VOTE RESULTS

[X] Ask Remilia if she or Flandre is available. Better if both does. (Night Raid) (3 Votes)

---

"Wait, wait, wait. Air superiority? You have jets too?" Hafizi interrupts as you try to make up your mind. "What about that MD 500 heli from the other day?"

Rei waves his hand dismissively. "Eh, we're not THAT equipped, Hafizi. It's just that sometimes we have to make do with organic analogues to things that are clearly out of our fundings. The Scarlet Devils as our air superiority asset, for example." Rei then resumes after that long explanation. "That Little Bird isn't ours; I borrowed it from the Kappas."

"Speaking of the Scarlet Devils as an air superiority asset, I think I need to ask the director if she is available for this mission." You state.

"I am always available at the right conditions, Fujisaki. All you need to do is say 'please'." Remilia's voice crackled through your radio, surprising everyone except Rei. In fact, the SDMGD's director's voice came through Rei's radio instead of yours. "Rei put the radio on open mic so I can hear the battle plan, if that's what you are thinking."

"I guess I know where Sarge's surprise call habit comes from now… I mean, will you and Miss Flandre be available as our air superiority fighters, Miss Remilia?"

"Long answer short; yes." She says. "Though, how did you get the idea of choosing me and Flan as air support?"

"I once dreamed about you and Flandre actually providing air support before… so I had a small thought about it."

Remilia becomes intrigued, judging by the tone in her voice. "Oh? So you're seeing if both of us can do the same?"

"Yeeeeeah. Pretty much." You reply.

Rei cuts in. "So we're gonna have the Scarlet Devils as jets instead of a nuke raven as a gunship. Fair enough for me I guess."

"Well, since both of us obviously can't go on daytime operations you boys will have to do our demolition job at night."

"That's going to be dangerous, with night youkai roaming around at night around the forest. Even more if they are under that thing's possession." Kazuma voices out his concerns.

"Kazuma, don't worry. We have equipments that can allow all of us to see in the dark. Nightvision goggles, FLIR scopes and IR beacons are a few things that we have at our disposal but if you are still feeling cautious we can camp close to the castle with someone warding off the youkai."

"I like both suggestions. It's far easier for us and my team to camp close to the target area. Should we tell Reimu about it, Rei?"

Rei nods at Kazuma. "I suppose so. She can sit back and watch or help us if you want to."

"Sweet, more FLIR fun. But Sarge, what about area surveillance?" Alex says.

"That would be Shirayuki's work. She's our designated aerial drone as usual, so she can inform us if anything is going on from above."

As you continue to discuss with your team around the table, you notice that Kaede and Hiiragi stay quiet, only observing the conversation going on with the look of confusion on the former's face.

"Anything you want to add, Kaede?"

He shakes his head. "I have no idea what you guys are saying."

"Relax, Kaede. It's all tactical talk."

Hiiragi however has other ideas. "Would it be possible for us to join this operation, Rei?"

"That wouldn't be me to give you permission to join; you should ask your superiors instead of me. I can't give either or both of you orders unless you are on the SDMGD or if they allow you to be loaned to our team, just like last time with Seo." Your CO answers after a brief delay when Hiiragi finishes her question.

Hiiragi nods and leans back while crossing her arms. She seems to be thinking about joining it, perhaps she thinks she and Kaede needs more experiences in battle. "I'll see what Lord Tenma and Momiji say about this."

"Sure thing."

"At least that co-op the other day was fun. It feels different than the usual patrolling." Kaede states.

"That aside, time for role allocation. Hafizi, I want you to patrol around that palace when we're breaching in. When Seo gives the Okay, you follow him inside. Kazuma, you can do the same. If you're allowed, Hiiragi, Kaede, you will be our eyes outside. Erin can be a medic. I'll be on the overwatch, which means I'll be the sniper outside. As I said earlier, Shirayuki is our drone."

"What about me?" Alex asks,

"I'll assign your spot at the AO."

"Alright then."

"Anything else?" Everyone else shook their head as a sign of no, while Rei nods. "Right, meeting adjourned."

--- (( Hitomi Fujisaki )) ---

While the rest of the men are having a conversation among themselves, you gather the girls out to stroll around in the gardens, with Satori and her two pets soon joining your group under the garden's gazebo. She even brought tea and snack, even though your group just had breakfast.

""You all sounded so happy yesterday, not that I mind, however~ has something good happened in the past few days?"

"Absolutely~" Merlin replies. Judging on how some of them were blushing, you think they had a good night together in their room.

"I would like to ask you girls… are you happy with your partners, by any chance?"

"I'm absolutely happy with Yuki with all the things we've been through in the past. I believe Akyuu and Shinobu think the same too."

"Yes, I do." Akyuu quickly reply. "I have known him for a long time, and I see him growing well and maturing with Wriggle's help. In fact, there are a few things that I owe her, mainly the matters about sharing~"

At the same time, Shinobu lowers her head embarrassedly as she answers, "Yes, he appreciates me even with the scars you saw last night."

"Hatate and I share Kazuma together, so he has a companion if either one of us are away for our business. I have performances with my sisters, while Hatate is busy with her parts in the mountain."

"Ahh, young love. Lucky ones, nonetheless. I can tell my own son is among the lucky ones too."

"So Seo has more than two lovers? How do you know that, Miss Hitomi?" Akyuu asks. She's clearly interested with this.

"Call it a hunch, but I have already seen how they all act around him, and it's pretty obvious. I have to be honest, girls. I can't wait for my youngest child to have grandchildren for me to dote around~"

"Pretty sure I have heard that line from Yuki's mother before…" Wriggle says.

"Well, I can't blame Kasumi, Wriggle. When parents like me and their children grew older, they want to see their grandkids before their time comes."

"So… who are his other lovers?"

You put a finger on your cheek as you go down your mental list. "Well, aside from the cat and the raven, I have a strong suspicion that our host here is his lover too~"

"Eh? Satori too?"

"That's surprising."

Satori chuckles as she nods to your words. "There's nothing to hide from me, you did your research well, Madam Hitomi."

"Well, the only thing I would ask you is that you take good care of him."

Satori nods at your request. "I promise."

"And you girls, please take care of your boys as well. This is a long-term investment after all~”

"Will do!"

--- (( Alex Sanderson )) ---

Before night falls, you and a few more left for the surface. As much as Satori wants your group to stay for dinner, there are other pressing matters for you and Sarge to deal with at the surface.

When next morning arrives, you get up and get prepared for the usual Guardian work. Only this time, instead of going to work you have other things to do with Sarge. He describes it as a 'business proposal' as you meet up with him at the tower. You then meet up with Kazuma, who leads you to a workshop. Of course, a part of you gets giddy, thinking that you would finally get to use an Abrams.

…only for you to be sorely disappointed with the outcome.

"It's a tank alright, but it's not what I was thinking." you tell Sarge as you reach the workshop.

"Well, you can't expect a really modern tank to show up in Gensokyo unless if it's a really youkai tank."

"Beggars can't be choosers I guess."

You let Sarge to do the talking to the owner of the tank, discussing lots of things with her. From what you heard, the tank was christened as the "Flower Tank". It looks quite old, but as experience tells you, old armor can still be a valuable asset in a battle.

"Reactive armor? On this tank? Sounds as if we are preparing to go to war."

"Because we are." Sarge says with a deadpan. Naturally, Rika is confused.

"How?"

"We're offering a test bed for your Flower Tank, Rika. We have a demolition job to do, and we lack some… oomph, to say the least." Sarge says. "Just our C4 isn't going to cut it."

"We'll take it. Though… Wouldn't we kill anyone while testing it?"

"No. The plan is you destroy a building. We'll make sure nobody is in it."

"Can you at least tell me what the deal is with you and the castle, Rei? I think that you're not telling me what I am supposed to know." Rika asks.

"It's a long story…"

---

"…oh. I see that castle was the cause of the… disappearing villagers from the other day?"

"Yes."

She shrugs her shoulders. "Okay then. Though, what makes you so sure nobody is in it?"

"I am completely sure there are people inside that building. So what the Guardians and I will do is make sure nobody - be it youkai or humans or both - is inside. We chase them out, we give a signal and you blast it. We'll blow it up to high heaven."

"Interesting."

Instead of following in the conversation, you notice that Ginji had already lead Kazuma away, and you quickly follow him. There, you see a gun of a weird design, probably for magic use.

"What do you have for me, Ginji?"

"I have a magic gun for you - in short a magun - Kazuma, seeing that you're going to be a part of an operation, I figure this is a perfect stuff for you to use. I call it the TNO."

Kazuma picks it up off its case and examines it. "What does TNO stand for?"

"Totally Not Overcompensating." Ginji replies with a smirk on his face.

This earns a snicker from you, but Kazuma is completely confused. He only replies with a "What?"

"The thing between your legs, Kaz." You explain the joke to him.

"Oh." A few seconds of silence follows and Kazuma let out another. "OH! You cheeky bugger, Ginji!"

This soon follows with an outburst of laughter from the man who made it. "Well… jokes aside, I prepared a range outside." This doesn't stop Kazuma from glaring at Ginji and his joke however.

The inventor leads you and Kazuma outside, a bit away from the workshop. There, you see lots of stuff lined up as targets, ranging from pottery to walls with a target marked on them. Some of them have charred marks on them, which meant they were used before. The lack of bullet holes does confirm the nature of weapons being tested here. In fact, being here makes it hard to resist yourself from pulling out your M9 and shooting some of the small targets while Ginji explains about handling the weapon to Kazuma.

"Is it really powerful?" Kazuma asks.

"The only way for us to know is to test it. Try that at the wall over there."

Kazuma takes his stance and aims the gun. He pulls the trigger an-

A massive bright magic bolt exits the TNO's barrel and slams into the target. The noise alone is incredible and once the smoke clears, its visual effects on its target are even more impressive. That totally dented the steel plating on the wall! If it hadn't been for Ginji's precautions, the wall would probably have been in scattered pieces.

"Holy shit."

"It's good, Ginji."

Kazuma lets out a few more shots down range, and it seems like he's handling it very nicely. Ginji on the other hand is sporting an obviously huge grin beside you.

"Let me hold it." You then turn to Ginji as pass him your M14 EBR. "Hold this for me." Kazuma then hands you over the magun, which you try to aim it. Obviously, sights are not like what you used to. "Totally feels like a space gun. It could use some optional sights." Though, the person you're supposed to talk to is gone with your rifle. You shrug and make shooting noises as you play around with it. "Pew pew!"

"Stop being silly, Alex."

"I can't help it. It looks like we have our breacher role already filled. This is super perfect, Kaz."

"By the way, where's Ginji?" Kazuma asks.

"Oh, he ran off with my M14."

---

Two days later…

"Overlord, this is Bravo Zero-One. I'm reporting semi-heavy activity around the castle. No sign of anyone that we can mark as a HVT."

"Who are we up against?"

"Humans, some humanoid youkai. They are armed and most of them are male. None of them looked like they are in a trance like what we saw before."

"Exercise extreme caution. Make sure there are zero casualties on anyone unless they mean absolute malice.

"Wilco."

"Overlord copies all, out."

You peer around with the binoculars, with everyone else is in their position. "Sarge, I didn't expect that there would a lot of opposition around the area. Why?"

"If you ask me, they are probably charmed. I can see a few of our now-regular offenders down there."

"The bandits, eh? This should be easy."

"Bravo Zero One to Hunter One, how copy?"

"Loud and clear. Taking time to get used to the equipment."

"Good. Zero One out." Sarge then turns to you. "Alex, I don't think Erin could hold up well inside the castle. Do you want to swap places with him or not?"

"If I don't?"

"Then you can be my spotter, just like last time." Sarge then gets his AWSM with FLIR scope prepared, planting the bipod and monopod adjusted until he's satisfied with the positioning, before loading a round into the chamber. "It's your call."

What would you do?
[ ] Stick with Seo as a fireteam partner.
[ ] Stay behind and snipe with Sarge.

[X] Stick with Seo as a fireteam partner.

Sarge knows Erin probably better than us so.

[x] Stick with Seo as a fireteam partner.

Eirn's still kind of new isn't he? This might be better.

[X] Stick with Seo as a fireteam partner.

[X] Stick with Seo as a fireteam partner.

>Flower Tank.

I rejoiced.

[c] Stick with Seo as a fireteam partner.

VOTE RESULTS

[X] Stick with Seo as a fireteam partner. (5 Votes)

---

"I think I would stick with Seo. I don't really think Erin would be able to handle a situation if something goes south."

"I'll replace you with Erin as the spotter then. Bravo Zero Actual to Zero-Three, Actual to Zero-Three, come in, over."

"Zero Actual, this is Zero-Three reporting in."

"Zero-Three, I need you to regroup on me.”

"I thought the original order is that I was supposed to stay with Spectre in the first place?" He asks.

"Judgment overruled. You're to replace Roach's position as a spotter for me, effective immediately. Report back to me when you and Roach finish swapping places."

"Roger."

"Bravo Zero Actual out." Sarge then turns to you. "Okay, you're good to run."

---

When you reach Erin's position, he looks like he's still a little confused about the position swap.

"What's up with the swap?"

"For your safety I think. Sarge might have a few things to teach you too." You tell Erin. "Don't worry, you get to sit back and spot targets for Sarge to snipe."

He pouts, very unbecoming for an operator. "But that's not what I signed up for..."

"Don't worry; you'll get your fix soon. Run along now."

--- (( Seo Fujisaki)) ---

When Erin leaves your spot for your CO's position, Alex kneels down beside you.

"By the way, sir, what happened to our armor?"

"Our loaned mechanized infantry division is on their way. ETA one hour."

"Can't call it a division if there are just three of them and a vehicle.

"Correction, ten people. Three in a tank and two in the other, two in the heli, two of them are fast movers and one drone.”

"A second armor? Really?"

"That’s the kappa's tank, much larger than Rika's and also possibly on the way."

"We'll go with any help we can get then."

Rei then issues an order. "All units, all units. This is Bravo Zero Actual. I'll brief you people again on what we have to do - breach into the castle and plant those C4 charges on the main structures of the building. I need this place in splinters before midday. For the groups who don’t have explosives or the Hunters, get every non-combatant out of this building as soon as possible."

The radio is then flooded with various forms of acknowledging reply.

"Roach, begin the breaching."

"Roger wilco."

Alex then assumes control as Kazuma approaches the team with his hunters in tow for a breaching procedure. The Marine takes out a spray paint can from his back pouch and marks a wall with an X.

"This is a little different than the usual breaching. Stack up on me close to my back." Alex commands, crouching beside Kazuma. "Ready, Kazuma?"

"Just give me the signal."

"Hit it."

At Alex's signal, Kazuma takes out his magun from his holster and aim it roughly at the mark before pulling the trigger. The TNO'S bolt utterly destroys the wall as it makes contact. Immediately as the wall goes down, both you and Alex shoot a smoke grenade into the hole from your EGLM and Alex's M320.

"Okay, let's move out!"

As soon as you enter the breached wall, you aim down your SCAR-H's red dot sight and shoot anyone you see that has a weapon in their hand. Those who you can't shoot down in time are shot by the Hunters with loaned rifles. The other Hunters who are armed with close-range weapons move in to secure the downed thugs.

"You guys linger around this area. Seo, move up with me. Guys with guns, remember to shoot ONLY the armed ones."

"Got it." Kazuma replies.

You and Alex move up the stairs you see, getting ready to breach another door. You take up positions and swap to your Nova shotgun before both of you kick down the sliding door.

"FREEZE! ON YOUR KNEES, MOTHERFUCKERS!"

There are a few people inside the room, jumping in surprise as Alex yells into the room; two of them are armed with AKs with polymer furniture. Both of you quickly take cover behind a pillar, but instead of hearing gunshots, you hear a click.

You stare at Alex as the group gets confused on why their rifles aren't firing. Without a word Alex pops out of his cover and blasts them off their feet with a close range shotgun, and after they are sent sprawling on the ground you quickly zip tie their limbs.

"Hey Sarge, looks like they have those 74s from the previous incident with Hafizi."

"Huh, so we did miss a few crates then. Did any of them discharge?" Rei asks through the comms.

"Apparently those idiots forgot the basic firearm operation - the fucking safety is still on."

"Ha, jokes on them. Keep an eye up though, they might figure that one out soon. Those things have bullets still in them, and they are red-tape."

"Got it." Alex responds as he drops a flare. He then pulls out a string of paracord, and tying them to the ends of the sling point. "Leaving breadcrumbs for the Hunters. I'll take this with us. You want one, Spectre?"

"What are you doing with that?"

"Making a sling."

"Give me one."

Alex makes a quick sling on the other AK and he passes the other one to you. You let the one he gave to you hang from your chest. You then move to the next hallway. Before you can even open the door on the next room, you hear gunshots.

"Contact!" Alex yells, quickly pulling you aside as they opened fire at you. That was a close call.

"Looks like they wizened up and learned about the safety." You point out.

"Yeah, no shit."

You stay behind your cover as they keep the trigger down. Alex in the meantime looks at his watch, as if wondering how long the rifle can go before it goes click.

The answer is four seconds.

Then, you hear a tell-tale click of dry fire, which means he's out of ammo.

"Damn! Useless piece of junk!"

"He's out of rounds. Seo?"

You pull out a flashbang and pull the pin, before throwing the grenade through the paper walls from your cover, hearing their panicked cries as the grenade goes off and blinding them.

"Smoke them!"

Immediately, you and Alex kick the door down and quickly gun them down into submission. The same procedure follows, and you only shoot the armed ones. There are three more extra AKs in here, and you confiscate the loaded magazines, all while throwing the rifles out of the window and onto the compound below.

"This is Spectre to Hunter One - more evacuations waiting for you."

"Leave it to us."

There is a balcony outside that leads to other rooms. Under the night sky, you can see Shirayuki's IR beacon blinking under the FLIR's sights. Soon, Kaede and Hiiragi's IR beacon joins the fairy's.

"This is Maple Actual. We got you covered. Mark your targets."

Alex throws a smoke grenade on the room next door, and Kaede stops to hover in the air. To your surprise, Kaede pulls out a grenade launcher and starts firing explosive grenades to that room. Screams of pain can be expected as he finishes, ejecting the spent shells and reloading it two grenades at a time.

"Thanks for the assist."

"We'll circle around the area. Good luck."

"Wow, I can't believe Sarge didn't tell me that we have the M32A1."

"Maybe it's from the Marine's inventory?"

"If that's the case, I pity the bastard manning the armory. Then again maybe I shouldn't."

You shake your head and report in. "Area is secured. This pillar looks important, should I, sir?"

"Plant it."

You and Alex pick out the C4s from the demo pack and rig them around the large pillar as Kazuma and his team drags away the detained humans. By the time you're done with the mess of wires and plastic explosives, you move on to more rooms around the castle, finding more empty rooms and such. More pillars meant more explosive to be rigged, and once in a while, you ran into a few Hunters doing their things. All seems good so far.

You hear someone talk as you walk past a room, and then you signal Alex to stop. "How come just the two of them can cause this?"

"The hunters are with them!"

You nod to Alex as you switch to your shotgun and break your way in through the door. This catches them in surprise as they drop their weapons immediately. Of course, there's that old man from before.

"You... last time you hurt my daughter... and then you killed my friend!"

Instead of responding to him, you decide to talk at the other groups while pointing your shotgun threateningly at the group, who raises their hands in the air in surrender. "None of you here are actually charmed, you're trying to regroup and reorganize again. Who's your leader this time?"

"Face me, bastard!"

You roll your eyes away and you nonchalantly point your Nova at him and immediately blast him off his feet without reservations. He gets sent flying onto his back with great force and you calmly top of the shells into your shotgun as nobody answers you. It's a good thing they all surrendered without much trouble. Alex goes ahead to cuff them all with the zip ties, and while the old man tried to resist, Alex fixes it with a boot to the face for him.

"Resistance is futile. Anyone who resists will be shot repeatedly." You see another familiar face in the group, but you ignore him as Alex cuffs him as well.

The second Hunter group would move in to extract the detained hostilities, while the old man needs three people to drag him off all while screaming obscenities at you. Alex is quite amused and he can't help but throw a middle finger at him.

"I can't believe he's still kicking after that boot to the balls from the other day."

"Well, some people are quite stubborn. Let's carry on."

"Yeah."

More Hunters can be seen rigging the explosives on the structure, and you continue to sweep up the top floor for more hostilities. Of course, with them facing Rei’s sniping spot, they are going to get picked out easily while you and Alex distract them with suppressing fire.

"I can see you two in that room. Covering fire." Rei speaks on your comms. "Two short, one AK."

PTOOM

Alex tries to see what is happening behind cover, but the thug hides behind a pillar.

"Don't peek, Roach!"

BTOOM

That gunshot noise coming from the distance would soon be followed by the crushing sound of something penetrating the thick pillar, with a scream sounding immediately afterwards. You and Alex peek from your pillar cover to see the aftermath, the first thing you see is a hole blown through the thick pillar, which is totally not the caliber used for the AWSM.

"Did you just shoot him through that wall, Sarge?"

"Yes. With the M95, of course."

"So, can I get a yearly subscription to that aimbot, please? Honestly..." Alex grumbles.

"No."

---

Soon enough the whole perimeter is under lockdown before midnight falls. It's easy for you to distinguish who is actually charmed and those who are not, judging on who resisted and who didn't The majority of the humanoid youkai you encounter are charmed, as they did not resisting arrest The humans however mostly consists of the bandits you fought before, apparently trying to regroup. The question that remains is that who the real culprit behind their appearance here is.

The hunters cover the rest of the area, apprehending the humans and lesser youkai who're resisting arrest. The attack is swift and the Scarlets even provided precision strikes to scare some of the bandits into running away, only to be detained by the Hunter units around the forest. That leaves this one place that you have not checked yet - a hallway that goes straight to the middle of the castle. There is no lighting in the area, and the atmosphere is absurdly spooky.

"Looks like its all downhill from here. You ready?"

"Yup."*

"All callsigns, this is Roach. We are going underground; I need the confirmation of any backup availability. "

"This is Hunter One - we'll cover you up. Drop some bread crumbs, will you?"

"Roger wilco."

Your descent continues down the castle, with signs of life besides yours and Alex's slowly becoming non-existent. The walkway deeper into the lower depths seems to stretch into the unknown, and both you and Alex lower your NVGs so that you can see more in the lack of light. Even though it's a straight walkway, Alex drops behind activated glow sticks so both of you won't lose your way and Kazuma can follow your tracks.

"It's so dark in here. Watch your six."

"Roger."

A few minutes down the line, Alex stops in his tracks. "Hey... I see someone. Cover me, Seo." he whispers to you.

"Alex?"

"Are you two lost too?"

"We're about to ask you the same thing. Come on; let's get you out of here."

Just as you follow Alex from behind, you suddenly stop in your tracks. All of a sudden, this girl is emanating such malicious mana, that it makes you feel ill.

"Alex, stop. She's an enemy."

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't get any closer to her! She has a malicious aura!" You call out to Alex.

Fortunately, Alex heeds your warning and stops mid-way, before quickly pulling his shotgun into view. Though, by the time you warned Alex, the mana is suddenly gone-

-no, it-

Behind you!

Before you can react and turned around, you feel an arm suddenly wrap around your neck. You can hear your M9 being tossed away from your thigh holster, followed by your knife and the clattering of your SCAR-H hitting the ground as she cut your slings. With such force being applied on you, you know she must be quite a strong person.

"Impressive. You can actually see my mana, and yet you look so human." She remarks, her mana is quite suffocating in such close range.

Alex is training his shotgun at you, but soon swaps to his sidearm. He's exuding the same calmness that you had when encountering the same situation in the past. He slowly steps forward as this girl backtracks and pulls you along.

"And you have some of your own in you too. It makes me want to bite it all out."

You still have your hands free as you try to pry her arm so that you can breathe. "In your dreams."

"How defiant. You are quite a trained soldier. You over there; if you take another step and I will choke your friend to death."

Alex takes a step forward. "Go ahead, try it."

The grip tightens a little. But instead of that, she holds a sharp claw against your throat. "Tough talk for a human without mana. You wouldn't dare shoot a girl, right?"

"You're a threat, and I'd shoot you even if had to shoot my partner."

Seems like Alex is trying to stall her. Maybe he sees an opening for you or him to exploit.

What would you do?
[ ] Let Alex do his thing.
[ ] Do a counter against her.

[X] Do a counter against her.

Possibly unexpected by her

[x] Do a counter against her.

Sounds like a good plan

[X] Let Alex do his thing.
Believe in our fireteam, men.

VOTE RESULTS

[X] Do a counter against her. (2 Votes)

---

She isn't exactly holding your limbs down, which is a good thing. Alex is still standing ground with his handgun ready.

You step hard on her bare foot, making her scream and loosening her grip around your neck, with the brief window of opportunity you grab her by the arm and then slam her to the wall beside you before dive towards your pistol. At the same time, Alex promptly shoots at her direction with his pistol while you start squeezing the trigger at her from your lying position.

She recovers pretty quickly and instead of returning fire she eventually gives up trying to fight both of you and decides to fly off back to where she came from.

"You alright?" Alex asks as he offers you a hand.

You take his offer and get back on to your feet. "A little choked up, but I'm up."

"Good. I guess the only way forward is to go ahead then. I hope there's no crossroads or ambushes or something like that."

"I wonder what she hides at the end…" You mutter as Alex gives you your AK and SCAR, the latter with a paracord sling as replacement to the one that girl just cut off.

"There's only one way to find out I guess."

Alex continues to throw glow sticks, this time throwing it in front of him. As you slowly advance, you finally reach the end. You stop when you see the glow stick fall out of your sight, and for that he holds onto your shoulder to stop you.

"Looks like a long drop."

Alex then hands you a stick. "Flares. Those glow sticks aren't going to let us see much. By the way, put your IRNV up, Seo."

"Why?"

"You're gonna get blinded when this thing goes off."

"Oh, alright." You then push your IRNV goggles upwards.

You and Alex pop flares and throw them down the chasm. To your surprise, the floor is covered with roots instead of solid dirt. They seem to congregate to the middle of the of the underground room Then, both of you shoot a flare round towards the center of the huge underground room, which soon illuminate the monstrosity in the middle of it all.

"What… the… hell…?"

"…Isn't that a cocoon?"

"Yes it is." Alex then reaches for his radio. "Sarge?"

"What is it?"

"We found a cocoon down here – a really huge one. Should we go down lay the charges in here too?"

"Negative, negative, judgment overruled. Both of you, just dump whatever explosives you have fast, we need everyone out of the buildin-"

BOOM

The castle starts shaking after that explosion. Both of you freeze in shock at that.

"What's going on up there?"

"Uh… someone detonated the charge at the top floor area." Shirayuki replies.

"Get the hell outta there, you two. Looks like our plans are being shot ahead of time. Better make it quick."

You and Alex then dump every explosive you have, and then make a mad dash for the exit. It is a one-way trip towards the other end of the tunnel, and the presence of glow sticks Alex threw down earlier on double-confirms it. You are about to leave via the window, but Alex denies your decision. With all the debris falling down from above, you and Alex head for the room where you breached in earlier.

Your escape however got cut off with a fallen pillar separating you from Alex.

The last thing you hear is him yelling out your name.

Then everything suddenly turned black.

--- (( Wriggle Nightbug )) ---

I felt restless since the last few hours, even since I saw Rika's tank roll out of the workshop, with some new addition to it. Hafizi can be seen at the top of the tank, manning the machine gun at the hatch. Immediately, I know that this is the operation the Guardians were talking about at the palace a while ago, but something definitely felt off. I had to convince Yuki to follow them, out of worry.

Just to be sure, we went to the Hakurei Shrine to get Reimu's help - and since Marisa is there, she decides to ride along.

When Yuki and I reached the castle, Rika's tank and the Kappas had started firing upon it. Little by little, top floors of the castle are being shot off to reveal a cocoon. The explosions surrounding it even make the reveal even faster for us to see in whole. The cocoon then breaks off, slowly showing off a huge wasp inside of it and the eyes starting to glow.

"Rei! Permission to fire?"

"Give it all you got! Erin! Get the SOFLAM down ASAP! Shirayuki! Get down here! I need you armed with missiles! Tank Bravo, you're cleared to shoot as well! The rest of you, fire at that motherfucker ALL COSTS!"

"Yes! Hafizi, get in the tank! Everyone else, brace yourselves and cover your ears!"

"Got it!"

Hafizi then closes the top hatch while Rika does the same with hers. "I call this the Super 1-Shot Sure-Kill! Ready! Aim! FIRE!"

Just as the huge wasp unfurls its wings, Rika's tank's main gun is ready to fire. With a loud boom, a surge of magical energy exits the muzzle and as a result she annihilated it before it can even take off. It's a shot clean through the thorax, and that was pretty anticlimactic if I say so myself. Rika wasn't kidding with that name. The rest of the giant wasp starts to disintegrate into dust, and everyone seems to be holding their breath until it completely fades away.

“Zero Two, Zero Actual, what's your twenty?" Rei starts calling out. I assume that he's calling for Seo.

"I'm still up, goddamn it, stop yelling in my ear. Help me out of the rubble." Or not. It's Alex.

"Thank god."

I help Rei and Erin locate Alex, as he's digging himself out of the rubble. He looks a little bloodied and battered up, but something is off. Someone else is missing. "Wait, where is Seo?" I ask.

"He got trapped behind me; I can't get him out on time…"

"No, he might still be alive. Zero Four, Zero Actual, what's your twenty?" Based on Rei's frown, I could assume that there's no response from Seo. "Zero Four, Zero Actual, what's your twenty?!" Still no response. "Damn it!"

Though, despite the fact that Seo didn't respond, I can feel his mana, slowly rising as if he's coming to. I was about to break the news to Rei but…

"Zero Actual, be advised, I am sensing two mana and vitality signatures in the rubble." One of the kappas in the second tank announces. "It could belong to one of your operators, sir."

"Yuki? Signatures? If that’s what I think it is, then that could mean he's with someone else there…"

"Yeah, the problem is that it's mingling with bad mana." He responds.

"Uh, Sarge? Look over there…"

"Where?"

From where I am standing, Alex is pointing at the girl that ascending from the thick smoke, and slowly, she reveals that she's holding Seo by the ankle, before stopping at a few hundred feet off the ground. I tense up on how toxic her mana is. I hope things will end well.

"For fuck's sake…" Rei mutters, and with me being close to him, I know his fear is substantiated.

--- (( Seo Fujisaki )) ---

When you finally come to, the first thing you see is the world upside down. It's still dark but there are lights from the tanks and flashlights below you. The question is why are you airborne and upside down in the first place?

"I see you mongrels trying to disrupt my mealtime, huh… and have someone tying little explody things around MY castle like it's nobody's business…"

"That's the main reason why we're trying to blow up the damn place in the first place!" Alex yells. Though, to be honest you weren’t really expecting that was to be the case.

"You just killed my daddy too… and in return, I'm going to kill your friend here. I hope he can fly~"

You bet that you can pretend flying, since she didn't remove your emergency chute, but with blood rushing down your head with gravity, you have to make a quick decision. Hopefully this height would be enough for the chute to deploy properly.

Time is running out, you should so something.
[ ] Free yourself
[ ] Pray

[x] Free yourself

yolo

[x] Free yourself

Seems more productive.

[x] Free yourself

[X] Pray

In a land with half a dozen literal gods, this is more useful than it seems.

[X] Pray

This feels like an obvious trap, which leads me to believe that it will turn into something cool or useful.

[X] Free Yourself

[X] Pray
If it's good enough against Giygas, it's good enough against anything.

[X] Pray

There are gods here that can answer us

[X] Pray

>Can I get a yearly subscription to that aimbot, please?

I just got caught up on the last couple updates, and I couldn't help but poke fun at the writer a little bit. Here's what came out of it within 30 minutes.

Sexy egg story from the last thread:

"I used to go out with a psycho." Alex begins, his tone reflective. "She was great fun, but she was a fucking lunatic."

Everyone's eyes and ears are on Alex as the uniqueness of the situation becomes apparent to them. Alex, undeterred, continues.

"I-i'd basically woke up in the middle of the night to feel...Something fucking ice-cold on my chest." He shivers, whether it be from disgust or anxiety from the memory.

