A/N

This whole fic was inspired by a copy pasta of all things. I thought it would be an interesting exercise to stretch the idea presented into an actual story.

The copypasta in question:

Sometimes I fantasize about Reimu coming home drunk and beating me until I feel numb. She kicks me in the ribs until i can hardly breathe. Then she starts to cry and apologizes, begging me to forgive her. She holds me all night as i gently cry into her armpits. Is there any hope left for me?

Though the reason I started writing this is kinda stupid, this story isn't for the faint of heart. Read at your own discretion.

It's been about a year since the Hakurei Miko accepted my invitation to a night out, just the two of us. I used to consider myself lucky for having gotten that far, especially after it went so well. Now I'm not sure. You should take a seat, this explanation isn't exactly brief.

I had known about the Hakurei shrine since I was young. My grandfather used to tell me stories of helping one of the previous in the Hakurei Line resolve incidents. The minor ones, at least. My family owned a shop, selling a wide variety of products, but most known for our alcohol. Because of my grandfather's ties to the shrine (and consequently my father too) we often visited for celebrations after the resolution of incidents, supplying alcohol free of charge, as my father became friends with Reimu's predecessor. Though she was only a year younger than me, I didn't meet Reimu until I was almost 9 years old. She spent most of her younger years training to replace her mother as the miko. We met at her mother's wake. It was awkward, as she was grieving the woman who gave her life, and a woman who I knew as basically an aunt, the adults seemed really determined to get me and Reimu together. We exchanged a few words that day, enough to satisfy the eyes watching our interaction closely.

Our second meeting, a few weeks later, was a lot less strained. After the ceremony officiating her as the next in the Line (and hours of adults crowding the both of us), we finally had some time to ourselves. The history between our families meant we already knew each other by proxy, so it wasn't more than a few minutes before we agreed to be friends. We had both lost our mothers, which allowed us to relate to each other rather easily. I told her that I could help her with the next incident, but she told me she wanted to handle it on her own. It stayed that way as long as I knew her.

With all the calamity Gensokyo saw over the next decade, I only saw Reimu a handful of times, usually for celebrations at the shrine. My father and I would bring alcohol for everyone, and I would stay for a few hours, heading home before dark. It wasn't until after the Reversal Incident that things calmed down for long enough that me and Reimu got close. I remember she was hesitant to be any more than friends (though we had drifted apart to barely acquaintances by then), but I suppose she found me charming in her own way. At least I like to think so. I remember walking up those steps, carrying a bundle of coins to make a donation as a gesture, some flowers I purchased from the florist down the street from my house (while being lectured about the upkeep of these flowers by one of the other customers, her red eyes off putting enough I just listened), and some ofuda I made. I'd hoped that I could save her some time, though I had my doubts they would work, assuming they were correctly written to begin with.

Her witch friend Marisa passed me as I approached the donation box. She made some snide remark with a giggle, but continued on her way. I dropped the coins into the box, causing a loud, echoing rattle. I looked up to see Reimu already in the doorway, giving me a puzzled, yet appreciative look. "I'm not for sale, you know" she had said, teasing me once she noticed the flowers. I chuckled, but handed them over anyway. Worst she could say is no. She seemed at least happy to see me, but when I showed her the ofuda she really lit up. That sparkle in her eyes, the smile tearing through her usually serious expression, the ecstatic squeal. The gesture went over better than I thought. She took them from me, spinning around on her heel, and stowing them somewhere in her robes. Once she was facing me again she pulled me into a hug. "I would've said yes even if you came empty handed, but I'm glad you didn't" she had said. I chastised her for accepting a proposal I was yet to make, but she didn't seem to care. I spent the rest of that day at the shrine. Marisa and a girl I came to know as Alice came by to congratulate Reimu. Alice was very kind about it, seeming genuinely happy for Reimu. Marisa was a bit more mocking. "Now I don't have to worry about you being alone all day without me. You should hold onto him until he starts ring shopping" she teased, eliciting a blush from Reimu. I thought about saying something, but decided this was likely typical banter between them. The four of us had tea and talked for a while, but the magicians left as night fell. After some internal deliberation, I asked Reimu if could spend the night. After she turned redder than her skirt, I hastily backtracked. "I suppose you could" she had whispered it so quietly, if I hadn't seen her lips move I wouldn't believe she said it. I slept on a spare futon, electing to endure my father's scolding in the morning, rather than run back to the village for permission now. We didn't sleep until well into the night, not exchanging many words, each just enjoying the company of the other.

