Touhou MAMA

Five years ago, on a blistering cold winter, the current Hakurei shrine who was pregnant, went traveling through the Great Youkai Forest when a blizzard struck. She had never returned. After living five years living in the Great Yokai Forest, a feral child by the name of Reimu was found. Nevertheless, it left the question as to how she survived all those years alone. It was believed to cope with her situation, she invented an imaginary guardian, a guardian she would call, "Mama."

Once Reimu was returned to her family, someone recognizing her as being apart of the Hakurei clan, strange things started to happen. By night, Reimu would play with an unknown presence and would wander into the forest, giving into her feral instincts, trying to follow this presence, but never succeeding. It seemed that attempts to civilize her were futile and she only learned a few words but could not put them into well worded sentences. After awhile, it became apparent that something wanted this child back with her and more than willing to make trouble to get her back. Destructive things started to happen and soon people were starting to disappear. This was an incident that not even the Reimu's aunt could solve. No one could figure out was happening and it was hard to say if the spiriting aways were the doing of yokai, ghosts, or deities. No one knew for sure but what was known was that it was connected to Reimu, somehow, and that unknown presence she calls out for, leading many to believe she was cursed or was something to be feared. Oddly enough, Reimu seemed to be unaffected by what was going on and, when asked, she would speak cryptically, saying, "Mama angry."

Just as Gensokyo was descending into a panic over the disappearances and destruction, until, one night, someone came forward with an explanation. She was a fair-haired kitsune named Ran. She walked to the shrine and said,  "I know what happened five years ago." Naturally, Reimu's caregiver asked, "How so?"

"As you already know, she is your sister's child and she was born during a blizzard where your sister died in childbirth."

"How do you know this information?"

"Listen, Miko-sama, I went out looking for my mistress but, instead, found your sister's corpse, lying in blood. I never found the baby or my mistress."

"Can you tell me something about your mistress?"

"She is a mysterious yokai with the control over boundaries and she is also childless. Also, around the time she disappeared, it seemed she was starting to go mad."

"Is she infertile?"

"I'm not too sure if she is or isn't but it is safe to assume she, as rare as it for an ageless yokai, is infertile, though that could be the source of her relentless howling grief about something unresolved and very well the source of her developing insanity."

"What is her name?"

"Yukari Yakumo."

"Tell me no lies, kitsune, is she the reason as to what is going on?"

"I believe so-"

Reimu's scream erupted through the shrine. Ran and Reimu's aunt hurried to see what happened but found the child gone. After a few hours of searching, they found Reimu standing not too far from a cliff edge, wrapped in a bright red blanket. She was calling out, "Mama." No sooner when her aunt picked her did this gaurdian show, her identity revealed to be Yukari Yakumo, with disheveled blond hair and long claws, her appearance altered by her insanity and unresolved grief. A fight erupted and the shrine maiden tried to hold onto Reimu but failed until Ran said, "No, Miss Yukari, you promised you wouldn't kill anyone of Hakurei blood!" At first, Yukari seemed to submit, reverting back to what she was before, until Reimu cried out for her. In hearing Reimu's voice, she snapped back to her need to "protect" her. Cradling the child, she walked closer and closer to the cliffs edge, until Ran called her name. In response, she hissed and then said, "I have to." Being that Yukari is her mistress, Ran tried to plea, saying, "Miss Yukari, you must give Reimu back to her, you've taken care of her but now it is time for her to go back to her family and, if you loved her, you would accept losing her. Please, don't take her with you." Yukari stepped closer to the edge and said, in a distorted voice, "Reimu, mine."

"Please, Miss Yukari, don't make any mistakes, don't take her with you, let her live. Die if you wish but let her live."

"Reimu, Mama, go!"

"No, she...is...mine!"

"Please, Miss Yukari, let the child live. If you wish to die, then you can jump but let the child live."

"No!"

"Please, I beg you, let the child live! If you don't want to go alone then I'll go with you but let the child live."

"No~!"

"Ran come?"

"Please, don't take her with you, if you do not wish to die alone, then I'll go with you but leave the child, I beg you!"

"Reimu, Mama, Ran!"

"No, Reimu stay."

"Reimu go, Ran come."

"No, Reimu stay."

"Reimu go."

"Yukari, I'm begging you, please let her stay, don't take her with you! If you want to take someone, take your shikigami, please!"

As Ran begged and reached for the child, Yukari ignored her and continued onward to the cliff with Reimu clinging to her, smiling and giggling. As Ran cried out, "Reimu~!", she had jumped with the child in her arms, apparently at peace. On the way down, both slammed into a tree branch before landing in the water. As Ran and the shrine maiden called out, two butterflies, one red and one purple, emerged from the water and flew away, the Reimu butterfly landing on Ran's hand before joining the purple one.

"Reimu..."