On The Boundary ~ Illusionary Festival for the Dawn

[Amraphenson]

It's easy to see where Tetsumaru gets his physical training, if this is what he does every night. Which he does.
Chop. Chop. Chop.
The sound repeats and repeats as the apprentice takes the well worn axe to the trees, slowly gathering wood together. It's a monotonous action that's well suited to the not-so-monotonous thoughts inside his head.

'It's like something was calling me...like...a memory. Was that voice from my past?'

He shakes his heads from the thoughts. After a bit longer, he lets the axe rest on the stump he's using and stares at the afternoon sun. 'What's going on...?'

[Yog-N'yggoth]

Of all the trips Hotaru took, this one was interesting. She saw nothing interesting at all. She was half expecting something or someone to come up during this. She let out a sigh of disappointment, but quickly reaffirmed herself. Not like events come up in a quick sequence. 

 Still, it was either amazing lucky, or unlucky to not meet someone in this time. Hotaru padded her legs. Speaking of which, I haven't stopped at all, have I? She looked around, and found a stream nearby. She made her way to it and sat near the edge.  She took out a canteen out of her bag, and took to taking small sips to pass the time.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

Laresa's investigations hadn't turned up any surprising results. As she'd expected, some people had realized that they were under some form of compulsion, but many others had not. And even of those who had realized it, most had gone; Laresa had only spoken to a couple people who'd resisted it. Although many of the others spoke as though they'd decided to go on their own, not because of the compulsion. Of course, the truth of that is hard to determine; the effect of such a compulsion could easily influence such a decision-making process. Laresa knew the compulsion didn't cause her to go; she had been following a pre-existing plan, one she'd made when free of any such compulsions for just such a situation. If her plan had involved resisting the compulsion, she would have done that.

Laresa had spent the entire day since the odd gathering at the teahouse, waiting for Keine to finish with the day's work.

[Sonae]

As the sun sinks down behind the distant mountains and hills, Sora lets out a relieved sigh.
?Finally?? She mutters aloud.
?Hm??
The redhaired woman standing beside her turns her head and looks down to where the girl is sitting, leaning against the same brick wall as the guard.
?Something on your mind?? She asks the visitor.
?Ah? It?s nothing, don?t worry about it? Sora laughs it off as she pushes herself up to her feet. She stretches her arms into the air, shifting her stiff body in order to wake her limbs. Her journey had came to a halt when she had met the girl standing beside her now.

Her name was Hong Meiling. She told Sora that she was the gatekeeper of the mansion and that the Mistress was currently sleeping. With the girl showing obvious disappointment, Meiling hesitantly decided to let her wait out until the Mistress would be awake.

With each passing minute, the sun sank lower and lower, the light it brought slowly receding with it. A silence hung over the two for a moment, then Meiling spoke.
?Um?Sora was it?? The Mistress should be awake by now?? She says with a small frown as she scratches her. ?I guess I could take you to meet her??
Sora turns her attention to the youkai with slight surprise on her face. She then smiles, trying to hide any sense of excitement from her face. ?Thank you, I?d appreciate it? She says.
?W-well?don?t get too ahead of yourself there?I can?t gurantee you?ll be accepted?? Meiling says, averting her eyes a bit. With a breath, she turns back to Sora with a smile. ?Well, shall we go in??
Sora silently nods and follows Meiling as she leads the girl inside.
?Make sure to stick with me. It?s easy to get lost here and it?s not really advisible?? She says as she opens the large doors of the Mansion. Sora nods again and steps inside. She gazes around with awe at the strange sights. The sheer size of the mansion was already impressive enough.
?Hey! Didn?t I say not to fall behind?? Meiling calls out to the girl.
?Ah?! I?m sorry? Sora says as she rushes to catch up with the youkai.
After confirming Sora wasn?t lagging behind, Meiling turns her attention forward and begins to lead the way. Sora follows silently as the pair journey further and further into the scarlet manor.

[CrowCakes]

The word "breakfast" really had no sense of time. Did one sleep at night and wake up in the morning, or did one sleep in the morning and wake up at night? Whatever the answer, he'd still be hungry.

So it was no surprise that the kitchen of the Kyoki household smelled of curry and egg and rice. Shinsui still remembered when it was bright outside when her mother would do this and how her stomach would rumble and how she'd savor every bite and how she'd go out with her father after for a walk and-

SSSSSssssssss...

With a yelp, she mixed the nearly-burnt curry around the pan she held. She almost jerked it off the stove and onto the floor, and she would have done so if the mess could clean itself. It would have been fifteen minutes wasted.

As the food came to place on a large platter, the sharp scent of the spicy food sneaked its way into her nostrils. Her mouth, though closed, was watering. No matter how many times she prepared it, she never got sick of it.

The smell must have spread throughout the house as Tsutomu, her husband, came in from the outside. He was fresh out of a bath, as his wet hair told.

"Ah, curry and..." he guessed, sniffing the air and following the scent, "...egg? Did you buy eggs yesterday, or did you use the spare ones?"

"New ones," she said almost happily.

