[x] KAGHAMI

Demon lawyer sounds fun.

[Q] SHASHAPO

I really got no idea what this will result in, but the odds of mysterious death seem the lowest.

[X] LAHAB

ffffffff got to!

[X] KAGHAMIN

Still needs some work, but this is already a million times more readable than the short you wrote for the contest.

[X] KAGHAMIN
Its says we're a novice to demon summoning, but than we have things like >he personally claimed to me. So either we have randomly met Kaghamin before, or we have summoned him prior to this. Either way, Kaghamin seems like a bro, except his strange biting fetish...

[x] KAGHAMIN
Twintails tsundere demon~

[Q] SHASHAPO

>>5213

I'm pretty sure it's the author of the summoning book doing the "I"'s in the demon descriptions.

[X] KAGHAMIN

Seems like the best choice, stable, reasonable, if getting bitten and never being able to be a cook.

[x] KAGHAMIN
What is this I don't even

[x] KAGHAMIN

Lawyers are awesome.

[X] SHASHAPO

Best chance of becoming lord of the dance.

[x] YOMAR

[X]ICON OF SINlol no

[X] KAGHAMIN

>>5216
Correct, the ''I'' in the descriptions is the book's author. It is hundred+ years old and he didn't bother to write objectively.

Anyway...
[X] KAGHAMIN
Votes counted, writing soonish.

I shall summon KAGHAMIN, the great demon lawyer and inventor of spiced rum!
The papyrus is in the center, my blood is on it and now I only have to begin chanting the ancient text to summon the demon to my side.

Slowly, my mind passes into a trance… I don’t know w-what I’m saying, but, but everything feels okay, every word written in the book leaves my mouth at, at lightning speed… my mind can’t keep up, my thoughts are s-speeding, I am slurring, I must, I must stop this… there must be an end to this madness- no, hell no, not now. I must push on, I only have to read this one last p-paragraph… and then, and then...

Sweet goodness, what am I doing? My arms are totally out of control, waving to and fro. I can b-barely feel them and wow, I’m s-stuttering in my t-thoughts!
Suddenly, the floor begins to shake as the summoning circle begins to glow brightly. The candles glow even brighter than before and the papyrus begins burns!
I scream his name at the top of my lungs. KAGHAMIN!

His transparent image appears and the eternal form rises from the burning papyrus!

“Behold, mortal, I, the great KEGHEMYN stand before you!”

The mighty demon proudly stands before me. The description in the book is accurate. He has three black horns on his head, a constant frown on his face, large hooves and the usual demon wings, but the book didn’t mention that he is Hispanic. And don’t get me wrong, but the man is handsome, sexy, a true heartbreaker.
KAGHAMIN is wearing something that I would call a hybrid between the traditional mariachi clothes and a nice, elegant suit from the 80’s. And good grief, look that at huge necklace! I bet all the rappers out there would be jealous when they saw that bling bling!

“What is your desire, human?”

“Oh great KAGHAMIN-”

“Please, don’t mispronounce my name. I’m KEGHEMYN. The author of that book you are holding was drunk when he summoned me. I killed his two friends as a warning, but no, he never remembered my name. I still answer to this name just because the government down here is too slow to upgrade my name. I sued them, but it never works. And lately more and more Japanese wizards have been trying to summon me because my name bears a resemblance to some cartoon character.”

The tall mariachi glares down on me... his gaze could turn candles alight, I swear!
“I hope you didn’t call me for that reason, eh?”

“No, I would never! Great KEGHEYMIN, please take my small offering, this earring-”

“Nice little earring you got. I bet it was made by my cousin, the great silversmith. Thanks, but I don’t need it. Did you figure out how to activate its hidden potential?”

“No Sir, I don’t think anyone has done that-”

“You should at least try. It is a magical masterpiece! Very well, what do you desire, novice? Please be quick, I have an important trial in just five minutes and it doesn’t look too good for my poor little client. I don’t even have the time to properly bite you.”

“I’ll have some rum and maybe-”
I am interrupted mid-sentence by the violent shaking in the room.

“It looks like your circle is about to disappear. I can’t be here any longer because your circle can’t maintain my presence for much longer. Here, have some high quality white rum and I’ll give you a little extra, I’ll grant you some extra *gibberish*!”

I can't understand a word he says, his voice is too distorted. I begin to feel… tense? My body aches a little in every place where you can feel pain, my face muscles involuntarily twitch for a while and my hands are paralyzed, frozen in the air after all that shaking and waving.

“Thank you, oh great inventor of spiced rum!”

Steadily, his image begins to fade away as the circle is losing power. He says one final ‘’you’re welcome, kid’’ before he disappears and goes home, to the other plane.
I confess. I expect more from the demon. Still, I am very satisfied with the results. I successfully summoned a greater demon and I even got 12 bottles with high quality white rum for free! I better clean up this mess now.

Wait, why is the room still shaking? It should have stopped by now. And I think the circle should stop glowing any second now- by the dark prince, the crayon is burning! What the hell, the book never mentioned burning crayons!

I better get away- huh? I can’t move! I’m completely paralyzed! The flames spread like wildfire and now I’m surrounded by the flames! I’m trapped!
Huh? The flames are losing in intensity. They are gone in seconds. As they stop burning I am no longer paralyzed and I can move my limbs again. What was going on? The book never mentioned this, not even in the ‘’things that could go awfully wrong’’ section…

I better clean up thish messsh shoon… y am eye sho drowshy?


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


Ugh… my head hurts so badly. What happened and where am I? My eyes are open, but I can’t see, everything is so freaking blurry...
It is so loud here, just like in a big city. I can hear voice talking… they are talking about me.

“How did he get here?”

“I’m not sure, he just… appeared.”

“What is in these bottles? It smells like booze. Yes, definitely booze.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to drag him to the hospital. It must be a drunken wizard messing around with teleportation spell, there is no other explanation.”
Ugh. Something picks me up. Whatever it is, it is very strong and has no difficulty lifting my skinny body. I can’t move, my body is aching all over the place...


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


I wake up… my vision is still blurry, but not as blurry as before. I can see a gray ceiling and white lights. This is definitely not the mage hospital and this is definitely not home.
Judging by the conversation I heard I must be far, far away from home, somewhere where they know what a ‘’wizard’’ and ‘’spells’’ are.
My vision recovers. I see someone sitting next to me. It is a girl… she has blonde hair, ruby red eyes and a white T-shirt on. What is that on her head? Is it a horn? WHAT?

“Hey nurse, the wizard is waking up.”
“I shall give him some stimulants as the doctor prescribed.”

Oof! A sharp pain in my left arm… it feels like a syringe just more painful. I want to scream, but the pain soon fades away.
Moments later I feel my heart beating rapidly, my vision becomes clear and even the bad headache gets less intense.
The nurse leaves us… and the horned woman sits next to my bed.

“Are feeling better, wizard?”
I turn my head to the left, towards the blonde girl. My neck hurts, but not that bad.

“Umm, yes, I’m feeling much better after that injection.”
“You are probably wondering where you are, right?”
Judging by the white bed, boring ceiling, fairly strong white lights and the nurse, this can only be one place.

“I’m in a hospital, right?”
“Yes, yes, you are. Do you know how you got here? I found you falling down drunk on the sidewalk and I carried you all the way here.”
“Thank you very much… girl. Umm, what is your name?

Did her cheeks turn pink when I called her a girl? No, I must be imagining things, she didn’t blush. Why would she blush, anyway? She looks about my age, no more, no less, calling her a girl is appropriate. Her voice may be a little deeper than average, but that is normal, right?
“I’m Yuugi. What’s your name, wizard?”
“My name is Leon. It is nice to meet you, Yuugi.”
“Okay, Leon. Now please tell me something. How did you enter the underground city?”

What? How did I get to hell? I did everything by the book and nothing could happen... the demon I summoned was friendly, he gave me a gift and disappeared without any issues. Sure, the circle suddenly broke into flames, but that can't teleport me to another plane, like hell. I still feel my body, so I am alive, I didn't just die and go to hell...

“I am in the great underground city? Sweet goodness, how did that happen?”
“I’m wondering the same thing. Did you cast spells while you were drunk?”
“My spell kind of failed, yes, but I was certainly not drunk.”
“Your twelve bottles suggest otherwise.”

Oh, the rum.
“No, you have the wrong idea.”
“It is okay, I am also heavy on booze! I’m always drunk!”
She... smiles. How can she say things like that without any embarrassment?

“You look pretty sober to me.”
“I stopped drinking when you appeared behind me, out of nowhere.”

Suddenly, the nurse comes in. She says something to Yuugi so quietly that I can’t make out what she is saying…
“We notified the shrine maiden about your appearance. She should be here shortly.”
“Why did you notify a shrine maiden that I have appeared?”

Shrine maiden? Hell has no shrine maidens, what is she talking about?
“Well, she guards the border and any breeching must be reported to her.”
“Okay... what is a shrine maiden doing in hell?”
“This isn’t hell, this is Gensokyo, outsider!”

The horned woman smiles again. She seems very amused by my questions.
“This is... very interesting.”


[ ] Try to stand up and get something to eat, you are hungry.
[ ] Take a nap until that shrine maiden gets here.
[ ] Talk with Yuugi, you want to know her better.

I encourage write-ins with food suggestion and also questions for Yuugi. Please keep it real.
I also encourage feedback.

[x] Talk with Yuugi, you want to know her better.
-[x] Ask for details about the city.
-[x] Ask about Yuugi herself, what's with the horn?
Sorry, I have nothing better.

[X] Try to stand up and get something to eat, you are hungry.
--[X]Protein! We need meat!

[X] Try to stand up and get something to eat, you are hungry.
--[X]Protein! We need meat!

[X] Try to stand up and get something to eat, you are hungry.

Boy needs some meat on his bones.

[X] Try to stand up and get something to eat, you are hungry.
--[X]Protein! We need meat!

YES!

[x] >>5227

I hope you don't mind if I combine both votes.
First we'll eat something meaty in the cafeteria and later talk with Yuugi.

[X] Try to stand up and get something to eat, you are hungry.
--[X]Protein! We need meat!
[x] Talk with Yuugi, you want to know her better.
-[x] Ask for details about the city.
-[x] Ask about Yuugi herself, what's with the horn?

Writing.

[Q] Stand your ground. You were not drunk, your spell simply backfired. You had no intention to breach any border, you just happened to appear in this ‘’Gensokyo’’ land.

[Q] Tell her the truth about yourself. You are not a powerful mage, you are mediocre at best. Your magic powers are limited by your impure wizard blood.

Blatantly honest. A good thing when dealing with demons.

[X] Try to stand up and get something to eat, you are hungry.
--[X] Protein! We need meat!
[X] Talk with Yuugi, you want to know her better.
-[X] Ask for details about the city.
-[X] Ask about Yuugi herself, what's with the horn?

That injection sure fired me up, but it also made me hungry.

“You know what? I’m really hungry. Actually, I’m starving.”

“Hey, me too! Breakfast didn’t fill me up at all. The hospital has a cafeteria downstairs, we can brunch there. Can you stand up and walk?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Look, I’ll get up by myself-”

Ouch. My poor achy back hits the cold grey ground as I fall down from the bed. Next time I won’t force all my weight to the side and roll down the bed like this.

“Are you okay there?”

Yuugi quickly offers me a hand to get up. Hey, is her skirt... transparent? No, transparent is not the right word... it is translucent at best. You can see her legs somewhat, but they’re all blurry and blue from the skirt. I take her hand- woah, what a strong pull! The girl is strong, I tell you!

“I thought you were heavier, sorry that I pulled you up so strong. You are a lightweight!”

“Hey, I’m just skinny. And you are very strong, too.”

We go downstairs. I walk very slowly and carefully not to fall over... those stimulants may have awaken me and lessened the pain, but my legs still hurt pretty badly. My rumbling stomach doesn’t help, too. The cafeteria is nearly empty. What should I get? I crave some meat. I need my proteins!

Let’s see what they have. Rice, more rice, rice with seaweed, rice with seafood, noodle soup, more noodle soup, something that looks like those Japanese rice cakes and they also have sushi and spiced vegetable stew. There is no real meat, just seafood and fish- freshly grilled chicken skewers! Yes, that’s the meat I want to eat!

I’ll have the skewers and maybe some rice, too. Yuugi has something called ‘’soki soba’’ and it looks like noodle soup with pork meat. It looks delicious, but nothing it can beat the smell of grilled chicken meat! I can’t wait to dig in!

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

Man, that food filled a hole! I feel much, much better now. So, where is that shrine maiden? We have been eating for a while and she still didn’t appear in the hospital.

“Where is Reimu? Is she slacking off again?”

“Reimu? You mean the shrine maiden?”

The blonde woman nods. I can’t take my eyes off the horn as her head is moving up and down. Is there a yellow star on it? I now realize how her red horn goes well with her red eyes. She isn’t an albino, her skin is healthy and her hair is a rather strong blonde color, so her red eyes must be natural. Their color is special, it is no ordinary red. They are read like rubies.

“The shrine maiden usually responds quickly to such events, but she’s sluggish today. She said she’ll come as soon as possible. Well, that is what the nurse told me.”

“Oh, so you have phones in the underground?”

“Yes, we do. The kappa made them.”

Kappa? Aren’t kappa Japanese mythological creatures, living in waters, eating children and cucumbers? So they are for real? Hmm, it seems that this place called ‘’Gensokyo’’ is filled with more magical and mythological creatures than I first thought. What could Yuugi be? Her horn suggests that she is a demon, but I am in doubts. It is best to ask her directly.

“Hey Yuugi, I don’t want to be rude, but what are you? I’d say you are a demon, judging by your red horn.”

“Yeah, my horn gives it away, I am an oni. All the oni in Gensokyo live here in the underground city.”

“Can you tell me more about the underground city?”

“Sure. The underground city was build long, long ago as a refuge for oni and other banished youkai. We didn’t get along well with humans, but times have changed. Now that the industrial revolution is in full motion there seems to less trouble and more cooperation.”

This land is going through an industrial revolution? This seems interesting.
“There is an industrial revolution going on?”

“Yes, the kappas are inventing more and more things. While their inventions were first only popular with their tengu allies and the kappa themselves, their influence quickly spread here, to the underground city as well.”

She leans back on her chair. Wow, I didn’t notice but she is rather well-endowed. No, that is an understatement, she IS well-endowed. I must... not look directly... at her bust-
Okay, I am focusing on her eyes now. I don’t want to be rude to an oni, right?

“Hey, I totally forgot! Here is your earring!”

“Thanks!”

Yuugi hands me the shiny, silver earring. I used to wear it from time to time, but it occasionally gave me bad headaches and a chilly feeling on my skin. This chill is great on hot days and makes the heat bearable, but the headaches afterward can be very painful. I still have to unlock the hidden potential KEGHEMYN mentioned. What could it be, I wonder?

“So, who is the new guy here?”

The shrine maiden appears at the cafeteria entrance. She looks around the empty cafeteria and notices me and Yuugi. Her glare is serious, outright scary. Why is she looking at me like that!? She glares me the same way as if I killed her family or something!

“Hey Reimu, come and sit down!”

The scary shrine maiden sits down next to Yuugi. Her glare is no longer scary, but rather annoyed and slightly angry.
I bet she is angry because I appeared and she had to go to work, if she truly is such a lazy person as Yuugi implied.

“What is your name, outsider?”

“I’m Leon.”

“So, Leon, tell me, how did you get here?”

How I got here? I’m not sure what to tell her. Should I tell her the truth, everything about the spell? Will she even believe me?

“He used magic when he was way too drunk and now he turned up in Gensokyo.”

“So he got here with his own magic? Woah there!”

The shrine maiden leans back. Her face suddenly lightens up and she looks quite... surprised.

“You got here with your own powers?”

“If I think about it, yes, I actually have got here on my own.”

“I see, I see. You breached the border with your magic, stealthy. I didn’t notice you and Yukari also didn’t notice her. Somehow you appeared here in the underground city. This is an incident-”

The shrine maiden stands up and crosses her arms. Is she really a miko? Her outfit is weird, she wears a skirt and... detached sleeves? Wait, this isn’t the time to contemplate her looks.

“Hey, hey, calm down Reimu! He was drunk when he was using his spells!”

“How do you know? Were you with him?”

“No, but he appeared with twelve bottles of booze. The guy was smashed!”

“What if he just pretended? How can you be sure?”

“Hey, you can’t challenge him, he can barely walk!”

“Do you realize how powerful he could be?”

Excuse generator v1.1
[ ] Confess. You were totally smashed, you had absolutely no idea what you were doing. When you tried to teleport home, away from the bar, you failed miserably.
[ ] Stand your ground. You were not drunk, your spell simply backfired. You had no intention to breach any border, you just happened to appear in this ‘’Gensokyo’’ land.

About your power level:
[ ] Tell her the truth about yourself. You are not a powerful mage, you are mediocre at best. Your magic powers are limited by your impure wizard blood.
[ ] Lie about your power, try to intimidate her. She is just a barrier maiden, in charge of some border, right? And while you are not the greatest mage, you are pretty powerful.
-[ ] Still, try to solve things peacefully.
-[ ] She won’t challenge you, you’ll challenge her! Your physical condition may not be too great, but you still have enough juice to ice some pretentious shrine maiden!

Upgraded update.

[X] Stand your ground. You were not drunk, your spell simply backfired. You had no intention to breach any border, you just happened to appear in this ‘’Gensokyo’’ land.

[X] Tell her the truth about yourself. You are not a powerful mage, you are mediocre at best. Your magic powers are limited by your impure wizard blood.

Reimu's in an Incident-Stomping mood. We do not wish to be stomped.

[x] Stand your ground. You were not drunk, your spell simply backfired. You had no intention to breach any border, you just happened to appear in this ‘’Gensokyo’’ land.
[x] Tell her the truth about yourself. You are not a powerful mage, you are mediocre at best. Your magic powers are limited by your impure wizard blood.

Dammit Reimu, go back to being lazy.

[x] Stand your ground. You were not drunk, your spell simply backfired. You had no intention to breach any border, you just happened to appear in this ‘’Gensokyo’’ land.
[x] Tell her the truth about yourself. You are not a powerful mage, you are mediocre at best. Your magic powers are limited by your impure wizard blood.

[X] Stand your ground. You were not drunk, your spell simply backfired. You had no intention to breach any border, you just happened to appear in this ‘’Gensokyo’’ land.
[X] Tell her the truth about yourself. You are not a powerful mage, you are mediocre at best. Your magic powers are limited by your impure wizard blood.

[x] Stand your ground. You were not drunk, your spell simply backfired. You had no intention to breach any border, you just happened to appear in this ‘’Gensokyo’’ land.
[x] Tell her the truth about yourself. You are not a powerful mage, you are mediocre at best. Your magic powers are limited by your impure wizard blood.

Votes counted, writing.

[x] Stand your ground. You were not drunk, your spell simply backfired. You had no intention to breach any border, you just happened to appear in this ‘’Gensokyo’’ land.
[x] Tell her the truth about yourself. You are not a powerful mage, you are mediocre at best. Your magic powers are limited by your impure wizard blood.

“Let me say something!”

Reimu leans forward, closer towards me. Her arms are still folded and that is generally not a good thing. It means she took a closed, defensive position. Yeah, she doesn’t trust me at all.

“Speak, Leon.”

“First, I have to correct Yuugi. I wasn’t drunk at all, I just happened to have those twelve bottles close to me, okay? The truth is that I tried a completely new spell and the last part failed miserably, sending me to another world.”

“You want to tell me that you didn’t get here on purpose?”

“No, no way. I never wanted to get here in the first place. Really, I had no prior knowledge about the border or this land. Yuugi was the first to tell me about it and the underground city.”

“Leon thought this is hell, the one made from brimstone and fire!”

I look at Yuugi for a moment and see just how tense she is. Fortunately, the shrine maiden’s face is now less scary, she is just pissed off.

“And Reimu, I am flattered that you think I am powerful at all. I’m just a lowly mage with impure wizard blood. My magic abilities are mediocre at best.”

“You seem oddly convincing when you get serious, Leon. Okay, I’ll believe you. If you wanted to get here on purpose and you really knew about this place then you would simply go through the shrine gates with no magic at all.”

I’m relieved. I try not to sigh too loudly as that would indicate that I’m happy that they bought my story, right? Yuugi is no longer tense and she looks just as cheerful as before. Even Reimu looks calm. She is still annoyed, but her face expression is now... milder than before?

