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Chapter Text

Reimu blearily cracked an eye. The post-incident tea-party-cum-brouhaha-party never failed to leave her feeling pretty awful in the morning, but this time? Probably the worst ever.

But the shrine grounds were trashed.

The shrine didn't get enough donations as it was, and the leftovers left accidentally by revelers (which were many) didn't mean she could slack off.

After all, the shrine grounds were trashed.

So she found herself slowly working herself into a sitting position, futon piling around her waist. She felt like her head was stuffed with wool and nearly fell over a few times as she haltingly rose to fetch her broom.

Breakfast could come later; the shrine grounds were trashed.

She hoped that repetition of that point would distract her from the fact that she was out of rice again.

Cleaning was... therapeutic, somehow. Ultimately a simple task, not too strenuous when weighed against the stress of fighting monsters. And as the dew of early-morning lifted and things shifted from "the shrine is trashed" to "the shrine is somewhat presentable for a day when no one is likely to appear", she found herself feeling better. Waking up with muzzy had given way to something similar to her usual sharp-eyed apathy, at least. It wasn't late enough in the day for the sun to hit her porch and she really hadn't eaten yet, so "pleased" was out of reach. But the prospect of "content" was at least on the table (along with a short stack of rice crackers Keine had brought by and forgotten when she started reprimanding the more childlike visitors).

Those of you familiar with Reimu's life know what's coming next.

"Dear me, Reimu, you're looking... very much like yourself!"

Reimu sighed, a world-weary sound.

"Go away, Yukari."

"Now, now, don't be like that! Given the circumstances, I think it was an excellent celebration!"

"You would. I remember little enough that someone must have swapped my sake with the concoction in Suika's gourd."

"My, who would do such a thing?"

"Whatever, I'm not in the mood. Didn't you get your jollies last night?"

"Really now? Then I have something that ought to perk you right up!"

"Oh no."

Another gap appeared and from it dropped...

"From today, Chen will be the Hakurei Miko."

... Ran's familiar in very familiar clothes.

"Please take good care of me Reimu-shama!"

Reimu sat dumbfounded for a long time.

"Setting aside the fact that she's a youkai... what am I? Chopped liver? 'Thanks for everything, I'm kicking you out now'?!"

"Of your home? Don't be silly! I'll just leave and let you two bond. Ta ta!"

"Don't you dare! Yu-"

The Sage of Gaps was already gone.

"Yukariiiii!" Her ineffectual shout at the heavens startled a few fairies away, but didn't reach the target of her ire. A bit of shuffling caught her ear, and she looked back to see Chen shuffling awkwardly, black cat ears pinned back and two tails lashing about in agitation. Tears were welling in her eyes as though she was being abandoned. That's just unfair... She sighed again. "Sorry, Chen, it looks like you've gotten roped into one of that hag's pranks."

"Pranks?" Such a guileless child. Chen shook her head, "Chen will do her best!"

"Well, if you say so I guess I appreciate it? I don't expect you to play along, honestly, but I wouldn't mind a hand..."

"Yes! You won't be disappointed, Reimu-shama!"

"O-oi, that's... you don't need to call me anything so grand... isn't that a bit too much!"

"Hehe, Reimu-shama is humble! It's okay!"

Chen received a thin-lipped smile.

"Fine, have it your way. If you want to keep this charade going, I still don't feel too great, so could you finish sweeping the grounds and gather up the chestnuts so I can roast them later? I'm going to take a nap."

"Of course, Reimu-shama! Sleep well!"

It was hard to be mad at Chen's positivity in the face of this farce. If she wanted to take it seriously, Reimu wasn't inclined to burst her bubble. Too much effort.

Chapter Text

On the other side of the boundary and long in the past, a scientist once demonstrated that animals could form conditioned responses to stimuli.

For a dog it was a bell signaling food.

For Hakurei Reimu, who had never heard of Pavlov and wouldn't care anyway, it was the sound of donations. Which, admittedly, also signaled food in a roundabout "you have to go buy it from the village" sort of way.

Suffice it to say, the telltale jingle had her bolt-upright and out the door in record time. Donations never came the day after a gathering, all the pilgrims too scared that some youkai might have lingered or recovering from other deleterious effects of whatever Incident she (and whichever annoying companions decided to tag along) had... "solved". Violently.

She stepped out onto the porch and...

"Huh."

Chen, in her Miko outfit that was just slightly too big as to be really cute, was doing her best to look serious and bow demurely in thanks to the visitor that had Broken the Pattern. The effect was somewhat ruined by the gleeful wagging of her two white-tipped black cat tails peeking out of the hakama.

That was all somewhat expected, if a bit more adorable than she had imagined. She felt sure that from the front she'd also see two brightly shining yellow cat-esque eyes and a wide earnest grin with a bit of fang. As someone well aware that she had no real cute traits to speak of (excepting individuals with... peculiar... tastes), it was an intimidating prospect.

But that was, of course, all a digression for the express purpose of trying to avoid thinking about who precisely had just dropped (based on the sound) a whole 137 yen into the box. 137 yen was nominally 137/4000ths of the price of a single person's rice for a whole year! (Though in practice its purchasing power was significantly less.)

But...

"... Aya." Her credulity strained just from the name alone. There had to be a mistake, because never had the nosy crow tengu ever donated anything, let alone an amount so generous. "What do you want?"

Reimu braced for something inane.

