Keine Quest: The Broken and the Lost

[Hello Purvis]

>Check the house.

[DracoOmega]

>Check the house.

>You shamble towards the other rooms of the house, looking for anything out of place. Rumia's drawings remain scattered over the dining room floor, but she doesn't seem to be there, anymore. Wait, is that something in your handwriting, on top of the one of the piles? There appear to be several extremely crude copies of it next to it, in what can only very generously be called Rumia's handwriting.
>You can hear thumping noises of some sort coming from the kitchen.

[Seian Verian]

> ...Great. Rumia raided the kitchen.
> Go check it out.

[DracoOmega]

> ...Great. Rumia raided the kitchen.

>You cringe at the thought of what Rumia might be doing. Although, to be fair, the rest of the house still seems intact, and you DID say she could get herself something to eat.

> Go check it out.

>You poke your head into the kitchen. Rumia appears to be intently playing a variant of bowling designed for use with fresh fruit. She rolls an orange into a cluster of other fruit, some of which does not appear to be shaped in a way that even allows it to roll anywhere. You hear another thump as the orange barrels through two peaches, sending them flying into the side of the cupboards, before bumping into a banana, which slides about a half-inch and then stops lamely.

[Seian Verian]

> "Rumia? Can't you sleep? Rather than, um... Whatever this is?"
> Glance around, did she do any more damage than just scattering a few fruits around?

[DracoOmega]

> "Rumia? Can't you sleep? Rather than, um... Whatever this is?"

>"Oh, hi!" She goes and gathers up some of the scattered fruit into a small pyramid. Part of the bottom rolls out from underneath as she tries to do this. "And Rumia isn't tired," she continues, still working on the fruit. "Rumia doesn't need to sleep much."
>Satisfied that the pile of fruit is stable enough, she steps back to the side of the kitchen, with the orange. "And this is Ker-smacky!" She beams at you. "It's Rumia's own invention. Isn't it great? Just watch!" She throws the orange into the pile with some force, toppling most of the fruit over, and sending one pear several feet into the air. "Ker-smacky!" She cheers. "See?"

> Glance around, did she do any more damage than just scattering a few fruits around?

>Other than some freshly squeezed fruit juice adorning the floors and cabinetry, everything else seems intact.

[E-Nazrin]

>How much more of a mess is this than the results of her drawing?

[DracoOmega]

>How much more of a mess is this than the results of her drawing?

>The drawings would only need to be picked up off the ground. Unless they're all hiding giant ink stains under them... You shudder at this thought. The kitchen, however, would require a cloth and a small amount of cleaning. And... maybe it would be best if you just let Rumia eat some of those, instead of you... But, all things considered, it could be far worse.

[Hello Purvis]

>"You shouldn't do that with fruit. It kind of ruins them. Here, why don't you finish these ones off before they go bad."
>Hand her some of the damaged ones, and get to cleaning up the mess.
>Contemplate dindins.

[DracoOmega]

>"You shouldn't do that with fruit. It kind of ruins them. Here, why don't you finish these ones off before they go bad."
>Hand her some of the damaged ones, and get to cleaning up the mess.

>"Aww.... " Rumia frowns, but takes the fruit you hand her and bites into them. "Oh well."
>You take a cloth and clear up the various fruit splatters. Honestly, the mess isn't that bad, once you get to it.

>Contemplate dindins.

>You don't feel like preparing anything right now, so you take out a couple of the onigiri that your counterpart had already prepared and bite into one. Hmmm... seems like a plum in this one.

[Hello Purvis]

>Offer Rumia an onigiri. Supplement with some fruits. Its not warm, but it'll do.

[DracoOmega]

>Offer Rumia an onigiri. Supplement with some fruits. Its not warm, but it'll do.

>You hand her an onigiri, but she still seems to be busy with the fruit you already gave her. You decide to just leave it next to her.
>You sit down and have another onigiri and some fruit. It's honestly not a bad 'breakfast', considering.

[Hello Purvis]

>Once breakfast is done, say, "I'm going to head out tonight. Would you like to come along?"
>Is that weird feeling persisting?

[DracoOmega]

>Once breakfast is done, say, "I'm going to head out tonight. Would you like to come along?"

>You finish up eating, and ask Rumia if she'd like to tag along.
>"Ok. Rumia's not used to being inside this much, anyway. Quiz lady's house is fun, but kinda small."

>Is that weird feeling persisting?

>You'd actually forgotten all about it while eating, but now that it occurs to you again, yes. Something is off. Not in the way that the whole world is off. You really feel like you're forgetting something.

[Hello Purvis]

>Make a mental checklist. If we can't determine what we're missing, at least guess at what it isn't.

[DracoOmega]

>Make a mental checklist. If we can't determine what we're missing, at least guess at what it isn't.

>Now that you're a little more awake, you wrack your brain for what the issue could be. You reach through your pockets. Oh, wait, all your stuff is still in your day clothes. You really should get dressed before you head out. And, really, what else do you have to miss? You run a hand through your hair, absent-mindedly.

> ....wait. Wait, wait, wait. There was something that should have been there, but wasn't. Tonight's the night of the full moon. It had slipped your mind, with all the events of yesterday, but you're absolutely certain of it. Your knowledge of moon cycles is almost instinctive. And yet, you are still in human form. You fight back a sudden wave of fear.

