The White Rose of Chireiden

[Alfred F. Jones]

Utsuho pulled up the green blindfold from her eyes.

“You can see now?” Shinki asked, flying alongside her.

“Aye.” The hellcrow rubs her eyes and looks around. “This is what nighttime looks like?”

“Yes, and it'll only keep getting darker as the night wears on.” Shinki looked over at her. “How good are your eyes in the dark?”

“I grew up in the dark.” Utsuho hoped Shinki didn't press that question any further.

For her part, Shinki noticed that Utsuho had responded in an oddly tight-lipped manner, and let it go for now.

Thankfully, Utsuho changed the subject herself. She looked down at the horse she was riding on, and touched the cloth draped on its sides under the small saddle she was on. It was red and gold, a coat of arms decorated with a golden lion. It lost its brightness with the coming of night, but it was still recognizable.

“What is this?” she asked, pointing it out to Shinki.

“Ah--” Shinki suddenly felt herself want to do the same thing as Utsuho had, to shut down her words and not respond. She wanted to tell her, but she couldn't say that name...

“It's the coat of arms of the Lady Cid,” the demon deputy said as he led her charger by the bridle. “We always have a horse ready for her, you see. I had assumed it would be her leaving the carriage with you, Shinki-sama,” he said, this time turning his attention to his master.

Utsuho had no idea what that title was, but she watched Shinki grow almost visibly withdrawn and refuse to reply and then she knew whose title it was. The ignorant deputy, ignorant through no fault of his own, still wanted an answer.

“She... won't be riding anytime soon, I'm afraid.” the hellcrow told him, answering for Shinki. “I appreciate this, in any case.”

Shinki raised her head from where she had lowered it and looked over to Utsuho, who felt compelled to give her as warm a smile she could manage.

“Ah, I see,” the deputy nodded, dropping the subject. Shinki took the chance to smile back at Utsuho.

The sun was over the mountains now, and the moon was rising behind them. The path they were walking down was a paved road, surrounded by dark green grass and the occasional evergreen while they walked down a gradual slope.

Utsuho was thankful, but she came to the realization that she didn't like the idea of animals being used for riding. She resolved to ask the horse for forgiveness later.

“So,” the hellcrow asked Shinki, “Where are we going?”

She heard Shinki let out a deep breath. “To Hokkai Prison, to see the prisoner I told you about earlier.”

“What do you need to talk to her about?”

Shinki wanted to respond, to take Utsuho into her confidence. But she wasn't willing to show the same to the deputy.

“Deputy, go ahead of us and inform them of our coming.”

“At once, Shinki-sama.”

He let go of the reins of Utsuho's horse, but she caught him by the shoulder before he could leave. “You can take this, you know.”

“But--” He looked over to his lady for his orders.

“As she says,” Shinki said, leaving it up to her. Utsuho took the chance to jump off the poor horse's back. If she had any time after this, she would bring it some grass, or whatever horses ate. Her sore feet hit the ground hard, but showing pain was beneath her.

The deputy nodded to her, climbed atop the horse himself, and galloped off.

“What was that about?” the god empress asked.

Utsuho winced at the implied rebuke. “I-I apologize. I am... uncomfortable with the idea of... riding another animal.”

“But why would... oh.” Shinki's light blue eyes widened. “I didn't realize...” She flushed, and with the darkening light, Utsuho's eyesight was actually improving, so she saw the flush.

The hellcrow laughed quietly and walked by her new master's side.

“I-I apologize for that, then. We do not have many youkai like you here in Makai. Most of the residents here are demons, and demonic youkai, not animal-type youkai.”

“Those are different?” Utsuho asked. “I have never been outside of Chireiden. I've never met anything other than different kinds of animal youkai and fairy.”

“Well, I'm not sure that they would fall under the usual classification of 'youkai' that exists in the greater Gensokyo territory. I created them the way I wished, after all.”

The hellcrow tilted her head. “What do you mean... 'created' them?”

“Precisely that.” Shinki smiled. “I created them.” She lifted her hands to her sides; her sleeves fell down to show her flexing her hands and fingers. “With my own two hands, each and every one.”

“Only a god could do that.” Utsuho shook her head.

Shinki put her hand to her mouth to cover her grin. “Did you think my title of 'God Empress” was just for show?”

“What are you saying...? Are you saying that...”

“That is exactly what I am saying. I am a god, Reiuzi-san.”

“What? Nah.” Utsuho waved it off. “There's no such thing as true gods except for the Yatagarasu. Aren't you just a really powerful youkai?”

“I'll try not to be insulted by that,” Shinki replied in a dry tone of voice, hands glowing. “Look over here, Reiuzi.”

“Huh?” Utsuho turned just in time for Shinki's snowball to hit her square on the nose.

She sputtered, wiped her face. “What WAS that?!”

“Snow,” Shinki replied, a slow grin creeping across her face. “Never seen it?”

“N-no,” the brown-haired girl replied, wiping away the unfamiliar substance. It was cold against her fingers, and melted at her touch. It was flaky, and if she looked closely, there were little designs in the snow.

“Flaky snow bits with six sides...”

“Reverse. They're called 'snowflakes'.”

“Snowflakes,” Utsuho repeated.

She was starting to get the idea that there was a lot of world out there to see, and the thought made her almost dizzy with fright and interest at the same time.

“And where do they come from?” she asked.

“Normally, they come from the sky,” Shinki replied. “But this time?” She held up her hands, now glowing again. “I'm a creation goddess, after all.”

And to Utsuho's amazement, snowflakes began to fall from her hands onto the dry ground.

“... wow,” was all she could say.

Shinki grinned and closed her hands, dropping them to her sides. “Shall we keep going? We're not far.”

“C-certainly,” Utsuho replied, and somewhere in the back of her mind she wondered why Shinki was showing a prisoner of war such politeness. That was more suited for friendship, wasn't it?


Hands closed around Yumemi's throat, but sometimes her body moved faster than her mind did, and this time she was grateful for it.

They closed like a vice, but by that time her neck was out of the way. She pulled it back, swept down, hit the ground, and rolled away, and it took her brain a few seconds to catch up.

A surprised gasp. “Oh, my... I didn't ex... pect such r-reflexes.” It was a woman's voice. Yumemi felt panic and anger surging in her veins but controlled her breathing as she had been taught so long ago.

The reflexes were her second nature. Her first nature was to ask questions.

“What the hell are you doing? Why are you trying to kill me?!”

Too bad those reflexes didn't include actually lashing out and hitting people. Otherwise, she thought, they might have been useful.

“I should be a-asking you the same... thing,” the voice replied. “Y-you're not here to... to kill me, are you?”

“I don't... I don't even know who you are,” Yumemi said. “I just fell down here by accident.”

“Oh.... it was an... accident? My apologies for trying to... hurt you.”

Yumemi frowned. The stranger spoke with an odd stilt to her voice. It seemed archaic, the way she was spacing out her words. Or maybe it was because she hadn't spoken to someone in a long while, which seemed more likely. Though it could always be both.

“It's okay. I'm the invader here, after all.” She swallowed her anger at being attacked; the stranger seemed nice enough for a potentially dangerous criminal. She held out her hand. “Okazaki Yumemi.”

The hand was a trap. She waited, her heartbeat accelerating slightly from excitement as her fingers twitched, ready to release the spring-loaded poison dart under her sleeve.

The stranger came forward in the dim light, but then held back. “... uh, what?”

“Hm?” Yumemi forced her heartbeat to calm back down.

“What is that... gesture, you just made,” she replied, again pausing at weird points in her sentences.

“It's a greeting,” Yumemi said, and then frowned. “Wait... just how long have you been down here?” Most of the youkai of Gensokyo understood a handshake as a greeting, but not this stranger. Odd.

“A... very long time.” She raised her right hand to mirror Yumemi's, and stepped into the dim light. “My name is Hijiri Byakuren. It is good to meet you.”

Yumemi considered. A prisoner for how long, exactly?

She shook her hand tentatively, keeping in mind that she could always make up some other kind of ritual to trick Byakuren into getting shot with her poison dart. “I’m an explorer of sorts,” she said (it was only kind of a lie). “This wasn’t where I was aiming for, but I fell in here anyway. Is there any way to get out?”

“Oh, I have free rein... of the entire bottom floor,” Byakuren said. “It’s easier to just seal off the entire floor than... to have individual cells. So the only way out is the way you came in... not that it would do me much good.”

Talk about suspicious. Just how dangerous was this prisoner, anyway?

The redhead looked around, brushing off some dust. “Hm? Why so?”

“Because,” Byakuren replied with a smile in the dark, “This entire prison... is built to seal me in.”

Yumemi spun around and raised her arm to shoot the dart at Byakuren.

Byakuren was faster.

However long that woman had been down here, her imprisonment hadn't done much to diminish the speed of her reflexes. She was already out of the way before Yumemi could fire. Yumemi also moved by reflex, trying to keep a distance between herself and the prisoner.

“Who are you, really?” Yumemi asked. “And how long have you been down here?” She gritted her teeth. She was wasting time here. She needed to find the person they were here to rescue, not fight this woman. Judging from the grace and control she had over every movement of her body, imprisonment hadn't made her weak.

Byakuren didn't answer; in fact, she looked... disappointed.

“Humans haven't changed... since my days in the temple, I see,” she sighed. “You're still as barbarous and inhumane as you... accuse youkai of being.”

“Humans...?”

Then it hit her. It should have been so obvious. Byakuren wasn't a human. Which meant that she was...

“You're a youkai,” Yumemi said in a low voice. “And one who plays at looking human, too. That means I can't trust you.”

In the dim light, Byakuren's eyes looked dull. “My name, as I said... is Hijiri Byakuren. I was once a monk, a very long time ago...”

She took a fighting stance, spacing her legs and feet apart in precise measurements Yumemi was sure she had been practicing for a very long time. She would never last against a fighting machine like that.

Then Yumemi heard a strange sound from the dark, but before she could say anything--

“But not long enough. Humans have not changed over nine hundred years of my imprisonment. How quick to anger, violent, and vicious you are! Now, Namusan!”


Apparently I have some kind of fetish for throwing monotheists into situations where they meet other gods. Huh.

At some point I'm gonna post all of these in the first post, but for now I'm just going to throw this here, as it was given to me for my birthday:

Guess which alternate ending of a certain story this picture is representing! I bet you can't guess~ <3 [Seeing as it was so long ago, maybe you might. ]
Obligatory THANK YOU to Aoshi~ <3

There's also another one Aoshi did, of Yumeko holding her sword to Koishi's neck, and I'll find that and post it here when I'm less drowsy and it's less 2:46 AM.

Now I will have to get people to bully me into updating more because I am the furthest thing from self-motivated. Cheers and goodnight.

Edit: Oh hey, I just noticed that it's the anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, which is what a lot of the first arc of White Rose is based on. Rest in peace, ladies.

[MatsuriSakuragi]

Heheheh, I see that we're now getting to see Koishi's subconscious manipulation ability in action. (I had to laugh when she said she'd be coming back for dessert, as well.) I wonder what will happen next with her. Also, it's too late to be wishing for Utsuho to be around, I think. :<

I'm also constantly surprised at how gentle and soft-spoken Shinki is, despite everything that happened with Yumeko. It's simultaneously heartwarming and saddening to see her acting so warmly toward Utsuho, even when insulted. I have to wonder how their relationship will develop from here, despite both characters recently losing someone they dearly loved.

And yaaaaaaaaaay you didn't crush Yumemi with rocks like you've been threatening all this time~ and we now get to see Byakuren in action now, too. I look forward to seeing how Yumemi's power will match up with hers. :3

Keep up the good work! It seems like exciting things will be happening soon.

[D8ms]

I started browsing these forums not too long ago, at first I would only check the news every few days - that is until I found how awesome people are at writing, and how creative and immersive the stories are. Fics like this is why I browse the forums more often that my anti-procrastination conscience tells me I should. All I have to say is: Damn, my birthday present came a little early this year.

[Jq1790]

Oh my, it seems we finally got to you.  The only appropriate response is, of course(Given the mouseover text and all...)
 :flowerpower:

So yeah, like Yuka up there says...Thanks, Ruro!

Now don't go doing such insane breaks and maybe you won't have to get mauled by people asking you to write more, and your conscience will leave you alone, hm?  =D

Of course I kid.  Would rather wait a year and a half(Please don't.) but get your best work than have it rushed even a bit.  This story's too good for that.

[nolrai2]

Thank you.

THis story is really really amazing.

[Alfred F. Jones]

It has been too long. I got a PM from capth some time ago and resolved that I would thank him for his words of encouragement in public. I didn't think that would take months to get around to doing. >___> But aw hell, we're back. There are some announcements after this update; I'll save my notes for then.

For now, I think I've kept everyone waiting (including myself) quite long enough, so let's get a move on.

Where we last left off:
Satori and Orin and Sumire are dealing with the fallout of the invasion of Chireiden.
Utsuho and Shinki are heading down the trail to visit someone in prison.
Koishi is cavorting around the mansion of the governor of Hokkai and trying out the new powers of her closed Third Eye.
Yumemi, Chiyuri, Kogasa, Yuka, and Hirano have reached the bottom floor of Hokkai Prison, searching for the Hakurei miko, and Yumemi comes face to face with the legendary prisoner of Hokkai, a certain Hiziri Byakuren...


As promised, Koishi returns for dessert, and the cook is none the wiser. Koishi quite likes this arrangement she has; she suggests something, and other people do it. A part of Koishi's mind knows that this isn't quite mind control, but it's something much like it. She wonders where the limits of this power are, for about five seconds, and then she turns to another topic.

The sun has set by now and the cool night falls. Koishi is grateful for the blanket-cape she stole from the carriage. It keeps her warm, and the patrolling roof sentry readily accepts the suggestion that there is nothing where she is sitting.

She isn't quite sure, but she thinks that her suggestions will work out better if she makes them ordinary and nondescript. Better to not risk pushing it, in any event.

Koishi pushes deeper concerns out of her mind and instead turns her thoughts (such as they are) to her dessert. They are light pastries of some kind; thin, fried triangle-shaped chips of some sort, drenched in honey and brown sugar and topped off with whipped cream and a strawberry. They are gone far too fast. Koishi finds that she has a taste for very sweet things.

She licks off the tips of her fingers as she looks up at the dark sky and marvels at how strange it is, to not feel a roof over one's head at all times.

?Wonder what those little white spots are.?

She shrugs and thinks about what to do next. Explore? Nah, already done that. And survival instinct says not to go into the woods around here at night, unless she wants to risk capture. She pays attention to that instinct, which has a different tone to its voice than before. Why?

What next, then? She moves her legs apart and finds that they stick to each other. Then she notices how dirty she is. She needs a bath or a shower. Ugh, this is gross.

To get a shower... how do people in the aboveground take showers, anyway? Chireiden always had the water pipe system that provided fresh water from... somewhere. The water was heated and piped into the castle. There was no widespread public water system. Maybe that could have stopped the fire--

To get a shower... how do people in the aboveground take showers, anyway? Do they bathe in rivers? Or in pipes?

Luize is the person to ask, she supposes.

She frowns at her Terza Occhia. She's not quite sure how, but she remembers this as being able to find people from a distance by listening to them. But for some reason that function is gone. Why?

