Click. Hurr. Beep. Now then, something to eat. You make a sandwich with some cucumber on it and take it to the computer. The first thing you do is checking Ogame. As always, nothing special has happened, though you did find a rather nice amount of metal on one of your expeditions. Next up is some Supreme Commander, and by then you've completely forgotten about anything strange.

The next thing you notice is that you should make something for dinner. It's been four hours since you ate those sandwiches and they weren't much after all. What should you make? Whitefish sounds good as you have some in your fridge. That, and some leftover potatoes from yesterday. Not the best possible food, but at least it would be easy. As you rise from your chair and turn towards the door, you see her again. Nope, she hasn't woken up yet. She had to be very tired, as if she went to sleep when you left she would've slept for 12 hours now. Whatever. You let her sleep and go do some culinary magic. It includes taking a pan, putting the fish on it and turning on the stove. After a while, when the fish is ready, you slice the potatoes and put the slices on the pan too to warm them up. This way they get a nice, fishy flavor. Extra fishy.

After eating it's the time for some internetz. After returning to your computer you open a news site. As you read some random news, you hear something from behind you and turn around. You find yourself looking into a pair of purple eyes. That's strange, you've never seen purple eyes before. Besides, she's quite close to you, not more than 20cm from you.
"Good morning? she says to you, in English. You wasn't expecting that but adapt quickly.
"Uh... hello? It's not quite morning anymore, just for you to know."
"It's morning for me, I usually wake up at around this time."
"Whatever." You go straight to business. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
"I'm just a someone and I was sleeping here."
Way to go, Captain Obvious.
"You just came into someone's home, slept in his bed and don't even bother to tell why?"
"Yep."
"Well, can you even tell me who you are?"
"In a moment. Now, where's Ran?"
"Who?"
"Ran?
"..."
"So you haven't seen her?"
"Why should I have seen her?"
"She brought me here."
"You just were here when I came home, I haven't seen anyone else." Who'd bring someone into a random home without asking the residents?
"I've told her that I don't like being left alone with someone I don't know when I sleep... Ra-an! Show up!"

Surprisingly enough someone walks into the room. She's also a blonde woman, wears a strange white dress with something blue on it and has the strangest hat you've ever seen. The hat's white, has some yellow stickers on it and has two things that look a bit like animal ears. Other than that she's more or less normal.
"Didn't I tell you to bring me to an empty house?"
"There wasn't anyone here when I brought you in." So her name's Ran. A strange name, but then again you hate yours so you're not the one to complain about names.
"Then who's this?" *points at you*
"Who are you?" Is she messing with you on purpose?
"Aren't I the one who's supposed to ask that? After all, you're both here without having asked me."
"I'm Ran Yakumo. I'm Yukaris shikigami."
"So you're Yukari?" You look at the woman who's still right next to you. You also take a better look at her: she looks a lot like someone you could meet at your school. Jeans, t-shirt, no hat. "And what's a shikigami?"
"Yes, I'm Yukari. And a shikigami is almost the same as a familiar." Familiar? The thing from the RPG's, a wizard's slave? You'd ask about that later if you get an opportunity.
"So what are you two doing here?"
The one called Ran answers. "I was sent here to look for an employee to the Mansion. Yukari just came to see me and fell asleep, so I brought her here." She looks at you. "Have you got a job? I've been looking for about everywhere and everyone seems to have a job already. They could take even someone like you."

[x]No
[]Yes (school)

"Uh... no, I don't.?, you stammer, surprised by the unexpected turn, "But I do have to..."
"That's great, I finally found someone. Miss Yukari, aren't we done here now? I'm anxious to show him to them, so can we get going?" You were completely driven over by Ran. How rude.
"That's great, but..."
"This place seems interesting, so we'll stay here for a day or two. I have to find some things for Kourin." This time you're interrupted by Yukari. You decide to wait until they're finished before complaining. They seem to know each other quite well.
"But miss Yukari, it's unlike you to look for something. You always just know where to find whatever it may be that you're looking for."
"Didn't I say that this place is interesting and that we'll stay for a day or two?" says Yukari, glancing at you while speaking.
"Don't I have anything to say about you two staying here?" you ask sarcastically.
"No? One of those no's with which you don't argue with, at least it was meant to be one. Well, maybe you could let them stay here for tomorrow since you didn't have anything planned and you had been feeling a bit lonely in the past weeks. Maybe because you are almost always alone? Plus, you had two empty rooms. The house was a bit too large for you to live in it alone, but you didn't complain since it was cheap.
"OK, I guess you can stay for tomorrow then. I'll have a day off so I can show you two around. But what about school? I mean if I'm going to get a job and everything." Finally you were allowed to say what you had to say. Maybe you should be a bit more aggressive? But wouldn't it be rude to interrupt someone?
"I'll arrange it. You don't have to worry." An unexpected answer and a knowing smile from Yukari. How could she arrange your things? You'd have to ask about the job and arrange things with the employer since you couldn't miss even a single lesson because of work: it'd cause you to drop from the course. You look at Yukari wit a puzzled expression on your face, which only causes her smile to deepen.
"Well then, would you be so kind to allow me to use your shower?" The first time either of the two act like they're not at their own home.

You give your permission to Yukari, still wondering how you'd arrange your school and the work. As Ran leaves behind Yukari, you're alone again. Why do you exactly trust those two? You've got no idea, but you feel somehow comfortable when they're around. As usual, you don't have anything to do, but you decide to ask your friend over tomorrow to continue the hot-seat Civilization game you have had going on for some time now. You'd finally get Fascism and could go to war with those annoying Spaniards. You ask him on MSN and he agrees. He also sends you a link to a YouTube clip, and you open it.

As the video reaches it's end, you notice that Yukari is sitting right next to you. Damn, she's sneaky. She looks the same as before but her hair is wet. You can't think of anything to say, so you remain silent. So does she. You're rather happy about the mutual silence since you're not good at all at smalltalk. Time for some Newerwinter Nights. Eat fireball, bastards. Your sorcerer barbeques all opposition, and you're absorbed to the game. At some point you notice that Ran is there too, and that Yukari says something about shikigami, outside world and computers. At that point you decide to save and quit. It's 22:46 according to the computer's clock, and it's starting to get dark. The nights are short, since it's only two weeks to summer solstice, and your holidays would begin in a week. The fifth term has gone by quickly.

"Would you two come with me for a walk?" It's unusual for you to go for a walk, but these warm, light, early summer evenings make you feel like it for some reason. And this time you wouldn't have to go alone.
"Why not? You stay here and make something to eat, Ran."
"Feel free to use anything you find?, you add so Ran won't feel uncomfortable using your kitchen.
The two of you put on your shoes and go outside. As you gaze upwards, you spot a bright star. It's probably Venus, but you can't be sure. Of all the constellations you only know Orion, and you have absolutely no idea about the movements of the planets. Other stars can't be seen because of the combination of light pollution and Sun's light, which still lingers in the sky.

"Such a nice evening." you say as you turn left from your yard.
"It is. But it's a shame that you can't see the stars." Yet another unexpected answer from Yukari. She didn't seem like someone who's from the countryside, where there wouldn't be this much light pollution. You two walk a short moment in silence. As you arrive to the rather steep decline, you decide to ask about the job.
"What kind of job will it be? The one Ran offered to me?"
"I don't know, you'll probably need to do whatever you're told to do. After all, it's quite a big mansion, and it has some gardens too." So you'd be working at a mansion. Good news for your bank account.
"Can you tell me anything about the place? Any people I should know?"
"You'll know when it's time. But I can tell that one of my... friends lives there, and she's quite a person. I won't tell you anything else though, otherwise I'd spoil your fun."
"I really can't understand you. How would you spoil my fun?"
"You'll see." You give up on trying to get more answers from her as she doesn't seem to want to give them.
Yukari asks you about your interests and you name science in general and computer games. She seems surprised by your answer, but you really can't know. Her eyes never seem to change to reflect her facial expressions, so you're not sure whether she's just faking it. She asks a bit more about you and you give her short answers.

When you two come back, you (not Yukari though) are surprised to find Ran in the kitchen with cooked rice and some sauce. The sauce's made primarily from vegetables, but you're not sure how she's done it. She also seems to be having some difficulties with the ceramic stove, and you go to help her. When she says that the sauce only has to simmer for some time now, you go and set the table. Ran also starts to search the drawers for something while mumbling something about forks. She searches for some time and doesn't seem to find what she's looking for so she straightens up and turns to you.
"Where are the chopsticks?" Chopsticks?
"I don't have any. Why'd you ask?"
Yukari comes into the room from the living room you rarely use.
"They don't use chopsticks in here. Just go with the fork, I know you can."
So Ran was a foreigner? That'd explain the rater heavy supper you were having. Usually you ate some bread or some fruit, nothing fancy.
While eating, you realize that you're rather tired. It had been an early morning, and last night had been long.

Where could the two of them sleep? On the sofa? It's a bit small for even one to sleep on, not to talk about two. You end up digging your backup bed from the closet and set it up next to the sofa. After finding some spare sheets and pillows you go wash your teeth. Off to bed, then. Regardless of being tired, you can't sleep for a while, the day had been strange. At first, it had seemed like every other Monday, but then a strange and a not-so-strange woman had suddenly appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

You wake up. There's someone sitting next to you. You open your eyes and find yourself staring into the most purple eyes you've ever seen. Yukari's there, leaning over you and looking into your eyes with a strange expression on her face and a finger on your forehead.
"What is it??, you ask her, still feeling sleepy. How long had you slept?
"Just gave you something you'll need. Plus, it's the time for you to wake up. You've slept for fifteen hours already." Fifteen hours? Well, that wasn't unheard of.
"Just what did you give to me while I was asleep? Why didn't you give it to me yesterday?"
"It's something that couldn't be given to you while you was awake... And as to what it is? You'll find it out when it's time? Again. She didn't tell you what she knew. Well, this time it sounded like she had given you a gift, and you shouldn't look down on gifts, whatever they were. "Now you might want to get up since your friend's coming over soon."
"How can you know when he's coming? He didn't even tell me."
She just flashes a smile to you as she leaves the room. Now that you think about it, she looks quite good. Real good, in fact. And so does Ran. Well, you feel a bit dirty now as you didn't take a shower yesterday and decide to take one now.

As you are dressing in your room you hear the doorbell ring. You quickly force yourself into a pair of jeans, throw on a t-shirt and go open the door. It's your friend. You let him in and go to your room, looking for socks while the computer starts. Yukari enters the room with your friend as you find a pair.
"It's time to go."
"Huh?" You look at Yukari and got no idea what she meant. She gives you one of her mysterious smiles.
You feel like you're falling, and then it's dark. Not so dark that you can't see, but still dark. As your eyes slowly adjust, you can see that it's night, and that you're on a grassy hill. The stars are unusually bright. You feel like gazing at them, but got some more urgent things to do, such as finding out what the hell just happened. You start walking downhill, and soon you see something unsettling: it's your friend, with someone on him. Your friend is not moving, and the person on him is doing something with his throat. You suddenly realize what has happened: your friend's dead, and the killer's destroying the evidence. You're overcome with anger, and can't think of anything but hurting the murderer. Badly.
[]Grab the biggest rock you can and hit the murderer in the head.
[]Flying kick to the back of the head.
[]Grab a branch and use it as a club.
[]Crack the murderer's neck.

---

There ya go, feel free to vote. I'll see about how often I can update this.

Interesting to see where this one goes...

Personally, /border/ does need a bit more life
to it right now, but oh well.

[X]Crack the murderer's neck.

Why the fuck did you try to cram so much into a prologue? All you'd need is a one paragraph summary of events, or better yet, allow us to vote and sway the outcome of each so it all leads to this point.

Reading this was painful. It's not going to be this fast-paced each update, is it?

[x] Grab the biggest rock you can and hit the murderer in the head.

Good. There's never enough to read.

[X]Grab the biggest rock you can and hit the murderer in the head.

[x] Grab the biggest rock you can and hit the murderer in the head.

Nothing wrong with a long prologue...there's just a thing as being a bit TOO long.

Still establishes a situation better though

[x] Grab the biggest rock you can and hit the murderer in the head.

>>39554
This, /border/ needs a new story more than this does, and so far it has nothing to do with the SDM. This reeks of wanting more votes. But this does look interesting so far.

[x] Grab the biggest rock you can and hit the murderer in the head.

I'd have preferred the kick, but I doubt our MC is strong enough to have that work.

[x] Grab the biggest rock you can and hit the murderer in the head.

Ooh, an update. I think I won't be able to post every day from now on.

>>39577
I didn't mean to make it that long, it just ended that way. Original plan was to let Yukari&Ran hang around for an another day, but I agree that it is a bit too long as is.
I think it's better than a "Suddenly you're in SDM. What now?" beginning, but who am I to say?

---

[x]Grab the biggest rock you can and hit the murderer in the head.

You remember seeing a rock which seemed to be about the right size where you first appeared, and turn back to get it. It's surprisingly close, just a few steps from where you were standing. The rock's not very heavy compared to it's size, but still weights about five kilos and it has a sharp-ish edge on it. Overall, a good rock for knocking someone out and breaking his ribs afterward. Turning around, you see that the thing is very focused on doing whatever it is doing, and it is also making some noise so it would be easy to sneak behind it. The grass on the hill makes your job easier by muffling the sound of you feet. When you're only one step away from it, you rise the rock above your head with both hands and take the final step. The thing finally notices you, but it is too late: you swing down the rock as hard as you can, hitting it's head.

The anger is instantly replaced by fear when you feel the skull cracking. You wanted to hurt her, not kill her. It doesn't help when she falls to the ground and you can see that she's (definitely she, it's wearing a dress, but it's too dark to determine the color) bleeding a lot. Shit. She'll bleed dry at that rate, if she isn't dead already. At least you're safe now. Just in case, you check your friends pulse and breathing, but can't feel either. Is he really... dead? You feel something forming in your eyes.

Something moves. It comes from where the one in a dress fell. She is looking at you and looks really ferocious with a lot of blood on her face and hair. For some reason her eyes seem to glow red, and you feel like running away. Yet you decide to fight. You'd have the upper hand since her skull is cracked and she suffers from blood loss. Grabbing the rock from the ground again you rise it to your chest and step forward. She moves her hand behind her, as if preparing to throw something at you, but the hand's empty. A flash of red. Something it flying towards you, and before you can react it hits the rock. Red. Pain. Then, black.


BzzzBzzzBzzz... Vuvuzelas? Did you fall asleep while watching football?
He's the... BzzBzzz. It's not vuvuzelas, it's someone talking.
BzzzBzzz ...the thing on his chest? Are they talking about you?
I don't... Bzzz ?about it. What language is that? You can understand it, yet you don't know what it is.
It was me. I Bzzz ...him when he ...Bzzz. Damn vuvuzelas. You try to turn down the volume.
I think he's waking up.
At least the annoying horns are gone even if you didn't find the remote. Maybe you should try again with your eyes open?

You find yourself in an unknown bed, surrounded by unknown people. Still, better than getting killed by a frenzied something that resembles a girl. Two of them are wearing similar outfits, like something you had seen in mangas: a maid's outfit. One's wearing a purple pajama-like dress. The last one has an almost white, yet still pink dress. She also has wings. Bat wings. Like the one you hit with a rock. You close your eyes again and, against your will, drift into a dreamless sleep.

When you wake up again, you're alone. The room you're in is small, it only has the bed, a cabinet and a small table in it. There's also a window. The sun's shining in from it, and judging by the angle it's either early morning or late night.

[]Check the window, maybe you can escape?
[]You're in your boxers. Maybe your clothes are in the cabinet?
[]Try to find a tap. You're thirsty.

[X]You're in your boxers. Maybe your clothes are in the cabinet?

>I think it's better than a "Suddenly you're in SDM. What now?" beginning.

Too true.

[x]Try to find a tap. You're thirsty.

I'm curious what exactly happened to our friend... since if Remilia was involved, he wouldn't have died from her blood sucking.

Well I wanted to make sure where this story was heading.

Seems interesting. I'd agree with the comments about the monolithic intro - quality, quantity, etc.

[x]Try to find a tap. You're thirsty.

After nonchalantly accepting a Yukari-invasion and cracking open a vampire's skull, wandering around a strange mansion in boxers is pretty normal.

[x]Try to find a tap. You're thirsty.

Walking through the SDM with just boxers on? Sounds like a plan to me!

Let's get the proper story started.

---

[x]Try to find a tap. You're thirsty.

Realizing that you haven't had anything to drink since the night before you ended up here (where ever ?here? may be), you decide to try to find something to drink. Your head feels a bit light, but otherwise you are fine. The door's unlocked, and you take a look at both directions before heading out. To your right is a single door at the end of the corridor. To your left are about ten doors on each side before the wall on the other side disappears to what seems to be a stairwell. There's a promising looking door with a sign on it near the stairs.

Silence is the key. You don't want to get caught wandering around with just your boxers on. Luckily, the wooden floor is well made and doesn't creak. When you close up on your target, you hear some voices from downstairs. You speed up a little bit, but no-one comes. The door's right in front of you, and the sign reads ?WC?. You open the door and, just to be sure, lock it behind you. The sign was a bit misleading, since the room isn't just a WC, but a rather well-equipped bathroom. The tap's old, but it works. There are no mugs, but you form a cup with your hands.

Having now relieved your thirst, you decide to take a leak. Who knows when you'll have the next opportunity? While you're at it, someone knocks on the door.

"What is it?"
"When you're done, come downstairs. Mistress wants to meet you." A female voice. One of the maids?

"OK? You remember that you don't have your clothes with you. "Eh... Could you tell me where my clothes are? I couldn't see them in the room."

"They're in the cabinet. Would you like me to bring them to you?"

"Very much so." At least you wouldn't have to make the trip back as you are.

You listen to the maids footsteps growing fainter. There's a mirror next to the bath tub, and you decide to take a look at yourself. From where you are, you can see that there's something on your chest. It's a scar. The scar looks exactly like a bat. It's not a normal scar, you're sure of it. Before you can take a better look at the it, there's another knock at the door. It's the maid. You open the door for a bit, thank her and take the clothes the maid gives you. You notice that they've been washed. There's also a letter in your pocket. You decide to read it before going to meet the mistress of the mansion.

I see you're still alive. The place's called Gensokyo. It's partially in Japan, and partially in another world. Don't be surprised by anything. Oh, and the gift you asked about was the ability to write and speak Japanese.
-Yukari

Being in another world would explain something, such as the bat wings. You'd like to sit down and think about all the strange things you saw before passing out, but you promised you'd meet the mistress. You leave the bathroom and go down the stairs. The stairs end in a large hallway with four doors in it. One of the doors is open, and you hear two voices from there. You head towards the door. It's the dining room, and the girl with bat wings is in there with a silver-haired maid. Now that the two are standing next to each other you can see that the one with wings only reaches the maids chest. You knock at the door frame. They both turn around and look at you.

"I see you finally woke up. I'm Remilia Scarlet, the mistress of this mansion. Who are you?"

"I'm Chris Rosendahl. Just a someone who accepted a job offer from someone called Ran Yakumo. Somehow, I ended up here." You used your real name, although you don't like it. What was your mother thinking, naming you like that?

"So you're the one who she chose? I wasn't expecting someone like you. I'm Sakuya Izayoi, the head maid. You'll be working with me from now on."

"Now, now Sakuya. He has just arrived from the outside, let him have a day to get used to all this."

"As you say, my Lady. I'll expect you to show up in the staff room tomorrow at six PM. You can go anywhere expect the cellar." Having said that, the maid simply disappears. You stare at the spot where she was, before remembering what Yukari wrote about not being surprised. You turn towards Remilia

"Uh... sorry about last night. I wasn't myself."
Remilia smiles at you slyly, revealing rather long canines. Is she a vampire?

"Don't worry about it, you couldn't have hurt me even if you had used a lot more force. Now, you should enjoy your night while it lasts, or do you have something to ask?"

You check the clock. It's five past eight, and she told you to enjoy your night.


[] Actually, could you call me (name)? No-one ever uses my real name. (choose another one)
[]Ask something (specify, choose another one)
[] There was a door with a ?Library? sign on top of it in the hallway. You've always liked good books, so why not check it out?
[]Try to find a way out. Mansions usually have magnificent gardens.
[]Just wander around the mansion.

[x] "Are you a vampire? Is my friend really... dead? Are you going to kill me, too?"
[x] "What's with the scar on my chest? It wasn't there before."
[x] "What work will I be doing here, exactly? I wasn't given the rundown of, well, anything."

[x] Try to find a way out. Mansions usually have magnificent gardens.

[x]Name change although I'll just go with the majority since I can't think of a good one.

[x]Ask about your friend and if he actually is dead. (Remilia is actually a very light eater)
-[x] if dead plot Remilia's death

Whatever else we do I'll just go with the majority again.

[x] "Are you a vampire? Is my friend really... dead?"
-[x] If so "How?"
[x] "What's with the scar on my chest? It wasn't there before."
[x] "What work will I be doing here, exactly? I wasn't given the rundown of, well, anything."

[x] Try to find a way out. Mansions usually have magnificent gardens.

Sounds nice enough.

[x] "Are you a vampire? Is my friend really... dead?"
-[x] "What's with the scar on my chest? It wasn't there before."
--[x] "What work will I be doing here, exactly? I wasn't given the rundown of, well, anything."

[x] Try to find a way out. Mansions usually have magnificent gardens.

I doubt Remilia killed our friend. He is either alive or was DOA.

>>39685
But I think we'd want to find out what did kill him in that case. But I do agree on Remilia not killing him.

[x] "Are you a vampire? Is my friend really... dead?"
-[x] "What's with the scar on my chest? It wasn't there before."
--[x] "What work will I be doing here, exactly? I wasn't given the rundown of, well, anything."

[x] Try to find a way out. Mansions usually have magnificent gardens.

Update. I'll be on a holiday for two weeks from now, and may not be able to update for a while.

---

[x] "Are you a vampire? Is my friend really... dead?"
-[x] "What's with the scar on my chest? It wasn't there before."
--[x] "What work will I be doing here, exactly? I wasn't given the rundown of, well, anything."

[x] Try to find a way out. Mansions usually have magnificent gardens.

"What happened to him?"

"To the one you came here with? I dropped him at Eientei before bringing you here. Eirin said that he'll survive. I haven't heard anything of him after that."

"Yes but... what happened to him before I arrived?" Well, at least he's not dead. Though you don't know this Eirin person, Remilia made it sound like she's a doctor or something.

"He was in panic when I first saw him. I think his heart stopped when I suddenly bit his neck because it scared him so much. I was almost finished with him when you arrived."

"So you was drinking his blood when I arrived? And what about this scar I got?"

"Yes, I drank his blood. But worry not, he won't die of blood loss because of me. As for the scar? I don't know. Patchouli said it has a higher than normal mana concentration around it, but considering how you got it, it's not that unusual."

"Mana?"

"It's basically something that builds up in anything living and is used for magic. You better ask Patchouli about it, she knows a lot more about magic than me. You'll find her in the library." So magic was also present in this world? Well, if there's a vampire right in front of you, it's a bit easier to believe in magic than otherwise...

"Then, what will I exactly be doing here? If I'll be working here, that is."

"Just do what Sakuya tells you to do." You have a lot of questions about this Gensokyo place in your mind, but she doesn't seem to be in the mood. Maybe a walk in the gardens would be in order?

You leave the dining room and decide to try the door that's opposite to the stairs. It leads to a hall with double doors at one wall. They're probably a good bet for the main entrance to the mansion. Other than the double doors, the room you're in has five doors in it, of which two look like they're some kind of closets. You walk to the double doors. They are a lot higher than the other doors you've seen in the mansion so far. Despite their size, they open easily.

The view that opens from the doors isn't as great as you had expected. There's a straight pathway leading to an iron gate. To your left are some flowerbeds and bushes in a nice pattern, and to your right is an orchard. The whole thing is surrounded by a high wall. The only hint about what's outside the wall is what you can see from through the gate: there's some water. It seems like a lake. You decide to take a better look at the it.

The trip to the gate doesn't take long, since it's only about 30 meters from the mansion. As you come closer, you notice someone at the gate. She's wearing a green Chinese-style dress and a green beret. She's quite busty and is leaning to the wall while humming a tune which you don't recognize. You decide to greet her and ask what she's doing there.

