Yusuke looked up, one hand on the brim of his conical hat. He squinted. "Gonna be a light drizzle in two hours, and full-blown rain before sunset."
I nodded and returned to tending to the crops. Yusuke had been born with the ability to predict the weather for half a day ahead. It wasn't an enviable gift, not when youkai and even some humans boasted powers so far beyond our reach, but it was useful. Knowing Yusuke, he would rather have taken something to help him talk to women, but at least every time he was reduced to prattling on about the weather, he could do so accurately.
I clasped my hand firmly on the nearest weed, then pulled it up, roots and all. I lay it carefully on top of the other plants I had unearthed, giving myself a brief moment to contemplate the warm shade of green the rive had taken, then returned to work.
"Did you see Maiko today?" Yusuke asked, with a hint of slyness. He liked to talk during work.
I shrugged, tugging at one weed. My back was starting to ache: we had been toiling since morning, and it was already well into the afternoon. "I didn't pass by the flower shop today."
"Seriously, man. You can't tell me you don't like her. What's not to like?"
Yusuke did have a point. Maiko from the flower shop was a beautiful girl, and almost equally gracious and helpful. I liked her just fine. Just not in the way she probably hoped I did.
"It's not like that." I shook my head as I smoothed down the disturbed mud. "She'd be disappointed if I took things further, and then her dad would kick my ass. You know how it goes."
"I thought you just bored them to death before anything happened," Yusuke huffed. "Whatever it is that gets those girls into you in the first place is wasted on you. You bastard." He spoke with a smile, but from the metal in his eyes, I knew he didn't mean his words entirely in jest.
Yusuke and I never saw eye to eye. We had grown up as neighbours, and years after we had ceased to have anything in common, we were still stuck together. All the same, he was my best friend.
Yusuke was evidently thinking the same thing, as he went on grousing, or perhaps trying to give me advice. "You need to pay more attention, man. It's a pain in the ass trying to talk to someone who lives in their head."
I shrugged apologetically and got back to work. Appearances were deceiving. I was rarely actually lost in thought. Rather, I attempted to focus fully at the task at hand, hoping to drown all my attention in it so I would forget to think altogether. Daydreaming inevitably drifted to the same topic time and time again; a vision of my future life.
Unlike Yusuke, I had no special ability, but I didn't need one to see the future that lay ahead of me, clear as crystal.
I'd continue work on the fields, year after year after year, until my back broke and my knees gave in. Eventually I'd marry some girl to make my mother happy; I couldn't picture her face, but it made little difference. I'd have children, raise them into adulthood, grow old. Have a tidy little funeral and be swiftly forgotten. A quiet life with no surprises, perfectly respectable and wholly average.
It was fine, really. I had accepted my life for what it was soon after leaving school. I still preferred not to think about it, however.
I shrugged again, then rubbed my aching back. "About time for a break."
"Yeah." Yusuke stood up and stretched himself, groaning. "This crap's killing me. Can't wait till after harvest time so I can get back to working at the bar."
He looked up. "Heh, speaking of both girls and bastards..." He spat on the ground. "It's the Hakurei girl."
I followed his gaze. It was the Hakurei shrine maiden, alright. Clad in heavyset robes, her red hair tied back so tightly it looked painful, with an expression that would have confounded a satori. There was only one human in Gensokyo who looked like that, if she was a human at all.
She descended down the hillside by foot, gait light but ever so slightly awkward. She reminded me of a young fawn who had just learned to walk, only this fawn hid her inexperience under grace and poise.
"What's she walking for?" Yusuke raised the brim of his hat for a better look, with a sneer on his face. "Usually she's too good to walk and flies high and mighty above the rest. What's different today?"
I shrugged and returned to work. "She has her reasons."
"There you go again. Invent all the excuses you like for her. At the end of the day she's still a haughty bitch and you know it."
"I wouldn't go that far. She has a heavy burden on her shoulders."
"So they claim." Yusuke's brow furrowed. "I get that you fancy her, but that doesn't change what she is. For all we know it's actually tentacles under those robes. Human my hairy ass."
"I don't fancy her. I don't even know her."
"Nobody does."
Yusuke fell silent; the Hakurei shrine maiden was at hearing range. We bowed curtly as she passed.
If the maiden acknowledged us with a nod in turn, I missed it. She glided past with her head held high, briefly scanning us with a blank expression.
For a mere second, her cool gaze met mine. The back of my neck tingled.
Yusuke sighed as soon as she had passed. "Bitch." He crouched down. "She's not even that good-looking. Uneven features. Probably flat as a board."
