Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 2, part 4 (Complete)

[Hello Purvis]

>Feed the kids.
>"Have a good evening!"
>Prepare for Kiku to proceed.

[Oldmansour]

>Feed the kids.
>"Have a good evening!"
>Prepare for Kiku to proceed.

>That is what she said.
>Saying your farewells to your schoolmates, the two of them take their leave of you, and continue their way southwards. Kiku, allowing you to recenter yourself and re-apply your grip, then walks out of the trail and turns right, heading northwards up the road, accelerating as she goes.
>"From here, it should take us between twenty minutes to half an hour to reach the steps of the shrine." Kiku informs you. "I believe that is as quickly as I can get there without risking your safety. I would advise you, though, to take a tighter grip from here until we reach the hill leading to the shrine. We will be traveling down one of the main roads of town, and traffic here can be dangerous. I may have to stop or turn rapidly."

[Hello Purvis]

>Take as good of a grip as we feel we can without hurting her.
>"Alright, I'm ready."

[Oldmansour]

>Take as good of a grip as we feel we can without hurting her.
>"Alright, I'm ready."

>Kiku takes the left corner of the road at a run, testing your strengthened grip slightly. She slows, though, as she approaches the end of the side road, glancing back and forth at the street before you, her nose working. You recognize the street as the road you and Aya drove down earlier on today. It was relatively quiet then, as fair as main streets go, and should be quieter still, considering the time and day. Your mount is proving to be a cautious one.
>She turns right onto the main road and accelerates again, satisfied that there was no traffic coming up from behind. She takes the street for about a minute, before adjusting her course to the right, and hopping up onto the sidewalk in front a block of buildings. She won't be able to stay up on the sidewalk for the whole trip, you don't think, but she'll stay here for now.
>"If I may, Byakuren, I would honestly expect talk of this ride to be the talk of your school tomorrow. It is the nature of teenagers to gossip, especially about those who are beloved and famed in their eyes."

[Hanzo K.]

>Chuckle a bit. "If anything, this will likely serve to make people either respect me even more for having the courage to ride a Tiger, make you have more attention, or spawn rumors of us having a relationship that's more than just friends. Either way, I rarely put much stock in rumors."

[Oldmansour]

>Chuckle a bit. "If anything, this will likely serve to make people either respect me even more for having the courage to ride a Tiger, make you have more attention, or spawn rumors of us having a relationship that's more than just friends. Either way, I rarely put much stock in rumors."

>"As do I, but that doesn't mean their impact should be ignored. There will always be someone that accepts hearsay and half-truth as gospel."
>Kiku ducks back onto the road to circumvent a garbage can outside a high end clothing store, before returning to the sidewalk.
>"Personally, it would be the rumors involving the Manari that concerned me the most, were I you."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I feel those kinds of things aren't worth considering. If people think less of me for treating others with basic dignity, the problem is not mine."

[Oldmansour]

>"I feel those kinds of things aren't worth considering. If people think less of me for treating others with basic dignity, the problem is not mine."

>"The problem could very much be yours." Kiku counters. "Suppose one of the teachers in your school calls your character into question because you did business with Eagle. Or your employer, or landlord."

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"Legally, 'I don't like who she did business with' holds no ground. Morally, the only issue is theirs. I'm not going to change who I am just because some people may not like it."

[Hello Purvis]

>"And I think that would probably reflect more on their character than mine, as far as the public conscious goes."

[Oldmansour]

>"Legally, 'I don't like who she did business with' holds no ground. Morally, the only issue is theirs. I'm not going to change who I am just because some people may not like it."

>"And I think that would probably reflect more on their character than mine, as far as the public conscious goes."

>Kiku does not reply for a moment, and when she does, her voice is somewhat subdued. "Aren't you at all afraid?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"What can they do to me that I should be afraid of?"

[Oldmansour]

>"What can they do to me that I should be afraid of?"

>"You could find yourself as ostrasized as the Manari themselves are, for one."

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"I do what I feel is right. No matter the consequences, I will continue to do so."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I doubt it'll happen, the past few years have been on my side."

[Oldmansour]

>"I do what I feel is right. No matter the consequences, I will continue to do so."