“Fine, I won’t consider this an incident, just an accident. The only question that remains is where Leon is going to stay. I can’t send him home through the border.”

“Is there a special reason why not?”

“You are a wizard, even if you have impure blood. I can’t send you home as the border won’t allow you to go back home. Only human outsider can be sent back.”

“Hey Leon, are you alright?”

I thought my headache was nearly gone, but this just made it come back. Yuugi looks concerned, sad even. I can feel how my facial muscles are tensing up to make the biggest frown any living being has ever seen.

Ugh, I suppress my urge to scream. I can’t go home anymore? I never liked my homeland, but I had some friends there and school was fun, too. Sure, I hated physical education but everything else was nice. I also didn’t dislike my foster family. Mom was neurotic, sister was obsessed with vampires but dad was a real bro to me.

Sweet goodness, my head hurts to so much... it is like all the pain I felt before all over my body is now concentrated somewhere inside my head.

“He looks devastated. So, where is he going to stay, Yuugi?”

“Can’t you send him to the human village?”

“Yes, I can but I’m not sure about their attitude toward outsider mages. Leon would stand out too much. Besides, he is not Japanese, he would hardly fit in.”

“Right, that would cause some problems. Hey, he could stay at your shrine! It is a nice, quiet place with hot springs and a gathering place for many interesting people!”

“No, just no. The last thing I need is another one to munch my food! Didn’t we agree to help move Suika to your apartment? She is drinking all my sake!”

“We’ll handle that... later. Are there any other locations where he could stay?”

“Well, there is still the Scarlet Devil Mansion.”

“Isn’t that the mansion where the vampire lives? No, I won’t let him stay there! He is too skinny to be bitten by her. She’d drink all his blood!”

“Remilia wouldn’t bite him, she isn’t like that.”

The shrine maiden inspects me closely. Why is looking at me like that? It feels like she is undressing me with her eyes... no, girls aren’t that perverted. She is rubbing her chin, in thoughts.

“On second thought, yes, she would definitely bite him.”

“So, what options are left?”

“There is still Yukari, but I’m not sure if he would fit in there. The place is far, far away and it is desolate, in the middle of nowhere.”

“What about the new temple? I heard the folks there are very friendly.”

“No way, not at the Buddhist temple! Well, except if he really wants to, but it is boring there. He can also stay on the mountain. They are former outsiders there and he would fit in well. ”

“Can’t I just stay here, in the underground city?”

I must intervene. If I can’t go home, then at least I can choose where I’ll live, right? All the options they presented to this moment are bad. I get to choose between a Japanese village, a shrine where I’m not wanted, a mansion with vampires, a place in the middle of nowhere, some boring Buddhist temple, and a goddamn mountain and then I have the option to stay in great underground city.

“Umm, you want to stay here with the oni? Are you absolutely sure you want to stay here, underground, and not somewhere where you can see the Sun?”

“Well, the other options you discussed are... strange at best. Yuugi is an oni and she’s friendly, so if the other oni are like her... then I would like to stay here.”

Reimu and Yuugi gaze at me in silence for a moment. Man, this is so awkward.

“The oni here are friendly, sure. Okay, so you’ll stay in the underground city, fine. Can he stay at your place, Yuugi? You two seem to be quite friendly to each other.”

Yuugi hesitates. She doesn’t want to answer to the question for some reason.

“Umm, you see, my apartment is very messy at the moment. He could stay at the palace or maybe by my friends until I clean up.”

“Your friends? You probably mean the spider and the jealous girl?”

“I trust them much more then my fellow drunkards.”

“How long do you need to clean up your apartment?”

“I’m not sure. It might take hours, maybe days.”

The shrine maiden leans back on her chair again. Her arms are still folded, but her face tells me that she is calm, just slightly annoyed by the situation.

“I think it is better if he stays at the palace. I’m sure Satori and her pets wouldn’t mind an outsider staying at their place.”

“I’m not sure about the palace... Satori comes over as creepy to new folk. Let him rather stay at Yamame’s place. Or maybe even Parsee’s place, the girl needs some company. Who knows, maybe she won’t be so jealous.”

“I know Yamame is a fun person, but isn’t she too quirky? And I’m in doubts that your jealous Parsee will ever change, she is jealousy incarnate.”

They continue arguing which location would be best suited for me to stay for the night. It seems that each location has its advantages and disadvantages... I also don’t feel like staying in this hospital. The stay will probably cost.

Where should I go?
[ ] Help Yuugi clean her apartment, can’t be that bad, right?
[ ] Stay at the palace, the place must be magnificent if it is called a palace!
[ ] The jealous girl seems interesting. You must see if she is really so jealous.
[ ] I’ll rather stay at the quirky, but fun girl’s place. Is she really a spider?

[Q] Stay at the palace, the place must be magnificent if it is called a palace!

He seems drawn to that kind of stuff.

[x] Help Yuugi clean her apartment, can’t be that bad, right?
Hey, if she has to clean out the place so that we can stay there, the least we can do is help.

[x] The jealous girl seems interesting. You must see if she is really so jealous.

Why not try something new?

[X] Stay at the palace, the place must be magnificent if it is called a palace!

hmm...

[x] I’ll rather stay at the quirky, but fun girl’s place. Is she really a spider?

Yamame~

[X] Stay at the palace, the place must be magnificent if it is called a palace!

Probably the most comfortable, and staying with Satori and Koishi should be interesting.

[X] Stay at the palace, the place must be magnificent if it is called a palace!

Calling.

[X] Stay at the palace, the place must be magnificent if it is called a palace!

Will write in the morning.

[X] Stay at the palace, the place must be magnificent if it is called a palace!

Their arguing is going nowhere, so I’ll tell them what I think.

“Hey Yuugi, I would love to help you clean your apartment, but I’m sure if I’ll be a help at all, considering my poor condition. I’m still achy all over my body.”

Maybe I’m exaggerating my pain, but I’m really in no condition to clean a messy apartment. My head hurts pretty badly right now...

“Hey, thanks, but I don’t want anyone to help me clean that mess. I must do it myself.”

“And I think I made up my mind where I’m going to stay.”

“So, where do you want to stay Leon?”

“I’ll stay at that palace you were talking about. It must be huge and magnificent if it is called a palace, right? They probably have many spare rooms, too.”

“You really want to stay at the palace?”

Yuugi looks surprised while Reimu is satisfied that her option won. I am sorry, but a freaking palace beats any other option. I’d go there even if it was haunted.

“Sure. The lady there must be nice if she has many pets like Reimu said.”

“I guess you are right. She really is nice and the palace has more space than Yamame’s and Parsee’s housings combined. It is just... well, she can get creepy some times.”

“He’ll get used to it. Hey, if he likes the underground city then maybe he won’t find her creepy at all. Leon, no offense, but you are very strange.”

“You are not the first one to notice.”

The shrine maiden smirks at my remark. Does she find me funny? It seems that she is no longer annoyed, but is rather happy. I wonder why?

“It seems my work here is nearly done. The last thing I have to do is to explain the spellcard rules to you. Listen carefully, Leon.”

“I’m listening.”

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

That was a very intense lecture. First she told me everything about the system’s creation, why the spellcards were made. It seems that they were made to balance the power between humans and the youkai, to protect the combatants and to create a way to peacefully resolve conflicts.

Prototypes were supposedly used by wizard nearly six hundred years ago for practice, but they were never really popular.
Reimu then decided to use this old concept to solve the many problems in Gensokyo.

The rules are simple, but the shrine maiden went into needless details. Basically, the spellcards are just patented projectile patterns that you use during duels. It is best if you make them before duels and have them always ready. You also take turns with your opponent, but you can choose to skip your turn if you feel really confident.

You are not allowed to make impossible patterns, but you are allowed to make such that are difficult to dodge. This is actually encouraged as it will obviously increase your chances to win and the fun you have when you see your opponent struggle with your patterns.

And if you are human and challenge a non-human, the non-human may not turn the challenge down. This can come in handy if you are attacked as the non-human is not allowed to kill you, even if you lose. You just have to do what you agreed when you challenged him or her.

I think that is it. The shrine maiden said that she would gladly demonstrate everything live in a friendly practice duel, but I’m sadly in no state to use magic or to dodge any bullet patterns at the moment. She orders Yuugi to show me once.

“And Yuugi, accompany him to the Palace of the Earth Spirits and tell them I said he’ll stay there. I’ll be going now. Goodbye!”

As say goodbye she stands up and runs to the window- did she just jump out of the window and fly away? Wow, I didn’t believe her when she mentioned aerial combat with spellcards, but now shit just got real.

“Is flying normal around here?”

“Yeah, it is just like breathing. Don’t you know how to fly?”

“No, we have no flying magic where I come from.”

“I’ll show you how once you get better. Shall we go to the palace now?”

“Sure. Hey, umm, where are the twelve bottles?”

“Nine bottles are at my place and three bottles were given to the doctor for your medical treatment. Actually, those were for the two expansive injections you got while you were sleeping.”

“Thanks for taking care of that.”

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

It was quite a long walk to the palace. While my legs and back don’t hurt as much as they did when I woke up, they still make walking difficult. We had to stop twice and sit down. Man, this is embarrassing! Good thing we are here.

This place is huge! It is a full-blown palace and it is underground, too! Yuugi answers the door while I am still struggling with the last few steps... ouch, my legs hurts pretty badly now. No pain, no pain, I must get to the top!

As I’m getting closer to the top and the doors, I see someone opening them. Her hair is something I would call celadon and her eyes are a dark green-blue color. She is wearing a yellow shirt with a dark green collar that matches her dark green skirt. The girl looks funky and oddly... cute. She looks incredibly cheerful and carefree, too.

“Hello Koishi! How are you?”

“Hey Yuugi! I’ve never been better, what about you?”

“I’m fine! Hey, is your sister home?”

“I think she is bathing at the moment. Hey, who is that guy?”

How embarrassing, I’m breathing so heavily that I can’t even properly introduce myself to my future host. Yuugi asks me if I’m okay and I just nod.
The blonde demon introduces me to the girl in my place.

“I’m Koishi, nice to meet you, Leon~! Hey, why don’t you come inside? I’ll make some tea!”

The two girls walk in front of me and I follow them steadily. While walking is not pleasant, the sights are great. This place may be quite dark inside, but it has wonderful stained glass windows and great.

I also overhear their conversation... Koishi is telling Yuugi about her recent journeys, I think. Is she travelling a lot? She also seems to know the blonde demon very well.

We get to the kitchen. I can finally sit down and rest my poor skinny legs. Now I think it wasn’t the best idea to spend all those evening reading books about magic, maybe I should have worked out sometimes.

The funky girl comes back with some tea. It smells fruity and very sweet. I wonder if it tastes just as heavenly as it smells! The tea cups looks very expansive, they are decorated with gold and silver… but these motives are really strange, I can’t make out what they are actually are

“Hey Leon, what do you see on these cups? Everyone sees something different and it can tell many things about a person!”

“Currently, I see nothing.”

“Concentrate… you’ll see something soon~!”

[ ] “I see many little snowflakes, arranged into one big snowflake.”
[ ] “I see faming meteors, flying down from the sky, wrecking havoc.”
[ ] “I see several different items being blow away by the strong wind.”
[ ] “I see beautiful geotectonic formations and many, many gemstones.”
[ ] “I see clouds and rain falling down, hitting the dry ground with a thud.”

Psychological games!
This is not a spoiler.

Hey, if there are any questions, go ahead and ask me. I’ll answer them when I’ll call votes again.

[x] “I see several different items being blow away by the strong wind.

[x] “I see clouds and rain falling down, hitting the dry ground with a thud.”

[Q] “I see clouds and rain falling down, hitting the dry ground with a thud.”

Rain rain rain, we love rain.

[X] “I see many little snowflakes, arranged into one big snowflake.”

[x] “I see many little snowflakes, arranged into one big snowflake.”

[x] "I see alien geometries and things that cannot exist in reality."

[X] “I see clouds and rain falling down, hitting the dry ground with a thud.”

[x] “I see beautiful geotectonic formations and many, many gemstones.”

Because saying geotectonic is neat.

Caling this:

[X] “I see clouds and rain falling down, hitting the dry ground with a thud.”

They'll turn off the power later today, so the update will probably be finished tomorrow.

“I see clouds and rain falling down, hitting the dry ground with a thud.”

“Hmm, that is interesting! You are sad for some reason, indicated by the rain and the clouds. Yet secretly, you are happy. You are the dry ground that has waited for the rain to come. It seems you pushed these emotions into your subconscious, you repressed them.”

Her eyes meet mine as I look away from the cup. I understood every word she said. Yes, I am depressed because there is no way home, but I wanted a drastic change in my life all time. It was getting boring. My friends got distant, my family was focused on my sister’s success with controlled vampirism and I was unable to get attention.

They got used to the good grades and my magic stopped improving last year. I could barely learn new spell or perfect the ones I have learned already. And then I get desperate with magic and try summoning… which ultimately fails.

“There is no need to repress positive emotions, Leon! Let them out!”

She is right. I should get over it as soon as possible. Sorrow is not a functional emotion right now. It is hindering me and our conversation, too.

Hey, how come that I didn’t notice that thing floating by her? Sweet goodness, what is that thing!? It is like a blue closed eye connected to her by blue-purple cords.

“Yeah, Leon, cheer up!”

“Maybe he should get a real drink. Don’t you think so, Yuugi?”

“No, he was in the hospital and he got some injections. It is best not to mix that stuff with alcohol, his condition could get much worse.”

“Oh, are you sick, Leon?”

Just look at her face. In an instant she turns from absolutely carefree expression to a mildly concerned one. I’m practically a stranger to her, why would she be concerned about some guy like me?

“I’m not sick, my body is just achy.”

As I finish my sentence I hear someone else enter the room. We all turn towards the kitchen doors and there is she. This must be her sister, judging by the red eye floating around her. Her hair is pink and she is wearing a black hairband. The shirt she is wearing is blue and the wide skirt is pink.

“Hello, it seems that you are seeking me.”

“Hey sis!”

“Hey Satori!”

“Hello.”

She looks pretty... and pretty emotionless, too. I don’t know if she is annoyed, happy, sad, angry or just plain serious. And her red eye is looking directly at me.
This is scary, it truly is! Huh? It just looked away the moment I thought it was scary.

“You don’t have to be scared, Leon.”

How does she know my name? Eh, maybe he overheard our conversation. More importantly, how did she know I was scared? I’m pretty sure I didn’t show any visual signs. Can she read my mind or something?

“I am Satori Komeiji. It is best that I tell you directly that I can read your mind, but you don’t have to worry, I keep your thoughts secret.”

Satori… hmm, aren’t those apes living in mountains that can read your mind? They are Japanese demons, too, aren’t they? Well, the two sisters don’t resemble apes at all- oh shit she can read my thoughts right now!

She doesn’t react. The pink-haired girl just sits down at the table. Koishi hands her a cup and she pours her some tea. Ah, it smells like the sweetest fruits ever in existence! And it tastes even better!

“Hey Satori, I just want to ask if maybe Leon can stay at your place until I clean up my apartment. He is an outsider who somehow ended up here in the underground. He decided to stay in the city, too.”

“You decided to stay here, underground?”

“Yes, I did. The options the shrine maiden offered were all inferior to the grand underground city. Besides, the residents are interesting and friendly.”

“Hmm, this is very unusual. A human wants to stay underground.”

“Oh, he is no ordinary human. He has some wizard blood!”

“Yes, I have, but not too much, Yuugi.”

“You can stay here for a few days if you wish.”

“Thank you.”

“Thanks, Satori. I owe you.”

“You owe me nothing, Yuugi. I’ll help Leon get back on his feet.”

She just smiled, but only for a moment. It seems she isn’t all emotionless, but she is hiding them from others- she heard my thoughts right now, didn’t she?

“Yes, Leon, I can hear your thoughts, but I don’t mind it. I am used to it.”

“Okay. Can your sister read thoughts, too?”

“No, I sealed my third eye away. See the stitches?”

“But she can read your subconscious mind. And she can manipulate it, too.”

“Sis, you know I don’t use my powers often!”

“Still, it is best that he knows.”

It seems that I’ll be staying with two very powerful beings that can read minds, one way or the other. Not that I mind, the girls seems peaceful. Actually, the whole underground feels peaceful for some reason.

“Yay, we’ll have a guest! Nobody stayed at the palace since, umm...”

“Last winter, Koishi. It was the time when that happened, remember?”

“Oh, sure, now I remember!”

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

Yuugi left shortly after she finished her cup of tea. I thanked her once more and she said that there is no reason to thank her... she is one friendly oni. I later had one more cup with Satori and Koishi. First they were very interested in the so-called ‘’outside’’. Well, Koishi was the only making question, Satori was just eagerly listening.

Somehow we change the subject to ‘’how I got here’’. I told them that I tried a spell for the first time, it went well for a few second and then it went horribly wrong.
Sure, I didn’t tell them what spell I used. I think Satori might already know what really happened, judging by her occasionally surprised and suspicious raised brow. Koishi on the other hand patted my shoulder when I was done telling them about the accident. She really feels sorry for me.

Later they wanted to know me better, so I told them that I’m a bookworm and that this is the reason why I am so skinny. Koishi chuckled at my honesty while Satori just smirked. I also told them about my family. I portrayed them in the best light possible, but the mind reader was suspicious again about me. Koishi was suspicious here, too. Did she read my, umm, suppressed hate or something?

Well, now I’m lying on the bed in the guest room. I’m not feeling too well, so I’ll rest for a while. Satori said that dinner will be quite soon and although I had brunch just two hours ago and I ate many chicken skewers, I’m getting really hungry.

Damn, I have too many conflicting emotions. On one hand I feel sadness because I can’t go home, but on the other hand I’m happy because I landed in this cool, magical land where magic is not restricted. You even have safe combat, the spellcard duels. Not to mention all the pretty ladies I met up to this point.

You know what? Forget about home! This place is so much better. I’ll hang out with demons and study magic like never before. Yeah, that’s it. I’ll also work out this time.
I seriously have to get some muscles this time. Yeah, that is what a real man would do! Get over it and work harder!

I guess I feel better now. Oddly my headache got better, too.
Wow, I’m feeling drowsy again... those stimulants apparently only have short-term effects...

[ ] Take a nap on your bed and let them wake you up for dinner.
[ ] This room has its own bathroom, wash you face with cold water and wait.
[ ] Get up and slowly walk to the kitchen yourself, you are hungry.

[x] Take a nap on your bed and let them wake you up for dinner.
Relieving tiredness is always good.

[Q] This room has its own bathroom, wash you face with cold water and wait.

The last section there got a little mechanical sounding, I think.

>>5300
Actually the whole update felt a bit... not forced, but weakly told, but I'm not certain just how to say it so that the writer might actually improve the text.

>>5301
I blame my stomach aches and unstable internet connection (I hurried). I know it is worse than the other updates, the next will be better.

[X] This room has its own bathroom, wash your face with cold water and wait.

>>5302
I hope your stomach and internet get better, this story has potential.

[X] This room has its own bathroom, wash you face with cold water and wait.

[X] This room has its own bathroom, wash your face with cold water and wait.

[x] This room has its own bathroom, wash you face with cold water and wait.

Calling this:
[X] This room has its own bathroom, wash your face with cold water and wait.

[X] This room has its own bathroom, wash you face with cold water and wait.

I see I missed a ‘’r’’ there. Bloody stomach aches.

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

No, I have too little time to nap. It would be awkward if my hosts would have to wake me up for dinner. Maybe I’ll nap after dinner. Now, how should I stay awake? I don’t feel like doing sit-ups to increase my blood pressure... maybe I should wash my face with cold water. This room has its own bathroom, how convenient!

Stepping through the slide door, I notice how large this bathroom is. It isn’t huge by any means, but it still has two bigger mirrors and a rather large shower. It is nicely decorated, all in yellow with some white features there and there. I’m beginning to really like it here.

Brr! The cold water is quite refreshing on my hot face. I don’t know why, but it feels like the blood in my veins is boiling. Not in the upper layers, but deep inside, just above the bones… or maybe the bones feel hot too? It is a rather unpleasant feeling. Is my face red, maybe?


