Remilia Quest

[Hanzo K.]

>"A church is a place of worship in the western world of the outside. I used to reside in the west for quite some time you know. In fact, I was born there. That is also why I do not have a Japanese name like all of you sometimes do. However, instead of worshiping many gods, they held only one. Daft fools that they were, their faith did have the power to damage me back then."
>Smirk. "But since arriving in Gensokyo, I no longer have to worry about those fools. I almost feel sorry for any Hunter that manages to arrive in this land. I daresay they would mistake those Wolf Tengu for a Werewolf, a classic nemesis of the Vampire Race. Also dreadfully pungent fellows those, always smelling like gore and wet dog."
>That reminds us, did we ever take to Shogi and Go as well as we have to Chess?

[Oldmansour]

>"A church is a place of worship in the western world of the outside. I used to reside in the west for quite some time you know. In fact, I was born there. That is also why I do not have a Japanese name like all of you sometimes do. However, instead of worshiping many gods, they held only one. Daft fools that they were, their faith did have the power to damage me back then."
>Smirk. "But since arriving in Gensokyo, I no longer have to worry about those fools. I almost feel sorry for any Hunter that manages to arrive in this land. I daresay they would mistake those Wolf Tengu for a Werewolf, a classic nemesis of the Vampire Race. Also dreadfully pungent fellows those, always smelling like gore and wet dog."

>"Remilia's right." Byakuren adds. "Churches do exist in Japan, but they're far more common in other parts of the world, and unheard of in Gensokyo. I didn't think there was anywhere in Gensokyo where you could find what you'd call a church." She gives you a look. "If you came here from the outside world, Remilia, is it possible that this church is a part of your home?"

>That reminds us, did we ever take to Shogi and Go as well as we have to Chess?

>You know the rules, and have played a few games, but chess is still your game of preference.

[Hanzo K.]

>Do we have anything remotely churchlike as a part of the mansion?

[Oldmansour]

>Do we have anything remotely churchlike as a part of the mansion?

>Not as such, no. It didn't seem to fit your image, and neither you nor your friends are particularly devout, so you never bothered to have one build in the Mansion.

[Hanzo K.]

>Shake our head no. "No, I would have recognized it, so there is no possible way that it could be a part of my Domain. For one, I never bothered to have one built."
>"Hmm...It may well be a part of the Cobalt Countess's Domain though, given how these Sin Spirits seem to be her underlings. I suspect she may even bear spellcards named after the Nine Circles of Hell. It's a simple conclusion to draw really, given her underlings."

[Oldmansour]

>Shake our head no. "No, I would have recognized it, so there is no possible way that it could be a part of my Domain. For one, I never bothered to have one built."
>"Hmm...It may well be a part of the Cobalt Countess's Domain though, given how these Sin Spirits seem to be her underlings. I suspect she may even bear spellcards named after the Nine Circles of Hell. It's a simple conclusion to draw really, given her underlings."

>"If this Countess brought a new kind of faith with her, I can think of a few folks here that aren't gonna take that too kindly." Mystia remarks.
>Wriggle nods. "That church of hers could be real crowded before the night's done."

>The trio of approaching females are close enough now to see. Reisen and the woman in the sailor suit seem to be sporting some light battle damage. The sailor shows some danmaku damage on her clothing, and the right side of Reisen's jacket looks like someone tried to take a bite out of it. A smaller bite is visible on her skirt.

[Hanzo K.]

>Nod with an irritated look. "There are quite enough faiths already, there is no room for another one from the west."
>Let's wait until they get here.

[Oldmansour]

>Nod with an irritated look. "There are quite enough faiths already, there is no room for another one from the west."
>Let's wait until they get here.

>The sailor and the rodent youkai split off from Reisen as the trio approach where you stand, the pair of them heading over and past you, towards Byakuren, while Reisen descends towards you.
>"Sorry I'm a bit late." She says as she approaches you. "There was an incident in the village that had to be resolved."

[Hanzo K.]

>Sigh. "Do tell. There was a rather bothersome one here as well. I take it someone got possessed by something?"

