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File 132506934520.png - (278.41KB , 600x600 , FUCKING FINALLY.png ) [iqdb]
151591 No. 151591
“Hey, Medi! You wanna come with us?”

“Huh?”

“I think you should come with us!”

“Well-”

“What I'm saying is, you should come with us!”

“Uh...”

“Come with us!”

“Um. Okay!”

With a glance and an exchange of nods between her and her companion, the two dolls float their way over to you.

“Welcome to the team, squirt!” you hear Yuugi say, eliciting a brief scowl from your little friend. Seemingly unfazed by it, intentionally ignoring it, or simply not noticing it, she continues speaking. “Can't really hold ya, see, but feel free to grab on anywhere!”

“Or I could hold you, if you want.” you offer, holding your arms out as if to demonstrate.

For a moment, Medicine's face seems to take on a faintly purplish hue, though you suspect it's just a trick of the light.
Offering no more sign of agreement beyond the slightest of nods, she positions herself in front of you and looks at you uncertainly. At first, you wonder if she was having second thoughts, but you quickly realize that the problem is not of whether or not she wants to go along with your idea, but how it's supposed to work.

With the way Yuugi's arm is looped around your body, your upper and lower halves can do little more than dangle from the Oni's arm. Hardly a posture that lends itself to holding onto someone else. Still, you are not one to be defeated by such petty obstacles as that!

With a little bit of direction, you get Medicine to turn herself so her back is facing you, bring your arms forward and around her waist, and pull her in towards you as closely as physically possible. Tilting your head to the side just enough to avoid having a mouthful of hair, blonde strands brush against your neck and cheek as a distinctly sweet-yet-bitter smell tickles your nostrils.

“Is this okay, Medi? It's not too uncomfortable, is it?”

“H-huh? Uh, ah, yeah! I mean, no! Er, yeah! ...it's fine!” she replies, alternating between nodding and shaking her head.

From somewhere just above, you think you hear a slight snicker from Yuugi, but you barely notice it.
What you do notice is the sudden sensation of something lightly yet firmly smacking into the side of your head. From out of the corner of your eye, you see Su-san plopping herself down upon your shoulder.

“Comfortable, Su-saaaAAAAAAAAA?!” you attempt to ask of your passenger, but find your words turning into a barely-controlled yell as a sudden jolt followed by the sight of the ground falling away from you gives you the distinct impression that you're moving. Quite quickly, in fact, in an upward direction.

You're flying.

Though not your first experience in assisted flight, the feeling of the air against your face gives you an impression of speed that makes your flight with Tenshi feel like a leisurely stroll by comparison.
In an instant, your group manages to not only catch up with Tenshi and Parsee, but completely overtake them. Though you only caught a glimpse of them as you zipped by, you think you saw a definite look of shock and surprise at least one of their faces.

“Ha! They better pick up the pace!” Yuugi laughs.

Looking back towards the ground, you see rooftop after rooftop passing by beneath you as you find yourselves already over the city. Dotting the lantern-lit streets, the city's residents look almost like ants as they move about.
Tiny little ants.
Tiny, little, drunken ants. With horns.

Horns, and the ability to grow larger.
Oni can do that, right? Grow larger?
You think they must, because they appear the be doing it right now, the not-quite-so-tiny ants suddenly looking a bit bigger than they did a moment ago.

Then again, so does the street they're walking upon.
And the rooftops.

Briefly pondering this, you come to a sudden and alarming realization.
Buildings don't suddenly get bigger.
Neither do streets, for that matter.
Oni...well, you think the jury is still out on that one. Even if they can, you have a sinking suspicion that is not the case, at this time.
You also have a suspicion that you are, well, sinking.
Descending.
Falling.

As quickly as the ground had first retreated from you, you now see it rushing back up to greet you; your old friend, gravity, reminding you that it is still quite functional.

Were it not for the feeling of Yuugi's arm still wrapped tightly around your waist, you might be inclined to indulge the little part of your brain that tells you to panic when you find yourself rapidly falling towards the ground in a seemingly uncontrolled semi-vertical drop. Fortunately, you do not.

Still, though you manage to refrain from screaming in terror as you plunge towards the cold, hard ground below, you wonder if you should at least say something on the matter.


[ ] Yeah.

[ ] Nah.
Expand all images
>> No. 151592
[X] Yeah.
-[X] I wonder if Yuuka likes eggs.
>> No. 151593
[x] Yeah.

An exclamation of delight seems appropriate.
>> No. 151594
[x] Yeah.

Give the proclamation
>> No. 151595
[x] Yeah.
"Um, Yuugi, how are you on the prospect of rocks?"
>> No. 151618
[x] Nah.

He talks enough as it is.
>> No. 151621
[x] Yeah.

Ah, gravity. We meet again, unfortunately we shall not meet your heavy embrace this time.
>> No. 151640
[ ] Yeah.
>> No. 151674
File 132527420012.jpg - (800.87KB , 1780x1187 , they went thataway.jpg ) [iqdb]
151674
You think you will say something on the matter.
Yes. That is something you think you will do.

“We are falling.”

...or, rather, would do if Rikako had not beaten you to the punch.

“Why are we falling?” the woman in Yuugi's other arm asks.

“Heh! Don't worry 'bout it, just hang on!” Yuugi says with a chuckle, not sounding nearly as concerned about your imminent reunion with the ground as your fellow passenger.
Though you find her composure comforting, in a way, it is somewhat offset by the knowledge that she is probably far more capable of withstanding things that would be dangerous or even fatal to a human.

Things like slamming into the ground at high velocity from a considerable height, for example.

Holding Medicine as closely to you as physically possible, you close your eyes and brace yourself for the inevitable impact.

