A/N: The story is over. This is a dream Shinki shows Hina in the dome. I wrote it long ago as a oneshot, so it will probably feel out of place. Enjoy the silliness.
Extra: Hina's dream
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One cold autumn morning, Hina Kagiyama decided to make a sandwich.
"I'm going to make a sandwich today!" she loudly announced, a wide smile on her face. Naturally, nobody heard her, as Hina lived alone on the slope of the Youkai Mountain, and with her life occupation as a mobile and sapient container of curses, her only companions were voiceless inanimate dolls.
Immediately after the pathos-filled announcement, several problems presented themselves. A recipe had to be composed, ingredients had to be gathered, and finally, the sandwich had to be shared with someone, as eating the self-crafted delicacy all by herself struck Hina as a very sad and depressing experience.
Wisely deciding that the last problem would be the one of the highest difficulty, Hina immediately focused all her mental and physical resources on solving it. To be more specific, she put on her brightest dress, laced herself with the most luscious ribbons, and, her smile never wavering, rushed blindly in a random direction.
Mere half an hour later the almighty hand of fate guided her to the person she was destined to share the sandwich with. The person was sitting under an old and bare oak tree, and looked from a distance like a bloody blot surrounded by a pile of gold, the gold being leaves, and the blot being Shizuha Aki.
"Hi!" Hina called out on approach. "Great day today, isn't it?"
Shizuha didn't respond right away. She waited for Hina to move closer, then dramatically sighed and cast her eyes downward.
"Today is as bad as any other day," she quietly said. "All nature is dying, struggling in futility against the frigid death grasp of the approaching winter. Move away from me, accursed doll. Move away before… hey! Get away! Stop it!"
Overwhelmed by Shizuha's waves of despair, Hina could no longer restrain herself and hug-assaulted the autumn goddess.
"Let go!"
"But hugs cheer people up!"
"No! You are going to contaminate me with misfortune this way! Let go!"
For a while, Shizuha struggled against Hina's hold, and the awkward moment ended with a push and a shuffle through the dead leaf pile. Shizuha then regained composure, jumped in the air, gained a little altitude and stared Hina down.
"Such inappropriate behavior," she said, menacingly narrowing her eyes. "Are you trying to provoke me? If that's a spell card fight you want, you'll get it."
Hina shook her head. "No, nothing like that. I just wanted to eat a sandwich today, and share it with someone, and you looked lonely, so…"
The pause dragged for a while, then Hina bowed deeply and continued. "Lady Aki, will you please be my companion in this cuisine-eating endeavor?"
"No. I will not share food with the curse goddess. I'd rather eat my own flesh, mournfully weeping for every piece I'd have to slice off myself. I'd rather grievously harm my sister in a hundred unspeakable ways…"
Shizuha's speech continued, and like ship's hull gets overgrown with barnacles, the bare bones of her refusal became overgrown with very graphic, and very unnecessary details of mutilation and other gruesome acts Shizuha would rather do to herself and her immediate family instead of sharing the sandwich. She got so absorbed in her own voice she failed to notice the significance of Hina going wide-eyed and backing away, and she also missed a very quickly descending shadow.
From behind, a long and thick white radish connected with Shizuha's skull with a resounding 'trump', and she was immediately circled by her younger sister. Minoriko looked rather flustered, and her apron-covered dress was surrounded by a faintly visible aura of rage.
"Stop bullying Hina," Minoriko demanded.
"It hurts, it hurts!" was Shizuha's immediate reaction, along with covering and rubbing her head. "And I'm not bullying her, she's bullying me! Side with me!"
Minoriko tapped her foot in air. "For several days, you've been sitting under this tree, rocking back and forth, whispering to yourself and staring at your hands. It's not healthy, so go with Hina on an exciting social adventure and help her out. It's for your own good."
"No! You don't know anything! It is only natural that I am to perish under this very tree! This was the last leafed tree in Gensokyo, and with it relieved of its malachite coat, the approach of the merciless winter is inevitable! Death and despair awaits all!"
Hina couldn't see Minoriko's glare, but the hand of the harvest goddess holding the radish moved slightly, and Shizuha deflated, sulked, and sunk to the ground.
"Fine," Shizuha said. "I'll go, but just you wait. Soon, I shall reveal my true colors, and you will all be appalled and disgusted, horrified by-"
"Just go, Shizuha."
The leaf-turning goddess scoffed, stormed past Hina and took off. For a moment Hina felt lost, but Minoriko reassured her with a smile.
"She'll help you, don't worry. Something like this happens to her every year. Every damned year."
Minoriko trailed off and went a bit glassy-eyed, apparently overtaken by unpleasant memories. Hina did her best to reassure the harvest goddess back with a smile of her own, then turned and hurried after Shizuha.
