Maidens of the Kaleidoscope
~Beyond the Border~ => Rumia's Party Games => Topic started by: Dormio Ergo Sum on August 14, 2012, 01:21:18 AM
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First thread (http://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php/topic,10612.0.html)
Second thread (http://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php/topic,11534.0.html)
Third thread (http://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php/topic,12475.0.html)
>You are Yukari Yakumo.
>You have been trapped within the Great Hakurei Border for the past two years, after having entered it when it began to break.
>You had lost all of your powers.
>You do not know why, but you felt your powers return one day. You used this opportunity to escape the border.
>You found yourself in the Forest of Magic, weakened.
>You travelled to Kourindou, which had expanded during your absence.
>Within Kourindou, you also found Alice, who appeared to be held captive by Rinnosuke.
>You promised to return to help Alice at a later date before visiting your home, Mayohiga.
>There you found Ran, who had been wounded some time ago, and Chen, both in their animal forms.
>You reestablished your Shikigami contract with Ran, who did the same with Chen, restoring both to their human forms before heading out once more to check up on the Netherworld.
>You found that the entrance to the Netherworld had disappeared, replaced with a tear in the space it occupied.
>You opened a gap to enter the Netherworld, which had changed drastically.
>Once inside, you found Youmu, and investigated the Saigyou Ayakashi.
>You found that the Saigyou Ayakashi contained Yuyuko, who you later freed before killing the Saigyou Ayakashi.
>With the Saiyou Ayakashi's death, the Netherworld returned to normal and the entrance had returned.
>You left the Netherworld and visited Kourindou once more, where you found Marisa, brandishing a flask, asking Rinnosuke for a favor.
>Eventually Marisa left Kourindou, and you threatened Rinnosuke with your revolver, extracting some information and a promise to stop mistreating Alice.
>You then went on into the Human Village, where you gave up your revolver to the guards before visiting Hieda no Akyu.
>You discovered more about Gensokyo's current state from Akyu, then went on to visit the Myouren Temple, which had been sealed off along with its inhabitants by Reimu.
>You found an alternate entrance into the temple and unsealed Byakuren before resting outside the temple for a bit.
>After resting, Byakuren offered her help in your next attempt to unseal somebody.
>You temporarily regained your powers, and used them to undo all of the seals within the temple.
>Byakuren and her crew have since relocated to Mayohiga.
>You invited Yuyuko to visit Mayohiga at a later time before heading off to the Moriya shrine, where you found a tear similar to the one at the Netherworld's entrance.
>Whilst investigating the mountain, you came across Momiji in a rather savage state. You convinced the Tengu that you had disposed of Momiji and had Momiji find Nitori's laboratory for you, where Momiji was captured.
>You then talked with Nitori and discovered that she was the likely cause of you being able to escape from the border as well as finding out about the general projects she was working on.
>You made a promise with Satori to take her to Higan when the time came.
>You talked with Momiji once more with Hatate which caused Momiji to rethink what she had been doing up until now.
>You then went back to the Moriya shrine and entered the tear above the lake.
>You found yourself in the middle of a battle between Suwako and Kanako.
>After being soundly defeated by Suwako, a peaceful conclusion to the battle was found and the three of you were returned to Gensokyo.
>After returning, you went to the Hakurei shrine once more and retrieved Sanae, returning her to Kanako and Suwako at the Moriya shrine.
>You then had some fun with Yuyuko before retiring for the night.
>You visited Kourindou once more, which was now completely empty, and found a hidden entrance to its basement where you found Rumia.
>You have left Rumia at Nitori's lab with Yuuko, with the promise to take her to your home later.
>You secured a deal between yourself and Eirin in which, if you could return Kaguya to Eientei, Eirin would restore Ran's arm.
>You discovered that Rinnosuke and Alice had gone to Reimu's mansion.
>You witnessed the resurrection of Mokou, who left, and Kaguya.
>You received Eirin's assistance to restore Ran's missing arm.
>You encountered Koishi whilst travelling with Satori and Rin.
>You caused Koishi to crush her third eye.
>With some detriment to your own health, you took Koishi to Eientei where she received treatment.
>You spent some time resting at Nitori's lab before you returned home.
>You spent some time visiting Koishi and Ran at Eientei.
>You discovered that Byakuren and Nazrin had encountered Nue, though they will no longer accept your help in resolving this matter.
>You also found out that Shou had suggested getting involved in a more intimate relationship with Ran, and was promptly rejected.
>You took Rin to Higan, only to discover that you could not take other people with you into the tears.
>With the help of Komachi and Shikieiki, you brought Higan back to the rest of Gensoukyo, and managed to retrieve Utsuho's soul.
>Nitori managed to resurrect Utsuho, and you got some much needed rest.
>You made a short trip to the Scarlet Devil House(?), but left almost immediately.
>You then entered one of the tears in the sky, and found yourself in Bhava Agra.
>There you found Iku, Tenshi, and Suika, though only Suika accompanied you.
>You found a distortion within the dragon's palace which led to an alternate version of the palace, one that was very damaged.
>Inside this alternate palace, you found the dragon in a rather poor condition.
>You found a talisman sealing the exit to the palace.
>Lightly tap the talisman.
>If we're not harmed: peel it off and open the doors.
>You give the talisman a light tap. Not much happens.
>Considering the lack of side effects, you decide to tear the talisman off the door.
>As you do so, you feel a chill run down your spine.
>You open the doors to reveal the rest of Bhava Agra, however, it is no image of heaven.
>All the vegetation is dead and rotten, the clouds are dark, and you can feel a cold breeze.
>_
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>Well, that can't be good.
>Go to the island where we left Iku and Tenshi and look around. Is either of them still there?
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>Can we use our powers now?
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>Recall list of deceased
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>Well, that can't be good.
>Go to the island where we left Iku and Tenshi and look around. Is either of them still there?
>You wonder what happened.
>You take off and begin heading towards where you left Iku and Tenshi.
>As you begin flying, you notice several small light sources across the skies.
>After a few minutes of flight, you reach the island where you left Iku and Tenshi.
>You note that most of the houses are little more than rubble.
>You cannot see Iku or Tenshi around.
>Can we use our powers now?
>You cannot, though you feel as though a small portion of it may have returned.
>Recall list of deceased
>Surprisingly enough, with Utsuho's revival, you do not know of anyone who is actually dead.
>_
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>Investigate those light sources.
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>Investigate those light sources.
>You decide to fly over to the closest source of light you saw, one underneath the island you are on right now.
>You take flight and head to underneath the island, towards the light source.
>As you approach the light source, you see that it is coming from a talisman similar to the one that you saw at the entrance to the palace.
>_
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> Can we peel it off?
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>If we can, do so.
>So Reimu sealed all of heaven? Sheesh.
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> Can we peel it off?
>There isn't really anything to peel it off of, but you could remove it from its location.
>If we can, do so.
>So Reimu sealed all of heaven? Sheesh.
>And so you decide to remove the talisman.
>As you tear the talisman away from the space, you see the space around it crack and tear.
>You mentally express your annoyance at Reimu. Just what has she been doing?
>_
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> Is the crack expanding?
> Do we believe it's dangerous?
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> Is the crack expanding?
> Do we believe it's dangerous?
>It expands for a short while before stopping.
>You aren't sure about how dangerous the crack is.
>_
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> Have we seen something like this before?
> Did our powers change at all after removing the talisman?
> Were there any more light sources near this island?
> Did the other light sources seem to be close to islands, or scattered around the sky?
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> Have we seen something like this before?
> Did our powers change at all after removing the talisman?
> Were there any more light sources near this island?
> Did the other light sources seem to be close to islands, or scattered around the sky?
>You have not.
>They did, slightly. You feel as though another fraction of your power is accessible.
>Not near this island, no.
>They are scattered about the sky.
>_
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>Ah well, we have nothing better to do and it doesn't seem like the world's ending, so go about removing those talismans.
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>Ah well, we have nothing better to do and it doesn't seem like the world's ending, so go about removing those talismans.
>You suppose that there really isn't much else that you could be doing.
>You spend the next hour or so flying around heaven, removing every talisman that you can find.
>With each talisman you remove, the sky around it cracks and tears. You also feel slightly more access to your powers within the area.
>You are finally by what you believe to be the last talisman, quite some distance above the palace. The entirety of Bhava Agra looks distorted, with cracks running throughout the sky giving the appearance that the entire area could shatter if disturbed.
>_
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>Well now, with the access we feel, can we actually use our powers here without endangering our life?
>If not, pull the talisman
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>Well now, with the access we feel, can we actually use our powers here without endangering our life?
>If not, pull the talisman
>You do not believe that you can.
>You decide to remove the final talisman, and like the others, the sky begins to crack.
>This time, however, the cracks do not stop. To compound this, the other cracks begin to grow.
>Eventually, the entire sky simply shatters. As pieces of the sky fall, you see the dark clouds replaced by normal ones.
>You can still feel a cool wind blowing.
>The vegetation on the islands remain dead.
>The palace still looks very damaged.
>_
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>Now are our powers back?
>If they are have we recovered more of our strength?
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>Can we sense if we did anything to the Great Border?
>Can we tell if we can now exit Bhava-agra?
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>Now are our powers back?
>If they are have we recovered more of our strength?
>Only a mere fraction of it.
>You have not.
>Can we sense if we did anything to the Great Border?
>Can we tell if we can now exit Bhava-agra?
>You feel as though something may have shifted, but are unsure.
>You do not believe you can.
>_
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>Check if anything has changed with the Dragon, or if Suika is here now.
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First:
>See if we can discern movement on any of the islands.
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>See if we can discern movement on any of the islands.
>You look around from your high vantage point.
>You think you can see two figures walking around on the Hinanawi's island.
>Check if anything has changed with the Dragon, or if Suika is here now.
>You head back down to the palace's entrance, when you see Suika burst out of the palace.
>"Yukarin! What's going on here? And when'd you get out here?"
>_
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> "Well, a bunch of seals were holding my powers back. So I removed them. And then the sky shattered."
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>"I didn't really get much of my power back, but we are probably closer to fixing things here."
>"Have there been any sudden changes within the palace or anywhere else? Aside from the sky, of course."
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>"Like being able to see the dragon in the palace? It needs some medical attention quite quickly."
>"I didn't expect Reimu to seal up heaven though. Not that the Celestials don't deserve it but the Dragon and you?"
>How much power do we have access to now? Enough to transfer someone's energy to the Dragon and heal it?
>Now that we're out here, we should go get the Celestials - why use our energy if we can use those two clowns? Besides one person is likely not enough.
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> "Well, a bunch of seals were holding my powers back. So I removed them. And then the sky shattered."
>"Your powers were missing?"
>"I didn't really get much of my power back, but we are probably closer to fixing things here."
>"Have there been any sudden changes within the palace or anywhere else? Aside from the sky, of course."
>"Need a drink?"
>"Lots of things all just kind of changed really fast."
>"Like being able to see the dragon in the palace? It needs some medical attention quite quickly."
>"I didn't expect Reimu to seal up heaven though. Not that the Celestials don't deserve it but the Dragon and you?"
>How much power do we have access to now? Enough to transfer someone's energy to the Dragon and heal it?
>Now that we're out here, we should go get the Celestials - why use our energy if we can use those two clowns? Besides one person is likely not enough.
>"Yeah! Like I was looking around the room you disappeared in when this big lizard appeared out of nowhere!"
>"All the nice stuff disappeared too, and everything looks like it's broken now."
>"A~nd everything out here looks pretty bad too."
>Not very much. You might be able to if you were to use your own energy, messing with the boundaries of two external objects may be too much for you.
>You consider the option of meeting up with the celestial and envoy again.
>_
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>Head for the Hinanawi island.
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>Head for the Hinanawi island.
>You fly off in the direction of the Hinanawi's island.
>"Hey, Yukari~n! Don't leave me behind, I still don't get it!"
>Suika chases after you as you fly off.
>As you approach the Hinanawi's island, you can make out Tenshi and Iku. They appear to be conversing.
>_
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>Listen in as we head closer.
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>Listen in as we head closer.
>You try your best to listen into their conversation as you fly towards them, but the two stop talking as they notice you flying towards them.
>As you approach, Tenshi draws her sword. Iku seems to be trying to calm Tenshi down to little effect.
>"What did you do?"
>_
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> Stop at a reasonable distance from Tenshi and express confusion at her distress.
> "I believe I unsealed heaven. What's the matter?"
-
The problem's a bit obvious with heaven looking like a wasteland.
>Instead stop at a decent distance and tell them "I've removed the seal stopping everyone from seeing what really happened here."
>"It isn't helping that the Dragon is barely alive right now. Can we save the argument for after we help it?"
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>"Have you ever been involved in doing a big clean-out of a storage room or anything? Or even just an ordinary room, or a closet, or something like that? Or even have you seen one in progress? Have you ever noticed that if you pause halfway through and look around, the room's a bigger mess than it was when you started? That's what this is."
>Not that we've ever actually done one of those ourselves. That's what Ran's for.
>"There were seals all over heaven, creating illusions and hiding what had truly become of it. I removed those seals, exposing the truth of Heaven's current state, and now that I have done so, we can begin restoring it to how it should be. the first step of which, I think, is seeing to the dragon, which was in a somewhat... less-than-ideal condtion. You would likely know how to aid it better than I, so I will take you to it."
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> Stop at a reasonable distance from Tenshi and express confusion at her distress.
> "I believe I unsealed heaven. What's the matter?"
>Instead stop at a decent distance and tell them "I've removed the seal stopping everyone from seeing what really happened here."
>"It isn't helping that the Dragon is barely alive right now. Can we save the argument for after we help it?"
>You land a reasonable distance away from Tenshi before trying to talk to her.
>"What did you do?! What do you mean, 'what really happened'?!"
>"Tell me what's going on here before I beat it out of you!"
>Iku looks rather distraught.
>"Something has happened to the Dragon?"
>"Have you ever been involved in doing a big clean-out of a storage room or anything? Or even just an ordinary room, or a closet, or something like that? Or even have you seen one in progress? Have you ever noticed that if you pause halfway through and look around, the room's a bigger mess than it was when you started? That's what this is."
>Not that we've ever actually done one of those ourselves. That's what Ran's for.
>"There were seals all over heaven, creating illusions and hiding what had truly become of it. I removed those seals, exposing the truth of Heaven's current state, and now that I have done so, we can begin restoring it to how it should be. the first step of which, I think, is seeing to the dragon, which was in a somewhat... less-than-ideal condtion. You would likely know how to aid it better than I, so I will take you to it."
>"So you're admitting you did this!"
>"Calm down, please."
>Iku turns to you.
>"Go on."
>You do rather enjoy the benefits of having a shikigami.
>"If the Dragon was there, were there no others at the palace?"
>_
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>"I didn't see anyone, but it is possible that this has changed now."
>"Let us go. I do not want this realm to remain like this any more than you do."
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>"I didn't see anyone, but it is possible that this has changed now."
>"Let us go. I do not want this realm to remain like this any more than you do."
>"I see..."
>"Just what could have happened to the dragon...?"
>"Hey, Iku! You're not just going to believe her, are you?! Look around! Look at what she did!"
>Tenshi flourishes her sword at you once more.
>"You're the one that started everything in the first place, aren't you?! You have to be!"
>_
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>"No. The one who started all this was a kappa named nitori, who, two years ago, attempted to artificially reproduce my abilities. The experiment failed, and ended up making quite the mess of Gensokyo. She's a completely different person now, though-losing all of one's memories can do that to a person-and is genuinely horrified at what she's done. She's been working ever since then to fix things. As a matter of fact, I would still be trapped within the border were it not for her efforts."
>"And the rest of what's happened to Gensokyo was actually done by Reimu, who seems to have gone a bit crazy herself. I believe it was her who placed the seals throughout this realm to create the illusion you were seeing until now."
>"I have work to do, and Iku, I believe I will likely need your help, as I know little about the dragon. I think it's best we get moving right away."
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>"No. The one who started all this was a kappa named nitori, who, two years ago, attempted to artificially reproduce my abilities. The experiment failed, and ended up making quite the mess of Gensokyo. She's a completely different person now, though-losing all of one's memories can do that to a person-and is genuinely horrified at what she's done. She's been working ever since then to fix things. As a matter of fact, I would still be trapped within the border were it not for her efforts."
>"And the rest of what's happened to Gensokyo was actually done by Reimu, who seems to have gone a bit crazy herself. I believe it was her who placed the seals throughout this realm to create the illusion you were seeing until now."
>"I have work to do, and Iku, I believe I will likely need your help, as I know little about the dragon. I think it's best we get moving right away."
>"Hah! Nice try! Like I'll believe you! Iku, don't listen to what she says!"
>"It's all a little too convenient, isn't it? It just so happens that we're cut off from the rest of the world, and she's the only one able to come in and out!"
>"I bet she knows where everyone went!"
>Iku keeps shifting her gaze from Tenshi to you and seems rather unsure of what she wants to do.
>"That brat just loves you, doesn't she?"
>You notice that Suika has taken a seat and is sipping on her bottle as she watches Tenshi argue.
>_
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>"Unlike a certain someone, I'm not the kind of person to go create mass destruction like this."
>"In fact, if I didn't already know what caused this, you would be first person I'd suspect, especially after you nearly killed a lot of humans and weaker youkai with natural disasters out of boredom before."
>"If you don't believe me though, why don't you just ask Suika about the dragon? Or go look yourself?"
>Of course why anyone thinks that Tenshi's advice of all people is worth anything, we'll never know.
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>"Unlike a certain someone, I'm not the kind of person to go create mass destruction like this."
>"In fact, if I didn't already know what caused this, you would be first person I'd suspect, especially after you nearly killed a lot of humans and weaker youkai with natural disasters out of boredom before."
>"If you don't believe me though, why don't you just ask Suika about the dragon? Or go look yourself?"
>Of course why anyone thinks that Tenshi's advice of all people is worth anything, we'll never know.
>"What's that supposed to mean? You trying to pick a fight?"
>"Please, stop, the both of you!"
>Neither of you pay any attention to Iku.
>"Hey, I made sure nothing happened then!"
>"When did I say I didn't believe you about that? But no doubt you've done something!"
>There are a lot of mysteries in life that you wish you could understand.
>_
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>"The only thing I've done is try to fix this place, just like I've been doing everywhere else in Gensokyo. And I really need to get back to that. Either come with me or don't."
>To Iku: "Iku, I will be needing your help with the dragon. Please, come with me."
>Assuming she agrees, pick her up and fly pack to the palace.
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>Don't think that we need to pick her up anymore now that she's got a new set of Celestial clothing.
>Of course if we do and she agrees, then do so.
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>"The only thing I've done is try to fix this place, just like I've been doing everywhere else in Gensokyo. And I really need to get back to that. Either come with me or don't."
>To Iku: "Iku, I will be needing your help with the dragon. Please, come with me."
>Assuming she agrees, pick her up and fly pack to the palace.
>"Yeah, right. You expect me to believe that?"
>"Oh I'm coming with you, all right. I've got to make sure you don't try anything funny."
>"Very well, though I do not quite understand how I could be of assistance..."
>"Eh? We ish done here?"
>Suika slowly picks herself up.
>The four of you take flight and begin heading in the general direction of the palace.
>Don't think that we need to pick her up anymore now that she's got a new set of Celestial clothing.
>Of course if we do and she agrees, then do so.
>Your thoughts are proven to be correct as Iku takes flight after you.
>_
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>Continue to the palace and lead the way to the Dragon's chamber.
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>Continue to the palace and lead the way to the Dragon's chamber.
>You continue towards the palace.
>"Just what on earth..."
>Iku seems rather shocked by the state of the palace.
>"This looks really bad..."
>You can see that Tenshi is frowning.
>The four of you enter the palace and make your way towards the Dragon's chamber.
>The door to the chamber appears to have been left open, and you can clearly see the Dragon's form as you near the doors.
>You hear a gasp come from Iku, who pushes past you and runs into the Dragon's chamber.
>"Hey, Iku! Wait!"
>_
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>To the Dragon
>"You wouldn't happen to have something that can help lying around here? Maybe a means of restoring energy?"
>Now how much energy from us will it take to get the Dragon in not horrible condition?
>Does the Dragon seem to be any worse?
-
>To the Dragon
>"You wouldn't happen to have something that can help lying around here? Maybe a means of restoring energy?"
>Now how much energy from us will it take to get the Dragon in not horrible condition?
>Does the Dragon seem to be any worse?
>You chase after Iku towards the Dragon.
>"Hey! It doesn't look saf-"
>Tenshi's voice is cut off by her shrieking.
>You look back to see that the doorway has collapsed, and you are now stuck within this chamber.
>You press on until you reach Iku, who is by the Dragon's side.
>"I... do not. Such a thing has never happened before..."
>"What happened to you...?"
