Taylor is dead and must face what comes after. Is it truly the fate of those that fight monsters to become one in turn?
Those Who Fight Monsters (Worm/Touhou)(Post-GM)
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Crossing the Sanzu River
Taylor looked across the river that stretched out before her. It was a massive thing, far enough across that the light mist that hung in the air was enough to obscure the other bank. Out of the river jutted pillars of stone causing the water to twist and swirl. A layer of mist clung to the surface of the water, just thick enough to be seen but not enough to obscure the surface. The mist seemed to respond to the water's movement playfully creating its own patterns in response to the river's flow.
It was a majestic sight, a moment of pure peace and one of the most beautiful things she had seen in her life. At least it would have been if she wasn't dead.
Honestly it wasn't that surprising of a fate. With the way her life had gone a bullet to the head as her payment for saving the world fit right in. It was probably even justified, she had done some truly terrible things in her battle against Scion and she wasn't even sure how much of herself was even left by the time Contessa found her.
Looking up Taylor tried to pierce the mist concealing the far bank with her eyes. She knew she needed to cross the river, it was a certainty that sprang up from the core of her being. She was dead and this river stood between her and whatever came after. With the life she led she could not imagine that anything except Hell waited for her on the other side, but still she longed to cross.
Part of her wondered if she was being mastered, if she was being held in some illusion and the thought that she was dead was artificially implanted by someone. But the thought felt hollow, master powers affected the physical mind, and her mind currently had a hole blown in it and was busy rotting on some uninhabited earth. What she was now was whatever remained and it was beyond the reach of powers.
Taylor grimaced, more of that certainty. Maybe she really was mastered. Shaking her head she decided that she needed to cross the river regardless of the situation. If she was a Master she wouldn't find out more until she had crossed and if she was dead, well then she needed to face whatever came after.
Taylor walked down the gentle slope to the water's edge, the only afterlife she knew of with a river was the Greek Underworld. If that was the case then this river would be the Styx, or was it the Lethe, she couldn't recall the exact geography. If it was the Lethe part of her wanted to drink, the thought of losing herself to oblivion had its appeal after the life she had led.
She frowned as the form of Aster flashed through her mind. She understood the reasons she had made her choices, even now she could not call them wrong per say, but she needed to preserve those memories. To have made those choices and then abandon her memories of them felt viscerally wrong.
She snorted at how seriously she was taking the thought. Did she really think the afterlife matched up perfectly to her half forgotten memories of the myths of the ancient greeks?
She crouched down to the edge of the water reaching out a hand to stick her finger in only to stop when she heard the sound of something breaching the surface. Looking up she saw an enormous shadow in the river, one massive eye sticking out and staring at her. Slowly she withdrew her hand and the giant beast slid silently back into the mist, the shadow disappearing as if it had never been.
Deciding that she would need to find another way to cross. Taylor turned downriver hoping to find something to help her only to be surprised as she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned to look closer and she saw a small boat drifting down the river, a woman sitting in it head down and eyes shut as if she was asleep.
Reaching down she picked up a pebble and tossed it at the boat, hoping to wake the girl before she slipped and fell in the water. The pebble struck the wood and the woman''s eyes opened wide, and she turned towards Taylor. The girl stood, a smile appearing on her face. She leaned down and picked up a massive scythe, far too large to have fit on the small boat. She rested the scythe on her shoulder and the boat turned towards Taylor, seemingly without input from the woman.
As the boat approached Taylor looked closer at the woman. She was a tall woman, even taller than Taylor, and pretty with striking pinkish red hair that went to her shoulders. She was wearing a white dress with a bright blue vest tied over it, the whole get up was wrinkled which Taylor supposed was unsurprising given that she had been sleeping in it. The Scythe she carried was odd, the end seemed to ripple, curving back out before going in for a second much smaller arc. All in all she was not what Taylor had been expecting for the ferrywoman of the dead.
The boat reached the shore and the woman stepped off speaking, "Taylor Hebert, right?" Taylor nodded in response. The woman punched her fist up in triumph and spoke under her breath, "Ha, I knew I'd find you quickly. There was no need for Eiki to threaten me with a babysitter."
The woman's attention then turned back to Taylor and she bowed slightly as she spoke. "Anyway, my name is Komachi Onozuka. I will be your shinigami."
Taylor felt dumbfounded by the display. While she had been largely agnostic in life she had still assumed that going to any afterlife that existed would be a largely somber affair.
After a moment she spoke up "You will be my shinigami? " She had heard the word before, some villain had used it as their name, but she could not put her finger on the meaning. "And what was that about a babysitter?"
Komachi blushed, "Ah, my boss threatened to assign a minder to me to stop me from slacking off if I didn't pick you up quickly. And I believe Americans from your Earth call psychopomps like me the Grim Reaper." Her voice became somewhat petulant as she continued, " I've always hated that name, I am anything but Grim."
Taylor once again felt the need to take a moment before speaking, "You are not what I was expecting."
Komachi smiled again, "Yeah I hear that a lot, or at least as often as I get around to ferrying souls. But anyway you just died, why should the one that takes you to what comes next be some creepy skeleton or brooding old man? I like to think my relaxed personality and pleasant conversation are much preferable to those alternatives."
Komachi stepped aside and gestured towards her boat "Well anyway shall we get going to the other side."
Taylor almost stepped forward but stopped herself. "Is there any reason I should? I doubt anything pleasant waits for me on the other side. I don't even know if any of this is real and not just some Master's game."
"Well you are welcome to stay on this side of the river if you want but I wouldn't suggest it. She pointed to the featureless coast, it is nothing but this going on forever in either direction. Only thing to do with your time is stack rocks. Plus it takes an eternity to reincarnate over here. It isn't that bad if you died so young that you never really made any decisions in your life but in your case I'd guess you would miss the rest of this cycle and likely the entire next one. As for whether or not this is real, do you think this side of the river is any more real than that one?"
Taylor snorted at the response, the more she thought about it the more certain she was that this was real. Masters she heard of just seized control of their targets, they didn't need to gaslight their victims to think they were in the afterlife. She should know, she had to be competing with the Simurgh as the worst master to have ever existed.
Taylor stepped towards the boat only for Komachi to grab her arm and stop her, "Oh yeah I almost forgot. I need to collect your coin before I can ferry you across."
Taylor turned towards the shinigami, "My what?"
Komachi repeated, "Your coin, the spirit of the money you had in life. You can't expect the afterlife to run for free can you."
"So if you die poor you don't get to go to the other side? That doesn't seem very fair" Taylor asked.
Komachi shook her head, "Life isn't fair. Why would you expect death to be any different? But don't worry if you can't pay there is a way to make enough on this side of the river."
Taylor looked down for the first time noticing the white robe she was dressed in. It was odd before now she had not even noticed it touching her skin. Not finding any coins Taylor looked back towards Komachi and said, "You know this is really not doing anything to help your case that this isn't an illusion created by some Master trying to get me to do something."
Komachi laughed quietly, "Don't worry, I know you didn't die with nothing, just focus on what you had in life and the coin will appear."
Taylor did as instructed and thought back to the bank account where she stored her pay from the Wards. As she did she felt her mind get dragged through a series of images, each accompanied by a strong emotion. Her pay from the wards and the college fund were met with indifference, a small fund set up by her father when she was three was accompanied by love, a few dollars left in the piggy bank that she had emptied for her original hero gear held relief, and, surprisingly, an account Lisa had managed in her name labeled 'If Needed' had hope. As the last image faded she felt a weight in her right hand. Glancing down she found herself clutching a large gold coin.
She hesitated a moment before she reached out and dropped the coin in Komachi's waiting hand, but luckily the emotions tied to the coin stayed even as the money left her fingers. The shinigami took a moment to inspect it and whistled softly, "Impressive amount for someone your age."
Taylor stepped onto the boat and sat down before asking "Do I get any change?"
Komachi sat across from her smiling, "What is it they say about money? You don't get to take it with you when you die?"
A moment later Taylor felt the boat beneath her set sail and she watched behind her as the shore faded into the mist. Taylor turned back towards Komachi and asked, "How long is it going to take to cross the river?"
Komachi furrowed her brow for a moment before answering "Looks like about two days for you."
Taylor paused, she had been certain the river had been nowhere near wide enough for that when looking at it from the bank. "What do you mean for me?"
Komachi replied, "It is part of my job to manipulate the distance between the banks to give the passenger enough time to reflect on their sins. The more sins you commit in life, the longer it takes."
"How long does it normally take?" Taylor asked.
Komachi shrugged, "About a day, give or take a couple of hours. Everyone does a bit wrong here or there and it adds up after a while."
Taylor snorted, twice the average. Guess there was no way she was avoiding Hell, not that she really expected any different with the life she lived.
Taylor glanced at the water and began to think about her choices only to be interrupted by Komachi's asking, "So what do you want to talk about?"
Taylor glanced back at the shinigami, "Aren't I supposed to be contemplating my sins?"
The shinigami smiled innocently, "Well yeah, but that is super boring for me. Talking is much more fun."
Taylor chuckled, "Has anyone ever told you that you are terrible at your job?"
"Just you, Eiki, the other shinigami, and almost everyone I have ever ferried across. I even had a shrine maiden beat the crap out of me over it once." Komachi winced and rubbed her arm as she said the last part.
Taylor shook her head in exasperation, "What even is there for us to talk about? How terrible Hell will be for me?"
Komachi shrugged in response, "You never know Eiki might not send you to Hell."
Taylor glared at the girl, "It is taking me twice as long as average to cross this river despite the fact I died when I was eighteen."
"Sure but the amount of time it takes to cross is based solely on the sins you committed, your Judgement is based on both the good and the bad you have accomplished."
Taylor paused at that thought. Did she even accomplish anything worthwhile? She had stopped Scion, if that thing that had occupied her body could even be considered her at the end, but had it been necessary. The path to killing Scion existed, would it have been found without her? Had her robbing people of their will and forcing them to die been ultimately pointless?
Komachi's voice distracted Taylor from her self loathing, "Well personally I would send you straight to Heaven."
Taylor focused on the voice so as to not be drawn back into herself. "And what justification do you have for that?"
"Do you know the workload I would have right now if that idiot had destroyed all of those Earths? It would be millenia before I could sneak in another nap on company time."
Taylor sighed, "You really are terrible at your job."
In response Komachi laughed heartily, and a moment later Taylor felt herself join. After all, she thought, there would be plenty of time for tears later.
-----=====-----
A/N: Alright back to writing. It has only been almost two years since the last time I had gotten around to posting an update, fuck me. Well anyway I'm hoping to change that. I also have chapters going for The Lady of the Flies and Praetor, but I think this will be my main focus for now as for once my Muse has seen it fit to bless me with a story with a fully worked out ending rather than an endpoint and a vague idea of where to take it from there. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this, please feel free to post any criticism you might have.
It was a majestic sight, a moment of pure peace and one of the most beautiful things she had seen in her life. At least it would have been if she wasn't dead.
Honestly it wasn't that surprising of a fate. With the way her life had gone a bullet to the head as her payment for saving the world fit right in. It was probably even justified, she had done some truly terrible things in her battle against Scion and she wasn't even sure how much of herself was even left by the time Contessa found her.
Looking up Taylor tried to pierce the mist concealing the far bank with her eyes. She knew she needed to cross the river, it was a certainty that sprang up from the core of her being. She was dead and this river stood between her and whatever came after. With the life she led she could not imagine that anything except Hell waited for her on the other side, but still she longed to cross.
Part of her wondered if she was being mastered, if she was being held in some illusion and the thought that she was dead was artificially implanted by someone. But the thought felt hollow, master powers affected the physical mind, and her mind currently had a hole blown in it and was busy rotting on some uninhabited earth. What she was now was whatever remained and it was beyond the reach of powers.
Taylor grimaced, more of that certainty. Maybe she really was mastered. Shaking her head she decided that she needed to cross the river regardless of the situation. If she was a Master she wouldn't find out more until she had crossed and if she was dead, well then she needed to face whatever came after.
Taylor walked down the gentle slope to the water's edge, the only afterlife she knew of with a river was the Greek Underworld. If that was the case then this river would be the Styx, or was it the Lethe, she couldn't recall the exact geography. If it was the Lethe part of her wanted to drink, the thought of losing herself to oblivion had its appeal after the life she had led.
She frowned as the form of Aster flashed through her mind. She understood the reasons she had made her choices, even now she could not call them wrong per say, but she needed to preserve those memories. To have made those choices and then abandon her memories of them felt viscerally wrong.
She snorted at how seriously she was taking the thought. Did she really think the afterlife matched up perfectly to her half forgotten memories of the myths of the ancient greeks?
She crouched down to the edge of the water reaching out a hand to stick her finger in only to stop when she heard the sound of something breaching the surface. Looking up she saw an enormous shadow in the river, one massive eye sticking out and staring at her. Slowly she withdrew her hand and the giant beast slid silently back into the mist, the shadow disappearing as if it had never been.
Deciding that she would need to find another way to cross. Taylor turned downriver hoping to find something to help her only to be surprised as she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned to look closer and she saw a small boat drifting down the river, a woman sitting in it head down and eyes shut as if she was asleep.
Reaching down she picked up a pebble and tossed it at the boat, hoping to wake the girl before she slipped and fell in the water. The pebble struck the wood and the woman''s eyes opened wide, and she turned towards Taylor. The girl stood, a smile appearing on her face. She leaned down and picked up a massive scythe, far too large to have fit on the small boat. She rested the scythe on her shoulder and the boat turned towards Taylor, seemingly without input from the woman.
