"Thank you for all of your help and for your companionship over the years. It made my stay here far less lonely," Byakuren said, bowing deeply to Shinki as the ship pulled nearer to her mansion in the city of Makai.
"Take care Byakuren, I'm glad you're free, but I'll be sad to see you go. Perhaps you'll come back to visit some day. Until then please take these souvenirs." Right on cue, Yumeko appeared beside her, holding several stacked and neatly packaged boxes full of various gifts, which the maid passed around to everyone on board. As she handed Renko a square package wrapped in pink tissue, Shinki smiled at us, saying. "Please let Alice know that no one here is angry and we'd love to see her soon. Give her my regards, and best wishes too. I do hope she's doing well out there."
It wasn't at all the sort of send off I might have expected for our last moments in the world of demons but it was much preferable to the visions of a mad dash pursued by winged imps that I might have imagined. With those words though, Shinki and Byakuren embraced one last time, then said goodbye. As Shinki and Yumeko flew off toward Pandemonium, Louise flew up to guide Murasa back toward the gate to Gensokyo.
As soon as she had left, Renko tore open her package. "Makai Senbei," she said reading the package. "Look at this, Merry! It looks like it came straight out of some tourist trap," she said, showing me the prettily decorated cracker box. Beside her, Reimu and Marisa had both opened their souvenirs as well. I didn't see what Reimu got, but she seemed disappointed compared to Marisa who appeared overjoyed despite the fact that, as far as I could see, her package contained only a handful of faintly glowing stones and some mushrooms.
From this side of the gate I didn't see any indication of where the border between Makai and Gensokyo might be. Louise seemed to know the way though, and Murasa followed her as she flew ahead of the ship. Eventually she reached a certain point in empty space over the city and snapped her fingers. A shining, rectangular doorway between realities opened, then grew, expanding to a size large enough to accommodate the entire ship. As we approached it though, just before the foremost edge of the ship's broken bowsprit could cross through, there was a sudden jarring lurch as the whole ship came to a halt. It was not as if we had hit a solid wall, as there was no impact or damage to the Palanquin, but rather all of our forward impetus had simply and suddenly ceased. Everyone seemed to be at a loss as to why until captain Murasa suddenly called out and pointed.
Hovering in the air just before the front of the ship, silhouetted against the white light of the doorway stood a single small figure with their hand upraised, palm upward, as if to halt traffic. The ship was resolutely held immobile just before them.
"It's the Yama!" Marisa exclaimed. "Aw hell, not again."
"Oh! It's the cute widdle Yama from the other day!" Sanae cried happily. "Hiiiii."
"Cute?" Marisa asked, turning to Sanae in surprise.
"What are you here for?" Reimu asked, stepping forward. "If you're planning to seal her back in prison, go ahead. It would make my life easier."
Indeed, the person glaring at us from just before the bow of the ship was none other than Shiki Eiki herself, Gensokyo's ultimate judge as appointed by the Divine Ministry of Right and Wrong. Despite the feeling of relief that had swept over everyone since the end of the danmaku battle, tensions again rose in an instant. Murasa came out of the wheelhouse and, along with the rest of Byakuren's disciples, gathered to surround and protect her. Byakuren, for her part, walked forward calmly, placing a hand on the shoulder of each of Myouren temple group as she passed them to approach the Yama directly and speak with her.
"The living saint Hijiri, founder of the Myouren temple. It has been quite some time since we last spoke," The Yama intoned as she landed on the deck.
Byakuren bowed respectfully without speaking as she approached. Behind her, her disciples were keeping their distance but still looked on edge, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. The Yama seemed to notice them and raised her voice to speak in reassurance.
"Be at peace. I've not come here to enforce any sentence on this saint today. My appearance here is merely a formality."
As Murasa and the others looked at eachother in surprise, the Yama turned her attention to Byakuren. "Do you remember my words to you a thousand years ago?" She asked simply.
"I do." Byakuren replied.
"A thousand years have passed. Now all of those who were wronged by you are no longer in this world, and the youkai who were feared as monstrous killers have banded together to free you from your exile of their own free will, without your involvement. I think that this proves that your actions were morally justifiable, even if you have undoubtedly committed a sin."
Byakuren remained silent, her head bowed.
"The weight of that sin upon you is undeniable, and I do not doubt that you can feel its presence yet. Good deeds performed in this lifetime can atone for sins, however. It is through the positive karma you have accumulated through these deeds that your followers have been drawn to you. In essence, it is through these actions that you have freed yourself from your imprisonment. Thus, I hereby officially release you, saint Hijiri, on your own recognizance. Continue to do good deeds, in atonement for the sin within your heart. Remember especially that a sin committed for the sake of one you love is still, inarguably, a sin. It is the nature of all beings living within this world to carry the potential for both good and evil inside them. Remember that so long as you live, you have the potential for redemption, but also the potential for harm. Follow the teachings of your own conscience and bring no evil into the world. You may yet find the peace that you seek."
"Thank you, Lord Yama, for your judgement and your counsel." Byakuren replied, bowing her head and pressing her palms together. The Yama silently nodded in response, seemingly satisfied.
Shiki then turned to address Reimu. "Reimu Hakurei..." she began.
"I'm not in the mood for a lecture," Reimu interrupted, "if that's what you have planned, do it some other time."
"I will indeed. It is, I think, past time I pay your shrine a visit. For now though, I will only remind you of your duties. As the Hakurei shrine maiden, you must fulfill the promise of your office to Gensokyo. You must stand in judgement of Byakuren's actions for so long as you are both living in the same world. The Hakurei miko of a thousand years ago sought my counsel in deciding Byakuren's fate, and I could not give it then, just as I cannot now. It is not my place to pass judgement on the living. I speak here only to offer advice in the hope of preserving your immortal soul from condemnation. The Hakurei of a thousand years made her decision and declared Byakuren a villain. You are not her though, and must follow the guidance of your own heart to determine if Byakuren's teachings have merit. Your judgement and consideration of this matter will affect my eventual judgement of you."
