~Hakurei Shrine~ > Kosuzu's Grand Bookstore
Rising Star (Complete At Last)
Dizzy H. "Muffin" Muffin:
Hee, awesome. I should've come in sooner!
Silent Harmony:
Rou, you have something amazing here.
You've taken a character I couldn't care less about, and made her interesting. Please, do not stop soon.
Dorian White:
--- Quote from: Roukanken on February 17, 2010, 04:15:38 AM ---Spoiler: I imagined the kissing fantasy scene taking place in swimsuits. It was hotter than a phoenix crashing into the sun.
--- End quote ---
I must agree but Spoiler: nude it's even better.^^
FinnKaenbyou:
The next few weeks were a blur to me.
After that initial starting block, everything just seemed to click in terms of training. Byakuren led me through the finer points of meditation, and I was educated in the literature of the religion itself. I read the tale of the young prince who broke away from the utopia his father forced upon him and, after years living the life of the ascetic, realised that true peace comes from seeking the middle path.
I studied the scriptures both out of duty and from personal interest. As soon as I had come to grips with this newfound concept of knowledge, I found myself craving to learn as much as I could. Even when I was only meant to be memorising the earlier, simpler stories of the Buddha, I would sneak away books into my room when Byakuren wasn't looking and read them in my spare time. She knew, of course, but I think that just made her appreciate my interest even more.
'Spare time', admittedly, was my term for 'time I didn't spend with Nazrin clearing the place up'. The only time we ever got any privacy was when Byakuren was meditating on her own, and during that time we were to work on making the temple habitable again. It was a strange relationship - after that one night of epiphany the two of us shared, things just sort of blossomed. With her fears quelled, Nazrin was actually a rather up-beat, if over-confident girl. She talked to me about anything and everything - what she thought about herself, her opinion of Vaisravana ('I'd understand him better if his head wasn't so far above me') and - this one was a surprise to me - a few well-meant pointers on how to keep myself looking prim. 'I didn't go out of my way to find you so you could walk around with that headpiece out of place' and things like that. Every time she reprimanded me I'd blush a little for getting it wrong, and we'd look into each other's eyes. Then we would laugh until the dust from all the cleaning made us cough.
It was a side of herself she only showed me, though - there still wasn't enough trust with Byakuren. There were times I had wondered why to myself - Byakuren was no more at risk of disappearing than I was, wasn't she? Still, I had a strong enough concept of manners by that point to avoid pressing the issue.
She couldn't keep up the facade completely, though. I noticed it when we ate together - her eyes seemed a little brighter, and a tiny smirk would make its way onto her face. I felt my heart tingle when I saw that smile, to the point where more than once Byakuren had called me out for staring into the distance.
And that was my life, plain and simple. Study, cleaning, caring, sleeping. I couldn't have asked for anything more.
Of course, all things come to an end, and the end for this little lifestyle came one morning as I mulled over my flavourless gruel. She did it in seven small words.
"I have nothing more to teach you."
---
I stopped mid-chew, widening my eyes. I resisted the urge to speak until after I'd gulped down my mouthful.
"N...Nothing? You mean I'm done?"
Byakuren seemed cheerful about it. Perhaps even proud.
"That's right. With all the extra time you've been putting in, you've done all the necessary work far faster than I'd expected. All we need to do is go through one last rite, and you're a fully fledged disciple!"
She talked in between bites of her meal. Nazrin, as always, sat right beside me and paid us no mind as she nibbled at her food.
"I don't remember reading about any sort of final test...unless you mean the vows."
"Well, yes, the vows are a part of it, but there's more. It's...well, rather secretive, I'm afraid."
Secretive? I hadn't imagined Byakuren the type to keep secrets. Concern started to work its way onto my face, but Byakuren realised she'd manage to worry me.
"A-Ah, don't worry, Shou-chan. I'm sure you'll do just fine. After all, you've done great up until now!"
There was something a little too cheerful there for my liking that I couldn't put my finger on. She almost seemed to be trying too hard to comfort me. I pondered it momentarily, staring into my food in a daze.
At my side, Nazrin finished up her breakfast. Unlike us she hadn't stopped to talk, so she washed her bowl and made her way into the main hall. She obviously appreciated that the two of us needed some time alone.
Nazrin was always better at this whole social scene than I was.
Byakuren took advantage of this opening, wearing a different smile altogether. It was the smile of a woman who knew something she wasn't meant to. Changing the subject was an added bonus.
"You two are quite the couple, you know~."
My spoon slipped out of my hand, landing with a plop in the bowl.
"...Huh?"
She giggled, a high-pitched laugh that seemed far too young for a woman her age.
"Oh, you're much worse at hiding it than you think you are, Shou-chan. I see the way she fawns over you. In fact, sometimes when I walk past her room in the early mornings I can hear her mumbling in her sleep about how you'd be so pretty if you didn't just wear those tomboyish robes-"
"I-I think that's enough out of you, Hijiri-sama..."
I was blushing, suddenly grabbing the spoon back up and working my way through breakfast as fast as possible. The sooner I got back to Nazrin, the sooner we could leave this topic of conversation behind. Desperate, I moved the conversation onto a tangent.
