"Excellent. For all its idiosyncrasies, I believe Gensokyo can live up to its reputation as a paradise."
"Paradise, huh? There's nowhere else in Japan, in the world, better?"
"Not that I am aware of."
"I don't disagree, but on occasion I think I'll miss all the sights of the world, the hustle and bustle of my home city.?
Really? We lived in a dumpy apartment. But it was your dumpy apartment and your trashy neighborhood.
Byakuren doesn't fight you, instead nodding in understanding. "Yearning for home is a natural feeling."
She has a modicum of her wiser-than-thou tone in her voice. It makes her sound as if the problem doesn't affect her. "You don't miss yours?"
"This is my home."
"Oh. So what was it like a couple hundred years ago? Nothing really change?"
"I am sorry. I did not mean to mislead you. I have only arrived to Gensokyo recently, but I already consider it my home."
"So the place where you were born, where you grew up is-"
"Not home." Her voice comes out sharply. You feel her squeeze your arm tightly for a moment.
Lucky you; she isn't using any sort of Buddhism-powered super strength.
You let the waters calm. As always, Byakuren is quick to let her flares of emotion mellow. "Forgive me. I should not have snapped at you."
"We're chill. I'm prying where I shouldn't." Not that you wouldn't like to know, but it's not vital information. You can respect what she does and doesn't want to speak about.
"No, that is not true. You have a right to know considering everything you and your sister have already shown me. Perhaps I am unsettled because I speak so little of the past."
Pfh. "You've got puppeteers and your temple putting on plays."
Byakuren smiles. "That is different."
You think she might let the topic lie, but after a few seconds she starts speaking again. "The village I am from was much smaller than the one here. It was rural, a farming village, noting of particular note. There was a temple relatively nearby, but we were one of the many villages surrounding it. I always found life there rather dull."
Byakuren watches you for several seconds. Her stare is slightly unnerving, but you meet it. "I am surprised you are not asking about more in your usual insensitive manner."
"Hey, didn't I just say I'm not trying to pry? I know I seem a bit blunt,"
a lot blunt, ?but I respect you enough to take what you offer."
"Thank you for the sentiments, but I would appreciate it more if you speak your mind. Do not change yourself to conform to my expectations."
"Don't worry, I'm still me. Maybe your lessons are finally rubbing off, eh?"
The two of you laugh a moment at your stellar joke.
Sarcastic as that was, I think you are improving. "I do not consider that village and the area around it, where I spent most of my normal life, my home. The people there did not care." Byakuren sighs and leans into you again, as if dredging up her memories is an exhausting affair. "Myouren accomplished a great many things for them, completely selfless, but they did not care when he was killed. Some, I remember, were delighted my brother died. They thought him too radical, too much of a wild card. Of course, he was anything but. His ideas were simply too progressive for the time, too great for the majority to comprehend. They were all shortsighted fools, idiots."
The venom in her voice surprises you. When was the last time you heard Byakuren speak with such hate? When she thought you would be a threat to her temple? When she was verbally sparring with Eirin?
No, this is a different level of intensity, one that you can understand. If your sister had moved on and you had been left alone to deal with the police and your neighbors, the murderers and those who did nothing for justice, your hatred would have flowed exactly like Byakuren?s.
"I'm sorry."
"Do not be. It is hardly your fault, and what is done is done."
She brushes off your words, but you're really feeling it. "It upsets me too. I haven't heard the full story, but I can imagine it. A bunch of dumbass humans letting their fears of the monster cloud reality. They start hating on the sensible guy, ruining the peace he's creating because they can't get past their prejudices. I get pissed off thinking about it." it's that kind of narrow minded thinking that starts wars and destroys the lives of innocent bystanders. It affects everyone, even you, but some people try to work past their bias and some don't.
Byakuren gives your upper arm a few strokes. "Calm yourself. Those people are all long dead."
You grumble a bit more, drawing a few chuckles from your companion. "But thank you. If there were more men like you and he?"
The two of you keep walking and talking, nothing along the sides of the road particularly catching your eye.
