Yukari Quest!

[E-Nazrin]

>How formal are we to Youmu, usually?
>"Yukari. Are you alright, Youmu?"

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>How formal are we to Youmu, usually?
>"Yukari. Are you alright, Youmu?"

>Not very. Not that the two of you interacted much in the first place.
>"Y-Yukari?! Is that really you?"

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>"Getting trapped in the border was not part of my plans. I am sorry for the long wait, Youmu."
>"... where is Yuyuko?"

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>"Getting trapped in the border was not part of my plans. I am sorry for the long wait, Youmu."
>"... where is Yuyuko?"

>As you talk, you can hear something being moved around.
>Soon you're approached by Youmu, who looks rather terrible. She seems overjoyed to see you, though.
>Youmu hugs you, burying her face into your stomach.
>"You're real, right? You're really here?"
>"Yuyuko... The cherry tree..."

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>"Yes, I'm really here. It looks like you've gone through quite a lot..."
>Hug back a bit, pat her back comfortingly.
>... face into our stomach? Is she on her knees, or is she normally that short?
>Do we know what the Saigyou Ayakashi being in full bloom would imply?

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>"Yes, I'm really here. It looks like you've gone through quite a lot..."
>Hug back a bit, pat her back comfortingly.
>... face into our stomach? Is she on her knees, or is she normally that short?
>Do we know what the Saigyou Ayakashi being in full bloom would imply?

>You hug her back and pat her, trying to comfort her.
>You can feel her face getting warmer, is she crying?
>She is on her knees, hugging you.
>You know that Yuyuko died in order to seal the Saigyou Ayakashi. The tree being in full bloom would imply that something has happened to Yuyuko or the seal.

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>Let her get it out of her system. Who knows how long she's been alone here...
>... though it does rather imply that Yuyuko's dead...
>Do we feel that would be enough to join her in her grief?

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>Let her get it out of her system. Who knows how long she's been alone here...
>... though it does rather imply that Yuyuko's dead...
>Do we feel that would be enough to join her in her grief?

>You continue to pat Youmu as she holds you. It doesn't seem like she'll be letting go of you any time soon.
>Just what happened here?
>Is it?

>_

[BT]

Yuyuko is kind of dead regularly, if it wasn't obvious. Though who knows, she might have disappeared completely.
> Wait for her to calm down a bit. If it doesn't happen soon, gently and slowly detach from her.
> "You're... alone here?"

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

> Wait for her to calm down a bit. If it doesn't happen soon, gently and slowly detach from her.
> "You're... alone here?"

>You continue to pat Youmu for a while before you slowly pry yourself away from her.
>Youmu wipes her eyes with the back of her hands.
>"I'm sorry... It's just..."
>"Yes..."

>_

[BT]

>"For how long?"
>Signal her to sit down for a chat. When you do, "The sights on the way here were quite... interesting."

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>"For how long?"
>Signal her to sit down for a chat. When you do, "The sights on the way here were quite... interesting."

>"Ever since that tree..."
>You clear a small portion of one of the rooms and signal for Youmu to sit down with you.
>"It's horrible. Absolutely horrible."

>_

[BT]

> "If you're feeling better, I'd love to hear all about it. Everything. I don't like the idea of forcing you to bring bad memories back up, but I must know. Who knows, I might be able to do something about it."

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

> "If you're feeling better, I'd love to hear all about it. Everything. I don't like the idea of forcing you to bring bad memories back up, but I must know. Who knows, I might be able to do something about it."

>"I don't really know what happened."
>"While I was tending to the garden, the sky started changing."
>"Lady Yuyuko started visiting the Saigyou Ayakashi. She would spend more and more time there, to the point where she would not leave it."
>"The tree... It... enveloped her..."
>You can see Youmu begin to tremble.

>_

[yuyukos]

>"What do you mean, 'enveloped her?'"

>Is Youmu's ghost half still with her?
>What do we think of Youmu's mental state and her potential to help us going forward?

Welp this turned out pretty badly. I don't really want to go to the Saigyou Ayakashi since it seems dangerous, but with our gap powers dead and not much else of note in Hakugyoukurou, it would seem the most logical step. Let's try and get more info from Youmu and then head there.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>"What do you mean, 'enveloped her?'"

>Is Youmu's ghost half still with her?
>What do we think of Youmu's mental state and her potential to help us going forward?

>"It... she... it took her inside. I don't know..."
>"It just kind of seemed to reach out to her, and she went with it..."
>Youmu's ghost half is floating around a corner of the room.
>What do you think of Youmu's mental state?

>_

[Momijibot]

>"Willingly went with it?"

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>"Willingly went with it?"

>"She just kind of... I don't know..."
>Youmu cradles her head in her arms, as if trying to block something out.

>_

[Momijibot]

>Embrace her.

[Tamashii Kanjou]

>"And how long ago was this?"

>If Yuyuko is really gone...

>"What happened after she... went inside?"

