Chapter Text
Considering the situation, Reimu felt surprisingly calm.
She adjusted her ribbon in front of her living room mirror. Absolutely second nature to her by now, but admittedly yes, she did put a little more care into it than usual today.
It was while she was preparing the larger table in the middle of the living area, that her mind pricked slightly - a familiar presence.
Ugh. There was only one person that could be.
"Why... did you never tell me?" Reimu asked.
"You never asked," Yukari's voice replied.
Reimu spun around. “Don’t give me that crap!” she threw her arm aside.
Her gaze immediately met Yukari's through a thin gap, and she scowled resentfully at her.
Yukari, huh. She showed her face quicker than Reimu expected.
On top of being a half-baked ‘mentor’ figure, she was a youkai with eyes on everything. A finger in every pie. A woman who kept ‘balance’ in her own way, allegedly pulling Gensokyo's strings from the shadows. Of course she had known what happened with Reimu’s mother and Sariel.
In fact, judging from Sariel’s bitterness towards Yukari...
Slowly, sheepishly, Yukari emerged. Her gap spilled her onto her knees, until she was sat politely at the table.
Without another word spoken, Reimu sat at the table opposite her. She kept a glare trained on the woman.
The two locked eyes in silence for a good couple of minutes. Yukari must have been waiting for some kind of ice-breaking moment, but Reimu's scowl was so sincere in its frustration that it was Yukari who ultimately caved.
Yukari slumped back onto her hand and rolled her eyes with an 'ugh'. A slight smirk actually tugged at the corners of Reimu's lips; a little 'I won' moment.
Resting her cheek to her hand and leaning on the low table, Yukari took a few moments to think. She stared out the shrine's open side-doors, then finally responded.
"A youkai stealing the appearance of a Hakurei... living as a Hakurei... it made me sick,” she muttered, almost bitterly.
“I was really quite grateful when you sealed her away,” Yukari’s golden eyes flickered emptily, veiling the pettiness of her words. Reimu's glare remained steadfast in resentment.
"It didn't affect your precious Gensokyo balance, so what's it matter to you?"
"It mattered to me on a purely personal level. I mean, a brilliant, unique youkai like Sariel, living and hiding as a holy human . Does it not make your skin crawl?"
"You of all people have no right to complain about things that make skin crawl," Reimu said frankly.
"Aw!" Yukari tutted, a facetious smirk reappearing on her face. "But I still allowed it, didn't I?”
It was obviously not as simple as that. Reimu kept her unamused glare fixed on Yukari, and the youkai quickly yielded with an innocent chuckle.
“Onn the conditionn ...” Yukari hummed, gently shutting her eyes, “...that Sariel be the one to teach you unconditional fear and hatred of youkai. That included my gentle suggestion that she be responsible for your first incident, once you were old enough to be the shrine maiden yourself."
"You... you tore my family apart!!” Reimu snapped. “I should have known your meddling had something to do with this, insufferable gap woman!”
Reimu grimaced her eyes shut and crossed her arms.
But... her frown was more irritated than furious.
Yukari had always managed to get under her skin, but at the same time? The older Reimu got, the less surprising Yukari's inhumanity was anymore. It wasn’t worth it.
"… Did you... really not feel anything for them?" Reimu asked.
"Of course I did."
Reimu blinked, then blinked again. She glared into Yukari, noticing her smile flicker and waver. A hint of sincerity? Before dusting over it, playfully huffing a lock of hair from her face.
"I had the utmost respect for your mother as a Hakurei, and I found Sariel appropriately fascinating as an ancient youkai. Why, such a marvel would have been most welcome in Gensokyo, had circumstances been different...! So no, I did not relish in nor envy their predicament,” Yukari mused, absentmindedly opening up her ornate hand-fan.
“What I did not appreciate-” Yukari added, snapping her fan shut with an irritated sigh, “-was how close they became. And how difficult it was becoming to cover that emotional angel’s tracks."
Reimu’s face scrunched. "Her... tracks?"
"Silly girl," Yukari tilted her head, offering Reimu an 'innocent' smile. "How long did you think such a facade could last? With all eyes in Gensokyo always so focused on the Hakurei, and your own spirituality awakening... well; it was only a matter of time until one of her associates discovered she was not who she seemed.
“Or worse, you discovered she was not who she seemed . "
Reimu's steadfast glare slipped, and she fell into deep thought for a few moments.