>Assuming that energy is the only thing that the Dragon is lacking, you believe it would take almost all of yours to get the Dragon to a functioning state.
>Not as far as you can tell.
>_
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>Meh, Suika can deal with a collapsed doorway easy.
>If we use Iku's lightning, would that work as something we can convert into energy or is that beyond our current ability?
>Do we have any other options besides the energy transfer?
-
>Doesn't Iku's lightning come from the dragon anyway?
>Was Tenshi's sword the same one she used during the weather incident?
>Can we contact Ran? Probably not, but it's worth a shot.
>Yell back, "Suika? Tenshi? You both okay?"
-
>Meh, Suika can deal with a collapsed doorway easy.
>If we use Iku's lightning, would that work as something we can convert into energy or is that beyond our current ability?
>Do we have any other options besides the energy transfer?
>If it were simply moving debris, anyone could do it.
>It would likely be beyond your current ability.
>You don't know. Do you have any other options?
>Doesn't Iku's lightning come from the dragon anyway?
>Was Tenshi's sword the same one she used during the weather incident?
>Can we contact Ran? Probably not, but it's worth a shot.
>Yell back, "Suika? Tenshi? You both okay?"
>You aren't entirely sure how Iku's abilities work.
>You do believe that it was the Sword of Hisou that Tenshi was swinging around earlier.
>Try as you might, you cannot contact Ran.
>You'd have to be closer to the collapsed doorframe if you wanted your voice to carry over. And so you do just that, leaving Iku by the Dragon.
>From the other side, you hear Suika respond.
>"Yeah, we're fine. The brat was surprised though. You alright too?"
>"Who are you calling a brat?!"
>_
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>"Clear the doorway, please, would you?"
>Could Iku-or anyone else-transfer their energy to the dragon as well, either on their own or with our aid? If so: "I may have an idea. If all four of us cooperate and transfer our energy to the dragon, we should be able to restore it without harming ourselves."
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>Would it not be possible for Suika to gather the remaining ambient energy to channel into the Dragon?
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>If we don't know, ask her.
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>While we're at it, can Suika gather up our blocked energy so we can use more of our power temporarily? If we don't know the answer, ask her.
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>"Clear the doorway, please, would you?"
>Could Iku-or anyone else-transfer their energy to the dragon as well, either on their own or with our aid? If so: "I may have an idea. If all four of us cooperate and transfer our energy to the dragon, we should be able to restore it without harming ourselves."
>"I was gonna do that a while back, but the brat keeps telling me not to. Something about knocking the whole place down."
>"Well it's true! What if this entire building collapses? With the way you do things, I bet it'd collapse even if it weren't already crumbling!"
>If you had some vector through which you could get the energy to yourself before moving it to the Dragon, it may be possible.
>Would it not be possible for Suika to gather the remaining ambient energy to channel into the Dragon?
>If we don't know, ask her.
>"I don't really get what you're asking me to gather."
>While we're at it, can Suika gather up our blocked energy so we can use more of our power temporarily? If we don't know the answer, ask her.
>"Blocked energy? What's that? Can you drink it?"
>_
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>"I'm asking you to gather any energy that may be nearby, as the dragon has need of it. We will likely have to give it some of our own, but any you could gather would be most helpful."
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>"I'm asking you to gather any energy that may be nearby, as the dragon has need of it. We will likely have to give it some of our own, but any you could gather would be most helpful."
>"Uh, well, I don't get it but I guess I could try..."
>_
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>If Suika gathered up, say Iku's lightning, would we be able to use our powers to absorb the energy from it and transfer it to the Dragon?
-
>If Suika gathered up, say Iku's lightning, would we be able to use our powers to absorb the energy from it and transfer it to the Dragon?
>If you could get the lightning inside, perhaps.
>_
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>Get the lightning inside us without getting fried or get the lightning into the room?
>Would be able to do the energy conversion with gathered danmaku from everyone?
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>Get the lightning inside us without getting fried or get the lightning into the room?
>Would be able to do the energy conversion with gathered danmaku from everyone?
>Both, really.
>You wonder about the toll that consuming the danmaku would take on you.
>_
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>So our situation more or less is:
>The only option we have for the Dragon right now is an energy transfer since none of us are doctors.
>Our energy alone may or may not do it and it will pretty much leave us out cold for another couple days.
>To use other's energy we'd need to use ourselves as a buffer, but that would take more energy from us than we'd gain.
>We're fairly sure that the border around heaven is exactly what's keeping our powers sealed in here.
>If Suika gathered that border, do we have any idea what would happen?
-
>So our situation more or less is:
>The only option we have for the Dragon right now is an energy transfer since none of us are doctors.
>Our energy alone may or may not do it and it will pretty much leave us out cold for another couple days.
>To use other's energy we'd need to use ourselves as a buffer, but that would take more energy from us than we'd gain.
>We're fairly sure that the border around heaven is exactly what's keeping our powers sealed in here.
>If Suika gathered that border, do we have any idea what would happen?
>That is the only option you've been able to think up so far.
>The Dragon does consume a lot of energy, far more than what you do.
>Indeed. You would be performing the transfer process twice, which is hardly efficient.
>That is what seems to have happened every time.
>You have no idea, provided Suika could gather it in the first place. Suika tends only to play with things that she understands to at least some degree.
>_
-
>What is that dimensional border anyway? We should be able to explain a part of our powers in simple enough terms.
>How much energy would it take from us to wake the Dragon up? We don't necessarily need it back at full health, just well enough to not be out cold and looking half dead.
>Can Suika gather someone's vitality? If we aren't sure ask her.
-
> Do energy transfer thingy.
-
>Only transfer enough to leave us out of it for a couple hours or so. If the Dragon needs more than that best do it in increments rater than killing ourselves.
>Tell everyone what we're doing first as well before we end up freaking anyone out.
-
>What is that dimensional border anyway? We should be able to explain a part of our powers in simple enough terms.
>How much energy would it take from us to wake the Dragon up? We don't necessarily need it back at full health, just well enough to not be out cold and looking half dead.
>Can Suika gather someone's vitality? If we aren't sure ask her.
>From what you can tell, the tears seem to be sealing off places where abnormalities have occurred due to the deterioration of the Great Border from the rest of Gensoukyo.
>You have no idea, but you assume a lot.
>You ask Suika about gathering vitality.
>"Uh... Haven't really tried anything like that. You'd kind of need something to gather it to, though, you know."
> Do energy transfer thingy.
>Only transfer enough to leave us out of it for a couple hours or so. If the Dragon needs more than that best do it in increments rater than killing ourselves.
>Tell everyone what we're doing first as well before we end up freaking anyone out.
>You tell Suika and Tenshi about your plans.
>"You're doing what?!"
>"I'd offer you a drink for good luck, but there are these rocks in the way."
>You leave the two and return to the Dragon and Iku, to whom you also explain your plan.
>"Do you believe the process will work?"
>"Good luck..."
>You feel around, trying to find the boundary separating yourself and the Dragon.
>Once you find it, your limited access to your abilities only allows you to break the boundary so that your energy can spill into the Dragon.
>Unfortunately, due to the nature of this transfer, you cannot control the amount of energy consumed by the Dragon, and you feel your consciousness fading quickly.
>As you begin to fall, you see one of the Dragon's eyes beginning to open.
>Before you pass out, you hear a voice in your head.
>"Thank you."
>...
>You are lying in an unfamiliar bed.
>_
-
>Well that went swimmingly. We didn't die though so it worked well enough.
>Current condition.
>Do we have any idea where we are?
>While we're at it, we should go find the Dragon.
-
>Well that went swimmingly. We didn't die though so it worked well enough.
>Current condition.
>Do we have any idea where we are?
>While we're at it, we should go find the Dragon.
>You suppose that it's the result that matters.
>Terrible. You don't particularly feel like moving. Not that your body really seems to be responding anyway. You wonder why you're even awake right now.
>You force your eyes open and get a look at your surroundings. The room you're in looks like a nicer version of the ruined bedrooms you found earlier.
>You would go look for the Dragon, if your body would move at all.
>You hear a knocking sound.
>_
-
>How long were we out of it this time? If we aren't sure ask Ran when she last saw us.
>Can we contact Ran? She must be used to these calls by now
>It does look like at least the Dragon is back in gear though, so we accomplished our goal.
>Can we actually talk normally?
-
>How long were we out of it this time? If we aren't sure ask Ran when she last saw us.
>Can we contact Ran? She must be used to these calls by now
>It does look like at least the Dragon is back in gear though, so we accomplished our goal.
>Can we actually talk normally?
>You have no idea. You consider asking Ran. Fortunately, you do feel up to contacting her.
>Master, it is good to hear from you again, though it seems as though our connection is rather weak right now.
>How long has it been since you left? Quite some time. It has been about a week, give or take a few hours. Our guests are quite worried about you.
>That's certainly a plus.
>You try making noise, but find that your voice is much, much quieter than usual.
>You hear another knock, followed by the sound of a door opening.
>_
-
> "Who is it?"
> Wait for response.
> If they aren't already inside, say "Come in!"
-
>A week and we still feel half dead? How much energy did we lose anyway?
>Ah, not to worry; just overdid things a bit with the Dragon. Apparently the Dragon takes quite a bit of energy to operate.
>Well we'd probably need food more than rest thinking about it.
>Who is our visitor?
>Contemplate getting Ran to pick us up vs the general embarrassment of needing Ran to pick us up.
-
> "Who is it?"
> Wait for response.
> If they aren't already inside, say "Come in!"
>"Ah. You're awake."
>You hear the voice of Iku as she enters the room.
>"My apologies if I was the one to wake you. How are you feeling?"
>A week and we still feel half dead? How much energy did we lose anyway?
>Ah, not to worry; just overdid things a bit with the Dragon. Apparently the Dragon takes quite a bit of energy to operate.
>Well we'd probably need food more than rest thinking about it.
>Who is our visitor?
>Contemplate getting Ran to pick us up vs the general embarrassment of needing Ran to pick us up.
>Far too much.
>I see. Make sure to take care of yourself then.
>You probably need a lot of things at this point.
>Your visitor appears to be Iku Nagae.
>Though you could trust her not to tell others about it, you wonder how long it would take her to forget that you were vulnerable like this.
>_
-
>"I've been better."
>Much better.
>"So what happened after the energy transfer?"
-
> "Did it work? Is heaven unsealed?"
-
>"I've been better."
>Much better.
>"So what happened after the energy transfer?"
> "Did it work? Is heaven unsealed?"
>"Please, take your time and rest until you are well."
>You certainly aren't in the best shape right now.
>"You simply collapsed. I wasn't entirely certain on what I should have done, but soon the Dragon woke."
>"The Dragon seemed rather disturbed by something, though I know not what. The Dragon wishes to speak with you when your health has returned."
>"The events after the Dragon's waking are a blur to me. However, Bhava Agra has returned to how it once was."
>"And I must thank you for that."
>"If you are feeling unwell, you should continue to rest. Should you require assistance in any matter, please do not hesitate to ask for my help."
>_
-
>Well now we know that it really did work at least.
>Of course there are loads of things to be disturbed about in Gensokyo right now.
>"At least everything's back to relative normalcy. I think that I'll take your advice on resting a bit more though."
>Get a bit more rest. Like another couple days or so.
-
> Rest until better.
-
>Well now we know that it really did work at least.
>Of course there are loads of things to be disturbed about in Gensokyo right now.
>"At least everything's back to relative normalcy. I think that I'll take your advice on resting a bit more though."
>Get a bit more rest. Like another couple days or so.
> Rest until better.
>It is quite a relief to know that Bhava Agra has been restored.
>Not that your work is done yet. There are still things to be fixed.
>"Very well. Again, if you require anything, please do not hesitate to call for me."
>You watch as Iku takes her leave, before you go back to sleep. You're not getting anything done in your current state.
>You still feel rather terrible, though it's not to the point where you feel as though you're incapable of anything.
>You have no idea how long you've been asleep for.
>_
-
>Check if anyone's nearby.
>Can we stand upright?
-
>Have we at least worked our way up to after we opened that gap to Eientei during the Koishi incident?
>Ran, how long has it been since my last call? And is the sky crack free now?
-
>Check if anyone's nearby.
>Can we stand upright?
>You take a quick look around your room, nobody seems to be around.
>You decide to test your strength and step out of the bed. You feel a bit dizzy, and you feel rather unstable, but you can at the very least stand on your own two feet.
>As you get out of the bed, you notice that your outfit has been replaced by a nightgown.
>Have we at least worked our way up to after we opened that gap to Eientei during the Koishi incident?
>Ran, how long has it been since my last call? And is the sky crack free now?
>You don't feel nearly as bad right now.
>Master! Do not come back! Stay away from Mayohiga!
>_
-
>That is definitely not good.
>What's going on Ran? Is it Reimu?
>If she puts so much as a scratch on our family she's a dead shrine maiden.
>Although the list of people who can even find Mayohiga is very small......this is bad. Who is on that list again?
>Gap power
>Search room for our stuff
-
>That is definitely not good.
>What's going on Ran? Is it Reimu?
>If she puts so much as a scratch on our family she's a dead shrine maiden.
>Although the list of people who can even find Mayohiga is very small......this is bad. Who is on that list again?
>Gap power
>You wonder just what could have happened.
>There is no response.
>You won't forgive anyone that touches your family.
>Anyone that is lost, as well as those that have visited the place before.
>Once you can get yourself oriented, you can use your abilities to the extent that your body will allow you to.
>_
-
>Find our clothes/spellcards/and everything else we're missing, get properly dressed, then to the Dragon. It owes us a favor and we need at least close to full power to deal with anyone who can actually take out Ran.
>Fortunately we know where the Dragon's room is.
-
>Find our clothes/spellcards/and everything else we're missing, get properly dressed, then to the Dragon. It owes us a favor and we need at least close to full power to deal with anyone who can actually take out Ran.
>Fortunately we know where the Dragon's room is.
>You look around the room, and find your clothes and bag on a small chair in the room.
>You quickly get dressed before exiting the room and begin to make your way towards the Dragon's chamber.
>As you enter the large hallway, you notice Iku walking out of the Dragon's chamber.
>She seems to have noticed you as well, as she is making her way towards you.
>"Good morning. I assume that you are feeling better?"
>_
-
>"Not particularly but events require me to cut my rest short. Someone's attacking Mayohiga and I have a good idea who it is; now would be the time for that meeting with the Dragon."
-
>"I intend to request whatever aid that I can from the Dragon."
>Hmm, wouldn't whoever attacked Mayohiga have had to get past the Buddhist crew as well?
>Can we contact Chen in the same way? Maybe she isn't at Mayohiga right now?
>Can Reimu or anyone else detect our gaps as they form?
>If not, would it be possible to make one that would allow us to see or hear what is going on?
>How do we fancy our chances now against what we know of Reimu? How about at full power?
-
> "What happened while I was out? Any news from outside heaven?"
> Ask dragon same question, especially if Iku doesn't know.
-
>If the Dragon does not bring up Mayohiga ask it if it can look in and see what's going on and what happened to everyone.
>Can we tell if Ran's still alive or where she is through our link?
-
>"Not particularly but events require me to cut my rest short. Someone's attacking Mayohiga and I have a good idea who it is; now would be the time for that meeting with the Dragon."
>"Attacking? Is time not of the essence then? Should you not stop them? I can ask the Dragon to speak with you at a later day."
>_
-
>"That's precisely why I need to see the Dragon; if it's who I suspect I'm going to need the Dragon's help."
>Even if we go now, in our condition fighting Reimu probably will not end well.
>It's also a bit worrisome that Ran warned us off from going right to Mayohiga - she knows how much power we've recovered so she thinks that as we were before heaven, we wouldn't win. Ran's not stupid.
>Gapping ability
>Can Reimu or anyone else detect our gaps as they form? The small spying variety that is.
>Can we tell if Ran's still alive or where she is through our link?
>To the Dragon's chambers - it wants to see us anyway and we really don't time for talking. Move on the double.
-
>"That's precisely why I need to see the Dragon; if it's who I suspect I'm going to need the Dragon's help."
>Even if we go now, in our condition fighting Reimu probably will not end well.
>It's also a bit worrisome that Ran warned us off from going right to Mayohiga - she knows how much power we've recovered so she thinks that as we were before heaven, we wouldn't win. Ran's not stupid.
>Gapping ability
>Can Reimu or anyone else detect our gaps as they form? The small spying variety that is.
>Can we tell if Ran's still alive or where she is through our link?
>To the Dragon's chambers - it wants to see us anyway and we really don't time for talking. Move on the double.
>"I see..."
>Even in peak condition, a fight with Reimu probably wouldn't end all that well.
>You really do wonder what's happening there.
>You no longer feel the difficulty in manipulating boundaries as you did before, but you are feeling a bit weak.
>If you were to manipulate a boundary made by someone competent with them like Reimu, they would undoubtedly sense it. It may also be possible that someone simply sees your gap depending on where you open it.
>You continue towards the Dragon's chambers and open the doors.
>You can see the Dragon floating around the room. You also hear a voice enter your head.
>You seem troubled.
>_
-
>"My home is under attack. My shikigami just warned me to stay away. I can't simply leave her, but although my powers seem to have returned, I'm still weak from my efforts in aiding you. And given who I believe the attacker to be, I don't think it would be a good idea to face her in such a state."
-
>Our powers are completely back? Can we just manipulate the boundary of energy to put ourself back in proper condition?
>Did we have any plans in place to deal with the event that a Hakurei went power mad?
>Do the gaps we use to spy on places fall under what Reimu can detect?
>What boundaries are the ones we know to manipulate them capable of sensing?
-
>"My home is under attack. My shikigami just warned me to stay away. I can't simply leave her, but although my powers seem to have returned, I'm still weak from my efforts in aiding you. And given who I believe the attacker to be, I don't think it would be a good idea to face her in such a state."
>Such a situation does sound rather dire, though I do not know how I could be of assistance. It is rather unfortunate that you do not have more time to rest if you are still weak.
>Our powers are completely back? Can we just manipulate the boundary of energy to put ourself back in proper condition?
>Did we have any plans in place to deal with the event that a Hakurei went power mad?
>Do the gaps we use to spy on places fall under what Reimu can detect?
>What boundaries are the ones we know to manipulate them capable of sensing?
>Effectively, yes.
>Such a process would end up consuming more energy than it produces.
>Did you?
>That would depend on where you want to spy on, though you aren't entirely sure of where Reimu has set up her own boundaries at this point.
>Such a thing would be related to sensory perception in general, which is beyond what you can safely manipulate.
>_
-
>"I was hoping that you had a means to view Mayohiga from here."
>At least if we can see what's happening we can figure out how to operate.
>Do we need to actually be where Reimu has boundaries set up to break them? Can we just use a gap for a long distance boundary breaking.
>Do we have enough energy to spy on somewhere and gap people away? If the Dragon can view places at long distance, we can just gap everyone away and work on the Reimu issue when we recover a bit more.
-
>"I was hoping that you had a means to view Mayohiga from here."
>At least if we can see what's happening we can figure out how to operate.
>Do we need to actually be where Reimu has boundaries set up to break them? Can we just use a gap for a long distance boundary breaking.
>Do we have enough energy to spy on somewhere and gap people away? If the Dragon can view places at long distance, we can just gap everyone away and work on the Reimu issue when we recover a bit more.
>Is that not your domain?
>Being able to see what's going on would certainly make planning easier.
>You would still be gapping yourself to the boundary, defeating the purpose.
>Probably. Physical boundaries are the simplest, and therefore easiest, boundaries to manipulate.
>_
-
>"It should be. I'm might need to move it after this though; it's not much of a hidden home when everyone can find it."
>"Do you mind if a few of my guests end up staying here temporarily though?"
>Ah screw it. Create spy gaps to gain a proper look over Mayohiga and see what's up. If Reimu had time to set up boundaries to detect us, we'll deal with that when it comes. Mainly by just closing the gap on her.
>On that note make sure that our gaps aren't big enough for someone to slip through.
>If it comes to a fight there are how many fighters right now in heaven? We can hold our own.
>Ran did say not to come back but we don't need to do that to spirit away people.
-
>"It should be. I'm might need to move it after this though; it's not much of a hidden home when everyone can find it."
>"Do you mind if a few of my guests end up staying here temporarily though?"
>Ah screw it. Create spy gaps to gain a proper look over Mayohiga and see what's up. If Reimu had time to set up boundaries to detect us, we'll deal with that when it comes. Mainly by just closing the gap on her.
>On that note make sure that our gaps aren't big enough for someone to slip through.
>If it comes to a fight there are how many fighters right now in heaven? We can hold our own.
>Ran did say not to come back but we don't need to do that to spirit away people.
>I thought you cared not, since very few actually visit.
>I would prefer they be housed elsewhere. We really do not have the means to cater for mortals.
