Reimu Quest (Part 9)

[Hello Purvis]

>Let's keep our breathing calm, and focus on those settled ones and try to form a coherent timeline as new ones settle. It's just like focusing on a conversation during a noisy party...

[日巫子]

>Let's keep our breathing calm, and focus on those settled ones and try to form a coherent timeline as new ones settle. It's just like focusing on a conversation during a noisy party...

> All you hear is your ragged breathing as you struggle to make sense of things.  Each memory slowly falls into place, and you start to be able to tell when certain things happened before and after one another.
> You try to focus on the memories that have settled, but they're all so...normal.  Now that they've returned to you, it feels like you never forgot.
> Another memory settles in.  Your mother is reading something to you.  You see another memory.  You're in a field of dandelions, confused and lost.  Everything's too bright.  You don't--or rather, didn't--remember anything from before that.  This one causes fear to well up in your chest.
> Unexpected, recent memories arise: the incident Kikuri caused a few years ago.  You went to fight, got injured badly, and lost consciousness.  But then, you awoke in the Palace, and learned how many people had worked to keep you alive.  For some reason, you get the feeling that you lost this memory by yourself.
> They start to settle in, more and more.  Your mind still feels uncomfortably engorged.  You're not used to remembering this much.

> _

[Sect]

> We'll figure out the mystery of why we purposely forgot about the Kikuri thing when our head isn't melting. Use that shrine maiden training and center ourself to help with the strain.

[日巫子]

> We'll figure out the mystery of why we purposely forgot about the Kikuri thing when our head isn't melting. Use that shrine maiden training and center ourself to help with the strain.

> You struggle to mentally right yourself.  It feels like trying to balance on a top.  As you continue to steady your breathing, a shout of laughter escapes you, followed by a sob.

> _

[Hello Purvis]

>No! No sobs, no laughter! We are a placid lake that enacts rituals and summons the gods!
>Focus on breathing  steadily, actually attending to memories can wait for a moment.

[Sect]

Another thought: can the "successor" or whatever be from Sanae's dreamworld?

[日巫子]

>No! No sobs, no laughter! We are a placid lake that enacts rituals and summons the gods!
>Focus on breathing  steadily, actually attending to memories can wait for a moment.

> You bottle up your emotions and focus on your breathing.  You try to still yourself.  Your physical body is anchored to the ground, with your mind hovering above it like a balloon.  You feel your knees and forehead pressed to something solid and cool, and vaguely register it as the floor.  Oh, yeah.  Right.  Thoughts like that chase the memories in dull realization.

> _

[Hello Purvis]

>No. Stand back up. We are the pillar that holds up the wall between this world and the other. We're not going to writhe around on the the floor. Breath calmly and steadily, handle this a step at a time.

[日巫子]

>No. Stand back up. We are the pillar that holds up the wall between this world and the other. We're not going to writhe around on the the floor. Breath calmly and steadily, handle this a step at a time.

> Still shaking, you force yourself to your feet.  You make a conscious effort to breathe in and out without losing control of yourself.  It's very hard; you feel like you're going to be overwhelmed again at any moment.  Yukari has stepped back to give you room, and is watching while using her handheld fan to cool herself.

> _

[Sect]

> Take our time and ignore the youkai: the world isn't going to end in the next five or ten minutes. Plenty of time to firm up.

[日巫子]

> Take our time and ignore the youkai: the world isn't going to end in the next five or ten minutes. Plenty of time to firm up.

> You stand there and wait, and wait...and still feel shaky.  You still feel overwhelmed by the returning memories and emotions, and you don't think it's going to die down anytime soon.

> _

[Hello Purvis]

>We know what it feels like to be overwhelmed now. Prepare for it, so it may be faced with more dignity than before.

[日巫子]

>We know what it feels like to be overwhelmed now. Prepare for it, so it may be faced with more dignity than before.

> You brace yourself and...oh god oh god...
> You somehow manage to stand your ground.

> _

[Hello Purvis]

>Keep breathing even, keep ourself steady. Let's set these memories where they go.

[日巫子]

>Keep breathing even, keep ourself steady. Let's set these memories where they go.

> You continue to focus on your breathing, and try to sort out your memories, but it feels like they're doing that themselves.

> _

[Hello Purvis]

>Then let them, we can ride this out now. Keep calm, it's all just the past, and we know what it feels like now. Just breath steadily, stay on our feet, and handle it as it comes.

[日巫子]

>Then let them, we can ride this out now. Keep calm, it's all just the past, and we know what it feels like now. Just breath steadily, stay on our feet, and handle it as it comes.

> You struggle to keep calm.  These are just memories of a normal childhood, they can't hurt you.
> Minutes pass, and the memories are still settling in.  However, you feel that it's a little easier to hide your emotions now.