"Can you tell me about the Fujiwara?" you ask.
it's a bit random, a bit of an awkward transition, but the question had been weighing on you.
"Excuse me?"
"You were living when they were at their height of their power, right?"
Byakuren takes your question in stride, unbothered by your non sequitur. "Yes. What would you like to know?"
"I guess I'm just curious about how life was for the average commoner."
Byakuren rests her fingers on her cheek while she thinks and responds. "The life of the common man has hardly changed throughout time. One must pay taxes, deal with the bullying of those above one's station, and try to eke out a living for one's family with hope for the future. The Fujiwaras made some aspects easier, some more difficult, but it was little different overall. Why this sudden interest?"
You shrug. "Minamitsu and Mokou. There's a lot of bad blood on Minamitsu's part and I'm trying to understand why."
Byakuren's shoulders noticeably slump. "Ah, I see. Has she told you about her death, then?"
"Drowned, along with her dad and some Fujiwara officials from what I understand."
You feel bad about dragging down the festive mood with your question, but it's something you've been wondering. This is the first time you've had a chance to have a long talk with Byakuren in a while.
"That is correct," Byakuren sighs. "It is a hatred I have tried to lessen, but to little avail. An entire family does not deserve Minamitsu's hatred, but I fear little can dampen the nature of her existence."
"Don't feel bad about it. I can guarantee you the lively ghost girl we see now is far better off than the specter from the past and she'll only keep improving with you nearby." Your reassurance isn't empty. A vengeful ghost that isn't regularly murdering others has definitely improved.
Byakuren nods in appreciation, but doesn't necessarily agree with you. it's probably a sore point, being unable to fully support and ?fix? her friend.
Great job depressing her. Damn, someone could have cut you off if it was that bad of a topic.
I told you, I'm letting you flounder by yourself for a while. Hm. How to salve the situation? What to do, what to do?
You scan the crowd, looking for something relatively interesting. Naturally, your eyes gravitate towards the unusual. Long purple hair and prominent rabbit ears act as a lighthouse.
"How about a game or two?" you ask Byakuren.
The nun stands straighter and looks at the stall you single out. "I am unsure how much aptitude I have for this."
You wave away her concerns and step closer. "Don't worry, it's a warm-up and it's just for fun. Besides, I doubt you can do worse than that."
You point at the rabbit youkai that is throwing a fit. She has long white hair and a blue witch's hat on. She stomps her feet and waves her arms like a child, her blue dress and white apron fluttering.
"This game is a cheat!" She's screaming and causing a scene. The only ones standing close to her are Reisen and a few other lunar rabbits. A few look upset, others worried, but none of them are interfering with the white-haired rabbit's tantrum.
The owner of the stall, a fat kappa standing on a wooden stool, leans against the counter with one hand. "it's the same chances for everybody that tries. Stop complaining!"
His words enrage the white-haired rabbit. She quickly reaches down, as if to grab a weapon at her waist, but her hand comes away empty. She settles for clenching her fists and slamming them on the counter, nearly crushing the kappa's hand. "You little skink, I ought to-"
Reisen puts a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Let it go, Irisu."
The white-haired rabbit slaps away her friend's arm. "No way! My aim was perfect! If this wasn't rigged I would have-"
"Next!" the kappa calls out.
The white-haired rabbit whirls and looks ready to murder. Her lunarian friends jump on her, dragging her back and away from the stall.
Reisen is left standing on her own, uncomfortably adjusting her blazer.
"Having trouble there, Reisen?" you ask.
The sales rabbit nods to you and Byakuren in greeting. "A bit. I'm afraid she is rather overconfident in her shooting skills."
A scream of frustration accompanies someone getting elbowed by the fuming white-haired rabbit.
Reisen stomps her foot and starts yelling. "Settle down! You'll ruin our day off if you keep this up!"
The other rabbits start shouting in response. The white-haired one might be cursing in some alien language, while the others echo Reisen's anger. it's a rather dysfunctional group; you think some of the youkai will walk away from this with bruises.
"Geez, that girl. Master should hurry up and fix the screws loose in her head. It isn't worth keeping her like this."