I made a non-committal noise. It was true the shrine maiden wasn't a beauty; charming, certainly, but charming in a way a glacier is charming; attractive from a distance, but cold to touch.
And yet, the way the shrine maiden had looked at me hadn't been impervious or arrogant. It was cool and calculated, but very alert, even concerned. It was the shrine maiden's duty to protect the Human Village from youkai, a monumental task to saddle on anyone, yet alone a young girl and she carried the weight with determination, her back straight, never showing pain or hesitation to anyone.
I opened my mouth to bring this up, but changed my mind. Yusuke would scoff and protest the Hakurei shrine maiden had no emotions with which to feel pain or hesitation. He may well have been right, too.
Still, I couldn't help but wonder. If she was human, she must've been very lonely.
I shook my head and returned to work. Not that there'd be any consequences for thinking such thoughts of the shrine maiden. I could fantasise about her bathing in a sea of bubbles without a stitch of clothes on for all anyone cared, but somehow, it felt disrespectful. For all I knew, she had saved my life a dozen times over.
I nodded along as Yusuke kept talking about something of no consequence, my mind eventually drifting off.
But instead of picturing my future, I kept seeing the Hakurei shrine maiden and the lingering look she had given me.
The following week, Yusuke was asked to help shuffle some inventory at the bar, and so I headed to the fields by myself. The rice stalks were growing well, and I set to work with fresh determination.
Hours passed quickly as I distracted myself from thinking, and after what felt like only a few moments, but from the rumbling of my stomach must have been much longer, I decided on a lunch break.
I turned in place and I was greeted by a pair of sandalled feet beneath the hem of a red hakama, floating just above the field to avoid getting wet. I looked up to the dark brown eyes of the Hakurei shrine maiden. Her expression was inscrutable.
I got up and bowed. Even when I stood up straight, the shrine maiden was only a few inches shorter than me. "Miss Hakurei."
The shrine maiden gazed at me quietly. "Is you name Masaki?"
"That's right."
The shrine maiden nodded towards the beaten path. "I must speak with you."
"Of course." Frowning, I followed her. What could she possibly want with me? Had I unwittingly witnessed something related to an incident?
After both of our feet were firmly on the dirt path, and the shrine maiden had looked around to make sure no-one else was at hearing distance, she looked me directly in the eye. "I would like you to marry me."
I stared back for a long moment, then nodded. "All right." After another pregnant pause, as the words finally sunk in, I added: "Wait, what?"
The Hakurei shrine maiden remained stone-faced. "I said I would like you to marry me."
"Yeah, I thought I heard that correctly." I realised I had began to fiddle with the hem of my jacket. I stopped.
"I don't think I can force you, so you're free to say no." Perhaps I only imagined it, but I thought for a second, she had a wan smile on her face. "Of course, I hope you'll say yes."
I thought I had gone nuts. Surely girls didn't just show up and pop the question at the drop of the hat, even the Hakurei shrine maiden? Hell, especially not the Hakurei shrine maiden.
"Uh, well..." I scratched the back of my head. "Can you tell me more about this arrangement?"
The Hakurei shrine maiden nodded. "I need an heir. A daughter, specifically. There's no rush yet, but the sooner I get started the better." She shrugged. "It doesn't actually matter who I have a child with, as long as they're a full human born in the village. Still, I have the freedom of choice as long as I don't dawdle, and I'd like you to be the father."
"You honestly can say no," she continued after my silence had stretched on for nearly a minute. "I know it's a big request."
A shadow passed behind her eyes, quickly vanishing as she blinked. Before, I would have assumed it to be anger, but in my baffled state of mind, I interpreted it as sadness.
I scrutinised her quietly, feeling strangely calm. Was it that big a request, really? When I thought about it, I had been on this trajectory all my life. I was going to marry someone eventually, and since I had no-one in particular in mind, why not her? I would have to move from the village, but other than that, how much could it possibly change my daily life?
A vision of my future flashed before my eyes. It was same as before, but in place of the anonymous girl with no face, I now saw the Hakurei shrine maiden, with the same mysterious look in her eyes as when our gazes had first met.
It was... appealing.
"I'll do it," I said.
My words were quiet and indistinct, but she caught them anyway. "Are you sure?"
I nodded, feeling more certain by the second. While the shrine maiden's expression had stayed the same, something about the way she stood had shifted. Perhaps it was merely the satisfaction of accomplishing what she had set out to do, but in that moment, it made her eyes dance.
I couldn't help but stare. Yusuke could say what he said about uneven features. In that moment, she was the most beautiful woman in the world.
