Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 3

[Oldmansour]

>Sheepishly: "Pleasant ones, I hope?"
>To Reisen: Satori placed a block over some of her memories. I helped her remove it, a few days ago. The process involved linking our hearts and minds together briefly. It was an... intimate sort of experience, like part of the others' being becoming your own for a time.
>Wait, did I even explain about Satori?

>No, but Rin filled me in on that little incident. I didn't know that we could do the first thing, though. She didn't say what happened to Satori after you left, though. Is she still with the mikos?
>Lily smiles brightly. "You bet!"

[DracoOmega]

>Yes. Kiku was keeping an eye on her, I think. And honestly, I think the both of them are in bad shape; Kiku sounded completely exhausted when we spoke this morning, and hadn't slept. That's why she wasn't with us to confront Elis. I would have contacted her for an update by now, but I'm hoping she really did go get some sleep. The other mikos, well... I think tensions are still very high there, after what happened. Satori felt profoundly guilty about her actions, and the people she'd wronged were out for blood - even if she was not truly to blame.

[Oldmansour]

>Yes. Kiku was keeping an eye on her, I think. And honestly, I think the both of them are in bad shape; Kiku sounded completely exhausted when we spoke this morning, and hadn't slept. That's why she wasn't with us to confront Elis. I would have contacted her for an update by now, but I'm hoping she really did go get some sleep. The other mikos, well... I think tensions are still very high there, after what happened. Satori felt profoundly guilty about her actions, and the people she'd wronged were out for blood - even if she was not truly to blame.

>Reisen nods in understanding. What are you going to do about it? I know you well enough to know you're not finished meddling, not like this.

[DracoOmega]

>The good kind of meddling, I hope. But you're right. I don't know how much sway I'll have over any of the mikos, if they barely acquiesce to Kiku, but I won't let them lynch her over what happened. And maybe it could help Satori in some small way to hear another person who does not blame her for what she did? If I don't hear anything from Kiku by this evening, maybe I should pay them another visit.

[Oldmansour]

>The good kind of meddling, I hope. But you're right. I don't know how much sway I'll have over any of the mikos, if they barely acquiesce to Kiku, but I won't let them lynch her over what happened. And maybe it could help Satori in some small way to hear another person who does not blame her for what she did? If I don't hear anything from Kiku by this evening, maybe I should pay them another visit.

>I thought your plan was to go shake down Kanako and Suwako for some information.

[DracoOmega]

>Well, that first. Always busy, these days.

[Oldmansour]

>Well, that first. Always busy, these days.

>Well, there are four of us now. You could let me handle Kanako-san and Suwako-san. You could take Rin and Lily up to the shrine to handle things there. If the tension up there boils over, you might need the extra backup.

[DracoOmega]

>That makes sense, but there are questions I want to ask them myself. Especially if there really is some connection between me and Sanae and Makai, somehow.

[Oldmansour]

>That makes sense, but there are questions I want to ask them myself. Especially if there really is some connection between me and Sanae and Makai, somehow.

>Shame that power of yours doesn't let you duplicate yourself. ... Does it?

[DracoOmega]

>Certainly not that we know of.... right?
>Assuming not: I don't think so. And frankly, it's quite enough work to manage one situation at a time, I think.
>Smile

[Oldmansour]

>Certainly not that we know of.... right?
>Assuming not: I don't think so. And frankly, it's quite enough work to manage one situation at a time, I think.
>Smile

>Not that you've discovered so far, at any rate.
>Good point. Besides, it'd probably leave Rin very confused as to which one's back to watch. And I suppose, me too, now.

[DracoOmega]

>We'll find time for everything, somehow. And in the meantime, there's pie!
>Let's enjoy that pie

[Oldmansour]

>We'll find time for everything, somehow. And in the meantime, there's pie!
>Let's enjoy that pie

>And pie there is, and more aside. Preceeding your order of a proper meal is the fairly large pie Lily requested, one cherry-vanilla ice cream pie. Her description of a 'chocolate cookie crumbled ring surrounding a sea of pink all criss-crossed with more chocolate topped with cherries' proves to be pretty on the money. To be entirely honest with yourself, it's not the sort of thing you would have ordered for yourself; you prefer your pies to be simpler affairs all in all. But seeing the little blonde's eyes light up when the waitress places the thing on your table is almost worth it in and of itself.
>After diving up four slices and distributing them, Lily raises her tumbler of apple cider and, being unable to toast to your new comrade in Light, settles for drinking to 'A new friend.'
>Reisen and Lily had never really interacted with each other before today, but the two seem to hit it off with little difficulty. Rin took a bit longer to really warm up to Lily, but Reisen doesn't share that diffuculty. Nor does she have any difficulty in making that pie dissappear. It's a very well made pastry, but it is even sweeter than it looks, and while you and Rin are content to have just the slices that Lily distributed before her toast, Reisen and Lily seem ready willing and able to pick up your slack while you content yourself with the clubhouse sandwich and fries you've ordered. Though the place does have more traditional Yamato fare available, you opted for something else today.

