Well, I wouldn't call the characters 'delightful', James Birdsong. And thank you AsashiTheInari to point that out. Though, maybe I will ask for one if I have any bigger projects. And yes, plot twist it is.
Enjoy chapter 5!
If she is holding anything in her hand, Reimu would drop it instantly after hearing that. Of ALL possibilities she have thought, that's NOT what she would think of. Though, she tries to hide her surprise by giving Kuro an angry look. "Hey, that's not something to joke about."
"Unfortunately, I'm not joking." The man puts his hands on the table, with the left one on top of his right. "Of course, there is a possibility that I'm your parents' friend, but then it would contradict to the ring Yukari gave me and her hint of having a marriage. And, about the song…" He then closes his lips and starts reciting a music tone, the one that's too familiar to her. About ten seconds, he stops. "I doubt that I made a wrong note there. I created the song by myself."
"…So? Everyone could hear it, right? I told you that…"
"What song, Reimu?" Patchouli interrupts. "All he did was shaking his head a little bit. He didn't speak nor sing."
"…You all didn't hear that?" Reimu immediately turns around to see their reactions, and she's surprised to see everyone shaking their heads.
"Except myself, no other people could hear it." Thankfully, at least Rinnosuke is sharing her experience. "However, it's because we are special."
"Special…how?" Reimu continues her question.
"…By any chances, do you have some sorts of invisible shield around you?" Kuro asks back with a question of his own.
"W…What do you mean?" That one makes her confuse. "How should I know? People walk around me every day and they say nothing about colliding…"
"In Makai." Yukari suddenly speaks up. "When you fought Shinki. You said that you were almost knocked out because of one attack."
"…Ah, right, that one." Reimu remembers.
"Shinki was willing to kill back then?" Kuro asks Yukari, surprise filled in his voice.
"I believe that shield did more than just protecting the fatal hits, Kuro." The Youkai Sage reminds him.
"…Fate…"
"Fate?" Remilia repeats his word. "You made something that could counter fate?"
"…It's another matter. Anyway…" He changes the subject. "We can have one easy way to check if you want to find out the truth. Blood testing."
"That would take some time." Rinnosuke says. "Even with advanced technology, it would take more than an hour…" Kuro pulls out a small device. "…Yeah, I forgot it's you we're talking about."
"Miss Hakurei, if you…"
"No need. I have one last thing to check. Wait here." The maiden says, as she stands up and heads to her bedroom…
"Thank you for coming back, Kuro…"
"I'm not the same Kuro you know, miss Keine." Kuro sighs.
"To me, you still are. Many people from the village wanted you to return to your previous position in the village. Your ideal is what keeps the village from being overrun by the rampage youkais."
"Hey, don't give that much credits to him. You did all the work…"
"After he passed his duty to me." The teacher counters against her friend's statement.
Kuro sighs again while rubbing his nose bridge. "I know that I WILL have to disappear to keep the timeline in check… another sin to burden…"
"To be fair, it's a sin you would rather commit than the rest." Yukari says, earning a glare from Kuro. "At least there's a positive thing for you."
"How…could there be one? While it's my future self who do it, it's still me who commit it. Yes, there are some that I did it on my own will, but knowing that I have to leave a girl by herself while she's young…"
"Sometimes, you cannot defy fate." Remilia speaks up, gaining his attention. "If it's something that's written, you won't be able to change it."
"…Pardon my words, but that's rich coming from someone who can manipulate Fate." Kuro remarks.
That makes the girl giggle. "Well, it's a little ironic…"
"Here it is." Reimu returns to the main room, and puts a box on the table. "If you're really my father, then you should be able to open it."
Kuro takes the box and examines through it. From the first glance, it's an advanced-looking box, with its main color being black with red lines running around the middle of the object. He then looks at the lock, which is a number-coding one. "Hm… four number… *chuckle* Easy." With a quick tapping, he enters the number, and the box opens. He then flips the upper cap out and pushes his hand inside…and grabs out some pictures.
Everyone gathers to see what those are… when Kuro suddenly uses his hands to cover them, causing Mokou to say: "Hey now, just show us…"
"Let Reimu watch it for herself first." Kuro says, then carefully gives them to the maiden. "You deserve to see it before any of us."
The maiden sits down and starts shuffling through the pictures. Everyone else tries to see, but Kuro uses his magic to create an invisible wall that prevents them from closing in.
After a few seconds, Reimu sighs and puts them back into the box, locking it again. That causes Kuro to raise his eyebrows in confusion. "Shouldn't you just keep it, instead of…"
"Kuro… no, if that's really truth…" Reimu starts accepting the truth… "I should call you 'father', shouldn't I?"
