Music playing: "Kaylan" by Fernwood
As typical, Ren escorted her home as she cradled Reimu in her arms. Yukari is strange, there is no denial of that, however, her story is not something much liked to be discussed, otherwise, she wouldn't be wearing a veil when she went out. Her story was a tale of sorrow, pain, and many, many dark secrets. She is also abhored for those reasons, aside from her dealing with humans, however, said dealings with humans, also have much to do with her dark secrets. Reimu, a human child, reminded her of very much of those.
She wanted very much to teach the child about youkai and human ways, as she had learned them. Of course, fate was kind yet cruel. Yukari wanted no more than to lessen her suffering in the future, like a mother would very much like to do for their child. She suffered because of her youkai-human interactions. She did once tell me that "Baita" was also her name and that she hated it so, yet she didn't tell me why, however, the name was the reason she was often isolated and secluded to her house. Naturally, when she did leave, she wore a veil and, now that I am married, Ren escorts her.
Reimu did bring back more memories of my childhood. Memories of being raised by her, while she hid from prying eyes and the name "Baita". I often remember her sitting by the window, singing, "My womb gives me nothing, yet my body was never mine, just being sold over and over again to whom I know and remember not." My earliest but very fuzzy memory had us, at first, for a brief time, staying in an area of red lanterns. She often looked pretty and wore pretty clothes with makeup and things and, to my recollection, she often had visitors. Another memory from that time had her lying in a puddle of blood and she was curled up in a massive heap of pain and another memory had her with bruised cheek. My clear memory of that place had us fleeing it for good, never to return.
It wasn't just that, Reimu seemed to have reminded her something she couldn't have. A baby. She had been known to latch on so tightly to something that had even the slightest of semblance of what she yearned to care for in the way in which she was never cared for. No one wanted Yukari, as she'll note, yet no one wanted the child either and fate had been cruel to them both in more ways than one.
Fate had been cruel to Yukari in that her body had denied her something she had very much wanted, yet, as her mournful song stated, her body was never hers and it was sold like property to whoever wanted it. In which case, she denied both her body and her wishes, along with being left with reminders of her bitter past for as long she lives. For the child, fate had been cruel because she was was unwanted and discarded like trash, being left to die, and, in the end, we cannot spare her from the fact that, no matter, where she goes, she'd never have a place to belong.
They were different yet the same. I suppose all of us were, although Yukari and the child didn't belong anywhere, amongst either species.