[x] Loudly declare that I warmed up her kotatsu and got her some food.

“I-I, ah… I’m your housewarming guest! Since it’s so cold, I got your kotatsu warmed up for you!” As I spoke, I lifted the table skirt next to me. “C’mon, sit down and get all warmed up!”

But even as her demeanor straightened, that scowl only deepened. My heart sank, but I wouldn’t give in, here! Love was a battlefield, after all! “A-and I got you some food, too! Some tasty crackers and sweets!”

Ah, there! Finally. Her near-glare softened, just a bit. “Oh, it’s just you.” She shuffled forward and knelt in front of the kotatsu, across from me. And yet, despite shivering slightly, she didn’t scoot into it - let alone to my side. Instead, she focused on my lunchbox, then warily lifted the lid. A moment of silence lingered. My knuckles must have turned white. I could hear-no, feel-every breath. This… this was the moment of truth. What would she think of my-

She lifted my ribbon off and set it on the table, just so she could pull a cracker out-though she eyed the dango more. She took one loud, crunching bite. Then she finally scooted into the kotatsu. Still across from me, still keeping her distance. But it was still progress. I think. I’d break that cold shell her heart hid behind, to expose the romantic, gooey… I shook my flushing face. Oh dear, where was that thought going… She took another bite, her eyes now flitting to the ribbon.

And then they locked onto me, dead center. “What’re you up to?”

I flinched backward. That… that wasn’t a question she was supposed to ask. I-I didn’t have anything prepared for that one! My jaw quivered a bit as my mind raced. “I-it’s a special holiday, you know! Very special. So! I thought I’d share it with you!”

But her eyes just narrowed further. “Can’t be. This is some conspiracy, isn’t it? Your shrine’s always up to shady stuff, after all. Why’d you sneak into my shrine? What is-”

“It’s not a ploy!” That burst from my lips, high and loud, before I knew what it was. “I… I-I-I… I just…”

“You want something from me.”

“I-I just want to, ah, to… to to to… make you… feel…” My mind, finishing its race, chose to spin in circles instead. “I-it’s just a gift. You don’t need to think any deeper than that…”

She took another bite, then another. Her gaze turned to the cracker, until she’d finished it off. Then, as she grabbed another, she… yawned?

“You made up a holiday, invited yourself i-”

“I-I didn’t make it up! It’s just… it’s an outsider holiday, so you wouldn’t know about it.”

Now she rolled her eyes. Why? “Of course.” She groaned, then paused. And for once, the look she gave me showed some proper interest in me. “Say, let’s say you’re telling the truth. What sort of holiday is it?”

My spirit soared. I planted my hands on the kotatsu, leaned forward, and…

My mouth opened, but nothing came out.

This, this was the perfect chance. But to, to… no! I grit my teeth. This was precisely the opening I needed!

“It, it’s called ‘Valentine’s Day.’ It’s a day where people exchange chocolates to show how… much they care about people. A-and they write letters, with little hearts-”

Now, that interest flattened. “Then, where’s the chocolates?”

I flinched, but couldn’t afford to hesitate now. “I couldn’t get them in time. The timing was… too sensitive.” I could never admit the reason I ran out of time to bring them! “B-but! It-it’s not… not just any kind of care. It’s… just-well, mostly-for a special kind of care. Very… special. Very, um, personal.”

Reimu slumped forward. “So there were strings attached, after all.”

Now, my hands flew up and fluttered in front of me. “Not strings! Just a… a message! And-and maybe a request, or-no, an invitation.” My face grew warm, despite the cold air around us. “It-it’s a holiday about… love.”

Oh dear. Now my face burned. I could barely even look her way, anymore.

“Love?” Another painfully tense moment passed. Fleeting glances only revealed a deeper, scrutinizing stare. There was… something there. Not the affection or even fluster I’d hoped for. But not hostility either. More of… confusion? “Then what’s it got to do with me?”

My whole body froze, my back lurching rigid and straight. What… what does it? How could she even ask that after all of this? That stubborn denseness was cute and all, but now was hardly the time for it! I took a few steadying breaths.

“Oh, you know. Two p-p-people… exchange… gifts. Then, later on, the guy returns the gift, something white, threefold…”

Her brows just above danced over her eyes. And not in a risque waggle, either. More… shifting between that confusion, and curiosity. “But there’s no guy here. And why white? What does that have to do with chocolate?”

