Let Your Fists Do The Talking! Akyu Quest Continued!

[Fightest]

> Applying Plot-Expedition Protocol.
> Rinnosuke acknowledges you with a wave of his hand, if not a look.
> "Good initiative, forced high tension in the Value market. Great potential for gain at a moment's notice - look, there, there."
> He points at a section of the scroll, where a myriad symbols twist and overlap.
> "Such density. One item, on the house. My appreciation."
> You have gained: Retroactive Item Acquisition. You may exchange at any point in the future one RIA for any one item you could have normally acquired in Rinnosuke's shop now.
> Marisa gives you a lift from Kourindou to your home. During your approach you spot a large congregation of fairies gathered a bit outside the village.
> You also spot Yuka lounging in your front garden, in the shade of her parasol.
> Marisa drops you off and, with a wave and a shout of "catch up with you later!" flies up and away towards the Forest of Magic.

[Kasu]

> Wave to Marisa.
> Turn around and head for Yuuka.
> "Hello Miss Kazami.  What can I do for you?"

[Fightest]

> Wave to Marisa.
> Turn around and head for Yuuka.
> "Hello Miss Kazami.  What can I do for you?"

> Yuka gives you a wink.
> "Hey there, scrub. Remember how I said I'd be taking you up on your offer? Here I am."

[Hello Purvis]

>Nod. "So, have you read the news lately?"
>What was our offer, prexactly? It's been awhile.

[Fightest]

>Nod. "So, have you read the news lately?"
>What was our offer, prexactly? It's been awhile.

> "Oh yeah. Little scrub's going up in the world."
> She gets up and stretches. Her tone becomes almost gentle.
> "Look, I don't know if you care at all, but... you came at just the right time, back then. I didn't know where the hell I was, and where the hell I was going. I could almost see myself going bad, you know? And you just... just straightened things out. So I decided, I've got your back on this one. Heaven isn't going to be easy."
> You just offered that she come over and visit.

[Mr_Bob]

(Where did everybody go?)

I_nternet died.

>"Thank you very much for your vote of confidence Miss Kazami.  It was actually when I met with you that I began to fight with compassion rather than violence.  Would you like to come inside?"

[Fightest]

> "Most thanks, scrub. Lead the way."
> Inside the house is surprisingly quiet, considering how you left it.
> Keine is quietly puttering about in the living room, straightening everything out, trying to bring about a semblance of order to the abode. She smiles at you as you enter, and bows to greet Yuka.
> "Two letters came for you," says Keine, "The fairies' leader also came by to say that her group is camped out near the village. I've made sure that they won't be making a mess."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Thank you for your help, Keine. How are the wounded doing?"
>Accept the letters. Get some tea for Yuka and ourself. Check the time.

[Fightest]

>"Thank you for your help, Keine. How are the wounded doing?"
>Accept the letters. Get some tea for Yuka and ourself. Check the time.

> "The last batch moved out just after you left. The Princess said that she and her retinue would catch up to you before you would reach the mountain. Mokou went along to keep an eye on them."
> The first letter bears Remilia Scarlet's handwriting. It says: "Receipt of tournament immunity confirmed. You are off the hook - for now. Flandre apologises and says that it will never happen again, will it not, Flandre? It is poor manners to read over one's shoulder, Flandre, I will be with you once I am done and no earlier.

Yours truly,

Remilia Scarlet."

> The second letter is slightly bulky. Inside is a note saying, "Should you need to find my mistress, see attached.

- R.Y."
> Along with the note is a compass. The same compass you lent to the fairies, in fact - you can tell by the little dents and scratches. It's doing what it usually did - pointing somewhere towards the mountains.

[Mr_Bob]

>Can we analyze the handwriting of this R. Y.?
>See to Yuka receives proper guest treatment.

[Fightest]

>Can we analyze the handwriting of this R. Y.?
>See to Yuka receives proper guest treatment.