"Hi there."

"Huh?" She looks around her before noticing that you're standing on the other side of the gate. "Oh, hi."

"What'cha doing here? Just hanging around?" You go for the non-formal style since she doesn't look like someone who's important.

"I'm guarding the gate. It's pretty much the same as just hanging around since no-one ever comes at night. But who are you? I saw lady Remilia carrying you here last night."

"I'm Chris Rosendahl. I'll start working here tomorrow as an assistant of the head maid. Dunno what it means though."
"I'm Hong Meiling and I work here as the gate guard as I told you. So, why was you unconscious then? Were you assaulted by Remilia and forced to work here?"



[]Tell her the truth, but don't tell what happened the night you first met Remilia.

[]Tell her everything.

[x]Tell her the truth, everything.

[x]Tell her everything.

I don't see the harm in this.

[x] Tell her everything.



>I think his heart stopped when I suddenly bit his neck because it scared him so much. I was almost finished with him when you arrived."

>?So you was drinking his blood when I arrived? And what about this scar I got?"


>?Yes, I drank his blood. But worry not, he won't die of blood loss because of me. As for the scar? I don't know. Patchouli said it has a higher than normal mana concentration around it, but considering how you got it, it's not that unusual."

>?Mana?"


Just a suggestion, but considering we bashed her skull in for doing exactly what we she just told us she did, we should maybe be a little more emotive, and possibly not just move on to the next topic nonchalantly. In particular I found it hard to believe the protagonist would take having his world turned upside down him so lightly. Just adding a few lines of description even would help. Such as Remilia's expression and tone when she told us she drank our friend's blood (and full aware that it was us who smacked her with a rock), or elsewhere. Just personal opinion, but descriptive bits like that go very far for me in terms of getting in to a particular story. Hopefully that was constructive and/or helpful.

>>39783
>but considering how you got it, it's not that unusual
>moving right along
It's not like we wanted to know how we got it or anything, we were just trying to fill up voting space, right?

>>39808
I think it's probably better to see the protagonist as a kid with ADHD. At least you don't have to expect too much in the way of detail, if you read it as haphazardly as it's written.

[x]Tell her everything.

She'll find out eventually anyway.

>>39808
Thank you. Everything I've written in the last five years has been pretty much analyzing some other text, so I haven't written any dialogue or even had any characters in my texts for a long while. I'll try to be a bit more descriptive about what the characters say with their expressions and such. It's not like I'm a pro writer or something, so negative feedback is welcome too, as long as it's something else than just "this sucks".

>I found it hard to believe the protagonist would take having his world turned upside down him so lightly.
He doesn't know that he's not going back.

>if you read it as haphazardly as it's written.
I just wanted to get an update out before coming here. I didn't know this place would have an internet connection. Plus it was almost morning when I finished the last update.

I'll see about when I can do the next update. Doesn't seem that it'll be today, but it's likely that i'll have the time for it tomorrow.

Where'd yesterday go?
---
[x]Tell her everything.

"I'll tell you everything I know. It all started when I came home one day..."You start to tell about what has happened. Meiling just listens until you get to the end of the day when Yukari arrived. She looks like she has something to ask, so you pause for a bit.

"So you just let her stay? I mean, you had met her for the first time a few hours earlier and you just let her stay for the night with her equally unknown shikigami?"

"I don't know why I let them stay... I think I was lonely since I don't have that many friends. Plus, they seemed nice." That reminds you of what Remilia had said. You should visit that Eientei place as soon as you could. There's just one problem: you have absolutely no idea about where it is.

"Do you know where I can find a place called Eientei?"

"Huh? Yes, it's in the bamboo forest. What about it?" Meiling seems confused. Oh, right. You was in the middle of telling her what had happened. She would probably understand if you told the rest of it.

"Nothing. I just got lost in thought. So, when I woke up the next morning..."She gives you a strange look but remains silent. You go on with the story.


"... so i found myself on a dark hill and-"

"So it is her? I've always doubted that she's be too lazy to do all that."

"Huh? Who? What?" Now it's your turn to be confused.

"Yukari. She has said that she is behind the appearing of people in here."

"She does what?"

"Gets stuff through the border. Remember how you got here? That was her doing." She looks at you through the gate again, and continues when she sees your now even more confused face. "You see, this place is inaccessable from the outside. The whole Gensokyo. That means you can't just walk in or out. The only ways to get through the barrier I know of are to ask help from Reimu or to ask from Yukari. Though it may be possible to just slip through, since every now and then some items appear, but they tend to be small. As to why she brings people here? You have to ask her yourself."

Well, that's a bit more about this place than there was on the letter. The difficulty to get in or out worries you a bit, but you'd deal with it tomorrow when making the contract with Sakuya since she seemed like someone who knows a lot. Plus, you'd have to get your friend out too.

"Now then, mind if I tell the rest of what I was telling? So, I was on the hill and decided to..."You finally get to finish what you started. Meiling doesn't interrupt you anymore, but when you tell her about you hitting Remilia with a rock she fixes her eyes on you again with an unreadable expression on her face.

"So you just hit her from behind? That's not very sporty." You think her tone is a bit colder than before.

"I know. But I really thought she had killed him. Right now I hope I hadn't done it. The feeling of her cranium cracking... the crack I heard..."You shiver. It's something you'd rather forget. Thinking of it makes you afraid of seeing Remilia again. She said she's forgiven, but can you be sure?

"I really hope she was serious when she told me not to worry about it." For some reason, this causes Meiling to smile.

"Remilia never takes back her words, so if she told you not to worry about it, then you shouldn't worry about it." Having said this, Meiling looks to her left and her smile gives way to a more serious expression. "Looks like I have some work to do. Don't try to leave, you won't survive the night on your own." She starts running to what ever she's looking at.

You look behind you. The red mansion blends surprisingly well to the darkening sky. You don't know how long Meiling will be gone, but for some reason you don't feel like waiting for her.


[] An evening walk around the gardens seems nice.

[] Try to find Remilia. She may know how to get you to Eientei.

[] Go to the library. This Patcouli person seems to hold answers to some of your questions which were left unanswered.

---

Now, I'd like to hear more about what I'm good or bad at so I can make the story better than it's been so far. So critic/praise is more than welcome.

I'm going to another place (again) tomorrow, and probably won't be able to update till next weeks thursday. Just so you won't think I've abandoned you.

[] Go to the library. This Patchouli person seems to hold answers to some of your questions which were left unanswered.

[x] Go to the library. This Patchouli person seems to hold answers to some of your questions which were left unanswered.

Eientei later.

Minor grammar issues, and the protagonist not freaking out even a little bit when he finds out he is going to work for the monster that he thinks killed his friend. It's too late for his reaction to change now though so it doesn't matter.

>>39948
you mean thought, Remilia cleared things up about that.

>>39950

Yeah, but at the time he didn't know.

I'm back. I'm also tired, and my "proofreader" is missing. I still hope you find this one interesting.

---

[x] Go to the library. This Patchouli person seems to hold answers to some of your questions which were left unanswered.


You want to know what exactly has happened to you. And, as far as you know, the answers are in the library. More specifically, with someone named Patchouli. You remember seeing a library sign on one of the doors where you came downstairs and head back inside. While walking you realize that you're hungry. You ignore the hunger. Knowing is more important than eating right now.

The way is shorter than you remembered. Before you know it, you're standing before the door with the ?Library? sign on it which you saw while coming downstairs. You stop there for a moment. The mistress of the mansion is a vampire, and the head maid can disappear at will. What would you find in the library? Demons? Faeries? Whatever it is, you push the door open. Behind it there are stairs down. At the bottom is an another door. You open it too.

What ever you was expecting, it wasn't this. The place's friggin' Huge. You can't see the end of the corridor formed by bookshelves in front of you, the opposite wall is so far away. How the hell are you supposed to find someone from here? And how does this thing fit under the mansion? Well, the corridor in front of you is straight so you can't get lost by following it. You start walking.

After about five minutes you stop to listen. For a moment everything's quiet. You keep on walking. After some more time you see someone to your left, sitting on the floor and leaning to a bookshelf while reading a book. You head towards her. As you close up on her, you notice that she's wearing a long, light, robe-like dress and a night cap. Her hair is remarkably long and purple. You suddenly remember that you've seen her before: she was in the room where you woke up for the first time in this mansion. When you're close enough to not to have to yell for her to hear you, you call for her.

"Hey, I'm looking for someone called Patchouli. Do you know where I could find her?"

She glances at you before answering. Her eyes are purple, matching her hair color. She also has a crescent on her night cap. "Yes. She's right in front of you. What do you want of me?" Her speech is fast and her voice is quiet.

"I want to know what happened to me. Remilia said you would know it better than she does."

Patchouli closes her book and stares at you. You get the feeling that she can see through your shirt since she stares directly at the scar. It's kind of creepy.

"Hmm, yes. I know what happened, but it's unlike Remi to tell someone to come here." She keeps a short pause, closes her eyes and draws a long breath.
?Basically Remi's attack was meant to split your heart, but it hit the rock you was holding before it hit you. The spell she used was a two-part magic: it has one part to break through the ribcage of the victim, which in this case was consumed by the rock, and another part to break the heart. You got hit only by the latter part, which wasn't strong enough to do any permanent harm on it's own other than leaving a scar. The shape's just Remi's personal addition to the spell, kind of a signature. If you want to, I can look the spell up from a book and let you read it so you can get the details." So it really was magic? It exists in this place?

"Eh... that won't be necessary." You barely understood what Patchouli just said, but the idea of a spellbook fascinates you. Still, you think you wouldn't understand a word should you somehow get to read one.

"Now then, you have something I want." She gets up. You notice that she's quite short, only to about your chin. However, she instantly starts to float towards you. It's an unsettling sight. She's bobbing slightly as she hovers about a decimeter from the floor. Her eyes are fixed to your chest as she closes up on you and when she's right next to you she raises her arms and closes them around your neck. You open your mouth in amazement as she bends towards you. From this close you can see that she's beautiful, her curves visible below her dress...

You snap back into the present. Patchouli is still in front of you, holding your necklace in her right fist. It's silver and has a cross hanging from it. You had completely forgotten about it. You wore it because it was a habit and, if possible, hid it from others.
Patchouli speaks again while looking at the necklace. "Give me this and I'll give you a book. You can choose it yourself, but I won't give away a book I've written myself."

What should you do? The necklace's quite dear to you. It is a gift you got from your aunt when you turned fourteen. But as far as you know it's just an ordinary necklace and you have no idea why someone like Patchouli would want it.


[] Go for it. You want a book on [suggest].
[]If Patchouli wants it, it has to be special. Decline.

[x] Go for it. You want a book on magic.

Poor story's getting no love.

I don't know if you did anything different, but this update felt better to the previous ones. Fewer errors and, more importantly, more characterisation.

And that's one really nasty spell.

[X]If Patchouli wants it, it has to be special. Decline.

Not because I want to hang onto the necklace, but because choosing a random book and losing something of potential value seems like a waste. Better to try and browse the library before making a deal like that.

[X]If Patchouli wants it, it has to be special. Decline.

What kind of book would we want? Necklace might be important

[X]If Patchouli wants it, it has to be special. Decline.
-[x] You'd like to take a look around to see if there's anything you would be willing to trade for.

[x] Go for it. You want a book on penis enlargement magic.

It's getting early. Again, I started writing too late.
---
She had to do that on purpose. It's quite obvious now that you think about it, that she'd try something like that to get you to trade your necklace for some random book or something. Why did she have to get it off you herself? It's not like you wouldn't have given it for her to look at if she had just asked. Well, you don't want to give anything that might have special properties.
"Sorry, but I'd rather keep it. Why are you so interested in it anyways?" You reach out towards her with your palm upward.

"Oh? It just seems interesting. I wanted to study it to know why." She seems a bit disappointed as she drops the necklace on your palm.

As you're putting the necklace back to its place around your neck you remember that you had one more thing to ask.
"Could you tell me about something called mana?"

Glance at your eyes. Then at your scar. Return to reading the book she had just reopened. Patchouli seems like she was expecting that question.
"Mana is just something that exists. Where it comes from, what it exactly is or why it gathers around living things is not known. It can be used to do thing which would otherwise be impossible, such as casting spells, if you just know how." The last part was said in a completely different tone than the rest.

"So even I could learn to use magic? Fascinating." You think about the countless possibilities ranging from a breeze spell to reveal girls' underwear to an annihilating fusion-powered fireball.

Patchouli isn't amused. Only a ?Yes? in a bored voice. Maybe it's time for you to leave? Your hunger hasn't got any better. You just don't know where you could find something to eat.

"Eh... Do you know where I could find something to eat? I haven't had anything for ages."

Patchouli doesn't answer to you but yells for someone else. (Is it really yelling? Her voice is barely above its normal, silent level.)
"Koakuma! Come here!"
A violet star with a circle of letters and what seem like runes around it appears on the floor. A red haired girl stands in it. She is wearing a long, sleeveless black dress with two white stripes below her knees. She's also wearing a white shirt below the dress. However, the most striking part of her are the two pairs of bat wings she has, one on her head and another one on her back. You're shocked by her sudden appearance and take a step back.

"Guide him to the kitchen and see that he gets something to eat." Patchouli makes a small gesture towards you but doesn't look away from her book.

"Okay. Do I have to bring him back after he's done?" Koakuma's voice is high and sounds really loud after having listened to Patchouli. It's also somehow charming as you feel like you want to take her to your room and do some... thing with her. You banish the thoughts about doing strange things.

"No. You're free to do what you want after you're done."

Koakuma just shrugs and walks past you towards where you came from. As she does this you see that she has a nice bust. You turn around to follow her.

"And Chris?" It's Patchouli. You turn around again and see that she's looking at you. "If you have something you want to talk about, then I'm..."She looks away, but not at her book. "I'll be here."

You don't know what to say so you don't say anything. How did she know your name? You didn't say it. Doesn't matter.
"I'll... keep that in mind."

You turn around again and start to follow Koakuma. You think about your experiences with girls. You have two brothers and you didn't know any girls in your childhood. You had also never had a girlfriend.

The walk back seems a lot shorter than the walk there. Before you know it, you're at the stairs and Koakuma leads you into the room where you met with Remilia and through a unremarkable door into the kitchen. The kitchen itself is like your everyday kitchen but without a fridge or an electric stove. There seems to be some leftovers from an earlier meal on a table. Koakuma gestures towards them.
"Grab some. It should be somewhat warm."

The food's rice and some sauce with meat in it. It's not very warm at all, but tastes good. Now that you've eaten you feel a bit tired but you could still do something before going to sleep.

[]Ask Koakuma whether she knows something you could do together.
[]Do something (what?)
[]Go to sleep.

[x]Ask Koakuma whether she knows something you could do together.

[X]Ask Koakuma whether she knows something you could do together.

There's no way this can go wrong!

[x]Ask Koakuma whether she knows something you could do together.

I LOVE BAD ENDS

I would've done this yesterday but I was completely out of ideas about what to do "today" (story wise) and even after a day of thinking I still don't think it turned out that great. I do have some very interesting scenes for the next few days planned out though...

---

[x]Ask Koakuma whether she knows something you could do together.

You look at Koakuma. She's sitting on a chair but her upper is slumped over a table in front of her and she's leaning her head to her hands. She's looking towards you, but her eyes aren't focused on anything. In short, she looks bored.

"Hey Koakuma?"
She focuses her eyes on you.
"Hmm?"

"Is there anything we could do?"

She clearly wasn't expecting that since her pupils widen a bit and the wings on her head move up a bit.
Wait, when did she get that tail? You followed her all the way from the library and took the opportunity to steal a few glances of her bottom (it wasn't very exiting given her dress, though she does have a nice one) and there definitely wasn't one before.

"Yes... come with me..."Why do you get the feeling that she's purring?

Koakuma gets up and motions you to follow. She leads you out of the kitchen to the room with the stairs and finally outside. From the doors you follow her to the opposite side of the house where there is a bit larger garden than on the front. Koakuma leads you to the very corner of it. There's a small hedge maze in there. You're led into what you think is a random spot. Koakuma turns towards you and points at a spot at the base of the hedge.

"You go first."

To where? You can't seem to find anything special about this spot but upon closer inspection you find a spot in the hedge where you think you can go under it. It's really hard to spot unless you know exactly what you're looking for. Going through it isn't as hard as it would seem given the size of the hole. On the other side you find yourself in a small space between the maze and the wall. You move a bit so Koakuma can come through too. She comes in soon after you and sits down on the grass. You follow her example. She takes her tail into her hand before speaking.

"This is a place where I sometimes come to when I want to be alone. Why did I bring you here? I want to tell you a story. It tells about a sorceress and a guy she was interested in. The story starts when..."
Why are you feeling so sleepy? For some reason Koakuma's words turn into something you can't understand. You just watch her playing with her tail while she speaks. You fight to keep your eyes open but they refuse to listen...

You remember listening to a story about how a sorceress lost the guy she was interested in because she didn't act until it was too late. Now you're in a strange state somewhere between being awake and being asleep. There's a comfortable looking bed in there. You sit on it, and fall into a deeper sleep.

Day 1 in SDM finished.

The first thing to do when you wake up is:

[] Find Sakuya. It may be a bit early but you want to sort out things about your future job.

[] Go to meet Patchouli.

[] Look for Koakuma. You want an explanation on what happened.

[] (write-in)

[x] Find Sakuya. It may be a bit early but you want to sort out things about your future job.

nice story so far

[x] Look for Koakuma. You want an explanation on what happened.

Damnit she drugged us with roofies! We just got raped!

I'm only pissed I can't remember it happening! Can't rape the willing!

[x] Look for Koakuma. You want an explanation on what happened.

[x] Look for Koakuma. You want an explanation on what happened.

Love bad ends mk. 2

[x] Look for Koakuma. You want to apologise for falling asleep during her story, and thank her for bringing you back inside.

Shirou.jpeg

[x] Look for Koakuma. You want an explanation on what happened.
Can't resist the chance for more of her.

I like this one. I'm not quite sure if I got the feeling in the end though.

>>40607
If you think it's a bad end, why vote for it?

---

It's catching up. Move faster, damn it! Up the stairs and to the left. You hear it coming up behind you. There's no time to look behind or it'll catch you. Your feet are about to give up, you've ran for so long. Not yet! Just a bit longer, you're almost there. The door to your right is open. You dash trough it and slam it closed behind you. Luckily there's a lock on the door. Click. That should hold it for a while. You look at the window. It's too big a drop for you. The thing is at the door. You hear it scratching it. Shit. There's also an annoying light shining into your eyes. Boom! You hear the wood cracking as the thing tries to break the door. But what's with the light? It won't last for long. It doesn't go away even if you close your eyes. Something's not right...

You open your eyes just to see that you're looking directly at the sun. You're still where you fell asleep, and the sun just reached a point where it shines at you over the wall so it isn't very early anymore. Just what happened? You weren't very sleepy when you started listening to Koakuma but for some reason you fell asleep almost instantly. You should find her so you could ask her about it. Time to get up.

Your back's sore. Sleeping on the ground is definitely not good for you. You also have a bad feeling about it, but you have no idea why. Maybe because you have no idea about what time is it nor about where you should look for Koakuma. Last time she was summoned to the library from who knows where by Patchouli but you doubt Patchouli would summon her just because you ask for it. Oh well, the library is still your best bet.

You're in front of the door which leads to the library. Bad vibes. You take a deep breath and, once again, push the door open. Again, you're stunned by the absolute vastness of the place. You take the first step. And the second one. And the following innumerable steps as you walk deeper and deeper into the library. After about ten minutes you feel like you're lost and true enough, the path behind you is no longer straight.

"Koakuma!? Koakuma, Koakuma...
The echo dies off. Absolute silence. For a moment you listen to your own breathing.

"Patchouli!? Patchouli, Patchouli...
Again, no answer. Fear starts creeping into you.

"Sakuya!!!" This time there is desperation in your voice as you yell for the maid.
Sakuya, Sakuya...
Nothing.

"Re- Remilia?"
?
Your silent voice doesn't cause an echo. Don't panic. In big, curly letters.

You panic.



[] Write-in

[X]Burn the mansion down in a fit of insanity
[X]Try your absolute hardest to calm yourself down.
-[X]Climb a bookcase; get a better view of the library

[x] Don't panic.
-[x] Keep searching for an exit.

It's only been ten minutes, we'll be fine.

I'm currently writing an update, but right now I'm stuck and tired. I'll finish it tomorrow. Why don't I just throw something together and stick a vote in the end? I want to get to the next "chapter" with the story because I don't like the situation we're in now, it's rather hard to come up with something to do. The next vote may not seem like it, but it'll be important.

I have no real reason to use that picture. Sakuya with P90's just seems like a good idea.

---

You've got no idea about how long you've been in the library. You've just calmed down and you spent quite some time just running around. Now that you have finally got the hold of yourself it's a good time to take a look around. Those bookshelves look like you could climb them. You could probably get a good view of your surrounding from the top of one. You grab a shelf and push yourself upwards. It's not hard to climb, but the shelf doesn't feel very well supported.

From the top you can see that you're about in the middle of the library as you can see all the walls it looks like they are all about at the same distance. The room seems like it's square. The bad thing is that the bookshelves aren't in any specific order but rather seem to just form random corridors. The whole place seems like a giant maze. Well, you've heard that you can solve every maze by turning to the same direction every time. But here? You'd probably just end up walking in a circle. Oh well, time to go down. The thing feels a little wobbly and you certainly don't enjoy that.

On your way down you notice an interesting book. It's titled 'Scarlet Mansion'. It would be nice to know a bit about the place you're going to work at. You take the book with you and when you reach the floor you sit down and start to read it. Trying to find a way out seems like a waste. Better just stay where you are and wait for someone to find you. You have no idea about what time it is, but at maximum you'd have to wait for a few hours before you would have the meeting with Sakuya. She'd start looking for you then, if not even earlier.

The book is rather old and mostly tells about what the mansion was like in the 19th century. The most recent thing mentioned in the book is how the mansion got it's own water pipe in 1905. From the few photographs you can see that the mansion has aged well. For some reason the book doesn't mention the library at all. On the last (42nd) page there is a list of the inhabitants of the mansion. You're surprised to find Remilia 'The Scarlet Devil' Scarlet on the list. There's also someone called Flandre Scarlet on the list. Remilia's sister? And they're both over 100 years old? Well, Remilia said she's a vampire.

"So of all the books you found that one?" You jump up and look at the speaker. It's Sakuya. She appeared so silently and suddenly that you could swear she wasn't there a second ago. Creepy. She moves her eyes from the book to you and walks a bit closer. "Have you been here all the time? From last night?"

"No, I came here after I woke up today. I don't know how long ago that was though."

"Where did you sleep? You weren't in the room which Remilia is planning to give you." So they're giving you a room? You're OK with it.

"In the corner of the gardens. Koakuma showed me the spot and for some reason I fell asleep while listening to her story. I got lost here when I came here to look for her." Sakuya looks a bit concerned when she hears about Koakuma, but the expression disappears almost immediately.

"I see. Now, follow me. Remilia wants to have dinner with you."

It only takes a few minutes to reach the exit of the library. How could it be so close? It took you at least fifteen minutes of walking to get where you were. From there Sakuya leads you to the dining room where Remilia is already waiting. Sakuya walks next to her mistress and bows.

"He was in the library. Apparently he had a.... meeting with Koakuma last night."

Remilia glances at you and turns towards Sakuya.

"Thank you for bringing him here. Now, would you go and prepare the food for us?"

Sakuya bows again and disappears. Remilia turns towards you and points at a chair.

"Sit down. Since from now on you're not going to be a guest anymore, I guess I have to welcome you in."
Remilia closes her eyes and gets up from the chair. She looks up at you, opens her eyes and spreads her wings simultaneously. Is she trying to scare you? Nevertheless you have to admit that she looks impressive like that, her wings almost reaching the walls of the room and what's with her eyes? They're somehow radiating red light and the pupils are no longer round, but rather like some predator's. You manage to keep your poker face. (Poker face check successful!) The whole show only lasts for a moment before she speaks again.

"From now on you belong to me. Just remember that." Having said that Remilia folds her wings again.

"But won't I be working under Sakuya? And we haven't even made the contract yet." You tried to say that in a deadpan voice and think that you were quite successful.

