Yukari Quest!

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

> Take a fashionable bag. Put jewelry and revolver inside.

>No, don't leave yet.
>Instead, "Ran, Chen. I think I'll investigate on my own for now. But, both of you come here for a moment."
>Engage family hug. "... thank you for waiting for me."

>You take a small, purple bag that matches reasonably well with your dress and place the revolver and jewellery inside.
>Before you leave though, there is one more thing that you need to do.
>You go back to the room where you left Ran and Chen, to tell them that you'll be investigating alone.
>"I see. If there is anything that Chen or I can do, do not hesitate to call on us.
>You then tell both of them to come a little closer.
>"Yes, what is it?"
>"Nya?"
>You hug the pair of them when they approach. Chen returns your hug by squeezing you and Ran as hard as she can and Ran as hard as she can, and Ran wraps her arm around you and uses her tails to cover Chen.
>"Of course we would wait for you, master."
>"Yeah!"
>The three of you stay like this for a while, enjoying each other's embrace.

> "Well, I'll be going now. I'll be back later."
> Leave for Hakugyuokurou's entrance, not taking anyone with us unless anyone objects.

>The three of you eventually let go of each other.
>"Take care. We wish for your safe return."
>"Come back soon, master!"
>Chen and Ran follow you to the door, where Ran bows to you and Chen waves goodbye.
>You take your leave and walk at a brisk pace to the entrance of Hakugyokurou.
>Once you arrive, you see what Ran meant about Hakugyokurou disappearing.
>The entrance has been replaced by a giant tear, not unlike the cracks running across the sky, in the space that the entrance occupied.

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>Frown. That's not good.
>Is the entrance to Hakugyokurou more like a magical portal to a different realm/location, or a physical entrance to an area of Gensokyo practically impossible to access any other way?
>How easily would we be able to gap 'into' this tear?

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>Frown. That's not good.
>Is the entrance to Hakugyokurou more like a magical portal to a different realm/location, or a physical entrance to an area of Gensokyo practically impossible to access any other way?
>How easily would we be able to gap 'into' this tear?

>Not good at all.
>The entrance is similar to a portal.
>You have no idea.

>_

[E-Nazrin]

Well. Not thinking it's worth the risk, but gonna wait for someone else to chime in for now.

Question is, if we don't risk getting trapped again to rescue Yuyuko, where do we go next?

[Omba]

Considering we seem to be limited to entering Hakugyokurou through a gap, I wonder how dangerous going there could be;
if something goes wrong, we'd probably be stuck there until we can gap out again.

Trying to save Alice would be a possibility. If we manage to free her, she might be willing to help us; we sure could use some additional strength. Not sure about this, though.
We don't know whom we might piss off if we go against Rinnosuke by doing that. Or how exactly he got control over Alice in the first place. He might be able to do something similar to us.

I think for now trying to open a gap and taking a look at Hakugyokurou through it would be a good idea. That could make the decision somewhat easier. If we then decide not to go there after all, we can always just wait until we can gap again to get somewhere else.

[E-Nazrin]

I don't know how many hours we have to spare before Alice does something drastic or rumors of Yukari's return bring us unwanted visitors at Mayohiga. Simply waiting it out may be a bad idea, unless the plan is extended family bonding with Ran and Chen at a time like this (which is what).

And I fully expect to be trapped in Hakugyokurou for an hour to recharge in a best-case scenario; worst-case would be being unable to get back at all. And while Alice would be grateful, I suspect Yuyuko would be willing to help out without having to do anything special. There are a lot of unknowns for both, but... well, let's see about what we could do if it doesn't work:

>What other locations are near Mayohiga?

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>What other locations are near Mayohiga?

>The closest areas of note are the Sanzu river and the Bamboo Forest of the Lost. Travelling to either location will take at least an hour.

>_

[BT]

There's obviously something we WANT to see inside that portal. So, if no one says otherwise,
> Go inside.

(obviously leave this alone for a few hours)

[yuyukos]

I think we can count on Yuyuko (and thus Youmu) to help us, as our relationship has generally been amiable in the past. But this is assuming that they are still there in Hakugyokurou, as well as that we might be stuck there for an hour (?) as Nazrin stated above. I think that since we've come all the way here, we should proceed in, as going back to help Alice while holding our gap in reserve would take too long.

>Enter the portal.
> :ohdear:

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

> Go inside.

>Enter the portal.
> :ohdear:

>You brace yourself for the worst and focus your energies towards opening a gap through the tear.
>It takes even more effort than usual, and by the time you manage to open a gap that you could fit through, you're sweating rather heavily.
>You pass through the gap to find yourself in Hakugyokurou's garden, but it's different.
>The sky is a blood red and all the flowers and trees have wilted.
>There are more ghosts floating around than what you previously remember.

>_

[BT]

> Oh dear.
> Look around. Aside from the change of atmosphere (and absurd amount of ghosts), is there anything else strikingly unusual?

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

> Oh dear.
> Look around. Aside from the change of atmosphere (and absurd amount of ghosts), is there anything else strikingly unusual?

>What happened here?
>You take a moment to take in your surroundings and, aside from the sky, garden, and number of ghosts, Hakugyokurou seems to be roughly the same.

