Work Text:
Something is wrong.
For Reimu, waking up in an unfamiliar bed, to an unfamiliar ceiling is not too unusual of an experience. She does occasionally sleep over at her friends' homes, after all. The issue is, she normally remembers actually going over to their place first. She was drinking last night, but she doesn't think she drank that much.
Reimu's memories of last night are pretty clear. Sanae invited herself over to hang out, Marisa and Alice also stopped by for a bit, but those two left when it started getting dark outside. She and Sanae then chatted about faith gathering strategies for their respective shrines, Reimu prodded Sanae for more details about her childhood in the outside world, and they made dinner together. Sanae started getting sleepy and didn't seem to want to go home (to be fair, it was rather chilly out), so Reimu enlisted Aunn's help in dragging out a spare futon for her to sleep in. She then brushed her teeth and rinsed her face and went to sleep in her own futon.
And then she woke up here.
An unfamiliar room. It's chilly and dark, and there unfamiliar, faint wind-like noises outside. The room looks lived-in, with the many belongings and wall decorations and clutter of someone who has lived here for years. But there's something deeply unsettling in the air that gives Reimu the chills, like there's something glaringly absent.
Maybe she should just go back to bed and hope to wake up back at her shrine. In fact, considering how warm it is underneath these covers, she thinks it's a great idea.
Unfortunately, it was not to be.
There's a firm, but tentative knock on the closed door in the room. "Reimu-san," says a familiar voice. "Are you awake? Don't you have morning class to attend?"
"Five more minutes," Reimu grumbles sleepily, rolling over.
A switch clicks, and the room floods with brightness. Reimu squeezes her eyes shut.
"Ahh, you're still asleep. We'll be late…"
Wincing, Reimu slowly opens her eyes. A green-haired figure comes into focus.
It's Sanae, but at the same time, not. Her hair is much longer than yesterday. Her outfit is very different from what she typically wears. A lot more pragmatic and modern than her usual wind priestess robes. She's wearing a green hat with a frog design pulled down over her hair and ears, a thick olive-coloured scarf, a navy blue coat that stretches to her knees, dark stockings, and dark, tall boots. She's still wearing the funny snake-shaped hair ornament that she always wears, though. At least that hasn't changed.
"Sanae?" says Reimu, frowning. "You look different."
The girl's eyes widen slightly. She then gives Reimu a strange look, and glances at herself in the mirror at the side of the room. "Hm? Really? I think I look the same as yesterday…" She shakes her head. "Anyway, I'm pretty sure you have a 9am lecture today. If you don't leave soon, won't you be late?"
Lecture? Reimu frowns. She doesn't remember signing up for anything like that.
"Sis, I'm heading out now!" shouts a young, chirpy voice. A familiar face with volumnous seafoam green hair peeks into the room.
Reimu sits up, frowning. Here's another difference. Aunn usually refers to her as Reimu-san. "Sis" is a new one.
"Aunn?" asks Reimu, taking in the komainu youkai's appearance carefully.
She hasn't known the komainu youkai in her human-like form for very long, only since the four seasons incident. But up until now, she's only seen the youkai wearing t-shirt and shorts with red and white cloud designs. Seeing Aunn wearing a dark blue sailor seifuku and skirt is throwing her for a loop.
This youkai is also very noticeably missing her horn and komainu grey ears. It's as if this youkai suddenly became a normal human. That kind of thing doesn't just happen.
Aunn frowns. "Is sis all right? She seems a bit out of it."
Sanae puts a hand to Reimu's forehead. Her hand are cold to the touch. "Hmm, I don't feel a fever."
"I'm fine, I'm fine," says Reimu, shooing Sanae's hand away. Well. It certainly seems like this is a certified capital 'I' incident. So unfortunately, as the Hakurei shrine maiden, it would be unseemly of her to just turn over and go back to bed, as tempting as it sounds.
But the bed is so warm…
She thoroughly debates with herself for a moment.
Ultimately, her sense of responsibility wins her over. "I'm up, I'm up," she mutters, stepping out into the cold. She shivers. It really is chilly in this household.
Sanae pulls out a thin green rectangular object, swiping her finger on it a few times. "The next bus is in 10 minutes if we want to catch it. One after that is in 30 minutes, but that may be too late…"
A deadline. Reimu can work with that. "Got it."
Sanae smiles, a bit of the worry easing off of her face. "I'll meet you by the entrance." She steps out of the room, shutting the door.
There are so many unanswered questions here. But Reimu is sure the answers will turn up eventually. For now, she supposes she'll just rely on Sanae to lead the way, and then figure things out from there. She nods.
What's a bus, anyway?
It looks like the washroom is just outside her room. Reimu fumbles with the switches before finding one that turns on the washroom lights. They have electric lights here. That's a rarity in Gensokyo.
The amenities look astoundingly modern and fancy. Even the toilet looks overwhelming to use. Why are there so many buttons? She'll… figure that out later.
Since she's in a hurry, she'll also brush her teeth later.
She squints at herself in the mirror. She looks different, too. Her hair is a bit shorter, ending right at her shoulders. She's… also a bit taller? She also looks a bit… softer, for lack of a better word. The muscles in her arms don't feel as pronounced, and she feels more lethargic than usual.
Interesting. She ties up her hair with the red ribbon and hair tubes she found on her bedside table with practiced ease, splashes some water on her face, and hurries back to her room.
The closet presents a variety of clothing options, decisions Reimu can't be bothered with, so she just grabs the first items that she sees. Whatever looks warm.
After throwing on the clothes she found, Reimu hurries out into the hallway. Sanae and Aunn are already waiting by the front door, and there are only one pair of unused shoes on the ground remaining, so Reimu figures it must be hers.
"Heading out now!" shouts Aunn, opening the door, letting in a burst of cold air.
As soon as Reimu steps outside, she is confronted with an unfamiliar sight of sleek, fast, moving vehicles on the road. The air is cold and crispy, breath condensing in front of her, and she can even see tiny, distant specks slowly tracing condensation trails in the air.
