ground in hope of finding any fresh footprints on the flattened layer of snow among her own footprints. There weren't any clues that she could notice, so she flew past her torii and over her stone stairs when she saw them again. Fresh trails of footprints coming from and towards the same direction as yesterday. It couldn't have been the same ones from yesterday, as the heavy snowfall would surely bury them overnight. The fact that this was the second time she received a donation from possibly the same person without noticing it was spurring Reimu's desire to pursue the trail again. This time she flew faster than yesterday and the clear weather allowed her to keep track of her heading much easier. When she flew over one of the taller foothills, she caught a glimpse of a distant figure on the horizon that opened up before her. The figure was walking away from Reimu's position and entering a point where a nearby patch of snow-covered bushes would hide her from Reimu's view.

"That must be the mysterious visitor." Reimu accelerated her flight, now that she had her prime suspect in sight. It wasn't long before the figure disappeared behind the hibernating vegetation, but Reimu was certain she'd catch up with the person in a minute or two.

Cold wind howled in her ears as she flew swiftly towards the place where she last saw the unknown stranger. She finally got to the bush patch, where the road to the village made a slight turn with a downward slope, but the stranger was already gone.

"She's fast…" Reimu muttered under her scarf and after a short stop she continued her flight towards the village. At least she hasn't lost sight of the footprints in the snow. That is until she reached the same place as yesterday, and to her great amazement, the footprints simply vanished. If the person took flight, she'd be easy to spot in the sky, but Reimu's eyes didn't detect anyone. She lost her again.

"This is starting to get frustrating." she exhaled heavily and a cloud of warm steam escaped her mouth. She made one aerial circle around the area where the trail got cut off, but found no one. The mysterious shrine visitor has disappeared.

"If I wasn't sure that Yukari is sleeping, I'd suspect her, but…" she left the sentence unfinished. The person didn't look like Yukari. That youkai and her unmistakable features could be recognized even from a great distance, but this person looked more… mundane, for the lack of better expression.

"Even when she's strange, Yukari would never walk such a distance and then disappear…"

But even with one suspect eliminated from the list, there were still too many options. She slowly turned around and hovered back to her shrine, thinking intensely about this strange visitor.

"If she shows up next time, I'll make sure I'll find out who she is."

Not that Reimu was angry about having a shrine visitor in winter. On the contrary, she was happy about it, but more than happy at this moment, she was curious.

Another clear day has dawned and the only visitor of the Hakurei Shrine in the afternoon was Aya Shameimaru, handing out the new issue of her newspaper to the resident shrine maiden. Reimu was one of the regular buyers and readers, so it was just another routine business flight for the crow tengu.

"Thanks for staying faithful to Bunbunmaru~!" she told Reimu the last few cheerful words of gratitude before taking off.

Reimu briefly glanced at the headline. "A suspicious youkai summit in the Human Village dispersed by the Hakurei Shrine maiden."

Even the news was full of the events connected with the symposium. Events which Reimu wanted to forget as quickly as possible. She put away the paper on her table with the intention to read it later. She just rediscovered her hobby of building snowmen, and she wanted to play with that hobby a little more today. Yesterday she only made the crude humanoid snow sculptures, but she didn't bother adding any decoration to them. Today she wanted to complete their look. She used some stones to make the eyes and other facial features, she armed one of the snowmen with a broom, she used some small twigs to create spiky hair, or she used some spare cooking pots to cover their heads. She even took some of her old clothes and used them to dress her creations.

"Hehe, now I can understand what Alice likes about making dolls so much. Maybe I should ask her to teach me how to make them."

And so, she put her old red hakama around the he waist of one of her works and made it be her own snow shrine maiden. She used icicles to decorate the back of one small snowman and using a piece of blue cloth she tied a knot to make it look like Cirno's hair ribbon and placed it on the head. She decorated many of the snowmen in her shrine yard to resemble someone she knew, while others were left to have a more generic snowman look. As she suspected, no visitors were showing up today after Aya has stopped for her short visit. But Reimu had a hunch that her mysterious visitor would come again. And at time when Reimu would not be looking.

Once she grew tired of her fun activity, she got inside, but kept her sliding door just slightly ajar. Enough so she could notice someone coming and so that it wouldn't get too cold inside. Every now and then she peeked through the gap, but didn't see anyone as she was going on about her daily tasks. Shortly before dusk, Reimu stepped outside, because she couldn't believe that her instinct would fail her. A glance into the donation box revealed that nothing was placed inside today.

"Hmm… guess they ran out of coins." she jested sarcastically. "They could have donated some paper money instead. That is… if there was anyone here at all."

She decided to take a short walk to the torii and back to take another look at her artful creations. At the end of her little stroll, her eyes caught something odd.

"Hm? Where did I dig that old purple scarf from?" she wondered as she looked at the mentioned piece of clothing wrapped around the neck of one of her snowmen. She had used many of her old things she no longer wore, but still couldn't bring herself to discard them. However, this particular scarf didn't seem like anything she held in her hands while she was decorating the snowmen. Curiosity drove her to come closer and inspect the scarf. The fine wool, the vivid color, the stylish pattern, the quality kitting…

"I don't remember ever wearing this… Nor do I remember putting it on this snowman… What is going on here? Is someone playing a prank? Somebody must have come here after all…"

She couldn't tell for sure, but she somehow knew that whoever tied that scarf around the snowman's neck was the same person who visited the shrine yesterday and the day before.

She took the scarf and instantly took flight along the same route as the stranger used to take. Again the footprints were there, but since there was no snowfall yesterday or today, the trail was already a day old. She flew at maximum speed, not following the road anymore, but taking a straight aerial line towards the place where the trail of footprints mysteriously ended.

Even when the sun was setting, she could notice a suspicious figure moving on the road to the village.

"There you are... You're not getting away from me this time!" she tried to fly even faster and once she thought she was within the other person's earshot she called at her.

"Heeeey~! Waiiiiiit~!"

She was closer to catching the stranger today, but still not close enough. It was like she vanished into thin air.

"Where did you go?!" she shouted once more, but it was just like before. No sign of anyone far and wide. She landed near the end of the trail of the footprints and was determined to find out where the stranger has gone to, even if she had to dig through all that snow to find her.