> It is clean and legible, carefully-controlled to waste minimal effort, yet strong enough to give the impression of a confident and self-assured writer. Subtle decorations on the lettering show a creative mind that is aware of purpose first and foremost, yet takes pleasure in indulging their intellect, and is proud of being able to do so.
> That said, you've never seen this writing before.
> Yuka is properly enguested with tea. She waves off any further pandering.
> It is early afternoon.

[Hello Purvis]

>Hmmm, who would be an R.Y. with a mistress that'd hard to find...
>What do we know of Yukari, anyways?

[Fightest]

>Hmmm, who would be an R.Y. with a mistress that'd hard to find...
>What do we know of Yukari, anyways?

> When children go missing, when fresh milk turns sour, when wells dry up and when plagues of locusts ravage the crops, the villagers curse at the sky, and pray to the gods for quick reprieve.
> When the doors of the Netherworld open wide, when strange visitors try to change the law of the land to their whim, when the smallest of gods become terrors that scorch the land, the youkai band together to maintain the status quo.
> Seemingly-random events, brought about by chance and happenstance. Yet there are patterns to be seen by the discerning eye. A consistency beyond that of random chance or the fickle play of the gods. This was your study, ruined so utterly by the fateful spill of ink across parchment.
> It is but certain that, at the centre of all things, there must be an individual mind. So began your Study in Violet.

[Hello Purvis]

>What did this study reveal, particularly in showing what folklore was fake and what was real?

[Fightest]

>What did this study reveal, particularly in showing what folklore was fake and what was real?

> While word of mouth and that written down by storytellers will tend to embellish historical events, these events played out approximately true to their word - as far back as the separation of Gensokyo from the outside world, history remains more or less intact.
> Concerning events before the separation, things become much more vague and roots of truth become lost in a mess of fiction.
> The largest discrepancy that you have found between truth and tale is the cause of events post-separation. Stories of these events never dwell on the cause, merely on their happening and resolution, and, eventually, it is assumed that events occurred by random chance or the fickleness of gods.

[Hello Purvis]

>Do we have the mathematical knowledge to measure how the compass' needle varies over a short distance, and estimate how far it is to what it is pointing at?

[Mr_Bob]

>Either way we should set off.

[Hello Purvis]

>With Yuka dropping in after we invited her? That would be poor hosting, to say the least.

[Mr_Bob]

>With Yuka dropping in after we invited her? That would be poor hosting, to say the least.

Point.

>We can make headway after we're done being a proper host and the tea and crumpets have been put away.

[Fightest]

>Do we have the mathematical knowledge to measure how the compass' needle varies over a short distance, and estimate how far it is to what it is pointing at?

> You do. However, the needle's deviation is practically invisible on the scales that you can work with (on foot). You'd need to cover a larger distance before you can triangulate.

>We can make headway after we're done being a proper host and the tea and crumpets have been put away.

> You are still in the process of crumpeting up Yuka as the front door flies open and a familiar-looking Oni walks through, talking over her shoulder:
> "...and so I says, "Boulder? I 'ardly knew 'er!""
> She strides inside, snickering to herself. You notice the Eientei crew along with Mokou standing in the doorway in a stunned silence.
> You remember the Oni having introduced herself as Yuugi, back when you were looking for the Palace of Earth Spirits.
> Yuka perks up.
> "Is that the joke about the fairy and the landslide?" she asks Yuugi.
> Yuugi nods, still grinning.
> "Nice," Yuka says, high-fiving Yuugi, "I like you already."
> "Sod me," says Mokou, "panned I'd heard them all."
> "You mean there are more such...jokes?" asks Kaguya, her voice filled with morbid curiosity.
> "Hey!" says Yuugi, noticing you. "Heard you got a march on the pearlies! I've got a lot of interested folks just itching for a bruising!"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Unfortunately, a bruising would almost certainly play into the hands of the person behind this. I assume you've seen the article?"

[Fightest]

>"Unfortunately, a bruising would almost certainly play into the hands of the person behind this. I assume you've seen the article?"

> "Pff, reading's for losers. I jus' heard you're marchin' somewhere. Can't have a march without a bruisin'."