"A-Anyway, there's something I was always meaning to ask you. Nazrin mentioned how you two met for the first time once."
"Oh...did she now?"
Was that reluctance in her voice? She sounded uncertain, but there was no way this could be any worse a subject for her than Nazrin was for me, so I pressed on anyway.
"She told me you were meant to catch the youkai that set the house on fire. Do you work as an exorcist or somethi-"
"Let's not discuss this, Shou-chan."
She disregarded the manners she'd worked so hard to teach me, cutting the discussion off before it could begin. There were a few seconds of awkward silence.
"...Right. Sorry."
We both got back to our breakfast, trying to act as if nothing had happened. There was a frown on her face as she ate, and that worried me - I never remembered seeing her look so unhappy. I still wondered to myself what exactly Byakuren was so secretive about, but it wasn't worth the strife it would end up causing.
Besides, I had the horrible feeling I wouldn't like the answer.
---
Nazrin was waiting for us as we stepped into the main hall. A little elbow grease had turned it from an ordinary enough, just about bearable room into a fitting place to worship a deity. Vaisravana Himself had spent some quality time with a cloth and warm water, and the statue was as magnificent as the day it was sculpted.
I gave Nazrin a little wink as I walked past. On the way over Byakuren had told me the first step to this rite was to invoke Vaisravana myself. I had done plenty of reading on the process, and logically I should have been able to do it fine, but Byakuren's earlier nerves had been contagious. I bit my lip as I sat in front of the statue, taking on a standard meditation pose.
I focused my attention on my breathing, noting the flow of air in and out of my lungs. Above all else I made certain to regard that it was never in the same place - it was flowing all the time, one way or the other. This was anicca - impermanence, the first of the three marks of existence. It was one of the most fundamental truths of Buddhism, and I had learned it to a tee.
I felt my entire body become wrapped in a faint golden light. As a servant of a different sort from Byakuren, my method of invoking him was different from hers. I grasped the pagoda, which by now had been firmly tied around my waist. It was as much a part of me as my arms, my eyes, my head. Without it, I was powerless.
It shone with a light reminiscent of the one I had seen all those weeks ago when I met Him for the first time. This would be our second meeting, but it would be one I brought around myself.
"I am a servant of the ruler of the north. The defender of the just. The deity of wealth and fortune. And by the power invested in me I call upon Him to appear before me! Come, Vaisravana!"
A familiar shaking along the ground. Behind me, I could hear Nazrin falling to her knees. It took more effort that it should have to hold in a laugh at her expense as the statue let of its familiar red aura. Vaisravana looked down on me with the same stern face as the day we had met; I was still but a pupil to Him, and this was the ritual through which I would prove myself worthy.
I still felt little tremors of awe as His voice boomed through the room.
"Vaisravana has appeared before you, child. It appears that you are prepared to take the final steps in becoming my true underling."
I raised my head up, looking Him in the eye. There was nothing left to worry about now - summoning Him was the hard part. Everything else was by the book.
"Now, I ask you to undertake your final vows."
I nodded in respect, reciting effortlessly.
"I seek refuge in the Buddha - the example which all of us must follow.
I seek refuge in the Dharma - the teaching which were left to us that show the path to enlightenment.
I seek refuge in the Sangha - those who seek the same goal I do and uphold our teachings.
I, Shou Toramaru, seek refuge in these three treasures."
There was a feeling of relief as the last words passed my lips. A feeling of conclusion, of completion. I had succeeded, I had been accepted, that was it.
But...something was wrong.
I had expected Byakuren to at least applaud or congratulate me, but she had stayed unusually silent. Looking up, I saw that Vaisravana hadn't softened in the slightest either.
"Your heart is pure, and your mind is sharp. Yet there is still one task you must complete."
I flinched.
More?! But there was nothing else in the scriptures!
Vaisravana's hand gripped itself around His spear. It glowed a dark red for a few moments before letting off an unexpected flash of light.
"Aah!"
I covered my eyes too late, and for a few seconds I couldn't make out a thing. Vaisravana's voice continued to echo through my skull regardless.
"You are aware of the concept of Taṇhā. The idea that suffering is caused by desire, by craving. Know also that your mind is an open book to me - I know your thoughts, your beliefs, your hopes, your fears. You cannot lie to me. I know what you desire the most. Or perhaps more fitting is...who you desire the most."
There was a threat hidden in those words. Actually, hidden was the wrong word - He was being very blatant with His disapproval.
There was only one person he could be talking about.
...No. No, no, no.
A painful, horrifying realisation washed over me. I could hear Nazrin slipping towards the door along with Vaisravana's words.
Byakuren grabbed her before she could make an escape.
"I...I'm sorry..."
Byakuren's words of regret made their way to me, redoubling my fears. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the blindness passed and my eyes finally regained focus.
What they looked upon made me want to curl into a ball and weep.
Lying on the floor in front of me was a spear, a replica of Vaisravana's. There was no elegant design, no flashy decorations. This weapon was designed for one thing and one thing only. To kill.
"You must sever your bonds of attachment to her, Shou. This is your final test."
Chaore:
Inb4Kimikotimeparadox.