It was a lot more pleasant than she'd expected. The talk, that is, because after that it was just Yuuka going back to beating Reimu's pride mercilessly, not that she had much to begin with. Things went fairly well, as Reimu said her goodbye stoically as possible to the flower youkai. Yuuka waved her off and suggested that she would give her some flowers as a parting gift. Reimu declined as she quickly walked out of the field, not looking back in case she was going to jinx her luck.
Not having to walk long, she could already see Myouren Temple loom over her, the stone path leading up to a set of carved stairs. She slowly trudged her way up and climbed up to the top. Reimu was about to head inside, when a girl holding a broom blocked her path. She stopped when the girl put one of her hands up, confused on who it was, but that dark green hair and dog-like ears were unmistakable.
"Halt!" Kyouko shouted with enough volume to physically blow Reimu's eardrums out as she winced.
"Wait a minute, eh?" she stopped, looking at Reimu in disbelief. "Miss Hakurei Why are you here?"
Reimu sighed out in relief as her amplitude lowered.
"I'm here to visit Byakuren, if she's not busy. I would like to seek her advice on some matters that are troubling me," she said, brushing a stray hair out of her face.
"Oh! Of course, she's inside with another visitor too!" Kyouko nearly screamed. Reimu tried to cover her ears but the distance between them was too short. After a few seconds, the ringing in her ears finally stopped.
"Thank you, and please do something about your volume. I really don't want to go deaf right now," Reimu said, exasperated. Kyouko finally took the hint, nodding as she gestured for Reimu to follow her as they both went to the front of the temple. She didn't need to knock, as her voice did it for her.
"Lady Byakuren, Miss Reimu is here!"
"Thank you, Kyouko, she can come in."
"GOOD LUCK!" Kyouko gave Reimu a thumbs up, as Reimu flinched, quickly sliding open the door and walking inside. She slammed it shut as she turned to face Byakuren. She was sitting on the floor, the table in front with two cups of tea on it. Her mass of flowing hair reached the floor, and she was sitting crossed leg with her hands together in a meditative way. Byakuren gave Reimu a pitiful smile.
"Don't worry, she's learning. Slowly," she laughed, her voice loud and rebounding. Byakuren's demeanor was welcoming, but Reimu still felt uncomfortable. She was well liked by the Buddhists, youkai and human. She was popular as an idol, a preacher, and a caretaker. Even though Reimu wanted attention to her shrine, she didn't want the type that Byakuren and Miko shared. Because of that, their places often attract guests and curious onlookers.
Speaking of which, didn't Kyouko say there was another visitor?
It wasn't until they were quite literally an inch apart that Reimu finally noticed the girl in front of her, light green eyes peering into her brown ones. She smiled, as she leaned back, arms behind her back.
Reimu stepped back, taking in her appearance. A black, floppy hat with a yellow bow, green, messy, and stringy hair that stopped below the shoulder, and a purple eye connected with nerve cords. Well, there were only a few people she'd ever seen with more than two eyes, and it looks like she'd gotten the bad apple of the basket.
Koishi bounced, giving Reimu an excited grin.
"Hello there, Miss Reimu! You look kinda new here, I don't think I've seen you before," she pondered, frowning a little at her short-term memory loss.
"Is that so..." Reimu muttered. She was relieved that she didn't remember her, it would have caused a lot more stress than she could handle in one day. She turned back to Byakuren, who was slowly sipping her drink.
"Why is she here anyways?"
"Oh, she's a frequent visitor lately. I believe she's reached a true state of enlightenment, and of course, I'd want to seek her advice. Her state of mind is nothing shy but extraordinary." she rambled. Have you seen the way her unconscious functions? It's absolutely intriguing. I've just invited her to become a Buddhist, and she agreed, that's all," she rambled. Reimu had hoped Byakuren would be some sort of help, but now that she's just listened to that, she doubts it.
"What brings you out there though?" Byakuren asked. Koishi sat down at the table, enjoying her tea and listened to the conversation around her curiously.
"I wanted to seek some advice from you," she said hesitantly, crossing her arms.
"I guess it's just relating to what's happened before in the past."
Byakuren perked up, sitting up straighter.
"What about the past?"
"Uhm," Reimu looked down at the temple floor. "I suppose about my feelings, and what had happened. I didn't remember much from before, and it just felt strange that I couldn't recall most of my childhood."
Byakuren sipped her tea slowly, musing. She looked at the floor beneath her.
"Hm, and how do you think I'll be able to help?"
"Ah, well, I thought you might have some experience, and probably had some abilities that might help me recall or give me some peace of mind. You're a powerful Buddhist, after all."
"My, I appreciate the compliment," she smiled into her cup, looking up at her. "but I don't think I'll be able to exactly help you with the problem that you have. It seems very specific, and although some of my powers can reach people's minds, I don't think any of them would be helpful in your situation."
