Keine Quest II - Shikigami Trio

[IdiotsOpposite]

>"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.

You finish the journey, which doesn't take much longer at all. You step into the (empty, this time) house, and Neneru rushes into the kitchen before you can do anything, checking the whole area out. It occurs to you that this is her first time in the revamped room.

"I found a fish!" she yells, and indeed, in the icebox is a rather large deboned cod.

[Hanzo K.]

>Chuckle. a bit. "Well, perhaps we can have that for dinner then.
>Is it large enough to serve all three of us?

[IdiotsOpposite]

>Chuckle. a bit. "Well, perhaps we can have that for dinner then.
>Is it large enough to serve all three of us?

Oh, definitely. It's large enough to serve five heavy eaters, you think.

[Hanzo K.]

>Chuckle a bit. "Well, I suppose tonight will be a lesson on cooking, hmm?"
>Let's look for seasonings and things to cook with the fish~!

[IdiotsOpposite]

>Chuckle a bit. "Well, I suppose tonight will be a lesson on cooking, hmm?"
>Let's look for seasonings and things to cook with the fish~!

Neneru claps her hands in delight as you open one of the cupboards to find that it's filled with all sorts of spices, all in neat little bottles. Apparently Patchouli paid special attention to this area of the house, as there are a great many things you don't even recognize, as well as the Japanese spices you know well. Knowing Patchouli, it's possible she packed every spice she knew in there.

[Darkoda]

>Let's go with a simple but tasty recipe for the first cooking lesson.
>Note to look up all of those spices later.

[IdiotsOpposite]

>Let's go with a simple but tasty recipe for the first cooking lesson.
>Note to look up all of those spices later.

You make a mental note to look up a lot of spices. Maybe at some point tonight. But for now, you grab a couple of spices for a simple cod recipe that you know. Neneru watches excitedly as you grill the cod up, seasoning as you go. Meanwhile, Shiku has been helpful in setting up plates and putting together some ingredients for a basic leaf tea. It doesn't take long for her to finish the tea and for you and Neneru to finish the cod, as the three of you sit down for a small dinner. Neneru voraciously digs into her food, occasionally stopping to grin, while Shiku takes a more reserved approach. "She likes fish," is all Shiku says in response.

[Hanzo K.]

>Chuckle warmly. "Fish is quite healthy after all."
>Let's dig in!

[IdiotsOpposite]

>Chuckle warmly. "Fish is quite healthy after all."
>Let's dig in!

You dig into the cod, which you find to actually taste quite good. It seems you haven't lost your edge for cooking fish. Neneru and Shiku seem to be enjoying it too, and you have to remind Neneru more than once to slow down a bit. When you finish, Shiku leans back with a satisfied sigh.

"I haven't had a good fish in a long time... they're hard to find in the Forest of Magic, you know. Good ones, that is."

[Hanzo K.]

>Nod. "You remember that lake where we ran into that troublesome ice fairy? That is one of the good places for finding fish. Occasionally some of the villagers will go fishing there."
>Chuckle a bit. "I'm just glad I haven't lost my edge."

[IdiotsOpposite]

>Nod. "You remember that lake where we ran into that troublesome ice fairy? That is one of the good places for finding fish. Occasionally some of the villagers will go fishing there."
>Chuckle a bit. "I'm just glad I haven't lost my edge."

As soon as you finish speaking, Neneru slams her palms on the table. It's quite unexpected from her, actually. "I wanna fight her again, in a real match this time! She cheated last time, but I can win in a fair fight!" Shiku just grins, muttering "so impulsive..."

[Hanzo K.]

>Chuckle a bit. "You can take care of that once you've trained for at least a week. We'll visit the dojo tomorrow to see about getting hand-me-down equipment, then we'll take it to the Mansion to be reinforced, and while that's happening, you can train."

[IdiotsOpposite]

>Chuckle a bit. "You can take care of that once you've trained for at least a week. We'll visit the dojo tomorrow to see about getting hand-me-down equipment, then we'll take it to the Mansion to be reinforced, and while that's happening, you can train."