Remilia simply smiles at you and you can see her fangs again. She looks at you hungrily and starts moving towards you.
? OK, now you're a bit afraid. Her eyes are scary when she looks at you like that. And she's coming closer.

"Mistress? The food is ready." Sakuya appears in the room again but this time she's carrying a tray full of food. Remilia stops and her eyes revert back to normal before she turns to Sakuya again. Then she thanks Sakuya and returns to her seat. Did they plan this in advance?

The food is something. You can't recognize it but it smells great. Sakuya sets a plate in front of you and pours some wine for you. You see that Remilia has already started her meal and you take a mouthful of the stuff. It tastes great, a bit like something you could expect in a Chinese restaurant. You eat a while in silence, but when the worst hunger and thirst are gone you remember that you have something to ask.

"Hey Remilia, I read a book about the mansion and it mentioned someone called Flandre Scarlet. Is she your relative or something?"

"She's my sister. She's a bit... unstable and rarely leaves the cellar." Remilia looks uncomfortable and you leave the subject. It's hard to come up with a subject so you remain silent and eat some more.

You're almost done with eating when Remilia asks you something again.
"How do you like it here? The whole concept of Gensokyo must be a bit strange for someone like you."

You look at her, thrown off by the question. She's done eating and is now sipping her wine. (Is it really wine? It looks a bit thick.)

"Eh, I haven't really got the time to look around or get to know the people around here. Patchouli and Meiling seem nice but I've only met them once. And I haven't really been outside of the mansion grounds so I don't know about it. All the magic and stuff is a bit confusing, like how Patchouli floats. But she said that I could learn to use magic too. That would be awesome."

"Don't get charmed by magic. It's not the answer to everything."

"What do you mean?"

Remilia just smiles before changing the subject.
"Now, would you like to come with me? I'm sure you want to meet your dear friend as soon as possible and I can take you to him. You may want to do the formalities with Sakuya first though."

What to do?

[] Go with Remilia now.
[] Do the Deal with the Devil and go after you're done with it.

[x] Do the Deal with the Devil and go after you're done with it.

>Sakuya with P90's just seems like a good idea.

I am dissapoint, Sakuya. Belgian piece of trash. Use a gun you can trust; 54 years and counting can't be wrong.

How ominous. Get to visit our not-dead-honest friend first, or seal a contract with the SDM.

[x] Do the Deal with the Devil and go after you're done with it.

This can only end well!

>>40800
But since Sakuya doesn't need it anyway and would probably be useless with it surely it's a question of style?

[x] Do the Deal with the Devil and go after you're done with it.

Forgot to vote last time.

>>40804
Well if we're talking about style...

"I think I'll do the Deal with the Devil first." You emphasize the word 'devil'.

"I'm sure you'll be ready in no time... Sakuya!" She emphasizes the word 'time'.

Suddenly Sakuya!

"Yes mistress?"

"Do the paperwork with him. Bring him to me when you're done." Sakuya bows and turns towards you.

"Follow me please. I have the papers ready in the staff room."

Sakuya leads you up the stairs and to the left. The staff room is at the end of the corridor, right next to the room you woke up in last night. The room is small and it has a single table in the middle. The walls are lined with all kinds of drawers. Sakuya sits behind the table and takes two papers from a drawer. They're empty.

"Sign here and here." She points at both the papers. WTF?

"Why should I sign empty papers?"

"It's faster this way."

"Whatever." You take a pen which was on the table and write your name on the papers. Sakuya snatches them and puts her hand out as if to shake your hand. You shake it.

"Welcome to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Chris Rosendahl. Your job will be to do as I, Remilia or Patchouli say. If no-one's around, you should do some general housekeeping such as dusting or taking care of the gardens." So that was it? You're now employed?

"What about payment? Or holidays?"

Sakuya lowers her voice to what is a bit more than a whisper. Her smile gives way to a dead serious expression.
"You heard what Remilia said. You're hers. The contract's a formality. Your pay will be what she wants to give you. You'll have holidays when she wants you to have some. You're lucky to be alive at this point after having done what you did."

You're about to complain but remember what Remilia looked like in the dining room when she said you're hers. You remember the strange feeling you had, like she was radiating pure power. Suddenly you realize your situation: you're here just because Remilia thinks you're funny. If you'd complain, do something she doesn't want you to do or simply leave, she'd kill you. And you can't do anything about it. It's really a Deal with the Devil: if you fail, she gets your soul. If you succeed, you'll live. Better not fail.

"Now you'd better go. She's waiting for you."

You leave the room. That sure gave you a lot to think about. Before you notice you're in the dining room with Remilia again. She looks at you and smiles. Her smile looks a lot more creepy than before, but not because it's different. It's because you think you know why she smiles.

"That was fast. As expected from Sakuya. Now, I trust you still want to go? Or are you so eager to get working that you don't want to?"


[] Go with her. Whatever she thinks of you, you want to see you friend.
[] Stay here. Who knows what will happen if you go?

---
Inspired my trance music. The last one was inspired by metal.

This one was easy and fast to write. I also liked writing this.

On a completely different note I'm a bit afraid I'm pouring too much myself into all the characters. We haven't interacted that much with anyone for you to notice it, and I'm not sure if it's true or not but I'm still afraid.

[x] Go with her. Whatever she thinks of you, you want to see you friend.

[X] Go with her. Whatever she thinks of you, you want to see your friend.

We've dawdled about long enough.

[x] Go with her. Whatever she thinks of you, you want to see you friend.

[x] Go with her. Whatever she thinks of you, you want to see you friend.

The status of our companion needs to be resolved. This seems as good a time as any.

>?Why should I sign empty papers?"
>?It's faster this way."
I facepalmed.

[x] Go with her. Whatever she thinks of you, you want to see you friend.

[x] Go with her. Whatever she thinks of you, you want to see you friend.

"Let's go then." You turn to leave.

"Why so serious? He's not going to die because of me you know."

I know. I'm just not used to being your toy. The answer formed instantly in your mind but you never let it out. Maybe it's better if she doesn't know that you know. Or maybe she knows about what the deal you just did was like. Sakuya is her underling and just did what she was told to do. She could have ordered Patchouli to be like that too...

Your thoughts are interrupted by Remilia grabbing around your waist.

"Wha...?"

"You were going to walk the whole way weren't you? Do you even know where you're going?"

"Hey, I'm sorry. I just have a lot to think about right now. It's not every day that you get thrown halfway across the world into some bizarre realm with magicians and vampires in it." You let your tone be a bit irritated.

"What are you getting worked up at? Don't you like how you are now? Is it better like this?"
She moves her her hands from around your waist to your chest, squeezes herself to you and rests her chin on your shoulder. You can feel her not-completely-flat chest pressing against your back.

"Could you justhng!" You're interrupted by Remilia pulling you off the ground.

"Enjoy the ride." She shoots upwards.

Remilia's grip is firm but it's not very comfortable. So far you have liked flying, but the idea of being carried by someone who's more than a head shorter then you is not as nice as the idea of sitting in a plane. You're also quite sure that the swoops she does aren't necessary. Every now and then she just lets the two of you into a free fall and when you think it's already too late to fix the situation she somehow levels the flight and starts flying upwards again.

You land in a strange forest next to a big Japanese-style house. Immediately when you get your feet on the ground you decide that you'd never let Remilia do that again. Your legs feel wobbly and you're about to throw up. You let yourself fall to the ground fight the nausea. You manage to keep it in check. Remilia watches you and looks amused. After a short while you feel a bit more stable and get up again.

"Did you have to do that?"

"Do what?" She's trying to look innocent but you can see that she's hiding a smile.

"Fly like that."

"You didn't like it?"

You sigh. Just what is she trying to accomplish? She seems to get what you mean and grins for a moment.

"We're at Eientei now. Your friend is somewhere here." She's silent for a moment. "I wonder why no-one has come to greet us yet. Usually there are at least some rabbits around." Wait. What? Rabbits? Why would rabbits greet visitors? You're about to ask Remilia about the rabbits when someone comes out. More specifically a woman in a suit jacket and a skirt that almost reaches her knees. Her hair is as long as Patchouli's but it is light purple instead of Pathouli's dark violet. She also has rabbit ears. Her eyes are red. She's looking at you. With those eyes. Those red, red eyes. You can see something. You're not sure what it is, but it is red.

"Ah, Reisen. I was already wondering where everyone is. Now, could you tell us where we could find Eirin?" The girl with rabbit ears moves her gaze from you to Remilia. The something disappears. You shake your head for a bit.

"You're here to meet the one you brought here aren't you? I'll take you to him and bring Eirin there." With that she turns around and motions you to follow her. You walk a moment in silence before the rabbit girl Reisen speaks again.

"Who's the one you brought with you? It isn't like you to give rides to anyone." She glances at Remilia over her shoulder.

"He's Sakuya's new helper. I brought him here because the one I brought here is his friend." You couldn't see Remilia's face since you're walking behind her.

"Sakuya's helper? She hasn't needed one before, why would she need one now?"

"I don't know. She just asked me to get someone to help her." Remilia's wings moved a tiny bit as she said that.

"I see." Reisen stops. "We're here. This is the room he's in." She slides the door/wall open. It reveals a small-ish room. It's dark inside but you can see that there's a bed with something next to it in there. Reisen disappears into the room for a moment and a fluorescent lamp blinks for a while before turning on. The light reveals that your friend's lying on the bed and the things next to it are monitors, like the ones you'd see in a hospital. Your friend is either asleep or unconscious as he doesn't react to the light in any way. You step into the room as Reisen exits it.

"Wait here, I'll go get Eirin. It shouldn't take long."

You ignore her and look at your friend. He looks so... vulnerable, just lying there like that. You go next to him and grab his hand. No response. You whisper his name into his ear. No response. You hear footsteps from behind you. It's not Remilia, she's standing at the door and looking at you. A silver-haired woman appears at the doorway. She has an interesting dress. The area below her belt is red-blue and has constellations on it. The part above her belt is blue-red and has more constellations on it. While her skin and figure would let you believe that she's young, there's something about her that tells you you're wrong. She has to be Eirin.

"He's not going to respond." The newcomer's voice has something in it which makes you believe that she's seen it all.

"Why not?" You look at her eyes. They seem somehow sad.

"He can't. Let me explain his situation to you." She keeps a short pause. Remilia moves her gaze from you to her. "When he was brought here, he suffered from severe blood loss. I had to give him a blood trasfer to keep him alive. Back then everything looked fine and I was ready to let him go after a day. However, he caught some disease last night. While the disease wouldn't be dangerous to someone who's in good health, the blood transfer I gave him weakened his immune system and the disease spread into his brain. I have managed to cure the disease, but it has already damaged some parts of his brain beyond my help. The area that suffered the worst damage is in the cortex of his frontal lobes. More specifically, the area right in front of the parietal lobe." You're terrified. Doesn't that mean...

"So he can't... move?"

"Yes. I'm afraid he can't move. At this point recovery seems impossible. The damage is too severe." The doctor sighs. "I'm afraid you're going to have to make a terrible choice. None of the options may seem correct, but you're the only one who knows him. Usually I'd contact the relatives at this point but now it's impossible. Udonge, would you?"

Reisen walks in to the room. She's carrying a metal tray with too syringes on it. Her ears are drooping on her shoulders while when she left you the ears were high above her head. Her eyes are cast down and it looks like she's holding back tears. She sets the tray on a monitor and leaves the room again. After she has left Eirin walks to the tray. She picks up the syringe filled with something red.

"This one is filled with the blood of a youkai. I'm hoping that if you inject him with this the blood would circulate into his brain and use it's power to heal it before dissipating. It has never been tried or tested though. My theory suggests that in the most probable scenario the blood would indeed heal his brain but also make him mad in the process. He would probably try to eat anyone who gets near him." She sets the syringe down and picks up the other one which is filled with a transparent liquid.

"This one is filled with a potent neurotoxin." Eirin's voice breaks. "It will... kill him without pain." The last part comes out as a whisper. "I still think it's a better option than to let him be. He would never be able to move again. He'd be... a living doll, completely unable to anything on his own."

You feel something in your eyes. How did it come to this?

[] Blood
[] Nothing
[] Poison

---

All the world's a stage. All the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances and one man, in his time, can play many parts.
-William Shakespeare

[x] Blood

What the hell, least this way he'll have a chance. If he flips we can still kill him considering we DO have Remilia, Reisen and Eirin nearby.

[x] Blood

He's still alive, might as well give him the chance at potential recovery (even with the risk of madness).

[x] Blood

>>41022
Nicely said. Choice with a chance of painful death is better than no choice.
[x] Blood

[x] Blood

Nothing on Remilia's reaction? Considering her 'he's fine' turned into 'he may be a vegetable for the rest of his life, or turn into a bloodthirsty killer'? One would think our MC would at least notice her facial expression, or something. Just something I was thinking while reading the update.

So he chose hope? Not that you wasn't expecting it, but it still interests you how people cling to even the slightest hope even if it means taking the otherwise worst option. You was like that once too, but it's far behind you now. Yes, you remember when you had to make a similar choice. Your choice was also 'hope', and now you're quite sure that it wasn't the correct one. Just look at him. You can see that he's trying to convince himself that the slight chance that everything will be all right is greater than the chance that everything goes wrong.

Oh? He got the hold of himself. You're a bit exited too. Would you get another one? Not that one isn't enough, especially since the other one isn't nearly as good as the one you have. Well, you could blame yourself for that. At least you got a nice meal of him. A tasty one at that. Bit salty but good nonetheless. A shame you can't get another one out of him. You're sure that the other one would be even better, but doing that would ruin him. And you don't want that to happen. Yet.

He did it. Injected the blood into his friend that is. Nothing happened. Eirin told us she'll watch him overnight and if there's no change she's going to use some... questionable methods on him. Which will most likely end up in him dying, but she wants to experiment. Your new servant didn't oppose the idea. In fact he just said he wants to be alone. He's probably somewhere outside now, sitting on something and fighting off despair by telling himself that his friend will be fine. You thank Eirin for the tea and head outside.

You find him sitting on a rock near where you landed. Right now he's staring at a dragonfly flying at the edge of the forest.

"It's time to go home." One well-chosen word and when the time comes he will realize that there's no going back. He's going to spend some time in the mansion whether he wants or not. He'd be free to go after you're done with him though, but you're quite sure that he won't want to go at that point. Not after what you're going to do.

He turns to you. His face is dull. You can see that he didn't really listen to what you said. He just makes some humming noise which you take as an OK.

You walk to the kitchen and call for Sakuya. As always, she appears almost instantly.

"Mistress?"

"Think of something for him to do. He needs to get his mind off of what happened to his friend."

Sakuya thinks for a moment before answering.
"He could weed the garden, clean up the basement or help Patchouli arrange the books Marisa dropped when she tried to steal some."

Sakuya, Sakuya. Always thinking of work. It would be good for him to get used to the mansion though.

[] Garden
[] Basement
[] Library

---

>>41035
'nuff said?

I hope I'm revealing something without revealing too much. Remilia PoV in case it isn't obvious.

[x] Library

Maybe we we'll run into Koakuma this time an get those answers we want.

[x] Library

[] Library
The guy will probably be depressed for a while. It's better to make him work with some peoples near.
If he work alone, he will fall into despair. Even if it'll be funny, he will soon be completly useless.

>>41180
Then we should be looking to the comfort of Meiling.
[x]Garden

I'm facing uninsipiration. So I did a short one.
---
You're bored. it's been some time since you came to your room and so far you haven't done anything. Yeah, he's as good as dead. But so are you, should you fail to amuse your new mistress. it's kind of a standstill as you know that you have to do something but absolutely don't want to do it. You keep fighting with yourself until someone knocks at the door. You don't want to be interrupted and stay quiet. You hear the door open as Sakuya comes to the room. You get annoyed at her because she is there.

"What is it?" You let your annoyance be heard.

"Mistress wants you to help Patchouli in the library." You don't want to go but you know that you have to.

As always, the library is huge. This time you spot Patchouli from the door. She's sitting on a pile of books while reading one. She doesn't notice you as you sit next to her and watch her for a while. For some reason you're reminded of your brother. He also completely forgets the world when he reads a book. Thinking of him makes you miss him as you realize that you probably won't see him again. It makes you feel empty. You're in some random fantasyland filled with mythical creatures and you just lost the only thing that made sense in this strange world: your friend. Going back doesn't seem like an option right now, not in your situation. A servant against your will, serving a vampire who claims to own you. Could be worse. But not much.

"You're awfully quiet. Did something happen?" Huh? Your thoughts were interrupted. Oh, she asked something. You focus your eyes. Patchouli is looking at you. You wonder how long she has been doing that.

"It didn't go as planned. He was? in a bad shape. We couldn't do anything." Thinking about it hurts. A bit. But telling someone feels good.

"I see. Was that what you came here for?" Oh yeah. You had forgotten about her telling you to come to her if you had something to tell her. Maybe you aren't completely alone after all.

[] You came here to help her with the books, remember?
[] Yes
[] You came because (write-in)

[x] "I'm here to help with the books, but thanks for listening"

[x] "I'm here to help with the books, but thanks for listening"

This is an acceptable compromise.

>>41141
That'll do.Wasn't looking for spoilers, only wondered as it seemed a rather important tidbit at the time of. Facial expression at the time would've sufficed, but thank you. Don't mind me though, this is your story, and I'm grateful you're writing it.

[x] You came here to help her with the books, remember?
Try to focus on other matters.
Worries won't help.

I'm late. And I know it.
---
"Actually I came to help you with the books, but thanks for listening."

Patchouli opens the book again and begins to read it. "Take that pile of books to shelf 7257. Koakuma will be there and she knows where the books should be."

?7257? Where's that supposed to be?" You ask her about it as you pick up the pile she pointed at.

"Seventh corridor to the left, twenty-fifth junction of it and seventh shelf from there."

So the library is in some sort of order? It didn't seem like it when you got lost. The instructions seem easy enough to follow as you reach the correct corridor and notice that the shelf rows do not form corridors which continue from left to right. When there's a corridor to the left, there's a shelf to the right and vice versa. it's easy enough to count to twenty-five and true enough, Koakuma is there. She notices you instantly as if she was waiting for you to show up. For some reason she seems cheery.

"Gimme the books! I'll shelf them and then we're done for now! Patchy wants to read rest of the books before returning them to their place!"

"Why's that such a good thing?" You give the books to Koakuma.

"I'll be free for the rest of the day!" She jumps up into the air and flaps her wings to stay up. You notice that her wings are way too small to keep her up on their own so she has to use some kind of magic to fly.

"Last time you had free time you seemed horribly bored." You remember when she led you to the kitchen after your first meeting with Patchouli.

"This time I have something to do~!" She glances at you. A shiver runs down your spine but you don't know why. She flies over the shelf to the other side as you notice an interesting book. it's titled ?Magic for Dummies?. It tempts you to read it but you're not sure whether it's OK or not to just read something without asking anyone about it. Ah, hell. it's a library, isn't it? And you're not going to take the book anywhere, just take a look at it and maybe ask Patchouli about it later on.

Magic for Dummies by Marisa Kirisame
So you wanna learn some magics? Awesome. Let's get started. First, you need something to test your spells on. It can be anything, but a certain shrine maiden work best. Youkai are good targets too, but they can be a bit dangerous for beginners like you. Second, you need a spell to test.

"You're not gonna read that now are you?" You glance up from the book and see that Koakuma has returned. She doesn't give you time to answer before she continues. "Besides, if you want to learn about magic her books aren't the best ones." She comes closer. Too close if it was up to you, but you remember what you were told about the size of personal space in different countries: it's smaller in east than it is in west. "Or, if you want to, I could teach you something?" Her tone changed completely. Just what is she up to? And what's with that tail? It seems to have appeared out of nowhere again.

"I'll come back a bit later, OK? I'd better get some work done or I don't know what's going to happen."

"Just let me show you one spell. Just stay there for a moment, this won't take long." She then starts drawing shapes with her hands in the air with her eyes closed while muttering something. You follow her hands. She draws a circle and something in it. Finally she clenches her hand into a fist and punches through whatever she just drew. You feel like she had punched you in the head and fall to the floor and into darkness.

The darkness quickly gives way to a wooden floor which seems to go on infinitely to all directions. The only object visible is a bed. There's someone on it. She's not looking at you and there's something inhuman about her. You get up and silently float next to the bed. You know that you're not awake, but this isn't a dream either. For some reason you also know that you're supposed to ask something. Four questions spring into your mind.

[] Who are you?
[] What are you?
[] Why are you?
[] Where are you?
---
The vote may not seem to have much sense in it, but one of the options wakes you up, one of them wakes you up after a while and two of them do something completely else. Why am I telling you this? It just seems like a good idea.

[] Why are you?
Where do we come from, who are us, and where are we going.
Screw that, I'm only interested by WHY ARE YOU IN DA PLACE WIF GOAST AND ZOMBIES.

[x] Who are you?

[x] Why are you?

>I'm late. And I know it.

Not bad at all. Take it easy~

"Why are you?"

Silence.

"Why am I?" Her voice is tranquil. "Why are you? Why do you want me to be?" She turns around. "Should you know that, then I won't have to answer." You watch as her bare feet reach the floor and she gets up from the bed. "I'm here because you need me. But why do I exist? That I do not know." She raises her right hand and extends her index finger. "You have to come back here. Do not forget that." Her finger reaches your forehead.

"How?"


The floor is hard. Not very cold though. What happened? Koakuma did something, yet you're quite sure that what you experienced wasn't her doing. Someone prods your right arm. You open your eyes, but close them again because it's too bright.

"What?" Hopefully it's someone you know.

"What happened?" Sounds like Koakuma. You open your eyes for a bit. The somewhat familiar sight of high bookshelves of the library greets you. That's strange, since the library is rather dark. Why did the place seem so bright when you first opened your eyes? Koakuma is to your right and seems like she's going to prod you again. She does.

"Ow! Shouldn't you know that better than me? You're the one who did something, not me." You push yourself off the floor and get to your feet. it's not hard, and it doesn't hurt anywhere.

"I didn't do that! I only tried to cast a simple visual spell to show you what it's all about! You did something to amplify it by an astronomical degree!" Why's she angry? Are spells really that important?

"It wasn't him. You simply shattered his view of this world. Before that he could explain everything by logic and there were impossible things. By casting a spell on him you denied his logic and his subconscious dragged his conscious mind to some safe place within itself so it won't shatter with his world."
You look to the source. it's Patchouli. She's floating in the air a bit behind you. You're not sure when she appeared, but because Koakuma seems just as surprised as you she can't have been there for long. Patchouli points at you.

"Could you go and get the rest of the books at the door? I left them there for you."

"OK."

You walk past Patchouli and to the corridor which would take you to the wall. After a few steps you hear some Patchouli from behind you.

"What did you do?"

"I just wanted to show him what it's like. Magic, I mean." it's Koakuma. You think you're not supposed to hear what they're saying. But then again it could be interesting? No. You won't do that. it's wrong. Or should you?


[] Keep going. it's wrong to eavesdrop.

[] Turn back. it's about what happened to you, so you want to know.

---

1. get an idea
2. develop it
3. spot the same idea used in some other story
4. change it into something unrecognisable
5. discover that the changed idea sucks and forget about it

[x] Turn back. it's about what happened to you, so you want to know.

Curiosity killed the cat. But if MC need to return to this place, it's better to know more.

[x] Keep going. it's wrong to eavesdrop.

I think the screw up connected us to Flandre.

Also it's not so much about the idea itself but how it's used. Something old can be done in a new way after all.

I shouldn't worry too much about accidental clashes with other stories. If it's your own inspiration, it'll be fine.

[X] Turn back. it's about what happened to you, so you want to know.

>I think the screw up connected us to Flandre
That's an interesting way of looking at it. What brought you to that conclusion?

>>41791
I mean connected us to Flan on a mental wavelength. I guess somehow due to the whiplash of our logic collapse, we ended up in contact with Flan's mind.

>>41795
Sorry, too vague - I meant why Flan? Re-reading the last couple of updates I can kinda see it, but nothing particularly telling.

>>41796
I might have presumed too much, though it might be a logical if wrong assumption.