>You decide that you're not getting anything done without information and so open up a small gap through which you can look over Mayohiga.
>You see the village of Mayohiga mostly empty. There is, however, a red and white figure sitting on top of a small blanket drinking tea right in the middle of the village.
>This figure seems to be smiling and waving at you.
>Very few. Most celestials are unaccustomed to violence.
>Provided you know where they are, of course.
>_
-
>We can speak through our gaps, right? Assuming we can: "Reimu. What are you doing in my home?"
-
>We're going to have to smack her at some point but we should still do it in style.
>"Now, now Reimu, I'm the one who's supposed to pop up uninvited at your shrine~ Or mansion now from what I've heard."
>How do we normally find Ran and Chen for when we decide to use them as spellcards?
>"I must ask you to return my guests though; we can't have a shrine maiden spiriting away people now."
-
>We can speak through our gaps, right? Assuming we can: "Reimu. What are you doing in my home?"
>Reimu continues to smile and look in the direction of your gap.
>"We see each other for the first time in how long and that's the first thing you ask me?"
>We're going to have to smack her at some point but we should still do it in style.
>"Now, now Reimu, I'm the one who's supposed to pop up uninvited at your shrine~ Or mansion now from what I've heard."
>How do we normally find Ran and Chen for when we decide to use them as spellcards?
>"I must ask you to return my guests though; we can't have a shrine maiden spiriting away people now."
>You do want to keep up appearances.
>"I thought so too. I was kind of missing you, and then I hear that you're around and you don't bother to visit me once!"
>You don't. They are simply summoned from wherever they are for a short period of time.
>"I haven't met anyone here though. Quite rude, your shikigami are. I make the time and effort to come give you a visit and nobody bothers to greet me at all."
>_
-
>"But I did visit. You simply weren't home so I had to go bother the rest of Gensokyo~"
>So Reimu's lying through her teeth - quite likely. Or Reimu's actually not the cause of the havoc. Extremely unlikely considering that she's the only one besides us who can mess with boundaries, but weirder stuff has happened. Interesting.
>"Then my followup visit got a bit delayed patching up the border; all those cracks were really just unsightly, and hidden in the most bothersome places."
>"Then there were all those incidents I ran into. For some reason the fairies are missing and everyone's more scared of you than normal. Something about a shrine maiden tax?"
>Can we simply keep them with us after summoning?
>Anyways, use our shikigami fetching spellcard to summon those two to us. Then make sure they stick around when the spellcard ends.
-
>"But I did visit. You simply weren't home so I had to go bother the rest of Gensokyo~"
>So Reimu's lying through her teeth - quite likely. Or Reimu's actually not the cause of the havoc. Extremely unlikely considering that she's the only one besides us who can mess with boundaries, but weirder stuff has happened. Interesting.
>"Then my followup visit got a bit delayed patching up the border; all those cracks were really just unsightly, and hidden in the most bothersome places."
>"Then there were all those incidents I ran into. For some reason the fairies are missing and everyone's more scared of you than normal. Something about a shrine maiden tax?"
>Can we simply keep them with us after summoning?
>Anyways, use our shikigami fetching spellcard to summon those two to us. Then make sure they stick around when the spellcard ends.
>"Oh, really? Sorry about that, then. I must have been busy."
>You wonder what the story is.
>"I thought you were the one doing that! I had no idea if you were around or not, but someone was going around fixing up those cracks. So it was you!"
>"Good work on that! Though I did want to talk to you about something related..."
>"Oh, the fairies? They're fine, you don't have to worry about them."
>"Tax? I have no idea what you're talking about. Unless you're referring to the donations."
>You cannot, unless you were to create a new set of spellcards.
>Do you still want to use your spellcards?
>_
-
>How long would it take to create a new spellcard that will keep them with us?
>How long can we keep them summoned?
>Now that have our powers back, can we detect anything else messing with the great border right now? Or any borders about Reimu?
>Is Reimu normally this cheerful? Ever?
-
>"A donation is something one chooses to give. From what I've been hearing, that's not the case here. People say that you attack anyone who fails to give you enough."
>"Let me be honest for a moment, here. The reason I haven't spent much effort looking for you is because I thought that any meeting between us would end with me having to fight you. If you truly haven't seen my shikigami, then I would imagine they are hiding from you."
-
>How long would it take to create a new spellcard that will keep them with us?
>How long can we keep them summoned?
>Now that have our powers back, can we detect anything else messing with the great border right now? Or any borders about Reimu?
>Is Reimu normally this cheerful? Ever?
>Not very long, half an hour at most considering you already have a similar spellcard, but you would need your tools first.
>About a minute and a half at most.
>You can still feel something interfering slightly with the Great Hakurei Border.
>You can see that there are several barriers wrapped over each other around Reimu.
>On occasion, Reimu can be quite cheerful. These occasions usually tend to coincide with parties or a sudden influx of money.
>"A donation is something one chooses to give. From what I've been hearing, that's not the case here. People say that you attack anyone who fails to give you enough."
>"Let me be honest for a moment, here. The reason I haven't spent much effort looking for you is because I thought that any meeting between us would end with me having to fight you. If you truly haven't seen my shikigami, then I would imagine they are hiding from you."
>"Technicalities. There's no need to worry about the small stuff."
>You see Reimu making a brushing motion with her hand, as if to dismiss your accusations.
>"What makes you think that a meeting would end in a fight? Aren't we friends? Are you trying to imply something about how I resolve incidents?"
>"I know, right? They're so rude! I mean, it's not like I don't know that there's at least five people around here, but none of them have bothered to greet me!"
>_
-
>"They are afraid of you, Reimu. In fact, I understand that you already have attacked some of them. I found Byakuren and her followers sealed up within their temple, and they tell me that it was you who did this to them. It's only natural that they would think you would intend to re-seal them."
>"Reimu, I'm afraid that you need to stop taking people's money. Immediately. You also need to release anyone else you may have sealed away."
-
>"Going by what I heard, you should have more than enough funds to last the rest of your life, and leave a considerable nest egg for your eventual successor as well. So you really shouldn't even need more. And besides dear, if you found yourself running low on supplies, all you need to do is ask. I could easily get things from the outside world. I hear you've also developed a taste for the finer things, like caviar. You know that procuring even that is no trouble for someone like myself, so if you get a craving for that, and it happens to be a kind you can't get in gensokyo after the border is repaired, all you need do is ask."
-
>"They are afraid of you, Reimu. In fact, I understand that you already have attacked some of them. I found Byakuren and her followers sealed up within their temple, and they tell me that it was you who did this to them. It's only natural that they would think you would intend to re-seal them."
>"Reimu, I'm afraid that you need to stop taking people's money. Immediately. You also need to release anyone else you may have sealed away."
>"Attacked is such an ugly way of putting it. I made it so that they wouldn't have to worry about anything for a while, what's wrong with that?"
>"Don't think that's going to happen just yet. I did want to talk to you about something related though, which is why I made the trip to come visit. It would be nice if you could come over so that we could talk."
>"Going by what I heard, you should have more than enough funds to last the rest of your life, and leave a considerable nest egg for your eventual successor as well. So you really shouldn't even need more. And besides dear, if you found yourself running low on supplies, all you need to do is ask. I could easily get things from the outside world. I hear you've also developed a taste for the finer things, like caviar. You know that procuring even that is no trouble for someone like myself, so if you get a craving for that, and it happens to be a kind you can't get in gensokyo after the border is repaired, all you need do is ask."
>"It's not the money that matters, though it's certainly nice."
>"And, of course, you're so much nicer when you want something. Everyone is. I hate that, you know. Where was that offer two, three, four, five years ago?"
>"That's a bit disappointing. I thought that you'd be one person that would never resort to bribes."
>_
-
>"If you have something important to tell me, Reimu, then tell me now."
>"I'll make it an ultimatum, then: release everyone you've sealed, cease all attacks on those who've been unable to pay you, and stop demanding money, effective immediately."
>"I am NOT in the mood for bullshit, Reimu. You will do exactly what I just said, and you will do it immediately, or else I will personally take action against you."
>If her reply is in any was uncooperative, open a viewing gap by her that shows her mansion, then gap in our train such that it plows through a corner of the mansion, causing only fairly little damage, before gapping it away again.
>"That was a warning shot, Reimu. Comply immediately."
-
>"If you have something important to tell me, Reimu, then tell me now."
>"I'll make it an ultimatum, then: release everyone you've sealed, cease all attacks on those who've been unable to pay you, and stop demanding money, effective immediately."
>"I am NOT in the mood for bullshit, Reimu. You will do exactly what I just said, and you will do it immediately, or else I will personally take action against you."
>If her reply is in any was uncooperative, open a viewing gap by her that shows her mansion, then gap in our train such that it plows through a corner of the mansion, causing only fairly little damage, before gapping it away again.
>"That was a warning shot, Reimu. Comply immediately."
>"I like talking about these things in person. Makes things a lot easier."
>"Or what?"
>"Scary, scary. But what will you do?"
>You open up two sets of gaps. One allowing vision from where Reimu is to her mansion. Another from the outside world to Reimu's mansion.
>You steal a train and launch it towards the corner of Reimu's mansion.
>"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!"
>You hear a loud crash as the train hits something. You open up a gap for yourself to see the aftermath, and see the mansion still wholly intact. You can also see the faint outline of a large barrier, you assume that this is what stopped the train.
>"... I think you're losing your touch."
>"Judging by your actions, you're not going to listen to anything I have to say right now, so there's no point to me being here."
>"If you change your mind, and feel like listening, you seem to know where to find me."
>"See you later, Yukari! Nice to see that you're still alive after all this time!"
>You see Reimu give you a wave before picking up her blanket and beginning to walk off.
>_
-
>"I did tell you that was just a warning shot."
>"Reimu, I'll be honest again: I'm not willing to meet you in person right now because I think you're trying to lure me into a trap. If whatever you claim you have to say is truly important, say it now. Otherwise, I will assume this was a lie."
-
>Don't bother with that last comment. It should be quite obvious that we don't trust her right now; let's not give her ideas that we're afraid of facing her on top of that.
>"You might as well mention it now. Like I said earlier, I can't exactly visit you until I'm done with border repairs and there's still something interfering with it. I'd rather not end up spending another two years repairing it again."
>"I am certainly going to visit you sooner rather than later though; we do need to discuss just why you found it necessary to become a dictator. This is the kind of behaviour that you normally beat up people for after all."
>Honestly, what are we going to do with her. She's acting like a rebelling teenager except super-powered.
-
>"And another thing, why can't you just take my kindness at face value for once? It gets boring with only a few people to enjoy the finer things with after all. The fact that you've developed a taste for the finer things is something promising. Once the border is is repaired and everything is back to normal, we can all enjoy ourselves with Tea, Caviar, and the like. I think I know a few things you might not have tried yet that would be perfect foods to commemorate the border's repairs with."
>Then chuckle a bit. "Look at me, I've started talking like Yuyuko already. I suppose that's a sign that proper peace will soon be at hand~"
-
>"I did tell you that was just a warning shot."
>"Whatever."
>Reimu waves her hand in your general direction as she continues to walk off.
>"Reimu, I'll be honest again: I'm not willing to meet you in person right now because I think you're trying to lure me into a trap. If whatever you claim you have to say is truly important, say it now. Otherwise, I will assume this was a lie."
>Don't bother with that last comment. It should be quite obvious that we don't trust her right now; let's not give her ideas that we're afraid of facing her on top of that.
>You decide against accusing Reimu of setting a trap for the time being.
>"You might as well mention it now. Like I said earlier, I can't exactly visit you until I'm done with border repairs and there's still something interfering with it. I'd rather not end up spending another two years repairing it again."
>"I am certainly going to visit you sooner rather than later though; we do need to discuss just why you found it necessary to become a dictator. This is the kind of behaviour that you normally beat up people for after all."
>Honestly, what are we going to do with her. She's acting like a rebelling teenager except super-powered.
>"And like I said earlier, I wanted to talk with you about that, but whatever."
>"I'll be waiting then."
>The super powered part is particularly annoying.
>"And another thing, why can't you just take my kindness at face value for once? It gets boring with only a few people to enjoy the finer things with after all. The fact that you've developed a taste for the finer things is something promising. Once the border is is repaired and everything is back to normal, we can all enjoy ourselves with Tea, Caviar, and the like. I think I know a few things you might not have tried yet that would be perfect foods to commemorate the border's repairs with."
>Then chuckle a bit. "Look at me, I've started talking like Yuyuko already. I suppose that's a sign that proper peace will soon be at hand~"
>"Like you're one to talk. I mean, you're just talking to me through that gap of yours and refuse to talk face to face. How am I supposed to trust that?"
>"Not to mention that you're not exactly known for being the most trustworthy person."
>"Or you're just getting old."
>You see Reimu shrug as she takes flight.
>_
-
>"Tell Rinnosuke to stick around as well; I need to have another discussion with that one about empathy."
>A very painful discussion.
>"By the way, just what have you and Rinnosuke done with Alice?"
>Since we opened a gap over Reimu's mansion already, can we open gaps inside of it?
>If the answer is yes, scan the mansion for signs of Rinnosuke and Alice (might as well get its layout too), and gap both of them to us. We did say that we would help her out and now we can deal with the voodoo problem.
-
>"Tell Rinnosuke to stick around as well; I need to have another discussion with that one about empathy."
>A very painful discussion.
>"By the way, just what have you and Rinnosuke done with Alice?"
>Since we opened a gap over Reimu's mansion already, can we open gaps inside of it?
>If the answer is yes, scan the mansion for signs of Rinnosuke and Alice (might as well get its layout too), and gap both of them to us. We did say that we would help her out and now we can deal with the voodoo problem.
>Reimu has already left.
>You do want to
>You wouldn't know until you tried.
>You try to open a gap within Reimu's mansion, to find that something is blocking you from making an opening on inside of Reimu's mansion.
>_
-
>Damn.
>Okay, looks like we'll have to do this the hard way. But first...
>Ran, are you all right?
>Who all is there right now?
>Its probably a good idea to bring some support with us when we confront Reimu. The more power we have on our side, the better. And, fortunately, there happen to be a few people who'll probably be willing to help.
>Make a note: as soon as we're done here and with anything we might need to take care of back home, head back to Nitori's lab, both to report our progress and to see about getting some additional help from some of the people who are currently there. Be sure to ask our guests at Mayohiga about aiding us in the battle, as well.
-
>Since when could Reimu block us? Huh.
>Also of note is that we're not actually going to pay Reimu a visit until we rest off the rest of our fatigue.
>We should try talking things out before jumping her though. Stage an intervention, Gensokyo style. Which will likely end up with us having to fight her anyway, but as her friend/mentor/troller, we should try not so messy means first.
>Well now that this mess is postponed, once we make sure that everyone's all right, find out what the Dragon wanted to talk to us about.
>Oh right, we did just start a rumble with Reimu in its chamber. That's gotta be odd.
-
>Damn.
>Okay, looks like we'll have to do this the hard way. But first...
>Ran, are you all right?
>Who all is there right now?
>Its probably a good idea to bring some support with us when we confront Reimu. The more power we have on our side, the better. And, fortunately, there happen to be a few people who'll probably be willing to help.
>Make a note: as soon as we're done here and with anything we might need to take care of back home, head back to Nitori's lab, both to report our progress and to see about getting some additional help from some of the people who are currently there. Be sure to ask our guests at Mayohiga about aiding us in the battle, as well.
>Ah well.
>We are fine, master. It seems as though the red-white maiden has left.
>Currently I am with Chen. Three of the buddhists are within the house you have allocated to them.
>If it were to come down to a confrontation, numbers would certainly help. It also helps that several people have already expressed interest in having a chat with Reimu.
>You make a note to yourself to visit Nitori's lab when you have the time.
>Since when could Reimu block us? Huh.
>Also of note is that we're not actually going to pay Reimu a visit until we rest off the rest of our fatigue.
>We should try talking things out before jumping her though. Stage an intervention, Gensokyo style. Which will likely end up with us having to fight her anyway, but as her friend/mentor/troller, we should try not so messy means first.
>Well now that this mess is postponed, once we make sure that everyone's all right, find out what the Dragon wanted to talk to us about.
>Oh right, we did just start a rumble with Reimu in its chamber. That's gotta be odd.
>She was rather talented at creating barriers. But to create one that you couldn't easily bypass is a first.
>You do want to make sure that you are in the best condition in case it should come down to a fight.
>You do want to avoid a direct confrontation if possible.
>You thought that you might have been forgetting about something.
>It seems that you have quite the ordeal on your hands.
>_
-
>"I just don't know what happened to her."
>Sounds like it doesn't really involve the money either, so what?
>"Sorry about that; so what did you want to discuss?"
-
>"I just don't know what happened to her."
>Sounds like it doesn't really involve the money either, so what?
>"Sorry about that; so what did you want to discuss?"
>Unfortunately, I know nothing of that matter.
>You wonder what her motivations are.
>I simply wished to know about the state of the border.
>_
-
>"With heaven restored, the border is all but repaired. The only oddity left, well that one is focused around Reimu's mansion so I'll find out what she did to the border soon enough."
>"But what had happened to leave you in the state I found you in?"
-
>"With heaven restored, the border is all but repaired. The only oddity left, well that one is focused around Reimu's mansion so I'll find out what she did to the border soon enough."
>"But what had happened to leave you in the state I found you in?"
>"I see. Is there anything else of note that I should be aware of?"
>"It was necessary in order to keep the islands afloat."
>_
-
>"You heard what's going on with Reimu; to add to that Nitori's stopped being crazy and is repenting for nearly breaking the border, she managed to pull off what is likely the first successful resurrection in Gensokyo by reviving Utsuho, Rinnosuke has become incredibly cruel, the Mountain gods are back, Nue's apparently causing some measure of trouble, and both the Netherworld and Higan is open again."
>It took all the Dragon's power to keep the islands floating? What.
>"Don't you normally keep things afloat without draining all your power?"
-
>"You heard what's going on with Reimu; to add to that Nitori's stopped being crazy and is repenting for nearly breaking the border, she managed to pull off what is likely the first successful resurrection in Gensokyo by reviving Utsuho, Rinnosuke has become incredibly cruel, the Mountain gods are back, Nue's apparently causing some measure of trouble, and both the Netherworld and Higan is open again."
>It took all the Dragon's power to keep the islands floating? What.
>"Don't you normally keep things afloat without draining all your power?"
>It seems that quite a lot has occurred during my rest. It pains me to hear that Gensoukyo is in such a state.
>Is something up here?
>Do not insult me, woman, of course I do. However, as you have previously mentioned, the state of the land could have hardly been considered to be normal..
>_
-
>"True; even without the cracks in the border all those seals keeping everyone from seeing you couldn't have helped. Though I am concerned about Reimu being able to enter the gap to do that in the first place."
-
>"True; even without the cracks in the border all those seals keeping everyone from seeing you couldn't have helped. Though I am concerned about Reimu being able to enter the gap to do that in the first place."
>Indeed.
>I know not about that matter. Could you explain what she had done to this place?
>_
-
>"Someone managed to slip in here and place a series of talismans all over heaven. Those kept the place looking like nothing was wrong and hid you from view instead of showing the reality of a wrecked bunch of islands and your unconscious state."
>Do we know anyone outside of Reimu who could have pulled a stunt like that?
>How in the world did she do that anyway? No one besides us should be able to cross through the gaps.
-
>Not unless....Could she have figured out how to replicate that little trick we could do for her back during the Geyser Incident?
-
>"Someone managed to slip in here and place a series of talismans all over heaven. Those kept the place looking like nothing was wrong and hid you from view instead of showing the reality of a wrecked bunch of islands and your unconscious state."
>Do we know anyone outside of Reimu who could have pulled a stunt like that?
>How in the world did she do that anyway? No one besides us should be able to cross through the gaps.
>If that is true, the culprit must be apprehended immediately. Irresponsible use of such an ability seems rather dangerous.
>You doubt that there are many outside of Reimu with sufficient mastery over the creation of boundaries to perform such a task.
>You wonder how Reimu would have been able to do such a thing.
>Not unless....Could she have figured out how to replicate that little trick we could do for her back during the Geyser Incident?
>You doubt that Reimu could replicate that particular trick, considering that that was mostly your doing. You do note that she has her own methods of phasing out of existence, though.
>_
-
>"At the least I need to figure out why so I can make sure it doesn't happen again."
>Maybe Keine would know since she's a hakutaku and all.
>Can we force Reimu out of Fantasy Heaven by the way? If it comes to a fight we won't get anywhere if she simply leaves reality.
-
>Manipulating the borders of reality shouldn't be a problem now that we have our powers back.
-
>"At the least I need to figure out why so I can make sure it doesn't happen again."
>Maybe Keine would know since she's a hakutaku and all.
>Can we force Reimu out of Fantasy Heaven by the way? If it comes to a fight we won't get anywhere if she simply leaves reality.
