Old thread: >>98717

And goddamn if they don't have grapefruit meringue pie, too.
I'm not too keen on eating grapefruit whole, but it's okay as a juice, and grapefruit flavored candy is a sadly rare thing. Halls has some, though.

And for those who couldn't figure out the songs in the concert even after all those posts:
#3: ?? - Beyond the Sea (I say "??" because I don't know who sang the version I heard first, which is this: http://www.sendspace.com/file/acpkc2 )
#5: Booker T. and the MGs - Green Onions (Some of you may remember it as the face-off music from "The Sandlot")
#6: Therion - Three Treasures
#8: Journey - Don't Stop Believin'

[x] Make camp and wait out the flood
Wait....did Kagasa just locked herself in a room......
This is gonna be fun

[X] Ford the river
They're little, we're not. Shouldn't be too much of a problem.

I just hope our oxen survive.

[x] FORD THAT SHIT


ALWAYS

[X] Ford the river

[x] RIVER THE FORD

What's the worst that could happen?

[X] Make camp and wait out the flood

Hey, I have spikes now...It makes me feel like an orc. I look scary, but I'm useless, practically.

>>102087
No, the heroine has been locked out. It's a one-way security door.

>>102087
Stop posting.

Just shut the fuck up.

[X] Make camp and wait out the flood.

We have good company at least, and it's just a innocent mistake.

> [x] Caulk wagon and float it across

Seriously, though:

[x] Ford the river

[ ] Ford the River

No way back.

One way out, and it's been taken.

Think like a salmon.

I grin.

An eeeeevil grin.

think you can, you know, get all clanky and tight for just a bit?

are you going to play whack-a-kappa or something?

not quite; just playing the part

this is going to hurt in the morning

don't worry

i'll have you know this hurts you a lot more than it hurts me

oh, that's not even fu

-shhffffwunnnk-

My friend becomes a little heavier and a lot harder.

Hefting my 'tetsubo' over my shoulder, I hold a finger out to Orange, who's looking a little worried at our predicament, and is on the verge of saying something, but--

"This'll take juuuust a moment."

"It's n-- eh?"

A little

wink

and I go over to stand in front of the kappa streaming out the exit.

Inhale...

A flip of the club: head down, handle up

raise it high Spend a lot

Fierce, downwards stab

WHAM!

The floor trembles, I grin fiercely with the rush; almost like that of a small group of genuinely shocked humans.

I think I made a crack in the rock.

Many jump in fright, and I don't let it stop there.

"COMIN' THROUGH!" I bellow in a loud voice, amplified by the lingering effect.

The voice says: I don't need a reason. I am an oni. I am important.

So scoot.

The poor little kappa all but trip over themselves flocking to the sides to make a clear path.

Turning back to Orange, I smile serenly at her wide-eyed, shocked expression, and politely gesture to her, inviting her ahead.

With another growing blush creeping up on her cheeks It definitely complements her hair well she walks down the way created for us. I bring up the rear, smiling and waving at the spooked kappa like a kid waving casually to passerby.

In rather short order, we are back inside the hall proper.

Extra Bird looks a little frantic, and seems to be looking for something.

The ghost-loving people have thinned down a bit, but there are still plenty of them.

[ ] Join the hunt
[ ] Join the crowd

_____________________________________________________________________________

Surprise update!

>>102087
Is there any chance I could persuade you to please not write like that?

>>102112
It did indeed get rivered, but that looks more like a VW than a Ford.

[x] Join the hunt

[X] Join the hunt

{X} Join the hunt

[x] Join the hunt
>>102171
Sorry, I'll stop

[x] Join the hunt

{X} Join the hunt

[X] Join the crowd

unanimous votes are boring.

>>102171
It's actually a $200,000 Mercedes. Ouch.
http://dvice.com/archives/2008/03/gps-to-drive-fo.php

[⌖] Join the hunt

Another pair of hands or another pair of eyes.

Always useful in a search.

This means that bugs should be able to find things better than anyone else.

I don't know if that's true, though.

and i don't care

can i stop yet?

oh, right; sorry

-thhp-flwuuumpf-

My club becomes much less weighty as my friend lightens up.

oww

thanks a bunch~

"Hey, Kabuki."

tap tap

Orange gets my attention, and points at Extra Bird.

"That's the lady who was with you earlier, right?"

"Yeah. That's where I work, too."

I look back over at the group of people still milling around the musicians, and add: "Looks like we'll still have to punch people out of the way just to get some elbow room, right now. Let me introduce you to her proper, and then we'll head over and meet with the band. Sound good?"

Orange looks as if she wants to say something, then shrugs and gives me a smile. "Okay!"

Walk a walk a wakka on over to the Fortress of Sound.

Extra Bird looks up as we enter her territory.

"Box, box, box, where's the damn box? You brought one in, right, Kabuki? I swore you did."

I did.

Where did it get done gone to?

Where it done got.

(Ah reckon.)

It's still where it was, and I point it out to her.

"Same place as last time."

She scowls slightly, before turning back to look under the console.

"I'm almost certain it isn't th-- what the hell."

She bends over, and then straightens, turning back to face us, box still in hand. Still lightly steaming, too.

Very bewildered, this one is.

"It wasn't there before. I'm certain of it..."

She looks down at the box, then at us, and gives us a lopsided smile.

"Well... sorry about that. I gu-- Oh! You're that chef from the restaurant, aren't you? The one Kabuki was so keen on..."

She grins.

Blue oni becomes red oni. Very red oni.

Glance to the side--

Her color matches her companion.

Extra Bird looks at the two of us and bursts out laughing.

She can't speak properly for a few minutes as it dies into a long running fit of giggles. She gestures for us to pull up some seats as she opens the box.

Inside is a still-hot Wait, what the hell? bowl of dumpling looking things, or pot stickers, even. The other is a bowl of... of something. It isn't hot, whatever it is, which seems incredibly weird.

But the box has been incredibly weird already, so it's really to be expected.

Orange recognizes the dish, which looks like some noodly mess with a beige crab sitting on it. She starts animatedly discussing it with Extra Bird, who is rather taken aback that she knows of it, but answers her questions anyway.

My eyes glaze over. Cooking talk is lost on me.

Did the box even have that much room inside it?

Maybe the box has rooms, not just room.

Rooms to rent, no matter how big the item is.

It seems a rather tricky business.

Much like cooking itself, actually.

I can follow a recipe, and I know a few tricks-- had to learn a few more as well while I've been on the run.

...

Eh?

Orange is tugging my sleeve.

"--ting you, Mystia, and thanks for the advice!"

Oh, they're done?

A glance back over at the stage tells me that they're down to the last ten or so die-hard Or just highly patient fans.

"C'mon, Kabuki, let's go!"

She rushes on ahead, red sidetail bounce bounce bouncing along with each step as she leaves the Domicile of Audioness.

I blink for a moment, then follow her.

Just before I leave, Extra Bird speaks up.

"Hey... Kabuki?"

Turn, look.

She's not got the same fire in her eyes as when she was discussing things with Orange, a moment ago Oh hold on a minute; they're both cooks, aren't they? No wonder they had a lot to talk about but now it's more of a worried, unhappy air about her that I see.

She looks up.

"I'm really, really sorry about earlier. It's a very... touchy subject with me. You probably guessed that already, though..."

Ha

a rueful little laugh

"I didn't mean to get so angry with you, is what I'm saying. I've had some issues with that in the past, and it hasn't been the happiest source of memories for me."

She looks away, now.

"I don't know, er... what exactly you are, but you have my word that I won't tell anyone."

Her gaze swings back over, and she gives a nervous smile.

"Are we still okay?"

...Yeah, I think she'll like the Idea.

I give her a reassuring smile, and a kind wave. Take it easy.

"We're still good. Don't you worry about a thing, okay? Enjoy your dinner."

nod.

"Thank you, Kabuki."

smile.

I leave.

-------------------------------------------------------

By the time I arrive at the stage, Orange is one of only two people there, talking mainly with White Opening and Little Red. The other two ghosts are nowhere to be seen.

I pass by the other person as they leave, a kappa gleefully running off with a signature on a metal box of some kind. Getting to meet the band face-to-face must have put a spring in his step.

pause

duck, glance

Or perhaps it's the springs on the soles of his shoes that are doing it.

I shake my head.

Kappa ingenuity, huh?

I come up behind Orange.

Well, she's gotten to meet the band, all right.

And now?

[ ] You gonna get taken home
[ ] PARTY HARD

____________________________________________________________________________

>>102237
Fuck.
Ouch, indeed.

>unanimous votes are boring.
Never feel bad about voting against the tide, as long as you truly believe in what you're voting for.

>>102181
Thank you. We try to hold grammar and punctuation in high regard, here.

[x] You gonna get taken home

[x] You gonna get taken home

[ ] PARTY HARD

Gotta live up to our not-species now.

[X] PARTY HARD
I still want to know what she did drunk the last time.

[X] PARTY HARD

>>102242
>>102243
>>102245
I feel I should point out that there is no hidden H scene or anything if you choose to walk her home.

>>102254
...I should clarify:
I'm not trying to swing the vote one way or the other. Both will go nicely enough, and likely be equally acceptable.

I wondered if people were misinterpreting the options (in my story? no way!), though, so I said something.

This is all right, right?

[x] PARTY HARD

Partyhard32523.swf

[X] You gonna get taken home

>>102256
I don't think I do (or should) believe that things will go nicely when we are being hunted by the insane green girl.

[X] PARTY HARD

[X] PARTY HARD

>>102254
Your mention of H-scenes has me wondering... did you plan on doing at some point?

I mean, one that didn't involve the Green Girl raping us while slowly dismembering us and tearing out our intestines.

>>102269
Whoops, forgot my vote.

[X] PARTY HARD

>>102072
>?? - Beyond the Sea (I say "??" because I don't know who sang the version I heard first, which is this: http://www.sendspace.com/file/acpkc2 )

FUCK YOU

ftp://falloutgensokyo.dyndns.org/Vault9PA17.mp3

BOBBY DARIN IS THE MOST FAMOUS ENGLISH VOCALIST, BUT IT'S REALLY A FRENCH SONG. HE POPULARIZED IN AMERICA, SORT OF LIKE HE DID WITH MACK THE KNIFE, WHICH ITSELF IS FROM A GERMAN OPERA.

[x] PARTY HARD

>>102269
Do want H-scene from Kogasa's perspective. Arousing and hilarious are usually a winning combination, so long as they're not happening to you in real life.

[X] You gonna get taken home
Love Orange.

>REALLY A FRENCH SONG
>POPULARIZED IN AMERICA

Man, this sort of thing always makes me rage, just a little. Jacques Brel > Terry Jacks, thank-you-very-much.

(Also, I totally did not know that about Mack the Knife.)

I interpreted the choice 'You gonna get taken home' literally, so that Kogasa would walk/fly Orange home, not keep her overnight at the preformer housing or something.

>>102274
>(Also, I totally did not know that about Mack the Knife.)

Macheath, or Mackie Messer, was the main character of The Threepenny Opera. I remember the name actually being suggested for some protagonists way back in the day, though it never caught on. That's just as well, of course, given that none of those protagonists would have lived up to the name.

>>102276
Walking her home vs. inviting her to the party was indeed what they mean.

>>102280
That's what I though, so I was confused when
>>102273
wants an H-scene but is bringing her home (instead of getting trashed)

>>102281
Last time we got wasted, we did something exciting with the caterers and had no memory of the event afterward. Besides, call me crazy, but I wouldn't mind an actual relationship with Orange (considering we have a chance of meeting her again above ground), and those usually aren't precipitated by drunken first-date sex.

I voted to invite her to the party because it's a nice thing to do and I don't think Kogasa or Orange get to enjoy many parties. And I doubt it'd get THAT crazy (Yukari isn't involved)

[p] PARTY HARD

A thought just occurred to me. If she ends up hooking up with Orange, that is going to be one more thing that Sanae can use to hurt her.

>>102341

But it's a step towards actually living life, and perhaps a step away from thinking the problem can be resolved alone when it really can't be resolved as such.

>>102341

Sanae has made lengths to remove the possibility of Kogasa disclosing the truth to others. That's the purpose of her enchantments, and something Sanae must be feeling rather self-assured about by now if Kogasa hasn't gotten anyone to help her thus far. Kogasa has mentioned that being forced to interact with other people in order to find her causes Sanae no end of irritation, so I doubt she'll bother.

If she does anything, it'll be to make it so the heroine can't think of her friends without experiencing pain.

>>102352

Interesting point, though so far It's been a kinda 3 on 1 battle since Sanae does have the two gods backing her up while up until now, Kogasa really has no one in her corner in terms of battle.

One way or another, the way to beating Sanae is evening out the battle field, either removing the support of the gods or getting folks to support Kogasa.

And as of late, Kogasa's been getting out of her paranoid mindset and actually enjoying herself for once.

>>102362
>And as of late, Kogasa's been getting out of her paranoid mindset and actually enjoying herself for once.

More than that, she's been regaining her youkai abilities through giving others frights.

Kogasa doesn't have any absolute compunctions against killing like eating the lungs of that filthy silver harlot though she admittedly has some pity for Sanae.

