She sets her towel down by mine, and gets into the water next to me, letting out a happy sound as she eases in.

Scooting closer, she leans against my shoulder, and closes her eyes. I wrap an arm around her, but make no other move.

It stays like this for about five more minutes, the silence occasionally punctuated by the twunk! of a bamboo pipe bonking against the rocks, somewhere.

The first to speak is her.

"...What did you want to talk about?"

Her voice is quiet and solemn. I'm pretty sure she already knows.

"I..."

My voice feels a little hoarse, for some reason. I clear my throat, and start again.

"..I wanted to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. I, I got you into all this, and I knew it was going to happen, and I didn't take your advice to go for help, and I got us both hurt, and I didn't want to make you go through that, at all!"

My composure vanishes rapidly as the dam bursts within me, and by the end of it, I'm a step away from stuttering and bawling my eyes out.

I take her in both arms and hug her close, and then I take that

step

And I start crying.

All this preparation, all this calm, collected front, all the things I wanted to apologize for are forgotten.

I sob and I cry and the tears flow like rain.

I hear myself babbling "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," over and over again.

I feel miserable.

I feel horrible.

And I can't articulate how rotten I feel for getting her involved in this.

So,

for a while,

I can't think.

I just cry.





After a forever, the tears subside, and my body shakes silently against hers.

I feel her arms around my neck, avoiding my back, patting me soothingly.

I don't know why she isn't gone.

She should be.

She isn't, though, and that fact alone makes me feel even more unworthy of her love, bringing a fresh new round of silent shaking.

"It's all right," she says softly.

It isn't.

"It's okay."

It's anything but.

"I forgive you."

...She shouldn't.

"If it happened ten thousand more times, I would endure it all the same."

...Then ...she's crazier than me.

"And do you know why?"

I shake my head, not trusting myself to speak.

She hugs me close to her, and whispers in my ear.

"Because I love you. I know now what you are going through, and by all accounts, that was but a fleeting taste of the misery you must normally go through."

She pushes me back, ever so slightly. I look up and see her looking straight into my eyes. Her beautiful red eyes Absolutely red, and I can see that red has returned completely to my vision, with the others following slowly behind fill my vision, and I do not look away.

"But I love you," she says in an earnest tone, "and so I am here for you. I will stand by you. I forgive you for what you believe you have done to me, but remember that the decision was mine. You told me, you warned me, and you did this because you care for me."

I nod, slowly, and a gentle smile forms on her Red lips.

"I will be with you for as long as you'll have me, and I will do all that is in my power to help you achieve what you desire."

I am silent for a long time, staring back at the deep, dark eyes of my citrus princess.

Finally, I speak.

My voice comes ragged, but strong.

"I desire a reckoning."

She nods, and her smile turns into something much more fierce, the grin of a warrior anticipating battle.

"Then it is done."

She pulls me into a sudden, hungry kiss. It comes out of nowhere, and it takes me a few moments before I respond in kind.

Her tongue presses past my lips with headstrong relentlessness, and she hums gleefully as the kiss continues.

It is a strange, fascinating aggressiveness, and I only have time to think that thought before we pull apart for breath.

She looks at me.

No.

She Looks at me.

Smiles

Brings her face next to mine

Whispers

"...and done."

All hail the Crimson Queen.

Embracing one another, we sit back and relax, letting the water ease the burdens of our bodies.

...and for me

finally

of my mind.

Finally, after an hour or so of peaceful silence, I begin talking about my plan.

We pick up more or less where we left off before we were interrupted by the green girl.

We toss ideas back and forth on the way back to her room from the tub, pausing momentarily as Little Cat Feet shows us to a new room.

It's an actual room, this time, rather than a recovery room next to the infirmary. One large bed in the middle of an otherwise traditionally-furnished room. There's a desk and paper and pens laid out, even, and it strikes me as suspiciously convenient.

But if half of what I hear about The Emperor's Color is true, this is nothing new. Perhaps she's back from wherever she was, then.

On the other hand, maybe one of her shikigami were eavesdropping.

Either way, it seems to be cutting it awful close to that mentioned restriction on interfering.

I'm not complaining.

If they're planning to screw us over, then we're already in far too deep for any refusal of their accommodations by us to mean anything.

So, we keep on keepin' on, and draw up a few plans.

Planning can only get so specific, as we have the disadvantage of knowing zero about the terrain. Worse, the terrain will be actively against us... unless we take precautions.

The timing is too perfect on all fronts to not do it, however.

We talk, discuss, nap, eat, plan, and hypothesize throughout the day. It's well into the night before we finally get to bed.

Wearing pajamas given to us by Foxy Lady, Orange and I snuggle close together.

"Good night..."

kiss

"I love you."

kiss

"...I love you, too."

Slowly, the two of us drift off to sleep, each held in the other's arms.


[ ] Hello darkness, my old friend
[ ] This aye night

________________________________________________________________________________

The last thread lasted pretty much just a week and a day. I thank blame Sanae.

Last thread: >>112207

Ozoi is almost edging out pill-popping junkie Yakui for the position of my favorite creepy waifu.

>>112917
Two great tastes that go great together!

[X] Hello darkness, my old friend

[X] This aye night

Somethings going to happen, otherwise this might have not been here.

Somethings up.

>It takes about seven more minutes
I see what you-
>that was but a fleeting taste of the misery you must normally go through.
dohoho

[x] This aye night

[x] This aye night

I have a feeling something's going to happen.

[x] This aye night

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyke-Wake_Dirge

Deeper meaning or convenient night-related reference?

[x] This aye night
Considering we're picking up more people, auto-sage limit hitting more often is inevible.
A visitor maybe?

[X] This aye night

[x] This aye night

[x] This aye night
This was a beautiful update. Well maybe because i am a sucker for such things.

[x] This aye night
Hoping its not "just" making out with Orange, again.

[x]Hello Darkness My Old Friend

I wonder if Sanae thought to silence Orange in the same way she did our off-kilter protagonist? Horrible, horrible thought, but she obviously saw the need to do it to the blurry-eyed story-focus.

Perhaps Sanae's doublethinking enough to believe Orange would automatically take her side, seeing the need to "rehabilitate" her? If so, she's made a nasty strategic error, but it's going to be a very nasty surprise if she HAS done something.

[★] This aye night

Once again, darkness, with a hint of light.

I lean back in the arms I feel wrap around me, remembering Orange's arms as I fell asleep.

From waking to sleeping to dreaming, always being held close.

It is a good and warm feeling, being cared for.

"How have you been?" she asks.

I smirk a little.

"You should know."

There is a pause, before she replies, with the faintest touch of confusion. "I should?"

"Well, yeah. We're in your house, talking to your shikigami, even sleeping under your roof! Don't tell me you, of all people don't know about that."

I don't know for sure that this is The Emperor's Color, but it's a reasonable guess, if half the things I've heard are true.

Another pause.

"I don't have any shikigami, per se."

What.

"I think you've mistaken me for a very certain someone, child."

She laughs softly, and continues.

"I'm a little flattered, though. Unfortunately, I am not that person."

There's a little sigh, almost wistful-sounding.

Well, damn.

That didn't play out at all.

"It was worth a try, I guess," I tell her. "Anyway, I'm doing all right. No, probably better than that. This will all be over soon."

I feel her arms tighten as I say this last.

"Will it, now?"

I nod.

"One way or the other."

"...Which way do you hope for, child?"

I give this some thought, and then respond, honestly and simply:

"My way."

She gives a sad little chuckle at this. "We all want our own way."

"But she doesn't know I even have a way."

There's no need to mention which 'she' I'm talking about, now.

"...She doesn't?"

"She might. I told her, but I don't think she took me seriously."

"Retaliation is a dangerous thing, dear."

"I think I've gone past the point of danger more than enough. Besides, she has this coming."

"...Should you succeed, I pray that you will find mercy in your heart," she says, and sighs.

...Mercy?

"For now, though... good night."

She kisses the top of my head.

"Good night," I tell her.

And once more, I sleep.

In the middle of the night, perhaps in the first hours of the day, I find myself waking up, suddenly.

I look around, though that doesn't help much.

Moonlight reveals nothing.

I stay still and listen.

Absolutely nothing, aside from gentle, easy breathing coming from beside me.

She shivers slightly, and pushes a little closer to me.

And it is around then that I become aware of the temperature.

...Good god, it's cold in here.

A nasty early autumn chill has filled the room, making it unpleasant even for a youkai.

Not for those equipped to deal with it, though.

hey

yes?

going to need your help for the night

certainly

thanks

Slowly, a low red light begins to fill the room.

My hands take on the cherry red color of molten iron.

Well.

Of course it's that color.

Heat begins to emanate from them as I slip back under the covers, taking Orange in my arms once more.

She 'hmm's happily in her sleep, and presses herself to my hands, shifting position slightly.

I should be careful, though. It wouldn't do to set the bedding alight.

I nestle closer to her as well, and soon fall asleep holding my red-haired beauty in glowing red hands.

We wake up the next morning within minutes of each other, and I'm treated to the rare sight of her blinking, half-awake, with her hair untidy from sleep.

It is an oddly beautiful sight.

In the next instant, I realize I feel fucking amazing.

I see her start to feel it, too, and we both grin at one another.

I feel full of energy, and confidence. My body feels great: not a single ache or pain anywhere. I don't even pop anything when I stretch; a first for me.

The kitsune was right, after all. Maybe a day off or so, but it happened eventually.

As long as we don't owe our souls to some dark god or something for this, I'm fine with this sudden cascade of vigor running through me.

I feel like I could go take on the green girl, one-on-one, right now. I might even win.

That, however, probably isn't so.

But damn, does it ever feel like I could.

The two of us race through out morning rituals, feeling that surge of excitement pushing us ever onward.

Today is definitely the right day to do this.

We both blaze through the breakfast Foxy Lady makes for us, and give her a hug Got a little rush out of it too, as well as her stuttered but heartfelt thanks; she wasn't expecting that at all before we head out the door.

I see, for the first time, what this place is like, with eyes that work, let alone eyes with color.

My attention is drawn away in the next second by something of far greater importance.

A figure in the courtyard turns to us as we leave.

We stop dead in our tracks.

A long white robe..

A purple cloth running down the front, decorated with various items and imagery.

Long, flowing, glowing golden hair.

A perfectly crafted politician's smile Not fake, or maybe it is, but you can't tell because it's too dazzling.

Elegant hands holding a parasol.

It makes me feel like an imitation.

So does everything else about her.

The surge of energy has not abated at all, but it's being drowned out by something far more colossal and powerful that does everything by doing nothing.

Presence alone can be a terrible force.

The Emperor's Color nods to me, and to my surprise, then bows deeply and respectfully to the red beauty at my side.

"Lady Orange," she says, and her voice is smooth, soft, and yet, somehow strong. A thought flits through my brain: They definitely don't sound the same. But I don't know where this thought comes from, and it is gone just as soon. It feels like I have confirmed something, but it does not bother me much.

Orange bows back. "Good morning, Lady Yukari," she says.

"Have you been well?" asks She of the Borders.

"A spot of trouble, recently, but otherwise, I have been doing exceptionally well, indeed."

My citrus princess looks over at me fondly as she says this, and I blush.

There is something going on here and I do not know what.

...I have a strange suspicion that I won't find out, either.

"Oh? That is good to hear, at least."

"Why, thank you."

It's like listening to nobles talking. Unnerving as hell, really.

The Emperor's Color looks at me for a moment, then back at her again.

"If it would not trouble you, Lady Orange, might I have a few minutes of your companion's time? I would like to speak to her in private."

My love turns to me, a question in her eyes.

[ ] French cat
[ ] Japanese five

________________________________________________________________________________

Also, there might well be more updatage coming today. Vote early, and vote often. Not really on the "often" part, but you know what I mean.

[x] French cat
I am not sure which is which.

[X] French cat

But it's pronounced differently.

[x] French cat
Let's go! Does she even know that she calls her 'Emperor's Color'? I think Yukari'd find it fitting.
>"...Should you succeed, I pray that you will find mercy in your heart,"
The rest of the world always have an excuse or an explanation as to why they do things, but god help you if you do the same to them. If you ask me, that's a quite funny definition of Justice.

[x] French cat

French cats are lazy no?

>My hands take on the cherry red color of molten iron.
Heh. So one friend is a kogasa and the other is a chat, Japanese five is go.

