~Hakurei Shrine~ > Kosuzu's Grand Bookstore
Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining - Part 2 In Progress!
Hawk:
Chapter 6 ? Judgment
Youmu slowly approached the gravestone. She knelt down and touched it, running her fingers along the letters. The others couldn't see her face, and didn't say a word. Now it seemed like the outer ring of trees weren't bowing their heads in respect, but in grief.
"So this is the door?" the half ghost said, standing up and turning to face them. Her eyes were as hard and cold as ever.
"Uh, yes," Reimu said, averting her eyes. "Here, I'll open it."
She flicked her hand a bit, staring holes into the gravestone. Slowly, it began to glow with an unearthly light.
"Just...touch it."
Youmu bowed her head slightly. "Good work. We should go." Without hesitation, she placed her hand on the stone. The light on the stone bled up her arm and covered her body. It grew brighter and brighter until it blanketed the entire scene, causing the other two to shield their eyes. When they looked again, she was gone.
"Think she'll be alright?" Marisa said, stepping up to the stone next.
"It's the natural order of things to outlive your parents."
The witch looked at the shrine maiden sadly. "Don't dally." She touched the stone, and, just like before, disappeared in a flash of light.
A cold wind whipped through the trees, tossing Reimu's hair around. It chilled her, but felt good against her still-bandaged shoulders. She knelt before the grave.
"She's your daughter," she whispered. "In every way. I can't believe I didn't notice before." She sniffed loudly. "She inherited your loneliness; your eyes.
"But," she said, letting a tear fall, "that's what you wanted, wasn't it?" She shook her head. "Why are parents so selfish? Children are just tools, right!? You raise them for your twisted ideals of morality or duty!" She lurched forward and grabbed the stone with both hands, squeezing with all her might. Against all reason, she was going to choke this grave. The light began traveling up her arms. Her arms were shaking. The light had covered her completely now. She squinted her eyes and gritted her teeth.
"I'll be damned if I let fate screw up another life."
The world turned to white. She was falling, and then she was standing on grass. She opened her eyes.
She was standing at the top of a hill in a wide field filled with trees. They were cherry blossoms, and they had all flowered. Pink petals swirled around her in a warm, caring breeze. Ahead of her she saw Marisa, staring down at a building in the distance.
This place was the land of the dead?
"She ran ahead!" the witch said, turning around with a worried look on her face. "I couldn't stop her!"
"Crap," the shrine maiden grunted. She slid her sleeve across her face, wiping away any trace of tears, and began running.
I'm lying on a cold floor. My body aches all over. My head is ringing, but I cannot moan or cry out in pain. I seem to have no control over my body, and so I lie there inert. I cannot remember my name or where I was before this, but I'm not worried. I wish I could open my eyes.
The air is completely still, and I can't hear anything. I realize this means that I'm not breathing. I panic for a second, but I calm down quickly. Well, I reason, it seems I don't need to breathe right now.
Through my closed eyelids, I see a faint light. It must be fairly intense. I hear some grunting, and then a pair of hands is touching me. It is at this moment I realize I'm naked. My body is being lifted off the cold floor.
"You guys are heavy," a voice says close to my body. It's light; a woman. She must be carrying me somewhere.
She lets go of me. I fall onto another cold surface. This one is curved inward, cradling me. My body hits it roughly, but, other than the aching from before, I feel no pain. I'm almost sitting, and my head is lolling forward, resting on my chest. I wish I wasn't naked.
The surface begins moving forward, and me with it. Based on the footsteps I hear, the girl must be walking behind me. She says nothing. I wonder if my heart is beating. If I don't need to breathe, maybe my blood doesn't need to circulate. The pain shooting through my body is starting to irritate me.
Suddenly the surface begins rising on the side where my head is. Farther and farther, until I'm nearly vertical. A bit more, and I fall forward, back onto the cold floor. My head hits pretty hard, but, once again, I feel nothing.
"Another false starter," the girl says.
"I see," says another voice. This one seems very far away, but, for some reason, I can hear every word clearly. It seems to be female. "Good work."
I hear footsteps walking away from me. The first girl must be leaving.
"Well, come on. Wake up."