A story there? "Is she-?
Not something you should be prying about. What? Why?
You don't ask about why someone's friend is psychotic. But it's a perfectly justified question for the situation!
Reisen is looking at you with a tilt to her head. Right, you suddenly stopped speaking.
"Uh, I would've expected you to be taking advantage of the crowds and selling some medicine," you say.
"That's for tomorrow," Reisen holds up her hand and counts the days off with her fingers. "Master is letting us enjoy today so we can sell tomorrow and help her with her experiments the day after."
"Isn't the third day of the festival the busiest? Wouldn't it make sense to try and market your goods then?"
Reisen shakes her head and gives Byakuren a pointed stare. "Not with the maneuvering some people have managed. We'd get squeezed out in a heartbeat. Better to drive hard on day two and move on to other work."
Byakuren is unashamed. Hell, she's smiling.
"Is it that bad?" you ask the nun.
"Not at all," she smoothly replies. "If others wish to sell their wares, we are not in a position to-"
"Myouren Temple events drawing attention all day, directing the crowds to the Myouren Temple peddlers all around?" Reisen interrupts. "We'll be lucky if there's any spare change floating by then. Not worth the effort."
Byakuren frowns. "We are not-"
"Relax, it's not like I'm out to crucify you," Reisen assure the nun. "I can appreciate a well-planned stranglehold. I've been too comfortable resting on my base - I'll need to start drumming up new business after the festival."
You worry about this rabbit. She seems a bit too invested in filthy lucre for her own good.
Reisen waves a hand at the stall and turns to the side. "Anyway, don't waste your money here. We've done the math and it should be impossible to win this. Dumb Irisu over there thought of it as a challenge to her skills, though. See you later." Reisen waves goodbye, off to enjoy herself with her lunarian friends.
"Damn rabbits, trying to ruin my business?" you hear the kappa mutter.
"Shall we move on, then?" Byakuren asks.
You look at the game. it's a simple one, all things considered. You just need to take the crossbow and knock over the stack of bottles. Each bottle would give you a different level of prize, a different size of stuffed animal. Hitting all three nets the largest prize.
"Nah, I want to try this. I like a challenge."
Byakuren groans slightly as your declaration.
So, you're on level with a crazy sniper rabbit now? A what?
That was the girl who blew Mokou's head off when we went to Eientei, if you forgot. Oh.
Well.
it's still a challenge.
Shameless. "You do?" the kappa asks, surprise evident in his expression.
"Is this some misconstrued attempt to impress me?" Byakuren asks.
You don't give her an answer and slap your money down on the counter. The kappa hands you the crossbow and three balls for projectiles. they're like Ping-Pong balls; you can see why the odds would be against the shooter. The weapon in your hand doesn't feel substantial enough to knock over an upright paper cup, let along whatever the stack of bottles are made up of.
"Is there any way I can win this?" you ask the kappa.
"Of course!" he shouts, indignant.
Well, if he says there is, he can't complain when you do.
You take aim with your first shot and fire at the center of the tri-stack. The bottles shake a bit, but the ball bounces off harmlessly.
You use the second shot and hit the lip of the top bottle, but it doesn't go down. It wobbles in place, taunting you.
Right, rigged. You can work with this.
You reach into your pocket, coating your fingers before you spin the ball in your hand. You let your magic ease out of your fingers for a few seconds, making sure the majority of the ball is covered. You see Byakuren giving you an interested glance, but she says nothing.
You place the ball on the crossbow and lackadaisically aim at the stack of bottles. A twinge of your fingers launches the ball which proceeds to smash through the three bottles, sending them scattering to the ground.
"C-Cheater!" the kappa shouts while jumping to his feet.
"How am I a cheater? You said this was winnable, right? Shouldn't I be getting my prize?"
He gapes like a fish. You can tell he wants to out you, to protest, but he can't. His credibility is at stake. Hell, you're doing him a favor by winning this.
You point to the overly large teddy bear. The kappa angrily punches a button, releasing a mechanical hook which drops the bear into your arms. You walk away with a grin, not another word spoken.
