[x] Maybe you should see what the nice bunny is up to.
[x] Maybe you should find Kogasa's room and keep an eye on her while she sleeps.

The princess can wait until another time on better terms; now it's more like thanking Reisen and keeping an eye on Kogasa to make up for our STUPID decision.

But to the writer; I have a question; if we've gone to the Sanzu, would anyone gotten hurt?

Well, I make up a lot of this stuff as I go, so I'm not entirely sure. But probably not. I can't think of any reason you would get hurt, anyway.

And the decision was only stupid from a meta perspective, really. Your character had no idea that some flower fields are more likely to contain psychotic murders then others.

[X] Maybe you should see what the nice bunny is up to.
[X] Maybe you could snoop around and see what kind of medical technology they have here.
- [X] Maybe they have delicious medicine too!

PEELS HERE

[x] Maybe you should see what the nice bunny is up to.
[x] Maybe you should find Kogasa's room and keep an eye on her while she sleeps.

> Treating Kogasa for free? It's like you are suddenly in Canada, or some other crazy backwards commie non-American place like that.

You fucking raciest.

[X] Maybe you should see what the nice bunny is up to.
[X] Maybe you should find that Tewi bitch and show her what you think about hanging upside-down for an hour.
[X] Maybe you should find Kogasa's room and keep an eye on her while she sleeps.

[x] Maybe you should see what the nice bunny is up to.
[x] Maybe you should find Kogasa's room and keep an eye on her while she sleeps.

[x] Maybe you should find that Tewi bitch and show her what you think about hanging upside-down for an hour.
Blast in the face, no questions asked.
And then we move on to
[x] Maybe you should find Kogasa's room and keep an eye on her while she sleeps.

[x] Maybe you should see what the nice bunny is up to.
[x] Maybe you should find Kogasa's room and keep an eye on her while she sleeps.

>>25576
Anon voted for this with the intent to meet Yuuka, forgetting that being around on her flower fields usually pisses her off. So due to Anon's moronic idea, a supposedly fun day ends with Kogasa in the hospital. Now we'll be in some drama and angst.

>>25581
Sounds more like he used to watch Fox news.

[x] Maybe you should see what the nice bunny is up to.
[x] Maybe you should find that Tewi bitch and show her what you think about hanging upside-down for an hour.
[x] Maybe you should find Kogasa's room and keep an eye on her while she sleeps.

>But not fun.
Also like Canada.

The protagonist's views do not represent my views, yada yada yada.

---

[x] Maybe you should see what the nice bunny is up to.
[x] Maybe you should find that Tewi bitch and show her what you think about hanging upside-down for an hour.
[x] Maybe you should find Kogasa's room and keep an eye on her while she sleeps.

Okay, while looking for princesses might sound interesting, you don't feel like it. All princesses are either boring or spunky, and you don't like the sound of spunky. It sounds like the kind of word that is willing to kick you and steal your stuff. You like your stuff, even if you don't have that much in Gensokyo.
So, time to go see to the bunnies.

Okay. Which bunny do you look for first? The nice (and sexy) one, or that Tewi bitch?

Well, you don't really know your way around here, so you might as well deal with them as you find them.

You put the newspaper back, and leave the room. Time to wander at random, and keep your eyes peeled for pit traps in the middle of the mansion or whatever.

---

Jeeze, this place is big. And it has no landmarks. It's like they thought that since they were making a mansion in the bamboo forest of the lost, it had to be a mansion of the lost also.
As you wander, you see a great number of rabbits. Not rabbit-people, but just ordinary rabbits. They stare at you out of doorframes. They hop around with a surprising sense of purposefulness as you go about your wandering. They are everywhere! Why are there so many rabbits here? Maybe they are the animal forms of rabbit youkai? You are pretty sure you heard that animal youkai can switch between human and animal form.
This many bunnies in here... is this a Gensokyo equivalent of the playboy mansion?

Wait, maybe you can stop one and ask for directions?

That bunny doesn't look too busy... you lean over and pick it up. Nice necklace it has on... has a little carrot.

"Hey, can you give me directions?"

It nods.

"Can you take me to Tewi?"

It shakes it's head. Loyalty, or does it just not know?
Well, your second target, then.

"Can you take me to..." Wait, shit, you don't know her name. "...the sexy one?"

It nods.

You put it down, and it scampers off.

You have to hurry after it. It's going pretty fast!

---

After a series of confusing twists and turns, it leads you to a door.
It stops in front of the door. Okay, this is probably the spot.

You open the door, and walk in...

And fall. This room seems to be empty except for a large hole.

You turn around. Standing in the doorframe is Tewi. She's snickering at you.

Goddamit Tewi!

You fly out of the hole and try to grab her by the throat, but she ducks under your lunge and punches you in the gut.
You cringe, and your arms reflexively swing down as you soar above her... and you quickly charge energy into your hand, and turn the reflexive motion into the tossing of a danmaku bullet.

You catch Tewi square on the head, and she is knocked to the ground.

And then you hit your head on the ceiling.

This definitely won't cause any perminant damage to you, but goddamn did it hurt. You pull yourself off the ground, nursing your head, and turn to Tewi.

Payback time.

---

Well, she won't be troubling you any further for a while. You left her alive, but unless she is a master escape artist she's gonna have to wait till someone finds her tied to the wall in that broken room.

You considered asking her for directions to the other bunny, but you decided against it. She would probably give you bad directions again.
Well, time to wander some more...

Maybe you should start looking in rooms.

That one? No, empty.

That one? Also empty.

That one? A whole lot of rabbits, but otherwise empty.

...maybe she is taking on a rabbit form also? Somehow you imagine that if she did she would be very distinctive. A rabbit with purple fur or something. But what if she is just in the form of an ordinary rabbit? You could have passed her a hundred times already!

Okay, a rabbit. "Hey, you. Are you sexy?"
The rabbit hops off. You were trying to talk to it! That was rude!

Another rabbit. Try two. "Hey, rabbit. Are you female and single?" Wait a second, that came out wrong.
It nods. Wait, what? Shit, did you just commit to something?
Need to clear this misunderstanding, and fast! "I... I mean... that came out wrong. Uh, I didn't really mean..."
The rabbit hops off, crying.
Oh dammit, you feel like the bad guy here.

Maybe a different approach is needed. Okay, another rabbit. "Hey, remember me?"
It shakes it's head.

Okay, this rabbit doesn't remember you either...

This rabbit doesn't remember you...

Oh! This rabbit just nodded! ...oh, wait, it was a rabbit you already talked to.

Oh, this is going nowhere.

"What are you doing?"

You turn around. Sexy bunny is behind you. "I was looking for you."

"Oh, me? Why?"

"I..." Why were you looking for her? You aren't really sure. "Well, you seemed pretty nice, and I have the rest of the day to kill."

"Oh. Well, I'm not very interesting. Eirin always has me do chores and tasks." She pauses. "Speaking of, I have been told to inform you that it's lunch time."

Oh. "Okay, I'll come."

---

Lunch time, eh? This is a pretty big table, but the only other person here is sexy bunny. Well, there are a lot of other rabbits, but they aren't at the table per-say.

"So, uh, what's your name?"

"I'm Reisen Undongen Inaba."

"That's a... long name."

"Oh, Reisen was my original name. Undongen is just Eirin's nickname for me, and Inaba is the Princess's."

"Okay." ...your mind is blanking on conversational topics. "Why are we the only ones here?"

"I think Eirin is busy with the Princess. Something about her MMORPG habit being unhealthy. I'm not sure about Tewi. She usually makes meals. Maybe she's off to some mischeif somewhere else."

Heh, Tewi sure is up to something somewhere else. Up to a wall, and held there by a lot of rope.
But the other part makes sense. So that's why Eirin mentioned a tantrum. Wait, MMORPGS? "You get internet out here?"

"It's a special line the Princess had built. I heard she owes Lady Yukari a great deal for it."

"So, what MMORPG does she play?"

"I don't know. I'm not very familiar with Earth games, except the ones that are common in Gensokyo."

Fair enough. Wait, 'Earth games'? Eh, it might be rude to bring it up. "So, uh, what do you do here?"

"A lot of menial work. My official position is the Princess's pet, but I do some manual labor too, and get sent to the village to sell medicine." Well, she would make a good peddler, due to her sex appeal. You can't imagine her being good for anything else though, for some reason.

The rest of the meal consists mostly of small talk. She really isn't all that interesting a person, honestly. She is far too stable. Not quirky enough.

---

Well, maybe you should check up on Kogasa.

You ask Reisen for directions before leaving lunch, and she helpfully provides them. Finally, you have an idea of where to go!

A short and uneventful walk later, you find yourself at some sort of sick room.
In one of the beds is Kogasa, sleeping rather peacefully.
Her umbrella is on the dresser beside her, and so are her clothes. She is currently in a simple, hand-me-down looking dress, and presumably has bandages under that.
Her breathing sounds much stronger now, though, and you can hear that her pulse is recovering also.
Over all, it looks like she will definitely make a recovery after all. You're relieved.

You pull up a chair, and stand watch over her for a bit. Actually, you are beginning to feel a little sleepy... maybe the stress from running from Yuuka like that was too much for you.

You yawn. Well, it's not really a good place to sleep, but you suddenly don't care any more.


What to do tomorrow? (Pick one.)
[ ] Check out the human village.
[ ] Help out/interact with one of the people in the temple.
-[ ] Which?
[ ] Make absolutely sure that Kogasa is going to get better.
[ ] Go look for your roommate. He's probably underground, right?
[ ] Reeeeimu. You should go bug her.
[ ] Maybe if you meet with Yuuka again, this time without any other people around to get stabbed, it'll go better?
[ ] Write-in.

[X] Make absolutely sure that Kogasa is going to get better.
[X] Maybe if you meet with Yuuka again, this time without any other people around to get stabbed, it'll go better?
-[X] Just in case she stills want to play roughball, try to think of a way to attack her while dodging her legendary offensive, probably using her slow speed IN YOUR FAVOR.

[x] Make absolutely sure that Kogasa is going to get better.
[x] Go look for your roommate. He's probably underground, right?

[X] Make absolutely sure that Kogasa is going to get better.
[X] Maybe pay those spider lilies a visit later..."

I completely forgot spider lilies meant Komachi, which is funny since I happened to be looking that up the day before the option.

[X] Make absolutely sure that Kogasa is going to get better.
[X] Maybe pay those spider lilies a visit later..."

[x] Help out/interact with one of the people in the temple.
-[x] Nue
We should really tell her about Kogasa, given they're friends and all.
[x] Make absolutely sure that Kogasa is going to get better.
I'd feel sorta bad if she came to and we weren't around.

[x] Help out/interact with one of the people in the temple.
-[x] Nue
We should really tell her about Kogasa, given they're friends and all.
[x] Make absolutely sure that Kogasa is going to get better.

We should help Nue in Kogasa's place. We can try to have fun tomorrow or so. Yesterday would have been fun if not for the 'genius' idea of going into an area associated with a hair-trigger tempered youkai.

[x] Help out/interact with one of the people in the temple.
-[x] Nue
[x] Make absolutely sure that Kogasa is going to get better.

[x] Help out/interact with one of the people in the temple.
-[x] Nue
[x] Make absolutely sure that Kogasa is going to get better.

[x] Go look for your roommate. He's probably underground, right?
[x] Reeeeimu. You should go bug her.

Well, I said to pick one, not two, but whatever.

---

[x] Help out/interact with one of the people in the temple.
-[x] Nue
[x] Make absolutely sure that Kogasa is going to get better.

You load your guns.
You tuck the flower back into your clothes. It might come in handy again.
You glance over your allies. Suspicious, mostly, but ready.
Alright. You are ready.

Time to go rescue a cat.

---

You wake up. You are still sitting in a chair in front of Kogasa's bed, but now you have a blanket draped over you.
What was that dream about? Something about a badass fairy? Something absurd like that, anyway.

You want to be absolutely sure that Kogasa recovers, to make up for your stupid mistake.
It looks like she is still sleeping soundly, so you better begin to make arrangements for when she will wake up.

---

After getting a bit of breakfast for yourself (and asking Reisen to have some ready for Kogasa, also), you hunt down Eirin.

"Is there anything I should be ready for, when Kogasa wakes up? Like, are there any medicines I will have to make sure she takes? Will she have to avoid strenuous activities? Anything like that?"

"As long as she avoids getting into any fights for a day or so she should be fine. At the moment she doesn't need any medicine... the root problem was taken care of mostly by surgery, actually, and her youkai regeneration should be enough to cover the rest of the healing process."

"Okay."

"If anything else comes up, bring her back here, but I don't think anything else will. I use sanitized tools, and gave her some medicine to strengthen her immune system, so I don't think any kind of infection will happen."

"Youkai can get infections in surgery, just like humans?"

"Oh, yes. Gensokyo has a very high density of youkai, and thus it has proved to be a very good breeding ground for germs. Many youkai care little for sanitation, you see. So, in Gensokyo, there are some germs which have adapted to youkai. Mostly, they are more magical in nature then those that target humans."

This is not the kind of thing you think about when imagining a land of fantasy.

"Of course, such things are no problem at all for me." Eirin laughs a little.

"Well, thank you for your time."

---

You return to Kogasa's room, stopping by the kitchen to get a tray of breakfast Reisen prepared.

You find her still asleep. Well, this food isn't going anywhere, so you put it on the dresser and wait.

So... what to do while waiting?

Just watching a girl while she sleeps is kind of creepy, now that you are awake enough to think about it. Maybe you can busy yourself with important things.
Like, uh.
You can plan your day! That's a good idea!

Okay, let's see.
You'll escort her back to the temple, stopping by Alice on the way back to pick up your clothes. Then you will explain the matter to Shou and Byakuren. Then you will spend the rest of the day making sure Kogasa stays well and doesn't get bored. Well, Nue is Kogasa's friend, right? She can help too.
Hopefully they won't be too mad at you.

That took, what, five minutes? And you went over the plan in your head several times to make sure it made sense, too.
What now?

---

After half an hour, Kogasa finally wakes up.

"How are you feeling?"

"Not bad."

"Want some food?"

"Okay."

You pick up the tray and put it on her lap.

"You think you are strong enough to travel some?"

She nods.

"Well, once you are ready, let's go back to the temple." You pause, watching her eat. "Don't rush yourself, though."

Oh, right. "Also, is it okay if we stop by Alice's house on the way back?"

"That's okay."

Well, she's sure being nice to you, considering you got her stabbed. "I... I'm sorry about what happened yesterday."

She swallows some food, and then turns to you. "It wasn't your fault. You're new here and stuff. You had no way of knowing that a mean lady lived there."

"But, I made such a stupid mistake, chosing that place over the others!"

"Don't blame yourself. No harm done, right?" She smiles and stretches, and then gets back to eating.

That's... rather nice of her, really. You'll try to follow her advice, and not blame yourself.

---

You and Kogasa land in from of Alice's house. She was entirely capable of flying at full speed, and seemed to be in good spirits. The bandages she had over her wound had almost seemed to be there for show, although it probably would have been different if you had taken a good look at her before she had regenerated. You took Eirin's warning to heart on the way, though, and made extra-sure to watch out for anything that might attack the two of you.

You knock on the door, and a doll lets you in.

"Hey, Alice, do you have my clothes done?"

Alice hurries in, carrying a bag. "Yes, yes. Make it quick, I'm getting ready for a date."

A date? Well, Shinki did mention she was dating someone, right? You do admit you are mildly curious, and feel a slight urge to stalk her to find out who it is, but no. That would be a waste of time. Also really creepy.
Maybe you could ask her? No, that would be madness.

"Thanks." You take the bag, and leave with Kogasa.

"So, let's take a look at these clothes..." The outfit you had her repair is back to new, good. And the new outfit she made...

It does fit your new yellow-based color scheme, yes, and it has such a fetching skirt (with an Ouroboros printed on it, going over the entire circumference). A great deal of frills and lace, too, and a pretty bow on the neck. Oh goddamit.
A very masterful job, though, and you are really surprised she managed to make something this complicated in a day.

Kogasa giggles.

---

Temple sweet temple. You walk in with Kogasa at your heels, and bask in your own glory. I'm back, baby! Oh, and Kogasa's here too.

You seek out Shou post-haste.

"Oh! Where were you? Byakuren was worried, since you and Kogasa just up and vanished."

Okay. What approach should you use? Honesty or excuse-making. If you lie a bit, it might soften the blow later when-
Yeah, right. As if that would work. "We were held up on account of Kogasa getting impaled."

"What?"

"We decided to go on a flower field sightseeing trip, and she ended up getting a parasol in the chest. I myself barely escaped with my life, and hauled her off to Eientei."

Kogasa catches up. "We ran into a scary flower lady!"

"Eirin said that Yuuka uses some kind of magic to make the damage she deals difficult to regenerate from."

"Well, you did the right thing, then. ...next time you two go exploring, though, maybe I should provide a map with all of the dangerous places marked on it, though."

"I'm sorry!"

Kogasa sticks out her tongue. "Well, I'm at 100%! So there's no need to worry!"

"Eirin said that you shouldn't get into any fights for a few days."

Shou puts down the hammer she was carrying, and puts her hand on Kogasa's shoulder. "I'll be sure to tell this to Byakuren in a way that won't distress her more. You take it easy, alright?" Wait, isn't that the strategy that you had discarded as useless? Bah, you apparently have much to learn yet.

"So, Kogasa, while she's off talking to Byakuren, want to find Nue? I bet she was worried too."

Kogasa nods, and you two take off right away.

---

"Hey, Nue!"

"Oh, hey. Kogasa, too. What were you two up to, Byakuren was freaking out a bit."

This time Kogasa takes the initiative and explains. "Well, see, we went to this place with lotsa sunflowers and I got stabbed and then I woke up in a bed, covered in bandages."

Nue looks a bit surprised. "That sounds like a very exciting adventure. Maybe a bit too dangerous for you though, kid."

"All I could do was pick up Kogasa and run. If it wasn't for the fact that I am faster then Yuuka, we would have both died."

"Oh, it was Yuuka? I met her, once. Before I was sealed away she was just a minor youkai. She did have potential, though."

"Well, she was overwhelmingly powerful when me and Kogasa met her. You were unconcious for this part, Kogasa, but she threw these huge magic blasts around. Huge blistering beams of light, and she could fire two at once. I didn't need my youkai senses to tell me that would have taken my head off."

"Like that Master Spark spell Marisa has?"

"I don't know. I've never seen Marisa fight."

"Well, since I met her she's become an elder youkai. I was wasting away in the bowels of the earth, so it's no surprise that she has cleared the distance between us."

Yikes. It strikes you that you don't really know anything about Nue's past. Well, maybe you can learn some today. Not like you have much else to do, if you are going to be looking after Kogasa. You lean over to Nue and whisper, "So, Nue, Eirin said that Kogasa should avoid getting into any fights. I really want to be entirely sure she will be okay, though, so can you help me look after her for today to make sure she recovers?"

Nue grins. "You really care about her, don't you? Well, I do too, so I'll take you up on that offer."

Kogasa leans forward. "What are you two talking about?"

"I was telling a joke."

"Oh! What's the joke?"

"I'll tell you when you get older."

Kogasa pouts for a bit. Well, might as well take charge here. "So, how about we play a game? Something that most definitely won't involve combat."

Kogasa's unhappiness is immediately forgotten. "What kind of game?"

"I'm not really sure. Nue, do you have any ideas?"

"...not really, no. We're a bit too old to play tag."

"Ooh! Ooh! Hide and seek!"

"We have played that several times already, Kogasa. You always lost, also. We should find something else."

What kind of game can you play in the temple, without access to electronics and without the right level of maturity to enjoy children's games? ...an idea occurs to you. "Actually, maybe we could play a board game? Or a card game?"

"We have some cards. But what's a board game?"

"It's... a game that involves a special playing board, and often dice and such. It's a kind of game played in the outside world."

"Well, we probably don't have the pieces for it, then. If it's from the outside."

"If you are looking for something from the outside." You jump, and turn around. Nazrin is standing directly behind you. "You could go to that man's shop. Kourindou."

"What the hell, Nazrin. When did you get there?"

She walks off, without a word.

"Oh, whatever. Do you know where Kourindou is, Nue?"

"I think it's on the edge of the forest of magic, on a side near the human village."

"Okay. I guess I'll fly over there really quick. You and Kogasa can play some while you wait, okay?"

"Alright. Do you have money for it?"

"Oh. Uh."

Nue hands you a bit of money. "Pick out a good one, or whatever."

"Thanks, Nue."

---

Luckily, you are able to find Kourindou without incident. It's a pretty plain looking building, but in a very conspicuous spot.
You walk on in, not bothering to knock. Hey, it's a shop, right?

Inside is a chaotic jumble of things, many of which you recognize.

Sitting behind the corner and looking extremely bored is a man with silver hair. Despite that, he doesn't look very old. Probably just another weird hair color thing.

"Welcome to Kourindou."

"Hey. Can you help me find something?" You have only taken a single look at his organization system and you are already shuddering at the thought of finding something on your own.

He looks at you disinterestedly. "I suppose. What are you looking for?"

"I want a board game."

He thinks for a moment. "I think I've heard about those from Yukari. Well, I have one or two... give me a minute."

You follow him as he walks through the shelves and glances at jumbles of items. He occasionally stops and mumbles something.

It ends up taking a whole five minutes for him to get what he was looking for. Monopoly, in pristine condition; the box hasn't even been opened yet. Also, a Risk board with half the pieces missing. An initial look-over shows that only Red, Black, Yellow, and Purple have even close to enough pieces left to play. And also a Sorry! board with no pieces and none of the cards.

"So, what do you want to get?"

"I guess I'll take Monopoly and Risk."

The money Nue gave you is actually more then he asks for. Either this guy is a very bad merchant, or Nue gave you way too much money.
Well, regardless, you thank him and leave.
On the way out, you pass by a youkai. She looks kinda familiar. Bird-like, blueish color scheme, carrying a small stack of books. Well, you are busy, there's no time for this.

---

You return to the temple to find Kogasa and Nue playing charades.
Nue is currently standing with her hands to either side, rustling her fingers.

"Okay, so the first word... umbrella? Is it umbrella? Nue, is it umbrella?"

Nue shakes her head for a bit, and then gives up and nods. She thinks for a bit, but then sees you, and then quickly comes to a decision. She sits down, and then stands up.

"So the second word... jumping jacks? Arobics? Sitting down?"

Nue looks a bit frustrated, and tries again. She throws her arms wide and her body shimmers and inverts in color. She mimes swinging her arms, and then leans far backwards with her arms crossed. Her colors return to normal.

Kogasa seems confused. Maybe you can help. "The world? Uh, Brando? Oh, wait, Stand? Like Umbrella Stand?" Nue nods.

"Yay! We won! Thanks for helping me. Nue is really bad at this!"

Nue sighs. "Do you have the board games?"

"Yeah. I got two for the money you gave me."

"Alright. You'll have to teach us how to play, of course."

---

You spend a while playing Monopoly with Nue and Kogasa. Nue picks it up faster then Kogasa, and is actually pretty shrewd with it for a beginner. You are interrupted by lunch, though, which goes by with little incident. Byakuren seems reasonably calm, though she shows a great deal of concern for Kogasa. After lunch, the three of you excuse yourselves. Monopoly had gone off relatively well, so you figure you could introduce them to Risk this time. It might seem like a boring way to pass the time, but it's more interesting then playing tag or whatever, and safer then exploring.

"Well, now that lunch is over, maybe we should start on Risk."

"So, how do you play this?"

"Well," you pull out the board, and begin setting it up on the floor of Kogasa's room. "Everyone has an army, and they try to take over the world."

"The outside world?"

"Yeah. You take hold of territories, and that lets you get more troops."

"It's been such a long time since I last was in the outside world."

"Oh? You've been there before?"

"I've been alive since before Gensokyo was sealed away. I traveled a great deal..." She looks at the board. "Though I will admit I haven't been to most of those places. Just Japan, continential Asia, and some of Europe."

"Well, then you'll learn something new, then. Some extra knowledge you will, uh, never use, but still. Er, which army do you want?"

You dump out the armies in a pile.

Kogasa looks over them. "I want purple!"

Nue thinks for a moment. "Do these represent any actual modern outsider armies, or are they just random colors?"

"Just random colors."

"I'll take black, then."

"I guess I'll go with yellow. Okay, now pick your starting territory..."

---

You have a few rousing games of Risk. Because you don't have quite enough pieces, you have to declare that red pieces are part of purple, green pieces are part of yellow, and blue pieces are part of black. In the first game, Kogasa goes for North Africa, maybe because it is so large. Nue goes for Southeast Asia, probably to get the highly defensible Australia but also a foothold in Asia. And you go for Greenland, to give you a position to strike on both Europe and North America.
It's been a while since you last played and you don't really remember the rules too well, so you don't have that much of an advantage. But still, after a long struggle, you manage to beat Nue.
On the second game, Nue wins pretty narrowly, though. And on the third game, Kogasa performs a surprise win, taking advantage of the fact that you and Nue were too busy with each other that she had been barely attacked at all.
Overall, though, you had a surprising amount of fun. Kogasa is an honest, fun person, although Nue provides more in the way of clever conversation.
After dinner, you find yourself feeling pretty sleepy. However, you don't want to let Kogasa down, so you keep on going.

...and when the three of you return to the Kogasa's room, she fells asleep basically the moment she reaches it. Maybe she was more tired then she looked? You pick her up and tuck her her into bed.

"Well, Nue, I guess that's the end of this all for today."

"It was fun. I'll keep these board games in mind, for when I get stuck in this place without anything else to do again."

The two of you leave the room, and you begin your way to your room. Nue follows. "So, does that mean that your period of house arrest is over?"

"Yeah. I'll be able to go around again. I think I'll stay around this place for another day or so, though, so Kogasa doesn't get into any trouble."

"Do you want me to stick around also?"

"Oh, don't trouble yourself. If you want to do something else, do it. You've already done a lot for Kogasa, yesterday and today."

Okay. There's a pause in the conversation. "So, uh, what was that about being sealed away, earlier?"

"It's an old story. A human, some hero of old, discovered my true form and used that knowledge to seal me away in hell. I was only freed fairly recently."

That's pretty nasty sounding. "How was it?"

"Horrible. Thinking about it, being stuck in this temple kind of made me think about it. Having to spend hundreds and hundreds of years trapped in a sealed room, with no freedom..." She shudders. "At least the temple is full of nice people and real food, though."

Er, time to change the topic. "So, uh, I guess the humans didn't like you?"

Nue grins. "Oh, they were scared of me. Back in the day, I used to buzz 'em all the time. My favorite trick was pretending to be an entire species of monsters, and fight heroes and let them win. I built up a lot of belief that way."

"Wow. You were well know, then?"

There's the door to your room. Nue steps in front of you, puffed up a bit, and opens the door for you. "Oh, yeah. If you haven't heard of me as the Nue, maybe you are more familiar with the name Chimaera? Or Gryphon?"

"Sounds like you got around." You walk into your room.

"Oh, definitely." She pauses, and it sinks in with you that you said yet another thing that could be interpreted sexually.

"Uh, I meant the way you thought I meant." Unless... "Unless you thought I meant it in a sexual way, in which case I didn't mean it that way. That would be rude."

"Well, okay. Because I've never actually mated."

"...really?"

"I am the Nue. The only one. There's not another for me to mate with."

But, didn't she just say that she made up all those species? And, uh, in this human form of hers she looks plenty mate-able to you. But this might not be a good time to argue.
"Er, okay. Sorry if I said anything to offend you."

"Don't worry. I'm okay."

"Well, good-night, then." She leaves, and you close your door.

Today was okay, overall, though there obviously were a few hiccups.
You briefly wonder how tomorrow will be, before drifting off to sleep...

---

You look around you.
You are definitely in the outside world. There are two children, vandalizing a wall. You can see one spraypainting some grafitti, but you can't exactly see what it is from this angle.
You try to get a better look, but the other one (presumably a lookout), spots you. They both run off.
Okay, might as well get a good look at the wall.
...is that a mathematical formula?

---

That was a weird dream. But who cares. Almost all of your dreams since coming to Gensokyo have been weird.

More importantly, what should you do today?

What to do? (Pick two.)
[ ] Check out the human village.
[ ] Help out/interact with one of the people in the temple.
-[ ] Which?
[ ] Make absolutely sure that Kogasa is going to get better. (It looks like she is, yeah.)
[ ] Go look for your roommate. He's probably underground, right?
[ ] Reeeeimu. You should go bug her.
[ ] Maybe you should shadow Alice on her date after all. (Wait, no, that wouldn't work. Unless it was a really long date.)
[ ] Maybe if you meet with Yuuka again, this time without any other people around to get stabbed, it'll go better?
[ ] Write-in.

---

That was not my original intention for the second dream sequence, and I admit it doesn't follow my pattern so far, but after writing that first sentence I just had to do that joke.

[x] Check out the human village.
[x] Go look for your roommate. He's probably underground, right?

Sounds like a plan, as much as I'd like to explore I'd rather do so with company.

Interesting how Nue knew Yuuka when she was younger.

[x] Check out the human village.
[x] Go look for your roommate. He's probably underground, right?

Time to see how hes doing.

[x] Check out the human village.
[x] Go look for your roommate. He's probably underground, right?
Yeah, I think we've tied up most of the loose ends now.

[x] Check out the human village.
[x] Go look for your roommate. He's probably underground, right?

>Dreams
Can anyone point out the references? I know that I know what these two are, but I still can't seem to place either of them.


>A date? Well, Shinki did mention she was dating someone, right? You do admit you are mildly curious, and feel a slight urge to stalk her to find out who it is, but no. That would be a waste of time. Also really creepy.
>Maybe you could ask her? No, that would be madness.

>Okay. What approach should you use? Honesty or excuse-making. If you lie a bit, it might soften the blow later when-
>Yeah, right. As if that would work. "We were held up on account of Kogasa getting impaled."

>"I am the Nue. The only one. There's not another for me to mate with."
>But, didn't she just say that she made up all those species? And, uh, in this human form of hers she looks plenty mate-able to you. But this might not be a good time to argue.

So, do you go into an update aiming for a certain quota of awesome, or does it just happen?


[x] Check out the human village.
[x] Go look for your roommate. He's probably underground, right?

>>25655
>Time to go rescue a cat.
I smiled and then ;_;'d.

>"Ooh! Ooh! Hide and seek!"

>"We have played that several times already, Kogasa. You always lost, also.
I saw what you did there, and frowned.

>...is that a mathematical formula?
I applaud your taste.

>>25672
The last update of RaAN is the first one, and the second is from the opening of the 'Maths' episode of Look Around You.

[x] Check out the human village.
[x] Go look for your roommate. He's probably underground, right?

Nice references.

Reposted to fix two minor errors.

---

[x] Check out the human village.
[x] Go look for your roommate. He's probably underground, right?

Well, you might as well go to the human village again. It's been a while since you were there, and you might as well go there again. Maybe it's changed a lot since you last visited. Time marches on and all, you know. It might be all gleaming skyscrapers and flying hovercars now, for all you know. Then you can go look for your roommate, see what the credit-taking bastard has been up to. Besides taking credit for your hard work. Who knows, maybe he wants to go home and never go to Gensokyo ever again ever. You would happily oblige him, if that were the case.
Up out of bed. Off to the dining room~

Empty. Not a surprise. Well, maybe today you can go to the kitchen and make breakfast and astound them all with your glorious, radiant competance in all things.

After spending about ten minutes thinking of what to make and trying to figure out where everything is, Shou walks into the kitchen.

"Oh? You were going to make breakfast for us, today?"

"Uh, no. I was just, uh, exploring the kitchen. Because I like exploring places. Places in houses, but also places outside houses."

Shou gives you an odd look. "Well, I'll get to cooking, then. If you want to help, feel free."

You stick around to help her, but mostly limit yourself to fetching small items and such. You will have to save that 'astounding them all' thing for tomorrow, probably, since you weren't feeling like it today. Yeah.
Well, despite your unexpectedly small role in bringing breakfast to completion, you still feel a little proud when it's done. Back home your experience in food preparation was limited primarily to pouring milk on cereal, toasting toast, and microwaving prepackaged food. But now you can pick up valuable life skills, in case you ever become a stay at home husband (or, alternately, stay a bachelor for the rest of your life.)