She approached Human Village in high spirits. After all, the hardest part of the journey was already over.
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"I'd like some ham," Hina politely said.
The butcher didn't answer. His gaze kept shifting, dancing around and focusing on everything but the goddess in front of him. His jaw was clenched shut, and he kept crossing and uncrossing his fingers, a sign of warding from misfortune and curses.
"Hello?" Hina asked, and waved her hand in front of the man's face. "I'm right here, and I'm a customer. I'd like some ham, please sell me some ham."
"He is not going to," Shizuha said from behind. "None of them will interact with you. Clinging to the futile hope that ignoring the problem will make it go away, the humans never learn. And you will never be anything but hated."
"But why? I am not evil or do this on purpose, I don't curse humans on purpose. I take their misfortune away, and store it in myself, and if anything overflows and clings back to them, it was their own in the first place."
Hina smiled and looked around. The marketplace was nearly empty, and scarce bystanders quickly scuttled away, crossing their fingers and muttering prayers.
"Just give up," Shizuha said. "It is pointless, like everything in life."
Hina's smile faded for a moment, but she immediately caught herself and forced it back. "Don't say things like that, it'll be alright, you'll see. We will share a delicious, exquisite sandwich, and you'll cheer up."
Hina turned back to the counter. "Human, if you won't tell me the price, I'll just take this slice and pay you tenfold. Look, these are gold coins, they will surely cover your expenses."
To unending horror of the vendor, Hina reached into her pocket, dug up two tiny golden disks, and put them on the counter. The coins didn't gleam, they were dull, scratched, depicted in great detail maws of horrifying demons, and were seeping out an unhealthy purple glow.
"No… money is necessary," the butcher said. "Take… whatever you like, just leave, please."
"Hmm? But you surely worked hard to produce this rare meat commodity. By all means, take the coins, I have plenty more."
The butcher started to back away, but Hina caught his arm and forced the sinister coins into his hand. The glow flashed and faded, absorbed by the flesh. The man turned pale and he started to gasp for breath.
"Oh, don't worry, it's nothing but magic afterglow, the coins aren't cursed," Hina said quickly. "If misfortune befalls you, it won't be because-"
"Fire! Fire in the village! Fire!"
The shout came from one of the nearby streets. The butcher froze and turned there.
"My house is that way," he said, his voice dead. "My son…"
He stepped around the counter and walked in the direction of the shouts, a stiff awkward walk of a man who lost everything. There was a long, hollow pause.
"Oh well," Hina cheerfully said. "Such was his fate, then. Now, let's go get some lettuce!"
"All the shopkeepers ran away," Shizuha remarked.
Indeed, the marketplace was nearly empty now, the stalls left unattended, the goods left behind. A handful of village guards gathered in the distance, brandishing spears but daring not to move closer.
"Let's just grab what we need and leave the money, then. I'm sure the humans wouldn't mind."
"Whatever."
The next part proved to be much easier. Without any terrified people to deal with, things proceeded smoothly. Before long, all the ingredients for the sandwich were gathered in a handy burlap sack, and all that was left to do was to find a suitable location for preparation and consumption of the unusual western dish.
It was then when an unexpected obstacle presented itself, in red-white shape and form of the rather angry shrine maiden, Reimu Hakurei. She landed on the market square and immediately stomped towards Hina, brandishing her purifying stick and shaking her fist.
"Hina!" Reimu shouted. "Brace for the pain!"
"Oh hello, Reimu, what a pleasant surp-"
Hina was interrupted by a fist to the face. The blow didn't land, instead Reimu opened her palm, revealing a crumpled paper sheet which immediately unfolded into a crisp rectangle charm. The charm lit up and exploded, staggering the curse goddess and pushing her back a few steps.
"The villagers are in panic, and I am very upset with you," Reimu said. "Coming to the village without warning, cursing the people, transgressions and crimes. Now, you will both pay."
Hina stabilized herself. The battle was inevitable, a battle she would lose. But victory against Reimu was not something Hina wanted to achieve that day, the sandwich was the goal, and the ingredients had to be protected.
"I entrust this to you," Hina said to Shizuha, and passed the bag to her companion. "Run, hide, keep it safe. We will meet later under the oak tree, I promise."
Shizuha shook her head. "Why the lies? You will not survive this. Reimu will kill you, destroy your body, seal your essence, shatter your spirit, and you will be replaced with another, smarter, better curse goddess. The last day of your life was spent on such a futile, insignificant endevour."
[Dream Sign: Duplex Barrier]
"Go!"
In the fleeting moment between spell card declaration and activation, Hina pushed Shizuha back, and the barrier blinked into reality between them. Determined, Hina turned to face the approaching streams of bullets. Shizuha backed away from the shimmering wall, clutched the bag to her chest.
