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

[DracoOmega]

>Nod.
>"From nearly the moment I saw you step out from the trees."

[Oldmansour]

>Nod.
>"From nearly the moment I saw you step out from the trees."

>"I didn't realize." She looks down at herself. "I'm not used to... Well, I'm not used to feeling anything like this, so of course I wouldn't be used to broadcasting them, wouldn't I."

[DracoOmega]

>"To be fair, it is quite possible that others would not perceive it as readily as I did. I hope you don't feel self-conscious about this; it would be a shame to feel such about peace in one's own heart."

[Oldmansour]

>"To be fair, it is quite possible that others would not perceive it as readily as I did. I hope you don't feel self-conscious about this; it would be a shame to feel such about peace in one's own heart."

>Somewhat to your surprise, Kiku laughs. "It's funny. Hours ago, I probably WOULD have. Now, though?" She shakes her head.

[DracoOmega]

>That deserves a true smile.
>"Then I am all the more glad of this."

[Oldmansour]

>That deserves a true smile.
>"Then I am all the more glad of this."

>"I don't know how much I can talk about. I'm still trying to make sense out of all of it, I think. I think it's going to take a while for this to sink in with my conscious mind." She looks back at the temple, then smiles at you. "I do know that you made this possible, Byakuren. I would have lost without your help. I would have BEEN lost without you. I was afraid to say it before, but now I can say it."

[DracoOmega]

>"We are in this together, Kiku - from now until whatever end there is to come. I am glad that I could help you find your footing on this path, but never forget that it was still the strength in your own heart that allowed you to choose it. Keep faith in yourself and in the friends who bolster and are bolstered by you; I would be glad to count myself among them."

[Oldmansour]

>"We are in this together, Kiku - from now until whatever end there is to come. I am glad that I could help you find your footing on this path, but never forget that it was still the strength in your own heart that allowed you to choose it. Keep faith in yourself and in the friends who bolster and are bolstered by you; I would be glad to count myself among them."

>"Fear has been the dominant force in my life, ever since I became a youkai. It has ruled my life, I can admit that now. I.. do not know if that will change right away. But I do know that I'm not afraid of you anymore." A ragged breath, almost a laugh, passes through her lips. "'I'm not afraid'... I never imagined it would feel this way to say it. To say it and mean it. For the first time in this life, I feel free."
>"But at the same time, I think I understand now the importance of fear to my new powers." she continues, clenching her fist as she explains. "When I took your ring, all I could think about was 'this could be Chie. This could be any of my sisters.' That fear drove me forward. Fear for their safety, for their lives, maybe even their very souls. Before this day, fear for my own safety, my own life, consumed me, but now it's different. That fear weakened me. Now I realize that my fear for them is more important. For Chie, Risa, Isumi, even Komeji-sama. What happened to me WILL not happen to them." Despite her fierce declaration, she smiles, the look of a comrade. "WE will not let that happen. And if I falter, if ever again I am weak, then I know you will be there. And Lily, too."

[DracoOmega]

>Nod
>"We will be there."
>Then frown a little uncomfortably.
>"And... that may be as good a place as any to broach the... other issue at large tonight."

[Oldmansour]

>Nod
>"We will be there."
>Then frown a little uncomfortably.
>"And... that may be as good a place as any to broach the... other issue at large tonight."

>"You mean Satori."

[DracoOmega]

>"I do."

[Oldmansour]

>"I do."

>"I don't know what He told you, but I don't think it was much more than what He told me. At least, as it pertains to the nature of whatever is wrong at this shrine. I still don't know if the problem is Satori herself, or some force manipulating her, or some separate evil. But I have gained some enlightenment on at least one thing. Whatever is wrong, I believe it started last Tuesday, the night of the eclipse." She frowns, more of a scowl. "There was an incident, one that I was present for, even. But one I could not remember until I stood in His presence."

[DracoOmega]

>Frown
>"An incident? What sort of incident?"

>What day of the week is it now?

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"Whatever has been affecting those of this temple almost affected me, as well, and without meeting with Satori. I was able to resist it long enough to escape its influence, but I don't think I should confront Satori tonight, not as worn as I am."

[Oldmansour]

>What day of the week is it now?

>It is Sunday night. Soon to be Monday morning.

>Frown
>"An incident? What sort of incident?"

>"As you may know, the main room of the temple holds a sacred flame, as do all four temples of Mayoiga. These flames burn to symbolize the spiritual purity of this area. There are other reasons and purposes, but that's the basic purpose."
>"During the eclipse, however, the flame roared up, scorching the roof, and it turned black. As dark as blackest night, and a vile sensation washed over us, unlike anything I've ever felt before. The flame died down, but it stayed black."

>"Whatever has been affecting those of this temple almost affected me, as well, and without meeting with Satori. I was able to resist it long enough to escape its influence, but I don't think I should confront Satori tonight, not as worn as I am."

>The memory of those sensations flash over your mind as you recount, in brief, your experience with Chie and Isumi. Kiku, however, looks confused. "You were inside the temple? Didn't you tell me the Tiger warned you about going near Satori?"

[DracoOmega]

>"To the best of my knowledge, I was never near her, but you are right of course; unfortunately, matters drifted somewhat off-course when I first encountered your welcome party. They mentioned a "great and difficult deed" that you had done today, and then I realized that word of at least some part of today's events must have already reached them somehow. And if it had reached them, then it had likely reached Satori as well. And that could well mean that she already knows much of what I would rather she not; at least not until we better understand what is afoot here."

[Oldmansour]

>"To the best of my knowledge, I was never near her, but you are right of course; unfortunately, matters drifted somewhat off-course when I first encountered your welcome party. They mentioned a "great and difficult deed" that you had done today, and then I realized that word of at least some part of today's events must have already reached them somehow. And if it had reached them, then it had likely reached Satori as well. And that could well mean that she already knows much of what I would rather she not; at least not until we better understand what is afoot here."