"Why does she always disappear here? How is this place any special?"

She stared at the footprints in the snow and a half-silly, half-desperate idea crossed her mind. She knelt down and started digging through the snow with her hands. After a while she removed the snow from that spot and uncovered a surface of a large rock buried in the ground. She kept working until she cleared the snow from the entire rock. There was a large crack in its middle that made it look like there were two rocks. Reimu kept intently staring at the narrow fissure in the rocky surface, as if she was hoping to find the elusive stranger there. She traced the surface lightly with her hand. She didn't even know why, but she tried pushing and pulling the rock at either side of the crack, when suddenly…

"What the…?! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah~!" her scream echoed as one of the halves of the rock literally opened below her and Reimu fell through the opening into a place she never saw before. She stared at the hole in the sky that slowly closed itself and quickly activated her flight before she'd hit the ground of the world below ground. Casting a glance below, she saw the large and complex roof of a massive structure. She slowly descended all the way to the ground and gazed upon the magnificent building that resembled a palace.

"What is this place?" Reimu wondered as she observed her surroundings. "This isn't the Palace of the Earth Spirits, nor does it look like any part of the Ancient City."

Nothing indicated that the season in this place was even close to winter. It was a completely different world. A fantasy world within a fantasy world. She wanted to get out of there, but she didn't know how. The huge palace towering in front of her was taunting her, daring her to enter it. Only a few specks of snow on the green grass indicated that someone, who's been recently in Gensokyo has passed through here. If anyone lived in that huge building, Reimu was certain she'd be able to learn a way out of this place from them, be it by words or by force. She floated towards the massive door and pushed it with all her might.

To her surprise the door opened with uncanny ease, revealing to her the entrance hall, which resembled a praying room of a temple. But it seemed empty somehow. No furnishing, no decoration, noghing.

"Helooooooo~! Is anyone here~?" the acoustics of the hall carried Reimu's voice through the building's corridors.

A few seconds later, the sound of footsteps could be heard in the distance, making its way towards the source of the question. From the end of the hall, the same figure that Reimu was chasing for 3 days appeared and gazed upon her from the distance.

"Reimu-san?"

"Huh? She recognizes me?" the shrine maiden was surprised by the stranger's reaction, but only until the moment she hovered closer and saw who she was.

"Well, isn't that a nice surprise." the resident of the palace greeted her with a friendly tone and a bowing gesture. "You followed the footprints, have you not?"

"It's you!" Reimu blurted out as she pointed her finger at the person who just welcomed her politely and who most likely provided 2 recent donations to her shrine. "What are you plotting?"

"I see…" the female nodded as a light, muffled giggle escaped her. "You don't need to answer that. You have it written all over you… I want to thank the person who donated to my shrine. And I want to know how to get out of this place, even if it means beating this girl up."

"I can't believe it was you." Reimu shook her head denyingly.

The girl in front of her was none other than Toyosatomimi no Miko herself. The purple cape she was wearing was still wet at its hem and her boots were still laced with snow.

"You don't have to believe." she said as she approached Reimu and cast a warm smile at her. "You just have to perceive."

"You were at my shrine today. And yesterday… and the day before yesterday."

"And now you are at my temple. Well, not yet... As you can see, only the rough construction is finished. But soon, this wondrous building will be my new home. The Divine Spirit Mausoleum will be here to protect those who seek shelter from youkai as well as to teach those who are worthy the ways of a hermit. You are one of the first humans to see it before its completion. What do you say? Impressive, isn't it?"

"I think the presence of two Shinto shrines and one Buddhist temple already saturates Gensokyo's demands for places of worship." Reimu coldly brushed her off.

"In that you are wrong, Reimu-san."

"Besides, a mausoleum, you say? Isn't that a place where they bury the dead? What if your goal is not building a temple at all, but a den of evil spirits? You better not lie to me!"

"Is that how you treat all your shrine visitors who show any form of financial generosity? No wonder you get so few of them." Miko giggled at Reimu's unfriendliness.

"Why did you do it?" Reimu immediately lowered her head and her voice.

"Have you already forgotten about the Symposium in the village?" a counter-question came as a reply from the Taoist hermit. "Your unsaid desire to keep Gensokyo's peace?"

The realization from her recollection struck her suddenly like a lighting out of the blue. Of course she remembered. It was just a couple of days ago. Was Miko really serious about her dubious offer? As Reimu's thoughts circled around that idea, and her mouth, albeit ajar, was unable to produce an answer, Miko already saw everything she needed to.

"Hmhmhm~. You know, Reimu-san, you're quite cute when you're uncertain. Oh, and I see you've brought my scarf with you. I just thought that one of your snowmen would look better with one…"

If Miko had a strategy to teach Reimu a way how to maintain Gensokyo's peace, she certainly planned it well. First step: disarm Reimu's hostility and suspicion – completed.

"I…" Reimu muttered barely audibly under her nose. "I…" she stuttered embarrassedly.

Miko already knew what she desired to say, but she wanted Reimu to say it. And so she just watched her with a silent smile.

"T-th… I…"

"You can do it, Reimu-san." the hermit cheered for her in her thoughts.

"Thank you for the donation." Reimu was finally able to spit those words out. And she looked more exhausted after saying them than after a battle.

Step two: make Reimu show some gratitude – completed.

"H-here…" she stretched her arms towards Miko with her purple scarf in her hands. "It's yours, so… take it."

"Aww, and I thought you liked my little decoration on your snowman. I was going to come back for it once the snow would melt anyway. But I thank you for your trouble." she accepted her own scarf and draped it over her right shoulder.

"The very fact that you're here," she continued, "is a result of your purest desires. You've come to hear my advice."

"You've got that all wrong, I'm afraid." Reimu's voice now sounded a little more self-assured than a while ago.

"That's impossible. For without such strong desires, you would not even be able to get here in the first place."

"Where are we right now anyway? I don't mean this mausoleum. I mean this world."

"Why in Senkai, of course. The hermit world, created by the hermits for the hermits… and their followers. A pocket dimension with infinite potential living and building space and freely alterable. This is where I moved to along with my followers. You've already been here and seen our dojo."

"You mean that big shiny building? I remember now… and it does kind of look like what you're building here."

