(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 12)

[DracoOmega]

>Didn't she have the kettle on? Is it boiling yet?
>"'nother blanket and a spare pillow, and I'm good for the night."

>She does, but she only put it on the stove a couple minutes ago; it doesn't sound like it's boiling yet.
>"No, I'm making sure you're comfy!" she responds decisively. "However many blankets that takes."
>She reemerges with a pair of them in her arms this time - one quilted and fluffy, and another in a similar style to the first, though pale green in color. She sets the quilted one down on top, fussing with almost exaggerated care to make sure it is properly aligned with the one beneath it, then pokes the body of it a couple times with her finger.
>"Is this soft enough?" she asks.

[Oldmansour]

>Smile and chuckle quietly. "No one will ever say you don't look after your guests, Kyouko-chan. Or your friends."
>Give the arrangement a probe.

[DracoOmega]

>Smile and chuckle quietly. "No one will ever say you don't look after your guests, Kyouko-chan. Or your friends."
>Give the arrangement a probe.

>"No one will ever say I don't look after my guests," she replies. "...at least I hope they won't."
>You give your impromptu bedding a poke. It's not really as supportive as a proper futon or a real bed, but it's a sight better than the floor and you're pretty light; you think it'll be fine.

[Oldmansour]

>"Well if anyone does, they'll need to have words with me."
>Let us lie down upon, to compete the test.

[DracoOmega]

>"Well if anyone does, they'll need to have words with me."
>Let us lie down upon, to compete the test.

>Kyouko giggles, then smiles at you. "That's sweet of you."
>You lie down upon the bed of blankets and give it a truer examination. While you can still feel the floor just a little and the quilted blanket bunches a little as you shift around, you'd actually rate it as better than your accommodations on the Maiden these past few days, at least in terms of softness. Kyouko watches you with some visible anticipation.

[Oldmansour]

>Sweet. Bah. "I just tell it like I see."
>Place arms behind head. "Not bad. Not bad at all."

[DracoOmega]

>Sweet. Bah. "I just tell it like I see."
>Place arms behind head. "Not bad. Not bad at all."

>Kyouko lets out another quiet giggle.
>This draws a genuine smile from the rosy-cheeked girl. Then she playfully unfurls the remaining blanket and tosses it out on top of you. Her aim could use a little work, though - at least if her intent was not to smother you beneath the heavy wool.
>"Oopsie!"

[Oldmansour]

>Blow at it, then pull it down off our face. Fix her with a wry grin.

[DracoOmega]

>Blow at it, then pull it down off our face. Fix her with a wry grin.

>You blow on the blanket, which doesn't actually do very much to move the weighty cloth, so you instead resort to more manual means and then flash the yamabiko a wry grin. She smiles sheepishly.
>"Sorry!"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I'd sorry you! Except I'm stuck under a blanket. You win this time!"

[DracoOmega]

>"I'd sorry you! Except I'm stuck under a blanket. You win this time!"

>Kyouko laughs even harder, a warm and genuine sound. Of all the places you could have ended up tonight, this isn't so bad, really....
>"Here, let me get you a pillow," she says, traces of laughter still upon her face. She moves back into the bedroom again.

[Hello Purvis]

>"You're going to smother me while I'm trapped? You fiend!"
>Kick it back until Kyouko returns.

[DracoOmega]

>"You're going to smother me while I'm trapped? You fiend!"
>Kick it back until Kyouko returns.

>"Fiend!" she echos cheerfully from the bedroom to the tune of more bedding being sifted.
>You relax upon your surprisingly comfy accommodations until Kyouko reemerges with a large fluffy pillow in her hands. She pauses, takes a look at your contented face, then lightly hurls the pillow at your head with a giggle.

[Oldmansour]

>Why that li-Oomph.
>Pull pillow away from face.
>"Oh, it's on."

[DracoOmega]

>Why that li-Oomph.
>Pull pillow away from face.
>"Oh, it's on."

>You pause for a moment as the ballistic cushion thwaps you in the nose, the sound of Kyouko's amusement ringing softly behind it. Then you calmly take hold of the pillow, remove it from your face, and issue a challenge.
>"It is?" Kyouko asks, her innocent expression leaving just enough room to debate whether she's trying to egg you on or not.

[Oldmansour]

>Kip up.
>Get a good grip on the edge of our weapon and spin it dramatically.
>"Oh yes. It is."

