>Food takes priority! Time to seek food!>The nearest and easiest-to-reach place with food is the Human Village... Yuuka's place is closer, but she's not the most generous.
>Do we have any money?
> Make sure to get cleanish clothes on!>You pull on a clean set of your everyday red-white miko outfit. It's almost too big, since you have lost a lot of weight over the past few months of living in medium-severity poverty.
>Self Inventory>Self Inventory:
>Shrine Inventory>Shrine Inventory:
>Recent Encounters>Well, since the divine spirits incident involving the Taoists, the only encounter you really had was with Yukari, Suika, Marisa and Sakuya last night, during the party.
>Anything else we need to know?>There is nothing else you need to know.
>Grab some amulets and spellcards before heading off
>Lock up the shrine or atleast hide any valuables, since we don't need Marisa stealing them.>You fly off from the now-locked shrine, keeping vigilant for surprise attacks. You manage to fly to the Human Village without being heckled.
>Grab gohei and take flight!
>Carefully watch the ground below us for any suprise attacks.
>Relationships>Relationships:
>Who owes us money?
>Who's easy to mooch off of?
>Hmm...Why was this party held anyways?>It was Yukari's idea. Blame her.
>How's our pain? If the headache is too bad maybe we could get some painkillers from Eirin. ...She doesn't mind if I don't pay upfront after all...>You don't need medicine, it's just a dull ache keeping you from falling asleep, really.
>Now how do I go about getting money...?>You could:
>Options?
> Relation with the Human Village?>Everyone knows you as the "red-white miko" and nothing else, except for Keine. You are indifferent with each other, and on polite acquaintance terms for now.
> Does that include Akyu?>Akyu knows your name, remembering both your name and you yourself as her ability would allow her to. She doesn't really care, much.
> Visit Akyu, she clearly would know how important we are, and how bad it would be for Gensokyo, and the Human Village, if we were to starve to death.>You head towards the Hieda household, dodging a few over-excited children.
> Enter, and say hello, and any other plesentaries which are custom on Gensokyo's Human Village.>You enter the Hieda household, where Akyu is busy writing the Gensokyo Chronicle. Your stomach rumbles so loud that she hears, and chuckles quietly.
> Think of a topic you want to discuss with Akyu, even if you don't actually want the information... over lunch.>You decide to ask her if anything interesting has happened, to distract you from the food...
> Ask her if you can have a bite or two of that meal. As pleasently as you can without looking desperate.>Akyu smiles, "Oh, sure. Help yourself. Finish it off if you want, I'm not hungry."
> Eat, while wondering why Keine would be fearing exile for kissing a human, albeit, a hermit. Not to mention why the Human Village would ever exile Keine, seeing as she's their main protector.>Keine's probably over-reacting.
> Is the human village's general populus aware that Keine is a Half-Beast? And is the picture of Keine's normal or her Hakutu form?
>Food...~>Akyuu sees you about to do something, and smiles, "No need to thank me. We can't have Gensokyo's primary shrine maiden dying of starvation.
>Almost do something to represent our satisfaction at having been fed, but stop just before we do.
>Risque? What exactly makes this photo so dangerous?
>What time of day is it? If we can't tell, ask Akyuu.>Akyuu answers your question with, "Quarter past nine in the morning."
>How are we supposed to find Aya let alone catch her? We'd need>Aya's probably at home or fighting wth Hatate. She has little priorities.Nazrina lot of luck to find that reporter with ease.
>And eve if finding her is easy, how could we stop her from leaking the photo to the public?
>Think about our memories of Mokou.
>While we're dealing with Aya, do we know why she and Hatate are fighting? Depending on the reason, we might be able to kill two birds with one stone.>Hatate and Aya are fighting to eliminate the other from the journalism world.
>How do we normally find Yukari?
>Consider fanservice for cash.>Should you really do that with so many kids around? They aren't at school today.
>Finish food and and thank Akyuu cheerfully for feeding us.>Akyuu smiles, "Glad you enjoyed it."
>Choose: Steal and Destroy the evidence.>You head out of the Hieda household and fly to Aya's house. Knowing her habits, she's left the pictures on her desk to print into her newspaper.
>Lets head out to find Aya then!
> Wonder if maybe asking Marisa for help in blowing stuff up before coming here would have been the more prudent course of action.>She's also more skilled in stealing than you are. Well, not so much "more skilled" as "has it as a recurring hobby".
> Weigh up the odds that you could persuade Aya to not publish the photos instead of destroying them, which would result in an angry Tengu [And a happy one, in Hatate]>It would take more charisma than Remilia has to persuade Aya not to publish such a 'juicy' story. Maybe you couldn't destroy them and just give them to Keine? From what Akyuu says, there are several different photos.
>What do we normally do when Aya tries something like this?Normally, you fight her and confiscate the photographs to destroy them if you beat her.
>Why do we care if Aya and Hatate fight each other by the way?>They're extremely reckless. Already they've racked up quite a lot of damage costs. And they started fighting two days ago. Next thing you know, they could fight near the Hakurei Shrine and destroy some of it!!
On one hand, Momiji dislikes Aya. On the other, she'd likely warn Aya anyway and is liable to see us. We'd have to confront Aya anyway over her fight with Hatate....>Maybe resorting to stealing them would work if she disagrees to dispose of them herself.
>Approach with caution. Don't show hostility, but be ready for anything should they attack.>You approach them cautiously, but Aya walks over rather casually with a friendly smile. Momiji follows, looking rather perky.
>Examine Aya and Momiji
>"Woah, what happened to you? You look like you've been through the wringer..."
> Consider the probobility that Hatate is responsiable for the tearing of clothing>Aya laughs, almost manically, "Funny you should ask!! Just been in a fight with Hatate. Sent her plummeting unconscious onto the rocks at the foot of the mountain! Bitch put up a fight, but I think she's out of the way now! Ha-ha-haaaa~!!!"
>And you look more hyper than usual.">"Just happy because I finally eliminated my arch rival, for good!!" Aya's voice echoes. Momiji nearly chokes on her own breath.
>"Don't you think that killing someone over a newspaper is a bit extreme?">"Tch, I knew you'd kill Sanae, given the chance." Aya retorts, with a jokey grin.
>Momiji is right; all killing Hatate shows is that you're more heartless and cruel, and I don't think that's something to be proud of.>Aya groans, "I told you she might NOT be dead!! Get your head in the damn game!!"
>Aya's finally lost it!>Momiji blinks, "Hm?" she then leans forward, whispering, "All this fighting has sent Aya insane! I'm serious, just stay calm and happy. She's not in hyper-tengu-voyeur mode anymore, Reimu, she's in murder mode! I'm faking staying happy to not set her off again!"
>"Momiji, you seem to be in a good mood, did something good happen?"
>Watch out for Aya. If she's lost her sanity, she could try to kill us for any reason, or none at all.
>"Those are some interesting photos indeed.">Aya jumps frantically, excited, "Aren't they?! Look through them!! DO IT!!!"
>Consider odds for knocking Aya out and dragging her to Eirin for a psych test.
>"Just where did you leave Hatate again?">Aya grins, "Right on the rocks!! I'll show you!!"
>First sign of Aya flipping out and attacking, Fantasy Seal to face.
>Hatate needs medical attention NOW>Aya stops, and sends you a shocked glance.
>"Wouldn't your victory be even better if you took her to Eirin and had her patched up? Not only would she live to remember your victory, but she'd be in your debt for saving her."
>Let's get Hatate to Eirin, then we can take down Aya and drop her off as well while we try to figure out why she jumped off the deep end.>Aya jumps down and grabs Hatate, throwing her over her shoulder with enough confidence to rival Marisa.
>If she attacks us or Hatate, blast her and we'll get Momiji to help us drag both of them to Eientei.
>Abilities>ABILITIES:
>Wonder if Age is finally getting to Aya.>You've heard of tengu cracking like that before... usually it's repressed anger.
>Arrive at Eientei?
>Manipulation of auras? Elaborate>You aren't too sure of it yourself. It has something to do with the extreme power of your paper amulets, as you can manipulate them to actually hurt.
>"Hello Reisen, we'd like to get Hatate patched up.">Reisen nods, with an understanding look. "Of course."
>Preferably while she was still alive.
>We're behind Aya where she can't see us right? Mime injecting a needle into Aya for Reisen to see.
>"Aya, you should let Eirin give you a full check-up as well; the victor should be in perfect health for when Hatate awakes.">Aya has a small madness tic, before looking over her shoulder at you, "Yeahah! You're so smaaaaaart, Reimu~!"
>Hope that Reisen picks up the hint so we don't need to deal with things the normal way.
>While we're at it, are we strong enough to knock out Aya if we hit her from behind?>You could probably knock her out, though not for long.
> Wonder if there's any way to get Satori or Koishi close enough to Aya to>You can't remember there being a law about insanity... though Aya would probably get a harsh lecture about nearly killing another tengu, maybe even more than just that. Maybe she can plead insanity?mind-rapefix her head.
>Maybe ask Momiji what the Tengu society would do to Aya about this? The Tengu seem to be structured and have their own laws and everything. I mean, Aya tried to stop you in the Faith incident because the Lord Tenma basically said she had to.
>Consider the possibility Aya is beyond repair.>Aya was beyond repair way before this. This is just the icing on the cake, proverbially.
>Wonder if Aya has a cash stash at her home.
>"Reisen, can you tell Eirin that Hatate needs medical attention pronto?">Reisen nods, "At once."
>Keep an eye on Aya. If she starts to catch on, blast her.
> [Whisper] Be sure to tell Eirin to leave the bill with Aya, or failing that the Tengu, I'm just bringing the injured here.>Reisen nods, "Of course."
>Try to make sure that we're walking behind Aya>You keep behind Aya, which isn't difficult as she seems fixated on walking ahead of everyone.
>Do we happen to know any gods of insanity?
>Find Eirin pronto. She's smart enough to pick up on these things and ko Aya.>You don't have to find her, as she pokes her head out from one of the many, many doors of Eientei, "What is it?"
>While Aya isn't watching us, point at Aya and mime knocking someone out for Eirin to see>Eirin sees your mime, and nods understandingly.
> Consider if since Reisen can cause insanity, she can reverse it.>That's a good idea. Manipulation of insanity is the reversal as well as the infliction of it.
>Wonder what the best method of eradication is in case Aya loses the rest of her screws.>It's possible to think Aya doesn't have any screws left.
>Whisper to Momiji, "Did you see the fight?"
> Ask for information, especially who actually started it. For all we know Hatate is more loony than Aya.>Momiji wriggles free of Aya's headlock and drops back to talk to you.
> Are we squeamish? I doubt Momiji is, seeing as her weapon of choice is a sword and all.>You aren't squeamish, and Momiji stays in the room. It seems you are both tolerant of gore.
> If so, leave.
> If not... leave so Eirin dosen't have to worry about you being squeamish anyway.
> It can't be good if things are getting bad enough for Eirin, who is of high intellect, to tell a sword-weilder to leave for squeamishness.
>Watch to see if Reisen is taking Aya elsewheres>Reisen just escorts Aya to two chairs in the corner.
>Whisper to Momijii, "Aya? Depressed? That's hard to imagine, but what do you think could have caused that?"
>Well that solves the picture quest preemptively.>Momiji bites her lower lip, "I hope so... Aya and I don't exactly get along but... she tries to be friendly."
>"So Aya basically had a nervous breakdown? There might be hope to bring her back to normal then."
>Head over to Aya before things get out of hand. Again.>Aya shakes her head, "Na-na-na-na-no!! Jus' wanna get home an' see if it's 'kay! Then I wanna go and wreck Hatate's house too!"
>"Is anything wrong Aya?"
>It probably isn't advisable to use Fantasy Orb in the room, but if Aya gets too antsy, do we have any sealing talismen to keep her still?
> Wonder about Hatate's sanity, seeing what she did.> Hatate seems a little unhinged and desperate to annoy Aya at the best of times. Maybe she is just a little extreme.
>Maybe it's a tengu thing? The nutty ones are usually bird tengu, and bird youkai aren't always the picture of normalcy, even by gensokyo standards.>Possibly. Hatate is probably just a little hyper.
>"Wouldn't it be better to wreck her house when she's recovered enough to see it? It would make your message much clearer if you do it in front of her.">Aya has another excited little tic, "Yayayayayayeah!! Make her sit there and watch me blow it to bits!!"
>Try to move up to Aya so that we're out of her sight enough to slap on a few sealing charms easily without her noticing if it comes to it.>You move. Aya doesn't seem to notice or really care, she's more interested in planning out how she's going to destroy Hatate's home.
>Of course if she flips out, seal away.
>How many will it take to seal a tengu?
>Can we use any charms to make her fall asleep? If so, hit her with about two or three more than it would normally take to put out a Tengu, adding more for insurance. Then stick a couple of sealing charms on anyway.>You don't have any charms for sleep, the closest thing you have is a charm for induced unconsciousness. Aya will thank you later.
>Otherwise, about six sealing charms to start. Add more if she shows any signs of moving.
>Nod. "Just out cold for a while, hopefully when she comes to, she'll be remotely sane again.">Reisen sighs, "Good. Dead bodies kind of creep me out."
>"I was hoping that you could use you power over insanity to help nudge her back towards normalcy if a good rest doesn't do it.">Reisen giggles, "I tried to do that, but I couldn't focus on her eyes. My power is way more potent with eye-contact."
> Ask Hatate and Momiji: "So, whats the deal with Lord Tenma?"> Hatate gives an embarrassed smile, "Lord Tenma's taking a little off-time lately, going to travel around a bit and trust us tengu to keep in order. I guess all of the tengu have gone a little haywire since we don't have any authority figure to keep us in check. Hence the mass fighting going on. Lord Tenma isn't going to be the happiest when he returns, I'll bet.."
> Have we ever even seen the head bird?
> "Can't you focus on her eyes now? If we have to we'll hold them open for you.">Reisen smiles, "No, no, don't worry. I'll see if I can do it."
>"Maybe I should go clean things up sometime...Man, this is gonna be a pain if everyone's gonna be like Aya.">Hatate laughs, "No, nobody's as messed up as Aya's been lately. Mostly it's just friendly sparring that escalates to full-blown heavy danmaku fights. Heck, even Momiji has been enjoying the sparring and fighting~! Last I heard before Aya beat me to a pulp, Momiji was currently the only tengu so far undefeated between all of us."
>Grin. "You must've gotten stronger then, you'll probably need that to keep the peace.">Momiji folds her arms, "I have had to intervene on several occasions, but unfortunately I couldn't do so in the fight between Hatate and Aya. I had just gotten back from sorting out a heated fight, and then all I could do was attempt to prise Aya off. Reimu, you should know yourself that Aya is persistent, even when insane."
>Better to let her wake up on her own, keeps her out of the way just in case.
>Look back to Reisen. "Great, we should probably find someplace to lock her up just in case though, to keep her from hurting not just everyone else, but herself as well.">Momiji laughs, "I know many places to keep her in. Just not many places large enough. Most of them are storage boxes."
>Look back to Momiji. "You're captain of the guard or something right? You probably know a good place to lock her away until she comes to."
>Can't be just wake her up ourselves? We did put her to sleep after all.>Hatate laughs out loud, wincing as the sudden pressure hits a partial bruise. "Those pictures? Heck, not even most of her walls are intact. You'll be lucky to find any pictures!!
>"I should visit her house before she wakes up and make sure that those pictures are gone..."
>"Reisen, do you think that it's a good idea to wake her up, or should we let her rest here?">Reisen straightens up, angling her eyes down at Aya, "The current state her mind is in, it would be fine either way. You'll be lucky if she even remembers what she did. Whether that's a good thing or not, I'm not sure, but it's your choice. She'll be okay no matter what you do."
>"Well, that's two incidents solved in one go, but you're helping Aya fix her house.">Hatate shrugs, "I don't mind. I did mess it up after all."
>Keep the sealing charms on her, and wake Aya up.>You wake Aya up, yet it takes some time for her to be bothered to open her eyes. She sits up, looking rather normal and placid.
>"You okay there Aya?"
>"Hatate trashed your house and you, well, you flipped out and went more insane than usual.">Aya rubs her head, "Uh... I guess so, but... I went insane? Wow, I'd always thought Momiji'd flip out before I did..."
>"Now Hatate's hospital stay and her helping fix your house should be enough for you two to move on and stop fighting right?"
>"I'd hate for either of you to need another hospital visit." Say this while channeling our most Yuuka smile.>Aya tries to laugh off her evident confusion, "Haha, yeah...! I understand. Thanks for bringing me around, I guess. I wonder if all insane people have memories of insane-...-ness... or maybe I'm just getting old. Oh, well, at least I didn't kill anyone."
>"Understand?"
>"Thank Reisen; she cured your insanity. Oh, and if you have anymore photos of Keine and Mokou hidden, don't you dare publish them; I don't want to deal with Keine and Mokou putting you in a hospital bed too.">Aya looks to the ceiling, in thought, "Well, I don't think I have any more. The only ones I have were on my desk, and as far as I know that's a pile of rubble. So I guess not. If I have any more, I'll burn them. Promise."
>That should be it right?
>"As long as no one else is going to flip out, that should be it.">Everyone shrugs, looking suspiciously at each other in case somebody else goes nuts. Nobody does.
>If that ends our two Aya quests, bid farewell and head to the village or Marisa's, whichever is closer.
>To Akyu. If school's out, Keine might not be at the schoolhouse, and Akyu might know about how we can make some quick cash.>You head to the Hieda household, dodging several over-excited children yet again.
>How do we manage to gather resources to not starve to death usually?
>Wait, we robbed the SDM? Man we were desperate.
>Mental note: see about starting a garden or something. Stealing is a bit beneath us as a shrine maiden.
>Knock, get invited, enter and dispense with the pleasantries.
>Wait, we robbed the SDM? Man we were desperate.>You were extremely hungry, though. Anyone in that situation would have been desperate.
>Mental note: see about starting a garden or something. Stealing is a bit beneath us as a shrine maiden.
>Knock, get invited, enter and dispense with the pleasantries.
> While thinking of mental note think what the odds are that the resident drunkard would ruin said garden.>She'd probably try to water the vegetables with sake. She's done that before with flowers.
>In all of Gensokyo there must be someone who can make land fertile. What about those Autumn goddesses? Sounds like a quest!>QUEST ADDED!!
>"I dealt with Keine's pictures of making out with her girlfriend. Thought you should know in case you see her before me.">Akyuu smiles, "Brilliant. I'll be sure to alert Keine when she next drops by. She always comes every day before teaching to borrow history books and return the ones she borrowed.
>"By the way, do you happen to know of any paying jobs about?">Akyuu thinks for a while, "I remember Eirin Yagokoro came by looking for assistance in cleaning Eientei, though she already hired someone for that. Many people in Gensokyo came here looking for help today, you're in luck. I think the one most relevant and easy for you is Marisa Kirisame's request. She came by looking for someone to help her re-arrange her books and possessions, as she got drunk and knocked every single pile and shelf over in a drunken frenzy last night. It seems she was at a party, and if I remember what she told me correctly it was the party at your shrine last night. Also, she was willing to pay as she can barely open the doors in her house. I would try her place, if I were you."
>Sheesh, resident incident solver and barrier maintenance, and we can't get donations to save our life, literally. We should start charging for youkai extermination.
>Well we have our next destination.>You thank Akyuu, who thanks you in return.
>Thank Akyu for her help, then head off to Marisa's house.
>"Hey Marisa, Alice.">Alice waves politely, though makes no effort to hide her anger towards Marisa.
>"Eh, slight hangover, got over it quickly enough."
>"So, what have you done to anger Alice now? By the way, what's this I'm hearing about your kleptomania getting bad enough that you need to hire someone to sort through all that junk?">Marisa laughs sheepishly, "Alice scolded me because she's worried that all the drinkin' I'm doin' lately will make my liver pack in early. She's creepy when concerned 'bout me, y'know! Can't fault her, she'd die of heartbreak if she lost me and my pretty face!"
>"I'm surprised there isn't a spell to fix that...or one of Eirin's medicines.">Marisa shrugs, "Alice said I ought to wear out the hangover myself to teach me a lesson. Again, she's creepy sometimes."
>"Yeah, yeah, I'll help you out. Might as well make sure that you haven't borrowed anything else lately."
>How bad does it look?
>Chuckle. "Who knows, we might find something you don't need any more that we can cash in over at Kourindou or something.">Marisa grins, "Probably not. Most of my stuff is borrowed an' I'm pretty sure the original owner won't like me sellin' them off, but maybe there's some random stuff I don't want and nobody else does. If anythin' like that's floatin' about, you can sell it if you want, ze."
>Come to think of it, wonder if anything new's turned up there?
> Wonder why Marisa suddenly wants her house clean. Maybe she's lost the Hakkero somewhere in the mess?>She did say she'd lost her spellcards in there. Her Master Spark is quite important to her.
> Show visible shock at the mess, and wonder what you have got yourself into... and if Tenshi visited Marisa.>Marisa sees your shock, "And you thought Suika caused a lot of mess when drunk. I just bumped into ONE shelf, ze!"
>Enter the house and shield our head from possible book-valanches.>You enter Marisa's house, and she edges you into the small clearing in the center.
>Look suitably horrified>Marisa laughs, "Yukari once said something about the Chaos effect, where a butterfly makes a tornado and stabs everyone with it, so maybe that's what I did."
>"And I thought that the shrine after Tenshi was bad..."
>Start trying to sort through the corner, putting back up shelves first; we need a place to put those books>You begin to put the shelves up, which is not the easiest task as you have to clear the books off first. Marisa helps you, becoming a temporary bookstand.