You take your plate back to the dining room and eat. Om nom nom nom. You consider arranging your food into a little face so that it can eat also, to improve the speed and efficiency of breakfast-consumption, but decide against it. The speed gains would not be worth the increased setup time.
"Shou, tell the others I'll be visiting the human village."

"Alright."

"And then I'll go to hell."

"I'll give your best wishes to Kogasa."

"Oh, that too."

You walk off to your room, waving back to her. Pip-pip cheerio, sayonara, whatever.

Okay, time to change into a new outfit. Don't want to be grubby when going to the human village.
You flick your tongue out, experimentally. A bath would be a good idea also, on reflection.

---

This early in the morning, there's basically no chance of running into anyone at the baths.
There's a note on the door: "Until Shou fixes the heater, try not to keep the hot water running for too long. -Murasa"

...on that note, how is this bath heated? It's not a natural hot spring, so the water isn't heated naturally. It has a water reserve of some type, but the water can't be stored hot, can it? And you haven't seen any wood or oil heaters. Maybe it uses an electronic heater of some kind? Byakuren has surprisingly good access to creature-comfort type luxuries for a monk, so you wouldn't be too surprised if they had something like that.
Eh. You should just enjoy the bath.
You try not to let the hot water run for too long, though.

---

By the time you leave there are other people about the temple, you can hear, but you slip out without meeting anyone. It would be awkward to meet someone after Shou told them that you were leaving. It would be like going back on your word, except in an utterly harmless manner that would not actually hurt your reputation in the least.
On the way to the human village, you run into an odd fairy in white.
She doesn't seem to be hostile, so you hesitantly approach her. She stares at a point a little bit to the left of your face, and proclaims, "It's spring!" She sways a little.

"I'm pretty sure it's not spring."

"It's spring!" With a bit more emotion this time.

"Uh. No, I think you have the wrong time-"

"It's spring." She seems to be losing her composure.

"Whoah there! Calm down, no need to fight over this."

She breaks into tears, and staggers off. You taste the air, and... wow, that's a strong smell of alcohol.
Well, that was utterly random. Is that what they call a random encounter? Did you get any experience points for taking the diplomacy option?
So, the human village. You were going there and all, so you should probably complete that journey now that that is out of the way.

---

Nope. The human village has not turned into some kind of amazing future-city in the days since you last saw it. What a shame.
So, what to do here?
Well, you only have met a few people here. And by a few people, you mean Akyu. And maybe Mokou, although you don't know for sure if she lives here or just operates near here.
And Akyuu was kind of interesting, and probably would be very interesting if you were a paedophile, but you aren't so you won't visit her. So... time to go wander at random and look for anything exciting.

Hello, dragon statue. You are looking very statuey today. Also dragony.

Oh, hey, that's the house Akyuu lives in. Pretty big-looking place. You don't go inside though, since you don't want people to think the wrong thing, as you mentioned earlier.

The marketplace is bustling as ever. The stands have all kinds of stuff. Not just food and other simple necessities. You also see simple electronics, like lightbulbs and such. Wait, sex toys? Who would display sex toys out in the open? It seems like only very bold people would buy from a stand like that. Oddly, there's a note tacked up near the edge of the marketplace: "8904 Stones of Jordan Sold to Merchants." What in the world could that mean?

A poster? "Prismrivers on the Rocks. Coming to Human Village Next Month." The poster has a picture of three girls in very loud outfits and sunglasses playing instruments. Other stuff like that, too, but this poster seems to get the best billing. You were not aware there were any bands in Gensokyo.

Hey, look, there's a bunch of children walking past. They seem to be going to a school. There's also a woman with... whoah, that is the most amazingly ridiculous hat you have ever seen. Something about it draws you to her like a moth to a fire.

"Hey, miss, what's up with your hat?"

She turns to you from the stream of schoolchildren. "Oh, it's the new youkai. I would talk, but I am a bit busy right now."

RAGE. Does your human disguise fool anyone? A random school teacher with a funny hat saw through you in a moment. "Oh, no problem. I'll just go, then."

"If you want to talk to me, come back after school hours." She turns, and the hat does not so much as budge. Does she glue it on? You can't imagine how it could not fall off her head.

Okay. What next? Somehow you feel burned out after that. Maybe that hat has the power of witchcraft or something.
Well, a nice trip to hell will cheer you up, surely.

---

Okay, here's the cave entrance. It took you a while, but you found it. It's not all that visible from outside, after all. Don't the hell... people want visitors? Actually, who lives in hell anyway? You were only there for a bit, and all you saw was a girl with pointy ears. Was she an elf or just a pointy-ear youkai? Well, they are sure to welcome you with open arms, anyway. The hospitality of hell is famous, after all. That or infamous. One of those two.

Down we gooooo!

It strikes you that this long winding cave enterance is a little like the enterance to Makai. Just without the magical barriers or the mounting uneasy feeling. Does that mean that Makai is like hell but moreso?
It'd make a great boast anyway. 'Hell? I've been there. Wasn't too bad. Seen worse, anyway.'

Okay, here's the big open cavern. You sneak sneak sneak through it, and you see a few fairies. You wave, and they wave back. Apparently now that you are a youkai the fairies know now to mess with you. Or maybe the waving placates them, who knows.

There's that river with the bridge. You should probably avoid crossing the bridge in case that pointy-ear chick is there again. It'd be unfortunate if she recognized you. It would probably result in a fight, and that would take up a lot of time and energy when you could be partaking in some awesome and double-sweet reuniting action.
You fly over the river instead. Why do they even have a bridge when everyone in Gensokyo can fly? Absurd. It's almost as bad as, say, if there were any buses here.

Okay, pretty nice city down here. Looks real old. Pretty traditional-looking. There are some people with horns walking around. Ogres? Oni? Probably the latter.
Now, to get down to what you are here for. Finding that bastard sneak-thief. Er, locating your honored roommate.

You approach one of the horned guys. Oni? Ogre? You should take no chances, and be sure that you say absolutely nothing that could possibly offend this buff-looking man. "Yo, O-man. Do you know where my homie..."
It is at this point that you realize, to your utter embarrassment, you have forgotten what your roommate's name is. Fagballs? No, that can't be it. Zoosmell? That sounds familiar, but no. Think... what would an ordinary mother name her good-for-nothing, credit-stealing bastard son? "My homie, who is a human." Hopefully there are not many humans living here.

The horned man looks kind of confused. "What did you just call me?" He begins to get angry-looking.

Wait! Maybe he's a demon! Then 'O-dawg' would be inaccurate! But he seems angry, so you should be polite. "That is, in fact, a very respectful term used in the outside world to refer to someone to someone who deserves a great deal of respect."

"Really? You aren't lying to me?" He seems less angry then suspicious at this point.

"Of course not. You wouldn't know, because you haven't been to the outside world probably, but I spent a long time in there. They have all kinds of weird customs, so I figured I would try one out."

He seems calmed down now. "If you say so. You said you were looking for a human?"

"Yeah. Got any?"

"Oh, if I had any I'd eat them!" He laughs. "Go down that street," he points, "and take the next left. You won't be able to miss his house."

"Thanks." You will let that 'eating humans' comment slide for now. You aren't one to judge.

You travel down the road in this underground city, and take the turn the (relatively) nice demon told you to. Okay, so he said you wouldn't be able to miss the house, so presumably it stands out.

Oh, wow it does stand out. This house is at least twice as well-decorated as the adjacent ones. Well, here goes nothing. You knock on the door.

After about half a minute, it opens. And... it's your roommate!

He looks a bit surprise. "Oh. Hey."

"Hello." Okay, for some reason this is a little awkward.

"Come in."

The two of you come into his house. You take a seat at a table. "So, how's it been going for you?"

"Oh, pretty well." He puts two cups on the table (where did he get those?) and snaps his fingers. The cups both fill to the brim with a liquid. He takes a drink.

You drink from your cup as well. Soda? Huh. "That's a pretty nice trick you have there."

"Heh. It's an easy one."

"You are pretty good at magic," you taste the air, and get a whiff of his scent to make sure, "for a human."

"Really? I didn't find learning magic too hard. I just trained for about a day, and I learned how to do all of this stuff." What.

You did the super shortcut method to power, and it took you more then a day! And the power was temporary! You call foul. "Oh, that's really nice for you."

"I know, right?" He finishes his cup in one gulp, and puts it back on the table. "How's it been going for you?"

Can you really be the hero? Time to find out. "Well, I turned myself into a youkai. By myself, without any help from anyone else or anything. And now I am super powerful and I can smell with my tongue."

"Really. Well, that's pretty interesting, but," He gets up. "I just realized I have an appointment I should be getting to."

"An appointment?" This sounds suspiciously like he just wants to get away from you because he is scared of how awesome you are.

"Well, it's a date. With one of my three girlfriends."

What.

What.

He sees your dumbstruck luck. "Yeah, man. I'm a total lady's man, didn't you know?" You do nothing to answer, so he goes on. "How about I tell you the story behind this, so maybe you can get a girlfriend also. Because from the looks of it you don't have one."

"Of- of course I do!"

He laughs. "Yeah right. Okay, so, listen well. See, I was going by the river outside the ancient city, when I found a girl drifting down it, named Parsee. She was drowning so I saved her and stuff, and it was like whoah, she fell for me at once. The other two I met more normally... Parsee introduced me to her friend Yamame, and we hit off at once, and I met Yuugi while looking for a place to stay." He laughs again, this time more heartily. "I really should get going now, though. Juggling three girlfriends at once is hard work. Parsee gets so jealous, and stuff."

He walks out. "Later! Don't steal any of my stuff!"

That bastard! That utter bastard!

You'll show him who's boss! (Pick any that apply.)
[ ] You'll steal his stuff, that'll show him!
[ ] You'll prove him wrong, and get a girlfriend! Or, well, ask somebody you know to pretend to be your girlfriend.
-[ ] You'll go with Nue!
-[ ] You'll go with Kogasa!
-[ ] You'll go with Nazrin!
-[ ] You'll go with all three at once, and match him!
-[ ] You'll go with someone else! (Write-in.)
[ ] Maybe you'll beat that bastard up, to show him that you're stronger where it counts! (Pick one or none of the sub-options.)
-[ ] But maybe you should train first, to get better at danmaku.
-[ ] But maybe you should do a little publicity blitz first, to get a power boost for the fight.
-[ ] But maybe you should clear your head some first. Spend some time meditating, try to figure out how to use your power.
[ ] Well, you should sabotage his relationship!
-[ ] And Parsee is easy to trick, right?
-[ ] Maybe Yamame is weak of mind?
-[ ] Maybe Yuugi could be turned against him?
[ ] Or maybe you'll just cool your head a little and not do anything. No need to blow up about this.
[ ] Write-in.

How should you handle it? (Pick one.)
[ ] Make it clear, whenever possible, that you are the one messing with him.
[ ] Try to do it sneaky-like, if possible, so that he doesn't know you are the one with a grudge.
[ ] Try to pin it on someone else if you can.
[ ] Write-in.

---

If you try to get someone to pretend to be your girlfriend, consider that they might not agree. I'd suggest giving me a write-in argument to present to that person, if you choose that option.
Also, consider you know absolutely nothing about Yamame or Yuugi.
And no, you can't fight him and also keep it a secret that you are messing with him. Unless you get a really good idea for how to disguise yourself through the length of an entire battle.

stage 1: ???
stage 2: ???
-boss: unnamed (?) satyress (?), youkai of silence
stage 3: sealed gate of makai
-boss: Camilla, lost child
stage 4: great youkai forest
-boss: Raquel Whatley, youkai of dating
stage 5: underground enterance caverns
-midboss: Yamame Kurodani, ??"
-boss: Yuugi Hoshiguma, ??"
stage 6: the ancient city
-midboss: Parsee Mizuhashi, ??"
-boss: your roommate, wizard (?)
extra stage: hakurei shrine
-midboss: Nue Houjuu, youkai of unknown form
-boss: you, youkai of travel

[x] You'll prove him wrong, and get a girlfriend! Or, well, ask somebody you know to pretend to be your girlfriend.
-[x] You'll go with Nue!

My girlfriend can turn into anything.

[x] You'll prove him wrong, and get a girlfriend! Or, well, ask somebody you know to pretend to be your girlfriend.
-[x] You'll go with Nue!

Our girlfriend is worth TEN girlfriends, maybe even more!

[x] Well, you should sabotage his relationship!
-[x] And Parsee is easy to trick, right?
-[x] Maybe Yamame is weak of mind?
-[x] Maybe Yuugi could be turned against him?
Hehehehe

[x] Or maybe you'll just cool your head a little and not do anything. No need to blow up about this.
-[x] Well, maybe do a bit of looting.
[x] Explore! Surely hell is an interesting place?

Man, Fagballs is a huge dick.

[x] Well, you should sabotage his relationship!
-[x] And Parsee is easy to trick, right?
-[x] Maybe Yamame is weak of mind?
-[x] Maybe Yuugi could be turned against him?

That bastard...

>>25683
>>25684
>>25685

I don't think Byakuren is going to be happy about this.

>>25686
Why? Polygamy isn't right. I am pretty sure he didn't tell his girlfriends about this.

>>25685
Adding this:
[x] Try to do it sneaky-like, if possible, so that he doesn't know you are the one with a grudge.

[x] You'll prove him wrong, and get a girlfriend! Or, well, ask somebody you know to pretend to be your girlfriend.
-[x] You'll go with Nue!

We must make more Nues.

Going with Nue will probably just make us look gay again.

[x] Romance Fagballs

I wonder if our roommate has the Toho gland...

{X} You'll prove him wrong, and get a girlfriend! Or, well, ask somebody you know to pretend to be your girlfriend.
-{X} You'll go with Nue!

>>25695
I guffawed.

[x] You'll prove him wrong, and get a girlfriend! Or, well, ask somebody you know to pretend to be your girlfriend.
-[x] You'll go with Nue!

Bit sad nobody picked Nazrin. She would have done a hilariously bad job at being a fake-girlfriend, I think.

---

[x] You'll prove him wrong, and get a girlfriend! Or, well, ask somebody you know to pretend to be your girlfriend.
-[x] You'll go with Nue!

That stupid bastard. Thinking that he's so cool because he has three girlfriends and mastered magic in one day and put up a credible fight against Reimu and stuff.
You'll show him! You'll show him that you are man enough to get a girlfriend also! That'll shut his fat, stupid mouth!

Okay. The big question is... how do you make a girlfriend really fast?
You don't think that his 'find a girl who is drowning' approach will work for you.
Or will it?

...you really doubt it. It would take a lot of time to look over rivers and stuff, anyway, and nurse a girl back to health. You want instant gratification dammit.

Okay, time for plan B: make him THINK you have a girlfriend. Maybe if you get a girl to pretend to be your girlfriend she will actually fall in love with you because of it and then you'll have a girlfriend for real. That sounds like a plan.

Back to the surface then. The ancient city does not seem like good hunting grounds. You should probably ask someone you know, anyway. You doubt a total stranger would agree to something like this.

Tunnel, blah. Forest, blah. Okay, there's the temple.

Better think of who to pick now.

"Oh, hello."

"Hey, Shou."

Shou? You don't think your relationship with her is anything but professional. She's always so busy, anyway. It'd feel bad to try to make her do something so frivolous. "You fixed that water heater yet?"

"I ordered some parts from the Kappa. I can't do anything until they arrive."

"Well, I hope they arrive soon. Short baths are less satisfying."

"Indeed."

You leave her to her cleaning. Well, you would go over the rest of the staff of the temple, but really. The two obvious ones are Kogasa and Nue.
You'll go with Nue. Fake-dating Kogasa would make you, like, a fake-paedophile or something. Well, she's probably older then you, but she doesn't really act it.

So, where's Nue? She said she'd be looking after Kogasa today, right? So... there we go, she's in Kogasa's room.

"Hey, Nue!"

"Oh, you're back already?"

"Yeah. I have an important thing to ask."

Kogasa looks at you curiously.

"Nue, can you pretend to be my girlfriend? It's super-important."

Nue looks at you quizically. "You ask me that, even after what happened the last time you did?"

The last time? ...oh, right. "Well, it'd be nice if you did it right this time."

"Why should I? You are up to some mischief, I can just smell it."

"I can't smell anything, Nue."

"It's a figure of speech, Kogasa."

"I'm not up to any mischief!" You are just trying to one-up rainbow-brite down there. That's not mischief, right? It's just, like, revenge. Over imagined slights, but revenge nonetheless.

"Really now. Well, I said I'd be watching over Kogasa today. I don't have time to waste on making you look like a real boy, especially if this might lead to something that'll get me another scolding from Byakuren."

Cold.

(Pick one.)
[ ] Wait! Maybe she isn't happy being your fake girlfriend? Ask her to be your real one!
[ ] Eh, you should go find someone else, then.
-[ ] Who?
[ ] Try to convince her with an argument.
-[ ] What argument?
[ ] WHAT IS LOVE? (Headbanging too much can cause brain damage, or so you've heard.)
[ ] She is going to be your fake-girlfriend no matter if she wants to or not.
[ ] Okay, plan C:
-[ ] (Pick one of the options from the last update.)
[ ] Write-in.

---

Short update, but hey, I told you that you might need to provide a good argument for someone to pretend to be your girlfriend. You still have a chance for that, though.

[ ] Wait! Maybe she isn't happy being your fake girlfriend? Ask her to be your real one!

Ohoho

[X] WHAT IS LOVE?

Why am I getting the feeling that the roommate has the ability to manipulate any and all magic?

Because if he can, then he's worse than the 'moon bitches' and must be put down. Violently if necessary.

[X] Wait! Maybe she isn't happy being your fake girlfriend? Ask her to be your real one!

Perfect.

Hoo boy. Hoping this vote doesn't get called until I get back (last one happened while I was asleep).

{X} Wait! Maybe she isn't happy being your fake girlfriend? Ask her to be your real one!

[X] Wait! Maybe she isn't happy being your fake girlfriend? Ask her to be your real one!

[X] Wait! Maybe she isn't happy being your fake girlfriend? Ask her to be your real one!

Eh, the current option doesn't strike me as being likely to work, plus I can't think of anyone else who'd be willing to pretend to be our girlfriend.

[x] Try to convince her with an argument.
-[x] "Okay, I admit I have an ulterior motive here. A guy I know is fooling around with the hearts of three ladies who deserve better. I want to sort this Lothario out before either they get hurt, or he gets hurt."
[x] "And if I could choose anyone to be my fake girlfriend, it'd be you."

I'm envisaging some sort of delightful scenario where Nue pretends to be one of our roommate's 3 love interests (we've seen her mimic Satori before) with hilarious and possibly therapeutic consequences. Not entirely convinced that Nue will agree to it, but it's ultimately for a good cause yes, cheating on Touhous is wrong so hopefully Byakuren won't get mad. Besides, I have absolutely no idea how else we can make anything from this situation.

[x] Try to convince her with an argument.
-[x] "Okay, I admit I have an ulterior motive here. A guy I know is fooling around with the hearts of three ladies who deserve better. I want to sort this Lothario out before either they get hurt, or he gets hurt."

It's too soon to make sudden moves that and... I want Kogasa AND Nue

There's a big difference between having more than one girlfriend that know about each other and okay with it and having more than one that don't know about each other. The latter case is clearly cheating.

And I'm pissed I missed the last update (Sleep,work); I'd have voted to try to convince both Nue and Kogasa in a 'pure love' method.

>>25726
This scenario you've envisaged; it intrigues me, and I wish to support any and all efforts towards making it happen.


[x] Try to convince her with an argument.
-[x] "Okay, I admit I have an ulterior motive here. A guy I know is fooling around with the hearts of three ladies who deserve better. I want to sort this Lothario out before either they get hurt, or he gets hurt."

[X] Try to convince her with an argument.
-[X] "Okay, I admit I have an ulterior motive here. A guy I know is fooling around with the hearts of three ladies who deserve better. I want to sort this Lothario out before either they get hurt, or he gets hurt."

I hope we get enough time for everyone to look over the arguement choice, since it'd be better than a jumping the gun romantic move. Remember the 'propose to Alice' write in? Yeah this kinda feels like that at this point

[X] Try to convince her with an argument.
-[X] "Okay, I admit I have an ulterior motive here. A guy I know is fooling around with the hearts of three ladies who deserve better. I want to sort this Lothario out before either they get hurt, or he gets hurt."

[x] Try to convince her with an argument.
-[x] "Okay, I admit I have an ulterior motive here. A guy I know is fooling around with the hearts of three ladies who deserve better. I want to sort this Lothario out before either they get hurt, or he gets hurt."

And if it doesn't work.

[x] Okay, plan C:
-[x] Well, you should sabotage his relationship!
--[x] And Parsee is easy to trick, right?
--[x] Maybe Yamame is weak of mind?
--[x] Maybe Yuugi could be turned against him?
---[x] Try to do it sneaky-like, if possible, so that he doesn't know you are the one with a grudge.

I still like the idea of turning them against him, it sounds like fun.

[X] Try to convince her with an argument.
-[X] "Okay, I admit I have an ulterior motive here. A guy I know is fooling around with the hearts of three ladies who deserve better. I want to sort this Lothario out before either they get hurt, or he gets hurt."

[x] Try to convince her with an argument.
-[x] "Okay, I admit I have an ulterior motive here. A guy I know is fooling around with the hearts of three ladies who deserve better. I want to sort this Lothario out before either they get hurt, or he gets hurt."

In before Nue becomes his fourth girlfriend.

>>25747
I doubt Nue'd fall that easily for him, not the guy who caused her attempt at making a powerful Youkai fail like it did.

Is that write-in argument an argument for Nue pretending to be your girlfriend, or for Nue helping you screw up the guy's relationship? Because, if it's the former, I'm not sure I can see what the argument has to do with Nue pretending to be your girlfriend.

>>25752
See >>25726

>>25756
But I think making a remark about wanting Nue as our real girlfriend would be pushing things too fast. So most of us stuck to the arugement to get her help us reveal him for the cheater that he is.

[X] Wait! Maybe she isn't happy being your fake girlfriend? Ask her to be your real one!

I feel like taking a bold step forward.

[x] Try to convince her with an argument.
-[x] "Okay, I admit I have an ulterior motive here. A guy I know is fooling around with the hearts of three ladies who deserve better. I want to sort this Lothario out before either they get hurt, or he gets hurt."

I'm down with this.

>>25704
>She would have done a hilariously bad job at being a fake-girlfriend, I think.
Like that one episode of Full Metal Panic?

[X] Try to convince her with an argument.
-[X] "Okay, I admit I have an ulterior motive here. A guy I know is fooling around with the hearts of three ladies who deserve better. I want to sort this Lothario out before either they get hurt, or he gets hurt."

[X] Try to convince her with an argument.
-[X] "Okay, I admit I have an ulterior motive here. A guy I know is fooling around with the hearts of three ladies who deserve better. I want to sort this Lothario out before either they get hurt, or he gets hurt.

Okay. Looks like you are not going to be able to one-up twinkletoes. However... maybe you can one-down him, so to speak?
Well, you will still probably want Nue's help for this.

Maybe you can appeal to her better nature. "Well, I guess I can't fault you for that. But... can you still help me out?"

"I just said I'm not interested in being your fake-girlfriend."

Maybe you should ask her to be your real girlfriend? No, that doesn't seem to fit the mood. "It's not about that. While... one-upping that bastard would be nice, it wouldn't solve the root problem. See, I did have an ulterior motive here."

"Well, at least you admit that you are up to mischief."

"I finally tracked down my roommate again. He was the one who took credit from me, remember. I found that he is living in the underground. And, furthermore, he has three girlfriends."

"Thus your sudden desire to come in with your own?"

"Yeah. But... well... I can't imagine all three of them know about this. I mean, he is probably keeping this a secret. Otherwise that whole thing would probably just fall apart."

"So, what, you want me to make it fall apart?"

"Good guess."

"I can't imagine Byakuren would like it if I meddled with relationships."

"He's been fooling with the hearts of women! Decieving them! That's not a good thing at all, so bringing it to light would be justice!"

"Well, do you really need my help doing that? If he has been two-timing... well, three-timing, then couldn't you just go and tell them about it?"

Well, maybe this is a good time to stop appealing to her better nature. You grin. "Well, I could, but they might not believe me. As long as you have a good justification for mischief, though, why not make it be fun? I think that your powers would allow for a far more effective, and also much more enjoyable, plan."

Nue catches on pretty quick, you can see. "Ah, I see. Well, I guess that does sound like fun. I'd hate to leave Kogasa here alone, though." That was a halfhearted excuse, you can hear it. She's already excited. You've won, even if she has yet to admit it.

"I'm sure Kogasa can stay safe for a few hours without our supervision."

Kogasa has another idea, though. "I can come with you two!"

"No." "No, it'll be dangerous."

"Aww."

Nue turns back to you. "So, do you know who his girlfriends are? That information would be pretty critical if I want to impersonate them."

"Parsee, Yamame, and Yuugi, I heard. I've met Parsee, but not the other two."

"I've heard of Yuugi. She's a pretty well-known Oni. I don't know anybody named Yamame, though."

"I have!" You both turn to Kogasa.

"I heard Wriggle mention her! She's a spider youkai who can make people get sick!"

"Not qualities I would look for in a girlfriend."

"Wriggle says she is cheerful and fun-loving."

"Well, that's a start, anyway. Thanks." Kogasa is credit to team!

"Okay, so what about Yuugi?"

"I said she is an Oni. That should give you a pretty good idea as to what she's like."

"Not really."

"Well, I guess you don't know much about Oni, then. An average Oni loves to drink, is unable to back down from challenges, and hates liars."

"An average Oni, you say. But what about Yuugi?"

"Well, I don't know her personally. But I'd say that I could probably impersonate her decently using that. I'm not exactly an amateur at this, after all."

"Okay. Let's travel to the underground. We can figure out our plan on the way."

"Stay safe, Kogasa!"

"You too, Nue. Bring back some souvenirs, okaaaay?"

---

"Well, I say we should go for Yamame first. Kogasa only knows about her secondhand, so it would be a good idea to meet her and see what she is like."

"That sounds like a good idea. I'd reccomend going for Yuugi second."

"Since you haven't met her personally?"

"Yeah. It'd be a good idea, I say."

"Actually, wait. My roommate said he would be going on a date, but he didn't say with whom. What happens if, say, he's going with Yamame?"

"Then we skip her. I'd rather not try to put on an act in front of an unknown like him. If the disguise is seen through, it could be pretty risky."

"Okay. I wish I could tell you what he can do, but all I know is that he has some kind of magic ability."

By this time, you have reached the entrance. You go inside.

"You know, I have no idea where Yamame lives. Kogasa didn't say, or anything."

"Well, she's not an Oni, so she might not be in the ancient city. We should search through the outer caverns first, since there are some youkai that live there."

"They seemed to be pretty big. I would think that searching population hotspots first would be the better idea."

"My senses are quite sharp, I assure you. In a place devoid of life like the underground, sensing the presence of youkai from a distance isn't too hard. Once we get into the city the signal would be obscured, though."

"So we should buzz around a bit and check out all of the youkai you sense?"

"Yeah. I couldn't sense, say, fairies, but she's not a fairy."

"Well, here's the enterance to the caverns."

The two of you go on for a bit more, and then stop. She lands on the ground and closes her eyes and concentrates.
Lacking anything else to do, you decide to see if you can use your youkai senses for this also. You land and sit down, cross-legged. You close your eyes, and try to extend your magic sense as far as you can.
...you can faintly feel a roiling sea of souls off to the distance, where the ancient city is. And you can feel some oddities in the gradient, probably power released from a few distant, weak youkai. But it's all so indistinct... you need more practice.

"I feel two signals. Neither is that strong. Follow me."

You take to the air, and you follow her. Yes, this is about the right direction for that feeling you had. So, you are definitely capable of doing that trick she does, jsut you are woefully inexperienced at it.

After a short flight, you arrive to find...
Well, not much of anything. The cavern seems empty, except for a bucket.

Is her sense broke?
She walks over to the bucket, and kneels down and puts her ear to it. "I hear breathing."

"So... a youkai in a bucket?"

You walk closer... yes, that is a faint sound of breathing. Like someone is asleep in the bucket.

"A tsukumogami, or maybe a tsurube-otoshi, I assume. Not what we want, anyway. Let's go to the next target."

You fly off. What if Yamame was a bucket-spider, though. Then you would have been wasting time. Probably should have woken her up and questioned her... although this is the kind of operation where it's best to leave as few hints as to your presence as possible.

Suddenly, Nue stops you. She whispers, "This is our target. Let me change..." And her body shimmers and distorts, and in a few moments you are face-to-face with Parsee instead. She holds out her hand, and a snake slithers out of it and wraps around your throat.

"Whoah! Don't strangle me!" You always expected to die in a car crash. While your car is on fire, and speeding off a cliff in a ravine. While being chased by illuminati members in jeeps with submachineguns and no sense of aim.

"Calm down! This is just a safeguard. As long as you don't go too far away, I'll be able to hear what you say with this snake feeling the vibrations coming from your throat. Tell me if, say, the real Parsee approaches."

"Okay."

Nue approaches Yamame, and you listen carefully.

"Hey, Yamame."

"Oh. Hello, Parsee." Yamame looks around expectantly. She doesn't look very spiderlike to you, now that you have gotten a good look at her. She has a spider-themed dress, and apparently that is all that matters. She is currently in a spider-web hammock. "I haven't heard from you lately."

"I've been busy."

"With what?" Yamame has, now that you look closer, a somewhat wild look in her eyes. Is that normal for her, or is she on edge?

"I... er-" That's a pretty convincing fake stammer there, Nue. "I was, uh, busy... what have you been up to, Yamame?"

"Oh, I found a boyfriend!" She's being... open about that. Didn't pantyhead say that he was introduced to Yamame by Parsee?

"Who is it? If he's a looker, I'll be jealous, you know." Nue pauses. "Wait, could he be..."

"He's the guy you introduced me to." Yamame smiles. Something seems off about the smile, but you can't quite put your finger on it. "He smells good. Like food, but I can't eat him. Strong humans are so fun to be around~" Man, you really wish you had a hammock. It would be so relaxing.

"What? That two-timing bastard!"

Yamame cocks her head to the side, confusedly. "Parsee, what's 'two-timing' mean?"

"It means he is my boyfriend too!"

"Oh. I didn't know that." Yamame still looks confused. "Is that a bad thing?"

"You've known me for how long, and you didn't think I would get jealous?"

"Oh!" Yamame seems to recognize this situation. "I don't want to make you unhappy, Parsee! If you really feel so strongly about this, I'll stop."

Nue sighs. "I... I need to go think about this more. Calm down. Or maybe get really drunk and try to forget about this whole thing."

"Okay. I'll see you later, Parsee." Yamame smiles, but it comes off kind of oddly. Now that you think about it, it looks kind of like she practiced that smile many, many times without really understanding what a smile means.

Nue walks off, and you stealthily follow. Once she gets well out of Yamame's sight range, she turns back.

"That went pretty well."

"I think I fooled her."

"What happens if she talks to Parsee and realized Parsee does not remember this conversation?"

"Well, then our charade begins to become a bit strained. But the seeds are already planted. And we learned something."

"Oh?"

"Well, Yamame didn't know that he was dating Parsee also, so your assumption was correct."

"Oh, yeah. Well, I guess we should go to Yuugi next. Will you pretend to be Parsee or Yamame this time?"

"I'll go for Yamame. I would think that she would have a better excuse for not telling anyone. She didn't seem to quite understand what relationships are. And, well, if Yuugi gets mad and attacks me I can't really fight back while still staying in disguise."

"Okay. To the Ancient City, then."

---

Nue turns into a generic-looking Oni before you enter, so that her odd appearance does not raise any suspicion.

"Do you know where Yuugi lives?"

"Not particularly. I imagine we could find out pretty easily, though."

"I'll ask on my own, then, since it'd be suspicious for me to ask while traveling with an Oni."

"Okay. Meet me by that street corner over there once you find out."

You walk off, until you are no longer in sight range of Nue.

Okay, time to look for an oni. You need directions...

Hum. That oni over there looks pretty clueless. You have the pick of an entire city to ask for directions, so you should at least pick a good one. You look around a bit. Huh, who is that girl? She doesn't look like an oni.

Actually, she looks pretty familiar. Where have you seen her before?

Oh, yeah. She was that girl that Nue impersonated, when you were scaring Parsee.

