(Notes: We've reached the conclusion and epilogue! Thank you SO much if you've read this far, I never imagined this story would get as popular as it did.

I've got a lot more thoughts in the endnotes, but for now I hope you enjoy the finale.)

x

"What does a youkai who sleeps so much dream about?"

"Shouldn't you know that?" Yukari chuckled weakly.

"I do... but one's own perspective of one's dreams is completely unique to any other perspective. Wouldn't you agree?"

Yukari floated sleepily in the sky of the Dream World, watching the sun rise from the east and set in the west at the same time. The silhouettes of castles in the distance appeared to swallow the stars themselves, which then became night-lit windows as they sunk into the buildings. The sun-soaked grassy plains that stretched for miles became peaceful green oceans, lapping waves against the moonlit beach.

"Here, I brought us some drinks." Doremy floated to Yukari's side, holding a cloud-shaped tray with a sheep-shaped teapot on it. Actually, the tray had a little head and feet, so that was probably a sheep too.

"Sake?" Yukari gently poked the warm pot on the tray.

"No, tea." Doremy pleasantly hummed "Sleepy youkai like us need our tea, right?"

"Sleepy..." Yukari yawned ungracefully. "I could probably do with some more sleep, but I think I'd like to enjoy the winter in reality for once."

"I can imagine, after that experience." Doremy mused as she poured a cup for Yukari and herself. For a few minutes, the two youkai who had now had far too many awkward encounters to be considered more than respectful acquaintances, sipped tea in silence and watched the sky.

Reading the lingering shards of a broken heart in Yukari though, Doremy opted to break the silence. "I'm certain there's a reason you're still here, and I can't say I'm surprised." she smiled wistfully at Yukari in between sips.

"I cannot apologise enough for my lack of prudence... for allowing such an incident to unfold because of my power." Doremy set her cup down on a pink bubble in front of her, pulling a comically large book out from a comically small pocket and flipping it open. "You must have many questions."

"It is funny." Yukari mused, taking Doremy's invitation. "I am simply not used to showing such vulnerability or doubt... but experienced a dream in which I could not escape those feelings. Now I wake to immediately find myself doubting the legitimacy of those horrors, despite how many I witnessed in a single night."

"If you're thinking that you're a fool for becoming so invested, so distraught because of a dream... you're wrong." Doremy flicked through what looked like a few thousand pages, stopping sharply on one specific page. "Yes, only one night passed in the real world, but it's true that your mind was essentially held captive in my domain for almost a century."

Doremy snapped her fingers, and a tall blonde woman's limp, slumbering body appeared before them.

"Is this...?" Yukari's eyes widened slightly, as she curiously approached the body and took in its pathetic, frail form.

Doremy nodded. "Yes, it's Dream Yukari. This was the body your mind was just forced to live in for almost a century - far longer than most dreams are supposed to go on for. Of course, since you cannot properly nourish yourself or sleep in dreams, this body has been thoroughly exhausted.

Feel free to examine her! She may not be real to you, but it's close enough to the real thing for it to not really matter. A dream-self is like a youkai - alive with a beating heart, despite not being a creature born of organic means."

Yukari gently ran her hand along Dream Yukari's form. Her skin was an almost sickly pale colour, the circles around her peacefully resting eyes a concerning dark green. She appeared significantly malnourished while her long hair was matted and knotted. "Incredible..." the blonde youkai muttered. This body was far more damaged than was possible for a single day.

"At first, Tenshi thought simply removing Reimu from Gensokyo would cause you enough distrust in your loved ones to undermine you, but after you figured things out Tenshi persuaded Dream Tenshi to directly intervene in your dream instead. Dream Tenshi ended up with the vivid memory of having lived inside your mind for over 75 years, intent on treating it like her own utopia."

Time passes very differently here... it is not uncommon for people to have dreams that seem to cover long expanses of time. The Dream World is, of course, a place where anything one's mind conceives can take form."

Yukari's eyes lidded as she took her hand from her dream-self's face. "But I have lived a very, very long time." She remembered the years she spent in her dream as clearly and vividly as she remembered the Perfect Possession incident just over a year ago. "And yet I have never experienced a dream of that palpability. So substantive that I could still just as easily be dreaming right now and not know it."

