Chapter 31: The Third Piece

Inside the sisters' bedroom, Furoufushi had her face buried in the futon. The fabric soaked up her welling tears before they could wet her face. Batsu was sitting nearby on her own futon, worry and hesitation clouded her face.

Fixing her glasses, she broached the subject with consideration and care.

"Nee-san. Do you need anything?"

Huffing into the futon, a muffled response came out.

"I'm okay. I… I. Just… go help Tenchou. I'll be fine."

Unsure whether to agree, Batsu sat and waited. After a couple of minutes of silent concern, she left the room.

Now alone, Furoufushi stayed motionless. In her stagnant state, a whirlpool of emotions funneled into her heart. What she felt the most was shame. Kenji's disappointment had ruthlessly carved into her. The thoughtlessness that she carried around was set to the side.

In a period of deep reflection, she uncovered a sad truth. Kenji already knew she was going to end up on this path. She couldn't even see the downward spiral she was stepping into. A path of being drunk on power and forgoing any real connection. How could she act so foolishly? The two fragments she found in her inner world told her of her deep-seated issues even before she reached this point.

She knew. She knew what the fragments meant. The eye of the typhoon and the unbreakable wall of petals. She knew it was her single-minded perspective and her reticent heart. She already knew these things. And now, after failing to recognize these two things in the real world, she felt a hole punched in her gut.

How could she not see it? Her blind pursuit of strength. Her lack of concern over the cowering masses. She was becoming what she loathed, common scum. It was so obvious. But she was too wrapped up in chasing after her goal that she forgot to look behind herself. And after being stopped, she truly saw what was behind her.

She worried Batsu to no end. She betrayed Kenji's expectations. She had failed herself.

What would've happened if Kenji didn't take her away from the streets? What would've happened if Batsu didn't share her concerns? What would've happened if she neglected everything, all the things she likes, all the things she hates, all the things she hasn't seen in this world? Would she even recognize herself when she died? Or would she accept her hollow shell?

After quietly sobbing for hours, Furoufushi's mind gradually unwound. The swelling emotions drained from her exhausted heart. Soon, her breath eased, and her heartbeat thumped in rhythm.

Finally, she was whisked away.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Our little monkey returns. Hehe~."

Scornful giggles jabbed at Furoufushi's waking form. Her eyebrows knit together. Opening her eye, she stared at the shadow-filled ceiling. She stopped staring before her mind could wander. Now sitting up, she met the sadistic Miko.

Weary and regretful, a quiet echo bounced off the walls of the shrine.

'I messed up.'

"Hehe~. Of course you did. It's you."

The snide remark punched the reflecting girl in the gut. Believing a verbal lashing would come pouring out of the Miko's mouth, she fell silent.

But after two minutes of constant silence, Furoufushi raised her eyebrow. Her violet eye searched the Miko for any signs of speech. Alas, no lips moved, no voice argued, no concern was kept.

Puzzled by the humming hush, Furoufushi spoke up.

"Aren't you gonna say anything?

"What should I say?"

The Miko provided a question of her own, stopping the girl in her tracks. Furoufushi's eye narrowed as she delved for something more.

"No harsh words? Not even gonna beat me?"

"That would defeat the purpose of learning from this."

"And every other time was fine? Hah!"

"My guidance is unique, I agree. However, I did not push you down this path. We were already on it."

"…"

Furoufushi shut her mouth and lowered her head. Clenching her whitened fists, she asked the Miko her opinion.

"And what would you say if I wasn't started on it."

Hearing the hypothetical question, the Miko pondered and replied honestly.

"I would say that we were foolish to begin with. In turn, I would also say that it was unavoidable, this path."

Furuofushi's eyebrows furrowed once more, her questioning tone filled with incredulity and disbelief.

"Unavoidable?"

*whoosh*

The Miko nodded and with a gesture of her hand, petals from the typhoon whirled into the shrine. They rushed past Furoufushi toward the Miko. Atop her open palm, a hovering circle of petals spun.