[Hello Purvis]

>"That hurts, you know. But, really, we're going to demonstrate peacefully that we will not be participating in the tournament, and voice our demand that it be ended. The tournament itself, we've found, is poorly prepared. Among other things, it can't end. There's no real way to win it.."

[Fightest]

>"That hurts, you know. But, really, we're going to demonstrate peacefully that we will not be participating in the tournament, and voice our demand that it be ended. The tournament itself, we've found, is poorly prepared. Among other things, it can't end. There's no real way to win it.."

> Yuugi smacks her fist into her palm.
> "So we just keep fightin' forever! No problem there!"
> She pokes you lightly in the forehead.
> "How can you not want to fight, anyway? Sure you haven't been hit in the head? Anyway, I've brought the gang all the way up here - we're holed up a bit back near the forest - so, what, you want to tell them to turn 'round and go home?"

[Hello Purvis]

>This is something we've been planning for. The oni would always be a stumbling block.
>"Tell me, Yuugi, do you remember the times when everyone was fighting, for seemingly forever? Do you remember when Yuan Dynasty came, and only divine wind saved us? Do you remember the warring states, when lives were as cheap as grass? Do you remember the starvation of that time? The disrupted lives? You need peace in order to fight. Without it, could you truly enjoy the freedom to brawl as you liked in your city, knowing in your heart that if you needed food, or needed drink, you could rely upon us?
>"Even if we were to simply ignore it, and pretend it never was, its shackles would still be in place. Great people would be bound by it, humiliated. You ask how I can not want to fight? It is because I am done. I have fought to my contentment, and see no further need for it. I will not continue because I am ordered. Would you put down your sake to fight simply because someone told you to, regardless of your wishes? What would that make you, then?"
>Shake head. Smile.
>"No. I'm not going to fight. I'm going to resist. I'm going to fluster those that would plunge us into chaos, heedless of our desires. I will deny them what they wish, and take this denial to the their very doorstep and beyond if needs be. I would ask you to join me, Yuugi. Lend me your strength, not in your fists and your skill, but with your heart and your presence. Stand with us. Deny the heavenly authorities that which they desire. Stand firm with me, unclench your fists and cross your arms, and reassert that you fight because you desire it; not because they do. I could think of no more potent of a symbol than that."

[Fightest]

>This is something we've been planning for. The oni would always be a stumbling block.
>"Tell me, Yuugi, do you remember the times when everyone was fighting, for seemingly forever? Do you remember when Yuan Dynasty came, and only divine wind saved us? Do you remember the warring states, when lives were as cheap as grass? Do you remember the starvation of that time? The disrupted lives? You need peace in order to fight. Without it, could you truly enjoy the freedom to brawl as you liked in your city, knowing in your heart that if you needed food, or needed drink, you could rely upon us?
>"Even if we were to simply ignore it, and pretend it never was, its shackles would still be in place. Great people would be bound by it, humiliated. You ask how I can not want to fight? It is because I am done. I have fought to my contentment, and see no further need for it. I will not continue because I am ordered. Would you put down your sake to fight simply because someone told you to, regardless of your wishes? What would that make you, then?"
>Shake head. Smile.
>"No. I'm not going to fight. I'm going to resist. I'm going to fluster those that would plunge us into chaos, heedless of our desires. I will deny them what they wish, and take this denial to the their very doorstep and beyond if needs be. I would ask you to join me, Yuugi. Lend me your strength, not in your fists and your skill, but with your heart and your presence. Stand with us. Deny the heavenly authorities that which they desire. Stand firm with me, unclench your fists and cross your arms, and reassert that you fight because you desire it; not because they do. I could think of no more potent of a symbol than that."