I don't see Kogasa bringing force to bear against Sanae at her strongest, surrounded by her gods and faithful. Rather, I see a fatal SURPRISE coming Sanae's way, when she's at her most furious, desperately in search for her whipping boy girl.

It's not about bringing Sanae to the depths of despair by methodically cutting off her support lines and overwhelming her; it's about slipping a knife between her ribs when she's at her most self-assured and wrathful. That's the kind of revenge that would interest a youkai whose power and existence is contingent on surprising people.

Sure, the goddesses might come after her, but with her enchantments broken (and thus able to break the story to anyone), restored to her full strength, Kogasa can make fighting more costly for them than for it is for her.

>>102362
>And as of late, Kogasa's been getting out of her paranoid mindset and actually enjoying herself for once.
As much as I hate to say it, this isn't necessarily entirely good. When they really are out to get you, a healthy level of paranoia keeps you from walking into a trap unawares.

>>102369
There's no guarantee that killing Sanae would break the enchantments, is there? Either way, I think we should be focused on neutralizing Sanae without invoking the wrath of the gods.

>>102369

Remember on the smurfs, how there was that one smurf that always gave people packages with a bomb inside? Yeah, that is what we should do to Sanae.

Maybe we could just tell her gods? Maybe they don't have any idea that their Sanae is torturing a some poor undeserving youkai relentlessly?

...Maybe.

>>102395

But at the moment Kogasa can't due to the curses put on her, and I suspect they'd treat her the same as Reimu did without any supporting facts.

>>102384

How are they going to know we did it?

It wouldn't be difficult to make it look like she got torn apart by a pack of hungry youkai that she underestimated. Or arrange it to look like a suicide. Plant a bottle of sake near the corpse. Since Kogasa is continually describing her as 'broken' it's very likely significant dysfunction has seeped into other areas of her life.

Second, we could hide the body, dropping it somewhere no one would ever find it, like in the Sanzu. Then it'll just look like she's a runaway, and it's not like she wouldn't have good reason for it.

>>102395

That thought occurred to me. It's actually reasonable that they wouldn't know what is going on. So far the games have shown that they are definitely not all-knowing.

It seems as if Sanae is going to very great lengths to cover her tracks, and her hunting times might be part of that. I can see it being like a kid sneaking out every night to go make mischief. Except, you know, with torture.

I'm going to laugh if her gods find out, and end up treating it as no big deal. Slap on the wrist and a grounding. Everyone learns a "valuable" life lesson, and the become closer as a family.

Kogasa will be like "what the fu-"
THE END

[☺] PARTY HARD

"...And the songs were the most amazing thing I've ever heard! How much of yo-- Oh, hi Kabuki!"

Orange turns and gives a shiny bright bright smile as I approach.

Except I don't think I said anything.

Maybe she's got good ears?

She's already turned back to Little Red, who seems to have not expected one last enthusiastic fan.

White Opening leans over by me. Creepily, too:

her body tiiiiilts

curves a little

I don't think I want to see her face.

The smile would scare me.

"Fuckin' A. You been busy, aincha? 'S not a bad catch at all, I gotta say."

Oh, this one again?

Yeesh.

I nod a little, not sure I want to say much.

"Soooo... she's hanging with you, right?"

nod

"Heh heh. Invitin' her to the party? It ain't gonna be all crazy like last night. Not quite as much. The kappa're showin' off a bunch of reassembled outsider technology. Some kind of movie night or something."

Movies?

Oh, right. Like in the ribbon boxes and rainbow circles. Supposedly, anyway. I looked really really close at them, and I couldn't see any pictures in them.

But the kappa might be able to.

Maybe it's because they're tinier?

"Sounds good," I say.

"Ya bringin' her along?"

...am I?

...

"Yes. She's very nice, and I've... um."

A maddened giggle crawls out of White Opening's lips.

...How the hell is her hat staying on, at that angle?

"Dooon't say no more."

Pause.

"She ain't gonna stab anybody or explode and kill us all, is she?"

This question again?

"I'm mostly sure she won't."

"All right. We gotta make sure, y'see."

"No, I understand." Barely.

"Good."

and she strrrrraaaightens up

snaps back into place

"Well! I do believe it is time for us to be going," says White Opening, being different hers again. "Lyrica, this talkative young lady here seems to be the companion of our esteemed employee Kabuki, who wishes to ask if she may accompany her to the party."

Little Red looks up, grateful for the interruption.

Orange blinks, and falters for a minute before the words catch up, and she whips around to look at me with a dazzling, joyful expression. Her arms wrap around mine, and she looks up at Little Red in expectant, breathless anticipation.

Little Red looks at her.

Looks at me.

Looks at White Opening.

Back to me.

Back to her.

"Well... She's not going to try and ki--"

"Oh goodness, no, I made sure of that myself."

i don't think i have words

neither do i, neither do i

Little Red sighs, shrugs, and smiles a little, reaching a hand down to shake.

"Well, okay. What's your name, Kabuki's Friend?"

"Ah it's-- well, you can just call me Orange."

What the fuck?

what the fuck?

did i just find a loophole?

damn, this is a first

"What the f--! ...I mean, really?"

All eyes are on me.

Did I sound that loud?

...Oh my god, I don't think I ever asked her name.

Well, I guess I could look on the bright side: Lucky guess.

"...It's just that it's a nice name. It suits you perfectly."

Well, of course. It's a nickname.

She laughs a little uneasily, but nods.

fiddle fiddle fiddle with her hair.

"Doesn't it, though?"

"It does. Hey, what are the party arrangements, boss?"

Quick change of topic fast fast fast

"Oh, the kappas are showing movies. They've managed to create their own movie theater like in the outside world."

Theawhat?

"Sounds cool."

Short reply, good. Hard to screw that up.

Little Red and Orange finally shake.

[ ] (Write-in any 5 movies you would like to see shown. I will pick 3 from amongst all the suggested titles unless you can give me a specific set of three and a compelling argument for your choice. ...Or just print up a huge list off imdb and tack it to a dartboard or something.)

_______________________________________________________________________________

Oh god this update

So godawful.

>>102272
First: What? Calm down. Did you even listen to the one I linked? I know Bobby Darin was popular for singing it, but... unless he had a voice like a woman, he didn't sing that version of it (And it's that voice that Kana was singing with).
I just don't know who sings this one, you see? Thus the ??.

Second: Ohgodohgodohgodohgod you read my story?!
I'm squealing like a delighted schoolgirl right now.
This means so fucking much to me. You have no clue in hell how much, seriously.

>>102269
>>102273
At first I was like "No, I don't think I can pull off yuri smut."

And that was my view on the matter and has been for a while.

But now I'm like "Wait, that's right. I don't have to make sense. Damn, I might be able to do this."

But maybe that's the wrong view to take.

Whatever. I guarantee nothing.

>>102400
>will be like "what the fu-"
How spookily relevant.

Oh my god, there's discussion going on?

I love you people. All of you.

[x] Perfect Blue Errr maybe not considering her mindset right now.
[x] Kill Bill.
[x] Kamen Rider ZO
[x] Tropic Thunder
[x] Batman Begins
[x] Battle Royale

>>102352
>being forced to interact with other people in order to find her causes Sanae no end of irritation

>>102396
>the same as Reimu did

Where were either of these mentioned, before? I don't think they happened.

>Write-in any 5 movies you would like to see shown.

[x] Hard Target
[x] Bloodlust!
[x] The Pest
[x] Surviving the Game
[x] The Running Man

I am the least most creative voter ever!

Five movies? God-damn I can't think of five, but

[x] Ghostbusters

HAS to be in it somewhere. Come on, don't tell me you don't want to see the Prismriver's reactions to it.

>>102408
>>102416
>>102419
...
I was hoping for some non-joke votes, maybe. I'll go to some default ones if I have to, but I know you people aren't stupid, and that there's definitely got to be some well-planned, thoughtful choices out there.
...Right? I know you people can come up with something better than I can.

I can't speak for the rest of THP, but I watch roughly one movie per year, and few of those are the sort of thing I would take someone to see on a date. "The Princess Bride" is the only thing that came to mind, and that's right out due to the torture scene. Nonetheless, a few choices:

[X] Ratatouille -- Haven't seen it, but it's the only thing that comes to mind for "cooking movie", which Orange may enjoy.
[X] Men in Black -- A choice for the kappa; I imagine they like sci-fi, and the "humans get along with aliens" subtext should appeal to the younger ones.
[X] Primer - Because I feel compelled to suggest this movie anytime someone asks me to suggest movies. Definitely not a date movie, though, unless your date is an autistic physicist.
[X] Casablanca - It's romantic, I guess? Seems like it pops up on lists all the time; why not this one?
[X] Back to the Future - I dunno, I like it. Probably not that good of a choice due to all of the pop-culture references, though. I'm out of justifications here.

>>102427

Not really sure what you want from us. We don't exactly know what were supposed to be going for with the movies. We were told "write in 5".

That and I actually do like Ghostbusters and the thought of ghosts watching it amuses me. Is there something we're supposed to be aiming for other than amusing choices?

>>102436
Well, I was kind of hoping to avoid silly crap like Mode did and action-action-action like Nova... sort of did.

I did consider Casablanca, though.

Maybe I was hoping for more people to vote so I had a broader range of choices?
I suppose I still am waiting, then. That's not really an insult so much as it it's "Let's see what tomorrow brings."

[x] Jacob's Ladder
[x] The Shining
[x] Identity
[x] Mullholland Drive
[x] Donnie Darko

Kogasa is the kind who would enjoy psychological thrillers.

Moreover, she is the kind who would enjoy seeing the reactions of other people watching them.

In no particular order:

[X] The Usual Suspects
[X] Twelve Angry Men
[X] Airplane!
[X] The Shawshank Redemption
[X] For a Few Dollars More

Okay, this will require some though. What are kappa like?
-they like futuristic things
-they like strange things
-they speak japanese
-they are all women (?)]
-they are trying to entertain ghosts
-they are trying to entertain artists
-they are tring to impress

[X]The seven samarai - start out black and white, and traditional.
[X] (long movie, part two)
[X] Mononoke Hime (still Japanese and traditional traditional, but color, and animated)
[X] star wars (Impress! Still, surprisingly traditional [jedi=samarai, force=magic, etc])
[X] South park movie (say what you will, it's actually pretty good musically, and it's something I can see a bunch of xenophilic kappa finding HILARIOUS)

[x] The Princess Bride
[x] Ghostbusters
[x] Forbidden Planet
[x] The Terminator
[x] North by Northwest

>>102429

I'm a bit of a moviefag myself, I just couldn't resist the temptation.

Let's see...

1) No Country for Old Men
2) Gran Torino
3) Pulp Fiction
4) Shaolin Soccer
5) Smokin' Aces

This is after filtering out a bunch of aimless gunplay movies like Shoot 'Em Up, Death Sentence, and the like, as well as gorefests.

Something tells me that the Saw series probably would get just as much :| as my original 5.

Also, Uncle fucker in japanese (site very slow, but works)

http://www.vbox7.com/play:4fdd697d

[X] Airplane!
[X] Goldfinger
[X] Macross:DYRL
[X] The Seven Samurai

Mononoke Hime.
Men In Black.
Saving private Ryan.
The last samurai.
Scream.

>>102445
ಠ_ಠ

Story paused due to movies.

Okay, after playing with the votes a little, calling it for
Casablanca,
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
and
The Princess Bride

Writing tomorrow. Thank you for your patience.

>>102419
My thrill for lol-Prismriver-Reactions got killed with the Layla song in GH, which seemed like an awfully cheap trick.

>>102575
>The Princess Bride

Okay, lied a little. I've discovered a new favorite genre or something. Watching A Few Dollars More, and then I'll write.

>>102630
What?

On a related note, I'm almost considering replacing The Princess Bride with The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.

>>102641
I really like the princess bride

[✈] Casablanca
[ტ] The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
☑ The Princess Bride

Our little entourage follows some excited, official looking kappa to a large building 5 cavern-sections away from the concert hall.

We stock up on food What a pity, no paytza this time? and eat eat eat. Some of the kappa are passing out little pieces of paper. Apparently it's some kind of Outside history lesson, or something.

But why?

"What's this for?"

"Oh, that's for the movies tonight. They, uh might be a little confusing if you don't know some of the situations they're set up in, and, um... Well, it's mostly all in there."

Oh.

"Oh. Thanks."

I have a seat and begin to read while munching on rectangular crackers made by miniature wrinkled old men in trees, assuming the drawing on the box is one of the bakers, or something.

More reading.

Apparently one man got twitchy about a lot of other people and started rounding them up and killing them.

I feel a little sorry for outsiders. No danmaku, no peaceful solutions?

...That doesn't really stop broken people from being broken. Or breaking others.

I speak from experience, after all.

So apparently lots of people took issue with this and tried getting out of there.

Sensible enough.

...is that all?

They're not even going to tell how it ended?

Jerks.

The next section is shorter.

There's someone next to me.

It's mostly a list of terms, and a few events. Some kind of war was happening, again. It takes place long before the first movie, but was made after.