Good heavens and the flying spaghetti monster, what the hell happened to my freaking face? Those freckles, the borderline strawberry blonde hair, my beauty mark near my left eye and the big jaw, what happened!? Where are they? I don’t recognize my own face in the mirror!

Is the mirror okay? It reflects my shirt and my hand perfectly. My face feels real when I touch it... this is no illusion and no hallucination, this is reality. Sweet goodness, when did I undergo extensive plastic surgery? I looked in the mirror last evening and I was still the good old Leon. Now I look like someone else. Maybe I am somebody else?

I have to double check reality. Ouch, pinching my cheek still hurts. Turning the switch on and off turns the lights on and off, too. That is a clear indicator that I’m definitely not dreaming. This is the cold, hard reality I’m facing.

Okay, this is no time to freak out. Dinner will be served very soon and staying calm is essential. I’ll have to get used to this new face as soon as possible and accept the fact that I’m no longer the skinny ginger with the big jaw. Now I’m the skinny blonde guy with the sleek facial features!


Goddamn, am I handsome or not? If this is the little extra you mentioned, Keghemyn, then you are the best demon ever! Thank you, thank you!

Still, this change is ridiculous. I didn’t see any mentions that he does full face ops in the old book. Did I skim thought it too fast? No, that is not possible; I read too many books to miss something like this. I see what is important and what not. Maybe the handsome mariachi felt sorry for the average guy and decided to help him in an unusual way? At this point, it doesn’t matter to me. I’m fully satisfied with my new looks, but it will take some time to get used to them. You don’t get a new face every day, right?

Someone knocks on the door. It is Koishi, I can’t miss her childish voice. How old is the girl, anyway? She looks about sixteen years old, but judging by her demonic nature she must be way older than that. Satori looks older, but she too must be about sixty, if not several hundred years old. Not that mind, it is common for demons to have a several centuries long lifespan.

“Hey Leon, are you in there? Dinner is ready~!”

“I’m coming right away!”

I don’t let the girl wait any longer and rush to the door, ignoring the pain in my legs. As I open the door I can already smell the food from the kitchen, despite the rather large distance. Must be the hunger that increasing my senses.

“Are you feeling better?”

“I’m still achy, but yes, I feel better.”

“It seems that you are no longer repressing the emotions that much.”

“I guess you are right. I feel happier, too.”

“Shall we hurry to the kitchen? You must be hungry!”

I try to keep up with her rather fast walk, but I have to stop. Not even positive thinking can lessen the pain.
She eventually slows down for me and we walk slowly to the kitchen. The appetizing smells are getting stronger with each step.

We finally get to the dining table and sit down so I can finally rest my poor skinny legs. The dishes are served, but it seems we are still waiting for someone. Satori is getting nervous.

“Did you see Orin and Okuu on your way?”

“No, sis, I didn’t see them.”

Just moments later I hear an unfamiliar voice coming from behind.

“Here we are!”

I turn around to see who it is. Wow, more demons, what else could I expect? Both are girls and both have animal features. The one in the dark green dress is a cat demon as she has two cat tails and cat ears on her head.

The other one must be some bird demon, I presume. She has pretty large black wings and some red gem in the middle of her chest... it looks pretty scary, like that eye from the Tolkien novels.

“Orin, Okuu, this is Leon. He will be staying with us for a few days. Leon, the two girls behind you are Orin and Okuu, my pets.”

They are her pets?

“I’m Orin, nice to meet you!”

“I’m Utsuho, but they all call me Okuu.”

“Nice to meet you!”

Aw, look how cute her cat ears are! I think I smirked involuntarily just there. Orin sits on the other side, opposite of me while Utsuho sits to my left. Her wing could hit me anytime... how can she keep them so still?

They pray before dinner and I pretend to join in. Yeah, Satori probably read my mind just now and knows that I just pretended to pray. Anyway, we have miso soup with tofu and while I’m not used to this soup, it tastes good.

Next we have sushi. Just look at that plate! How many pieces are there? It seems there are multiple different fillings. I should try as many as possible!

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

Ah, that food was delicious. Dessert was surprisingly different as we had kiwi cake. The excellent taste was even more surprising, I didn’t expect kiwi cake to taste good at all. We are now having some tea. This is some different tea. It doesn’t smell as fruity and sweet as the last one, but it has its own distinct taste.

“Compliments to the chef!”

“Thank you, Leon. I knew you liked it.”

Oh right, she can read my mind so she must have heard how many times I thought that the crabmeat fillings were heavenly.

[ ] Stay here for a while and talk with the girls.
[ ] You are feeling much better, maybe go for a walk.
[ ] Head straight to your room, you feel like napping.

[Q] Stay here for a while and talk with the girls.

He made us sexy? Nice.

[x] Stay here for a while and talk with the girls.

Only option I see here. Enjoying this story so far.

[X] Stay here for a while and talk with the girls.

Works for me~!

[x] Stay here for a while and talk with the girls.
Ok, a few things, first light ones, praying? Really now?

Second, calm down with the constant "oh she read my mind"-notes, a couple of times here and there is fine, but you're going a bit overboard there.

Is the machinegun rush of short and to the point statements of events characterisation? If so, then good, if not, you might want to try a bit variety in sentence structures, storytelling is not just recording events on text. Include a bit of description in the lines of the old adage of "show, don't tell", that adds a bit of liveliness to the text. Oh, but don't go overboard with it, you don't want to end up with purple prose either.

Oh, and I love how finally we have
Komeiji sisters who are not either sociopaths, borderline insane or just total assholes. Thank you.

>>5329
Koishi has been hit hard with the fanon stick around here. The Last non-mindrapist Koishi I think was Grue's, and even then she was feaky adorable.

>>5329
Thank you for the advice, I find it helpful. My only excuse here is that English is my second foreign language and that MC (Leon) may not be in the right state of mind.

I am happy you like my relatively sane Komeiji sisters. I also hope you like the more feminine Yuugi.

You also missed Koishi coming into the room and waking you up. By force, if you know what I mean.

>>5332

So, no one remembers, huh...

[Q] Stay here for a while and talk with the girls.

This wins. Will write in the morning.

[X] Stay here for a while and talk with the girls.

[x] Stay here for a while and talk with the girls.

>>5334
You also missed Koishi coming into the room and waking you up. By force, if you know what I mean.

Wait, what?

>>5340

I think he means if we had gone directly to sleep after our meal. Probably. If that's what you were wondering

>>5355
No, I meant if you had stayed in the room and napped. Anyway, the update might be late because I cut my thumb wide open on my writing hand.

[X] Stay here for a while and talk with the girls.

It is best to stay with the girls for a little while longer, it would be rude to just leave after the first cup, right? I let Satori pour me another cup.

“Nice palace you have, girls. I like the decorations.”

“Thank you. I rarely get positive comments about the interior design. This style was brought to this land by foreigners before the great border was created. My sister liked it so much we redecorated the whole palace.”

Koishi giggles at her sister’s remark.

“The residents here dislike it for being too strange, too foreign.”

“I noticed that it is different from the other buildings in the city, both in size and style.”

“It stands out, doesn’t it?”

The girl with the pink hair takes her tea cup with both hands and sips some tea. Moments pass in silence. I want this conversation to continue, so I turn my attention to the bird demon. Would it be rude to ask her about the gem she has on her chest? I mean, it is just above her b-

“No, it wouldn’t be rude, Leon. Go ahead and ask her!”

“Umm, okay. Utsuho, may I ask you about that gem on your chest?”

The bird demon turns to me and shows me a prideful smile.

“This is the proof that I swallowed the great three-legged god! It gives me the power to manipulate thermonuclear reactions, like hydrogen fusion, for example!”

Is that even possible? She can manipulate whole nuclear reactions? Damn, that means she could make all possible isotopes from simple materials and so much more!

“You know what I’m talking about, right?”

“Sure, I do, but to what extent can you manipulate them?”

“Well, I never found my limit, but I can comfortably make a small sun from hydrogen and begin the fusion inside it. Impressed, Leon?”

“Yes, that is most impressive, Utsuho. That is a fearsome ability. I must see it live one day, but from a safe distance of course.”

“Cool, I’ll show you anytime you like!”

The two sisters quietly chuckle to themselves. Again, several moments pass in silence. We hit another dead end, so I speak to the cat demon.

“What cat demon are you, Orin? I heard that there are many different types.”

“I’m a kasha.”

Kasha… I don’t know these too well, but I think they have something to do with corpses, especially those that are not buried.

“I don’t want to talk about my job at the dinner table, that wouldn’t be nice.”

As I suspected, it has to do with corpses. How can someone as cute as her have any connection with unburied corpses? It is downright absurd! But that is how demons work and there is nothing you can do about it.

Satori strokes her back for her good table manners. The cat demon purrs quite loudly.

“Did you have any pets where you used to live, Leon?”

“I had a black kitten, but we had to give it away. My sister was allergic to cats.”

“Oh, that had to be terrible!”

“Koishi is right. It must have been terrible for your relationship with your sister.”

“Yeah, it was. I was just a kid back then and I really liked the kitten.”

“I think we should let Leon pet Orin for a while!”

Is Koishi serious? Suddenly the atmosphere in the room changed and only awkward silence and strange faces are left. Orin looks surprised and embarrassed while Satori turns from ‘’expressionless’’ to ‘’slightly freaked out’’. I didn’t check Utsuho, but I bet she is staring Koishi just now.

Not that I’m against her idea, but hey, she is a girl. While that is not a problem, I want to treat a girl with respect and I don’t think she will take petting from a stranger too well. Our thoughts have to be a mess for Satori to read right now.

“Relax Orin, I was just joking!”

Utsuho bursts into laughter, Satori lightens up while the cat demon just chuckles nervously. I only smile because I can’t bring myself to laugh. Way to go, Koishi.

“You and your jokes, sister!”

I’m getting drowsy again, my eyelids are heavier each moment I spend listening to their conversation. Satori looks at me mildly concerned.

“You should rest if you feel sleepy, Leon.”

“I guess you are right, Satori.”

“Koishi, go with him. He could get lost in the palace.”

“Okay, sis! I’ll do that!”

“Hey, thanks again for the dinner.”

“You are welcome. Sleep well, Leon!”

“Thanks. Goodbye, y’all!”

“Goodbye Leon!”

“Bye, bye Leon!”

Orin smirks mischievously at me for some reason. I leave the kitchen with Koishi. I can barely remember the way to my room. We don’t talk much on the way there.

I hit the bed... ah, this bed is so comfortable. I could fall asleep instantly if it weren’t for my back aches. I thought they got better at dinner, but no luck, they are still there. Well, at least my headache is much better than before.

Shtill, I’m sho shleepy...

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

Ugh. I just woke from my dreams. There was some club and I was drinking a tequila sunrise despite being one year below the drinking age. I can’t remember much more. Funny, I was dreaming about drinking in a club and I can’t remember what happened that night in my dreams.

What time is it, anyway?
Someone is knocking on the door. I better answer it. I’m dressed the same way I was when I went to bed – white shirt and black trousers. Maybe I should have removed them but I was too drowsy at the time.

“Good morning, Leon!”

“Good morning to you, too, Koishi. It is morning already?”

She is dressed different today. While her shirt looks similar to the one she had on yesterday, the collar is different and the buttons are not diamond shaped. Her skirt is a slightly different green color and has a subtle floral pattern, too. I think she is wearing stockings or maybe pantyhose, I can’t make out at that skirt length. Most importantly, she is playing with the ponytail she neatly tied on her side.

“Yes, you slept all the time! I’ll come pick you up for breakfast again. Here is your yukata if you want to change your clothes.”

“Hey, thanks. See you at breakfast, then.”

“See you later~!”

The yukata will come in handy now as my clothes got sweaty during my long slumber. I just wonder why she gave me such a girly one, light pink with white floral patterns and all.

Oh man, the warm water feels so great if your limbs are numb from sleeping in an awkward position for more than ten hours. Something feels strange, though. Oh sure, my head no longer hurts! And my back feels better too!

I take the nearby towel to conceal my lower body. It is really easy to bind it around your waist when you are as skinny as I am. Next I neatly fold my shirt and my pants on the bed, then I put on the girly yukata- hey, why did she put old-fashioned bloomers inside the yukata? Am I supposed to wear them!?

Oh man, those are girl’s bloomers, not the one’s men wore back in the old days. What now?
After pondering for a while if I should go commando, put my dirty boxers on or put these bloomers on, I find the white girl’s undergarment the most appealing option.

Actually, they feel nice and they even fit me quite nicely. I have to wear them a little lower so you-know-what doesn’t get uncomfortable. Now I slide the girly yukata on and wait for breakfast... while this is embarrassing, I find the joke funny. Hey, maybe this isn’t a joke and they just don’t have anything else for me to wear.

Koishi comes knocking on my door again.

“Breakfast is ready!”

I rush to the door without any difficulty, those legs feel much better today. As I slowly open the door, the girl closely inspects me.

“Do the clothes fit you?”

“Yeah, they fit fine, thanks.”

“Your obi isn’t tied correctly.”

“I don’t know how to tie it right, so I just made a huge ribbon on the side. Is it okay?”

“It looks quite girly!”

“So does the yukata and the umm... the undergarments you gave me.”

“Oh, are those bloomers comfortable?”

“T-They are okay, I guess.”

“Anyway, let’s have breakfast. We better get there soon before Okuu eats everything up!”

Today I can keep up with her. My legs may ache a little, but I’m a man, no pain! We get to the kitchen quickly and join in for breakfast.

Hey, why are they looking at me like that? Oh sure, the clothes, the clothes!
The cat girl stuggles to hide her laughter, Satori just stares at me like I’m an alien and Utsuho… she just froze.

“Sister, did you give him that yukata?”

“Yup, it was me~!”

“Didn’t you have any other… more appropriate ones?”

“No, I find it great. If it is meant as a joke it is fine, too. I like jokes.”

Orin finally bursts in laughter. Utsuho suddenly unfreezes and begins laughing, too. Hell, even the usually emotionless Satori giggles fairly loudly. I laugh with them because it IS funny. It is fairly humiliating, too. Koishi joins in and we all have a good laugh before breakfast.

So, what shall I have for breakfast?
[ ] Is Utsuho eating boiled eggs? Ravens do eat other bird’s eggs, don’t they?
[ ] Orin is having sardines early in the morning. I’ll have some, too.
[ ] I’ll go with the standard toast and butter combo, like Satori.
[ ] Maybe have the cereals Koishi has. They look pretty sweet!

Breakfast will have a larger impact on the day, so choose wisely.

[Q] Maybe have the cereals Koishi has. They look pretty sweet!

>Ravens do eat other bird’s eggs, don’t they?

Most birds will eat their own eggs. Good protein in 'em.

So, only remaining complaint is that it still feels like you're running through a checklist during the interactions.

[x] I’ll go with the standard toast and butter combo, like Satori.
Delicious toast.

[X] I’ll go with the standard toast and butter combo, like Satori.

Nom nom nom.

[X] I’ll go with the standard toast and butter combo, like Satori.

Would be more in a mood for jelly but real butter will doo just as nicely.

[x] Is Utsuho eating boiled eggs? Ravens do eat other bird’s eggs, don’t they?

[X] I’ll go with the standard toast and butter combo, like Satori.

[x] I’ll go with the standard toast and butter combo, like Satori.

[x] I’ll go with the standard toast and butter combo, like Satori.

>I meant if you had stayed in the room and napped

Ah, didn't even see the first option to sleep, there. Should pay more attention. Anyways, I'm liking your (thus far) relatively cheerful cast. It's a welcome respite from some of the heavy doom and gloom.

>only remaining complaint is that it still feels like you're running through a checklist during the interactions.

To build on this, and with the knowledge that English is a difficult language to write in, regardless of whether or not it's your first or second, I have these few suggestions:

1. Use more contractions. I'm not sure if the staccato manner of speaking is our MC's thing, or not, but it seems rather...well...forced. Perhaps try to introduce some character-specific speaking patterns, and differentiate between speakers as you write the dialogue. May help to break it up some. To be honest, Satori's polite manner of speaking seems the most fitting of all your dialogue thus far.

2. Try to set the scene for us, and give us more of an idea of WHAT the interior of the Palace looks like, sounds, smells, whatnot. The more you tell us about our hosts and surroundings, the easier it is to immerse one's self in the story.

3. Maybe give us a bit more depth to our MC's internal monologue and thoughts. Dialogue and characterization is tough for the best of writers, but I expect if you keep at it, improvement will come naturally.

Overall, kudos to you for putting yourself out there and starting a story. I'm more than willing to give support and suggestions where needed. It probably helps that you're writing about some of my favorite characters. Also take whatever is said with a grain of salt. None of us are professional literary critics, despite what some of us may think, and our thoughts are influenced by personal preferences. In the end this is your story, and I for one am looking forward to seeing where this goes.

I am also more than willing to proofread, if you need.

[X] I’ll go with the standard toast and butter combo, like Satori.

This wins.
The update is ready, but it needs some proofreading. Wait warmly.

Grinning Satori because she really like the way we are dressed.

[X] I’ll go with the standard toast and butter combo, like Satori.

Meh, I’ll go with the classic combo, toast and butter. Satori is having it and it looks strangely delicious compared to the other food on the kitchen table. Back in the days when I was at my first foster parents I always had toast with jelly, but jelly doesn’t seem to be available underground. Sweet, cranberry flavored jelly-

“I believe there is jelly here underground.”

“Really?”

“It is an imported dish called grass jelly. Usually it is served as a standalone dessert, but I think it would fit on toast, especially the one with watermelon flavor.”

“Watermelon jelly sounds delicious.”

“I think I’ll buy it next time, I certainly want a change.”

“Would jelly in my cereals be tasty?”

“You can always try, sister.”

My toast is getting cold. I better focus on eating because cold toast is not tasty at all.
While being focused on my food, I listen to their quite lively conversation. Today they are very cheerful, I wonder if my extraordinary clothes are the reason. Could be. You don’t see a guy in a pink yukata often, especially if it has a floral pattern and the sash tied in a large ribbon on the side. Has any man dressed like this before? I believe not, mainly because pink is considered feminine.

Strange, I’m really comfortable with the color pink, I simply like it. Common knowledge is that real men wear pink. Well yes, they do. I’ve seen male celebrities with pink shirts and even pink swimwear. And they are straight, too.

The silk feels great on the skin and the underwear is not that bad at all. Actually, they feel like oversized boxers with some lace on the edges. Oh shit, Satori now knows what I’m wearing under the pink silk. She doesn’t mind, no, the girl smirked the moment I was comparing the bloomers to boxers.

Oh, I see I gave her an indirect compliment as well, thinking that I like the color pink, which is also her hair color. True, I can’t deny my love for this color.

“Shall we have some tea?”

“Make the sweet one, sis! It is so fruity delicious!”

I have to agree with Koishi, it tastes heavenly. That taste is hard to describe, all I can say it is good. Maybe it is some fruity mix where I can’t make out the base ingredients. Blackberries, oranges, strawberries, star fruits, and even vanilla flavors are in there. Maybe it is the magically enchanted sugar. Hell, I don’t know.
I can hardly wait till it’s done!
Ah, this tea is so good. First I taste the strong cinnamon flavor that spreads through my mouth and then leaves a strong fruity taste behind. After this point I can’t make out what fruits are in this mix. My taste buds fail. They simply can’t handle the heavenly taste and my brains only picks up the info ‘’extremely freaking delicious’’. I’d use another f-word right now to emphasize my statement, but that would be impolite towards my mindreading host.

With each sip I take the cup the nectar becomes emptier. It would be great to have an inexhaustible magic cup with infinite tea.
I’ve got to be careful, this tea is still hot and I have what people call a cat’s tongue. Coincidentally, the cat demon has the same problem. Orin sip slowly and she has to blow on her tea to cool it down. Seems like she is true to her animal motif.

“I heard Yuugi is coming over, is that right, Satori?” asks the bird demon loudly and interrupts my thoughts.

“If she is done with her cleaning, then she probably will.”

“Oh, that’s great! I’ll duel her to show Leon my powers!”

“Are you sure, Okuu?”

The older sister seems concerned over her pet’s idea. Considering her ability, it is really best not to play around with it, but if it is true what the shrine maiden said, then the protective barrier makes even her projectiles relatively harmless.

“She should, sis. Leon is new here and he has to see how a duel looks like.”

“We’ll both use just one spellcard for demonstration, we won’t get serious!”

“Alright, you have my permission to duel her, Okuu.”

