Reimu Quest - A Paradise At Heart

[Nekomata-chan]

>Grin. "See what a good laugh and a strange conversation can do?"
>Beat.
>"Hey, Yukari? I don't think I've ever asked this, but how hard was it to get a Shikigami strong enough to have a Shikigami herself?"

>Yukari blinks, "I wonder what makes you ask..."
>She smiles, "Well, I looked around at first for anyone who seemed a good candidate for me. I was way too lazy in my youth to bother caring for myself, you see. Then I met Ran. She was immensely strong but had that subservience about her. So I asked. Ran was skeptical at first, because she had heard the rumours about me. So we had a danmaku fight. Ran lost, and she was impressed by my strength. It turns out she already had a shikigami: Chen. I met Chen and was rather surprised at first by her daughter-like bond. They had been linked in the shikigami-bond for quite a while, as it turned out. I asked Ran again if she considered being a shikigami to me, and she agreed."
>Suika blinks, "Do you rehearse that, Yukarin~?"
>Yukari smirks, "Do you ever stop drinking?"
>Suika grins, "Very rarely."
>Then, Yukari points her finger at Suika in a gun-like gesture, "There's your answer."

[Hanzo K.]

>Shrug. "Just thinking that maybe I should look into getting one sometime, if only to make incident-resolving easier."
>Grin. "I mean, the Imperishable Night incident was a breeze thanks to you and Ran after all."

[Nekomata-chan]

>Shrug. "Just thinking that maybe I should look into getting one sometime, if only to make incident-resolving easier."
>Grin. "I mean, the Imperishable Night incident was a breeze thanks to you and Ran after all."

>Yukari smiles, "You're welcome. You would have done it just as easily without Ran and I, anyway."
>Alice tilts her head, talking to herself, "I wonder how they are over at Eientei."
>Marisa fakes a shocked expression, "A-Alice? Are you... are you cheating on me?"
>She covers her eyes with her arm, "And I thought... we had something special... does that all mean nothing to you?!"
>Alice clocks her over the back of the head, "Marisa, seriously."
>The magician just giggles, "Haha, I'm pullin' ya' leg. But yeah, no cheatin' on me! No seein' that Reisen kiddo behind my back!"

[Hanzo K.]

>Grin. "You guys certainly make things lively at least. "
>Thoughtful expression. "What sort of shikigami d'you think would suit me? Maybe a White Tiger or something? Like one of the Four Gods and stuff."

[Nekomata-chan]

>Grin. "You guys certainly make things lively at least. "
>Thoughtful expression. "What sort of shikigami d'you think would suit me? Maybe a White Tiger or something? Like one of the Four Gods and stuff."

>Marisa thinks for a while, then her eyes sparkle, "The shrine maiden of paradise and her White Tiger shikigami!! I can see the headlines! Oh, you'd make an absolutely perfect crime-fighting couple!! Let's go!!"
>Marisa tries to run off in excitement, but she trips over Alice's now-extended foot and faceplants the ground.
>Alice clears her throat, "Getting a little ahead of yourself, Marisa. Reimu, I heard Patchouli has a spellbook or two on summoning shikigami in the proper onmyouji way. I must say, I think a white tiger shikigami would suit you. Quite like Ran, but with hair like Youmu, Koishi, Shinki or Mokou."
>Yukari grins, "I think that would be quite cute... try it. Patchouli does have some books on it, third bookshelf on the left and the 24th book from the right."
>Suika raises an eyebrow, "You have that memorised?!"
>Yukari laughs out loud, "No, silly! I have a map."
>She pulls out a map and taps Suika on the head with it.

[Hanzo K.]

>Smile. "That should work pretty well then!"
>Grin. "And if we find one that hasn't been named yet, and it happens to be male, I have the perfect name in mind."
>Get moving for the entrance. "Well, what're we waiting for? We got research to do!"

[Nekomata-chan]

>Smile. "That should work pretty well then!"
>Grin. "And if we find one that hasn't been named yet, and it happens to be male, I have the perfect name in mind."