[ø] French cat

[x] French cat

[x] French cat

So dream girl isn't Yukari.

Well then.

[x] Japanese five

Just for a little variety.

[x] French cat

[x] French cat

[話] French cat

I want to talk, but I can't think of anything.

Still, I shouldn't waste this opportunity.

I nod to her, and she smiles back at The Emperor's Color.

"You may indeed."

She gives my hand a squeeze, and walks out of the courtyard, and around the wall facing the street, out of sight.

The woman in front of me relaxes a little, but only

juuuuust

barely

because then it turns into a kind of knowing smile.

Not mean.

Not nice.

A smile.

One that means: "I am happy. I know things. You probably do not know these things."

It's the smile of someone with a secret who likes having secrets, and doesn't want to tell them.

"Hello, youngling," she says, and her voice matches her smile. Almost playful.

Almost.

"Have my shikigami treated you well?"

I nod.

"Was your room all right?"

"...It was kind of cold."

She produces a fan from somewhere, but does not open it. Instead, she tap tap taps it on her chin.

"I see. My apologies. I assumed my guest rooms were reasonably insulated."

"What did you want to talk to me about?" I ask, finally.

Now her smile is a little wider.

"The young ones are always so impatient. Very well." Her smile disappears, and her features become almost normal-person-like.

"...I am very sorry for your suffering, little one. The nature of the circumstances surrounding this situation necessitate that I remain neutral. Even if they didn't, I would maintain that position, regardless."

What.

"Then you're part of this, after all?"

She looks at me a little coldly. "Not at all. I am merely here to mediate. Or judge, perhaps."

"Mediate what? Between who and who?"

"Who, indeed."

"So, you're unable and unwilling to help."

She sighs, closing her eyes. "Ahh... If only things were so simple."

I glare at her.

"You don't have a damn thing to say, do you. There's absolutely nothing you can say?"

"Aside from how glad I'll be when this is over?"

She pauses, and turns away. Tap tap tap goes the closed fan again.

She seems to be locked in serious thought.

After a minute, she barks a laugh, and turns towards me, leaning down to speak into my ear.

Huh.

...I didn't notice how tall she was.

The Emperor's Color flicks open her fan, and covers the side And sight of her mouth, as if to shield her words to me from prying eyes and ears.

"You must do exactly what you would have yourself do. This is the absolutely important part. Do you see? You, being you, will only do the things that you would do. If you decide to do it, then that is something that you should do."

She straightens up once more, and finally flips open the fan, hiding a triumphant smile.

I stare at her in confusion.

"...I think some pretty strange things, lady," I say, finally, "but that tops all of them. What the hell does that even mean?"

She pouts a little. "Oh, don't say that. It tells you exactly what you need to know."

"I'm pretty sure it told me the most nonsensical thing I ever heard."

actually, i think you've thought much worse

the hell i have

no, you have; i think there's something to it

there's bullshit to it, more like

don't knock it; does she seem like the type to fuck with you for the fun of it?

given who she is, i can't scream 'yes' in response loudly enough

okay, okay, true; i think she's trying to help, though

"You should listen to your friend. He shows commendable intuition."

I stare at her now, wide-eyed.

"...You... you can hear him? Us? When we... when we talk?" I point back and forth between my friend and I.

"I see it on you as plain as day, youngling, but only because I know where to look. It's a very clever arrangement you have."

Tap tap tap.

I continue to stare.

Still trying to come to grips with this.

I begin to understand why the tales of The Emperor's Color paint her the way they do.

"...I may call on you sometime in the future to discuss your work on the shikigami binding ritual. It is a very interesting thing you've done, you know."

"...Thanks?" I manage to croak out.

Slightly terrified now.

"You should be proud. Have you had any magical training? A teacher, perhaps?"

I shake my head.

"...We will definitely need to talk about this over tea, sometime."

She gives me a smile, now, but it's a genuine one. It doesn't seem as large or as happy as a normal person's smile.

It is a kind of smile smiled by her kind of person.

It says: "I see that you, too, know something. Well done."

She takes a step back, allowing me to proceed on my way.

"Be proud of your achievements, young one," she tells me, "and consider what I said to be your guiding principle."

She winks.

"But, of course... it already was," she adds. "Wasn't it?"

I'm not even sure I know, anymore.

I bow to her, and thank her, and start to head out.

wait, wait, wait!

what?

it's something important

what? just tell me on the way

no, i've got to say it now!

what the hell is the matter

just hold on: hey, goldie! you can hear everything we say, right?

The woman raises an eyebrow, but smiles slightly.

Amused, this time.

She nods. "I can."

then let me say that you have got the finest goddamn rack i have ever, ever seen, and it is a sight to make poets weep because they would not have the words to do it justice

There is complete and utter silence in the courtyard, and I feel a strong surge of power that it takes me a moment to recognize as the rush. And it is heavy.

She blinks.

I blink.

We both stare at my friend.

I hear a bird chirp, off in the distance.

The two of us blush. I turn completely scarlet, while The Emperor's Color flips open her fan hurriedly to hide the light color rising to her cheeks.

Well, that's it. He's gone and scandalized that woman, now.

I'll probably be lucky to leave here alive.

She strides up to me, and I'm once again aware that she's taller than me. Not Orange's height, but still a bit above me. She could be wearing heels, though.

There is a long pause while she stares down at me.

The fan is snapped shut

-click!-

And a delicate, elegant hand extends it out, touching my friend with the end of it.

-tap-

=it=has=been=an=exceptionally=long=time=since=someone=has=said=something=so=crude=to=me=

Her voice comes through with lots of background noise, like talking to someone over the sound of ten thousand rustling leaves, or while pouring out a cartload of rice grain. Nevertheless, her voice is itself somehow distinct and clear.

uh

=it=has=been=even=longer=since=a=male=complimented=me=on=my=looks=

oh?

=but=let=me=be=crystal=clear=about=this=

um, i'm sor—

Suddenly, she grins.

This one is a lascivious, almost predatory thing.

It does not say anything. It does not need to.

=you=don't=look=half=bad=yourself=and=i=absolutely=love=that=shade=of=your=color=

—i, this, what

=we=match=quite=nicely=

i, i, uh, oh god; thank you thank you thank you

all right, that's enough; it's time to go

do we have to?

yes, dammit

=bye~=

Flushed red from head to toe, I walk out of the courtyard with as much dignity as I can.

Once out on the street, I look around for Orange.

i think i'm in love

great

she liked my color!

wonderful

and i think she had a great ass, too, but i couldn't tell; you didn't watch it enough, and i wasn't looking at it at the time

golly, i'm so very sorry

so we're coming back here or something, right?

keep talking about this, and the next time i see her i am stuffing you in a closet and then staring at a point just above her head or into my tea at all times

whaaaa? you monster!

or you can be quiet, and we'll see what happens

oh, fiiiine

now hush

hmph

But hush he does.

Though I think I hear him sigh dreamily every now and then.

It is an incredibly weird sensation.

After a few minutes, I find my citrus princess in the front yard of a nearby used-to-be-a-house, playing something like a game of keep-away with Little Cat Feet. She skips around, dancing back and forth while the nekomata tries to grab at the end of it.

Occasionally the girl grabs the rounded ball at the end of the staff, and latches on, at which point she is swung around in a circle a few times, laughing as she goes for a ride. They catch sight of me, and meet me halfway.

"Did you talk to her?"

I nod.

"...Anything helpful?"

My brow wrinkles, and I reply, uncertainly, "I... think so. Maybe. I'm not really sure. It didn't seem like it at the time."

Orange snorts, and nods sympathetically. "That's about what everyone says when they're done talking with her. That, or cursing her name."

This strikes me as no surprise at all.

...Still, maybe I got off lucky.

Luckier?

"Chen, dear, go see if Ran needs some help, will you?"

The voice of She of the Borders comes from behind us, making all three of us, turn around.

A weird, eye-hurtingly purple light oozes forth from a tear in the air. I didn't think it was possible for light to ooze, but this light manages it.

The Emperor's color sits in the middle of this tear as though it were nothing more than a swing, or a bench, one leg crossed over the other.

I notice eyes of all shapes and types gazing out at the world from inside the unworld which the tear opens onto.

...And for some reason, to add a truly surreal touch, little ribbons tied neatly into bows are placed near either end of the vaguely oval-shaped hole torn into the air.

Perhaps it's a safety mechanism, designed to throw lesser people off.

If a farmer saw a gash in the fabric of reality, with that hideous, slow light pouring forth, and those terrible, alien eyes looking back at him, he would go mad, or run away screaming.

Put some dainty little ribbons on it, though, and now you have something that makes him puzzled, concerned, and unsure.

And then along comes this woman treating it like it ain't nothing at all, and the farmer thinks that she must then know what is going on, and that she clearly knows much more than he.

...

I'm impressed, now that I look at it like that. It's a fiendishly clever idea.

She smiles at the three of us from her perch.

Little Cat Feet sighs, and then hops onto a wall back in the direction of the building we'd been staying in. She turns to us and waves.

"Bye, crashy lady! Bye, smashy lady!"

We wave to her, and she she goes bounding off, leaping nimbly from one crumbled domicile to the next.

"Now then..."

The voice of The Emperor's Color draws our attention back to her.

"Are you both ready to depart?"

"We are."

"Sure."

She smirks slightly as we look at one another, then draws a line in the air with her fan, opening up a wide tear in the ground. Like apparently the one she sits on, it too, leads into the land of horrible light and eyes eyes eyes eyes.

The two of us hold hands, and are about to step forward, before she holds up her fan.

"Ah, before you go: Lady Orange, kindly give your father my regards."

She looks back at The Emperor's Color. "If I see him soon, I shall."

The elder youkai smiles again. "Thank you. And now, if there's nothing more..."

She says something that sounds like "Au rebuwah," whatever that might mean, and we step forward into the hole in the world.


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


Lots of falling. It seems familiar, somehow.


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


More falling. The light is still godawful.


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


I try poking one of the eyes.

Not close enough, though. Oh well.


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


At long last, or maybe just shortly thereafter, we are dropped neatly into a Forest.

Judging by the fact that it still seems to be mid-morning, it might have been "shortly thereafter."

Maybe.

We look at each other.

There is work to do.

[ ] Heckle
[ ] Jeckle

________________________________________________________________________________

I did not plan for the first part to go on nearly as long as it did. A lot of it came out as I continued writing it, which was something of a surprise.

>i think i'm in love
You and me both.

[X] Jeckle

Heh I get why Yukari called her lady orange. And I can get behind a Yukari/'Kogasa's umbrella' pairing.

[X] Jeckle

[ø] Heckle
I have no clue what I'm voting for.

[X] Jeckle

Our friend has SUCH a way with words~

[X] Jeckle

Try looking the words up on Wikipedia though if what I think is correct, Sanae might have really stepped over the line. Few folks in their right minds would tear out the tongue of the dragon god's daughter. Who else would warrant such a response from Yukari?

[X] Heckle

[X] Heckle
Trolling Sanae time?

>>112963
I don't think it's quite that simple.

>Heckle
>Jeckle
Okay, i don't know again. What are those options.

Heckle and Jeckle were a pair of cartoon crows from the loony tunes/merry melodies age. They terrorized porky pig at one point. I can't really remember their specific personalities though...

>>112983
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckle_and_Jeckle
Thank you wikipedia.

'So, 'believe in yourself' uh?
Sounds good.

[x] Jeckle
Act a little.

[x] Jeckle
Flipped a coin

[x] Jeckle

[x] Jeckle

I only realized how much of an impact this story is having on me when, this past week, I lost my own umbrella and became actively worried as to whether it was all right. Normally I would just let the issue go and purchase a new one, but now I feel guilt for even considering such an option. So, I persist in my search. While I still have some offices to check for lost-and-found, I fear my efforts may be in vain, as I can't help but suspect that some unscrupulous, green-haired individual may have absconded with it.


tl;dr: Damn it, Fell, you're making me paranoid.

"That's about what everyone says when they're done talking with her. That, or cursing her name."

Border between 'WTF' and 'God damn it Yukari'

And it looks like the idea of the mass human and/or youkai warband which would eventually plunge Gensokyo into war due too what Sanae is doing might be true.
Or not. Fell ain't talkin anyway.

[x] Jeckle

We should also probably mention to Sanae that we get power from any sort of surprise, even if we had no intention of doing so in the first place.
Preferably when we are ripping her tongue out with her own served feet. Yup, cruel and unusual punishment.

