Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 2, part 2

[Oldmansour]

>That's right."
>Hold up the silver pendant.
>"It looks much like this one, only gold instead of silver."

>"Gold, gold...." he mutters as he flicks though pages. "In the past few days...." After a solid couple minutes, he looks up. "No, I'm afraid I see no record of a gold pendant matching that description in the past week." He adjusts his glasses. "I don't recall seeing a gold one of those recently, either. Not since valentine's day."

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>WHat's today's date?
>How long ago did Chen lose the pendant?

[Oldmansour]

>WHat's today's date?
>How long ago did Chen lose the pendant?

>Sunday, November 17th.
>She used the phrase 'a couple days ago', but was no more specific.

[Hello Purvis]

>"What became of that one?"

[Oldmansour]

>"What became of that one?"

>"A young woman was wearing it, as I recall. Said it was a gift from her boyfriend, when she was in here."

[Hello Purvis]

>Nod.
>"Alright, thank you."

[nolrai2]

"hmm." Keep looking, double check that there are not any parts of the store that we have missed.

[Oldmansour]

>Nod.
>"Alright, thank you."

"hmm." Keep looking, double check that there are not any parts of the store that we have missed.

>There are indeed many parts of the store you have missed; you suspect it would take hours to take a complete stock of this place. So, after thanking Rinnosuke, you resume your search. Rinnosuke smiles and nods. "I'm somewhat ashamed to admit, but, it's true; things have been known to appear here that don't show up in my books." He chuckles quietly as he adjusts his glasses. "I once discovered a fairy that had been living in my attic for two weeks, before I noticed."

>Blueprints for a space laserinator
>Alchemic formula: heal jar
>Stuffed wolverine
>Shovel
>Satchel of loam
>Rice cooker
>Lantern, green
>Assorted vehicle parts
>Canine carrying case, blue
>Tuxedo, grey
>Y-box 3200 game system
>Ofuda
>Gold tiara
>Scroll with prismatic markings on it
>Vampire slayer's kit
>Dousing rods
>Assorted music CDs
>Anchor
>Oak jewelery box
>Blown glass figurine of a swan
>Text titled "Emergence of New Youkai, volume 1", by Kana Anaberal
>Certificate of Ownership: Lucretia D'koy
>Green leather choker, with bell. You think Rin would like this.

>After about half an hour's time, you and Keine have searched only about half the store, when the door chime rings again, and Mokou Fujiwara walks in, wearing white and red biker's leathers. You hear Keine snort from behind a selection of clothes, "What kept you?" she growls.
>"Traffic." Mokou replies, running a hand though her long white hair. "Stuck behind some old woman in a Rover for four lights." She gives you and Rinnosuke a nod. "Byakuren. Kourin."

[Hello Purvis]

>Have a look at that book about New Youkai.
>Nod politely to Mokou and say, "Hello"
>How do we know Mokou again?

[Oldmansour]

>Have a look at that book about New Youkai.
>Nod politely to Mokou and say, "Hello"
>How do we know Mokou again?

>Mokou is the gym teacher at Maoyiga High, though she's been known to sub in for other subjects from time to time as well.
>You take the book on New Youkai down from the bookcase. After the events of today new youkai emergence has taken on a whole new meaning for you. Looking closer, there appear to be three volumes in the series present, sandwiched between "How to Manage your Aggro" and "The Last Centaur".
>The foreward claims that this book is a collection of theories put forth on the subject of how non-humans, be they animal or object, become youkai, analysis of said theories by the author and other experts, as well as more personal stories on the subject. You smile at the thought that now you have one of your own stories to add to a book like this.

[Hello Purvis]

>Skim through the table of contents, see if there is any mention on dealing with newly formed youkai, or what they are like in the beginning.

[Oldmansour]

>Skim through the table of contents, see if there is any mention on dealing with newly formed youkai, or what they are like in the beginning.

>The book does not have a chapter by chapter table of contents. Merely an overview of the subject matter. Though it does have a warning before chapter 1 that reads:
>"Newborn Youkai are often unstable and unpredictable, and have been known to lash out with little or no provocation. This is escpecially true of animal-youkai, who retain the basic instincts of their previous life. If you choose to approach a newborn youkai, do so with extreme caution, and never let your guard down."

[nolrai2]

Lets buy it, if its cheep.
We should talk to the center about good books for people in our position in regards to Marigold(sp?).

[Hello Purvis]

>Check the edition and date to be sure it's reasonably recent, and skim to estimate how much it covers tsukumogami.

[Oldmansour]

>Check the edition and date to be sure it's reasonably recent, and skim to estimate how much it covers tsukumogami.