>Keep an eye out for falling objects
>Keep at it!>Marisa gulps, "So, if I see a butterfly flappin' around outside my house, then it means you could be caught up in a typhoon? Messed up world we live in, y'know, ze! But look on the bright side. If you see a butterfly all flappin' 'bout round here, lookin' all pretty, Sanae may be caught up in a massive whirlwind. Though with Aya about, that butterfly probably won't be needed most of the time."
>"It was the Butterfly Effect. Basically, a butterfly on the other end of Gensokyo flaps it's wings, and a Typhoon or something happens on the other side."
>Keep an eye out for our Demon Basics book as well>You keep looking, but it's probably in another place.
>"I don't really know the details, but I think it's just a metaphor. Remember when you bumped the bookcase, and everything came crashing down? It's kinda like that I guess.">Marisa frowns in confusion, "Yeah, but me knockin' the bookcase over really happened."
>Keep it up, still looking out for the book.>You continue looking for the book, and after several minutes you find it under a large pile of books. It's a little dusty, but still in fairly good condition for how Marisa keeps things.
>"It is titled Demon Basics. After what we've dealt with, we could probably write our own book.">Marisa grins, "Yeah, definitely!! Reimu and Marisa, no, no, Marisa and Reimu: The Two Saviours of Gensokyo!"
>What did we want the book for so urgently?>It has several handy spells for exorcism that, honestly, you struggle to remember off-hand.
>Keep cleaning carefully, and keep an eye out for anything we can sell. And we suppose Marisa's spellcards as well.>You continue to clean carefully.
>"Really, don't you think that this is a message that you should start returning a few things?"
>Hmm...Let's polish it up a bit.>You give it a small rub with your sleeve for a better dusting, and underneath it has a lot of fancy, posh-looking patterns. Something you hardly expected to appear under a pile of rubble in Marisa's house.
>"Yeah, but look here. When I rubbed off some of the dust, it has all these intricate patterns. Might be worth something I guess."
>Grin. "Talk about finding a diamond in the rough, eh Marisa? Let's take this past Kourindou once we've wrapped up here, maybe we'll find more stuff like this!">Marisa grins with you, "Yeah!! Rinnosuke will probably like it, ze, he goes weak at the knees for fancy random stuff like this."
>Set the goblet aside, and get to cleaning with more vigor!>You place the goblet on one of the tidy shelves, and continue cleaning with Marisa and a lot of energy.
>"I hope so. Really gottaa figure out how Sanae gets so much donations.">Marisa shrugs, "Some people are into that innocent-girl routine. Don't try it, though, that stuff don't suit you."
>Give Marisa standard goodbye, and leave with our loot>You wave goodbye to Marisa, who waves back, and you leave her house with the items in a small bag that Marisa provided (free of charge).
>To Kourindou!
>Head on in!>You enter Kourindou.
>"Hey, how's things been?"
>Smile. "You guessed it. I figured you could help me find out a bit about some of the stuff too.">Rinnosuke pushes his glasses up along the bridge of his nose, "I'll try."
>Pull the first goblet out of the bag. "This thing's pretty ornate for just a drinking cup, I figured that maybe there's something special about it."
>List of items in the sack
-An empty wooden picture frame which Marisa said she didn't need>You take everything out of the bag and show it to Rinnosuke. He takes a small amount of time to peruse the selection before him, and then looks up with a sly smile.
-An empty notebook with a dark blue cover
-Two spoons
-Another goblet - not as fancy as the first one, as it is a bit smaller, but it's still rather pretty.
-Several quills in brown, black, white and grey.
>Show him everything. Who knows what the stuff Marisa's borrowed is worth?
>That should keep us well-off for at least half the year shouldn't it?>Indeed it should. Maybe even more, as you have a lot of expertise in finding bargains and stretching money.
>"That works.">Rinnosuke smiles, before putting the items through the till and producing a rather tantalisingly large wad of notes.
>Let's do this!
>Accept the cash, and nod. with a smile. "I'll be sure to tell her that, she actually had a little accident earlier today. Bumped a bookshelf, and everything came down. S'why I had that stuff to begin with, payment for helping her out."
>"Well, see you around!" Let's jet back to Marisa's to show off!
> Muse on Rinosuke's access to liquid wealth.>Rinnosuke smiles, "Sounds like something Marisa would do. I bet she was drunk. Anyway, was nice seeing you again!"
>Grin triumphantly as well! "15,800 yen! This should be good enough to keep me set for the rest of the year, I think. Provided I'm careful with it."
>"I didn't know people kept that much money laying around...">Marisa's jaw drops, "15,800 yen..?! I had stuff worth that much...?!"
>Chuckle. "Rinnosuke said you'd react like that.">Marisa blinks, "Well, he knows me too well. Kinda freaky how predictable I am, isn't it, ze~? Anyway, what are you going to buy with it?"
>"He said, and I quote, 'Don't forget to tell Marisa how much these sold for. I'm sure she'd go on a spree trying to sell all the stuff she doesn't need!' So yeah, but not like I wasn't going to tell you, I already planned to regardless."
>"Well first, I was going to stock up on provisions for the shrine. Then I was going to keep it in reserve for when I run out of anything again.">Marisa shrugs, "Should'a known you'd say that. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that they're havin' a sale down at the market in the Human Village. Two-for-one deals on rice, tea and vegetable crates. 'pparently they had a massive harvest this year."
>"Hot damn! I don't have time to waste hanging around here then, that green-haired dope might buy it all! Seeya around Marisa!">Marisa grins, "Have fun!!"
>Let's doubletime it back to the village then!
>How long do we normally stock up for when we have the cash?>You usually stock up for a week or two, depending on what you buy.
>How long can we keep the perishables fresh?>The perishables can usually last a week and possibly a few extra days, if kept cool.
>Then we should get our normal week's supply of perishables, and take advantage of any specials on non-perishables to get two or three weeks worth of those.>You walk into the market and prepare to buy your normal week's supply (as well as several "sale-items").
>Also, check for any sales on seeds and the like. IF we're going to try that garden again, we'll likely need them.
>.....Whoops.>Whoops indeed.
>Try to get everything back to the shrine anyway. Maybe we can make other things float away as well?
>"Sheesh, where's Yukari when you need her...">A large gap opens beside you, with Yukari Yakumo sat in a lady-like manner in it, "Funny you should ask. I've been watching you all day! I was wondering when you'd think about me~! Did you miss me~? You can admit it, I won't be embarrassed!!"
>Nod. "We can do that once I've gotten everything put where it needs to, and I've made tea. So shall we?">Yukari widens the gap she's sat in, "Chuck everything you have through here. I've been at the shrine ever since you left, and it did get lonely~!"
>Let's get going when Yukari prompts.
>Alright, get to putting things where they belong, humming a little tune as we go.>You put everything where it needs to be, taking a portion of tea leaves out of one of the bags.
>But make sure to set aside some tea, we'll be making some after all
>Once we've finished putting stuff where it should be, head into the shrine itself and get to making that tea.>You head to the shrine itself, Yukari floating in her gap beside you. She has a profound look on her face - whatever's imon her mind must be serious.
>Once that's done, we'll serve some to Yukari, and have some ourselves.
>"So, what did you want to talk about?">Yukari frowns for a while, "I'm not sure how to put this, but who cares for now? It's about Suika. Since last night, she's just disappeared. She probably went to the underground to meet Yuugi, but she would have come to meet me this morning as usual. And it's not just Suika, either. I'm not sure you remember, but in that flower incident several years back, did you know what Marisa was told by that slacking shinigami?"
>Quirk an eyebrow. "Remind me what that was again, since it's been a while."">Yukari sighs, "That she would die in 10 years? I barely remembered myself, had I not overheard Marisa fretting to herself in the early hours of the morning."
>Stare at our tea. "Has it really been that long already..? She was so cheerful earlier, she helped me out with my situation earlier y'know.">Yukari shrugs, "In the long run, your situation was probably worse than hers at the time. Besides, it hasn't been all of ten years yet. I can always tap into the boundary of life and death and keep Marisa here longer if you want. Alice told Marisa that the shinigami only said it as an attempt to scare Marisa away. It'd make sense, but you can see my concern."
>Nod. "Hmm...I think this needs more investigation, don't you? I think we need to visit the root of the matter, That shinigami herself.">Yukari gives a small smile, "Komachi is a renowned slacker. More lazy than I am, as a matter of fact.."
>Nod. "Yes, let's.">You head through the gap to the bank of the Sanzu river. Komachi Onozuka, who has taken to skimming stones to pass the time, turns to look at you.
>Let's go.
>Nod. "You guessed right. Remember the flower incident? You told Marisa that she only had 10 years left at the most.">Komachi gives you an odd look, "Sounds familiar. Oh, yeah, Marisa Kirisame! Blonde girl. Nah, don't panic about your girlfriend. I just said that to see if she'd actually believe it. 'Course, she ain't got the longest life ahead of her, but neither do you. So you can go to your girlfriend and tell her not to worry."
>Give 'er the good ol' Hakurei Staredown. "I want to know; Is that the truth?'
>"Hey, don't let Alice hear that. I don't need her coming after me thinking that I'm after her girlfriend.">Yukari smirks, "Don't let Patchouli hear that either. Marisa's got enough girls in the queue!"
>Well that's a bit of relief.
>"Since I'm here has Suika wandered by lately?"
>A drinking competition. With oni. And Suika's infinite sake gourd.>Yukari smiles, "I wonder if Utsuho is angry when she's drunk, or she's like Suika and is just giggly until the hangover."
>Oh boy.
>"Well to the underground, before someone does something insane like giving Utsuho alcohol."
>"Thanks for the help. You might want to stop slacking though, I think your boss is coming.">Komachi yelps and stands up just in case Shikieiki does come.
>Gap away with Yukari
>"Figures.">Yamame looks over her shoulder, "Dunno. Kisume told me they were at it since Suika appeared down here last night. Sometime around midnight or something. Yuugi and her have been drinking hard ever since, I only turned up an hour ago.
>Well at least she's safe.
>Tap Yamane "Just how long have they been at it?"
>Chuckle. "Taking bets on who'll win the whole thing are you?">Yamame shakes her head, "I've been asked to record the whole match. All the Oni are too drunk to hold a pen, Parsee downright refuses and Kisume is too busy watchin' the thing. But I'm also recording the bets. Want to place one?"
>Chuckle. "It figures, with a match as close as this. But at least it solves why that little drunkard hasn't shown up lately.">Yamame frowns, "She didn't tell ya'? Odd. Yuugi cancelled all meetings with friends and plans for the next week just for this. She's determined, alright."
>Grin. "I'm game, Just came into a decent amount of cash recently(thank the gods) in fact, so I'm feeling pretty good. I'll stick 800 on Suika.">You hand Yamame 800 yen, and she sticks it in a small bag around her waist, "Brilliant. That's 1600 yen if she wins. You seem pretty certain about her."
>Chuckle a bit more. "That little goofball better not lose now, since I've bet on her."
>Grin. "I've gone up against her in the past, back before the underground was ever open for travel. And let me tell you, she was one of the tougher opponents I had to go up against.">Yamame grins, "Well, we all have our favourites down here."
>"Come to think of it, it was even before that green-haired dope showed up."
>Let's keep on watching. It's kinda hard to believe that Yukari didn't know about this though..
>"Come on Suika!" For once, her alcoholism is being useful!>Suika only just notices you, but that doesn't affect her concentration!
>"Oi! If you lose this one, you're only getting half the rice cakes I was gonna give you!">Suika's eyes light up, "Rice cakes..."
>"Heh, watching this was pretty fun actually, Oni sure are something else.">Suika laughs, "Lots of (hic) people were betting on me today! Even (hic) Koishi had in on it!"
>Grin. "Not just your victory, I was betting on you. Ya little drunkard." Chuckle a bit, then nudge her in a friendly, joking manner.
>"Now then, time to use my winnings to get those rice cakes, and maybe some dumplings too.">Suika grins, "There are pretty good dumplings and (hic) rice cakes sold around here. Might wanna (hic) take a look. Can't wait to have another (hic) drinking competition with Yuugi next (hic) month!"
>"Heh, you're a popular one.">Suika smirks, "It'd probably (hic) just one!! We (hic) had to make it monthly or there (hic) wouldn't be enough sake!!"
>"Every month? If I didn't know about your gourd, I'd wonder how many competitions it would take to drink Gensokyo dry."
>Grin. "Let's get those rice cakes!" To the stands!>Suika leads the way to a small market stand, waving at the Oni behind it, "Yo, Miki!!"
>Nod. "Yep, Suika here just won me a pretty decent amount of cash, 1600 yen to be exact. Would've bet more, but I gotta be careful with my cash y'know? Can't run out the day I get it after all.">Miki grins, "Oh, you should see some of the more intense betters. I've seen people go down into the slums in three seconds!!"
>"So, how much for some rice cakes and dumplings?"
>"Wow, seems like this is a pretty popular better's sport then huh? Maybe I should come down here more often to keep funds up.">Miki grins, "Anythin' where it's anyone's game is popular with the gamblers."
>"Well, guess I'll take a pack of 10 dumplings, and 2 packs of 30 rice cakes."
>Look to Yukari over our shoulder. "You want anything? I'm being nice for a change and treating y'know."
>Pass her the cash, and then pitch Suika one of the packs of rice cakes. "Alright then, that works out pretty well I guess. I should come down here more often.">You hand Miki the cash, and she hands you the rice cakes.
>Proceed to snack on the dumplings. "Want one, Suika?" If she does, pass her one.
>Grin. "Well, alright then." May as well tear into our rice cakes too, eh?>You tuck into your rice cakes, noting the fact that they are considerably sweeter than the ones you can get in the special weekend stall in the Human Village.
>Glance over to Yukari. "Oh, that? Well, Hatate got really banged up, and Aya was..well, to but it bluntly, off her rocker. Momiji was freaking out, so we all took Hatate down to Eirin's place and got her patched up. During all that, Aya started to crack even more, so I slapped a few seals on her to put her out of commission for a bit. Once that happened, I had Reisen fix her up with those eyes of hers.">Yukari closes the cap, frowning to herself, "So it finally happened..."
>"Mmh, these are pretty good Suika, way better than the ones I get in the village.">Suika grins, talking behind a wad of rice cake, "Told ya!!"
>Glance at Yukari. "Yeah, though it's not like everyone missed the clues, even I could see it coming. It's just a good thing that I got to them in time huh? Y'know, all the tengu have been fidgety lately, according to Momiji and Hatate. Aya was just the one bad apple out of the bunch I guess."
>"Apparently the big cheese, Tenma himself, went off to go on a trip or something, and without any sort of authority to keep 'em in check, the tengu are all beside themselves.">Yukari blinks, "Lord Tenma's not around? Huh... I must be losing my touch, even I didn't know that."
>Let's keep nomming, pausing to keep the conversation going as needed. "Hatate was the one who sparked Aya's breakdown, apparently Aya was real depressed over something, and without Tenma around to keep a leash on everyone, Hatate must've thought it was the perfect time to pester Aya."
>Chuckle a little, but be careful to not get any of our food caught in our throat, we remember that last time THAT happened.>Yukari shrugs, "Probably."
>"I guess he's off on a sightseeing trip to get a better feel for Gensokyo, what with all the new locations and stuff showing up."
>Facepalm. "...Not another incident...">Yukari sighs, "A little worn out, are you? I'd suggest a holiday, but I don't think Gensokyo would last a day with you gone."
>"I'd like to be able to go at least a year- No, five months at the least, without an incident popping up.">Yukari grins, "Well, you know, we could always see. I can always ask you to come back should you need to. How about you visit the outside world for a little while?"
>Sigh. "Well, a shrinemaiden's job is never done.."
>Sigh, and go back to snacking. "You two...Sometimes I question the sanity of the friends I keep, and my own.">Yukari laughs out loud, "Reimu, you should know by now that nobody in Gensokyo is truly sane - just discreet."
>Chuckle. "Yeah, but even the insane have limits to just how nutty they are...Except that vampire's kid sister, she's kinda out there.">Yukari shrugs, "Yes, but I'd like to see your mind in one piece after being shut away for several centuries. In fact, I'd like to see you at all if you were locked away for several centuries... because you'd be dead."
>Chuckle. "But by then I'd probably have turned up at Yuyuko's or something.">Yukari laughs, "Yeah. If you do, be sure to send her my best. Same with Komachi and Shikieiki."
>Grin. "Guess Yukari's rubbed off on me.">Yukari thinks for a while, "She did have Youmu replace chicken with turkey in most recipes, but apart from that, not much. If you want something interesting to talk about, how about that new argument between Marisa and Alice? Cute thing, isn't it?"
>"Oh yeah, speaking of Yuyuko. Has she been up to anything beyond just toying around with people and eating a lot lately?"
>Nod. "Turkey huh? I'll have to go visit them sometime then.">Yukari grins, "You wouldn't remember what happened anyway, but during that party last night you attempted to have a drink-off with Suika and spent the rest of the night unconscious. After you... dropped... Marisa began slurring rather awkwardly. I guess Alice just got worried, bless her."
>"Oh that? I hear Marisa got way too drunk the other night. I didn't think to get all the details from her when I was helping her get her house back in order though."
>...Walk over to the nearest wall and start banging our head on it. Not too hard though, but in that way that usually indicates we're at a loss for words.>Yukari sighs, "Surprised? I'd be worried if you were."
>...Keep pounding that wall with our head. "Ugh...I should've known.....The little sister didn't get involved did she?">Suika laughs, "Nah, Flan wasn't involved. Marisa did pay her a visit some time last night, though from what I've been told it didn't go too well. I heard from Aya that Remilia's been extra-harsh on Flandre lately. Apparently the two of them had a massive fight underground, and they're still repairing the damage. Marisa got caught in the middle of that fight, Sakuya forced her to swear not to tell anyone to get involved and leave the two at it. Can't entirely say I'm impressed, really."
>Chuckle a bit, and pause with our head still on the wall. "Break a record on the longest you've gone without a drink there Suika?">Suika sighs contentedly, "Possibly~!"
>Then walk back over to our snacks and sit back down with 'em. "Still, that kid wasn't always so hard on her was she? Wonder why that is?">Suika laughs out loud, "Nah, nah, Flan just got a little unstable lately and broke out of her room several times this week. From what I've heard, she even managed to leave the mansion once, but Meiling managed to persuade her to go back in before Sakuya found out. Apparently, Flandre's trying to leave permanently because she wants to be the Scarlet Devil instead of her sister. She said something along the lines of the younger one being more important, because of what she read about the Aki sisters. Remilia tried to get her back in line with somethin' about the Komeiji sisters and how Satori rules the Palace of the Earth Spirits instead of Koishi. Then Flandre got really pissed and caused a lot of damage."
>Stifle a grin. "Y'think she busted one of Remi's toys? That' probably be something that'd set her off like that."
>Shrug. "Who knows with that kid, she'd be more likely to take a walk at noon without her parasol than ask someone outside the mansion for help. She's too proud for her own good sometimes.">Yukari grins, "Maybe you should just turn up. If she's that desperate for help, she won't turn you away. And so what if she does? It's her own fault if her precious mansion gets obliterated."
>"That, and she might think I'd take Flan's side just to spite her. She's screwy like that. Sometimes it's hard to tell which one's the one who oughta be locked up down in the basement.">Suika laughs, "Maybe both of them do!!"
>Shrug. "She's a bit off, but surprisingly, she made a lot of sense when I first ran into her. It took me a while to actually get it though. She must really be a fan of this 'A.C.', whoever it is.">Yukari nods, "Ah, yes, Agatha Christie. I've read some of those books - rather thrilling stuff."
>Put on our best Yukari-esque smile. "I was wondering when you were going to chime in. And yeah, we probably should swing by there, just to make sure things are alright.">Yukari sighs, "I guess you're right there, but you could always ask Marisa to come with-... never mind, she'd probably make it worse."
Sigh. "I really don't want another incident on my hands, they're full enough with the Tenma one as it is."
>"Yeah, she's easygoing for sure. But just a little too gung-ho when it coming to using that hakkero of hers.">You finish off the dumplings and quickly stash the rice cakes left over. Then you stand up. Yukari and Suika follow suit.
>Well, time to polish off the dumpligs, and stash away the remaining rice cakes. Then get up from out seat.
>"Alright then, let's get going.">Yukari opens a gap, which you see leads directly to the gate of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.
>Let's head through then.>You head through, and for once, Meiling is actually awake.
> "Heya, China, keeping things going smoothly?"
>"Well yeah, I've already got another incident to resolve, so I figured I'd nip this one in the bud before it became a real one.">Meiling pushes the gate open with one hand, "Yeah, just mind your head when you go in. There's a little chaos, if you know what I mean."
>"....Another typical day in Gensokyo..." Sigh, then facepalm. "Let's get this resolved already.">Yukari smiles, "What would you have been doing had there been nothing to resolve today?"
>Let's head in "See ya on the way out china!"
>Sigh. "Pre-emptive incident resolution, you thought this was a courtesy call? I take it they've been like this the whole day?">Sakuya sighs, "Yes, since last night, actually. Unfortunately, Lady Remilia was the instigator and now.. well, I've managed to keep them away from the library for Patchouli's protection, but the fairy maids have been a different issue entirely."
>"Well, I think I have a plan. Suika, mind lending a hand? I'll need you to do something with the density of stuff so that those two'll end up having a close encounter with the ground.">Suika grins, rubs her hands together and gets to work.
>"Once that's done, we can get to the meat and potatoes of the work."
>Alright, let's call out to them. "Oi! I heard there was a little problem going on, so I thought I'd turn up for some preemptive incident resolution.">Remilia stands up, and folds her arms in a typical bratty, childish manner.