As the boat approached Taylor looked closer at the woman. She was a tall woman, even taller than Taylor, and pretty with striking pinkish red hair that went to her shoulders. She was wearing a white dress with a bright blue vest tied over it, the whole get up was wrinkled which Taylor supposed was unsurprising given that she had been sleeping in it. The Scythe she carried was odd, the end seemed to ripple, curving back out before going in for a second much smaller arc. All in all she was not what Taylor had been expecting for the ferrywoman of the dead.
The boat reached the shore and the woman stepped off speaking, "Taylor Hebert, right?" Taylor nodded in response. The woman punched her fist up in triumph and spoke under her breath, "Ha, I knew I'd find you quickly. There was no need for Eiki to threaten me with a babysitter."
The woman's attention then turned back to Taylor and she bowed slightly as she spoke. "Anyway, my name is Komachi Onozuka. I will be your shinigami."
Taylor felt dumbfounded by the display. While she had been largely agnostic in life she had still assumed that going to any afterlife that existed would be a largely somber affair.
After a moment she spoke up "You will be my shinigami? " She had heard the word before, some villain had used it as their name, but she could not put her finger on the meaning. "And what was that about a babysitter?"
Komachi blushed, "Ah, my boss threatened to assign a minder to me to stop me from slacking off if I didn't pick you up quickly. And I believe Americans from your Earth call psychopomps like me the Grim Reaper." Her voice became somewhat petulant as she continued, " I've always hated that name, I am anything but Grim."
Taylor once again felt the need to take a moment before speaking, "You are not what I was expecting."
Komachi smiled again, "Yeah I hear that a lot, or at least as often as I get around to ferrying souls. But anyway you just died, why should the one that takes you to what comes next be some creepy skeleton or brooding old man? I like to think my relaxed personality and pleasant conversation are much preferable to those alternatives."
Komachi stepped aside and gestured towards her boat "Well anyway shall we get going to the other side."
Taylor almost stepped forward but stopped herself. "Is there any reason I should? I doubt anything pleasant waits for me on the other side. I don't even know if any of this is real and not just some Master's game."
"Well you are welcome to stay on this side of the river if you want but I wouldn't suggest it. She pointed to the featureless coast, it is nothing but this going on forever in either direction. Only thing to do with your time is stack rocks. Plus it takes an eternity to reincarnate over here. It isn't that bad if you died so young that you never really made any decisions in your life but in your case I'd guess you would miss the rest of this cycle and likely the entire next one. As for whether or not this is real, do you think this side of the river is any more real than that one?"
Taylor snorted at the response, the more she thought about it the more certain she was that this was real. Masters she heard of just seized control of their targets, they didn't need to gaslight their victims to think they were in the afterlife. She should know, she had to be competing with the Simurgh as the worst master to have ever existed.
Taylor stepped towards the boat only for Komachi to grab her arm and stop her, "Oh yeah I almost forgot. I need to collect your coin before I can ferry you across."
Taylor turned towards the shinigami, "My what?"
Komachi repeated, "Your coin, the spirit of the money you had in life. You can't expect the afterlife to run for free can you."
"So if you die poor you don't get to go to the other side? That doesn't seem very fair" Taylor asked.
Komachi shook her head, "Life isn't fair. Why would you expect death to be any different? But don't worry if you can't pay there is a way to make enough on this side of the river."
Taylor looked down for the first time noticing the white robe she was dressed in. It was odd before now she had not even noticed it touching her skin. Not finding any coins Taylor looked back towards Komachi and said, "You know this is really not doing anything to help your case that this isn't an illusion created by some Master trying to get me to do something."
Komachi laughed quietly, "Don't worry, I know you didn't die with nothing, just focus on what you had in life and the coin will appear."
Taylor did as instructed and thought back to the bank account where she stored her pay from the Wards. As she did she felt her mind get dragged through a series of images, each accompanied by a strong emotion. Her pay from the wards and the college fund were met with indifference, a small fund set up by her father when she was three was accompanied by love, a few dollars left in the piggy bank that she had emptied for her original hero gear held relief, and, surprisingly, an account Lisa had managed in her name labeled 'If Needed' had hope. As the last image faded she felt a weight in her right hand. Glancing down she found herself clutching a large gold coin.
She hesitated a moment before she reached out and dropped the coin in Komachi's waiting hand, but luckily the emotions tied to the coin stayed even as the money left her fingers. The shinigami took a moment to inspect it and whistled softly, "Impressive amount for someone your age."
Taylor stepped onto the boat and sat down before asking "Do I get any change?"
Komachi sat across from her smiling, "What is it they say about money? You don't get to take it with you when you die?"
A moment later Taylor felt the boat beneath her set sail and she watched behind her as the shore faded into the mist. Taylor turned back towards Komachi and asked, "How long is it going to take to cross the river?"
Komachi furrowed her brow for a moment before answering "Looks like about two days for you."
Taylor paused, she had been certain the river had been nowhere near wide enough for that when looking at it from the bank. "What do you mean for me?"
Komachi replied, "It is part of my job to manipulate the distance between the banks to give the passenger enough time to reflect on their sins. The more sins you commit in life, the longer it takes."
"How long does it normally take?" Taylor asked.
Komachi shrugged, "About a day, give or take a couple of hours. Everyone does a bit wrong here or there and it adds up after a while."
Taylor snorted, twice the average. Guess there was no way she was avoiding Hell, not that she really expected any different with the life she lived.
Taylor glanced at the water and began to think about her choices only to be interrupted by Komachi's asking, "So what do you want to talk about?"
Taylor glanced back at the shinigami, "Aren't I supposed to be contemplating my sins?"
The shinigami smiled innocently, "Well yeah, but that is super boring for me. Talking is much more fun."
Taylor chuckled, "Has anyone ever told you that you are terrible at your job?"
"Just you, Eiki, the other shinigami, and almost everyone I have ever ferried across. I even had a shrine maiden beat the crap out of me over it once." Komachi winced and rubbed her arm as she said the last part.
Taylor shook her head in exasperation, "What even is there for us to talk about? How terrible Hell will be for me?"
Komachi shrugged in response, "You never know Eiki might not send you to Hell."
Taylor glared at the girl, "It is taking me twice as long as average to cross this river despite the fact I died when I was eighteen."
"Sure but the amount of time it takes to cross is based solely on the sins you committed, your Judgement is based on both the good and the bad you have accomplished."
Taylor paused at that thought. Did she even accomplish anything worthwhile? She had stopped Scion, if that thing that had occupied her body could even be considered her at the end, but had it been necessary. The path to killing Scion existed, would it have been found without her? Had her robbing people of their will and forcing them to die been ultimately pointless?
Komachi's voice distracted Taylor from her self loathing, "Well personally I would send you straight to Heaven."
Taylor focused on the voice so as to not be drawn back into herself. "And what justification do you have for that?"
"Do you know the workload I would have right now if that idiot had destroyed all of those Earths? It would be millenia before I could sneak in another nap on company time."
Taylor sighed, "You really are terrible at your job."
In response Komachi laughed heartily, and a moment later Taylor felt herself join. After all, she thought, there would be plenty of time for tears later.
-----=====-----
A/N: Alright back to writing. It has only been almost two years since the last time I had gotten around to posting an update, fuck me. Well anyway I'm hoping to change that. I also have chapters going for The Lady of the Flies and Praetor, but I think this will be my main focus for now as for once my Muse has seen it fit to bless me with a story with a fully worked out ending rather than an endpoint and a vague idea of where to take it from there. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this, please feel free to post any criticism you might have.
- Location
- ponchatoula
This, this I like. Let's see how this far is goes, Watched
Memory Gem
Denizen of the Internet
- Pronouns
- Tree
Fascinating, I'm curious to see where this goes, I'm not terribly familiar with Touhou, but I've never seen any Touhou fic mention this.
Touhou is a surprisingly deep world given that the main setting is roughly half the size of Rhode Island and only sparsely populated. As for its afterlife, it is heavily based upon Buddhist tradition but it has its own flavor with Touhou's enjoyably quirky characters, as well as a focus on the bureaucratic logistics of running the ever after.
Anyway I hope you enjoy the story, I am writing it with the assumption that it will be the introduction to Touhou for a lot of readers. I'm also going to make informational posts going over some of the more obscure aspects of the setting as well as the changes I made to better incorporate the Worm multiverse.
Honestly I had so much fun writing Komachi that I am already looking for excuses to keep having her show up even after the setting moves away from the Sanzu.
Whiskas
This Thyme? Disco Time.
Well Komachi and even Eiki visit normal Gensokyo sometimes after all so it's not even reaching to do that. Komachi shows up a lot in Wild and Horned Hermit after all. Granted it's because of the Love/"might kill you haha jk... Unless?" relationship she has with Kasen. My point still stands though. Not much excuse is needed for Komachi. Could just have her pop in and mention she was on business and decided to check in on Taylor out of curiosity.
...or perhaps Eiki is cracking down on Komachi's usual "resting" spots, so she had to go a bit further afield to find new ones...
- Location
- Argentina
So... I wonder how Taylor will go from dead to monster... Yeah she basically scared like a billion of people or more, but also saved a lot of people.
Also a monster based on her would be born on the belief on her not on her soul, unless they decided to stuck the soul on the monster anyway to make said monster be less of a problem.
Also a monster based on her would be born on the belief on her not on her soul, unless they decided to stuck the soul on the monster anyway to make said monster be less of a problem.
The Judgement of a Hero
"Don't even get me started on that bag of bones. He tries to play up the creepy factor with the whole cloaked skeleton and deep voice thing but he is hopelessly addicted to gambling. He once got himself enslaved to a couple of ten year olds for a few years over a game of Limbo." Komachi's story faded into a series of giggles.
Taylor laughed at the stories of the other psychopomps. Apparently the entire group was largely made up of a bunch of hopeless fuckups, at least according to Komachi, and the stories she was sharing were really undermining her concept of the solemnity of death. Honestly she wasn't sure how she felt about the tales, she had issues with people who were incompetent at their jobs. But it didn't really matter losing herself in Komachi's infectious laughter was easy and preferable to thinking about the disaster that was her life.
She felt her mirth end abruptly as the boat came to a stop. She looked up and saw that they had arrived at the far bank without her realizing.
Komachi's laughter had also stopped with the boat and she stood up and stepped off the boat, her face serious for the first time since Taylor had met her. Quietly she said, "Come with me, I will take you to meet the Yama."
Taylor stood and stepped off the boat. "The Yama?" she asked, mostly to keep herself from thinking about what came next.
"Yamas are the ones tasked with judging the lives of mortals." Komachi gave her a quick smile, "Don't worry, Eiki is a fair and honest judge."
Taylor nodded, fair was good, fair would send her to Hell, where she would be punished for her choices. And once she had suffered her punishment, and only then, she could finally allow herself to forget what she had done.
Taylor stepped onto the bank only for the mist to suddenly vanish and for her to find herself in a field of flowers under a calm blue sky. Looking around Taylor saw no end to the field despite the clear air. As she turned she noticed that the river had vanished and the flowers extended behind her as far as they did ahead.
She took a step back so that she would once again be on the shore of the river but instead of being back at the river she remained in the field. Silently she turned back to Komachi who stood waiting patiently a few steps ahead and began walking towards her. As she approached Komachi spoke, "This is Higan. You will stay here until your judgement is complete."
Having said that, Komachi turned and started walking, Taylor following behind silently. After a short time Taylor saw their destination in the distance, a woman standing alone in the field.
As they got closer Taylor got a better view of the woman. She was around the same height as Taylor herself with short green hair. She wore a deep blue dress that almost reminded Taylor of a military uniform and a cap on her head that somehow looked both frilly and formal. In one hand she carried a metallic rod shaped like the blade of a thick flat sword and covered in symbols. Her face was a picture of serenity as she watched their approach.
With each step forward Taylor felt her certainty grow. She was approaching the fate she had earned.
Komachi stopped a few feet away from the woman and began to speak as Taylor took the last couple of steps forward, "Oh great Yama, I bring to you Taylor Anne Hebert. A woman who has waded through the depths of sin and risen to the heights few souls have ever seen. I ask you for mercy in your judgement on the life of this heroic soul."
Taylor felt surprised by the words and glanced over at the shinigami. Komachi in turn shot her a smile before momentarily resting a hand on her shoulder and turning to walk away. Taylor turned her attention back to the Yama who's eyes seemed to follow the retreating Shinigami, a perplexed smile on her face.
A moment later the Yama turned her attention back to Taylor, "I cannot remember the last time Komachi bothered to formally introduce a soul to me. And to Herald you as a Hero no less, she must really like you."
Taylor felt a moment of surprise at the informality of the statement. She had assumed her judgement would be starting off with much more fire and brimstone than this. Feeling like the Yama expected her to respond, Taylor asked, "Does her request matter?"
The Yama smiled calmly as she answered, "Officially no, but it is never bad to have the backing of a psychopomp. Even one as lazy as Komachi." Taylor let out a small breath. It wouldn't matter. This was to be the ultimate judgement of her life, there would be no escape for her here.
The Yama's expression grew serious as she continued. "Taylor Hebert I am Eiki Shiki, the Yamaxanadu. The judgement of your life has fallen to me. As you crossed the Sanzu River I reviewed your life and stand ready to give judgement. Are you ready to hear it?"
Taylor nodded stiffly in response, and Eiki began to speak her voice stern and formal, "Taylor Anne Hebert, to call your life exceptional is to call a hurricane naught but a small breeze. In many ways it defies Judgement. In the hours that led up to your death you robbed thousands of their free will and forced them to face death. Hundreds died under your control, wishing with all their might that they could do anything in the face of their oncoming demise, but unable to so much as twitch. As your end approached you were a monster, the embodiment of a Tyrant, forcing your will upon the world and denying others the chance for their souls to gain salvation by rising to the occasion put before them."