Everyone else holds their breath as they turn their focus to the mentioned person…
"If… that's what you really want, then I don't mind." Kuro nods.
"YES! THE GREATEST NEWS OF MY LIFE!" Everyone jumps up in surprise, as Aya shouts up and raises her hands up in the air. "This is going to be up for a whole month! See you all tomorrow!" With nobody being able to stop her in time, she rushes out of the Shrine and heads back to her home, preparing for the new piece of information to be ready in the next newspaper.
"Hey wait!" Reimu rushes out of the door, but it's already too late. She frowns. "Damn, now that's going to be spread through the whole Gensokyo…"
"To be fair, everyone will know eventually." Kuro sighs again. He then sees some people starting to wake up due to the shout.
"What the hell, Aya? Do you have to shout like that?" The black witch grumbles as she fixes her hat. She then notices the maiden standing on the front door with a frown face. "Hey, Reimu. Why did she scream so loud?"
Sighing, Reimu returns back to the table. "You will know tomorrow." She then takes the box back to her side…
"Hey, that old box again?" Marisa sits next to her and points at the object. "We tested every number, remember? We have to forcefully…"
"It's already opened." The maiden replies.
"…eh?" That's the only response Marisa could return.
"I believe it's time for me to return." Shikieki stands up, followed by her subordinate. "Mister Kuro, I hope that you could find out what you have done here, and act accordingly to it."
"I understand." Kuro also stands up and gives her a handshake. "Happy New Year to you."
"The same to you. And welcome to Gensokyo." The duo from Hell then walk out of the shrine… but when Komachi has departed, Shikieki takes a small moment to turn back and smile: "I hope we could work with each other like before."
"…We will see." Kuro answers, unsure of how to reply properly.
The Yama nods in satisfaction and flies away…
"Uh, since when is Yama friendly with a person?" Marisa asks the maiden, who shrugs in response.
Kuro shrugs again and sits down, and pours himself another shot. "The night is still young, ladies. Who wants to join me?"
"After a big party, the silence of the night occurs." Kuro says to himself, as he sits at the porch of the shrine while watching the star sky. He then pulls his glasses out of his face and then rubs his eyes with one hand. "…I can't believe it… more of my people are here… and one of them is missing…"
"Still thinking about it?" Rinnosuke, having removed his armor, brings a tray of tea set and sits next to him. He then pours out one cup and gives it to Kuro, who gracefully receives it. "We know you well. You did it because you have to. At least we're relieved that she's not dead."
"…If Yama smiles at me, then maybe it's true." Kuro takes a sip. "…But, leaving Reimu to live by herself… as a father, I feel like I have failed my duty."
"You haven't. She has grown up well, with everyone supporting her. You have win over nearly everyone, and they willingly help you back. A win-win trade, like back then."
"…Maybe." He then looks down at his reflection in the tea. "…Rei… I hope I have given her a good life."
"Don't doubt yourself. She lived happily with you and your daughter even till the point you two disappeared."
"…" Kuro then looks back to the shrine, where he sees the younger Youkais and fairies sleeping in there, not being able to wake up to return to their home. The others managed to return on their own. "Quick question. Did I look after them?"
"No, not personally. Thankfully Keine has taught them well so they're not really a danger to the human village."
"I see… Anonydeath, I… thanks for looking after Reimu when I disappeared."
"Don't sweat it." Rinnosuke/Anonydeath pats the other man's shoulder. "We have lived a second life well, so you don't have to worry about it."
"Yeah…"
"The 'you' now and before are like two sides of a coin." Kuro turns to his right to see Reimu sitting next to him. "Still feeling down after finding the truth?"
"Somewhat. You should sleep, it's not good to stay up late." He suggests.
"Says the man who didn't sleep for seven years." Reimu looks up to the stars while saying so. "To find out that my father is more of what he seemed to be…" She then laughs. "So, I'm not even human…"
"Doesn't mean that you don't have humanity." She turns to Kuro. "While it's a word that us human creates to say about ourselves, it's also a standard to define a person being a beast or an intelligent being."
"You must have lived for too long to say those words."
"I do, in fact, live that long." The father and the daughter then chuckle, taking the solemn atmosphere away.
"I will let you have some time alone. Goodnight." Deciding to not stand in their way, Rinnosuke offers as he goes to one of the guest rooms.
After saying their goodnight to him, Reimu then asks Kuro: "So… what are you going to do next?"