Ah.
This is definitely the outside world.
She's heard about it many times before from Sanae and Sumireko, and she's caught glimpses of what their world looks like from the occasional magazine or photo that Sanae has lying around or Sumireko brought over.
Appearing in the outside world is also not something that can just happen, unless that gap youkai is up to something, or something else is afoot. This is definitely an incident.
Unfortunately, there are so many unusual things around her, Reimu finds herself gawking like a tourist. Being distracted like this isn't very helpful considering the rush they're in.
"Reimu-san, the bus stop is this way," says Sanae, stopping Reimu from following Aunn with a light hand on the shoulder.
"Bye sis!" shouts Aunn, waving as she walks away.
"Oh, we're going to different places?"
"...Yes?" Sanae looks puzzled at Reimu's confusion. "Aunn-chan needs to go to her school, and we need to get to the university campus."
Reimu isn't doing a very good job blending in, then. She tries to laugh it off. "Right, right. Just testing you."
Sanae doesn't look particularly convinced, but she seems willing to let the matter slide.
Unfortunately, Reimu's mistakes only compound from there. It turns out that you need to pay to get on the bus, and she didn't bring her wallet with her.
Reimu stares at the confusing device at the front of the bus, and then flashes an awkward smile at the driver. "Uhh…"
Sanae glances back. "You forgot your Suica?" she asks, letting out a short huff.
"Suika?" asks Reimu, confused. "What does she have to do with anything?"
Sanae's eyebrows quirk up in confusion, but then she shakes her head. "No time," she says. She's already pulling out a coin purse and stepping up to the driver. "150 yen, is that right?" she asks.
The driver nods.
Sanae smiles, and slips a few coins into the receiving box, the coins clattering to the bottom. "Let's not forget our wallets next time, hm?" she says to Reimu.
The driver shuts the doors and everything begins moving forward on the road..
"Oh," says Reimu, stumbling a bit at the sudden acceleration, but quickly regaining her balance. "Thanks."
Sanae just waves it off, walking towards the back of the bus. "Don't worry about it."
Reimu takes a seat next to Sanae. She glances at Sanae, who catches her gaze and smiles back. Reimu quickly glances away to the moving scenery outside the window, an awkward smile appearing on her face.
The next thing Reimu knows, Sanae is pressing a warm meat bun into Reimu's hands. "Breakfast."
It looks freshly made. "You made this?"
Sanae nods. "Thank you for lending me your kitchen. You can get a lot done if you wake up early." She winks.
Wow, Sanae is nice…
The Sanae that Reimu knows back in Gensokyo is like this a lot too, usually happy to share any snacks or treats she buys in the village, often without demanding payment in return. A far cry from Reimu's penny pincher ways.
The meat bun is good.
As nice as Sanae is, it seems that they don't have the same class schedule, so Reimu is entirely on her own.
Walking through the hallways of a rather sleek looking building, Sanae stumbles slightly when she finds out that Reimu didn't bring any study materials. Recovering, she doesnt miss a beat and loans Reimu a notebook as well as a mechanical pencil and eraser. She even gives Reimu a map of the campus.
Sanae is looking more and more doubtful, though. "You didn't even bring your phone?" she asks. She touches Reimu's forehead again, frowning. "Are you sure you're alright? Maybe you should be resting at home…"
"I'm fine!" protests Reimu. She can't investigate the odd world she's found herself in if she's stuck at home after all.
"Hmm." Sanae still doesn't look convinced, but doesn't seem particularly eager to press the issue. "If you say so…" She glances at her pocket device, which Reimu is inferring to be a phone. Right, what Sumireko once called a smartphone. So that's what this is. "My morning classes end at 12:30, so meet you out on the plaza for lunch?"
"Sure," Reimu says. She then turns back to the classroom that she's supposed to be going to.
So in this world, she's a student. Though she goes to the same school as Sanae, they don't share the same classes.
The Sanae here comes off as a bit more formal compared to the Sanae that Reimu is used to. Aunn is somewhat less so. There are so many small differences that are slowly building up.
Under normal circumstances, Reimu would just go hunting for the culprit and them beat them up in a duel and force them to shift things back to normal. Reimu has a feeling that danmaku battles aren't exactly commonplace here, though. That complicates matters. How is she supposed to find and confront the instigator of this incident, then?
Oh well. Either way, no point in wasting time attending classes. She'll have to figure something out.
Reimu stands up and walks out of the classroom. As soon as she's out the door, she hears the professor inside announce a pop quiz. She lets out a sigh of relief. That was a bullet dodged.
Time to explore.
Unfortunately, by the time lunchtime rolls around, Reimu isn't any closer to figuring out why she is in this strange altered world. She doesn't see or spot anything particularly youkai-like, and doesn't discover anyone suspicious. Everyone just looks like normal students or teachers in a typical studying environment.
Most of the people here don't look familiar either, but she does stumble across Akyuu and Kosuzu, who briefly wave at her in recognition. They seem to be in a hurry to get to class, however, so they only briefly exchange pleasantries.
People who would normally be found in Gensokyo, in the outside world.
Very odd.
Is this place an alternate reality? Or is this the real outside world but with imposters? Or is it just a dream in her head?
Reimu is squatting in the plaza thoroughly pondering things over when she spots Sanae walking onto the scene. Sanae is scanning the plaza, and her eyes light up with relief when she spots Reimu.
"Thank goodness," says Sanae, slightly out of breath. She peers more closely at Reimu, scrutinizing her more closely.
Reimu tenses. Does this Sanae notice something off?
Sanae holds up two fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Two?"
"Can you raise your arms like this?" Sanae lifts both arms high above her head.
Reimu mimics her without any issue.
"Smile?"
Not sure where Sanae is going with this, Reimu forces a smile, tensing as Sanae leans in for a closer look.
"Can you say 'Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers'?"
