Blossom of Bodhisattva (Touhou)

View: https://youtu.be/4ZmorFkWuJs?si=QeEuVwpqXmXcpKF4

[A spirit of purity and vengeance]

—

Your gaze lingers on Mamizou as she walks away, the mission you've given her and the warnings you've shared both looming over her. Still… to think that timid little tanuki would end up like this. You've no illusions regarding the virtues, or lack thereof, of Mamizou's everyday life, but nonetheless… you're satisfied with her decisions, here and now.

Still, you can't help but feel a distant emotion, made unfamiliar and alien from its long absence from your existence. You worry for Mamizou, because you truly cannot predict how that vengeful spirit may react, should it notice it is being sought.

The being known as Junko is a peculiar, and singular, existence. You've never met the vengeful spirit, but you know of it, as across all the world and all of history, very few have strayed so far away from enlightenment, and fewer still have done so while remaining coherent in purpose. Even the name "Junko" is… a mere affectation. It has torn its prior identity apart, and in many ways continuing to call it by its name in life is a deep misunderstanding of what it has now become. The woman is gone, and now only the grudges and attachments remain.

It is an existence far removed from your own, so much so that you find it difficult to imagine. You believe that Junko will be willing to cooperate, her single minded vendetta aligning with your own agenda. But you cannot be certain.

But she will be an asset nevertheless. How amusing, to consider something like that, someone like that… an asset. The Buddha has given you a delicate task, that much is for certai-

"I'm bored!" Cirno interrupts, her weight suddenly upon you as she jumps onto your back and clings there. "Everyone's just staring at each other and being mopey and quiet!"

"Such is how things tend to go, is your normal day to day more… exuberant?"

Cirno blinks, quietly sounding out the word. "Ex-huber…" She shakes her head. "If that means less boring, then… sometimes!" She lets go of your back, flitting in the air until she's in front of you. "Sometimes it's really boring and nobody wants to do anything, but whenever there's an Incident, then it's not boring for a while!"

"Incidents usually end in violence, which is not a good thing to have happen Cirno."

"Well…" She shuts her eyes, clearly thinking hard about what you've told her before. "I dunno that I'd want anyone to be hurt so bad that they don't come back… but that's not what happens in Incidents either! They just beat each other up and then have tea parties and drink sake a lot!"
You smile, "'Beating each other up' is also not a good thing to happen'. It is against the tenets of Buddhism, violence is only meant as a response to threats to your own life or others."

"Hmmm. But it's fun, and even friends do it. That's how I became friends with Dai, she was the only one that could give me a fight and not be boring!"

Such a simple creature, there was something to be said for that purity, that basic understanding of life. "Do you fight for the fun of it? Even against those that may not want to? Do you attack humans who can't defend themselves?"

Cirno pauses for a moment. "Yeeeeessssss…?" She hesitantly speaks out, clearly unsure that this will go over well with you, yet unwilling to lie to your face. "But ordinary humans are boring. If I want fun then they're no fun at all. I might as well just go and freeze frogs."

"And have you considered what you find fun, they may not find fun? That you might be harming them? You might be making their days worse so that yours can be less boring? That you are causing others to suffer?"

She frowns. "Now you sound like Reimu. That's like what she said when I bothered the farmers. Only she said that since I hurt them, if I did it again, she'd find a way to hurt me just as much."

You begin walking back to the shrine, the fairy wrapping her arms around your forehead. "Have you heard of the Asura?"

The frown is audible in Cirno's voice. "I… think so? He was an important guy I think. But I don't remember anything."

"The Asura is not a singular person, they are many. They are beings who have died, and due to their Karma they exist in their own realm where they obtain anything they have ever wanted. Food, drink, joys and excess." Around you the world shifts, clouds form around your feet, pagodas and temples appear in the distance, gleaming of gold, a view of another reality. The forest fades away. "But they always want more, desire more, they care not for others, only themselves." Thunder crashes, and the buildings change, aflame, destroyed. The scent of blood is in the air. "A single Asura could destroy the vast majority of Gensokyo on their own, they crave violence more than anything else, they will fight other Asura, the Deva, humans. They are not a good way to live." Then the view fades away. "There is more than one person in Gensokyo who is destined to become one."