Still? Urgh. I-I’d need to spell it out, wouldn’t I? I…. I didn’t know how much longer she’d let me stay here, and if I went home before confessing… no. That, of all things, I couldn’t allow!

“Um, Reimu, I…”

I knew I could do it. I knew I could. But how could I broach it?

[ ] It’s all about boyfriends and girlfriends. And I want a girlfriend!

[ ] There are only two people here, and it’s about exchanging tokens of love. Romantic love!

[ ] There’s so many other girls demanding your attention, but I want you to look at me - and only me!

[ ] You like food, right? Well, you could wake up to my cooking every day, made with love!

[ ] Write-in.

[x] It’s all about boyfriends and girlfriends. And I want a girlfriend!

I slapped my hands down against the kotatsu. “It-it’s a holiday all about boyrfiends and girlfriends! Romance, love, intimacy!”

Reimu jerked away, taken aback by the sudden motion.

But I didn’t dare stop yet. “A-a-a-and… and I want a girlfriend!” I could barely hear my own heavy breathing now, as the violent drumbeat of my heart nearly drowned it out. “A, a, a… a very particular girlfriend! I-I’ve been thinking about it for a long, long time. And it had to be today! I, I-I…”

But there, my steam faded. My face burned. Reimu stared at me, eyes narrowed to slits. Then, they burst wide open and a flush blossomed across her face, surely dark enough to rival my own. A single shaking finger rose from her side to point against her own chest. All at once, my own breathing turned from heavy to near-nonexistent. But I managed a tight, small nod.

“So, you came all the way here to…” Reimu herself took a moment to breathe. A second later, a low groan rumbled from her throat. “To declare your,” she gulped, “love,” then sighed, “for… me.”

I held deathly still, save for another tiny nod.

She groaned again, louder this time. “Look, I’m… flattered, I guess.” Slowly, her own breathing stilled, her face cleared up. “But I’m not looking for-I don’t need a… partner. So you can, uh, go home now.”

Those simple words felt like a punch to my gut. “W-why not? I could be there for company on lonely n-”

“I already have more company than I want.”

I sputtered, but held my gaze. No, I wouldn’t give up here! “Then-then… a-a second pair of hands when you need to…”

“No offense, but your ‘hands’ aren’t exactly what I’d be looking for if I needed reliable help.”

“Then-ah! Breakfast! Food! I-I could prepare it for you!”

Now, Reimu rolled her eyes. This… this didn’t look good. I clenched a fist. There, there had to be something!

“Warmth! Someone to cuddle up with when it gets cold! Like today!”

Reimu leveled her eyes straight onto mine. She-she was scowling at me, now. “I have enough youkai prying into my life, Kochiya. I don’t need an-”

“I’m not a youkai!” My voice was trembling now. I leaned forward. “I-I’m a human-well, a goddess! Not one like the two I serve, but a goddess all the same! I could be yours, even!”

Now, it was Reimu’s turn to sputter. “You-you… I-I’m not going to worship you!”

“That’s not what I meant! I just, I…”

Reimu’s scowl only darkened. I was running out of time, and I was running out, fast. Everything was going so wrong, so fast. I needed… I needed something. What did she want from me? I had so much to offer, so why wasn’t any of it working?

But at last, a miracle came. Reimu’s scowl faded into a tired sigh. She slumped into the kotatsu, chin resting against the surface. “Look. I appreciate your gifts, but if you want more of my time, you’ll need to get in line. The last thing I need is more…”

For a moment, her words blurred into a distant buzz. That… that was it! There were so many other girls crowding around her. So much competition I hadn’t even considered. I needed something to make me stand out, and I needed it now!

“...butting into my li-mph!”

I moved before my mind could stop me. Two hands cupped her cheeks and pulled her up, while my feet kicked out and my torso bent forward. My lips pressed to hers and, for a split-second, I basked in the sensation. In the…

She shoved me backward, then wiped a sleeve across her lips. I fell onto my butt, then blinked. Her face burned even darker than before. I didn’t breathe. Did… did she like it? Did she want…

“Go home.”