As soon as she says it, I can move. I open my eyes. My vision is blurry, but quickly focuses. In front of me I see a large wooden pillar. It towers over me; I cannot see the top. I turn my head from side to side. All around me is a black void. I look down. Even though I feel a cold floor, there is nothing there. The darkness extends in all directions, infinitely.
I look at my body. I touch my hands together. I feel as though this must be my actual body. It feels familiar. I touch my face. Yes, this is my face. I remember touching these dips and curves. I remember running my hand through this hair. These are my eyes.
"The pain you feel is the pain of your sin," the voice says from high above me. She must be at the top of that wooden pillar. "What is your sin?"
Her voice is proud and heavy. I feel small. I don't want to respond. She's playing with me. She already knows my sin. I realize that I know my sin, too. I still don't remember who I am, but I remember my crime.
"I killed myself," I whisper. It came out on its own.
"Speak louder!" the voice booms at me. I'm shaking.
"I...I killed myself!" I scream.
"How?" the voice says.
"I drank poison!" The information is flooding in with each new question.
"Why?"
"Be?" I begin crying. "Because I'm a monster!" She is so cruel. Why would she revive me just to torture me?
"Why?"
"I killed many people! I killed people I love!"
"How?"
"I don't know!" I cry. My heart hurts, though it doesn't beat. "I don't know how!"
"Why did you kill them?"
"I didn't want to! I swear! It just happened!" I want my existence to end. I want to sleep and never awaken.
"Did you want to kill them?"
"I just said I didn't! They were my family, my friends!" My vision is blurry from the tears.
"Why did you want to kill them?"
"No!" I shout. I don't know what to say any more. "No! No! No!"
"DO NOT LIE TO ME!" The voice crushes my consciousness. I cannot even hear my own crying. It fills my body. I'm shaking. I'm trembling. I want to die. I want to die. I want to die.
"Why did you kill them?" the voice asks again.
I say nothing.
"I am the Yama," the voice says. "I am the judge of the dead. I know everything you've ever done. I decide the fates of souls. The only way to be free from the shackles of sin is to admit to them. Now, speak! Why did you kill your family and friends? Why did you kill the ones you love?"
"I was curious," I say. I believe it.
"Why?"
"Somehow I could kill people." I'm not crying any more. "If I wished they were dead, they would die."
"How did you find out about this power?"
"I murdered everyone except the first. That really was an accident. I got angry at him. I wished he would die. He died."
"And then?"
"I was scared. I tried to logic my way out of responsibility. I knew I'd killed him, but I kept telling myself he had been poisoned, or had a spell cast on him, or something." The words were flowing freely now.
"And then?"
"I had to know. The nightmares plagued me night after night. I had to know. I had to know if it was me. So I chose someone close to me. I chose someone I loved very dearly, so that no one would think I'd done it. And then I killed him."
"And then?"
"I wasn't satisfied. I didn't feel like I had a true grasp of my powers. I killed more. And more and more. Then they began suspecting me, and I killed them, too. I killed and killed until there was no one left."
"And then?"
"I killed myself. I tried to wish for my own death, but I couldn't. I think that's why we use things like poison and drowning. Even if we get scared at the last minute, it's too late."
"Why were you angry at the first victim, enough to want him to die?"
The answer doesn't come to me like all the other times. I try and try, but there is a hole in my memories.
"I don't remember," I say, honestly.
"Interesting," the voice says. "How do you feel about all of this?"
"I wish I'd never gotten this power," I say.
"Then is the power to blame?"
"Partially," I say. "I...realize I made all the choices. But I couldn't have without the power. It may be a sin to pass the blame like that, but it's how I feel."
"If you found out who gave you the power?assuming it was, in fact, bestowed upon you by an outside force?what would you do?"
"I would kill everyone that person loves." I'm smiling. I'm reveling in the idea of revenge.
"Even if they were innocent?"
"Even if they were children," I say with conviction. "Even if they were saints. Young and old, they would all die. That person took away my life, my friends, my family. I would make that person suffer as I did. Then, at the end, I would force poison down that person's throat. They would die tasting their own blood, just like me."
There's a long pause.
"When people die," the voice begins, "their soul is separated from their body. This is because they have no more use for it. The body is a life vessel, nothing more. Those who have ended their own life, though, are different. As you can see, you are still in your body. You're not done with it. Or, to put it another way, your body's not done with you. We call people like you false starters, because you began the race of death before the gun sounded. It is my job to determine whether false starters are redeemable or not.