Taylor closed her eyes and let the words wash over her. This was right, she was a monster, she would face her punishment and maybe she could be purged of this regret. She felt a tiny stir of primal fear in her core at the thought, but she crushed it. She deserved this fate.
Eiki continued, "Humans often claim that the ends can justify the means but for most this is a simple rationalization. An excuse so that they might live as they wish and not face the reality of their impact on the world. You are an exception, even as you became a monster you saved more lives than you can comprehend. Your choices and sacrifices brought salvation on a scale far beyond your imagination, and gave justice to the souls of countless other worlds."
Taylor strangled the swell of pride she felt before it could truly form. She did not understand where Eiki was going with this. Sure she had saved some people but it had to have been unnecessary, the Path to kill Scion existed, Contessa would have found it without her interference. She was just another monster.
"As your end neared your heroic soul shined bright. Your methods may have been monstrous but during the battle you still sought to save those that you controlled. You may have convinced yourself that you saw them as nothing but tools but I can see the wounds you gouged into your soul for each and every of their deaths. At the end of your battle when you stood victorious, you once again chose the path of self sacrifice, and abandoned the world you saved so you would never replace Scion as the threat to it."
Taylor felt hope blossom within her unbidden at Eiki's words and struggled to crush it. This was wrong, she was a monster. She needed to be punished. She wanted to scream at Eiki that she was wrong, that she had sacrificed nothing and forced others to carry the burden. But her voice would not come and Eiki's words continued unabated by her struggle.
"Taylor Anne Hebert, for the sins you have committed I grant you absolution, for the deeds you have accomplished I give you thanks. By my Divine Right granted to me by the Ministry of Right and Wrong as the Yamaxanadu I, Eiki Shiki, break you free of the chains of reincarnation and grant you leave to rest in the Netherworld until such time that you find Enlightenment and are able to enter the gates of Heaven. Go forth from this with pride, oh most heroic of spirits."
The words hit Taylor like a hammer and she felt her knees buckle at the blow. She looked up at Eiki and asked the only thing she could, "Are you sure?"
Eiki smiled sadly at the question, "To be quite honest Taylor, no I am not. You are a long way from Enlightenment. But the reality of the situation is you saved more lives than any human soul ever has before. We cannot reincarnate you into a life that would equalize your karma because one such as that will never exist."
"So I don't actually deserve this, it is just some fluke of the numbers. I am just a monster who is getting lucky because the system is broken, is that it?" Taylor let the familiar anger strengthen her . "You never even bothered to mention the rest of my life, all of the people I robbed and brutalized, all the times I looked the other way as my friends did terrible things, you didn't even mention the time I murdered a child. This is just a way to make your job easier."
"That is enough, Taylor." Eiki's voice was strict but full of compassion. "I do not break the chains of reincarnation lightly. Your life was steeped in the shades of grey, you often tried to use your noble goals to rationalize your terrible sins. You are far further from Heaven than you are from Hell, but that does not change what you have accomplished in the end. Your actions have granted untold numbers of souls the chance to earn their own absolution during this cycle."
Taylor latched onto Eiki's words, "This cycle. I heard Komachi mention that before and I think I understand it now. Even if I had failed and Scion had destroyed all of the Earths it wouldn't have actually mattered. At some point Earth would have been reborn and humanity would have had another chance."
Eiki pulled out a mirror and held it up to Taylor, "That matters not. Taylor Anne Hebert, witness what you have saved."
The world around Taylor warped and she found herself in the middle of a market, all around her people were going about their lives. Children played in the street, and the adults haggled at the stalls. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a thin young girl palm an apple while the shopkeeper studiously looked in another direction. The world shifted and Taylor found herself in the middle of a forest, the sounds of life all around her, in front of her a mother bear played with her cub. Again the world twisted and she was in a hospital watching an old woman hug her grandchild, tears in her eyes as the doctor whispered to the boy's father that the woman would not make it through the night.
Again and again the world changed, Taylor found herself in cramped apartments and large manors, at the bottom of the ocean and tops of mountains, in tiny villages and cities larger than any she had ever seen. She saw hope, despair, charity, anger, love, passion, and cruelty. It was terrible, it was beautiful, it was Life.
She staggered as she found herself back in Higan. Looking around left her feeling somewhat hollow when compared to what she had just witnessed. It was beautiful but it felt flat compared to what she had just seen before.
Taylor turned back towards Eiki and wiped the tears from her cheeks before turning back towards Eiki.
"I knew what I was trying to accomplish when I made those choices." The words sounded hollow in Taylor's ear but she continued anyway. "That doesn't mean my actions were not terrible."
Eiki shrugged, "You have done terrible things Taylor, you are right to regret many of the choices you have made. But without you none of what you have just witnessed would have occurred. Can you really claim that the total sum of your life did more harm than good?"
"I ca-" Taylor felt the lie die on her lips as the blade of Komachi's scythe emerged out of thin air a short distance behind Eiki. Moments later the blade plunged downwards cutting a hole in reality that hurt to look at.
Out of the tear Komachi flung herself at Eiki pulling her into a big hug as she shouted, "Eiki, I knew you would forgive Taylor's sins. I know how much you hate judging things that are morally grey but she saved pretty much everyone. How could that be wrong?"
Eiki's expression grew annoyed, she lifted her rod and lightly smacked the shinigami on her head. Komachi gave her an exaggerated look of stunned betrayal as she fell to the ground and started rubbing her head.
Eiki rolled her eyes at the antics and said, "I should have known it was too much to hope that you could remain professional for more than a couple of minutes."
Komachi stuck her tongue out at the Yama in response. Eiki turned her attention back towards Taylor, an amused smile on her face.
Taylor opened her mouth to protest again, only to be once again interrupted by Komachi, "You have to be the most stubborn soul I have ever heard of. To think I am actually witnessing someone trying to argue their way back into Hell. How about you stop actively suppressing any emotion that threatens your self loathing and actually deal with the life you lived?"
Taylor argued back, "I am not suppressing anything. I just deserve to go to Hell."
As soon as the words left her mouth Eiki appeared before her an arms length away. A moment later Taylor felt a winced in pain as Eiki smacked her on the top of her head with her rod.
Eiki spoke, "I have just punished you for the lie you just spoke, so now you must release it. That is what you want, yes?"
Taylor opened her mouth to reply but as she did so she felt herself unconsciously do as Eiki bid and from the small crack that doing so caused she felt her walls collapse. Pride and joy at the world Eiki had shown her, relief at the knowledge that she had saved her friends and father, hope that the world would become a better place without Scion's influence. It all mixed in with her anger and regret sweeping away any semblance of control she had.
Desires flooded forth, new and old, petty and noble, everything she had set aside in her quest to save the world and even more besides. She wanted to scream about the unfairness of being killed after she saved the world. She wanted to go to those who sought to hold her down and shove the proof of her triumph in their faces. She wanted to crawl under her covers and sleep forever more. She wanted to hug her father and her mother. She wanted to let every person she had controlled punch her in the face. She wanted to shoot Contessa in the head. She wanted to try and make friends with the other Wards. She wanted to beg the Undersiders' forgiveness for abandoning them. She wanted to shove Sophia into a locker.
Taylor collapsed to the ground, sobbing openly. A moment later she felt Eiki crouch down next to her pulling her into a light embrace. Taylor leaned into it and started crying on the Yama's shoulder.
Finally after what felt like an eternity Taylor was able to find her voice. Quietly she asked, "I really did stop the end of the world, right? All those terrible things I have done, all those choices I regret, they weren't meaningless?"
Eiki gently stroked Taylor's hair as she responded quietly, "Yes, Taylor, you saved the world."
With the final confirmation Taylor felt a weight she hadn't realized she had been carrying lift. And for the first time since her mother had died she felt it. For one sacred shining moment Taylor Hebert was at peace.
-----=====-----
A/N: So this was originally intended to be the halfway point for the chapter but it started to run long and I liked ending at Taylor's moment of peace. I am slightly worried it might give off the wrong impression about Taylor and Eiki's opinions about some of Taylor's choices but I think I was able to make it clear enough. Writing Eiki's judgement was actually a lot harder than I thought it would be. Until I made it focus on Taylor's actions during the Golden Morning it kept either being a vague rambling mess or threatening to turn the chapter into a Worm clip show.I don't think I quite nailed what I was going for with it but I am content with how it turned out.
Also the weirdest thing I learned while doing research for this chapter. Despite what every single piece of fan art would have you believe, Eiki is canonically quite tall. She probably has a couple of inches on Yukari.
Taylor laughed at the stories of the other psychopomps. Apparently the entire group was largely made up of a bunch of hopeless fuckups, at least according to Komachi, and the stories she was sharing were really undermining her concept of the solemnity of death. Honestly she wasn't sure how she felt about the tales, she had issues with people who were incompetent at their jobs. But it didn't really matter losing herself in Komachi's infectious laughter was easy and preferable to thinking about the disaster that was her life.
She felt her mirth end abruptly as the boat came to a stop. She looked up and saw that they had arrived at the far bank without her realizing.
Komachi's laughter had also stopped with the boat and she stood up and stepped off the boat, her face serious for the first time since Taylor had met her. Quietly she said, "Come with me, I will take you to meet the Yama."
Taylor stood and stepped off the boat. "The Yama?" she asked, mostly to keep herself from thinking about what came next.
"Yamas are the ones tasked with judging the lives of mortals." Komachi gave her a quick smile, "Don't worry, Eiki is a fair and honest judge."
Taylor nodded, fair was good, fair would send her to Hell, where she would be punished for her choices. And once she had suffered her punishment, and only then, she could finally allow herself to forget what she had done.
Taylor stepped onto the bank only for the mist to suddenly vanish and for her to find herself in a field of flowers under a calm blue sky. Looking around Taylor saw no end to the field despite the clear air. As she turned she noticed that the river had vanished and the flowers extended behind her as far as they did ahead.
She took a step back so that she would once again be on the shore of the river but instead of being back at the river she remained in the field. Silently she turned back to Komachi who stood waiting patiently a few steps ahead and began walking towards her. As she approached Komachi spoke, "This is Higan. You will stay here until your judgement is complete."
Having said that, Komachi turned and started walking, Taylor following behind silently. After a short time Taylor saw their destination in the distance, a woman standing alone in the field.
As they got closer Taylor got a better view of the woman. She was around the same height as Taylor herself with short green hair. She wore a deep blue dress that almost reminded Taylor of a military uniform and a cap on her head that somehow looked both frilly and formal. In one hand she carried a metallic rod shaped like the blade of a thick flat sword and covered in symbols. Her face was a picture of serenity as she watched their approach.
With each step forward Taylor felt her certainty grow. She was approaching the fate she had earned.
Komachi stopped a few feet away from the woman and began to speak as Taylor took the last couple of steps forward, "Oh great Yama, I bring to you Taylor Anne Hebert. A woman who has waded through the depths of sin and risen to the heights few souls have ever seen. I ask you for mercy in your judgement on the life of this heroic soul."
Taylor felt surprised by the words and glanced over at the shinigami. Komachi in turn shot her a smile before momentarily resting a hand on her shoulder and turning to walk away. Taylor turned her attention back to the Yama who's eyes seemed to follow the retreating Shinigami, a perplexed smile on her face.
A moment later the Yama turned her attention back to Taylor, "I cannot remember the last time Komachi bothered to formally introduce a soul to me. And to Herald you as a Hero no less, she must really like you."
Taylor felt a moment of surprise at the informality of the statement. She had assumed her judgement would be starting off with much more fire and brimstone than this. Feeling like the Yama expected her to respond, Taylor asked, "Does her request matter?"
The Yama smiled calmly as she answered, "Officially no, but it is never bad to have the backing of a psychopomp. Even one as lazy as Komachi." Taylor let out a small breath. It wouldn't matter. This was to be the ultimate judgement of her life, there would be no escape for her here.
The Yama's expression grew serious as she continued. "Taylor Hebert I am Eiki Shiki, the Yamaxanadu. The judgement of your life has fallen to me. As you crossed the Sanzu River I reviewed your life and stand ready to give judgement. Are you ready to hear it?"
Taylor nodded stiffly in response, and Eiki began to speak her voice stern and formal, "Taylor Anne Hebert, to call your life exceptional is to call a hurricane naught but a small breeze. In many ways it defies Judgement. In the hours that led up to your death you robbed thousands of their free will and forced them to face death. Hundreds died under your control, wishing with all their might that they could do anything in the face of their oncoming demise, but unable to so much as twitch. As your end approached you were a monster, the embodiment of a Tyrant, forcing your will upon the world and denying others the chance for their souls to gain salvation by rising to the occasion put before them."
Taylor closed her eyes and let the words wash over her. This was right, she was a monster, she would face her punishment and maybe she could be purged of this regret. She felt a tiny stir of primal fear in her core at the thought, but she crushed it. She deserved this fate.
Eiki continued, "Humans often claim that the ends can justify the means but for most this is a simple rationalization. An excuse so that they might live as they wish and not face the reality of their impact on the world. You are an exception, even as you became a monster you saved more lives than you can comprehend. Your choices and sacrifices brought salvation on a scale far beyond your imagination, and gave justice to the souls of countless other worlds."
Taylor strangled the swell of pride she felt before it could truly form. She did not understand where Eiki was going with this. Sure she had saved some people but it had to have been unnecessary, the Path to kill Scion existed, Contessa would have found it without her interference. She was just another monster.
"As your end neared your heroic soul shined bright. Your methods may have been monstrous but during the battle you still sought to save those that you controlled. You may have convinced yourself that you saw them as nothing but tools but I can see the wounds you gouged into your soul for each and every of their deaths. At the end of your battle when you stood victorious, you once again chose the path of self sacrifice, and abandoned the world you saved so you would never replace Scion as the threat to it."
