View: https://youtu.be/3IjpIvEhCjs
[A Woman of Fire and a Lady of Knowledge]
—
You look to the forest around you, then, sticking a single arm back. You do what you were designed to do.
Gather Buddhists. For a moment there is nothing, then you are holding Shou by the back of her neck. She stares at you, blinking owlishly, then you drop her the inch it takes her to hit the ground.
Silence falls for a moment, the stillness of a forest in winter surrounding you, before the three of you step forward, Shou apparently declining to comment.
A web of warped space and warped time stretches out before you, potent protections of Lunarian make intertwining with the primordial and ancient mists of the forest you are in to produce a veritable fortress, something which should be much grander than any of its constituent parts. Even for someone like the Sage of Borders, even for someone like you, Eientei is not a place one can traverse purely on a whim.
Or, at least, that is how things should be.
And yet… those very protections, at this moment, are tattered and frayed. There is scattered energy in the air, not having yet settled from whatever has torn away at these mystical walls. This damage must have been quite recent - within the hour, at most.
To you, the echoing remains of past violence shine like a lantern on a dark night, and no doubt to your current traveling companion, the destruction of a boundary is similarly clear. Yukari hums with curiosity, her fan idly dropping into a space between spaces as she steps forward to examine the damage. Her fingers trace the damage done, before pulling at the boundary and lifting it to her lips.
"Flames." She smiles. "I suspect Eientei is currently hosting some unwanted guests."
"Rarely does a place such as Eientei receive guests without a desire for them to be there. There is equal chance Kaguya was simply bored." you reply.
Yukari dips her head slightly in acknowledgement. "In any case - shall we drop in on them as well?"
"We should allow them their fun, first." You say, as you lead the way through the now open path.
You hear it before you see it - the sounds of roaring flames, the sounds of moonlit ice.
Flames, scarlet and white, danced through the air like phoenix's of old. It was met by… time, for lack of a better way to describe it. Frankly, you didn't know the extent of Kaguya's abilities to describe it in any case. Flames sputtered, died, froze in midair. And Danmaku was exchanged, private, personal, an expression of the person and the soul. To be shown not to the world, but to only this moment, this place. They were friends, you believe, Kaguya and Mokou. In a sense. Both were removed from the cycle, both were removed from the world. But they had a commonality in each other.
You look past them, past the battle that would, in a previous time, decide the fate of gods. To see Tewi sitting on the porch, idly kicking her feet. While, just nearby, Keine was looking over a textbook of some variety with Eirin. None of the three seemingly paying much in the way of attention towards the battle to the death.
Quite literally actually, you watch in fascination as Mokou is flung across the battlefield, straight through a branch that pierces her through the stomach. She flails, but only for a moment, before falling still. Kaguya stares at her for a few seconds, then walks over, stopping beneath the tree before kneeling down and clasping her hands in a Lunarian prayer.
Then.
"Oh don't pray for me you
cunt." Mokou growls, then falls to the ground, the branch burning around her.
"If I don't, who will?" Kaguya asks.
Yukari steps forward, her footsteps somehow carrying an ineffable weight of presence, letting them cut through the sounds of argument without the slightest increase in volume. Eirin sharply looks up from her textbook, her eyes locking onto the other sage, as several of the rabbits scattered around the area openly stare at this latest development.
Yukari… actually bows. A minor dip of the head, an acknowledgement between equals, yes, but still a bow. "Sage of Knowledge. May I request an audience?"
Eirin looks to her, but before she can respond, you speak up yourself. Only, you don't look to Eirin, or Kaguya, or Keine. Instead, you look at Tewi. "And to the Sage of Fortune as well."
"...
What?" Yukari says, her head snapping to you.
You continue to simply stare at Tewi.
She stares back. "... No idea what you're talking about mister~" Tewi replies in a teasing tone.
"I am certain," you reply. "But regardless, you shall be joining us. This is a request from the master of your master."
The smile drops from her face, and you simply smile. The forest is watching you now, every bird, every
rabbit. They were everywhere here, in their multitudes, hidden and otherwise. The guardians of this wood. Those that gave even these powerful Lunarians permission to exist here. Every rabbit of course, except the few inching slowly closer.