"I see..." Reimu sighed, turning away from Byakuren, getting ready to leave. It was a bit silly of her to think that she could find anybody who'd be able help her, especially with something so personal. She could ask Marisa, but she doubts with that airhead she'd get anything out of it other than her ranting about Mima, plus, she could barely remember what she ate for breakfast today.
"Well, thank you anyways. I'm sorry for the trouble I might've caused."
"Wait! I think I know how to help!"
"Huh?" Reimu turned back, looking at Koishi. She was leaned over the table, both hands pressed firmly on it, with a very determined look in her eyes.
"You said you had some feelings from the past that you can't remember, right?"
Reimu nods.
"Then how about you just talk to my sister?"
Reimu paused then.
"Your sister?"
"You know, you've met her before! I can take you to her. She's reaaaaally good at reading people's emotions," Koishi gestured with her hand, pointing to her third eye. "I can't though, I've already closed mine, so it's okay."
Reimu pondered with that thought, standing still for a moment before releasing a sigh and a shake of her head.
"Well, I do remember her, and honestly, I think she'd be the best option. You know her well, so I'll trust your words."
Koishi cheered, jumping up from the table and nearly knocking her drink over. Byakuren smiled at the two.
"I suppose you two are going to be off on your way now?" she said. Koishi grinned, while Reimu only gave a blank stare.
"Yep yep! I'll be Miss Reimu's personal guide!"
"I think I'm fine on my own...and please drop the 'Miss Reimu', it's kinda getting on my nerves." Reimu groaned quietly.
"Oh no, you won't. I know a secret shortcut to Former Hell, and it's super easy to find if you just take the time to look for it." Koishi said, completely ignoring her request.
"Well, as long as we don't have another geyser, I'm in."
"Oh well, it was fun while it lasted," Byakuren pouted, putting her arms in her lap.
"Thank you for visiting, both of you, and good luck, Reimu."
"You're welcome and thank you for the tea!" Koishi waved, grabbing Reimu's arm. Reimu glanced at her arm then back up at Byakuren, giving her a face that screamed she's already starting to regret this. Byakuren could only giggle as Koishi yanked Reimu out of the temple door.
"Are you sure you know where you're going?"
The two walked on a barely visible trail with Koishi leading the way. The surrounding woods around the path were deeper and denser than the Forest of Magic, and Reimu had to duck to avoid branches and sidestep bushes in order to keep up with her guide. Koishi glanced back at her with a hearty grin.
"Don't worry Miss Reimu, I've walked this path plenty of times before, so I'm definitely sure we won't get lost!"
Reimu sighed, brushing a cobweb out of her face.
"I'm surprised you aren't at your sister's palace right now. You two do share a pretty good bond, don't you?"
Koishi slowed her steps as she noticed Reimu struggling to catch up and allowed herself to pause for a brief moment.
"Well, we do get along. She gets very concerned with me sometimes, cause she thinks I might get harmed outside of Hell. I always tell her to not worry, cause I'm a big girl, and I can take care of myself!"
"I can see why she'd be worried," Reimu glanced at Koishi's closed eye, before looking ahead.
She noticed her gaze, looking down at herself. Her smile faltered for a second.
"Ah, it isn't so bad not being able to read minds, though, if that's what you're saying."
"But, to me, it looks like a disadvantage. I'm sure it's still something handy to have."
Koishi frowned, stopping in the middle of their track. Reimu nearly slammed herself into her if she hadn't reacted fast enough.
"Uh, something wrong?"
"Reimu, I didn't like being a Satori. I still don't."
Reimu swallowed, thinking she must have hit a nerve in Koishi, which she didn't think was possible.
"I didn't have any friends back when my eye was still closed. People were too afraid of us because of our abilities, and they hated us. My sister and I both had to suffer, and I couldn't bear watching her like that. I wanted people to like us. I wanted people to see that we were harmless, and not some kind of monster they had to fear."
"So, you closed your eye off for your sister?"
"Yes, but to also make friends. Okuu and Rin are wonderful, and so is everyone else in Former Hell, but when you guys came..."
Oh, great, of course it's because of her.
"I knew there were people out there on the surface that were willing to accept us. I knew I could make friends if I just tried, so I-"
"Yes, and it costed your consciousness, didn't it?"
Koishi started walking again, with a little hop in her steps.
"But now, I get to visit anywhere I want to without worrying. I can travel far and wide and see all the places that I've only heard of before, making friends along the way." she grinned back at Reimu, who was keeping up with her.
"I guess that isn't a bad thing. Friends are great to have, but they're like everything else. You can't have too much of them."
Koishi spun around, her dress dancing through the air with a twirl. She looked like she was enjoying herself after that moody conversation. She grabbed Reimu's arm as they began to pick up a quicker pace.
"Woah- Hey, what's the rush?"
Koishi gave Reimu a confused and happy glance.
"What do you mean? Don't you want to get your mind read? We won't be able to do that if we're just standing around here all day!"
And with that, she dragged her forward, the duo on their way to the Palace of the Earth Spirits.