>Eiki Quest the 1st was created on August 15, 2010, so today is its 1-year anniversary. ...That's not a good thing, is it?
>Unusual text spacing was caused by inserting text into Notepad. I can't be bothered to fix it.
>Also, parser overload has led me to consider disabling giving commands to Ijiyatsu E-Mouse.
>Shiki: "Let's go, Rikako. If you want to examine the gaps more, use the one in the library. We don't need to be in anyone's head to get to that one."
>"I wasn't terribly interested in the gaps in the maid's or the guard's heads anyways."
>Follow Rikako through the gap.
>You follow Rikako through the gap. You find yourself at the entrance to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and see Suika lying her head on Meiling.
>"Yukari, I need to talk to Reimu. give us a communication gap, please."
>"I suppose you need an indication that I heard you, so very well."
>Once the gap is ready: "Reimu, it's Shiki. What's your situation? Have you investigated the Gensokyo Isle incident to your satisfaction?"
>Armpits: Raise an eyebrow. "... I did mean whether she did anything past being willing to go along with this, but now I wanna know about that beef with Utsuho."
>Jump at the Yama's intrusion. "Damnit Yama. Uh... mostly. But don't think I'm letting Koishi off the hook. What do you want?"
>Shiki: "We may have a way to travel to the other world; we're about to do a test. But before we actually go over there, we have business here to take care of. The
voice is targeting Koishi again, so we need to ensure her safety. Any... business of your own that you may have with her can wait until after the current incident is
resolved. In addition, if we play this right, this may actually lead to her realizing that what she did was wrong, and even to her forgiving Utsuho. Your help would be
appreciated-we have a lot to do before evening, which is when the voice claims it will make its move, so the more people we have getting multiple things done at once,
the better-but this will be tricky enough as it is, so if you can't put the Gensokyo Isle incident aside for now-just for now-I can't have you as part of this. Can you
do that?"
>What's the time of day right now?
>Sunset.
>Gila Gangster: Frown. "I've cleaned up most of the loose ends and I could drop lookin' around further for now, but I'm not letting Koishi get away scot-free. Is she
getting punished as part of whatever scheme you're plotting?"
>Shiki: "If this works, it will be far more effective than any punishment of yours could ever be. If we manage to pull this off, she will know beyond any possibility
of denial what her actions did to others. The voice has claimed that it is going to reopen Koishi's third eye, and I intend to repeat its closure, but before that
happens, I'm going to expose Koishi to people who suffered as a result of her actions, specifically utsuho, although if I can find anyone else in time, well, the more
people there, the better. As I said, I welcome your aid, but only if you can set aside your anger for now. And just for now. I don't think you should pursue Koishi,
but if you choose to do so once this incident is resolved, well, that is your choice to make. Can you do that, Reimu?"
>Python Pusher: "Huh. Guess that's not too bad, but what makes you think she'd care about hurting them? She didn't show a damn bit of remorse earlier."
>Shiki: "She has convinced herself that Utsuho acted for purely selfish reasons. If she sees into Utsuho's mind, she will know why Utsuho really took such actions. We
might want to see if Satori will come, too. The more we have, the better."
>Monitor Mistress: "That doesn't exactly answer my question, Eiki."
>Shiki: "Koishi is convinced that Utsuho returned Gensokyo to normal simply because she wanted power. If she reads Utsuho's mind, she will know that this is not true.
She will know that she was wrong. And being wrong on one aspect of something throws into doubt other aspects of it. And... well, I believe that some part of her does
feel remorse for what she did. But she has shut that part away, and refuses to admit that it's there even to herself. If she is shown why Utsuho really did what she
did, I believe that this will spark a realization of her own feelings on the matter."
>Lacertid Lass: "Yeah, assuming Utsuho didn't do it for power, even if I think I prefer the outcome. And assuming Koishi is actually willing to admit or accept error
on her part, if the bird's conscious says something other than her subconscious. Which is kind of the question I'm not getting an answer for."
>"The heck did you do with her, anyway?"
>Shiki: "I felt that the best thing for her was to have some time alone. With nobody around her, she would be forced to confront herself. But we no longer have the
time to let that happen. I asked Yukari to keep tabs on her in case we had to find her again, but apparently Yukari decided that she'd rather not, so Suika's asking
Kanako to locate her again."
>"And, Reimu? I believe that Utsuho did what she did for the right reasons. And, yes, I am willing to take that chance."
>Iguana Iridescent: "Because you're omniscient, right? I take it Utsuho trying to kill everyone for the heck of it that one winter doesn't mean anything, then?"
>"And seriously, what the heck happened with Koishi earlier? Did you just let her walk away?"
>Shiki: "I have been the Yama for over two thousand years. I think I've learned a thing or two about people in that time."
>"And yes, I let Koishi walk away. As I said, I thought that it would be best for her to spend time alone."
>Skink Slapper: "Enough to be right all the time, while dodging everything I'm asking about?"
>As Eiki, you hear
"As much as I hate to agree with Koishi, she did have a point about you thinking you don't need to justify your actions or reasoning.">"Not to mention the part where for 2000 years you weren't hearing voices and acting really weird all of a sudden."
>"What did you do WITH her? Did she even listen to anything you said?"
>Shiki: "She resisted everything I told her, so I brought Satori in. They spoke in private, but Satori didn't have any more luck than I did. So I returned, made my
position clear, and then Satori and I left her on her own. Isolated, she would have no choice but to confront herself eventually, and my original intent was to return
to her when she did. But now we no longer have time for that approach."