>Give them a look that says 'If you two don't stop this now, you'll get a Fantasy Heaven to the face. And I don't think you'd want that again.'
>Walk over to Remi, and flick her forehead. "She's your kid sister right? Haven't you considered that she's just trying to make you happy? I mean, she does care about you y'know.">Remilia stutters and looks to Flandre, the latter of which has resorted to tracing circles on the carpet.
>Shrug. "Besides, she might think that being in such a position of power might be pretty stressful for you, I dunno. So she might be trying to help in her own way, by giving you a day off or something."
>Slight grumble. "Wish someone'd do that for me so I can get some rest sometime.">Yukari whispers to you, "Marisa is the only one suited to do that, but you can't even trust that kid to solve things diplomatically. She'd be terrible as a marriage counsellor."
>"Not that I'm defending her or anything, but you really need to learn to be more open to those who care about you y'know? Besides, if anything does go wrong, I'm sure me or Marisa will end up fixing things, like we always do."
>Sigh, then smile and go sit next to them. "At least this didn't get into being a full-blown incident.">Suika smirks drunkenly, "Yes it would!! Not probably, definitely!! You'd be lucky if you even have chance to blink!!"
>Glance over at Suika. "It probably would've ended with this entire region of Gensokyo ending up as a smoldering ruin."
>May as well get back to snacking, pull out the rice cakes. "Hey, you two want one? I got 'em down in the underground today, they're a lot better than the ones I usually get from the village.">Flandre and Remilia refuse the offered rice-cakes politely, and Flandre pipes up.
>"Hmm...Well, it's basically this huge cavern. You've probably read about those in Patchouli's books right? But anyhow, there's this giant city down there, it's filled with Youkai like Suika over there. In fact, Oni are apparently the most common sort down there. There's this one girl down there who apparently keeps things going smoothly, her name's Satori, she's a bit like a more mellow version of your big sister. She reads minds apparently, and her little sister's a real handful too. I bet you two would get along pretty good with them.">Flandre gives a curious giggle, "Sounds like fun!! I've read about huge caves, but I didn't know there were more Oni in Gensokyo!!"
>Shrug, then bite into one of the cakes. "Anyhow, I was down there earlier today to find Suika and drag her back up here. It was her power that helped me get your attention in the first place y'know. Come to find out, she was having a drinking contest with a friend of hers. Yuugi Hoshiguma, another Oni. She was one of the people I fought back during the Geyser Incident, along with Satori, her kid sister, and a few others.">Flandre shuffles a little closer, and you can tell you've got her interested. Even Remilia looks pretty impressed.
>"Well, they all moved down there because the surface was getting too boring. That, and they were too powerful for most after Gensokyo was set up how it is these days. All the lost and sealed-away youkai tend to already live down there to begin with, or find their way down there.">Flandre blinks, "Does that jealousy Youkai live down there, too? That Parsee girl? I read about her, apparently she guards a bridge down there... can you even have bridges underground?"
>Grin. "But here's the thing. It goes even deeper than that cave. You guys know about Higan right? Well, before Higan was around, that place used to be the old hell. There's still an area that burns with the old flames that's even deeper in. You gotta use this passageway at Satori's place to get there though.">Remilia blinks, "So she lives right next to the former hell? Now that is... extremely interesting..."
>Take a bite out of a rice cake and then lightly brandish it for emphasis. "But here's the thing, down there lives the person who was behind the whole thing back then. Utsuho Reiuji, a former hell raven. Turns out the whole fuss was kicked off when she ate a god's remains...That god was a Yatagarasu, a Solar Crow. Needless to say, you two would not want to visit there, she throws around danmaku made of suns for kicks, because she essentially inherited that thing's power.">The pair both stare at you.
>"Well, technically Flan, you're right. That place is called 'The Abandoned Hell' nowadays.">Flandre gasps in awe, "Whoa!! You know so much!!"
>"Yeah, her pets actually manage the flames apparently. There's this Kasha who gathers fuel. And Utsuho, commonly called 'Okuu', regulates the temperature of the flames...Or so I understand."
>Glance at Sakuya. "I thought you retired from the whole incident resolution business?">Sakuya shrugs, "So did I, but I guess I'm missing out on something interesting."
>Grin, and offer a rice cake. "Don't tell me this little story's gotten you to want to come out of retirement? Rice cake? S'fresh.">Sakuya sighs, "Okay, so maybe I may want to come out of retirement~"
>Grin. "Well, it does come with the job after all. Plus, I'm on relatively good terms with the people down there.">Flandre tilts her head, "Betting on it? ...Maybe I'll have to start doing that!"
>"Y'know, they've actually started having drinking contests between Suika and Yuugi. They're both among the strongest of the Oni, known as 'Devas', so it stands to reason that any contest pitting the two against each other is quite a show. Folks have actually started betting on who'll win, it's gotten that popular down there."
>Oh well, munch that rice cake. "Well, if you decide to come out of retirement, I'll have to fill you in on everything you missed. And I do mean everything, since a lot's happened.">Sakuya smiles, "I'm sure Patchouli may want to hear that, too. She's nearing the end of one of her lines of bookshelves. You may want to write a book on some of the stuff you've encountered, or several books."
>Chuckle. "Hope she won't mind it being a scroll then, never took well to trying to write western-style books really.">Sakuya nods, "As long as it's on some form of paper or manuscript, she'll read it."
>"Well, the one for this month's already passed, but I'll see about picking you guys up for the next one okay? Hopefully I should have enough from this month to make a bet next one too. I also recommend you get some rice cakes and dumplings when we go down there, these are some of the best I had in a while y'know. I know where to get 'em too, thanks to Suika."">Flandre and Remilia giggle in excitement.
>Sigh amusedly. "Let me guess, Alice and Marisa again? Those two never stop y'know. Sometimes I don't even have to get involved because they end up blasting each other into their undergarments. S'funny when they end up mutually winning and/or losing via modesty.">Yukari sighs, "I think they're past the blasting. They both look pretty ragged... and now they're wrestling."
>"Anyhow, the next one's in a month from now, maybe we can even convince Patchouli to come along, the Ancient City's got rather nice atmosphere compared to the human village. It's lively, but it feels welcoming. Y'know?">Sakuya shrugs, "We can try, but there's no telling with Patchouli. You may want to ask her now, while she's in a good mood and still has a while to prepare."
>Chuckle. "Wow, and that coming from the one person in Gensokyo who has her eye on everything. let's hope Aya doesn't get wind of it, otherwise we'll be looking at a deep-fried crow before too long.">Yukari shakes her head, "Not until it dies down. We don't want it escalating. Besides, Aya's still recovering from that mental meltdown - we can't have her dissolving again, can we?"
>Beat.
>"...Think we should let 'er know?"
>Grin. "Hey, I can't leave incidents to just everyone else y'know, just solving 'em gets boring after a while. I kinda wanna know what it's like being the incident-causer, instead of the incident-resolver.">Sakuya smiles, "Patchouli has a soft spot for rice-cakes. It won't take much."
>Shrug. "Anyhow, I'll see if I can't talk her into it then, maybe I can bribe her with some of these rice cakes."
>Let's get up to head for the library then.
>But before we go, turn back to Remi, Flan, and Sakuya. "Oh, but before I do, you guys really should have one of these, they're what makes the trip fun, aside from seeing two Devas go at it.">They catch the rice cakes, and thank you eagerly before tucking in. You can immediately see that they are impressed.
>Pitch each of them a rice cake, just because we're feeling generous. "I'm feeling generous, and you guys calmed down easily enough. So you deserve it."
>NOW we head off to the library.
>Grin. "Yeah, we'll let everything settle down a bit before having a little fun.">Yukari grins, "Let's hope you don't become a youkai, it would completely spoil your job description."
>Beat.
>"...Now I know I've been hanging out with youkai too much, I'm starting to behave like one."
>Shrug. "Ah well, let's get this started eh?" Knock on the door, then enter.
>"Hey, patchouli, I came to take to you about a few things. I take it you noticed the ruckus dying down a little bit ago yeah?">Patchouli gladly accepts the ricecake. Sakuya was right about Patchouli's alleged weakness... you've never seen her that excited before.
>Offer her a ricecake. "Oh yeah, I brought these from the underground, which is what I wanted to talk to you about."
>"Anyhow, Suika and Yuugi are having these drinking contests down in the underground once a month, and I recently got back from attending this month's. I already said I'd take Remi and Flan down next month, and we all figured you might want to come along too. But don't worry, it's just the two Oni drinking, it's kind of a spectator sport really. Plus, you'll be able to get more of those down there, dumplings too. Better than the ones from the village, that's for sure.">Patchouli leads you over to her table, "The underground? During that geyser incident, I did help Marisa along with Alice and Nitori whilst she was down there... but it didn't sound entirely pleasant. That having been said, it's hard to hear people over the sound of lasers..."
>"And besides, weren't you writing a book on Oni or something last I heard?"
>Smile. "I'll be sure to do that when I've got an heir or something, I'll have plenty of time to write it all then. You all will definitely be around when I'm an old fart anyhow, since you youkai live a lot longer.">Suika murmurs, "You've got ages yet, Reimu!"
>Shrug. "But anyhow, I take it that you'll be coming along as well then? If so, I suggest you bring extra cash to spend and bet with, folks have really taken to betting on those two. Heck, even Remi and Flan are interested in getting in on it, especially Flan. Besides, you'll want to stock up on those rice cakes when you can get them, eh?">Patchouli closes the book she was studying.
>Nod. "Alright then. I'll see you the next time the contest rolls around then.">Suika shrugs, "All I know is it's next month. Yuugi said she'll tell me a week in advance. I'll let ya know then."
>Look to Suika. "Hey, when's the next one anyways?"
>Nod. "Alright then, that works pretty well then I guess.">Patchouli nods, "I have plenty of time to do anything, there is little I need to prepare."
>Look back to Patchy. "So I'll be seeing you again sometime in the near future then. You've got plenty of time to prepare, get cash in order, and so on."
>Grin. "Besides, it's not like we'll be staying there for an entire week, just that day."
>Sigh amusedly. "Murphy's law Patchy, murphy's law. Just when you think things are going well, they take a turn for the worse.">You exit the library, and Patchouli doesn't leave her hiding spot. Koakuma is laughing as she closes the door behind you.
>Shrug. "Ah well, I'll go see 'em. I get the feeling that me being a therapist isn't done for today. Not for a while even."
>Let's go see what's going on now.
>Sigh. "Alright, what're you two on about this time? And make it simple, unless you don't mind me settling things 'the usual way'.">Alice and Marisa lock eyes, but Alice cuts in before Marisa can see anything.
>".....You guys.">Sakuya smiles, "Thank you. I know most of the story, but I'm not sure how to deal with these two at the best of times."
>Look to Sakuya. "I'll take care of this. Don't worry."
>Then look back to Alice and Marisa. "Alright, outside with me you two.">Alice scoffs, and turns and walks out, "Fine!"
>Let's head out, dragging them with us if we have to.
>"Alright, I take it this whole mess started when Marisa found out how much I got for selling some of her old stuff.">Alice growls, "So you started her off on this!!"
>"Well, to make it so you two don't get ahead of yourselves before I get to the meat and potatoes of the deal...I'll have to administer the usual." Say that last part with our usual smile we get when we're gonna do the usual thing.>Alice and Marisa both shut up and stare at you.
>Pause.>The pair of them just stare. It seems you have scared them just a little bit more.
>...Then burst out laughing.
>"That sure got you two to cool your heels eh? But anyhow, you two should calm down. Someday I won't be around to mediate between the two of you y'know.">Alice groans, but Marisa just laughs with you.
>Laugh a bit more, then wipe away the the tears from laughing so hard.>Marisa laughs loudly along with you, as does Yukari. Suika also pokes her head through to join in the laughter, so her and Yukari are squashed with their torsoes sticking out of the gap in mid-air.
>"Isn't it obvious? You two bicker like an old married couple!"
>Laugh more!
>Let the laughter die down to a chuckle.>Marisa chuckles, "Well, we 'ave known each other for quite a white, ze!"
>"Seriously, you two behave like you've already been married for ages."
>Beat.>Alice stutters, but Marisa butts in before she can say anything.
>"...But which one's the husband, and which one's the wife?"
>Grin. "Well, you know what they say, 'strange minds think alike'. Besides, it just seems kinda right for you Alice, being the wife.">Alice murmurs under her breath, "This is such a close competitor for the weirdest conversation I've ever had... the weirdest being Marisa holding my underwear for ransom..."
>Chuckle. "I mean, you are good with sewing things and stuff, something I really need to improve at."
>Chuckle. "But Alice, you should know by now that this sort of thing's par for the course in Gensokyo.">Alice coughs, "Yes, but what Marisa asked for as the ransom was completely bizarre!"
>Facefault.>Alice shrugs, "I malfunctioned like that at first. But then Marisa waved my own underwear in front of my face, so I had to get to work."
>Then get up. "Socks?! That was the ransom?! I...But it...The...You...That...Whaaaaa?"
>".....Just why was I drinking that heavily in the first place?">Suika clears her throat, "Nobody knows, but ya' said some really bizarre stuff anyhow."
>Shrug. "Well, at least I'm back to normal now. Well, normal by Gensokyo standards at least."(I just hope they don't all collide at exactly the same time. That would be... odd..."
>"Anyhow...Have you two calmed down now?"
(Now watch this tie in to Yuyuko Quest or something. xD)
>Grin. "See what a good laugh and a strange conversation can do?">Yukari blinks, "I wonder what makes you ask..."
>Beat.
>"Hey, Yukari? I don't think I've ever asked this, but how hard was it to get a Shikigami strong enough to have a Shikigami herself?"
>Shrug. "Just thinking that maybe I should look into getting one sometime, if only to make incident-resolving easier.">Yukari smiles, "You're welcome. You would have done it just as easily without Ran and I, anyway."
>Grin. "I mean, the Imperishable Night incident was a breeze thanks to you and Ran after all."
>Grin. "You guys certainly make things lively at least. ">Marisa thinks for a while, then her eyes sparkle, "The shrine maiden of paradise and her White Tiger shikigami!! I can see the headlines! Oh, you'd make an absolutely perfect crime-fighting couple!! Let's go!!"
>Thoughtful expression. "What sort of shikigami d'you think would suit me? Maybe a White Tiger or something? Like one of the Four Gods and stuff."
>Smile. "That should work pretty well then!">Yukari grins, "A name, already? My, you really thought about this, didn't you~?"
>Grin. "And if we find one that hasn't been named yet, and it happens to be male, I have the perfect name in mind."
>Get moving for the entrance. "Well, what're we waiting for? We got research to do!">Yukari and Suika follow you to the entrance, and Alice drags Marisa by her ankle.
>Chuckle, then stand up if we ended up falling down. "Well, it kinda just came to me really.">Yukari and Suika just giggle with each other.
>"But to be honest, I never really started considering getting a shikigami for myself until today. Maybe then I'll have someone who'll actually tell me straight what happens when I go on a bender, like I did the other night." Look at Yukari and Suika with a 'You guys...' kinda look.
>"I got the idea that maybe I need to step things up a notch, so I've decided that I should look into getting a Shikigami. Alice here said you had a few books on the matter.">Patchouli blinks, "Ah, yes. As it turns out, I have two. One on the history and information of shikigami, one on the actual summoning with the different types of shikigami that you can summon: male, female, animal or human, young or old."
>Point a thumb at Marisa. "She came along because she felt like it. Though I wouldn't count out her being interested in getting a shikigami in order to keep up with me." Grin a bit. She won't be able to keep up once we get a shikigami!>Patchouli shakes her head, "Gensokyo would be in danger if Marisa had anyone to fight alongside her with the same recklessness. It's best if she doesn't."
>Shrug. "That's why it'd probably make sense for her to get a shikigami that's more even-tempered or something.">Patchouli hands you both of the books anyway, and everyone leans over your shoulder to read.
>Let's take the books with a polite nod. "Thanks, I'll be sure to read these."
>Let's go find a seat to get to reading. First, the blue one.
>Grin. "How convenient, Tigers seem to be a common shikigami type. Looks like things are going pretty well for a change. Guess all I need to do is figure out the whole shikigami business, and boom.">Suika giggles, "Reimu, your amulets probably do more than a Possessed Scroll shikigami!!"
>Frown slightly. "Though I suppose I should probably start with the basic sort, the 'Possessed Scroll'..."
>Beat.
>"...Nah, if I have trouble with it, I can just apply liberal amounts of danmaku to discipline it into submission.">Yukari laughs, "Remember the sympathetic link. Just be careful if you don't want to accidentally beat yourself to tears."
>Grin. "Good point. But don't you usually do that when Ran goofs up anyhow? I seem to remember hearing about a minor escapade where you were beating Ran around something fierce with that parasol of yours.">Yukari grins, "Oh, it works, though. Ran is such a good girl."
>Let's have a look inside that red book then!
>Let's look at the Animals: Feline, and Half-Animals: half Feline sections. We'll decide on the gender later.>You consult the page referenced in the contents for Animals: Feline section.
>"You may be right, but now it's time for me to find what I want!"
>"....Wow, this is some complex stuff. Did you seriously have to go through this, Yukari?">Yukari grins, "I didn't summon Ran from scratch, but we still had to do it, so it wasn't as difficult. And she didn't summon Chen from scratch either."
>Ah well, let's look in the genders section now. Gotta be detailed when making shikigami after all!
>Alright, let's have a more detailed look at the tigers section, we're after a white tiger!>Yukari thinks for a while, then points at a footnote in the book, "It says additions of cloth and/or charms for the colour of animal Shikigami are not necessary. It depends on the picture that the summoner has in their mind. There you go. Oh... and extra additions of cloth will confuse the gender and maybe end up with a double-gender or a no-gender Shikigami."
>"I get it now. ...Hm, wonder what happens if I use white and blue cloth in the gender part?"
>Excaliburface. "That's...not exactly a pleasant prospect. Not to mention confusing...">Yukari grins, "Well, it is meant to be that way. It's meant to scare away the less committed."
>Beat.>Marisa grins, "N'aww, Reimu, we're just friends! I wouldn't cheat on my dear Alice so blatantly, ze~! Besides, the floor was such a pervert. All it does is look up girl's skirts all day."
>"And welcome back Marisa, have a nice date with the floor?"
>Chuckle. "Too bad you didn't get it's number, otherwise you could've had a lasting relationship with it."
>Chuckle. "Yeah, we probably should. Let's get this done then shall we?">Marisa pulls up her skirt, regardless of the view she gives to everyone else, and tears off a good-sized strip.
>Beat. "Anyone got some black, green, or blue cloth I can use?"
>Sigh, then take a tiger charm, and wrap the cloth around it. "How did I know that's what you were going to do? Wait, don't answer that. It's because we know each other pretty well already.">Marisa grins, "Awesome."
>"But y'know, I'm kinda surprised Alice didn't have any, I mean, you work with it on a regular basis, so it's not too much of a stretch for me to imagine you have some kind of spell that conjures that sort of stuff out of thin air or something.">Alice shakes her head, "No, no, that type of conjurations are beyond me. Besides, even if I did have any, Marisa would have beaten me to the punch anyhow."
>Excaliburface. "Ugh...that could make things a bit complicated. Yukari, can't you twist a border or something to make that part easier for me? You know I'm all thumbs with everything but Japanese.">Yukari laughs out loud, "How about I say it for you? Wait, are you going for a half-animal Shikigami?"
>"But isn't the whole thing linked to whoever summons it? That could be a problem if the shikigami I'm after ends up bound to one of you guys instead.">Yukari shrugs, "Fine, I'll sort it out."
>Smirk at Yukari. "And the last thing you need is another Shikigami, you've already got two as it is! Let other folks catch up first y'know."
>Chuckle. "She'd probably end up dishing out so many of those headbutts she's so famous for, that a hangover would be pleasant by comparison.">Yukari smiles, "But at least it's easier now."
>"Besides, my main problem wasn't with what it said. But rather, I was worried I'd get the pronunciation wrong. I've heard that this sort of thing can go south real quick if you slip up like that."
>Grin. "Like you'd even bother to get left behind. I wouldn't be able to if I tried, and you know it.">Marisa grins, "I know, but it was the principle an' all, ze!"
>"So anyhow, who's gonna draw the circle?"
>Blink. "But it says 'Magician's Circle'. I'm not really a magician y'know, I'm a Shrine Maiden.">Suika nods, "Oh, right. Haha."
>Shrug with a slight smirk. "Well, at least you're finding that you're useful for more than just blowing things up.">Marisa grins, "Nah, I'll get back to that later."
>Chuckle. "Well, let's get on with this."
>Alright, let's consult it for a refresher then!>You consult the book.
>"Okay, says here we gotta put a line through the circle as we cast this. Wonder if I can use ofuda for that?">Suika shrugs, "It said draw a line. Those ofuda have magic-...-ness in 'em, right? Should work."
>Beat.>Marisa leans to the side, "Yo! You could put someone's eye out with that!!"
>Then sling an ofuda at Marisa in a half-joking way. "We can't have a screw-up like that now can we?"
>"Ah well, let's see if this'll work." Start putting whatever magic we have into the circle.>You begin channelling your magic into the circle. It begins to glow a bright red, and begins spinning so fast it becomes a blur.
>Then chuckle. "Wonder if the star will change to a yin-yang orb or something?"
>"Hey, Yukari? Think my ofuda will work to make the line?">Yukari nods, "Yes, it will. As long as it makes a line, it'll be fine."
>Nod. "Alright then, here goes!">Everyone falls silent as you begin to concentrate.
>Focus...Get a clear image (http://i.imgur.com/ST25S.jpg) of the Shikigami we're after!
