Love-Colored Master Spark

Marisa fell to the ground and lay still.

Her heart leaping into her throat, Reimu rushed to her friend's side. "Marisa!" she cried, taking no notice of the regal, green-haired woman hovering over them. "Come, say something!" she said as she fearfully shook the other girl's shoulder. "Marisa, are you okay?"

Marisa flopped lifelessly over onto her back, her eyes closed.

Reimu's heart just about stopped. "Marisa?" she said as she shook her harder. "Come on, Marisa?"

Then Marisa's eyes popped open and she shouted, "BOO!"

Reimu shrieked with shock and tumbled backward, arms flailing as Marisa cracked up. Then, her face red with indignation, the young shrine maiden scrambled to her feet, planted her knuckles against her hips, and yelled, "That wasn't funny!"

"Was too!" Marisa gibed. The little, redheaded witch was all but rolling in the grass in hysterics. "Got you, Reddie!"

"I was really worried!"

"Like a little fall like that would hurt me." Rolling her eyes, Marisa turned to her mentor and said, "Kind off a worrywart, ain't she?"

"It's part of her job," Mima said, smiling with amusement. "Though you really should be a little more careful. That was a clumsy fall."

"Eh, meant to do that." Marisa stood up and held up her hand. Her broom, which had been hovering a few meters off the ground, swooped down to her hand. "Not so dumb to fall off my stinking broom, ze."

"You did too fall!" Reimu shouted.

"If you say so," Mima said, removing her eleven-year-old protégé's hat to give her hair an affectionate tousle. "Though go easy on her. She's a bit flighty."

"I am not!" Reimu indignantly folded her arms. "Marisa's just being a sore loser, is all! I beat her fair and square!"

For her part, Marisa seemed a little annoyed by the boast, but she hid it quickly. "Eh, I'll get you next time," she said casually.

"No you won't," Reimu said haughtily. "Nobody can beat the Hakurei Shrine Maiden! 'Specially not an ordinary witch!"

That turned out to be exactly the wrong thing to say, as the fiery little magician was on her feet in an instant, eyes blazing and fists cocked. "Oh, think you're so bad, do you?" she demanded, stomping forward. "Well, fine! Let's go again! I'll kick your butt ten ways to Thursday, ze!"

Shaking her head in amusement, Mima watched as her apprentice bickered and argued with her historical arch-nemesis. Finally the two girls agreed to go for another round and lifted into the air, spellcards ready to fire off. While she had fully expected Marisa to one day became Reimu Hakurei's rival, she had not counted on them becoming best friends as well.

"Weird, ain't it?"

Mima glanced down to see Genji lumbering up to her. "Yes, it is."

The elderly reptile settled down next to her to watch the kids. That was another surprising change, that she and Genji could sit side-by-side and have what, for them, amounted to a friendly conversation.

"Can't say I saw this comin'," Genji remarked. "I mean, after everythin' an' all."

"I'm honestly a little surprised myself," Mima said. "I had lost count of who's turn it was to hold a grudge."

Genji eyed her. "Don't get too comfy just yet, Missy. There's still one or two little ol' grievances I mean to bring up sooner or later."

Mima shrugged, unconcerned.

Turning back to the kids, Genji said, "Though I guess it's right fittin' that they be the ones to get that ol' hatchet buried. I mean, they are the future, eh?"

"They are indeed," Mima said, smiling. "A right pair of perfectly compatible opposites. I'm telling you, those two are going to be quite the te-"

…

Marisa's body fell to the ground and lay still.

Reimu stood frozen in place, mouth still hanging open despite her scream having choked off. She couldn't move. She couldn't think. She was having a very hard time even feeling. This couldn't be real.

As for the regal, green-haired woman that stood over the corpse of Reimu's best friend, she looked entirely satisfied with her work. "Ah, goodnight sweet princess," she said, smirking. "May flocks of Angels sing thee to thy rest, or whatever equivalent fills that role in the local pantheon."

Then her smile disappeared. Frowning, she knelt down to closely inspect Marisa's body. "What in the world?" she muttered.

Something odd was happening. Lines were appearing on Marisa's skin. It was only a few at first, but they multiplied, grew longer, and joined together. Shapes took form, and the space between the lines grew black.

As Yuuka watched in fascination, the lines solidified into an intricate network of symbols tattooed on Marisa's body. There were so many of them that pink flesh seemed to be in the minority. "Oh my," Yuuka breathed. "Oh. Now, that's clever!"Placing her hands on her hips, she straightened up and shook her head in amazement. "So that's how the magical invalid did it. She turned her whole body into a focal point! Just look at that runework, it's brilliant! Must have taken her ages to figure it out, not to mention incredibly painful to execute. To say nothing of how illusions she needed to keep it hidden all these years. You just don't see that sort of dedication anymore."

Chuckling at her vanquished foe's ingenuity, Yuuka looked up. Then she saw Reimu standing there and froze. She blinked in surprise, and her face softened. "Oh," she said. "Oh, my dear. I am so sorry you had to see that."

Reimu said nothing. She just continued to stare at Marisa's body.

Shaking her head mournfully at the frailty of the human condition, Yuuka sighed and said, "Such a tragedy to see someone so young and quick and full of promise cut down before their first grey hair, especially one that's close to you. I know how much this must hurt."

Reimu slowly raised her head. Her fingers curled together.

With a sympathetic smile, Yuuka extended her hand and said, "Know that she died well, a true warrior to the end. You may sleep soundly knowing that she-"

Reimu screamed and thrust her hands in front of her. The Ying-Yang Orb appeared in front of her with a burst of light.

Yuuka was so startled by this that she stumbled back a few steps and actually tripped over a rock. She landed in an awkward heap, though her eye never left the glowing sphere that hovered before the shrine maiden. "That's…that's not supposed to be poss-"

The Ying-Yang Orb suddenly flashed to either side, becoming two smaller orbs. Those two them became four, which became eight, which then turned into sixteen. All sixteen then encircled Reimu's waist and started to spin.

As Yuuka watched in shock, Reimu floated up into the air, the orbs now orbiting her so quickly that they seemed to become a solid ring of light. Reimu thrust her arms straight out to both sides, palms facing out. She screamed again, and the cave filled with light.

Yuuka had to shield her eye and look away. When the light cleared, the beat-up, powerless, and possibly concussed shrine maiden had seemed to transfigure into a goddess. Her orbs continued to orbit around her and she was surrounded by a brilliant aura. What was more, her red clothing, dark hair, and brown eyes were now of the purest white.

Holding one glowing hand high, Reimu directed her terrible gaze to the stupefied woman below her and thrust out her finger. "Final Word!" she shouted. There seemed to be dozens of other voice speaking with her, as if all the Hakurei shrine maidens of the past had rallied to her side. "FANTASY HEAVEN!"

And then all hell broke loose.

