>"Was that supposed to happen at the end. I mean, um, was it a real frog? Or just some magic that looked like a frog?"
>"Okay. Well, That was bone-chilling."
>Frown.
>"The next thing I need you to do is see if Sanae has a similar problem or not. I have a theory that we may have been damaged by the dream. If she's also been hurt, then that'd confirm it. If not, it lends some weight to other ideas."
>Nod.
>"Yeah, if you don't think she'll get worse from seeing me."
>Follow that frog.
>Note that voice for later and keep following.
>"I might be onto something regarding a problem you guys have."
>Follow.
>Assess unknown girl for a moment.
> Good to know we can still intimidate people with a single glance. It's almost depressing.
> "Eat yourhamburgerslug, Sanae."
>"Don't worry, its not as bad as it seems. Just let it do its thing."
>Wonder if there is a crack in our soul, similar to the crack in the sky.
>We've pondered that awhile ago.
>"Okay, that's good, right?"
> "Great. I'd ask if you'd be interested in doing the same for Marisa, but I think you'd rather shove danmaku into her than slugs and frogs."
>"That's really good, though. It closes off one idea and opens up another."
>Look to Sanae. "She was testing your soul for damage. You passed. I...kinda didn't."
>Glance toward Kogasa and Mystery Maxie.
>"It's...um, a bit private."
>Moment of irritated silence.
>"...I meant come with me for a moment, geez."
> Does the brown-haired girl seem familiar at all?
>Head out with Sanae, motion for Suwako to follow if she seems reluctant. Then look for a nice room we can talk, we prowled through the place earlier so we ought to know a good one.
>Close the door.
>"So. There's a hole in the sky, and I'm pretty sure it's due to some years-old damage done to the Hakurei Border. And, apparently, I'm more strongly connected to it than I thought."
>"About three. Now, you both remember what happened back then, right?"
>"Yeah, that's what the working theory is. And, I'm thinking that's why the sky broke, because that weakness was there."
>"Don't know. Might've been problems on the other side or something. Or maybe the last thread frayed or something."
>"But...it's also kind of given me a crazy idea. Suwako, do you think that maybe, um, Kanako fell through to the other side? Is that a thing that could have happened?"
> "Stranger things have happened. Especially with how things are, do you think it's possible?"
> "How should I know why she would? I'm not her shrine maiden or anything. What does Sanae think?"
> "Well, she's-" Wait, we don't want to upset Sanae again. "Um, anyways. Sanae, you feel up to talking a bit more about that place?"
> "Uh, no, not that place. That's a story for another time, though... I meant that other place. The dream one. I'm pretty sure it doesn't have anything to do with my soul eating Suwako's frog or whatever happened, but..."
> Should we dig Sanae for info on Kikuri? She seemed tight with her in the dream.
>"Sanae, I said some harsh things to you before because I was trying to get you to react. I can see that not everything is your fault."
>"When you were crreatijg the world, were there some things that felt weird or out-of-place?"
>"What can you tell me about Kikuri?"
> "Yeah, well a lot of the people in that dream were like themselves, even if they worked in weird stores or are little kids. And judging by how Kikuri shoved a laser or two in my gut in that dream... So yeah, anything you know about her would be helpful."
> "Yeah, well, as I've been told she apparently did the same thing to me three years ago so I'm not exactly thrilled with her. What do you know of her, even if it's just dream her?"
>"We know she's broke the rules once. I wanna know how likely she is to hold a grudge, and how likely she is to break them again."
>"I do. She's done it at least once. Maybe twice if you count the dream, which I'm inclined to."
>"Maybe. And at least once. We'll find out just how much she did during that little episode of hers."
>"I'll get an assessment of the damages from some trustworthy people, and then we'll see what she confesses to."
> "Right now she's the best suspect we have for who caused the sky to go crazy, since she messed around with the Boundary three years ago."
>"I'm talking about later. She broke the rules, now she has to pay."
>"I suppose it sounds kind of harsh, doesn't it? But, well, you got to remember, Gensokyo wasn't always like this. Humans and youkai didn't get along so well, not long ago. Youkai and youkai didn't even necessarily get along. It was not a good time then, not for anyone. You wouldn't have been able to be friends with your karakasa back there so easily in those days. it was an awful time. For me, it was just some years ago. And for most youkai, it was like yesterday."
>"It was spellcards that changed it. They're more than just a toy, you see? They're an important truce. They reason that they work is because everyone does it, everyone's a part of it. Everyone agrees that when you lose, you lose. There's no dirty tricks, nothing like that. No blood, just losing. And it's important that this law is kept absolute, because it keeps faith in the system, it keeps less scrupulous people from getting ideas. Kikuri broke the rules, and she has to pay for it before someone else thinks they can break the rules too. Do you see what I mean?"
>Gently: "You don't like that, do you? Do you think I'm going to make the decision to deal with her on my own?"
>Shake head.
>"No. Spellcards don't just belong to me. I intend to bring others, people whose judgment can be trusted, and whose roles can't be ignored. We'll figure out what to do then. And if she tries something, she'll have to deal with all of us. I'd actually like you both to come, when it's time. She's going to pay, and we'll figure out what the price is."
>"So, you recruited a new shrine maiden already? Good."
> "Not from the Human Village? Is she an outsider, then?"
> "Huh, is that right? She must be tougher than she looks if she survives that mess of a place."
> "Well, good luck with her. I'd meet up with her, except I have to see a witch about a fox now. Just let me know if you find out anything new. I'll either be at the shrine or underground at the satoris' mansion. Or at the Crater Lake, but that'll be when there's light."
