Author's Note: And another chapter! This is actually longest chapter thus far. It was supposed to be written alongside Chapter 5 as one thing, but during writing of it, I decided that it was too long and split it into two chapters. As always, I appreciate any review/criticism, so be sure to let me know what you think of the story so far. Without further ado, please enjoy the chapter.
Sakuya, Reimu and Reisen left the office and were heading back to the mansion.
The maid and the shrine maiden explained the situation to the moon rabbit during the walk, she was surprised at the mention that Reimu lost her powers, but she nodded. There were plenty of youkai and humans that lost them after barrier's destruction, so she understood.
-If Reimu lost her powers, then how we are supposed to bring Gensokyo back to normal?
Sakuya quickly explained.
-We are looking for the Yukari Yakumo, according to Reimu, she's aware of the nature of Hakurei God, so she's our best shot for now.
-Ah, that gap youkai? I heard that she's missing, though, same as Reimu was. Do you have any clue to where she is?
The maid nodded.
-Nothing concrete though, according to my lady, there's some kind of university girl that's supposed to be her. I'm not really sure myself, since I wasn't present for the conversation. I'm sure mistress will explain it clearly when we will return to the mansion.
Reisen nodded.
As the duo was talking to each other, Reimu was thinking about things.
She didn't join the conversation because she didn't really feel like it. Pretty much she didn't feel like doing anything really. She felt useless and lost for the most part, so she was glad that there was somebody else leading. Reimu really hoped that they can find Yukari soon, so she can return back to her former self.
There's also a few questions that she would like to ask the maid before they arrived back at the mansion.
-I have been wondering if the firearms are so effective, then why aren't you using them, Sakuya?
-Actually, I have been wondering it myself. You had remarkable accuracy back at the firing range, when you tried them out. Are you sure that was your first time using them?
Sakuya laughed.
-You're pretty sharp, Reisen. As a matter of fact, it wasn't. I used them a bit in the past, when our mansion wasn't in Gensokyo yet. These were pretty old models, though, very different from firearms of today.
-If so, then why aren't you using them now?
The maid shrugged.
-They aren't just my style. I found my silver knives to be more reliable than any firearm, and with my power, range isn't really a problem.
Fair enough. Someone with time manipulation power could make any weapon effective at any range.
There was still one question that Reimu wanted to ask.
-Is Marisa here too?
Sakuya didn't really look surprised at this question, almost as if she expected it sooner or later.
-She's around. She opened her own pawn shop in the city here. However, she changed quite a bit, since you saw her last time. I assume you want to meet her?
Reimu nodded.
The shrine maiden was glad to hear that her best friend was alive. There was something odd about the maid's tone when she mentioned that "she changed quite a bit." However, Reimu didn't really question it.
After all, everybody here changed some way or another.
Sakuya looked in thought for a bit, then replied.
-I guess we can spare some time to visit her, my lady didn't really specify that we have to hurry back.
The shrine maiden quietly thanked the maid.
The walk was pretty quiet for the most part, however midway, the trio had an unfortunate encounter.
Some kind of thugs accosted them.
-You girls looking for some fun?
Sakuya stopped and glanced at them, she had an annoyed look on her face.
-Gentleman, it would be in your best interest to leave us alone, if you don't comply then I can't guarantee your safety.
One of the thugs laughed.
-Hey Johnny, you hearing this? This girl has balls to actually threaten us! How about we teach them a lesson to not mess with us?
Another thug nodded and reached for his baseball bat.
Reimu instinctively reached for her pistol, but Sakuya stopped her. She whispered to her.
-There's no need, handgun will attract too much attention to us. I will take care of it.
The thug with a baseball bat then swung at the maid.
She caught the bat mid-swing easily.
Reimu noticed that Sakuya's eyes flicked to red color for a moment there.
-So be it.
The shrine maiden blinked and then thugs disappeared like they haven't been there in the first place.
She noticed the maid holstering her knife.
-What happened?
Sakuya glanced at Reimu for a moment, then continued walking.
-I escorted these fine gentleman, back where they belong.
-And that would be?
-Hell.
Reimu knew what this meant, so she didn't question it any further. She peeked at the moon rabbit, and she looked like she was of the same opinion.