Taylor felt hope blossom within her unbidden at Eiki's words and struggled to crush it. This was wrong, she was a monster. She needed to be punished. She wanted to scream at Eiki that she was wrong, that she had sacrificed nothing and forced others to carry the burden. But her voice would not come and Eiki's words continued unabated by her struggle.
"Taylor Anne Hebert, for the sins you have committed I grant you absolution, for the deeds you have accomplished I give you thanks. By my Divine Right granted to me by the Ministry of Right and Wrong as the Yamaxanadu I, Eiki Shiki, break you free of the chains of reincarnation and grant you leave to rest in the Netherworld until such time that you find Enlightenment and are able to enter the gates of Heaven. Go forth from this with pride, oh most heroic of spirits."
The words hit Taylor like a hammer and she felt her knees buckle at the blow. She looked up at Eiki and asked the only thing she could, "Are you sure?"
Eiki smiled sadly at the question, "To be quite honest Taylor, no I am not. You are a long way from Enlightenment. But the reality of the situation is you saved more lives than any human soul ever has before. We cannot reincarnate you into a life that would equalize your karma because one such as that will never exist."
"So I don't actually deserve this, it is just some fluke of the numbers. I am just a monster who is getting lucky because the system is broken, is that it?" Taylor let the familiar anger strengthen her . "You never even bothered to mention the rest of my life, all of the people I robbed and brutalized, all the times I looked the other way as my friends did terrible things, you didn't even mention the time I murdered a child. This is just a way to make your job easier."
"That is enough, Taylor." Eiki's voice was strict but full of compassion. "I do not break the chains of reincarnation lightly. Your life was steeped in the shades of grey, you often tried to use your noble goals to rationalize your terrible sins. You are far further from Heaven than you are from Hell, but that does not change what you have accomplished in the end. Your actions have granted untold numbers of souls the chance to earn their own absolution during this cycle."
Taylor latched onto Eiki's words, "This cycle. I heard Komachi mention that before and I think I understand it now. Even if I had failed and Scion had destroyed all of the Earths it wouldn't have actually mattered. At some point Earth would have been reborn and humanity would have had another chance."
Eiki pulled out a mirror and held it up to Taylor, "That matters not. Taylor Anne Hebert, witness what you have saved."
The world around Taylor warped and she found herself in the middle of a market, all around her people were going about their lives. Children played in the street, and the adults haggled at the stalls. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a thin young girl palm an apple while the shopkeeper studiously looked in another direction. The world shifted and Taylor found herself in the middle of a forest, the sounds of life all around her, in front of her a mother bear played with her cub. Again the world twisted and she was in a hospital watching an old woman hug her grandchild, tears in her eyes as the doctor whispered to the boy's father that the woman would not make it through the night.
Again and again the world changed, Taylor found herself in cramped apartments and large manors, at the bottom of the ocean and tops of mountains, in tiny villages and cities larger than any she had ever seen. She saw hope, despair, charity, anger, love, passion, and cruelty. It was terrible, it was beautiful, it was Life.
She staggered as she found herself back in Higan. Looking around left her feeling somewhat hollow when compared to what she had just witnessed. It was beautiful but it felt flat compared to what she had just seen before.
Taylor turned back towards Eiki and wiped the tears from her cheeks before turning back towards Eiki.
"I knew what I was trying to accomplish when I made those choices." The words sounded hollow in Taylor's ear but she continued anyway. "That doesn't mean my actions were not terrible."
Eiki shrugged, "You have done terrible things Taylor, you are right to regret many of the choices you have made. But without you none of what you have just witnessed would have occurred. Can you really claim that the total sum of your life did more harm than good?"
"I ca-" Taylor felt the lie die on her lips as the blade of Komachi's scythe emerged out of thin air a short distance behind Eiki. Moments later the blade plunged downwards cutting a hole in reality that hurt to look at.
Out of the tear Komachi flung herself at Eiki pulling her into a big hug as she shouted, "Eiki, I knew you would forgive Taylor's sins. I know how much you hate judging things that are morally grey but she saved pretty much everyone. How could that be wrong?"
Eiki's expression grew annoyed, she lifted her rod and lightly smacked the shinigami on her head. Komachi gave her an exaggerated look of stunned betrayal as she fell to the ground and started rubbing her head.
Eiki rolled her eyes at the antics and said, "I should have known it was too much to hope that you could remain professional for more than a couple of minutes."
Komachi stuck her tongue out at the Yama in response. Eiki turned her attention back towards Taylor, an amused smile on her face.
Taylor opened her mouth to protest again, only to be once again interrupted by Komachi, "You have to be the most stubborn soul I have ever heard of. To think I am actually witnessing someone trying to argue their way back into Hell. How about you stop actively suppressing any emotion that threatens your self loathing and actually deal with the life you lived?"
Taylor argued back, "I am not suppressing anything. I just deserve to go to Hell."
As soon as the words left her mouth Eiki appeared before her an arms length away. A moment later Taylor felt a winced in pain as Eiki smacked her on the top of her head with her rod.
Eiki spoke, "I have just punished you for the lie you just spoke, so now you must release it. That is what you want, yes?"
Taylor opened her mouth to reply but as she did so she felt herself unconsciously do as Eiki bid and from the small crack that doing so caused she felt her walls collapse. Pride and joy at the world Eiki had shown her, relief at the knowledge that she had saved her friends and father, hope that the world would become a better place without Scion's influence. It all mixed in with her anger and regret sweeping away any semblance of control she had.
Desires flooded forth, new and old, petty and noble, everything she had set aside in her quest to save the world and even more besides. She wanted to scream about the unfairness of being killed after she saved the world. She wanted to go to those who sought to hold her down and shove the proof of her triumph in their faces. She wanted to crawl under her covers and sleep forever more. She wanted to hug her father and her mother. She wanted to let every person she had controlled punch her in the face. She wanted to shoot Contessa in the head. She wanted to try and make friends with the other Wards. She wanted to beg the Undersiders' forgiveness for abandoning them. She wanted to shove Sophia into a locker.
Taylor collapsed to the ground, sobbing openly. A moment later she felt Eiki crouch down next to her pulling her into a light embrace. Taylor leaned into it and started crying on the Yama's shoulder.
Finally after what felt like an eternity Taylor was able to find her voice. Quietly she asked, "I really did stop the end of the world, right? All those terrible things I have done, all those choices I regret, they weren't meaningless?"
Eiki gently stroked Taylor's hair as she responded quietly, "Yes, Taylor, you saved the world."
With the final confirmation Taylor felt a weight she hadn't realized she had been carrying lift. And for the first time since her mother had died she felt it. For one sacred shining moment Taylor Hebert was at peace.
-----=====-----
A/N: So this was originally intended to be the halfway point for the chapter but it started to run long and I liked ending at Taylor's moment of peace. I am slightly worried it might give off the wrong impression about Taylor and Eiki's opinions about some of Taylor's choices but I think I was able to make it clear enough. Writing Eiki's judgement was actually a lot harder than I thought it would be. Until I made it focus on Taylor's actions during the Golden Morning it kept either being a vague rambling mess or threatening to turn the chapter into a Worm clip show.I don't think I quite nailed what I was going for with it but I am content with how it turned out.
Also the weirdest thing I learned while doing research for this chapter. Despite what every single piece of fan art would have you believe, Eiki is canonically quite tall. She probably has a couple of inches on Yukari.
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- Location
- Argentina
So how does Taylor become a Youkai then? Her legend comes alive and they fuse her Spirit with it to stop it?
We will get into that next chapter.
- Location
- Hot Springs
I find this fitting. Yama didn't sugarcoat Taylor's actions; a bit poetic she might have been, but given who she is.....
Taylor might have pulled an Ultimate Tyrant act, but it was because literally, they were out of time. Every minute seen hundreds of millions if not billions of lives end. At that moment, I'd challenge anyone who understood Extinction was coming not to reach for a way to survive. And yet, despite her actions, when she was literally the most powerful force left alive, she chose to relinquish her hold on others even knowing it likely meant her death to do so.
'No life worthy of your actions' indeed.
Taylor might have pulled an Ultimate Tyrant act, but it was because literally, they were out of time. Every minute seen hundreds of millions if not billions of lives end. At that moment, I'd challenge anyone who understood Extinction was coming not to reach for a way to survive. And yet, despite her actions, when she was literally the most powerful force left alive, she chose to relinquish her hold on others even knowing it likely meant her death to do so.
'No life worthy of your actions' indeed.
The Ministry of Right and Wrong
Any and all information presented in these informational posts is canon to the AU this story takes place in, not necessarily to the Touhou Project as a whole. While most of this is grounded firmly in Touhou lore large changes have been made to account for Worm's multiverse or to expand on regions or concepts that have never been explored in canon Touhou.
The Ministry of Right and Wrong is the organization in charge of the Processing and Judgement of Souls upon death, the Reincarnation of souls back to life, and the management of Hell.
The official leader of Ministry is Hecatia Lapislazuli, the Goddess of Hell, but she very rarely involves herself in the Ministries operations. A staunch anti-authoritarian she hates the idea of ordering others around, only doing so when she deems it important enough, or if it will let her go after Chang'e a moon goddess for whom she holds a long standing grudge. Even when she does take action she normally only works with Hell Faeries as she enjoys their chaotic nature as well as the fact that they will wander off and do something else if they get bored with her instructions. Within the Ministry she has a reputation as being eccentric but kind.
Directly underneath Hecatia, and the actual leaders of the organization, are the Ten Kings of Hell. They are the ten original Yama. Each King is responsible for one tenth of Hell and is hopelessly, hilariously overworked. Each King is responsible for the souls of around ten thousand quadrillion vigintillion (10^81) Earths (note in Touhou it is not just humans who have souls but many types of animals as well and every being with soul can be sent to Hell). In order to accomplish this each King runs an impossibly massive and complex bureaucratic machine. While the Offices of Judgement and Reincarnation are not subordinate to any single King they still are under the Ten Kings as a whole. Any of the Kings may call for a vote if they wish to pass a resolution concerning either of the Offices.
The responsibilities of the Bureaus are to ensure the souls in their region receive only the proper amount of punishment as prescribed by the Office of Judgement, to maintain a good working relationship with the Oni, and to ensure that the souls who have completed their punishment are comfortable and cared for while they await reincarnation. While the Bureaus are remarkably efficient considering the situation the sheer scale of the task ensures that mistakes happen. It is not unheard of for souls to be stuck in punishment for far longer than their Judgement required or for souls to reincarnate before they have been properly purified. Corruption in the Bureaus is rare but existent. Yama who are found to be corrupt are submitted to the Office of Judgement to determine the punishment for their crimes before being sent to the domain of a King other than the one they served for purification. The Bureaus have a tendency to lose paperwork concerning the punishments of Yama often resulting in their time being extended. In the case of repeat offenders Yama can be forcefully returned to the Cycle of Reincarnation, normally with a huge excess of negative Karma weighing them down.
The Office of Judgement is in charge of processing souls into the Afterlife. The Office is organized into Yama who are responsible for judging the souls from a portion of a single Earth each with a group of subordinate Psychopomps who ferry the souls to them. The recent phenomenon of souls visiting alternate Earths has been a cause of much Chaos for the office as they struggle to determine which Yama should judge which soul. The Office of Judgement is also responsible for recruitment for the Ministry. If a Yama believes a soul would work well for the Ministry they can offer them a job. If the soul accepts they are suspended from the Cycle of Reincarnation and made into a Yama. Yama may either choose to work until the End of Cycles and be guaranteed a place in Heaven or choose to reenter the Cycle of Reincarnation at any point with a large amount of positive Karma for their service. Being a Judge of Souls is generally considered the highest honor a Yama can have and each is given an individual title, though due to the size of the Ministry titles are often repeated across many Yama at any given time. Eiki's title, Yamaxanadu, means the Yama of Paradise.
The Office of Reincarnation seeks out lives equal to the karma a soul earned in its previous life. Once a match is found they preform the rite to reincarnate the soul into a new life.
Oni carry out the punishments the Ministry prescribes. While they do submit to the authority of the Ministry they are not part of it as they find its firm rules and chains of command stifling. While relations between them and the Ministry are generally strong there have been the occasional breaks resulting in strikes or even revolts. The Oni's system of government is quite simple, whoever is still standing after the bar brawl gets to make the rules.
The Ministry of Right and Wrong is the organization in charge of the Processing and Judgement of Souls upon death, the Reincarnation of souls back to life, and the management of Hell.
The official leader of Ministry is Hecatia Lapislazuli, the Goddess of Hell, but she very rarely involves herself in the Ministries operations. A staunch anti-authoritarian she hates the idea of ordering others around, only doing so when she deems it important enough, or if it will let her go after Chang'e a moon goddess for whom she holds a long standing grudge. Even when she does take action she normally only works with Hell Faeries as she enjoys their chaotic nature as well as the fact that they will wander off and do something else if they get bored with her instructions. Within the Ministry she has a reputation as being eccentric but kind.
Directly underneath Hecatia, and the actual leaders of the organization, are the Ten Kings of Hell. They are the ten original Yama. Each King is responsible for one tenth of Hell and is hopelessly, hilariously overworked. Each King is responsible for the souls of around ten thousand quadrillion vigintillion (10^81) Earths (note in Touhou it is not just humans who have souls but many types of animals as well and every being with soul can be sent to Hell). In order to accomplish this each King runs an impossibly massive and complex bureaucratic machine. While the Offices of Judgement and Reincarnation are not subordinate to any single King they still are under the Ten Kings as a whole. Any of the Kings may call for a vote if they wish to pass a resolution concerning either of the Offices.
