Blossom of Bodhisattva (Touhou)

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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE7neXAuzIY

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You only faintly remembered what it was like, to be alive. A great deal of time had passed, since the last time your feet touched the earth. Your eyes opened slowly, and lungs long without breath filled with brisk winter air. It was an odd, almost alien feeling, not uncomfortable, but not pleasant, either. But it passed, as do all discomforts with time.

The scene around was unfamiliar, tall trees covered in snow, their leaves long since lost surrounded you. There was no path, no landmark, nothing to mark this place as special. And, in truth, it wasn't. Far from it in fact, just a small clearing in a small wood, far removed from civilization. And yet, this was nonetheless exactly where you needed to be.

You glance down at a scampering sound, and watch as a white rabbit, startled by your arrival, sprints across the snow. Deep tracks are left in its wake, and you watch it until it is well and truly out of sight. You smile, pondering when you had last seen such a creature. Then you take a step forward. Your tracks leave no footprints in the snow, nor do the trees block your path. Those you don't simply walk around move themselves around you, shifting with a groan as you make your way.

Your staff shifts in your hand, a slight clinking sounding out with every moment. Beyond the gentle whisper of the wind, it was the only sound here. Your destination wasn't far, a mere minute from where you arrived, and you came to a stop before… nothing, a tree was further ahead, but that was beyond your goal at the moment. You glance up, a gentle snowfall has been going since you arrived, no true storm, just little gentle fallings to mark the season. Then you reach forward, and you find your palm pressed against… a wall, there is no sign it was there, no disturbance in the snow, no change in nature. But it was a wall nevertheless. You run your hand along it, the falling snow landing on your body before simply sliding off or falling through. This wall, no, this barrier would do little to stop yo-

"Do not!" a small voice calls out.

You pause, then look to the side to see the same rabbit from before. Red eyes peer up at you, nose twitching. "None who enter there return!"

You smile, studying the creature for a moment. "I thank you for the warning young…" you smile wider. "Keiko, yes, that is what your mother has named you. But I have a task inside."

The twitching of the rabbit's nose pauses. "You… understand me?"

You nod your head. "Indeed little one, and worry not for my safety, for there are none inside that may bring me harm. Continue on your path."

Keiko stares up at you for a moment longer, then lowers her head in a bow.

Then you step forward. There is the briefest moment of attempted resistance, like a hand attempting to break the surface of a still pond. But like that water, it gives, the air rippling around you as you step through the barrier. It tugs and pulls at you, desperately, if feebly attempting to keep you out.

You ignore it, and transition from one realm to the next, leaving nothing but a hole in reality behind you.

===

Elsewhere along the border of fantasy and reality, there is a humble shrine, which receives few visitors and fewer donations. From one side of the border, the shrine seems ramshackle, in a state of total disrepair. From the other side, it looks worse - outright condemned and abandoned.

Within the shrine (from one perspective), a shrine maiden lies in repose. Those who know her would tell you that this is not unusual. She is not a very good priestess by any standard - she embodies no virtues, and cannot even name the god of the shrine she tends. Those who know Gensokyo would tell you that this is not unusual, either.

The shrine maiden continues to lie still, even though the early morning has already come and gone, and she really should have gotten up by now to sweep the snow away from the pathway. Her outfit, red and white, lies rumpled in a pile in the corner of her room. But then again, the god she does not know has never compelled her to do anything, and this morning seems no different from every other before it in that respect.

If you asked her why she was still in bed, she would lie once again, and say that she felt she had earned the break for her hard work earlier. If you pressed her, she would admit that in deep winter, she does not expect anyone to arrive, and as such sees little point in putting in the effort. This would also be a lie, because in truth, the reason is that deep within her gut, her intuition tells her that today will be a bad day, and as such she has simply decided to delay the start of said day for as long as she can.

But she can delay no further. Hakurei Reimu glowers as she finally, grudgingly sits up from her mat. The air feels different, and the moment she has been dreading has finally arrived. Something has gone badly wrong, and she is about to make this the problem of everyone around her.