"Oh, heeey there, Reimu! Looks like you finally managed to get some help around here." For her part, Reimu stared. This. This was Shameimaru Aya, Wind Goddess (self-proclaimed) of Youkai Mountain and the most insufferably invasive paparazzi pest she'd ever met (out of an admittedly small pool of two. ... one point five? Did Hatate count? She did run a newspaper, so it probably counted). But Aya! Aya was acting... almost sheepish? She squinted a little, trying to pierce the ruse. "I'm... uh, glad. Real glad." It was painfully awkward. "Yyyyeah. Glad. At least a quarter-full of glee. Yep..."

Reimu sighed, drawing the only conclusion that made any sense to her. "Is there another Incident already?"

Aya's bulging eyes and little shuffle backwards-

Is she afraid?

-would be funny at some point in the future, but all it did in the present was make Reimu itch for her gohei.

"No! No, no, no, nonono, nothing like that! Ah hah. Hah hah hah..." Reimu briefly wondered if this wasn't just a very vivid dream that she'd have to spend several hours meditating over the meaning of (napping).

"...Ooookay. And the donation?" She planted her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow.

"Well... I mean, I gotta pay my respects and all. Ignoring and disrespecting the local God is dangerous even when I'm 100% behaving!"

She was stunned.

Local... God? The shrine God had returned!? She was... she was trembling, feelings she couldn't identify churning her insides, preventing her from focusing on them to identify them.

Aya laughed another obviously fake laugh and departed with not so much as a "glad to be here, gotta go". And by departed, she meant "took off like a Flandre was wanting to play".

Reimu barely even noticed. She was overcome with the... with...

"R-Reimu-shama? Are you okay?"

She snapped back to the present and observed... her vision narrowed, her view was consumed by a distressed, watery-eyed Chen with her cat ears pinned back and both tails low and listless. She felt a pang of annoyance at herself both for being seen and for causing that distress.

"I... I don't... know?" She felt like she was suffocating, struggling, tiny gasps coming quickly and leaving too quickly, the world blurred, she felt herself listing sideways. "Why... what... am I...?" she wheezed out, trying to get control of her body back. Her arms windmilled feebly, she was going to-

With a light "oof", she had a sniffly nekomata hugging her around her waist, deceptive (youkai) strength keeping them both from falling over.

"It'll... Uhm, uhm... it'll be okay, Reimu-sh-shama. Chen will do her best so you can... uhm..." She buried her face in Reimu's kosode.  She didn't really have the words (not that Reimu did either), but the sentiment... that came through loud and clear.

Slowly, Reimu pulled herself together, breath slowly evening out and heart no longer hammering in her breast. It had been years since she'd had an episode like that...  Gingerly taking back responsibility for staying upright, she slowly brought a hand up and put it on top of Chen's head. She was sure she'd seen people do this to kids to praise them and the "new Hakurei Miko" was... probably roughly in that same maturity bracket? It might have been a trick - youkai, after all - but this certainly did seem to be the way she was.

Something moving interrupted her reverie, brushing across her skin with velvety softness. She looked down and the cause made itself known: ears. Chen's cat ears, specifically. Black, with Tufts of white at the tips and inside, one of them was flicking her hand. Absently, she complied with its demand for attention and scratched around the base a little in between carding her fingers through the young-seeming girl's short, raggedy-cut brown hair.

Reimu was relaxing in spite of herself, something therapeutic about the simple act of petting a cat... youkai...

Then the purring started as Chen hugged her even harder.

"You know, I think I need to sit down. You too, you've... wow, I'm impressed, it looks like you finished all the sweeping already. Feel free to take a break for a bit. I'm... I think I need some time to... think..."

Chapter Text

She sat for a long while. Long enough that Chen had woken up from her catnap and resumed the ever-irritating post-party pickup.

The shrine god had returned.

...Or so Aya had implied. If it was true, Yukari was probably aware. Not sharing the news properly, but aware.  Evidently Reimu had done well enough to not be kicked out immediately, though presumably she'd need to make alternative arrangements for when she was done training her... replacement.

It stung that she hadn't even had the chance to commune with the deity she'd spent more than half her life serving, but the will of the divine was fickle and inscrutable as ever.

Hence a nekomata supposedly being worthy to take up the mantle of Hakurei Miko.

Yeah, that was weird.

"Reimu-shama! The burnable trash has been gathered and the main grounds are raked!" Weird, but she was definitely an earnest child. Maybe things would work out...

Her stomach emitted a piteous gurgle. Right, that settled the next task, then.

"You're probably hungry too, right?" Chen perked up at that, ears at full attention and eyes agleam. "I wasn't really ready for this and we're out of rice and other things. Would you be able to go to the village and pick up some groceries?"

"Yes, ma'am!" she saluted.

Well, points for enthusiasm, at least. But would the village accept her? She wasn't like Keine, who had earned her place with grace and maturity. Nor was she a pity case like Sekibanki, where everyone just pretended she was normal even when she lost her head a bit. Chen was very obviously a youkai and cat spirits were known to be capricious and mischievous in equal measure. And would they take her seriously? There were good arguments for Chen having conflicting interests, after all. Could a youkai really grow into the role of a youkai exterminator and mediator of disputes?

One thing at a time, Reimu. Groceries now; deal with the rest later.

She handed Chen some money along with a list of the usual items (rice, daikon, tea leaves, dried fish, etc.) and went over some tips for haggling.

No sense letting her go in completely blind.

"Now remember: be careful, don't cause trouble, and come right back when you're done. Oh, and if you have any left over after, you can get yourself a treat- the mochi stand with the blue umbrella is a good one."

That treat had been a great incentive when she was just starting out and the skills it fostered had allowed her to eke out a living despite the terrifyingly tight shrine finances. Hopefully it would work for Chen just as well.

With one last round of farewells, her protégé (weird, weird, weird, weird!) took to the air on a direct path. Soon, she was out of sight.