"Oh boy, don't tell me we're having eggs for the entire week," he gasped in mock surprise, putting his hands to his face.

Shinsui pushed him teasingly. "Call Kisei already. She'll whine if she misses out on this."
If sleeping two hours before midnight was considered sleeping late, a nocturnal like Kisei had slept late, two hours before noon. The cold touch of her blankets was her first clue that she had awakened. Her hands were sore from clutching her knuckle dusters. Now she really felt small.

She tossed in her futon and spun into a bump on the floor. That was a small doorknob attached to the plank that hid her secret stash of stolen goods. It gets me every time. I should move the futon tomorrow.

No sooner had she backed off the knob when her father opened the door.

"Ki-ki," his head peeked out from behind the door frame, "come eat breakfast. There's egg waiting."

"Come on, dad, don't call me that," the red-hair's voice was still weak, since she just woke up then, "It's been seven years since I stopped being a kid."

"Well, with all the tricks you play, you'll always be a kid to me," the girl's father said with a smile. He left without another word.

It makes me sick how he isn't taking me seriously. Does he even take anything seriously?

Slipping out of the bed, she shook the sleepiness off her body. Her arm wagged loosely. No pain came out of its movements. That should tip them off. Ugh. Her kimono's sleeves always swayed loosely; maybe that would hide it.

At least there's egg! Sweet, delicious egg!

OOC: Kisei likes poultry foods. :V

[Oldmansour]

Wiping her brow as she leans on the broom she'd unearthed, Kohaku takes a moment to enjoy the sunset. There was a lot to this place, all right. She hasn't given the place a deep clean, but she's tried to put the worst of it in some semblance of order.
She's glad she had Hyozan along the first time she came to this place, and this time as well; his sense of direction is better than hers. Plus, she wasn't exactly paying too much attention to her surroundings the first time, intent as she was on getting her ocarina back. It took her a couple of tries to get Hyozan to lead her back to the shrine, but he did eventually go along with it. Her mother, on the other hand...

"Glad Papa was there, eh, boy?" she asks the dog resting outside the door, on the veranda of the shrine. The big dog whuufs once, seemingly in agreement. Her mother never shared her children's love of youkai, not by a looooongshot. Even at the end of a work day, when Kohaku was on her own time, mama-Yumei Daidouji was none too happy about her daughter traipsing back to some god-forsaken shrine to meet some non-human no-goodnicks that were just as likely to eat her as shake her hand. Yumei didn't like youkai much throughout most of her life, and Kohaku's first love Haine running out on her daughter didn't do much to improve her stance on the species, to say the least. Her father, however, being a bit more easy going, merely laughed and wrapped his arm around his daughter, saying to his wife,
"Lighten up, Mama. She can take care of herself, even without those chains of hers. Maybe I'll even visit this shrine myself, advertise the business."

"At least she didn't object to that. Well... Too much, anyway." Kohaku comment idly, sitting herself next to Hyozan. The rest of the work can wait a bit. Whoever wrote that paper may have been wrong about her, but the folks that are going to show up here for this 'feast' deserve to have a presentable building, at least, once they learn there's no new shrine maiden here. Kohaku hoped there'd be someone coming here that would answer some of the many questions she still has on that subject herself. Like, for instance, what happened to the old one? Nothing on those papers she found seemed to indicate that.

"Why me, Hyozan? Why did that youkai think I was the new one? I've never even heard of this place before. I don't even know what a 'shrine maiden' is, let alone how I'm supposed to be one. I'm a human, a jewelcrafter's daughter. True, I can throw chains around, but... I mean, I'm nothing special. I'm not their shrine maiden. I can't be." The big dog interrupts his friend by laying his head on the human's lap, quite successfully interrupting her chain of thought. She smiles and rests her hand on the dog's head, staring at the dusky horizon, savoring the moment with her friend.

"I can't be..."

[Marokuu]

"It's always a pleasure to help out." Sanaya checks her harness before continuing. "Thank you for letting me borrow a set of training clothes, I'll make sure to return them at the first opportunity I get." She tugs a little on her borrowed outfit.

She wondered for a moment why the dojo master would need to check on her mother but let the comment slide "It is not really any of my business."

"Yes, I will see you the next time I have any business in the village." She waves as she starts heading towards the village exit closest to her home. "Sayonara!"
As she walks through the village Sanaya notices some murmuring going on among the people still moving about.

"New miko... -maru newspaper... at the shrine." Her curiosity piqued, Sanaya starts looking around for a newspaper. "A new miko? Is it that shrine on the mountain, was it Moriya it was called?"

She notices a paper laying next to two elderly women chatting quietly at a street corner. She picks up the paper from the ground and begins reading the first page. As she read the article her brow gets more furrowed the further into the article she gets. "Hakurei shrine? A youkai told the reporter to check it out... is it some sort of shrine for youkai? And an oni, I thought they were no longer around?"

As she keeps reading things start to become slightly clearer. "So the shrine is made to maintain the border but mostly youkai visited it?" She had unconsciously started mumbling to herself.