The cords slither and the Third Eye lands in her open left hand. Koishi sighs. Maybe opening the lid would work? But no. There's something in her head that reminds her that having it open causes bad things. So she doesn't.

She'll just have to find Luize manually, then. She twitches a muscle in her neck and the cords of the Third Eye pull it away from her hand. These clothes are really uncomfortable; the cords have had to stretch themselves out to handle it. She'll have to modify them later with buttons up the sides to accommodate her Third Eye.

When did she become so easily distractible by any little thought running through her head?

Koishi shrugs and sets off to walk along the palisade and try to hear Alice or Luize's voice.

-----

[Alfred F. Jones]

?But not long enough. Humans have not changed over nine hundred years of my imprisonment. How quick to anger, violent, and vicious you are! Now, Namusan--?

Yumemi flinched at the spark of light that had appeared just as Byakuren had finished declaring her intent to fight. Her body reacted on trained instincts, and she dropped to the floor and rolled out of the way of whatever Byakuren would be aiming at her.

As it turned out, Byakuren hadn't aimed at her. She rubbed her eyes again and again, blinking away the burn of the spark on her retinas.

When her vision had mostly come back, she saw Chiyuri standing atop the pile of dirt and stone Yumemi had brought down earlier, pointing her laser gun at her.

?What is that?? Byakuren asked, still blinking.

?It's the gun with which I'm gonna shoot you if you raise a hand against my boss,? Chiyuri replied.

?I'm afraid I don't know what a gun is, but...? She frowned. ?Whatever it is, would you like to test it??

Chiyuri clicked off her safety and rested her finger on the trigger, ready to fire. ?Care to try it??

Byakuren narrowed her eyes, but before either party could react, a voice came from further up the hidden shaft.

?Would you please stand down, Chiyuri-san? We have a job to do!?

Chiyuri scowled now as Hirano jumped down to stand next to her.

?Excuse us for the intrusion,? she said, greeting the prisoner and brushing dust off her robes.

?A shrine maiden?? Byakuren asked, and she visibly stiffened.

Hirano must have noticed it, because she raised her hands to show there was nothing in them except the Sacred Fire hanging from her right wrist. ?Yes, a shrine maiden, but I'm not here to hunt youkai or anything. In fact, my mission is one of liberation.?

Now the prisoner just looked puzzled. ?Liberation??

The miko nodded. ?Indeed. Shinki, Empress of Makai, has a certain person in captivity down here, someone needed desperately back aboveground in Gensokyo.?

?Oh, do you mean...?

?Chiyuri! Come quick!?

Chiyuri clicked the safety back on, holstered her gun, and moved into the darkness without a look back. Byakuren nodded her head in that direction, and Hirano followed.

Hirano raised the light of the Sacred Fire, and revealed the scene in the dark.

?Hakurei Sayuri-san!?

The warm light of the Sacred Fire lit up Yumemi, who had heard a sound earlier and rushed over to find out what it was. She sat on her knees next to Sayuri. But the sound hadn't been a groan of a grown woman; it was the cry of a child.

And there she was, revealed by the light, hiding in her mother's skirts.

?And Hakurei Reimu! We found them!?

Sayuri blinked at the bright light in the cave darkness, but after a few moments, she looked up and saw Hirano's face, and smiled.

?I knew you'd come.?

Hirano smiled back. ?Hey, cousin.?

?We came to rescue you,? a voice called out. Yumemi looked up. It was Yuka, coming down from the shaft, a smirk on her face. ?Good of you to have stuck around that long, huh??

?Kazami-san!? Sayuri called out, coughing. ?It's g-good to see you!?

She tried to raise a hand, but the chain on her wrist rattled, and she could only raise it so high.

Yumemi was about to say something, but was struck by how thin and weak her wrist looked, shackled in a manacle.

Byakuren kept her distance. She nodded to Kogasa when she floated down the shaft and landed on the ground, though.

Hirano knelt on the ground next to Sayuri, who looked more and more unhealthy the more Yumemi observed her. She was far too thin except for a swell to her stomach, and her skin too pale and too hot, with sweat on her brow and a permanent half-wince, half-smile on her face. The little girl, Reimu, looked better, if nervous and scared.

?Hakurei-san,? Yuka said, reaching Sayuri's other side and sitting down there.

Sayuri gave her a grin. ?It's been too long. I even started missing you down here.?

Yuka looked like she wanted to smile back, but instead she just held Sayuri's left hand in her own.

?Both of you are chained up,? Hirano said, following the chains with her hands. ?How pointless. It's not like you're going anywhere locked up down here on the lowest level.?

Sayuri attempted a laugh, but started coughing violently instead, and Yumemi realized that they didn't have much time.

?We have to get these off,? she said, grabbing the chain and pulling, but the moment she tugged, the chains heated up and scalded her right hand.

?Ffffffffffffuck,? she hissed, gasping and dropping the chains. They heated up to the point of glowing yellow, but the moment she dropped them they went back to their dull grey. Yumemi noticed that only in passing, too occupied by her burning hand.

?You okay?? Chiyuri asked, jumping to her feet and looking to her boss' hand as she grit her teeth against the pain.

?No,? Yumemi replied with a hiss. ?God damn, that burns.?

Sayuri winced on her behalf.

?I guess we can't take them off by conventional means,? Hirano said, furrowing her brows. ?Wait a moment...? She reached out and touched a link on the chain, but instead of pulling on it she lowered her eyes to it. ?Huh... I haven't seen this kind of lock in a long time. Yuka??

Yuka looked closely at the lock Hirano was holding, careful not to tug on it.

?If it's the kind of lock you're implying it is, then I can't help you open it at all,? Yuka frowned.

Hirano nodded. ?At least we have a human that can do this.?

?Human?? Kogasa tilted her head. ?What do you mean? Yuka-sama, you can't break those chains??

Yuka shook her head. ?Unfortunately no. My voice wouldn't have any effect.?

?Voice??

Hirano hung the pagoda of the Sacred Fire on a ring on the wall, and moved to sit in seiza position, putting her right hand up in as if to pray.

?Yes,? Yuka replied. ?That kind of lock is a particularly cruel one. You have to break all the chains of the lock for it to fall off, or else it will burn the prisoner to death if they walk too far away. And in this case, it has to be done by a human. A youkai's chanting won't have any effect.? She frowned. ?I guess Shinki saw us coming.?

?And I suppose it's to make sure Hiziri-sama cannot open it,? Kogasa said, nodding in her direction.

Huh, so that was her name. Was it the same legendary Hiziri who... no, couldn't be. She put that train of thought aside. ?And there's one more requirement to break the chains. And it's very frustrating.?

?What is it?? Kogasa asked.

Hirano closed her eyes and concentrated.

?Tago no ura yu
Ucha idete mireba
Mashiro ni zo
Fuji no takane ni
Yuki wa furikeru.?

A red spark from the chain confirmed what she had feared.

?Damn. So it's this kind of seal.? Hirano winced and reached into her miko's gi for something.

?The seals come off if you chant poems or sutras, but they can't be any shorter than three verses.? Yuka frowned. ?So it takes a while to completely destroy the chains.?

?That...? Kogasa furrowed her brow. ?Is the most convoluted form of a lock I have ever heard of.?

?It used to be more common,? Yuka replied. ?But that was a long time ago.?

Hirano pulled a slim volume from her robes. She flipped to a page and sighed.

?What was that from?? Yuka asked her.

?The Man'yōshū,? Hirano replied, moving her hand to indicate the book. ?Yakumo-san told me that this might come in handy, but I didn't anticipate this.?

?Either that Yakumo has really old-fashioned tastes, which is completely possible,? the green-haired youkai said in a low voice, ?or she's just really good at guessing, which is also possible... or...?

Hirano pulled out a red-and-white ofuda, and placed it on her wrist as if it were an adhesive bandage. ?Or...??

Their eyes met.

This was pre-determined.

?I'll have to ask her about it later,? Yuka replied, breaking eye contact and not stating her true answer. ?But for now, I think our biggest priority is getting Hakurei-san out of here.?

?Aw,? Sayuri said, her right hand running through her small daughter's hair. ?That'd be nice.? She looked up at the stone ceiling, lit up by the little pagoda full of sacred fire. ?I think I'd like to see the sky one last time.?

?Don't speak like that, cousin,? Hirano said, pulling out some more ofuda and wrapping it around her right forearm. ?Your daughter needs a mother.?

?Heh... true enough, but I don't think she'll be able to keep the original around.? She winced, and Hirano paused for a moment.

?What exactly is wrong with you?? she asked in a low voice.

?My... stomach. Somewhere around there.? She laughed, then caught herself. ?I h-have to be careful not to laugh too hard, or it just hurts more.?

?I don't know anything about medicine.? Hirano looked down, opening up a page of the  Man'yōshū. ?I don't know how much time you have.?

?Me neither, but I know it can't be long.? Sayuri was definitely sick; sick from what, Yuka couldn't identify.

?I can let you both go at the same time, I think.? Hirano reached out and grabbed both sets of chains that held mother and daughter in place, careful to lift them in a way that wasn't yanking on them to avoid the trap.

?Don't bother. It's my Reimu-chan that needs saving.?

Hirano shook her head.

?Sorry, cousin, but you forgot that I'm the kind of person who takes pleasure in doing the exact opposite of what the people around her want.? The Man'yōshū was in front of her, on the floor, lit up by the light of the pagoda so she could read the words. ?I'll release you both.? She brought her hands together, and both chains with them.

?Haru no nu ni
Sumire tsumi ni to
Koshi ware zo
Nu wo natsukashimi
Hito yo nenikeru.?

A red spark came from both chains now, and this time Yuka noticed something she hadn't noticed the first time: a flash of pain on Hirano's face.

?That's going to hurt after a while,? Sayuri said in a quiet voice.

?Doesn't matter.? Hirano brushed strands of hair out of her face. ?You'll see the sky again.?

?Should I turn the page?? Kogasa asked, settling down with her umbrella on the ground next to Hirano.

The shrine maiden nodded. ?Thank you.?

Yuka turned and saw Yumemi and Byakuren conversing, with Chiyuri by her side, and decided that her place should be by the Hakurei miko's side, because it was in the middle of the darkness that she would most need her companion from her youth.

Sayuri smiled as Yuka sat next to her, and relaxed a little. At least she had some friends in the worst of times. And so would Reimu, someday.

-----

[Alfred F. Jones]

Yumemi shook her burning palm in the air, trying to cool it down. Of course, there was no ice down here, so she couldn't do much other than grit her teeth against the scorching pain.

?Okazaki-san.?

Oh, great.

?Okazaki-san, can I see your hand??

She had walked over to where Byakuren was leaning against the wall, with the long chains that held her in place coiled up on the ground. The lack of proper lighting made her look downright sinister, Yumemi thought.

?It's burning,? she said, not quite sure how to turn her down and get her to stay away in such a confined space.

?I know. That's why.? Byakuren walked forward a few paces, extending her own hand. ?Let me see it.?

Yumemi frowned. This was the woman who had been about to attack her earlier. Well, she had partially instigated that... but she was also a youkai. Not a woman. A creat--

The memory of Chiyuri's glare disrupted that thought and she scowled, partially in pain and partially in annoyance.

She struggled to keep her thoughts on track, blocking out the pain. She started again. Byakuren was a youkai... a youkai woman, as irritating as it was to make that concession. And she was apparently very dangerous, or she wouldn't be locked down on the lowest floor of this Hokkai Prison.

?Are you going to rip my arm off?? She asked, deciding that being polite wouldn't get her anywhere, and neither would being rude, so she was just going to be as indifferent to Byakuren's reactions as possible.

That got a chuckle out of her. ?You really do not trust me, do you??

?You don't even like me.?

?Fair enough. But this time you got yourself hurt not because you were being stupid, but because you were trying to help someone chained down. And I can sympathize with that.?

Was she trying to get Yumemi to help her with her own chains? Not happening. On the one hand, she imagined that if Chiyuri could hear her thought processes, she would call her excessively paranoid and untrusting. But that was crazy talk.

On the other hand... that hand was burning.

?Fine.? At least if she ripped it off, she would know whether or not Byakuren could be trusted once and for all. She extended her hand to meet Byakuren's.

Byakuren took the scientist's hand in her own, and came a step closer.

Yumemi winced. Her hand was still burning, so it was hard to feel much more beyond the lingering sensation of hot chains scorching her skin.

That is, until the sensation of Byakuren's--

She almost short-circuited at the feeling. She couldn't believe her senses. She had to see it.

Yumemi turned her head and saw Byakuren's lips on her hand and felt like she was dying. Mostly of embarrassment. But then another thought showed up in her head:

Hey, it doesn't hurt as much anymore.

As difficult as it was to even think sentences in an objective manner, she had to say it: Byakuren's lips were very cool and very soft. Why did the last adjective have to be there? Why? If she had been alone, this was the moment in the story where Yumemi would cover her face with embarrassment.

Ugh, why did her lips have to be so damnably cool and soft to the touch?

Byakuren opened her eyes and saw Yumemi. Oh, right. She could do that-- see in the dim light. Youkai.

It looked like she wanted to say something, but held back. Yumemi hadn't noticed, but at some point her hand had been turned upwards, so Byakuren had kissed the palm of her hand and not the back of it. Which explained the sudden coolness and lack of burning sensation.

Byakuren kissed her palm again, and Yumemi's thoughts attempted to scatter in multiple directions, each making the most inane observations: ?Her hair is so pretty,? or ?That's a nice cape she's wearing,? or ?I wish I had washed my hands or something, because it must taste so nasty to kiss a sweaty, dirty hand like mine.?

Anything to distract from the reality of the beautiful woman-- no, youkai-- no, woman-- she had just been about to exchange blows with apparently now showing mercy to her.

It was part flattering, part mortifying, and Yumemi didn't react well to being mortified.

But she had just healed her... ugh.

?There. I increased your tolerance for pain while I was at it, as well,? Byakuren said, raising her mouth from Yumemi's hand. ?You should be fine now. Do you still feel anything??

Yumemi clamped her mouth shut and shook her head.

?I see.? Byakuren's gaze became less soft. ?You're welcome.?

Ugh, and she had just forced her hand. She could always not say ?thank you,? in turn, but... How rude was she willing to be?

She saw Chiyuri standing at a distance, arms crossed and blue eyes looking into her own.

... oh, fine.

?... thank you.? Yumemi hoped that sounded as grudging as it was.

?Hm.? Byakuren pursed her lips together in a hint of a smile, but only a hint. She released Yumemi's hand, and retreated back to her side of the single room that made up the lowest floor of the prison.

Of course, this left Yumemi standing alone, feeling very awkward very quickly.

She scowled. Byakuren must have known that if she did that, Yumemi would feel compelled to move over to her and talk to her to at least look less awkward. This woman was frustrating in almost every respect.

Well, fine. If that was what she wanted, then Yumemi would give it to her. But whether or not she was pleased with the consequences was up to her.

She took a step forward, then another, finally entering the space around Byakuren where the prisoner could hardly ignore her any longer.

Byakuren looked up from where she was sitting on her tattered cape, and saw Yumemi looking down at her, a mix of annoyance and embarrassment and confusion on her face.

