A.N.: There is Touhou in everything. We all have Touhou in our blood as well, which is why nothing escapes having a touch of Touhou.
Touhou is owned by Team Shanghai Alice, and everything else under Touhou also belongs to him. However, fans like you and I don't belong to him, we belong to the world, free as a bird!
"Gensokyo."
Reimu Hakurei traced the characters of the name of the world with her finger on the wooden wall. The bathroom was steamy from the hot water she had used for her bath. Wiping the word away with the palm of her hand, she wrapped a large towel around her skinny body and made her way into her private quarters.
The sun was setting as she passed a window; it marked the end of yet another sweltering day in the summer of Gensokyo. There hasn't been a day during every summer when she hadn't cursed at the humid weather; the plants in the garden behind the shrine were wilting from the heat, save those that survived in hot seasons, the water she had retrieved from the well equally boiling hot, even the wooden floor was unforgiving on her bare foot.
The sunset casted an orange glow across the whole of Gensokyo, and that was also the same when Reimu made it back to her room. She reckoned that if she were to slather some of the shrine's prayer oil on her body, she would be a glowing beacon that could be seen from miles away. At that same moment, she shook her head in disgust at that thought; it wasn't the right thing for a miko to be thinking of.
Yeah right, she thought to herself. Wasn't I drinking alcohol for the past decade? No thanks to little miss Ibuki and Remilia. And that wasn't exactly what a miko would do anyway. 'Hey Reimu, let's have a party.' 'No way.' And then I found myself drunk, waking up in a pool of vomit on my futon, and the entire shrine in a mess. 'Just a little wine over dinner wouldn't harm, Reimu.' 'I don't want to get into a hangover at a vampire's mansion!' And I still found myself in Remilia's guest room, stark naked under the bed covers. Thank goodness nobody was around, but it was darn embarrassing!
Grimacing at the memories, she got set into dressing up for the night, slipping into her undergarments and such. As she reached into her cabinet for the usual Hakurei miko garb, her eyes caught on a stack of clothing stashed in the back of the cabinet; it was her old clothes from the younger days.
Nostalgia rushed through her body as her fingers grasped the white kimono and red hakama that used to be her daily wear those many years ago. As she pulled them out from the cabinet, she noticed the neat folding she had long forgotten for maintaining the creases of the hakama. If I were to take these out and wear them again, I don't know if I can remember to fold them back… the proper way. It's already been almost a decade since I touched these.
Should I wear this again?
Should I?
Why am I thinking of this again? What was my reason for changing into something that didn't exactly resemble a miko? Why can't I remember what happened exactly a decade ago? Is ten years really long?
And then again, it's summer. Really hot, you know? It's silk, but I might melt in these during the day.
Oh wait, it's already dusk. The night should be cool. I shall wear this for tonight, just this once.
Flipping out the clothes, and unfortunately giving herself a coughing fit from the dust that had settled on the unused clothing, she put on the white kimono before putting the hakama on, and somehow managed to remember how to secure the straps in the right positions.
Can never forget these, she thought as she tied the all familiar red ribbon bow on her hair. And now, time to prepare dinner.
The Hakurei Shrine was doing better financially than years ago. Suika Ibuki, an oni, a regular freeloader at the shrine, had took on a voluntary internship as a miko of the shrine and somehow managed to gather donations on behalf of Reimu. In return, the actual red-white miko turned a blind eye on her incessant drinking in the shrine's grounds, and instead welcomed her to stay with her.
Suika still did her job currently, but was away on a drinking adventure on her own, and Reimu wasn't worried about the money; the little oni had gathered enough donations to last her for the rest of the year, provided she didn't decide to host a festival and get no donations in return. Reimu's reputation as a slacker had earned mistrust among the Hakurei's followers, and so people donated to the shrine thinking Suika was finally replacing lazy Reimu.
It wasn't far from truth; Suika herself had been appearing a lot more often to attend to worshippers than Reimu herself had, who was usually sleeping in her room or having tea sessions with Yukari Yakumo, away from public view. The sight of a youkai in the Hakurei Shrine would cause confusion, seeing that the faithful believed the Hakurei Shrine was the forerunner of youkai exterminations.
The shrine, during the night, do get its share of youkai visitors. Remilia Scarlet, vampire and owner of the Scarlet Devil Mansion across the Misty Lake, seemed pretty fond of the red-white miko, and would drop by frequently for a chat, despite not being exactly welcomed by Reimu herself. In return, she would drop some coins into the offertory box when she finally left for home just before sunrise. That was the way Reimu did her job as a youkai exterminator; beating down and extorting money from any youkai who had unwittingly wandered or trespassed into the Hakurei Shrine, in return for a safe exit from the shrine. This was, of course, done away from the eyes of any witnesses.