"Ultimately, reality itself is only your mind's cognitive understanding of how you perceive the world around you, no? So a mind as brimming with intricate knowledge as yours can actually create entire simulated realities. After all... you helped create Gensokyo itself, you 'programmed' Ran, your understanding of the world is relatively objective... for the most part. Simply, your mind was the perfect tool for such a world, the perfect weapon for Tenshi to use against you... and I was forced to manipulate your dream into forming an elaborate reality, because it is capable of that."

It was just as Yukari had figured out in the dream - the cruel things that happened could only have been possible because of her own cruel mind.

"Oh, and you are not dreaming right now." Doremy giggled awkwardly, stirring her tea with a thin pink bubble that had conveniently dipped out of the sky. "You have my word."

That all made sense, as Dream Yukari was evidently here. Still, wouldn't it be possible for two dream-selves to exist at once? Not to mention there was a Doremy in Yukari's dream too.

"Would the Doremy I met in my dream have said the same thing?" Yukari raised an eyebrow sceptically.

"No." the baku picked out another spot in the book. "That Doremy spoke in riddles... I know it looks like it's my style, but I hate unnecessary complications and would much rather be helpful and straightforward. And I tried to give you hints... believe me, I did. Tenshi really had undermined me though."

"Because of that drug stolen from Eientei?"

"More or less." Doremy nodded before continuing. "That insomnia inducing drug is crippling for denizens of the Dream World. It was the very same drug used to weaken your gap abilities in the dream, too.

The two Tenshis threatened me with that drug and had me use your mind to create nightmares to trap you in. To torture you... to make you miserable. All because she needed to take her unfamiliar frustrations out on someone she really disliked. Your mind gave Tenshi a huge world to play with, and gave Dream Tenshi the opportunity to live out what she thought was an idealistic scenario, in which she was respected and loved. But...

Ultimately, through your own intellect the cracks in the world became increasingly evident. Once you became aware of your first prison, Tenshi had me rearrange things to throw more constant nightmares at you, to distract you so much that you wouldn't even consider the possibility it was still a dream. She even had a Dream Doremy presented as a red herring."

"Looking back now, it seems so obvious." Yukari's brow furrowed with irritation at her own lack of perception. "Ran's unnatural passing, intelligent youkai murdering humans without any care for the consequences, my closest friends betraying me, the disappearance of the Hakurei shrine maidens... even cruel echoes from a life I left behind long ago. Horrific failures and betrayals like that, are..."

"Your greatest fears, yes. The people you had the least objectivity towards were the ones who caused you the most suffering. Being the master of your dreams, I know your subconscious and your vulnerabilities well enough by now." Doremy smiled apologetically. "Tenshi, though... she stared too deeply into the abyss, as it were. The sheer scope of your traumas, memories and experiences over your long life, the intricate complexities of your mind overwhelmed all of us.

Not only that, but Tenshi's own meddling. Her own uncertainties about whether or not her and Shion's relationship would last, turned Dream Tenshi's own experience into a hellish one. One where she could remember two histories, that both your mind and Tenshi herself saw as equally possible.

And then there were the others in your dream! Like Kasen Ibaraki. So faithfully recreated that even they began to see the cracks, even though they were merely products of your brain. You must have a lot of respect for them."

'Ugh, really?' Yukari rolled her eyes, almost angry that the Kasen in her dream had been more accurate than Yuyuko or Suika.

But at the same time, for their betrayal to have become such significant fears meant that Yukari truly did love those two. Her irritated expression softened slightly and she laid back, fiddling with her teacup. Despite her attempts to relax though, uncertainty still lingered heavily on her mind.

"You know... For the worst experience I've had in centuries to be the product of a dream, caused by a naive heartbroken celestial whom I never saw as particularly important in any sense... Isn't this all a little anticlimactic?"

"Does it matter?" Doremy reached the end of her book and slammed it shut with a satisfying, or unsatisfying, thunk. "Reality doesn't always work like it does in stories. If you like, this was a warning to treasure the moments you have with those you love rather than pretending you feel no love - for as in the dream, it is inevitable you will lose them all someday."

