Songs of the Illusionary Veil: Prodigal
A Touhou Project story by Achariyth
Disclaimers: The usual disclaimer applies. Also, I am playing fast and loose with histories, cultures, and backgrounds not my own for the sake of storytelling. Please indulge my intentional errors and mistakes.
Lady Mokou Fujiwara crept low, hiding in the shadow of the scarlet cloth wall. Much about the ornate tents nearby struck her as odd. Few outside Gensokyo would make buildings out of silk, fewer inside Gensokyo could afford to. And anyone profligate enough to build a small village out of finery would easily disturb the fragile peace.
The last thing Keine Kamishirasawa wanted as the protector of the humans in the Village was to see her friends and her charges hunted throughout the land. She had asked Mokou to find out who owned the tabernacle as well as their intentions. At least that way, she could prepare.
The immortal duchess padded softly along the wall of red. Of everything her father had done, Mokou appreciated only the time spent teaching her woodcraft. Chasing after Kaguya had proven to be as disastrous as betrothing her to a long gone saint. What considerable ability she had learned from her wastrel of a dad, her longstanding feud with Kaguya had honed into near supernatural skill. Not only could she slip through the forest without a sound, she instinctively knew where any animal, youkai, or human was in relation to her.
Silk parted behind her. Mokou spun around as an arm snaked across her waist. She threw elbows, but caught only air. A hand covered her mouth, muffling her screams.
"You're good. Look over there, though," a feminine voice hissed. Mokou's captor wrenched her neck until the immortal could see a shadow shrouded figure hop towards her. Squirming, she screamed again as she saw the death pallor clinging to the figure. "None of that now, or my darling jiang shi over there starts eating. I can sense your essence. She'll feed off of you for ages." Mokou froze, letting her unseen captor lead her through the hole in the silk wall.
"I apologize," Lady Seiga Kaku said, sitting behind a scholar's desk. The blue-clad missionary brushed characters onto a sheet of paper. "This is not the Way of hospitality, but then, you did not come to us as a guest."
Mokou sat upright and still on a wooden chair in the center of the blue tent. Behind her, the jiang shi cooed sweet nothings into her ear. The duchess longed to burn away the vampiric zombie's fetid breath from off her skin, if only to silence the monster's constant mutterings about how delicious Mokou would be. But anyone who could command a jiang shi would likely have worse waiting.
"You may go now, Yoshida," Seiga said, setting down her brush. She pulled out a bundle of cloth, untying it.
The zombie ceased her whispers. "Who will protect you, Lady Seiga?"
"I'm only thinking of you, my dear," the Daoist said with a smile. She made shooing motions with her hands. "You know what the Classic of Change can do to your kind. Besides, Futo will step in if she needs to."
"Vile book," Yoshika muttered, shrinking away from the desk. The jiang shi hopped outside the tent.
"I prefer the Way to Virtue, but there are things that only the Classic of Change can tell us," the ageless missionary said. She unwrapped the cloth, revealing a battered leather tome.
"What do you think you're going to do me?" Mokou asked, smiling through clenched teeth.
"I just want you to answer a few questions. The Classic of Change here will tell me if you're telling the truth." The Chinese noble held up six coins, three between the fingers of each hand. The coin toss would be used to generate a hexagram, and the diviner would consult the Classic of Change for the hexagram's meaning.
Mokou laughed deeply and freely, clutching her sides. "Go ahead, try."
Seiga frowned at the phoenix girl. Tossing the coins into one hand, she asked," What are you doing here?" Her free hand swept towards the tents and the tabernacle walls.
"I'm coming home from Grandma's," Mokou said, leaning back in the chair and smirking. "There was this wolf and a lumberjack-"
Seiga shook her head. "I don't need divination to tell me you're lying. Please, don't make me get Futo to help... refine your answers." As she spoke the noblewoman's name, lamps throughout the tent flared higher, hotter, and brighter.
"Fine," Mokou said with a sigh. "I thought I'd check out the new neighbors."
Seiga threw the coins on the desk. They rolled across the wood, coming to a stop. She gasped; all six coins stood upright on the narrow edge, neither heads nor tails.
"You weren't expecting that," Mokou said. Mirth filled the phoenix girl's voice.
The missionary snarled, throwing the coins again. Once again, the coins stood on edge. She thumbed through the leather-bound book, consulting the commentaries towards the end. "You're immortal," she hissed.
Mokou nodded, her smile widening. "It does tend to wreck divination."
