Somehow, The Countryside is Different: Interlude: Reimu (Patreon)

Interlude: Reimu

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Commissioned by Arksoul

Wordcount: 2500

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I never expected to have a normal friend.

Being the Miko of the Hakurei Shrine holds a lot of responsibilities, since Gensokyo’s practically always trying to pop. The “normal” Youkai need to be dealt with regularly, so that the Human Village continues to exist. The Shrine needs to be maintained, along with the Great Barrier, so that nothing spills over by accident. Humans that wander in by accident need to be found, returned to their homes, and made to think that everything was just a dream. Then, of course, there’s the need to train, to stay on top of being able to deal with all the Youkai, and keeping Gensokyo in line whenever it gets too rowdy… every few weeks. 

My whole life was decided for me the moment I became the last Miko of the Hakurei Shrine. 

No schooling, besides through books.

No friends, besides whoever’s tolerable in Gensokyo. 

No life, besides my duties.

Then, one day, I receive a letter about getting help for a summer from relatives visiting the town below… and I meet Hachiman.

And, I was right.

I didn’t get a normal friend, because he’s anything but normal.

He didn’t speak with the same fear as the boys in the Human Village, even when I spoke to him without “holding back.” Instead of spending summer days catching bugs, cycling around the countryside, and taking trips with family like the normal kids in the town, he helped with chores in the Shrine, before taking up the living room to play video games, read manga and light novels, and offer to share them to a girl who’d never seen them before. 

Then, finally, after one summer spent in the countryside with an irritable Miko doing chores, he came back the next summer to do it again. Hikigaya Hachiman wasn’t normal from the start, but without a doubt, I gained something I never thought I’d have when he kept coming back every summer, writing, and sending gifts during the holidays. 

Then, suddenly, I found myself writing back, listening to his middle-school drama, visiting him when he finds himself in an accident, and finally becoming his girlfriend. 

The moment we became friends, my life changed. It became “before I met him” and “after I met him.”

And, I wanted it to stay that way.

Just two parts and not three.

I’m sure that a lot of people would call me selfish. I would agree. I have a lot of important responsibilities, after all. Keeping Gensokyo intact, keeping people safe, and making sure Youkai and their problems didn’t spill over to the human world… all three of those responsibilities are worth a girl having a few regrets here and there. Even if a lot of them are decent, there’s no denying that a lot of them eat people, that they’re dangerous, and that Gensokyo needs someone completely, utterly devoted to it.

But I want to be selfish.

I want to keep spending time with Hachiman for the rest of my life. 

And, even if I am the last Miko of the Hakurei Shrine, I have every right to fight for that right… even against the likes of Yukari. 

…

“H-hey, slow down for a sec, Reimu!” Surprisingly, even though I was pushing myself, Marisa managed to get with earshot of me on her broom. Though she was straining herself, she must have trained a lot on her own time, so that she could manage her current speed. Well, even if she was kinda slowing down whenever she lost focus. “I wanna see ya fight Yukari like everyone else, but how about we give things a second thought first?”

Marisa rarely spoke up against fighting. 

In fact, most times, she spoke up to instigate fighting.

Therefore, as Hachiman says, when a rule’s broken attention needs to be paid.

So, I stopped and caught her before she sped away on her overcharged broomstick.

“Talk.” It took a lot to talk and not… growl or yell… but I managed. Irritated as I was, Marisa’s not at fault and doesn’t deserve to be punished. Everything I had boiling inside me was currently, solely reserved for Yukari. I’ll need it too, because she’ll need to be mercilessly beat down before she kowtows to anything. “Quickly.”

“Uhm… ah… okay…” Huh, I must be less capable at keeping my face calm and composed when I’m angry than I thought, if Marisa can tell, while I’m doing my best to look professional and NOT ABSOLUTELY FUMING AT SLOWING DOWN. “Please stop looking like a Terminator, please. I might be a witch, but i’m still a young woman in her beautiful prime you know—

“Talk. Now. Marisa.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Marisa tried salute, even though I was holding her by the back of her dress high in the sky, so I shook her once or twice. It made me slightly less irritated and firmly convinced her that I wasn’t in the mood for any antics whatsoever. A very efficient use of time. “I think Yukari’s too big of a target to handle alone. It’d be for the best if we call in a few favors, so that we can beat her down and get Hachiman back.”