The revolving ring was made of wilting petals that continued to lose their color, decaying until their quiet grey death. The dreary ring spun and spun, devoid of any color. Until a hint of color rose from within the ring. An innocent daisy blossomed within the circle of grey, hovering above her palm. The dull wheel of petals orbited the daisy, isolating its beauty. Soon, the daisy turned grey like the ring. Innocence collapsed into the Miko's open palm.

Above the remains of the daisy, a passionate red peony blossomed. But soon it too died. And then came a lily, white as snow, only to melt into the grey grave below. A regal purple Iris took its place in the grey ring, only to fall from grace.

And finally, a camellia sprouted within the ring of death. Its vibrant pink was pure and bright. The radiant glow brought life back to the spinning ring of grey. For a moment, the petals regained their youth.

Alas, the camellia lost its strength. Its vivid pink hue weakened. It could not escape. Its delicate beauty began to falter and die in the quiet, grim grey.

And it too, fell into the pile of ones that bloomed.

All that remained was the unbroken ring of wilted, grey petals.

"How could a flower not be touched by its surroundings?"

With a flick of her hand, the grey petals shot past Furoufushi, rejoining the typhoon outside the shrine. Closing her eye, Furoufushi's mind drifted through her memories. Years of life without color.

And when her wandering memories landed on Tengoku…

Kenji.

Batsu'unsai.

"The third."

'Speak.'

Hearing the Miko's wanting whisper, Furoufushi's eye fluttered open. With firm notes, she delivered her profound tune.

"It's empty."

"What is?"

"This shrine. It'd be better with things we like; don't you think?"

The Miko smiled and nodded. Opening her pure white eyes, she looked at the walls. A wistful tone in her voice.

"It could certainly use some improvement."

The Miko's eyes turned to the typhoon outside. With a wave of her hand, tides of petals surged into the shrine. The crashing colors broke apart into thousands of streams, rushing to the barren walls and shadowy ceiling. Rustling and whistling wind carried them to their new home.

Once the storm settled, the interior of the shrine changed. Intricate banners and tapestries hung from the brightened ceiling. Paintings of a familiar teahouse and vast pastures lined the walls.

Behind the Miko, two vague sculptures had risen, materializing from the vast array of color. Their figures caught Furoufushi's eye.

The Miko huffed a sigh of relief and contentment.

"That's better."

After gazing around the vibrant shrine, she glanced at Furoufushi. Her eyes pure white eyes stayed open. They softened seeing the enraptured girl.

Furoufushi was broken out of her daze by the Miko's question.

"Are you ready to go back?"

Furoufushi opened her lips and paused. She hesitated. Steadying herself, an idea took root in her mind.

"I'm staying until I find the last one."

Her confident declaration did not surprise the Miko. Instead, the Miko hummed in agreement and encouraged her.

"Mn~. An excellent decision. Call me should you need me."

*Whoosh*

In a mesmerizing display, the Miko's body broke down into white and red petals. The stream of white and red rushed outside toward the typhoon.

Standing up, Furoufushi made her way to the Shrine's entrance. She sat down, dangling her feet over the bottomless pit. Her mind gathered everything it could.

She had looked up at the eye of the storm. Single-mindedness.

She scanned the typhoon blocking the outside. Closed heart.

Turning her head around, she took in the vivid colorful interior of the shrine. Values.

These three were all issues that plagued her. She hadn't perceived anything but her goal. She hadn't allowed herself to be vulnerable. And she hadn't cherished anything enough to keep it inside.

There was one more. The last one. She honestly thought that there wasn't anything else to find. Looking down at the abyss below her feet, she considered it as a piece.

Yet somehow, she felt it wasn't one of 'her' issues. Everyone stood over an abyss, it was just a matter of who fell in. Batsu had told Furoufushi about her own inner world. About the caldera, the pale stone slopes, black cloud, and murky lake at her feet.

Wasn't the cloudy lake just like Furoufushi's endless depths beneath the shrine? No one would be able to tell what lay at the bottom of either. Batsu couldn't see through the murky liquid and Furoufushi couldn't see into the abyss.

Furoufushi felt she was right. She could throw it out as a guess, but that would leave her dissatisfied. Every inner world should have some type of void, something that could swallow a person. So, the question was, if it wasn't the bottomless pit at her feet, what could it be?