“Yay!”

Utsuho jumps up and stretches her arms, just like a little kid would in this situation. For someone wielding such power as fusing nuclei, she is pretty childish.

“That’ll be fun to watch!” says the cat demon and cheers together with her fellow pet. Funny how a cat demon gets along with a bird demon and vice-versa.

“Just don’t get too cocky, Yuugi is very powerful.”

How can someone be even more powerful that Utsuho? Oh right, the shrine maiden said that the duels aren’t that much about power but more about magical capacity, skill and wits. Basically anyone can win in the duel-
Hey, what was that bizarre buzzing noise?

“I got a text message!”

Oh, so it is Koishi’s phone. I didn’t notice that her skirt had pockets until now. Her phone resembles that clamshell phone I had back home.

“It is from Yuugi. She may need a day or two more to clean up her apartment. She’ll also visit us today and see if Leon is alright.”

“Did she state when she’ll arrive?”

“In... less than twenty minutes.”

“That’s soon! I have to get my gear!”

As Utsuho finishes her sentence she stands up and runs outside the kitchen. Outside she jumps in the air and… well, she doesn’t land anywhere in sight, so I presume she took flight. I guess I’ll have to learn how to fly if I want to stay in this world.

“Where will they duel, Satori?”

“I’m not sure, but they will most likely duel in the grand hall.”

“Isn’t that dangerous? Those stained glass windows are so pretty.”

“Oh, the protective border surrounding the duel is powerful enough to stop any projectile, don’t worry. We had duels inside there before and everything is still intact.”

“Wow.”

Several minutes later, the bird demon returns. As she steps into the kitchen she is stopped by Satori’s voice.

“What did we say about your gear, Okuu?”

“No battle gear in the kitchen, I remember.”

Utsuho sighs loudly, turns around and leaves us.
So this was her ‘’gear’’, huh? There was a long, orange thing on her right hand, some gray shin guard and boot on her right leg and that large cape resting on her wings. That pattern looked like the night sky, but with depth. Wow, a 3D cape!

Now that I see Utsuho from behind I realized how long her healthy black hair is! Goodness, it is way down to her butt! Not that I prefer long hair over short hair, I like all hair length, but it find long hair a real feat.

Suddenly the doorbell is rung. It must be Yuugi.
Together we all head to the front doors to greet the blonde demon.

“Hey y’all! Wow, y’all got here to greet me?”

Boy is she tipsy! As her gaze passes me, she stops for a moment and carefully inspects me. Her cheeks are just as pink as my yukata.

“What’cha wearin’, Leon?”

First the demon chuckles, then snorts in her laughter. Yeah, I know it is funny. Satori shows her inside and the blonde woman clumsily steps into the great palace. Will she be able to duel like that?

“Still, it fits ya! Bit flamboyant, but still spot on!”

“Umm... thanks?”

“I know what’cha all think ‘right now. How the hell are you so drunk sho early in da mornin’? Well, I was cleaned da apartment all night long and I’m not throwin’ away not one single bottle, no, not one single drop.”

All of a sudden, she stops in the great hall and stretches her arms.

“I bettar sober up or somethang!”

Wow, what was that? How did that little blue mist come out from her mouth?

“Sorry everyone, I should have done that earlier, but I didn’t feel like it.”

“It is okay, we love you just the way you are Yuugi!”

Judging by what Koishi just said, she must be a regular drunkard. That also explains why they all were so normal about the drunken state of the blonde woman.

“Hey Yuugi, I challenge you to a spellcard duel!”

“Great! Now I can show Leon how these duels look like!”

“One spellcard each, no bombs and let’s not get too serious.”

“A little demonstration for Leon, am I right?”

“Shall we begin, oni?”

“Hell yeah, hell raven!”

Woah, what was that? Some powerful magic nearly swept me off my feet. The two demons take flight and fly in the middle of this large hall. Hey, look at the frescos!

“I’m Utsuho Reiuji, the Searing Divine Flame!”

“I’m Yuugi Hoshiguma, the The Rumored Unnatural Phenomenon!”

“I declare my first spellcard! Explosion Sign ‘’Mega Flare’’!”

Boom! Several little stars are generated by the hell raven just in front of her. Each is thrown into existence with a loud, explosive bang. As they travel towards Yuugi they shrink more and more, allowing the blonde demon to move in between. These stars generate hard lumps, so kind of debris. Maybe it is the carbon generated in later stages when the star begins to die. To me, it looks impossible to navigate through the pattern, but Yuugi dodges them pretty easily.

While the blonde is dodging the bullets she is using her outstretched right hand to shoot glowing blue bullets in the bird’s direction. These bullets hit Utsuho or more accurately, they hit some invisible shield that is in front of her.

This goes on for what I would say it about one minute. Yuugi effortlessly navigates through those stars, like a real professional. Some carbon lumbs get close to her, but she evades them nonetheless.

“Twelve seconds left!”

It is getting hot in here. True to Satori’s and also Reimu’s words, the carbon lumps and miniature stars disappear when they hit the transparent bluish border.
Wow, this fight looks intense.

The bird demon begins a countdown. Her voice echoes through the great hall. Once she reaches the number three her voice is longer than even the loudest explosion she generates. I wonder, is it magically amplified- boom! All the projectiles disappear once she finishes the countdown.
They turn into fine, green mist.

“My turn now! Feat of Strength "Wind Blowing Down from Mt. Ooe"!”

Yuugi activates her spellcard. Suddenly, strong wings begin to blow from the side and bring rocks, small boulders and many little blue bullets, like the ones she used before. These are very dense and also extremely fast around Yuugi, but slower near the place where Utsuho flies. Still, their sheer speed makes them difficult to evade.

Still, Okuu remains perfectly still and moves very little, letting the projectiles simply pass by her. Some get dangerously close, but she doesn’t mind. While she is evading the rocks and blue glowing things, she shoots burning orange bolts in small arcs to hit Yuugi. Her shots aren’t as accurate as Yuugi’s, but their larger spread always hit the invisible shield.

Hmm, seems like Yuugi truly is more powerful than the hell raven. Many more bullets graze or fly close to Utsuho, despite the smaller density. I see some nervousness in the bird demon and her movements becomes unnecessarily quick as the blonde oni begins to count down to ten. Her powerful voice echoes through the great hall, similar to how Utsuho’s did before. Once she reaches the end, the air clears, there are no more projectiles, only green mist.

“We ended in a draw.”

“It is okay, this was just for demonstration.”

“So, what do you think, Leon?”

“That was a fantastic demonstration of power, Yuugi!”

“I’m glad you liked it!”

“What about my fusion powers work, Leon!”

“Nice stars, there, Utsuho. I’m just afraid that I’ll never be able to keep up with these patterns.”

“Don’t worry! We have easier ones just for fun!”

“Hey, want to try one, Leon? You look better today!”

“No, duel with me, I’ll go easy on you!”

I can’t deny that I’m feeling better. The headache is gone, the back pain is not there anymore and even my legs feel better today. I could even keep up with Koishi’s fast walk. Those girls are actually competing now who I’ll duel, showering me with needless promises that they’ll go easy on me... can I believe them?

[ ] Give it a try. Duel...
-[ ] ...Utsuho.
-[ ] ...Yuugi.

[ ] Diplomacy! Challenge a third party!
-[ ] <write-in>

[ ] Umm, do that another day, okay?
-[ ] <write-in>

[x] Umm, do that another day, okay?
-[x] "Pretty sure I should at least get the flying bit down before I try this, and maybe one or two spell cards as well."
Sorry, I have nothing better.

[x] Umm, do that another day, okay?
-[x] Maybe your host(s) could help you get the basics down before you take on someone so intimidating? Have her explain the rules, and if possible help you create your first spellcards. Flying would probably help as well. Who better to educate you than someone who can tell what you're thinking as you're thinking it, and make suggestions accordingly. Thank Yuugi and Utsuho for their impressive show. Maybe they can help too?

It may be a bit soon for us to be engaging in spellcard duels. Especially when we don't have any of our own.

[x]>>5393

[X] Give it a try. Duel...
-[x] ...Utsuho.

Making the first step is always the hardest to do.

>>5397

>Duel...Utsuho

Using what, exactly? We've got nothing to work with, unless our (possibly) flawed magician's powers can be directly converted into danmaku without previous experience. Which would be pretty damn awesome. Overly nice of the writer, too

>>5399
That is what the ''what do you see on the cup'' vote was for, too.

Big spoiler ahead.
Rain Sign [Soil Rejuvenation]

[X] Give it a try. Duel...
-[X]...Yuugi

[x] Umm, do that another day, okay?
-[x] Maybe your host(s) could help you get the basics down before you take on someone so intimidating? Have her explain the rules, and if possible help you create your first spellcards. Flying would probably help as well. Who better to educate you than someone who can tell what you're thinking as you're thinking it, and make suggestions accordingly. Thank Yuugi and Utsuho for their impressive show. Maybe they can help too?

[x] Umm, do that another day, okay?
-[x] Maybe your host(s) could help you get the basics down before you take on someone so intimidating? Have her explain the rules, and if possible help you create your first spellcards. Flying would probably help as well. Who better to educate you than someone who can tell what you're thinking as you're thinking it, and make suggestions accordingly. Thank Yuugi and Utsuho for their impressive show. Maybe they can help too?

I am sorry to inform you that this CYOA has reached its untimely end.

Due to many things that have happened in the last four days IRL, including some injuries, reoccurring heart problems and big trouble happening to friends, I have to end this little project of mine.

It was a pleasure to write this CYOA, but I no longer have the time to update it. There is no way that I could let myself do things half-assed, too.

Sadly, I'm also leaving THP for good. The only things that kept me hooked were (the now deader than disco) Gensokyo High by Taisa and (now finished) RiG by Krisslanza. I’m sure that GH will never ever update and I can’t wait for RiG2, so there is nothing left for me to stay. I’m sorry, other writers, but the Continuity Lockout makes other CYOA for me unreadable.

Whatever happened here will not be forgotten. I’ll use many elements from this story for my other long-term project, which is written in German, my first foreign language.

Get over here, McCoy, and say your line.

If anyone wants this CYOA, it is up for adoption.

You bastard.

We'll miss you.

>>5406

What he said.

Best of luck to ya...

Sorry to hear about your health issues, and whatever else might be going on for you. I'm glad you made an attempt at writing here, and it seems you gained personal satisfaction and technical know-how out of it, which in the end is what should matter for you. I wish you luck in whatever you take up in the future, be it writing fanfiction about little girls with silly hats or not. Shame, you starting this story had renewed my interest somewhat in this site, but real life often has other plans when it comes to setting aside adequate time for personal interests.


>(the now deader than disco) Gensokyo High

;_;

“Sorry, ladies, but I’ll have to decline. While I know all the rules, I’m not quite sure how they apply during duels. I also can’t fly and you are supposed to do that in these duels, right? Besides, I have a fairly large audience… I would be ashamed to lose in front of the ladies.”

“Are you sure, Leon? This is a great opportunity to learn it firsthand! You said you are a mage, so you’ll be more than able to make your spellcard!”

“Sorry, Yuugi, I can’t. I find you and Utsuho very intimidating, but don’t take that as an insult, it is a compliment.”

“Oh, don’t be so flattery. Okay, your reasons not to duel us are okay, I guess. Maybe I should wait till you get stronger and I won’t have to hold back so much.”

“Yeah, Yuugi is right. Once you get some advanced spellcards, it will be fun playing with you!”

“Still, thanks for the show, girls. I loved it! I promise I’ll duel you both one day!”

Yuugi and Utsuho don’t look disappointed at all. The hell raven is still cheerful because she got a chance to show me her powers and Yuugi- why did she grin like that? That was outright… eerie. Usually such a grin means everything is according to ke-, I mean, plan.
I’m glad that is over, there is no way I could use magic powerful enough to beat those two. Now I also have a promise to fulfill, too… will I ever get strong enough to beat those two?

“Shall we have some tea now?”

“Sure thing, Satori!”

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

Time perception is relative… when you are depressed and bored; it moves one step at a time, but when you are in good company, like these five fine girls I had tea with, then it feels more like a sprint. Sprint is an underestimation, it is more like raving on drugs – too fast.

At one point we realized that and because it was too late for Satori and Koishi to make dinner, we decided to go out. I thought we were going to some fancy restaurant, but then the surprise hits me – it was a simple, but neat, ramen stand.

At one point while eating the ramen I realized that I was wearing a pink yukata all the time. That explains why the demons in the city were eyeing me so much.
So, after we had some delicious ramen, Yuugi left our company, saying that she still didn’t clean her apartment…

…
…

And now I am in the guest bedroom, trying to fall asleep on the soft, Western bed.
For some reason I just had to choose spicy ramen, now my digestive system does not allow me to fall asleep.

What shall I do?
[ ] Try your best to fall asleep. Think about nice things, like…
-[ ] …the wonderful girls you just met…
--[ ] …especially a certain someone… (write-in)
-[ ] …the beautiful patterns you saw today.
-[ ] …random stuff you saw on the internet.
--[ ] <write-in YouTube video>

[ ] Maybe try some easy spells, like you did back at home!
-[ ] Try controlling water in the bathroom, you used to be good at it!
-[ ] You feel like practicing fire spells!
-[ ] How about the make-the-lights-go-out trick?

[ ] Get up. Find someone awake in the palace.
-[ ] Check the kitchen.
-[ ] Check the living room.
-[ ] Check the backyard.

Sorry for the short length, I just thought to announce that I’m back with a short comeback update. The next update might take some time, too, since I’m working on a project semi-financed by the government.

[X] Get up. Find someone awake in the palace.
-[x] Check the backyard.

-[Q] …the beautiful patterns you saw today.

Beauty

[x] Get up. Find someone awake in the palace.
-[x] Check the backyard.


All I can is ...

Welcome back.

I just want to say that I'm pretty happy that you're back.

[X] Try your best to fall asleep. Think about nice things, like…
-[X] …random stuff you saw on the internet.
--[X] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcgYvooo7B8

[x] Try your best to fall asleep. Think about nice things, like…
-[x] …the wonderful girls you just met…
--[x] …especially Satori.
---[x] That cute smile, the calming personality, her soft, delicious thighs...

[x] Try your best to fall asleep.
Think about nice things, like …
-[x] …the wonderful girls you just
met…
--[x] …especially Satori.
---[x] That cute smile, the
calming personality, her soft,
delicious thighs...

I need a tiebreaker, but take your time. Currently both [Think about Satori] and [Check the backyard] have 2 votes.

I wonder why nobody comments on the GLaDOS joke.

[x] Try your best to fall asleep.
Think about nice things, like …
-[x]the wonderful girls you just met…
--[x]especially Satori
---[x] That cute smile, the calming personality, her soft, delicious thighs...

>>5786
You expect anon to notice that when they're too focused on seeing an update actually posted?


welcome back nonetheless

Why would you waste time trying to get to sleep and dream when you can go out and actually talk with them?

>>5792

>At one point we realized that and because it was too late for Satori and Koishi to make dinner,

>too late... dinner...

>too late

[X] Maybe try some easy spells, like you did back at home!
-[x] Try controlling water in the bathroom, you used to be good at it!

trainan gaems

[x] Try your best to fall asleep.
Think about nice things, like …
-[x]the wonderful girls you just met…
--[x]especially Satori
---[x] That cute smile, the calming personality, her soft, delicious thighs...

[x] Try your best to fall asleep. Think about nice things, like...
-[x] ...the wonderful girls you just met...
--[x] ...especially Satori...
---[x] That cute smile, the calming personality, her soft, delicious thighs...

No, I’m not leaving this soft, warm bed, no way! Under these warm, cashmere sheets, I feel like I’m in seventh heaven. Besides, I need some sleep, my condition is nowhere near ‘’perfect’’... I better turn around and sleep on my belly.

Minutes pass... and it seems like forcing yourself to sleep by emptying your mind is highly... ineffective. What did mom always say before I went bed? Think about nice things and not only will you fall asleep, you’ll have pleasant dreams, too! So, what would be the nicest thing I could think about?

There is definitely nothing pleasant from high school. All the memories include ridiculing, comments about my appearance, remarks that I have no soul since I was a ginger... hurtful words that I wish to forget! Bah! I want to think about nice things, not about the high school hell I went through!

Slow down your thoughts, Leon, and visualize the first thing than comes to your mind... oh, that is much better~!
All those wonderful girls! Just look at them! They are all sitting at a round circle, waiting for me to join in their lively conversation.

There is the slightly tipsy athletic blonde girl, the horned demon with the large red eyes. I’d say she is rather well-endowed... I wonder if she wears anything under that translucent skirt.
Sitting next to her is the prideful hell raven, the loudest at the table. Her somewhat deep female voice fits well with her developed body and long, dark hair.
My focus now shifts to the high, youthful tone of the kasha’s voice. Why are her cat ears so cute? It makes me want to ruffle her hair like she was my pet!

Koishi returns with more tea. As she pours me more, she makes the most adorable expression ever. It feels like her dark green eyes are smiling, just like her gentle lips. When she sits down she begins playing with her ponytail, wrapping it around her finger.

The person sitting next to me is the pink-haired Satori... Suddenly, the previously lively conversation becomes silent as I focus on my neighbor; the lovely purple eyes meet mine. Her otherwise expressionless face offers me a cute, warm smile. Suddenly the floating red eye happily bobs up and down as it circles her right arm... without further hesitation; I take hold of her gentle, girly hand... it feels too good to be true.

I thought her smile couldn’t get cuter, but I was wrong... she gives my left hand a firm, warm, squeeze... our finger interlock.
This is my first time holding hands like this with a girl...

What healthy, shiny hair you have, Satori!
I could compare your eyes with the most beautiful amethyst, but no gemstone could be as wonderful as your irises! Sorry, dear, I didn’t mean to be cheesy.
Aw, her subtle chuckle is so cute and so are her red cheeks, which perfectly match her hair and her eyes...

But dear, I wasn’t just dazed by your looks, but also by your calming, polite personality. You are no ordinary girl, Satori, you are a true lady. And your body is perfect for a lady like you...
Those smooth knees barely covered by your skirt... I bet you are hiding some delicious, soft thighs as well.

And your ample bust is also worth-
Satori begins uncontrollably giggling and she squeezes my hand even more. Actually, this feels a little too real for a lucid dream-

“Oh boy, you are most generous.”

Huh? Indeed, that was absolutely too real. Maybe I should wake up- hey, I wasn’t asleep at all! Then how-

Satori is sitting on the edge of my bed and she is holding my left hand... our fingers are interlocked just the way I imagined. And wow, her face is just as pink as I thought. Even her floating red eye is moving to and fro.
More importantly, she knows EVERYTHING.

I roll over to my side, ready to scream-
Placing her free hand on my mouth, she effectively shuts me up. I guess she did the right thing; it would be very awkward if I screamed and others found out about it. Aw man, what am I going to do?

“Why are you concerned, Leon? Your thoughts are secret with me. It is not the first time I caught someone like this.”

The mind-reading girl lifts her hand from my mouth, letting me speak...
“S-so you are not mad or freaked out?”

“No, not at all. It is natural for a young man like you to think about girls this way. I have to add that I had fun reading your thoughts, I enjoyed your fantasies.”

“Is that why you hold my hand?”

“You’d wake up if you would just blindly grab your pillow and your fantasy got interesting by that time. Shall I release your hand? Are you feeling uncomfortable? You currently have mixed thoughts...”

“Yes, umm, I mean...”

She quickly removes her warm, gentle hand from mine.
“Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.”

“No, it is okay... say, are you really perfectly fine with this?”

“Certainly. I love compliments, to be sincere, but if you want to turn those fantasies into reality... I am merely jesting, Leon!”

“Hey, I need to cool down. It got hot in here.”

“Shall we go for a walk, perhaps? I have a wonderful backyard, we could both calm down there.”

“Okay, sounds excellent to me.”

After an awkwardly silent walk to the exit, we finally get to the backyard- backyard? This is the underground version of the Babylonian gardens! This is simply amazing!

“Wonderful, isn’t it? More than a year ago this backyard was nearly empty with only small plants and bioluminescent fungus, but now that we have an artificial miniature sun, it is possible to grow plants that require more sunlight.”

Look at those fountains, the many snowflake obsidian decorative stones, all the expansive porcelain vases and the colorful flowers... is this truly underground? This must be the most majestic garden in the world!