[x] Jeckle

>and i think she had a great ass, too, but i couldn't tell;
I think this was the bit where I came out of the slightly stunned mood and burst into laughter.

[x]heckle

>The rest of the world always have an excuse or an explanation as to why they do things, but god help you if you do the same to them. If you ask me, that's a quite funny definition of Justice.

>Preferably when we are ripping her tongue out with her own served feet. Yup, cruel and unusual punishment.

Would either of you happen to be familiar with the saying "an eye for an eye makes the world blind"?

>>113001
I doubt going 'an eye for an eye' is even possible, as it would require the good shrine maiden to possess a mountain of eyes. Think of all she has inflicted on our protagonist. All the knives, beatings, fear, and insanity going on for god knows how long. There is no feasible way that we could make her feel an equal amount of pain. Any death she gets will be merciful.

Why the hate? We obviously have to defeat her with LOVE.

>>113001
An eye for an eye makes the world blind... except when we can regenerate our eyes with a few days sleep.
Lets see if Sanae can do the same!

>>113005
Yeeees, we can do this. LOVE of maiming Sanae, LOVE of revenge, LOVE of Orange maiming sanae... I think we can work with LOVE there.

>>112962
[x]Jeckle

>>113005
I fully support death by snu-snu.

>>113001
I think thoughts of hatred would be counter productive, since first the curse on Kogasa started weakening when she embraced her love for Orange. Second would be if Kogasa got revenge without revealing the truth, it'd begin a vicious cycle, since someone would want to get revenge for the seemingly unprovoked attack.

It's easy to hate Sanae's guts, but the fact is, she's more pity worthy. I still prefer taking aim at her credibility by revealing the truth about her to Gensokyo.

>>Second would be if Kogasa got revenge without revealing the truth, it'd begin a vicious cycle, since someone would want to get revenge for the seemingly unprovoked attack.

The problem is, how do you go about revealing the truth about something, when you don't even fully know what the whole truth is? Especially when there are already others who do, yet for some reason have not revealed it themselves?

If someone as high up on the ladder as Yukari is required to remain neutral in all this, there's likely a reason for it.
If, more than that, she would choose to remain neutral even if she were not required to do so, there's likely a good reason for it.


Besides, I can't help but worry that seeking revenge would result in a situation similar to the ending of Se7en.
Is the brief satisfaction of having revenge worth knowing that you've essentially allowed your enemy to win by either giving them exactly what they wanted or proving (to them, at least) that they were right?

>>113019
Various reasons I'd imagine including Yukari's preferences. One of them might be the expectation for her to interfere in every case. Another may be the Youkai/human balance of power.

But the truth is clear: Sanae's snapped and the goddesses are covering it up.

But what you said brings up a good point: By savagely attacking her, we prove her right when she considers us a harmful Youkai. That and we'd have the goddesses after us in addition to whatever fallout occurs.

I get the feeling that Kogasa's resolution of this matter will shake up Gensokyo one way or another.

May not be posting tonight. Need to double-check details with somebody (Vodka), but if he isn't on by tomorrow, fuck it, proceeding anyway.

>>Various reasons I'd imagine including Yukari's preferences. One of them might be the expectation for her to interfere in every case. Another may be the Youkai/human balance of power.

>>But the truth is clear: Sanae's snapped and the goddesses are covering it up.

I'm inclined to think this goes much deeper than Sanae going nuts and Yukari not doing anything because "that's just how she rolls".
The fact she referred to her role in this as a "mediator" or "judge" makes it clear that, while not directly involved in these events, she is not completely detached from them, either.

More than that, it indicates that whatever is happening between Kogasa and Sanae, there's possibly some greater purpose behind it. Something that, despite her feelings regarding what's happening to one of the parties involved, she feels it best to allow to work itself out. Plus, between Yukari's advice and what the dream-girl said, it's probably not too much of a stretch to suggest that Kogasa's choices and actions somehow play a part in this "greater purpose".

Well, that's what I'm guessing, anyway.

>>113022
That is akin to my balance of power theory, since I do think it's just a single case of Kogasa being torured by nutty Sanae. The thing that would tip the scales is how it's resolved. Since someone will be outraged, either humans by the seemingly senseless murder of a nice shrine maiden or Youkai by the news of someone torturing one of their own under their noses. The fact it was done to a very harmless Youkai that actually did a few good deeds in the village would make the reaction worse. There's also the fact that a possible daughter of the dragon god got her tongue ripped out for helping said Youkai. This mess will ultimately fall to Yukari and Reimu to clean up, so any interference by Yukari would hinder her capacity to do so.

But this is just one of many theories, since we do not know how the political structure is. The most likely candidate for our guardian spirit is Byakuren. I'm curious to the dynamics that would restrain her, since she isn't bound by a lofty position like Yukari is.

And I think the next stop is Hina's place, I do not know for what reason, but one could hope that Hina's actually somewhat helpful.

Also Fell should reveal what the choices mean sometime, just to see if we were correct in our guesses.

>>113023

Hopefully not after the voting has already happened.

Something just occurred to me.

We keep assuming that there is some wide-reaching conspiracy surrounding this whole mess, either to cover up for Sanae going nuts or some twisted experiment on the nature of youkai. Thing is, this story is originally based on The Most Dangerous Game, which was about humans hunting humans for no better reason than said former humans being rich and bored. What if something similar is happening here, and this is nothing more than a wager between Kanako and Yukari? A bet on who will break first: the shrine maiden, or the youkai?

This would explain why Yukari has been acting so contradictory in giving us free food, rest, and advice, all while insisting that she can't interfere. If she oversteps her bounds, the bet will be forfeit, but at the same time, she wants to do whatever she can get away with to better her odds of winning. Which is to say, our odds of winning. After all, it would be in bad taste if she didn't bet on the youkai.

>>112994

I referred to Yukari as "The Emperor's Color" in my head once, accidentally.

>>113026
That's a good theory... up until Orange got harmed. Bets between Yukari and Kanako seem possible up until the point where Sanae tortures the daughter of someone capable of ripping them both into itty bitty pieces. Pretty sure that's the kind of thing to which the term 'all bets are off' applies.
It's a good theory but in such a case I would have expected Kanako to be keeping Sanae from causing major shitstorms outside the bounds of the bet (hell, by actively torturing others Yukari could easily argue that Sanae has lost it/broken down and thus Kanako has lost the bet). This, to me, implies that either Kanako and Suwako don't know about Sanae's actions, are totally implicit in her torturing of anyone, or are actually afraid of her.

>>113029
Or that they know what's happening, and don't want to just slap Sanae down, because it won't help. Instead, while concerned about Kogasa they're still wanting the best interests of Sanae in mind. And thus are instructing Kogasa in her dreams to not take killing actions or face consequences

>>113033
That problem is not going to go away until it's dealt with. Acting like it doesn't exist isn't a valid treatment effort for what Sanae has. I think what's needed is a massive discussion on the matter from the powers that are, since this may be the best way to resolve things without a massive shitstorm from either Human or Youkai.

[厄] Jeckle

-- 6 hours ago --

All right, that's all for the first phase.

Now, we see about covering our own.

Or rather, about making sure we can find our own.

Where we're going, it's not so easy to do so.

We continue on up the mountain, leaving those two to carry out their task. Time was of the essence, now. We still have several hours available to us, but much to do to within that time.

Finding another back route up isn't easy, but eventually we locate an old, underused path, and flit quietly through the woods.

Another hour later, we come upon the main mountain road, and follow it for a while, before taking a path that branches off. It seems to have been well-traveled lately, and from some of the posts and markings, it seems like construction of a stone pathway will begin sometime in the near future.

Walking down the path leads us to a shrine that seems recently-built. The paint still looks clean, the grounds are kept swept clear, and it seems almost welcoming.

Not surprising, given what this place houses.

She needs all the good publicity she can get.

We approach the modest building, and donate a small but reasonable sum.

Silence reigns for a moment as the two of us pray. Once done, we look at one another, and then stride up to the door.

I knock twice, and a woman answers the door.

...Not the one I was expecting.

This one is dressed in an odd approximation of what passes for miko garb in Gensokyo, but styled with the colors (red and green) and the emblem (spirals) of her goddess.

Also, she is a shade shorter than Orange, but not by very much.

Also, she is a foreigner. Skin like that, and brown hair? Not a local girl at all.

...A foreign miko for the curse goddess, huh?

It's sort of a sad testament to the local population that nobody else would take up the position. I'm glad to see, then, that someone finally did.

"Oh, good afternoon," she says, bowing. No accent. Odd, but whatever. "What brings you to Kagiyama Shrine?"

"We're going on a journey, and we'd like to inquire about traveler's charms," replies Orange, pleasantly.

"Oh, okay! I'll go see what we have. Want some tea while you wait?"

We look at each other again, and nod.

"Sounds great," I say.

She leads us in to a small room with a wooden table and some chairs. The fireplace is crackling merrily, and there is a pot of tea sitting on the table. She brings out a pair of cups and pours some for us before going into a back room, searching for something.

"...What sort of charm were looking for? Anything in particular, or...?"

"For a safe journey and an unerring sense of direction," Orange tells her.

"Especially on that direction bit," I add.

"Hmmm..." comes her response from the back room. "Oh! There they are."

She comes back in to the sitting room, smiling, and places two red omamori on the table.

"Safety" and "Sureness of Direction" are woven into them with shining green embroidery.

My citrus princess looks them over, nodding slowly. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out two long, scaly, ancient koban.

"...We would be very grateful if you could perhaps give these charms an extremely strong blessing."

After saying this, she calmly places them on the table, pushing them to the middle, in the other girl's direction.

The girl looks at the coins, confused for a moment. That they are made of solid gold clicks after a few moments, and her eyes bug out almost comically.

"Oh... oh! Well, I, uh. I, I don't know about this much, I mean, I can make them well, but—"

"...Such generous payment for so simple a service? One might wonder what manner of journey you wish to undertake."

A new voice speaks up from behind the red-green.

Everyone looks up in surprise to see the goddess herself standing behind her shrine maiden and peering over her shoulder, a faint smile on her face.

"Oh, Hi— um, Lady Hina! These, uh, they stopped in, and—"

"I am aware. Thank you, nonetheless."

Christmas Curse places a gentle hand on her miko's arm, calming the startled girl. She pulls the two koban the rest of the way across the table. Picking the long coins up, she regards them thoughtfully for a while.

After what seems like forever, she looks back to the two of us. "You desire charms of exceptional potency, yes?"

We nod, silently, and her grin widens.

"Your offering is acceptable. So shall it be."

She lays the coins back down on the table, and slides them over to her miko, who places them in her pocket.

The goddess twirls her right wrist slowly, and the long, frilly red ribbon wrapped around it unfurls. It snakes out to pick up the two omamori the girl had picked out, then curls about the pair of protective charms, make a soft, whispery sort of rustling.

After she makes a sort of beckoning motion, the ribbons are called back to Christmas Curse, but stay wrapped about the charms even as the bundled ribbons are placed into her hand.

Closing her eyes, she lifts one booted foot slightly, and kicks off into a slight spin, turning about.

A green light seems to glow around her as she does this, and I can feel movement that I'm not actually feeling.

Or seeing.

Or hearing.

To hear her actions described might seem comical if I had to describe them, but there's something almost beautiful about the way she looks peaceful and relaxed as she gently twirls around, ribbons and hair swaying and trailing with the motion.

After a minute or two, she comes to a stop, looking very calm and even a little pleased.

The bundle of ribbons in her hands unfurls, and reveals two omamori once more. These two seem more real than real, in an odd way, as if their presence went beyond being material. Not in the unreal sense at all.

No, it's the kind of real you can see so hard that you can't see all of it.

Very.

"It is done."

She offers them back to us, one in each hand, one for each of us.

We bow in gratitude, and say our thanks

Soon after, we leave.

[ ] Heckle
[ ] Jeckle
[ ] Hide

________________________________________________________________________________

Vodka wasn't available, so I hope I didn't botch the depiction of the Kagiyama Shrine or its layout too badly.

I don't know about updating again today, but I might at least get a good chunk of the next update written tonight if I have something to work with.

[X] Heckle

[x] Heckle

One of these scenarios like in the Village? Where the choices weren't so much doing one out of two things, but showing scenes that happen regardless.