>Manipulating the borders of reality shouldn't be a problem now that we have our powers back.
>My apologies for being unable to assist in this endeavour.
>She does seem like the person to consult for all history related matters.
>You cannot force her out, though you can enter her realm. Still, manipulating such boundaries takes a rather large amount of effort.
>_
-
>Given that she shouldn't be able to keep it up forever either. We're the youkai of boundaries, if we can't at least stand up to Reimu in border hax we're going to lose our respect.
>"Things will work out eventually; after all, they always do in Gensokyo somehow~"
>Unless the Dragon has anything else to mention, bid our farewells and gap back to Mayohiga. We gotta go check on everyone and rest up for the havoc we're going to get wrapped up in.
>Can we mess with the Boundary of location in Mayohiga so that everyone who knows where it is already would need to find it back again? Besides keeping Reimu from randomly dropping in, Marisa knowing where our home is is inconvenient.
>We can and will just gap all our stuff back, but its the principle of the matter. We don't need random idiots storming in.
-
>Given that she shouldn't be able to keep it up forever either. We're the youkai of boundaries, if we can't at least stand up to Reimu in border hax we're going to lose our respect.
>"Things will work out eventually; after all, they always do in Gensokyo somehow~"
>Unless the Dragon has anything else to mention, bid our farewells and gap back to Mayohiga. We gotta go check on everyone and rest up for the havoc we're going to get wrapped up in.
>Can we mess with the Boundary of location in Mayohiga so that everyone who knows where it is already would need to find it back again? Besides keeping Reimu from randomly dropping in, Marisa knowing where our home is is inconvenient.
>We can and will just gap all our stuff back, but its the principle of the matter. We don't need random idiots storming in.
>You take solace in the fact that Reimu cannot keep up her fantasy heaven forever... Except for the part where she can.
>Your abilities work quite differently to Reimu's, they cannot really be compared.
>That will not occur without effort on our parts, however.
>You say goodbye to the dragon before opening up a gap back to Mayohiga.
>Farewell, may safe travels accompany you.
>You could, but it would be a rather annoying and time consuming process. Of course, knowing that other people could enter your home is also annoying.
>You step through your gap and find yourself in Mayohiga. Nobody seems to be outside.
>_
-
>How annoying and time consuming?
>Ran, I'm back!
>To our house.
>Ran and Byakuren might be good for our problem too; Byakuren's good at peaceful stuff and Ran's very intelligent
-
>How annoying and time consuming?
>Ran, I'm back!
>To our house.
>Ran and Byakuren might be good for our problem too; Byakuren's good at peaceful stuff and Ran's very intelligent
>You would need to vacate the place for at least a day.
>Master, welcome back. As you seem to have noticed, we had a visitor earlier.
>You begin walking over to your home. As you approach, you see the door open to reveal Ran and Chen, the latter of which begins running out towards you.
>You certainly could try seeking help from other sources.
>_
-
>Scoop Chen up into a hug; she probably needs it right now
>Yes, we had ourselves an.....interesting chat. I'm not quite sure what made Reimu change so much, but I have some ideas on how to find out.
-
>Scoop Chen up into a hug; she probably needs it right now
>Yes, we had ourselves an.....interesting chat. I'm not quite sure what made Reimu change so much, but I have some ideas on how to find out.
>"Masteeeeeeeer~!"
>Chen leaps into your arms and squeezes you tight. You return the hug.
>I do hope that your ideas are not too dangerous.
>_
-
>They're not anymore dangerous than my usual ideas~ I'll need some information from the resident history expert first though.
>Scratch Chen behind her ears a bit
>"I'm glad that you two are still fine, though at this rate Mayohiga's going to lose its hard to locate reputation."
>"How has everyone else been doing?"
>Current condition
-
>They're not anymore dangerous than my usual ideas~ I'll need some information from the resident history expert first though.
>Scratch Chen behind her ears a bit
>"I'm glad that you two are still fine, though at this rate Mayohiga's going to lose its hard to locate reputation."
>"How has everyone else been doing?"
>Current condition
>That does little to reassure my worries about your idea.
>You give Chen a scratch behind her ears, which causes her to nuzzle against you.
>"When that mean lady arrived, everyone hid. I think she knew we were here though..."
>"We've been fine otherwise, but what about you, master?"
>Other than feeling a bit tired, you are mostly fine. You could do with a bit of food though.
>_
-
>"I think I know how Byakuren felt when she temporarily restored my full power earlier. Still haven't properly slept that one off."
>"...Or eaten for a few days, thinking about it. But I found Suika and only had to tolerate Tenshi for a few minutes at best, so it worked out well enough."
>Go get food and rest, or go see Byakuren and Keine. Bah gap youkai problems.
>And we need to tell the Myouren crew to find somewhere else to hang for a day while we go about re-hiding Mayohiga too. Damnit, we're not supposed to be working this hard! This is what Reimu and shikigami are for <_<
-
>"I think I know how Byakuren felt when she temporarily restored my full power earlier. Still haven't properly slept that one off."
>"...Or eaten for a few days, thinking about it. But I found Suika and only had to tolerate Tenshi for a few minutes at best, so it worked out well enough."
>Go get food and rest, or go see Byakuren and Keine. Bah gap youkai problems.
>And we need to tell the Myouren crew to find somewhere else to hang for a day while we go about re-hiding Mayohiga too. Damnit, we're not supposed to be working this hard! This is what Reimu and shikigami are for <_<
>Chen looks up at you.
>"Nyo? Is master not feeling well?"
>"Should I prepare a meal for you, master?"
>Why do you have so many things to do? What happened to delegation?
>_
-
>Delegate dealing with Reimu to Ran
>"Nothing that some food and rest won't fix Chen. Speaking of, have you been taking good care of Ran while I was away?"
>Who knows what developments we've missed while we were gone?
>Ran must come with us when we go to see Byakuren, can't miss out on that fun. First though, food then sleep off the rest of fatigue.
-
>Delegate dealing with Reimu to Ran
>"Nothing that some food and rest won't fix Chen. Speaking of, have you been taking good care of Ran while I was away?"
>Who knows what developments we've missed while we were gone?
>Ran must come with us when we go to see Byakuren, can't miss out on that fun. First though, food then sleep off the rest of fatigue.
>"I will... try..."
>Ran seems to be frowning.
>"That's good, master!"
>"Of course! Chen has been helping!"
>Not you, it would seem.
>You do want Ran to be with you when you talk to Byakuren once more. You want something to eat first, though.
>"Very well, master. I shall call for you when some food has been prepared."
>Ran reenters your home, leaving you with Chen.
>_
-
>"You'll be fine, just use Super Tenko"
>Might as well go see the Palaquin crew while we wait.
>Get to finding them
-
>"You'll be fine, just use Super Tenko"
>Might as well go see the Palaquin crew while we wait.
>Get to finding them
>You see Ran's eyes widen.
>"What do you know?!"
>You leave Ran to make you some food before you go looking for Byakuren and her crew. Chen tags along behind you before pointing to one of the buildings.
>"They're in there, master."
>You soon find yourself standing outside the door to one of the many buildings in Mayohiga, with Chen behind you.
>_
-
>Knock, knock
-
>Knock, knock
>You knock on the door. After a few moments the door opens, revealing Nazrin.
>"Hey, you're back. We've been wondering where you were. Are you alright?"
>_
-
>"I'm fine; just took awhile to fix up the sky."
>Or recover from it, but details that non family doesn't need to know.
>"For now though I need to speak to all of you."
>Might as well deal with this now
-
>"I'm fine; just took awhile to fix up the sky."
>Or recover from it, but details that non family doesn't need to know.
>"For now though I need to speak to all of you."
>Might as well deal with this now
>"Yeah, I saw that. Good job! Seems like everything is slowly going back to how it was."
>They don't need to know everything.
>"Well, about that..."
>"Minamitsu and Ichirin are currently unavailable. I can, however, relay any messages to them that you may have at a later date."
>It seems that Byakuren is now standing beside Nazrin.
>"Do come in, though. This is hardly the place to be holding a conversation."
>_
-
>Go in.
-
>Go in.
>You take Byakuren's offer and enter the house.
>You see Shou sitting in a kneeling position in the corner, she seems to be resting.
>Byakuren takes a seat in the center of the room. Nazrin places a few extra cushions for you and Chen before taking a seat yourself.
>_
-
>Take the seat
>"I'm sure that you're aware of Reimu's visit here earlier?"
>"Well...hmm, thinking on it, I'm going to end up having to repeat this quite a bit at this rate with the amount of people it concerns."
>And we're not going through that when we have shortcuts available. Make a gap conference call with Ran, Yuyuko and Youmu, The Moriya crew (Sanae would probably be a good judge of Reimu's shift in personality), Nitori, and Satori. We know where these people are or where they hang out, shouldn't be hard to track them down with gap spying. And make sure that Reimu isn't around.
>"The border is effectively repaired now outside of whatever she's doing to it, so she's now my main focus. I'm trying to find out everything I can on what happened to cause this massive shift in personality."
>"While Reimu was never exactly a saint, something this drastic didn't happen overnight and I really would rather not things come to violence both because we were friends and frankly, a battle with Reimu will not end without serious collateral damage no matter who wins, especially since odds are good that the spellcard rules will be thrown out the window."
>We didn't fix the border to end up wrecking the place again. Or causing a bloody war again.
>"So I'm going to try an intervention first on a large scale. At the worst, things might come to blows anyway, but hopefully hearing the full weight of her actions at once might make her see reason."
>"Before that though I'm going to try to find out just what made Reimu try to be a dictator."
-
>Take the seat
>"I'm sure that you're aware of Reimu's visit here earlier?"
>"Well...hmm, thinking on it, I'm going to end up having to repeat this quite a bit at this rate with the amount of people it concerns."
>And we're not going through that when we have shortcuts available. Make a gap conference call with Ran, Yuyuko and Youmu, The Moriya crew (Sanae would probably be a good judge of Reimu's shift in personality), Nitori, and Satori. We know where these people are or where they hang out, shouldn't be hard to track them down with gap spying. And make sure that Reimu isn't around.
>"The border is effectively repaired now outside of whatever she's doing to it, so she's now my main focus. I'm trying to find out everything I can on what happened to cause this massive shift in personality."
>"While Reimu was never exactly a saint, something this drastic didn't happen overnight and I really would rather not things come to violence both because we were friends and frankly, a battle with Reimu will not end without serious collateral damage no matter who wins, especially since odds are good that the spellcard rules will be thrown out the window."
>We didn't fix the border to end up wrecking the place again. Or causing a bloody war again.
>"So I'm going to try an intervention first on a large scale. At the worst, things might come to blows anyway, but hopefully hearing the full weight of her actions at once might make her see reason."
>"Before that though I'm going to try to find out just what made Reimu try to be a dictator."
>You take a seat in front of Byakuren.
>"Of course. It was a rather harrowing experience."
>"Hmm? What do you mean?"
>You open up a gap to transmit your voice between where you are, as well as the kitchen in your home, the palace in the netherworld, the Moriya Shrine, Nitori's laboratory, and Eientei. You hope that Reimu isn't at any of these locations.
>You really don't want to cause any more damage to Gensokyou.
>You notice that, at some point, Shou seems to have taken a seat beside Nazrin.
>Once you finish your speech, Byakuren addresses you.
>"So you intend to see her alone?"
>_
-
>"No, there's little point in me alone talking to her since I wasn't actually around for the two years. Personal experience will lend conviction."
>That and extra firepower if it gets nasty.
>People can talk to us through those gaps right? If they can't make it so.
>"But for now, I'd like to find out from all of you exactly what happened after the border cracked and I became preoccupied with it. Everyone's stories together might paint a whole picture."
Go Diplomatic ending!
-
>"No, there's little point in me alone talking to her since I wasn't actually around for the two years. Personal experience will lend conviction."
>That and extra firepower if it gets nasty.
>People can talk to us through those gaps right? If they can't make it so.
>"But for now, I'd like to find out from all of you exactly what happened after the border cracked and I became preoccupied with it. Everyone's stories together might paint a whole picture."
>"We are much the same way."
>Violence is always the answer, right?
>Not right now, though it will only take a little tweaking to make such a feat possible.
>"Hello? Hello? Can you hear me?"
>You hear Nitori's voice coming through the gap.
>"Guess I'll start. I've pretty much spent the past two years cooped up in my lab, working on various projects. I could list them, but that would probably take a while."
>"You know how we have spent our time."
>You hear Kanako's voice coming through the gap.
>"For the past two years, we have been fighting whilst trapped within our own personal space. There is little more to say on the matter."
>"You've seen how we were too."
>You hear Youmu's voice coming through the gap.
>"We were stuck in that awful version of the netherworld until you pulled us out."
>"We have spent much of our time in the underground."
>You hear Satori's voice coming through the gap.
>"I spent little time outside of our home, but the situation there was rather grim. I know not how this has changed over the past year."
>Once Satori finishes her sentence, Byakuren addresses you again.
>"How do you intend to use this information?"
>_
-
>Well that was pointless. We knew that some of them had nothing, but how in the world did all this happen and no one at all knows anything?
>Wait, that's how most incidents function isn't it?
>Damnit, we really are playing incident resolver.
>"Then my next goal is information hunting. There are a couple people I can think of who might have better ideas."
>We have Keine, Marisa, and if it comes to it, asking Patchouli now that we can bypass Meiling.
>Obviously, Keine first.
>Hmm, anything else of note to deal with or is this group meeting at an end?
-
>Well that was pointless. We knew that some of them had nothing, but how in the world did all this happen and no one at all knows anything?
>Wait, that's how most incidents function isn't it?
>Damnit, we really are playing incident resolver.
>"Then my next goal is information hunting. There are a couple people I can think of who might have better ideas."
>We have Keine, Marisa, and if it comes to it, asking Patchouli now that we can bypass Meiling.
>Obviously, Keine first.
>Hmm, anything else of note to deal with or is this group meeting at an end?
>You would probably have to ask for specifics if you want anything more.
>Then again, you wonder how much more any of them would know.
>Not to mention that it doesn't seem like the pattern of you having to do everything doesn't seem like it's going to change any time soon.
>"My apologies for being unable to assist with your gathering of information."
>There are a host of people you haven't tried talking to yet.
>You are curious on what Keine might have to offer.
>Do you have anything else of note that you want to deal with?
>_
-
Finally back
>"How did so much manage to change so quickly to catch everyone offguard?"
>Unless we actually get a helpful answer to that, time to bring the conference call to a close.
>For the whole resetting Mayohiga thing, do we need to stick around for the day on top of kicking everyone out?
-
>"How did so much manage to change so quickly to catch everyone offguard?"
>Unless we actually get a helpful answer to that, time to bring the conference call to a close.
>For the whole resetting Mayohiga thing, do we need to stick around for the day on top of kicking everyone out?
>You hear Satori's voice coming from the gap.
>"It was not that we were caught offguard, but rather a gradual change that we came to accept."
>Do you have any other matters that you wish to deal with?
>You would.
>_
-
>"And what was that gradual process of change?"
-
>"And what was that gradual process of change?"
>"The general shift in attitudes as the pressures of the Hakurei Maiden's donations began to take to their toll."
>_
-
>"Why has nobody organized a resistance? Surely you have enough strong people underground to defeat her if you work together."
-
>"Why has nobody organized a resistance? Surely you have enough strong people underground to defeat her if you work together."
>"Some, such as myself, simply carried on with our daily lives. 'It matters not what happens as long as we are left alone' was most likely the thinking of these people."
>"Others did form a resistance of sorts. However, after examples were made out of the monk and the scarlet devil, the groups were rather quick to disband."
>_
-
>Right, Remilia got her house blown up.
>"Well I'll do my best to have things go a bit better this time around~"
>And that's all I have to ask for now, so end the gap conference in a nice way since we don't actively dislike anyone involved
>To Byakuren. "I do have something else to tell you; I'd rather not have Reimu popping in randomly when I'm away, so I think that it's time I did some resetting of Mayohiga."
>"This though would require that everyone else leaves Mayohiga for a day lest someone falls into a stray dimensional tear. So if there is anything everyone needs to do outside the village, tomorrow would be an excellent time to do it."
>It would be quite bad if Reimu terrorized everyone here while we aren't around.
-
>Right, Remilia got her house blown up.
>"Well I'll do my best to have things go a bit better this time around~"
>And that's all I have to ask for now, so end the gap conference in a nice way since we don't actively dislike anyone involved
>To Byakuren. "I do have something else to tell you; I'd rather not have Reimu popping in randomly when I'm away, so I think that it's time I did some resetting of Mayohiga."
>"This though would require that everyone else leaves Mayohiga for a day lest someone falls into a stray dimensional tear. So if there is anything everyone needs to do outside the village, tomorrow would be an excellent time to do it."
>It would be quite bad if Reimu terrorized everyone here while we aren't around.
>That she did. You suppose such a thing would have a demoralizing effect.
>"You plan to rebel? I most certainly wish you luck."
>You decide to end the discussion, as you've run out of questions to ask.
>"Very well then. Do not hesitate to call upon myself when the time comes."
>Kanako drops out of the conversation.
>"Count me in. I can't just sit around in here all day..."
>Nitori drops out of the conversation.
>"Um... I'll do what I can too!"
>Youmu drops out fo the conversation.
>"Again, best of luck."
>Satori drops out of the conversation.
>With that, your gap dissipates and you're left sitting in front of Byakuren.
>"It would be rather troublesome if the Hakurei maiden decides to visit again. We shall return to our temple if that is required."
>It certainly would be, you don't want to lose any of your allies do you?
>_
-
>"Not to the temple. Reimu knows to look for you at your home. Go to Nitori's lab."
-
>We never told her about it, so Byakuren wouldn't know how to get there to begin with, and we don't want Reimu following them.
>"I can arrange for you to stay with Nitori in her lab for the time being. Reimu does know where your temple is after all."
>And we can just gap them all there.
-
>"Not to the temple. Reimu knows to look for you at your home. Go to Nitori's lab."
>We never told her about it, so Byakuren wouldn't know how to get there to begin with, and we don't want Reimu following them.
>"I can arrange for you to stay with Nitori in her lab for the time being. Reimu does know where your temple is after all."
>And we can just gap them all there.
>You consider asking them to stay with Nitori, though you take into consideration the fact that they do not know its location.
>"Though we are grateful for the offer, We shall have to refuse. We could not impose further on others, and I have been meaning to see Minamitsu and Ichirin and their progress so far."
>You certainly could.
>_
-
>"You aren't safe at your temple. Nitori will be more than happy to house you, I'm sure. She'd doing everything she can to restore Gensokyo and help those who've come to harm or other problems. In fact, her facility ended up becoming something of an impromptu command center."
>"I can easily bring Ichirin and Murasa there, too."
>"Please, Byakuren. You knew you needed to leave the temple; thats why you agreed to come here. You know it's still not safe to return to the temple, so at the very least let's ask Nitori about it."
-
>"You aren't safe at your temple. Nitori will be more than happy to house you, I'm sure. She'd doing everything she can to restore Gensokyo and help those who've come to harm or other problems. In fact, her facility ended up becoming something of an impromptu command center."
>"I can easily bring Ichirin and Murasa there, too."
>"Please, Byakuren. You knew you needed to leave the temple; thats why you agreed to come here. You know it's still not safe to return to the temple, so at the very least let's ask Nitori about it."
>"Again, I must decline. Considering that we will likely be spending much of our time there until your coup, there is little point to us resting in a different location."
>"I do not think that there is such a need for worry. If there was an attack planned on us, it would have already occurred."
>_
-
>"Very well then, but please be careful."
>And that's the end of message delivery. Goodbyes and off to harass Ran get some food.
-
>"Very well then, but please be careful."
>And that's the end of message delivery. Goodbyes and off to harass Ran get some food.
>"You need not worry about that."
>With that done, you decide to say good bye before heading off to see what Ran has made for you.
>"Fare well and, similarly, you should take care as well. We shall take our leave then."
>You leave as Byakuren begins to talk to Shou and Nazrin, and head for your own home.
>Inside, you and Chen head for the kitchen, where you see Ran adding the finishing touches to a few dishes.
>_
-
>Ah right, gotta tell Ran about vamoosing tomorrow as well. Since she can't stick around Mayohiga, we can get her to talk to Keine for us.
>"We're back~"
>By the way, what is our, Ran's and Chen's relationship with Keine? She isn't still mad about the missing moon incident, is she?
-
>Ah right, gotta tell Ran about vamoosing tomorrow as well. Since she can't stick around Mayohiga, we can get her to talk to Keine for us.
>"We're back~"
>By the way, what is our, Ran's and Chen's relationship with Keine? She isn't still mad about the missing moon incident, is she?
>You wonder how that conversation would go.
>"One moment, master, please wait in the dining room and I will be with you shortly."
