Blossom of Bodhisattva (Touhou)

View: https://youtu.be/5oQlONWY2Ts?si=C4G_mZ4jUZXjHjsO

[Follow your Sister]

Thanks to @Armoury for the beta!

—

Your gaze scans across your sister's followers, finally falling upon Shou, the avatar of Bishamonten. Your eyes lock for a moment, before you finally give a small nod. You'll try to follow your sister, wherever she may have gone.

Byakuren's trail into the forest tells a story all its own, to those who have the perception to see it. The angry divots into the snow, the scratches and splintered wood where she angrily lashed out against any tree branches that were in her way. The marks where droplets of angry tears fell to the ground. Her emotions ruled her, in ways you had long since taught her to avoid. But then, when had Byakuren ever truly followed your teachings?

That wasn't superiority on your part, you weren't particularly disappointed by it either. Byakuren was her own person, and she had her own path to walk. The fact that she had diverged too strongly was troubling, but there was a time she was a good Buddhist. A time. Now she didn't even qualify. It pained you to admit that, much less out loud. But it was the truth, she was ruled by her emotions, and she had been ever since you died. She had built up a tower of emotion and now refused to step off of it to reenter the world below.

And then… a pause in the trail. A small clearing, overgrown by trees and shrubs but still leaving a gap in the forest canopy, a small space where the clear blue of the skies above could be seen. A small statuette of a youkai hunter up on a plinth, a fox mask over her face. An old memorial to the Hakurei.

Leaning up against the statue, sitting in the snow, is Byakuren. She's… no longer crying, you note. She dully notices your arrival, but can't seem to muster the energy to react to it in any real way, her head slowly turning to you, before turning away and returning to an unfocussed stare into the middle distance.

A moment of silence passes, the wind blowing past you. "Are you alright, Sister?" a foolish question perhaps, but a relevant one.

The silence stretches, on and on, to the point where many would be unsure whether she had even heard you. But you know she has.

It finally comes out as barely more than a whisper.

"No." Her tenuous grip on her emotions seems to break as she answers, tears once again gathering in her eyes. "No, I'm not."

"So I see," you say quietly. You approach, making no sound as you leave no impression in the snow as you walk. Then you kneel, your staff jingling as you move it. "Speak to me. What troubles you so?"

"Everything I've built is being torn down, and I don't know if I can rebuild it." Her fists clench until they turn white. "I don't even know if I deserve to."

She slowly turns to look to you. "All of this - this is a punishment, right? For being a poor disciple?" She laughs, a choking, hollow sound. "That almost seems preferable to the idea that… that you did all this without caring at all."

"And what, precisely, have I done?" you ask quietly.

Her fists tremble in anger for a moment, before she slowly breathes out. Haltingly, she drops her hands down into the snow around her. "You've… after so long, you return… just to break my home, and tell me I'm inadequate and a failure."

"Byakuren," you say, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You are not inadequate, you are not lesser. But yes, you are a failure. You disregarded my teachings and did terrible things in response to my death."

She takes a sharp breath, the tension in her shoulders spiking… before it slowly releases. "I did. I was terrible, I was wicked, I was cruel. I… I even blamed you for it all, for some time - 'if only he had replied, I wouldn't have done this, so the blame is his.' Hah."

She tips her head down, in shame. "Shou… I've tried to tell her, what I was like during that time. But she won't hear it. She insists that I always had kindness in me. But I don't think that's true. I was a vengeful wraith for a long time, and only once my rage burned down to cinders, was I able to try to rebuild compassion and kindness from the ashes."

"I regret… so many of the things I did, then. That's… that's why I reach out to youkai, really. Your teachings… but also because - I've been the monster. If they can't move past cruelty and anger, what would that mean for me?" She looks up to you. "Was it all for nothing?"

"Youkai are living beings just as we are, even if they are baser in many instincts and emotions," you say quietly. "They can be taught, just as any man or woman could. They simply take more effort and guidance. I fear, however, you were not the best for that."

Indignation spikes in her. "I was the best they had, flawed and hurting as I was. Nobody else would even try." She closes her eyes. "Nobody else saw that they were hurting too, not just causing hurt."

"One cannot fault the rabbit for being afraid of the fox." You reply. "Few amongst your group would be against eating humans if it came to it, especially in the past. You cannot fault humans for being wary of them. You too were human once, until you changed yourself."

She sighs. "Of course. But… I wish it was otherwise, that these impulses to harm were easy to wash away, that the centuries of fear and hate could be set aside. That the world could be kinder." She then looks up at you, tears running freely down her face. "What was it you used to say? The path to Nirvana is equal measure kindness to yourself, as it is to others?"