Which meant Reimu could finally relax in solitude-

"Might I have a word, Hakurei Reimu?"

-or not. But this was an encounter she'd been waiting for.

"Ran." She looked over her shoulder and nodded at the person who'd silently appeared behind her. "I imagine Yukari didn't bother telling you that this would happen either?" She turned her eyes back to the sky where the so-called new Hakurei Miko had disappeared from view. Ran stepped forward to her side, following her gaze and huffed lightly.

"Of course not. That would make sense."

"That's about what I figured."

The silence stretched on.

"Listen, Reimu... It's not often that I feel the need to be candid like this, but..."

"I get it, I get it, you care about that child and don't want anything bad to happen. Right?" Reimu turned and finally properly took in the form of Yakumo Ran. Her usual "uniform" hat, dress, and tabard were absent. In their place was a simple lavender yukata with an equally simple white obi and Ran's bob of gold hair was free, her matching golden fox ears exposed to the world. "Heh, you look like someone's mom." But something was off. Rather than perky and attentive, those ears were low and her nine bushy tails were listless. "...sorry. That was thoughtless of me." Reimu looked away and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I don't know what to say," she finally admitted.

"You don't?"

"I mean, Yukari clearly knows something we don't to think this is fine. She's strangely reliable when it comes to annoying mischief that works out anyway-"

"Youkai."

"-right, she is that - but I can't imagine how it'll work out. So I'm worried anyway, you know?"

"Oh? Has our Chen has even wormed her way into the Red-White Shrine Demon's heart?"

"Hey, what the heck is that supposed to mean!? You picking a fight? No, I mean I don't know how old she really is, but in terms of maturity? Gods, she might be only a little older than I was."

From that perspective, Reimu's own past was pretty terrible, wasn't it? She was already learning to tend the shrine in her earliest memories.

"I just don't think any kid at that age should have to learn the things I did. I invented the spellcard system because I didn't want my job to be to my successor what it was for me."

Well that got heavy quick... The silence was back.

Just as she thought to fill it, Ran responded.

"I'm glad you did. Honestly, I'd call it inspired work. Gensōkyō is a much better place for Chen to live and grow up in now and we have you to thank for that innovation." The silence shifted toward the uncomfortable. Reimu eventually mumbled something and turned away. "Hmm?"

"I had help!" she admitted. "It's not all my idea; it's similar to how dispute meditation works in Makai, and I asked Shinki for advice on the particulars. Yuuka helped bind it to the land and Mima became the enforcing arbiter that gives it the weight of a Contract in the eyes of Magic. I built the spiritual intent and wove it all together, but it wasn't as clean as most people think."

"Huh. Fascinating."

"So yeah..."

"But why tell me? Doesn't that weaken the intrinsic spiritual component?"

Reimu hesitated. It was a good question.

"I guess it's because you've been put in a bad spot by my own inadequacies. So I figure you can think of it like... collateral? A sign that I acknowledge your vested interest and that I'm taking all this seriously." She chanced a glance at Ran and was met with a Look. She hadn't exaggerated that Ran looked like a mother, so the effect was amplified. She gave up the trick without a fuss. "Okay, so the three components are mutually-reinforcing, too. Belief can't weaken long enough to unravel the effect because it will work long enough to restore that belief. Seeing is believing and all that."

Ran laughed, hearty guffaws signaling that her distress on arrival was well behind her. What was so funny?

"Some of us wondered, at times, you know?" she suddenly asked, smirking. "Wondered whether you were really human."

"Oi, oi, isn't that a bit too much? But I guess it'd explain why I could never talk to whoever is enshrined here..."

"You're taking me seriously!? That was a jo- wait, never?"

"Nope. Don't even know their name or epithets."

Not bitter. Not bitter

"Huh. That's... well... hmm. I'm glad Chen won't have a problem on that front."

Wait, what?

"That'd make me a bit jealous. You're being kind of cruel today..."

Had Chen already made contact that she had longed for for years?

"Youkai, remember?"

If true, what did that say about Reimu, whose only real identity was tied up in her service to the shrine and its god?

"But you're way too modest about your accomplishments and your qualities, though. So you had help. You're still the one who thought of taking something used by demons and repurposing it against them. And you were the one who made it both self-sustaining and put the pieces together. Were you even conscious of the karmic balance of components when you were doing this?"

"I was twelve!" she bristled. Teach that fox to... sigh dramatically?

Ran had a weird sort of expression that she had seen from village ladies a long time ago, before she'd managed to... establish herself as a competent maiden.

"Well, whatever the case, I'm sure now that Chen will be fine. Maybe she'll even learn some discipline under your tutelage."

"Ugh, higher expectations. So... uh, got any tips?"

Chapter Text

"Tips? Well, you'll have to watch out for her getting complacent. She's still very cat-like, so you may have to scare her into rememberin-GURK!"

One of Yukari's gaps had appeared and creamy arms snaked out to unceremoniously drag Ran through mid-sentence.

Reimu blinked, then narrowed her eyes to a glare.

"Stingy hag, she was trying to be helpful!" she called to the empty air.

No response was forthcoming, of course; the offending orifice had already disappeared. Her uninvited guest was finally gone, though.

...Which meant Reimu could-

She paused the thought to look around warily and make sure there were no more "guests" lurking about...

-Reimu could finally relax in solitude a bit!

She brewed a lean pot of tea with the last dregs of the jar and sat on the porch, breathing the delicate scent that wafted out of her stoneware cup.

She fidgeted.

I wonder how long Chen will be?

She took a sip.

I hope she'll be okay.

Reimu started to fret.

That list won't be too heavy, right? She's so small... oh and I hope she's not cold, I should have given her a scarf...

She fretted a lot.