> "Then I'll look forward to your help, Sanae."
> Smile back at her, then turn and walk on out, giving her a goodbye wave. "See ya soon!"
> Now to track down a witch.
>Might as well head back home.
>Head inside.
>Head toward the kitchen, see if there's any tofu there.
>Also check the kotatsu and see if anyone is collapsed around it, as seems to be the style of the time.
>Marisa you had one job.
>Have a discreet look in the various places we store guests, just to make sure.
>How far to the human camp?
> About what time is it, and howflyspry do we feel?
>Too bad we don't still have those remote communicator Yin-Yang orbs that Yukari hooked up for us that time when we first met Satori.
>Let's go get some sleep. Leave a note on the table for Suika or Akyuu to wake us when it's dawn, or for Marisa to get us if she shows up.
>Take a bit of time to reflex and mellow out.
>Bleagh.
>Let's go prepare some lunch for tomorrow or something. See how badly flooded the basement is.
>Let's do the latter, and have the heart attack first.
>Let's get a candle, then check it out.
>Does it look like this is as high as the water has gotten, or can we see signs it was worse?
> We're gonna need to get this place renovated.
> ... And that means getting money. Bleh.
> Wade around down here to properly assess the everything. Suika and Akyuu seemed like they did a good job rescuing everything, but might as well see if there's anything they missed.
>Head back up, clean up from the basement adventure, and go prepare something to for lunch tomorrow.
> Prepare a simple lunch of rice and cooked meat and veggies and pack it away. It should keep until tomorrow, especially if we keep it cool.
> "It's not breakfast, I'm just making something for lunch tomorrow. Please don't eat it."
> "If you wake me up in the morning I'll fix you something."
> Well, let's get lunch put away and the kitchen cleaned, then trudge back to bed.
> Mrr. Roll around to get in a comfy position until we fall asleep or get tired of trying to fall asleep.
> Great. Time to burn off that energy, then.
> Get our stuff on and start flying towards the HumanHobo VillageCamp. Maybe Marisa and Akyuu haven't left yet.
> Land outside of the patrolling area and walk on up.
> Let's look for signs of witches and/or Buddhists.
> Frown, and cautiously walk up towards it. Kasen didn't lend her critters out, did she?
>"I am Reimu Hakurei, and you're a talking tiger."
> "Oh, Shou. I didn't realize it was you. Have you seen a witch lugging around a chronicler tonight?"
>"Did they happen to say why?"
> That Marisa, taking side trips! Other than Alice, who should be holing up elsewhere, who do we know of that lives in the Forest of Magic?
> Well, Akyuu's probably asleep at this time... maybe? We should drop by just in case she's awake and knows a bit more than this cat.
> "Anything weird happen lately? Aside from the flooding and the zombies and everything, I mean."
> "Have they been playing unfriendly with the humans? Will I need to step in?"
>"What've they been up to?"
>"Take a list of names. I'll give them a visit in good time."
>Nod. "Good work. If you can get a name or recognize any of them, get me a list."
> "I'm just going to peek inside and see if Akyuu is still up, then be on my way."
> Smile back and walk on into the encampment.
> Take a look around then look for our little Hieda.
> No sense in waking her up at this hour, since she might not know any more of Marisa's intentions. Let's take off towards Rinnosuke's. If she's not lurking there then he might know where she is. Plus we need to pay off the swimsuit and get a light source anyways.
> Let's close in. Hopefully he's awake or something. We don't want another wasted trip.
>Go inside, Reimu-style.
>We do have the money for the swimsuit, right?
>"Hey kid, what's up?"
>"What's with the crowd? Have they been behaving?"
>Browse at the things on display while talking.
>Check the book title.
>"I hope it's not a problem if I pay for that swimsuit while you're closed?"
> "Done. Do you also have something that can light up underwater?"
>"What, you think I'm up to something?"
>Pay the bird.
>"Now about that light?"
>Give her a moment, and continue to browse.
>"Well if that's the way you're going to be, I'll just have my money back."
>"Oh. And yeah. When'd you see her?"
> Pause. "Don't tell me she's making the..."
> Growl and stomp on into the kitchen. She was supposed to hook up with us to make the fried tofu, not do it on her own!
> Cross our arms and give her our best disappointed glare. "Weren't you supposed to come back to the shrine with that tofu?"
>"I've been all over trying to find you, dummy!"
>Look around.
>"Good haul, though."
>What do we know about luring kitsunes with tofu, anyways? In particular, best places to do it?
>Does the shrine grounds feel properly open for these purposes?
> "Yeah, I don't think Ran'll be willing to stick her nose in here. Too cramped and all." Look at the youkai, are they all jonesing for tofu?
"So, Kourin. About getting a light source that works underwater?"
>"Tell me about it."
>Inventory
> "And it'll work underwater?"
>"How much to borrow it until the incident has been dealt with?"
>"You can hold onto 50μ, then. I'll get it back when I return this after the incident."
>Frown. "You aren't going to sell my item in the meantime are you?"
>"Okay, well then."
>Fish out the feathers and offer them to him.
>"I don't suppose you'd identify them for free?"
>"Kourin, you're making this difficult."
>Take feathers, hand him IOU.
>"Kourin, you're making this difficult."
>Take feathers, hand him IOU.
>Don't do this yet. The feathers are perfectly fine.
>"Sell them to Hina?"
>"Have Tokiko make a special run?"
>"I'll give you directions. Or Marisa can."
>"Great! How does this thing work?"
>Take it and try it out. Hand off the feathers.
>"So, can I use it as much as I want underwater, or does the waterproofing wear off after so long?"