“Everyone else will just slow me down.”

“Okay. Yeah. That’s probably true… but beating her senseless isn’t going to solve the problem, right? Yukari’s an annoying mysterious jerk, but she does a lot for Gensokyo, right? So… if we want her to stop doing this forever, we have to convince her Hachiman’s good for Gensokyo’s future.” Marisa was making sense and I didn’t like it. Nor did I like how my “instincts” were telling me to go along with the plan, instead of beelining towards Yukari’s home, blowing it to smithereens, and maybe challenging her to a Danmaku battle. I’m not particularly in the mood for a nonlethal fight today, or following any of my own rules, and she should be grateful if that’s what ends up happening. “You CAN go in there in supply a mystic beatdown, but that’ll just make a lot of problems you can avoid. Why do that when you can get what you want and more by just taking a few more steps, right?”

Marisa’s line of thought naturally led towards how to get her cake and eat to. Just what I’d expect from a chronic “borrower” of many items all over Gensokyo. Still, while the idea had merit, it had a glaring issue.

“I’m not leaving Hachiman in danger. Never.” As capable as he is, he’s already died once in Gensokyo. Humans don’t last long in the presence of supernatural creatures, even if they’re benevolent. Fairy tales are typically tragedies or horrific in hindsight for a reason: they’re usually the truth. “It’s a good plan, but I don’t have time to waste, Marisa.”

“Of course, YOU don’t have enough time, but the both of us? Then four of us? Everyone together has enough time!” Marisa tried to squirmed in my grip, forcing me to lift her up with my arm, until her gaze met mine while I still held onto her like a handbag. The witch promptly made a fist and “bopped” my head. “Stop thinking like a robot and use your brain! There’s loads of people who’d like the chance to beat down Yukari, and they don’t mind getting more help, so everyone you work with can help ya!”

The light sting atop my head did very little, but Marisa’s words did make me pause. 

She was right.

I can call on a few “allies” in Gensokyo to help me, and they can go and ask for help themselves, before we all regrouped at Yukari’s home. Working together against the likes of Yukari would increase my chances of success in getting Hachiman back. Yet, I’ve been so angry since I lost him again that I never even considered it.

And, I was wasting time thinking when I could be acting. 

“Alright, then, we’ll go with your plan. You go west and I’ll go east.” Marisa gave a yelp as I sped towards her broom floating in midair a few kilometers away, then I put my ofuda in her hands. “Show that to anyone who thinks you’re lying to steal something. Now, go!”

I wanted Marisa to leave the moment her butt hit her broom, but the moment I let go of her dress, I knew that she’d give a parting shot in order to recollect her honor.

“Jeez, that guy’s got you wrapped around his fingers! You gotta be careful you don’t spoil him into being worthless, Reimu-chan!” She dodged the Danmaku I halfheartedly sent her way, while leaning on her broom and speeding forward with both hands. Her dumb hat flapped in the winds as she sped towards the Tengu territory, somehow not flying off even as she didn’t hold onto it. “You need to be WAAAYY stricter on him to keep him honest, y’know!?”

I didn’t bother replying to Marisa’s words beyond the single Danmaku. 

This time she was wrong. 

Hachiman might have me “wrapped” around his fingers, but I was the one in danger of becoming worthless, and I relied on him to keep me honest.

And, I didn’t want that to change.

Ever. 

…

“I did not think you would come to me for aid after my mistress’s actions, Reimu.” Sakuya was the last of the “aid” I decided to fetch. Her ability to stop time, as well as her skill in dealing with inhuman monsters would be a benefit against Yukari. She was right thought. I didn’t expect to ask her for aid. “That young man is still more important to you than Lady Remilia expected, even after she reconsidered your feelings after you destroyed our home.”

“If you keep trying to tease me, I will drop you.” I threatened her without hesitation, since I was holding her as we flew above Gensokyo. She certainly had enough tricks to manage a save landing, but I’m sure even the perfect maid would be a little threatened by such a long fall. “And, Remilia doesn’t get to play the “I had no idea” card. She probably suspected the truth and didn’t think to inform me, and cause Hachiman to have a heart attack because she felt bored.”