The responsibilities of the Bureaus are to ensure the souls in their region receive only the proper amount of punishment as prescribed by the Office of Judgement, to maintain a good working relationship with the Oni, and to ensure that the souls who have completed their punishment are comfortable and cared for while they await reincarnation. While the Bureaus are remarkably efficient considering the situation the sheer scale of the task ensures that mistakes happen. It is not unheard of for souls to be stuck in punishment for far longer than their Judgement required or for souls to reincarnate before they have been properly purified. Corruption in the Bureaus is rare but existent. Yama who are found to be corrupt are submitted to the Office of Judgement to determine the punishment for their crimes before being sent to the domain of a King other than the one they served for purification. The Bureaus have a tendency to lose paperwork concerning the punishments of Yama often resulting in their time being extended. In the case of repeat offenders Yama can be forcefully returned to the Cycle of Reincarnation, normally with a huge excess of negative Karma weighing them down.
The Office of Judgement is in charge of processing souls into the Afterlife. The Office is organized into Yama who are responsible for judging the souls from a portion of a single Earth each with a group of subordinate Psychopomps who ferry the souls to them. The recent phenomenon of souls visiting alternate Earths has been a cause of much Chaos for the office as they struggle to determine which Yama should judge which soul. The Office of Judgement is also responsible for recruitment for the Ministry. If a Yama believes a soul would work well for the Ministry they can offer them a job. If the soul accepts they are suspended from the Cycle of Reincarnation and made into a Yama. Yama may either choose to work until the End of Cycles and be guaranteed a place in Heaven or choose to reenter the Cycle of Reincarnation at any point with a large amount of positive Karma for their service. Being a Judge of Souls is generally considered the highest honor a Yama can have and each is given an individual title, though due to the size of the Ministry titles are often repeated across many Yama at any given time. Eiki's title, Yamaxanadu, means the Yama of Paradise.
The Office of Reincarnation seeks out lives equal to the karma a soul earned in its previous life. Once a match is found they preform the rite to reincarnate the soul into a new life.
Oni carry out the punishments the Ministry prescribes. While they do submit to the authority of the Ministry they are not part of it as they find its firm rules and chains of command stifling. While relations between them and the Ministry are generally strong there have been the occasional breaks resulting in strikes or even revolts. The Oni's system of government is quite simple, whoever is still standing after the bar brawl gets to make the rules.
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A Forgotten Sacrifice
Taylor took a deep breath and centered herself. The release of everything she had pent up had left her shaken, but she was slowly pulling herself together. Even if she did keep randomly wanting to break into a happy song or smash her head into something hard and heavy. Self control was something she was well practiced at.
She was in control. She was focused and clear headed. She was humming…
Another deep breath followed by one more. She looked within and focused on what had changed. It honestly wasn't much. She still regretted much of her life. She could still feel a dark pit of self loathing deep within her, but it wasn't all encompassing any more. Pride in what she had accomplished, even if not in how she had gone about it, and relief that she had been able to protect that which mattered to her most offset it.
Taylor opened her eyes and stood looking for Eiki or Komachi, she found them standing a bit away from her talking quietly. Taylor started to walk towards the pair and Eiki turned towards her as she approached. Taylor felt a spike of embarrassment as she remembered the Yama holding her as she cried.
Taylor paused, when was the last time she had felt embarrassed? She remembered her teammates trying to embarrass her when she joined the Wards but she had only felt frustration at their antics. Maybe it was that time Lisa took her shopping and made her try on clothes. Had she really been so focussed on saving the world that she hadn't even allowed herself to feel something as harmless as embarrassment for two years?
Escaping her head Taylor noticed that both Eiki and Komachi were now watching her and she felt the feeling increase in strength. She smiled at the pair sheepishly and said, "I'm sorry for my outburst earlier."
Komachi laughed and waved off her concern, "Most souls have a bit of a breakdown after their judgement. Though normally it is because they don't want to go to Hell instead of the other way around."
Taylor sighed, "Well part of me still thinks you are making a terrible mistake and that I belong in Hell, but I'm willing to accept ."
Komachi snorted, "Yep, you are definitely the most stubborn soul I have ever met."
Eiki smiled, "Well I am glad you have found peace with your judgement. For now we still have a couple of things we need to discuss."
Taylor nodded in acceptance and Eiki continued, "First we should talk about what you should do once you get to the Netherworld. While there are no real restrictions on where you can go I think you would find much of it not to your liking."
Taylor asked, "Why? What is there that I won't like?"
"There is nothing there you would dislike, mostly just a bunch of souls meditating on the nature of all their incarnations and their place in reality as a whole in an attempt to reach Enlightenment. I just think you would probably find it unsatisfying for now given that you still look human." Komachi nodded as if Eiki's statement explained everything.
Taylor looked down at herself and asked, "Is that not normal?"
This time Komachi responded, "It is uncommon, if not particularly rare. It just means that you think of yourself as being one particular human rather than a soul that has had many incarnations. It is very rare for a soul like that to have broken the chains of reincarnation like you though. Normally souls that accomplish something in life worthy of that are a bit more at peace with themselves than you."
Taylor frowned, "Is that going to be a problem?"
Eiki replied, "Not at all, you will shed your human form when you are ready and willing to do so. It just means that you will likely find most of the Netherworld a tad boring until then. Luckily you have other options, the Princess of Hakugyokurou sent word that she wishes to meet with you."
"Hakugyokurou?"
"A region of the Netherworld, well known for its beautiful Sakura gardens and eccentric princess?" Eiki replied.
"The Netherworld has royalty?"
"Less royalty and more administrators. Some souls need to have some level of responsibility to feel satisfied, they can apply to be given territory where they are in charge of maintaining a good environment for the other residents of the Netherworld. You can apply for such a position as well if you wish but I would suggest not doing so immediately. You have eternity to find your place in the Netherworld, there is no need to rush into anything."
Taylor thought for a moment. When she was a warlord she had found holding territory and ensuring that her followers were cared for to be satisfying. Still she doubted there was much need for her style of leadership, there was likely to be much less calls for her to attack gang members with bullet ants so they got the message to leave her people alone in the Netherworld, Still it was something to consider for later. "So why would you suggest I go to Hakugyokorou?"
"Yuyuko is like you in that she still maintains her human form, so she may be able to help you adapt to your afterlife. The souls that stay at Hakugyokurou also don't generally seek Enlightenment, instead finding satisfaction with their afterlives in the Netherworld. It makes the region much more lively than most of the other areas."
Taylor found the statement odd, "Is that okay? From the way you sounded in my Judgement I thought I was supposed to be seeking Enlightenment?"
The Yama laughed quietly, "Taylor, it is your afterlife. You have earned your Eternity, you can do with it whatever you wish." Her tone darkened slightly, "There is also something strange going on with Heaven's leadership right now so even if you found Enlightenment you wouldn't be able to get in until it is resolved."
"Something strange is going on with Heaven's leadership? Is that normal?"
Eiki looked frustrated, "Not particularly and it bothers me that they aren't doing their job properly." A moment later she back at Taylor and schooled her expression back to serenity, "But it isn't really something you need to concern yourself with. Eventually the higher ups at the Ministry will negotiate a resolution with Heaven's leadership and things will return to normal. The advantage of Eternity is you can afford to be patient. Heaven not allowing new entrants for a millennium or two won't make a difference in the long run. For now you should focus on finding your place in the afterlife."
Figuring she was unlikely to get anything else about the situation with Heaven from Eiki, Taylor decided to put that aside for later and focus on what she would do next. So much of her last few years had been lived with a singular purpose to work towards, she wasn't sure what to do with being told that her death was hers to do with as she pleased. Finally she responded, "I think I will visit Hakugyou." As she said it an idea sprung forth and she continued, "Is there any way I can meet my Mother? And is there anything you can tell me about my Father? He didn't didn't take my Mother's death well, I can't imagine he is doing well with mine."
"Your Father is doing well, the one you know as Contessa made arrangements to keep him healthy and happy after she killed you. Possibly as some kind of penance." Taylor let out a small breath, that was good. She still wasn't particularly happy with Contessa but if she made arrangements then her Father should be doing well.
Eiki paused before she continued, her brows furrowing in thought, "As for your Mother we normally try not to allow souls to meet those they knew in life as it can harm the purification process. But you have a lot of good will built up with the higher ups for preventing Earth from shutting down this cycle so it may be possible. I'll try to set something up but it is going to take some time, the afterlife is not a small place."
Taylor considered before asking, "If it is going to take a while will she reincarnate before I can meet with her?"
Eiki shook her head, "It takes at minimum a century or two for an adult to reincarnate even if they are not sent to Hell. Don't worry Taylor, if it is within my power I will make it happen."
Taylor closed her eyes and lifted her head to the sky thinking about her mother's warmth. She doubted meeting her would be everything she wanted it to be, but still wanted to try, "Thank you."
"I am glad I could be of service, but now that that is out of the way we must finish your Judgement." Taylor felt her eyes snap back onto Eiki at that statement.
Taylor felt oddly nervous as she asked, "What is left?"
"Well I judged that you needed to hear about what you had accomplished with your life so I skipped to the end so you would know your fate. But you were correct when you said that I hadn't even talked about all the other sins you had committed in your life, and the Judgment is supposed to go over all of your choices." The Yama's expression reminded Taylor of the one her Mother had given her when she found out that Taylor had lied about doing her homework so she could go over to Emma's. Behind Eiki she saw Komach giving her a pity-filled look and leaping through the hole she had opened upon her arrival.
"Now, Taylor, I would like to hear in your own words what exactly you were thinking when you decided you would join a gang and help rob a bank."
-----=====-----
Yukari smiled as she looked at the makeshift shrine before her.
She normally did not enjoy visiting other worlds, especially not ones like this where parahumans had arrived. Youkai were monsters created from the imaginations of man to give form to their fears and ignorance. While ignorance and fear were in no short supply on such worlds the parahumans had beaten the imagination out of the populace, after all there was no need to create new monsters when parahumans were so happy to fulfill the role.
All that fear but barely even an ounce of wonder, it was a toxic mix. Every time she visited she left feeling like she would need to bathe for a week straight to ever be clean again. Still such excursions were necessary. One did not create paradise on Earth only to allow the Earth it resided on to be destroyed. So every once in a while she needed to go out and inspect the modifications she had made to the boundary of her world in order to ensure that it was still undetectable by those who did not already know of its existence.
But something had changed on this Earth, and the shrine that stood in front of her was a symbol of that change.
The shrine was a simple thing, a mural on a wall illustrating figures standing tall against a golden light. Above the mural the words 'Remember Their Sacrifice'. At its base was a collection of framed photos of people in costumes, most of which were signed. But what caught Yukari's attention was the word 'Khepri' splattered across the mural in dark red paint.
The word had destroyed the comfort of the shrine, people who noticed it hastened their step as they walked away.
It was a feeling Yukari was intimately familiar with. The people of this world were afraid of what that word represented, but they did not actually know what it meant. It was fear without form.
Yukari silently changed her plans, after all it would be a shame to miss the chance to witness the birth of a new Youkai.
-----=====-----
A/N: A shorter transitional chapter this time as we get past Taylor's navel gazing and start setting her up to interact with various Touhou characters. Also laying the groundwork for the first major conflict with Yukari's little discovery. I don't think I did a fantastic job of introducing Yukari or the concept of Youkai to people unfamiliar with Touhou but we will get a bunch more of that next chapter as it will be focused on Khepri.
Edit: Changed my mind on the spelling of Youkai I wanted to go with, mostly because my spell check recognizes Youkai as a real word but not Yokai.
She was in control. She was focused and clear headed. She was humming…
Another deep breath followed by one more. She looked within and focused on what had changed. It honestly wasn't much. She still regretted much of her life. She could still feel a dark pit of self loathing deep within her, but it wasn't all encompassing any more. Pride in what she had accomplished, even if not in how she had gone about it, and relief that she had been able to protect that which mattered to her most offset it.
Taylor opened her eyes and stood looking for Eiki or Komachi, she found them standing a bit away from her talking quietly. Taylor started to walk towards the pair and Eiki turned towards her as she approached. Taylor felt a spike of embarrassment as she remembered the Yama holding her as she cried.
Taylor paused, when was the last time she had felt embarrassed? She remembered her teammates trying to embarrass her when she joined the Wards but she had only felt frustration at their antics. Maybe it was that time Lisa took her shopping and made her try on clothes. Had she really been so focussed on saving the world that she hadn't even allowed herself to feel something as harmless as embarrassment for two years?
Escaping her head Taylor noticed that both Eiki and Komachi were now watching her and she felt the feeling increase in strength. She smiled at the pair sheepishly and said, "I'm sorry for my outburst earlier."
Komachi laughed and waved off her concern, "Most souls have a bit of a breakdown after their judgement. Though normally it is because they don't want to go to Hell instead of the other way around."
Taylor sighed, "Well part of me still thinks you are making a terrible mistake and that I belong in Hell, but I'm willing to accept ."
Komachi snorted, "Yep, you are definitely the most stubborn soul I have ever met."
Eiki smiled, "Well I am glad you have found peace with your judgement. For now we still have a couple of things we need to discuss."
Taylor nodded in acceptance and Eiki continued, "First we should talk about what you should do once you get to the Netherworld. While there are no real restrictions on where you can go I think you would find much of it not to your liking."
Taylor asked, "Why? What is there that I won't like?"
"There is nothing there you would dislike, mostly just a bunch of souls meditating on the nature of all their incarnations and their place in reality as a whole in an attempt to reach Enlightenment. I just think you would probably find it unsatisfying for now given that you still look human." Komachi nodded as if Eiki's statement explained everything.
Taylor looked down at herself and asked, "Is that not normal?"