...I was probably alive when both of this things were happening.

I smile.

I turn the page over, and there's a small "ah!" from behind me.

I turn around, and a long lock of red hair brushes over my nose.

blink

Orange smiles at me.

"Sorry, did I spook you?" No. "I hadn't finished reading yet. I didn't me--"

I smile back.

"Hey, it's fine. Keep reading."

I'm content to sit still while she reads.

I'm conscious, now, of her presence (not uncomfortable at all), her breathing (gentle, even, measured), her scent (like the smell of a kitchen).

Quite content.

After a while: "Heehee. Okay, all done, now."

flip

Turning the paper over reveals nothing.

Oh.

flip

Hmm. It seems it's going to start soon.

The two of us gather more food before heading into this "theater."

It looks like the concert hall, but smaller, and more square, rather than fan-like. Also instead of singers, there's a big, flat, dim white wall.

How bori--

click

--oh?

Ceiling lights go down, wall lights up.

And so the movies begin.

I don't think I took too much away from the first movie. It was sort of nice, and the way the kappa were talking about it, it was some kind of important classic. I still didn't understand a number of things about it, but I was able to pick up some of it from context.

The one thing I remember the most is when the man Rick is drunk and grumbling. 'Of all the gin joints in all the world, she had to walk into mine.'

It struck me as sort of funny, and I looked over at the citrus princess next to me.

Just as she turned to look at me.

There was a little pause, and then we were both giggling hard enough to have a few of the kappa shoot us a glare. Pinkblue Madness threw some kind of small candy at us. I know it was her because a 'thwap' resounded a moment later and Black Hand of Slap Earning her name once again? hissed "Don't do that, Merlin!"

At some point before the end of the movie, I realized her hand had found its way into mine.

eeeee hee hee hee hee hee~

get excited and hormonal later, i'm trying to watch this

she's holding my haaand~

i can tell

she's holding my hand~

...i know

i just wanted to make sure you did~

if only i had a life that i could voluntarily end

hee hee~

The second movie starts.

It's oh so very, very long, and yet.

And yet.

Compelling?

I notice White Opening, down a row or two from us, staring at the screen as if enchanted.

Whenever "Blondie" shoots the rope, she twitches and grins madly.

Actually, whenever he shoots someone at all. But the rope especially.

Must be a favorite of hers.

Orange seems to have fallen asleep during this, and I don't blame her. I guess it's not for everyone.

She's leaning against me, so yes. Blaming her is out of the question.

I'm glad Gensokyo doesn't have a desert.

Not one that I know of, anyway. There might be one in Elsewhere, though. I wouldn't doubt Down Under in the Bad Place has a few. It looks like the sort of thing they specialize in.

Either way, I'm just glad I don't have to run the risk of crossing one.

The friendship of the two characters is very, very odd. Backstab, smile, lie, reality, helping out. Lather, rinse, repeat.

The end has me-- ha ha --on edge.

I sigh in relief as the man screams his final epithets at Blondie, and then the movie is over.

Oh, break time?

nudge nudge

"Mmm? Oh, hi Kabuki..."

Bleary, blinking beautiful red eyes.

Jeepers~

Creepers~

"There's an intersomething before the last movie, they said. Do you want anything?"

"Mm? Oh, sure. Can you bring me back some of those devil eggs and the salami-cucumber sandwiches?"

"If my princess commands it."

Deep bow.

thwap

-gently-

and a giggle.

"You can be such a damn show-off, you know that? Now get going, minion!"

I snicker as well, and take my leave.

Oh, damn.

Bright lights.

Normal lights, but they seem bright.

Time for the mighty hunter-gatherer to go to work.

[ ] I must feed first, in order to carry out her wishes
[ ] FOR THE QUEEN

_______________________________________________________________________________________

A few thoughts:

-I hope I didn't screw this one up too much. I feel sort of okay with it, so that can't be a good sign.

-Would probably have replaced Princess Bride with Munchausen if it hadn't meant another few hours taken up.

-I'm so goddamn glad I watched The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly before the first two movies. I don't think I'd have been nearly as eager to keep watching them otherwise.

>>102643
...And? You say that like it's an uncommon thing to like that movie. Who doesn't like it?

>>102661
[x] FOR THE QUEEN

[x] FOR THE QUEEN
>I hope I didn't screw this one up too much. I feel sort of okay with it, so that can't be a good sign.
You did fine.

[X] FOOD FOR THE FOOD QUEEN

[x] FOR THE QUEEN

There's no shame in liking "The Princess Bride" since despite its title, there's some rather manly feats in it.

>>102677
Manliest movie with Princess in the title I've ever watched.

also,
[x] FOR THE QUEEN

>Princess Bride
If the kappa thought Kogasa and Orange giggling was annoying, they're gonna hate it when Kogasa freaks the fuck out during the scene with The Machine.

Although there is a slim possibility that she'll be like "Torture? He hasn't even lost any limbs yet!"

[X] FOR THE QUEEN

Do they have popcorn, or something else that can be shared?

[x] FOR THE QUEEN


Grab popcorn and drinks

[x] FOR THE QUEEN

[X] FOR THE QUEEN

I suspect the torture scenes will not go over will.

[x] FOR THE QUEEN

[x] FOR THE QUEEN

>I have a seat and begin to read while munching on rectangular crackers made by miniature wrinkled old men in trees

Keebler elves? I assume these are the 'club cracker' variety?

[x] FOR THE QUEEN

Round up the usual suspects.

[ ] FOR THE QUEEN

But also

[] Get something for yourself too.

[♛] FOR THE QUEEN

She must be obeyed.

Obedience is life.

Failure is death.

All hail the Crimson Queen.

First, eggs of the devil. Apparently you don't have to go to Elsewhere to find these.

This is fortunate, as I doubt the devil would take kindly to people filching her eggs.

I stock up the plate with five or six of the split hard-boiled egg treat things, downing one for myself.

Mmmm. Devilicious.

Neeeext

nextnextnext

Ooh, grab a couple meat buns.

Next, next...

Ahh, the sandwich tray.

Four out of five youkai prefer sandwiches over the leading brand of triangles that you can eat.

Three of the ones marked "Salami and cucumber," one from the "Cucumber vs. Mecha Cucumber" stack, and two for myself from the tray labeled "Shrabster Special."

Kappa are very strange people.

I'm about to go back when I notice the machine full of yellow and white dots is pop pop poppity crack poppitypoppitypopopopping, and people are starting to gravitate towards it.

I rocket towards it instead, and end up being only the third person in line with several more behind me.

It's gotta be good if it's this popular, right?

The kappa working the machine (It says "Ｆｒｅｓｈ－ｐｏｐｐｅｄ Ｐｏｐｃｏｒｎ" on the side. I ask somebody what it means, and the best translation that I can get seems to be "Banged grains.") scoops out a huge amount into a stiff paper bucket.

It smells sort of good.

I thank them, and return in time to see the movie start with some kid looking at blocky people on a television set.

We mow through the food in an almost efficient manner, completely enraptured by the film.

I make a note to watch out for six-fingered people.

I'm glad the green girl doesn't have a Machine. If she did, she'd have used one by now. I think.

I briefly entertain the notion of searching for an ocean in Gensokyo for the sole purpose of taking up Dread Pirating. All my grass would be back to its proper shade after only a month, I'm sure of it. I decide to stick with my enormous-stack-of-chairs cafe, though. It would get more repeat business.

A few times during the movie, our hands meet as we both go for the popcorn at the same time. We trade grins, and giggle. Quietly, though.

And blush a bit.

That is, she did.

I totally didn't.

you're trying to fool who, exactly, with that?

fool what? who? i don't need any

yep; smooooooooth like sandpaper

well, it ta-- oh, screw you

haw haw

Despite such occasional interruptions, this film was easily the best of the three.

The end of the movie sticks in my mind, and I wonder what it would be like to ki I help Orange up after the lights come back on, and we leave the "theater."

Some eager kappa surround us and ask us several questions about the movies, the building, the food, the service, the seating, the overall experience, and so on. Answering their questions, we eventually break free after filling a small box up with leftovers from the tables outside, and exit into the cool "outdoor" air of Mizukan in the late, late evening.

The ghosts are talking amongst themselves, several feet away.

[ ] Come into my web
[ ] Flee, flea
[ ] What's the buzz?

_______________________________________________________________________________

>>102751
I love those crackers.

>>102845
Already planned on it. It was just about the order, really. A few things would have changed if the other vote had won, but both Orange and the protagonist would have gotten food.

>>102686
That slim possibility is about what I'd planned on. Also, stole your popcorn idea.

>>102672
Thank you.

>>102677
>>102683
Exactly. But the point was that liking it isn't weird or special. It's the normal reaction.

[x] Come into my web
Good night hugs away!

>I briefly entertain the notion of searching for an ocean in Gensokyo for the sole purpose of taking up Dread Pirating.
Fuck yes.

[x] Come into my web

[x] Come into my web

Step into my parlour

[X] Come into my web

[X] Come into my web

Our character has become surprisingly sane of late.

[X] Come into my web

> well, it ta-- oh, screw you
> haw haw

I wish I could have a voice in my head this awesome if I go crazy.

[x] Come into my web

[蜘蛛] Step into my web

Casual and offhand.

"You got any plans for later tonight?"

She looks at me in surprise.

Did she really not think that far ahead?

"...Well... I hadn't given it much thought, actually."

She laughs a little.

"I've been enjoying myself too much to consider that, I guess."

Downside: Poor planning skills.

Upside: Apparently I'm doing something right.

"Well... you could come by and meet the band properly. The movies were good, but you haven't gotten to do that yet, right?"

"Oh... no, I can't possibly do that... I'm probably getting in everyone's way, aren't I? Don't you all have to clean up and pack away all this stuff?"

"Nonsense. We carry only our instruments."

White Opening speaks from behind both of us.

Right behind.

She covers her mouth as she laughs lightly at the sight of both of us whipping whip crack around to look at her.

I didn't even hear her.

Then again, I was probably far more occupied with Orange.

Damn.

"The sound equipment mostly belongs to the kappa, dear. There's very little for us to put away."

"...Oh? Well, then... um."

Orange looks flustered.

I'm saved from looking like that as well, thanks to White Opening's timely interruption.

There are a very few ways one can

-casually, smoothly-

ask someone to sleep with you.

Platonically.

All in one go, and without a bunch of explaining.

So:

"Right. And if you want to stay here for the night, you can."

Throw that in at just the right point, and

aaaand

"Wha-- you're... really? Is that actually okay?"

i should really feel bad about doing this

well, you're doing it just to stick around her, right? it's not like you're going to rape her or something

or for her to hang around me

then taking advantage of someone's confusion is a perfectly okay thing to do

it sounds so much more unpleasant when you say it like that; it's not like i'm getting her drunk

semantics

uh, no, there's a pretty big difference there

and saying 'semantics' makes you sound like a prick

i give advice and give advice and all you do is complain about my voice

you don't have a voice

see? complaining

I try very hard not to sigh irritatedly.

It takes some effort.

"Of course it is!"

"Well... if you say so, then all right, I'm up for it! Lead the way, Kabuki!"

My Citrus Princess goes on ahead of me anyway, actions at odds with her statement just then.

A smile creeps its way onto my lips.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nighttime.

Or as night a time as you can get.

They turn the lights down outside.

Orange's excited questions and discussions with the band have long since ended, and now we share a large futon on the floor of the guest room of Performer Housing 1.

I'm almost certain there are more rooms with actual beds available, but any inquiries about them were met with carefully blank looks, and variations on the theme of "Oh gosh, they all seem to be locked. I guess you two will have to share a room, won't you?"

The feeling of simultaneously being grateful to someone and wanting to punch them is a new one to me.

If only I knew who to swing at.

So, now.

Orange lies asleep on her side beside me, hat off, red hair spilling out over her pillow.

Her body rises and falls beneath the covers we share.

I like this.

It feels peaceful.

It lets me forget who I am and what I'm doing and when my hunter will find me.

I probably won't see her again after tomorrow morning.

I'll miss this.

But now, there is just me, and her.

I treasure the moment as I drift off to sleep.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tightness.

Protective, squeezing tightness.

I'm wrapped up in those arms like before.

Someone is holding me tight.

They are afraid, and worried: breaths come quickly, movements feel alert and wary.

The hand strokes my hair.

I'm not wearing the horns here, it seems.

I me I we all of me and I are as I normally am, these days. No oni disguise.

I feel her look down at me, shake her head sadly, and squeeze gently.

I look up, wanting to see who this is.

They're gone.

I am in a lit area in the middle of warm, swirling, dark black red grey not unfriendly--

nothingness.

With light.

A pale green ball appears at at my feet.

It leaps into the air, startling me, and flies up, up, on a long arc.

It's familiar, somehow. Unpleasantly so.

The ball reaches the top of the arc, and begins to descend--

There's that feeling, suddenly

It's like when I

-spend a little-

-spend a LOT-

TURN

TWIST

The sensations hammer themselves into my brain even though I've made no such movement. In fact, I stumble a little, my body briefly reacting to what it's being told it just did, despite not doing it.

