[X]Try to skirt the truth
-[x]I fell asleep on the couch and I guess I had a wild dream; sorry for disturbing you.

While it's easier to say he had a nightmare, to me, that just gives a bad signal to Rin; as if he's subconsciously have no hope for Rin's recovery, which is something he should avoid. Not to mention it was rather wild in a sense.

Satoshi can't seem to lie to her; just as well. Telling her the whole truth nonchalantly wouldn't bode things well imo. Plus she did ask nicely rather than simply demanding an explanation for the noise.

>"You were screaming my name I think...you were kinda loud."

Saying we had a 'wild dream' only has so many possibilities, and also

>And then there's this...pillow on your face. What? It's also covered in drool. Weird that.

Wouldn't he have been at least slightly muffled? Even if she probably does have very good hearing and thus would have heard noise, pillow or no pillow, she shouldn't have been able to determine that it came out as 'Orin'. Or 'Rin', whichever. Then there's this...

>Sitting next to Rin, you see she's still sleeping. In a different position, on her side now.

So, he apparently did not have a pillow on our face when this began, she was able to determine that it was her name being said even with said pillow turning anything that could be considered words or names into muffled gibberish, and she had moved once he returned to the room.

I mean, I suppose he could have put the pillow there himself, but it didn't really occur to Satoshi to muffle himself as he usually lives alone. Personally, I've never cranked one out and unconsciously placed a pillow onto my face.

I'm pretty sure Rin already knows. Maybe she dragged herself out of bed to see what the noise was and saw him in the act? But the, one could also use this theory to claim it was her who placed the pillow, but I don't know why she would. And if she did, how the hell did Satoshi not notice? Gets so into it that nothing else matters?

Well, either way, I'm divided between the first two. Will be back to vote later.

I wouldn't mind telling her the truth as it's not fair, or realistic for that matter, for Rin to expect Satoshi to act entirely gentlemanly around her all the time. At the same time just telling her, "I was just fantasizing myself plowing you on the loveseat with incredible passion. I'm sorry about the noise Rin" would more likely get her interestedmake her cross or find incredible potentialhuge faults in him as a person.

[X]Try to skirt the truth

[x] Try to skirt the truth

I'm hoping that the author has something of his own in mind for this, as 'I had a wild dream' isn't very subtle.

[x] Try to skirt the truth

{X} Try on a skirt

{X} Try to skirt the truth

>>4122
Neither was jerking off in the living room, and that sure as hell wasn't our idea.

[ ] ?
Sage for having no clue which vote won't screw us over.

>>4125

yeah.... I'd thought it'd be done in the bathroom with the door shut, and I never imagine relief sessions would get so noisy.

I'll have to think on the vote some more.

>Tell her the honest, blunt truth

I don't see too much a problem with it; she's only half-awake atm.

>It could only be better if it was covered in hot butter right now.
Sukima, I love you, but this line was mollusk-tier. It's hard to fap when you're laughing this hard.

[X] Give her a big fat lie
This is a situation where it is perfectly acceptable to lie until our trousers combust. I have no doubt that Rin would do the same, were our positions reversed.

[x]Try to skirt the truth

>Try to skirt the truth

"Uhhm...well...that is to say..." You fiddle with your fingers a bit, trying to think of a good way around this situation while still, in all technical accounts, telling the truth. "U-Um...well, you see, I was just...I guess, thinking a little too hard about something. It just so happened to involve you..." You're still thinking on your toes here. It's kinda hard. "And, ah, well...err...that is to say..." Ohh man, Rin is still looking at you expectantly. This is pretty nerve wracking. "Uhh...I-I guess what I'm trying to say is that...ugh, a little excited I suppose." This is so hard. Normally you're more charismatic then this. You almost rather would be wearing a skirt.

"...I see." Just like that though, Rin accepts your explaination, out of nowhere. It's pretty unlike her. She seems to close her eyes back again, resting into the pillow. Is that all it took? Somehow, you're not satisfied with that.

"...so, what exactly was I screaming anyways? I was, uhm...too into the moment to tell."

"You were shouting something...like save me...help me...I thought you were in trouble...I was worried but I couldn't do anything...then the next thing I know you're sitting here..." You sit there kinda stunned for a moment. This wasn't what you were expecting.

"Wait...what?"

"I guess it was nothing to worry about...so I'm glad..."

Again, you're stunned for a moment. Now you feel really embarrassed. Worse yet, you're not even sure what went on anymore, or whether or not you were actually loud. Even if you were, you picked a good place for it anyways, the door was shut and the living room is a good distance from the bedroom. If you had done it in the bathroom, she might've heard you, due to it's close proximity. (less distance travelled from bed to toilet is always a good thing) She couldn't have heard you...right? Maybe paranoia just got the best of you. Still though, you did blank out for a nice while during that awfully realistic fantasy, you didn't even notice you were busy pleasing yourself until it was all done.

You just sigh and pet Rin's hair softly. You almost feel guilty. Maybe she does care about you after all. She did try hard to protect you during that fateful battle with that demon that put her in this state. Even so though, you've been thinking long and hard about this and haven't come to any sort of conclusion. You like Rin, sure, you can admit that. But how deep does that run? You may be a bit attracted to her, but you've yet to decide if that's just wanting to be good friends with her, or something more. Do you want to be more then friends? Would you care say you...l...lo...

Gah. On second thought, you can't bear saying something like that to Rin. She'd stifle a laugh before bursting out in hilarious mocking that would result in you regretting even living. She may care about you, but you're 99.98% positive she wouldn't think of you like that. You're not even sure yourself if you could, after all, the thought of saying such a thing to her makes you want to vomit your innards. You can't say you don't care about her really deeply though, this whole ordeal has thrown you for a loop, making you worry your precious little head off.

Another sigh escapes your mouth. Thinking about this is tiring. You just continue petting Rin's hair, as weird as it is, since you awfully miss the purring that normally accompanied it. "Ah...I'm sorry Rin...I wish I knew what I wanted." You get no responce, of course. You never expected one. She seems fast asleep.

A nice while passes. When you open your eyes, you realize you must've dozed off. You give a great big yawn and stretch while you're at it. Looking at the clock, it's incredibly late. And of course, Rin is still sleeping. You feel really tired and sleepy, probably explaining the nodding off you just did. Doing it again might be a bit detrimental, so it's best if you chose something to actually do. You could start some food now for Rin to prepare for another medication, but you better think of a good way to wake Rin up...you're too tired to go through the process of hand feeding a dead body again.

>Head to the love seat in the living room and get some Zs
>Stay by Rin's side, you can sleep sitting up, right?
>You could stand a while more staying up, grab that book and start reading
>Go fix some food for Rin so she can take her medicine Approx. Time: 4 hrs 20 mins

[X]Go fix some food for Rin so she can take her medicine Approx. Time: 4 hrs 20 mins

This would at least make it so Rin wouldn't have to wait to eat anything after taking the medicine; unless of course if the preperation takes too long then she'd have to wait a couple of minutes after taking the medicine at the fifth hour mark.

[x]Go fix some food for Rin so she can take her medicine.

By the time the food's done 5 hours should have passed right?

{X} Go fix some food for Rin so she can take her medicine

[x]Go fix some food for Rin so she can take her medicine.

[x]Go fix some food for Rin so she can take her medicine.
-[x] After that, for god's sake, let her sleep a little and do the same yourself.

[x]Go fix some food for Rin so she can take her medicine.
-[x] Then get some shut eye.

Weird... how he shouted help me supposedly (either that or Rin got it really mixed up)

[x]Go fix some food for Rin so she can take her medicine.
-[x] Then get some shut eye.

I don't think that was him... at least not consciously.

[x]Go fix some food for Rin so she can take her medicine.
-[X]Check for the timing for Rin to take the medicine.
-[x] Then check if Rin needs or wants anything before getting yourself some actual sleep soon after.

>Go fix some food for Rin so she can take her medicine.

Sleeping sounds like a really great idea right now, a prospect you're going to follow whole heartedly once you get Rin to take some medicine. The more she takes the more likely she'll recover from this and the faster she'll do so. Without further ado, you stand up, stretch, and make your way to the kitchen and start preparing the food for her that she'll need to eat together with the pill.

A great big yawn escapes your mouth as you attempt to pay attention long enough to prepare food for Rin. It's the same thing, more chicken noodle, but it should do. It's not going to be as good as last time, since you're really dead tired right now, paying attention and concentration ain't particularly high on the list of things you can do right now. No, sleep would be up there, along with molesting cuddling but that's an entirely different story.

After finishing cooking the food and bringing it in, you set it down on the table nearby and look at Rin. She's really asleep. You try a bit to lift her, but you're finding yourself too tired and weak to hold her up enough to feed her. One more yawn and you decide that you need to think of a way to wake Rin up for the time being. She probably won't appreciate it but at the least, the medicine should be taken. It took you close to a half an hour to get the food prepared and done, so now would be a great time to go for it so she can take that medicine.

>Sprinkle a bit of water on her
>Shake her enough to wake her
>Make loud enough noise to bring her out of slumber
>Pass this off as a bad idea, put the food away, and sleep instead
>Molest her

Action? >_

[X]Sprinkle a bit of water on her,then kiss on the lips
-[x]If the bit of waterand kiss fails...
--[x]Make loud enough noise to bring her out of slumber, but argue that he wanted to be sure he had been following the directions of the good doctor in his desire to have her healthy once again.

Considering Rin was disturbed by the last bit of noise Satoshi made before, wouldn't another noise do so again? I'd hate doing that to her but I'd rather have her stay on the path of a speedy recovery than have her relapse due to laziness/half-assery on my part.

Besides if Satoshi does do a kiss and Rin reacts poorly to it, Satoshi can at least show his greater interest in her without fumbling for flowery words or melodramatic posturing and have her take the medicine accordingly before sleep absorbs his mind.

>Sprinkle a bit of water on her
Besides the fact that this is a dick move, she's still a cat, and she's expressed her distaste for water at least once already.

[X] Shake her gently (One hand, on the upper arm, gentle rocking motion. No hilarious misconceptions.)
[X] If that doesn't work, call her name loud enough to bring her out of slumber

[X] Shake her gently (One hand, on the upper arm, gentle rocking motion. No hilarious misconceptions.)
[X] If that doesn't work, call her name loud enough to bring her out of slumber

[+] Shake her gently (One hand, on the upper arm, gentle rocking motion. No hilarious misconceptions.)
[+] If that doesn't work, call her name loud enough to bring her out of slumber.

For me as well.

I actually wanna know what you guys mean by "no hilarious misconceptions" since I already gave you a choice of molesting her, unless you guys think I'm silly enough to make you do that when you're not choosing it.

Updates will come tomorrow, hopefully.

>unless you guys think I'm silly enough to make you do that when you're not choosing it.
We didn't intend to choose jerking it on the couch, either.

But really, I only meant it as a joke.

>>4173

To be fair, considering it seems that Satoshi has a relatively 'modern' bathroom, he would have been just as loud there as he had been at the couch. Not to mention being caught jerking off in your sleep with it hanging out on the toilet isn't any less embarrassing than doing so on the couch.

Not to mention most of us anon are too lazy/paranoid to edit their votes.

To prove that I'm different from them...

[X] Shake her gently (One hand, on the upper arm, gentle rocking motion.)
[X] If that doesn't work, call her name loud enough to bring her out of slumber

there see?

[X] Shake her gently (One hand, on the upper arm, gentle rocking motion. Insert hilarious misconceptions.)
[X] If that doesn't work, call her name loud enough to bring her out of slumber

[X] Shake her gently (One hand, on the upper arm, gentle rocking motion. Insert hilarious misconceptions.)
[X] If that doesn't work, call her name loud enough to bring her out of slumber

>Shake her gently
>If that doesn't work, call her name loud enough to bring her out of slumber

Not really in the mood for heavy lifting, or temper tantrums for that matter, you decide to shake Rin gently as opposed to harshly, because surely even Rin could not sleep through an earthquake, so a simple prod should do the trick, right?

No dice. You shake her from her upper arm in a gentle rocking motion a few times, gradually getting only slightly harder. You pat her cheek a bit. You even go as far as bluntly groping her breast, none of which she responds to. Though you have to look at you hand and contemplate why you went ahead and molested her anyways. You just know that later on she will use her powerful psychic abilities that she surely must have gotten from Satori to figure out the poor, dirty old man you've been concealing beneath you for so long!

Enough humor though, your tired brain can only be but so witty to yourself. After failing that, you try saying her name a few times. You keep raising your voice until you're somewhere just under yelling at her, not too loudly though. But she still refuses waking. You consider getting closer to her, but upon reflection, you're not sure what ear to call her from. I mean, sure, half her head is dug into the pillow, but you still got choices, namely the somewhat pointed human-like ear or the big cat-like black ear protruding from the top of her head. They always felt very real, and Rin seems to have feeling in them herself, but do they actually work? Any better then the human ears, for that matter? It's a concept that thoroughly confuses you and you feel the need to ask her about this later on, but that can wait for another day.

After two failed attempts, you concoct an idea that will most definitely work, an idea that's a home run hit out to left field! A brilliant, mastermind plan that could not possibly fail! For you...will combine the two into [b]one[b]. Yes...the perfect plan. You feel oh so proud of yourself for thinking up such a diabolically delicious idea. So with preparation, you put both hands on her upper arm and attempt the craziest thing yet. You shake her with moderate force, yelling her name at her. Though this was not the most perfectly thought out plan however, as your fatigue makes it difficult for you to go any harder or louder then that. God, you really want to sleep. You get pretty weird when lacking it too.

But alas, success! You stop when you notice Rin grumbling a bit and turning over on her back again, giving out a big yawn before opening her eyes.

"Ugh...my head...nnngghh...." Uh oh. Looks like that medicine is definitely due. Putting a hand on her head, singing your hand in the process, tells you that the fever is strong as ever. But Rin's consciousness appears to have mostly come back when you see that she's noticed you withdrawing your hand in pain. "S-Satoshi, don't touch me..."

For some reason, it really pangs you to hear that coming from her, even if you know it's for your own good. You try to brush it off however. "Rin, you need to take your medicine, your flu is attacking again and it's time you took some. Could you sit up so I could at least feed you?" Rin yawns again as she tries to sit up, with varying degrees of success.

"Isn't it late...?"

"Yes, but in the effort to get you feeling better, and preferably keeping you alive, this is mandatory."

"You're not gonna wake me up five hours later, are you..." You give a sigh, you kinda want to but that's just being anal.

"No, I won't, don't worry...I need to sleep myself anyways." As you get the tray with the soup ready, you look at Rin and notice she's staring at you a bit...awkwardly. "Uhm...yes?"

"...where are you sleeping?"

"Er...probably in the living room, on the love seat I guess. Why?" Rin stares at you for a brief few more moments before shaking her head and taking the tray for you.

"No reason..." After saying thanks, Rin goes ahead and starts eating. She's very slow, taking her time and not expending too much energy. You're afraid of falling asleep during this though, even watching her. Your mind is on the verge of shutting down at any moment without enough activity.

Since she still needs to take the medicine after, logically, you should prevent this.

>"The food is alright, isn't it?"
>"How do you feel in general, compared to earlier?"
>"So, what was the real reason why you asked about where I'd be sleeping?"
>"Was the bath earlier alright? I never got to ask..."

Action? >_

Could've swore I ended that second bold tag properly when I proof read it.

Oh well, mistake noted, too lazy to delete & fix.

[x]"How do you feel in general, compared to earlier?"

[X]"How do you feel in general, compared to earlier?"
-[x]"The food is alright, isn't it?"
--[x]"So, what was the real reason why you asked about where I'd be sleeping? Forgive me if I'm now just pestering you but, lately it's been rather too quiet for comfort."

The first two questions, Rin may give nothing more than curt answers but the last one may help Satoshi keep him up until he's given the medicine as well as find some answers for some unspoken questions.

>"S-Satoshi, don't touch me..."
LOW BLOW RIN LOW BLOW! AFTER WE GAVE YOU A SPONGE BATH NO LESS! However it may be her illness making anything highly, and uncomfortably sensitive for her.

[x]"The food is alright, isn't it?"
[x]"How do you feel in general, compared to earlier?"

I sort of feel like this situations merits some conversation. I know the protagonist is exhausted, but this is one of those, how you call them? Opportunities. I don't know how the writer will feel about combining options, but I think we should talk to Rin a bit, and relax the atmosphere some. Then, if the main character has any grasp of timing with these sorts of things, we should ask
[x] "So, what was the real reason why you asked about where I'd be sleeping?"