…

As the transformed Reimu Hakurei unleashed her fury, Yuuka reflected that she really ought to stop underestimating lesser beings. They had an unnerving habit of pulling surprises out of nowhere.

Take Reimu Hakurei's Fantasy Heaven, for example. Yuuka had been completely unaware that she had been capable of something like this. How could she have known? During their few encounters, Reimu had not displayed power remotely close to this level. Besides, with her anti-magic barrier in place, Yuuka had been fully confident that the shrine maiden was fully cut off from using that flying ball of hers.

And yet, there it was. And there, and there, and there, and everywhere. It should not be possible, and yet Reimu had simply ignored Yuuka's precautions and called it up anyway.

Which, it should be noted, was now something of a problem.

The air was now filled with the things. They came at her in multiple lines, assaulting her on all sides and striking her flesh with the force of bullets. Individually, they were a nuisance. Together, they were a nightmare. Yuuka tried to ward them away, tried to shield herself, tried anything she could to keep them from hitting her, but every defense she threw up was battered down. Shields were broken and plants were shredded. Nothing would stop the onslaught.

"No!" she shouted, shooting off a blast of energy in what she hoped was Reimu's direction. "No more! Stop!"

Her shot never hit, but opening her mouth did earn her a couple of broken teeth. Her body was now a mess of bruises, and it would not be long before her bones started to snap.

And through it all, Reimu Hakurei hovered in place, gazing mercilessly at her victim. Her face seemed to be carved from stone, while her eyes glowed with righteous wrath.

Yuuka called out again to her Mykr hybrids. Why weren't they here already? Her swarm should be sufficient to overwhelm Reimu's assault. Then, in a brief moment of clarity, she saw the massive wall of blue being held at bay at the cave's entrance, and her heart fell. They had responded, and Reimu's Ying-Yang Orbs were chewing through them like flies. Goodness gracious, what had she unlocked?

Then her shoulder snapped, followed by a rib.

Yuuka had moments before she was beaten to a pulp. With no other options left to her, she did something that she did not enjoy doing: she abandoned her Human aspect.

And just for a moment, Reimu Hakurei saw what true Horror looked like.

…

When she would later try to remember exactly what it was that Yuuka showed her, Reimu would be unable to recall anything save for an intense feeling of revulsion twisting in her guts and the sensation of warm ichor being dripped over her brain. Any attempt to piece together anything beyond that threatened to send her into a fit of tears and babbling.

After all, there are just some things mortals were never intended to behold. There are things so far beyond their comprehension that any attempt to experience them with their frail senses can and often does result in a total mental and spiritual breakdown. How can one describe the stench of putrid disease, the taste of blasphemy, the sound of damnation, or the touch of lunacy?

It broke her, or at least brought her onslaught to full halt. Fantasy Heaven was an extraordinarily difficult power to unlock, and required an inhuman level of concentration. Thus far, she had only been able to pull it off a handful of times, and only once or twice had she been able to do it deliberately. And while her thirst for revenge had provided all of the focus she needed, what Yuuka showed her had gone straight for the center of that that deadly precision and broke it to pieces.

In a way, Reimu had gotten off lightly. Yuuka was horribly decayed from what she once was, and the power of Fantasy Heaven was beyond the province of mortality anyway, and thus protected her. Even so, she would have troubling dreams of red eyes and bloody flowers from time to time for the rest of her life.

When she came to, she was kneeling on the cavern floor, shaking and barely able to breathe. Her skin felt cold and clammy, her stomach churned with nausea, and her eyes were stinging with blood-tinged tears. The Ying-Yang Orb lay inert next to her.

Then someone cleared their throat.

Blinking, Reimu wiped the red away from her eyes and looked up. With Marisa gone and Fantasy Heaven exhausted, the cavern had been plunged into darkness. The only source of light was Yuuka's eye, staring at her.

Then a cloud of blue lights flew in and surrounded their master, covering her with an eerie luminescence. It wasn't much, but even in the dimness Reimu could see that Yuuka wasn't in any shape to fight anymore. Every bit of visible skin was swollen, and her clothes were hanging in tattered shreds. She was standing only with the aid of a cane that looked like it had been shaped from a living tree branch, as her posture seemed to indicate that more than one bone was broken.

Reimu tried to reach out to the power of the Ying-Yang Orb, to reactivate Fantasy Heaven, but she couldn't. She wasn't sure how she had managed it the first time. She was now just too tired, and her concentration was too scattered. She wasn't sure if she could even stand now. Just as well. She was done.

The two worn-out combatants looked at each other, one of them a self-proclaimed "superior" being that had been taken to her limits by a supposed "inferior" and the other a mortal that had been pushed far beyond limits she hadn't known she had. Yuuka, who had gone into this expecting a much easier confrontation, couldn't seem to decide if she were furious at Reimu for hurting her so or respecting the girl for being able to do so.

Finally she shook her head and mumbled through a mouth of broken teeth, "I…I will. Forgive you. For that."

Reimu sighed.

"I…cannot blame you…for lashing out like that. After…after all. She was. Your best friend. And…in a way. I am a little. Responsible for your pain." Yuuka looked down at Marisa's body. "You are. After all…very young. And can't be expected to…understand-"

"Oh, just shut up," Reimu whispered. "Kill me or go away. I don't care. Just shut up."

Yuuka's eye narrowed. "Very…well. Still, I should at least…try to make it up to you. This wasn't…your fight, after all."

Shaking her head, Reimu ran her shaking fingers through her hair and said, "No. I don't care. Just go."

"But you…leave me with a debt that must be-" Then Yuuka's puffy face brightened. "Ah, I have it."

She gestured with her fingers, and to Reimu's horror a beanstalk sprouted from the ground beneath Marisa's corpse. It lifted her up, bringing her to Yuuka.

"No!" Reimu choked out. "Gods, leave her alone!"

Ignoring her, Yuuka lifted her hand, holding up a seed the color of ash. "A little…Blackgrass should do the trick," she said.

"No, don't!" Reimu tried to work some feeling into her numb legs, but they were slow in responding. Yuuka reached over and place the seed into Marisa's mouth.

"There," the monster said. "One last…friendly duel with her. To say goodbye." The beanstalk retracted, lowering Marisa back to the ground. Winking at Reimu, Yuuka waved at her. "Now…I take my leave. Farewell, Reimu Hakurei. And good luck."

The blue lights winked out. The light of Yuuka's eye disappeared a few seconds later. Reimu was alone in the darkness and the cold. Alone with Marisa.

She sat frozen in place. She knew that she should move, but she couldn't bring her limbs to cooperate. She strained her hearing, searching for any sign of someone else, but all she could hear was her ragged breathing and her pounding heart.

And then she heard the sound of something shuffling, of cloth and leather scraping over stone.

Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to stand up. Her legs still shook, but they held. Then she reached out for her Ying-Yang Orb. This time it responded, lifting off the ground and separating into two smaller orbs that hovered at either side of her.

Then, though she dreaded what she would see, she had the orbs glow, allowing her to see.

Marisa was standing up.

Reimu's heart leapt into her throat. Her friend was upright, but was clearly not alive. Her legs were turned inward, knees bending toward each other, and her shoulders were slumped forward, arms hanging limp and head bowed, braid swinging like a hangman's noose. Her head swayed back and forth on her broken neck.

What was more, her skin was wriggling with dozens of tiny tendrils that poked out like some sort of disfiguring disease.

Reimu stumbled back. She could barely breathe. This was beyond evil. Yuuka had crossed every line imaginable.

Then the thing that had been Marisa took a step.

As Reimu looked on in horror, Marisa's body limped its way toward her, its gait awkward and halting. Marionettes moved with more fluidity.

Then Marisa's head lifted, and Reimu wanted to scream. One eye was a crushed mess while the other was dull and glassy, but her lips were twisted into a ghastly mockery of her familiar cocky grin.

"Rei…mu," Marisa's voice rattled, harshly squeezed through the crushed throat. "Reimu. Reimu. Reimu."

It lurched toward her, arms outstretched. Reimu dodged and bolted to the other side of the cavern.

Marisa's body paused, hands still grasping. Then its upper half turned stiffly toward her, and it legs shuffled around until it was facing Reimu again.

"Reimu," it croaked as it stumbled its way after her again. "Ze. Ze. Zezezezezezeze…"

Every instinct told Reimu to leave now, to just fly out of there as fast as she could. Marisa was dead, and this abomination was just an empty shell, animated for no other purpose to torture her.

"…zezezezezezeze…"

But she couldn't! Dead or not, it was still Marisa's body! Reimu couldn't just leave her like this! To do so would just be sick!

"…zezezezezezezeze…"

She had to destroy it. Even that would be better than this abomination. But how? True, she now had her power back, but everything she had was geared toward containment and neutralization. Something like this would require overwhelming destructive force, and that was Marisa's field! If she tried using the power of the Ying-Yang Orb for that purpose, she would end up with, at best, a spectacularly bloody mess that would take far too long to accomplish.

And the scary thing was that she was now seriously considering doing just that. It was better than the blasphemy her friend had been turned into.

".. zezezezezezezeze…"

Marisa's body had almost reached her again, so Reimu quickly retreated to another part of the cave. As she did, her foot bumped against something made from wood rather than stone. She looked down, and felt a surge of hope.

It was Marisa's mini-hakkero. From the look of things, it had been squeezed pretty badly. Its outer casing was crumpled like a piece of paper and its core was cracked. However, it wasn't dead. Light pulsed in its heart, stubbornly beating on like the defiant heartbeat of a survivor.

Kneeling down, Reimu picked it up. It felt warm to the touch.

Then she rose up and turned toward Marisa's shambling corpse. As she did so, she could hear the ghost of Marisa's voice, instructing her how to perform her trademark spell.

"Aw, it's easy! First you concentrate your mind."

Reimu looked down at the crushed hexagon in her hand. They both knew what they had to do.

"Mutter the spell to the mini-hakkero."

"Hey," Reimu said shakily. "You wanna do your master one last service?"

She wasn't sure how, but the mini-hakkero responded. The pulsing light strengthened into a steady glow.

"Point it at someone you don't like."

She pointed it at the person she loved more than anything in the world.

"And unleash the power of love!"

"MASTER SPAAAAAAARK!" Reimu screamed so loudly that it almost tore her throat. And out it poured, brighter, thicker, more pure than any Master Spark she had seen before. It completely enveloped Marisa's body in its embrace and filled the cave with light and color.

Spellcard rules were funny things. So long as they were in place, a mortal could be blasted with anything from bolts of lightning to balls of fire and walk away with nothing more than a stinging tan. They could be hit with rocks twice their size with as much force as falling asteroids and suffer only mild bruising. In her relatively short but very eventful career, Reimu had been hit with just about every type of ammunition imaginable, and sure, they had all hurt, but they hadn't done much more than that.

Inanimate objects, however, were exempt. And against things made from stone, wood, glass, or metal, they would burn, crush, freeze, cut, and otherwise destroy. This included plants.

And it included corpses.

But that proved to be too much for the poor mini-hakkero. As it gave up its last breath, Reimu heard a high-pitched shriek that sounded almost Human. Light poured out of the cracks on its casing, and the next thing she knew the world had filled with noise.

The next few seconds were a confusing muddle of shapes and sounds, and for a moment Reimu was convinced that she had died. She felt okay with that though. She would be able to intercede on Marisa's behalf to the Yamaxanadu and ensure that they got to spend the rest of eternity hanging out and annoying each other in the Netherworld. As far as eternal rewards went, she had heard worse. She just hoped that someone destroyed her body before Yuuka did something horrible to it as well.

Everything went out of focus, and all light was snuffed out.

Gradually though Reimu came to the realization that she had survived, albeit just barely. She was lying against the wall with her hands curled up against her chest. Her body felt very strange though, at least the parts that still had feeling. Her legs wouldn't move for one. In fact, she couldn't even be sure that they were even there, as there was no sensation below her waist.

My back's been broken, she realized, and would have laughed if doing so didn't hurt so much. Apparently she had snapped a few ribs as well. And as for her hands, well, they…hadn't fared very well at all. No surprises there, as they had been holding onto the mini-hakkero when it blew.

She felt curiously lightheaded as well. Something wet was covering the back of her head, which made her suspect that the collision with the wall had not done that general area any favors. Reimu managed a harsh-sounding giggle that echoed in disturbing fashion. Yeah. She was screwed.

However, there was one thing she could do. Controlling the Ying-Yang Orb didn't require her to actually move. So while focusing her thoughts was something of a challenge, she managed to instruct it to take to the air and illuminate the cave. She had to know.

The light made her head pound, and Reimu quickly banished it. However, that brief look was all she needed. Both Marisa and the mini-hakkero were gone.

Satisfied with that knowledge, Reimu let the Ying-Yang Orb fall to the ground. Then she closed her eyes and waited to die.

It was in this state that Yukari later found her.

…

"She's taken a beating," Eirin said as she wearily wiped her face with a clean cloth. "Hands shattered and covered with first and second degree burns. Lower back broken. Severe concussion. Minor cracks in the back of her skull. Neck twisted. Three ribs broken. And to say nothing of the heavy bruising and minor fractures she's sustained just about everywhere. It's a miracle that she survived as long as she did."

Closing her eyes, Yukari pinched her nose as she slowly inhaled and exhaled. "And?" she said.