"For now…" Kuro smiles and pats the maiden. "I believe that I should mend the broken bond that I'm going to severe."
"It's going to take a long time." Reimu states."
"As long as I can fix it, time is no matter." She then feels something pushing her closer to him, and she turns to see three angel-like wings covering her up. She turns to her father, who smiles. "Like I said, it's not good to stay up too late. Let me give you a comfortable dream."
"…*giggle* You are a God-father alright." Having known of his status, Reimu jokes.
"I am." Kuro replies and rubs her cheek gently. And thanks to that, Reimu smiles and slowly drifts to her sleep, her body comfortably leaning on the wings.
After confirming that she's in her dream, Kuro gently uses his wings and brings her to her bedroom. Laying her on the futon, he carefully covers up the blanket and tucks her up, before giving her a gentle pat on the head. Seeing her smiling in her sleep also makes him smile, as he quietly leaves the room…
"Like I said, there's a positive thing, right?" As soon as he closes the door behind him, a portal appears to his right, and Yukari speaks through it. "Both of you are happy…"
Kuro closes his eyes, and his smile falters. "I won't count that as one. In fourteen years, she lived without our direct guidance. Thankfully, I'm going to manage to give her supports through you all."
"And it worked." She then changes the subject. "In the morning of the next day, everyone will remember you clearly."
"I could see that. I'm the one who is going to make them forget who I am."
"…I wish you a goodnight. And, have a good time finding some girls you like her."
That makes him snap his eyes open and turns his head to the right, only to see the portal disappeared. "…You just didn't…" He then sighs, as he stretches his arms. "Let's see how many sins I will commit in my future."
The next day
"That lousy Tengu arrived, huh?" Alice says to herself as she opens her door to the outside, and sees a roll of newspaper on the steps. Picking it up, she wonders: "Let's see what she has written…" What she's planning to say next vanishes as she gasps when she reads the big tittle on the first page. "That… HOW?"
"ALICE!" She looks up to see Marisa hovering down on her broom. "Have you read the newspaper?"
"I just got it." She answers in surprise. "How could that happen? He looked like he's just a few years older than us!"
"We need to find out now! Get on my broom and we fly to Reimu's home!"
…
"It's done. How are you doing?" Reimu asks Kuro, as she has gathered the fallen leaves inside of the shrine.
"Same here." The person replies, as he's helping the girl dealing with the leaves. "So we're just leaving a pile like that?"
"Yeah. Then we will…" What she's planning to say is interrupted as she sees her friends descending from the sky. "Hey you two. You are early…"
"WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS?" Jumping out of her broom, the black witch shoves the front of the newspaper right at Reimu's face. "How could that Tengu think of this story? I know that she tends to write her story in one-side view, but this one is too true in a discomfort way!"
Grabbing the newspaper and slightly pushing it out of her face, the maiden then reads the big line on the page. "…Yep, sounds about right."
"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, REIMU!? I know the reputation of the shrine is not as high as before, but…" Alice pokes Marisa's shoulder and points her finger to Kuro who's walking to them with a broom in his left hand. She immediately pulls out her Hakkero and points it to him, causing him to stop and raise his arms up in surrender. "You! What the hell have you done to her?"
"Um… nothing?" Kuro replies, not sure how to answer that question.
"Hey, Marisa! Don't point your…" It's a little too late for Reimu to stop the witch, as a Master Spark is fired right at Kuro's face, causing him to raise his right arm up in defense, effectively blocking the damage. Once the laser is done, Reimu rolls the newspaper and slaps it to her friend's head. "Don't randomly blast it in my shrine!"
"You're believing this, Reimu!? Him, being your father? He's just arrived here!"
"You forgot that he's not a normal outsider right?"
"But he said that this is his first arrival here!"
The two start their bickering, while Alice slowly walks to Kuro, with Shanghai holding a lance towards him, causing him to slightly back away after lowering his right arm. She then asks in a demanding manner: "Mister Kuro, while I don't really trust Aya's way of writing, her title is always proven to be the truth. Tell me, how did you manage to convince her that you're Reimu's father?"
"That… well…" Kuro 'stutters' a bit. "It's… a complicated thing. I also just found out about that last night, so…" Shanghai pushes her lance a bit closer to him. "Um… can we uh… speak in the shrine?"
Chapter 5 end!
Reference:
Rei and Anonydeath are from Hyperdimension Neptunia series. Though, in this story, the latter is currently Rinnosuke. I will explain more in the future.
For now, that's it. See you all in the future!