"Wonderful news is it not?" Says one of the elder ladies next to her after hearing her muttering to herself. "It is such a relief to finally have a new miko after all this time." Responds the other lady. "I can't imagine the state the shrine is in by now though, poor girl is going to have to work hard to clean that place up."

"Would any of you be going to this feast?" Sanaya speaks up after glancing through the article another time.

"I would be surprised if many humans attend it to be honest." Responds the first lady.

"The shrine was mostly visited by youkai back when the last miko lived there." The second lady gestures towards some mountains in the east. "There is a path to the shrine in that directions, probably infested by youkai."

Sanaya looks in the direction the lady pointed before bowing towards the ladies. "Thank you for telling me all of this, let us hope this new miko is competent."

As she starts leaving the village she goes over all the things she just learned in her head. "A shrine with mainly youkai has recently gotten a new miko, and there is an oni involved somehow." When she gets outside the village borders she has made a decision.

"I am going to go to that feast, if nothing else just to see who the new miko is." She did not state it out loud but the mention of an oni had also piqued her interest.

[Hanzo K.]

Well, at least he'd gotten some provisions for the next week, and a little extra bonus of some sake thanks to a good job he'd done the other day.
"Well, least thing can't possibly get any worse. But this sake oughta take the edge off." he chuckles to himself.
But what he wouldn't have given to have had spellcards, or even be able to fly, so he could take on that youkai he saw earlier today.
She seemed quite strong, she'd probably have made it vastly more enjoyable than the mooks he sometimes had to fight when doing occasional jobs.
Judging by the tails, she was probably one of the higher caliber youkai. Just the thought of fighting a stronger opponent than the weaklings he usually fights has him thrilled!
It'd be a little ways before he got home, but he could see it off in the distance.
Once he got home, he'd crack open the sake and get to work on figuring out how spellcards work. Maybe getting drunk was the key to making one!
...Probably not, but at this point, he was willing to give it a go after today's events.


(Sorry for the shortness, but pressed for time.)

[trancehime]

Senri had passed most of the day playing his usual waitress act at the teahouse, and then there began to be talk regarding the latest issue of the Bunbunmaru which some of the patrons had gotten their hands on from those who came and went on with their daily lives. A new miko, people were talking about this new miko. Senri had heard the stories of the shrine which was initially made to maintain the Great Hakurei Border from his mother, Youko, who had more often than not recounted her tales of her encounters with the old Shrine Maiden of that particular place and a powerful rascal just like herself; in the end it did not matter so much because Senri had not met those two and probably will not meet those two. Soon, Senri heard a call from a rather rugged, but aged man from another table who wanted to order something. He had just come in to most likely enjoy a cup of tea or two. "'Ey, wench!" the man called out in a rather powerful voice, signalling for Senri, who was holding a tray, to come along.

"Would you like anything, sir?" Senri asked in response.

"House tea, somethin' simple, ya hear me lady!"

"Ah, y-yes, coming right up." Senri retreated to the back to retrieve an ivory pot and an accompanying tea mug with which to deliver to the said man. As he made it to him, he placed the mug by the man and filled it with the tea. Then, he placed the pot by the man. "Feel free to get more if you want, and give me a holler if you run out."

"'ey, before ya leave, ya heard of the news from that one flyin' reporter?"

"Um, yes?"

"Ya gonna be attending the feast? A fine lady such as yerself would fit right in there."

"Um... I'll think about it..."

"Haw haw! You'd do well to think about it indeed!"

Senri bowed and smiled in response, going back to milling about and continuing his business as the closing time was about to close in.

[Sonae]

5:48 P.M. Location, Schoolhouse.
As the day slowly came to a close, so did her workload for the day.
?There. All done for today?
The history teacher lets out a relieved sigh as she speaks. She shifts a bit, moving her stiff shoulders. She holds back a yawn and breathes in, closing her eyes for a moment.
She exhales slowly in an attempt to relieve her stress. After a few more breaths, she opens her eyes again. She gazes around slowly at the empty schoolhouse.
All is silent, the only noise being made by her own movements and breathing.
?Well?I better go check on that girl?? Keine says as she gets up from her desk and heads for the door. Grabbing her bag, she steps outside and locks the doors.
?That girl?geez?she probably hasn?t even eaten yet today?? Keine mutters aloud as she fiddles with the lock. She pauses for a moment and frowns slightly. After a moment she shakes her head and finishes locking up. Dropping the key into her pocket, she starts on her way home.

---------

---Yog

Hotaru found a large rock near the edge of the stream and took a seat on it, putting her bag down and taking her canteen out of it.
As the girl took a leisurely break, she gazed around at her surroundings.
In front of her was a small clear stream that flowed smoothly, it?s sound pleasing to the ears. Trees stood all around her, reaching high into the sky. The sky, tinted with multiple colors, had not a single cloud in it. Tonight would be a perfect night for stargazing and moonviewing. A cool breeze ruffled her hair gently as it passed, refreshing her. If this scenery were to be described in a single word, Serene would be it.
Hotaru closes her eyes and enjoys the moment.
Just then she hears a rustling in the trees.
As she opens her eyes and gazes upward, she?s met with a falling newspaper to the face.
The newspaper makes a sound that seems to echo due to the lack of surrounding noises. It bounces off her face and lands on the ground at her feet, the peaceful and quiet sounds of the stream becoming the only noise around her.