===

It was not as dramatic a change as one might expect. To go from one world to the next, the trees remained the same, as did the snow, the sky, the very air you breathed. Indeed, one might expect they had never transitioned from one to another at all. But then, most hardly entered as you did regardless.

It was an interesting place, this Gensokyo, this… refuge for all the youkai in Japan. It was not by any accounts a pleasant realm, full of mischief, sin, and above all else, cruelty. It was not a realm for those who followed the path. It was decadence, a pit, a compost heap of all that had long since served its purpose, clinging to life in defiance with the will of every mortal desperate to avoid the next cycle. Things still here of course, but not properly, and not under the proper purveyance.

All things that died ended up where they belonged. Yet still, a realm that existed solely to preserve existence was simply backwards. Gensokyo was not a place that existed while you were alive, and from what you had been told, it had only truly come into being in the past century. It was a cross between a memorial, and a society of sorts. A place where the youkai could remain, without being forgotten, so that they could exist in this world. It was not their place to do so, and the idea of it… was rather distasteful. But it was not your purpose to right this error, nor would you go out of your way to think of it either. As you had only come here for one purpose, and you were going to fulfill your task without distraction.

You take one glance back towards your entry point. It wasn't a dramatic thing in truth, a 'hole' in reality in the shape of your form. Rippling colors roiled out of it, some you recognized, others alien. Distorting and dancing in the false reality of their existence. Then you turned back, and paused, as you had received a visitor in that short brief span of time.

She stood just at your feet, hands on her hips, eyes narrowed, glaring up at you. She was blue and white. Blue of hair, blue of dress, and white of trim. Rather fascinating 'wings' made of ice jutted from her back, flicking as snow hit them. She stood perhaps two feet tall, just enough that she reached your waist, and in the time it took for you to come to understand these facts. She pointed a finger up at your face.

"How'd ya break the barrier like that?"

… Perhaps a guardian of sorts, but then, perhaps not either. Sizes could be deceiving, but her level of chakra was… pitiful. More than most humans, but far less than a monk or an exorcist. "I walked through it, what is your name, little one?"

Said little one crosses her arms, adopting a childlike cocky grin. "Cirno! I'm the strongest in Gensokyo!"

You smile and nod your head slightly. "Good morning Cirno, my name is Hijiri."

The little one, now known as Cirno. Blinks, in confusion. "Hijiri… you're not Hijiri. That's Byak… Bak…" Cirno pauses, eyes scrunching. "The buddhist lady!"

Your smile dims. "Indeed I am n-"

"You're trying to trick me!" Cirno shouts, leaping back several feet as she does so. "I challenge you to a battle!"

===

Elsewhere along the border of fantasy and reality, there is an impossible mansion, with an impossible view. The corridors of the mansion do not line up the way they seem like they should, and the views from the windows, while stunning, do not in the least align with one another. Here, a view from beneath dense foliage; there, the vista of a forlorn mountaintop. And finally, here again, a view of a snowy forest, marred by an ethereal tear in reality flapping in the breeze.

Within the impossible mansion are several impossible denizens. One of the inhabitants is currently in a panic, as she stares out of this last window. One of the inhabitants is in a deep sleep. And the final inhabitant… she is about to childishly jump straight onto the sleeper as she lies in bed. This will lead her to awaken, which will put her in a bad mood.

She will shortly thereafter be informed of a disturbance that has taken place within her Gensokyo. This will put her in a worse mood.
===

"I do not believe that is entirely necessary." You say to the small… likely youkai. Certainly youkai. "For I do not wish to fight you, nor was I attempting to confuse you."

"I challenge you to danmaku!"

"... I am not aware of such a thing." You reply, raising a hand in placation.

Her hand shoots out, a finger pointed at you in accusation. "See! You're tryin' to trick me again! Everybody knows what danmaku is!""

And yet, you do not.

===

The border of fantasy and reality thrums with ancient power - it is the great masterwork of the sages who founded Gensokyo, bound to the blood of the Hakurei clan, who once metaphorically fenced in the youkai, and now literally fence them out. It is vast in scope, stunning in potency, mesmerizing in intricacy.

