Nitori Quest - For Science, We March!

[FinnKaenbyou]

> "Um...  Are you the nagashi-bina?"

> "Twirl, twi-oh! Hello, there!"
The girl stops in her tracks as you call for her. She takes a few seconds to cope with her new-found dizziness.
"Are you lost? You must've been in here for a long time. You haven't gone blue in the face, but you're certainly blue everywhere else. Taking that many wrong turns...someone must have placed a terrible curse on you. A scorned lover - no! A furious father ashamed of not keeping up the family occupation! Why, you must have been planning to throw yourself in the river in shame - I can see your pockets, stuffed full with rocks!
...Am I even remotely close?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Nope! But good guesses. Actually, I was wondering if you could help me with someone who's too lucky for their own good."

[FinnKaenbyou]

>"Nope! But good guesses. Actually, I was wondering if you could help me with someone who's too lucky for their own good."

>"Aw. I'm always wrong when I make those sort of guesses.
But...you want me to help you curse someone? I dunno, that sounds kinda mean...and it's time I could be spending doing my job. Maybe if you helped me out with something, I'd be willing to offer my services?
Ah, I'm Hina, by the way. Hina Kagiyama. Pleased to meet you."
She bows to you, still stumbling a little.

[Hello Purvis]

>"I am the Great Nitori, the pleasure is mine."
>Curtsy!
>"And don't worry, she's a little jerk anyways."

[FinnKaenbyou]

>"I am the Great Nitori, the pleasure is mine."
>Curtsy!
>"And don't worry, she's a little jerk anyways."

>"So great, I've never heard of you? Wow."
Yeah, you can make out the sarcasm in that one. You ARE great, though, you just haven't managed to get everyone else to realise it yet.
>"Well, if she's a jerk that makes me feel a little better, but I still don't intend to work for free. Let's see...my ribbon is starting to get a little frayed. Any way you could get hold of a replacement? Something that looks similar will do."
That ribbon is pretty long and ornate. You'd probably need to visit either a store or someone who dabbles in them a lot. It looks almost like the sort of thing you would find on a doll...

[Hello Purvis]

>Oh goddamnit, we're gonna have to go to Alice, aren't we?
>...Screw it, try Kourindou first. "And that's all you want? Just a ribbon?"
>If she doesn't want halfsies~

[FinnKaenbyou]

>Oh goddamnit, we're gonna have to go to Alice, aren't we?
>...Screw it, try Kourindou first. "And that's all you want? Just a ribbon?"
>If she doesn't want halfsies~

> "Well, I'd like it to be like this one...it's um, pretty. I know it's sorta long and ornate, so they're hard to come across, but..."
You stifle a laugh when you realise you nearly wasted 5,000 Yen in payment here.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Deal!"
>Offer handshake. Or kappa-cultural deal sealing equivalent.

[FinnKaenbyou]

>"Deal!"
>Offer handshake. Or kappa-cultural deal sealing equivalent.

> The kappa equivalent in general is to offer a single bolt to one another as a sign of honesty. You do this with Hina, and receive a puzzled look.
"Eh? This, um, isn't a ribbon...but thanks anyway...?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"It's a good bolt. Won't let you down. Just like I won't."
>Confident nod.
>...Sucker.
>"Be back in a bit, hopefully."
>To Kourindou!

[FinnKaenbyou]

>"It's a good bolt. Won't let you down. Just like I won't."
>Confident nod.
>...Sucker.
>"Be back in a bit, hopefully."
>To Kourindou!

> "Um...okay." Hina is slightly flustered, but smiles as you depart.

> Kourindou is a little trek from the forest, but fortunately it's open 24/7. You wonder if the owner ever sleeps - maybe he has some sort of foreign food that keeps him awake all night? Something that comes in a bean and is best served really hot.
The owner, Rinnosuke Morichika, is glancing at a book as you enter. His eyes widen in shock as you enter, and he quickly shoves it under the desk. You vaguely saw a glimpse of the letters 'Suk_____' on the title, but that was it.
"Ah, welcome to Kourindou. Apologies, I'm not used to getting customers this late at night. How may I help you?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I need ribbon, my good man. Red lacy kind."

[FinnKaenbyou]

>"I need ribbon, my good man. Red lacy kind."

> "Hm? Ribbon? That's...an unusual request."
Rinnosuke is puzzled by your order. He looks at you, noting the blue hue that makes up the entirety of your attire, and mentally adds a red ribbon to it. He winces.
"Well, um, I suppose I've got some ribbon I could offer you, but it's absolutely top-dollar. Getting enough for a ribbon would be...15,000 Yen, just about. Don't blame me, I'm just saying what the magic tells me. This stuff used to belong to emperors and all, so selling it cheap would be screwing myself over.
That and, well, I don't get a lot of business, and I have to cover the costs somehow..."
You notice his eyes glancing between you and whatever book he has behind the counter now and again. You are slightly concerned.