A violent jolt...
The sound of the ground cracking...
The feeling of your every bone and joint screaming in agony as they are subjected to forces they were never meant to withstand...

...all sensations that you, much to your surprise, do not experience. You don't even feel the air rushing past you, or any other sign that you're even still falling.

Daring to open your eyes, you see the reason for this lack of falling-related sensations is that you are, in fact, no longer falling, but now slowly lowering.

“Ha! Still got it!” you hear Yuugi say upon her feet touching the ground. “You guys okay?”

“Yep.”

“Huh? Um, yeah?”

“What was that!?”

“What was what?” Yuugi asks the purple-haired woman in her other arm/

“That!” Rikako replies, making some gesture with her hands that does little to clarify her meaning. “This! I was under the impression you were going to fly, not jump!”

“Oh, that?” the Oni woman says, casually, as if leaping through the air the way she did was a perfectly normal and mundane thing. Of course, for all you know, it may very well be just that. “Nah, flyin's too easy! Gotta make it interesting, ya know?”

“You could have at least warned us that-”

“Anyway, that's enough of a warm-up!” Yuugi continues, not paying any attention to her passenger. “Now we're really gonna start movin'!”

“Hey! Don't just ignore uAAAAHHH!

Before Rikako can finish speaking, your group is once again jolted upward. The ground falls away, buildings shrink, and your stomach lurches as you climb into the air. As you reach the apex, you look down and see Tenshi and Parsee flying your way.

“Yuugi! They're catching up!” you warn, eliciting a hearty laugh from the Oni.

“Not for long, they're not!”

As you begin to descend, you wonder what she could possibly mean by that. Not only do those two look as if they are flying at a pretty decent pace, but as far as you can tell you haven't even moved that far in this jump, with your group falling towards a rooftop not too far from you had landed before.

You do not have to wait long for an answer.

Landing with considerably more force than before, your ears barely have time to register the sickening crunch of tiles beneath the Oni's feet before your body is jerked forward, and the ground and buildings just beneath you begin to rush by at incredible speed. For a moment, you wonder if Yuugi changed her mind about flying. You would ask her, but you doubt she would hear you over the sound of her own laughter.

Opting, instead, to simply continue watching as rooftops zip past below, you begin to notice your carrier's legs moving occasionally, and a fleeting cracking sound that seems to accompany each movement.
It is at that moment that you realize Yuugi is not actually flying over the rooftops of the city, but running and hopping across and over them, bounding from one to another like they were stepping stones. Large, artificially-made stepping stones, that seem to break when stepped upon.

You don't have long to ponder the trail of damaged rooftops you have left in your wake, however, before you find yourselves at the outskirts of the the city. Ancient buildings give way to ancient rock formations, the walls and ceiling gradually begin to close in, and the warm light of lanterns is soon replaced by the dim and eerie glow of the caves.

With no more rooftops to leap from, Yuugi's feet finally regain contact with the ground. Rather than continue onward, though, the Oni suddenly skids to a halt, and turns back towards the now-distant city, as if to admire her work. Or, perhaps, to say goodbye.

Though you no longer hear her laughing, you think you see a smile out of the corner of your eye, as you crane your neck around to look up at the Oni's face.

“Hey, Yuugi?”

“Hm? Yeah, kiddo?” you hear her respond, still gazing at the city.



[ ] “Are you okay?”

[ ] “Second thoughts?”

[ ] “That was AWESOME.”

[ ] “I think they're gaining on us.”

[ ] “We can't stop here!”
>> No. 151675
[x] “Second thoughts?”
>> No. 151676
[x] “I think they're gaining on us.”
>> No. 151677
[X] “That was AWESOME.”

Sure it felt like we were gonna die for a minute there but it was AWESOME!
>> No. 151680
[X] “We can't stop here!”

This is SPIDER Country!
>> No. 151681
[X] “That was AWESOME.”

Because it was too.
>> No. 151684
[X] “That was AWESOME.”
>> No. 151685
[X] “That was AWESOME.”
>> No. 151686
[x] “I think they're gaining on us.”
[x] Go faster
>> No. 151687
[x] “Second thoughts?”

I cannot imagine a better time to ask her this than in the middle of a race.
>> No. 151688
[X] “Second thoughts?”

lets let her get the depressing out of her system.
>> No. 151692
[x] “That was AWESOME.”

With sparkling eyes.
>> No. 151701
File 13253181614.png - (426.95KB , 750x937 , 5a4829bce3261aeda0e005c37477175e.png ) [iqdb]
151701
>>151680
>>This is SPIDER Country!

And that's a good thing.
>> No. 151730
[x] “Second thoughts?”

Thinking more about Yuugi than insurance of not dieing against Yuuka.
>> No. 151746
[x] “That was AWESOME.”
>> No. 151867
[ ] “That was AWESOME.”
>> No. 151885
File 132566521664.jpg - (74.47KB , 500x375 , WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.jpg ) [iqdb]
151885
“That. Was. AWESOME.

“Aww, that was nothin'.” Yuugi replies, her voice carrying not even a hint of false humility.

“No, really! That was amazing how we were all vwoosh and those roofs were all ker-rack, and not once did I think I was going to die or anything!” you say with adrenaline-fueled enthusiasm.

You think you hear Rikako quietly half-mutter, half-groan something along the lines of 'speak for yourself' but you know she was probably just agreeing with you.

“Well, thanks, kiddo. But the fun part's just comin' up!” the Oni says, turning you all towards the barely-lit tunnel. “We're goin' to the bridge, remember?”

“You...don't intend to run all the way there, do you?” Rikako asks, weakly.

“Ha! 'Course I do! But that ain't the fun part!” Yuugi says cheerfully.

