Something happens in this update. I wonder how people will react to it?


Thread 1: >>/sdm/54956
Thread 2: >>/sdm/55386
Thread 3: >>/sdm/55803
Thread 4: >>/sdm/56153
Thread 5: >>/sdm/56497
Thread 6: >>/sdm/56844
Thread 7: >>/sdm/57149
Thread 8: >>/sdm/57460

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The music starts out loud and aggressive, getting the attention of everyone in the audience. It's like a force, a blast of sound so powerful, yet so controlled, that you can't help but pay heed to it. However, after this initial blast, as though its point has been made, the music settles down into an energetic, rhythmic beat. It's loud, but not oppressive. It flows well, brings up your spirits, and overall is just plain fun. I'm pretty sure that this is the results of the collaboration between the two sets of musicians. Whatever you want to call it, it's working!

Lyrica Prismriver is pounding away at her keyboard with a broad grin on her face, clearly enjoying every last second of the performance. Her sister Merlin has switched from her usual trumpet to some odd kind of saxophone, blasting forth exuberant notes from its brass innards. Mystia has taken up a kind of electric guitar, playing with excitement and occasionally singing backup. Lunasa Prismriver stand back a little bit with a bass guitar, staring down as she carefully plays the notes, yet still swaying in time to the music despite her grim appearance. And finally, Kyouko Kasodani is front and center as the lead singer. Now, I'd heard that this girl was more about volume than technique, that she covered up for a lack of ability with sheer volume. Either reports were in terrible error, or this girl has taken some singing lessons, because her voice is loud, clear and musical. Actually, I'm pretty sure that Kyouko is generating echoes to make the five girl band sound like a full orchestra. With electric guitars.

It's noisy, sure. But it's also rhythmic, musical, carefully written, and well performed. Most importantly of all? It's FUN. The girls aren't halfway through their first song when people in the audience start singing along and howling out their approval. They're gonna talk about this one for months.

Beside me, Sakuya is smiling. "This is better than I though!" she calls over to me.

"I know!" I shout back. Looking down at the lower floor, I notice that the crowd of people has taken to the floor and started dancing in time to the music. As I watch, I suddenly get an idea and smile wickedly. Glancing over at Sakuya, I notice that she's still smiling, but firmly rooted in her chair. Well, we can't have that, now can we?

"Sakuya!" I call out over the music, "Dance with me!"

The maid gapes up at me in surprise. "Wait, what?!" she shouts back.

I just laugh and grab Sakuya's wrist, hauling her out of her chair despite her shouts of protest. Taking hold of her hands, I start to dance with her in time to the music, pulling her along with my motions. At first, Sakuya can only sputter in confusion and a little embarrassment. As we seamlessly shift into the next song, however, Sakuya stops resisting and begins dancing along, albeit a little red-faced. By the third song, she's begun to dance with me, smiling broadly. By song number four, Sakuya is laughing as she takes the lead. Together, the two of us combine techniques, with myself incorporating rhythmic motions I take from my martial arts training. Sakuya's dancing is more precise and elegant, coming across like a fast-paced sort of ballroom dancing. It's a strange combination, and I can't deny it. But it works, and it's one hell of a great time.

The music shifts from playful, to aggressive, to mellow and slow, the five band members seeming to wish to demonstrate their ability to play any type of music you can think of. As they shift into a slow, intimate tune, Sakuya and I wind up slow-dancing under the stars.

"This is kinda romantic," I note, watching her blue eyes.

She just smiles back at me. "It is. We'll have to do something nice for that young man." I laugh and nod at that. After a few more moments of dancing, Sakuya speaks again. "I love you, you know."

I swallow deeply. "Yeah, I know. And I..." my voice trails off. It's hard to say. Do I love her? Of course I do. Just as much as I do Yuuka. That's what's so terrible about it. Just knowing what's going on in my heart is frustrating. I mean, if I told them, how would they react? I just shake my head and look at Sakuya helplessly.

Sakuya just smiles gently, and kisses me on the cheek. "Thank you," she tells me.

"For what?" I ask.

"I can read you so well, after so long. You tend to wear your emotions on your sleeve. Always have. It's one of the things I like about you the most: your sheer honesty." She sighs and rests her head on my shoulder, still looking up at me. I blush in response. "I know how you really feel. About us. So does Yuuka. That's enough. You're care about us both so much, that you're putting yourself through hell to avoid hurting us. It's a nice gesture... but it kind of bothers me to see you put yourself through all of that."

I shrug helplessly. "What would you do in my position? Go after both of you like in some kind of harem show? It just wouldn't work."

"Not really," Sakuya notes, "Not unless Yuuka and I were into each other as well, that is. She really is a beautiful woman, you know."

"She is," I agree.

"Beautiful, strong, protective, with a sweet heart underneath it all. The kind of woman that just wants to take care of you." Sakuya watches my face clearly. "Admit it, if you woke up in bed next to both of us, what would your reaction be?"

Er.

I feel my face heat up at the thought of becoming a Meiling sandwich. "Uh... we darn near did that during the wedding, didn't we?" I ask, desperately trying to change the subject.

Sakuya just smiles enigmatically. " I suppose we did." After a minute, she laughs. " I have to confess. When you suggested that we head out today, I immediately went to Remilia for advice."

I look at her in surprise. "Really? What did she say?"

Sakuya shrugs. "Be myself. Don't push you too hard. Have fun with you for the sake of having fun with you. Wait for the right moment."

"Right moment for what?" I wonder.

"For this," Sakuya says, and kisses me.

Oh.

Mmm.

Yep. This woman knows what she's doing.

