Reimu Quest (Part 6)

[Sect]

> "You break the cup, you buy it. And yeah."

[日巫子]

> "You break the cup, you buy it. And yeah."

> Marisa immediately holds the cup up to check the bottom.
> "It's alright, ze...Anyway, after I left the SDM I went to check out the hole in the sky," Marisa says.  "I was gonna fly through it, but when I got to the edge--like riiiiight to the edge of it--it felt like I bumped into something."
> "Like an invisible wall?" Akyuu asks.
> "Yeah, like that.  My best spellcards couldn't even pierce it, so I went back to the SDM and talked to Patchy 'bout it.  She said she didn't know anything about it, would you believe that?"
> Marisa pours herself another cup of tea.  "I hypothesized that something physical was holding me back, so I asked to borrow Flan so she could break it.  Patchy was soooo maaad, ze.  She also said that Flan was in the middle of a playdate anyway.  Well...in hindsight, Flan probably wouldn't've wanted to go so far from the mansion, anyway.  After that I went looking around for Sanae to see if she knew anything about the incident.  She wouldn't talk to me, not even when I fired a spellcard at her, so I gave up on that.  Then I went to Kourindou, and Kourin told me to tell you about the swimsuit.  After that I flew over the Bamboo Forest, but the bamboo was so thick I couldn't spot Eientei.  Then I dropped by the Genbu Ravine and talked to Nitori, but she didn't know anything, either.  I feel like I've run into a dead end, here.  No one acting up, no one to beat up, ze."
> She sighs.

> _

[Hello Purvis]

>"Hahaha, tell me about it!"
>Give Marisa a pat on the shoulder.
>"I'm gonna try and see if I can lure out Ran tomorrow, she's out hiding somewhere near as I can tell. Mayohiga is empty. The Taoists didn't know anything either."

[日巫子]

>"Hahaha, tell me about it!"
>Give Marisa a pat on the shoulder.
>"I'm gonna try and see if I can lure out Ran tomorrow, she's out hiding somewhere near as I can tell. Mayohiga is empty. The Taoists didn't know anything either."

> Marisa grins and joins you in your laughter.
> "It's just like the Yakumos to disappear when you need them," she laments.  "Then I'll go looking around for them, too, ze!"

> _

[Hello Purvis]

>"Sanae's is going to be out of commission for a while, too. Oh, did you happen to see any more of those shard thingies?"

[日巫子]

>"Sanae's is going to be out of commission for a while, too. Oh, did you happen to see any more of those shard thingies?"

> "Ahh."
> Marisa shakes her head.  "No, I didn't see anything, ze."

> _

[O4rfish]

>Are there tsuchinoko in the Genbu ravine? How about snakes or tortoises?

[Sect]

> Sip on the tea a bit.
> "Well, I found a bit more to add to the craziness. Ghosts are skipping the queue and going straight to Komachi... a few hundred years early."

[日巫子]

>Are there tsuchinoko in the Genbu ravine? How about snakes or tortoises?

> Sip on the tea a bit.
> "Well, I found a bit more to add to the craziness. Ghosts are skipping the queue and going straight to Komachi... a few hundred years early."

> You think all of those things could be found in the Genbu ravine, although tsuchinoko would be a serendipitous find.  The kappas' presence might make searching for those animals difficult, however.
> You continue to drink your tea.  You almost spill some when Suika bumps into your chair as she crawls under the table.  In the meantime, you tell Marisa about the Sanzu River.
> "Wow, that's..."  Marisa's eyebrows raise so high you think they're going to grow wings and fly off her face.
> "Really?  I remember all my trips to the Sanzu, and I never encountered anything that strange," Akyuu says.  "Still, if it's that early, then those souls shouldn't have even been born yet.  Isn't that a little strange?"
> "Ya mean, where are they comin' from?" Suika pipes up.

> _

[Sect]

> "Komachi couldn't tell me, and Iku only spotted them in the clouds. My guess would be that they're related to whatever caused that crack in the sky."
> Stick our feet under Suika so we can warm them up.
> "Did find out who the shards belong to, so I guess there's a plus. There's some wannabe goddess named Kikuri shacking up with Konngara underground. Apparantly they were hers."

[日巫子]

> "Komachi couldn't tell me, and Iku only spotted them in the clouds. My guess would be that they're related to whatever caused that crack in the sky."
> Stick our feet under Suika so we can warm them up.
> "Did find out who the shards belong to, so I guess there's a plus. There's some wannabe goddess named Kikuri shacking up with Konngara underground. Apparantly they were hers."

> You use Suika as a foot warmer.  Ah yes.  She doesn't protest when you do this, so you're in the clear.
> "Maybe they came from the crack, ze," Marisa guesses.  "And they're coming to invade Higan!  Haha."
> You go on to mention the shards, and Akyuu and Marisa look at each other.
> "Who're they?" they ask in unison.
> "Konngara's my friend," Suika says from under the table.  "I saw her today and she complained to me that she forgot to ask what was happening on the surface."
> "Oh, I see...Still, the shards aren't dangerous, are they?" Akyuu asks.  Marisa reaches over and ruffles her hair.
> "You worry too much, ze."

> _

[O4rfish]

>Frown.
>"They're dangerous to youkai. I guess they were used to seal Kikuri up, so that makes sense even if she's not really a youkai."

[日巫子]

>Frown.
>"They're dangerous to youkai. I guess they were used to seal Kikuri up, so that makes sense even if she's not really a youkai."

