Byakuren

“Renko, what do you think about Youkai?”

One thing that has often been consistent in my dreams is the presence of Youkai. Psychologically, I suppose you can claim that my subconscious has a fascination with the supernatural. Then again, my conscious mind is fascinated with the supernatural, so I suppose it balances out.

“Youkai? Don’t tell me you saw another cool dream again! Did it involve Youkai?”

“Yes, I had a dream and that’s why I wanted to know what you think about the concept of Youkai.”

“Hmm, well Youkai are monsters, right? The things that go bump in the night, the moving dead, ghosts with no feet, vampires, zombies, and werewolves, right? So did you see any of those in this dream of yours?”

“No, or at least not as grotesque as the ones you’re talking about. So then, what is the origin of Youkai? Take the Tsukumogami for instance. Isn’t that type of Youkai inspired from the veneration people had for their tools? Because they felt they had to lay a tool to rest properly, there had to be a consequence if they didn’t do it…”

“… and the consequence had to be scary. So they make a legend of a vengeful god within abandoned tools and they’re all set. So Merry, have you sent your textbooks off with a smile yet?”

“Cognitive Development theory is scary enough without an angry god involved. So then, when does the god become a monster? Bishmonten, Inari, Zeus, and Vishnu are often depicted to be scary, so it’s hardly just a matter of the god being scary.”

“Well they may be scary, but it matters whether they want to harm people or not, doesn’t it? A god of fertility and a god of death differ because one is a threat and one isn’t. Lucifer and Gabriel were both angels after all.”

“So then Youkai are considered monsters because they’re dangerous then. Then are peaceful Youkai Youkai after all?”

“Maybe they’re gods? Or something similar, like a saint or prophet?”

“At that point, you could say that the existence of Youkai is something that depends only on human perception. Isn’t that a physics concept, Renko? Schrödinger’s Youkai!”

“It’s not really a physics-exclusive concept, but I get the gist. Stop stalling already, tell me what you saw!”

“Well, I saw a group of Youkai. They seemed to be close, and they traveled the world on a flying ship…”

-

“Alright ‘exterminators’, I’m Murasa Minmatsu, captain of the Holy Palanquin ship and scourge of the sunken depths! None of you are laying a hand on this ship or its owner as long as I can still stand!”

-

“Murasa has been defeated. Nazrin, please take the Pagoda and return to Lord Bishmonten. I shall hold them here.”

“Not gonna happen Shou. I was sent to assist you no matter what. Stay safe, I’ll give this to Hijiri so we can find her after this is all over”

“… Alright humans, I am an avatar of Bishmonten. None of you will pass me!”

-

“Shou…Alright, I am the Dowser General, trusted servant of Bishmonten! Try your luck, humans!”

-

“Unzan says Nazrin and Shou have fallen. Murasa appears to have been overcome and the Palaquin ship seems grounded.”

“Ichirin, Unzan, you two should retrieve the others and escape as well. I will surrender to the exterminators.”

“… No, we will hold them off. Byakuren, you must use this time to escape.”

“Ichirin, you should not walk the path of violence. Do not fight the humans. That is not our way.”

“Yes, but you forget that we are only disciples. It is permissible that we fall short of the ideal every once in a while.

-

“So you’ve come. I surrender, and give my word I will accompany you quietly.”

“… Ah, this? It’s a… treasured gift from precious friends.”

“… Yes, I suppose I am not yet ready for Nirvana. There are still things I want in this world.”

-

Nice to surely meet you. I’m Yukari. After a potentially long period of engineering events, I decided to take a moment to record them. As for the contents, they are a little against current trends, dealing with things that have happened and will happen, instead of what is happening. It makes things wonderfully tense. This is more for those people who want to see real determination, instead of the quaint niceties of the current age. It may be a little girly, but feel free to swoon over how heroic the monsters of this take are.

Incidentally, there might be some Youkai who feel uneasy about this account. This is probably because humans are very necessary to the existence of Youkai. If you have a problem with that, I’d be happy to drop you out of my Gensokyo. Maybe this story is a documentary of death. Careful, you might achieve Nirvana.

Still, I can’t help but marvel how extraordinarily lucky those six ended up being. Honestly, the ‘saint’ could have just been killed by the Youkai exterminators and that would have been that. What kind of fool decides to seal off an entire area without sticking around to see how things play out. Sealing someone away like that for a thousand years, and then not doing anything is like-

-Putting something aside because it’ll be more tasty if you wait until you’re hungry for it?

Yuyuko, how many times have I asked you not to interrupt when I’m being excessively cryptic?

I don’t remember. You keep asking!

-

Yukari, all legitimate child of the drunkard’s fantasy, the gap between Presence and Pretensibility.