The life-stream
"Am I dead? Or am I alive? I can feel warmth and coldness alike. Is this the world of Dharma?" Byakuren opened her eyes, slowly.
Her clothes were dirty but intact, her scroll yet gone. "Where am I?"
She looked around, and looked into a large nothingness in the sky. A single star, brighter than any of those she had seen before, led the way along a path cluttered with creepy lights. Blue fires hushed trough the air, and fade screams could be heard from long away.
"I should get going.", she whispered to herself. A little unsure but overall confident, she walked along a path, to soon hear the sounds of a large river.
The sanzu river of the dead opened up in front of her. A ferrywoman, clad in long blue clothes with a scythe larger than herself, sat in a small boat near the docks and awaited customers.
"Oi! Are you here to go to the other side? The sanzu is long and wild, and I am the only person to get you over. The name's Komachi Onozuka. Nice to meet you." The shinigami had long red hair, tied together and was quite imposing.
"I am... Hijiri. Byakuren Hijiri. You fulfil the task of bringing the dead to the other side? What noble work." she said with a low voice.
Komachi scratched her head: "Nah not really. My boss always smacks me for being lazy." Then she put a sharp view: "Anyway! You have a burden to bear. Your death was not of natural occurrence. Also, you are a youkai, but you were once human, I can feel that. What happened in the material world?"
Byakuren told her what happened, and Komachi listened carefully. "Yes yes, I understand. This explains why so many customers appeared recently." the shinigami said and added: "Watch it, I cannot help you, but I might know someone who can. However you will have to go to the other side with me, and once there, there's no returning back if you get handed down."
Byakuren considered her options. Will she remain here and wait or risk to never return but maybe get a second chance? "I agree. For the sake of the people and the world, I will go with you. Take me to the person you know."
Byakuren paid for the ferry and the both of them went to the other side. A large gate awaited the visitors from afar.
"Go in and meet Shikieiki Yamaxanadu, my boss. She is one of the judges of the dead. Offer her your proposal, and ask for Keine Kamishirasawa. This is the person who might be able to help you." Komachi twinkled and went off.
Self-confident, Byakuren went in front of the large, golden gate, which was emblazoned with runes symbolising the number 9 over and over, and demanded access. It opened with a loud, rusty sound and behind it was an even larger room. In the middle stood a giant desk made of cherry wood with golden stairs and familiars ran around with blocks of paper. A complete chaos had broken out in the bureau.
"This... is the gate to nothingness?" Byakuren wondered and stepped in. On top of the large desk sat a small girl with green hair, a wooden sword or stick and a rather cute nice hat.
"Oh yeah, come on in, come on in. Name, address, age and species please...", she said rather stingy.
"Uh... Byakuren Hijiri, Todaru village in Gensokyo, 1189 and youkai magician... I think." Byakuren answered timidly.
"You THINK? Hell, what's wrong with the people today, don't even know what species they are!" the tiny girl shouted angrily.
"Uh, are you Shikieiki Yamaxanadu?" Byakuren was a little unsure.
The girl mustered her. "And you are the first doll in a set of seven or what? Yes, I am the one, a judge of the dead. As you see... Hey you freakin' idiots, the papers with the people who died yesterday come into the drawer Kana-2-45, not Kana-2-43! Jeez... Where was I? Ah yes, I am Shikieiki. You see, total chaos has broken out here. Something went wrong in the material world and we have to run overtime to get it all done. Notice the long row of souls behind me? All those died in the last few hours. Now to you. Tell me how you died for the records."
Byakuren thought heavily about it, then it came to her: "I was killed by a youkai who has most certainly fallen for insanity. She was unbearably strong and overly cruel. She did not hesitate to kill two of my best friends and over 3 dozen children and their teach... Ah yes!"
Byakuren placed her arms violently on Shikieiki's desk. "I need your help! Bring me to Keine Kamishirasawa!"