>Or that they know what's happening, and don't want to just slap Sanae down, because it won't help. Instead, while concerned about Kogasa they're still wanting the best interests of Sanae in mind. And thus are instructing Kogasa in her dreams to not take killing actions or face consequences

Which is why I think it's a Good Thing the main character doesn't seem to give a flying fuck about the suggestions of the dream entity, nor Yukari's own vague aside.

Kogasa seeks a reckoning, a settling of debts. She has a plan on how to bring this about, one that is already in motion. It certainly helps that she has a dragon with her and (vicariously) just surprised the most powerful entity in Gensokyo.


[x] Heckle

Hey Warrrrrrrrriors~ Come out to plaaaaaaaaaaaay~

[X] Heckle

>>113039
So she could be considered a Murderer in all of Gensokyo and ruin Orange's good name? There's just too much unknown about the greater power structure of THIS Gensokyo to be sure of anything or why various parties are neutral or are forced to be neutral.

>>113045
>So she could be considered a Murderer in all of Gensokyo and ruin Orange's good name?

A small price to pay for the death of Sanae.

>>113049
This is the kind of thinking that causes bad ends, stop it.

[x] Heckle

>>113057
>baaawww everyone didn't live happily ever after it's a bad end!!!!

>>113057
That's my point, revenge is ultimately a futile guesture, since sure it feels great for a moment then nothing. Carrying out revenge that far isn't worth it. And in terms of revenge, there's ways worse than death, such as discrediting Sanae as a Shrine Maiden. Holy figures are weak against bad PR.

>>113070
>there's ways worse than death, such as discrediting Sanae as a Shrine Maiden

Oh no how will she live with herself, I'm sure kogasa will be happy at this outcome after so many months of being tortured.

>>113066
All I'm trying to say is that if it comes down to a choice between "Sanae lives, stops torturing people, and Orange and Kogasa live happily ever after" and "Sanae dies and Orange and Kogasa spend the rest of their lives living in hiding and barely getting by," you'd be stupid to vote for the latter just to satisfy this boner you seem to have for bloody revenge.

At any rate, it really is pointless to speculate when we clearly don't have all the info about what's going on behind the scenes.

>>113073

He's not saying to let everything slide, he's saying to keep our options open because killing her may not solve everything, or anything. In fact, killing her may result in is punishment at the hands of her Gods, who could either kill Kogasa or start the process anew depending on how pissed off they are.

Also, are you always such an enormous faggot?

>>113081
>Also, are you always such an enormous faggot?
only towards spineless anonymous such as yourself

What I don't get is why everyone thinks we'll be caught?

And who said it had to be a brutal one? We could just give her a slow acting poison that slowly kills her. Pain that ultimately ends with death. By then, we will be long gone.

>>113092

Are you wiseman under a different trip, or are you just a very bad troll?

>>113081
Yes he is, even in IRC. And you're right on what I was trying to say. Killing her alone will not resolve much of anything, with a terrible aftermath no matter what. And it's selfish, since Orange would get dragged into the massive muck that'd result.

But the bigger question is what's exactly at stake in this seemingly Isolated incident? I doubt it's as simple and petty as a bet between Yukari and Kanako. My theory about this affecting the human/youkai balance of peace comes to mind.

>>113095
>>113092

Self sage for personal stupidity, forgot that wiseman didn't have a trip. You're still a faggot, though.

Revenge is best served cold.
Revenge is also sweet.

So what I'm really saying here is that Revenge is Ice-Cream. Think about that, everyone loves ice-cream.

>>113101
Someone's upset that people won't eat up his garbage
>>113098
Ha, like you'll ever stand up for yourself and confront me on it.

>>113113
What do you think this is, Gaia?

>>113113

I'm not upset at all. I'm telling you that I thought you were a faggot, and I don't seem to be wrong. It's okay, though, as we have a place for faggots. It's called pooshlmer. Go back to it, please.

>>113119
Too bad I've never went there, in b4 a particularly witty "well maybe you should check it out"

The three of you, get out. We get enough shit-storms from GH, we don't need anymore from here.

Slow day is slow.
Where are all the voters?

>>113136

Hiding from the three shit-stormers up there.

>>113138

They've stopped, quit bitching, it only incites more. Also I don't think it was them, slow day really has been slow. My vote, just to speed things up a bit...

[x] Heckle

On another note of random silly revenge plots - Lets go knock up Suwako. Because nothing says silly vengeance than becoming your opponent's step-ancestor.

Going with [x] Heckle again.

This Board needs a report Thread button.

Or at least a Teruyo to clean a bit up.

>>113144

So we can go back in time somehow? Because if we do that now, Sanae will be pissed.

>>113153
That would be the point. And with an ickle Kogasa-Suwako baby as her new super-great-aunt/uncle it would be a constant reminder that we are superior to her.

Yeah, it's silly, yeah it's never going to happen, but can you imagine the look on Sanae's face if we did and she found out? So worth it.

[郵] Heckle

-- 8 hours ago --

We fly up, through the tree cover, and have a look around.

Near as can be determined, we're in the magic woods. No magic women to be seen around, though.

Maybe that's lucky.

We set our sights on the mountain— the mountain —and make our way there, post-haste.

Our flight is done relatively low to the ground, though. We skim the treetops for a while, and once the trees give way to open land, we go a little lower still.

No sense in being seen too easily.

The tengu will likely note our approach, and see us coming, but won't challenge us unless we make directly for some given location.

On the way there, I fly close to my citrus princess, and ask her something that's been on my mind.

"...Why did she call you 'Lady Orange'?" I ask.

She smiles briefly.

"I'm from an old family, that's all. We had some business dealings with her a hundred and something years ago or so."

Business dealings with The Emperor's Color herself, huh?

That's almost prestigious, maybe. Something to brag about to other youkai?

"What kind of business?"

She smiles again, eyes distant.

"...Property acquisition and land management. We helped her get set up."

Oh. That sounds kind of boring.

"What, that village back there?"

She actually laughs, this time.

"Oh, no, not that. Well, not technically. No, this was, ah, a bigger piece of real estate."

Oh.

"Oh."

I'm a little disappointed, but my curiosity is satisfied.

We don't talk much more for the rest of the trip to the mountain, focused on the task ahead of us.

We enter the forest at the base, bypassing parts of kappa territory. The leaves are starting to turn yellow, and a few are falling off here and there.

Our search begins.

After over an hour of combing the woods, we come upon our target.

A blonde girl in a red dress with strange cutout-shapes on the hem is flitting here and there, humming happily to herself. Occasionally, she makes a happy little noise when she sees leaves drifting down from the trees.

Orange stays back, and I alone approach the girl.

"Excuse me?"

"Hmm-hmm-hm— mm? Oh, hello!"

"Hi, there. The leaves are looking rather pretty this year, aren't they?"

She positively lights up when I say this, and nods excitedly.

People like to be appreciated.

Even goddesses... no, especially goddesses.

"Oh, absolutely! They're only just getting started, too! I love everything about this part of fall~"

She flies around a few trees as she talks, and then comes back over to me.

"So, is there something I could help you with?"

Once softened, it's much easier to work with.

It's true for lots of things.

"Well, actually, I guess there is," I say. "You see, there's this, um... this girl up, um. Up on top of the mountain, you know?"

She tilts her head slightly.

"Where, in the tengu fortresses..."Oh, wait. No. Top, so Moriya shrine, right?"

I nod eagerly, and then blush a little, looking away.

I can almost see her grinning slyly out of the corner of my vision.

"A-anyway... there's... this girl, there. And, and I want to give her something, but I'm way too nervous to give it to her directly."

"Oho~? Would this be a certain shrine maiden, perhaps~?" Crinkly Edges asks, chuckling.

I turn even more red, and ramp the stutter up a tiny bit more.

"M-m-maybe..."

The autumn goddess draws herself up, smiling confidently. "Let me guess, you want me to pass something along to her?"

I squeak, nervously.

I hope I'm not overdoing it.

"Um! Y-yes! I mean, yes, if you would, um, please?"

Crinkly Edges pats me on the shoulder. "Well, normally, I'd say no, but I like people who can actually appreciate the truly decent part of Fall, so... sure. What've you got for her?"

I hesitantly draw a thick, handmade But well-made envelope out of my pocket, and hand it to her, taking care not to look at the name written on it in flowing calligraphy.

"It's got something very special in it for her, so, um... please give it to her some time before the evening? I'm entrusting this to you!"

I hand it to her, and she smiles softly, her attitude changing.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm a goddess, you know. I'll take extra-special care to see it gets delivered to her by then, okay?"

She pats my shoulder in a comradely way of comrades of old, and I feel a little bad about deceiving her this way.

But she probably won't get in trouble, so... it's probably okay.

Probably.

I nod enthusiastically, and bow deeply, as though I were profusely grateful.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'd do it myself, but..."

I blush again, and turn away.

So embarrassed~!

...Fucking please.

But it seems to be good enough for Crinkly edges, who giggles, and reassures me once more before resuming her happy tree flights, watching the leaves fall down with the satisfied air of one who is looking over a job well done.

Once out of sight, I fly off in a different direction, heading towards the slopes of the mountain. I go a long ways before meeting up with Orange at the other end of the forest.

"Did she take it?"

"Took it and bought it," I tell her.

She grins, and pulls me close for a brief kiss.

"Are we ready for the next step?" I ask her.

She nods.

"We are."


[ ] Heckle
[ ] Jeckle
[ ] Hide

________________________________________________________________________________

Super Amazing (almost-)Midnight Update is go.

Just pick the last option...people, you.

And cut out the shitstorming, folks. Wait until your moral quandary appears, then worry about it. It's not here yet.

yet.

Also, I felt that this picture, while not as suitable for the post as the one I ended up using, nevertheless bore posting.

[X] Hide

When there's only one option, there's only one choice.

...well, it doesn't look like we have a choice.

Are things ramping up for the..."

[X] Hide

[x] Hide

I can only giggle at the thought that the letter is a notice of eviction.

From Gensokyo.

[X] HIDE

DAMN THAT WAS A TOUGH CHOICE.

[X] Hide and Seek

> "...Why did she call you 'Lady Orange'?"
> "I'm from an old family, that's all. We had some business dealings with her a hundred and something years ago or so."
> "What kind of business?"
> "...Property acquisition and land management. We helped her get set up."
> "What, that village back there?"
> "Oh, no, not that. Well, not technically. No, this was, ah, a bigger piece of real estate."

i c wut u did thar

> Wait until your moral quandary appears, then worry about it. It's not here yet.

...yet.

Surprise motherfucker?

At. All.

[X] Hide

>She pats my shoulder in a comradely way of comrades of old, and I feel a little bad about deceiving her this way.
A god that loves people~

[X] Hide

>"A-anyway... there's... this girl, there. And, and I want to give her something, but I'm way too nervous to give it to her directly."
>"Oho~? Would this be a certain shrine maiden, perhaps~?" Crinkly Edges asks, chuckling.
>I turn even more red, and ramp the stutter up a tiny bit more.
>"M-m-maybe..."
>The autumn goddess draws herself up, smiling confidently. "Let me guess, you want me to pass something along to her?"
>I squeak, nervously.

Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

>I hesitantly draw a thick, handmade But well-made envelope out of my pocket, and hand it to her, taking care not to look at the name written on it in flowing calligraphy.

LOOK BEHIND YOU

>...Fucking please.

To the effect of Rika switching into her adult voice.

[x] Hide

So who else is hoping Sanae will go for the gold in 2010 Winter Olympics?

[x] Hide

[x] Hide

I'm curious as to how this plan plays out, though when the time for the ultimate decision comes we may see a GH-level shitstorm here.

>>113172

As one of the three 'shitstormers', I don't see this happening. The reason I was so annoyed wasn't because Madine wants to kill Sanae, but because he seems incapable of thinking about doing anything else. If he would've presented an argument as to why killing Sanae would be the best choice to make instead of retorting to the first guy with things like 'baaawww everyone didn't live happily ever after it's a bad end!!!!' and what was the equivalent of 'say that to my face fucker not online see what happens', I wouldn't have made this into an issue.

[x] Hide

[x] Hide
No, I don't know either why the hell am I voting. Don't ask.

>>113178
I hope so since he's not the only one in favor of mindlessly splattering Sanae all over the place. I'm more of the mind of thinking beyond that one moment and a way of getting revenge that allows Kogasa to live happily ever after with Orange. Of course she'd lend our 'friend' to Yukari at times, bring to mind ways an umbrella could have fun with Yukari.