“What's the 'fun' part?”

“I don't know how to get there!”

“You...what.” you hear Rikako say, seemingly flabbergasted that anyone could so proudly declare they have no idea of what they're doing, least of all when what they're doing is running blindly through a network of dark and treacherous cave tunnels.

“Well, y'see, I never really tried goin' back up after movin' down here. No reason to, y'know? So I only really know these caves goin' one way. But, hey, I figure all I gotta do is go the way I remember comin' down, but in reverse!”

“That makes sense.” you say, nodding in agreement. Lacking any personal experience in cave exploration, you suppose it only makes sense that reversing the route you took to go down into a cave would lead you out of that cave. Barring, of course, any changes that may have taken place inside the cave between your going down into it and your attempting to leave.

“Ah, how long ago was it that you first came down here?” asks Rikako, apparently thinking along the same lines as you were at that moment.

“Oh, I dunno. Not long enough that I would forget the trip down, I can tell ya! Five hundred years, just about!”

“...five hundred years.”

“Yep! ...or was it seven?”

Seven-hundred.”

“Well, okay, I don't quite remember exactly when, but it's somewhere in that range. Give or take. Anyway, it'll be fine! A few fallen rocks and collapsed tunnels here and there, maybe, but other than that it should be all just like I remember it!”

“You don't suppose it would be wise to wait and-”

“Well! Enough talk, we got a race to win!” Yuugi declares, cutting off her worried-sounding passenger.

Without any further warning, you and the others are once again violently jolted as Yuugi breaks into a sprint and plunges you all head-first into the darkness of the tunnels.

Though you can see very little aside from the dark, blurred shapes of rocks rushing past you, you feel the impact of each step through your entire body, as the thundering crack of shoe on stone echoes through the narrow confines of the tunnel.
Though your eyes quickly grow accustomed to the lower level of light, you still have difficulty seeing too far ahead, with much of what you are able to see passing you by as soon as you realize you've seen it.
Even squinting your eyes does little to help you see more than a little bit further, with what you are able to make out of the path ahead ending in a solid wall of black.

A wall that is very quickly increasing in size.

And getting closer.

Very, very quickly.

Just as you begin to think there is either something wrong with this, or your vision, you hear Yuugi suddenly yell something.

WATCH YER HEADS!

As you feel Yuugi's body begin to lean forward, you become aware of two possibly-alarming facts:

That solid wall of black you were seeing was, in fact, a solid wall of rock.

...and it feels like Yuugi is running a lot faster than she was just a moment ago.



[ ] OH NO.

[ ] OH YEAH!

[ ] OH NO!

[ ] OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!


--------------------------------------------



Apologies for the delay. I caught a bitch of a cold a couple days ago, so writing time had to be replaced by "try to get as much sleep as possible despite waking up three times during the night because I can't fucking breathe" time for a little bit.

Fun times.
>> No. 151886
[x] OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!

I know that feel man, stuck with flu for 2 weeks now
>> No. 151887
[x] OH NO!

It's the human in me speaking, but I can't imagine how someone can spend 700 years underground. That is a very long time.
>> No. 151894
[x] OH NO.
You're supposed to throw rocks, not headbutt them!
>> No. 151895
You know, when you think about it, Parsee's one hell of a tragic figure: her suffering caused a very literal split personality disorder that assured her nothing but failure in everything she ever tries, either good or bad. Parsee will never find peace or even a moment's rest when she herself is her worst rival.
At least Yuugi is happy. You know, a Deva of the mountain in name only, quite the useless title if it's only useful as a constant reminder of a place she can never see again. She lives now underground, sorrounded by the lowest of Youkai and by what remains of her breathen, pitful shadows of their former selves I might add, exilied by the deceitful humans whom they once thought of as good rivals.
And let's not forget about Komeiji (The elder) Hated for using an ability that is as voluntary as breathing. She can read minds but not hearts, and thus, that sad-eyed girl that no-one loves, will never understand them.
What about her younger sister? The girl that denied herself and turned mad? She gave back the fruit of the tree of knoweldge and exchanged rationality for happiness; I personally believe she still remains human enough to understand and mourn for what she has lost.
Medicine? In a journey to defend pieces of plastic and wood so that she might forget about her terrible loneliness for a second. Rikako? A great scientist in a land where everything she worked for is worthless and everything she believed in is fiction.

Geez, I'm getting melodramatic. Updates where?
>> No. 151900
[x] OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!
>> No. 151901
[x] OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!
>> No. 151902
[x]OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!
>> No. 151905
[x] OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!
>> No. 151907
[x] OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!
>> No. 151914
[x] OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!
>> No. 151916
File 132574007318.png - (94.58KB , 320x320 , OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH.png ) [iqdb]
151916
[x]
>> No. 151919
File 132576096395.png - (1.32KB , 350x240 , Cave_Story_Balrog_Icon_by_Doctor_Cool.png ) [iqdb]
151919
>> No. 151947
>>151919
You fool!

His cry is HUZZAH!
>> No. 151952
>>151947
Actually, he's sort of right. In at least the DSIware and 3DS versions, it's 'oh yeah'. I was thrown off the first time I saw it, but I suppose it's appropriate as he does bust through a door at one point.
>> No. 151953
File 132580079587.jpg - (30.66KB , 516x504 , tenshi huzzah.jpg ) [iqdb]
151953
>>151952
>In at least the DSIware and 3DS versions, it's 'oh yeah'.
What the hell, really? That's awful.
>> No. 151954
>>151895
Actually, I wouldn't be surpsied if she herself is possessed as well. Looking at the way her other voice speaks, and then compare it to how the other entities inside of the MC talk. Parsee's "Other Half" starts to resemble a more 'developed' version of that. In which case, knocking her out and taking her with us just in case sounds like a reasonable course of action.
>> No. 151959
>>151954
You know, only in this story would a random discussion about knocking someone out and kidnapping them not only make sense, but also be somewhat justifiable.
>> No. 151967
File 132584162682.jpg - (148.67KB , 546x748 , drilltits not included.jpg ) [iqdb]
151967
“Oh no!” you hear Rikako say, realizing what was about to occur.