Neneru sighs. "A whole week? But what if she's forgotten about me by then?" Nevertheless, she seems to brighten up after you mention the Mansion. "Yay, we get to play with Sakuya again!" she yells out a bit too loudly. Shiku, who's been drinking her tea, gives you a small grin. "You just keep making the girl's day, ya know?"

[Hanzo K.]

>Chuckle a bit. "Well, it just happens. But I doubt that fairy will remember anyone, except for Reimu and Marisa."

[IdiotsOpposite]

>Chuckle a bit. "Well, it just happens. But I doubt that fairy will remember anyone, except for Reimu and Marisa."

Shiku tilts her head in curiosity. "I've never known a fairy to remember anyone at all - why those two in particular?"

[Hanzo K.]

>Chuckle. "Because of the severe beating they gave her. You see, fairies generally remember one thing. Severe beatings. Yuuka Kazami, Reimu Hakurei, and Marisa Kirisame, are three examples of people that fairies tend to remember easily."

[IdiotsOpposite]

>Chuckle. "Because of the severe beating they gave her. You see, fairies generally remember one thing. Severe beatings. Yuuka Kazami, Reimu Hakurei, and Marisa Kirisame, are three examples of people that fairies tend to remember easily."

Shiku shudders a bit. "Even I've heard stories about Yuuka... from what I've heard, she'll torture people to death for just getting within a mile of her garden. Those... those aren't true, are they?"

[Hanzo K.]

>"Well, she's certainly dangerous. I actually intended to get her involved in the little Incident I resolved. But it seems I overestimated their power."
>What all do we know about Yuuka?

[IdiotsOpposite]

>"Well, she's certainly dangerous. I actually intended to get her involved in the little Incident I resolved. But it seems I overestimated their power."
>What all do we know about Yuuka?

You know about the same as everyone else in the village: She's an extremely powerful youkai who happens to be extremely touchy about her garden. One person in the village, a carpenter actually survived an encounter with Yuuka after touching her sunflowers - he touched the flower, so she "touched" his arm. Amazingly, he's still able to produce fine work with but a single hand. There is a general warning in the village - if for some reason you find it necessary to travel to the Garden of the Sun, do not touch the flowers.

Of course, you also remember that tidbit of information you found from the book underground. Even Yuuka was little once, apparently.

[Hanzo K.]

>"Well, it's a common rule among the villagers that if you have to go to the garden, don't touch the flowers. There's a carpenter in the village who once made that mistake, but he's still extremely capable with just the one hand."
>Smile. "But I don't think we'll need to go there any time soon, if at all."
>Pause. "I wonder if she knows of Blazeberry tea... Perhaps she would be able to cultivate it even up here. You see, she's a very skilled gardener, due to being a Flower Youkai".

[IdiotsOpposite]

>"Well, it's a common rule among the villagers that if you have to go to the garden, don't touch the flowers. There's a carpenter in the village who once made that mistake, but he's still extremely capable with just the one hand."

Shiku looks stunned. Even Neneru has stopped fidgeting and bouncing. "That bad...?" is all Shiku can say.

>Smile. "But I don't think we'll need to go there any time soon, if at all."

"Good!" Neneru says, quite firmly. "She doesn't sound nice at all!"

>Pause. "I wonder if she knows of Blazeberry tea... Perhaps she would be able to cultivate it even up here. You see, she's a very skilled gardener, due to being a Flower Youkai".

Shiku nods. "Understandable -  although I really can't say for certain. Perhaps if we ever see her, we could ask?"

Through the window behind Shiku, you can see the sun setting. It actually looks rather nice.

[Hanzo K.]

>"Perhaps. I might see about having one of the Tengu deliver a letter to her."
>Smile a bit. "I daresay she'd enjoy the challenge of making plants like Blazeberries bloom in a place that they normally can't. Most powerful Youkai always enjoy a good challenge, just like anyone else. Oni are a good example of such."
>Yeah, that sun sure is beautiful.... "Quite a lovely sunset, isn't it?"

