All of Gensokyo was busy preparing for the annual celebrations, and a mix of excitement and anticipation reverberated through Myouren Temple. Ordinarily, if an atmosphere not conducive to training took hold, Byakuren would quickly set things right, but not this time…

The delectable sweets ready to be handed out to the guests stared up at her. “I should just check if they taste all right…” she said to herself, knowing that was just an excuse. Time ticked by as she ummed and ahhed with a plate of sweets resting in her hands. Shou and Nazrin were giggling and watching on intently when footsteps behind them gave them a jolt.

“Hijiri, can you come here for a second?!” exclaimed Shou. Byakuren put the sweets back in a panic and spun around toward the voice. The footsteps belonged to Ichirin, who had come to see Byakuren. “That was a close one,” thought Byakuren. With her heart still racing, she tried to act calm and approached Shou and Ichirin. “I’ll come back and eat them later,” she decided…

As the preparations began to take shape, Myouren Temple slowly returned to its usual tranquil self. Once again Byakuren made her way to the room where the sweets were being kept. She took one swift look around to check no one was there before reaching for one of the unguarded sweets. But after another bout of indecision, she placed it back. In a far louder voice than normal, she called out to Shou, “Toramaru, are you there? Go and get the others.”

Once everyone had gathered, Byakuren handed each of them a sweet and they all enjoyed them together. A refined, delicate sweetness spread through bodies tired from work. There were smiles all around as everyone finished their most-unexpected treats, to which Byakuren smiled back. Shou and Nazrin couldn’t help but admire how Byakuren had turned satisfying her own craving into an opportunity to appear benevolent. The others, it seemed, had no idea. A place of friendship, cheer, and comfort that’s what Myouren Temple is and what it continues to be.