Okuu Quest Next - A Z-Machine Adventure

[DracoOmega]

>Continue towards the forest shrine. We should know the more direct route through the forest after Reimu showed it to us yesterday.

[Hello Purvis]

>Continue towards the forest shrine. We should know the more direct route through the forest after Reimu showed it to us yesterday.

>You disembark from the bus. You see that Yukari is home, and is presently reading on a porch swing. She looks up, waves at you, and returns to her book.
>You do remember the more direct route that Reimu showed you. You follow along the edge of the forest, skirting behind the houses and along the edge of the farmland, following along the path her scooter makes. As you enter the forest proper, the Spirit reappears, hovering along with you. You feel she is curious.
>Soon you arrive at entrance of the Hakurei Shrine. You can feel the spirit is apprehensive about it, but she doesn't seem to be as uncomfortable with it as she was about the Moriya Shrine.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Knock on the door

[Hello Purvis]

>Knock on the door

>You knock on the door.
>After a few moments, you conclude she's either deep asleep, or elsewhere.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Is her scooter around?

>If we see no sign of her, try walking back to that big flower grove near where we first encountered the spirit

[Hello Purvis]

>Is her scooter around?

>If we see no sign of her, try walking back to that big flower grove near where we first encountered the spirit

>You don't see it anywhere.
>You decide to try to trace your steps back to the copse where you found the spirit to begin with. As you leave the shrine, the spirit seems to be happy to get away from it. Then she is curious, as you make your way through the woods, heading back to where you started yesterday. You also get a sense of familiarity from her.
>Heading east, then north, then east again, you follow your old tracks. Along the way, you find the styrofoam container that you left behind, quite bereft of the food you were carrying in it.  The smell of pollen is a little stronger today, perhaps due to a change in humidity.
>Soon, you reach the stream, and the copse just beyond it. You can see the towel you left behind, now with small slips of paper dangling from it. The spirit approaches the tree, a bit bewildered by this decoration. She pokes at it, then looks at you questioningly.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Oh, I tied that around the tree so that I could find it again, later."
>"I think Maribel must have added the charms, later."
>"Is this your tree? Or was it just a tree you happened to be next to at the time?"
>"I think shimenawa are supposed to keep spirits in, or out, or something. But I have no idea whether this thing actually does anything or not."
>"Does it bother you?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Oh, I tied that around the tree so that I could find it again, later."
>"I think Maribel must have added the charms, later."
>"Is this your tree? Or was it just a tree you happened to be next to at the time?"
>"I think shimenawa are supposed to keep spirits in, or out, or something. But I have no idea whether this thing actually does anything or not."
>"Does it bother you?"

>She seems satisfied with your answer as to why it's there.  You then add in a mention of Maribel, which confuses her again.
>You ask if it was here tree, or just one she was using. You get a feeling from her that it is both.
>When asked if the shimenawa bothers her, she seems unsure whether it does or not.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Do you want me to remove it?"
>If we get the feeling she does, or is ambivalent, try doing so

[Hello Purvis]

>"Do you want me to remove it?"
>If we get the feeling she does, or is ambivalent, try doing so

>She seems ambivalent toward it.
>You remove the Towel Shimenawa. She seems unaffected by this, and curious again.

[DracoOmega]

>"Hmm... just testing something. I guess it really is just a towel, after all."
>"You know, I still don't know why you're tagging along with me. Was there some reason you did it, or did you accidentally get stuck with me, somehow?"
>Put our hand on the tree

[Hello Purvis]

>"Hmm... just testing something. I guess it really is just a towel, after all."
>"You know, I still don't know why you're tagging along with me. Was there some reason you did it, or did you accidentally get stuck with me, somehow?"
>Put our hand on the tree

>She seems to understand what you mean when you say it's just a towel.
>You ask her why she's following you. The answer you get is a complex mixture of feelings. It seems she considers you a kindred spirit of sorts, someone who seems to be trying to do what is right. She felt it was best to come with you. There is a sense of loneliness as well, or perhaps alienation?
>You feel the tree. It is a little warm to touch. Not quite like before.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I don't suppose you felt like something was wrong with the world, too?"
>"Well, I guess if you want to stick with me for a bit, you can. I think I may be getting strangely used to it, actually."

>Current time?