[Kasu]

> Its nighttime right?  Check the sky to ensure that this timeline's moon isn't somewhere else in it's cycle.

[Hello Purvis]

>Recall that Mystia didn't know about the moon.
>Presume Eirin pulled off the sealing.

[DracoOmega]

> Its nighttime right?  Check the sky to ensure that this timeline's moon isn't somewhere else in it's cycle.

>It's definitely night. You dash to the nearest window and look out. The moon seems to be a sliver away from being full. In fact, it looks almost exactly like it did last night...

>Recall that Mystia didn't know about the moon.
>Presume Eirin pulled off the sealing.

>Patchouli mentioned something about that, too, but you guess that you failed to think of this particular consequence of that, among all the other information you were trying to digest at the time. When Eirin attempted to seal the moon in your own time, her fake moon looked wrong, somehow. This one doesn't. At least not in a way that was visible to you. Was that what Patchouli meant when she said that it almost seemed normal, now?
>This... frightens you. Not only does it feel like part of you has been chopped off, but you'd figured that your ability to manipulate history in that form was your best chance to fix all this. Without it...

[E-Nazrin]

>Did our hakutaku part split off, perhaps? THAT would be weird. But where would it go?
>It's technically not COMPLETELY full. It might be worth putting off a full panic until it actually starts waning...
>Who else would have an affinity for history?
>... where's Akyu?

[Hello Purvis]

>Prepare to form a team up and go into the countryside to kick some ass of the moon doctor person
>Contemplate approaching Patchy and/or Remilia to head to Eientei to remove this problem. Maybe link up with Mokou too.
>"Rumia, I don't suppose you found a key while playing around, did you?"

[DracoOmega]

>Did our hakutaku part split off, perhaps? THAT would be weird. But where would it go?

>You still FEEL normal. But your internal clock saying 'full moon' and there not BEING a full moon makes you feel very uneasy, like a limb was shackled somehow.

>It's technically not COMPLETELY full. It might be worth putting off a full panic until it actually starts waning...

>While this is true, you're rather convinced it's more than that.

>Who else would have an affinity for history?

>You don't know of anyone else who has powers similar to your own, in that respect.

>... where's Akyu?

>Akyuu, sadly, seems to have died during the Year of Winter. You said a prayer for her at the shrine which was left in her old residence. You guess her family let it remain there when they left the place. Unless they all died later, too.

>Contemplate approaching Patchy and/or Remilia to head to Eientei to remove this problem. Maybe link up with Mokou too.

>Remilia at least might be interested in fixing this. Although she might have simply lost interest in it by now. Patchy said that she'd tried to return there several times after the original incident, but unfortunately, she also said she was never able to find Eientei again. If Mokou is anything like her counterpart, you can't imagine her turning down a chance to cause trouble for Kaguya, whatever the reason.

>"Rumia, I don't suppose you found a key while playing around, did you?"

>"Nope! You told me not to touch anything, except the drawing stuff, and the food. So Rumia didn't!"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Alright. Let's head back to Scarlet Devil Mansion. It's time to fix up the moon."
>Recall all datums about Mokou's peculiarities and how to get to her house. We'll definitely want her firepower if it comes to blows against Eientei, and we may have to pull out some tricks to make it happen.

[DracoOmega]

>"Alright. Let's head back to Scarlet Devil Mansion. It's time to fix up the moon."

>Rumia trots over to you. "Back to the big red house again already? What do they have to do with the moon?"

>Recall all datums about Mokou's peculiarities and how to get to her house. We'll definitely want her firepower if it comes to blows against Eientei, and we may have to pull out some tricks to make it happen.

>The Bamboo Forest itself is to the southeast of the old human village. Mokou's house is near the western edge. Over the years, you've learned how to detect the subtle landmarks and find your way there. Assuming the terrain itself hasn't changed, you shouldn't have trouble getting there.

>Mokou herself is stubborn, blunt, sometimes temperamental and really very kind under it all. A lot of it simply comes from living alone for multiple centuries, fixated on her own resentment. You've managed to soften her a bit, but given the seemingly large possibility that you were never involved with here here, she might be somewhat harder to deal with. But, honestly, as long as you can convince her that you're not part of some Eientei trick, she'd probably be willing to lend firepower in Kaguya's general direction, whether she knew you or not. Getting her to exercise restraint on the other hand...

[Hello Purvis]

>"Allies, Rumia. We'll be going someplace dangerous tonight, and I intend to be very well prepared."

[DracoOmega]

>"Allies, Rumia. We'll be going someplace dangerous tonight, and I intend to be very well prepared."

>"Dangerous?" She frowns. "Why do you want to go someplace dangerous?"

[E-Nazrin]

>"Because something is very wrong, and we need to make it right."

[DracoOmega]

>"Because something is very wrong, and we need to make it right."

>She seems to consider this for a moment. "Rumia will help!"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I thought you would, dear."
>Headpat.
>Exeunt! Time to hit up SDM.

[DracoOmega]

>"I thought you would, dear."
>Headpat.

>Rumia giggles as you pat her on the head.

>Exeunt! Time to hit up SDM.

>You move to leave, and then realize that you're still dressed in a nightgown. After taking a moment to change and retrieve your stuff, you leave the house, Rumia in tow.

>The town is still pretty active. It mustn't be too late at night, yet. You can still hear plenty of people in the general direction of the market. Those electric lights really do brighten up the place compared to what you're used to. It's kind of nice.