"She's fine now," the Lunarian doctor told her. Despite the good news, Eirin didn't seem at all pleased. "I've repaired the damage to her skeleton, organs, nervous system, and regrown her skin. She's already awake and lucid, and should be able to walk within the hour." Her stormcloud eyes narrowed. "However, I must stress that her state will still be pretty fragile for a time, and she should perform no strenuous task for at least a week. Especially involving her hands. Elsewise, she'll end up in the same state I was in recently."

"She won't," Yukari promised. With a sigh, the elder youkai slumped over her knees. "Hell, if I had my way, she would never leave that shrine again."

Yukari was sitting in the bamboo waiting room of Hourai Clinic. Both it and the rest of Eientei had been cleared of nonessential staff as soon as Reimu had been brought in. Personally, Yukari would have preferred to take Reimu to her house and bring in Eirin to treat her there, but Reimu's condition had been so severe that they were just going to have to put up with the potential security leak. Scoop-hungry Tengu be damned, Reimu had needed help. Yuakri would deal with them later.

As for Eirin, she had spent the last half-hour essentially rebuilding the shrine maiden from the ground up, though to her it had been as easy as wrapping a sprained wrist would be to any normal doctor. However, despite her success, Eirin was in a melancholy mood. They both were.

"You can't blame yourself," Eirin told her.

"Can't I?" Yukari raised an eyebrow. "Funny, because I seem to be having a very easy time doing just that."

"You had no way of knowing-"

"Oh, can it, Eirin," Yukari sighed. "That loophole was obvious and you know it. Everyone knew she was going to go after Marisa sooner or later, but we did nothing. I should have had everyone who had ever crossed her under constant surveillance at the very least." Shaking her head, she covered her forehead with her hand and stared down at the floor. "Has she said anything?"

Eirin's mouth set in a straight line. "Some. Enough to confirm what we already know."

"No point in searching for a body then?"

"As I understand it, there isn't one to find."

"Of course," Yukari muttered. "Do I want to know the details?"

Eirin shook her head.

"Of course not," Yukari muttered. She took off her hat and ran her fingers through her hair. "What of the…other patients?"

"The GPF officers?" Eirin shrugged. "They're fine. Some minor concussions. Though it seems that Kotohime Sonozika experienced something…additional. I can't really piece together what it might be, but she wasn't exactly coherent."

"Yes, someone went rooting around in her head against her will. I fixed most of it when I found her, but I'll be sure to give her another look before I go."

"Good to hear." Then, after a moment of hesitation, Eirin ventured, "Mima?"

Yukari's face hardened. "Good guess."

"And she is-"

"I don't know."

Of the ghost there had been no sign. Yukari had found traces of her fingertips in Kotohime Sonozika's mind, and her magic had been all over the exterior of the Blasted Lands. It was obvious that she had tried and failed to come to Marisa's rescue, but now she was gone, with no trace as to where she had gone. That was odd and very troubling. During their (admittedly rocky) long centuries of acquaintance, Yukari had never known Mima to care for anyone like she had cared for Marisa. In fact, she had never known her to care for anyone else, period.

And yet she had been more than willing to set aside generations of animosity with the Hakurei family because her apprentice had made friends with the most recent one. As soon as she had heard that Yukari was planning on having the magician arrested, she had immediately rushed off to her defense. And when Marisa had enthusiastically agreed to take part in the brawl, she had inserted herself into the fight despite having nothing to gain from it just so she could be there to protect Marisa in person.

But now that Marisa was dead, Mima was nowhere to be found. The leash was gone. That did not bode well for anyone.

"I see," Eirin said, her tone conveying entire paragraphs of worry in those two words.

"Yeah," Yukari sighed. She tilted her head to the other side of the room. "Well, you'd better go talk to the family."

Reimu's roommates were sitting together a healthy distance from Yukari, mostly out of fear, though in Genji's case it was probably out of anger. Remilia and Reisen were side-by-side, with any remaining bad blood between them now forgotten. Sakuya stood at her mistress's side, her face colder than usual, perhaps to hide the fact that her heart was breaking. Genji was on the floor in front of them, his scaly face grim. Yukari knew that expression very well, and was doing her best not to look at it. She knew what it entailed.

Eirin walked over to them and spoke in hushed tones. Reisen's shoulders slumped as she sighed in relief, as did Remilia's. Then the little vampire ventured a question, and Eirin answered. Dismay washed over their features, and in Remilia's case there was a healthy helping of guilt. As for Genji, he merely closed his eyes and turned away.

Yukari stood up and walked briskly outside, partially to give the little group some privacy, but mostly because she didn't feel like being present when the reality of Marisa's death made its full impact.

Outside, Eientei's courtyard was all but deserted, with nothing more than the Guard standing in position outside of the wall. Just as well. Yukari was in no mood for eavesdroppers. Retreating to a shadowed corner, she held her hand close to her face, palm up, and sent out a signal.

Light gathered over her palm, and the tiny form of Eiki Shiki appeared. The Yamaxanadu was, as usual, hard at work, shuffling through a stack of unseen papers. Then, sensing that she was being watched, she looked up and scowled.

"What is it, Yukari?" she snapped. "Can you not see that I-"

"Right, I'll make it quick," Yukari interrupted. "There's going to be a soul crossing the Sanzu soon, might already be on her way. I need to arrange for a reprieve."

"A reprieve?" Eiki's illusionary eyes flashed with irritation. "Why not simply yank her away from death like you always do?"

"Well, I got there too late. So Yamaxanadu, I know it's inconvenient, but-"

Eiki folded her arms. "Who is it?"

"It's, uh…" Yukari sighed. "It's-"

"Wait, don't tell me. It's Marisa Kirisame, isn't it?"

"Yes," Yukari admitted.

"Of course it is," Eiki said in exasperation. "And of course, you wish to annul her death not in the name of justice or to serve some greater good, but because it will make Reimu Hakurei happy."

"That's not-"

"Of course it is. And I have told you countless times that I will not annul another mortal's death unless there is a very good reason. Paying one of your shrine maiden friends a favor is not a good reason. I care not how angry Reimu Hakurei will be with you. The answer is no." Eiki looked back down to her papers. "Now, if there is nothing else…"

The urge to scream obscenities welled up within Yukari's chest. Beating it back down, she simply nodded and said, "Very well. I apologize for wasting your time."

"And so you should." The Yamaxanadu made a curt motion with her hand, and her image vanished.

Yukari stared down at her empty palm. It was just as well that she was in someone else's house. Otherwise, she might have been tempted to take her frustration out on the landscape.

Instead, she turned and walked back inside.

Genji was there, standing in her path.

Yukari paused. "Yes, what is it?" she said curtly.

Genji made a low rumble deep within his chest. "You know what's gonna happen, don't'cha?" he said. "You know what she's-"

"Shut up, Genji." Yukari returned to her seat and sat down. She refused to look at him. After a few moments, the large turtle turned and waddled his way back to the other Hakurei Shrine residents.

Time passed, and then Eirin returned. "She wants to speak with you," the doctor said softly.