---------

---Hanzo

Takuma triumphantly marches home, feeling he has overcome what had started as an extremely unpleasant day.
Soon enough he reaches his small shack.
As he reaches out for the doorknob, he notices something not quite right.
The only window in his house was on the door before him.
And in that sole window was now a large hole that had not been there this morning when he had left.
Instead there was sharp edges marking that something had went through the glass.
Inside of the hut, Takuma could see the shattered pieces of glass lying on the floor along with a newspaper.

---------

---Sonae

Eventually the duo came to a large set of doors.
Meiling glanced around for a moment before speaking up.
?Wait here okay?? She said to the girl she had brought into the mansion.
Sora nodded silently in conformation, looking slightly puzzled.
Meiling opened one door wide enough for her to poke her head inside. After a few seconds she pulled her head back out and closed the door.
?Don?t move okay? I?ll be back in a bit. Wait here.? Meiling said to the girl before slipping into the room and shutting the door loudly behind her.
The girl blinked, startled by the sudden noise. It seems she?d been left all alone in an unfamiliar place. Trusting in Meiling?s words, she stayed put, waiting for the Youkai?s return.

---------

---Sourfang

Kohaku gazes out at the evening sky, Hyozan?s head resting on her lap. The sky glowed with the suns warmth, with its powerful light. Indeed, Gensokyo was paradise. A secret place of perfection in a huge world. Not that the girl who sat silently petting her dog, gazing up at the sky knew of its size.
With the passing seconds, the sun slowly sinks further downward, slipping below the horizon.
?My my, so you must be the new shrine maiden.?
Kohaku turns her gaze in the direction of the voice.
There standing before were two girls.
In front stood a beautiful lady, dressed in an elegant light blue kimono with white trim. Her obi is a darker blue, and on her head is a light blue hat with a white veil around it?s back. There?s a strange triangular piece of cloth with a strange red swirl on it sitting on her hat. Her hair is short and pink in color. She?s smiling sweetly, facing towards Kohaku, eyes closed.
Slightly behind her is another girl, one with hair as white as freshly fallen snow. Her eyes are blue and she?s wearing a green dress over top of a white short sleeved shirt. She has a black ribbon tied in her hair and a black bowtie at her collar. Behind her back and at her waist are two swords, one shorter than the other. The most notable thing about her is that she has a large white blob floating around her.
With a second glance at the pink haired girl, Kohaku notices she?s not actually standing on the ground, but hovering a short distance off the ground.

[Yog-N'yggoth]

Hotaru stared at the paper. It was simply lying there, close to her. It was just a normal newspaper that just so happened to fall on her, in the middle of this place.

Hotaru stared at the sky. Where ever the newspaper came from, it had to be somewhere up there. There was nothing visible that could've done it, so who or whatever it was, it was gone already. Come to think about it, her brother occasionally mumbled about falling newspaper...

 She picked up the former projectile. The Next Hakurei Miko Appears! was the headline on the front. She carefully read the article. Oni, a new Hakurei Miko, and a feast, Hotaru thought, putting down the paper. Was this related to earlier? It would've been a interesting coicidence if it wasn't. Although with two large gatherings, she doubted it wasn't...

...Although considering she wouldn't know where said shrine was, it didn't matter at this point.  Placing the paper in her pack, she filled her canteen up a little, and continued her small break before continuing onward, now rubbing her nose a little.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

About time, Laresa thought as she saw Keine exit the schoolhouse. She set down the copy of the Bunbunmaru she'd been reading and exited the teahouse.

Aya had a tendency to exaggerate, but there was usually at least some truth in her stories, and she might very well have access to information Laresa did not. She'd picked it up to see if there was anything about the earlier gathering, and also to see if there was anything else in it worth noting. But the gathering wasn't there at all; the main article was about something else entirely. And the timing is extremely suspicious. A new Hakurei miko showing up on the same day as the gathering? Laresa didn't know how they might be, but there was a very good chance the two events were connected. There was going to be a feast in celebration of the new miko, which Laresa planned to atend, as she might very well be able to learn something. For now, though, she would continue with her plan to speak to Keine.

Laresa called out to Keine as she approached. "Keine, do you have a minute? I need to talk to you about something."

[Amraphenson]

He gave the pile of kindling resting on his pack a final look before shrugging. More than he usually got, but he was distracted this particular outing. Time to head home.

Urgh. Heavy loads are always the worst...

Tetsumaru gave the setting sun one final look before heading off. Nothing else to do but think and walk...

[Oldmansour]

Oy, now I wish Kohaku was the glomping type. I so love Yuyumyon here.