>Kiku's breath escapes her in a thoughtful purr.
>"And, I suppose, after facing a demon and its minions, a few malicious rumors doesn't seem all that bad, either."

>"I doubt it'll happen, the past few years have been on my side."

>Kiku pauses at an intersection, letting a white porsche go past with plenty of room to spare.
>"I hope you are right, Byakuren. I truly do."

[Hanzo K.]

>"As do I Kiku, as do I. But yes, compared to Demons and Youma, a few rumors and idle gossip mean nothing."
>Let's brace to get going once more!

[Oldmansour]

>"As do I Kiku, as do I. But yes, compared to Demons and Youma, a few rumors and idle gossip mean nothing."
>Let's brace to get going once more!

>With the porsche passed, Kiku sets off again, making a beeline for the hillside road leading to the shrine of the Metal Tiger.
>Kiku remains silent for several long minutes, her attention on the road ahead of her. Eventually, though, as she begins to climb the hillside road, she speaks again, "There is one thing I have been wondering since the fight ended. Is it merely the nature of your power that you can speak to me with your mind, but I cannot do the same?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"It's complicated. Let us say that Lily and I unintentionally, and deeply touched each other's souls during her awakening."

[Oldmansour]

>"It's complicated. Let us say that Lily and I unintentionally, and deeply touched each other's souls during her awakening."

>"...Ah." Kiku replies after pondering that for a moment. "And that experience is something we obviously have not shared. Still, that doesn't necessarily explain the one-directional communication between you and I. I would have thought that, without whatever you and Lily experienced, no telepathy between us at all would have been possible."
>"Still, it is an advantage for us, should the need arise for you to communicate with me covertly. Have you discovered a maximum range between Lily and yourself yet?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Not as of yet, but we've not really experimented very much."

[Oldmansour]

>"Not as of yet, but we've not really experimented very much."

>"I believe you should, at the first opportunity. There is still a great deal none of us know about these new powers, and we MUST know, if we are to win this war."
>Kiku pauses as the natural landscape to your left becomes blocked by a concrete divider. You are not all that far from the shrine now. She looks at the woodlands briefly, then continues on up the road.
>"If Komeji-sama is present when we arrive, I will know her scent. If she is, we will have to approach the location of the Tiger's Spirit another way."

[Hello Purvis]

>"It shouldn't matter how we approach, if we are meant to be found, we shall be."

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"Have you been attempting to communicate with me mentally? And if so, how have you been doing it?"
>For that matter, how do we do it?

[Oldmansour]

>"Have you been attempting to communicate with me mentally? And if so, how have you been doing it?"
>For that matter, how do we do it?

>"I have tried, yes. When you first did it, I had thought it was similar to how we mikos sometimes commune with the spirits of the elements. As you cannot hear me, however, this appears not to be the case."
>It seems to be a matter of 'directed thought', for want of a better term. Much like speaking, but instead of using your mouth and voicebox to form words and sounds, you use your mind, and then project those words to the person, or people, you wish to speak to.

>"It shouldn't matter how we approach, if we are meant to be found, we shall be."

>Kiku slows abruptly, forcing you to hold on tighter to your grip. "Did you not say, earlier tonight, that the Tiger believed that Komeji-sama was a threat to you? And that He warded your minds and memories when you were in her presence?"

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"I do it by, essentially, thinking 'at' you and Lily."
>"Yes. That is why you thought we should approach differently if she is present, correct? I agree with that. I was simply saying that, either way, the Tiger will know of our approach."

[Oldmansour]

>"I do it by, essentially, thinking 'at' you and Lily."
>"Yes. That is why you thought we should approach differently if she is present, correct? I agree with that. I was simply saying that, either way, the Tiger will know of our approach."

>"A rather simplistic method, but, it obviously works."
>"Oh. .. Yes, that would be true, yes."
>"Can I assume that the same precaution need not be taken if others of my sisters are present?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I don't think they should be a problem."

[Oldmansour]

>"I don't think they should be a problem."

>Kiku sounds rather relieved when she says, "Good."
>Several minutes later, Kiku slows and comes to a stop. The long stairs leading up the hill towards the Metal Tiger Shrine lie before you.
>Kiku begins sniffing the air before she ascends.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"Anything?"