"What she'd decided in the middle of the night was that she felt horny. So she got an egg out of the fridge and... broke it on my chest-"

The sounds of laughter echos throughout the spa as everyone shares their mirth at Alex's misfortune. The seriousness of the mood entirely broken as the man in question takes it in stride with a smile as he continues his shenanigan induced story.

"-thinkin' we were gonna have some...Sexy times." Alex says over the noise.

The laughter slowly rises in level and pitch.

"It was fucking ice-cold I tell you." Alex says, trying his hardest to keep a serious face on, "and I was allll tucked up, all warm and just, snoozing away. I was in bliss."

The laughter slowly dies down as everyone tries to catch their breath, their ears and minds still listening as Alex goes on.

"I can confirm. I can confirm guys." Alex starts, "It is not sexy."

A couple 'snrrrks' are heard nearby as those who aren't able to keep their composure turn their backs to save face. Alex, showing no mercy, moves on.

"She got really pissed at me as well. Because of course I went...'What the fuck are you doing you fucking lunatic?!'"

With Alex pantomiming his emotions from back then, everyone can't help but begin laughing again.

"She didn't like that 'cause of course she was in, 'horny mode', and was expecting me to go, " 'eyyy baby..."

"..."

"...Sexy egg."

Some of the listeners fell into the water from laughing too hard.

----------
I'm not a writer here... yet. But since I saw multiple references to a certain youtube channel I just had to fill in the gap. Sorry if I made any errors.

I guess I took... the AWP'itunity

>>14456

I see someone caught that, and yes, it has been stuck in my head for weeks that I can't help but throwing it in.

Nice fix by the way.

>Spoiler
"Rei is not amused."

Vote's called!

Prepare 4 War.

VOTE RESULTS

[X] Pray. (5 Votes)

---

The height is simply too high for you to act on your own and yet too low for the chute to deploy safely, while your team falls back a bit further more, in fear of your safety. Reimu is visibly tense; Marisa can only blink at such display.

Wriggle on the other hand floats forwards, facing the girl. She is noticeably nervous as if something is not natural.

"And what's your deal? Are you a friend of his? You look quite pathetic."

"Listen - you don't have to do this."

"Ahh… a firefly… but where's the fun in that? All I can see is just some boys and their toys, running around and strapping explosives to this place."

"That's because we thought this place was the bandits' hideout." Rei called out from the ground.

"This place is empty, and now it's mine. The bandits? They should have become my food instead and you didn't let me."

"Priority switch. You just told the Guardians about making a meal on both humans and youkai you gathered." Reimu steps in. "You know that is not acceptable."

"Bah, who cares…?”

As they keep on talking, you're almost on the verge of blacking out from the entire blood running down to your head, and all you can do right now is pray. Hopefully the gods of Gensokyo can answer it and get you out of this situation now, one way or another.

--- (( Hisagi Fujisaki )) ---

In the interest of time…

"How's the situation, Momiji?" You ask her.

"Still tense, so to say. I can see Kaede, Hiiragi and Seo there. He's not looking so good."

"What do you mean not looking good?"

"He's been hanging upside down by the ankle. The Scarlet Devil Guardians and the village's Hunters are there too." Momiji reports. "From the looks of it, that bug girl is trying to negotiate to make her let him down."

Kanako decided to join your observation group with Suwako and Sanae present as well. Both of them looking sleepy and just waking up. The higher ups like Lord Tenma, Dai-Tengu and his wife are also present after hearing that explosion from a few minutes ago.

"What should we do? Should we go and help?" One of the wolf tengu from your squad asks.

"No. You don't have to."

Kanako on the other hand falls silent, as if she's concentrating on something. "It looks like one of them down there is praying for help, specifically, that one who is hanging. I believe he has been a huge help the last time he was here, yes?"

"Seo? Oh yes he was."

"Any volunteers?" Dai-Tengu asks. Every wolf tengu present, including yourself, raises your hand. Well, even Lord Tenma herself has her hand raised. "You too, Tenma?"

"Yes."

"Do what you can, Tenma." Kanako says. "You have what it takes."

She nods at the goddess and then disappears in a flash.

---

"Look, just put him down, will you?"

"Put him down? Sure… if you can catch him in the first place!" She cackles as she finally throws you down. And since your consciousness is fading, you just can't concentrate on pulling your chute's cords… only for someone to catch you mid-drop!

"Gotcha!" Every Guardian personnel quickly gathers around you when your savior lands on the ground, and you're half awake by then. Only then do you realize that it was Lord Tenma. "Stay with me, Seo! Stay with me!"

"Oh? That's a shame. I thought I'd kill someone before dawn." She says.

"You should know that by doing that, our deal on playing nice is over." Reimu says with a deadpan, pointing her gohei menacingly at the wasp girl. "You just threw away your insurance."

"Come and fight me if you dare!"

"Wriggle, I advise that you sit out from the fight. This is going to be a messy one." Reimu advises.

She nods and backs off from the scene, joining you as you recuperate from the hanging. Lord Tenma is present as well, trying to heal you up. Only then do you finally return to normal, and more conscious.

"There you go. Feeling better, Seo?" Tenma asks as she puts her palm on your forehead.

Your breathing rate returns to normal, as you grasp Tenma's hand. "Yeah, I can see better now."

"Sarge, we should abort the mission and let Reimu and Marisa handle it." Alex suggests

"No." You protest as you stand up, only to falter for a moment. "We started it; we'll finish it with her. I've got a beef to settle with her."

Rei stares at you as if he's thinking you're going crazy. "Are you even sure that you're up to the task?"

"I am."

Before Rei could deny your judgment, Tenma backs you up. "Rei, have faith in him. He needs to do this."

"It's not that I don't have any faith in him, it's that our HVT has put him at risk more than once." Rei sighs before he relents. "If you're going to do it, just make sure you don't put yourself in harm's way."

"Much appreciated, sir."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." He waves you off, before switching to all frequencies. "This is Bravo Zero One. Be advised, our mission objectives changed. Right now we need to provide cover fire for Reimu and Remilia. Listen carefully for the next directive. Roach, break out the heavy stuff. Make sure the IFF interrogator is operational. We're gonna need some SAMs."

"Roger wilco."

Rei then stuffs a gun into your chest holster, and stuffs a few darts into your pouches.

"What are these for?" You ask.

"Tracer dart gun and the ammo for it. Only use them when I tell you to use it." Rei then turn to the radio and starts issuing an ultimatum. "Hunters, thanks for your assist. If anyone wants to return to the village, you may do so and don't forget the captives. If you wanna join us, you're more than welcome to. All callsigns Bravo, we're mission launch. Repeat, we're mission launch."

At Rei's signal, Hafizi is the first to open fire at the wasp girl, firing off the M2HB at the wasp girl. She tries to swoop in to attack him, but Rika's main gun fire deters her from getting closer.

"Nice save. Rika, if you can remote-control the hatch gunner, you better show him." Rei has already gone off elsewhere, carrying his M95 behind his back. Erin is trailing behind, his short frame just barely handling the AS50 strapped to his back.

"Got it!" Rika radios back.

Presumably, the lesson went on smoothly as Hafizi soon goes back with the M2HB blazing, this time in complete cover. Rika and Ginji continue to fire with their main gun.

This is when Reimu decides to go completely physical with her attacks, as she stops throwing her needles and amulets. Instead, you can see her exchange quick punches, kicks and gohei strikes. The wasp girl is overflowing with confidence as she blocks and punches back, seeming to be a lot faster than Reimu.

"Hafizi! Hafizi! Hold your fire! Hold your fire! Friendlies at close range!" Rei warns. He immediately stops firing while Rika moves around the melee to get a better view.

In the meantime, the kappa tank steals some shots when Reimu breaks off from the physical engagement. Those guided shells however do nothing to faze the HVT at all.

As Reimu backs off, Remilia tags in and joins the fray. This time, Remilia is the faster one, exchanging claw attacks, kicks and spear jabs

Rei in the meantime is repositioning and awaiting the best moment to shoot off his M95. Erin has even prepared your CO his AS50, though he does less spotting for now. Remilia of course sees Rei waiting from over her shoulder.

"Mind if you move away, Miss Remilia?"

"Give me a moment." She does a few more strikes to dazzle her opponent before taking her distance. Remilia then has a surge of red energy forming on her outstretched palm.

"Here it comes."

"Divine Spear!" She announces. "Spear the Gungnir!"

With a mighty throw, she tosses the Gungnir to the wasp girl causing her to reel back from the impact, before swiftly getting out of the way by swerving left and allowing Rei to take aim. The report of his M95 going off soon resorts in a grunt coming from the target. A quick observation shows that Rei just shot through her right wing. Despite the damage, however, she is still airborne.

Five more shots followed, dealing more damage to her wings, and more to her body. The bruises on her limbs and torso are a sign that the .50cal bullets strike true.

"You think that's enough to stop me?!"

Of course, that taunt is followed by a barrage from the AS50 courtesy of Erin, hitting her right on the belly until it goes click.

"You're wasting your ammo, mongrel!"

Erin then pulls out a PLD to laser designate the wasp girl and blinding her at the same time. Rei stands up from his spot and picks up the HVM-II, firing it to her after successful lock-on.

Despite the direct hit from the Starstreak, the damage is abysmal, but that is to be expected from danmaku-blessed weapons. Before she can recover, Rei and Erin pick up the anti-materiel rifles and move away from their sniping spot.

While they are out there fighting, you finally manage to recover from almost blacking out. You pat your vest for the sling of your SCAR-H, but it is not there anymore, and as a result you mutter a silent curse. You remember that you lost most of your weapons when the building collapsed on top of you and all you have left right now is the tracer dart gun Rei handed to you earlier on.

"Seo?"

"What is it, Tenma-sama?"

"Remember, Seo. Channel your anger elsewhere so that you can concentrate with your mana." The elder tengu advises. "Just concentrate, and then you can spread your wings." Lord Tenma spreads hers as an emphasis. "If you have what it takes, then join me with your friends in battle. Perhaps you need a running start?"

"Running start… I'll take that option."

Tenma watches as you straighten yourself up. You gather up all the mana that's been growing inside you - if this is the right time to turn, it would probably be so. You then sprint through the clearing for a good distance, hearing the tell-tale fluttering noises of wings. It would help for you to pray once again, which you do before the jump. Not even stopping to look, you jump for the skies.

Instead of landing back on the ground you're actually gaining altitude.

You're finally airborne.

In the meantime, Reimu is engaging the wasp girl with her mix of danmaku and physical attacks, before she pulls out a spellcard.

"Fantasy Seal!" She announces.

The homing energy balls explode on her opponent, and the pain is further exacerbated with Lord Tenma rushing over to strike and jab at the girl with her halberd in quick succession.

"You said something about not holding back, Hakurei?"

"We're still holding back. If Yukari gets the words out, the Guardians would be dropping the danmaku-refit weapons for heavy artillery."

"You're holding back?! You people are a bunch of weaklings!"

"I can't stand this girl, Hakurei."

"So do me, Tenma."

What follows later is a combination attack from both Reimu and Lord Tenma. The former gets even more aggressive with her melee, now delivering punches and kicks at blinding speeds. When Reimu kicks the wasp girl upwards, Tenma swoops in to deal more damage. She starts by giving the wasp girl strikes from the blunt side of her halberd, before jabbing her with the pointy end several times.

Both of them then deliver a kick to her stomach at the same time, allowing Alex to continue by doing a burst fire on the ground against the girl.

"Eat some lead, baby!" Alex yells, as he fires his Mk. 48 from the hip at her.

He dives out of the way as the wasp blasts him with a stream of fast danmaku. The wasp girl turns around for another pass, but is still unsuccessful as Yuki uses leaf danmaku as a defensive shield for Alex.

"Thanks, Yuki! I owe you one." He then picks himself up and dives behind a tree to reload his light machine gun.

"You're welcome!"

While everyone else is distracting and deterring her from getting close from the ground forces, you circle around the battlefield, getting a hang on flying - which is much, much easier than you thought. In the meantime, you scan the area for the HVT.

There!

As soon as you spot her, you swoop down towards her direction and focus your mana to your palm, as if charging what mana you have to a desired point. Since there's no use holding back, you shoot the fastest stream you can muster from your altitude.

BBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT

Given how strong the energy shot stream is, it kicks your line of flight back to the air. Never had you thought that a stream of danmaku could have that kind of recoil.

The energy bullets you shoot kick up quite a storm of dirt and smoke around the wasp girl, and the ones that hit her seems to be making her reel back in pain from being caught off-guard.

She immediately abandons her fight with Alex, Reimu and Tenma and soon is focusing solely on you despite the anti-air attempts the ground forces are throwing at her. It's only natural that you start making evasive maneuvers as she fires her danmaku at you.

"…did you just pull off an A-10, Seo?" Hafizi asks.

"That sounds like one, man!"

"A what? Can you ask that later - I've got a goddamned wasp bitch on my tail?!"

"Speed up! She'll try to catch up with you, and when that happens, bleed your speed and take the lead!" Rei instructs over the comms.

"Got it!"

You as you was told, speeding up at your best and letting her follow your lead, the occasional danmaku notwithstanding. Then, you apply your invisible brakes in the air and let her fly past you, before resuming your flight and chasing her instead. You take this chance to fire at her from behind. In the meantime, you notice Alex signaling for you to pick up a weapon. You snatch the SRAW from the ground and sling it over your back, but by doing so, she now takes her lead back in chasing.

"She's really not giving up, isn't she?"

"Get creative with your maneuver, Seo! Trying to lock on to her with the SRAW while she's chasing you is suicidal!"

"I'll figure out a way!"

You and the wasp girl continue to engage and return fire.

"Up! Up! Go up!"

And suddenly from her point of view, you make a direct ascent to the clouds, with her quickly following suit. You hold the SRAW in your hands and turn around, pushing yourself away from her flight path before dismissing your wings.

With your wings being dismissed, you start to plummet from the skies. She notices your feint but is going too fast to correct her pursuit path, and her flight upwards actually only sends her closer to your SRAW range, close enough for you to fire the launcher without the aid of sights and keeping you away from the blast range.

You pull the trigger and let the HEDP round strike true.

BOOM

You recall your wings and dive down as the smoke dissipates, which shows the wasp girl still intact, much to Alex's disappointment.

"That's a goddamn direct hit with the SRAW and she's still standing?!" Alex yells over the comms.

"We are using the yellow band anyways that's why they aren't doing jack!" Rei replies in frustration.

In the meantime, Marisa is chasing up on you and the wasp girl; right after you throw reload your SRAW with a second rocket you pick off Erin's hand. Reloading in mid-air sure proves to be quite cumbersome. Marisa stops ahead of you and raises her Hakkero, which you quickly bank up and over her. You can see her grin as you flew over her just as she says 'Love Sign'.

"MASTER SPAAAAAAAAARK!"

You hover behind Marisa and waits until her laser cannon dissipates, but the wasp girl is still there, tanking more damage.

"She's resilient!"

"Told you so!"

You concentrate your mana and try to do another gun run at her, and she expectantly fires back.

"You're too slow! Too weak!" She taunts.

It's almost dawn, and the wasp girl is not going down at all. Everyone seemed to be holding back, until you hear your radio crackle to life.

"All Guardians and Hunters, this is Deep Purple." A feminine voice rings in your comms. From the looks of it, Reimu and the rest also heard it. "Looks like you people need some help with your menace. How about… you people try something with a bit more force? I guess if danmaku isn't even deterring her, maybe you should move on to the big guns."

"What's she's saying?" Alex asks.

"The use of deadly forces is authorized." Yukari drops her ultimatum.

Rei is quick to act as Yukari goes silent on the radio. "Alright, that's the thing we need - enough with the danmaku compliant launchers. Alex, get the Stingers!"

"Which one?"

"The ones with red bands!" This is when Rei decides to allow you to use the darts. "Use the darts, Seo! Make sure to stab as many as you can on her - if she takes one off, there'd be too many for her to pluck it off!"

"Roger wilco. What if she takes off her clothes?"

"Don't give her ideas!"

Figuring that at distances like this she would be more likely to dodge your darts, you make a sudden turn and head towards her, bringing up the sights of your dart gun and shoot her head she as you're close.

She reels back as she tries to remove the darts, but you circle around her to jab more darts around her body.

"Alex! Arm quickly! IFF tone should be up!" You yell to everyone in the radio.

From the corner of your sight, you can see Alex unfolding the antenna for the Stinger and aligning up the sights with your chaser. Rei instructs the Hunters to do the same and lock onto her. As you circle around a little longer, you can see Hafizi popping out of the Flower Tank with your CO handing him a unit and an IFF interrogator unit. He checks for the back blast as instructed and then locks on to the struggling wasp girl.

BE-BE-BE BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP

Since Alex is in open mic, you can hear the locking tone assaulting your ears. "I've got a solid tone! Ready to fire!"

"All airborne units, be advised – you are to clear the airspace immediately! Seo! Ditch your LBV and land NOW! Everyone else, FIRE!"

Once you hear the missile being launched, you quickly strip off your load-bearing vest, letting it hit the ground as you dive for the ground.

She notices the Stinger missile, but did not expect the barrage of more coming from ground level. Naturally, her first reaction was to fly backwards and try to shoot them all down. That however invites more Stingers from the ground forces, and Rei even adds the Starstreak to the mix. She tries to do a swerve to avoid the triple HVM-II rockets, but it was all too late - one of the Stinger missiles that she failed to take out in time strikes her mid-air, complete with a loud report and a cloud of smoke from the detonation.

She is sent careening o the ground and stays still. There's some blood but no body parts on the point of initial impact.

"Is she dead?" Alex asks over the radio.

"Negative, vital signs are present. Approach with extreme caution." The Kappa Tank's commander informs.

Alex passes you his AK-74M to you, and together with the rest of the Guardians, you approach the downed wasp, who is in quite a bloody mess.

"There you were, so full of yourself. Then, briefly surprised, then dying." Yukari appears, walking out of her gap. Truth be told this is the first time you ever see her in person. "Guess that an insect like you can't really handle the powers you absorbed. I was going to just take you out, but then again…"

"Why the hell didn't you do it yourself?" Reimu asks.

"Because I prefer having people do it over me, and you're all gathered up for war~" Yukari cheekily answers Reimu before turning around to face the wasp girl. "Unfortunately, letting you live is a little too much. I am afraid that if you live any longer that would be a liability to other people. You're simply too dangerous, especially when you take 'doing what a youkai does' way overboard."

"They are destroying my home!"

"Not when you're trying to feed your big daddy with humans so that he can grow stronger, as well as absorbing the mana off youkai. If left unchecked, there might be no more humans that fears us youkai, and no youkai for them to fear on. Besides… the castle is not yours." She hides her smirk behind her folding fan. "I hand the responsibility to you, Seo. Terminate with extreme prejudice." Her words echo in your mind.

Yukari leaves the scene via her gaps, and then something drops on your boots, you soon realize it's the same MP412 REX that she gave to you to execute the bandit leader the other day. You inspect the revolver's chambers - this time instead of a half-full cylinder, the cylinder is in full capacity. You close the frame and point the gun at her.

"Any last words?" You ask her.

"Murderer… a youkai killing youkai…"

"Mmmm. Says the hypocrite who tried to kill me first." You retort back at her.

You pull the trigger and double-tap her twice.

After that, the chaos is over.

A few days after the operation, Rei and Alex went over to the site with some people. The kappas acting as liquidators found your weapons - your AK-74M, SCAR-H and M9. Unfortunately, with the exception of your pistol and AK, your SCAR-H was crushed by the rubble beyond repair. As a result, Rei decided to issue you an HK 417 instead temporarily. The other two weapons are to be repaired.

The castle is only partially destroyed, and with some of the planned explosives not going off as planned earlier, the liquidators decided to lay down thermite in hopes that they could manage to destroy the castle's foundations and the orphaned C4. You in the meantime watch the remains of the castle burn from the Youkai Mountain.

"There it goes. Finally up in flames. Glad that it's over yeah?" Kaede asks as he and the rest of the tengu Fujisaki family watches on from the same cliff you saved Hiiragi.

"Definitely glad."

There's a reason why you are up at the Youkai Mountain. Earlier on, Tenma and her two subordinates showed up at your shop as you check up on your father.

What you didn't expect was the inauguration into the tengu society, seeing that you are practically a tengu now. It's a rather small ceremony, where Lord Tenma hands over a crow tengu uniform for you, along with spares. She says that with this on, you can visit the Tengu Fortress anytime you please. She however did mention to change clothes before going underground, because the possibility of Onis inviting you over for a drink is more than you can handle.

Reasonable enough.

Well, you needed quite a break from everything. This would do very nicely.

On your third day at the mountain before you leave the premises and back to your base, Nitori asked you to come over to her workshop. Alex was there to pick you up even though you can fly by now, but then again, you couldn't resist riding on his dirt bike despite its noisiness.

"That's a lot of Stingers wasted on a single flying object, you know. Then again, when I asked Sarge about it, he said he has more, and the ones we used are going to expire soon."

"His reasoning never gets old." You comment.

"I know, right? Oh, we're here."

Alex stops his dirt bike next to the river, close to where Nitori's workshop is.

"Heeeey! Nitori! We're here~!"

"Come in!" She calls from inside.

You and Alex then walk into her workshop area, where she is waiting for you.

"So what do you want me to have here?"

"Glad you asked!" Nitori then picks up a pair of clear goggles from the table next to her. "I just finished making a few adjustments on these flight goggles I made especially for you."

"Ah, goggles? I could ask my CO for one you know."

"No, his are the ones that do nothing. Mine on the other hand are a bit more than just goggles. C'mon, put it on!"

"Well, if you insist…"

As soon as you put the goggles on, the display on it lights up. Everything seems to be in IRNV mode at the moment and a bit of tinkering later, the vision turns normal.

"There's a lot of stuff in my screen that I have no idea what is for."

"Give it to me; I want to see it too." Alex asks.

"Here you go." You hand the goggles over to him.

As he puts it on, he seems to be mesmerized with what he sees. "Wow. Nice HUD."

"What's HUD?" You ask.

"Heads-up Display. If you played videogames when you had some downtime like me back at the Marine's camp, those things would tell your health, armor, objective etc." Alex explains as he passes your new goggles back to you. "In your case, it more a mix of that and a bit of a fighter jet's avionics display. You have rangefinder, altitude marker, crosshairs and… uh, what weapon do you have right now. It also comes with FLIR and IRNV as well."

"Whoa, Nitori. How'd you cram all this stuff in there?" You ask her.

"It's a trade secret~"

Not those words again… "…no. Please don't say those words again."

The kappa only chuckles at your reaction, and by then Kaede appears at Nitori's workshop. Nitori gives Kaede a running hug, before letting him go. Kaede and Alex later share a fist bump and a high five. You never thought they'd be quite close as friends.

"You guys sure get along well, eh?"

"We're bros; we're cool, right, Kaede?" Alex says.

"Of course!

"Right." You reply. "Well, I think that's it for our visit. Thanks for the goggles, Nitori; we'll see ya next time."

"Oh, you're not staying around? I just got here." Kaede asks.

"Well, we're here only because Nitori wanted me to have this." You tap the goggles resting on your forehead. "Other than that, I'm heading to the village for other things before getting back to my base."

"Well… see you later then!"

With a wave at Kaede and Nitori, you run out with Alex outside of her workshop, and then you take ride back to the Human Village with Alex.

---

While on the way to the village, Rei called Alex via the radio, and after the call Alex rides his bike with you towards the Scarlet Devil Mansion. He's waiting at the gates with Meiling just to make sure this exchange is quick. Once Alex stops his dirt bike at the gates, Rei hands over a brand new SCAR-H to you, complete with a sling.

It seems that Rei had gone for lengths to get you a new SCAR-H, to replace the one that got destroyed few days ago. The SCAR is now two-tone tan, instead of your previous battle rifle's full one-tone tan. The accessories remain the same - you have the red dot sight and the EGLM attached on the underbarrel rails.

"Thanks for the rifle, sir, but what about the 417?"

"You can keep that."

"Thanks sir."

Alex then speeds off to the village, and once there, you and Alex part ways so that you can proceed to visit your family.

Once you reach your father's shop, your older siblings seem thrilled to see you in your tengu uniform, complete with your wings out. Of course, with your geta, you're as tall as them now.

"Where's dad?"

Daisuke points to your father's general direction. "Over there. He's been watching the guys working on cleaning the area for construction soon."

You nod to Daisuke and walk towards your father. The clacking coming from your single-toothed geta attracts his attention. Instead of saying anything, he lets you sit down beside you.

"Your outfit… it really brings me back." He starts. "Back when I was a teenager, my family had a group of crow tengu visiting me, asking my hand in a marriage. And here I am, my own son turned into a youkai."

"Are you mad at me?"

"For all the things that happened in the past few months… not at all, Seo."

"I see."

There's a silence that follows as you watch the construction workers tear down what's left of your old house.

"Akyuu came by the other day, asking me if it was fine to build a new house on our land." Your father breaks the silence. "I was not sure what it was for, and at first I thought it was a land takeover. So I asked if the house was hers, and she said it was for me. After that, we and her assistant discussed on the floor plan. I was worried about the cost but then, she said…"

"She said it's on her, didn't she."

"Yes, she did. What did you do?"

"Basically I didn't just save mom that day, I saved Akyuu and her maid first before mom. So it's pretty much a token of appreciation for me from her."

Your father just nods. "What about the person responsible?"

"He's probably being judged by Shikieiki by now." You can't help but relish the thought of you personally putting him down. "Did mom say anything about the house?"

He smiles. "She says, 'you deal with the layout, I deal with the decorations."

From what you learned from your father in your conversation, ever since she can walk again, your mother forbids anyone from doing housework. She does everything more efficiently than your father can remember before her sudden illness. When you meet her later, it seems like she had formed a pact with the spirit so that her body would accept the latter better. Since the spirit did not have a name, your mother names her 'Hanako'.

---

Fast forward to summer, you are back to your old bored self.

You liked the tengu uniform, but you like your usual ones better for guarding work. As things that happened so far, you learned that during your five months of non-action, there was a major incident happening on the surface, regarding the Taoists. It was eventually solved by the usual suspects, while the Guardian radio was filled with nothing but reports on what's going on so far, sometimes idle chatter and bets. You can tell that everyone was bored by their tone, since this incident had its own heroines this time.

"No incidents for the last five months, that's a new record so far." Satori says as she enters the guard tower. You turn around to face her.

"Impressive, yes."

"It's not always that I see my guard looking so bored. But then again, incidents like that one last time take out a lot of you." She then sets down a tray of tea and biscuits, inviting you for a snack.

"At least I don't end up in a heap when it's all over, unlike last time."

Satori giggles, handing you a cup of tea as you sit down. "How does being a crow youkai doing to you?"

"Everything feels so light, to be honest. I can't even feel the burden of a full gear at all. Then there's flying too." You tell her.

"I see, I see. By the way… the summer festival is coming soon. I asked anyone if they want to attend it, but only Okuu is interested. Orin on the other hand would be busy."

"What about you?"

"I'm afraid that I have to pass the chance. Without everyone around, I can't distract myself from the public."

"Ah… bummer."

"Perhaps you can go, you can think one as a date with her, or maybe a honeymoon~"

You nearly spit out your drink. "I… uh… all game for that, but-"

"You must go." She says suddenly. "Five months of staying underground without anything fun is not fun at all~"

"Fine, fine…"

"Good! Think it as free leave days off, Seo."

"Well, if you say so…"

What would you do now?
[ ] Look for Okuu, see if her old ones fit her.
[ ] Let's go shopping with her instead.

----

And so we enter a new arc!

[ ] Let's go shopping with her instead.

[X] Look for Okuu, see if her old ones fit her.

We can't just suddenly buy new clothes! We have to see if her old ones fit her still. Lots of measuring of growth in particular places and so on...

[x] Look for Okuu, see if her old ones fit her.

Yeah taking notes from the old ones is important among other things.

[x] Look for Okuu, see if her old ones fit her.

[X] Let's go shopping with her instead.

[X] Let's go shopping with her instead.

yes please.

>>14479
That would imply shopping wouldn't happen anyways. It's very likely that she's outgrown them in all the right ways.

>>14481
By that I mean her boobs

DRAW! Vote fusion it is then.

Ran into some severe technical problems with my machine, update should be up before this weekend.

VOTE RESULTS

[x] Look for Okuu; see if her old ones fit her. + Let's go shopping with her instead. (3+3 votes)

Apologies for the delay, my computer decided to throw up a hard disk failure in my face last week.

---

"Any idea where's Okuu right now?" You ask Satori.

"She might be in her room."

"Okay, I'll go and see her."

"Good! I'll hold the fort for you then."

You go down your post's stairs as Satori gives her permission, slinging your rifle across your back. As you head to her room, it turns out that she has been laying down her various yukata on her bed. You knock on her door to attract her attention. "Am I here at the wrong time, Okuu?" You ask

Her attention quickly turns towards you, and her face brightens up a bit more. "Ah! Seo! I'm just getting my old clothes out to test them out. Can you come in and close the door, please?"

You do exactly as she asks, closing the door behind you. Lined on the bed are various colorful sky-themed yukata. The first few on the left side looks a little small for her and the ones at the other end seem to be rather new. You then point at the rightmost yukata on the bed. "How old is this one exactly?"

"I think its last year's."

"Well, test this one then. If it's last year's it should still fit you."

Okuu nods and you step back just as she takes off her top. You can see her drop her bra onto the bed, and then fish out a roll of sarashi off her lingerie drawer.

"Seo, a little help with the sarashi, please?"

"Sure."

She raises her arms as you start rolling the chest wrap around her chest with the occasional chest grab, intentional or not. To be honest this is the first time you've ever put on something for a girl, but it's always nice to learn. As far as you know it should be worn after wringing them dry but this is after all a practice run.

Once you finish up the knot, Okuu turns around and shows off your work. The wrap looks fine, and she doesn't seem to be too uncomfortable in it. Just as she is about to say anything about it, your wrap fails and her sarashi unravels itself.

Ah.

Oh dear.

You find yourself staring at her bare breasts, just as your wrap job failed her. Okuu seems to notice this, and only smiles at you. You immediately gather the sarashi pooling around her ankles, and then wrap it again.

This time the wrap holds up nicely, as it doesn't go awry even a few minutes after the knot. She then takes the latest yukata she has and drapes it on her, slipping her arms into the sleeves.

"Tie this one up for me too?"

"Okay."

She turns around and holds the sash for you, which you take and start wrapping it around her waist. If you remember correctly, the wrap should end with a ribbon wrap, which you exactly do to finish your clothing test.

"How is it?" You ask.

"Okay, but I don't think it's fitting me anymore."

"How so? It looks perfect for me."

Just as you ask that, you notice her chest area expanding up little by little. That means your sarashi knot is a failure. Again.

"I think I should get you a yukata that you don't have to wear a sarashi underneath, Okuu."

"Oooh, the guard is being naughty again~" The hell raven teases. "But, your sarashi wrapping needs some work too!"

"I know, I know."

As soon as Okuu sits down next to you, you sigh and press your face between her breasts. She seems surprised at first, but then she puts her hands on your shoulders and pats your head.

"Something wrong, Seo?"

"Mmm... nothing. I just wanted to have something comfy for my face."

Okuu just wraps her arms loosely around your neck, patting your head in the process. You stay there for a few moments before looking up at her.

"Say, Okuu."

"Yes?"

"None of your old kimonos are fitting you anymore, right?"

"Well, you know the reason, right?" She presses her chest against your face for emphasis. "Then again, the sleeves are showing my arms more too."

"Wanna go out shopping for clothes?"

Okuu chuckles at your proposal, before she pulls away and kisses your forehead. "Go take a bath first, silly~ in my bathroom, that is."

"Will do." There's a hint of disappointment in your voice as you lose your cushions.

You strip your patrol gear down and leave them behind on the bed. Unlike you from earlier on, Okuu decides to watch you strip, but she mercifully hands you a towel when you're reaching for the trousers.

Okuu on the other hand casually slips off her yukata top, skirt and panties and pushes you inside her bathroom. She then follows in and closes the door.

"You don't mind taking a bath with me again, right?" She asks.

"It's okay, I suppose."

Unlike before, she seems to settle in for a shower instead of soaking in the bath. You watch her back as she gets the shower at the right temperature, before gently pulling you over close to her side.

For a moment, you hug Okuu close as she does the same, standing under the shower at the same time. She hums as you rest your face against her cheek while her wings and yours fluttering at the same time. A little while later, you look up to her before starting to kiss her. Okuu returns the kiss as she presses you close to her chest before she stop the kiss to enjoy the moment in silence.