She near-mirrored Yukari's pose, leaning her cheek into her hand and staring out of the shrine's side-doors.
"I... would have been okay with it?" Reimu said, as if trying to convince herself.
"Come now, the Hakurei finding out a youkai had been disguised as her birth mother for half her childhood?” Yukari scoffed. “Someone would have died. Either that, or I may have deemed you far too lenient on youkai from far too early an age."
Well this was quickly starting to sound like another lecture. Reimu couldn’t help but roll her eyes as Yukari continued.
"Of course with such a pivotal new era in Gensokyo so rapidly approaching, these were not risks I was willing to take. Your mother understood and, though she abhorred my moaning, even Sariel was ultimately unwilling to take the risk. She knew I was right; that Gensokyo was not ready for a Hakurei who loved a youkai.
“So you see... destroying your shrine and making sure you hated youkai? She made the right call by me.”
"And what about what was right for her? Or me? And what about now?" Reimu asked blankly, brushing Yukari’s explanation aside. She was now slumping her mouth into her palm, eyes lidding, entirely unimpressed. "Stop with the lecturing, you're not my family. Can you even comprehend how badly she wanted a family after everything she’s been through? Everything she’s lost!?"
There was a pause.
Even with her eyes slightly welled in frustration, Reimu kept her gaze locked sharp on Yukari’s.
And, as if somehow endeared, the monster tilted her head.
Yukari sighed and collected her own slump from the table. Finally sitting tall, she shut her eyes and smiled gently at her counterpart.
"Indeed, I will admit that trying to separate the two of you again may prove more trouble than it is worth," she chuckled.
"I wonder... if Gensokyo is ready for a youkai to live at the Hakurei Shrine?
“What do you think, Reimu?"
Faintly, Reimu heard the sound of commotion from the shrine grounds. And she smiled.
Reimu flickered a smirk towards Yukari and said, "No one needs to know she's a youkai. You of all people know how many youkai have been living among humans in disguise all this time, right?"
Then, Reimu stood up and stepped towards the door. "Now, are you gonna leave before my actual guests arrive?"
"Who you talkin' to, Reimu?"
Reimu’s heart lifted.
Before a smile could even spread on her face, a familiar silhouette outlined with a tall pointy hat leapt through the doorway and tackled Reimu into a hug.
Reimu caught Marisa without missing a beat, tightly wrapping her arms around her. And... for a few moments, Reimu allowed herself to just breathe in, deeply.
In a way, Reimu felt like she hadn’t seen Marisa in... ages.
She finally had the clarity and peace of mind to let her head overflow with realisation, appreciation, for just how much Marisa had done for her throughout this whole thing. For being there for her through her months of nightmares. For staying by her side when she lost sight of herself. For putting up with her when she was being ungrateful, or a grump, heck, for supporting Reimu all those times she selfishly followed her heart and made everyone worry!
“Marisa...” Reimu muttered under her breath.
Just... for everything.
A short few moments felt like a short eternity as Reimu’s mind swam with feelings of relief and gratitude at seeing Marisa again now that everything was over.
Then, when she finally had the mental fortitude to let go, she looked back and- yeah, Yukari was gone.
“Seriously who were you talkin’ to? Don’t leave us hangin’,” Marisa replied. She sounded as easy-going as ever, but her grip on Reimu tightened anyway.
Yeah... there would be plenty of time to make it up to Marisa later. Today though, Reimu wanted everyone to relax and smile together again.
"It was Yukari, but now it's you," Reimu said with a wide, warm smile. "Thanks for coming, guys."
"Of course," said Alice, who had been just behind Marisa. "Pardon me, coming through."
"O-oh-" Reimu stuttered. She had been suddenly scooped into a double magician cuddle, both Marisa and Alice squeezing her from either side. To cap it all off, they both planted protective kisses on the top of her head.
"Did you sleep all right last night, Reimu?" Alice asked with an earnest tenderness. "I haven't been able to stop worrying about you."
"She means thinkin' about you !" Marisa interjected. "She wasn't worried! She definitely wasn't up all-night frettin’! Oh yeah, have you eaten properly!?"
"Really, guys," Reimu couldn’t help but giggle, almost a little overwhelmed. "I'm fine."
At least... she was going to be. Thanks in large part to them.
“But... thank you both. Really.”