>Nod. "I'll get this back to you as soon as I've cleared all this up. Or buy it. We'll see."
>Look to Marisa. "Let's get this tofu packed up and head out."
>"Sure."
>Start loading tofu into bowls!
>...Maybe discreetly sample a corner.
>"Let's go."
>Follow her out.
>"Let's head back to the shrine."
>Let's go home.
>Follow dat witch!
>"Yep."
>"I think so. It should keep longer than normal tofu if there's extra."
>How much rice and vinegar/sugar do we have? Also, if we were to make inarizushi out of this, how many servings could we make?
>Let's get to work on that, then. Coordinate with the Ordinary Black Chef as needs be.
>"Sorry, Suika. But we need this to attract a fox."
>"Yep."
>"Let's put it on some dishes. No one wants food that's on the ground."
>"Good work Marisa."
>Do we know any rituals to summon spirits?
> Let's get it out in an open area away from the higher water areas.
> "Want some tea while we wait?"
> As an afterthought, put Yukari's glove next to the tray, then head inside and brew some tea.
> "Remember when I asked you to talk to Patchouli about getting your soul checked out? If you're not too scared of Suwako doing something to you for the tofu, she can check you out too."
>Nod. "That's good to hear. Seems like Sanae is alright, too."
> "No one I can really think of. I'm starting to narrow down the list of who did whatever it did to me. Does a 'Kikuri' ring any bells?"
> Get that water heated and tea steeping.
>"Yep. She broke the rules, and I figured out where she's hiding. Once this is all over, I'd like to pay her a visit with some notable people and discuss that. You in?"
>Let's take our cup and head out on the porch, so we can look where we set out the tofu.
>"Heh, you alright?"
>"So, when was the last time you got any sleep?"
>"You can crash here too, if you want."
> Shrug. "Might be a while? SHe's gotta follow her nose and swim over here."
> "Yeah, I guess she could do that too. But I've never done this before so I don't know how long it'll take."
> "Sure. Whoever gets closest has to deal with Suwako about the tofu you took."
>"15 minutes, easy."
>Let's waiting with tea!
>"Hey, have you visited Eientei at all? I wonder how the rabbits are doing?"
>"More that I'm just wondering if there'd be anything to find there."
> "I do need to talk with Eirin, though. Apparently she treated me a few years back."
>"Yeah, suppose so."
>Let's waiting some more.
> "Assuming she doesn't show up in the next three minutes, yep. Start working out on how you're gonna repay her." Smirk smirk smirk.
>"Yuuup. Think I won."
>Wait some more.
>Look toward the direction of the cry!
>What sort of cry was it?
> To our feet! "What was that?"
>Let's go investigate!
>Wait, it may be a distraction to make us stop watching the tofu.
>"Marisa, keep watching the tofu while I go see what that was."
>Approach the thud.
> That better be a giant Ran or else someone's going to get their hide tanned so hard!
>"...Yeesh."
>Pretty, though.
>"Hey! Fox!"
>"Let's go inside and talk."
>"Yup. You guys have a whole lot of explaining to do."
>Did she take the glove? If not, point it out to her.
>"So, begin at the start."
>Guide her toward the porch.
>"Interesting. And when did you get back?"
>"Yeah, she came over. Didn't seem to be all that concerned while it was pouring down, either. Think I even made a comment about it."
>"Right. Can you contact her other than in person?"
>"That is the big question. Where is she hiding this time?"
>"Ran, how much do you know about gaps? Can you tell us about that crack in the sky?"
>"And how to do we find her?"
> "Because you're sending us now?"
> "Then you kind of underestimate Marisa's ability to fly around and gab. That's plenty of time for her to tell everyone about it."
> Grin. "And now you're just giving her motivation."
> Serious time. "So, when are we doing this? And where'd your cat go? I only found your other cats at your place."
>"Yes, where else was I supposed to go from an explanation with you all hiding?"
>"Exactly. So, how's this gap thinger going to work? We'll be able to use it to get home, right?"
> "Assuming nothing's happened to her."
> "Oh, after everything else that's happened, I wouldn't be surprised by anything at this point."
>"Well for one thing, someone's done a fine job tampering with my memories of three years ago. And three years ago seems to be pretty relevant to what's been happening with the border here."
>"I barely remember anything that happened them. I didn't even realize I didn't remember until recently. Then I had to patch the gaps together with what other people told me, because there's no way I would have forgotten that Parsee, of all people, apparently had a role in fixing that mess. But apparently I did."
>"That reminds me, Ran. Once this is all over, we're going to deal with Kikuri. You in?"
> "Hm... let me think... she tried to wreck the Boundary three years ago... and the Boundary is wrecked now. I don't know about you, but that seems like a pretty solid connection right there. And then there's the fact that I've seem to come down with a minor case of having my soul damaged."
> Cross our arms. "So, yeah, color me suspicious of her."
>"And it's not enough that she's subdued. She broke the rules. We can't let people think they can just get away with that. They need to see that they don't just make me mad. They make everyone mad."
>Nod.
>"I'll send out word when it's time. Probably with Suika's help to gather everyone."
>"So, what else can you tell us about this mess?"
>"Yeah, me too. Where all have you been?"
>"And what's the news out there?"
> "They're staying put? They're not going to come this way, are they?"
> "Do you know anything about a lake in the middle of the mountains? One of the Taoists told me that she felt something weird there, and when she tried to float on down it shocked her."
>"Been around Eientei, by any chance? Neither of us have swept through there yet."Before this...
> "It's something I'll be following up on, then, to see if it's related or not."
>"Been around Eientei, by any chance? Neither of us have swept through there yet."