"Uhhh. Peter Piper pecked a pick of… peppers?"
Sanae lets out a sigh of relief. "Close enough. Well you don't seem to have a concussion or a stroke at least." She glances up at Reimu and then waves her hands. "Ah, I'm sorry, I've been googling symptoms all morning and I got worried…"
"Oh. Well, I'm fine."
Sanae just laughs nervously, still clearly not convinced. There's an awkward pause. "So… Lunch? My treat, of course, considering you forgot your wallet."
Reimu claps her hands together in gratitude. "Thanks."
Oh well. Imposter or not, this Sanae doesn't seem to be a bad person.
Bowls of steaming noodle soup in hand, Sanae and Reimu find a seat inside one of the fast food noodle restaurants.
"So how was the quiz?" asks Sanae.
Mouth already full with noodles, Reimu blinks rapidly. She very slowly chews her food before swallowing. "Oh, um. Good."
Sanae frowns again, clearly uneasy. She looks as if she's inwardly debating something. "S-so, how about that weather!"
"It's so cold today," grumbles Reimu. "It should not be this cold, ever."
"Ah, that's because of the polar vortex," says Sanae, her eyes lighting up. "Normally, the cold air currents of the Arctic are restrained within higher latitudes by the jet stream. However, the jet stream has weakened due to climate change, and one consequence of this is that the cold Arctic air can leak out here to more southern latitudes. This is actually related to one of the research projects I'm working on now!"
It's fun to listen Sanae chatter about the subjects she's knowledgeable in, but this is too much all at once, and she didn't catch most of it. "Oh, right," she says.
Sanae's face falters again. Awkwardly, she slurps some more noodles from her bowl.
"By the way, how long have we known each other now?" asks Reimu.
"Huh?" Sanae seems a bit thrown off by the sudden question. "A few months? Ah, technically we first met in a bus over a year ago, but that was just in passing."
"Hmm." They only met pretty recently. Interesting. The Sanae she knows from Gensokyo, her Sanae, they've been friends for quite a bit longer. Years longer, in fact.
Reimu frowns, staring intently at Sanae.
The girl fidgets, uneasy at the intensity. She breaks eye contact.
In some ways, this Sanae is very different from the Sanae that she knows. There were hints of Sanae's usual confidence peeking through earlier, but most of it is being smothered by uncharacteristic timidness and worry. Reimu's not sure how she feels about that.
Suddenly, a loud blaring sound goes off. It's coming from Sanae's phone, but it's also coming from other people in the restaurant as well.
"Ah," says Sanae, her eyes widening. She quickly gets under the table.
"What–" And then, the ground underneath Reimu's feet starts shaking. It's a slow, smooth wave back and forth at first, so subtle that it could almost be her imagination. But then the shaking intensifies.
"Get under the table, Reimu-san, it's an earthquake!" hisses Sanae.
Reimu looks around and notices that everyone else in the restaurant has already gotten underneath a table. "Oh, right." She quickly ducks underneath as well.
Fortunately the earthquake isn't that severe. The ceiling lights sway noticeably for a while, but the shaking subsides in less than a minute.
"Looks like it was only a 3 this time," says Sanae, glancing at her phone. "Thank goodness."
Reimu stares in awe at the device in Sanae's hands. "You're telling me that thing in your hands can predict ahead of time when earthquakes can happen, and how strong they are too? That's useful."
Sanae gives Reimu a strange look. "Is…" She then swallows her words. She just smiles, sitting back up in her chair again. "So, are we studying again after classes today?"
"Hmm, not today," says Reimu, climbing back up into her chair at all. This Sanae is nice and all, but she's not her Sanae. The differences are a bit uncanny, so she thinks she'll prefer to investigate alone, for now. Oh wait, she still needs to get back home. "Ah… could you lend me some money for the bus home?" she asks sheepishly.
Sanae just stares at Reimu for a while without answering.
Why is Sanae silent all of a sudden?
"Um, I'll pay you back," says Reimu.
Wordlessly, Sanae reaches into her wallet and places couple of coins on the table.
Something is off. Sanae usually isn't this silent. Even the Sanae in this world, though more timid than her Sanae, can be pretty chatty. Was Reimu too rude in asking for bus fare again? Maybe she should've just opted for walking home or flying home instead of asking for too much.
"I…I have to go," Sanae says, standing up. "Class," she adds, almost as an afterthought. She nods at Reimu, forcing a smile, but it looks misshapen on her face. "See you."
"Hm? But you didn't finish your soup—"
Sanae is already on her feet and walking out the door, a bit hurried.
Not finishing every last drop of broth for something you paid for yourself is something Reimu cannot fathom at all. Regardless, under normal circumstances, Reimu would just take Sanae for her word. Maybe she's late and that's why she's hurrying out the door so quickly.
There's a sinking in her gut, however.
Though Reimu often comes off as laid back and easygoing, she considers her instincts to be sharp as ever. Years of dueling with youkai has trained Reimu's eyes to be extremely perceptive to detail, especially since even being a fraction of a centimeter off or being a fraction of a second too slow can spell the difference between a resounding victory and an embarassing defeat.
As Sanae steps out into the cold chilly air outdoors, Reimu spots the sunlight glinting off of something wet on Sanae's face.
A breath leaves Reimu's lungs.
The thought of the unfinished soup sitting in front of her briefly passes her mind, but she immediately dismisses it. She grabs the coins off of the table and runs out after Sanae. "Hey, wait!" she yells.
Sanae glances back briefly, and then breaks out in a run.
"Sanae, wait!" Reimu shouts, running after her, wincing at the biting wind in her face. "Can we talk?"
The random passerbys give her a strange look as Reimu runs past them, but she's zeroed in on making sure the doesn't lose the girl with the distinctive green hair in the crowd.
Sanae is a fast runner, and this Reimu's body is really out of shape. She's already gasping for breath. As laid back as Reimu was back in Gensokyo, she at least got a good workout pretty regularly thanks to exciting danmaku battles. Whoever previously inhabited Reimu's current body clearly did much less than that.