[DracoOmega]

>Kip up.
>Get a good grip on the edge of our weapon and spin it dramatically.
>"Oh yes. It is."

>You spring defly upright, sending the blanket above you sailing sideways with the motion. Then you give the pillow in your hand a little twirl.
>Kyouko lets out a tiny cheerful squeek and takes a step backward as you bounce to your feet, then braces herself when you declare your challenge. Her eyes dart briefly in the direction of her bedroom.

[Oldmansour]

>Dramatically, "He who hesitates is lost."
>Charge!

[DracoOmega]

>Dramatically, "He who hesitates is lost."
>Charge!

>You pronounce a last dramatic aphorism and then charge!
>As soon as you step forward, Kyouko turns and sprints through the bedroom door beside her. She's surprisingly quick on her feet, but you're still almost on top of her before she can get very far. You move to bat her with your pillow, but at that very moment the frisky yamabiko trips bodily and pitches forward onto the pile of bedding and towels with a loud squawk.
>Before you can ask whether she's alright, Kyouko turns and hurls one of the towels at your face and immediately follows it up with another large woolen blanket.

[Hello Purvis]

>Bat aside these projectiles with the pillow!

[Oldmansour]

>Kudos for getting that kinda distance on a thick woolen blanket.
>But no blanket foils this mouse.
>Duck under it and dive forward.

[DracoOmega]

>Bat aside these projectiles with the pillow!

>Kudos for getting that kinda distance on a thick woolen blanket.
>But no blanket foils this mouse.
>Duck under it and dive forward.

>You easily bat aside the towel with your pillow, then duck and dive under the weightier projectile. You feel part of it settle upon your back and tail, but brush it aside with your other arm and keep pressing forward.
>Not stopping for a moment after her assault, Kyouko dives onto her bed and stretches an arm out as far as it will go, grasping the edge of her pillow with the tips of her fingers just as you approach thwapping range again.

[Oldmansour]

I've never seen two posts go off at the same second like that before. That's kinda cool.

>Too slow, Kyouko-chan.
>Swing!

[DracoOmega]

>Too slow, Kyouko-chan.
>Swing!

>Kyouko is indeed just a little too slow. You swing!
>"Ack!" Kyouko cries as your pillow bats against the small of her back, falling slightly limp against the bed. But this doesn't stop her from getting hold of her own pillow and rounding with a wild swing in the general direction of your face.

[Oldmansour]

>All too easy.
>Duck and return fire.

[DracoOmega]

>All too easy.
>Duck and return fire.

>You duck deftly beneath Kyouko's swing and bat at her again. She lets out another squawk as your pillow soundly hits her shoulder, then lashes out at you again amid a fit of giggles. This one is even less controlled than the last, but you're inside her swing rather than outside it.

[Oldmansour]

>Move in for a quick swing.
>"Say uncle!"

[DracoOmega]

>Move in for a quick swing.
>"Say uncle!"

>You move in closer and bop Kyouko again, her own blow impacting somewhat limply against the side of your head. This only seems to make her laughs louder, though.
>"Never!" she cries, then hits you upside the head a little firmer this time.

[Oldmansour]

>This has got to be, without a doubt, the very first pillow fight we've ever been a part of in any way, other than possibly as a witness. How did that happen?
>No matter. No one goes upside our head and gets away with it. Wade in and give the yamabiko what for.

[DracoOmega]

>This has got to be, without a doubt, the very first pillow fight we've ever been a part of in any way, other than possibly as a witness. How did that happen?
>No matter. No one goes upside our head and gets away with it. Wade in and give the yamabiko what for.

>It's been a lot of years since you did anything like this and it should as hell wasn't something you'd expected when you got here tonight, but for at least this moment, you aren't letting yourself worry about all the problems that are waiting for you; if you wanted to find an excuse, maybe you could just blame the sake.
>But no matter to how you arrived here, you aren't about to let Kyouko get one over on a professional. You fight back in earnest, buffeting the giggling yamabiko with her own pillow and barely giving her time for a counterattack, though she does try. You evade some with a deft roll or a counterswing of your own weapon, though the closed quarters force you to accept a few of the fluffy impacts across head and torso and ears. You're not sure Kyouko stops laughing even once, to the point that she's nearly gasping for breath between assaults after a while - not that it slows her down much. It is... surprisingly enjoyable, in an odd way.

>You hear a rattling sound from the direction of the main room.
>Kyouko's ears perk up - at least the one of them not currently mashed against the blankets. "The kettle!"