"Yes. The architecture is very similar, but it's a much grander project. I can already hear your desire to leave this place as quickly as possible, and I will grant it to you, but first, let's fulfill those other ones…" the hermit smiled impishly.

"What are you talking about?" Reimu stubbornly asked an avoidant question.

"The first basic principle of my advice for you is that you have to understand your desires and know how to manifest them."

"Like I said, I don't know what you're…"

"Oh, yes, you do." Mko swiftly interrupted. "But it seems you're having a problem with expressing them. For your first try, I'll help you a little."

Before Reimu could process her worried thoughts into any verbal protest, Miko unsheathed her famous Seven Star Sword and pointed its tip at the ceiling of the unfinished mausoleum.

Reimu was about to assume a battle stance, fearing that Miko intended to use the sword to harm her, but she was quickly proven wrong. As its blade began emitting a strong, blinding light like the sun, a small number of colorful ethereal orbs began emerging from Reimu's body, being drawn by Miko's power. One after one they began spiraling and dancing around the sword until the Taoist hermit sheathed her weapon. The orbs gradually began to slow down and their essence became one with Miko's knowledge and understanding.

"Wait… why were those divine spirits inside me?" Reimu asked with puzzlement. She definitely saw many of them before, but she was obviously very quick to forget their nature.

"Those are your desires, Reimu-san. Let's see: "I wish Marisa wasn't angry at me… I wish it wasn't so cold today… I wish someone would pay me a visit… I wish I didn't follow those footprints… I wish Yukari wasn't hibernating… I wish there'd be no incident this year... I wish the villagers didn't ask me to break that symposium up…" See? There it is again. "I wish for a peaceful Gensokyo"." Miko read all the desires as they hovered over her cupped hands. "My, my… So much pent-up desires struggling inside you in hope of finding their way out, so they could manifest. Do you think it's healthy to bottle them up inside you like that?"

"Hey! Stop reading that! That's my private property!" Reimu desperately waved her hand in an attempt to shoo the desire orbs away, but it was too little, too late.

Ignoring the hypocritical show that Reimu was putting on, Miko was ready to proceed with her lesson. "I already saw all those desires long before I summoned them. I did this only to teach you how to accept yourself. Only then can you allow desires to freely flow out of you."

"I don't need the whole world to know about them!"

"No, you don't need the world to know about them. It is YOU who needs to know about them and to detach yourself from them."

"Does that mean I should give up on my wishes?"

"Hmhmhm~. No, Reimu-san, you misunderstood me. In order for your desires to be fulfilled, they must be accepted by you and the universe will carry them in its own harmonious flow. Having attachment to desires going against this flow will result in disrupting the harmony and personal unhappiness."

Reimu stared at her blankly before she shook her head dismissively. "Oh, no! You're not converting ME to Taoism!"

"Convert you? Ahahaha!" Miko's laughter echoed in the hall loudly. "In case you haven't realized it, you and your very powers that define you rely on some of the basic principals of Tao. You are a part of it, whether you accept it or not. The difference between us is that I can separate myself from the worldly desires. Or to be exact, I can direct my desires with the flow of the universe."

"And how do you do that?"

"There is a number of ways, but one way to get rid of an attachment to desire is to have that desire fulfilled. You no longer crave to obtain what you already have. You achieve your happiness from that fulfilled desire and that's the whole point. If you struggle to achieve something, you are not in harmony with the natural order and your road to your goal will be a painful one, but worry not. You've already made the most important step. You've come here to learn how to achieve your wonderful goal in a harmonious way."

"So… wait. Are you trying to tell me you lured me to your hermit world on purpose?"

"It was the work of our mutual desires, Reimu-san." Miko smiled as she gently stroked one of Reimu's desire spirits resting in her hand. "At the end of Akyuu-san's symposium, I've realized that your and mine desires were not so different. They both have the same flow and if combined together, they could be accomplished with minimum difficulty."

"Same desires?" Reimu tried to understand what Miko could mean by that, but sooner than any idea crossed her mind, the fair-haired hermit nonchalantly approached her and embraced her. "W-wait! What are you doing?!"

She was way too close. Every little detail on her face was laid bare before Reimu's eyes and the shrine maiden could feel herself become uncomfortable in this position. But what first seemed as a discomfort Miko was instantly able to turn into comfort.

"Since the first time I met you, Reimu Hakurei, I could see that you are a wonderful person, keeping Gensokyo safe for the sake of undeserving villagers. And while greed may be your obvious flaw, you have a latent treasure within you. You have such a beautiful desire…" she locked her gaze with Reimu's while showing her the sweetest smile. "The answer to its fulfillment… is love." And as she said that, she closed her eyes and drove her lips towards Reimu's. Reimu was stunned. She couldn't believe what was happening, but it was happening anyway. Miko's lips gently landed on Reimu's and the shrine maiden could only react by closing her own eyes, accepting it and returning the favor.

Third step: spur Reimu's desire for love – completed. After a few delightful seconds, their lips parted, but were still connected by a thin trail of saliva between them for a moment.

"You don't have to believe it; just perceive it." Miko repeated the same thing that she told Reimu after she found the entrance to Senkai.

As if the reality has caught up with Reimu just now, the shrine maiden's facial expression turned to a shocked one. "Oh, my god! Have we just kissed each other? This is ridiculous... I must have spaced out or something." she thought to herself as she stepped back, afraid to accept what has already happened.

"What's the matter, Reimu-san?" Miko also wasn't certain whether or not she had taken things a bit too far.

"I… I'm sorry. I think I've done something that I shouldn't…"

"Oh, no… It's me who should apologize. I shouldn't have imposed it on you so suddenly."

"I think… it would be best if I went home and forgot about this whole affair."

Miko's smile quickly faded to a sad look, but if that was Reimu's desire, it couldn't be helped. "I understand." she nodded slowly. "Come with me. I'll take you back to Gensokyo." She turned around and floated upwards towards the mausoleum's ceiling. Without a word, Reimu followed her. Both of them stopped just below the ceiling, where the planks forming the roof construction could be seen clearly. Reimu wondered where Miko was leading her, when they both obviously came to a dead end. That's when the hermit pushed a section of the ceiling upward and revealed a hidden trap door. It led to some dark, cold place and Reimu could feel the icy breeze blow at her as Miko opened the secret door.

