Magical Lotus - Episode 1 (Complete)

[Oldmansour]

>"I...she told you about the hallucination, yes?"

>Her eyes glance up momentarily as she thinks, then replys, "She said somethin' bout you stoppin' her once, startin' talking bout a sound, how you had a weird feelin at the time, and when you touched that doll." She pauses, thinking again, the continues, her voice a mix of curious and concerned. "She never mentioned a hallcination. Why? What happened when you touched that damn doll, Byakuren?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"It's a bit fuzzy now.  But yes, I...saw things. Strange and terrible things. It's why I panicked when someone touched my shoulder."

[Oldmansour]

>"It's a bit fuzzy now.  But yes, I...saw things. Strange and terrible things. It's why I panicked when someone touched my shoulder."

>Rin nods as you explain your experience on the stairs. "Sorry 'bout that, but we was afraid you were gonna keel over. Never imagined that we'd freak you out even more."

[DracoOmega]

>"It's alright. You couldn't have known. I appreciate the gesture."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I would have done the same in your shoes."

[Oldmansour]

>"I would have done the same in your shoes."

>Rin smiles and squeezes your hand. "I know."

>"It's alright. You couldn't have known. I appreciate the gesture."

>"But it don't make no sense. I mean, those dolls're all over school. Hell, they're all over town, too, damn things're everywhere, and 's far as I know, nobody else had gone over stairs when they touched em. Or anything bad at all, apart from maybe spendin' too much money, I ain't sure how much they cost. So why're you the only one that this happened to? I mean, I touched that doll, too, and so did Letty, and we're peachy."

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>How much of the dream... vision... thing do we remember?

[Oldmansour]

>How much of the dream... vision... thing do we remember?

>Which of the two experiences you've had are you referring to? The vision you had when you touched the doll, or the 'dream' you just awoke from?

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>The latter.

[Oldmansour]

>How much of the dream... vision... thing do we remember?

>At the moment, it seems like an especially vivid dream. The details are fairly fresh in your mind, but by the same token, you're still a touch groggy, so it would likely take you a moment or two to recall one specific detail among them all. It seems that 'Marisa' was wrong about that particular predition, at least as it pertains to you.

[Hello Purvis]

>"I expect I would sound insane if I told you what I think."

[Oldmansour]

>"I expect I would sound insane if I told you what I think."

>"Ya might sound it, but that don't make it true." Rin puts a finger to her lips, then grins. "Hey, that don't sound half bad, I oughta write that down."

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"Very well, then. You said that I was tossing and turning in my sleep, right?"
>"I just experienced some sort of strange... thing that was really strange."
>Describe the dream, or whatever it was, in as much detail as we can.

[Hello Purvis]

>Rather than be boring about it...
>"I dreamt that I was in here, and some approached me. She looked almost exactly like Marisa, but not quite. She wore her hair in a ponytail, and assured me she was not, she was simply borrowing the form. She asked me to come with her, out the window. When I asked how, she showed me that I had wings. So we flew out together, we looked over the sports fields, where all the teams were playing, and she talked about how her world was different, how all things seemed to be about life and death. She was shocked we were not like that. We went to that club, the one that we went to for my birthday a little while ago. There we talked more, she told me there was some kind of threat coming, something she felt only I would be able to fight. Some terrible, bloodstained place would strike at us, soon. "

[Oldmansour]

>Rather than be boring about it...
>"I dreamt that I was in here, and some approached me. She looked almost exactly like Marisa, but not quite. She wore her hair in a ponytail, and assured me she was not, she was simply borrowing the form. She asked me to come with her, out the window. When I asked how, she showed me that I had wings. So we flew out together, we looked over the sports fields, where all the teams were playing, and she talked about how her world was different, how all things seemed to be about life and death. She was shocked we were not like that. We went to that club, the one that we went to for my birthday a little while ago. There we talked more, she told me there was some kind of threat coming, something she felt only I would be able to fight. Some terrible, bloodstained place would strike at us, soon. "

>Rin's eyes grow wider and wider as you recount your experience in the Between to her. The mention of you with wings, however, seems to strike a sparkle in her eyes and brings a smile to her face. Which fades as you expand upon the threat that 'Marisa' warned you of, even making her ears droop on her head. When you finish, she stands from her chair and ambles a few paces away, shaking her head slightly. "I don't know about 'insane', but I gotta admit, that's one heluva story, Byakuren." She doesn't sound disbelieving, rather... amazed, but what you've said.