Cirno stares out, wide eyed. "Wooooow. That was… so cool! It was like what Rumia does but way better, since it was all whoosh and boom instead of just dark! How did you-"

"And once you have become so addicted to violence that you hurt Daiyousei. How might you feel then?"

Cirno stops for a moment. "I… she'd just come back from it, though." But then she tilts her head. "But… I think… I know what you mean. If I hurt her in a way she wouldn't come back from I'd be really sad. And humans are worse than fairies, so they come back from way less things."

"Fairies come back, it is in your nature. But what if you lost control? Hurt her in such a way that she wanted nothing to do with you? What if you killed a human, so that Reimu had to seal you away? Is that desirable?"

"Of course it's not de-si-ra-ble! Like I said, I'd be really sad! And I stopped bugging the humans a long while ago anyway! But what does that have to do with just… having fun with a fight with friends? Isn't that what those spellcard thingies are for anyway?"

"If Daiyousei was in danger, would you defend her?"

"I do! Whenever a youkai thinks they can mess with the fairies, I'm the one who smacks them down."

"And that is when it is alright to fight. But fighting for fighting's sake only leads to suffering and destruction. The Asura live cursed lives, always seeking more, but never obtaining enough. Imagine starving for a thousand years."

Cirno's expression scrunches up, apparently in deep concentration. Then her stomach rumbles. "I feel pretty hungry, yeah."

… Like your sister, you suppose the fairy is a work in progress.

With renewed purpose, Cirno leans ahead from her observation post on your shoulder, towards the shrine proper, now coming into view. Her destination set, she launches off of you and darts ahead in the air, passing over your sister's followers and in front of Reimu, who is angrily sweeping the courtyard. Without a care in the world, she looks up at the Hakurei. "So are we gonna have anything to eat, or what?"
Reimu pauses in her sweeping, her hand coming up to pinch her nose. Slowly, she pivots to face you. Then, she smiles. It's not a kind smile. "Well, I believe that the Buddhists said they'd deal with all the concerns of room and board. So if you want food… get to it."

"Could eat the fairy." You offer.

Reimu frowns, turning to look at Cirno. "Tried it, doesn't work. The nutrients vanish from you when the fairy reconstitutes, so you end up just as hungry."

Cirno freezes in place under Reimu's gaze, before turning a betrayed glare your way. "Don't eat me!"

"Whyever not?" you ask.

"Uh, because it would suck and hurt?"

You tilt your head. "How is that in any way different than attacking people out of nowhere? You attacked me when I had just arrived in Gensokyo. Were I a normal human, I would have likely been soundly defeated, then I would have been likely killed by a wandering Youkai. My life forfeit and back onto the karmic cycle."

Reimu, clearly objecting to your usage of her as an accomplice to her lesson, rolls her eyes. "Yes, but since when have fairies cared about ordinary humans?" She turns to face you more directly. "Are you seriously trying to convert her? She won't remember any of this by spring."

"I teach the ways of Buddhism to whomever requires it." You reply, turning your head towards Reimu. "Much the same as you are meant to live as a Shinto Shrine Maiden, honor your god, and teach others your own path." You smile. "I assume you do the same as I do."

The smile on her face turns far more flinty and cold. "You assume a lot of things. For one, you're assuming that I'm going to allow you to remain here, after your sister attacked me and damaged my shrine. So tell me, Bodhisattva. Why should I do that? Are you going to insult me with one hand and request my mercy with another?"

"I was about to compliment you, actually." You say, still smiling. "For I have visited the Myouren Temple, and the Moriya Shrine. I have witnessed their deeds, how they act, how they present themselves." You look to the Hakurei Shrine, in its simplicity. "Yours is not the most grandiose, or the best taken care of. But that is entirely because you do it alone with naught but a lion-dog for aid. Despite that, yours is still the most true to purpose, the most genuine, and… by far the most pleasant to be around and experience. Your shrine genuinely is far more desirable than any other in Gensokyo."