The ball, I notice, has turned. It is wildly off the path the arc would have taken it.

It lands back on the ground, surrounded by large grey triangles.

...What the hell is this?

Those protective, protecting arms wrap around me once more.

I feel someone's lips press gently against the back of my head.

"Go."

The voice speaks only this, and I am gone.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wake up in the early, early, early morning.

Still night.

...

...I didn't scream, again.

This might be a good sign.

There was... something.

What was it?

I remember something about balls.

...Balls?

Balls.

I shrug.

I've dreamed of worse, and lived through still worse. Worser?

I curl back up, and go to sleep.

Warmth presses against me.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Daylight.

Warmth still lies close.

Orange is nestled up against my breasts, sleeping silently.

flutter, flutter

The heart speaks.

The mind has an agenda.

So does the body.

Only one decides: what comes next?

[ ] All I ever wanted / All I ever needed / (_____)
[ ] Splish-splash / (_____)
[ ] Have a banana / have a whole bunch / it doesn't matter / what you had for lunch / (_____)

________________________________________________________________________________

No footnotes today.

Except this one.

[X] Splish-splash / (_____)
Weird dream. Though I heard and dreamed a lot weirder.

>Performer Housing 1 in the morning light.jpg
So kappa can read French. Who knew?

>dream sequence
...Huh. Well, at least someone's apparently looking out for us.

[X] All I ever wanted / All I ever needed / (_____)
A brief snuggle before parting ways. ;_;

[X] All I ever wanted / All I ever needed / (_____)

I dunno if Orange would be sticking around for breakfast or a bath, so I think we should just enjoy the moment.

[x] All I ever wanted / All I ever needed / (_-_-_)

[+] All I ever wanted / All I ever needed / (_____)

Words are very / Unnecessary / They can only do harm

Green ball is Sanae, obviously, so if we assume the grey triangles surround her are other people... maybe the protective tightness is Suika? She hasn't found us because she's attending a party? Maybe?

[x] Splish-splash / I was taking a bath

More Bobby Darin

>>103026
More? There wasn't any in the first place.

[X] All I ever wanted / All I ever needed / (_____)

[X] All I ever wanted / All I ever needed / (_____)

As much as I normally vote against this sort of thing in the name of practicality, I doubt we will get a second chance.

Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.

Also, I just happened to be listening to this while reading today's update.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1h3Tf26TcA

[⊲] All I ever wanted / All I ever needed / Is here / In my arms

I think-

I don't think-

No.

I'm not ready to surrender this happiness just yet.

So

-carefully-

one arm is eased over and around the little red-haired girl's side

And I gently cuddle her closer.

I think I can forgive them for this.

A glance down at her reveals a gentle smile in the midst of her slumber.

...Yes, I can forgive them.

I listen to her gentle breathing, and feel it lightly against my nightclothes.

It's the single most relaxing, peaceful, wonderful thing I have felt in a long, long while.

Slowly, it lulls me back into a restful doze.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Waking occurs.

I look around.

I look down.

She's still there, sleeping.

What woke me up?

...Noises come from down the hall.

Again?

Yes.

Okay.

I look around again. Light seems to be filtering in from outside a bit more.

The band sounds pretty up and awake.

[ ] Bed & Breakfast
- ( ) For me
- ( ) ...and thee
[ ] Car wash
- ( ) First in line
- ( ) Second in line
- ( ) Two-seater Oh god if only
[ ] Convention Hall
- ( ) General Assembly
- ( ) For one reason only:
- - { } The boss
- - { } The bipolar
- - { } The black
- - { } The batshit
- - { } The bird

________________________________________________________________________________

Kinda short. Sorry about that. Been busy at the gym and buying things for cooking tonight. And then actually cooking.

Did anyone else always hear the first half of those lyrics as "All I want is / All I need is"? I know I did.

>>102990
I wonder how many people notice that I custom-name every picture for these threads.
At least one, it seems.
Good on ya.

>>103026
I giggled like mad when I read this.
I'll let the reason why be a mystery to you.

[x] Car wash
- (x) Two-seater Oh god if only

>[ ] Car wash
>- ( ) Two-seater

DO THE IMPOSSIBLE
VOTE THE UNVOTABLE

...Okay no.

[X] Bed & Breakfast
- (X) For me
- (X) ...and thee

[~] Car wash
- (~) Two-seater

[x] Car wash
- (x) Six-seater.

...You all do know that the "two-seater" thing is not an available option, right?

That's sort of why it's got a line through it.

>>103153
Screw it, let's brute-force it.

>>103154
Well, you can try.

I won't be writing it, though.

BUT OH GOD I WANT TO SO BADLY

[X] Bed & Breakfast
- (X) For me
- (X) ...and thee

[X] Bed & Breakfast
- (X) For me
- (X) ...and thee

[x] convention hall
(x) the bird

>>103146
>>103148
>>103149
>>103150
Dammit.

Fine, taken into consideration.

[X] Bed & Breakfast
- (X) For me
- (X) ...and thee

[x] Car wash
- (x) Two-seater

I'm sorry, dear writer, but a call has been made to vote the unvotable. I must heed this call. I'm sure you understand.

>>103224
Vote! Vote! Fight da pawaa!

I can totally see bath vote backfiring on us if it wins.

So I'm going to choose to vote sensibly.

[X] Bed & Breakfast
- (X) For me
- (X) ...and thee

>>103226

Who knows, since sometimes a joke/invalid option results in something nice like GH's Patchy H-scene.

That and I don't think Fell is that bad of a troll towards readers.

[鬼] Bed & Breakfast - For me ...and thee~

Once again, I, the mighty and terrible oni, rise from my place of rest in search of sustenance.

Quietly exiting the lair so as not to disturb my mate fellow lair-sharer, this mighty hunter pads down the canyon floor, treading quietly upon the lush blue undergrowth carpeting the area.

I descend the mountain slope at the end of the canyon, and begin the long trek to the hunting grounds.

Finally, I find it.

A land of white, where even the very earth is hard, flat, and cool.

Even this cannot deter one such as myself.

I gain entrance into the Mountain of White, where every breath expelled turns to mist in the chill air.

My prey is close, now.

I find them on the glassy terrain found in the Mountain of White:

The children of the devil, hiding under a clear blanket.

The triple layered beasts, bound tightly as they rest in hibernation, unaware of what stalks them.

The townsfolk, dwelling within the White Village.

My lips curl in a fierce, hungry smile.

Fools.

They'll all be dead within the hour.

Dealing with the children first, I put them onto a sled for easy transport back to the lair. They soon share space with the beasts, still slumbering away, unaware of their impending doom.

The people in the village are another story.

I seize the entire village in one hand, massive fingers effortlessly grabbing all four angled walls, and throw the entire thing into the nearby City of Sacrifice.

The village lands, shaking the townspeople all about.

The City of Sacrifice gives no answers, and it offers no quarter. Its black, shining walls are as merciless as the otherworldly creatures that made it.

Slamming shut the gates of the city, I stand outside it, and utter four short, high, tonal chirps as a prayer to the gods of fire.

My prayer is answered.

Blistering, burning heat fills the City of Sacrifice, and blazing light blossoms inside its borders.

I laugh long and merrily as occasional pops and screams from the transplanted village reach my ears.

I am interrupted as the Dawn-Colored Hunter of Starlight makes her presence known.

Her eyes regard me with great suspicion. She asks of me: For what purpose or cause do I fill the hunting grounds with sounds of joyful triumph?

I reply: Merely the glorious morning feast, Starlight Hunter. The feast, and the sacrifice.

She waits a few moments before replying: I see. It was a most strange and terrifying sound to come from the hunting grounds. My sisters and I wondered if you had fallen in battle or been struck by a passing madness.

Nay, I reply unto her. For am I not in good health and sound of body and mind? Gaze upon, me, O Dawn-Colored Hunter, and try to say it is not so.

The Hunter gazes at me with a strange look in her eyes, before responding: I shall not comment.

Smirking in triumph, I nod to her genrously, and she leaves the hunting grounds peacefully.

Shortly after, the gods themselves cry out in a long, wailing chorus, returning the prayer unto me, the terrifying oni hunter, letting me know that my offering was well-received, and that I may enter the City of Sacrifice and retrieve the bodies.

I give thanks unto the gods of fire, and throw open the gates to the City.

I clutch the town's walls, hot to the touch and singed, and tear it from its resting spot anew.

Taking it in one hand, I clutch the sled containing the devil's children, horrified at my vicious slaughter; and the still-snoozing soft beasts beside them.

My return journey is unhindered, and I make my way back to the lair, eager to share the feast with my mate She, Covered in Red.

All Hail the Crimson Queen.

...

Re-entering the room, time seems to slow down.

As I open the door, the other door leading to the shower off this room is being closed.

Not quite fast enough, though:

long, loose-hanging red hair

looong

comes to an end

and there it brushes the top of a toned, rounded rear

which continues down

down

long, lovely legs

like an athlete's

and then that sliver of a view ends as the door shuts.

Humming comes from the bathroom as water starts up.

Another western shower, perhaps?

The room didn't look big enough for the traditional kind.

Gently closing the door to this behind me, I set down the food onto a small table by one wall.

Her clothes lay neatly piled by the door.

Huh.

They're orange.

Fitting, in several ways.

It's not snooping if they're sitting right on top, there.

I eye the food.

I look at the bathroom door.

Patience? or Push?

[ ] Nice
[ ] Smooth

________________________________________________________________________________

>>103225
ಠ_ಠ

>>103245
Trust me, you'll get no trolling from me.

...Okay, maybe a little, now and then. But nothing huge.

Neither will (nor do) I write despair/enduring bad consequences just because I can.

Keep that firmly in mind.

[X]Smooth

[x] Smooth

[x] Smooth

[x] Smooth

Criminal

[X] Smooth

No sense in waiting.

[X] Nice

Pissing against the tide. What exactly are you guys hoping for with "Smooth", anyway?

Was going to vote
>[ ] Nice
But then I remembered
[x ] Smooth
like sandpaper.

>>103263
I'm assuming it's "Be nice and wait," and "Be smooth, infiltrate."

[x] Smooth Criminal

[Օ] Smooth

The door.

It taunts me with its.... doorness.

Being all flat and made of wood.

Looking down at me with its wood grain finish!

Smug bastard.

Oh look at me and my brass knobs.

Brass, schmass.

C'mon.

Do it.

Do what?

It.

I don't know what that is.

No, not that. It.

Huge difference, there.

I think I'm making excuses to myself, now.

are not

am too

are not!

am too!

are not!

then how come i'm opening the door? by the way, am too

wha?

...Wha?

Wait, fuck, I really am opening the door.

Steam rushes out.

Fools rush in.

That's why I pause.

blink

look at my hand

Yep.

I opened the door, all right.

But I didn't.

wasn't me either

a likely story

go in already, you wuss

Humming continues from inside the shower.

Water falls and spatters and runs and makes noise like it should.

In or out?

...

In.

And so I cross the threshold

step

And I keep on walking.

Slowly.

The tile floor is slightly cool, and barely damp.

Another

step

This bathroom is nicer than the one at the ghost's house.

Everything's all marble or granite.

The kappa really wanted to impress.

They're doing a good job.

Another

ste---p

Oh.

I see something as amazing as before.

If only the damned glass weren't all pebble-y and translucent.

I see all of Orange's body, now. What the sight loses in clarity it makes up for in totality.

You could watch this forever.

That's about what happens.

It's a pleasant fate.

Abruptly, the shower slides open. Steam billows out, and Orange leans partly out of the shower to pick up a little bottle of something by the floor outside, and straightens up.

Apparently I pleased some kind of god, and angered another.

She takes notice of me.

Pause.

blink

blink

My gaze travels down that fine, lovely, wonderful body, and back up.

She hasn't freaked out.

Okay, time to do something.

My face is about as red as hers by now.

Smooooothly pivot to the side-- oh, that's no good, the mirror's there.

Turn a little more. Facing the door, now.

"Wow, hey. I just came in here to tell you I brought you breakfast."

Pause.

Almost like her focus is somewhere distant.

"...Oh, you did? ...Thank you very much, Kabuki."

Pause.

Um...

"Um. Sorry about that."

Long pause.

"It happens."

...What kind of answer is that?

"I'll be out in a bit," she adds.

Ah.

"Okay."

I exit.

Well.

That could have gone worse.

What was I expecting?

I don't know. I still don't know why I went in there.

Such thoughts are put aside as I set up breakfast on the little table, then have a seat in one of the chairs by it, awaiting her appearance.

Eventually the water stops.

Noises of toweling and drying fill my ears and images fill my mind and red fills my face. Again.

The door opens after a bit, and she reaches around to pick up her clothes by the door.

Massive willpower is all that keeps me from looking.

She hums to herself.

"Not peeking again, are you?"

Goddamn this woman.

"I'm having a hard time of it, but I'm managing."

Okay, a little too honest, there.

She chuckles.

A minute later, she's dressed and seated before me, happily tearing into the sandwiches.

I myself am devouring the remnants of my food from the restaurant.

And so in this way, at this little table, we share our last meal together.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All good things must come to an end.