>Yukari grins, "A name, already? My, you really thought about this, didn't you~?"
>Suika grins, "I just hope the shikigami is good at drinking. Save me from having to deal with drunken Reimu. All lovey-dovey and mopey. Ew."

>Get moving for the entrance. "Well, what're we waiting for? We got research to do!"

>Yukari and Suika follow you to the entrance, and Alice drags Marisa by her ankle.

>Yukari opens a gap in front of the door, and you all fall through it into the library.
>"I love shortcuts," Yukari giggles, "Don't you?"

[Hanzo K.]

>Chuckle, then stand up if we ended up falling down. "Well, it kinda just came to me really."
>"But to be honest, I never really started considering getting a shikigami for myself until today. Maybe then I'll have someone who'll actually tell me straight what happens when I go on a bender, like I did the other night." Look at Yukari and Suika with a 'You guys...' kinda look.

[Nekomata-chan]

>Chuckle, then stand up if we ended up falling down. "Well, it kinda just came to me really."
>"But to be honest, I never really started considering getting a shikigami for myself until today. Maybe then I'll have someone who'll actually tell me straight what happens when I go on a bender, like I did the other night." Look at Yukari and Suika with a 'You guys...' kinda look.

>Yukari and Suika just giggle with each other.

>Patchouli pokes her head around a bookcase, "Can I help- oh, Reimu, welcome back. Did you forget something?"
>She sees Alice dragging Marisa by her foot, and raises her eyebrow, "Or... never mind, what can I help you with?"

[Hanzo K.]

>"I got the idea that maybe I need to step things up a notch, so I've decided that I should look into getting a Shikigami. Alice here said you had a few books on the matter."
>Point a thumb at Marisa. "She came along because she felt like it. Though I wouldn't count out her being interested in getting a shikigami in order to keep up with me." Grin a bit. She won't be able to keep up once we get a shikigami!

[Nekomata-chan]

>"I got the idea that maybe I need to step things up a notch, so I've decided that I should look into getting a Shikigami. Alice here said you had a few books on the matter."

>Patchouli blinks, "Ah, yes. As it turns out, I have two. One on the history and information of shikigami, one on the actual summoning with the different types of shikigami that you can summon: male, female, animal or human, young or old."

>Point a thumb at Marisa. "She came along because she felt like it. Though I wouldn't count out her being interested in getting a shikigami in order to keep up with me." Grin a bit. She won't be able to keep up once we get a shikigami!

>Patchouli shakes her head, "Gensokyo would be in danger if Marisa had anyone to fight alongside her with the same recklessness. It's best if she doesn't."

>She walks over to a bookcase, and returns with two books. "The red book is for summonging, the blue book is for history."

[Hanzo K.]

>Shrug. "That's why it'd probably make sense for her to get a shikigami that's more even-tempered or something."
>Let's take the books with a polite nod. "Thanks, I'll be sure to read these."
>Let's go find a seat to get to reading. First, the blue one.

[Nekomata-chan]

>Shrug. "That's why it'd probably make sense for her to get a shikigami that's more even-tempered or something."
>Let's take the books with a polite nod. "Thanks, I'll be sure to read these."
>Let's go find a seat to get to reading. First, the blue one.

>Patchouli hands you both of the books anyway, and everyone leans over your shoulder to read.
>You find a seat at one of the tables... again, with everyone (minus Marisa, who is still having the intimate meeting with the floor) gathers around.
>You open the blue history book, which isn't as bulky as you imagined.

> The Shikigami - A History.

Since the dawn of time, the sorcerers of Japan had been looking for a companion to defend and assist them. Shikigami can vary in form, and when they are summoned they are not distinct entities as of themselves.
Shikigami share a very special bond with their masters, which may lead any pain between them to be shared in a sympathetic manner. Other inflictions such as illness, emotion or intoxication are not shared.
One of the easiest shikigami to summon is the enchanted paper scroll. These are fairly incapable of much fighting, so therefore are better suited to guarding.
Shikigami are said to be invisible most time, but they can be made visible by banning them into small, folded and artfully cut paper manikins. There are also shikigami that can show themselves as animals or birds. They must be conjured during a complex ceremony and their power is connected to the spiritual force of their master. If the evoker is well introduced and has lots of experience, their Shikigami can possess animals and even people and manipulate them. But if the evoker is careless, their Shikigami may get out of control in time, gaining its own will and consciousness. In this case the shikigami will raid its own master and kill him/her in revenge. Normally shikigami are conjured to exercise risky orders for their masters, such as spying around, stealing and enemy tracking.
In many different settings, the shikigami can adopt the form specified by the onmyouji/summoner at the casting of the spell. Often the shikigami can have two forms if it is desired this way, the animal form and the human form. The animal form is considerably weaker in danmaku, but is considerably quicker. The human form is stronger, but lacks the agility of the animal form.
The most common animal forms are cats, foxes, dogs, wolves and tigers.