Oooh, there's no way this can work! Okay, as soon as Chen gets back, I'll cheer her up and make Yukari give me my job back!

All things considered, it was a normal conclusion for a mad land.

...but what if I really am unfit?

The cruel truth of the matter was the god of the shrine was still unknown to her but allegedly known to Chen, a realisation that called for... Yes, alcohol. I need a drink. She rose shakily, keeping together only because freaking out took too much effort. Healthy coping could wait for after she was smashed.

Unusually, she found her cupboard full of the stuff even though the usual post-Incident revel had occurred with Suika, several dozen youkai, Suika, Aya, Suika, Yukari, and Suika. Including an eye-catching blue bottle that she was sure she'd only ever seen visiting the Moriya shrine.

Locked away in Kanako's personal stash.

She blinked slowly.

The bottle remained.

Slowly, carefully, Reimu reached out and lightly brushed it with a finger. It was solid. Not a hallucination.

"Uuuugh, what happened at that party!?"

Okay, so alcohol wasn't in the cards after all. Reimu plodded back to the porch and collapsed bonelessly onto the cushion near her unfinished tea. She slammed back a tepid cup and tried to pretend it would get her drunk without having to face the reality of her cupboards sober again.

"Reimu-shama! I'm home!"

She was jarred from her bemused brooding by a boisterous call. Chen sounded positively effusive. At least that was one of-

Hold up. She traced the sound back to its source. Sure enough, Chen looked ecstatic. What little she could see, in any case. Why does she have so much stuff? Despite youkai strength, Chen simply wasn't tall enough to walk with all the goods and not have them dragging on the ground, so she opted to delicately float her way into the kitchen before letting it all touch down, jarring Reimu from a state of shock.

"W-welcome back, Chen. It looks like you... uh, managed to get some very good deals?"

And wasn't that an understatement. It was easily twice what she'd have been able to get with the same money.

"Oh yes! Everyone was very kind and helpful!"

Everyone?

"Everyone? What about Mr. Tanaka?" The old rice peddler was a cantankerous old cuss on the best of days. Chen's sunny disposition remained unassailable.

"He gave me a rice candy!"

"I see," she intoned calmly. The calm was a lie.

Is this a moon conspiracy? Has Eirin finally shown her true colours with a shady new drug? I'll need to find someone who can flush it out of their systems. What's the moon's phase? Maybe Keine... But her frantic planning was cut off by a sobering fact that hadn't sunk in until the prospect of crisis loomed large: she, Hakurei Reimu, was no longer the Miko of Paradise. ...even if it is them, can I really do anything about it?

"Reimu-shama?" Chen was kneeling at her side, gripping her detached sleeve with an expression of distress. "Are you okay?"

"W-what?"

"I was talking about all the nice people who scratched my ears and said 'Chen is a good girl' today but then Reimu-shama started crying and... and... did I do something wrong, Reimu-sh-shama?" Big watery tears started to gather in Chen's eyes as Reimu felt her own face.

Huh. It had been a long time since she'd had tears to shed, but sure enough.

The tugging at her sleeve reminded her she had a charge to take care of. Again.

A youkai.

A cat.

But still a child where it counted.

She pulled the distressed child into a hug, wrapping her arms protectively around Chen's shuddering frame.

"No, Chen. You didn't do anything wrong." She shifted one arm to pet Chen's head soothingly. "You're not the problem, I am. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry you've gotten caught up in this. It should be me. It should still be me taking on the dangers of this land. I don't understand why this had to happen... No, you're not the problem at all..." All was quiet aside from the rustle of fallen leaves and the chirping of the birds.

"I think..." Chen hesitated, before nodding against Reimu's shoulder, "I think Reimu-shama has a very kind heart." Reimu seized up mid-pet. Emboldened, Chen forged onward. "She's a little prickly and not always the best at showing how much she cares, but... but her danmaku is pretty and she treats everyone equally even if they're youkai or gods and she gives reeeeeeally good scritches, better than all the people in the village!" She squirmed and wiggled her way into Reimu's lap and returned the hug. More softly, she continued. "But I think Reimu-shama's kind heart is hurting right now. She cares so much about Gensōkyō that she doesn't know what else to do."

Out of the mouths of babes... Reimu chuckled darkly.

"Reimu is flattered Chen thinks so highly of her." And that wasn't even a lie. Just knowing that someone, even if it was her (youkai) successor, was willing to think so good of her helped her feel a little better. But Chen was right: it still hurt. It hurt because... "She just doesn't know how to do anything else." It slipped out as a whisper on the breeze. The cat ear under her fingers twitched.

"Did Reimu-shama... enjoy being the Miko?"

Wow. That was certainly a question, now wasn't it? Her first impulse was to say "of course not!" Who could possibly enjoy the austerity of her lifestyle and the constant life-threatening situations? But... that wasn't quite right, was it? She had met people, formed long-standing friendships, enjoyed the triumph and travail of bitter rivalries, explored undiscovered vistas of all sorts, and even traveled to different worlds. All in the span of a decade. She was smiling as she reminisced, the exercise helping her ground herself.

"Yeah," she finally replied wistfully, "yeah, I really did."

Chen finally let go and pushed herself back, breaking their contact to sit in front of Reimu, only keeping hold of her hands. And then, with uncharacteristic seriousness, she looked Reimu in the eyes and said something that would stick with her forever:

"You didn't care just because you were the Miko. You stayed as the Miko just because you care. And just because it's been passed on to me it doesn't mean you need to stop."

Chapter Text

Their heart-to-heart had done wonders for Reimu's willingness to teach, and her pupil was unexpectedly apt, cheerfully learning the ins and outs of daily shrine care as well displaying a nearly preternatural grace in the more specialist rituals and dances.

