Apparently requests are my specialty because I suck at acting on ideas that I come up with myself :V
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"Haah...haah..."
Rin's body was on fire. She couldn't move an inch, but her bed covers were soaked with sweat. A hacking cough racked her tiny frame, sending waves of pain across her body. Her eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, like they had been for what felt like months.
An erhu lay on the table next to her. She remembered that she used to pass the time by playing it, maybe impressing some of her friends in the human village with her songs. Now everyone was too afraid of her illness to approach her, and she didn't even have the strength to lift it herself. How long ago had that been? Days? Weeks? Since the fever struck the days had merged together, and she'd lost track of time.
"It...It hurts..."
She remembered Reimu, looking down at her with those deep red eyes of hers. The tears that fell onto her forehead were enough to cool her down for a while. She'd simply sat over the bed, beating her head against the table, constantly repeating 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry...', growing more hysterical until eventually Marisa had to drag her out. They disappeared into the red mist almost as soon as they'd walked out of the door.
The red mist. She'd known her body was frail, but at the time it just looked like dust in the air. It hadn't started to take effect until later that night. Most of the children simply suffered a mild cough, but Rin's body just wasn't strong enough to fight off the disease that it had brought around. The adults had gathered around her, saying there was nothing that could be done now, comforting her parents as they warned them to keep their distance.
"No...I'm not...going to...give up..."
Rin smiled, disregarding the pain it caused her. She was going to get better, then she and Reimu and Marisa would go and find out who caused the mist, and they'd stop it and beat up whoever was responsible and make friends with them. Her mind was as strong and optimistic as ever.
But her body couldn't match that strength.
"Aah...ack-"
A breath caught in her throat. Her body tried to cough on reflex, but no response came. Rin's arms started to force themselves to move as she started to choke - one grabbing at her throat, the other flailing around wildly. It reached out onto the table for something, anything that could help.
She was only barely conscious enough to recognise the sound of an erhu being knocked off the table onto the floor. The sound of the instrument snapping in two was audible.
"!!"
Rin's hand reached down to the floor, towards one of the broken pieces of wood. She struggled to wrap her fingers around it, placing it in her grasp. Everything hurt, she couldn't see, she couldn't breathe, she could barely think. Her body had reached its absolute limit, and every nerve was screaming in agony.
And then, almost out of mercy, the pain stopped.
The hand she'd stretched out went limp as it fell on the erhu's shattered strings. She lay still on the bed, her face unusually serene for a girl who had been through so much pain. Her chest was motionless.
And beneath those sweat-ridden sheets, Rin Satsuki's heart slowly came to a stop.
---
The next time she opened her eyes, she was welcomed by a sea of cherry blossoms.
"H...uh...?"
The rickety wooden bed she had been lying on had been replaced with cold, hard stone. Her hand reached down and touched it, confirming it was as uncomfortable as surfaces could get, but yet her body didn't seem to be in any pain.
"Am I...hallucinating?"
Rin looked down on herself as she rose to her feet. She was still in the pink blouse she had been wearing earlier, much drier than she remembered it being, and she felt the underdress beneath it still in place. She had been lying on some sort of staircase, seemingly continuing infinitely in both directions, and at its sides were a long line of majestic cherry trees, all in perfect bloom.
If this was in her mind, she'd certainly chosen a very beautiful hallucination. She walked up to the nearest tree, placing her hand on it in appreciating of its wonder.
"Oh."
As her hand slipped through, into the tree itself, Rin was only slightly surprised. For a moment, she allowed a pout to run across her face.
"So...I guess I'm dead."
"You are perceptive, child. Most humans would descend into denial at a time like this."
Another voice emerged from the staircase above her, echoing as it crossed the distance between them. Its owner didn't sound much older than she was, and as Rin made her way up the stairs she noticed she looked a similar age as well. Her light blue eyes seemed wise beyond her years, though, and her hair was a light shade of grey. The twin blades hanging at her waist looked like they were designed for a true master.
"It is a refreshing change to see one so at peace with their own demise. Welcome to Hakugyokurou, Miss Satsuki."
The girl proceeded to bow towards Rin - an awkward scene given that she was still standing on a higher stair. A white wisp emerged from behind her back as she knelt down, the hem of her green dress touching the floor. Rin blushed slightly.
"Um, thank you. Pleased to meet you too, Miss...?"
"Youmu. Youmu Konpaku. The pleasure is mine, but there is no time for formalities."