[Oldmansour]

>Sigh. "Do tell. There was a rather bothersome one here as well. I take it someone got possessed by something?"

>"How did you... Yeah, that's exactly what happened." She looks around. "I gather things here ended a bit more peaceably than there?"

[Hanzo K.]

>Nod. "A kappa who was working on the stage here was possessed by the Spirt of Envy, one of the Seven Deadly Sins of western religion."
>Sigh. "Going by the bite marks, I'd be willing to wager that it was Gluttony who possessed someone. So who was it?"

[Oldmansour]

>Nod. "A kappa who was working on the stage here was possessed by the Spirt of Envy, one of the Seven Deadly Sins of western religion."
>Sigh. "Going by the bite marks, I'd be willing to wager that it was Gluttony who possessed someone. So who was it?"

>"One of the villagers. One whom I've told more than once not to eat so much as he does." She shakes her head slightly. "I hope he starts to listen to me when he wakes up."

[Hanzo K.]

>Sigh exasperatedly. "Gluttony, most definitely. Did anything leave him when you knocked him out? If so, then he should be fine. Otherwise we'll have to pay a visit there to have Byakuren expel it. I'm sure Keine will understand."

[Oldmansour]

>Sigh exasperatedly. "Gluttony, most definitely. Did anything leave him when you knocked him out? If so, then he should be fine. Otherwise we'll have to pay a visit there to have Byakuren expel it. I'm sure Keine will understand."

>Reisen winces. "I didn't 'knock him out'. I put him to sleep, that's all. I could tell he was acting against his will, so I took care not to hurt him."
>"But yes, after he was asleep, the entity possessing him came out. Given that it was Gluttony, I was expecting something... Well, overweight. It wasn't. If anything, he was painfully underweight, like someone that hadn't eaten in months. Which, in a way, makes sense. It's a manifestation of the impulse to feed, so, a form that shows great hunger is only appropriate."
>"Regardless, he was none too happy about having his meal interrupted, and he attacked us." She gestures towards the sailor suited female, who is talking to Byakuren, covering much the same ground Reisen is with you. "Murasa took him on in a danmaku battle, and broke one of his spellcards. Keine took over the fight then and broke the second one he used. After that, something...." She tilts her head. "Actually, if you fought one like Gluttony yourself, you probably know what happened next. Did someone here fight Envy after it left its host?"

[Hanzo K.]

>"No, because Byakuren used her Flow Break spell to force Envy out, and when she attempted to use a Recall ability, she inadvertently self-sealed herself into an emerald. Byakuren has the emerald in question right now."
>Chuckle a little. "A rather fitting gem for the spirit of envy though, I must say. I've pondered what would happen if she met that bridge princess who also deals in jealousy."

[Oldmansour]

>"No, because Byakuren used her Flow Break spell to force Envy out, and when she attempted to use a Recall ability, she inadvertently self-sealed herself into an emerald. Byakuren has the emerald in question right now."
>Chuckle a little. "A rather fitting gem for the spirit of envy though, I must say. I've pondered what would happen if she met that bridge princess who also deals in jealousy."

>"So Envy ended up in a jewel, too? Same thing happened with Gluttony, after Keine walloped him. A fire opal, if I'm not mistaken. Nazrin took it, brought it back here. Keine didn't want it left behind in the village. Can't say I blame her, either."
>The moon rabbit quiets then, thinking. "If there's a Gluttony, and an Envy, it stands to reason there's five more of these beings. Did Envy mention anything about where they came from, or who brought them to Gensokyo? Gluttony wasn't entirely coherant after we seperated him from his host."

[Hanzo K.]

>"I can answer that, as well as inform you on the other five."
>"You see, I've recently gotten word of another Vampire looking to cause trouble, she goes by the title of 'Cobalt Countess'. I intend to show her how we do things in Gensokyo. I fact, I suspect that she is the one who turned Rei in the first place."
>"As for the Seven Sins, they are Envy, Gluttony, Sloth, Greed, Pride, Lust, and and Wrath. Since they tend to possess people with those traits, I have several guesses on who may be at risk of being possessed, and by which."

