Blossom of Bodhisattva (Touhou)

View: https://youtu.be/o9SRbgxGAbc?t=60

[Mamizou couldn't take not getting answers anymore]

Thanks to @Armoury for the beta!

—

You look up, smiling as the faint scent of tobacco fills the air. You had been off to the side of the shrine, having picked up the area a fair bit, and were now leaning against a tree, observing the distant mountain that housed Makai. "Good afternoon, Little Mami."

There's a determined glint in her eye, where at long last, after seeing Byakuren's return, she overcomes her fear (and how sad, that she fears you, of all people), and speaks up. "Myouren."
Mamizou… she knows better than most that keeping up a mask will not be enough to evade your insight. And yet, she's putting up her front of polite distance even now. This is, you determine after a moment, more a salve for her own fears than an actual attempt to hide her emotions from you.

"How might I be of assistance?" you ask.

"I'd… appreciate any insights on the situation you could share." Her phrasing is hesitant, as she picks her way through the sentence.

You smile. "Do you still have your prayer beads? I can offer you some mantra to study and repeat."

Her polite smile remains perfectly placid and intact - to all mundane sight, she would have not reacted to your statement at all. But you can see beneath the mundane, and to you, that smile has become more brittle and empty. "Not on me, but I'm certain I can dig them up, given some time."

"There is no cause for it, you and I both know you were never a buddhist. Merely grateful." There isn't an accusation in your tone, why would there be? One walks their own path, and all reach Nirvana eventually. You may lead, but you cannot pull.

She inclines her head, but only slightly, as her eyes remain locked on you. "As you say. And I still remain grateful - my current path could have ended much sooner, without your assistance. But I would - must - inquire." She takes a deep breath. "You were sent here to complete a task, you said. Could you tell me what that task is?"

"And why do you wish to know?" you ask. "For what purpose? For what desire? For what ends?"

Mamizou makes to reply, but then pauses, apparently seriously turning your words over. She was always intelligent, willing to engage with your teachings while she traveled with you, and had long since learned that petulant responses would not lead her to conversational victory.

Unfortunately, what she hadn't learned, not then, and by all appearances still to this day, were the reasons to not treat every conversation as something to be won in the first place.

"I wish to know for both selfish and selfless reasons." She appears to have settled on an honest, or at least "honest" as mediated by her self-deceptions response. "Selfishly, because knowledge of events gives me power of a sort, and the exercise of power gives me self-worth and validation. Selflessly, because I do have some affection for you and your sister, and understanding the situation would enable me to assist you to a greater extent with my full set of skills and resources, should the situation call for it."

You smile. "I am aware of your gratefulness to me for saving your life, I have pondered however why you hang around Byakuren so. With what she became."

Mamizou doesn't tense up. She's too skilled, has too much self-control, to allow such tells. But she wants to. "I didn't. Not while she turned to darkest evil. I only encountered her again much later. And by that time… it was self-interest at first, I won't deny it, as she was a useful connection to have among the youkai communities that would at least try to blend in and coexist. But we had a shared historical connection, and among those as long-lived as us… that's enough, over time."

"And yet, Little Mami." You say, still smiling. "I know you, I know you quite well. Perhaps even more than you do yourself. I do not doubt your desire for help, but I do doubt your selflessness. For you are by nature a capricious creature, a trickster. It is a trait you share with the foxes you so loathe."

The faint swellings of pride and preening that were stirred up as you called her a capricious trickster are unceremoniously spiked back into the dirt. Mamizou frowns, an honest expression at long last, as she holds back her initial impulse to react. You can almost hear the words: How dare you compare me to them! But after a pause, what she actually says is, "That was a low blow, Myouren."

"I do not insult, Mamizou. Merely describe. You know this of me."

Her eye twitches. "I know that of you, yes, but I also know that there are several ways to describe things. And you've never been unable to express your disdain through such descriptions. I learned nearly half of my approach to subtle insults from following you around and copying your wordplay. Did you know that city governor's descendants still remember the tongue-lashing you gave him, to this very day?"