A wheeze escaped my lips. Reimu stood up. She thrust a finger toward the door. I… I scooted out from the backward. Another wheeze burst out before my tongue would move. “Did-did I do it bad? If I did, we could try again!”

But now she just stared at me, baffled.

“Just-just give me another chance! I promise I’ll-”

She marched up to me. I pushed myself to my shaking feet, so I could-

She grabbed my shoulder and pushed me, slow but firm, backward. Reluctantly, I took slow, backward steps to avoid further upsetting her. “Please, just one more chance!”

She threw the shrine door open, then gave one final shove, pushing me across the threshold. Her face, still scarlet, faced me dead in the eyes. “Go home, Kochiya. And don’t come back!”

She yanked the door shut. For a good few seconds, I just stood there. Staring at the closed door. Slow, shallow breaths puffed white into the frigid air. Goosebumps smothered my skin. My teeth started to chatter.

Reimu had… rejected me. Completely. And, and I… I only made her angrier, didn’t I?

My fingers shook, then my shoulders.

I-I… I did need to leave. I screwed up. Kanako would be so mad when she found out why I ditched the shrine, and I didn’t even have anything to show for it. I-if I told her why, she’d probably just, just… I needed to be somewhere warm. Somewhere away from my shrine, from our followers, from people who knew me.

I need to go away… to somewhere.

[ ] Mountain hot springs. Warm and close to home, but secluded and hopefully quiet.

[ ] Nuclear reactor. It’s very warm and no one goes down there if they don’t have to.

[ ] Great Spirit Mausoleum. It’s a bit warmer than outside, and only sometimes inhabited by those Taoists.

[ ] Write-in.

[x] Nuclear reactor. It’s very warm and no one goes down there if they don’t have to.

I needed somewhere warm, and… somewhere no one would find me. Not just away from people who knew me, but anyone at all. I lifted off, and sailed straight back toward home. Back toward our shrine. Lady Kanako could well be waiting for me, though. So as the mountain came close, I drifted down toward the trees. Fairies rose up at points, and then I shot them down. Barely thinking, barely focusing. The noise might get someone else’s attention, probably more fairies, but I wasn’t here to linger, or to investigate. Just to get through the woods as fast as I could. Far enough away from the shrine that Lady Kanako wouldn’t notice me. Low enough to the ridges and trees that I could hide even if she looked for me. Lady Suwako… well, she wouldn’t be looking for me yet. I had a hard time predicting her, but she would usually take her time before scolding me. Eventually, I found my goal. The great hole. One that I beelined to and dove down. Between the force of my flight and the gravity pulling me down, it took barely minutes to feel that warmth arrive, seeping into my chilly, exposed skin, and then through my stupid, silly getup. I’d need to change out of it when I got home. Maybe burn it and forget I ever had anything that dumb to begin with. Why did I think that outfit was a good idea?

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

The heat grew from warm to hot, but that only served to better hide my flowing tears as they evaporated in the burning haze. Of course, this borehole wouldn’t take me to the very hottest core of Lady Kanako’s reactor. That would be dumb, like me. Despite the heat, I wiped an arm across my eyes. And then the other one.

The hole wasn’t just here for ventilation, but as emergency access to the reactor. And an access hole wouldn’t be very useful if it burned up anyone who tried to use it. Eventually, I found what I sought. The telltale catwalks I used to fight people over. Back during the incident where…

I let out a low, miserable moan. That stupid balloon. That I-I-I…

Okuu would pick a fight with me if I just hung out on the catwalks, so close to the-to “her”-reactor proper. So I veered off to the side, to find a little corner, far enough away to evade her nuclear fixation, far enough from the depths of the former hell of blazing fires to endure the heat, but still deep enough in to avoid anyone else’s attention.

I touched down on a rocky outcropping, only to yelp at the heat of the stone and meander further up. Instead, I tucked myself into a little, rocky cubby, just barely cool enough to sit on. My legs crossed in front of my chin as I wrapped my arms around them. Dropping my head into my knees, I took a few more shuddering breaths before, at last, I let the floodgates open.

It came first in sputters and hiccups, in shaking shoulders and coughing groans. Then the open, ragged wailing rattled out, echoing across the searing rocks all around and beneath me. Maybe… maybe the stupid cat would show up with her morbid “fuel,” or maybe that birdbrain would be close enough to hear them, anyway. At least I’d be far enough away from the worst-case scenario.