"Such a pointless sacrifice, and for what, for a sandwich? For me? There is no escaping Reimu's wrath, but if I am to die today, then the mighty oak will serve as a perfect grave marker. Farewell, accursed doll. I hope you die here and won't live to see my torturous betrayal."
Alas, Hina couldn't hear Shizuha's parting words through the sizzling explosions.
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The bread was prepared.
A thin, nearly translucent layer of cheese was spread across it.
In-between, slices of tomato and a sheet of lettuce.
At the core, three thin rolls of smoked ham.
Everything assembled, put together, composed, completed, finalized.
The sandwich was ready.
And then it was chomped into, chewed on, and swallowed.
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Hina found Shizuha exactly where she expected to – under the oak tree. The curse goddess didn't feel that great physically, having partially lost vision in her left eye after one particularly accurate yin-yang orb hit, and her clothing was in a general state of torn ruin. Still, she couldn't help but smile. After all, it all ended much better than she expected, and soon enough, she would impress and cheer up another person with her newly obtained sandwich-making skills.
"Hi!" Hina called out on approach. "How time flies, eh? It's already dusk, such a great day, it's a pity it is nearly over."
"It was as bad as any other day," Shizuha said when Hina sluggishly floated closer. "Did Reimu let you go so you would lead her to me? I see no other reason why she'd let you live."
Hina lowered herself to the ground and tiredly leaned to the tree trunk. She then absentmindedly waved to Shizuha. "Don't worry about Reimu, she is not mad at us. The building that burned down was an abandoned one, and nobody got hurt. We negotiated terms on which I will visit the village in the future, and she didn't even mention you."
"Figures," Shizuha said, her voice full of pain.
"Oh no, no, I didn't mean it like that. I am sure she remembers you and appreciates your leaf-turning duties. But enough about Reimu, it's all about us! Us and the sandwich! Let's do this!"
Hina's bright smile was met with the one of Shizuha, a spreading cruel smirk that horribly twisted her expression. Shizuha then tilted her head down, and the shadow from her hairline covered her eyes.
"You poor, misguided, naive fool," she sadistically drawled. "Hina, there will be no sandwich for you today. I took the ingredients, prepared and ate it… myself."
Hina's eyes went wide. "Eh? But why? Why would you do that?"
"Because you must suffer!" Shizuha screamed, rising up in the air and spreading her arms. "There is no reward for effort, your best is never enough, in the end, the final leaf falls, and nothing remains but the howling wind in the heart of winter! Crumble! Crumble in despair!"
"But… I…"
"Or will you not crumble?" Shizuha asked coldly. "Will you deny your failure, deny my betrayal, curl up inside yourself and pretend this never happened? Or will you lash out at me, push me down to the ground and shove the dead leaves down my throat until I suffocate? Well? Do it! Kill me now!"
Hina averted her eyes. Shizuha returned to the ground, and grabbed Hina's chin.
"But you won't do it, will you?" Shizuha asked, bringing her face very close. "Always a good girl, always a good doll, living for others, not for yourself, taking their curses because it is why you were born, crafted, meld into shape. In the end, nothing for you, no final reward. It is how the world works."
"I am sorry," Hina said, still not making eye contact. "I am sorry it turned out this way. I am sorry for you."
"Sorry for me? Ha!" Shizuha backed away, lifted her arms to the sky and spun around once. "But I feel so good right now, I really do. I had a delicious, juicy sandwich all for myself. All for me, and nothing for you, nothing, absolutely nothing! Ahahahaha!"
Shizuha kept laughing, and spinning, the yellow leaves floated upwards around her, fluttered, fell back. She was laughing, and laughing, and laughing…
"I ate the sandwich with Reimu," Hina said. Shizuha stopped, as if she was hit. She turned, her face now a mask of terror.
"W-what?"
"I ate the sandwich with Reimu," Hina repeated. "When she defeated me, she asked why I came to the village, and I said it was because I wanted a sandwich. So we sat there, in the middle of the trashed marketplace, someone brought tea in, one thing led to another and… I'm sorry."
Shizuha's legs gave in. She collapsed, and sat awkwardly, silently whispering something.
"But it's okay! We can do this again sometime. In fact, with your duties around Gensokyo finished, we can do it tomorrow!"
Shizuha slowly turned, only eyes alive on her face. "There is no tomorrow for me."
"Oh, don't be silly now. The sun always rises the next day… unless the scarlet mist chokes everything in perpetual twilight, or the false moon makes the night eternal, that's not the point. The point is that it is always possible to try again! Also, something is happening to your body, have you noticed?"