No, it wasn't just that. Attaching some fable-like 'moral of the story' only made Yukari even more anxious that this resolution had just gone... too smoothly. She briefly glanced again at Dream Yukari's slumbering body, who just wasn't convincing enough by herself.

Yukari's expression became stern as she turned to look Doremy in the eyes. "What I would like... is to be able to shake this haunting doubt in my heart. Is this real? Was all that really just a nightmare? Or am I still trapped? Putting my mind at ease is the least you can do after all the trouble your carelessness caused."

"This is reality." Doremy smiled sweetly. "And I will do everything in my power as Lord of Dreams to reassure you as such. First, though, I believe Dream Yukari has more than earned her rest - so we had best let her." she snapped her fingers, and the frail Dream Yukari finally vanished with a puff of pink smoke.

"You've always been a pragmatic youkai, Miss Yakumo" Doremy continued, "so perhaps you'd prefer if I gave it to you straight. The simple reality is, your experience was not a exciting or climactic tale, nor a heroic trial you will be telling acquaintances about for years to come. This was merely a cruel reminder of how dangerous just one mistake can be from such powerful creatures... especially in this Gensokyo, packed with gods and demons, that you helped to create."

Despite the still-present doubt in her heart, Yukari couldn't help but smile fondly at Doremy's words. Her beloved Gensokyo... of horrible, insufferable troublemakers.

"The inconvenience and unromantic realities of the world suit me just fine - and the romance of Gensokyo itself is something I could never resent. In the end, I may just have to more carefully watch the most powerful troublemakers...

... And speaking of which." Yukari placed her teacup back on the tray and straightened up again, pulling out her fan and holding it in front of her face. "I do wonder if a certain baku needs to be punished, for so naively trusting a celestial..." she snapped her fan shut and smiled pleasantly at Doremy. "Or perhaps I'll just have her owe me one?"

"Either is fair." Doremy gave Yukari an unsettlingly calm and bubbly smile... this baku was a truly force to be reckoned with. "While we're chatting though, would you like to know anything I have... personal information on?" she slipped off her red and white hat, revealing her ridiculously long hair as she started pulling out dozens and dozens of multicoloured books.

Yukari's eyes widened slightly in curiosity. "Those are...?" She had a hunch.

"Records of dreams, of course. All entirely, intricately accurate, from people around the world you have never met, to people you know very dearly. Indeed, much of which pertaining to things which could not possibly be in your own mind already. You see what I'm getting at?" the baku pressed a finger to her lips and winked. "I would be breaching protocol, but... if I were to tell you a little more about the dreams of your loved ones, just this once... well, it couldn't hurt, could it?"

It was true that Yukari's mind was still plagued with doubts despite Doremy's attempts so far. Thanks to the dream, it had been plagued with doubts for what felt like years and years... about herself, about Gensokyo, about her loved ones. At this point, the possibility of hearing about the dreams of her close associates almost terrified her.

What if Tenshi was wrong? What if they all genuinely hated her, as Yukari had so expertly invited with her own offputting behaviour? What if Marisa was filled with jealousy? What if Ran was filled with doubt towards her master? What if... Yuyuko... really did resent Yukari for the past...

The more she thought about it, the more solemn her expression. Yukari began to wonder how well she really knew her 'loved ones' at all... because she was always so distant to them. Still, knowing that she couldn't go on without knowing whether this was dream or reality, the blonde weakly nodded at the baku.

"All right."

"Very well." Doremy curtsied, plucking out a black and white book from a pile of hundreds. Then a yellow book. Then orange. Then light blue. Then red and white. Then finally... purple.

"Ready?" Doremy grinned playfully, dexterously flicking open the black-white book first.

Immediately, Yukari knew that the black-white book being here... meant that she had come to genuinely love a certain human magician.

Her eyes widened a little in realisation, her heart aching, as she braced herself.

"Marisa Kirisame dreams of friends, of protecting the people she is so grateful to have in her life, of the people she wants to save from loneliness. Of Reimu... of Sanae, Rinnosuke, and Alice and many many others. She dreams of adventure, she dreams of magic, and power, and the mind-blowing things she has yet to see or may never see."