?Yes?? she asked, and Yumemi hissed inside. She had totally just thrown the ball into her court on purpose! What a sweet-as-pie viper she was! Her eye twitched with repressed anger.

?I, uh....? Oh god, what to say to this fiendish woman. ?I know your secret!? was not going to cut it. ?Stop trying to manipulate me!? would just give Yumemi away. Damn it, why was she stuck here? Why couldn't they just leave already?

No, no. No losing patience here. She couldn't afford to lose her cool like that. She was going to visibly enjoy this. She needed to play this woman's game, learn the rules, then defeat her in a verbal contest of barbs. Yes. She was going to win. And that stupid smile would fall from Byakuren's face and she would have to confess that she had been trying to manipulate Yumemi this whole time! Sweet, sweet victory.

Meanwhile Byakuren was looking up at a crazy young woman who was terrible at hiding her emotions from her face.

Yumemi rubbed her eyes and nodded. ?I, uh... I wanted to speak to you.?

Oh, brilliant opening line. Then again, the opening didn't need to be particularly spectacular. She just needed to start conversing with her, and surely windows would open up for her.

Byakuren gave her a smile and motioned to the floor. ?Then please, sit.?

The scientist nearly lost it again.

Inside she sputtered with anger. ?You want me to sit equal to you?! Are you crazy?! You're a youkai, a monster from the myths! You're the one who gets driven out of villages with pitchforks and torches, and you're the one who eats humans at night! How can I sit at your level?!?

But there was a second voice, one that spoke with a cadence so similar to that of Chiyuri's when she wanted to chastise her, with reason and compassion in equal parts:

?She's a youkai-- the one that healed your hand.?

And she had to confess that that voice was correct.

She'd always hated that in stories. Stories where the morality of the cast only depended on how they treated the main character. Of course, the main character in this story was Yumemi, and Byakuren just a satellite character. A flat character, a static character, characterized only by the traits that characterized all youkai. Youkai were evil, and so Byakuren could not be an exception, even if she was nice to the main character.

She'd always hated that in stories. Maybe that was why Chiyuri was the more bookish one of the two, reading aloud while Yumemi ran experiments.

?Um...? Byakuren laughed under her breath. ?Will you take a seat??

Yumemi blinked. She had spaced out while all those thoughts had been going through her head.

Well, maybe taking a seat wouldn't be so harmful in and of itself. Her legs hurt, after all.

She knelt, sat on the ground in front of Byakuren, whose legs were crossed in the manner of people in meditation. She was tempted to follow suit for a moment, but instead chose to just relax her legs by her side. It wouldn't do to give herself cramps, and if that made her look less good than Byakuren, then so be it. She didn't have a youkai's barbaric strength, after all.

She sat and her eyes met Byakuren's. She refused to turn them away.

After a long moment spent glaring at her, Byakuren was the first to blink, and sighed.

?You really don't like me, do you??

Yumemi blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected Byakuren to be so straightforward. She thought she would play one of her youkai mind games on her first. Or was this part of a mind game? Hm...

Well, for now it could do no harm to tell her the truth.

?No. I don't.? Yumemi frowned, glancing to the side. ?I don't trust many youkai.?

?But... you're working with some of them.?

She scowled. ?I was asked to.? By another youkai. But she didn't say that part aloud.

Mild amber eyes met hers again.

?Did youkai do anything to you??

She had no idea the kind of questions she was asking.

?I-I don't have to answer your questions.? Yumemi crossed her arms in a show of defiance, looked off to the side. ?I just wanted to make some conversation.?

?We can't have a conversation if you're not willing to say anything,? the prisoner replied.

Yumemi huffed, and said nothing. Byakuren sighed after a moment.

?I'm sorry if youkai did anything to you. It might not mean much, but I apologize on their behalf.?

Then for a moment, her face hardened.

?It probably was unprovoked, anyway.?

The strange emphasis of that word didn't escape Yumemi's ears.

?What do you mean, probably??

Byakuren was glaring at her now, eyes not leaving Yumemi's.

?What I mean is that you're so disdainful towards youkai that I could not in good conscience blame them if some of them got angry with you.?

In the back of her mind, the always-objective observation center of her brain made a note that Byakuren had gotten better at speaking, and had dropped the habit of dropping off her tone at random points in sentences. She was getting used to speaking again.

In the front of her mind, Yumemi knew she had been insulted by something that wasn't even human, and it was... bothersome.

?Really? You wouldn't blame a strong youkai if they attacked a weak human like me?? Yumemi raised an eyebrow, scoffed. ?That's rich.?

Byakuren's lip curled. ?I can see that I was right the first time. Humans have not changed over nine hundred years of my imprisonment. How quick to anger, violent, and vicious you are.?

?Nine hundred years ago? When youkai were even more powerful than they are now, terrorizing humans and eating them? And you would blame humans for being quick to anger, vicious, and violent??

The hypocrisy of this woman was stunning.

The prisoner took a calming breath, a breath to steady the self.

?Perhaps you do not understand, Okazaki-san.? Her voice was calmed down a bit. ?When I was imprisoned, humans were... humans organized, you see. Their strength then, as it is now, was power in numbers. A single human against a youkai-- that fight is more likely to go to the youkai, but when you send out organized hunting teams or youkai hunters...?

She shook her head. ?Humans are dangerous to youkai. Especially when they use technology to make up the difference in raw strength. That was almost a thousand years ago, I can only imagine the things humans have made in the interim...?

Yumemi scratched her head, trying to identify precisely what it was that was off to her about Byakuren's explanation.

?I don't understand.? She frowned. ?You seem to be approaching this problem from a factually incorrect position.?

Byakuren looked skeptical. ?What do you mean??

?You seem to be under the impression that youkai and humans are both equally strong. But when one side has access to magic and the other one... less so, there is an imbalance there from the beginning.?

?... I'm afraid I do not follow.?

?My question is, if you treat the strong and the weak the same way, then the strong will have an advantage, and I haven't heard you mention humans in need of protection even once.?

The question seemed to bother Byakuren.

?T-that's because...? She coughed. ?Humans aren't the ones who need protecting. That's youkai. The youkai are the weaker in the equation.?

?But that's just not...? Yumemi shook her head. ?What evidence do you have for your claim??

The prisoner didn't reply, staring at the ground instead.

?Have you never spent time among humans? Have you only obtained your information about the strength of humans through hears--?

?I was human myself.?

Byakuren cut Yumemi off in the middle of her sentence, and what she said...

?You were hu-- wait, what?? This was the first Yumemi had heard that humans could... no, wait, that just wasn't possible, she was lying--

?I am not lying.? Byakuren looked up from staring at the ground. Her amber eyes were brighter now. ?I was once human. Years and years ago.?

?This is the first I have ever heard of humans turning into... wait, you're a youkai, right??

Byakuren sighed.

?Sorry. Stupid question.? Yumemi bonked herself on the head for it.

Byakuren smiled a little at that, and gave her an odd look that Yumemi couldn't place. Later she would have the time to process the events of that night, and when her memory came across that smile, she would come to only one conclusion behind its meaning:

It is too bad that we have met under such bad circumstances, because I think I would enjoy debating you day and night.

?Maybe it is best if I tell you my story.?

Yumemi would not admit it to this woman, but she loved hearing stories. So she made a show of reluctance, frowning and glancing off to the side, but Byakuren was good enough that she could recognize the real smile on her face when the scientist turned back to her with her reply.

?... Certainly.?

-----

[Alfred F. Jones]

Wow, it's a White Rose update! Stop the presses!

I have two important announcements to make.

This was originally for Donut's birthday. That has come and gone, so this is belated. Whenever I get it in my mind to update, I feel bad for having gone without updating for so long, so I try to write more to an update, and it's never enough to make up for having been away for so long, which depresses me and demotivates me, and I just fall further and further behind and never get around to posting.

Well, I have come to a decision. I decided that the better present to Donut (and to everyone else who reads this story) would be to update more constantly rather than huge updates once a year. Even small updates more often would be okay, yes? It helps the readers too, since it gets them back into the story emotionally, rather than having that connection fade away for months at a time.

I just wanna get the ball rolling and rely on inertia to keep me writing, rather than pound out a sixty-page update and post it once a year. I'm not sure I could ever go for a weekly schedule, as that sounds awful harsh on my time commitments, but I will certainly try. I have graduated from university already, so I don't have schoolwork to get in my way anymore. Job searchin' ain't a walk in the park, but I also do a lot of it from home, so I don't spend large times away from a computer to write at.

So yeah! I'm gonna try to update more often, even if the updates are not as large as I'd like them to be. Asking for twenty pages per update is apparently on the high end for most writers, so maybe I should try to be more normal instead of a long-winded weirdo...

On to the second announcement!

I started writing White Rose understanding that the better idea would have been to wait to write the whole thing (I didn't realize how long it would be at the time) and only after revising it and proofing it, post it publicly. I can do that with my short stories well enough, but for a long story like White Rose has turned out to be, that is impossible. So I've been writing this with the understanding that this is just the first draft, and after I'm done I can revise and edit and retcon and rewrite and add new scenes and make it a polished piece from beginning to end.

But it seems that I might have to do one of those things ahead of time.

I came up with the idea for White Rose a few months before my 18th birthday. I am now 21. My thinking has changed a lot in those three-plus years. So have my expectations of what a good story should have. When I was younger, I didn't care about the villains as much as I did the heroes; while I appreciated them to be characters with depth, it wasn't really a requirement. (I've never been one of those cool cats who roots for the villain.) But now I find myself more interested in villains. I want them to be developed. I want them to have their own stories.

So I would like to give Shinki an expanded role than the one she has so far. White Rose has her in the villain's seat, and I don't get to explore her reactions to things the way I'm able to play with Koishi. And just as Koishi and Utsuho started out as the heroic master-servant duo, Shinki has that dynamic with Yumeko. In order to develop Shinki, I should develop Yumeko too. This is the same Yumeko that Koishi managed to push into a vegetative state.

Thing is, I never envisioned Yumeko as a developed character in and of herself. She was merely a useful twist in Koishi?s background and the excuse for her and Shinki to develop major grudges against each other and get into an extended fight. But now she's developed a personality in my head. A personality I'd like to explore through flashbacks and mementos of her.

But to pursue this new road, I'm going to have to retcon some things written earlier. Stuff from the very, very beginning, stuff I wrote when I was still seventeen years old and rushing through the writing so I could get to the fun stuff. While I'm okay with that since this was always intended to be just a first draft, it still makes me feel a little embarrassed to own up to that. It's not like there aren't other details I fully intend on retconning later (say, Utsuho's gangstaspeak. This is what happens when you crowdsource your fanfiction characters' accents, folks.) But this is the first time I'm going to be retconning something major, something that's not as easily dismissed as early weird characterization. If I don't change this, Yumeko's characterization will be inconsistent with how I have her in mind now. So I have to go back and change that.

Lately I stumbled across this quote from Lois McMaster Bujold, which encapsulates quite well how I feel about the issue: "The author reserves the right to have a better idea." Even if that means changing past details. It's a rough draft, after all. Still, I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. I avoided doing this as long as I could, but this is one item I need to retcon as quick as I can, or else the rest of the fic just will not make sense.

I'll get started on that after this weekend; it's Nan Desu Kan time! I'm attending with my new Hatate cosplay outfit, and it's going to rock. \o\

Well, thank you for staying with this fanfic this long! I will try my hardest not to keep this story hanging as long as I did anymore.

[Esifex]

omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg

I love Yumemi being tsundere towards Byakuren, heh.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

Great update, these are always worth waiting for. I really like how you're writing the relationship between Yumemi and Byakuren and the conflict between their worldviews.

Feel free to fix up your earlier chapters as you see fit; it makes thinks a lot smoother for new readers and gives long-time followers a reason to go back and reread.

[Kasu]

The Yumemi/Byakuren conversation was extremely amusing. :3

Can't wait to see what you do with the earlier chapters as well!

[MatsuriSakuragi]

omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg

I love Yumemi being tsundere towards Byakuren, heh.

Yumemi's reactions to Byakuren are priceless, ahahaha. I love it <333


Ah, it's so nice to see more White Rose.

It's quite interesting to see Koishi experimenting with her new abilities and coming to understand them a little bit more. It is a little sad to see her so indifferent to everything, but that is a part of shutting one's emotions away, after all, so it's to be expected. I do wonder how things will go for her from here, though. All of this has to be so unfamiliar to her, after all. :<

Also yay, it looks like Reimu will have her debut soon as well! I do wonder what kind of role she will play in the story.

Yumemi and Byakuren took the spotlight here though. Their interactions are fascinating to say the least, and I have to wonder what sort of relationship they will have as time passes. It's pretty clear that Yumemi's extremely conflicted with her feelings that youkai are savage creatures that prey on humans-- and here's a youkai before her that healed her burns in such a way that short-circuited her brain (in the best of ways, at that). A youkai that was once human, at that. I have to wonder if at some point they will befriend one another (and I mean in the Nanoha way), or remain enemies throughout the story. It's all very fascinating, and I'm excited to see more~

This was a very good update, that it was~

And aaaaaah yes I like your idea! Small, more frequent updates sound better for everyone after all, right?

And don't worry about the retconning-- it's completely and entirely acceptable since it's your story-- and an unfinished one at that. I'd be more surprised if details didn't change over the years as you come up with new and improved ideas

[nintendonut888]

Excellent read. I'm not lying when I said it was a delight to read your prose again. I don't care if it didn't make my birthday, it was worth the wait. Thank you very much. ^_^

Yumemi's reactions to Byakuren are quite fascinating. I certainly am looking forward to seeing more from them. Koishi, too - it's so interesting to get a look into the mind of someone purely driven by impulses. Hope to see more in the near future!

[Uwa]

Oh, damn. I actually squealed when I saw this was updated. I lurk a lot, so I've never really thanked you for writing this (and for continuing to write this) as countless others already have. So here it is, belated by a billion days as it is.  :V

m(_ _)m

Also, I find it hilarious that one of the things Yumemi zoned in on while checking out Byakuren was...her cape. Nice cape.
Oh, Yumemi, only you~

And don't worry about the retconning-- it's completely and entirely acceptable since it's your story-- and an unfinished one at that. I'd be more surprised if details didn't change over the years as you come up with new and improved ideas

Annnnd, this ^

But, to add, I've thoroughly relished, ravished, doted, and fawned over the White Rose of the present. And, now, you speak of a revised and improved White Rose with  additional content!? I blame you for my chronic anemia. You are the irrigation to my farms. The potatoes to my vodka. The calories to my fats. The wriggle to my night-bug.

But, really, thank you. ;~;

[Esifex]

You are the irrigation to my farms. The potatoes to my vodka. The calories to my fats. The wriggle to my night-bug.

The wriggle to my night-bug.

lost it :getdown:

[nolrai2]

Revising is not something you should worry about and put off it is something we as readers welcome! It should be embraced with joy!

[Alfred F. Jones]

_{Just pretend today is Wednesday, and this is White Rose Wednesday.} This update took... oh wow. I split Part Two of White Rose into its own file, chireiden02.doc, because it was making my computer lag whenever I opened it up. The word count of the entirety of Part Two so far is 53.5k words.