>Not the best. Ran and Chen have not really interacted with Keine. Keine rather dislikes you, on the other hand, for the missing moon incident and some quips that you never bothered to make amends for.
>_
-
>To the dining room, gap style just because we can.
>Eh, what did we tell her? We might need to keep lists of everyone we've offended for whatever reason, but does Gensokyo even have that much paper?
-
>To the dining room, gap style just because we can.
>Eh, what did we tell her? We might need to keep lists of everyone we've offended for whatever reason, but does Gensokyo even have that much paper?
>You gap yourself to the dining room, simply because you feel like it.
>You hear Chen calling out "Master?" as you appear in the dining room. She'll find you soon enough.
>After a short amount of time, Ran and Chen both enter the dining room. Ran is carrying a several plates with what you believe to be 'hamburgers' on them which she sets on the table.
>Ran holds out a chair for you while Chen takes a seat for herself.
>If you're recalling correctly, which you probably are, you insulted her about being an animal that tried so hard to pretend to be human.
>_
-
>Eh, she is pretty much. Or was.
>Take a seat. Wait for Ran to sit.
>"How would you like to talk to go on another trip to the human village?"
-
>Eh, she is pretty much. Or was.
>Take a seat. Wait for Ran to sit.
>"How would you like to talk to go on another trip to the human village?"
>Right? She really shouldn't take such things so personally.
>You take the seat that Ran offers you. Ran then takes a seat herself.
>The three of you begin to start eating your meal when you ask Ran a question.
>"To the human village?"
>_
-
>"I'm going to reset Mayohiga so our uninvited guests will stop stumbling into our home. But, while I'm doing that you two need to be elsewhere for the day."
>"Coincidentally, I want to find out the history of what made Reimu become more miserly than usual and the resident Hakutaku doesn't appreciate my wit~"
-
>"I'm going to reset Mayohiga so our uninvited guests will stop stumbling into our home. But, while I'm doing that you two need to be elsewhere for the day."
>"Coincidentally, I want to find out the history of what made Reimu become more miserly than usual and the resident Hakutaku doesn't appreciate my wit~"
>"I see."
>"So you wish for me to speak with the one that attempted to hide the village some time back? Very well. Is there anything else that you require?"
>_
-
>"I'm planning an intervention for Reimu to get her back to her normal grouchiness. Any advice on that front would be lovely."
-
>"I'm planning an intervention for Reimu to get her back to her normal grouchiness. Any advice on that front would be lovely."
>"I will try asking, though I know not what results that would yield."
>"Though, if I may ask a question, what would asking these questions accomplish?"
>_
-
>"Information. Something happened while I was in the border that caused such a shift in Reimu's personality. We were preoccupied, and everyone I met had their own problems at the time."
>"I want to find someone who knows what changed, and I'd rather be there myself for questioning Marisa."
>Since that would make it easier to get our stuff back from the kleptomaniac.
-
>"Information. Something happened while I was in the border that caused such a shift in Reimu's personality. We were preoccupied, and everyone I met had their own problems at the time."
>"I want to find someone who knows what changed, and I'd rather be there myself for questioning Marisa."
>Since that would make it easier to get our stuff back from the kleptomaniac.
>"I am simply sceptical of how much this person would know. Regardless, I must agree that it is more productive than doing nothing."
"Shall I try asking others if the conversation with the hakutaku does not produce results?"
>Having some more leverage on people is always nice.
>_
-
>"By all means. Someone must have some idea of what happened."
>Sheesh, are we really the only person that regularly kept an eye on Reimu? That's a bit sad actually.
-
>"By all means. Someone must have some idea of what happened."
>Sheesh, are we really the only person that regularly kept an eye on Reimu? That's a bit sad actually.
>"Let us hope that that is the case."
>Having finished her meal, Ran collected Chen's plate along and made her way to the kitchen. Chen trailed behind Ran.
>"Hey, Ran-sama, are we going somewhere tomorrow?"
>Well, it wasn't as though anyone else had any reason to regularly watch Reimu.
>_
-
>True, but you would think that her other friends would have visited before she went all crazy.
>On that note, how often did people visit Reimu?
>Wash up then sleepytimes, we're going to be busy tomorrow.
-
>True, but you would think that her other friends would have visited before she went all crazy.
>On that note, how often did people visit Reimu?
>Wash up then sleepytimes, we're going to be busy tomorrow.
>You wonder how noticeable the change would have actually been.
>Very rarely, actually. Her most frequent visitor other than you was Marisa, who would usually see her once or twice a week.
>As you think about various things, you finish eating your hamburger.
>Leaving the plate on the table, Ran would probably clean it up later, you head to a bathroom to clean yourself up.
>Once you're done there, you change into a pair of pyjamas and call it a night. For once, you might be able to get a decent amount of sleep.
>Another day and, once again, you must force yourself out of bed.
>_
-
>Force ourselves out of bed, check how good of a shape we're in.
>Take a peek out of the window to check the time.
>Get dressed up and head off to the dining room.
-
>Long for the days when we could sleep for double digit hours freely, only waking to go troll Ran and Reimu.
-
>Force ourselves out of bed, check how good of a shape we're in.
>Take a peek out of the window to check the time.
>Get dressed up and head off to the dining room.
>You groan as you lift yourself out of the bed. Fortunately you aren't in as a bad a shape as you have been a few times recently.
>You head over to a window and take a look outside. Judging from both your internal clock and the sky outside, you'd guess that it is roughly 8AM.
>You change out of your pyjamas and head for the dining room, where you find Ran drinking some tea with Chen. There appears to be a cup for you.
>"Good morning, master."
>"Good morning, master!"
>Long for the days when we could sleep for double digit hours freely, only waking to go troll Ran and Reimu.
>Oh, how you do miss those carefree days. All the more reason to get this incident resolved sooner.
>_
-
>"Morning Ran, Chen."
>To the tea
>"Is everyone ready for today?"
-
>"Morning Ran, Chen."
>To the tea
>"Is everyone ready for today?"
>Ran gives you a nod while Chen quickly runs over to give you a hug, which you return.
>After a few moments, you let go of Chen and head for the tea set for you.
>"We are prepared. I have also confirmed that our guests have made their preparations."
>_
-
>"Then we're ready for the beginning of the end of this Incident."
-
>"Then we're ready for the beginning of the end of this Incident."
>"Shall we take our leave then?"
>_
-
>Drop Ran and Chen into a gap to the front of Keine's house
>"Good luck~"
>We should check to see if our guests have left before we get to work.
>What would happen if we tried to reset the place with others there anyway?
-
>Drop Ran and Chen into a gap to the front of Keine's house
>"Good luck~"
>We should check to see if our guests have left before we get to work.
>What would happen if we tried to reset the place with others there anyway?
>You open up a gap for Ran and Chen leading Keine's residence in the human village.
>You send the two off with your well wishes.
>You head outside and knock on the door to the house that your guests were in. There is no response. You open the door to see nobody inside.
>It wouldn't be very hidden, would it?
>_
-
>Eh, point
>Well time to go about resetting the place.
-
>Eh, point
>Well time to go about resetting the place.
>You take a seat and concentrate, observing every border in and around Mayohiga.
>You begin the slow process of pulling these borders apart and reforming them to your liking...
>You are Ran Yakumo.
>You and your shikigami Chen have just been gapped rather unceremoniously to the human village by your master.
>You are expected to try speaking with Keine about the current incident, as well as anyone else that may have useful information while your master works on her own projects.
>In front of you is a small house, every window you can see appears to have their blinds drawn so that you cannot look into the house.
>_
-
>This is Keine's house correct?
>Knock on the door; we are a bit more polite than our master and should set a good example for Chen.
-
>This is Keine's house correct?
>Knock on the door; we are a bit more polite than our master and should set a good example for Chen.
>From the times that you have visited the human village, you believe this to be correct.
>You walk up to and knock on the door. Chen trails behind you. Though people may not think much of your master's etiquette, you do not wish for others to think of you in the same way.
>After about a minute, the door opens, revealing a dishevelled and grumpy looking Mokou.
>"What do you want?"
>_
-
>"Good morning, is Ms Kamishirasawa available?"
Damnit why does Keine have such a long and hard to spell last name.
-
>"Good morning, is Ms Kamishirasawa available?"
>"You're that fox that works for that gap hag, aren't you?"
>"Keine ain't seeing guests like you."
>Mokou begins to move to close the door.
>_
-
>"I'm afraid it's important. She would be here herself, but she is attending to other matters."
>"And no, that does not mean she is asleep. She is currently occupied altering Mayohiga to protect it from Reimu."
-
>"I'm afraid it's important. She would be here herself, but she is attending to other matters."
>"And no, that does not mean she is asleep. She is currently occupied altering Mayohiga to protect it from Reimu."
>"Tell that someone who cares."
>The door shuts on you.
>_
-
>"If I don't talk to her, my Master will likely come herself and from what I understand, Ms Kamishirasawa would rather not talk to her."
>Even Mokou should be well aware that Yukari won't let things like courtesy or privacy stop her right?
>Who do we know of besides Keine that would fulfill Yukari's request?
-
>"If I don't talk to her, my Master will likely come herself and from what I understand, Ms Kamishirasawa would rather not talk to her."
>Even Mokou should be well aware that Yukari won't let things like courtesy or privacy stop her right?
>Who do we know of besides Keine that would fulfill Yukari's request?
>There is no response.
>"That lady was mean! I wonder if she doesn't like master..."
>You wonder who isn't aware of that fact.
>You aren't entirely sure, given that you yourself were inactive for a large duration of time. You do note, however, that most of Gensoukyo's prominent figures are usually quite aware of the events occurring within Gensoukyo, as are people such as Rinnosuke Morichika and Hieda no Akyu. You believe that your master has already spoken with the latter two, however.
>_
-
>"If Keine doesn't want to speat to me, I'm afraid I'm going to have to insist on hearing this from Keine herself."
>If there's no respons, open the door, but don't go in. "I really do have to insist. I'd much rather handle matters politely, but I do have my orders."
-
>"If Keine doesn't want to speat to me, I'm afraid I'm going to have to insist on hearing this from Keine herself."
>If there's no respons, open the door, but don't go in. "I really do have to insist. I'd much rather handle matters politely, but I do have my orders."
>You get the feeling that nobody is listening on the other side of the door, but you try saying something anyway.
>As expected, there is no response. You try opening the door, but it is locked.
>_
-
>What abilities do we have? In particular, does the shikigami bond allow us access to any of Yukari's gap abilities?
-
>What abilities do we have? In particular, does the shikigami bond allow us access to any of Yukari's gap abilities?
>Both your body and mind are quite sharp, with the speed and strength granted by virtue of being a youkai and a intellect few humans could dream of matching.
>You also dabble in black magic, though you tend not to use it that much. A magic you use more often is the summoning type, where you call upon the help of your fellows.
>You also have a special connection with Yukari Yakumo. By being near her and obeying her orders you are able to assume her strength as your own, drastically improving your own abilities.
>You have a similar connection with Chen, who can gain your strength by being close to you.
>You are not able to manipulate borders like your master, she is rather special in that regard. However, as her servant, you have been taught the basics to the point where you can perform maintenance on the Great Hakurei Border.
>_
-
>Do we know where Marisa lives by chance?
>As we're here, any sign of that thief who took our hand trying to harm Chen?
-
>Do we know where Marisa lives by chance?
>As we're here, any sign of that thief who took our hand trying to harm Chen?
>Why wouldn't you? Provided it hasn't changed too much over the past two years, you are quite familiar with the layout of the human village. Marisa Kirisame lives by herself in a house just outside of the human village's borders, near the forest of magic.
>Not yet, you would surely know if you happened to see any of those people. You do not that there aren't many people walking around in this part of the village.
>_
-
>Well as we're here, might as well walk about the village. Besides, this is Marisa, she's probably here robbing someone.
-
>No, don't leave yet. We were told to talk to Keine.
>Walk away, wait for a few minutes, then walk back and knock again.
-
>That was the idea. Walk about the village itself incase we bump into Marisa here and/or find those bandits who are living on borrowed time right now, and pass back in the end.
>Besides, if we do find said thieves, us mauling them will make Keine show herself anyway.
-
>That work. We'll do a circuit through the village, then, ending back at Keine's house.
-
>Well as we're here, might as well walk about the village. Besides, this is Marisa, she's probably here robbing someone.
>No, don't leave yet. We were told to talk to Keine.
>Walk away, wait for a few minutes, then walk back and knock again.
>That was the idea. Walk about the village itself incase we bump into Marisa here and/or find those bandits who are living on borrowed time right now, and pass back in the end.
>Besides, if we do find said thieves, us mauling them will make Keine show herself anyway.
>That work. We'll do a circuit through the village, then, ending back at Keine's house.
>You wonder for a moment in regards to what your next course of action should be. You decide upon wandering the village to start.
>As you begin walking, Chen follows along, asking where the two of you are going. You simply reply that you are searching.
>You continue through the human village, gathering some strange looks as you do so, until you reach the marketplace. Here, you freeze. There is a small crowd of people listening to a group selling a supposed "miracle fluid". They claim that by drinking it, one could escape harsh reality and enter a world designed purely to pleasure them. You know these people selling the drug. They raided your home.
>You also see, out of the corner of your eye, Marisa Kirisame flying off towards the forest of magic.
>_
-
Have we talked to Marisa yet? If not, she might actually know something.
-
>This is something that Yukari's gapping habit would be useful for. Anyway, stay out of sight of the group.
>Being a kitsune and all, how good are we with disguising ourselves with illusions or magic? Even if they've never seen us in this form, any idiot could make the connection between the nine tailed fox and nine tailed fox lady.
>That and unless they're all kinds of stupid (likely actually but still) they should know what they were potentially messing with by attacking Mayohiga.
>If we can, do disguise ourselves and Chen to not be obvious as what we are.
>Consider the merits and problems with just killing the group where they stand with a blast of magic or our physical might
-
>This is something that Yukari's gapping habit would be useful for. Anyway, stay out of sight of the group.
>Being a kitsune and all, how good are we with disguising ourselves with illusions or magic? Even if they've never seen us in this form, any idiot could make the connection between the nine tailed fox and nine tailed fox lady.
>That and unless they're all kinds of stupid (likely actually but still) they should know what they were potentially messing with by attacking Mayohiga.
>If we can, do disguise ourselves and Chen to not be obvious as what we are.
>Consider the merits and problems with just killing the group where they stand with a blast of magic or our physical might
>Your master's powers would likely come in handy in quite a lot of situations. For the time being though, you make sure to skirt around the borders of the marketplace.
>You are quite talented at disguising yourself as a human, though you prefer not doing so. Not that there have been many situations where you needed to do such a thing anyway. Chen has nowhere near the level of mastery that you do over controlling her form though.
>Anybody should know that attacking your home would have consequences.
>"Ran-sama?"
>Chen gives you a quizzical look as you hide away your ears and tail. Of course, you retain your key features, but you should pass as a human to most for now.
>It would certainly be satisfying to crush the humans with the hand that they took from you. Easy, too. However, a public spectacle would certainly draw a lot of attention. Such an action would also likely cause yourself to be hunted by certain people. In addition, you would likely be scolded by your master.
>You are about to lose sight of Marisa Kirisame.
>_
-
Well now, do we go talk to Marisa, or figure out something to maim those thieves?
>I don't suppose that we have a good enough glamour to fool a large crowd, knock out those clowns and take them away without being noticed?
-
>I don't suppose that we have a good enough glamour to fool a large crowd, knock out those clowns and take them away without being noticed?
>You do not, especially when your targets are the centre of attention.
>_
-
>Fine, we can always find them again now that we know that they're in the Human Village. We have our shikigami duties to perform first.
>After Marisa then.
-
>Fine, we can always find them again now that we know that they're in the Human Village. We have our shikigami duties to perform first.
>After Marisa then.
>You decide to put off revenge for the time being and take flight after Marisa. Chen follows.
>As Marisa approaches the forest of magic, she stops and turns to face you.
>Once you catch up to her, Marisa is the first one to talk.
>"Oi, what's the big idea with following me?"
>_
-
>"How else would I manage to talk to you?"
-
>"How else would I manage to talk to you?"
>"You want to talk to me, ze?"
>"You work for that gap hag, don't you? What are you plotting?"
>_
-
>Why does everyone assume that Yukari-sama is plotting something?
>"I simply wish to question you on Reimu's shift in personality."
-
>Why does everyone assume that Yukari-sama is plotting something?
>"I simply wish to question you on Reimu's shift in personality."
>Most likely because she is. You yourself have questioned, mentally of course, your master's orders on occasion.
>"That sounds like it'd take a while, ze. Go bother someone else about it."
>Marisa turns from you and begins to fly into the forest of magic.
>_
-
>"I have. Thus I bother you now and I will keep it up until you help. You might as well have some use after stealing from us so frequently."
-
>"I have. Thus I bother you now and I will keep it up until you help. You might as well have some use after stealing from us so frequently."
>Marisa stops and turns once more.
>"Hey, bugger off, I'm busy. Or I'll make you."
>_
-
>Now that our contract with Yukari is back in play, can we take on Marisa with or without spellcards?
-
>Now that our contract with Yukari is back in play, can we take on Marisa with or without spellcards?
>Considering that you have been Marisa in the past whilst in close proximity to your master, as well as having your master preoccupied for the time being, you would say that your chances are slim at best.
>_
-
>How troublesome
>"If we help you with whatever is occupying your time, would you be more willing to talk?"
-
>How troublesome
>"If we help you with whatever is occupying your time, would you be more willing to talk?"
>It is rather annoying. Unfortunately, people that can deal with Marisa and the trouble she brings are few and far in between.
>"Now I really know you're up to something. Too bad, I work alone. Now bugger off."
>_
-
>Unfortunately she would need to be strong for one of the many people she steals from to not have taken their property back by now.
>Anyway, we aren't about to make anymore progress here and fighting her would just put Chen in danger.
>Is she generally so snappy by the way?
>Is there anyone who might know something that isn't unreasonably aggressive?
-
>Unfortunately she would need to be strong for one of the many people she steals from to not have taken their property back by now.
>Anyway, we aren't about to make anymore progress here and fighting her would just put Chen in danger.
>Is she generally so snappy by the way?
>Is there anyone who might know something that isn't unreasonably aggressive?
>The world is rather unfair in how it chooses to distribute strength.
>You think that giving up may be the best option at this point.
>Not normally, unless she is planning something.
>Unfortunately, most of Gensoukyo's residents tend to be rather aggressive. Who do you think might be a good person to ask?
>_
-
>Reasonable people to an extent; Keine, Akyu, Alice, Byakuren, Yukari sometimes, Eirin sometimes.
>Do we know anyone else because the only option there is Keine and we'd have to deal with Mokou.
-
>Well, we were going to go back anyways.
-
>Reasonable people to an extent; Keine, Akyu, Alice, Byakuren, Yukari sometimes, Eirin sometimes.
>Do we know anyone else because the only option there is Keine and we'd have to deal with Mokou.
>You know that Keine Kamishirasawa and your master have a mutual dislike of each other. It seems that you will have to appease Mokou first if you want to talk with Keine, though you know not why she is acting that way.
>Your master is acquainted with Hieda no Akyu, and you believe that the two have spoken since your master's awakening.
>From what you have heard from your master, Alice has been taken captive.
>Byakuren Hijiri and her crew are unlikely to have much information, due to the fact that they have been inactive for the better part of the past two years.
>Your master is busy right now, and is the person that sent you to gather information in the first place.
>You have become somewhat acquainted with Eirin Yagokoro, though she does not seem to be the type to give anything away freely.
>Well, we were going to go back anyways.
>Where are you going to go back to now?
>_
-
I was talking about going back to Keine's.
-
>Eh, back to the village then.
>Try to think up a plan to get past Mokou. Can we disguise ourselves well enough to fool Mokou and Keine? Chen can just hide till we're done.
-
>Eh, back to the village then.
>Try to think up a plan to get past Mokou. Can we disguise ourselves well enough to fool Mokou and Keine? Chen can just hide till we're done.
>You decide to give up on pursuing Marisa and fly back towards the village.
>As you leave, you can hear Marisa utter "Good riddance".
>As you fly, you try to think of a plan to see Keine. With Mokou seemingly intent on stopping you from seeing her, you need to think of a way to get past her.
>Unfortunately, when disguising yourself as a human, you retain most of your features. Enough that anyone acquainted with you should be able to tell that it is you.
>You wonder if there isn't a way to appease or distract Mokou somehow.
>_
-
>That is a good idea. What is there that Mokou actually is interested in though?
-
>That is a good idea. What is there that Mokou actually is interested in though?
>Unfortunately, you aren't particularly familiar with Mokou's interests and hobbies. You have heard from your master that she runs a grilled meat stand, perhaps cooking interests her? Though you wonder how you could use this information to placate her.
