-Part two: What is this thing anyway?
Reimu knew exactly where to go first, walking through the village carrying the box with through the streets heading to the south exit of the nearby village, to which a temple that supported youkai and humans alike stood. If anyone knew how to take care of a helpless youkai, and what this creature may be.
The shrine maiden was rather reluctant to approach the temple acknowledging that ever since they appeared her shrine had most of the visitors to her Shrine, meager as they could be decided to frequent them instead. As a result, she knew she had to see them as rivals to her faith and wellbeing as a miko, but there was also a part of her that found it hard to hate the people there, they all seemed to lack the aggressively competitive streak other rivals that Reimu had dealt with seemed to have.
As she was busy thinking about possible alternatives to consulting a rival faith for a solution to her predicament. She ended up ignoring a greeting from a blonde girl about her own age, clad in a black and white dress, with apron, and lastly and oversized pointed hat, all of which gave her the appearance of a quintessential witch. This black and white witch rather irritated by being ignored by the shrine maiden ran ahead of the shrine maiden and put herself in the path of the miko. Reimu still a little distracted by her thoughts nearly collided into the witch only stopping after the passenger in the donation box started hobbling around the inside. As Reimu was about to check the contents of the box to see if the thing inside was okay the witch asked "Hey Reimu, what's got ya moping around so much? You usually don't ignore yer best pal when she tries to say hello". This quickly switching her gaze from the box to the impatient witch she replied apologetically "Oh hello Marisa, I am on an errand and I have until noon to complete it, I don't have much time to talk, sorry!". Marisa clearly not convinced with the replied said "Look Reimu, I know something is up, I have not seen ya look this bad fer years, there's no use hiding things from me". Reimu sighed to herself, she knew seeing how she had in fact been friends with Marisa ever since they were small said "Look I am having a bad day right now, let's just say I had a terrible dream, get roped into something stupid by Yukari and found a little weirdo in my house!".
Marisa chuckled and responded, "Rough day I see, if it's any consolation I am not having the best time myself, A tree's root grew through mah house, Alice wants to introduce me to her family, and Patchouli swears next time I steal her books she'll kill me" strangely seeming to take everything surprisingly well by the casual tone of her voice. Reimu thought to herself" A tree, where did I hear that before? Wait could that little girl Tsuki be telling the truth?" she then asked her witch-like friend "This tree? What does it look like?" with a newfound curiosity she didn't expect herself to have. Marisa nonchalantly responded, "Pure white bark and golden leaves, and I mean golden, you can see your reflection on 'em". Reimu was rather distressed by this, she thought that Tsuki was just making some crazy story for her mother, but it was real, not only that but Reimu had no idea in the slightest what it could mean.
Marisa waved a hand in front of Reimu's face and said "Hey, what got ya so unsettled" her calm demeanour shifting into one of concern at her friend's change in expression. Reimu said in response "I think that tree is an incident just waiting to happen, and I think the intruder in my shrine is connected". she then with a small jump began to fly carrying the box in tow.
