Meira Quest (Part 3)

[Sect]

> She isn't going to thank us? Rude... "You're welcome."
> Look at Rika. Is she going to find the book.

[日巫子]

> She isn't going to thank us? Rude... "You're welcome."
> Look at Rika. Is she going to find the book.

> The woman nods once.
> "Shikoba, where's that youkai encyclopedia?" Rika asks.  "...Can you find it for us?  Thanks."
> Shikoba stands up and glides off, books in tow.

> _

[Sect]

> Whisper. "She's a little bit rude. She didn't say anything!"

[日巫子]

> Whisper. "She's a little bit rude. She didn't say anything!"

> Rika shrugs.  "She never talks."

> _

[Sect]

> "Huh, wonder why not?"
> Follow her!

[日巫子]

> "Huh, wonder why not?"
> Follow her!

> "How should I know?"  Rika walks ahead and falls into step with Shikoba.  You follow them down the aisles until you reach a very clean-looking section of the library with the books all perfectly lined up.  Shikoba hovers around, shedding feathers all over the place, until she comes up with a leather-bound book and hands it to Rika.

> _

[Sect]

> Pick up feathers and hand them to Shikoba. "You should take better care of your wings!"

[日巫子]

> Pick up feathers and hand them to Shikoba. "You should take better care of your wings!"

> Shikoba takes the feathers from you and sticks them back into her wings, patting them down until they're sleek and smooth.

> _

[Sect]

> "Better!"
> Peek over Rika's shoulder. "Hey, hey, what's in that?"

[日巫子]

> "Better!"
> Peek over Rika's shoulder. "Hey, hey, what's in that?"

> Shikoba turns and flies away.
> You look over Rika's shoulder.  The book looks to be in very good condition.
> Rika turns around and clutches the book to her.  "It's a youkai encyclopedia.  It doesn't have a lot in it, but it has an entry for kitsune."

> _

[Sect]

> "Ohhhh... lemme see, lemme see!"
> The kitsune's days are numbered!

[日巫子]

> "Ohhhh... lemme see, lemme see!"
> The kitsune's days are numbered!

> With this, that kitsune won't know what hit her!
> Rika sighs and hands you the book.  The weaknesses of the kitsune are literally at your fingertips.

> _

[nolrai2]

> With this, that kitsune won't know what hit her!
> Rika sighs and hands you the book.  The weaknesses of the kitsune are literally at your fingertips.

Wave arms in excitement.
Grab the book and READ!

[日巫子]

Wave arms in excitement.
Grab the book and READ!

> You wave your arms excitedly, nearly dropping the book in the process.  Rika backs away, frowning.
> You open the book to a random spot.  It's...it's...
> An article about tengu.  Wrong page.

> _

[Sect]

> Frown, and search for the kitsune page!

[Hanzo K.]

>"Awww...this part's about Tengu."
>Try another random page!

[日巫子]

> Frown, and search for the kitsune page!

>"Awww...this part's about Tengu."
>Try another random page!

> This isn't what you were looking for...
> You keep flipping through the pages.  Tengu, kappa, some woman with a mouth on the back of her head...
> Oh, here it is!

> _

[Sect]

> Read!

[日巫子]

> Read!

> You take a look at the article.  There are sections for appearances, abilities, and weaknesses.  Which one will you read?

> _

[Hanzo K.]

>Read ALL the sections!

[日巫子]

>Read ALL the sections!

> Appearances:
  > Kitsune in beast form have the appearance of a regular fox, though with a larger body.  Their number of tails can range from one to nine depending on their age, adding one tail for each 100 years they live.  For example, a kitsune that is 100 years old will have one tail, while a 900 year old kitsune will have nine tails.  The more tails a kitsune has, the more powerful they are.  Kitsune can be any color, but the servants of Inari have been known to have pure white fur.