"Impersonated? Well, I suppose that explains some things."

Uh. Wait, what?

The girl walks up to you. "I should have thought that a shapeshifting youkai might have been behind it."

Well, you aren't a shapeshifter yourself. Except that you can take on a convincing human form, but-

"No, no. I didn't mean that. I meant Nue."

That weird-looking eye floating above her chest is staring directly at you. You are feeling quite uncomfortable.
Is she a mind reader? Your current plan would become a bit uncomfortable, in that case.

"A plan? Do tell."

Well, this is a bit of a pickle.

(Pick one.)
[ ] Filibuster!
-[ ] HAMMOCKS
-[ ] My what pretty eyes you have there ma'am.
-[ ] Well, see, it all started when my mom got scared, and said...
[ ] SO AS I PRAY, UNLIMITED TRUTH WORKS.
[ ] Wait, what's that over there!
[ ] Write-in.

[X] Wait, what's that over there!

You might just end up ruining our plan Satori, so we have to go-oh look, shiny.

[X] Filibuster!
-[X] Well, see, it all started when my mom got scared, and said...

^?

[X] Filibuster!
-[X] Well, see, it all started when my mom got scared, and said...

[x] Filibuster!
-[x] Well, see, it all started when my mom got scared, and said...

Shit, I just noticed, if we hadn't scared Parsee, she wouldn't have jumped into the river and our roommate would have never saved her.

[x] SO AS I PRAY, UNLIMITED TRUTH WORKS.
Our objective is just, even if our motives may be not.

[X] SO AS I PRAY, UNLIMITED TRUTH WORKS.

We may not be going about it in the nicest way, but I think Satori should be able to understand why we're doing this. The principles side of it, I mean. Not the petty part.

Regardless, I doubt she would think it admirable for that asshole roommate of ours to be three-timing.

[X] SO AS I PRAY, UNLIMITED TRUTH WORKS.

Satori'll find out the plan anyway since the MC tends to go into long internal monolouges at the drop of a hat. Just get this over with.

[X] SO AS I PRAY, UNLIMITED TRUTH WORKS.
When a three-timing guy who was up to no good...

[x] SO AS I PRAY, UNLIMITED TRUTH WORKS.

[x] Filibuster!
-[x] HAMMOCKS

I like hammocks! They're comfy and easy to sleep in!

[x] SO AS I PRAY, UNLIMITED TRUTH WORKS.

[X] SO AS I PRAY, UNLIMITED TRUTH WORKS.

You get a brilliant idea. You should so try to lie to a mind reader.
Yeah right.

"See, me and Nue are going around impersonating-"

"Don't bother talking, it's faster if you just think," she snaps.

Jeeze, that's a bit rude. Well, you two are going around impersonating girls in order to expose the nefarious plan of chugalug. Well, Nue is the one impersonating girls, you are just ordering her around. And it's not like she needs to use any impersonation to give the impression of being a girl, given that she is a girl normally. Maybe. You aren't quite that sure about that. And there do seem to be some parties interested in you impersonating girls, now that you think about it, namely Kogasa-

"Enough! I get the idea!" The girl sighs. "Just what I needed. I'll look into it later, when I'm not busy."

What in the world could be more important then the hearts of three pure maidens? Parsee, Yuugi, and that weirdo spider girl whose name temporarily escapes you.

She sighs. "The kappa are having some sort of argument over operating procedures of the Subterranian Sun reactor core, and they requested a mediator. As CEO and majority stockholder of Chireiden power company, I can hardly refuse."

Well, that explains things. Kind of. A hell-based power company? Well, it would explain why the surface world of Gensokyo has power, but you've never seen a power plant...

"Yes, yes. I'll have time for this later. ...I would tell you to stay put and let me handle this when I get time, but you wouldn't listen to me, would you? I suppose you should go ahead and do your thing... just..." She leans in towards you, and locks eyes with you. You can feel an intensity behind her eyes. "Before you do anything untoward, remember that I am entirely capable of making the rest of your long, long youkai life miserable."

She hurries off. You wave. What a nice woman.

Aren't you forgetting something, though?
Oh, right! You need to know where to find Yuugi!

"Hey, creepy girl, can you give me directions to Yuugi's pad?"

Oh, she's already out of earshot. Shoot.

However, one of the oni hears you, and gives you directions. Thanks, ultimately irrelevant oni!

---

"I'm back, Nue! And I come bearing direction!"

"Took you long enough."

"I was held up on account of-" No, wait, you already used that joke. "I ran into a mind reader and had to defeat her with the awesome power of not bothering to even try lying."

"Well, I sure hope you gave a convincing enough case to not jeapardize this mission of yours."

You're in this too, Nue! Don't try to bail out now! "Ours. And no, she seemed too busy to care. She said she would look into it later, but that's no fun."

"Well, that's sure encouraging."

"Bah, we are too far in to bail out now. Might as well go see Yuugi."

"Okay, okay."

You lead her to Yuugi's house. "Okay, you turn into," what was her name again? Ya- something? "That spider one."

"With all these witnesses?"

"Oh, true. We better kill them all."

"I was thinking of going into an alleyway."

"I was joking." She's already left. Ah well.

After about a minute, Yamamoto walks out of the alleyway. Yagami? Oh, who cares, it's really Nue anyway.

You knock on the door. Wait, Nue probably should have been the one to do that. You scram before it can open, anyway, and hope you don't attract any weird looks.

A snake slithers up your shirt and around your neck again. "Sorry about that," you whisper, "I got carried away."

The door opens, and Nue walks inside.

Now, you can't exactly walk in without being noticed, so instead you quiet your breathing and hide outside. Let's see if you can listen in...

You spend about a minute looking for a good place to listen to the conversation, when you hear it begin. Apparently... Yuugi does not talk quietly.

"Hey, Yamame! How's it going! You here for me, or are you just stoppin' by?" A hearty laugh.

"Actually, I have a question."

"Oh, come on, don't be shy. You can ask me stuff any time!" You can't see them, but you imagine Yuugi has her hand on Nue's shoulder at this point.

"What's 'two-timing' mean?"

"Oh? And where'd you hear that word?"

"Parsee said it, but I don't really know what it means."

"Oh, so she's found something else to get jealous about, has she?"

"She was talking to me about that new human who arrived in the ancient city. The strong one."

"Oh?" While Nue did not say buttlord's name there, Yuugi seems to get the picture. "What about him?" She begins to sound a bit worried, like she is seeing where this conversation is going.

"Well, I told her I was dating him. And she said she was dating him also. And she said that was two-timing and that was a bad thing. But I don't really get it."

Silence. "Well, that definitely isn't good at all. He didn't mention a thing to me about that..." You can hear anger rising in her voice. "He should have told me! I don't like liars, but I thought he was different!"

Well, this sounds like it's a success. "Thanks for telling me about this, Yamame. Even if it ain't good news for me, I can appreciate your honesty here."

"Okay. ...you still didn't answer my question, though."

"Well, uh, normally you're s'posed to only date one person at a time, but... oh, you should ask somebody else. I'm not good with this touchy-feely stuff. And I'm too angry to..." Another pause. Yuugi comes back a moment later, sounding somewhat more depressed. "I think I'll go get wasted. Wanna join me?"

"No. I'm going to go find someone else to explain this to me. Thanks, though!" Nue gave that last bit an odd-sounding cheerful lilt. Well, she seems to have the feel down, anyway.

The door opens again, and Nue leaves. She begins walking off, and you follow her discreetly.

Once she passes a few streets, she ducks into another alley and comes out as Nue again.

"That went well, Nue."

"I'm glad she didn't end up punching me or something."

"I thought you were supposed to be some really powerful youkai. Should a punch scare you?"

"A punch by an oni, yes. Even weak oni can crack boulders with their bare hands."

"Oh." You are glad you are not a boulder. It must be dangerous to be one, down here. "Well, should we go onto Parsee, next?"

"Isn't she out on a date?"

"Oh, yeah. By process of elimination."

"So I guess we have some free time. There's no way she won't hear of this now that both Yuugi and Yamame know, anyway."

What now?

[X] "We could go on a date too."
[X] "A real one, I mean. Not a fake one."
[X] "I think I would like that more anyway."

I would.

>>25813
stop jumping the god damn it. She wasn't that comfortable with being a fake girlfriend, what makes you think she'd be eager to be a real one at this point.

[x] Ask Nue how much she knows of the underground.
[x] Go sight seeing
[x] Figure out a way to record the ensuring shitstorm for Kogasa's entertainment while staying out of site.

We can't have Kogasa missing out on this, and where's a nosy Tengu when you need her?

>>25814

Bite your tongue, buddy. There's a difference between going on a date and being in a relationship. A very big one.

Here's a hint: one is a step toward the other.

>>25818
It'd be one thing if she didn't object to the fake girlfriend; I'd be a bit likely to agree.

That and dealing with a cheater would make most girls wary of guys for a few days at least. Not to mention it might come off to her as still trying to one up the roommate.

[x] Ask Nue how much she knows of the underground.
[x] Go sight seeing
[x] Figure out a way to record the ensuring shitstorm for Kogasa's entertainment while staying out of site.

[x] Ask Nue how much she knows of the underground.
[x] Go sight seeing
[x] Figure out a way to record the ensuring shitstorm for Kogasa's entertainment while staying out of site.

We'll take that step later after the 'fun' is over.

[X] Ask Nue how much she knows of the underground.
[X] Go sight seeing
[X] Figure out a way to record the ensuring shitstorm for Kogasa's entertainment while staying out of site.

[x] Ask Nue how much she knows of the underground.
[x] Go sight seeing
[x] Figure out a way to record the ensuring shitstorm for Kogasa's entertainment while staying out of site.
The compensation for Nue's help should be a little but of exploration.

[x] Ask Nue how much she knows of the underground.
[x] Go sight seeing
[x] Figure out a way to record the ensuring shitstorm for Kogasa's entertainment while staying out of site.

If this update doesn't make a whole lot of sense, it's because I'm tired.
Alternate explanations: Yukari fooling around, Eirin's shady drugs, Moriya shrine conspiracy, etc.

Image set as NSFW due to being a spoilar, not due to being explicit or anything.

---

[x] Ask Nue how much she knows of the underground.
[x] Go sight seeing
[x] Figure out a way to record the ensuring shitstorm for Kogasa's entertainment while staying out of site.

"Hey, Nue, can you shapeshift into a camcorder?"

"A what?"

"A camcorder. It's a device which lets you record images and sounds and replay them later."

"Like a camera?"

"Like that, except for movies."

"I don't think I can shapeshift into pieces of technology. I've never tried, anyway. I might be able to do it if I really knew how they worked on a technical level, I guess, but I don't."

"Well, a camcorder works by... light comes into the lense and then... you know, I have no idea how video recording devices work."

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, it'd be great if we could track down my roommate and record what happens next so that Kogasa can see a recording of a lot of people shouting at each other and crying, or maybe even fighting."

"Why would she want to see that?"

"It could provide her with valuable experience in to how, uh, the real world works? And show her that she should not date multiple people at once and keep it a secret? And other important life lessons?"

"I would have thought you could think up a better souvenir then that."

"I didn't bring any money, so if I get her anything it'll have to be free. And nothing is more free then the free press." You glance around. You half-expected to be ambushed by a reporter after saying that. Or does that logic only work with the Inquisition?

"Couldn't you just break into someone's house and steal an umbrella or something?"

"Why would they have umbrellas underground?"

"I think it snows here. So I wouldn't be surprised if it rained also."

"Also, uh, I don't think Byakuren would like it if we robbed someone to get gifts."

"Oh, right." Nue grimaces. "I keep forgetting about that. If this was a thousand or so years ago, I wouldn't think twice before stealing an umbrella. Well, I wouldn't need an umbrella anyway, but if I did I wouldn't think twice."

"Well, maybe we... are you a good portrait artist? We could train a parrot and have you draw a series of pictures..."

"Look, I think this is a lost cause. If you really want you could stalk them and then tell the tale later to the best of your ability... but also consider that it could be hours until anything big happens. Apparently Yuugi is busy getting drunk, and Yamame didn't actually seem to be that mad, so Parsee might not actually hear about it for a while."

"Eh. I suppose I don't care too much. If I stick around he might figure out it was me. It'd have to be from a distance... do you have a telescope?"

"No."

"What about a spyglass?" Spyglass sounds way cooler then telescope, anyway.

"No."

"Maybe you could turn into a-"

"Unless you can read lips, it wouldn't help much."

"Maybe we could dupe someone into standing around? Ooh, or maybe you could shapeshift and pretend to be a bystander Oni?"

"We still don't know if your roommate has a power that can let him see through disguises. Once they piece together the stories of Yamame, Yuugi, and Parsee they will realize that a shapeshifter was involved, also. And while his reputation will have definitely been ruined, I wouldn't want to risk being around if he feels particularly vengeful, you know?"

"So you'd rather not potentially put your life on the line for the sake of my- I mean, Kogasa's satisfaction?"

"No, not really."

"Relax, it was a joke! ...well, how much do you know about the underground? We could go sight-seeing or something and pass some time."

"Well, I spent most of my time here holed up in an underground prison. I wasn't able to leave it and visit the Ancient City, or anything. I did here back in the day once or twice, when this place was still an active part of Hell, but it's definitely a different place now. I can hardly say, really."

This place is no longer really part of Hell? You suppose it makes sense, why there isn't any torturing or anything going on, but still. Nobody thought to tell you that. "Well, let's just go in, like, a random direction." You look around. Are there any interesting-looking places here?

...maybe that huge-ass gigantic palace with stained-glass windows dominating the center of the Ancient City that you somehow failed to notice up until now? "How about we go there?" You point.

"I think that's where the Komeijis live. And sure, it looks like a good enough place to go sight-seeing." It sure is a sight that can be seen, you must admit. That's an important qualification for sightseeing, right? You can't go and sightsee invisible or imaginary landmarks, unless you have very sharp eyes.

You walk down the streets of the former hell, taking the sights as long as you are here. Compared to Makai, this place is much more lively. Also less red and blue. More old-fashioned Japanese looking, really. As you pass by houses, you catch the occasional sounds of laughter or conversation. Pretty loud, actually. Presumably there are Oni inside, getting drunk and having fun. And don't mind passer-bys listening in.

And here's the palace. Big place. Quite large. You're not sure what's it called, so you'll call it Large McBigPalace. Or not, since that would take more mental time then just "the palace."

You go up to the door. "Well, we could knock, but it would be more fun to just let ourselves in."

You let yourself in. Nue follows, a bit more reluctantly. She seems unusually reluctant, really. Is she scared of the people who live here? She said that it belonged to the Komeijis, whoever they were.

Well, this place is pretty from the inside. The big stained-glass windows cast patterns of light on the floor. It's very grand, but sparse.
You are barely inside the place, though, when you encounter a cat.

"Look, it's a cat."

Nue walks over to it. "Yes, it does seem to be a cat." Well, that wasn't a very useful thing to say. Has she fallen prey to the infamous cuteness proximity effect?

The cat meows, and then pads off.

Okay. You continue in, with Nue at your heels.

---

You decide to go to the highest floor you can find, so that you can get a good view of the city. That'd be a sight, right?

When you reach the top floor, you encounter a cat.

"Hello, kitty."

The cat meows again, and pads off again.

Well now. "So, Nue, why do these Komeiji people have this big palace? We haven't run into a single person so far. I can't imagine why anyone would need so much space."

"They had access to free labor and don't need to pay property tax. Why not?"

...why not indeed? "I suppose I would have a ridiculously huge mansion too."

The two of you find a window and look at the city. It's quite pretty from this elevation.

"...you know, we probably could have just flown up. Breaking into someone's house was kind of unnecessary."

Bah, Nue, you and your logic. "Oh, quiet. You're ruining the moment."

---

Back down to the first floor.
On the way down, you encounter the cat again.

It meows.

If you see that damn cat one more time. "Hey, cat, what's your problem?"

You walk towards the door, but it does not seem to be getting any closer.

Walk walk walk.

Okay, this is kinda weird.

The cat is staring at you attentively, and Nue is standing by the door, looking back at you rather confusedly.

"Kyu! Kyu!" A little girl's laugh.

Suddenly, Nue's look switched from confusion to surprise.

You turn around, to see two girls.

One, a blonde with weird christmas-tree wings, is currently bouncing around wildly and making explosion noises.

The other, a girl with a lump of blue flesh on her chest and a rather dashing hat, is standing directly behind you and is gripping your hand with surprising strength. Well, that's why you weren't making any headway earlier. Why didn't you notice that before, though?

"Koishi! Koishi! Did you bring me entertainment?"

"No, it seems like it came for us." The girl named Koishi lets go of your hand. "Do you know any games?"

(Pick one.)
[ ] What about hide and seek? I hear Nue is ace at it.
[ ] Maybe we could play Cowboys and Indians?
[ ] Got a Wii? You look like the type.
[ ] I know of The Game. Which, by the way, I just lost.
[ ] What about... the most dangerous game?
[ ] Maybe we can have a tea party.
[ ] Sorry, kid, I don't have time. Important business and all.
[ ] Write-in.

---

I included some suicide options for you, if you are so inclined. Hopefully they should be very clear. Don't worry, if you don't do anything stupid you'll survive.
In other news, I have no idea why this happened. I was just writing it, and suddenly this felt like the natural conclusion.

[X] How about a round of danmaku?
-[X] Challenge the one with the dashing hat.

Fun that hopefully isnt a suicide option.

[x] I know of The Game. Which, by the way, I just lost.
[x] What about hide and seek? I hear Nue is ace at it.
Then we high tail the fuck outta there.

[x] What about hide and seek? I hear Nue is ace at it.

One can only hope Koishi's keeping Flandre's impulses in line.

[X] I know of The Game. Which, by the way, I just lost.
[X] What about hide and seek? I hear Nue is ace at it.

[X] What about hide and seek? I hear Nue is ace at it.

I'm getting Touhou Nekokayou vibes here.

[X] I know of The Game. Which, by the way, I just lost.
[X] What about hide and seek? I hear Nue is ace at it.

Extra-Stage party! All we need is for Yukari to gap in Mokou and Suwako and we'd be set!

[ℤℯ] What about hide and seek? I hear Nue is ace at it.

>>25898
What kind of vibes?

>>25905
It's a create.swf comic. The creator ships Flandre and Koishi. Comic's page is here: http://dizzy.pestermom.com/?p=thcomic, but the story where the two hook up is over here: http://dizzy.pestermom.com/?p=flankoi

>>25906
But it's also a popular pairing in fanart as you might see on Danbooru.

[X] I know of The Game. Which, by the way, I just lost.
[X] What about hide and seek? I hear Nue is ace at it.

"Games? Well, what about The Game?"

"The game?" Koishi looks at you in confusion.

"Well, I just lost it, so nevermind. Uh..."

While you think, Nue begins to warily walk up to you. "Is that that vampire, Flandre Scarlet?"

The blonde girl nods. "Yup!"

"What are you doing here? This is very far from your home."

"I kidnapped her." Koishi nods sagely.

Danmaku? Something tells you that might be risky.

"Kidnapped?"

"I walked into the mansion while it was busy dealing with some weird intruder, an archeologist or something, grabbed her, and ran."

"Ah. Quite a daring heist, then." Nue gives an appreciative nod.

"This place is so cool!" Flandre prances around. "It's big an' open, but there's no sunlight or rain ever!" No rain? Then you were right about there being no umbrellas! Vindicated!
...why would a vampire be afraid of the rain, though?

"Well, she seems to be happy to be 'kidnapped'." Nue pauses, and then shudders. "I would too, if I had to stay in a basement for that long."

"I'm training her to be my pet!"

Wait! An idea. "How about hide and seek? Nue is really good at it, I hear."

Koishi turns back to you. "Okay. Who should seek, first?"

Flandre points to Koishi. "You should! You are too good at hiding, so it's only fair!"

Koishi shrugs. "Okay. I'll turn and count to twenty. You all hide."

She turns around and leans up against a wall. "One..."

You all spring into action. Flandre seems to be the most enthusiastic, but she also makes the most noise. Those wings jingle and jangle.
Nue, on the other hand, seems to not be entirely sure why she is playing hide and seek, but she goes about it anyway.
You fly low off the ground, looking for a good hiding place.

That side-room? Nah.

Wait, maybe under that stairwell? Eh, it's wide-open.

You don't have much time left. Oh, wait! You are a lot more flexible then you were as a human, so maybe if you contort yourself just right you can fit into this trash bin... success!

Luckily it was empty. Okay, time to get very quiet and very still.

Wait... wait... waaaait...

...after about a minute it occurs to you that Koishi never said how long to wait until you are considered to have successfully hidden. Uh...

Poke. Poke.

And then a yank, and you find yourself outside the trash bin. Koishi pulled you out with one hand.

She smiles, and then wanders off. How did she find you so easily?

You should follow her and discover her technique!

Okay, so she is wandering eratically. She walks straight by that open door... huh? You would have checked there, if you wanted to be thorough...

She suddenly makes a 180-degree turn and almost walks into you, just barely slipping by you. The way she did it made it look effortless, though.

She walks towards a room with a closed door... and then walks into the door, and keeps walking. She continues wandering off, standing on the wall.

Then she suddenly springs off for no apparent reason. You follow her as fast as you can, and find her in what looks like a pantry.

She makes a little hop, leaping from the edge of the doorframe sideways over a shelf of preserved foods and landing on the wall behind it. Has gravity shifted 90 degrees for her, or is she just making very complicated use of flight to make-believe?

She comes out from behind the shelf, now walking on the ceiling, and leading Flandre by hand.
She then crouches and leaps, and lands on the floor, and you stop having to tilt your head. She skips off with a carefree look on her face, and then-

What were you doing again? Something about... following someone?

"Flandre, what was I doing?"

"We were... playing hide and seek. I guess Koishi found us, 'cuz we aren't hiding any more."

...

The two of you walk back to the enterance hall.

So, what conversational topics do you use for vampires. "So, Flandre, do you drink wine?"

"Remy doesn't let me touch alcohol."

Oh. Well, that's appropriate for a vampire. "What are your hobbies?"

"Reading."

You reach the enterance hall.

She begins to rock around on her feet. "Bored already."

"Well, I guess we wait until Nue shows up, and then-"

"I wanna have fun now!" She sticks out her tongue, and looks around. She points her hand at you, balls it into a fist and you reflexively throw yourself to the side and from behind you you can hear the floor exploding.

"Good reflexes." She grins. "Wanna play?"

"I'm not sure if that would be all that-"

"I'm baaack!" Koishi skips back into the room, with Nue following.

Nue shrugs. "You are pretty good at this, I will admit."

Koishi walks up to Flandre. "Were you a good girl?"

Flandre nods eagerly.

Koishi glances over past you, at the smoking hole in the ground. "You were not a good girl at all!" She bops Flandre on the head. "I'll have to give you your punishment!"

Koishi grabs Flandre's hand and drags her off. She turns back to you as she walks. "Bye! I would play more, but I need to discipline this naughty pet!" Oddly, Flandre does not seem to be doing anything to resist. She seems all too happy, overall, for someone about to get punished.

Okay. You aren't sure how comfortable you are about this whole situation, but you aren't really sure of the exact nature. Is this, like, kidnapping and brainwashing, or very creative S&M roleplaying?
Eh. None of your business.

Oh, hey, it's that cat. It walks up to you and rubs it's head on your legs, purring.
"Bye, cat. Nue, I think we should get out of this underground place before we run into any more unexpectedly dangerous children."

"Yes, let's."

The two of you leave the palace. Behind you, you can hear a voice call out, "Thanks for putting up with Koishi, nya!"
You turn around. You don't see anyone. Weird.

---

"Sorry, Kogasa, I forgot to get any souvenirs."

"Aww. Did you have fun, at least?"

"Yes, but is that really any consolation for you?"

She sticks out her tongue. "A little!"

---

Another uneventful dinner. Nobody else has heard of your plan yet, so you aren't a topic of conversation. Once they do... perhaps Byakuren will condemn you, or perhaps she will praise you. You aren't really sure.
They will probably hear eventually, though. Satori seemed like the kind of person who would know exactly who to contact. Although, she only said she would ruin your life if you did anything untoward.
...is breaking into her house untoward? Would telling Byakuren count as 'making your life miserable'?
Oh well.

You really do need to learn to plan things out better, though. You wanted to go sight-seeing and ended up nearly burglarizing someone.
Might as well lay out a plan now, before you go to bed.

What to do? (Pick two.)
[ ] Check out the human village.
[ ] Help out/interact with one of the people in the temple.
-[ ] Which?
[ ] Go bug your roommate. (You probably shouldn't show your face in the underground for a few days.)
[ ] Maybe you should go to that vampire mansion and tell the people there where Flandre is.
[ ] Reeeeimu. You should go bug her.
[ ] Maybe if you meet with Yuuka again, this time without any other people around to get stabbed, it'll go better?
[ ] Maybe another visit to Makai is in order.
[ ] Maybe you should train some, so you don't have to shake in fear every time you see a little girl in a frilly dress.
-[ ] What should your strategy be?
-[ ] Who should you get to help you?
[ ] Write-in.

[x] Maybe you should train some, so you don't have to shake in fear every time you see a little girl in a frilly dress.
-[x] What should your strategy be?
--[x]Get blasted and get tough.
-[x] Who should you get to help you?
--[x]Nue

[x] Help out/interact with one of the people in the temple.
-[x] Nue, since she's the main one working today.
[x] See if Kogasa and/or Nue wants to go with to the spider lilies after checking with Shou.

[X] Maybe if you meet with Yuuka again, this time without any other people around to get stabbed, it'll go better?
-[X] However, you'll at least stay at the edge and call out to her, if you don't find some sort of proper entrance first.

Yuka won't try to kill us dead (hopefully) if we enter as guests instead of intruders.

[x] Maybe you should train some, so you don't have to shake in fear every time you see a little girl in a frilly dress.
-[x] What should your strategy be?
--[x]Get blasted and get tough.
-[x] Who should you get to help you?
--[x]Nue

[X] Maybe if you meet with Yuuka again, this time without any other people around to get stabbed, it'll go better?
-[X] However, you'll at least stay at the edge and call out to her, if you don't find some sort of proper entrance first.

[X] Maybe you should train some, so you don't have to shake in fear every time you see a little girl in a frilly dress.
-[X] What should your strategy be?
--[X] Get blasted and get tough.
-[X] Who should you get to help you?
--[X] Murasa

Sailor girl needs jobs badly.

Oh god tell me I'm not seeing pro-Yuuka votes after what happened last time.

[x] Maybe you should train some, so you don't have to shake in fear every time you see a little girl in a frilly dress.
-[x] Experiment with unused spellcards and take some knocks.
-[x] Ichirin & Unzan
Who better than the experienced temple guard who likely won't be doing any actual guarding? And as much as I love Nue, some interaction with the other residents wouldn't be a bad thing.
[x] Maybe you should go to that vampire mansion and tell the people there where Flandre is.
Might head off some potential future trouble + get us on slightly good terms with the SDM.

>>25945
That'll get us mixed in the upcoming megaton shitstorm in the underground.

[X] Maybe you should train some, so you don't have to shake in fear every time you see a little girl in a frilly dress.
-[X] What should your strategy be?
--[X] Get blasted and get tough.
-[X] Who should you get to help you?
--[X] Murasa

[x] Maybe you should train some, so you don't have to shake in fear every time you see a little girl in a frilly dress.
-[x] What should your strategy be?
--[x] Get blasted and get tough.
-[x] Who should you get to help you?
--[x] Murasa

[X] Maybe you should train some, so you don't have to shake in fear every time you see a little girl in a frilly dress.
-[X] What should your strategy be?
--[X] Get blasted and get tough.
-[X] Who should you get to help you?
--[X] Murasa

[X] Maybe you should train some, so you don't have to shake in fear every time you see a little girl in a frilly dress.
-[X] What should your strategy be?
--[X] Get blasted and get tough.
-[X] Who should you get to help you?
--[X] Murasa

After thinking about it, you want to get tough. Real tough. You want to be a real man. But how's the best way to do it?
That's it! You should get a girl to hit on you. Er, hit you. With danmaku.
This is a wonderful idea. You are going to get buff in no time flat. Buff like you can only get by being hit with dangerous magic spells over and over until you are too weak to walk.

Might as well get a headstart on unconciousness.
You go to bed.

---

You stand in front of a mirror, adjusting a hat. Must... achieve... maximum... dapper... there!
Let's go, Téodor, the bunnies await.

---

That was a good rest! The dream was pretty boring, but it did fill you with a kind of weird courage.
You get out of bed, stretching. You are so ready for a day of hard knocks!

You go to the dining room. Shou seems to have just arrived. Huh, maybe you slept a bit longer then normal (that sounds weird, even to think, given how things have been going recently.)

"Hey, Shou, you up earlier?"

"No, you are just up later." Huh. Maybe your sleep schedule is beginning to stabilize?

"Oh, okay."

She goes into the kitchen, and you follow out of lack of anything else to do. "Any news?"

"Oh, it's been going pretty slow. In all honesty, most of the interesting things to happen lately have directly involved you. Byakuren wished for stability, and we have worked hard to get it."

"Really? Absolutely nothing has happened that doesn't directly involve me?"

"Well, I heard that there's a lot of chaos down at that vampire mansion. Something about an invader and a missing person. They are far too proud to accept help from us, though." Well, only half of that is directly involved with you. The other half is only indirectly involved.

"Also, I think there's something going on in the underground. We don't get much news from down there, though." That is directly related to you. Shit, maybe she's right.

"Besides that, I haven't heard of anything going on elsewhere. I suppose that doesn't mean nothing else is going on, though. It's not like my information network is infallable." Presumably, by 'information network' she means Nazrin.

You think for a moment. "Well, is this normal, or am I some kind of freak?"

"Oh, it's normal. Usually people involved in the latest incident cause a lot of chaos for a while, directly or indirectly, and then fade into obscurity." If you were the one answering that, you would have prefaced that with 'Oh, you are a freak, but...' She goes on. "Sometimes people who were involved in previous incidents will help Reimu out in solving future ones, or compete against her to see who can solve them first. There are very few people who are stupid enough to be on the opposite side of Reimu more then once, though, so few people are the cause of multiple incidents."

"Okay. So I should expect to become irrelevant in a week or two?"

"Well, it's all up to you. Most people settle into some kind of a pattern and begin to have less of an impact, but if you want you could keep going around stirring up trouble and getting scolded by Byakuren." Uh, you don't like how she phrased that.

You follow her as she walks back into the dining room, and begins to set the table. "I don't know, settling into a pattern sounds boring."

"Well, you are young, and still think more or less like a human, so I imagine it does." She stops talking for a bit, so you take a seat and begin to eat breakfast. "Oh, but on the subject of not settling into a pattern... I heard you left with Nue yesterday. Did you have a good time?"

How much does she know? "It was okay. Nothing unusual, really. Well, I almost died once, but that's not too odd for me."

"I won't pry." Good. "Of course, if you were stirring up trouble I will hear." You are pretty sure she won't connect you with the trouble you were stirring up, unless Satori tells her after all. And if she does tell on you, you will be much more able to explain yourself this time then last time. Byakuren probably won't quite approve of your methods, but your intentions were pure. Er, pure-ish.

But, wait, maybe Shou could help you with your plan for today? "Oh, but speaking of almost getting killed, I was thinking that maybe I should spend today doing a bit of danmaku training. So I am better able to defend myself."

She sits down and begins to eat, herself. "And do you want my help? Or my advice?"

"Well, they wouldn't be unwanted, but mostly I wanted your permission for Murasa to help me. You know, make sure you don't think she's shirking on her duties or anything." Although, uh, she helped you last time you asked also and Shou didn't seem to have a problem. But you figure it's better to ask.

"Oh, that's fine with me. But why Murasa?"

"I bet she would appreciate something to do."

"I can't argue with that. You can tell her that she has my official permission to help you out, if that is what you want."

"Okay."

You finish up the meal, and leave the room... just as the others begin to file in. Byakuren comes in first, and greets the two of you politely but warmly. Kogasa is second, and she looks pretty sleepy. And then Ichirin comes in, apparently mid-conversation with Unzan (how does she have conversation with Unzan, anyway? You've never heard him speak.) And last is Murasa. How convenient.

You stop her. "Hey, Murasa, can you help me out?"

