Kogasa Quest - Surpriseing Galore!

[Raikaria]

>How much remote control do we have over our umbrella half/true body?
>If we can, coordinate the umbrella-tongue licking Meiling's back while we give her a good "Urameshiya~!" from another direction.

> None, it must always be in contact with you.

> Meiling's back is against a pillar of the gate. You cannot lick her back.

[E-Nazrin]

>... that would be a useful ability to develop if we get the chance. Is there anyone we're aware of that might be any good at improving the flexibility of object-youkai like ourselves?
>Would we be able to reach far enough to lick her cheek/side from one side while standing and spooking on the other?

[Raikaria]

>... that would be a useful ability to develop if we get the chance. Is there anyone we're aware of that might be any good at improving the flexibility of object-youkai like ourselves?
>Would we be able to reach far enough to lick her cheek/side from one side while standing and spooking on the other?

> Easily, the tounge of the umbrella is longer than most people's arms, and far more flexible.

[E-Nazrin]

>Go for the pincer attack!!

[Kwak]

>...but first make a mud mask

[Raikaria]

>Go for the pincer attack!!

> You decide to move your tongue so that you lick one side of Meiling's face while being on the other side.

>...but first make a mud mask

> After, of course, smearing mud all over your face.

> At first, Meiling doesn't react to the licking. Then she turns away from the tongue and groans.

> "S-stop that..."

> It's not very pleasant to lick the back of Meiling's head. And hat, and it doesn't seem to be doing anything anymore anyway. However, she is clearly distressed in her sleep about the disturbance. You figure it won't be hard to wake her up now.

[capt. h]

> Be glad Aya's not here. Or maybe disappointed. Getting in the newspaper is always good for our profession, right? Still, there are much better ways to end up in the paper than this.

> We'll need to do some research into setting the Misty lake on fire.

> Wisper in Meiling's ear, "Say my name."

[Raikaria]

> Be glad Aya's not here. Or maybe disappointed. Getting in the newspaper is always good for our profession, right? Still, there are much better ways to end up in the paper than this.

> We'll need to do some research into setting the Misty lake on fire.

> Wisper in Meiling's ear, "Say my name."

> Meiling appears to take your whispering as her subconcious or something, as she mutters "My name is Hong Meiling... not China..."

[Validon98]

>Time to scream "WELL THEN WAKE UP HONG MEILING~!"

[Raikaria]

>Time to scream "WELL THEN WAKE UP HONG MEILING~!"

> Meiling springs awake, jumping a good meter away, and taking a battle stance. She looks clearly shocked, and you feel a surge of pride. You did it!

> Meiling drops her stance, and looks confused.

> "Wait, who are you? And why are you actually calling me by my name and not China like everyone else does?"

[Validon98]

>Smile with the widest smile we can muster.
>"Kogasa Tatara~. And I figured it would be more surprising to call you by your real name when no one else does~."

[capt. h]

> "I can call you China if you want, but I thought you didn't like that name?"

> "Dreaming about anyone special?"

[Raikaria]

>Smile with the widest smile we can muster.
>"Kogasa Tatara~. And I figured it would be more surprising to call you by your real name when no one else does~."

> "I can call you China if you want, but I thought you didn't like that name?"

> "Dreaming about anyone special?"

> Meiling looks bemused and a little confused, before she sighs and looks depressed.

> "So you only called me by my name to surprise me?"

> She seems to ignore your question about her dreams. She just shudders a little when you bring up her dreams.

[Validon98]

"Why not? After all, the way I see it, so many people call you China that even just one person calling you by your real name would be like a shock~."

[capt. h]

> "If you don't like 'China', it would be rude to call you that, Hong."

> "Although, Hong, I don't see why you hate the name so much. Isn't a nickname a good thing? I mean, I wish people would call me 'Rain Man' or 'Umbrella' or anything, really. Sign of affection and all that."

> "Is it because you're secretly Scottish?" (Danbooru warning. Pic safe, site not.)

[Raikaria]

"Why not? After all, the way I see it, so many people call you China that even just one person calling you by your real name would be like a shock~."