>"This is the half cat, summon a half cat!">The incantation echoes a little more than it should do for, well, an echo.
>Let's hope this works...
>Exhale slightly. "Heh, that worked rather well.">Everyone is staring, but Marisa is the first to break the silence.
>Ah, what the hell, let's ruffle the guy's hair with a smile. "Well, for the first go, it worked just to how I pictured it. You have a name?">The Shikigami looks up at you with a blank expression, "I have no name yet, Master."
>Grin. "Okay then, I have just the name...Kouga. That will be your name.">Your Shikigami, now known as Kouga, bows his head, "Thank you, Master."
>Glance over at Suika. "Well, he IS a White Tiger, so it'd make sense for him to look like this. But yeah, he is kinda cute. But what'd you expect?">Suika grins, "I just expected a bigger explosion. You know, bit more fancy."
>"...Nevermind that I can't let Byakuren have all the fun..."
>Clear our throat some. "A-nyways....There's a spell to summon a shikigami to it's master instantly right? I think I can put that to a lot of use.">Yukari nods, "Shikigami are renowned for being weak when the distance between them and their master is large. Summon them, and they'll feel it and instantly teleport. Ran has that, but she doesn't use it much as I tend to pull her through gaps more than anything."
>Grin. "Especially when I show Sanae how she's falling behind!"
>Grin. "Alright then. Yukari, could you give me a hand in getting to The Moriya Shrine? I want to show Sanae how she's falling behind.">Yukari smiles, "With pleasure."
>Nod. "Alright. Kouga, come on.">You head through the gap with Kouga.
>Let's head through with Kouga!
>"Oi! Sanae! Where are ya?"
>Smirk. "Just thought I'd come to let you know you're starting to fall behind. I've come a long way you know, and now..">Sanae frowns, "Oh, you actually need a Shikigami? I'm starting to think you're falling behind, if you feel the need to get a servant to help you out. I would have thought the power of the Hakurei Shrine's gods would have helped you out in that aspect..."
>Gesture towards Kouga. "...I have a Shikigami. You don't. Meet Kouga, a White Tiger Shikigami. Kouga, this here's Sanae, she's a Shrine Maiden just like me, even though she's still just player two."
>Shrug. "I actually figured I'd need the backup. Haven't you noticed how these incidents have been picking up in steam lately? The underground, That ship, and just recently those taoists. Don't you get the feeling that these incidents are getting more serious each one that passes? ...Even if that last one brought in a totally clueless group of people.">Sanae laughs, "At least I'm dealing with the more important ones. Didn't you solve an incident about too many flowers?"
>Glance at Kouga. "Well yeah, we are from rival temples after all.">Sanae laughs, "Yes, but how much of them have you seen lately? Actually, how much have you seen of worshippers lately?"
>Grin. "Yeah, Suika said the same thing y'know. But besides, Sanae, have you ever heard of the Four Gods? If not, then it just proves how far behind you are."
>"Aya? I actually resolved that. She nearly killed Hatate y'know.">Sanae moves her mouth, maliciously imitating you with a disapproving expression, "My word, you rehearse that a lot..."
>Grin. "But anyways, I wasn't talking about the typical ones. I'm talking about Seiryu, Suzaku, Genbu, and Byakkou. Think about it Sanae, they're all different creatures."
>"Genbu, the Black Tortoise of the North. Seiryu, Azure Dragon of the East. Suzaku, Vermillion Bird of the South. And lastly...Byakkou, White Tiger of the West."
>Thoughtful expression. "Though there was a fifth, Kouryu, Yellow Dragon of The Center.">Sanae raises her hand, "Enough! You're taking time out of my busy shrine-tending schedule. You may want to attend to your shrine. I've been told it's nearly buried in leaves."
>Smirk. "Can you see things clearly? Think about it, Byakkou is the White Tiger. I have a White Tiger Shikigami. And the Kou from Kouga is the same as in Byakkou."
>"Symbolism is a powerful thing in Gensokyo, I thought you learned that already."
>Smirk. "Whatever, you keep telling yourself that I'm the one falling behind.">Sanae growls, "Good luck. You're going to need it."
>Let's head back to the gap if it's still there. "Kouga, let's get outta here."
>Chuckle. "She thinks that I'm the one falling behind. What a hoot. She's only been at this whole incident-solving business..What, twice? We've been at it way longer, haven't we?">Everyone laughs. Loudly.
>Let's have a laugh! "I could tell from the tone of her voice as me and Kouga were walking off that she was really peeved! Ooh, seeing that player two get up in arms like that is pretty nice."
>Grin. "Careful now Patchy, she might just show up around here someday to try and one up me.">Patchouli smirks, "I don't think so. Sakuya isn't a big fan of Sanae, I don't think she'd let her pass!"
>Beat.
>"Oh, I never told her how I got a Shikigami." Let's laugh more! "Kouga, this stuff's funny okay, if you're gonna be my Shikigami, you need to develop a sense of humor, so laugh!"
>Grin. "I was just about to check. Though even Ran has a few cards only she uses.">Yukari grins, "Yes, but the majority of hers are toned-down versions of mine."
>Fistpalm. "That's right! We have to teach Kouga about how incidents and such are resolved, shouldn't we?">Marisa grins, "Pleasure to be of assistance to ya'!"
>Grin. "You wanna lend a hand Marisa? I've been worried that I've gotten a little rusty since the incident with those Taoists."
>Chuckle. "Not exactly what I had in mind Marisa. I was asking for you to help me show him what a Spellcard Duel is like.">Marisa grins, "Oh yeah!! Bring it on!! Remember, shoot and I'll move. In a flash!"
>Grin. "Just like back during the Imperishable Night Incident, y'know?"
>Let's take off into the air then! "Kouga! Be sure to watch and study every second of this!">You take off into the air, level with Marisa.
>Nod "First, let's demonstrate some of our shot types, shall we? I'll lead off.">Kouga listens intently. It doesn't take a genius to work out that he is making mental notes at an incredible pace.
>Look down to Kouga. "Now, I'll start with one of my standard shots, the Ofuda. You'll probably have it as a default shot as well, since it's my default as well."
>Let's fire a few Ofuda over Marisa's way!
>Let's weave through them, grazing!>Kouga nods, still watching intently.
>"This is called Grazing! If you don't directly get hit by the Danmaku, you can really start to show off your skill by grazing!"
>Now let's fire some Persuasion Needles this time!>You shoot some Persuasion Needles, which persuade Marisa rather quickly to move out of the way. She sighs in relief.
>"Those were Persuasion Needles, one of my Secondary Shots. They hit a bit harder than the Ofuda, and are essentially the same as far as hitting with them go. They're a little hard to do damage with sometimes, due to pretty much needing you to always be right in front of the opponent to hit with them. Even the Ofuda can spread out, the Needles go in a straight line.">Kouga nods again, and he seems to look as if he already knows this.
>"You can probably use these too, for the same reason."
>Nod. "Yes, but when you get the hang of it, it's surprisingly easy.">Kouga nods.
>Fire off a trio of homing amulets!
>"These are Homing Amulets, another Secondary Shot I use. They're much more versatile than the Needles, as it doesn't matter where I am when I fire them, as they'll go to the nearest opponent. Which, currently, is Marisa.">Kouga nods, and smirks a little as Marisa whines.
>"Although, they don't hit as hard as even the usual Ofuda. So they're nowhere near as strong as the Needles."
>Nod. "And sometimes on difficult-to-hit foes, such as ones that are dangerous to be directly in front of.">Kouga stares at Marisa, who simply shrugs.
>Grin, then point a thumb at Marisa. "Like her."
>Let's pull out the Youkai Buster now and fire!>You fire a round of Youkai Buster at Marisa, and she loops out of the way with a grin, "Ya' missed!! You haven't used those since that incident that you met Sanae in, coupl'a years ago, right?"
>"These are Youkai Busters, I haven't used them in ages, but they're kinda like stronger Ofuda. Nice spread, good damage output, but they have the same weakness as the Ofuda in that you have to be precise about where you are. And to add to that, you can't get the most out of them unless you're right next to an opponent, like so!"
>Then boost up to Marisa and unload another shot of Youkai Buster!
>Shrug. "No, remember the Scarlet Sky Incident? I used them back then as well.">Marisa facepalms, "Reimu, my memory doesn't go that far back! My brain moves too fast to remember the past, ze.."
>"Well, that about covers the shot varieties I have, now we'll move on to the fun stuff. Spellcards.">Kouga keeps nodding, and you see him murmuring to himself. Maybe he's trying to remember it by repeating it...
>"Spellcards, along with Danmaku, were created as a non-lethal solution to the problems at large. Once, long ago, humans were little more than fodder for the youkai, and battles between the youkai and humans were very real, and very bloody and lethal. But when the Spellcard System came into being, all that changed."
>"Nowadays, even a regular human can go up against a youkai like Yukari or Suika, and stand a shot at winning. Largely thanks in part to the Spellcard System. It's a small chance, as you have to have either a lot of skill, or an insane amount of luck. And by that I mean that you'd better hope they're just playing around, because those two over there are considered some of the strongest youkai around."
>Grin. "And if it wasn't for the Spellcard System, I probably wouldn't have ended up counting them among my friends. It's a funny thing y'know, when yesterday's enemy is today's friend."
>"Anyhow, Marisa, let's show him one spellcard each, then we can get to the real fight. I'll lead off with the first one, Dream Sign: Evil-Sealing Circle!">Marisa's jaw drops, "I hate you."
>Let's keep it going! "Well, I was actually thinking that Ran or Chen would be good sparring partners for him. They're Shikigami too, and around the same scale of power if I'm not mistaken. Chen would probably be even with him if both you and Ran are around. I mean, she was pretty tough back when we fought that second time, right before I fought Ran. Especially that Red Oni Blue Oni card, that one was a doozy!">Yukari shrugs, "I'm sure they would. I'm sure Chen would warm up to him quite fast."
>Hold out until timeout!>You keep up the spellcard, and you can hear Marisa yelping as she weaves recklessly through the pattern.
>"Well, why don't you introduce them then? That card was pretty tricky at first to begin with, largely because I hadn't ran into a card like it before."
>Chuckle. "Well Marisa? Which card are you gonna use? After all, I did say we'd show off one spellcard each before the real fight.">Marisa sighs, "Shouldn't use Master Spark, as there's no real competition just... laser, but... meh."
>"Anyhow, Ran and Chen should meet Kouga, he could learn a lot from them, what with them being more experienced Shikigami and such.">Yukari smiles, "I'll bring them in once you're done."
>Laugh. "Hah! Nice pick Marisa! He'll learn a fair bit from these!">You slalom in between the stars, squeezing through the minute gaps. It doesn't present much of a problem.
>Weave in and out of the shots as needed!
>Grin. "Oh, a good reason to not be in front of you during incident resolution.">Marisa grins, "Or at all, ze."
>Let's go for a timeout!
>Grin. "Okay them, now that we've shown him the spellcards, let's start the real fight!">Marisa grins, "I's hoping we'd get 'round to that soon!"
>Let's start up with a wave of 5 Homing Amulets, closely accompanied by a rapidfire spread of Ofuda!>Marisa leaps sideways off her broom, fixing her feet on it sideways as she haphazardly dances between your Homing Amulets, and continues broom-surfing as the Ofuda spread reaches her.
>Let's fire a Barrage of Youkai Busters while zooming around, just like back in the Imperishable Night Incident!>You begin swooping all over the library, throwing down a curtain of Youkai Busters.
>Let's keep it up!>Marisa grins and suddenly raises her Hakkero, "You always did have trouble with Master Spark, didn't you, ze~?"
>"You always did have trouble with 'em when we fought back then!"
>Grin. "Heh, I should've known you'd bust that out sooner or later!">Marisa grins, "I'm just a predictable girl!"
>Let's pick up the pace and start looping around her instead, like those things on Okuu's foot!
>Let's back off then, and fire a barrage of Ofuda!>Marisa grins, cancelling the Non-Directional Laser and swerving through the Ofuda barrage at breakneck speed, "I would have known you would have done that, too!"
>Grin. "I should've known you'd swap to that once I started that!"
>Heh, let's fly right at it, then veer upwards at the last second!>You swerve away from the Master Spark laser, and it ends up grazing your foot only slightly.
>Once we're in the clear, fire a barrage of Homing Amulets!
>Laugh! "We know each other all too well eh?">Marisa re-adjusts her hat, "Yep! Only makes it more fun, right?"
>Grin right back. "I'll have to get this shoe patched up later or something, but yeah!">Marisa shrugs, "Lucky I didn't blast it right off, really."
>Chuckle. "I think it's time to go up to the next level! Dream Land: 'Super Duplex Border'!"
>Grin. "You never were one to take things slowly were you?">Marisa shrugs, "Nah, you were always the slow strategical one, ze~!"
>Let's keep this up until timeout!
>Chuckle. "Hope you're ready for the next one Marisa, because this ones gonna be a doozy! Migrating Spirit: 'Fantasy Seal -Dark-'!">Marisa cheers, "Love this one!"
>Laugh. "This is one of my favored ones too, you know that!">Marisa keeps swerving in and out of the small waves of colour-changing bullets.
>Let's keep it up until timeout!
>Grin. "Well, looks like you held out against this one too! But time for the fight to really begin! Divine Arts: 'Omnidirectional Dragon Slaying Circle'!">Marisa yelps, "You can't be serious!!"
>Let's have a laugh! "I gotta show Kouga the good stuff y'know, he'll probably have stuff like this anyhow!">Marisa yelps, holding onto her broom with one hand, "I'll never know how anyone can call this good, it's evil, ze!!"
>Let's keep it up until timeout!
>Let's just have a good laugh and keep it up until timeout! "After this, let's have some tea or something!">Marisa sighs, "You always laugh at the weirdest things... ze."
>Chuckle. "You gotta know how to laugh in a crazy world like this. I thought that you of all people would know.">Marisa cheers and heads back down to the ground, "Feels good to be on solid ground once again."
>Let's land. "I'll give you the win today Marisa, I just want some tea now."
>Then look to Kouga. "You were watching right? But anyhow, as I mentioned earlier, Yukari and Suika are among the Top Youkai of Gensokyo. There's others, like Remilia and her little sister, who you can easily meet both of soon enough, as this is their residence to begin with. Though I'll warn you, the younger sister, Flandre, is a mite too excitable. And she might end up getting the idea to have a Shikigami of her own. (That can only go badly.) She's impressionable like that y'know. Good kid, just a little bit of a screwball sometimes, like most kids are.">Kouga nods intently.
>"The others include Yuyuko Saigyouji, who rules Hakugyoukurou. She's known as 'The Ghost Princess', but she doesn't really seem all that royal sometimes, since she's kinda out there at times. Nice lady and all, just a few cards short of a deck sometimes, if you go by the common view of her that is. Though I will agree, she does have a tendency to be a bit strange at times, only Yukari can really tell what's going through her mind half the time. They've been friends for longer than I've been around, and then some.">Yukari grins, "But loopy people like her are such a nice break from the deadpan serious people like you, Reimu."
>"Then there's Shikieiki Yamaxanadu, she leads Higan, which is where all the dead eventually end up in time. Well, unless Yuyuko takes a shine to them that is, then they get carted off to reside at Hakugyoukurou, with her. I know Shikieiki means well with all her lectures but...Sometimes it's better to listen, y'know? She's a real workaholic and a half, I'll say that much.">Kouga blinks, "So, she's lectured you before?"
>"And then there's this other Youkai that's been around for ages apparently, but I bumped into her in the same incident as Shikieiki. Her name's Yuuka Kazami, she's a Flower Youkai. But don't get me wrong, fighting her's like playing on a whole other difficulty. Last time I went against her, I could barely even dent her clothes. I think I only won on a technicality due to the spellcard rules really."(I see what you did there with the difficulty thing.)
>Shrug "Either that, or she got bored and decided to find someone else to pick a fight with."
>"Come to think of it, while we're on the subject of Dangerous Youkai, I heard about another one that was pretty dangerous who was wandering around during that same incident. I don't really know too much though, since I never ran into her. But according to what I've heard, she uses one doozy of a cocktail of poisons, venoms, and toxins. Thankfully though, she keeps to the spellcard rules, otherwise I'd have to get rid of her.">Marisa fistpalms, "Oh, Medicine! I've got this theory that she's either related to Yamame, or was a failed experiment of Alice's!"
>Sigh. "And that would be a real pain for everyone involved...But I did hear Yuuka went up against her at some point, I should probably get around to asking her sometime. She's a relatively polite person though, as far as youkai who've been around for ages go. She's just really out there, and not like how Yuyuko is."
>"I once heard that she actually shops for stuff in the human village. But what she'd need to buy there is beyond me, considering that she's practically got nature itself bending over backwards for her. I did hear she's okay with kids though, probably because she sees them as saplings or something, given what sort of Youkai she is. If you ever go to the Garden, either on my orders, or of your own volition, make sure to not harm any sunflowers. I don't want to end up losing you.">Kouga blinks, "I don't think I'll be able to damage a sunflower. I think most of them are taller than me. They'll do more damage to me."
>"Although, Yukari does send Ran on shopping trips there as well, even though Yukari can just use her power to provide goods for herself. So maybe it's just a youkai thing, I dunno.">Kouga raises an eyebrow, "A Shikigami of a Shikigami? Confusing. I'd quite like to meet them both, they seem interesting."
>"Oh yeah, Ran is Yukari's Shikigami, as I've stated earlier. And Ran has a Shikigami of her own, Chen, a Nekomata. Ran's also one of the stronger foes I've gone up against in the past, though now we just regard each other as worthy opponents."
>Shrug. "Well, you'd probably be able to knock one over by crashing into it somehow, or as collateral damage from danmaku.">Kouga nods, "I see..."
>"But anyhow, the reason why Yuuka's so powerful is because she draws extra power from nature itself. In addition to being an exceptionally ancient Youkai. Plus, she's got a move much like Marisa's Master Spark, though she never bothered to use it when we fought."
>"But Youkai tend to get stronger over time, much like Humans. But unlike humans, who gradually peak at some point in their lives, and then grow weaker towards the end. Youkai however, keep growing stronger and stronger.">Yukari grins, "But I, of course, haven't had a lot of time to get stronger. I am young, after all."
>"And yeah, Eiki lectured just about everyone here short of Alice, Patchouli, yourself, Yukari, and Suika. Which means that Marisa, myself, and Sakuya all got lectured."
>Look to Yukari. "Anyhow, you gonna introduce them to Kouga?"
>Grin. "He's a White Tiger type Shikigami, I figured you'd get along with him pretty well, Chen.">Chen bounds over to Kouga, inspecting him.
>Chuckle. "So, what do you guys say to seeing him in action? I was thinking Chen'd make a good sparring partner for him."
>Grin at Ran. "Eh, I figured I'd need the backup. Besides, you were pretty dang helpful back during the Imperishable Night Incident after all.">Ran smiles, "I did my best for Master Yukari's sake."
>Glance at Kouga with a grin. "You want to see how strong she is, her being a second-generation shikigami and all, don't you? Well, since both Ran and Yukari are here, and I'm here as well, it should be an even match.">Chen grins and runs down the library corridor, before turning around at a sizeable distance, "Kouga, let's go!"
>Chuckle. "Hey Chen, give the kid a chance to get everything sorted out and stuff okay?">Chen gives you a thumbs up, "I'll let him start!"
>Sigh amusedly. "As energetic as usual, isn't she?"
>Smirk. "Well, this should be worth watching, eh Ran? Usually I'd be the one fighting, but this time I've got someone learning from me.">Ran nods, "Indeed it should. And since all of us are present, it should be quite the thrilling spectacle."
>Look over to Alice with a grin. "Hey, mind sending a doll to get Remi and Flan? I get the feeling they'll want to watch this.">Alice nods, "Right away."
>Wave to them with a grin. "Yo. See the kid with the white hair and tiger tail? That's my new Shikigami, Kouga.">Remilia and Flandre wave over, "Hi, Kouga!!"
>"He'll be having a sparring match with Chen here in a bit, once he's gotten everything he's learned so far sorted away and stuff."
>Grin, then pull out our Gohei and hold it up. "Shikigami Battle....Start!" Swing the Gohei downwards!>You swing your Gohei down to signal the start of the Shikigami battle.
>Chuckle. "He's got Ofuda down at least. Might take a while for him to get the hang of Youkai Buster though.">Ran nods, "I'm surprised Chen did those little triangle things. I would have thought she would have used something else. Until she tries that Red Oni, Blue Oni spellcard, Kouga will be just fine."
>Grin. "But for now though, he's doing pretty well isn't he? He's got good reflexes at least."
>Grin. "Well, I did specify for a half-beast sort of Shikigami, so it's to be expected.">Marisa shuffles over, "Well, you did, like, channel your own magic into that circle to summon him. Who knows, he may have more up his sleeve..."
>Then smirk. "So he picked those up that quickly eh? Took me a while to get the hang of using them without hurting myself. Kid's got talent."
>Chuckle. "He might just end up being an Inherited Shikigami at this rate. I won't be around forever y'know, and I think it'd be pretty nice to have something else to pass down to whoever my successor is.">Yukari blinks, "Do you think he can work the Hakurei yin-yang orbs like you can? It would be worth seeing if he can, wouldn't it?"
>Chuckle. "Like that Marisa? Wonder if he's got a version of that spellcard too? Y'know, the one where I just go all intangible and such.">Marisa stares at you with an awkward expression, "Oh, yeah. I know that one a little too well."
>Grin. "You know the one."
>Thoughtful expression. "Yukari, I just had an idea. Think you could open up one of those gaps you usually poke yourself through, and make the other end where Aya is? I get the feeling she'll flip out if she misses out on something like this, but I want to do things in a different way than usual.">Yukari grins, "Absolutely."