>>41798
Fair enough.
The way I see it, assuming we can rule out people we've met (Yukari, Ran, Eirin & the SDM(-Flandre)) then the likely suspects are:
Flandre - 'inhuman', mental themes, location relevant, infinite empty expanse.
or someone with the potential to mess with heads/dreams who either has a purpose for us or reason to be interested in our existence. Without Yukari, that's mainly the ghosts and the mind-readers.

Actually, having written that, the bed and empty-ness does fit best with Flan. The dialogue made me think Yuyuko for some reason, but that's just me randomly flailing. Anyway, to early to tell.

Yes, you should. it's about you. Probably. If it isn't, you can just go get the books and hope no-one notices that it took a bit longer than it should have. You turn around and start silently moving towards the conversation while listening to it.

"And you thought a charm spell would look nice to him?"

"Erm? uh? Yes."

Sigh.
"You do know that he works for Sakuya, right? She won't be very happy if you turn him into your slave. Now, would you go and get the books he failed to retrieve? And yes, I have something to say to you too so you can come here from behind the shelf."

So she noticed you? Oh well. At least she didn't sound angry. You glance at Koakuma as she glides past you. So she tried to charm you? Whatever it means, it didn't sound nice. It'd be bad for you if you couldn't work, even if it would mean that you could be with Koakuma. Even if you don't know her very well you kind of like her but aren't sure whether it's wise to be around her or not since all your meetings so far have ended up with you falling asleep. That reminds you that you'd have to ask Patchouli about it, which reminds you of Patchouli herself. She doesn't look angry, but rather like a teacher who's scolding a pupil.

"I guess you were there because you want to know what happened to you, correct?"

?" Yes." She'd be a good teacher should she know how to teach.

"I would have told it to you if you had come back with the books."

"So you're not going to tell it to me now? And sorry about what I did."

"What's done is done, but if I tell you to do something I really expect you to do it. Then about what happened to you. I'm not completely sure about this but for some reason you were drawn inside your own mind. I don't know who did it as it most certainly wasn't you. Do you remember anything about what happened to you during the time you were out?"

"Well, for some reason I dreamt of an infinitely large room with only a bed in it. There was someone on the bed. I don't know who it was, but she didn't seem human. The strangest part of it was that I knew what I was supposed to ask." You tell her the rest of it; about how she said you need her, what she said about coming back and how you woke up when she touched you. Patchouli just listens to you with a serious look on her face. She remains silent for a while after you're done.

"That?s? interesting. I'll look into it for a bit and then I'll go see a certain someone who may know something about it. You should get me some tea. Bring it to 1480.?

Tea. To the kitchen then. Patchouli turns to the opposite direction than you when you reach the corridor which leads to the door. You don't run into Koakuma on your way out, which is a bit strange since she was supposed to get the books that you didn't. She's probably returning the books to their original places. You're not really worried about her, though.

In the kitchen you find a kettle and fill it with water before remembering that you don't have the faintest idea about how to use the stove. It seems like it uses fire. Such an ancient thing. it's not that you don't know how to ignite the wood or open the hatches; it's that you don't know how to control the temperature. Then you remember that you're just making some tea and boiling water should be easy enough. You set the kettle on the stove and notice the absence of firewood. It would probably be faster to find someone and ask about it than just randomly trying to find some and you start looking for someone.

There's someone in the dining room. For a moment you think it's Sakuya, but then you notice her dark hair. She's also a bit shorter, has wings on her back and her eyes are brown. Yes, she's looking at you. And she's looking confused.

"Hi there. Do you know where I could find some firewood? I need to make some tea."

"Fire? wood?" Hard thinking. Realization. "Oh! You must be the new guy Sakuya was talking about. Hi Chris, I'm Katy."

"Eh? hi Katy. So, what about the tea?"

"I'll do it for you. Who is it for? I know what kind of tea everyone likes."

"it's for Patchouli. But don't you think it'd be better if I'd learn to use the stove?"

"It would, but I don't know how to use it either."
You're not so sure about this anymore.

"If you don't know how to use it, how do you plan on heating the water?"

She shrugs. "I just do it. I'll show you."

You follow her to the kitchen and watch her prod the kettle a few times before the water starts boiling.

"There. And Patchouli likes strong tea so I'll add some extra leaves."

"How'd you do that?"

"Simple." So the teacups were in that drawer. "I'm a fairy of fire." And the tea is in that jar on that shelf. "I just have to make it happen and it happens."

Katy also takes out a tray and a teapot from somewhere, sets the cups on the tray and pours the water into the pot before putting the tea in the water. So she's a fairy? You had expected them to be shorter, (Katy's a little shorter than Sakuya, who in turn is a bit shorter than you) more playful and definitely not maids. Then again you have seen so many strange things lately that you're not very surprised about it.

"Now you'd better take it to Patchouli before it gets cold. See you later!"

You take the tray while she goes back to wherever she was. Such a cheery person. You'd like to spend some time with her after? after what happened.

"Come to see me when you're done."
You turn around and catch a glimpse of Sakuya at the door before she disappears. Couldn't she have done that properly? It wouldn't have been hard to wait for you to respond. Nevertheless, she's gone and you have a tray of tea which you have to deliver to the library.

The first corridor to the left is different from the others. Instead of being lined with corridors to the both sides, it sinks into the floor. The concrete walls radiate cold. You have to walk for a while before the corridor starts branching. When you reach the 48th turn, you're yet again taken by surprise about how big the library is. Instead of revealing a typical row of books, the opening leads into a large open space. The area of the place isn't that big, but it's high. The roof is barely visible, the walls are made of countless bookshelves and there are even more books in some random piles just lying around. (What the hell's up with this place? Nobody can read all these books.) In the middle of all of it, there's a table. Patchouli is reading a book next to it.

Patchouli glances at you when you're placing the tray on the table.
"You could help me with this. There's a lot to read because I'm not sure what I'm looking for. Grab a book from that pile and sit."

[] Help Patchy
[] (optional) Ask something

[] Go find Sakuya

---

Been busy. Well, not really. Just got something to do but didn't do it until the last moment. Even more stuff coming up, but I'll try to do it instead of just slacking off. That, and I'm getting drafted tomorrow.

If you don't like reading, skip to the end.

*CreeeCRA-THUMP!*
Silence. A bird chirping. More silence. Sound of something something being dragged. A silent thump. Footsteps. Even more silence.

You peek out from your hiding place. The mysterious cloacked figure went away, and you're kind of interested about whatever it left behind. Slowly you push yourelf from the ground and get on your feet. The rock you were hiding behind is covered in moss, and the front yard of the abandoned house has been taken over by all kinds of weeds and small bushes. The building itself is about to collapse. Yet it's still in use.

You take a look inside from the front door. A single, dustless track is visible on the floor. You follow it to the stairs. The handrail has been worn out by countless hands. It feels smooth and warm. Your foot lands on the first step, producing a nice, sturdy thump. The stairs were made by you, and while they weren't beautiful they're the best preserved part of the whole building. Now they are useless. Forgotten.

The figure left behind a sack of frozen berries. You recognize them immediately. Lingonberries. They're still raw, not allowed to reach their usual red colour. The taste would be different too: instead of the usual, they would be very sour.

There's only one place where lingonberries grow nearby. It's on a dry, sandy hilltop. There, in between of tall pines are some unremarkable plants. Their flowers are small and white, unnoticable if you don't know where to look. But when the autumn comes they bear fruit. Definitely not sweet, but they're healthy and can be made into a good jam.

Clearly the plants were allowed to bloom, but the berries were frozen by an early frost.

---

Not everyone is an expert by birth. The ones who aren't gain their skills by training. That's what I'm trying to do here.

Tell me, what am I doing wrong? I know that it wasn't a good idea to start my first story on the most active board, and that the name sucks but there's nothing I can do about it now. (OK, I could change the name) I'll have some time on friday and I'll start the next update then. As long as there's even one person who reads this, I'll keep on writing. I promised myself that I'd see this to the end, whatever it may mean. The thing above was written in about 20 minutes so it may not make much sense. Actually, it doesn't make any.

TL;DR: tell me what I'm doing wrong. I can't fix it if I don't know it's broken.

[x] Help Patchy

Chris isn't really done until he helps Patch.

>>42284

I don't know why this story doesn't get more voters, really. I haven't voted in any story in a couple of days because I've been busy, so there is useless anon's excuse.

I didn't bother to say it before, but if they delay between updates was because of your idea being stolen before this story was created don't worry about it. Better to keep up with your original idea than try to change while already started.

[x] Help Patchy
-[x] Why do I keep falling asleep around your familiar?

[x] Help Patchy
-[x] Why do I keep falling asleep around your familiar?

Seems to be the best choice.
And about you... Well, I can't really help you on this, since I have the same trouble (not the the same reasons, I guess). All I can say is: keep going. If your story keeps going, more peoples will be interested.
That's all I can suggest.

update regularly and understand some people might need time to think.

[x] Help Patchy
-[x] Why do I keep falling asleep around your familiar?
Sakuya said "When you're done" after all.

Also offering the useless Anon excuse. Readers have this "real life" thing sometimes too.
And with AFT ending and Scarlet Moonlight hitting the end of a runthrough, things have been a little rocky lately.

As for your writing style, I'd say you're characterisation has already improved some just within this thread.

That being said, you're sentence structure feels odd. Generally too blunt and a little disjointed.

>>42284
Is generally pretty good.
>Silence. A bird chirping. More silence. Sound of something something being dragged. A silent thump. Footsteps. Even more silence.
You've used short sentences and individual words to provide a sort of stream-of-conciousness description. It's effective and dramatic.
The next mani-paragraph is pretty well structured. The sentences flow well and offer a good level of description of the scene.

In contrast, grabbing a bit from the end of >>42201
>In the middle of all of it, there's a table. Patchouli is reading a book next to it.
Both the comma and full stop feel misplaced. The last part is separated by a pause, which makes it feel either like a dramatic reveal (which it clearly isn't) or that the statements aren't related.
It would flow better as a single sentence. Also "middle of all of it" sounds too vague. It would probably been fine if it followed straight on from the previous sentence, but the observation in parenthesis breaks it up.

So for example, with a little reordering:
In the middle of the mess, Patchouli sits reading behind a table.
It's still not great. Too much emphasis on the table.

Somewhat embellished and split back up again:
In the middle of the chaos stands a simple table, similarly buried. Patchouli sits behind it with her face buried in a book; it seems she hasn't noticed your return yet.

I've felt that you tend to make quite disjoint sentences when describing actions. The dialogue and observations in the middle of (>>42201) flows well, but both the start and the end suffer from it somewhat.

I'm no writefag, so take all that with a pinch of salt. Just my two generic-denomination-of-currency-here.


TLDR: Update and we'll read. Keep up the good work. I liked >>42284

"Broccoli. What you know, what you don't know and what you don't want to know." That's the title of the book on top of the pile. You look at Patchouli. You look at the book. You look at Patchouli again.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to ask two things." No response. "First: Do you know why I keep falling asleep around Koakuma?"

"We're trying to find that out. I'm not sure about what happened on the first time, but I expect that it was the same as last time. What was the other thing you had in mind?"

"It was just about the books. Are broccolis relevant?"

Shrug. "They might be."

Right. You decide to leave broccolis out and look at the next book. it's written in Cyrillic alphabet. Next. Quantum physics would probably be interesting but hardly relevant. The fourth book seems promising: it is about using drugs to affect one's brain. It starts off ?natural? substances, such as noradrenaline and dopamine, moves on to ?unnatural? stuff like mushrooms before finally settling on magic. You read the last part twice, but don't get much out of it. However interesting the book was, it didn't tell anything about infiltrating someone's mind. Sure, you could make someone fall asleep by releasing the correct amount of sevoflurane, but it would make anyone nearby fall asleep too. Besides, you don't dream when you're under.

You don't know how long it took to read the book, but you're getting rather hungry so it must've taken a while. That presents you with another problem: you don't know how or when you should eat here. Should you just go and get something from the kitchen? Or are there certain times when food is served? You'd rather not get caught helping yourself some food if you're supposed to eat with the others. The easiest way to find out would be asking Patchouli about it but she seems to have fallen asleep on her book. So instead of you falling asleep around someone, someone fell asleep around you? You wonder whether it's normal for her to do that and whether you should wake her up or not.

One choice too many for you. As you're thinking about your options and their consequences, someone taps your shoulder.

"How long are you just going to sit there?"

"Until someone shows up I presume."

"I see." Koakuma lands on the floor in front of you and sits down. "I guess I'll have to wait for a while then."

"Unless you know how and when I'm supposed to eat here, yes." The book is still in your lap. You place it on top of the book about quantum physics and look at Koakuma. She's looking at you intensively. it's a bit uncomfortable but you don't mention it to her.

"You should probably eat with the faeries. Some of them should be there around now."

"I guess I'll go have a look then." You get up and point at Patchouli. "Shouldn't you wake her up?"

"She does that all the time. But you should use those doors." Koakuma points at a spiral staircase leading to a door quite a bit above the floor.


[] Eat first, go find Sakuya when you're done
- [] use The Door
- [] don't use The Door

[] Find Sakuya first, eat when you're done
- [] use The Door
- [] don't use The Door

---

Because no-one's interested in the details anyway, I'll just say that I've been busy. The worst of it is over now so things should get a little less sporadic.

[x] Find Sakuya first, eat when you're done
- [x] use The Door

>moves on to ?unnatural? stuff like mushrooms before finally settling on magic
Patchouli's observations on Marisa's bad magic-mushroom addictions?

[x] Find Sakuya first, eat when you're done
- [x] use The Door

This Sakuya seems reasonable enough to not starve us. Or shall we try and get Katy to feed us?.

It's Flandre. She's upside down.
---
She's telling to you use the doors. You're not sure whether she's just being friendly or plotting something but decide to do as she says. As you head towards the stairs you glance at Koakuma: she's still staring at you and it's making you a bit nervous. You try to push her out of your mind but you aren't very successful. Giving up, you think about Sakuya instead. She told you to go and see her quite a while ago. It'd probably be smart to find her before doing anything else.

As you reach the door you look at Koakuma for the last time. She's still there, sitting cross-legged and resting her head on her left hand while still looking at you. You close your eyes and shake your head for a bit before opening the door. It leads to a dark corridor which doesn't seem to lead anywhere in particular - though considering that you've never been here means that you could be about anywhere, and that, in turn, means that you've got no idea about where to look for Sakuya. That, of course, would be a problem only if she hadn't just opened the door which you closed a moment earlier. You instantly notice two things about her: she's not alone and she isn't coming from the library.

"There he is! he's the one I was talking about!" The blonde girl behind Sakuya reacts strangely when she sees you. She yelled and started jumping around as if dancing somehow, making the Christmas decorations on her back bounce up and down. Sakuya is taken aback by the girl's sudden burst but she recovers quickly.

"Calm down Miss Flandre. You wouldn't want to break him, would you?"

The girl stops. On the ceiling above you. She looks down as you look up. Same red eyes, same ears; she's definitely Remilia's sister. You wonder what she wants of you.

"Eh? hi?"

When Flandre hears you say something, she drops from the ceiling, spins in the air and lands in front of you. Her motions are very refined and you can't help but wonder whether she has practiced it. When she simultaneously straightens herself, lets go of her skirt and opens her eyes dramatically, you're sure that she had planned it out beforehand.

"Greetings, dear fiancé. Have you missed me while you were gone?"

Say, what?
logic error, resetting
A second passes.
You glance at Sakuya. She's unreadable. You glance at your left hand. No rings. Just as it should be.

Sakuya reacts before you.
"Would you excuse us for a moment? I have some business with him regarding his status as the Mansion's new servant."

Flandre tilts her head a bit and looks at Sakuya with narrowed eyes.
"I guess I can trust you. But don't even try to take him away from me. I won't like it."

You decide to play along and follow Sakuya. Neither of you say anything before you reach the upper floor. You stay silent even after that because you don't think you know Sakuya - or anyone else in the mansion - well enough to say what you really think: that you'd like to go home and be like nothing happened. Sakuya says something about you, the mansion and impossibility. You don't listen and stay silent. Soon after that you reach the room where you signed the contract. She opens a drawer and places a set of four knives, a pocket watch and a strange device on the table.

"You probably have more use for these than me, so I'll let you use them. Roll up your sleeves."

You wonder what she's going to do, but do as she says. Sakuya splits the strange machine into two, places a knife into both of the halves, pushes a lever which releases the knives again and nods approvingly.

"This is a gadget used to hide daggers in your sleeves. This one is just a bit more advanced version that works even if you don't have sleeves at all - don't ask me how it does it, I don't know myself."
She tells you about all the levers and switches on the thing before placing it on your arm above your wrist. As soon as she's done with the straps, the thing disappears along with the knife now hidden in it. You can still feel it, and when you touch it with your left hand it appears again. Nifty.

After about half an hour of adjusting the straps and learning the different mechanisms on the gadgets Sakuya moves on to the pocket watch and the two extra knives.

"Keep the other knife with you and hide the other one in your room. You'll never know when you may need them." She then hands the knives to you and takes the pocket watch, sets it into the correct time from her own and hands it to you too.

"You'll have to wind it up every few days to keep it going, but it is very accurate as long as you remember that."

You check the time. it's almost 5 AM. Your hunger, forgotten when Flandre appeared, returns. You pocket the watch.

"Would you mind if I go to the kitchen and help myself some food? I haven't eaten anything for like, twelve hours or something."

"Just what were you doing with Patchouli? I know that she doesn't care about herself that much but it isn't like her to ignore others."

"I was helping her on her research about?"
You stop as you realize that it may be better if everyone doesn't know that there's something strange going on in your dreams. At least until you know what it is.
?" something."

Sakuya gets up and opens the door before answering.

"If she doesn't want me to know, then you don't have to tell me. Come, I'll whip up something for you to eat."

Just before you reach the kitchen you notice that it's quite rather dark indeed. You notice it because one of the few windows you've seen is in the kitchen and you can see the moonlight coming in and casting shadows. If it's dark enough for that here, how was it possible for you to see anything at all in the basement with no windows around? You decide to leave solving the mystery to a later date and concentrate on getting something to eat instead - a completely useless worry since Sakuya seems to have already made something.

Again, you're not sure what it is but it tastes good. it's kind of a shame that you have to eat it alone since Sakuya disappeared when she had made sure that you know how to make some food for yourself in the future. She even explained the mystery stove to you: you're not sure how it works, but it gets the job done if you simply set something on it.

When you're done eating, you feel very tired. Deciding to leave tidying yourself to whenever you wake up, you head to your room. You could use a razor and a toothbrush, but you don't have either. You'd have to ask about those. But not now. It would probably be possible to scrape the worst off your chin with a knife, but it wouldn't be wise to do it in the dark. You dump those thoughts when you arrive to your room, collapse on the bed and check the time. it's six AM. You think about Flandre before falling asleep. It'd be nice if she would forget about what she did today. With that, you drift into a state you now know all too well.

The blue-haired woman is looking at you when you open your eyes. She seems both angry and relieved at the same time.

"So you decided to come after all. I was thinking you had forgotten about me already."

You look at her. She's sitting on the bed next to you.

"As if I had a choice."

She ponders for a while.
"True. But you still took your time."


[] Ask something.

---

Yesterday I overcame a mental barrier and managed to make writing feel like fun, unlike for the last two updates. Vote fast so I can write again on wednesday since I won't be able to write on thursday-sunday. One certain relative I don't like is coming for a visit.

[X] "So do you know why Flandre called me her fiancé?" you asked causality.

[X] "How long you been in my room watching me?"
[X] "So do you know why Flandre called me her fiancé?"

[X] "How long you been in my room watching me?"
-[X] "So do you know why Flandre called me her fiancé?"

I like the extra.

[X] "How long you been in my room watching me?"
-[X] "So do you know why Flandre called me her fiancé?"


"How long have you been here? In my room?"

"How long have you been here? For a few hours now if my prediction is correct."

"And what do you mean by that? You don't know when you came here?"

"I just realized that I was here a few days ago? I've got no idea how or why I actually ended up in here, but it doesn't matter, does it?"

You decide to leave the subject as another question pops into your mind.

"Oh, and now that I'm here I could give this to you. I don't want you to die, no no."
She hands you a dagger. You accept it, place it on the bed and proceed to ask your question.

"Would you happen to know why Flandre thinks that I'm her fiancé" I know she's a nutcase, but I think it's still strange."

The woman smiles. It makes her look pretty, and you wonder whether she likes you since she just randomly started appearing and asking you to come back. If that's the case, maybe she would do some? things with you if you'd ask. Not that you have the courage to ask her.

"I don't know anything about that, but-"
Her face goes red and she looks at you strangely. It makes you banish your lewd thoughts about her and focus your attention on her again.

"Why would you-"
She blushes even harder. You raise your left eyebrow.

"it's not like I don't wa -"
She serious'd.
"I have to go now."


Wake up, Chris. Mistress wants you to do something.
No, you haven't slept enough. Unfortunately, thinking about sleeping only wakes you up a bit more. It smells like flowers, your back is sore and someone is calling for your name. You open your eyes.

"G? morning Katy."

The maid takes a step back as she hears you.
"Morning? Don't you know what time it is? I've been up for hours already!"
She doesn't sound angry, she just states the facts. You reach for your pocket (you fell asleep fully clothed) and check the time. Three PM. Why do you feel so tired despite having slept enough? Ignoring your sleepiness you sit up.

"I see. Do you think she would mind if I go and tidy myself a bit?"

Katy stays silent for a moment and looks at her feet as if you had asked something awkward.
"I- I don't think so. She just got up herself and is taking a bath right now so?"

That reminds you that you don't have a toothbrush. Usually you don't wash your teeth when you wake up, but because you haven't washed them for a while they're gathering an icky layer of something and you'd like to get rid of it.

"I see. On a completely different level, do you know if it is possible for me to get a toothbrush? I could use one if I'm going to stay here and everything."

Katy looks at you again and her face brightens.

"Yes! I'll go get you one right away!"
She turns and starts walking to the door but stops before reaching it and turns around to eye you.

"I'll also bring you a new set of clothes. We've got a big wardrobe which no-one uses in the former master's room. I'll try to find something similar to what you're wearing now. I'll bring the new set to the bathroom."

"Ok. But why does this place have a separate master's room? Don't the master and the mistress usually share a room?"
You ask about the detail that struck you as odd. it's a European-style mansion and nobles were ALWAYS married.

"I don't know that much about the history of the mansion, but I know that before Miss Remilia moved in this place was owned by a widower. You'd better ask Miss Remilia or Miss Patchouli for more details if you're interested."

Having said that Katy flashes a smile and leaves. You sit there for about a minute before getting up from the bed. Something metallic drops to the floor as you do that. it's a dagger. The dagger the blue-haired woman gave you, to be exact. You're not sure that it was a dream anymore. Placing the dagger among the knives on your table, you head to the bathroom.

Katy brings the clothes, a toothbrush and some toothpaste while you're drying yourself. You thank her, wash your teeth and get dressed before heading to your room to arm yourself again. The knives may be useless against Remilia, but you rather have something than nothing and you don't think she cares about whether her servants are armed or not. You have a feeling that flying and throwing magic spears aren't the only things she can do. This time you only take the nifty sleeve-gadgets with you, and only to get used to them. For some reason you feel safe in the mansion when the sun's up, and decide to ignore Sakuya's advice about the third knife.

As Katy told when she brought your clothes, Remilia is eating ?breakfast?. Her hair's a bit wet and her eyes aren't focused on her plate as you come in to the room. Nevertheless, she spots you instantly.

"Good morning, Chris. You better eat something fast, since there's something I want you to do."

You follow her advice and grab some toast. You eat it quickly only to finish before Remilia. She's finished with her egg and has moved on to her toast. You silently wait her to finish it too.

"So what did you want me to do? You made it sound like something important."

Remilia looks at you and sips her tea.
"Go to the room opposite to yours and wake Sakuya."
You don't ask why she wants you to do that. it's probably better if you don't know.

You never knew that Sakuya's room was so close to yours. There indeed is a sign saying ?Izayoi? on the door Remilia told about, and you wonder why you didn't notice it earlier. You knock on the door, but don't get an answer. You knock a bit harder, receive no answer and open the unlocked door. Her room is like yours, but there's no window and there're all kinds of personal items spread around the room. Sakuya is on her bed, lying on her side hugging her covering which she has somehow rolled up in her sleep. She's wearing a white panty/bra set and doesn't have pads. Wait, you didn't mean to see that. Oh well. You get an erection, curse it under your breath, hope that she won't notice it and go next to her bed.