She's clearly thinking about it. I'd like to think this might work.

>"S-Satoshi, don't touch me...
>For some reason, it really pangs you to hear that coming from her, even if you know it's for your own good.

>>4180

Explanation above.

[x]"The food is alright, isn't it?"
[x]"How do you feel in general, compared to earlier?"
[x] "So, what was the real reason why you asked about where I'd be sleeping?"

He can blame being very tired after all; hopefully she gets to take her medicine as a result (That's the goal right?)

The bath question could wait until another time.

[x]"So, what was the real reason why you asked about where I'd be sleeping? Forgive me if I'm now just pestering you but, lately it's been rather too quiet for comfort."

[x]"The food is alright, isn't it?"
[x]"How do you feel in general, compared to earlier?"
[x] "So, what was the real reason why you asked about where I'd be sleeping?"

After a big yawn from your fatigue trying to set in, you decide to start a good sized conversation to stave off sleep for the most part. You know where you want to start too.

"Hey, Rin, the food...it's alright, isn't it?" Rin seems to stare at you for a while. It's almost unsettling.

"Well, yeah, of course it is. Anything tastes good when you haven't eaten in a while..."

"Ah, sorry 'bout that then." Rin shakes her head softly.

"No, it's alright. It's not your fault I'm sick..." You look down feeling a bit guilty, it kinda is, in a way, but that's not something you want to think too hard about. But that does raise another concern.

"Speaking of which, how do you feel, in general anyways? You know, compared to earlier." Rin breathes out after taking another spoonful of the soup.

"A lot better. I still feel really sick but I'm not in complete pain anymore...this stuff has been helping I guess." You smile a bit, that made you really happy inside, for some reason.

"That's good. So if we keep this up, you should at least not die. You're making a really speedy recovery. I expected no less from you, Rin." She smiles back a bit weakly before continuing on her food. The air gets silent afterwards though.

After thinking about it though, there was a certain question that was on your mind. After stewing on it for a few moments, you go ahead and ask it.

"So, Rin...why did you really ask me about where I was sleeping?" Rin freezes up suddenly, kinda noticably too before she puts her spoon back down.

"What...what makes you ask that? I tol-"

"Told me a lie. It's not really nothing now is it?" Rin blinks for a moment while looking at you, she seems kinda surprised. She then sighs and looks away.

"It's just...Satori-sama always let me sleep with her whenever I was sick, it always made me feel better in the end...so..." She seems to be having a hard time coming to terms with it in front of you, despite her illness, so you know she's steadily coming back to her old self.

"So, you want me to sleep together with you, is that what you want to ask?" Rin just seems to stay silent, avoiding eye contact with you. She wants to deny it, but of course, she can't. So in return, all you do is smile softly and pet her head a bit. "It's okay, I can do that much for you at least. It's not like I'll get sick too, so..." Rin mumbles a bit before handing you the tray, interrupting your petting.

"Mrph." She seems pretty embarrassed now, but oh well. It's making you feel quite happy, so you can't argue. You put the tray aside and fetch a pill from the bottle the doctor gave you, and give it to Rin, who downs it in a hurry. She gives a big sigh after though. "Well, let's get it over with then. Help me up so I can go back to being a cat..." As she's trying to get out of bed though, you stop her. "Eh? Satoshi..." After she says your name, you push her right back into bed and end up getting in next to her. Next thing either of you know, both of you are laying in bed facing each other, and your arms are wrapped quite tightly around Rin. She's attempting escaping however. "S-Satoshi, let go...I haven't even...c-come on..." Rin quickly runs out of energy to fight back soon, most likely due to her sickness. She's panting a bit trying to catch her breath. "Oh f-...fine...I'll never understand you humans..." Rin says as she snuggles up into you. It's a great feeling, to say the least, but what she said bothered you a bit, mainly because you don't particularly understand yourself, either.

The night passes, both you and Rin slept like logs. You were incredibly tired after such a long day. You end up waking up late. You look down to see Rin peacefully sleeping in your arms. It's extremely blissful, yet extremely awkward all at the same time. You're really not sure how you feel about Rin right now, or how she feels back for the matter. It definitely feels like she couldn't possibly be interested in you beyond a simple friendship, but...

After a lot of savoring the moment, you finally get up out of bed and stretch. You felt a little too content with sleeping there with Rin. You didn't want to tear yourself away from her, and apparently, you weren't the only one who thought that.

"You finally got up..." You nearly jump out of your skin and turn around, finding Rin sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She still looks a mess though.

"Uh, yeah...sorry, I guess I was really tired."

"Are you sure you're not sick too...?" Admittedly, you could say you are, but that's not going to make the situation any better.

"I'm fine, more importantly, what about you?" Rin then goes and holds her head, laying back down.

"My head hurts. And it's really hot." Uh oh, sounds like her fever is acting up again. Time for the usual soup and medicine.

You take the tray back into the kitchen, it's kinda dark with all the curtains and such closed, despite it being almost noon now. You fix up some more chicken noodle and bring it back to Rin. You have help her along a bit with feeding but it doesn't really bother her. You just want her to take the medicine so she can start feeling better as soon as possible.

A few minutes pass after Rin takes a pill. You're just sitting there, waiting for some reason. You can't really bring yourself to do anything else at the moment, as your mind is kinda clogged at the moment. Rin however, has other plans.

"Hey. Take me outside." You look back at Rin and find her holding her arms out. Her eyes only half open while she looks at you with an otherwise blank face.

"Huh? I hope you mean the living room." Rin nods while keeping her general appearance like that. "You don't expect me to carry you like that, do you?"

There's a short moment of silence before Rin attempts climbing out of bed herself. "Fine, I'll go into my cat form and..."

"No, no, I'll carry you!"

You sigh deeply after sitting a Rin wrapped in blankets down on the love seat out in the living room. You're not sure why you avoided her turning back into a cat. But it certainly worked on you. You're starting to think maybe you're too easy to manipulate. "Why did you want to come out here anyways? Wouldn't it be best to lay in bed?"

"I wanted to get out of that sticky monolith for a while. Besides, I didn't want to keep you cooped up in that room forever." You stare at Rin with a shocked expression, you can't believe what she just said. "...w-what is it?"

"You...You actually thought about me Rin. I'm touched." Rin just shoots back a glare, pretty unimpressed with your sincerity.

"Don't let it go to your head."

After a while, you get one of the fire scrolls Marisa had given you started on the fireplace, best to warm this place as soon as you can. While the fireplace can't hold a flame very well on it's own, the fire scroll provides a constant flame regardless of situation, so it's great for this. It only lasts a full day though, so you often have to go back to Marisa's for more during bad winters. This is probably one of them. You then sigh and open the curtains to let some light in.

"Ah...snow."

Rin's right, it's snowing. You weren't expecting it, honestly. It's still a bit early into winter. The ground is even lightly tinted white with the snow barely sticking to the ground. If it keeps up, you might have a foot or so of snow tomorrow.

"You know Satoshi...I don't see snow too often. I didn't used to have much reason to go outside from underground in the past." You just simply look at Rin for a moment before looking back out the window. You're not sure what to say in return. In fact, you're not sure what to do now period. Looking at the snow makes you feel solemn, for some reason. It might do a bit of good to not focus on it too much.

>Go and take a bath
>Go back to reading a book for the remainder of the day
>Head over to Marisa's for a short while
>See about visiting Alice
>You could stand some shopping at the human village

Action? >_

Man, haven't been feeling too confident in my writing to do much as of late. Now isn't an exception but I feel horribly demotivated to do anything else, so...

[X]You could stand some shopping at the human village.
-[x]Ask Rin if she needs anything in particular from the market or wants something different (beef soup?)
--[x]Head over to Marisa's for a short while before the market (fire scrolls resupply/possibly ask her to check up on Rin while he's away?)

Since it seems that heavy snow will come around soon, it'd be a good idea to prepare asap before it gets much worse for Satoshi to even considering stepping outside for a while. Plus since he will be a way, it would give Rin a good chance to talk to some one else as a sort of confidant. I'd rather Alice be the one but that would only extend Satoshi's time out in the snow; plus Marisa does have the fire scrolls that may very well be needed later on...

Does he even have cash to spend on food/supplies..?

On another note, I'm somewhat surprised at how Rin does not seem to comprehend the interest Satoshi has in her; even if somewhat vague due to him being rather indecisive at times. That's something Satoshi needs to work on. Perhaps this trip will help him build that decisiveness within himself.

>haven't been feeling too confident in my writing to do much as of late

Don't feel that way; if anything it's refreshing to read your updates as well as something I've come to expect every once in a while.

[X]You could stand some shopping at the human village.
-[x]Ask Rin if she needs anything in particular from the market or wants something different (beef soup?)
--[x]Head over to Marisa's for a short while before the market (fire scrolls resupply/possibly ask her to check up on Rin while he's away?)

I think once we're done with all this we should take a bath.

That and I'm always looking forward to your updates, either it be this story of the one in /border/

[X] Go back to reading a book for the remainder of the day.

[X]You could stand some shopping at the human village.
-[x]Ask Rin if she needs anything in particular from the market or wants something different (beef soup?)
--[x]Head over to Marisa's for a short while before the market (fire scrolls resupply/possibly ask her to check up on Rin while he's away?)
---[x]Take a bath (assuming he returns with the supplies)

Beats having to trudge through the snow when it becomes real thick and heavy the next day.

[X]You could stand some shopping at the human village.
-[x]Ask Rin if she needs anything in particular from the market or wants something different (beef soup?)
--[x]Head over to Marisa's for a short while before the market (fire scrolls resupply/possibly ask her to check up on Rin while he's away?)

>You could stand some shopping at the human village.
>Ask Rin if she needs anything in particular from the market or wants something different
>Head over to Marisa's for a short while before the market

You suppose that before the snow gets too heavy, another shopping trip is in order. The snow looks like it'll pile high, and might end up sticking around for a while. Walking while it's snowing is a bit slow, but walking in several foot deep snow is even worse, so it's best to get it out of the way now before such a thing happens. You dig into your pockets and look at your spare change. Looks like you're pretty set to come back with a semi decent amount of food. You'll admit, it's been rather tight recently but you've been working extra hard to make up for it, though you're not sure how much longer you can keep it up.

How are you earning your money? That's a trade secret you'd never let anyone else know.

"Alright Rin, I'm gonna get some last minute shopping done before we get snowed in. I don't think this weather is going to be particularly kind later. Is there anything you wanted from the market at the village? Like maybe stuff to make beef stew or something?" Rin thinks for a moment before smiling over at you.

"That would be wonderful Satoshi~" It gives you a deep feeling of satisfaction when Rin smiles at you like this. Like all that trouble you put up with her was all worth it.

"Alright then, I'm gonna swing by Marisa's in that case and have her keep an eye on you in the meantime."

"Eh? Onee-chan? Why?"

"You're sick, Rin. I couldn't leave you alone just like that, it's only been a day. I can't have Alice look over you because she might get sick too." You only just thought about it, but being human, Marisa is the best bet for someone to look over Rin, since like you, she's immune to this particular strain. You don't wanna take the chance of seeing if Alice would be immune or not too.

"Come on Satoshi, I can take care of myself just fine no-ACHOO!" Rin sniffles after that rampant sneeze broke her pouty face like a baseball through glass. You go over and check her temperature by putting a hand on her forehead. While it's not scalding hot anymore, it's much hotter then she probably should be.

"I think you still have a fever...you should rest up, okay?" Rin sighs wearily.

"Yes, yes..."

"I need more fire scrolls anyways, I just hope Marisa can find it in her heart to try and not charge me for all this, especially after the whole doctor incident..."

That's what you wanted to believe. When you do get to Marisa's, however, quite the opposite proves true.

"Hahaha, wow Satoshi, you're gonna owe me your entire house at this rate!" You stand at Marisa's door sulking. Why did you even bother trying to compromise? "Hey, I ain't got nothing wrong with looking over Orin, but the fire scrolls will cost ya extra, of course."

"Great, wonderful, could you just leave them on the kitchen counter when you get there then? I'm going shopping anyways so feel free to help yourself to any food I might have left there." Marisa gives you a big, wide grin, that makes you feel rather uneasy.

"Haha, will do, Satoshi." You get this feeling you're going to regret saying that. There's still a good amount of food left, you'd rather her not run off with every bit of it.

"R-Right...I'll be seeing you when I come back then."

A while passes, you're at the human vilalge once more. Oh, this place always brings back fond memories, but you still loathe it so in the back of your mind. The snow hasn't let up much. You wager it'll have settled a good few inches by the time you get back home. Better make your shopping trip a bit quick.

You start walking through the center market area immediately. The place is understandably packed. You're not the only one who foresaw the impending blanket of snow over Gensokyo. Many stores and large buildings line the area as people walk to and fro. You stop yourself suddenly, looking over and seeing that red and white shrine maiden at what appears to be a trinket shop? You don't know the miko too, too well, but if it's one thing Marisa has told you about her, it's that she's a massive penny pincher. What would she be doing at a shop like that?

You're about to ignore it though, since you feel somewhat uncomfortable around her, when you realize that Keine-sensei is at the food market. Oh boy. That's not good. Keine-sensei is a very kind person, but she's the last one you want to see right now. She'd keep you standing there for hours. And then there's the fact that she could ask some uncomfortable questions, or worse; lecture you. Talking to the miko sounds more appetizing at this point.

You stand there for a brief moment, stuck between a rock and a hard place. You know getting past Keine-sensei would be difficult, but what else can you do? Though if you wanna escape her, ducking into cover now would be best before she sees you just standing there like an idiot.

>Brave Keine's chatter
>Go check out what Reimu's up to
>Head elsewhere in the village for now

Action? >_

[X]Go check out what Reimu's up to
-[x]Alleged penny pinchers may know some great deals for a guy strapped for cash. Couldn't hurt to ask right?
--[x]Ask Reimu (assuming he remembers the name) how's Utsuho doing with her since we've last saw her. Rin may find any good news of her friend cheerful.

I'm a bit confused though, since Keine is now at the food market, did Satoshi finish his shopping and is given a last minute deal thing or he planned on picking up something extra?

Nonetheless, no offense to Keine but chances are Satoshi will want to steer clear from lengthy conversations; especially out in increasingly poor weather. Besides finding out how Utsuho is doing would be a good thing as well for Rin's sake.

[x] Go check out what Reimu's up to

[X]Go check out what Reimu's up to

>I'm a bit confused though, since Keine is now at the food market, did Satoshi finish his shopping and is given a last minute deal thing or he planned on picking up something extra?
We haven't done the food shopping yet; we're just avoiding Keine by doing something else until she leaves the food market.

[X] Go check out what Reimu's up to.
-[x] Alleged penny pinchers may know some great deals for a guy strapped for cash. Couldn't hurt to ask, right?
-[x] Ask Reimu how Utsuho's been doing since we last saw her.

[X] Go check out what Reimu's up to.
-[x] Alleged penny pinchers may know some great deals for a guy strapped for cash. Couldn't hurt to ask, right? (Word it in terms like "Frugal queen" so she doesn't get offended)
-[x] Ask Reimu how Utsuho's been doing since we last saw her.

Yeah dealing with such a lovely teacher would make me uncomfortable in more ways than one (such as in the pants)

>Go check out what Reimu's up to
>Alleged penny pinchers may know some great deals for a guy strapped for cash.
>Ask Reimu how's Utsuho doing with her since we've last saw her.

Worsening weather combined with a sick kitty at home and a sneaky babysitter that might eat you out of house and home means that you really have no time to spare right at the moment. As much as you like talking to Keine-sensei, you find yourself unable to say no to her and it ends with you listening to her ramble on for hours on end, something you simply can't afford right now. Food market will have to wait.

You quickly duck into the trinket store you saw the shrine maiden in earlier. What was her name...ah yes, Reimu. Marisa does talk about her sometimes. You walk over and call out her name in a form of greeting, making sure to use an honorific so you can make a good impression. She seems a bit surprised to see you, though.

"Oh, Satoshi. What're you doing here?"

"Ah, well, I was gonna go get some food for the upcoming snow blanket we're about recieve, then I saw you in here and, well, thought I should say hi!" You laugh a bit nervously at the end of that. It didn't sound like a very convincing story at all. So you quickly change the subject to help keep yourself in good standing. "What're you doing here though? This is an odd store to find you in."