Reimu curses the her in this world for being so complacent.
She spots Sanae up ahead, already nearing the bottom of a set of stairs, and then rushing towards a building in the distance.
Reimu jumps onto the railing and skids down the entire stairway, dodging a couple of students as she jumps off the railing, landing onto the ground.
Her ankles protest under the force. Reimu winces, but she keeps running.
Sanae has already vanished into the building. It's a pretty large one, and 6 storeys high. If she loses sight of Sanae, Reimu's not sure if she'll be able to find her again.
Reimu's vision is starting to dim a little around the edges from her exertion. She rushes into the building, emerging into a kind of lobby atrium area, with hallways from the upper floors visible from below. There are a few people milling about here and there, but it's pretty empty otherwise. She sees a glimpse of green hair moving along the path up on the 6th floor.
"Sanae!" Reimu shouts.
The green-haired figure on the walkway many floors above glances back before quickly turning forward again, continuing to run.
Reimu dashes forward, hops onto a bench, and then soars into the air, directly towards Sanae up above.
Oh. She can fly here.
Her entire body feels much heavier and sluggish than usual, so to be honest, she's actually not sure if she'll be able to continue flying for a long period of time.
She just needs to get to the 6th floor, though.
Sanae glances back just as Reimu is swooping up over the glass railing, her tear-stained eyes widening with shock. "You can fly??" she squawks, her voice hoarse.
Reimu's feet touch onto the ground, but she still has too much forward momentum, so she loses her balance and falls onto the ground, skidding forward with a surprised yelp.
The mechanics of flight in this world feel all heavy and wrong, it's not her fault.
Sanae tries to jump out of the way, but she isn't fast enough, and Reimu and Sanae slam into each other, skidding forward onto the floor and collapsing into a heap.
"Omigosh I'm so sorry!" stammers Reimu, her face hot with embarassment. She quickly gets back up, checking if Sanae has any injuries. "Are you all right?" Sanae's eyes are red and her face is stained with tears. Reimu reaches into her pocket for a tissue but realizes she doesn't have one and after hesitating for a moment, quickly takes off her coat and then uses her shirt sleeve, the softest material she's wearing today, and wipes the wetness off of Sanae's face. "I usually have better control than that, I'm sorry…"
Sanae just laughs shakily. She gives Reimu a raised eyebrow. "You never told me you could fly." Her voice is still shaky, but she seems to be in a slightly better mood at least.
"I think I said something rude, I'm sorry," says Reimu. "Um. Please don't be sad?" The sight of Sanae crying is so deeply, unsettlingly wrong to Reimu. It's something that should never happen, and her gut twists at the thought that she somehow caused that. Even if this isn't her Sanae, she doesn't like the sight of it.
"You shouldn't worry about me, it's just me being dumb." Sanae sits back against the wall, letting out a shaky breath. She smiles. "I'm just a bit tired today. Must've not gotten enough sleep last night, it's making me take things a bit harder than normal. I would've been fine by tomorrow, I was just overthinking things."
"Er…" Reimu reaches forward and brushes the hair out of Sanae's eyes. "If you say so…" She claps her hands together. "Um. Asking for the bus fare was rude of me. I'll pay you back with interest, if that helps."
Sanae lets out a laugh.
Reimu just smiles awkwardly. "Um…"
Sanae shakes her head rapidly. "No, it's not the money. It's not about the money at all." She tilts her head at Reimu. "I thought maybe you were like the others, that you were stringing me along and mocking me. But I realized now. You're too weird to do something like that."
"Huh? Hey!"
"It's a compliment!" Sanae smiles. "I like that about you, you know."
"Oh. Um, thanks." Reimu glances at Sanae, the girl's words hanging in the air around them. "What do you mean by, the others?"
"I was worried someone might have gotten ahold of you and told you about my reputation, but I guess you really don't know, huh."
"I wouldn't be able say if I know or not either way," says Reimu. "I've only been here since this morning."
Sanae looks confused. "You are Reimu-san, right? I mean, you clearly recognized me and your sister. Even though you seemed to be completely confused by everything else."
"I am Reimu," she says. "...But not your Reimu."
Sanae raises an eyebrow.
The words are spilling out of Reimu's mouth before she knows it. It doesn't feel right hiding this from Sanae. "Up until yesterday, I was just living my everyday life in Gensokyo, as a shrine maiden at Hakurei Shrine. And then I woke up here."
"I haven't heard of Gensokyo before." Sanae points at Reimu. "Hakurei is your surname, though."
Reimu nods slowly. Yes. Yes it is.
"I see, so that's what that was…" Sanae stares at Reimu more scruntinizingly, as if really seeing her for the first time. "So what you're saying is, this is a case of interdimensional transmigration. Is your world very different from this one?"
Reimu stares at Sanae. "You're accepting this rather easily."
"Well, it explains your complete cluenessless this morning," says Sanae with a teasing smile. She lets out a shaky sigh. clapping her hands together. "Plus it's a common plot device in manga."
"I see. Manga."
"So!... Tell me about your world! Gensokyo, is it? Is it a very different place from Earth? Are magic and spirits commonplace?"
A bit overwhelmed by the sudden barrage of questions, but trying her best, since it seems to be putting Sanae into a better mood, Reimu paints an outline of Gensokyo to this excited Sanae. About the Hakurei Barrier, and the role it plays in keeping the outside world and the internals of Gensokyo separated. About what tidbits of knowledge about the outside world Reimu has learned indirectly from Sumireko and her version of Sanae. About the landscape of technology in their world, what monetary system they use, and at Sanae's interested prodding, how the Spell Card system works.
"That sounds like a very fun place," says Sanae, her eyes wide.
"I guess," says Reimu. Well, she's never really thought of Gensokyo as a fun place before. It's more like… just the place where she lives. It's all she's ever known, so she wouldn't think it's particularly special or anything.
