The Shrine of Gensokyo

Chapter 23: Of the Other Shrine Maiden

Author's notes: So i lied, but i forgot one thing. policy depicts that no chapters must contain omakes. So eat your heart out with a longer chapter than usual.

R&R appreciated as always =)

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[Reimu… is it all right, to pray to the Moriya Shrine?]

Looking down at the cup of tea that I had prepared, I waited for her reply guiltily as she just looked shocked. Likewise, her two companions, the two fairies landed on my shoulder and stared at me, their little hands clutching on my shoulder.

[To share faith… among the gods… aren't you a follower of the Hakurei Shrine… so is it alright?]

[… …]

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I might have asked a question too difficult for even her to answer and I resigned to myself that I will never get an answer from her. The Moriya Shrine, which was my home for so long seemed to sigh with me as the winds blew through the shrine, whistling their voices to me.

[Sanae… then… is it wrong for me to pray to the Moriya Goddess?]

[eh?]

Her reply, slow and meaningful, shocked me and I froze while trying to sip a mouthful of tea.

[Is it wrong?]

Looking up to the sky, Reimu placed both her hands on her chest as she asked me a question in place of a question.

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[Reimu?]

[Then… is it not wrong for me to pray to her… the Moriya Goddess then!]

Smiling, Reimu giggled like how she did in the past before standing up and gesturing for the fairies to follow her into the air.

[Hey guys… why won't you pray with me?]

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Smiling, her hands were raised up in the air in a shaped of a cross when she clapped her hands together and prayed.

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[I humbly offer this prayer…

may the spirits listen to my call…

may my strength be your strength….

May your pain be my pain…

listen to my humble prayer, spirits of Gensokyo…

bless the people,

bless the spirits.]

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Ending her prayer, Reimu smiled at me while in the air and as her shadow was casted over me, it reminded me of her how life has always appeared to me, a large and impregnable achievement that I, in the Moriya shrine can never compete with.

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The people of Gensokyo would always talk about the Hakurei Shrine… never about the Moriya Shrine and the people that served Yasaka-sama… my efforts would always be compared with the Hakurei Shrine Maiden… so… I feel very remorseful that I felt a strong sense of jealousy for Reimu.

Her powers were nothing like a human, amazingly powerful and beautiful and the skill that she has in danmaku without practicing is flawless. Like the flowing of water as they squeezed through tiny cracks, Reimu did not even pause or hesitate in weaving through the hardest of danmaku mazes.

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[… Is it wrong… then, Sanae? To pray to… the Patron god of the Moriya Shrine?]

Suddenly sitting beside me again, Reimu extended a hand to me and I hesitated in answering her. To accept her question would to be accepting faith from her, another Shrine Maiden, which might be a good thing but at the same time… it meant that I owed her a favor for her faith.

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As Gensokyo's Magic weakens, the faith in the Gods has weakened too and I am struggling to maintain faith even in the youkai in youkai mountain.

The tengu, who has always believed in the Gods for their survival did not believe in Yasaka-sama as they did in the past. Being spirits in nature too, there was limited faith to be gathered to be given to Yasaka-sama and Moriya-sama but now, there was barely enough to sustain her.

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[… I…]

[Then… can we never be friends?]

Sounding and looking sad, Reimu's head dropped and my mouth dropped open in surprise and shock.

[No no, no… not anything like that…]

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Biting my lap, I stood up to reassure her and I was not certain whether I did a good job at that as she slowly nodded her head and managed to sit down beside me again.

The cheerful atmosphere that had surrounded us was all gone and was replaced by awkwardness, something that I did not want to happen.

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[…]

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[So… can we never be friends?]

[…]

I did not know how to answer her and I just remained silent as I complemented. I… being friends with Hakurei Reimu, the person I always felt was overshadowing my accomplishments in Gensokyo, and the one person who is gathering faith actively among the people…

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[I… I… I]

Hesitating, I never replied her and awkward silence accompanied my decision.

I could never truly be friends with her, not when we are serving different patron gods… the difference is too great.

[Sanae… I.. I want to be your friend… between us Shrine Maidens… I want to be your friend…]

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Whispering to me, Reimu looked forward to the forest of the Mountain and never looked at me once, showing that she was embarrassed in saying those words. Her ears even turned pink, which I thought made her even prettier.

