Entry 2: Mima's Old Home, Reclaiming
Hakurei Reimu slowly opened her eyes. How long had it been since she last thought about her first ever Incident?
Trick question. Up until a few weeks ago, not a day went by when she didn't think about it, and the four other Incidents that happened before Remilia Scarlet came along and decided the sun was just a bit too 'in existence' for her liking. Out of all of the people in Gensokyo, only Reimu and Kazami Yuuka were able to, or willing to, remember those old days and the people who had been sealed away.
And now, many years later, there was no longer a need to carry that burden. Those old friends were back in her life, and all was well in the world.
Reimu stood up from her seat, and wondered how long she was been reminiscing. She wasn't too hungry, so it mustn't have been too long after breakfast. Probably middle of the morning, if she were to guess.
Reimu stepped outside, and on to the verandah of the shrine. The air of fresh and cool, yet not overly cold. It was the epitome of 'weather that would no doubt get warmer as the day went on'.
"Well, look who's finally awake," a familiar voice spoke. "Finally back with us living folk, Sleeping Beauty?"
Reimu looked at the source of the voice, and saw a familiar Spirit dressed in blue with green hair. "Good morning to you too, Mima," Reimu responded. "Where's everyone else?"
Mima looked somewhat off-put by Reimu's lack of reaction. "Geez, it's almost like we haven't been missing for two decades," she muttered. "If ya must know, your girlfriend and the Komainu are out shopping, Marisa ain't shown up at all, and who knows where the Oni and Inchling have gone off to today."
"So it's just you and me today?"
"Nah. The old turtle's still around," Mima shrugged. "He's out back, still getting use to the changes in the pond."
"So, in the end," Reimu said, "it's just you and me today."
"It's just you and me, yeah," Mima admitted. "Just you and your very first reoccurring big bad."
"And yet, Marisa still beats you out for number of appearances, even back then."
"Screw you too, Reimu," Mima sassed. "Anyway, I've got a bit of a favour to ask."
"Since when do you 'ask' favours?" Reimu asked. "What's up?"
"I'm wanting to know who the hell moved into my house," Mima answered. "Seriously, Reimu, what the hell? I'm gone for a few years, and I lose the place I call my own?"
"Your house?" Reimu wondered. "What do you... Oh, right. The sub-shrine. Didn't really have much of a say in that one, since Yukari and Kasen were still breathing down my neck."
"Yeah, fair enough," Mima admitted. "But giving it away to another shrine? Really?"
The duo stood outside the sub-shrine by the main tori-gate of the Hakurei Shrine. To Reimu, the sub-shrine that, by all rights, currently belonged to the Moriya Shrine, looked the same as every.
To Mima, however, it was like visiting a place you regulared years ago, and seeing it has changed drastically.
"So how bad is it, anyway?" Reimu asked. "I'm guessing the insides of something this small look way different to a ghost than they do a human."
"Think of it like a tiny, single-room apartment for us," Mima answered. "Kinda like the main living room of the shrine, actually. Bit of a table in the middle, whole ass futon, it's very comfy."
"So wait, when you haunt a place, you literally get your own little pad?" Reimu said. "Damn. If I'd known that, I'd be more comfortable dying."
"What's stopping you, then?"
"Life's good."
"Fair."
After a moment of silence, Mima clapped her hands. "Well, I'mma start throwing things out of there. Wanna join?"
"Nah, I'll wait here," Reimu replied. "Someone has to clean up after you."
In response, Mima gave two thumbs up, and quite literally dived into the sub-shrine. There was no other way to describe it, other than a perfect swan dive.
Minutes seemed to pass, with the occasional book or box thrown out of the sub-shrine. How it worked, considering the shrine in question was smaller than Reimu herself, was simple; magic.
Magic was such a convenient explanation for everything in Gensokyo. None of that tedious 'conservation of mass' or 'but gravity' stuff. Things just worked, and that was the end of it.
The sound of flight caught Reimu's ear, and as she looked upwards, she saw a familiar, if not unexpected, person approaching.
"Well, I wasn't expecting you today," Reimu greeted. "What brings you out here, Sanae?"
Kochiya Sanae, the shrine maiden of Moriya Shrine. In regards to 'Incident Solvers', Sanae was still the newest to the group by far, but despite the seeming rivalry between them, Reimu considered Sanae to be a good friend. A bit weird at times, but that had more to do with her being from the Outside.
It was the common sense. Gensokyo and the Outside World have somewhat different sensibilities, to the point where it wasn't uncommon to say that Gensokyo lacked common sense. The truth was that it didn't 'lack' common sense, it was just weird about it.
"Just a neighbourly visit," Sanae replied with a kind smile. "A lot's been happening over the past few weeks, after all. Wouldn't hurt to see if anything new has hit the fan."
"How responsible of you," Reimu said. "Well, if you must know, you're being evicted."
There was a moment of stunned silence, as Sanae looked momentarily dumbfounded. "Can I... get some more context?"
Reimu jerked her thumb towards the sub-shrine. "Mima used to call that her home. She's taking it back."
Sanae let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank heavens," she said. "For a moment, I thought you were going to kick us out of Gensokyo."
"Nah. Not my jurisdiction," Reimu waved off. "That would be Yukari's thing, and who knows what she's up to lately."
Just then, Mima shouted. "Heads up, girls!"
Seconds later, a large book hit Reimu on the side of the head.
"Son of a...!" Reimu cursed. "Don't just throw stuff like that!"
"Hey, I warn ya, didn't I?!" Mima asked, popping her head out of the shrine. "Also, sup, Greenie?"
"Good morning, Mima-san," Sanae greeted, as she casually picked the thrown book off the ground. "Reimu-san's already informed me of what's going on."
"That certainly saves us some time," Mima said. "That said, though, what the hell's with the mess in there? You mountain folks treating our home like a storehouse or something?"
"What's this 'our home' business?" Reimu prodded. "You're the oldest freeloader here."
Sanae laughed as the two bickered back and forth. She looked down at the book, and felt herself freeze involuntarily. Something that didn't go unnoticed by Reimu and Mima.
"You alright there, kiddo?" Mima asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost, and I don't just mean me."
"This book," Sanae muttered. "Was there... more like it in there?"
"Dozens," Mima answered. "As well as multiple boxes full of electronic things. Why?"
"This book... it's one of my old photo albums," Sanae said. "I thought I'd lost it not long after coming to Gensokyo."
A/N:
And here we are; the B Plot. Focusing on the present day... and Sanae. Pro'lly didn't see that coming, I bet.
Plan's to alternate between 'past' and 'present', with the past focusing on Reimu, and present of Sanae. So, in a way, focusing on the pasts of both Shrine Maidens.
Well, enough about that. Let's head on.