>>113189
But who are the other voices in our head going to do?

[竹] Hide

-- 4 hours ago --

The fuse has been lit.

We have run.

And now, we cover our ears with our hands. Except that we're actually going to be preparing the fireworks.

...The comparison falls apart around there, but at least it was good while it lasted.

This time, however, we make no attempts at hiding our passage. Stealth will only work against us, now.

In fact, we make a half-circle trip around the mountain before doubling part of the way back, before setting off properly.

Hand-in-hand, we make for the bamboo forest.

We each bear one of Christmas Curse's improved omamori. I pray they'll actually be effective.

We draw ever nearer to the forest of pole-y green-ness, and I feel my vision begin to twitch, ever so slightly.

It's an extremely weird sensation, like someone tugged your line of sight off to one side for but a moment, before letting it go again.

This continues for several minutes as we fly over the forest proper. Early afternoon light shines down on us and the trees alike, and occasionally jounces about, as well.

It takes several minutes for the phenomenon to fade away, but by that time, something similar is happening to our bodies.

They try to jerk, slightly, to turn this way, and then that way.

This, then, would be the forest's curse, its effects greatly reduced by the charms.

I grin. The curse goddess and her work are legit, after all. It makes me very happy to see that my faith in her was not misplaced.

Once the jerking tugs and spasms stop affecting our bodies, the visual tic returns, but weaker. Perhaps it's losing? I can hope so. I don't want to put this plan into action while still suffering from this.

We must seem like a pair of drunken girls, soaring erratically over the woods.

But thanks to Christmas Curse, the majority of our focus is able to be devoted to searching.

We finally find what we're looking for after roughly forty-five minutes.

A large swath of burnt, scorched trees lies before us, being by its very nature a clear warning to travelers in this forest: Bad things happen here. Stay away.

We, too, stay away, as we have no plans to meddle with Whitewater Fire-eater or Black-Pink Silk.

Yet.

However, this marks the central hub of the wheel of hell that we immediately set to constructing.

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

If all goes well, we'll be able to return the shovels we stole from that empty tengu guardpost.

If not, then we're going to have far, far bigger problems than stolen property.

In the mean time, however, I'm very glad we took them. I wouldn't have wanted to attempt this without them, as digging so many holes by hand would have taken far too long.

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

We run into a problem after a little while: we need something to chop the bamboo with.

An incredibly lucky find is a bamboo-cutter's axe, buried into a green trunk near the scorched clearing.

It's pinning a dried piece of something with several long black hairs still attached to it. I guess Black-Pink Silk interrupted the other one at work, or something.

Well, it's not being used right now. I abscond with the tool, and add it to the list along with the shovels.

In the mean time, her loss is our gain, and I could argue that our need is definitely greater. Or at least more just.

I don't think the Yama could even deny that.

...Okay, maybe she could, given what it's being used for making, and moreover, for whom those things are being made, but... I'll worry about that when I'm dead.

The idea is to make sure that doesn't happen tonight or soon.

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

Luckily, I do not need to steal anything else. Vines grow in abundance, and sharpening is easily done with my knife.

Our work continues.

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

After a while, we start leaving careful, tell-tale markings so that neither of us fall victim to our own creations.

There's more of them than I thought.

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

We come upon a small cave in the side of a ravine.

It is the perfect location for the crowning touch of my plan.

...And the final trick, for that matter. It'll be awful unpleasant, to say the least.

I'm glad I watched those movies with Bigwings, or else I'd have never figured out what these things were. She even explained how to use them, and it seems ridiculously easy.

I am able to make good use of numerous things from my bag of tricks, in here.

As I set the last thing into place, and tie the thin, clear line to it, I consider the nearby blackened, charred hell.

It's a little ways away from here, but it's close enough, and could certainly qualify as a nest of ashes.

Hatch brightly and well.

I giggle.

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

The light of day is dimming, and our preparations are complete. We drink from the small stream running through the ravine, and eat a couple of chocolate bars that Orange has on her, for some reason. She says they're part of any emergency kit, and I don't argue. It's not a full-blown meal by any stretch of the imagination, but it tastes good all the same.

We find a few late-blooming bushes with berries she says are edible, and those go down fine. It's a shame we can't cook anything, as the fire would alert certain parties to our presence.

Some might avoid us, and some might seek us.

Either one would be bad.

So for now, we wait.

[ ] Like a hawk
[ ] Like a log

________________________________________________________________________________

So you know, neither option will result in FFFFFFFFFFFFF of any sort as a consequence of choosing it.

[x] Like a log

[x] Like a log

I don't see the harm in this, I don't think Sanae would be that eager to charge into the bamboo forest at night.

[x] Like a hawk

[ø] Like a log

[x]Like a boss

[x] Like a log

[X] Like a hawks

The anticipation is killing me.

[X] Like a log

[X] Like a hawk

Even with the author guarantee, it surprises me that 'log' is actually winning.

[x] Like a log

>>113309
It's a way to make sure we're in peak condition tomorrow, and a chance for dream girl to make one last appearance before the big show.

On another note, I have a simultaneously dreadful and wonderful suspicion that this is not the last chapter.

[x] Like a rock

[x] Like a ROCK OHHH Like a...
[x] Like a log

[x] Like a log

[X] Like a log

I only just now finally caught up with this story, and I must say that it is probably the best one I've read.

[x] Like a surgeon

[X] Like a log

The attached picture is an accurate representation of my current feelings.

>>113286
>>113337
You are not the only ones. Are we nearing the end yet?

>>113338

We're in part three right now. I don't think it will end this soon.

Maybe around part six or something.

>I'm glad I watched those movies with Bigwings, or else I'd have never figured out what these things were. She even explained how to use them, and it seems ridiculously easy.
>I am able to make good use of numerous things from my bag of tricks, in here.
>As I set the last thing into place, and tie the thin, clear line to it, I consider the nearby blackened, charred hell.
>It's a little ways away from here, but it's close enough, and could certainly qualify as a nest of ashes.
>Hatch brightly and well.

A trap laid with frag grenades.

Too late to draw smiley faces on them.

>So for now, we wait.

Too bad Sanae doesn't see in infrared, otherwise we could get all naked and cover ourselves with mud.

[X] Like a log

I think we can count on our 'chicks' to wake us up when the moment comes.

>>113344
>Too bad Sanae doesn't see in infrared, otherwise we could get all naked and cover ourselves with mud.
I'm not seeing a reason to not do this anyway.

[ф] Like a Log

>>113348
...good point.

[x] Like a hawk

[眠] Like a log

"Is it okay to sleep, do you think?"

My citrus princess turns to me, and gives me a funny look. Her hair gently rustles among some of the fallen leaves on the ground.

"Why would you ask me that?" she says. "This is your plan, and you better than anyone know how your shrine maiden's hunting habits."

I sigh, and nod. I look around, skyward. It's hard to see much besides spots of red evening light in tiny pieces, scattered throughout the green canopy. Shifting slightly from where we lie together on the slopes of the ravine, I scoot a little closer to her.

"I guess so," I say. "We're probably safe here for at least another hour or two."

I pause, and then add, "...from her, anyway. She'll probably be here in three at the most."

"And the other half?"

"Around the same time. That's why the timing was so important."

"Well, then it should be okay, shouldn't it?" she says.

Wait, how did she get to be the one asking me?

Well, whatever.

I nod. "Should be," I say, already closing my eyes.

There are more pleasant beds than the cold earth, but things will be warm enough, soon.

Soon.

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

Once more, the darkness.

She is not holding me this time.

In fact, I don't think she's here.

No, wait.

Not here, but she's still... here.

"Well, it's off to either slaughter or victory for us," I announce cheerfully.

I hear a sigh.

"Not going to wish me luck?"

I'm a tiny bit disappointed, I'll admit.

"...In all good conscience, I suppose I cannot," comes her voice, from nowhere and somehow somplace somewhere. "...But..."

"But?"

I feel no arms and see no hands but nevertheless there is the sensation of a comforting touch.

"I hope that you will be well, child. Remember that mercy is a virtue."

...Mercy?

Then the feeling of a kiss on the forehead, and warmth.

"Goodbye, my dear," she tells me. "Be well, and stay well."

I guess that's the best I can hope for.

It's a damn sight better than being wished ill, or nothing at all.

Light returns.

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

I awaken to the sound of crashing wood.

It sounds like an elephant and a tree having an argument, and the elephant is winning.

I sit up, and blink. It's darker, now, but the presence of moonlight makes the forest visible to my eyes.

Orange is gone.

[ ] Stone flute
[ ] Sisyphus
[ ] Mossy rock

________________________________________________________________________________

Short update is short. Possible likelihood of another update this evening. Veauxte elótte.

>>113311
>>113341
~

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

[x] Stone flute

[x] Stone flute

Sleep was a terribly choice. Oh well.

[x] Sisyphus

Hazarding a guess, here...

>[ ] Stone flute
making noise -> [ ] Call out for Orange

>[ ] Sisyphus
moving uphill -> [ ] Go look for her / Get up and look around

>[ ] Mossy rock
growing moss -> [ ] Stay put

[ø] Mossy rock

>>113382
It's likely a bad thing that Orange is missing, but if we didn't reach REM sleep, we would not have met her.

I'm, not sure what the choice means.

[x] Sisyphus

[x] Sisyphus

Clearly Orange is missing because she went to get some food, which she is of course doing by throwing elephants or other large mammals at trees. Seeing as this is the most sensible explanation, we have no need to panic and should simply go watch her projectile-based hunt.

[X] Sisyphus

>>113388
I loled

[X] Sisyphus

[x] Mossy rock

[X] Sisyphus

I can't believe I'm voting for something that references this myth.

[x] Sisyphus
God damn. Just take a look.

[Ʀ] Sisyphus

Cold dread fills my stomach, and I look around for her, panicking.

Oh god oh god no no no where is she

I almost call out for her, but I clamp down on that impulse quick-tight-shut.

No yelling, no sound-making.

It brings attention to you and given what time this time this time I'm losing my mind it is, I would not like the attention of anyone who did not know I was here.

I shall be a little mouse. Quiet and not-here, no.

No.

Not at all.

Me who?

Couldn't be.

Then who?

Just the wind.

Another crash, and I hear a voice yell something.

Ice water is back in my veins and I do not like it. I am a cold mouse.

Where is she that warms and brightens?

...Mine, that is. If she is mine. I'd like her to be mine.

Sort of.

I scamper quietly along, searching searching looking where-are-you

My breath comes quick and yet quiet.

Nervous, is what is is. It is. Is it? Is.

Yes.

Over the crest of the hill at the top of the ravine, and I think I see movement in the trees and if I was cold and pitted and icy-watered, I am now a glacier.

So I stay still.

Chill.

I can't take it easy like this. There is someone missing to be found.

I watch watch waaatch the spot where I might've, might have, maybe, maybe've s-aw-een the movement but nothing moves.

Maybe it is watching for me.

Caring was a while ago.

Perhaps it was her choice but that does not mean I want it to happen again.

God, no.

I move.

For several seconds.

A hand reaches out of nowhere (but it must have been somewhere) and pulls me down to the ground.

I come eye to eye with a stick laid in the fork of a scraggly bush, bare of leaves already.

Oh.

That was close.

Wait, hand. Hand hand hand, where did you go and where did you are?

The hand connects to an arm connects to a shoulder connects to oh thank god.

"Stay quiet," she whispers, almost inaudibly.

She is watching out for me and she is not gone at all.

Rather, she went out on her own.

Why?

Another crash.

Much closer, this time.

Ah, that would be why.

Off a ways, I see leafy falling motion, and feel the thump as the tree drops to the forest floor.

And I hear the voice of the green girl, also off a ways.

"Where aaaare you~?"

Silence.

I'm not going to answer. Call me impolite, but I call me smart. I very big-big smart, yes.

Make lots of brainthinks sizzle zap.

BOOM

The crash of thunder and the flash of light tell me that maybe that zappery was not in my head or in my head (in either way) but outside as well.

"That was a very unkind thing you wrote, you know~"

I can't help but giggle a little.

Quietly.

She is almost near where we want her and it is close to the right time, but it is not like the other half has a strict, exacting schedule.

[ ] tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock
[ ] DING
- [ ] radio
- [ ] beeep! beeep! beeep!