"Sakuya?
You call for her silently. She doesn't react and you grab her shoulder.
"Sakuya!"
This time the call is paired with a gentle shake.

"Whassitlemmesleep?
She doesn't open her eyes.

"Remilia sent me to wake you up."

Sakuya opens her eyes and shifts into a sitting position. She looks through you. The always so elegant maid looks a bit off with some of her hair standing up and without her maid outfit. Slowly, she realizes that you're there and reaches for her watch which is on her table. She presses a button on it and appears next to you, fully clothed and ready to go. You're a bit shocked by her sudden disappearance/appearance but recover when she says your name.

"Why are you here, Chris?"

"Remilia sent me to wake you up. I don't know why, didn't ask."

Sakuya sighs and walks out.

You return to your room and notice the dagger. It'd probably be for the best if you'd ask someone about it.


[]Ask Sakuya
[]Ask Remilia
[]Ask Patchouli
[]Ask Meiling

After that, you will?
[]Go buy a razor
[]Tend to the garden
[]Polish the 2nd floors? floor

---

There may be some grammatical errors because my proofreader's asleep and I can't wait till tomorrow. (In case you haven't noticed, I'm not a native english speaker) Expect the next update on either Sunday or Monday, depending on when my guest leaves.
Why am I telling you when to expect an update? To give myself a deadline. It's easier to do something when you know when it has to be ready.

[]Ask Patchouli
[]Polish the 2nd floors? floor

(The floors' floor? What does that mean?)

>>43790

Yo dawg, I heard you like floors, so we put a floor in yo floor so you can polish floors while you polish yo floors!

[x]Ask Patchouli
[x]Polish the 2nd floors? floor

[x]Ask Patchouli
[x]Polish the 2nd floors? floor

>>43827

Forgot my not so important comment, but whatever.

The Patchouli in this story is a hell of a lot more laid back then most, which I'm actually okay with, but she's still surrounded by books and is constantly reading them, so I figure It'll be best to ask her about the dagger since she's the most knowledgable.

As back incase she doesn't know about the dagger, then

[X] Ask Meiling

We could use a bit more Meiling on this board, and she might know some lore behind the dagger since she's a martial artist or some shit.

I know, long and unnecessary comment for a simple decision, but a good story deserves at least some discussion and input.

The update's almost done, my pal's asleep and I'm tired too. It's hard to wake up before sunrise, especially when you know that you have to do it for the next four months. See you in about 12 hours.

[x]Ask Patchouli
[x]Polish the 2nd floors? floor


Patchouli would probably know something about the dagger. She has a loads of books and some of them have to be about daggers if there's one about broccoli. She could also have something to say about the night's events, from Flandre's reaction, your nightly conversation and maybe even the strange door you used. You grab the dagger and head to the library. it's a bit inconvenient to carry it around in your hand, but you don't have any kind of sheath for it, so you'll just have to deal with it for now.

You seek Patchouli from the only place you guess she could be in, and true enough, she's there, reading a book on the same stool as when you left. You approach her silently from behind, but she turns around before you get very close.

"You bring a curse with you. What happened?"
A curse? Could the blade you're carrying be cursed? Well, that's just one more reason to let her look at it.
"I don't know about curses, but I have something for you to look at."
You hand the blade to Patchouli who rejects it. She seems to be afraid of it and lets out some kind of a hiss when she withdraws her hand.

"Place it on the table. I'll lift the curse before doing anything else."
You do as she says and watch as she draws a pentagram-based star around the dagger, draws a circle across the points and finishes it with some runes. The next part includes some strange words and holding her hand above the dagger to make it glow in a cold, blue light. She finishes the spell by making the markings disappear. At least it looked cool, and seems like it worked too since she picked up the dagger.

"Hmm. Just an ordinary dagger as far as I know. It gives me an eerie feeling, but I don't know why. I wouldn't use it if I was you. Say, how did you get this? I can't remember seeing anything like this, and I would've felt the curse had it been here for a long time."

You tell her about last night, and what the woman said about protecting you.

"I see. So she isn't just a creation of your mind. Why would she give you a cursed weapon if she's concerned about your safety? Though the curse was easy to remove, it was quite strong? I wonder if it was a mistake to remove it since you didn't activate it by touching the dagger, it's possible that it was there to protect the dagger from being stolen."
? Is she thinking aloud or something? You decide to interrupt her before she says something she doesn't mean to say.

"Uh, I met Flandre last night. She said I was her fiancé. Do you know why'd she do that?"

"Oh? She said that? No, she usually distances herself from strangers. I'll have to ask Remi about it? Or maybe it'd be better if you did it yourself. Just as an advice: wait until she's in good mood. Remi's very protective towards her sister, and may blame you about what happened."

Well, that's something to think about. Given that Remilia always seems rather serious to you (at least when she isn't messing around when giving you a lift -no, you won't do that again to make her happy) it may take a while before the opportunity presents itself. Nevertheless, you don't want to make her mad by lazing around like this. Something to do? That's it. The corridor which leads to your and Sakuya's rooms is dirty. You could clean it and polish the floor while at it.

"Hey Patchouli? Do you know where I could find a mop and a bucket? And some detergent?"

"Hm? Uh? Koakuma!"

The now familiar figure of the familiar appears. Pun not intended.

"What is it now, you need me to sort some books again?"
She eyes you for a bit.
"Or do you want me to take care of him?"
There's a hint of something in her voice.

"No, I want you to show him where to find a mop, a bucket and some detergent. You know where to find some, don't you?"

"Of course. Now, follow me."

Koakuma leads you up the stairs and through the strange door. This time the door opens to the same place as the ?normal? library door.

"Do you know how the door works? Last time it led to the basement."

"Most of the time it takes you to where you need to go, but sometimes it just leads into a seemingly random place. I don't know how it chooses its destination, but there's always a reason for the user to be there. Something happened to you in the basement, correct?"

"Yes. I ran into Flandre."
You don't tell her about the details. For some reason you don't really trust her. Luckily she doesn't ask anything about it and just points to a door under the stairs.

"You should find everything you need from there."
She leaves and you decide to return the dagger you've been carrying around to your room.

The dirt doesn't come off easily. It just doesn't want to come off even when you're using a lot of force and a lot of washing powder. Dip, squeeze extra water out, scrub. Repeat. Repeat again. Knock, knock, knock. Someone knocks on the door. Whoever he is, he doesn't wait for an answer.

Thump. "Ow!"
That sounded like it hurt a lot.
"Get here this very moment you worthless leech or I'll make your sorry ass regret it!"
A female voice. A very, very pissed off female voice.

[] Greet the visitor.
[] Somebody else's problem.

---

I like it when enemy shells go "Bloink".

Also, I've been thinking about whether to give our MC a clear objective or not. It would have its pros and cons, as would a set of smaller objectives. The main objective could get watered down by the fact that there are many similar stories around, while a story with only small objectives may not seem very interesting. Opinions? Suggestions?

[X] Greet the visitor.

I think I like story as it is, or with smaller objectives.

[X] Greet the visitor.

[X] Greet the visitor.

Introductions need flashy pictures, amairite?
Oh, and comments about the pic go here, the rest is down below.
---

[x] Greet the visitor.
[] Somebody else's problem.

While you weren't tasked with greeting the visitors, you think it'd be better to not to let her wait too long. You set down the mop and head downstairs silently. The visitor, in a red and white outfit, is busy with the thing she has at her feet and doesn't notice you as you stop at the bottom of the stairs.

"May I help you somehow, miss?"
The stranger shifts into some kind of fighting stance and looks at you. She's definitely mad about something.
"Hakurei. And you'd better go get the bloodsucker, the geeky librarian and the annoying maid."
Well, you didn't actually ask her name, but it's not a bad thing to know it. A plan forms in your mind. You'd go get Patchouli and ask her where you could find Sakuya and Remilia.
"I'll be back in a moment, Miss Hakurei."
You turn around and head towards the library door.

"Wait. Does that mean that I won't have to fight you?"
You turn back. The Hakurei girl is looking at you, confused. You wonder why she's holding small pieces of paper between her fingers, but what are you to judge her style?
"I have no intention of harming you, Miss Hakurei."

"Just call me Reimu. Your formality annoys me."
You remember the name. Meiling said something about someone named Reimu having something to do with a border.

"As you wish, Miss Reimu."

"Leave the miss out too."

"Okay, Reimu."
Having messed enough with her you enter the library. To your slight surprise, you find yourself above the ?center? of the library, where you talked to Patchouli and where she seems to spend most of her time. You don't feel like yelling in the library (you have to be quiet in libraries, remember?) so you head down the stairs to Patchouli's table. She notices you instantly and looks at you curiously as you approach.

"There's someone who wants to see you. She called herself Hakurei but wants to be known as Reimu and seems very angry. She also expected me to fight her, but I didn't."
You may have sounded a bit childish, but it wasn't something to lau - oh, she's just smiling.

"So like her. Break in, beat up anyone who appears and declare things solved. Seems to be working quite well though. Makes me wonder why she is here, we haven't done anything."
Patchouli gets up and starts walking towards the stairs. You wonder why she's doing that since she's floating at the same time. Again, you're not the one to judge.

"I expect that Remi and Sakuya are already with her? Or is she here just to see me?"

"I'd be fetching them but I don't know where they are so I came to you first. Could you tell me where to find them?"

"If that's the case, they'll be waiting for us."

"How do you know that? No-one but me heard her enter."

"Not everything is as it seems to be."

"What do you mean? If there's no-one around, there's no-one to hear you talking."
You don't receive an answer, and don't have anything else to talk about so you climb the last steps in silence. The mysterious door opens to the same place as last time.

Just as Patchouli predicted (knew?), Remilia and Sakuya are already with the Reimu person who barged in. they're talking about something, but the conversation's interrupted when Reimu sees you.

"So, Mr. Polite. You certainly took your time."

"I did what you asked me to do, even if I didn't have to, and you're complaining? Well, suit yourself."
Turning towards the stairs, you direct your final question to Sakuya.
"Am I needed here or can I go back to what I was doing?"

"It'd be better if you stay."
Remilia answers your question. You turn back, try to give her a questioning look and feel a little stupid for doing a 360.
"I want you to duel Reimu."

What? Duel? But wouldn't that mean?
"Is that an order?"
Remilia smiles a little, making sure that her fangs show a little.

"Yes."

Eep.

"Would there be any... rules?"
You're not actively trying to hide your fear and nervousness and it's showing in your voice since Remilia smiles again, this time in a friendly way.

"The normal set. You'll be protected by a shield of certain strength. The one who loses her shield first loses the match. Any weapons and attacks are allowed as long as they won't penetrate the shield. There are some other rules, but you won't have to care about them."
That calms you down a bit. At least you won't die. But it doesn't mean it can't hurt. Remilia is about to continue but Reimu is faster than her.

"Let's make a small change to the rules. He wins if he can hit me once. I win if I knock his shield out. Agreed?"

Remilia instantly agrees. Wasn't it you who was going to duel? Well, you're not going to oppose that rule, but you feel like she'll kick your ass nevertheless.

[] Decline the duel.
[] Go with what you have in your sleeves
-[] Use the knives as a last resort
-[]Draw them out now
[] Ask someone to get the mysterious dagger from your room. You'll fight with it.

---

I'm going to change the story's name. Suggestions are welcome, but I'm not really expecting any.
If you wonder why I asked about the objectives, it is because there aren't any in the story right now. It's just rolling with it's own weight through some pre-planned events and, of cource, has a lot of stuff I just come up with when writing.

[x] Ask someone to get the mysterious dagger from your room. You'll fight with it.

We're not in any real danger, although even hitting Reimu once probably won't happen under our own skill.

Maybe the dagger can help.

[x] Ask someone to get the mysterious dagger from your room. You ?ll fight with it.

At times like this, let's test what the dagger really does.

name change huh? Okay. The name is a bit long so a new one would be nice. About the plot, sorry but i have no idea what to suggest. You're the writer, LS. It's more or less interesting plot right now but it'll do for me. Not sure about others though.

No pic cuz' I'm pissed off right now.
---
[x] Ask someone to get the mysterious dagger from your room. You'll fight with it.

A cursed dagger received from a mysterious woman in your dreams (?) has to have something special about it. You ask Sakuya to get it from your room. She leaves and there's a short, oppressive silence before her return. When Sakuya hands you the dagger, you can see Patchouli looking at it and remember her advice about not using the dagger. She said something about an eerie feeling. You can't feel anything odd.

"So, are you ready?"
Reimu has taken a stick from somewhere and is looking at your weapon. She seems a bit puzzled by it but doesn't ask anything. You take a deep breath, nod at her and ready yourself.

Reimu doesn't wait for you to take the initiative. She breaks into a sprint towards you. Four meters. You stand there, the dagger in your right hand, held before you. Three meters. You'll dodge her, stab her in the back as she passes you and end the duel before it even really begins. Two meters. You haven't moved yet. Her stick is front of her. She's not going to use it. One meter. Her left hand isn't in the perfect position for running. She's going to hit with it. But where?

Impact. Reimu's left hand hits your right hand moved to protect your stomach. The blow doesn't have a lot of force in it, but hadn't you blocked it you would've been knocked out by it. You use Reimu's momentum to spin around and ready yourself for another attack. It doesn't come. Instead, you see Reimu to your right. She's lying on the floor. You take a cautious step towards her. She doesn't move. Something's wrong. You look at your dagger.

There's blood on it.

He blocked Reimu's first attack with ease. it's something even you fail at sometimes. On top of that, he even managed to counterattack. Maybe you should train him? He has potential. You watch as Reimu falls to the floor and Chris turns to where Reimu would've gone hadn't she taken a hit. He instantly notices Reimu on the floor, takes a step towards her and drops his dagger before rushing to her. Something seems to be off, but Mistress and Lady Patchouli aren't doing anything so it can't be severe. You're still a bit worried as Chris seeks Reimu's carotid, checks her breathing and proceeds to examine her for wounds. The fact that Reimu still doesn't react makes you go to check the dagger. You're a bit shocked to find blood on it and give it to Patchouli before going to help Chris.

"What's wrong with her? Why does the dagger have blood on it?"
He doesn't answer immediately and sounds like he's in a panic when he does.
"I- I don't know. I've checked her twice and there aren't any wounds on her. Her pulse and breathing seem to be okay, but I don't know what I did to her? I shouldn't have?"

You can't find any wounds on Reimu either, and when you're done checking her you pat Chris on his shoulder and get up. Lady Patchouli is examining the dagger and Mistress is asking something from her. The blood has been cleaned from the blade and they seem confused. You're about to ask Patchouli about it as you hear something from where Reimu left her sack. it's speech, but in a language you don't understand. You look at the source. A youkai. You haven't seen him before, so he could be a danger to Mistress. It'd be for the best if you took care of it right now. Reimu could exorcise him when she wakes up.

[] Snatch the dagger from Patchouli and use it. Knowing what it does would be useful in treating Reimu.
[] You can't use something potentially dangerous. Take him out by normal methods.
[] A small pest isn't worth it. Try to calm him down and convince him to leave.

[x] Snatch the dagger from Patchouli and use it. Knowing what it does would be useful in treating Reimu.

U know, you should mark with something (like a line) when switching POVs, ok?

>Use cursed knife
>Reimu ends up pretty badly hurt.

Somehow I'm not surprised.

Well we trying to find out how did the curse works and what did it do anyways.

>>43991
On Reimu of all people? We should consider ourselves lucky that we didn't end up imploding Gensokyo with such a stupid idea.

Well, at the very least she's not dying, right?

..........Right?

There aren't enough mechas in this pic.
---
[x] Snatch the dagger from Patchouli and use it. Knowing what it does would be useful in treating Reimu.

Hm. She really seems to be alright. You can't find even a small scratch. There seems to be absolutely no reason for her to be lying on the floor. Maybe she's asleep? Maybe the same thing happened as when you fell asleep when Koakuma showed you something in the library? But you didn't have the dagger with you back then?

"Does anyone know someone called Remilia Scarlet? I was told that she knows something I need to know."
Huh? You haven't heard that language since you arrived here. You look for the source. Him? What's he doing here? He was supposed to be dying. Well, you're glad that he's?
*Foop* *Stab*
alright?

[Some time passes.]

People die when they're killed. Yet you were told that he didn't die because he was just killed. Since he was already supposed to be dead, you're not sure what to believe. If he can die, he's not coming back after Sakuya disintegrated him. If he can't die as they said? well, you're not sure what'll happen. At least his spirit could be somewhere, and if you could? No, you can't do that. If he has left this world there's no coming back.
You look at the moon. it's almost full, maybe five days short. it's funny how looking at the moon makes you remember all the other times you've looked at the moon. That brings back one winter night a long time ago when you were playing with him. The moon was the only source of light back then, but reflected by the untouched snow even that light was enough. The silvery light made everything look somehow dead though. Still, you'd like to experience it again. It hurts a little to realize you can't. Not with him. Maybe not even alone.

Someone opens the door. Huh. You completely forgot about where you were. As you don't want to get interrupted you hide yourself behind the clock tower and see who comes to the roof.

"But you told me that I could keep him!"
Flandre. She seems a lot more sensible than when you first saw her. Remilia is following her.

"I didn't know that she'd bring him here this soon. It made things a bit more complicated."

"It still didn't mean that she had to go and make him go away!"
You're not sure if you want to hear what they're going to say and take a step to where they can see you and look at the moon again, trying to seem spaced out.

"You know Sakuya, she can be a bit overprotective at times. And she didn't know what would happen. You heard her, she was trying to find out a way to treat Reimu."

they're not noticing you. You decide to do something about it since you wouldn't want them to talk without knowing that someone can hear them.

"Hi there. Am I intruding?"
Remilia just looks at you. Flandre, however, tries to hide behind her sister.

"Not at all. I understand if you seek solitude in a place like this after what happened. He was a close friend to you if I'm not mistaken."

"He was. But he's gone now."
You head towards the door.
"I'll get back to work."

Remilia doesn't answer. You look at her again as you reach the door. She seems to be lost in thought and staring at the moon, just as you were. Flandre is looking at you. You look at her. She glances at Remilia before rushing through the door you are holding open and hides behind a corner to peek at you. You wonder what she's trying to achieve by doing it since she doesn't even try to hide when you look at her. The door closes behind you.

[] Check on Reimu. She's probably still asleep (?), but maybe seeing her would make you feel a bit better.
[] Try to talk to Flandre.
[] Go back and talk with Remilia.
-[] Talk about X

---

>>43991
The curse was removed, remember? I agree that I could've been a bit more specific.

>U know, you should mark with something (like a line) when switching POVs, ok?
I made it extra clear this time so you won't have to think about it, but I'll come up with something.

Oh, and you'll ask about Flandre in any case should you choose to talk with Remi.

[x] Check on Reimu. She's probably still asleep (?), but maybe seeing her would make you feel a bit better.

I'm a little worried

Ah damn it, our friend just died. Damn it, why the hell this is happening? He suffered so much. Perhaps this is better after all. Why, Yukari? Why you have to bring our friend to Gensokyo as well?

[x] Go back and talk with Remilia.
-[x] Talk about your friend
[] After that, check on Reimu. She's probably still asleep (?), but maybe seeing her would make you feel a bit better.

I'm blaming Yukari for dragging our friend to Gensokyo as well and my stupidity for voting that choice as well

Damn it.

[x] Check on Reimu. She's probably still asleep (?), but maybe seeing her would make you feel a bit better.
- [x] Stab yourself with the knife.

>>44031
which choice? The "Let's use a magic knife in a playful fight with Reimu" idea or the "Having Sakuya go all out on a youkai that turns out to be our friend"?

It's almost as if I'm reading DoLF again!

[x] Go back and talk with Remilia.
-[x] Talk about your friend
[x] After that, check on Reimu. She's probably still asleep (?), but maybe seeing her would make you feel a bit better.

now to get things back on track, hopefully before Anon does YET another stupid thing.

DoLF R1....

It's been a while since we have that of situation going, isn't?

>>44035
Eh true, but no other story has decisions that even Cirno would consider stupid. Remember the "Trying to meet Kaguya at the shrine" bit? Even thinking back on it, I feel a few brain cells dying due to how stupid the choices were.

>>44022

The curse was removed and it still doesn't explain how Reimu got hurt and the dagger has blood on it in the first place. Perhaps the curse regenerate itself?

Writefag on standby. Waiting for a tiebreaker.

For all of you:
From what I've read, I think most of the other writers are very forgiving when it comes to bad choices. It's either a bad end or another vote to correct it.
Pic related.

>>44037
I think it's more a magical knife made to defeat enemies with ease or such. Generally speaking enchanted or legendary weapons don't lend themselves easily to non-lethal play fights.

>>44038
yet having linger negative effects makes Anon more paranoid in general in terms of votes, but I must say Anon really dropped the ball here.

[x] Go back and talk with Remilia.
-[x] Talk about your friend
[] After that, check on Reimu. She's probably still asleep (?), but maybe seeing her would make you feel a bit better.

Here's a Remi for you.
---
[x] Go back and talk with Remilia.

You need to talk. Flandre doesn't seem like she could listen to what you have to say. You're not sure whether she'll listen to you at all.

"I need to talk to your sister."
No reaction. You turn around and open the door again.

Remilia is still staring at the sky, but the moon has been obscured by a cloud, leaving the world colorless - except for her eyes. they're still red, and you have to admit that she looks rather impressive.

"You needn't to hurry yourself. It'll make things even worse."
She looks at you.
"I assume there is something you need to ask? Or are you done with your show?"

Yes. You're done with your show. It wasn't a good one to begin with. You just didn't want to seem weak, not when everyone else seemed so strong. Or why not keep it up for another minute? You have a question that needs an answer.
"Is there a reason for Flandre to act like she does? She wasn't like that when I met her yesterday. In fact, she was rather convinced that I was her fiancé."

A smile. You think- No, you know that she can see the thing you're struggling to keep inside.
"Flandre? Yes, she did tell me about her husband-to-be. But it was a long time ago. The funny thing is that she described you. Precisely."
That? doesn't make any sense. You'd stop to think about it, but currently your head is just a big mess you're trying to keep stable.
"As for the reason? I'm afraid she's the only one who knows it."
Why's she telling you everything like that? You've had enough. She was said to be protective about her sister. No longer. So why didn't she dodge the question? A crack. it's enough.

---
Odd. You can't find anything similar to what he experienced. It can't be a lucid dream because he got the dagger. It can't be possession since it ended when he woke up. You set down the book. It'll be necessary to ask him about the details he left out. it's not something you want to do, but it's necessary if you're going to find out what's going on. Not bothering to use the stairs, you fly to the door and order it to open to Remi. He used the door too. It took him to Flandre. It shouldn't have. He shouldn't even have been able to open it. He has to have some kind of affinity with magic if he can do that without training. it's nothing special, but it means he could become a sorcerer - maybe not the most amazing one, but a sorcerer nonetheless. Maybe you should train him?

he's there, with Remi. And he's crying. You don't know what happened, but you guess that he's letting everything out. Good for him, but bad for the research. You won't get answers from him for a while. Sigh. Even when you told him to tell you about his troubles, he didn't. Well, trust isn't gained with one sentence. It still makes you a bit sad to see him like that when he could've avoided it. You let the door close as Remi pulls him to a hug.

---
She's small, but big enough. Only the fact that she's there matters. You don't know how long she's been embracing you while you've sobbed something to her, but it must have been a while. You wipe away the most of your tears and pull away from her.

"Thank you. And sorry about that."
She smiles. Genuinely.
"Don't worry. I know what it's like."
You could ask about it, but let it be.

[] Write-in

"Thanks for being there. I..I.. Thank you."

"What now?"

[x] "Sorry for being so unreliable. But thank you for listening me."

Not in the right mood to write an awesome write-in, so I'll just let that here. Have fun.

[x] Go check on Reimu.