"Is it? I'm here for more materials to make my charms with. Cheapest place to find them."

"Eh? Huh..." Wow, maybe she is a penny pincher. Well, it is true she doesn't get too many donations. "So uhh...on the subject of money..." The moment you mention that though, Reimu shoots you a cold glare. Oops. Did you get on her bad side?

"You better not be asking for some."

"Eh? Come on, I'm not as bad as Marisa." Reimu then sighs.

"I guess you know where I'm coming from then. What is it?"

"Well, I was wondering if you knew any good places or deals for someone who's a bit short on money at the moment. I already owe Marisa a lot, and I need to stock up for the coming week, so..."

"Well, I do know of a couple good places here..."

"Really?!" Reimu shoots your excitement down with a dominate grin that gives you a nauseated feeling.

"Yes, really...it'll cost you though." You feel like you're being pressured by a massive boulder now. What did you just walk into?

"Guh...what is it you want then?"

"Well, it'd be nice if you came over and donated more regularly...oh, wait, you don't donate at all, do you?" Ouch. She just went there. "That won't do at all. You should fix that. In fact, you can start with a down payment right now if you're so inclined..."

You're reluctant at first, but you soon give in and hand the miko some money discreetly. Such a sorry loss, you can only hope that you'll make up for it with how much you'll save at the market with her tips.

"Wow, aren't you generous. I wasn't expecting this much. Eh, what ends well." She stuffs the cash down her collar in a move that could only be described as 'highly unnecessary' given her stature. "Alright, listen here then. Not many people know about it, but there's a few people here and there among the agricultural areas of the town that are willing to sell their food straight instead of to the retailers here in the market. They don't always do it, it depends on the time of day and year, but I imagine a few would be doing it now."

"Eh? So wait, the farmers and such don't sell their crops and meat themselves at the market anymore?"

"No, the village has been growing to a large size recently, so a little thing called business sense started floating around. This way, the retailers get more customers and make more money, while the farmers spend more time at home and taking care of their crops and such." Wow, times sure are changing. You remember when the village was small enough to make selling directly pretty necessary.

"Oh well, thanks in any case. While I'm here though, I want to ask, how is Utsuho doing? Satori entrusted her in your care, right?"

"She's been okay. She's very simple to amuse, unlike two other guests I tend to have who only seem to be pleased with one thing..." You blink for a moment. You're curious, but you have bigger fish to fry.

"Well that's good. She seemed upset by Satori ending up missing but over all seemed a bit more mature about it then Rin..."

"Utsuho is a bird brain, but she's less motivated by her feelings then that cat is. Satori-san has been teaching her responcibility since the incident." Incident? You guess that time where Utsuho was given that unique 'power' she has. "But...don't let her fool you. She was just as upset about it when she heard about it herself. She tried going after her too, but was more or less easier to pacify."

"I see...oh, I shouldn't linger too long, the snow is going to pile up. I'll talk to you later then, Reimu-san." You turn around and are about to leave, but you're stopped suddenly by Reimu grabbing your shoulder. When you look back at her, she seems to be giving you a very serious face.

"...don't rush yourself. Think things through...don't let yourself be fooled by imitations and illusions." After that, Reimu lets go and walks away, though she walks up to the store clerk to end up asking if she could have a discount on marbles. Right...

You go ahead and seek out anyone in the more rural areas of the village that would be willing to come off their supplies for cheap. You have moderate luck at this, you don't get as much as you'd like but a few were kind enough to spare you a little extra they had for some cash. You end up spending more for it then the retailers would, but you also get away with spending less then if you had bought it from the retailers themselves. Everybody wins.

Upon returning to the food center of the market, you find Keine-sensei has vanished. Good thing too. You still have a few things you need to take care of. After buying the rest of your groceries, you find your wallet completely and totally devoid of any sort of money whatsoever; you're seriously flat broke. You give a big sigh, thankful that Marisa is at least understanding and a good friend of yours. You should hurry back before she steals all your food though, even if it would be your fault considering you practically gave her permission to.

By the time you get home, the snow has started to get incredibly heavy. It's about mid-day too, so it's starting to get a little dark. You shake any snow that settled on top of you and your payload off before welcome yourself into your beloved, and most thankfully, warm home.

"I'm back!" You walk into the kitchen, everything seems to be okay...at least, you're sure Marisa hasn't totally emptied your cupboards. So maybe you should count your blessings. You put your stuff down on the counter for sorting later and go into the living to find Rin resting quite peacefully on the love seat while Marisa appears to be sitting in your recliner...upside down. She's reading a book as well.

"Ah, Satoshi, welcome back!"

"...thanks. That a good book?"

"You know it!" Marisa then hops out of the recliner by pushing herself onto her hands and flipping back over on her feet. You never took her for being flexible and/or athletic but at times, she still surprises you. "I went ahead and helped myself to a bit of lunch, but don't worry, I didn't take much. I know how strapped for food and cash you are what with Orin being here." You blink for a moment. This is a good day, not only did Rin think about you, but so did Marisa. She really is a good friend at times.

"...thanks, Marisa. I'll pay you for those scrolls soon, don't worry."

"Just don't worry your little head off, okay? I better get going so I can reopen my shop though." She heads past you and to the door, but stops in front of it. "Oh...and Satoshi?" You turn around fully to face her. Marisa then looks down at the floor.


"You never really thought of me as a girl, have you...?"

"...Eh?" Marisa then smiles back at you with that familiar goofy grin of hers.

"Just kidding! You take care of Orin now, Satoshi!" She then rushes out the door, closing it on her way out.


...that was weird.

You probably wouldn't have hesitated answering her if it didn't seem like a question she'd normally never ask. And then there's Reimu with her odd, out of place seriousness right when you were leaving yourself. Man, what's with everyone today? You're sorta glad you avoided both Alice and Keine-sensei today. Knowing them, you would be scared out of your wits right now.

After sorting all your groceries out and coming back to the living room, you find Rin has awakened.

"Hi Satoshi..." She seems to be quite out of energy, but despite that, she forces a smile out for you. It's kinda cute, yet saddening in a way. But in an effort to keep her own not in vain, you return the smile and pet her head a bit.

"Hey Rin. Have you been a good kitty while I was gone?" Rin seems to give you a more genuine smile after that.

"Yes. I talked a lot with onee-chan before I fell asleep...did I miss her?"

"Yeah, but don't worry about it too much. You should get some rest." Rin then sighs closing her eyes again.

"I'll try then..." You smile a bit before walking over to the window to observe the rest of the snow falling. It's really coming down now. It'll definitely be a few feet by tomorrow, if not more. It's a good thing you got those fire scrolls too, it looks like it's going to be a damnably cold winter. Though, Rin on the other hand...

"Ugh, it's so hot...~" You steer yourself away from staring out the window long enough to notice Rin is laying across the love seat in an exhausted manner.

"It can't be that hot...are you burning up again?" You walk over and feel Rin's forehead, sure enough, you nearly singe your hand right off upon touching it. "Yeouch! Jeez Rin..."

"Ugh, I think I need some more air..." Rin sits up a bit and you notice she's about to take her camisole off.

"W-W-Wait!! What're you think you're doing?!"

"It's alright Satoshi, look." You cover your field of vision when Rin takes her camisole off. But of course, after a few moments, you can't help it. You take a quick peek before dropping your arms. Rin is laying back down, topless...except for the bandaids put precariously in the most specific positions. For some reason, this makes you feel even more aroused and guilty then if she had just been topless straight. "Ahh...much better."

"I-I-I could've g-give you a-a washcloth to put on y-your forehead, you know..." You can really feel yourself shaking. This has went beyond teasing now. You feel very happy and yet, extremely distraught all at once. It's like being presented with the greatest buffet man could ever dream of and being told you have to eat it with your eyes only.

"Then go and get one, I'm still hot~"

Yes you are, Rin. Yes you are.

You take the moment you have in the bathroom to relieve yourself. (Your bladder, not your tension) You give a big sigh as you moisten up a washcloth with mildly cold water. You wonder if Rin realizes she's blowing your mind, and your frustration. It's not like you can help it. You kinda hate being the age of a man's prime. It's certainly showing, rather embarrassingly. You walk back out into the living room, stopping before the point to where you'd see Rin's rather "cute" pasties. You really need to ask at this point.

"Rin...just...where the hell did you get the idea to put those on?"

"Eh? Onee-chan said that the nipples were something that drove a guy crazy, so she said this would keep them down..." So Marisa was behind this. Not too surprising. This must've been some elaborate prank played by her in an attempt to get under your skin for owing her so much. Curse her.

"I...I wouldn't put it on...that specifically..." You say as you finally get around to walking over to her so you can hand her the washcloth. She's looking at you pretty curiously, but you can only but barely tell. Your eyes are preoccupied with something else.

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"Uhh...well..." You can't distract your mind long enough to even get out a few words! You're afraid the next thing you'll say might be an offensive blurb of what's on your mind. The bandaids don't even do a good enough job covering her areola, and then there's the fact that she's sweating a bit and...

Oh, you can't take it anymroe. Like a great boxer's punch delivering the final uppercut to his weary opponent's nose, the flood gates open and you fall backwards as a bit of blood stains your shirt.

"S-Satoshi...!!"

You wake up a few minutes afterwards. Rin is sitting next to you, looming over you with a bit of a worried expression. Thankfully, she's covering herself with the blankets she had brought in from the bedroom much earlier.

"Ugh...Rin?" You sit up a bit groggily, holding your head with one hand, holding yourself up with the other.

"Sorry Satoshi. I didn't think you'd still react so badly like that."

"It's alright. I really should learn some self control sometime..." As you get yourself up on your feet, Rin sneezes again and sniffles the aftermath away. You then hold a hold down to her to help her up.

"Th-Thanks..."

A few moments later, Rin is laying across the love seat again, somewhat more proper now at least, with the washcloth properly applied. You, meanwhile, are staring out the window observing the snow once more. Rin takes this time to talk to you for a moment.

"I don't get it...what do...what do guys like you find attractive, Satoshi?"

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"Well...like just then. Onee-chan told me a bit but apparently it's not just that..."

"You'd be right, but I think the main reason why you don't understand is because you're not natively human, Rin..." You don't look over at Rin this whole time. You don't really want to see her expression during this. It'd just make this awkward and embarrassing.

"What's your point, Satoshi?"

"You don't really need to know, do you?"

"But I do wanna know! Call it curiosity or whatever, but you're the only one I can really ask." You sigh a bit. You don't know if you should feel glad or frustrated with that.

"Alright. How come you don't already know then? I mean, you picked out that I was supposedly a pervert a while back."

"I know what a pervert is, Satoshi. It doesn't take rocket science to know. I mean, if another male tried mounting me while I was a cat and I didn't invite them first, I'd most certainly call them a pervert a thousand times over, and maybe a rapist."

You're...not sure how you feel about having just been told that. You get the feeling that this is a more you know moment, but you really didn't want to know about that in the first place.

"....o....kay....how about you then? What do you consider to be sexy or a turn on?"

"Eh? What's this out of the blue?"

"Well one of the steps in helping you understand is trying to find some way you can relate to what you're trying to understand, that way you can find the path to understanding it much easier." Although, it doesn't help that not only is she not the same gender, but she's not the same species either.

"Well...a great big, flowing mane that represents courage, a long, muscular body, and both a roar and a bite that could put people in their place...yeah, that about sums it up~"

...doesn't...doesn't that describe a lion...?

"Saotshi...is it really that weird?"

"Ah, no no, I'm sure there are humans out there that fit your description." Although, suffice it to say, you're not one of them. You get this feeling that if Rin really was interested in human guys, she'd be after the big, tough bad boys with lots of facial hair, and that just makes you feel incredibly small in comparision.

"I don't really see how this is getting us anywhere..."

"Alright, alright, one more question then. Why do you want to know?"

"Why? Well..." You decide now is finally time to look back at Rin, and when you turn around, she's looking down in a bit of a solemn way. "To be honest, I'm comfortable with you enough to the point to where if it didn't drive you crazy, Satoshi, I wouldn't mind showing my body to you."

Wow, bad idea. You turn quickly back to the window to hide your beyond embarrassed reaction. Urgh, you can just imagine it, Rin happily sitting in a bathtub while you clean her off, playing innocently in the soapy water, as if the exposure mattered none to either of you.

Why does this turn you on

"S-...Satoshi...are you okay? You look really unwell..." You hold up a hand to try and tell Rin to hold her horses while you regather your bearings. You suppose it's not just the arousal, but the actual feeling that comes with what she just opened up to you. After the initial tension, you can feel butterflies in your stomach. It's almost like going from first base to second, except you know, you're not actually with Rin in that way. Wait, how did it get to be like this in the first place?

"Ugh, ahem." You clear your throat a bit before talking, so that you don't show too many signs that you just lost your marbles right then and there. "I'm fine. But, how did it get to be like that? Do you really feel that comfortable with me?" You turn around to face Rin once more, who seems to be really puzzled now.

"Well...why wouldn't I? I mean, I don't mind doing it to Satori-sama or Okuu...what, do you humans not trust each other with that kind of thing no matter what? I don't see the point in it really."

"I...there's a lot to explain, I guess..."

"Is it related to the whole attraction thing or something? Come on Satoshi, just tell me already."

You take a big sigh and sit down in the recliner, thinking to yourself. You need a good enough explaination to Rin about how the human mind works. It's funny she wouldn't know, being pet to Satori and Koishi, people whom you'd think would know the most about human psychology based on their abilities, though Koishi doesn't use hers, apparently. This isn't like talking to Rin about the birds and the bees, so you think you don't have to beat around the bush when telling her, in fact, being blunt might help her understand better. So it's time to swallow your pride and give the strangest lecture you've possibly ever given.

Action? >_

damn gonna need time for an effective explanation

this is going to be hard... and figures Marisa would pull a stunt like this.

[X]Explain to her about the ways of human sexualism; limits, trigger, effects, cause, mentality, etc.

Also, this is how Suwako tells her knowledge.

>>4268

I would agree but somehow I think that would only backfire or just turn out terrible. I am surprised though how Satoshi reacted; had his previous solitary lifestyle really left him that vulnerable to sexually stimulating factors..?

>>4273

That and it doesn't help of some of the girls he knows. (Such as Keine and her marshmallows), and what happened in the last scene was Orin basically wearing just band aids, unaware of how that was fetishy. I think we should explain things in clear simple terms.

>>4273
>>4275
>>4268
Combined, and agreed.

Flat out the terms and meanings, she needs to be taught. False impression can't go on forever. Make use of knowledge we have, (avoid us being targetted a pent-up-lust bag) and make up your mind. Rin must know.

>>4276

Possibly the best choice, yes.

(Though I must admit that if I were placed in that situation myself the thought of explaining calmly would probably be the last thing on my mind.)

[x] Explain in simple yet clear terms how humans regard things such as nudity and opposite gender relations.
-[x] Try to make it clear that you've been resisting against such things the whole time.
-[x] Apologize about Marisa dragging her into a prank against you, those band-aids make things worse in the regard of 'reactions'

Orin's problem is that she's never been around men, youkai or human, just female youkai.

[x] Explain in simple yet clear terms how humans regard things such as nudity and opposite gender relations.
-[x] Try to make it clear that you've been resisting against such things the whole time out of fear of not only missing out something more in life but losing her altogether; after such a drastic change of lifestyle, to go back to a solitary life very well may kill him out of heartbreak
-[x] Apologize about Marisa dragging her into a prank against you, those band-aids make things worse in the regard of 'reactions'

>Orin's problem is that she's never been around men, youkai or human, just female youkai.

You'd think Satori would teach her something about them, or heck one of her other "lesser" pets being male as well. Nonetheless this I believe has confounded anon the most in forming an answer; Orin's probably the cleanest slate in terms of having information regarding the male side of things or at least the basics socially speaking.

[x] Explain in simple yet clear terms how humans regard things such as nudity and opposite gender relations.
-[x] Try to make it clear that you've been resisting against such things the whole time.
-[x] Apologize about Marisa dragging her into a prank against you, those band-aids make things worse in the regard of 'reactions'

>>4276
This, go with this. Clean and pure.

[x] Explain in simple yet clear terms how humans regard things such as nudity and opposite gender relations.
-[x] Try to make it clear that you've been resisting against such things the whole time.
-[x] Apologize about Marisa dragging her into a prank against you, those band-aids make things worse in the regard of 'reactions'

"Alright." You say, thinking you've got a good plan up for this explaination. "Let's say...there's this male cat, right? When a female cat makes a certain motion towards the male to make them aware they're in heat and wanting to copulate, the male always takes it, correct?"