Marisa retrieved what looked like a broom and began to fly after her leaving a trail of what appeared to be small glowing stars. Within no time, she caught up to Reimu who was hindered by the box's wait and couldn't outpace her friend, when the two were directly side-by-side Marisa asked Reimu "So where are ya going? and what's so interesting about this intruder?". Reimu letting out sigh exclaimed "Okay a youkai showed up in my shrine and I have no idea what it is, I was thinking of taking it to the Myouren temple to find out, but I think I have decided against it now, maybe I will visit Akyuu instead". Marisa in an attempt to calm down her friend said, "Oh come on Reimu they monks there aren't that bad, their Amagimi has offered to give me free magic lessons, they help the poor and they are closer to us right now anyway!". Reimu realizing her proximity to the temple already said "Okay, okay I'll pay them a visit, but if they say anything to tick me off, I am heading straight for Akyuu". Marisa reached over and gave Reimu a pat on the back saying "There you go! Reimu I bet yer going take a shine to them if ya give 'em another chance" as they began to see the temple in right below them the two magical maidens slowly drifted down to land at the temple's gate. At the gate was a young girl, at least one head height shorter than Marisa, who was the shortest of the two visitors. The girl at the gate had teal hair and eyes and a pale pink dress; she also had a short brown tail and floppy brown ears resembling that of a dog, she seemed exceptionally happy while sweeping the temple grounds humming a tune during the process. Marisa waved to the canine youkai and said "Hello Kyouko, hows yer album going?", The small youkai stopped sweeping briefly and shouted back "HELLO KYOUKO! HOW'S YER ALBUM GOING!" a lot louder than anything that a girl of her size could be expected to shout. Seeing Reimu's shocked expression and Marisa retrieving her hat that was blown away by the shout Kyouko blushed and apologetically in a much demurer tone "Oh sorry, Marisa I'm just really excited about the new song I finished writing, me and Mystia are going to perform it next week in the village square". Marisa walked over to her and patted the youkai girl's head saying "There ya go, I knew ya would overcome yer writer's block yer a really talented musician as I told ya" this caused the youkai to scratch the back of her head as she replied "Aw shucks, I'm just a girl trying to vent my frustration in a non-violent manner".
Kyouko then noticing Reimu carrying the donation box and asked Marisa "Why is she lugging that heavy crate around?" she then started sniffing and added to her question "and why does it smell like that place Miss Kumoi says I'm too young to go to?". Marisa was about to say something before Reimu respond by impatiently saying "I'm using it to carry something I need to show to your Amagimi…I mean Byakuren". Kyouko jumped happily and asked "Oh is it a gift for Miss Hijiri? She's been feeling miserable after those nasty Shikaisen trashed some graves recently, especially when an old urn was dug up and smashed by that pretty one with blue hair. All of us have been getting her gifts to cheer her up, my gift to her was the new song I wrote, some man with silver hair gave her a book, Mami gave her a scroll with some drawing and Miss Shou is out to get even? I don't know what she means by that". Marisa said in response "Danggit that sounds rough, remind me to get somethin' fer her okay, she really didn't deserve that". Reimu sighed and said to herself impatiently "Those hermits act more like youkai than the youkai here!" before walking ahead of Marisa and passing the youkai at the gate, Kyouko looked a little puzzled at Reimu and Marisa said to the youkai girl to allay her confusion "Don't worry she's been having a rough day herself" before following the shrine maiden.
The Tempe grounds were a clean and paved with grey stones filled with many strange and unique creatures some clad in Kesa working diligently, many others in varied outfits wandering around the grounds and chatting with each other, and very small number of humans who were heading over to the graveyard out in the back. Reimu said impatiently "It looks like they are busy I guess I'll head to Akyuu's mansion now, make sure to get Byakuren an extra gift and say it's from me, I will reimburse you later!". Marisa rather unamused said to Reimu "Ya know, ya told me yer in a hurry but yer wasting a lot of time by being going back and forth with whether or not ya want to be here. Yer giving me some real mixed signals". Reimu sighed and followed her friend through the door to the large of the large, albeit modest temple structure.
Immediately upon entering the building the two were standing in large room with simple dark hardwood floor and a green, unadorned carpet, at the end of the opposite to the was a very tall woman appearing to be in her early to mid twenties, seated in seiza position with her hands on her lap, she had long flowing hair that was light brown yet faded to purple at the top and was clad in a white dress that with a black top over it , held on through black strips of fabric laced in a crossed pattern along the middle, along with the layered dress, she also wore a necklace with green glass beads over it. While she was wearing a gentle and welcoming smile it could be seen that her face around her eyes was sore, she was clearly crying not too long ago.