"Myouren, I understand you are wise in many things," Yukari says. "But, I was
there. There are four sages."
"Indeed, the fifth one was rather… sneaky about it, a prank I suppose."
The smile is back on Tewi's face.
Eiren makes to speak… and then hesitates, her eyes locking onto the diminutive figure of the rabbit. Tewi raises her arms into a stretch. "Go ahead, he's already pulled the rabbit out of the hat~"
Eiren looks to Yukari. "I may not have been… completely truthful about the ultimate source of several of my contributions."
Yukari's expression has… gone neutral. Dangerously neutral. "I… see." She takes a deep breath, her eyes cutting across the structure of Eientei, and you don't need to be a bodhisattva to see the direction of her thoughts, as she re-examines what she thought she knew.
Youkai, you know, are seldom as dangerous as when their pride is trampled.
"Ahhh don't get your bloomers all tangled, you'll get wrinkles." Tewi says, then hops off the porch. "Can't expect to know everything can ya?"
Yukari speaks, quietly. "Everything? No. But I thought I knew more than this much." Her eyes look at the earth rabbit.
A crunch of leaves, a quiet shuffling, and a soft voice in your ear. "I will defend you, Lord Bodhisattva, but this… is a bit much." Shou hisses.
Yukari keeps speaking, ignoring Shou entirely. "The Hare of Inaba. You were ancient when I was first born of fears and dreams. That you had influence over Eiren was obvious, that you used her as your puppet was… less so. More the fool me, for putting stock in Lunarian pride."
"Careful your words, Mokumokuren," Eirin says quietly. "I am no-ones puppet."
Yukari looks up at the Lunarian, "Oh? A co-conspirator, then? I would inquire towards what end you did this, but I suddenly find myself doubting the sincerity of your wisdom."
"She was hiding Yukari, it was quite that simple." You say, cutting into the argument. "For the safety of her kind." You look towards Tewi. "Tewi has been sheltering her flock long before you dreamt of Gensokyo, and it is the way of hares and rabbits not to bring themselves to the notice of predators."
Yukari tilts her head. For the slightest of moments, you can see confusion flash through her eyes, a crack slipping through her placid mask. "That is…" She sighs. "That is not my experience with powerful youkai, but then few powerful youkai come from such humble origins."
Tewi grins. "Indeed, what a conundrum, a weak youkai that hides itself away until it grows powerful. Yet still is reluctant to show its face except to tease or to point others in the right direction. I'm
very unique~"
Yukari bristles. "I do not require a lecture."
"A mirror then? I think one of my rabbits stashed one away." Tewi replies.
"Not to… interject on those far more dangerous than I, but… who is this?" Keine interrupts, gesturing towards you, somewhat desperately attempting to redirect the conversation.
You smile, but do not bow. "I am Myouren Hijiri."
"Related to the bitch with the bike?" Mokou asks, idly brushing bits of stick off of her.
"She does own a bike, yes." You respond, Shou was here after all, one must be careful in what they say. "I am here to gather all of the Sages of Gensokyo for an impromptu meeting."
The clearing stills, and everyone who wasn't in the know already, which was, admittedly, only Yukari. Stares at you.
"... Whyever for?" Kaguya asks, her voice gentle, but curious.
"Quite simple," you reply. And you turn to Shou. "There are twelve moon rabbits currently pretending to be Earth rabbits, the-"
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekPD4yx8QqQ
*BANG*
—
POV Vote
[] [The Fierce Protector]
You have just failed your sacred duty to protect Lord Myouren. No doubt he will return, but until then - it is up to you to avenge him. (Shou)
[] [The Defected Agent]
There are plenty of panicking and fleeing rabbits, responding to this sudden burst of violence outside… but you've just seen someone running in the wrong direction. Right towards Lady Yagokoro's laboratory. (Reisen)
[] [The Reawakened Buddhist]
The shrine was burning, Reimu was fighting, and your flock needed protection. (Byakuren)
—
AN:
Erien: There, I killed him, ya happy now?
Redshirt: And here… we… go.