"Futo!" Seiga bellowed, closing the book. She wrapped it in its cloth. "Get Lady Miko."
"I was listening," a calm regal voice rang out. A young woman in Imperial purple and white stepped through the divided silk door. A short straight sword centuries out of fashion hung from her belt.
Mokou gasped, she had see that sword and scabbard long ago, when she was still a girl. "That's the Seven Star Sword."
"A family heirloom, I assure you," the woman winced as she drew near. "I am Lady Miko Toyosatomimi."
"Pardon me if I don't get up," Mokou said, covering her eyes. Looking at Miko was like looking through a cloud. Something made the details all fuzzy.
"Are you unwell?" Miko said, kneeling next to the immortal.
"I'll be fine." The phoenix girl's vision swam as though she looked through tears.
The Lady of the tabernacle made a moue of concern. "Please, we can prepare a bed for you."
"Don't worry about me," Mokou said, inching away from Miko. She'd prove herself stronger than the delicate pampered ladies her father had pawed whenever her mother turned her gaze.
"Nonsense. A young woman of your stature deserves proper treatment. Would I be correct in assuming you are of the Fujiwara? You have something of their look about you."
Mokou nodded, the color running from her face. "Most people think I am of the Konoe."
Miko shook her head. "You remind me of the early Fujiwara from before the clan split into septs." She coughed into her hand. "I mean, of paintings I've seen of the clan founder."
"She's acting frail because she got caught," Seiga said, planting her fists on her hips. "I did catch her sneaking outside our walls."
"She's still a guest," Miko said, turning towards her retainer. "The Way of the Enlightened One insists on hospitality.
Mokou froze. "You follow the Eightfold Path?" she asked without thinking. Something deep within her memory welled up.
"I take shelter in the Enlightened One, his teachings, and his community."
Half-remembered lessons learned during her childhood at the feet of a saint flooded back. She looked again at the Lady of the Tabernacle, at the veil obscuring her from clear sight. "Maya," Mokou breathed. The Veil of Illusion, or the part of nature that masked reality. That saint had said that once you were aware of it, you could pierce it to see what it covered. She reached out, her fingers brushing against Miko's vest...
...the Veil of Illusion parted...
In the place of the young woman, a mature, broad-shouldered man knelt next to her. Broad-shouldered, clear-eyed, and handsome, he froze at her touch. Ignored by both the immortal lady and the lord, Seiga gasped.
"I know you," Mokou whispered, staring at the familiar face. "I saw you all the time as a child. You used to teach me." Her eyes snapped wide open, and red flooded her cheeks. "You're Prince Shotoku, the hidden Emperor!" She fell to the ground, prostrating herself before him.
"Please, rise, there's no need for this," the prince said, standing up.
Mokou sat back on her heels and turned her head away. Tears welled in her eyes. "Why?" Ancient promises filled her mind, including the one duty her father had groomed her for, forgotten by all when the lout first chased Kaguya.
Shotoku sighed, folding his arms across his chest. "I had to hide my form, lest the world see me as an abomination. I could only advise the Emperor from the sidelines as my health faded, and then my influence. Your forefather, Duke Fuhito Fujiwara, sheltered me as best he could, but he couldn't prevent the last of the Soga from sealing me and the last of my court away."
Mokou blinked away her tears. "My father failed in many things. I will not." She stood up and reared her hand back. Shotoku's head snapped back as she slapped him. "I am Lady Mokou Fujiwara, the last living child of Duke Fuhito Fujiwara." The immortal held the prince's head in her hands. Standing on her toes, she whispered, "I was promised to you by my father long ago, and unlike him, I will fulfill my duty." The phoenix girl gave him a short, chaste kiss.
Seiga grabbed the phoenix girl by her shoulders and threw her to the ground. A knife appeared, pressed against Mokou's throat. "Say the word, my lord. She may be immortal, but she will learn to regret-"
Prince Shotoku help up a hand. "No harm is to come to her."
"Why?" the missionary said, quivering. She dropped the knife.
"She's my bride."
Author's notes:
"What if" is such a dangerous thing, especially if you have four hours to indulge it. And, yes, ZUN drew heavily on Prince Shotoku for Miko's backstory.
I tried to bring some of what I am learning from a Great Minds of Eastern Thought course into this. Of course, being an outsider, I made a complete mess of it. And, yes, I did just toss out most of Miko's origin story in Ten Desires. All mistakes are my own.