>"Reimu, let's make sure we're clear on this. Yes or no: will you, for the time being, cooperate with me on this?"
>Alligator Agitator: "'Resisted,' huh?"
>"What do you want me to do?"
>Ping intuition: She's been evasive. Is she telling the whole truth yet?
>Shiki: "I want you to go underground and find Utsuho. Tell her that we may be able to get Koishi to forgive her. Then get Satori, and bring the two of them to the
surface. Where we meet will depend on Koishi's location, so I'll tell you where to go once we've found her. We won't meet at her location, though; I don't want her to
know we're planning anything ahead of time. Once I've taken care of one last thing at the SDM, I'm going to find her and tell her what the voice is going to do, and
I'm going to advise her to prepare to re-close her eye, but that's all I'm going to say."
>Reimu replies "How much do you think Koishi is willing to cooperate with you on this?"
>Yuyukan Dovrefjell: "As selfish as that may be, I suppose." Shrug again.
>"Although... I'm afraid I'm not sure whether the attempt will work. The last time Patchouli tried that spell, it... didn't quite work well enough for me to find that
platform again." Frown. "Maybe I should go back and help as well, once Yukari is there... I do owe her that hug. Hm... I guess that leads to a request for those in the
other world, and a question more for you personally, Maribel."
>"I think it would still be best to have someone from there look into finding a way to speak with us directly, or even reach Gensokyo; this is really rather
troublesome for all involved, isn't it? I'm not sure what can be done from there, but... hm, I believe Yukari did just remind me of an 'overlay' that may be involved
with it. There's very little about it at Patchouli's library, but perhaps you can find more?"
>"And for you, Maribel... if I do leave to help Yukari, where would I be able to find you later today, or perhaps tomorrow? We... tracked you through those people
through the gap today, but I'd rather not burden dear Yukari with having to do that again, if we can help it. Or... perhaps you'd be alright with having one of her
communication gaps following you for now?"
>"Sorry, Renko and Yuyuko, but I can't hold two conversations at the same time."
>Rodentius: Holy shit that's a lot of info from her.
>... this is getting weird. And if no one else is going to jump on things, we might as well take the reins for now...
>Purvis adds to his previous response "Yuyuko says 'As selfish as that may be, I suppose.' She shrugs. 'Although... I'm afraid I'm not sure whether the attempt will work. The last time Patchouli tried that spell, it... didn't quite work well enough for me to find that platform again.' She frowns. 'Maybe I should go back and help as well, once Yukari is there... I do owe her that hug. Hm... I guess that leads to a request for those in the other world, and a question more for you personally, Maribel. I think it would still be best to have someone from there look into finding a way to speak with us directly, or even reach Gensokyo; this is really rather
troublesome for all involved, isn't it? I'm not sure what can be done from there, but... hm, I believe Yukari did just remind me of an 'overlay' that may be involved
with it. There's very little about it at Patchouli's library, but perhaps you can find more? And for you, Maribel... if I do leave to help Yukari, where would I be able to find you later today, or perhaps tomorrow? We... tracked you through those people
through the gap today, but I'd rather not burden dear Yukari with having to do that again, if we can help it. Or... perhaps you'd be alright with having one of her
communication gaps following you for now?"
>Uh let's do the youkai thing first. ">To Renko, "I don't think it would change much in itself, but I've been told that there's something about the effects that might
make you think a little differently... though I'm not really sure what."" Pause. ">"And I think Byakuren mentioned the stronger enchantment she was offering would make
me larger, just like her..."" Pause for the next line: ">Squeeze her hand. "Would you be okay with that, Renko?""
>And uh, having so many powerhouses at the Mansion during the attack would be... troublesome. ">Any sign of Renko responding to the mention of them being with
Patchouli?" Pause. ">"So, the others are... at the mansion? Are all of you... expecting to be there regularly?""
>To the players, "If everyone's going to be there, Renko's chances are basically in the gutter. What the hell do we do?"
>Well... our main reasons are owing some respect to Patchouli for that geode, and Sakuya half-teaching, half-threatening us with that time manipulation skill...
actually, that reminds of a point of curiosity:
>">"What sort of compulsions has Sakuya been having thanks to that gap that's supposed to be in her head, anyway?""
>">"What is that overlay you mentioned?"" Pause. To the people actually there, "Does anyone know what she's talking about?"
>As for how to meet her again... ">"I... am not entirely sure where I'll be tonight and tomorrow. We're still looking for a decent place to stay even, really..."
Pause. ">"I may spend the night at Byakuren's if I go through with the stronger enchantment she was offering, but... otherwise I'm not sure where I'll be going,
exactly." Pause. ">"Well, aside from seeing Renko, of course...""
>To players: "With the real question being whether Renko wants that invasion of privacy, of course."
>Draco says "Sorry, Renko and Yuyuko, but I can't hold two conversations at the same time." before you say this. Are you sure you want to continue with this?
>Where would we be able to look for more info about that? The library, presumably?
>Probably. The library has a lot of books on a lot of subjects.
>Shiki: "Would it be too much to ask for your help in helping Yukari with this, miss Rikako?"
>"Honestly, I don't like using magic very much. How important is all this...?"
>Microscopic Alcoholic: Grin. "Sorta! I'm just a sorta mini-me gapped over to talk with ya. The boss' havin' fun on that china girl's chest."
>"So, y'mind findin' Koishi for us again? She got kinda upset, so..."
>"Oh, so she left in anger? I see. Why do you want to seek Koishi out again?"