"Do you think Gensokyo exists in this world, too? Maybe I could move there one day."
For some reason, Reimu doubts that. Typically, as the shrine maiden of Hakurei Shrine, Reimu is able to have some vague awareness of the state of the Barrier. There is just completely nothing here, though, when she tries to reach out to it.
Come to think of it, perhaps that's the reason for the deep seated uneasiness Reimu felt when she woke up this morning.
The sense of something missing that has always been there.
"Oh…" says Sanae, looking slightly disappointed.
"I've never been to the outside world before," says Reimu, "so I'm not sure if it's the same for the outside world in my world, or if it's the same for both. But everything feels a bit… more heavy, here. Even flying that short distance took a lot out of me. Maybe this is just a world with less magic than usual."
"Maybe…"
Reimu glances at Sanae. The words the girl had mentioned offhandedly earlier is still bugging her. "Earlier. You mentioned some people mocking you." She frowns, punching her hands together. "Am I going to have to teach some people a lesson?"
Sanae looks stunned for a moment, before laughing. "Um. I appreciate the thought." She looks more wistful. "It was a long time ago, anyway. Kids can be so cruel sometimes. Nowadays, people just avoid me."
"But you're… you," says Reimu. "Why would people avoid you?"
Sanae smiles wistfully. "I think your view of me may be a bit rose-tinted by your version of me. Unfortunately, I'm somewhat of a loser over here." She looks up at the ceiling. "Maybe I was a bit too annoying. But I couldn't just give up on them. So I kept pushing. People made fun of me. The girl prattling on about her gods and nonsense. Imaginary friends Sanae. Crazy fanatic Sanae. Out of touch Sanae." She smiles sadly. "I couldn't let that get me down, of course. I couldn't give up. But after so many years, nothing has changed, and I'm starting to think maybe everyone really was right, and they were just my imagination all along."
"Give up on who?" asks Reimu, a sinking feeling in her gut.
"Like you, I'm somewhat of a shrine maiden," says Sanae, closing her eyes. "But my patron gods are no longer with me."
"They left you? Or did they just… disappear?"
Sanae nods. "Disappeared. 15 years ago, now. As of today."
"15 years!?" Reimu pauses, the dots connecting in her mind. "Wait, today? Then you…"
Sanae smiles weakly. "Sorry for running away like that, I may have overreacted a little. You've got your own things to take care of, I can't monopolize your time. It's just that… I didn't want to be alone today."
"No, you're good, I'm the jerk here." Reimu scratches her head awkwardly. "I'm sure your Reimu was planning to be with you for today. S-sorry. I didn't know." She fidgets, not used to having to be this apologetic. She squeezes her eyes shut, clapping her hands together. "My bad. I'm sorry."
Sanae smiles, looking at Reimu. "It's fine. You wouldn't have known. Besides, it was a long time ago now, that they vanished. It's not a big deal, really. There were signs ahead of time, that their time was running short. Kanako-sama was always going on about how the people nowadays didn't have faith like they used to."
Reimu shakes her head. "I still can't believe Kanako-sama and Suwako-sama would give up that easily. They didn't seem to me like the type who would just turn over and accept their fate like that."
Sanae gives Reimu a strange look.
"From what my Sanae has told me," says Reimu, "in our world, their shrine was starting to lose faith too. That's the main reason why they moved to Gensokyo, to a place where faith in gods is more easily found."
"You really are telling the truth, huh."
"Huh?"
"You know, up until now, I've only really proselytized Kanako-sama, as the face of the shrine," says Sanae. "Suwako-sama is kind of a house secret." She smiles. "You shouldn't know that name, unless you really are telling the truth."
Oh. Was Suwako's name not public knowledge? "I've duelled her before," says Reimu, flipping her hair. "She's… kind of annoying."
Sanae laughs. "You really deal with gods every day, don't you." She smiles wistfully. "So the me of your world migrated to Gensokyo with Kanako-sama and Suwako-sama. How are they doing?"
"Pretty well, I hate to admit. Since you know, we're rivals in faith and all that." Reimu rubs the back of her head. "You have a pretty big following built up with the mountain kappa. Instead of humans. Weirdos."
Sanae giggles. "Your Sanae sounds great." She clasps her hands together. "I wish I could be like that." She lets out a sigh, leaning against the wall. "I wish I weren't this weak."
"You're not weak," Reimu snaps. She crosses her arms. It's a bit hard to admit this about a rival, but she'll say it anyway because it's the truth. "You're one of the strongest people I know."
Sanae shakes her head. "That's your Sanae. I'm sure she's brilliant. But I could never live up to that standard."
"Even with different life experiences, it's still the same you. Even if that's not you now, it could be." Reimu leans in close, putting both hands on Sanae's shoulders. "Don't tell me you're giving up."
Sanae's face turns red. She gently pushes Reimu away. "I appreciate your encouragement," she says, hiding her mouth behind her hand. She glances down, sadly. "But it's been 15 years. I don't think they're coming back."
Reimu stares, and then grabs Sanae's hand.
"Huh??"
"You didn't have me here." Reimu doesn't like seeing Sanae like this, not when there's something she can do about it. Figuring out how to get back to her world can wait. There's no hurry, anyway. She wants to do this, first. "Come on, we're going to your shrine."
"But I have class? You have class too!"
Reimu waves her hand. "That can come later." She pulls Sanae to her feet, dragging her forward. "Come on, let's go."
"Erm… But wouldn't this be wasting your tuition dollars?" asks Sanae, following along.
Reimu stops in her tracks. She turns to Sanae, her mouth opening. "I… I'm paying for this?"
There's a long pause.
Reimu inwardly debates with herself again.
"You're funny," says Sanae, giggling. She peers closely at Reimu. "To the shrine, huh. You wouldn't know the way. To be honest, I don't think I'll be able to focus anyway, and you certainly won't be follow along with your course material, if you're this clueless in background knowledge." She smiles shyly. "If you insist, let's go."