We stand outside Performer Housing 1.

The poltergeists talk amongst themselves, a little ways away from Orange and I. Extra Bird has already left ahead of us, like last time.

A tight, close hug.

"Thank you for everything, Kabuki. I... I had a really, really good time last night. Nobody's done anything like that for me in a long time."

Her hair smells like some kind of flower I can't put my finger on.

She pulls back, slightly.

I think she's trying not to cry.

"I just... Oh, the hell with it."

...Hmm?

hands cup my face and

oh god

that's

that's very good.

her lips taste like sunshine

I don't think that's possible but I've been crazy for a while and I think I know my non-tangible senses thank you very much

I return the kiss

happily

And all too soon, it's over.

She pulls back again. We must both be blushing furiously.

I think it's my turn to say something. She looks like she's going to explode.

"I'll always remember this, too. It's been a lovely day and night for me as well, simply to have known you."

That came out all wrong. Dammit.

Doesn't seem to bother her, though. She's smiling again.

I take her hands in mine, and squeeze gently.

We hug again.

Another "Thank you..." is whispered in my ears, and we part and and we depart.

She waves as we exit the cavern.

My eyes are kind of wet.

It must be condensation or something.

Of course.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Out and out we go, out of the caves and caverns of Mizukan like bats, flap flap flap.

Nobody flaps their arms when flying.

I wonder if it would help.

I'm able to keep an even pace with the ghosts this time, so travel time is much much shorter.

And if I play my cards right, then tonight tonight tonight I'll be back in top form.

Or something close to it.

[ ] Play it classic
[ ] Play it creepy

________________________________________________________________________________

Damn, an early update? Vote it up, and I might write one later tonight, too.

And more importantly, if Suika breaks the law, does that make her a Smooth and Flat Criminal?

[x] Play it creepy

I don't know what this choice is but why not?

[X] Play it creepy

I don't understand the choices, either, but given how our character's personality has been portrayed, I think she would in general prefer creepy over classic.

[x] Play it creepy

[X] Play it classic
The classics are the best. Besides, if we're relying on this to get back in top form, better something that's less likely to backfire, and the classics have a more conservative risk/reward ratio.

Again.

>>103295
Well, actually, you were spot on with the guess, judging by the wording of your vote that ...was here.

>>103296
And now your post is there, despite all my F5ing and Ctrl+F5ing.

Huh.

My browser seems to be going all kerfuckity.

[X] Play it classic

[x] Play it classic

[x] Play it classic

>>103288
Oh god, the pun. It makes me groansmile.

[+] Play it classic

Really taking a leap of faith on the "no despair" thing.

>>103297
It's the board software; some part of the tables didn't update right and it got fixed when you posted because it updated the tables correctly this time.

It happens sometimes.

[町] Play it classic

And I'll be playing them tried and true.

Tradition is tradition for a reason: it's traditional.

Who needs logic when you have tradition?

Damn straight.

wait, what?

you heard me

yes, i heard you, but that's sort of the problem

what problem?

your... you

ya lost me

that's never been very difficult

totally

it takes all the fun out of it when you agree

i think we've been over this

and yet it never sinks in, does it?

nope~

We fly fly zippity zoom in the sky.

Morning light upon our backs, the spook squad of we and they and I and everyone soars on and on and along and on and off again and over we go.

Green greens beneath me, blue sky above me~

Here I am, stuck in the middle with you~

Back over the forest, skim over the trees.

White Opening, Pinkblue Madness, and I play Treetop Slalom.

Pinkblue Madness wins by three points.

I manage to brush the last of the pine needles off of me a few minutes before the village comes into view.

It's a fairly good-sized Is anything ever bad-sized? settlement. More like a large town than a mere village.

I still don't know what that big ladder-thingy is in the center.

People talky noisy noises and civilization sounds and smells and things and stuff stuff stuff everywhere!

We bank downwards and soar over the village and ooooh yes, contact rush already just from appearance.

Let's play a little~

I swoop doooown

zip zip zip through the streets on the second story level

a few yelps of surprise and startled people

Ah, it's good to be doing what I love best, again.

But I'm barely lifting a finger.

It doesn't feel quite right.

I'll probably get in trouble later for it, too.

Ah, well.

I pull back up, rejoining Ghost Squadron.

I idly watch the people below me.

Three people arguing over something at the market. Looks like a goat.

Some girl with crinkly bunny ears carrying a small table back down a hill. This table is of the highest quality. It menaces with the shine of fresh polish.

Old women chatter babble talky taaalk and prove the kanji right.

A young man is nailing together doors lengthwise, like an Outsider plane. How odd.

Somebody's ramen stand smells good.

A large, fat, almost spherical man is beating the ever-loving hell out of a surly, disreputable-looking youth and yelling at him while he does so. Something about staring at women's ankles.

A merchant is selling some square watermelons, trying to get rid of his stock before autumn gets too far underway. He's having a little bit of success. They're a bone-chilling sight, those things.

Some children run by, carrying a bunch of eggs. One has what looks an awful lot like Mini Mini following him.

Three or four people are building a house on the edges of town.

A boy with blue hair is fishing in a pond. He seems quite intent on his work.

Balanced Head Nice Blue is bent down, talking very earnestly to... is that Little Dark? I make a circle overhead once just to double-check. ...Yep, sure is. Well, I suppose she knows what she's doing.

Some ghosts are down in an amphitheater, by a stage. They wave at me! How nice.

...

Hmm.

Oops.

I double bubble, floaty zoom, on back, and land beside them.

"Eheh... Sorry about that. Got caught up watching people," I tell them.

"It's cuzza, her her yer headthing. It's in the clouds, y'know." White Opening giggles madly after this.

We make arrangements, and they head off to go get set up.

There's still quite a while before the show starts.

There's work to be done.

There's a lot of town left for me to explore.

[ ] Endeavour
[ ] Discovery

________________________________________________________________________________

The effects of the "[x] classic" choice aren't over. They'll be seen here and there during the heroine's entire stay in the village, but it was something that had to be chosen before she got there.

>picture
Pay no attention to that truck.

>>103358
Thank you~

And it's "no despair just because I can," actually.

>>103361
Oh, really? Thanks. That clears things up.

>And it's "no despair just because I can," actually.
Good enough for my purposes.

...but again, I don't quite know what I'm voting for, here.
[+] Endeavour

>>103374
>This table is of the highest quality. It menaces with the shine of fresh polish.
On the item is an image of Rabbits in dust. On the item is an image of Aliens in dust. The Rabbits are praying to the Aliens.

It probably menaces with spikes too.

[X] Discovery
Hopefully, a vote for stealthy observation first. It launched the Hubble, after all.

[X] Discovery

[x] Endeavour

[ ]Challenger

[X] Endeavour

>Some children run by, carrying a bunch of eggs. One has what looks an awful lot like Mini Mini following him.
Too soon.

[x] Discovery

Man, I love reading your updates the second time even more than the first.

>Here I am, stuck in the middle with you~
Suddenly, Reservoir Dogs!

>Old women chatter babble talky taaalk and prove the kanji right.
Except it's normally written 喧しい, what with 姦 showing up in such lovely words as 姦通, 強姦, and 獣姦.

>>103410
I don't follow.

[x] Discovery
Something About Us. ;_;

>>103416

Read the ending to Desdaxis's thread in /others/.

>>103416
And 輪姦.

But I think the meant 姦しい, as well as the old "three women together = trouble" saying.

[B] Columbia

>>103427
ಠ_ಠ

[x] Enterprise

Am I doin' it rite?

[x] Discovery

>>103432
No you are not.

[☆] Discovery

I can prooooobably go to work not just yet.

Well.

There's work and then there's Work.

Big difference.

Time to get to it!

Skipping off back into the streets of the town, I ponder:

How many?

Five sounds good, for now.

I stop skipping, because oni don't skip.

They swagger.

I should be able to solve this.

[(5x+7y) / (21z-q)³] + 3πr²

Solve for bullshit.

The answer is of course お2

No it isn't, they say.

Yes it is.

But why?

You didn't read the answer.

Easy peasy schmesy sleazy.

All in a day's work.

-----------------------------------------------------------

The blue-haired boy sits on the edge of the small lake at one end of the village. The fish haven't been biting well here, lately, and he's thinking of trying out Misty Lake soon. This little pond is too close to civilization, after all. Misty Lake is further out, and a bit more risky, but as long as he makes it back before late afternoon, he ought to be fine. Who knows, it j--
Oh hey, something's biting!
He sits upright, and seizes the pole, reeling in his catch.
...Wow, it seems awfully big. Was this fish hiding at the bottom, biding its time? Well, no matter.
Yanking hard, he yanks on his pole, and brings the fish out of the water with a huge splash!
...
What the hell?
...A girl in a sopping wet kimono rises floats above the lake.
Oh shit, is it a dead bo--
No wait, it wouldn't be floa--
But ghosts fl--
...Hold on, what the hell is she doing?
The girl, very not dead at all, is tugging at something in the back of her mouth, like a person trying to pick out a stuck piece of meat.
There's a little metallic clinking sound, and then a quiet snap.
She pulls her fingers back out of her mouth, and looks at the broken remnants of what must be, the bewildered boy realizes suddenly, his own fishing hook.
He falls to his knees, and begins offering profuse apologies to this woman, who must surely be the goddess of the pond.
"Rise, child~" she says.
The boy pauses in his frantic pleas for forgiveness, and looks up.
Immediately he looks back down again, cheeks heating up. That kimono is clinging really tightly to her figure.
"...I said rise, dammit."
Slowly, the boy gets up, but keeps his gaze averted slightly.
"Now, uh... did you lose a fishing hook just recently?"
He nods.
"Was it this one?"
The woman holds out a golden hook to him.
Oh, this? He knows how this goes.
He shakes his head.
"Hmm... then was it... Oh. Well, that's all I found down there. Sorry."
She shrugs, and hops onto the edge of the shore, and walks off, patting him on the shoulder as he goes by, heading into town.
He blinks. Hold on, that isn't how it's supposed to work!
He turns to chase after her, but she's already gone.
Sighing unhappily, he reaches down to pick up his fishing pole. As he does so, something sharp pokes him in the shoulder.
Yelping in surprise, he fumbles and twists around, looking about, then down at his shoulder.

There, poking through his shirt, is a gold fishing hook.

The soft sound of giggling echoes faintly over the water...

(Choose one)
[ ] I need somebo~dy
[ ] Simple

________________________________________________________________________________

Today's delay has been brought to you by the Let's Play archive. Animal Crossing was glorious.

Anyway, I'll be writing these all anyway, so vote early, vote often, and probably don't bother trying to guess what the choices mean, for now. They likely won't make sense until afterwards.

>>103410
>>103416
Half the fun of references is putting them in. The other half is when people eventually notice them.

>>103460

>Today's delay has been brought to you by the Let's Play archive.

Go read GuavaMoment and Jade Star's XCOM and UFO Threads if you haven't already.

[x] I need somebo~dy

[x] I need somebo~dy

Heeheehee.

[X] Simple

[x] I need somebo~dy

[x] I need somebo~dy

Is putting it in italics making it kind of unreadable/hard to read? I wanted to make it clear that it's not from the POV of the protagonist anymore, but it looks evil like this.

>>103489
The previous post, that is.

[X] I need somebo~dy

>>103489
I think it gets the point across well.
if he gets an umbrella or other talking voices, will they talk in non-italic?

{X} I need somebo~dy

[x] I need somebo~dy

[埋葬虫] I need somebo~dy


A woman walks down the street, shopping bag in one hand, as she returns home. She's bought everything she needed today, and managed to get a fairly good price on everything she was after, except for the leeks. Kobako, her usual source for them, was all out. She'd had to buy them from one of the other merchants instead, but it wasn't too big a deal.
She takes a left off the street she was on, taking a shortcut between a few old warehouses. It was off the beaten path, but it saved her a good five minutes or more that she'd have had to spend pushing through the more crowded avenues at this time of day.
She does not see the figure peeling itself away from the crowd and following her.
She doesn't see it stalking her, coming up behind her.
She does feel it yank her inside one of the storehouses, does hear the door slam shut, does feel the hand on her mouth and glimpse the knife at her throat.
"No talking, no screaming. Do you understand?"
The man's cold, ugly voice speaks these words to her, making it clear that a "no" will not end well. Neither will "yes," but she'll probably be alive at the end.
Maybe.
She nods, tears starting to form in her eyes.
"Good," purrs that ugly voice. She's pinned up against something, and feels rope bind her hands behind her back. Once done, they sip under her clothing, squeezing, touching.
The man grins. He laughs quietly, enjoying the fear, enjoying the feel.

plink

Something hits him on the back of the head. He pauses.
It felt small, like a tiny, thin pebble. It's an old building; there's probably mice, he reasons. Whatever. He starts to move his hands again--

plink plink plink

Okay, what is that? Shit, is somebody throwing something at him? Damn. Killing people isn't supposed to be part of the job. Just a little raping, you know?
He turns around, glaring at the ceiling.
"Who's up there?!"
The woman starts, slightly. There might be hope!
"I was takin' a little sunbath to dry out, and then I hear some kinda badness goin' on down below."
The man's head whips around, searching for the source of that drawling voice.
"We don't take kindly to your sort in these here parts, mister."
There, up in the rafters! A girl in what looks like a rumpled kimono is slightly visible.
"And just what do you plan on doing, girl?"
He brandishes the knife, and pulls the woman closer, ready to use his victim as a hostage, if he must.
The girl above takes a bite of something wet and crispy-sounding as she watches the scene below her. She chews thoughtfully, then spits something out.

plinkplinkplinkplink!