Of course, after a moment of silence she decides to chime in.

"...Seo?"

"Mmm?"

"Aren't we supposed to do something?"

"Oh... right... I forgot."

Still you and Okuu stay under the shower for a bit more, this time with body soap applied and then washing it all off. As you dry yourself up, Okuu got out of the bathroom to fetch a fresh set of UBACS to wear after drying yourself up. She even brought along your dropleg holster as well, just in case. You quickly put on your clothes as Okuu does the same but takes her time.

---

Later on, you and Okuu leave the palace for the Ancient city on Satori's errand. You buy things Satori listed while Okuu waits for you. Of course, while you're at it you think of getting new yukata for both of you.

"There are a lot of shops to go, which one are we going to?" She asks as soon as you hover above the textile district.

"Well, let's choose one that I am more familiar with." You then point to a familiar old woman drinking tea outside of her shop. "You see that? It’s that one over there."

"Alrighty!"

Both of you then continue the flight until you reach your destination, where you descend slowly. Kagura notices you and she puts down her tea cup. She smiles at both of you; apparently she even notices your wings.

"Hello, Seo. Did you just got off your work?"

"We're shopping around, and I thought I could pay a visit to your shop while we're at it."

"You really do love my shop, don't you, Seo? Come in, come in, dears." Kagura says as she leads both of you into the shop. "So, what do you need today, dear?"

"I'm thinking on getting a yukata for both of us."

"Oh, both of you are going for the summer festival at the surface next weekend?"

You nod to Kagura in confirmation."Yeah."

"So it's the usual then. Good thing you two came around early."

"Other stores getting packed with orders too?"

"Yes, they do. For my case, usually it's shop-and-go since my patterns are good enough for them."

"Ah, I see."

"Now, come with me, dear. I need to take your measurements. You first, dear." Kagura beckons Okuu to follow her. Okuu then follows Kagura to her desk, where the latter takes out a notebook, a pencil and a measuring tape.

Kagura jots down notes after measuring Okuu's body. One particular thing you noticed is how squishy Okuu is around the chest, especially when Kagura is measuring her there. She must have forgotten to wear her bra after the bath. Kagura however did not say a word about it as she finishes jotting down notes.

"Any kind of patterns you want, dear?" She asks after taking Okuu's body measurement.

"Something with skies and clouds! I want to make this festival a special one for him~"

"You sure have lots of plans."

"Yes, I do."

You overhear the ladies talking as they choose a patterned fabric suitable for Okuu. You on the meantime sit down outside, having people greet you while you wait. After a while, Okuu finally decides on one, and Kagura calls you over for your turn to get the measurements for your own yukata. When it's done, you even choose the same pattern as Okuu's to make a good match.

"Alright, you two. That's the most of the work done." Kagura says as she sits down on her chair. "I'll work on your clothes soon, so come back in four days. It should be done within a couple of days before the festival if time permits.”

You nod to Kagura and pay her for the clothes, and then she hands you "Got it."

You and Okuu then say your farewells to Kagura, before leaving. Since you have nothing planned after your visit to Kagura's place, you and Okuu return to the palace with the goods Satori asked you to buy. Okuu is obviously happy with the outcome nonetheless.

Four days is a lot of hang time, and you don't have any other things to do since Satori just let you off your duty until the festival rolls in.

What should you do tomorrow? Pick a choice.
[ ] Visit the village with her tomorrow.
[ ] Stick around at the palace of hang out with Okuu at the Underground Capital.
[ ] Let time pass. (Time skip option)

[X] Visit the village with her tomorrow.

Maybe we can run into someone

[x] Visit the village with her tomorrow.

[x] Visit the village with her tomorrow.

[x] Visit the village with her tomorrow.

Time to show Okuu the village.

VOTE RESULTS

[X] Visit the village with her tomorrow. (4 votes)

Yeah, this arc is all about spending time with the girls, one at a time before HM starts.

---

As soon as you arrive at the palace, you've made up your mind on where to bring Okuu tomorrow morning.

You get a breather as Satori calls Okuu to help her prepare dinner, and this pretty much allows you to drop your service pistol back in your room. You then decide to stick around the dining room as soon as you catch the scent of Satori making fried rice wafting in the air. Orin is already waiting at the table, waiting in anticipation for dinner. In the meantime, Koishi is nowhere to be seen.

For today's dinner, Satori cooks some simple fried rice for everyone present on the table. It was enough for all four of you to get a second helping, and this time, you help Satori with the dirty dishes, while Orin scampers off with Okuu. It doesn't take you long to finish cleaning, and since you don't have other things to do you decide to return to your room and have an early rest. Though, just as you get into your room, you're promptly tackled into your room from behind.

Of course, you know who it is by the noise she makes.

"Seo~ can I sleep with you again tonight~?"

"Uh... sure?"

Rather forward, that's her style lately. Okuu lets you go and you stand up - and you see Orin snickering before she leaves the scene. You have no idea what she is planning, but before you can think more about it, Okuu closes the door and locks it. By then you know what she wants, not that you would complain about it.

One thing for sure, you can confirm that Okuu isn't wearing any bra when she pounces you to your bed.

---

When you wake up the following morning, Okuu is soundly sleeping with you in her arms. She is as naked as you are, and you greatly enjoy the feeling of her chest being lightly squished against your own. You shake her lightly to wake her up, and a little while later her eyes flutter open. A good morning kisses from her later, she sits up on the bed and stretches her arms. With her chest in full view, you lean to her to give Okuu a healthy grope there, and she squirms and giggles about in response.

You both later take a bath together, this time with more body contact plus lots of soap and shampoo. While in the bath, Okuu instructs you on how to take care of your wings, and she even massages them for you.

It definitely felt good.

You both take a while in the bathroom, and you take more time to dry up, but with Okuu since you can just hide yours.

Once you're all dressed up, it's time to do what you planned yesterday. Like yesterday, you dress up in your UBACS and trousers instead of in full guard gear.

"Hmmm... shall we visit the village again, Okuu?" You ask.

"Sure! Last time we just stopped by your house, so we can hang around at the village some more!"

How energetic, you thought. But then again, she might be happy on lots of things, like your mother for instance.

You take off for the village later with Okuu after you inform Satori about your journey.

---

When you reach the village, you land close to your father's shop and walk the rest of the short walk there with Okuu following right behind you.

You soon arrive at the shop. From where you are standing, you can see your siblings’ handling their customers at a relaxed pace – it’s after all just a sundry shop. You can even see your father is taking his usual time sitting outside and watching the construction that's still underway. When she catches up with you, Okuu is visibly confused when she sees the construction site instead of the house she visited before, when you brought her along to ask your mother about turning youkai.

"Seo...? What happened to your house?" She asks.

Ah nuts, it seems that you forgot to tell her about it. "Well, things happened a while back. Long story short, somebody burned my house down. Don't worry, though. I got sorted out myself and Akyuu is paying for compensation and getting it rebuilt for me." You explain to her.

"Ah, I see..."

While you were talking to Okuu, you didn't realize that your older siblings saw you standing outside, and they called your mother, telling her that you're around. As soon as Okuu sees your mother walking out of the store, she smiles and hugs her. She is apparently happy to see your mother, and she even gets her head patted as she lets go of the hug.

"So nice to see you again, Seo, Okuu. Having some free time off work?"

"Apparently so. Satori just let me off in a few days until the summer festival."

"Good! Come in then, let's have some tea since everyone's here~"

As soon as you enter the shop, you can see Daisuke staring at you and Okuu. You can feel the look of contempt coming from his gaze, but you ignore him as your mother gathers everyone in the household for tea. Break time, she says.

And so, everyone including their spouses gathers about in the room in the back. As usual, your mother made tea and brought out some delicious dango as well. Almost immediately, the ladies in the room shower you and Okuu questions. Topics range from how things have changed after the house incident and how beautiful Okuu is.

"Seo, I don't remember your eyes being red. Are you wearing those outside contact lenses or something?" Daisuke's wife points out.

"No? Red how, bloodshot?"

"Well, not bloodshot, but they are red like hers." She points to Okuu and the latter tilts her head a little.

"Oh. I suppose I should break out the big news don't I?" You ask your mother, and she only replies with a nod. She even takes her distance and Okuu follows her.

With deep breaths, you reveal your jet-black crow wings to everyone present. Your mother knew about it already, but your siblings and father haven't. The look of shock on your father's face is temporary, as he lets out a small smile.

To your surprise, your older sisters and sisters-in-law scoot forward to touch your wings. They're amazed that it looks and feels real, and not too long later, they start preening your wings. Daisuke's mouth is agape in shock, as if not believing what he's seeing.

"So... that's what I am going to tell you people. No thanks to that demolition job at the Forest of Magic, I think that's the final push I needed to turn."

"Why?" Daisuke asks.

"Because I wanted to." You reply simply.

The ladies continue to feel up your wings until your mother decides to tell them to stop. Once they do that, you recall your wings much to their disappointment.

Of course, you know that Daisuke didn't like your change in the slightest though instead of arguing it any further, he gets up and immediately leaves the shop. Takato too follows his lead after Daisuke calls him to follow.

"He's going to take a smoke, he'll be right back." His wife says.

"I'll talk some sense to him later." Your father adds.

"Do you think he's jealous, Seo?" Okuu whispers.

"Not in the slightest." You then turn to your father, hoping for a change in topics. "So... about the house..." You begin.

Your father answers after a moment. "They are going to hold off the construction from tomorrow until the festival is over."

"No, not that."

"If that's what you're thinking, you'll get your own room for sure."

You can't help but feel excited, and fist pumps. "At last!"

"What are you going to do next, Seo?" Your father asks.

"I'm going to take her around the village." You motion to Okuu. "Just checking out how things are going before the summer festival."

"You're asking if you can stay with her in here, aren't you." Your father says.

You scratch the back of your head. "Err... yes."

"I don't think there's room for more, Seo." He starts. "There's limited living area with... seven or so of us sleeping on the top floor, nine with you two. Basically every room's filled with your brother and sister's family. There's no space for you and your friend to say the least, son."

You look a little dejected. "Dangit."

"Try asking a space at Hikakin's inn. You know where it is."

Ah yes, the inn! You almost forgot that place exists, where Yuki and Wriggle sometimes hang out with Kamui and his company. "Got it, dad."

"Ah, Seo? Do you mind if you ask your friend Kamui about the music competition? Me, Kaede and Hiiragi had been practicing for that lately."

"I'll do that but..."

"Hmm?"

"I didn't know you could play a musical instrument."

"Practice makes perfect!" She exclaims happily. A little glance to the wall close to her, you can see a koto leaning against the wall, and also the visage of Hanako smiling at you.

---

After waving your parents and sisters goodbye, you decide to drop by at Alex's post before heading to the inn. You see him talking with the red-haired villager again, and instead of interrupting them with your presence, you and Okuu climb the stairs to the village's watchtower instead of flying up so that she would not be alarmed. Alex takes a few more minutes to talk to her before she nods and leaves, and Alex soon joins you and Okuu at the top.

"Kept ya waiting, huh?"

"Nah, you didn't take too long. I am here on a leave visit anyway." You then noticed that something's missing from the place itself. "So where's Erin?"

"Kid got posted at Eientei, not just as a guard, but a medic in training apparently." Alex explains. "I think he's going to be okay - the rabbits will take care of him. They are a friendly bunch so he'll blend in just fine."

You nod in acknowledgement at Alex's words. Well, he did prove himself that he can do things as an operator, but there are things that you need to ask him. "So who asked for the transfer, him or Eientei?"

"Sarge told me that Erin got transferred at Eirin's request, and since there's nobody else that's free and didn't have a post, Erin's transfer got approved. I heard Eirin might be training Erin to be a field medic."

"Awesome. So I might have someone to patch me up." You exclaim.

"It's all still first aid, mind you. If anything happens, getting anyone to Eientei is a high priority." Alex then changes topic. "So you're going for the festival, right?"

"Yeah." Of course, you might ask Alex about staying at his place, but then again you decide to go against it.

"You're not staying at my place for the festival?"

"I don't think you like the idea of a crow and a raven together in the same room."

"Right, forget that I asked." He says. "Oh dude, are you going to hang around the village at night?"

"Yeah, why?" You reply.

"Let's hang out at Tex's place. Have something to eat before you fly home."

"Mind if I bring Kamui and his friends?"

"The more the merrier, as long as they are self-sponsored."

---

When it's almost evening, you decide to say your goodbyes to Alex and stop by at the inn where Wriggle and Yuki sometimes hang out. Though, by the time you get there, there are no signs of them both around the area. Instead, Kamui, Elis and Kurumi are there. They notice your approach and wave at you. You and Okuu wave back, before approaching them.

And before you can say a word, Okuu promptly hugs Kurumi and Elis to her chest as soon as they both are in range, all the while squealing. Kamui laughs nervously as you plant a palm to your face as Okuu displays her affection. After some groans of protests coming from both girls, Okuu finally lets them go.

"Err, sorry about that, you two, she's in quite a huggy mood today."

"You mean she's usually this huggy, didn't you? Wriggle told me about her before." Elis says before she takes a sigh of relief.

Kamui takes the talking position. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Seo? I see you even brought a beauty along too." He says as he takes your hand into a handshake.

"Well, it is."

"She's his girlfriend, Kamui." Elis informs.

"Right. Why don't you two run along or something so that the boys can have a man to man talk?" Of course, they both run off with Okuu in tow, leaving you with Kamui alone, sitting at the nearby table. "Anyways, with those out of the way, what brings you around the village? I thought you got posted underground."

"I did, In fact I was up here because Satori gave me a few days off in advance for the festival."

"Yeah, the festival is in three days time, people are already getting their spots up for the food and game stalls."

"What about you?" You ask.

"Well... Mystia has her own stall to keep an eye on, while I am somewhat practicing for the musical competition. I'm pretty sure the competition will be very tight." He says. "So we have my team, the Prismrivers, the newbie from the temple... which for all I know is a screamer."

"I see...”

You say your thanks as the inn's matron shows up and serves both you and Kamui a drink, a tea and some rice crackers for snacks.

"But that's enough about me, though. I hear a lot about you lately, ever since you kicked that old man Harasaaki's ass few months back."

"Oh, that? I caught his daughter and her buddies stealing stuff underground. Basically he tried to fight me, and I fought back."

"You sound like you've been through a lot. Might be worth writing a story about itself."

"Yeah... for that moment, until recently, it seemed that whenever I got to the surface, trouble always knew where to find me. I managed to get through them and usually the methods to solve them get even ballistic."

Kamui is intrigued. "How so?"

"Well, I was once invited to the mountain for a family reason; the same bandits who that old man's daughter banded with tried to steal something. One of them tried to rape my half-sister that I just had found out about not even two days, which failed and then attempted to kill her by throwing her off the cliff. That same guy then burned my house down, kidnapped my mother, and also attempted murder on her."

"Did he get away or arrested?" You simply put your Beretta M9 on the table. He quickly gets the hint. "Ah. And then?"

"The latest one was that palace in the middle of the forest thing. I and my team swept out everyone, including the old man from the palace, and then we destroyed it."

"I'm surprised you didn't just blow it up from a distance. It sounds safer and easier unless there were some other factors."

"Well, the Guardians don't murder people willy-nilly. I only killed two and-"

"Two? That means that one guy..."

"Yes. And that was under the explicit order of Yukari."

"Let me get this straight, you took out two people as part of the guardians and yet it's also under Lady Yakumo's command?"

"Yes." The topic gets dark really fast, no thanks to you blurting it out.

"So who exactly did you kill...? I mean besides that bastard?"

"The second was a hostile wasp youkai girl that tried to kill me, and we took almost two hours trying to shoot her down with danmaku. Basically my team gave up and started to use red-band anti-air launchers against her. It worked. Yukari told me to shoot her since she was going to use the bandits and some youkai as food. I did."

There's a long pause as Kamui let it sink into him. "Understandable, Yuki's made it clear that his policy has little tolerance towards such actions. That and I think he told me about that incident with the castle."

You need to get out of this topic quickly. What was the thing you're going to ask or tell Kamui again? Pick two.
[ ] Ask him more about the summer festival's music competition.
[ ] Ask him how things have changed since you last met.
[ ] Maybe tell him how things are going so far on your side.
[ ] Tell him how you saved Hiiragi.

[X] Ask him more about the summer festival's music competition.
[X] Ask him how things have changed since you last met.
Should ask about less-combat related stuff to switch the subject.

[X] Ask him more about the summer festival's music competition.
[X] Maybe tell him how things are going so far on your side.

[X] Ask him more about the summer festival's music competition.
[X] Ask him how things have changed since you last met.

[c] Ask him more about the summer festival's music competition.
[c] Ask him how things have changed since you last met.

Wonder who's going to win Battle of the Band.

[x] Ask him how things have changed since you last met.
[x] Tell him how you saved Hiiragi.

VOTE RESULTS

[x] Ask him more about the summer festival's music competition. (4 Votes)
[x] Ask him how things have changed since you last met. (4 Votes)

---

Well, you might as well ask him about non-combat things. The first thing that crosses your mind is your mother's request to inquire Kamui about the summer festival's music competition. You quickly ask him that.

"So... Kamui... my mother is interested in the music competition for the summer festival..."

"Oh? She wanted to participate in it?"

"She told me to ask you for more details about it. I guess she wants to join since she already has her own koto and all." You see Kamui smirking at you. "What?

"I do know for a fact that your mother is good with traditional music. You're not joining?"

"I don't know if I can in the first place."

"Come on, you know you can do it. She might need a hand or two."

Another topic you want to get out of. "I'll tell you if I am going as well. But that's enough of me."

"You sound as if it's a troublesome thing."

"Well, not really. I have exactly no idea of what I could play, let alone practice in such short order."

"Right, what were you going to say again?"

Topic change successful. "So what you were up to since the last time we met?"

"Oh, that. Long story short, I've been hanging out and getting along with the girls, plus some of the same-old music training."

There is some pause as you wait for him to elaborate, but that's pretty much it coming out of his mouth. "That's it?"

"That's pretty much it." He says with a shrug. "Compared to you, I don't really have interesting things happening often."

"Eh, you're right at that department."

"On the other hand, I'm surprised, Seo."

"About what?"

"Yuki and Wriggle told me about that you have been dating quite the wonderful people lately, that hell raven over there, a satori... and a few more that she didn't tell me. Your charm is quite the something, eh?"

"Not really, I've been nice to them, and it's only natural that they return the favor."

"How do you get by Satori and her mindreading thing?"

"Just be honest, I suppose, it's not like I have to hide anything from her."

Kamui nods. "True. If anything, try not to neglect anyone."

"Gotcha."

"You guys seem to be having quite a topic going on."

You feel a jolt of surprise as the feminine voice suddenly speaks, but it all goes away as soon as you realize that it's Mystia.

"Oh... Mystia... you surprised me there." Kamui speaks, and then he realizes that she's not in her usual outfit. "You're not in business today?"

"I need a break once in a while. Where are the girls?"

Kamui was about to say that they ran off while you and him conversed, but then the girls return, waving at the three of you. Okuu quickly returns to your side.

"Kamui, I'll be right back, gonna speak to Mrs. Hikakin about room availability."

"There'd be plenty, but go ahead and reserve one just in case."

---

Inside the inn, you see the elderly Hikakin waiting at her desk. You and Okuu approach her, and she quickly notices you.

"So, you need a place to stay during the festival? Well, I could reserve a room for you if you want." She asks as soon as you get close, before you can ask her about it.

You nod to her. "Err, sure. I would have stayed at my father's shop, but there's not enough space for me and Okuu, plus my family."

"Ah, yes. That incident the other day. Sorry about your loss, Seo."

"Oh, don't worry. I got that problem all sorted out."

"Good! That aside, just you and your friend here, yes?"

"A room for two, yes."

She seems to pick up on your idea, since you can see the inn matron's smile forming on her lips.

"Just come over during the event and I'll pass you your keys."

"Got it."

Once your business with Hikakin is done, you walk outside and see Yuki and Wriggle already waiting for you outside, all while talking to Kamui and company. Speaking of company, you also see Alex jogging towards the inn.

"Alright! Who wants to eat at Tex's? My treat!" You ask aloud.

Everyone present quickly raises their hands.

"Let's roll!"

---

As soon as Alex sees you running past him, he quickly breaks off to a sprint for Tex's place. Since you're not flying, you and Alex are tied with speed before stopping with a skid close to Tex's shop.

"Hey, are you boys having a running competition or something?"

"Whoever gets first gets the best seat!"

"Right, there's plenty of seat for you two."

"We got seven more right behind us."

"That's a lot of people. You guys got your bonus already?"

Alex points at you. "He's paying."

"Well then, grab a seat! I'll be with you people in a moment."

And so, you and your group take a seat. You sit next to Yuki like next time, and give him the chance for him to relay something to you.

"So... Seo. Are you free tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah, I am."

"What's up?"

"Akyuu wants you to be at her house for an interview, and Ginji wants you to come over to his workshop to test out something."

"So, what time does Akyuu want me to come over?"

"Around afternoon or so. Ginji wants you to come over his place around morning."

"Ah, brilliant. I can come over to Ginji's place first, then Akyuu's."

"I'll tell them both later."

By the time your conversation ends, Tex arrives to take everyone's order. Everyone takes their choices after some convincing on your side that you can afford the whole thing. Alex is quick to order the best set, and some for take away.

After the dinner, you paid as promised, but it still didn't put a dent on your wallet, no thanks to Akyuu's gift.

---

Next morning...

For today's occasion, you decide to have a change from the usual outfit so instead of the usual UBACS and trousers, you put on the tengu outfit Lord Tenma handed to you the other day. Thankfully it's a nice fit, and despite how complicated they all look when not worn you manage to put it all on by yourself. Satori, Orin and Okuu compliment you on how you look in that outfit - it's pretty rare for you to be seen outside a military garb, night wear aside.

As much as you want to bring Okuu along, she has other plans with Orin. So for today, you travel alone.

After saying your goodbye to Satori and everyone else, you take off from the palace and towards the Human Village. Since it's rather too early in morning for most people, the oni aren't starting up their businesses yet. This means your flight is pretty much undisturbed. You can't say if it's going to be the same when you come back, though.

You reach Ginji's place, with Alex and Kazuma already waiting. Ginji shows up momentarily later, and he brings all three of you in.

"So, what do you got for us this early in the morning?" Kazuma asks as soon as he gets in.

"Something I am working on for the summer festival. Are you guys ready?" Alex lifts his EBR, but Ginji denies him. "Small arms, please, Alex."

Alex quickly swaps his rifle for his M9. "Okay, hit it, Ginji."

As soon as the target shows up, whoever shoots it down first gets a point. You and Alex point at the first target that pops up first, but Alex shoots it down faster before you can pull the trigger.

"Ya ha ha! I got it first!"

You quickly shoot the next one that pops up.

Alex seems to be leading the point count so far, he seems to be improving his aim after that last skirmish at Eientei's range. Unlike Kazuma, you and Alex have to stop shooting every 15 rounds to reload.

Eventually, once the visible targets at ground level are shot down, two last targets pop up, and they both are covered behind a fence and a makeshift balcony.

"There's a target behind the thing with the woods and a balcony thing." You point out for Alex.

"Fucking hell, explained like a pro."

"Those were my calls, fuck you!"

"Let me take care of that." Kazuma shoots his TNO at the target you spot and she manages to take it out before taking out the other.

"There we go."

"What do you gentlemen think?"

"I think the idea's splendid." You tell Ginji.

"I rate it eight out of eight, would play with it again." Alex adds.

"Yes, it's good."

"Lovely, I might be able to get a smaller version down before the festival starts."

"Then you'd better do it quick." Alex says.

Just as you remembered something, you lift your left hand and shift the sleeve away to check on the time. Your wrist however is watch less. "Say Alex, what time is it? I forgot to bring mine."

He checks his wristwatch. "It's almost 12."

"Okay, I'll be leaving now."

"Seo, have some extras, catch!"

Alex throws you a few full magazines taken from his pouch, and you load one for your M9 and storing the rest before you leave Ginji's shop for the Hieda Residence.

---

As you are en route to the Hieda Residence, you see someone waiting at the front gates. To your surprise, you find out that it's Kaede, as if he's been waiting for you.

"You're in time." He starts as you stop jogging beside him.

"She called you too?"

"Yeah, she did. Interviews, questions, etc. etc." Kaede sighs. "Well, I should be hanging out at Nitori's place at times like this, but at least she knows I am at the village for now."

“Maybe buy her things after this?”

“Good idea.”

Shinobu later walks out of the house and greets you both.

"Seo Fujisaki." She addresses you, before turning to Kaede. "Kaede Fujisaki. Lady Hieda is waiting for you inside. Follow me, please."

Shinobu then leads you to the room where Akyuu is waiting. She is sitting close to her table with her stationeries and an empty scroll waiting to be written on. You both enter as Shinobu instructs, and then sit down on the supplied cushions.

"So... I won't have to ask the basic stuff, since both of you are locals. So let's get straight to the point." Akyuu then takes a deep breath before she starts out her questions. "How did you come to know about your ancestry, Seo?"

"Immediate family story first?"

"Long story is okay."

"Well... my father was married to a wolf tengu... but she asked for a divorce since she thought she couldn't bear his child... we only knew that she was already pregnant, and rather early at that. Soooo... fast forward to the last few months, my stepfather, aka Kaede's dad, invited me to the mountain since ever since that underground incident, my stepmother, Hisagi, recognized me, and I reunited them with my dad at the Dai-Tengu's request."

"Interesting."

"So, a week later after that, me, Yuki, Wriggle and Okuu visited the tengu's archive, only then would I realize that my ancestors in the past married the crow tengus and only a few were married to the wolf tengus. My gramps and great-gramps were with the former."

"Question for you two, why do the tengu marry humans in the first place? Don't some of the elders disallow human presence in their bloodlines?" Akyuu questions.

"I understand that there is a pact that they will protect my family, and by extension, the village itself. At least that's what I gathered."

"Seo is right, the purpose is exactly that. The elders that oppose the plan are pretty much a minority. There are a few things that make Seo's dad a primary candidate." Kaede adds to your statement.

"Do tell, Kaede."

"We need to make sure that the villager himself is healthy for our heirs, so that's why Seo's dad was chosen." Kaede explains. "Physically and mentally, I mean. My father told me recently that unlike most villagers we proposed, his family is actually a clan that was very affiliated with the tengu before the split."

"'The 'split' as in the separation of Gensokyo and the Outside World, is it?"

"Yes."

"Carry on."

"Unfortunately, during the Gensokyo split, the tengus that were affiliated to Fujisaki Clan and a few families that supported them decided to leave and stay outside Gensokyo."

"I see. The fact that your family is actually a part of the tengu ancestry is quite rare. The only other family I knew of is the Yagyuus."

"Something new I learn today." You mutter.

"I'll be really surprised if they really keep records of anything pre-Gensokyo."

"Actually, they kept records about it. I went there with Yuki and Wriggle to check up on my ancestry. I figure the records are updated in a different document, since the family stopped immediately at Gensokyo being formed."

"Ah, that's pretty great. I imagine that only a select few are allowed into their archive."

Kaede raises a hand. "Actually, the archive is semi-public. You need to have permission from the top brass, say, my father for example. You cannot enter with weapons on your back."

"Right. I remember that."

"I think there are exceptions, Yukari, the Hieda family and the Hakurei family can enter if they need help with the archive."

"Incredible. I should pay a visit there someday."

---

A couple of hours later, Akyuu decide to end the interview since it's all that she needs. You know Kaede wants to hang out more at the village, being the bored fellow he is.

What would you want to do?
[ ] Stick around the village with Kaede.
[ ] Bring some lunch to your house with him.
[ ] Got nothing else to do, return to base.

[X] Stick around the village with Kaede.

Well Kaede does want to see more of the village.

[c] Stick around the village with Kaede.

[x] Stick around the village with Kaede.

>>14527
Bloody hell, I forgot my trip.

[X] Stick around the village with Kaede.

VOTE RESULTS

[x] Stick around the village with Kaede. (4 Votes)

---

Hmm. You got some time to spare, so might as well show Kaede around the village.

"Hey, Kaede. Do you want me to show you around the village?" You ask.

"Sure! I only visited a few places if I ever get here, so that would be good.

"Great. Follow my lead then."

"Aye aye, captain!"

And so, the first thing you do is to get some lunch for yourself and your half-brother. Nanabi's restaurant is pretty much the option that you and Kaede agree on, and right off the bat you have a seat for two. Hikari shows up but as soon as she sees Kaede, she quickly scurries back to the kitchen while you look on confusedly. You then turn to Kaede, who is equally confused as you are.

"What did you do to her?"

"I have no idea myself."

Nanabi later shows up take your order instead, looking a little apologetic.

"Ahh, sorry about that, you two. My sister is scared of wolves, so she usually bolts off whenever she sees a wolf tengu and also your commanding officer, Seo."

"Ah, okay."

"Anyways! That's enough about that. What do you gentlemen want for lunch?" He asks.

Kaede is quick to order the large sized kitsune udon - two of them, in fact! You also order the kitsune udon with the same size plus the drinks as well, before Nanabi nods and jogs back to the kitchen. Hikari returns to serve the more human customers, but she steps up her pace whenever she comes close to your table. Kaede however decides not to comment on this and he waits quietly until Nanabi returns with your food and drink. Both of you say your thanks before you go down on the food.

After you finish lunch (which Kaede finishes up faster than you do, surprisingly), you pay up for Kaede, and then leave Nanabi's restaurant for your next place.

"Seo, I heard from Hiiragi that mother's planning to join the music competition."

"Yeah she is. Kamui's trying to pull me in but I haven't gotten the slightest idea on how to play one."

"Actually, Hiiragi and I wanted to join the competition as well. Hiiragi's telling me she might ask mother about it a little later, and she could sing for her."

Huh. You didn't know Hiiragi can sing. "What about you?"

"It's either I want to join them, or I'd sit out of it. If it's the former, I can play a flute or something I just learned." Kaede pulls out an instrument out of his sleeve pocket. "This is a harmonica. I found it in a box a while back, and I found out I can play it really well."

"How so?"

"Well, it comes with instructions, and I learned the basics at least... and then I come up with the rest. It's like a flute, but smaller, so it's easy for me to follow up." He says. "Here, let me show you."

Kaede stops for a moment so that he can play a short line. You find it nice to the ears and there are even little children that stop to listen as well. You only notice their presence when he stops playing his harmonica.

"What do you think, Seo?"

"Well, good enough that you have more than one listener already." You remark, before the kids gets called by their parents. "It's pretty nice."

Kaede then makes his usual grin, before he pockets his harmonica.

"So where are we going next then?"

"Wherever. I think about getting some extra parts for Nitori, maybe some cucumbers for her too."

You raise an eyebrow at the mention of cucumbers. "Very bloody mature, Kaede."

"...it's for eating, you dirty-minded crow." Kaede glares back at you.

You pause from trying to say whatever you were going to tell Kaede, and instead turn around to see if Hayato is around. "Right."

"What are you looking for? I'm talking to you." Kaede asks confusedly.

"Rule number one in the village; try not to mention that when Hayato is around, he might mistake your intention from me to Aya."

"Right, whatever."

"Next stop, Kourindou!"

---

Rinnosuke's shop is open as usual, with his shop quite empty from visitor presence. He can be seen as soon as you open the door, waiting at the counter with a book in his hands.

"Welcome." He then looks up to see his visitor. "Oh, Seo? I almost didn't recognize you in that outfit."

"Yeah, pretty much. I figure I should give it a change once in a while, can't be stuck on just my UBACS all the time."

"Pretty understandable. So, what are you looking for?"

"Nah, I'm having a look around, I'm a tour guide today for my half-brother here."

"I'm gonna look around, and see if there's anything I can get and forward to Nitori."

Just as you leave Kaede alone, you stick around the counter. Then, you hear someone else coming from the back room.

Oh, she's here too.

"I heard someone's here, I thought its Marisa." Reimu speaks

"Nah, it's just Seo and a wolf tengu."

"Momiji?"

"Nope, it's a guy." Kaede pops out of the corner to show himself to Reimu at the mention. "Yep, it's a guy."

Reimu then walks towards the shop area, taking a good look on you as you read on an outside world magazine.

"So you finally turned youkai, didn't you?" Reimu asks.

