Reimu Quest - A Paradise At Heart

[Nekomata-chan]

>Blink a few times, then facepalm. "That wasn't exactly what I had in mind but..."
>Grin. "Ah well, I take it Yukari probably filled you in on some of the stuff?"

>Aya nods, "She said you had a Shikigami, but before she could say anything else, I came running!"

>Fistpalm. "I just had an idea. I know you tengu usually work alone, with the exception of the messengers and patrols and the like, but this just now dawned on me."
>"If you and Hatate were to team up, you and her would have an even better newspaper than what you already have on your own."
>Grin. "And with her getting the photos, and you writing the articles, it'd be pretty good I'd say."

>Aya blinks, "...Good plan. I still like getting photographs though, and mine are much better. Besides, sometimes Momiji helps me out if I have a lot to do. She can use a typewriter much faster than I can."
>She shakes her head, "But, I'll have to ask Hatate. See if she... agrees. She probably won't, stubborn as hell, sometimes.
>Yukari laughs, "Still some rivalry after the events of today~?"

>Shrug slightly. "But enough on that, I figured you'd want to watch this, seeing as how my Shikigami up there is Gensokyo's newest resident."

>Aya lifts up her camera and notepad, "Already three hundred steps ahead of you."
>She snaps a couple of pictures, scrawling in her notebook between pictures.
>She stares directly at you, "Why a male white-tiger Shikigami, if I may ask? Is that just your preference, or did it have significant benefits that you couldn't overlook compared to other Shikigami? More strength, intelligence, handsomeness?"

>Kouga and Chen are now circling around each other, firing rather wide spreads of bullets. Chen has resorted to a slower version of the blue bullet barrage she fired at you before her spellcards, just before you fought Ran. Kouga has started a big spread of Ofuda mixed in with Homing Amulets.

[Hanzo K.]

>Grin. "Well, it was mostly because I wanted something that had significance. Being a tengu, I assume you know of The Four Gods, yes? They're also called 'The Four Holy Beasts'."
>"Suzaku, Genbu, Seiryu, and Byakkou. The last of those four being the template I modeled Kouga after."

[Nekomata-chan]

>Grin. "Well, it was mostly because I wanted something that had significance. Being a tengu, I assume you know of The Four Gods, yes? They're also called 'The Four Holy Beasts'."
>"Suzaku, Genbu, Seiryu, and Byakkou. The last of those four being the template I modeled Kouga after."

>Aya scribbles down exactly what you say, "Interesting, interesting... and how would you describe his personality? And how is he with the ladies? Since he's new here, it's only my job to find out everything I can for a full profile!"

>Chen resorts again to the green triangle-formation of bullets.
>Kouga keeps up the Ofuda and Homing Amulet barrage.

[Hanzo K.]

>Smirk. "Well, he certainly has a way with being impressive. Alice here even admitted that he might be even better at sarcasm and snark than her."
>Grin. "As for his personality, you're better off having a chat with him after this."
>Chuckle. "Oh yeah. Suika, and even Sanae commented on how he looks like Shou and Momiji's lovechild. Guess that's what comes from him being a White Tiger Shikigami, eh?"

[Nekomata-chan]

>Smirk. "Well, he certainly has a way with being impressive. Alice here even admitted that he might be even better at sarcasm and snark than her."
>Grin. "As for his personality, you're better off having a chat with him after this."

>Aya smiles darkly, "Ah, so we have a dark horse..."
>Marisa nudges her, "White tiger."
>Aya flaps her hand, "Figure of speech! I'll definitely have to speak to him, if he's got more sarcasm than Alice... my readers love a tough cookie."

>Chuckle. "Oh yeah. Suika, and even Sanae commented on how he looks like Shou and Momiji's lovechild. Guess that's what comes from him being a White Tiger Shikigami, eh?"

>Aya stares at Kouga for a while, then shrugs, "I see what they mean. Maybe I should hook up Momiji and Shou..."

>You here a small yelp from Chen.
>Kouga announces another spellcard, "Dream Sign: Duplex Barrier!"
>Chen immediately dashes away from the expanding barriers, not having seen this spellcard much. The Ofuda take her by surprise, and she is pelted with them quite a lot.

