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Blossom of Bodhisattva (Touhou)

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[X] [A Shrine Maiden in Red]
Because, knowing our author, it won't be Reimu, but someone trying a different kind of dress.
 
Adhoc vote count started by Erien on Feb 5, 2024 at 6:49 PM, finished with 55 posts and 44 votes.
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Well. Seems people like a certain loot gremlin.
 
[X] [A Shrine Maiden in Red]

I suddenly remembered that Byakuren was so traumatized by her brother's death she learned black magic and sought true immortality.

Wish I remembered that a liiiiiiittle sooner, but oh well. I forget a lot of things.
 
Nottheunmaker said:
[X] [A Shrine Maiden in Red]

I suddenly remembered that Byakuren was so traumatized by her brother's death she learned black magic and sought true immortality.

Wish I remembered that a liiiiiiittle sooner, but oh well. I forget a lot of things.
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And then we tell her we missed her and hoped she would have joined us in the afterlife. Instead she spent her whole time doing all she could to not die and now realizing that her brother did not want that at all. Oof.
 
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1.6 - Killing Anger
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    • View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM6cQ4PXAok
    [A Shrine Maiden in Red]

    Thanks to     @Armoury for the beta!

    —

    You twirl your latest replacement gohei in your hands, getting used to its new proportions, as you hover over the village and consider your next move. Just once, you'd like to deal with a brewing Incident before it boils over into a Gensokyo-wide mess - and given that Ran herself showed up and was ominously vague in your direction, this is looking to be one of the bigger ones. You've learned that whenever the Yakumo's are involved, everything is about to become an enormous headache for you.

    Unfortunately, it seems that nipping this in the bud will be harder than you've daydreamed about - the wicked hermit wasn't the one you were looking for either. You'd really thought that this kind of pointless damage was right up her alley, but no, Seiga didn't have anything to do with the damage to the Barrier.

    Still, you did have a lead - when you described what the tear looked like, she seemed to recognize something, and you'd beaten some answers out of her. One thing that might allow someone to pass through a border of fantasy that way… was Buddhist spirituality. No doubt she was simply trying to send you to hurt a rival of the Taoists, but something about that explanation instinctually struck you as correct. And you've learned to trust your instincts.

    Mind set, you head directly for the Buddhist temple, the breeze flowing through your hair as you whip towards your destination. As you approach, you narrow your eyes - there seems to be some sort of commotion going on - some damage in the inner courtyard, quiet whispers and a lack of activity on the outside… more evidence that something really is going on.

    Nobody greets you as you land in front of the place, and nobody shows up to stop you when you kick the door open. No resistance, no opposition… this is getting sketchier by the moment. And then you see it - Byakuren, unconscious, and an unknown element carrying her in. The other temple residents are looking at him warily, unfamiliarly. And for some reason known only to the gods, Cirno is there too.

    … you did think that doing this sort of thing was uncharacteristic for Byakuren. She's a headache in other ways, but you figured she was sensible enough not to make your job harder so blatantly. Someone else coming in makes more sense. A rogue element - taking out the Buddhists leadership and rallying them to make a mess?

    Something about that train of thought feels off, but that's fine - you'll deal with him first, figure out the specifics later. It's what you've always done.

    ===

    You found yourself facing a rather short, but impressively aggrieved looking young woman. She was brown of hair, done up in a rather complicated looking ribbon, and that was far from the only complicated part about her. She was, at least from first glance, a shrine maiden. Or, quite possibly, someone doing a poor job of impersonating one. Her red shirt was short, just barely reaching her equally vibrantly red skirt. Beyond that she held a gohei in her hands, the traditional short staff used by priests and priestesses. From the ribbon, the various frills, to the diminutive nature of her form she might very well have come across as a rather adorable approximation of a shinto or buddhist priestess.

    But the annoyance in her eyes give her the look instead of a forty year old school marm. Her name you knew to be Reimu Hakurei, and she was, it seems, bothered by your presence. So was the rest of the staff of the temple turned castle you note, if the worried look on Mamizou's face was anything to go by. You knew Hakurei, just as you knew everyone on a surface level. She embodied many vices, but you were not here to judge, merely to guide.

    "Are you the one who damaged the barrier?" Reimu asks, glaring at you.

    Ah, yes. That would be why she was here then? A simple enough matter. "Indeed I was, I am afraid it was blocking my entrance into Gensokyo." You reply with a small smile.

    Mamizou goes from 'worried' you note, to backing away expeditiously. Kyouko looks over to the tanuki, then does much the same. Cirno, for her part. Stands firm.

    "Why?" Reimu asks.

    "In what manner is the question asked?" you reply. "If you mean, why was it blocking me, then it is simply a good barrier. If you meant why I broke it, it was because I had little other option. If you are asking why I desired to enter, that is a personal matter."

    Her glare turns into a glower. "And you make more work for me in the process."

    "I suppose yes, my apologies. Though as a shrine maiden, I would not believe you would be in charge of the barrier."