________________________________________________________________________________

>>113388
I snickered as well.

[x] DING
- [x] radio

[a] tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock

[x] DING
- [x] radio

[X] tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock

Here comes the crock.

[ ] tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock

[X] tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock

[X] tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock

I feel giddy.

Unfortunately, I'm also getting a 'what could possibly go wrong?' feeling. And when that happens, something goes wrong.

I wonder what was written in that note?

[X] tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock

Wait for it... Wait for it...

[x] tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock

[x] DING
- [x] beeep! beeep! beeep!

[X] tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock

It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to see how a young maiden's honest feelings connect to her target's heart.

>>113437
lol'd

[X] tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock
Pateince-is-a-virtue

[x] DING
- [x] beeep! beeep! beeep!
Waitign anymore 's too risky.

[x] DING
- [x] beeep! beeep! beeep!
nuclear ka-boooom!

[+] tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock

[༓] tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock

Hmm.

Probably better to wait.

If she moves away, then I'll do something, but until then...

Another flash, another bang

—and I hear another bang in the distance, almost at the same time—

Another tree, another loud thud.

She's coming closer.

Good.

"Won't you please come out?" she calls, her voice no longer sounding so distant. "We have things to talk about, you and I~"

I'll bet she does.

Call me crazy, but I'm just not feeling particularly cooperative.

Another ten seconds, and then I finally see her.

The green girl wanders this way and that, on the edge of the area of blackened earth, looking around here and there.

She doesn't have quite the same smiling, cheerful face she normally does. If anything, she looks a little peeved. Not much, though.

Teehee~

She's coming closer still to where I want her, now.

Come on...

The air starts to feel strange, like something is rapidly moving, but nothing I c—

BOOM

A flash of lightning From a cloudless sky? snaps out of the air, and strikes a tree, sending it crashing to the ground.

"I don't have all night, you know~"

She pauses, puts a finger to her lips, and adds, "...Well, actually, I suppose I do!" then giggles quietly.

Ugh. Quite right, unfortunately.

Come to think of it, how the hell did she make it here and not get screwed around by the forest?

...Well. She is a shrine maiden, after all. She's bound to have divine tricks of one kind or another.

Still, if she takes a few more steps ahead, or just a couple to the right, then things will change.

Step.

Step.

Sooooo close, now.

"You wouldn't have sent such a thing if you didn't want me to come, right?" she calls. "So now's as good a—"

I hold my breath, and beside me, Orange does the same.

Step.

Yes.

There's a soft crack, and she stumbles, then trips, falling to her knees with a cry of surprise from her and a pleasant rush for me.

And immediately after, a cry of pain.

"Ah, oh, ow, ow, owwww! What the did I just...?!"

The green girl holds up her hand, which glows with radiant light, and peers down at her leg. Her eyes go wide, then narrow.

She sucks in her breath, then carefully moves her leg, working with her other hand to free herself. Finally, she manages to do so, and gets back to her feet.

There's a slight limp to her stride, and she winces a little, but she's mobile again.

...Damn.

Pretty good for a human who's just been stabbed in the foot.

Her head darts around, more suspicious now. She's expecting an attack, and the both of us want to. We're both tensed to spring, but for some reason we wait.

The reason becomes clear in the next second: The miko is walking past a small bamboo shoot that's been recently snapped in half, the broken upper half lying fallen over against the main trunk, still attached.

She is looking around for people, not for things.

Silly girl.

twanpf!

There's only a small, tense snapping sound to alert her.

Her eyes snap open, and she reflexively takes a step back, then cries out in pain, having put too much weight on her wounded foot.

She drops to her knees, and in doing so, avoids the thick bamboo tree that snaps back into its original, slightly angular position, whooshing just over her head.

There's another yelp of surprise, and another rush, maybe a little greater than the first.

Pity it didn't hit her. It would probably have sent her flying at worst, and broken something at best.

Her head jerks up, and looks back at the swaying tree, then looks down in front of her. Nervously looking to the sides, now.

"What in the world...?"

Her voice comes to my ears quiet, worried, and confused.

"...I know they told me Tewi likes playing tricks, but that could have...!"

Her voice trails off, and she rubs her neck, no doubt contemplating what nearly happened.

Not long, now.

"...Wait..."

Ah, she's putting it together, now.

She gets to her feet suddenly, grunting slightly in pain. Drawing herself up, she raises her voice to just under a yell.

"This is your doing, isn't it."

Not a question, and not quite a statement.

She is speaking aloud her very ugly suspicion.

I feel Orange stir beside me, but I lay a hand on her shoulder.

"ISN'T IT?!"

The shrine maiden's furious shout takes me aback, but not as much as the tears I see running down her face as her head whips around.

It sounds alien to me, her sudden anger, and I don't know why.

...No.

I know why; what am I saying?

I've never heard her or seen her be angry, before.

Always the smile, always the cheerfulness.

Upbeat, positive, pleasant.

No matter what she was doing.

...

My god, is she upset?

[ ] Laughs
[ ] Lasts
[ ] Lash

________________________________________________________________________________

There could likely be more updatage today.

[X] Lasts

No need to give ourselves away just yet.

>image name
I agree

[ø] Lasts

[X] Lasts

[x] Lasts
You wanna have [ ] Laughs? Make them silent.
I'm not saying you don't deserve them, I'm just saying that you're too far into this to fail at this point.

[B] Laughs

{X} Lasts

[X]Laughs
Push her over the edge. Then bring down the hammer.

[x] Lasts

[x] Lasts
We're doing great, don't mess it up now till there is no danger of us having various body parts removed painfully.

[+] Lasts
Come too far to fuck it up now.

[x] Lasts

>"I hope that you will be well, child. Remember that mercy is a virtue."

Yes, yes. Wash your hands of her, Pilate.

Not that you're wrong for it, selling out your own shrine maiden, since, after all what's the purpose of having a human shrine maiden when you're worshiper-base is almost entirely youkai? The fact that she has deific powers of her own and is of relation to an ancient nemesis is enough to make the decision judicious on your part, even if the girl wasn't a total fuck-up (which she most definitely is).

[x] Lasts

I'm going to kill you Sanae; there is absolutely no doubt in my mind about it.

But more than just killing you, I want you to know that you're going to die, I want you to know who is going to kill you, and why she is going to kill you.

I want to enjoy that sweet expression on your face when you are surprised by the revelation that, yes, you're going to die, and there is absolutely nothing you can do to change that fact.

Like that 2+2=5 shit in 1984 right up until the part where the rats are eating your face.
You will know terror.
You will be broken utterly by it.
You will be left a withered husk of a person, plain for everyone to see.
And then soon, maybe not knowing exactly when, and with very little fanfare to mark your passing, having been disowned by those you once held dearest, you will be taken behind a shed and killed.

[x] Lasts

No need to show our hand yet.

>>113506
>selling out your own shrine maiden
wat

Also, no offense, but you might want to seek help of a psychiatric nature. With this post, your vindictive streak stopped being annoying and started being disquieting.

[x] Lash
Its not easy, being a Sanae fan and reading this.

>>113506

Yeah, your argument's actually making me want to do the opposite. Turning Kogasa into what you're apparently wanting to turn her into will not be a happy end even if it all stops and Kogasa and Orange live on happily ever after.

Furthermore, you want to act on an extremely loosely-grounded assumption, which I may remind you is a logical error. With no proof that the person in Kogasa's dreams is actually Kanako, you're planning quite a turn of events that we can't even assume are POSSIBLE.

Finally, while anger can be an effective source of willpower towards getting something accomplished, it shouldn't be the reason you want to accomplish something. You don't change something because it makes you angry, you change it because it is very wrong. You getting angry is just a side-effect of it being wrong. Acting on pure anger leads to overreactions and things that shouldn't be done happening. What we want to happen: Sanae stops torturing Kogasa, and hopefully learns the error of her ways. I don't see what part of that includes torturing her until her mind breaks.

To conclude, it's a pretty horrible idea to go as far as you intend to.

That being said, my vote.

[x] Lasts

We have a plan. Unless we see something going very wrong with it, we shouldn't suddenly decide to stop following it.

This is also giving me a very similar feeling to in Tsukihime where if you just charge at Nrvnqsr right when you see him, you die. That was against the plan in almost exactly the same way as going against our plan right now would be.

>>113506
I like your ideas.

>Sanae stops torturing Kogasa, and hopefully learns the error of her ways.
I don't think I have any picture that can relay my feelings of this statement.

[x] Lasts

>>113520
It's pretty unrealistic, yes, but it's a fair sight better than the asylum-rant in >>113506.
Honestly, I half-expected "Damn you! The rats take your eyes!" somewhere in it.

[Q] Lasts

I think at this point the best idea would be a quick and relatively painless death for Sanae.

[Ѭ] Lasts

It's a strange and odd sight to see, certainly.

But she's mistaken if she thinks I'm going to answer.

She takes another step, and another.

Still a bit of ground between her and the next few traps, though.

"This isn't funny, anymore. Come out, already."

There's a bit of an edge to her voice, as well as the faint wavering quality when one is genuinely unhappy.

It is kind of funny.

But really, I have zero sympathy for her.

How's it feel to be back on your side of the fence again, green girl?

...I hope she finds it just as miserable as I did.

I hear her growl in frustration, and turn my attention back to her.

"Fine. Don't come to me..."

She grasps her gohei, and closes her eyes, chanting softly.

Okay. This is not a good sign, not at all.

Orange and I turn to one another, and silently reach the same decision at about the same time:

Move.

We start to inch back, slowly and quietly, so that we can come around from another side and draw her attention, or something.

Something.

Something doesn't come soon enough.

Something else comes instead.

A soft breeze begins to flow through the woods, low but steady.

I think she did this before.

Her chanting stops, and she looks around one way, then the other...

—And suddenly, right at the two of us.

"...I'll come to you," she finishes, and I think I see her lips set into a firm line, like a parent who has discovered their child drawing on the walls.

The green girl swings her gohei in a curt, downward slashing motion in our general direction.

Diving out of the way, we narrowly miss a blast of wind that rips through the spot where we were standing.

The end of it still catches me, and sends me tumbling ass over teakettle into a sturdy green trunk. Stars fill my vision for a moment before I get back to my feet.

"Found you, my little runaway!" calls the miko, approaching our location.

Shit.

I scramble away, but don't make it far before another blast of wind slams into my back, plowing me face-first into the ground.

By the time I get up, wobbling slightly, she's already running towards me.

Halfway there, Orange silently cuts her off, dropping onto her from above, somehow.

The green girl lets out a squeak of surprise, and then a trailing cry as my citrus princess flings her bodily away, sending the girl bouncing through the woods. Running over to me, she helps me fully upright, and the two of us make a break for it.

I hear shouting in the distance, and I smile madly.

It's just about time~

"Hold up," I tell her, and she comes to a stop.

Behind us, the green girl marches towards us.

"I don't know what you're playing at," she says, glaring, "But I am very cross with you."

Behind her, in the sky, something glows red against the canopy.

There is a faint roaring sound.

The shrine maiden comes to a stop, seeing that we're not moving.

She doesn't waste time asking questions; she immediately starts looking around, slowly stepping backward.

She knows that something is wrong.

But.

But but but buuuut!

Knowing where the wrongness is coming from is a critical part of the detection process.

There is a horrendous sound of breaking branches and burning burning burning, and an enormous bird-shaped thing made of roaring flame crashes through the canopy and smashes to the ground in the space between her and us, lighting up the area in bright yellow light.

The night has at last, begun to warm up.

The green girl, it seems, sure as hell wasn't expecting that. She stares at it, wide-eyed, and then looks across the burning ground at us.

A rich, cultured-sounding voice wafts through the trees, faintly audible, even above the crackling.

"Ohohoho~ Mokou, dear? Your aim was absolutely abysmal that time. Perhaps you need glasses? I'm sure Eirin would be happy t—"

A second woman's voice interrupts her, sounding angrier and more rough than the first.

[i]"Suck my dick, Princess. And the only reason I'd come near your house is to set fire to it while you sleep."

Black-Pink Silk titters in amusement.

"My, my~! I had no idea you were endowed so, dear! Do you mean to say that you're not just a tomboy, but a boy in truth all al—AAHH!"

That cultured voice cuts off in a shriek, and a sound of impact.

The night is once more free of verbal warring, for a time.