>It is also common knowledge that Mokou has an unhealthy obsession with Kaguya Houraisan, though you wonder how this could be used to your advantage.
>_
-
>Hmm, can we bewitch humans well enough to appear to be someone else entirely? Like those guards outside, we can make use of this.....
-
>Hmm, can we bewitch humans well enough to appear to be someone else entirely? Like those guards outside, we can make use of this.....
>Though you wouldn't be changing your own appearance, you certainly could use magic to change other's perception of you. There is the issue that you will only be affecting a limited number of people.
>_
-
>Still workable as long as there isn't much people...
>Would it believable for Kaguya to up and challenge Mokou by coming to the village guards and leaving a message?
-
>Still workable as long as there isn't much people...
>Would it believable for Kaguya to up and challenge Mokou by coming to the village guards and leaving a message?
>What will you do about the people in the human village, though?
>You aren't sure about how Kaguya and Mokou issue their challenges. Though you do get the impression that their quarrels are usually not so civil.
>_
-
>Isn't the village surrounded by a wall with guards? If we only need to fool them we can just walk up pretending to be Reisen or something and say that Kaguya is challenging Mokou right now.
-
>Isn't the village surrounded by a wall with guards? If we only need to fool them we can just walk up pretending to be Reisen or something and say that Kaguya is challenging Mokou right now.
>It is.
>You could certainly try, though from your experiences in watching the human village, Reisen tends only to visit when peddling medicines. Perhaps someone like Tewi might be a better target to emulate.
>_
-
>That works. Besides she probably deserves it
>Inform Chen of our plans and get her to hide herself close by
>Walk to the village and bewitch the guards outside to see and hear us as Tewi
>"Hey, Princess Kaguya's calling for Mokou to meet her in their usual spot. Don't think she's feeling patient either."
>If they're going to deliver it we should make ourselves scarce as well and just hide and wait until Mokou leaves.
-
>That works. Besides she probably deserves it
>Inform Chen of our plans and get her to hide herself close by
>Walk to the village and bewitch the guards outside to see and hear us as Tewi
>"Hey, Princess Kaguya's calling for Mokou to meet her in their usual spot. Don't think she's feeling patient either."
>If they're going to deliver it we should make ourselves scarce as well and just hide and wait until Mokou leaves.
>Tewi's reputation certainly isn't entirely positive.
>You tell Chen that you plan to bait Mokou away and to stay hidden for the time being.
>"If you say so, Ran-sama..."
>You leave Chen behind near the forest and approach the human village.
>As you near the gate, you see two guards, whom you quickly bewitch so that they do not see your true appearance.
>You walk closer to them, and the pair give you a suspicious look.
>"You filthy rabbit, what are you trying to pull this time?"
>You tell them that the princess wants to see Mokou.
>"Hmph. Don't you dare touch or try anything inside."
>The two guards stand down.
>_
-
>"Aw, what have I done to you? Besides, how do I deliver a message without touching anything...unless you two want to deliver it?~"
-
>"Aw, what have I done to you? Besides, how do I deliver a message without touching anything...unless you two want to deliver it?~"
>"Screw you!"
>"Like I care. Just don't mess with anything."
>_
-
>While we're at it, can be bewitch them enough to make it look like we're clearing not headed towards Keine's place?
-
>While we're at it, can be bewitch them enough to make it look like we're clearing not headed towards Keine's place?
>You cannot, unless you want to make it so that they don't see you at all. Which it is a bit too late to do since you've already talked with them.
>_
-
>Hey, if we can still do that, better idea
>"Hmm, I can deliver this message, or go have fun and let things sort themselves out. Fun it is!"
>Say this just loud enough for them to hear, like we're talking to ourselves a bit too loudly
>Dash out of their sight and lift the glamour once they can't see us
>Take our humanish looking form.
>If they're as wary as they say that should get them running to Mokou if only to head off a potential disaster.
-
Can we really afford to screw around like this? We get up to too much trouble, Reimu'll probably take notice, and then what?
Stuff goes down the crapper.
-
>Hey, if we can still do that, better idea
>"Hmm, I can deliver this message, or go have fun and let things sort themselves out. Fun it is!"
>Say this just loud enough for them to hear, like we're talking to ourselves a bit too loudly
>Dash out of their sight and lift the glamour once they can't see us
>Take our humanish looking form.
>If they're as wary as they say that should get them running to Mokou if only to head off a potential disaster.
>A thought comes across your mind.
>You mutter something fairly loudly to yourself, and sure enough, the guards notice.
>"Hey! Don't you dare!"
>You quickly dash off as soon as you note that the guards are chasing you. Naturally, you're much faster than them, though you take care not to leave them too far behind.
>You find a sharp turn between several buildings that you could use, and dispel the illusion once you're out of sight.
>You did not revert to your original form.
>You begin to walk normally when you hear the guards approaching.
>"Hey, you over there! Have you seen a rabbit around here?"
>You respond that you have not.
>You hear one of the guards sighing, though the other looks at you suspiciously. He whispers to the other guard. Naturally, you can easily make out what he is saying.
>"Doesn't that woman look strange? I don't think I've ever seen her around..."
>"We'll deal with that later. First things first, we've got to catch that damn rabbit. I swear, if it weren't for the medicines they give us..."
>You decide to assist the pair by suggesting that they ask Mokou for help.
>"I thought she was missing."
>"She came back the other day, remember? I think she was with the teacher..."
>"Well, she probably knows how to deal with those people better than anyone..."
>The two guards give you their thanks before running off.
>_
-
>Meh, good enough. Make ourselves scarce, don't need Mokou or those guards seeing us again.
>Keep an eye out for when Mokou leaves.
-
>Meh, good enough. Make ourselves scarce, don't need Mokou or those guards seeing us again.
>Keep an eye out for when Mokou leaves.
>You suppose that you've gotten what you wanted.
>You make sure that you stay out of sight as you watch over Keine's house.
>You see the guards talking to someone inside the house before Mokou walks out with a very sour expression on her face.
>Mokou and the guards begin to walk into a different part of the human village.
>_
-
>Once they're out of sight, slip into Keine's house. Not the time for decorum unfortunately.
-
>Once they're out of sight, slip into Keine's house. Not the time for decorum unfortunately.
>You wait until Mokou and the guards walk a bit further before you approach Keine's house.
>Through the doorway you can see Keine approaching, presumably to close the door.
>You note that you are still in your human appearance.
>_
-
>Ah. Close the door then.
>"I apologize for my rudeness Ms Kamishirasawa, but this is a bit of an urgent matter."
-
I'm pretty sure that Ran isn't actually in the house yet, so closing the door isn't the best idea.
-
>Eh, if not inside then yeah, leave out the door closing part.
-
>Ah. Close the door then.
>"I apologize for my rudeness Ms Kamishirasawa, but this is a bit of an urgent matter."
>Eh, if not inside then yeah, leave out the door closing part.
>Since there isn't any reason for you to close the door, you don't.
>You do, however, approach Keine.
>"Hmm? And you are? You do look familiar..."
>_
-
>"There's a reason for that."
>Resume our standard appearance.
-
>"There's a reason for that."
>Resume our standard appearance.
>"And what would that be?"
>You dispel your illusion, shifting back to your normal appearance.
>"Oh, you're that fox that comes by the village every so often, aren't you? I don't suppose you'll tell me why you were disguising yourself as a human?"
>_
-
>"It would seem that the villagers have become fairly unwelcoming of youkai."
-
>"It would seem that the villagers have become fairly unwelcoming of youkai."
>"Was there ever a time that they were? You still have yet to answer my question."
>_
-
>"My apologies. I came to ask about the history of what happened with the Hakurei shrine maiden two years ago."
-
>"My apologies. I came to ask about the history of what happened with the Hakurei shrine maiden two years ago."
>"I'm rather tired right now, and would rather spend my time with Mokou. Won't you come back another day?"
>_
-
>"Unfortunately, this is rather important. Reimu... just paid us a visit. Yukari is currently 'resetting' Mayohiga so that Reimu can no longer enter, and while she's doing so, she sent me here to try and learn just what happened to make Reimu the way she is."
-
>"Unfortunately, this is rather important. Reimu... just paid us a visit. Yukari is currently 'resetting' Mayohiga so that Reimu can no longer enter, and while she's doing so, she sent me here to try and learn just what happened to make Reimu the way she is."
>"Why are you asking me then? Can't you find someone else?"
>_
-
>"Because given your abilities and passion for history, if anyone would be aware of the events that transpired, it would be you."
>"And you would also be able to appreciate the problems of the Hakurei shrine maiden taxing everyone to maintain their continued existence as the guardian of the human village."
-
>"Because given your abilities and passion for history, if anyone would be aware of the events that transpired, it would be you."
>"And you would also be able to appreciate the problems of the Hakurei shrine maiden taxing everyone to maintain their continued existence as the guardian of the human village."
>You can hear Keine sigh.
>"I don't really want to talk about the past. Not now, at least."
>"I know that that's troublesome... But..."
>"What would you even get out of asking me these things?"
>_
-
>"Because my Mistress is attempting to reason with Reimu and she believes that when she was indisposed, something occurred that led Reimu to become like this. With the knowledge, she can ensure that it doesn't happen again."
>"If now really is a bad time though, when would be best?"
-
>"Because my Mistress is attempting to reason with Reimu and she believes that when she was indisposed, something occurred that led Reimu to become like this. With the knowledge, she can ensure that it doesn't happen again."
>"If now really is a bad time though, when would be best?"
>"I... don't think that I can help you, if that is the case. It's not that I do not want to, but rather that I do not know what transpired to change Reimu's behaviour."
>"The only information that I can offer is that, for a brief period of time during the breaking of the border, Reimu ceased to exist in this world. I do not know how she disappeared or returned, nor where she disappeared to."
>"Is that all you wanted from me?"
>_
-
>"...It's almost like what happened to Mistress Yukari. She was trapped inside the Border while she was performing emergency repairs. Do you think that perhaps Reimu too was trapped in a border?"
-
>"And can you think of anyone who might know more?"
-
Ooh, this isn't good. If that's what happened then no one else is really going to do any good. We gotta go talk to her.
-
>"...It's almost like what happened to Mistress Yukari. She was trapped inside the Border while she was performing emergency repairs. Do you think that perhaps Reimu too was trapped in a border?"
>"Is that what happened to her?"
>"If she were trapped, then how did she return?"
>"And can you think of anyone who might know more?"
>"I would have thought that the most knowledgeable person in regards to this would have been your master."
>_
-
>"I'm not quite sure on that, just that it took her two years to do so."
>The whole Nitori thing is supposed to be secret and all.
>"Most of the others were sealed away as well in some form. I believe my Mistress has already talked to them while releasing them and fully repairing the border."
>Anyway, this is a good piece of information, from this it is extremely unlikely that anyone except Reimu herself would know what happened to her. Possibly Marisa if Reimu confided in her but we can't make her talk anyway.
>"Thank you for your help."
>This should be enough, there's still those bandits but we can't deal with them without making a scene. Would Yukari be done at this point?"
-
>"I'm not quite sure on that, just that it took her two years to do so."
>The whole Nitori thing is supposed to be secret and all.
>"Most of the others were sealed away as well in some form. I believe my Mistress has already talked to them while releasing them and fully repairing the border."
>Anyway, this is a good piece of information, from this it is extremely unlikely that anyone except Reimu herself would know what happened to her. Possibly Marisa if Reimu confided in her but we can't make her talk anyway.
>"Thank you for your help."
>This should be enough, there's still those bandits but we can't deal with them without making a scene. Would Yukari be done at this point?"
>Keine shrugs.
>"You most likely know more about this than I do."
>You do want to avoid sharing your master's secrets if possible.
>"I suppose that is good to know."
>It certainly is interesting. You wonder what your master would make of it.
>"Then you're done here?"
>As you're about to reply that you are, you hear Mokou's voice coming from a short distance away.
>"Oi! You again! I thought I told you to bugger off!"
>You wish that you could have your revenge, but you're sure that an opportunity will present itself some other time.
>Your master would most likely not be finished yet, but it could be a good time to get some rest.
>_
-
>Yep, time to leave. Head back to Chen.
-
>Yep, time to leave. Head back to Chen.
>You've definitely overstayed your welcome.
>"Oi! Get back here, you animal!"
>You ignore Mokou's shouts and quickly take your leave.
>Fortunately, it seems that the guards are still distracted by their chase, and so you leave the village without any problems.
>Outside the village, near the outskirts of the forest of magic, you see Chen kicking some dirt around.
>_
-
>So hot-tempered that Mokou
>"I'm back Chen."
>Get some rest till our mistress would likely be done.
-
>So hot-tempered that Mokou
>"I'm back Chen."
>Get some rest till our mistress would likely be done.
>She does seem rather impulsive.
>Upon hearing your voice, Chen perks her head up before making her way towards you.
>"What were you doing, Ran-sama? Was everything okay?"
>You assure Chen that everything went as planned, and that it's time to take a break.
>"Okay!"
>You and Chen find a fairly secluded area in the forest of magic where the two of you play for a while. You both then proceed to quietly rest within the forest.
>You are Yukari Yakumo.
>You give in to your need to stretch your arms as you finally complete your task. Mayohiga should be hidden to any and all that search for it. Not even your shikigami should be able to find the place, unless you were to call her or she happened to find it through chance while lost.
>It is quite late, you would guess the time to be around 8PM.
>_
-
>Definitely call to Ran and Chen. They need to be able to find it.
-
>Definitely call to Ran and Chen. They need to be able to find it.
>You send a quick message to Chen with Mayohiga's location. You're sure that they'll likely be back soon.
>You wonder what you should do now.
>_
-
>Reimu has barriers we can't bypass. This is not right.
>Options for bypassing barriers.
-
>To be fair, we didn't actually try to bypass them.
-
>Reimu has barriers we can't bypass. This is not right.
>Options for bypassing barriers.
>To be fair, we didn't actually try to bypass them.
>You take a brief moment to think about the methods you employ to bypass various barriers.
>The first would be to simply ignore them completely. This would, of course, require knowledge on the outcome you desired.
>The second would be to dismantle the barrier, though this process can take some time and is likely to alert the creator of the barrier of your actions.
>The third option would be to alter the barrier, though this is not always guaranteed to work.
>_
-
>Well we should at least understand what barrier she's using to stop us from gapping into the mansion and yanking Alice.
>That and it would be bothersome to have to wait outside the barrier for her when we visit.
-
>Well we should at least understand what barrier she's using to stop us from gapping into the mansion and yanking Alice.
>That and it would be bothersome to have to wait outside the barrier for her when we visit.
>You know that the barrier Reimu is using to protect herself is similar to the Great Hakurei Border, though on a much smaller scale.
>The main thing stopping you from simply entering and grabbing Alice is a lack of knowledge on what is on the other side of that border. That is to say, you do not know the layout of Reimu's mansion.
>That would be rather bothersome.
>_
-
>Eh, next goal; if we have to fight with Reimu till she calms down, something to stop her from sealing us, and can we easily ascend to Reimu's Fantasy Heaven level to fight with her if she pulls it out.
>For the border, our goal would be to knock on her door, because us bypassing it entirely just to do that would be amusing.
-
>Eh, next goal; if we have to fight with Reimu till she calms down, something to stop her from sealing us, and can we easily ascend to Reimu's Fantasy Heaven level to fight with her if she pulls it out.
>For the border, our goal would be to knock on her door, because us bypassing it entirely just to do that would be amusing.
>You suppose that it's the only thing left to do, isn't it?
>That would probably be rather amusing.
>As you think about what you should be doing next, you sense Ran and Chen approaching.
>_
-
>Now that we've already made them get here on their own, gap them inside. Just because.
-
>Now that we've already made them get here on their own, gap them inside. Just because.
>You decide to give Ran and Chen you assistance and open up a gap to your home right in front of them.
>You see Chen tumble through the gap's exit, though Ran calmly steps through. You'll get her one of these days.
>"Master!"
>Chen, undeterred by her fall, uses the momentum to quickly make her way towards you.
>_
-
>Scoop her up into a hug. Never enough family hugs.
>"So how was your outing today?"
-
>Scoop her up into a hug. Never enough family hugs.
>"So how was your outing today?"
>There most certainly aren't!
>You pick up Chen, making sure to give her a nice hug.
>"Chen didn't get to do much..."
>"I had fun, though!"
>Ran seems to have something to say.
>_
-
>"How did things go? Did you learn anything?"
-
>"How did things go? Did you learn anything?"
>Ran waits for you to detach yourself from Chen before she gives you a brief summary.
>"It would seem as though the Hakurei maiden disappeared for a brief period of time when the border first broke. It would likely be a safe assumption that something about her changed during this time."
>"The black and white thief still seems to be roaming the land, though I know not of her current location."
>"Other than that, I do not know much else."
>_
-
>What do we know of the connections that the Hakurei Lineage has to the border?
-
>Yep, definitely need to talk to Reimu. Though if its a border issue experience suggests that we'll have to deal with it ourselves.
>What do we know of Marisa's relationship to Reimu?
>On that note, we should get around to taking our stuff back.
-
>What do we know of the connections that the Hakurei Lineage has to the border?
>The Hakurei have been tied to the border for almost as long as you have. After the creation of the border, you found their blood to be quite attuned to the border, and so decided to delegate the responsibility of guarding it to them.
>Yep, definitely need to talk to Reimu. Though if its a border issue experience suggests that we'll have to deal with it ourselves.
>What do we know of Marisa's relationship to Reimu?
>On that note, we should get around to taking our stuff back.
>As you thought for quite some time, you're not going to be able to resolve this incident without dealing with Reimu and whatever it is that happened to her.
>The two have known each other for most of their lives and, while it may not seem to be the case, the two are rather close friends. Despite Reimu's constant disapproval of Marisa's behaviours, the two trust each other quite well.
>What do you want to reacquire?
>_
-
>What did she take from us? Ask Ran in case we miss anything
>While we're at it, we should return everything else she's stolen to their owners because someone needs some karmic retribution.
-
>What did she take from us? Ask Ran in case we miss anything
>While we're at it, we should return everything else she's stolen to their owners because someone needs some karmic retribution.
>From you, very little. You're quite adept at keeping yourself and your important belongings out of the reach of others. You don't think that you can say the same for your shikigami, though. You ask Ran if Marisa has ever stolen anything from you.
>"Whilst we have managed to keep her away from anything of value, that does not mean that we have not fallen victim to her kleptomania."
>"Food. Over the years I shudder to imagine how much of it she has managed to take from our stores."
>Isn't it great that someone like you is around to correct the injustices of the world?
>_
-
>Eh, not enough to warrant super trolling but yeah, gapping everything she's stolen back to their owners still sounds right up our alley.
>Except anything stupidly dangerous, that will depend on who the owner is.
-
>Eh, not enough to warrant super trolling but yeah, gapping everything she's stolen back to their owners still sounds right up our alley.
>Except anything stupidly dangerous, that will depend on who the owner is.
>Oh, you do love how charitable you are.
>Of course, anything dangerous will have to remain with you. For their own good, of course.
>_
-
>But of course.
>"Well one good turn deserves another~ And I suppose that I should ensure that everyone knows that I'm back."
>Proceed with Marisa trolling. Let the family watch; this should be a good bonding moment and Chen needs magnificent bastardry lessons.
>As well as cooking classes, the horror of the mountain must never be repeated by any of our family.
-
>But of course.
>"Well one good turn deserves another~ And I suppose that I should ensure that everyone knows that I'm back."
>Proceed with Marisa trolling. Let the family watch; this should be a good bonding moment and Chen needs magnificent bastardry lessons.
>As well as cooking classes, the horror of the mountain must never be repeated by any of our family.
>"I do believe that most of Gensokyo's residents are already aware of your return."
>You tell Ran to be quiet before you continue.
>Dealing with Marisa is no simple task, she is quite powerful in her own right. You consider how you might go about your task.
>You think about how you might want to approach this. You could simply travel to her house, hoping that Marisa is not around. Alternatively, you could try to create a distraction, though that would require you to find and interact with Marisa. Of course, there are many other options available, you wonder what you should do.
>You still have a lot of things to teach your shikigami. When the time comes, that is.
>_
-
>Well first, start with our standard spying methods when we want to look in without others noticing. Spy on her house first in case she's there.
-
>Well first, start with our standard spying methods when we want to look in without others noticing. Spy on her house first in case she's there.
>Of course, you don't want to head into anything unprepared.
>You open up a small gap inside Marisa's house which you peer through.
>As expected, the inside of her home is a complete mess. You can see innumerable objects strewn across the floor, as well as all over various tables, desks, cabinets, and shelves.
>You then quickly check the exterior of her home with another gap. You do not see Marisa anywhere near her home.
>_
-
>So no Marisa and too much stuff to sort through quickly.
>Meh, gap all the stuff to us then and then sort through our haul.