Well, that settles it. "S-sure." Even with this shyer Sanae, sometimes it feels like the girl can talk loops around her. But this side of Sanae feels closer to the Sanae that Reimu knows, and it's a Sanae that seems a bit silly and more carefree. Reimu decides she likes seeing Sanae like this more than the alternative.
The shrine is another bus ride and a walk away. Sanae pays for the bus fare again, and Reimu promises she'll pay her back.
Reimu suggests flying up the steps since it looks really tiresome, but Sanae says it's better to walk, since it's cold, and she hasn't flown in years.
It being a midwinter day, the sun is already low in the sky by the time they arrive at the shrine.
This definitely looks the Moriya Shrine that Reimu has visited a number of times before. However, it's much more run down, with patches of snow and unraked leaves from autumn and random debris everywhere, and obvious structural defects in the buildings themselves, with random beams of wood broken or missing, and parts of a roof collapsed from the weight of the snow. There's not a soul in sight, either.
"Sorry for the mess," says Sanae, looking embarassed. "I've been overwhelmed with midterms lately and… it's hard doing this alone."
Reimu stops in front of the main building, frowning. It feels empty here, too. No spiritual presence at all. Another reason why everything felt so chilling and off this morning, perhaps. Everything just feels more empty.
She still has the coins she got from Sanae in the restaruant earlier. She stops in front of the altar, and tosses a coin into the offering box. She rings the bell, claps her hand twice, and then bows.
She frowns, thinking. She considers herself pretty well-trained. But she can't sense anything spiritually here at all. If Kanako-sama and Suwako-sama really did vanish 15 years ago, that span of time might be too large to bridge, especially in a world like this.
She frowns.
Still, she has to try.
Well, in this world, it doesn't seem like there is a Hakurei Shrine, anyway. Surely her god won't mind if she switches allegiances. Just for a short while.
She takes a step back to where there's a clearing in the snow. "This shouldn't take long. It'll either work or it won't. Take a step back."
"Don't push yourself too much," says Sanae, looking at Reimu with concern. "What are you going to do?"
"Your gods were lacking in faith, weren't they? What if I just supply them with some?" She thumps her chest. "I'm kind of a big deal, you know. My faith multiplied by my spiritual power, who knows?" She smirks. "Maybe a miracle will happen." She claps her hands together.
Overcoming 15 years of decay won't be easy. She has to give it her all.
Targeting her faith at gods she can't even sense is not as easy as it sounds. But being on the shrine grounds itself helps her focus a lot, and having met Kanako-sama and Suwako-sama before helps her imaging process.
Faith means something different to different people. For Reimu, perhaps she isn't as pious as she ought to be. To her, it's more of a means to an end.
As much as it goes against her every instinct to being devout to her bitter rivals, she forces it anyway. This has to work.
The wind rustles around her, and a faint red glow begins appearing around her. She closes her eyes to focus better.
This is for Sanae.
It's like pouring flour empty an endless pit, however. Reimu feels her reserves quickly bottoming out.
She collapses to her knees, but she keeps her hands together, her eyes squeezed shut, and she keeps channelling.
"Reimu!" shouts Sanae. The sound of footsteps hurrying to her side. "You don't have to keep going. Are you—" She suddenly stops talking. Reimu peeks open an eye and sees Sanae stumbling, and then clutching her head. "Oh…" says the girl as she sinks to her knees, and then collapses onto the ground.
"Sanae!" shouts Reimu, suddenly dropping the channelling. She was trying to channel her faith towards Kanako-sama and Suwako-sama. Why would Sanae suddenly collapse? "Are you…" she says, jumping to her feet to Sanae's side.
But as soon as Reimu gets to her feet, the world spins out from under her, her vision darkening. "Oh." She strumbles, slips in the snow, and then slams into the ground right on top of Sanae.
Sanae only lets out a brief grunt of pain but does not respond any further.
Reimu now suddenly has a splitting headache, the world around her darkening.
Oh…
Maybe she'll take a nap.
…
…
…
When Reimu regains consciousness, it's still cold, and she still has a splitting headache. But she's propped up against a wall, she's under a blanket, and there's a faint feeling of warmth to her side, and a glow of warmth in the air in front of her.
Wincing, Reimu opens her eyes.
It's already dark outside, maybe within half an hour or so after sunset.
She's still at Moriya Shrine. She can see the disturbances in the snow in front of her, where she had set up her channelling, and where she and Sanae had stumbled to the ground.
In front of her, Aunn, bundled up in a thick winter coat, is fiddling with a cheap portable heat, emitting small but warm flames.
It looks like they're inside a small shelter, just to the side of where they had been standing earlier.
"Aunn?" mutters Reimu, clutching her head. "What…" She winces.
"Sis… What are you doing, skipping class and passing out here?" Aunn berates. She lightly taps Reimu's forehead. "If Sanae-neesan hadn't called me for help, you would be freezing out here!"
"Sanae?"
Reimu turns, and notices now that the warmth pressed into her side is Sanae, also under a different blanket. Her eyes are closed, but when her name is mentioned, they open again. "Sorry for calling you all this way, Aunn-chan. I was too weak to move Reimu-san, and I didn't know who else to call…"
Aunn presses a bag of chocolates into Reimu's hands. "Eat up. Whatever you and Sanae-neesan did, you ate up huuuge amounts of energy. Recharge a little, then we can go home."
"What happened?" asks Reimu. Her head is still pounding, and her stomach is growling a bit now, so chocolates and sugar sound great, actually. She starts popping them into her mouth. She holds her other hand out to the fire, trying to get warmed up.
"I suddenly passed out," says Sanae. "And apparently, you did, too. After I woke up, you were still unconscious, so I called Aunn-chan for help."
Reimu looks around rapidly. "What about Kanako-sama and Suwako-sama—"
Sanae shakes her head slowly.
Reimu wilts. "Oh."
"It was a long shot, anyway. Thanks for trying." Sanae smiles. "You looked pretty cool, glowing red aura and everything."