[Hello Purvis]

>"I don't suppose you felt like something was wrong with the world, too?"
>"Well, I guess if you want to stick with me for a bit, you can. I think I may be getting strangely used to it, actually."

>Current time?

>She agrees with your inquiry. She also seems a bit sad.
>You give her your blessings to stay with you. The reaction you feel in turn is a mixture of thanks and a feeling of...something like inevitability. No, not quite that. More like that it's a fixed thing now.
>It is about 11 o'clock now.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, I should probably head to work, unless I want to be late."
>Head to work

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, I should probably head to work, unless I want to be late."
>Head to work

>She doesn't really seem to understand what you mean. But she follows you out without any protest, fading as you leave the forest.
>You find a bus to Uptown in short order. Within a short time, you step off at Uptown. It is 11:20, according to your cellphone. The crowds here are about the same as ever.

>_

[Kasu]

> Head for the store.

[Hello Purvis]

> Head for the store.

>You head into the store, and find it is messy as always. Nitori has a waist-high outdoor unit half talken apart, she pokes her head up over the edge of it when you enter. "Hey, kiddo!" she says, "How's the Uni entry going? And...damn, girl. You're early as hell today!"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I've been running around town most of the morning. Figured I may as well head over here, now."
>"I've been given the go-ahead to write the entrance exam. Going to have to work pretty hard to prepare for it, but I'm going to give it my best."
>"Good news on the Akyuu situation. Had a meeting with Tenma this morning. It seems that a page in the original report which led to the condemnation had got mixed up with a different case file. Files fixed, problem solved, I think."
>"Of course, I wonder why someone reported her house as suspicious in the first place. I mean, I don't think it looks much worse than a bunch of other places in the neighborhood"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I've been running around town most of the morning. Figured I may as well head over here, now."
>"I've been given the go-ahead to write the entrance exam. Going to have to work pretty hard to prepare for it, but I'm going to give it my best."
>"Good news on the Akyuu situation. Had a meeting with Tenma this morning. It seems that a page in the original report which led to the condemnation had got mixed up with a different case file. Files fixed, problem solved, I think."
>"Of course, I wonder why someone reported her house as suspicious in the first place. I mean, I don't think it looks much worse than a bunch of other places in the neighborhood"

>"Okay, that's no problem," she says. "I got no beef with you starting early."
>"Give it hell, Utsuho," says Nitori, giving you a grin. "Once you get your math into shape, I know you'll be good for it."
>"Really? Guess she didn't need an inspection at all. Oh well. Glad to hear that's cleared up."
>"Probably some old NIMBY bat," says  Nitori with a shake of her head, as she submerges back into the AC Unit. "You know the type."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Yeah, maybe."
>"So, what should I be doing, now, then?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Yeah, maybe."
>"So, what should I be doing, now, then?"

"See that window unit on the table? Break it up, separate out the good stuff from the broken stuff. "

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Proceed to dismantle the unit as Nitori asked

[Kasu]

> Probably not a problem, but pray that the Forest Spirit doesn't randomly materialize in front of Nitori.

[MysTeariousYukari]

> Procede to do as Nitori asked, taking apart the window unit(AC that goes into a window?) while humming a little tune or two

[Hello Purvis]

>Proceed to dismantle the unit as Nitori asked

> Probably not a problem, but pray that the Forest Spirit doesn't randomly materialize in front of Nitori.

> Procede to do as Nitori asked, taking apart the window unit(AC that goes into a window?) while humming a little tune or two

>You get the tools and go to work. Dismantling is always fun, few worries about getting things in the right order or misconnecting wires. You hum a little tune, feeling more enthusiastic than before about it.
>The spirit doesn't materialize. But sitting still, with little else to get in the way, you become aware of her again, distantly. She is deeply confused by what you're doing. You're starting to think this may be a default state for it.
>"Hey," says Nitori after awhile. "You hear about that row up in front of the Nursery last night?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Last night? I think I heard someone mention the other day that the owner is a bit of a scrapper, but nothing specific. What happened?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Last night? I think I heard someone mention the other day that the owner is a bit of a scrapper, but nothing specific. What happened?"

>"Oh no, this wasn't the owner," says Nitori. "It was two dark-haired girls. Apparently got in a fight or something. One did a runner, the other tackled her."

[DracoOmega]

>"Any idea what it was about?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Any idea what it was about?"

>"Something about money, apparently," says Nitori. "The loser got robbed."

>_