This update is 11k of them. I don't... I don't know where they came from! But here they are nevertheless.


Once it had begun, the sunset progressed rather quickly, and Utsuho welcomed the coming night. The dark was familiar to her eyes.

The ground underneath her feet crunched as she walked over dry pine needles and twigs. Slightly ahead of her, Shinki's feet led the way down the path.

Utsuho wondered why they were walking instead of flying, and wondered if that would be an appropriate question to ask. She kept it to herself for now.

She rubbed at her cold nose. She reached into the pockets of the ragged robes from Chireiden she was still wearing, and found the orange Shinki had given her earlier. Ignoring it for now, she pressed her hands against her own body, trying to warm up her fingers.

A cold chill entered Utsuho's right arm, so she pulled her arm in through her robe and rested it against her bare skin until she warmed back up.

She found herself confused and troubled, but didn't say anything. She blew on her hands to warm them up, then rubbed them against her cheeks. Then she blew on them again, making enough noise that now Shinki noticed, turning around.

“Reiuzi-san?”

“Hm?”

“Are you cold?”

“Cold...” She rubbed her hands along her arms, and rubbed her nose again. “I'm afraid I don't quite... know what you mean. I'm not being mean to you, am I?”

Shinki shook her head. “I don't mean cold in that sense. I mean that you feel... not warm.”

“Oh, definitely,” the hell raven replied. “I wish I had longer sleeves.”

“Mm. Chireiden was a warm place, wasn't it?”

“Chireiden was... warm, yes.”

Utsuho suddenly remembered an image of her hugging Koishi, but after a moment's pause, dismissed it. It wasn't the type of warmth she could return to.

She reached behind her and pulled the blanket off of her wings, and wrapped her arms into it. Shinki turned her head to watch her, slowing her pace.

“What is that?”

“What's what?”

“The white blanket you have.”

“Oh.” She wrapped it tight around her arms. “It's an old blanket from when I was a kid. Someone gave it to me as... comfort, I guess.”

She felt her heart aching already. This wasn't a story she wanted to go into with Shinki. Not here. Not now. If she let herself feel sorrow, then the madness of the last few days would crash onto her like a huge wave onto a rock, and she needed to keep it together until she was alone somewhere.

She wouldn’t let anyone see her cry like that again.

“I see. It certainly looks old enough for that.”

Utsuho wasn't sure if that was admiring or insulting, so she replied with nothing.

“I apologize. I hadn't realized you would get cold. But I don't have any sweater to give you here.”

She saw her chance to ask her earlier question, and took it. “Why are we walking? Instead of say, flying?”

Shinki winced for a split second, but it was long enough for Utsuho to recognize the expression. It was surely the same one she had just had when she was thinking, begging to not have to think about something.

“Because I, uh....” She closed her eyes. “I... used to walk here along this route. Many times. With a very good friend of mine. We liked to take every opportunity to talk, so I would walk here with her. It's a winding road, so that meant we were able to talk more.”

Utsuho put two and two together.

“Yumeko-san, you mean.”

Shinki flinched.

“... yeah.” She touched her arm, looked away from Utsuho's gaze. “I... a woman in my position does not have many luxuries, Reiuzi-san. Friends are a luxury. Time to spend with them is a luxury.”

The hellcrow frowned a little, frustrated at how she was contradicting herself.

“But you are an empress. How can you be lacking in luxuries?”

“I...” Shinki trailed off. “I carry much responsibility on my shoulders.”

“Not so much responsibility that you cannot take time out to 'visit' my city, however,” Utsuho replied.

Shinki rubbed her forehead. “Please, let's not talk about that.”

Utsuho curled her lip, disdain on her face. “The peace agreement said I had to obey you, not that I had to like it every moment of every day.”

“You remind me of Luize-san,” the god empress scowled. “And not in a good way.”

“Maybe if you spent less time invading cities trying to live in peace, perhaps you could have time to walk through forests with your friend,” Utsuho shot back.

Shinki raised her head, fixing Utsuho with a fierce blue-eyed glare.

“Don't go there, Reiuzi-san.”

“Oh, I'm sorry,” Utsuho laughed a fake laugh and covered her mouth. “I misspoke!” Her frustration had bubbled up to the surface in the past few moments, and it was starting to spill over. “I meant to say... maybe if you spent less time invading other cities, you might still HAVE your friend around to walk through forests with!”

Before she could blink, Shinki had crossed the distance between the two of them and slapped her across the face.

Shinki's right eye twitched as she looked at her.

Utsuho was shocked at first, then realization set in after a few seconds. Then anger followed on its heels.

“You know... as ungrateful as my previous master was, at least she never hit me for speaking my mind. Since she already knew everything in my mind anyway.” She hardened her gaze. “Well, it's nice to know how you really treat the people around you.”

Utsuho pulled the blanket off her arms. Anger was heating her up from the inside. She threw the blanket back onto her wings, and turned right around and started returning down the trail she had been climbing on.

“Hey! Don't walk away from me! I never gave you that permission!” Shinki shouted at Utsuho's retreating back.

“Don't care. Go meet your friend.” She waved a hand over her shoulder. “Wonder if you'll try to hit her, too.”

“I-- hey!” Shinki grit her teeth in frustration, unsure of what to do. Stand here and tap her feet while the hellcrow walked away without a look back, or chase after her, or ignore her outburst and continue walking?

She scowled. In the short time they had known each other, she had discovered that Utsuho was one of the most casually disrespectful people she'd ever met. That always annoyed her about Chireiden natives. That satori imposter queen, Komeiji Miyani, had even gone so far as to abolish honorifics some months ago, just so that no one would address Shinki with a higher degree of respect than her. The mere idea of such a brazen display of disrespect had stunned her so much that she never even figured out a way to retaliate. And here was the product of that shocking disrespect, wasn't it?

Just then, the voice of the prisoner she was going to visit came through the fog of memory and answered her question.

“Over my years as an exorcist, when I was still human, I came across many human beings. Good and bad, just like youkai. Fearful. But many of them were quietly okay with the idea of youkai living among them, as long as they had reasonable confidence that they would not be attacked.”

Byakuren would sip from the cup of tea Yumeko had served her earlier, and Shinki would sit quietly across from her.

“But, too many...” She shook her head. “I ran into too many leaders who were just the opposite of their followers. They were not noble. I realized quickly that they did not really want their people to be free of fear; they just wanted to get rid of a threat they could not control. They wanted the credit of their people for getting rid of the dangerous youkai nearby, and all it would become was another source of useful propaganda. Maybe I could have stood it if the youkai were truly dangerous, but they were not. Usually they were just trying to live their lives.”

Pain registered in Byakuren's soft amber eyes. Yumeko watched her with her usual blank stare. Shinki followed every word.

“Sometimes I visited a village without letting them know I was an exorcist, to test the leader's worth.” She looked down into her green tea, watching the steam curl up in the dim light. “Sometimes I was welcomed as a visitor, given hospitality. More often, I was given a place to stay for the night, then in the morning was asked to roll up my futon and head on my way. And many times, I was monitored to make sure that I did not speak to many villagers on the way out.” She sighed, a deep sigh for someone who looked her age. But she was not young. Not at all.

“Anyway, what I was leading to... I discovered, over the years, that power does not corrupt. It is magnetic to the easily corruptible. I would get rid of their youkai problem. But I would come back in a few years, only to find that their elder or their leader or their mayor had instead manufactured a new enemy to fear. The trick is, that if you keep telling humans that there are things that they need protecting from, even in the most safe area in the country, you get to keep using fear to control them.”

She took another long sip of tea.

“And that's what it's all about. Control, control, control. These were the kinds of leaders who wanted everyone to walk on eggshells around them, to bow and prostrate themselves in front of their thrones, to address them with the grandest honorifics they had never earned or deserved.”

She narrowed her eyes. “When you respect someone, you treat them honorably. You bow without coercion, defer to your authority without being forced to do so.  Some people will even speak plainly, and without ritual or honorifics. This is respect, too.  A true leader would not everyone around her bowing with their faces to the ground in order to feel like she was powerful. The looks of respect from her servants would be quite enough for her. It is better to have a servant's admiration through respect and reverence and knowledge than blind fear.”

Shinki smiled, recalling that moment. In large part, the only reason she had lasted this long on the throne of Makai was thanks to sheer common sense keeping her out of a lot of unnecessary trouble.

And much of that sense, she observed, had been given to her by the one person everyone in Hokkai trusted least of all: Hiziri Byakuren.

She had calmed down now, remembering that conversation. She remembered how she had seen it as truth then, and still saw it as true.

So if it was true, what did it mean that Utsuho's last look at her had been one of disgust?

No, she could not please everybody. Shinki had learned that lesson entirely too well over the years. But she could avoid angering people she didn't have any need to provoke. She could definitely avoid irritating the people who served her, to win their loyalty if nothing else.

And in Utsuho's case...

Shinki sighed.

She didn't have many friends. They were a luxury, and she had not much time for luxuries with an empire on her hands. So she kept them as close as she could. Byakuren was a permanent prisoner in Hokkai, with no one to talk to for years at a time. She kept herself sane with reciting sutras, but Shinki knew that she was happiest when she had visitors to speak and debate with. Loneliness was a terrible companion. But Hokkai was far from the capital. Shinki couldn't visit her that often.

There was her family in Makai. Mai, Yuki, Sara. Luize and Shinki had too many disagreements to stay in each other's presence for very long, but Shinki respected her experience too much to throw her out. And of course, there was Alice. But...

Yumeko was missing now. And would always be missing.

Shinki had always thought of her destiny as a lonely one, but she only just now realized how few friends she had in her life. Her most loyal companion, her confidante, her servant, was gone.

And the young hellcrow girl-- Reiuzi Utsuho-- had the same kind of hole in her heart, but in reverse.

Shinki blinked as realization struck.

She spoke quietly, surrounded by the pine forest with no one but her to hear.

“I want her to be my friend.”

As soon as she said it, she knew it was true. She had finally managed to put into words what she wanted from her. She wanted—no, needed—someone to take Yumeko’s place by her side.

And that was the same girl she had managed to drive away.

Shinki imagined what Byakuren would say if she had seen.

“Do not resent her for her anger, Shinki-san. Would you not bear a grudge against the person who had a hand in taking everything away from you? Granted, it is not healthy to hold that grudge for too long, but... it would be unhealthier to deny that you were hurt, wouldn't it?”

Shinki agreed with the imaginary Byakuren in her head.

Then she imagined what Yumeko would say if she had seen.

She would not be reprimanding. Her voice would not be impassioned one way or the other. She would have the faint smile she tended to have around her master.

“Shinki-sama...”

Yumeko would play with her apron, meeting her gaze, and she would only offer her opinion once Shinki had asked multiple times, saying that her opinion mattered very much to her master.

Then she would smile and say, “You should do whatever it is that makes you happiest.”

Shinki looked up the trail. Further up the trail would be a winding path down the side of a hill, then back up onto a mountain, and then through a valley until the sound of a stream carried over, and then the Hokkai Prison compound. She was probably about forty-five minutes away, and much less if she flew.

She had rushed here to speak to Byakuren. But Byakuren wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Moreover, she'd notice the look on her face right away. If she was correct, the prisoner herself would be the one to tell her to leave and go find her servant before she came to visit her.

And Yumeko would want her to do what made her happiest.

Shinki replied to that one aloud.

“Having someone by my side is what will make me happiest.”

She looked up at the trail, and sighed. It was a quiet, still, relaxing night anyway. Nothing ever happened in Hokkai worth worrying about.

“It's no fun to walk that road alone,” she murmured, turning her back on it. She had made her decision, and so she spread her wings and took off in the direction Utsuho had gone.

------

[Alfred F. Jones]

?Fujima ji wo
Hikite no yama ni
Imo wo okite
Yama ji wo yukeba
Ikeri to mo nashi.?

Two more links sparkled red and fell away. Hirano took a breath. Kogasa turned the page for her.

Yuka observed the traces of red that were beginning to show through the charms Hirano had slapped onto her arms.

?Are you certain you can handle that?? She asked.

Hirano smirked. ?I have to.?

Hakurei Reimu was resting with her head on her mother's lap, as Sayuri sat, alternately wincing and trying to keep calm, with her left hand in Yuka's.

?You shouldn't...? Sayuri took a breath of her own. ?You shouldn't push yourself like this, Hirano.?

?Don't be ridiculous. I can release the both of you at the same time with the same breath. Why wouldn't I??

?If you only release Reimu's chains, you'll only pay half the blood.?

Hirano only pulled up her sleeves to her shoulders and pulled out more charms to put on her upper arms.

?'s okay. I didn't need this much anyway.?

?Pay.... blood??

Yuka turned her head to see Chiyuri walking towards them.

?Did I hear that correctly??

?You did.? Sayuri answered before Hirano could deny it.

?This kind of lock... requires human blood to unseal. That's why a human needs to be doing it.?

?That's...? Chiyuri shook her head, looking down.

Hirano spared her a glance. ?It's okay. These charms make it so that I lose less blood than I probably would be.?

Chiyuri looked up at that, and fixed her gaze on the shrine maiden's arms. Her eyes widened.

?Hirano-san, you can't!?

?I don't need my arms to get out of here once we're done. Or to throw danmaku, if need be. Gyoku can handle that.?

?But...? Chiyuri went down onto her knees, sitting in front of Hirano. ?Would it be-- er, can I... would you be able to use my blood instead, then??

Hirano blinked.

?T-technically, yes. I could.? It seemed that she was caught off-guard by the unexpected offer. ?But you're strong, Chiyuri-san. You'll help carry Reimu-chan and Sayuri once I've finished breaking these chains.?

?Yes, but I only need one arm to shoot, and I can't fly. I can't use magic, after all.? Chiyuri gave her a grin, but she said that with a hint of bitterness that Yuka picked up on. But it was very brief. ?So, would you...?

After a momentary pause, the miko replied.

?... If it turns out that I don't have enough... maybe.?

Chiyuri repressed a shudder at the implications of that.

?A-all right. Can I at least read the poems for you??

?No, unfortunately. That requires someone who can use magic.?

A grim smile spread across Chiyuri's face.

?I see.?

Yuka raised an eyebrow, interested in the hints of Chiyuri's character she was getting. Sayuri drew in a sharp breath, trying to hide the pain, and Yuka returned her attention to the Hakurei maiden, stroking her hand.

?Well, then, can I at least turn the pages?? She looked to Kogasa then, who looked to Hirano in turn.

?Certainly. Kogasa-chan, is that okay with you?? Hirano asked.

The karakasa nodded. ?Here you are, Kitashirakawa-san,?

She handed the slim book of poems to Chiyuri, who took it and adjusted her sitting posture so she could hold it open on her lap for Hirano to read.

?Thanks.? Chiyuri flipped open to the right page and held it for the shrine maiden to read.

?Ie ni kite
Waga ya wo mireba
Tama doko no
Hoka ni mukikeri
Imo ga ko makura.?

Hirano recited, and another pair of chains sparkled and vanished. The payment in blood was cut from each of her arms, and it made the charms on her arms even redder.

Chiyuri looked faintly ill, and looked away, catching Yuka's glance.

