Keine Quest II - Shikigami Trio

[IdiotsOpposite]

>Sigh.

You sigh, again. Something about these immortals...

>"Well, he's an old man after all, and old people need their sleep. He isn't immortal like you and Mokou, or exceptionally long-lived like myself, Shiku, and Neneru. So he needs his rest to continue guiding the village."

Kaguya sighs herself. "Oh, fine, I'll make my next victory a little quieter." Mokou pipes up, leaning against the wall, with "you mean your next defeat, right?" Kaguya just ignores her, turning back to you.

"So did you actually want to visit or are you just here to tell me not to do things? Oh, and have you seen the news lately?"

[Hanzo K.]

>"The news...Ah, you must be speaking of the incident that was recently resolved, correct?"

[IdiotsOpposite]

>"The news...Ah, you must be speaking of the incident that was recently resolved, correct?"

Kaguya shakes her head, now openly grinning. "Oh, no, I mean the article Aya wrote about you! I think I have it around here somewhere..." she says as she stands up and starts looking around the room. "I do have to ask, what did you do to her? I haven't seen anything so scathing in a century at least!"

[Darkoda]

>"Hmm? Unless she got mad that I erased the history of those pictures she took of us earlier....considering that it's her, that's probably it."
>Let's see the damage and if we need to administer some headbutts later.

[IdiotsOpposite]

>"Hmm? Unless she got mad that I erased the history of those pictures she took of us earlier....considering that it's her, that's probably it."
>Let's see the damage and if we need to administer some headbutts later.

"Aha!" Kaguya triumphantly shouts, pulling out a brand-new Bunbunmaru edition. You can clearly see on the front page, in big words, the following headline:

Human Protector takes Youkai Prisoners as Slaves

[Hanzo K.]

>Eyeroll. "She was told they were shikigami, but she never asked the terms of the contract."
>Sigh. "I wonder if her becoming a shikigami would mellow her out."

[IdiotsOpposite]

>Eyeroll. "She was told they were shikigami, but she never asked the terms of the contract."
>Sigh. "I wonder if her becoming a shikigami would mellow her out."

Kaguya rolls her eyes. "Aya? Mellow? Me'n Mokou'd give up our little feud before that happens. Isn't that right, Mokou?" Mokou grins, yelling "never happen!" to her. Kaguya rolls up the newspaper and hands it to you. "Here, I don't need this anymore. But... I know the tengu still read her articles, so you might want to avoid Youkai Mountain for a bit. Just a bit of Lunarian advice, since we're so unspeakably wise, you know," she says with a smirk.

[Hanzo K.]

>Sigh. "Well, she could always have a bad run-in with Yukari. And Mokou? Remind me to give her a good headbutt if I catch her on a full moon."
>Let's read the article.

[IdiotsOpposite]

>Sigh. "Well, she could always have a bad run-in with Yukari. And Mokou? Remind me to give her a good headbutt if I catch her on a full moon."
>Let's read the article.

Mokou grins. "Sure thing, boss. Although given it's Aya, she's probably lurking around here right now..."

The article is the sort of thing you've come to expect from Aya. The contents range from nuggets of truth (things like "Keine found the youkai in an abandoned house in the Forest of Magic") to distortions of the truth ("she told them that they were to become her shikigami, akin to youkai servitude") to outright lies ("she even called in the youkai magician Patchouli to trap them in her house with magic!") Someone definitely needs a punishment later.

[Hanzo K.]

>Eyetwitch. "Yes, she certainly does need a punishment."

[IdiotsOpposite]

>Eyetwitch. "Yes, she certainly does need a punishment."

Mokou grins. "Hey Keine. I got a great idea. Let's storm Youkai Mountain. C'mon, I'm immortal, you've got your shikigami, we could take 'em." Kaguya just giggles at the idea.

[Hanzo K.]

>Sigh. "You know they aren't strong enough to fight Tengu yet."
>"And besides, we don't have Kaki right now, she's training with Ran out at Yukari's."

