literature

Border Of Life And Death, chpt 1- Ran

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More often than not it was a worthless bunch of rags, but on rare occasions the Bunbunmaru Newspaper was of some merit. Yukari was re-reading the day's issue for the third time, attempting to separate embellishment from fact; 'NEW YOUKAI TEMPLE LANDS IN GENSOKYO' the headline boldly declared, the image alongside it showing a rather flustered monk in front of what appeared to be a temple Yukari hadn't seen before. The headline's use of the word “LANDS” had piqued her curiosity most of all, temples rarely being seen flying about from place to place, but the article explained that matter. It described how Gensokyo's courageous and beloved shrine maiden, Reimu Hakurei, accompanied by two other humans who were unnamed throughout the article, had given chase to a mysterious 'treasure ship' seen flying over the Human Village. She had read the article enough times to know what was coming next, yet Yukari's grip still tightened as she read how the ship had taken them to the depths of Makai; just the name alone was enough to leave a bitter taste in her mouth, and the thought that anything in Gensokyo was still able to enter it after Reimu had sealed the entrance years ago was a worry.

The part of the article she felt needed dissecting most, however, was towards the end. After a fierce battle, so the article reported, Reimu and company unsealed a monk from ancient times- Byakuren Hijiri. She was the one who had set up the temple, and in a hastily-given interview at the article's closing said that she intended its use for both human and youkai visitors equally- in the hope that both could live side by side in harmony.

Byakuren Hijiri. It was a name Yukari recognised, though it took some jogging of her memory before she remembered why. The Byakuren Hijiri of her memory, from many centuries ago, was indeed a monk, but not one allied to humans at all. In her younger days, she had heard tales of a once-human monk who had turned on humankind, and was offering covert assistance to youkai in trouble. In a time before Gensokyo, as humans were gaining greater and greater powers against youkai and beginning to hunt them to extinction, such a being was highly revered among youkai; but one day, she simply disappeared. Forgotten by the humans, and eventually most youkai too, Yukari had sometimes wondered if there was any truth to her tale.

Now, a person fitting the description had appeared, but rather than the anti-human angle she was known for, apparently advocated equality? Yukari was skeptical, especially given she had been found sealed away in Makai of all places; most inhabitants of that world followed the beliefs of its Goddess, and she was not renowned for her kindness to humans.

Also of note for Yukari, and she couldn't help but smile as she realised it, was Reimu's reaction to the whole thing; here apparently was a powerful magician talking of equality between humans and youkai- a belief unthinkable to all before Gensokyo's creation, and even afterwards rarely held by the shrine maidens- but rather than attack and seal her away again, as any of her predecessors would have, Reimu saw fit to release her. It was not the first time Reimu had shown a slight sympathy to the youkai whose world she shared.

“It's her, isn't it,” Yukari spoke quietly to herself, lowering the paper. “I can't put it down to fluke any longer.” She stood and stretched; daylight was just starting to creep over the mountains, the sky turning an inky blue. On a normal day she would have retired for the morning,  but she had just come to an important decision, and it required immediate action.

“Ran.” Yukari approached her shikigami companion as she prepared breakfast. “I'm going out, Ran. Complete your rounds as usual while I'm gone. Although... perhaps don't go to Hakugyokorou, for a few days at least.”
Ran stifled a groan. The last time Yukari had meddled at Hakugyokorou, she was the one who had taken the blame- and the beating- from the shrine maiden. Knowing it was a futile exercise to bring that up again, she instead challenged Yukari's intent. “It's nearly daylight, though. Are you sure?”
“I'm afraid it can't wait,” Yukari explained with slight impatience. “I have made a decision, you see- or rather, the decision was made for me, years ago, but I have just decided to acknowledge it.” Ran was curious, but Yukari had already begun her exit, and besides which she didn't want to be accused of slacking. At least staying away from the Netherworld for a few days would give her extra time for her many other chores.

“One last thing, Ran,” Yukari called over her shoulder as she prepared to leave. “At some point today I will be in extreme danger. You are not to come, under any circumstances, to my aid- even if the connection between us breaks. Do you understand?”
Ran raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Yukari finding herself in extreme danger was a routine enough occurrence that Ran doubted she would have responded anyway; in a way, it was nice to be given advance warning this time.

Taking Ran's silence as tacit acceptance, Yukari stepped outside, and allowed herself a moment to consider her first task. She needed to speak to Byakuren first; her sudden arrival could spell trouble later on, and regardless she wanted to know exactly what had happened in Makai that day.  

She took flight, not wanting to use the power of the Gap for fear of startling her quarry, and with an urgent pace made her way towards the Human Village. Ran never saw her master again.
Chapter 2

Arriving at an important decision, Yukari realises her time in Gensokyo is coming to an end- but she has some dominoes to set up before that time comes.

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I've wanted to write this story for a long time now and since I've made a pledge to get 75,000 words written by the end of the year, now is the perfect time to do it. It's chapter 1 of I think seven of what I'd call my love letter to the series- I haven't loved a series as much as this one before or since discovering it, and although I doubt my affection for Touhou will ever go away completely it's not been as strong recently as it once was. I wanted to get this story out before I lose interest too much and don't care enough any more.

Yukari's always been my favourite character from the very start so naturally my ideas tended to revolve around her :D It's set immediately after the events of Touhou 12, perhaps within the first week or so of Byakuren settling into the Human Village. UFO is probably my favourite game of the series and Byakuren ties for favourite character, so... I openly admit my fanboy is showing a lot. :P

Touhou's kind of a loose canon and is open to a lot of interpretation, I find, so if something here disagrees with the way you envision Gensokyo life please consider it an alternate universe telling :)
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