Youmu quickly took Rin by the hand, darting up the staircase at a speed her companion could barely keep up with. Apparently the dead could take form at will, otherwise Youmu would have let go of her the instant she'd broken away. For a moment Rin was scared she'd trip on the stairs, but as she looked down and saw her feet weren't even touching the floor that fear faded to the back of her mind.
"W-Wait! Where are we going? And why are we in such a hurry!?"
Youmu was hesitant to answer, taking a few seconds to turn her head. She didn't slow down in the slightest.
"These are questions you should offer my mistress, not me."
With that Youmu turned back to the staircase, continuing to lead Rin upwards. Realising there was no point in asking further Rin just allowed herself to be carried along. There was no use fighting anymore, after all. That was what life was for, anyway.
The lines of cherry trees at their sides continued all the way up the staircase, which Youmu was climbing faster than any human ever could. A trip that would take most men half an hour took her only a few minutes, and soon Rin felt her foot take shape again on the last of the stone steps. A clearing stood in front of them, and in its centre stood an even larger tree than any that Rin had seen on the way here, although with none of the beauty - this tree was dead, it seemed, never set to bloom again. Rin frowned at the thought.
At the foot of the tree was a shrine, old but well-kept. Its door hung open, and as Youmu let go of her hand she ran ahead towards the door. Rin had just about got the hang of taking form by now, and ran behind her at a slower pace. It felt exhilarating - she'd never been able to deal with physical strain in life, so it was fun to be able to run like this without getting tired.
"Lady Yuyuko! I have brought her."
Youmu stopped at the doorway, calling inside. As Rin caught up another voice echoed back from within the shrine.
"Ah, punctual as always. Good work, Youmu. You're excused."
Youmu bowed, turning to Rin once and offering a nod before running back the way she came down the staircase. Rin had never seen anyone with as much energy, but then again she'd been dead for all of five minutes.
"Don't be shy, Miss Satsuki. I imagine your last moments were quite the ordeal. I've made some tea for you."
The voice from inside beckoned her again. It was a young woman's, and it rang with a genuine concern that made Rin feel at ease even as she walked into the residence of a woman she'd never met before. As she entered the shrine itself, a folding door hung open at her side, and she could make out a kotatsu within. Assuming this was where her host was waiting for her, Rin stepped in and placed her legs beneath the kotatsu. She smiled as its warmth started to work its way into her body. The ability to take form at will was proving handier than she'd thought.
"I hope you like green tea. I'm afraid that's all we have up here."
From the next room along, her host - Yuyuko, from what she'd heard - finally emerged holding a pair of cups, steam wafting off their tops. She was dressed in a traditional kimono, in shades of blue and pink, and her light pink hair reminded Rin of the blossoms that she'd seen on the way up here. A mop hat with a wisp-like insignia sat on her head as she placed one of the cups in front of Rin.
"Enjoy. Youmu may take care of most of the work around here, but she'll never make tea like I can."
Yuyuko smiled as Rin gripped the cup. She'd never been a fan of tea in life - too hot for her liking, but now she could basically ignore the heat and enjoy the flavour. As she sipped at the tea, she found its bitter aftertaste surprisingly pleasing. She grinned.
"Thank you. It tastes really nice, ma'am."
Yuyuko gave off a hearty laugh.
"Ohohoh~! Such manners from a child your age. It truly is a shame that you met the end you did."
It had been painful, hadn't it? By now she could barely remember her own last moments. All she could recall was reaching out for her erhu, and then nothing. She sipped at her tea quietly.
"There isn't any use complaining, is there? We die when we die, right?"
For a moment, Yuyuko was taken aback by Rin's words. They conveyed a maturity, an acceptance that woman three times her age often lacked. Her host let out an impressed sigh.
"You are an impressive sight. The red mist has taken a truly tragic victim."
The mist. She remembered that, and for a moment fear registered in her eyes. Were Reimu and Marisa going to go on without her?
"I see what you're thinking, and I can assure you those two will be fine. You have reliable friends, I can tell you that much."
Rin sighed herself. Maybe there was no point in worrying about herself anymore, but her friends still had their own lives to live. It would have been a shame if they'd just thrown them away for her sake after she'd already passed on.
For a few minutes, the pair just sat and drank together. Rin complimented the gardening, while Yuyuko humbly said that Youmu had been responsible for keeping the blossoms in check. For a while, Rin even forgot that she had died entirely and simply accepted the company of this new friend of hers.
