Sanae had once told Reimu and Marisa a story about a family of cannibals who appeared completely normal in front of others but would knock them unconscious once they had gathered enough trust. That was exactly how the shrine maiden felt now.

Yukari's house may not have been normal by her standards, but it did seem mostly normal, according to someone's. She expected… Well, she didn't know what she expected, but she didn't expect it to be suitable for a human. There were a lot of things that the kappa would want to get their hands on, but Reimu wouldn't know what they were or their use. The décor was… purple. And old. Probably from a country across the sea, too. There was a white bear skin, complete with open maw, on the floor instead of a rug. And a dead animal skull was sitting on a shelf.

She carefully sipped her tea.

The only thing she could do in this situation was listen to the sound of Ran's kitchen knife working on some vegetable. The idea of something so normal happening in the other room would have been comforting, but knowing that it was a youkai holding that sharpened object changed that. Of course, they weren't going to eat her, but… they were youkai. And she was a human.

No, the worst thing was the adoption. What the hell did that mean? Like a pet or a child? She'd probably already know if this was anyone else, but this was Yukari. …Was she facing retirement? At this age? Did shrine maidens retire? Or maybe shrine maidens had to be young? She was only… actually, how old was she again? Sixteen? Seventeen? Her mother…

Her mother… What had happened to her…? When she died, it was before the spell card system was even an idea, so the likelihood of her having been… Suddenly, she realized that she didn't want to think about that. It was odd; the idea of someone being killed by a youkai had never bothered her before—it was a somewhat regular thing, after all. But the idea of it being her mother… disturbed her.

"I'm back!" Yukari called out, making the shrine maiden jump a little. Reimu heard her shikigami greet her before the gap youkai entered the room. "Hello, Reimu!" she greeted as she sat down to the girl's right. "How are you today?"

"Uh… good," the shrine maiden replied, though it sounded more like a question than a response.

"Wonderful! I have a little gift for you!" Yukari spoke as she laid a box on the table.

"Oh. Oh great! How wonderful!" Her acting skills could use way more than a bit of work, but if the gap youkai wasn't fooled, she didn't make any indication of it.

"…Well? Go ahead and open it!"

"S-sure…" She picked up the box and started untying the red ribbon holding it closed. The last knot, however, was giving her trouble. She gave up on trying to undo the knot and instead gripped it in her fist, trying to brute force the obstruction away. It worked, but the back of her fist slammed into the youkai's face. Reimu's eyes widened as Yukari clutched her nose. When she waved her off, Reimu continued opening the box. Slowly, this time.

Inside were Ran's clothes. The tabard was red, but there was no way this was meant for her. "Uh…"

"Try it on." Yukari's words were gentle—sing-song, actually—for a command, but Reimu didn't want to anger her more than she already had. That smile she still wore was disturbing. She stood up and pulled the white dress over her head, then the red tabard. Yukari stood up and began messing with it until she was satisfied. "There! It looks wonderful on you!"

"Uh, yeah… …Thanks."

"You're more than welcome! After all, if you're going to be living here, you have to look the part!"

"What?! What about—?! What about the shrine? And what if I want to leave?"

"Oh, it'll be fine! Hardly anyone ever goes there anyway, right?"

"Gee, I wonder why!"

"Don't use that tone with me, young lady!" Yukari scolded, pointing her fan at the girl.

Reimu hesitated and relented. "S-s-sorry… ma'am…"

"So long as you understand." The youkai turned her head to the other room and called, "Ran, could you put on some tea?" then turned back to the girl. "You don't have to stay standing; sit back down!" The shrine maiden did as she was ordered. "And just what do you mean by leave?"

"You know. Go? Like… rent a book from Suzunaan or something?"

"Oh, you mean play with your friends! Sure, just ask, and I'll drop you off!"

"Drop me…? Wait, no! We can't be seen together!"

"What do you mean we can't be seen together? What's wrong with that?"

"I believe what she means, Lady Yukari," Ran spoke as she set down tea before her master, "is that if someone were to see you so close to Reimu, they will become suspicious of your relationship. Particularly your motives."

"Nonsense! They have no reason to; I'm doing this for the good of everyone! Right, Reimu?"

"Uhhh…"

"Lady Yukari, permit me to elaborate. An overwhelming majority of those living in Gensokyo believe you to be a nefarious manipulator. Some even believe that Miss Reimu is merely a soulless puppet that you yourself created to keep everyone in their place."

"Oh, preposterous!"