“Oh yeah!” you say, realizing the same thing.

“OH YEAH!” Yuugi shouts, angling her head to point her horn directly forward.

OH YEAH!” you reply.

OH YEAH!

OH YEAH!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!

Still shouting in unison with you, Yuugi slams into the rocky wall head-on. A thunderous crack can be heard as Oni horn pierces the stone, followed by deafening blast of pressure that you feel as much as hear. Closing your eyes, you duck your head down just in time to feel a spray of rock fragments bounce off of you. Your body shakes, your ears pop, and you think you even feel your bones vibrating a little.

And then, nothing.

No violent shaking.
No feeling of rocks breaking and bouncing off of your skull.

Just a loud, steady ringing in your ears, and the rhythmic pounding of Yuugi's feet on the ground.

As your hearing begins to return, you can hear Yuugi laughing heartily.
Though you realize that such a thing as what you just experienced is probably nothing to the average Oni, you still can't help but be impressed that she could laugh like that after ramming her head through a wall of solid rock. Horn first, no less!

While you ponder just how strong the skull and horns of an Oni are, you almost fail to notice Yuugi beginning to lean her body forward once again, the quickening of her footsteps, and the rapidly-approaching wall of darkness she was braced to collide with.



This process repeats itself no fewer than four times, though with all the shaking and noise interfering with your concentration, you may have lost count somewhere along the way.
Regardless, after a final push through a particularly formidable-looking caved-in passageway, your little band suddenly finds itself airborne over a large chasm Glancing around, you see it:

The bridge.

You did it! You actually did it!

Not under your own power, really, but you still did it!

From the deepest, darkest depths of the Earth, you have risen up! Climbing and crawling and digging your way up from the stuffy confines of the caves and into the open air of...the cave.

You're still in the cave.

Still in the dark.

But it's closer to the surface than you were before, and that's close enough to progress for you, damn it!


[ ] Winner's Circle

[ ] Runners Up

[ ] Did Not Finish
>> No. 151972
[x] Winner's Circle

huh, this will be wild
>> No. 151973
[x] Winner's Circle

I hope we didn't lose Medi during that
>> No. 151974
[x] Runners Up

This is probably a perspective vote~ Wanna see that Koishi/Tenshi.
>> No. 151975
[x] Runners Up
>> No. 151978
[x] Did Not Finish
DUke!

No, really, who didn't make it?
>> No. 151988
[x] Runners Up

I wonder if they were actually attempting to race. And if we're lost.

Maybe Koishi is being held by Medicine or something.
>> No. 152076
File 132610324110.jpg - (886.25KB , 3508x2480 , she didn't even eat the whole thing.jpg ) [iqdb]
152076
Damn it! Where did they go?!”

Seriously! What is with those morons?!
They make it sound like they're going to try to get out of here, and they just-
Just-

“...what the hell are they even doing?!”

“She jumped. They jumped. You do know what that is, don't you?”

Tch. Shut up.”

“No~.”


And, of course, they leave me with Miss Personality here!
What is with her, anyway?!
One minute she's all pathetic and mopey, and now she's back to being the world's biggest bitch!

It's like every fiber of her being has been specifically crafted for the sole purpose of pissing me off.

“Oh, there they are.”

“I see that.”

As if I couldn't!
As if anyone couldn't!

“What are those idiots doing?! Hopping around like that?!”

“Well, she did make it sound like this was a race. Hm~. Maybe this is how she intends to make it fair.”

What?
How stupid.

“That's stupid.”

“Well, maybe she thinks someone needs that much help. ...is what I would have said, but it looks like she's actually running now.”

“...what?!”

There's no way they would be-
...but they are.

Of course.
Of course they are.
Running.
Across the rooftops.
Like idiots.
Stupid running idiots.

“Of course, if it would still bother you, maybe I'll go ahead and say it anyway.”

“It doesn't.”

Really?

Really.

Really~?

Really.


Damn it all.

She's pissing me off.
She wants to piss me off.

And that just pisses me off even more!

“Oh, I can hardly see them now. Are you sure this doesn't bother you? Hm?”


Of course not!
Why would it bother me?
What's to be bothered by?

That stupid Oni wants to have some stupid race that she thinks she's going to win because she's an Oni so that obviously means she's so much better, so of course she's going to win because she's a stupid Oni and all they ever do is drink and win and laugh as they move in and make themselves at home and eat MY peach that I was saving and acts like it's no big deal because 'oh you have plenty of those things anyway' with that stupid 'nyahaha' even though that peach was specifically MINE and it's the principle of the thing but they don't care because even if they give you a rematch they know they're going to win anyway and that's what they do and like HELL am I going to let ANOTHER one rub it in my face!

“For not being bothered by any of this, you seem to be quickening your pace. Why could that b-”

“What's the fastest way out of here?”

“Oh~? Looks like somebody is-”

WHAT. IS. THE. FASTEST. WAY.

I am so not in the mood for this crap right now.
Not from her.
Not from them.

“H-hey! Let go of me! What are you doiAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!



- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


As Yuugi flies your group closer to the bridge, you are honestly surprised to find that you are not the first ones to have made it.

