Previous: >>19278

Not what I had planned, not what I had expected, not a lot of other things. But here it is, as is, no more delays. Otherwise I'd be stuck forever. I apologize and hope we can move on now with faster and regular updates. I hope to make up my shortcomings here over time.

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Her request weighs upon you for a moment. It's an invitation for you to be honest and say what you want to say. There's a lot of that. There's a lot that you feel, that you want to try to put into words. She's giving you a chance for that.

But first thing's first, you decide.

“Well, you know... I just have to clear some things up... this trip, it's not really what I pictured what it would be.” You pictured something else... what that was you're not 100% sure, but it wasn't this you know. The original had something of a more relaxed vibe. More unrepentant fun and no complications. The cool night air helps you choose your words carefully, the stars whispering the right words to you, “I wanted to spend some time alone with you, with my buddy, away from Eientei, away from all that madness. You know, have fun and laugh and be ourselves. Lately there's just been so much asked of us that, I don't know, it just felt right to do this. I thought that a lot of what was going on might have been upsetting you, and I thought we could both do well to unwind. Without Eirin or the rabbits or whoever else breathing down our necks.”
“I know your intentions weren't bad,” Kaguya states, “Otherwise I wouldn't have come along. I, um, have faith in you.”
“Thank you.” You thank her solemnly. Her faith in you means the world to you, you realize. It's a vote of confidence that's hard to quantify in terms of just how exactly it makes you feel. It's like being accepted for you yourself, in spite of your faults. It's the stuff of good relationships.
“I'm sorry if I've made you feel uncomfortable, if I've made you feel nervous. I didn't mean to.” You pause, half-expecting her to remind you of

Previous: >>18781
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“To lipstick and beautiful clothes.” You propose with a smile.
“To the lack of ties and open flies.” She replies with an impish grin. You look down at your trousers quickly. The black material is properly set. Kaguya giggles.
“Nice one.” You give her a disaffected shrug, trying to make it look like she didn't embarrass you. “Should have seen it coming.”

You meet her gaze with your own and carry on. A proper toast involves eye contact. Like any oath.

“In any case, to a special evening. Cheers.”
“Cheers.” She raises her glass a bit and then clinks it with yours. The contents swirl a bit, coming up to the rim.

The wine tastes wonderful. It has a smooth full-bodied taste that can only be achieved by careful cultivation and storage. It's not a sweet wine, nor does it have much in the way of fruitiness, but it certainly has its own unique character. This is the kind of wine that would be offered at exclusive establishments you conclude. You're mentally singing the wine's praises, but you think that you'd advertise the vineyard pro bono just because it's that awesome. Bacchus or whoever his equivalent is in Gensokyo is probably very pleased.

“We shouldn't let the food get cold.” You put down the glass. “Please help yourself.”

Kaguya serves herself a polite amount of food, keeping from overcrowding her dish. You do the same, getting a little bit of this and that.

“Don't forget,” Kaguya reaches out to uncover a pot, “There's this as well.” Her culinary concoction is exposed, the face inside smiling stupidly at you. “I hope you'll like it.”
“Oh.” You dig in, bringing a spoonful of it to your plate. “What is it?”
“It's a little something I learned to make once. It's hard to make so I wouldn't have tried if not for the punishment.” With that she reveals the fact that she worked hard on it.
“I see. The face is a nice touch. Feel a bit bad about taking chunks away from it.”
�

[ ] Don’t answer.
- [ ] Give a valid reason.
- [ ] I think I already answered your question, comrade Aya. Now, if you want to know the most intimate details of my relationship with all the people in Eientei I must say… that’s none of your - or your readers’ - business.
[ ] Now, Miss Suwako, if you’d come with me, I’d like to make a toast to everyone. What for? Well, now that you’ve reminded me of him, I’d like to make a toast… to our families.

“I think I already have the question answered, didn’t I comrade Aya?” You take a chug from the vodka bottle. “Now, if you want to know the most intimate details of my relationship with all the people in the Eientei.” You pause as to take another chug. “I must say… that’s none of your - or your readers' - business.”
Aya sulks. “Then what about my article? I can’t have it printed until I have something written in it!”