    "I don't fix it, but I guard it."

    "Then my apologies for making you fail your mission, is there anything I can do to achieve recompense?"

    She shifts her grip on the gohei. "Come with me."

    Ah. "I'm afraid I cannot. I have tasks to perform here. If you do wish to speak to me however, I should be free later on today?"

    She stares at you, wordlessly, for several long moments. Then she does what you expected, but wish she hadn't.

    —


    View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zphrWpK3fuc

    —

    The ofuda thrown towards you as she leapt back was unwelcome, but not unexpected. The tools of her trade, they were paper talismans that sought out evil on their own and punished it with great exuberance. They had a record of efficiency, and in some cases lethality. And as you simply stood there and watched them, they crashed into the walls around you, none bothering to even get within inches of you as they deliberately avoided your body. You watch instead as the vast majority dive towards a large gilded scroll on the wall praising the Myouren temple, and… utterly annihilate it.

    "A fine strike." You muse.

    "How?" Reimu hisses.

    "They are merely doing what they were designed for." You reply, turning your head back to the shrine maiden. It was only then you noticed she changed her tactic, the ofuda were gone, now she was swinging the gohei like a battlestaff. You stared at it, observing the incoming strike as it smashed through no less than three vases and a statuette of the Buddha before it came screaming towards your head. The strike spoke to years of training, a body being honed to a fine point, and plenty of experience.

    You ducked.

    Her wrists shift, arresting the movement before the gohei could collide with the wall and it swung back around again, curving through the air to arc towards the floor.

    You step to the side as it slams into the wooden flooring and cracks it. The flooring, not the gohei of course. The shrine maiden then surges forward, the gohei held behind her as her opposite elbow raised.

    'Dream Sign - Youkai Buster!'

    The arm then snaps forward, revealing a stack of ofuda that burst out of her hand, they tear forwards glowing purple to the point they appear aflame.

    You step to the side. Watching with interest as the charged ofuda crash into the walls, ceiling, flooring, and just about everything else they could find. Causing wood to crash and splinter all over as several new holes open up along the corridor. Several rooms burst open, revealing other sleeping quarters, their nuances however escape your notice however as the gohei comes swinging around once more.

    You watch it fly towards you. Then catch it, causing the shrine maiden to let out a yelp as her momentum is arrested. "Please cease this. Violence for violences sake wi-"

    She shoves her hand forward, causing the gohei to shift through your grip and poke you in the forehead. You stare at it, going slightly crosseyed. Then let out a sigh. That was two now.

    'Divine Sign - Ascension Kick!'

    You let go of the gohei, and watch as the shrine maiden arcs her body, her foot, glowing orange narrowly missing your head before she embeds herself in the ceiling. She hangs there for a moment, and you debate pulling her down, before she wrenches herself free, she twists in midair, the same leg kicking out again, at such a speed that the air shrieks around her.

    You step to the side, pick up Cirno, move her out of the way, and watch as Reimu goes tearing down the corridor, collapsing several walls as she does some form of powered, spinning… kick.

    The ice fairy thrashes in your arms, and you glance down at her as the sound of deconstruction continues behind you. "Throw a punch already!"

    "Not required, Cirno, could you kindly retrieve Byakuren and remove her from the temple?"

    "Why would I do that!? This is great!"

    "Because then I would owe you a favor."

    "Yeah, and?"

    'Divine Arts - Omnidirectional Demon Binding Circle!'

    You twist out of the way, once, twice, thrice, as a wave of ofuda erupts from the shrine maiden, crashing through walls, furniture, everything. The tea cups explode, the bowls break, the wooden paneling of the floor tears itself from the ground like a mighty oni had swept its club, and, of course, the rice paper walls faired little better. You then stop, not turning to look at the panting shrine maiden behind you. "Because such things are valuable, and to aid another is a good thing."

    Cirno looks up at you in apparent awe, then nods and scampers off towards the room you had stored Byakuren in. She doesn't use the door. Mainly because the door to that room no longer existed. Nodding to yourself, you then turn around to see Reimu staring at you from across the temple, she was panting, covered in debris, and looked more than slightly annoyed.

    "There is little purpose to this action." You straighten yourself, smiling at the shrine maiden. "All tremble at the rod, all fear death. Treating others like oneself, you should neither kill nor incite the same in others."

    Reimu raises her gohei in front of her, then begins to chant as small, black and white orbs emerge from inside her clothing. The ground begins to rumble, dust falls from the ceiling, and you could hear, if not see Cirno running.

    ==
    Mamizou is smoking her pipe, a look of sorrow on her face. Ichirin is cradling Byakuren in her arms, her full concentration upon her master, as the ice fairy hovers overhead. Kyoukou's ears are folded back, and she's emitting a pitiful whine. Nue is somewhere unknown, as usual. And you don't see any of it, don't pay attention to anyone else as your gaze remains unnervingly locked upon the temple, as if you could peel back the masonry and see what was happening through the intensity of your stare alone.