“Rumor goes that the Netherworld princess has a garden so magnificent that you could spend your whole afterlife wandering there.”

“I could do the same here.”

“Shall we continue our tour?”

“Sure, Satori!”

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

This place is enormous... it took us nearly two hours to walk through. Satori showed me everything, from the bioluminescent fungus she kept, the many bonsai trees, a large patch reserved for Orin and Okuu to play and the sealed entrance to something. Judging by the many nuclear symbols, I’d say it was the way to a nuclear reactor.

Later we went to the kitchen where Koishi was making some special mint tea, a Komeiji family special.
Personally, I find it to be too strong, the flavor was similar to what it feels like if you put ten extra-strong mints in your mouth. Still, I finished it... it makes me... drowsy.

“You look sleepy, Leon. Are you alright?”

My... my head is wobbling... oh man, what the... the hell was in that... tea? Boom, my head hits the kitchen tab-table. Verily!

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

Wow, man, I’m in some, um, tunnel! It is spinning like some washing machine and I can’t feel my legs... because I’m totally floating man, totally, like the goddamn Superman.

GOODNESS GRACE A WHALE

What the hell man, there is a goddamn whale, floating, just like me. And it is charging me like I’m some prey. And I am stuck in this rotation tunnel. You know what? This isn’t pleasant at all.

[ ] Ready your finger guns and maximum firepower ahead! Use all the chemical rounds!
[ ] Whip out your almighty lightning guitar, show the whale how to rock!
[ ] Dash, touch its huge, funny forehead, use MIND CRUSH and dash backward!
[ ] Summon some sleek, sneaking, smoking, super serious, savant, stylishly serrated Selenium serpents!

Choices have major impact on danmaku abilities.

[x] Dash, touch its huge, funny forehead, use MIND CRUSH and dash backward!
This sounds fun.

[X] Ready your finger guns and maximum firepower ahead! Use all the chemical rounds!

PEW PEW PEW!

[Q] Whip out your almighty lightning guitar, show the whale how to rock!

Because nothing tops this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqi0M8X7KXw

>>5841
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8AcSCEg63Q ?

[X] Whip out your almighty lightning guitar, show the whale how to rock!

We already have the whole rain-falling dealy from the teacup psychoanalysis. Thunder and lightning compliment rain very well, no?

[ ] Summon some sleek, sneaking, smoking, super serious, savant, stylishly serrated Selenium serpents!

>>5841
You convinced me.

[X] Whip out your almighty lightning guitar, show the whale how to rock!

[X] Whip out your almighty lightning guitar, show the whale how to rock!

Intermezzo update coming up.

[X] Whip out your almighty lightning guitar, show the whale how to rock!

This whale is definitely weak to lightning as he (or she) is a sea creature and its head is covered by super cold ice, now that I can see it better! Good thing I didn’t try to MIND CRUSH it, I would totally get encased in ice!

“Cymst ascínan, min yslende, bladesung saltere!”
True to my words, a guitar shines forth into existence and sends sparks flying in all directions! It is made from pure, materialized shining lightning and it is ready to rock!

Prepare for my Eruption, foul frozen fishy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULEBSxP725w

Hah, that was fun. My lightning assault stopped the whale in its tracks as it could not break the combined power of my lightning guitar, the automatic thunder drums behind me and the sheer awesomeness that is Eruption. Can’t touch me, sucker! Huh?

Holy shit, the whale actually broke the shield and now it is shooting freaking icicles directly at me! Sidestepping the first wave, I try to defend myself with my next guitar solo… good thing the eruption made enough smoke to cover the waters! Here comes Smoke on the Water, the legendary guitar riff!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arpZ3fCwDEw

As the lightning and thunder strike, they completely wipe out the incoming icicles, but this was all in the whiny watery whale’s plan! Now that thing is charging me again, absorbing all my hits!
That wicked witty wanker! I need more POWER!

“Sealdnesse mec bremung þunorrádstefn héafodwóþ!”
And now I feel the godly power of thunder inside my gula, otherwise known as hnecca, vrat, hals or in simple English, my neck.

Stand back, you mutated monstrous meddling mammal for you shall be Blinded in Chains and I shall be avenged sevenfold! Ho! My automated support drums sound the intro...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPpLVdbVXFI

And we’re at it again. Nothing can stop me, not even the ice harpoons and ice cannonballs he fires at meat me and I melt everything with my guitar and crush with my thunderous voice. Still, at this rate, we will only reach a draw. And I demand victory, not a draw!

Worse yet, my song is about to end. In this tunnel and with this severely silly sea sucker, I am starting to feel really unpleasant, totally, absolutely Paranoid!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBWcRMonvWA

Dashing forward, I maneuver through the cannonballs and harpoons while screaming the lyrics and jamming my lightning guitar like there is no tomorrow. As the song grows more and more powerful, my imaginary audience screams ‘’ENCORE!’’ and I deliver more.

Thunder after thunder, lightning after lightning, the gay girly gringo lets loose… a gay, girly scream. This is my opportunity – I fly directly into that whale’s mouth while frying its insides.
Bursting out from its tail, I am totally charged up and my current powers allow me do deliver the final shock to the defenseless, dumb ditz!

“Min saltere sweoloþ in éacen strangnes! Hits bærnnes gráp cwiddian tó wíghryre þe! Tólynnan þis, min lufu, min ábyligd and welhwilc gnorn! Glæterung hildeb-saltere! Ágangan, ágangan, ágangan!”

With one strike to the chest analogue, I burst out from the blowhole, covered in guts, blood and ice, too.

Sorry, dear dead defeated déofol, I had to use that line to defeat you; it is just too good to be true.
Still, something is missing. Where is my ‘’Split your lungs with…’’ whale-killing achievement? OH SHIT IT IS MOVING-

Overwhelmed by my adrenaline, I just started playing the first riff that got in my mind. Truly, the whale was Thunderstruck by my powerful rock magic!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f1cwycSWq0

“THUNDER! THUNDER! THUNDER! I-”

I stop the music. Three lightning bolts to the bong are more than enough to stop the whale.

Achievement unlocked: SPLIT YOUR LUNGS WITH...
[Defeat dat damn, devilish, dark, dangerous drifter!]

Achievement unlocked: Tesla’s long lost descendant
[Max out the lightning and thunder gauge.]

Achievement unlocked: Hard Rock Hallelujah
[Max out the hard rock and hard metal gauge.]

That is much better! Aw man, I’m so high from all the ozone and nitrous oxide, I’m not even flying straight anymore… I have to get away from here, wherever I am-
No, there is still something missing… sure! Your dead body has reminded me that there is still one last thing to do. To humor you with a special song!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhvWRXl_Ex0&

And if your heart stops beating, I’ll be wondering, did you get what you deserve? Sure you did, you rotting retarded rebel, it is the ending of your life!
And if you go to heaven, I’ll be waiting- hey, did he just fully regenerate!?

“Hey Junge, das was die beste Schlacht in Jahren! Noch nie habe ich jemanden begegnet der statt Luftgitarre eine Blitz-Gitarre benutz! High five, alter!”

Oh, so this was a GERMAN WHALE! Now everything makes sense! I think he said something cool about my guitar and my air guitar skills because I can’t play the real thing. And he said that he had fun battling me. This is fight is something to remember.

“Ich muss jetzt gehen, der nächste Eindringling komm in ein par Minuten, dass denke ich, wenigstens. Tschüss!”

Yeah, whatever whale-man! Hey, where is going? And why is everything turning black and white? Gregory Peck, is that you?
Hey, you are dead, does that mean… OH SH-

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

And I am back in the guest room, hidden under cashmere seats. My memory is fuzzy, what happened? Last thing I remember was the German whale saying goodbye. So, am I alive or am dead? Being dead would be terribly inconvenient…

Turning to my left, I see Satori sitting on a chair. She is leaning on the wall and her expressionless eyes are gazing at me. As our eyes meet, she smiles slightly and it is so cute-

“Are you well, Leon? Do you require anything?”

“I am fine, but I have no memory whatsoever. What happened?”

“I shall explain that later, first tell me how you feel.”

Hmm, touch question, Satori. To be honest, I feel like all my airways are filled with mint and alcohol, my stomach is full with Tabasco sauce and alcohol while my other body parts… are overcharged with magic, pure, sweet magic-

The pink-haired girl lets out a loud sigh.

“I am relieved…”

“Can you now tell me what happened?”

“Our special mint tea had some… unforeseen side effects. I am very sorry, Leon, please accept my apology for this inconvenience.”

“Apology accepted, but please give me a more detailed explanation… what went wrong and why?”

“It was the latent demonic magic inside you that caused these side effects. Our tea calms down magic connections and the demonic energy forcefully entered your weakened, calm system. Your brain protected itself by lowering its activity.”

“But the demonic energy is still inside me, right?”

“My guess is that it assimilated itself, otherwise you would probably undergo visual transformations by now.”

“Transformations like?”

“Rapid hair growth is the basic, I believe. To be sincere, I have no idea as I haven’t seen a wizard transform into a demon before. But don’t worry, that won’t happen to you!”

“Alright. Umm, what time is it?”

“It is past midnight, but judging by your magic overload, you will not be able to sleep.”

“You are right. I don’t feel like sleeping at all. Still, you need your sleep, Satori. Shall I escort you to your room?”

“Well, if you really want to.”

As we walk to her room, which is quite far away from my room, I realize how beautiful this palace is at night… without the light from the artificial sun, the small purple lights turn on and illuminate the grand hall… it’s like a completely different building.

“Here we are.”

“Well, um, goodnight Satori.”

“Goodnight, Leon. If you get bored, you can take a walk in the backyard. Try to find the bioluminescent fungi.”

“Sure, I’ll keep myself entertained somehow.”

“If you wish I can stay up with you.”

“No, Satori, you need your sleep. Sweet dreams!”

“Thank you. Hey… I don’t like to repeat myself, but I truly had fun today.”

“Likewise.”

She gently closes the door and I steadily head back to my room… man, it is past midnight… what will I do till morning?

[ ] You didn’t have supper today. There should be enough familiar food items in the kitchen…
-[ ] Try finding some <write-in>
[ ] Head to the living room, you were there before. Did the kappa make a TV yet?
[ ] Follow Satori’s advice and find the bioluminescent fungi!
-[ ] Orin and Okuu are sleeping, try some martial arts on their grass patch.
-[ ] Or maybe just run around to burn this energy.
[ ] Use your overcharge, try casting some spells!
-[ ] Control the water flow in the shower!
-[ ] Your dream inspired you. Try making tiny lightning!
-[ ] Remember the make-the-room-darker party trick?
[ ] Examine your mysterious demonic earring in your room.
[ ] Let’s get dangerous! Head into the city!

We have about seven hours time, so choose two or three activities, if you feel like they are less time-consuming.

I also deeply apologize to all Dragonforce fans for not including Through The Fire and Flames.

[x] Examine your mysterious demonic earring in your room.
[x] Use your overcharge, try
casting some spells!
-[x] Control the water flow in the shower!
-[x] Your dream inspired you. Try making tiny lightning!
[x] Follow Satori ’s advice and find the bioluminescent fungi!
-[x] Orin and Okuu are sleeping, try some martial arts on their grass patch.

[x] You didn’t have supper today. There should be enough familiar food items in the kitchen…
-[x] Try finding some stuff to make a sandwich
[x] Examine your mysterious demonic earring in your room.
[x] Use your overcharge, try casting some spells!
-[x] Control the water flow in the shower!
-[x] Your dream inspired you. Try making tiny lightning!

[x] Head to the living room, you were there before. Did the kappa make a TV yet?
-[x] Follow Satori’s advice and find the bioluminescent fungi!


[x] Use your overcharge, try casting some spells!
-[x] Control the water flow in the shower!


Find the mushroom, use the mushroom, ????, PROFIT!!

Casting lightning in the shower! Ingenious!

>>5858
Goddamn it, Q, this should have been a BAD END!

[x] You didn’t have supper today. There should be enough familiar food items in the kitchen…
-[x] Try finding some stuff to make a sandwich
[x] Follow Satori’s advice and find the bioluminescent fungi!

>>5858

To be fair, unless the water droplets were falling as a solid stream and is not hitting the ground where said water can collect. Shooting lightning shouldn't be too dangerous.

Kinda like that myth where if you pee on a electric fence you would get shocked. Only way that would happen is when the stream is absolutely solid stream and in close proximity.

>>5861

This is Gensokyo, where myths and legends are true.

Especially the ones people stop believing in.

Vote count
Casting spells: 3
Following Satori's advice: 3
Demonic earring: 2
Kitchen: 2

Hmm. I predict that the fungi-search and spell-casting will take some time, so I need a tiebreaker. Do you want to go to the kitchen or examine your demonic earring?
I changed my mind about the BAD END. Maybe next time.

[I]Examine your mysterious demonic earring in your room.

[X]Examine your mysterious demonic earring in your room.

The vidya kept me away

Alright, writing shall commence tomorrow.

>>5871
Votes were still opened?
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-

No luck. Yesterday I had no internet connection and today I got visitors and we'll go sightseeing... maybe the update will be finished today. Maybe.

Torej. How's the update coming along? Looking forward to it.

2/3 ready.

Picture quite related.

Maybe I should find those bioluminescent fungi in the backyard, just like Satori suggested. Due to the garden’s sheer size I can barely remember where they are, but finding a glowing patch shouldn’t be that hard, right? She mentioned during the walk that it should be fairly large, so I don’t think I will miss it at all.

Taking the longer, scenic route through the palace, I enjoy the scenery that is basking in the purple light emitted by small… bulbs, spheres? Now that I can see them up close, their shape seems inconsistent, like the lava in lava lamps. I guess these are lights augmented by demonic technology…

Along the way, I see many pets owned by Satori and they do seem rather friendly. Why would they be friendly to some stranger like me? That hellhound Maltese over there would most likely bite me, since I’m an intruder and I’m staying up at night. Maybe this garment of mine smells exactly like Koishi and they assume I am friendly?

Finally, I get to the far end… it is quite a long walk to be honest. Gently pushing the door, I try to make as little noise as possible because everybody is already sleeping- ugh! My body shudders as the cold air passes by me. I forgot that it gets really chilling underground at night…

Alright, I’ll head back to my room and see if I can find something to wear under my yukata. Closing the door, I head back to my room… oh man, this will take some time.


I’m back in the guest room and I hope I’ll find something to wear under this pink flower-pattern yukata. Maybe they left something in this mahogany drawer for me.

Oh, how lovely. Someone left a long, silk shirt and some shorts for me here. They are both definitely for men… it makes me wonder who the original owner was. I haven’t met any males in this palace, not even servants. Do they even have servants? I only saw the many nocturnal pets. Maybe these pets care for their master and the palace? Considering their demonic nature, they would be perfectly capable of cleaning and other basic tasks.

Enough nonsense, I have to get dressed to go outside. This silky shirt has a wacky design. Its lower edge is tinted dark blue, similar to the sea, while the rest is sky blue. And there is this large iceberg floating in the ‘’sea’’ on my back. Coincidentally, the dark blue shorts go well with the shirt.

Now that I am properly prepared for the walk outside, I head back to the backyard entrance… AGAIN. This time, I am attracting even more attention from the pets around here. That little Maltese hellhound puppy I saw earlier approaches me and wages with its tail. Aw, it is so cute with those fiery eyes and red stripes in the black fur!

Hey, don’t get too close, I’m not sure if want to pet you! While your cute glowing puppy eyes do make me want to stroke your back, I don’t think if I can afford losing a finger or getting my hand burned. Young pups don’t have the power, but they don’t have control, either, so they can hurt you quite badly if you don’t handle them with care… besides, I am no demon who could withstand attacks from such creatures.

I better step away, slowly… these critters give me the creeps, but I try my best to hide my fear. Showing fear is the worst thing you can do if you meet demon pets, right?

Steady, steady… hey, I managed to open the door without making a sound! And now I am outside, away from these beasts.
Or maybe not, since something just moved over there, in those bushes. Maybe this was not the best decision…

Wow, this garden has so many plants I haven’t seen yet! This ‘’Gensokyo’’ is a magical world, so naturally I would find many trees, bushes and flowers that don’t exist elsewhere.
For example this bush to my left… in daylight it has normal, green leaves, but in the dark… I feel like I am looking at a completely different plant. The leaves are dark red in the low light and hey, do they sparkle the moment you focus at them? This is truly bizarre and creepy…

Anyway, moving on, I pass the tree section. These trees are rather small since you can’t expect much growth in the underground. Satori also mentioned that they have been planted two years ago or so and were intended to be bonsai, but after the artificial sun was created, they grew much larger…
I guess these are the most ordinary plants around here.

If I am not wrong, then the next department is the one with flowers. No, this is the sector with the many tiny lakes and aquatic plants. Amazing how many different water lilies her garden has. Are those tiny bioluminescent fishes in there? Awesome!

And boy, the miniature landscape is perfect. It has a tiny mountain, a water stream, two waterfalls and even tiny villages in the lower regions… how did I miss this one last time? Was I too focused on emptying my mind and repressing my thoughts about Satori?

Never mind, Leon, she said it was okay and now it is time to move on. In the distance, I see the most beautiful fountains ever. They’re made from the best volcanic glass, the best obsidian. Black, smooth and pure!

This must have been very expansive and I bet the one who made them totally deserved every single penny for his work. It must be hard to make the sharp stone smooth… but then again, if you are skilled with certain kinds of magic, this would be way easier.

There are two here, near the mini-mountain and the largest one is glittering in the distance. What is with that shine? The two nearby seem fine, only the dimly glowing tiles on the ground are producing light. Wow, it took me way too long to notice this, too. The stone I am standing on is dimly glowing!

Oh look! The bioluminescent fungi are strong enough to make the obsidian shine! I found them!

Up close, these little fungi look amazing. Some are shaped like stars and have five, six, seven, nine, eleven or nineteen points! These are mostly reddish or bluish, unlike the other mushrooms that are mostly greenish or pink.

The pink ones are shaped like morel fungi. I think these mushrooms are also called sponge mushrooms… their larger variant is more on the reddish side than pink and their smaller brethren are a strong magenta color.

These are the special ones that stand out, the rest are very tiny or shaped like ordinary mushrooms. Most shine in a greenish light, but the largest mushrooms are golden.

From afar, these fungi are tiny pixels in the large picture, a true work of art. It looks like those tribal tattoos you see every now and then. This is truly fascinating… they represent about one fifth of the garden. I really couldn’t miss it. Satori didn’t take me here during the day, most likely because it would look rather dull.

This was fun, but now I have to hurry inside, it is getting colder every moment…



Once again back in my room, I am getting bored from walking and being watched by those nocturnal pets… not to mention how scary it is in here at night. Good thing I didn’t scream at those two snakes… all hell would break lose when the pets would see me as a threat. You must not show fear to demonic entities, ever.

With the overcharge keeping me awake, I can’t fall asleep… maybe it would be good to put this power to work! By burning this acquired power up, I just might get some sleep tonight. Where should I begin?

Hmm, I was always good at manipulation water and various solutions. My granduncle, a mage society elder, never called me by my name but mocked me as ‘’water boy’’. That wasn’t the harshest, though, I was called ‘’mongrel’’ and ‘’half-breed’’ by many mages, even when I was ten.

Forget the past, Leon, go take a shower now. I get lost in thoughts very often lately…

Finally undressed and in the shower, I try twisting the water’s path and surprisingly, it works with ease. With my spell it now twists in mid-air rather than falling straight down from the shower. This is rather fun, but I am burning only very small amounts of energy. My father encouraged me to use this elemental specialty because it consumes less magic and I have less at disposal than normal mages.

Next, I will freeze the water as in ‘’stop in mid-air’’ not ‘’change its form into ice’’. Cool, I actually did it! The water that I stopped in the air is saturated with my magic and it does not mix with the one that is still dropping down. This is due to some magic force I have yet to learn about.

Last one is the most difficult – water movement as in shooting it like a water jet, lifting it in the air, gathering air humidity and similar. I don’t want to brag, but I can use this skill on par with many masters… sadly, this skill is considered ‘’wasted time’’ for many wizards and they never learn it, even though it is the easiest elemental specialization.

Ready? Fire!
Boom! The water splashes at the force that would rival some industrial water jets! Seems like my ability did not grow weak upon entering this world, haha! Wow man, wow!
Good thing I stopped it just before it hit the bathroom wall or else there would be a rather large dent.

