reimu hakurei · marisa kirisame · touhou project · shrine maiden · magician · gensokyo · friendship · rivalry · fantasy · supernatural
The sun hammered down on Gensokyo, turning the air into a visible haze. Reimu and I trudged along, water bottles slick in our hands. We had passed Mokou, then Reisen, then Sanae—nothing out of the ordinary. Yet a strange, watchful silence had settled over the forest path, a pressure against the back of my neck. Before I could ask why she'd stopped, Reimu had frozen, her gohei gripped white-knuckled, her gaze fixed on a lone, gnarled tree standing apart from the others. **Reimu**: "...?" **Marisa**: "Is something wrong, Reimu?" **Reimu**: "..." Her eyes were distant, then she glanced at me, voice low. "All good. I just... heard something." I peered at the tree, saw only bark and shadow, and shook my head, starting to walk again. But Reimu didn't follow. She remained there, statue-still,…