As for some of the more normal-looking faces around, Marisa Kirasame, witch and shit-hoarder, kept her unwilling friend miko company at times, along with occasional visits by the doll puppeteer, who happened to be distant neighbors with Marisa in the Forest of Magic. There were others, but most of them only came when they needed the Reimu's assistance, be it to solve an incident, asking for divinations or simply to solve their personal problems.
Personal problems? Do they think I have none? And why is even Yukari asking me for help when all she needs to do is to gap some idiot from the Outer World to help her? She already has Ran, what else does that sleepyhead need?
And so it wasn't surprising when she lifted the cover of the rice barrel and found that there, indeed, was rice in it. Grabbing a palm of the rice, she brought it up to her nose to take a whiff at its fragrance; she would never take food for granted, remembering the hungry days she had endured just some years ago before Suika came along.
Rinsing the rice in water, she poured them into a metal pot and set it over the fire. On the pot's surface, she caught herself in the reflection. Yeah, this was definitely me a decade ago, looking all prim and proper, ready to receive worshippers at the shrine.
Pushing herself away from the fire, she began the mundane task of preparing simple dishes for dinner. Just for tonight, there would not be sake to go along with, as she purposely forgot to pour herself a serving.
I really want to take a better look at myself in this.
Leaving the dishes half done, Reimu strode back into her private quarters for the reflective glass (essentially a mirror) she had 'acquired' from the Kourindou some months ago. Wow, do I really look years younger now, don't I? She struck a sexy pose; the reflection in the glass followed suit. Reimu then picked up the gohei she had conveniently always kept at her side and brandished it offensively at her reflection; the mirror image did likewise.
A small insect buzzed noisily around her left ear; she raised a hand to slap it away, and caught herself doing that in the glass. Rinnosuke sure has good tastes in his collection. I wonder what magic was enchanted on this glass. And what is an insect doing here? Haven't I told Wriggle enough to NOT allow insects into Hakurei Shrine?
Totally forgetting about preparing her dinner, Reimu continued with her pose striking at the reflective glass, all the while thinking of her younger days while wearing the old hakama. Noticing that the ribbon on her purple hair, in the reflection, was slightly off to the left from a sharp jerk of her head, she reached up to adjust it.
Just as she finished doing so, Reimu remembered about dinner. Running back to the motley kitchen, she removed the pot from the fire and opened the lid; she was just in time to save it from being burnt. Finishing up the rest of the dishes, she set them on a waist-high table near a window, whispered a short prayer and began eating.
Night had already fallen, and the shrine exterior grounds were basked in the soft glow of lanterns she had hung up before her evening bath. As she reached for the pot for rice, she caught her reflection on the surface again; the ribbon was seating nicely on her black hair. Smiling to herself in satisfaction, she began…
Wait. The ladle she was holding dropped into the pot noisily.
Getting up from the table, she dashed back into her room for the reflective glass. True enough, the reflection showed herself wearing her old miko wear, but something was off; the reflective glass was showing Reimu herself with purple hair. I swear I woke up today with black hair this morning.
Reimu reached out a wary hand to touch the surface of the glass; her reflection did likewise. As her fingers almost touched it, she quickly withdrew the hand. Her mouth dropped open as the reflection in the glass still held a hand to the glass, a shocked expression being written all over the Reimu reflection in the glass.
"DOPPELGANGER!" Reimu recoiled backwards in terror. The Reimu in the mirror imitated her reaction, but she could not hear any voice from the glass.
Brandishing her trademark gohei again at the mirror, she squeezed her eyes shut, calling upon whatever powers she had to banish the evil spirit in the glass. Opening her eyes, she caught herself in the glass again; the purple-haired reflection was also pointing a gohei in her direction.
Is that even a reflection?
"Who… are you?" Reimu demanded with a quivering voice. This time, however, not only was her mouth moving, the voice also came from inside the glass. It was as if the reflection was asking her the same question at the same time.
What a weird reflective glass Rinnosuke picked up from the Outer World.
Reimu took a tentative step forward, all the while keeping her eyes peeled at the glass. The purple haired Reimu followed with more-than-military precision. Reimu then pointed at herself, "I am Reimu Hakurei, and I'm not afraid of you!"
The other Reimu did the exact thing, and Reimu even heard the words being spoken back to her. And that was when she noticed something; while the room that appeared in the reflection was still normal, the Reimu that had appeared in the glass was slightly shorter and had paler skin compared to her own. I think that was how I really looked like years ago.
Without thinking, she suddenly leaned forward and, with both arms, reached into the glass, as if to grab the reflection. Sure enough, much to the surprise of the actual miko, which was also registered in the reflective glass, her hands found purchase as she lifted her purple-haired self out of the glass before settling… her… beside herself. Both Reimus looked at the glass at the same time; they only saw the room being reflected; no Reimu appeared on the glass.