“Well, you can do that for the interview about my wartime experience, instead.”

“Aw, that’s not fun at all!” Aya retorts.

“Easy there, Aya, you’ll get your article someday,” Suwako convinces.

“But what about my article…?” Aya sobs.

With your business with Aya done you turn your attention to the goddess of the Moriya Shrine. “Now, Miss Suwako, if you’d come with me, I’d like to make a toast to everyone.” You empty the vodka bottle before you get another one from the servants. “What for? Well, now that you’ve reminded me of him, I’d like to make a toast… to our families.”

“Oh? That sounds fun!” Suwako calls the servant for a bottle of vodka, and she just grins when you look at her intriguingly. “Hehe, I’ve wanted to practice this tradition once in a while.”

“You aren’t an oni, you know,” you point out.

“Well, at least I can pretend that I am,” she answers.

You laugh. “I like that.” You clank the bottle you’re holding with Suwako’s and drink from it. “So, to our families in Gensokyo and Mother Russia.”

Suwako smiles and takes a gulp of alcohol from the bottle. “Indeed,

Thunder.

It is the first thing you notice.

Thunder roaring in your ears.

Pounding away at your brain like a never ending storm.

No. That isn’t thunder, you realize. It’s your own heartbeat, hammering your chest as your consciousness swims in red and black darkness. Mutedly, you hear some odd beeping in the distance, but that doesn’t concern you now. What does is the bizarre exhaustion that saps every bit of strength from your limbs. Your arms, your legs, your head, it all feels so heavy, dizzy, and wet.

Wet? Ah. There’s something running down your face, slick and warm. Is it blood? Your blood? Probably. You force your eyes open, cringing at the wave of dizziness and nausea that follows. What you see is a spiderweb of cracks, smeared red with trails of carmine dribbling down. You’re wearing a helmet, it seems, but beyond that you can’t seem to make heads or tails of what you are doing and why everything just feels horrible. Apparently you are slumped over something too, placing an uncomfortable pressure against your chest.

Where the hell are you? What in the world happened?

With great effort, you manage to lift your head a scant few centimeters up. Through the distortion caused by the cracks, you can make out something green. It is widespread, going as far as your blurry vision can make out. Is it daytime? Night? Damn. It’s so hard to keep your head up…

You let your head drop, something you regret immediately as the impact sends a fresh wave of nauseating dizziness and incredible crushing pain into your skull.

“Uunnggghh…” you manage to groan out, but to what avail? You’re hurt. Badly. That much is obvious. Everything else, however, is but a whirling mess of disorienting agony. Even worse is your slipping grasp of reality, the shadows of your mind consuming your consciousness rapidly. The darkness consumes your vision, and you know no more.

…

…

You hear voices. Far away. Near. Indistinct. Clear. Nothing else is apparent to you, other than these muddled sounds. Fading in and out of consciousness, you pick up bits and pieces of some kind of conversation.

“We don’t…

Black...

It's been like this for who knows how long, but you soon come to and find yourself laying on the ground, dust covering your robes. You remember that you are a mage...well a freelancing apprentice as you have yet no teacher. Even so, your spells are elementary at best, not enough to truly take down anything of significant strength. All you truly know is some cantrips, elementary telekinetic abilities, and some danmaku.

You remember being mugged by some unsavory fellows, tossed out here in the Bamboo Forest as a cruel...and quite possibly deadly joke. In fact, you wonder why nothing has eaten you yet!

Still, you are lost in a foreboding place with nothing but a few magical tricks and a knife. Everything else was taken from you though, making things seem rather disheartening.

Then she comes...

You have heard of these strange youkai, and aren't immediately frightened as they can be friendly at times. Still you are cautious as a mysterious earth bunny bounds up to you. You are amazed that an earth rabbit even would present itself to you!

Before you can even question your circumstances, the bunny bows and says, “Greetings poor downtrodden human! Are you tired of bad luck, misfortune, and all around miserable outcomes? Well lucky you, I've decided to take time out of my busy evening to be the first to offer you Tewi's Inaba's Fortune Services!”