The shrine maiden wasn't really sure how to feel about this. She was used to exterminating unruly youkai, but she never really killed a human before. The maid obviously was no stranger to this.
Did the moon rabbit feel the same way? She after all escaped from the moon to flee from the war. Perhaps she wasn't keen on the idea of bloodshed, too.
For now, she decided to push these thoughts away, after all, she was about to meet her old friend. She had to concentrate on having a sane mind for this.
After a bit of walking, they finally arrived at their destination.
It was a simple building that had the sign "Kirisame's Pawn Shop" on it.
Sakuya patted Reimu on the shoulder.
-That's here. She should be inside, so go ahead and see her. As for us, we will be heading back to the mansion, I'm sure you remember the way back? If not, we can wait for a bit here.
Reimu dismissively waved her hand.
-No, it's okay. I'll manage, you can go back, I won't be long here anyway.
The maid nodded, then started walking away with Reisen.
The shrine maiden stood in front of the building for a bit, contemplating whether it was worth or not, but she decided to enter.
The bell sounded when she opened the door.
She walked inside the shop.
The shop looked pretty modest in her opinion, it wasn't anything fancy, but wasn't anything too plain either.
I guess it fit the personality of the magician.
There were various items that she haven't seen before on the display. There were also instruments, jewelry, cameras and other things.
It felt nostalgic for her, like she was visiting Kourindou again.
She heard a voice from the back of the shop.
-A customer! I'm in the backroom, so I will be there in just a moment!
After a few seconds, a girl walked out of the backroom.
She had blonde hair that was tied in a side braid and yellow eyes. She was wearing a cream-colored sweater and blue jeans. Furthermore, she also was holding a kind of stick in her right hand to support herself during walking.
There she was, Marisa Kirisame. Her best friend. Sakuya wasn't really kidding, she really changed a lot in terms of her appearance. Reimu was curious about that stick that she was using to support herself, was she injured somewhere?
The magician looked absolutely bewildered at the sight of the shrine maiden. She kept staring at her for a while like she was some kind of ghost.
-Reimu, is that really you?
The shrine maiden nodded.
-God, It is really you.
Marisa then walked over to Reimu and tightly hugged her.
The shrine maiden hugged her back.
-Where have you been all this time, Reimu?
-I'm not really sure myself, everyone keeps telling me that I have been missing for quite some time, while I have arrived here just yesterday. It's almost like I traveled to the future somehow.
The magician released the shrine maiden from the hug.
-Arrived here? So you weren't even here?
-Earlier than yesterday? No. I was back at the shrine in Gensokyo, relaxing, when suddenly I got dragged into some kind of portal or something and I ended up here.
Marisa looked deep in thought.
-Then you might not even be Reimu from this universe.
-Not being me from this universe? What are you even talking about?
-Look, I know this sounds weird, but I read about it in a book, that there are infinite universes and they each have their own versions of people and locations and pretty much everything. I'm not sure who dragged you out here, but it's possible that you have been transported from another timeline to this timeline. That would explain why you suddenly end up without memory of your disappearance. In other words, you're Reimu from another timeline. You're not from this timeline. Well, in theory at least, since I have no evidence really to support this.
This did make a lot of sense, but there was one question.
-I met Patchouli here, and she didn't say anything about this, even though she literally reads books all the time. How come you know this and she doesn't?
-I dunno, but that's probably because Patchouli often relies on facts than speculations. She most likely didn't want to say anything that she isn't one hundred percent certain of. Also, she's a bit of an awkward one when it comes to science or technology.
Well, she wasn't really wrong about that. Reimu had to ask Yukari about that when she meets her, she would have the most insight in this. The shrine maiden wanted actually to ask Marisa about what she was doing when she was gone.
-What happened to you? I heard bits from Flandre, but she didn't give me the full story.
The magician grimaced a bit.
-Well, it's not a pretty story, that's for sure. You sure you want to hear it?
Reimu nodded.
-It all started year ago, when you suddenly disappeared without trace. At first I thought that maybe you went on some kind of expedition, so I asked around, but nobody really seen you. Weeks were passing and still no sign of you. The youkai were getting more bold after knowing that you weren't around and started attacking people from Human Village. There was no way around it, so I had to step in as your replacement for a bit. Since then things calmed down a bit, until the barrier started cracking down. It caused a lot of trouble, like spell cards completely not working, causing youkai to use their full power without any repercussions. People and buildings disappearing and ending up in the Outside World. This was no time to be joking around, so I had to get Yukari, so she could do something about it, I was actually surprised that she didn't do anything about your disappearance in the first place, but then I learned why that was the case. She was gone, just like you. I went to her house at the border of the Gensokyo and nobody was there.