Pic somewhat relevant.
---
You attempt to gather your splintered thoughts. It isn't easy because one part of your mind wants to cry some more, another one wants to be alone and the rest just wants to stay where you are. The only compromise you can reach is to go see Reimu. You're somewhat interested in seeing how she's recovering and you probably won't meet anyone in the room where she is. Trying to preserve what little dignity you have left, you dry the remaining tears and smile. To your horror, you can't. The smile just won't come. Remilia looks at you oddly when you try to force your facial muscles to move.

"What's wrong? Do you have a terrible secret you suddenly feel like revealing?"

"I'm fine. Thanks again for listening and sorry about having you to see that."
Not being able to smile doesn't worry you that much; it was just the shock of a part of you not working. You've always tried to keep a straight face, smiling only when forced to (laughing or similar) or when the situation demands it. Thanks to the way your teeth are, your smile looks stupid to you. It could only be an amused smirk, a smug smile or a mad grin. Your mother always called your smile charming, but hey, she's just your mother. She'll compliment you no matter what. Probably.

"No, you definitely are not fine. Tell me, what's wrong."

You close your eyes and let out a sigh as a sign of surrendering.
"I can't smile."

Remilia drops her smile and remains silent for a short while.
"The worst wounds are the ones that can't be seen. Rest for today and tomorrow, let's see if we can stop the bleeding."

"Thank you."
You'd accompany the thanks with a smile, but you can't. It makes you sad as you begin to realize how much even you, who tried to avoid it, actually smiled. Learning how to smile again shouldn't be that hard? unless it's some Freudian thing that's preventing you. Curse him if it is.
"I hope you won't mind if I go now. I need time to think."

"The answers you seek are closer than you think. Seek them."

Remilia disappears. You don't know how she did it, but she made a strong gust by doing it so it wasn't the same method as Sakuya uses. Besides, what did she mean? Does she know why you can't smile? Or does she mean that someone in the Mansion knows something about Flandre or the dream bitch? Was she just trying to seem badass? Nevertheless, you descent from the roof and head to the room where Reimu is.

In? and out. She's breathing slowly and doesn't react to your presence in any way. In the disturbing lack of chairs you end up sitting on the floor. Right. You're here to see her, and there she is. You look at her. She doesn't do anything. You look at her for quite a long time. She keeps on doing nothing. One certain blue-haired being has something to explain should she decide to appear. You wonder who she actually is, what she wants of you and why does she have to be so mysterious and somehow suggestive. Is she even someone? Could she be just something?

Quit yer jibba-jabba n? do something!
Wha?

I told you to do something!

Great. So now you're hearing voices in your head. Well, shit.

Wait, I'm not a voice in your? Oh, I think I actually am. Sorry, I'll be quiet now.

[] Flip out. Voices in your head=bad.
[] You're fine as long as she's silent.
-[] Tell [someone] anyways.
[] Try to reason with the voice, maybe it'll go away.
-[]Tell [someone] anyways.
[] Raep tiem.

---

One gram of matter is worth 1,4 million. It's a shame that there's no-one who buys it.

[x] Smash head on a wall until the voice goes away
or
[x] Try to reason with the voice. Maybe it'll go away.

[x] You ?re fine as long as she's silent.

>Raep time

Tempting...

[x] Try to reason with the voice, maybe it'll go away.
-[x]Tell Patchouli anyways.

[x] Try to reason with the voice, maybe it'll go away.

[x] You're fine as long as she's silent.
[x] Raep tiem.

I know it's stupid, but SOMEONE has to do something stupid. So, today, I am someone.

>>44063
I'm sure you're that someone everyday.

[x] Try to reason with the voice, maybe it'll go away.

>>44064
Go back to bed, YAF.

Calling the votes. Reasoning without telling anyone won. Update later today unless my 5h sleep comes back to haunt me.

>>44063
>>44064
>>44066
I'm fine with someone being, or pretending to be, stupid. However, someone being an ass is a completely different thing. Saying GTFO to somebody because you think he is someone who's sometimes an ass falls to the latter category. Even if he is YAF, what'd he do this time?
Damn, I'm getting worked up...

It's silent here. (check /blue/ if you haven't)

But it was only a seven-minute nap...
---
[x] Try to reason with the voice, maybe it'll go away.

So, Miss Voice, care to tell me why you're female? My lack of contact with the opposite sex?
The voice doesn't answer but you can hear some distant footsteps.

You don't have to be so quiet if something's asked from you.
Stupid question. Why would I know?
? Well, it was. Maybe you should have asked about its sudden appearance instead?
I've been here for a while. You just haven't been listening to me. A few days. And don't call me ?it?, it isn't nice. I'm not an object.
And you're not a book.
Sorry, can't help it?
Right. So can you tell me who you are and why are you? here?
No. Because I don't want to. Yes, I have a reason for it. Come on, don't call me childish. it's a good reason. No, I won't tell you because you don't believe that it's a good one.
This is getting annoying. You can see why people with voices in their heads don't make much sense to others.
Hey! You're still sane, I'm not a voice in your hea- Well, I am, but I'm not a figment of your imagination.
You look at Reimu to calm yourself down. She hasn't moved.
Huh? Why's she like that? Because of a dagger? No, I haven't seen that one before, but I've seen similar ones. They steal the power of their target, but that one's a bit different if your memory's correct. You lost your only friend too? That's sad. My sympathies.
Can't she be quiet? Is there a way to keep her from reading you?
Yes, there is. You'll have to promise to be nice to me and I'll even show it to you.
That's more like it.
Here we goooo~

Ow. That wasn't nice. Your leg hit something hard. Well, at least your head landed on something soft. A pair of brown eyes looks at you from above. A pair of brown eyes under some blue hair. Hello, miss dream bitch.

"Is your leg OK? It hit the bed rather hard."
Your head is resting on her lap and the rest of you is on a bed. You can't see anything else.
"Yes. As a side note, why's my head in your lap?"

She looks a bit surprised but you can see that she's faking it.
"Why, don't you like it?"

"I don't mind, but I'd rather just sit."
You try to get up but she stops you.

"You promised to be nice, remember? Just stay still for a minute?"
You do as she says and just stay still. Her thighs feel soft and warm. You wouldn't mind staying as is but Blue is doing something odd.

"What are you doing?"

"it's a bit hard to explain, but simply put I'm trying to shrink the hole in your mind I made when I came in. It'll limit the amount of things I can see to what you want me to see. And why'd you call me Blue? Ok, I don't mind. I like my hair too."

Right. You've got no idea about what she means with a hole but you don't like the idea of her poking around in your already shattered mind. Couldn't she explain why she's here or what is she trying to accomplish?

"I'll tell you but you have to promise to help me. I'm not sure if what I'm trying is possible or not and you won't understand it at all, so you'll just have to trust me."

Damn. You already thought that she couldn't read you while you're here?
"Ehe~ I was just being nice."
"but the proposal is interesting.

[] Help Blue.
[] Hell no, you won't let her mess with your mind.

[x] Help Blue.

[x] Hell no, you won't let her mess with your mind.

She could widen the hole in our mind too. I'd rather not take the risk.

[x] Help Blue.
Blue hair, messing with mind?
Mmmm... Oh, I don't know! I assume it's a PC-98 character.

[x] Help Blue.

"Ok, I'll help you." But you'll have to explain yourself.

"In a moment. I'll just get this out of the way."

You wonder what she's talking about but don't try to stop her as she places her hand on your chest. It feels a bit cold, which is a bit odd since the shirt you're wearing isn't the thinnest one. You look up. She's looking at you, as if asking something. You look at her, not understanding what she's trying to ask. She shrugs and adds some force to her hand, pushing your solar plexus down a little. You can almost feel a big red question mark in a thought bubble above your head.

Blue's hand sliding into you isn't a very pleasant feeling. Her hand's cold. She's touching your lungs. it's not easy to breathe, but you still manage to stay calm. You're offered a good view from below her bust but you find the sight of her wrist protruding from your chest a bit more interesting. You shiver as she grazes your heart while pushing her hand even deeper. She's probably saying something but you can't hear her.

You're doing well. Try to keep yourself together for a bit more, the last part is the most important one.

She sounds like a dentist. Something at the back of your mind is bothering you, as if you had forgotten something important. Something about Blue and the dagger she gave you.
*Thrust*
You arc upwards as she touches your spinal cord. A strange feeling spreads from the point of contact. it's a somehow pleasant one, as if you were being submerged in lukewarm water but without the getting wet part.

The feeling is replaced by numbness when Blue withdraws her hand. She's breathing heavily so it can't have been easy for her either. You've got a lot to ask but you can't open your mouth.

"There. It wasn't that bad. I even went and removed a mental barrier while at it. I don't know what it did but it wasn't an old one. Yes, I'll answer some your questions now. I just don't know where to begin."
She takes a few breaths and seems to get her breathing under control again before continuing.
"So. I was in a long sleep when someone woke me up and asked me whether I was interested in a job. I was, and she sent me on a long journey. That was quite a long time ago. When I got where I was told to go I found you and the one who sent me. I was thrown here against my will and ended up somehow connected to you. That's the short version. The long version is basically the same one but includes what happened on my trip."

So she's been here for like, how long? She made is sound like she's been around for quite a while.

"I don't know how old you were when I first realized where I was, but it took some time for me to learn how to ?receive? what you were sending. I have to say that you've had an interesting life since then."

Well. You're not sure about what to think about her. Doesn't she remember what she was supposed to do to you? Or was she just thrown away?

Blue smiles and pets your hair. Her touch feels nice and makes you feel like there's someone who cares about you.

"I guess you could say that I was thrown away. I was simply told to ?keep you alive?, but the you back then didn't need any protection. That, of course, has changed in the last few days. I voided the deal a long time ago though since I didn't get what was promised, I'm here now simply because I don't know how to leave."

You move your hand to grab hers, but you're met by a wooden floor. The previous feeling is replaced by something totally different. You feel terrible, but still sit up. it's hard to keep yourself in balance even while sitting. Someone's approaching the room. You try to get up but fail. Damn, improvise plan B. Stay still and try to seem OK until you know who's coming. That has to do.

Sakuya opens the door. She looks inside for a while before she notices you. You're simply looking at Reimu, trying to seem like you're not interested in company.

"You OK?"

You turn around. She's now behind you but far enough that you could just fake it, but you're definitely not OK. it's a question whether you want her to know about it or not.

[] "Yeah?
-[] I'll be going to sleep though.
[] "No?
-[] I think I'd better just go to sleep.
-[] Ask her to take you to Patchouli.
[] In-write

[x] "No?
-[x] Ask her to take you to Patchouli.

I TOLD YOU MAN

I TOLD YOU ABOUT BLUE

[x] "Yeah?

>>44163
Told what? What about her? Still, Blue reminds me of succubus since she only appear in dreams without 'those' scenes. Or more like our guardian for that matter.

[] "No?
-[] Ask her to take you to Patchouli.

[x] "No?
-[x] I think I'd better just go to sleep.

Maybe it'll get better in the morning. If it doesn't, THEN we tell patchouli about it.

[x] "No?
-[x] Ask her to take you to Patchouli.

[x] "Yeah?
-[x] I'll be going to sleep though.

Mmm. I'm not sure about asking for help. Better to sleep, and see it tomorrow.

[x] "No?
-[x] Ask her to take you to Patchouli.

"No. I'm not OK."
You rest your forehead on your hands to emphasize your words.

"What's wrong? Are you still worried about Reimu? That was my fault, not yours."
Sakuya places her hand on your shoulder.
"You're all sweaty. What happened?"

"I just don't feel very good."
You lift your head to look at her. She seems genuinely concerned.
"Could you just take me to Patchouli? She should know what to do and I think I can't get there on my own."

Sakuya frowns.
"No. If you can't even walk, it'd be better if you'd just rest. I'll take you to your room."
She tugs your hand with enough force to indicate that she won't take ?no? as an answer. You let her pull you up but almost fall down again due to the lack of response from your legs. Sakuya prevents this by wrapping your arm around her neck.

"What in the world happened to you? I wonder if I should just take you to Eientei?"
You think she isn't expecting an answer so you decide to remain quiet and try to make her job as easy as possible. Some of your strength starts to return but not enough for you to walk around on your own.
"Well, Mistress seems to know about it so it can't be that bad? It isn't like her to give two days off because of an illness though?"
Yeah, she's thinking aloud. You nudge her as a reminder of your existence. She remains quiet until you reach you room and lets you down on the bed. Laying down makes you feel a bit better.

"You just wait here. I'll go get Patchouli."
Sakuya disappears. You're left alone to wonder about whether to tell Sakuya or not and about what made you feel so bad.

Patchouli comes in after a while, closely followed by Sakuya. You decide not to say anything to Sakuya as she takes a stool from under your table and sits on it. If she insists to know, then you won't keep it as a secret even if it's something you'd rather not tell her.

"Sakuya told me that you weren't feeling good. What's the matter?"
Patchouli sits at the foot of your bed and looks at you. She looks bored, but it's usual for her.

"Something happened. I'm not sure what, but I'll tell you everything I know."
You glance at Sakuya. She shows no intention to leave.

You begin to feel a bit better as you speak. When you're done telling about what Blue did, you feel quite a bit better. Maybe still not good, but nothing you can't handle.

"So you call her Blue? I wonder?"
Patchouli comments your naming while fiddling her hair. Sakuya just sits there silently but you can see that she has a lot to ask.

"There's nothing to worry about, though. Feeling sick isn't the worst thing that can happen to you when you have your insides fondled. I wonder what she did to you, however. You seem somehow different now, but I can't put my finger on it."
You feel her changing position before she continues.
"I wouldn't mind studying it right now, but I'll need you to be there and awake. It'd be better if you'd just sleep now. it's not like we're in a hurry."

You're not actually feeling that bad, but the idea of sleeping sounds nice.

[] You'll let Patchouli study you now.
-[] Sakuya. Explain things to her.
[] It can wait, a lot has happened already and you're tired.
-[] Ask Sakuya to stay for a while to tell her about Blue's earlier "visits".

---

I actually did this on Thursday but due to unexcepted stuff I couldn't post it until now. Unexcepted as in a relative I don't like that much coming to stay over the weekend.
Because of completely unrelated stuff this hasn't been read by anyone else than me, so if there's something odd, point it out. Some stuff that makes sense to me may not make any sense to anyone else.

Also, I've noticed the lack of criticism. I guess it's a good sign.

[x] You'll let Patchouli study you now.
-[x] Sakuya. Explain things to her.

Mad experiments. Mouahahaha.

About criticisms: I'm not the best guy to do that kind of thing, considering how I'm writing.
But since /blue/'s storm didn't have any effect on your story, you can say there's two reasons:
-your story is not bad.
OR
-you don't have enough readers.

I think it's the former.

[x] You'll let Patchouli study you now.
-[x] Sakuya. Explain things to her.

Semi-worried about Chris' state right now, but Patchy hitting the coals while it's hot is probably more important.

Sleeping can wait. You want to let her find out what's wrong with you. Actually you're not sure whether anything's wrong or not since you're feeling more or less fine, but you want to know what she means by you seeming different. Yes, that's important, but there's one maid who you should explain a few things to before doing anything else. She may be here only because you didn't want to tell her to leave, but leaving her in the dark now wouldn't do much good. Who knows what she may come up with when she knows only half of the story?

"I won't mind being studied right now, but I'm going to tell her the rest of it before doing anything else."

You nod at Sakuya while speaking and hope she doesn't get it wrong. She keeps on looking at you while Patchouli gets up from the bed.

"I'll just go to prepare something in the library. Take your time but come when you're ready."
She leaves, leaving you with Sakuya.

"I trust you want to hear what I'm about to tell you?"
Nod.

You tell her what you think is important, leaving out some details you think are irrelevant. Sakuya simply listens to you, her face not mot moving the slightest.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Why didn't-
Her first question is to ask that? You were expecting something different but decide not to lie to her.

"it's because I didn't want to seem like I have?"
How to say it?
?" have something odd going on in my head. Didn't want to seem like I've got mental problems, that is."

"I see. You should probably get going then. Tell me if she finds out something."
Both of you get up. Sakuya keeps the door open for you. How kind of her. You smile at her for a short moment as thanks. She doesn't return the smile but stops you instead.

"Don't let her get too worked up. She's used to working with a bit more? resilient subjects."
She then lets you go as if nothing had happened. You, however, are left to ponder what she tried to say. You'd ask her but she's no longer there. Left without options you head towards the stairs, walking silently - like you always do. Why make noise if it's avoidable? There isn't much silence left in the world and you're doing your best to preserve what's left. It doesn't make that big a difference in the Mansion since it always seems to be silent no matter what's happening. it's the same with the ever-present semidarkness; the time of the day doesn't affect the interior at all. it's like the Mansion is somehow cut off from the rest of the world. Still you can just open the door and walk out, not feeling anything, if you just want to. Could the yard be the same as the building? At least the sun seems to have power in there. The silence, however, is there too. You should probably ask Meiling about it since she works at the gate and should be the one who's the most familiar with it. Plus, you don't exactly want to ask about this place's secrets from Sakuya or Remilia. Patchouli maybe, but even she seems somehow secretive.

You interrupt your line of thought as you arrive to the central room of the library. Patchouli and Koakuma have cleared some space in the middle of all the mess and are now doing something. You've got no idea what, but it seems like they're drawing something. Magic circles?

"We'll be done in a moment!"
Duh. She didn't even look at you. And you tried to be as silent as possible.

They seem to get it done in about a minute. To you it seems like just some random lines on the floor. Shiny pink lines. Very magic-y.

"So, what's going to happen?"
Patchouli finishes the star she was drawing and gets up. She seems like she had fun.

"We're going to attune ourselves to you to find out where you are on the demon-human axis and then we'll?"
Whatever. You've got no idea what she's talking about. Sakuyas warning pops to your mind but you ignore it. You let Patchouli finish before going on.

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"You just have to be in the middle of the figure and we'll take care of the rest. We're ready to begin, so if you'd just go there we could start."
She points at a spot on the floor. You sit on it and look at her. She nods. You're startled by a hand touching your shoulder.
"Lie down? It'll be more comfortable for you."
Koakuma pushes you down.

---

He flinches when you touch him.
"Lie down? It'll be more comfortable for you."
You begin to push him as he suddenly falls limp. You look at your master. She looks a bit sad, but her spell was as effective as always. She nods at you. You lie down next to him and let Patchouli take over your body. The feeling is surreal, as always. Her somehow pushing you aside, forcing you out. For a short moment you can feel her being sorry for having to do this to him but it disappears as she finishes the possession. This time she hesitates for a moment before diving into his dream. You guide her past the one he's seeing right now to the one that interests you.

The place's impressive. Like some dwarven city from a fantasy book, the houses carved out from stone and the roof disappearing into the darkness overhead. This is his mind, the part which he can never see himself. The one that consists of what happened in the past. Memory, but the part he can't actively remember. The part that decides how he acts in different situations. Every door, every corridor hides a different part of his past. You're after a single one that he can't remember. Finding it will be difficult. You didn't expect this place to be so large. Maybe the size of the Mansion, but not that of a city. Then again, the only mind your master has ever visited like this is your own, and you're no human.

Patchouli flies from one door to another, touching every one. They all feel different. You're looking for a relatively old, neutral feeling. Not like these, these are all unhappy and more or less recent. You suggest her to look from that ledge over there. She's not listening. Hmph. This is the downside of possession; you can't decide where to go or what to do.

After a good while of searching you finally find something that feels right. Very neutral and of the correct age. Patchouli tells you to open the door. You reach out of the dream and try to reach his consciousness?
No!
He must not know what you're doing. No, you have to do this the hard way?
His subconsciousness is there. A formless blob of? something. You whisper suggestions about the door to it. Not too loud or it'll devour you. Not too silent or it won't notice. There. Patchouli is calling you back. You have to obey her.

The memory's simple. he's about ten years old, examining a bug he's found. Someone comes and talks to him about something unremarkable. He forgets about it the next day, but never feels quite the same. That's when she went in, willingly or not. it's a shame that he doesn't remember anything about the person who brought her. it's possible that the person made it that way. Nevertheless, there's nothing to gain here anymore. Patchouli knows it too and lets you wake up.

"A pity that he doesn't remember? It was to be excepted though. What do you think?"

"I think he was cute."

"Koa!"

---

They said that you have to be awake and yet made you fall asleep?
Well, they probably know why. You don't.

"How do you feel?"
Hm? Alright I guess... Oh, right. You're not talking to Blue.
"I'm alright. What'd you find out?"

"There's a youkai presence in you. it's a bit odd, since it isn't blending with you nor are you blending with it."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

Patchouli sighs.
"There are two consciousnesses in your body. they're not linked to each other in any way or form, but have some kind of symbiotic relationship. it's a bit hard to explain, but Blue is like a completely other soul inside you. I'm not even sure which is the original?"

Right. You'll have to ask Blue about it but she doesn't seem to be ?present?, whatever it means. You're not sure what to think about it. Someone pokes you. it's Koakuma.

"Want to eat something?"

[] Yeah, why not.
[] Telling Sakuya takes priority.
[] You need to clear your mind. A walk in the gardens would do just that.
[] Why not tell Remilia about it too?
[] Other.

---

Whee. Where'd all the time go? Again, I'm the only one who has read this. Again, point out if there's something odd.

[x] Yeah, why not.

Running around the mansion telling people that there is some kind of youkai inside of Chris would be kind of weird. Better to just wait until it comes up again.

[x] You need to clear your mind. A walk in the gardens would do just that.

[] Yeah, why not.

"Yeah, why not."
Because, let's face it: you've experienced so many strange happenings today that your mind refuses to process the information. It isn't the first time it has happened to you but it's the first time when you may miss something important because of it. All the previous times ended when you slept overnight so you guess it's true what they say about memories and sleeping.

"Hey, we're going to eat something. Should I bring something for you when I return?"

"Mmh. What? Oh, some tea would be nice."
Patchouli returns to reading the book she took from somewhere while you weren't looking. Koakuma rolls her eyes and motions you to follow her. For some reason she doesn't use the door but leads you out the same way you used to come here. You think she's swaying her hips a bit more than necessary as she walks but you guess it's just how she rolls. Nevertheless it makes concentrating a bit harder than you'd like. You almost run into her when she suddenly stops.

"Someone's coming."
She pulls you behind a shelf where you can't be seen from should someone walk the same way you used. You'd ask something but she silences you with her finger. it's silent. How did she know about someone coming?

"Why are you hiding here?"
Sakuya's standing to your right. You came from the left. You've got no idea where this particular corridor leads to. How'd she get there?
"Well, don't let me interrupt you."
Her knowing tone and odd smile makes you realize the situation you're in. You're sitting on the floor, leaning to a shelf and Koakuma is on her fours on the floor next to you, holding her right index finger on your lips to keep you quiet.

"I thought you were Marisa?"
Koakuma protests quietly as Sakuya disappears. You push her finger off your mouth, trying not to make her feel as if she was rejected.

"Why are you so afraid of this Marisa?"
Koakuma, now sitting on her feet, looks down and answers in a quiet voice.

"I don't like her? She just comes here and swats me like I was a fly. Just because she thinks I'd stop her from stealing the books here."
You? don't know what to say. You'd comfort her but you're not sure how she'd react. Instead you get up and offer your hand to her. She takes it and you pull her up too. Luckily she takes the initiative and you avoid an awkward silent moment since you didn't have the faintest idea about what to do had she not done anything.

"We were going to eat something, right?"
You nod and begin following her again.

Koakuma brings you a full plate of rice-with-something. She refused to let you get it for yourself. You're not sure whether you have eaten something today or not but since you're not really feeling hungry you guess you have. To your partial relief she returns to the kitchen to get a plate for herself and takes about a quarter of what's on your plate. You're still left with quite a pile but you think you could eat it all.

She finishes when you're about halfway done and stares at you. It makes you feel uncomfortable.
"What?"

"Nothing."
She keeps on staring at you. Ignoring her as well as possible, you keep on eating.

Focusing your gaze again, you let out a yawn and get up to return the dishes to the kitchen.
"You should go to sleep if you're tired."
Yeah, you probably should. Or actually there's this thing about Flandre you forgot about. She seemed like she wanted to talk to you. You place the dishes on the pile and return to the kitchen. Koakuma isn't there anymore.

[] Just go to sleep.
[] Find Flandre.

---

I have an idea.
It's about another story. I can't get it out of my mind but I have neither the time nor the motivation to write it.

[x] Just go to sleep.

[x] Just go to sleep.

