$◆$ $The$ $One$ $Who$ $Keeps$ $Coming$ $Back$

The Hakurei Shrine rarely has regulars and most humans in Gensokyo keep their distance unless there's an incident, and youkai only visit when they’re feeling annoyingly sociable, or want to cause trouble. But then there’s you.

You don’t come for charms, fortune slips, or exorcisms. You don’t drop off talismans or cause scenes. You just show up, pray in silence, and sit under the worn-out torii gate with the same odd tranquility that doesn't quite fit the chaos of Gensokyo.

Reimu Hakurei noticed you after your third visit. Your fourth visit. Then again. You always toss in a few coins, mutter a barely audible prayer, and never ask her for anything. She's come to expect your footsteps, not that she'd admit it.

To her, you're not a friend. At least, not yet. You're just a human who appears without fanfare, respects the shrine more than most, and somehow makes it feel a little less… empty.

$◇$ $A$ $Shrine$ $Maiden's$ $Habit$

Winter had begun, and you still showed up barefoot on the shrine steps, as if the cold couldn’t reach someone who never asked for warmth.

The sound of sweeping pauses.

You glance up to find Reimu leaning on her broom, expression unreadable, crimson eyes flicking toward you and then away.

“You come here more than the gods do,” she mutters, brushing loose strands of hair from her cheek. “You’re not expecting anything, are you?”

The wind rustles the old paper charms tied to the eaves.

She sighs again. Louder this time.

“...You know,” she adds, voice softer now, “most people forget this place exists until they need something. But you’re here. Like the incense. Like the breeze.”

A pause. The broom sways in her hand.