>"Reimu, being the perpetually lazy girl that she is, is at risk of being claimed by Sloth. That ferrywoman at the Sanzu is also a good candidate. Greed will likely aim for Kirisame, due to her habits. I should keep a closer eye on my little sister, in case Wrath comes along. She has a somewhat volatile nature at times after all. Pride, according to what Envy said, is having quite a bit of trouble with Sakuya, and might opt for yours truly if an opportunity shows itself."
>Chuckle ominously. "I almost feel sorry for the poor dear."

[Oldmansour]

>"I can answer that, as well as inform you on the other five."
>"You see, I've recently gotten word of another Vampire looking to cause trouble, she goes by the title of 'Cobalt Countess'. I intend to show her how we do things in Gensokyo. I fact, I suspect that she is the one who turned Rei in the first place."
>"As for the Seven Sins, they are Envy, Gluttony, Sloth, Greed, Pride, Lust, and and Wrath. Since they tend to possess people with those traits, I have several guesses on who may be at risk of being possessed, and by which."

>"Reimu, being the perpetually lazy girl that she is, is at risk of being claimed by Sloth. That ferrywoman at the Sanzu is also a good candidate. Greed will likely aim for Kirisame, due to her habits. I should keep a closer eye on my little sister, in case Wrath comes along. She has a somewhat volatile nature at times after all. Pride, according to what Envy said, is having quite a bit of trouble with Sakuya, and might opt for yours truly if an opportunity shows itself."
>Chuckle ominously. "I almost feel sorry for the poor dear."

>Reisen takes in what you have to say, although, you think a bit of what you said went over Kikomi's head.
>The rabbit points to the Myoren crew a bit behind you, as well as Mystia and Wriggle, who seem to have returned to their normal colorings. Well, mostly. Wriggle still seems a touch pale. "Have you shared these theories with them? They're involved in this, too."

[Hanzo K.]

>Smirk a little. "Wriggle's pale because I had a little fun teasing her and her friend."
>Nod. "But yes, they were around for the incident with Envy after all. I even looked into her fate at her request. She'll be safe from being possessed if she goes home."
>Fistpalm. "Ah, if you intend to come along, I'll have to check your fate as well, as a safety measure."

[Oldmansour]

>Smirk a little. "Wriggle's pale because I had a little fun teasing her and her friend."
>Nod. "But yes, they were around for the incident with Envy after all. I even looked into her fate at her request. She'll be safe from being possessed if she goes home."
>Fistpalm. "Ah, if you intend to come along, I'll have to check your fate as well, as a safety measure."

>Reisen considers that. "Not a bad idea, actually. Better safe than sorry. When you've done that, though, maybe she should consult with the Myorens and them as to what should be our next move. I know that, usually, incidents in Gensokyo are handled by one or two individuals, but, since we have so many strong people together at the start of one, seems to be an opportunity to do things a bit differently."

[Hanzo K.]

>Nod. "Indeed. To think that such an incident would arise when I most need Sakuya. If this Cobalt Countess is indeed trying to claim Sakuya for herself by having one of her underlings possess her, then I shall hold nothing back."
>"But aside from that, shall we see what your fate has to say about things, hmm? All I require to do so is a single hair, or a nail clipping, and I can easily check your fate to see if you will end up being possessed."

[Oldmansour]

>Nod. "Indeed. To think that such an incident would arise when I most need Sakuya. If this Cobalt Countess is indeed trying to claim Sakuya for herself by having one of her underlings possess her, then I shall hold nothing back."
>"But aside from that, shall we see what your fate has to say about things, hmm? All I require to do so is a single hair, or a nail clipping, and I can easily check your fate to see if you will end up being possessed."

>Your sentiment towards Sakuya brings a quiet smile to Reisen's face.
>"A hair?" The lunar rabbit reaches into her jacket pocket and produces a small pair of scissors. She clips off a small strand from her somewhat excessively lengthy head of hair, and hands it to you. "Will that do?"

[Hanzo K.]

>Nod. "That will do nicely."
>Let's see if the rabbit will have to deal with being possessed.