The example you're putting forth feels weird to say, but she seems to grasp the concept.

"Yeah, go on."

"Well, that isn't because they want to, it's just pure, sheer instinct. You might know that already, but when a male is invited to something like that, a need for release crops up inside them...it's sorta like with humans, when a male human sees something that isn't just attractive, but downright sexy, then...well, to put it simply, it drives their hunger for sex." You sigh, looking down. It's getting a bit difficult, the more you talk about it. "And that kind of thing has a whole bunch of variables and circumstances that can make it better or worse...for humans, it's not just something driven by instinct, but by emotion and experience too. Like...if a guy hasn't had any real experience, then yeah, that's going to drive them to want it more..."

It takes a lot of courage to admit that last bit. You don't particularly feel too good about it anymore. It makes a part of you wonder why you went through all that, what with the way you explained it. Maybe it wasn't a very good explaination after all.

"So, are you saying that you don't have much experience, since any time you see me even remotely naked, it increases your se-"

"Yes, y-yes." You say, interrupting her a bit. You really didn't want her finishing that, for your own sanity, even though she already got a bit far. "But, that isn't just it, Rin. You see, you're...well, built pretty magnificently, to be frank. Many human females would die to have your kind of build." Rin starts flapping her hand at you, smiling embarrassed.

"Oh, please Satoshi, you're making me blush!"

"This is not a time for modesty." You say as you look at her unamused for the most part. "I honestly would hate to think of what would happen if you had a male master, especially one that was interested in you."

"Well, if I loved him like I did Satori-sama, I would want to fulfil any of his wishes no matter what. I'd have sex with him every day if he wanted to." You blink for a few moments, questioning this moral.

"You...wouldn't even give it a second thought as to the feeling with it?"

"No. It's like you said Satoshi, humans don't have sex based purely on instinct. With Youkai, it's different, we don't think about things like feelings or some such when we mate. That's something humans do, not us..."

When Rin puts it that way, it makes...a whole lot more sense. You probably aren't just attracted to Rin physically. The realization hits you like a ton of bricks, but quite honestly, you're not sure what you should do about it. Rin is just vastly different from you, and you wonder if...that could ever change. Does it even matter? It's yet another thing to think about but now probably isn't the time for it.

"Well, thanks Rin. I think we've both learned something from this...I should probably also make it clear that for a long while now, since Satori left you in my care, I've been resisting such urges to do things like that to you. It's kinda difficult..." Rin brings her knees to her chest and leans on them, looking down.

"Well...I don't think I necessarily trusted you in the past but...I feel much more comfortable with you now and if it's honestly bothering you that much, then I might let you..."

Gurk. You nearly vomited your lungs right there. While your body would more then happily ablige to that notion, after the whole talk with Rin about love, feelings and so forth, you can't help but feel that you'd have this gaping empty void inside you afterwards if you accepted. To do so after considering how important the feeling might be so quickly after, you'd feel like a horrible man.

"I...I appreciate the gesture, b-but I think I'll pass on that." You clear your throat, and try to recover the cookies you nearly tossed. "While I have trouble with it from time to time, I think it would be in both our best interests to stay away from doing that. We're just too different to consider it right now..." You look over at Rin, and she's looking at you with a sad, worried face, one strewn with guilt, filled with emotion. She's very clearly capable of human emotion, you've seen it with your own eyes.

So...why is she incapable of feeling love? Does she not realize it? Or has all this just been a ruse and she's just been pretending she has feelings? You really wish you had studied more about youkai.

"Rin...don't worry about it, please. We've been able to avoid it just well in the past week or so. Though I have to apologize for Marisa using you as a proxy for one of her latest pranks on me. Those bandaids more or less makes things worse rather then better." Rin takes this time to look down at her chest, pretty curiously.

"I don't get it. They cover up the body like ordinary clothes, though...not really as well." Rin then looks at you puzzled. "Why would it be worse then just going nude?" You sigh deeply and scratch the back of your head, trying to think of a way to explain this one, but it's not going too well.

"Ah, well, you see...uhh, it's something humans call a fetish I guess. Do you know what that is?" Rin thinks for a moment, before looking back at you.

"Satori-sama told me it was something like what a person could consider sexually arousing that isn't inherently sexual generally." Rin then points at you. "Does that mean you have a band-aid fetish?"

You nearly fell out of your chair just then. While, yeah, Rin does get it technically right, she didn't exactly hit a bullseye either...

"A-Ah, no, not...not really. It's something...different. But I'll just leave it at that for now, and explain the rest for later. Really though, why hasn't Satori taught you more then just this...?" Rin goes back to leaning on her knees, looking down. She seems to be a bit troubled herself, but with what, you're not sure. This whole conversation feels more serious then you originally took it for.

"Satori-sama...doesn't like talking about humans. She originally loathed them. The more she read their minds the more she grew to hate them. It wasn't until she met a miko and onee-chan that she found herself thinking she might've been wrong. Up until that point, she had led a very seclusive life in the underground where it was just her, me and Okuu..."

You hadn't ever thought of it that way. You never really asked what their past was like beyond the whole incident that spawned this whole change of heart. Is that why Koishi kept her third eye closed? You always were curious about it, but you really never bothered asking because, well, asking about something that was used to read minds always felt like bad manners to you or something. You don't know, mind reading is a very creepy subject with you. It's a wonder how you're such good friends with Satori.

"So, before Satori became more out going, you just stayed underground all your life? What about when you were a cat?" Being a nekomata, Rin had to have had some previous life as a mortal feline, before becoming youkai.

"Actually...I don't remember much of my life before I became a youkai. All I remember is wandering underground and Satori saving me from a caving in...I think it was something like that. It's been a very long time..."

"So, even if you had experience with humans, it's not like you'd really remember them to tell then...I wonder if Utsuho is the same way."

"Even if Satori-sama or even Okuu knew more about humans, it's not like I bothered asking anyways because I thought I wouldn't have to deal with them much. All I know are the social skills I learned from being with other youkai underground like Satori-sama."

"Well, you seem to have been getting by kind of fine. I believe you have a kind heart inside you Rin, one you probably inherited from Satori, despite her hatred of humans at the time. In fact, she might've been hiding it all along and only decided to really show it to humans when Reimu and Marisa came about." Rin looks at you for a few seconds before giving you a soft smile.

"Thank you Satoshi..." You return the smile and stand up, stretching.

"Ahh, enough about that though...my mind is kinda frayed now." Ain't that the truth too, so much you ended up thinking about. So many unresolved things boiling inside your heart and mind. You'll have to stew on them when you can better relax yourself.

"Alright then." Rin lays back down on the love seat, curling up under the covers. "That was a nice talk though...I really like talking with you Satoshi." She yawns, trying to get out the next sentence. "I wish I could talk like that with Okuu or even Satori-sama..." It makes you kind of happy knowing she enjoys talking with you so much, especially when you enjoy it back, but at the same time, you wonder how long you could do that for her. It's kinda of surprising she's being so candid with you today, but she is sick and as you've learned, she's less bottled up the weaker she is.

With that finished, it might be time to do something else now. You have a lot on your mind, and you feel you should either try to resolve it, or do something to forget it.

>Sort out the groceries left in the kitchen and see about dinner and Rin's medication
>Go relax in the bath
>Pick up a book and pass time forgetting about reality briefly
>Try and take a short nap in the bedroom

Action? >_

If it's the right time for medication then:
[x]Sort out the groceries left in the kitchen and see about dinner and Rin's medication

If not then:
[x]Go relax in the bath

If it's the right time for medication then:
[x]Sort out the groceries left in the kitchen and see about dinner and Rin's medication

If not then:
[x]Go relax in the bath

I was hoping for some more progress for Satoshi, but I can also see how important having the emotional side be a part of it. Not that it's inhuman to just have sex without any strings attached, but Satoshi seems to want that from Rin. It may be some time before it actually occurs; if at all. Or they do have something that causes it to actually grow such a bond.

Then again, perhaps Satoshi can instead grow to accept a different type of love that Rin had mentioned earlier. Just as Rin had grown accustomed to humans, Satoshi may need to become more open towards such rather foreign concepts for himself to find any progress; or should I say that happiness he really wants in life..?

[x]Sort out the groceries left in the kitchen and see about dinner and Rin's medication

If it's the right time for medication then:
[x]Sort out the groceries left in the kitchen and see about dinner and Rin's medication

If not then:
[x]Go relax in the bath

Well I don't think Rin's moved on from thinking like an animal quite yet, since I think Youkai can have human emotions.

But Satoshi could have word that better than "we're just too different" since that seems to be pushing them apart. (When it's more like "It wouldn't be right at the moment")

If it's the right time for medication then:
[]Sort out the groceries left in the kitchen and see about dinner and Rin's medication

If not then:
[]Pick up a book and pass time forgetting about reality briefly

[x]Go relax in the bath
Nice job with the 'Sex by instinct' and 'Sex by emotion' thing.
Anyway, he should just relax and try to filter all the shit that he went through for the last week or so. Seriously, I fear for his sanity if this keeps up.

If it's the right time for medication then:
[x]Sort out the groceries left in the kitchen and see about dinner and Rin's medication

If not then:
[x]Go relax in the bath

If it's the right time for medication then:
[x]Sort out the groceries left in the kitchen and see about dinner and Rin's medication

If not then:
[x]Go relax in the bath

If it's the right time for medication then:
[x]Sort out the groceries left in the kitchen and see about dinner and Rin's medication

If not then:
[x]Go relax in the bath

>Sort out the groceries left in the kitchen and see about dinner and Rin's medication

Ah, that's right. All that food you came home with. You almost forgot about it. You should probably put it all away and organize it. While you're at it, you can cook dinner. It's almost time for Rin's medication anyways.

"Hey Rin, how about some beef stew in a half an hour?" Rin looks up at you and smiles softly up at you.

"That would be wonderful...!" She seems weak, but her two tails hanging off the side of the love seat are waving back and forth to tell you that she very much enjoys the thought. She seems to be a bit better now so perhaps stepping up and giving her something more solid will suffice now.

You march into the kitchen to get things sorted out. Starting with the most perishable stuff and putting it all in the fridge. You brought home a bit more then you thought, you hope your wallet is okay with all this. You should definitely be set for a while though, as you got a lot of good stuff. More poultry to fill the void that Rin's been creating, some salmon to treat her with later when she finally gets over this flu, a good piece of beef to make the stew you promised Rin earlier, some milk in case she ever got thir-

...It strikes you suddenly. Over half this stuff you got with Rin solely in your mind. You didn't even think about it. It just happened. You're not even sure why. Does Satori run into this problem? Or is this something much deeper involved with you? You want to know, because quite frankly, this has creeped you out quite a bit.

The answer never comes though, so you try to keep your mind off it for now. When you've finished putting everything away, you start on that delicious stew you've set up for. You were pretty fond of stew yourself, Marisa has treated you to quite a bit of it in the past, though it was always...unique. The traditional stews you couldn't keep away from though. While you typically don't cook it all the times, when you do, it's a little treat for yourself. Though you know Rin will enjoy it far more then you will. Rin, as far as you know, is a massive carnivore and loves her meat, though she'll take vegetables on occasion.

Thinking about it, Rin hasn't cooked for the two of you in a while, about five days now. You should encourage her to try it again when she gets better. It was a pleasent surprise that she wanted to try cooking and got pretty good at it, so you want to see about helping her in that endevor.

After a good while, you deem the stew finished and ready to be served. After checking the time, you wager that shortly after Rin will finish eating, she should take her medication. You made a whole lot, so there will likely be leftovers since you know Rin probably won't be able to eat much still in her condition. She might be happy to have leftovers at a later date though.

You bring a bowl full of the stew on a tray to Rin, along with a second, smaller bowl beside it. When Rin sees you, she (as) quickly (as she can) sits up in the love seat so she can eat properly. That's when you hand her the tray and take your smaller bowl and sit on the recliner.

"How does it look?"

"It looks delicious...I can't wait! Finally I get some real meat~" She then happily takes her spoon with a cheer. "Itadakimasu!" Rin then makes her first mistake, taking a big gulp and being unable to swallow it. You quickly get up and fetch her a glass of water right away to help her down it. When she finally frees up her mouth, the most she can do is whimper. "M-My throat feels so narrow...it hurts..."

"That's what being sick does to you. At least you don't have a sore throat. Take it slow and bit by bit, will ya? It's only been a day, you're not going to recover like lightning like you normally do..." You really wish that were the case. When Rin showed you her wounds the day after she fought that massive demon, the fact that they were nothing but scars already by that time really astonished you, and you had greater respect for her after that, knowing she was more powerful then you even imagined. But this little incident proves that not even Rin is invincible...

After that little stunt, Rin slows down a whole bunch. It seems the ordeal scared her off from her previous excitement and now she's weakly carrying on through the stew in meager amounts. She could probably use someone to talk to...just as well, the air is too silent for you right now anyways. Making sure Rin is happy will help keep her more healthy in terms of physical wellness. Though you can't help trying to dodge the feeling in the back of your head that this will be the last chance you get to talk to Rin for a long while. It's weird, especially when you know you'll get plenty of chances later...it must be one of those 'live every day as if it were your last' things. Listening to it seems like a good idea, but you don't wanna hop from subject to subject too quickly, Rin needs to take her medicine and get some rest too.

>"So, what is the friendship between oyu and Utsuho like?"
>"Why do you always wear those ribbons around your leg?"
>"Was the bath I gave you yesterday any good in helping?"
>Anything you want to ask/talk to Rin about

Action? >_

[x]"So, what is the friendship between you and Utsuho like?"
[x]"I thought cats chased birds."

[x]"Why do you always wear those ribbons around your leg?"
[x]"So, what is the friendship between you and Utsuho like?"
[x]"I thought cats chased birds."

[x]"Why do you always wear those ribbons around your leg?"
You know, I've wondered the same thing.
[x]"So, what is the friendship between you and Utsuho like?"
[x]"I thought cats chased birds."

[x]"Why do you always wear those ribbons around your leg?"
[x]"So, what is the friendship between you and Utsuho like?"
[x]"I thought cats chased birds."

[x]"Why do you always wear those ribbons around your leg?"
[x]"So, what is the friendship between you and Utsuho like?"
[x]"I thought cats chased birds."

>Though you can't help trying to dodge the feeling in the back of your head that this will be the last chance you get to talk to Rin for a long while.

Doesn't this set off any alarms in anyone's head?

[x]"Why do you always wear those ribbons around your leg?"
[x]"So, what is the friendship between you and Utsuho like?"
[x]"I thought cats chased birds."

>>4336
He did say this was going to be a short story.

>>4338

One that ended up longer than he thought, so with this is this how we want to end things asking a mundane questions? I just don't want this story to end on a "back to the status quo" note.

>>4338
>>4340
The hell kind of a time is this to suddenly end the story? The seeds of romance are just being sown and the plot hasn't been resolved on any level.

>>4341

IT'S AS IF WE DONE NOTHING AT ALL! DID ANON FUCK UP OR WHAT AS I'M INCREDIBLY CONFUSED.

[x]"Why do you always wear those ribbons around your leg?"
[x]"So, what is the friendship between you and Utsuho like?"
[x]"I thought cats chased birds."

Not talking to her for a long while doesn't exactly mean the story's ending. It could mean all sorts of things.

[x]"Why do you always wear those ribbons around your leg?"
[x]"So, what is the friendship between you and Utsuho like?"
[x]"I thought cats chased birds."

>>4343
>Not talking to her for a long while doesn't exactly mean the story's ending. It could mean all sorts of things.

You're right anon for Satoshi must tie up some loose ends here before he leaves to his next destination... Only a matter of time now...

It won't hurt, much.

Depending on the next choice in the next update,I can tell you guys right now that there are two updates left before the final conclusion of the story. I can assure you that while this is pretty damn close to the end, it won't be the last time you get tell Rin something, just the last time you'll get to chat with her about said mundane things. Take it as you will.

I can also assure you that it will not end on a "status quo" note because honestly I've always hated those kinds of endings. Aside from that, this may not be the end of Satoshi's story either. I really enjoyed writing this story much more then I expected and you might see an unexpected continuation of this story even well after it's end. An epilouge? A spin off? An after story? We'll see.

I'll update later today, likely around the same time I made the last update. Busy day ahead of my today, I'm just making my rounds right now.