"With what?"

"Well, I figure I should practice danmaku with you. Oh, you can eat breakfast first, it's okay."

"Alright, but... why me?"

"Aw, you look so lonely! ...also I'd be scared to ask, say, Nue."

She laughs. "I can see why. Already taken some heard knocks from Reimu, right?"

Well, your objective is to take some hard knocks, but you are afraid that if Nue might be too hard for you. "Something like that. Meet me in my room?"

"No, meet me outside the bathhouse."

"Er, okay." Why the bathhouse? Well, whatever.

You walk off to the bathhouse, and leave her to eat her breakfast in peace. If you stood there by the table watching the girls eat breakfast, you would probably make them nervous or something.

Okay, so, why the bathhouse? Maybe she will want to be close to the bath so that if she gets sweaty from fighting, she can wash?
You imagine that for a moment.
Wait, do ghosts even sweat? Eh, details.
Or maybe... maybe she will want to take a bath with you?
You imagine that for a moment. Er, wait, bad thoughts, bad thoughts!
Maybe she just is so used to tending to it by now that she is used to staying there? Maybe it's her favorite haunt, so to speak?
Oh that was a horrible joke. You feel bad for even thinking it. It's so bad you would never, say, write it down and post it on the internet for everyone to see. Oh no.

Oh, hey, here comes Murasa! "Hey Murasa!"

"Hello."

"How was breakfast?"

"It was okay."

Time to voice your question. "Uh, why did you ask to meet me outside the bathhouse?"

"I figure we could fight inside."

"...why?"

"It's about the most wide-open place I can go to without disturbing the worshippers in the temple proper." Oh, right, she can't leave the building.

"What if someone wants to take a bath?"

"Then we can take a break."

"Fair enough."

The two of you walk inside. "Uh, should I take off my clothes, or?"

"We aren't going to fight naked!"

"Oh." Damn. "Just checking."

The two of you hover over the water. This bath is actually pretty big, you will admit, so it does make a very interesting battlefield. Maybe she had an ulterior motive for calling you here, though. Isn't her power water-based?

"So, four card duel?"

"Actually, I had a different idea." You pause, and try to think of how to explain it. "I figure I'd just stand here in one place and purposefully get hit. You know, build up my toughness and stuff."

She looks a bit surprised. "Are you sure?"

"Hell yes! This is a man's training!"

Murasa looks like she is about to answer, but then she suddenly stops. She's staring a bit to the side of you. Why would-"

You turn around. Kogasa is standing behind you, naked except for a towel, still carrying her umbrella.

Shit. You had thus far managed to avoid any type of wacky sitcom-style 'accidently seeing someone naked in the bath' hijinx, but it seems that your luck on that front has worn off.
Or is this good luck?

Before you can say anything, Kogasa continues on and gets into the bath. "Don't mind me." She... doesn't seem to mind? Oh, wait, she's a pretty young youkai, and used to live alone. Maybe nobody has explained the birds and bees (tengu and kappa?) to her yet.

Murasa begins to talk, very carefully. "We were about to duel. But, Kogasa, are you sure you want to be naked and in the same room as a man?"

"What's the problem?"

"Well, see, it's not, er, proper." Murasa is blushing, presumably out of empathy or something. Or maybe from trying to think up explanations.

"I've been naked in front of other girls often, and I know there are some girls who like other girls."

"Well, that's different." Murasa pauses. "Actually, I'm not sure what the rules are for that."

You sure hope this unsurprising revelation does not hurt your chances at getting some booty. Hopefully the 'some girls' she mentioned are nobody you are interested in, but also hot and willing to let you watch. You should probably not say that out loud though. "Well, I guess if she has no problems, I'll just not try to look in her direction."

Murasa seems a bit reluctant, but she slowly nods. "I guess there's not any other place open enough for us to fight..."

"Yay! I get to watch!" Kogasa is not making this easier on you.

"So, er, Murasa, hit me."

Murasa reluctantly pulls a ladle out of her clothing, somewhere, and swings it. A single water-drop shaped danmaku bullet flies out, and hits you directly in your center of mass. What was it called, again? 'Hitbox'?

Oof. You had steeled yourself as well as you could, but that impact was still pretty hard on you. "Come on, Murasa! Is that all you've got?"

"No, but should I really attack harder?"

"Who the hell do you think I am? Use a spellcard, not just a single bullet!"

Murasa pulls out a card, and activates it. "Drowning Sign: Deep Vortex!"

She waves her ladle, and a number of lines of water droplet danmaku bullets appear around you. After a moment, they all begin to 'fall'. Of course, if they really fell, it would not be very dangerous; they would all just land in the bath. Instead, they all 'fall' sideways.

You stand your ground, or as close as you can in midair, and focus on your defense. You pour energy into your body, willing it to hold apart with all of your will...
You get hit by one, two, three, five... you can't even keep count of how many bullets that hit you.

You feel drained yet, at the same time, strangely exhilirated. You just survived a wave of a spell card without having one of your own active!

The spell breaks. Murasa must have manually stopped it. "Are you alright? You are breathing pretty hard."

"Haa... haa... haa... that was great. I took that wave of bullets without passing out. This is definitely working."

"This is weird training." Kogasa is looking at you curiously- wait, no, you said you wouldn't look her direction! You pull your gaze away.

"This is a man's training. Murasa, hit me with another."

You collect yourself. "Are you sure?"

"I am sure. I am so sure that I am positive, in fact."

"If you say so." She pulls out another card. "Capsize: Dragging Anchor!"

She points her free hand down, and there's a loud clanking sound. A huge anchor flies out of the bathwater, and she catches it in one hand. Is that the one in her room? What was it doing in the water?

She stows the ladle away, and grips the anchor with both hands. Wind back and... throw!

The anchor flies out at you, taking on a blue glow. Blue danmaku orbs shed from it as it goes. You stare the anchor. This is a big one, you can tell. If you can take a speeding anchor to the chest, you can take anything.

Come to daddy, little anchor. Don't worry, it'll be all right...

---

You wearily open your eyes. This room looks kinda familiar, why? Oh, right, it's that hospital room in Eientei.
Why are you in Eientei, though?

Also, these clothes feel kind of loose. You look down, and see you are in a white hospital gown.

The door opens. Hey, it's that old lady. She has a clipboard. "Oh, you are already awake."

"Hello, old lady."

She glares at you for a moment. "I will ignore that for now, considering how high you are at this moment."

"So, why have I woken up in Eientei?" Is this the beginning of another adventure? Having woken up in Eientei, you must grapple with your amnesia and find love! Just like your dream? Maybe.

"Well, you were cut in half."

"I was?" You don't remember that. You feel remarkably good for supposedly having been cut in half, also.

"Oh, yes." She gives you a smile that is almost too wide. Predatory, even. "It's not often that I see such magnificent wounds. Cut in half- I suppose a better word would be cleaved- by massive blunt trauma to the chest."

"I feel pretty good, all things considering."

"You are on a number of painkillers. And also... other drugs."

"Other drugs?" You wiggle your toes. Yep, they seem to be there. Must have been very low-duration cleavage.

"Oh, yes. Other drugs... happy drugs." She leans forward and looks over your lower body. "It seems that you have regenerated by now."

"Happy drugs... I do feel oddly content." And speaking of cleavage, if she had a more revealing dress on just about now...

"I assume that you only became a youkai recently?"

"Oh? Yeah." Are you supposed to be keeping that a secret? You can't quite remember. Ah, you hardly care at the moment.

"That regeneration took quite a while, for a youkai of your power. It suggested your body was not used to regenerating. And you are too emotionally mature to be a very young youkai." She pauses, and then straightens up. "I do regret to inform you, though, that you will probably never be able to walk again, and most definitely will never be able to fight again."

"I can feel my toes."

"Your bones did not regenerate right. They are far too weak to support your own weight."

Huh? "Oh, okay." You get the feeling that this news would distress you more if you were more lucid.

She scribbles something on the clipboard. "Yes, it seems that my experimental 'happy drug' is working quite well. That was a lie, by the way. You seem to have regenerated entirely fine."

Oh, so she was just trying to test her drug by trying to distress you. Although... "I can see why you gave me painkillers, but why did you give me that happy drug?"

"Well, I needed to test it somehow. Reisen is... not in condition to test any more medication, at the moment."

So you were an unwilling guinea pig for a totally untested drug. You don't really mind, although that might be the drug talking. "Okay."

Eirin walks out, but stops midway through and turns back to you. "You are probably okay to leave right now, but you might want to stop by the waiting room first. That karakasa carried you here, and she seemed quite distressed."

What about Kogasa?
[ ] Meet her and try to comfort her.
[ ] Meet her and tell her that she shouldn't worry as much, you would have regenerated anyway. (Just painfully, apparently.)
[ ] Go back to the temple without her.
[ ] Write-in.

What about the rest of the day?
[ ] Go back to training.
-[ ] Use the same strategy, that had to be a fluke.
-[ ] Use a new strategy.
--[ ] What strategy?
[ ] Take it easy for the rest of the day.
-[ ] What should you do to pass the time?
[ ] Maybe you shouldn't go back yet, but instead should stick around Eientei?
[ ] Write-in.

---

I like how there was a one-one correspondence between people who voted for something dangerous and people who only picked one option. It was like you expected this to happen.
And, by the way, don't beat yourself up over this. This was pretty fun to write.

What about Kogasa?
[X] Meet her and try to comfort her.

What about the rest of the day?
[X] Go back to training.
-[X] Use the same strategy, that had to be a fluke. Such as flying anchors.

Make sure it's only danmaku this time.

[x] Meet her and try to comfort her.
-[x] Apologize for doing something very stupid and worrying her.
[x] Take it easy for the rest of the day.
-[x] Check out that Spider Lily place if it's safe and see if Nue and Kogasa could go with.

We can resume training tomorrow if anything. The last thing a recently regenerated/healed being should do is expose themselves to more stress. But we are forgetting that we were dealing with Flandre Scarlet, not just anyone. So I don't think it'd be all that necessary. And the point of Danmaku is NOT TO GET HIT.

What about Kogasa?
[X] Meet her and try to comfort her.

What about the rest of the day?
[X] Go back to training.
-[X] Use the same strategy, that had to be a fluke. Such as flying anchors.

He is a man, he doesn't let silly little things like being cut in half by anchors stop his manly training.

What about Kogasa?
[X] Meet her and try to comfort her.

What about the rest of the day?
[X] Go back to training.
-[X] Use the same strategy, that had to be a fluke. Such as flying anchors.

Be a man.

What about Kogasa?
[x] Meet her and try to comfort her.

What about the rest of the day?
[x] Go back to training.
-[x] Use the same strategy, that had to be a fluke. Such as flying anchors.

If you can dodge an anchor, you can dodge anything.

What about Kogasa?
[X] Meet her and try to comfort her.

What about the rest of the day?
[X] Go back to training.
-[X] Use the same strategy, that had to be a fluke. Such as flying anchors.

What about Kogasa?
[X] Meet her and try to comfort her.

What about the rest of the day?
[X] Go back to training.
-[X] Use the same strategy, that had to be a fluke. Such as flying anchors.

>>25995
Stop fishing for a bad end already. It's bad enough how such "Manly" thinking caused a minor disaster in Sukima's Momiji story, but to try shitting up this story with such stupidity?

Would you right after getting out the hospital, get into a boxing ring for a sparring match?

Oh, no, I think this is hilarious, and also it is easy to justify from an in-character perspective. There is exactly one possible bad end I have planned, and you all have thus far avoided getting anywhere near it. Writing, by the way.

>>26001
The reason I like this story so much is because it's like the ones way back, which were just fun filled romps of dicking around.

Also, such behavior is perfectly in-character. Maybe you should get a feel for the protagonist.

>>26002
I can't help but to be concerned since such... enlightened thinking almost got Kogasa killed. That and I wasn't expecting him to be cut into two as a result of the training idea. And I wonder if it'll have any actual benefit.

>>26003
Yeah and two stories in the past with such a format trainwrecked hard. I'm just worried this story might meet the same fate. I wouldn't be so concerned if the last idea didn't end with us being bluntly sliced into two. The last thing we want is to log more Eintei bedrest time than Shirou.

>>26003
Yeah, I know what you mean, this story is great!

>>26004
Take it easy.

EDIT: Reposed because I forgot to insert a dreamsequence, and left it as a placeholder. I keep goddamn doing that.

Glad people are enjoying a lighthearted romp kinda story, because in all honesty I don't think I am a good enough writer to write anything else.

---

[X] Meet her and try to comfort her.
[X] Go back to training.
-[X] Use the same strategy, that had to be a fluke. Such as flying anchors.

Yes, you probably should go out and see Kogasa. She did carry you here, and if she was distressed then you owe her an apology. That is really not something you have to agonize over.
On the other hand, though, what should you do for the rest of the day? It won't take an entire day to apologize to Kogasa... she isn't the kind of person who would make you do something complicated to prove you really are sorry.
You could take it easy for the rest of the day, do something relaxing. But... no, you should stay the course. You don't want to flip-flop. And, really, you feel g... o... o... d.

You are about to leave the room, and then realize you still have a hospital gown on. Oh.

Hey, look, a change of clothes on that table. You quickly change first.

...these are your clothes. How in the world did they end up here? You assume that the cheap pair of clothes you had on before were destroyed when you were cut in half, and this looks like the other pair you got from the same tailor.

Maybe Kogasa had a great deal of foresight? Eh.

You leave the room, and then go look for the waiting room. Let's see, it's over... there, right? Yeah.

You slide the door open, and walk in. Kogasa looks up, and you can tell she had been worrying.

"You're okay!" She hugs you.

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"You looked pretty bad! I was worried!"

Yes, that's pretty obvious. "Apparently I was regenerating slowly because that was my first time."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense."

"So, don't worry. I'll be alright." You pat her a little. She looks a little better now. Maybe it's seeing you here looking more or less fine. "Want to go back to the temple?"

She doesn't pull out of the hug.

"I bet the others are worrying also."

"Oh, yeah." She lets go. "Let's go back, then." You smile at her. That's kinda cute. "Oh, right, before I forget."

She hands you a package.

"The doctor said to take some of these pills if any bad side effects come up, and then hurry to Eientei."

"Why did she give them to you? What if I had, say, left without you and a bad side effect came up on the way back?"

"She said that if you left without me you deserved to die of internal ressurection errors." That sounds pretty nasty. But you don't really mind~

"Well, I did come to see you, so let's gooooo."

The two of you leave Eientei, and take flight in the direction of the temple.

"So, I heard you carried me to Eientei all by yourself?"

"Yeah. I would've asked Nue for help, but she vanished."

"Vanished?"

Kogasa thinks for a moment, tossing her umbrella lightly from hand to hand. "I heard her say that she was off to find something, or find something out. She sometimes vanishes with little explanation, anyway. I don't think she trusts people easily."

"Huh." Well, that isn't out of line with what you have heard of her so far.

"So, what are you gonna do when you get back? That training didn't seem to work, so..."

"Oh, I'll go back to training."

"But you got cut in half! I'm just an umbrella and I know that any plan where you lose your upper half..."

"...is a bad plan, right. But I'm a man, and one of the things about men is that we never give up even if the original course of action proves to be suicidal, or even entirely counterproductive." You bang your chest. "That's just how I roll."

"I dunno, it's just that that doesn't sound like that good an idea..." Kogasa trails off.

"Oh, I'll be fine! Come on, believe me! I know what I'm talking about. If I didn't, with the kind of shit I do I'd probably have died long before now!"

"I... I guess that makes sense." Her spirits seem to be lifting a bit.

"Yeah! So instead, you should help me out by cheering me on! A man cannot lose when he has a cute girl cheering him on!" This is kinda fun. A rush, really.

"O-okay! I'll cheer you on!"

"You can't be a man if you go back on your word, and I'll show Murasa that! A man is someone who wants to do something but doesn't do it, then ends up doing it anyway!" Your glorious speech kind of wavered at the end there. Ah well.

So by the end of flight, you manage to put Kogasa in the same good cheer you are in. You try singing a song about how awesome you are, but it isn't a very good song because you end up making most of it up as you go. Still, you tried, and it's nowhere near enough to put a damper on your (drug-based?) good mood.

You land in front of the temple and barge in, opening the doors and swaggering in like you owned the place. Well, what you now know to be the side-door, anyway. You wouldn't want to interrupt the people who come here because it's a temple and not a place full of beds and food, after all.

"Kogasa, let's go to the bath first, so we can surprise Murasa with my awesome speedy recovery!"

"Yeah!"

You sneak through the temple... oh, wait, there's Shou.

"Oh, good, you recovered?"

"Sssh! We are going to go surprise Murasa!"

"...oh, fine. I'll go tell Byakuren you are fine. She was... well... a bit concerned when she decided to take a take a bath and found the entire place covered in blood." ...she took a bath while you were out? Either you were out for longer then you thought, or it was just a very big coincidence. You were too busy being manly to pay attention to what time it looked like outside. Well, no point in pressing the issue.

"Give my regards to Byakuren!" You wave (quietly) and then continue on.

The bathhouse nears. You whisper to Kogasa, "This is a sneaking mission. It requires stealth."

Okay, there's Murasa. She looks kinda worried. You motion to Kogasa, and the two of you split up and both approach Murasa from different angles. Kogasa leaves her umbrella behind, and when you are about to get close to Murasa it slides down and clatters onto the floor loudly. That got Murasa's attention long enough for you to to both get behind her...
"Boo!" "Boo!"

Murasa turns around to you and Kogasa (who, you note, has one eye closed and her tongue sticking out.)

She reflexively leaps backwards, and actually passes through the wall. Oh, right, ghost.

After a moment she walks out, visibly calming herself down. "So... I guess you recovered, and you feel pretty good now?"

"Oh, yeah. I feel great. Better then ever."

"So, uh, I'm really sorry for what happened, and-"

"Oh, don't be sorry! It was bound to happen sooner or later, what with how I get into life-or-death situations every time I go on a walk."

"Still, I didn't mean to put that much power into the anchor, and... and I..."

You hug her. Kogasa hugged you so presumably it's the right kinda thing to do right now. "I asked you to hit me with all you've got, so I was the one at fault."

You let go, and straighten up. "Now, let's get back at it."

"Is that really a good idea?"

"I'm a man. Good ideas have nothing to do with what I do!"

You grab her hand. "You. Me. Bath. Now!" And pull her into the bathhouse. She gives in.

"I won't throw any more anchors!"

"Fine, fine."

Okay, back to hovering. Kogasa is watching again, though she didn't get naked this time. Instead, she is floating in the water using her umbrella like a little boat. You didn't know it was that waterproof. Or bouyant.

She swings her ladle, and a few waterdrop danmaku bullets come out. They slam into you, and...

Nothing! You only feel a slight tickling sensation!

This is awesome! You've figured it out! Somehow, in getting cut in half and regenerating, you have developed an immunity to danmaku! It's like your superhero origin story was, instead of a freak radiation accident or mutation, a freak bisection!

She throws a few more. It's like you're being hit with rain. "Keep 'em coming!" You need to think up your super-hero name.

More... more! "Is that all you've got?"

"Ahahahaha! I am bulletproof!"

...why are you beginning to feel weak? You feel your flight sagging a bit, and your body seems to be twitching...

...oh, right. You're still doped up on painkillers, right? So that's why you weren't feeling the impacts.

Well now. That's a bit of a dissapointment. But you still feel happy! This is pretty cool, even if you aren't invincible. "...actually, can we take a short break?"

"Beginning to feel it now?"

"Actually, uh, no, and that's the problem. I forgot I was still on painkillers. It's not training if I don't feel the pain."

"Oh."

...well. What should you do? "Er, can I take a bath while I wait for the painkillers to wear off?

"Okay. I'll wait for you, then." Murasa leaves.

You begin to take your clothes off, and... wait. "Kogasa, are you gonna leave?"

"Huh? Why would I?"

"Well, it's just..."

"You didn't leave when I walked in naked."

"Well, that was different, because I was busy and... uh..." Oh you know what, who cares? You sure don't... in fact, now that you think about it, you are totally okay with Kogasa seeing you naked. You'd think you would be embarrased, but now that your brain has caught up with your mouth you realize you aren't. Weird. "Okay, fine. Just don't stare, alright?"

She kicks the water a few times, and nods.

Okay, clean up, then get in the bath...

---

After a slightly awkward bath, a bit over half an hour in length, you feel the sensations in your body come back. You call for Murasa again after drying off and getting dressed, and the two of you get back to DUEL FORMATION.
Kogasa, meanwhile, has fallen asleep while still floating in the water. Actually, wait, where did she go? All you can see is the umbrella floating there, upside-down.

"Wait, Murasa, give me a sec."

You float down and pick up the umbrella. The moment you turn it upside-down, Kogasa falls out of it, and lands in the water. While still asleep.
Needless to say, she wakes up pretty quick.

"Oh, sorry, Kogasa."

She gets herself out of the water. "It's okay. I just need to go change into dry clothes." She takes the umbrella from your hands, and begins to walk off. "Don't wait for me, you two can go on ahead."

"Okay, you heard the girl. Let's go do this." She begins throwing small waves of danmaku at you.

You grit your teeth and bare through the waves. "We're doing this. We're making this happen."

After about five minutes of this, you can't take it any more. You can tell she has been throwing low-power danmaku at you, not even a proper non-spellcard wave. Yet even with focusing your entire being on taking hits, ignoring the pain, keeping your energy balanced, you can't bear it. "Okay. Okay. Another half-hour break, how about."

"Really, I don't think this is good for you."

"No, I think it's... I think it's working." You think for a moment. "I'll go to my room, and relax there. Regain energy."

"Alright. Do you want me to come get you when the half hour is up, or will you come to me?"

"It'd... it'd be nice if you came to get me."

"Okay." She waves you off. "I will, then. Take it easy until then."

You wearily return to your room. Your entire body is aching, so the painkillers have definitely worn off. And it seems like the happy drug has too... you begin to feel disappointment wash over you.
It took all of your willpower to not get out of the line of fire, and you don't feel any more awesome then you did before. All you feel is tired and sore.
Well, maybe you are tougher?
You don't feel tougher.
Has this training been of any benifit to you?
Come on, it has to have done something... you try to look over yourself with your youkai senses. You look... well, you look kinda like how you feel. You can tell you are fairly powerful, but your power is mostly gone. Maybe regenerating took a lot out of you. And your body doesn't look any tougher, although you will admit you have no idea if magic-vision is better at telling that then plain sight is.
Is there anything it's made you better at? Maybe it's made your spellcards better.
You pull out your deck, and run your hands over your spellcards. They don't feel any different...
Wait. There seems to be an extra one?

You pull it out, and look at it.

Travel Sign "Walking a Jagged Path Barefoot"

Well, that's nice. You sure hope that spell hurts the enemy and not you, though. It'd be embarassing to declare a spell card and have it K.O. you.

It's good that you've accomplished something. You can probably afford to take a little nap, then...

---

"Chiyuri, get ready."

"But, boss, are you really in any condition to-"

"No questioning me. We are going to do this even if it almost kills me again." You figure that even if this goes wrong you can have very awkward make-up sex or something.
So it's win-win, right?

---

Ah, that felt good. That dream was weird, but it did remind you that men aren't the only ones who can be extremely bullheaded. Well, after that nap, you're ready for...
You look around. Your futon is tucked neatly around you, and the spellcards you had left spread out on the table are back in their deck. Also, it's morning. Definitely morning.
Damn, did you actually sleep all night? That would explain why you dreamed. Murasa was probably unwilling to wake you. Women.

Well, you might as well go have breakfast. Get a start on the day, make up for what you missed.

Okay, the dining room is empty. You wait for a bit and... hey, there's Shou. "Yo, Shou. What did I miss yesterday?"

"A lot of time, but not much action. Byakuren stopped by while you were sleeping, I think, to make absolutely sure you had regenerated correctly. She said yes, so you shouldn't worry." You weren't worrying at all, but whatever. That was pretty nice of her.

Shou begins to walk to the kitchen, when there's a knock on the door. "Oh, let me get that." She walks off.

About a minute later she walks back. Nue is following her, and she looks tired but excited. "Really, what were you up to yesterday, to come back so late today?"

"Oh, as if I would tell you? You'll probably know soon enough anyway, if your cute little mouse's ears are still sharp."

"Nue, you never really change, do you?"

Nue laughs. "Of course not. I adapt to the times just as I take on new bodies, but the real me has never changed." She notices you. "Oh, hey. I heard you got really beaten up."

"Bisected by an anchor."

"Ouch. The first time regenerating is always the hardest."

"I wouldn't know. I was unconcious the entire time."

Nue looks thoughtful for a moment. "I remember my first time. It was with a man." Really now. "He had impaled me. With a spear, through the head. Quite a mighty hero, but one history has forgotten." Yeah, that's pretty much what you expected. Definitely.

"Oh? Why did history forget him?"

"I came back after I regenerated and killed him before he could become well-known." She smiles at you.

Shou begins walking back to the kitchen. "I don't remember my first time regenerating."

"I hardly expected you to. You can't even keep track of your possessions!" Ouch, burn. Nue laughs a bit.

Shou chooses not to comment.

"So, Nue, what were you doing yesterday? Now that Shou isn't here to hear, of course."

"Hah! I'm going to keep it a surprise. I'll be keeping it as one until the time is right."

There's another knock on the door. Shou's voice sounds from the kitchen. "You get it this time. I'm busy now." She actually sounds to be in fairly good spirits, though.

You go to the door. You slide it aside.

"Hey! Can you offer me any shelter, man?"

Wait, is that-"

"Oh, hey, it's you. Weird meeting again so soon."

It's your goddamn roommate! "Er, hello."

"So you live here? Can you let me stay for a bit?"

"Oh? I thought you had a place in the underground?"

"Well, it was actually owned by Yuugi, and I had it rented. And she kinda, uh, kicked me out. I figured I'd go look for some place to stay, and this place is a temple so it's probably got some room for poor homeless wanderers, right?"

[ ] "Sure, you can stay."
[ ] "I don't own the place. I'll take you to Shou; you should be asking her."
[ ] "Sorry, we don't have any spare rooms."
-[ ] "But I do know a good, safe place you can stay if you are willing to camp. It's this nice field of sunflowers."
[ ] Write-in.

Oh, whoops, should have inserted another vote there also, for what to do with the rest of the day. Don't want to delete my post again, so...

(Pick two.)
[ ] Check out the human village.
[ ] Help out/interact with one of the people in the temple.
-[ ] Which?
[ ] Maybe you should spend some time hounding your roommate.
[ ] Maybe you should go see the underground again, now that things are probably winding down there.
[ ] Maybe you should go to that vampire mansion and tell the people there where Flandre is.
[ ] Reeeeimu. You should go bug her.
[ ] Maybe if you meet with Yuuka again, this time without any other people around to get stabbed, it'll go better?
[ ] Maybe you should visit Eientei again. Not for any particular reason, just for old time's sake.
[ ] Maybe another visit to Makai is in order.
[ ] Maybe you should train some, so you don't have to shake in fear every time you see a little girl in a frilly dress. (That worked okay, but you really don't want to do it again.)
[ ] Write-in.

[x] "But I do know a good, safe place you can stay if you are willing to camp. It's this nice field of sunflowers. A nice lady lives alone there, so you can give her some company too"
He's a rival figure, so things always go his way. I sense a 100% chance that he'll survive and befriend Yuuka. A befriend-ed Yuuka would be less likely to kill people on sight so it kinda counts as a good deed! Actually, we should become the Youkai of good deeds and pointless fetching quests!

[x] Maybe you should go to that vampire mansion and tell the people there where Flandre is.

-[X] "But I do know a good, safe place you can stay if you are willing to camp. It's this nice field of sunflowers."
Haha I like this option I'm curious what would happen to our roommate

You know you can choose two "rest of the day options" in addition to the response.

>>26013
This set of votes, I like it.

[x] "I'd thought someone as charming as yourself could find a place to crash. What happened after that?"
[x] "But that isn't my decision, you should ask Shou about that."
-[x] "These people are closely knit, It'd be safest that you keep your distance. Especially with Nue and Kogasa"
[x] Raaaaayyyymooooooo. You should go bug her.
-[x] Ask if Nue, Kogasa, and/or your roommate wants to come with.
[x] Maybe you should go to that vampire mansion and tell the people there where Flandre is.

Fixed the odd typo, and Reimu's name for maximum irritation.

[x] "I'd thought someone as charming as yourself could find a place to crash. What happened after that?"
[x] "But that isn't my decision, you should ask Shou about that"
-[x] "These people are closely knit, It'd be safest that you keep your distance. Especially with Nue and Kogasa"
-[x] "If she says no, I do know a good, safe place you can stay if you are willing to camp. It's this nice field of sunflowers. A nice lady lives alone there, so you can give her some company too"

Act supporting, but actually enjoying his suffering. And warning him the risks of trying to pull the same shit here.

Added that subvote since I like it.

[x] Reeeeimu. You should go bug her.
-[x] Ask Nue, Kogsa, and/or your roommate wants to come with.

Reason? Chance of seeing him get smacked abound by Reimu.

[x] Maybe you should go to that vampire mansion and tell the people there where Flandre is.

Good Deed time.

[x] "I'd thought someone as charming as yourself could find a place to crash. What happened after that?"
[x] "But that isn't my decision, you should ask Shou about that."
-[x] "These people are closely knit, It'd be safest that you keep your distance. Especially with Nue and Kogasa"
[x] Raaaaayyyymooooooo. You should go bug her.
-[x] Ask if Nue, Kogasa, and/or your roommate wants to come with.
[x] Maybe you should go to that vampire mansion and tell the people there where Flandre is.

x] "I'd thought someone as charming as yourself could find a place to crash. What happened after that?"
[x] "But that isn't my decision, you should ask Shou about that."
-[x] "These people are closely knit, It'd be safest that you keep your distance. Especially with Nue and Kogasa"
[x] Raaaaayyyymooooooo. You should go bug her.
-[x] Ask if Nue, Kogasa, and/or your roommate wants to come with.
[x] Maybe you should go to that vampire mansion and tell the people there where Flandre is.

Works for me.

x] "I'd thought someone as charming as yourself could find a place to crash. What happened after that?"
[x] "But that isn't my decision, you should ask Shou about that."
-[x] "These people are closely knit, It'd be safest that you keep your distance. Especially with Nue and Kogasa"
[x] Raaaaayyyymooooooo. You should go bug her.
-[x] Ask if Nue, Kogasa, and/or your roommate wants to come with.
[x] Maybe you should go to that vampire mansion and tell the people there where Flandre is.

As soon as possible, we need to get him incredibly drunk, then leave him out in a field somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

[x] "I'd thought someone as charming as yourself could find a place to crash. What happened after that?"
[x] "But that isn't my decision, you should ask Shou about that."
-[x] "These people are closely knit, It'd be safest that you keep your distance. Especially with Nue and Kogasa"
[x] Raaaaayyyymooooooo. You should go bug her.
-[x] Ask if Nue, Kogasa, and/or your roommate wants to come with.

>>26020
Inviting him to temple? What happened anon, you want him to do all the routes that you can't?
He'll become the hero of the household and then manage to convince the others to kick our MC's sorry ass out.
Then, I'll be here, laughing. Anon's stupidity at the time of voting knows no bounds.

[x] "I'd thought someone as charming as yourself could find a place to crash. What happened after that?"
[x] "But that isn't my decision, you should ask Shou about that."
-[x] "These people are closely knit, It'd be safest that you keep your distance. Especially with Nue and Kogasa"
[x] Raaaaayyyymooooooo. You should go bug her.
-[x] Ask if Nue, Kogasa, and/or your roommate wants to come with.
[x] Maybe you should go to that vampire mansion and tell the people there where Flandre is.

Be nice anon, we're supposed to be doing good deeds, so don't get the jackass Yuuka'd.

Even if the twothree-timer deserves it.

>>26056
Nue already know about Fagballs and we can just tell the rest about what happened.

>>26056
You assume they'd fall for such cheap stunts so easily. It's impossible for him to see one girl behind the other's backs here. And if he was truly such a threat, he would have made a real harem instead of cheating all around. And the fact Nue knows about his habits lowers his chances into the negatives.

I got sick of looking up pictures, so have something totally unrelated.