>"Shame. Have you seen anything like this, then?"
>Produce a shard and show it to Ran.
>"Ugh, what a pain. I've been trying to find all of them. I'm reasonably sure they're going to have something useless to this whole problem."
>"I'm hoping by that point I won't need to ask her if she's seen any. So, if we see your cat anywhere, what do you want us to do about her?"
>"Yeah, I'll do that."
> "I can lay out a futon for you, if you want."
> "All right. Feel free to use anything you need to freshen up."
> Let's set her up in the room Akyuu was using. "Marisa, you're crashing at the kappas', right?"
>"Alright. Want anything before you head out?"
>Do we feel like we could get something akin to sleep yet?
>Contemplate the trip times to Eientei and that crater lake.
>Are they anywhere close to each other?
>Let's go find that durn lake.
>Once we get there, find a good spot and change into swimsuit.
>Let's keep an eye on the mountaintops for now, and see if we can remember more about what Tojiko said.
> All she told us was that it was at a high enough elevation to avoid the floods, and that the fairies called it Crater Lake. So, let's keep an eye out for fairies on our way over there so we can catch one and "ask" for directions.
>Let's see if this Lightflash thinger assists with finding anything.
>Why not?
>Let's get a little closer.
>Let's swoop down and examine that glimmering.
>Change into swimsuit.
>Gingerly tip a toe in, and see if we take a shock as Tojiko claimed to.
> Double check the charm Suwako gave us, then submerge into the lake.
>Pause and examine the ribbons.
> Man... if we can sell those gems, then we could live the easy life for a while...!
>Let's get a look at what's leading the other ones.
>Does this correct with anything we saw in Koishi's book?
>Shine the light around a bit, see if we can find any more ribbons, or things they happen to be connected to.
>Huh.
>What kind of cloth do they seem to be made of?
>Are they doing anything other than floating?
>Do they seem to be alive, or are they more like trash just floating around?
>Do they seem to be touching anything, or each other?
> Float up to one and reach out to touch the ribbon.
>Do they seem to react when bumping into each other?
>Try to muffle all cursing.
>How thick is the place with these things?
>Unavoidable, even for someone with our dodging talents?
>Produce gohei, see if prodding one with it results in any problems.
>Assess this situation in terms of danmaku. We have a number of slowly moving hubs radiating out streamers in a relatively unintelligent fashion. Liken this to some of the spellcards we've seen people throw at us over the years, and assess the general difficulty of getting through it.
> Then we should have no problems, especially since they're not actively touching us. Let's graze on downwards to the bottom of the lake.
> Bronze? Look to see if any of those bronze glows are suspicious.
> Let's go see about collecting that glow, then.
>Let's try to find what is making that glow.
>Oh no, we have to dig through the valuable gems to find the cursed shard. Hopefully none of these extremely valuable gems (which don't seem to belong to anybody) will slip into our pockets or sleeves.
> Let's continue digging.
>Check around our knee/leg area
>Do these remind us of the gems that frickin' armfish dropped?
> They might look like rock candy, but the only thing delicious about them is how much money we're gonna get for them.
> ... Okay that sounded a bit lame, but still!
> Look around down here a bit more to see if we see anything suspicious. Who knows, maybe that cat of Ran's is here. For some reason.
> Time to swim on back up. Let's not get caught by a ribbon.
> Once we've surfaced, check inventory space. Great as that haul was, it would be rather inconvenient if we couldn't actually store anything else while we have it.
>Let's head toward Eientei.
> Oh. They could possibly be flooded. Well, hopefully the rabbits came through all right. Let's keep flying.
>Take a peek into the water and see what things look like down there, from time to time.
> Huh. Dive on down.
>Wave to the next one that passes by.
>Take a moment to compose ourself so we can speak decently, rather than sending bubbles everywhere.
>"So. You guys look like you're doing well."
>While they're trying to sort this out, take a better look around the area.
>"So, where's Eientei at?"
>Didn't we communicate clearly with Alice while underwater earlier? Why isn't it working now?
>Follow them rabites.
>Let's follow the crowd.
>Nod to the rabbit, then follow into the dome.
>Let's take a moment to wring out our hair and assess the situation.
>Does Eientei typically let people walk inside, or would we expect some degree of hassle for doing that?
>Head inside, then.
>"Oh hey, just what I was looking for. Could you guys take me to Eirin? We need to talk."
>Sigh. Oh for the love of...Well, at least they aren't fairies.
>"It's for swimming in."
>Stare for a few moments, then sigh again. "So my regular clothes don't get wet..?"
>"This kind of cloth hands water better, you see. Doesn't mold up or rot so easily, and doesn't get so bogged down."
>"Thanks. Can you show me where Eirin is?"
>"Okay."
>Head inside.
>Approach Shady
>"Hey, I wanna see Eirin."
>"Oh yeah, the incident. That too."
>"Medical reason. Do you want to hear about it?"
>Don't say the last bit. We don't need any more rumors.
>Nod.
>"Thanks Reisen."
>Follow the purple rabbit.
>Head inside like it's 1982.
>Approach and examine Elder Being From Beyond Time And Space.
> "Souvenirs from this incident?"
>"So, this bubble thing is pretty neat. How to the rabbits breath out in the water, though?"
> "Giving them enough time to get the cabin fever out of their system but not enough time for them to cause trouble? I approve."
>"So, how'd the whole flood go for you guys? I can see how it ended up, but how'd it get to this point?"
> Examine the fishes. Any of them look familiar?
>"I have a couple things I wanted to ask you about though. Do you have soul medicine, and can you tell if my soul being damaged is the cause or result of the border being damaged?"> Not this just yet.