The man flinches as the things land on his face. growling slightly, he plucks one off, looking at it.
...Watermelon seeds..."
He looks back up--
--and goes wide-eyed, giving a brief cry of surprise at the sight of the girl in the rafters plummeting downwards right above him, holding one of those weird square watermelons in one hand, a large chunk cut out of it--
THWAKMPF
His earlier victim stumbles away as he lets go. She turns back to see the girl from the rafters slamming the watermelon onto the man's head, encasing it inside like some kind of helmet.
The man screams a muffled scream, and fumbles about, blinded, stunned, and probably suffocating.
...And the girl just stands there grinning at him. She shivers a little, as if experiencing something wonderful.
It takes her a moment to notice the bound woman.
"Oh, right. I'm going to need those ropes, so if you could-- ah, one moment."
She turns back to the man, and pins him to the wall, one-handed, and leans against him with her whole arm, restraining him. Her other hand dips inside her kimono and pulls out a knife.
Squinting at the surface of the watermelon, she raises the knife, muttering "Abooout... there?"
The knife is plunged carefully into the fruit. The man screams a little louder in response.
"Whoops. Must have been a bit high. How about... here?"
Another stab. A wiggle of the blade.
"There we go~"
Working quickly and carefully, she cuts a small wedge out of the watermelon, exposing the man's nostrils, which flare wide as he draws in breath deeply and rapidly, panicked and still confused.
Turning back, the girl smiles at the horrified, yet fascinated woman, and beckons her over with the hand still holding the knife, dripping pale pink from the fruit.
"C'mon, I ain't gonna hurtcha."
The woman shuffles over, and turns as the girl motions for her to do so. There's a thunk as she stabs the knife into the wall, getting a startled jump out of both man and woman alike.
She spends the next few minutes cursing under her breath as she undoes the bindings one-handed, but finally succeeds, pulling the rope off.
The girl makes a shooing motion to the freed woman, who stands there for a bit, rubbing her wrists.
"All right, show's over. I got work to do."
"...Th-thank you very much!" The woman bows deeply, pathetically grateful.
"Yes, fine, you're welcome. Go already, damn."
Unwilling to further irritate her savior, the woman quickly straightens her clothes as best she can, and scurries out of the warehouse, stopping only to snatch up the bag that she'd dropped outside before racing home.
Back in the warehouse, the girl in the rumpled kimono grins a truly unpleasant grin as she gathers up the rope.

--------------------------

The next day a group of laborers entering the Fujikumi Stock & Supply Warehouse were startled to find a barely conscious man strung up in the middle of the building. He was bound with rope, hanging by his hands and feet. Someone had cut "Rapist" into his body on his arms, chest, hands, palms, and neck.
But the weirdest part, one of them commented to Commissioner Kotohime afterwards, was that it was on his forehead, too. And yet, they'd had to crack the watermelon open themselves before they saw it.


>[ ] I need somebo~dy (Help!)
[ ] Simple
[ ] ...Bullets! My only weakness!

Kogasa's the goddamn Batman.

[X] ...Bullets! My only weakness!

>>103489
If you had access to more complete formatting tools, I would suggest blockcaps or a distinct font, but given the medium, I think italics is the best choice.

[X] ...Bullets! My only weakness!

Let's see where this goes; this seems as if it's her misadventures in the village.

"I'm the goddamn umbrellagirl!"

[⌦] Bullets! My only weakness!

Tamao the grocer was doing well, today. He'd already had plenty of customers, though right now there was a slight lull in patronage. No matter, though. Business would pick up during the evening rush as people got off work and came home, or went out to buy things for making dinner.
He lies back in his chair, relaxing.
ding-dingity-ding~
Oh, an early one?
"Welcome, ma'am!" he says to a girl in a slightly damp-looking kimono. She's facing away from him, looking at the shelves, looking around in general. It's almost like she's never been inside such a place, Tamao thinks.
"Can I help you find something today? We've got a lovely selection of daikon today, and we're having a sa--"
The words die on his lips as the girl turns around.
The huge club.
The horns.
Sweet merciful Buddha, an oni! There's an oni in his shop!
Sweat breaks out on Tamao's forehead. Remain calm. He has to remain calm.
Okay, okay.
Don't panic. That's important.
Fortunately, he has a kit that he had been keeping ready for just such an emergency.
Tamao edges slowly back behind the counter and fumbles for a box. He grabs one, and draws it out.
It's a box with a pair of scissors in it. "Ittan-momen Defense Tools." Damn, wrong one! He puts it back, grabs for another.
It's a folded-up body bag. "Snakebite Repair Kit" is printed on the side. Wrong again! Tossing it aside, Tamao goes for a third, hoping to get the right one.
"Honest Hakurei's Oni Prevention and Repellent Emergency Pack." There, finally!
He fumbles open the box with shaking fingers. Forcing himself to stay steady, Tamao looks up at the demon girl.
She's staring intently at his marked-down square watermelons. Oh god, is she cursing them with her devil powers?! Now he'll never be rid of his stock! Worst case scenario, he'll have to hire that spinning goddess or her priestess to come by and remove it, and he doesn't even want to think about how much that will cost...
Okay, box is open. Inside, there's a little pouch with "Roasted soybeans" written on the side, a tin of sardines, and a few sprigs of holly.
It's past the point of preventative measures. Repellent is the main focus, now.
The other shopkeepers laughed when he bought these. Well, they won't be laughing anymore. Not after this.
Tamao opens the pouch, and pours out a few into his hand, then sets the pouch down on the counter.
He picks one out of the small pile in his hand, and tosses it at the demon. It misses.
He tosses another, and another. Ah, that one hits!
She doesn't seem to notice, though. It only hit the folds of her kimono, it seems.
Frowning, the merchant takes three in hand, and flings them all at once. Two hits!
Finally, she notices. ...She doesn't seem to be hissing in pain or anything, though. More confused, than anything. ...Were these beans the real deal?
Another salvo. Aha, she's figured out he's the one doing it! Now leave, oni, leave!
Why does she only look annoyed?
"Hey, what's the big idea, buddy?"
She frowns at Tamao. Oh god the shrine maiden ripped him off. That bitch.
The oni flinches as he throws the rest of the handful at her, and then scurries back behind the counter where he begins frantically turning the key in the sardine tin. She peers down at the beans scattered around her feet, and picks one up, looking closely at it, scrutinizing it.
Her face lights up suddenly.
"Wait. These are roasted soybeans?"
Tamao looks up, face deathly pale.
"...Y-yes...! I mean, yes, they are!"
She looks suddenly stricken, as if just informed that the little bean was a bomb about to go off. She holds it at arm's length, and turns a hollow-eyed gaze to the merchant.
The bean falls out of her hands as she begins trembling, face contorted into a rictus of agony.
"No... how ... how could you have those?!"
She stumbles, looking weaker and weaker with every passing second. Her voice grows hoarse.
Tamao blinks in surprise, and misses the little grin that appears briefly on her lips. ...Maybe they don't work immediately, then..."He puts down the sardine tin, and carefully picks up the pouch of roasted soybeans.
The oni is bent double, now, stumbling towards the exit, casting a despairing glance at the merchant.
"You... you damned human...!"
She clutches at the shelves next to her for support.
She falls to her knees with a cry of pain as Tamao throws one bean, then another at her, taking them out of the pouch.
"I'll... I'll get... you back ...for this... Argh!" Another bean, right between the eyes this time.
She's reduced to crawling on floor, now, weakly trying to get to the doorway.
Tamao decides to end her here and now. He dumps the remaining supply of roasted soybeans out of the pouch into his hand, and chucks the whole handful at her.
The sound of them peppering her body and then clattering to the floor is drowned out by the horrified, agonized, unholy cry of anguish and pain she lets out as she lifts one weak, shaking hand to the open doorway leading to freedom, just inches away from her. Then her arm collapses limply to her side, and she slumps over, sprawled out on his floor.
The shop is deathly quiet.
He stays absolutely still, wide-eyed, and stares at her unmoving form.
It's... it's over, then.
But.
Just to be sure...
He moves slowly and carefully over to her, shoes crunching the roasted soybeans underfoot.
Tamao looks down at her. He feels a little sorry for her, but... an oni's an oni, after all. You just can't b--
Her eyes snap open AND SHE LUNGES AT HIM.
Making weird, bizarre noises, and waggling her tongue back and forth, she seizes him by the shoulders, and brings her face up to his, gazing intently at him with eyes that have suddenly become different-- literally, different.
It stops.
The eyes remain that way before fading back to being the same as before.
He has gone utterly white, and is trembling like a leaf in a hurricane, which is why he doesn't relly notice her shivering happily.
She grins maniacally at him and barks a single word:
"...Boo!"
With a choked, terrified whimper, his eyes roll up into the back of his head and he sinks to the floor.
Grinning like a child opening presents on Christmas morning, she eases him down gently to the floor until he's about an inch or two above the tile floor, then lets him go, with a "bonk" as his head hits the hard surface.
Humming one of the Prismrivers' songs to herself, she stands up, dusting herself off, and looks around.
A few moments later, she's out the door with a cubic watermelon under her arms, and looking for a place to dry off. Somewhere on a roof, maybe, with good exposure to the sun.


>[ ] I need somebo~dy (Help!)
>[ ] ...Bullets! My only weakness! (Oni out, luck in!)
[ ] Heeeey Joe
[ ] Simple

___________________________________________________________

...Only two votes?

;_;

[x] Heeeey Joe

Fuck ;_;.

[x] Simple

Surprise!~

[x] Heeeey Joe

I remember. Jooooooooe.

[X] Heeeey Joe

This is awesome.

[x] Simple

[X]Heeeey Joe.

Kogasa on a suprise spree? Absolutely wonderful.

[x] Heeeey Joe

So I'm guessing this bit happened before the part with the rapist but after the part with the kid that was fishing.

[X]Heeeey Joe.

Where you goin' with thaaat gun in yo' hand~

[x] Heeeey Joe

[銃] Heeeey Joe

Mayugi's breaking-off of the affair he was having with Rumasa's wife, Hayami, caused a lot of arguments, a lot of excuse-making, and in general, a whole lot of problems between them.

In the end, he managed to convince her that it wasn't working out, and that there was no sense in destabilizing either of their marriages this way. They were both young, and had much of their lives still ahead of them, after all, as well as loving, dedicated spouses. Why mess something good up so unnecessarily? Besides, they were bound to be found out sooner or later if they continued their trysting.

All in all, it was the good, responsible, sensible, and smart thing to break it off.

The fact that during their third encounter together, he had been scared witless and shitless by an oni appearing in the most unexpected and startling ways and places...
---hanging upside down outside the bedroom window, whispering from just behind him as he was preparing to take Hayami from behind, twice peeking out from under the bed, once from in the bathtub despite having checked it by then, and three half-caught glimpses after he hurried home after aborting the day's rendezvous entire (blaming a sudden and completely falsified recollection that his wife was in fact coming home early that night)---

---And always, always with that wide, creepy grin---

...was a secret he carried with him to his grave.


>[ ] I need somebo~dy (Help!)
>[ ] ...Bullets! My only weakness! (Oni out, luck in!)
>[ ] Heeeey Joe (Caught somebody's old lady messin' 'round with another man)
[ ] Simple

__________________________________________________________________________

I'll be honest, my mind sort of fizzed out on this one. It seemed a lot better in my head.

I'm very sorry for this, but...

Well, the idea was good, you see?

I just don't think I could have done it up the same way I've done the others.

I assure you, the others will not be such cop-outs.

...Yes, "others."

On another note, thank you for the turnout.

>>103508
Hmm?

>...Only two votes?

Maybe you need to ghost bump your tread sometimes when it is close to page 2 or on page 2. Not all take the time to scroll down, even i need to convince myself to do so.

[x] Simple

Yeah Kogasa's going about having fun surprising people and other assorted hijinks.

[ ] Simple

[X]Simple

And clean.

[a+bi] Complex.

So, I was starting to write [ ] Simple (I know, so much for having them written in advance, right?), when I thought, "Huh, this one might be kind of short, too. Damn..."

Then I thought "What the hell, I'll go ahead and write it anyway. I've got plenty of time today, I can do it just fine."

So I tabbed back to start writing it, and paused, once more, thinking about that last thought.

And another thought occurred to me: "Maybe I shouldn't try writing this after the second or third update I've already done today. And sure as hell not on your 32nd hour awake."

HY and Taisa I ain't. Sorry, folks, but enjoy what today brought you, and let's maybe see if getting some damned sleep doesn't help my writing out.

Slightly related: Are you all enjoying [x] Discovery so far?