This is my primary weapon. If there is water available, I can blow holes into people like I was wielding a .454 Casull or a .50 BMG, I guess. It does have three drawbacks… the first one is the range, which can be compared with air guns at my stage. The second is my limited magic capacity. The third one is to obviously have enough water nearby. One water pipe is enough for me and rain is like paradise.

That is why I tried improving my water humidity gathering. The bathroom has enough humidity, I should try it… oh wow, its working! All the condensed water on the mirror is slowly coming towards me… but too slowly for me to use it.

Seem like humidity gathering still needs some improvement. Maybe one day I’ll be able to suck water from the air quick enough to form a shot.

Hmm, I forgot one point, the skill I am weakest in… and that is water generation. My limiter is my small magic capacity; water generation takes at least a twice higher magic output. If I were a normal pure-blooded mage, I would be able to create my own water and fire it rapid. While I can do it, it usually leaves me exhausted after one or two 0.33 L shots. Still, with my overcharge…

Never mind, it would be stupid to generate your own water in the bathroom while you are showering. I better get myself cleaned and not use up much.


Well, I can do much more with water than meets the eye. Most mages do not realize this simple fact and do not use water magic for this purpose… but blood is also mostly water. This means if I can control water, I can control blood.

Sure, I need to be close to the victim, but not melee range. If someone attacks me, sorry guy, I will stop the blood in your arteries and send you in the cardiac arrest by freezing your blood in your heart.

Hell, I can speed up your blood flow so that your heart can’t catch up if I concentrate enough, but that would require extra effort.
And if I really wanted you dead, I would reverse your blood flow, but that would exhaust me too much.

And having your blood frozen isn’t the worst. No oxygen, no glucose, bleeding lungs if I am not focused, a heart trying to push blood hard as concrete, your brain shutting down… do I have to continue to make it look horrible?

Yes, this takes nearly 1.7 times the magic to do that compared to ordinary water, but that isn’t high even for me. According to my calculations, I could probably send 5.3 people into cardiac arrest. The 0.3 remaining would greatly help me not collapse from magic exhaustion.

Come to think about it, I don’t even need cardiac arrest. Freeze their blood in their throats, cut off blood supply to the brain… but I’ll have to fresh up my anatomy if I want to do that efficiently.

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

Ah, a warm shower always makes me feel better. Still, I need to lose this unnecessary, uncomfortably energetic overcharge. Water magic would take hours to burn it, maybe I should try some other magic, something that would go well my current skills?

Well, what would go better with water and rain than thunder and lightning? That dream or hallucination, whatever it was, has inspired me to master that ‘’shock’’ spell I once tried. My dad used to forbid it (only for me, my sister was allowed to do it), but he is not here, right?

Now, where would be the best place to try it? Obviously I don’t want any collateral damage, especially not at Satori’s place.

Eh, I’ll try some low power stuff in this room, away from all walls.

Sitting on the bed’s edge, I hold my hands as if there was some sphere in it, then I try to make a tiny lightning bolt jump from one finger to the other… caution, I must properly turn one finger in the positive end and one into the negative one, the one shooting the lighting.

Usually you just shoot lighting at your foe, but this time there is no foe and I don’t want to fry my finger.
Furthermore, you usually charge up in an instant, but this time I must be careful… careful not to make any actual thunder…

Oh snap! That was one bright bolt! Holy shit, I actually did it! This is the first time I used it in like… four years! Four long years and I can still shoot lightning from my finger!
Some things you don’t forget, it seems.

Magic is like riding your bike, but the bike has weights, a rusty front set, a spiky saddle, flat tires and barely any brakes. Not to mention that you have to back up all your exercise with so much theory, which you must never forget.

Let’s do it again! BOOM! Lightning strikes from my pinky finger to the other pinky finger! Now let me increase the distance between my hands and steadily increase the charge up speed. I am not making much noise at this rate and the guest rooms are a fair distance away from Satori and her merry company.

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

About two hours later, I have reached my limit with lightning. One day, with enough practice, I will maybe be able to shoot it lightning around my back. At this moment my limit is to bend it around my torso when my outstretched arms form a 160 degrees angle.

And let’s not forget that you have used another finger to create a positive charge. What if you would use that magic to augment the lightning bolt and to direct it at your foe?

Thankfully I also burned up all the overcharge… maybe a fifth is left, but I will be able to fall asleep nonetheless. Here I come, my soft cashmere bed~!

…
……
………
…………
……………

No luck. That fifth is keeping me from calming down and breathing slowly and deeply. That small fragment is like coffee just before bed, coffee that can’t be metabolized and keeps you awake.

Eh, I better get up and find something to do. Shooting lightning and manipulation water got boring… maybe the make-the-lights-go-out party trick? No, forget it, I am too lazy to get up and turn the lights on for this experiment… I don’t want to leave this bed!

And what is that golden thing on my nightstand? Oh look, it is my fancy earring. Maybe I should wear it sometimes, but when I remember the headaches I got from time to time… it makes me think twice… maybe I should sell it.

Well, I got nothing better to do so I could at least examine it. The demon I summoned mentioned that this earring was made by his brother, a master goldsmith that doesn’t make ordinary jewelry, but ‘’magical masterpieces’’. What could this earring do, anyway? Real life is not some video game where it gives you ‘’+6 Strength’’ or ‘’+7% Evade’’.

What could possibly activate it? My mom, my dad and my sister tried forcing magic into it, but nothing happened. If I forced my magic into it, strange magnetic force where emitted.

That was about it. Since we can’t pick up demonic force with our instruments, we hired an exorcist to check it. While he had no idea about the mechanisms inside it, he was sure it emitted demonic power.

Currently I have some assimilated demonic magic inside me; maybe this will do the trick! Alright, here goes my magic power, from my thumb into the gold.
Yikes! It worked, it actually began to glow violet! How magnificent, I made something happen! Now what?

Silly me, I must wear it.

Minutes passed and nothing happened. I don’t even feel strange or anything; I just feel the earring in my ear.

Several more minutes pass and I am wondering if anything will ever happen. Maybe I should check if it fits my new face in the bathroom, it got very hot in my bed suddenly…

Wow, look at you, handsome! This earring goes much better with my new looks than my old! Figuring out what it does will be harder than I first though. Satori must know somebody who can help me with this, maybe the kappa.

Um, now that I am here, I guess I could experiment with my looks. If I brush my hair back and act all serious… hmm, I wonder, could I pull off a certain character from my favorite PS2 game? My hair isn’t white, but bright enough…

HOLY SHIT WHAT WAS THAT?
When I brushed my hair back… my face and hand… glittered. Now, this can’t be real, it must be the visual snow you occasionally see in artificial light… there is no way I would sparkle, right? The mere idea makes me feel uncomfortable… I don’t want to be like that vampire from my sister’s favorite book. That would be… horrid.

Surprisingly, my hair is light enough to keep together for a while. No, I don’t look as serious as Vergil, I am quite close to the real thing.
How about Dante? My hair should be long enough.

Shaking my head- okay, don’t freak out, Leon. This glitter is no reason to lose your c-chill, am I right? I glitter when I try to act cool, like those bishonen. If this is caused by the earring, then it will be immediately removed from my earlobe- where is the clip!? How is this possible, how could my earlobe fuse with the earring?

Oh sure, this was made by demons for demons, not for wizards like. Now I will have to consult a specialist about this, I don’t want that thing in my earlobe… except if it does something more useful than making me sparkle when I try to act cool.

Wait, wait there. How does it know that I want to act cool? Ordinary demonic artifacts have no magic pattern recognition, only limited enchantments. If it has a system that can read my emotions, it must have extensive power-ups. Why would the goldsmith waste such a system for these glitters?

Let me try this thing out by forcing some emotions. The easiest way should be by recalling memories associated with strong emotions. Yes, this should work.
There are few happy memories I have, so I better call upon the negative ones. Such emotions should work just well, but I will rather concentrate on turning my sad feelings into anger.

When I recall how any times unjust actions were taken against me because I had strawberry blonde hair, how many times my younger sister got all the attention for being their kid, the insults I received after I got beaten up by bullies, how she called me disgusting and the final betrayal by my best buddy.

It makes me rage, it makes me want to go back there and use my magic with no restrictions, with no regard that the mage society would kill me afterwards. For my old life was not bearable anymore and the only thing that kept me going was my thirst for knowledge, my thirst for POWER!

That is more like it! This earring, combined with the anger deep in my heart, makes me feel all charged up, all energetic! Even my irises glow in violet flames, the same way the earring did! This violet fire will allow me to freeze the blood in all foes that will dare to mess with me-

CALM DOWN

POWER

CALM DOWN

MORE POWER

CALM DOWN

I WANT MORE

CALM

POWER…

DOWN

AND REVENGE…

CALM DOWN DAMN IT

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

Goodness gracious, I am finally got back to normal…
Being angry isn’t like me. Demonic artifacts like these are prone to augment and amplify anger and similar emotions, so I must be cautious. Seriously, I wasn’t that angry about my memories up to this moment!

My irises were glowing violet, but not like lasers, those were like flames. I nearly lost control over my facial muscles; something made me grin like a psychopath. Was that me or was it some illusion I saw in the mirror?

I need to be careful with this thing… but this sudden rush I felt could be useful in tough situations. It feels like adrenaline, just hundred times more satisfying.

Still, these glitters aren’t that bad as I first thought; it adds another level of ‘’fabulous’’ to be. With my new face, fancy girly yukata and these sparkles, I seriously have to ask myself – am I from some anime?
Bystanders will also ask themselves, is this man gay or is he gay? This is where I answer, no, but I am the most fabulous straight guy out there!

Ugh. This little ‘’exercise’’ has made me tired… my overcharge was finally used up. I can now go to bed. Ah, I can’t wait till I go under those sheets and get some deserved sleep…

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

Waking up, I can smell those pancakes like they were just by the door-

“Are you sleeping, Leon~?”

“No, I am awake for… for some time now, Koishi.”

Opening my eyes, I see the green-haired girl standing there in her cute yellowish pajama, holding a silver plate with the pleasantly smelling pancakes… and I think she has some marmalade, too!

“Oh, thank you Koishi, you shouldn’t.”

“Well, I thought you must be tired from what happened yesterday… I was very worried when fell unconscious!”

Aw, just look at that cute frown and those sad puppy eyes. It instantly makes me want to hug her and tell her everything is alright. She has a cute charm, unlike her sister, who has a much more mature and calm charm.

“But I am better now, right?”

“Sure, I was relieved when Satori said you woke up yesterday!”

“Hey, your clothes are still in the drier, so I brought you some fresh, warm clothes! It is colder outside today.”

“Thank you, Koishi, you are too kind.”

“I should have given you these yesterday, but it warm and I thought the yukata would fit you better~!”

So it was a joke, but it certainly was a fabulous one. At least I am not uncomfortable with pink clothes like many former classmates, who pointed the finger at you and screamed ‘’faggot!’’ if your clothes have even a spot of pink. Strange, I know.

“I love it. Would you mind if I keep it?”

“No, I wouldn’t mind at all! I’ll be off, then.”

“I’ll bring the plate back later!”

…
……
………
…………

Ah, the delicious pancakes and watermelon jelly combo is something that should have been invented much earlier.
Now that I showered for the second time today, I got changed into the clothes Koishi brought me.

This time I have some not-so-girly bloomer, but they are bloomers after all… I don’t expect them to have any boxers here, so it is okay. My top is a black, quite tight, turtleneck pullover and some classy black velvet trousers.

Maybe I should ask if they have some hair grease in here, I would really love to brush my hair back. Currently I look like a Gregory Peck with his hair to the side. Actually, that isn’t that bad at all. Gah, I shouldn’t lose time with this hairstyle nonsense and return that silver plate to the kitchen.

Luckily, I remember the way to the kitchen and at their current volume; you can’t miss it, either. Seems like their doors are open and they are very busy… which is rather strange, when I compare it to yesterday.

Wow, it is hectic around here. Must be Monday!

Satori is wearing what looks like a slate blue winter dress and I assume she is going out, there is no reason she would have her purse here. That expansive silver hairpin also suggests that, she wouldn’t wear it indoors.

Utsuho is wearing a gray, modern power suit with cleavage that shows only her gem. Strange, that triangle pattern seems strangely familiar… did I see it on her green skirt yesterday or not? And almighty lord, look at that long braid!

Oh, look, Koishi is fully dressed, too. What she is wearing is something I would call a female suit from the 30s which would be considered radical due to the more masculine features the jacket has. Damn, she looks like a female detective with that fedora-like hat! Only thing that does not belong in the 30s is her ponytail.


They are all busy and didn’t notice I even entered the kitchen… only Orin, the cat demon, did.
Rin is dressed casually, a black turtleneck that has dark green stripes with velvet pants that look oddly like mine, just smaller.

“Good morning, Leon. Did Koishi give you my pants?”

Giggling to herself, she makes the other three suddenly turn their attention to me. Feels uncomfortable, man.

“Good morning, everyone. Why are you all so busy?”

“Good morning! It is Monday and I must go check the reactor and discuss future plans with the kappa.”

“Greetings, Leon. My sister and I are going shopping, mostly for clothes.”

“And I’ll just stay at home and watch over the pets.”

“Oh, I see. Umm…”

[ ] Go shopping with Koishi and Satori. You don’t trust their fashion sense too well.
-[ ] Maybe you should pay Yuugi a visit.
[ ] Let them surprise you with the clothes. You’ll rather…
-[ ] Stay here with Orin and play with the pets.
-[ ] Ask Utsuho if it is okay to join her, nuclear reactors interest you!

Update is late due to many things, including personal DESPAIR and the sheer size.
But I CONTINUE TO FIGHT.

HOLY FUCK, THAT IS A HUGE UPDATE

You are forgiven because of this update, dude.

[x] Go shopping with Koishi and Satori. You don’t trust their fashion sense too well.
-[x] Maybe you should pay Yuugi a visit.

Let's go shopping with two beautiful satoris, each at our sides, holding our arms. Male residents of Underground will so jealous of us.

[X] Go shopping with Koishi and Satori. You don’t trust their fashion sense too well.
-[X] Maybe you should pay Yuugi a visit.

Horray! Massive updates!

-[X] Ask Utsuho if it is okay to join her, nuclear reactors interest you!

>>5926
Now that I noticed it, there is one "-" too much by the Utsuho option. Pretend it doesn't exist.

[x] Go shopping with Koishi and Satori. You don’t trust their fashion sense too well.
Want to pet Orin. Too bad the option is losing. Satorii~ Koishii~

Nice update. Loved it.

>>5928
[x] Let them surprise you with the clothes. You’ll rather…
-[x] Stay here with Orin and play with the pets.

Changed my mind anyway. Cute hellhound puppy~ Orin~

[X] Go shopping with Koishi and Satori. You don’t trust their fashion sense too well.
-[X] Maybe you should pay Yuugi a visit.

[x] Go shopping with Koishi and Satori. You don’t trust their fashion sense too well.
-[x] Maybe you should pay Yuugi a visit.

[X] Go shopping with Koishi and Satori. You don’t trust their fashion sense too well.
-[X] Maybe you should pay Yuugi a visit.

[Q] Go shopping with Koishi and Satori. You don’t trust their fashion sense too well.

Interestingly violent character.

[X] Let them surprise you with the clothes. You’ll rather…
-[X] Stay here with Orin and play with the pets.

Why not?

[X] Go shopping with Koishi and Satori. You don’t trust their fashion sense too well.

This will do

[X] Go shopping with Koishi and Satori. You don’t trust their fashion sense too well.

This wins, but don't expect anything too soon due to my increasing DESPAIR .

Be strong.

Just don't hang yourself

>>5954
>>5956

It is not the bad despair, it is rather the one Sartre described. Mixed with the ordinary one that keeps you down.
Also, how does my trip look?

Quite lovely actually. I like it.

can someone expalain how the whole glitter thing works?

>>5963
See, there's these vampires and...

>>5963
I am glad you asked. To clarify, the earring has a complex structure that can read emotions and give various effects according to the emotion it picks up. In the glitter case, if Leon wants to act cool, the earring picks up these emotions/feeling/whatever and reacts accordingly. Since Leon is not manly, he doesn’t get background thunder, explosions but glitters since he is quite the bishonen. Compare this effect to Teddie from P4 or to that blonde guy from Ouran High School Club.

Also, this visual effect is not related to vampires as Edward sparkles (like, his face) while Leon emits glittery dust. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

So how are things Glad? Haven't seen you on IRC for almost a week now.

Glaaad. Updaaate. Come baaack.

Updaaaaate please!

Or else I'll use emoticons. Don't make me use this.

*slap*
Wake up!

All right. I didn't want to do THAT, but you forced me.

\\(^o^)/ This story is over!

I do believe in Turtle! I do! I do!
Maybe he'll come back soon... he did leave for a while not long ago

>>6180

Fuck you, I still believe Glad will continue. Remember, he does problems with his current condition. I will wait for Glad until he got better enough to write.

>>6180
Writefags have taken longer leaves of absence than this, sometimes without excuse. Glad has one, and we will wait patiently for his return.

Yeah, look at Harker who come back after like I dunno... lost counting months.

Here, have a Satori in a wedding dress.

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

Hmm, what should I do in this critical moment? Utsuho is going to work… probably. Judging by her powers, she must be in nuclear science. It might be interesting, but I think that going out shopping with the sisters must be interesting. Each at my sides, holding my arms while we walk though the city!

“I would love to go shopping! Can I join you?”

“My intention was to surprise you with some prestigious clothes, but you can join us. It would be better that you choose your own clothes.”

“Today’s shopping will be awesome with Leon!”

“It will be certainly interesting, Koishi.”

The sisters both smile, each in her unique style. Satori’s smile is gentle, friendly and ladylike while Koishi’s is cheerful and playful.
Both have high magnitudes in cute and combined with their natural beauty-

“Alright, I’ll be going now.”

“Goodbye, Okuu! Have fun at work!”

“I always have fun at work! I’ll probably stay longer at work, so see you all in the evening!”

“Farewell, Okuu!”

“Bye, Okuu!”

“Goodbye, Utsuho.”

“We should go soon as well. It might get busy, today the new fashion collection will be released, after all. Koishi, would you be so kind and find the old overcoat for Leon, the one you bought from Rinnosuke? It is terribly cold outside.”

“Will do, sis!”

This leaves Satori, Orin and me in the kitchen. I realize that there is no need to stand and lean on the wall.
Hey, when did I lean on the wall and try to act cool? Awkward… I’ll just sit down…

“Hey Satori, what should I cook for dinner?”

“I am not sure, Orin. Maybe we will eat out today, so there will be no need to make dinner.”

“Oh, I understand. I’ll order something for myself, then.”

“Watch the house while we are away, Orin. Goodbye!”

“See you later, Orin!”

“Bye! Have fun shopping!”

Leaving the kitchen, we head straight to the large entrance, to the massive doors that lead into the magnificent demon city. On the way we see Koishi coming with the overcoat… and it is awesome! This is no ordinary coat, this is a Royal Air Force great coat replica, in black!

“Here you go, Leon! This coat might be an odd one, but it is the only thing we have for you.”

“I don’t think it is odd, I think it is stylish!”

“I am glad you like it! This coat originates from the outside, from the place you come from.”

“That is plausible, it looks just like the ones worn by the Royal Air Force. How do things get here from the outside, anyway?”

“No idea… do you know, sis?”

“Those are very complicated processes; I would advise you to seek someone who is an expert in this field… like the shrine maiden.”

Covering her slight embarrassment with a gentle blush, she makes her regular gentle smile sooooo much cuter.
Putting on our coats, we leave the great palace and step into the cold city. Wow… how did the temperature change so quickly? I was outside last night and it was cold, but not THIS cold. This is a dramatic change!

“The temperature dropped quite a bit, don’t you think so?”

“Yes, it did, sis. We had warm weather last week, mostly because the cold winds blew away from the cave entrance. Meteorologists are still studying what caused this.”

“It is definitely an extraordinary event, if you think about it.”

But we don’t mind the cold, since we are all wearing our coats and warm clothing underneath. Off we go to the shopping district!


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


Spectacular, simply spectacular! In the probably darkest corner in the demon city is the new shopping district, the one reserved for the rich and famous. I guess Satori and Koishi are both very wealthy, their palace would indicate their high status.