---

[x] "I'd thought someone as charming as yourself could find a place to crash. What happened after that?"
[x] "But that isn't my decision, you should ask Shou about that."
-[x] "These people are closely knit, It'd be safest that you keep your distance. Especially with Nue and Kogasa"
[x] Raaaaayyyymooooooo. You should go bug her.
-[x] Ask if Nue, Kogasa, and/or your roommate wants to come with.
[x] Maybe you should go to that vampire mansion and tell the people there where Flandre is.

"Oh? But you are such a charming man." You try your hardest not to sound sarcastic. "I wouldn't think you would have any trouble finding a place to crash. Did something else happen?"

"Well, I wasn't stupid enough to stay anywhere underground after that happened, man. I didn't want to stay in the Ancient City if there was a prominent Oni mad at me. And the Palace of Earth Spirits is a bit creepy. So I left for the surface, and after a little bit of recon I felt that this was the best place to check first."

That's by no means a bad decision. Staying in the Human Village probably requires money, you can't imagine Reimu letting anyone stay at the shrine, and you don't know if there are any good habitated places to stay in the youkai mountain area. Something about a shrine that's hard to get to? Well, it'd be suspicious if you just kicked him out into the streets. "I don't know if we have any spare rooms. I'm just a lodger here too. I can take you to someone who would know, though."

"Lead the way." He pauses. "Thanks for this, by the way." You would feel guilty if it had been someone else to say that.

Before you lead him inside, you feel the need to make sure this doesn't screw up for you. "Just so you know, the people here are pretty closely-knit. I'd reccomend keeping your distance from them." You better be specific. "I'd reccomend especially keeping your distance from Nue and Kogasa. They are loose cannons. Tightly-knit loose cannons."

"Okay, whatever." You sure hope that's a yes.

You lead him in. Shou is setting the table. "Okay, there's Shou Toramaru. She does all of the real work around here, while everyone else here either loiters while pretending to be useful or does buddhist things I don't really understand." Well, Nazrin also does secret youkai police work or something, but he has no reason to know that.

Nue gives you an amused look. "Oh, so you're giving him the guided tour?"

"Well, I'm dragging him to Shou so I can not have to deal with the responsibility of making decisions."

"Charming." Nue is laughing behind that straight face, you can just feel it.

"Oh, be quiet."

Your roommate walks up to Shou. "Hey, Shou. It's okay if I call you Shou, right? Can I stay here? I don't have anywhere else to stay."

She thinks for a moment. "I do not have a problem with it. I will bring it up with Byakuren, but I doubt she will refuse." If she has such a good intelligence network she should at least background check the people she is going to have lodge! Jeeze.

"Alright, thanks."

He takes a seat, and begins eating breakfast. "Thanks for the food!" Did she even prepare enough food for him?

She sighs. "I am glad I prepare extra food every time."

Oh, you are not going to just stand here and watching him act like he owns the place already. Instead, you leave.

---

Nue followed you, actually. "You don't like him either?"

"I don't quite trust him. I don't think he's malevolent, but he definitely isn't someone I want to stick around."

"Oh come on, between the two of us we could beat the shit out of him, I bet."

"Yes, but... oh, I can't quite put my finger on it." She shrugs. "I think his power is something indirect, but I'm not sure what. Oh, forget it, there's no use just speculating."

You must know more. But you can't imagine he'd just tell you. Well, maybe if you stick around him you will eventually find out what his power is. And then you will have ammunition to cause his downfall!
Hear that, fizzlebeef? You are going down!

"Well, maybe I should invite him on my next outing, then."

"Why?"

Oh, right, she can't hear your internal monologues. "Then I might figure out what he is capable of."

"Oh, okay. What were you planning on, anyway?"

"I was thinking of..." What do you feel like doing? The human village doesn't have that much to do, and you just said you'd be doing an outing... "bugging Reimu."

"That sounds like an incredibly dangerous idea. Can I come too?"

"Sure. I'll ask Kogasa also, she is well-overdue for some kind of trip which doesn't involve horrific injuries."

"And how are you sure Reimu isn't going to freak out and try to use your skull as a drinking cup?"

"Well, I will have you with me. And Kogasa. And lumpchucks also, I guess."

"Lump- oh, forget it. Well, I am sure that with our powers combined..."

"If things get really bad you can use your powers to make us combine into a giant robot." You imagine that Nue would be the body, you would be the head, Kogasa would be one arm, Kogasa's umbrella would be the other arm, and hardcheese will be stuck with being the legs.

"Giant robot? Like what Sanae" Nue shudders as she says the name, "was ranting about a while ago?"

"I wouldn't know." Oh, hey, there's Kogasa. "Kogasa!"

She waves back.

"After breakfast want to go visit Reimu and bug her?"

She nods and smiles.

"See? She trusts me."

"Or she's just too naive."

"Those are about the same thing, really."

---

You spend a while more chatting idly with Nue, until breakfast is over. You quickly single out your roommate so you can broach the idea to him.

"Hey, want to go on a trip with me?"

"I was thinking I would get settled in."

"You can already do that later. But, let me tell you, you haven't been in the surface world if you haven't gone to the Hakurei shrine to bug Reimu."

"Okay, okay. I guess it could be fun."

"Yeah. You won't regret it." You really hope he does.

So you set out with him, Kogasa, and Nue. Along the way you learn that Byakuren did indeed decide to let him stay. He did not volunteer the information about why exactly he was kicked out of the underground, though. If you or Nue had been there you might have been able to bring that up... although that might lead to Shou finding out exactly what you were doing underground.
Oh well, she will probably find out about him on her own. And then he will get a very stern talking-to from Byakuren, probably. You got a talking-to yourself, and you hope that his one will be extra stern.

However, all is not right with the Hakurei shrine, apparently. Reimu is actually sitting at the foot of the stairs. Drinking tea, but still.

She looks up. "Oh. More annoyances."

Nue sidles over to Reimu. "So you are drinking tea at the foot of the stairs? Got bored of sitting in the shrine?"

"Hardly." She turns to you. "You were the one who broke the border, right?"

"That's what I told you!"

"So you are responsible for all of the youkai who made it into Gensokyo during that period."

"Hey, I don't know about that-"

"So you deal with this." That sounded more like an order then a request. "I really don't feel like fighting this newest pest. I was hoping that staying here would make her just go away, but that doesn't seem to be the case."

"Eh. I guess I'll do it. Come on, guys."

Nue and Kogasa follow you up the steps. Your roommate does also, giving Reimu a wide berth. Hah, at least there's some people who can still scare him.

Outside the shrine there is a little girl sleeping, but you somehow doubt she is the problem. Instead, it's probably whoever is inside and making a lot of noise.

"Reiiiimu! Oh Reiiiimu! Where are you?"

It's time to be tactical. "Nue, Kogasa, you flank the shrine. Fa-" you have to stop yourself before you insult the man out loud, "You, you stick behind me and be loud and colorful if she tries to attack me." That way he will hopefully become the target.

Kogasa looks happy to follow your orders, presumably because of how they are very relevant to her interests. Nue also goes along, looking a bit amused. Your roommate, on the other hand-
Oh, like you needed to give him an order. He's going to be loud and colorful no matter what you do.

You walk into the shrine, sliding the door open.

Inside, you see a tall and very sharply-dressed woman. Light blue hair in a ponytail, tuxedo, eyepatch, goddamn does she have a rose clenched between her teeth? You've never used the word 'handsome' to describe a woman before, but it would fit her pretty well.

She notices you. "Have you seen Reimu?"

"Well, I saw her about a week ago..." Not a lie, technically.

"Isn't she so cute?"

Huh? ...wait, so she is troublesome in that way? You briefly wonder just how many attractive female youkai are obsessed with her. "Uh, I guess?"

"She's alright." Your roommate sounds a bit dismissive. "Looks like too much work, to me."

"Oh, but things aren't fun if they aren't a challenge." The woman laughs. "No-one can stop love! Now, step aside, I think I will go check the shrine grounds..."

How should you deal with this youkai?
[ ] Challenge her to a fight.
[ ] Try to get dopeblaster over there to fight her.
[ ] Maybe you can distract her with a decoy?
-[ ] Kogasa is pretty cute, right?
-[ ] Nue isn't bad-looking either.
-[ ] You still have that dress, right?
[ ] If you tell her that Reimu is already in a relationship...
-[ ] Say that Reimu is going out with Yukari.
-[ ] Say that Reimu is going out with your roommate.
-[ ] Say that Reimu is going out with you.
-[ ] Say that Reimu is going out with someone else. (Who?)
[ ] Maybe you will be able to talk her down.
[ ] ANEMIA OPTION.
[ ] Write-in.

---

stage 1: ??"
-boss: ???, youkai of ??? (And also apparently another stalker of Reimu)
stage 2: ???
-boss: unnamed (?) satyress (?), youkai of silence
stage 3: sealed gate of makai
-boss: Camilla, lost child
stage 4: great youkai forest
-boss: Raquel Whatley, youkai of dating
stage 5: underground enterance caverns
-midboss: Yamame Kurodani, ???
-boss: Yuugi Hoshiguma, ???
stage 6: the ancient city
-midboss: Parsee Mizuhashi, ???
-boss: your roommate, wizard (?)
extra stage: hakurei shrine
-midboss: Nue Houjuu, youkai of unknown form
-boss: you, youkai of travel

[X] Challenge her to a fight.

I automatically heard Yuu Kobayashis voice in that last line.

[x] Try to get dopeblaster over there to fight her.

Let mr. charming powerful handle the task, and after he gets blasted, then we can step in.

[x] If you tell her that Reimu is already in a relationship...
-[x] Say that Reimu is going out with Yukari.
Helping Reimu? Check (more or less). More good deeds' points!
Annoying Reimu? Check. Mission accomplished! More Nue points!

>"See? She trusts me."
>"Or she's just too naive."
>"Those are about the same thing, really."
Brillant.

>>26067
There's the risk of the roommate showing us up afterwards. I'd rather have the expendable one go in first.

[X] If you tell her that Reimu is already in a relationship...
-[X] Say that Reimu is going out with Yukari.

>>26068
>>26070
Uh, she's stage one. He'll probably beat her handily.

>>26071
He hasn't had much experience though, and being beaten by Reimu doesn't really count. And it'd be a good way to gauge his power/skill regardless.

And stage numbers don't tell the full story of a person's abilities. Yuugi's stage 3 yet is easily on par with Suika.

[x] If you tell her that Reimu is already in a relationship...
-[x] Say that Reimu is going out with Yukari.

This will be interesting.

[X] If you tell her that Reimu is already in a relationship...
-[X] Say that Reimu is going out with Yukari.

Drama ensures.

What's that you say, the picture has nothing to do with this update? What nonsense.

---

[X] If you tell her that Reimu is already in a relationship...
-[X] Say that Reimu is going out with Yukari.

You must think quickly. She doesn't sound like the type who would stand aside if you just asked nicely, and it would be nice if you could win without a fight given how much you tired yourself out yesterday. So, maybe... "You said you like a challenge, but I think Reimu might be too much of a challenge for you."

"Nonsense. There is nothing that can stand between me and her! I will fight anyone who tries to stop me." She steps up to you. Huh, she's actually taller then you are by a fair bit. "And if that person is you... then en-guarde!"

You back up. "Oh, no, I have no objection. Just, I think I know someone else who would." She gives you a questioning look, so you go on. "See, Reimu is already in a relationship."

"She did not mention that to me!"

"Well, I wouldn't be too surprised. She doesn't strike me as a talkative type. Well, anyway, she is in a relationship with Yukari, the Lady of Borders."

Her face darkens. "Then this Yukari is going down." She pushes past you. "I will beat Yukari in a fight, and then when Reimu sees I have won I will have proved my dedication and she will swoon into my arms!" She flies off.

...She didn't even bother asking you where Yukari lives. Not that you know, but still. Unless she stops to ask for directions, she is going to end up being so lost.

Well, that's hardly a bad thing. "Nue, Kogasa! Mission accomplished, return to Reimu for debriefing!"

Nue and Kogasa leave their hidden side positions and return to you. Nue is grinning, while Kogasa looks confused.

"Is Reimu really in a relationship with Yukari?"

"Oh man, that was great. That youkai is so doomed. I wish I could go and see the fight, but I don't know where Yukari lives."

Your roommate shrugs. "It was okay. Yukari is that powerful youkai who was following Reimu around and verbally sexually harassing her when she came underground to fight me, right?"

"Yeah, probably."

"Well, let's go inform Reimu our mission was successful."

You confidantly stride down the shrine steps. Reimu is still there, sipping tea. "Yo, Reimu, I'm done."

"Oh? You got her to leave? That was too quick for a fight."

"Yeah. She left to go fight Yukari."

"Really now." Reimu has turned back to face you. She has a wary look on her face.

"All I needed to do is say that you were dating Yukari."

"Really now." Much colder this time. "Well, you wouldn't want to overstay your welcome, would you?"

Kogasa stratches her head with her spare hand. "I dunno, I think it'd be nice to have some tea-"

"Get out before I exterminate all of you."

Reimu flies up the shrine steps. As she passes you feel an aura of contained hatred. "Well, that was fun. Hey, do you all want to go to the Scarlet Devil Mansion next?"

"Is this some kind of tour de force of annoying important people?" That's a pretty good idea, Nue, but no.

"Well, actually, I figured they might want to know where that vampire custard of theirs has gone."

"Vampire custard? Man, you're making me hungry again." You would like to see flower power try to eat that little girl. His cup-filling, women-wooing tricks won't work so hot if he finds himself a head short, presumably.

"I suppose getting Remilia on your good side wouldn't be a bad idea." Nue looks thoughtful. "Maybe you could leverage that to ask for something good."

"Like one of those vampire custards. I've got the munchies."

"That was a joke! Jeeze, there is no such thing as vampiric desert."

"Actually, I've heard Remilia has lots of her food prepared with blood mixed in. Wouldn't that count as vampiric desert?"

"Yeah, and the British eat black pudding, and I don't think they are vampires." Well, you should hedge your bets. "Most of them aren't, anyway."

"Black pudding? That sounds scary." Kogasa's right, it does sound kind of scary. Like something an evil overlord would eat. Sitting down at the dining room table in his evil lair, in full black plate armor, partaking in the black pudding.

"Come on, let's move. I'm getting hungry." Oh come on jumping jack flash, your opinion does not matter.

"How are you sure we will get food there?"

"I'll talk them into giving us free food, don't worry." He looks pretty confidant.

Though maybe he has reason to be. He does seem to be far more persuasive then you would think from just talking to him...

The four of you set off, towards the misty lake.

---

"If you want to pass the lake, you'll have to get past me... the lakekeeper!"

"Cirno, no! These people are way too strong for you!"

"Don't worry, Dai, I'm the strongest!"

The ice fairy is shot out of the air by an expertly-thrown trident. Nue flicks her wrist, and the snake around her arm lashes out like a whip, wraps around the handle of the trident, and reels it back into her hands.

"You could have at least let me talk before doing that."

"That's what I was trying to prevent."

"Oh, fine." You can't muster up enough energy to protest. Apparently you didn't really care after all.

The four of you continue on, Kogasa stopping for a moment to apologize to the faintly familiar green-haired fairy.

---

This is a pretty big place. Also red. Very red.
The four of you walk straight past the gateguard, who seems to be asleep.

Before you stands the main door.

How should you enter? (Pick one.)
[ ] Knock.
[ ] Let yourself in.
[ ] Break down the door.
[ ] Sneak in.
[ ] Write-in.

How should you break the news? (Pick one.)
[ ] Tell the truth straight-out.
[ ] Try to use the information to leverage a favor or something.
-[ ] What do you want to get?
[ ] Tell them the truth, but word it so that it makes Koishi seem as bad as possible.
[ ] Tell them the truth, but word it so that it makes Koishi seem as good as possible.
[ ] Write-in.

---

Broke it up for a vote here because I want to sleep.

[x] Knock.
[x] Tell them the truth, but word it so that it makes Koishi seem as good as possible.
-[x] Admit that they seem to have some sort of weird S&M/Mind control thing going on.

[x] Let yourself in.
[x] Tell them the truth, but word it so that it makes Koishi seem as good as possible.

This is going to make Remilia seem like a dick, I think.

[x] Knock.
[x] Tell them the truth, but word it so that it makes Koishi seem as good as possible.
-[x] Admit that they seem to have some sort of weird S&M thing going on.

[x] Knock.
[x] Tell them the truth, but word it so that it makes Koishi seem as good as possible.
-[x] Admit that they seem to have some sort of weird S&M/Mind control thing going on.

The last thing we need is the SDM residents as enemies.

[x] Knock.
[x] Tell them the truth, but word it so that it makes Koishi seem as good as possible.
-[x] Admit that they seem to have some sort of weird S&M thing going on.

[x] Knock. -The most weird to enter the mansion, all things considered-
[x] Tell them the truth, but word it so that it makes Koishi seem as good as possible. -No deals or we'll gain another lifelong enemy-
-[x] Admit that they seem to have some sort of weird S&M/Mind control thing going on. -Curious about their reaction-

[x] Knock.
[x] Tell them the truth, but word it so that it makes Koishi seem as good as possible.
-[x] Admit that they seem to have some sort of weird S&M thing going on.

>>26150
You're >>/th/114426 , aren't you?

Even if not, rein in that impulse to comment on every part of the vote with meaningless thoughts.
If you have something even close to useful to contribute, then formulate it into some sort of coherent structure. Fuck this inline shit.

[x] Knock.
[x] Tell them the truth, but word it so that it makes Koishi seem as good as possible.
-[x] Admit that they seem to have some sort of weird S&M thing going on.

You think back. Last time you were outside a big building full of people, knocking worked. It's kind of a weird idea, knocking on the door of a house instead of breaking in, but it has a history of success and you can't object to success.
You knock.

Nothing.

"Okay, maybe they didn't hear us. I'll knock again." You knock.

A voice from directly behind you. "I am sorry, but the Scarlet Devil Manor is closed."

"HOLY SHIT!" You turn around, staggering away from the voice. It appears to belong to a maid. Very cold and stoic looking person.

Kogasa starts clapping.

You glance around. Nue looks to be on guard. You would too, if someone just appeared out of midair like that. Buz Joyyer, however, is not shaken in the least. He walks toward the maid. "Hey. Can we have some food? I heard you have vampire food."

Her eyes narrow. "I said, the manor is closed."

"Come on, it couldn't hurt."

"Insistence will get you nowhere."

While this does look amusing, and it is probably greatly raising that chance that your roommate gets killed, you aren't here for fun or murder. You are here for business. You turn to sparklypoo. "Have you forgotten when we came here?"

"I wasn't really listening when you said. I was too hungry."

"You just ate breakfast!"

The maid turns to you. "So there is a reason. Tell me now. If it's not a good enough reason, I will ask that you leave the grounds of the manor."

"Well, why is the place closed down in the first place?"

"We are currently working on tightening security. There was an attempted theft recently, and a successful kidnapping. Milady decided that we must reorganize."

"Well, I think I have information on the latter. Was the... kidnap-ee a young-looking girl, blonde hair, red eyes, weird wings?"

She actually looks a little relieved for a moment, but her professionality immediately slips back. "That is good news. You may come inside, I am sure Milady will want to hear of it in person."

She points to the door and it opens by itself. Your youkai senses tell you this was some kind of subtle magic you can't quite recognize, and not just a motorized door.

The four of you come inside. The maid leads you into a relatively small but richly-decorated room, dominated by a table set for five. There is even tea set out, complete with a set of tea cookies. The maid turns back to you and the others, curties, and turns away. "I will go fetch Milady."

And she leaves the room. The four of you sit down. Dustbin takes the seat at the head of the table, which you notice has the fanciest chair. Kogasa starts eating tea cookies, and barely even touches her tea.
You sit down last. "This place is very well prepared. Suspiciously so."

Nue grins at you. "So, what, you think this is a trap? Think that they locked all the doors, and are going to flood the room with poison gas?"

Kogasa frowns. "That wouldn't be nice." She lightens. "But it would be very surprising."

"I personally would have poisoned the tea and the tea cookies. Poison gas would be too obvious." Kogasa stops eating mid-cookie.

Your roomate eats one of the tea cookies. You would say that you hope it was poisoned, but then Kogasa would be poisoned also. "I'm sure between the four of us, we could destroy this mansion."

Nue stretches her arms out, and extends one of her wings. She brushes the wall with it, experimentally. "The mansion, yes. I could tear this wall in half without using my hands. But I'm not so sure about the people."

Kogasa, after much deliberation, finishes off her cookie. "Talking about this in their house feels rude."

The door opens. A little girl with blue hair and bat wings comes out, followed on one side by the maid. She chuckles darkly. "At least one of you is smart. Don't underestimate a vampire. I heard your entire conversation."

Oh. Well, you were just being careful. That can't be too bad, right? "Er, regardless. I assume you are the owner of this mansion?"

"Nice save." She smiles wickedly. You can't help but think she is mocking you. "I am the Scarlet Devil, Remilia Scarlet, descendent of Vlad Tepes."

"So you're a real hotshot vampire, aren't you, Miss Cullen?" How the hell did this man get three girlfriends.

Her eyes widen, and she snarls. She lunges forward, her hand flying directly towards his throat. Even with your enhanced reflexes, you can only barely make out the hand moving towards him, fingers sharpening into talons, seeking to impale him...
..and miss by a hair's breath.

He grins at her, not having moved an inch.

She pants. "I will not tolerate being associated with such a sorry excuse for a vampire."

"Oh, you want me to stop then, sparkles? How about you make me stop." He takes a tea cookie... and eats it! "Unless you don't have the guts."

She steps back and holds one hand aloft. A red spark flies from her hand, and forms into a crackling spear of red light. She clutches it, and readies to throw.

He stands up laconically and stares at her. A metallic noise begins to rise in the air, a clattering or clinking, like a shower of coins. You begin to feel an unsettling power radiate from him.

Kogasa looks pretty scared by this point. Nue, on the other hand, has leaned forward and is watching them curiously. The maid has not shown any signs of moving, and is still standing impassively by the door.

Well now. You could try to defuse this situation, yes. But if you let it go on you will definitely get to see how Mr Negotiator over there fights. Of course, if you let Remilia vent her temper you might not get a chance at doing what you came here to do.

[ ] Try to diffuse the situation... (Pick any that apply.)
-[ ] With a joke!
--[ ] What joke? (Write-in.)
-[ ] With force!
--[ ] What type of force? A spellcard, a slap, what? (Write-in.)
[ ] Let them fight, and watch closely.
-[ ] Try to at least make sure they fight somewhere where's there is more space. It would be a shame if the room was trashed.
[ ] Make sure Kogasa is able to get out.
[ ] Make sure to do what you came here to do. Tell the maid if needs be.
[ ] Write-in.

---

This is yet another unplanned thing that happened. He kept being dismissive or insulting and then... boom. So it was a surprise to me too.

[x] Make sure Kogasa is able to get out.
[x] Make sure to do what you came here to do. Talk to the maid while your roommate and the host work out their frustrations.
-[x] Work the PR angle while you're at it: "We let him tag along, but he's not really with us. I myself hold nothing but respect for this mansion and its occupants."
[x] Let them fight, and watch.
-[x] Grab some extra cookies before all hell breaks loose. Might as well have a snack with the entertainment.
--[x] My compliments to the chef.

Kogasa feeling safe > working on relations with the mansion > critically analyzing your roommate's abilities. That said, I figure we have enough time to get Kogasa out of the room, and then chat with Sakuya while enjoying the festivities. We won't get as much info as we would were we concentrating solely on the fight, but we'll at least get a general idea of what he can do, while still accomplishing what we came here for in the first place.

[X] Let them fight, and watch closely.
-[X] Try to at least make sure they fight somewhere where's there is more space. It would be a shame if the room was trashed.
[X] Make sure to do what you came here to do. Tell the maid if needs be.

Fagballs, you brought this upon yourself.

[x] Make sure Kogasa is able to get out.
[x] Make sure to do what you came here to do. Talk to the maid while your roommate and the host work out their frustrations.
-[x] In someplace more open, you wouldn't want the lady's fine room to be ruined.
-[x] Work on PR while you're at it: "We let him tag along, but he's not really with us. I myself hold nothing but respect for this mansion and its occupants."
[x] Let them fight, and watch.
-[x] Grab some extra cookies before all hell breaks loose. Might as well have a snack with the entertainment.
--[x] My compliments to the chef.

[x] Make sure Kogasa is able to get out.
[x] Make sure to do what you came here to do. Talk to the maid while your roommate and the host work out their frustrations.
-[x] In someplace more open, you wouldn't want the lady's fine room to be ruined.
-[x] Work on PR while you're at it: "We let him tag along, but he's not really with us. I myself hold nothing but respect for this mansion and its occupants."
[x] Let them fight, and watch.
-[x] Grab some extra cookies before all hell breaks loose. Might as well have a snack with the entertainment.
--[x] My compliments to the chef.

[x] Make sure Kogasa is able to get out.
[x] Make sure to do what you came here to do. Talk to the maid while your roommate and the host work out their frustrations.
-[x] Work the PR angle while you're at it: "We let him tag along, but he's not really with us. I myself hold nothing but respect for this mansion and its occupants."
[x] Let them fight, and watch.
-[x] Grab some extra cookies before all hell breaks loose. Might as well have a snack with the entertainment.
--[x] My compliments to the chef.

[x] Make sure Kogasa is able to get out.
[x] Make sure to do what you came here to do. Talk to the maid while your roommate and the host work out their frustrations.
-[x] Work the PR angle while you're at it: "We let him tag along, but he's not really with us. I myself hold nothing but respect for this mansion and its occupants."
[x] Let them fight, and watch.
-[x] Grab some extra cookies before all hell breaks loose. Might as well have a snack with the entertainment.
--[x] My compliments to the chef.

Yes, we probably all knew he was going to be a dick.

[x] Make sure Kogasa is able to get out.
[x] Make sure to do what you came here to do. Talk to the maid while your roommate and the host work out their frustrations.
-[x] Work the PR angle while you're at it: "We let fagballs tag along, but he's not really with us. I myself hold nothing but respect for this mansion and its occupants."
[x] Let them fight, and watch.
-[x] Grab some extra cookies before all hell breaks loose. Might as well have a snack with the entertainment.
--[x] My compliments to the chef.

His roomate is a mary sue. He's gonna impress her so much that he'll be taken as the new butler of the mansion. You heard it first here, folks.
Oh well, at least he'll just stay here.

>>26165
I don't know about that. I think his luck has finally run out.

Reposted because of an extremely minor typo that nevertheless bugged me. I bet there are other typos, but I didn't notice them on a reread so screw them.

---

[x] Make sure Kogasa is able to get out.
[x] Make sure to do what you came here to do. Talk to the maid while your roommate and the host work out their frustrations.
-[x] Work the PR angle while you're at it: "We let him tag along, but he's not really with us. I myself hold nothing but respect for this mansion and its occupants."
[x] Let them fight, and watch.
-[x] Grab some extra cookies before all hell breaks loose. Might as well have a snack with the entertainment.
--[x] My compliments to the chef.

Oh were you really considering saving tickle me elmo's ass? As if.
There are more important asses to save.
...You are glad you chose not to say that out loud.

Luckily, those two idiots over there seem to be busy powering up to go supersaiyan or something, so you'll have time to make sure all umbrellas evacuate the room.
You hurry over to Kogasa. "Hey, you don't look so happy. Want to vamoose?"

"What... what kind of moose?"

"It's an expression." You walk over to the door you had come in by. "You might want to leave, if you are scared of being caught between them."

She gets up and walks to the door. You open it and... standing behind it is the maid. "I am afraid I cannot let you leave."

"Whoah there, what have we done that's wrong? That asshole over there just follows us around. I have nothing but respect for this mansion. Hell, I would have nothing for respect for this mansion even if I didn't feel obligated to disapprove of every thing that guy says and does."

"In that case, I will escort you out-"

"Nah, I don't want to leave. Kogasa does, though."

The maid looks at Kogasa, and then Kogasa flickers and vanishes. "She has been escorted outside."

"That's a neat trick. Now, if you will excuse me, time to watch."

Well now. While you were handling that, they seem to have finally started actually fighting.

Remilia pulls out a card. Does she really need a spellcard? She has that energy spear out. "Critical: Heart Break!"

He pulls out a card of his own. "Shock and Awe." Oddly, he mouthed a few words before that. So that spell had a sign, but he doesn't want everyone to know it?

You take a seat again, next to Nue.

Remilia throws the red spear, and it misses sprinkle donut by an inch. He doesn't even bother dodging, it just missed. Around him, dozens of green orbs appear.

"Hey, Nue, can you pass me the cookies?" This tea is pretty good also, but you are feeling peckish.

The green orbs waver, and each explodes into several smaller ones, which fly out in chaotic, wavering patterns.

Mmm. These are some damn good tea cookies.

Remilia weaves through the orbs without any noticable difficulty, and conjures up another red spear. This one looks bigger.

"So, Nue, did they actually agree on how many cards this duel is? I wasn't paying attention."

"I think I heard Remilia agree to six."

Remilia holds another card up. "Divine Spear: Spear the Gungnir!" Immediately, a wind picks up in the room. The red spear glows so bright you can't look directly at it. The air dances around it, forming a vortex, a veritable miniature tornado of force.
She dances through another, larger, wave of green orbs, holding the spear steady, readying it to throw...

"By the way, have you tried these cookies? They're great."

"No, actually." Nue tries one out.

"Hey, maid, can you give my regards to the chef?"

Remilia throws the spear, and the table is flipped upside-down by the gale of wind. You manage to save your tea cup from being smashed, but Nue's ends up being thrown into the wall. After pulling the table cloth off your head, you notice that your roommate is still standing, having not moved at all again, but the room seems to have a new exit. Remilia is standing right in front of him, attacking him at a furiously fast rate... and missing every time.

Also, the maid has walked up to you. "Actually, I baked those myself." She seems a bit more personable now. Maybe it's because her mistress is busy?

"Really? You must be very busy."

"It's hardly a problem, for me. I've gotten used to it."

Nue pulls your teacup out of your hand, and sips. "You have some kind of time-related power, right? Maybe you should teach Shou some, she can barely keep up with the work."

"Oh, this isn't really a skill I can teach others." The maid glances at the table. "One moment..." She flickers and the table is suddenly back in place, with a new tea set there.
Actually, wait, that must be a different table. It looks to be in pristine condition. You can't imagine that the old table was knocked that far without any damage at all.

Your roommate's card ends on it's own, and he pulls out another at the same time as Remilia does. Oddly, despite the fact that she's behind, she seems to not have lost a drop of confidance.

"Guardian Force!" "Midnight Sign: Demon King Cradle!" Once again, he refrains from saying what the spell's sign is.

Remilia leaps forward, spinning, and red energy envelops her. She flies straight towards cloghead, and then is suddenly blown backwards. Huh.

"Oh, and Miss Maid."

"Sakuya."

"Okay. Well, Sakuya, since your mistress is currently busy, I'll just say it now. Flandre is underground, unless my information is outdated."

"Oh? Well, I will organize a search party as soon as possible."

You hear a sudden clattering sound, like the one your roommate has been emitting, and reflexively twist aside. You feel the tingling sensation of a danmaku bullet passing dangerously close to you. Invisible danmaku bullets? So unfair.

Remilia doesn't seem to mind, though, as she charges forward. She dodges back and forth, ducking at one point, apparently avoiding the bullets entirely by the sense of hearing.

"She was apparently kidnapped by Koishi Komeiji. I say apparently because she didn't seem that unhappy."

"I... Well, I wouldn't say this if Milady was in hearing, but I can't say I'm surprised."

Nue glances at Sakuya. "But doesn't she have really good hearing?"

"No, she just has this room bugged."

Remilia gets right up to him, and pulls out another card. "Midnight King: Dracula Cradle!" She leaps upwards, enveloped in a massive wave of scarlet magic. An upgraded version of that last spell, apparently.

"But yeah, Koishi was like," you try your best falsetto, "You've been a bad girl. Punishment time!" Oh god that was horrible.

Nue laughs at you. "And Flandre looked very happy about it. I bet she's into S&M."

"Really? I assumed it was some kind of mind control or something. I guess that works too, though."

Sakuya sighs. "This will be very difficult to explain to Milady."

You look back at the fight. Amazingly your roommate has still not been hit once, despite having been attacked by such a massive spell at point-blank.