"What the…?" Reimu stared suspiciously at the doorway and at Miko.

"Right this way, Reimu-san. I tried to open it close to your shrine, so you wouldn't have to fly for too long to get there." the Taoist beckoned at her. "Since your shrine yard is paved with stone tiles, finding a crack is a piece of cake."

Reimu batted her eyes in slight confusion, but after a moment she gathered the courage to poke her head through the opening. What welcomed her was the freezing air and a starry night sky with the silver crescent of the Moon, casting its faint light to illuminate the silhouette of a large torii and a snow-covered shrine yard occupied by a small company of snowmen.

"Why… that's my shrine!"

"I just told you I tried to open a door near it, didn't I?" Miko's muffled reply came from below.

"You built a hermit world right under my shrine?"

"No. Senkai is accessible from everywhere, as long as there is a crack in something…"

"That's almost as sneaky as Yukari's gaps…" thought the shrine maiden as she floated all the way out of the narrow opening in the ground. Even Miko floated up to at least say goodbye to Reimu and to look once more at her cute little creations made of snow.

"I almost forgot it was already getting dark when I fell through the ground." Reimu muttered as she floated to the shrine's door.

"Time in Senkai does not follow the flow of time in Gensokyo or the outside world."

"I figured that much…" Reimu opened the door and walked in. She quickly realized that she forgot to put new firewood into her stove to keep the place warm. The fire has long since died and the temperature inside the shrine was just a little different from that outside its walls.

"Guh… So cold." she rubbed her palms against each other, as even this short while that she was exposed to the winter evening air was starting to feel unpleasant. "The fire's dead… Even if I relight it, it'll take some time for the room to get warmer."

"I guess I'm partially to blame for this." Miko took a part of the blame onto herself as she bowed to Reimu. "Sorry… Please forget everything that happened today." she turned around, ready to drop through the hole back to Senkai.

"Wait." Reimu's voice halted her.

Miko surprisedly turned around, tilting her head in a questioning glance. "Yes?"

"Um… eh... Y-you d-don't really have to leave if y-you don't want to…" Reimu stuttered out a barely audible sentence. Miko wasn't sure whether Reimu's voice trembled due to the cold or due to her struggle with her own embarrassment.

"Hm? Are you sure, Reimu-san? It's already late and I'd hate to be a bother…"

"That's okay. I don't mind… How about some tea? I sure c-could go for a nice hot cup right now."

"It's gotten quite cold, hasn't it?" Miko tried to keep up her nonchalant facade, but she could barely act that way when she got this unexpected invitation from Reimu. And that was an opportunity one simply doesn't refuse. "Very well… I'll stay for a while longer. Thank you." she closed the entrance to Senkai and slowly approached the shrine.

"H-hurry! Get inside already… It's so damn cold in here."

As soon as Miko walked in, Reimu slid the door shut. She put away her boots, but kept the rest of her clothes on. "You can leave your c-coat hanging over here. I'll make fire and some tea in a moment, so make yourself at home" she pointed at her kotatsu in the middle of the room. Miko was also starting to feel the chills, so she obeyed Reimu's suggestion and sat down at the kotatsu while Reimu fetched some firewood and a basket filled with lumps of charcoal.

"Come on~! Light already!" she pleaded the dried-up wooden branches to burn when she put her match to them. After a few failures and wasted matches, Reimu finally started a fire in her stove and didn't waste any time to put a tea kettle on its top. The pleasant sounds of branches crackling in the fire soon filled up the room. Miko watched as Reimu's face also seemed to have lit up with a relieved smile, as she knew that she wouldn't have to bear with this freezing cold inside her shrine for too long. For a while she just stared into the open burner and warmed up her hands by holding them near the fire, but soon she got busy again. She fetched a large blanket and a pillow from her drawers and brought them to her guest with only one blunt word: "Here…"

"Oh, thank you." Miko gladly accepted the blanket as she began wrapping it around herself. But the blanket was larger than what she needed and the pillow that Reimu brought seemed a little redundant to her. "I don't think there's need for a pillow, Reimu-san. I'm sitting comfortably enough already."

"What are you talking about?" her host gave her an asking glance. "Do you like sleeping without a pillow?"

Reimu's question has taken the revived Taoist a little off guard. She didn't know what to think of this or how to reply.

"I thought you invited me for a cup of tea, not for a sleepover."

"If you feel like going home after that, nobody's holding you here." Reimu declared flatly as she was just seating herself next to Miko. "I'm sure that your home is now much warmer and more inviting than mine…"

"Reimu-san…"

"Hey, have you just monopolized the whole blanket for yourself?" the shrine maiden tugged at the loose hem of the blanket that was now keeping her guest warm.

"Oh, sorry… It was meant for both of us, huh? I didn't realize it." she began unwrapping herself as she apologized."

Once again, Reimu and Miko took the opposite ends of the blanket and wrapped themselves in it until they were sitting shoulder to shoulder.

"Ahh… This is comfy~." Reimu's blissful expression has also caused Miko to warm up on the inside.

"So cute… No! What am I thinking? I shouldn't be thinking such thoughts." Miko shook her head rapidly. "I have already made one sudden move. A second slip like that will surely make Reimu-san dislike me."

"Hm? What's wrong?" Reimu turned her head at Miko, wondering what her headshaking was supposed to mean.

"Oh, nothing, nothing…" she refused telling her the truth.

Reimu shrugged and adjusted her position to maximize her comfort. Miko felt as Reimu's shoulder was now touching hers and Reimu's head gently leaned against it. "So warm…"

Unable to decide on how to behave in this particular situation, Miko resorted to pulling out her ace in the hole. Her power to hear people's desires couldn't be more convenient. While it hindered her normal life and interactions with people to some degree, now it proved to be a valuable gift that she was grateful to have been born with. To cope with being able to hear desires from everyone around her, Miko wore her special earmuffs. She only put them away when she was alone or when she really wanted to hear everything clearly. And now was just such an occasion…

A gentle knock on the wooden surface of the table sounded as Miko put her earmuffs away.

"Starting to feel warmer?" Reimu stole a brief glance at her, misinterpreting the reason for Miko's action.