"...yes. I heard stories from Wriggle, do you actually exterminate humans who turn into youkai."

"I do, especially when there's a method that can be replicated. From what I learned from the Tengu Archives, you have your ancestor's blood readily running in you, and I doubt anyone want to marry a youkai willingly unless they are prepared." She explains. "Other than that, I only let you go because you are affiliated with the tengu because of your blood and the Guardians, for the former, Tenma backed you up. Since I saw everything, so I don't bother."

You heave a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear. What are you doing here, though?"

"I’m just paying an old friend of mine a visit."

Kaede later forwards a few items on the counter, some being multiple boxes of electronics, and one of them contains a purple rectangular device with a few buttons at the bottom.

"What's that?"

"It's an entertainment device." Rinnosuke answers. He seems to be already familiar with it.

"It even comes with instructions! I think whatever is broken in this thing; Nitori or her friends can fix it." Kaede says. "How much is everything?"

"I think I won't be selling that then."

"Man, I wonder why you're putting it on display when you're not even planning to get money from it."

Kaede attempts to pay, but Rinnosuke is a little reluctant on accepting it. Reimu decides to end the stalemate by taking the money off Kaede's hands and stuffing it in Rinnosuke's pocket.

"Yes! Mine now!" Kaede cheers.

"You need to work on your poor business sense, Kourin."

He only sighs in defeat.

---

Just so you can get the things sent back to Kaede's place, you called Arikado for courier. Again, the cat answered your call instead of the midget fox, and an address and payment later; he zooms off to Nitori's place.

In the meantime, you and Kaede went places around the village. Aside from Kourindou, you even visited Ginji for some loose spare parts he has at his workshop, at Kaede's behest. You on the other hand didn't plan for any shopping for the day, so you remain empty-handed as usual.

"Well, thanks for showing me around, Seo."

"Eh, no problem."

"That leaves one more thing. I was gonna tell you something but I forgot."

"Yeah, what were you going to say again?"

Kaede thinks hard to remember, and then he suddenly clasps his hands and rubs it with a grin on his face. You assume that he finally remembered, judging from the look on his face. "So! Are you ready for a rematch?"

"What?"

"You know, last time we sparred, I won, maybe this time you'd win? I won't hold back though, just like last time."

So, how'd you fight Kaede?
[ ] "Hang on, let me borrow some stuff." (Usual combat procedure)
[ ] "I'm all set. Let's find a place." (Minimal firearms, all danmaku & melee)
[ ] "I think I'll pass. Not really in the mood."

[X] "Hang on, let me borrow some stuff." (Usual combat procedure)

If he wanted danmaku only or hand-to-hand only, you'd agree, but that's not what he asked for.

[x] "I'm all set. Let's find a place." (Minimal firearms, all danmaku & melee)

It'd be good practice for him to get used to such things instead of relying on normal firearms all the time.

[x] "I'm all set. Let's find a place." (Minimal firearms, all danmaku & melee)

Changing my vote to this. He may need to start relying less on guns and such.

[x] "Hang on, let me borrow some stuff." (Usual combat procedure)

You don't handicap yourself before a duel with an equal. That's just insulting.

Seems like we're stuck with a tie, mates. No vote fusion this time, so we need a definite tiebreaker.

Vote's closing at 9am 14th, +8GMT.

[x] "I'm all set. Let's find a place." (Minimal firearms, all danmaku & melee)

When in Rome. It's probably going to go worse, but better to get used to it now then when the world is at stake or something.

Alright, it's 12pm already, and I'm closing down the votes.

VOTE RESULTS

[X] "I'm all set. Let's find a place." (Minimal firearms, all danmaku & melee) (3 votes)

---

"I think, I'm good, Kaede. Let's have a match."

"Without your stuff? Are you sure you wanna do this?"

"Well, I can't be too dependent on my gear, that's to be certain."

Kaede relents and nods. "That's a good change of tactics I say!"

"Let's find a place to spar as well then."

"Good idea."

Kaede then leads you off to find a good place to spar. There is an empty field just outside of the village, and you both soon put your things down to prepare for the friendly fight. Kaede has his shield and sword ready, while you just simply stretch your arms and legs.

"Are you sure fighting on your own, Seo?"

"I guess? It's a good way to get used to danmaku and all."

"True, but I think this fight is going to be easy." Kaede taunts and grins smugly.

"We'll see. Are you ready, Kaede?"

"Whenever you are." The tengu replies with a smug grin on his face.

"On the count of three..."

"Three! Two! One!"

"Let's go!"

Kaede is quick on his feet, and soon enough you see your opponent charging headlong towards you.

Once he's close enough, Kaede is really isn't holding back with his swings and sword thrusts. You sometimes have to sidestep his sword thrusts - and you quickly find an opening that way, and try to counter with a kick.

Right on the spot, you find the geta is a bit unwieldy in kicking, unless if you find the way to plant the tooth somewhere on the target. Your missed opportunity means that Kaede makes a swift turn and bashes you with his shield to push you away.

Of course, you still have your M9, so as soon as you have a good range, you whip out your sidearm and shoot at Kaede. Predictably, He puts up a shield in front of him and by the time you are about half of your magazine's capacity, Kaede activates his reflect shield... only for it to go to waste just as you stop firing and replace your magazine.

When his barrier fizzles out, you dash towards him and sweep him off his legs, before shooting a few rounds at him while he's stunned. Kaede recovers and lands on his feet and he retaliates with an overhead swing.

The next swipe is a horizontal slash and you were caught off-guard since you did not expect the energy bullets the attack generated, causing you to tumble backwards from the impact.

Kaede then charges ahead to follow up with more strikes, but instead you grab a used magazine and threw it at him.

"Frag out!" You yell.

Of course, Kaede was fooled by the trick, which makes him dodge left. This allows you to sweep him to the air with a small squall. You jump towards him just as he recovers to hover in midair. He flies towards you, while you unfurl your wings and take off right at him. Just then you gather your mana and fires at Kaede when you have him in range.

"Checkmate!" You exclaim as you release the familiar burst of danmaku at him.

BRRRRRRRRRT

Since you pull your burst at such close range, Kaede didn't have time to pull out his reflect barrier. Just like before the recoil from the burst kicks your flight path higher - just enough to evade Kaede from crashing into you.

The wolf tengu attempts to control his path and manages to do so, landing on the ground on his feet. "You did that again." He says.

"The sound is quite addicting."

Kaede shrugs his shoulders. "I can tell."

Both of you assume your stances to resume your sparring session, and once again Kaede strikes first but to your surprise he ditches his sword and shield, lunging at you with empty hands instead. Of course, this is just to show you that Kaede can danmaku despite that he doesn't have his equipment, as shown by his bullet patterns.

You dodge his pattern, before firing back at Kaede with your own spreadshot pattern. While he was dodging, you fire your familiar burst of danmaku in his general direction, alternating between the spreadshot and the burst shot. Your half-brother continues to weave through the patterns and despite being hit squarely in the chest with the burst, he manages to get through your pattern and tackle you into the ground.

"Gotcha!" He exclaims as he pins you down.

"No, got you."

You kick Kaede off you, before jumping back onto your feet. There, you get your wings out and blew him off his feet again just as he lands before you follow it by snatching his sword and striking him with the sheath still on.

Kaede lands on his back and remains there.

"Kaede, are you alright?"

He raises a thumb up while remaining in his lying position. "Yeah, I'm good."

You walk towards Kaede and pull him back to his feet. You then hand him his sword back, before he fixes it back to his sash and resuming his relaxed pose. "Do you want to call it a day?" You ask.

"That's enough for this session, yes." He replies."Man, your danmaku control is getting quite better."

"Really?"

Kaede nods. "How'd you work on your moves?"

"I dunno, I tried thing that comes to my mind." You notice that Kaede is staring towards the bushes not too far from the place too far from the place you are. "Something wrong, Kaede?"

"I think we were being watched while we are having a sparring just now, Seo."

"Someone was here?"

"It's definitely a human. Whatever it is, it's gone now."

---

After that small skirmish, you and Kaede part ways - he returns to the Youkai Mountain, presumably to Nitori's place, while you on the other hand head back to Ancient City.

While you're there, you land somewhere before the bridge and stop by Yamame's Poison House. Figures that you could at least stop by her place once in a while, now that you have some free time and you're on the way back.

As soon as you enter, Yamame looks up from her table and greets you. "Welcome- oh, hello, Seo. Having your leave today?"

"Kind of like that." You say as you approach her bar and sit down on the stool facing her.

"Nice clothes too. I don't think I ever seen you outside of your patrol uniform before."

"Neat isn't it? I got it from the tengu after I turned."

Yamame chuckles and turns around. "That aside, how may I tempt my favorite guard today? Something light, heavy or foods?"

"Maybe something light, Yams."

The spider lady giggles and gets a shot glass before pouring a small amount of alcohol and then serves it for you. Just then, some of the familiar faces show up, entering the bar. One of them notices you at the bar's counter and greets you.

"Hey, kiddo! I didn't remember you becoming a tengu."

"Was it just the clothes or you turned youkai recently?" His friend asks.

"It's not the clothes, but yes, I did turn into a youkai."

"Shall we get a toast for a newly-born youkai then?" One of them suggests.

Yamame intervenes. "Don't bug him too much, boys. The last thing I want to do is explain to Satori about her comatose guard."

"Well, I wouldn't turn down that offer exactly, so I'll go with something light."

"A light one it is then! It'll be on me. Yamame, the usual one for us, alright?"

"I'll be with you guys in a moment." Yamame then picks up a bottle of sake and a few sake dishes before serving them to the guys waiting at the table, before she goes back to you and gets a much milder one, complete with a pair of small sake dishes. "So! I hear that you're going out with Okuu for the summer festival at the surface?"

"Yep."

"Ah, that's nice."

"I wanted to bring you along too, though."

Yamame laughs a little, waving her hand at you dismissively. "One girl at a time, Seo. You're having a date with Okuu, so focus on her first, and then you can think about bringing me to a date. Take your time, yes?"

"Yeah."

"To be frank, I don't really think I ever explored the surface further than what I managed last time, so when there’s a chance, you need to bring me along for the ride."

"Sure thing."

Yamame chuckles as she ruffles your hair affectionately at your response. She then pours some sake for you and herself, as you drink your free time away.

---

After a bottle and lots of discussion later, you return to the palace, where Satori and Okuu greets you. Since you had nothing better to do, you helped Satori out with her study after a good bath, to arrange books and such. After that, Satori makes you help her with dinner, this time she decides to cook chili lobsters.

When bedtime approaches, Okuu is quick to follow you, and as such, accompany you on your bed for tonight as well.

You got to admit, it beats having someone in your embrace than nothing at all.


With you having intentions to meet Ageha and Tateha, you soon drift off to sleep with Okuu in your embrace.

Soon, you woke up in the familiar garden, with Ageha and Tateha crouching beside you.

"Good evening, Seo."

"G'evening!" Tateha chimes.

You hold an arm out to Ageha. “Good evening, you two.”

"Long time no see. I see that there are a lot of things that changed when you last summoned me. Up you go.” Ageha then pulls you back to your feet, and you dust yourself off.

"And I see you now can fly like us too!"

You glance over your shoulder and see your jet black crow wings fluttering behind you. “Ah, yes…”

“So! That little reunion aside, what can we do for you tonight?” Ageha asks.

"I could perhaps use more training from both of you, since it's been a while."

"I don't think you need much for the basic defensive, since you seem to be doing well on your own, but we still need to train you to fully master the gem.”

Something clicks in you as Ageha ends his sentence. "If I do master the gem, do I get to see you guys again?"

"Yes. You can meet us in your dreams anytime." Ageha then produces three scrolls like before. "Now then... to further your mastery of the gem, you need more training. I have three ways to do that, and these will come handy. Of course, you can only pick one at a time."

"So I have to do errands when I wake up like just time?"

"No, only one of them needs you to do that. The rest can be performed here." Tateha adds. "It may take some time, but practice is perfect after all."

"I understand."

What will you do this time around?
[ ] Training: Quick Swap (One Man Army) - Learn a class swap.
[ ] Assignment: Sneaky Beaky (Assassin) - Find Koishi when you wake up.
[ ] Training: Spray Control (Steady Aim) - Target practice on the fields.

[X] Assignment: Sneaky Beaky (Assassin) - Find Koishi when you wake up.

I've always liked stealth as a tactic.

[c] Assignment: Sneaky Beaky (Assassin) - Find Koishi when you wake up.

Tactical Subconscious Action.

[x] Training: Spray Control (Steady Aim) - Target practice on the fields.

Just felt like this; a koishi stealth lesson is fine too.

[X] Assignment: Sneaky Beaky (Assassin) - Find Koishi when you wake up.

Ambush (sex) could be fun.

>>14584
Well, it won't be that easy or early.

[x] Assignment: Sneaky Beaky (Assassin) - Find Koishi when you wake up.

VOTE RESULTS

[X] Assignment: Sneaky Beaky (Assassin) - Find Koishi when you wake up. (4 votes)

---

You take your pick of the scrolls, and it dissipates as soon as you finish reading it. Now that the image of your objective briefly flashes through your mind moments later, you have a good idea on what to do next. Right now the question is how do you find something that usually is so hard to find when you need it?

"One moment, Seo." Ageha stops from your thoughts for a moment, just before you're about to choose to wake up from the dream world.

"What is it?"

"Regarding what happened these last few months, do you think your adventure so far has been worth it?"

You sigh before you begin your reply. "Well... it has had all sorts of up and downs. New friends, old friends, helping others, saving my family... it's all worth it."

"Even though you're not human anymore?" Tateha butts in.

"Yes. I have told the people who are important to me of my choices and there is no opposition from them. My mother knows first. My father didn't say a thing about it when he saw me and my wings."

"I see, I see." Ageha nods. "I wish you luck on your future, but for now, you have morning activities to do."

"That fast?"

"Time flies by as you are distracted."

You can agree with that for once. Slowly you lose focus of your surroundings, and later drop onto the ground as everything fades to black.

---

When you wake up from the dream world, you can feel arms wrapped around you, which you assume belong to your beloved hell raven. As much as you want to cuddle with Okuu some more, you hear knocks on the door, with Satori calling you and Okuu for breakfast. Waking up, you stretch your tired limbs out before waking the hell raven up and leading her off to the bathroom for a morning bath with her. Afterwards, you put on your casual clothes, while giving Okuu your spare pair - minus her bra of course. That's something you didn't have the chest required for one. Both of you then head downstairs for a simple bacon-and-egg breakfast this time.

As you have breakfast, you notice that Koishi is at the table, sleepily. Guess you can ask her things later.

Once you're done with breakfast, however, Koishi is already gone from her seat, with no one else noticing her disappearance until you point it out.

Since you have to do the little assignment you chose earlier on, you decide to find her right after you are done doing the dishes with Okuu.

Not much later however, you soon realize that looking for her is harder than it sounds. A trip around the palace's living quarters turns out with nothing at all.

"Need a hand, Seo?" Ageha asks, making you jump a little. You notice that the pendant is blinking white, a detail you didn’t notice when Ageha talked to you outside of the dream world before.

"Yeah, Looking for her isn't really easy, if only I have a heartbeat sensor something..."

As if granting your wish, Ageha makes the emerald pendant glow. You then take the pendant off your neck and hold it. Peering closely, you notice a white dot in the middle of it.

"That white is you; anyone else in the area would be blue." He says.

"Oh, are you looking for her for me?"

"Yes."

"Neat. Next time I don't have to yell her name out whenever dinnertime comes."

Another lap of the palace still shows up nothing on your heartbeat sensor, and you decide to head outside. This time, you manage to get some results... only for her to run away every time you try to get close to her. This repeats several times, and it seems like Koishi really wants to play hide and seek with you right now.

"Seo, let's have a little challenge. How about you spot her without having to use the pendant?"

"Maybe?" You loop the pendant back around your neck. "So how do I catch something that I can't see?"

"You should try finding that out by yourself. You don’t really need to rely on your sense of vision."

Ageha leaves you to think for yourself, and you retrace your steps, wondering if you have done something similar before. Eventually you recall the time where you used the wind to locate the bandit's camp.

"So I basically do this then..."

You concentrate your mana, allowing you to listen to the wind once again until you spot Koishi's giggles. With her position locked on, you decide to go the long way and sneak up on her.

"Got you!" You exclaim as you catch Koishi by her waist and hoist her up. She squeals as you pull her close and nuzzle into her nape. You let her go after that.

"You found me~ how did you do that?" She asks excitedly.

You think that this is the best time to say that phrase. "It's a trade secret~"

"Aww." Koishi then procures something from her skirt pocket, before putting it into your hand. "And for finding me, I think I should give you this!"

In your hand now is a pointy red crystal. You examine the crystal, and it looks like it's very valuable. Though, what can you do with it?

"Stab it into the pendant, Seo."[/b] Ageha instructs.

You remove the pendant off your neck and with it resting on top of your palm; you stab the pendant with the crystal. Instead of the telltale clink of gems being smashed together, the green gem catches the red crystal.

Slowly, the crystal sinks into the emerald pendant until nothing is left behind.

[i]RED ABILITY GEM ACQUIRED - ASSASSIN NOW AVAILABLE

"Whoa, did you see that, Koishi?"

"I did!" She doesn't seem to be surprised like you are, just happy.

"So, Ageha... what does this do?"

"This is going to sound silly, but try running around the stone path and do it as noisy as you can."

You do what you are told, and lo and behold, despite your boots stomping on the hard surface you can barely hear the sound of your footsteps.

"Koishi, dear? Now walk the same path Seo just did."

"'kay!"

She does an exaggerated walk, which more or less looks like a march. Disorienting as it seems, your newfound power seems to amplify the sounds of her steps. You may need to adjust yourself to this.

"I have a question, is this sound thing always on or something?"

"Oh, not really. Like your other powers, it'll be available as you wish, just like how you can run without getting tired."

"Fair enough."

"Well then... that's enough for now. You know where to look for me."

"Okay."

The gem stops blinking when Ageha's speech ceases, and returns to its original emerald green color.

You sit down under the gazebo to take a rest, and soon afterwards Koishi joins you by jumping and sitting on your lap. You make a small grunt as she lands, before you feel her leaning against you.

"Not running off elsewhere today?"

"Nah, not right now. Big sis and my pets kept hogging you for themselves, and I barely had time to actually hang out with you alone." She removes her hat to expose her green hair, which you pet moments later.

"There, there. You know that you can talk to me anytime, you know."

"Well, I rarely see you alone myself."

You nod. "Say, when I had that injured arm the other day, what was with you and Alex?"

She tilts her head a little, before realizing who you meant. "Oh, him! It's nothing, I just found a friend to tease and talk to~"

"Oh, is that so?"

"It is so~" She giggles when you wrap your wings over her as well. "It's weird to see you with those wings, Seo... but yours are as beautiful as Okuu's though~"

"Thank you."

She nestles in comfortably, almost snoozing off. Before she can really fall asleep in your arms, she shakes herself awake and stays awake for a little while longer before she jumps off your lap. Koishi then pecks your cheek as her goodbye before heading off elsewhere with her usual merry cheer. You just hope she's not going to sample other people's food while she's at it.

---

The rest of the days leading up to the summer festival are pretty much uneventful. On the fourth day for the clothes' deadline, you return to Kagura's shop to retrieve your ordered items. They were quite beautiful with the sky theme going on for the both of you. You thank Kagura and promise her that you'll come again next time, should the need for new threads arise.

You've recently been making frequent trips to the tengu fortress, for your regular sparring with Kaede - and occasionally against Hiiragi as well. Of course, Hisagi has been wondering about when she can have Hitomi come to visit them again, and for that - just to be sure, you ask Lord Tenma if you can bring your mother into the fortress. It turns out that she already had given your mother that permission earlier on, when Hisagi had invited your mother and Hafizi for a dinner. As a result, you regularly transport your mother where she mingles with the youkai side of her family more.

While you're having her at Kyou's house, Hiiragi's younger stepsisters certainly like your mother's presence, and they all get along with her with relative ease. In this case, they all flock and laze around her like a bunch of big dogs resting against their master. It's only natural that Hiiragi feels really jealous.

That is when they discuss the musical competition, with the result being you registering your family's team, consisting of Kaede, Hiiragi, your mother and Hisagi. You can't really do anything with your lack of vocal or instrumental talent since your attempts at musical performance fall far short of your combat experiences.

As a result of that, you have to admit to Kamui that you're not joining. Kamui seems to be mildly disappointed, but he says that you're still able to learn if you have the time.

While you're conversing with Kamui, Kaede adds in a remark that you can make girls sing pretty well, earning him an elbow to the face courtesy of Hiiragi.

---

A day before the festival starts, you and Okuu pack up some clothes for the three-day leave for the event.

You meet up at Mrs. Hikakin's inn to claim your booked room, and she hands over a key for your room. With a bow of thanks, you and Okuu then put down your bags in the room. Since its still day outside, perhaps you could visit various places to spend some time until dusk.

Where should you go first?
[ ] Hang out at Kosuzu's place
[ ] Visit Kamui's show
[ ] Look for dad with Okuu

[X] Look for dad with Okuu

[x] Hang out at Kosuzu's place

[X] Hang out at Kosuzu's place

That's a cute Koishi piocture.

[c] Look for dad with Okuu.

Let's introduce our father to his future daughter-in-law.

[ ] Look for dad with Okuu

Vote's closed.

VOTE RESULTS

[X] Look for dad with Okuu (3 votes)

---

You make up your mind about meeting your father. He and Okuu have been introduced before, so it would be easier to tell something in your mind.

"Come on, Okuu. Let's go see dad."

"Okay!"

She follows you out of the inn after you lock the door to your room. Instead of flying, you take a small walk to your family's shop. As expected, your father is sitting outside of the shop, a bench under a shady tree overlooking the construction site where your house used to be. The construction site seems to have activities halted for the time being, save for a few villagers tiding up the materials.

As soon as you and Okuu get close, he shifts a bit to the left so you and Okuu can sit down on the bench.

"Dropping by before the festival?" He asks as soon as both of you are seated.

"Yeah." You reply. "How's the house?"

"Looking great. They are going to resume construction after the festival, something along the lines of finishing it all before winter."

"Ah, I see." There's a bit of silence as you gather up your words for the thing you wanted to tell him. "I got a thing to confess with you, dad. The reason why we need a talk is because I want to..."

"Tell me you want to marry your girlfriend here? I wouldn't mind that." This is one of the rare moments you can see your father smile, which is quite unexpected. "Well, doesn't matter if she a youkai, since you're already one... from what I can see, she's looks quite fine for a lady."

"Well... okay then..." You then tell him something else. "What if I want to tell you that I have a few more girls wanting to marry me after her turn?"

"Polygamy, eh? I don't think that's a rare thing nowadays, now that a friend of yours is arranged for the same thing too."

You didn't expect that reaction from him , but you have a good guess that the friend he mentioned is Yuki. "Ah, I see."

"Your mother would be happy to have your kids for her to tend to."

"Yeah."

"So where the rest of your girlfriends live?"

"Underground Capital. Palace of the Earth Spirits, specifically." You reply simply.

"Ah, that's where I hear the Satori sister leave. So I suppose I can meet them someday."

"I can bring you there!" Okuu chirps in happily, which your father responds with a pat to her head.

"That aside, the only thing I'd advise you is that you should be patient with everything that happens. And since we're on this polygamy thing, I hope that you would be fair with everyone."

"Oh, he's pretty good at that already, dad!" Okuu says. "Everyone he loves lives under one roof~"

"Oh, really?"

That statement of hers is partially correct, since Yamame is in your list but she's not a palace resident. "Yes, really."

"Then, like your mother said, that ability of yours really came in handy when you're hitting up the ladies." He teases.

"Dad!"

---

And finally, the long-awaited day arrives.

Since you decide to attend a little later in the evening to help Utsuho dress up in her yukata, the festival grounds are already packed with humans and youkai alike of all walks of life, all dressed up for the occasion. Various food, games and souvenir stalls are set up around the grounds, and in your hand right now is the list for stalls around the area and itinerary of the festival events.

The food area has lots of the usual people selling their food and drinks. Nanabi in particular has his own open rather predictably, and Hikari was there to help the serving... and then you soon notice Yuuka and Eirin lending a hand, both of them wearing cheongsam similar to Hikari's. The surprise here is that how happy the former is, serving their customers without much fuss and another is the odd thing about Eirin - on how she has rabbit ears on top of her head.

Nevertheless, despite the crowd to handle – no thanks to the eye candies available – Nanabi and his team seems to be able to handle the flow very well.

Next on your visit list are Tex's and Mystia’s stalls. Though not having an area like Nanabi's, they both still have a decent amount of visitors setting down to have a quick meal and sake, even though it's still early for those. Mystia has Kurumi helping out with the ordering and serving, while she cooks up the lamprey orders. Kamui and Elis are nowhere to be seen, though when the two at the food stall were inquired about their whereabouts, Kurumi tells you that Kamui and Elis are on their turn to enjoy their festival, and they would swap out as soon as they both come back.

Tex on the other hand has a helper as well, though the crowd is much more relaxed there. The girl is someone unfamiliar, maybe someone he hired for temp work. While the scent of his specialty BBQ ribs is quite tempting, you think that it's better to share with a group since he serves pretty large portions.

The rest of the stalls are the usual people you saw, offering snacks, sweets and drinks of various kinds.

A little bit of scouting later on other stalls, you decide on stopping for a quick snack at Nanabi's place, the first is that you're going with something not quite heavy for dinner, and the second is to sate your curiosity. Bunny-eared Eirin then takes your order as soon as she finished serving a bowl of ramen. From what you can see from the close approach, those ears look rather... authentic... from the way they twitch and respond to Nanabi's call for ready orders.

---

Your next stop with Okuu is to check out the festival's games.

A festival can't be complete without a games and entertainment section, where the usual festival folk games are available, complete with prizes of various shapes and sizes. From the food area you can see the festival regulars for games - ranging to goldfish fishing, archery, target shooting and so much more.

Here, you meet up with Yuki and Wriggle, along with Shinobu and Akyuu while the latter is trying their luck at the dart game, which you don't greet them so that they can focus about it. Alex, Erin and Reisen can be seen hanging out together around what appears to be Ginji's stall not too far away, which offers the target shooting game you, Alex and Kazuma tried a week or so ago. Unlike most Guardians you ran across, Alex is in his full gear, maybe for patrol purposes. He doesn't seem to be upset with the matter, as he seems to be enjoying the festival regardless.

They both are trying out Ginji’s target practice with some success – with Ginji providing them a plush toy as a prize. Erin and Reisen then bid their goodbye to Alex and Ginji where you notice them both walking off hand-in-hand. This intrigues you a little.

"Those two had been going out recently, before you ask. It makes me think if being a Guardian equals becoming a chick magnet." Ginji remarks as soon as you walk closer to his stall. "I mean I see recruits going out with fairy maids lately, even."

"Well, if it's true I might already be going out with someone today." Alex responds.

"What about that lady friend of yours from the other day?" You ask, referring to the redhead you saw with him previously.

"Oh, she's going out with someone else tonight."

"Ouch." Ginji seems apologetic.

"What? She's not my girlfriend."

"I thought she is, with you going out with her and all that?"

"She's not my girlfriend, I tell you."

"Okay then." Ginji then racks his head to find a new topic. "Ah, Seo! I just reminded that I have something for you to do."

"What is it?"

"Actually, there's that hotshot right over there who thinks he can get the most profit for this section. Though I think his game is rigged."

This piqued your interest a little. “Really?”

"From what I seen, usually they would pop up on festivals, offering prizes like we do, but unfairly hard to win. I do think people like him should be taught a lesson, he's breaking the spirit of competition."

"Hmmm." You hum. "What do I get from this?"

"A clean sweep of his prizes, obviously. But I should think of something of a proper reward soon, maybe something about your trauma plates."

"Why him, though?" Alex questions Ginji.

"Well, he has the skill required, plus not in uniform like you do. He's all set for a Guardian in disguise already."

"I regret my decision on staying in uniform already."

Ginji then turns his attention back to you. "Well, it's going to be a little bit longer before they start the puppet show if you're looking forward for that, and there are a lot of other festival games to try if you don't feel like shooting things."

"I'll think about it."

"Take your time."

What would you like to do first?
[ ] Head to that target range and give it a run.
[ ] Bell ringing! Looks like a contest of strength!
[ ] Fish scooping, festival staple.

[X] Head to that target range and give it a run.

Not that I mind the other choices, but this sounds interesting.

[x] Head to that target range and give it a run.

Maybe there'll be something Okuu'll like.

[X] Head to that target range and give it a run.

Better chance of winning something.

[c] Head to that target range and give it a run.

This should be fun.

VOTE RESULTS

[x] Head to that target range and give it a run. (3 Votes)

Trying to scam a customer at a target range? Never again.

---

"I think I'll see what that guy is up to. It might be fun if I can shoot something down and get prizes from it." You tell Ginji and Alex.

"Alright, see you in a moment."

"I'll be watching from here." Alex says as you leave the vicinity.

You then approach said stall with Okuu in tow, and right away, you see a little girl at the counter giving the game a try. As you observe, you see the little girl's last cork bounce off the stuffed toy bear on top of the shelves behind the stall keeper.

"I hit it! I hit it!" The girl cheers as her cork bounces off her target.

"Well, you need to do more than just 'hit it', kiddo. Ya need to knock it down off the shelf."

"Aww..."

While you're talking to Okuu and asking if she wants to give this game a try, the man sees you both and beckons you over.

"Hey you lovebirds, you two've been checking out the place, wanna give it a try?"

Your eyes follow to where Okuu is looking at, and you now see her desired prize. "Okay!"

From out of nowhere, she pulls out her arm cannon, which causes the stall owner to freak out and dive down behind his counter; you however calmly pull down her arm, lightly admonishing her.

"No, Okuu. Use the cork gun on the counter."

The stall owner peeks out behind the counter. "I can't believe you're actually befriending youkai."

"Yes, yes. I assume you're pretty new here, then?"

"Aha, I'm just a guy from another village nearby, doing business."

Well that explains things. You and Okuu decide to give it a try, and pay for the projectiles for use. It is a crudely-made pump-operated air gun, whose ammo is corks, possibly taken from liquor bottles.

You pick up the gun and prepare it, just like how he instructs. There's nothing suspicious so far as you aim down the sights - or rather the lack of it - onto much smaller targets. While you manage to shoot down the small biscuit boxes and receive them, you notice that Okuu is trying to shoot down a dragon plushie off the top shelf. She runs out of ammo rather quickly, and gets frustrated as a result.

The stall keeper only laughs. "Those things wouldn't be easy to shoot down; even a Guardian can't do it!" He brags.

Aside from trying to get Okuu angry, you feel that this person is challenging you. After a quick observation on what you can use against him, you decide to buy extra ammo. He gleefully gives you your supply, smirking as if you just took the bait.

"You know, I'll take that challenge. I'll get the bear, the dragon, and the rest below it." You tell him.

"You can try, but you're going to need more than that."

"I won't take more than three shots."

For this to work, you decide to manipulate a bit of the air pressure as you cock the gun into its ready state. Rather than aiming directly at the prize - which will damage it rather than topple it down, you instead aim at the wall directly behind the shelf.

"What are you shooting at?"

"You'll see." You reply as you fire your second cork at roughly the same area and then reload it.

Your first two corks actually bounce off the wall, and then knock off those loose screws you see. Since the screws thankfully didn't bounce off the ground with a noticeable ding, you follow up with the third shot, which you fire directly on the shelf before you put down the toy gun. The owner makes a smug face as nothing happens, but as soon as he opens his mouth, the whole shelf suddenly comes crashing down to the floor, bringing along the prizes with it.

His eyes widen in shock at the display, and you grin at him.

"You were saying something?"

"Impossible!"

"You should know better than to mock a Guardian in front of one, let alone an off duty one." You tell him. "Since you didn't say how to not knock it down, I used that against you."

He grumbles and picks up everything that was on the floor and puts it on the counter.

Okuu squeals as she takes the large dragon plushie, ignoring the stuffed teddy bear. As you she cuddles the plushie, you notice that the small girl from earlier on is still there. Since you have a good amount of haul right there, you might as well be generous with your loot. It might be good to lessen your load as well, now that you have plenty of things to do.

"Do you want some of these, little miss?"