-
>No, gap it to us and make Ran sort through it.
-
>So no Marisa and too much stuff to sort through quickly.
>Meh, gap all the stuff to us then and then sort through our haul.
>No, gap it to us and make Ran sort through it.
>She does have far too many belongings. If you were to sort through it at her home, you run the risk of having Marisa return.
>With complete disregard for the items, you unceremoniously dump everything from Marisa's house into Mayohiga. You wonder how angry Marisa will be when she realizes.
>You hear a fair amount of noise outside as everything falls into one large pile.
>Ran sighs.
>"Come Chen, it seems we have some work to do."
>"Nya... Okay!"
>Ran and Chen take their leave.
>_
-
>Supervise the sorting
>And by supervise of course we mean sit back and watch until something interesting shows up in there
-
>If we find anything that seems to actually, legitimately be Marisa's, put it back in her house. After all, we're just taking what she's stolen. No reason to take things that are truly hers.
-
>Supervise the sorting
>And by supervise of course we mean sit back and watch until something interesting shows up in there
>You decide to follow Ran and Chen out to where the items are, watching as they slowly sort the items by magical power.
>First, a small mountain of books are removed from the general pile. Several of these books are kept away from everything else, and you can feel some power coming from them.
>Most of the items appear to be mundane trinkets from the various factions in Gensoukyo. There are, however, a few things that stand out.
>Firstly, the plethora of mushrooms of many varieties. Some of them look rather dangerous.
>There are also many potions and fireworks. Leaving them alone is probably not the best idea.
>Marisa seems to be in possession of a fair amount of machinery from the outside world. The most dangerous of these would be something called an 'assault rifle'.
>You note that the Kusanagi no Tsurugi, which you believed to be in Marisa's possession, is not here.
>If we find anything that seems to actually, legitimately be Marisa's, put it back in her house. After all, we're just taking what she's stolen. No reason to take things that are truly hers.
>You return the mushrooms to Marisa's home. You aren't entirely sure what else actually belongs to her.
>_
-
>The books are either Patchouli's or Alice's, we'll get Alice to sort through what's left after we go through and screen for excessive danger once we spring her.
>Potions, fireworks, sounds up Marisa's field of research and likely truly hers. Return those.
>Not a one of those outside machinery is likely hers. Make sure to take measures that no one can come in contact with anything there really dangerous. Like that assault rifle.
>The rest of outside stuff we'll sort through at some point. Which means that Ran will sort through it and store it.
>If the trinkets aren't interesting and we can tell to some degree who their real owners are, return them.
>If anything there is Reimu's keep it in a pile by itself, got something special for that.
>Anything of note in the magical books pile?
-
>The books are either Patchouli's or Alice's, we'll get Alice to sort through what's left after we go through and screen for excessive danger once we spring her.
>Potions, fireworks, sounds up Marisa's field of research and likely truly hers. Return those.
>Not a one of those outside machinery is likely hers. Make sure to take measures that no one can come in contact with anything there really dangerous. Like that assault rifle.
>The rest of outside stuff we'll sort through at some point. Which means that Ran will sort through it and store it.
>If the trinkets aren't interesting and we can tell to some degree who their real owners are, return them.
>If anything there is Reimu's keep it in a pile by itself, got something special for that.
>Anything of note in the magical books pile?
>You assume that the books likely belong to either Patchouli or Alice. You tell Ran to store them somewhere safe for the time being.
>You think that the potions and fireworks are probably Marisa's. You return them to where you found them.
>You doubt the ownership of the machinery. You personally gap away the objects that look dangerous, namely the assault rifle, so that they cannot be misused.
>You tell Ran to store the other machinery, including a small clock, a flashlight, and a motor of some sort, somewhere safe for the time being. You'll find out who they belong to later.
>You find several objects adorned with snake or frog imagery that you assume belongs to the Moriya shrine. You place these items outside the shrine through a gap.
>You also find several ornate knives, which you assume belong to the maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. You casually drop off the knives within their home. That maid will probably collect them in no time.
>You have Ran collect plates and cutlery that you've seen from the Hakurei shrine and place them in their own little pile. You wonder what you'll do with these.
>Most of the magical books fail to catch your interest. They appear to simply be books about magic of various types that have various enchantments to protect them.
>There is, however, a blank book. This also happens to be the book with the strongest magical power.
>_
-
>Investigate. Can we tell what the book does?
-
>Investigate. Can we tell what the book does?
>You take a closer look at the book. The pages are loosely bound together, and it feels as though the entire book would fall apart if you were to turn the pages with too much force.
>There is no writing on any of the pages either.
>You cannot immediately tell what this book's purpose is.
>_
-
>Hmm, try writing hello on a page and see what happens.
>Be ready to deal with shenanigans quickly
-
>Hmm, try writing hello on a page and see what happens.
>Be ready to deal with shenanigans quickly
>Wary of any potential consequences, you write a simple 'Hello' into one of the book's pages.
>Fortunately, nothing terrible occurs. You do note, however, that the ink you used to write the word seemed to lift itself off the page before disappearing.
>_
-
What, did we get our hands on a Horcrux? Do we need to find a poison dagger?
>Can we pick up anything with our boundary powers?
>Anything else happening with the book?
-
>Can we pick up anything with our boundary powers?
>Anything else happening with the book?
>Not in particular.
>Other than the ink lifting itself off the pages, no.
>_
-
>Meh, something to work on later
>Now for Reimu's stuff, get some ribbons and stuff and wrap it up like a gift. Then get some fine sake and some snacks to carry as well.
>Did we figure out how to bypass Reimu's barrier enough to knock on her door yet?
>How are we feeling right now?
-
>Meh, something to work on later
>Now for Reimu's stuff, get some ribbons and stuff and wrap it up like a gift. Then get some fine sake and some snacks to carry as well.
>Did we figure out how to bypass Reimu's barrier enough to knock on her door yet?
>How are we feeling right now?
>You suppose you'll figure out what this book does later.
>You have Ran neatly wrap all of Reimu's belongings, as well as prepare some fine sake and snacks.
>To get outside her home to knock on the door is simple, since the entire area is plainly visible.
>A bit tired. It is getting late, and you've spent the entire day working after all.
>_
-
>Then off to bed. Tomorrow's busy day and all that.
>But first, let's discreetly spy on Marisa's house again; it's not a complete trolling until we see her reaction.
>Get a camcorder or something along those lines too, we might want to record this
-
>Then off to bed. Tomorrow's busy day and all that.
>But first, let's discreetly spy on Marisa's house again; it's not a complete trolling until we see her reaction.
>Get a camcorder or something along those lines too, we might want to record this
>You suppose it's time to turn in for the night. You'll have another busy day waiting for you tomorrow, after all.
>Before you do so, however, you have one little thing you want to do.
>You open up a small gap to inside Marisa's house. You most definitely do not want to miss her reaction. It's a pity that you haven't been able to acquire a video recorder yet.
>Fortunately, you don't have to wait long before you can hear her entering her house.
>You quickly shift your gap around so that you can see her smiling expression change into one of confusion, before quickly shifting to rage.
>"What the hell is this?! Who the hell-"
>As Marisa quickly looks around her house, she notices your gap.
>"You hag! What have you done?! I swear I'll-"
>With that, you close your gap and prepare to go to sleep.
>After washing yourself and getting changed into something more comfortable, you make your way into your bed, wondering what tomorrow will bring.
>You yawn and stretch as you sit up in your bed.
>You would guess the current time to be around 8AM.
>_
-
>The thief angry that someone took back what she stole, how hypocritical. Amusing though.
>Get some food in us; we have quite the task for today.
-
>The thief angry that someone took back what she stole, how hypocritical. Amusing though.
>Get some food in us; we have quite the task for today.
>You just hope that you won't have to deal with her any time soon, lest your enjoyment be cut short.
>You most certainly can't act on an empty stomach. Fortunately, when you step into the dining room, Ran seems to have already finished preparing breakfast for you.
>Today you have a food from the outside world called 'waffles'. Chen seems to enjoy them quite a lot.
>You quickly finish your meal in peace. What will you be doing today?
>_
-
>"It needs to be done sooner or later; today I'm going to try to talk to Reimu."
-
>"It needs to be done sooner or later; today I'm going to try to talk to Reimu."
>Ran sighs.
>"And I suppose that you will insist upon going alone?"
>_
-
>"If Reimu decides to be her grouchy self, I'd rather that you two were out of the line of fire."
>Orgainze our gift of Reimu's stuff, drinks and snacks, and make sure that we have all of our spellcards and the umbrella.
>And of course be properly attired. Then we're off to Reimu.
>Note to gap Marisa to the Underground if she's there.
-
>"If Reimu decides to be her grouchy self, I'd rather that you two were out of the line of fire."
>Orgainze our gift of Reimu's stuff, drinks and snacks, and make sure that we have all of our spellcards and the umbrella.
>And of course be properly attired. Then we're off to Reimu.
>Note to gap Marisa to the Underground if she's there.
>"As you wish, master."
>Ran sighs again before she disappears to perform some other task.
>You also move to get dressed, this time opting to change into your favourite purple dress. Of course, you can't forget your hat with this dress.
>After having changed, you collect the gifts you had prepared for Reimu the day before before gapping yourself right outside her mansion.
>You find yourself in front of the mansion's large doors. Nobody else seems to be around.
>_
-
>Knock
>Mess with the boundary of silence and noise to make sure that Reimu hears us knocking.
-
>Knock
>Mess with the boundary of silence and noise to make sure that Reimu hears us knocking.
>You take hold of the door's handle and knock it against a metal plate. It makes a rather loud noise. You don't think that you'd need to manipulate anything to make it heard throughout the mansion.
>After a short moment's wait, the main door creaks open, revealing a small fairy.
>"Um... The lady says that she will see you. And... um... I'm supposed to... take you there! That's it!"
>The fairy looks rather proud of herself.
>_
-
>"Take me where?"
-
>"Take me where?"
>"Inside! Duh! Where there's food..."
>You think that the fairy might be starting to drool.
>_
-
>Well, let's follow her in, then.
-
>Well this explains the fairy thing anyway.
-
>Well this explains the fairy thing anyway.
>So this is where they've been.
>Well, let's follow her in, then.
>You follow the fairy into Reimu's mansion.
>The entrance hall is rather large, and you can see several doorways leading to various sections of the mansion along the walls.
>Near the back wall, there is a mirrored set of stairs from which you can you access a second level which has one door on it.
>The fairy takes you past the stairs, into a door below the one on the second level.
>You find yourself standing in a large dining room with a table, the length of which could compete with a small house.
>At the far end of the table, you see Reimu dressed in a red and white kimono.
>"Welcome, Yukari!"
>The fairy gives her best attempt at a curtsey before leaving the room.
>_
-
>Take a seat.
>"You seem to have been expecting me."
-
>Take a seat.
>"You seem to have been expecting me."
>You're about to take a seat at your end of the table when Reimu loudly objects before making her way over to you.
>"No, no, no. We can't have the guest of honour sitting at the far end of the table. She needs to be seated right next to the host!"
>Reimu pulls out the closest seat to her own for you. You decide to take it.
>Reimu herself sits down in her seat.
>"Don't worry, a small meal for us will arrive shortly."
>"Of course I have. I did ask you to visit me when you felt like talking, didn't I?"
>_
-
>"Yes, you did."
>"What have you been up to these past two years? Aside from the whole making-people-give-you-money thing."
-
>"Yes, you did."
>"What have you been up to these past two years? Aside from the whole making-people-give-you-money thing."
>"Right?"
>"Me? Not much. And, like I said, they're donations."
>"But those things don't matter. I wanted to talk about you."
>_
-
>"The people of Gensokyo seem to regard that quite differently, given that most of them are now living in fear of you. And I've also been hearing people say you've attacked anyone who couldn't pay. It happens, however, that there's really no need for you to continue such actions. You should know quite well that I am more than capable of getting you as much money as you could ever want."
>"And what exactly is it about me that you want to talk about?"
-
>Let's hold off on being so harsh for now; we did that already and we do have an idea of what might have happened this time around.
>I mean the first sentence, the second's fine.
>"How did you manage to get every fairy in Gensokyo in here and working anyway? I can't imagine them having the attention-span, especially that ice fairy."
>Do we sense anything offkey border wise with Reimu now that we're much closer?
>"There's something about you I'd like to talk with you about too. Besides the more aggressive donation hunting."
-
>"The people of Gensokyo seem to regard that quite differently, given that most of them are now living in fear of you. And I've also been hearing people say you've attacked anyone who couldn't pay. It happens, however, that there's really no need for you to continue such actions. You should know quite well that I am more than capable of getting you as much money as you could ever want."
>Let's hold off on being so harsh for now; we did that already and we do have an idea of what might have happened this time around.
>I mean the first sentence, the second's fine.
>You decide against provoking Reimu for the time being.
>"How did you manage to get every fairy in Gensokyo in here and working anyway? I can't imagine them having the attention-span, especially that ice fairy."
>Do we sense anything offkey border wise with Reimu now that we're much closer?
>"There's something about you I'd like to talk with you about too. Besides the more aggressive donation hunting."
>"Oh, that? It's easy. I just give them a couple of shiny things every now and again."
>Considering her affinity with the Great Hakurei Border and occupation, Reimu has always had a strange set of barriers around herself. However, the entire area along with Reimu still seems slightly off.
>"Oh? What would that be?"
>"And what exactly is it about me that you want to talk about?"
>"Well, you know what happened to Gensoukyo, right?"
>"The border broke. I've done my best to try to fix it, but I just don't know how."
>"You disappeared, after all, and you're the expert with these kinds of things."
>"So, instead, I've been doing what I can to make sure that nothing else happens to the border. To make sure that it doesn't break down any further."
>"People have appreciated that, and offered donations. But this is unrelated."
>"Anyway, you've come back, and you've even started to fix the border."
>"So, I wanted to ask if you would work with me. You seemed rather on edge the last time I tried to talk to you, though, so I thought I'd wait to ask until you'd calmed down."
>"Disappearing for two years has to take it's toll, after all, doesn't it?"
>"So, won't you help me?"
>Reimu reaches out a hand to you.
>_
-
>Don't take it.
>"To be honest, Reimu, the tales I've heard are... worrying. Byakuren and her followers, for example, say you were attacking people who couldn't pay. Incidentally, there's no need for you to seek donations by any means; I am quite capable of providing you with as much money as you could ever possibly want."
>"Anyways, you claim you haven't attacked people, and ordinarily I would believe you, but I've heard numerous tales to the contrary. The most notable, I think, is Byakuren's. Byakuren told me that she and her followers took on themselves the payments of people unable to meet your demands, and that when this became too much, you attacked them and sealed them away. Now, I doubt Byakuren would lie, but she could possibly be mistaken about your actions. Or perhaps she was tricked. Either I could believe, but there's one fact that doesn't fit with that explanation: the seals placed on them were of a variety such that only two people I know of could have placed them: you and me. I know I didn't do it, so if you would claim you didn't do it either, then I would have to wonder who did. Because they were sealed; that much is indisputable."
-
> "What happened to you when the border broke? What changed about you? I was trapped but I heard you disappeared too."
> Can we tell if this is actually Reimu or not?
-
>Don't take it.
>"To be honest, Reimu, the tales I've heard are... worrying. Byakuren and her followers, for example, say you were attacking people who couldn't pay. Incidentally, there's no need for you to seek donations by any means; I am quite capable of providing you with as much money as you could ever possibly want."
>"Anyways, you claim you haven't attacked people, and ordinarily I would believe you, but I've heard numerous tales to the contrary. The most notable, I think, is Byakuren's. Byakuren told me that she and her followers took on themselves the payments of people unable to meet your demands, and that when this became too much, you attacked them and sealed them away. Now, I doubt Byakuren would lie, but she could possibly be mistaken about your actions. Or perhaps she was tricked. Either I could believe, but there's one fact that doesn't fit with that explanation: the seals placed on them were of a variety such that only two people I know of could have placed them: you and me. I know I didn't do it, so if you would claim you didn't do it either, then I would have to wonder who did. Because they were sealed; that much is indisputable."
>You refuse to be swayed.
>"It's not my fault."
>"They tried to do something they couldn't handle. I was obligated to relieve them of their worries."
> "What happened to you when the border broke? What changed about you? I was trapped but I heard you disappeared too."
> Can we tell if this is actually Reimu or not?
>"Hmm, that? I simply happened to... see... a few things when I tried to fix the border myself."
>"But I haven't changed. I'm still me."
>"So won't you change your mind? Don't you want to help me?"
>Reimu continues to hold her hand out.
>_
-
>"Reimu, I do want to help you, not only because I've been incident resolving already as it is, but because you are my friend."
>"When the border started to break, I went within it to stop it from completely shattering. That kept me stuck there for the past two years but when the border broke, it swallowed up quite a few people and areas."
>"Every area caught in the border before I managed to stabilize it, every last one, had some major change come over them due to its influence, some of whom I'd have thought immune until I saw for myself."
>"Reimu, when you tried to fix the border and got dragged in, what did you see?"
>Man, given how badly everyone else got messed up by the border, Reimu going from sassy shrine maiden to dictator makes sense now.
Every area required us to fix the thing that was wrong more or less. In this case it seems to be getting Reimu to see what she's become since she's in super denial but provoking her into a fight will likely just make her shut us out.
-
>"Reimu, I do want to help you, not only because I've been incident resolving already as it is, but because you are my friend."
>"When the border started to break, I went within it to stop it from completely shattering. That kept me stuck there for the past two years but when the border broke, it swallowed up quite a few people and areas."
>"Every area caught in the border before I managed to stabilize it, every last one, had some major change come over them due to its influence, some of whom I'd have thought immune until I saw for myself."
>"Reimu, when you tried to fix the border and got dragged in, what did you see?"
>Man, given how badly everyone else got messed up by the border, Reimu going from sassy shrine maiden to dictator makes sense now.
>"Then join me. I'm sure that, with your help, there isn't anything that we can't do."
>"Is that where you've been?"
>"So is that what was happening with those cracks...?"
>"Me? Nothing much. Why does it matter?"
>You wonder if this can't be resolved peacefully.
>_
-
> The offness we're sensing right now, is it like those cracks?
-
> The offness we're sensing right now, is it like those cracks?
>You do get the feeling that it is similar but, at the same time, not quite alike.
>_
-
>"What exactly are you going to do with my help by the way?"
>"By the way, just what happened to the Scarlet devil's mansion? It seems to have shrunk quite a deal."
>"Oh, and have you seen Alice and Rinnosuke? I've been meaning to talk with them but I lost track of them after they came here and well I couldn't just stop by here without anything."
>Oh, give her her stuff back.
Hmm, maybe if we ask Reimu to prove that she hasn't done anything by going with her to the human village or something. If she's as bad as we've heard from everyone they aren't going to be exactly happy joy joy.
-
>"What exactly are you going to do with my help by the way?"
>"By the way, just what happened to the Scarlet devil's mansion? It seems to have shrunk quite a deal."
>"Oh, and have you seen Alice and Rinnosuke? I've been meaning to talk with them but I lost track of them after they came here and well I couldn't just stop by here without anything."
>Oh, give her her stuff back.
>"What else? Fix everything I couldn't."
>"Remilia? It was unfortunate, but I had to make an example out of her. I can't waste the energy it takes to deal with rebellions like that,"
>"Most of my efforts go towards maintaining the border, and it's easiest to do that when nothing else changes."
>"Rinnosuke and Alice? Not lately. It's possible they're here, though. Rinnosuke knows more about this place than I do. He was the one that designed it after all."
>"Oh? Is that for me? What is it?"
>You tell Reimu that you're simply returning the things that Marisa had taken from her.
>"How did you manage that?"
>Reimu snaps her fingers and, before long, two small fairies appear.
>"Sort through these and put them where they belong."
>You watch as the fairies take away the gift you had prepared for Reimu.
>_
-
>"Karma just decided to visit Marisa for a bit~"
>"Gensokyo itself is far too serious and depressing right now and like I said, fixing things is my main goal for now."
>"But, when I asked you earlier what you saw in the border, it's because the same distortions I sensed everywhere else, I'm feeling something very similar from you."
>Can we get an idea on what about Reimu feels different from the other cases? Is it just her Hakurei blood mixing with the gap mindscrew?
>Or is it that she feels like a source of it. Whatever she says, heaven didn't get covered in her brand of sealing talismans by itself.
>We are sure that was Reimu's magic we sensed on those right?
-
>"Karma just decided to visit Marisa for a bit~"
>"Gensokyo itself is far too serious and depressing right now and like I said, fixing things is my main goal for now."
>"But, when I asked you earlier what you saw in the border, it's because the same distortions I sensed everywhere else, I'm feeling something very similar from you."
>Can we get an idea on what about Reimu feels different from the other cases? Is it just her Hakurei blood mixing with the gap mindscrew?