She notes the most likely confused expression very quickly, and before you can even answer, she says, “You look like someone who dabbles with magic no? Well then you happen to catch me at a good time. I have on me some top notch magical scrolls that you might be interested in. I can also find a way out of the Bamboo Forest for you! But there's a price to pay for my generous services, and seeing as you have no money most likely...”

She thinks for a moment, and even as you watch, you are just completely baffled and awestruck at the situation. Going from being beaten to talking with eccentric magical bunnies; well you are a mage. It's almost guaranteed you will come across odd things in your studies.

Tewi snaps her fingers as an

Previous thread >>17620

“There is something else actually.” You say, voice coming out strangely steady. Your buddy looks at you with something of a reserved expression. She seems hesitant to even mouth the logical followup question. You don't let the initiative wither away from you and into awkward silence. At least not yet.

You suggest something again, not joking in the least.

“We should go. Leave together.”

Time seems to stop in the room. Matt walls and equally dull floor are suddenly more vivid. You think that it may be an illusion; Kaguya looks still, remarkably so, like the quiet visage usually found in an old photograph. Your suggestion is out in the open. And for what may have been either an hour or a few seconds she seems to try to make meaning of your words, as if they were said in a foreign language.

It goes without saying that you can't tell what she's thinking at first - If anything at all.

“The others are waiting for us.” She finally says silently, as if you hadn't said anything at all.
“We should leave. Just the two of us.” You repeat yourself.
“This isn't the time to be joking.” She smiles awkwardly.

You get up, offering your hand to her.

“I'm not joking.” You say with a straight face. “Does it look like I'm joking?” Normally, after saying something like that, you'd feel like smiling, but you're all business now.
“...You really mean it, huh.” She mumbles just loud enough.
“Yeah, I do. Let's go out, have fun, make some memories. All of that. It's not a bad idea I'm sure.”
“What about the others?”
“I don't really care right now. All of that stuff can wait, what's important is our having fun together.” You shrug, adding, “They'll understand. And Eirin always seems to have everything covered.”
“You'd really leave them all without a second thought?”
“I'll even carry you if I have to.”

And while you keep your intent clear, you return to the p

Post any Tei-licious pics here!

(My new year present, can I have it?)

Kaguya Imagethread!

[ ] Answer the question.
[ ] Tell Ran it’s your duty as a soldier of the Red Army to prepare them (Kaguya, Reisen, Tewi and Aya) for upcoming battles, and that you have the responsibility to shape them into better people.

“It is my duty of as a soldier of the Red Army to prepare them for upcoming battles,” you begin. “What’s the use of a soldier’s skill if he cannot implement it in the battlefield and be responsible to shape his underlings to become better people?”

“I can see that, but why Eientei?” Ran asks.

You laugh. “Ah… the answer for the question has always eluded me ever since the inception,” you utter. “The only thing I’m aware of about it… is that these people- no, bearers of the flag of the Revolution must know their role in defending the Motherland from the ruthless grip of the invaders. Hmm… I just remembered something.”

“Which is?” the fox lady inquires again.

“It occurs to me that I forgot to teach them the anthem of the Motherland,” you answer with a heartily laugh. “What a foolish I am, proudly speaking of my role as her defender yet didn’t even bother praising her on daily basis.”

“That would be an interesting sight to see,” Ran says.

“I know. Say, Miss Ran, how much you know about the Great Patriotic War?” you ask. “And while we’re at it, would you like to tell me anything about you and Yukari.”

“Hmm…” Ran scratches her chin, but quickly shakes her head. “I’d like to discuss them with you, especially the Great Patriotic War - that’s my favourite topic, by the way - but you know me, being the one who has to take care of Miss Yukari’s welfare even when she’s capable to.” She sighs but says anything about the Lady of Boundaries. “Remind me about them the next time we meet, okay?”

You nod. “I’m unsure if we’ll ever meet again, but I’ll keep it in mind.”
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The room cleaning is finished an hour later and the three of you leave the storeroom to return to the lobby. Nothing interesting is discussed among you, Rinnosuke and Ran although the shopkeeper does comment on the downpour a

Posting som Reisen.