[Kasu]

> "You seem to be slightly on edge about something...  Ah well.  Can I see the ribbon real quick to see if its what I'm looking for?  The person who requested it wanted one with some certain visual aspects."

[FinnKaenbyou]

> "You seem to be slightly on edge about something...  Ah well.  Can I see the ribbon real quick to see if its what I'm looking for?  The person who requested it wanted one with some certain visual aspects."

> He goes a little red at the accusation, but pretends to ignore it.
"Sure. Don't try anything funny, though - I can lock the door from here if I want."

Rinnosuke heads off into the back to retrieve the ribbon. He'll be away for a couple of minutes, so now's your chance to take a closer look around the place.

[Hello Purvis]

>Make sure he's gone for reals.
>Glance at that title.

[FinnKaenbyou]

>Make sure he's gone for reals.
>Glance at that title.

> You pull a face in Rinnosuke's general direction. There's no response.
Your scientific experiment has returned results.
> You look behind the counter, catching the title of the book the owner had been glancing at. It's apparently something called 'Sukumizu Monthly', featuring a girl on the cover wearing a dark blue swimsuit. You recognise the design - it's incredibly similar to what you call the Second Skin, a common piece of kappa clothing known for being incredibly streamlined in water. In fact, like most kappa, you wear one underneath your clothing in case of emergencies. That glance he gave you earlier flashes in your mind again.
> Your level of disturbance has increased to Considerable Concern.

> "Ah, here's the ribbon. I hope this is what you're looking fo-"
Rinnosuke walks back into the room at the precise moment, catching you glancing at what is effectively his porn stash. His face turns bright red.
"...Oh. Oh, shit. A-Anyway, that'll be 15,000 Yen, so if you don't have the money, you should probably leave. And not mention what you saw here, because after all you have nothing to gain from telling people about it and shit shit shit..."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I dunno, I could tell people how you're charging a whole lot of money for a length of ribbon during my trip to the store today."

[FinnKaenbyou]

>"I dunno, I could tell people how you're charging a whole lot of money for a length of ribbon during my trip to the store today."

> "Is anyone going to hold me responsible for putting crazy prices on items that no-one's ever gonna buy anyway!? ...OK, maybe I shouldn't have said that out loud, but still! There isn't some Ribbon Union ready to complain or anything!"

[Kasu]

> Check the ribbon.  Is it what we need?

[FinnKaenbyou]

> Check the ribbon.  Is it what we need?

> If anything, it's even better than Hina's. You're not much of a fashion guru, but even you know she'll love it to bits.

[Hello Purvis]

>"No, of course not. But, people are going to ask me, "Nitori, tell us about how he overcharged you. What happened?" And then I'd have to tell the story."

[FinnKaenbyou]

>"No, of course not. But, people are going to ask me, "Nitori, tell us about how he overcharged you. What happened?" And then I'd have to tell the story."

>"I...but...you..."
The combination of awkwardness and blackmail looks like it's starting to get to him. Rinnosuke's hand reaches for his glasses, trying to shuffle them into place but only serving to shake them around more.
"Look, I really think we should just put this behind us, okay? I-I'll even give you a discount for your kindness, 20% off, so we'll just make it 12,000 Yen. Please, really..."

[Hello Purvis]

>"It's dusty. I'm supposed to pay that kind of price for something dusty?"

[FinnKaenbyou]

>"It's dusty. I'm supposed to pay that kind of price for something dusty?"

> "A-Aah!"
There isn't any dust. You're aware of that, but if the kappa are good at anything it's negotiation. Though usually the term has inverted commas around it.
Rinnosuke looks at the ribbon, and his eyes start playing tricks on him. He starts blowing at the ribbon, panicking.
"O-Okay, then, another bonus! 50% off! 7,500 Yen! Special Offer, Limited Time Only, While Stocks Last! Please, you've gotta take this! I have a lot of kappa customers, and if they found out about what happened here I'll be ruined!"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Find out about what? That you go the distance to please your customers?"
>Count out 7500 Yens and pay up.
>"Got any cucumbers in stock?"

[FinnKaenbyou]

>"Find out about what? That you go the distance to please your customers?"
>Count out 7500 Yens and pay up.
>"Got any cucumbers in stock?"

>"No, about the swi-oh. Uh. Yeah. Good point. Never mind. You can, uh, feel free to tell your friends about that. Sure."
>You make the purchase. Lost 7,500 Yen, recieved Exquisite Ribbon.
>"Actually, yeah, I've got a box of them that are about to expire. They'll still be edible for a couple of days, though. 1,000 Yen for the box, about two dozen in all."
He doesn't look set to charge an absurd price for THESE after what you've put him through...

[E-Nazrin]

>Consider the wisdom of seducing Rinnosuke in the future, on top of the blackmail.

[Blitzer]

>Buy the cucumbers. Cucumbers. Delicious cucumbers.
>Quests

[Doll.S CUBE]

> After buying the cucumbers Thank Rinnosuke for the business and go find Hina