[That's impossible Reimu… You and I serve different gods… we can never…]

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[… aren't we serving the people, Sanae?]

[Eh?]

[We are serving the people… right?]

[…]

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Her words surprised me and I felt a little surprised that I had not thought of it that way before ever while serving as the Moriya Shrine Maiden.

[serving the people… serving the spirits… bringing the gap between humans and spirits ever closer… Acting as the mediator between spirits and people… reading the prophecies of the gods… aren't… that our job?]

[…]

[… I am a servant of the God I served… but I serve the people too and the spirits… that is… how I view my role as the Shrine Maiden… what about you, Sanae?]

[… I… am the Moriya Shrine Maiden, the person that gathers faith from worshippers to Yasaka-sama and at the same time, allowing her to manifest her virtues and her powers to help the worshippers…]

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Saying what I believed with all my heart, I am reminded of the hard time that I had in gathering faith when I arrived in Gensokyo, before and after I was defeated by Reimu and… after Reimu left.

I could never replace Reimu's place as 'the' Shrine Maiden in Gensokyo and I always felt I was the secondary Shrine Maiden in Gensokyo, despite me doing much more faith gathering than her. I would visit families and homes to gather their faith and encourage them to pray unlike Reimu, who just sits at her Shrine and Drink tea, complaining about the lack of donations and everything else.

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I am glad to say that I have never ever once been worried about donations and the financial status of the Moriya Shrine unlike her.

After she left, I found out to be my horror that Reimu has been the one that has the last laugh… it was as if she was a living goddess herself, being referred to as 'the' Shrine Maiden and being hailed as the greatest youkai exterminator.

Even without her, it was clear that the people would have faith in the Hakurei Shrine and it's faith blossomed, thanks to Suika who did her best, unlike the Moriya Shrine whose faith plummeted to an all time low.

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[…]

Even after all that, I continued to strive on for Yasaka-sama and I managed to keep a steady flow of faith for them after faith in Gods and Youkai was almost totally wiped out a few months ago.

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[Isn't it the same as serving the people, Sanae?]

[Eh…]

[By serving the Moriya Shrine Goddess and advising people to pray to them… aren't you indirectly serving the people?]

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[… y-yes… I suppose so…]

[So it's fine for me to pray to her then, the Patron Goddess of the Moriya Shrine… as… my faith in my Patron Goddess, the Great Hakurei Spirit will never falter… ]

[Eh? But… Reimu… your faith that is given to your goddess will be weakened if you do that…]

[It won't… it never will…]

Confidently, Reimu smiled and casually sipped a mouthful of tea before continuing.

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[After all… faith, is always the power of the Spirits… and of the Gods… isn't that right? Faith brings God's power alive and Spirits Gain form through faith and beliefs in people… I, as the Hakurei Shrine Maiden… is serving the people… bringing them closer to the Spirits to the youkai… and at the same time, asking them to pray to them… pray to provide faith for the Great Hakurei Spirit… at the end of the road… the person that benefits is everyone…]

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[… beliefs in god's will be the same no matter who they pray too… just as I believe in gods… I believe in your god, Sanae… the only difference is that I serve the Great Hakurei Spirit and you serve the Moriya Goddess…no matter where a person prays too… the ultimate faith is in the Gods… and not to the Goddess herself…]

The world froze for a moment and I felt as if Reimu's words had just torn my world apart and my brain just stopped functioning.

[…]

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Have I… just been denied of my… the only thing in the world that I actually believed I was doing right…

[…]

Have I been… looking the wrong way all the time, serving the Moriya Shrine for the wrong purposes?

[…R-Reimu… how could you say that so casually… I…]

[Because, Sanae… I want to be your friend… between a Shrine Maiden and another Shrine Maiden…]

[…]

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Hakurei Reimu, when I first saw her when she returned to Gensokyo and visited my shrine, I could have easily mistaken her for someone else as she looked and felt so different.

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Her spiritual powers were heightened and in tuned to the spirits so much that I mistook her for a youkai at first but when I slowly studied her, traces of Reimu began to emerge.