"Ran Yakumo dreams of you... of obeying you, of disobeying you, of disobeying you in order to obey you... but she also dreams of Chen, of the Gensokyo you love so much, and the quiet moments. The parties, the peaceful warm evenings the three of you spend together. Her dreams are driven by her orders, but also by a genuine passion and love for your worldview."

"Suika Ibuki dreams of... well, none of this is surprising. Brawls, drink, the allies she treasures, the allies she has lost... she truly feels so much honour in her heart towards those few people she respects. And despite her losses, she looks towards the future with such excited optimism. After all this time, she still dreams of the oni returning to the surface and hiking together with laughter again someday."

All the while, Yukari leant her chin on her hands and stared at the sky. She hadn't told Doremy who she loved... Doremy just knew to pick these books. Was it that obvious Yukari loved them, or did Yukari's mind have more of her heart in it than she expected?

Tears rolled quietly down her cheeks, which only intensified when she heard the next name.

"Yuyuko Saigyouji." Doremy smiled sweetly. "She dreams of food! Mostly. And drink! But she also dreams of regularly about spending those wonderful meals with the Yukari Yakumo and the Youmu Konpaku she thinks so fondly of. Of course, you are a primary cast-member of her dreams. Laughing at the same jokes as her, making the same observations as her... you're the one person in her long afterlife that she has ever felt truly in sync with.

She has occasional nightmares about a familiar girl, and a cruel, horrific tree...

But... her life is simple. She loves Gensokyo more every day... and she is truly happy."

Truly happy.

Suddenly realising the tears were tumbling down, Yukari clasped a hand over her mouth and, with an emotional whimper, allowed them to pour.

"Reimu Hakurei." Doremy giggled to herself. "Ever fascinating! A lonely woman who didn't ask for the destiny she had forced upon her, but more and more often finds herself dreaming fondly of the many, many faces she has met. She never dreams of power or of glory... okay, she dreams of having a lot of money sometimes. But more than anything she dreams of her love for humans, of youkai. Marisa, Sanae, Kasen, Suika, Youmu... oh! Even me! There are simply too many to name.

You're in there too, of course. A frequent visitor of Reimu's dreams, perhaps the youkai she respects as her equal more than any other youkai she has ever met."

"E-equal!?" Yukari suddenly choked out a laugh, tears cascading down her face. "What ever am I going to do with that girl!?" her voice cracked awkwardly as her throat coaxed up involuntary hiccups and squeaks.

Her laughter became loud sobs as she buried her overwhelmed red face in her hands. She tried to dry her eyes with her gloved fingers, then with her arms as the tears kept tumbling. "A-agh... for goodness sake..."

She couldn't help but chuckle in between wails at how ridiculous she sounded, at how much her cheeks hurt from smiling.

Doremy hovered behind Yukari holding the final, purple book, and gave the blonde youkai a warm rub on the back. "Yukari Yakumo... dreams about Gensokyo. Her beloved Gensokyo, its wonderful and horrible denizens... she dreams about her love of humans, and youkai, of humans and youkai co-existing." she giggled. "Actually, Yukari's dreams have a lot in common with..."

"All right." Yukari nodded meekly, trying to calm her own weeps. "All right... Enough. That will do. Thank you." She laughed to herself as she wiped away her tears. "I'd like to ask for one last favour, then I will leave you to your work."

Doremy giggled and raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

The blonde youkai pointed her fan at the sheep-shaped tea tray. "I'd like a batch of that tea to give Yuyuko as a gift - I think I will spend tomorrow indulging in it together with her."

A tender, relieved smile spread across Doremy's face as she nodded.

"For now..." Yukari continued, her voice calming as she stared off towards the green waves of grassy plains in the distance, "I want to finally visit someone I feel like I haven't seen in a very, very long time."

The quiet and lazy winter sunlight streamed gently into Hakurei Shrine's darkened rooms, a telltale sign that a certain shrine maiden had slept for longer than she should have. But why would she get up, when it was so much warmer under her covers?

For once, the cold winter air didn't even seem to make it to her face. She was perfectly comfortable... so just a few more minutes.

It was then, as Reimu Hakurei briefly edged into consciousness, that she noticed her nose was nuzzled comfortably into a head of silky blonde hair. Taken slightly aback, Reimu's eyes shot open as she instinctively felt for her trusty Yin-Yang Orbs...