[Hanzo K.]

>Grin. "How convenient, Tigers seem to be a common shikigami type. Looks like things are going pretty well for a change. Guess all I need to do is figure out the whole shikigami business, and boom."
>Frown slightly. "Though I suppose I should probably start with the basic sort, the 'Possessed Scroll'..."
>Beat.
>"...Nah, if I have trouble with it, I can just apply liberal amounts of danmaku to discipline it into submission."

[Nekomata-chan]

>Grin. "How convenient, Tigers seem to be a common shikigami type. Looks like things are going pretty well for a change. Guess all I need to do is figure out the whole shikigami business, and boom."
>Frown slightly. "Though I suppose I should probably start with the basic sort, the 'Possessed Scroll'..."
>Beat.

>Suika giggles, "Reimu, your amulets probably do more than a Possessed Scroll shikigami!!"
>Yukari nudges you, "Go on, I'm actually intrigued now. Look in the spellbook, it'll probably yield some interesting results."

>"...Nah, if I have trouble with it, I can just apply liberal amounts of danmaku to discipline it into submission."

>Yukari laughs, "Remember the sympathetic link. Just be careful if you don't want to accidentally beat yourself to tears."

[Hanzo K.]

>Grin. "Good point. But don't you usually do that when Ran goofs up anyhow? I seem to remember hearing about a minor escapade where you were beating Ran around something fierce with that parasol of yours."
>Let's have a look inside that red book then!

[Nekomata-chan]

>Grin. "Good point. But don't you usually do that when Ran goofs up anyhow? I seem to remember hearing about a minor escapade where you were beating Ran around something fierce with that parasol of yours."
>Let's have a look inside that red book then!

>Yukari grins, "Oh, it works, though. Ran is such a good girl."

>You open the red spellbook.

Shikigami Summoning
Contents:
Inanimate Shikigami
-Scrolls
-Books
-Miscellaneous

Animate Shikigami
-Humans
--Male
--Female
-Animals
--Feline
--Canine
--Miscellaneous
-Half-animals
--Half-felines
--Half-canines.

[Hanzo K.]

>Let's look at the Animals: Feline, and Half-Animals: half Feline sections. We'll decide on the gender later.
>"You may be right, but now it's time for me to find what I want!"

[Nekomata-chan]

>Let's look at the Animals: Feline, and Half-Animals: half Feline sections. We'll decide on the gender later.
>"You may be right, but now it's time for me to find what I want!"

>You consult the page referenced in the contents for Animals: Feline section.

>When you open the page, you see it laden with spells and charms with which to perform them.

Animals - Felines
Cats, Tigers, Lions and More.

Shikigami cats are versatile and loyal, but carry that certain stoic manner known by none other. Proceed further, summoner.

Cats
For cats, channel your magic onto a hand-drawn magician's spell circle and say the following words.
Cati scit non timore. Serico et silentio.

Tigers
For tigers, use one of the Tiger charms, and perform the same spell for the cats but with the aforementioned charm.

Lions
For lions, take a Lion charm and perform the same spell for cats with that charm.

Other
For other feline creatures, use a Miscellaneous charm and use the Cats spell.

Half-Animals: Half-Feline
For those who wish to have the main abilities of a human, with cat-like aspects. These shikigami have the ability to transform into their shared animal.

Half-cat
To summon a half-cat Shikigami, draw a magician's circle on the ground, channel your magic to it and then draw a line through the middle.
Then, say: Cati scit non timore. Serico et silentio. Dimidium.