    It's not so far from the truth.

    Every moment of every day, you can feel the temple. The temple is the Ship, and the Ship is your tether to existence. Your anchor to reality. And that anchor is rusting. Literally and figuratively - the anchor you stand upon, embedded in the ground to act as your perch, has started to show flecks of red. And figuratively…

    You stare out with the experience of a seasoned sailor who can feel an ill omen as it approaches. There's about to be a squall. The Ship is about to sink.

    You close your eyes, just as a resounding thud reverberates. When you open them, the temple is in the process of falling apart, debris flying through the air as a kaleidoscope of colors continues to tear through the wreckage. A direct hit to the citadel, a capsizing ship.

    This isn't the first time the Ship has been damaged. It probably won't be the last. You grit your teeth and bear the pain, but… it hurts.

    ==
    The black and white orbs begin to orbit around Reimu, faster and faster, a rainbow trail being painted in the air in their wake. Her stance relaxes, the tension of the fight leaving her, and her eyes close. Her expression shifts as the stresses of the world drain away. With a small smile growing on her face, she finally looks her age, instead of being prematurely aged by the weight upon her shoulders.

    The energies she is channeling reach a crescendo.

    'Last Word - Fantasy Heaven.'

    She doesn't yell the name. She doesn't need to. She is floating, carefree, above all the troubles of the world. Very few things in existence could so much as touch her, right now.
    You raise your eyebrow, slightly. To think that someone with so many vices tying them to the world could separate themselves so fully from it, so easily? Your lips part, and you speak, softly, barely audible above the rushing wind. "Remarkable."

    Reimu may be floating above the world, unable to be affected… but she can still very much affect the world herself. The intricate marble flooring is ripped up like it was nothing but rice paper. The walls, engraved and aged mahogany, turn to nothing but splinters in a moment. Statues, scrolls, furniture, they all are torn to shreds.

    And the destruction passes you by. You, too, are not fully of this world. You do not bother to dodge - her needles, her orbs, her ofuda - all of it simply passes through you like a mirage, unable to harm someone who has reached freedom from samsara.

    Her eyes are open - but for once, throughout this entire fight, she is not annoyed, or enraged. She has managed to leave that behind, at least for now. She simply acknowledges that you, too, are in the same state as her, absorbs the knowledge without emotional attachment to it.

    Slowly, slowly, she drifts downwards, until her feet are just barely touching the ground - even as the destruction continues to rage around you, the two of you are the calm in the center of the storm, standing and looking at each other.

    She reaches her limit. The magic ends, and she returns to reality, the emotions slamming back into her. She sags, slightly, her breathing speeding up - and then she stares up at you, wide-eyed.

    You smile, and look around at the ruin she has brought to this temple of opulence and ostentatious wealth. With the walls destroyed, you can see the gathered inhabitants outside - none of them seem to have been harmed. "Thank you, Hakurei Reimu. A site like this… is far more suitable for my teachings."

    She blinks, slowly, considering this. A complicated expression plays along her face, before she settles on a thunderous frown. "Don't make more trouble. I'll be back later." She stomps her way out through the wreckage, muttering something to herself, and out of politeness, you don't listen in.

    In the front courtyard, she pauses for a moment, her eyes drifting across your sister's followers, lingering a moment on her unconscious form. Cirno leans back, fluttering away from the shrine maiden's inspection. Reimu turns one last time to look at you, a pair of fingers pointing at her eyes before being leveled at you. She'll be watching.

    With that message conveyed, she leaves.

    You are left standing in the exploded remains of the temple that bears your name. Everyone seems to be looking to you for direction on what to do next.
    —

    The temple was just a thing, and one you didn't much like at that. There were other places, other ways. You shall begin your tutoring again, of your own volition, even if it wasn't your mission.

    [] [We shall temporarily move our endeavors to the Hakurei Shrine]
    It was only fair, after all.

    [] [We shall move into the Human Village]
    There was space, though another religious order saw it as a threat. Regardless, your order was one of little requirements.

    [] [We shall setup camp in the wood]
    Youkai living with youkai. Homeless was simply a state of mind.

    [] [We shall request lodging at that nearby red manor]
    You had seen it coming in, though of its resident… you knew nothing, actually. You were certain you could at least beg temporary aid.

    —

    Authors Notes

    Erien:
    I never got to write Reimu Hacksacky in AFiP, I look forward to changing that. Also haven't written a Touhou fight scene in a… fair bit.

    Redshirt:
    >explodes buddhist temple
    >refuses to elaborate
    >leaves
     
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] [We shall temporarily move our endeavors to the Hakurei Shrine]

    Not only is this objectively hilarious, we're giving her a free opportunity to watch us like she threatened!
     
    [X] [We shall temporarily move our endeavors to the Hakurei Shrine]
    Apparently there are two, equally valid paths to enlightenment.

    One is through perseverance and self-betterment, ridding yourself of worldly anchors until all that's left is yourself.

    The other is through not giving a shit.
     
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