This time Komachi responded, "It is uncommon, if not particularly rare. It just means that you think of yourself as being one particular human rather than a soul that has had many incarnations. It is very rare for a soul like that to have broken the chains of reincarnation like you though. Normally souls that accomplish something in life worthy of that are a bit more at peace with themselves than you."
Taylor frowned, "Is that going to be a problem?"
Eiki replied, "Not at all, you will shed your human form when you are ready and willing to do so. It just means that you will likely find most of the Netherworld a tad boring until then. Luckily you have other options, the Princess of Hakugyokurou sent word that she wishes to meet with you."
"Hakugyokurou?"
"A region of the Netherworld, well known for its beautiful Sakura gardens and eccentric princess?" Eiki replied.
"The Netherworld has royalty?"
"Less royalty and more administrators. Some souls need to have some level of responsibility to feel satisfied, they can apply to be given territory where they are in charge of maintaining a good environment for the other residents of the Netherworld. You can apply for such a position as well if you wish but I would suggest not doing so immediately. You have eternity to find your place in the Netherworld, there is no need to rush into anything."
Taylor thought for a moment. When she was a warlord she had found holding territory and ensuring that her followers were cared for to be satisfying. Still she doubted there was much need for her style of leadership, there was likely to be much less calls for her to attack gang members with bullet ants so they got the message to leave her people alone in the Netherworld, Still it was something to consider for later. "So why would you suggest I go to Hakugyokorou?"
"Yuyuko is like you in that she still maintains her human form, so she may be able to help you adapt to your afterlife. The souls that stay at Hakugyokurou also don't generally seek Enlightenment, instead finding satisfaction with their afterlives in the Netherworld. It makes the region much more lively than most of the other areas."
Taylor found the statement odd, "Is that okay? From the way you sounded in my Judgement I thought I was supposed to be seeking Enlightenment?"
The Yama laughed quietly, "Taylor, it is your afterlife. You have earned your Eternity, you can do with it whatever you wish." Her tone darkened slightly, "There is also something strange going on with Heaven's leadership right now so even if you found Enlightenment you wouldn't be able to get in until it is resolved."
"Something strange is going on with Heaven's leadership? Is that normal?"
Eiki looked frustrated, "Not particularly and it bothers me that they aren't doing their job properly." A moment later she back at Taylor and schooled her expression back to serenity, "But it isn't really something you need to concern yourself with. Eventually the higher ups at the Ministry will negotiate a resolution with Heaven's leadership and things will return to normal. The advantage of Eternity is you can afford to be patient. Heaven not allowing new entrants for a millennium or two won't make a difference in the long run. For now you should focus on finding your place in the afterlife."
Figuring she was unlikely to get anything else about the situation with Heaven from Eiki, Taylor decided to put that aside for later and focus on what she would do next. So much of her last few years had been lived with a singular purpose to work towards, she wasn't sure what to do with being told that her death was hers to do with as she pleased. Finally she responded, "I think I will visit Hakugyou." As she said it an idea sprung forth and she continued, "Is there any way I can meet my Mother? And is there anything you can tell me about my Father? He didn't didn't take my Mother's death well, I can't imagine he is doing well with mine."
"Your Father is doing well, the one you know as Contessa made arrangements to keep him healthy and happy after she killed you. Possibly as some kind of penance." Taylor let out a small breath, that was good. She still wasn't particularly happy with Contessa but if she made arrangements then her Father should be doing well.
Eiki paused before she continued, her brows furrowing in thought, "As for your Mother we normally try not to allow souls to meet those they knew in life as it can harm the purification process. But you have a lot of good will built up with the higher ups for preventing Earth from shutting down this cycle so it may be possible. I'll try to set something up but it is going to take some time, the afterlife is not a small place."
Taylor considered before asking, "If it is going to take a while will she reincarnate before I can meet with her?"
Eiki shook her head, "It takes at minimum a century or two for an adult to reincarnate even if they are not sent to Hell. Don't worry Taylor, if it is within my power I will make it happen."
Taylor closed her eyes and lifted her head to the sky thinking about her mother's warmth. She doubted meeting her would be everything she wanted it to be, but still wanted to try, "Thank you."
"I am glad I could be of service, but now that that is out of the way we must finish your Judgement." Taylor felt her eyes snap back onto Eiki at that statement.
Taylor felt oddly nervous as she asked, "What is left?"
"Well I judged that you needed to hear about what you had accomplished with your life so I skipped to the end so you would know your fate. But you were correct when you said that I hadn't even talked about all the other sins you had committed in your life, and the Judgment is supposed to go over all of your choices." The Yama's expression reminded Taylor of the one her Mother had given her when she found out that Taylor had lied about doing her homework so she could go over to Emma's. Behind Eiki she saw Komach giving her a pity-filled look and leaping through the hole she had opened upon her arrival.
"Now, Taylor, I would like to hear in your own words what exactly you were thinking when you decided you would join a gang and help rob a bank."
-----=====-----
Yukari smiled as she looked at the makeshift shrine before her.
She normally did not enjoy visiting other worlds, especially not ones like this where parahumans had arrived. Youkai were monsters created from the imaginations of man to give form to their fears and ignorance. While ignorance and fear were in no short supply on such worlds the parahumans had beaten the imagination out of the populace, after all there was no need to create new monsters when parahumans were so happy to fulfill the role.
All that fear but barely even an ounce of wonder, it was a toxic mix. Every time she visited she left feeling like she would need to bathe for a week straight to ever be clean again. Still such excursions were necessary. One did not create paradise on Earth only to allow the Earth it resided on to be destroyed. So every once in a while she needed to go out and inspect the modifications she had made to the boundary of her world in order to ensure that it was still undetectable by those who did not already know of its existence.
But something had changed on this Earth, and the shrine that stood in front of her was a symbol of that change.
The shrine was a simple thing, a mural on a wall illustrating figures standing tall against a golden light. Above the mural the words 'Remember Their Sacrifice'. At its base was a collection of framed photos of people in costumes, most of which were signed. But what caught Yukari's attention was the word 'Khepri' splattered across the mural in dark red paint.
The word had destroyed the comfort of the shrine, people who noticed it hastened their step as they walked away.
It was a feeling Yukari was intimately familiar with. The people of this world were afraid of what that word represented, but they did not actually know what it meant. It was fear without form.
Yukari silently changed her plans, after all it would be a shame to miss the chance to witness the birth of a new Youkai.
-----=====-----
A/N: A shorter transitional chapter this time as we get past Taylor's navel gazing and start setting her up to interact with various Touhou characters. Also laying the groundwork for the first major conflict with Yukari's little discovery. I don't think I did a fantastic job of introducing Yukari or the concept of Youkai to people unfamiliar with Touhou but we will get a bunch more of that next chapter as it will be focused on Khepri.
Edit: Changed my mind on the spelling of Youkai I wanted to go with, mostly because my spell check recognizes Youkai as a real word but not Yokai.
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- Location
- Argentina
So... belief and fear will create the Taylor Yokai?
Belief, ignorance, and fear create all Yokai. Taylor just did something very scary and then the other parahumans decided to try and cover it up.
- Location
- Italy
Most Youkai are born from myths; you won't get them from famous, known people. Gensokyo is separated from the normal world because as technology advances, myths get explained and the wonder is lost.
Khepri is different from most parahumans: details of what she was are unknown to most, she took control of all parahumans, people from multiple worlds refuse to talk or even think about her... Yeah, she is a prime candidate.
I guess Scion doesn't become a Youkai since he was a known quantity as the first parahuman?
Khepri is different from most parahumans: details of what she was are unknown to most, she took control of all parahumans, people from multiple worlds refuse to talk or even think about her... Yeah, she is a prime candidate.
I guess Scion doesn't become a Youkai since he was a known quantity as the first parahuman?
Scion was too present to ever become a Yokai. It was a known fact that he was flying around the world saving people from disasters and helping cats out of trees. His background was a mystery but his existence was a certainty. It was the same with other S-class parahumans and even the Endbringers, everyone knows they existed. Khepri is different, if she was nothing but another parahuman who died during the Golden Morning why all the secrecy. If she was so powerful why had no one ever heard of her before? Scion was so powerful he could kill an Endbringer and destroy worlds, could a human truly defeat something like that?
Zedman7054
Eternally 3rd
- Location
- United States
As someone who is familiar with Touhou and it's lore, I think you painted a very strong picture, and I got chills when I read how just the word Khepri painted on the shrine was enough to disturb the entire scene. I think this story has a lot of promise, and I wish you the best in writing it.
zhuull
SB still lying to protect Racists what else is new
And thus the real reason Taylor wasn't sent to Hell is revealed! She'd have conquered it, and been running the place within a century at most!
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Helltaker, but with Taylor.And thus the real reason Taylor wasn't sent to Hell is revealed! She'd have conquered it, and been running the place within a century at most!
Final battle with Queen of Hell (how her actual name, again?) Like last battle.
IGNITE THE SIN MACHINE
A Reason for Salvation
Time travel was generally not Yukari's preferred solution to problems. There were very few problems that it could not solve on some level, but as a tool it was inelegant. A single careless action could have devastating and far reaching consequences which could undo centuries of careful planning in an instant. Plus paradoxes were a hassle to straighten out even for her. Still she didn't live on this Earth so it wasn't like it would be her problem to deal with.
Mind made up, she crossed the Boundary between Now and Then. The sun faded from the sky and the moon took its place. Glancing at the shrine she saw that the defacement had vanished. She crossed the Boundary between Observable and Unobservable and waited for the vandal to arrive.
As she waited she looked up at the night sky and frowned. Yukari hated the way the lights of these cities drowned out the stars. It was the inevitable end of human nature she supposed, in their desperate search for safety and knowledge they would always destroy what made the world beautiful and mysterious.
She was pulled from her ruminations by the sound of feet approaching. She looked down at the shrine to see a young man setting up a light to shine on the mural. He stepped forward popping a lid off of a can and started spraying paint on the mural, adding the fearful name. Yukari allowed the boy to finish his work without interruption, but as he stepped away from the shrine she altered the Boundary so only he could observe her and spoke, "Well, well. What do we have here?"
She smiled as the boy jumped before turning down the street and started sprinting away. She altered the Boundary between To and From and laughed quietly as she saw the boy's expression change to terror as he realized he was now sprinting towards her instead of away.
"Cape!" he shouted and turned sprinting off in another direction.
Yukari once again inverted To and From. "Now is that any way to trea…"
Before she could finish her sentence the boy had taken off in yet another direction. Rolling her eyes she leaned down to pick up the objects the boy had left on the ground in his hurry to escape. After waiting a minute or two she opened a gap between herself and the location of the boy and stepped through.
She found herself in the back of an alley, the boy was standing at the front hugging the wall tightly. His head was barely out of the alley and he peeked down the street, likely looking to see if she had followed him. Silently she stepped forward and tapped him on the shoulder.
The boy jumped a full foot in the air. He twisted to start running away again but he tripped and fell to the pavement. As he twisted around looking up at her with a terrified expression she raised an eyebrow, "It didn't work the first three times, what makes you think the fourth is going to be any different?"
"What d-do you want from me?" She could barely make out the words with how fast the boy talked.
"Oh calm down, I'm not going to eat you." It was the truth, she was feeling a tad peckish but she didn't want to stop the boy from spreading the name of this new youkai. She held out the phone and cap the boy had left at the shrine "You dropped these."
The boy pulled himself to his feet and looked apprehensively at the items she was holding. Finally he reached out and grabbed them. He bowed his head in thanks, "Th-thank you ma'am."
She smiled up at him, "It is not a problem, but don't call me ma'am. I am far too young for such a title. Just call me Yukari."
The boy winced at her words, "Yes, ma… Yukari"
"Good boy. And what should I call you?"
The boy looked like he was about to run again for a moment but instead took a deep breath and answered. "Kyle."
"Well Kyle, I have a couple of questions. Do you think you could try and answer them?"
Kyle nodded stiffly before flinching as Yukari spawned a gap behind her so she could sit comfortably.
"Why were you writing on that mural?"
Kyle started to panic visibly, "I'll never do something like that again. I know all you capes swore to never talk about Khepri after Scion died. Just let me go, I'll never even mention Khepri again..."
Yukari raised her hand and he went quiet, "I didn't tell you to stop, I asked why were you writing the word Khepri on that shrine."
"I-" Kyle paused a moment and swallowed, "I just don't like being lied to. The Wardens keep claiming Khepri is just a rumor but half of the capes still go white in the face and storm out whenever Khepri is mentioned in interviews. And there are those journals that were attributed to Lenore after she died. I know people say they are a hoax but the level of mind control she described would explain why the capes are so scared of Khepri."
"So tell me, what do you think the capes are hiding?"
Kyle looked at her quizzically, "You are a cape, aren't you? Wouldn't you already know?"
Yukari gave him one of her enigmatic smiles, "What do or don't I know is of very little consequence right now. I want to know what you think."
Kyle still looked apprehensive but he continued to talk.
"If Khepri was just a parahuman with that type of power there would have been records. I mean one cape able to completely control thousands of people, that is absurd. There is no way to keep something like that a secret. Some people think they triggered during the Golden Morning but that doesn't make sense to me. I mean Khepri beat Scion, that doesn't sound like something someone could do freshly after becoming a Parahuman."
"But I guess what really scares me is just that, Khepri killed Scion. I mean Scion killed Behemoth and Parahumans had been trying to do that for decades, could a human really have killed him. I think Khepri had to have been something else, maybe another being like Scion or an Endbringer, or maybe even something else entirely. And the reason for all the secrecy is because Khepri didn't die in the end and the Parahumans are afraid that Khepri may return one day."
It was a classic tale for a monster, one that had been repeated over millennia and Earths alike. A group of people threatened by a force they cannot stop, only for a mysterious stranger to emerge and save them. The people celebrate but as the stranger leaves they promise to one day return for their payment. It was a perfect story for a youkai.