It was all stalling, of course. Reimu was only gung ho about it all because Ran was right in a sense: she really did care. She worried after her junior nearly every time she was out of sight to pick up supplies or escort petitioners on the treacherous paths between village and shrine.

After much waffling and hand wringing, Reimu decided it was time to do as she usually did, jump right into the thick of things, and verify once and for all that Chen could fully take the mantle of Hakurei. After all, she felt good otherwise and the shrine was nearly spotless.

"Chen. Up and at 'em. It's time for a very important ritual and we'll probably need most of the day for it." Chen stirred in her futon, groaned, and... rolled over. "Oh no you don't, young lady, I know you're awake!"

"Aww, but it'sh really earrrly! The shun's nyot even up! An' it'sh cooooold!" came the muffled complaint. That was certainly true. Reimu had wished to remain ensconced in her toasty futon too. But it had to be that day. Her intuition said so and she'd learned, at great cost, not to ignore it.

"Sorry, but this is very important to your future as the Hakurei Miko and I'll be there suffering through it with you." Weak. Reimu wouldn't be convinced with just that either. Time to sweeten the deal. "Also, if everything goes as planned, most of the day will be me teaching you something really neat!"

Cat ears twitched.

"But only if you're up, dressed, and out in front of the honden in the next five minutes!"

Got her.

Reimu chuckled privately and left the scrabble of preparation behind her.

In fact, the preparation took until the middle of the afternoon.

Between the cleansing and the prayers and the dancing and ceremony and no she wasn't procrastinating, thank you, Reimu finally judged that they were prepared for the main event. She and Chen were both inside the shrine's honden facing one another, the air heavy with spiritual pressure from the activities and their proximity to the go-shintai, the physical vessel of the god (whoever it was).

"At last, we reach the culmination of your training. The Miko of Paradise is a force of balance. An icon of the existence of this land. Through the last several weeks, you have learned how to be that symbol as day-to-day caretaker of the shrine." Reimu's tone became grave. "However, as the Miko, you are also expected to be an uncompromising protector. The land is filled with monsters who would prey upon the faithful. The land is home to people who would cut away all that is spiritual in the world in pursuit of conquering their environment. You are the one to stand between them. As a mediator. As an enforcer." Reimu swept her arms dramatically, the gohei in her hand fluttering briefly in the unnaturally still air. Then she turned and opened the doors of the nondescript cabinet in the centre of the back wall with the shimenawa wrapped around it, revealing the contents. Chen sucked in muted gasp, realisation dawning at last. "The greatest of our tools in this mission and the symbol of what the Miko represents. If you would bear this responsibility, trainee, step forward and grasp the Yin-Yang orbs."

It was honestly pleasing that Chen hesitated. It showed the girl was truly aware of what this step meant. Equally pleasing, though, was the fact that her face screwed up with courage and she reached forward with both hands to grasp her destiny. She flinched a little when she finally made contact, as if expecting them to harm her. She had been on the wrong end of them in the past, and it clearly wasn't a memory that was easy to forget. Her bottlebrush tails and pinned-back ears which belied her trepidation quickly whipped into a happy frenzy and she smiled in wonder when the pain didn't come.

"Warm..." she breathed reverently. Reimu silently released a breath she'd unconsciously been holding too as she felt the moment when they connected. It was done. Chen truly was accepted by the god.

She stepped up behind the newly christened Miko of Paradise, placed her hands on top of Chen's and gently pulled them away and drew her into a hug, before disengaging to close the cupboard and ruffle her hair. They paid their respects and quietly left the honden before they finally faced each other again.

"I'm very proud of you, Chen. I had my doubts at first, but I think you'll make an amazing Miko." Surprisingly, she meant it.

"Ehehe, I'm really glad!" She blushed and looked away bashfully. Reimu's gentle smile expanded to a full grin as she took Chen's hand and started pulling.

"Now come on over behind the house and I'll show you how to use them!"

It wasn't any great shock at this point to find that Chen took to the Hakurei's signature weapon with aplomb. After less than an hour she had gotten the hang of invoking them at different sizes, so Reimu cut her loose with a list of exercises and challenges that she was chewing through in earnest. Sure, she didn't have anything like effortless elegance with them at this point, and she lost one from time to time, but Reimu had jumped into her first Incident before she could even control them at all! She closed her eyes, remembering those days spent careening into demonic realms on the back of the bearded shrine tortoise, Genji, because even though she couldn't fly on her own she was going to mete out justice for destroying the shrine! The first time. And the second.

Ah, those were the days!

Well, no. They were terrifying and awful and surely contributed to the inhuman person she grew to be (in a bad way). Chen had the attitude and personality to be successful where she had, apparently, failed utterly.

"Ah, there you are!" A boisterous call shook her from the dark route her thoughts were taking. "I came as soon as I felt it! Is that her?"

"Sanae. I didn't expect you to show up. Yeah, that's the new shrine maiden for this old place. She's gonna be a good one, too. Probably better than me." She cupped her hands and called out, "Cheeeeeeen!" Cat ears perked up and she swiveled around to see Reimu waving her down.

"Better than you? Haha, good joke, champ, no one's ever gonna surpass your record!" Sanae thumped her on the back to punctuate her... boast? Whatever, it wasn't as bad as Suika, but it was still unpleasant. There wasn't even a quiet moment to scold her for letting slip the preposterous strength that came with her divinity as the newest shrine maiden had arrived. "Chen, right? You can call me Sanae, the Miraculous Miracle Miko of the Mountain! I came to personally welcome you to a very selective and exclusive club. Congratulations!"