"M-hm." the fair-haired Taoist nodded.

"I guess you're more used to the cold than I am."

Miko likely wasn't any more cold-resistant than Reimu, but now she had her desires clearly resonating in her ears. But even with them being there and so intense, Miko hesitated, unsure whether her ability wouldn't betray her.

"Listen, Reimu-san… I… I'm really sorry about what happened in Senkai. If you're still mad at me th... mmmmf?!"

As Miko was almost finished with her apology, her words got interrupted by something she could have seen coming from miles away, but still couldn't believe it. Reimu's mouth was touching hers, swallowing Miko's last words in a deep passionate kiss. Everything in the world stopped existing for the two of them during that moment. Just as their tongues twirled around each other, so did Miko's head begin to spin. She didn't even realize how or when, but she was suddenly lying on her back with Reimu on top of her, with their lips still glued together.

"Mmh~. Mm… Reimu-san…"

"Nmmf… M-Miko…"

Muffled moans of both girls mixed with the quiet sounds of fire burning in the stove.

"Kiss me more." Reimu assertively took the lead as she demanded more of Miko's soft lips.

"Wow…" Miko exhaled after another passionate exchange. "So many pent-up desires are surfacing from within you… I wonder if I can satisfy them all."

"I'm still cold, Miko. I want to feel your warmth more."

Both of their hearts raced with excitement, when suddenly the whistling sound of boiling water in Reimu's tea kettle disturbed their fun.

"The water's boiling." Miko whispered into Reimu's ear while Reimu was playfully nibbling on hers.

"I know~." she replied teasingly and continued anyway. Her teeth were gently brushing against Miko's sensitive earlobe, making her breathing faster and her moans more blissful.

Miko's moans only served to arouse Reimu's lust even more.

"I really think… haaaa… that you… hya... that you should put the kettle away."

"Hmhm~. Sensitive around the ears, aren't you?" Reimu smiled mischievously, as if she completely ignored Miko's words or the annoying whistling steam escaping from the kettle.

Then all of a sudden, Reimu stopped and looked into Miko's eyes. "You're right. Let's continue after we have some tea."

"Eh~?" Miko surprisedly blinked at her. She didn't really expect her to behave like this, even though she was the one who suggested putting the kettle away from the stove. To be so assertive and then just suddenly stop, as if she was just playing with her. The Taoist was puzzled, but she also liked the way Reimu teased her.

"You're such a tease, Reimu-san…"

"You too." Reimu giggled as she unwrapped herself from the blanket and walked off to the stove.

Reimu already had some previous experience in love with Yukari. It was also thanks to her that she learned a thing or two about teasing as well as pleasing.

As Reimu was preparing the tea, Miko realized that she was already feeling a lot warmer than before. She put down the thick upper layer of her clothes and folded it neatly next to the kotatsu.

"Just a little longer~." the shrine maiden called at her impatient guest. She was back in a while, holding an iron tray with burning hot charcoal lumps. "Could you please move the kotatsu aside for a moment?"

"Oh, sure." Miko did as she requested and Reimu spilled the burning coal into the floor heater.

After closing the grate, she asked Miko to move the kotatsu back to its original position.

"There. Now we won't need that blanket anymore." said the shrine maiden as she fetched the tea cups and served her guest.

"Thank you." Miko took the cup and slowly sipped its hot content.

Reimu noticed that she has already discarded some of her clothing. "Ah, good idea. I should lose the winter outfit too. It's getting nicely warm in here…" So she started putting away her uppermost layer of her winter garbs.

"You made me forget about the cold for a while." Miko smirked under her nose as she slipped her legs under the kotatsu's covers. The pleasant heat it provided was so easy to get used to.

Usually Reimu would sit opposite of her guest when she was having tea with them, but now she seated herself just as before, right next to Miko, following suit and hiding her lower body beneath the covers.

"Ahh… gods bless the inventor of kotatsu~."

"Hmhmhm~. I wanted to tell you earlier, Reimu-san, but… you're so cute when you make that satisfied expression, just like now."

Reimu's cheeks reddened slightly at the remark, but she no longer acted so shy or restrained.

"You mean like the face you made when I kissed your ear?"

"Geez… Attacking my weak point right from the start…" Miko forced a pout. "I can't wait to finish this tea so we could continue." she added as smile returned back to her face.

"Oh, I have an idea." Reimu raised her finger.

She sipped a small amount of the tea from her cup and turned her face to Miko. Guessing Reimu's intention, Miko closed her eyes and left her mouth ajar. Soon the familiar pleasant sensation of Reimu's lips arrived to her, delivering her the tea mixed with her saliva as they exchanged another kiss.

"Ahhh… May I have another, please?" Miko asked after she savored the taste and swallowed the tea.

Since both girls enjoyed kissing, Reimu kindly obliged, and so they continued with their game until they drank all the tea in the cups. By now they were not feeling just warm, but due to the combined effects of tea, the kotatsu heater and their excitement, they started feeling hot.

"Ahh~! Reimu-san… I'm sorry, but I can't hold back much longer."

"I'm starting to sweat… Can you help me remove these restraining clothes from me, Miko?"

"I will if you help me with mine."

Both girls then began slowly undressing each other's attires, still being able to sneak in a kiss or two while they were at it. Miko unfastened Reimu's yellow neckerchief, while the dark-haired shrine maiden unstrapped Miko's decorative belt that held the sheath of her sword.

Next, Miko helped Reimu get rid of her red top, revealing Reimu's subtle figure wrapped only in one last piece of textile. Returning the favor, Reimu unfastened Miko's white vest that concealed the violet dress beneath it. Seeing as Miko's dress was a bit more complicated than Reimu's, the Taoist decided to even the score by giving Reimu a head start. With a bit of help, Reimu was able to loosen the trimming on the dress and for the first time saw Miko's body. Her figure was surprisingly similar to Reimu's – tall stature, slim waist and modest, but shapely breasts.

Seeing each other half-naked only served to fuel the girls' hunger for each other. Their very gazes could tear down the last remaining garments from each other.

"You're so beautiful, Reimu-san." Miko whispered as she pulled down the skirt from her lover, planting a kiss on her navel in the process.

Reimu was now stripped down to only her underwear, her detached sleeves and her hair ribbon.