Marisa seeing this woman, ran over to her and immediately gave her a hug, the woman was surprised to receive such affection at first but quickly put her own arms around the young witch reciprocating the display of affection. Reimu felt a short pang of the same feeling she had last night when she saw Tsuki and her mother, now she could now identify it as a mix of jealousy and longing, still trying to stay polite however she hid her feelings and approached the woman her friend was so happy to see. Marisa released the woman from her hug, noticing Reimu motioned woman gently waved to the shrine maiden and asked in a soft voice that most would find soothing "Reimu Hakurei, what brings you to the temple today? May I be of service to you?". Reimu now standing in front of the woman responded nervously "Well Byakuren, in this box I have a youkai, it showed up in my shrine recently, and it got itself nearly killed".
The woman now identified as Byakuren, the Amagimi of the temple raised an eyebrow and said "I see, I would object to carrying living creature in such an odorous container, but I am glad that you brought a youkai in need to my temple" she then motioned for the miko to sit down and asked her "Can I see this youkai? I have an idea as to what it might be, but I need to confirm my suspicions". Reimu set the box on the ground and sat down behind it, slowly undoing it's latches to undo the lid. Marisa letting the suspense get to her said "Oh come on Reimu, let's see this critter!" leaning in to hastily undo the latches herself opening it to get a glimpse of the strange creature. Quite similarly to Reimu's first encounter to this creature Marisa jumped in surprise clearly startled by the grotesque creature. She drew a small hexagonal object from a pocket in her apron and pointed it at the creature and said "Ah crap Reimu, you should have warned me! This thing looks as if it's entire life is suffering!".
Byakuren said in response to Marisa's shock "dear child, that 'thing' is a Nuppeppo a very young one at that, it's a completely harmless youkai whose life if unimpeded can be a long and joyous one" in a slightly irate but still very calm tone of voice, Marisa rather embarrassed put away the hexagonal object and said in response to Amagimi "Sorry Byakuren, it's just I hadn't seen something that, peculiar, I didn't mean what I said, it's not that bad now that I am giving it a second look". Byakuren returning to her original demeanor looked at the Nuppeppo and asked it "So young one, where do you come from?", the Nuppeppo replied "Pppppppeeeeepp!" Byakuren's gentle smile turned to a look of concern as she asked the small youkai "Do you know where your parent is?" the Nuppeppo replied by looking down and saying" Ppppepp". The monk said in response to that utterance "I see, many apologies for asking" before her concerned expression changed to a full frown.
Marisa asked Byakuren "So what's this Nuppeppo saying?" the soft-spoken monk replied "Oh sorry Marisa, this must be quite confusing for you, apparently the Nuppeppo's home was destroyed by a tree that grew at an incredible speed. When it was fleeing with it's siblings and parent, a pack of hounds attacked them" Similarly confused, Reimu asked the head monk "Why are you calling this Nuppeppo and 'it' and saying 'parent' is there any reason for that?", Byakuren answered the miko's question by saying" Well unlike most youkai that have male and female members of their species, all Nuppeppo are neither male nor female, as a result their species reproduces without need for a mate" she resumed to smiling, her usual gentle smile clearly happy to educate the two visitors about youkai biology. Reimu thought to herself "Damn now I'm actually starting to envy that little blob, they would never have to deal with running out of time to pass on their bloodline, they could just pop kids into existence whenever they want".
Reimu then remembering her social engagement Yukari roped her into, leapt to her feet and declared "Looks like you found yourself a new Sangha! I hope they serve the temple well!" before trying to walk off only to be stopped by Byakuren calling out to her, much to the shrine maidens dismay "Oh dear Reimu, I was just about to inform you that this Nuppeppo is not safe even if they were to live on my temple grounds". Reimu turned back to face the Amagimi and pleaded "Oh come on Hijiri! I'm in a real hurry, can't you at least take care of the youkai for a night?".