Due to the low light the shops have elaborate neon signs to grab your attention and differently colored lights to illuminate their wares. This would definitely attract humans, I am sure. Maybe the same marketing tricks work on youkai?

“Shall we first find clothes for Leon?”

“Ladies first.”

“Oh, thank you!”

“Hey Satori, I want that dress over there!”

Like a small child she points to the brightly illuminated beige dress. From what I know about dresses, it is something early Victorian or something noble Austrian women would wear at dances. The only differences are that it is not as large, but rather fluffy and flowing and the material is what appears to be highly reflective silk. If one looks closely it has a large, but subtle zigzag pattern from top to bottom. Lastly, it has large cleavage…

“Oh, Koishi. It is a nice dress, but it is beige. You have two similar beige dresses at home, but you lack a good red dress. And didn’t you say that you need a replacement for your favorite green dress?”

“Yes, sure, but it is so pretty! Just look at it!”

“Come on, dear. You know you can’t buy the first dress you lay your eyes on. Why are you acting so childish today?”

“Aw, sis, I don’t want to look old around Leon…”

“Very well, shall we begin our shopping spree for real? Let us first enter our favorite boutique, Western M&D.”

“What does M&D stand for?”

“Oh, those are two ancient demonic surnames, M-”

W-what did she just say? Umm, I only h-heard g-gibberish, vocals that shouldn’t be used together, fused into alien speak?

“A-alright. Let the shopping begin!”


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


Two hours passed and we are still in the same boutique. All the clerks are horned oni and they are very friendly to us. While the two girls were checking the dresses, skirts, purses and accessories, I was checking out the suits. It seems the tie is extinct or non-existent in this world and so are bow ties, but there are shirt scarves or whatever you call them.

These clothes are something I have never seen before. Imagine old-fashioned suits styles, from the 1830s to the 1930s, mixed with modern, industrially created materials. There are no plain suits, no ordinary shirts, everything has a pattern. Some are strictly geometric; others have flower patterns and other have chaotic ones… mostly thing I would not wear.

Still, two suits in particular have caught my eye.
The first is this black one. Made from the best silk, it has a subtle silver coating that under certain angles reveals the hidden pattern – a raindrop pattern. Judging by the broad shoulders and cut, I would place it in the early 1930s, but then again, I am no expert in this field.

The second suit is way more… old-fashioned. While I can’t place it in any time period, it is definitely something nobles would wear. By combining some modern elements, it is a nice retro suit. Similar to the first shirt, it is made from silk and has a yellowish coating. This one has a lightning bolt pattern.

I wonder why I like these too in particular… maybe they are the closest to the suits we have back at home. The other have outrageous pattern, like that stylish tuxedo over there… with the turtle scale pattern.

I would like to buy both, but those price tags have many zeroes and I don’t want to be a burden…

Checking over by the ladies, I see that Satori has decided which dress to buy while Koishi has narrowed down her choices to two dresses. One is beige and the other is red.

It is the same beige dress she pointed at earlier, the one with the fluffy skirt, cleavage, halter top and the subtle zigzag pattern. I didn’t notice earlier that it has detached sleeves included.

The red dress is simply lovely. It is not as fluffy, but has a brighter shine. The dress also doesn’t have a pattern. Instead, it has dark red flames rising from the hemline up to the bust. It also has less cleavage, but more back exposure.

“Hey Leon, did already find something?”

“Well, yes, I kinda did.”

“Which dress is prettier, Leon?”

[] “The beige one! I like the fluffy look!”
[] “The red one! Those flames look fantastic.”

[] I think I’ll take the black, 1930s, raindrop pattern one. With a matching tie-scarf and fedora hat, I will look great.
[] I think I’ll take the dark grey, noble, lightning pattern one. Together with a red fluffy scarf, I will look fabulous.
1st suit: imagine a heavily modified mafia suit
2nd suit: Steven Stone.

Additional information:
The reasons for my absence are several hardware failure (4 year old hard drive etc.), damage on some cables in the cellar (that prevented me from using the internet) and a busy life (ex. hiking). Despair never was a factor.
Sorry for the typos/grammatical sloppiness. I just wanted to update.

Also, to clarify it one last time – Leon sparkles like Teddie from P4, not like that goddamn vampire.

[X] “The red one! Those flames look fantastic.”
"Were you listening to me, or were you looking at the woman in the red dress?"

[X] I think I’ll take the black, 1930s, raindrop pattern one. With a matching tie-scarf and fedora hat, I will look great.

[X] “The red one! Those flames look fantastic.”

[X] I think I’ll take the black, 1930s, raindrop pattern one. With a matching tie-scarf and fedora hat, I will look great.
You had me completely sold for this option when you mentioned the fedora.

[Q] I think I’ll take the black, 1930s, raindrop pattern one. With a matching tie-scarf and fedora hat, I will look great.

Fedoras. Can't beat 'em.

[X] “The beige one! I like the fluffy look!”

Fuwa-fuwa~!

[X] I think I’ll take the black, 1930s, raindrop pattern one. With a matching tie-scarf and fedora hat, I will look great.

[x] “The red one! Those flames look fantastic.”

[x] I think I’ll take the black, 1930s, raindrop pattern one. With a matching tie-scarf and fedora hat, I will look great.

Good to see you again.

[X] “The red one! Those flames look fantastic.”
The last time I checked, Koishi didn't have much cleavage to show off. Plus, it's a turn from her normal style.
[X] I think I’ll take the black, 1930s, raindrop pattern one. With a matching tie-scarf and fedora hat, I will look great.

Glad you're back, Glad.

>>6213
we might be in for a surprise though.

Fucking fuck yes! I'm glad you're back! No, I'm not making this joke intentionally I'm just not sure what else to say.
>>6210
-ri, fuwa-fuwa~ru!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0OBIAgdyFc
Damn that's convincing
[X] “The beige one! I like the fluffy look!”
[X] I think I’ll take the black, 1930s, raindrop pattern one. With a matching tie-scarf and fedora hat, I will look great.

>>6215
That song made me write right away. Thanks.

[X] “The red one! Those flames look fantastic.”
[X] I think I’ll take the black, 1930s, raindrop pattern one. With a matching tie-scarf and fedora hat, I will look great.

Did I mention that this suit is unique, one time only?

“Koishi, I think the red dress looks amazing. Those flames are fantastic. You will look lovely in it. Why not try it on?”

“Sure, I will. This might take a while…”

“Alright, I will see what Leon has chosen in the mean time.”

Oh crap, what now? I still haven’t decided yet… both suits look nice and they are the least avant-garde of the bunch, but I can’t decide. That lightning bolt pattern looks awesome, but the other suit comes with a fedora… on second thoughts, forget the snobby noble suit and the fluffy scarf. I’ll go with the classic – the fedora and Chicago suit.

“I would like the raindrop suit, the one with broad shoulders.”

“Hmm, an interesting choice, Leon. Clerk, can he try it on?”

“Certainly, Madame Satori. Please come with me.”

Satori tells me to take my time to change. While I undress I feel slightly uncomfortable at the thought that I am actually wearing Orin’s pants… and that they actually fit me fine. Amazing how smooth and warm this silk shirt is! It fits fine, just like the trousers, but I have to wear suspenders with them. I believe this is the first time I am wearing suspenders… next I put on the black tie-scarf, which is the closest thing they have to ties. And finally, the black vest and the double-breasted, raindrop pattern jacket! Miraculously I fit in everything just fine.

Now I have to show myself.

“It fits you splendidly! Now you only lack a hat and some fine shoes.”

“I agree with Madame Satori, it fits you very well, Sir. Here is the matching hat.”

“Oh yes, the fedora.”

“Fedora? Oh, certainly, that is the outsider term for this hat. This suit was modeled after a certain type from the outside and it is the first of its kind in Gensokyo.”

“Really? Well, it does stand out from the others in the shop.”

“It is a unique piece, sewn by M#&%# himself.”

That surname… it makes your ears hurt. Ancient demon language is not meant for human ears, even if you possess about 37.5% wizard blood.
I put the hat on the instant I get it in my hands. Looking at myself in the mirror, I realize that I look manlier in this suit. No second thoughts, I’m taking it.

“We’ll take it.”

“Certainly, Madame!”

“Leon, I’ll go check on Koishi.”

“Sure, I know where I can find you.”

Steadily, I change into Orin’s pants and the turtleneck. Those are some expansive clothes, I must not damage them.

After I carefully hand the suit to the oni clerk, I get to the women’s changing rooms. As I get closer I can hear the two sisters talk – there are few in the shop and the music is quiet. Koishi is saying something to Satori… ‘’he is right, the red one is better’’, Satori replies with… ‘’I told you the beige one would have too much cleavage’’… no, Leon, don’t think too hard on this one.

And there stands Koishi, in the red dress. Red fits her well, she is absolutely gorgeous, like a princess! And I take it back; this dress is just as fluffy and flowing as the beige one on the mannequin. It may not have as much cleavage, but the way the chest part is shaped emphasizes her bust. Koishi playfully spins around, showing her exposed back, only covered by the few red laces. Did I mention it has frills everywhere?

Another thing is the flame pattern. As the fluffy, frilly skirt moves around it gives the impression of burning flames. Truly magnificent, I love it.

“I love it. You were right, Leon!”

“I am glad I could help.”

“No time to admire it, we still have about six shops ahead! I’ll get changed right away!”

Six shops? Okay, I have nothing against shopping with these two lovely ladies, but when are we going to eat- oh my, I was just rude towards Satori.

“Don’t worry, Leon, we will have something to eat after we clear the fourth shop.”

“Okay. Where is your dress, Satori?”

“I didn’t take long to choose. Do you see that slate blue one over there, the frilly one that is being taken off?”

“Yes, I do. That is a wonderful dress, Satori.”

“These shapes are new this season and I thought, why not.”

Hmm… this is definitely a Vintage cocktail dress. No doubts about it. Imagining Satori wearing it… yes, that would be a wonderful sight. The slate blue color would be a nice contrast with her pink hair and eyes and with some slate blue elbow gloves-

“Thank you, Leon. I am happy that we share fashion tastes.”

Once Koishi gets changed we continue our shopping spree. This might be tiresome, but hey, I need some clothes, right? And with these two ladies, it can’t be tiresome!


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


I never thought I had the endurance to shop for nearly six hours. Seems like I still have some overcharge in me! So, after seven shops, I have acquired many new clothes.

In the first shop I got my gangster suit and fedora. The girls both the dresses and Satori booked two other dresses for Orin and Okuu to try on tomorrow. While I didn’t get a good look, the one for Utsuho had extreme back exposure, justified, since she has wings. It is was black… or was Orin’s black?

The next shop had fancy shoes and I bought one pair for the suit, one comfortable pair for indoors and some boots for bad weather. Surprisingly, the ladies didn’t take long with shoes, they just grabbed every shoe that they fancied.

In the third shop I got my first formal men’s kimono. Satori insisted that I need one if I want to attend all the festivals held in the city, since the suits are worn mostly at parties and formal meetings. Koishi bought a kimono for Orin and one for Utsuho, too.

The fourth was a much smaller boutique where I bought two shirts, a red and a grey one. And finally, we left the dark shopping district with the neon signs and had something to eat. It was a classy restaurant with dishes you don’t see or eat often. I can’t remember what it was called, but I had marinated fish in with fried rice, crab meat and… shellfish?
Regardless, it was delicious.

In the next two shops I could finally buy some casual clothes. It was a larger shop with everyday clothes. Satori said that I should buy enough clothes to fill the wardrobe in my room, so I got many pullovers, turtlenecks, T-shirts, pants, but no jeans. My jeans, the ones I wore upon entry into Gensokyo, are apparently the only pair in existence…

Satori then remembered that we must visit an eight shop. This one is a discount shop and we bought fifteen identical yukatas, just for me. She said that clothes get badly damaged during intense spellcard duels, especially if you are a novice, so I will wear these primarily for training.

Now that the shopping is over, I remember something…
“Hey Satori, is it possible that I visit Yuugi? I want to see if she is making any progress.”

“Actually, we had the intention on visiting her today.”

“Really?”

“So Yuugi lives in an apartment near the city center?”

“She recently bought this one. Yuugi has accumulated a fair amount of wealth over the years, mostly through the bar she runs together with her friend, Yamame.”

“We also have a small surprise for you, Leon!”

“I wonder what it could be.”

Since the lift is busy we have to climb the stairs and believe me, it isn’t easy to walk into the third floor if you have been shopping for six hours before…
Koishi rings the doorbell and the blonde demon soon opens the door. Today she is wearing what appears to be a tracksuit… or not. The top might be similar, but it has no zipper, rather, it gives the impression that it is a sweater, which is quite tight around her ample chest… I hope I’ll get used to the underground demon fashion.

“Hey Koishi! What took you so long?”

“Our shopping took a little longer than expected.”

“Greetings, Yuugi.”

“Hey, Yuugi.”

“Hello! Why don’t you all step inside?”

Yuugi sends us into the tastefully decorated dining room. Her apartment is pretty, quite modern compared to the palace where Satori and Koishi live. It has a large living room, with a TV made by kappa. It might be smaller than most LCD TVs from the ‘’outside’’, but hey, it is a TV.

From this seat I have a nice view into the kitchen. Oh, look! There are my six spiced rum bottles!

In the dining room we first have some delicious tea and discuss the dramatic weather change. Two days ago it was possible to wear T-shirts, but now coats are necessary if you don’t want to catch a cold…

“Well, it could be worse. Remember last year, when it was this cold one month ago?”

“Last year’s winter was record-breaking in terms of low temperatures.”

“Anyway, did you tell him about it, Satori?”

“No, I had the intention to tell him now. Leon, today we are going to have a party in Yuugi’s and Yamame’s bar to celebrate Parsee’s birthday. If you feel well enough, we would be happy if you joined us.”

“There will be so many important people there, including people from the Moriya Corp., the shrine maiden, the kappa, maybe the Yakumo Corp. boss, we are not sure about them.”

“Well, I would love to go to the party, even thought I don’t know who Parsee is.”

“Parsee is my friend. We usually refer to her as the jealous girl, because she has a tendency to be jealous.”

“And what does she do, professionally?”

“Oh, she has a high function! She controls the import and export of our underground city and she also controls the border, especially the bridge that leads outside.”

“So she is basically a high official?”

“Yeah. We told her to turn a blind eye in your case.”

“Um… so why did the shrine maiden seek me?”

“Parsee has no authority when it comes to immigration, emigration or outsiders like you.”

“I see. There just seems to be one problem – I have no gift for her. Would the six high quality spiced rum bottles be okay? ”

“Great idea, Leon! I’m sure she would like it!”

“Not as much as you, Yuugi.”

Satori smiles Yuugi mischievously, something that is unusual for her personality. This simple remark makes Koishi giggle, likely because Yuugi likes to drink… or does she only brag about her drinking? I’ll probably see it at the party tonight.

“I meant the bottles as a joke…”

“No, I also think it would a nice gift! If it is high quality booze, so it is not meant to be wasted! By the way, what are you going to wear to the party, girls?”

“I haven’t decided yet, but I think I will wear my light blue cocktail dress.”

“Umm… I also don’t know which dress, maybe that green tea dress Satori bought me last season. What about you, Yuugi?”

“Oh, you know me. I’ll probably wear something with trousers, maybe the ‘’power suit’’, the ones kappa working for Moriya Corp. wear usually wear to such occasions.”

“What is Leon going to wear?”

Good question, Koishi… what shall I wear? If the clothes get delivered on time, then I’ll probably go with the raindrop suit, Satori said they are worn at parties like this. Yuugi leans towards me…

“It is not a formal party, so you can wear what you are wearing now. That turtleneck is from River-7, isn’t it? Good clothes, I like that brand! The kappas make good stuff.”

“Alright, if you say so.”

“So, Yuugi, tell me, what are your plans before the party?”

“What a coincidence, I wanted to ask you the same question. Well, I will go help Yamame in about half an hour, choose the songs for the karaoke… but I’ll have to distract Parsee as well. It is meant to be a surprise.”

“Why not call Kisume and have her distract Parsee?”

“I thought the same, Koishi, but I’m not sure if she can keep her distracted long enough.”

“Call her, anyway, at least she will buy you some time.”

“What about your plans, Satori?”

“Can I help Yuugi with the preparations, sis?”

“There is no need, Koishi, I will be fine on my own. I’m sure Kisume will do the job.”

Actually:
[ ] Help Yuugi with the preparations!
-[ ] Volunteer to help prepare the party with Yamame.
-[ ] Go help ‘’Kisume’’ distract the birthday kid.
[ ] Go home and rest so you can party hard.

Clothes:
[ ] It is a casual party, no need to overdress. I’ll go with the ‘’River-7’’ clothes.
[ ] I’m all in black, maybe I should change into the red shirt I bought.
[ ] Forget the ‘’casual’’ part, I’ll give everyone a powerful first impression!

Actually:
[x] Help Yuugi with the preparations!
-[x] Go help ‘’Kisume’’ distract the birthday kid.

Clothes:
[x] Forget the ‘’casual’’ part, I’ll give everyone a powerful first impression!

Holy shit, I was smiling gleefully when I see this thread was updated and furious that I missed two updates.

[x] Help Yuugi with the preparations!
-[x] Go help ‘’Kisume’’ distract the birthday kid.
[x] I’m all in black, maybe I should change into the red shirt I bought.

Two updates! In a flash!

[x] Help Yuugi with the preparations!
-[x] Go help ‘’Kisume’’ distract the birthday kid.
[x] I’m all in black, maybe I should change into the red shirt I bought.

[x] Help Yuugi with the preparations!
-[x] Volunteer to help prepare the party with Yamame.

[x] I’m all in black, maybe I should change into the red shirt I bought.

[x] Help Yuugi with the preparations!
-[x] Go help ‘’Kisume’’ distract the birthday kid.
[x] I’m all in black, maybe I should change into the red shirt I bought.

[x] Help Yuugi with the preparations!
-[x] Volunteer to help prepare the party with Yamame.

[x] I’m all in black, maybe I should change into the red shirt I bought.

Yamame~

Voting closed.
Commencing writing.
[x] Help Yuugi with the preparations!
-[x] Go help ‘’Kisume’’ distract the birthday kid.
[x] I’m all in black, maybe I should change into the red shirt I bought.

Delicious Kisume and Parsee coming up next.

“Yuugi, I want to help Kisume distract the birthday kid, so you can concentrate on the preparations in the bar.”

“Oh, Leon, you really don’t have to, I’m sure Kisume will manage somehow.”

Straightening my posture, I try to appear serious, reliable and determined to help her with this critical task. If Kisume fails, then the party will be only half as enjoyable.

“I insist. The birthday party will fail if she knows about it in advance.”

“But you must know that this might be a difficult task, right?”

“I promise I’ll do my best.”

“Can I help, too? I’m sure we’ll be able to distract her!”

“Thanks, Koishi, but I think she will get suspicious if there are three people following her.”

Yuugi is right, two aren’t that suspicious, but three people following her and trying to divert her attention are very suspicious. I think I have the plan how we’ll buy some time… since I’m an outsider and I have only seen half the city, she, as the border guard and high official around here could tell me more about it… with such a tour we could succeed, but then I’d be all exhausted from walking.

“I’ll call Kisume and tell her to come over with her vehicle.”

“Vehicle? What vehicle does she possess?”

“You aren’t used to the underground city yet, so you won’t believe me if I told you.”

“Well, she probably hasn’t got a huge flying bowl or something like that?”

Huh? Did I say something wrong? Yuugi with her jaw slightly dropped, Koishi with wide open eyes, Satori with a comical frown – everyone is gazing at me in surprise and… fear? No, this can’t be right. The blonde demon then remembers to call Kisume. They speak over the phone like old buddies… Satori stopped gazing at me and is sipping her tea again while Koishi… she is still slightly freaked out. I lean towards her and whisper…

“Did I say something wrong?”

Koishi leans even closer to me and whispers, so she doesn’t disturb Yuugi’s and Kisume’s conversation.

“Leon, are you, by chance, a psychic?”

“Why?”

“You nearly guessed it right.”

Closing her clamshell phone with a loud clap sound, the blonde demon ends the conversation with her friend, Kisume. She turns to us with a slight grin.

“Kisume is coming over and she is eager to meet you, Leon.”

“Likewise. If she is really riding a huge flying bowl, then she must be interesting!”