>Ran calls up to her, "Chen! Focus!! Concentrate on it, and you'll be fine!"
>Chen yelps, "There's too much stuff to dodge!"
>Ran yells a little louder, "Just concentrate!"

>Chen listens to Ran and begins to attempt to dodge the Ofuda.
>Well, fails to dodge them.
>She is hit by barrage after barrage.

[Hanzo K.]

>Sigh amusedly. "That card eh? He's got good taste, and intuition. Against an opponent that zooms around like you or Chen do, that card's the best pick."

[Nekomata-chan]

>Sigh amusedly. "That card eh? He's got good taste, and intuition. Against an opponent that zooms around like you or Chen do, that card's the best pick."

>Ran facepalms, "Yes, if only he could teach that intuition to Chen... she's so quick to panic..."
>Yukari frowns, "It looks like Kouga's winning... even though they're just sparring.

>It seems Chen has lost the will to keep on dodging, and she is just swaying around and letting herself get it.
>Kouga notices this, "Don't just give up like that! You're making it too easy!"
>Chen blinks, then grins, "You know what, I am!"
>She raises a spellcard, "Oni Sign: Red Oni, Blue Oni!"

>Marisa gulps, "Oh, Kouga's in for it..."

>The red bubble bullet and blue bubble bullet send streams of smaller bullets along the side of Kouga.
>Then, they start streaming at him.
>Immediately, he picks up what to do. He slowly but carefully flies forwards, then slowly flies backwards.
>Chen gasps, "How did you know how to dodge this?!"
>Kouga shrugs, "It did seem the right thing to do. Why, have people had problems with it before?"
>Chen sighs, "Just dodge the bullets..."

[Hanzo K.]

>Chuckle. "Kid's got talent! Glad he's my Shikigami. I'll have to remember to have him teach Chen about all this later on."

[Nekomata-chan]

>Chuckle. "Kid's got talent! Glad he's my Shikigami. I'll have to remember to have him teach Chen about all this later on."

>Ran nods, "I definitely think Chen has a few things to learn from him."

>Chen's spellcard breaks.
>Kouga blinks, "Okay, here's something of my own!"
>He raises a spellcard, "Holy Sign: Four Cornered Shrine!"

>Ran looks at you, "One of your spellcards?"
>Marisa blinks, "Can't say I've ever seen that one before..."

>Kouga summons four familiars in a square around him.
>Each familiar fires a square-shaped barrage of Ofuda in an alternating pattern. The familiar at Kouga's left shoulder fired a blue square, the one at his right shoulder fired a yellow square. The familiar by his left foot fired a red square, and the one at his right foot fired a white square.
>Chen blinks, concentrating and dodging each of the alternating waves of Ofuda with quite a bit of skill.

[Hanzo K.]

>Blink too. "I never made a spellcard like that. Closest thing that comes to mind that's anything like it is Fantasy Heaven. In the regard that they both use Familiars."
>"Well Yukari, you did say that Ran still has a few cards of her own, so this must be an original card of his."

[Nekomata-chan]

>Blink too. "I never made a spellcard like that. Closest thing that comes to mind that's anything like it is Fantasy Heaven. In the regard that they both use Familiars."
>"Well Yukari, you did say that Ran still has a few cards of her own, so this must be an original card of his."

>Yukari grins, "I'm still impressed that he made one so quickly."
>Ran nods, "Indeed..."

>Marisa blinks, "It's very square..."

[Hanzo K.]

>Chuckle. "Yeah, it's pretty good though. He could probably benefit from improving the rate of fire just a bit. I think an improved version would probably either add in a fifth Familar, or have him fire the squares as well."
>Let's keep watching!

[Nekomata-chan]

>Chuckle. "Yeah, it's pretty good though. He could probably benefit from improving the rate of fire just a bit. I think an improved version would probably either add in a fifth Familar, or have him fire the squares as well."
>Let's keep watching!

>Yukari tilts her head, "Maybe it's the easiest version of his spellcard..."

>Chen doesn't fire, and as the spellcard progresses it becomes just a wee bit harder.
>The blue and white squares fire in unison, and a little quicker. The yellow and red ones do the same, just after the blue and white ones.
>Also, Kouga begins to fire a green square between each of the alternating Ofuda squares.