Remilia leaps back and grins. She pulls out another card. "Scarlet Sign: Red the Nightless Castle!" She rises into the air and radiates red magic, forming a crimson cross.

...a crimson cross which does not come even close to touching dumbhead. It's not even improbable. She just used a close-range attack while at a distance.

He stands there looking kind of confused as his current spell times out, and then pulls out another card. "I suppose I'll end this now, since you only have one card left... Flawless Gambit!" You can tell that card doesn't have a sign. He didn't have to mouth anything before using it.

A sphere of green kunai danmaku appears around Remilia. A very dense one. You can see a gap she could use to escape, but it would be almost impossible to get in in time. She pulls out another card, but the sphere has already begun constricting...

A split-second before the kunai hit her, she explodes into a poof of smoke.
A cloud of bats flies out of the smoke, and shoots towards him.
He waves his hands and a similar sphere appears around each bat, but the bats are fast and mobile enough that they simply slip through.
They converge right in front of him, turning back into Remilia.
She then punches him in the gut.

He doubles over in pain.

She is smiling wickedly. "You really thought that such a simple trick could work on me?"
She kicks him and he falls over. "I had already noticed, after my first attack, that your power was a luck-based power."
She leans over and waves the spellcard in his face. He twitches. "Did you really think mere luck could defeat the power of fate?" She pushes the spellcard down onto his forehead, and slides it sharply across his face. You see a thin cut appear, and blood begin to leave it... "I was missing you on purpose the entire battle. And to think you challenged me so brashly, despite being so worthless."

She licks a little bit of his blood off the spellcard. "I am a vampire. A descendent of Dracula. A queen of the night. Of the strongest breed of youkai in Gensokyo, and of the strongest bloodline!" She laughs, and then opens her mouth wide. "Now... thank you for the meeeeeal~"

Well, uh. You aren't sure if you want to stop her or not.

[ ] Let her have her fun. If he dies, oh well.
[ ] Maybe you should save him. Get on his good side. He could probably be useful if you lose any socks.
[ ] Write-in.

---

By the way, the full names of those two spells were:
Effect Sign "Shock and Awe"
Probability Sign "Guardian Force"

[x] Let her have her fun. If he dies, oh well.

He made his bed, so he should lie in it. I doubt he'd die, Remilia is a light drinker after all. Not as if he did much to help us in the meanwhile, stealing the power that should have been ours and generally living the high life.

[x] Let her have her fun. If he dies, oh well.

[x] Let her have her fun. If he dies, oh well.

[X] Let her have her fun. If he dies, oh well.

I wonder what Kogasa is doing or where Sakuya placed her. She might try to ambush us when we leave.

[x] Maybe you should save him. You're pretty sure he owes you money.
-[x] Good deeds blah blah etc

[x] Maybe you should save him. You're pretty sure he owes you money.
-[x] Good deeds blah blah etc

[x] Let her have her fun. If he dies, oh well.

Screw good deeds, he practically asked for this to happen by insulting Remilia.

[x] Let her have her fun. If he dies, oh well.

[x] Maybe you should save him. Get on his good side. He could probably be useful if you lose any socks.
This seems a little snarkier than the write-in, and it's not about to win anyway.

>luck-based
Now I can't help but wonder if he didn't have a quickie with Tewi before heading underground, or more likely, made some deal with her for which he'll soon have to pay up.

[x] Maybe you should save him. You're pretty sure he owes you money.
-[x] Good deeds blah blah etc
Youkai of good deeds GET!
Seriously, after the Nue's scare-the-villagers tour, that's pretty much all that he does.

[x] Let her have her fun. If he dies, oh well.

>>26179
We did our good deed (Telling Sakuya about Flandre); but our roommate is clearly too dumb to live, insulting a Vampire in her own home in the worst way.

[x] Let her have her fun. If he dies, oh well.

[X] Let her have her fun. If he dies, oh well.
-[X] If he survives, Gibbs dope slap him.

His arrogance needs to be taken down a notch. I'd consider that a good deed.

[x] Maybe you should save him. You're pretty sure he owes you money.
-[x] Good deeds blah blah etc

Rationale I can get behind.

[X] Let her have her fun. If he dies, oh well.
-[X] Kick him when he's down if he survives.
--[X] "You're an idiot, you know that?"

Let Dipshit get what he deserves. Some stupidity is not worth attempting to salvage.

On of the good qualities of a good man is Altruism. If you're trying to prove that you're the straight man, petty desires of revenge isn't the way anon.

>>26248
Who said we're letting Remilia suck his blood out of revenge? It's more of teaching him a life lesson from the school of hard knocks.

>>26248
This isn't revenge, he needs to learn that you don't go insulting people in their homes, especially when they can rip you limb from limb or WORSE

Imagine if we were at Yukari's place and he went and said, "Hey there Granny, it's terrible how you try to look even 20" or something along those lines.

>>26253

Yukari would rap him lightly on the head with her fan and politely tell him that he should stop if he knows what's good for him.

I think a better example would be going up to Yuka and telling her point blank that flowers suck, while ripping a few out of the ground.

Serious lack of pictures of Remilia biting anyone but Sakuya.

---

[x] Let her have her fun. If he dies, oh well.

Yeah, okay. Tough luck, cheese grater. This'll be a valuable life lesson: don't piss off vampires.
Instead of, say, going to help, you continue to sip tea. Take it easy.

Remilia bites down onto his neck and... well, there's no need to explain what happens next. In all honesty it's not at all exciting to watch. You always expected it to be cool to see a vampire drink someone's blood. Like, dramatic music, victim withers away in moments, and then the vampire pulls draws out his fangs and says something classy. But no, it actually looks a little silly.
Maybe if she had more charisma...

Nue glances at you. "You sure you are okay with this? I mean, you don't seem to like him much, but you do know him much better then I do."

"Actually, not really. I barely ever talked with him, even when we were roommates. He spent most of his time away at parties and stuff." Wait, you didn't actually answer her question. "So, yeah, I'm okay with this. He's gotta crash off that power trip somehow."

Although, maybe you should check, just in case... "Sakuya."

"Yes?"

"Is this gonna kill him? Because, if so, I'll need to think up a way to phrase this to Byakuren so that it looks like this was not even remotely my fault and there was nothing I could do."

"Oh, no. Milady is a light drinker. He will just be unconcious for a while."

"So, what, we will have to haul his ass back to the temple?"

Nue nudges you. "What does 'we' have to do with this? You do it, I'm tired of carrying people."

"Don't worry. I'll prepare a room for him to stay here until he wakes up. It would simply not do for Milady to dine and then throw the leftovers out."

"Wait, so he's going to be kept as a blood supply?"

"I believe I phrased that poorly. I meant that it would be crude to not provide him lodging after he has so generously donated blood."

Rich people are weird. You finish off the cup of tea. "Soo... I think I'm ready to go now. How about you, Nue?"

She smoothes back her hair. "This room was beginning to feel a bit stuffy, anyway." She glances at the hole in the wall. "Even if it is better-ventilated then before."

"Okay then. Thanks for the tea and cookies, Sakuya." You and Nue walk out of the room-

"Where do you think you are going, boy?"

You turn back. Remilia is standing again, over the unconcious body of your roommate, wiping her mouth with a napkin Sakuya provided. She is looking at you.

"Well, I figured I'd just leave. I delivered my message, down one person but oh well I never liked him anyway."

"You think you can leave? Accompanying that annoying man... I need to figure out what your punishment will be for bringing him here..."

You nonchalantly stick your right hand into your pocket. "Well, yes, I can." You grab Nue by the hand with your spare hand. "So says my little friend, Peerless Nomad."

---

Well, that was easy. You're now standing outside the mansion. It took several consecutive jumps to get here. However, since your first jump took you around a corner and thus out of Remilia's line of sight, it would have looked like you teleported far away to her.
Where's Kogasa, though?

You hear something shift behind you. Warm breath runs down your back, and you can feel two sharp points press onto your neck.
Oh hell. You leap forward, twisting around as you go, and begin to form a danmaku bullet to shoot at-
Kogasa.
You stop.

She giggles. She still has her hand held up, with two talon-like fingernails raised at neck-level. They rapidly return to a more human shape as you watch.

Nue claps. "That one was pretty good, Kogasa. You're improving."

"Thanks! I was thinking it up while I waited."

"Y-yeah, that was pretty good. Let's leave quickly, though. Don't wanna stick around."

---

"Hey, Shou."

"Welcome back. Did you all have fun?"

"Some of it was a bit boring, but I got to scare someone so it was fun."

"The Scarlet Devil Manor has some pretty good tea. Maybe you should go there and learn from Sakuya." Nue grins slyly. "Of course, you'd probably just forget what she tells you."

"Hmph. I notice that you forgot the newcomer."

Might as well explain this to Shou, as opposed to Byakuren. "Well, he had an attack of the vampires and thus was unable to come."

"An attack of the... what irresponsible things have you been doing this time?"

Nue circles around Shou. "For once it wasn't his fault. Or may fault. That poor bastard started to insult Remilia. I... didn't quite understand the insult, but it sure pissed her off."

"Well, it was a reference to the Twilight series, which-"

"I don't really care."

Shou sighs. "So he brought it on himself, you said."

"Yes." "That's what it seemed like to me." "I still don't get why she got so mad."

"As I was saying, Kogasa, he had just compared her to a character from-"

"So, when's lunch? Seeing that fight made me hungry." Goddamit Nue, stop interrupting! You wanted to make them bask in your strangely encyclopedic knowledge of low-quality literature for girls!

"You still have about an hour."

"Ah well. Let's go play then, Kogasa." Nue glances at you. "You can come too."

---

You spend an hour idly watching while Kogasa and Nue play tag. You played at first, but you soon got tired. It's weird how Nue is so patient and thoughtful when dealing with Kogasa. You can hardly imagine that she likes to play tag.
Well, Nue also let Kogasa sleep in her secret lair, and stuff like that. Maybe it's just because they are friends. (Or maybe Nue also appreciates how cute Kogasa is? Though, uh, hopefully in a different way then you do.)

But you make it back in time for lunch.

...

"Thank you for the meal~"
Nue seems a bit more hungry then normal. She didn't exert herself that much during that outing. So, why- wait. She left to do unknown things yesterday, and she has come back today and is being moody and experiencing cravings for food. Has she been cheating on you?
Shitshitshitshit.

While you are busy mentally jumping to ridiculous conclusions, table talk has begun. You are only peripherally aware of it, though.
Nue is giving you an odd look. You must have such an amusing facial expression now, actually. You relax yourself and clear your mind. "I'm okay, just... uh, realized I left the gas on back home."
She rolls her eyes and goes back to eating.

Wait, Byakuren is looking at you now. "I heard our new guest was attacked by a vampire?"

"We were visiting the Scarlet Devil Manor. He insulted Remilia to her face, comparing her to-"

"Can I have another glass of water?" Nue again. She is holding up an empty glass.

Byakuren gives you a concerned look. "Do you think he will live?"

"Well, Sakuya said that he should be okay. He just had some of his blood drank."

"Well, I will pray for his safety."

Seriously, don't. He doesn't deserve it. ...is what you don't say, because that would not make Byakuren think better of you. "Okay."

Luckily, after that, the general conversation shifts away from him. Nue relates what happened at Hakurei shrine, and absolutely no-one seems to be the least bit surprised that there is yet another weird youkai lusting after Reimu.
However, your conversation is joined by an unexpected voice.

"Hello~"

You look up. Yukari is floating in midair, leaning out of a yearning rift in the sky.

Byakuren is the first to react. "Welcome, Lady of Borders. May I ask why you are visiting Myoren temple?"

Yukari yawns. "Well, I'm here to deliver a message."

"Go ahead, then." Everyone has stopped eating, and are warily watching Yukari as she yawns again.

"Well, I hereby invited you all to a party I am hosting at Mayohiga."

Kogasa lights up. "A party! What kind of party?"

"A themed party. The theme is Incidents. You are to come in groups based on the Incidents you were involved in. There will, of course, be entertainment, games, and prizes."

Shou, as always, brings up a practical concern. "And when is this party?"

"The day after tomorrow~"

"Then why didn't you give this invitation earlier?"

"I only got the idea yesterday."

Kogasa looks excited. "What kinda games?"

Yukari shrugs. "I don't know yet. I am, of course, having my shikigami do all of the planning and organizing for me. Rest assured it will all be Yakumo-quality. I instructed Ran to make sure we have the Prismrivers booked, of course, and I may be able to get Yamaxanadu to be a referee..."

This is a bit confusing. "So, uh, what do you mean by grouped by Incident?"

"It's all chronological. Everyone from 12 will go as one group- that means everyone in the temple currently minus you- and everyone in this unofficial Incident will go in another group- that means you, the various youkai you let into the border, and your wonderfully suave roommate." Yukari turns to Nue. "You were in both Incidents, so you can choose which party you want to go with."

Byakuren speaks up again. "I am not sure if I can leave my duties for a day. The people need my guidance-"

"Oh, don't be a stick in the mud. It'll be fun! I'm sure they can do without your wisdom for a day" Yukari says, adding under her breath "and your impressive figure."

"I- I suppose."

"So, if you all don't mind, I'll be going back now. I really wanted to sleep, but Ran said that I should at least send some of the invitations myself." She yawns again, and begins to retreat into the gap.

She pauses. "Oh, yes." She turns to you. "This is yours, correct?" And then dissapears into her gap.

Another gap opens, and that new youkai stalker of Reimu's drops out onto the table- unconcious, tied up, and sans most of her clothing.
Oh, wonderful.

---

After cleaning up the mess, you finish lunch.
Now you have some free time. The other half of the day, in fact. Those activities from earlier did not take long.

If you are going to play along with Yukari and go to her party, you would be a laughingstock if you didn't at least gather as many people from your incident as possible.
Of course, Yuugi, Parsee, and Yamame are probably not going to come. They took place in another incident, anyway.
But as for the others...

Pick three. (One for the rest of today, two for tomorrow.)
I didn't feel like putting in a ton of options for them, but write-ins are allowed.

[ ] Try to find that goat-girl.
-[ ] Find her by yourself.
-[ ] Maybe Nazrin could help you search?
-[ ] Maybe Reimu knows where she lives?
[ ] What about that youkai archeologist? Raquel or whatever?
-[ ] Find her by yourself.
-[ ] She was raiding a high-profile target. Maybe you could check the news or find a reporter and figure out where she's gone to?
-[ ] Or you could just ask Sakuya if she knows.
[ ] That demon... Camilla, right, would be easy to find. She just lives in Makai. Might take some persuading to get her to leave, though, after what happened last time she went to Gensokyo...
-[ ] Tell her it'll be a fun party.
-[ ] Use your skills of a debater to persuade her. Consonant Vs, etc.
-[ ] Maybe if you get Shinki to tell her, it will go down easier.
[ ] You want to make absolutely sure Nue comes with you and not Byakuren's group. Spend time with her, butter her up, whatever it takes.
[ ] You should make sure your roommate is going to come. Can't go to a party without an utter asshole there to make you look better.
[ ] Screw Yukari, you won't go to the party. Instead, you will...
-[ ] Pick three non-party activities.
[ ] Write-in.

---

I just had a scary thought. Outside world literature filters into Gensokyo, but not that fast. Furthermore, the context of the literature (any notion of it's level of popularity, for instance) would be lost also. So therefore, the only reason Remilia could be so familiar with Twilight characters as to be immediately offended by that insult would be if they were real within the continuity of this story.
I then became immediately ashamed of myself.

Today
[X] That demon... Camilla, right, would be easy to find. She just lives in Makai. Might take some persuading to get her to leave, though, after what happened last time she went to Gensokyo...
-[X] Tell her it'll be a fun party.

Tomorrow
[X] Try to find that goat-girl.
-[X] Maybe Nazrin could help you search?
[X] What about that youkai archeologist? Raquel or whatever?
-[X] She was raiding a high-profile target. Maybe you could check the news or find a reporter and figure out where she's gone to?

[x] What about that youkai archeologist? Raquel or whatever?
-[x] Find her by yourself.
[x] That demon... Camilla, right, would be easy to find. She just lives in Makai. Might take some persuading to get her to leave, though, after what happened last time she went to Gensokyo...
-[x] Maybe if you get Shinki to tell her, it will go down easier.
-[x] Tell her it'll be a fun party.
[x] You should make sure your roommate is going to come. Can't go to a party without an utter asshole there to make you look better.

[X] That demon... Camilla, right, would be easy to find. She just lives in Makai. Might take some persuading to get her to leave, though, after what happened last time she went to Gensokyo...
-[X] Tell her it'll be a fun party.

Tomorrow
[X] Try to find that goat-girl.
-[X] Maybe Nazrin could help you search?
[X] What about that youkai archeologist? Raquel or whatever?
-[X] She was raiding a high-profile target. Maybe you could check the news or find a reporter and figure out where she's gone to?

What will happen to that delicious new Youkai? After Yukari went all 'Get out of here, Stalker' and left her on the table, where did she go?

>>26275
Oh. Should have made an option for her.
Well, just assume that no matter what options win you are also going to spend a little time convincing her to come.

[X] That demon... Camilla, right, would be easy to find. She just lives in Makai. Might take some persuading to get her to leave, though, after what happened last time she went to Gensokyo...
-[X] Tell her it'll be a fun party.

Tomorrow
[X] Try to find that goat-girl.
-[X] Maybe Nazrin could help you search?
[X] What about that youkai archeologist? Raquel or whatever?
-[X] She was raiding a high-profile target. Maybe you could check the news or find a reporter and figure out where she's gone to?

[X] That demon... Camilla, right, would be easy to find. She just lives in Makai. Might take some persuading to get her to leave, though, after what happened last time she went to Gensokyo...
-[X] Tell her it'll be a fun party.

Tomorrow
[X] Try to find that goat-girl.
-[X] Maybe Nazrin could help you search?
[X] What about that youkai archeologist? Raquel or whatever?
-[X] She was raiding a high-profile target. Maybe you could check the news or find a reporter and figure out where she's gone to?

He got off way to easily.

[X] That demon... Camilla, right, would be easy to find. She just lives in Makai. Might take some persuading to get her to leave, though, after what happened last time she went to Gensokyo...
-[X] Tell her it'll be a fun party.

Tomorrow
[X] Try to find that goat-girl.
-[X] Maybe Nazrin could help you search?
[X] What about that youkai archeologist? Raquel or whatever?
-[X] She was raiding a high-profile target. Maybe you could check the news or find a reporter and figure out where she's gone to?

Today
[X] Try to find that goat-girl.
-[X] Maybe Nazrin could help you search?

Tomorrow
[X] What about that youkai archeologist? Raquel or whatever?
-[X] You could just ask Sakuya if she knows.
[X] You should make sure your roommate is going to come. Can't go to a party without an utter asshole there to make you look better.

We can get Raquel and fagballs by going to the SDM, or at least leads on both of them. Maybe that could free up some time to look for one of the others as well.

Today
[X] That demon... Camilla, right, would be easy to find. She just lives in Makai. Might take some persuading to get her to leave, though, after what happened last time she went to Gensokyo...
-[X] Tell her it'll be a fun party.

Tomorrow
[X] What about that youkai archeologist? Raquel or whatever?
-[X] You could just ask Sakuya if she knows.
[X] You should make sure your roommate is going to come. Can't go to a party without an utter asshole there to make you look better.

[X]As a bonus, try to use Peerless Nomad to get around while doing these tasks. Seeing how it works, there's little that says we can't train it into having a much broader range, and a "teleport wherever in the world you feel like" spell would be badass.

This update took a long time to write.
Also, it's my first two-parter. Yay.

[X] That demon... Camilla, right, would be easy to find. She just lives in Makai. Might take some persuading to get her to leave, though, after what happened last time she went to Gensokyo...
-[X] Tell her it'll be a fun party.
[X] Try to find that goat-girl.
-[X] Maybe Nazrin could help you search?

Well. For today, you should go for the easiest one. You can go track down people to your heart's content tomorrow. Today, you're going to Makai to see the wizard. Er, Camilla. You're going to Makai to see Camilla. Maybe you could stop by to see Shinki... eh, she is a busy woman (goddess?), you can't just stop by to say hi.
You briefly consider inviting Nue along, but you wouldn't be able to pull her across the border into Makai, so it'd be kind of a lame outing.

No reason not to say bye, though.

"Yo, Nue."

"Oh, hello. You going to go gathering the other people in your incident?"

"Yeah. I think my first stop will be Makai. I can pull people across the magic seals on the Makai enterance, but it's hard enough to pull relatively weak people across."

"So you're here to say goodbye?"

"Er, basically."

Kogasa looks up from a piece of paper. "Oh, bye then." She waves a purple crayon.
It looks like she is drawing umbrellas.

"See you two later! I'll be bringing another person, so I'll be sure to introduce her."

You leave the temple and begin flying to the Makai gate.
So, how are you going to convince Camilla to come? The last time she entered Gensokyo she got stuck inside. You have to imagine that was at least a little traumatic, and she is apparently a very young demon.
Well, you should just tell her that it sounds like a fun party and that you can bring her back at any time. No need to lie, or get someone to vouch for you, or anything. It's not like this is an unreasonable request on your part.

Here's the gate to Makai. Imposing as always.
You step through the barrier.
Well, time to go through...

Wait a second, where did Kogasa get crayons?
You can't imagine that there is anyone in the human village who manufactures crayons. Did a set fall through the border?
Shit, you should stop thinking about this, it'll just bug you for the rest of the day if you let it.

Okay, there's Pandaemonium. Now time to find Camilla.

---

"Hey, you." The demon turns. "Do you know where Camilla is?"

"I know where she lives. I can't tell you where she is now, though."

"Okay."

"Well, she lives on the intersection of Elysion St. and Pyriphlegethon Dr."

"Thanks."

And off you go. Luckily, one advantage of the population of demons being so small is that, despite how big this city is, everyone knows everyone else by name.
Also, everyone apparently has their own house. There are a great deal more houses then there are demons, yes, and all of the demons are made by Shinki so none of them have parents in the human sense, so you guess that makes sense.

There we go, Pyriphlegethon Drive... okay, this house has "Camilla" on the nameplate. Presumably she lives here.
You knock on the door.

...

No answer.
Looks like she isn't home.
Okay, so where could she be currently?

What do demon children do with their time? Obviously they don't stay at home and mope. She could be having a late lunch, maybe. Or she could be out playing in the streets or something.
There isn't really any way you could guess. You've been to Pandaemonium before, but you are hardly familiar enough with it to know where to find people.

Well, you know roughly where the most inhabited areas are. You should go through them, since if she is playing in the streets it probably won't be in the abandoned part and all of the cafes are, obviously, in the inhabited parts.

Okay, this place looks like an eatery. You peek inside. A few demons look at you curiously, but no Camilla.
You go to the next restaurant-looking place you can find, keeping an eye out for blonde demons. You see a great many blonde demons, actually, but none of them are Camilla.
Okay, she isn't in this place either. It... looks like a demonic strip club, actually, so you aren't surprised. They need to have better zoning. This is right next to the ordinary restaurants.

Maybe you should ask someone else. This demon looks much more hip and in-the-know then the last one you asked. He has little square glasses and a goatee even. "Hey, do you know where Camilla is?"

"Who?"

"Er, a child? The one who got lost a while ago, but then was lead back to Pandaemonium by a courageous and handsome stranger?"

"Oh, right. No, I don't." Well shoot. "I don't remember hearing anything about the stranger being 'handsome', either." Oh come on how dense can this demon be.

"Yeah, right, okay. I'll go ask someone not stupid then."

"Hey!"

Yeah screw that guy. You go off to find a different demon.
How about this blonde little girl with a white ribbon?

"Hey, miss, have you seen-" Oh, wait.

"Have I seen what?" She does a double-take. "Oh, hello, mister! I didn't recognize you at first."

"Er, hi, Camilla. It was nothing."

"Whatcha come back to Makai for?"

"Actually, I came back for you."

"For me?" She blushes.

"See, I was invited to a party, and I wanted to know if you would come also."

"A party in Gensokyo?"

"Yeah."

"I'm... kind of scared to go..."

"Oh come on, it'll be fun. And I can freely move to and from Makai, so you won't get stuck again."

"You promise?"

"Yeah, I promise."

"Okay, I'll accept that. When's the party?"

"Er, the day after tomorrow. Since you need my help leaving, though, you should probably leave soon. You can stay where I live until it starts."

"I guess I'm not doing anything else. I'll go get my stuff and tell everyone I know where I am going."

"Oh, no hurry. I'll wait at your house, is that okay?"

She nods and runs off.

Well now, you might as well go to her house and wait.

---

After about half an hour she returns to the house. You simply let yourself in, her house apparently not actually having a lock. Are there no robbers or sexual predators in Pandaemonium?
...actually, given the fact that they are literally living a five minute walk from God, that shouldn't be a surprise.

"Said your goodbyes?"

"Yes. Let me go get packed up..."

She runs upstairs. Man, a whole two-story house to herself. To be able to afford this... the house market must be even worse in Pandaemonium then in real life.

After about ten minutes, she comes down with a packed suitcase.

"Okay, I'm ready."

"Alright, let's go."

You lead her to the exit from Makai (not that she needs leading; she knows where it is also.)
Along the way she waves to several demons.

You hold her by the hand and... pull her through.
Nngh. This is pretty uncomfortable. Although, after your session with Murasa in the bathhouse, it's not quite as bad in comparison.

"So, this will be your first time visting Gensokyo without having to worry about having to freak out. You should enjoy your stay, while you are here."

"O-okay. I'll try to." She smiles at you.

Here's the second barrier... okay, you are glad that's over with.

"Now, follow me. I live at the Myoren Temple, over thataway."

The two of your take to the air, and soar off for the temple.

---

"Hey, Nue, I'm back!"

"Hey. Oh, is that our new visitor?"

"Yeah. Camilla, meet Nue." Camilla curtsies. On her best behavior, you see. "Nue, meet Camilla." They shake hands. "So, Nue, where's Kogasa?"

"I don't know." She grins at you.

"Boo!"

Camilla falls forward. Kogasa misjudged her jump and ended up landing on the poor demon's back.

You help them up. "Er, Camilla, meet Kogasa." Camilla calms herself down, then hesitantly curtsies again. "Kogasa, meet Camilla. Though, I don't need to say that, since you were watching this entire time, right?"

Kogasa smiles. "Yep! Nice to meet you, Camilla!" She enthusiastically shakes Camilla's hand.

"So, what happened while I was gone?"

"Well, your charming roommate showed up again. He looks a bit... drained, but uninjured."

Camilla turns to you. "Can I go explore?"

"Sure, go ahead. This temple's a safe place, even for humans, so you should be fun."

She runs off. Kogasa follows.

"Er, Kogasa, you probably shouldn't surprise her any more-"

"No, I'm going to give her a tour!"

"Oh, okay." You turn back to Nue. "Really now. Did the vampires treat him well?" You can't help but make that last part sound a bit bitter.

She laughs. "Oh, from what I understand he got a clean room, breakfast, lunch, a change of clothes, and then was booted out the moment Sakuya judged him strong enough to travel. Remilia has stuff like that done to maintain her public image as a rich eccentric, not out of any sense of charity."

"Public image as a rich eccentric? I kind of got the impression that she wants to be taken seriously as a dangerous person."

"Oh, she does. But if she gets taken too seriously she might end up getting another visit from Reimu."

Oh. Once again, everyone fears the miko. "Man, I get the feeling that if Gensokyo had two mikos then the entire place would be torn apart."

"Actually, about that... there is that Sanae." Nue shudders.

"Is she the kind of person I should keep away from also?"

"She's... well, you'll see if you ever meet her. I know that Kogasa is downright scared of her."

Well, Kogasa does not honestly seem like a hard person to scare. Then again, she is hardly a powerful youkai, and she keeps ending up in the presence of hostile powerful youkai, so maybe your perception is a bit skewed here. "I hope I don't, then."

"You probably will. I assume she will be showing up to the party also. Moriya Shrine is always very aggressive when it comes to social events. It probably comes from being headed by a War Goddess."

"Huh." Wait. "Speaking of deities, what is the god of Hakurei shrine?"

"I'm not sure." Nue thinks for a moment. "I... think I heard something about an evil spirit-turned-god?"

So Reimu serves an evil spirit? "That explains a lot about Reimu, really."

"You probably shouldn't say that in earshot of her."

You laugh. "Please, do I look like a suicidal man to you?"

"Well, after hearing about some of your decisions, I must say-"

"Oh, that was all spiritedness. And poor judgement. Not a death wish."

"If you say so." Nue pauses. "But, speaking of death wishes, that youkai Yukari gave us woke up a bit earlier."

"Oh? How is she?"

"Eating now, I think. She was starving when she woke up, so Shou ended up throwing together a meal on the spot."

"Well, I might as well go see her. I'll need her to come, anyway."

You walk to the dining room. Indeed, that youkai is there. She is dressed in a burgundy and white dress... one of Shou's spares? She is currently eating.

You walk up behind her. "Hey, doing alright?"

She stops eating. "Yes, thanks to that wonderful Nun's hospitality." She pauses. Is she talking about Ichirin? Ichirin looks kind of nun-like. "She's pretty sexy, but I think Reimu is still the one for me." Oh, she probably means Byakuren then.

"So, uh, I take it that your fight against Yukari didn't go well?"

"I would rather not talk about it. Rest assured, though, that next time it will go differently!" Wow, she really does have a death wish.

"Well, good luck. You are seriously going to need it."

She spins around in her seat, and grabs you by the hand. "Your wellwishes are most appreciated. I swear to you that I will defeat Yukari and prove your faith in me justified." What an... intense woman. You are glad she hasn't found out that the whole Yukari thing was atrick.
Wait a second, you didn't actually say that you believed she could do it.

Eh, shouldn't bring it up. "Yeah... on an unrelated note, can you come to a party?"

"Oh?"

"It's a party that, er, Yukari is hosting. And I need to gather all the people in this latest incident so we can go as a party."

"I'm not so sure..."

"Yukari is hosting it, so it'd probably be safe to bet that she invited Reimu also."

She pauses. "True..."

"And I hear there are going to be contests and stuff. You would have a chance to test your mettle."

"That's a very good point. I will go, so I can prove myself to Reimu!"

"Well, the party is the day after tomorrow. I'll leave you to your meal. You should eat well and rest up, so that you can show Reimu your full strength."

She nods and then turns back to her meal. "I will not let your group down!" And then goes back to eating.

Well, at least you can be sure that you will have one enthusiastic person. Camilla isn't bad, but you don't think she quite has enough self-confidence. Which makes perfect sense, after experiencing a fairly traumatic incident like she did, but it doesn't make her a good team member.
Maybe if she has a good time in Gensokyo it will put her mind more at ease. It would be nice if going to a party ended up becoming a good deed.

---

Dinner is quite uneventful, surprisingly. After the plot-advancing antics at lunch, you were almost expecting Yukari to drop by again. But no. Even with the new additions of a demon, a crazy lesbian stalker, and a total jerk, dinner manages to be pretty quiet.
Byakuren manages to be pleasant and friendly to absolutely everyone in the table in equal measures. It's like she has some kind of quota to maintain.
You are kind of wishing that she wasn't so nice to dumbface, but that's probably a vain hope. She doesn't know the full story of what happened underground, and even if she did... well, she forgave you, after all.
On the other hand, Nue seems to interact best with Camilla. Perhaps Nue reserves most of her empathy for young-ish girls, or at least people who act like them. Or maybe she just doesn't prefer the alternatives, given that both the alternatives have serious problems understanding the concept of relationships.
Dust buster is more subdued then he was yesterday. This means he goes from arrogantly overconfidant to smugly overconfidant, but you suppose it's a start. Maybe getting the shit beat out of him in such a humiliating way by that little girl vampire taught him a lesson of some kind?

And after dinner, as has become your custom, you go straight to bed. Sleeping with a full belly feels soooo goooood~

---

Grr. You are a viking. You are doing viking stuff like drinking ale and fighting wenches. Or is that pirate stuff? Or... you're getting confused.
Okay, okay, calm down.
Maybe you should come up with some epic poetry to clear your mind...

---

You wake up. For a day of exciting adventuuuure.
And by adventure you mean 'tracking down people'.

Okay, time to go to the dining room.
And here's... Camilla. Huh.

"You're an early riser?"

"I had a hard time sleeping."