"So," it continued, "you will become a Warden. You will earn your right to paradise. You will spend this time meditating on your sins."
"I don't understand."
"You will be placed in a position of my choosing in order to monitor something. Thus you will be a Warden. This job will last as long as I please; until I believe you are ready for rejudgment."
"Why aren't you sending me to hell?" I said.
"That is none of your concern. You will start immediately."
"Doing what?"
"I'm going to have you watch over a tree."
Dizzy H. "Muffin" Muffin:
Oho! Interesting start for Yuyuko, mostly due to the rules for suicides.
I'd be interested in conversing with Sikieiki (I'm assuming that's who the yama is) about why suicide messes with fate as such. I mean, wouldn't you be "fated" to commit suicide?
On the other hand, there has to be an element of free will involved, too. Otherwise, what's the point of having a yama at all? ("You killed 69,105 people! But it was your destiny to do so, so we can't do anything.")
Esifex:
This is excellent! Please, do go on. I want to see how you wrap this all up, concerning Shinki and Alice as well.
Hawk:
Chapter 7 ? Red and Violet
"Long, long ago, in the middle of a large town, was a tree."
Against the barrier that surrounded the Saigyou Ayakashi, Yuyuko rested her back, sitting on the grass. Alice floated in front of her, reclining back, head cradled in her hands, a few feet off the ground. Yuyuko closed her eyes and continued to listen.
"It was a beautiful cherry blossom, and every year its petals graced the town, announcing the birth of a new spring. The people loved that tree. The children would play on its branches, and many couples carved their love into its trunk.
"Can you imagine, Yuyu?" Alice looked down at her, grinning. "I shall announce my love for you here, in this tree!" she proclaimed, imitating a man's voice as best she could. "Right here! Uh...no. Here! Except...no..." She acted out the part, pointing at arbitrary places in the air and looking frustrated. "Wait, wait! Can...can you go get a ladder? I see a place a heart could fit like...ten feet up."
She laughed heartily at her own joke. Yuyuko couldn't help but crack a smile.
"So?" Alice said, smirking. "Have you figured out the mystery?"
Yuyuko opened her eyes and countered with her own sly smile. "What mystery? You're rambling nonsense."
Alice frowned. "Oh?"
"Did you honestly think I don't know who the Maiden of the Border is?" Yuyuko said.
"You make assumptions about her character."
"Not really," the ghost queen said. "She could kick puppies all day for all I know. But I do know what her job is. Her very existence is tied to Gensokyo. If she dies, the Great Border goes with her."
"And?"
"Someone whose raison d'?tre is to keep order wouldn't disrupt the flow of souls going into Hakugyokurou. It makes no sense."
"Then where did they go?" The smile was slowly creeping back onto Alice's face.
"I think it's fairly obvious that you took them."
"Oh, well done! Well done!" she cried. Her eyes were open wide, excited. She lowered quickly, feet touching the ground, and ran over to Yuyuko's side. The ghost queen flinched slightly, expecting another creepy whisper, but was surprised when she found Alice's head resting on her lap. She stared for a moment, unable to comprehend, then did the only thing that seemed natural. She began petting Alice's hair.
"One day, the tree became a youkai," the girl continued. "It began killing people that came near it. No one really knows whether it was hostile or not. Maybe it was just trying to show affection, or play with the children. The humans in the village didn't care, though, and resolved to kill the tree. But that's where things went awry. No one could get close enough to chop it down. They eventually called for help."
Alice snuggled into Yuyuko's lap. "Why would I stop the flow of souls?"
"To give me a personal reason to target the Maiden of the Border," she replied.
"Mmm...does that really make sense?" Yuyuko could hear the vibrations from Alice's voice in her lap. "I mean, I could have come up with any old story. I could've kidnapped your little gardener and told you Hakurei'd done it. Seems like stopping a whole few days' worth of souls would be a lot more work."
"It does at that," Yuyuko said, still petting Alice's hair unconsciously. "Doing it must give you some benefit. Two birds with one stone. I'd say you get more power from it, but..."
"But?"
"It just doesn't make sense," she said. "Souls are invincible, to put it simply. Fuel is consumed, and you can't consume a soul."
Alice laughed lightly. "Your ignorance is a bit unsettling, oh Queen of Ghosts."
