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The new year has come to Gensokyo. A refreshing cool breeze blows through the Hakurei Shrine, while two young women sit on the deck basking in the peaceful day.
"Days like this can't be beat," says the girl dressed in black and white.
The red and white shrine maiden next to her nods. "Agreed. Nice weather, tea, and no problematic Youkai," she says before sipping her drink.
Of course, those aren't the main reasons I enjoy these kinds of days, they both think.
A comfortable silence falls. Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame have known each other for many years, finding solace in one another's company. They have other friends, of course, but none share the mutual understanding these two do.
Reimu sneaks a glance of the girl next to her.
Rain or shine, she's always been there. At first she was only trying to beat me to solving incidents, sure, but it quickly became so much more than that. She kept trying to learn magic, she kept trying to prove herself, despite being at every conceivable disadvantage. And against those odds, Marisa managed to become one of Gensokyo's best while doing her utmost not to show anyone how hard she works. She's-
Clouds part in the sky and the afternoon sunlight beams down on Marisa, giving her an almost otherworldly glow.
-like the sun, shining beautifully.
Marisa briefly turns her head to Reimu, with the latter quickly looking away before the former could notice.
Hmmm, must have been my imagination. Could've sworn she was looking at me, but maybe that's just wishful thinking. Reimu was never one for being overly sentimental. I'm glad we have today to relax like this, especially with how some of the last few incidents went. The Animal Realm, the stone cherries, getting dragged to Hell by an Oni; those may have worked out well enough but they can weigh on her despite her attempts not to show it. Nothing major's happened in winter so far, but she's never liked the cold so that probably didn't help her mood. At least today is a bit warmer than usual. Best I can do is keep dropping by like I always have, I guess. Frustrating I can't do more for her, though.
"You're looking rather deep in thought today," says Reimu, snapping Marisa out of her inner monologue.
"O-oh! Sorry, didn't mean to ignore you."
"It's fine, I'm just curious as to what you were thinking about so intently."
"Eh, nothing important. Reflecting on stuff."
And there she goes again not saying what's weighing on her. I understand why she doesn't always want to share, but I wish she'd rely on me a bit more.
...
I guess I'm not one to talk.
With Reimu now being the one lost in thought, Marisa takes a moment to examine the shrine maiden a bit more closely.
She's... she's so mesmerizing. When we're alone like this, without any incidents or money schemes to worry about, her mere presence is enough to make me forget about any world outside of this shrine. I could stare at her forever and never get sick of it. But that melancholic look on her face, it's one I've seen before. She's usually on guard, but when it's only us I can catch her making it sometimes. I want to ask what's eating at her, but wouldn't that be hypocritical given what I just did?
...
Marisa, you idiot, didn't you think earlier that you wish you could do more for her? If you open up, she might too!
The two continue sipping their tea wordlessly. Despite Marisa's sudden surge of bravado, she struggles forming the words.
"Reimu, I-"
"Marisa, I-"
They look at each other with eyes wide and mouths agape, stopped cold by the mutual outburst.
Reimu recovers first and says, "Go on, I'll say what I want to when you're done."
"Alright. To answer your earlier question more accurately, it was something important," says Marisa, fighting off the embarrassment she feels about what she will say next. "I was, well, thinking about you."
"Huh? What about me?"
"How a lot of things that happened last year might have been bothering you." Marisa feels some blood rush to her face as she says, "How I wish I could do more for you then hang out at the shrine every day."
The magician squirms where she sits and messes with her hat. Reimu, her surprise readily apparent, sits there for a moment to process what Marisa said.
"Marisa, you idiot."
"Wha-?"
"You coming here is what makes every day so much more enjoyable! Don't ever think you're not doing enough! There's nothing anyone could do that would make me happier than getting to see you-" Reimu abruptly stops, realizing what she is saying. Her cheeks turn even redder than Marisa's.
"W-w-what's that supposed to mean!?"