You suppose you can see why he would draw business. The bear is kappa-made, eccentric. There's a dial on the back. When you turn it, the bear shrinks and grows in size. It reaches a size as small as a frying pan and as large as a poster board. You aren't quite sure how it works, but you do see traces of magic when you check. You think you hear motors whirring inside it as well, but it doesn't weigh more than cloth filled with stuffing.
"Congratulations, despite your dubious claim to victory," Byakuren says.
A little magically-enhanced white bone dust is so very useful. Being able to imbue different properties in the bone like strong adhesives and added mass is useful in surprising ways. "Hey, thanks. Here you go."
You have the bear grow to maximum size and heave it at Byakuren.
"W-What?" The nun fumbles for a moment, having to grab the massive teddy bear around the stomach. For a few seconds, all you see is a brown teddy bear with legs coming out of its ass.
Then she manages to turn the dial, shrinking it down to where she can comfortably carry it in her arms.
"it's a present. I won it for you," you tell her with a grin.
Byakuren glances down at the bear once before holding it out at arm's length. "I could not possibly accept this."
"Don't worry about it. My reward was seeing the look on that guy's face when I won."
"I still cannot accept this." She continues to hold it out. She makes it seem like a ball of fire, ready to burn her.
You frown and take the bear back. "Why not? Don't like it? Not good enough for you? it's because the dirty, evil necromancer touched it right? Aren't you offended, Mr. Bear?" You look down and Mr. Bear nods, clearly upset at his treatment.
Hah, what a child. Byakuren scowls. "You know those are not the reasons. Such a gift is an attachment that can tempt us from the proper path."
"So, you're refusing the gift because of religious reasons?"
"Yes."
"it's because of religious reasons that you're selling Buddhist themed-apparel, hiring puppeteers to tell stories about how amazing you are, and performing in a grandiose play to attract more attention?"
"Well?" Byakuren looks down, her hands held together in front of her.
"We both know strict religious interpretation is not exactly your strong suit, Byakuren. If you don't want my gift you can just refuse, you know? I'd appreciate not being given the runaround."
You feel yourself grow a little angry that she would even try to feed you that bullshit.
"That's not it," she says.
You look at her.
She looks away.
You sigh.
Then she steps forward and yanks the bear from your hands.
She looks down at it, stroking its fluffy head before holding it against her chest with an arm. She reassumes her place at your side, linking her arm with your while refusing to meet your eyes.
"Thank you for the gift," you hear her whisper.
"You're welcome!" you chirp.
The two of you start to walk again, letting your mind wander amidst the crowd of people. There are plenty of traditional game stalls lining the roads as well as more modern, inventive ones. You see someone has several arcade games setup while next to that is a mall goldfish pond.
"I have not received many gifts," Byakuren suddenly begins to explain. "Your offer took me by surprise. My apologies."
You look at her and she looks back, eyes serious.
"That's a pretty lame reason," you respond.
Byakuren growls. You laugh and receive a face full of bear. One hit, two, three.
"Sorry," you choke out. The assault of the bear ends after another couple of whacks. "Is it that hard to take free things?" you ask.
"No, I suppose it is not."
Not hard, but she reacts like her secret collection of racy lingerie just spilled on the floor in front of you.
You come up with the worst similes. If it works it works.
"Is this really so rare, then?"
"Yes. I believe I can count the number of people who have given me gifts on one hand."
That can't be true. "What? Really?"
"Yes. Minamitsu, Ichirin, Shou, Myouren, and now you."
"That?s?what? Nobody else? Your parents didn't get you anything for your birthday? Neighbors didn't drop off food or something?"
"Our parents could not spend what little money we had on such frivolities, not that they would if they had more. We all celebrated on festivals, but those were communal feasts, no individuality. Once a year for everybody was the most we could afford," Byakuren doesn't describe her home- not home, birthplace? She doesn't describe it warmly. "I think it is part of the reason why Myouren decided to live the life he did, why he left and turned to a monastic life. He thought he could be less of a burden and help improve our lives by leaving, the fool."