We've been tried for several updates now.

[x] Find Flandre.

What's this idea? Tell me more, LandScout-sensei!

[X] Find Flandre.

[x] Find Flandre.

[x] Find Flandre.

Tell us, which board do you want this new story to start? As long as it's not at /th/, I'm willing to hear you out.

>>44328
That'd be a good call, /th/'s badly flooded these days and other boards need the stories more.

>>44334
Seconded.

>sensei!
I'm not a teacher. You do, however, remind me of someone I know IRL.

I was supposed to do an update today but, thanks to my cousin (who's a jerk) not leaving until after midnight, I won't. He's a jerk btw.

Warning. Unrefined thoughts ahead. Read with caution.

I guess I could explain a bit about the idea I got instead. Why's everyone interested in it anyways? Atleast I get a lot of ideas when I read something. Currently, I've got 3 story stems (or "seeds" as I call them) in my mind. Used to have 4 but since anon pretty much killed the other driving factor in this story, I implemented one to this.

The MC's the captain of ESASS Whatever. The ship was supposed to carry nuclear weapons to a lunar base, but encounters an unkown ship and takes heavy damage. The captain orders the ship to be abandoned and when he's left alone, (captain sinks with his ship, remember?) he arms one of the nukes with the help of the ship's AI. Boom, the UFO's gone but the ship crash-lands on the moon. MC dies but the lunarians capture the remains of the ship along with the AI. Stuff happens and MC awakens in a cloned body with AI implanted in his brain. He's experimented upon and gets treated like filth. Finally, when the lunarians are done with him he's sent on a suicide mission to find Kaguya. For some odd reason they decide that it'd be easier a few decades earlier so he's sent to the 2010's in a piece-of-crap ship that doesn't survive the atmospheric entry. Eirin is the first one on the crash site. She pities MC, who's barely recognisable as a human being after all the experiments and two crash landing, and begins to return his humanity.
I'm not sure what'll happen after that. He's lost most of his memory (to prevent a time paradox) so he doesn't thirst for vengeance. In short, it's missin a driving factor, a reason for MC's existence. Maybe he begins to dream of his past (that hasn't happened yet) or maybe AI's memory is intact? Feel free to suggest something.
Why do I always make such grand backgrounds for everything even when I don't have a reason to do so? I started this story from a similar seed and it just sprouted. My idea was to "let's have someone get reqruited by Yukari to help Remi". That's all. The rest has been made up while this has been going on.
Forgive me, my boy. I do ramble.

Also, is there a reason to be on IRC? (THP IRC that is, not in general)

Did I mention that my cousin's a jerk?

>>44304
Reasons to go to IRC?
-Amusing place, though it gets down right retarded and/or rather gay at times
-Feedback on your ideas

>>44399
And DICKS!

[x] Find Flandre.

So. Flandre. She's in? in? damn. You've heard it somewhere but can't remember. Was it Remilia who said it? Oh, that's it. She said her sister rarely leaves the basement. That'd be a good place to begin your search.
You remember the place where you first met Flandre as you pass by it. You stop there for a while to decide whether to go on or to turn left through the doorway. You turn left and find yourself in a rather cozy room with a piano, some chairs and a small-ish table in it. The whole room seems like it's not used very much. On the other hand, all the three doors seem rather worn, but not in a bad way. You check one of the doors. It opens to a bathroom which, luckily, is unoccupied. You close the bathroom door and focus on the last unknown one. It seems like it has taken quite a beating at some point, the wood splintered so badly that it's barely holding together. You give it a light push and it opens silently, revealing a bedroom similar to yours. The most notable differences are that this one's messy and that there's a vampire on the bed. The said vampire is looking at you, the one that disrupted its reading session.

"Eh, sorry for coming. I mean, sorry for not knocking before coming in."
Flandre throws the book away and pats the spot next to her. You're not quite sure whether you want to sit next to her but decide to do so anyway, although not sitting as close as she wanted you to.
"So, did you have something you wanted to talk about? I was left with a feeling that you had."
Instead of answering she comes closer. A bit too close for your comfort but you ignore the feeling.

"I did, but she left and you're here so it isn't important anymore."
Something cold and wet touches your left hand. You find your hand in your lap and your eyes fixed on Flandre's right hand before you even know what happened. She startled you by suddenly touching your hand. Feeling a bit dumb, you look up at her face. In addition to being too close, her mouth's slightly open and she's staring at you in surprise.

"Sorry?"
You look away and return your hand to where it was. it's soon taken into Flandre's damp and a bit cold hand. Your brain's telling you to get the hell out of here. it's too late for that, she won't let you. If there's a reason to leave, that is.

"Are you scared of me? I didn't mean to startle you."
You stay silent for a while. She actually helped you to realize something.

"A bit I guess?"
She squeezes your hand a little. You decide to open yourself to her. You're not sure why.
"I guess I just tend to distance myself from people I don't know. I think I'm afraid of hurting them."

"Go guess what it's like for me and my sister."

"I didn't mean physically. A broken arm heals in a month; a broken heart takes at least a year."
You guess the same thing that makes you talk about it makes you lyrical. Normally you'd just acknowledge it as a fact and try to deal with it somehow.

"Would you like me to break your arm then?"
You lean away.
"No? Well, I have something to do, you just sleep here. And no leaving while I'm gone!"
She gets up and dashes out of the room. You're left there, really confused about her sudden outburst. Something tells you not to disobey her. Shrugging, you decide to wait until she returns.

Flandre's cuddled up next to you when you wake up. You're not sure whether you like it or not, but at least your arms are intact. She's hugging the left one though, so you can't get up without waking her too. You solve the problem by poking her to wake her up. She opens her eyes and looks at you. Her eyes seem odd and she's missing her usual smile.

May I suggest getting out right now?

[] Get out. Now.
-[] [write in]

[] Why? She won't hurt you.

[X] Why? She won't hurt you.

[] Get out. Now.

[x] Get out. Now.
-[x] "I have work to do. Sakuya will kill blame me if..."

[x] Why? She won't hurt you.

Taking a risk but whatever

[x] Kiss her
Flandrefag here

[x] Get out. Now.

[x] Get out. Now.

Flandre grasps your arm when you attempt to get up.
"Leaving so soon?"

Shiii-
"Well, I'll just sleep some more then."
She slumps back on the bed, clearly asleep. You watch her for a while. She's kind of cute. At least when she's not threatening to break your arm. Getting up, you decide that you'll go get a shower before doing anything else.
Be careful when around her, there's a lot more to her than meets the eye.
Well, you definitely don't know much about her, but if she thinks of you as her fiancé, she probably won't kill you.
Probably not, but a broken arm isn't that nice, is it?
It isn't.
So, you'd better be careful around her. You want to know where I've been? Didn't I already tell you that I can't leave? I was silent because I was tired, not because I wasn't here.
Whatever. At least you enjoyed the privacy while it lasted.
I didn't tell you about it? If you don't want me to know something, you simply have to forbid me from knowing it.
And how's that?
You suddenly realize how. Why couldn't she tell you about it earlier?
It was kind of a side product of me reinforcing our connection and I didn't want to interfere with your sleep this time.
You prevent her from knowing what you're thinking and enjoy the silence while in shower. "Unignoring? Blue and heading to the kitchen for something to eat, you decide to go for a walk in the gardens since it's your day off.

You run into Katy in the kitchen. She's making tea and seems as happy as always.
"Hi! You're up early today."
Huh? You check your pocket watch. it's about midday. Seems like you really are.
"Hi. I just woke up and didn't feel like sleeping."
Someone with an outfit similar to Katy's appears on the doorway. She goes away as she sees that you're looking at her.
"Who was that?"
"Huh?"
Katy was focused on making tea and couldn't see her.
Oh. Thanks. "Never mind. Say, do you know how many maids there are in the mansion?"

She stops for a while.
"About thirty? plus Sakuya, of course. But most of us work in the morning so you won't see many unless you get up early, like today. There are some exceptions, like me, who work in the afternoon and evening."
"So many? Is there even enough work for everyone?"
"Well, the mansion's big? and we take care of the gardens too. But if you work as much as Sakuya then there won't be enough for us."
The pot starts boiling and Katy hurries to it. You look around and decide to stick with bread since anything else would require you to get some materials.
"Excuse me, I have to take the tea to Reimu."
You move out of the way. Wait, tea for Reimu?
"Did she wake up?"
"Yeah. She said she wants to talk to Miss Remilia. She also wants some tea, so I made some. I'm not sure about waking up Miss Remilia this early is a good idea so I made the tea first."
She stops for a moment.
"Could you take the tea to her? I think I'll go ask Patchouli about this, she's nice."
You agree and head towards Reimu's room.

You open the door and go in, not avoiding noise.
"Sakuya? Could you get me some food, I'm hungry."
Stopping a bit before reaching her, you set the tea on a table.
"I'm not Sakuya, but I can get something for you if you wait a moment."
She opens her eyes and tenses visibly as she hears your voice. You tilt your head a bit and turn away. She doesn't do anything and you leave to get something for her to eat. You return to the kitchen and grab the bread you were supposed to eat before deciding to make enough for the both of you.

Reimu is sitting on the bed and drinking the tea when you get back.
"Who are you?"
You're surprised by her question. Didn't you introduce yourself already?
"Uh, we've met already? I'm Chris, remember?"
She stares at you intensely. She meant me. Wait for the librarian. You grab a slice of bread." After what feels like five minutes she finally grabs a slice of bread herself and looks away. Almost sighing in relief, you begin eating.

The first sound to break the silence is the door opening.
"So, I see that you're finally awake. Don't worry about him, he's as human as you are."
Patchouli floats into the room and sits next to Reimu.
"He doesn't seem like it."
You're a bit uncomfortable since they're talking about you as if you weren't there.
"His situation's a bit complicated. I'm trying to find out what's happening, but it isn't dangerous to him. Whatever is in him isn't taking over his body."
?Whatever it is, I'd like to borrow him for a while. I hope you won't mind."
"I won't, but Remilia might. he's hers after all. But I think she wouldn't mind if he wants to come with you if you ask for his help since it's his day off."
Finishing her slice, Reimu gets up and looks at you.
"So, do you want to help me out? It'll take a while but you'll get to see some other places around here."

[] Go with Reimu.
[] No thanks.

[x] Go with Reimu.

I don't feel right refusing after almost killing her.

[x] Go with Reimu.

[x] Go with Reimu.

[x] Go with Reimu.

A day of getting shown around versus a day of doing nothing? Sounds like a deal, though you suspect her motives a little.
"OK, I'll help you out."
"Great. Let's get going then."
Reimu turns to leave.
"Wait. Can't we like, eat something proper first? And I bet Sakuya and Remilia would want to see you too."
"Eh?" Her stomach grumbles as she thinks about your suggestion. You seriously doubt her motives now. "I guess we could."

Patchouli smiles and gets up. "You go and make something, I'll wake up Remi and Sakuya."
You nod at her while trying to come up with a way to question Reimu about her motives without her noticing it. Coming up with one involving distracting her food, you leave the room and close the door behind everyone.
Patchouli said that she'd wake up Sakuya first and went towards your room at the stairs. You were left with Reimu. She doesn't say anything and neither do you. While you're kind of interested in her version of the story, you think it's better to wait for the others so she won't have to tell it twice. In the kitchen again, you're trying to make something edible from whatever you can find while she waits in the dining room. Pasta and tomato sauce should do.

"That's quite a simple food you've got there."
Sakuya appears behind you. Because you're not really surprised by her, you guess you were somehow expecting her to do so.
"Couldn't find the materials for anything else. Besides, she seems to be hungry enough to eat anything."
Sakuya sniffs your sauce as you stir the pasta.
"It could use some seasoning? But what was the deal with you and Koakuma? She wasn't forcing you, was she?"
"Eh? Uh, she just said that we should hide because someone was coming? And I haven't tasted it yet, but I agree that it really could use some."
"I see. I'm glad that I didn't tell Patchouli about it then. Would you mind if I handle the seasoning?"
"Not at all. And what about telling Patchouli? I thought she would know what her demon does."
"I don't know about that, but she told me that I should tell her should Koakuma try to force you to do something."
Hm. Had she gone for your pants, you would've stopped her. At least in that situation. You watch Sakuya as she adds some spice, probably oregano, to your dish. As she reaches for another jar, you begin looking for plates and cutlery. Finding some, you take them to the dining room and prepare seats for three. Reimu watches you anxiously as you set the table.
"Will it be done soon? I'm getting hungry."
?Yes, Sakuya is just adding some seasoning. Otherwise it's ready."
She sounded a bit angry but you forgive her since she hasn't eaten anything for at least 16 hours. Could be more since checking the time wasn't your top priority back then.
Reimu winces as if intending to say something, but stays silent. You return to the kitchen to check on the food. Sakuya seems to be done with the spices, and you have a taste. Could be worse. As intended, tastes like tomato but there's a little something in it.

"Would you mind teaching me to cook? Your seasoning is great; I'd like to know how you do it."
Sakuya smiles a little as you praise her.
"It isn't that good?"
She's being modest. It is good. Nevertheless, you're a bit surprised as she pulls you down to her and whispers to your ear.
"Mistress said that we'll have a party tomorrow. I'll handle the other invitations, but she wants you to invite Reimu."
"Eh, okay. Will you handle the food if I go tell her?"
The maid doesn't answer but lets go of you. She doesn't say anything as you leave the room, so you guess she'll do as you asked. Still, you feel like you've forgotten something.

Reimu's face drops from happy to disappointed as she sees that you don't have any food with you. You feel a bit bad for making her wait like this, but you know that she knows that the food will be ready when it's ready, not any earlier.
"Hey Reimu?
"Huh?"
"Sakuya told me about a party held tomorrow. Would you happen to be interested?"
"It depends. Where and when will it be held?"
"Probably here, but I don't know when. You'll have to ask someone else for the details."
Her face brightens, but you don't know whether it's because of what you said or because of Sakuya just brought in the food.
"I guess I could come if it's here? Hey Sakuya, when will the party be held tomorrow?"
"I thought you'd know. At sunset as usual."
Sakuya places the bowls on the table and sits down. You follow her example but suddenly remember something.
"What about Patchouli and Remilia? Weren't they supposed to be here too? I hope they're not hungry since there won't be enough for them."
"Patchouli should be here soon, she said that she'd just check something before coming. Mistress said that she's not interested and won't come at all. You don't have to worry about the food, Patchouli won't eat with us."

Patchouli comes in when you're almost done eating. She sits down next to Reimu and sets your dagger on the table without saying anything. Having finished a bit earlier than you or Sakuya, Reimu looks at it closely.
"So, mind telling us what happened to you, Reimu?"
The dark-haired girl closes her eyes and lets out a sigh.
"I saw a dream. And not a pleasant one. It all begun when he touched me with that. I'm not completely sure about what happened, but I was thrown into somewhere below the ground. Deep, deep below the ground. Or I think I wasn't really there since I woke up in that room."
"Could you tell us a bit more about this place you dreamt of?"
"I'd rather not. It was? never mind. Could we get going now? I think Marisa misses me already."
"If you don't want to tell about it, then I won't force you. I'd just like to know more about this thing."
Patchouli picks up the dagger again and gives it to you. You hesitate a moment before taking it. You think it feels a bit different than last time.
"But if you want to go now, then you should go now."
"Well, we'll be going then. You still coming?"
You don't answer but get up instead. Patchouli looks like she has something to say to Sakuya so you leave them.

Sakuya is waiting for you at the gate when you get open the door. Reimu doesn't seem surprised in the least by her being there, so you guess she knows about Sakuya's ability to appear and disappear. The maid doesn't say anything until you're right next to her.
"Get back before dark, OK? You don't want to find out what the local predators are like."
"OK?
Predators, huh? You were told that at least wolves and bears are afraid of humans and won't attack if they know that you're coming, so what should you be afraid of? Nevertheless, you'd probably better do as she says. The head maid doesn't look like someone who warns people without a good reason.
Sakuya disappears as soon as she hears your answer. You're, yet again, left with Reimu. She doesn't say anything and neither do you. For some reason you don't want to talk to her. As you pass through the gate, you notice that it's guarded by a fairy instead of Meiling.

The path you follow is barely visible, but since it follows the edge of the lake it's still useable. As you reach a crossroads, where an almost equally unused path intersects the path you were using, Reimu breaks the silence. She asks you about something meaningless, and you give her a meaningless answer. It does, however, lead to an unimportant conversation which takes your mind off the trip and makes it seem faster.
Reimu lives in a building made of paper. Must be a bit chilly in the winter. She said it's a shrine of some sort, and sure, you've seen pictures of Japanese shrines which looked like this. This particular one has a main building and a storage room. You were told that there's also an outhouse somewhere, but you can't see it. Nevertheless, the yard is large and you were tasked with sweeping it. Reimu said that she'd go make some tea, and left with nothing else to do, you grab the broom she gave you and begin sweeping.

It takes you a good while before you finish. Your hands are a bit sore from the repetitive motion, and Reimu still hasn't finished her tea.
"Who?re you? "Avent seen you before."
You turn around to find yourself being stared at by a horned, orange-haired girl. The girl is short, probably around 10 years old, carries a big bottle and wears a sleeveless vest with a purple dress. She seems to have trouble standing straight.
"Just a someone who promised to help Reimu."
"You're helping ?er? Did she beat you in a duel or something?"
"No, she didn't. You'll have to ask her about what happened."
"You're no fun." The girl's silent for a moment. "Say, why won't you duel me?"
You look at the girl. She's small. Yet she wants to duel you? Glancing at the porch, you see Reimu there, sipping her tea.


[] Accept the duel.
-[] Unarmed combat
-[] Knives
-[] The mysterious dagger

[] Refuse.
-[] Ask Reimu about the dream she had.

---

Had a lot of stuff to do, ranging from essays to presentations.

>small horned girl

Oh great... trying to deal with Suika of all folks... that's basically impossible...

[x] Accept the duel.
-[x] Knives

Haven't gotten our ass kicked in a while.

[x] Refuse.
-[x] Ask Reimu about the dream she had.

[x] Refuse.
-[x] Ask Reimu about the dream she had.

>>44492

Fighting with our bare fist is a basically an impossible thing. Using knives only raises our chances of victory at 0.0000000000001%. Using the mysterious dagger is overkill considering what happened to Reimu.

[X] Refuse.
-[X] Ask Reimu about the dream she had.

We can't take her on with knives or fists, and lets not do a repeat of the mysterious dagger. Ugh.

Writing. Don't know when I can finish, could take a while.

[x] Refuse.
-[x] Ask Reimu about the dream she had.

You don't want to fight her. Something about the girl tells you that she'll kick your ass three times over in the time it takes you to hit her once. Even if she's drunk to boot and quite a bit shorter than you.
"I don't want to fight you."
The girl opens her mouth, closes it again after a short while and turns around.
"Hey Reimu, make him fight me!"
"If he doesn't want to, then I can't force him."
Turning around again, the horned girl takes a swig from her bottle. You think you can smell alcohol.
"Ya sure you don't want to fight me?"
"Yep."
"Hmph. You're no fun."
Seemingly done with you, she walks past you towards the side building. You head towards Reimu to return her broom.

"Want some tea? I made some for you too."
"Wouldn't mind some. Thanks." You place the broom to where it was and sit next to Reimu to drink the tea she gave you.
"So, do you like it?"
"Haven't had anything quite like this before, bit it's good."
"I mean this place. Gensokyo."
Hm. A difficult question, but now that you think about it, it isn't that bad.
"I'm not saying that I'd trade my former life for this willingly, but it could be a lot worse. I guess I actually don't mind being here at all, everyone seems like I've been around for a lot longer than I've been and I even somehow feel like home here."
"If you ever want to go back, just come to me. I can send you through the border if you want to leave, but there's no coming back - unless Yukari wants something of you."
You don't answer. Leaving is something you would've done yesterday, before he got killed. Without him, there isn't much of your previous life left - only relatives and the house you lived in. He was pretty much your only social link. Sure, you had some other friends, but they wouldn't even come to your place had you called.

You just sit there for a moment, enjoying the tranquility of the moment. It isn't until you accidentally touch your dagger through your clothes when you come up with something to say.
"Hey Reimu, you told about the dream you had, right?"
"Yes?"
"Why was it that you didn't want to tell anything else about it? I mean, it's not like telling about a dream can be that bad."
Reimu looks at you silently, as if evaluating you. Seemingly reaching some sort of conclusion, she nods.
"Ask the one who gave you the dagger. She should know."
Wait, what? Blue knows? "Do you?"
Probably. Didn't want to tell you before I was sure, but I guess I can. Though I guess you won't mind if I wait until you're alone, since the easiest way is to do it my way.
"Eh, she said she does, but-"
Slap. Reimu slams something to your back. It feels like a paper sticker. It's a seal. Don't worry, it won't affect you, it's made to seal youkai. Right. You peel it off.
"So what was that?"
Taking the seal from your hand, the shrine maiden returns to drinking her tea.
"Seems like I have to believe you." A short pause. "So, in the dream I was in some odd cave with some even more odd things. It was dark, but I still saw things. I saw them because they didn't mind being seen, not because of reflecing light. I don't know what they were, but I'm sure they're not supposed to exist."
"That's all?"
"Well, there was this unexplained fear... Are you done with the sweeping, by the way?"
"Huh? Yes."
"All right, let's get going then. I guess we could start off with the village, though there isn't much to see there."

Reimu was right, there really wasn't much to see in the village. It's more like the village was seeing you than the other way around: even the sleepy guard at the gate woke up when you passed by but fell asleep again when he saw Reimu. Now that you've seen the market square and a few notable buildings (school, a tavern and some random family's house - Hieda if you remember correctly), you're a bit bothered with everyone looking at you as they pass by. Reimu just left with a witch (Pointy hat, black and white dress and a broom.), leaving you to look around by yourself. The problem is that when you went to a shady alley to get something from a bakery with the little money Reimu left you with, you were ambushed. Not in the literal sense since you saw that there were people, but because they started to pick a fight with you when you tried to pass by them. You feel threatened only because they're drunk, can be impulsive and there's three of them, not because you're afraid of losing in a square fight.

"You're not welcome here, youkai!"
"Yeah, go away!"
"Could you let me pass? I'm here just to buy something to eat."
"There'sh not human for shale in this village!"
One of them pushes you. Hard enough to make you lose your balance, and you end up falling on the dirty path. They definitely crossed the line.


[] Beat 'em up. They deserve a lesson.
[] Just a few hits, you don't want to hurt them seriously.
[] Brush off the dirt and find another place to buy a snack.

---

Possibly the last update this year. Next week's going to be rather random.

They'll keep doing this every time they see you if you buckle, especially if they think they can take your lunch money too. Half measures will just lead to reprisals. You have to put fear of youkai into them.

[x] Beat 'em up. They deserve a lesson.

Nobody will have any sympathy for a gang of drunken hooligans. And as for our chances, it's a far safer bet than fighting Suika for sure.

[x] Beat 'em up. They deserve a lesson.

Oh hi Keine what's up?

Called

>>44548

hooray!

[x] Beat 'em up. They deserve a lesson.

They think you eat people? A plan forms in your mind...
"If there's no human for sale here-" You get up in one swift motion. "- then what am I going to eat?" Taking a step closer, you stare at the one who pushed you. He doesn't do anything, but his eyes bolt between you and the end of the alley. You take another step, ending up right next to him.
"We're not afraid of you! You can't touch us here!"
The most sober one of the three. There's some uncertainty in his voice. You grin.
"Hey, he'sh not-"
His sentence is cut short by your knee. In his gut. His eyes almost roll over as he falls onto the ground. You turn to face one of the remaining two.
"So, do you have anything against me getting a snack?"
The guy's pupils are as wide as they can get as he looks at you. He's shivering a bit.
"MONSTER!"
Something hits your back. Hard, but not hard enough. You turn around. The third guy is about to hit you again. Sidestepping the poorly aimed blow, you counter it with a swift punch to his gut. Damn, you were too far away, he's still standing. As the two of you take a better look at each other, you hear some running footsteps from behind you. The coward ran.
He charges. You don't know why, since he doesn't have a weapon. Nevertheless, you move out of his way and give him a push as he passes to throw him out of balance. You shake your head a little at his hopelessness as he trips on his own feet. Even you, who's had only ?Melee 101?, could tell that he did everything wrong: failed his ambush, left himself completely open when punching and finally, did a completely useless charge.
"You done?"
He doesn't answer. Seems like he hit himself pretty hard as he fell. You turn him over to check his condition.
"Don't eat me."
You sigh.
"First you pick a fight with me and now you want me to spare you? Well, you got lucky since I'm not a cannibal."