The sudden lack of such bizarre chatter brings the three of us back to the topic at hand.

Namely, each other.

The fire between us has died down to a small, dwindling blaze.

"Are you aware of how dangerous what you're doing is?" asks the green girl, still glaring at me.

I snort in laughter.

"...Well... yeah," I tell her. "That's the point, you stupid sow!"

She actually looks hurt by this, and slowly shakes her head.

"I can't believe you're really doing this. Why, little runaway? Answer me that."

"Um. Don't you remember what I said about killing you?" I answer, honestly.

"I would guess it's a spot of resentment over all the horrific torture and everything," adds Orange. "That's just my layman's opinion, though."

"I don't find that particularly funny at all," she replies, voice cold.

Her gaze whips to Orange.

"And you! You, of all people, should know better than to make her situation worse than it is! I am disappointed, and quite frankly, appalled."

...

Damn.

She still, still, still refuses to take my threat seriously.

I am in awe of ...whatever that is.

Confidence?

Self-righteous fury?

Blind arrogance?

Perhaps it is time to show her how serious I am.

[ ] Follow the leader
[ ] Keep-away
[ ] Play on the swings until the recess bell rings

________________________________________________________________________________

It is surprisingly difficult to find pictures of Mokou and Kaguya fighting. The vast majority of pictures with the both of them in it are either casual, cute, romantic, or hinting at romantic. I understand the drive to make enemies into best friends in fanart, but this is ridiculous. The fanon spin now dwarfs the canon depiction, and I am sad.

Also, I'm pissed I couldn't fit the second verse of that rhyme into the filename for the second picture. It would have made it perfect.

Also also, the mark for this update looks eerily like a steam locomotive from the 1800s.

[X] Follow the leader

Running time is over.

Also, is it just me or am I getting serious Mystical Chain vibes from this fight?

>>113534
That was my favourite boss fight in the game.

[x] Keep-away (assuming this is the keep-our-distance option)
I'm really hoping our brilliant plan that we spent the entire story remembering isn't luring Sanae into a Mokou/Kaguya fight and hoping she gets caught in the crossfire.

>>113538
I wonder how Sanae would react if we retreated to where Mokou and Kaguya are.

[x] Follow the leader

>One dark morning in the night….jpg

>"My, my~! I had no idea you were endowed so, dear! Do you mean to say that you're not just a tomboy, but a boy in truth all al—AAHH!"
>That cultured voice cuts off in a shriek, and a sound of impact.

It is at that point I understood Kogasa's message in its entirety, which Sanae has not yet wrapped her head around, and like a choral accompaniment:

Freude, schöner Götterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium!

[x] Play on the swings until the recess bell rings

Let's make her listen and watch a while more, as the scene repeats itself. See if she has two neurons left to smash together and understand the implications.

[x] Keep-away

[x] Play on the swings until the recess bell rings

[x] Play on the swings until the recess bell rings

[x] Play on the swings until the recess bell rings.

I think though it's just one part of the plan.

[x] Play on the swings until the recess bell rings

[B] Play on the swings until the recess bell rings

[-] Play on the swings until the recess bell rings

[X] Follow the leader

>>113581
happycouplesalwayssmile.jpg

[X] Follow the leader

[X] Play on the swings until the recess bell rings
Swings are fun.

On another note, killing Sanae, while it may be theraputic is the incorrect thing to do. Putting practicality first, it would most likely leave behind at least one angry god, with a mountain of followers.

The more optimal solution is to kill the gods first, rendering their supporters unable or unwilling to act, and leaving Sanae bereft of miracle power and an ordinary human in Gensokyo, which will leave her with a relatively short life expectancy even if nothing is done to hurry it along.

That option's pretty easily done by exposing this sordid story (unless everyone knows about it already), simply because Orange hasn't been silenced. News like that would likely spread fast, render K&S powerless and it's history from there.

But that plan is pretty out of the water by now.

>>113591
Hard to say, since we don't know Kogasa's plan fully. But I hope we're not screwing up the plan.

>>113591
Interesting, but remember that Sanae probably gets her powers from her status as living god (as a descendent of Suwako), not from the gods themselves, so killing them might not disable her. Also, a smear campaign against the Moriya Shrine, though it may be somewhat effective, isn't going to kill or depower anyone. Faith is not subject to reason, especially during the simpler times that Gensokyo emulates, and even the less fervent believers are probably going to believe the nice, charismatic gods over the crazy, odd-eyed youkai.

>>113611
We're not talking just mere talking about it, and you forget that Orange could vouch for us, and she's a well-regarded Youkai in many areas. And there's the proof of the scars.

Who to say that Kogasa wasn't planning on having Aya check things out, thus revealing things.

PR is the weak spot of any shrine in Gensokyo, and PR as bad as this would be near crippling to a shrine with mostly Youkai worshipers.

Also, we don't know if Sanae's gods even know what she's doing for sure, so they're off of the hit list at the moment.

We will need absolute proof.

So yeah, this is going to be a big-ish update. You'll be waiting a while; tomorrow at worst, tonight at best.

In the mean time, go read Fallout in Gensokyo if you haven't already, since that glorious son of a bitch updated yet again. If he can keep this pace up without burning out, I will dance a joyful little dance.

>>113635
Good. To much of a shitstorm over Aya's new look for me to enjoy an update anyway.

>>113636
What's the deal with that, anyway? It's just her ears.

>>113637
It's Serious Business.

[␇] Play on the swings until the recess bell rings

I snicker, unable to help myself.

"Wow. Just... wow. You don't get it at all, do you, greenie?"

Shaking my head, I sigh.

She turns her glare back on me and makes no reply.

Well, except for slashing that gohei at me again. That's reply enough.

I get all the way out of the way of the wind burst this time, and Orange bolts as well. The shrine maiden looks between the two escaping youkai, and opts to come after me, instead.

I'm still important to her, then.

Sure makes me feel special.

I skip and hop almost playfully through the woods, turning clockwise on the wheel of charred death.

In and out I dance through the forest of green poles, leading her closer and closer to the next bit of fun.

It goes quite nicely.

She stomps right onto a thin vine which snaps, releasing a piece of wood with sharpened bamboo spikes— thinner shoots, cut at an angle —driven through it, allowing it to swing around at right about chest level.

There's a scream of surprise, another short, powerful rush, and the wet, quiet sound of flesh being stabbed.

I stop momentarily, and look back.

She put her arms up in time to block it, unfortunately. But the price of not being stabbed in the chest is three— wait, only two —spikes through the right arm.

I tsk softly, and wait for her behind a thick cluster of trees. I've got the time, now.

I can hear her whimpering slightly, and grunting in pain as she takes ahold of the main pole, and tears it out, followed by a cry of agony.

She's tough, I begrudgingly admit.

I guess you don't get to be a shrine maiden by sitting on your ass all day.

...

Doesn't mean I like her any better, but it does mean she's not just hiding uselessness and weakness behind divine powers and fancy miko tricks.

Flinging the pole away, she quickly gets to work on herself. Tearing off strips of her sleeve, she wraps them tightly around the puncture wounds to stop or at least slow the bleeding.

When she's all done, she plants her hand down onto the ground, where it then sinks into the earth.

What?

...I thought she and her goddess were all about wind and air and whatnot.

Well, this can't be very good, either.

She smiles, and then looks around, as if looking the place over for the first time.

Nope, not good.

"...You've been busy, runaway."

And once again, she looks at me.

Something grasps my feet. I look down to see the ground around me has latched onto my legs, and is quickly piling up higher and higher. I try to break free, but only manage to shake one foot loose before the dirt around the other one clamps tightly.

Fuck and a half.

The green girl, gets up, and begins walking towards me, carefully skirting her way around two other traps on the way.

Some kind of earth-seeing... something? Ground manipulation?

I don't know what the hell is going on. Last time I checked, the sky and wind were her thing.

This really, really sucks, to say the least.

...Where's Orange?

Not here, and that's good, yes, certainly. Don't want her getting hurt.

But I could really use some help. I've got one foot in the ground, and that's getting uncomfortably closer to being the grave as well, with every step that the miko takes.

Help comes from the most unexpected corner.

Brilliant lances of white light rain through the forest canopy, stabbing the ground, and peppering the area around the two of us with unpleasantly deadly-seeming energy.

Normal danmaku doesn't smell like that, and it doesn't set things on fire like that crashing bird did, earlier. The flames seemed to go out sort of fast, but maybe that's just because neither of those two squabbling girls want to burn the whole forest down every time they fight.

I don't know, and I don't care.

Three lines of bright white light rake across the green girl's path, and she dances back out of range. They're keeping her away from me, and that is good.

But I'm still sort of st—

thwunk

Orange leaps down from the trees, again, swinging that staff she had earlier down in an arc. Aided by gravity and momentum, the ball on the end of it cracks the hardened earth around my foot. I can wiggle it about, now, but it's still got me.

"One more!" I call to her.

"Got it."

Spinning it about, she brings it down in an overhand smash that shatters the ground, and not— thankfully —my leg.

Yanking it out of its momentary coffin, I skip back a step, and look over at the green girl.

...Who isn't there.

"Do you see her?" I ask Orange.

Her red eyes scan the area, and she shakes her head. "Do you think she ran away?" she asks.

"Not bloody likely."

"It's a nice thought, at least."

"Maybe," I concede.

Up above, the girls in the sky continue to yell at one another.

"Goodness, Mokou! Did I hit you that time?"

The voice of Whitewater Fire-eater comes back in immediate reply.

"YES! AND FUCK YOU!"

"O-ho-ho-ho~"

There's a roar of flame from a ways off, and the sparring resumes.

Most of their hits are approaching this general area, and moving east. It's a slow, gradually shifting movement, but definite all the same.

I couldn't have asked for a better setup.

The breeze starts to pick up, again.

Without waiting to look around, we both take off running just before a star-shaped pattern of energy blasts apart the spot where we were standing.

A quick look back tells me that the damage isn't as bad as I thought. She's still using typical danmaku, then.

Not surprising. She wants us alive, after all.

Mostly alive.

In one piece, worst case.

...Vicious little whore.

The green girl swoops back down, hot on our trail.

Were these the magic woods, she'd fly overhead and conduct some kind of bombing run. However, it's hard to get very airborne while in the forest. The close proximity of trees to each other doesn't let you get very far in any one direction— or at least, not very fast, and certainly not without taking a winding, twisting path.

It's a good place to hide.

Good place to get lost in, too. Was counting on that to screw her up pretty hard, but it looks like she's managing.

She hovers at about waist height above the ground, now aware of many of the traps we'd set in place for her.

Certainly not all of them, though. I made sure to take that into account in case the ground-based ones failed.

Although, come to think of it, my plan is less a proper plan Well, except for that last part and more a series of offensive contingencies and backups.

Maybe I shouldn't have badmouthed Sun Tzu, in retrospect. Reading his book might've helped, too.

Maybe I'll go ask Silverman if he has a copy, once this is all over.

Maybe I'll a lot of things.

Orange interrupts my train of thought by pushing my head down to avoid a tripline-vine strung between two branches.

Passing under it safely

I gasp out a thanks at the same time as she apologizes.

...

I wonder if he has any rings he's willing to sell.

Shouldn't the miko be about to smack into that? ...Eh, she's probably seen it already, so no luck th—

twampf!

Wha?

I hear the rush of the released tree, and turn, amazed. My eyes follow its path as it whips about in an arc, and smacks into her left side, driving a choked gasp out of her lungs.

No rush..., meaning she didn't even have time to be surprised.

If I'm lucky, she's dead, or at least down a vital organ or two.

She falls to the ground, moaning in pain, sobbing slightly.

Well, not dead yet.

And then, somehow, somehow, she rises shakily to her feet, staring at me with tears rolling down her cheeks as she clutches at her side.

...I don't believe it.

The green girl is made of I don't even know what.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" she screams at me. "Stop screwing around already! This... this is dangerous, dammit! You could have gotten me killed!"

She points with her gohei to the bent, swaying tree that just clipped her, and then winces, apparently having stretched something painful.

No.

It's not arrogance.

It's not self-righteousness.

I don't know if it's insanity, anymore.

What the hell is it that's in her head?

Without warning, a rain of fire begins zipping through the woods.

Little balls of burning rock come flying down from up above, moving much faster east than the previous destructive displays.

It is time.

I tap Orange on the shoulder, and point towards the ravine where the cave lies, a ways off.