Seated on the railing, Tenshi sits with her arms crossed, somehow managing to look simultaneously annoyed yet pleased, not to mention somewhat more disheavled in apperance than you remember.
For a momement, you worry that Parsee didn't make it, but as you come in to land, you spot her curled up in a ball on the floor not too far from the Celestial, her clothes and hair looking just as mussed-up as Tenshi's.

“Not bad! Not bad!” Yuugi laughs, as you feel her feet settle onto the surface of the bridge. “Looks like ya really went all-out!”

With an indignant 'hrmph', Tenshi flicks some of her hair over her shoulder, sending a small puff of dust and what look like pebbles flying in the process. “That? Ha! That was nothing!”

Although being covered in dust and needing to pick small pieces of rock of your hair hardly seems like the result of anything you would consider 'nothing', you think it best to not say as much, especially since your own state is hardly any better.

Though curious as to exactly what they did to get there before you, the way Parsee was currently rocking back and forth on the ground while mumbling incoherently to herself suggests that it's not a subject you should broach just yet.
>> No. 152077
D'awww. Jealous Tenshi is adorable.
>> No. 152078
Hmm if Tenchi and Parsee are there, where's Koishi?
>> No. 152079
>>152078

Probably here and there. I'm a little worried too, but it IS Koishi. This kind of stuff is to be expected.
>> No. 152084
Adorably awesome. This update was even better than usual, even accounting for my pro-Tenshi bias.

>>152078
I hope she isn't Did Not Finish... though her staying with Satori would be a Good End of sorts.
>> No. 152087
>>152084
We all know better than that as Koishi's rather obsessed with the MC and wouldn't give up on him anytime soon.
>> No. 152168
>>152087

So...Cirno?
>> No. 152230
File 132644164824.jpg - (194.45KB , 800x703 , a5826f92757771b8a3a234266a57d0a0.jpg ) [iqdb]
152230
Sorry, guys, I've been slacking off lately.
I'm able to write a little, bit by bit, but every time I try to get something seriously done, a little voice starts talking to me. It tells me terrible things.

"Writing? That can wait! You have three more routes to clear!"

"Update? Sure, just as soon as you get that one ending you missed!"

"How is is the next meeting with Yuuka going to play out? Wouldn't you rather think about how great a Miki route would be? Let's think about that instead!"


It took some effort, but I believe I have managed to shove most of those thoughts out of my mind, save for this strangely-persistent craving I now have for bacon.

With any luck, an update should be ready either tomorrow or the day after. Probably.

>>152168
Nope.
>> No. 152239
>>152230

I wish Yamame was inside my head.
>> No. 152265
File 132653032691.jpg - (436.67KB , 708x1000 , I still want some bacon.jpg ) [iqdb]
152265
“Would you please let me down, now?” you hear Rikako ask, weakly.

“Huh? Oh! Haha! Right, right.”

Chuckling to herself, you feel Yuugi's body lean over slightly, followed by the sound of Rikako's unsteady footsteps as her feet make contact with the wooden surface of the bridge. As lab coat-clad woman takes a few wobbling steps towards the nearest railing, you briefly consider asking if she was alright, but decide against it. Partly, it is because you are unsure she would appreciate being asked a question with such a blatantly obvious answer.

“Hey, ya feelin' alright?”

...but, mostly, it's because Yuugi already beat you to the punch.

“Oh. Fine. I'm fine.” Rikako replies, leaning on the railing for support while looking as if she were ready to puke at any moment. “I think I just felt a few organs dislodge back there, is all. Nothing vital, but...eugh...”

Though she attempts to continue speaking, her words are quickly reduced to little more than unintelligible groans and mumblings as she leans her head over the side of the railing, though you think you catch something about 'stabilizers' and 'shock absorbers' in there, somewhere.

Whatever those things are.

With another hearty laugh, Yuugi offers an amused yet sincere apology as she lowers you and Medicine to the ground, before going over to the now-retching woman and offering to hold her hair back for her.

It's a nice gesture, you suppose, though you're not quite certain if it's meant to be an attempt to make amends for the rough ride, or if that's just the sort of thing that's considered common courtesy down here. Just how common is it for Oni to drink themselves to the point of vomiting? In the event that one does do such a thing, how likely is it that anybody else would be there to help? More to the point, if there were others around, just how many of them would not be too busy laughing to bother to help?

These are the sorts of questions that haunt you when you're alone and all the lights are out.

Except, of course, the lights aren't completely out.
You're not really alone, either.

Though Rikako and Yuugi seem to be occupied for the moment, Tenshi doesn't seem to be doing anything other than looking pleased with herself. The same could be said for Parsee, as well, though in her case she doesn't exactly look 'pleased' so much as 'horrifically traumatized'.

Now that you think about it, Medicine has been rather quiet, too.

Hm...


[ ]





--------------------------------------------


>>152239

You sure you wouldn't rather have it the other way around?

I know I would.
>> No. 152275
[x] Is Medicine okay? She's okay, right?
[x] Ask Tenshi how she won. Make sure Medicine learns something from the story of the Celestial and the Oni.

I'd rather be inside Satori's head. That's like getting multiple head-invasions for the price of one~
>> No. 152281
[x] Is Medicine okay? She's okay, right?
[x] Ask Tenshi how she won. Make sure Medicine learns something from the story of the Celestial and the Oni.

>I have managed to shove most of those thoughts out of my mind, save for this strangely-persistent craving I now have for bacon.
I'm pretty sure that's normal.
>> No. 152289
[x] Is Medicine okay? She's okay, right? How about Su-san?
[x] Where's Koishi?
>> No. 152295
[x] Is Medicine okay? She's okay, right?
[x] Ask Tenshi how she won. Make sure Medicine learns something from the story of the Celestial and the Oni.
>> No. 152297
[x] Ask Tenshi how she won. Make sure Medicine learns something from the story of the Celestial and the Oni.
[x] Where's Koishi?
>> No. 152308
[x] Is Medicine okay? She's okay, right? How about Su-san?
[x] Where's Koishi?