"Please let me finish. From every angle, your reputation is not favorable. Miss Reimu is also feared by some. If the two of you are seen together, particularly by a village human, that will only decrease your respective reputations even further. They will jump to the conclusion that you plan to dispose of everyone in Gensokyo who does not fear you.

"That's ridiculous, Ran! And you know it!"

"That is correct. But no less true. I will calculate the probability of my statement becoming true if it will help."

Yukari glared up at her shikigami. "…Fine."

"I will run the calculations three times." Ran closed her eyes and let silence reign. "The average chance of one's fear of the proposed conspiracy is 81.42%."

The gap youkai shook her head as she pushed herself up. "I don't believe you. And I'm going to prove you wrong!" she said as she left the room.

Ran sighed as she sat down where Yukari was and took a sip from her untouched tea. "I'm sorry you got dragged into this mess."

Reimu's head snapped to the shikigami.

"Oh, don't act so surprised. If you've ever had the thought that Lady Yukari's main motivation for anything is attention seeking, you're more than correct. The only reason she has any subtlety is because she has to maintain appearances. Particularly in front of me. The infallible master with her bright-eyed student looking over her shoulder." She took another sip of her tea. "Not Chen, though. The little tattletale is always telling me about the candy she got from 'Auntie Yukari.' Which reminds me! Never mention her age! Period!" The shikigami took a proper drink and then let out a bigger sigh than before.

"Er… right… Uh, hey… What do you think of Yukari?"

"How do you mean?"

"Well… like… your relationship."

"I'm afraid I still have no idea what you're asking."

Reimu braced herself. "Chen called her a granny."

The shikigami was unable to contain her laughter, so she decided to just let it all out. The shrine maiden didn't expect it to sound so fox-like as she started laughing along with her. When they were nearly done, Ran wiped away a stray tear. "You should have seen her face when she first called her a granny."

"Was she mad?"

"She was furious! She was so angry that she was crying! 'Ran! You said your training was going well!' 'Lady Yukari, I said I had made a lot of progress, not that she was ready to be a Yakumo! It's your fault, anyway! You came to see her when I told you not to!'" The shikigami massaged her jaw before she said, "She gave me quite the beating for that."

"She beat you?!"

Ran chuckled. "Reimu, I'm a youkai—and a strong one, at that. There's no reason to be worried about me. If you're worried about getting beat yourself, don't be; she's always been worried about you."

"Does… she… see me as a daughter…?"

The fox youkai nodded, but she wore a solemn look. "When she returned from that party, she talked my ear off about how happy she was. I don't mean to imply that's a bad thing, but she does not want her mask to crack, you know? And I hope you don't think ill of her; she does want what's best for you." A beat of silence passed. "She's mellowed out a lot over the years. She even tried to make friends with your mother, after all."

Reimu frowned. "Were my mother and her close?"

"No. She was just the first Hakurei shrine maiden she had revealed to be so closely involved in the running of Gensokyo, is all. Your mother, just like you, tried to shoot first and ask questions after, but Lady Yukari just slipped away instead."

"How… similar am I to my mother?"

Ran stared at the girl for a while. "Very. If the world had been as kind to her as it's been to you, I think the two of you would have been nearly identical."

"And… And what happened to her?"

"I don't know… Yukari wouldn't say."

"What do you mean…?"

"Only Yukari knows what happened. I'm sorry I can't tell you any more."

"…It's… It's alright…" Reimu took a sip of her tea. "You know… you're surprisingly easy to talk to."

"Because Lady Yukari isn't here." Ran lifted her cup and said before she took a drink, "I can never relax with her around."

"Neither can I," Reimu chuckled, and the shikigami joined her. "That reminds me, you never answered my question."

"About our relationship?"

"Yeah."

"Well, if you're asking if I see her as a mother, I don't. Though I wouldn't say our relationship is always a master-servant one. In fact, I more think of it as a mentor-student relationship at times, particularly when she's helping me train Chen. And I don't see Chen as a daughter, either, merely a particularly rowdy apprentice."

"I see…" Reimu spoke. For some reason, it felt like her hopes had been dashed somewhat. Ran must have realized this as she put her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"I understand that your lack of a family has been causing you a great deal of issues, but also that you're suspicious of Lady Yukari. If you ever need refuge that you cannot find anywhere else, come find me, and we'll escape for a while." Ran smiled mischievously. "We can just tell Lady Yukari we're picking up ingredients in the village."

"A-alright. Thanks."

The fox's smile turned into a more honest one. "You're more than welcome, Reimu."