"Well then Kyle, if no one will talk about Khepri how do you know about them?"
"It has been harder to discuss this stuff with the internet being gone, but there is that book, Khepri: The Truth Behind the Golden Morning. It is difficult to get ahold of because no one will officially publish it but there are copies floating around if you know where to look."
Yukari hopped off her gap, "Well then I thank you for your time Kyle, you are free to go."
Kyle looked stunned, "Just like that?"
She smiled back at him, "Just like that."
Kyle all but fled from the alley at her assurance. As he left she altered the Boundary between Memory and Oblivion so that he would forget they had ever met.
A moment later she had returned to the point in space and time from when she had left and gave one last look towards the defiled shrine before she left. A classic story and a mysterious book, it truly was a perfect recipe.
-----=====-----
Taylor looked up at the beautiful manor before her. It looked like something from a dream. A single large manor surrounded by cherry blossoms trees for as far as the eye could see set against a full moon on a calm night. A slight breeze passed through the trees creating playful patterns in the petals as they gently floated to the ground. The only thing to spoil the image was a single massive barren tree on a hill behind the manor.
The Netherworld was beautiful as a rule. In the couple of months she had spent walking through the Netherworld to arrive at Hakugyokurou she had passed through a pristine city with architecture the likes of which she could have never even conceived of before, a bone white desert filled with slowly shifting dunes, a village at the base of a waterfall so massive she could not even see the top, but still there was something different about the beauty of this place. It made her feel calm in a way that the others had not. And according to some of the souls she had talked to during her trip over this was but a prelude to the true beauty of the place that would arrive when spring came to Japan. Then the trees which always appeared to be in full bloom would show their true colors.
Taylor walked to the door only for it to open for her on its own as she approached. As she stepped inside she found herself in a courtyard that appeared to be too large for the manor. Floating around the courtyard were dozens of spirits in both human and soul form. She noticed that the ones in human form all appeared to be writing or painting something, while the ones in soul form just wandered around. As she watched one of the human spirits pull away from the easel she was working on and transform into soul form. A noise caught her attention and she turned to see another ghost in human form tuning the strings on a harp.
As she reached the center of the courtyard a soul floated up to her and spoke, "Welcome to Hakugyokurou. Is there somewhere you are headed?"
"Yes, I was told that the princess here wished to meet with me."
The soul bobbed up and down as if mimicking a nod, "Then follow me, I will take you to Youmu, she is Yuyuko's attendant."
Taylor nodded and followed the spirit as it led her deeper into the manor. Eventually they arrived at a beautiful japanese garden. In the center of it there was a clearing with a short girl standinding perfectly still.
The girl wore a light green skirt and top and had a black ribbon tied in her shoulder length white hair. On her left hip she wore two swords, a short one and a long one with a large fluffy white tastle. Hovering behind her was a large white soul. The oddest thing about the girl was that she didn't look like the other souls Taylor had seen, she looked much more solid.
The girl's expression was one of calm focus and her right hand was hovering over the hilt of her sword. Too fast for Taylor to see the girl drew the sword into a single sharp cut and Taylor heard a noise from the other end of the clearing. Looking over she saw half a board swaying gently as it hung from one of the garden's trees, the other half of the board resting on the ground below.
Taylor shifted her gaze back to the white haired girl making careful note of the considerable distance between her and her apparent target. Filing away that apparent power in her head for later she followed the soul that had been leading her to the girl. The souls spoke as they approached. "Youmu, this one says Yuyuko wishes to meet with her."
Youmu smiled gently at the soul, "Thank you, Ei. I will take things from here."
The soul bobbed up and down again and left Taylor alone with Youmu and the silent soul still hovering behind her.
Youmu sheathed her sword before turning towards Taylor and giving her a small bow, "Welcome to Hakugyokurou, I am Youmu Konpaku the gardener here. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?"
Taylor awkwardly returned the bow, "I am Taylor Hebert."
Youmu smiled at the name, "Ahh yes, Lady Yuyuko was looking forward to meeting you. I can take you to her now if you wish."
Taylor nodded in response and followed her yet deeper into the manor, making it very apparent that the manor was far larger on the inside than the outside. As they walked Taylor noted that the silent soul still followed Youmu closely.
She turned to it and asked, "What is your name?"
Youmu glanced back at her with a confused expression on her face. A moment later it was replaced with a look of understanding, "That is myon, my phantom half."
Taylor looked at the white haired girl "Phantom half?"
Youmu gave her a smile that said this was something she had explained many times before. "Yes, I am not dead. I am half human, half phantom."
Taylor was about to ask how something like that was even possible but was interrupted as Youmu indicated that they had arrived at their destination.
Youmu slid open a door revealing a large room, at the center of which sat a low table filled with food. Next to the table a young woman that appeared to be around the same age as Taylor was sitting. She was wearing a light blue kimono patterned with a spattering of white cherry blossoms. On her head she was wearing a frilly blue cap with a white triangle rising out the front over her pink shoulder length hair. The girl turned towards them as they entered, her maroon eyes sparkling as she smiled brightly and quickly stood to rush over and pull Taylor's companion into a tight hug.
Youmu spoke, her tone remarkably professional given the circumstances, "Lady Yuyuko, this is Taylor Hebert."
Yuyuko turned her attention towards Taylor before releasing Youmu and pulling Taylor into her own hug. Unsure of what to do Taylor awkwardly returned the gesture with one arm. A moment later Yuyuko released her and grabbed her by the hand pulling her towards the table at the center of the room. "Come sit with me. We can talk while we eat."
She turned back towards Youmu, "Would you like to join us as well Youmu."
The white haired girl shook her head in response, "Thank you for the invitation Lady Yuyuko but I was in the middle of practice."
Yuyuko nodded and Youmu quietly left the room. Not sure what to do, Taylor sat down cross legged next to the table and asked, "Is there much need for her to practice swordplay here?"
Yuyuko sat down and responded, "A bit here and there. She mostly does it because she enjoys it. Now what would you like to eat?"
Taylor turned towards the spread on the table feeling slightly overwhelmed at the number of dishes she did not recognize. "I didn't think we needed to eat given that we are dead."
Yuyuko answered brightly, "We don't. I mean if we were on Earth for an extended period of time we would need to eat some mist every once in a while but while in the Netherworld we need nothing to survive. You should eat because food is delicious and brings us joy."
Taylor spotted something she recognized, "Then could I have some sushi?"
Yuyuko handed her a plate before grabbing one for herself as well.
Taylor grabbed the sushi with a pair of chopsticks and hesitantly pulled it up to her lips. After a moment she took a bite. It was delicious, it brought back memories of the wards going out for sushi after a patrol in Chicago. At the time she had barely been paying attention to the taste, too busy focusing on preparing for her and Tecton's plan to bring down those drug smugglers. But looking back now it was delicious and part of her wished she had used the time to talk with the other Wards rather than sticking in her own head.
Taylor pulled herself from her memories and looked back up at Yuyuko. She was shocked to see two discarded plates empty of sushi next to her as she contentedly sipped some tea. Taylor spoke, "Eiki said you wanted to meet with me."
Yuyuko nodded enthusiastically, "Yep, I had actually been intending to take you here if Eiki was going to send you to Hell, but she told me she wasn't so I just asked her to send you my way instead."
"You can stop people from going to Hell?"
"Yep, no one knows why though. I just have that ability. I can send them back if they want, or if they can't behave themselves here. I generally use it to save great artists from Hell."
Taylor suddenly felt very glad that the events played out like they had. If Eiki had sentenced her to Hell like she wanted only for her to be pulled out to here instead it likely wouldn't have ended well for anyone involved.
"Well I never was a great artist, even before Sophia started destroying my work. So why did you want to take me here?" Taylor knew what Yuyuko was going to answer and she wasn't sure how to feel about it. Sure Eiki had shown her the good her actions had accomplished but she still wasn't really comfortable with someone wanting to meet her because she had mind controlled thousands of people and forced hundreds of them towards her death against their wills.
Yuyuko's voice was bright and cheery, "I always wanted to meet someone else who fights with butterflies."
"What?"
"I sometimes look out across the Earths looking for artists who catch my interest. I saw you take down a bunch of bad guys with butterflies. It was so cool, and really pretty!"
Taylor felt at a complete loss of how to respond to that statement, it was just so far outside the realm of anything she was expecting to hear. The only thing that she was certain of was that Glenn Chambers must never, ever be allowed to know that his PR plan for her would have prevented Taylor from going to Hell.
"Well… I am glad you enjoyed it?"
Yuyuko nodded furiously in response, "I also fight with butterflies, I was hoping we could exchange tips!"
"I don't think I could be too much help for you. I lost that power when I died."
Yuyuko pouted, "Ah, that is too bad." Then her expression brightened, "Oh, I know how about I teach you how to control butterflies again? It will be fun!"
Taylor asked hesitantly, "You can do that?"
"Yep, I'd be happy to."
Did she really want to be able to control insects again, or even just butterflies in this case. She wasn't sure. On one hand she still regretted what that power had brought her to, but it had also been a lifeline for her. Ever since dying and losing that power she had felt vaguely incomplete.
Taylor stalled, "I thought you said there isn't much reason to fight here."
"There is not. But Youmu and I do go down to Earth every once in a while and in Gensokyo they play this game called Danmaku. It sometimes gets used to settle disputes, but it is always a lot of fun and no one ever gets beat up too bad."
"We can visit Earth?"
"Uh huh. There is a portal just outside Hakugyokurou."
"Is that supposed to be there?"
Yuyuko shrugged, "Probably not but it will close naturally in the next couple billion years or so, so it isn't that big of a deal."
Taylor picked up another piece of sushi and bit down hard just to stop the madness that was this conversation. Getting part of her power back, the chance to visit Earth. It was almost too much. Finally she swallowed and spoke up, "I'm not sure getting my power back is a good idea. The last time I had it I did some pretty terrible things and ended up on a very dark path."
"Well this time I will make sure you find the fun in it! After all what is the after life for if not second chances!"
Taylor liked that, maybe this time she could do better. At least this time there probably wouldn't be any world destroying monsters to fight or multidimensional conspiracies to unravel. "I think I would like that."
Yuyuko tackled her to the floor with a hug.
-----=====-----
A/N: I love writing Yuyuko so damn much, she is just a fun character. I also like messing around with Yukari's absurdly broken power. I was intending for this chapter to focus entirely on following Yukari's search for Khepri but I decided to splice that into the next couple of chapters instead.
Mind made up, she crossed the Boundary between Now and Then. The sun faded from the sky and the moon took its place. Glancing at the shrine she saw that the defacement had vanished. She crossed the Boundary between Observable and Unobservable and waited for the vandal to arrive.
As she waited she looked up at the night sky and frowned. Yukari hated the way the lights of these cities drowned out the stars. It was the inevitable end of human nature she supposed, in their desperate search for safety and knowledge they would always destroy what made the world beautiful and mysterious.
She was pulled from her ruminations by the sound of feet approaching. She looked down at the shrine to see a young man setting up a light to shine on the mural. He stepped forward popping a lid off of a can and started spraying paint on the mural, adding the fearful name. Yukari allowed the boy to finish his work without interruption, but as he stepped away from the shrine she altered the Boundary so only he could observe her and spoke, "Well, well. What do we have here?"
She smiled as the boy jumped before turning down the street and started sprinting away. She altered the Boundary between To and From and laughed quietly as she saw the boy's expression change to terror as he realized he was now sprinting towards her instead of away.
"Cape!" he shouted and turned sprinting off in another direction.
Yukari once again inverted To and From. "Now is that any way to trea…"
Before she could finish her sentence the boy had taken off in yet another direction. Rolling her eyes she leaned down to pick up the objects the boy had left on the ground in his hurry to escape. After waiting a minute or two she opened a gap between herself and the location of the boy and stepped through.
She found herself in the back of an alley, the boy was standing at the front hugging the wall tightly. His head was barely out of the alley and he peeked down the street, likely looking to see if she had followed him. Silently she stepped forward and tapped him on the shoulder.
The boy jumped a full foot in the air. He twisted to start running away again but he tripped and fell to the pavement. As he twisted around looking up at her with a terrified expression she raised an eyebrow, "It didn't work the first three times, what makes you think the fourth is going to be any different?"
"What d-do you want from me?" She could barely make out the words with how fast the boy talked.
"Oh calm down, I'm not going to eat you." It was the truth, she was feeling a tad peckish but she didn't want to stop the boy from spreading the name of this new youkai. She held out the phone and cap the boy had left at the shrine "You dropped these."
The boy pulled himself to his feet and looked apprehensively at the items she was holding. Finally he reached out and grabbed them. He bowed his head in thanks, "Th-thank you ma'am."
She smiled up at him, "It is not a problem, but don't call me ma'am. I am far too young for such a title. Just call me Yukari."
The boy winced at her words, "Yes, ma… Yukari"
"Good boy. And what should I call you?"
The boy looked like he was about to run again for a moment but instead took a deep breath and answered. "Kyle."
"Well Kyle, I have a couple of questions. Do you think you could try and answer them?"
Kyle nodded stiffly before flinching as Yukari spawned a gap behind her so she could sit comfortably.
"Why were you writing on that mural?"
Kyle started to panic visibly, "I'll never do something like that again. I know all you capes swore to never talk about Khepri after Scion died. Just let me go, I'll never even mention Khepri again..."
Yukari raised her hand and he went quiet, "I didn't tell you to stop, I asked why were you writing the word Khepri on that shrine."