That doesn't track. "Yet, he's one of the ones who gave you gifts?"
"My own fault. I was a rather poor elder sister. I could not stand the thought of Myouren living such a lonely, barebones life, so I followed after him. I bugged him and pestered him every step of the way. I never let up, never let him immerse himself in his religious life. Even once he grew strong, once he was casted away from the others for his different beliefs, I stupidly kept bothering him. Teach me, play with me, eat this, try that, do not sit there, come this way, take this job, help these people, do not waste time there, this is where we should go.
"He played along with almost anything I asked. One time, while we were traveling on my birthday, I complained about the lack of presents. It was a silly complaint, born of boredom. He made me a charm, that day. Every year after, he found something else. Sometimes home-made, sometimes surprisingly expensive, but always thoughtful."
Byakuren blinks and laughs a quiet and self-deprecating laugh. "Apologies for my rambling."
"No, don't be."
"At any rate, presents have been rare after his death. Demons do not happen to be generous souls or recall important dates and I considered the meager thanks from different villagers and youkai as payment for services rendered." Thankfully, Byakuren's voice begins to warm again. "It was only Minamitsu who was stubborn enough to force gifts onto me. Only Shou gave me weapons and items so practical I could not deny her. Only Ichirin left me little things on special occasions, innocuous gifts I would feel terrible to heartlessly toss away."
The two of you continue to walk and talk, the conversation moving on to more frivolous topics. You let Byakuren slowly cheer up again, distracting her with silly stall games and cheap entertainment. You waste the night away, enjoying the present together.
Late in the night, the two of you decide to eat. "You're okay with a bowl of noodles, right."
"That sounds wonderful." You choose a ramen stand, simple and easy.
The two of you dig into your meals, savoring the food after all the hunger-inducing activity. Halfway through your bowl, you speak up. "I know what you mean, though."
"Hm?"
"About gifts. For years, the books my sister bought for me were the best gifts I received.?
You bet they were. ?They were the only ones, too. Once she died, I almost never stuck around in one place long enough to receive them."
Byakuren decided to share. The least you can do is reciprocate. Besides, these are ideas you think she's already seen straight from your memories, only unelaborated on.
"You traveled because of your search, yes? How often did you move?"
"I'd say I stayed in area for a week or so. Long enough to follow up on whatever lead brought me there in the first place and then find a new hint to pursue. Sometimes, there was a specific reason for me to stick around longer in one area. Maybe I was researching a spell in an old library or I was setting up a larger ritual." After your stint with your first necromancer cult and then the tender care of your mentor and her paladin friends, you made sure to never involve yourself with another large group. Trying to gain favor and tutelage from some well-established wizard was not worth the time and potential betrayals.
"I see. It must be fascinating, to interact with people of many different beliefs and practices."
"It is interesting, but it's frustrating too. It turns out that most people skulking in the dark are complete assholes or are otherwise exceedingly ruthless."
"Surely not all of your time was spent with less-than-upstanding individuals."
"Not all of it, sure, but my visits to other groups were equally short. Maybe a quick few hours to different temples to talk about the afterlife before moving on, for example."
"Buddhist temples?"
"Yeah, but other religions too. I've tried to meet with everybody that has an opinion on the afterlife."
"Why?" Byakuren asks between slurps.
"Despite being a necromancer, what happens to people after they die is still a big grey zone. I can tell you for a fact that the Ministry of Right and Wrong you've got here in Gensokyo is ridiculously organized compared to other areas." Ridiculously inefficient, too. You might get nightmares if you think about all that paperwork foisted onto the reapers. "There was a little pocket out in Europe, closer to Russia, where everybody who died got to fight a giant soul-rending apparition."
The idea causes Byakuren's eyes to widen in surprise. "How do you know that?"
"I tried to talk to them. The spirits I pulled back either spoke to me about that trial or they didn't answer my summons at all."
The topic is a little dark, but it doesn't seem to bother Byakuren. She seems excited about this strange unknown. "Then, this afterlife monster'destroyed them? Their soul? Their very existence?"