> Even as you call to memory history and facts that you know so well, even as Yuugi's expression drops from enthusiastic mirth to serious contemplation, you know, without a shadow of a doubt, that you're forgetting something.
> Your mind, honed by your recent experiences to razor-sharpness, recoils against the
> falsehoods
> in the history of this land that you - and everyone around you - have been conditioned to consider truth.
> But what are you forgetting?
> Oblivious to your unease, Yuugi speaks in a low tone, taking care with every word spoken.
> "Oh, you spin words well. I'm sure you know why we went underground, and now I'm reminded too well meself."
> Yuugi pauses.
> "And I'm reminded of what I promised a while back. I will not listen to yer words, for they are things I can't defend against."
> Yuugi's tone becomes almost solemn, ritualistic.
> "I know you as equal, as you know me. I will know your might, as you will know mine. As the earth trembles, we will know one another."
> Yuka whistles.
> You know that this is a big deal. You have been challenged to a Trial to establish unilateral superiority of one Oni over another regarding a specific point of view - a Trial of Refusal. Victory means the loser must heed the victor's belief from that moment until a third party contests the results of the Trial. It goes without saying that the Trial occurs by combat, but the one challenged gets to set the rules of engagement.

Fightest's note: I am sure you've been noticing a few oddities cropping up here and there that hint to things occurring on a scale larger than that of the tournament. These are hooks for a set-up that would allow Akyu Quest to continue once the Tournament arc is over. My question to you fine readers and participants is then such: are you interested in a continuation of Akyu Quest? The scale and power level will undoubtedly increase, and we might even leave Gensokyo entirely for a different setting (but one that certainly retains Gensokyo's kitchen-sink fantasy flavour). You would still encounter familiar characters and possibly even locations, but their natures would be somewhat altered to fit the setting.

[Kasu]

Fightest's note: I am sure you've been noticing a few oddities cropping up here and there that hint to things occurring on a scale larger than that of the tournament. These are hooks for a set-up that would allow Akyu Quest to continue once the Tournament arc is over. My question to you fine readers and participants is then such: are you interested in a continuation of Akyu Quest? The scale and power level will undoubtedly increase, and we might even leave Gensokyo entirely for a different setting (but one that certainly retains Gensokyo's kitchen-sink fantasy flavour). You would still encounter familiar characters and possibly even locations, but their natures would be somewhat altered to fit the setting.

I'd like that a lot. :3

I might not post a lot, but I certainly lurk quite a bit and a continuation sounds like it'd be cool.

[Hello Purvis]

I'm down~

>Can we determine what these falsehoods are? They would not have been uttered intentionally, probably...
>What do we know of these Trials?

[Fightest]

>Can we determine what these falsehoods are? They would not have been uttered intentionally, probably...
>What do we know of these Trials?

> Your mind darting to and fro, you find the point before which the history you remember feels wrong - too elegant, too well-structured, as if written by an expert storyteller with a refined taste: the point of separation of Gensokyo from the outside world.
> An Oni Trial can only occur between two Oni. An Oni is within right to call a Trial at any time, provided there are no more pressing matters that concern either side. Trials come in different types, each a solution to a different kind of disagreement that may arise between two Oni. While the call-out is done by a single Oni, that Oni can be a representative for a group, challenging a representative of another group. In all cases, Trials are considered by the Oni unimpeachable save for the result of a Trial being overthrown by another Trial. Trials are always physical affairs, but the rules of engagement can vary without, sometimes, even resorting to combat - from single combat, to group-on-group violence, to a straight-up contest of strength - and these rules are always decided by the side being challenged. An Oni attempting deception or trickery in her Trial - if caught - is immediately considered dishonorable, but it seems almost unthinkable for such a case to have ever actually occurred.

[Hello Purvis]

How do you want to do this, Bobert? Kasu?  I think, if we meet power with redirection, we can take her in a fight. Or we could be fuckers and challenge her to a calligraphy contest; which is arguable as a physical thing. 

I'm thinking the former is better, though. But, if we can get her to admit that deftness of hand is acceptable as a contest, it would not be a trick, and we'd almost certainly have it. as well, it would stay within a spellcard-ish theme of beauty over force, which I would think the Oni would acknowlegde given at least two devas use spellcards.

>Frown. We'll have to consider this falsehood later...
>Look at Yuugi. Speak softly: "I understand. Do you say this because you doubt my sincerity, or because you do not wish it to be true?"