"I, uh, well, what do you think it means!? Kinda obvious, isn't it!? And for your information, I was thinking about you earlier, too! I was worried about how you wouldn't tell me what was bothering you cause you always like to act like everything's fine no matter what you're struggling with!"
"L-like you're any better! You're the grumpy, aloof shrine maiden here!"
After staring for a few moments, they avert their eyes back to the shrine's courtyard and hurriedly drink their tea as a form of self-distraction. Beyond that, neither budge an inch as they both blush profusely.
...She was worried about me, huh? they both think.
This time Marisa recovers first. "So, uh, nothing makes you happier than seeing me?" she asks sheepishly.
Reimu, having calmed down a bit, gazes into her near empty cup and says, "You've always been there for me, ever since we became friends. I can't imagine a world where you aren't there anymore." She chuckles a bit before adding, "You were a nuisance at first with your pestering me about practicing danmaku and undercutting my incident solving. I guess not a whole lot has changed since then."
Friends, right, they remind themselves.
Marisa covers her face with her hat, unable to handle the sudden emotion Reimu's statement brought on. "And here I thought you weren't one for sentimentality."
"I'm still not, you realize! But I suppose you're the exception," says Reimu with a forcefulness that betrays her insecurity about the situation. "Even a 'grumpy, aloof shrine maiden' can get like this sometimes."
"...Sorry, I shouldn't have called you that. To be honest, there's always been a part of me that feared I was a burden on you. Nowadays I can pull my weight well enough and even score some wins on you, but I'll never be able to do things the way you do. The way you use danmaku is incomparable; there have been times I felt I was getting in your way. At first I trained purely out of interest in the craft and a desire to surpass you; now what I care about most is standing with you shoulder-to-shoulder, helping however I can. Not to say I won't one day be the best, of course!" she says triumphantly, rubbing her nose.
Reimu smiles at the declaration. "We'll see about that. Thanks, Marisa."
The tension passes, with the girls able to relax a bit more. They scoot a bit closer to each other, almost unconsciously. Reimu sets her drink down to her left side and goes to rest her hand on her right. It takes a moment before she notices that her hand landed on top of Marisa's. Both girls' eyes go wide once more as they realize what's happening, their previous blushes returning with a vengeance.
No, no, I gotta move my hand! I don't want to scare her off!
Despite her panic, Reimu is completely frozen, unable to lift her hand. Marisa, in spite of her own embarrassment, does not pull away.
Oh gosh she's touching my hand. What do I do!? This is what I've wanted for so long! But I think she made a mistake given her reaction! M-maybe if I don't pull away, she'll let it happen? Please don't move your hand, please don't move your hand, please don't move your hand!
The shrine maiden collects her thoughts enough to realize that Marisa is not moving.
I-is she letting this happen? Does this mean...?
The two sit in an awkward silence. Agonizing seconds pass as Reimu builds the confidence to grip Marisa's hand with her own. The act sends a jolt down the magician's spine.
She's actually doing it. She's actually doing it!
Marisa makes her move and positions herself even closer to Reimu than before, careful not to move her hand. They still have yet to look each other in the eye since first contact. Seconds turn to minutes and eventually they both become more comfortable with the situation. The peaceful silence of the shrine returns as the two of them revel in this unexpected yet pleasant development.
I'd worry I was dreaming if this wasn't so much better than that, they both think.
Sunlight shines down on them once more and Reimu attempts to sneak another look at Marisa. However, the other girl has the same idea, and the two find themselves with only a few inches between their faces. They gaze into each other's eyes, enraptured, now with no hint of shame or shyness.
"You're beautiful," they say simultaneously.
Marisa lets out a snort. "Wow, that was impressive," she says with a huge grin.
"They say that the more time two people spend together, the more similar they become," says Reimu, smiling in response.
"Let's test that theory, then. On the count of three, let's each say what we're thinking and see if it's the same."
"Heh, alright. Count together?"
Marisa nods.
"One..."
I've waited so long to say this, when I should have realized I could have said it so much sooner.
"Two..."
No more hiding how I feel.
"Three!"
Because the truth is...
"I love you."