"Oh. Uh, were you nervous, or scared?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well, why didn't you go see if you could find someone to help you fall asleep?" Someone like Byakuren. Someone with, presumably, overwhelming motherly instincts. Actually, 'I couldn't sleep' sounds like a pretty good excuse... maybe you should try it sometime. You doubt it'd work on Nue though. Maybe Kogasa?

"I'm used to sleeping alone." Oh, right, she lives in a huge empty house.

"Well, I hope you get more comfortable. It would be sad if you weren't able to enjoy yourself, maybe bring back fun stories for the people back in Makai."

Shou comes in. "Oh, so we have three early risers, now?"

You don't want to have to listen to Camilla explain this again, so you tune out for a minute or two.

Okay, that was probably long enough. Shou seems to be looking at you now, anyway. She says, "So, I assume you will be out most of today to find the rest of the people in your incident?"

"Yeah."

"Well, good luck. You are at a disadvantage because your incident didn't really involve you much."

"Thanks." Hum, though maybe... "Actually, can I ask for some help?"

"Well, I'm busy, but I could loan you Nazrin."

"Good. I only think I'll need her for half the day."

"I'll tell her after breakfast."

Shou walks into the kitchen. "So, Camilla, while we wait..."

You chat with her some while Shou prepares breakfast. She, honestly, doesn't live a life that is nearly as exciting as yours has been as of late, so she doesn't have that much to say. It is kind of interesting hearing what a demon's average day is like. Surprisingly not-different when compared to a normal human, really. Besides the differences you already knew about, anyway.
She enjoys breakfast, saying that the cuisine in Makai isn't all that good. Maybe they lost their best chefs during that attack, years ago?
You take your meal slowly, deciding to actually sit through the main communial breakfast this time around.
And so you sit through breakfast. Balsamic vinegar is still pretty subdued. Maybe he's going through the asshole version of an identity crisis? Eh.
Stalker woman has a very serious demeanor. Determination, presumably.
Byakuren focuses mostly on Camilla this time around, after hearing how she was having trouble speaking.
And you go through the mostly uneventful meal. Perhaps it says something about your life that you consider a meal 'uneventful' if there is no attack or dramatic pronouncement during it.

You leave the dining room. Nazrin and Camilla seem to be following you.

"Shou told me that you had need of my skills."

"Hey, hey, is it alright if I go to that human village?"

Oh man you are so popular. There are two different girls following you. Camilla first. "I think so. Why don't you go ask, say, Kogasa or Nue to look after you?"

"Okay."

You turn to Nazrin. "Yes. I want to find someone."

She begins to leave the temple, and you follow. "I am not able to locate people. Does this person possess any magic items?"

You rack your brains. Did that goat girl have anything magic?

"Well... she had a knife. She was trying to use it to hurt me, so it's probably magic. Also she had a sweet pair of headphones but they probably weren't magic."

"A knife... I can look. Do you have any idea where she is, to narrow the possibilities down?"

"When I met her she was with two other people who had also been robbed by Marisa. Therefore, she probably was not that far from them. They were a... green-haired fairy, and a blue bird youkai. I didn't catch either of their names."

Nazrin thinks for a moment. "I remember seeing a bird youkai like that around Kourindou. And a green-haired fairy... I am not entirely sure."

Wait, you remember the fairy mentioning a name... "The fairy said something about a Cirno?"

"Oh, I see. So, we shall restrict the search to around the Misty Lake and the Forest of Magic, or at least at first."

"That sounds fair enough." Wait... "Actually, sorry, I just remembered. She mentioned that when she first came to Gensokyo, she ended up in mountains."

"Given the context, she was probably in the area around Hakurei Shrine, then. She might not still be there, but we will concentrate the search there then."

Nazrin closes her eyes. "I will relay orders to my subordinate mice. Can you describe the girl you are looking for?"

"Er, she had goat legs, horns, a white outfit with a brown mantle, headphones, and obviously the aformentioned knife."

Nazrin is silent for a few minutes. You stand there, uncomfortably, wondering if you should say anything more. And then your eye catches motion, and you notice that mice are pouring out of the area. Coming out of holes in the walls, scurrying out of the bushes, coming out of holes in the ground...
Within moments, you are in the center of a sea of mice. It makes you feel... hungry, actually. You try to keep calm.

Nazrin goes onto her knees. "I require you for another search. We are to find a specific youkai. A goat-youkai, with a possibly magic knife." Apparently she isn't familiar with Satyrs. Or... Fauns, maybe. You aren't sure what that girl is yourself. "She is most likely located in the mountains around Hakurei Shrine. However, I want some of you to search the area around the Forest of Magic and Misty Lake also." She pulls out a small wedge of cheese. "This is a new imported cheese from the outside world I obtained from Kourindou. It will go to the mouse who locates the target."

She stands up. "Dismissed."

The mice all rapidly scurry off. You've never seen mice move that fast... then again, these are magic, intelligent mice that can understand human speech.

Nazrin takes to the air, and you follow suit. "We will go to the mountains." Okay, that makes sense, and she is the expert here anyway.

---

After two hours of combing through the mountains, a mouse approaches Nazrin.

She listens to it's wordless voice for a few moments, and then turns to you. "Your target has been found. She is in the outskirts of the forest of magic."

"Well, then it seems our estimate of where she would be was off."

"Apparently so."

The two of your take off, and in not too long you reach the forest of magic. You reach an area in the outskirts, not that long a distance from Kourindou, where there is what appears to be a modern tent. Huh. Outside is, yes, that girl. She seems to be reading a book.

You and Nazrin land.
The girl looks up, and you try to say hello, but... no sound comes out.

After you spend a few moments trying and failing to speak, she suddenly gets a look of realization on her face.

"-ello. Hellooo- Oh! Okay, finally. Hello."

"Hello to you too. May I ask what you and your friend are here for?"

You glance to the side. Nazrin has taken that wedge of cheese out again, and has handed it to the mouse from earlier.

"Well, I'm here on business. Party business."

"I'm sorry, but I don't have any affiliation with human politics."

"Uh, that's not quite what I meant."

She closes the book and stands up from the folding chair she was sitting on. "Wait a second, I'll get seats."

She goes into the tent, and then comes out with two folding chairs. She sets them up, and you and Nazrin both take a seat.

"This is a very... nice... place you've got, here."

"Oh, I came prepared. Camping supplies, spare food, all kinds of stuff. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to buy things from human stores when you are so obviously nonhuman, though."

"I'm pretty glad I can put on a convincing human disguise, really."

"Luckily I happened to know the Genius Loci of a certain town, and I got him to act as an intermediary."

"And you got books also?"

"Oh? No, Tokiko loaned me this. It's a pretty good read, I guess. Not that good at reading Japanese, though."

Tokiko? Oh, forget it. "Well, you seem to be a very modern youkai."

"Times are changing, I'm afraid. Humanity's attitude towards nature is much different then it once was, so when I was born I had a different attitude from my elders also."

"Well, what I'm getting at is... want to go to a party?"

"A party?"

"Hosted at the Yakumo residence. There will be entertainment and events, I hear."

"And... you are inviting me?" She looks a bit confused. "I'm a nobody."

"It's a theme party. We are supposed to be grouped in terms of Incidents, and we were in the same incident."

"Oh." She thinks for a moment. "Well, I guess that kind of makes sense if I imagine I'm a spoiled, aristocratic youkai."

"So, you'll come?"

"I guess. I'm going to have to get to know the residents of Gensokyo at some point, anyway. Just..." she sags, "don't expect that much of me."

Jesus christ is your team going to be team bipolar, where half the team is suicidally overconfidant and the other half is depressingly underconfidant? "So, want to come to the temple, stay there overnight? The party is tomorrow."

"I don't know, I'm more comfortable camping." She pauses. "I'll need to practice my ability anyway. Ever since I came to Gensokyo it's been going out of control. It keeps turning on whenever I stop paying attention."

"Well, how about you come with me and I'll see if anyone in the temple can help you. Byakuren is a magician and a buddhist, I am sure that between the two she can teach you how to meditate and control your power or something. Plus, I want everyone in the team to get to know each other before the day of the party."

"Alright, alright. As long as you are sure they'll be okay with me..."

"Oh, don't worry. I'm pretty sure that even if you were a mass-murderer Byakuren would be willing to let you in."

---

When you get back, Nue and Kogasa are still gone. Apparently they are leading Camilla around still. Maybe she decided that touring the human village wasn't enough?
Well, as long as they are having fun... you can't imagine them getting into any trouble, since Nue is by no means a pushover.

So when you, Nazrin, and that girl return, the only free people there to greet you are those weirdoes. Wonderful.
"Uh, here, meet two of your teammates." You push her towards them. She hurriedly bows.

"Oh? Hi, goatse." You really, really hope that she does not know what that means.
...Your roommate has an odd look on his face. Maybe that wasn't an attempt at an insult, this time, but a genuine misspeaking?

Luckily, she doesn't seem very insulted. "Call me Tacita, please."

Your roommate thinks for a moment. "Any relation to the historian?"

"No. How in the world could I?"

"Just checking."

That stalker woman looks up from... wait, she was playing poker with your roommate? Well, they are kind of alike in some ways, you suppose. "Don't get between me and Reimu and we'll get along fine."

"O-okay. I'm not sure why I would, really."

"Well, I can't expect everyone to see what I see in Reimu." She sighs. "I assume you haven't found love yet, have you?"

"I've only been here for a little bit, and back at home I didn't fit in well."

"Have you met anyone who sets you aflutter? Who, when you first saw him or her, you thought, this is the one." She's gotten more intense. She is leaning forwards, staring at Tacita, eyes ablaze.

"W-well, Tokiko is pretty nice to me, I guess-"

"And then love gives you wings, and lets you soar above your limits!" Oh boy, she's getting fired up now. "In the raging maelstrom of my heart, there is room for but one person- Reimu!"

She stands up, putting her hand down on the table- face up. Your roommate very quickly takes notice. "Nothing can stand in my way!"

She thumps her chest, and then faces down Tactica with fierce intensity. "I will show you the strength of my will. Give me your best shot."

"Uh, what does that have to do with-"

"No holding back!"

"Well, alright, I guess..." Tactica pulls out her knife, and then assumes a stance. Suddenly, everything quiets. Then, so fast that your eye can barely keep up, she is standing in front of the taller woman. Her knife is stuck straight in the chest, so deep that only the handle is visible.
Sound returns to the world, and the goat-girl falls to the floor, panting. "You... you're very... well-prepared for... this..."

"Ahaha! This pain is nothing!" She laughs vigorously, seemingly ignoring the knife. "Someone who wishes to conquer her heart, must first conquer her body." She sits down and picks up her poker hand again. "Remember this well."

"Uh... can I have my knife back?"

"Oh, right." She pulls the knife out of her chest and tosses it underhand to Tacita. Tacita catches it, and starts to wipe the blood off it before noticing that there is no blood on it. Neat trick. Maybe you should ask her how to do that, sometime.

Right. This is all very amusing, but you feel like relaxing a bit before lunch and there is no way in hell you will be able to relax right next to these stooges. "I'm going to go relax some. Tacita, you go make yourself at home or something until lunch is ready."

"Okay."

[X] What about that youkai archeologist? Raquel or whatever?
-[X] She was raiding a high-profile target. Maybe you could check the news or find a reporter and figure out where she's gone to?

Lunch is fairly interesting. Nue, Kogasa, and Camilla return, and they relate their trip. It seems that after visiting the human village, they went to Eientei and played with the rabbits for a while until Eirin came and told them to stop causing so much noise. Nonetheless, Camilla seems to have caught some of Kogasa's good cheer.
Tacita does not contribute much to the conversation. You probably shouldn't be surprised. In fact, she contributes a negative amount in net, because at two separate instances she ends up accidently shrouding the dinner table in silence. Byakuren says that she will teach Tacita to control that power, though, and that's nice. Something about special lessons between and during the timee her normal services? Tacita agrees to start right away, though.
Well, if you had a power you were unable to fully control you would want to solve the problem ASAP also.
You think some. You are going to have to find where that Raquel woman went. She probably didn't stay in the Manor, after all. You aren't sure if just going there and asking would be the best idea. They are probably busy over there, and might not appreciate talking about an intruder. However, you realize, the manor is a very high-profile target, so maybe there would be something you could work with in the news? Shou reads the Bunbunmaru every morning, although ever since the articles stopped being about you you lost interest.
After lunch, you track down Shou.

"Thanks for loaning me Nazrin, Shou."

"Oh, it's no problem."

"But can you do me another favor? A small one this time."

"Yes?"

"You read the Bunbunmaru every day, right?"

"Yes. It's not the best source of information, but it's free and that counts for something."

"Well, have any of the recent articles been about the Scarlet Devil Manor? And, particularly, about a break-in?"

"If I remember correctly, there was an article about something like that. Why?"

"Well, I have a hunch that the last person I need to track down was responsible. I think that article might give me a better idea for where to look for her."

"I'm sorry, but I already disposed of it." Drat. "It wasn't a very informative article anyway. I don't think you would have learned much."

"Any advice, then?"

"I suppose you could go to the source. Aya Shamemaru knows a great deal about Gensokyo."

"Okay. Where does she live?"

"Youkai mountain. I assume she lives near where the other Tengu do. I don't know the specifics."

"Alright, wish me luck!"

You leave.
Youkai mountain is that one, right? The one near the underground enterance.

---

Okay, this is one friggin huge mountain. Hopefully if you continue up it you will eventually run into a tengu.
You did pass this one woman who seemed to really like to spin, but she was giving off bad mojo vibes so you avoided her. Can't be too careful.

Up up!

Hello, tree. You definitely aren't a tengu, but it was worth a look.

Up up!

No tengu ninjas hiding behind that boulder. Shame.

Up up!

Nope, no tengus in sight-
Wait, is that a tengu?
Guy in white with a black-and-orange dress thing, black hair, ridiculous wooden sandals, and a cute little red hat. Big sword, and a shield with a maple leaf emblem. Oh, and also wolf ears and a tail.
So either a youkai of some sort or a furry who couldn't afford a fursuit but could afford a very strange, but thematically unified, outfit.

Time to clear up this confusion. "Hey, are you a tengu?"

"Yes. And this is a tengu-controlled area."

"Oh, good."

"I'm sorry, but civilians aren't allowed here."

"Well, I won't stay here for long. I just need directions."

"I suppose I can provide them, civilian."

"Do you know an 'Aya Shamemaru'?"

"Yes. There are few tengu who don't."

"Well, can you take me to her?"

"I'm on duty. I can't just-"

You drop your human disguise. "I'd appreciate it if you took me to her. I need to ask her a few questions." You give him a few moments to recoil.

"A-alright. I'll take you to her, sir. Just don't tell my superiors."

You return to human form. "Of course not."

---

"Who's that at the door? I'm busy editing!"

"Sayo Inuhashi, Miss Shamemaru. I am escorting a visitor"

"Oh? Sayo? Come right in, come right in!"

You follow the tengu in. Inside the house, there is all kinds of stuff. Newspaper clippings, photography equipment, pressed leaves, pictures of all kind... very cluttered house.
Your escort quickly bows. "I need to get back to my post." And leaves.

A woman with black hair, folded crow's wings, and a much less military version of Sayo's outfit appears in front of you. "Oh, so it's that mysterious newcomer who marched all the way to Hakurei shrine demanding to get beaten. I was going to interview you at some point, and here you come to me."

"Er, hi."

"Yes, yes. What are you here for? I would say that you wanted to be interviewed, but I'm not naive."

"Well, I need information."

Aya walks past you and closes the door. "And you came to the right place! Take a seat, take a seat."

You go into her office and take a seat. She sits down at her desk, and opens up a folder of files. "Most of the tengu conduct news so slowly and conservatively. So they all end up covering the same articles. That Hatate girl especially. But I know of all kinds of scoops nobody else does..." She smirks. "And I assume you want to locate that archeologist who was making a fuss in the Manor?"

"A good guess."

"Guess?" She almost jumps out of her chair. "Guess? Kid, I'm not in the business of guessing. You don't write articles about things you guess. I'm in the business of knowing, and if I don't know I can find out before you are even done asking your question."

Oh boy, another windbag. "Well, how about it, then. Tell me, where is-" There's an explosion of wind, and Aya is gone. You can hear the door blow open.

You sit there for a moment, stunned. "...where is that Raquel girl-" Another explosion of wind. Aya is standing on top of her desk, balanced on one impractical sandal, posing. "...currently..."

"I just went out there and found her."

"Oh, so that wasn't just a figure of speech." You are still feeling a bit lightheaded.

"But first," she leans in close, "we gotta talk payment. I'll want an interview. Not now, I can tell you are busy, but after the party."

You are really not sure how much you want this woman interviewing. "I'm... not sure if I should agree..."

"Ooh, scary scary." She smirks. "You shouldn't be afraid of the free press. We deal only in truth, and we peddle only facts. Plus, if you don't agree I'll stalk you in secret and find out all about you anyway."

"Okay, fine, just no stalking." Her grin grows. Oh damn she is going to be taking secret photos of you no matter what you do, isn't she.

"Very good, very good. And, in exchange..." She pulls a map out of her desk drawer (it looks pretty cheap... maybe it's a mass-produced printed one?) and draws a thin X on it in pen. "Just go to where the map says." She hands you the map.

"Okay, thanks." You probably don't want to get someone like that mad at you. You would so get trolled.

---

This map was, actually, entirely accurate. It took a little interpretation, but in under an hour you have located Raquel.

She seems to be digging a hole.

"Hey. Miss Archeologist."

She turns around. "Oh, it's you."

"What are you doing now?"

"I am looking for treasure." Right.

"I take it that checking out the Scarlet Devil Manor didn't work out well?"

"Not at all. I was so close." She narrows her eyes. "So close. I saw Gungnir, and while it didn't look at all like what I expected, my dating sense told me that it was definitely old enough to be the real deal."

"That kind of sucks." How to pitch this to her...

"But I, Raquel Whatley, excavator of ruins and explorer of ancient civilizations, will triumph in the end!"

"Hey, want to come to a party?"

"I'm not sure. I'm pretty busy looking for legendary artifacts in this random hole in the ground."

You need a way to convince her... "I bet Indiana Jones went to parties all the time."
"Really?" Suddenly, she has a distant look in her eyes. "Well... if they were good enough for him..."

"Well, follow me back to my pad. This party you are supposed to go in groups to, so you should meet the rest of the team." You lift off into the air. "Maybe you'll find some legendary artifacts on the way. This party is taking place in Mayohiga, and I wouldn't be too surprised if Yukari had a broom made of wood from the true cross, or had Durandal mounted over a fireplace, or something like that."

"Yukari is a powerful youkai of some kind?"

"Yeah, a real powerful one. Created Gensokyo or something, I'm not entirely sure about the story."

"It might be productive then, yes." She muses for a moment. "Very well. I, Raquel Whatley, expeditious seeker of fame and fortune, will join your party!"

Sweet. Another fine addition to Team Bipolar.

---

Raquel doesn't get along with the others all that well. She is a different type of overconfidant idiot then, say, your roommate, so she's not quite that compatable. After a while, and several 'teamwork exercises', everyone figures out how to work together decently well, though. You would rather not think back on the contents of the 'teamwork exercises', and given the nature of the more rambunctious half of your team that should not really come as a surprise.
Dinner, in a change, is quite loud. It seems like Raquel was the metaphorical straw that broke the camel's back, and the levees did not hold and the town of New Cuisine was flooded by Hurricane Chatter. It's pretty fun, but after all of the strenuous searching over the day you are rather tired mentally and find yourself unable to come up with any real zingers.

After dinner you head off to bed, but Nue stops you. "I've been thinking about it all day, and I'm still not sure."

"Not sure about what?"

"About if I want to go with Byakuren's group or yours. You are more fun, but Byakuren has done more for me..."

[ ] Write-in.

---

Hello~
Yukarin here!

Ran gave me a list of the planned entertainment, and I must say that I was impressed. She came up with so many ideas!
I picked the ones I liked the most, of course, but there is still room for two more activities.
After thinking about it for a while, I decided to let the readers vote on it~

(Pick two.)
[ ] Tag Team Wrestling
[ ] Iron Chef Gensokyo
[ ] Touhou Fortress 2
[ ] Tennis Championship
[ ] Art Exhibition
[ ] Freestyle Rap Tournament
[ ] Who Wants to be an Archduke of Hell?
[ ] Write-in.

Now, dear readers, you should take into account the fact that the author knows nothing about cooking or rap, so the "iron chef" and "freestyle rap" contests might not be as amusing as they sound.

Oh, and if a write-in wins and it's an event that is already on the list of things I picked, I'll ignore it and have Chen decide instead.

Yukarin out!

[x] "As much as I'd like you to stick around, you should go with Byakuren. You can just say you helped out the newbie some"

Here's my shot at it.
[x] Touhou Fortress 2
[x] Tag Team Wrestling

Funny FPS and wrestling with girls; sounds fun for all kinds of reasons.

[x] "As much as I'd love you to stick around, you should go with Byakuren. You can just say you helped out the newbie some. Besides, Kogasa might get lonely without you."

[x] Touhou Fortress 2
[x] Free-Style Rap Tournament

[x] Write-in.
- "I wouldn't want to impose. You should do what your heart...

Ah, screw it, who am I kidding. Come with me before fagsticks and lesbostalker finish driving me insane."
------
Also:
[x] Touhou Fortress 2 (This. This, so, so much.)
[x] Write-in: Touhou - The Gathering (Mikomaster)

Sweet fuck, that was one hell of a wall.

[x] "As much as I'd love you to stick around, you should go with Byakuren. You can just say you helped out the newbie some. Besides, Kogasa might get lonely without you."

[x] Touhou Fortress 2
[x] Who Wants to be an Archduke of Hell?

[X] "As much as I'd love you to stick around, you should go with Byakuren. You can just say you helped out the newbie some. Besides, Kogasa might get lonely without you."

[X] Touhou Fortress 2
I predict Tacita will be a very good spy.
[X] Who Wants to be an Archduke of Hell?

>I'll ignore it and have Chen decide instead.

Can I vote for Chen to pick anyway? I'd love to see what she'd come up with.

[x] "As much as I'd love you to stick around, you should go with Byakuren. You can just say you helped out the newbie some. Besides, Kogasa might get lonely without you."

[X] Touhou Fortress 2
[X] Who Wants to be an Archduke of Hell?

Yukarin here~

>>26312

If you want my cute little kitten to pick one of the activities, I see no problem with a write-in like
[ ] Have Chen pick.

Yukarin out♪

[x] "As much as I'd love you to stick around, you should go with Byakuren. You can just say you helped out the newbie some. Besides, Kogasa might get lonely without you."

[x] Touhou Fortress 2
[x] Who Wants to be an Archduke of Hell?

[x] "As much as I'd love you to stick around, you should go with Byakuren. You can just say you helped out the newbie some. Besides, Kogasa might get lonely without you."
Does this count as a good deed?

[x] Touhou Fortress 2
[x] Who Wants to be an Archduke of Hell?

[x] "As much as I'd love you to stick around, you should go with Byakuren. You can just say you helped out the newbie some. Besides, Kogasa might get lonely without you."

[x] Touhou Fortress 2
[x] Touhou Soccer


So many great bits in this last update, but of all things, this part stuck with me:
>Kogasa looks up from a piece of paper. "Oh, bye then." She waves a purple crayon.
The moment I finished that line, my mind transplanted Kogasa into Harold and the Purple Crayon. The result was several magnitudes of adorable and made me sorely wish I was a writefag.

[X] "As much as I'd love you to stick around, you should go with Byakuren. You can just say you helped out the newbie some. Besides, Kogasa might get lonely without you."

[X] Touhou Fortress 2
[X] Doomhou (Touhou crossed with Doom)

>>26313
You know hag, it would be a lot better if you weren't psychopathic and/or a bitch 90% of the time.

[x] "As much as I'd love you to stick around, you should go with Byakuren. You can just say you helped out the newbie some. Besides, Kogasa might get lonely without you."

[x] Touhou Fortress 2
[x] Iron Chef Gensokyo

So which one in the team will be our Heavy Weapons guy?

[X] "Byakuren has a horde of nice people going with her. I have two nice people, two crazy people, and some guy I hate. If you come with me, I will love you forever."

I say that, but as nice as Camilla and Tacita are, and as completely insane as Raquel is, I actually find myself strangely interested in Raquel. By which I mean I want to nail her. I'm not sure why.

[X] Art Exhibition

Do want Kogasa's crayon scribbles.

[X] Who Wants to be an Archduke of Hell?

It will be like that game show that we almost had with Shinki, except an actual game show.

>>26320
>So which one in the team will be our Heavy Weapons guy?
Probably fagballs. He's got the boisterous and slightly stupid parts down pat.

>>26319
>You know hag, it would be a lot better if you weren't psychopathic and/or a bitch 90% of the time.
Huh? You must be confusing her with someone else. She invited us to a party. Now if you don't mind, I'm just going to stand over there, far away from you.

>>26327
Yukari can't touch me, for we are anonymous, and we are legion.

Besides, just because she invited us to a party here, doesn't mean she won't tear out your entrails there.

I think people are confusing Yukari for Yuuka.

One is an eccentric youkai of boundaries, who, depending on the story, navigates the line between chaotic good and affably evil, but always with civilized style.

The other is a force of nature turned flesh who makes it a habit to rip people limb from limb if they disturb her gardens. She's the psychopath.

>>26343
People seem to projecting certain other Yukaris on to this one. A bad habit of Anon's indeed. I suspect >>26319 was projecting EXNine's Yukari.

And Doomhou? There's already on FPS, a second one would be redundant. I guess I'm the only one who wants to do tag team wrestling? Has anyone read the "Touhou Tag Dream" pool on danbooru?

Hello again~
Yukarin here!

>>26319
>You know beautiful young lady, it would be a lot better if you weren't whimsical and/or an eccentric 90% of the time.
Fixed.
Ufufufufufufufu♪


[x] Touhou Fortress 2
[x] Who Wants to be an Archduke of Hell?

I will tell Ran posthaste. I am sure she will be entirely fine with setting up two highly complicated events overnight~

XOXOXOX, Yukarin~

---

[x] "As much as I'd love you to stick around, you should go with Byakuren. You can just say you helped out the newbie some. Besides, Kogasa might get lonely without you."

Nue is a pretty fun person, yes. But... you shouldn't force her to come with you. You have to admit that your group is harder to get along with, on average, then the Myoren Temple people. "I would love to have you around, Nue... but you would probably be better off joining Byakuren, and not having to put up with the more annoying people on my team."

Nue looks mildly surprised. "I kind of expected you to say something like..." She pauses and clears her throat, and then goes on in an uncannily good imitation of your voice, "If I go with just those people they are going to drive me mad, so please come with me, Nue."

"Heh, I was kind of tempted to. But honestly, I think I'll be able to stand it... anyway, we are going to the same place, so there's nothing that says that I can't talk to you on the other side." You grin. "Anyway, Kogasa would probably get lonely without you on the team."

"You made a good case. So, see you in the events, I guess... don't expect me to go easy!"

"Oh, I never did. And I won't hold back either. It wouldn't be fun if we did, really."

Nue nods. "Self-restraint is such a bore."

"Well, I think I am going to go to sleep. You go have fun with the people who don't rest immediately after dinner."

"Okay. I'll try not to poison your teammembers."

"If you get my roommate I wouldn't mind."

The two of you laugh a bit, and then you go to your room.

Well, tomorrow's a big day. It's a party so it's not super important, but what you told stalkerface wasn't exactly wrong either. You get the feeling that if you really suck in this party it won't do anything good for your reputation. You are the new kid on the block, so to speak, so you have got to show everyone that you aren't a pushover.
So you will want to be rested up...

---

You look at the machine in front of you. It seems... familiar. A familiar plot device. You hesitantly pick up a part, and attach it. With the completion of this, you'll finally be able to reach Gensokyo... right?
This is all terribly confusing.

---

You wake up. That was a rather... meta dream. Although, dreaming about things that have happened to you before is normal, right? It's only your recent experiences that have taught you anything otherwise.
But there's no reason to dwell on it. While you always read about heroes of fantasy who have dreams where cryptic hints are revealed to them, you have not had a single prophetic dream during your stay in Gensokyo.
A shame, really.

You go to the dining room. Shou is just laying food down.

"Hey, Shou."

She walks back to the kitchen. That was rude.

Her voice comes from the kitchen. "I'm sorry, I am busy right now. I need to prepare some meals for reheating."

"Oh? Why? I thought the temple was going to be closed today, because of the party?"

"Murasa can't leave the temple, remember? I offered to carry that model ship around for her, but she decided that she would rather stay behind and watch the temple."

"Oh." That sounds pretty lonely. Maybe after the party you should visit her to cheer her up or something. "I had kind of forgotten about that."

Shou laughs. "I had too. And so had she, apprently. She only realized it last night."

"I won't bother you then. If I do anything that distracts you, it'd make me feel bad. She deserves at least to have some good meals left behind."

"Okay."

You decide to wait on eating your breakfast until the others arive. It was kind of fun last time, perhaps because of the unusually large number of people, so you might as well do it again. Thinking of yesterday, you suddenly realize that Camilla not being here means that she managed to sleep well. That's a good sign too.
Breakfast is, indeed, a good experience. People seem fairly psyched for the party. They have different opinions on it, though. Most of the people at the table seem to want to go for the party's sake. Kogasa mentions that there will be plenty of chances to frighten people, with everyone distracted. Byakuren seems to want to go primarily to look after the others. So does that make her a chaperone or something? Stalkerface's motives you already knew, but she is quite enthusiastic in telling everyone else. And Raquel seems to have the intention of finding a moment where everyone is busy and robbing Mayohiga, although she puts it in confusing enough fasttalk to leave Byakuren with the impression that she wants to just look around.
Nazrin, on the other hand... well, she is probably going because Shou is. She doesn't actually say. And on the subject of Nazrin, you just realized that Raquel does not seem to recognize Nazrin at all. That's pretty handy, because there might have been a fight otherwise, but still a bit odd.
Near the end of breakfast, there's a knock on the door.
Since you have already finished, you get up. "I'll get it."

You go to the door and open it... and find that it now leads into an black void, full of staring purple eyes. "Uh, I think our ride has arrived."

You feel a presence behind you. You turn. It's Nue. "Well, Yukari has very good timing. Not that much of a sense of style though. I was expecting something fancier then just a gap."

"It was kind of a surprise though, wasn't it?" Kogasa has followed Nue. "You were expecting a person, and then... a gap!" She seems happy already.

"It would be kind of nice if the gap came with an instruction though. She never said what time we were supposed to leave. Do we have to go now, do we have time to get ready, what?"

A note drifts out of the gap. Nue leans over and picks it up. "We have an hour to get ready. The gap is already here in case we want to get to Mayohiga early." She turns. "Did you people all get that?" You hear various sounds of assent.

---

Most of the girls decide to bathe before going on. You are left waiting around with your roommate and Tacita (who had bathed right before going to bed, since it apparently takes her a long time to dry off her legs.)

It's a slightly awkward stretch of time. You have everything you want to bring packed already. You don't have much in common with your roommate and you don't like him much, so you don't have much to say.
You can't quite get your mind off the fact that, less then a minute's walk away, there is an alarming number of women bathing. But you can hardly talk about that. While you don't really care what your roommate thinks of you, Tacita is here also and she is nice enough so you would hate to look like a pervert to her.
It's just weird being here, with the only two males in the house, yet also one female.

Actually, wait, what about Unzan? You can't imagine he is bathing with the rest of them. You aren't even sure if he can leave Ichirin's presence, though. Maybe she can temporarily unsummon him or something?
Well, it's not like he needs to bathe. He's a cloud and all.

After the girls finish, you and your roommate wash up very quickly and extremely awkwardly. This is hopefully the first and last time you are in the same room and naked.
And... finally, the entire group is ready.
You all say goodbye to Murasa, and leave into the gap...

---

This place is... interesting.