"Oh my…" Reimu covered her mouth in horror. 'Reimu' copied her movement at the exact second timing. "The Former Hell did I just witness?"
"Why are you wearing my clothes?" 'Reimu' asked Reimu, her voice now distinct; 'she' had a higher pitched voice, exactly what Reimu had when she was at that age.
"Why are you wearing MY old clothes?" Reimu asked back. Both of them shrugged and shook their heads together. "I can't believe this is actually happening!"
"What are you doing in my shrine?" the shorter 'Reimu' poked her primitive, compared to Reimu's sturdier design, gohei in Reimu's ribs. "And you have just dragged me into your illusionary world!"
"YOU are the one living in the illusionary world!" Reimu shouted in reply. "And welcome to Gensokyo while we are at this topic!"
"I am from Gensokyo! You are the fake Reimu!"
"YOU ARE THE FAKE! I CAN PROVE THIS!"
'Reimu' crossed her arms in disbelief. "Prove it!"
Maybe if I change back to my current miko wear, it might convince Reimu… WAIT, ISN'T THAT MYSELF? "Shoo!" Reimu pushed her younger self out of the room. "Let me get changed and I will prove it to you!"
With 'Reimu' out of the room and sight, Reimu began stripping her old clothes, flinging them onto her futon without a care to fold the hakama in proper order and began putting on her all-familiar red-white garb. As she was tying the sleeves to her shoulders, she heard a familiar voice calling for her from the entrance of the shrine. Remilia!
"Yooooohooooo," the vampire's cheerful voice called out. "Happy birthday, red white! Come on out already, I've got your present here!"
"On my way!" Reimu hollered out as she hastened her work. Naturally, in a panic, she missed the knot and the sleeve almost fell apart, only to be caught in her quivering hands. "Give me another five!"
"Don't hide in that room anymore, Reimu, because I…" Remilia's voice cut off suddenly, and Reimu had the worst idea in her mind; Remilia was probably staring at her younger self.
"Uh… Remilia? Remi?"
"Oh, my dear Reimu, you looked soooooo cute!" a squeal was the reply, before turning into cries. "OWW! OWW! THAT HURT! STOP HITTING ME, REIMU! REIMU, NO! REIMU!"
Fearing that 'Reimu' was attacking the youkai, she tossed both detachable sleeves on her futon and ran out to meet the vampire. Sure enough, Remilia was being beaten into a pulp by 'Reimu' with her gohei. That's me, when I was young. Always using that stick to hit youkai on the head to extort money behind everyone's backs.
"REIMU, STOP!" Reimu held out a hand. The younger miko stopped immediately and stepped away from a crying vampire, her hands on her already swollen head.
"Remilia? I'm so sorry," Reimu squatted down and lifted the vampire's face to her own, to which Remilia screamed, her red gleaming eyes rolled back into their sockets and fainted on the ground, drool rolling down her cheeks from the still-opened mouth.
"She has fangs!" 'Reimu' pointed. "She's a youkai, and she must be exterminated before she harms more innocent people! Get out of the way, impostor!"
"No, I've told you, I'm the real Reimu, and here's my proof; you will be wearing this one day!" Reimu tugged at her own clothes.
"Bare arms? No miko would ever do that!" 'Reimu' shook her head in defiance of her fate. "You're lying!"
"I forgot my sleeves in a hurry to stop you from bashing Remilia."
"Who is she anyway? And why is she in my Hakurei Shrine?"
"Excuse me, I think that would be MY shrine. Remilia is a regular visitor here ever since the day I broke her loneliness by beating her into the same pulp you have just did."
"You are saying… you are my future self?"
"I should be saying that you are my younger self, you know! How old are you, anyway?"
'Reimu' seemed to be thinking about her own age, her fingers thistle with each year that had passed. That was also my old habit when I was counting numbers. Nowadays I just doing it mentally. "Fifteen!" 'Reimu' declared suddenly. "I'm fifteen!"
Thirteen years ago, I was still wearing that 'prim and proper' garb. "Twenty eight, I believe myself to be," Reimu replied.
"How did that youkai know it is your birthday today?"
"She has been trying to be friends with me ever since I defeated her when I was seventeen, which you would be doing in two years time. Even I myself have forgotten my birth date."
"A miko doesn't need to worry about that!" 'Reimu' placed her hands on her hips. "I am a proud shrine maiden of the Hakurei Shrine, I drive evil out and exterminate youkai!"
That was also what I had said when I was fifteen. Or did I?
"But sadly," 'Reimu''s head dropped. "Without that old turtle, I can't go anywhere in this future world!"
"Hey, don't look down on yourself… or myself, for that matter! I began flying on my own without Genjii when I went on to beat this vampire!"