> "Well I'd like it if more people actually called me by name and not what I am. Calling me 'China' is like calling you 'Umbrella' or Reimu 'Miko', or Cirno 'Baka'." Meiling said.

> "If you don't like 'China', it would be rude to call you that, Hong."

> "Although, Hong, I don't see why you hate the name so much. Isn't a nickname a good thing? I mean, I wish people would call me 'Rain Man' or 'Umbrella' or anything, really. Sign of affection and all that."

> "Is it because you're secretly Scottish?" (Danbooru warning. Pic safe, site not.)

> "It's not a sign of affection. People can't be asked to remember my name." she sighed. "I keep telling them to call me Meiling."

> Meiling sighs when you mention you would actually like to be called 'Umbrella'. "I'm probobly opening my heart to the wrong person. A young youkai like you wouldn't understand. You're still a kid. Not to mention you were an object before becoming a youkai, you probobly see things differently."

[capt. h]

> "Hm? But isn't Hong your first name?"

> We are over a hundred.  We're practically grannies if anything, right?

> "Well, Meiling, if that's how you feel, then I won't call you China. Though if I were you, I'd find a job where your employers at least remember your name. I'm sure Byakuren could use a gate guard."

[Raikaria]

> "Hm? But isn't Hong your first name?"

> We are over a hundred.  We're practically grannies if anything, right?

> "Well, Meiling, if that's how you feel, then I won't call you China. Though if I were you, I'd find a job where your employers at least remember your name. I'm sure Byakuren could use a gate guard."

> "Yes, but I prefer Meiling." she said.

> You're over a hundred as an inanimate object. In terms of actually being alive you're only a few years old. You're not even ten. Even then, in youkai terms, a hundred is still almost nothing. Many youkai are multiple hundreds of years old, and some are even well over a thousand. And then you get into the really old people like Eirin and Yukari who are so old no-one even remembers how old they are. Even counting your life as an inanimate object, your lifespan is irrelevant to most youkai.

> "I have my reasons for staying with this place." Meiling said.

[capt. h]

> So we have the intellect and savvy of a 9 year old?

> "I have my reasons for staying with this place." Meiling said.

> "Now you have to tell. No fair ending the topic with a tease of an excuse like that."

[Raikaria]

> So we have the intellect and savvy of a 9 year old?

> "Now you have to tell. No fair ending the topic with a tease of an excuse like that."

> A little more. You were an umbrella sitting there for a hundred years beforehand, and you are a youkai, who generally learn and develop faster than humans. You're still childish however. After all, who else but a child would fly around attempting to surprise everyone with what borders on OCD?

You're not even old enough to have proper control over your ability yet. Which is why you keep failing to surprise people and why you keep practicing.

> "It's a secret. I owe Mi'Lady a lot for things she did in the past."

[capt. h]

> Enthusiastically reply with a wink, "Ai, somebody's getting mysterious on me! A secret favor between you and the vampire sisters, huh? Sounds like you've got some romance in your life!"

> Check if Meiling blushes.

Train of thought: A secret favor means she doesn't want people to know about it. Guessing that means it's not something mundane, like they took her off the street. Prying if it could be a romantic reason, romance create quite a few secrets.

[Raikaria]

> Enthusiastically reply with a wink, "Ai, somebody's getting mysterious on me! A secret favor between you and the vampire sisters, huh? Sounds like you've got some romance in your life!"

> Check if Meiling blushes.

Train of thought: A secret favor means she doesn't want people to know about it. Guessing that means it's not something mundane, like they took her off the street. Prying if it could be a romantic reason, romance create quite a few secrets.

> Meiling looks a little annoyed. "Sisters? Is *she* really that little of a secret nowadays? Marisa and her big mouth..."

> She dosen't blush. At all.

[Validon98]

>"You've got the Bunbunmaru to blame on that one, really, eheh~."
>No blush? Damnit. Let's pry a little more, shall we?
>"Regardless of who needs to be blamed, I don't think you answered my question~."

[Raikaria]

>"You've got the Bunbunmaru to blame on that one, really, eheh~."
>No blush? Damnit. Let's pry a little more, shall we?
>"Regardless of who needs to be blamed, I don't think you answered my question~."

> "Aya's never set wing inside the mansion. She may be fast but even she can't move in Sakuya's World." Meiling said.