"I-" Kyle paused a moment and swallowed, "I just don't like being lied to. The Wardens keep claiming Khepri is just a rumor but half of the capes still go white in the face and storm out whenever Khepri is mentioned in interviews. And there are those journals that were attributed to Lenore after she died. I know people say they are a hoax but the level of mind control she described would explain why the capes are so scared of Khepri."
"So tell me, what do you think the capes are hiding?"
Kyle looked at her quizzically, "You are a cape, aren't you? Wouldn't you already know?"
Yukari gave him one of her enigmatic smiles, "What do or don't I know is of very little consequence right now. I want to know what you think."
Kyle still looked apprehensive but he continued to talk.
"If Khepri was just a parahuman with that type of power there would have been records. I mean one cape able to completely control thousands of people, that is absurd. There is no way to keep something like that a secret. Some people think they triggered during the Golden Morning but that doesn't make sense to me. I mean Khepri beat Scion, that doesn't sound like something someone could do freshly after becoming a Parahuman."
"But I guess what really scares me is just that, Khepri killed Scion. I mean Scion killed Behemoth and Parahumans had been trying to do that for decades, could a human really have killed him. I think Khepri had to have been something else, maybe another being like Scion or an Endbringer, or maybe even something else entirely. And the reason for all the secrecy is because Khepri didn't die in the end and the Parahumans are afraid that Khepri may return one day."
It was a classic tale for a monster, one that had been repeated over millennia and Earths alike. A group of people threatened by a force they cannot stop, only for a mysterious stranger to emerge and save them. The people celebrate but as the stranger leaves they promise to one day return for their payment. It was a perfect story for a youkai.
"Well then Kyle, if no one will talk about Khepri how do you know about them?"
"It has been harder to discuss this stuff with the internet being gone, but there is that book, Khepri: The Truth Behind the Golden Morning. It is difficult to get ahold of because no one will officially publish it but there are copies floating around if you know where to look."
Yukari hopped off her gap, "Well then I thank you for your time Kyle, you are free to go."
Kyle looked stunned, "Just like that?"
She smiled back at him, "Just like that."
Kyle all but fled from the alley at her assurance. As he left she altered the Boundary between Memory and Oblivion so that he would forget they had ever met.
A moment later she had returned to the point in space and time from when she had left and gave one last look towards the defiled shrine before she left. A classic story and a mysterious book, it truly was a perfect recipe.
-----=====-----
Taylor looked up at the beautiful manor before her. It looked like something from a dream. A single large manor surrounded by cherry blossoms trees for as far as the eye could see set against a full moon on a calm night. A slight breeze passed through the trees creating playful patterns in the petals as they gently floated to the ground. The only thing to spoil the image was a single massive barren tree on a hill behind the manor.
The Netherworld was beautiful as a rule. In the couple of months she had spent walking through the Netherworld to arrive at Hakugyokurou she had passed through a pristine city with architecture the likes of which she could have never even conceived of before, a bone white desert filled with slowly shifting dunes, a village at the base of a waterfall so massive she could not even see the top, but still there was something different about the beauty of this place. It made her feel calm in a way that the others had not. And according to some of the souls she had talked to during her trip over this was but a prelude to the true beauty of the place that would arrive when spring came to Japan. Then the trees which always appeared to be in full bloom would show their true colors.
Taylor walked to the door only for it to open for her on its own as she approached. As she stepped inside she found herself in a courtyard that appeared to be too large for the manor. Floating around the courtyard were dozens of spirits in both human and soul form. She noticed that the ones in human form all appeared to be writing or painting something, while the ones in soul form just wandered around. As she watched one of the human spirits pull away from the easel she was working on and transform into soul form. A noise caught her attention and she turned to see another ghost in human form tuning the strings on a harp.
As she reached the center of the courtyard a soul floated up to her and spoke, "Welcome to Hakugyokurou. Is there somewhere you are headed?"
"Yes, I was told that the princess here wished to meet with me."
The soul bobbed up and down as if mimicking a nod, "Then follow me, I will take you to Youmu, she is Yuyuko's attendant."
Taylor nodded and followed the spirit as it led her deeper into the manor. Eventually they arrived at a beautiful japanese garden. In the center of it there was a clearing with a short girl standinding perfectly still.
The girl wore a light green skirt and top and had a black ribbon tied in her shoulder length white hair. On her left hip she wore two swords, a short one and a long one with a large fluffy white tastle. Hovering behind her was a large white soul. The oddest thing about the girl was that she didn't look like the other souls Taylor had seen, she looked much more solid.
The girl's expression was one of calm focus and her right hand was hovering over the hilt of her sword. Too fast for Taylor to see the girl drew the sword into a single sharp cut and Taylor heard a noise from the other end of the clearing. Looking over she saw half a board swaying gently as it hung from one of the garden's trees, the other half of the board resting on the ground below.
Taylor shifted her gaze back to the white haired girl making careful note of the considerable distance between her and her apparent target. Filing away that apparent power in her head for later she followed the soul that had been leading her to the girl. The souls spoke as they approached. "Youmu, this one says Yuyuko wishes to meet with her."
Youmu smiled gently at the soul, "Thank you, Ei. I will take things from here."
The soul bobbed up and down again and left Taylor alone with Youmu and the silent soul still hovering behind her.
Youmu sheathed her sword before turning towards Taylor and giving her a small bow, "Welcome to Hakugyokurou, I am Youmu Konpaku the gardener here. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?"
Taylor awkwardly returned the bow, "I am Taylor Hebert."
Youmu smiled at the name, "Ahh yes, Lady Yuyuko was looking forward to meeting you. I can take you to her now if you wish."
Taylor nodded in response and followed her yet deeper into the manor, making it very apparent that the manor was far larger on the inside than the outside. As they walked Taylor noted that the silent soul still followed Youmu closely.
She turned to it and asked, "What is your name?"
Youmu glanced back at her with a confused expression on her face. A moment later it was replaced with a look of understanding, "That is myon, my phantom half."
Taylor looked at the white haired girl "Phantom half?"
Youmu gave her a smile that said this was something she had explained many times before. "Yes, I am not dead. I am half human, half phantom."
Taylor was about to ask how something like that was even possible but was interrupted as Youmu indicated that they had arrived at their destination.
Youmu slid open a door revealing a large room, at the center of which sat a low table filled with food. Next to the table a young woman that appeared to be around the same age as Taylor was sitting. She was wearing a light blue kimono patterned with a spattering of white cherry blossoms. On her head she was wearing a frilly blue cap with a white triangle rising out the front over her pink shoulder length hair. The girl turned towards them as they entered, her maroon eyes sparkling as she smiled brightly and quickly stood to rush over and pull Taylor's companion into a tight hug.
Youmu spoke, her tone remarkably professional given the circumstances, "Lady Yuyuko, this is Taylor Hebert."
Yuyuko turned her attention towards Taylor before releasing Youmu and pulling Taylor into her own hug. Unsure of what to do Taylor awkwardly returned the gesture with one arm. A moment later Yuyuko released her and grabbed her by the hand pulling her towards the table at the center of the room. "Come sit with me. We can talk while we eat."
She turned back towards Youmu, "Would you like to join us as well Youmu."
The white haired girl shook her head in response, "Thank you for the invitation Lady Yuyuko but I was in the middle of practice."
Yuyuko nodded and Youmu quietly left the room. Not sure what to do, Taylor sat down cross legged next to the table and asked, "Is there much need for her to practice swordplay here?"
Yuyuko sat down and responded, "A bit here and there. She mostly does it because she enjoys it. Now what would you like to eat?"
Taylor turned towards the spread on the table feeling slightly overwhelmed at the number of dishes she did not recognize. "I didn't think we needed to eat given that we are dead."
Yuyuko answered brightly, "We don't. I mean if we were on Earth for an extended period of time we would need to eat some mist every once in a while but while in the Netherworld we need nothing to survive. You should eat because food is delicious and brings us joy."
Taylor spotted something she recognized, "Then could I have some sushi?"
Yuyuko handed her a plate before grabbing one for herself as well.
Taylor grabbed the sushi with a pair of chopsticks and hesitantly pulled it up to her lips. After a moment she took a bite. It was delicious, it brought back memories of the wards going out for sushi after a patrol in Chicago. At the time she had barely been paying attention to the taste, too busy focusing on preparing for her and Tecton's plan to bring down those drug smugglers. But looking back now it was delicious and part of her wished she had used the time to talk with the other Wards rather than sticking in her own head.
Taylor pulled herself from her memories and looked back up at Yuyuko. She was shocked to see two discarded plates empty of sushi next to her as she contentedly sipped some tea. Taylor spoke, "Eiki said you wanted to meet with me."
Yuyuko nodded enthusiastically, "Yep, I had actually been intending to take you here if Eiki was going to send you to Hell, but she told me she wasn't so I just asked her to send you my way instead."
"You can stop people from going to Hell?"
"Yep, no one knows why though. I just have that ability. I can send them back if they want, or if they can't behave themselves here. I generally use it to save great artists from Hell."
Taylor suddenly felt very glad that the events played out like they had. If Eiki had sentenced her to Hell like she wanted only for her to be pulled out to here instead it likely wouldn't have ended well for anyone involved.
"Well I never was a great artist, even before Sophia started destroying my work. So why did you want to take me here?" Taylor knew what Yuyuko was going to answer and she wasn't sure how to feel about it. Sure Eiki had shown her the good her actions had accomplished but she still wasn't really comfortable with someone wanting to meet her because she had mind controlled thousands of people and forced hundreds of them towards her death against their wills.
Yuyuko's voice was bright and cheery, "I always wanted to meet someone else who fights with butterflies."
"What?"
"I sometimes look out across the Earths looking for artists who catch my interest. I saw you take down a bunch of bad guys with butterflies. It was so cool, and really pretty!"
Taylor felt at a complete loss of how to respond to that statement, it was just so far outside the realm of anything she was expecting to hear. The only thing that she was certain of was that Glenn Chambers must never, ever be allowed to know that his PR plan for her would have prevented Taylor from going to Hell.
"Well… I am glad you enjoyed it?"
Yuyuko nodded furiously in response, "I also fight with butterflies, I was hoping we could exchange tips!"
"I don't think I could be too much help for you. I lost that power when I died."
Yuyuko pouted, "Ah, that is too bad." Then her expression brightened, "Oh, I know how about I teach you how to control butterflies again? It will be fun!"
Taylor asked hesitantly, "You can do that?"
"Yep, I'd be happy to."
Did she really want to be able to control insects again, or even just butterflies in this case. She wasn't sure. On one hand she still regretted what that power had brought her to, but it had also been a lifeline for her. Ever since dying and losing that power she had felt vaguely incomplete.
Taylor stalled, "I thought you said there isn't much reason to fight here."
"There is not. But Youmu and I do go down to Earth every once in a while and in Gensokyo they play this game called Danmaku. It sometimes gets used to settle disputes, but it is always a lot of fun and no one ever gets beat up too bad."
"We can visit Earth?"
"Uh huh. There is a portal just outside Hakugyokurou."
"Is that supposed to be there?"
Yuyuko shrugged, "Probably not but it will close naturally in the next couple billion years or so, so it isn't that big of a deal."
Taylor picked up another piece of sushi and bit down hard just to stop the madness that was this conversation. Getting part of her power back, the chance to visit Earth. It was almost too much. Finally she swallowed and spoke up, "I'm not sure getting my power back is a good idea. The last time I had it I did some pretty terrible things and ended up on a very dark path."
"Well this time I will make sure you find the fun in it! After all what is the after life for if not second chances!"
Taylor liked that, maybe this time she could do better. At least this time there probably wouldn't be any world destroying monsters to fight or multidimensional conspiracies to unravel. "I think I would like that."
Yuyuko tackled her to the floor with a hug.
-----=====-----
A/N: I love writing Yuyuko so damn much, she is just a fun character. I also like messing around with Yukari's absurdly broken power. I was intending for this chapter to focus entirely on following Yukari's search for Khepri but I decided to splice that into the next couple of chapters instead.
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Yukari is going to make sure that said book is not only going to be kept in circulation; but Imp and Tattletale are going to be blamed for it, aren't they?
I mean, which is more believable, a high level Thinker working with a high level Stranger making sure a book talking about the "Truth" about their dearly departed friend is kept in circulation despite everyone else's best efforts...or some random person coming along who can make both physics and metaphysics their bitch?
- Location
- Argentina
Well unless you are Dragon you are most likely gonna forget Imp exists when she is not focusing on NOT being forgotten so the blame will be only on TT.
Ah yes Taylor, Worm, work of such controversies, people going towards and beyond stupidity and pain for ambigious reasons and convoluted plots of precogs.
Yeah thats a good way of looking Taylor up, giving such a tormented soul some rest, proper growth and chance for fun.
I can't say i like Taylor, for reasons everyone already heard but it's nice to see someone so young getting better after all that.
Taylor comitted oh so many horrible things, by bad reasons, arrogant and depressed reasons, self justified bad reasons, but never with bad intentions, and not only she did good things, she was willing to let things go in the end.
A kid or younger adult as she was by the end of the story, deserves a chance at peace and what better place then your quirky honest fantasy land!
Most of the time i would think giving Taylor yokai powers is bad idea, but well, it's Gensokyo
Yeah thats a good way of looking Taylor up, giving such a tormented soul some rest, proper growth and chance for fun.
I can't say i like Taylor, for reasons everyone already heard but it's nice to see someone so young getting better after all that.
Taylor comitted oh so many horrible things, by bad reasons, arrogant and depressed reasons, self justified bad reasons, but never with bad intentions, and not only she did good things, she was willing to let things go in the end.
A kid or younger adult as she was by the end of the story, deserves a chance at peace and what better place then your quirky honest fantasy land!
Most of the time i would think giving Taylor yokai powers is bad idea, but well, it's Gensokyo
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