Evening on the Moriya shrine.

You had stretched your arms, laying back on the grass. The view of Gensokyo was great from here, the peak of Youkai Mountain. You could see most of the major landmarks beneath you. Though perhaps what was most wonderful was the sunset from her, as it slowly began to sink below. It was funny, you had never cared much before to watch the sunset, and but now these days, you felt like you could appreciate these kinds of things more. Maybe it was from that near-death experience with Rumia. Or maybe...

You had made a point to keep from going too low when laying to watch the sun, if you had left the boundaries of the Moriya shrine, you'd be fair game to the tengu. Aya seemed amicable enough, but you doubted she could be representative of all tengu.

"Bero Bero Ba!" A voice shouted, as a face sticking out its tongue appeared upside-down in your vision. Kogasa had returned from her bi-weekly meeting with the goddess of the shrine. She pouted as you smiled, completely unsurprised. She had done this everytime, and you could hear her giggling, you weren't sure what she expected. The youkai sighed, as she gently placed her umbrella in the grass, sitting beside you. She kicked her sandals off, her feet bare in the grass. "So, whatcha thinking about? No one watches a sunset without thinking~" Well, she was right about that. There were several things on your mind. Recently though, you had been considering your past.

Regrets were some of the main things on your mind. You thought a lot more recently about your parents, how little you had formed any meaningful connection with them. You had regrets about how you had treated Kogasa when you had first met her, even if she did forgive you for it a while ago. There were lots of events that had gone through your mind, If you had done things differently, maybe you'd still have your arm. If you had done things differently, maybe you'd still have your family's old house. If you had done things differently...

"Regrets, eh?" Kogasa made a thinking pose, like the dork she was. You had chuckled, even after confessing some of your inner thoughts, this umbrella still seemed to act like herself. "I used to have those. I had lots of those in fact. But I've decided to try and not have those anymore!"

"I used to think all the time about things I could have done, and how I could do things differently. Maybe if I was a more useful umbrella, I wouldn't even be a youkai. Maybe if I was scarier I could be a more powerful. Maybe if I was willing to..." Her face had darkened a bit, you wondered deep down what urges and thoughts a youkai could have. "But, I don't want to think about those things anymore! Because, for the first time in... A time, I'm really happy. And not just, like, happy after eating ice cream. But happy where I don't feel sad every night. Where I don't wake up feeling worthless. Where I actually like who I am. I'm happy now, I have friends now, and I have you now." A hand seemed to grip your's when you hadn't notice.

"And, if I like who I am now, why should I have regrets? If I had done things differently, who knows what could happen? Have you ever heard of that butterfly effect thing? Sanae told me about it, it's where some super tiny thing you do could change the entire world! So maybe, for example, if I didn't fail at scaring a little kid 3 years ago, the world might have exploded or something!" You doubted the world would explode. "So, if I have regrets, it means I'd have to be willing to give up everything I have now to change them. And..." She leaned against you, watching the sun slip beneath the earth, and the stars form, creating a cosmically night. "... I'm not willing to give up what I have now. Not now, not ever~". You wrapped your arm around Kogasa. She might've been a bit naive, and her word choice was a bit goofy, but she could be a bit introspective when she wanted to. God you loved this umbrella.

"I love you... So much..."

Meanwhile, from inside the shrine...

"Hey Kanako, come look, they're cuddling in the sunset! Isn't that romantic~"

"Oh, silence you."

"Do you think they'll start kissing and tumbling together in the grass? Right on these holy grounds?"

"Shut up you damn frog, let me drink my sake in peace!"

Edit
Pub: 17 Dec 2021 15:20 UTC
Views: 185