> "There is no romance in my life." Meiling said. "I devote myself to two things, my job and training."

> Meiling pauses.

> "And eating.... and sleeping."

> "The latter of which you do far too often." a voice said, as a maid in blue and white with silver hair... appeared. She didn't approach, she just... appeared. "What is going on that you are so talkative?" she asked.

> "Oh, just this friendly little umbrella." Meiling said.

> "Well while you were talking Patchouli complained about Marisa in her library again." Sakuya scoulded. "Can you do your job?"

> "Sakuya, you know I can't stop Marisa... besides, it's good for Patchouli to get worked up over something instead of sitting there all day. She's not been this active in who knows how long."

[E-Nazrin]

Hmm. That's a real opportunity, but also a real risk. If we offered to help, it might surprise Sakuya now... and if we succeed we might be able to surprise Marisa and Patchouli a little... and it would get us into the mansion... but odds are good we're just going to get our asses kicked. Is it worth it?

>How bad would it be to get beat up by Marisa again? How likely is it if we join the brawl in the library? Was she completely out of our league or would it be possible to catch her off guard?
>Meiling and Sakuya have already gotten tired of shipping jokes, right?
>We should probably play nice with the maid until we're done with the mansion. Her power's scary.

[capt. h]

> Wonder if Sakuya likes gossip.

> "Why don't you just ransack her house back? It only seems fair."

[Raikaria]

Hmm. That's a real opportunity, but also a real risk. If we offered to help, it might surprise Sakuya now... and if we succeed we might be able to surprise Marisa and Patchouli a little... and it would get us into the mansion... but odds are good we're just going to get our asses kicked. Is it worth it?

>How bad would it be to get beat up by Marisa again? How likely is it if we join the brawl in the library? Was she completely out of our league or would it be possible to catch her off guard?
>Meiling and Sakuya have already gotten tired of shipping jokes, right?
>We should probably play nice with the maid until we're done with the mansion. Her power's scary.

> Marisa is completely out of your league. She beat you up simply because you were in her way in the cemetery as if it was nothing. You know if you were to fight Marisa again you'd just lose almost instantly. Marisa tends to like big area-of-effect attacks, so catching her off guard or sneaking up behind her when she's fighting is a really, really bad idea unless you want to dodge through a malestrom of star danmaku spiraling around her.

> You're not sure about Sakuya, but you don't think she's appreciate them anyway.

> Time stop is scary.

> Wonder if Sakuya likes gossip.

> "Why don't you just ransack her house back? It only seems fair."

> Sakuya is a serious maid. You doubt she likes gossip.

> "Marisa's house is a deathtrap that only Marisa can navigate. It's such a mess and filled with all sorts of magics that Marisa is interested in. Then there's finding the place in the Forest of Magic, with it's maisma which is toxic  to people who are not very powerful magic users." Sakuya explained. "Besides, Patchouli cannot leave, I need to serve m'lady, and China's job is to guard the gate. M'lady could probobly go, but she is limited by the night, and such a task is not something she would willingly do."

[Validon98]

>"I could do it for you, perhaps. The miasma shouldn't affect me, since I'm umbrella~."
>By offering to help, this may or may not surprise them. If it doesn't, well, perhaps we'll be able to surprise Marisa by pulling off a heist on something of her's that she treasures?

[Raikaria]

>"I could do it for you, perhaps. The miasma shouldn't affect me, since I'm umbrella~."
>By offering to help, this may or may not surprise them. If it doesn't, well, perhaps we'll be able to surprise Marisa by pulling off a heist on something of her's that she treasures?

> Meiling looks surpised by your offer, but Sakuya looks more on the brink of laughter for a second, before becoming stotic again.

> "You? Sneak into Marisa's house and take the hundreds upon hundreds of books she has pilthered? When you've lost to her three times?" Sakuya asks, as if making sure you really thought your idea through.

[Validon98]

>"Maybe not all of them, but perhaps while she is here I can recover at least one or more for you~."
>Yes, yes we have thought this through. It seems more like Sakuya will be surprised if we pull this off. Marisa probably as well, although that might be harder to see the results of. Still, we can do it, right?