You seem to be in an old-fashioned Japanese village, of immaculate perfect form. Sort of like no-one actually lives here. If this really is Yukari's home, it would make sense. There is no way she could use this many houses as anything but a status symbol.
However, it's obviously been set up for a party. Everywhere are streamers. Paper lanterns. Balloons. Floating lights with no apparent source.
The streets are lined with stands. Some seem to be selling food or merchandise. Others seem to be offering various tests of skill. Some are fairly familiar. Catching goldfish, hitting moving targets with toy guns, tossing rings. Other are... more exotic. A stand offering to test how strong your danmaku bullets are. An 'endurance test' stand with a free-floating blob of what looks like hot magma...
The stands that look to be selling things are mostly manned by people, ghosts, and youkai. The stands that are free tests of skill, on the other hand, are manned by what seem to be life-size paper cutouts of people, presumably animated by magic.
There are large tables with place settings and table decorations. Maybe for laying food out, later? ...Why would they have food stands, though, if they were providing free food? Are the stands just the work of entrepreneurs who heard about this going on?
It's... strange. It's not at all a party atmosphere. It feels more like a festival or a carnival. It's like Yukari looked at a list of activities and picked things from the list at random. In fact, that's probably exactly what happened, if Yukari's personality is what it seems like.
You seem to be in the main square of this fake town. On the other end is a large house, perhaps large enough to be called a mansion. It is not specially decorated, but you can tell even at a glance that it must be Yukari's home proper. Such strong magic is congealed in the air there that you can actually see it with your naked eyes, shimmering and dancing. This must be what a dwelling becomes like if an elder youkai spends a long time there.
In front of the house is a stage, where it looks like a band is setting up. A band with very... colorful outfits. They have lots of equipment too, which is currently being attended to by a number of short people with blue hair.
There are already a large number of people here, milling around. Almost all of them are female, and they are all very colorful. You can tell that most of them are youkai.

"So, gang, I guess we are supposed to mill around and socialize until everything is ready?"

...wait, they've all already scattered while you were gawking. Dammit, it's like they don't need you to tell them to go socialize!

There's Nue over there! You run over.
She seems to be idly chatting with a girl with blue hair.

"-and then he fought a black hole!"

"Maybe that would be more impressive if I knew what a black hole was, kappa."

"It's-" she notices you, and stops talking.

You give her a confused look. Does she have a problem with you?

A woman with green hair who looks vaguely familiar spins up. "Don't mind Nitori, she's just shy~" And then spins off.
Uh... huh.

"So, hello. Nitori, was it?"

She nods. "Hello. I was just talking to Nue."

Oh, right, Nue. You glance at her. She grins at you. "You should thank Nitori. She made that enterance far more dramatic then it had any right to be."

"Oh, come on. I didn't mean to scare her." You look back to Nitori. "Yeah, er, don't be shy, I won't bite or anything."

You notice another girl with green hair in the background. She is looking around, then looks in your direction and brightens.
She runs towards you, and begins waving. "Hey! Hey!" Man you are popular.

She then jumps, and... tackle-hugs Nue, who was beginning to run.

"Oh my god! Who's my favorite alien? That's you!" She laughs and rubs her head on Nue. "I missed you! I was wondering where you liiived!"

Nue staggers around, trying to use her wings to brush the very aggressive green-haired girl off her back. "Dammit Sanae, I told you I'm not an alien!"

"Oh don't be silly Nue, of course you're an alien!" Sanae pauses, and then gets a sly look on her face. "Oooh. I see. So you can't admit it in front of all of the normal people. Are you worried about the MIB? Well, your secret is safe with me!" She winks.

Nue slumps, apparently giving in. "Okay, fine. You win."

Sanaee turns towards you. She has not stopped hugging Nue. "So, is this that new guy I heard Reimu mention? The crazy one?"

You nod. "Yeah. Er, probably."

You glance around. You aren't entirely sure if you want to talk to this girl... you see what Nue meant about her. On the other hand, abandoning Nue to her fate might be mean.
Also, Kogasa is walking in this direction, talking to a boy with short green hair and insect antennae. She hasn't noticed Sanae yet. You remember Nue mentioning that Kogasa is scared of Sanae...

[ ] Chat with Sanae in an ordinary manner.
[ ] Try to get Sanae to get off Nue's back. (Literally.)
[ ] Try to keep Sanae from noticing Kogasa.
[ ] Bail. It's not worth it.
[ ] Write-in.

[X] Try to keep Sanae from noticing Kogasa.

Let's keep the impending powderkeg from going off.

[x] Chat with Sanae in an ordinary manner.

Fuck yes Sanae.

[X] Try to keep Sanae from noticing Kogasa.

>>26301
>parsee.jpg
Fuck.

[魚] Try to get Sanae to get off Nue's back. (Literally.)
[If possible] Try to keep Sanae from noticing Kogasa.

[X] Try to keep Sanae from noticing Kogasa.
-[x] Try talking normally, trying to get to know her. Perhaps to figure her out and to lull her into a false sense of security.
--[x] Try to get Her off of Nue's back meanwhile.
-[x] Remark that she should be careful of some really scary Youkai, such as Yuuka.
-[x] If that doesn't work or get her off of Nue's back, drop your disguise to give her quite a shock.

Bullying Kogasa and harassing Nue due to a stupid reason? We won't stand for that, and setting her straight on things once and for all will be quite a good deed. And feel free to improve it.

[x] Try to keep Sanae from noticing Kogasa.

[x] Try to get Sanae to get off Nue's back. (Literally.)
...via:
-[x] Mishap

[X] Try to keep Sanae from noticing Kogasa.
-[x] Try to get out of the scene while talking normally, outside stuff yadda dadda, I'm a human like you yadda dadda
-[x] SUDDENLY change your outfit and SURPRISE her.
Feeding Kogasa and saving her and Nue is one or two good deeds?

>>26362
My plan was to scare Sanae straight since she is taking Youkai too lightly for her own good. What if she runs into Yuuka? She doesn't have being a Hakurei to possibly save her in such a case. Sanae is still quite green (pardon the pun) as a incident resolver, with victories over mainly non-malicious Youkai. Nothing like Yuuka, who we've seen put a hole in Kogasa as if it was nothing. Such a thing would kill Sanae.

[X] Try to keep Sanae from noticing Kogasa.
-[X] Try talking normally, trying to get to know her. Perhaps to figure her out and to lull her into a false sense of security.
--[X] Try to get her off of Nue's back meanwhile.
-[X] Remark that she should be careful of some really scary youkai, such as Yuka.
-[X] If that doesn't work or get her off of Nue's back, drop your disguise to give her quite a shock.

Sanae, it's high time you put that common sense back to work.

[x] Try to keep Sanae from noticing Kogasa.

It looks like Nue can kind of handle Sanae. Or at least can deal with Sanae without totally wigging out. But Kogasa, on the other hand, isn't quite as tough a person. You've gotta keep her from running into Sanae.
But how? Sanae is bound to look in that direction eventually, if Kogasa doesn't accidently bump into her first.

Well, for a start you can try being loud and distracting. If that makes Kogasa notice you also it'd be a plus, since then she'd probably notice Sanae too.

You shuffle up to Sanae in record time, grab her by the hand, and forcibly shake her hand. It's time to pull out all the stops. "So Sanae, well met, how's it going, is the miko life treating you well?" You are nearly shouting by the end.

She does not seem to be the least bit disturbed. "It's all so cool! Coming to Gensokyo was the right choice, I just know it! Ever since I came here I have met space aliens and seen a giant robot in action and all kinds of stuff! And being a miko is okay but Reimu is so much better and that makes me a bit sad!" She doesn't sound sad to you.

Kogasa still hasn't noticed you. Well, the background noise is pretty high. "So, SANAE, and by the way SANAE is a pretty good name, it makes me think of snakes and snakes are cool, but so yeah SANAE have you been in many incidents yet?" That got Kogasa's attention. You can't afford to look in her direction, but you can see her in the corner of your eyes, suddenly running away.

"I've been in..." She pauses, and then counts on her fingers. "Four incidents!"

Now that the crisis has mostly been averted, you let your voice lower. "And you need to count on your fingers to figure that out?"

"I wasn't sure if I should count that one about Hisou Tensoku as a real incident or not." That didn't quite answer your question. She leans a bit closer, without letting go of Nue. "So, what kind of youkai are you?"

"Er, I'm a snake youkai."

"Cool! I serve a snake goddess, so we have something in common then! I hear you were from the outside world?"

"Yeah. I was from America."

"Well, I came from the outside world too! I used to live in Japan, before Kanako decided to relocate Moriya Shrine into Gensokyo!" She makes a few enthusiastic gestures, at one point latching onto Nue with her legs so as to free up her hands.

You are rapidly running out of things to say to this strange girl. "So, uh, do you like game shows?"

Luckily, it seems someone else has come to help. "Sanae!"

Sanae turns, and then immediately lets go of Nue. "Suwako!"

A little girl with blonde hair and a goddamn impressive hat runs up. And really, with all of the people with ridiculous hats you have seen so far, calling the hat impressive means a lot. The thing has eyes. You wouldn't be surprised if it was a magic hat that would eat any wearer it deemed unworthy.
The girl hugs Sanae. "Who's my favorite descendent? That's you!" Sanae giggles. "I missed you! I was wondering where you had wandered off to!"

"I just saw Nue so I had to go say hi to her! You understand, right?"

Suwako turns to Nue, with a suddenly neutral expression. After a moment, she smiles. "Of course, of course." She pauses, then turns back to Sanae. "You'll have more time to play later, but I need to bring you back to Kanako. She wants you to prep more." She gets onto her tippy-toes and ruffles Sanae's hair. "You're a good girl. Remember that."

"Okay!" Sanae smiles, and then runs off.

Suwako sighs wistfully. "She's such a handful sometimes. I'm sorry if she was invading your person space or anything, Nue."

"Uh, it's okay. That hug she was giving me was a little weird, but I'll just... try to not think about that any more."

"Right. Well, I better go, since Kanako is definitely going to want to make sure I've memorized some more stupid PR speeches..." She tips her hat in your direction, then crouches. She hops slightly, but instead of landing on the ground again she sinks through it, until only her hat is above ground. The hat then wizzes away at an impressive speed.

You look back to Nue. She is visibly showing relief.

"So, I assume that bullheaded enthusiasm is offputting?"

"That's part of it."

"Part of it?" You think for a second. "Oh, I see." If that goddamn Reimu palette-swap is really trying to make moves on Nue... where's your shotgun? Oh, you are kidding, of course, but it would still be pretty unfortunate.

"And she really thinks I'm an alien. I didn't even know what aliens were until much later, when I thought to ask Shou about it."

"So, that means that eve in this land of fantasy, aliens aren't real?"

"Well, there are some people in Gensokyo who are from the moon. That would qualify as alien, right?"

"Why doesn't Sanae go gaga over them, then?"

"I don't know. Maybe she isn't aware they are from the moon? Eientei isn't exactly obviously Lunarian."

"Wait, it's Eientei?"

"Yeah, that doctor and her princess are both Lunarians. I've never been to the moon, though. Very hard to visit, I hear the Lunarians are pretty insular"

"That sounds like it is a story that will take a long time to tell. But I don't really care all that much, so let's stop talking about stuff like that and go enjoy the side-show things here."

"Well, that's nice of you, but it looks like the setting-up process is about done. You should probably go find the rest of the people in your group."

She's right. The band looks to be ready now, and are waiting something. There is a woman with a large number of fox tails frantically talking to the band members. Most of the people you don't recognize seem to be gathering back into groups also.

You go off to find everyone else. Most of the people you came with are pretty noisy, right?

Your roommate is easy to find. It looks like he is trying to impress Alice, who is totally uninterested.
"Hey, you, knock it off. It looks like everyone is gathering up into their groups."

"Oh, fine."
He follows you off. Alice looks mildly relieved. One of her dolls waves at you as you leave.


You find Camilla talking to Cirno and a green fairy.
"-so then I hit her with more ice! And she was immediately defeated! I'm the strongest, so it was no problem at all!"

"That's not how my fight with Reimu went at all. She was more like..." Camilla puts on an annoyed face and mimes swinging a stick. "And then I got scared and tried shooting at her, but she won pretty easily."

"You shouldn't be ashamed! You aren't the strongest, so it's okay if you lose some fights!" Cirno leans over from her puffed-up pose to pat Camilla.

Well, that is a mildly touching moment, and not something you would expect out of a fairy, but you don't have all the time in the world. "Hey, Camilla. We should get going."

"Oh, okay."

You switch your gaze to that green fairy. Last time you saw her she was trying to prevent Cirno from doing something stupid, right? "Good luck keeping your friend out of trouble."

"Th-thanks. Hopefully there won't be anything lethal going on in this party, though."


You spend a little bit looking for Raquel, but give up. She'll hopefully find you.


While looking around for stalkerface, and really hoping that she isn't out getting into trouble, you nearly walk into Tacita. Unsurprisingly enough, she was not making much noise.
She is followed by a familiar-looking and very blue bird-youkai, who is carrying several books.

"I'm supposed to rejoin the party now, right?"

"Yeah."

"Can Tokiko come too?"

Tokiko is presumably that bird youkai. "Why? Doesn't she have a different group to go to?"

"I wasn't actually in any Incident. Just, Yukari brought Rinnosuke here so he could set up a stand, and I followed."

"Well, I guess it's alright if you stay with us. I'm not sure if Yukari would like it if you participated in any events, though."

"Oh, I'm okay with that. I can just read when everyone else is busy."

Bringing books to a party... that's pretty sad. "If you are okay with that... let's find the last few people left."


Oh, there's stalkerface. She seems to be looking around attentively.
"Haven't found Reimu yet?"

"I saw her earlier, but she slipped away back into the crowd..."

"Well, the events are about to start, or something. You'll have to look later."

"Oh, very well. I can go look for her after I have already shown off my prowess."

"So, now all we need to find is Raquel..."

"Here!" You turn around. She's walking up, breathing heavily. "I'm done casing up this joint. This place is ancient! The decorations are all new, of course, but the insides of most of these houses have gone unused for nearly a thousand years!"

"Well, that's nice." You wonder if Yukari was stupid enough to leave anything truly valuable lying around. "Maybe you could-"

"ATTENTION EVERYONE!" The sounds of the crowd dim, as people turn to the stage. That fox woman is in front of the podium. "I present to you the Lady of Boundaries, Yukari Yakumo."

The fox stands aside, and Yukari walks up. She yawns. "Welcome, residents of Gensokyo, to my party. This party has been called here to celebrate me wanting to throw a party. There will be events and food and music and," she yawns again, "fabulous prizes. And, of course, the winners will be able to brag about it. So now, a word from the main non-mayohiga backer of this event, Moriya Shrine."

Yukari steps down and walks over to a chair, but midway over falls and lands headfirst into a gap. The fox lady sighs and pulls her out, and puts her into a chair. Yukari seems to have fallen asleep again.

Kanako takes the podium, with Sanae and Suwako on either end. "Thank you for your... stirring introduction, Yukari." She coughs. "Now, we at Moriya shrine have always highly concerned with the needs of the people. Not just the power players, but the ordinary people. So when Yukari came to me proposing this party, I saw immediately that this could be a great commercial opportunity as well as a chance to have fun..."
Oh christ. You get the feeling that this is going to take forever. You begin to zone out...

...

Now Suwako is coming up to make a speech...

...


Now Sanae, even? You don't even want to hear what her speech is like...

...

Now Kanako is back at the podium...

...

Okay, people are politely applauding. Many of them seem to be more applauding the fact that all of the grandstanding is over then the actual content of the speeches. Probably safe to start paying attention again.

The fox lady comes back up to the podium. "And now, the party officially starts. Our first event will be a Mahjong Tournament. But first, ladies and gentlemen," does she really even need to say gentlemen? 'Gentleman' would be more appropriate. There's not many men out here, and you would hardly call pipsucker over there a gentleman. "I introduce to you, the Prismriver Sisters!"

People cheer, a great deal more enthusiastically then they did to the pompous speeches.

One of the prismrivers takes the mic. You don't know which is which, so you can't comment on that, and their hyper-colorful uniforms kind of blend together at this distance. "Yeah. The first even is a cerebral one, so we were gonna start off with something calming. I would say more, but I think you all are getting impatient... and, well, so are we. So... let's go!"

And they begin playing. You were never one for music, really, but they are pretty good. Kind of weird how they play without actually touching their instruments though. Seems like a weird gimmick. You wonder if they use those instruments in danmaku battles also. You wouldn't be surprised... and you briefly get the mental image of that black-uniformed one using her violin as a club. (Wait a second, violin? What are the amps for then? You've never heard of electric violins.)

You look around. "So, uh, any of you know how to play mahjong?"

Raquel struggles for words. "I... I've played a few times, but I'm not very good." Coming from someone like her, that must mean she really sucks.

"No." "Not really." "I have, but you said Yukari wouldn't like it if I participated in any events."

"Well, uh, I guess you'll be able to look for Reimu more then, sta-" Whoooah you almost called her stalkerface. "...er, what is your name, anyway?" You point at her.

"Wait, I never introduced myself?" She blinks. "I guess I didn't." She executes a sweeping bow. "Victoria Hunt. I would give you some of the titles I have taken when posing as human, but they would matter little here."

Okay. "Well, Victoria, I guess this'll give you time to look for Reimu. And you, Raquel, could... uh, you know what."

Your roommate walks off. "I'll go talk with more girls." Well, you won't exactly bemoan his absence.
The rest of the group begins to slowly disperse.

You glance around. The tables now seem to be set up for Mahjong, and people are taking their places. You aren't really paying too much attention, but you do notice Satori is taking place. That sounds like it would be totally, utterly unfair.

(Pick two.)
[ ] Socialize with...
-[ ] A new person.
-[ ] A known quantity. (Write-in. Essentially everyone you know besides Murasa and the people in Makai are here.)
[ ] Introduce someone to someone.
-[ ] Who, and with whom? (Write-in.)
[ ] Browse the stalls.
-[ ] Do challenges of skill.
-[ ] See if any of the food stands have free samples.
[ ] Watch the tournament, even if you have no idea what is going on.
-[ ] Spend the entire time watching.
-[ ] Only tune in for the end.
[ ] Write-in.

[x] Introduce Kogasa and yourself to Yuugi.
-[x] Your sympathies to her for having known your roommate.

Then, if time permits:
[x] Socialize with...
-[x] A Random encounter new person.
[x] Browse the stalls.
-[x] See if any of the food stands have free samples.

[x] Watch the tournament, even if you have no idea what is going on.
-[x] Spend the entire time watching.
[x] Try introducing Carmilia, Tokiko and Kogasa to each other.

I think those three would be good friends. But I must say I'm a bit disapointed that we weren't able to scare the Makai out of Sanae, who seems to be on the beignly nutty side.

[x] Introduce Kogasa and yourself to Yuugi.
-[x] Your sympathies to her for having known your roommate.
--[x] Make sure she knows that you are in no way responsible for fagballs.

Then, if time permits:
[x] Socialize with...
-[x] Suwako
--[x] Her hat is awesome, ask where to get a hat that awesome.
[x] Browse the stalls.
-[x] See if any of the food stands have free samples.

[x] Introduce Kogasa and yourself to Yuugi.
-[x] Your sympathies to her for having known your roommate.
--[x] Make sure she knows that you are in no way responsible for fagballs.

Then, if time permits:
[x] Socialize with...
-[x] Suwako
--[x] Her hat is awesome, ask where to get a hat that awesome.
[x] Browse the stalls.
-[x] See if any of the food stands have free samples.

[x] Introduce Kogasa and yourself to Yuugi.
-[x] Your sympathies to her for having known your roommate.
--[x] Make sure she knows that you are in no way responsible for fagballs.

Then, if time permits:
[x] Socialize with...
-[x] Suwako
--[x] Her hat is awesome, ask where to get a hat that awesome.
[x] Browse the stalls.
-[x] See if any of the food stands have free samples.

[x] Introduce Kogasa and yourself to Yuugi.
-[x] Your sympathies to her for having known your roommate.
--[x] Make sure she knows that you are in no way responsible for fagballs.

Then, if time permits:
[x] Socialize with...
-[x] Suwako
--[x] Her hat is awesome, ask where to get a hat that awesome.
[x] Browse the stalls.
-[x] See if any of the food stands have free samples.

Yes, you aren't really all that interested in the jenga tournament. Er, mahjong. A jenga tournament would actually be kinda cool.
Might as well go socialize.

Well, maybe you could introduce someone you know to someone else you know? That could be fun, and they could become friends or something.
But who? Well, Kogasa needs more connections. She's a young youkai and she has the potential to go places and do things, you know it, she just needs more connections.
And to whom? You need to connect Kogasa to a good person. And, obviously, to someone she isn't already connected with.
...you need to stop using the word 'connect', it sounds kind of dirty, even in your head.

Er, to whom should you introduce Kogasa? Well, who are the people you know but she doesn't? Well, she was in the temple most of yesterday, so she would be at least aquainted with everyone in your party, probably. Does she know Alice?
Oh, right, she accompanied you to Alice's place when you got your clothes fixes... eh, Alice isn't that fun, anyway.
You can't really think of anybody.

So time for plan awesome: introduce Kogasa to someone you don't know!
Maybe someone from the underground? You know the names of many underground people without actually having met them, per say, so it'd be a good chance.

Well, first, you need to find Kogasa. Luckily she has that umbrella, so she shouldn't be too hard to spot... there! She seems to be idly watching one of the mahjong tables.

You walk on over. "Hey Kogasa."

"Oh, hello!"

"You don't look that interested."

"I've never really played mahjong. I'm just watching because..." She points. Nue is one of the people playing. At the same table are Remilia, that green-haired boy you saw earlier, and Satori. Remilia looks pretty angry at Satori.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't watch, because against Satori... well, it'll be sad to watch your friend lose."

She looks a little sad. "I suppose so..." She turns to Nue. "Good luck!" And then follows you out.

"So, want to meet someone new?"

"Of course!"

"Let's go meet someone from the underground, then."

"I've never been underground before."

"Huh. I thought you traveled gensokyo a lot?"

"I would generally just follow the rain. It doesn't rain underground."

Oh, yeah. "Well, how about you meet..."

Over there is Parsee talking to somebody with long blonde hair and a horn. Yuugi? You never actually got a look at her, only heard her voice, so you're not sure.

"This is a pretty nice party."

The oni laughs. "You're going to say something like 'I'm so jealous that they can host parties like this', right?" Yes, that sounds like Yuugi.

"I'm so jealous that- hey!"

Well, time to butt in. "Hey Yuugi!"

She turns around, swaying very slightly. "Oh? I don't think we've ever met. How'd ya know my name?"

"Oh, your reputation proceeds you." You walk up and shake her hand.
...hoooly shit that hurt. "Meet Kogasa, also."

"Hi!"

"Oh, hey, ain't seen a tsukumogami in a long time!" She shakes Kogasa's hand also. "I like yer umbrella, by the way!"

"Thanks!" She twirls it around a bit.

"Hey, want a drink?" Yuugi pulls out a jug of alcohol.

You aren't sure if you should really be getting Kogasa drunk. It might count as sabotaging the opponent. "I think it'd be a better idea if Kogasa took you up on that offer later, after all of the challenges of skill."

"Eh, okay. There's plenty of time for it during this party anyway, I guess. 's what a party is for, anyway." Yuugi takes a swig. "Getting drunk, I mean."

Parsee looks back and forth, in growing concern. "I'm so jealous that Yuugi is getting all the attention!"

"Eh, hey Aya-" er, wait, "I mean, Parsee."

You feel a gust of wind from behind you. "Did someone say my name?" Click. Suddenly, Aya is on the other end of the group. Click. "Because I think I heard someone say my name." Aya leaps up and does an aerial shot. Click.

Aya lands gracefully on the ground, balanced on one sandal... and then Yuugi grabs her by the throat. "Oh, Aya, you're just in time." Yuugi hefts the heavy-looking alcohol jug in her other hand. "For a drink." WHAM!

Aya is out cold.

Yuugi dusts off her hands. "Yeah, she's been trying to get an interview outta me ever since that fi- fia- big going-down a few days ago. I really don't want to, of course..."

Kogasa leans over Aya, looking concerned. "Will she be alright?"

"Yeah, Tengu ain't that weak. She'll be concious again pretty soon. Just she'll think twice before she messes with me again." Yuugi stretches. "How about you wait here and watch, and surprise her when she wakes up?"

"Yay!"

"Yeah, about that... sorry you had to put up with that jackass."

Yuugi gives you the stinkeye. "So you know him?"

"Much better then I wish I did. He was always kinda like this, but not nearly this bad. Maybe coming to Gensokyo and learning magic has been one huge power trip for him?"

"I guess that would explain it." She spits. "Doesn't mean I gotta like him, though."

"Of course not. I don't either."

Kogasa motions Yuugi over. It looks like she has produced an indelible marker from somewhere and is drawing on Aya's face.

Looks like they are getting along well. Maybe you should go do something productive, like get your own awesome eyes-hat. "I'll go look into hat-related matters. You two have fun!"

"Fight with me some day, okay?"

Kogasa waves. "Bye!"

So... Suwako. Where'd she go... maybe she is playing Mahjong?

No, doesn't look like it. You can't see her at the tables.
Oh, wait, there she is, with Sanae.

You manage to sneak up to them without either noticing. Time to scare the Makai out of Sanae, get revenge for... whatever made Kogasa be afraid of Sanae.

You tap her on the back. She turns around, and you shed your human disguise.

"Aaah!" She hops backwards and swings her ritual stick thing at you. You catch it in one hand, returning to your human form.

Suwako is giving you an unamused look.

Well, time to explain. "Hey, it was just a harmless joke, alright?" ... "Look, maybe Kogasa is rubbing off on me. I didn't mean any harm."

Sanae's face lights up. "Kogasa is here? Where, where?"

Oh shit. "I never said she was here."

"Oh." Her face falls. "Guess I won't be able to see my... favorite... umbrella."

Right. Whatever. "Yeah, very sad. SO Suwako, how's it going buddy?"

Suwako sighs. Subject change... success! "You really shouldn't do stuff like that. You were a hair's breath from seeing the Irong Rings of Suwa in action, you know."

That doesn't sound very nice. "Er, yeah, I'm sorry. I didn't actually come here to scare Sanae, it was just a whim..."

"Well, I guess I can hardly fault you for being whimsical. I mean, what with why we are here."

"Yeah, this party doesn't seem like it was very well planned-out."

Suwako looks like she is relaxing. Sanae still looks a bit dissapointed about not being able to see Kogasa. "Kanako was all for it, though. You heard the speech, and the stupid speeches she wrote for us."

Time for honesty. "Actually, uh, I was kind of spacing out."

"Hah! Good choice, kid. You didn't miss anything." She leans forward. "So, what did you come here for?"

"It was about your hat, actually."

Suwako looks up, and pokes the hat. She grins. "Yeah, it's a pretty nice hat. You wouldn't believe how many motes of essence I had to spend to attune to this thing."

"Huh?"

She rolls her eyes. "It was a joke, kid."

"I was just wondering if I could have a hat like that."

She thinks for a moment. "Well, I guess... give me a sec..."

She claps her hands together, and they crackle with blue lightning. She slams one hand into the ground, and in a shower of blue light a small, but extremely dense patch of rice stalks grow from the ground. The grain and chaff shear themselves off, and the straw weaves itself into a crude facsimilie of her hat.
She picks up the hat and hands it to you.

You look it over. It's made entirely of straw, but very well-made. The straw has even been cunningly woven into eye-shapes at the top. It's surprisingly tough; it could definitely survive some rough handling.

"That was pretty neat."

"Thanks, thanks. It's just a small sample of the services I can provide for the faithful, heh."

Well, she seems to have a much better idea of how to impress people then Kanako does.

Sanae turns to Suwako, eyes wide. "Hey, can I have a hat too!"

"For my good girl? Of course!"

"Thanks for the hat, Suwako." You leave. She seems busy dealing with Sanae now, anyway.

---

You browse the food stalls some. Most of them are manned by humans, but some have youkai proprietors. A bewildering variety of food awaits you. Most of them seem to be only barely set up, which makes sense given the early time.
You recognize Mokou, and wave at her. She returns the wave, and then goes back to preparing a veritable mountain of grilled chicken for some pink-haired woman.

A few of the stalls have free samples. You, of course, take every one. This food is mostly pretty good. Presumably all of the vendors are doing their best, hoping to impress Yukari or get someone noteworthy to notice their food. Gensokyo-style celebrity endoresement? Maybe.

Well, it looks like the tournament is winding down. The Prismrivers stopped playing music a bit ago, and they look to be resting at the moment. You leave the stalls, and bump into dumbpants on the way out.
He is carrying a huge armful of cheap toys, geegaws, and stuffed animals.

"Hey. I thought you said you were going to talk to girls."

"I decided for a change of pace."

"So you were, um, blitzing the skill-games?"

"Nah. All I need to do is go over to them, ask those paper golem things manning them to give me all their prizes, and they do."

...that is a very irresponsible use for his power. "Aren't you worried someone will notice and kick your ass?"

"As if."

Maybe you should tell Yukari later and hope that she decides to punish him or something. Eh, or maybe it just doesn't matter. If you understand her MO, she probably stole most of the prizes from outside-world arcade claw games or something.

Oh, hey, it looks like the winner is about to be announced. That fox-woman has taken the podium again. "And now, the winner for the Mahjong Tournament..." She steps a bit to the side, and a familiar face steps up next to her. "...is Eirin Yagokoro, of Eientei! So, tell me Eirin, how did you win there, with such tough competition?"

"Well, Ran, it was quite simple. I predicted before the party that there would be at least one challenge of intellect. I knew that, in that case, Satori would be my only real opponent. So I trained myself ahead of time to be able to play Mahjong, Go, Chess, and so on without any form of concious thought."

"That sounds... well, if it was anyone but the famed Brain of the Moon saying that, I would have thought she was lying out of her teeth!" Eirin laughs. "So, what do you want for your prize? For the Mahjong Tournament, the prize is your choice of historical game-related artifacts..."

Eirin pauses for a moment, deep in thought. A woman with long black hair leaps onto the stage, and grabs the mic. "As Eirin is my retainer, of course I will be the one to choose the-"

"Can I have Deep Blue?"

Ran looks surprised. "So you know that Deep Blue was not, in fact, dismantled, but instead stolen by Yukari? And that the dismantling story was just a cover-up?"

"I wasn't sure, but you just confirmed it for me."

Ran sighs. "Well, you can have it, anyway. It's taking up a lot of space in our storage room."

Eirins nods, and drags the unhappy-looking black-haired woman (presumably that princess she mentioned) back off the stage.

Ran regains her composure pretty quickly, though. "Well, our next event is one that Yukari requested specially." She waves to the Prismrivers, and they begin playing rather familiar-sounding music. A real old-spy-movie feel.
"Yukari calls it... Touhou Fortress 2!"

All around you, gaps open. You get just a glance of people around you reacting in surprise as you fall through...

---

You land, and find yourself... still in Mayohiga.
Things seem a little... different, though. The colors of everything seem odd, a bit too solid and simplistic. All of the decorations and such are gone. It's only a
You are surrounded by the other people in your party. You notice that you are now holding a large, complicated device...
Wait a second. Touhou Fortress 2?
This is a medigun!
You look around. Tacita has a knife, Victoria has a minigun, lamehead has a bow, Camilla also has a medigun, Raquel has a rocket launcher...
They are all looking very confused.

"So, I am guessing nobody else but me is that familiar with Team Fortress 2?"

Your roommate thinks for a second. "I was more of a Halo fan." This is not making you like him more.

Tacita raises her hand. "I've heard of it, but I never was able to play it. I had a hard enough time buying a tent."

Right. Well. "I guess this means I should probably be our leader, since I know the most. Now, give me a second to think up a plan..."

You are interrupted by Yukari's voice, booming around the arena. "Welcome to KotH_Mayohiga. The objective is to capture the point in the center of town, and hold it for three minutes. The first team to do so will be declared the winner."

"Well, that's helpful. But yeah, here's my plan..."

How should the team act? (Pick one.)
[ ] Stick closely together, be wary of spies.
[ ] Spread out some, so as to not all get killed by one rocket.
[ ] Break into small groups, scatter around the map, ambush other teams while they are busy.
[ ] Write-in.

What should the strategy be for the control point? (Pick one.)
[ ] Go there ASAP and try to hold it.
[ ] Watch it from a distance and wait for a chance moment.
[ ] Wait until the end and then rush it.
[ ] Write-in.

What should Tacita do?
[ ] Stay with the group and pretend to be another tough-guy type.
[ ] Scout ahead.
[ ] Go stabhappy.
[ ] Write-in.

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For narrative purposes, the respawn timers are going to be very long, okay?