"Maybe. Or it's possible some judge of the afterlife was holding onto them and misdirecting me. All I know is I couldn't reach them. If it was because they were removed from existence, moved on, reborn, or whatever else, I can't say."
"Rebirth? If an individual were to return to life, to become again, you cannot contact them?" Trust the Buddhist to ask about that.
You shrug. "I'm not sure if reincarnation, revival, or anything else like that is even real, no offense meant to anybody's religion."
Byakuren waves off your concern and smiles at you. "None taken. I too used to find the idea of one long dead being rebirthed to the world unlikely. However, the idea has gained weight over time."
If she believes, then she believes. You don't have enough information to make a conclusive statement either way. "On a theoretical basis," you go on to explain, "if someone's existence were to be brought back to the world of the living, I shouldn't be able to pull it from the afterlife. But if I can't reach a spirit, my magic isn't refined enough to give me more than a vague sense of why. It might be some form of reincarnation; it might be something else at play. Usually, I'd chalk it up to not having a strong enough connection. That's the simplest solution, Occam's Razor applied."
"What is this connection?"
"it's something that lets me get in contact with the dead spirit. I can't go and try to raise the first Japanese Emperor's spirit because we're too far apart. Anything of his left in the world is too nebulous to use."
"Hypothetically, then, what would let you speak with his spirit?"
"Best case? Bones. Or flesh or blood or anything else body related. I don't want to say it's guaranteed, but it gives me the best chance of success. Failing that, a direct blood relative would do. I can't say how DNA or whatever plays into my magic, but a child's blood can bring back their parent. Anything past that is unlikely. I've managed with a grandchild's blood before, but that was with a little magical boost from others." You draw the runes with lines of pepper while you speak, letting Byakuren examine the magical constructs you would use in such a ritual.
Byakuren asks for a few clarifications, working through the runes you use to simulate the natural command a more talented necromancer could create. "Fascinating. These workarounds you have devised are incredibly creative."
"Thanks. I've worked hard to compensate. I'm proud of it all." You let yourself bask in the compliment for a few more moments. "So, what's with all questions? Do I have an aspiring necromancer sitting next to me?"
"Hardly." Byakuren dismisses your insinuations. "I am simply curious about you, what you have spent your life achieving, and how it can be applied. It is interesting topic."
The conversation dies off, thee two of you returning your attentions to your meals.
[ ] Eat in silence
[ ] Talk
-[ ] "Nervous about the performance in two days?"
-[ ] "What is having a demon teacher like?"
-[ ] "What's going on with Alice? Pen pals?"
-[ ] "This scarf has been a lifesaver."
-[ ] "How long have you known Shou?"
-[ ] "Myouren seemed ridiculously strong."
-[ ] "Want me to win something else?
-[ ] "Thanks for the help with the jiang-shi."
-[ ] "When do you plan on letting Ichirin succeed you?"
-[ ] "What do you think about me?"
-[ ] "Does Minamitsu's past bother you?
-[ ] "Can you teach me some of your magic?"
-[ ] "If I said ?Marriage? you would say??"
-[ ] "Can you put that mask on and spill some blood on it?"
-[ ] "Let's fuck, right here."
[ ] <Write-in>
---
I'm probably going to apologize for these sluggish updates, every update. Slowing down right when we're hitting an interesting arc is extremely annoying.
Anyway, show me your conversational skills! This is?possibly, fairly important.
>>174174 She might be a bit?indisposed, at the moment. Someone else should know (I really hope someone else knows or I'll be crushed) what I'm talking about. >>174175 I want to say you're close. I really do, because that sounds awesome!
>>174182 I am too, although I must say I've been actively avoiding it in general up until this point. After someone brought it up in the last vote, I thought about it, and the idea really grew on me. Will this lead to more fun and exciting things down the road? Probably not, for the good of this story, but my author's bias so hopes....
>>174183 No worries. it's not like she, Byakuren, is going to harm you herself.
>>174187 >It begins Indeed it does. Indeed it does.
>>174188 Depending on who you speak with, they might even say she's not a nun at all!