>>4345
Ah so it's similar to what happen in DEFT where anon got the wrong impression thinking it was ending when in fact it's merely ending a chapter/prologue story.

Satoshi you a bad enough dude to rescue Satori?

>>4345

Okay then well mundane questions away then. But I'll miss this story.

>"Why do you always wear those ribbons around your leg?"
>"So, what is the friendship between you and Utsuho like?"
>"I thought cats chased birds."

"Huh?" Rin looks at you as you suddenly bring that question up to her. You don't know why. It's just always been on your mind. You felt now would be a great time to ask. "Well..." She goes to eating her stew while telling you. "I guess you could say it acts like a power brace. If I keep it off too long I transform into a hideous cat creature with flaming paws and a muscly body."

"Wh-What...?" You felt yourself freeze up so badly, but it instantly goes away when you notice Rin is stifling a laugh. You should've known when she had said it in such a casual, undeterred manner.

"You're still so easy to fool, Satoshi. Sometimes I wonder how I get away with it."

"Shut up, that just caught me off guard."

"It's nothing big though. I just like wearing it. I guess I feel unique when I do. Satori-sama put it on my leg a long, long time ago and thought it looked good." Well, she'd be right. The ribbons on her leg tend to draw attention to it and, to be frank, you were never a leg man until you paid more attention to Rin's legs like that. The haphazard way the ribbons wrap around her leg tend to bring out the well shaped curvature of it more and makes you pay more attention to the rest of the build, which seems so smooth and...

Uh, you better stop thinking about that too hard. The last thing you need right now is a tend poking up from your pants. Having something like that could prove difficult when talking to Rin still. It might be best to change the subject.

"Alright then. So, what's the friendship between you and Utsuho like? I mean, after all, I thought cats chased birds." Rin then laughs and gives you a brimming smile after you say that.

"Funny thing about that actually! The way we met was kinda like that! You see, Satori-sama had taken me in before we knew about Okuu. It's just, one day deep underground, I saw this strange bird, which I thought was weird because you like, never see birds underground. And that's when I stalked Okuu and caught her! She was so mad!" Wow. Yep. Sounds like a real family alright. "Though I ended up biting the bullet much later.."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"A-Ah! Nothing! Nothing at all, haha~" She seems to do a good job avoiding it while looking suspicious, but she continues on without you being able to intervene, so you let it go. "Anyways, after I caught her and brought her to Satori-sama, she revealed to me that she was more then a bird. After getting past introductions, Satori-sama offered her a place to stay because she had no where else to go."

"No where else to go?"

"Yeah...Okuu is a diciple of hell, much like me...the part of the underground we live in now used to be a part of Makai, but has since branched off the flames had died. The hell that once was no longer was so me and Okuu were left without a real purpose after that happened. Okuu was actually distraught enough about it that she tried reviving the flames and bringing forth a new hell when she recieved the power of the gods. The Yatagarasu."

"The...yatagarasu? Isn't that the crow that represents the sun?"

"Yeah. Someone had manipulated Okuu into swallowing the eye of the yatagarasu and she ended up inheriting it's powers. That's what caused the whole incident that resulted in her being stuck with her power of nuclear fusion. I'm still worried about it, honestly. She's a total birdbrain, so I don't know if she's really responcible enough for it yet." This brings to mind what Reimu had told you back at the human village earlier.

"Don't worry...I'm sure she's learned her lesson, if what I've been told is true. She seems like a kind, honest person to me, much like you, Rin." Once again, you seem to surprise Rin a bit before she giggles a bit.

"Thanks Satoshi~ You always sound so sincere when you say things like that. It really helps."

A good while passes. Rin finishes her food, as do you, and a few minutes later, you get her to take her medication. She ends up falling asleep right after, still lacking any real energy. After bringing her back into the bedroom, you keep an eye on her for some time before finally going out and doing something else. Her fever is still around but it seems to be recovering very well. Somehow, you're finding yourself fond of taking care of Rin like this. You suppose it's because all this time, it felt like Rin was more capable then you were, especially after that battle with that demon. So it makes you feel better that it seems like you're actually helping Rin.

A few hours pass, almost another five. You yawn and put your book down. You had been reading in the living room this whole time. You rub your eyes a bit and look out the window, and it appears to be quite dark already. It can't be immeasurably late, but it's certainly starting to go into the wee hours of the evening. You almost wonder what you're been doing all day. You should probably get Rin to take more medicine, but she's probably still asleep, and you don't particularly feel like fighting with her unconciousness for it. You don't think it'd hurt to skip it once like you do when you sleep, since she's recovering pretty fine now.

It's weird though, you feel weird. Not exactly tired, but kinda fatigued. Not exactly worn out, but your mind needs a rest. Maybe you got too much into that book again, but in all seriousness, you can hardly remember most of what you read already. It's an awkward feeling of not being able to concentrate enough despite the fact that there's nothing wrong. You're hoping you just feel sleepy or something.

Just as you're about to retreat into the bedroom though, something solid hits the front door, almost like a small brick. It smacks it with a loud thus, and there's no audible sound afterward. It couldn't be anyone knocking at the door, and they sure as hell didn't stick around after hitting your door with whatever it was, apparently. You decide to check it out.

Upon opening the door, you of course end up seeing no one there. Looking at the ground in front of your door, however, you find a medium sized orb which appears to bear a red and white yin yang symbol wrapping around it. You get this feeling you've seen that somewhere before...

You nonchalantly bring the orb into your house. It's about roughly three quarters the size of your head. It's also smooth and supple. After setting it on your table and sitting in the love seat, you stare at it for a while, trying to think of what to do with it, and what it's purpose is. You're not sure who sent it yet, though it seem familiar, to be sure. You're not sure what it means though. Does it do anything? Is there more to it then meets the eye? So confusing, there's really no obvious way of figuring it out. Though, in a brilliant stroke of genius, you tap it a few times and you have the wits scared out of you quite promptly afterwards, because the orb explodes...!

...in a shower of confetti. What is this, a surprise birthday party? You could say you're surprise but that's probably not the exact words that describes your current state of fear. You thought it had some dynamite in it or something. That was awful.

After getting out from behind the love seat, checking to make sure you didn't need to change your pants, and sitting back down, you find that the orb had opened up down the line that separates the yin and the yang. And insides appears to be a note. You take no hesitation in grabbing it and reading it. It was obviously addressed to you, after all.

Dear Satoshi,
Earlier, when we had met, I had left Utsuho alone at the shrine.
What I had not counted on or predicted, was that during that
time, Satori had sent a sudden distress call from Makai, one
that only Utsuho was around to hear. So in a fit of bad omens,
she took off to rescue her. However, I fear for the reliability
of this particular call, something about it feels amiss...
I have decided that I must go in there myself and rescue both
Satori and Utsuho. I do not know how long I will be, however...
When I succeed, I will be bringing both to your house. Please be
prepared for when that happens, Satoshi.

Sincerely, Reimu

It takes a while for all of it to truly sink in. Satori going into Makai, the incident with Utsuho, the underground branching off from hell, is this plot all what you truly think it is?

Probably...probably not. You're not sure. Not just yet. But it feels staged. You know Satori better then this. Or at least, that's what you had thought. You're not so sure anymore. You're not sure what's going on. But you're worried. It all feels like this is culminating into a massive bad end. But, if Reimu is on the job, then...maybe...

You have no choice. You're entrusting Satori and Utsuho's lives on her. If they can't make it back, Rin would be very upset. You wouldn't have that. For now, you should make sure Rin doesn't get word of this note. If she had read it, there's no telling what she might do. This is a very dangerous piece of paper right now. You stuff it back in the orb and close it. Conveniently, it makes a little snapping sound once closed. Is it made of plastic or something?

You clean up the odd bits of confetti and look around. A good place to hide it, let's see...under the recliner might have to do. There aren't a whole lot of nooks and crannies in your house, as you like to keep it barrent of such so that cleaning them wouldn't be a hassle. Putting it in a drawer or some such would make it easier to find, because you never know if Rin is curiously looking through your stuff. As far as you know though, she wouldn't look under pieces of furniture unless she were in her cat form, and you know she won't be doing that anytime soon...hopefully.

After stuffinf the orb under the recliner, you realize you're feeling very anxious. You're almost shaking. You really are worried about this. You don't know how it'll end. You really wish you could do something about it, but...eh, no use thinking about that now. You need to find a way to calm down first. Usually, talking to someone and getting it off your chest would work, but Rin is asleep, and besides that, god forbid you told her about this in her current state anyways. Hrrm...what to do?

>Seek out Marisa's comfort
>A serious chat with Alice will do it
>Talking to Keine-sensei always calmed you
>Sleeping on it will help you forget it

Action? >_

[x] Talking to Keine-sensei always calmed you.

I think she'd know best about things and the best to reassure us. Marisa wouldn't really take it seriously.

[x]A serious chat with Alice will do it

Ahh new developements eh?

Man if I were in his shoes I'd be anxious as well for a variety of reasons. For one hopefully Rin's illness is not contagious enough, if at all, where it may become a mess beyond his capabilities both physically and financially. Speaking of finances, unless Satori's willing to pitch in that department Satoshi's is gonna start owing a life of servitude to some one eventually.

This is however no time to start panicking, especially when trying to take care of a recovering friendloveinterest. Talking to Alice at least may be able to help him organize his course of actions in preparations of their arrival. Get some semblance of control over the wildly occurring chain of events.

[x]A serious chat with Alice will do it

Alice seems to know alot. And we still have to thank her again for the Cute Bow.

[x]A serious chat with Alice will do it.

I'm letting my Alice fanboyism blind me here. What we really should do is be honest with Rin. The way this is going, I can see where the story is heading from a mile away - we hide the orb, go off to talk to someone... and by the time we return, Rin's found it and left the house, and shit is hitting the fan hard and fast.

[x] Sleeping on it will help you forget it

>>4367

WITH THIS IN MIND

OP of >>4362 and I'm amending it with...


[x]A serious chat with Alice will do it
-[X]Check to see if Rin is truly asleep.
--[x]Leave a note for Rin in case she notices your absence stating you needed to speak to Alice about something important.
---[x]TAKE THE NOTE to show to Alice and keep it away from Rin for now.

While I'm all for alerting Rin of what had happen to possibly her second closest friend it would only complicate things needlessly and Satoshi probably will not have the power to keep things under control.

At the very least, taking Reimu's note could prevent any possibility of Rin going out while still being sick.

What are the chances that Rin heard this "distress call from Satori" if Utsuho heard it..?

[x]A serious chat with Alice will do it
-[X]Check to see if Rin is truly asleep.
--[x]Leave a note for Rin in case she notices your absence stating you needed to speak to Alice about something important.
---[x]TAKE THE NOTE to show to Alice and keep it away from Rin for now.

>>4367

I figure I'll amend my own post with the changes in >>4369 .

Possibly the best plan given our situation.

[x]A serious chat with Alice will do it
-[X]Check to see if Rin is truly asleep.
--[x]Leave a note for Rin in case she notices your absence stating you needed to speak to Alice about something important.
---[x]TAKE THE NOTE to show to Alice and keep it away from Rin for now.

>A serious chat with Alice will do it
>Check to see if Rin is truly asleep.
>Leave a note for Rin in case she notices your absence stating you needed to speak to Alice about something important.
>TAKE THE NOTE to show to Alice and keep it away from Rin for now.

Maybe talking with Alice will help do the trick. When it came to the need for serious talk to arise, she always seemed to have the most fitting things to say. Marisa might not take you seriously enough, and she had made you feel weird not too long ago. Keine-sensei is a good choice, but Alice is ultimately closer. However...

You take the yin yang orb back out from under the recliner, and putting it somewhere safe in your wardrobe for travel. You could show this later to Alice. And besides, the best way to keep it from Rin's eyes is to keep an eye on it yourself at all times, though it's a bit cumbersome. You don't necessarily wanna risk leaving just the yin yang orb around, otherwise Rin might get a little too curious should she find it laying around, and you wanna avoid having to lie to her. Though hiding things from her probably isn't any better. Oh well.

You write a quick note for Rin herself to read in the near future, should she awaken and not find you here. Just something describing that you'll be gone for a bit to talk with Alice about something important. Though you don't wanna lie, you could say you went there to thank her for that Cute Bow you had given Rin a while back, which in a sense, is also true. You need to do that when you get there. You take the note into the bedroom and then closely examine Rin. Yep. Out cold. You could probably slap her and she'd not wake up but that's a risk you're not willing to take. Though if she were awake, she'd berate you for staring so close. You swear you could see the pores on her cheeks. It's kinda cute though.

After leaving the note on the table next to the bed, you hastily leave the house and hurry on over to Alice's. It's pretty dark, probably darker then you realized. Walking around the forest with this much lack of light is extremely dangerous. Thankfully, the snow has piled up to large amounts, so mobility is not something anything would be known for right now. Most predators are either hibernating or otherwise not willing to chance the snow in this condition. Though it's a good thing you're not going to see Keine-sensei, this snow would throw you out before you even got to her.

It isn't long thankfully until you reach Alice's place. Thank god, her lights are on. She's home and awake, in that case. You shake a bit of snow off you. The falling snow has lightened a bit but the walk still caused a bit of a drift to settle on you. You knock on the door and await for Alice to open the door, and the responce is fairly quick.

"Satoshi? What're you doing in this heavy snow?"

"Ah, sorry to bug you this late in the evening but I really need someone to talk to. Could I come in?"

"Of course. It's pretty cold out there." You thank her and walk inside. A few minutes later, after getting out of your coat and scarf, you're sitting on one of the couches in Alice's house as she brings in tea. "It's pretty miserable out there. And dark too. I know you better then that, you never walk around the forest when it's dark." Yeah, she would know. She witnessed you being prey to a nocturnal wolf demon passing through once when you tried walking to her place during the night a long while ago. While she did save your life, the amount of scolding you received from her makes you feels somewhat less thankful about it. "Are you alright?"

"Ah, yeah, I am, just...a lot on my mind I guess."

"It's about Rin, isn't it?" You freeze up for a moment before looking up at her. "I could tell from the very beginning that something was going to happen. The way you talked about her before, you two never got along at first glance, but the actual hatred was never there." Alice then sits down in a chair opposite of you, sipping some tea. "Living with someone changes a lot, doesn't it?" You're kinda impressed by her display of wisdom right there. The most you can do is agree.

"Y-Yeah...it does."

"I think you couldn't get along with her at first because neither of you could really be honest with yourselves or each other. You hated each other merely because you wanted to. It's a lot different now that you're living together, isn't it? Whatever direction you take with her is fine by me, just don't decide based on how it looks or what makes it feel superficially natural, decide based on your feelings and what feels natural to you. Though I don't know how Marisa would take it..."

"Huh? What was that?"

"Oh, nothing, ignore it..." Alice sighs after sipping more of her tea. "I was hoping you would stop this farce sooner or later and if you're coming here on the realization that things are much more different then you fooled yourself out to be, then I'm guessing it's finally working."

"The bow you gave me as a present to Rin...you set that up so this would happen, didn't you?"

"There's nothing wrong with a little push in the right direction, of course..." Alice keeps her eyes closed with a stoic expression as she says this. Just like her.

"Well...I should thank you then. That thing did prove to start a period where me and Rin would get a lot closer then we have been previously. Hah...it feels like I'm her second master in a way."

"Her second master...Satori, right? She really loves her..."

"Yeah, tell me about it...oh, however, I did get a note from Reimu about her..."

"You did? Is there something wrong?" She looks genuinely puzzled.

"Hmm, I guess I didn't tell you. Satori put Rin in my care because she needed to go to Makai alone. She also put Utsuho in Reimu's care. A while back though, Reimu apparently stopped getting messages from Satori...it wasn't until just earlier that she supposedly got a distress call from her and Utsuho blindly charged in. Reimu is saving both of them as we speak. But..."

"...but?" Alice inquires, your hesitation proving very long, if only because your mind continues wandering and wondering about the situation at hand.

"Something doesn't feel right after thinking about it. Why did Satori go? Why did she need to be alone? If it was so dangerous, why did she go in without any assistance? It's not like her, and then all this happens..." Alice takes a sip of her drink and looks at you seriously.

"Satoshi...do you believe in coincidence?" You're not sure how to respond. You take a short bit to ask.

"Why...why do you ask?"