"You mean… I can fly on my own in two years time?" 'Reimu' asked hopefully, her pale face seeming to brighten up.
"Old Genjii is residing at the pond in the back, why don't you go meet and ask him?" Reimu flicked a thumb in the direction of the pond. However, before her younger self could do so, Remilia began moaning. "There's some water and a cup in the kitchen. I trust you know where they are kept, I haven't changed the layout much over the decade."
'Reimu' bowed to her future self and ran for the kitchen. And again, my 'prim and proper' days.
"Reimu?" Remilia gasped as she caught sight of the same Reimu she had been chatting with over the years. "Tell me I was dreaming when I saw you finally wear a proper miko's clothing."
"You aren't dreaming, silly girl."
"No, I think I'm dreaming. Let me bite your neck to make sure."
"Don't. You. Dare."
"Kidding, alright? Happy twenty-eighth, Reimu…s," Remilia dragged the last syllable as 'Reimu' returned with a stone mug decorated with yin-yang orbs. She was about to return to her fainted state when Reimu shook her hard. "Focus hard here, Remilia, something's not right."
"Why… why are there two.. Reimus?"
"It's safe to say," 'Reimu' replied. "That I am Reimu Hakurei, miko of Hakurei Shrine, dedicated to exterminate youkai, while she is Reimu Hakurei, weird miko of Hakurei Shrine, dedicated to inviting youkai to the shrine."
I never dreamt I would say that. "Remilia, I have a problem here. I stole a glass from Rinnosuke a few months back," Reimu explained as she set the vampire softly onto a cushion. The word 'stole' earned a baleful glare from her younger self. "It was meant for me to look at myself while I dress up for the day. Somehow today, I found my old garb in the cabinet. Not sure why, I began wearing it and suddenly saw my younger self," Reimu pointed at 'Reimu'. "In the mirror. My hands somehow managed to pull her into our time frame."
"You mean, it's like an incident now?"
"Except I don't know why this would happen. Maybe I shouldn't have worn that damned hakama…"
"DO NOT INSULT THE HAKAMA!" 'Reimu' protested angrily. Again, I was zealous in my beliefs. Not too sure how I managed to lose that zeal in me over the years though. Was it due to the fact I'm making friends with my enemies? "I WEAR THIS WITH PRIDE DAILY! HOW COULD YOU DEFILE IT INTO… THAT?" 'she' pointed at Reimu's current miko fashion.
"Believe it or not, it looks sexy on her," Remilia, cleared of her surprise, grinned, her fangs showing out again, causing 'Reimu' to start panicking. "Don't worry, kid, I don't bite. Especially not against my Hakurei friend."
"You aren't too old yourself, Remilia."
"Past the five hundred mark, and what about you?"
"Didn't you just say that number before fainting?"
"Think I did. How old is your younger self?"
"She claimed to be fifteen. Totally believable, I stopped wearing that hakama sometime before I paid you my first visit to the mansion."
"Hey, Reimu," Remilia addressed the young miko. "If you do go back to your time, in a couple years, you would face off with me."
"Where do you live?" 'Reimu' asked, as if wanting to take down notes for future reference.
"Across the Misty Lake. A large, red mansion, you won't miss it. An ice fairy will get in your way, though. And if you see a youkai gate guard sleeping, do not wake her up, you can simply walk past her without a problem. Reimu made the mistake by wanting to exterminate every single youkai in her path and got herself wasting a lot of time."
"Who am I supposed to be looking for?"
"The Mistress of Fate herself, me."
"So you will seek to manipulate Fate?"
"It's a history lesson here, Reimu," Reimu said. "She has already done that.. and failed miserably."
"I didn't 'fail miserably', you miserable miko!"
"Reimu," 'Reimu' addressed the modern-Gensokyo-day miko. "Will I end up detracting from the rightful path of a miko in the years to come, just like you?"
"I'm just doing it differently, I'm not detracting from my traditional role here, but times are changing. My life here had been terrible, and if not for youkai like Remilia and Suika, I wouldn't be sitting here today. These people may be our traditional enemies, but I've realized over the years that we do depend on each other."
"Suika? Another youkai? Just how many youkai friends do I have, or will have in future?" 'Reimu' asked curiously.
Remilia turned to answer, just as Reimu did. "Plenty."
A.N.: Touhou Generations was actually inspired by SEGA's 2011 release of "Sonic Generations", where modern-day Sonic meets with the Sonic the Hedgehog from the 'classic days' of SEGA Genesis console. I haven't based my story on anything other than that, there may or may not be similar adaptations to this.
As for now, I'm settling Touhou Generations to be a one shot, this might turn into a full-blown incident-filled story if I ever get my plans down. PC-98 Reimu with modern day Reimu… twice the incidents, double the fun!