Floating white blob around her, feet not touching the ground, serious-yet-somehow-endearing expression, katanas akimbo... Plus the other one! Even Haine wasn't as strikingly beautiful as this pink-haired woman, even if there is something... off, about her, something Kohaku can't quite put her finger on. But whatever it is, her companion is exhibiting a similar sensation. Almost like... they're not bound to this world, but to another, would be the way Kohaku would describe it. But that doesn't even make sense. Then again, not much at this shrine has made sense so far. Why should things start now?
The Daidouji heir's mind flickers back to those papers she'd read within the shrine, but she can't focus quite enough to pin down the line she was going for. Too much of her brain was currently being used by being transfixed by this beautiful figure before her, as well as her very, very pretty companion. But then her introduction line (such as it is) clicks, and the young woman starts from her seat, dislodging her dogs head from its resting place.

"I'm... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare, it's just..." Clearing her throat and gathering her wits, Kohaku defaults back to basic courtesy, she stands and bows to the two women before her. "My name is Kohaku Daidouji, heir to Daidouji Jewelers of the human village." Which really needs a proper name.

[Sonae]

---GuyYouMetOnline

As the schoolteacher heard the voice calling out to her, she stopped and turned to face whoever had said her name.
?Oh Laresa. It?s been a while hasn?t it? How have you been?? Keine asks politely out of respect for the woman. She frowns faintly for a moment, then speaks again.
?I guess my business can wait for a minute? She says as she folds her arms. She glances around for a moment before leading Laresa off to the side of the street.
?So what was it you wanted to ask me??

---------

---Sourfang

The white haired girl looks at Kohaku slightly confused by her apology. The pink haired woman just smiles as she pulls out a magnificent folding fan colored with beautiful blues and pinks.
As the human introduces herself, the white haired seems to lose her confusion and steps forward.
?It?s nice to meet you Miss Kohaku? She says with a bow. ?My name is Youmu Konpaku? She says standing upright. She glances at the pink haired woman and then gestures towards her. ?This is Lady Yuyuko, mistress of the Saigyouji clan?

[CrowCakes]

OOC: Short post incoming, but only because I have five minutes to write.

Breakfast was thankfully short. Before Kisei's parents had taken a second helping of scrambled egg, the girl had inhaled them all. By the time the curry and rice was finished, air had made its way into her stomach, and now she felt like crap.

But screw that. Walking around will make me feel better. So my dad and I were still sitting at the table, while my mom cleaned things up. She'd take the first shift at the shop.

"We have to pick up some cloth and candles today," Tsutomu said, "so while I get them, I want you to-"

"Listen in on talk?"

"Oh, don't say that. You take too much fun in it."

"Well, that's what it is. Not that I'm complaining," Kisei smiled deviously.
That was precisely what she did. Tsutomu would not be there to see it in person, but the father of perhaps the only red-haired, red-clad girl in the village would be easy to trace. He wanted to go back home and pretended it never happened.

Knocking at the door of one of his suppliers, he was let in after some short pleasantries. His order would come in a short while, but he would stay for quite longer.

"Have you heard? The newspaper's making a ruckus in town today," his host narrated, waving the said newspaper in the air.

Tsutomu snatched it. "A new shrine maiden? Is this for real? I've only heard of the last one when I was still a child."

"Yes, this is for real! I suggest you go get a copy of the news..." Then, leaning closer, he whispered in his air, "unless your daughter's already stolen one."

Shove

"Please, don't remind me of that," Tsutomu groaned. The other just laughed and laughed.

"Take a close look at it. Or, you know what, just take it. Compensation for your troubles."

[Dorakyura]

"...then suddenly, she jumped up and run away." Amaya speaks to Kanako. She retold what happend this morning. It's late already, the sun is setting in the west and it's getting cold on the mountain. Amaya, Kanako and Suwako are sitting in the big living room watching the BunBunNewsFlash on TV.Some dried fruits and a newspaper can be found on the table.
Vin is sitting in front of Amaya aswll. She is playing with him while telling her story to Kanako.
"She was gone before we where able to stop her.She was about my age. I wish she would have stayed for longer." Amaya says with some sadness in her voice. "Her name was Nanaya. She seemed to know you and Sanae. I should say "hi" to you..." Amaya doubt that Kanako knows her in person. Thinking about it, a question comes into Amaya's mind."Kanako-sama, did many people visit this shrine, when you first came here? Humans I mean." Amaya is talking about the time when the shrine got moved to Gensokyo. She never really thought about it, because the shrine never had human visitors, as far as she can remember.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"I assume you know by now that something happened this morning. If nothing else, some of the parents were likely talking about it. I'm sure you felt it, too, the sense that you should make your way to the village center. As far as I can tell, the entire village was affected. It was a cumpulsion created by an unknown individual. This individual, whoever she is, has the ability to manipulate density, and it's that which she used to gather everyone. But the gathering ended without anything seeming to happen.

"When the culprit left, I followed and attempted to make contact, but she didn't respond. I never even saw her actual form; she had used her power to disperse herself into mist. I gave chace for a while, but she got away. Now, I need to identify her. Unfortunately, all I know is that she can manipulate density, whereas I usually have at least something of her appearance to go on. So I don't think my usual methods will work in this case. Which is why I'm here.