>Blink a few times, then facepalm. "That wasn't exactly what I had in mind but...">Aya nods, "She said you had a Shikigami, but before she could say anything else, I came running!"
>Grin. "Ah well, I take it Yukari probably filled you in on some of the stuff?"
>Fistpalm. "I just had an idea. I know you tengu usually work alone, with the exception of the messengers and patrols and the like, but this just now dawned on me.">Aya blinks, "...Good plan. I still like getting photographs though, and mine are much better. Besides, sometimes Momiji helps me out if I have a lot to do. She can use a typewriter much faster than I can."
>"If you and Hatate were to team up, you and her would have an even better newspaper than what you already have on your own."
>Grin. "And with her getting the photos, and you writing the articles, it'd be pretty good I'd say."
>Shrug slightly. "But enough on that, I figured you'd want to watch this, seeing as how my Shikigami up there is Gensokyo's newest resident.">Aya lifts up her camera and notepad, "Already three hundred steps ahead of you."
>Grin. "Well, it was mostly because I wanted something that had significance. Being a tengu, I assume you know of The Four Gods, yes? They're also called 'The Four Holy Beasts'.">Aya scribbles down exactly what you say, "Interesting, interesting... and how would you describe his personality? And how is he with the ladies? Since he's new here, it's only my job to find out everything I can for a full profile!"
>"Suzaku, Genbu, Seiryu, and Byakkou. The last of those four being the template I modeled Kouga after."
>Smirk. "Well, he certainly has a way with being impressive. Alice here even admitted that he might be even better at sarcasm and snark than her.">Aya smiles darkly, "Ah, so we have a dark horse..."
>Grin. "As for his personality, you're better off having a chat with him after this."
>Chuckle. "Oh yeah. Suika, and even Sanae commented on how he looks like Shou and Momiji's lovechild. Guess that's what comes from him being a White Tiger Shikigami, eh?">Aya stares at Kouga for a while, then shrugs, "I see what they mean. Maybe I should hook up Momiji and Shou..."
>Sigh amusedly. "That card eh? He's got good taste, and intuition. Against an opponent that zooms around like you or Chen do, that card's the best pick.">Ran facepalms, "Yes, if only he could teach that intuition to Chen... she's so quick to panic..."
>Chuckle. "Kid's got talent! Glad he's my Shikigami. I'll have to remember to have him teach Chen about all this later on.">Ran nods, "I definitely think Chen has a few things to learn from him."
>Blink too. "I never made a spellcard like that. Closest thing that comes to mind that's anything like it is Fantasy Heaven. In the regard that they both use Familiars.">Yukari grins, "I'm still impressed that he made one so quickly."
>"Well Yukari, you did say that Ran still has a few cards of her own, so this must be an original card of his."
>Chuckle. "Yeah, it's pretty good though. He could probably benefit from improving the rate of fire just a bit. I think an improved version would probably either add in a fifth Familar, or have him fire the squares as well.">Yukari tilts her head, "Maybe it's the easiest version of his spellcard..."
>Let's keep watching!
>Raise an eyebrow. "Oh?">Yukari nods, "Either that, or he's open to suggestion."
>Smirk. "Well, seems it's just got a buildup, like Descent of Izuna Gongen, and Boundary of Life And Death. Rather fitting, don't you agree?"
>Headtilt with a slight frown and crossed arms. "But modifying a spellcard as it's still going? That's pretty rare isn't it? Only two or three spellcards I've seen do that, and I've already mentioned two of them.">Ran frowns a little, too, "Either that, or he already knew."
>Shrug. "Maybe. We'll have to ask after all this. Think we should call it a match after the next two cards?">Ran smirks, "I think maybe just the one..."
>Chuckle. "Yeah, she's definitely gonna need some comfort food and a nap after this.">Ran blinks, "You would have thought she would concentrate more... it's almost as if she's letting him win."
>Chuckle. "Think she's got a thing for the little guy? They are both cats after all.">Ran and Yukari both grin in a small devious way.
>Chuckle. "Well, I did intend for him to be equal parts adorable, and equal parts handsome. After all, he is modeled after Byakkou.">Ran nods, "And, of course, tigers are quite the handsome creatures."
>"But anyhow, I'd say this has been enough of a match eh? They do deserve a break after a show like that.">Chen sighs in relief and flies swiftly past Kouga, nearly knocking him off balance.
>Look up to Kouga and Chen. "Hey! You two did good, so come on down and rest if you need it."
>Whisper back; "Clearly. I think he might like her too.">Ran nods, "Definitely... he's just better at hiding it..."
>Look over at Aya. "Anyhow, I guess it's time for that interview now, eh Aya?">Aya nods, "I'll just borrow Kouga for a bit."
>Laugh. "Oi! At least let 'im get a word in edgewise Aya!">Aya shouts back, "I am!!"
>Grin. "Anyhow, I just had another interesting idea. But I'll need a mallet, your help Yukari, some of that processed cheese spread stuff that comes in those cans that the people in the outside world seem to enjoy, and a certain troublesome celestial and her hat to pull it on.">Yukari nods at you with a slight acknowledging smile, whilst rummaging around inside a gap.
>"But she can't know who's messing with her though, you know the one."
>"Anyhow, my plan's this. first, you pop open a gap right over her head. then, I snatch her hat without her noticing, and then we fill it with the cheese. Then, when she notices her hat's missing and starts to panic, splat! I plop the hat back on her head with it's cheese-based payload!"
>Chuckle "Serves her right for destroying my shrine back then."
>Beat.>Yukari nods, "I know, I know."
"..What, you thought that was water under the bridge? Eh, not entirely, I've just been waiting for a way to pay her back for it with a good trick."
>Beat.
>"...I think I'm starting to become another Yukari. First a desire to start my own incident, then getting a Shikigami, and now I feel compelled to prank Tenshi. Someone check if my hair's turning blonde too!" Say the last part with a joking laugh.>Marisa rummages through your hair, "No, no... unless blonde is a synonym for grey hair. Then, yes."
>Alright, let's get close to the gap, focus, and then snatch Tenshi's hat off her head before she even notices it!>You get close to the gap.
>Then, we'll fill it with the cheese!
>THen, wait for Tenshi to notice her hat's missing, and then splat!>Tenshi suddenly looks down and to her right, thinking it had blown off, "Where did that hat get to..?"
>Repress a chuckle, then move away from the gap, grinning madly.>Yukari nudges you in a joking way, "I must be contagious."
>Well, guess we found out why Yukari and fairies do this, it's kinda fun!
>Grin. "Apparently.">Yukari leans in, curious, "What, what, what~? You've got me interested now!"
>Beat.
>Devious, Yukari-esque smirk. "I just had an idea to make this even better."
>Grin. "Wasabi. Right on her tongue. Via a gap. Should be fun to watch.">Yukari reaches into a gap and pulls out a jar of wasabi and a spoon.
>Let's have a laugh! "Ahahaha! This is rich!">Suika and Yukari are laughing too much to speak.
>Look to Suika, Yukari, and Kouga. "You guys got any ideas for other tricks to pull?"
>Walk over and clap 'im on the back. "That's a great idea! You're making me proud, Kouga!">Kouga grins, "I think Yukari is a little too contagious."
>"Yukari, let's do that!"
>Laugh. "This is gonna be rich!">Everyone falls silent.
>Beat.
>"....How are we gonna pull this one off?"
>Grin. "Let's hear it then. I'm looking forward to seeing how this'll play out.">Tenshi has resorted to licking her own arm to clear the wasabi from her tongue... odd.
>Let's look to the gap to see how she's holding up with the wasabi.
>Beat.>Kouga grins in a slightly over-excited manner.
>"That should work! I knew I did it right when I summoned a Shikigami like you!"
>Ruffle his hair with a proud grin.
>"Oh, I think she's going to need more wasabi again here in a moment.">Yukari blinks, pulling her hand and an empty spoon out of a gap, "Three miles ahead of you."
>Let's grin too!>Yukari nods, "We'll watch Kouga through a separate gap, then set one up just in Tenshi's path as she runs either to or from him. Ought to be good."
>"Alright then, let's set the preparations for the next prank!"
>Laugh. "Hell, just seeing her freaked-out face when she comes face to face with a tiger oughta be worth it.">Yukari opens a viewing gap for everyone to watch through.
>Grin like a madman. "Alright! Let's do this!"
>Let's do this! Replace her socks with the fish like Kouga said!>You stuff the fish into Tenshi's shoes.
>But not before tickling her a bit first.
>"Gahahahaha!">Suika shrugs, "Maybe you confused your internal organs with all that sake, so it told your brain that you are now an Oni."
>Beat.
>"Suika, I think the Oni way of laughing is contagious too."
>Grin. "But anyhow, let's bring Kouga back now, and watch Tenshi struggle with the fishy payload!">Yukari opens a gap and beckons Kouga back through.
>Chuckle. "Maybe Suika, maybe! It'd explain why I'm interested in causing an incident of my own, or just plain mindless pranking.">Suika pats your back, "Everybody loves a prank. Heck, I bet even Alice would be partial to pranking someone... even though she is a stone-cold serious-face."
>Beat.
>"I just had yet another idea. Icecubes in her undergarments. That oughta set her to squirming more, eh?">Yukari grins, reaching into a small gap and retrieving a tray of ice-cubes, "I have a feeling that if she finds out it was us, she won't be happy. She can't do much damage to your shrine via an earthquake unless she's that annoyed that she removes the keystone."
>Chuckle. "Yeah, that's the fun part. Knowing she can't get me back, since this is partially payback for the time she leveled my shrine, and partially because I feel like it.">Suika grins, "Absolutely right.
>Grin. "Now, let's do this."
>Set to putting in the icecubes when Yukari passes them to us, and opens the gap or gaps to do so.
>Let's stick them in slowly at first, just one at a time.>You slowly add in the ice-cubes one at a time.
>Then, dump the whole thing in!
>Let's have a good laugh!>You laugh. A lot. Everybody else does, too. Even Alice can't resist having a chuckle or two.
>Then look to the others. "You guys got any ideas for more pranks?"
>"Nobody has any ideas? Really?">Suika grins, "Peach. It'll be ironic. Besides, peach often dries the skin out more than bananas or cream. It'll be funny to see that."
>Sigh. "Well, there's always the old pie-to-the-face, that's always a classic."
>Beat.
>"Banana-Cream, or Peach?"
>Grin. "That's exactly what I was thinking.">Yukari grins, "Cold. Ice cold, for the perfect shock factor!"
>Beat.
>"Cold, or fresh-from-the-oven?"
>Shrug. "Even though she's already got icecubes in her undergarments? Because I was thinking that a hot one would make for a nice contrast with the icecubes.">Yukari nods, "Ah, yes, true... but what is this idea~?"
>Pause, then grin deviously.
>"I just had an idea to make this even better, and get two birds with one stone."
>Smirk. "Simple really. You pilfer one of Sanae's spare outfits, then I change into it, and then you make me look and sound like Sanae, and then we can get all these pranks pinned on her.">Yukari nods, "Yes, yes... you definitely are killing two birds with one stone. I'm sure Sanae may be kneeling in front of you and wailing once Tenshi sword-slaps her a few times."
>Laugh a bit. "Should be fun, seeing all that go down."
>Beat.>Suika nods, "But, so what? Everybody needs some spice in their life, so it's good to try both ends of the stick when it comes to incidents."
>"...I think I'm causing an incident right now!" Laugh!
>Let's take the outfit with a grin, and duck behind a bookcase to change.>You take the outfit and hide behind a bookcase. Everybody makes a polite point of looking away, anyway.
>Then when we're done, step out. "Alright, let's get the pie ready, and set to work."
>Grin. "Alright, now to just make me look and sound like Sanae, and presto. Instant fall guy, just add Tenshi.">Yukari nods, altering several borders.
>Grin. "Besides, it's you Yukari, people expect you to pull out random, seemingly-arbitrary things.">Yukari shrugs, "Quite possibly."
>Take the pie when she passes it to us.
>Grin in our typical way. "Alright, now for the gap to open so I can lean through!">Yukari opens a gap for you, which you lean through.
>When Yukari opens the gap, lean through, but keep the pie out of sight for now.
>"Oh, hello Miss Hinanawi. How are you doing today?">Tenshi scowls, "I'm doing terribly! Some idiot filled my hat with cheese, my shoes with fish and my underwear with ice cubes! This day just couldn't get any worse! When I find out who did it, I'm going to completely wreck where they live! That messenger from the Dragon Palace may not even have enough time to give warning..!"
>Giggle in that usual way Sanae does. "Oh my, that does seem like a problem.">Tenshi blinks, "You were going to give me something? Oh, cool, thanks."
>Fake a look of realization. "Oh, I had something I was going to give you, it might help improve your mood, give me a chance to get it would you?"
>Make a slight show of fiddling around, making it seem as if we're rummaging for something.>Tenshi watches you curiously.
>Then, pull out the pie. "With 'warm' regards from the Moriya Shrine~" Then, when she's gotten a good look at it, splat it in her face, and duck back through the gap!
>Let's have a laugh!>Yukari quickly shifts you back to normal.
>Grin a bit. "Alright Yukari, I think that's enough pranking for one day, I'd like to get back to my usual body now."
>Once she's shifted us back to normal, duck back behind the bookshelf and change back to our usual red-white outfit.
>Then, step back out and pass the Spare Sanae Outfit back to Yukari. "Let's keep watching the fun, I bet she'll storm off for the Moriya Shrine now!">You step out and hand Sanae's spare outfit to Yukari.
>Let's keep watching, with a big ol' grin at the chaos that's about to unfold!>You keep watching.
>"I see why you Youkai do this, it's pretty fun to see the chaos happen."
>Beat.>Yukari shrugs, "Good point."
>"Ah. I think Momiji might try to get in her way, we should probably fix that by bringing her here."
>Grin. "I was meaning to introduce her to Kouga anyhow."
>It's pretty surprising that Aya hasn't intervened any. She does live on that mountain after all.>It looks like Aya's pretty enthralled with the event that just occurred, and it busy scrawling in her notebook. She's entered her infamous focused mode. You'd be lucky if a brick to the head stirred her.
>"Yo. Figured you'd want a break from all that work you've been up to eh?">Momiji blinks, "It's a slow day today, anyhow. I think a break will be good.."
>Point a thumb over at Kouga. "This here's Kouga, my new Shikigami."
>"Kouga, that's Momiji Inubashiri, a Wolf Tengu who usually patrols the Youkai Mountain.">Kouga waves at Momiji, "Nice to meet you."
>Maybe a sledgehammer to the head would? She's a Youkai after all, they'll heal from something like that easily enough if it was a Human swinging it.>Aya probably wouldn't mind that. She'd take a picture and post it into Bunbunmaru under the headline "GUESS WHAT I FOUND IN MY HEAD".
>Give Momiji a sly grin. "You noticed too eh? Aya, Suika, and even Sanae think he looks like what'd happen if you hooked up with Shou from the Myouren Temple.">Momiji stares at you, "You can't be serious? Why would I ever hook up with Shou?"
>Chuckle. "Though, he is a White Tiger Shikigami, so it's to be expected."
>Chuckle a bit at the thought. She would do that wouldn't she?>Definitely not. Although, Shou has been renowned to be quite persuasive.
>Then laugh slightly, and glance at the gap to watch the fun a little.>You look back at the gap, and Tenshi is just hovering above the Moriya shrine with a look of pure contempt.
>"Well, he's also pretty devoted himself. And he even got Alice to admit that she might be outclassed when it comes to snark."
>I was referring to Aya, but let's go with that.(Derp)
>Chuckle. "Maybe, but Sanae should be able to handle it. She is a Shrine Maiden after all.">Yukari shrugs, "That's if she sees it in the first place."
>Chuckle. "This should be fun to watch, eh?">Yukari grins, "Good plan."
>Glance at Yukari. "You should probably warn Tenma to pack away his breakables or something, wouldn't want him to lose any priceless vases or anything. That could kick off a whole other incident."
>Frown slightly. "I expected more of a fight. But this works out just as well I guess.">Yukari shrugs, "Sometimes the shock factor is enough."
>Grin. "I just got an idea, think you could put a gap lower down on the stairway up?"
>Let's head through, and head up the stairs at a good speed!>You head through the gap.
>When we get to the top: "Whoa. I was lower down the mountain chatting it up with Nitori, when this quake hit! Good thing Yukari was awake to set a gap to shorten the travel time."
>Sigh. "Tenshi, right? Yeah, but it was easier for me since I strongarmed her into helping rebuild.">Sanae blinks, "Maybe I should... but I think she may have an eternal vendetta against me now."
>Grin. "Maybe you oughta do the same."
>Chuckle. "But y'know, I guess I can be nice for a change and lend a hand. I'll see about getting Suika up here to help out with the repairs. Oni are good at this sort of thing y'know, my shrine may look shabby, but it's solid handiwork.">Sanae sighs, "This shrine will never be the same... but it would be nice if you could help!"
>Beat.
>"Come to think of it, Kanako might be able to help with those Faith Pillars of hers, I bet they'd make good corner posts. And plus, since they're tied to her, they'd probably improve the divinity rating the shrine has."
>Chuckle. "Well well well! That serious huh? Tell you what, throw in a monthly supplies package, and you've got a deal!">Sanae smiles, "Deal!! Reimu, you're such a helpful person! Now I know why you solve all those incidents! You're so reliable!"
>Pat Sanae on the shoulder with the sort of smile a veteran would give to a novice that they're looking to comfort. "My shrine was never the same afterwards either, but you'll get used to it. Heck, my shrine's been destroyed twice already. Though you wouldn't be able to tell from looking at it.">Sanae cringes, "What if we fix it and she comes back and destroys it all over again?"
>Sigh, and give her that typical seasoned and world-weary veteran look. "That's because it's my job Sanae, you just hang out up here for the most part. I actually get out and about and resolve stuff beyond just incidents. Heck, if it wasn't for me being around, the boundary wouldn't even be working. It kinda needs a Hakurei to maintain it, so don't think I'm the lazy one here. I just enjoy the peaceful times I've brought about while we still have them.">Sanae pouts a bit, "I don't hang around up here all the time..!"
>"Heck, earlier today, before I got Kouga here, I patched things up over at the SDM. Turns out little Flan was just wanting to give her big sis a break from things.">Sanae blinks, "Sounds... fun..."
>Shrug. "I was looking around Gensokyo to see if anything was going wrong at all, in addition to showing Kouga around, and then that earthquake hit. Figured I'd check on you guys since it's kinda my job and all. Looks like my intuition was right yet again.">Sanae narrows her eyes, "Coincidence, much?"
>Grin. "Tell you what, why don't you guys swing by my place later, I'll see about getting a hold of some sake. I got some supplies earlier today, and I figured that I may as well make some sukiyaki or something.">Sanae gasps, "The shrine needs to be fixed and all you think of is sake and sukiyaki?!"
>Sigh. "Calm down willya? That stuff's good for getting over a shock. Which, you all have just been through, right?">Sanae takes a deep breath, "Sorry!"
>"Besides, I'm being generous and willing to share food for a change. Odds are, your food stores got totally wrecked in the quake anyhow, so why not?"
>"Aaaany-how, I'll try and find Suika, and see about getting her to lend a hand in fixing this place back up. If not, then we'll have to have the Tengu and Kappa help out. A job like this takes numbers y'know.">Sanae nods, "I'm sure it will... how many people did you need to fix your shrine up?"
>Beat.>Sanae blinks, "Lucky you..."
>"Y'know, I never really counted how many folks helped. Let's see...Suika...Tenshi...I think even Yukari helped out too. Just about everyone who was involved in that incident back then I think. Though Suika was the bulk of the group, thanks to her power. I never really bothered to count just how many copies of herself she used back then."
>Nod. "Yeah, though I didn't expect there to be this much damage. Looks like shrines just aren't very lucky when it comes to stuff involving that celestial huh?">Sanae resists the urge to giggle and keeps a straight face, "Well, it wasn't built with earthquakes in mind..."
>"Heck, the first time it got wrecked was because she was bored. Second time was Yukari's doing, because of said celestial mucking about when she was repairing the place, and adding something Yukari didn't like."
>Take Kanako and Suwako aside. "Word to the wise, don't let Sanae have too much Sake. I went on one hell of a binge the other day, and I still haven't figured out what happened. She would not like to end up in the same situation. Come to think of it, I still haven't figured out why I drank so much.">Suwako grins widely, "Sanae is a mean drunk. Trust me, if you think she's mean to you sometimes then just wait until she's drunk and you're in for some fun."
>Chuckle. "I'll keep that in mind, but I think we could keep her in check if that does end up happening.">Suwako shrugs, "Could always swap sake for a non-alcoholic drink, tell her it's sake and watch the placebo effect kick in!"
>Beat.
>Stare with a half amused, half incredulous look. "Wait, she tried to get the Aki Sisters to marry her? Wow. And I hear I was weird when I was drunk.">Kanako sighs, "Well, let's just say that they are scared to come by here. The only way we got Sanae to stop was to tell her that she was married to Nitori, and have Nitori play along. Such a good sport, you know."
>Grin. "That should work! Plus, it'd be kinda funny to see her reaction when she realizes that she's done weird stuff completely sober.">Kanako nods, "She knows. It's one of the reasons she doesn't go to the lower parts of the mountain too often anymore."
>Pause. "Does she know about all that? Y'know, that whole mess?"
>"Oh yeah, I really should've introduced you guys sooner, but the kid there's Kouga, he's my new Shikigami.">Kanako and Suwako look to your side, at Kouga.