Chen straightened up and sketched a polite bow. "Thank you sincerely. It's a pleasure to formally make your acquaintance, Miss Sanae. Reimu-shama has told me much of you."

"Ho ho!" Sanae waggled her eyebrows at a beaming Reimu. "'Reimu-shama' is it?"

"Oh get stuffed," Reimu scoffed.

"All good things, I hope!" Sanae jumped back to Chen.

"Yes! She said you're a weird busybody with scary hobbies!" Reimu and Chen shared a snigger over that. Then Reimu's eyes went wide as saucers and she choked on the laugh as Sanae turned very red. "But she also said you understand people and their needs better than anyone, that you're fiercely protective of everyone living in your demesne, and you listen and think ahead to make life better for all of Gensōkyō!" Chen continued sweetly, not a hint of guile in her expression.

"You... really said that about me...?" Sanae whispered, staring at Reimu like she was a UFO.

"Haah, did I? Beats me." Reimu shrugged off the attention. "Anyway, Sanae, why did you come?

"What do you meeeean?" She patted Reimu's shoulder comfortingly. "I just wanted to be here to personally congratulate Chen on her accomplishment!" Sanae pouted theatrically. "And she knows how to take it, too! Not like a certain Red-White stick-in-the-mud I happen to know!"

"Yeah, well! ... well, it's not like I have anything to be congratulated for. Losing my job? Living long enough that I can to retire? I mean, with what I got up to, I guess that's pretty impressive..." Whatever she expected, it wasn't to be hauled up by her haori and shaken violently by a screamingly incensed peer. She vaguely noticed Chen had slipped away as soon as attention was off of her. More importantly, Sanae was now holding her up and studying her intently. "Uh. Sorry?" But for what...

"You don't know, do you." It wasn't a question. "You honestly have no clue! Unbelievable. Hakurei Reimu, you are entirely too...urrrrrgh! Fine! Suwako-sama won her long-odds bet after all. You'd think after the sake..." she was muttering by the end, but Reimu heard that and latched onto the familiar territory.

"Oh, that's right! I think Kanako accidentally left a whole bunch of The Really Good Stuff in my cupboard. Looks like it was a gift, too. Had a little tag on it and everything." Again, against expectations, Sanae slumped, groaning as her hands dropped weakly off of Reimu's shoulders.

"Reimuuuu..."

"Now what!?"

"You." She jabbed a finger forward. "You are a certified idiot."

"Come on, what'd I do this time?"

"It's what you didn't do that has me facepalming like Picard! The one time, you think it's..." She trailed into a frustrated soliloquy of invective.

"Seriously, though, can you take it back? I haven't been able to look at my sake cabinet since and it keeps tempting me and I don't really want to piss her off even if I'm not actively... sending her... faith, hey, Sanae, what in the world has gotten into you? Is this an Incident?"

"No."

"Aww."

"No, it's the start of a new betting pool."

"Huh? I'm more confused than I usually am when you're around. Granted we're both usually plastered by the time I reach this level, but it's been a weird week. I still don't know what happened at that party, but... you're sure it's not an Incident?"

"Yes, I'm- wait, you don't remember?"

"Nope. It's all just a haze after my second drink. I blame Suika."

"Probably prudent. But wow."

"Right? So... err, help a gal out? Fill in some blanks for me?"

Sanae suddenly looked distinctly uncomfortable. She seemed to be carefully considering her words, coming up with several false starts before closing her mouth to think real hard.

"Oh come on, I can't have been that bad, right?"

"Hoo boy, yeah, so about that... the biggest thing is- what's that sound?" It was a low vibrating rumble that you felt through the ground. And it sounded like... something rolling?

"-aaaaaaaaah, help me, Reimu-shamaaaaa!"

The sound was Chen running from a giant Yin-Yang orb that moved juuuuuuust slow enough to not squash her.

Right.

That was the sort of learning experience that she remembered. Sighing, she turned back to another bizarre sight: a struggling Sanae disappearing into a gap.

"Please stooooop, Mr. Orb~!"

She slumped in despair and sighed again, much more heavily this time, massaging the bridge of her nose.

"My toe, my toe!"

Goddammit, Yukari...

Chapter Text

Chen really did seem to be blessed with the favour of that nameless Hakurei god.

Aside from a few mishaps that Reimu had never seen but could figure out and explain roughly how to avoid, she was using the Yin-Yang orbs like an extension of herself inside of just a few days. She tilted her head cutely and said she had a great teacher when asked how she managed to figure everything out so quick and Reimu didn't have the heart to explain she wasn't helping all that much. The "kicked kitten" look that would buy her wasn't really worth the heart attack.

Weaponised cuteness is a thing, never underestimate it!

It probably wouldn't have saved her from yesterday's predicament, though, as her opponent was a little girl of similar stature. Reimu felt more and more like a freeloader as Chen learned everything expected of her position, but nothing drove the point home like the ninth Child of Miare, Hieda no Akyuu, visiting to ask awkward questions because "You're no longer the Miko so I need to update your Chronicle entry."

At least it wasn't being removed entirely? Was that a good thing? To be sure, she did feel as strong as ever. It was like her spiritual duties had yet to end. Being the only "retired" Miko (a sobering thought, that), it wasn't clear what was expected afterward. She'd even gone through the scrolls in the storage shed to see if this situation was covered. No satisfaction. Was she promoted to kannushi somehow? That might explain things. The shrine was a bit on the small side for a proper live-in priest, but Yukari had said this was her home and, as infuriating as she was at nearly every turn, she was the closest thing Gensōkyō had to an authority on the position of Hakurei Miko.