>_

[BT]

> If that's so, head off to where Yuyuko usually is. If she's there, I'm sure she can do all the explaining.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

> If that's so, head off to where Yuyuko usually is. If she's there, I'm sure she can do all the explaining.

>You begin to walk through Hakugyokurou's garden, towards Hakugyokurou itself.
>After walking for around twenty minutes, Hakugyokurou comes into view, as does the Saigyou Ayakashi on the other side.
>To your surprise, the Saigyou Ayakashi is in full bloom.

>_

[BT]

> Huh. That's interesting.

> Does it show that the trip here took a lot out of us? If so, try to hide it as much as possible. Wouldn't want people to see how out of shape we are.
> Regardless, continue onwards.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

> Huh. That's interesting.

> Does it show that the trip here took a lot out of us? If so, try to hide it as much as possible. Wouldn't want people to see how out of shape we are.
> Regardless, continue onwards.

>You take a moment to compose yourself, wiping off any sweat before you carry on.
>You take note of the Saigyou Ayakashi as you continue walking.
>Soon, you find yourself at the entrance of Hakugyokurou. The door is slightly ajar.

>_

[BT]

> Well, what are we waiting for? We came here for a reason.
> Enter.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

> Well, what are we waiting for? We came here for a reason.
> Enter.

You push open the door and enter, finding yourself in an empty room.
>There are two rooms connected to either side of you, and a door leading to a private garden on the other side of the room.

>_

[Omba]

>Walk a few steps into the room.
>Are any of the other doors open? If so, can we see anything behind them from here?
>Anything peculiar on the walls, floor or ceiling of the room?

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>Walk a few steps into the room.
>Are any of the other doors open? If so, can we see anything behind them from here?
>Anything peculiar on the walls, floor or ceiling of the room?

>You take a few steps into the room.
>The doors to either side are closed.
>The private garden is in a similar state to the one outside the house, with all the plants wilting.
>The room is completely bare, though it has taken on an eerie red hue due to the light.

>_

[Omba]

>Inhale. Does anything smell strange?
>Slowly walk to the door that leads to the private garden. Can we see anything besides the dying plants from there?

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>Inhale. Does anything smell strange?
>Slowly walk to the door that leads to the private garden. Can we see anything besides the dying plants from there?

>You take a deep breath, nothing seems too out of the ordinary.
>You walk to the private garden, it's relatively clear of ghosts.
>You can see most of Hakugyokurou from here, all the other doors leading to the garden appear to be closed.

>_

[Omba]

>Chase after the ghosts and start eating them.

>Go back into the room and try to open the doors one by one, starting with the one next to you on your left side.
>If a door opens, look inside but don't enter the room. If it doesn't, go directly to the next room.
>Stop if you see, hear or smell anything peculiar or threatening in any of the rooms.

[yuyukos]

>Gapcheck
>Proceed with caution.

[E-Nazrin]

>Where would Yuyuko normally be in here? What about Youmu?

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>Chase after the ghosts and start eating them.

>Go back into the room and try to open the doors one by one, starting with the one next to you on your left side.
>If a door opens, look inside but don't enter the room. If it doesn't, go directly to the next room.
>Stop if you see, hear or smell anything peculiar or threatening in any of the rooms.

>You jump to catch one of the ghosts floating around so that you can see what it tastes like. You find the taste rather pleasing, and try to catch another. You spend the rest of your days catching and eating ghosts.
>You check the door to your left, opening it to reveal a similar room with a low table inside. Inside this room, there is a door leading deeper inside the building, and another leading to the private garden.
>You check the door to your right to reveal another empty room, with a door leading further into the mansion and a door leading to the private garden.

>Gapcheck
>Proceed with caution.

>Something is strange about this area, you try opening up a miniature gap to test your powers, only to find that even this is impossible here.
>You don't think you can gather the strength to open a gap from inside this space.
>You continue to explore the house with caution.

>Where would Yuyuko normally be in here? What about Youmu?

>Yuyuko would normally be resting in her room, which is to the right of the room that you are currently in, or the private garden.
>Youmu would normally be at Yuyuko's side, or tending to the gardens.

>_

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>Check Yuyuko's room.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>Check Yuyuko's room.

>You begin walking through Hakugyokurou, heading towards Yuyuko's room.
>You step through many rooms, noting that as you get closer to Yuyuko's room, the state of each room gets worse and worse, until you reach rooms that are in total chaos.
>As you open another door, you hear a voice come from deeper within the house. You'd guess that it came from right outside Yuyuko's room.
>"W-who's t-t-there?!"

>_

[E-Nazrin]

you try opening up a miniature gap to test your powers, only to find that even this is impossible here.

fuck shit piss damn

>Stop for the moment.
>Does this voice sound familiar at all? Does it sound more like Yuyuko or Youmu, if the panicked tone makes it difficult to tell?

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>Stop for the moment.
>Does this voice sound familiar at all? Does it sound more like Yuyuko or Youmu, if the panicked tone makes it difficult to tell?

>You stop.
>The voice sounds like it belongs to Youmu.
>"H-H-Hello? Is a-anyone there?"

>_