That night I walked back to the shrine with haste. I took the steps up to the path two at a time, almost out of breath at the top. But when I got to the steps of the shrine, a strange woman sat there. She wore a purple dress, and a white mob cap with a red ribbon. She held a pale pink parasol, the tip pressed into the ground between her feet. She leaned on it like it was the only thing keeping her up. The woman looked up to me as I approached.
Her eyes were a deep violet that gave way to an ancient, all knowing soul. They showed a great deal of restrained power, exuding an air of omniscience. I felt I could see all of time through them, but still knew nothing. And yet, these strong, fearsome eyes held tears in them. It felt like an eternity as I stood there analyzing this stranger. I felt like I should be frightened by her, but I wasn't. Something about her resonated deep within me, the instinctual, animal part of me left by our ancestors. I couldn't determine whether she was a threat or if her presence should comfort me.
Even without her saying anything, without being told about her appearance previously, some part of my mind just knew that this person was Yukari. While she didn't scare me on her own, the fact that someone held in such regard as she, was crying, made me shudder. Before I could ask what happened, a whisper escaped her lips.
"You should go see for yourself. I know that I'd rather find her myself than be told," Yukari said. Her statement confused me, but it carried a concerning weight.
She sat unmoving, unbreathing, waiting for me to make my decision. I walked to the door of the shrine, opening it to see Alice weeping at the table in the center of the main room. On the table next to her, sat a large pointed black hat. The white ribbon that was tied just above the brim discolored in red on most of its surface. The fabric of the hat was a deep, matted black from the blood that had soaked into it. There was a part of the brim that had been split, the hat seemingly ready to fall apart if someone in the room breathed too hard.
Judging by the atmosphere throughout the shrine, this must've been all they recovered of Marisa. That horror of that thought didn't stick with me long. I had to find Reimu. Not wanting to make Alice's condition any worse, I decided to search for her myself, electing to check our room before anything else. I slid the door open. The heavy metallic stench hit me first, making me almost light headed. The stink of it hurt my eyes. As my vision came into focus, I discovered the real reason everyone was crying.
Reimu was lying on her back, one arm resting on her stomach, the other stretched out to the side, holding one of the silver maid's knives. Reimu was lying in a pool of red. Not the red like her robes, a deeper, more lifeless hue, made even darker by the scarcity of light in the room. The pool had spread from just below her chin. As I looked closer, I finally saw what I had feared. What used to be the fair skin of Reimu's neck was now a crimson ravine, her throat slashed so deep the surface of the cut cast a shadow, even in the dark. I was glad I could hardly see it. Holding back tears, and vomit, I stumbled away from the room with a hand covering my mouth. As I got back to the steps, Yukari had risen to her feet, though she wouldn't meet my gaze.
"I'm sorry, I should've seen the signs earlier, I could've -" before she could continue her needless rambling, I swung at her with all my might. It was her fault, after all. Someone who flexes their absolute power and authority like herself certainly could've stopped this. But, before my fist made contact, she vanished, and my strike flew harmlessly through the air before I pulled my hand back. I looked around, but Yukari had truly disappeared. Only now, did I finally understand why Reimu despised her so much.
Reimu's funeral was a week later. It was a closed casket, of course. Though I had my doubts her body was even in there. She was buried next to her mother in Muenzuka. Only me, Alice, Youmu, Youmu's mistress, and Sanae attended. It was quiet, hiccups and sniffles the only sound that could be heard over the graveyard workers slowly lowering the last of the Hakurei into the ground. I'd heard rumor that Yukari was already searching for a replacement. I found out that Reimu wasn't of the original Hakurei bloodline, her grandmother had replaced the last of the original Hakurei when she died too young to have children. Reimu would be replaced just the same, many said.
But nothing could ever replace her. Not her bright, patient eyes. Not her warm, but sly smile. Not her flowing ebony hair gliding on the wind, as she walked with a blinding grace that no goddess of beauty could hope to contest. How she carried herself didn't present her as a person, but a living work of art. There's nothing that has ever, or ever will be able to replace her. She was perfection in motion.
I wish she were still here, even if she just hit me. Even if she didn't speak to me, didn't even look at me. I just want to see her eyes one more time, to hear her sweet voice, to watch her mesmerizing form framed by the setting sun.
Reimu will never be forgotten. Not as long as I shall live. Perhaps the sands of time will erode the memory of her from this world, but my mind will not let her go. I can only hope she finds the peace in death, that she never could in life. Maybe she'll find Marisa on her way across the Sanzu. She may have died alone, but she shouldn't be dead alone.
I loved Reimu with all my heart. I pray the Yama have mercy on her soul.