?Are you sick?? she asked.

The sailor girl put on a smile. ?I'm a bit... squeamish about blood.?

Yuka snorted. ?If that's the case, then I guess I'll never get a good fight from you, then.?

?Apologies.? Chiyuri continued to smile.

Behind them, Hirano continued to recite.

?Why are you not with your master?? Yuka nodded to the side, where Kogasa was walking around the small prison cell to stretch her legs, but not going near where Byakuren and Yumemi were talking.

?They're... busy, it seems.? Chiyuri shrugged. ?Guess my boss must have finally found someone interesting to talk to.?

Yuka nodded. ?Did she tell you her name??

?Did who tell me her name? The prisoner? No, she didn't.?

?The prisoner?? Sayuri entered the conversation then. ?Her name is Hiziri Byakuren-san.?

The green-haired youkai blinked, then a slow, slow smile came over her face.

?Hiziri... wait, is that the character for a wandering monk?? Chiyuri asked.

?I'm afraid I don't know.? the miko replied.

?Hiziri.... I've heard that name before.? Yuka grinned. ?A very long time ago. How interesting...?

?Now, now, no fighting,? Sayuri tried to chuckle, but couldn't. ?Yuka-san, be nice.?

?I was going to be,? Yuka complained.

?Hiziri-san has been nothing but gracious to me and Reimu-chan while I've been down here. No one else to talk to, you see.? Sayuri sighed. ?She's been here for centuries.?

?Centuries!? Chiyuri's eyes widened. ?Guess she's older than she looks, then.?

Sayuri rolled her eyes. ?In Gensokyo, everyone is older than they look.?

?Even little Reimu-chan here?? Chiyuri laughed.

?Yes, actually. She's ten years old.?

?Really?? The sailor girl tried to remember what she knew of early childhood development. ?She's so small!?

Reimu looked up at Chiyuri, brown eyes meeting Chiyuri's light brown, so light they appeared yellow.

?I know. She doesn't look as old as she really is. Everyone thinks she's seven years old or something.?

?That's the number I heard,? Chiyuri confirmed.

?Ah...? Sayuri thought a moment. ?Yukari-san sent you here, then??

Yuka nodded. ?But you shouldn't be talking much in your state, Sayuri-san.?

?Nonsense.? She smiled. ?I don't have much time, so I should be talking with you as much as I can, Yuka-san. Everything I never got to say before.?

The green-haired youkai gave her a pained look, but then tried to put on a smile.

?W-well then, what would you like to say??

?Well...? Sayuri watched another one of her chains come off. ?... You really do look cute in your pajamas, for starters.?

Chiyuri snickered. Yuka shot her a nasty look.

?And your singing is terrible. Absolutely terrible. You also snore really loudly, no matter how much you deny it.?

Chiyuri tried to cover her mouth so she wouldn't laugh too hard. Yuka flushed.

?Oh, and I've always wanted to do this.? Sayuri shifted her weight so that she could now rest her head atop Yuka's breasts.

?If you weren't dying, I'd kill you,? the green-haired youkai said, scowling, but she didn't move.

?Which is why I'm doing it.? Sayuri smirked. Then her tone became pensive. ?I can't have my daughter see her mother in pain or feeling sad, you see??

?Ah...? Yuka sighed, glancing over at the little girl resting on her mother's lap. ?I guess it's okay, then.?

?I want her to remember me happy.? She stroked Reimu's dark hair as the quiet young girl turned her gaze up to see her mother. ?Since... I won't be...?

Yuka cut her off by putting her arm around Sayuri and rubbing her back.

?.... you humans never live long enough for any real fun.?

Sayuri smiled, and rested her dying body against her friend's.

Chiyuri somehow found that more painful to see than blood, so she turned back to watch Hirano.

And she also spared a few glances for her boss and her apparent debate with that mysterious prisoner, Hiziri Byakuren, chained up to the far wall.

------

[Alfred F. Jones]

?... and so, ever since then, I have been down here.?

Byakuren was winding down the long, winding story of her past with a sigh.

Yumemi was listening to her, but she was also reviewing everything she knew about solitary confinement in her mind and fixating on the pattern Byakuren was drumming out with her fingertips.

?Fully conscious except for when I sleep, not that my sleep cycle is tied to the sun or the moon anymore, I suppose. With nothing to do, either.? She twitched her hands in front of her, letting the manacles on her wrists clank against the chains. ?I could have done so much in this time...?

?I see...?

Byakuren kept repeating that pattern. Yumemi was intrigued by it, and it made sense, given her solitary isolation for centuries upon centuries.

She felt Byakuren's eyes on her, and looked up from her fingers to her face. But she had been paying close attention to the youkai woman's narrative.

?If you've been down here this entire time, why didn't you ask Shinki-sama to bring you things? Reading materials, stuff to write with, and so on.?

?Ah, yes. I forgot to mention that.? Byakuren sighed. ?I didn't really notice much change in my state until some time ago. Days blended into months and those blended into years...?

Byakuren's fingers drummed out a steady, consistent beat, but she wasn't watching them. Yumemi wondered if she noticed it, or it was just a pattern she couldn't help but repeat without consciously thinking about it.

?Then about ten years ago or so... I think. Don't hold me to that.? She ran her right hand through her long gradient hair (which was somehow lacking in split ends). Her expression hardened. ?It's so damnably hard to keep track of time down here.?

She nodded, staring at Byakuren's left hand (those well-trimmed fingernails!), which kept drumming out that same rhythm on her knee. ?That's understandable.?

?Shinki-san found me. Seems that at some point over the centuries, a large portion of the city that was built over my prison collapsed, and she came along and rebuilt it. Thing is, those city people never actually came into this chamber. They seemed to think that there was some kind of monster or a dead person locked up in here, so they only drew an empty room onto their maps and moved on, so I came as quite a surprise when Shinki's workers opened up the door...?

She laughed with only a faint amount of mirth in her voice.

?The seal those humans and that shrine maiden from long ago placed on me seals me into the ground, no matter what. Even these chains are mostly for show.? She rattled her manacles. ?No, the real boundary is around the first floor of the prison. When I told Shinki-san my story, she approved of my actions of saving youkai, and actually tried to get me out of here.?

?It didn't work?? Yumemi blinked, looking up from staring at Byakuren's fingernails and her too-well-kept hair. (If she had been down here this long, it should have at least had split ends, and it certainly would not be so glossy and shiny without constant hair care. Right? The questions would plague her if she didn't get answers soon.)

Byakuren shook her head. (Her hair was so shiny. Yumemi was in no way fixating again.) ?Right before I breached the surface, the boundary held me down. It was like trying to lift a mountain, while being the size of a mouse.? She returned to drumming out that familiar pattern again. ?It proved much the same for Shinki-san. The seal was too powerful, even almost a thousand years later. Truly, I think the only thing that could breach that seal would be something like my brother's Tobikura, and of course the ship has surely long since rotted away somewhere.?

She let out a deep sigh and her head tilted forward as she looked at the ground.

?Much like I probably would be.?

Yumemi tore her gaze away from her too-perfect fingernails and asked a question.

?What about reading materials??

?Eh??

It was Byakuren's turn to look up now. Yumemi was sitting cross-legged in front of her, looking into her eyes.

?You didn't answer my question.?

?Ah! Yes.? The prisoner flushed, and Yumemi only noticed because her eyes had now adjusted to the dim light. ?M-my apologies, I was... I derailed myself.?

?How often do you get to talk to visitors??

Byakuren gave her an awkward, but genuine smile.

?Not... often.?

Yumemi had once done studies of isolation as torture. It was remarkable how quickly the human mind fell apart when deprived of outside stimulation. Remarkable, and terrifying. She recalled stories of prisoners in solitary confinement, how they said that eventually the isolation drove them mad, that they began hearing voices from inside their heads, how their memories started disintegrating, how their minds ground to a halt, forgetting everything they had once known, leaving nothing but a void and an empty shell where a person once was.

She couldn't imagine being locked into the living death that was solitary confinement for five days, let alone almost a thousand years.

As she had been listening to Byakuren's story, she had felt the memories of that research pour back into her mind, and as irritating as it was to her on some level, she began to feel....

... well, it was true that she had betrayed the trust of the humans. And it was true that she had been at first motivated to help the youkai by fear and selfishness, and only later motivated by altruism and self-sacrifice. It was interesting, to consider that her greatest crime was doing the right thing for the wrong reasons. Therein had lay the core of the deception that must have so terrified the humans of her time.

But really, shouldn't a thousand years of solitary suffering be enough to satisfy any crime's punishment?

In this light, then, Byakuren looked much less like the terrifying youkai traitor to the human race than Yumemi had first feared she would be. It looked more like she had been unfortunate enough to receive a disproportionately large punishment for the things she had done-- and yes, they had been wrong, but... wasn't this enough of a burden?

And, if the thump-thump... thump-thump... thump-thump... of the pattern she continued to drum into her leg without realizing it was any indication, she would be carrying the burden of isolation for a long time to come, even if she escaped.

In the dark, alone, with no one to speak to and nothing to do, with nothing to do to pass the time but chant sutras and sleep.... for fifteen minutes, then an hour, then a few more hours, and eventually a day.... seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year, for over nine hundred years... sitting in gray, monotonous dreariness. That wasn't something Yumemi would wish on anyone.

Not even on a youkai whose only crime had been to be more na?ve than the people around her, not being evil.

?Actually... that's kind of the reason I haven't been able to ask Shinki about any of that, to answer your question.?

Yumemi was pulled out of her musing by the prisoner, who was looking at her with those mild amber eyes again.

God, those eyes had seen so much.

She felt an impulse to hug her tightly. It was an embarrassing notion, so she wouldn't go through with the idea.

But even so, thinking objectively, Byakuren hadn?t deserved this centuries-long punishment for what she had done in her past. And if she were honest, Yumemi would say that her story had made her feel a bit sympathetic for her.

?What is?? She had enough presence of mind left to ask.

?When I get a visitor...? Byakuren raised her right hand, twirled a long strand of hair around it. (Hair that was miraculously lacking in split ends.) ?I start... babbling. I talk and talk and I never let the other person get a word in. So I never remember until after my visitor has left.?

?You haven't done that with me,? Yumemi replied.

?No, but that's because I had Hakurei-san over there to talk to.? Byakuren nodded over at the shrine maiden. ?... and you'll take her away from me in short order.?

?.... ah.? Yumemi winced, wondering how best to deal with the problem the prisoner's desires caused. ?I'm sorry, bu--?

?Do not apologize. I would not wish this imprisonment on anyone else.? Byakuren's shoulders sagged, and for the first time, she leaned back onto the wall, and she looked much sadder than Yumemi would have ever expected her to be.

The prisoner raised her hands, looking at her manacles and chains.

?... More than anything, I would love to see the surface of this world again.?

Yumemi swallowed.

?That's why I couldn't stay up on the first floor. Oh, I could have done it physically. That's not what I mean.? She closed her eyes, as if remembering the moment. ?I could not bear the thought of being so close, yet so far from seeing the beautiful sky.?

And the rhythm of Byakuren's fingers continued, the endless thump-thump... thump-thump... thump-thump...

The scientist couldn't help but wonder-- even if Byakuren did somehow manage to escape the physical prison, would she ever be able to escape that drumbeat echoing in her ears?

Or would her heartbeat sound out like a drum in the deep darkness forever?

[Alfred F. Jones]

Yumemi lowered her head, closed her eyes, and in the darkness of the prison, an old memory stirred. A memory where she too, had been... alone, with only her heartbeat in her ears, and the sudden rush of fear she had felt then, the irrational fear of never being able to hear any other sound again.

But where other people would have either been confused or disturbed, the prisoner before her was not the sort of person who would just let things like this pass in front of her without comment.

She reached out, the chains trailing behind her manacles as she put her hands on Yumemi's shoulders. She shook her as gently as she could manage. ?Are you okay, Okazaki-san??

Yumemi blinked, looking up at her. Her eyes were unfocused, but they focused again as she came back to reality. ?Ah... yeah. Sorry.?

?Are you not feeling well??

?No, it's just...? Yumemi ran her right hand through her hair, and dragged it down her face. ?It's nothing. Just an old memory I had forgotten.?

She felt the thump-thump in her ears for a moment longer, then shook her head to get the sound out of her head.

Byakuren frowned. ?Are you certain??

?Hey, why are you suddenly worrying about me? I thought you didn't like humans,? Yumemi pointed out, eager to turn the conversation away from herself.

The other woman pursed her lips, as if she were about to point out Yumemi?s obvious dodging of the question, but she appeared to give up on it with a sigh.

?I wouldn't, would I? I mean, I did everything in my power to create a peaceful world where humans and youkai could live as equals.?

She narrowed her eyes. ?And yet, I was sealed away by humans who didn't want that sort of world.?

Yumemi thought something was strange about that line, and stroked her chin as she thought about what it was, exactly, that puzzled her about it. She tried to analyze it as objectively as she could. She didn't like youkai, but...

After a moment, Byakuren must have noticed that Yumemi hadn't replied, because she opened her eyes again and looked at her companion.

?What is it, Okazaki-san??

Yumemi shook her head, still thinking. ?Something strikes me as a little... off about your explanation.?

A look of uncertainty crossed the prisoner's face. ?What does??

The scientist snapped her fingers.

?Why??

Byakuren looked confused. ?Why what??

?What good reason is there to reject the idea of a society where youkai and humans can live in peace with each other? Why??

?Why?? Byakuren now looked pained. ?Unfortunately, I think I know a good reason for that.?

Yumemi was pretty sure she knew her own reason: because youkai were strong and humans were weak, so youkai could not exist as equals with humans-- their power advantage would ensure their dominance.

?What is it?? She was curious to see if it would match up with her own.

?In a word? Fear.?

?... explain.?

Byakuren took a breath. Yumemi's eyes were drawn to her bust for a moment, but she forced herself to turn her gaze upward, because staring at a woman's breasts without that woman's permission was rude.

Huh, when had she started to call Byakuren a woman? As if she were human...

"I explained this to Shinki at least once before. Let me see if I can remember what I said...?

She took another breath, eyes closed, and exhaled deeply, opening her eyes.

?Long ago, when I was a youkai exterminator, I traveled through many villages of humans and met many people. Good and bad, just like youkai. The myths that they had grown up with as children had given them a great fear of youkai and of magic, that is true. But many of them were quietly okay with the idea of youkai living among them, so long as they had reasonable confidence that they would not be attacked. This is where I found my niche.?

Yumemi nodded as she listened.

?But, too many... I ran into too many leaders who were just the opposite of their followers. They were not noble. I realized quickly that they did not really want their people to be free of fear; they just wanted to get rid of a threat that they could not control. If possible, they would replace it with a threat of their own making, one they could call off and control at any point. They were also interested in receiving the praise of their people for getting rid of the dangerous youkai nearby, and it would become another source of useful propaganda to reinforce their dominance.?

?Those were hard times. Youkai were given the reputation of being absolute enemies of humans. If a human was thought to aid youkai, even if it was just a misunderstanding, they would cast them out of the village and smear their reputations by branding them as an ally of youkai. The human ideal was a world without youkai. It was in that world that I tried to work for youkai and human equality.? She sighed, letting her manacles clank onto the ground. ?Maybe I could have stood it if the youkai were truly dangerous, but they were not. Usually they were just trying to live their lives.?