"STOP!"
A female voice. You feel like you're in trouble. Getting up, you turn to the source. An odd-looking woman. Or rather, the woman herself doesn't look that odd, it's her clothes that do. Mostly, it's her hat. You're not sure whether it's meant to be a hat at all.
"Hello? I asked you a question."
Huh? You were staring at her hat. Other than it, she's wearing a blue dress with white sleeves. You pry your eyes from her hat, resting on her silver hair (with some blue in it).
"Huh?"
"What happened?"
You tell her.

She told you to follow her. Apparently her name is Keine and she's the guardian of the village. Right now she's pouring you some tea she just made. You're not quite sure why she's offering you some tea. You did, after all, beat up people in the village she's supposed to be guarding. She sets down the tea pot, sits down and looks at you.
"Who... no. What are you?"
"I don't know."
She's silent.
"Considering that my mother and father are human, I guess that would make me human. But everyone else seems to think that I'm something else. Or not everyone; Patchouli and others in the Mansion believe that I'm human."
"Hmm. No wonder. Your aura is overwhelming. Only Yukari and some others have a stronger presence. But where does it come from..."
It comes from her. You're certain about it. But that isn't something you're going to tell her.
"On a closer look it seems like it's coming from somewhere inside you, not from you. But it's hard to tell. It could be that- never mind, I'll just ask Reimu about it. You, on the other hand, are free to go. If you're not a youkai, you didn't do anything forbidden. Rude, yes, but not forbidden. But before you go, could you tell me a bit about yourself?"
You tell her about what you've been doing. Then what you've been doing before you came to Gensokyo. Then about what you learned in school. Her questions seem infinite, but you answer every one of them.
"Final question: are you free three days from now? I need your help; I'm a teacher, you see, and I want you to be my substitute when I'm away."
"Eh, I'm afraid not. As I said, I work for Remilia."
"Mmh... Well, see you again at some point then."
You get up and leave after saying good bye. Her home's at the far end of a forest near the village. The scene that opens from her front porch is stunning: the sun is about to set behind the forest-covered hills near the mountain, illuminating the low-hanging clouds overhead from below while simultaneously colouring the sky in different shades of orange. You stay there for a while, enjoying the view for a bit before heading back through the forest.

Something doesn't feel right as you walk through the forest. There's something at the back of your mind troubling you. Maybe it's just the sound of your footsteps, but it seems like there's someone else around. It sounds like someone else also takes a step whenever you do. However, there isn't anyone behind you as you look over your shoulder. The sound continues as you keep going. Your pulse skyrockets as a twig snaps somewhere. The darkening forest suddenly begins to scare you. Something to your left moves. You turn your head and see a black cat. With two tails and an earring.


[] Two tails? Worth a look.
[] Two tails or not, it's still just a cat.

---
Last update of the year, enjoy. Chen.

[X] Two tails? Worth a look.

K must be hard up for subs. I mean she's known us for what, half an hour?

[x] Two tails? Worth a look.

[x] Two tails? Worth a look.

[x] Two tails? Worth a look.

Chen? Of course not, you silly writefag.
It's obviously Orin, coming for your body.

[x] Two tails? Worth a look.

You execute your Basic Cat Approach tactics. It means that you sit down on the ground, face the cat and extend your hand towards it while snapping your fingers once or twice. Should the cat be interested, it will come to you. If it isn't interested, then it obviously won't come to you. Trying to catch a cat that doesn't want to be caught is something you consider rather stupid.
Luckily, the cat seems interested. It jumps down from the branch it was occupying and comes to lick your hand. An odd thing for a cat to do, but whatever. You're about to pet it, but the cat escapes from below your hand and moves behind you to rub its head to your back. You wouldn't mind, but it actually hurts a little because of the hit you received from one of the drunkards.

You don't knock her down because you're surprised by the sudden appearance of a pair of hands around you; you knock her down because she pressed herself to your very sensitive back.
"What was that for?"
You offer your hand to the black-haired girl in a red dress who had somehow transformed herself to a cat. As you pull her up, you see that she has two black cat tails growing from her butt. Definitely the same being as the cat, considering that her ears haven't changed either.
"I'm sorry! You startled me and my back is rather sensitive right now."
"Hmph! I didn't even pounce you!"
"Still, it didn't feel nice... By the way, would you mind telling me who you are and, uh, why you were a cat?"
"I'm Chen! And I was a cat because I was told to be a cat and check out how you're doing."
"Eh? Who'd tell youUUUgh!"
Chen grabs your hand, lifts you into the air and places you back on the ground on your stomach. You try to get up but she sits on you.
"Didn't you say that your back is sore? I'll help you?"
Despite you trying to stop her, she lifts your shirt and reveals your back.
"Don't worry, Master taught this a few days ago."
? Well, that's really assuring. Something sharp touches your back. The pressure increases until it breaks your skin.
"The hell are you doing?"
She doesn't answer. The sharp object starts moving, carving some kind of a pattern into your skin. You try to get her off you, but you can't move. The pain isn't that bad, and you can't feel any blood on your back so you just bite your tooth and endure it. After a while the pain begins to ease, so you guess whatever she's doing is working. You kind of wish you could see your back as she finally finishes since she made what felt like a detailed drawing. Whatever it was, it really did work since your back doesn't hurt anymore nor does it feel particularly sensitive.
"You could've told me that you're going to do something like that, but since it seems to be working, thank you."
The catgirl grins.
"You would've told me not to do it, and I wanted to try it out!"
Her gaze turns empty for a moment.
"I have to go now."
She runs off, not saying another word. You're left with more questions than you had when she was a cat: why did someone want to know your whereabouts? Who was she working for? Trying to make some sense of her, you head onwards in the now quite dark forest.

Shitshitshitshit!!! When did it get this dark? And why is someone singing? Why is the singing coming from above you?
The last question is answered when someone knocks you out from above.

You wake up in some random clearing in some random forest. Your hands are tied behind your back. Worst of all, a woman is examining your pants a few meters from you. She has wings, but not bat wings like Remilia has.
"Oh! You woke up! That's nice, I was about to get started. It wouldn't have been any fun at all had you not woken up."
"What do you want of me?"
She comes closer and lands her finger on your thigh.
"You've got nice thighs? I think I'll just have them. Or actually?"
Her gaze moves to your crotch.
"Maybe I'll have that? it's tasty?"
Well, shit.

[] Cut the rope and run.
[] Cut the rope and fight.
[] Pray and prepare for the inevitable.

---

A few things to note: your dagger is with your pants, it's dark and you'll cut the rope with your knives.

Anon, I am disappoint.
Hint: Always think of a reason why the option you're voting for shouldn't be the one that gets chosen. Yes, I'm expecting you to remember warnings for a few updates.

>>44562
anon has a weakness for Chen.

Before I vote, care to explain how the situation changed? We were in front of (not really in front, more like in back, but you get it) Chen, and now we're facing Mystia.

>>44572
Chen left and MC headed back to the Mansion. However, before he got there, he was attacked and was knocked unconscious. Now he woke up somewhere with Mystia.
In general, if there's something left unclear, do ask. I hope I answered the correct question.

>>44576
Okay, I got it.
Sorry about that, I didn't paid enough attention.

[x] Cut the rope and run.
Considering how a fight against just a human put MC in pain, we shouldn't try to fight against a youkai.
And I'm atheist, so I don't think that praying will help MC.

Just tell yourself it's the black beast of AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.
And run away, hoping that the writefag suffer a several heart attack.

I'll have to think on it seeing how you're one of THOSE writers.

[x] Cut the rope and run.

Doubt that our luck will continue to hold out in fights.

Using Landscout's logic, there's a good reason to not vote for running away.
And since the dagger is with our pants, and since the pants are in Mystia's hands, we should take them back.

Besides, there's something awful about a guy running with no pants. It's not Super Ghoul'n'Ghost.

TL;DR: Change my vote from >>44578 into
[x] Cut the rope and fight.

[x] Cut the rope and fight.

[x] Cut the rope and fight.

[x] Cut the rope and fight.

She wants to eat your balls? As if! After a bit of wriggling you manage to flick the release switch of your other knife.
A finger slides up to your navel and continues up your chest. You take a toothy grin and move the knife to your right hand.
"Huh? What are you planning? Or did you decide to give up? In that case I'll have some fun with you?"
Playing with her prey? Your eyes join your grin as you prepare your foot behind her head.
"Now you're planning something aren't you? Well, I'll play with you."
In an instant, you roll from below her and get back on your feet. Readying your knife, you look at her. She's smiling, making fun of your stance. You lunge at her, your knife in front of you?

The wind is cool, heavenly compared to the heat of the valley. The view from up here is magnificent: the surrounding mountains, the blue sky, the town in the valley and the river flowing through it. Closing your eyes, you turn towards the wind to enjoy it. Heavenly. But why are you here?
"I'm just preventing you from doing something idiotic."
You look at her. She actually looks good up here; her blue hair, waving in the wind, against the white snow of the peak behind her, the slender figure on the gray rock. She giggles.
"I'm glad you like it? Yes, it's beautiful up here. One of your best memories, isn't it?"
Well, you can't come up with anything else? But isn't it odd how easily you forgot about what's really going on?
"What do you think she's doing to me? Is she really going to eat me? Isn't there anything we can do about it?"
Blue smiles and looks down to the valley. The river Inn keeps on flowing. You remember how it cools the air around it, how pleasant it was to walk along its banks even in the intolerable heat.
"I'd like to say yes, we can do something? But if I'm right about her, we shouldn't have to risk it. If we fail, it'll mean the end for both of us?"
Eh? Just what is she thinking about? How could it mean the end of her? She looks back at you. You think she's about to burst into tears. The miniscule wavering in her voice supports your assumption.
"It? It isn't important." She keeps a short pause and steadies her voice again. "Since we have nothing to do now, I could show the dream Reimu saw to you."
She places her hand on your shoulder and looks into your eyes?

Darkness. You try to wave your hand in front of your eyes but you can't see it. The hand on your shoulder gives an assuring squeeze. With nothing else to do, you wait. And wait.
Something happens. A creature appears. it's something you don't want to see. You close your eyes. The thing doesn't disappear. It comes closer, calling others of its kind. Why doesn't it disappear? You don't know how you know it since it doesn't make any kind of a signal. Make it stop! Your head hurts because of the creature being close to you. It resembles a human in many ways: hands, legs, head, even fingers are somehow similar. It just seems wrong for something like that to exist. Looking behind the first one you can see many others. they're all the same color, an impossible shade of black. Stop! None of them have eyes, yet they still move towards you without any kind of difficulties. The closer they come, the more your head hurts?

The arm pulls you out.
"So. Did you like it?"
You shudder. "No. What was that?"
"I don't know. But they weren't up for anything good."
Looking down to the valley, you place your hand atop hers on your shoulder. The headache is fading, and the wind is dissipating the stench of that place. You wouldn't mind staying like this for a moment, but...
? she stands up.
"What was that? Why'd everything go blank for a second?"
Blue looks over to the horizon. You think her ears are a bit red. Her voice is barely above a whisper, almost impossible to hear in the wind.
"That would have been you climaxing?"
What? But how?
She looks at you again, visibly red this time.
"It was as I expected. She didn't take you because she wanted to eat you. It was because she didn't want to do it alone this time."
Huh? But doesn't that mean?
"Yes. You have been raped."
Your mouth is left open by the words you never say. She did what? She could've just asked you, you would've? No. You wouldn't have done it with her. Not with someone you don't know. Someone who wants only pleasure from you. Someone you tried to kill.
"See you again soon?"

The ground trembles.
"You. What did you do to him?"
You've heard that voice somewhere, but where?
"Heh. I just uncorked him. Why do you care about it?"
Slam. Something impacts the tree you're leaning against. The something lands a bit in front of you.
"I'll. Fucking. Kill you.? Crack. Slamslamslam Boom. You open your eyes. An angel of fury? Something winged is mangling your captor. She's thrown again, ricochets from a tree before impacting a rock - and leaving a crater to it. Whatever is beating her isn't being gentle about it.
"You still had something to say? Too bad you can't say it anymore!"
That voice, filled with hate, fury and madness?
A wave of blood and gore splashes on you, making you nearly throw up.
Flandre walks away from the corpse - or rather from the puddle since there isn't much of a corpse left to speak of.
"That should take care of her for a while? Oh! You're awake!"
The flames in her eyes die out as she walks towards you.

[] "I'm sorry."
[] Hug her.
[] "Yeah. Could we get out of here?"
[] (write-in)

---

Two weeks left. Two weeks out of twelve years.

[x] Hug your knees and cry.

You were just raped!
What about being shocked a little?

Oh, and don't hug her.
I assume you're still in boxers. Maybe even less than that.

Shit.... well if we knew she only wanted sex... shit feels bad man.

[x]"...Thanks"
[x] Get presentable
[x] Hug her.
[x] "Let's get back home."

[x]"...Thanks"
[x] Get presentable
[x] Hug her.
[x] "Let's get back home."

Bye, Mystia.

>>44593
I agree with this we were just raped after all
[x] Hug your knees and cry.

[x]"...Thanks"
[x] Get presentable
[x] Hug her.
[x] "Let's get back home."

Hopefully this will be the last time "Try to read the writer's mind" comes up

[x] Hug your knees and cry.

[x] Hug her.

MY HERO

>You were just raped!
>What about being shocked a little?
It's not as if he actually had to experience any of it.

>>44619
And he'll act like Ivan?
Totally oblivious? Sorry, but I don't like that.
I mean, come on! Even if he wasn't up, he was still raped by a cannibal youkai!
Just because it happened during his sleep doesn't mean he can act as it never happened!

>>44620
And that's not even considering he watched his best friend die, then not two days later watches Flandre kill Mystia messily enough that blood and sparrow bits got all over him. Things like this can mess people up even without the assault and rape parts. Hell, Blue was seriously affected by what happened.

>>44621
he'd be more affected by the killing than the rape as the lead was in Blue's mindspace, which distracted him from the rape.

And if curling up in a ball is the ONLY choice, it'd have been automatic.

It was acceptable for Ivan to suck it up, but this time, the character is an outsider. I mean, just take the random guy from thp, rape him while he's sleeping, and ask him how he's feeling.

I really don't expect this character to be emotionless.
I mean, read again the part where Flan call him his lover. He's pretty shocked by that. I REALLY think it'll be OOC for him to not be shocked.

Saged because not voting.

[x]"...Thanks"
[x] Get presentable
[x] Hug her.
[x] "Let's get back home."

I think it's realistic for us to break down in a little bit.
(Or not at all sometimes people deal with trauma.)

>>44636
Besides, if he break down and hug his knees, there's a chance that Flandre try to console him. It should be moe. That's why I voted that.

[x]"...Thanks"
[x] Get presentable
[x] Hug her.
[x] "Let's get back home."

Damn you, Mystia. We were waiting for Flandre!

You spread your fingers and look at your hand. The gore forms red-and-white strings between your fingers. Interesting. Collagen, you presume. It is the most common protein of the human body so the chances are that?
"Hey?"
Oh, right. You're not alone. And you're not wearing any pants. There's a bloody pair of boxers at your feet. You put them on. Now, where'd your jeans go? There. With some spleen on them. At least you think it's spleen but you're no expert on bloody organ parts. Wait. Haven't you forgotten something? Oh, right.
"Thank you for saving me."
You continue from where you left with your pants. By putting them on, that is. Oh, great, even your dagger is where you left it. There's no blood on it. A shame. Maybe you should dip it in the puddle just for the effect? Or maybe not. It'd probably just rust the blade. Can it even rust? You're not sure.
"Uh, hello?"
Yes, yes. You'll deal with her in a moment. Now, you're quite sure that magical items in general are immune to wear and rust, but is this one such an item? No, it probably isn't. Back to where it belongs, then.
Someone grabs you from behind. You're lifted into the air as you find something soft from your pocket.

---
There's no-one around. Good. You're free to blush at your own idiocy. Then again, why would someone be in the locked bathroom with you when you're taking a bath Sakuya prepared for you? Damndamndamn. Why did you have to smile stupidly at her while examining the piece of liver found from your pocket when Flandre carried you back in? Sinking deeper into the warm water, you wish you wouldn't have to see the maid ever again. You consider walking straight away to Reimu to accept her offer to get you out of here. So far nothing good has happened. You've lost your best (only?) friend, had a voice appear inside your head, seen someone get literally blown to bits and got raped. Well, maybe getting raped isn't a bad thing since you can't get pregnant? Or maybe it is. Who knows, she could've had HIV or something. The thought sends a shiver down your spine.

Knock knock.
"I have prepared a meal for you."
You don't answer and wait for her footsteps to disappear before getting out of the bath. You had forgotten how nice having one felt. Feeling refreshed, you dry yourself and get clothed.

"You aren't listening."
"True."
She sighs. Wait. Didn't she just say something? You were busy thinking about your stolen virginity, about how someone was supposed to laugh at it and dominate you?
"Did you say something?"
Another sigh.
"Flandre told what happened. I asked you to tell your version of it."
"Oh."
Despite your reaction, the maid doesn't seem annoyed at all. She's just sitting there, casually nibbling at what's left of the apple she ate. You tell her of your day until the point where you were assaulted in the forest. Not sure how to tell about what happened next, you simply sit there with your mouth left open for a moment.
"So I woke up in this clearing, having no idea about where I was. This winged girl was there. I thought she was going to eat me so I cut myself free and attacked her. However, before I could do anything to her, Blue did something and I ended up with her. We talked a little, she showed me something and I woke up just to find out that? that?"
"You had been raped?"
Your face feels hot and you look down.
"Yes."
Sakuya nods and stays silent for a while.
"You should get someone to teach you how to defend yourself. Get to it as soon as possible."
She disappears. Yet again.

[] Find Flandre.
[] Clear your mind in the garden.
[] Find a good book to read - and maybe some company too.
[] Wander around the Mansion.

---

This may be a mistake but I'm posting this now instead of waiting some more. I'm not sure this is the way it's supposed to be, but whatever. Complain if there's something.

>>44613
If I want you to know something, I make sure you know it. If I want you to be unsure about something, I add something that's supposed to catch your attention. Was there something? No.

>>44640
I want to know more about Flandre. I know it's selfish from me, but recently I've been reading other stories, and I kinda forget how "your" Flandre is.

Saged because it's not a vote.

[x] Clear your mind in the garden.

[] Find a good book to read - and maybe some company too.

I don't think I want to be alone.

[X] Find Flandre.

A brief "thanks for saving me" followed by ignoring her won't do at all. We must find her and thank her properly!

[X] Find Flandre.

I'm just hoping this goes well.

[X] Find Flandre.

[x] Find a good book to read - and find Flandre too.

Let's thanks her, and if she asks what we're holding, we can read it to her aloud.

[X] Find Flandre.

What's her problem? It wouldn't have cost her too many seconds to wait for your ?OK?, but no. Well, whatever. Pondering for a second, you decide that the best course of action would be to find Flandre and apologize for ignoring her. Down to the basement, then.

You're not sure why, but the stairs seem somehow odd. Maybe it's the silence? Or the lack of light? it's not that any of the interior is brightly lit, it's just that the stairs are in almost complete darkness. You're forced to advance slowly to avoid tripping.
"Hurry up!"
Shi- wait. it's Flandre. But how does she know that you're there? The cold stone steps are completely silent under your feet and you can't even see your own legs. Descending the final few steps, you take a look around. Nothing. Well, there's some light ahead, but that's about it. A warm hand grabs yours.
"You're slow!"
That's right, no panic. it's just her. Just Flandre.
"It was dark and I didn't want to get hurt."
Just? Are her hands sticky? Is that the smell of blood?
"So you don't deny being slow?" Why is she squeezing your hand so hard?
"Uh, no." Did she just grab your butt?

Before you know it, you've ran away from her. Why did you run? You're not sure. The echoes die quickly just to be replaced by the sound of someone pursuing you. With rather large effort you manage to suppress the urge to keep on running.
"Whee!" Impact. Flandre lands on your back, but somehow does it without knocking you down. Her hands reach down your chest from over your shoulders and her feet are holding you a bit above your waist.
"Ride!"
Eh, why not. You take an experimental step forward, followed by few others. Seems like she doesn't need you to keep her there.
"Faster!"
Ok then. Some quick paces and you've changed to a light jog. The sudden change causes Flandre to let out a giggle. Seems like she's enjoying this. You can't help but smile.

She's not wearing any socks. You notice it as you stop at the door to her place. She doesn't let go when you wait for a second to catch your breath before opening the door, so you decide to carry her to her bed. The room between the corridor and Flandre's room hasn't changed.
"That was fun!"
You smile again as you push the battered door open and sit at the edge of her bed. Her hands disappear and you hear the sound of her falling on the bed. You think something's missing, but forget about it immediately. A moment passes, the silence only interrupted by your heavier than usual breathing.
"Hey Flandre."
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry. About what happened earlier, in the forest." Her gaze can be felt on the back of your head.
"Don't worry. It has happened even to the most hardened men in similar situations. You shouldn't be ashamed of it."
Waait a sec. Is that the same person you were just carrying around? You turn around to look at her, only to jump off the bed immediately. She's definitely missing something: her clothes. Yet she doesn't seem to be bothered at all by you looking at her. You simple freeze there for a second, your eyes wandering around her body, from her hands on her stomach to her tiny breasts; from there back down to her navel, further down to her waist before finally fixing themselves to what's between her thighs? She's not even trying to hide anything; no, she's actually smiling a little as you try to stutter some kind of an answer.
"E? Uh, I think I could use some time alone."
"Bwahaha! Go along then, do what you must."
You simply flee from her room, not saying anything else. Up from the basement, up another set of stairs, to the end of the corridor and to your room. Having landed on the bed, you begin to think about what just happened. Why was she like that? Your face feels very hot as you remember what you said before you left. She thinks you're doing something completely else than just thinking about it now. But really, why was she naked at the bottom of the stairs? Why did she suddenly change when you got into her room? Why didn't you notice it earlier?

The thoughts are replaced with others. You remember something similar happening before: too much happens in a short time and you won't be able to think about it before sleeping. You're not actually sleepy yet, but there isn't anything to do. Or actually, didn't Sakuya tell you to train yourself?

[] Sleep.
[] Ask Meiling to train you. She's a guard, after all.
[] Why not ask Sakuya?
[] Maybe Patchouli could help.

---

I'm still trying to come up with a better name for the story, and you can still suggest something. Even if you can't come up with anything, I'll rename this. Somehow.

Also, feedback time. Have you liked it so far? Why? Why not? What could I do better?

[x] Maybe Patchouli could help.

Feedback time?
Okay. I don't know what to vote. I don't have any idea about what the fuck is going on. Characters are coming and disappearing almost without explaination.
The character saw his best friends deadly wounded, nack alive, and re-killed, he was raped by a monster, and he's still not going mad.
Flandre is ... unstable.

As I said, I don't know what we're supposed to do. Following the Flandre route? Is this story working like that? Or are we just fooling around?

Suggestions: You should make a story is a little more understandable. Give Anon a clear objective, tell them who to go after. And try to be more logic in your story.

[?] Why not ask Sakuya?
She's the one that went & started passing out knives. Might as well learn from the master.

[x] Why not ask Sakuya?

When you have knives, ask a knife specialist.

But I must say this Flan seems rather... insane and in no way innocent.

[x] Ask Meiling to train you. She's a guard, after all.

Flan's insane.....Good. She fits the bill on insanity and the case of near Schizophrenia/MPD. The only thing missing is innocent, gullible part.which is terribly needed

[X] Why not ask Sakuya?

[x] Why not ask Sakuya?

>>44652

I like actually having a grimdark Gensokyo for once. Some writers have tried it before it usually ends up reverting back to drinking tea. Choices feel like they really mean something in this story.

>>44658
I wouldn't say things are grimdark, but not pastel cheery either. The problem with girmdark is that it is much too easy to go into Grimdork.

Second thread at
>>44718