The questions themselves were weird, too. "What are your thoughts on human relations?" (high-maintenance); "How will you prevent bias going forward?" (danmaku); "How far do you extend?" (all the way to the floor); "Has your policy on incident resolution changed?" (probably not).  And so it went for a good half hour.

Yeah, pretty strange. Akyuu seemed kind of displeased by the end, too. What did she expect?

The day before that, she'd been accosted by Marisa with a bunch of wheedling nonsense. She fawned over Chen a bit, mussed her hair up, then left saying something about needing to "catch up" and find a cute apprentice of her own. Just the idea of Marisa having any iota of authority over the rearing of a child made her wish her alcohol cabinet had been made safe from accidental blasphemy.

And Sanae had (bizarrely) come back to apologise the day before that for her "unseemly behaviour toward a senpai" (whatever that meant), but hadn't caught the dropped hints that she should take her parents' hooch back with her. Maybe she'd been too quick to dismiss the possibility of a Moriya Shrine conspiracy...

But that was all in the past.

Now, in the present, she was faced with her most bizarre callers yet: the Aki sisters, Shizuha and Minoriko; Autumnal goddesses who shared the domain of ending the summer season.

Initially, she thought they were there to meet Chen, but no, they wanted to talk to her specifically. About what?

"... so onee-chan almost had to turn the leaves twice! I know that magician meant well, but it was a real problem."

Gossip, apparently. Old, gossip, even. The harvest described was from well before she was born (though the magician in question sounded remarkably like Marisa).

"But everyone thought it was very beautiful in the end, Minoriko," Shizuha admonished. "I liked it enough to work the idea into later seasons and people seem to be happy."

They were being uncharacteristically chummy. But there was something... urgent about them all the same. An Incident?

"So what brought you two visiting, today? It's mid-season, and it sounds like you're usually pretty busy by this point."

"Oooh, you know, just felt like taking a short-"

"We want to know how to get more faith." Shizuha's quiet but grave statement cut through Minoriko's airy dissembling like a sudden frost. "We are divinity eclipsed by all but the weakest of our peers. Our influence and ability to serve those who place their faith in us is tied to this and it's a vicious cycle that can only lead to our ruin."

Not... an Incident?

More importantly...

"That's tough, but why bring this to me? I'm just a washed out former-Miko for a nameless god." She faltered at seeing their shocked sadness and scratched her cheek awkwardly. "I-I mean, if you've got someone stealing your faith or trying to prevent you from ending summer, just point me in the right direction and I'll make her stop... but you should ask Kanako or even Okuu before someone like me. Or Chen. Chen says she's talked to the Hakurei god, she might be able to help. She's such a good girl..." Reimu was babbling and the sisters became more and more stricken as she went.

"STOP!" Shizuha shouted, cutting Reimu off at last, tears in her eyes. "Stop. Just stop. I don't know why you don't... you didn't notice? Why? How are you like this? Don't you understand it's you!?" she cried, anguished.

.

.

.

.

"... what?"

"It's you, Reimu. This is your shrine. There is no 'nameless' god."

That...

"And you're good at it! You get so much faith that you can beat anyone without even looking like you're trying!"

But...

"You get more faith in a day than we get all year even though the people of the village think you're just as much of a monster as any youkai and after last month I just had to ask how you do it. Please, Reimu, if you can think of anything at all, I... I don't wanna lose my sister!" Shizuha sobbed.

Reimu reflexively raised a finger, mouth hanging open to retort on the impossibility of it...

...and stopped.

...stopped and really thought about it.

And then Reimu's world expanded. Her eyes went wide and her breathing hitched. Slowly, she lowered the finger, her mouth snapping shut and she looked down at her hands in her lap.

Finally, in a very small voice, more vulnerable than anyone had heard in years, she said, "I guess I finally know what happened at that last party."

In vivid detail.

With a thought, the totality of her past laid itself before her mind's eye and she could see the pattern; the road she had unwittingly been on most of her life.

She sniffled, and big soppy tears started leaking from her eyes even though she wasn't sure she had anything to cry about. Minoriko scuttled around the kotatsu, knelt, and pulled her into the biggest hug she could manage with her small body, crying along with her. Shizuha joined moments later.

"Welcome to the family, Reimu," they cooed. "Welcome to the family."

Chapter Text

"Considering you didn't know already, I suppose we'll be the first to offer you congratulations, too..." one of them noted.

Congratulations.

Wait.

Reluctantly, she escaped the Aki sandwich, trundled over to her poor, neglected alcohol cabinet, grabbed one of the bottles that she thought belonged to the Moriya gods, and finally read the tags.

"Reimu, So you've become a god. Congratulations! You've joined a multitudinous but still very exclusive club. If you have any questions or need help learning the ropes, feel free to visit or invoke us at the branch whenever you want. Signed... SuwaKana?"

So the answer was right there in front of her the whole time AND she had spent it dry.

That was an injustice of the highest order.

"Shizuha! Minoriko! Prepare your bodies. Tonight we drink like gods!"

"...and then this stupid dramatic girl from another world with red crosses held a combat tournament and I got dragged into it." Reimu was splayed across the kotatsu with a good buzz going, rambling about her past adventures.

"Oh, you poor dear, that must have been terrible!"

"Kinda yea kinda no? So it was like this..."

"Tourism! I couldn't believe it, even after we stuffed a couple vacationers on our way in."

"Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad?"

Reimu sighed and sketched a waggle of her hand. "Maybe not, but I was like... twelve? Huge chip on my shoulder, divine mission, and not a lot of sense."

By this point, she was...

"Things have changed bunches, so maybe we can... uh... think about it again. I'll have to see if Alice is in touch with her mother. You know that? Alice is royalty. Shinki - that's the creator goddess of Makai - Shinki's her mom. Super hot too, now that I think about it, but her maid is scary as Sakuya. Why are maids so scary? The West must be pretty dangerous with youkai like that around..."

