Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 3, Part 3

[Oldmansour]

>"That I cannot say for sure, but there was a darker taint upon her than the lycanthropy alone. It reminded me in some ways of the aura these demons possess, but I cannot say for certain where it came from or what it was. I do believe it played some role in her actions here today."

>"You're suggesting these demons... affected her somehow?"

[DracoOmega]

>"I am not certain, but that is what I first suspected, and at any rate I am nearly sure that something did. I hope I might be able to learn more from Kamishirasawa-sensei herself, once she recovers."

[Oldmansour]

>"I am not certain, but that is what I first suspected, and at any rate I am nearly sure that something did. I hope I might be able to learn more from Kamishirasawa-sensei herself, once she recovers."

>Komachi nods. "So what happened here today shouldn't happen again? To her, I mean, we'll deal with the demons later."

[DracoOmega]

>"Unless whatever force that was affecting her somehow finds her again and repeats this, I do not believe so; she returned to her human form by her own will, as far as I could see."

[Oldmansour]

>"Unless whatever force that was affecting her somehow finds her again and repeats this, I do not believe so; she returned to her human form by her own will, as far as I could see."

>"Good." Komachi says with a smile that's closer to a grin. "Now, if you're like the mikos here, and would rather avoid a lot of questions, I suggest you bail now, before the press get in. Now that the shouting's over, we can only keep 'em out for so long."
>Now it's Rin's turn to look a bit surprised. "You don't wanna ask us more questions yourself?"
>Komachi shrugs. "You're on the good guys' side. Good enough for me."

[DracoOmega]

>"How do you intend to frame what took place here?"

[Oldmansour]

>"How do you intend to frame what took place here?"

>"I'll think of something." Komachi says lazily.

[DracoOmega]

>"I shall defer to your judgement here, but it would be remiss of me not to warn that I fully expect these demons to strike again somewhere in the near future and there is at least one other of their number that I know to be active in this city. It is our sworn duty to safeguard the people here against them, and we will execute it to the utmost, but that does not mean there is not still a considerable danger afoot."
>Pause and frown a little
>"Though having said that, I am not certain how best you could make use of this knowledge. I do not know where they currently are, and moreover know of no power as effective against them as our own -"
>To the mikos: "No offense intended at all against your abilities."
>"But I fear that most other forces deployed against them would simply be putting more people in the way of harm."

[Oldmansour]

>"I shall defer to your judgement here, but it would be remiss of me not to warn that I fully expect these demons to strike again somewhere in the near future and there is at least one other of their number that I know to be active in this city. It is our sworn duty to safeguard the people here against them, and we will execute it to the utmost, but that does not mean there is not still a considerable danger afoot."
>Pause and frown a little
>"Though having said that, I am not certain how best you could make use of this knowledge. I do not know where they currently are, and moreover know of no power as effective against them as our own -"
>To the mikos: "No offense intended at all against your abilities."
>"But I fear that most other forces deployed against them would simply be putting more people in the way of harm."

>"Sort of got that impression." Komachi admits. She then considers something for a moment. "We should talk more later. If those things'll be back, I want us to be as ready for them as we can. Maybe blasters don't hurt them, but that doesn't make us helpless."
>The end of Komachi's sentence brings a small reaction from your ring.

>"That goes for us, too." the feather winged miko says, with a firm nod from Makie. "Evils of that sort are our duty to battle. If you know about us and our powers, you know it's our duty to protect the world from otherworldly powers. With your help, we could find a way to make our magics more effective."

[DracoOmega]

>"I can share what knowledge I am able, though I myself know less than I would like. But an earnest will to safeguard those around you is itself a powerful force against such darkness, as much as they might seek to scorn this."

[Oldmansour]

>"I can share what knowledge I am able, though I myself know less than I would like. But an earnest will to safeguard those around you is itself a powerful force against such darkness, as much as they might seek to scorn this."

>"We'd like you to visit one of the four shrines here in town when you can." says Makie. "The temple heads will want to hear of this, and speak with you."
>"Except Satori." the feathered miko says quietly. "She won't like that her secret got out."
>"Good point. One of the other three shrines, then. Are you familiar with the shrines of the Four Sacred Beasts?"

[DracoOmega]

>"I am."

[Oldmansour]

>"I am."

>"Her secret?" Rin asks.
>The feathered miko's wing feathers' flare, but she merely says "Long story." Rin asks no more, but you can tell she means to later.

>"While we're at it, I'd like to invite you to police headquarters later for a chat." Komachi adds, looking a touch regretful. "But meeting the chief is more trouble than it's worth. She doesn't like the idea of a vigilante, let alone a group of you."
>"We're not vigilantes!" Lily says with verve. "We're heroes!"
>Komachi laughs easily. "Don't I know it. But I ain't in charge. Trust me, girls, you wanna give the chief a wide berth."

[DracoOmega]

>Do we know anything else of this chief, ourselves?

[Oldmansour]

>Do we know anything else of this chief, ourselves?