?But those were different times, Hiziri-san,? Yumemi protested. ?A time when people did not know science, hadn't embraced rationality and objective analysis. They couldn't see that their fear was being engineered, being used to justify the rule of tyrants!?

Byakuren's gaze flicked up.

?And here you are, the result of rationality and objective analysis, and even you hate youkai.?

Yumemi had been about to say something, but those words hit her like a slap in the face, and she fell silent.

The prisoner continued.

?Sometimes I visited a village without letting them know I was an exorcist, to test the leader's worth. I mean, it was always possible that the youkai was truly dangerous, and that the leader was simply looking out for his people. His people. It was always a male leader, back then.? She closed her eyes, leaning back. ?Sometimes I was welcomed as a visitor, given hospitality. More often, I was given a place to stay for the night, then in the morning was asked to roll up my futon and head on my way. And many times, I was monitored to make sure that I did not speak to many villagers on the way out.?

?I discovered, over the years, that it was all one big scam to keep ordinary humans to accept as their authorities the most corrupt, power-hungry leaders. I would get rid of their youkai problem-- by taking the youkai to a place where they could live in peace, or simply convincing them to move to a new area. But I would come back in a few years, only to find that their elder or their leader or their mayor had instead manufactured a new enemy to fear. The trick is, that if you keep telling humans that there are things that they need protecting from, even in the most safe area in the country, you get to keep using fear to control them.?

The professor nodded, thinking about her words and turning them over in her head as she clasped her hands together and rested them on the bridge of her nose.

Byakuren sat up a little bit more, letting some anger seep into her words as she continued.

?The village leaders I met, the ones who would eventually turn on me and seal me away... they were not good leaders, not at all. For them, people lying prostate on the floor was not enough; they had to put their shoe on the back of their heads and push their noses into the ground. They held power amongst people who were primed to believe in the importance of authority and asserting it through violence.?

The fingers of her right hand continued to tap out their quiet rhythm on the ground.

?They never considered the possibility of coexisting with youkai, and they would use the fear of exile to manipulate ordinary people to obey his commands. To these fearful people who knew that if they were thrown out of the village they would almost certainly die, these leaders played to their anger and confusion, and offered them belonging, and the idea that youkai wanted to make them live in paranoia and fear, not the other way around. It was undeniably smart, no matter how wrong it was. In the end, they did outsmart me, after all.?

She chuckled. ?I was na?ve then. Back then, I hadn't had the time to put all of this together in my head. I hadn't had years and decades and centuries to put it all together. If I had, maybe things would have turned out differently...?

She spared a glance at her shackles. So did Yumemi.

?Those kinds of leaders appeal to people who are frightened and insecure, and who are looking for a strong, confident voice to comfort them in their fears. They get to project their most deep-seated longings to be strong, confident, and unwavering on their leader-- which, incidentally, is much easier than developing those traits in yourself or, even harder, coming to accept your weaknesses.?

Yumemi was surprised. Byakuren was angrier than at any moment she had seen before. The prisoner seemed to realize it, too-- she sighed and took a breath, inhaling and exhaling deeply.

?... it offends me on another level too. There is a concept in Buddhism called the Six Perfections. The first is 'Generosity'. In regards to that, we have this idea called the 'Gift of Fearlessness', to provide fearlessness to people, save people from disasters. To give the state of fearlessness and prevent all sentient beings from feeling perpetual fear. If I could have the world accept this part of my message, and no more, that alone would satisfy me.?

She twirled a strand of her long gradient hair around a finger again, a faint smile on her face.

?I know there are good leaders out there. I even ran into a few, however uncommon. I directed the peaceful youkai there, and they were able to cooperate with the leaders and the villagers, without being manipulated through fear. And both parties benefited. That's why I think equality could work. Or at least, that is my hope. I pray that a day may come when I could at least get a chance at making my dream real.?

She paused, then laughed quietly at herself. ?My apologies. I went off on quite the ramble there, that I did.?

?.... no, no need to apologize,? Yumemi replied after a moment's consideration, waving her hand.

The prisoner looked anxious, fiddling with her hair. ?So...? she began after a few seconds had passed, ?What do you think??

What could she think?

Youkai were monsters. Demons. Evil creatures that waylaid unfortunate travelers and frightened small children and lured unsuspecting men and women to their doom.

Those were the stories she had been raised with.

And here, in flesh and blood, was a youkai woman who stood opposed to that narrative of youkai victimizing humans, and presented her with a story of the exact reverse.

And she remembered the experiments she had been running in her laboratory not far from here, and the hateful looks Chiyuri had given her... and the expressions of hurt in the eyes of the minor youkai she'd subjected to her experiments, even as she ranted about how dangerous they were to humans...

What was she supposed to think?

She lowered her gaze, hid her eyes behind her hands.

?You have given me... much to think about.?

It was painful to admit. But if she wanted to be intellectually honest with herself, she needed to reevaluate her positions on youkai, in light of what she had learned here.

It was now patently obvious to her that youkai were not animals. They couldn't possibly be. This woman before her had been human, after all. And animals did not think long and hard about the nature of power, about the use of fear as a political tool to control people, about Buddhist principles and how she wished to see them become true.

No mere animal could have given her a plea for equality with that much passion. No mere animal would have spoken with such longing to see the sky once more.

No mere animal would have reached out to her to offer healing and kindness.

She could not, would not apply that label to youkai anymore.

Still... there were things she had to speak up about.

Just beyond the reach of Yumemi's peripheral vision, the young girl called Reimu Hakurei watched them with her dark brown eyes open, absorbing everything.

[Alfred F. Jones]

?Hiziri-san... some things bother me about what you're saying.?

The prisoner had been sitting cross-legged, arms folded in her lap. She blinked with surprise when Yumemi said that.

?Yes??

Yumemi tapped her fingertips on her cheek, wondering how to proceed about this.

?Well... when you were working by the name of a youkai exorcist but secretly saving youkai, you encountered many corrupt leaders. They held a lot of people in thrall by using their fear of the unknown against them.?

Byakuren nodded.

?They were powerful men, yes? They commanded the obedience of their villages and were respected, if only because they had the power to exile people if they wanted.?

Byakuren nodded again, a look of confusion growing in her eyes. She must have been wondering where Yumemi was going with this. Well, she was going to get her answer.

She remembered her earlier declarations that she was above the youkai, so she could do whatever she wanted to them, not being bound by things like ethical codes, and while she now thought of that with distaste, it wasn't what she wanted to ask about.

Yumemi unclasped her hands, resting them on her lap to mirror Byakuren. ?I ask you, does might make right? Does the righteousness of a person's cause depend on how strong they are??

The prisoner pursed her lips.

?Well, I once served Bishamonten... his followers had a tendency to think that way, that if one succeeded in battle, then their perspective could not be wrong. That was more right-makes-might, in that the one the god agreed most with was the one who would win, naturally...?

She shook her head. ?But no, I do not think that myself. Might does not make you a better person, which is why it's so important to protect the weak from those people who do think that way. Aside from matters of bodily disciplines, such as training the body and learning to recite the sutras, might has nothing to do with how righteous a person is.?

Yumemi nodded. ?I thought you would say that.?

?Why do you ask??

Yumemi had her.

?Well, I understand that you have been locked up here for centuries. You have not seen how the world of Gensokyo is, how the youkai rule over the humans.?

?Have you?? Byakuren asked. Or perhaps she challenged.

?I have been there a few times. I could not stay.? She cleared her throat. ?Gensokyo, the lawless frontier realm to the south of the Empire of Makai. I do mean lawless. While here in Makai I have some protection from Shinki herself, I was at great risk in Gensokyo, which isn't fond of her authority. I'm not fond of empires myself, but I have some self-interest in keeping myself alive.?

?Protection from Shinki herself?? Byakuren raised an eyebrow at that.

?Yes. I am a researcher. She wanted to see if I could make anything for her.? Yumemi didn't want to elaborate on that research. ?In any event, I was in danger from the dumb ordinary youkai and animals of the country, which has no central governing authority. Certainly no police to look out for two squishy human visitors like me and my assistant.

?In fairness, I was not threatened by the older, more mature youkai, such as Kazami Yuka-san,? she said, nodding to the green-haired youkai on the other side of the room. ?Youkai like her will be polite if you are polite in turn.? Even if they did have weird, overly violent senses of humour.

Byakuren nodded.

?But when Chiyuri and I visited Gensokyo, we could not stay long. We were in danger from the wild youkai, and grew quickly nervous and frightened. We went back to Makai in short order.?

?I see.?

?No, you don't.?

Byakuren blinked.

?Your message of peace is one I might even agree with. I admire that you denounce violence as power and using fear to manipulate humans into turning on youkai. But there is something you have not addressed.? Yumemi put her hands on her knees, leaning forward. ?Even if you prevent villages from being manipulated by fear, individual humans will still be afraid. And if enough of them are afraid, then they are ripe for a charismatic leader to rise up, promise them the dignity of a future filled with the hope of not having to be afraid of youkai anymore.?

?T-that's--?

Yumemi cut her off. ?Thus, it is necessary that you stand up for the humans, too. If you truly want equality, you cannot let other humans or youkai fall into the trap of mutual fear. If you let the youkai be afraid, they will use their strength to attack humans, and humans will in turn be afraid and thus vulnerable to manipulation. And even if you sweep in at the eleventh hour to save them from being attacked, they'll still be afraid. It's the physical vulnerability of humans to youkai that is the true problem. You must either be willing to reject individual violent youkai, and also to train youkai to avoid violence against humans, or else the cycle of mutual fear will start up again.?

Byakuren seemed stunned into silence.

?And on that note, your path will require you to become a hypocrite.?

The prisoner blinked. ?A hypo-- wait, what??

?You told me that you did not believe might makes right. But youkai, especially the wild sort that humans are most vulnerable to, only listen to strength and raw power.? She held Byakuren's gaze. ?To get them to listen to you, you will have to defeat them first. And if they defeat you, they will never respect your ideas.?

Byakuren's eyes widened slightly as she followed Yumemi's logic. ?But that would mean...?

?Yes. You would be falling into the trap of power being equal to righteousness.?

She shook her head from side to side. ?But if I lost, it would have nothing to do with my worldview! It would just mean the other youkai was a better fighter!?

?You're correct. But it is equally correct that if you do not have the power to back up your ideals, you will not be listened to. And if you have to resort to force, then you will be betraying those ideals.?

Yumemi paused then, watching the expressions that crossed Byakuren's face. First, a look of blank disbelief, then sorrow. Then a wince, and she closed her eyes, nodding with a pained expression on her face. Then she sighed, and looked even more sorrowful than before.

?I hadn't ever... thought of it that way.?

The scientist had been hoping that Byakuren would listen to her, but seeing her in pain like that... it made her feel bad, on some level.

Byakuren's shoulders sagged as she opened her eyes, looking down.

?If only... if only I could actually go up to Makai, or to Gensokyo... and...?

She sighed again, and leaned forward, hanging her head. Her long gradient tresses fell forward, off her shoulders, and hung in the air.

Yumemi bit her lip, and continued.

?I'm sorry. I can see how strongly you feel about this. But those are two problems you must address. The vulnerability of humans to youkai, and the fact that you will have to back up your ideals of peaceful equality with raw power and force.?

?But--?

?You cannot fight for what you believe in when other people will just cut you off or just shout louder, hit harder, and so on. You must have the power to back up your beliefs, Hiziri-san, or no one will listen to you.?

?But violence is...? She winced, and grit her teeth. ?Violence is... I can't...?

Yumemi began to feel... angry at her.

?What, are you afraid of getting your hands dirty??

The youkai woman looked up at her, fire in her eyes.

?I don't want to be a hypocrite, Okazaki-san! I can't use force to spread a message of peace!?

?Does your ideal mean so little to you??

She found herself getting angrier. It was... strange. But it made her angry to see Byakuren giving up so easily.

?No!? The prisoner's eyes met hers. ?It is the right thing! I don't want to see anyone suffer anymore because of fear!?

Yumemi's temper rose yet higher. ?And yet, can't you see that you're afraid of having to compromise yourself?!?

Byakuren gasped.

?If lives are at stake, how can you hold back? How can you even entertain the idea of not following your ideals, if you've already been imprisoned for over nine hundred years for them? Isn't it a little late to turn back now??

It was infuriating. Hadn't she walked into this prison cell with the absolute certainty that youkai oppressed humans and that they were brutal animals, that it was degrading to have to keep her ideas to herself for fear of retribution from youkai-- and now, she was the one telling Byakuren to keep to her ideal of equality. It made her head spin.

But more than her dislike of youkai, she was the sort of person who believed that if your ideals required it, you needed to sacrifice everything for it-- even yourself. And seeing someone give up on their ideals so easily made her angry, angrier than she thought she would be.

?But...? Byakuren squeezed her eyes shut. ?It'll undermine everything I believe in to have to use force to bring peace. I've already lived a lie before in my life, doing one thing while saying I was doing another. Can't I get the chance to live a life where I don't have to be lying anymore?!?

Yumemi winced, realizing that she was seeing the part of the iceberg that was beneath the waves. How much had it hurt her to have to maintain that lie? How long must she have dreamed, here in the dark, of a country where she wouldn't have to lie to herself and others in order to bring her ideals to fruition?

She didn't know. But she did want to see if Byakuren would have the strength to hold on.

?... Byakuren-san.?

The prisoner took a shuddering breath, and met her gaze, amber meeting red.

?Do you remember the time and the place that you became a youkai??

A moment's pause, and Byakuren nodded. ?The ritual I set up... the humanity I sacrificed. Yes, I remember it.?

?Close your eyes if you have to. I want you to think of yourself back in that time.?

Byakuren closed her eyes.

Internally, Yumemi was going crazy at herself. What was she doing?! Why was she helping her? Why was she going so far to do it?

Hmph.

Yumemi raised her gaze and met the anger in herself with a cold stare.

Because I would want the same to be done for me. Isn't that what Grandm?re taught me?

?What will you do, Hiziri-san? Right now, you are no great magician, no saviour of youkai. Without the power or youth you wanted. You're a normal human again, with no power to change much of anything. You'll die in a few years, of old age, not having any real impact in your world. Your name will not be recorded in history.

?And even if you get that power, you will only live for a few more decades before the humans, afraid of your power, seal you into a prison cell for a thousand years of lonely sorrow.?

Byakuren's eyes were closed, but even then she winced.

?But...?

Yumemi leaned forward, her head a dozen centimeters away from Byakuren's.

?If you make that deal, and sacrifice your humanity and your freedom... then you may get the chance to prevent the needless suffering of youkai and humans alike. Maybe you'll even get to see the sun once more, and get the chance to save youkai and humans again.?

Byakuren's shoulders were shaking. Yumemi put her hands on them.

?Would you prefer to live a life where humans fear youkai, and youkai attack humans, and this is simply unchallenged? Or will you make that deal, and get the chance to change that fate??

She shook her shoulders, pushing Byakuren up to see her face.

?What will you decide, Hiziri Byakuren??