"I don't believe in them, to be honest. There are many things driven by fate and destiny. In the same vein, everything happens for a reason. There isn't an event that ever occurs without a purpose. I've become convinced that there are no coincidences in this world, only necessities."

"Only...necessities, huh?"

"Well, I don't know if that really answers your question or not. But I thought it might help. May I see this note you talked of though?" You go ahead and dig around for it.

"Oh, sure it's...ah, where'd I put it...where...it's not here..." You start looking around your clothing more and more frantically. Where'd it go? It...it couldn't have...

"Satoshi, what's wrong? You look pale..."

"...I have to go." You stand up suddenly. "I'm sorry...I'll talk to you later though." You then rush out the door as fast as possible, putting your coat and scarf back on as you run out through the snow.

"Satoshi? Satoshi!" Alice's cries to you become muffled by the cold wind and the thick air of the forest.

God dammit. this can't be. It couldn't have fallen out while you were walking to Alice's and you thought it was weird when you took your coat off without the orb being plainly visible or something to that effect. It could've only been left behind back at the house...shit. Is this what Alice was talking about? Was this a necessity too? It could only come to mind that Rin was destined to view that note. You should've just woke her up and told her right then. At least you could've done something about it. But now you're not there. There's no telling what Rin might've done. She doesn't need this so soon after she's gotten sick! Fucking hell.

You burst into your house with reckless abandon, you're not about to slow down the least bit. You instantly start yelling for Rin, calling out for her. It's only when you arrive in the bedroom do you stop. The bed...is empty. The covers pushed out of the way. And the yin yang orb, opened, note hanging out, on the floor nearby. She read it. And there was not a god damn thing you could do about it. You kinda feel like cursing Alice out for saying all that crap but you know it's not her fault. You probably should've taken extra precautions about this. Now you're back to square one. The same square you were at when Reimu and Utsuho came to your door with the awful news, the awful news that sent Rin into total shock. Now all you can do is wait. Wait here anxiously as Rin gets herself more hurt...

...no. You can't stand for that anymore. Maybe you would've in the past, but the past week has taught you something. It taught you more or less the friendship you valued with Rin. And maybe a bit more. You don't know how deep that feeling for her goes but one thing's for certain, it's there now, and you're not letting it go. Not by a long shot. Screw destiny. Fuck fate. You're writing your own future, and that future involves finding Rin. At the very least, you need to explain to her. At least try to keep her from making a very bad mistake.

Once again, you're rushing out a door, running with all your might. The snow proves itself to be thick and hard to traverse in, but you're not about to let it stop you. Not now. Not ever. You don't even know how you're going to find Rin, but...somewhere, somehow, in the deep, dark recesses of your mind, you can sense her, you can feel her...you know exactly where she is. Call it instinct, but you're willing to follow it. It's the only lead you have right now, because you don't know where the entrance to Makai would be. This is your only chance, your only hope.

You stop suddenly in middle of a clearing in the forest, with a small hill protruding up in the middle. You've noticed that the snow has stopped falling, and the nearly full moon is now peeking it way out from behind the clouds in the sky. It produces a mild glow cast upon the area, twinkling in the snow. Most importantly, the reason why you stopped in fact, it reveals Rin standing on top of the hill, fully dressed back in her standard black and green outfit, hair braided back up in the familiar way you've come to know her with. She just stands there, facing away from you, staring up at the moon. It isn't long before she notices your presence. When she does, you realize she's panting a bit, and seems a bit tired. As you thought, she's still sick, and still not in top form. She wouldn't even make it to Makai, you feel.

"You...you found me, Satoshi. Good job."

"Rin! Enough of this tomfoolery, where do you think you're going?!"

"Makai. You know this already, don't you?" You growl at her, that's not something you want to be reminded of from the very person who's going to do such a stupid thing.

"You know how bad of an idea this is, don't you? You know you shouldn't do this!" You get no response from her, however. You can't gauge her expression either, her face is completely turned from you. "Come on, you know I'd worry about you far too much for it to be healthy. Please...Rin..." You see Rin's head turn ever so slightly. All you can see however, is the corner of her mouth making a bit of a smile, a smile you know that's more melancholic then anything.

"Hey...Satoshi...you're good friends with Marisa and Alice, right? How does that work?" You blink for a few moments, kind of confused.

"Uhh...well, that's the first time you ever called Marisa by her name and not onee-chan. So I'm kind of unsure how to take that."

"Ah...sorry."

"Rin, just stop this nonsense. Nothing good will come out of you leaving." A long silence follows afterwards.

"Would you be angry if I forced myself away from you?"

"You're still sick, Rin! You won't make it!! There's no way...!"

"I can do it. I'm strong. I'm a big girl now, Satori-sama always told her that as long as I put my mind to it, I can do anything...I want to prove that now in front of her very eyes." You feel really hurt right now. It's always Satori. Everything seems to loop back around to her. It's almost as if...as if she had staged everything that had happened, from the very start.

"There's nothing I can do...nothing that'll stop you from doing this, is there?"

"Hmm...hey...Satoshi..." You're pretty reluctant to reply to her, but you force it out, ignoring her isn't gonna do either of you good.

"...what is it?" Just then Rin spins and turns around to you with a smiling face.

"How do you feel about me? I mean, truly feel." You feel your heart leaping up into your throat suddenly. She asked it. She finally asked it. That one golden question you've been seeking the very answer to all this time, even since this whole fiasco started.

"I...where does this come from so suddenly?"

"Well, I ask because, I'm kinda confused about it myself..." Rin looks down, her smile still there, but her look more solemn then before. "You really grew on me the past week, very quickly. I was so shocked when I realized how natural it felt talking to you and being around you. It felt a lot like being around Satori-sama, but...different, I guess. When you told me we should be friends, since of master and pet, I was lost...I'm not sure what kind of relationship we would have then because it feels more special then what I would call just an ordinary friendship..." More special? Does she feel like you're more like family to her, if the master/pet thing is to be believed? Or perhaps, it's something more...you don't know. But you're going to start either way.

"Well...truth is Rin, it feels very natural for me too. A year ago when we first met, I would've never believed talking with you would've felt like it just fit so well. I can't even have conversations with Marisa like that. Sure enough..." You look down at the snow, reflecting on past events, particularly comparing how nasty you and Rin were to each other before she started living with you. "A lot...has changed."

"That's why I want to know, I want to know what exactly had changed. It's been a long time I was really very social, so..." You're not sure what she's trying to say at this point, you'd rather her not try to continue and end up misplacing trust in her words.

"And...no matter what I say, you're still going to run after Satori, right?" Rin looks back at you and smiles softly.

"Of course."

"So...there's really nothing? Not even if I flattered you?"

"Satoshi, I'm serious. If you don't speak now, I won't let you. I'll leave right now. Are you going to tell me or not?"

Ouch. It felt like she just stuck an arrow in your heart with the sudden cold shoulder. Joking aside, you should seriously consider your next action and put as much thought into it as possible. You don't know, this might very well be the last time you ever see Rin. If this sickness is as lethal as the doctor described, then it's likely she could die if she actually does make it to Makai.

So...it's time then. No more beating around the bush, not to Rin, not to yourself. You're going to take Alice's words to heart and be completely honest now. You should know the kinds of feelings you're having for Rin. And you should know exactly how to display them too. Is she a friend? Family? More then that? That gets decided right here and right now, and whatever you're picking, you're going to stick to it until the very bitter end, regardless of what happens in the future. This indecisiveness has hooked you by the tail for the last time. You swear if you ever have second thoughts about how your relationship with Rin is again, you're going to ram a pickaxe up your ass.

You stand there, in the moonlight glow, looking over at the nekomata, about to give your answer. She's giving you this cold, solemn look. She wants to know just as much as you do. The deep snow shining in the moonlight, a brief chill coming by and a soft wind passing through. The entire week culminates into this one moment. You need to consider everything that's happened, not just this week, but your whole life. What you've been through, what time you've served, what relations you might have with other people, and of course, the future. Once you can stake your feelings on all that, then you can give your answer. Shouldn't be too hard, right? Though you find your throat dry, you prepare yourself to give both Rin and yourself the answer you've been searching for so long.

What are you feeling towards this enigmatic feline?

>_

[X]To be frank, you've been one mystery after another that had me interested for a long time. This feeling goes beyond what I feel for the others strong and true. I love you, and to know that there's a terrible chance of you leaving my life leaves me empty inside. Home wouldn't feel like home without you. I kept hiding my feelings in hopes of you finding interest and undestanding in myself on your own; not under the notion of "master & pet". I never wished to be your master, but as time passed, I find myself wishing to be your matehusband if that helps any sense to you.

I'm pretty sure there will be a better write-in, just trying to spark something. Satoshi's been hiding those feelings and desires for far too long out of fear; be it from rejection, ruined relations or more.

For some reason Silent Hill 3's - I Want Love (studio mix) track comes to this anon's mind.

[x]Walk up to her and kiss her.

No more corny lines that don't work. Simple and to the point.

[X] "I'm a guy who's ill at ease, and lives alone in the forest. That's why it's been hard for me to say this. Honestly. I.. I.. I love you! I want to be with you! RIN!"

First and most relevant thing that came to mind.

Argh, I knew this was going to happen.

At any rate:

[x]Walk up to her and kiss her.

Not what I would personally do in such a situation, but for the purposes of this story it's a) nice, b) simple, c) clean, and d) somewhat in character. It'll also help avoid another corny dramafest like the one a few updates back.

[x]Walk up to her and kiss her.

I like it. Not fancy, not dramatic, and speaks louder than words could.

[x] I love you.

Nothing more needs to be said. Nothing more can be said.

[X] Walk up to her.
[X] "I love you."
[X] Kiss her.

This shouldn't be hard, guys.

X] Walk up to her.
[X] "I love you."
[X] Kiss her.

Works for me.

[X] Walk up to her.
[X] "I love you."
[X] Kiss her.

[X] Walk up to her.
[X] "I love you."
[X] Kiss her.
...
Holy mother of crap. I guess he'll just follow her until she passes out and then carry her back. I just hope he doesn't starve or freeze to death on the way back.

>>4402
That's fine, she'll be sure to handle our corpse nicely in turn.

>>4403
I doubt Alice would allow it know he's out there running who knows where; probably even got Marisa involved in searching for him.

>>4395

Then why I do feel things could go horrifically wrong with this? We should hope that Sukima considers it a good choice, otherwise we may very well blow ourselves up.

>>4405

Sukima's not Teruyo, remember the most recent update from that writefag? Same vote and it resulted in what feels like both a backfire but also an opportunity to go against the odds of making shit work.

If the vote option blows up on us here then then there's the next best option, becoming very close friends to Orin but she ends up helping Satoshi realize that some one else is truly interested in him if he paid any real attention.

Marisa

considering Satoshi had been given a couple of hints already and no way he'd suddenly forget... then again... a distant cousin of Shirou maybe..?

>>4406

Or we could develop some ambition. If the main gap between us and Orin is the fact that the human lifespan is shorter than a youkai's... then why not man up and bridge it? It's been shown (Marisa's living proof) that the only requisite to learning magic (and thus acquiring the relatively simple secret to agelessness) is to work your ass off. And we've probably got people willing to teach us.

And hell, even if we don't end up being the most talented person at it, it's not like our objective involves becoming a great magician - it's just a matter finding the spell that'll let us be with Orin.

>>4407

Oh I'm not saying he should give up or have motivation due to that bit of info, I'm just saying in defense of the vote to some anon's fears of things going bad.

Nonetheless I would have imagined that he'd try to find some way to adapt his lifespan some how. I'm sure Orin's not the only one that would like to still see him around alive and kicking after so long.

But yeah lets make things work with Rin at least

I just fear something so simple will fail. It might be irrational, but it does hang in the mind.

Even if this fails, it's not going to fail as spectacularly as it could. As been said, this writer is not Teruyo and while he was quite like him at one point, he's deviated far enough from it now to where it shouldn't be prevalent now.

In that regard, anyways.

>>4414

Kinda funny how Teruyo does one thing and suddenly Anon suspects that exact same vote...

I don't really have a vote for now, I can't think of anything yet.

[x]Walk up to her and kiss her.

>>4417

Thing is there had been a history of where certain votes made sense even if the other seemed just as good, but once the vote goes in it had unexpectedly backfired.

Now no one ever complained when it was clever and once one actually looks deeper into the situation rather than blindly vote, it becomes apparent that anon had not been paying attention. However that had not always been the case and it simply boiled down to the writefag expecting anon to think exactly like him/her rather than based on what had been written.

Basically good votes, or worse write-in, tend to end up being discouraged; especially when thw writefag has a history of punishing anon unreasonably.

>Walk up to her
>Confess
>Kiss her



Yeah, you know these feelings in your heart alright. You haven't the experience, but you have the knowledge. It's been a wild ride, you're not even sure when your feelings for Rin even started, it could've been a week ago, could've been a month, could've been love at first sight for all you know. You've been fooling yourself and Rin for all this time and had not really known it until Alice brought it to your attention. It's time to set things straight. Once and for all. Now or never as they say, because there's no telling what will happen to Rin after this, so you may as well let this friendship go out with a bang.

"Rin...do you really want to know how I feel about you? Then..." You start off with, as you walk towards her. Rin seems a bit surprised by your sudden forwardness, and when you reach her, you grab one of her arms tightly. "Rin, I love you."

Rin was thrown completely off guard, for some reason. You're not sure why, you felt it might've been completely obvious but you suppose Rin's just oblivious like that in the heat of the moment. There's only slight difference in height, as you think Rin doesn't even have to stand on her toes. You had pulled Rin into you just before the big moment. And although Rin struggles and resists the first few moment, you're determined to hold on, because somewhere deep within your mind, you think Rin feels the same way.

...

And...eventually, Rin stops struggling. Her hands coming to a rest on your shoulder, and she finally gives in, beginning to return the kiss you've been waiting so long to give.

When all is said and done, and your lips part, the both of you are panting somewhat, just staring into each other's eyes. It feels a bit awkward, staring into the eyes of someone who you considered a great friend up until now so longingly, though, heaven forbid, it could be worse. Rin then closes her eyes and leans her head softly upon your shoulder, where you give her the appropriate comfort.

"That...was realy corny, Satoshi."

Wat? You want to kick yourself in the head suddenly. You're so happy, and yet...

"Ahaha...w-well, not many other ways you can get that message across. I tried to keep it simple though..."

"Hm...you did. Although...you are kind of a good kisser at least..."

Well, now you feel better. But you're not about to continue down that road, you're afraid she's going to say 'not as good as Okuu' or something.

"So, have I helped you in deciding how you felt about me?"

"I think you have. I know more about it, at least."

"Really? Then do tell, what is it?"

"Not telling~"

"W-...What?" You separate Rin from yourself and you see she's giving you that mischievous smile, that cocky grin that made you hate her so very much when you first laid eyes on her. Urgh! "Why not?!"

"Because, I feel like leaving you in the dark for a while longer. It's more fun that way."

"M-More fun?! Not for me! You mean to tell me I went ahead and poured out all my feelings to you for nothing?!"

"I'm sorry Satoshi, but..." Rin puts her hands on your chest and looks at you straight in the eyes. "Maybe...some other time. We'll get to know each other better. I need to get going."

"Wa--OOPH!" Rin had pushed you into the snow away from her before you could get much out. By the time you got your bearings back together, a massive pillar of fire engulfs Rin's position and by the time it disappears, all you can see is the silhouette of a cat like creature flying away in the distance towards the moon. "RIN!!!" You get up, you're about to follow her but...no, fuck that. She's far too fast. You'd lose her in an instant. There's no way you'd find her. It's all over.

You stood there assessing the situation, and everything that happened. It all began when you first met Satori, at the shrine steps, and caught her fall. When you took her up on her offer, you met her two pets, Rin and Utsuho, while Utsuho was loud and obnoxious, Rin was more cunning and mischievous. While Utsuho simply annoyed you, Rin knew how to push all your buttons, and pressed them with alarming frequency. You hated being around her, to the point to where seeing her made you gag. You had to constantly poke and point quips at her and it was like a fierce round of battleship where the two of you would take turns trying to see who could sink the other's will first. You hadn't seen it then and there, but those times you met her, you were becoming closer to her, you were finding out more about her, and in a sense, you were playing with her. It gradually got to the point to where you were enjoying it, and almost looked forward to making fun of her again, though you'd never have admitted it then.