It is also punctured, a hole pierced straight through it by some unstoppable force, leaving sharp and shattered edges of unreality exposed to the world, unable to heal the way so many lesser disturbances have done over the past century.

The boundary between the creator and the creation can be surprisingly thin, and Yukari Yakumo can feel this puncture just as clearly as if it was her very own flesh that had been pierced. As one of the sages who created this realm, her connection to its border is deep and true. She has chosen to ignore this pain, with the ease of long practice.

Ran Yakumo does not fit the appearance of a mere servant - in the ancient days, nine-tailed foxes were worshipped as gods, after all. And yet, to one of the great youkai sages, even a kitsune of her stature can be reduced to a mere familiar. Through her bond with her master, can also sense the disruption to the realm, and she has chosen not to ignore the implications.

Her mathematical acumen is undeniable, and so when she calculates the amount of power needed to pierce the barrier, she feels justified in fearing for the worst for Gensokyo. Is this a pre-emptive strike? Have the Lunarians decided to wage direct war? She sits and frets about things that she does not have the power to change.

Her master is much calmer - but one should not take this to mean that she is placid, or indeed anything less than livid. She has simply dismissed the urge to panic, and instead fallen back on her oldest reflex. Yukari Yakumo is plotting. The eldest of the Yakumos has already narrowed down the list of possibilities regarding this incident (capital-I Incident, really) significantly.

The number of actors who could pierce her barrier is fairly long - she has never fooled herself about Gensokyo's relative strength, amongst the supernatural factions. But the number of actors who could pierce her barrier and would, but would do so leaving only a single hole, rather than tearing down the entire edifice? Given the current state of the world, given the alliances and agreements she has made, given the weakness that this might expose to their other enemies, given, given, given…

This is a much shorter list.

Chen Yakumo, the youngest of this motley bunch, does not understand what all the fuss is about, but she knows that her own master is upset, paralyzed by fear and indecision, and that she must try her hardest to step up in her stead. Her twin tails twist through in the air behind her as she scrambles around the kitchen, and her feline ears are folded down to protect her from the clattering noise of pots and pans as she works.

Yukari Yakumo thanks Chen for her (messy) attempt at putting together an omelet, and continues pondering what her best response can be, moving forward. The odds of this being an outright invasion are low, and she must be careful to avoid provocation, while still gaining information. Nonetheless, she wants this disruptive element out of her Gensokyo as soon as possible.

She slowly smiles. It is not a pleasant smile. Something has gone badly wrong, and she is about to make this the problem of Hakurei Reimu in particular.

===

You step to the side as a barrage of icicles fly past, you watch them curiously, each was a half foot long and pointed to a spearhead. They slam into the barrier, dissipating into nothing a moment later. You continue to stare at them, watching as the icicles fade away into nothing more than little specks of blue light. Then you turn your attention back to the little one, still in the same pose, still pointing her finger at you.

"You can't turn down a challenge! It's against the rules!"

You tilt your head. "I am not aware of any rules."

"STOP TRYING TO TRICK ME!" Cirno yells. It was a sonorous roar cry for someone of her size, it however had little effect besides causing some birds in nearby trees to decide fleeing was a better option than remaining present.

She then launches another barrage. You watch it approach, frown, then simply step to the side once more, they were rather… slow. Perhaps the speed of a horse at gallop. You did not come to Gensokyo to fight things, you had come to deal with your task and meet your sister. But it would seem this little one was rather set on giving you less options than you had thought previously available.

She was in no position to harm you of course. But it still begged the question as to what the proper course of action was. Surprisingly, your meditations had given you little insight as to what to do when a two foot tall ice being challenged you to an honor duel. Perhaps that was contained within a Jataka Tale you had never studied.

You duck as an ice… boulder flies over your head, sighing as you do so.

Perhaps-

—

[] [Educate Cirno]
This action wasn't proper, you should teach her that, with words.

[] [Humor Cirno]
You did not fight as a matter of course, and indeed, your tenets decreed that you would never unless defending yourself or others. But then, she had attacked you. And you certainly did not need to take this seriously either.

[] [Ignore Cirno]
She could not harm you. Abuse that fact.