The saint's eyes met hers, and she looked like she was in pain as she thought about it, but after a few moments, she sighed deeply and closed her eyes again.

When she opened them again, she had made her decision.

?I will... take that chance.?

Internally, Yumemi let out a sigh of deep relief.

?Even if it means that you might have to compromise here and there? Even if it means you'll have to turn youkai away at times, and have to use power to back up your words of peace??

Byakuren took in a steadier breath than before.

?... yes. I'll try, at least. I'll try to speak of peace as loud as I can, remain as peaceful as I can, and avoid conflict as best I can. I don't want to have to fight. But if I have to...? She balled her hands up into fists. ?Even if they call me a devil, the way they did in the past... then I will just have to use my devil's powers to get them to listen!?

Yumemi laughed quietly.

?I see. So how will you fight the idea that humans fear youkai, that youkai attack humans, and that this must be the order of things? Or will you let it pass without challenge??

?.... no,? she murmured, and then she shook as she took in short breaths. ?No, no, that's wrong. Even if that's really the way things have to work, I want to defy that. I want to see if it's possible to find another way, to find a middle path, even if it only works on a small scale...?

?A peace that doesn't require violence??

Byakuren smiled.

?Yes, exactly.?

?... good.? Yumemi sighed with relief, dropped her hands from Byakuren's shoulders.

[Alfred F. Jones]

She found that she was saying it with real affection, a real smile, and was surprised at herself. But she had to admit it, if only to herself-- she liked Byakuren. She got the feeling that she was the sort of woman her Grandm?re would have agreed with.

And for her part....

?... so, what do you think now??

?Hm?? Yumemi blinked. Byakuren was smiling, and looking at her.

?I know that when you came in, you distrusted me. Because I was a youkai, right??

She hated to admit it, but... She nodded. ?.... yes.?

?What do you think now?? The prisoner asked. ?Am I still a dangerous youkai to be feared??

Yumemi sighed, a slight grin on her face. ?No, not anymore. Quite the opposite.? She laughed. ?You and I disagree, but I think I would still be happy if I could call you a friend.?

Byakuren hummed. ?Disagree? You don't actually agree with my ideals??

The professor shook her head. ?It's complicated, but... I'll tell you.?

Byakuren deserved to hear the truth. She cleared her throat.

?I asked several youkai and humans about the relationship between humans and youkai. I asked Kazami-san, I asked the humans in the human village, I asked the historians there, I asked Shinki. And from all I've seen of this world, I agree with them. Ever since the Hakurei Barrier went up, and youkai and humans have had to live together-- humans fear youkai, youkai attack humans. This is the main principle of this world.?

She met the saint's gaze as Byakuren winced.

?Whatever pretty words you use to speak of Gensokyo, this is its true nature. Your dream of equality... What you say are the words of one who has not put her ideas to the test in the real world. Ideas must be tested by experimentation, or else they are silly, idealistic jokes.?

Byakuren looked down. Yumemi smiled, and put her hands on her shoulders again to make her look up.

?But... I like your idealism better than the truth. If I could have one wish, I would wish for the world to accept this joke as its true nature.?

She laughed slightly, seeing Byakuren's hopeful look again.

?I did mean that earlier, when I was challenging you. What you believe in is beautiful, Hiziri-san. I want you to prove me wrong. I want to see your idea succeed. I want to see you get out of here someday, and get the chance to really prove your ideas in the real world.

?Even if your path doesn't match up completely to your ideals... don't give up on them, okay? Keep fighting for your utopia.?

She patted her shoulders. ?Hey, if you aim for the moon and miss, at least you'll rise among the stars. Right??

Suddenly, and just as unexpectedly as earlier, she felt the sensation of Byakuren moving her body faster than she could react.

But instead of punching her, or healing her hand, Byakuren had pulled her in for a hug.

Yumemi blinked. She was taken aback. The rational part of her mind reminded her that people in solitary confinement would be starving for physical contact. 

Then the rest of her mind caught up, and she realized Byakuren was weeping quietly.

?H-Hiziri-san?? She stammered.

?I-I'm sorry,? the prisoner replied, her words halting. ?But...? She squeezed Yumemi a little tighter. ?I needed...?

?It's okay,? Yumemi said, rubbing her back. ?It's okay.?

Byakuren's tears didn't last very long, but her body was shaking. Yumemi sighed. In the preceding conversation, Yumemi had been so wrapped up in it that she had stopped observing the thumping pattern of Byakuren's fingers. She had forgotten completely. But Byakuren never would. By this time, she must have heard the sound of her heartbeat alone in the dark for too long to ever truly get it out of her head.

Alone in the dark... Yumemi wondered how long she could last. She gave herself a week before she snapped.

And Byakuren had endured it for almost a millennium.

With a sigh, the prisoner released her from her hug, but instead of pulling back completely, Yumemi stayed close.

?It's been... so long since I had... someone to talk to about this.? Byakuren was calming down, taking in deep breaths. ?I had almost given up on my ideas until Shinki-sama found me... and even then, I haven't gotten to talk about them completely for a long time.? She lowered her head. ?I'm so... painfully different from the way I used to be. I was smiling, I was cheerful, I was beloved by the youkai I had saved... and now, down here, you see me.?

She clanked her manacles against the floor.

?I vacillate between attacking you and healing you. I'm awkward and bad at conversation because I hardly ever get the chance to talk to someone for a long time. And I'm even talking badly about myself! I would have never done this before.? She smiled a bitter smile. ?Back then, I was happy and confident that I was doing the right thing. Down here, I'm....?

?It's okay. That's not something you have to feel sorry for.?

Byakuren hugged her again, and this time, Yumemi hugged her back.

?You said...? the prisoner said after a moment, wiping her eyes. ?You said... that even if you disagreed with me, you still wanted to call me your friend, right??

?Something like that.? Yumemi disengaged from Byakuren's hug, and smiled at her. She really was an absolutely fascinating person to talk to. Open to new ideas, willing to listen. How could someone this kind have been sealed up so mercilessly?

?Then...? Byakuren reached up to her collar, fiddling with...

Oh, wow.

Yumemi's eyes widened as the saint pulled off her cape, held it in her hand for a moment, and then held it out to her.

?A gift,? she said. ?I don't have much of anything to give down here... but I want you to have this.?

?W-what?? Yumemi waved her hands. ?N-no, I can't take something like that, it's--?

Her companion smiled. ?You're the first person in centuries I have been able to truly call my friend. I can't thank you enough for that. Trust me, this is the bare minimum of what I would like to do.?

Yumemi looked at the cape Byakuren was giving her. It was sheer red, and worn at the bottom from years of wear. In the dark, its colour hadn't faded as it would have in the harsh light. Byakuren was taller than she was, so it would probably reach the floor if Yumemi wore it.

Her cape was the 'villain cape', as she liked to think of it. Black on the outside, red on the inside. She liked the idea of looking ominous, dangerous, like Captain Nemo, or the other adventurers she had grown to love in the stories she read as a child.

On Byakuren, it would be the hero cape.

She reached up to her own collar, and unclasped it.

?You know what, then? I'll do the same.?

Byakuren looked stunned for a moment, then began waving one arm. ?No, you don't have to, Okazaki-san!?

?I know I don't have to, but I want to.?

This was the cape she had carried against Yuka, the one that had saved her from that Master Spark. In it, she had hidden a number of gadgets, and of course the secret to absorbing danmaku bullets. It would be risky to walk around without it.

But once she had the chance, she could sit down with Byakuren's cape, and add her own modifications to it. And it would have both magical heritage and modern technological power. A fusion, a combination. The idea appealed to her.

Even if she went back to her world without the secrets of magic, she made a friend, and this would help her remember that.

Yumemi held out her cape. ?This is for you, Hiziri-san.?

The saint laughed. ?Just Hiziri will do, thanks.?

The professor smiled. ?Then, Okazaki for me.?

Byakuren nodded, and the capes exchanged hands.

On the other side of the room, Hakurei Reimu giggled. Sayuri didn?t know why, but she ruffled her hair all the same. It was good to have people down here to speak with, even if it was just for a little while.

[Alfred F. Jones]

YEAH! Look who's finally learned to update on a semi-consistent basis! And yes, I'm going to try to keep this up. I wanna finish this before I die of old age, thanks!

Before I forget YET AGAIN, Anunsew composed (at my request) a theme for Sumire, Shikieiki's subordinate. I just didn't post it because bumping this thread without content seemed rather gauche. So here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iqcuTsgfSU

Spot all the references to Roukan's Rising Star for a prize!

A few nights ago I was having convulsions in the library while worrying that people don't always know that I do extensive canonical research (because, despite what this fic has turned out as, I never actually intended for it to be an AU-- just a more 'serious' take on canon.) In that spirit, I shall post a few notes, mostly relating to how Byakuren was written in the most recent canon work, Symposium of Post-Mysticism, and how it connects with her position on equality between humans and youkai in UFO.

She doesn't seem to be particularly fond of authoritarianism that hinges on using fear to keep itself in power. I got a wonderful reference from SoPM in that regard; one aspect of the first tenet of the Six Perfections, generosity, is the "Gift of Fearlessness", which Byakuren herself mentions in this part of the Symposium. This will eventually put her at odds with the system of Gensokyo, as part four shows:

Kanako: Without humans, youkai couldn't exist either. Humans fear youkai, youkai attack humans. This is the main principle.
Byakuren: I have an objection to that...
Kanako: I won't recognize other opinions. (Kanako seems to cut her off here, so we never do hear Byakuren elaborate.)

In addition, this does foreshadow an antagonistic relationship (either one-sided or mutual) with Toyosatomimi no Miko, who outright states that "Individual humans will of course continue to live in fear" in part 5 of the Symposium.  Miko is also that kind of charismatic leader who believes that "Society cannot function with all humans possessing the same social standing and rank." (Direct quote from Miko in part 1.) I thought it would be a fun call forward to the time of SoPM, which is at this point many years into the future.

Also, the bit about a peace that doesn't require violence? Miko claims that this is Reimu's true desire in the final part of the Symposium. I thought that would be a nice thing to tuck in there.

Really, you should go read SoPM. Byakuren's changed since the end of UFO. By the time of SoPM, Byakuren has outright changed her mind about what she said in UFO. From part one: "The humans in Gensokyo exist for no further purpose than to preserve the youkai. The humans are being ruled by the youkai." This tells me that Byakuren is open to new information to make her re-evaluate her positions. Her pro-youkai ideas from UFO come literally a few minutes after she's been released, so of course she wouldn't know what Gensokyo was really like, that youkai didn't have to live in fear anymore.

I really liked the Symposium part of SoPM. Not fond of the rest, since some of it means that I'll have to ignore canon yet again (which I don't really like to do), but it is what it is.

One last thing: Over the period between this and the next update, I'll be rehauling some of the earlier stuff (as mentioned in my previous note about Yumeko's characterization). So if you want to read White Rose version 1.0 still, that's your last chance. (And I'll also have to get around to doing the same thing to the FF.net incarnation of this fic... later.)

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the update and the extras!

[MatsuriSakuragi]

Oh wow, where to begin? There's just so much excellent content here :*

Well, the beginning is as good of a place to start as any other. So!

>Utsuho and Shinki
Dear lord, that escalated quickly-- and in a very good way. (Well, not so good in context because they're both very hurt and so on, but in an emotional impact-ish way.) There's so much raw emotion here-- the first time Utsuho opens up and shows her true feelings-- or at least some of them-- about Shinki and the situation overall. I would have personally thought she'd still be left in a state of shock from Koishi's abandonment, but she gets right under Shinki's skin and hits her where it hurts most-- the loss of Yumeko, and the lack of remorse she has for everyone she just killed. And here Shinki is, stunned and very hurt in her own way. And while Utsuho has deeply offended her (justifiably so), she still wants to pursue, and befriend her. There are so many complex emotions going on here, and I love it.

>the Hakurei Rescue Team
What struck me the most here is how Chiyuri acts. She's very much aware that she's less combat-capable than the rest of the team, so she is willing, if not almost eager to put herself in Hirano's place for the blood payment to break the chains so she can be as helpful as she can. That takes a lot of nerve, to know that you're one of the most vulnerable people on the team but still risk yourself anyway.

I kind of want to know what Reimu thinks of everything that's happening here. She's been very quiet this whole time, and she's also been listening in on Yumemi and Byakuren's conversations, too, absorbing every bit of it. As a psycholgist-type of person, I would be very interested in knowing how she feels about all of this, from a child's perspective.

Also Sayuri ;;

>Yumemi and Byakuren
Ohhhh wow. This was incredible stuff, here.

I loved this, here-- I loved the clashing idealisms, how incredibly observant (almost to the point where she seems quite obviously attracted to her) Yumemi is at reading Byakuren's actions and appearance (I may or may not be blatantly shipping them in my mind from here on), and how Yumemi's perspective on youkai changes from just this conversation. And despite their mutual disagreement overall, they still respect and support each other's ideals-- and this is what makes this a fantastic debate.

Going into this, I was thinking it would only be Yumemi questioning herself-- after all, I'm sure such a long time in solitary confinement will lead you to keeping your thoughts and perspectives on the world cynical and set in stone, perhaps? But what I really liked is while Yumemi's taking most of what is said in stride (and even changing her position on youkai altogether), Byakuren is short-circuiting while Yumemi points out flaws to her ideals. I am interested in seeing what she does from here. Can she really back up her feelings with power, or will she adamantly refuse to betray her values? The moral dilemma here is so fascinating.

However, despite their heated debate and still-overall disagreement with one another, they find friendship, as well-- so much that they exchange their prized possessions (well, Yumemi does, at least. I'm not sure if Byakuren is so attached to her cape (or as a Buddhist who emphasizes generosity, much else at all)). I am very interested in this switch here-- not only did Yumemi leave one of her most valuable tools with Byakuren-- and will Byakuren ever realize how much that cape holds?-- she describes it in a switch of hero and villain capes. She gives Byakuren her 'villain cape' and says that on her, it would be a 'hero cape'. And she wants to take Byakuren's cape and modify it for her own use, installing her gadgets and modifications that her 'villain cape' had. But on Yumemi, will this cape still be the cape of a villain, or the cape of a hero? Fascinating, fascinating~

At any rate this was a fantastic update-- I was completely absorbed in it. Keep up the good work!

Before I forget YET AGAIN, Anunsew composed (at my request) a theme for Sumire, Shikieiki's subordinate. I just didn't post it because bumping this thread without content seemed rather gauche. So here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iqcuTsgfSU

Ooh, I never did hear the full, completed version of this. This is also very, very good. Nicely done, Anunsew, if you are reading this. :>

Also, I like the idea of posting some of your notes here and there-- not only because there's a lot of canonical research done to make this, but a lot of other contexts and symbolic things to keep in mind, as well.

[Kasu]

Oh man, that had to have been the best update in a while!

I really liked the Yumemi/Byakuren exchange you had going.

[nintendonut888]

?But... I like your idealism better than the truth. If I could have one wish, I would wish for the world to accept this joke as its true nature.?

degozaimasu.wav

That was a magnificent read. Not only were both Yumemi and Byakuren very realistic in their debate, but the debate itself was very interesting to read. Here's hoping your writing streak continues!