[IdiotsOpposite]

>"Perhaps. I might see about having one of the Tengu deliver a letter to her."
>Smile a bit. "I daresay she'd enjoy the challenge of making plants like Blazeberries bloom in a place that they normally can't. Most powerful Youkai always enjoy a good challenge, just like anyone else. Oni are a good example of such."

Shiku nods. "Yeah. Seems like most powerful humans are the same way - Marisa'd never turn down a challenge if you gave it to her properly. Or at least, when she was younger she wouldn't. How about you, Keine?"

>Yeah, that sun sure is beautiful.... "Quite a lovely sunset, isn't it?"

The two youkai with you turn and stare - they hadn't noticed it earlier. "Wow..." Neneru utters, entranced. Shiku squints a bit into the sun before asking "Is... is that a person?" A closer look reveals that there is indeed someone flying toward you... and they have something rather large with them.

[Hanzo K.]

>"....What."
>Sigh, no rest for the wicked, as they say. "We'd better see what's going on this time."
>Let's put dinner on hold and go see who that is.

[IdiotsOpposite]

>"....What."
>Sigh, no rest for the wicked, as they say. "We'd better see what's going on this time."

Shiku nods before turning to Neneru. "Neneru, stay here for now - if it's not a major threat, I'll whistle." For once serious, Neneru nods without a word.

>Let's put dinner on hold and go see who that is.

With the figure heading straight towards you and vice versa, it doesn't take you long to catch up with Fujiwara no Mokou, who seems to be carrying a bound and gagged Aya under her left arm. Mokou grins and waves with the right arm.

"Yo, Keine! Told ya I'd stop by, didn't I? You should have been there, me and Kaguya were tearing through the streets! I got 13 kills on her tonight!"

[Hanzo K.]

>Sigh amusedly. "And you managed to snag Aya in the doing I see."
>Is Aya out cold?
>Chuckle. "You're late for dinner. It's cod."

[IdiotsOpposite]

>Sigh amusedly. "And you managed to snag Aya in the doing I see."

Mokou looks down, as if just noticing the bound tengu she's holding. "Oh, right, her... did you know that even if you're faster than anyone else, speed doesn't help if you're already grabbed?"

>Is Aya out cold?

Nope. In fact, she's currently giving you the second most venomous glare you've ever received. She can't do much with her hands and feet tied together, though, and she can't say much with the cloth wrapped in her mouth.

>Chuckle. "You're late for dinner. It's cod."

Mokou grins. "Sweet. Can't imagine where you'd find cod here, though. Isn't that more of a sea fish?"

[Hanzo K.]

>Smirk. "Let's just say we obtained it via the upgrade. You'll love it when you see it."
>Pause.
>"But what should we do about the bird? We can't let her loose right away, but we also can't hold her forever."
>Return the glare with one of our own, the sort we generally reserve for those who threaten the village.

[IdiotsOpposite]

>Smirk. "Let's just say we obtained it via the upgrade. You'll love it when you see it."
>Pause.
>"But what should we do about the bird? We can't let her loose right away, but we also can't hold her forever."

Mokou shrugs. "Ya know, I hadn't planned this out beyond 'give Aya to Keine, offer to roast'. We could always take her to the new place and figure things out from there." Behind you, you can hear Shiku loudly whistling.

>Return the glare with one of our own, the sort we generally reserve for those who threaten the village.

You and Aya are now glaring at each other. This actually looks somewhat comical.

[Hanzo K.]

>......Okay, now this is just silly, we're starting to act like Mokou.
>"Well, I knew I should have sprung for the detention chamber."
>Sigh. "We'll have to take her to Reimu in the morning, she'll have a solution. Failing that, leave her in the Yama's care for a much-needed and lengthy lecture."
>"We'll keep her in the reinforced chamber for now I suppose."