Mystia was the first to wake up. Her eyes fluttered open, and she pulled her upper body up. She looked around the riverbank, briefly confused as to why she fell asleep in such a place before quickly remembering. Mystia wiped the sleep from her eyes, got to her feet while yawning, then stretched. Looking down, she saw her date still sleeping peacefully on her side, arm bent to serve as a pillow.

"Tenshi-chan," Mystia called out, "we should get up now. If it's not the evening already, it's about to be. Come on."

Tenshi stirred with a small groan, turning onto her back with a long exhale. The girl muttered, "Okay, I'm awake. Just give me a moment." She got up and poured herself a cup of tea while stifling a yawn, then walked into the sunlight to drink it. The tea's warmth and slight bitterness helped wake her up.

"Anything else planned?" Mystia asked.

"Hmm… Originally, this was it, but I have gotten into the mood for extending this date. I'm not too eager to return to dull old heaven."

Mystia celebrated within her heart at this.

"The only question left now is what to do. Hmm..." Tenshi sipped her tea and stared out at the river as if she were hoping the answer — or a hint to it, at least — would float down it before her.

Mystia imitated Tenshi's mannerism but soon found her mind wandering. "By the way, do you have any desserts?"

"Hm?" Tenshi looked over at the night sparrow.

"Dessert?"

"Ah." She went over to a lone, unopened container that still sat in a corner of the picnic cloth. Opening it, she said, "Voila! Anko dango!"

"Ooh! I like your taste in sweets!"

Tenshi puffed out her chest and jokingly put on airs. "But of course! I like only the best! And anyone that dines with me gets nothing less than that!"

"Yes, indoubtibably!" Mystia grabbed herself one of the four sticks of the red bean paste sweet.

Tenshi laughed at Mystia's attempt at speaking in a highfalutin manner. "Well, you came close. And for someone like you, I think that that is what is most important."

Mystia frowned as she swallowed the food in her mouth. "That's a word. I've seen it."

"You conflated 'undoubtedly' and 'indubitably'."

"I don't think that second word you said is a real word. It sounds silly."

"The only thing that sounds silly here is you. It is a word. Can you even read? I cannot seem to remember."

"Of course I can! But what does that got to do with anything? You think just because you might read more books than me, you know more words?"

The celestial pursed her lips hard and furrowed her brows. She was unable to tell whether the songstress was being serious or being facetious. After thinking briefly on the evidence she had to go by, Tenshi then decided that this conversation was ridiculous and not worth pursuing, as the word "indubitably" would not disappear from the lexicon just because Mystia decided not to accept its existence.

"The sky sure is pretty," Tenshi said, then resumed busying herself thinking about possible activities for the two of them.

Mystia gazed up and briefly admired the sky. "Sure is."

The two passed the time silently enjoying the dessert. The sound of running water continued unabated, and the twittering of birds had resumed.

Tenshi perked up. 'Wait a minute… bird songs… songs… bird...' She stared at Mystia while finishing her tea.

Mystia was finishing the last of her tea, too, when she noticed her date staring at her. She squirmed under Tenshi's gaze. "W-What is it? Is there something on my face?"

"No. I know what we are going to do now." Tenshi put down her tea cup.

"O-Oh?"

"Yeah. How about making music together?"

This of course appealed to her highly. She had not expected Tenshi to suggest such a thing. "You know how to play an instrument?"

"I know the shamisen and dabble in the guqin, in fact."

'Uwa~ talk about old fashioned. I could almost see dust come out of her mouth when she said that. I don't even know what a guqin is. Maybe it's another thing she made up…'

"Well," Tenshi said, "what do you think of that idea?"

"Um, well… sure, yeah, let's do it! Sounds interesting!"

Tenshi grinned. "Great! I will have to get it, then! Stay right here, and I will be back before you know it!"

Tenshi flew up into the air briefly before shooting through the sky on a keystone which had flown up to meet her feet midair. The youkai was left to rack her brains trying to recall songs she liked which had vocals accompanied by a shamisen. It was an agonizing few minutes for the bird youkai.

V^V^V^V

Tenshi returned with stringed instrument in hand, and Mystia suggested that they stay where they were to jam. Tenshi nodded, then sat down, tucking her feet underneath her, and began to tune the shamisen. Mystia had thought as long and hard as she could in the time before Tenshi came back, but she was simply unable to recall any songs they could play. She had of course heard the folk songs the villagers play, but she had never truly learned them; there were only one or two that she knew the lyrics to, but she could not even begin to guess as to how the accompanying instrument or instruments should play along. So with chagrin, the songstress stood next to the celestial and asked her what they were going to do.

"Hmm~ This is a problem. I had simply assumed that you would be able to sing anything with everything."

"Urgh. Well… If you taught me, I could. But I'm not familiar with the dusty, old culture of humans. It's not my fault."