>Or is it that she feels like a source of it. Whatever she says, heaven didn't get covered in her brand of sealing talismans by itself.
>We are sure that was Reimu's magic we sensed on those right?
>"That doesn't sound very pleasant."
>"It's the easiest to maintain.
>"From me? I assure you that I am still me, if that's what you're getting at."
>Not precisely. This may certainly be a factor.
>The feeling does seem to be coming from her.
>Unless someone else is able to mimic Reimu's techniques, you are quite sure.
>_
-
>"I'm quite sure that the Reimu from before the border incident wouldn't have sealed off an entire plane. No one really likes the celestials but the Dragon?"
>Say that quite deadpan-like.
>"Why did you do that by the way? Fixing that one was a bigger chore than I would have liked."
-
>"I'm quite sure that the Reimu from before the border incident wouldn't have sealed off an entire plane. No one really likes the celestials but the Dragon?"
>Say that quite deadpan-like.
>"Why did you do that by the way? Fixing that one was a bigger chore than I would have liked."
>"It's not my fault, so I can't be blamed for it."
>Reimu seems unfazed.
>"I had to. It was too difficult to maintain."
>_
-
>"Maintain? When does heaven need maintaining beyond the Dragon keeping things in check up there and the brat?"
>What's she talking about?
-
>"Maintain? When does heaven need maintaining beyond the Dragon keeping things in check up there and the brat?"
>What's she talking about?
>"Didn't I say? I've been making sure that nothing more happens to the border. It's far too much work to keep Bhava Agra as a part of Gensoukyo."
>You suppose that keeping the border from breaking further might take some effort. It's rather hard to know, considering that something like this has not happened before.
>_
-
>Wait, if heaven was cut off by the cracks in the border, how did Reimu get into heaven?
>Is it possible that Reimu's the one who cut off everywhere from gensokyo?
-
>Wait, if heaven was cut off by the cracks in the border, how did Reimu get into heaven?
>Is it possible that Reimu's the one who cut off everywhere from gensokyo?
>Unless she managed to enter the same way you did, which seems rather unlikely, you aren't sure.
>... It could be. Though the cracks seem unlike anything Reimu would make. Perhaps a side effect of what happened to the border?
>_
-
>Would that level of overkill fit Reimu's behaviour?
>"How did you even get into heaven to begin with with all the cracks in the border?"
>"...Reimu, how many people did you end up sealing to keep things stable?"
-
>Would that level of overkill fit Reimu's behaviour?
>"How did you even get into heaven to begin with with all the cracks in the border?"
>"...Reimu, how many people did you end up sealing to keep things stable?"
>Previously, you would have found the very notion to be laughable. With what you've seen recently, however...
>"I just found a place that wasn't broken."
>"The way you say that almost makes it sound as though you're accusing me of something. But that doesn't matter any more. After all, you're here to fix everything now, aren't you?"
>_
-
>"At least to get things back to Gensokyo's normal state, where a danmaku fight is enough for most incidents."
>"The border is fine now and the incident that damaged it to begin with won't happen again."
>"It really sounds like despite appearances, you've been having a hard time of it yourself."
>In an extreme and ruthless way, Reimu's decisions do kinda make sense given her duty to protect the border at all costs.
>Really, really extreme and ruthless. Was the border in that much danger even with us in it?
-
>"At least to get things back to Gensokyo's normal state, where a danmaku fight is enough for most incidents."
>"The border is fine now and the incident that damaged it to begin with won't happen again."
>"It really sounds like despite appearances, you've been having a hard time of it yourself."
>In an extreme and ruthless way, Reimu's decisions do kinda make sense given her duty to protect the border at all costs.
>Really, really extreme and ruthless. Was the border in that much danger even with us in it?
>"And that's great. You should keep at it."
>"Really? Already? You work pretty fast when you want to, don't you?"
>"Oh, you don't know the half of it. Trying to keep something from changing is pretty tiring."
>You suppose that what Reimu is saying could make sense... You wonder what use she had for the money though.
>The Great Hakurei Border was your masterpiece, one that took the combined efforts of both yourself and the Dragon to create. Whilst it does need constant maintenance, it should be sturdy enough to last for at least a decade without you, no matter what happens to it.
>_
-
>"Still, you might have overdone it just a bit. Something I made won't break that easily."
-
>"Still, you might have overdone it just a bit. Something I made won't break that easily."
>"Well it's not my fault, is it?"
>_
-
>Uh huh.....
>"Just take it easy for a bit okay? Well I'll be here to keep you occupied on that front at least~"
>"But first, like I said, there's a certain shopkeeper running around here that I need to have words with and I doubt that you want him sneaking about here either."
-
>Uh huh.....
>"Just take it easy for a bit okay? Well I'll be here to keep you occupied on that front at least~"
>"But first, like I said, there's a certain shopkeeper running around here that I need to have words with and I doubt that you want him sneaking about here either."
>You wonder if she's not hiding anything behind that behaviour.
>"Take it easy? I wish. Least I know why you spend so much time sleeping."
>"I don't really care about what that man does in his free time. If you want to go looking for him, be my guest. Just stay out of my rooms, the fairies will tell you which ones they are."
>_
-
>Eh, tackle Reimu again later, for now we can at least resolve the Alice situation.
>"Then I'll be back in a jiffy~"
>Start our epic search for Rinnosuke.
>Realise very quickly that this is too much work and gap Ran to us to deal with this. Scent works so much better after all.
-
>Eh, tackle Reimu again later, for now we can at least resolve the Alice situation.
>"Then I'll be back in a jiffy~"
>Start our epic search for Rinnosuke.
>Realise very quickly that this is too much work and gap Ran to us to deal with this. Scent works so much better after all.
>You feel like leaving dealing with Reimu for a later time. After all, who knows what might have happened to Alice.
>"You're going to go already? We haven't even had our meal yet."
>Reimu looks rather disappointed.
>"I'll tell the fairies to keep your share warm."
>You leave Reimu and begin to wander through Reimu's mansion in search of Rinnosuke.
>You see fairies throughout the halls, cleaning and dusting various parts of the building.
>You also quickly come to the realization that the building is far too large for you to want to go through the effort it would take to search the entire place for Rinnosuke.
>You decide to open up a gap and call for Ran, who looks rather annoyed as she steps through.
>"Honestly, master, is there nothing you fear?"
>You order Ran to search for Rinnosuke.
>"As you wish, master."
>You watch Ran sniff the air a few times before she looks back at you.
>"It seems that the shopkeeper is below us, though there are several other odours that I do not like coming from the same location."
>_
-
>"Do any of them seem familiar?"
>Now that we have a general idea where to look, can we just open a gap all the way down?
-
>"Do any of them seem familiar?"
>Now that we have a general idea where to look, can we just open a gap all the way down?
>"The smell of gunpowder is rather strong, master. I cannot make out much else because of it."
>Provided you don't mind running the risk of gapping yourself into a wall or something to that effect.
>_
-
>"Gunpowder, joy, someone's stacking up an armory under there. Looks like he have to look out for traps now."
>Do we have any barriers we can keep up or put up very quickly that will handle getting shot at?
>Go find our way down the long way.
>Keep an eye out for traps.
>Note that upon seeing Rinnosuke immediately gaphax him into paralysis. Let's not give him any chances for nonsense.
-
>"Gunpowder, joy, someone's stacking up an armory under there. Looks like he have to look out for traps now."
>Do we have any barriers we can keep up or put up very quickly that will handle getting shot at?
>Go find our way down the long way.
>Keep an eye out for traps.
>Note that upon seeing Rinnosuke immediately gaphax him into paralysis. Let's not give him any chances for nonsense.
>Ran simply sighs.
>"I suppose that there will be no dissuading you on this matter either, will there?"
>Keeping one around you would take a lot of your energy, leaving you unable to do much else.
>You've seen how fast a gun shoots, to erect a barrier in time before a bullet were to hit you is impossible.
>You trail behind Ran, who follows Rinnosuke's scent to what appears to be the entrance to the basement.
>As you travel through the mansion, you notice a few of the fairies pointing at you while muttering amongst themselves.
>At the bottom of the stairway to the basement, you see light leaking through a doorway.
>You head down the stairs with Ran and peek through the doorway to see Rinnosuke sitting at a table. He appears to be working on something.
>Of course, you're not going to let this opportunity go to waste. You create two small gaps with which you quickly grab hold of Rinnosuke's arms and put them behind his back.
>Rinnosuke tilts his chair and turns his head to look at you.
>"Is this how you're greeting people these days?"
>_
-
>"You're such a hard person to track down, I just had to make sure that I had a captive audience this time."
>"Besides, you've been giving others extended stays like this, have you not?"
>"Speaking of, just where is Alice?"
-
>"You're such a hard person to track down, I just had to make sure that I had a captive audience this time."
>"Besides, you've been giving others extended stays like this, have you not?"
>"Speaking of, just where is Alice?"
>"This is certainly one way to do that."
>"Of course not. Just what do you of me?"
>"I wonder..."
>Out of the corner of your eye, you see a small glint.
>You turn your head to see a small doll charging towards you.
>"Master!"
>Before it can reach you, Ran cuts the doll in half. Unfortunately, this causes the doll to explode, sending Ran crashing into the wall behind her.
>At the same time, you see Alice walk out from amongst the various boxes in the basement.
>_
-
>Well this is going to get annoying quickly.
>Drop Alice in a gap and close it so only her head is sticking out.
>Still keep an eye out in case she figured out a way to control those dolls without her fingers in play or there's some other shenanigans in this room.
>Wait, you know what, mess with the boundary of motion and paralysis and seal both of their movements outside of talking.
>"Now you see, this is why I have to start greetings like this, everyone's become so violent in two years."
>Is Ran okay? Mentally check on her.
>Take that voodoo doll from Rinnosuke now by the way. And pull out the umbrella since it seems that someone wants to get stabbed today.
>"So, who wants to start explaining first? The explosive greetings, locking youkai up in your basement, making me have to track you down, any is a good place to start."
>If anymore stuff comes at us by the way, gap everything in the room that's not a living person to some remote place, we don't have time for this nonsense.
-
>Well this is going to get annoying quickly.
>Drop Alice in a gap and close it so only her head is sticking out.
>Still keep an eye out in case she figured out a way to control those dolls without her fingers in play or there's some other shenanigans in this room.
>Wait, you know what, mess with the boundary of motion and paralysis and seal both of their movements outside of talking.
>"Now you see, this is why I have to start greetings like this, everyone's become so violent in two years."
>Is Ran okay? Mentally check on her.
>Take that voodoo doll from Rinnosuke now by the way. And pull out the umbrella since it seems that someone wants to get stabbed today.
>"So, who wants to start explaining first? The explosive greetings, locking youkai up in your basement, making me have to track you down, any is a good place to start."
>If anymore stuff comes at us by the way, gap everything in the room that's not a living person to some remote place, we don't have time for this nonsense.
>Why can't things ever be simple?
>You attempt to drop Alice through a gap, but she quickly changes her location.
>Alice does not appear to be taking any further action at the moment.
>To mess with a boundary like that would cause problems with far too many other things for you to be comfortable with doing it.
>Rinnosuke responds with a small laugh.
>"I'm just here, minding my own business when you decide to restrain me. My faithful little servant here simply attempted to help me. If anything, you're the violent one here."
>From what you can tell, Ran is simply disorientated for the time being. She should regain her bearings in a few minutes at most.
>You do not know where he is keeping the doll.
>To pull out your umbrella you would have to free at least one of your arms which, in turn, would allow Rinnosuke to use one of his. Do you still wish to perform this action?
>"Why not start with you? You tell me to leave your sight whilst threatening to take my life, only to come after me again to make more demands. Just what is it that you want?"
>Nothing seems to be moving for now though Rinnosuke seems fairly relaxed, given his position.
>_
-
>"No, no, I told you to stop pretty much taking advantage of the situation to be a horrible person instead of making any form of attempt at fixing it. Then I find out that you've been behaving even worse than that."
>"Right now I'm curious about just what you've got to justify keeping someone locked up in your basement for starters."
>"Then, just what did you do to Alice since my last visit?"
>Do we sense anything off about either of them? How does Alice look now?
>Now that we're in our proper condition, can we sever the bond keeping Alice bound to that doll?
>Bah, we really should carry around rope or something for stuff like this. Fine then just gap any dolls she sends at us.
Though at this point doing something permanent to Rinnosuke sounds not all that bad >_>
-
>"No, no, I told you to stop pretty much taking advantage of the situation to be a horrible person instead of making any form of attempt at fixing it. Then I find out that you've been behaving even worse than that."
>"Right now I'm curious about just what you've got to justify keeping someone locked up in your basement for starters."
>"Then, just what did you do to Alice since my last visit?"
>Do we sense anything off about either of them? How does Alice look now?
>Now that we're in our proper condition, can we sever the bond keeping Alice bound to that doll?
>Bah, we really should carry around rope or something for stuff like this. Fine then just gap any dolls she sends at us.
>"What am I doing that's so horrible? As far as I'm concerned, the horrible one is you. Really, just look at what you're doing right now."
>"Locked up? You're here out of your own free will, aren't you dear?"
>It takes a few moments for Alice to respond.
>"... Yes."
>"Nothing that she didn't want."
>Rinnosuke's calmness is getting on your nerves.
>Alice's eyes look blank, and she shows very little emotion.
>You cannot. However, if you had the doll, you could likely remove its curse.
>You really do hate being unprepared.
>Where do you plan on gapping them to if they come flying at you?
>_
-
>Where else? On Rinnosuke. Preferably somewhere that will hurt a bit when it explodes. Definitely in his clothes where it would be hard for Alice to see it in time.
>"I don't know, she seems a bit blank for a willing person. Next you're going to tell me that Rumia was just into bondage."
>"Though I'm sure there's some heavy irony in a dollmaster being controlled like a puppet by a doll."
>Do we know anywhere we can dump Rinnosuke where he wouldn't be able to get out on his own? Or know of any means to keep someone from moving for a bit? The doll's probably on his person after all.
>What happens if we gap someone into a wall by the way?
>What do we know about voodoo dolls?
-
>Where else? On Rinnosuke. Preferably somewhere that will hurt a bit when it explodes. Definitely in his clothes where it would be hard for Alice to see it in time.
>"I don't know, she seems a bit blank for a willing person. Next you're going to tell me that Rumia was just into bondage."
>"Though I'm sure there's some heavy irony in a dollmaster being controlled like a puppet by a doll."
>Do we know anywhere we can dump Rinnosuke where he wouldn't be able to get out on his own? Or know of any means to keep someone from moving for a bit? The doll's probably on his person after all.
>What happens if we gap someone into a wall by the way?
>What do we know about voodoo dolls?
>You just hope that you can react in time.
>"She's just tired."
>"That girl? Confinement is hardly an uncommon punishment for thieves. You're the one that forced me to leave before I could free her."
>"That would be an amusing sight to see. It's a pity that it's so unlikely to occur."
>Unfortunately, Gensoukyo is a pretty open place. You could try getting help from someone though, if you wanted to take Rinnosuke somewhere. Of course, you would need to take care of any potential ramifications of relocating Rinnosuke.
>If you attempted to drop someone else into one? Very little. They would simply stand on the wall or be pressed against it if they were to lean on the gap.
>They are cursed dolls that must have a link to their victim to operate. A common method is to attach a strand of the victim's hair to the doll. Any harm that befalls the doll is then transferred to the victim. In order to stop one from operating, you must remove either the curse or the link.
>_
-
>Okay need our hands back at least so suggestions:
>Stick the gaps we shoved Rinnoskue's hands through together and compress it enough the he can't pull his hands free.
>Manipulate the boundary between awake and asleep to wake Alice's mind up and/or put them to sleep.
>Mess with the boundary of mental strength to give her the means to break free of the control.
>Gap Rinnosuke into one of the crates and bend a few boundaries to make that crate unopenable and too strong to be broken.
-
>Okay need our hands back at least so suggestions:
>Stick the gaps we shoved Rinnoskue's hands through together and compress it enough the he can't pull his hands free.
>Manipulate the boundary between awake and asleep to wake Alice's mind up and/or put them to sleep.
>Mess with the boundary of mental strength to give her the means to break free of the control.
>Gap Rinnosuke into one of the crates and bend a few boundaries to make that crate unopenable and too strong to be broken.
>You do want to do things other than hold Rinnosuke.
>Unfortunately, that isn't possible. You can't exactly lock things into your gaps.
>Such broad boundaries cannot be altered locally. You would likely affect everyone else, including yourself.
>Unfortunately, that isn't exactly a boundary.
>You could certainly try dropping Rinnosuke into a container. Reinforcing is different to manipulating boundaries though.
>_
-
>Any of the crates look too sturdy to be broken easily?
>We inverted the boundary of stamina on Byakuren right? Do the same for mental stamina on Alice then.
>At this rate might have to knock Rinnosuke out. Will he survive us dropping a tombstone on him?
-
>Any of the crates look too sturdy to be broken easily?
>We inverted the boundary of stamina on Byakuren right? Do the same for mental stamina on Alice then.
>At this rate might have to knock Rinnosuke out. Will he survive us dropping a tombstone on him?
>Most of the crates look fairly sturdy. Though the question of whether or not any of the crates will have enough free space to fit Rinnosuke inside is there.
>Mental strength is different to physical stamina. To alter Alice's mental strength would likely have adverse effects on her mind. Do you wish to continue anyway?
>That would depend on the size of the tombstone and the height it's dropped from. Rinnosuke can take a fair amount of damage as a half-youkai, but he is still mortal.
>_
-
You know, given Byakuren should have thought of this from the get go =_=
>Doing permanent damage is too much at this point, even to Rinnosuke and especially to Alice
>Is Ran awake yet?
>Take two of the crates that looks sturdy and large enough to stick Rinnosuke or Alice in, open a gap within them to gently place everything within in a remote place in Mayohiga, preferably in an enclosed place itself.
>Take both Alice's and Rinnosuke's physical stamina and drop it to low enough that they can't really move.
>Stick Alice in a crate since she's the one who can blow us up and she might have another means of controlling those dolls.
>Rinnosuke, mess with the boundary of sewn and unsewn and make his clothing fall apart, easiest way to find the doll without bothering to let him loose.
-
>Doing permanent damage is too much at this point, even to Rinnosuke and especially to Alice
>Is Ran awake yet?
>Take two of the crates that looks sturdy and large enough to stick Rinnosuke or Alice in, open a gap within them to gently place everything within in a remote place in Mayohiga, preferably in an enclosed place itself.
>Take both Alice's and Rinnosuke's physical stamina and drop it to low enough that they can't really move.
>Stick Alice in a crate since she's the one who can blow us up and she might have another means of controlling those dolls.
>Rinnosuke, mess with the boundary of sewn and unsewn and make his clothing fall apart, easiest way to find the doll without bothering to let him loose.
>You really don't want to be the cause of anything yourself right now.
>She is, but she is still regaining her balance.
>You open up a gap beneath Rinnosuke and Alice, both leading to inside two of the larger crates in the room.
>"Wh-"
>You let go of Rinnosuke as you watch him fall through the gap you created beneath him.
>At the same time, Alice simply jumps away from the gap. You will likely have to restrain Alice or catch her off-guard if you wish to force her through one of your gaps.
>At the same time, you see several dolls enter your vision from all around the room.
>To mess with someone like that requires a lot of concentration, and you doubt that Alice would give you enough time to drain her of her stamina.
>You gap the crate with Rinnosuke inside to Mayohiga. You'll deal with him later.
>_
-
>Eh, good enough.
>Now Alice, gap Ran to us where we can keep her safe.
>"Okay Alice, are you in there at all or will I need to keep you still long enough to deal with that voodoo doll?"
>If she gets aggressive, kunai spam the dolls into submission. Alice controls her dolls with string anyway right? All the better to cut the thread.
>Just to recap, does danmaku actively hurt enough that you wouldn't want to blasted b a facefull of it even if its non-lethal?
-
>Eh, good enough.
>Now Alice, gap Ran to us where we can keep her safe.
>"Okay Alice, are you in there at all or will I need to keep you still long enough to deal with that voodoo doll?"
>If she gets aggressive, kunai spam the dolls into submission. Alice controls her dolls with string anyway right? All the better to cut the thread.
>Just to recap, does danmaku actively hurt enough that you wouldn't want to blasted b a facefull of it even if its non-lethal?
>It's certainly better than nothing. But you're still left with Alice to deal with.
>First, you quickly open up a gap beneath Ran and drop her behind you. You don't want her getting hurt before she manages to orient herself.
>Alice responds by sending a lance-wielding doll at you.
>You throw a barrage of kunais in response, and manage to knock the doll out of the air.
>Alice simply watches you.
>Danmaku certainly does hurt quite a bit if you get hit by enough of it.
>_