My citrus princess nods, and bounds away.

"Better find some shelter from the storm, Greenie," I mockingly call to the wounded miko. "Too bad you didn't bring an umbrella."

I wink, and give a little wave.

The green girl looks downright livid at that comment.

She gets up, taking shakily to the air, and coasts through the woods after me.

I follow the direction that Orange went, and soon come upon the little cave. I pause for a moment on the bank of the creek opposite the cave, and scoop up some water to drink, then another to splash on my face.

I take a look back behind me, at the ridge of the ravine on this side.

The air is heating up, and faint reddish light permeates the forest. Above the zip-zip-zip of flaming rocks that rain down and around, I can just make out the voices of the catfight above our heads as I dodge the occasional superheated ball of fiery death.

"—even count the number of things you owe me!"

...Angry and belligerent. Whitewater Fire-eater, then.

Faintly, the other girl calls back: "How about your debt to ME, dear Mokou?"

The one closer to me is confused, but replies after a moment's hesitation.

"...What debt?"

"FROM HAVING TO REBUILD PARTS OF EIENTEI OVER AND OVER AGAIN!" shouts Black-Pink Silk, her ire coming through clearly, even down here.

The pale-haired one slings something like a long tongue of flame her way as she retorts, "Pffft. You've got a legion of rabbits doing everything around there for you. Do you even pay them?"

"How about the twelve times I bought you lunch at school, then?" says the other, faintly. Louder than before, though.

"What?! It was seven times!"

"Don't go quoting numbers at me~"

...

My goal in life, should I fail tonight, is to never become like this with the green girl. These two sound like a bickering married couple from a comedy duo.

"Resting so soon, little runaway?"

What?

Fuck.

The green girl's voice comes from way closer than it should.

I look around, and see her sailing down the ravine, flying right at me.

Biting off a curse, I hop over the creek, and make a mad dash for the cave.

As I set foot inside, fear and giddiness threaten to overwhelm me.

Fear that she might catch me.

Giddiness at the prospect of being rid of her once and for all being so very close at hand.

I do a careful, precise dance down the rocky passage. One step in the wrong place, and it'd be hard to do any stepping again for a while.

hop

skip

turn

fold

jump

expand

step

And I keep on walking.

I hear her enter the cave, stop, and pause.

She's seen the first wire.

I scramble to the back of the cave, and lean against the rock wall, getting my breath back.

Or seeming to.

I listen to her footsteps.

Careful, hesitant.

And again.

Longer pause, this time.

A little quicker now, in the pattern, before there's the pause, and the pattern repeats.

She's seen it.

"You're far too predictable, little runaway," she calls as she rounds the corner, and catches sight of me.

She runs now, easily dancing over the repeated pattern of trip lines I've strung across the cave, bearing down on me.

I count off slowly, then stick my tongue out, and knock aside the cover over the opening on the other side.

"The little dog still can't catch it, even when she's found it. Goodbye, now~!"

I wave cheerily.

She shouts at me to stop, and races forward, even faster. Somehow, she actually manages to keep the careful pattern of footsteps needed to avoid the triplines, even as she accelerates.

twiiinnng

...All except that last one, strung dead in the middle.

Something heavy, like a rock, drops to the floor of the small cave just ahead of the green girl, landing with a strangely metallic clinking sound.

That's my cue.

I shoot up out of the cave, and race through the opening.

Orange, waiting on the other side, follows behind a second later.

There is a large rush of surprise, then a deafening explosion.

The opening of the cave belches fire, and the shockwave nearly sends us straight into a sturdy-looking bamboo tree.

We land a short ways away from the opening, and as one, look back at the cave's opening, where smoke billows out.

Awfully black smoke, strangely.

It occurs to me that there may have been some coal deposits in there. Or is that even how coal and bamboo works? Hell if I know.

We watch it, in silence.

[ ] Hit and run
[ ] But there was nobody in the back seat

________________________________________________________________________________

>M&K pictures
Thanks. Sorry to be No-fun McBuzzkill about that.

>>113525
>"Damn you! The rats take your eyes!"
This would have been so much better. In fact, I'm stealing that.

>>113534
Mystiwhatnow?

>>113538
~

>>113541
What's Beethoven's 9th have to do with this?

[X] Hit and run

If she's dead, all we're going to see is a corpse; if she's alive, we'd be wasting valuable running-away time by checking on her. Let's blow this popstand.

>>113644
http://touhou.wikia.com/wiki/Mystical_Chain
Highly recommended; even if this genre isn't your bag, it's worth playing through once or twice just to watch the spell cards.

I think the choices are pretty obvious; I'll have to think on this. But Kogasa pointed out where the problem with revenge is, pointing out those two.

But Mystical chain is an action game where you play as a team with two out of these characters: Marisa, Alice, or Patchouli. One of the boss battles involved your team in the middle of Kaguya and Mokou fighting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2xdklDSDhQ a vid of the fight itself.

I am in no state to comment. So I will just vote.

[x] But there was nobody in the back seat

[x] But there was nobody in the back seat

Never believe they're dead until you see the body.

>But Kogasa pointed out where the problem with revenge is, pointing out those two.
What?

I read that completely the opposite way. I saw it as her saying "I hope I never end up in some kind of ridiculous love/hate relationship with the green girl."

You know, like not wanting her anger with Sanae to become a joke.

[x] But there was nobody in the back seat

[x] But there was nobody in the back seat

[x] But there was nobody in the back seat

[x] Hit and run.
Best to run and find somewhere to hide for a looooong time, now we got two goddesses after us ether way.

[X] But there was nobody in the back seat

Always check the back seat.


>>"How about the twelve times I bought you lunch at school, then?" says the other, faintly. Louder than before, though.

Wait, what?

[x] But there was nobody in the back seat
I think I see where your going with this, Fell. I'm probably totally wrong, but if I am...ho boy, that's a big can of worms.

[x] But there was nobody in the back seat
>Never believe they're dead until you see the body.
They always come back. If this ends in another torture sessions i am going to rage for some days.

[x] But there was nobody in the back seat
She's alive. I know it. Meta or not, it never hurts to be careful. Except if you stop being careful while you're being careful, if you get what I mean.
Also, she has already like 5 strong rushes. How many more until she's able to fight on even footing against that good girl?

[X] Hit and run

It would be a miracle if she survived that.

hint hint

[X] Hit and run

[x] But there was nobody in the back seat
She's only got like 10 HP left I'm sure kogasa can finish her off.

[X] But there was nobody in the back seat

Bracing for Kiriyama end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDNtXzNEeCQ&feature=fvw#t=6m57s

[X] Hit and run

I wonder what she intended that final trap to do, that and miracles can only go so far, more so for a battered human with a bad foot.

[ø] But there was nobody in the back seat

>"Stop screwing around already! This... this is dangerous, dammit! You could have gotten me killed!"

What? Are you fucking stupid?

[x] Hit and run

>>113641
To this day, I can't do the emphasis on ZOmbie.

[X] But there was nobody in the back seat

Mercy is a close-range attack.

>>113682
She isn't stupid, she's crazy. Or at least, that's the conclusion one can get with all the information we have. That's where the 'mercy' thing comes from: Sanae is sick and thus, has lost the ability to feel empathy and has a very hindered logical thinking. In her mind, she's doing our MC a favor.
Would you kill a retarded kid because he stabbed you with a knife while playing? I would, but most people would think that doing so is a terrible thing.

>>Sanae is sick and thus, has lost the ability to feel empathy and has a very hindered logical thinking. In her mind, she's doing our MC a favor.

While the ease with which she engages in torturing living beings is very troubling, I'm not sure her apparent lack of empathy in this case is really due to mental illness, as opposed to her not feeling it because she doesn't see any reason to feel it.

Physical damage is supposed to be more or less irrelevant to a youkai, and if you disregard whatever physical or emotional pain they might feel as a result, it pretty much is.
When you consider how long a youkai lives versus how quickly can recover from injuries, things like gouged eyes and a cut-out tongue should be no more significant to them than a paper cut is to you or me.

On top of that, consider the purpose behind what Sanae is doing. She's basically doing the youkai equivalent of correcting troublesome behavior in an animal through the use of the physical sensation of pain. It's like using a shock collar to stop a dog from trying to bite strangers or pee on the rug, except in this case the "dog" is a mystical quasi-immortal being, and instead of a shock collar you're reenacting the "Is it safe?" scene from Marathon Man.

Of course, that is ignoring the fact that youkai are intelligent, sentient beings, and thus she should be able to reason and negotiate with them rather than torturing them into changing their behavior. Then again, if the behavior she's seeking to correct stems more from instinct rather than conscious choice, perhaps she feels that simple talk just won't get the job done.

What's more interesting than how she justifies her lack of empathy, to me, is how she justifies hiding what she's doing if she really doesn't see it as a bad thing. If it really was as >>113704 suggests, why curse Kogasa to keep her from telling anyone? Why stop her from contacting Reimu, someone not exactly well known for empathy towards youkai herself? One possibility is that she's mentioned her rehabilitation plan to others and they reacted poorly, leading her to hide her activities while still herself believing that she's doing youkai-kind a favor, but it's been shown multiple times that she still has a healthy social life outside of her forays into horrific torture, and I just can't imagine her as the brooding, mad-scientist type.

Her words (saying that she's altruistically doing us a favor) and her actions (acting like she's sadistically hunting the most dangerous game) are perfectly consistent, taken separately, but put it together and I can't imagine any justification, sane or otherwise, for what's going on.

>>113711
Is the person telling the story completely sane?

What if Sanae became so insane, she met sanity coming the other way, and is now 'super sane'?

>>113714

Exactly. The person telling the story isn't entirely sane. This device was used in several stories by Poe to great effect.

>>What's more interesting than how she justifies her lack of empathy, to me, is how she justifies hiding what she's doing if she really doesn't see it as a bad thing.

If you are asking "why is Sanae hiding what she's doing if she really doesn't think she's doing something bad?" I'm inclined to answer with a question of my own. Mainly, what makes you think she's trying to hide what she's doing from others in the first place? The curse aside, do Sanae's actions appear at all like you would expect of someone who is trying to keep others from finding out about what she's doing?
She didn't seem to have any reservations about capturing Orange, and was fairly quick to agree in letting her go (albeit with that little "warning").

On top of that, there's Yukari, who not only knows about what's going on, but is also involved enough to have been bound to not interfere. More than that, she knows enough about what's going on that she would choose to remain neutral even if she wasn't bound in such a way.

Between the willingness to bring in and then release a witness to her actions and the involvement of one of the highest powers in Gensokyo, I find it hard to believe that Sanae is using things like that curse to hide what she's doing because she's afraid of getting in trouble or anything like that. Just look at how she's reacted to those traps and Orange's involvement. To hear her talk, you would think the very idea that someone would retaliate against her for what she's been doing, let alone try to actually harm or even kill her because of it, has never even crossed her mind.

What if the reason for that is because such thoughts haven't crossed her mind? Or, at least, not enough to be a factor in what she's doing? Then the question arises, if that's not the reason for things like the curse, then what is?

>>113714
From >>105933, in response to the theory that this entire fight is a game that Kogasa got a little too in character for:
>>to the point that one has to take anything she thinks with a grain of salt.
>...Not really. The main character is crazy, but she isn't hallucinating.

>>113718
You make a good point; Yukari's statement that she wouldn't interfere even if she could casts some serious doubt on the assumption that Sanae is hiding this from everyone. The fact that the curse seal specifically prevents us from contacting Reimu, though, makes me think she, at least, doesn't know what's going on, and would disapprove if she did. The fact that Sanae still interacts with Reimu (as she's said she does) implies that she is, at least on some level, deceiving or hiding the truth from her.

>Then the question arises, if that's not the reason for things like the curse, then what is?
That's the other bit of info that makes me believe that she's definitely trying to hide it from someone. On the other hand, the fact that the curses have been so easy to (more or less) circumvent makes me wonder if we're not misunderstanding their true purpose, somehow.

Also, I keep misspelling Sanae as 'Sane', which is pretty funny given the context here.

Well, someone has decided for me that their time is worth way more than my own, and right about as I was finishing the update, too.
So yeah, it'll be maybe an hour or so from now. New thread, too.

>>113715
I read that as 'Super Sanae' and I immediately imagined her flying around Gensokyo, killing every fucking thing alive and not.

>>113725

hooray!

New thread: >>113743