[Oldmansour]

>Nod. "That will do nicely."
>Let's see if the rabbit will have to deal with being possessed.

>As you peer into Reisen's future, your fate-sight encounters some... resistance. The clouds do not part as easily as they have at other times tonight. You've encountered this before; some individuals are simply harder to read than others. Whether it is something in her spiritual nature, her mental makeup, or simply due to the fact that she is a Lunarian rabbit, you can't be sure without a more detailed, or prolonged, analysis, but some factor, if not all the above keeps you from getting a perfectly clear answer to your query into Reisen's fate.
>Regardless, after some concentration, you do eventually get at least a partial answer. You detect the figures of Pride and Lust in Reisen's future. They seem to be standing on either side of the rabbit, and you sense some form of conflict between the two of them. The nature of this conflict, you cannot see for certain, but you would guess they are arguing over possession of Reisen.

[Hanzo K.]

>"Well, it seems that Pride and Lust will fall to arguing over who gets you."
>What do we know of her power, come to think of it?

[Oldmansour]

>What do we know of her power, come to think of it?

>You know that she has some form of hypnotic power with those she makes eye contact with, although humans seem more vulnerable to this than youkai. She can use this to affect peoples' sense of equilibrium, at least. When you fought her during the False Moon incident, Sakuya was more affected by this than you, she was somewhat dizzy for a while afterwards, and during the fight, both of you had some difficulty in gauging which direction you were moving, and which direction her bullets were coming at you from. She also has a very nasty danmaku ability, in that she can make her bullets intangable, reverse their direction, and then send them back at you, or make them invisible altogether, and possibly both.
>She claimed to be able to drive people insane with her eyes, but if she can, you saw no evidence of this. Although you have to admit, anyone who saw enough of her spellcards and were unprepared for them could be driven a bit batty trying to figure them out. Even you and Sakuya had a devil of a time beating this rabbit, although, of course, you did.

>"Well, it seems that Pride and Lust will fall to arguing over who gets you."

>"That's interesting. And could work to our advantage."
>"What do you mean?" Kikomi asks her.
>"Well, if two of those Sins are arguing over me, then they'll be distracted. And someone as powerful as Remilia here could take advantage of that distraction." She returns her attention to you. "Can you determine if either of them will prevail over the other?"

[Hanzo K.]

>"I would need something of theirs to know how thier fates will flow. Though I might be able to work around that by seeing further ahead into yours to see which one will succeed. I might need something a bit more potent than hair though, such as a little blood, but just a drop should suffice."
>Smirk. "You're a bit of a challenge to divine for, you know that?"

[Oldmansour]

>"I would need something of theirs to know how thier fates will flow. Though I might be able to work around that by seeing further ahead into yours to see which one will succeed. I might need something a bit more potent than hair though, such as a little blood, but just a drop should suffice."
>Smirk. "You're a bit of a challenge to divine for, you know that?"

>Reisen doesn't seem to surprised at that. "I suspect it's because of my Lunarian physiology. Master and I have discussed this now and then, and there are some types of Earth power that doesn't affect Lunarians as strongly as it does earth races. We've speculated that divination styled powers could be among them."

[Hanzo K.]

>Nod. "It was a little difficult, but I just had to push a little harder than for most. Generally, I can do much more with a stronger catalyst, such as a finger, or a bone fragment. But given how you've already given permission, I think that I can push further along to garner more useful information with a drop or two of blood, as I previously stated."

[Oldmansour]

>Nod. "It was a little difficult, but I just had to push a little harder than for most. Generally, I can do much more with a stronger catalyst, such as a finger, or a bone fragment. But given how you've already given permission, I think that I can push further along to garner more useful information with a drop or two of blood, as I previously stated."

>"It's worth trying."
>Using her scissors, Reisen gives her middle finger on her left hand a little poke. After a couple of seconds, a blob of red blood forms on the surface of her skin. You restrain yourself from inhaling sharply. You've never smelled the blood of a Lunarian before, and it's strong. Heady, but not unpleasant, it fills your nostrils. A pleasant sensation, and one you've not had in many years.