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Blossom of Bodhisattva (Touhou)

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Adhoc vote count started by Erien on Feb 19, 2024 at 3:38 PM, finished with 56 posts and 41 votes.
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Poor reimu.
 
[] [We shall temporarily move our endeavors to the Hakurei Shrine]

This caught my eye, and it would be a fine payback. But...

[x] [We shall request lodging at that nearby red manor]

Can't miss the opportunity to get my favourite Gensokyo crew involved with whatever is going on.
 
[X] [We shall temporarily move our endeavors to the Hakurei Shrine]

Since we need a new place to stay and Reimu wants to keep an eye on us, where better than her very home! Really, she should be in awe of our wisdom.
 
[X] [We shall temporarily move our endeavors to the Hakurei Shrine]

The most hilarious option so far.
 
[x] [We shall request lodging at that nearby red manor]
[X] [We shall setup camp in the wood]
 
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1.7 - Heavy Burdens
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    • View: https://youtu.be/waaS16BLank

    [We shall temporarily move our endeavors to the Hakurei Shrine]

    Unbeta'd

    —

    *Erien Section*

    You smile, looking over the assembled group. A tanuki, an ice fairy, a ghost, a yamabiko, a nyuudou, and twin servants of Bishamonten. Twins of purpose, not in appearance, as the tiger is as far removed from the mouse as any two animals truly could be. It was an eclectic group, and you knew there to be more, humans, non-youkai, though none were present. You had made sure of that before you were willing to allow Reimu to lower her stress at your expense.

    Though… you do suppose it would be more accurate to say it was at the temple's expense. You turn your head, watching as part of the temple roof falls down onto the ground with a crash. A pity, in some ways, and a pain in others, quite literally as the case may be with a particular ghost.

    "Collect your belongings, we shall be moving to the Hakurei Shrine temporarily for lodging. It is, after all, only fair that she extends us such courtesy." You cast an eye to the grounds once more. "This shall have to be rebuilt, and it will." You turn your head to focus then on Murasa… the ghost that Byakuren had brought along. You knew who, and what, she was. But you would not judge her for that, especially since her… urges, had been more maintained as of late.

    The fact however that she was connected to the ship on a physical level, however. Was something you were apologetic about, as the damage to the shrine had harmed her as well. But she was a youkai, she would recover, with time. The Nyuudou, blue of hair and wearing… you suppose some approximation of a nun's clothing spoke up first. Ichirin Kumoi, a former human who transcended that 'mere' status by consorting with youkai. Ever since, she at least amongst those belonging to the shrine was the closest to actually practicing buddhism… even if she was far from diligent about it.

    The scent of alcohol on her breath as she closed the distance with you was proof enough of that.

    "What the hell do you think you are doing!?" Ichirin screams into your face.

    You stare down at the nun, and you speak quietly. "Why moving you all of course. This place is no longer tenable except for those truly desperate."

    "I… believe," Mamizou begins. "She is asking why you believed this to be wise sir."

    You smile, ever so slightly, but a smile regardless. "I do not play at wisdom, and I would ask none seek me for it. I instead merely do as the path dictates and my mission requires."

    "Mission?" Shou growls. The war-servant glaring at you. Bold, perhaps, but foolish. "What kind of mission? From who?"

    You tilt your head. "I am afraid I cannot go into details, and, I assure you what has occurred here has nothing to do with it. This, I'm afraid, was merely a consequence of my desire to see my sister." Your smile then drops as you stare the tiger down. "As for from who, you should know that only one being can direct me as such."

    Shou's eyes, along with Nazrin's widen. And Ichirin takes several hurried steps back.

    You smile once more. "Indeed, now, please pack, we must move before people grow overly curious."

    The lot of them run off, all, of course, except one. A certain eager looking, starry-eyed fairy, who was currently looking at you like some form of deity. "There's someone stronger than you?"

    You lower yourself down onto your knees, meeting the gaze of the fairy at an equal level. "Of course, did you not believe it to be so?"

    Cirno's grin could relight the sun, if so prompted. "Can I fight them!?"

    "... No."

    —

    *Redshirt Section*

    The climb up the mountain would normally be trivial for all of you. Even with the biting cold and wind, even with the knee-height snow and ice buildup on an unmaintained trail, none of you will suffer the same aches and pains as ordinary humans attempting to scale such a height.

    But this is not a normal circumstance. Those traveling with you are weighed down - both literally, as the belongings they could reclaim from the ruined temple prevent them from flight with their weight and bulk, and figuratively, as the weight of their regrets and uncertainties presses down upon them.

    This too is a lesson, you think, as you make your own way up unburdened by either.

    Your sister is among the most afflicted. With her strength, carrying things is simple, and she has taken the burden of lifting some of the heaviest items upon herself, for the sake of her followers - but she is the most weighed down of anyone here. She hasn't so much as looked you in the eye since you left, hasn't muttered a word in protest, has meekly gone along with all of your suggestions.

    You will give her time, for now - though the glares thrown your way, when Minamitsu believes you aren't looking her way, shows that you may not have unlimited lassitude in this regard before things break down.

    At last, you reach your destination. The area up ahead… is still not properly cleared of snow, but at least you can make out where the path is meant to be, past the torii gate. The caretaker of the shrine has been negligent in her duties, it seems - but then, you already knew that, her sloth written upon her soul when you saw her last.

    You do not sense the shrine maiden in question, however - and few things can escape your eye, Hakurei Reimu not among them. She isn't here. Who is, here, however, is -

    "Hello!" An excitable lion-dog in green has run through the snow, to meet your procession. Aunn Komano, you know, the spirit of the guardian komainu statues that flank the Hakurei shrine's torii gate. Her tail is wagging behind her with frantic energy, as she rushes to welcome guests. "Miss Hijiri! And all your friends! What brings you all to the Hakurei Shrine?" She turns to face you, directly. "And who's this?"