>"You're partly right." Kiku starts. Despite yourself, you feel a slight pang of dread, but Kiku follows it with, "But Satori really doesn't know any details of what happened today yet. You'll remember I sent Chie back to the shrine ahead of us to give Satori the news. Well, all I told her was that 'the evil had been sealed', and that I would give her the more pertinent details myself, once I returned. I didn't have the opportunity to share any of the information we got from Ran with Satori, and even if I had, I prefer discussing those matters in person. After all, our efforts in that area are unknown to the populace of the town. I'd never discuss them in public."

[DracoOmega]

>Frown.
>"Then I fear I may have only made things worse; I apologize. Though I find myself still uncertain how we are to prevent her learning the full truth through your own presence here; clearly the Metal Tiger did not shield your memories as He did mine or this conversation would be preceding rather differently than it has been. I don't suppose He recommended a course of action to you on this front?"

[Oldmansour]

>Frown.
>"Then I fear I may have only made things worse; I apologize. Though I find myself still uncertain how we are to prevent her learning the full truth through your own presence here; clearly the Metal Tiger did not shield your memories as He did mine or this conversation would be preceding rather differently than it has been. I don't suppose He recommended a course of action to you on this front?"

>"As a matter of fact, he did. Lily was right, you see. I'm a beast of the land, one of His children. He can shield my mind in a way that wouldn't be possible for you, or for Lily. My presence here will no longer threaten our secrets or purpose. I may not know the true source of this corruption, but I do believe that I am warded from it by his hand. That should enable me to investigate here safely. It would be for the best if you or Lily did not return here, though, until I learn why this has come about."
>No, that's not right. You mean to come back here yourself tomorrow.

[DracoOmega]

>Wait, we do? Even if she says we shouldn't?

[Oldmansour]

>Wait, we do? Even if she says we shouldn't?

>So you had decided.
>But she does have a point.
>But you want to get to the bottom of this.
>But could she do that without you?
>Better not. She might need you. And you're always there for people when they need you.

[DracoOmega]

>Wait, what? Are we just tired or do our thoughts feel more scattered even than that would explain?

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"It seems likely that our enemy is responsible for this. The corrupted flame is likely the source of this problem, and I would assume that it has likely taken Satori. The next demon is striking here. I will not face it now, not until I am ready for another fight, but I cannot let it have its way here any longer than I absolutely must."

[DracoOmega]

>"It seems likely that our enemy is responsible for this. The corrupted flame is likely the source of this problem, and I would assume that it has likely taken Satori. The next demon is striking here. I will not face it now, not until I am ready for another fight, but I cannot let it have its way here any longer than I absolutely must."

>Hang on a second. Didn't the Purpose specifically say that there was no presence of demonic power in this area?

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>If so, then it was quite likely wrong. And even if this isn't one of the demons, we can't ignore it.

[DracoOmega]

Well, I'm certainly not suggesting we ignore it; whatever it is is clearly dangerous and likely malicious, but I don't think the demons have the market cornered on that one, sadly. As for whether the Purpose is mistaken... I get the impression that it is very good as sensing demonic incursions, though it may still be wise not to assume that there is no way a demon could hide its presence from it. I just think it's leaping to conclusions to assume that's what's going on here and state as much to Kiku.

Also, it strikes me as a very definite possibility that someone has already meddled with our head tonight more than we realized, which presents a more immediate problem.

[Oldmansour]

>Wait, what? Are we just tired or do our thoughts feel more scattered even than that would explain?

>You are indeed very, very tired. But it's more like you had a conversation with yourself. And you raise a good point to yourself. If Kiku got into trouble and you weren't around, you'd never forgive yourself. You can't be sure the Tiger will protect her, after all.
>But He's a God. HER god, in more ways than one. Isn't that enough?
>He also said He was dead. Can you really depend on a dead God?

>"It seems likely that our enemy is responsible for this. The corrupted flame is likely the source of this problem, and I would assume that it has likely taken Satori. The next demon is striking here. I will not face it now, not until I am ready for another fight, but I cannot let it have its way here any longer than I absolutely must."

>Hang on a second. Didn't the Purpose specifically say that there was no presence of demonic power in this area?

>You consider speaking to the issue of the flame, but then a thought occurs to you. The Purpose did indeed tell you that, so far as it could determine, no one in the Metal Tiger shrine was working with the Demons.

>If so, then it was quite likely wrong. And even if this isn't one of the demons, we can't ignore it.

>You consider that it could be mistaken, but even if this isn't the work of the Demons, SOMETHING is clearly wrong here.

[DracoOmega]

Actually, upon rereading, I think I misread a particular passage in a way that made it far more ominous than what was actually written, so perhaps I'm worrying needlessly here. Just the same...

>As best our tired focus can muster, can we feel any presence inside ourselves that does not belong? Any presence like the veil we saw in Lily or the snow leopard? Think back to the encounter with Isumi and the strange sensations we encountered then. Try to recall what we experienced as clearly as possible; make sure we're not somehow forgetting anything.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>No, worry about that tomorrow. We REALLY need to get home and rest. We can't help anyone when we're this worn out.
>"For now, at least, I need to return home. I'm far too worn to do anything else tonight."

[DracoOmega]

>No, worry about that tomorrow. We REALLY need to get home and rest. We can't help anyone when we're this worn out.
>"For now, at least, I need to return home. I'm far too worn to do anything else tonight."

>Hang on a sec. There are at least a couple other things we should ask Kiku before we leave. At the very least, we need to exchange cell phone numbers.

And also, what exactly is the harm in trying to scan ourselves here? I'm certainly not proposing gallivanting about in our current state.