>"It's affecting everyone based on elevation. Youkai Mountain is fine, Scarlets are not too bad, Human Village is flooded, and we had to do some work to make sure the Underground didn't fill up faster than it drained. There's also some big floating water bubbles in the air, and a crack in the border at the sky. The humans could use some medical attention but the Buddhists and their boat are doing their best to take care of things. "
>"I have a couple things I wanted to ask you about though. Do you have soul medicine, and can you tell if my soul being damaged is the cause or result of the border being damaged?"
>"Also, have you seen any of these shards?"
> Not this just yet.
> "The humans are at the base of Youkai Mountain along with the Buddhists, so sending Reisen over there to check on them isn't a half bad idea."
> "By the way, have you seen any of these?" Pull out one of Kikuri's shards and show it to her. "They've been all over the place ever since the sky broke."
>"I've heard the name. Do tell me about Kikuri."
> "Huh. Is that right." Her powers are taken away, huh? Still doesn't mean whatever she did to the Boundary didn't just have a delayed effect.
> "So you treated me during that incident? Can you refresh my memory on what exactly you had to do for me?"
> "Ew." Ew. We must've really been out of it if we don't recall being that messed up.
> "Did you notice anything odd? Aside from, uh, you know."
> "I have reason to think so, judging by what a magician, a frog, and a brat had to say. Something kinda wrong with my spirit. I was wondering if it had something to do with those injuries I got back then."
> "Is sensing spirits something you do on a frequent basis?" She can create crazy drugs to make rabbits breathe underwater, so it's probably not that surprising. Also, she can make people immortal, but that's small stuff.
> "You're sure you didn't notice anything back then?"
>"More importantly, can you treat it now?"
> "You... you really think it's the Boundary that's doing this? Not the other way around?"
>That's an excellent question. What can we do?
> "The Hakurei bloodline is pretty much tied to the Boundary. If something were to happen to me, it'd be bad for it. It's not possible that something did something to my soul, and it's affected the Boundary?"
> That said, that doesn't count out Kikuri's incident having delayed effects on the Boundary. This just confirms that she didn't do anything more that rip us apart then, and that the soul thing is a recent thing.
>"Does this sort of thing cause missing memories? Because I've had problems with that, too."
> "Well, everything about that incident three years ago. I thought yesterday was the first time I've met Kikuri, but apparently that wasn't the case."
>That last sentence isn't true.
>"I thought yesterday was the first time I've seen Kikuri since that time many years ago, but apparently that wasn't the case."
> Don't say that. While it's true, it's not necessary for Eirin to know and unrelated to what Eirin is saying right now.
> "Yukari's the only person who knows everything that went on, and she's gone. Everyone else just has bits and pieces of information, which is why I know to ask you about it. What I'm finding odd is why, if something so important happened, I can't remember a single thing or remember anyone telling me what happened. It's been three years, you'd think someone would've told me by now."
>"You don't think it was some sort of time distortion, and I remember things differently because I'm tied to the barrier?"
>"Not to my knowledge. The question is, can you do anything about it?"
>"I stumped the great doctor twice today. I wonder if I should be proud of that?"
>"So, what did happen here during that whole thing? And, how did I seem back then, after you fixed me up? You're one of the few people who seems to have seen me then."
> "The rabbits are always a little crazy, that's not weird."
> "Oh, so... worse than that?"
>"Your rabbits might come from the moon, but aren't really lunatics, huh?!"
>"The details are important for me to know. If you're worried I'm going to tell the reporters or Akyu or something, I'll promise to keep it to myself."
>"It'd violate what?"
>"Well, no. But that's because I'd make your life hell if you did."
>"I think they'd understand, because it's pretty important. Can you tel me this much, at least? Did the Bridge Princess get involved with that, too?"
>"Maybe, the situations aren't the same, but it's not worth getting into a fight over. Is the princess able to talk, or is she too busy holding that bubble up?"
>"We're all busy these days. What's keeping her?"
>"Oh. You should have just said that the first time I asked."
>Take a moment to take a more serious tone and let it seep into the atmosphere.
>"There's one more thing. It's about Kikuri, and what she did. You understand what the problem is, I hope?"
>Nod.
>"Once the current incident has been dealt with, I would like to you and the princess to join me and others to address this situation."
>Nod.
>"Extend the invitation to her for me, please."
>Nod.
>"So, have you guys been having any problems with the new fish and stuff? I've seen some dangerous ones out there. One of them had arms, even, and a really bad attitude."
>"Alice's house."
>"I dealt with it, anyways. It kind of turned into gems when I got done beating it up."
>"What have you found out about these fish and stuff, anyways? I saw some real weird ones a little bit ago that looked like big daifuku, except with little silk ribbons trailing off them. Stung like you wouldn't believe when you touched them."
>"No, these ones looked a lot more like daifuku than jelly. But what kinds of things have you found?"
>"Oh, actually, Satori and Kasen had words with this one cute squeaky fish. She said something about them coming from a place where there's only water, so I don't think it would be from just the outside world."
>"Maybe. This one was pretty smart. Liked to spit water at people, too."
>"She's got good aim, too."
>"So, any kind of fish I need to look out for? Or tasty ones?"
>Does this resemble anything we've seen?
>"I'll keep an eye out for those, haven't seen any yet."
> "Oh, this is unrelated. I used magic tea to deal with the scrapes the armed fish gave me."
> "Just a teapot Rinnosuke had lying around."
> Bring out the pot and show her. "Cracked it a little, but it still works well."
>"More than you have."
>"Don't worry. If you guys want to have some, you know where my donation box is."