My father was angry initially, but once I told him where I was his attitude changed. My sister congratulated me as well. They had been trying to get me and Reimu together for half my life, after all. Reimu joined us that next night for dinner. The night after, I was at the shrine again. It went back and forth for about three months. Home, shrine, home, shrine, home, home, shrine, until I didn't return home for almost a week. The trek back to the village after that weighed with guilt, I thought my father would be worried I had died. I didn't feel as guilty when his only concern was not wanting to be a grandfather just yet.

After a few discussions with my family, I took the few material things I held dear, along with my futon, and began the long walk to the shrine. I wasn't a guest there any longer. I still came back to the village most days to help with my father's shop. I left the shrine in the early morning, the summer sun not yet in the sky. Sometimes I'd wake Reimu to say goodbye, others I didn't. When I'd return home, she usually was still out. Visiting friends, doing Hakurei duties, shopping, and the like. Though she never came back with much after shopping, I never gave it much thought.

I got to know her friends, too. Me and Marisa got along well, but were never really friends. I think Reimu appreciated this in a way, as two thieving pranksters would be a bit much, even for her. Alice looked not much older than myself, but she was very old in her mannerisms. She felt more like the grandmother I never met than a friend, but I appreciated her company nonetheless. Sanae, the other shrine's miko, was always fun. She had many interesting stories about the Outside World. Youmu was one of the stranger people Reimu knew. She visited on a few occasions, but didn't talk much. She never came alone, always accompanied by one of Reimu's other friends. Youmu always had a ghost following her, which initially scared me, but when Reimu didn't so much as blink at it, I figured it was no threat. I thought about asking Youmu about the ghost, but for fear of offending someone who looked experienced in bisection, I held my tongue. There was also the silver maid and her vampire mistress. I wasn't too fond of their visits. They gave me the creeps. Especially when they left. No walk to the end of the path and down the steps, not flying as soon as they were outside (which I got used to over time), the two just disappeared into thin air.

I was living the dream, as they say. I could only hope Reimu was just as happy with our relationship, but there was nothing that led me to doubt it. We fell into a routine, not that consistency was a bad thing. We would visit Marisa or Alice in the forest on occasion, or go to the village, mostly for events, like the new years firework show. What a night that was. If I didn't know any better, I'd say the smoke from black powder was an aphrodisiac. Life was peaceful, for what seemed like the first time in Reimu's life. She was content with that, most of the time. She would have paranoid days every so often, but with what she went through I didn't bother her about it.

Then came the incident that changed many lives forever. I remember Marisa coming to the door, a panicked conversation, a kiss goodbye, and the sound of wind as Reimu took off with the witch at a speed I had never seen. I didn't see her for 106 hours. I got so worried I counted them. Almost 9 days. And when she finally stumbled through the door, covered in blood, her eyes glazed over, I wasn't any sort of relieved. She spoke before I could think of a question.

"They didn't duel us. They just fought us." she said, a tremble in her voice.

"I don't understand, isn't that the same thing?" I asked.

"No. Duels have rules. A fight - a real fight - is all out, to the death. And we almost lost" she said, tears beginning to cloud her eyes.

"Well almost means you made it, right? That's what matters, you can rest and recover, but they're dead. You don't have to worry about them now."

"Yeah, I made it. Just barely. I didn't even kill them myself, Yukari had to step in" Reimu kept her composure, but I could tell it was difficult.

Yukari. I'd heard the name a few times. Always associated with something unexplainable, as if she was the answer to impossible questions. But the way Reimu had spoken, it seemed as if this Yukari's appearance wasn't welcome.

"Why is it bad that she stepped in?" I questioned, trying to understand what had made Reimu so distraught.

"Because she doesn't think about intervening until someone dies. Until there's a lifeless body on the ground, she doesn't care. Until someone watches their best friend get torn to shreds, she doesn't even bother waking up!" Reimu had gone from a whisper to a shout. The silence that followed was deafening. It was quickly broken as she began to weep.

For all her strength, Reimu couldn't keep herself together anymore. She'd never fallen apart like this ever before, not even when her mother died. I wiped the tears from her face, but it was futile. They fell faster than I could clear them. I pulled her in close, trying to soothe her any way I could. I still kick myself for not being able to find words at that moment. I think my silence is what started the downward spiral. I can't believe, even now, that it took me so long to realize what happened. I should've known when she returned alone. After what felt like years of holding her, her tears soaking my shirt, she wordlessly stood to go take a bath. I helped her scrub herself, thankful none of the immense amount of blood caking her clothes was hers. We slept in silence that night. The next day she left before I woke up. I didn't see her until well into the night. Still, we didn't say a word.