But then she hesitated.

Light trickled into her eyes and her consciousness was roused. She pulled the covers off slightly, rubbing her eyes.

She noticed Yukari Yakumo's familiar mob cap flopped carelessly on the ground, and the vulnerable form of one of Gensokyo's most powerful youkai in her bed. Her fists clenched, tears dried in the corners of her eyes, her breaths meek and muted.

As Reimu noticed that the shoulder of her pyjamas had been dampened with tears too, the surprisingly compassionate youkai exterminator huffed a smile and relaxed again.

"Even insufferable people like you have nightmares, huh?"

Realising that this hopeless woman had put herself in the shrine maiden's care, Reimu accepted that perhaps just a few more minutes in bed would be appropriate after all.

She gently slumped back into bed and stroked Yukari's slightly knotted hair from her face.

She planted a gentle kiss on the blonde's forehead.

She reciprocated the fearsome youkai's cuddles, wrapping an arm around her back and embracing her securely, her face nuzzled up into Yukari's shoulder.

"What ever am I going to do with this girl..." Reimu hummed warmly.

"Don't worry, all right? I'm not going anywhere."

x

Glossary:

Baku - A chimera-like youkai that eats dreams. In Touhou a baku has significant control over dreams.
Eientei - a mansion in Gensokyo where refugees from the moon reside
Oni - an incredibly physically strong youkai, comparable to a demon or ogre. In Touhou, they are quite a rare youkai.

(Notes: That's it! Probably the most ambitious piece of creative writing I've ever done, wrapped up in a (hopefully) neat ribbon. I've never really written a plot-focused story before, everything else has been character development or relationship-driven, so this was a really big challenge for me... but one I think actually turned out quite well. I'm proud of what I did, at least.

The final scene with Reimu mirrors the start of the story, but also how similar I believe Yukari and Reimu really are.. and it was pretty emotional to write after how long I worked on this.

So what's next?

In the coming weeks, I intend to publish my Reimu/Sanae fic here. It's the opposite of this, very very indulgently fluffy, but I'm still working hard on it. If you like Touhou and my writing though, you'll probably enjoy it!

It'd mean a lot to me if you checked it out.

I'm also working on Pokémon again, a continuation of my Erika/Sabrina fic from last year, so look forward to that if it's your kind of thing.)

Ending notes:

To put it lightly, I have a lot of thoughts about this story. Obviously you don't need to read them unless you want to, but in the end I just really hope you enjoyed reading the story itself. Even if you didn't like all of it, just the beginning, middle, or end, I'm happy!

This was really fulfilling for me to work on. I learnt a lot about Touhou very quickly while writing it, and even when editing it. I worked on it for like 5 months total I guess, but it feels like my understanding of characters like Yukari and Ran and Marisa and even Kasen changed so much in that time.

That said, the story ended up pretty consistent with my original idea for it. That was, to explore Yukari's character and the vulnerable sides you'll never see in canon. What makes her tick, what upsets her, what makes her happy.

The red-herring dream was the first idea, to show her spectrum of hope, sadness, love and relief. That, as well as learning to rely on Marisa instead of Reimu, were essentially the backbone of the plot. After that came the idea that the second dream reality would see Gensokyo become more and more chaotic and unstable. Everything else grew from that.

I contested the idea of having Tenshi be responsible pretty early on, but it didn't get solidified in my head until WaHH45 made me ship her with Shion like burning. Having Yukari's hellish dream be caused by something petty like naive lovers having an argument felt perfectly Touhou to me.

Probably the last thing that filled out the plot was the sidestory at Hakugyokurou - which actually ended up being possibly my favourite segment in the whole story. Originally I wasn't even sure how to involve Yuyuko, but I'm really pleased with how I used that in the end. It led to Yukari and Kasen's relationship being fleshed out too.

Since this was my first time writing something so story-driven and trying (perhaps failing) to foreshadow, there may be plotholes... if you have any questions feel free to ask. I welcome critiques too, it all could help me improve future stories.

Of course, as always any comments at all are really welcome! If the story made you happy, if it made you cry, even if you just liked how I portrayed one particular character, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Once again, thank you so much for reading!