>>103524
Oh, it was still on the front page. And not at the bottom, either.

>>103562
...I just noticed I switched tenses in the middle of that.

I feel a little dirty.

>>103562

Yes, very much so, but we still haven't quite figured out the two meanings of Enterprise and discovery.

I can only guess that at the first one might deal with business with the ghosts perhaps.

I think the classic/creepy refers to her surprising style.

>Are you all enjoying [x] Discovery so far?
Very much so, though I must admit I'm not sure how Endeavour would have been different.

Also, square watermelons belong with seedless grapes and mikan oranges in the category of awesome foods made more awesome through judicious application of science, and I urge you to reconsider your stance on rectilinear fruit.

Kogasa shivering in delight~

[x] Simple

Kogasa grindan gaems are the best grindan gaems

>Worst case scenario, he'll have to hire that spinning goddess or her priestess to come by and remove it, and he doesn't even want to think about how much that will cost...

oh ho Adahn price-gouging?

[x] Simple

K.I.S.S.

[︹] Simple

"Come one, come all, come on and try your luck! Honest Hanzo's Shell game will take your money and won't turn its nose up at you, no sir. Your money's always good here, so come on and have a go! Any takers?
"You, sir, you're looking very sure of yourself. Care to have a go? No? Gods watch over you, anyway.
"Come on, folks, your money's doing nothing in your pockets. Why not make it do a little something for you for a change?
"Ah, welcome sir, welcome! Do you know how the game is played?
"Ah, well, it's not too difficult. Y'see, there's one red pea, just one and only one, and I sticks it under one of these four nutshells. Then I shuffle 'em around a little, and you use those well-trained eyes of yours to track where it's goin'. At the end, you place your bet: as small or as little or as large or as big as ya like, assumin' of course that it won't break me, aha. All ya gotta do is guess which shell it might be under.
"Simple as that, sir, care to give it a go?
"Ahahaha, I knew you would, sir, knew you would. Now, just watch the red pea, see it in my hand?
"Good. And you see that there's nothing else under all the other three but a single green pea each?
"Good! Your eyes are as sharp as a tack, sir, sharp as a tack.
"Now I'll just put the red pea under this one and now we just switch and shuffle, shuffle and move, move and scoot, scoot and twist and turn and double and back and one two three four all lined up even as you please, sir. How would you like to place your bet?
"1000 on number three? Very good, sir. Are you absolutely sure? Honest Hanzo always gives his players time to reconsider, so don't feel you're being rushed, sir. We've got all the time in the world.
"Changing it to number two, then, sir? All right, last call?
"Very well, let's have a look, then... oh, I'm sorry, sir. Seems it was number four. Thank you for playing, and better luck next time.
"... ... ... ... heh. Sucker.
"GAH! Goodness' sake, young lady, don't surprise a poor man like that! You half near killed me from the shock! Why, I barely heard you come over here.
"What? 'Sucker'? Ma'am, I am wounded, wounded by such a terrible accusation. I'm an honest business man, running a legitimate business for the sake of entertainment.
"No, no, I assure you, all I said was 'Such a... lovely young lady you are,' in fact. And it's ever so true. Why, I'm half near tempted to break into song right now just lookin' at you! Say, would you care to play a game?
"Ahahaha! Good answer, miss! I'll bet you would, I'll bet you would.
"Now, how it works i-- Oh, you have?
"..And you still want to play? Well, of course you still do!
"Glad to hear it. Are you ready, then?
"Here we go! A shuffle and a move and scoot and switch and a twist and a skitter and a step and it keeps on moving round and round and where does it stop and who knows? Heaven knows and earth knows and I know! How about you, young lady? Do you know?
"--aha, but before you answer, how much will you bet?
"...Oho? You like to play big, I see. Very well then, miss. Which is it under?
"Aha, very funny, miss. But it can't be under all of them. There's only one, you see.
"...Are you sure you want to keep that bet, miss? It's impossible. I only have the one red pea.
"It's your funeral. Here we g--
"What the..."It can't...
"... ... Well... hell.
"I don't know how you managed that miss, but, um... Aha, well, I'm as honest as my name, Honest Hanzo, so... there's double your money. Have a good evening, miss. Goodbye.
"... ... That bitch. Like hell she's going to walk off scot-free.
"... ... ... ... ... ... Hey, Koji? How're you doing? Good, good. Hey, ease up, buddy. It's just me, Hanzo. Say, I've got a bit of a job that needs doing..."

>[ ] I need somebo~dy (Help!)
>[ ] ...Bullets! My only weakness! (Oni out, luck in!)
>[ ] Heeeey Joe (Caught somebody's old lady messin' 'round with another man)
>[ ] Simple ("So, in a nutshell...")

New scenes unlocked!
[ ] Tumbleweed
[ ] Peace and Love

__________________________________________________________________________

Goddamn. I knew Compañeros was awesome, but the rest of the Grim Fandango soundtrack is great, too. are those, anyway?

Also, as for the choices:
Endeavour was Work. Discovery was Play.

>>103555
Oh you.

[x] Tumbleweed

[x] Peace and Love

Ah well this is nice playing and having fun with people.

[X] Tumbleweed

Kogasa challenges Koji to a quick-draw contest at 10 paces while whistling that one Sergio Leone song.

Also, the thought occurs that we may really be opening ourselves up to possible detection by Sanae here. If she goes into town to buy groceries and hears a few stories about an 'oni' with blue hair and odd eyes wandering around scaring people, she'll put two and two together, and then we're back on the run.

>Heaven knows and earth knows and I know!
A con artist yelling this out is rather funny.

[x] Love and Peace
Oh, how does that quote from Trigun go again?

>>103889

If it's an Oni she wouldn't risk it, since as far as she knows, it might be another Oni. She strikes me as a bullying sort, so a being of equal or greater strength she'd avoid.

But I wonder what that Con artist is up to, since it seems he's calling in a favor to deal with that woman (most likely Kogasa)

[x] Tumbleweed

[x] Tumbleweed

[x] Love and Peace

>>103893
>how does that quote from Trigun go again?
"I meditate diligently every morning. The subject is Life and Love.

I quit after three seconds."

...because I know you weren't talking about "Love and Peace."
I really hated that.

>>103794
HNNNNNGGGH

[x] Peace and Love

[x] Peace and Love

So I guess I should get to work, huh?

Writing.

...Writing both of them, actually. Maybe. We'll see.

Update and question: They're either coming tonight or tomorrow. I don't know which, yet.

I can probably get "Peace & Love" done tonight. "Tumbleweed," though... I dunno.

My question for all of you is:
Should I deliver them both at once, or get one out tonight, and the other tomorrow?

>>103988

Depends on how you feel, since if you're tired, I'd rather have you do one tonight and the other one tomorrow.

I vote post them as you finish them, unless there's a compelling reason to do otherwise.

I say do whatever seems to work better for you.

[☮+♥] Peace & Love

Hieda no Akyu breathes deeply of the late August air, and closes her eyes, momentarily enjoying the smell. She's out to go get more ink and pick up a new order of scrolls. The things have to be custom-made, after all: paper doesn't come in long, rolled, continuous sheets by itself, after all.

A frown mars her expression slightly as she hears yelling and sounds of a fight a few streets over. Well, as long as it stays over that way, it's fine. Besides, it doesn't sound like a youkai attack. There'd be a lot more panic, and they'd have sounded the bell.

She shrugs to herself and continues walking.

Several minutes later, she turns down into a row of small shops catering to the more learned citizens of the village: bookshops, magic shops, custom fine-crafted tools, writing and art supply stores, one of the medicine places set up by the rabbits from the bamboo forest, and a little further on in a big section of its own, that new Buddhist temple. What was it called, again? Temple of Myon? Something like that. She needs to schedule an interview with the priestess there, soon.

Further musings are brought to an abrupt halt as a girl in a kimono with some kind of club-- oh, wait. Club, horns... oni? --appeared in front of her.

Funny, she hadn't heard that there were any other oni aboveground aside from Suika. She'd heard mention of there being plenty more below ground, and was still pursuing possible means and methods of going underground with a bodyguard or escort or somebody so as to see what kinds of youkai lived there. It would add a great deal of content to the next volume of Perfect Memento, which was something she always aspired to do. For now, though, she was stuck with what Hakurei and her oni partner could tell her, as well as the ridiculous tales of the witch Kirisame.

Well, this presented... opportunities.

At the moment though, she is somewhat caught up in being rather surprised at this girl who just dropped in front of her. All those thoughts passed through her head a few seconds later. Which is now.

"You! Hide me."

Akyu replies with the first thing that comes to mind: "...Only if I can have an interview with you."

"Done. See me at the sound booth after the show tonight."

Akyu blinks. That was was fast. Most people ask "An interview for what?" This is often followed up with a suspicious look, and then, "You're not with that tengu who writes the paper, are you?"

Well, might as well oblige her... but how?

"You're sort of big, Miss Oni. I'm... not." Akyu points this out to the oni girl, who despite looking nervous, still seems to be running on some kind of adrenaline high.

The oni girl looks at her, confused, and then nods.

"Oh. Heh, right. Just carry me, then."

This request seems about as ridiculous as the first one. Akyu is about to say as much to her when the oni plunks her club down straight in front of her, handle-up. She winks, waves, and then her body curves-bends-twists, then finally seems to disappear into her club.

There is a bit of a rustling sound which is rather curious, but quickly forgotten as she notices that the club is still standing there, not falling over.

...She's expected to... what? Carry that thing? Tentatively she picks it up, and-- hey, it's actually pretty light.

Huh. Well, this simplifies matters.

And so for the next hour or so, the Child of Miare was seen strolling around in the early afternoon sun, holding an enormous spiked tetsubo like it weighed nothing more than an umbrella.

Police Commissioner/Chief/Detective Kotohime comes upon the girl as she was leaving the art supply store. She takes one look at the club, and her eyes narrow. She comes up next to Akyu.

"Eeeexcuse me miss?"

Akyu turns and looks at the village's bastion against lawlessness and crime. The bastion looks back at her, about four inches away from her face. And then at the club. Back at Akyu. Back at the club. Akyu. Club. Akyu. Club.

"........Miss Hieda?"

"Yes, Commissioner Kotohime?"

"Detective Kotohime, actually. Regardless: May I buy that from you? I have a collection of ancient weapons, you see, and that one looks to be over 200 years old. How much would you like for it?"

"Um. I. ...This is a family heirloom, actually. I was going to have it cleaned professionally today."

"It is? ...Well, that's a pity. Very well, then. Be about your business, Miss Hieda."

"Thank you, Detective Kotohime."

"It's Chief Kotohime, actually. Good day to you."

Akyu nods slowly. She watches the police girl stride off, then tilts her head, as if listening to the club. She nods once, and then sets off towards one of the many food stalls.

>[ ] I need somebo~dy (Help!)
>[ ] ...Bullets! My only weakness! (Oni out, luck in!)
>[ ] Heeeey Joe (Caught somebody's old lady messin' 'round with another man)
>[ ] Simple ("So, in a nutshell...")
>[ ] Peace and Love ("Flower Child." Geddit?)
[x] Tumbleweed -- Option has been automatically selected.

____________________________________________________________________________

I was going to have something more, but it's fine as it is.

"Nice, uh... club you got there." "Thank you, I'm practicing for Halloween."

"[x] Tumbleweed" coming tomorrow.

Interview with Kogasa, or Kabuki...

I have to say, I am really enjoying these recent updates. I mean, I was enjoying the whole story thus far, but something about the recent ones are so damn amusing I can't stop smiling.

Congratulations, you are quickly making Kogasa a favorite of mine.

Coincidentally, I really have to wonder what the scene of her going into the umbrella would have been like from her point of view. I can only imagine the conversation she would have with her friend. For some reason I get the impression the phrase "I want you inside me" would come up in some form or another.

>>103997
The heroine has tucked herself away to hide, before. See >>95749

awesome

>>103998
Arg! Goddammit, you. Spent an hour re-reading the story because of that link, and I needed to get things done today!

Wow that was funny. I wonder if Kogasa was hiding from Kotohim or that man Koji that Hanzo sent.

[ஞ] Tumbleweed

The oni girl walks happily through town, feeling the jingle-jingle of coins in her purse. Much more than she had before, certainly. The day had been looking up and was continuing to do so even now.

...Hmm. Maybe not so much. Somebody seems to be following her.

Her head tilts slightly. ..Make that somebodies, plural.

Koji and his fellow thugs round the corner in one of the more empty and deserted parts of town. They come upon a nice, long back alley with no streets branching off of it for a while. It's perfect for what they need to do.

Perfect except for the lack of victim, at least. The alley is as bare as a monk's head.

"Well, shit." This from a thin, slouching man with a whip on his belt. Sabura the Squid is his name, and he's just as slippery.

"Think she's hidin' on th' rooftop, boss?" Kazuge Arami. Cheap hired muscle, but not exactly stupid. Has a funny penchant for knives.

"Isn't." The giant, Goton, says this in what everybody always wishes would be some kind of deep, booming voice, but which in fact sounds rather normal. Nobody likes a normal voice on a large, muscular six-foot-tall man. It breaks some kind of law of tradition.