Reimu lets out a sigh. "I guess it didn't work."
Sanae shakes her head. "Guess not."
"What were you trying to do?" asks Aunn, frowning.
Reimu and Sanae glance at each other.
"It's uh…" says Reimu.
"Kind of a long story," says Sanae, smiling sheepishly.
"I've got allll evening," says Aunn.
"So basically, an alternate Reimu from a fantasy magic AU reverse-isekaied into your sister this morning," says Sanae.
"So that's why!" exclaims Aunn. She turns to Reimu, smirking. "You didn't have me fooled for one minute. You would never forget your phone like that."
Reimu shakes her head. "You outside worlders are so weird." She can't believe Aunn understood the weird sounding jumble of words that came from Sanae's mouth.
"Were you trying to yeet her back home?"
"Well, not exactly. Reimu-san was trying to… do me a favour, but it didn't work out."
Sanae and Aunn are chatting like old friends. Reimu suddenly feels self-conscious at all the awkward, stilted conversations she's had with Sanae earlier today. It's a sharp contrast with the fluid, rapid fire conversation that Sanae and Aunn are having now.
"So sis has spiritual powers! But why did you faint too, Sanae-neesan? Are you on debuff right now?"
"Huh? Ah, no, not this week."
They are speaking Japanese, but she doesn't know what they're saying. It's like speaking to Sumireko all over again. Reimu chuckles nervously.
She shouldn't forget, after all.
She doesn't belong in this world.
Chocolates are fine in moderation, but after eating a full bag of them, you start feeling icky, and your teeth gross. Reimu's headache is slowly subsiding, though. Seems like she just needed the energy boost.
"I… I think I can walk now," says Reimu.
"Are you, um, heading home?" asks Sanae.
Reimu glances at Sanae. "Want to come over?"
"Y…yes. If it's not too much trouble."
"Or, we could go over to your place!" chirps Aunn. "Isn't that like, much closer?"
"Aha, I don't exactly have electricity or water right now…" Sanae says sheepishly. "So if I could…"
"Huhh?" Reimu's ears perk to attention. "Wait, is that why you keep wanting to visit our place?"
Sanae turns bright red. "Um… "
"Ya freeloader!" laughs Aunn.
Reimu waves her hand. "I don't mind. It makes things more lively." Over the years, she's gotten used to quite the number of freeloaders, after all.
Aunn and Sanae slowly help Reimu to her feet.
As soon as Reimu is on her feet, Aunn steps forward and kicks Reimu in the leg. "That's for making Sanae-neesan cry, by the way."
Reimu splutters.
Aunn sticks out her tongue. Sanae frantically scolds Aunn, flustered, and is looking apologetically at Reimu.
So Reimu laughs it off.
On the bus ride home, Reimu lets out a sigh, staring out the window. She was so sure it would work. Did she overestimate the value of her faith and spiritual power? Maybe it just works differently in this universe? Or maybe 15 years was just too long, and there was just nothing left. With enough power, it should be possible to revive even disappeared legends, though. Maybe Reimu just didn't have enough power?
"Hey." Sanae gently pokes Reimu's cheek with her finger.
Reimu turns to Sanae, startled out of her thoughts.
"Don't be too bummed out about it," says Sanae, smiling weakly. "There isn't much you could've done." She closes her eyes. "I think deep down, I already knew, years ago, they're not coming back. I'm just being stubborn."
"But it feels like such a waste," says Reimu. "I'm here, with my own skills and powers. I could do something."
"Even with your abilities," says Sanae, "I guess things here are just not as easy as in Gensokyo."
"...Guess not."
Sanae stretches. "Well, it's my turn to help you. We still have to get you home, right? It's late today, but tomorrow, I'll help out with whatever investigating you need. You were investigating earlier this morning too, right?" She smiles cheekily. "Skipping out on your morning classes."
Reimu makes a face. "You… saw that?"
"My 9am classroom wasn't too far from yours, you know. I saw you sneaking about and wondered what was going on. And if you weren't in class, you certainly couldn't have taken the quiz you said you took."
She's got her there. "...Sorry for lying."
Sanae just smiles. "I was hurt, you know. I thought you hated me and that's why you were hiding things from me."
"I would never hate you." Reimu frowns. Though… Is that true? What if Sanae got really annoying and like. Won total superiority with support from over all of Gensokyo for her shrine? Well, Reimu would certainly be annoyed, but she still doesn't think she would hate her. She nods. "Yeah, I wouldn't."
"That means a lot to me."
Reimu frowns. "You're not going to give up, are you?"
"Even if they never come back," says Sanae. "I think I will keep on proselytizing the good name of my shrine. I feel closer to them, just be going on as I have."
"A miracle might happen, you never know," says Reimu. "You are the miracle girl, aren't you?"
Sanae smiles abashedly. "I never told you that, either." She lets out a sigh. "Miracles are hard to come by these days."
"I mean, I'm here, aren't I?"
"That's true."
"That in itself is a…" Reimu frowns, "miracle…" She glances at Sanae.
Sanae raises an eyebrow. "Hm?"
Actually, didn't Sanae mention being tired today, too?
As powerful as gods and spirits are, Reimu doesn't think even that gap youkai can do something as unthinkable as traversing complete universes with ease. At the very least, it would surely require take a lot of effort, and perhaps, a bit of a miracle. Or both.
And if just keeping Reimu here in this universe requires effort, then maybe channelling large amounts of spiritual power across universal bounds would also require effort.
And maybe that's what hit Sanae at the shrine today.
"Miracle," Sanae repeats to herself, frowning.
"Do you think…" starts Reimu.
"Oh no," says Sanae, hand covering her mouth. "What if—"
Reimu and Sanae make eye contact.
"If it's me I'm so sorry," stammers Sanae. "I didn't mean to drag you here. I didn't even know I could do that!"
"If you're doing it unconsciously, that's kinda cool, to be honest," says Reimu, peering more closely at Sanae.