Yukari blinked. "With me?"

"Yes."

"What about?"

"She didn't say." Eirin moved her head toward the hallway. "Come."

Wordlessly Yukari stood up and followed Eirin through the clinic over to the emergency room. As they approached, Yukari recalled the room's nickname: Marisa's Dumping Ground. Once it had been an amusingly sarcastic moniker, born out of the large number of youkai and fairies Marisa had sent there. Now it was chillingly appropriate. Yukari had a feeling that this was the last time the name would be used.

Reimu was sitting up in one of the beds, staring blankly at the wall. Credit had to be given to Eirin: she knew her work. Anyone seeing the shrine maiden now would have no idea how close to death she had been just a couple hours ago. Her clothing had been beyond help though, and she was now wearing one of the clinic's gowns.

But even if Yukari hadn't witnessed Reimu's battered condition for herself, the look on the girl's face told the whole story. It was the look of someone who had seen death.

Sitting in Reimu's lap was Marisa's mangled hat. Yukari had found it in the same cave she had discovered Reimu and had brought it along. What else could she do?

"I'll be right outside," Eirin said as Yukari entered the room. Nodding her thanks, Yukari walked over to Reimu's bed. There was a chair next to it, so she sat down.

"Reimu," she said once she was seated. "Are you-"

Then she hesitated. What in the world could she say? Asking her if she was all right would be idiotic, as anyone with a functioning brain could see that the answer was both yes (physically) and no (everything else). Apologize? Was there one that even came close to being sufficient? Explain herself? That would be cheap in the extreme, and Yukari wasn't sure if she could adequately explain herself to, well, herself.

No, there was nothing she could really say, so she just went with a simple, "Eirin said you wanted to see me."

So far Reimu had not reacted to her presence. She hadn't even glanced at her when she had entered the room, and even now it took her several seconds to acknowledge that Yukari was even there. But then she slowly shifted around so that she was sitting on the side of the bed, Marisa's hat still in her lap.

Reimu stared unblinking into Yukari's eyes for a time before saying woodenly, "Marisa's dead."

Yukari had to close her eyes. "I know," she said. Then, knowing that she had to at least try, she said, "Reimu, I am so sor-"

Reimu struck her across the face.

It wasn't a powerful blow. In fact, given her reconstruction, it was pretty feeble, even for her. Yukari barely felt it at all.

That didn't mean it didn't hurt though.

Reimu winced in pain and shook out her hand. Taking a deep breath, Yukari said, "You shouldn't do that. Your new skeleton is still fragile, and you need to avoid putting stress on it."

Reimu glowered at her. "Yuuka," she said. "You're going to kill her." It wasn't a question, Yukari could sense that immediately. It was an order.

Yukari swallowed but kept her voice level. "Yes. I don't see this going any other way," she said. "She has made it clear that she has no intention of resolving this peacefully, and even if she did, she cannot be trusted to not change her mind."

"Then do it," Reimu said. "Kill her. Kill her, and find a way to make it stick. Make her feel it. Take away everything she cares about. Burn the Garden of the Sun to the ground and scatter the ashes. Take Mugenkan apart piece by piece if you have to, and grind them into powder. Erase her name from the books if you have to. Make it so no one ever remembers who Yuuka Kazami was."

Yukari slowly nodded. She had no problem with that set of instructions. "As you wish."

"Then…then when you're done with that…"

"Yes?"

"You keep your promise," Reimu said. "You fix Rin Satsuki. Take away the Shadow Youkai and keep her from ever hurting anyone again. Cure Rin and give her anything she wants. Do everything in your power to make sure she and Reisen live happily ever after together. You got it?"

Here Yukari hesitated. "Reimu, I don't know if-"

"I said, you got it?"

Defeated, Yukari nodded again. "Very well."

"And then," Reimu said, her voice now taking on a new edge. "When you're done with that, when Gensokyo is safe again and nobody is hurting anymore…"

"Yes?"

"I never want to see you again," Reimu said flatly.

Yukari's head jerked back as if she had been slapped again. Her heart seemed to freeze up in her chest. Those were the very words she had been dreading, that she had heard far too many times from multiple Hakureis in the past and yet still wounded just the same. "Reimu, I-"

"Never. Again," Reimu repeated. She paused for a few seconds and then said, "I'm sick of it, Yukari. I'm sick of your stupid games. I'm sick of you getting the people I care about hurt. I'm sick of it all. So no more. If there's a problem that I need to deal with, fine. You send Ran or go through Genji or something, I don't care. But I don't want to see your face again. I don't want to talk to you again." She leaned forward and lowered her voice. "You stay away from me and my shrine. Understand?"

Yukari held Reimu's cold gaze, the color drained from her face. She took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "As you wish, Hakurei shrine maiden."

"Good." Reimu stood up. Her legs were still a little unsteady, and walking seemed to cause her some discomfort, but she kept her balance.

"Do you want me to send you home?" Yukari asked.

Reimu gave her a cold look. Then she slowly and purposely walked from the room, one hand gripping tightly to the brim of Marisa's hat. Yukari watched her go.

For a time, she didn't move. She just sat and stared at the door. Then she said softly, "Welcome to the club, Reimu."

Yukari kept her promise. They never saw nor spoke to each other again, save for one last time, right before the end. And by then, it would be too late for either of them.

…

Reimu emerged from the emergency room into the Hourai Clinic's hallway. Judging from the windows, it was now late afternoon, and the sunlight was showing its age.

Reimu took a few steps and found herself surprised at two things. For one, she was oddly aware of everything around her, from the smoothness of the polished bamboo tiles beneath her bare feet to the hum of the overhead fans. She even caught a whiff of food through the clinic's weird sterility. Apparently, someone was cooking something with chicken.

The other things she found odd was just how calm she felt. Her talk with Yukari had exhausted what little anger she had been able to muster, and now she felt fine. No sorrow, no rage, no pain, no nothing. Her internal temperament was one of complete neutrality.

She looked down at the hat in her hands. This is Marisa's hat, she thought. She loved this hat, and now she's never going to wear it again. Nope, nothing. Reimu tried again. We're never going to hang out again. We're never going to spar together, never going to go investigate incidents together, never going to spend summer afternoons drinking on the shrine porch. I'm never going to see that smug grin again, never hear her laugh…"

Still nothing. Troubled, Reimu wondered if there was something wrong with her. She had just lost her best friend. Surely she should be having more of a reaction. People were supposed to grieve when someone they cared about died. Cry, or become angry at the unfairness of it all. Something.

Maybe her injuries and subsequent reconstruction had messed something up. Had her heart been damaged? Or maybe something in her brain? Reimu recalled Eirin telling her that her head had been hurt. Maybe that was why she couldn't feel anything.

Sighing, Reimu headed toward the waiting room. If there was one thing she did feel, it was tired. Maybe in the morning she would be able to feel like a person again.