[DracoOmega]

>Let's leisurely finish off our meal, and enjoy the company

[Oldmansour]

>Let's leisurely finish off our meal, and enjoy the company

>It's nice to have a bit of leasure. In fact, after you and Reisen had finished your mind-talk about the time you shared souls with Lily, none of you really talk 'shop' for the rest of the meal. That hasn't happened all that often lately. You and your friends talk about bikes, which admittedly Reisen does the bulk of the talking on with the rest of you simply giving her the chance to talk about something she loves. You talk about the school play you agreed to get involved in, which Reisen responds to with just a touch of disapointment. She says she'd have liked to have seen you play Scrooge in this one, not just to see if you could play a villain of any sort, but also because Scrooge gets more songs, and you have a lovely singing voice. Lily assures her that Kogasa, the current Scrooge, is no slouch in that department herself, and while you've never heard the heterchromatic youkai sing yourself, you don't have much trouble imagining Lily's right. You'll probably see for yourself very shortly after school returns to normal.
>You also talk about your tennis club with the girls. Which, it shames you to admit, you haven't really given a tremendous amount of thought to lately. You are the captain of the team after all, and that does come with some responsibilties. But you have been blessed with a very competant second in command in Shikako. You have no doubt at all that the door youkai is on top of any issue involving scheduling or whatever else. Which is what you tell the twins from your club when they come over to say hello on their way out. The two transplants from Japanada can't quite hide the fact that they'd rather not deal with Shikako anymore than they have to. They're both fond of you, but the somewhat excessively strict and serious Shikako rubbed them the wrong way when the first joined the team, and neither one's really been comfortable with her since then. You maintain hope that they'll come around some day.

>Round about fourty-five minutes after you sat down, after Reisen manages to convince Lily and Rin not to split another round of dessert (one is enough) the little blonde bounces to her feet and flits off to take care of the bill. "How can she move that quick after eating that much?" Reisen asks with a quiet grin.

[DracoOmega]

>"She rarely lacks for enthusiasm."

[Oldmansour]

>"She rarely lacks for enthusiasm."

>"Or appetite, I'm guessing."
>Rin voices her satisfaction by belching as quietly as she can. "'scuse me."

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, I certainly enjoyed the meal."

[Oldmansour]

>"Well, I certainly enjoyed the meal."

>Rin nods. "I'd come back." she mutters, then stifles another burp. "Maybe a bit less pie next time."

[DracoOmega]

>Smile
>"Maybe a bit, yes."

[Oldmansour]

>Smile
>"Maybe a bit, yes."

>"You've really gotten used to her being around, though, haven't you, Rin?" Reisen asks her gently.
>"Whaddya mean?"
>"I know you well enough to know that you don't, well, warm up to people as quickly or as easily as some other people do. But even from this little outing, I could tell that you don't have any reservations around her. Well, maybe that's too strong a way to put it-"
>"Hang on a sec. Rezervatons?" she asks you.

[DracoOmega]

>"Feeling... guarded? Hesitant? Wary? That sort of thing."

[Oldmansour]

>"Feeling... guarded? Hesitant? Wary? That sort of thing."

>"I ain't like that. Uh... Am I?"

[DracoOmega]

>We woulddescribe her interactions with people she doesn't know that well as a bit - but not extremely - reserved, right?
>Assuming so: "Well, a little, around people you don't know so well. Not impolitely so! But, well... 'reserved' really might be the word for it?"

[Oldmansour]

>We woulddescribe her interactions with people she doesn't know that well as a bit - but not extremely - reserved, right?
>Assuming so: "Well, a little, around people you don't know so well. Not impolitely so! But, well... 'reserved' really might be the word for it?"

>You would, yes.
>"That's a good way to put it, yeah." Reisen agrees.
>"Well, okay, sure, maybe I let you do most of the talking, Mistress, but that ain't a bad thing, is it?"
>"I didn't say it was." Reisen says quickly. "It wasn't a criticism, just an observation. I suppose if anything, I was praising Lily's ability to make friends."

[DracoOmega]

>"I'm not sure she'd let herself be deterred by a wall of solid ice, frankly."

[Oldmansour]

>"I'm not sure she'd let herself be deterred by a wall of solid ice, frankly."

>"I think it'd be a toss up between whether she'd melt it or knock it down first."

[DracoOmega]

>Chuckle
>Let's wait for our bill to be settled, and then we can move onto the next task of the day

[Oldmansour]

>Chuckle
>Let's wait for our bill to be settled, and then we can move onto the next task of the day

>Lily has the outstanding money issue settled away in good time, and even picked up a small tray of coconut-topped cookies for herself from the bakery. Rin and Reisen decide to follow suit, Reisen with special enthusiasm once she spots a loaf of brown colored bread sitting on a shelf, identified as molasses bread. Which none of your group beyond her have ever heard of.
>"It almost doesn't exist outside Vinland." Reisen informs you before she asks the blonde bodyguard minding the store. "Why do you carry it?"
>"Mah brother and me here spent some time over there a couple years back, we got a taste for the stuff. We don't bake it here too often, it don't sell that great, but every now and then somelike like yerself comes thru, and we makes 'em happy."
>"You sure have, I haven't tasted this stuff in years."
>After Reisen has paid for her bread, and Rin acquires a bag of cinnamon buns, the four of you walk back out on to the sidewalk of the crowded city street with all the usual sounds of the city, including those of a number of police sirens that seem very close.

[DracoOmega]

>Do they sound like they're just moving past, or gathered here?
>Can we tell if anything's up?