Blossom of Bodhisattva (Touhou)

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[Towards the Temple]
You wish to see the state of affairs for yourself, there was only so much one could know from a distance.

Thanks to @Armoury for the beta!

—

Your smile returning, you nod. "Thank you. Please, walk with me," you tell the Tanuki, as you turn and walk into the temple. You much desired to see how Byakuren had… changed things beyond just the exterior. It was a funny thing, one does not know what comes with achieving enlightenment, some expected you to know all, some expected you to paradoxically know little to none despite being part of everything. In truth, it was both. There were mysteries of the world, even to one such as yourself. You knew the surface level of most things, names, faces, and if you wished, pasts. But you tended to not allow yourself to get particularly involved with the affairs of the life on Earth, at least, not until recently. You knew of your sister's actions, you knew of her servants, but you did not know their stories or who they truly were.

You could always find out ahead of time of course, but that would be rude to pry. Of course, that was not true of everyone in any case. You knew Little Mami was here, and you had known her back when you had been but a child, and she had been little more than a raccoon dog. Your task was not of judgment, nor was it of correction. It wasn't even one of admonishment. In truth, your task had very little to do with the state of the temple at all. But one can be forgiven for curiosity. Then you cross the threshold, and are, sadly, almost immedia-

"GOOOOOOD MORNING!"

… Assaulted.

—

The people of the village have become inured to the sight of religious squabbling. These supposed paragons of greatness, these preachers who come to tell them how they should live their lives, with their grandiose personalities and their mystic wisdom… perhaps it is not so surprising that on so many topics, they simply cannot agree.

This time, it is pure inanity that has acted as the starting trigger. The young priestess of the Moriya Shrine, and the leader of the Buddhist temple have both been attempting to preach in front of one of the public fountains, and tempers have flared.
Something about a teacup, and broken porcelain, and recriminations of past misconduct. Few could tell who started the argument, and fewer care. What matters to the people of the village-

-a dense burst of green bolts whistle down the streets, slam into a storefront window, shatter glass and wood alike-

-a flare of purple energy, a crack in the cobblestone steps below, as the nun launches herself into the air with superhuman strength-

- is getting off of the streets, before they, too, get caught in the splash radius of this latest squabble.

—

There was a youkai, she was not a complicated youkai. You knew her at least by name as Kasodani Kyouko. You knew she was a student of Byakuren, and you knew she dreamed of one day being a priest. That was all known to you, but, it was all surface level. To that end, you were not aware that she was very, very, quite almost-excruciatingly loud. To you it did very little beyond cause a minor annoyance. Cirno, for her part, was laying in the snow behind you just past the entrance, her head buried in it, her hands shoved through it to, you imagine, cover her ears.

The perpetrator however was staring up at you, a small little brown tail wagging behind her with speed close to, but a fair bit faster still than, the large ears atop her head. You cast your gaze around the grounds. They were, at least, relatively normal, a simple stone plaza, currently half covered by snow. Various buildings were about, their purpose for the moment unknown to you. All carefully placed in ways that they did not overshadow or draw the attention away too much from the large temple in the center of it all. It, like everything else, had changed rather dramatically since you had been alive. Gone was the simple one story building, the old walls, and the poor, but proud exterior. Instead now there was a building that may be a good three or four stories, built with proud oak and tiled by beautiful, if overly ornate, green tile. Though that at the moment was all buried by the aforementioned snow.

Said snow, you know, was being handled by the young youkai that had just tried to deafen you going by the shovel held in her hand. Her green eyes looked up at you in absolute delight, and despite your… perhaps displeasure in a greeting such as that occurring in a temple. You could not, and never would, fault exuberance, if at least practiced and professed earnestly and with no ill intention. "Good morning Kyouko, have your studies been going well?"

The youkai blinks, then blinks again, her smile dropping as she stares at you in absolute confusion. "Um… yes?" she finally responds.

You smile widens, just a touch, just a hint. They weren't, but she was young. "That is good, now, I would assume the larger building is still the main temple?"

Kyouko turns to look at the temple, then back to yourself. Then she nods. "Yes, but… did we meet sir? I'm sorry if I forgot you!"

"We have not, but I know of you. Are the others around?"

Kyouko shakes her head. "Some of the humans are in there, but Shou and Nazrin are out shopping, Ichirin left with Byakuren, um, earlier. And… I don't know where Nue is?"

"I understand," you say. "Would you be perturbed if I were to ask for a cup of tea? I have much to talk about with Byakuren."

"Are you a Buddhist sir?" Kyouko asks.

… One would hope the clothes would be enough. You simply nod your head, then turn it, watching as Cirno finally extracts herself from the snow, and… Mamizou was still staring at you.

—

Byakuren's motions are sublime, her form perfect, her speed superhuman - but when the very winds and air turn against her, against an opponent floating in the sky, that means less than one might believe. Her first blow misses by less than a handspan, as Sanae is simply pushed out of the way by the ever-compliant breeze. Byakuren is far too experienced to leave a true "opening", immediately braces herself against nothing and attempts to reorient, but it still leaves a moment where she is not on the attack, which Sanae immediately exploits.

The glow of the midday sun intensifies to a scorching ray, while around the miko a static charge builds to a crescendo. A lightning strike on a clear and cloudless day would truly require a miracle, but such is the speciality of the Moriya Shrine.

With rapid bursts of movement, Byakuren dodges one shock, then another - and then the third bears down on her, and with a fourth and fifth closing in, she has been pinned into position.Or so it might seem. Compared to past conflicts Byakuren has had to endure, this is, quite literally, child's play.