Her eyes, sharp but carefree was her most startling trademark along with her smooth silky hair that rivaled even mine. She had grown much prettier and was more womanly and mature than I ever expected her to be.

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I too, had changed in the many years that had passed and I was happy to hear that she too acknowledged the change in me from our conversation.

But, my greatest regret was that I had not matured or changed in my thinking like Reimu had. Gone was the laid-back and lazy Reimu that I knew and Reimu now is a much more serious in being a Shrine Maiden than I am.

Every word she uttered was regarding spirits of faith or a prayer… she would be annoying if not for the fact that all of her words made perfect sense to the listener, me…

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[… I…]

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[Will you be my friend, Sanae?]

I was wrong after all… I was right to treat Reimu as different from me… more so, unlike me, she has a big heart and unlike me, she dedicated her life to the people of Gensokyo, the people that she loves and to her Shrine and the Patron Goddess, the Hakurei Spirit and most importantly of all, she was able to give the same amount of faith to all of them…

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Faith in the Hakurei Spirit and Faith in the Spirits of Gensokyo and of course, faith in the faith of the people of Gensokyo.

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[… will you… help me to serve the people of Gensokyo… with me?]

Offering her hand to me, Reimu smiled and I took it, reluctantly at first but strongly a moment later.

[you're right… we are serving the people… serving the gods… is just what we are expected to… serving the people should be our ultimate goal… I… I've forgotten that…]

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Shaking my head, I came to grips with that reality and at the same time, felt a weight being lifted of my shoulder.

[Gathering faith in gods… I have never thought of it before… all I thought of was gathering Faith for Yasaka-sama … never about gathering faith in gods…and spirits…]

[Gods are embodiments of Spirits too, right? Gaining strength from beliefs and faiths… … ]

[Enough, Reimu…]

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Cutting her off, I smiled wearily as I nodded to her and held her hand in mine.

[You said enough… that's enough…]

It is going to be a tough journey… a very tough journey to abandon my previous beliefs… Amazing how she can persuade me so easily… with just a single sentence from her, I was willing to abandon my previous means of serving Yasaka-sama.

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[That is my faith… in Yasaka-sama… Reimu… I will do anything for them if it will make them powerful again…]

Smiling confidently again, I issued a challenge to Reimu, a fellow Shrine Maiden and a friend of mine now.

[Yasaka-sama will be stronger than you and your Goddess once we take upon this route, Reimu! Faith… faith in spirits and gods… is that the way to save Gensokyo and the Moriya Shrine?... but why are you telling me this… Reimu, to… help another goddess… aren't you worried I will defeat you?]

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[… the people of Gensokyo…]

Looking up to the sky, Reimu smiled and whispered softly to me.

[… I love Gensokyo… and the people that… live in it… that is all… if… by doing this, the people will be happy…the people will be safe… I am sure the great Hakurei Spirit won't mind…]

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It was with these words that I became even more convinced that I, Kotiya Sanae can never replace Hakurei Reimu as 'The' Shrine Maiden of Gensokyo.

Her love exceeds everything I have, from her faith to her Goddess… her love accepts and embraces everything she touches and influences… Her love for Gensokyo, her faith in her Goddess… her faith in the youkai… everything… is something that I could not even hope to match with my power over miracles…

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[… then, you can be my friend…]

[?]

[Reimu… I said, you are my friend…]

[… mm!]

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I had no idea how those words came out of my mouth, but they did…

Telling Sanae how I felt, my role as a Shrine Maiden… My faith in the Spirits, my faith in the Great Hakurei Spirit… all of that just spilled out of my mouth.

[…]

Nonetheless, it is a good feeling to let it out of my chest. Now I knew how I would answer when someone pose that question to me.

A Shrine Maiden, is the servant of the spirits…

And I, as Hakurei Reimu is Hakurei Reimu… I choose my own decision, my own route and my own destiny. All the actions that I do is part of my upbringing, my shrine maiden training instilled themselves inside me.

But there are things that even shrine maiden teachings can't teach.

That is, passion and love…

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[… Reimu, how about some rice cakes?]

[Mm mm! I would love some, Sanae!]