Reimu nodded. It was almost exactly like Flandre described it.
The magician continued.
-I was desperate and scared to find a solution to this problem, so I visited everyone that I could think of. Scarlet Devil Mansion, Eientei, Former Hell, Muenzuka, Myouren Temple, but I found nothing. Then I headed to the last place, I could think of. Garden of the Sun.
Garden of the Sun. Which means that she met Yuuka Kazami there.
-I found Yuuka there, looking all calm and stuff. I wasn't really thinking straight there, and I was desperate for answers, so I accused her that she was behind your disappearance. She wasn't really pleased with my accusations and looked irritated. We got into argument, we started insulting each other and stuff. But then, I did something that I regret to this day. In anger, I attacked her with my mini-hakkero. It did nothing to her, but she was absolutely pissed. She teleported behind me and punched my back extremely hard. The impact was so hard, that I passed out after that punch from the shock. After I woke up, I was getting treated by the doctor at Eientei. She told me that, some of the friendlier youkai found me and carried me here. She also told me that, I was extremely lucky to be even alive, since that punch almost shattered my spinal cord. Eirin patched me up, but she told me that I won't be able to run or fight anymore. I could only do basic stuff like walking, sitting and stuff like that. I dunno what really happened to Yuuka after that, nobody seen her since then, and I didn't want to search for her after that. I guess, I can't really blame her too, since it was my fault for attacking her in the first place.
Reimu listened intently to the story, she was mad at Yuuka for doing that to Marisa, but she would deal with that after she gets her power back, otherwise she would most likely end up same as her friend or worse.
-After that, I wasn't really thrilled at the thought that I couldn't do anything that I loved before, but after some time, I got used to it. When finally the barrier shattered and everything ended up in the Outside World, I was lost just like you at the amount of new things here. But thankfully, I found some friendly faces that showed me around and told me where most of the people are. So, I went to the Scarlet Devil Mansion to ask for budget help, so I could at least buy a shop or something to support myself. I was actually surprised to see that Flandre was the mistress of the mansion than Remilia. I dunno what Remilia was thinking, leaving everything to her little sister, but I guess she maybe does have her own reasons.
That was another mystery that Reimu wanted to solve, where was Remilia? It certainly wasn't normal for her to be missing like this.
-Flandre was actually doing a pretty good job at managing the mansion though, I didn't really take her as somebody that could replace her older sister, but there she was, running the show, almost as good as her sister. She loaned money to me, and she didn't even ask for me to return it some day or anything. So, I opened this little humble shop here, the business isn't exactly booming, but it does pay for the bread, so I can't really complain.
The shrine maiden nodded. At least, her best friend wasn't really at a bad spot here, so she was glad at that part.
-Your accent changed a lot though compared to our times in Gensokyo.
-Ahaha. I suppose the city did grow on me after this time.
Marisa moved behind the counter.
-Now, I'm sure that you would like me to join back up with you to save Gensokyo and stuff, but with me being cripple and stuff there's nothing much, I can do. I would only be deadweight. But, if there's anything you'd like to talk about, you can always come here. You're always welcome here, Reimu.
The shrine maiden nodded.
Well, I guess that's it for this meeting, then. She should be heading back to the mansion, so they could strategize about finding Yukari.
Reimu said goodbye to Marisa and left the shop.
The shrine maiden more or less remembered the way to the mansion, so she started walking.
But then something whispered to her right, it sounded like somebody whispering her name.
She looked to the right and only saw some kind of alleyway. There was nobody there.
Reimu decided to investigate it, keeping her hand on the pistol holster in emergency.
But there was nothing. She shrugged then was about to move away when she heard a voice.
-Look up, dear.
She looked up and saw a girl hanging upside-down from some kind of portal.
She had short blonde hair and golden eyes. Furthermore, she was wearing a purple dress and white mob cap.
The girl looked almost like Yukari.
-I heard that you were looking for me, Reimu?