Shikieiki leaned back: "Why should I do that?"
"Because I need her help!", Byakuren shouted. "If you don't bring me to her, the world..."
She was cut out by Shikieiki: "LISTEN! I don't care who you are or what you have done in the material world, but down here it's only ME who decides. Besides, Keine is..."
Now Byakuren cut her out, smirking: "It will help reduce your work."
Puzzled, Shikieiki turned around at once and began shouting again: "Hey you idiots, bring me Keine Kamishirasawa AT ONCE!"
Keine was bought to Byakuren, who introduced herself once again and explained what happened.
"I see. All this in a day where the class makes a school trip to learn about our ancestors. You were so grateful to let us use your shrine for some studies too." Keine said depressively.
"Keine, I need your help. Komachi the ferrywoman told me you have a power I could use to prevent all this. Tell me, what is that power you wield?" Byakuren asked while putting her hands on Keine's shoulders.
Keine was unsure how to react accordingly: "My power... is to consume history. I can undo things. On a night of a full moon, I can also write new history."
Byakuren took Keine's hands: "This is it. Can you use that power and undo the slaughter? I do not think Miss Shikieiki would particularly mind it."
Shikieiki was annoyed: "Yes yes, ignore the rules all you want, but that power does not work down here. Who is dead is dead, end of the story. Can we now continue please, there are lots of other people wanting to join the netherworld too."
This was a big let-down for Byakuren. Her only hope was just crushed by a senseless law.
"Uh... maybe?" one of the familiars, who looked like an Oni with glasses, appeared behind Byakuren.
"Yes? What is it?"
The Oni pointed towards a door: "That room allows to transfer powers from one person to another. It's under repair right now but it still might work."
"Why is there a room for that?" Byakuren wondered.
Either way, Keine already took her hand and the both of them went into it. The room was huge. All in white, in the middle was a platform made of gold. Runes made of black ink ran over the surface and two spots were kept in a white, almost blending light. The both of them went under one pillar of light each, and the Oni came in.
"Why do you wish to give me our power? Shikieiki said it will not work here." Byakuren asked.
"Well that counts for me, but you are a saint. The gods owe you one for once." Keine answered.
"I will now activate the process." the Oni girl said and the runes ran over Byakuren's and Keine's bodies. It was an unpleasant feeling for them but it took only a few minutes. Then something unexpected happened. The runes on Byakuren's body did not vanish, instead they became more and more, until she was completely taken in by them. She screamed in agony and an explosion followed. The force of the explosion destroyed the platform, but neither Keine nor the Oni were actually hurt. Byakuren was not hurt either and slowly glided to the ground – and vanished.
"What happened just now?" She wondered, then looked in front of her. She stood behind the Oni girl and saw herself on the platform which just exploded. Then it exploded again, and the force knocked her out of the room.
The door shut and Shikieiki screamed: "What the HELL are you doing?"
Byakuren stood up and looked around. Then she vanished again and appeared a few moments later. This new ability of hers, whatever it was, seemed to be rather jumpy.
This happened a few more times, until she seemed to get the hang of it, then she disappeared once again. Shikieiki was annoyed by those disturbances and even more when Byakuren came out of a door at the other side with two cups of tea in her hands. She went above to Shikieiki and reached her one to make her calm down.
"It's time travel." Byakuren said self-sure.
Shikieiki almost let loose of the cup out of shock: "Time travel?"
"Yes. I can only slightly control it, but it seems to bring me to places and times I want."
Shikieiki had calmed down a little: "Fine, let me say this for once. This explains why you are the fourth by now. Now get off like you did before."
Byakuren was confused. "The fourth? What do you mean with this, please explain it."
Shikieiki didn't bother to answer and told her to leave, and she did so. Outside, Byakuren tried her new ability out again – and landed in a river. But it was a river in the material world. The sun was shining, cicadas were audible and the leaves were falling.
"Wait? Leaves are falling? It's autumn!"