Yuyuko cocked an eyebrow. "Am I wrong?"
"They called for the Maiden of the Border, who resided in the Hakurei shrine, which was near the village," she continued, ignoring her. "They asked for her to kill the tree, but the maiden, feeling pity for it, decided instead to move it into a nearby forest with her powers."
Alice began rolling forward, down Yuyuko's legs, over the feet, and onto the grass. She lay on her back, spreading her arms and legs out, staring at the sky.
"But she failed," she said sadly. "Moving the tree killed it anyway. The ghost of the tree traveled here, to Hakugyokurou. It was furious. All of its negative emotions kept it here instead of moving on. This was a very bad thing. Ghosts come here to set their affairs in order before being shepherded off to their final judgments. This tree, though, had no plans on moving. As it had in life, it planted itself deep into the ground, and began trying to kill everything that came near it.
"But hey," she said, smiling, "what good is it trying to kill things in the land of the dead, right? But all of its flailing kept driving its fury. You know very well what a ghost that loses sentiency becomes. A Zero. The only sickness ghosts need to worry about. And it's contagious, to boot. So, with no other choice, to stop an epidemic, the tree was sealed."
Alice pulled a clump of grass out of the ground and stared at it intently. "Why did I want to trick you into targeting Hakurei?"
"That confused me the most," Yuyuko said, "since you seem like you have more than enough power to handle her. But I eventually narrowed it down to something I've learned from all the souls that have passed through this world."
"Hmm?" Alice was staring at her again, eyes wide.
Yuyuko smiled. "Trauma. You're terrified of her. A phobia."
"Ah." She sat up, closed her eyes, and lolled her head back. She took a deep breath.
"Yuyuko Saigyouji, how did you die?"
The ghost queen's breath caught in her throat. "I'm not quite sure. I remember you had something to do with it."
"But how was that possible?" Alice said. "When you died, you were alone."
"How would you know that?" Yuyuko said, standing up. "I remember you, and that book, and being cold."
"Why did you die, then?" Alice stood up and returned Yuyuko's gaze seriously.
"That question isn't much different..."
"Yes it is!" she shouted. The ghost queen flinched.
"Because...someone wanted me dead?" she said.
Alice walked forward and grabbed Yuyuko's shoulders for a moment before wrapping her arms around the ghost in a hug. She pressed her cheek against Yuyuko's, whispering directly into her ear.
"They're here."
Alice's head disappeared, being replaced by a shining white sword inches from Yuyuko's head. Its point hit the barrier surrounding the tree, sounding a high-pitched ring throughout the area.
"My Lady! Are you alright?" Youmu turned her back to the ghost queen, sword at the ready, scanning the area for her opponent.
"Youmu, you shouldn't be here!" Yuyuko cried. "You're the only one she can actually harm!"
"Punish me for disobeying later, my Lady. For now, just trust me."
"You're really starting to piss me off, bitch." Alice's voice came from above them; she was floating over them, looking down. Next to her was the book, shining bright. Her face was contorted with rage. "Die."
She pointed her arm in Youmu's direction, calling upon the power of the grimoire. A glowing white orb shot from her hand straight at the half ghost. Youmu just stood there, looking as if she was going to take the brunt of the attack. Just before it touched her, though, it disappeared entirely.
"Eh?" Alice said, cocking her head to one side. She fired another orb, which vanished as well. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?" she screamed, shooting orb after orb, each one evaporating into nothingness. She shrieked in fury, wrapping her head in her hands, and writhed around in the air.
"JUST DIE!" she screamed, disappearing and reappearing a moment later inches away from Youmu's face. She clasped her arms around the girl's neck and squeezed as hard as she could.
A flash a metal flew before her eyes. Her arms dropped to the ground. She looked dumbly at the stumps attached to her shoulders. Blood freely flowed from her wounds, staining the green grass red. The sword flashed again, but she dodged just in time to keep it from lopping off her head. She materialized several yards away.
"That's what you get!" Alice shouted, grinning wide. It disappeared in an instant, though, being replaced by a frown and large, bloodthirsty eyes.
"A minor...miscalculation," she seethed. The other two gasped. A grotesque mishmash of blood, bones, and muscles was collecting near her wounds. Snaps and cracks pervaded the area, along with the sound of water being squeezed from a sponge. In moments, her arms were back in perfect condition.