They were all there, waiting for her.

Genji was sitting like a lump in the corner of the room, looking as distressed as she had ever seen him, even more than when her mother had died. Remilia was pacing back and forth, anxiously wringing her delicate little hands. Well, she was certainly up early. Reisen was sitting in one of the chairs, face buried in her hands. Sakuya was there too, standing silently at her side. If the maid was troubled in any way, she was hiding it well.

Well, at least the bad blood between them seemed to be gone. Steeling herself for an avalanche of concern, Reimu stepped inside.

Genji was already looking her direction as she entered, and Remilia stopped pacing. The little vampire was the first to react.

"Reimu!" she cried, throwing herself at the shrine maiden. Reimu let out a very undignified squeak as Remilia squeezed her tightly. Apparently in the heat of the moment she had forgotten that vampire were just a bit stronger than they appeared.

"Oh Reimu, you had me so worried!" Remilia cried. "Genji just told us and-Oh, I am so relieved to see you're all right!"

Reimu looked down at her, wondering how to react. Vampires tended to be overdramatic with, well, just about everything, but Reimu knew Remilia well enough to be able to tell that she was being sincere.

The commotion had drawn Reisen and Sakuya, with the former rushing up to worriedly touch Reimu's shoulder. "Reimu, are you-I mean did you-Are you going to-I'm so-I mean I don't-" she babbled, trying to fit the storm that was going through her heart and mind into a few short sentences and failing miserably.

"All right, all right, give the kid some space," Genji said gruffly. "Let's not smother her now."

Remilia and Reisen both retreated, albeit reluctantly. "But…but you are all right?" Remilia said.

"If there's anything we can do…" Reisen offered.

Well, they were trying, and Reimu couldn't blame them for being concerned. She smiled, and opened her mouth to tell them that she really was all right.

Then she choked.

Frowning, she tried again. Once again she choked. Something was trying to force its way out of her throat, and was preventing her from speaking.

"Reimu?" Reisen said.

Shaking her head in bewilderment, Reimu forced the thing out of her throat, and then realized that they were sobs. She was crying.

Everything in her broke. The grief she had been trying to find came over her in full force and the rage she had been trying to muster up now threatened to suffocate her. But most of all, there was guilt.

She remembered stopping Marisa from killing Yuuka because her weapon of choice had shocked her so much that she just had to say something. This had given Yuuka just enough time to recover and drive them off. And what had she done then? Got into Marisa's face, further eating up precious time. Their last conversation had been one of judgment.

Reimu thought of those symbols that had appeared on Marisa's skin after she had died. She had to have done that to herself, turned her entire body into a giant collage of runes so she could pursue her passion. She thought of all the times she had beaten Marisa, had shown her up and then bragged about it. And why wouldn't she? Everyone knew that the Hakureis were endowed with power beyond the ken of mortals. It was only natural that she win, and if Marisa had thought otherwise, then well, she was just being stupid.

And then, one day when they had still been children, Marisa had won, which had made Reimu angry.

She had pushed at Marisa so hard, determined to prove that she was superior. And Marisa had pushed back even harder. It wasn't until now that Reimu realized just how driven the young witch was, and to what lengths she would go just to be able to compete while Reimu had skated by on natural ability. And then Yuuka had snapped her fingers and taken that away, leaving Reimu a useless burden while the girl born without a smidgen of power had to carry the fight on her own. Not only that, she had won. She had won and would have saved them both had not Reimu decided to step in.

Marisa would still be alive now, if it weren't for her. Her self-righteousness had gotten her best friend killed.

Reimu's legs lost their strength then and she fell. Fortuantely, for once she was not alone. As soon as they saw her double over, Remilia and Reisen were there to support her. They helped her kneel down, where she clung tightly to both of them and continued to cry into their shoulders. Genji sighed and lumbered over to lay his head in her lap. Sakuya hovered nearby, not speaking or moving until Reimu reached out to seize her by the skirt and pull her down to join in, which she did without protest.

And as they held her and let her cry, Reimu suddenly found herself flashing back to a night some weeks ago, when this had all begun. She was at Yukari's citadel, and Reisen had just come to her to beg for her help. And in doing so, she had asked Reimu a question that had struck a particular chord.

"Tell me something, Reimu," the Lunarian rabbit had said. "Have you ever loved someone? I don't just mean becoming friendly with those troublemakers you beat up. I mean really, truly cared about someone deep down inside, so that you'd do anything to keep them from hurting?"

At the time, Reimu's answer had been no. Her job didn't lend itself to that sort of thing. But now, as the tears streamed down her face and the sobs tore their way out of her chest, she realized just how wrong she had been. She had loved someone.

And now that person was gone forever. And it was all her fault.

…

The corner of Marisa's mouth curled. She mumbled nonsense syllables under breath, and her eyelids twitched.

Then with a small cry of alarm, the young witch bolted upright, eyes wide open and searching frantically for any sign of danger.

"Wha-" she gasped. "I'm not-What happened? Huh?"

There was no answer. She was alone.

Stupefied, Marisa sat with her hands splayed out on the ground next to her, legs outstretched, and mouth hanging open as if she were trying to catch flies. "Huh," she said again. "Well."

Then her confused memories of the last several minutes became crystal clear. Her eyes widened even further and she began an immediate and thorough examination of her current condition. Neck? Okay, that was fine. Hands? Both in perfect shape. Eyes? None missing. Legs?

Marisa stood up. Right. All reports were in. She was fine.

And that scared her. Because there was no way in hell she should be fine. She ought to be dead. Yuuka had killed her. You don't forget something like that. By rights she should be a broken jumble of lifeless parts.

Except she wasn't. She was alive and healthy when she had no right to be. Which meant…

Marisa again took stock of her surroundings. She was in some sort of misty…something or another. The ground beneath her feet was grassy, so she was outside. And the mist…well, it was thick enough to prevent her seeing more than two meters in front of her, but couldn't properly be called fog. It seemed too…light.

She sniffed. It smelled like lilies and water. She extended her magical senses. There was a low, gentle buzz, one that she found oddly familiar, but nothing worth commenting on.

She waited for her mysterious savior to announce themselves, but her notoriously short patience ran dry. "Hello?" she called. "Anyone there?"

There was no answer.

A small trickle of apprehension slipped into her stomach. "Uh, hey!" she said, her eyes searching for any sign of movement. "Look, I don't know who you are or why you brought me here, but…C'mon, gimme something to work with here, ze!"

Her host held their peace.

"Screw it," she muttered, and set off, still calling out as she went. "Reimu, are you there? You okay, Reddie? Mima? Yukari? Anyone?" After a brief moment of hesitation, she said, "Yuuka?"

She wasn't sure how long she walked, but all of a sudden she was standing on the shore of a lake.