"Perhaps they should not have turned that temple into a gambling hall then," you reply with the same smile. Only, it was no longer kind. "But, to return us to the topic at hand. Might I not simply be here just to guide?"

She nods - her eagerness to display her intellect outweighing her concern at the shift in your expression. "In theory, certainly. But the Buddha wouldn't have sent a Bodhisattva out merely to teach, in this present time. And you haven't acted purely as if you were here as a guide either."

"Be careful you aren't cut by the sharp edge of your own intelligence."

She gazes up at you, her stature still shorter than yours even after she grew up and stopped being a child. "Is that just a proverb?" Her eyes narrow. "Or is there an actual danger here, to those who dig too deeply?"

Your smile fades away. "If this goes poorly, even I shall cease to be."

She blinks, then again, and only then does your statement start to sink in. "Even you - but you're…" And then the fear, the fear that she's been hiding from her own perception through this familiar ritual of putting on a mask and playing conversational games, comes roaring back.

"Indeed, this is beyond politics or games. This is beyond trickery and petty squabbles. This is beyond incidents and religious wars." You say softly. "I may have to sacrifice my own existence before this is over, and that is something I have no qualms with." You then smile again. "I have experienced Nirvana already, that is enough."

She wants to run away. You can see it in her. When disasters have swept the land before, Mamizou has hidden away and waited for the danger to pass. But this time… well. It's not a selfless decision. She doesn't want to disappoint you. She's afraid of Nue's possible vengeance. And she worries that perhaps there is no hole deep enough that it would protect her from what is coming.

But she won't run away. Not this time. "Right. Well. If you're willing to give up eternity, then the least I can do is try to tip the odds in whatever small ways I can. I said I'd offer my skills and resources if needed, and I stand by that."

You smile once more. "Such bravery little Mami." You then reach out a hand and gently run it through her hair. "And here I recall you being scared of storms, and dogs, and foxes."

She leans into your hand. "It was a scary storm!" She pauses, realizing what she said, and slowly steps away from you, her hands sweeping away imaginary dust from her dress as she looks away.

"Indeed, and in any case. I do trust you Mamizou, despite your nature. I truly do. But it is your underlings I do not."

She snorts. "Who would? They're layabouts and drunks. But they don't need to know the details to start digging up useful information."

You stare at the Tanuki. "Indeed, layabouts and drunks."

She stares back, unrepentantly. "Right. Now tell me the details, I need them."

"No, you do not." You reply. "But I have a task for you in any case, one well suited to your talents of trickery and information gathering."

She leans in. "I do. It's going to be a lot easier to avoid causing future problems and stepping on toes if I know what the end goal is here, instead of just intermediate steps." She leans in further. "And you already said speculation would be dang-"

"Cease," you say firmly, and Mamizou's jaw clicks shut. "I do not hide information to taunt you, but to protect you. I require your aid in seeking someone out for me, for you are the best suited for this. In time, my mission, my purpose will become plain. But to tell you now would merely muddy the waters."

You then sigh, smiling at the Tanuki. "I care for and wish to protect you Mamizou. I never have ceased in that, I still recall the adorable little racoon who barely came up to my knees."

She… pouts. It's partially an affectation, you can sense - her social instincts near-unconsciously guiding her to act cute, because it's a potential path to manipulation. But she also legitimately does want to pout, being denied the information she craves and having her youthful behaviors mentioned.

"So yes, I simply need you to find someone for me, for now. There will be more tasks later, if you wish to continue aiding me."

She sighs, and it's a nostalgic sound. The sound a young tanuki made when she finally admitted conversational defeat, and swore that next time would be when she finally got the better of you. "Fine. I'll get it done. Who are we looking for, anyway?"

—

[] [An exiled Lunarian princess]
Kaguya Houraisan, an immortal being.

[] [A spirit of purity and vengeance]
Junko, a Chinese spirit.

[] [A fairy, but not one from Gensokyo, or even truly this realm]
Clownpiece, a fairy, but not.