> "Nah, that's about it. I'll come back later."
> Let's go ahead and abscond, try to track down that shady rabbit.
> Poke a random rabbit. "Hey, where's the tall rabbit?"
> First mini Konngara now silky rabbit. These kids just don't know how to take care of their brooms!
> "Thanks." Head on over... right.
> Sneak us some of that food and ask around for Reisen.
> "Hey, you're supposed to share with guests. And yeah, I guess I am. So where's she at?"
> "I did. But here, since you seem to be starving." Split it in half and give her half. "Thanks for the directions."
> Head on that way whilst munching on rice.
> Rap on the doorframe. "Hey, have a minute?"
> "Just had a few questions. First... have you seen this?" Show her the bronze shard.
> "I see." Put it away. "That's a shame. It used to belong to some girl named Kikuri."
> See how she reacts to the name drop.
>"A little. Are you friends?"
> "What do you know about her? Anything odd?"
> "Well... yeah."
> Seems like she's not volunteering any information. "I was just wondering what you remember from that incident."
> "Did it have anything to do with the rabbits 'going crazy'?"
> "Why not? Did something happen that you don't want me knowing about?" Cross our arms.
>"Did you just tell me that incidents aren't my business?"
>"So there was an incident."
>"Then there's not much of a reason to hold back about it. You're not upset because the bridge princess was involved, are you?"
>"Well, I'm just giving me the chance to tell me your side of the story before I go ask her."
>"Yeah, I can sympathize with that experience. How bad was it when you finally came to?"
>"Just one more thing. What're the last things you remember before it began?"
>Nod.
>"Related to that, there's going to be a meeting to determine what should be done about Kikuri and her breaking the rules. Since you have some experience with her, I'd like you to attend."
>"Alright. That's about all I needed."
>Make proper goodbyes, and depart. Keep an eye out for Tewi along the way outside.
>Make our way toward the surface. Contemplate what we know about Kappaburg and its surroundings.
>How flooded were the forests?
>About how far is it to Youkai Mountain, and how far is it to home? Could we stop off at the latter on the way to the former?
>Do we have any good faerie-proof storage chests or the like at home? That is, sturdy and lockable?
>Let's head home.
> It's usually quiet anyways. Stride on in like we own the place.
> Well, stride in like we own the place in a quiet fashion: Ran's staying over, after all.
>Go dry off, then find a couple of those storage chests.
>Nab one of the crates, or both if we can, and take them inside.
>Have a glance at that circle on the way back in.
> Inspect the circle more closey, and dig into the dirt a bit. Was someone trying to dig up something?
>How large is the circle?
>Does anything seem unusual about the dirt itself or the grass around it?
>Have we seen this kind of thing before?
>Did we happen to leave anything here?
> What do we know of faerie rings?
> That would be really lame if that turned out to be the source of our amnesia. Seriously lame. What're the correct methods to getting rid of faerie rings?
>Does this turf damage prick at our intuition at all?
>The hell with it, then. Get those crates inside and into our bedroom; preferably without too much noise.
>If noise cannot be avoided, just leave 'em where they are.
>Tranfer gems into the crates, until either the crates are full, or 80% of the gems have been placed inside.
>Well, now we have an idea of how much out sleeves can hold!
>Tuck about 20% of them back inside, then close and lock the container.
>Does this feel faerieproof?
> Seal that box up. Can we somehow seal the box to the ground, in case some enterprising faerie gets the idea to just lug the box away without opening it?
>Put the gem crate behind some other crates, and put one empty crate in the center of the room with the seals on it.
>Let's not worry for now.
>Head into the kitchen, and pitch out that note we left. Then make way toward kappaburg.
>Let's submerge here and have a look around. Perhaps the Akis are swimming around?
>Does the Terrain seem familiar, at least?
>Any signs of activity in the distance?
>Use the landscape below to regain our bearings, then take to the air again and continue toward kappaheim.
>Get a bit closer, and see what we can find.
>Does the water seem to be usually calm or disturbed?
>Let's plunge in, then.
>Where do we seem to be being swept toward?
>Take to the air again, and fly downstream leisurely, and see what we can see.
>Try to kick our way out, then fly.
>Now head downstream at a leisurely pace, and take time to examine things.
>Any signs of kappa having been here, or the current getting more manageable?
> Is the river usually this fierce?
>Where did we see a bunch of kappa at, previously?
>Let's head for the big waterfall, then.
>Search around the area a little, see what signs of kappa presence we can find.
> See if there's any secrets behind the waterfall.
>When was the last time we saw any kappa anywhere?
>Bah. Maybe the tengu will know.
>Proceed upward toward Tengu town, keep an eye out for patrols, especially if they had a familiar face.
>Have we seen any patrols?
> How irritating. How far are we from the Human Camp or the Moriyas? We can see if we can get directions.
>Let's head for the Moriya Shrine. They ought to know the place by now.
> Land next to the girl. "Hey, quick question? Where's the Tengu Village?"
>Hunger/thirst/sleep/restroom status?
>"Time for a break! Do you know how to make tea?"
>"Good. That's good, because shrinemaidens gotta know how to make tea. I brought some tsukemono so we can have that as well."
>assuming we still have the pickled vegetables
>Look around for a nice bench or table or something, and go have a seat with our new buddy. "I'm Reimu. What's your name?"
>Do we properly remember tank girl and her attempts to banjax us with Evil Eye Sigma?
>If so: "Wait, aren't you that one person who makes kappa stuff?"
>"Maybe. I meet a lot of people."
>"I'm working on it. Don't want the word to spread too far, though. But I've got some leads on this incident, it'll just take a little time."