She nods and points at the teddy bear that was not chosen, and you give her the bear you bagged, smiling at her with a pat to her head. You then take along the smaller stuffed toys and other toys, which the stall owner has helpfully (perhaps begrudgingly) put in a bag. You say your thanks regardless, before leaving the scene and back towards Ginji's shop.

"You rock, man!" Alex cheers as soon as you approach Ginji's stall. "How'd you see a weak point? How's the stuff rigged by the way?"

"Simple. Underpowered air pressure guns against heavy items on an extremely stable surface... stable for the most part. I was thinking if I could shoot the shelves down by the connectors, the prizes would come and I did. "

You and Alex then share a high-five, as Ginji bends down behind his counter. He then pops up to hand you an envelope.

"What's this?" You ask.

"I made a deal with Alice stating that anyone who won at my game would get this coupon good for a custom made doll. Considering the stunt you pulled, and putting the guy in his place, I'd say it qualifies."

"Can I have one too?" Alex asks.

"Yes. That is if you can beat the current high score." Ginji points at the current scoreboard before resuming. "Though, of course you need to pay a small fee. Someone has to make profit too, you know."

"Meh, that'd be easy peasy." Alex reaches for his wallet and hands some small notes to Ginji. "Small arms okay like during the beta test?"

"If you can silence it that is. Or, just use the maguns."

"Nah, I'll stick with this puppy." Alex grins as he picks his Beretta out along with a small suppressor, which he screws on the muzzle of his service pistol. After that he opens fire on the targets as they pop up. True to his words, the suppressor muffled the shots nicely,not causing panic as a result.

---

While Alex is busy shooting at the targets at Ginji's stall, you and Okuu walk ahead to look for other things to do. A little bit of walking around at the souvenir area has its own share of attractive merchandises for you to buy, but for now you're doing some window shopping.

And while you do that, you catch a familiar figure playing his guitar and as you take a closer look, you see Hafizi with a small crowd of spectators watching him busking. Only when he stops playing does he notices your presence.

"Hello, Okuu. Hey, Seo."

Okuu nods at him in greeting. "Hey, Hafizi."

"Having fun?" You ask.

"Yeah, it’s a soothing day so far, and I have my audiences."

From what you see, it's mostly children, young ladies and some young men watching. They offer coins for his performance, before some of them leave for other things to do, with a happy expression on their face.

"I suppose that getting show money is not part of the plan?" You ask as he looks into the hat where the kids gave their coins.

"The hat isn't even mine. I just sat here and these guys started saying 'Mister Hafizi, play us a song or two!' and it sort of rolled on from there." He says. "And I suppose the next thing would be them asking me to do a gun show and such."

At the mention of gun show, the kids started to flock around him again. The front most kids start to ask about him showing them his gun prowess.

"Looks like we'll take our leave. You're starting to have your hands full again."

"Do I look like a babysitter to you guys?"

"No, but you're really popular with these kids. Keine can attest to that, too." You reply with a giggle. As you say this, you can see Keine in the distance at the corner of your sight, smiling at the sight. When Hafizi turns around to see her, Keine waves at both of you. As soon as Hafizi turns back to you, you then see Keine walking off with Rinnosuke, the latter having takoyaki for two in his hands.

"Great. Now I have to go back to school."

"Why don't you go to Ginji's stall, indulge the kids about it all over there? Alex might still be there; pretty sure he doesn't have a suppressor for your USP though."

"I'll just borrow him if he's still there. Catch you two later at the puppet show then?" He asks as he packs up his Stratocaster and stashing away the coins.

"Yeah, we're going there."

"Isn't it a bit early for that?"

"Its fine, we can get front row seats that way."

"Alright then."

Hafizi nods and excuses himself, with the kids following him as he heads towards Ginji's stall while you and Okuu go to attend the puppet show. You're pretty early despite the things you did beforehand, but it's worth it because of the available front row seats. You both take it and set the merchandize you have aside. The attendees later come trickling in as the show is about to start - and soon enough the available seats are fully occupied. People who don't have the seats however have the option to lay down a picnic mat on the ground, most of them either couples or families.

The puppet show soon starts as scheduled, as Alice comes forward to welcome the attendees on the stage.

For the first show, Alice starts off with a small love story, about an insect girl and a scholar during the warring states era.

It was the time where humans and youkai were at war, and the war was fought to assert dominance over lands to conquer. The saner minds wanted peace for both sides, but the warlords didn't want any of it. The story begins when the scholar runs upon the youkai girl, who is dancing under the moonlight. She notices him and he runs away only to be intercepted by her. Lucky for him, she is actually a friendly insect princess. Over time, the bond between the two grows, and they eventually become lovers, remaining hidden for their safety.

The local shrine maiden catches wind of this, and after a small skirmish with her and the incest princess, she is convinced that the latter is benevolent seeing how she puts her lover's safety first. However, she warns the scholar that if the local lord knows, he and his family would be in trouble. She even has suspicions about the warlord’s weird tendencies and habits as of late, and in the end she promises that she will keep their secret.

Time passes and eventually word breaks out. Despite their attempts to hide it, some of the warlord's henchmen find out and the scholar and his family go into hiding but unfortunately the scholar is caught. Just asthe execution is about to pass, the shrine maiden and the insect princess intervene, and both of them do battle against the warlord's troops and finally off the warlord. It turns out that the local lord was already dead, but his body was taken over by a power-hungry spirit who wishes destruction over everyone. Without a body, however, the spirit is completely powerless and it attempts to possess the insect princess' lover instead.

An exorcism is in short order before the spirit succeeds, and for once, peace befalls the territory, with the shrine maiden being appointed as the new ruler to replace the dead lord. For the princess and her lover, they both are allowed to be married, and by the end of the act, are blessed with a half-youkai child. Once the curtains fall, the crowd gives a round of applause.

After a short break, another story begins to play, this time about 5 brave travelling warriors, who stumble upon a village.

The village as it turns out during their stay is under constant threat of wasp demons making a hive in the abandoned castle on a hill overlooking the village

As the warriors investigate, they find this has happened for quite some time. The villagers have to offer tribute to their lord where they have to offer a healthy village man or woman - every year to the castle. Suffice to say they never come back. Requests for help to the capital were attempted, but don’t seem to get through. After a lot of deliberation later, the warriors sneak into the castle during another tribute, and from there, the raid begins. Despite the ratio of 1000 to one, they manage to outwit the wasp mooks in the castle and free as many humans as they can.

The cavalry finally arrives just in time, which bands together the Emperor's troops and various youkai that they helped along the way of their journey. They weren't messing around either - the former carries various heavy weaponries to combat the threat, ranging from muskets to cannons. Punishment is delivered swiftly, and once the hostile wasp queen goes down, the leader of the travelling warriors makes sure she stays that way. Everyone else assists in freeing the humans who are kept prisoner and they are soon led back to their village.

The rest of the castle burns in flames as the emperor's troops set it alight under the rising sun. While the brave warriors are victorious, they remain travelling the world, on search of their next adventure.

When the story ends, enthusiastic spectators give the show a thunderous applause, a sign that the story is well-received. On the other hand, you can't help but think that the story is somewhat loosely based on the Operation Angry Wasp a few weeks back, and not to mention the travelling warriors were based on the main Guardian crew, with the names changed to somewhat similar-sounding ones.

For the closure, instead of a puppet show the last performance is a weapons dance as Alice explains it over the speakers. A girl steps forward with her naginata and the musicians in the background begin their beats.

She seems to have a blank expression when she's dancing, with her mask doing the deed instead. However, her dance moves are very energetic, doing moves that are quite thrilling to watch. In the middle of the naginata dance, a few guys dressed up as bandits show up, and attack her but she fights them off without a problem. A part of you thinks that one of actors got hit squarely with the broadside of the naginata but despite that the show goes on.

Once she's done, the music stops. There is a pause before she bows at the audience, and they applause for her performance. Alice soon shows up, thanking everyone for watching until the very end. The crowd later disperses as the puppeteer announces about the music competition contestants to show up at the stage in the following hour.

---

Day One of the festival is basically over by the time the clock is about to strike midnight, which is the time where the elimination match for the music festival ended. Your family made it to the semi-finals, along with Kamui and his team, plus some taiko bands from the next village, and a duet singer. You sigh in relief at that fact.

Since you have a lot of free time, what should you do?

[ ] Go for a supper and little stargazing.
[ ] Go straight to the inn for the next day.

[X] Go for a supper and little stargazing.

Figure it's more romantic

[X] Go for a supper and little stargazing.

[x] Go straight to the inn for the next day.

>the incest princess
Damn autocorrect you freaky.

>>14653
Bloody hell, I thought I caught all of them.

[X] Go for a supper and little stargazing.

oh wow

[c] Go for a supper and little stargazing.

That puppet theatre seems to be very familiar for some reasons...

VOTE RESULTS

[x] Go for a supper and little stargazing. (4 Votes)

In addition of mistakenly posted my update in Otherwise and missing the incest/insect thing in the text (apparently I missed exactly one), I miscounted the votes for the previous update by one. It's actually 4.

---

While most of the stalls and stores are closing up with the festival wrapping up for the day, the food stalls remain open at the festival grounds. There are a few midnight owls that show up for some supper and gathering with friends - alcohol is no stranger to visitors like those. As you approach the food area, you notice Nanabi is still there, kissing Eirin and Yuuka goodnight. They both presumably went back to the original shop with Hikari in tow, while he serves the remaining customers all by himself.

In the meantime, Mystia, Tex and a few more are also still open, with a balance of familiar faces spread between the first two stalls.

Over at Tex's, your fellow Guardians and their partners (or in Alex's case, the lack of it) are gathered around the table, eating steak merrily.

At Mystia's place, Kamui, Yuki and company are seen, having grilled lamprey.

After much deliberation, you decide to go with Mystia's stall, and choosing to have your seat at the counter facing Mystia.

"Oh hey. Good evening, lovebirds." Mystia greets you as she notices you sitting down.

"Evenin', guys, Mystia."

"Hey, Seo. I thought you're going to join the Guardians over at Tex's." Ginji asks.

"Nah, I prefer going light for supper this time, it’s not like we don't want to stay for something heavy like they do, though but maybe next time."

"Ooooh... going out tonight on a midnight walk with Okuu?" Mystia pops in.

"Something like that, yes."

"Good! That's a wise choice, indeed. So I assume the usual menu for supper, is it?"

"Yeah, the usual."

And so, Mystia nods and goes back to grill her lamprey skewers. From what you can see, she is also grilling what appear to be beef skewers. Mystia noticed you staring and she decides to explain it to you. "Those are new on the menu, grilled beef skewers with special dipping sauce. You want some?"

"Eh, might as well put a couple on my plate." You reply.

"Mine too~!" Okuu cuts in.

"Alright then, so extra skewers for both of you."

Once your order arrives, you receive a plate with a pair of lamprey and beef skewers, plus sake. For the beef skewers, Mystia has a small dish filled to the brim with sauce, which tasted like black pepper. Okuu seems to like the new offering as well, as she chews down both the lamprey and beef within seconds. On your side, eating both made you feel quite full already. You then wash the black pepper aftertaste with some sake.

"So how was it?"

"It was good." You and Okuu answer at the same time, making the latter giggle.

Of course, Okuu would soon ask for seconds, which Mystia gleefully complies. You on the other hand pay for the orders you both make, but before that Okuu feeds you with her skewer. Now it's the other's turn to giggle when they see you in such romantic sight. Okuu does this for another skewer she has, before finishing the half-eaten ones on her own.

"We'll take our leave for now, thanks for the meal, Mysty."

"You're welcomed~"

"See you guys tomorrow!"

"Bye~!" Everyone chimes out their goodbyes as you and Okuu takes off for the skies.

A little bit of flight time later, you both land on the nearby hill overlooking the village. The village isn't the focus, however, as the reason you're there is to treat Okuu the sight of the night sky.

"Ah, that's good... seems like the sky is clear tonight."

You both sit on the grass, beside each other. You can tell that Okuu is mesmerized by the star-studded night sky. The near-full moon enhances the mood as well.

"Such a beautiful sky..."

Okuu says as she lies on her back, with you following suit. "I don't have much chance to go on a little stargazing at the surface by myself."

"Not even when Satori was invited elsewhere and you tagged along?"

She shakes her head. After a while, she starts up the conversation again. "I remember when I met you for the first time, Seo."

"What, the time when you held me up with the arm cannon to my face?"

"Yeah. Thought you're someone hostile, but I didn't know Miss Satori hired a guard. Not like we need it in the first place, but then again...." She then leans on your shoulder. "With how things turn out lately, I don't mind having a guard at the palace."

You chuckle at her reply, patting her head and shoulders. "Of course you do."

While you two were watching the sky, both of you notice a streak of light in the sky, it appears very briefly but it's enough for Okuu to suddenly spring to her knees, clasping her hands to her chest and muttering something you can't catch.

"What was that all about?"

"Miss Satori told me to make a wish if I see a shooting star~" Before you can ask, she follows it up. "I won't tell you what I wished for though~"

You giggle and ruffle her hair at that response. After a while, you decide that it's enough staying outside for the night. The air starts becoming chilly with the cold night air blowing. "Well then. Let's get back and catch some shuteye, shall we?"

"Sure~!"

Not even bothering to walk this time, you and Okuu flew all the way back to Hikakin's inn, not forgetting your items.

As you arrive at your room at the inn, you leave your prizes inside the wardrobe. You helped Okuu to strip from her yukata, before doing the same to yourself. You then usher Okuu to the bathroom to get her cleaned up.

Instead of a shower or a shared bathtub, you decide to give her some body scrubs, and so you instruct her to sit down on the available stool. She stays still as you begin by pouring a bucketful of water on top of her. You continue with giving her hair a nice lather of shampoo, even lightly massaging her scalp. After rinsing that off, you continue with soaping up her body. She allows your healthy gropes to her breasts and ass, getting the soap evenly around her and at the same time slightly sates your lust. Of course, you went back to scrubbing her body once you're done doing that, stopping yourself before you go overboard and do something more than just groping. You expected her to whine about it, but Okuu instead only giggles ticklishly.

It's as if she knows that you intend to save up for tomorrow, since she didn't complain about the sudden stop.

This continues for a good couple of rounds before you swap roles between the two of you. She tries to copy your actions from earlier, and as a result gets you riled up again, just as you just calmed yourself down. While she's trying to be careful with her actions, the hell raven's somewhat slow caress and her occasional breasts pressing against your back does the opposite effect. The sudden cold shower from another bucket would shock you back to your normal state, thankfully.

After that, you grab the supplied towels to get the two of you all dry. You have to use multiple towels to get her hair and her wings dry. Once she's all dried up, you get her some fresh robes and put it on her. She nuzzles you cutely as you snuggle her close.

You feel tired from the whole ordeal already, and you lead your lover to the futon fit for two. She is tired as well, and soon, the two of you cuddle under the thick blanket. You give Okuu a goodnight kiss to her forehead, before pressing your face into her chest.

"Good night, Seo."

"Good night to you too, Okuu."

---

When the next morning arrives, you wake up first. The first thing you do after you get yourself a faceful of water is to wake Okuu up for breakfast. Again, you take a bath with her, though this time it takes less time than last night. You put on your tengu uniform, and Okuu puts on her usual outfit. You then head downstairs for breakfast at the stalls that are already open for the morning - a simple chicken porridge for you and a bowlful of hot hardboiled eggs for your partner.

"What are we going to do today?" Okuu asks as you leave the area.

"I think I am going to buy a cake for my nephew. I just realized that his birthday is today."

To your relief, the bakery your mother used to frequent is already open at this hour. You decide to give it a visit.

"Welcome!" A young girl chimes as you walk into the bakery. She seems to light up as you enter the store, might be because of your clothes.

Though, she looks somewhat deflated when Okuu follows you from behind. Perhaps she somewhat looks intimidating, but to you that is hardly the case. "Don't worry about her, she's quite friendly." You assure.

"Anyways... what can I get you, Mister Tengu, sir?"

"Just Seo would be fine." You remind her. "For starters, I need a cake for 12-ish people. A birthday cake, if you will. "

"Oh, that's easy. Follow me, please."

You do not wish to burden her with a custom order, so you point at the newly-made cake, stored to cool in the refrigerated glass showcase. Once you have your item, the girl takes it some icing for decoration. You learn from her that the cake you chosen is a red velvet cake.

"What do you want me to write on the cake?"

"Happy birthday, Naoshi."

She nods and begins using the icing to make some writing on the cake. You can see how skillful she does it, and before long, she has the words down on top of the cake.

"Done!"

"It looks good, thank you." You tell her., before turning towards Okuu, who's browsing the cake slices. "Do you want some, Okuu?"

"Sure!"

The shopkeeper then tends Okuu, with the latter choosing a blueberry cake slice and you taking the cheesecake slice for yourself.

"So, do you need anything else, sir?"

"I think that's all I need for now."

You pay for the items and leave. Later, you have Okuu wait for you as you head back to the inn momentarily to retrieve your bagful of prizes from yesterday. Once you regroup with Okuu, you head towards your father's shop, where your family just opened up for today.

This time, your father is manning the counter when you head in. Daisuke is nowhere in sight, but the rest of your family is there.

"A special one for Nao today?" Your father asks.

"Yeah, hot off the bakery. Hopefully I have plenty for everyone."

"Did you buy all those toys, Seo?"

"More like I won them off yesterday at the festival."

"You're really putting those skills to the best, huh?"

"Nah, more like he challenged me, and I made sure he regrets that. Where's Nao?"

"Gathering his friends to come over. Go get your mother in the back; she's preparing the food and drinks."

You do exactly that, with Okuu bowing to your father before she follows your tail. Just like what your father told you, your mother is in the kitchen, though she is currently being helped by her in-laws. Since everyone already taken up the roles, you had to sit out from helping. By then, Naoshi's friends are gathering up, some even has their parents following along. They even have presents for him.

The small party continues with a birthday song, then Naoshi cutting the cake for everyone. While the parents are chatting with each other in the gathering, you give away the prizes you won yesterday to the attending kids, which unfortunately not enough for every attendants.

Naoshi is officially 12 now.

As the crowd disperses, some parents stick around to help with the cleaning. You and Okuu on the other hand congratulate your nephew, with Okuu giving him a nice big hug. Nao puts it nicely - auntie big bird, as he calls Okuu. Daisuke however is still not around when the party is done, and it makes you wonder where your older brother is when his son is waiting for him for the special occasion.

"Seo, do you mind if we have a word or two?" Daisuke's wife calls for you, surprising you a little.

"What is it?"

"I'm trying to get this off my chest, but Daisuke has been acting strangely ever since Hiiragi is accepted into the family. He comes home late, gets really angry really quick..."

"Why don't you tell dad about it?" You ask before she can tell it longer. "Are you sure he's not doing something... you know...?"

"I did, but I'm concerned on what he's actually doing. He never tells when I ask, and I don't think this had anything to do with a woman."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Please do something. It's so unbecoming of him to not show up on his son's own birthday party, let alone neglecting us as a family..."

You keep that in mind, something is indeed off with him.

---

When dusk finally arrives, you and Okuu return to the inn to take a quick bath and then putting on the second set of yukata before leaving for the festival grounds - earlier than yesterday, even. As a result, you and Okuu can see the steady stream of people attending the festival. As soon as the sun falls, the vibrant lights for the festival lights up and the village head announce the start of the second day of the midsummer festival.

For starters, you get Okuu and yourself some takoyaki, while pondering what to do and a little part of you thinking about what Daisuke's wife told you. You however decide to push that thought aside for the moment, and finish up your takoyaki. Once both of you finish the quick snack, you make a quick survey around the area.

The game section still has the usual stalls from yesterday, with Ginji powering up his target range. Reisen still is at the top of the scoreboard, with Alex coming in close to second, off by 5 marks. The shooting range stall from yesterday has the sign "NO GUARDIANS ALLOWED" on the counter, but that doesn't stop Alex in his yukata to win a prize without much fuss. He didn't hang around Ginji's place this time around, probably off to enjoy himself with some sightseeing. You continue to survey the area a little more and soon you run into Rei, Kagerou and their kids at the bell game. You can hear the bell ringing, which could only mean he won a prize, with Kagerou doing the same a little later... and barely hitting the bell.

Though, it takes the gamekeeper's urges and a free try that she does it again, this time with another bell ringing. As a result, they both get a plush bear for their children. Her kids saw you and waves at you without a sound, with Kagerou soon noticing you. She however didn't manage to stick around since Rei is already far ahead.

Now what should you do?
[ ] Let's check out the bell game this time.
[ ] Find your musical family team; see how they are holding up before the finals.
[ ] Hang around with Alex.

[x] Let's check out the bell game this time.

I want to see how thing play out

[X] Let's check out the bell game this time.

Youkai strength may help!

[x] Let's check out the bell game this time.

[c] Let's check out the bell game this time.

Who is Naoshi again?

>>14673
Seo's nephew.

VOTE RESULTS

[X] Let's check out the bell game this time. (4 Votes)

It's 2:15 in the bloody morning and I STILL haven't gotten my Sword of Kings yet. Come ooooon.

---

"How about that bell game over there? Looks like fun to me." You suggest.

"Okay!" Okuu chirps merrily as she drags you towards the bell game. Once she's there, she straightens you back up and taps the game owner's shoulder to get his attention. When he turns around after thanking a customer, he sees you lifting a greeting hand at him.

"Ah, you're the guy who shot the grand prizes over that stall yesterday. Welcome, by the way." The stall keeper greets you. "Wanna try out the game? 500 yen for three tries."

"Yeah, both of us." You tell the keeper as you pay the amount for both. "Why there are two bells, by the way?"

"One of those is for humans, and the other one is for the youkai folks. Had to make it separate, it makes things fair." He says as he points to the different colored exterior for the bells, red is for humans and blue for youkai.

"Right."

He apparently did not question if you're a human or otherwise, which you assume means that he might have already seen you in your tengu uniform earlier that day. Okuu however insists that you show her how it works.

By not over-exerting yourself, you show Okuu on hitting the bell, which you consistently hit for your three tries. After receiving your umpteenth plush toy for the festival, you hand the mallet over to Okuu. She holds it in one hand and her face looks quite confident. It seems as if that she wants to win, and that makes you step back a little from the hell raven.

"Here we go!"

BOOM

There are a few moments of silence as the inevitable happens.

Okuu just utterly destroys the bell with a single swing... and that was a bell made to withstand youkai strikes. While you aren't amused with that fact, the stall keeper stares at the wrecked bell with his mouth agape, in shock as well.

"...oops." Okuu says as she realizes what she just did.

Even the spectators around the area are stunned silent, so much that you decide to break the awkward silence. "Well, I suppose that happened. Does she still get a prize for that?"

The stall owner snaps back to his senses. "Why yes... there is actually a prize for doing that."

You didn't expect that answer however. "What will it be this time, more bears?" You ask.

"No, something even better." Instead of stuffed toys like yesterday, Okuu gets a voucher of sorts from the stall owner. "You can buy something from Kourindou with this coupon."

"Let me guess, a deal with Rinnosuke as a promotion?"

"More like a bet, to see if a youkai would be able to destroy that youkai-level bell. Though, apparently those who tried already were too mindful of their strength, just like that wolf lady just now."

"Where did you get this idea to separate between categories anyways?"

"There's the green-haired little lady that I coaxed to hit harder back then... and she dented the bell. Though I still think she was holding back. I did that so I would have something of a working bell if one got destroyed."

Judging from his description, that must be Wriggle he's describing. Some part of you wonders if his 'coaxing' meant egging her to do it harder, which she did, but didn't exert too much - unlike Okuu who just obliterated the whole thing single-handedly.

"Well, I suppose so."

"If you'll excuse me, I'll be getting this salvaged for a better youkai-level bell."

"Sure."

You make a note to yourself to visit Rinnosuke's shop tomorrow morning before leaving for your home base. In the meantime, you can see Okuu entertaining little children running in circles around her, apparently in awe of her strength. The adults whisper to themselves, which with your windy eavesdropping reveals how they never expected her to have that kind of power among other things.

Then again, none of these people knew that Okuu was the cause of an incident a few years back.

---

As you scoot off with Okuu from the obliterated bell, you keep on looking for any distractions for the day, with the focus on anything you've yet to try or missed yesterday Often times, you buy some snacks for yourself or Okuu insisting that you and her play a game together.

Eventually, you run into Alex, looking lively with his loot He seems to be grinning much more than usual, which may have nothing to do with his winnings.

"What's up, Alex? You got some good news to share?" You ask as you approach him.

"Oh, hey man. I got some good news indeed, and it's probably the hottest thing that I got today."

"Is it reliable?"

"Well, I wouldn't know if a certain newspaper can be trusted - just take this info with a pinch of salt, will you?"

"Just tell me, damn it."

"I'm getting there, just bear with me for a moment." Alex then takes a deep breath before exhaling. He then pulls you and Okuu closer. "Okay, so earlier today I went to Mystia's place, and she told me that he finally found his match. I didn't really pay attention to it until Aya's paper was at my doorstep when I got back from Mystia's place."

"Are you for real?"

"I have my doubts, but just in case - why don't you congratulate the guy and see if he denies it or not. His body language would be the proof; he's not really that hard to read anyway." And at the corner of your eye, you soon spot Hafizi busking on a bench.

"Speak of the devil and he will come." Okuu says she spots Hafizi as well.

"Well, go ahead and do what I said, then meet me again when you're free.

"Yeah, yeah."

You and Okuu then leave Alex behind and approach Hafizi. He sees you and greets you as well.

"Hey, Seo, Okuu."

"G' evening, Hafizi."

True to Alex's words, you can see the look of happiness on his face. Perhaps that you should continue with the experiment Alex suggested.

“I don’t want to be like the rest of the people but… Hafizi, congratulations. ”

Immediately as he hears that from you, Hafizi promptly buries his face in his palms. “Not even you, Seo?”

“Uh, sorry for that but you should know that words travel fast if you're not careful.” You answer. “You should probably blame Aya for spreading the news, though." In truth, you don't really want to tell Hafizi that Alex told you about it first.

“Unyu?” It would take a little while before she gets on what you meant. “Oh! Oh! I know! He found someone he likes and he did it with her! But with who?” she asks.

"I believe that's a good question for another time, Okuu."

“Do I have permission to weep in despair?”

"By all means, please don't." You say as you pat his back. "At least your partner is still a mystery, though."

"That wouldn't be a secret for long."

"Yeah, I am aware."

---

A couple of hours later, the music competition soon begin its course. Unlike yesterday, the crowd around the competition stage has somewhat doubled. You wonder what the cause is as you get a seating space for two.

You and Okuu watch the performance for the first two groups, with the guys giving out great performances and the audience cheering them on. Despite that, their scores were above average, with the taiko team doing better than the team that played after them. They all bowed to the crowd before retreating to the backstage.

As your family's team begins their performance, you spot a group of wolf and crow tengu among the crowd, but are unsure of how many of them are there - at least until the team gets into the exciting parts.

They are really enthusiastic with their cheering apparently, calling out the tengu in your team's names. Some girls in the group can be seen swooning for Kaede, as he puts on a cool face while belting out his excellent harmonica routine between Hiiragi's singings. They both finish off their duet with a high note, making the audience roar with their applause as everyone on stage bows to them. The judges on the other hand raise a surprisingly high score, which make your half-siblings giddy.

Finally, Kamui's team's turn is in order. Mystia and Kurumi are with him with no sign of Elis, presumably because she needs to take care of the stall while the owner is having an important activity.

And then they begin their routine.

It was heaven to the ears, so to speak.

You have to agree that despite trying hard by themselves and winning the hearts of quite a number of audiences, your family team simply didn't have enough skills to outperform Kamui's more experienced team. The judges give a near-perfect score for Kamui, higher than your family team's score. The crowd goes wild with the applause.

After the competition stage is over, the prize-giving ceremony is held. It seems that the top three winners received a hamper each, plus a trophy cup with colors relative to the rank. You and Okuu then reunite with your family team.

"We lost..." Hiiragi whimpers as soon as she sees you.

"Don't worry, you guys did well."

Everyone then gives Hiiragi a good collective hug, which Okuu initiated first. "Ah, hell. You brought along the whole fortress over, Kaede?" Hiiragi says when she points the group of tengus coming towards them.

"I didn't tell them anything, though." He retorts confusedly.

The group swarms your team with congratulations and praises, with the little ones wanting to shake hands with the playing members. You can tell that everyone is actually getting their fan boys and girls, even your mother who's not a tengu at all. Kaede spots a friend of his among the crowd, and a signature handshake later, he then asks him a question.

"How'd you know that we were playing today?"

"Aya did! She featured your performances during yesterday's round on her paper! Everyone wanted to see you, but some got stuck at work!"

"Really? That would be something Aya did that I appreciate, for once."

Once the tengu crowd disperses, the Prismrivers make an announcement about their concert beginning in sixty minutes, asking the attendees to run along and kill some time while they prepare the stage for their concert. You and your family members do exactly that, walking off from the event area to elsewhere.

"Alright! Who wants dinner? It'll be my treat!" You announce to the group.

Everyone in the group raises their hands. They even suggest that you stop at Nanabi's, though this ultimately falls short when someone decides to block your route while you're on your way to the food area.

"Halt!"

Everyone stops in their tracks, including you.

"What do you want?" Kaede gruffly questions the white-haired girl with a multi-layered karignu in front of his path.

You've definitely never met this girl before. What does she want with your group? Your internal monologue is however soon answered.

"My name is Mononobe no Futo and I saw both you and you have a sparring match a few days back." She says as she points at both you and Kaede. "I am here to challenge both of you to a danmaku duel!"

"Can't this wait until tomorrow? It's a festival, not a fight club." Hiiragi protests.

She smiles smugly as she crosses her arms together. She then dramatically points a finger at the group. "A challenge must be promptly answered! And I won't take no as an answer!"

"Right, just gimmie a second." You sigh and turn around to your team. "Group discussion, everyone."

"Alright. So, any brilliant ideas, people?" Kaede asks as soon as everyone makes a circle of discussion.

"Well, there's two ways we can do this. Since she insists on a duel regardless of postponing this to another day - we can either do it fast or we do it slow." You tell everyone. "At least that's what I think at first."

"What do you mean by that, dear?" Your mother asks.

"Hitomi, I believe that by 'doing it fast' is that instead of Kaede, he would have Okuu as his partner." Hisagi replies instead.

"Sounds nice. Have you made up your mind on who to choose though, Seo?" Hiiragi chips in.

"Let's see..."

So who should you partner with for this challenge?
[ ] Let's have Okuu fight along your side. Crow team!
[ ] Have Kaede as your partner. Bro team!
[ ] How about just you and her?

[X] Let's have Okuu fight along your side. Crow team!
Get it done quick like

[x] Let's have Okuu fight along your side. Crow team!

Hopefully Okuu doesn't overdo things this time.

[X] Let's have Okuu fight along your side. Crow team!

No need to waste time.

[c] Let's have Okuu fight along your side. Crow team!

[x] Let's have Okuu fight along your side. Crow team!

Crows b4 bros.

Update's taking a while, since it's a big one.

Stay tuned.

Hooray!

VOTE RESULTS

[X] Let's have Okuu fight along your side. Crow team! (5 Votes)

This took ages, but here it is.

---

"I think I'll choose Okuu."

"Fine by me." Kaede says. "I can't do it fast enough if we're talking about raw power."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Well, it is a festival after all, and if I don't do it quick, there would be collateral damage." Kaede then peeks over your shoulder. "Plus... I didn't bring my gear or the mood to play with her."

"Anyone else have something to say about it?"

“All good for me.” Hiiragi agrees.

“No objections here.” Hisagi adds.

"Of course not! Now go out there and win the fight, Seo!" Your mother cheers.

You nod and face Futo. "Alright, I'll take your challenge. But instead of him, I'll partner up with her." You tell her as you point at Okuu.

"It's fine. She looks strong to me."

"Thank you." Okuu smiles at the praise.

"Don't let that put your guard down, Okuu."

"I won't~"

At this point, people start to gather around your group and Futo, and they even starting to bet on who's going to win this little skirmish. As you start to worry about collateral damage, you notice that she had just finished casting a duel barrier. Rather thoughtful of her.

Futo stretches her arms and gets into her fighting pose, while you reach for your Beretta hidden in your yukata. Okuu once again pulls out her arm cannon from out of nowhere, before affixing it on her right arm.

"Are you ready?" You ask.

"Whenever you are!" Futo replies confidently.