> _

[Sect]

> Breathe in and out calmly, and let the memories do their own thing. It's getting easier now that we're through the initial rough start.

[Hello Purvis]

>If we're through the worst of it, it shouldn't be too bad now. Let things sort themselves, and endure it with as much dignity as can be mustered.
>If it helps, imagine what it'd be like for Yukari, what with how much she must have forgotten due to senility.

[日巫子]

> Breathe in and out calmly, and let the memories do their own thing. It's getting easier now that we're through the initial rough start.

>If we're through the worst of it, it shouldn't be too bad now. Let things sort themselves, and endure it with as much dignity as can be mustered.
>If it helps, imagine what it'd be like for Yukari, what with how much she must have forgotten due to senility.

> Breathe in, breathe out.  Breathe in, breathe out.  Breathe in, breathe out.
> You don't want to imagine what it would be like to have even more memories coming back, even if they're going to another person.
> Breathe in, breathe out.  You feel a little wobbly, but should be fine.  The memories continue settling in, until you feel less of a whirlpool and more of a ripple as the loose ends wander about.

> _

[Hello Purvis]

>Let's try to remember a coherent version of our past, then.

[日巫子]

>Let's try to remember a coherent version of our past, then.

> You try to make sense of the nine years that have returned to you. 
> Most of these memories are uneventful, but now that they're back, you get the feeling of not wanting to lose them again.  You grew up Underground, which was still connected to Hell at the time.  You were not allowed in the City, or the Palace, because it was dangerous for a small child.  Your mother took care of you and was also responsible for your schooling, because there were no schools for you to go to.  At some point, she tried explaining that while the two of you were related, she was technically your ancestor and didn't give birth to you, but you didn't care.  You had friends, whose faces and names have already naturally faded from your mind.  You were only able to produce a few bullets at a time, and could only hover an inch off the ground, no matter how hard you tried.  One day, you found a small Yin Yang Orb and took it home to play with.  Your mother went out to buy groceries, so you took a nap while waiting for her to return.  When you woke up, you were on the surface.
> These memories connect to ones leading up to the first incident.  You got help from one of the hermits on the mountain, and after a short period of training with the orb you knew enough self-defense to go back to where the Hakurei Shrine was, but as you remember, it was in ruins.  That incident led you back to the Underground, and later to Makai.
> This is the most basic summary you can get.  The whole story is filled with details you never experienced on the surface, because you had started solving incidents at such a young age.  Things like taking naps, or playing with toys and reading.  You actually celebrated your birthday, and remembered holidays.  You're remembering your childhood.
> As you're gathering your thoughts, you realize that Yukari is still watching you.

> _

[Hello Purvis]

>Pay Yukari no mind, and see what new memories we picked up about surface life.

[日巫子]

>Pay Yukari no mind, and see what new memories we picked up about surface life.

> You pay attention to your memories.  The hermit who helped you had pink or purple hair, you think.  This memory only seems to have lasted about a day, or a few days, where you batting the orb around, with your hands or a stick.  You also learned how to kick it, like a soccer ball.  The rest of this memory is trekking across Gensokyo to get to the shrine.  It's a miracle you made it.

> _

[Hello Purvis]

>Remember what we can about Mom, ostensibly to see if any of it is useful in this situation, but really just out of curiosity.

[日巫子]

>Remember what we can about Mom, ostensibly to see if any of it is useful in this situation, but really just out of curiosity.

> You're having trouble discerning who it is you're looking for, but you're sure Tamiko isn't in here anywhere.

> _

[Sect]

> Probably not that surprising, since everything points to us being way too young to remember her. Are there any other memories that stick out about our childhood at this time?

[日巫子]

> Probably not that surprising, since everything points to us being way too young to remember her. Are there any other memories that stick out about our childhood at this time?

> You doubt you were ever old enough to remember her.  You think and search for anything that sticks out.
> By chance, you come across a memory of yourself, playing outside by stacking stones.
> What were you doing, stacking stones when you weren't even dead?  Ah, you were just playing around.
> Your mother eventually came to get you, because she said "it's dangerous at night.  Let's go home."
> Your vision starts to blur.

> _

[Sect]

> The vision of the memory, or our actual eyesight? If it's the former, then shift gears to memories closer to the present, those of Kikuri's incident that we apparently purposely forgot. If it's the latter... blink.

[日巫子]

> The vision of the memory, or our actual eyesight? If it's the former, then shift gears to memories closer to the present, those of Kikuri's incident that we apparently purposely forgot. If it's the latter... blink.

> It's your eyes.  You blink, and feel tears escape your eyes.

> _