For any other type of half-cat, use the charms in the Animals: Felines section and perform the same spell above.

[Hanzo K.]

>"....Wow, this is some complex stuff. Did you seriously have to go through this, Yukari?"
>Ah well, let's look in the genders section now. Gotta be detailed when making shikigami after all!

[Nekomata-chan]

>"....Wow, this is some complex stuff. Did you seriously have to go through this, Yukari?"
>Ah well, let's look in the genders section now. Gotta be detailed when making shikigami after all!

>Yukari grins, "I didn't summon Ran from scratch, but we still had to do it, so it wasn't as difficult. And she didn't summon Chen from scratch either."

>You look in the Gender section.

Genders
Summoners, like yourself, may have preferences for their shikigami. Read below to further tweak those preferences.

Female
To tailor your Shikigami to be a female, read on.
If you are using a charm, wrap a strip of pink/purple/red cloth around the charm.
If you are not using a charm, simply hold up the strip of cloth.

Male
To tailor your Shikigami to be male...
...if you are using a charm, wrap a strip of blue/green/black cloth around the charm.
If you are not, simply hold the cloth.

[Hanzo K.]

>Alright, let's have a more detailed look at the tigers section, we're after a white tiger!
>"I get it now. ...Hm, wonder what happens if I use white and blue cloth in the gender part?"

[Nekomata-chan]

>Alright, let's have a more detailed look at the tigers section, we're after a white tiger!
>"I get it now. ...Hm, wonder what happens if I use white and blue cloth in the gender part?"

>Yukari thinks for a while, then points at a footnote in the book, "It says additions of cloth and/or charms for the colour of animal Shikigami are not necessary. It depends on the picture that the summoner has in their mind. There you go. Oh... and extra additions of cloth will confuse the gender and maybe end up with a double-gender or a no-gender Shikigami."
>Suika laughs, "Shemale Shikigami. I can imagine the headlines."

[Hanzo K.]

>Excaliburface. "That's...not exactly a pleasant prospect. Not to mention confusing..."

[Nekomata-chan]

>Excaliburface. "That's...not exactly a pleasant prospect. Not to mention confusing..."

>Yukari grins, "Well, it is meant to be that way. It's meant to scare away the less committed."

>Marisa sits up, "Let's go summon some Shikigami!! Whoo!!"
>Suika blinks, "So she was awake..."

[Hanzo K.]

>Beat.
>"And welcome back Marisa, have a nice date with the floor?"
>Chuckle. "Too bad you didn't get it's number, otherwise you could've had a lasting relationship with it."

[Nekomata-chan]

>Beat.
>"And welcome back Marisa, have a nice date with the floor?"
>Chuckle. "Too bad you didn't get it's number, otherwise you could've had a lasting relationship with it."

>Marisa grins, "N'aww, Reimu, we're just friends! I wouldn't cheat on my dear Alice so blatantly, ze~! Besides, the floor was such a pervert. All it does is look up girl's skirts all day."
>Alice clears her throat, "Let's just... move along..."

[Hanzo K.]

>Chuckle. "Yeah, we probably should. Let's get this done then shall we?"
>Beat. "Anyone got some black, green, or blue cloth I can use?"

[Nekomata-chan]

>Chuckle. "Yeah, we probably should. Let's get this done then shall we?"
>Beat. "Anyone got some black, green, or blue cloth I can use?"

>Marisa pulls up her skirt, regardless of the view she gives to everyone else, and tears off a good-sized strip.
>"Yup." she says, and hands it to you.
>Alice coughs, "I'm not fixing that later, Marisa."
>Marisa giggles, "Yeah, you are. I'll use my puppy-eyes on you."

[Hanzo K.]

>Sigh, then take a tiger charm, and wrap the cloth around it. "How did I know that's what you were going to do? Wait, don't answer that. It's because we know each other pretty well already."
>"But y'know, I'm kinda surprised Alice didn't have any, I mean, you work with it on a regular basis, so it's not too much of a stretch for me to imagine you have some kind of spell that conjures that sort of stuff out of thin air or something."