The mind reader.

The last thing I needed was for anyone to know what happened-what really happened. At some point… Okuu did show up - just flitting in and out from behind rocks and machinery still beneath me and off to my right. She had to hear my pathetic sobbing, but with her precious reactor to attend to, she must not have noticed.

The cubby didn’t give me a great sight of the whole affair, but did give me just enough to see… whatever it was she did with those buttons and knobs. She was, to put it bluntly, an idiot. Except for when it came to a science so complex that even the outside world never figured it out. Must have been that sun bird she ate. Whatever. It wasn’t my concern.

At some point, I’m pretty sure that cat stopped by as well, dumping a mess of human corpses into the flames. That, I understood far better. And it just about made me wretch to see, even just in my mind’s eye.

But then, maybe I’d be better off if I were in her cart…

I wiped an arm across my nose. I’d need a good, long bath later. Some nice hot water to relax in. Until then, I… I’d need to… um… apologize, at least. To Kanako, and Suwako, and Reimu…

I shivered. It was way too soon to do that. There… wait, there were some hot springs down here. A nice wash to to clear the snot away, then a long, long soak. Yeah, yeah… my goddesses could wait. Gensokyo itself could wait. Not like I did any good for it anyway. Just a big old nuisance. Tagging along with the real incident resolvers, just to, to…

Incident resolvers like Rei-

“I, uh… this isn’t a spot to rest, is it? You might fall in and become fuel for the-”

“Wha!” I startled, jerked back, and tumbled off the rock entirely. A scream followed for a good second before I caught myself mid-air. Face now red with far more than tears or heat, I reluctantly drifted back up to a snickering kasha. Orin, the… when did she sneak up on-no, why bother m-I cleared my throat and thrust a finger in her direction. “It’s rude to intrude on a girl’s misery, you know!”

“Wh-misery? Oh… that explains the nose, heh heh…”

Now, I whipped my gohei out. “D-don’t-one more joke and I’m throwing you into the fires!”

She now threw up two open palms in social defense. “Wait! No need to make a ruckus while Okuu’s busy. How about you let big sis hear all about your worries, instead? It can be real good to get them off your chest, you know. Especially,” her eyes narrowed, twinkling in both firelight and mirth, “one as heavy as yours~”

I scowled up at her, readying to beat her for that blatant… the taste of Reimu’s lips, the sight of her rage… I-I wasn’t one to make a fuss, huh? If she didn’t want that kiss, then…

My throat tightened. She was… probably right. About being heard! Not the… the other thing. Well, technically, maybe, but her tone-gah! Someone needed to hear me. That’s what mattered! But a nosy cat with a mind reader for a master…

[ ] Complain to Orin. It was a bad time to look a gift kasha in the mouth.

[ ] Retreat to Hot Springs. A long soak, good atmosphere, and… oni who weren’t known for keeping their mouths shut.

[ ] Flee back to the surface. It was a mistake to come down here. Everything was a mistake. I’d just barricade myself in my room.

[x] Complain to Orin. It was a bad time to look a gift kasha in the mouth.

“She-she rejected me! After all the hard work and love that I put in-”

“Hey, sis. I’m real glad yer takin’ me up on my offer so quick. But, ah… let’s take this somewhere else, okay? Somewhere we can sit down… or at least stand.”

I sniffled, glancing to the mighty fires below. And then… I answered with a sad nod. She grinned, took my hand, and pulled me off. I let her lead me around the reactor, then through the tunnels back… up. Not to the surface-or even close-but to-I yelped. “L-let’s not go all the over there! Maybe…”

Orin glanced back. She frowned. “Satori’s a perfectly good girl. She’s not going to betray your trust on a whim.”

I sniffled, then rubbed my nose. “I-I… know. But still! This is super sensitive. Now, of all times…” I pulled my hand away from hers and drifted backward.

Orin huffed a moment, then sighed. “Okay, fine. How about the grounds? Satori ain’t gonna be outside this time of day-or, well, most times of day-and we need somewhere cozy to sit.”

I utter a low, sad groan, but eeked out a tiny nod. And then, I let her lead me forward again, bringing us up to the walls of a massive, underground western cathedral-I mean, a ‘palace,’ of course. That’s what everyone else called it, anyway. But it was definitely a big old… we veered off and to the side, settling into a cozy picnic table of metal filigree, beneath its imposing shadow.