The kiss on the navel momentarily made Reimu's mind go hazy, but she quickly regained her composure and acted just as her desires have commanded.

"Let me see your beauty too." she slowly pushed Miko down to the floor and pulled down the lower part of her dress, revealing her simple white underwear.

"You're beautiful as well, Miko."

"Reimu… Come closer."

And as the shrine maiden obeyed and leaned over the hermit, Miko pulled her closer, kissing her lips and slowly unwinding her sarashi with her vacant hand.

They both fell on their sides with their lips still hungrily seeking each other's attention. Reimu didn't falter and worked on removing the same piece of clothing from Miko.

Unaware of how it happened, Reimu suddenly found herself on her back with Miko on top of her. The hermit offered a particularly passionate kiss to Reimu that lasted for almost a minute. And as she slowly drew her face away, a bright red light orb found its way out of Riemu's mouth. A little surprised, the Hakurei shrine maiden blinked at the light as it followed a spiral path towards the shrine's ceiling.

"Huh? Another desire manifestation?"

"You should already know what it is."

"I have a hunch…"

"It's your lust, Reimu." Miko widened her smile and showed her the loose cotton strip that was tied around Reimu's chest just a moment ago.

Not falling behind, Reimu also managed to do undress Miko's upper body completely and stared into her eyes with a very similar lustful smile and flushed cheeks.

Without any needless words, the girls continued their beautiful lustful game. Miko kept kissing the lovely shrine maiden, proceeding towards her ears and lower to her neck in search for Reimu's most sensitive spots. As Reimu's breathing intensified, Miko knew that she was doing well. The gentle touches of her lips on Reimu's delicate skin were delivering spikes of pleasure wherever Miko planted a kiss. To tease the shrine maiden even more, Miko added playful licks into her kissing, causing a sensation almost like tickling, but much more enjoyable. From her neck to her collar bone, proceeding to the shoulders and even the armpits, Miko was leaving no place untouched.

"H-hey~! Where are you kissing me?" Reimu questioned Miko's procedure, but as soon as the warm wet and slightly rough texture of the hermit's tongue licked her sensitive armpit, Reimu couldn't hold back a yelp of pleasure.

"Hmhmhm~. Have I found a weak spot?" a teasing question followed by even more teasing oral play have made Reimu begin to quiver and gasp. She wanted to share this pleasure with her lover, but her current position wouldn't allow it. Therefore she used her hands to gently caress Miko. She quickly moved her free hand to Miko's chest and with tender circling motion she began to fondle her breast, while softly stroking her nipple with her fingertips.

Now even Miko's voice began to sound like Reimu's. She planted one last kiss on Reimu's perfectly smooth armpit and occupied her hands with the same activity that was busying the shrine maiden.

"They're not very big, but they're so nice to touch."

"Hey, yours aren't any bigger, you know." Reimu retorted as she continued to massage the sensitive mounds that could easily fit into her palm. "Ahhh… It feels good, Miko…"

Glad to know that Reimu liked it and eager to make her feel even better, the hermit girl giggled and brought her face to Reimu's breasts, taking one of her nipples into her mouth.

"Yaaah~! Oh, yes~!" Reimu arched her back as the new sensation took over her. Miko gladly obeyed her plea and kept doing what she intended. Tracing Reimu's swollen nipple with the tip of her tongue and drawing small circles around the areola. The shrine maiden began to stir about and her moans gained a higher pitch and a few more decibels. And as Miko playfully brushed her teeth against Reimu's sensitive nipple, she also felt Reimu's fingers pinching her own.

"Aaaah~! Reimu... Don't pinch them!" Miko instinctively moved lower to escape the reach of Reimu's hands.

"Ah… Sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." Reimu apologized, but instead of accepting the apology, Miko was already proceeding with punishment.

"Oh, didn't you? Hmhm~. Take this~!" she chimed playfully and began to lick around Reimu's navel while she fondled her breasts with both hands.

"Uaaaah~! Ha… hah… ah… Not fair! This feels too good!" Reimu lamented with a blissful expression on her face.

After a while, Miko lifted her head and asked: "You know what wouldn't be fair?"

And before Reimu could even react to the question, Miko swiftly pulled down her white cotton bloomers and tossed them on the pile of clothes that both girls have left near the kotatsu. The shrine maiden realized what was about to happen, but she wasn't prepared that the sensation she'd feel in the following moment would be so wonderfully pleasant and overwhelming.

Miko lightly pushed Reimu's knees apart, making her spread her legs, and with a passionate look in her eyes, she drove her face towards Reimu's crotch.

"Your tea was delicious, but now I got a craving for a little snack." she uttered jestingly before her lips touched the beautifully smooth, warm and wet skin of Reimu's most precious spot.

"Hyaaaaaan~!" an incredible feeling spiked up through Reimu's spine. Just a little gentle touch has made her tremble, as if she was standing naked outside in the chilly winter air. But instead of chills, the sensation has begun to spread heat throughout her body.

"What a cute voice you make when I kiss you there." Miko obviously enjoyed the moment just as much as Reimu did. "It looked like you climaxed just from the first touch. Did you like it?"

"Mikooo~…" the shrine maiden only managed to moan her lover's name as she recovered from the shock of pleasure.

"I don't think my technique is any special, though. You must be incredibly excited, Reimu…"

And that she was. The dark-haired young girl slowly lifted her head, looking directly at Miko's face which was partially hidden behind her mound of Venus.

"Miko…Please…"

"Hm? Is there something you'd like from me~?" the hermit feigned cluelessness in hope of making Reimu say what she wanted her to do.

"Please… Continue."

"Continue what?" Miko's teasing was driving Reimu crazy.

"Lick… lick me there some more." the shrine resident stuttered out, her cheeks almost redder than her ribbon.

"Lick you there? Where? You mean here?" the hermit's tongue brushed Reimu's inner thigh, causing some minor jolt of pleasure, but certainly not what the shrine maiden's desire was asking for.

"No! A little more to my left." she navigated her, as if Miko was blindfolded.

"To your left you say? Here?" the hermit, as expected, licked Reimu's left inner thigh. Although closer to the correct spot than before, she still left the shrine maiden disappointed and now even a little frustrated.

"No, you dummy!"