Inventory check.
>> No. 152486
File 132696086418.jpg - (101.86KB , 480x540 , not that getting lost is a problem.jpg ) [iqdb]
152486
Although your little companion is still in your arms, and you feel relatively certain there is nothing to worry about, you nevertheless find her silence to be mildly disconcerting.

“Hey, Medi?”

“...yeah?” you hear the doll in your arms reply, much to your relief.

“Are you okay? You've been kinda quiet.”

“...huh? Oh, uh, yeah...yeah...” the little doll-girl says, distractedly.

Is she not feeling well, you wonder?
You feel fine, as far as you can tell, so you had not really considered the possibility that the others may not have fared as well from that mad-dash through the caves.

The sounds of Rikako's dry-heaving over the railing of the bridge, however, tell you that this is clearly not the case.

Would Medicine get sick from something like that, though?
Is that even possible?
You don't really know how anyone could have an upset stomach when they don't even have a stomach to upset, but you suppose far stranger things have happened.

The image of the man eating his own head is one that you have never been able to fully purge from your mind.

With a barely-suppressed shudder, you bring your thoughts back to the present.

“I mean, are you feeling okay? You're not sick or anything, are you?”

“Um...I dunno...” she says, apparently needing to give the matter some thought.

“Should I let you go, now?” you ask, now wondering if you may have accidentally held her too tightly. Again, you're not sure how much of a problem that could be, but you wonder if you shouldn't err on the side of caution, just in case.

After a long pause, you see Medicine's head make the slightest of nods.
Making sure to move as slowly and carefully as possible, you gently lower her to ground, releasing your hold when you are certain her feet have made contact with the surface of the bridge.

“U-um, Su-san is...” you hear Medicine quietly say, apparently still talking to you despite not turning around to face you, for some reason.

Though you would never forget the smaller doll of the duo, especially when you can still feel her tightly gripping your collar and part of your ear, it is only now that you realize that she has also been rather quiet throughout your trip through the caves.

Then again, she's pretty much always like that, so you really aren't sure how much of a cause for concern that really is.

Looking over at your shoulder, you catch sight of the little doll out of the corner of your eye, still perched upon your shoulder, though no longer sitting on it so much as desperately clinging for dear life.

“...I don't think Su-san likes going fast very much.” you hear Medicine quietly explain.

While you found the ride enjoyable, yourself, you can still see how one might find the experience of charging through a dark cave with reckless abandon and getting pelted with rocks whenever you crashed through a wall or collapsed tunnel more than a little unnerving. Especially when the rocks hitting you, while small by your own standards, were easily the size of the smaller doll's head.
When you think about it, it's actually quite amazing she wasn't knocked off anywhere along the way, lost in the darkness of the cave.

The remarkable death-grip she currently has on you may have had something to do with that.

Deciding to take a chance, you cautiously bring your hand up to your shoulder and gently poke the little doll, but see no response beyond a small puff of purplish smoke rising from her head.

“Um, I'm sure she's fine, Medi.” you say with a tone so unconvincing that not even you really believe it. “She's probably just, uh, resting. Yeah, resting.”

“...resting?”

“Yep! Resting! You can do that, right? Resting? Because that's probably what she's doing. Resting, that is.”

Yes. Resting.
She is surely just resting.
Taking a nap.
A little doll-nap.
Perfectly normal.

Even if that was not true, you're sure she will snap out of it, anyway.
Eventually.

You just hope it will be in open-air, and away from anyone's eyes when it happens.

Making a mental note to try to remain downwind from everyone else until your little passenger wakes up, you turn your attention towards a certain Celestial...
>> No. 152488
Looking forward to Tenshi
>> No. 152492
Looks like it was a little too much excitement for the smallest doll. Yuugi will probably want to do more stuff like this in the future, we just need to keep it calmer I guess.
>> No. 152499
As much as i love medi but oh god, tenshi time.
>> No. 152556
File 132710941593.jpg - (87.58KB , 596x640 , how did you guessed my age.jpg ) [iqdb]
152556
TENCHUUSHI!
YES
>> No. 152558
Huzzah! for Tenshi-time.
>> No. 152560
Thank you for giving us adequate time to prepare our bodies for tsundere Tenshi. I shudder to think about what would have happened if such a thing had been posted with no warning.
>> No. 152562
File 13271351249.png - (405.62KB , 800x800 , 24262760.png ) [iqdb]
152562
>>152560
Maybe it's the lack of sleep, the limited ability of text to convey tone and intent on the internet, or just the bizarre notion of being thanked for taking too long to complete and post an update, but I honestly can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not.

Perhaps you're not. After all, I still have trouble believing anyone is actually serious when they complain about stories updating too quickly. I mean, that's just crazy talk.

Still, in the event that you actually are serious, you'll be happy to know that you have another whole day to properly prepare yourself for whatever it is you're anticipating that I will probably fail to deliver upon.
Unless, of course, all you are expecting is an update with Tenshi in it, because it will have that.
>> No. 152581
>>152562
>I will probably fail to deliver upon.

Doesn't matter; still Tenshi.
>> No. 152584
File 13272243457.jpg - (91.18KB , 500x500 , to be continued.jpg ) [iqdb]
152584
Still seated on the railing, Tenshi seems to have been alternating between watching your dealing with the dolls and Rikako losing her breakfast with varying degrees of interest and disgust. Upon realizing that she, herself, was being watched, you notice her posture straighten slightly as she adopts a look of feigned disinterest mixed with genuine smugness.