"You don't need to tell me that, I would have been watching her anyways. Everyone in Gensokyo is under my watch. I don't need you to tell me who does or doesn't need exterminating."
"You have your duties, Hakurei miko, and I have mine. I have done that which is required of me now and my shinigami has collected her fare. You are all free to go." Saying that, the Yama turned and flew away, through the gate between worlds. The abrupt departure was a little shocking and it was a few moments before anyone spoke.
Murasa was the first to break the silence. "What was that about?" she asked, looking at Ichirin, who could only shrug in response.
"Murasa?" Byakuren asked, turning to address her with her eyes closed and her hands still clasped together. "Please proceed through the gate." Her tone was placid and almost cheerful, but had a slight edge to it, sounding a little forced.
"Uh, of course! Right away, mother Hijiri!" She saluted then dashed back to the wheelhouse. An instant later the ship glowed again, momentarily awash with that same dark fire, then slowly it accelerated back into Gensokyo.
-.-.-.-.-
A short while later we emerged from the caves, back into the light of the world. The late afternoon sun was low in the sky but the wind carried the faint promise of longer, warmer nights soon to come. Byakuren stood near the fore of the ship, eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of sunlight and fresh air for what must have been the first time in a millennium.
"Oh yes, I should repair the mast," she said, opening her eyes and smiling as she walked back toward the center of the deck. Unzan had already deposited all of the scraps we still had aboard the ship near the stump of the mast and had brought the long upper portion, along with its detached crossbeam and the main sail up from the hold. Byakuren looked the various materials over, inspecting them for a moment or two, then began to chant. One by one the shattered wooden fragments lifted into the air and began to glow. Within a minute nearly everything was back in place, the wood flawlessly re-knitted without any trace of a seam. Most of it anyway. There was still a sizable chunk missing near the base of the mast.
"There were still a fair number of pieces missing," Byakuren explained. My magic will keep the mast strong enough to function for now, but we'll want to find all that we can. Ichirin, can you set the sail?"
"Yes, mother Hijiri!"
She waved to Unzan, who once more darted and swooped among the rigging, unfurling the sail and securing it in place. When the brilliant white sail billowed forth this time, it was clear to see there was now a clear 寶 -the kanji meaning 'treasure', emblazoned on it with brilliant red dye. "It's a reminder," Byakuren said, noticing me staring at it. "Of the immeasurable value of the three great treasures of Buddhism. The Buddha, in his endless compassion, the Dharma in its all-encompassing wisdom, and the clergy, in it's endless devotion to the betterment of all living beings."
"Speakin' of which," Marisa said, grinning greedily. "Where's my treasure?"
"I'll have to retrieve it," Nazrin answered immediately. "I'll bring it to you once we have it."
"Then I'm keepin' this for now," she said, removing her hat and producing a single chunk of glowing wood from within it. "I held onto it just in case. You can have it back when I get paid." Saying that, she climbed onto her broom and placed her hat back on her head. "Don't forget about your promise!" she called as she sped away into the skies.
Reimu watched her go then turned to Byakuren. "What are you planning to do now?"
"For now... I think we'll just fly around for a bit. I'd like to retrieve the missing pieces of the mast and see what the world looks like now. Eventually we'll have to find a place to settle down. I'll make sure it's not somewhere where anyone is already living."
"That's a good start. Keep yourselves out of trouble, I'm warning you. If I see anything I don't like, I'm coming back and exterminating you."
Then she turned to us. "That goes for you too, Renko and Merry. I don't go after helpless humans, but if you keep this up you won't be human for much longer. People who work with youkai usually end up becoming youkai sooner or later. If that happens to you, you've already got one Incident I owe you an extermination for now."
"I'll try to keep that in mind," Renko said grinning toothily down at Reimu.
"Do more than that! I'm sick of having to clean up after you. You're supposed to be the sort of people I have to protect from problems, not the cause of them. Spare a thought for the people caught in your blast radius before you do something like this next time."
"Reimu, have you been taking lessons from the Yama? You're getting good at this lecturing."
"Shut up! She's going to be visiting me too now because of this, so I have that to look forward to. I'm going home. The next time I hear about you, it better not be because you're pursuing some new scheme to cause trouble." Reimu glared at Renko for a second longer, then flew off with a grunt of disgust.
"How about you, Sanae?" Renko asked, turning to her. "I'm sure you're tired after all of that."
"I should go back and tell Lady Kanako and Lady Suwako about this. I can take you both back to the village first though, if you like."
"Oh, we can bring them home for you," Byakuren interrupted. "It's the very least we can do to repay them for all of their help, and I'd like to hear the story of this rescue effort from them, if I may."
"Oh. Would that be okay?"
"I'm fine with it," Renko responded. "How about you, Merry?"
"I don't see any issues with it."
"Okay then. I'll see you tomorrow maybe? Take care, you two. Nice to meet you all." With that Sanae floated into the air and waved her goodbyes before turning to fly off toward Youkai Mountain.
When she had gone Byakuren turned to us. "Now, I'm afraid I know nothing of this place any more. You said there's a village of humans living here though?"
"Yes, southwest of here. It's not all that big, especially compared to Makai, but it's the largest settlement in all of Gensokyo."
"Understood. Ichirin, please go ask Murasa to set a course to the southwest. No need to hurry though, I'd like to ask these girls some questions while we make our way there."
She nodded happily and we were soon underway, enjoying the sunset as we took in the sights with Byakuren slowly making our way toward the village.