It was a wide one. She wasn't sure how she knew, given that the mists were still obstructing her vision, but something about it gave the impression that she was looking at a whole lot of water. It was a pretty peaceful one too. The waters barely even rippled as they lapped the shore.

Marisa stared at it. Again, there was something damned familiar about this lake. She had been here at least once before, but try as she might, she couldn't remember where. It had been during an incident, but which one? The Scarlet Mist? Nope. This lake was certainly misty, but it wasn't the same one. New gods in town? Again, nope. Scarlet Mist the irritating sequel? Evil Spirits Run Amok? Race Through the Ruins? Weirdass Moon? Uppity Religions? Demon Tourists? Really Fucking Long Winter? Whole Lot of Flow-

Oh.

It was then that Marisa realized that she wasn't on the edge of a lake at all. She was on the bank of a river.

Her heart falling, Marisa looked up to see a tall figure approaching over the waters. They were holding a large scythe and using the pole as a paddle to move their little boat along.

"Oh, son of a bitch," Marisa complained. "You have got to be kidding me!"

Komachi Onozuka smirked at her. "Well, I'd say this was all kinds of inevitable. Hell, I thought I'd see you here a lot sooner."

Marisa shook her head. "Uh-uh. No way. This ain't happening, ze."

Sighing, Komachi brought her boat to a stop. Keeping the pole of her scythe in the water, she rested her hands and chin on its top and said, "'Fraid so, kiddo. But hey, if it makes you feel any better, that was one of the most badass exits I've seen in ages." The redheaded Shinigami grinned. "I mean, damn. Little mortal taking on something so far outside of her weight-class and winning? That was a sight to see, and no mistake!"

Somehow, Marisa did not find the compliment at all comforting. "No, ain't gonna happen," she said with finality. She turned away from the river, read to rush back. "Reimu's still alone with that lunatic. I gotta-"

"Hey, hey, relax." Komachi straightened up and plucked her scythe out of the river like a reed. "The shrine maiden's fine. Yukari Yakumo got her out of there and to that doctor I was supposed to collect last month."

Marisa looked over her shoulder to eye her suspiciously. "Yeah? How do you know?"

"It's my job, ain't it? To keep track of who's gonna die and who ain't?" Komachi brought the boat up to the bank and held out her hand. "You did good, kid. But it's time to go."

"No," Marisa said flatly.

Komachi smiled patiently. "Yeah, I know it sucks, but-"

"But it ain't happening," Marisa finished for her. "I don't care what sort of rules you've got. People cheat death all the time. Hell, look at Mima."

That just made Komachi roll her eyes. "Mima got herself killed on purpose and did a lot of nasty things beforehand to make sure she could come back the way she is. You don't have the same life insurance policy she did. It wouldn't work out."

"You don't know that!"

"Kinda do."

"You don't!" Marisa insisted stubbornly. Angry tears were starting to form around her eyes, which just annoyed her further. "You don't understand!"

"Sure I do," Komachi said, though not unkindly. "It's my job."

"But you don't! I can't go now! Reimu's still by herself, and the last talk we had was a stupid argument! I'm not going to end things like that! And…and Mima! I didn't get to tell her goodbye or anything! And what about Rinnosuke, huh? He stuck with me my whole life. I should at least get to thank him. And…and Alice! We didn't get to finish her rune, and I never got around to telling her how I…" Her throat started to close up. "How I felt about…Aw hell…"

Komachi sighed. "Marisa, I know it sucks, okay? But very few people ever get to say all the goodbyes they want to say. That's just the way of things."

"Yeah? Well, the way of things can go talk a long walk over a short cliff!" Marisa folded her arms and sat down in the grass, her back to the river. "Go pick up that old geezer that probably just croaked or something. I ain't going, ze."

Komachi sighed again. "Well, nice to know some things are universal," she muttered, mostly to herself but loud enough for Marisa to hear. "Doesn't matter what age they are or what year it is, it's always…" Then she shrugged. "Okay, fine. You win." She pushed at the dry land with her scythe's pole, moving the boat back into the gentle current. "Go on."

Marisa started. She turned around to look over her shoulder. This new change in direction had caught her unawares. "Wait, really?"

"Sure, go ahead. I'm not going to stop you." Komachi paused for a bit, and then said, "Of course, I feel compelled to remind you that since you didn't put in any sort of prep work, your mind is gonna start decaying…oh, I'd say within a couple hours. Which of course means your sense of self will be gone by tomorrow, leaving you a mindless apparition."

Marisa paled. "What?"

"Well, that is how most evil spirits come about, you know?" Komachi said with a casual shrug. "Seen it happen often enough. You know, it's funny. They all think they're special, and then they proceed to explain to me, in full living detail, why they'll be the ones to break the trend, while I'm just standing here thinking, 'Dude, you ain't the first one to give me this speech. You ain't even the first one this week.' And sure enough, couple days go by and wouldn't you just know it, but there's another evil spirit wandering about, causing trouble. Goodness knows, you've cleaned out plenty of them yourself. Hell, the only one to actually make good on that promise was Mima, and she had to go cause a whole war to make that happen." Komachi slowly breathed out. "Hoo-ee, that was a nasty time. Kept me busy as hell, I can tell you that much. They were practically lining up on the riverbank after a couple weeks, and none of them could wait to tell me that some mistake had been made, how wrong it was and they weren't going to stand of it. Well, that was all fine and dandy, so I let them tell me on the ride over. Heard an awful lot of sad stories over an awful lot of boat rides. So I said to Shinki, 'Maybe you should hire some more Shinigami. My old boat's about ready to give out.' Of course, she just says to me-"

"All right, all right!" Marisa hollered. She stood up and stomped over to the shore. Then, after a moment of hesitation and a longing look over her shoulder, she hopped into the boat. "You're an asshole, you know that?" she muttered as she sat down.

Smirking, the Shinigami pushed away from the shore. "So they tell me. Smart move though."

The boat moved in silent for a time. Marisa sat near the front, staring out over the mist-shrouded water while Komachi guided them down the river. Marisa felt like she was in a daze. While she knew that her risky lifestyle meant that she was probably going to make this trip sooner or later, she had never expected it to be so-

Wait a minute. Marisa jerked straight up as realization struck. Oh, this wasn't good.

"Oh hell, I forgot," she groaned as she stood up. "Pull the boat over."

Komachi blinked. "Huh?"

"Pull the damn boat over." Marisa looked out to the shore and found it too far to jump. "I can't go through with this."

Puzzled, Komachi tilted her head to one side. "But you just got in. Do you want to end up as a mindless ghost?"

Marisa gave her a look. "Gonna happen anyway, ain't it?" When Komachi continued to stare, the witch sighed and said, "Come on, my soul is about as pure as the driven yellow snow. We all know where I'm gonna end up, ze."

Komachi's face softened. "Don't be too sure. You have done a lot of good."