You think back on what Alice said though. There are no coincidences in this world. Only necessity. You then remember the day before you left the human village. You were going to fetch a ball the nearby kids had lost past the fence and bushes. When you emerged from them into the other side, there was a large clearing, with a small hill and a tree on top. All you remember seeing was this girl standing next to the tree, facing away, only a split second passed before she noticed you and a blinding flash of fire hit her. When you looked back, she was gone, a round patch of grass burnt off. You had no idea what happened to her, and ended up forgetting what she even looked like, because you only saw her for a brief second. Later that day, you decided you'd leave the human village. You didn't really even know why at the time, you sort of made up reasons along the way, reasons why you didn't like staying there.

When you spied Rin on top of this very snowy hill, you realized something. The way she stood on it, very much so like the girl you saw just before leaving. It's kind of odd in a way. Maybe it was her. Maybe it wasn't. But you get this feeling now that you understand what Alice meant with those words.

"Satoshi~!" Speaking of whom, you turn around and see Alice running towards you and stopping before you, panting a bit. "Satoshi, what..."

"Alice? What's going on? Why did you follow me?"

"I...just had to. I wanted to make sure you didn't do anything stupid." Gee, how thoughtful of you, Alice. "But you seem to be fine..."

"Huh, normally you'd have let me go."

"Well, it's late. Besides, I have a promise to keep."

"A promise?"

"I'll tell you when you're on your death bed." Alice says this so nonchalantly as she turns and walks away, it's very creepy. You end up standing there for a while, stunned by it before Alice stops and turns back around. "Come on, I'll walk you back home."

"O-Oh, right. Thanks..." Though, you're not sure if you really should thank her right now.

Alice escorts you back home without much fuss. Neither of you really say anything along the way. Alice doesn't at all inquire about what had happened. When she sees you off into your house, she makes a simple goodbye and leaves without another word. You're not sure, but it feels like she got the signal that you wanted to be alone right now. Maybe it's true.

You sit around the house, again, feeling lonely, bored, empty. The house felt desolate without Rin and the more time she stayed here, the more used to it you got. Being with someone really changed things. And now, you're not even sure if you'll ever see her again. Odds are you won't. Not only did she take off towards a dangerous area, but she's still very sick to boot. You can't imagine her coming out of that alive. But...at least, you got your feelings out to her before she left. Even if she didn't necessarily answer you back, you're satisfied at the very least that you got that out. So you can look back on this without much regret. At least you did that.

That night passes with you just staring at a wall for a couple hours and then going to sleep. Your sleep was more or less restless. Waking up the following day, you feel groggy and tired for the entire morning. You don't really even pick yourself up until near the afternoon. Once you do though, you feel a bit more recovered. Like you can finally start moving on from this and go on with your life as you did up until Rin visited. Yeah, your life was pretty okay, you can continue living it.

At least, that's what you want to think. The rest of the day whizzes past you like you're in a standstill. Even though you don't feel quite as miserable anymore, your mind won't leave thoughts of Rin behind in the slightest. You're constantly distracted, inattentive, and have a total lack of concentration. Over the next two days, this becomes very apparent. You can barely do work, you don't respond when people call out to you in the village, and even during lunch with Alice and Marisa, they have to forcibly bring your attention back to keep you in the conversation. Marisa expresses a lot of worry, but Alice gives you a look that tells you that she knows exactly what's on your mind...and there's nothing that could be done about it. Very sad.

You return home from said lunch with a great big sigh. You need to get it together. You don't know why the thought of Rin no longer being around strikes you so bad, but it does. Oh wait, you know why. It's because you let your feelings for her spiral out of control. Ugh, what a bother. She's not even a human, how could...

...no, you don't humor that thought any further. It was you yourself that wanted to try bridging that gap. Either through emotions or through giving yourself a greater lifespan. You just didn't want Rin to be upset and to continue opening up to you. You couldn't stand it when she was sad about thinking of losing you, because your life is nothing but a blink of an eye to her. You were even considering asking Alice at one point, because of something Marisa told you saying that Alice was a human like you and her at one point, meaning becoming a youkai yourself is more then possible, though you don't know what you'd have to sacrifice in return.

As you're about to try and go on with your life one more time, you stop when you hear a knocking on your door. Who the hell could that be? Maybe you forgot something and Marisa or Alice came by to drop it off. That sounds very likely, considering your lack of attention span right.

So, lo and behold, imagine your surprise when you see none other then the red and white shrine maiden standing at your doorstep. You're quite shocked, to say the least.

"R-Reimu?"

"Hello, Satoshi. You still got that medicine from Eirin, right?" You blink for a moment, is she talking about that youkai flu medicine you got from the good doctor a while back? You're honestly puzzled as to why she'd want that of all things.

"Uhh...yeah, why though...?" Reimu looks at you. You can tell, she's examining your eyes. You put on the best stone look you can give her, because you get this feelings she's looking for weakness. She then sighs a bit and looks away.

"Alright, I guess I can tell you...Rin told me you had it."

Wait, what?!

"R-R-R...RIN?!"

"Keep it down. I'm not supposed to tell you. Her and Utsuho are gravely sick right now and under Satori's care at my shrine."

"S-..So wait..."

"I saved them. What, did you doubt my abilities?"

You're so happy, you could cry right now. In fact, you have to try your damnedest not to.

"Th-Thank you...thank you so much! You don't know how worried I was sitting here thinking they were all gone."

"Well let's just say it'll be my thanks to you for that generous donation you made a while back. We're even now." Wow, to think, she might not have pulled through if you didn't give Reimu that 'donation' money a few days back. Is this that necessity thing again, Alice?

"Since I'm apparently not supposed to know, I guess I can't go see them right away, huh?"

"No, Rin doesn't want you to know yet, neither does Satori, for some reason. I was supposed to tell you that the medicine was for someone else, but I felt I could trust you."

For some reason, being trusted by the miko feels like a serious privilege.

"I'll get the medicine right away then!"

After fetching the pill bottle from the bedroom with quick haste and giving it to Reimu, she bids her farewell and flies off back to her shrine, presumably to fix up Rin and Utsuho. You guess Rin's flu really was contagious; Utsuho is sick as well now. You wonder if Satori is naturally immune to it, however. Only time will tell you guess, but...at least you know they're fine now. You're happy with that.

Five days later, you're standing in front of your house. Rin is there, all better again. She's busy toying with Utsuho, who happened to find a small venus fly trap somewhere outside your home. The curious little bird hasn't an idea what it does and of course, Rin is taking full advantage of it. Both are distracted inevitably. Standing in front of you though is the key to it all, Satori Komeiji.

"Satoshi-kun, I want to thank you for taking care of my pet Rin while I was gone." You give her a smile.

"No, the pleasure was all mine, I assure you." Satori looks back at you with a comforting smile.

"I can tell you are very happy to see Rin back. I can also see a lot of things have progressed while I was gone...I'm very glad for you two."

"Satori-san...you set all this up, didn't you? From when did all this start?" Satori then closes her eyes.

"I think...I shall keep a secret for now." You pout a bit. It's no fair she gets to read all your secrets and you're left in the dark. She just looks satisfied with that however. "Rin! Utsuho! It's time to go."

"Coming Satori-sama~"

"Alright Satori-sama!" Satori then looks back at you. Her calm eyes have an air of kindness and gentleness to them right now.

"Take care, Satoshi-kun. Thanks again."

"Yeah...you too, Satori-san." She then turns and starts walking away, with her pets by both her sides. Though the entire time they were here, Rin sorta avoided you. It's kinda sad, but you guess she had said all those things thinking she wasn't coming back. You don't blame her, you thought she wasn't coming back either. But you know you'll see her again someday. This is far from over.

Hmm...hold on, they stopped. Satori seems to be talking to Rin. Rin is throwing a bit of a fuss. It doesn't last long though, she sighs and sulks and then you see her walking back to you. You're a bit confused right now.

"Uh...Rin?" Rin stops before you looking at you with an embarrassed face, more or less.

"Close your eyes." You don't really do what you're told, instead you stand there puzzled for the most part. This causes Rin to growl at you. "I said close your eyes!" Eep.

"Y-Yes ma'am." You go ahead and close your eyes tightly. Just then, Rin grabs your collar, drags you over to her, and in the most unexpected move by her you've ever seen, she plants a deep kiss on your lips. It's surprising, to say the least, but you're not complaining. Though it doesn't last long, as Rin pushes you back away, breathing out as if she had been holding it in for some time.

"Don't...don't you dare go anywhere now. I'm going to be the one that carries your corpse off but I don't want that to be anytime soon, okay?" You smile and pet her head softly.

"I won't...I'll be around for a while yet, trust me." Rin looks up at you before smiling back.

"I'll see ya then, Satoshi-kun." She instantly doubles back and runs back to Satori and Utsuho after saying that. You're frozen there for a while. Satoshi-kun...that sounds very nice coming from Rin, you feel. It gives you a nice soft feeling in your heart. A feeling that tells you that you're not as lonely or inexperienced anymore. You're finally...whole.

Time passes, the winter fades, spring comes. The forest blooms ones more, whole again, much like you are. Of course, all the dangerous fauna has risen from their dens and the youkai that make their rounds have increased their activity, so it's even more risky to be walking around. You know the place like the back of your hand, however, so it's no big deal. But...one day...

Dear Satoshi-kun,
A few things have happened and I'm sorry to say
that I can't keep my assigned pupil on the mountain
any longer. Once repairs start getting made, I'll
be able take her back, but I hope you understand
when I ask this of you. Please take care of her
while things get settled. Remember, I'm entrusting
her well being to you. Love ya lots!
Sincerely, Aya Shameimaru
Bunbunmaru News Corp.

You look over the piece of paper the note was written on. Behind it, on your doorstep, is a silver haired tengu sitting on her knees, looking up at you with a lonely face. Stripped of her accessories and everything but her clothes, apparently. Looking at the note again, you can't help but realize...gee, how familiar. Why you? But...ah, you can't complain. People trust you, you guess. After all, what's the worst that could happen?

After a brief sigh, you smile, and stand aside in the doorway.

"Alright, come on in then...make yourself at home."

The End...?

Alright, here's the deal. Satoshi's story can still continue. He has a larger history with Gensokyo then I've revealed, and of course, his future goals have yet to even be looked at quite yet. He's still got some loose ends to tie up, and not just with Rin...will you help guide him through that path?

I really enjoyed this story for some reason, maybe because it felt so casual and there really wasn't anything dramatic thought about it until the latter half of it. I'm willing to keep it going. The next chapter in Satoshi's life will of course, be focusing on someone other then Rin, but that's not to say she'll be forgotten, nor will this turn into an "omg romantic rival cliche" kind of thing unless you guys of course, really push for it. Think of it as exploring the other parts of Satoshi's life, outside of his (invariably empty) love life.

Of course, whether or not it happens, it won't happen for a while. I need to concentrate on my /border/ story for a good few weeks before I really give another story any other thought. Of course, if this continuation doesn't happen, I'll inevitably be working on my /border/ story full time. Though of course, I'll probably be tempted to still write one shots about Satori and Orin because I'm a complete fanfiction writing fag and I love Orin too much.

Whether or not I keep writing about Satoshi, I hope you guys enjoyed the story and the ending I wrote for it. Hopefully it wasn't too dramatic and cliche.

Here's to another completed, though short story on THP. Cheers.

>outside of his (invariably empty) love life.
;_;

Nice ending Sukima! I kinda wanted him to move to the Underground city, but I guess things just don't work that way... Unless you want to write down a more action-oriented continuation about how a lone human manages to travel to undergroudn city challenging natural dangers, aggresive Youkai and even a strange Oni who just can't stop drinking.

Cheers!

applause.gif

Well done~!

Despite a couple of bumps, moar leik anon jumping the gun on certain things it all culminated in a rather satisfying story. To see it open for a continuation, perhaps something broader makes it all the more intriguing. Aside from a new visitor, there seems to be much more happening out in Gensokyo than Satoshi's aware of.

Hope to see you continue later on as well as congratulations on completing this story!

>>4420

yet another Youkai on his door step? It's going to take a strong will for history not to repeat itself, since his life is generally a lonely one. I'm tempted to ask if there was a way to get a better result, but I don't think I'd want to know.

>>4423

I believe that's why it's left relatively open ended; not to mention He may see Rin once again. Perhaps by then he'll be a bit more wiser, if not a stronger person by then.

>>4424

That and/or he'd have Momiji help him get strong enough to make the trip down to the underground city.

Excellent story. I'd be glad to read a continuation. This also opens the door for a dog/cat fight between Rin and Momiji ... Nonetheless, I'll also be reading your /border/ story.

There is only one word for this story:

D'awwwwwww

Aww, I usually dislike open endings but this one was done rather nicely. Nice work Sukima, hopefully this isn't the last we'll see of Satoshi and Orin.

What, it's over?

;_;

>>4428

I've been reading that border story as well, it'll be nice to see updates on it.

>>4431
For now, it can't really end for good on such a note.

Keep an eye on /youkai/ sometime after Valentine's Day, and maybe an eye on /at/ on that day as well.

>>4433
Pretty sure most of us will.

*grin*

>>4442
>*grin*
ಠ_ಠ

>>4462
OMG! So KAWAII! ^_____^ SUGOI!

>>4523

...GTFO. Now.


Well done, Sukima! I enjoyed reading this story a lot and now I HAVE to read your other works...because I haven't read them ALL yet ;_;

And the moral of this story is...

No matter what crazy circumstance life throws you in...A cat is fine too.

There she walks, beside you into the village you grew up in. There she walks, the woman you met so long ago. Beside you, the woman you met, right here in this village, though you didn't know it at the time, and didn't recall it until that fateful evening, there on a snowy hill. Looking up at the bright moon, peeking out from behind the dark clouds. Staring at you. Peering at you. Filling you with so many emotions. Those soft lips you felt as you gave her your heart, and nothing more, nothing less. Those firey red cheeks, those black cat ears and her lucious crimson hair, all of it you fell for with alarming speed. Here she walks beside you, into the village you grew up in, where you met her, so long ago.

"Satoshi, what are you thinking?"

"Ah? Oh, nothing..."

The kasha has a habit of attracting attention wherever she goes, but due to her nature as a youkai, it'd be bad if she walked in as she were. Whenever the two of you go the human village, Rin usually wears a large hooded robe, to hide her tails and ears. The most you can see is her feet and her face, though Rin usually attempts to put on her most human-like expressions while walking around the village. Maybe that's why you enjoy taking her out here, because that's when she looks most endearing.

"You're a bad liar, Satoshi." Rin says that to you with a dissatisfied face.

"Huh? It's the truth. Come on, if we're going to shop, eat and go to the theater all in one day we can't idle around." She just gives off an annoyed sigh and continues walking beside you again.

"Whatever. We have plenty of time until the show starts, so there isn't in any need to be in a hurry." Oh, this silly cat. You just can't win with her.

"Right, right, let's take our time going around the market then. Or would you rather have a long dinner instead?" Rin looks over at you a bit indifferently.

"It's up to you. Though a long dinner usually means more food, something I won't argue with."

"Haha, alright, we'll spend as much time as can eating out after we get some shopping done then."

Shopping is normally the last thing you do on a trip to the village with Rin, but you're here particularly late today, it's already early evening and the shops will likely close by the time you get out of the theater. The play you intend on watching with her comes on rather late. It happens to be about a couple who ends up dying, and being sent to the afterlife, exploring the many facets of it, before being separated and having to find each other through death and reincarnation once more. Since death is a big part of the plot, Rin herself is very excited to see it, as would be expected of her, of course.

The two of you start with one of the trinket shops Rin wanted to explore. You have a few things to pick up from the food market, but you might as well spoil Rin a bit and let her have what she wants first.

"Hey, Satoshi! How do you think this looks?" You distract yourself from one of the random corners of the trinket shop to look at what Rin's picked out. It looks like a little necklace, line with chain pieces. It's a little unusual, but it seems to have a bit of a rough kind of look to it, something that would make a lot of people look a bit more intimidating.

"Is that a necklace? Looks interesting to say the least..."

"I thought it would look good on Momi, actually. It seems to suit her, don't you think?"

Even though the two are often at odds with each other, it's slowly becoming clear that they can manage to get along at times. Momizi has accepted Rin as part of the family and Rin has accepted Momizi as...well, someone who leeches off the house, but she seems to enjoy her company anyways.

"Hmm, you might be right. It does goes with her ha-" You stop yourself suddenly when you realize something. "...isn't this a dog collar." All Rin does is grin at you mischieviously.