>"Kouga, these two are Kanako Yasaka, and Suwako Moriya. They're the gods of this shrine. Kanako here is mostly a wind and skies sort, but she's also known as a goddess of hills and mountains for some reason, probably because of taking this shrine over. Suwako is the earth and water sort, stones, gems, earthquakes, shifting riverbeds, the whole shebang.">Kouga nods, "Nice to meet you both. And, commiserations to your shrine... since it was destroyed and all."
>Grin. "She's also a lot like a frog."
>Chuckle. "Even Alice herself admitted to possibly being outdone in wittiness by the kid. But what'd you expect from a Shikigami modeled after Byakkou?">Suwako grins, "No, we finished that mahjong game ages ago. Kanako won. Again."
>Grin. "He's already met Sanae, because I visited earlier to introduce him to her. Though I didn't think to have him meet you guys until just recently, because I figured you two were probably busy with something, like a heated game of mahjong or something."
>"I was actually gonna head home, but then the quake hit. I figured it was one of three things, either someone set Tenshi off, it was a natural quake, or Suwako was in another fight. Seeing as how those are the only people I know of that can cause earthquakes.">Suwako shrugs, "Yeah, Tenshi, that crazy dumbass, came down here all raging on Sanae. Sanae hasn't left the shrine all day. She was going to the Scarlet Devil Mansion to get some books on Shikigami, but I told her 'that ain't gonna happen'. Although, now, she could probably use one to help fix up this place."
>Nod. "So she was that interested in them huh?">Suwako nods, "But, it would be annoying anyway. Besides, I'm not stupid. I know she only wanted a Shikigami because you came over with Kouga earlier. I was out for a stroll, and you were there when I returned, so I hung back for a bit whilst you two talked."
>Let's look Sanae over with a cursory glance. "I'm thinking one modeled after Genbu would work, you've already got someone who does wind specifically, that being Sanae. As well as a combination of Earth and Water, that'd be you Suwako. And then there's you Kanako, who works with wind as well, among other things. Genbu's chief element is Water, so it thematically fits."
>Nod. "Yeah, I dunno if she's actually got what it takes, she's a little too high-strung sometimes. To be able to use a Shikigami to the fullest, you have to be more mellow, like me and Yukari. You'd probably do well with one Suwako, since you're the sort to just sit back and watch, but that's just a thought from the other miko.">Suwako grins widely, "Well, sitting back and watching is really all I can do, since Kanako and Sanae are the ones that are the main focus. I just hang around and let them do the hard work."
>Grin right back. "Yeah, right now you're just a side character, but there's something to be said for being one of those. Since you aren't expected to save the world on a regular basis like a Main Character is.">Suwako shrugs, "Ain't got any pressure anymore though, eh? Just can do stuff at my own leisure and not have to worry. Laid-back life, and all."
>Beat.
>"Or just resolve incidents."
>Nod. "That's true, it's probably pretty fun, watching all the incidents as they happen. I wouldn't really know, since I'm the one out there resolving most of them.">Suwako shrugs, "Well, what can you do? It's your job. Unless ya' get someone else of equal power and responsibility to do it for you, you're kind of stuck, aren't you?"
>Grin. "And that's what Kouga can help with. Kid's pretty strong really, he could probably even go toe-to-toe against Yukari's Shikigami, Ran.">Kanako whistles, impressed, "That's pretty good. Ought to pitch him against Sanae, you know. See how long he'll last... or rather, how long Sanae will last."
>"See, he was in a sparring match with Ran's Shikigami, Chen, and he didn't really have much trouble pushing Chen to the point of near-exhaustion. Even with both Ran and Yukari present."
>Grin. "I'm actually considering that, but we should save it for when the shrine's rebuilt yeah?">Kanako grins, "We'll have to make a reminder for that, won't we?"
>Look over to Sanae, how's she holding up?
>Chuckle. "Wow, I almost feel sorry for her. I'll have to get Satori to look at her to see if there isn't any lasting damage.">Suwako flaps her hand dismissively, "Aah, I think she'll be okay. Once the shrine is fixed, she'll be back to normal. It's the shock. Kid doesn't respond well to that."
>Frown. "...Sheesh, and I thought I was in a funk when my shrine got leveled. Kid's practically gone 'round the bend.">Kanako sighs, "Yes, heard about that. Had a little chit-chat with Lord Tenma about that. Aya's under surveillance by Momiji Inubashiri for now. She has to compile reports about where Aya has been, who she has been with, and what she has been doing."
>Grin. "Not as bad as Aya did earlier though, now that was bad."
>Shrug. "Some, I was the one who had her fixed in the first place y'know.">Kanako grins, "Well, we'll just have to get Sanae back on the road of normality before she builds a miniature shrine to mourn the destruction of the Moriya Shrine."
>Chuckle. "That rabbit's control of waves is pretty handy."
>Pause.>Suwako clicks her tongue, pointing at Sanae, "Eh, she beat you to the punch."
>"I just had an idea. We can let her build the miniature one, then have her fixed up, so that way there'll be a little reminder of days gone by."
>Smile slightly. "It can't be said that I don't respect nostalgia."
>Chuckle. "Well, she's got a knack for building things at least, maybe she should get a hobby in carpentry. I bet there's an Oni out there who'd love to have an apprentice with her knack.">Kanako raises her eyebrows, considering the idea, "We could certainly have her making wooden souvenirs or things along those lines. It would be handy to sell when we have a dry donation period."
>Chuckle. "That's actually a pretty nice idea. Maybe I should get Suika to help me with something like that. I hear carved stone is a pretty popular thing too. Oni are pretty good at that from what I hear.">Kanako clears her throat, "Well, I'm no expert, but what you need is training for Suika if you want extra funds. Have her
>Grin. "Besides, my cash woes won't be as heavy now that things are changing. I help rebuild this shrine, and in exchange, a crate of food gets shipped down to my shrine each month. And there's already an alternate means to get cash anyhow, there's a pretty popular drinking contest down in the underground every month, folks from all over the underground flock to it to watch Suika and Yuugi go at it hammer'n'tongs. Folks bet on it regularly, even I got in on the action for this month's. Raked in an okay sum, enough for snacks."
>Chuckle. "I never did tell you how I won the bet did I?">Suwako shrugs, "Well, I haven't met another Oni except from Suika. And she's usually too drunk anyways."
>Grin. "All it took was mention of her getting only half the rice cakes I'd get her if she lost. That motivated her pretty well!"
>"Besides, the Oni don't take kindly to winning by underhanded methods. I'd be crazier than Aya was to try something like spiking her drinks."
>"Well, there's a lot more Oni out there than just Suika. You want to know how badly they take to cheaters? Just ask one of the Tengu, they'll tell you. Aya told me once that the Tengu used to be servants of the Oni, so they'd know better than anyone.">Kanako smiles, "Well, I'll have to ask Aya when she returns from where she decided to disappear to. Momiji's gone as well, so at least that one's doing her job."
>Grin. "Well, Suika's sorta simple-minded, she loves the simple things in life. Like sitting around with friends and sharing a drink. But who doesn't enjoy that?">Suwako clears her throat, discreetly pointing to Kanako without the latter noticing.
>Nod. "You could also ask Tenma, I heard a rumor to the effect that he was one of the right hands to the four devas back in the day. Suika's one of them y'know, so's her friend Yuugi.">Suwako grins, "All so complicated~"
>Then chuckle for no easily apparent reason, but in a way that Suwako would get it.
>Blink a few times. "Eh? What's on your mind?">Sanae stares you in the eye with a burningly determined expression, "It's simple!"
>....Yep, she's gone 'round the bend alright. Looks like we 'Pulled a Hatate'.>Sanae tugs on your sleeve, "Good, right? And you're good at sealing, so we can use them!!"
>Facepalm too. "Here we go again..."
>Our sleep charms would work on Sanae too right?>Indeed they would.
>Secretly pull out about 4-5 sleep charms, and keep 'em hidden.>You pull out the sleep charms. Kanako and Suwako notice them, but Sanae is too busy thinking of how to 'enslave' Tenshi to fix the shrine to notice.
>Sigh exasperatedly. "Man...That's the second time today I've had to do this. Do me a favor you two, please don't go crazy like Sanae and Aya did today, I'm running out of these charms y'know!">Suwako grins, "Eh, I'm already crazy. Can't get any worse, really. And Kanako's one toughie to shift, so you'll be lucky."
>Stick on 2 Immobilize charms too, just for good measure, then pull her up so she's resting on one of our shoulders. "Now...Let's get this loonie to Eientei so Reisen can fix her.">You slap on two immobilization charms, and hoist Sanae up onto your shoulder.
>Sheesh, with how much of these we're using today, we'll have to spend some time before bed just remaking these charms. At least Kouga can help.>You begin to hover, facing in the right direction. Kouga, Suwako and Kanako follow you.
>Let's head into a hover, and face in the direction of the bamboo forest. "This way." Then look to Kouga. "Hey, gimme a hand carrying green-n-crazy here willya?"
>Facepalm. "I meant for you the help me carry her, not to carry her.">Kouga shrugs, "Well, you've already used the charms... besides, I was trying to be a gentleman and carry your... luggage..."
>Once we've gotten things re-arranged with Kouga and Sanae, head for Eientei with everyone in tow.
>Sigh exasperatedly. "Afraid so, the Moriya Shrine just got leveled by an irate celestial. Three guesses as to which one." Roll our eyes when we say the last part.>Reisen blinks, "Tenshi did it? I wonder what set her off..."
>Set Sanae down, and gesture towards her. "Greenie here didn't take too well to that. Snapped almost as bad as Aya did.">Reisen groans, looking down at Sanae, "Well, she seemed the type to react badly to shock, if I'm totally honest..."
>Shrug. "Not too sure, I don't have all the details other than who the culprit is.">Reisen nods, "I see. I guess it'll be some gossip to pass along the grapevine, eh?"
>"Well, we'll let you do your thing and get Greenie here back to at least a passable level of sanity. Well, by Gensokyo standards."
>Alright, let's remove the charms. She should wake up shortly afterwards.>You remove the charms.
>"Well, at least she's not cracked as badly anymore."
>Nod. "Yeah, but you might want to either sit down, be sitting down, or braced against something.">Sanae stares at you blankly, before leaning herself rather rudely against Reisen as if she were a wall, "Is that it? The shrine just got destroyed? And I went loony? Looks like that celestial went mad before I did, at the least. Such a bitch... and besides, Reimu, what were you doing there? I know you solve incidents, but you only recently summoned your Shikigami. The only Shikigami books in Gensokyo are in the Scarlet Devil Mansion's library... and there was nothing else happening on the mountain today, so it's suspicious that you just happen to be there..."
>Wait until she's done any of this, then; "Well...Tenshi kinda wrecked your shrine. Like, completely flattened like mine was back then. That's why you went loony."
>Smirk. "Back to your suspicious and arrogant old self I see.">Sanae glares at you, "Liar."
>Shrug. "But anyhow, I was showing Kouga around Gensokyo, and that quake came around when I was showing him the lower areas of the mountain."
>Sigh. "Well, now that that's settled...Suwako mentioned you were interested in having a Shikigami of your own. I'd say that one based on Genbu would suit you.">Sanae blinks, "Oh, yeah... certainly... Genbu would... suit... uh..."
>Sigh again. "Kouga is modeled after Byakkou, and since there were four people who solved the last incident, I figured that Shikigami modeled after the Four Holy Beasts would be pretty fitting.">Sanae groans, "I can't be bothered, now..."
>Grin. "And since you're already associated with a frog and a snake, why not add in a turtle to complete the mix?"
>Chuckle. "'Everything under control'? Tell that to the leveled shrine.">Sanae gasps, "What?! Who agreed to that?!"
>Sigh. "But don't worry, I agreed to help you guys get it fixed back up in exchange for a crate of food being delivered to my place each month."
>Grin, then wrap an arm around her shoulders from the side. "Hey, at least you're paying me with food instead of cash.">Sanae pouts, "True. You'd probably spend all the cash on booze, instead of practical things."
>Chuckle, then disengage. "Hey, us Shrine Maidens have to stick together y'know. Especially since Tenshi's leveled your shrine now too.">Sanae frowns, "Uh, sure. But, back to the subject, how long would it take to rebuild the shrine?"
>Hmm...how long did it take Suika and the others to rebuild our shrine?>You think for a while. It took about 4-6 months with everyone involved.
>"Lemme think....about 4-6 months.">Sanae yelps, "That long? Think of the downfall in worshippers..."
>Nod. "Well, it's either quality, or a half-assed rush job. And if I know you guys, there's no way you'd settle for a rush job.">Sanae cringes, "Indeed... well, we'll have to start a mass recruitment of people to rebuild."
>Grin. "No major need for that, Suika can do most of it with her Ability. Though you should probably get the Tengu and Kappa to help too of you want to boost the build speed.">Sanae sighs, "Well, I guess."
>"Because we didn't really use Kappa tech, we rebuilt mine the traditional way."
>Nod. "We had her do the same for Aya when she cracked. So when you cracked too, this was my first option.">Sanae blinks, "Aya cracked too? Maybe it's contagious..."
>Chuckle. "Kanako said the exact same thing when you cracked.">Sanae blinks, "Oh?"
>Chuckle. "Not much, aside from Sanae losing her marbles almost as bad as Aya did.">Eirin looks puzzled, "Another person going crazy? This is beyond normal. Reisen treated two more people today, not just Aya and Sanae. If you want to know, they were Hina Kagiyama and Ichirin Kumoi."
>"Oh, this here's Kouga, my new Shikigami. Kouga, this here's Eirin Yagokoro. If someone's hurt or sick, she's generally the go-to person for help.">Eirin bows to Kouga, "Nice to meet you. A White Tiger Shikigami, hm? Quite a good choice, Reimu, if I do say so myself."
>Nod. "Yeah, and the cause wasn't that different from Aya's case either. Aya's place got totally wrecked when she lost it, and Tenshi practically wiped the Moriya Shrine off the map with a localized earthquake. Like she did back when she leveled my shrine.">Eirin nods, "Well, the cases of the other two weren't too different. The small collection of trees that Hina usually occupies toppled over. Nitori had to literally drag her here. And Shou lead Ichirin here after the Myouren Temple had a bit of subsidence and Ichirin's bedroom got damaged pretty badly."
>Pause. "Wait, does that mean she's letting off steam all over the place?">Eirin sighs, "Udongein, you may have to deal with Tenshi, too."
>Beat.
>Then smile nervously, with a sweatdrop and all. "Let's just hope she doesn't do anything over at the SDM...That would be bad for everyone."
>Beat.>Sanae smirks, "So? Why would she go insane? If the SDM was destroyed, wouldn't it mean that she gets to go outside, or something? That would be good for her, right?"
>State at Tenshi [do you mean Sanae?] with an upraised eyebrow. "You really don't know much about the people there do you?"
>"Let me put it this way. if the little sister goes insane like you or Aya did, it's game over." Stare seriously, like it was a matter of life and death. Because it is.
>Facepalm. "Let's just put it this way, you thought what Tenshi did to your shrine was bad? That's kid stuff compared to what the little sister could do.">Sanae yelps quietly, "D-destroy... anything...?"
>"She has the ability to destroy literally anything she wants to. Only Remilia can really keep her in check, though she respects me a bit because we've gone up against each other in the past."
>"Suffice it to say, if her or Remilia snap, Gensokyo's likely to go poof, along with everyone in it."
>Facepalm. "Don't tell me, the mansion got hit too?">Yukari shakes her head, "No, silly. I would be dead by now, had it been hit. You fret too much. I just wanted to let you know that Tenshi has been spotted over the Forest of Magic. I gapped Marisa and Alice there, and now they're fighting Tenshi."
>Nod. "Alright then, this will be a good live-fire testing run for Kouga then.">Sanae groans, "Taking all the fun... but, whatever."
>Look back to Sanae. "You just leave this to me, I'll handle this."
>When Yukari opens the gap, head through with Kouga!
>Smirk. "Kouga, I believe you know what to do. get in there and use your tiger form as a scare tactic. I'll follow up afterwards.">Kouga nods, flying above Tenshi and out of her line of sight, before transforming into a tiger.
>Let's be patient and wait for Kouga to do his thing.
>Alright, let's boost in and get her with a point-blank barrage of Youkai Busters at high-speed!>You fly in and attack Tenshi with Youkai Busters.
>Let's have a laugh! "Nothing I haven't handled twice today already!">Tenshi turns around, realising you're there, "Crap.."
>Let's give it the gas right from the get go! "I may as well start this off with a climax!"
>Pull out our hair ribbon for emphasis. "This will end it in one shot! Fantasy Heaven!"
>Let's put our ribbon back in. "So, you ready to give up on your little rampage? Or do you need more of a beating?">Tenshi just straightens her hat with a small pout.
>Sneer slightly, like she did back when she first caused trouble back then. "Is that a yes? I think it is, isn't it?">Tenshi stares for a while, but the Ofuda are enough to stop her.
>Pull out a few Ofuda to emphasize the point.
>Sigh. "Finally. Now, mind filling me in on why you've been going around causing trouble?">Tenshi growls, "That Sanae kid really pushed the line, but I already destroyed her shrine... didn't do the job, so I went to go and level some more stuff."
>She doesn't even know it was us does she? This is too rich.>No, she has no clue. It looks like you really fooled everyone on this thing. Even Sanae thought it was Nue.
>Sigh annoyedly. "You've really caused quite a lot of trouble for me...And my newest friend.">Tenshi stares at you with a bit of a confused frown, "Well, you didn't have to get involved. You're always so nosy..."
>Then sneer in a manner typical of someone who's causing an Incident. We've seen enough of those to do a pretty good one ourself haven't we?
>"Kouga, would you mind showing yourself? No need to reveal your normal form just yet though, just the animal form will do.">Kouga flies over to your side, still in his animal form.
>Snap our fingers once. "You can shift back to default now.">Kouga returns to his regular form, grinning.
>"Meet Kouga, my Shikigami. He's already met you. Twice now."
>Smirk in that typical way someone does when they know something someone else doesn't.
>Ah, she has no idea that we pranked her~>Tenshi yelps, "What?! How do you know about that?!"
>Chuckle. "Well, you've stopped your little rampage, and everyone's quieted down. You caused quite a lot of trouble you know, poor Hina was almost catatonic, and I can't even find where to start with what you did to Ichirin."
>Nod. "That, and Sanae cracked after you leveled the shrine, so I did you a favor by taking her to Eientei to get the crazy pulled out of her. I heard about Hina and Ichirin from them.">You look at Tenshi, and it seems that she didn't even bother to change after those pranks.
>Let's look at her, how's she holding up from that pie to the face?
>"....Wow, whoever pranked you really did a number on you, huh? You look like you need a bath.">Tenshi whines, "I didn't wet myself!! Sanae put ice-cubes in my underwear!! And I don't even know what kind of cheese is in my hat! Someone just took my hat and filled it with cheese!!"
>"Let's see...that looks like some kind of cheese in your hair, probably in your hat too from the looks of it. What appear to be fish substituting themselves for your socks- bad form by the way. What seems to be a peach pie on your face....And did you wet yourself too? Bad form Tenshi, bad form."
>Suppress a chuckle at her appearance.
>Smirk. "How do you know it was her though? Did you see her slipping them in?">Tenshi shakes her head, "But she stuck her head through a gap in mid-air and slammed the pie in my face..."
>Smirk. "Kind of an interesting clue there, wouldn't you say?">Tenshi thinks for a while.
>We're gonna lead her on as much as we can, and once we've led her far enough....Boom.
>Facepalm too. They really don't teach logic and common sense up in Bhava-Agra that much do they?>Indeed they don't. Too busy having fun, really.
>"Hey Marisa, think you could go find Iku? She'll want to see this. You're the faster one of us four, so I'll leave it to you."
>Well, that was fast. "Fast as always, eh Marisa?">Marisa winks, "She was closer than I thought."
>Wave to Iku slightly. "Hey, your little charge here slipped away and caused a ruckus again. Someone pranked her pretty badly too, just look at 'er!"
>Chuckle. "Figured she probably wasn't too far behind. I would've sent Kouga to find her, but he hasn't met her yet.">Iku smiles at Kouga. "Nice to meet you!"
>Beat.
>"Oh yeah, Iku. This is Kouga, my Shikigami. Kouga, this is Iku Nagae, she's an Oarfish Youkai who works for the celestials as a messenger. She usually just keeps tabs on Tenshi though."
>Chuckle. "Oh dear, that's quite a 'sticky situation' you've found yourself in there Tenshi.">She stares at you with a wide-eyed, sarcastic expression, "Oh, you don't say?" (http://mclean.alltheragefaces.com/img/faces/large/misc-you-dont-say-l.png)
>Chuckle. "Looks like whoever pranked you had a lot of random ideas. Bonus points for the cheese one though, that took guts.">Tenshi yelps at you, "I know!! Who the hell could have done this?!"
>Shrug with a grin. "Dunno, but they must really have a grudge. Piss anyone off lately?">Tenshi thinks for a while, "No, not really... well, not that I've done on purpose, anyways... I did tease Iku the other day by calling her a cloud-whale, but she just laughed... and besides, she's way too refined..."
>Snrk. Cloudwhale...>Tenshi blinks, "Further back in time... further back in time... the only thing I remember doing that annoyed someone was when I destroyed your shrine, but... you wouldn't do anything like this, would you?"
>Suppress a chuckle. "That's actually kinda funny. But maybe it was someone further back in time?"
>Chuckle. "You know I'm not the prankster sort. Maybe it was someone further back? Or maybe you just forgot about them?">Tenshi whines, "I can't remember!!"
>Nod. "Maybe you just offended someone without noticing? That could account for it.">Tenshi folds her arms, pouting, "This isn't going anywhere..."