Well?” she suddenly says in that way that people often do when they clearly expect you to say something and feel you are taking entirely too long to say it..

That you have no clue what you were expected to say does not help matters.

“Uh, 'well' what?” you ask, hoping for some sort of clue as to what, exactly, she's wants to hear.
All you get, though, is a look from the Celestial that gives you the distinct impression that whatever it was, that question was not it.

Loudly clearing her throat, Tenshi tilts her head slightly while continuing to glare at you. Combined with the way her arms were folded, she gives off an almost perfect image of someone impatiently waiting for something. Which, of course, she was.
The only way the look could be more complete would be if she were also tapping her foot on the ground, and were she currently standing rather than sitting, you have no doubt that's exactly what she would be doing.

She stares at you.
You stare at her.
She stares at you staring at her.
As you stare at her staring at you staring at her, a sudden thought crosses your mind.

“Oh!” you say, wondering how you could fail to realize something so obvious. “You're sitting on the railing! You probably shouldn't do that!”

“...what.” Tenshi replies, looking as if you had just said the stupidest possible thing you could have said.

But it's not!
It's a perfectly reasonable observation.
Realizing that some clarification may be necessary, you continue.

“It's just that it's dangerous, you know? You might fall or something!”

“...fall.” she says, flatly.

“Yeah, fall! I mean, sure, you can fly, but that doesn't mean that you couldn't still get hurt if you, uh...um...hit the... ground? Or, maybe, uh...huh.” you say, realizing a little too late that, yes, that really was the stupidest thing you could have said at that moment.

Well, not the stupidest thing, you're sure.
If nothing else, you like to believe you're always open to the possibility of surpassing yourself, for better or worse.

Still, this might not be the best time to see how deep a hole you can dig for yourself
You need to shift gears, preferably to something less absurd than the suggestion that a quasi-immortal being with the ability to fly would ever have to worry about falling and hurting herself...
>> No. 152588
[x] Quick praise her for winning, maybe she'll overlook stupidity.
>> No. 152589
[x] Quick praise her for winning, and pray she'll overlook stupidity.
>> No. 152590
[x] Quick praise her for winning, and pray she'll overlook stupidity.
>> No. 152591
Sorry for double-post. Ignore one of above (152589 and 152590) answers.
>> No. 152594
>that really was the stupidest thing you could have said at that moment.

No! What if her foot gets stuck on the railing as she falls and tries to fly back up? She might twist or sprain something, or her shoe might fall down somewhere.

Clearly he is actually the most smartest person.
>> No. 152598
File 132726178524.png - (1.44MB , 995x995 , 24035415.png ) [iqdb]
152598
That was the opposite of a letdown.
>> No. 152624
[x] Quick praise her for winning, maybe she'll overlook stupidity.
>> No. 152647
[x] Quick praise her for winning, and pray she'll overlook stupidity.
>> No. 152649
[x] A shower of praises and hugs!
>> No. 152709
File 13274885433.jpg - (427.54KB , 741x900 , well yeah that was pretty awesome.jpg ) [iqdb]
152709
Quick! a little voice in your head says to you. Praise her for winning!

Winning? Well, you do suppose that there was a race going on, if only between Tenshi and Yuugi.
And, as far as you can tell, Tenshi did arrive at the bridge before your group did, meaning she was the winner of that race.

That is surely worthy of some sort of acknowledgment and praise, isn't it?

Though the success rate for ideas acquired from voices in your head has proven to be spotty, at best, you can see no flaws in this particular suggestion. Hell, it may very well have been something that you would have come up with on your own!

Assuming, of course, that you haven't come up with it on your own. Which you have. Totally.

“Oh yeah! Congratulations on your victory!”

For a moment, Tenshi just stares at you blankly, as if unsure that she heard you properly. Before long, though, realization eventually sinks in. In an instant, a variety of moods and expressions play across her face, too subtle and fleeting to identify yet distinctive enough to notice.

“O-oh? Well!” the Celestial finally replies, having apparently decided to try to conceal her surprise despite not doing a good job of it. “Of course! As if there was any doubt what would happen!”

“What did happen?” you ask, genuinely curious as to just how she managed to beat you here. “Besides winning, I mean.”

“Oh? What's that? You want to know how I beat you? Here?” Tenshi says, any traces of her previous irritation having completely vanished. On the contrary, she seems to be quite enjoying herself, now. A lot. “Well, I don't know... Some things should just be accepted for what they are, rather than-”

She took out that glowing pig-sticker of hers and smashed through every fucking rock between here and the city, is what she fucking did.

“Oh, great, you're awake.” Tenshi scoffs at the bridge princess, who was now carefully rising to her feet.

“No thanks to you.” Parsee hisses, holding onto the railing for support. “That's the second time today I thought I was going to die!”

“And yet, you live to whine another day. How wonderful.” Tenshi retorts, sarcasm dripping from every word. “You're welcome, by the way!”

“Parsee? Are you feeling okay now?” you ask, deciding to risk stepping in before either of them get too carried away. Not that you could do anything to actually stop them, of course, but you can at least try to distract them from each other.

“Ah, w-well, yes...a little...” Parsee replies, her tone and demeanor drastically changing as she looks from Tenshi to you. Switching from bitter and spiteful to shy and pleasant with such speed it makes your neck ache, you're not sure if these mood swings are something you'll ever truly get used to. “I think being back here is helping me, a little. ...of course, if someone actually listened to me when she was dragging me back here...”

Annnnnd there goes your neck again.