"It is, of course, most likely that the culprit is a youkai, which means there's no telling how long she's been alive for. It occurs to me, then, that there may have been incidents of unusual gatherings in the past. And when it comes to events in the past, I don't know of anyone better to talk to than you."

[Oldmansour]

The young human takes a moment to think about the names. Neither Saigyoji, nor Konpaku, ring a bell to her. Quite the interesting pair here, she thinks to herself. One of them's all floaty, odd names that probably don't belong to the village, that weird sense she's picking up from them... There's an interesting story here, Kohaku thinks. More than one, even? Perhaps.

"Konpaku-san. Saigyoji-san." she nods to both in acknowledgement. "You'll forgive me, but, I must confess, I've not heard of the Saigyoji clan before. Do you dwell outside the human village?"

[Hanzo K.]

'.....What.'
The only window he had, broken. And just what was this thing that broke it anyhow?
"...You gotta be kidding me, a NEWSPAPER?! A NEWSPAPER BROKE MY WINDOW?!"
He contemplates just how hard you'd have to throw one to break a window. You'd probably have to not be human to do something like this, it's the only logical conclusion.
After this short contemplation, he picks up the newspaper, and brushes off any shards of glass that might be on it before starting to read it.

---Boys are now Reading/Placing consumables where they belong/grabbing a quick meal, please be patient.---

After reading the whole thing while munching on some dried meat with a roll of bread(that wasn't moldy!), he came to the conclusion that wherever this shrine was, it was bound to be interesting.
He'd have to ask where this 'Hakurei Shrine' was. Regardless of that though, he'd have to clean up this glass first.
"Man...and there's gonna be a party there too! Perfect time to get wasted and pick fights. But first, this glass has to go! I'll need to get a replacement window after all this."
He steps over the glass and tosses the newspaper on his desk casually before picking up a broom that was leaning against it.
He was planning on using this thing to figure out flight, but there wasn't anything stopping him from using it to clean house too.
"I'll just do some work for the glass-maker later on, it worked last time!"
After making this remark, he used the broom to push the door back open fully, and started sweeping the glass outside.

---Boys are now Cleaning, please be patient.---

After a short while of sweeping just about everywhere, he'd finally gotten all the glass out of his little hut, and managed to get it out of the way of anyone that could be heading down the path too.
But he'd sure hate to be any Youkai that finds it by walking on it. He's stepped on broken glass before, it wasn't fun.
He rests the broom on his shoulder before looking inside one more time. "Well, this party's bound to be a good one, so I guess I'll go too once I figure out where it is."
He scratches his head with a puzzled expression. "Wonder where the shrine is? The newspaper didn't really say...Damn thing should've put directions!"
He scratches his head bemusedly, then shrugs it off. "Well, guess I'll head into town to ask the teach, she'd know where the shrine is."
Regardless though, things were looking up for him. Maybe he'd head down to that forest to find a fairy to mess with sometime, they were always fun to get flustered. And they never remembered it the next day, which was half the fun of it. But first things first, he'd have to get a few things together.

---Boys are Preparing(Again), please be patient.---

After getting a small package of provisions set up, including the jug of sake, he decided to sling the pouch on the broom and then sling the broom over his shoulder.
He then walks back over to the door, and kicks it open energetically. This kick ended up dislodging the rest of the glass when it hit the outside wall of the hut.
"Well, that's one way to clean that little problem up!" He remarked with a laugh. And after that, he decided, on a whim, to kick the door closed too.
However, it seems he put a little too much oomph into it, as a slight crashing noise could be heard from inside the hut.
But, being the sort of person he is, shrugged it off and resolved to figure it out after the party. And with that, he decided to make his way back to the village.




OOC: Got some info from the chief that prompted me to edit this post. Don't wanna miss the party afterall! Freakin' time stuff man. Well, this is as much as I can edit it tonight, but this oughta work...I hope. If not, I'll work on it...next time I'm on? Probably tomorrow. I hope this works. :ohdear:
Second OOC: Figured I'd do a continued from last post kinda thing like marou does.

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

"...The town... Huh...?" Nanaya walked into the village, nervousness shaking her body as she began to notice the people. The houses. And everything else. She had never seen so many people in one place. Or generally just people. The lone girl strode unsteadily through the village, half amazed and half afraid. Passing beside the nearby schoolhouse, Nanaya noticed an unfamiliar sight. A woman with a hat. A hat. She had never seen a hat like that. It looked like a blue, house like structure with red symbols. After a few moments of staring, the girl went off deeper into the village.

"...People..." Nanaya muttered to herself, her sword drawing a straight line on the ground, grinding itself between dirt and small stones. Some of the townsfolk gave her weird stares. A girl with a weird dress, a sword and gauntlets hanging from it's hilt. Somewhere inside, Nanaya felt happy that after so long, there were actually people that noticed her presence. She had been away from living humans for a long time.