Two days after her return is when it started. When Reimu stopped being herself.

I had heard heavy, rhythmless footsteps across the porch. The door was thrown open. The smell of alcohol rolling off of her, as she swayed, barely able to keep her footing, dark eyes clouded by dry tears. Bruises on her arms, and one on her face. She didn't even look at me. I stood, and approached her, to try and help her to bed, and hopefully talk out what exactly happened later. As I drew closer, she pulled one of her feet back, as if she was going to walk back out into the dark of the night. I was hardly an arms length from her when my assumption was proven incorrect. In a flash, she twisted her upper body, pushing with her foot, and punching me in the collar with such force I'm astounded it didn't break. I flew back a few meters, my feet off the ground. I thought the punch hurt, but then I landed. My ass hit the floor first, then my back, and finally my head. My vision blurred together into a few dozen blotches of color. The red and white blotches were coming at me fast. I tried to roll over to get away, but she kicked the wind out of me, leaving me back on my aching spine once again. She straddled me, punching me in the face. I was in shock at this point, I barely felt it. Then she started pounding on my chest with both hands, like it was a door she was trying to break down. I could feel her tears falling onto my chest even though I couldn't see them. After five of six times, she sat still for a moment. I didn't dare move.

That's when it happened. When she let out the scream that haunts me to this day.

I'd heard the shriek of someone being eaten alive by a youkai during an attack on the village when I was young. The pain, the fear, the powerlessness, all melded together into a sound nightmares can't conjure up.

But what came out of Reimu was different. It was angry. It rattled me to the bone, echoing off the cliffs in the distance. It was a war cry, filled with more hate than I can describe. It was a sound that called for death, a sound that let all who heard it know the hell that came with it.

I braced myself, but she didn't hit me again. She flopped down onto my chest, wailing at the top of her lungs as she cried. I wrapped my arms around her, in an attempt to calm her. I was too weak to do much else at that point. After what must've been hours she finally grew silent, eventually falling asleep on top of me.

Fortunately, that first beating was the worst. My vision was normal by morning. The next week or so she would come home, drunker than an Oni, and hit me a couple times, cry, and go to sleep. It became routine. It stopped hurting after a while. After that first week-ish, it stopped being an everyday thing. The days she didn't hit me she'd just cry silently in bed. We still hadn't spoken since she returned from the incident.

It had been about a month since Reimu first hit me. She had walked through the door, unlike her usual drunk stumbling. I stood to greet her, thinking maybe she would be okay today, maybe she wasn't angry anymore. I was wrong. She kicked me in the ribs, just hard enough I stumbled back and fell down. She straddled me again, and started punching me in the chest, almost like she was trying to force the air out of me. Each hit her face grew more and more sad, more tears fell, all the while throwing each fist with the grunt of a feral animal, like she was pushing the knuckles forward with all her strength. When she finally stopped I was numb. She laid back down on me again. Her eyes were dry, she had run out of tears to cry. She coughed a couple times, followed by a hiccup. Each hiccup made her lurch against me. I hugged her again, unsure what else I could do. I heard a hard breath escape her, as if she tried to talk but couldn't find her voice. There were a few more, until finally, words came with it.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice a raspy crackle, as if she had spent the day screaming. She probably did. It was both a genuine statement, and an unsure one, as if she didn't know what else to say. I struggled with how to respond.

"It's alright. I love you, Reimu," I said. Even though I meant it, I said it in an attempt to console her more than anything.

"I love you too," she whispered back.

We eventually moved to her futon, staying entangled until we fell asleep. When I woke up, she had already left, but as of late that wasn't atypical. I made to leave for the day as usual. I had hope in my heart that day, that our relationship might be able to work. That we might be able to work through what happened.

I couldn't wait to get back that night and see the Reimu I fell in love with again.

A/N

So that's all I've got for now, but I'm working on more conclusive endings. Yes, plural. I'm thinking of 3 different endings.

If you can handle graphic description, and don't mind a cliche tragic ending, then Ending 1 will be for you.

If graphic stuff isn't your cup of tea, and/or you don't want (more) character death, Ending 2 will be for you.

And if I actually go through with writing it, Ending 3 will be for those hoping to see our favorite Red-White get back to being herself.

I plan to update soon. Please let me know what you think! This is my first Touhou story (and second story overall), so let me know what I should work on. Also let me know if you have a better title I'm terrible with titles.