I could do this more often.

Where are her hands going...?

Ah, heck with it. It's not like I mind. I'll just reach over here...

Ooh. Soft.

When the kiss breaks, the two of us smile at each other, breathing heavily. It takes us a moment longer to get our hands off of each other.

After a few more songs, the concert wraps up to thunderous applause. Sakuya disappears for a few minutes to use the washroom, and we then decide to take advantage of our elite tickets to investigate the backstage after-show party. It's easy for us to get in: Sakuya and I are relatively known figures, and Remilia has employed the Prismrivers before. The party proves to be a little too crowded for our tastes, but we see a certain figure back there and resolve to do a little bit of good.

Once we have a clear path, Sakuya and I make our way over to Lyrica, who looks a little worn out from everything. She smiles when she sees us coming. "Hey! Meiling and Sakuya! Welcome! I love your outfits, by the way."

I smile back. "Thanks! I kinda like your look too. Not to mention the music."

Lyrica just grins, gesturing at her clothing. "Yeah, we've wanted to play with those two for a while, and finally managed to write some decent music together. However, Mysty and Kyouko insisted that we dress the part if we were going to throw a concert together. After a while, we caved in. I think it turned out alright, though."

"It certainly did," Sakuya agrees, and her smile turns mischievous. "So, all by yourself these days? Or do you have someone special hidden away back here?"

Lyrica sighs. "I wish. There aren't a lot of men to go around in Gensokyo. Those that are available tend to hesitate at the thought of dating a poltergeist."

Huh. Been there, done that. Got a couple girlfriends. But I have another solution for Lyrica. "Well, you should try someone younger. Someone open-minded, and gentlemanly." Lyrica raises an eyebrow in interest, and I point across the room to a certain ticket attendant, who is watching the room with a jaundiced eye. "I met him earlier today. Handsome, polite, respectful, and willing to look beyond just human women. You should have a word with him."

"Hmmm..." Lyrica muses, looking over at the ticket seller. After a moment, she nods and walks over to him, engaging him in a conversation. He looks surprised, but smiles back at Lyrica, eagerly chatting with her. After a while, the other band members drift over out of curiosity, also joining in the conversation. The young man looks like he's just gone to heaven. Surrounded by pretty girls, he notices me and gives me a thumbs-up before happily turning his attention back to the girls around him.

"He looks happy," Sakuya notes.

"I think we can call that our good deed for the day," I say proudly. "So, ready to go home then?"

Sakuya smiles at me and takes my hand. "Absolutely."

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After a short flight under a clear night sky, Sakuya and I land in front of the mansion and head inside. It's quiet; most of the other residents are probably occupied with other things. Remilia and Reimu with each other. Koakuma with Josef. Patchouli with her books. Flandre with developing the latest edition of life-sized Risk. Holding my hand, Sakuya quietly leads me to my room.

I look over at her curiously. "Sakuya?"

She chuckles lightly as we come to my room. "You know how I vanished for a few minutes before we went backstage? Well, I needed to talk to someone for a moment."

I raise an eyebrow as I place a hand on the doorknob. "What about?"

Sakuya beams at me. "About resolving your little moral conundrum." Shaking my head in confusion, I walk into my room-

Oh. Yuuka's here.

Reclining on my bed,

In a red cheongsam. Also, she's smiling at me.

"It's about time," the flower youkai says huskily.

I can only stare at the beautiful woman in front of me, my mind short-circuiting with disbelief. Distantly, I notice a displacement of air behind me and the door shutting. As Yuuka slowly, seductively rises to her feet, I hear Sakuya's amused voice come from behind me. "I think she's surprised to see you, Yuuka."

Blinking, I tear my eyes away from Yuuka to turn to Sakuya and oh my god she's wearing her purple cheongsam that I just got her today. Grinning, Sakuya sashays over to stand next to the smiling flower youkai. "You really do seem surprised," she notes.

"Uh..." I say intelligently, my mind and senses full of curves and more curves and are they wearing perfume? They smell nice.

"Allow me to explain," Yuuka says, "Sakuya and I have, after a great deal of discussion, figured out a way to remove the burden of the terrible choice hanging over your shoulders."

"...Namely?" I ask weakly.

Grinning at me, Sakuya and Yuuka turn their heads and kiss each other. Deeply. Sakuya wraps her arms around Yuuka's neck and her leg around Yuuka's waist. The flower youkai purrs contentedly, running her hand along Sakuya's long leg. All I can do is gape in shock, my mind refusing to register what I'm seeing before me.

After a long, long moment, the two break their kiss and turn back to me, smiling hungrily. "Get over here," Sakuya orders.

......

My mind appears to have seized up, which is why it takes me a little longer than usual to respond. That seems to be longer than Sakuya and Yuuka are willing to wait, so they expedite matters by simply tossing me on the bed. And then diving on top of me.

So, it turns out that this is their method of settling my difficult choice for me. After a great deal of discussion, the two realized that they had a fair amount of appreciation for one another, as well as me. The solution came quite naturally after that.















They feel quite nice.














Wow, they're so flexible!















I love my life.




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They were playing twister. Why, what were thinking was happening? Anyway, I'm just gonna go ahead and fill in the next option for you:

[x] The DyCirno Super Heroic Force


So, Being Meiling is on the home stretch now, which is one of the reasons why I wanted to wrap up the Sakuya/Yuuka subplot. After the DyCirno thing, there's a couple more episodes that I want to write, in order, and then that will be that.

So, a vote to kick off the next scene:

[ ] Morning.
[ ] Noon.
[ ] Afternoon.