Yuyuko cut that atmosphere short with one sentence.
"You aren't supposed to be here, you know."
Rin tilted her head, puzzled.
"Not yet, at least. Your soul should have been passed to Higan and judged by the Yama, then sent here to spend the rest of eternity. That is how the cycle has always worked.
But I have been watching you, Rin. Watching as your illness took hold, putting you under more pain that children your age should be able to stand. I had to bring it upon myself to end your suffering a little early - my apologies, but it hurt to see you in such agony."
Yuyuko looked away, her face falling.
"And...I don't believe you deserved a death like that. You had such potential - you could have helped so many people, done so much for the world, and all of it will never happen now that you're gone. It's not my place to say as such, of course - my responsiblity is death, not life.
So...I've brought you here to offer you a second chance, in short."
Yuyuko placed her cup on the kotatsu, rising up. Her face turned deathly serious as she looked down at Rin.
"I cannot offer you much. If I were to make your rebirth too obvious I'd be discovered and your soul would inevitably pay a price for accepting the offer. Your new life will not resemble your old one in any way, but you will live again. You'll have another chance to do something good for the world.
But you'll know all the hardships of life again. You'll forget your time here, and your time as Rin Satsuki. You'll be forced to experience sadness, pain, tragedy, and suffering. I would not force that upon you unless you would willingly accept it."
There was a long, painful silence. Rin's eyes stared off into the distance as she pondered the offer, her face staying neutral in spite of all the conflicting ideas running through her head.
"...Maybe you're right. Maybe I'll forget everything, maybe I'll have to suffer if you let me go back. But still...it's them I'm worried about, not me."
Reimu and Marisa probably found her dead and buried her before resolving the red mist incident. They couldn't have taken it well, and it just felt wrong to leave them suffering so.
"If there's even a chance - even the tiniest chance that I can meet them again, in any form, I'll take it. So...I'll take you up on your offer, Miss."
Yuyuko closed her eyes, smiling to herself.
"So self-sacrificing for the sake of others. I knew I had chosen well."
From over here Rin could barely see, but there seemed to be a tear running down Yuyuko's cheek. Her host brushed it away before starting to walk around the kotatsu to the still-seated Rin.
"Very well, then. Perhaps you should take a nap now...it's been a long day for you. You deserve a rest."
Rin was about to disagree with the idea. She felt wide awake, ready to go, set for anything. But as Yuyuko's hand slipped onto her shoulder, she felt a sudden urge to rest her eyes. Just for a little while, at least. She'd wake up in a little bit for sure...
---
"Agh."
Rin shook herself awake as the dream came to the same end it always did. It wasn't a nightmare, technically - she didn't find it frightening so much as she found it annoying nowadays.
"Wish my brain could at least be a little more creative, though..."
It was a strange dream in that it always stayed at the front of her mind for a few seconds, but then it would just slip out of her head entirely. She didn't even have time to write anything about it before it was just 'that dream I always end up forgetting'.
It was too late in the morning now to get back to sleep, so Rin decided to just wake up and get dressed. One thing she always seemed to do after the dream was look through her clothes for a red ribbon to put in her hair. She'd never owned anything like that, though - black had always been her colour, and she ended up wearing the same black ribbons as always anyway.
The other feeling that always came with this dream was the feeling that she was in someone else's body. Her head always felt weird, like there were a pair of flaps that didn't belong there. It took a quick run-across her scalp with one hand to remind her that those were her ears.
Then there was the feeling of something stuck to her back, just above her hind quarters. Again, another hand slipping down to check before she slapped herself in the face and told herself off.
"Calm down, already. That's your tail."
She never told anyone about these dreams, mainly because it sort of felt like she was going insane. By the time anyone else was awake she'd have it entirely out of her head - which was good, because otherwise her master would find out whether she liked it or not.
Eventually, the rest of the household awakened. Rin was hanging over her friend's body as she rose from whatever dream she'd been having. There were times when Rin wondered if the girl ever stopped dreaming at all, and she just spent all day sleepwalking. It would explain a lot in terms of her brainpower, if nothing else.
"Unyu..."
She let out a groan as she woke up, her long black hair curling in every direction. Her eyes pulled themselves open, looking up lazily.
"Eh...morning, Rin."
Immediately the girl hanging over her waved a finger in her face. For some reason, being called by her name always gave her the chills. That was why she'd come up with her own nickname instead.
"Okuu, how many times do I have to tell you? Call me Orin, nya!"