I bowed deeply. "I would be honoured to marry you."
"That's good." She looked pensive. "You don't have stay if you don't like it. After I have an heir, I mean." There was an undercurrent of uncertainty in her voice.
I nodded again. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
"Yes." She looked around. The farmers working nearby had paused their work to stare at us. By evening, rumours would have permeated the entire village. "I'll leave you to your work. I'll return tomorrow to formalise our plans."
"See you then, Miss Hakurei."
The briefest of smiles flitted across her face, the first one I had ever caught for certain. "Miss Reiko will do."
I felt warm. "Miss Reiko."
She left at an unhurried pace, blind to all the eyes on her.
Though I had lots of work left to do, I couldn't concentrate on anything but the mental image of her ghost of a smile.
The boards of the shrine smelled like history.
I took a deep breath and tried my best not to squirm. I had never been good at sitting still in seiza.
My mother had been shocked, but understanding. My father's grave had nothing to say, but the breeze blowing over me as I prayed at it had been very sympathetic. My friends thought I was mental, and my employer at the shop had given me a dark look and told me to expect nothing when I came crawling back for work come winter. Maiko from the flower shop had disappeared to the back room, returning red-eyed but offering gracious congratulations. I felt bad for her, but really, there had never been anything but a few smiles exchanged between us. What was now between me and Reiko was an unbreakable vow.
My wife — the phrase still sounded strange in my head — my wife sat placidly by the window on the other side of the room, showing no signs of cramps or discomfort. How often had she sat around like this, all alone, waiting for when she was needed?
I cleared my throat. This wasn't any easier for Reiko than it was for me, so I ought to take the first step. "The shrine's bigger than I thought it would be."
Reiko blinked, her expression unchanging. "It is? I never thought so." She fell into thought. "Maybe it looks smaller on the outside."
"Enough room for both of us," I ventured.
"Yes, enough room for both of us."
The silence that followed could have crushed an oni. I racked my brain for new conversation topics. "Which season do you like the best?"
Reiko blinked again, more rapidly. "Oh, I don't know. This one's pretty nice." She nodded at the closed door. I could just barely make out the outline of a half-barren tree through the paper.
"Right." What else to add? "I like spring."
"I like it too." Reiko paused. "But I hate winter."
"Why? Winter's so beautiful."
"And so very cold. This is an old building. The cold gets through all the cracks and tries to suffocate me." Reiko pulled her arms closer to her body, as if to shield herself from imaginary frost.
"I'm sorry, I hadn't thought of that."
Reiko gave me a blank look. "That's not something you have to feel sorry about."
"You're right." Silence fell once more, and briefly, I wondered if I had made a mistake after all. What if I and Reiko never grew any closer? Would the rest of my life consist of sitting around, perhaps doing some odd jobs around the shrine, having nothing but halting, superficial conversations with my wife?
"I could see if I can do anything about the cracks," I continued. "I worked at a shop during winters, and I did some carpentry every now and then."
"That sounds nice." Her tone was emotionless, but I had learned to take her by her words.
Again, silence.
"Was..." I swallowed the question. I had meant to ask if I had been the first one she had asked to marry her, but even after a lifetime of not being chosen first for anything, I wasn't sure I could live with the answer. Instead, I asked: "Why did you choose me?"
Reiko tilted her head, her expression unchanging. "Why you?"
"That's right. Was there a reason why?" I didn't want to hear she had merely seen me first of all the young men in the village, but my curiosity, usually mere embers, had flared up due to her reticence and now burned my insides.
The shrine maiden sighed, casting her eyes downwards. When she raised her head, she had a shy and weak, but undoubtedly genuine smile on her face. "Because you seemed thoughtful."
My heart skipped a beat. It was as if a shell had been cast off. How could I have ever doubted the woman's humanity? She was a human, flesh and blood, with a heart feeling all the pain and solitude anyone in her position would feel.
"Thoughtful?" I repeated, unable to muster a proper reply.
"Yes." Her voice was little more than a whisper. "Thoughtful, and kind."
I got on my feet and crossed the room. Kneeling down in front of her, I reached out and gingerly pulled her against my chest. I held her close and placed one hand on her head.
In response, I felt her slender hands on my back. She let out a soft sigh.
"It's true," she murmured against my shoulder.
I opened my eyes. "What is?"
"It's much warmer this way."
The fleeting smile she bestowed upon me then made it all worth it.
We sat there for a long time, with her breathing calmly in my arms, ignoring the raging winds and the first snow of the year outside. In the moment, nothing existed but us two and the confines of the shrine.