"Okay~" Okuu then lifts her third leg cannon and nonchalantly shoots an explosive ball of fire towards her. Despite being ready, Futo was caught off-guard by the sudden shot, which would quickly knock her out once the explosive shot connects her. You only sigh at the sight of your challenger sprawling on the ground as a result of the blast, but thankfully still breathing. You drop your stance and leave your handgun in its holster as you stare at the fallen Futo, with the crowd gathering around your group murmuring about what had just transpired.

"Oops~" Okuu giggles childishly as she puts away her arm cannon.

The barrier separating you and the crowd dissipates with Futo's defeat. "Now I think you're just showing off."

Before you can comment any further, two people rush towards Futo's side, one of them peculiarly wearing what seems to be a headset and the other is a lady with ghost legs dressed in green. The ones tending Futo might have been her friends, and from the looks of it you'd better not be caught hanging around for too long.

"Come on, let's scram." You whisper to your group, and they all agree to leave silently.

"I told you to not challenge people in the middle of a festival!" The ghost-like lady chastises the unconscious Futo.

---

In the meantime, with you and your family had managed to slip out of the crowd unnoticed, you carry on with the original plan on having dinner with your family. For this occasion, you bring everyone to Tex's stall, which you skipped in favor of something lighter yesterday. As everyone takes their seat, you quietly peer into your wallet, with the hopes that everyone gets their share. Lucky for you, you have more than enough funds for everyone on the table to help themselves with the food.

Tex's assistant soon shows up at your table to take your orders, and then leave before serving the ordered drinks first. She would then serve everyone's food which consists of a lot of beef and ribs after a while, and everyone would begin eating with a short prayer.

Once the dinner chomping phase slows down, Hisagi begins a conversation, or rather, an announcement. "Well, I have big news for everyone."

"What is it?" Your mother asks.

"Hitomi, Seo, Okuu," She starts, addressing your part of the family. "Kaede is going to be married to that Moriya priestess, Sanae."

"What?! Really?!" You balk in surprise, as you turn towards Kaede. "Why you didn't tell me about it?"

"Well, Kanako just showed up at my house this morning and announced to my family that she had chosen me personally out of all candidates to marry Sanae. I can't simply say no, now that I vowed to her and Lady Suwako that I would protect Sanae with my life, you know..."

"But what about Nitori?"

"I plan to tell Nitori first, then Hina and Momiji-"

"Hang on a sec, Hina and Momiji too? I didn't know you too have this Fujisaki gland thing going." Hiiragi cuts in.

Kaede turns towards Hiiragi confusedly. "...what the hell does that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, you wouldn't get it anyway." She waves him off between chuckles.

The two mothers would giggle at the conversation. "My, my. Such can be expected from young boys like you both, having girls by your side, with such romance in the air... though is it fine for you to tell us about it, Hisagi?"

"Kanako-sama said that it's fine for us to tell the closest members of the family, at the condition that it wouldn't be publicized. She told me that no tengu news is allowed to publish the story too, should they catch the wind of it. By the way, she also told me to send you her regards, Seo."

"Ah, got it." You say. "Say, what else did she say about me?"

"Oh, she didn't say much, just referring you - in her words, 'specifically, the Guardian that got hung by his legs'."

That's a detail you don't want to explain much to your mother for now. "Right, moving on... did you ask Kanako if you can go on a date with her like this festival then?" You ask Kaede, attempting to move away from that topic.

"Kanako-sama said no to dating to keep the surprise, at least until she makes the public announcement, which is in due time."

"Cool."

"Well, while he's getting married, I suppose Seo and Okuu would be next, no?"

"We'll see about that." Your mother giggles as she hugs you and Okuu close. "I couldn't wait for my youngest child to have little baby crows as my grandkids~" The statement makes everyone except Okuu blush. In fact, she is quite thrilled with the idea as you can see.

"I'd say I'd feel the same too, Hitomi." Hisagi says, pulling her children closer to her as well.

"You're giving some people ideas, mom."

"Oh, why not? It's not really a secret that you're a mature young man already, Seo."

"Right..."

You check your watch and realize that all that dining and eating almost takes up an hour. Your mother realized that too, and clasps her hands together.

"Looks like we'd be late for the performance. Everyone's done, yes?" Kaede finishes up his drink, before saying yes. "Alright, let's go~!"

"I'll catch up with you guys in a bit. You go with them, Okuu." You tell everyone, because you need to pay for the food after all.

---

Once you are done with the payment, you regroup with your family, where they had reserved a space on the picnic mat for you. The performance is about to start shortly, with the Prismrivers appearing on stage moments later.

The Prismrivers were greeted with a cheer from their audiences, as they all dressed up with very beautiful yukata, which they respond with happiness. Merlin can be seen waving at Kazuma - with the latter easily standing out from the crowd and Hatate waving back at Merlin. They soon began with their serenade, a melodious instrumental, capturing the theme of summer. There are times where they show off their expertise with their instruments, and Merlin singing.

They did a few more songs after that, each one being received with a thunderous applause, with some whistles and cheers in between. Once everything is over, they all bow to the audience before leaving the stage and an announcer taking their place instead.

To mark the end of the festival, the fireworks display was soon announced to begin in a few minutes. This gives everyone ample time to start finding their best location while the team behind it (led by Marisa no less) is preparing their equipment. You have an idea where to look for the best scenic view. First things first, you roll up the picnic mat and then Okuu then lifts your mother into her arms and into a bridal carry, surprising the latter with her strength. Everyone then follows your lead as you bring them to the hill overlooking the village not too far away.

Once everyone is there, you unroll the mat and everyone takes their seat. You have Okuu leaning on your shoulder, while Hiiragi and Kaede are resting on your mother and Hisagi's lap respectively.

And then you see a bolt being shot out from ground level.

"Oh look, it's starting!" Okuu squeals excitedly as she points at the fireworks bolt.

Once the bolt reaches a certain height, it bursts into colorful, smaller bolts spreading around in various ways before fading out of the sky. The firework bolts then shoot up more in quantity, producing more colored lights until for the finale, which Marisa uses her recognizable Master Spark to the sky. Once the fireworks stop, you wait a few moments for some stargazing with your family members.

"Well... I suppose that's over." Hisagi says, breaking the silence. She then stands up, along with her children. "Too bad it's over midnight, I wouldn't mind hanging around the village a bit more."

"It's fine, there's always another day."

"Please visit us again, Hitomi. My daughters have taken a liking to you so much. Perhaps you can bring along Ryouga if you want to."

"Please bring dad along too~!"

"I will~" You mother chuckles as she pets Hiiragi between her wolf ears.

Hisagi and Hiiragi hugs your mother, with them both nuzzling her cheeks as well. Kaede then does the same but minus the nuzzling, before they take off to the skies. Once they are gone into the night's sky, you in turn escort your mother back home (walking at your mother's insistence) while talking to each other about various small topics until you reach the lights-out shophouse. Before leaving, you and Okuu hug her together.

In the meantime while on the way back to the inn, you notice your fellow Guardians gathering near Alex's house. Alex invites you for a drink - which apparently is to celebrate a certain someone's coming-of-age.

“So I heard the guy finally did it. Let’s celebrate with a bottle of stuff!” Alex calls out; lifting up a bottle of sake once everyone's gathered around the table.

“AY!” The bottles go clink among the Guardians, with Erin needing a boost. Unlike everyone else in the team, he only takes small gulps from the bottle until half-way through.

"Actually, who told you that?" Rei asks as he puts down his empty bottle on the table.

"Koishi did. She dropped the intel on me from outta nowhere." Alex said.

"Oh, I suppose that kid been spying around, huh..."

“Did I just hear it right, gentlemen?” Remilia asks as she approaches the round table with Sakuya in tow.

"Hear what?"

"Someone we know finally found his love?" Remilia then waves her hand dismissively. "It's a good thing that you're all here - I need to remind you gentlemen that three days from today, you have a scheduled training simulation, courtesy of Yukari."

Instantly, everyone available cheered. "Yes!"

"Well a training is better than nothing. What are we going to do, S&D? CTF stuff?" Rei asks.

"CTF is a rather fitting designation for our next scenario - with the F standing for Fugitive, of course. I won't be telling the minute details until you gentlemen are there. All I want you to do is to prepare your gear for the simulation. This means full outfit with protective equipments, understand?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Remilia then nods and wishes everyone good night, before she and Sakuya leaves the Guardians for her home. Once the group-drinking session is over, you and Okuu return to the inn for the night with your prizes, hand in hand.

---

As soon as you reach your room at the inn, you sigh tiredly. Putting away your things is the first thing you do, before sitting down. Okuu however offers you a much better alternative from your current resting posture as she pats her lap and beckons you to come closer. You do so, resting your head on your hell raven's soft lap.

"Today's such a fun day, Seo."

"Yeah. A bit tiring, but yes, it's fun." You tell her, remaining on your position until you remembered to do something, getting up from your comfortable resting place regretfully.

"C'mon. Let's take a bath, dear."

Okuu obediently obliges as she gets up and strips herself off, before lending a hand to do the same to you and tailing right behind you to the bathroom. Before either both of you take a dip, you and Okuu clean each other up with soap, with the latter using her chest like a sponge, even rubbing more body soap around your body with her hands in a teasing way. You then return the favor when it's your turn to clean her up. Once the soaping and scrubbing is done, you rinse her off first before you throw some water on yourself to get rid of the soap.

The next step is the bathtub, which is enough to fit both of you, allowing you to slip into the tub with Okuu on top of you right after it finishes filling up. For that moment, you let yourself relax to the warmth of the water, along with Okuu in your arms.

After soaking in for a few minutes close to half an hour, you and Okuu step out of the tub and start to dry each other up with clean towels. You even take this chance to use your wind magic to dry up her long hair and wings before doing the same with your own wings.

Neither you nor Okuu bothered to put any clothes on, so you let her hug you close once the drying process finishes. You return her snuggles heartily, sneaking in some gropes to her bountiful chest. Okuu giggles as she presses your hands with hers into her chest some more.

Now facing her, you press your chest close to hers, staring into each other's eyes dreamily, before sharing a deep, intimate kiss with each other, along with an embrace. Though, during the kiss Okuu gently pushes you down to lie on your back, continuing to share those kisses.

"You're looking eager tonight, Okuu."

She giggles cutely. "All thanks to you for bringing me out on fun times like the last few days, Seo~"

"You're welcomed, dear."

As she's resting on top of you, you can feel her hand rubbing against your shaft. "And I don't plan on just ending it with words~"

You know absolutely well that she means it, and so you let her continue her handjob. In the meantime, you find yourself free from doing anything - so to fix that you grope her rear in return, kneading them lightly while your other hand squeezes her breasts. Seeing her reaction, you continue to tweak and tease her puffy and erect nipples.

The teasing would soon stop as she props herself over you, raising her hips so that she can guide your shaft into her. She then slowly lowers herself until she accepts the full length inside her, supporting herself with her arms planted beside your head.

"I can't wait anymore, Seo... I want all of it inside me~"

She definitely means it, and soon you find yourself groaning under her as Okuu would soon start gyrating her hips against yours.

While she's riding your cock like so, Okuu's juicy breasts is hanging down and bouncing in front of your face. You would take this chance to grab them both again and fondle them lovingly. Hopefully the room is soundproof, because her pleasant moans are music to your ears. Of course, with her current position it's quite easy for you to think of something desirable as a follow-up - you press her breasts together and suckle both of her nipples at once.

The sensation might be quite strong to her that her rodeo play suddenly freezes on the spot. You take this chance to roll her onto her back, before resuming the action with you now in the lead. Okuu's surprise only lasted a moment as your pounding sends her back into her state of bliss, more so when you play with her breasts, suckling one and playing with the other.

Okuu moans and squeals continues to soothe your ears she hugs you close to her as you continue this, this only fuels you to pound her harder and pick up your pace, and both hands now play with her breasts while you proceed to muffle her moans with a kiss. As you're busy with your business, you would realize Okuu locking your hips to hers in a leg lock. You would continue with your pace and eventually, with her tightness and warmth you eventually fill her up, with both of you crying out from sheer pleasure.

Her leg lock relaxes as she rides out her orgasm, and you rest on top of her body.

"You know, Seo... do you think mom would like our children?" She asks. You notice how she refers your mother as 'mom', just like how she calls your father as 'dad' few days earlier.

"Why not? She'd love the idea of raising them. You know that parents sometimes are like that."

"I see..."

"Do you want more then?"

"Yes~"

---

Of course, you ended up doing it several times more with her; having lost count how many times she wants it inside of her.

Now that both you and Okuu are tired from all that fun, you opt to rest with the latter agreeing and hugging you close. You return her embrace and rest your head between her cleavage, and Okuu responds with gentle pets to your head and back.

"I love you, Seo..." She mutters.

You look up to her and respond to her proclamation. "I love you too, Okuu."

And soon, you both drift to sleep.

---

When morning comes, you wake Okuu up for a bath together. Now that the festival is over, you and Okuu can afford using your usual getup to go around the village. Before leaving the inn, you pay the rest of the dues and you say your thanks to Hikakin for your pleasant stay.

You don't exactly go ahead and go straight home as Okuu insists on getting gifts for everyone else back at the palace. One of the stores that Okuu came across is a lingerie shop, where at her behest that you should stay outside. This comes to you as not quite an oddity; she might be aiming that as a surprise. Once she's done, she comes out of the store with a medium-sized bag.

After that, she leads you to various places, mostly just to do some window shopping. When she feels hungry, you would get her something to munch on before she gets back on her quest to look for things. Sometimes, the window shopping ends with a small purchase as well.

Your last stop would be Kourindou, where Okuu wants to use her voucher. After explaining how she actually obtained the item, Rinnosuke seems to be quite amused at her feat. Like her shopping moment in the previous store you sat out of her search, letting Okuu browse freely. Once a while, she picks up an item and putting it on the counter, so that Rinnosuke can tell her what it is.

"What's this?"

"It's a camera, like what the tengu uses. It's not quite as bulky, and I don't think it uses any film."

"Okay."

She then leaves the item on the counter, where she then looks for another item that catches her attention, repeating this process for two more times, where a clamshell phone and a small music player would join its side. Unlike Hatate's phone which you had glimpsed once, the clamshell phone is more rounded in the edges and more plain-colored. The music player on the other hand is as small and long as your thumb, with a cap at the end. Rinnosuke said that it's an old outside tech, a rare find in the outside world itself.

Okuu on the other hand seems to be having trouble choosing between those three items, and after a lot of reconsideration, she eventually makes up her mind about taking the music player instead. The device is indeed powered on as she tries it but if Alex taught you anything, that it needs a recharge over time, like your radio. Perhaps you could meet Nitori sometime later to see if the device needs any extra tinkering.

"Not buying anything for yourself, Seo?" Rinnosuke asks just as you're about to leave his shop.

"Maybe sometime later, when I see something that catches my eye."

"Sure thing. Come again later."

"Thanks, Rinnosuke."

By the time you reach the bridge to the underground capital, it was already evening. You ended up staying for a bit longer on the surface to buy things for the girls at the palace, with Okuu buying a bit more than you expected, but at least the latter is happy with her purchases. Parsee spots you as soon as you step in, and since you had anticipated this, you hand her one of the large stuffed toys you won during the festival. She hides her embarrassed face behind the stuffed toy and lets you on your way to the capital.

As you soon pass by the Yamame's place, Okuu asks you to stop over for a visit. You decide to stop by Yamame's place, and for some odd reason the shop's closed despite that she's usually open at this hour.

"It's closed."

"Say hi or something? I think she's inside." Okuu tells you.

"Alright."

You knock on the door twice, and soon the door creaks open. Yamame shows up at the doorframe and invites you in.

"I didn't know you're closed today."

"Well, I have other things to do, mostly." She then sees the items you brought from the surface. "Having fun shopping?"

"Yeah, we do. We're on our way back to the palace, and Okuu wants me to hang around here but I thought you were closed, so yeah."

Yamame smiles at your remark. "If that's the case, you guys can stay at my place for the night, how's that?" She offers.

You shrug your shoulders and accept the offer. "Eh, why not. The festival and taking care of her tires me too." Okuu giggles as you say that.

---

---

---

---

---

As soon as you reach Yamame's room at the top floor, you put down everything you carry and sat down tiredly. Okuu is mainly conversing with Yamame, showing off the items as a present for her. You didn't see Okuu and Yamame this close before

"Also, while at the surface, I bought these for you too!"

"What's that?" Yamame asks as she accepts the bag handed to her, before peeking inside. "Oh, you bought one for me too? That's so thoughtful of you, Okuu."

From her statement, you deduce that that was the item she bought that she asked you to stay outside of the shop, and then Yamame pulls out a pair of lingerie and socks from the box. As you see those, you are about to get up and let the girls dress up in privacy, but then Yamame stops you.

"No, Seo. I want you to stay~"

"Huh?"

Despite the confusion, you choose not to leave the room and stick around. You watch as they both strip their clothes off in front of you, before them both help each other put on their lingerie. Okuu has her white and plain pair of bras and panties complete with matching garterbelt and socks. In the meantime, Yamame has lacy black bras and panties, but instead of garterbelt, she has kneesocks instead.

Only then that it dawned on you that Okuu had known Yamame long enough to get the right size for the spider lady, but it wouldn't hurt for you to ask.

"How long have you two been planning this?"

"For quite a while~" Yamame answers. "Okuu said that she heard Satori talking about me and you, Seo, and she decided to ask me personally."

"Yup! And so I learned about you and Yamame back then."

"And sharing me then came into the picture?"

"She suggested it though." Yamame replies, as she stands behind Okuu and slipping her hands into Okuu's bra and panties. "After hearing this beautiful and lewd raven bouncing on top of my crush, I can't help but think of doing the same~"

You giggle at Yamame's statement, seeing her lightly tease Okuu in her arms. Soon however, the bras come off so that she can fondle her breasts and tease her nipples while her other hand rub against her lower lips. Okuu blushes and moans at such handling.

"You know... she sort of awakened other things in me." Yamame says as she scoots closer to you, allowing Okuu to sit down facing you. "She's so cute and innocent that I can't help myself doing this to her."

"I know that feeling, Yamame. For such an innocent face, she's quite the temptress." You pull both girls to your lap. "As for you, I'm glad you are fine sharing me with her."

"She is your first love after all, Seo."

You chuckle and lean over to kiss Yamame's lips. Okuu on the other hand watches enthusiastically until you let go of the kiss. Once you do that, your spider lady licks her lips and glances at Okuu.

"Shall we give our sweetheart a nice show, dear?"

"I would love to~"

At the hell raven's confirmation, the girls press their body together, docking their breasts together while sitting on your lap. They both then start doing a sloppy kiss together, kissing with such naughty noises while running their hands against each other's body.

With how sexy such sight is, you can feel that the heat rising in you and your pants is getting tight and uncomfortable. Yamame notices this as well, with her hand placed on top of the bulge.

"You really dig this idea of girls making out together, hmmm?" She asks.

"Especially when my two sweethearts are doing it on top of my lap." You reply, squeezing their rear cheeks at the same time.

Okuu and Yamame chuckle at your remark, getting off your lap and work on undressing you. Yamame focuses on getting your hakama off your legs after Okuu loosen the belt around your waist. She then rests the back of your head against her breasts, while Yamame wraps her fingers around your half-hard shaft.

"You're getting there, Seo. Now let's make you want more." Yamame then casts her glance at Okuu. "Okuu, dear, lie him down and join me over here."

"Okay~"

As instructed, Okuu lies your upper body down on the futon, now resting your head on a pillow. She then joins Yamame's side, starting to lick the unoccupied side of your shaft as Yamame takes hers. Naughty wet noises can be heard alongside the girls' pleasant grunts, while you sometimes jerk your hips at the pleasure. The licking would then cease, being replaced by the girls' mouth. They would alternate between each other, plunging your cock into their throat, sucking and bobbing along your length and stopping just as you get near the edge.

Soon enough, after both of them had coated your shaft with their saliva all over, you are completely erect with the girls nuzzling your shaft.

"Warm up over~ now for the part you like the most, Seo."

You didn’t even have the chance to guess as your lovers press your shaft in between their breasts, massaging a little before letting the other do it, just to build up your arousal. To say the least, the sensation of having two pairs of breasts massaging your sensitive manhood is quite heavenly.

You can feel the sensation of your orgasm coming close as the double titjob continues, and Yamame knows it well - she and Okuu doubles their massaging to make you cum faster.

"It's okay, Seo, you can cum now~"

And you do so, shooting a string of cum between their breasts, some of it gets splattered on Okuu's cheek.

"Ah, you got some on your face, let me clean that up." Yamame says right before she licks off Okuu's cheek. Of course, you're still ready for more, as Yamame would notice. "Time to have some fun, shall we?"

"Sure!" Okuu replies.

Yamame then straddles your legs as Okuu rests your head on her lap. She then assumes the cowgirl position, riding your erect shaft right away. In the meantime, Okuu offers her breasts for you to suck on, which you do.

With her arms planted on the futon as a support, Yamame continues to ride you, often times thrusting and twisting her hips against yours. Not wanting Okuu to be left out, Yamame leans forward for a kiss with her. In the meantime, her hip thrusts start to get more frantic and Yamame lies down on top of you, claiming her share of Okuu's unattended nipple. Now that you and Yamame are sucking her at the same time, the hell raven moans in ecstasy.

Eventually, you reach your peak and you shoot a few rounds into her awaiting womb, with Yamame and your moans suppressed by Okuu's breasts. Once Yamame's orgasm relaxes, she pulls from you and you turn your attention to Okuu. She squeaks in surprise as you suddenly get behind her and slip your hand between her legs to tease her. She's definitely wet from such spectacle, and you wouldn't want to make her wait.

You pick up the hell raven from her back by her thighs, showing her spread legs in front of Yamame. She would smile at the display and crawls closer, grabbing the former's breast and suckling the other, while her free hand gently curls around your half-erect shaft and stroking it in an attempt to revive it. At the same time, you nibble and suckle on Okuu’s nape.

With your teamwork and Okuu's rousing moans, your cock perks back up to action. Yamame sees your readiness, and she follows up by guiding your shaft towards Okuu's wet entrance as you slowly lower her to accept it. The position might not permit her to accept the whole thing to the hilt, but it is enough for her to feel the ecstasy.

Yamame resume her breast-fondling position, pressing herself close to the hell raven and making out with her. Both girls are really enjoying it, as Okuu is tightening up on you and Yamame pulling you closer to grope you as well.

Eventually, you reach your next peak and give Okuu her first fill for the night.

Yamame sighs contently as she cuddles with Okuu, lying down the hell raven on top of her. Suddenly this gives you an idea on continuing, and as such you prepare to mount on Okuu.

"You're catching up well~" Yamame coos, just as you hilt yourself inside Okuu.

Soon you begin to pound her from behind, while Okuu is holding hands with Yamame and pressing their breasts together.

"Both of you really like each other, didn't you?" You ask.

"With someone so cutely irresistible like her, I can't help but keep up the mood~"

With how sexy the sight of your lovers kissing each other, you can't help but agree with Yamame. In turn, this makes Okuu even hornier, as she bucks her hips back at you, while at the same time her inner walls tightening up on you.

You cannot hold on any longer yourself, and as a result, you cum inside Okuu again.

"Your turn~" She whispers to Yamame before sliding off and resting on her belly.

Yamame only smiles as you would soon shadow over her. She lets out a squeal as you claim her in a missionary position, and then start thrusting into her without hesitation. Yamame definitely likes it from how she's letting out her aroused moans, and that's where Okuu lends a help.

While lying right beside Yamame, Okuu catches the former's nipple into her mouth and sucks them off eagerly. This causes Yamame to squeal and squirm under you, and also squeezing you tight.

"Yams... I'm going to cum if you're squeezing me that tight..."

"Give your all in me then..."

With such approval from her, you would pound her in sharp, hip twisting pounds to get you to cum quicker. Just before you finish it up, you press your body against her in a hug, and follow it up with an orgasm more powerful than the last.

With both you and Yamame breathing heavily, you would rest on top of her before pulling out and sitting down. Despite that, your cock remains hard, and Okuu jumps at the chance on cleaning up your shaft without you even saying anything. You only pet her head to encourage her to continue.

"Looks like some people still have the energy to continue."

"Do you need a rest, Yams?"

She only shakes her head. "Only for a short while, but after that, I want you to do us until either one of us calls it quits~"

This seems similar like your night with Okuu yesterday, but this time with Yamame. It's not like you're feeling tired anyway, since it's going to be quite a night to remember.

---

The beeping sound of your wristwatch from a distance woke you up, and once your vision gets less blurry, you're treated the sight of Yamame still sleeping by your side, hugging your arm between her chests. You had to slowly pull away your arm from her so that you won't wake her up. Of course, you would soon realize that Okuu is hugging you like a hug pillow.

Eventually, Yamame wakes up after you, stretching her arms and showing her assets. She then settles back to lie on her side, this time with a better view of a chest with a sly smile on her face.

"Good morning, Seo." Yamame greets you.

"Morning, Yams."

At this point, Okuu wakes up as well and both ladies now sit up, looking at you still lying down.

"How about... a little something for you before breakfast?" Yamame asks.

"What is it?" You question back.

Yamame then whispers something to Okuu, and it was too brief that you didn't get to listen to what they are talking about. However, you soon get the hint as both Okuu and Yamame then lie on top of you, pressing a breast each to your lips. You slip their nipples into your open mouth, suckling both girls at once and making them squeals happily. As you continue to play with their breasts, both Yamame and Okuu reach for your shaft, wrapping their hand around it and then gently massaging it. While you squirm under them, you reach for their rear cheeks to squeeze and fondle them.

As this continues, their rubbing becomes faster and faster, and with your mouth full, you could only mumble incoherently, as you're about to reach your peak.

"Mmm... just let it all out, Seo~" Yamame coos as if she knows when you'd do exactly that. Her intense rubbing on your shaft didn't help either.

Just as you're about seconds from your ejaculation, Yamame shifts her hand to cover the head of your cock, coating her palm with your sticky juice. She giggles and cleans off her hand by licking it, and once you release their breasts to catch a breath, Yamame then proceeds to clean your shaft with a deepthroat with Okuu joining in moments later.

They both then stop with the cleaning, leaving your cock erect and glistening with their saliva.

"Mmm... how's that for a morning tease~?"

"Quite the way to start my morning..."

"Well then, shall we all get cleaned up?"

"Yes please."

Yamame and Okuu then help you onto your feet to get to the bathroom.

It's a good thing that Yam's bathroom could fit everyone inside, but the downside is that the morning waters are very cold - it sort of reminds you of your childhood times. As soon as you get out of the bathroom, you quickly towel yourself dry and put some clothes on. Only then the morning cold would go away. After everyone else gets dressed, Yamame leads you and Okuu downstairs so that you can have some breakfast.

A few rounds with her special porridge and some talk about your festival experiences, you would soon part ways with Yamame, where you and Okuu leave the Poison House and head towards the palace, keeping your pace at a steady walk home to enjoy the morning atmosphere and the underground dwellers setting up for their start of the day.

Though, as soon as you enter the palace, Orin suddenly runs up to you and pounces you to the ground. Koishi and Satori soon catches up with Orin, with the latter chuckling at what had transpired. They both give you a hug as soon as Okuu helps you to stand up.

"Everyone missed me, huh?"

"You bet we do!" Orin squeals.

---

Three days pass since the festival, and now you have some training to do at the surface again. You begin gathering up your equipments you prepared earlier,

"You're leaving again?" Orin asks as she catches you do so.

"If everything goes right the training would just last the whole day." You tell Orin. "I'll come back sooner."

"Well, I'm not complaining about your work. You just seem to go around the surface a lot lately."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that. I should stick around the palace more myself. I'll try doing that after this training."

You can see Orin creeping up closer to you, and rubbing her cheek against your arm. This causes you to chuckle, before awarding her with hearty pets between her cat ears and giving those ears a loving rub as well.

Just as you want to give her more pets, your radio crackle slightly but there's no follow up. You decided to recall.

"Someone called?"

"Hey man. Alex here. I was thinking, do you want me to send Arikado there for fast travel?"

"Nah, I am not in a hurry - I'll walk and fly there."

"Alright. You know the time deal. Roach out."

"You were saying something, Orin?" You ask her, once you're done with that call.

She shakes her head. "Well... nothing so far... but you'll know when I want you all for myself for some time."

Hearing that coming from her makes you chuckle and pet her head. Soon enough, you're all set to move, slinging on your backpack and battle rifle. Satori shows up a little later, joining Orin to escort you to the palace gates before leaving the palace with goodbyes. Okuu is absent, most likely having work to power the Underground Geyser Center. Of course, with you taking the leisure walk to the surface and taking the Ancient City route, you would eventually run into Yamame talking to a few builders in front of her closed shop. Once she's done talking, they all walk off, presumably to resume their work.

"Hey, Seo. Going overground again?" She greets as soon as she spots you with your backpack.

"Yeah, some Guardian training around this time. Hopefully it won't last over a day."

"Mind if I join you? I got nothing better to do when the guys are busy doing a full renovation on my shop."

"Oh, you want to tag along?"

"Well, that is if you don't mind."

"I'll ask first." You say as you grab for the radio, making sure that it's tuned to the group's frequency. "Hey, Sarge?"

"Yeah?"

"Mind if I ask you a question?"

"Shoot it."

"Yamame wanted to come along with me for the training, so I was thinking if she can join in with us."

"Well, I don't mind that, but have you planned a role for her?" Huh. You never thought of that. "Since you're having her along we're going to break up into two teams for better coverage, I'm having Alex, me and Shirayuki as a squad, and Erin and you would be the other."

"I think I might have one, she's good as a support gunner."

"Good. So that's one problem sorted out."

"We're missing two people for a complete squad though." Alex says over the radio. "Like, you know, a 4-man team instead of three."

"We'll leave that to Seo as well. Should we go with the 4-man team, I'll ask Sakuya and Meiling fill to in the blanks." He says. "Once you made up your mind, just tell me when we meet up at the SDM."[/i]

"Roger."

"Zero out."

Which is better, 3-man team or a 4-man team?
[ ] 3-man team!
[ ] 4-man team!

[x] 4-man team!

Better coverage of abilities I guess

[x] 4-man team!

[c] 4-man team!

Wonder what's going to await them...

[X] 4-man team!

Great update. Totally worth the wait.

VOTE RESULTS

[X] 4-man team! (4 Votes)

It's time to get into some bits of action so it doesn't get too boring in here.

---

While on the way to the Scarlet Devil Mansion from the underground, you make up your mind on what works best for your team. As you reach the surface, you recall your wings and fly with Yamame towards the SDMGD HQ.

As you land in front of the gates, Meiling greets you.

"Good morning, Seo."

"Good morning, Miss Meiling."

She lets out a little chuckle. "Come on in, everyone's waiting inside."

You nod and follow the gatekeeper into the mansion, right all the way to the designated HQ. There, everyone else is waiting in the room for the briefing. Remilia is also present in the room.

"Ah, Seo. Glad you could make it here in time. We're just about to begin the briefing." Zero speaks to you.

"You'd wait until I get here to start the briefing anyways, Sarge."

"Right. About what I said, would you prefer us to have a three-man team or four-man team?"

"I think it's best that we have 4 people in a team, Sarge, spread out the abilities a bit more."

"That's a great choice."

"Okay, now that everyone's here, what is the situation?" Alex asks.

"Your objective for this simulation is to capture Hafizi. He's accompanied with his accomplice, who's on the run."

"Easy peasy, lemon squeezy." Alex mutters.

"Well, to avoid this scenario from being too 'easy peasy', Yukari has some... things arranged to amp the difficulty up a little. You'll see it later on the field."

"I wonder what that could be."

You raise your hand for a question. "What did Hafizi do this time?"

"Nothing. But for a little bit of story why I came up with this idea, first, I had thought of something to test his mettle in actual battle. For the scenario, he and his accomplice have stolen valuable intel from us, and you need to track him down and detain him." Remilia replies,

"Ahh."