>About all you really know is her name, Toyosatomimi no Miko. And that her name has caused a modicum of confusion between her and the shrine maidens.

[DracoOmega]

>"I shall again defer to your judgement in this matter."

[Oldmansour]

>"I shall again defer to your judgement in this matter."

>"You got a hangout around town?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Nowhere we could be easily contacted as yet, I am afraid. Perhaps a neutral location?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Nowhere we could be easily contacted as yet, I am afraid. Perhaps a neutral location?"

>"Sure thing." Komachi glances up towards where the demons left from. "Think there's a chance those two'll show again today?"
>"I doubt it." Rin answers. "Ice won't be at full strength, and Fire won't risk another fight without having her to hide behind."
>Komachi nods. "We can meet up tomorrow, then. Pretty sure miko-sama here wants first go."

>Lotus. Kiku's voice comes to you. Lily has been bringing me up to speed. I don't know if it is wise to spend too much time around the shrine maidens. We still have not settled the issue at the Tiger shrine.

[DracoOmega]

>That is true, though I have revealed nothing more than what they already witnessed here today and certainly did not intend to reveal our identities to them. Given what occurred and the risks that still remain, I feel it would do them a disservice to stay silent.

>Though perhaps you could explain what they meant by the knowledge that your orders still possess power being Satori's secret?

[Oldmansour]

>That is true, though I have revealed nothing more than what they already witnessed here today and certainly did not intend to reveal our identities to them. Given what occurred and the risks that still remain, I feel it would do them a disservice to stay silent.

>Though perhaps you could explain what they meant by the knowledge that your orders still possess power being Satori's secret?

>It does pain me to see my fellow shrine maidens as a potential threat, especially in lieu of your investigation last night coming up with no signs of further corruption. Kiku admits. But the unknown factors in this situation demand it.
>Where did you hear that?

[DracoOmega]

>Makie said that the temple heads would want to hear of what happened here, and of us, then her companion quickly added 'Except Satori. She won't like that her secret got out." I only presumed this was in reference to knowledge of the power still possessed by some of you, as they had both been very surprised that I was previously aware of its existence, but I am not sure why this would be more Satori's secret than anyone else among the elite?

[Oldmansour]

>Makie said that the temple heads would want to hear of what happened here, and of us, then her companion quickly added 'Except Satori. She won't like that her secret got out." I only presumed this was in reference to knowledge of the power still possessed by some of you, as they had both been very surprised that I was previously aware of its existence, but I am not sure why this would be more Satori's secret than anyone else among the elite?

>This other miko must be rather loose lipped. Kiku says disapprovingly. To so casually throw around Satori-sama's name like that.

>"It might be simpler for you to join us at the shrine, Onozuka-san." Makie suggests.
>Komachi grins. "You must be new, girl. Most mikos don't want me on temple grounds."
>Makie bristles. "I'm far from new. I know how your power is seen, Onozuka-san, but the situation is unique."

>It's not entirely accurate, either. Kiku's voice continues as the conversation in front of you goes on. Some years ago, before I was 'born', there was some talk of making the temple attendants powers public, but Satori-sama spearheaded the movement that killed the idea. Since then, it's been a trend among some of us to refer to it as 'Satori's secret.', despite her not being the one who started the movement, nor the only one involved. She was simply the most persuasive speaker among them.

[DracoOmega]

>Can we think of a relatively neutral location, in no way connected to ourselves or any of the others, where we could actually have privacy?

[Oldmansour]

>Can we think of a relatively neutral location, in no way connected to ourselves or any of the others, where we could actually have privacy?

>The first thing that comes to mind is actually the school. Despite the ever-watchful eye of Mima, finding a private place on school grounds is not impossible. As Marissa will readily attest to.
>Beyond that, there's a disused costume store a few blocks to the west that you pass by with Rin on her way to work.
>The Blue Lantern Cafe, where Rin and Reisen work, offer both relatively isolated booths as well as private entertainment rooms. Usually the latter comes with a price tag, but it would be guaranteed privacy. And if you asked, Koa would never tell you were there. For her flamboyant nature, Koakuma is very discreet with her customers and her friends.
>You know of a karaoke joint where you've been before. A karaoke box would be sufficiently private.
>The large park in town, while regularly populated, has quite a few out of the way locations that could serve your purpose.
>You imagine there's a bar or tavern somewhere in town where people can go to be invisible. You don't know of one off the top of your head, but one of your friends and/or acquaintences should.

[DracoOmega]

>Suggest a secluded area of the park as a meeting place

[Oldmansour]

>Suggest a secluded area of the park as a meeting place

>"Works for me." Komachi replies. "We've got a police box set up about a half a mile from the lake. That work for you?"

[DracoOmega]

>Presuming we know where this is and there isn't some other obvious problem we can think of: "It does."

[Oldmansour]

>Presuming we know where this is and there isn't some other obvious problem we can think of: "It does."

>You are not immediately familiar with the structure in question. It would probably be private enough, you simply aren't sure which direction from the lake it lies.

[DracoOmega]

>"I am afraid I don't know quite where that is located."