> "Then the three of us are fine," Marisa says with a smile.
> "Hey!"  Suika sounds offended.
> "If she was sealed up, then she must have been dangerous.  Please be careful," Akyuu says.

> _

[Sect]

> "Probably not that important, if you've never even heard of her." That's probably a lie, since she DID laser us good in Sanae's dream and shut down our most powerful technique, but no need to tell them about that just yet.
> Though... "So, Marisa, there was something odd I ran into. Have you ever heard of someone's soul getting fractured? Patchouli was telling me about how travelling between worlds or whatever could possibly do that."

[日巫子]

> "Probably not that important, if you've never even heard of her." That's probably a lie, since she DID laser us good in Sanae's dream and shut down our most powerful technique, but no need to tell them about that just yet.
> Though... "So, Marisa, there was something odd I ran into. Have you ever heard of someone's soul getting fractured? Patchouli was telling me about how travelling between worlds or whatever could possibly do that."

> "Oh..."  Akyuu sips her tea.  Still, she was a force to be reckoned with in Sanae's dream, but they don't need to know that.
> You ask Marisa about soul fractures.
> "Soul...fractures, ze?  Yeah, witches and magicians dabble in that kind of stuff.  If the fracture's bad enough then you die, ze.  It's really advanced magic, though.  Are you tryin' to become a witch or something?"

> _

[Hello Purvis]

>"Looking for information, really. What are the symptoms of having one?"

[日巫子]

>"Looking for information, really. What are the symptoms of having one?"

> "Hm...really bad injuries, sometimes death, susceptibility to illness..."  Marisa ticks these off on her fingers.  "Both physical and mental, ze.  Maybe concussion-like symptoms, too.  There're stories of people who even lost limbs from that kind of stuff."

> _

[Hello Purvis]

>"How about hallucinations?"

[日巫子]

>"How about hallucinations?"

> "Yeah, those too."
> "Is this what's happening to you?" Suika asks.  Akyuu is resting her elbows on the table and listening intently.

> _

[Sect]

> Dammit Suika, we were trying to be subtle. Give her The Look.
> "Patchouli thinks so. While I was up in Bhava-Agra Iku got Tenshi to check me out with the Sword of Hisou, and... well, it went a bit crazy. Summoned a snowstorm that was actually freezing."
> "Oh, right. Suika, Iku'll be bringing Tenshi down to play. Make sure she behaves, okay?"

[日巫子]

> Dammit Suika, we were trying to be subtle. Give her The Look.
> "Patchouli thinks so. While I was up in Bhava-Agra Iku got Tenshi to check me out with the Sword of Hisou, and... well, it went a bit crazy. Summoned a snowstorm that was actually freezing."
> "Oh, right. Suika, Iku'll be bringing Tenshi down to play. Make sure she behaves, okay?"

> Oh for god's sake.  You give Suika your best glare, and she gives a nervous smile.
> "If I remember, wasn't your weather 'sunny' or something?" Marisa asks.  "That's kinda weird--"
> "Really?!  Yeeessss."  Suika interrupts Marisa to fist pump at the mention of Tenshi.  "It's been too long."

> _

[O4rfish]

>Suppose they're all kids more or less ...
>Imagine Suika, Tenshi, Flandre and Koishi all sparring in one place.

[日巫子]

>Suppose they're all kids more or less ...
>Imagine Suika, Tenshi, Flandre and Koishi all sparring in one place.

> The youkai in Gensokyo are all older than you are, so they probably just act immature.
> You imagine having that many powerful people in one place.  This must never happen.

> _

[Sect]

> "Remember, if I hear anything about shrines getting wrecked, you're grounded and Tenshi has to go back home."
> Back to Marisa. "Yeah, but this time it really summoned a snowstorm. No idea what it means."

[日巫子]

> "Remember, if I hear anything about shrines getting wrecked, you're grounded and Tenshi has to go back home."
> Back to Marisa. "Yeah, but this time it really summoned a snowstorm. No idea what it means."

> "Whatever, Mom," Suika says jokingly.
> "I dunno either.  You don't look like someone who's associated with the cold," Marisa says.  "That would be Yuyuko, ze.  Her weather was snow, remember?  And she's a ghost...Hey, what if that's a bad omen?!"
> "But she looks perfectly healthy to me," Akyuu says.  "Besides, isn't that just a coincidence?"
> "Guess you're right, ze..."

> _

[O4rfish]

>When's the last time the movers and shakers had a drinking party, at the shrine or otherwise?

[日巫子]

>When's the last time the movers and shakers had a drinking party, at the shrine or otherwise?

> Spring, you think, during the cherry blossom viewing.  The shrine grounds are beautiful at that time and naturally attract a lot of people, including important ones.

> _

[Hello Purvis]

>"But I'm not too worried. If things go like I hope, I have a little help coming."
>"So...what's our next move?"

[日巫子]

>"But I'm not too worried. If things go like I hope, I have a little help coming."
>"So...what's our next move?"

> "I'll trust you on that," Marisa says, leaning back in her chair.  "Our best bet would be to find the Yakumos and make them talk.  Right?"
> "How are you going to do th--"  Akyuu stops herself.  "...Oh."
> "That's what the tofu's for," Suika says.

> _

[Sect]

> "We might need to raid the Moriya's kitchen, though: we don't have enough, and the only places that aren't flooded that would likely have tofu are on the mountain. I don't think Sakuya usually keeps tofu in stock."