[IdiotsOpposite]

>Sigh. "You know they aren't strong enough to fight Tengu yet."
>"And besides, we don't have Kaki right now, she's training with Ran out at Yukari's."

Mokou sighs. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean this sort of thing can just go unchallenged, ya know? Wait, here's an idea. Kaguya, you said last night that our battles have started to get a bit boring, yeah? Whaddya say we go fight someone else for a change? Like, say, the Tengu lands?"

Kaguya chuckles at the prospect. "Why Mokou," she says, "I never thought I'd see the day you suggested we fight on the same side."

[Hanzo K.]

>Grin. "That could do the job. be sure to give Aya a few good whacks for me, would you?"
>"Oh, Mokou, don't forget to give her a few headbutts for me."

[IdiotsOpposite]

>Grin. "That could do the job. be sure to give Aya a few good whacks for me, would you?"
>"Oh, Mokou, don't forget to give her a few headbutts for me."

Mokou grins. "Of course. And then when we get back, Kaguya, I'm going to tear you to pieces for what you did to me last night, you hear?" Kaguya grins back at her, yelling out "the only one doing any tearing to pieces will be me!" The two of them head out, leaving you alone with Neneru and Shiku in Kaguya's room. Before they're out of earshot, though, Mokou turns back and yells back to you. "Yo Keine, I'll be by your house tonight! I'll bring you a nice gift!"

[Hanzo K.]

>Chuckle a bit. They're almost like kids, aren't they? "Oh, a word of warning Mokou, only Shiku, Neneru, Kaki, and myself can open the house right now. Patchouli set a locking spell."
>"Well, I suppose we should be heading back, correct? We can visit Sakuya tomorrow."

[IdiotsOpposite]

>Chuckle a bit. They're almost like kids, aren't they? "Oh, a word of warning Mokou, only Shiku, Neneru, Kaki, and myself can open the house right now. Patchouli set a locking spell."
>"Well, I suppose we should be heading back, correct? We can visit Sakuya tomorrow."

Shiku nods. "Would be a good idea. Neneru could use a bit of additional training, at least. And maybe I can get in a match or two with Meiling." Neneru bounces excitedly on Kaguya's bed. "Yay, this means I can get more ninja training!" The three of you start walking out the door, but are interrupted by Eirin, who looks stern - more than usual, that is.

"I don't know what you did that got Mokou and Kaguya actually working together," she says, "and I'm not sure I want to, but you'd better tell me. I don't want Reimu to be on my tail about another incident."

[Hanzo K.]

>"Don't worry, Head Elder Saku wanted them to either fight further away, or cut down on the explosions when they do fight. They were interrupting his sleep. Then we found out about Aya being particularly slanderous, and then they had the idea to go duke it out at the Mountain instead of the forest. Maybe having a little collateral damage in the process."
>Nod. "If you should worry about anyone, it's Aya. They'll probably put their fight on hold to take a few whacks at her."
>Smirk a bit. "I did say to give her a few hits for me after all."

[IdiotsOpposite]

>"Don't worry, Head Elder Saku wanted them to either fight further away, or cut down on the explosions when they do fight. They were interrupting his sleep. Then we found out about Aya being particularly slanderous, and then they had the idea to go duke it out at the Mountain instead of the forest. Maybe having a little collateral damage in the process."
>Nod. "If you should worry about anyone, it's Aya. They'll probably put their fight on hold to take a few whacks at her."
>Smirk a bit. "I did say to give her a few hits for me after all."

Eirin sighs. "I can already tell this won't end well... ah well, at least it'll give me a chance to practice medicine. I mean no offense, but the people in the village just don't get sick enough for me to really practice my art."

[Hanzo K.]

>Smile. "No offense taken. Besides, the less that medicines are needed, the better off people are. Ounce of prevention and all that."
>"Well, we'll be off. Feel free to visit the next you come by the village, you'll find that my house is much more accommodating to guests."
>Let's head for home.