>"I gotta admit though, to pull that many pranks in one day? They must really have a grudge. Either that or it was Fairies."
>Beat.>Tenshi thinks for a while, "Who in Gensokyo can become other people..?"
>"Though it probably was Sanae who did the pie bit, I'll give you that."
>"Apparently a pie to the face is a big comedy staple from the outside world, though Yukari mentioned once that it's done with Bananna-Cream Pie, not Peach."
>"Maybe it was peach because it's a Celestial thing?"
>Beat.>Tenshi blows some hair out of her face, "Pfft, thanks!"
>"...I'd hate to see another troublesome Celestial, you're bad enough as it is."
>Chuckle. "Looking to get in a fight with Nue then huh? I'll warn you, she's pretty stubborn for a Youkai, even I have to give her credit for that.">Tenshi shuffles her hat around, "I bet the lining of this hat is ruined..."
>Grin. "And you know that's a rare thing, coming from me."
>Beat.>Tenshi screeches, "What?! Why would I want to prank someone?!"
>"...How do I know you aren't Nue, and you're not just playing some elaborate prank on me?!"
>Facepalm. "It's you we're talking about here, Bhava-Agra's 'Troublemaker Supreme'. And another thing, how do we know you aren't Nue masquerading as Tenshi?">Tenshi squeals, "I can prove it!! Ask me anything, go!!"
>Point the Gohei in a retorting manner!
>Grin. "Alright then, this should be something Nue probably doesn't know about. What did Tenshi place under my shrine after it was destroyed the first and second times?">Tenshi laughs out loud, "Oh, you think I'm stupid! I put a keystone under your shrine! That's a no-brainer!"
>Chuckle. "Nue would have no clue about that, because not too many folks outside of my little circle, and Tenshi herself, know about it."
>Chuckle. "Alright then, I guess that proves you're the real Tenshi, and not Nue posing as Tenshi.">Tenshi growls, "Why would I be?! Ask me another question!"
>Beat.
>"Unless you're that Tanuki friend of hers, she'd probably find out something like that."
>Chuckle. "Alright then. Who was the one who fought you right before my shrine got destroyed the second time?">Tenshi smiles, but you see her face drop a bit, "Uh..."
>Smile in a way that'll make her think she got it right. "You are...">Tenshi screams, "What?!"
>Then smirk in a way that'd make Yukari proud. "Absolutely wrong."
>Chuckle. "Even Marisa would remember that, and upold memories isn't exactly her thing either.">Marisa blinks, "I would?"
>Let's let out a nice and slow, rolling chuckle that eventually grows into full-blown laughter.>Tenshi stares at you, still in an accusative stance.
>Let's keep up the laughter! "You see? Unable to find anything truly amusing, I had to cause it myself! Who knew that causing incidents is just as fun as resolving them?!">Tenshi gasps, "Y-You did it?!"
>Stare at her with a cocky grin reminiscent of her usual one. "Today's been pretty boring aside from getting my Shikigami, and pranking you. So this'll be fun!">Tenshi growls, "Damn you..."
>"Kouga, stand back and watch, you'll learn something."
>Twirl our Gohei idly with the hints of a smirk on our face. "I see why you caused that ruckus back when you destroyed my shrine....">Tenshi glares you, right in the eye.
>Then boost right up to her, so that we're literally face to face, and stare at her with an arrogant, almost Remilia-esque grin. "...It's quite fun."
>Then boost out of range before she can retaliate while firing a thick spread of Youkai Busters behind us!>You boost out of range, with the Youkai Busters flying out thick and fast.
>Let's zip out of the way like we did earlier on, when we had that match against Marisa! Complete with afterimages!>You zip around, right out of the way of the lasers.
>Naturally, we'll end up right behind her. "Where were you aiming Tenshi? You'll never hit me with an attack like that.">You end up behind her, and she turns around with a blank expression.
>Zip away at full speed just like before!
>Heh, let's barrel roll out of the way, then retaliate with a barrage of Homing Amulets!>You roll out of the way of the laser(s), responding with a large spread of Homing Amulets.
(Yes, this is Macross-inspired, did you expect anything less? :3)
>Heh, she's getting spirited today isn't she?>Tenshi completely ignores your statement, "Shut up and get hit with the lasers already!!"
>"Heh, this is what I was looking for! Nobody else'll fight seriously, except for maybe Marisa, but it gets kinda old going against the same stuff all the time.
>Let's fly right at her and use that teleport kick we used back during that incident she caused!>You fly right at her, teleport-kicking her directly.
>Tch, she actually landed a hit eh? Let's just bear through it and smash her right in the gut with a punch of our own!>You retaliate with a hefty punch to Tenshi's stomach.
>Float away to get some room.>Tenshi yelps, "But I wasn't ready! When we know what's coming, we can steel ourselves... that was a cheep dirt trick!"
>Then clench and unclench the fist we used, then shake it a bit to shrug off the possible pain. "For all that talk of a Celestial's body being unbreakable, you don't exactly take pain that well do you? Though I'll admit, you are pretty resilient when it comes to taking hits from Danmaku."
>"However...You think you can beat me? You already lost once.">Tenshi straightens up, twirling her sword, "So?"
>Fade out, and fade back in right behind her, and deliver a backhand to her back.
>Fake taking the hit harder than we usually would...>At first, Tenshi seems happy that she laid a decent hit.
>...Then grab on and start spinning!
>Alright, time to let go and fling her in a random direction, then fade out, only to fade in right in her path with a hammerfist meant to send her crashing to the ground!>You let go, and she flies off in a random direction.
>Man, she always was weak to attacks too fast for her to brace against wasn't she?>You wait for a while... for what seems to be a bit too long.
>Let's wait for her to get back up to us, lounging in midair as we do so.
>Chuckle, then set up a barrier designed to redirect the shots back at her. "So naive.">Tenshi growls, and cuts off her spellcard early, "You just don't quit, do you? Ya' think you're all superior with your crazy little stick and your bits of magic paper. In reality, you're just dumb. But, alas, you're human. Which means I could probably just jab you in the chest and be done with it..."
>Smirk. "Now this fight gets interesting.">Tenshi laughs, "It'd be worth my time. I don't care if I went down. So what if the whole of Gensokyo goes down with me? I'd die happy knowing that you got the justice you deserved."
>Rachet up the smirk several notches. "And besides, think of what would happen if you did off me. It wouldn't exactly be pretty for you."
>Secretly pull out all the remaining immobilize charms we've got left, then do our usual Intangible Man trick.>You secretly pull out the charms.
>Let's zoom around at maximum speed while still intangible!>You zoom around at maximum speed. Tenshi doesn't notice - she's too busy slating you.
>Then, when we see an opening, slam all the charms on her!
>And now to catch her, and smack on the rest of the sleep charms too!>You fly down, catch her, and slap on the sleep charms.
>And now to carry her back to the others.>You haul Tenshi back to the others.
>"Sheesh, good thing I'm used to people losing their marbles today."
>Chuckle. "Had to provoke her into blowing her stack so she could get it all out of her system, so it wasn't really me that pulled it all.">Everyone nods.
>Sigh. "Aaanyhow, let's get her to Eirin's so Reisen can wipe away the crazy."
>Head through the gap, and set Tenshi down, and roll an arm to loosen it up. "She wasn't any tougher than normal really, think I overdid it?">You head through the gap, with Alice, Iku, Kouga and Marisa following you.
>"Hey Reisen, got another one for ya. That pesky Celestial this time."
>Sigh. "You'd think she would've had more crazy in 'er or something, with how she was acting.">Reisen shrugs, "It seems that mild madness is just part of her personality, and not an added effect. Also... she's stubborn."
>"But yeah, today's been one of those days huh? Had to use every single Immobilization and Sleep Charm I had on me to get her to be manageable."
>Chuckle. "Could've told you that last part.">Reisen smiles, "If you want, I can try and wipe her immediate memory of what happened between you two."
>Sigh. "She's probably gonna be pissed when those sleep charms wear off, I had to pull that little stunt I did to keep her from lashing out at other places."
>Chuckle. "Yeah, we can just say she went crazier than usual over getting pranked.">Reisen grins, "It'll take some extra work, but I can dig deeper and clear out that excess madness. It may wipe her memory for a longer period of time, but it won't be too detrimental."
>Nod, then grin. "Don't clear out too much of it though, can't have her getting too boring y'know.">Reisen winks, "Don't worry. It'll just be some of the madness that makes her directly harmful to people. Not the madness that's even remotely fun."
>Sigh. "Yeah, let's fix that before we get the seals off her.">You try to prise Tenshi's hat from her head.
>Let's try to pry her hat off.
>Chuckle. "That's a celestial for ya, they always take care of their hair.">Reisen giggles, "Don't say anything, see if she does!"
>Beat.
>"Now watch, she'll wake up later, and put the hat back on before we get a chance to warn her."
>Chuckle. "Well, then we can just say she ended up pranking herself. That's gonna be fun.">Reisen nods, "I'll be right back."
>"Anyhow, we're probably gonna need a washcloth to get the pie chunks off her."
>Nod, and take the cloth. "Thanks.">You take the cloth and begin scrubbing.
>Alright, let's set to scrubbing off that pie stuff. No need to be gentle though.
>Sigh slightly. "There, done. She'll thank me for this later, she probably needed a good scrubbing even before the pie to the face.">You take off all of the seals, except for one of each.
>Let's take off all but one of each of the seals.
>Well, who all is around?>The people around are Reisen, Kouga, Alice, Marisa and Iku.
>Nod "Okay, you guys got everything clear? We'll just say she lost it after getting pranked.">Everyone nods.
>After getting their responses, we'll pull off the last two seals.>You pull of the seals, and Tenshi slowly comes to.
>Chuckle. "Well, it is Tenshi after all. What'd you expect?">You smack her on the cheek, and she sits up.
>Let's smack her lightly on the cheek. "Hey, keystone-for-brains, wakey-wakey."
>Nod. "You kinda lost your marbles over someone pranking you, and went around causing quakes. The Myouren Temple got damaged, Hina's Thicket got toppled completely, and that's not even beginning on what you did to the Moriya Shrine. Let's just say it wasn't too different from what you did to my place back then.">Tenshi stares at you in disbelief.
>Gesture to Reisen. "I had her bring you back to normal, and tinker with a few other things that she found that were a problem."
>Nod. "You actually hit the Moriya shrine first. Apparently you thought it was Sanae, or someone she knew, that was behind it.">Tenshi facepalms, "I must've been off my head..."
>Nod. "You were pretty crazy. I had to use Fantasy Heaven, and beat you down physically.">Tenshi stares at you, "I was that bonkers?"
>Nod. "Yeah, good thing you weren't the first crazy I've dealt with today. I had to use some Immobilization and Forced-Sleep Charms to keep you restrained afterwards. That's why you were asleep.">Tenshi strokes her head, "Oh, why does my hair feel sticky...?"
>Chuckle. "Apparently one of the pranks involved someone putting some weird kind of cheese in your hat. That's probably the reason.">Tenshi pats her hair yet again, "Cheese? Really? These people are nuts!"
>Beat.>Tenshi pats her cheek, "So that's why my face felt weird..."
>"And then there was the fact that apparently you also took a pie to the face. I cleaned that off for you though, but you might be a bit sore because I really had to put some elbow grease into it."
>Chuckle. "You think that's nuts? You, uh, might want to look at your feet then.">Tenshi tilts her head in confusion, before lifting up her feet for a closer look.
>Chuckle. "That? Definitely fairy pranks.">Tenshi frowns, "Damned fairies. I haven't done anything... well, I'm going to stop myself there, to be honest."
>Gesture towards Kouga. "Oh yeah, this here's Kouga. I introduced him earlier, but you were already off the deep end by then, so there wasn't much in the way of introductions. Shame really, I've gotten used to the witty banter that usually happens before a fight.">Tenshi looks at Kouga, "Oh, hi. Nice to meet you.
>Grin. "Wondering why he's got a connection to all this? Well, you're looking at my new Shikigami."
>Look to Kouga with a grin. "Show her what kind of animal you are, since she wasn't all there last time.">Kouga nods, and transforms into his animal form.
>Grin. "Just summoned him today in fact. For my first shot, he's pretty good.">Tenshi grins cheesily, "Yeah, he is good..."
>Smirk. "I'd offer you a shot at testing him yourself, but after taking a Fantasy Heaven right in the hitbox, and a full-on beatdown, you probably won't be in a solid enough condition to give him a good enough fight right now.">Tenshi shrugs, "Meh, Shikigami can't be too bad, can they?"
>Sigh. "I know you Celestials are durable, but you don't want to push yourself too hard right?"
>Chuckle. "Let's put this into perspective. A little while after I summoned him and explained to him how things work here in Gensokyo, I gave him a crash course in Spellcard Duels, with the help of Chen, Ran's Shikigami.">Tenshi blinks, "Really~? Wow, that is impressive, isn't it? I rea~lly wish I was there to see Kouga, fighting like the handsome guy he is~"
>"And as you already know, Ran is Yukari's Shikigami. And Shikigami are stronger when their master is present. For Chen, it's effectively like having two masters. Both Yukari And Ran were present for Kouga's test battle against Chen. Chen pushed herself almost to the point of exhaustion, Kouga was just as he was before the battle."
>Grin. "Needless to say, I'm pretty sure he's probably even a match for Ran herself. Though I'm sure he'll get to face her another day.">Tenshi grins, "He'll do fine, I'm sure of it~!"
>Sigh amusedly. "Great, now it looks like there'll be girls vying for his attention left-right-and-center.">Marisa laughs, "If she doesn't, I'll eat my hat."
>Grin, and look at Marisa. "Wanna make a bet that Shou'll fall for him too?"
>Chuckle. "Well, she did personally admit that she might have been beaten in terms of snark, so there's a little bit of validity to that.">Alice frowns, but all Marisa can do is grin cheesily.
>Turn to Tenshi. "Anyhow, Sanae went bonkers too, I had to have Reisen here fix her just like you were. Today's been filled with crazies y'know.">Tenshi rests her head in her hands, and kicks off her shoes, "Eh... had a bad feeling this morning that today wouldn't be too pretty. I told myself 'snap out of it, you'll be fine'... pfft, how wrong was I, right?
>"First Aya snapped because she got provoked by Hatate, then you snapped because of all those pranks-you might want to take care of those fish by the way-, then Sanae snapped because you snapped, and then you ended up making Hina and Ichirin snap too. All of them had to be treated by Reisen here."
>"So yeah, it'd probably be a good idea to help her get it fixed up, like with mine. I already said I'd see about getting Suika to lend a hand.">Tenshi shrugs and leans back, "Least I can do, right? Had no memory of doing that, so I guess I've got to in order to, you know, repay for the 'snap', if you know what I mean."
>Nod. "Yeah, Reisen had to wipe the memory of those moments along with the effects of the snap itself. Basically, everything that happened between when you snapped, and when you woke back up a little while ago had to be erased from your memory. They were too linked with the crazy that was created or something.">Tenshi whistles loudly. She's obviously impressed, "She can do that?"
>Chuckle. "It's a part of her power, she can tinker and mess around with wavelengths. Part of that allows her to adjust insanity as well, which has come in quite handy today.">Tenshi grins, "Some people are just so interesting down here. Ought to drop by places like this more often... that's if people don't hate me already."
>Sigh. "Well, time to send you off to the worksite, and for me to find Suika again. I think that once we get her on the job, it'll go all that much smoother, Kappa involvement notwithstanding.">Tenshi stands up, picking up her gut-filled shoes, "Yeah, I better get going..."
>Nod. "Might be better to stay up topside for a while after the shrine gets fixed up, so that way you're off everyone's radar. Hina's not the best person to have as an enemy, considering as how she's filled to the brim with curses and misfortune.">Tenshi nods, "Yeah, yeah, heard of her... for a Goddess, I've heard she is pretty weak. Shouldn't be too much trouble if she does get all attack-mode and stuff."
>"Though she's pretty nice despite being a Curse Goddess, just being around her can get a person hexed if you're not careful. I'd hate to see what'd happen to anyone who actually got her angry. I don't think even a Celestial like you could fend off all the misfortune. Even I'd be pretty hard-pressed to do that."
>Nod. "Somewhat, but I'd still hate to see her angry. it's always the nice ones you gotta watch out for here in Gensokyo, y'know?">Tenshi nods, "Yeah, yeah, that much I know... apparently that Byakuren woman is quite the tough opponent..."
>Chuckle. "Yeah, she's one tough cookie for someone who advocates peace as much as she does.">Marisa nods, "Yeah, she was... freaking curvy lasers and stars... what was she thinking?"
>Grin. "Up until you went ballistic, I was gonna visit her to show Kouga off."
>Beat.>Marisa laughs, "Maybe one of them will fall for Kouga too! Maybe... hm... I think either Futo or Seiga... but Seiga's a bit of a fuddy-duddy, too much of one to want to fall for anyone..."
>"Come to think of it, Shikigami are sort of a Taoist thing. Maybe I oughta visit those troublemakers too somehow."
>Chuckle. "My money's on Futo, she's not all upstairs sometimes.">Marisa thinks for a white, "Devil's Recitation, Devil's Recitation... hmm..."
>Nod. "But yeah, that one card she used was pretty familiar. Heck if I can remember who it was from right off the top of my head though."
>Fistpalm. "That's the one. You know it's been ages since then.">Alice shrugs, "Suika said she would hang around Patchy's library with Yukari for a while. Maybe you should visit Byakuren and then the Taoists. Suika will be around all day, really."
>"So anyhow, what next? Do we go find Suika and talk her into helping fix up the Moriya Shrine first? Or do we visit Byakuren's Group, and then the Taoists after them?"
>Grin. "This should go pretty well either way."
>Nod. "Let's visit those guys then, since Suika's gonna be easy to find.">Tenshi nods, "You guys have fun, I'm off to see if Sanae won't try and kill me."
>"Okay, Kouga? The folks here are an okay lot, though they tend to be a real hassle when they get riled up. Well, with the exception of Byakuren, she's pretty hard to rile up.">Kouga looks back at Alice and Marisa with a grin, "Right, so at least I have some idea of what to expect."
>"She's also a Magician like those two lovebirds." Gesture towards Alice and Marisa with a grin.
>Let's have a little laugh. "You two do bicker like a married couple after all.">Marisa grins, "True. Can't say I'd ever complain to being a married couple, to be honest..."
>Take Kouga aside with a grin. "Up for another prank? This involves your tiger form as well.">Kouga nods, "Sure, what do you want me to do?"
>Grin. "Fly down to somewhere out of sight, shift to Tiger Mode, then jump out towards that Mouse Youkai there with a roar. She's Nazrin, one of the people who reside here.">Kouga nods, and flies out of sight, morphing into Tiger Mode.
>"Then, provided it freezes her to the spot like it did with Tenshi the first time, pounce on her, gently. Then just shift back to normal, I'll leave the rest of it up to you."
>Float down from overhead, so we land right next to Kouga. But do it slowly, kinda like Yukari would.>Shou looks at you, puzzled, "A Shikigami? Aha, that's exotic~!"
>Smirk enigmatically. "I see you've met Kouga, my new Shikigami as of earlier today."
>Smirk. "I just summoned him today. A few people have commented that he looks like what'd happen if you hooked up with that Wolf Tengu, Momiji.">Shou stares at Kouga for a while, "You know... I actually see what you mean! Haha!"
>Chuckle. "I gotta admit, definitely seeing it now that I've got you to compare to."
>Chuckle. "Alright then, let's go. You can have Byakuren explain the whole thing about Shikigami to you too. I've already had enough complicated stuff for one day.">You head into the Myouren Temple with Shou, Nazrin, Marisa, Alice and Kouga.
>>As we're walking along: "You wouldn't believe the hassle it was, trying to get the summoning right. Almost had the guy contracted to Marisa instead, y'know?"
>Grin. "Heya. Figured I'd swing by with my newest associate.">Byakuren smiles widely, standing, "Hello, Kouga~! Nice to meet you!"
>Gesture towards Kouga. "This is Kouga, my Shikigami. Just summoned him today."
>Smirk. "Shou seemed to like seeing another tiger around. But y'know, he's modeled after Byakkou.">Murasa leans around, "Byakkou? That's that White Tiger god or something, right? Which one is it... uhh... the north one, right?"
>"Hmm..I think it was the west actually.">Kouga grins and immediately morphs into his tiger form.
>Grin. "Hey Kouga, show 'em your tiger mode willya?"
>Chuckle. "Nazrin sure didn't think so at first. I decided to have a little fun at her expense for a change.">Byakuren giggles, "Well, we all have our rebellious streaks~"
>Grin. "I've been feeling impish today, y'know?"
>let's splutter a bit, then laugh out loud. "It never gets old huh?">Byakuren sighs, "She's been quiet ever since. The poor girl has spent the time rebuilding her room with Unzan. Funnily enough, Ichirin won't let any of us help. So we just gave up trying to reason with her after an hour or so."
>"Oh yeah, I heard there was a little incident that drove Ichirin around the bend."
>Sigh. "Worse than I heard. I did get the one who did it though. Turns out it was Tenshi, that over-excitable celestial. Apparently she went around the bend herself after getting pranked real hard.">Byakuren frowns vaguely, in a way that looks scarily unnatural on her, "Oh, her... I heard of the incident with Hina, and was wondering what was up. I went to see if Shou, Murasa or Ichirin wanted to come with me to investigate. The next thing we knew, Ichirin screamed and we had to dig her out of a pile of... well, rubble."
>Beat.
>"And before you ask, it wasn't me, I was too busy resolving her antics to prank her.">Murasa laughs, "Oh, please, you're responsible, aren't you? Why would we think you'd done it?"