    Byakuren steps forward, about to say something… and then it dies in her throat, as she simply glances towards you instead, before her gaze drops back down to the ground. An awkward silence reverberates for a moment, before you kneel down in the snow, bringing yourself down closer to the little guardian's height. "Hello. As Reimu has leveled her shrine, my sister's followers will be temporarily boarding here, until a suitable replacement can be built or found."

    Aunn… stills. Her ears droop, and her tail stops wagging. "That… I can't let you…" She glances up, and considers how many people are present here, many of which are much more powerful than she is, and starts to emit a squeaky, pitiful whine at the thought of having to fight them all.

    You make your move. Your hand darts forward, and you begin to scratch Aunn beneath her chin. "N-n-nooooooo-!" There are tears starting to build up in her eyes, so with your other hand, you also begin to scratch behind her ears. "M-miss Hakurei won't-"

    "Shhhhh. It's alright. It'll be fine. I'll speak with the Hakurei shrine maiden when she returns." Aunn collapses forwards into your arms, as your sister's followers observe you with varying degrees of incredulity. But perhaps it's not surprising - as a komainu, Aunn can naturally sense ill-intent, and you have none. It's only natural that she feels at ease near you.

    Looking over Aunn, you can see Cirno flutter forward, no doubt about to say something unwise, but your sister intercepts her. With a gentle hand on the ice fairy's shoulder, she guides her forward, deeper into the shrine grounds. It's… an echo of days long past. When you were mortal, more than once, Byakuren would go forward and act while you served as a distraction. "Come along now." And as your sister sets forth, the others follow.

    By this point, Aunn is looking more than a little cross-eyed from your ministrations, but seems to have accepted her fate. Even her tail has begun to wag again. With one final scratch, you stand up, and go to follow your sister and her followers. Making your way around the back of the shrine, you notice a minor commotion, the ostensible "Buddhists" bunched up away from:

    —

    [] [An oni, an old companion]

    [] [A ghost, quite amused]

    [] [Another fairy, quite mad… in the classical sense]

    [] [A hermit… not in the classical sense]

    —

    *Erien Section*

    Gensokyo was a land of mysteries, it could hardly be understood, not by those who lived there, and certainly not by outsiders. It was a fragile thing, held together by routine sacrifice of those who 'wandered' in, and existed in a quasi-cold war between humanity and the monsters that surrounded them. It was one of the few remaining places in the world where mystery truly still existed, the unknown, the eldritch and misunderstood. It was maintained by the sages from above, ruled by the dragon, and maintained by the Hakurei Shrine.

    The Shrine Maiden herself, while ornery, performed her task well. She maintained the border, she maintained peace, she maintained… paradise. She was as mysterious as the rest of Gensokyo was, for she was as part of it as the youkai and the gods that dwelled within it. She could not be called 'human', despite having no part of her that was godly or monstrous. But then, to be a human in Gensokyo was a nebulous thing that had many different meanings. The Shrine Maiden of Paradise was powerful, she had trained in the arts of her lineage all her life. There was nothing residing within Gensokyo itself that could truly threaten her, and few from without. She was enigmatic, she was as mysterious as the realm.

    She was also currently hammering a series of wooden planks into the hole of the barrier.

    "Mother fucker." She growled.

    Truly, such words speak of the great wisdom of the Hakurei.

    Reimu leaned back then, one hand wiping away the sweat from her brow as she looked over her handiwork. The hole in the border was the shape of a man, which was… odd, but then, so was the jackass (her words) that created it. Now, however, it was secured. There were three-

    Reimu bent down to pick up another plank of wood.

    Soon to be four planks of wood over the hole to keep any outsiders from wandering in accidentally, and natives from wandering out. Not that any natives would be dumb enough to wander into that particular death sentence. There were very few in Gensokyo dumb enough to wander into the outside world, and they tended to come back when they died regardless.

    The last plank was set in place. Creating a coverage of at least forty percent, a low percentage to be sure, but then, the shrine maiden generally considered that good enough. Nodding to herself, she turned her head back towards Gensokyo as a whole, then, with a thought, lifted herself off the ground and began heading off in the direction of her shrine.

    She had performed all her required task of the day and now it was time for rest and relaxation.

    —
    Authors Note

    Redshirt: Reimu is my spirit animal. Whenever I see her the only thought in my head is "mood".

    Erien: My spirit animal is Mokou. I wish for death.
     
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    • Reimu nailing in boards to a mystical barrier of insane strength is exactly the kind of total nonsense that Gensokyo operates on. When she gets back to the shrine she's going to be very unhappy.

    [X] [A ghost, quite amused]

    Mima?
     
    Erien said:
    Cirno's grin could relight the sun, if so prompted. "Can I fight them!?"
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    Yes Cirno, fight the Buddha. Nothing will go wrong with this, I'm sure.

    Erien said:
    You make your move. Your hand darts forward, and you begin to scratch Aunn beneath her chin. "N-n-nooooooo-!" There are tears starting to build up in her eyes, so with your other hand, you also begin to scratch behind her ears. "M-miss Hakurei won't-"
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    Puppy can't beat the scritches, not even slightly.

    Erien said:
    Soon to be four planks of wood over the hole to keep any outsiders from wandering in accidentally, and natives from wandering out. Not that any natives would be dumb enough to wander into that particular death sentence. There were very few in Gensokyo dumb enough to wander into the outside world, and they tended to come back when they died regardless.
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    I would question how she was managing to nail these in place, but it's too hilarious and I love it.

    [X] [A hermit… not in the classical sense]
     
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