Marisa and Alice exchanged grins and giggles. They, of course, took this as an invitation to be even more ruthlessly affectionate.
"Oh, and mother sends all her well-wishes too, Reimu." Alice continued to fuss and dote, still hugging Reimu with no sign of letting go. "She says you really must visit soon under better circumstances."
"Oh yeah and Elis stalked me all the way back ta Pandaemonium after Vina started slowin’ down!” Marisa’s voice escalated excitedly; way too close to Reimu’s ear. “Weird as hell, anyway you didn't get hurt by the temple collapsin’ or anythin' right!?"
"I'm-..." came another familiar voice, drifting in from outside, "-not interrupting anything, am I?"
"You're NOT." Reimu insisted, now quite red indeed - but absolutely struggling to keep a smile from her face.
Marisa turned to the voice, beaming up from her messy hug-hair, "Oh, hey Youmu!"
Youmu, who was stopped halfway up the steps to pet a snoozing Aunn’s fluffy coat of hair, beamed up at the three of them. Finally letting go of Reimu, Marisa and Alice both gave friendly waves to the final guest.
Or at least, Youmu was meant to be the final guest.
A maid dressed in red stepped politely through the threshold, frizzy blonde hair breezing behind her. After invasively darting her eyes around, she shot Reimu a smirk.
"Not bad, I was honestly expecting your home to be in a far worse state than this," Yumeko said.
"Oh yes, Reimu," Alice said sweetly, trying to sound conciliatory for her thorny sister. "Yumeko decided she’d like to come along as well. I hope you don't mind."
"Huh," Reimu shrugged, actually finding it easier and easier to relax. "I'll take it as a compliment I guess, thanks Yumeko."
Looking over the already lively group with a tired, comfortable smile, Reimu gave Marisa and Alice affectionate pats on the back before turning towards the kitchen.
“Sit wherever you like; tea will be ready any minute now.”
Yumeko pouted slightly as she politely removed her shoes. "I was expecting more of a reaction," she mumbled to Youmu, sounding almost disappointed.
Youmu giggled as she entered the living area alongside her. "An old foe casually turning up at Reimu's shrine? It’s probably the least surprising thing in the world to her by now."
Within minutes, the whole group was sitting around the table drinking tea together.
Pleasant chatter, irritated banter, the works. It did wonders to take some of the edge off of the tense mood that Hakurei Shrine had been caked in all day.
Well, Reimu figured; now was as good a time as any to see if the guest of honour was ready.
She got up, and with an understanding nod to everyone, headed over to the spare bedroom.
At least she called it the spare bedroom. It actually used to be her mother’s, and now... well.
Reimu supposed she’d wait and see.
"Mama...? You ready to go?"
Reimu peeked her eyes into the dim room, to see Sariel wiping her eyes as her hair faded from black to white.
For a brief moment, Reimu’s guts churned discomfortingly at the familiar sight. Like she’d been thrown back to her childhood and dragged back to the present again in an instant.
At the same time though, Sariel's emotional distress was almost a little... relieving, to Reimu? It made things feel all the more... real. All of this can’t have been easy on Sariel either.
Hesitant to interrupt Sariel's little moment with her old room, Reimu hung back by the door and awkwardly shuffled her sock against the tatami.
Before long though, she heard a creak from the room followed by Sariel's voice, "I'm ready."
Reimu took a small breath in, then stepped into the room just as Sariel was walking towards the sliding door.
The two stopped still, and exchanged quiet smiles.
After a stiff moment though, Reimu rammed Sariel into a hug. She felt Sariel's hand gently stroking her hair, and she hugged a little tighter.
"Oh goodness... are you all right, ReiRei?"
"Mm," Reimu nodded. "That should be my question. This must be so strange for you..."
"And you, surely?" Sariel chuckled weakly.
Sariel was warm... and the way Sariel held her was unlike the way anyone else had ever done. Reimu nuzzled her nose into Sariel's shoulder slightly.
Reimu felt herself squeezed caringly into Sariel's embrace, and a kiss placed on the top of her head.
"ReiRei...” Sariel mumbled. “I love you... my treasured ReiRei..."
Reimu forced a strong smile. Her grip on Sariel tightened again as she opened her mouth to reply.
"I-I... I l-love you, too."
Somewhat forced, yes, but important to her. It was difficult for Reimu to fully accept and believe just yet but she knew, logically, that she loved Sariel.