"For this scenario, you can refer to Command - aka Miss Remilia as codename 'Overlord'. Team Alpha will consist of me, Alex, Shirayuki and Sakuya. Team Bravo will have Seo, Erin, Yamame and Meiling. Everyone goes by their usual call signs, like me as Zero, Alex as Roach, so on and so forth." You and the rest put down notes. "Sakuya, Meiling, you both are Recon, which means you both start with DMRs of your choice. Yamame and I would be Support, so we carry LMGs and provide covering fire. We will also supply you ammo should you run out of 'em. Erin, Shirayuki, you are you team's Medic, and you both have infinite supplies to medical equipment. If you're feeling fancy, you can use defibs against your enemies. And lastly, Seo, Alex. You are Engineers, which means you can repair stuff and can carry missile launchers."

"Sarge, I have a question." You ask.

"Shoot."

"How do I actually repair stuff?" You put your emphasis on the word 'repair', since you hardly repaired anything complex yourself.

"Just point and use your blowtorch at stuff. This only applies with vehicles, the rest, you just bash it in."

"Wow, percussive maintenance."

"Of course, since this is basically a game, we have to bend around the rules so that things wouldn't be overly complicated and such. Think it as a mix of ARMA and Battlefield." Remilia adds.

"Oh, ARMAfield, got it."

"Now for equipment check. You should already have your maps, compass, and GPS tablets - these are important for navigating."

"How big is that place anyways?"

"I'd say an island around the size of Penang." Rei replies. "I don't think we have time to scour the whole island, so I'm challenging everyone to find them both before the day is over."

"Got it, sir."

"Next up, make sure you have your rations. Ammo and weapons must be in working order. Since that we're going out somewhere far, I don't want any of you to litter your magazines anywhere just because we have infinite resupplies. That's what the drop pouch is for. Give it to your team's Support to refill ammo."

"I guess that's because we dropped too many empty magazines then?" Alex asks.

"Those things are still in working order."

Once everything is checked, everyone is free to do things before deployment. Remilia would soon notice that Yamame is still in her usual dress at the moment.

"Oh, Sakuya? Can you help Miss Yamame to get dressed for the occasion?" She requests.

"Will do, milady. Follow me, please."

"Okay."

Sakuya, Meiling and Yamame would soon leave the room, before eventually returning with all three of them wearing the standard-issue combat gear, helmets, armors and all. Like the rest of the Guardians, everyone is issued with the woodland MARPAT camo for the combat gear, courtesy of Yukari.

And speaking of Yukari, you would see a gap forming in the room, before she steps out.

"I see that everyone is all ready to rumble."

"Waiting for you, exactly." Remilia says.

"Well then!" She exclaims. "Children, fall in line, one person at a time to the battlefield~"

With their equipments in hand, the Guardians make a careful step towards the open gap. You're the second last person to enter it, with Yamame being the last. As soon as you exit the other side of the gap, everyone gathers up in their group. Zero gathers everyone and repeats the briefing.

"Alright, that's the basics. Anyone needs a repeat?"

"No thanks."

"Nah, we got it."

"Guardians, lock and load."

---

As you wander around the field, you and your team observe the area but there's nothing else that's quite interesting to see. There's lots of hill and trees, with a mix of paved and dirt roads. Abandoned houses can also be spotted in the distance, which looks nothing like the architecture you're used to.

"That's right, I haven't gotten a call sign for Yamame." Rei starts to break up the monotony. "Meiling has Fighter, Sakuya has Blade, if you forgot."

"Yeah. Never thought of that for her."

"Alright then, start suggesting, everyone."

Alex starts off first. "Spider Mastermind?"

"Too long. Next."

"Atlach Nacha?" Rei offers his wisdom.

"What's that?"

"Lovecraftian horror."

"Still too long, next."

"Arachnotron?"

"No."

"Why not the Arachnid?"

"...I'll take that." Yamame says.

"Whoa, hold up, hold up. Everyone hit the deck." Rei suddenly gives orders.

At Rei's command everyone quickly went prone to the ground. Alex then pulls out his binoculars to see something moving in a distance, and immediately a frown can be seen on his face. "Overlord? Why do we have Russian Ground Forces against us as well?" Alex asks nervously into the radio as you observe the group of troops and their armored vehicles with the binos Alex passes to you.

"The Russians are after Hafizi because of the intel.

"No, why of all people's army, we have the RGF instead?"

"If you have a problem with that, go take it up to Yukari. You did say 'easy peasy' back then, so better suck it up." Remilia replies. "Seriously, this is a simulation, you don't need a storyline."

"Jesus Christ. I hope they use danmaku bullets like we do." Alex says.

"I can assure you that they do." Overlord replies.

"Are they real person?"

"There's only one way to find out, but I hope it doesn't come to that." Rei responds instead.

"Come to what?"

"You know, confrontation, misunderstanding and shit. The Russians are quite fierce with their fighting, which is I hope they don't go all out with the fighting."

"I'm worried about Hafizi if that's the case."

"We can't cover ground if we stay together like this. Alpha and Bravo team, let's split up from here on, and make sure to keep in touch."

"Roger."

---

In the meantime, you push on forward with your team, and along the way you eventually encounter a squad hanging around their vehicle. Your attempt at sneaking around them failed, as they quickly spot you with their guns pointed at you. While you prefer talking out of this encounter, they were questioning you in a language you did not understand and you on the other hand try to converse to them in both (broken) English and Japanese.

Despite all that effort to convince them that you're not up to something bad and having your hands empty, one of the soldiers fired at you - maybe him having a twitchy finger. You quickly dive to the side to take cover behind the trees. They don't immediately follow up the first shots, as you observe that there is some slight argument between the soldiers. Unfortunately, the argument ends with the whole team firing at you and your squad.

"Contact! Contact! Return fire!" You yell out to your squad mates. "Use the trees as cover!"

"Roger!"

The firefight lasted a few minutes as you and our squad exchange bullets against them. Though, you see them getting back on their feet and there's one person who keep reviving the others, which you assume that is their combat lifesaver. You then tell Meiling to shoot the medic, and thankfully they stay down afterwards. As the fight dies down, the soldiers that your team shot down yells something while waving their orange cloth, getting back on their feet and walk away from the area.

"What's going on there? Bravo Team, respond!"

"We're up, we're up. Just met some opposition from enemy troops."

"Were you fired upon?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, with a combat lifesaver around, they keep coming back when I shot them. Then I shot the medic." Meiling reports.

"And?"

"Well, when everyone's down and the firing stops they all get up to their feet, wave around an orange cloth and walk away. No wounds, no nothing."

"...well that's an interesting way to surrender after death. Do they leave their gear behind?"

"No, but they do leave their vehicle behind."

"Well that, I presume is their VDV buggy, if it got their PKMs at the top. And at least you don't have to worry about walking."

"It's a buggy alright, with seat for three and a MG mount. Yams, can you man the MG?"

"Sure."

The rest takes the remaining seats in the buggy, which leaves you and the driver's seat. There's one huge problem, though. "Uh, Sarge? I think I have a problem."

"What?"

"I can't drive this thing."

"Get in it, I'll tell you what to do."

---

Finally, despite the jerky start you got used to driving the VDV Buggy without further problems. With Erin riding shotgun and Yamame in the backseat, you make a tour around the area. There's not much to see in this place aside from the usual empty villages, houses abandoned, destroyed or otherwise - and you stop by at an abandoned house to get your bearings down.

"So we have... lots of places to go. So there's the main capital of the island, a shipyard, a dock, few villages around it, military bases and such." You say as you unfold the tactical map on the table. "I assume that right now we are here on the map..." You trail off, before marking a spot on the map after double-checking the GPS tablet. "If I were him, where would you think a fugitive would hide?"

Meiling offers her opinion first. "Considering that there is no presence of civilians at all, so he could be taking his chance scavenging the villages for any forms of food, fuel or medical supplies."

"Well I think that he might be hiding in the shipyard here, plenty of places to hide while waiting for an escape ride to the mainland."

"I'd say that looking for a sanctuary in a religious building might be a possibility too." Erin says. "He does look like he's the moderate ones."

After your squad mates offer their insights, you mark the monuments, with the village and what you assume a temple the closest to your current location. The shipyard and the docks however are past the nearest town.

Where should you go first?
[ ] Search out the nearest village.
[ ] Find the nearest religious monument.
[ ] Check out the shipyard.

[x] Search out the nearest village.

[x] Find the nearest religious monument.

Should work. Theoretically.

[x] Find the nearest religious monument.

Should be quicker to search than a village, fewer places to hide.

[X] Find the nearest religious monument.

Figured I should vote for this

[c] Find the nearest religious monument.

Ooooh, those Russians....

Heads up!

While I was working on my update on Titanpad, I accidentally cleared out my pad and tried to undo it. That made my pad and the timeslider inaccessible because it was loading forever.

Point is - seems like the update is gonna take while longer. Sorry, folks.

VOTE RESULTS

[X] Find the nearest religious monument. (4 votes)

Sorry about that, shit happened. Enjoy.

---

"So religious monument, you say? Anyone going with Erin's Idea?" Everyone takes a moment to decide before raising their hands. You nod and call up Shirayuki from the radio. "Bravo Team to Alpha Team, come in, over."

"Bravo Team, this is Zero."

"Sir, can we borrow Trigger for a moment?"

"She's currently on air. Go ask her directly."

"Trigger speaking! Currently airborne to collect data~ do you need anything from me?"

"Can you scan all churches that are close to our position? Ignore anyone from the RGF."

"Okay! Please wait, now loading..." There is some wait as you assume Shirayuki is doing her job as you ask. In the meantime, your teammates engage in some idle chat to pass some time, mostly Erin speaking to both Yamame and Meiling. The chat stops as Shirayuki returns on the radio. "Okay! I've spotted what I assume are your targets, situated at a church three klicks to the south of your position! I marked the location on the map so you won't miss it!"

“Thanks, Trigger.”

“You’re welcomed~”

---

Using the trees and building as cover, your team advance towards the church marked in your objective. Once you get there, you and your team slip in through the open front door.

"Alright, team, hold this position and maintain radio silence." You whisper to your team.

"Gotcha."

You then sneak away from before using your ability to pinpoint their location, and eventually you come across the room where those two are hiding. From there your ability heightens your sense of hearing.

"We don't have much time, we need to get ourselves off this island pronto. The intel should be washed from our hands by now." Hafizi talks. "Do you think we should go ahead and just use the wharf and use a boat to get out if here?"

"I wish, but we'd better go at night. Easier to sneak around."

"Well if that fails, there's always plan B. Frankly speaking though, we need more contingency plans because right now the RGF and VDV are all over the place. Then there's the SDMGD too..."

As you continue to eavesdrop on them, you hear the noise of breaking pottery, and eye a rat scurrying away from the scene.

"Hush, Hafizi, someone is here."

You curse your luck and take your cue to enter the room with your weapon pointed at both of them. Hafizi and Reisen return the gesture with the former wielding his AK-74 and latter wielding the TOZ-34. You try to talk them both down and even put down your gun to convince them, but as soon as you do that, Reisen shotguns you out of the door, leaving you paralyzed on the floor. Hafizi and his accomplice quickly grab their intel, run out of the door and out of the church.

“I’m down! Need a medic!”

"Where are you? Did you see Reisen?”

"The room in the back! Reisen ran away with him!"

"Okay! I'll be there!"

Erin then races to the place you are left lying down and slides to your side, but there are no visible injuries on you that he can work with.

“Uh, Sarge, sir? How do I fix him?”

“Just defib him with the AED! That'll get him back on his feet!”

Oh no.

Erin then charged up his defibrillator by rubbing up the paddles together before a beep could be heard. Then, with the charged paddles he jams them to your chest - without removing your combat vest - giving you a nasty jolt but at the same time removing the paralysis you have. “AAAAAAAAAAAARGH!”

“There! You’re all fixed up! This isn't how you work with an AED, honestly..."

"It's just a game, Imp, Bear with it for the moment." Overlord advises.

You soon regroup with the rest of your team, with Meiling doing an overwatch through the broken windows.

"So what now?"

"We'll go after them while we still can."

There is a problem, however. “Heads up, people. We've got company. I can see multiple enemy troops advancing towards our position." Meiling alerts your team. “They're even bringing in armor!"

"What the-? How did they get around us that fast? What kind of armor?"

“Two! Two eight-wheeled vehicles with turrets!” Meiling continues.

“Then that means they're BTR-90s! Spectre! Since your team didn’t have the SOFLAM and Javelin combo, I suggest you get crafty with your aim with the SMAW!”

"Should I destroy it?"

"Since they would wave an orange flag to surrender and leave it behind afterwards, I don't think you should. One shot should be enough."

“Roger wilco!" You then turn to your team. "I'm going to attack them by surprise, everyone else, take your positions and hold your fire until they start firing back.”

You climb up the stairs to the church's second floor, prepping up your SMAW and loading the tracer round to the spotting rifle before settling down on your spot.

From your cover, you train your SMAW at the stationary carrier, and you fire your tracer round twice first before firing the main round towards the BTR once the shots hit true. The explosive impact tips it by the side before it comes back slamming down on its wheels, leaving a visible scorch mark with the troops crawling out of the hatches and joining the infantry forces.

“Nice shot!”

“One down, one more to go.”

There are a couple of problems, however. As soon as everyone notices one of their BTRs has been disabled, the infantry start to lay down suppressive fire on your position. Even worse, the other working BTR is also doing the same with your known position, and destroying it in the process. At the same time, your team also does the same against the enemy units.

"Guys! I need some help over here!" You yell out to your team for assistance as you reload your SMAW, dust and debris flying around as your cover is being shredded apart by the auto cannon.

Yamame then comes up with a brilliant idea. "Seo! Gimmie your launcher!"

"Catch!" You then throw your loaded SMAW off the railing, with Yamame catching it mid-air with her web.

Once it is set in her hands, she returns to her position. You continue being the target, and the other BTR has wizened up to at least to move around to make it harder for Yamame to get a clear shot on it. It's not a problem for her anyways as she shot ahead of the carrier, not even bothering to fire the tracer rounds first. The impact hits the armored vehicle cleanly on the broad side, this time tipping the vehicle on its side due to the impact.

"Armor is down! I repeat, both armors are down!" Meiling announces.

"We still have the guys on foot, how do you get rid of them?" Erin asks.

"That question remains to be answered." Of course, you then hear the rush of helicopter blades, hovering above the church. "That can't be good."

“Zero, is there anything about anyone not being allowed to use their spellcards?” Meiling contacts Rei.

“No?”

“We are getting boxed in. VDV troops are going to rappel into the building."

“Go ugly early. Get creative.”

And speaking of creative, this is where you've thought of an idea. "Alright, listen up. Yamame, I want you to cover the windows with webs, Meiling, when Erin and I pop smoke at the door I want you to punch it open. This is going to sound risky, but I'm going to perform a ninja repair and then use the BTR against them."

"Are we going to run out in the open?"

"No, we fly." As you say that, you expand your wings, standing directly facing the church's door. Yamame gets to work with her webs and everyone takes their position. On the count of three, you and Erin then throw smoke grenades at the door, and just as the heli troopers breach into the windows, they get stuck into the webs Yamame laid out. Meiling then punches the church's doors off its hinges, with you taking off as soon as the window of opportunity opens.

"Hold on to me, Erin." You can hear Meiling say those words as you fly past her.

While the troops are busy focusing on your teammates flying off and suppressing fire at the same time, you pop smoke at the still-upright BTR and swoop down to repair it. The process is simple - with you using your blowtorch against the vehicle, and your goggles show up a progress bar which soon fills up over time.

"Is it done yet?!" Erin yells over the radio in distress.

"Almost there, almost there..."

Once it is done, you hop onto the top hatch where the gunner position would be, before jumping in. The smoke had dissipated by then, and you open fire on the enemy's position with the auto cannon. The transport heli is obviously scared off as you purposely miss it, flying off and leaving the rest of the troops on the ground. In the meantime, Meiling has engaged in more close combat, with some soldiers apparently trying to take her on one-on-one, with predictable results. She even broke out some of her spellcards for extra damage.

Yamame and Erin in the meantime sit back and snipe any medics trying to revive their downed friends and any engineers trying to get their other BTR-90 working or trying to take out the one you're manning at the moment with their RPG-7s. They both then board the carrier, with Yamame replacing you in the gunner position and Erin sitting in the back, firing from the ports. Meiling soon joins after the rest.

Eventually the enemy crowd thins out with the wave of orange scarves, and those who don't do so retreat to safety.

“Congratulations, Spectre, you scared the living daylights out of them.”

"Nice, now that's some fun to be had. We even captured a BTR-90, how awesome is that?"

“Well you can have that, but you can’t top the T90A1 we stole.”

Immediately after hearing that, you feel deflated. “Damn.”

"Status report?" Overlord asks.

“We found Hafizi and Reisen with said intel, and they ran away. However, I caught wind of their operation plan, so we could use that to our advantage.”

"Nice!" Alex can beard cheering in the background.

"Well, we can't depend on their playbook if they know you heard them. Most likely they'll go with their unspoken plan. They can't go far - after all, they are on foot, and you have wheels. All eight of them." Rei adds.

"Right. Here's a suggestion, guys. Chances are they'll try going to the capital because there are tons of cover for them to use there. How about we all link up together and flank those two?"

"Not bad."

"Yeah, we're not too far from the capital, just a couple of klicks to the north." Alex says.

"There is something to consider, by the by. Abandoned cars are all over the place, so as soon as they get one of them working we might lose their tail." Sakuya offers her wisdom. "If we lose them there then everything else is guesswork after that."

"The only way off of this island is that either you fly or you take a boat off to the mainland." Sarge says. "The fisherman's wharf and the docks would be too obvious, since you heard them talk about it, Spectre."

"Hmmm..."

What do?
[ ] Link up with Alpha Team and flank them at the capital.
[ ] Line up an ambush at their planned sea-based extraction point.
[ ] Figure out their aerial escape route.

---

UNFAMILIAR WEAPONS

TOZ-34 - The TOZ-34 is a double-barreled over and under shotgun produced by the Tula Arms Plant (or Tulsky Oruzheiny Zavod) in Russia. http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/TOZ-34

[x] Figure out their aerial escape route.

Gut feeling really

[x] Figure out their aerial escape route.

[c] Link up with Alpha Team and flank them at the capital.

Highway To The Danger Zone is now playing. Manually.

[x] Link up with Alpha Team and flank them at the capital.

[X] Link up with Alpha Team and flank them at the capital.

[X] Link up with Alpha Team and flank them at the capital.
FLOOR IT!

Ties are broken, votes are closed!

It's writing time.

VOTE RESULTS

[x] Link up with Alpha Team and flank them at the capital. (4 Votes)

That took a bit too long.

---

"Sarge, you said that you're close to the capital, right?"

"That was me, actually." Alex corrects you.

"Yeah, the point still stands. Let's try flanking them at the capital with both of us and our armor."

"I like that idea."

"So it's decided then. Full speed ahead, folks!"

And so you and your team march towards the capital with your armored carrier, but no sign of the fugitives running away from the encounter part. Those two sure had some wheels or they are just too fast for you. Once you reach the capital, Sarge initiates Shirayuki as a spotter UAV to triangulate both Hafizi and Reisen's position. They both are spotted in a building where they might be formulating their next escape plan. Since Alex is driving, he parks the T-90A1 in the alley close to their hiding spot, while you park your BTR-90 elsewhere, opposite of them.

"Imp, you're with me. Arachnid, Dragon, you two link up with Alpha Team." You command Erin as you disembark off the armored carrier.

"Roger."

"Copy."

"On your six." Erin complies.

The door to the warehouse is carelessly left open, and they are not even guarding the windows. To add in the stealth factor, you use your wind powers to levitate slightly off the ground with Erin.

"There are in the room to your right, second floor."

"Copy that. Executing a breach." You then switch to using hand signs, before grabbing a breaching charge and placing it on the door. "Take point, Erin."

"Roger."

Once you're both in cover, you detonate the charge, and the surprised cries coming from the two fugitives only confirms their presence.

"Freeze! Hands on the air! No tricks or negotiations this time!"

Both Hafizi and Reisen quickly make a quick getaway as you scream your way in the room with your rifle pointed at them. But in the moment of luck Reisen drops the briefcase containing the intel to the floor and scattering the contents on the floor. You prevent Hafizi from reaching for it by shooting the space between him and the briefcase.

"The intel!"

"Leave it, Hafizi!" Reisen yells out.

"Damn it. Not at this time. Reisen, cover my six. I'll delay their approach long enough for us to--"

"We don't have time for that! Come on, we've got to leave!"

"...shit."

They might have seen the T90 Alpha Team is riding, and a short battle cry from Alex later, you can hear the sounds of the Kord being unleashed into the building. You take cover as Alex further suppresses them and eventually causing the fugitives to flee. Once the barrage of mounted machine gun trails away from your current position, you and Erin quickly gather up the intel.

"Cease fire! Cease fire! Alpha Team! We got the intel!"

"Nice!"

"We see those two on the run. Engaging."

"They can't go that far. I'm tagging them; they should be visible on your HUDs."

The hunt continues up until you reach a sport facility, where you can only advance on foot.

"You guys hold up there, we can hold up them both by ourselves."

"Take it easy, you two." Sarge tells as he pops out of the gunner hatch.

You and Erin then shoot the door open, before finding both Hafizi and Reisen cornered in the gym, with no way out. Now that they noticed you, they have their weapons drawn at you and Erin. Looks like Reisen had her weapons upgrade, she seems to be wielding an SKS.

"Overlord, we have the fugitives in sight."

"Approach with extreme caution."

"Roger Wilco."

Your pursuit finally ends with Hafizi and Reisen cornered to a locked shutter door to the back of the gym.

"End of the line, you two." You start. "Now if you would kindly drop your weapons and follow us, you both would be alright."

"What did you say?"

"I said, drop your weapons and surrender."

"Don't worry, Reisen, we'll get out of here alive." you hear Hafizi whisper to Reisen. "We'll be okay."

"Come on, no need for sweet, dramatic words. we have a T-90A1 waiting for you outside if you resist. Just make it easy and drop your weapons, you two."

Then all in a sudden, something happens.

"Hafizi? Hafizi?" Reisen calls as she sees Hafizi trembling and murmuring something before he drops onto his knees. Both you and Erin stop advancing, but not dropping your weapons.

"Seo, something's wrong..." Erin says.

"Yeah, I can feel it."

As you keep your stance, you suddenly see Hafizi looking straight at you, moments before he suddenly goes into a lunge.

Holy shit.

But, before he can do anything, Erin bravely shoves you out of the way, and sidesteps out of Hafizi's path.

What follows later is Erin trying to fend himself off from Hafizi with grapples and kicks. Although brief, Erin managed to get a drop on Hafizi by tripping him to his knees. To add to that, Erin knees the latter's midsection while he's in such position, only for Hafizi to suddenly get up, punch him in the gut and pin him against the wall with his hand around Erin's neck.

"Hafizi! What are you doing!? Disengage!" Reisen calls out frantically.

"You do not kick a Sabahan while he's down," he hisses while pinning Erin further up the wall. "Nobody kicks a Sabahan while he's down."

"...Sarge? I need some help![/i}

[i]"Fuck, I've feared the worst." You can actually feel the worried tone in Rei's voice. "Seo! Whatever you do, don't make it worse!"

"What's your plan, sir?" You look back and forth between Hafizi and Reisen.

"Support, obviously. Jack, hand me that Nova, will you?"

"Here she is."

"Thank you." You can hear the faint noise of him checking the shells in stock.

"Whatever you do, just make it quick, Sarge! Imp's going blue!"

"I'll be there!"

As soon as Rei steps in the gym, he fires a shot to the air to attract everyone's attention .All eyes immediately turn towards Sarge at his entrance, and Hafizi turns around, just as Rei walks in.

"Hey! What's that you said? Nobody taunts a Sabahan while he's down? How about you come here and fight someone with a bigger gun, eh? Eh?"

It seems to be working as Hafizi quickly drops Erin, leaving him to gasp for air. You put your gun down to tend Erin, but Reisen beats you to it instead. You would then get Erin out of the firing line as you can see Hafizi's rage growing.

"Come here, you bull with no horns, I'm not afraid of ya."

"Wow, Sarge is working on his Ramsaying."

"Shut up Alex, you're distracting him."

"Purge the unclean! HAIYAAA!"

Sarge quickly brings up his shotgun in view and pumps it as Hafizi pounces on him. "Purge this, motherfucker!"

What follows later is a rapid barrage of Rei firing the Nova and racking it multiple times until it is empty. He then drops the shotgun and pulls out his pistol end empties it on him as well, just to be sure Hafizi stays down. Sure the bullets doesn't kill even with the amount Rei is wasting on him, but it still packs quite a punch when getting hit by it rapidly, enough to knock someone unconscious.

"Is he alright?" Reisen asks when Rei checks up on Hafizi.

"He's tired." Sarge says as he checks up on Hafizi. "Alright, who provoked him first?"

Erin is quick to take the blame. "I did, sir."

"What did I told everyone to not do during the briefing? Don't do that again, you almost get yourself killed over there."

"Understood."

"What really happened? I didn't know he'd become like this," Reisen speaks. "Not after he'd assured me that we both would get out of this alive..."

"Reisen, have you heard what happened at Youkai Mountains?" Rei asks.

"What happened at Youkai Mountains?" Erin interrupts.

"Long story short, like my first visit to the mountains, Hafizi got confronted by the mountain guards when he has a delivery to be done. And while I was confronted with the female guards, the male guards are really rowdy, harassing him for his presence. So then he went berserk, and Tenma stopped him before in her words 'dig his throat out of his neck.'"

"Guy's got issues." Alex chimes in the conversation from the radio.

"No shit."

"Why wasn't I told of this?" Reisen asks. You can actually see her shaking in her shoes.

"Probably for your own good; be it a berserker's rage or a tranquil fury, it's not a good thing to tell everyone." Rei answers. "Everyone, get in here. Overlord, we now have the package and the two fugitives. Requesting extraction, over."

"Roger that, Alpha One. Extraction will begin in 30 minutes via air. Get yourself somewhere less hot and mark your position with the support marker."

"On our way."

"Somewhere less hot in thirty minutes?" Erin asks. "What does that even mean?"

"Heads up! I'm seeing large groups of soldiers converging on your position!"

"Aw shit. Yeah, we're going to have a bigger problem." Alex laments.

"What kind of soldiers, Trigger?"

"Looks like elites! Spetsnaz Group Alpha, I believe?"

"That's swell. Listen up; I want everyone that can shoot available. That means him too. Erin, revive him with just the smelling salts, will you?"

"Roger that, sir."

Erin then rummages his medipack to grab the smelling salts, and once he did he uses that to revive Hafizi before scurrying away to avoid a second backlash. Sarge quickly steps in after that.

"Welcome back to the world of the living, Hafizi."

"What the fuck happened?"

"Shit happened. Can you walk?"

"...I guess?" He must have noticed that none of your team are bothering to point their guns at him as he wakes up, with Reisen is already prepping hers beside Erin. "So what's the deal this time?"

"We need all the available arms so; I need you and Reisen to be on our side. On the condition that if you both turn your rifle at us, I'm making sure you'd be back in a sleeping bag, all tied up."

"You sure you don't mean we'd be back in a body bag?" Reisen asks.

"I was going to say that but I sure as hell can't shoot to kill anyone for that matter. Not with this bullets."

"Right."

"What about our stolen wheels?"

As soon as Erin asks that, you see Alpha Team's MBT being commandeered away from the gym. You can assume your BTR is being steered away as well. "We can kiss it goodbye, I say."

"Welp."

"On the flipside, they aren't going to use it against us. That's fair I say."

"I thought of a better idea. Let's thin them out as much as we can, then we buzz off with something they don't have."

Sakuya knows the grin on Sarge's face all too well. "Oh, I know what you mean."

"Take position, folks. Seo, if you may, can you throw back whatever things they throw at us?"

You unfurl your wings. "Roger."

As soon as the smoke pops and right before the flashbang rings, you create a huge gust with your wings to throw them back at the opposing force, with great effect. Cries of order soon ring out as unaffected teams take their place and start firing at your position. Rei and Yamame deploy their LMG's bipod and return fire at them in order to suppress them down.

While everyone is busy, you can hear noises of someone banging on the shutter door leading to the back. After that that everyone in your team would notice the bright sparks, which means they are cutting their way in. You and Alex had started firing upon the shutter with your rifles, but that doesn't deter them to stop cutting. Once the shutter pieces fall away, a couple of large figures accompanied by smaller ones enter the gym.

"Juggernaut has arrived."

"What?"

"This is gonna be fun."

"Soldiers in armored EOD suits spotted!" Alex yells.

Your position would be soon under fire from their machine guns, with your teams doing jack in terms of damage as you return fire at them. However, one of them seems to stop their advance once he sees you and Alex with your SMAWs.

"Clear the backblast, folks!" Alex warns, and everyone else scampers clear from your back.

With both of you aiming at the same Juggernaut as he backs away and hip-firing at you at the same time, you quickly line down your sight and fire a rocket at him, with Alex following afterwards. The explosion knocks the first one off his feet, and you retreat back to your group. Here, the second one can be seen trying to wrestle with Sarge and Hafizi, with the latter trying his luck as well.

"What are you doing, Hafizi?! Fall back!"

"This one's mine!"

"All yours then!"

Sarge lets the Juggernaut go with the latter's exclamation, and Hafizi now alone to go against it with just his strength.

"You wanna tango, Ivan? Come get some."

"My name IS Ivan."

"Well that makes it even better, c'mon."

And so, both Hafizi and the armored soldier face off in a bout of strength. The former is clearly lacking his berserker strength, but he can still stop the latter in his tracks. It's like watching a sumo match as they both trying to grapple each other to the ground.

Eventually Hafizi sees a chance, and soon he manages to throw down the Juggernaut to his back. The latter, without a medic around, waves an orange flag to signal his defeat, like everyone else.

With the Juggernaut's defeat, some of the troops retreat as well, allowing some breathing room for your team.

"Looks like a good chunk is retreating. Listen up, team. We pop smoke, and run the fuck outta here, okay? Seo, since you're the fastest out of any of us, you pop yours first and take the lead."

"Got it."

"Carry Erin with you as well."

"Okay."

With Erin being the lightest in your group, you call for him to hold onto you, while you grab a smoke grenade like everyone else. You then throw your smoke out of the open door first, before taking off from the facility.

"Run!"

At the signal, Meiling rushes out and kneeling one soldier in her way, with the rest of the team following her tail. Rei is the last to leave, but not before taking a flight through the skies with his fireball jump.

Everyone else is soon accounted for, with Shirayuki being the last one to follow your tail.

As soon as you reach a good spot out of the capital, your team just collapsed due to running fatigue. You then land on the ground, and pop a signaling smoke where Venom flies in and lands. Yukari then exits the Venom to congratulate your team. "Well done, you managed to capture both the intel and the objective. I'm surprised with the firepower you people have you didn't attempt to wipe everyone before leaving."

"No use for sweet talking, Yukari, just get us outta here."

"Alright~"

---

You exit the gap with the rest of your teammates, who most of them slump onto the ground after doing so. You only sigh exhaustedly as you walk past the lying forms of Alex and Erin. The fairy maids swoop in to offer drinks, which everyone accepts.

"So what's the verdict on the exercise?"

"In their words - for a bunch of odd jobs you people are actually very good at this. Not even out of shape at all. Granted, it's only an airsoft battle, but we'd love you guys to be on our side for our next skirmish."

"That's pretty cute."

"Not out of shape my ass. I feel like I haven't done PT in ages."

"Rest up for a bit, folks. If you intend to stick around for the next hour, I intend to have a pool party for the successful exercise."

You and Yamame stare at each other. "Pool party, eh? Do you want to join, Yams?"

"Unless if you have other plans, I'm all game for soaking in."

"Alright then."

So what should you do?
[ ] Join the party.
[ ] Check up on your family.

[c] Check up on your family.

Family first, party later.

[X] Check up on your family.

Family first.

[x] Join the party.

I don't thin it'd be that dire to skip out on fun/relaxing

Just so to be clear, going to visit the family is more of a drop-by to see how's everyone doing.

There's nothing too serious, folks.

[x] Join the party.

We need a tiebreaker, folks.

[x] Join the party.

And join the party it is. Tie broken!

VOTE RESULTS

[X] Join the party. (3 Votes)

Have a small incentive for this choice.

---

"Well, I think I'm going to stay for that pool party, Yamame." You tell her, as you put aside your plans to introduce Yamame to your dad. Maybe next time.

'That's great!"

"I don't think you brought along a swimsuit, though."

"Oh, that's never a problem for me."