Koji sighs, irritated. "Well, I know she went this way, dammit. We followed her out here." He sweeps his hair back, and adjusts the sheathed sword hanging from his hip.

"Gosh, she sounds sneaky," says the fifth person, a girl.

"Well, we don't know anything about her, and Hanzo didn't te-- Wait, what the fuck?"

All four of them turn in surprise, suddenly aware of the girl standing behind them. She's dressed in a loose kimono, and her hair seems clean, but a little unkempt, like she'd been bathing a few hours ago, and not yet had the chance to comb or brush it. She stares back at them with mild interest.
She also seems to be holding a large, unpleasant looking spiked club over her shoulder in a way that makes it look like she's used to it.

There is a great narrowing of eyes from Koji's band.

"Hey, just the person we were looking for!" says Koji, abruptly straightening up, and smiling a little.

"Wow, you were looking for me?" The girl seems amazed. "Am I already that famous? ...ahh, but that's not a good thing, really..."

"We sure were. See, there's been a terrible accounting error," continues Koji. "That game you played earlier, it seems you were accidentally overpaid."

"Oh my, that's no good!" The seems to fret a little. Are those horns on her head? She almost looks like an oni or something. "How much did he overpay by?"

"Well, according to our records," says Koji, smile turning unpleasant, "it comes out to.... about whatever the amount you walked away with was."

"But... that'd mean I wasn't supposed to win... anything?"

"Precisely! Now if you could kindly hand over your winnings, as well as a slight service fee, we'll be on our way."

"This doesn't sound very fun at all. How much is that fee, I wonder?" The girl looks a little put out at this.

What a thick-headed woman. Can't she read subtext? Koji is getting a impatient, but doesn't let it show.

"Why, my dear, it comes out to... Hold on, let me do the figures." Koji pauses, mumbling to himself, doodling a few equations in the air. His thugs snicker at this.

"Ah, I have it!" Koji announces, with a flourish. "The service fee totals approximately however much you have left over after the winnings are deducted."

The girl seems a bit taken aback. "Whaaaat? Oh come on, that's-- oh, waaait a second." Her voice takes on a suspicious tone. "Are you guys trying to rob me?"

Koji staggers back, as if hit. "What? Robbery? Did you fellows hear that?" He turns back to his companions with a hurt look, and then faces the girl again. "Miss...?"

"Kabuki."

"--Miss Kabuki, I am shocked, shocked and appalled that you would make such hurtful, vile, vicious, but nevertheless well-grounded and entirely accurate claims."

".......So, wait. This is a robbery?"

Koji loses patience. He closes his eyes, and crosses his arms, sighing. "Yes." He opens his eyes, and looks back at his hirelings, gesturing with one hand at this 'Kabuki.' "...Boys?"

The thugs fan out, slowly encircling the girl.

"Last chance, Miss Kabuki. You can come out of this unscathed If you hand it over and Just walk away. Give me your purse, the winnings, and our fee, and I'll spare your life. Just walk away. I'll give you safe passage from here, guaranteed."

It's not a lie. Murder is something to be avoided whenever at all possible. Not out of any respect for the victim's life, but more out of concern for his own neck.

The girl seems to be smiling. She sets her club down, and then loosens the drawstrings on a pouch on her belt. Reaching into her kimono, she takes out a knife, pauses, puts it back, and then does some elaborate stretches, flexes, and a bit of neck rolling, producing a series of cracks and pops that leaves Koji and his men staring at her, slightly perturbed. Once done, she draws the knife out once more, and looks around.

She nods, as if satisfied. "Okay, I'm ready!"

...The hell? Koji shrugs it off. Some people just don't seem to very aware of how the world works. He gives the signal.

Sabura's whip flicks out, hand blurring as he coils it around the girl's ankle, and yanks, dragging her to the ground where the rest of them can easily pummel her.

Or that would have happened, had she still been there. Sabura the Squid only has time to blink in surprise and confusion, then look up as Kabuki, giggling like an idiot, comes out of a somersault swinging one long, extended leg down square upon his head, dropping him like a sack of potatoes.

Springing off him as he crumples to the ground, she lunges for Arami next, slashing at him with her knife. He brings his own up to defend, but meets no incoming strike, and feels no pain from a wound. She missed, then! She drops and rolls behind him, flinging one hand back band he turns to face her.

A snicker and a sudden feeling of lightness around the middle as he's tugged forward slightly are the last thing he remembers as she yanks his neatly-sliced belt of knives off and swings it around. Several pounds of metal and leather connect with his head, and everything goes dark for a while.

Scrambling to her feet, Kabuki is forced to dodge several powerful blows from Goton. She dances around the dusty street, and stops by Sabura's unconscious form.

Goton charges at her, and then suddenly the ground gets all rolly and unsteady. A well-timed kick from the girl sends him tripping over his own feet, and banging his head against a nearby wall. Dizzy, from the impact, he slumps against it, trying to regain his bearings.

Kabuki wastes no time and capitalizes on this by leaping at him and landing catlike on his chest, squatting there. Grabbing ahold of his hair, she pulls his head forward toward her, then slams it backwards against the wall, once, twice, and he groans as he flops onto his side.

Rapid, approaching footsteps are her only cue to roll to the side, off of Goton, and hit the dirt. Not a moment too soon, as she feels Koji's blade swish by overhead. He snarls a curse at her which becomes a squawk of surprise as her leg sweeps out and catches his foot, sending him crashing to the ground, and dropping his sword.

He looks up in time to see Kabuki bend over to snatch up his sword, and fling it over the wall behind them. She puts her knife away, and goes over to scoop up the marbles she tripped the giant with.

In the middle of the second handful, she whips around from this crouched position and kicks Koji in the face as he lunges at her not-very-unaware form, and then puts the last of the marbles back in her bag. Picking up her club, she dusts it off, and then scampers away.

Several blocks later, she bumps into a purple-haired girl with a flower in her hair.

---------------------------------------------

Flower Child drops me off at the outdoor kioskyish thing that's been set up for Extra Bird.

After reassuring her that yes, I'll give her an interview after the concert, she leaves.

Everything is outdoor, actually. Another concert under the sky, huh?

...I'll probably blend in.

Besides, she wouldn't come here looking for me.

Would she?

I hope not.

It occurs to me that I'm maybe a little late. Extra Bird won't be very happy with me, will she?

I have three weapons with which to placate her, and I can only use two.

One is definitely lunch.

The warmth of the meat buns in the sack crawls up my arm.

Crawling heat is a weird sensation.

Better than crawling icy scary bad numbness.

Much.

My other weapon is an offer of help.

[ ] We have no choice, then. We must use that plan.
[ ] Wasn't there supposed to be another pilot?

>[ ] I need somebo~dy (Help!)
>[ ] ...Bullets! My only weakness! (Oni out, luck in!)
>[ ] Heeeey Joe (Caught somebody's old lady messin' 'round with another man)
>[ ] Simple ("So, in a nutshell...")
>[ ] Peace and Love ("Flower Child." Geddit?)
>[ ] Tumbleweed (ooh-woo-woo.... wah~wah~wahhhh...)

__________________________________________________________________________

Back to normal (well, for me) narrative style at last, and not a moment too soon. This has been a pain to write, for some reason.

That's also the last of these choices; just wanted to include the last one for completeness' sake.

Praying I didn't screw up the fight scene.

>>103997
Why, thank you.

>>104005
Sorry~

[x] Wasn't there supposed to be another pilot?

[x] Wasn't there supposed to be another pilot?

>Praying I didn't screw up the fight scene.
Third person present isn't exactly the optimal tense for fight scenes; I think you did admirably, given that constraint.

[X] Wasn't there supposed to be another pilot?

>[ ] We have no choice, then. We must use that plan.

Just so you know, the grave tone of the wording in option one has nothing to do with what will happen.
It's just that it involves plans, and that phrase happens to be used a lot in shitty mecha shows, so it works.

>>104058

Yeah I kinda figured it was using food to ease Mystia's temper, but it should be a fall back.

[X] Wasn't there supposed to be another pilot?

Cue entry of spunky-but-lovable emobrat!

>forced to dodge several powerful blows from Goton
This is the only thing that bugs me in the fight scene as it is the thing that bugs me in every fight scene.
It calls to mind a series of rapid punches and people don't fight like that.

[x] We have no choice, then. We must use that plan.

Bandwagoning is for chumps.

You hear me? Chumps!

>>104070
>I have three weapons with which to placate her, and I can only use two.
>One is definitely lunch.
...So no, Option number one is not food. Food would be happening regardless. I assume it's to do with The Idea mentioned at points in reference to Mystia.

>>103998

Wow, I completely didn't realize that was what she was doing in that part. Now I feel dumb.

>>104081
Really? I read
>I can only use two.
and assumed that
>One is definitely lunch.
and
>My other weapon is an offer of help.
were the choices, and that the "other pilot" choice was the offer of help.

[x] We have no choice, then. We must use that plan.

Secrets revealed!

Option 1: Unveil to Mystia the Idea related to helping with her "illiteracy."
Option 2: Go pick up Wriggle

>>104123
Would Wriggle be Musashi or Benkei then?

Probably won't be writing just yet, so if any of you want to re-vote in light of >>104123 , Now's the time to do it.

[.] We have no choice, then. We must use that plan.

[੪] Wasn't there supposed to be another pilot?

I take a step inside.

Be vewwy vewwy caehful. I'm hunting not-getting-yelled-ats.

They're tenacious creatures. Very jumpy, too.

Another foot inside as I take another

step

And I keep on moving.

Cheery, friendly, clueless, earnest, well-meaning

Do it.

Did it?

Not yet.

"Hey boss, I'm back! Sorry about the wait, I got, uh, yeah, and got a little wet and there was some watermelon and I fought crime and I had to watch something and things got mixed up and there was a hold-up and I followed somebody around and then I got some lunch."

I hold up the bag of meat buns.

Extra Bird is staring at me, highly unamused.

Hey, she changed outfits again.

"Do you remember that part where I told you to show up on time?"

...Damn.

"...Yeah."

...She's pretty angry.

Okay, okay. It's okay. After all, my Idea is ready to be executed.

...But... maybe not yet. She's really pissed, isn't she.

All right, backup plan.

"I'mverysorrybosspleasedon'tfiremeeventhoughweonlyhavetodayleftandwhatnotbutit'sthespiritofthethingafterallrightbutanyway--"

Much frantic bowing in between.

Status check.

taptaptap goes the foot, arms are crossed.

"..."

"And I'm really very sorry and I've got something for you so that you won't need help figuring out what's what anymore if you'll just keep me on--"

pause in tapping

tapping resumes... slowly.

"...Oh?"

nodnodnod

"Yes, and I'll be happy to show it to you right now if--"

"If you're lying, I'll have you out on your ass. But you're getting a temporary reprieve, since I'm going to be pressed for time, soon."

Eh?

"Eh?"

"A friend of mine is doing the light show tonight, but she's not exactly at home around humans. I need you to go get her."

"Be happy to, boss. Where do I find her?"

Extra Bird sighs.

"That's sort of the problem. I told her I'd come get her, but I need to focus on this stuff right now."

She gestures at the banks and panels of equipment behind her.

"Where do I find her?"

Extra Bird looks up, thinking. "...Either in the forest, on the village outskirts, or by Misty Lake."

Erf.

"That's... an awful lot of ground to cover."

"It's easier than it looks. She'll be practicing, so you'll be able to see the lights. Now get going, and hope to hell that whatever you've got for me is going to be good."

"You'd better believe it."

"Seeing is believing, and I'm seeing you still here."

...She's got me, there.

Scampering out of there (but not before I take one of the meat buns with me), my sudden and rapid exit spooks the daylights out of a few curious gawkers.

Hee hee~

Rush rush zip and go and up me am I are we is.

Fly fly high into sky.

Look around

under: town

elsewhere: places abound.

Whither thou goest, there thou art.

[ ] Over there is a Green wooded area
[ ] Not quite a Metropolis
[ ] Nearby frigid icy place full of Blue Water

________________________________________________________________________________

It's not that this would have happened anyway, but sometimes the choices are for what happens, not necessarily what the character does.

>>104077
I will keep that in mind. Thank you.

[X]Over there is a Green wooded area

I think this would be a nice spot to find her.

This is already in autosage. Forgot to put that last one in a new thread. Oh well.

Keep voting here; next update will be in its own thread.

[X] Over there is a Green wooded area

I-it's not like I reproduced your spoiler tags because I like your choices or anything! I j-just had some free time!

[ ] Nearby frigid icy place full of Blue Water

I had to choose the option with all the spoiler tags;-P

>>104227
>;-P
ಠ_ಠ

i gleefully envisage up obtaining enough raw belief as to be no different from a real oni.
Then when Sanae comes for us we'll be all, "Fuck no!" *DOMESTIC VIOLENCE* "We are the greatest sorcerer in all the lands!"

It'll be glorious.

[s]Greenwood - fuck spoilers.

[X] Over there is a Green wooded area

[X] Over there is a Green wooded area

[X] Over there is a Green wooded area

Wr~wr~wr~iggle

New thread at >>104301 !