>"Kinda friends, kinda rival. I run the Hakurei shrine."
>"Yeah, I've kinda had to do a lot of running around lately. Been trying to figure out where the kappa got off to."
>Share some tsukemono.
> "Speaking of far, how'd you wind up from the Forest all the way here?"
>"Who's your friend? Maybe I've seen her. And can keep an eye out for her."
>"She isn't related to anyone named Yorihime, is she?"
> "Never mind, just thinking aloud."
> Purple hair, huh. Just like us when we were a little pup.
>Do we know the name? Or the description?
>"How have things been here, at the shrine? Aside from busy."
>"Yeah, I hear you."
> "Pretty much, but that's mostly due to location. This shrine has an easier time of it."
> "Collecting faith, though? Start by not starting an incident, for one. Other than that, just do normal shrine maideny stuff. You know, give fortunes, keep the shrine clean, help worshippers. That kinda stuff."
>"There's some rituals sometimes, but I figure Suwako will walk you through those."
> "And speaking of the frog, d'you know where she is?"
> Finish off the rest of the tea and snacks. "Then I best track her down. Good luck."
>Let's circle back to the pond and check there.
> Inside the shrine, then.
>Listen for a moment. Do we hear anyone?
>Have a walk through the main parts of the place, see if we can find or hear anything.
> Some goddess, not being present when someone wants to see her.
> Wander back out to the courtyard. Maybe if there's a youkai or someone other than Rika they'll know where the village is.
>Can we see any activity around Sanae's shrine?
>Look down the mountain slope. Do we see anything of note?
> Let's go inside Sanae's shrine, see if she or the umbrella are here.
>Let's head over there then.
>Enter the shrine, making an effort not to irritate the rest of the animals in the process.
>"Hey guys, I'm looking for Sanae or Kogasa. Have you seen either of them?"
>Wonder if we can use a tanuki as a mirror.
>"OK ,thanks." Head back there.
> Step next to her and peer into the pond.
> "Feeding Suwako?"
>"Wonder where she got off to, then?"
> "Oh well, at least you didn't wander off. Do you happen to know where the tengu village is?"
>"The only person I saw up there was some new girl named Rika."
> "Just checking any possibilities. I'm not planning on wrecking them, if that's what you're asking."
> Have we seen hide or hair of those reporters?
>"Exceptions can be made. But anyways, also been trying to find the kappa, but I haven't seen hide or hair of them all morning."
> "Yeah, seems to be right. Well, at least this morning hasn't been a complete loss."
>"All of 'em, though? There's got to be some odd ones out."
>"Did they always let you do that?"
>"Never would have thought you the type to train fish. I did something like that in the dream."
>"Yeah. There was a koi pond, so I went and fed the fish. Then I petted them, since I figured there was no reason not to. Dreaming and all. They were pretty friendly."
>"What's with the one weird room in that shrine?"
>"The really nasty evil one that I had to exorcise."
> "Well the mini Konngara and the mini Kasen did. Konngara could feel it too, but Kasen didn't feel a thing. I guess that's the difference between shrine maidens and hermits, huh?"
> "So... me and the kids exorcised someone's dream? Is that safe?"
>Nod.
>"Where's you're umbrella at, by the way? Odd not to see her hanging around."
>Does the phrase "Mi casa es su casa" still apply if the casa is a kasa?
> "Hopefully she didn't get blown away in the wind or something."
> "Back to that haunted room. What did you mean about that room likely not being 'evil'? Do you know if that room's important to someone in particular?"
> "Ever tried diving into a pool as deep as you can, and you can't get out to breathe? And the water is made up of evil and darkness and suffocation? It was kind of like that."
> "So how come I was the only other one who could sense it? I mean, you didn't, right? Me and Konngara aren't that close, after all, so it's not like we have a deep connection."
> Give her the stinkeye over those air quotes. No one taunts our intuition!
> "In any case, that's one bit of spookiness down. Can you at least tell me where the Tengu village is? I just want to look around to see if any of Kikuri's shards ended up there. They've been appearing in weird places."
> "Oh. Well, that would work. ... Um, thanks."
> "Let me get changed first."
> Head inside the shrine and find a room to change clothes.
>Pack the swimsuit away and head back out.
>"Sorry about that."
>"Lead the way."
>Follow that Greenwhite.
>Is this anywhere near where we scrapped with Aya, some ages ago?
>Follow.
> "No. Want me to grab their attention?"
> "If you don't want me to then just say so."
> "All right..." Roll up our sleeves. "Time for a show, then!"
> Send up patterns of danmaku flying in the air. Make it flashy.
> Stop danmakuing, now that we've got attention.
> "Is that them?"
> Follow on up.
> Do we recognize any of these tengu?
> "We just wanted to ask a question or two." Pull out the bronze shard. "Has anyone in your village came across one of these?"
> "Can you ask your village if they have? It's pretty important. If you can't take time out of going back, then you could tell me where to find the village..."
> "Can you get with me or Sanae here by tonight? Kinda on a schedule here."
>"While I'm thinking about it, I don't suppose you could send Aya out here to talk? Or that other reporter...um...has the ponytails? You know the one."
>"Alright, thanks!"
>Follow dat Sanae.
> "Nice guys."
>"So,they let you in, huh? What's it like in there?"
> "Woah. Now I kinda want to see it."
>"So, is the food any good?"
>"We'll definitely have to get dinner here, then!"
>Do we feel capable of defeating such challenges?
>"Wow."
>Look in the direction she is.
>Wave to them. And see if we can pick out Aya.
> Grumble grumble. "Jeez, am I invisible today?"