"You saw through it huh? I was hoping I could slip it out from under your nose. What do you think? Wouldn't it look fitting for her to squat down and say 'bow wow' with this on?"

"Dammit Rin!"

...you're still working on it though.

After a short scolding that Rin just happily shrugs off, the two of you are separate once more. You're looking at the various charms the shop sells. Since your quest to become immortal, or at least long living, you've had a penchant for charms and the like. You wonder if you're starting to become more like Marisa. You always had some slight packrat tendancies.

"Oh Satoshi~" You hear Rin's endearing voice behind you. She probably wants something a little expensive, so she's going to suck up to you and get it. It usually works, you can't help but spoil the cat at times.

"Ahh, yes Ri-" To your shock, surprise and befuddlement, Rin instead has what seems to be a long, rather phallic looking object...it's intended use is pretty obvious by itself, but as if that weren't enough, Rin is clearly running her hand across it like she were giving some sort of slow, sensual handjob, right next to her face, bearing quite the seductive, if vexatious look.

"You know this would be awfully handy for the nights where I can't have you...and if not, well...you could always watch~" It takes a hell of a lot of willpower not to scream out at this notion. You've really come to see the hard way that as time goes on, Rin seems to be adapting more and more at taking advantage of her sexiness.

"R-...R-R-Rin! P-Put that back!" You probably wager that your face is redder then an apple, as Rin seems extremely amused, but she keeps the seductive look on her face while trying to mix it with a bit of pouting.

"Aww...you wouldn't want to see how far into me I could push it?" She says to you, approaching you shortly before leaning her slightly shorter body into your highly embarrassed self. "Or maybe, you'd rather have...something else go in there~?" Rin ends the fiasco by running her hot tongue up from the bottom the object's shaft up to the tip.

Wait, hot? You think you're getting a little ahead of yourself, the mere mental image is getting to you.

"R-Riiin...!"

You had to convince her a little to not get the damn toy. In the end, you promised her that if she needed you for that, you would always help her, and she agreed that the real thing is better anyhow. Just how it came down to that much you're not so sure of...

After walking out of the trinket store with but a few charms and a small toy Rin could amuse herself with later, thankfully not sexually related, you get a bit of food shopping done and head down to the human village's resturant. You had to make sure Rin didn't get any fish this time around, as it would probably stink to high hell by the time you got out of the theater. When you sit at a table at the resturant, you make sure you choose one a good distance away from the small bar the resturant contains at one side. It doesn't help too much with the noisiness, but you don't let that deter you from your evening out with Rin.

"Satoshi..."

"Hm?" You look over at Rin, with a mouthful of noodles still in your mouth. It's a bit of an odd choice for a supposedly romantic dinner, but you've often heard tales of successful meals involving pasta served like this. Rin doesn't seem all too interested however, but it looks like something is also on her mind too.

"Do you still think we belong together?"

"This again?" You ask her, expecting something you believe you've heard quite a few times since your confession to Rin. "We're not all that different, and even if we were, what's to stop us from being together?" Rin just sighs, shaking her head a bit.

"You don't get it, I mean, look around, all these humans enjoying their meals in many...human ways." Rin seems to close the hood around her a bit more, as if nervous that her ears might pop out. She feels rather anxious around large groups of humans when she's trying to hide from them. Rejection is something she doesn't take very well, you've learned. "I couldn't possibly fit in with any of them..."

"Well, to be honest, neither would I. Why do you think I moved?" Rin looks at you a bit inquisitively. It's like she never thought of it before, but you hardly believe that.

"Is that so? What makes you think you still belong with me?" You keep yourself from sighing, and just look over at your feline friend.

"Because, I love you Rin. And you love me, so is there any reason to believe otherwise?" Just like that, Rin starts giggling a bit, holding back her laughter.

"Satoshi, that's so expected from you." You're feeling a bit unamused now.

"Oh? Would you rather me get all philosphical about the differences between human and youkai then?"

"That would be expected of you too, but for now we should just focus on enjoying our time together, eh?"

"That's something I would say."

"You like to rub off on me. In more ways then one." You hear the chopsticks you were holding scratch the plate below the food you were digging around in. How is it that she can take you off guard so much like that?

"...hah. Touche."

Even throughout the half a year you've spent living with Rin since she returned, your conversations with her never seem to get tiring. Almost everyday you can hold long, interesting talks with her about the past, present and future, and still have plenty more to talk about. You're not sure how long it will last, but you're intent on being grateful for every engaging topic the two of you find yourselves in. It's been even better since she had moved in with you. She was a little reluctant to leave her dear master and best friend, but Satori insisted that Rin stay with you, so that the two of you could get a better feel for being husband and wife. Not that the thought ever crossed your mind, holy shit you think you'd fall into a coma before that could happen.

On the other hand, you wonder if Rin has ever thought about it...

The conversation over dinner seems to be not much but small talk after that, with the occasional teasing on both ends. Mainly from her though, since she happens to be very good at pushing all your buttons, and pulling all your strings. She does it with alarming frequency too. But the more she does it, the more attached she becomes to you, and by the time the two of you are approaching the theater, you have a kitty cat wrapped around your right arm, clinging to you like some lovesick school girl. She might very well qualify for one too, look-wise.

"Mmm, Satoshi~" Rin looks like she's on cloud nine here. Cats, while independant, still valued companionship very closely to their own lives, and the more time you spend with Rin, the more obvious this becomes. She's probably holding herself back too, due to your position in the human village. You're certain that if you were back home, you'd be listening to a loud purring noise echoing through the room.

"We'll get there soon, Rin, calm down." Though, she might also be happy that she's about to watch something highly related to her interests too. You yourself aren't too thrilled...

The two of you find a pair of pillow seats somewhere near the back. The theater is a bit crowded. High class residents sit up front with the tables, while you mainly chose to stay back in interest of keeping Rin away from any snoopy patrons of the theater. It's a bit unfortunate, but it'll have to do. Rin doesn't seem to be worried about it, thankfully.

"Nehh, can I take my hood off? My ears are getting stuffy."

"You know how much of a racket it would be if you were caught?"

"Well then I'll have to sit behind you then."

"But then you wouldn't be able to watch the play..."

"Geh, how disappointing." All you do in responce is roll your eyes. It's time for the play to start any moment now anyways.

The play starts off about a couple and their first meeting. Things play out innocently enough, the two get along right off the bat, and soon find out more and more interests about each other. Through a few coincidences, they end up together, happily. The story doesn't end there of course, it's only just the beginning. The couple only get a brief amount of time together, as the man dies of a terrible, but natural disease later on, forcing the woman to live alone the rest of her life. The man is treated to an extravagant afterlife, akin to heaven, where all his greatest creativity and pleasures come to life. But he can't enjoy them without his significant other, who faces continued difficulty with struggling through staying alive without him, until she finally ends up comitting a brutal suicide, leading to her soul into hell. The man goes on a difficult journey through the afterlife to fetch his significant other from the clutches of demons, so that he may enjoy heaven together with her. The journey, while not overly long, it frought with lots of hardships and despair, showing how much determination he's willing to go through for the love of his life. It eventually ends with a big climax involving the woman being narrowly rescued from the bottom reaches of hell, and the couple live a happy afterlife together.

You yourself quite admired the story. You always enjoyed stories where such effort gets put on display and rewarded. Rin on the other hand, appears to be nodding off on your shoulder.

"Hey. Rin. Wakey wakey."

"Nuhh...?" Rin returns to reality a little groggily, snapping out of her stupor slowly. "Nya, Sato...shi...?"

"Good morning Rin. Or should I say, good evening? Did you sleep through the whole play?"

"Play? Ah! I guess I did kinda..."

"Jeez, you were so excited to see this too."

"Yeah, kinda weird, I thought I'd be able to stay up since it's about death and all..."

You don't let it get to you much. Rin was never one for reading or watching sappy or romantic stuff herself, even if she dabbled a bit in it with you. Though that's mainly her teasing you and leading you by a string. Still though, there are plenty of times where the two of you share a very calm, peaceful and gentle moment with each other. Such a thing in fact happens soon after the two of you leave the theater. Even though you usually make it a note to go home before dark, with Rin around, you typically don't have to worry, as she is powerful enough to overcome most of the deadly youkai in the forest, even late at night. She's even been training herself more often too, and keeping the forest in check, so that the two of you can have more safe trips through it. For now, the two of you are resting by a large tree behind school. It happens to be the same tree you spied her at, resulting in your move into the forest. You're laying on the ground, leaning against the base of the tree, and best of all, Rin has happily snuggled into your arms, making herself quite comfortable.

"Satoshi..." Rin starts to say suddenly, gripping your arms a bit tighter, though it's still with a tender grip, as if wanting you to embrace her further.

"Yes, Rin?" You reply back to her, doing just as she wants you to.

"Mmm...do you think we'll see each other in the afterlife?"

"So you were paying attention to the play."

"Some of it..." Rin says with a faint, tired smile.

"I'm sure once we both come to pass, we'll spend the rest of our afterlives together, forever. For all eternity. But before that, we still have decades ane decades ahead of us. Maybe even centuries. I want to live just as long as you do, Rin. I'll go to any length to achieve that." Rin seems to stare up at you dumbfounded, though the expression is still tired.

"You'll really do that, Satoshi...?"

"Yes. Because, you're important to me, you mean the world to me and I wouldn't be able to force you to bear such a long lifespan without me." After a few moments of staring, Rin's expression softens with a deep, heartfelt smile, before she gently turns over in your arms, now facing you as she nuzzles her face into your neck.

"Thank you...you mean the world to me too, Satoshi." The purring kitty snuggling up to you makes your heart feel further at ease. You go ahead and pet her lucious red hair gently with one hand, holding her in a tight embrace with the other, and her purring becomes even more noticable. The isolation from the rest of the village means that you're able to enjoy Rin's more feline features, and it gives Rin a better chance to unwind after hiding herself for so long.

The stars in the sky start appearing, one by one. The cresent moon has been on the rise for a while, the sun has finished setting and now the sky is getting dark. Under the tree, you and Rin lay, joined purely by the intense love for each other the two of you have. You think you could stay like this, for a very long time. Of course, you can't do that, but maybe one day you will. For now, you're busy keeping up with the busy life you and Rin have, together with Momizi. This life will continue being busy, because you don't think Rin will ever let this relationship between you and her grow old and stale.

You wouldn't want it any other way, though.

I felt like I could've added more to this but, Happy Anniversary, Little Visit.

>>6018
Not quite the best bump, but I approve none the less.

>>6018
I approve wholeheartedly of this bumpp.

>>6018

<3

I guess it's time to read this story.

"Hehehehe..."

You should have realized it sooner, when you heard that telltale snicker. That mischievous grin revealing those sharp fangs holed up in her mouth. It should have clued you in but you suppose after she spilled the beans to you, you forgot all about it.

"What did you call me out here for, Rin?" You were busy fixing a leak in Momizi's room. It had been bothering you for a while now. You didn't think the old storage room that she now occupied was that run down. You must have checked the state of the room at least fifty times before moving furniture into it for living quarters but to this day you still find new things wrong with it. You guess your rush to try and patch it up before Momizi came back home from shopping was another reason why you disregarded Rin's strange behaviour at first.

"I called you out here for something very important, Satoshi! Can't you act a little less off standish then that?"

"Just get it over with, I'm in middle of hard work here!"

"Hrrm..." The unamused look she gave you, you didn't think much of it, but it had a hint of revenge in it. You think that your initial response to her calling you out may have fueled how much she enjoyed telling you. "Well fine then. I called you out here because I recently found out something, something that is the bearer of our fruits of love~" You felt she was being strange at first, but you were curious too. Boy, that one proverb you would often hear about Rin, never felt so relevant until she uttered those words with hands clasped together, wearing the most love filled, content smile. "For you see, I...am pregnant, Satoshi."

".....what."

You probably would not have had to tell anyone that hearing those words sent miles of shivers down your back and awoken ages of fears residing deep down in the darkest corners of your soul. You were not yet prepared to be a father so soon.

"You heard me, Satoshi. I, Rin Kaenbyou, am pregnant, fertilized, with your child~" As if to try and endear to you despite the obvious state you were in, Rin bent down a little and looked up at you with the ever charming smile she would give you anytime she wanted to show affection towards you. "Aren't you glad?"

"G-...G-...G-Glad? I...y-...w-w...we..." You could hardly speak, you were starting to be afraid that maybe you were entering a panic attack at that point. You just didn't know what to do.

"We? Yes, Satoshi, we are going to be loving parents very soon~" Rin was obviously enjoying it very much. You had never thought that the playful, free Rin would be happy to be a mother. It made you very happy at the time, but it was trying to join along side a gigantic mixture of other rather unsure emotions that you didn't really have time to express it.

"W-W-W-W-We never even had a talk about this! Y-Y-You...!" Before you can get your bearings back together enough to continue talking, which would have taken a while anyways, Rin walks up to you and gently holds your face in both her hands, looking into your eyes lovingly. It looked so convincing that you could have swore your heart just exploded.

"Well we can talk about it now, can't we? Daddy Satoshi~?"

If your body didn't know any better, all your bodily fluids would have left and slowly dripped out of your mouth right then and there. How could you have resisted something like that?

"R-...R-...Rin..." As you were about to give her a great big hug though, you shook your head and made sure you weren't getting too far ahead of yourself first. "W-W-Wait, but I'm-"

"Yes, I know. You're still human, Satoshi. It isn't as if a child between a youkai and a human isn't unheard of though."

"No, it isn't, but it isn't like all the places you hear of it are shining examples of a happy ending..."

"Satoshi, you're worrying too much. This is inevitable and you know it. Even if our child comes out as a half breed, all we can do is try out best to get them to fit in, right?"

"Yeah, bu-wait. If?" With her arms wrapped around your neck, Rin hung off you while looking away innocently.

"Well there's a chance our kids won't be perfectly half bred..."

"You never told me this. In fact, no one else has either." Rin then looked at you as she explained it to you.

"Well, tell me this then, have you ever heard of a half breed between youkai?"

"Uhh...huh?" You didn't quite get it at first, until Rin went further into detail.

"Like, a half cat, half dog, just to name an example?" You knew who she was referring to, but in the interest of keeping your attention focused on reality and not fantasy, you decided not to give it much thought. "I'm sure you have, but there are plenty more 'pure' youkai of one race who have parents of different species. My point is that depending on what way luck swings, our child will either be a pure youkai, a pure human or a mix of both, a half bred youkai and human."

"Huh, I see. Well, I guess that does make things a bit easier...except that I haven't gone anywhere in extending my lifespan yet!" Rin just giggled at you when you took notice of another thing getting in the way, something you felt was very odd.

"It'll be fine, right? I'm sure you can find a way while being the world's best daddy, right?"

"You're kidding me, right? I lose enough hair just trying to decrypt Alice's vague instructions on that! I couldn't..." You had to stop yourself when you noticed Rin's expression starting to turn sorrowful.

"What are you saying, Satoshi...? Don't you want to father our child? A child we worked so hard towards...?"

"A-Ah, Rin, I-I didn't mean it like that..."

"Pfft." Rin, in typical fussy feline fashion, looked away and blew you off as you were trying to reconcile. "You males are all the same. You got to do the fun part and now I gotta do all the work."

"What? That's not fair! You seduced me into it over half the time!"

"Are you calling me a slut, Satoshi?" Rin asked you in such an angry tone that you couldn't help but feel a little intimidated. Still, you couldn't just back down. Especially not in such a situation.

"N-No! Hardly! Look, I'm just worried that I won't be able to find time to...father our child...and be able to get through the ordeal of matching your lifespan at the same time." It took you quite a bit of courage to spit out those words. You're so young, you can't believe you're giving the idea the time of day. After you had said that however, Rin seemed to study you for a bit before smiling and wrapping her hands back around your neck, giving you a noticeably very loving kiss.

"Oh Satoshi, don't ever change, even if you are a worry wart I will still always love you to death." Rin then just let go and left you mildly stunned there for a moment, walking away before stopping midway to look behind herself towards you with a bright smile. "And by the way, happy April Fool's~"

It took a few moments for that to sink in while you just stood there feeling like an idiot.

"...RIIIIN!!!"

Sure enough, Rin's cunning wit proves time and time again just how gullible you really are...

>>6559
Well it's something new here and something Rin would do once she found out about this holiday.

Jajjaja, poor Satoshi. He'sno match for Orin's.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

Still was a fun read; gj Sukima