From the lower part of Shizuha's dress, a leaf design broke off and fell, turned to a simple red leaf in fall. From the breakpoint, cracks started to spread up, formed leaf patterns, until they spread to arms and neck. Shizuha looked at her cracked arms and smiled.
"It's so fitting, isn't it?" she asked sadly. "The betrayer gets betrayed first, and dies first, literally crumbles, her will to live gone. Then the plucky hero freezes to death, succumbs to her wounds and the cold of the merciless night. Such a happy ending, don't you think?"
"No, it's not. Stop crumbling, please."
Shizuha picked at her sleeve, detached a piece of fabric, bared her shoulder. The cloth turned to crumpled leaves in her hand.
"Why stop it? What's the point of maintaining a body through winter, spring and summer? My sister has to, she has duties throughout the year, but I don't. I can sleep, and dream, and awaken when the season calls. Or maybe not awaken at all."
The cracks spread to Shizuha's face, and the gravity of the crisis struck Hina fully. It was truly a life-death situation, and it was up to her, and only her, to save or condemn another person to her fate.
But what was the best approach? What were those words, the most important words to say to someone who had lost all hope? Was she to appeal to the universal values of life, remind Shizuha of the little things that make life worth living, like sandwiches? Or maybe it was better to remind her that she was never truly alone, and how others and especially her sister cared for her? Or maybe enforce the point that her despair was not her inner quality, but external factor projected onto her because of human belief in the despair of autumn?
"Ah, as expected, you are silent. Farewell, Hina."
Hina panicked. Her time was up, she didn't come up with anything fitting to say, and the only thing left to do was to rely on basic instincts and hope for the best.
Thus, from her sitting position Hina rushed forward, crawled a few steps that separated her from the crumbling goddess, and embraced her in a hug.
For a long, horrible moment Hina expected for Shizuha to crack and fall apart right in her arms. However, the terrible moment passed, as did a few after that, and a few after that, and Shizuha remained relatively solid, creaking and flaking a bit, but in no hurry to crumble.
In a little while, she stopped shivering and pushing back too, which was definitely a good sign. The definite sign of everything ending well came a bit later, when the autumn goddess rested her head comfortably on Hina's shoulder and embraced her back.
"You are warm," Shizuha quietly said. "I thought you'd be cold, and hard like porcelain you are made of, but you are not. You are warm, and it makes me feel, it gives me hope that winter is not going to come. But it will, it always does, and with it loneliness and cold, and… and…"
And now Shizuha was crying. It was still better than decaying and breaking into a leaf pile, but it was still pretty far from what Hina wanted, and she didn't want that much, really – a little smile, a nod, the knowledge of everything being all right. Maybe a little more, but that was really not the most suitable place and time to consider such things.
"Will you spend the night with me?" Shizuha asked. It caught Hina a little off-guard.
"Oh? The night? W-with you? Ah, but lady Aki, what are you saying? It's, it's too soon! I… I…"
Suddenly aware of the condition of both her and Shizuha's clothing, their position and a myriad of other things to be suddenly self–aware of, Hina broke the hug and pulled away, blushing and covering herself. Shizuha, her eyes still misty, stared dumbly for a few seconds, then snickered, then laughed, a mischievous, happy laugh. It lasted for a while, and eventually got Hina to smile too.
"Well, now, look at us," Shizuha said after calming down. "Two damned gods at the dawn of winter, crying and laughing because of sandwiches and misunderstandings. So bizarre and pathetic, but I wouldn't trade this moment for an eternity of happiness and power. Would you?"
"I…" Hina stumbled. "Do I really have to make such a hard choice? I'd like a little happiness and power too, can't we have both? Let's work hard, and have both!"
"Maybe tomorrow, we both need rest. Let's crawl under the leaves, make them warm, and pretend the winter is somewhere far, far away. I am deathly tired from all this, no grave implications intended."
Shizuha waved at the leaves, and they started to shift, formed shapes that vaguely resembled bedding accommodations. The sun had sat long ago, and the last remnants of the orange curtain of light were fading at the horizon, giving way to the chilling darkness of night.
It was obvious Shizuha was in dire need of rest, and she was the one to crawl in the organized leaf pile first, muttering "goodnight" and burying herself fully. Hina soon followed, twisting and turning uncomfortably for a while, as sleeping like this was definitely new to her. She twisted, and turned, and spun, and eventually found herself next to the autumn goddess.
"Oh, I didn't mean to…"
Shizuha didn't answer. She was fast asleep, her face calm, the tiny cracks on her skin closing up and healing. Hina shifted a little bit closer so their warmth would be shared, and thought about that day, the next day, and the future.
"Good night, Shizuha. No matter what happens, I will always do my best to keep you warm."
One cold autumn night, Hina Kagiyama decided to make another person happy.
Extra End