In some part of the town, a building caught her eye. It was larger then the average house, people were walking in and out of it, and also, there was this smell. The smell was almost exactly like the tea Nanaya had in the Moriya Shrine... Before her abrupt departure. With curiosity growing inside of her, the girl walked closer and closer towards the building. She could see the people inside, happy, talking, smiling, and even the waitress there.

Mustering her courage, Nanaya lifted her blade and placed it against her shoulder, walking into the building.

"...H-Hello..." She mumbled.

[trancehime]

Chime! Chime! Someone had entered the teahouse. It was quite late, so it was peculiar that someone would want to visit the teahouse for some time. Senri noticed that it was a girl who had entered the teahouse; she was draped in something that looked rather foreign, carrying a blade on her shoulder. Senri had placed his tray at the counter of the teahouse and slowly approached the newcomer, curtseying and letting his twintails sway about, the long sleeves of his furisode kimono flowing about, he had tried to make his best impression of a waiter... waitress... person for this newcomer, fearing that she may be starting something up.

"Welcome to our humble establishment, ma'am," Senri said in a slightly sultry voice, curtseying and gesturing further into the teahouse. "Please feel free to take a seat and consider what teas you would like." Senri bowed once more and pointed to one of the vacant spaces in the teahouse. 

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

Silently and a little confused, Nanaya walked deeper into the teahouse, finding a vacant space near a wall. She sits down, setting her blade down beside her, before carefully arranging the gauntlets to face the blade.  Leaning back, she sighs and looks up. She had wandered into a strange place. Nanaya shakes her head, her eyes closed. There was one thing about this place which made her feel good inside. Somebody talked to her. The waitress had greeted her the same way how someone would greet her long ago, and Nanaya disliked that one part of her entire... "visit" of the village.

Finally at ease, Nanaya calls out to the waitress. The same one that showed her in. "...I...Um... I'll have green tea. And maybe something to eat if there is anything. Whatever you think will suit me... Uhh... Also..." Nanaya gestures for her to come closer, which she complies to. Once closer enough, Nanaya softly speaks.

"I-I would like to ask you about this town and... well, everything in general. Stay beside me after you've served the tea and stuff. I mean, if you can..."

[trancehime]

>"I-I would like to ask you about this town and... well, everything in general. Stay beside me after you've served the tea and stuff. I mean, if you can..."

Senri nodded and acknowledged the request. "Alright, I'll see to it as soon as I get your tea and snack." Senri smiled warmly as he pitter-pattered off to get some of the house green tea and started shuffling about to serve it with one of their special snacks, it seemed to be a piece of green tea fluff-bread, it was about the size of somebody's palm. Not quite bite-sized but definitely not large either. It looked like it would go quite well with the tea, in fact. Everybody who ordered green tea with a snack would receive this, and Senri had been getting compliments for it (it was his recipe after all). Senri had yanked a small plate from... somewhere, and brought a slightly larger mug of green tea and went over to serve the two on a tray to the new customer, who had requested that Senri would stay to attend to her; she had questions that needed answering apparently.

Senri placed the tea and snack in front of the girl and stood by her side. "Here is your tea and snack. If there's anything you'd like to know, I'll do my best to answer your questions!" Senri smiled warmly once more as he stood, his arms folded behind his back, he looked incredibly girly and dainty at this instance.

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

Nanaya stared at the weird green piece of bread. It was not completely new to her, as she had once eaten delicacies like this one in front of her. She remembered the magnificent food she once ate, partaking in the feasts of exquisite events. Turning to the mug of green tea, Nanaya leaned forward and lifted the mug, sniffing the tea a little. It smelt different then the tea at the Moriya Shrine... Wincing her eyes and thinking for a moment, Nanaya shrugs and drinks down the whole cup.

The taste was different. Better. Flavourful. After a bit, she puts down the mug, picking up the bread, poking it and examining it. Finally, Nanaya bites the bread in half, pulling it apart and almost devouring it. She had forgotten the manners she had been taught. She had forgotten the ways of the noble. Soon, finishing the last half of the bread, Nanaya leans back and smiles.

Turning to Senri, Nanaya retains the smile she has. "It's good. Very good." The waitress nods, smiling warmly.

"So, um, for the questions... Actually, I didn't know this town existed. Tell me about it. Also this place. What is this place? ...And..." Nanaya looks down before looking at Senri's eyes. "What's your name?"

[trancehime]

"Well, I made it, so if you want some more, just ask or something," Senri shrugged and soon realized that the girl was literally a newcomer to the town, and really didn't know much. "So, you don't know much about this place... Let alone its existence... Well, this is a pretty quaint place. Has what one normally would expect; the marketplace - that place where you buy stuff, a school, you may have seen the teacher milling about... I dunno, I was never even aware of the actual name of this place, ironic considering I'd been here for almost all my life..." Senri started looking up and then back forward again wistfully. He placed a palm on his cheek like a concerned mother would, and squeaked. "Oh, where are my manners... I droned on for too long. My name? It's Senri, you may call me that. It's been a while since someone here bothered to ask my name," Senri giggled. "I suppose the best way to describe this place would be a center for human interaction? Haha, I don't know, maybe you'd be better off asking Keine-sensei. I think you might have seen her already as you came in here. Pretty woman with the box-hat."