[Hanzo K.]

>Raise an eyebrow. "Oh?"
>Smirk. "Well, seems it's just got a buildup, like Descent of Izuna Gongen, and Boundary of Life And Death. Rather fitting, don't you agree?"

[Nekomata-chan]

>Raise an eyebrow. "Oh?"
>Smirk. "Well, seems it's just got a buildup, like Descent of Izuna Gongen, and Boundary of Life And Death. Rather fitting, don't you agree?"

>Yukari nods, "Either that, or he's open to suggestion."
>Ran blinks, "That may be the case, considering it happened very shortly after you suggested it."

[Hanzo K.]

>Headtilt with a slight frown and crossed arms. "But modifying a spellcard as it's still going? That's pretty rare isn't it? Only two or three spellcards I've seen do that, and I've already mentioned two of them."

[Nekomata-chan]

>Headtilt with a slight frown and crossed arms. "But modifying a spellcard as it's still going? That's pretty rare isn't it? Only two or three spellcards I've seen do that, and I've already mentioned two of them."

>Ran frowns a little, too, "Either that, or he already knew."
>Yukari grins, "So what if it is modifying? He is pretty rare, himself, isn't he? It only makes sense!"

[Hanzo K.]

>Shrug. "Maybe. We'll have to ask after all this. Think we should call it a match after the next two cards?"

[Nekomata-chan]

>Shrug. "Maybe. We'll have to ask after all this. Think we should call it a match after the next two cards?"

>Ran smirks, "I think maybe just the one..."
>She gestures at Chen.

>Chen looks a little tired, as the change in the spellcard has forced her to fly around more frantically. and get hit more frequently.

[Hanzo K.]

>Chuckle. "Yeah, she's definitely gonna need some comfort food and a nap after this."

[Nekomata-chan]

>Chuckle. "Yeah, she's definitely gonna need some comfort food and a nap after this."

>Ran blinks, "You would have thought she would concentrate more... it's almost as if she's letting him win."
>Yukari frowns slightly, "Well, that would be interesting."

>Kouga's spellcard times out, and the pair of them just float in a sort of stare-off, daring each other to take the next move.

[Hanzo K.]

>Chuckle. "Think she's got a thing for the little guy? They are both cats after all."

[Nekomata-chan]

>Chuckle. "Think she's got a thing for the little guy? They are both cats after all."

>Ran and Yukari both grin in a small devious way.
>"Quite possibly..." Ran murmurs, "You saw her when she first met him, after all. Couldn't take her eyes off of him."

>Chen lifts a spellcard, "Shikigami Sign: Pentagram Flight!"
>She flies in a star pattern, releasing red and blue arrowheads.
>Kouga retaliates with Youkai Busters.
>After the 3rd wave of Pentagram Flight, Kouga had dealt enough to break the spellcard.

[Hanzo K.]

>Chuckle. "Well, I did intend for him to be equal parts adorable, and equal parts handsome. After all, he is modeled after Byakkou."
>"But anyhow, I'd say this has been enough of a match eh? They do deserve a break after a show like that."
>Look up to Kouga and Chen. "Hey! You two did good, so come on down and rest if you need it."

[Nekomata-chan]

>Chuckle. "Well, I did intend for him to be equal parts adorable, and equal parts handsome. After all, he is modeled after Byakkou."

>Ran nods, "And, of course, tigers are quite the handsome creatures."
>Yukari grins, "So are cats in general. Foxes, though, are just lovely~."

>"But anyhow, I'd say this has been enough of a match eh? They do deserve a break after a show like that."
>Look up to Kouga and Chen. "Hey! You two did good, so come on down and rest if you need it."

>Chen sighs in relief and flies swiftly past Kouga, nearly knocking him off balance.
>Kouga grins a bit and casually flies after her.

>Ran smiles at Chen when she returns, "You did well, Chen."
>Chen sighs, "Thank you... Kouga was giving me quite a bit of trouble."
>Kouga looks at Chen, "Sorry about that."
>Chen looks over her shoulder at him, grinning, "No problem~! You're really good at that already, you know. I'm surprised."
>Kouga shrugs, "Thanks. You're not too bad yourself."