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>Embrace her.

>You lean over to give Youmu another hug.
>She rests her head against you.

>"And how long ago was this?"

>If Yuyuko is really gone...

>"What happened after she... went inside?"

>"A few months after the world changed..."
>If Yuyuko is gone, what will you do?
>"I don't know. I'm a coward. I ran away."

>_

[Kasu]

> "It's okay.  We'll find a way to get to the root of everything that happened and fix it. Somehow."
> Rub her back a bit.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

> "It's okay.  We'll find a way to get to the root of everything that happened and fix it. Somehow."
> Rub her back a bit.

>You continue to console Youmu.
>"I'm sorry... For being so weak..."

>_

[Tamashii Kanjou]

>"Don't be sorry; it's not your fault."

>Step back a bit.
>"With me here, do you feel up to taking a closer look at the Ayakashi? We won't go that close; and I understand if you don't want to do so."

>"But, I don't want to leave you alone like this; and I'm sure it would do you a favour if you stayed close to me."

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>"Don't be sorry; it's not your fault."

>Step back a bit.
>"With me here, do you feel up to taking a closer look at the Ayakashi? We won't go that close; and I understand if you don't want to do so."

>"But, I don't want to leave you alone like this; and I'm sure it would do you a favour if you stayed close to me."

>"I should have done something..."
>You let go of Youmu to ask her how she feels about investigating the Saigyou Ayakashi.
>"I guess... I could..."

>_

[Omba]

>Now in this tree, you die horribly.
>"See? You're not a coward, you're very brave."
>Lightly pat Youmu on the head and give her a reassuring smile, then offer her a hand (to stand up).
>This really doesn't look so good, though.
>Does Youmu have her sword with her?
>If so:
>(in a gentle voice) "Then I think we should go there now. Unless you'd like to wait a bit longer...?"
>If she agrees to go: Slowly lead the way to the Saigyou Ayakashi, always staying close to Youmu.
>Stop a distance away and take a look.
>Any peculiar smell here?

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>Now in this tree, you die horribly.
>"See? You're not a coward, you're very brave."
>Lightly pat Youmu on the head and give her a reassuring smile, then offer her a hand (to stand up).
>This really doesn't look so good, though.
>Does Youmu have her sword with her?
>If so:
>(in a gentle voice) "Then I think we should go there now. Unless you'd like to wait a bit longer...?"
>If she agrees to go: Slowly lead the way to the Saigyou Ayakashi, always staying close to Youmu.
>Stop a distance away and take a look.
>Any peculiar smell here?

>Before you know it, you've been cut into two hundred pieces.
>"I don't think so..."
>You get up first and offer your hand to Youmu, who takes it.
>Of course, the situation seems rather dire, but you're not going to let that show.
>Youmu does have her swords with her.
>"I'll be fine. I think..."
>You walk with Youmu through Hakugyokurou, back out into the garden. Youmu stays slightly behind you, and constantly checks behind her as the two of you walk onwards.
>Once you're somewhat close to the tree, you stop to observe it.
>The Saigyou Ayakashi looks like any other cherry tree, albeit larger than most. However, you can feel an evil aura emanating from it.
>The stench of death surrounds this place.

>_

[Omba]

>How is Youmu holding up?
>Can we feel the evil aura affecting us in any way?
>Any peculiar plants near the tree?
>Apart from being in full bloom, does the tree look any different from how we remember it?
>Are there any small stones, pieces of wood, or similar objects that we could throw, nearby (but not much closer to the tree)?
>If so, pick one of them up.
>Get just close enough (or back off a bit if we're more than close enough) to throw what we picked up at the stem of the tree, then throw it.
>Be ready to run away with Youmu quickly.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>How is Youmu holding up?
>Can we feel the evil aura affecting us in any way?
>Any peculiar plants near the tree?
>Apart from being in full bloom, does the tree look any different from how we remember it?
>Are there any small stones, pieces of wood or similar objects that we could throw nearby (but not much closer to the tree)?
>If so, pick one of them up.
>Get just close enough (or back off a bit if we're more than close enough) to throw what we picked up at the stem of the tree, then throw it.
>Be ready to run away with Youmu quickly.

>You take a quick look at Youmu, who looks absolutely terrified.
>The aura is not affecting you much. You feel slightly uncomfortable.
>There are no other plants near the tree.
>You think that some of the larger branches may have shifted a bit.
>You pick up a few stones from around the garden and prepare to throw them at the tree, before Youmu grabs your arm.
>"W-what are you doing?!"

>_

[Omba]

>How close are we to the tree?
>Stop. Don't resist her. Don't try to throw the stones or pull yourself away from her grip.
>Gently touch her hand with your other (free) hand and look her in the eyes. Try your best to look confident.
>"I think we need to find out what happened to that tree if we want to know what happened to Yuyuko."
>"And I think I'll have to get closer to it to find out. So I want to first test what happens if I do this."