Tenshi looked up at her while continuing to pluck and tune the third string. "Yeah, old stuff does suck, huh? It is not like I wanted to learn the classical culture, but such is my lot in life. I might as well get some use out of it. And it is not all bad." She paused for a moment in thought. "Well, how about you keep suggesting songs until we find one that I could play along to?"

"Yeah, we'll have to do that… Hmm… well, if we're needing old things, I actually have one folk song that I really enjoy hearing."

"Oh? What is its title?"

Mystia furrowed her brows. "Now that you mention it, I don't know. But it's a very slow and gentle song that starts out like this: Umi yo, hate wa doko doko e? Tsuzuiteru no, ano kuni e. Namima ukabu, chiisai fune yurari yurari nagasarete. It's about two lovers separated by land and sea."

Tenshi shook her head. "I do not know it. But then again, I am not too familiar with folk songs in general. Well, just keep singing, and I will jump in when I can." She plucked each of the three strings once more to confirm that they were to her liking.

Mystia nodded and continued the song. Halfway through, Tenshi was finally able to start playing, but the notes she played sounded stiff, and overall, they did not accompany Mystia's singing well. Tenshi was more frustrated by this result than Mystia, who calmly and kindly suggested that they go through the song again. But once again, results were lackluster. The youkai decided to practice the song section by section. The celestial calmed down and agreed to do as she suggested. Following the progression of the sun below the horizon, the celestial's notes and the songstress's voice came to be more and more in harmony with each other. The sky was beginning to darken when the two finally succeeded. Tenshi dropped the shamisen after their first successful play-through and sprang up in joy.

"Success at last! Wha– hey!" Her legs had fallen asleep on her, and upon coming up so suddenly to her feet, she found herself unable to support her own weight. She toppled to the ground, Mystia's arm outstretched but too late to catch her friend. Tenshi, of course, was untroubled by this small spill and quickly pulled herself back up. "That was fun! The most fun I have had playing that instrument, in fact!"

Mystia giggled. "Yeah, that was both a lot more enjoyable and worked out better than I thought it would. To be honest, I was a little hesitant about this at first. But I'm glad we did this."

She gave Tenshi a smile that came from the bottom of her heart.

The other girl felt her cheeks start to heat up, so she averted her eyes. By now, the sun was beginning to set and dyed the sun and river orange. Tenshi hoped that the setting sun's light would hide her blush. 'Her smile is as pretty as it is cute...' She decided against saying this aloud due to being both too embarrassed and too concerned that it would be coming on too strong or perceived as her trying too hard.

Mystia for her part was still basking in the satisfaction of a productive jam session. The twittering of her ilk had disappeared from the twilight air; this is why she always felt a little lonely at this time of day. But today's twilight was an exception, and it was little wonder why. The night sparrow youkai gazed fondly at Tenshi until Tenshi was driven by discomfort to ask her what was on her mind. She shrugged. "Nothing much. I was just thinking how great it's been to have you with me like this. It's kind of weird, actually. Spending time with you is both like being with my friends and not like that. I don't think I can express how much I've loved today."

Tenshi blushed again upon hearing this, and she cursed the mood's getting to her for it. "It's not fair that you felt no worries about saying something like that," the celestial muttered to herself.

Mystia inclined her head to try and hear what the other girl said but was unable to. She guessed it was something related to her blushing, so Mystia decided not to comment on it to spare Tenshi's pride. "No, but it's odd, you know? The things me and you did today aren't too different from what I usually do with my friends, but I've never felt this… lightness of heart with them."

"Hm? How is that odd? Of course you have not. That is because we are on a date."

"Well, yeah, but what makes a date different from normal outings with friends?"

This question gave the young lady pause for thought. She had never thought about it, but Mystia was right that on the surface there was not really much different between going on a date and going out with a friend. "Well… I suppose it is a difference of intention. You do not do things with friends because you have a romantic interest in them; you do things with them because you have a platonic interest in them. For example, say that you were going to do everything you did today with that girl with the antennae. You would not be hoping for a kiss at the end of the day should everything go well. So, matters is intention."

"I see. You know, I think you're right," Mystia said. She then followed up by saying with a mischievous grin, "And is that what you're hoping for right now, now that the date is basically over? A kiss?"

Tenshi was not about to let the girl get that kind of upper hand on her, so she turned to face her directly and declared, "I feel that a… kiss at least would be reward plenty for the effort I put into preparing for today, my lady!"

Mystia giggled at Tenshi's act and decided to play along. "My, well then, most noble courter. After having given it some thought, it does seem to me that the minimum is indeed the most appropriate reward for your actions today. Come, then, and I shall bestow one upon you!" She spread out her wings to punctuate this sentence.