[Esifex]

Spot all the references to Roukan's Rising Star for a prize!

And here I was going to jokingly make a quip about 'and then Byakuren recited 'Rising Star' for Yumemi!'  :V

[Alfred F. Jones]

White Rose and DRK tend to update on Wednesdays. Thanks to the magic of timezones, however, if we both post on Wednesday, I'll always end up being the most recent post (MST fuck yeah). Out of a desire to not steal Rou's thunder, however, I'm moving my updates to Saturdays. I still need to update that first post, anyway...

Anyway, here we go!


Utsuho had walked away for a while, then on impulse she had punched a tree. The tree was unharmed. Her hand, not so much. She swore and hissed with pain, kicked the tree, then in another impulse she took a short running start and took off flying.

The anger going through her system was keeping her warm in the cold night sky, but she knew it couldn't last. Her wings needed warm blood going through them, and it was getting colder now that the heat of the sun was gone.

She wasn't really running away to any place in particular. She still intended to go back to Shinki. That was the terms of the peace agreement, and she couldn?t violate that. But what she could do was irritate her by hiding out somewhere for a while.

Going back to the governor's mansion was out. Shinki would check that place first. But if that was the governor's mansion, then the city should be nearby, right?

Soaring above the forest, she blended in perfectly with the night. Her torn robes were darkened from soot and scorches and dirt that she hadn't been able to clean over the past few days. In one pocket, she still had the orange from earlier. In the other, the green bandanna she had been given.

In the dark, she didn't need to cover her eyes. She reached up and pulled the bandanna over her hair, then tied it into a ponytail at the base of her neck. She didn't want her hair to get too tangled. Then she started on the orange, tearing off the rinds and throwing them to the ground as she flew. She remembered that from the tutoring Koishi and Satori had had as kids: the cycle of organic material decomposing and nourishing the new life that would spring up in its place. And she had seen it often enough as a child.

Decomposing, that was. Not so much the life that sprung up in its place.

She bit into the orange, still feeling irritated and angry. She had been doing such a good job of keeping it together, too. And now she had managed to anger Shinki. Well, she wasn't sorry about that, not inherently. She thought she could win Utsuho over with sweet words and politeness? Think again.

She was the one responsible for this whole mess in the end, wasn't she? Shinki was the one who had pushed her master to the brink with the horrors her army had visited upon the city. Shinki was the one responsible for making her master lose her mind, wasn't she?

Or maybe....

Maybe it was the other way around, and Shinki had merely exposed Koishi for the monster she really could be.

The thought shook her, but after a few moments, she dismissed it. No, Koishi really had been the kindest of masters as a child. And Shinki did bear some responsibility for pushing her to insanity like that. Maybe Utsuho should have tried to do more. Maybe she should have....

Then she remembered Koishi's words of rejection and dismissal, and unexpected tears sprung to her eyes as she felt a burning in her throat.

?Koishi.... Koishi, you idiot.?

She wished Koishi had been stronger, like her older sister. That she had come out of the terrors of that day with her mind intact.

But if she had been in Koishi's place, how would she have reacted?

Ugh. All these questions with no good answers. She needed time to think them all through. And even if she got that time, none of those answers would make her feel any better about the fact that she would never again be able to feel Koishi's arms around her, never again be able to carry her around Chireiden, never again be able to sit on Koishi's shoulder as they read a book together, never again be able to walk through the Palace side-by-side with her, never again be able to snuggle up with her at night so she could greet her with a nuzzle of feathers in the morning...

And never be able to be that close to someone again.

She realized then that her arms were shaking, and it wasn't due to the cold. She felt sick, faint, uncertain.

She was in the sky, a place she had always wanted to be, but she had never wanted to be there alone.

Koishi should have been here with her.

She didn't realize she was crying for a few moments. And once they came, they didn't stop. She had been holding in her emotions too long, and they were bubbling to the surface, demanding to be released while there was no one around to see.

She released them.

Utsuho screamed up at the empty sky, tears streaming down her face.

She wasn't screaming words. She screamed angry, heartbroken howls at the night sky, cursing it and everything beneath it for its lack of reaction. It should have been raining, but instead it sat there, inert, and Utsuho could do nothing to tear it apart with her bare hands.

It was as indifferent to her condition as Koishi was, and it was infuriating.

It took a few minutes to get all the grief out of her system. She sat on a tree branch for that time, shuddering as feral screams ripped up her throat as they came out of her. Her eyes must have been red. She felt colder than ever. Fatigue was setting in. She wanted to sleep in a bed that wasn't moving.

She wanted to sleep in a bed with Koishi again, but she dismissed that thought. She'd never get that again. It was no use pining over it.

But she could still be spiteful. She punched a pine cone off a branch and was satisfied to see it go flying.

Utsuho took a shuddering breath.

?I...? It hurt to speak. So she paused and ate another bite of orange and let the juice cool her throat. She swallowed and tried again. ?I... I'll be fine. Somehow.?

She tried to reassure herself. Suddenly an intense feeling of heaviness came down onto her. She caught her breath as she realized the true gravity of her situation.

She was alone in a country as a prisoner to the most powerful woman in the realm, with no one to speak to or hug her or kiss her on the forehead and stroke her hair and hold her close, and she was miles away from everything she had ever known.

Dread settled in Utsuho's stomach as she realized how hopeless her situation was.

?Oh.... oh god.?

She took shallow breaths as she leaned against the tree whose branch she was using as a bench. She tried to calm down, to relax her frenzied nerves.

?Y-you're just a little overwhelmed right now. That's it. Y-you'll be fine.?

Then she heard the howl of an animal she did not recognize, and jumped.

Oh, yeah. And to add to her list of problems, she wasn't particularly strong. She knew she was vicious, thanks to her hard life before Koishi had taken her in, but she had very little endurance. She really had no choice but to stay by Shinki's side, not only out of duty, but for her own safety.

But she wasn't going to make it easier on her. Even if she had merely unmasked Koishi's true nature, she had still hurt and killed a lot of people, and she wouldn't just let that go. If not for Koishi's sake, then for Satori's and Rin's.

Satori and Rin...

She looked up at the empty night sky, and gave a deep sigh.

?I wonder if... when I'll be able to see you two again.?

Thinking of those two brought hope back to her heart. Or at least determination. She couldn't let herself die over her years of captivity. She had a family to get back to.

Even if that family was missing the person who had brought her into it, it was still a family worth returning to.

Resolve returned to the hellcrow. She sighed again, stretched out her arms and legs, and got to her feet.

?... see, it's okay. I told you you would be fine.?

Once upon a time, it would be Koishi coming up behind her, speaking words of reassurance into her ear. But there was no Koishi in her life anymore. She had to reassure herself.

Utsuho narrowed her eyes, a resolve forming in her heart.

?I'll prove to you... that I can live without you, Koishi.?

She jumped up and off the tree branch, back into the sky.

She looked out over the forest. Ah, there. She saw lights. This must be the actual city of Hokkai, or at least the village. That was where she would rest.

She considered shifting to her hell raven form, to conserve energy and go undetected in the city, but she wasn't so sure. She couldn't do that without knowing the predators around here.

The hell raven swooped closer, finding a nice place to perch.

It was something beyond a village, not quite a city. It was smaller than the Ancient City, that was for sure.

What to do? She could always just swoop down, steal food, and fly off, but more than that, she wanted to explore a little. She knew Shinki would eventually find her. She didn't want to end up having to rely on her to get her out of trouble.

She wasn't above scavenging. That was what she had done as a child to survive, after all. Maybe she could find an old robe somewhere to replace her burnt one. But she figured she could save the trash diving until after she had found a place to eat. For now, she would go down in her humanoid form, and see if there were any food places willing to trade some labour for a meal, or a place to stay the night.

She didn't need a pillow, or even a good mattress. As long as it was a safe place to stay for the night, she would be fine.

As long as no one saw her cry during the night, she would someday be fine.

Right?

-----

[Alfred F. Jones]

Satori stared into space as she lay on her back.

Today had been the longest day of her life. Chireiden didn't have a system of day and night based on the moon and sun, so she didn't know how long she had been awake, exactly, but she estimated that she had been awake for the past ninety-six hours. That was a lot, even for youkai.

In the past ninety-six hours, she had met with and negotiated with Rin's people, the kasha. They had escaped the fire through planning for the worst beforehand, and not only had they escaped from the fires with barely a few muddy shoes and scrapes, they had also stockpiled food in their storage caves.

Satori had originally wanted to negotiate for maybe half the stockpile of food, but her Third Eye had quickly informed her that they would be inflexible in this regard, so she had to drop it before she even asked. It was an extremely bitter pill to swallow. She had been relying on this, and now she would have to find a food source elsewhere.

However, she manged to secure the next best thing: the support of the kasha regarding Satori's claim to the throne, with the promise of destroying many of the legal obstacles that stood in the way of the kasha obtaining better jobs-- no more being forced to work on their holy days (on threat of being fired), official multilingualism throughout the city-state, and ending pay inequality regarding the kasha compared to everyone else. It pained her to realize that she hadn't ever heard of any of this until the kasha brought it up. She had simply never thought about it before.

?Are you okay with it if it takes me a while to institute all of this?? Satori had asked. Even though she knew that the kasha had her over a barrel when it came to this-- she really needed that food-- she knew with the power of her Third Eye that they had more things they wished to ask of her, but were refraining from asking until later.

?I may be the new queen, but I'm not Shinki. I don't have absolute power the way she did. I can't just say 'do this' and it's done. And we will be busy with repairs for a long time to come. I am willing to agree to your conditions, but is it okay with you if it takes me a while to get to all of this??

The elders had responded through her translator, Rin, who passed on the message.

?They said they're willing to wait. They never forget anything, after all.?

Unusually for her Third Eye, she was unable to tell if that was a threat or a reassurance or both.

From there, she sent Rin back to the burned-out remains of the Palace of the Earth Spirits again to find those asbestos chests. Then Satori had gone to Higan's camp to meet with the General of Higan and de facto leader while Eiki was incapacitated and Komachi aiding her: Sumire. Sumire had told her that Higan's scouts had returned with word from Chireiden's formal army, which had been moved out of the way just in time for Shinki to strike like lightning.

Satori had originally been worried, because she didn't want to have to deal with a hungry, potentially angry army that might not accept her authority as queen, but Sumire had a solution for at least part of that.

?Well, Higan's army is made of fairies. And we don't die, we respawn.? Sumire said, sending a subordinate off into a tent for something. ?We just don't respawn here. We respawn in Gensokyo.?

?Wait, you don't respawn in Higan?? Satori asked.

?We can't. The living can't enter Higan easily, not even fairies. The Ministry of Right and Wrong managed to manipulate our respawn points so that we return to life on the shores of the Sanzu, which is as close as we can get it. Now, your average fairy might be a bit dumb, but Higan army-trained fairies follow orders easily enough.? She smiled as her subordinate returned. ?And since fairies are fundamentally spirits of nature...?

She was handed a basket, and offered it to Satori while reaching in and pulling out a branch of purple grapes.

?I sent Captain Yuri to the surface to organize the fairies to collect baskets of fruit,? she said as Satori eagerly devoured an apple. ?Yuri-taicho's ability is particularly useful for this, as well.?

?Who's Captain Yuri?? Satori asked between hungry bites.

?You didn't get a chance to meet her. Kuroi Yuri's one of the other fairy captains. Like her twin sister, she's got a strong affinity for spring, and fruits and vegetables grow much, much faster around her. They're all wild fruits, but they should serve you well.? She pondered for a moment, so Satori heard her a bit beforehand, but like most fairies, Sumire was straightforward and never thought twice about stating what she thought. ?Maybe if her sister would stop blowing up the windmills, we could get her to help out too,? she added as a murmur.

The queen nodded as she wiped fruit juice off her cheek. ?Thank you, Sumire. I was quite hungry.?

?No worries. Fairies don't really need to eat, anyway.? Sumire said, taking the basket back. ?In addition, Yuri will be spending a lot of time in the rice and wheat fields at my request, so as to make the harvest accelerate. We'll harvest the grain and grind it down to make loaves of bread.?

?You can... order that? And you won't get in trouble or anything?? Satori's eyes widened as she finished off the last bits of her apple.

?Not at all. As long as fairies are outside of Higan, Higan doesn't care what we do. And who will tell a fairy what to do or what not to do within their own country??

She had a point there. However... ?I have no desire to provoke the surface-dwellers by stealing their harvest, however.? Satori tried not to conceal her worry. Sumire was too guileless for that.

?I have no desire to allow the fairies to accumulate bad karma, either. I sent another Captain, Kujou Tae, up to the surface to ensure that they only use wild, unused land alongside the Sanzu River. None of the humans dare plant crops that close, anyway. They're too afraid, and for good reason. But that means that the riverbank's shores are exceptionally fertile.?

Satori was impressed. Apparently Higan fairies were a class all their own.

?Now I just have to worry about clean water,? she muttered.

Sumire tilted her head. ?Well, the pipeline should still work, right??

?Yes, but the water comes from Makai. I don't expect we'll be getting much more water from them.?

?Hmm.? Sumire thought. ?We have a few water and ice fairies here, which could help. I could even get that fairy from the Scarlet Lake to come down here... maybe. Do you have any other rivers running near here you could tap into??

?Well, there is the stream from the Youkai Mountain,? she said, ?but even if the kappa agreed, the logistics of rerouting the river would simply be...? she shook her head.

?Well, how about--?

?Sumire-sama!?

The fairy turned to see. ?Captain Komagata??

Another fairy general of Higan, it seemed. She was taller than Sumire, but not by much. She came over carrying a strange box in her hand, with a cord that went nowhere--

Wait. It didn't go nowhere, or it would just be dangling free. No, it ended abruptly, but it looked like it reached into... some kind of tear in space.

Captain Kasumi Komagata threw up a quick salute and then handed the box to Sumire, a stunned look on her face.

?Captain Sumire, someone is on the phone,? she said, her jaw open.

Sumire looked at her blankly. ?On the what??

?Here!? Kasumi opened up the phone and put it in Sumire's hand.

The fairy captain looked at it, and Satori heard nothing but confused mutterings from her thoughts. She hesitated, then brought it up to her ear.

?Hello, this is Captain Sumire, General of the First Division of the Armies of Higan.?

She blinked, hearing the voice on the other end. Then she handed the phone to Satori.

?It's for you,? she said, looking no less confused than she had been before.

?What... is it??

?A phone. Eiki-sama has used them before, but...? Sumire looked at the cord. It didn't go nowhere. It just ended. But the place that it ended was strange. It was like a very small tear in reality that followed the cord. ?They don't usually work that way.?

Satori heard strange murmurings coming from the gap, so she quite sensibly turned her Third Eye in the other direction to fixate on background noises and took the phone.

?Hello, this is--?

?Komeiji Satori, Queen of Chireiden. Yes, I know who you are.?

Satori's jaw dropped.

Was this what it felt like to have one's mind read and thoughts broadcasted before you could speak them? Being on the receiving end of that was.... not pleasant at all.

?Y-yes, that is me.? She didn't know what else to say.

?My name is Yakumo. Yakumo Yukari.?

Satori nearly dropped the phone in shock.