"I…"
"Did you perhaps, make some kind of wish recently?" Reimu puts a hand on Sanae's shoulder.
"I…" Sanae takes a deep breath and lets it out. "I did."
"What was it?"
Sanae pouts. "Not telling."
"Sanae…"
"Well, it's not exactly what I was expecting, but," says Sanae. She smiles. "I think it's a step in the right direction. I got over my fear."
"Your fear?"
"About telling you. About all this."
"After I go back, you'll still have to tell me." Reimu scratches her head. "She's probably not going to remember what you told me, since it's a different me in here. I'm sure the other me will be confused about completely missing an entire day."
"I have confidence it'll go a bit better the second time. Thank you."
"Okay, I guess." Reimu frowns. "I don't think I really did anything, though."
"You did a lot." Sanae closes her eyes for a moment, as if gathering her thoughts. "I think… I think I'm good." She smiles. "Thank you. Thank you for everything." After a brief moment of hesitation, she leans forward and wraps her arms around Reimu in a tight hug.
Reimu freezes, and then awkwardly reaches up and pats Sanae on the back.
Sanae pulls back and then gives Reimu a discerning look. She hesitates for a long moment, as if debating with herself. She then leans in closer, speaking quietly as if afraid that Aunn might overhear. "Be honest. Do you think I have a shot?"
"A shot?"
"With you."
Reimu raises an eyebrow. She wouldn't consider herself completely oblivious, she does indulge in the occasional romance novel, thank you very much. But hearing Sanae use that kind of language in a context involving her and Reimu is… unexpected. Is the slang different here, perhaps? Reimu should ask to make sure.
"What do you mean?"
Sanae lets out a breath, and then smiles. "Nevermind. Forget it."
Reimu makes a face. You can't just ask something and then say "forget it" immediately afterwards. That's just poor manners. "Whatever you want to ask," says Reimu, closing her eyes, "you should ask her directly. I don't know what kind of person she is, but if she's anything like me, she'll answer directly. Either way, I don't think she would treat you any differently just for asking."
Sanae looks surprised for a moment, and then smiles. "I see. It's reassuring hearing that from you, though." She lets out a breath, her hand on her chest.
Reimu wobbles slightly, her vision fraying at the edges.
It feels like she's leaving her body.
Sanae's eyes widen, as if surprised. "Oh! I think it's undoing itself now."
"Seems like it." Reimu's having an out of body experience. She looks down and can see her body slumped unconscious, breathing softly as if having a nap. To her side, Aunn is tapping distractedly on her phone. To her other side, Sanae is looking at her, not her unconscious body, but at her spirit, hovering above the body.
"Say hi to the other me for me," says Sanae, nodding.
Reimu just waves a hand.
There's a flash of light.
And then, nothingness.
…
…
…
When Reimu blearlly opens her eyes, her head is resting on something soft, and a kettle is whistling in the distance.
Sanae's face blurs into focus above her.
This Sanae has shorter hair, and she's wearing her signature wind priestess uniform.
"Good morning," Sanae says cheerfully.
"...Morning." Reimu slowly sits up, her body aching with soreness. What happened?
She looks around. This is her shrine. Exactly how she last remembers it, almost a day ago now.
"Are you my Reimu?" asks Sanae, tilting her head.
"I think so?" says Reimu.
Sanae smiles. "How was your trip?"
"Oh. You know about that?"
"Where did you think the Reimu of that universe went?"
Reimu pauses. To be honest, she never really thought about it. She supposes she just assumed that the other Reimu just went… dormant or something. But if Sanae is mentioning it… Then she supposes she and the other Reimu must have changed spots. "Here?"
Sanae nods. "She was so cute! She had a lot to ask about Gensokyo, and she genuinely seemed interested in meeting Kanako-sama and Suwako-sama!" She smiles mischeviously. "I didn't tell them about your situation, so keep in mind they're pleased with how very respectful you are towards them now."
Reimu makes a face. "Hah?"
"She's also a fast learner!" Sanae beams. "She wanted to learn how to fly, and she already got the basics, like, 80% nailed down within the day!" She laughs sheepishly. "She may have crashed into the ground a number of times, though."
"Is that I'm so sore?" Reimu glances confusedly down at where she had just been lying down, and then up at Sanae. Wait, the pillow is over there, not here. "Wait, why was I lying on your lap?"
Sanae waves her hand. "Oh, you know. Stuff."
Reimu stares at Sanae levelly.
Sanae winks. "Okay, fine, I'll tell you. We were trying to figure out how to get her back, so we were meditating together. Seems like it worked!" Sanae tousles Reimu's hair. "So, what was it like on your end?"
"Well, it…" Reimu lets out an exasperated breath, smiling tiredly. "Kinda a long story." She glances at Sanae. "She says hi, by the way."
"Oh?" Sanae smiles. "Tell her I say hi back!"
"It's not like this is going to be a regular thing." Reimu pauses. "At least, I hope not."
Sanae giggles. "So tell me, Reimu. Which me did you like better?"
"What kind of question is that?" frowns Reimu. She considers the question, anyway. Some lingering worry for the other Sanae is remaining on her mind. That girl seemed like a sweet girl at least, unfortunately downtrodden in a world not built for her. But after all, she thinks she prefers the Sanae she's known for the longest. Isn't that what anyone would answer? "I liked the other Sanae better, she gave me free breakfast and lunch," she says, just to see how Sanae will respond.
"Is your heart that cheap?" Sanae pouts.
"I'm pretty hungry right now, you know."
"How hungry…"
As Reimu quickly settles back into her typical laid-back routine, the words that the other Sanae said echo in her mind.
Do you think I have a shot?
Reimu glances at Sanae out of the corner of her eye.
Nahhh. The two Sanaes have lived two very differenent lives, and they'd met under very different circumstances too, after all. Surely it's unlikely for both of them to harbour similar sentiments.
But she does keep coming over to visit…