Before she had a chance to act, she was dodging Youmu's repeated sword slashes. She tried materializing far away, but Youmu's speed was incredible. It took all of Alice's reflexes and resources to fend off the barrage. Even then, some strikes would nick her skin. The wounds would mend themselves immediately, as though they'd never happened.
"You're a monster!" Youmu shouted.
"Aren't I, though?" Alice said, smiling. She was calm now; collected. Her dodging was like an art. She would flip, crouch, and spin like she was dancing. "I'll admit, you surprised me. I'm not quite sure what you did to negate my powers, but whatever. In fact, I think I should tha?"
Time stopped.
Youmu was frozen in place, teeth bared, eyes aflame, staring at Alice, whose mouth was open, smiling, eyes cold. Yuyuko stood immobile, fear cast over her face as she watching the fateful battle between the two.
Two figures hovered in the air above the scene.
"It's complicated," the shorter one said.
"Odd thing for a Yama to say," replied the much taller one.
"I can't be held accountable when you're involved," the Yama said.
"You make it sound like I'm at fault."
"This is absolutely your fault!" she shouted. "You're the one who let this go on this long."
"Perhaps you're right. But can you blame me?"
"Odd thing to say to a Yama."
The taller one laughed. "Touch?. Either way, I need your authority to let this slide."
"Shinki," the Yama said, "you're letting emotions cloud your judgment."
"Oh?" Shinki said. "And what of you? Your dry demeanor doesn't fool me. You have just as much invested in this."
"My purpose is the redemption of souls; nothing more."
"I've said this before, but I don't agree with your methods," Shinki said. "Can it really be called redemption if you take away her memories?"
"The soul is so much more than that," the Yama said. "Memories are baggage?wonderful recollections for the righteous, and heavy chains for the wicked. People are ever so resistant to change. I'm just giving her a chance."
"Eiki, will you do it or not? As a favor?"
"Never," she said. "But I might do it as the right thing to do. Like I said, it's complicated."
"Think of it this way," Shinki said. "Is it really fair for Alice? I mean really, truly fair. Look at how much of an effort she's making! Isn't this the time for people like us to step in?"
Eiki raised an eyebrow. "I thought you weren't interfering any more."
"I'm asking you to interfere."
The Yama sighed. "Why am I always cleaning up your messes?"
Shinki smiled. "But didn't you get a nice break from the lack of new souls? Surely even you can appreciate some time to relax."
"Relax?" she replied, smiling. "What do you think happens when things like this occur? My runners completely disappear! When all this gets resolved, the backlog will be enormous. Ugh." She rubbed her forehead. "I permit it."
"I owe you."
"No, you don't."
Time began.
"?nk you for giving me such an exciting fight!" Alice finished. "I feel lighter than I have in a long time!" She ducked a horizontal slash, bringing her foot up to kick Youmu in the stomach. The half ghost caught it, flipping over Alice's head, letting go after a single rotation, sending the girl plummeting into the ground. Youmu followed, dive bombing her from the sky. Alice rolled out of the way just before the half ghost hit the ground with an impact that would have broken her in half.
"You know, for being fast, you're actually not that fast," Alice said, hopping from toe to toe just outside of Youmu's range. "You should really consider acting slower than you really are until they leave themselves open, then surprise them."
"I'll keep that in mind," Youmu muttered. Suddenly, her eyes opened wide, staring behind Alice, disbelief all over her face.
"That's a pretty old trick, bitch," Alice said.
"My Lady, run!" she shouted, running clean past.
"Eh?" Convinced, she turned around too. Her calmness dissipated into the warm spring winds, leaving behind pure shock. She simply stared at the spectacle before her, mouth slightly agape. It took her a few seconds to realize what had just happened.
She began laughing. They were loud, shrill shrieks of pure rapture. Ahead of her, Youmu lay on the ground unconscious. Next to her was someone new.
"It's like looking into a mirror," the other figure said, "if it was a mirror that made everything...creepy."
"Oh ho!" Alice said. "I get why I was feeling so good. Tell me, what should we call you?"
"Alice, naturally," the replica said. "After all, you won't be needing it much longer."
Dizzy H. "Muffin" Muffin:
Okay, things just took a turn for the weird ...