>Ran leans backwards and whispers to you, "She definitely has a thing for him. You can tell by her body language."

[Hanzo K.]

>Whisper back; "Clearly. I think he might like her too."
>Look over at Aya. "Anyhow, I guess it's time for that interview now, eh Aya?"

[Nekomata-chan]

>Whisper back; "Clearly. I think he might like her too."

>Ran nods, "Definitely... he's just better at hiding it..."

>Look over at Aya. "Anyhow, I guess it's time for that interview now, eh Aya?"

>Aya nods, "I'll just borrow Kouga for a bit."
>She drapes her arm over his shoulder and leads him away, furiously asking him questions and barely giving him a chance to answer.
>Chen watches after them, looking almost a little bit jealous.

>Marisa folds her arms, "So, what now..?"

[Hanzo K.]

>Laugh. "Oi! At least let 'im get a word in edgewise Aya!"
>Grin. "Anyhow, I just had another interesting idea. But I'll need a mallet, your help Yukari, some of that processed cheese spread stuff that comes in those cans that the people in the outside world seem to enjoy, and a certain troublesome celestial and her hat to pull it on."
>"But she can't know who's messing with her though, you know the one."
>"Anyhow, my plan's this. first, you pop open a gap right over her head. then, I snatch her hat without her noticing, and then we fill it with the cheese. Then, when she notices her hat's missing and starts to panic, splat! I plop the hat back on her head with it's cheese-based payload!"
>Chuckle "Serves her right for destroying my shrine back then."
>Beat.
"..What, you thought that was water under the bridge? Eh, not entirely, I've just been waiting for a way to pay her back for it with a good trick."
>Beat.
>"...I think I'm starting to become another Yukari. First a desire to start my own incident, then getting a Shikigami, and now I feel compelled to prank Tenshi. Someone check if my hair's turning blonde too!" Say the last part with a joking laugh.

[Nekomata-chan]

>Laugh. "Oi! At least let 'im get a word in edgewise Aya!"

>Aya shouts back, "I am!!"
>Kouga laughs quietly, "She's right, though..."

>Grin. "Anyhow, I just had another interesting idea. But I'll need a mallet, your help Yukari, some of that processed cheese spread stuff that comes in those cans that the people in the outside world seem to enjoy, and a certain troublesome celestial and her hat to pull it on."
>"But she can't know who's messing with her though, you know the one."
>"Anyhow, my plan's this. first, you pop open a gap right over her head. then, I snatch her hat without her noticing, and then we fill it with the cheese. Then, when she notices her hat's missing and starts to panic, splat! I plop the hat back on her head with it's cheese-based payload!"
>Chuckle "Serves her right for destroying my shrine back then."

>Yukari nods at you with a slight acknowledging smile, whilst rummaging around inside a gap.
>She nods, "I thought you weren't finished with that incident."
>Marisa pats you a little too hard on the back, "Reimu, I always knew you were one to hold a grudge. Just like Alice, sometimes."

>Beat.
"..What, you thought that was water under the bridge? Eh, not entirely, I've just been waiting for a way to pay her back for it with a good trick."
>Beat.

>Yukari nods, "I know, I know."
>Alice nods, too, "Biding your time. A clever tactic. I did that myself, you know."
>Marisa blinks, "You did?"
>Alice stares at her, "Well, after you fought me as a child, it took several years for me to strike back again."

>"...I think I'm starting to become another Yukari. First a desire to start my own incident, then getting a Shikigami, and now I feel compelled to prank Tenshi. Someone check if my hair's turning blonde too!" Say the last part with a joking laugh.

>Marisa rummages through your hair, "No, no... unless blonde is a synonym for grey hair. Then, yes."
>Yukari passes you a can of squirty-cheese, and gestures at a gap floating over Tenshi Hinanawi's head.

[Hanzo K.]

>Alright, let's get close to the gap, focus, and then snatch Tenshi's hat off her head before she even notices it!
>Then, we'll fill it with the cheese!
>THen, wait for Tenshi to notice her hat's missing, and then splat!