Along the way, I had… calmed down. A little. Sniffles and hiccups continued, but the moaning had died down, at least. Orin invited me to one seat, which I didn’t so much accept as dully plop myself into. She then sat to my left, pulling in close. “Now, let’s hear those maidenly worries of yours~”

Through puffy, red eyes, I pouted at her. She answered by patting me on the shoulder. I slumped down, resting my face on the cold, hard, pokey metal of the table. “Today was special, you know. A holiday. The most important day of the year for young maidens like me…”

A moment of silence passed. Orin murmured something under her breath, before bothering to speak. “Um, what… day would it b-?”

Now, both hands slapped against the table and I-I squeaked in pain, now shaking them as I turned my pout again her way. “It’s… urgh. I did the math, super carefully. Back… back home, it would be the fourteenth of February.

“And that is…”

“It’s Valentine’s Day. A day where girls give chocolate to people they care about. Especially boys-people they are… interested in. Then the… other person, gives three times back on White Day.”

More pats on my shoulder. The trembling returned to my voice. “I-I wanted to say it, you know. For months and months. But there just-there was never the right time. Someone like her… she’s so cool and firm on the outside. She doesn’t-” I hiccuped, my jaw now joining my trembling lip, “-doesn’t… ac-cept… f-feelings much, if-if at all, nor-mally…” I had to take a couple steadying breaths just to continue. “She doesn’t just… l-let you… in, you know?”

Now, Orin chuckled. “She prefers to beat ya up, doesn’t she?”

I… darn it. A wretched cough of a chuckle burst from my own lips. “Y-yeah… she, she beats her prob...lems, d-down. Or-or run… away. She does-n’t… she’s not…” I groaned. “B-besides, a-apart from that… she-she’s so blunt! W-what would I ha-have done, if-if she...”

“Turned you down. Like she just did.”

I couldn’t help it. A barrage of wailing sobs burst fresh from my mouth, tears from my eyes, and even… I pressed the back of my hand to my face, just to keep the snot back as long as I could. Orin’s hand now shifted to rubbing my back in slow, circular strokes. They helped, a bit. When the sobbing faded enough for me to speak again, I forced myself forward. “I-I wor...ked, so, so… ha-ard… the-the… g-gift, a-and lo-oks, a-a-a-and…”

“Ya tried really hard to impress her, ya mean.”

I nodded. “I-I even… L-lady Kanako will-b-be… so, so mad at… me…”

Now, she giggled. “Ooh, what’d ya do? Steal her favorite snacks?”

I coughed, then shook my head. “C-chores, p-preaching… G-goddesses… th-they… need, me… and-and I just, ran… out… for some s-tupid, p-ointless…”

The sobbing returned, this time in sputtering groans and whimpers. Orin whispered into my ear. “What is it ya really wanted, anyway?”

I-I… my face flushed, I turned my wet eyes to the table. And my voice calmed just enough to force a few words out. “L-lo...ve… ma-ir-ra-ge… o-or a-at le-ast, if n-othing el-se… a…” I shivered. “A k-k-kiss-a prop-er one! N-not li-ike what I’d…”

“If a kiss and a partner is what ya want, she doesn’t gotta be alive for that, does she?”

All at once, my sobbing stopped. My heart turned cold. I recoiled, staring back at this mad cat in horror. She got half a snicker out before I slammed both hands on the table, and this time kept them there, despite the pain!

“You-I-she-I could never!” Now, I stared her dead in the eyes. Through tears and puffiness, but still! “She-she’s not just pretty, or soft. That firm, unflinching attitude when she’s on the job, that silly look she gets in her eye when she falls into the latest scam, her giggling when she’s drunk, but especially those moments where she gets mopey in-between the giggles! I-I mean, you’ve seen her danmaku, right? That alone, I could never sacrifice! And that desperate struggle between her cool mode and giddy glee when you drop a heavy coin in her donation box! Then there’s…”

Orin listened to the gushing for some time, but eventually lost patience with the verbal danmaku. To counter it, she…

[ ] Interrupted with a hug.

[ ] Slipped away.

[ ] Went to get Satori.