...she was pleasantly sloshed.

Reimu, wallowing all over the kotatsu as she drunkenly regaled the Aki sisters with the story of the time she beat them up in her rampage up the mountain, suddenly stopped and sat bolt upright, staring out through the open door into the cool night sky.

"Youkai."

"H-Huh? Is something o-out there?!" Minoriko asked in alarm.

"No. The question you asked earlier. I... remembered. Figured out?" She shook her head. It didn't matter. "My faith. It comes from youkai."

Reimu had reached Drunk Enlightenment.

"Oh."

"No, I think it's more than that. More like... I'm their... but that's just silly. Dammit, Yukari, you're probably listening so get your hag ass out here and make words!"

"Now Reimu, is that really any way to greet an ol-KYAN!" Sure enough, Yukari appeared lounging from a gap somewhere off to her left, so she grabbed and hauled.

"Yes. You know something, you got your jollies. Time's up."

"You're sure you don't want the joy of discovery for yours-"

"Get on with it!" Shizuha cut in.

"Dear me, such a difficult crowd," she pouted. "Fine. The truth is I'm not entirely 100% sure, but... as far as I can tell, Reimu... you are Gensōkyō."

"Like the barrier? My family made the barrier with you, right?"

"Nope! The whole thing!"

"Woah..."

"More specifically, you embody the belief that humans and youkai can peacefully coexist. ...Basically."

"That's... okay, I guess that's not what I expected with my past. 'Hakurei Reimu, Goddess of Racial Harmony'... doesn't really sound like me? It feels off."

"Ah, no, not quite... It's..."

"What is it?"

"Well... you might not..."

"Wrong. Try again."

"...dear me, but this is rather awkward..."

"You said you'd explain."

"I mean teeeechnically-"

"Yukari."

"Fiiiine. But let me preface by saying I promise I had nothing to do with this. Whole truth. You see... I think it's possible - just possible, mind! - that... that you're the Goddess of Police Violence."

Reimu passed out, drunk and overwhelmed.

"Well, that sucks," Minoriko finally summarised.

"And a good evening to you, O Gracious and Vibrant Autumn."

Yukari rose and turned to walk into a gap when an implacable hand gripped her shoulder uncomfortably.

"Why?" Shizuha's sisterly indignation bore down on Yukari. "Why this farce? Why not tell her what she is?"

"Ah... at the height of your season you still have some impressive power. Well met, Vibrant Autumn." Yukari grimaced. "As for why..." she looked back over her shoulder and smiled sadly. "You should understand it well. She needs someone to be an outlet. But while I can give her a bit of a push, that is the limit or I risk defining her before she has the chance to do that herself." The tight grasp loosened. "You two could easily have had an adversarial relationship as the rot of the land and its last gasp of life, you know." Both sisters flinched. "You see it, then. She has the spark and the essence... but not the mantle. Not quite yet."

"But soon." They were silent for a long moment before Minoriko added her own input.

"This seems pretty unnecessary. Do you really think Reimu is the sort to let others define who she is?"

"Ah, but she might not have a choice." Yukari sighed and turned around fully. "You've heard her telling of her own legend tonight, but how have those events been viewed by others? You must have heard from somewhere, being the more social Aspect. What do humans think of her?" That point earned her a round of thoughtful nods. "She's more likely to take more considered action, now; maybe she'll attempt to cultivate a more palatable public image with humans, too, now that she's at least peripherally aware of what could be should the flavour of their Faith go awry."

"... I see your point. But will she not be defined by youkai just as much as humans?"

"Oh, much more, definitely!" Yukari replied cheerfully. "She already has, I would think. But the youkai with the most faith in her know her as she is and nearly all of them hold that faith because of what she's done for them."

"Really?"

"Quite so. You concern yourselves with the affairs of humans more than youkai, but surely you've noticed the changes too?" She smirked a little, as if at a private joke. "After all, you both have at least one spellcard! She neither asked nor wanted to be the principal executor of the law, but she rose to the challenge until she changed the rules entirely."

"Are you suggesting the current prosperity of the human village is because of that?"

"No. I've proven it to five sigma. ... Ah, that's an idea from outside. I mean there's only the very tiniest uncertainty, less than one grain of rice from a large family's pot." The widened eyes told her the comparison struck true.

"So what will you do?" Shizuha, ever the practical worrywart.

"I will guide her to choosing for herself how she wishes to be revered." Yukari explained patiently. "And if I happen to play a few pranks along the way? Well, I'm sure she won't hold a grudge for more than a few decades at the worst. Te he~!" She stuck her tongue out and rapped her head with a knuckle. A comical pastel star flew out and the sisters grimaced.

"...please never do that again. The last bit, I mean; the scheming is just what you do at your age."

Yukari placed a hand on one hip, pointing at herself with the other hand, and winked coquettishly with a sickly-sweet smile. "'My age'? Silly onee-chan, Yukarin is sevent-"

"ARGH!" Shizuha cried out as she frustratedly finished stuffing Yukari into her own gap.

"You got played, onee-chan..."

"I know! But it felt really good anyway..."

"So... what should we do with Reimu?"

They looked over at the fallen body of their most recent peer.

"If it should please our honoured guests to not trouble themselves, Chen shall attend to Reimu-shama."

They jumped as Chen suddenly made her presence known.

"Ah, you are the new Miko?" Shizuha queried.

"So moe I'm gonna die!" Minoriko added. "Onee-chan, can we keep her? I wanna take her hooooome~!"

Gensōkyō's peaceful days continue.