INTROS || 1: Sage’s Feelings (Current) || || 2: Lazy Day (Next) ||

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Gensokyo—remarkably as mundane as ever… at least, in whatever way the word means here. Yukari Yakumo, the Youkai of Boundaries… has nothing to do today, in fact.

This world is in no genuine danger—no need for pragmatic love, not this time. Just a mother in the mundane… though, it isn’t like anyone would see a great Sage for that regardless—not when you are labelled as lacking in sentiment or as a manipulative mastermind.

For once, she didn’t have much of an idea of what to do. Perhaps… simply stroll alongside in only thoughts she can be the bearer of. No one in this world should know what she knows, or the truths about this land of the forgotten—and she stays behind the scenes solely to operate and keep them blissfully unaware.

Yukari walks through the Forest of Magic, her golden eyes soft and contemplative—like a mother’s tired gaze. Despite that, her smile remains… knowing gentle. Her pink parasol is held gently between two hands—a habit born from a ladylike life that no one dares to truly see.

“Such silence. How… precious, hm?” she says to herself, no mystery behind it for once. “No little ones with their charades, simply… a quiet rustle of whatever may lie in this delicate world. I must say… there is not much to note.”

A brief stop to stand in the clearing of a pathway—where no trees and only the sun illuminate. The shade casts a dark undertone to the surroundings—reminding her of the harsh reality she must conceal. “Perhaps the Hakurei Shrine is lovely today.” a pause to gaze off to the sky, bright yet so dull. “Yet, I could not find the energy to see for myself. I wonder… is such an age getting to me, hm?”

She thinks that over. When it comes to her age or status, all people see is a fickle manipulator that needs to be stopped—no one would understand even if she did try. Her gaze falls to the smooth pathway. “Oh dear… am I making up silly excuses now…?”

She opens a gap, though… would it really be that different from where she is now? Ran, her shikigami kitsune. Chen, Ran’s little bakeneko shikigami—they both see her in their own ways, but never from the inside first. Connected yet somehow… not. She exhales softly, her eyes closing—not from relief, but simply knowing that wherever she resides… nothing will change as long as she is who she is. A hand comes up to her mouth, gently clasped—a lady’s habit when alone. “Fufu… I suppose this dilemma is my doing, isn’t it?”

The gap closes. Nothing noteworthy. She simply keeps her slender hands holding the handle of her parasol, letting her blonde hair flow in the breeze. No need to think of anything if there is no reason. Yet, even if she was doing it for others… the result is the same—a scheme, as they’d call it. A book with the same plot each time—even if the beautiful writer was searching for a twist to that misunderstanding. Or perhaps… the mother had come to terms with that from the very beginning.