Tenshi began to step towards her date. "Very well! Know that I accept your sign of thanks and affection most—" She was cut off by Mystia hopping over and kissing her on the cheek. Specifically, it was the feeling of moist warmth on her cheek that sent a tingling sensation down her back which made Tenshi unable to finish her sentence.

Mystia pulled back with a sly grin on her face. "Well? I trust that that was enough to satisfy you?"

"…Well, if you are leaving that decision to me, then I would like to ask for another. Only this time, I would like to be kissed when I am prepared for it." Tenshi spoke calmly despite the burning of her cheeks.

'Heheh, it looks like Tenshi-chan is fine with flirting, but when it comes to actual romance, she has a surprising shy side to her. Oh man, it makes me want to tease her. I've finally found a weakness of hers!' Mystia thought excitedly to herself. "Hmm~ well, alright! But this time, you've gotta be the one to kiss me."

Tenshi composed herself and looked at her with a serious expression. "Very well. Turn up your face and close your eyes."

Mystia did as she was asked, and Tenshi kissed her on her lips. The celestial held the kiss just long enough for them to appreciate the softness and slight warmth of each other's lips. When she pulled away, they were both smiling. The two decided that they would part ways at Mystia's food stand, so they walked back hand in hand to where they met. No small talk was made on the way back: each simply enjoyed the warmth and softness of the other's hand in theirs.

X-X-X

Fast forward to a few days later, and Tenshi had finally worked off her obligation. Iku was both highly surprised and highly pleased by the progress the Eldest Daughter had made in her attitude. Only in her dreams could she had hoped to see her working happily alongside others, but that was what she found when she went down to pick her up unannounced. Iku had been expecting to see her student sitting about idly as poor Mystia yelled at her, begging her to do even the most marginal of work. So she was positively shocked when Mystia told her that Tenshi was perhaps the best thing to happen to the cart.

Iku stuttered out a reply: "O-Oh… is that so… I… I am glad to hear that." She then turned to Tenshi, who was absolutely beaming with pride and standing akimbo with her chest puffed out, waiting for her tutor to acknowledge her success to her. "Yes, well… Eldest Daughter," the envoy cleared her throat, "I believe that I owe you an apology, as it is now apparent to me that I had thoroughly misjudged your work ethic. You have not only repaid your debt, you have gone above and beyond what was expected and are now considered an indispensable employee by Lorelei-san. I am truly sorry for my rude thoughts." Iku bowed deeply. The formality made Mystia feel a little awkward, but Tenshi turned her head towards the night sparrow and gave her a quick wink.

Mystia chuckled helplessly to herself and thought, 'She's enjoying this too much… I didn't think using the wording she suggested would have this much of an impact… I feel a little bad for her.'

Tenshi put on a serious facade now and said, "Yes, it is as you have both said and heard, my dear teacher. Mystia-san holds my contribution to her work in quite high esteem; I therefore feel it would be wrong of me to suddenly cut off contact with her and return to heaven."

Iku raised her head, finding herself shocked once again by her student. She calmly responded, "Certainly, that would not do."

"Then it seems to me that the only proper option is to continue volunteering my time here."

Iku was not sure how much more amazement her heart could take within the span of an hour. "Y-Yes, Eldest Daughter, if that is your decision, I will not object, as it seems most proper in my eyes as well."

"Very good. I would like to ask that you return first, then, as I wish to finish up things here before I go back."

Iku bowed once more. "Of course. I shall await your return." And with that, she flew back into the air a little unsteadily.

Tenshi raised a fist in triumph after the Beautiful Scarlet Cloth had become little more than a receding dot. "Ha! I showed her! Not so much a spoiled child now, am I, Iku!?" Tenshi turned excitedly towards Mystia. "Did you see her expression!? I thought once or twice that she was going to faint from shock! Hehe, I look forward to her treating me more seriously from now on!"

Mystia wore a helpless smile on her face again. "I know all I did was fudge the truth here and there, but I still can't help but feel like I've taken part in majorly deceiving Iku-san."

"If you do not think too much about it, you will soon feel better."

"I'm not sure that's good advice..."

"No, it's great advice. Because it's true."

"I meant 'good' in a moral sense, Tenshi."

"Well, regardless, come on! I am being recalled early today, so let us do what we can together before I leave! Does that sound good?"

Mystia walked over and pecked her on the cheek. "Sure, that sounds like a great idea."

Tenshi's face flushed red. "H-Hey! No public displays of affection! Be less shameless!"

The songstress just laughed at Tenshi's reaction. "I don't think that sheltered rich girl part of you will ever stop amusing me."

"I do not act like a sheltered rich girl!" Tenshi declared in a flustered tone. "You just lack an awareness of basic manners."

"Pfft! Who cares about manners, much less among the youkai?"

"I certainly do not care about them, but I am referring to the basics! You know, those which are basic to all civilized beings!"