Byakuren stood up and walked towards Reimu, she asked the shrine maiden "I see you are incredibly tense right now; do you wish to talk about it? I understand you must be shouldering a great burden as the Hakurei Shrine Maiden, such an unexpected occurrence like a lost youkai child must be more than you could bear. I will not hold it against you if differ such a task to me" she then pulled Reimu into a hug and added "I would really love if you provided me some company though on an excursion to relocate this youkai however", Reimu realizing her face was pressed firmly against Byakuren's bosom, pushed the friendly monk away, yet again filled with another mix of emotions she struggled to understand, shouting in the process "GET OFF ME, YOU FAITH STEALING, BUSTY, DEMON QUEEN, QUIT TRYING TO CONVERT ME!" This of course warranted a sigh from Byakuren and her attempting to say apologetically "I am sorry Miss Hakurei, I overstep- "Marisa interrupted angrily "Reimu, what's the big deal? She was just trying to be nice to ya!" she then closed the box, lifted it and walked to Byakuren's side declaring confidently "Well Byakuren ya can count me in on your team! Consider it a way of showing thanks for ya teaching some of yer spells, and to make up for what she said"
Byakuren smiled warmly at the witch's support and replied to her declaration "Oh Marisa, thank you for your offer, I appreciate it dearly" she then then took the box from Marisa's hands with one arm effortlessly while saying "Let me do the carrying, I don't want you to tire yourself out". The witch and head monk then began to walk out the front door both quite happy to be in each other's company.
Reimu then slumped down against a wall in the Temple and said to herself "Dammit! I made myself look like an utter a**hole in front of Marisa, and now all I can do is wait for Yukari to come and take me", she then thought about what she said to Hijiri and cringed not only was the insult totally undeserved it was probably the most idiotic thing she had said period. Feeling her rage and self loathing building she kicked a nearby vase shouting out loud "WHY DO I HAVE TO BE A TOTAL B*TCH SOMETIMES!". The vase was undamaged but to her surprise a snarky voice came from it, saying "Well dearie, maybe you would be a better person if you didn't kick random vases". Reimu jumped in shock and readied a handful of Ofuda from inside one of her sleeves, the vase then began to shake and a large fluffy striped tail popped out it's opening and in a puff of smoke it turned into an older woman, possibly late thirties to early forties with the very same fluffy tail that was in the vase, and small brown pointed ears, She wore an ecru shirt and red grey skirt ,rather ordinary brown hair and circular lensed glasses that were currently cracked. She rose to her feet and said, "I saw the whole thing by the way, no need to tell me". Reimu still rather startled by the youkai's disguise uttered "Dammit Mamizou! You almost gave me a heart attack!".
The woman slightly resembling a raccoon retorted "And a foot flying towards my face wouldn't give me one? I'm not as young as I look dearie". Reimu still quite surprised asked Mamizou "What were you doing pretending to be a vase anyway?", Mamizou tossed away her broken glasses, pulled a spare set from a pocket and donned them, she admitted afterwards "Well Hijiri was getting a lot of gifts from visitors to cheer her up, some of the gifts were some sweets, she keeps to a strict diet so I was going to take them off her hands, with her permission of course". Reimu thought to herself "Oh yeah the Taoists trashed some graves recently, I forgot about that", she then asked, "So do you know why this event messed her up so badly?". Mamizou said "Well let's just say they desecrated the burial of someone Hijiri cared for, she even named the temple after them" she then shrugged and added "Not sure why they weren't in buried in the Outside World considering the timeline, but things happened regardless".
Reimu thought to herself" Dammit, and I thought I had a rough day, it looks like everyone is going through something horrible, the white tree can't have something to do with it can it?". She then embarrassedly asked Mamizou "So do you know a way to make it up to Marisa and Hijiri for that outburst? You seem to know how to talk to people better than me". Mamizou chortled saying through her laugh" Well you can stop being a whippersnapper and apologize for once in your life. Youkai have started to think you would explode if those words were to leave your lips". Reimu then acknowledging what she had to do leapt into action flying out the room to find her best friend and the kind Bhikkhuni, which as of now took precedence over the Nuppeppo. Mamizou sat down and started drinking from her gourd thinking to herself "What a troubled girl, I do not envy whoever had to raise her".