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Sitting with Sanae at the front porch, I marveled at how she opened up so readily to me in such a short while. Her smile was that wee bit brighter, the emotions of joy and exasperation when she told me about Miss Yasaka, her patron goddess was very lively and so rich in her personal emotions that I could almost see the scene reenacting in front of me.

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[So you see, Reimu… Yasaka-sama expects me to gather faith… but… there is scarcely any left in Gensokyo…]

[That's not true… I have faith…]

Smiling as I laughed with her, Sanae shook her head as she explained to us.

[There is the need, for Yasaka-sama to expand her reach towards the people of Gensokyo, Reimu… serving the people… yes, that is our ultimate motive… but, with the limited faith we have now… we can't reach them.]

Clenching her fist suddenly, Sanae tackled and pinned me to the floor in one swift moment. With her hands pinning mine down, I struggled a little as I looked up at her, a little apprehensive at what she was going to do.

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I did not sense any danger coming from her but neither did I sense friendliness and as the seconds tick by, I felt more and more uncomfortable with her breathing down my face, a blush evident on her face.

My two companions were likewise tugging on her sleeves as they fluttered their wings anxiously.

[Consider this a challenge… Reimu…]

Her voice was soft and she was panting hard as she released me and ran away from me, clutching her chest as she did so, leaving me bewildered and confused in the room.

[…Sanae?]

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[… w-what am I doing…]

Running down the hallway, I felt a tugging in my chest for a moment as the image of Reimu flashed across my mind. She is really very pretty, much prettier than the people that do visit my shrine and I felt my heart skip a beat when I thought of that.

[No… don't be stupid… we're both girls… she's… she's Reimu…]

The person that I once disliked, the person that I once hated and the person I once loathed to even hear being mentioned.

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[She's… Reimu… my rival…]

Never once did she consider me as a rival. After all, she brushed passed me when she first met me and totally dominated me. Even Marisa, her eternal friend and rival brushed past me like I was nothing, just a small stray leave fighting against the breeze that were the both of them.

Their powers were way beyond my reach and they even bested Yasaka-sama, the one being I hold in my heart as the strongest.

With her defeat, my life came crashing down once and it was her fault.

I did not blame her for it, as she did it for Gensokyo, my home but never did I love her for it.

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[…]

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I was someone special in my hometown, the small town that I had grown up in with my powers to create miracles and my abilities as a Wind Priestess.

I could summon wind and rain in my command and I was treated with respect and admiration. Here in Gensokyo, I am nothing but another human with unnatural powers and knowledge of danmaku play.

Here I am nothing but I felt thrilled to be here, to be challenged and to meet the challenge.

I pitted myself against Reimu everyday just like Marisa but I never even got close to her level, unlike Marisa who was always just a little behind her.

It frustrated me yes and soon, I slowly lost motivation to truly challenge her.

The thrill of danmaku is gone and with it, one of my only reason for existing in Gensokyo.

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I did not know when or did not know how but slowly, I turned and told myself to be a better Shrine Maiden than Reimu.

Day and night I labored at the shrine just to be a better Shrine Maiden than her…

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[… will you… help me to serve the people of Gensokyo… with me?]

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And yet… despite her disappearance….

She managed to best me again…

Along the route I had lost the real purpose of me being a Shrine Maiden, being the one that had forgotten why I had served the Moriya Shrine.

It was due to my love for Yasaka-sama, my love for the Moriya Shrine that had kept me going for so long had waned and had faded into the far reaches of my mind by the time I realized…

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[In the end… she is the better Shrine Maiden…]

Despite the fact that she had shown no interest in gathering faith, shown no interest in shrine maiden duties… The Hakurei Shrine is still the one with the most faith, the most prominent figure in Gensokyo….

[No matter what I do… I can never surpass her as the Shrine Maiden…. Of Gensokyo… and now…]

The way my heart skipped a beat when I look at her…

[Stupid… I… I can't…]

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Author's Notes: The next few chapters would be, of more deeper meanings of my interpretation of their world.

Warning, this might seem like character bashing, but please forgive me. It is not bashing, I really like Sanae.

And no, not a yuri-fan, even if it's acceptable to me. Lastly, no, I'm not powergaming or making Reimu a god, her beliefs, are her beliefs. scary, huh?