Listen? To what?! You screaming like a baby over a few little broken rocks? Psh! Some guide you turned out to be!”

“You almost brought the fucking cave down on us, you crazy bitch!”

“Yeah? So?” Tenshi says, crossing her arms, and making no attempt at all to refute the charges against her. “I didn't, we won, and here you are complaining about it!”

“Because you almost. Fucking. Killed us!”

“I see you talking, but all I hear is 'WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!' Move on already! Sheesh!


As this back-and-forth between them continues, you wonder if you should even bother trying to intervene, or simply sit back and enjoy the show. Then again, you could probably just start walking and hope they'll follow along, arguing or not.


[ ] Attempt to defuse the situation. Can't we all just get along?

[ ] Attempt to escalate the situation. Here's the knife, do something with the knife.

[ ] Ignore the situation. Okay, people! Move it! Move it!
>> No. 152710
[x] Ignore the situation. Okay, people! Move it! Move it!

Defusing the situation would be nice. I'm not a nice person. But attemping to make it worse is awful. I'm a nice person. So I'm taking the third option.
>> No. 152711
[x] Attempt to escalate the situation. Here's the knife, do something with the knife.

Something like "Parsee, why can't you come with us?" would defuse and escalate at the same time.

Or we could escalate Tenshi's smug level by noting Yuugi used the same tactic with worse results.
>> No. 152714
[x] Attempt to defuse the situation. Can't we all just get along?

Now now, let's not start a fight and tire ourselves just before meeting a murderous youkai waiting for us.
>> No. 152715
Why can't we all just get along?
>> No. 152716
[X] Attempt to defuse the situation. Can't we all just get along?
>> No. 152717
[X] Attempt to defuse the situation. Can't we all just get along?

We need to keep our unattainable haremettes who don't actually want us happy.
>> No. 152718
[ ] Attempt to escalate the situation. Here's the knife, do something with the knife.
[x] Give knife to Tenshi.
>> No. 152719
[x] Ignore the situation. Okay, people! Move it! Move it!

Arguing with each other is how they show they care.
>> No. 152720
[x] Attempt to escalate the situation. Here's the knife, do something with the knife.

I am guided by an evil hand here. It's not like i would ever vote for something like this to happen.
>> No. 152721
[x] Attempt to defuse the situation. Can't we all just get along?
>> No. 152723
[X] Ignore the situation. Okay, people! Move it! Move it!
Is there a situation? I thought this was normal!
>> No. 152725
[X] Ignore the situation. Okay, people! Move it! Move it!

Escalation has a chance of US being the one stabbed.

I'm fairly sure that at least one previous attempt at defusing something like this got us hurt as well.

Get things moving before they have a chance to think about things!
>> No. 152741
[x] Attempt to defuse the situation. Can't we all just get along?

If we don't deal with it now, it'll blow up in our faces later.
>> No. 152745
>“O-oh? Well!” the Celestial finally replies, having apparently decided to try to conceal her surprise despite not doing a good job of it. “Of course! As if there was any doubt what would happen!”

...I may just be a Tenshi fanboy, but I hnnnged a little.

[X] Ignore the situation. Okay, people! Move it! Move it!

We just had a one-off "actually saying something that doesn't actively piss someone off/confuse them", I say we don't push our luck.
>> No. 152856
File 132777824859.png - (1.24MB , 1000x1618 , I bet she wants a pony.png ) [iqdb]
152856
“Well, the important thing is that you both got here, and you're safe now, right?” you say, stepping in between the bickering duo. Though you doubt they'll escalate things in any significant way, you get the feeling they're going to need all the energy they've got for what's waiting for you on the surface.

First.” Tenshi says, a hint of smugness returning to her voice as she looks at you. “We got here first.”

“Yes. Yes you did.” you nod, agreeing with this statement of a fact you were already aware of.

“...and?” the Celestial asks, expectantly.

“Umm...” you pause, unsure of what she was wanting you to say, this time. “Congratulations? Again?”

Once again, Tenshi folds her arms and gives you that look that tells you that you gave the wrong answer. As for what that answer might be, however, you have no clue.

Fortunately, you soon realize that a clue isn't even necessary.

“We won. I won.” Tenshi says slowly, seemingly more than willing to spell out the answer for you. “Winners get something for winning.”

So she wants a prize?
Well, she did win the race, so it seems only fair, though you don't know what you could possibly give her that she would want.

Rock-throwing lessons, perhaps?
Though beating an Oni in a contest of any sort is certainly impressive, that might be too great a prize for a contest such as this.

Deciding that the victor should be able to declare her own reward, you ask Tenshi what she might want as a prize, only to have her scoff and turn her head away.

Ha! As if you have anything I want!” she says, sounding almost proud of that fact. For a moment, you think that's all she has to say on the matter, until you hear a rushed and semi-mumbled “...I'll think of something later.”

“Fair enough.” you say, with a shrug. You can't deny that you are seriously lacking in anything you could give away, at the moment. You didn't have all that much on you before you came into this cave, and while you did manage to score a nice robe out of the deal, you don't even have the clothes you once wore on your back.

Well, technically you still did, even if they were now much smaller and darker than they once were.
Also, burnt beyond all recognition. That, you feel, is an especially significant difference.

But now was not the time to dwell on the past, or on what was lost!
Look to the future! Live in the now!
If only because doing it the other way around doesn't really work so well!

With Tenshi's prize yet to be determined, your attention now turns to the other winner of the race, even if her contribution to their victory was limited to screaming in terror as a competition-crazed Celestial forcibly dragged her through the tunnels while smashing through anything that got in her way.

Now that you think of it, that sort of thing probably warrants a reward of some sort, regardless of whether or not they won.

“Hey, Parsee...”


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