"I did, yes. And that remains true. But you also do not teach them away from violence, nor do you shy away from it yourself. You do not teach them away from vices, nor do you shy away from it yourself. You do not teach them away from cruelty… nor do you shy away from it yourself." You say, then move your hand to wipe the tears away. "It is true, Murasa no longer drowns people, Nue no longer devours them, Nazrin no longer robs them. But you have also led them on a path that they have achieved no progress upon. Shou is an avatar of Bishamonten, and she is as far removed from that ideal as she could be. Her thoughts are that of constant violence and strife. Nazrin is a lost being, torn between two paths, that from which she came from, that which she is on. Nue exists simply to exist. Ichirin lives a life of vice and sin, and Kyouko…"

You pause, then smile. "Kyouko is fine for the most part."

Byakuren slumps. "And how could they have gone further, with a failure for a teacher? I tried, where others did not - that's all I can say." She takes a deep breath. "Take them, then. Do what I couldn't, oh great enlightened one. They don't need me anymore." It comes out as a hiss - curdling anger, and despair - hatred of you and hatred of herself intermingling into a single rotten mass.

You draw in a long, and slow breath. Instincts, you suppose. Breathing was far gone from you now. You were meant to be quiet regarding this, you were meant to be discrete. But then, you weren't really meant to seek out your sister either. Enlightened, indeed. Perfect, far from it. "Sister, I am not here to replace you. I am here to save you, and your followers, and Gensokyo. Buddhism has nothing to do with it."

"Nothing to do with - what are you even talking about?" Her rage seems to have been set aside for the moment, replaced with bewilderment. "For you, of all people to say that - what's happening, Myouren?"

You stare at her for several moments. Debating.

Then you smile. You suppose you were always fond of your sister.

With a wave of your hand, the sunny sky fades away, replaced by a glinting, beautiful night sky, and in the center of it. Impossibly big… was the moon. Only now, the glamor that normally rested upon it was gone, revealing the twinkling lights of the vast cities resting upon its surface. "I am here, regarding… that." You say, pointing at one of the larger cities.

She gazes upwards, eyes tracking across the image of the moon, and you can see the thoughts churning in her head. "A Lunarian attack? Significant enough that a Bodhisattva was sent…"

"No, not a Lunarian attack," you reply. "But the threat of one certainly coming." You stare at the moon yourself, observing it as you had done so many times in the past, back when you were still human. "The Buddha wishes their threat dealt with, for they wish to bring this world to a flawed state of purity. Us Bodhisattva are powerless against them, for it is purity against purity." You then look down at your sister. "And the Asura would not leave a moon behind, so that leaves… Gensokyo. For it is Gensokyo they have the most grievances with, it is the Buddha's command that I am to gather forces in order to allow this world to deal with the threat itself."

She breathes out, concern growing within her. "And so… you went to Makai, to make dealings with Shinki. No doubt you've spoken with Yukari and the other sages already… who else? We'll assist where we can, of course, so will Hakurei…"

The fear of such a great attack is present and growing within your sister, of course. But now that she understands why you are here, it's like the sun has dawned on her spirit - the show of trust and understanding has invigorated her. And, as she continues to mutter… you're reminded that when you were traveling together, she was the one who usually arranged the logistics.

"Indeed, I am still gaining the aid of Shinki… and some others, but there is still more for me to do. But I did not come to Gensokyo to antagonize you, sister. You must understand this."

She locks eyes with you, searching for something. And then she smiles. It's still a fragile, temporary thing, but it's present, and real. "I'll try, Myouren." Your sister cricks her neck, before standing up from her position up against the statue. Her gaze sweeps over the inscription. "'Dedicated to a great defender of the lands of Gensokyo', hm. Well. It seems we have a great deal of work to do."

There is still a tension present between the pair of you. Perhaps the relationship you once had will never fully heal. But the distance has been reduced. "Indeed, and I will cherish your assistance Byakuren. Tell me, have you informed them of your old habit of using the prayer scrolls as teething aids when you were a child?"

Her gaze snaps to you. "I was three, Myouren! Don't you dare-" But beneath the anger… you missed teasing your sister like this. And she missed it too.

"Sister, I do not dare. I simply do, for that is the path." You reply with a smile.

Then you headed back to the Hakurei Shrine together, reminiscing all the while. The shrine was, thankfully, not further damaged, and you set to work repairing it along with the Buddhists, though one… more than any other, was paying very close attention to you.

—

[] [Shou's anger towards you has not abated, even with Byakuren's improved mood]

[] [Kyouko seems to be fascinated by your behavior, pestering you for advice]

[] [Unzan seems to be spying on you, and telling Ichirin all that he sees]

[] [Mamizou couldn't take not getting answers anymore]

—

AN:
Erien - Thanks for reading!