Reimu's expression collapses into confusion for a moment. She can tell she's being buttered up, but at the same time… how long has it been, since she has been earnestly praised for her efforts?

"I cannot physically lie, so please do believe me that of the religious representatives in Gensokyo. You are the one I respect the most, and are by far the hardest working besides." Your smile dims somewhat. "And I understand we have caused you grief, but this is temporary, and I have nowhere else to keep my sister where she would be safe. And I will need your help in the coming days for an Incident like none other."

Reimu… slowly exhales. And yet, her eyes have sharpened at the mere utterance of the word, her exhaustion and desire for status having vanished and leaving behind only drive and purpose. "That's exactly what was missing from this debacle. I'd have said your presence was an Incident already, but if there's worse to come…"

"Yukari is aware, as is one other. But I have been keeping very quiet about it, an Incident is brewing, one more dangerous than any prior. More than the Undead Princess, more than the possessed bird. More than the Animal revolution. Far, far worse."

Reimu, to her credit, only needs a moment to consider it, her eyes narrowing almost immediately. "The moon?"

"Quite. The Buddha has sent me here to prepare for it. Lest more drastic measures are taken, far more drastic."

Reimu reaches back and cricks her neck. "Right."

"I appreciate your dedication to protecting Gensokyo." You say genuinely. Your hand moves out, almost on instinct to rub at her head. "Your mother speaks quite highly of you."

Reimu jumps back from the contact, almost unconsciously, her eyes wide, her hands coming up to ward off any future… head contact. She takes a deep breath, slowly recomposing herself. "Well. I suppose somebody had to appreciate it."

She turns to head into the shrine, but not before shouting over her shoulder. "You all still promised to set up the food!"

"And we shall? I was not planning on avoiding that. Do you take me for a liar?"

"I've learned to expect the worst!"

You shake your head. "I am not here just to aid Gensokyo, I am to aid anyone I come across. This is you as well, Reimu Hakurei."

She pauses, her hand on the shrine's doors - now patched up and back in their sliding frames. "Thanks, I guess. And thanks for passing on my mom's message." And then she slides the door shut.

"... Can we eat now?" Cirno asks. "That was booooring."

"Do you recall your mother?" you ask, glancing up at the fairy.

"..." Cirno tilts her head. "Nooooot really? Sometimes I remember… somebody. But she wasn't my mom, I don't think. Not in the human way, that's for sure. And I remember it less and less. It's more like remembering that I remembered."

… You had genuinely no idea what she was talking about, but then, you knew precious little about the fairies in general. They lived an odd existence, beyond their names, they were unknown to you. "Why don't you go see if Aunn needs your help with anything, and I will see to a lunch being prepared."

Cirno pouts, looking up at you, before finally acquiescing. "Okaaaaay. Aunn's fun, so that shouldn't be too bad." You watch the fairy lazily drift away, and past that, can see Aunn and Kyouko apparently laughing about something.

You could hear them, you could hear just about everyone. But you focus on no-one. For that would be rude. So instead, you looked towards the residences of the Buddhists, temporary though they may be. Tomorrow you will be meeting with Shinki and Sariel to retrieve Alice. But for now, you had to obtain food, likely from the Human Village. Which was why you were very happy someone was stomping up to you looking quite angry.

That was quite common, come to think of it. It was-

—

[] [Shou]
Byakuren had been emotional, she saw, but she did not know the full circumstance. She also had an opinion regarding your banning of meat that would now be taking place.

[] [Ichirin]
A lost child, seeking guidance. Her companion, terrified of being banished. Two lives linked together, worried you'll tear them apart.

[] [Nue]
Nue has some pointed commentary regarding your handling of the situation in the Scarlet Devil Manor, and some concerns regarding how far you will spread knowledge of her identity.

—

AN
Erien: Reimu doesn't get the credit she deserves, in game and out.
Redshirt: Reimu continues to be, as they say, Big Mood