> Abilities:
  > Kitsune are extremely long-lived and possess a wealth of knowledge.  When they attain youkaihood at 100 years they gain the ability to take on a human form.  Most prominantly is their ability to shapeshift or even possess humans.  They have also been known to create illusions, conjour fire, and even manifest in dreams.  Kitsune in human form often appear as beautiful women or girls, or wizened old men.  Their tails and ears are usually visible, and their facial features are narrower like a fox's.  There are unconfirmed rumors of Kitsune even being able to drive humans mad, or to bend the very fabric of reality itself and to sap energy from humans.

> Weaknesses:
  > Kitsune, especially younger ones, often have difficulty hiding their tails in human form.  Kitsune also carry around an artifact known as hoshi no tama or star ball; it has been speculated to be either the source of their power or their soul living outside of their body, and will cause great distress to the kitsune if it is taken away.  To startle a kitsune away, one must be accompanied by a dog, of which kitsune are afraid.  To beckon a kitsune, one must be prepared with a plate of fried tofu.  One of the greatest weapons to use against a kitsune is their own feelings, especially regret or guilt.

> _

[Yonowaaru]

>"This is great! With this, we'll be able to defeat that kitsune!"
>"Although... They can even sap life from humans and drive us insane? This might be bad..."

[Hanzo K.]

>"But they do like fried tofu, so I guess they aren't all that bad...."
>Foreheadpalm.
>"What am I saying? It burned down my home village! I'll make it wish it never did that..."
>Fistpalm.
>"And the book mentions that guilt or regret is one of the weaknesses! So I just gotta draw it in tofu, and then smack it around some!"
>Grin.
>"Maybe I can even get it to help rebuild!"

[Sect]

>"But they do like fried tofu, so I guess they aren't all that bad...."
>Foreheadpalm.
>"What am I saying? It burned down my home village! I'll make it wish it never did that..."
>Fistpalm.
>"And the book mentions that guilt or regret is one of the weaknesses! So I just gotta draw it in tofu, and then smack it around some!"
>Grin.
>"Maybe I can even get it to help rebuild!"

> IGNORE.

[日巫子]

>"This is great! With this, we'll be able to defeat that kitsune!"
>"Although... They can even sap life from humans and drive us insane? This might be bad..."

> "Who's 'we'?" Rika asks.  "I don't remember agreeing to...oh wait, nevermind."
> This kitsune might be a more formidable opponent than you first thought, if they can really do all of this.
> "They're uncomfirmed rumors," Rika reminds you.

> _

[Sect]

> "I still gotta watch out... okay... so, if I make some fried tofu, and put it in this... er, 'Hakurei Border', then I can set a trap for her!"
> Pause. "I wonder if I can dig a pit and put dogs in the bottom of it. That'll ruin her day. I mean, it's not like she feels guilty about anything, 'cause she's evil."

[日巫子]

> "I still gotta watch out... okay... so, if I make some fried tofu, and put it in this... er, 'Hakurei Border', then I can set a trap for her!"
> Pause. "I wonder if I can dig a pit and put dogs in the bottom of it. That'll ruin her day. I mean, it's not like she feels guilty about anything, 'cause she's evil."

> Fried tofu shouldn't be that hard to make.  You just make it and...well, lure her out with it.
> You consider setting a trap.  It might take a little while to dig a pit, but if you put some dogs in it and push her in that would be good...
> "Are you going to try outsmarting a kitsune?" Rika asks.  She sounds a little awed.

> _

[Sect]

> "Yeah! And then I'll beat her up and revenge my family!"
> Put the book down, and start making notes in our sketchbook with our crayons. Be sure to include pictures of the dog pit.

[日巫子]

> "Yeah! And then I'll beat her up and revenge my family!"
> Put the book down, and start making notes in our sketchbook with our crayons. Be sure to include pictures of the dog pit.

> You set the book off to the side and take out your sketchbook.  You start writing down plans for taking down the kitsune, including some sketches of dogs barking in a pit.  Rika watches you draw for a few seconds before going to retrieve the book on the ground.

> _

[Sect]

> Wait, wasn't there also something about kappa and tengu? Keine kind of told us stuff but...
> "Hey, Rika, can you tell me what it says about kappa and tengu? I wanna know if they can really steal souls!"