[Hello Purvis]

>"You sound rather accepting of it, if I've not misjudged the tone of your voice."

[nolrai2]

"We should makes signs and stand on the street corner 'The end is neigh, pony-tailed Marisa said so!'"

[Oldmansour]

>"You sound rather accepting of it, if I've not misjudged the tone of your voice."

>Rin moves to the window, scratches the back of her head for a second, before replying. "If you say that's what happened, then that's what happened. You wouldn't lie. But the why it happened, that, I gotta admit, I can't work out." She starts twirling one of her braids, which you know her to do when she's thinking.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"Well, this... individual seemed to think I could do something about it."

[Hello Purvis]

>Frown. "She said some things that, were I to repeat, would sound like boasting."

[Oldmansour]

>Frown. "She said some things that, were I to repeat, would sound like boasting."

>Rin shoots you a small grin. "Well, you're due fer a bit of a boast now'n then, if I'm honest."

>"Well, this... individual seemed to think I could do something about it."

>"So... you believe that this was real? I mean, what I mean is, you really think that this... someone, waz reachin' out to ya?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I'm not sure yet, but it's strange and vivid enough that I don't feel I should discard it out of hand."

[Oldmansour]

>"I'm not sure yet, but it's strange and vivid enough that I don't feel I should discard it out of hand."

>The cat youkai nods slowly, then returns to her chair by your bed, looking you square in the eye. "So what's our first move?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Think back to the places we saw in that dream. Did anything seem awry with them, with the exception of the dance club after it got all weird?

[Oldmansour]

>Think back to the places we saw in that dream. Did anything seem awry with them, with the exception of the dance club after it got all weird?

>Physically, no. Apart from the infirmary being one floor up, the city you saw was identical to the one of this world. But it seemed to be a sort of idealized place, as far as the people went. The crowds at the sports events, for instance, were loud and boisterous, but they all appeared friendly with each other, no matter which side they were cheering for. The same can be said for the competetors, as well, as you've seen teams be more... heated, to say the least. Traffic on the streets was moderate and measured, no signs of illegal parking, road rage, none of that sort of thing. In fact, you even think you saw an young man helping an old lady across the street. It is possible you might have seen something more out of whack, had 'Marisa' had more time.
>Thinking on it, though, as you were on Shirou street, or even on approach, she never seemed to look directly at the western shrine, which lies just up the hill from there.

[Hello Purvis]

>What's the deal with that shrine?

[Oldmansour]

>What's the deal with that shrine?

>The shrine on the western side of town is devoted to one of the companions of the Mother of the World, the great White Tiger. It's one of the more popular of the four shrines, especially amongst people your around your own age, though this has more to do with the chief miko there, Satori Komeji, than out of any profound sense of religion. She's the only youkai head miko among the four shrines, and she's reknown for her predictions and advice, especially about love. It's one of the three shrines that were rebuilt after the war, as only the northern shrine survived the destruction of the city. You can think of no particular reason why 'Marisa' might've shied away from the place, but then again, you didn't exactly have long to get to know her, either.

[Hello Purvis]

>"There are two places I can think of going. One would be that dance club, to see if anything there is awry. The other, well, thinking on it, my guide never seemed to look toward the western shrine directly, even when we were very close to it."

[Oldmansour]

>"There are two places I can think of going. One would be that dance club, to see if anything there is awry. The other, well, thinking on it, my guide never seemed to look toward the western shrine directly, even when we were very close to it."

>Rin raises one of her eyebrows in curiousity, which you've noticed makes the ear on that side of her head twitch. "The Cat shrine?" She glances out the window again briefly. "This time a day, they probably getting set to close up shop. They don't keep late hours, cept on special occasions, of course. But the Shell shrine does, they open all hours."
>The Shell shrine she referrs to is the southern shrine, devoted to the Black Tortoise. Rin has a tendancy to place simplistic names on locations, as her command of the common tongue is not profound.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Perhaps so, but it's also not quite related to what we were doing. I suppose we'll have to go there first."