>Chuckle. "Because I mentioned earlier that I've been feeling impish today, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that some folks would suspect someone who said that.">Byakuren laughs, "Oh, come on, it was probably a fairy~"
>"But anyhow, she really got hammered hard, prank-wise. A peach pie to the face, fish in the shoes instead of socks, ice in the undergarments, and apparently some kind of cheese got stuck in her hat too. You guys shoulda seen her, she was a real mess." Chuckle a bit.>Murasa whistles, "Yeah, a fairy totally couldn't have done that!"
>Chuckle. "With fairies, who knows. They're hard to figure out sometimes.">Shou nods, "Nazrin and I had to shoo away some fairies that were trying to prank Murasa. It was kind of funny to start with, but one of them froze her foot to the floor."
>Grin. "Because the honest folks like us you can always trust to be predictable. It's the screwy folks like the fairies that you have to watch out for, because the only thing you can predict about them is that they'll do something stupid, and/or crazy."
>Nod. "That'll be Cirno, she's one of the more active ones. I went up against her early on during the Scarlet Mist Incident way back when. She hasn't really changed much since.">Murasa grins, "I'm sure that little iceball will surely become more than just a fairy if she does it again."
>"I heard she's coming close to being something more than a Fairy though, but don't bother quoting me on that."
>Chuckle. "It'll take more than those anchors of yours to eliminate her. She took a Master Spark head-on once. Went poof afterwards, but she's still pretty tough as far as fairies go.">Murasa grins, "Oh, you underestimate my anchors!"
>Sigh. "The only problem is that, being a fairy, she never learns from her mistakes."
>Grin. "Nah, just saying that even if you bash her into a thick pulp with 'em, she'll just keep coming back, as stubborn and thick-headed as ever.">Murasa shrugs, "So? Been slow around here lately, be nice to blow off some steam."
>Chuckle. "Wow. That's pretty harsh, coming from the person who's known to a lot as 'Miss Peacetime'.">Byakuren grins, "I resurrected Murasa myself. She was once a ghost. I made her immortal. I can do whatever I think is right~"
>Pause. "Come to think of it, you're a pretty good carpenter, aren't you Murasa? One of the places hit was the Moriya Shrine, so they've been looking for folks to help rebuild.">Murasa grins, "Yeah, I can hop over and give my hand. Like I said, nothing much to do round here lately."
>"When my shrine got leveled the last time Tenshi got bored, it took about 2-4 months to get it back in order, but there were also fewer talented people capable of doing a quick job that's also quality."
>Nod. "I'm sure they'll be happy to have more people helping out.">Murasa grins, "The Moriya Ship. Sounds like a cute idea!"
>Grin. "Maybe you can give it a bit of a nautical touch that the old one was missing?"
>Pause. "I get the feeling that if it's going to be like that, Sanae will probably want it to be a 'Space Battleship', whatever that is. She's a weird one, that girl.">Murasa grins, "Apart from Miko and Futo coming over here for Byakuren to answer a question that they had been arguing over, nothing new. They were having a quiz night and they disagreed on the question 'Which god or deity-like being is Shou Toramaru associated with?". Miko said Bishamonten, Futo said Kanako Yasaka. Don't know why."
>"But anyhow, those taoists been causing any trouble recently?"
>Nod. "Futo didn't really seem like the sort to have all the answers, she seemed more like your typical Yes Man than anything else.">Byakuren giggles, "Admirers? Well, be careful, Reimu~ but I'm sure you could use that to your advantage for donations at the shrine if they really want to see Kouga~"
>Grin. "Y'know, Kouga's collected quite a few admirers it seems. Chen, Tenshi, and from how Shou acted, her as well."
>Chuckle. "I half suspect Futo will end up falling in with 'em. Tenshi actually tried to charm Kouga or something, but he shot her down quicker than if she were a fairy during Incident Season.">Murasa takes a sharp intake of breath, "Harsh move."
>Nod with a chuckle. "Yeah. Besides, I'm the only girl he's got his heart right now, due to the whole shikigami thing.>Murasa bursts out laughing, "That's just adorable!"
>Chuckle. "Come to think of it, I wonder how those Taoists will react to Kouga? Maybe I oughta have him go up against them for more practice.">Byakuren nods, "I remember... a little annoying, really."
>Beat.
>"Except that Jiang-shi, she's a royal pain when it comes down to it. I don't think he's quite ready for someone who recovers energy mid-battle. Even we had trouble with her."
>Grin. "But y'know, it think it's about time for a little 'Rival Tigers Plot', eh? Your 'Tiger of Bishamonten', against my 'Tiger of Byakkou'. He needs the practice anyhow, since I summoned him today after all.">Byakuren claps once, "Ah, that would be amazing!"
>Grin. "Hey now, aren't followers of Bishamonten not supposed to throw fights? I don't think it'd be fair to Kouga if you went easy on him anyways.">Kouga grins, "Let's put it this way: Shou would be the only person toning it down."
>Look over to Kouga. "Ain't that right?"
>Chuckle. "That's the spirit. What say we get this underway eh? Maybe it'll even draw out those Taoists too.">Shou grins, and lifts her pagoda, "Bring it on~!"
>Grin. "Alright, but let's take it outside eh? Don't wanna wreck the place.">Shou laughs, "Indeed we don't. Had enough damage done today!"
>Let's head out!
>Grin, and hold the gohei aloft. "Alright, this is now a sanctioned Spellcard Duel. Battle mode Approved! Area prepared! Ready....">You announce the start of the fight.
>Swing the gohei down. "Fight!"
>Let's watch the battle.>You continue watching the battle.
>Grin, and look to Byakuren. "So, what do you think? He's pretty good isn't he?"
>"What can I say? Cat-type Shikigami are usually relatively level-headed, and Tiger-types are even more so. Well, according to the book that I consulted that is.">Byakuren nods, "Quick-thinking, too, then, it seems~!"
>Then let out a low whistle. "And he even managed to make his own little version of 'that' card too, eh? And he only just saw the original today too."
>Chuckle. "He's my Shikigami after all, so he's got to have good instincts.">Byakuren shrugs, "Maybe it's a strategy of some sort. Start off with something complex to tire her out..."
>Grin. "I'm just surprised he chose that card first off here, of all the cards of mine he could copy."
>Grin. "Seems that way, given how he seems to be enjoying himself.">Murasa laughs, "Enjoying himself may be an understatement!"
>Chuckle. "I see he takes after me and Marisa.">Byakuren laughs, "It's like the pair of you are his parents. That was such a motherly comment you just made~"
>"Y'know, she was the one who helped me summon him in the first place. Not exactly a magician, and it called for 'A Magician's Circle'. Something that I can't exactly provide."
>Chuckle. "It's like he uses my spellcards and such, but has an outlook on things not too different from Marisa's. But with elements of my own as well.">Marisa grins, "Got to admit, he's got pretty strong lasers, too."
>Look up to Kouga. "Keep your focus! Use your instincts to find the right time to shoot!"
>Cross our arms with a expression that's somewhere between pride and amusement.>Byakuren continues watching Shou with a puzzled expression.
>"Well. This is rather interesting, isn't it? But I think she could do with some more training, so she won't panic like she is now."
>"That....Okay, that had to hurt.">Byakuren winces as Shou falls in the path of another arrow-head stream, "Bless her..."
>Sigh. "She really is off her game today huh? She's probably fallen for Kouga y'know. That's probably why she's not on the ball.">Murasa chuckles, "Aw, she's never going to forget this one..."
>Chuckle. "She was pretty excited to see another tiger around after all."
>Amused expression. "That one eh? I expected her to use more curving lasers, not that one.">Byakuren grins, "Shou often uses that one in a pinch. It's a little confusing and takes a while to know the, uh, technique."
>Look to Byakuren. "See, there's someone else who uses a few cards with a similar flavor as that one. Nice kid and all, but more than a little energetic."
>Blink a few times, with a half-impressed, half-shocked expression. "Uhh....Yeah, that's a win alright. Wouldn't you agree, Byakuren? I mean, he already busted through three of her cards.">Byakuren nods solemnly, "Yes, it is a win for Kouga. Still... what a way for Shou to lose..."
>Chuckle. "Hey now, don't be too charming, Kouga. At this rate, you'll have half of Gensokyo vying for ya!">Kouga grins, "Eh, apologies again. I guess I'm just too nice..."
>Give Byakuren an aside glance. "I think I might've made him a little too charming."
>Facepalm, and chuckle amusedly. "Great, just what we need. Another person who steals hearts without even trying.">Marisa grins, "Oi, Kouga, don't go stealing Alice, yeah? I already called dibs on her!"
>Chuckle. "It'd be pretty funny to see how that would turn out though.">Alice nods, "In Gensokyo terms, yes, but in human terms I think you're past that."
>"Besides, in case you haven't remembered Alice, me and Marisa technically still are."
>Let's have a good laugh. "Looks like things won't be so boring anymore!">Byakuren laughs, "Showing him off to everyone, are you?"
>Grin. "I guess I should visit the Taoists next, to see how they respond."
>Chuckle. "That, and it's kinda fun making wagers to see who falls for him next.">Marisa grins, "Oh, yeah! Wait... what was the wager again?"
>Look to Marisa with a grin. "I think I won our little bet by the way."
>Chuckle. "I think it was something to the effect of 'If she doesn't fall for him, I'll eat my hat.'. Of course, with him being my Shikigami, I had confidence that it would happen.">Marisa grins, "Fine, I'll give ya' another one. If Miko falls for him, I'll eat my hat. There and then."
>Smirk. "Shame really, it would've been funny to see you follow through with that."
>Chuckle. "You're on!">Despite the wide grin, you can see a small crack of regret behind Marisa's face.
>Look to Byakuren, and bow slightly with a smile. "Well, it was nice visiting you again, but I guess it's time to move on to the next group.">Smiling, Byakuren bows also, "Well, all of you go and have fun!"
>Look to Shou with an amused smirk. "Try not to pine for him too much, okay? Don't want to have to lug you to Eientei to have a broken heart treated~"
>Chuckle. "Well, try not to let it get too out of hand, Shou.">You head off to find the Taoists.
>Well, let's go find the Taoists! They should still be hanging around that Mausoleum yeah?
>Wave a little. "Yo.">Returning the grin, Yoshika hops about, "Hi!"
>Well, hopefully they don't get the idea to challenge us...
>Chuckle. "Just going around Gensokyo, taking care of incidents before they start, and showing my new assistant around.">Seiga gives her traditional half-asleep smile and floats closer to Kouga, "Well, nice to meet you, Kouga. I'm Seiga."
>Smirk. "Meet Kouga, my Shikigami. Just summoned him today y'know."
>"So, everyone else been doing good? Hope Futo hasn't stumbled into anything she shouldn't have, kid's a little naive sometimes y'know.">Seiga laughs quietly, "Well, no. Apart from another argument over a quiz game, Futo hasn't gotten into much~"
>Grin. "But if she has, it'd be kinda funny to see the outcome."
>Chuckle. "I heard about that little goof-up. Kinda funny really.">Raising an eyebrow, Seiga sighs, "They're... having another quiz. Inside. Tojiko has been run out of her head trying to come up with new questions, because Futo and Miko are in some sort of headlock in trying to overpower each other mentally."
>"Oh yeah, where's the others? I figured that since it's a pretty nice day, they'd be out enjoying it."
>Grin. "I think I know a way to break them out of that little rut. Up for a prank?">Seiga smiles, "A prank? Hm... haven't taken part in a prank for a while... what did you have in mind~?"
>Grin. "Oh, nothing too big, just seeing how they'd react to a tiger dropping in on them.">Seiga looks surprised, "Well... not to dish the dirt, but if there is one thing that Futo and Miko are even vaguely scared of... it's tigers."
>Smirk. "Kouga here is a Tiger-Type Shikigami. Kouga, show 'em your other mode."
>Let's have a little laugh. "That'll work perfectly then.">Yoshika grins, "He's awesome!"
>"Well, I only just summoned him today, but I think I did a pretty good job. Maybe too good of one."
>Chuckle. "You won't believe what happened earlier involving her.">Seiga gasps, "Tenshi Hinanawi? The celestial? Why ever would she want to destroy the Moriya Shrine? Did Sanae do something wrong?"
>"That shrine of hers? Got leveled by a raging Tenshi."
>"Tenshi's an over-excitable one, and thought for sure that her getting pranked as bad as she did today was her doing.">Seiga laughs almost rudely, "Well, isn't that adorable? I'm surprised that Sanae could even be considered a pranker... what with being two buckets short of a waterfall."
>Let's laugh with her. "Thing is, it wasn't Sanae. She doesn't really know who it was.">Seiga looks at you slightly suspiciously, "Congratulate them? Hm... well, I hope you soon find the culprit."
>Smirk in a mischievous manner. "It'd be nice to know who did it though, I'd really like to congratulate 'em on helping me out with things."
>Pass a sly look to Alice, Kouga, and Marisa in a way that Seiga and Yoshika are sure to not notice.>You look slyly at Alice, Kouga and Marisa just as Seiga turns around to see where Yoshika had hopped off to.
>Look back, and nod. "Yeah, I agreed to help fix it up, in exchange for a few things it's been tough to get.">Seiga nods, "I see, I see. Take what you can get when the opportunity arises. I tend to do that. Especially if someone else is making tea~"
>Chuckle. "Which is why I wanna thank whoever it was that did that, because they helped me out more than they could ever imagine.""
>Grin. "Too true, eh? Now then, shall we get to the prank?">Seiga nods, "How do you want to do it~? I can serve as a distraction to draw them from their little trivia game, if that is what you want~"
>Grin. "That works. You can keep 'em busy, while Kouga slips in and shifts to Tiger form.">Seiga grins, "I'll relieve Tojiko of her quizmaster duties, then~"
>Let's slip over with Kouga as well! But keep out of sight.>You go over to the door with Kouga, keeping out of sight.
>Let's wait until she gets them good and distracted.>After a few minutes, you hear Miko and Futo shouting out answers to questions... answers that, honestly, don't even make sense.
>Grin. "Alright Kouga, do your thing. Slip in there without getting seen or heard, then shift to tiger form, and give 'em a nice little scare.">Kouga nods, and slips through the door.
>Chuckle quietly, then slip in ourselves while they're distracted by Kouga.>You slip in, also, whilst Futo and Miko are under the table.
>Slip Kouga a signal to shift back to normal, then knock on the table. "Hey, you two okay under there?">Kouga quickly shifts back to normal.
>Chuckle. "You might wanna look again you two.">Futo shuffles out of the table, "Wait... was there even a tiger?"
>Chuckle. "Kouga, introduce yourself.">Kouga grins, bowing to Miko and Futo, "As you already heard, the name's Kouga. Nice to meet you both."
>Grin. "And he is also my Shikigami. Kouga, if you would?">Kouga nods, but he is cut off when Miko and Futo immediately begin closely examining him.
>Smirk. "You two are Taoists, figure it out. After all, Shikigami are something shared by both Shinto and Taoism.">Miko looks over at Seiga, "Hey, surely there's a book on Shikigami in our library, right?"
>Chuckle. "Oh well, guess you'll have to look elsewhere for the info, huh?">Futo nods, "Yeah, what was that? It knocked over one of the shelves and interrupted our quiz!"
>"Anyhow, you know about that little quake incident a little while ago?"
>Stifle a chuckle. "That must've been quite the sight, seeing her stuck under all those books.">Seiga grins, "I wouldn't have noticed, had I not seen her arms sticking out of the pile. When she got out, she thought that Kyouko girl had shouted the place down."
>"Anyhow, there's this troublesome Celestial who showed up a long while before you guys did. Heck, even back before Byakuren and her crew showed up. She got pranked pretty badly today, and went on a rampage. The temple got hit, the Moriya Shrine, and a few other places too.">Miko and Futo burst out laughing, almost falling over each other.
>Chuckle. "You shoulda seen all the pranks she went through. Her socks got replaced with fish, icecubes put in her undergarments, some kinda soft and mushy cheese was stuck in her hat, -and this one's the funniest-, She apparently took a peach pie to the face."
>Chuckle. "Wonder what was going through her mind when she was caught off guard by all those books?">Futo whistles, "Y'know, I thought I'd had some crazy pranks in my time..."
>"Yeah, it was a pretty crazy set of pranks."
>Raise an eyebrow. "That old trick? I don't think even Fairies do that one anymore. They use buckets these days.">Futo pouts, "It's only useful on Yoshika nowadays... 'cos she can't reach to get it off."
>Grin. "You could always try it on Sanae once the Moriya Shrine gets fixed up.">Futo grins, "Alright, I have something to do!"
>Facepalm.>You facepalm. It almost feels like an inadequate portrayal of how you feel about Futo's answer...
>Sigh. "In a way.">You do a double-facepalm combo.
>Look up to her, then attempt a Facepalm X2 combo!
>Sigh again. "That's completely wrong. Komachi Onozuka is the one who does that job. She's pretty lazy though.">Futo blinks, "Who?"
>Give Miko an aside glance. "Has she always been like this?">Miko sighs, loudly, "Unfortunately, yes. I think if she was more well-read.. or just... well-read at all, she may be a bit more tolerable. But, sadly, no."
>Sigh too. "At least Kouga has his head on right.">Miko nods, "Yeah, you're lucky. He's pretty level-headed, you know. A good trait for a Shikigami..."
>Nod. "That's one of the good things about Shikigami of the feline variety, they're naturally level-headed.">Miko nods, "Yeah. Futo challenged me to the longest quiz in Gensokyo, and she collared Tojiko and made her the quizmaster. You have to feel sorry for her, though, as Tojiko had to think up the questions on the spot. We had to ask Murasa about that Shou question because Futo absolutely refused to take the answer from me, Tojiko, Seiga and even Yoshika."
>"So, you guys were having a long quiz game recently huh? I heard from Murasa that you guys asked her about that."
>Sigh. "Stubborn, isn't she?">Miko nods, rubbing the bridge of her nose, "Bit of an understatement, but I'm too tired to think of anything better to use."
>Beat.>Seiga laughs, "Don't look so shocked. She may be a Jiang-Shi, but she isn't stupid. Heck, she can hold her own in a lot of quizzes. I think we once had one with Yoshika versus Tojiko, and Yoshika won by thirty points to twenty-eight.
>"Wait, even Yoshika had the right one? That's just sad."
>Chuckle. "Well, at least she's remotely intelligent. Probably better than a fairy at least.">Seiga nods, "Enough to have a conversation that isn't intellectually one-sided, of course."
>Nod. "Yeah, which is one of her few strongpoints aside from being insanely durable.">Seiga grins proudly, "Yoshika is a bit of a tough cookie, isn't she? Especially with that spellcard that allows her to regenerate her health after each wave..."
>Sigh. "Yeah, that was a tough one. Good thing for everyone that she uses it last though.">Seiga shrugs, "It depends which way you look at it. It may seem cheap to use it at the end. I guess it's a last-ditch effort."
>Nod. "Actually, it's common practice in Gensokyo to save your best for last.">Seiga nods, "Ah, I see. I guess I occasionally do that~"
>Nod. "And sometimes, there are spellcards that are stronger still, and are usually only used in specific situations. Last Words. My Last Word-class Spellcard, Fantasy Heaven, is a good example of one. I don't usually use it unless I've used up all of my other spellcards, but on rare occasions do I resort to it from the start. Usually when it's stupid to prolong a fight. Such as when I brought Tenshi down earlier to fix the messes she caused.">Seiga laughs, "Well, luckily none of us have caused enough trouble to bring down that fiery wrath, eh? Perish the thought."
>"Hmm..I suppose you could compare them to your Overdrive spellcards, even though those are a bit weaker. Yuyuko actually has a Last Word as well, in addition to a few Overdrive cards herself.">Yoshika grins, "Yuyuko? Is that the ghost in the blue outfit that apparently eats everything, and has pink hair? Where was it she lived again? Nenderland?"
>"Marisa, Alice, and many others have Last Words as well. Alice's in particular is an interesting one.">Seiga keeps nodding as you speak... it seems she is taking mental notes. It looks almost unnerving.
>"Last words also come in two types. Survival, and Damage. Though occasionally the Damage types are difficult to actually break, so many end up getting a timeout, as if it was a survival. Yoshika already demonstrates a similar trait with her last card."
>Look to Yoshika. "It's the Netherworld, but yes.">Yoshika hops, "That's the one! The Netherworld! I was close! I bet Futo would have said Youkai Mountain or something!"
>Chuckle. "That'd probably feel good, wouldn't it?">Futo shudders, "Cotton buds?! How?! Those things are evil!"
>Chuckle. "How else are you gonna get those ears cleaned out? Better than using a bare finger at least.">Futo cringes, "You could at least use a tissue... just not cotton buds..."
>Give Miko an aside glance. "She really doesn't like 'em, does she?">Miko sighs.
>"It must come with having used a plate huh? Or at least, that's what I've heard.">Miko nods, "That is probably it. We're still trying to get her to even look at vegetables. Seiga once snuck through the wall and tried to pour vegetable broth down Futo's throat. Futo, in response, spat it all back at her. Gross."
>Sigh. "She's almost as bad as a kid. But even they let their ears get cleaned.">Miko facepalms.
>Beat.
>"I think I have an idea. Come with me."
>Let's head to a side room if there is one. Otherwise, go outside.
>Kouga's with us too, right?>Of course.
>"Now, since she's expressed an interest in Kouga, we can use that to our advantage.">Miko grins.
>"Exactly.">Kouga nods at you, "I have an idea of how to do so, yes."
>Look to Kouga. "Now, I think you know how to go about this, yes?"
>Grin. "I'll leave it to you then.">Kouga nods and walks back inside, "Hey, Futo, got a question for you."
>Let's watch the fun!