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

Nanaya listened intently, nodding at times. After Senri was done, Nanaya stretched and then realized something.

A center for human interaction.

Waitresses.

The girl shook her head, eyeing her sword lying on the ground beside her. Nanaya sighed. "W-Well, nice to meet you, Senri... My name's N-Nanaya..." Nervousness clouded her thoughts. She was thinking about doing the same thing she did at Moriya Shrine. But this was a village, and not that big of one. If one person would say of a girl running off without paying something, she would most likely be shunned by all. Well, rules were like that long ago. Nanaya looked around, finding an escape route, while pretending to just be admiring the place.

"W-Well... Um... This is a-a... Nice place..." Finally, Nanaya wanted to go. Now. She looked at Senri, eye to eye, before looking on the ground. Her right hand went over to her blade, gripping it tightly. "S-Sorry, S-Senri... But... I-I..."

Nanaya stood up, pulling the sword up with her. She bowed to Senri, tears in her eyes. She was going to run off, and in her mind, be shunned by the entire village soon enough. Money was never a problem for her before, until now. "S-Sorry..." Nanaya took off. Running out of the teahouse, she began to run south.

[trancehime]

"Aw, hey! Don't run off like that!" Senri groaned and hefted his own weapon and gave chase to Nanaya, who had essentially dined and dashed. Senri was usually instructed to deal with those who dined and dashed... enforce some justice. But Senri had not figured out that this Nanaya had come without money on hand in the first place - she looked well-off enough. There was something odd about her and Senri had to find out. "Come back, you haven't paid!" Senri squeaked out and dashed out the teahouse and followed Nanaya south, hearing various utterances of the other patrons of the teahouse. Senri had quickly mentioned that he will close up later after he dealt with this blatant theft.

[CrowCakes]

OOC: Continuing from my previous post.

As per the unspoken protocol, Kisei went about eavesdropping, but the excited and surprised chatter was nothing new. With a stolen apple in hand, she bit into it, causing juice to flow free on to her sleeves. She had created a small scene by a merchant's stall (but not because I stole anything) and managed to get away with only an apple. It could have been the money, but the box had to be behind the table!

But the buzz of the village was one and the same.

Chomp chew chew chew chew

"What shrine? What new something or whatever?" she mumbled to herself. She only knew of the Moriya Shrine on Youkai Mountain, but nothing she heard sounded like "Moriya." It must be a pretty old shrine.

Everyone seemed to have a newspaper, as if someone dropped a giant sack of food and just left it there, and all the bystanders stole it. But hey, it's fun stealing stolen stuff, too! Running up to one of the readers, she got a glimpse of the front page. The emboldened front page header was unmistakably the source of all the excitement.

Chew chew chew chew chew

But eating took precedence over theft. She continued eating.

[Sonae]

---GuyYouMetOnline

?This morning?? Keine mutters lowly as she listens intently. Upon hearing ?manipulate density? Keine?s expression clears of confusion. The teacher listens thoroughly before answering Laresa?s questions. Keine nods, showing she understood what Laresa was saying.
?Yes, there has been a gathering mist related incident before. Many years ago? She said, thinking back to that time, as if it was just yesterday.
?Unfortunately, I didn?t attend those gatherings. Now that I think about it I don?t think anyone from the village attended?? Keine says as her brow furrows slightly. Shaking the thoughts away, Keine continues.
?Sadly, I haven?t met her myself, and she doesn?t show up in the village often, so I can?t tell you her name or give a detailed description. Sorry?
Keine thinks for a moment then, as if recalling something important, she speaks up once more.
?Oh, if there?s one thing I do recall, it?s that the ?gatherings? she caused were all feasts??
Keine glances up at the sky for a moment. The light has started to fade from the sky ever so slowly, turning to darker blues and violets.
?If that?s all you needed, I should get going, I still have some errands to run before nightfall.? The teacher says with a faint smile.

---------

---Sourfang

Youmu starts to speak up but is cut off by Yuyuko.
?The netherworld? She says simplistically. Youmu nods in confirmation.
Then Yuyuko advances forward towards the veranda. She opens her eyes revealing maroon colored eyes.
?Youmu brought snacks~? She says as she takes a seat on the other side of Hyozan. She smiles at the dog lying next to her.
Youmu takes out the snacks and brings them inside the shrine. She sets the food platter on the counter. Before returning she gazes at the inside of the shrine. A faint frown slips across her face, but is quickly erased. As she looks at the counters she notices there appears to be small amounts of dust scattered around. Eventually, the girl breaks from her reverie and heads back outside.
As Youmu steps outside onto the grass, she turns and first looks at the Saigyouji mistress, who is cheerfully holding her hand out to the dog at her side. Then she shifts her gaze to the human. Youmu opens her mouth to speak, but she seems to hesitate, not quite knowing what to say. Finally, she decides to wait for the girl to speak, not wanting to pressure her any further.