Mystia laughed, deciding to leave the conversation at that. The celestial detected that she was still being made fun of, though, so she persisted in her argument. Mystia eventually began to only half listen to her, responding with vocalizations of agreement whenever Tenshi's intonation indicated that she was expected to respond. Tenshi's shift ended like this.

Before Tenshi left, Mystia stopped her. "By the way, I've been thinking that I should give my restaurant a name."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I think it'll help bring in customers. It'll make it easier to talk about my place if they have a name, as opposed to saying, 'That youkai's food cart,' you know? That description doesn't sound too appealing to humans, I'm sure."

"True. So, have you settled on a name, or do you have multiple that you want me to help you pick one out from?"

It was now Mystia's turn to smile proudly. "Hehe, actually, I already had a sign made. I thought of the name by putting the two of us on it!"

Tenshi raised a brow, her interest now piqued. She could not think on the spot how Mystia would create a name from the two of them. Mystia motioned for her to sit at one of the bar stools while she pulled the sign out. She laid it on the table and gestured proudly towards it. "Behold!"

Tenshi read the Japanese that was written on the sign. "Tenshi no Nakidori - 'Angel's Song Bird'. While I am certainly flattered, do you not feel that you are laying it on a bit thick by calling me an angel?"

"Yes, I wrote 'angel,' but that's your name, isn't it? See, I'm being witty! Because you're a celestial, and angels are also heavenly beings? And your name is Tenshi, 'angel'?"

Tenshi looked down at the sign again and put her finger on the second character of "Tenshi". "No, this is not the kanji used in my given name. The kanji here should be ko 'child'. As it is, you have simply written the word 'angel'."

"Your name's Tenko?"

"No, it is written that way but read as 'Tenshi'. That is my name."

Mystia let out a groan of anger at having spent money on a mistake. "Why is your name written so unconventionally!?"

The celestial furrowed her brows. "I do not think that it is, though…"

Mystia groaned and ran her hands through her hair, making the tenugui on her head slide off. "Grr… Well, I already paid for this to be made, so too bad if there's a mistake! I'm gonna use the hell out of this sign!"

"Yes, you should. That is the spirit! Persist stubbornly towards a brighter future!"

Mystia frowned. "I'll persist stubbornly toward beating your ass if you don't just leave already, Ms. 'I Write My Own Name Wrong.'"

Ms. I Write My Own Name Wrong smiled and leaned forward across the counter, coming within centimeters of the night sparrow. "You can certainly try, but you will fail."

"Grr…"

They stayed that way for a minute before it became clear to Tenshi that Mystia was not going to attempt anything. "For a bird youkai, you sure do growl a lot." Tenshi, satisfied that she had won that bout, leaned back to let that last bit of smack talk hang in the air. Rather, that was her intention, but Mystia had wrapped a hand around the back of her head and pulled her in for a kiss on the lips while she was mid-motion. There was some force to this action, so Mystia ended up smashing their mouths together, but she persisted with the kiss until Tenshi's whole face was red.

Tenshi finally broke away and yelled in embarrassment. She stumbled off the bar stool. "That's cheating! You truly know no shame!" She yelled, covering her mouth.

The songstress laughed loudly, absolutely beside herself with satisfaction. "Cheating? There's only rules in danmaku matches, you silly girl!"

The two argued for a short time before Tenshi began demanding that Mystia come out and fight her in danmaku, but the night sparrow kept with the safe, cowardly option of staying behind the counter of the cart and taunting the celestial. She was not about to lose this win so easily. Tenshi finally had to give up due to feeling like she was starting to keep Iku waiting for too long, so she begrudgingly flew off. The celestial settled with yelling insults and threats for as long as she was in earshot, all of which Mystia boldly returned from the safety of her food cart.

Thus it was that another day of work for the celestial and the song bird came to a close.

Oh man, is this the end? I do believe so, ladies and gents. One trillion years later. I hope the ending doesn't disappoint. But if it does, I'll rework it. I had writer's block pretty bad for this final chapter. The romance genre isn't something I'm too familiar with.

I'm so glad to have this done. Now I don't have to haunted by its being unfinished anymore. I've thought about reworking the earlier chapters, but this story has been written over such a long time span, I feel like I should preserve the chapters as they are for historical purposes, even if doing so causes me to feel burning embarrassment. When I got back onto this site, I saw that someone asked me to enter this story in some contest or something many winters ago, but it wasn't complete at the time, so I declined. If that were to happen again, I'd see about submitting a reworked version.

The song that Mystia sings is "Tooku Kimi e" by Toyama Nao. It's from the anime Croisee in a Foreign Labyrinth. You can find a version of it on YouTube. It's a really lovely song. I highly suggest giving it a listen.

EDIT (2017/05/25): Corrected "now shame" to "no shame." Thank you, Nyan-chan desu, for pointing that out to me.