"Not nearly enough," Marisa muttered.

"Well, true," Komachi admitted with a shrug. "And if this were happening yesterday, maybe you'd have a reason to be worried. But I wouldn't sweat it."

"Huh?"

Komachi sighed. Pulling her scythe out of the water, she sat down with it laid across her knees. Sensing a long talk on the way, Marisa sat pensively sat down across from her. "Look, kid," the Shinigami said. "Just between you and me, Shinki may act like a hardcase, but she's a real sucker for a good death, and yours is one of the best I've seen in a long time. I mean, forget the fireworks, you put everything on the line for your buddy and gave up all your toys for her sake, then you made damned sure Yuuka's attention was on you instead of Reimu, knowing full well it would probably get you killed." She reached over to poke Marisa in the chest. "That's gonna count for a lot."

"But-"

"Plus there's that whole thing with throwing the mordite blade away. Believe you me, she is definitely gonna take that into consideration."

Okay, that was it. "Oh, come on!" Marisa exploded. She threw her hands into the air in exasperation. "That was the stupidest thing I ever did! I could've worked off that stain, but instead I got myself dead! And I let Yuuka go free to hurt other people!" Shaking her head, she collapsed back over the nose of the boat, palm pressed against her forehead. "I shoulda just sucked it up and stabbed the bitch."

Komachi sucked through her teeth. "Well, maybe, yeah. Maybe killing her like that woulda been the smart thing to do. And hell, maybe it woulda been the right thing to do." She smiled brightly. "But refusing to do it like that was the good thing to do."

Craning her neck, Marisa glowered at her. "No wonder Evil always comes back. Good is kinda stupid."

"Yeah, sometimes a little," Komachi said with a small wince and a shrug. "But when it comes to the condition of your immortal soul, it still counts." She gently ran her thumb over the blade of her scythe. "Black magic still taints, and bloodlust killings still scars."

"If you say so."

Shrugging, Komachi stood up. "Yeah, don't sweat. You'll probably have to do some community service for a bit as penance, but I heard Princess Yuyuko likes you, so she'll probably be your supervisor."

Marisa mused on that. Well, that didn't sound too bad. Sure, this was far from her preferred career choice, but that didn't mean it had to be permanent. If she could just work off her debt, then eventually she would be free to do as she pleased, and who was to say she couldn't figure out a way to make a comeback? And hey, she did like Yuyuko and Youmu, so that would make things easier. Just so long as she didn't go to Hell. That would be the end of the line for-

And then she remembered something else. Good gods, she was so unprepared for this. "Ah shit," she groaned as she sat back up. "What about the price though? Ain't I supposed to have something to give you to keep you from tossing me in the drink?"

This just got another shrug out of the Shinigami. "Don't worry about it," Komachi said as she stood up. She tapped the butte of her pole against a large sack that was sitting behind her. Coins clinked inside. "It's been taken care of."

Marisa dubiously squinted at the bag of money. "Yeah? By who?"

"Your daddy," Komachi said simply.

Marisa almost choked. "What!"

"Yeah, he's been making donations for your sake for years," Komachi said. Her voice was a bit sheepish, as if delving into someone else's complicated family business was uncomfortable territory for her. "Lots of money, lots of prayers. So don't sweat it. You're covered."

"But…" Marisa struggled to wrap her mind around this and found herself failing. "But he's a Christian!"

"So?"

"So why should he be donating to you guys?" Marisa demanded. "I mean, I figured he'd be praying to Jesus for my soul or whatever, but-"

"Been doing lots of that too," Komachi told her. "So what? He loves you. You think he's gonna take that kinda gamble for your soul just to take a side?"

Marisa gaped at her. She fumbled around for some sort of adequate response to this revelation and again found none. "I don't…I never knew."

"You never asked."

Marisa slowly breathed out. She wondered if Rinnosuke knew. Probably not. Her old man was the sort to keep his peace. "Where'd he donate?"

Komachi smirked. "Where do you think?"

Marisa stared at her in confusion. Then realization hit and just about knocked her out of the book. "Holy crap," she breathed. "But…but she never said-"

"She didn't know." Komachi put the pole of her scythe back into the water and shoved the boat into motion again. "He didn't leave a note with the coins. But Shinki knows, and I know, and that's what counts."

"Oh."

Marisa thought back to all the arguments she and her father had endured over the years, all the fights about magic, religion, personal associations, names, lifestyles, and just about everything else under the sun. There was a reason she had ran away when she was a kid, and eventually cut off all contact with him while in her teens. They were such different people that any sort of compromise was out of the question, though they did share the same hot temper and stubborn streak, which had not helped matters.

But even though he had hated everything Marisa had devoted herself to, he had still done this for her. That was…well, it was weird. She wondered why he had never let her see that side of him. Rinnosuke probably saw it all the time though. He was, after all, the walking epitome of decency. There had to be a reason why he had stayed friends with someone as bullheaded as Mr. Kirisame.

And that was when it hit her that she was never going to see that side of him.

She then thought of her friends. She thought of Reimu, with whom she had practically been joined at the hip before either of them had hit puberty. She thought of Mima, who, despite certain ideological differences, had always been there for her. She thought of Rinnosuke, who had watched her grow up and never once turned his back on her. She thought of Alice, who she never got to tell…

Marisa's chest suddenly felt very cold. It was over. Everything unfinished was going to stay unfinished. Everything she had wanted to say but decided to put off for the time being was going to remain unsaid. She ran down the list of her friends that might actually one day go where she was headed and found it to be depressingly short. Maybe Reimu, one day, but just about everyone else was immortal or had bought their tickets for somewhere else. Her eyes prickled with tears, and she wiped them away with the back of her wrist.

Silence reigned for a long time, during which the only sound was Komachi's pole dipping in and out of the water. Then Marisa muttered, "It just isn't fair, you know?"

"Oh yeah?"

Marisa turned to face her. "I mean, just about everyone I know gets to stick around practically forever. Mima's hundreds of years old, Yukari's probably got thousands, and I don't even wanna guess how old ol' Genji is. Alice was born Human, and she's already immortal. And Reimu's probably gonna at least live to be a hundred. Hell, freaking Cirno's got centuries ahead of her. Centuries! And I don't even get to see thirty? How is that fair, ze?"

Komachi sighed. She brought the boat to a stop. "Marisa, I've been doing this job for a long time, and I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've heard that question. And you know what? The answer's always the same."

Marisa sat in place, watching her and waiting for the rest.

Komachi's hand went to her neck to finger a piece of jewelry that Marisa's hadn't noticed before. It was a small, silver ankh, hanging around her neck on a black cord. "It is fair, Marisa," she said softly. She gave the pole a push, sending the boat back into motion. "Because you got the same thing everyone else gets. You got a lifetime. No more, no less. You got a lifetime."

…

Yeah, I've got nothing to say.

Until next time, everyone.