[IdiotsOpposite]

>Smile. "No offense taken. Besides, the less that medicines are needed, the better off people are. Ounce of prevention and all that."
>"Well, we'll be off. Feel free to visit the next you come by the village, you'll find that my house is much more accommodating to guests."
>Let's head for home.

Eirin nods, turning away. "I'll be sure to do that next time - I may even have finished my new drug by then. See you around, Keine."

The three of you head for home - it's getting on into late evening now, after all. Along the way, Shiku decides to ask you a couple of questions.

"So, Keine... is there any chance that you could get Mokou to stop feuding with the Princess? I mean, just to start, she'd be a lot more reliable for training if she's not... ya know, dead. A lot."

[Hanzo K.]

>"Well, they've been at it for far longer than I've been alive. Far longer than anyone still living in the village even."
>Nod. "I've learned that sometimes you need something to do. You see, those two will be alive for long after even we die. And doing that is a way for them to fill their time, and remain among the sane."

[IdiotsOpposite]

>"Well, they've been at it for far longer than I've been alive. Far longer than anyone still living in the village even."
>Nod. "I've learned that sometimes you need something to do. You see, those two will be alive for long after even we die. And doing that is a way for them to fill their time, and remain among the sane."

Shiku nods, sighing. "I suppose you are right in that regard. I mean, I'd wish they would find something more productive to do, but I suppose you need something that doesn't get boring after a while. But do you think there's any way at all for them to even suspend it? Just for a week or a month maybe?"

[Hanzo K.]

>Nod. "I'll see about getting Mokou to not fight Kaguya for a little while."
>Fistpalm. "I know! Since we have extra rooms now, we can have Mokou move in for a while."

[IdiotsOpposite]

>Nod. "I'll see about getting Mokou to not fight Kaguya for a little while."
>Fistpalm. "I know! Since we have extra rooms now, we can have Mokou move in for a while."

Shiku nods and gives a surpisingly warm smile. "That'd definitely be nice. Then we could use that reinforced room downstairs and train."

Quest Added!
A New (Temporary) Purpose
Convince Mokou to abandon her feud with Kaguya... just for a little while.

Neneru gives a little twirl in the air, shouting out "We should get Sakuya to move in with us too! That'd be really cool!"

[Hanzo K.]

>Sigh amusedly. "No, Sakuya has her job at the Mansion to do. I wouldn't dream of taking Remilia's prized Chief Maid away."
>"But I believe that reinforced room would be a good training area. We could even get some training equipment for you to work on when Mokou isn't available."
>Let's head home, we can discuss things with Mokou tomorrow.

[IdiotsOpposite]

>Sigh amusedly. "No, Sakuya has her job at the Mansion to do. I wouldn't dream of taking Remilia's prized Chief Maid away."

A very good idea, although that doesn't stop Neneru from sighing and saying "Sakuya needs less to do!"

>"But I believe that reinforced room would be a good training area. We could even get some training equipment for you to work on when Mokou isn't available."
>Let's head home, we can discuss things with Mokou tomorrow.

Shiku tilts her head curiously, which in mid-flight causes her balance to shake a bit. "Training equipment? Whaddya mean?"

You're actually nearly home now - the three of you can fly surprisingly fast.

[Hanzo K.]

>"Training dummies, and the like."
>Wasn't there a Dojo somewhere in the village? Perhaps we could procure training equipment there.

[IdiotsOpposite]

>"Training dummies, and the like."

Shiku grins. "Yeah, see, that'd be nice. I just hope whatever ya find can take a good hit from a youkai."

>Wasn't there a Dojo somewhere in the village? Perhaps we could procure training equipment there.

Indeed there is. The humans of the village all learn basic anti-youkai training, actually. Just in case.

[Hanzo K.]

>"Well, we'll just have to have reinforcement spells put on them then, so they don't break as easily."
>Let's head home and get dinner ready.