“And, dishonored. The Hakurei Shrine did not consider her one of the first for the new Shrine Priest to be sent to. Lady Remilia was slighted, therefore she acted according to her station.” Sakuya either had a death wish, or lost a few braincells from some rubble that hit her head during the last fight. Justifying Hachiman being hurt is pretty close to unforgivable. I made this clear to her by tightening my grip on her hand just a little. Even the most perfect maid winced when my grip threatened a few fingers. “I did not mean to offend. I am simply explaining my Mistress’s actions, which you have enacted, in her own words, “a very proper response” upon her for.”

“…”

“…It’s quite frightening to think that you don’t agree with her statement, when you beat her so soundly in battle, and destroyed our home, Reimu.” 

Normally, I dislike strange individuals doing inexplicable things for their mysterious reasons. Gensokyo is filled with them, I have to deal with them, and everything surrounding them becomes an immense hassle to deal with. For every semi-normal interaction with one of the “special” people in Gensokyo, there’s a dozen that gives me headaches, since I need to remember lots of people’s minefields, insecurities, and secret pasts. 

I deal with the bizarre often, so I’m more than capable of realizing when I’m being bizarre myself.

But I can’t help it when Hachiman’s in danger.

And, I didn’t want that feeling to change, even if I didn’t like strange quirks of character that gave me headaches. 

Would I be Hakurei Reimu, if I didn’t feel intensely protective of Hikigaya Hachiman when he’s in danger or threatened?

The resounding answer from me was no.

I’m fine with having that little quirk everyone has to remember.

“Good. Stay frightened, because that’s how it’s going to be from now on. I’m putting my foot down when it comes to threatening Hachiman and that’s that.” Gensokyo’s filled with a lot of people who Hachiman would call “wannabe demon lords” or “weekly villains.” While manga and anime are certainly fun to read with Hachiman, I’ve never liked “villains” having the initiative, especially when I know who they are and where they live. It’s definitely better to stop something before it happens. “Tell Remilia that when you get back.”

Surprinsingly, instead of staying silent and nodding, Sakuya laughed after my declaration.

“Pfhaha, well, then my mistress will most assuredly be pleased. To be the first threat dealt with by the Miko, I would say that she’d consider the loss of a mansion a good price in exchange.” Tch, that did sound like something that vampire would enjoy. She’s mad enough in the head, and living in medieval times, so she’d appreciate being the troublemaking noble who’s chastised first. “Be careful, Reimu, she might be so pleased that she’ll want to steal away your lover.”

“Hachiman isn’t into loli’s.”

“Then, perhaps, she’ll send me to seduce him? Our bodies are very similar, after all—

“You wear pads.”

“…I’ll allow that only because I’ve miss-stepped and treaded on taboo territory.”

“That’s right. You did.” 

I was grateful that Yukari’s house was in view by the end of that particular exchange. Considering the number of beautiful women in Gensokyo, the thought occurred to me that I didn’t want Hachiman dealing with any of them without me. Someone going out of there way to “steal” him and him leaving me… the thought alone hurt, despite all the evidence that he’d never do such a thing to me in the first place. 

Even though he was part of a “Service Club” with two pretty girls, according to Komachi, he still became my boyfriend the first day of this summer, so I have no reason to think he’ll leave me for something as petty as looks. Still, even without evidence, I was rankled enough by the thought, and the sight of Yukari’s house, that the irrational anger that I felt bubbled up to the surface of my thoughts while Sakuya and I began to slow down.

“Hm? Why are we speeding up, Reimu?”

Yukari… wasn’t doing any lewd things to him, right?

“Reimu? Hello? Why are we speeding up and going up?”

That nine-tailed Kitsune with egregious tits isn’t doing anything to Hachiman, right?

“Reimu, I do not like what is happening. Reimu, you are about to throw me at Yukari Yakumo’s house. Reimu, please—why did I agree to this!?”

Two blonde, shapely women aren’t going to seduce Hachiman with her ludicrous body to convince him to leave, me… RIGHT!? 

“Reimu, please reconsider—AAHHHHHh!”

If that’s happening, what better way to stop it right now than stopped time, right!?

“I AM NOT A GRENADE, REIMUUUUUU!”