She allows gravity to take hold of her once more, kicks herself downward to gain even more speed, and outraces the lightning to the earth. The bolts miss her entirely, grounding themselves one after the other on the metal roof of a merchant's abandoned cart. She flips just before she lands, settling down into a crouch, eyes narrowed as she considers her opponent.

A decision is made.

Byakuren Hijiri bursts upwards, her shining scroll glowing with all the colors of the rainbow as it unfurls, trailing behind her like a banner. Her arms crossed in front of her, she dashes straight through the lime-green torrent of danmaku unleashed towards her. Sanae Kochiya is no pushover, has been instructed in how to dodge and roll with a physical blow by no less than a goddess of war - but even doing her best to minimize the damage, this strike, she still feels, is a solid hit sending her tumbling even further up into the sky.

The monk lands atop a storage shed, and exploits the opening. Her magic builds up around her to the greatest extent yet throughout this encounter. She does not so much jump as explode forwards, a loud crack ringing out from the air she brushes aside. She is moving so quickly that to an ordinary human, she would seem to have simply reappeared in her new location, the motion itself impossible to track - and then, with a great two-handed strike, she slams the Shinto priestess down into the ground, right into the very fountain that had begun this dispute.

With a light step that barely disturbs the ground, Byakuren touches back down onto the village streets, her lips narrowing as she sees all the damage that her encounter has caused. With a sigh, she turns away… then pauses. She can still hear breathing. She whirls back around, but she is too late - from the sodden and muddy pit that was once a fountain, using the last of her strength, Sanae has already activated her spellcard.

"Sea Opening - The Day The Sea Split!"

And a cascade of muddy water crashes down over Byakuren, leaving her rather thoroughly drenched.

… she can't wait to get back to the temple and put this day behind her.
—

You would like to say the interior was better. You would have liked to say that is wasn't gilded, with beautifully intricate gold inlays pressed into the wood displaying in written form various sutras. You would have liked to say the chairs that surrounded the dining table you were situated at wasn't made of the finest mahogany, you would have liked to say there wasn't evidence that meat had been served here recently. There were many things you would have liked to say, but you did not lie.

But you didn't say any of that out loud, either. Kyouko had no further questions, at your request she had gained a broad smile and had sprinted into the building at full speed, leaving you to chase after her. She had come back only briefly enough to guide you to a seat, and ever since, you had sat, idly taking in the interior and waiting there calmly, Cirno to your left, looking rather bored you would say. And Mamizou to your right, looking amusingly terrified.

"Myouren I-" Mamizou starts.

You raise a hand. "It can wait until later."

"Yes, but, it's about Byakuren." Mamizou persists. "Much of this temple, it's necessary to compete with the Taoists and the Shinto."

"Compete?" you mull on the word. "An interesting statement. To compete with Buddhism, I wasn't aware there was a competition. Does it matter if one is Taoist, or Shinto? All walk the Eightfold path."

"That is… true," Mamizou says, noticeably non-committedly. "But those who live in Gensokyo take their views on religion rather seriously and Byakuren has no cho-"

"Who caaaaares." Cirno interrupts. "Shinsho whatsits or whatever. Everyone just gets together once a year to start fighting, that's the only fun part."

Then the door at the far end of the room slides open, and Kyouko comes skipping in holding a tray with three cups, steaming mist rising out of each. With the grace of long practice she places one each before yourself, Cirno and Mamizou, then with all the proper decorum of one in training, she stood by the side of the table.

You smile. Then lift your cup. "This one is yours, Kyouko."

The youkai looks remarkably perplexed. "... No? Sir, that is the tea you asked for."

"Indeed, but I did not state it was for myself. You were out there shoveling snow in the cold on your lonesome without any of the other residents of the temple assisting you. You had been out there since before dawn. You shall now rest and partake in tea, then we shall await the arrival of Byakuren."

Kyouko goes from confused to nervous. "Sir, that would be very inco-"

"My apologies," you say, cutting her off. "That was not a request. Be at peace child, and rest for the time being. Buddha does not punish."

Kyouko's eyes flit from you to the tea, her tail starts to ever so slowly wag. Then, ever so slowly she moves to the chair opposite you and takes the cup. She pulls it towards herself, allowing the steam to warm up her still frozen face before she glances up at you. "Um, sir, if I may ask. Who… are you?"

You smile. Then gesture behind yourself towards the opening door. "I am her brother, of course."

—

You were tired, you were soaking wet. You were in, perhaps, what might be construed as a bad mood. You had paused briefly once you reached the temple, Kyouko was missing, that was not unusual, what was usual was a trail of footsteps in the snow leading into the temple, one of them you recognize as being hers. You glance at them, then follow them with your eyes towards the main hall. Your memory was far, far better than it was when you were a human, and that applied to such simple things as recognizing tracks as well. These were… Kyouko and Mamizou, and two you didn't recognize.

New worshippers, perhaps. You would simply have to smile through it. Making your way across the grounds, you walked through the main hall of the temple and towards the dining room. Sliding open the doo-

"I am her brother, of course."

You blink, staring down at… "Oh fuck."

"Language."

—

Erien - Kyouko is cute and I've never had a chance to write her before. I am fixing this as soon as possible.

Redshirt - Byakuren Hijiri's No Good Very Bad Day has only just begun. I hope you're all ready for the ride.

—

[] [Byakuren, explain this temple.]

[] [Byakuren, why was Kyouko working alone?]

[] [Byakuren, I missed you.]