"Then where? I really don't know unless you tell me."

"M-my p-p-pussy! I want you to lick my pussy, Miko!" Reimu finally couldn't take the hermit's teasing anymore and shouted her desire out loud, despite her own embarrassment.

"Hmhmhm~. What a good girl." Miko chuckled and licked her lips slowly. "And good girls get rewarded~."

As she said that, she grabbed Reimu around her thighs and began to brush her tongue tip against Reimu's tiny pink bud.

"Yaaaaah~! Aaaah! Ahn! It feels great! Kyaaah. Fuaaa~!"

From short, gentle strokes around the clit, Miko's tongue switched to slow, more sensual long licks, coating all of Reimu's labia in a mixture of her own juices and saliva.

The shrine maiden's sweet moans of ecstasy echoed inside the dark shrine living quarters, mixing with the sounds of Miko's slurping and the crackling of burning wood in the stove.

"Yes! Aaaaah! More… Don't stop!"

The fair-haired girl speeded up a little, switching her techniques between licking and sucking. Reimu moved her hips subconsciously to the rhythm of Miko's tongue movements, each of her moans sounding louder than the last from the wonderful sensations she was experiencing.

A few minutes later, Reimu's moans turned to screams as the shrine maiden was nearing her climax.

"Miko~! Miko! It feels incredible… Keep goiiiing~!"

Miko stiffened her tongue and thrust it into the tight fissure overflowing with hot juices. She lapped them up while continuing the thrusts with more vigor.

On the verge of orgasm, Reimu grabbed Miko's peculiar horn-shaped braids, pulling her head closer and inviting her tongue even deeper into her crevice.

"Oh no! I'm going to… I'm going to… Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah~!" the raven-haired girl let out a cry of ecstasy as her body convoluted in an orgasmic seizure.

Miko felt as Reimu's walls have clamped around her tongue, ejecting a fountain of her hot nectar that covered Miko's face and a section of the wooden floor behind her. She would not be able to forgive herself if she let such a precious substance go to waste, so she drank up as much as she could catch into her mouth.

"Haaaaa… Haaa… Haa…" Reimu's cries quieted down as she was catching her breath and enjoying the blissful afterglow. Her lower lips still twitched right in front of Miko's eyes, who was like Reimu, amazed by the intensity of the climax.

"Wow… You gushed out so much. It's all over me~. Did that feel good?"

"Amaziiiiiiing~." Reimu appraised Miko's work with a spaced-out look and voice, but a wide smile on her face.

"Amazing indeed. You almost put out the coals under your kotatsu. I'd love to see you do it again~."

Reimu chuckled at the remark. "Not so fast, hermit…" she slowly lifted her body off the floor into a sitting position. "It's your turn to be on the receiving end now~."

"Oh… I'm looking forward to that." Miko giggled and lay down on her back into a comfortable position, eagerly awaiting Reimu's actions. "Please, Reimu… Don't make me wait."

Miko indeed didn't have to wait for too long. When a lustful and recently satisfied shrine maiden took the lead, she was as hyped up as during an incident.

"What are you doing, still wearing your underwear?" she grabbled Miko's undergarments and with one swift motion she stripped her guest naked and flung the redundant piece of clothing into the far corner of the room.

"Kyaan~! Reimu-san is so forceful…" Miko feigned an unconvincing voice of protest.

"What's the matter? Are you feeling cold down there?" Reimu asked teasingly as she approached the anticipating hermit on all fours. "Don't worry, I'll warm you up… really well~."

True to her promise, Reimu snuggled up to Miko, taking one of her breasts into her mouth, while she slowly slid her hand across her stomach to lovingly play around Miko's nether regions.

The hermit gladly accepted the pleasure and moaned sweetly into Reimu's ear. Reimu gently suckled on Miko's nipple and ran her finger up and down over her entrance. The hermit was already exited during the foreplay, so it was no surprise to Reimu that her lover would be drenched down there. It made the movements of her fingers so easy and smooth that she was tempted to slip a finger or two inside.

"Hnnnn~!" Miko clenched her teeth and uttered a groan. Reimu's two slender fingers have just entered her body and slowly explored her inner walls. The shrine maiden gently bent her digits upwards and brushed against the moist folds of Miko's inner sanctum.

"Oh yes~! Right there! Move your fingers like that…" she begged her lover to continue, being a little surprised how Reimu managed to find her most sensitive spot so quickly.

"Oh, you're tightening up, Miko. Starting to feel good, are you?" Reimu commented the situation as she cast an indecent look at the hermit's crotch. She pressed her stomach even closer to her, so that she could share her body heat, and continued pleasuring Miko at a nice and slow pace.

"Ah… I was… haaa… starting to… yaaa… feel good… kuh… ever since you invited me, Reimu!" Miko uttered between her moans and gasps.

"Really?" Reimu smiled at her bashfully. "I'm happy to hear it. But this is only a small fraction of pleasure that I can give you~."

"Your fingers are great, Reimu~! Ahn! Hii! And listen to that lewd noise…" Miko was certainly enjoying herself and she had no shame admitting it. Her closed eyes and drooling mouth were working like an aphrodisiac to Reimu's senses.

After a few minutes, Reimu's wrist was starting to feel tired and both girls somehow knew that it was about time to change their position.

"Reimu… I know you want to return the favor, but I don't want to be just lying around so idly."

"Then… Then let's feel good together." the same idea ran through the shrine maiden's mind. "You can stay as you are. I'll get on top of you."

And so the assertive brunette sat astride over Miko's face and slowly lowered her stomach on top of her lover's until she had a clear view of the hermit's little flower.

"Ahh, that's wonderful. Your body feels so nice and warm~. I don't even need a blanket."

Reimu felt the same way, but right now, she was focused on something other than Miko's pleasant body heat.

"Aaaaah~!" the Taoist saint couldn't hold her voice back upon sensing Reimu's hot tongue sliding along her cleft.

Not willing to lose to her, Miko responded aptly, slowly painting vertical lines over Reimu's pink petals with her own tongue. Sounds of licking and slurping filled the quiet room once more, but this time from both girls equally. Their muffled moans were emitting pleasant vibrations, enhancing their mutual pleasure even more.