And she was blushing from embarrassment far harder than she had in living memory.
But she was happy.
It was really... her.
It really, really was her. Sariel really was the woman who raised and trained Reimu for the second half of her childhood, the times she still had memories of!
As difficult as this all was to process, there was... no doubt in Reimu's heart. It was obvious that Sariel found it easier to be her mother than she ever did pretending to be Reimu’s ‘nemesis’ in her first incident.
"You don't have to say it if you're not ready to, you know," Sariel forced her own smile. “I caused you such trauma as a child, it’s understandable if you need time to-”
“No I want this,” Reimu interrupted. There was a brief, awkward pause before she continued. “It’s... not your fault, you know? You never wanted to hurt me. I know that.
“We have... time, don’t we? To finally heal from that horrible incident. Together.”
Sariel tilted her head.
For once, she would try not to argue with happiness.
“All right... but if it feels strange you don’t have to, all right?” she said, beaming that familiar, kind smile, and giving Reimu a slightly condescending pat on the head. Reimu figured that, for now at least, she'd make an exception to allow headpats from Sariel.
Reimu gently shoved the door shut, filling the room with dark again and hiding her shy smile. "You don't have to meet my friends today yet either, if you're not ready," she said quietly.
Sariel shook her head, her white hair appearing to glow even in the dark. "I want this. They helped you so much the other day, didn't they? I owe them, too."
Reimu nodded but, distracted for a moment, couldn't get enough of how Sariel's curled wings made it look like she had a whole cape of hair.
It was just... really cool.
She beamed an excited, rosy-red smile at Sariel for a moment, then turned towards the door again with a giggle.
"Even if they ask weird questions, like 'if you're Reimu's mom, does that mean Reimu is half-youkai'?”
Sariel chuckled and smiled fondly at Reimu. “Well that one’s easy. I just tell them I’m not actually your mother.”
Then Reimu span around to Sariel again, with a look of worry and confusion on her face.
Sariel laughed a little louder before smiling gently.
“What’s that face for? The great thing about being a Fallen Angel abandoned by her God is that I can do blasphemous things like induce virgin pregnancies without anyone really caring about it.
Reimu pouted, the dark still hiding her blush. “Th-that sounds cool and all, but you’re the person my mom wanted to spend her life with, right? And you raised me for a good chunk of my childhood...”
Sariel blinked and tilted her head in confusion at Reimu. “Yes...?”
“I’m saying-!!” Red-faced, Reimu asserted her gaze and kept pouting. “I don’t want you to say you’re not my real mom, okay? You’re both my real moms, in every way that matters.”
“Oh!” Sariel said.
Her expression softened. "I... understand. In that case, I am your real mother,” she said, smiling adoringly at Reimu. “Thank you, ReiRei.”
Reimu sighed and awkwardly scratched the back of her head, before shyly smiling up at Sariel.
Still though... of course they would have thought of something like that. Reimu dealt with so many ‘youkai shrine maiden’ rumours in her life, so she was retrospectively relieved that her moms were such a smart couple of ladies.
Reimu thought to the photo of the two of them, the one she saw back at the Fallen Temple, and grinned. Then, she headed to slide the door open again.
"Well... shall we?" Reimu asked, holding her hand out.
Sariel accepted, and as she followed Reimu out of the dark her flowing white hair finally caught the light.
Finally shimmering beneath the real light of day, Reimu couldn't help but notice it was actually more... light blue, than white.
And it was beautiful, like she’d never really looked at it before. Like that blank-faced white-haired angel from her nightmares wasn’t who Sariel was at all.
Suddenly, Reimu couldn't wait to find out more and more about her new, old family member. The person she was once so close to, the youkai who had this whole other life of centuries and centuries of history and experiences to share, and Reimu still only knew the very tip!
Optimistic and excited, stomach bubbling with butterflies, Reimu led Sariel by hand back to the main room with a genuine smile across her face.
Marisa, Alice, Youmu and Yumeko all stopped talking as the newcomer entered the room. All eyes fixed on the both of them, as they stood at the head of the table.
"Everyone..." Reimu said. She looked to Sariel with a nervous smile.
Sariel squeezed Reimu’s hand, and beamed a familiar smile. A smile Reimu had always known so well. A smile that set Reimu’s heart at ease in a way that perhaps no other smile ever could.
"I'd like you to meet my mother."