You raise a brow at her statement. "You aren't going to weave a pair in an hour, right?"

"You'll see." Yamame then converses to Sakuya which you overhear as them talking about changing rooms, before returning to your side. "You know, I never knew you had your own room in the mansion."

"Technically, every SDMGD members would have their own room for use during training. There are plenty of rooms for each recruit accepted into the team, and they are quite spacious."

"Such work benefits~"

"You can say that again."

Afterwards, you lead Yamame to your room. The door is locked as expected, but since your dogtags double as keys to the room, you are able to enter it. With Sakuya and her team taking care of the mansion, your unused room remains pristine and tidy, as if it was the same as you left it a couple of years ago.

In the meantime, Yamame takes out her swimsuit from her bag as you sit on the bed. Of course, just like before with Okuu, she insists that you stick around as she changes clothes. Yamame didn't weave any swimsuits for herself in such short notice - instead she takes out a three-piece swimsuit from her bag, consisting of a top, panties, and sarong, the former two being back-tied and side-tied.

"Were you expecting a pool party or something like that in the first place?" You ask.

"No, I brought it along just in case I coul relax near some body of water." She replies.

Yamame then starts stripping down, showing off her body a little bit and before putting on her swimsuit, finishing it off by wearing the sarong around her hip. As soon as she's done, she twirls about to show her body off.

The swimsuit she has is filled quite nicely in the chest area, showing off nice cleavage while remaining tasteful at the same time. The same can be said for her hips as well, as you can see where her sarong came undone during her twirls. Her bikini bottom highlights her hips fully. There's nothing too fancy or gaudy about her choice of colors, as it is as brown as her regular outfit.

Once Yamame's done tying her sarong back she then walks towards you before settling on your lap. She sits there and does nothing except smile at you.

"Yams..."

"Yes~?"

"Can it wait until we're back at home? I mean, it's gonna be awkward with all the guys around..."

She giggles and nods. "Of course, I'm just teasing you~" Still, she remains on your lap and loosely wraps her arms around your shoulders. "You gotta promise me that you'll give it all to me tonight~"

"...I'll see about that."

As a conversation finisher, you and Yamame then share an intimate kiss together, but stop short before either both of you get too riled up for the party.

---

For the small, quick party you were later escorted the Voile by a fairy maid. This comes across as weird to you as you never thought of the Voile Library having an indoor pool. By the time you get there, you see that everyone else is already present with their swimsuits on, with most of the girls having two-piece swimsuits as their choice, the only exception being Meiling, since she has her backless, one-piece swimsuit on instead. The guys on the other hand have knee-length swimming trunks, and so do you.

Once everyone is ready, they all take turns to slip into the pool and relax.

While everyone is at the pool, you can see Reisen and Erin sitting together closely. From your current angle you can see them having their hand over the other's, with Reisen occasionally gripping Erin's. From there, you can tell how close Reisen and Erin are, like young lovebirds.

For a moment, nobody says anything as everyone else is more focused on relaxing in the water. Only then does Alex break the silence.

"Say, Sarge. What's actually in that briefcase we were after during the whole op?"

"That intel? Just random bunch of old documents and maps." Rei replies. "What, you were expecting compromising photos?"

"Slightly." He replies jokingly. "It's nice though, finally getting about for some action ever since the last actual ops with that crazy-ass wasp."

"You bet."

And as such, everyone else begins to converse with each other on various topics and at the same time indulge on the present eye candy. You can definitely see Erin blushing madly and Reisen giggling and petting his head.

"Hafizi?" He squeaks out when he sees him unoccupied with the conversation.

"Yes?"

"About that time when..."

"Eh, don't sweat it. It's my fault anyways."

"Ah... okay..."

You pat Erin's shoulder.

"Thanks for saving my ass back there."

"...you're welcome...?" It seems that he's not quite used to getting praise from you.

Reisen slips behind Erin and immediately her hands go to grab his shoulders to give them a nice massage to soothe him. It works as intended as your small squad mate relaxes and sinks into the pool until his upper body is submerged.

"There, there. You deserve to relax once in a while, Erin."

Yamame only giggles at the display, before she attempts to do the same to your shoulders. Once she works with her hands on your stiff shoulders, you too sink into the water.

"You too, eh?"

When the topic of massaging comes up, you can see Meiling grin. This makes Rei question her on something. "You seem like you're going to show something off."

"Well, that's because I can massage people too. Any volunteers?"

Everyone isn't really excited about the idea of how Meiling would do a massage, but despite that Alex steps out of the pool to be the volunteer. "Ah, what the heck. I'm in."

A fairy maid then brings along an already-inflated air mattress while Alex is drying himself up. Once it's set on the ground, Alex lies belly-first on the air mattress while Meiling prepares herself by popping her finger joints first, before starting to (wo)manhandle him. As a starter, Meiling begins to push down on Alex's spin with the palm of her hand several times, until some cracking noises can be heard, your fellow operator grunting in slight discomfort each time as Meiling goes along his spine from top to bottom.

"You okay there?"

"A little bit. Carry on."

Meiling continues with his limbs per Alex's green light, and he stays still despite the mild discomfort. He seems to be used to the sensation of his arms and his fingers' stress being pushed out of him. Once Meiling is done with the arms, she then moves on to his legs, bending them, kneading his soles and toes to get the stress massaged out of him.

"Why'd you stop?" Alex asks as Meiling stops her routine.

"We're done with your body, so there's only one place left to get that stress out of your system."

"Where?"

"Your head."

"...please don't snap my neck, okay?"

"I'll be gentle~"

Rei and Sakuya can be heard giggling in the sidelines. Honestly, you'd do the same, but you save it for later.

Meiling then instructs Alex to sit up straight, and she does it gently as she said she would. The more satisfying neck pops can be heard as she tweaks Alex’s head to the left and right, and once she's done with the head area Alex lies down on his belly back on the mattress.

"How did it feel?"

"My head feels light, but it's okay." Alex then gets himself away from the air mattress.

"Good! Glad you liked it. Anyone else want to give it a try?" She asks, just as the fairy maids arrive to offer refreshments to the pool party participants.

"...maybe later. The noises scare me." You tell her.

---

By the time the small party is over, it's nearing dusk. Since you don't have any other business at the palace, you and Yamame head straight to the chasm, where the bypass leading to the main path to the Ancient City is located. There, you unfurl your wings and descend down the chasm, following the path to the capital. When you're about to reach the City, you notice that Parsee is not present at her bridge and as a result you press ahead.

Just as you reach Yamame's shop, the first thing that catches your attention is the fact that the shop is being boarded up. Kisume is waiting outside to put up a sign, while a small group of oni walk out of the shop, waving goodbye to Yamame as soon as they see her. As you get a closer look, the sign that Kisume just put up reads "Closed for Renovations".

"Renovations again, Yams? What is it for this time?"

Yamame picks up Kisume's bucket, kissing the smaller youkai's cheek. "Building upgrade, Seo. Doing an honest business with the oni pays off quite well, and I saved enough to make the shop bigger for them."

"Aha, I see." You nod. "So, what about your things in the shop?"

"They are lending me a warehouse to keep my bigger things for the moment; they moved it while we're out back there. In the meantime, Kisume packed up our clothes, and we might need a place to stay."

"For how long?"

"A week at best, two weeks at worst."

"Damn, those guys sure work fast."

"I've dealt with them before, the guys are quick builders and they are among the best. That said..."

You quickly catch what she wants to ask you. "You want to stay at the palace, don't you?"

She giggles when you catch her intentions. "I’m down with staying if Satori would let me stay, that is. I promise I won't be a bad guest~"

"Well, we'll see what her consensus will be."

"Lead the way~"

---

A short walk from the capital later and your group reaches the palace, where you're greeted by Okuu and Orin - with the former giving both you and Yamame a hearty hug. Orin on the other hand hugs Kisume.

"So nice to see you around this hour." Orin says to Yamame, and then she notices Yams and Kisume's bags. "Planning for a sleepover?"

"Quite so, I have my shop under renovation again, so I want to ask Satori again if I can stay around momentarily."

"I see, I see. Satori-samnya is at her study, so go ahead and see her there."

"Thank you, Orin."

"You're welcome." She then turns towards Kisume in her bucket. "As for you... Okuu, let's keep Kisume company while they are busy."

"Sure thing~" She replies. Orin has walked off by then, but before she follows Orin's tail, Okuu plants a quick kiss to your lips.

After a quick giggle from Yamame, you lead her to the study and knocked on the door twice before getting her permission to enter. Once you're in, you leave the baggage outside and walk towards her table. She then looks up at you and Yamame, still wearing her reading glasses.

"So, having a blast at the exercise?"

"You can say that." You tell Satori as you and Yamame take a seat. "It was quite tiring, but at least we got to relax after that."

"That's great. I assume that you had quite a sight in the meantime as well?"

"Frankly, yes."

Satori nods and turns to face Yams. "So you need a place to stay, Yamame?"

"If you allow me to, because I'm having a big renovation happen at my place. I donn't mind if you say no, though."

"Well, guests are always welcome in my place. You can stay for however long you need, but..."

"But what?"

"Going with what you have in mind, I would recommend you staying in Seo's room, Yamame. Perhaps you'll need company during your stay~"

Huh. Is Satori suggesting something?

"I'm more than fine with that." Yams replies with a grin on her face.

"Of course. Now then... how about both of you go and take a bath. That pool party wasn't enough to get that gunpowder off you." Satori in the mean time closes the book she is writing on, before standing up from her seat. "As for me, I'm going to cook some dinner. Be there at the kitchen when you're done."

"Got it."

Now that she mentions it, you realize the stench of burnt powder still sticking to you. It seems like simple soaking in the pool earlier on may not have been enough to get rid of that. So with that, you and Yamame excuse yourself before leaving the study for your room. As soon as you reach there, you drop everything you carry to the floor, before getting ready for a bath. As expected, she even decided to have a bath together with you.

When she's done with the couple bathing, Yamame gets out of the bathroom first and dries herself up with her towel. She simply throws it away when she's all dry, before she jumps onto your bed without anything on. You on the other hand soon join her by sitting down at the edge of the bed after putting on a shirt and track pants.

"We still have dinner ahead of us soon, you know."

Yamame chuckles as she kicks her legs behind her. "I know. I just like teasing you." She then rolls onto her back, giggling. "Can I borrow your shirt, Seo?"

You hand her a fresh pair of T-shirt and track pants, which she puts on quickly. It's a perfect fit, and sort of highlights her unrestrained breasts.

"It's as comfy as your bed, I'd say."

You smile at her remark just as you put on your set of clothes. "Come on, dinner is going to be ready soon."

---

After having dinner with the rest of the household, you and Yamame linger around the palace. Eventually, while you and Yamame are having some small chat, you lead her to the guard post. As you hang around, you and Yamame start to discuss about how your work has been for the last few days, all while checking out your weapons. You can tell that Yamame is quite interested in weaponry, as she is learning on how things work and such. You explain to her as best as you can, passing time until she starts to feel sleepy.

As soon as she says so, you start to pack up your equipment and lock it up safely, before leaving the sentry gun to take your place. You also bar the door to the post from the inside, to prevent a second intrusion from the tower just in case.

Once you and Yamame reach your room, she clings onto you before slipping onto your bed and taking off her clothes. You lie beside her without taking off yours, with the spider lady hugging you close to her. There's no words shared between the both of you, just kisses and lots of them until you both stop.

"Will you owe up to your promise earlier today, Seo?" She asks seductively.

"Of course I will."

"Then by all means~"

You both stare into each other’s eyes, before slowly sharing a deeper, passionate kiss, and slowly pushing Yamame to lay her back on the bed. Once you break off from that, only then do you toss your clothes off yourself before lying on top of her. Instead of rushing things, you move your hand and start teasing her between her legs. She lets out small moans as you continue to massage her inner walls, now adding two fingers into the mix. She is enjoying this gesture as you continue to do so.

She eeventually lets out contained moans as she tightens up on your fingers, which you would pick up the pace to rouse her more.

Yamame wouldn't want to make those naughty screams as she eventually comes, so you lie down with your head between her legs for your next move. Yamame knows exactly what you are going to do, and she spreads her legs a little for access. You nuzzle her already wet lower lips before you start licking her slit. Her reaction is immediate, letting out a cry of surprise despite being ready and it slowly turning into moans of pleasure as you continue to lap her up. After that, you start to play with her clit with the tip of your tongue as well.

Now the spider lady is moaning out without holding herself back, just as your tongue now slips between her lower lips to tickle her inner walls. Since she is still sensitive from your fingering, Yamame eventually cries out from her second orgasm - and gives you a nice taste of her juices as that happens.

While she recovers from her orgasm, you in the meantime leave your position and sit down beside her to give her a better view of your aroused self. Yamame then chuckles as she nuzzles your crotch. From there she gives your erection a nice big lick, continuing to cover your whole length with her tongue.

"Mmm~ you're so nice and hard already~" She giggles seductively as she continues her licks, only to stop after she has covered everything nicely.

Yamame's next move has her putting your wet erection into her mouth, and start sucking on your shaft. She even playfully sways her rump as she continues to bob along the length of your cock. Petting her head encourages her to bob her head faster, causing you to moan out her name in ecstasy. Even though as time goes by and the telltale signs of you reaching your orgasm starting to pop up, Yamame never lets go of her mouth's hold on your cock.

In fact, her muffled grunts only serves to tell you that she's going to keep her mouth occupied until you cum, which you eventually do after she intensifies her methods on you. Still, she only pulls out ever so slowly just to milk you up and let none go to waste. As she separates herself from your shaft, leaving a thin trail of saliva from the tip to her lips, Yamame makes a sensual moan as she swallows down your load. She then notices that you remained hard from that, and thus, she offers herself to you wordlessly while lying on her back.

Once you regain your composure, you take your point and start to pleasure her gently with the main course. Yamame writhes as your shaft slowly sinks into her, up to the root of your cock. You give her a breather as you let her relish the sensation of your shaft inside her - and once she starts to lock your hips with her legs you begin to thrust your hips into her.

As you and Yamame kiss, there's that faint hint of salty taste on her lips, but you probably know where that came from. Moving on from there, you get to play with her breasts, fondling and tweaking her nipples.

Over time, you continue to pound into Yamame, moaning into each other's ears. Both of you hug each other tightly as you increase the pace, now with Yamame bucking back at your thrusts. You both share another deep kiss just as Yamame start to squeeze your shaft with her inner walls. While you are holding back from cumming for a little bit longer, her eyes beg you to cum inside.

Eventually, you cannot hold on anymore, and after a few more thrusts into her you push yourself deep into her - finally shooting your seed into her womb. Yamame pants heavily as she finally gets her fill, milking your shaft as much as she can.

You pull out of her and lie on your side, pushing Yamame up so that you can nuzzle her chest, and give her tempting breasts a much-needed suckle on her erect nipples. She pets your head as you do so, even if you're not going to get any milk out of her yet. One thing you notice is that she simply holds back and hugs you close to her chest, instead of going for a second round.

"Tired, Yams?"

"Not really... but let's not go overboard... save the more fun parts for tomorrow~" She says. "Getting to addicted to things isn't going to make things fun, no?"

You nod and kiss her lips. Perhaps she is speaking the truth - there is always tomorrow for both of you. With all that after-sex cuddling, you notice that Yamame starts to get sleepy again, snuggling you close.

“Good night, Yams.” You say to her as you pull the blanket over her.

“Good night, Seo.”

---

You wake up the next morning from the faint beeping from your wristwatch, and are greeted by the sight of Yamame's sleeping face right next to you. As you cuddle her naked body close while being careful on not waking her up, you smile at her, caressing her hair and back gently, as you hum to yourself, generally enjoying this moment.

Yamame might be waking up anytime soon, what should you do with Yams when she wakes up?
[ ] Prepare breakfast with her for everyone.
[ ] Stay in bed until Satori calls both of you for breakfast.
[ ] Go on a morning shoot and PT at range with Yams after breakfast.

[x] Stay in bed until Satori calls both of you for breakfast.

[X] Stay in bed until Satori calls both of you for breakfast.

Why would you not stay in bed and snuggle?

VOTE RESULTS

[X] Stay in bed until Satori calls both of you for breakfast. (2 Votes)

---

Instead of waking her up, you decide to let her be in your arms, cuddling the spider lady gently so that she wn't wake up from any sudden movement. She seems to still react in her sleep, with her arms snaking around your back to return your cuddles. Eventually Yamame wakes up, giving your cheek a nuzzle and then sharing a sweet morning kiss together.

"Good morning, Yamame."

"Morning, Seo." She replies. "Did you wake up first?"

"Yeah.”

"Thought you'd need me to wake you up from all that."

"Nah, its fine. I set my watch to wake me up." You reply to her.

Both of you continue to embrace each other under the blanket, at times sharing kisses and gropes against each other just to enjoy the morning together.

Just then, you hear a knock on your door. You can tell that it's Satori before she even speaks, since it's her habit to wake you up for breakfast. "Seo? Yamame? If you're both up, take a bath and come down and have breakfast with us."

"We'll be right there." You call back.

You can hear Satori stepping away from the door, before you decide to slip out of the bed and grab your towel nearby. Yamame picks up the hint and follows you to the bathroom while bringing her own towel as well. Of course, by skipping out the intimacy in the bathroom, both of you are done a few minutes later, with Yamame wearing her usual outfit and you with your work uniform.

As you reach the dining room, everyone is already there in various stages of awakening. Orin isn't quite ready for the morning yet as she has her face planted on the table, while Okuu and Kisume are wide awake and all cheerful. Koishi on the other hand is bugging Satori while the latter is cooking some breakfast.

"Morning, Seo, Yamame~" Okuu greets you as both of you take a seat next to her.

You smile and return Okuu's greeting with a pet on her head. "Morning, Okuu, everyone."

All that comes out of Orin is a grunt and a lazily lifted hand. By then, Satori has already finished with her cooking and is serving them for everyone at the table with Koishi serving cold orange juice. Her menu for today's breakfast consists of a choice between a breakfast sandwich and eggs Benedict. She even made enough so that everyone would have enough for third helpings.

One thing for sure, at the sight of food Orin quickly picks herself back up, and she becomes less irritable once she has her fill.

---

After breakfast, you return to your room to complete your gear before starting the usual boring rounds inside of the palace walls. Predictably, nothing too unusual is happening, and same goes to your tour outside of the gates. At times you sit down to rest from the walking, before continuing to do more patrols before going back inside and settling at your guard post.

Once you open the door to the post, you can see Yamame occupying your seat, and instead of ushering her to move away, you sit on your care package container instead.

"Welcome back." She says.

"Thanks."

She gets off the chair momentarily to face you. "Say, Seo. I think I forgot to ask you when we had the chance to talk before but what got you into Guardians in the first place?"

"Oh?"

"I mean, what you were doing from between our last meeting when you were younger."

"Well, I mostly went back to school and all that, but I got back to my old habits eventually. I was already familiar with Rei by then, and I thought he was so cool with their things, so I once asked if I can join them."

"So what did he say?"

"Rei said that I was a few years too young to join. They weren't really opening any new positions yet - since the Guardians weren't a thing yet back then." You scratch your head trying to remember the details. "It was not a thing yet until Alex came along a few years later, and even then Alex and Rei didn't have the same uniform we established."

"I see, I see. Then?"

"When I was 17, I saw them putting up an advertisement for positions in the SDM, as maids, butlers and Guardians. I thought among the three positions that the Guardians had to be one of the crowd pullers, and so I researched on how to get myself fit for the selection. For that I had my youkai friends help me. Recruitment drive would soon start and among all those who applied, I and a few more guys got selected for the Guardians."

"So wait a second, you said a few more, so what happened to the rest that got selected?"

"Well, they are actually from the neighboring villages, so they return as Guardians for their villages."

"Hmm? Never knew there were more villages other than the one we know."

"Yeah, so moving on, I got to stay around the mansion to train a bit more, and just a bit after my 18th birthday, I got assigned here."

"When's your birthday?"

"Around late autumn, I say."

Yamame nods at your answer. "What did your parents say about your decision to work there?"

"I know that back then, dad wasn't happy about it. He at least saw me as a reliable successor to his business shop, but since I chose this job he passed it to my sisters." You reply. "At least, he's more receptive of what I do lately, even more so when I reunited him with the child of his previous marriage."

She smiles. "Sounds like a happy story."

"Well, it does take time to get one."

"So you're going to be hanging around here?"

You shrug your shoulders. While you want to spend more time with Yamame, you're still on duty. "I can't help it; I'm not on my leave yet. But, meet you at lunch then."

"Right back at you."

---(( Yamame ))---

As you leave the palace's guard tower, you wander around aimlessly around the palace's interior. Kisume must be busy with Orin, as you notice that the former rarely left Orin's side. They both must have gone out somewhere, since you did not hear them being playful with each other. Okuu on the other hand might have gone out to the Geyser Center after breakfast.

And that leaves you with Satori.

You know that Satori isn't the type that would leave the palace on her own, unless Seo or her pets are chaperoning her. And since she is probably the only person that's still around in the palace aside from you and Seo, you find your way to Satori's study. As you knock on the door, she answers as you expect her would do.

"Come in." She invites. When you close the door behind you, she looks up from her paperwork. "I was expecting Seo to show up. Nothing else to do around the palace, Yamame?"

"That and I actually miss chatting with the folks back at my shop already."

"Ah, yes. You're the chatty kind after all. Have a seat, maybe we can help with that problem."

You take your seat as she returns writing. "What are you doing, by the way?"

"Just writing up some manuscripts. When it's complete, I could get them compiled and bound so that I can sell them on the surface."

"I see, I see."

Satori continues to write and silence falls between the two of you, until she asks you something. "Tell me, Yamame. How long have you known Seo?"

"Probably for quite some time, since he was still a child."

"Interesting."

"It's something you've probably already heard from Seo, but when he was still a wee kid, he fell into that abyss leading to the underground. Kid's pretty lucky - a fall from that height would be certain death, but the webs I placed there caught him. He received some broken bones as a result though."

Satori winces. "Ouch. I'm guessing that you put your webs there because someone had fallen there before?"

"It's rather complicated. Back then there were more people that were being thrown down that abyss as a mercy kill. Diseased ones, mostly. I set the webs so that they could die a less painful death. In Seo's case, I was glad my webs caught him in time."

"So then you took him under your wing?"

"Pretty much. I found him hours later, and I had to call up the bonesetter from the capital so that he got first aid for his legs. Around that time, one of the Hunters from the village showed up with Kisume and asked me about Seo. I told him what I did and showed Seo to him, but in his condition neither of us could carry him back to the surface. So I promised them that when he was all better I would return him to the village." You end that explanation with a sigh. "He was so cute back then, but it sort of pains me that I had to leave him on my webs with Kisume so that he could heal properly. I had promised that I would return him to the surface after all."

"I can say that being stuck there must have been a boring experience to heal him. I imagine you brought him to the capital at times, yes?"

"Yeah, at times I brought him to the capital to visit the bonesetter and the local doctor, maybe giving him something to eat as well. I'm quite surprised that they were so accepting of his presence, but when I think back to recent days, I don't think many recognized him as the kid with broken legs back then."

Satori nods. "It's been a while for them, I'd say. Seo's not a huge presence in the capital like he is nowadays."

"Right. So after I returned him, there were no more people being thrown down the fissure or accidentally falling down there. I stopped living there, found myself a place to stay at the capital and opened that shop of mine. I couldn't believe my eyes when he walked into my store after all those years, all grown up and such. I feel like I owe the Guardians a huge thanks for letting me meet him again."

Satori chuckles in understanding. "I know how you feel about that." Then, she stops taking notes, before getting off her seat. "Well, Yamame, do you fancy some tea and snacks?"

"Sure I do."

--(( Seo ))---

Few hours later...

In the meantime, it's getting boring for you on the post, now that you have no one to talk to at the moment. Right now, perhaps you could work on completing the green gem's ability - something you do once in a while. Of course, meeting Ageha and Tateha would require you to lean back on your chair and take a nap. On the other hand, you could go downstairs and grab something to eat. Usually before afternoon she'd be up at the post with her tea and snacks for you.

Another thing to do is perhaps working on your flight while patrolling the palace perimeter for a couple of rounds. Having fun at work, so to say.

What do you want to do now?
[ ] Take a nap; see if Ageha & Tateha have something for you to work with.
[ ] Go downstairs and check up on what the ladies are doing.
[ ] Give the perimeter of the palace a flyby.

[x] Take a nap; see if Ageha & Tateha have something for you to work with.

Been a bit of a while since the last thing.

[X] Take a nap; see if Ageha & Tateha have something for you to work with.

Yes, let's soar higher and higher! Till we're like Icarus and soar!

[X] Take a nap; see if Ageha & Tateha have something for you to work with.

I'd prefer to soar like Reimu rather than Icarus, thanks.

VOTE RESULTS

[X] Take a nap; see if Ageha & Tateha have something for you to work with. (3 Votes)

By the by, new thread for safe short stories about other Guardians went up a few days ago. Give it a look to see what they are up to in their own AO.

>>/shorts/1989

---

As you stare at the vacant space between the capital and the palace, you're starting to feel bored from the uneventful situation. Perhaps there are things to do while remaining at the post...

Then, all of a sudden you remember about Ageha and Tateha just as you examine the emerald pendant Koishi gifted to you. There is a lot of ground to cover and it's already been quite a while since your last meeting with those two.

It's time to sneak some sleep for the sake of magic training

---

As expected, the small nap on the guard chair enables you to wake up to that dream world where Ageha and Tateha reside. Small critters run around the garden, play-fighting with each other and completely ignoring your presence, unlike that one time you woke up. You can still remember which path in the hedge maze leads to the tea table - and you don't take long to find it.

Ageha and Tateha are present at the tea table, having teatime of their own. The latter notices you first, and she waves to you before turning around to finish her tea time.

"Ah, welcome back, Seo." Ageha greets you. "I thought you were a little too busy to meet us again."

"I'm stuck with nothing much to do, honestly. So here I am, thinking if there's anything I could do to stave that boredom off."

"Certainly, we can help with those. A moment please."

"Alright."

Ageha and Tateha continue finishing off their teatime together while you hang around. While you idle about, you notice that you have your SCAR-H with you, hanging from its two-point sling looped around you.

While you're checking your rifle and pondering, Ageha has already finished his tea by then.

"Everything okay, Seo?"

"I'm just thinking if I go to sleep to get here with my rifle with me, I bring it along into this place?"

"Correct."

"It makes me wonder if I would waste any bullet outside of the Dream World if I shoot this here."

"Ah, that would require some really immersive sleepwalking for that to happen. Nonetheless, since you have your main weapon with you, then that means we can do another lesson together, instead of having you do all the errands."

"What is it this time?" You ask.

"Simply put, it’s called Channeling."

"Channeling?"

"Gun channeling, if you want to call it. We already taught you how to acquire your targets faster, reload faster and become ready to shoot even faster, so for today we're going to teach you how to shoot through an obstacle," He explains. "Since this is a more advanced use of mana manipulation, I believe such concept and basic usage is already familiar to you."

You recall various things you did by manipulating your mana, such as eavesdropping, movement boosts and more. It is an easy thing to do nowadays since you're used to it already but you never thought of doing it to complement your existing firepower. "Yeah, I can do that but it's just the small things so far."

"Very well, we can step it up to advanced lessons then." Ageha goes silent for a moment, staring at you.

"Is there something on my face?"

"On your head, rather. I believe that item can help in some way? That glasses you have on your head have something that can help you with our training. Maybe you could try finding it out?"

"I'll try." You then pull down your flight goggles and start switching between display modes with the buttons on the sides. "IRNV... FLIR W-HOT... FLIR B-HOT..." Cycling between display modes turns out nothing, and you try to look around in the HUD settings instead. "What's this, Grid Mode?" You mutter.

As soon as you enable that setting, all of a sudden your flight goggles show grids around the geometry in your vision, which persist for a few seconds.

"Well?"

"I think it works?" It's a good thing that you're able to understand how the goggles work. "So I can set this to work once I aim down sights... neat."

You try to aim down your sights of your rifle, and true enough the Grid Mode engages for a few seconds, then disappears while you're still sighting through your holographic sights.

"Let's test how effective it is in practice. Tateha?"

"Promise you won't let Seo shoot me, okay?"

"I won't!" You call out instead.

"We're not going to use you as a target, Tateha. Just invoke the dummy target."

"Oh, okay."

Tateha then does what she is told to, invoking dummy targets behind the hedges. You can see them moving over the hedge, but not popping out in the open.

Immediately you pull up your rifle and start channeling your mana before shooting them through the hedges. Indeed, the rifle is able to penetrate the rather thick hedges and the dummy, but as a consequence of the increased rate of fire, your rifle goes from full to empty within less than two seconds.

You reload your rifle and turn towards Ageha. "That's pretty simple."

"Then we need to make it harder. Tateha, please cover the hedges with a thick barrier."

"Got it."

A short incantation from Tateha later and you can see the hedges being covered in a barrier, indicated by a brief green sheen of energy. You notice that the dummies appear fainter in Grid Mode as a result. You try to fire an unchanneled shot at the targets, but the barrier absorbs it.

"Now, all you need to do is tune in your mana so that any bullets fired during the channeling will go through the double-layer barrier and the hedge."

"Got it."

And so you spend minutes getting the right feel for your gun channeling, reloading a couple of times until you get the feel right. Eventually, you managed to tune your channeling just right so that it would penetrate the barrier-covered hedge and the target dummy. A few more rounds down range confirm the right amount of mana you need to use for that.

"Tateha, can you remove the barrier for a bit?"

"What for?"

"Just watch me. I have something I want to try."

Tateha nods and recalls the barrier on the hedge, leaving you with the target. You once again gather your mana and channel it entirely around the battle rifle you have instead of just the barrel like previously. Soon, you fire at the dummy with the higher fire rate like your first attempt, only that it keeps on firing past the 20-round mark. However, you can't keep that up for too long and you're forced to stop with the channeling at the ten-second mark. Since you still have the finger on the trigger, the rifle now uses its normal rounds until the magazine is emptied.

As you stop firing and reload the rifle, you're panting for air - something you never expect would be very tiring.

"Interesting application, Seo. Though, you shouldn't keep that up - you're going to tire yourself badly that way."

"Yeah, I can feel it. For now I can only keep it up to 10 seconds tops."

"A good amount but I believe you can tailor it depending on the weapon you are using. But I believe you can get used with its mana usage and recovery."

"How long do you think the cool down would be?"

"You can recover enough for another channeling once you stop for a minute or so. Unless you find a way to refill your mana faster, but that's a story for a different day."

"Yeah."

"And I suppose that is our meeting for today, Seo. I'm impressed that you learned fairly quickly." Ageha then hands you a red jewel, which you accept.

RED ABILITY GEM ACQUIRED – CHANNELING NOW AVAILABLE

"Thanks." You then close your palm around the pendant and the gem, merging them together. "You know I wouldn't mind some tea and snack after all this training."

"Ah, about that, I suppose you'll get your wish waiting for you."

"They are waiting for me, aren't they?"

"Yes. Better not keep the ladies waiting."

"Later, Ageha, Tateha."

"Farewell for now."

And with that, you close your eyes, concentrating on waking up.

---

As soon as you wake up, you're greeted by Yamame and Satori staring at you. Both of them are standing beside you, even. You would then notice that you're indeed sleeping with your hands wrapped around your battle rifle.

"Sleeping at work, are you?"

"Satori? Yams?"

"We should have known we forgot someone, so we brought some tea and snacks for you." Satori continues, "Come on, up you go."

You get up and stretch before joining Satori and Yamame with tea at the nearby. There, you sit down and drink her served tea; all while the ladies chatting with each other. At times, you join in the conversation, giving them an input whenever they ask for something.

Once it's close to lunch time, you help Satori carry the tea set to the kitchen downstairs, just as Satori and Yamame discuss on what to cook for lunch. Once the menu is decided, they start gathering ingredients.

"Hmm... Seo, would you mind running around for a couple of hours or so? Lunch's going to be a bit boring for you to just sit there and watch, so..."

"Alright then."

What do you want to now?
[ ] Hang around the Capital.
[ ] Do a flyby at the Underground Geyser Center.
[ ] Stick around the palace instead.

[x] Hang around the Capital.

[X] Do a flyby at the Underground Geyser Center.

[X] Do a flyby at the Underground Geyser Center.

Some bathing goodness! We may get to see busty females and bikinis!