>Does the escort seem like they're going to hang around?
> "Just have a few quick questions for you." Pull out the shard, again. "This look familiar?"
>"Okay, So. You've been gathering the news, right? How about we compare notes?"
>"I meant metaphorically. What've you found?"
> "Oh, right, I think I remember seeing you at that duel. And yeah, I have went Underground. It was flooding there but me and that gate guard fixed it up here. Suika and some of the other oni took care of the flooding down there as well. The reactor's not running right now, though, so it's getting a bit chilly down there."
> "Have you taken a look up there yet?" Point at the broken sky where we can see through the Boundary.
>"You might be interested in Eientei, if you can worm your way over there. They've had some fun in the wake of flood. Oh, hey, those people you interviewed, did you happen to take any names?"
>Nod.
>"I'm asking because I've promised to keep an eye out for a Meira. You wouldn't have seen her, have you?"
>Relay a quick description.
>"To the Moriya Shrine. Her wife's up there."
> "Keep an eye or ear out for these bronze shards: I think there's only one left to find. Be careful about it, though: it tends to have weird effects when youkai touch them."
>"I also wanted to ask you about the past, but that can wait."
>"Well, she was useful. So, when do the kappa tend to get up?"
>"Yeah, that's what I was hoping for, but I couldn't find a one."
>"Because I suspect there's a good chance that last shard is underwater, and if anyone's been underwater, it'd be them. Not to mention I'd half expect one of them to grab it and put it in some weird kappa doodad."
>"I'm hoping they'll have a key to fixing up the damage she did to the border in the first place."
>"What've you been looking for, anyways?"
>Are there any places we haven't looked into as of now?
> "Well, I'm going to go around a bit. Haven't seen that ghost band yet, so I think I'll drop by there on the way back Underground. You want to come with?"
>"Yeah, but ghosts don't drown."
>"Really? Aren't you supposed to be a god now?"
>"No they don't. Who ever heard of a god drowning?"
>"Okay, maybe you have a point there."
> "Why not get Suwako to fix you up, then?" Shake the charm she gave us.
> "Because I'm awesome. Also because I asked nicely."
> "All right. If you don't see me at the ghost house, then I'll be Underground somewhere."
> Wave her off, then start heading Prismriver housewards.
>Head toward the front doors.
>Do we see or hear any activity?
>Well, ghosts don't drown. Knock on the door.
>We tried. Open door!
>"Anyone here?"
>Try to figure out where the thud came from.
> Swim that way, and keep an eye out for more flexo fish.
> Investigate the large something.
>Does it seem like its position was precarious beforehand?
> Bring out the lightflash and shine it into the room it fell out of.
>Don't jump, don't jump!
>Where did the ringing come from? Turn to face that direction, and move if anything shoots.
>Do we recognize her?
>Does it look like she sees us?
>"Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
> "... There's a fourth one of you?"
>"I'm making sure things here are alright, and that those other three didn't get struck by lightning or eaten by a fish or something. When no one answered the door, I got suspicious."
>"So where are those other three?"
> "What troublesome... uh... sisters? Cousins?"
> "You know, maybe we got off the wrong foot. I'm the Hakurei shrine maiden. Really, I'm just going around seeing if anything is going on."
> Beat. "Aside from the flooding."
>"When was that?"
>"...Oh. Uh...I don't remember where I was going then..."
>"So...uh. That dresser is probably going to fall through the floor. You should move it into another room."
>"What do you mean it doesn't matter? No one wants a hole in the floor, it's bad for stability!"
>"Oh come on. I'll even help if you ask nicely."
> "Sure. You can tell me a few things about this place while I'm helping."
>"Yeah, sure."
>Floatswim toward the dresser, and determine the best way to grab it.
>"Neat. Okay, grab it here, and we'll lift it."
>Indicate the best places for her to grab it.
>"Then we'll get it out to the bottom floor."
> "And heave... ho!"
> Lift the dresser and carry it where we think it'll not wreck everything.
>Flex fingers.
>"There. That wasn't so bad. So...aside from the obvious, has the flood given you guys any trouble?"
>"How bad were the damages?"
> "There, now that's not about to go through the floor. So, have you seen anything weird since the flood started? Bronze shards and such?"
>"The others mention something about it? About anything like this?
>Show a shard.
>"Well, crap. What are they up to?"
> "Huh, I didn't see them there last night."
> "That's a shame."
> "Hm... so, uh, about that time you saw 'me' last... what exactly was 'I' doing?" Information related to a possible ancestor of ours would be nice.
> What woods are to the east?
>Think back, do we remember trundling through these woods as a kid?
>"What time of day was it?"
>"I...don't ever remember being out here, actually. Do you remember any other details about where you saw me?"
>Think harder. We have to remember a mansion! That's a big deal to see when you're a kid!
>"And you're sure it was me?"
>"...I was just a kid back then, though. And my hair was lighter."
>"Maybe it was a previous Hakurei Shrine Maiden that you saw?"
>"Not really..."
>What did she look like?
>"I don't suppose you saw where she went?"
>Can we think of anyone else prowling about who might have looked like us?
>"Was that person wearing clothes like this?"
> "So you're talking about exactly what I'm wearing, or something more like a traditional shrine maiden outfit?"
>Has she described anyone we know about; who like us but with slightly different clothes?
>"You know. I know a lot of people, and I don't think you've described anyone I've ever met."
>"The way she was heading, is there anything or anyone out there you that you know of?"
> "Well... the Boundary's an interesting enough place, especially with everything that's going on. Maybe it's worth me taking a look out there."
> "If you say so..."
> "... But it's not as dull as this!" Shank Layla.