>The publishing date shows this was written and printed two years ago. You then flip through the pages to have a gander to see what information it holds on the subject of tsukumogami. You find this author's writing style to be fairly engaging; informative, intelligent, yet far from dry. You suspect this would be a fairly interesting read, even without your twofold personal engagement with the subject matter.
>You find yourself a little distracted by the somewhat animated conversation between Rinnosuke and your two teachers, but you read enough to see that, apart from a couple of stories told by witnesses of objects ascending, the bulk of the information contained in this book pertains to animals turned youkai. The explanation for this is given in chapter one, and reads as follows:
>"As I was compiling this volume, it dawned on me just how much information there was on this subject matter. Were I to try and encorporate all of this into one volume, it would probably have turned out to be twice as long as Peace and War. Therefore, this volume will focus primarily on those youkai that began life as animals. Subsequent volumes will deal with other forms of youkai in greater detail."

[nolrai2]

Well letts get this anyway, we can stop by the library or book store to get the volume we really want, but unless its being used as a textbook, R-man should be willing to part with it for cheap.
If not he can keep it.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>There were other volumes, right? What do they focus on?

[Oldmansour]

>There were other volumes, right? What do they focus on?

>There were indeed other volumes; two, to be precise. Your curiosity piqued, you glance at the second volume's foreward, learning that this one will deal primarily with the phenomenon of lifeless objects becoming youkai. Volume three is a bit smaller than the other two, and will deal mostly with humanoid lifeforms transforming into youkai.
>Moving the third volume out reveals a hidden little treasure behind it; a large ring, gold, with a pair of gems inset, one dark blue, one black. This place is just full of surprises. Given the dust on it, it's been back there for some time.

[Hello Purvis]

>Take the second volume and the ring, and look over them both.

[Oldmansour]

>Take the second volume and the ring, and look over them both.

>The tome in your hands has much less dust on it than the ring, so it hasn't been here as long. A flicking through the pages of the book seems to indicate there are many schools of thought as to why this occurs, and the debate in more learned circles has been very fierce at times. The prevailing myth in Yamato is that an object, is held and beloved by an individual for long enough, that affection will cause the ascension phenomenon. Likewise prevalent is the theory of the tsukumogami, an object that was discarded, or otherwise improperly disposed of, and takes on a life of its own to gain a sense of vengeance. While there is little question that this latter, especially, is fact, the book draws attention to several cases where an object was thrown away, became a youkai, and was generally benificent. Several unifying theorys have been put forth, but the author seems to maintain a 'case by case' stance.
>The pricetag on all the first two volumes reads $7.50, while the third reads and even $6. They all appear to be used, but in remarkably good condition.
>The ring is a bit too large for your finger. You would guess it was sized for either a smaller man, or a woman with larger hands than the norm. How it ended up behind these books, you couldn't say, but given the state of the rest of the store, you wouldn't really be surprised if there were one or two more rings hidden behind Rinnosuke's surprisingly interesting collection of books.

[Hello Purvis]

I'd suggest that we'd take the second one at the time. The others aren't very useful at the moment.

>Return to the counter with the ring.
>"I found this behind one of the books. I assume it got lost?"

[Oldmansour]

>Return to the counter with the ring.
>"I found this behind one of the books. I assume it got lost?"

>Setting down the handful of books you'd been juggling, you weave your way back towards the counter to bring the ring to Rinnosuke's attention. You hesitate, however, as he seems to be in the midst of trying to mollify Keine-sensei.
>"I know it seems a lot," he soothes, smiling a friendly smile, "but you DID ask for extra this time. And stronger, too. I had to go outside my usual sources for the materials."
>"Five hundred bucks outside?" Keine snarls.
>"Settle down, KK." Mokou tries to calm her fellow educator. "It's still better than what you'd get from another guy."

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>Wait for them to finish.

[Oldmansour]

>Wait for them to finish.

>"Y'knew it was gonna be more expensive-" Mokou starts, but Keine cuts her off with a wave.
>"Yeah, yeah, I get it, I get it." she snarls again. Keine's been your teacher for three years, and you've never seen her this agitated. Angry, yes, but now she looks like she's about to blow her top. She sticks her finger in Rinnosuke's face, making him take a step backwards. "This time. And do a better job warning me next time."
>"As you wish, ma'am." the shopkeep replies, doing a remarkably good job at keeping his voice level, despite being threatened by a rather angry woman whom you know to be far stronger than she looks. As Keine, still fuming, reaches into her pocket, Rinnosuke steps forward and turns his attention to you. "Now, young lady, you found some...." He trails off, his eyes going wider as they alight upon the ring in your hands. "I haven't.... I thought I'd lost you." His voice is quiet, with an odd note to it, as he asks, "Where did you find this?"

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>Hold up the book.
>"Behind one of the volumes of this."

[nolrai2]

"Rather, Ironically..your lucky it didn't turn into a youkai with a grudge." Smile to show were joking.

[Oldmansour]

>Hold up the book.
>"Behind one of the volumes of this."

"Rather, Ironically..your lucky it didn't turn into a youkai with a grudge." Smile to show were joking.

>He nods slowly, a slow smile showing on his face. He holds his hand out, palm upward. "Give it to me, please."

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>Do so.

[Oldmansour]

>Do so.

>You deposit the ring in his outstretched hand. He draws it in closer, and you swear he looks a little misty eyed. "Thank you, young lady."

[nolrai2]

"You are quite welcome. It seems well loved."