Soon enough the pleasure has built up in both girls to the point when they could no longer keep their moans to themselves.

"Oh, Reimu… Just a little more and I'll…"

"Me too, Miko! I'm almost… hiiii… at my limit."

Taking Reimu's hint, Miko decided to finish the shrine maiden with a combination of oral and manual teasing. Just a few last strokes away from her orgasm, Reimu stretched out her hand, grabbed her gohei from the ground and inserted its handle into Miko, while not relenting on licking her thoroughly.

"Hmmm~! Dream Sign *slurp* haaa! "Evil-Sealing Circle"!" she mocked a Spell Card declaration as she kept drawing circles around Miko's most sensitive area with her tongue and assisting herself with her trusty gohei wand.

"Oh no… Reimu's attack is too much to take." thought the hermit as her vision was becoming hazy.

"Cum with me, Miko! Ah, aaah, hyaaaaaaaaaaan~!"

"I'm… I'm… cummiiiiiiiiiiiing~!"

After a synchronized cry on the peak of their pleasure, both girls slumped down tired – Miko on her back and Reimu on top of her. Both of them were enjoying the sweet moments of ecstasy and relaxation.

"That was wonderful…" Miko murmured as she was catching her breath, her face and hair all soaked with Reimu's love juice. "What a beautiful release of desire…"

"Did you… feel good?" Reimu slightly lifted her body and looked between her legs to see Miko's face.

"Hehe… Feel good? What an understatement. This can't be your first time. You've done this before, haven't you?" a straight-to-the-point question was forwarded by the Taoist to the shrine maiden.

"Uhm… well… It's not like I do this often, but… I do have some experience already." she tentatively confessed, but she no longer had that shy aura about her.

"I thought so." Miko smirked impishly. "You have a mentor, huh?"

"Sort of."

"Was it Yukari-san?"

Reimu's brown eyes widened from surprise. "Eh? How did you…?"

"I saw her in one of your desires. Was she good?"

Reimu closed her eyes as a suspicious smile crossed her face.

"Judging by that smile, she must have been excellent." Miko nodded knowingly as she donned a similar smile herself. "Have I made you feel at least half as good?"

Reimu slowly got off from Miko's body and turned around. "Why such self-depreciation? I had a wonderful time with you." she leaned over her and rewarded her with another kiss, which Miko promptly reciprocated.

"I'm happy that I could make you happy, Reimu… And I hope I helped you learn something new today."

Reimu giggled softly. "I really liked your… advice."

"So from now on, you'll know how to make and keep Gensokyo a more peaceful land, which humans and youkai alike can call their paradise."

"Just try not to cause any troubles in the future, otherwise I won't go easy on you." the shrine maiden said her warning.

"Ehehe. I won't promise anything, but I'll give it a try… Of course you'll still be your old shoot-danmaku-first, ask-questions-later self, but you should never lose sight of what's really important and what I've taught you today."

"A lecture like that will sure be hard to forget."

As both girls chuckled at the silliness of their conversation, Miko realized that she was again starting to feel a little cold, since her racing heartbeat has returned to normal and she wasn't really moving around much anymore.

"Oh. You're starting to feel cold again?" Reimu noticed her reaction and grabbed the big blanket. She lay down next to the kotatsu and covered her back with the mentioned blanket, leaving it open and invitingly waved at Miko to come and join her.

"Hurry. Cuddle up next to me."

She didn't have to repeat herself. Miko crawled to her more-than-just-hospitable host and hid under the blanket with her. They put their cold feet under the covers of the heated table and just enjoyed the blissful comfort of being next to each other.

"Don't worry, Reimu. It'll be alright." the hermit said suddenly with a reassuring smile.

"Hm? What are you talking about?"

"One of your yet to be fulfilled desires." she grinned slyly, not willing to reveal anything more.

"Eeeh? Which one now?"

"I'm not telling you."

"Come on. Just spill it."

"No."

"In that case…" the shrine maiden rolled herself on top of Miko, "I'll have to extract the answer by force, hehehe~."

"I still won't tell you~."

"We'll see about that. The night has only begun~."

It wasn't sooner than early morning when the two girls went to sleep, cuddled to each other to stay warm even after the fire went out. Even though they continued their fun through the whole night, the Taoist hermit still didn't reveal what she was talking about, but at that point, Reimu no longer cared. When they woke up at noon, Miko didn't linger too long. She quickly got dressed and left the shrine to tend to her duties in Senkai. Reimu took a little longer to get into the working mood, but her piled up chores didn't allow her to rest. Right after Miko left, she figured that she should mop the floor after the last night and go to the village to restock on supplies.

As she had finally done all the work around the shrine and was on her way to Human Village, she heard someone's voice calling her name from behind.

"Oi~! Reimu! Wait up a little!"

"Marisa?" the shrine maiden blinked at the blond girl in witch's outfit as she flew on her broom towards her position.

"I found the shrine empty, so I figured you went to do shopping, ze… Do you have any plans for today?"

She spoke with such nonchalance, that Reimu wondered if the witch hasn't eaten some weird mushrooms and forgot their recent argument.

"Marisa… You're… not mad at me anymore?"

"Huh? I thought that it was YOU who was mad at me… and everyone else. That's why I figured I'd better not show myself at your doorstep for a few days until you cool your hot head off."

"No, Marisa." the dark-haired maiden shook her head. "You're wrong. I wasn't really angry at you. Or at anyone…"

"Really? I wouldn't have guessed that from your words and facial expressions during the symposium."

"I… really didn't mean it like that."

"You're sometimes hard to get, Reimu, but… at least I'm relieved to hear that you're not upset about me anymore." the witch remarked as she hovered by Reimu's side. "But it was an interesting experience for me."

"I learned something from it too." the shrine maiden admitted.

"Oh, have you? And what would that be?"

"Heh… You want to hear?" she cast a catty smile at her long-time friend and ally.

"Of course I want to hear. It would defeat the purpose of my question if I didn't…"

Reimu teased her by avoiding a direct answer, just as how Miko avoided answering her question yesterday. Only now did Reimu finally realize which desire was the hermit talking about.

"It'll be alright." she said. And she was right. Reimu's desire for Marisa's forgiveness has become true. She'd make sure not to forget Miko's useful advice anytime soon.