“How did you guess that right, Leon? She used to have a flying bowl.”

“Koishi asked me the same question… no, I don’t. You said I wouldn’t believe you if you told, so I made up the first thing that came to my mind and it was a flying saucer, but I made it even more ridiculous by imagining a flying bowl. To be honest, I still don’t believe that she is riding anything related to a flying bowl.”

“Good one, Leon, but she does. Yuugi, we’ll be leaving when Kisume picks Leon up.”

“You can stay as long as you want; there is no need to hurry now that special agent Leon is distracting Parsee!”

Smiling cheerfully, it is apparent that the oni is joking, but special agent Leon does have a nice sound to it, right? Maybe if I change it to special agent Leo… sounds cool!

“What was that?”

Golden sparkling dust appears for a brief moment as I subconsciously brushed my hair back while filled with thoughts how to act cool and all… and I feel a very subtle pain in my ear, where my earring is… somehow I didn’t feel or notice it before.

Okay, I need a good excuse for this. Should I say it is magic? No, generating such fine particles takes great control over earth, metal or related magic. Actually, I have no other excuse than ‘’it is magic I ain’t gonna explain it’’. Or maybe…

“Oh, just an illusionist trick I learned back at home.”

That was a solid excuse, but not even this excuse is foolproof – there is still Satori that is fully aware what I am thinking right now. As far as I know she has no off switch, so she constantly reads minds in her proximity…

“Nice one, you’ve got to show it at the party!”

About three minutes of tea sipping and listening to the ladies talking, I hear the door ring. It must be Kisume… and I still don’t believe that she used a huge flying bowl or saucer. I’m not sure if it is even possible to fly with such a thing, so many theories I studied speak against it.

“Oh! That must be Kisume!”

Everyone stands up and follows Yuugi to the front door… I guess I should follow them.
As the door opens, I see the girl we were expecting. Kisume is wearing a light beige Eskimo jacket. As she removes her hood she reveals her green hair and two lovely ponytails, in other words, she has twintails. She is about Koishi’s height, who is slightly shorter than me.

“Hello people! What’s up?”

“Hey Kisume, wow, you got here fast!”

“I tuned the baby last night and fixed the boosters, I just had to try them out on the way here!’’

“Alright, Kisume! Hey, this is Leon, he’ll help you distract the birthday kid.”

“Nice to meet ‘cha, Leon. So you’re an outsider?”

“Yes, I’m from the outside. It is nice to meet you, too!”

“Cool! Hey, want to go stake Parsee out? She finishes with work… in about one hour.”

“Sure! Um, there is just one thing I have to ask Satori-”

The two sisters just got ready to leave. Once Satori spots Kisume her expression turns to a slight frown… Koishi stays neutral towards her, but she isn’t too happy. Kisume seems slightly scared or embarrassed when she sees Satori.

“Hello S-Satori, hello Koishi!”

“Greetings, Kisume. What did you want to ask me, Leon?”

“Oh, um, I have a small request. Can you bring the red shirt I bought to the party? I don’t want to celebrate dressed completely in black.”

“Why yes, certainly. I’ll do that. Farewell now!”

“Goodbye all! See you at the party!”

As the two sisters leave Yuugi’s apartment, Kisume takes a long step to the side to get out of the way. It seems that Satori and Kisume don’t like each other for some reason. I wonder what happened.

“Hey Kisume, step inside!”

“Actually, I wanted to go see Parsee right away. She could finish with work earlier… it is her birthday after all. If not, I can still stake her out with Leon.”

“Good idea. Fine, see you later at the party!”

“Goodbye, Yuugi.”

“See you later.”

I grab my great coat and put it on as I head downstairs with Kisume. Her step is quick; I can barely follow the lively girl. Since I stand behind her I get a good view of her backside . It nearly makes me bite my lower lip, but I resist the urge.

Outside, I see the flying thing they have been talking about. Goodness gracious, the things that are happening to me are getting ridiculous. But that is one heavily modified bucket. No, bucket is not the right word for this thing, this thing is a small jet plane! It looks like those Harrier VTOL jump jets, using a huge metal bucket as its base frame! It has short wings, four jet engines at the back, rotatable small jet engines for vertical lift at the side… and it has enough space for seven people, three seats in the front and four seats in the back…

“What do you think?”

“This is the most awesome bucket I laid eyes upon.”

“Thanks! It technically is no longer a bucket, but an ‘’airplane’’. That is what outsiders call it, right?”

“Yes, that is what we call this.”

“Shall we fly, Leon? You will be the first passenger to experience the powerful boosters I fixed!”

“Let’s go!”

The green-haired girl simply flies on top while I struggle with the tiny ladder… no way, I’m not strong enough to pull myself up on this tiny ladder.

“Sorry man, Yuugi mentioned that you can’t fly by yourself yet and I forgot.”

Kisume gets on the ground, hugs me tightly from behind and puts me on the airplane. That was… my first hug in many years. She then opens the cockpit and I sit down in the front passenger seat, next to the pilot, where Kisume sits. Closing the cockpit, Kisume activates the jet engines…

“Tighten your seatbelt, Leon. We’ll make a little spritztuor thought the cave.”

“What about Parsee?”

“We’ll distract her by flying through the city border! The guards will call her, they will describe what happened and she will send a SMS to me if it was me crossing the border. I’ll take my time to answer it. Next thing we’ll return and cross the border again… this will keep her busy for extra thirty minutes.”

“You are a genius, Kisume.”

“Thanks, I’m smart, but I’m a genius. People say I’m a genius for building this demon fire jet airplane, but they have no idea what the Moriya Corporation is hiding in their hangar!”

Steadily, the demon fire jets lift us into the air, above the wide road… slowly, the city becomes smaller and the miniature Sun grows larger… oh my goodness, look at that thing!

“I know why you are scared and there is no reason to be frightened, the sun is powered by a cold fusion reactor and has little to no gravitational pull, it won’t incinerate us.”

“O-okay.”

Now we are far above the city… steadily, the bucket creeps forward as the tiny jet engines rotate for ninety degrees. Kisume hits four switches and… hits the pedal? This thing has a car’s pedal-
Holy crap, THIS is what I call ACCELERATION !

In about ten seconds we are outside the demon city and are entering the suburban area. This part is drastically different from the city and the old city center… some buildings aren’t even finished.

As we approach the border Kisume hits the airbrakes – many plates spring out and slow us down. Then she dives down, as if she was going to stop by the border and show them her ID. I don’t really get it – if she has this jump jet, why doesn’t she have a special permission?

Just the border guard steps outside, the dives up and hits the pedal hard, accelerating us to NECK-BREAKING SPEEDS! Now we are flying through the cave! THIS IS AWESOME!

“My phone will ring any minute now, any minute…”

And it indeed rings.

“Leon, you answer it, it will add to the confusion.”

Taking the clamshell phone into my hand, I answer it immediately.
“Hello, you are speaking to Leon.”
“Hello… Leon? Did I get the wrong number?”

She pause for a moment…
“Umm… what is that loud noise in the background?”
“That is nothing, just a few jet engines!”
“Oh, okay. Sorry for taking your time-

She pauses once again.
“Hhey did you say jet engines?
“Yes, I said jet engines.”
“Put kiss-u-me on the phone!”

Due the bad signal I heard ‘’kiss-u-me’’ instead of Kisume.
“Sorry, did you just say something about kissing?”
The green-haired pilot next to me giggles pretty loudly, then does a barrel roll the moment we leave the cave, the underground… so this is Gensokyo looks like… such beauty-

“No, I didn’t. Put Kisume on the phone, I can hear her giggle!”
“Alright, lady. Here you are, Kisume.”
I hand her the phone… now I think this wasn’t the best idea, now she has only one arm on the steering wheel and she isn’t fully focused on the road, I mean, the sky… Kisume fortunately hits the airbrakes and now we travel slowly… wow, Gensokyo is a wonderful world. The trees have no leaves and the hills look monotone, but the landscape itself is so perfectly shaped…

“Hey Parsee~! --- Hmm, are you sure it was me crossing the border? --- Well yes, I am the only person to have such a vehicle. --- Those jet engines could me working on the prototype in my garage. --- Why are you so sure it was me? --- Oh, you don’t think nobody else could pilot it… --- Well, that isn’t true. Leon was piloting it!”

Huh?

“No, it wasn’t me. Leon crossed the border. --- Yes, I know he hasn’t got the permission, but can’t you turn a blind eye? --- Why not? --- Hey, can’t you say I am his flying teacher and he is my student? --- Why not, Parsee~? --- Okay, I’ll be honest, it was me piloting it, I wouldn’t allow Leon fly that fast. --- Okay, I’ll return right now. --- Sorry that I made you fill out unnecessary forms. --- Sure, I’ll register on the way back~.”

She turns to me and gives me a suggestive wink. In any other situation I would think this wink means something… different, if you know what I mean.

“Bye, Parsee baby~!”

I could hear a loud, surprised ‘’eh’’ from the poor Parsee before Kisume hung up.

“High five, Leon!”

“High five!”

“Can’t touch this!”

Kisume bursts into laughter, uncontrollable laughter, that is. She then turns the Harrier bucket sharply around and hits the pedal a little… now we are heading back to the cave.

“Huh? Where did you learn this?”

“I saw it on outsider TV during my stay at the Moriya Corporation.”

“I see… so, did we distract her?”

“She’ll have to fill out ten pages, sure we did! Now we’ll return and apologize and invite her to some tea! We’ll buy enough time, don’t worry!”

“I hope I didn’t make a bad impression on her.”

“No way, she never takes grudges for jokes. Hold tight, I’m going to use the boosters to wake up the border patrol! Three… two… one… boost!”

SWEET MOTHER OF JESUS CHRIST- that was hell of a boost, good thing it lasts only three seconds!
I was glued to the leather seat when he hit it… it was like jumping into cold water…
The border and the suburban area blow pass us in mere seconds… Kisume then uses the airbrakes to comfortably slow down, with little to no pull forward. Steadily, we reach the place where took off… my green-haired pilot steadily flies above the streets and then slowly descends into the city center.

“Was the ride enjoyable, Leon?”

“It sure was a spritztuor .”

“I am glad you liked it!”

“Say, why doesn’t the bucket lose altitude at such low speeds?”

“I got some technology from the Yakumo Corp. that levitates stuff. It is powered by demon fire and I am supposed to test if it works properly. At low power the fire is redirected from the jet engine to the levitation machine, so it automatically stabilizes the plane if I release the gas.”

“Uh-huh. So, where is Parsee’s office?”

“Over there!”

Landing vertically, Kisume deactivates the engine and opens the cockpit. Without notice she hugs me again, this time tighter than before and descents to the ground slowly. My, that was quite something that pressed against my back…

“Hey Leon, do you have any plans how we could distract her after the tea?”

“Well… I’m an outsider and I’m new in the city, right? So how about a slow tour with your flying bucket? Parsee will show me all the important districts!”

“Simple, brilliant and we kill two birds with one stone. Deal!”

Entering the office’s lounge, I can feel the pleasant warm air against my body… it is much warmer inside. I remove my great coat and Kisume removes her Eskimo jacket… underneath she is wearing exactly what I thought – a white sweater matching her pants.

“What are you looking at, Leon?”

“N-Nothing! I just noticed that your top and Yuugi’s are quite similar.”

“Oh, yes, it is! We both like sporty clothes.”

Kisume smirks… well, I can’t deny, she is as pretty as all the other girls I met. Youkai are known to be handsome since they have a better metabolism and powerful hormones…

“Let’s wait for Parsee… she should finish with work in about… 50 minutes.”

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

I am sitting here for about 53 minutes… good thing Kisume is here, so I have someone to talk to. Suddenly a young woman with short blonde hair, dressed in a elegant women’s suit, comes down the spiral stairs. She immediately spots Kisume and me. It must Parsee… oh man, she must be angry, just look at her green eyes! They are GLOWING!

“Hello Parsee~! What’s up?”

“Oh, there are you are! You are nothing but trouble, Kisume! I had to explain why you blew past the border the second time…”

Her serious, stern expression, combined with her glowing green eyes is truly frightening… and now, she lightens up. A smirk appears on her face and the glow in her eyes disappears.

“Oh, you must be Leon. I am Parsee Mizuhashi, nice to meet you!”

She offers her hand and I promptly shake it.

“Nice to meet you, Parsee. I want to apologize for-”

“No need, I understand jokes. So, shall we go to Yamame’s bar and have some tea?”

No, we aren’t supposed to go to Yamame’s bar!

“Kisume, didn’t you promise me something?”

“Oh, certainly! Parsee, I thought we would get some take-away tea… Leon would love to have you show him the most important buildings in town.”

“Certainly, but don’t you think we should do that another day? I’m somewhat tired.”

“No, we won’t walk! We’ll take my bucket, of course!”

“Hmm. I am not sure.”

Kisume does the most convincing sad puppy eyes, ever. Aw, she is so cute like that! It even makes Parsee blush from sheer cuteness!

“Alright then, let’s go!”

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

And thus I was introduced to the concept of hot take-away tea… in Gensokyo coffee is unpopular with youkai, so they invented take-away tea. When you don’t have the time to sit down and have tea properly, which occurs often if you are employed in modern industry.

Parsee sat in the front passenger seat while I sat behind her, on the back seats. Kisume was flying slowly and steadily, she didn’t want the sugary tea to spill on her leather seats. The ‘’jealous’’ girl showed me all important buildings in the demon city, for example the police station, the two largest hospitals, the shopping districts, places where I can get the best ingredients and much more. Parsee also told many stories about some buildings.

After Kisume landed by her garage and parked the bucket jet fighter plane thing. We went inside and waited for Kisume to get changed before we continue our plans.

“That was an excellent tour, thank you again, Parsee.”

“You are welcome, Leon. You know, I’m jealous.”

“Why?”

“You simply appeared in this city and you are already quite famous. People speak about a blonde, handsome outside, a mysterious wizard who bypassed the barrier on his own.”

“Oh, those are rumors must be so exaggerated…”

“I think they aren’t. Rumors are a great thing in Gensokyo, don’t forget that-”

“I’ve got changed! Yuugi also sent me a message that we should see her at Yamame’s bar.”

Kisume, who is now wearing a pretty white winter dress, winks suggestively, indicating that all the preparations were successfully finished and the party should begin as soon as the birthday kid gets here.

“Alright, let’s go!”

Again, we get into the flying bucket and Kisume again lifts me up with a tight bear hug… this one was a little too tight, it makes my sides hurt… and this time we are all sitting with the pilot in the front seats. Off we go!

…
……
………
…………

We arrive at the Mysterious Spider. Kisume gently lands on the empty platform lot in front of the bar. I bet this platform is covered in umbrellas and tables during summer.
As we exit the bucket jet fighter, Kisume again helps me out… I thank her, but for her such a hug is something completely ordinary… nothing unusual, one would say.

The bar is barely lit inside… everyone is waiting in the darkness. Kisume runs in front of us and waits for Parsee to get close. She then rushes inside and as Parsee steps inside…

“SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY PARSEE!”

The lights go on and reveal- wow, how many friends does Parsee have? I see Satori, Koishi, Utsuho, Orin, Yuugi and many, many other guests and if I am not mistaken, then all are females… even the personnel is female, too.
And look at Parsee, she is red in the face. I bet she didn’t expect this.

While Parsee is receiving gifts from the many guests, I get changed in the restrooms. This black turtleneck may be comfortable, but I can’t be dressed in black at a birthday party, right?

After I personally hand her the six bottles of spiced rum and wish her happy birthday and best luck in future endeavors, I join the party… which just got started!

This is the plan:
Have something to eat first.
[ ] Those canapés look absolutely delicious!
[ ] Is that by chance Frutti di Mare pizza with extra shrimps?
[ ] You need sugar to party. The cake is the only option.
Sit down at the bar, have something to drink.
[ ] Start with a cola and talk to the strangers at the bar.
[ ] Have a cocktail and chat with the bartender, Yamame.
[ ] Secure your seat and get drunk with Yuugi and her friend.
There will be karaoke.
[ ] I’m not singing, no way!
[ ] If they have outsider songs… <write-in>
[ ] You know some anime opening and ending songs… <write-in>
Do you feel like dancing?
[ ] No, just no!
[ ] If there is something techno, count me in.
[ ] Wait till they have something slow-paced.
Approach some ladies, try your luck!
[ ] Approach strangers, meet new people!
[ ] Stick with your buddies… <write-in who first>

Take your time, anons, take your time.

Have something to eat first.
[x] Is that by chance Frutti di Mare pizza with extra shrimps?
only option.
Sit down at the bar, have something to drink.
[x] Have a cocktail and chat with the bartender, Yamame.
There will be karaoke.
[x] I’m not singing, no way!
Do you feel like dancing?
[x] Wait till they have something slow-paced.
Approach some ladies, try your luck!
[x] Approach strangers, meet new people!

Still haven't talked with Yamame yet... and we should mingle some before starting to focus.

>Have something to eat first.
[c] Those canapés look absolutely delicious!

>Sit down at the bar, have something to drink.
[c] Have a cocktail and chat with the bartender, Yamame.

>There will be karaoke.
[ ] If they have outsider songs… What Is Love (Haddaway)

>Do you feel like dancing?
[c] If there is something techno, count me in.

>Approach some ladies, try your luck!
[c] Approach strangers, meet new people!

>“Thanks, I’m smart, but I’m a genius. People say I’m a genius for building this demon fire jet airplane, but they have no idea what the Moriya Corporation is hiding in their hangar!”

Didn't you meant: "I'm smart, but I'm not a genius"?



[x] Those canapés look absolutely

[x] Secure your seat and get drunk with Yuugi and her friend.
There will be karaoke.
[x] I’m not singing, no way!

[x] No, just no!

[x] Stick with your buddies… SATORI!

>>6236
Yes, I meant just that.
Fucking typos.

[x] Those canapés look absolutely delicious!
[x] Have a cocktail and chat with the bartender, Yamame.
[x] I’m not singing, no way!
[x] Wait till they have something slow-paced.
[x] Approach strangers, meet new people!

[x] Cake~
[x] Yamame~
[x] Karaoke
-[x] Portal-Still Alive
-[x] Ga-Ga-Ga Ga-Ga-Ga-GaoGaiGar!
[x] Slow dancing later
[x] Strangers~
Good luck counting the votes.

[X] Those canapés look absolutely delicious!

[X] Have a cocktail and chat with the bartender, Yamame.

[X] I'm not singing, no way!

[X] If there is something techno, count me in.

[X] Approach strangers, meet new people!

Voting closed.

[x] Those canapés look absolutely delicious!
[x] Have a cocktail and chat with the bartender, Yamame.
[x] I’m not singing, no way!
[x] Wait till they have something slow-paced.
[x] Approach strangers, meet new people!

Writing shall commence today, but it might take longer.

>>6251

Hooray!

>>6251
*cough, cough* longer *cough*

>>6257
>>6257

Or it might never be done at all.

As much as I'd love this to continue, you don't have to write if you feel pressured to do it. If you can't think of anything put it on hiatus for a short while so you can fish up some ideas. Please don't leave though you're the closest person I know on THP and you're awesome for writing a story.

>>6260
Not agree.
It's because you have someone waiting for your story that you have to keep writing.
If you're writing just for yourself, that's depressing. If you're writing, without paying attention to your readers, that's shooting yourself.

TL;DR: Bump for update.

>>6260
>>6263
To be honest the rest reason for a writer to write is the enjoyment of the story and seeing his/her vision unfold.

Too much for others basically leads to attention whoring and out of control voters

Too much on one self leads to railroading and a repeat of the YAF fiasco.

I think Glad was just being snide at the person saying "longer"

I'll be waiting. Feel free to come back anytime you want.

Still waiting. Only story on my watched list on this board and I check it every time.

This story is now dead. But I'll keep bumping it, still hoping for an update.

>>6540
God...damn you for getting my hopes up. It's exactly what I'd have done in your place though

Please use sage when begging the writer to come back. If they have any sense, they'll have their own thread watched and will see your reply regardless of which page it's on.

>>6542
>please use sage
>DOESN'T USE SAGE

...Come on. Really?

>>6543
In his defence, his askance of saging was conditioned to cases where people are asking for writer to come back. As he wasn't doing that, technically he wasn't required to sage himself, at least within his own ruleset.

>>6543
You're right. I guess there is a tiny, tiny chance that someone might update before I hit the reply button.