>Killing Floor CYOA
YES
YES
YES
[X] Mystery Building
Good place to hold tight
[X] Field Medic
Best solo class

[X] Mystery Building
[X] Field Medic

A mansion is a bit of a hard place to defend, it makes more sense to try and find a smaller building with less entrances.

The medic is a good choice because more survivability is a good thing.

[X] Mystery Building
[X] Field Medic

[X] Mystery Building
[X] Field Medic

[x] Mansion
[x]Berserker (Getting up close and personal is how you operate. Melee attacks hit harder and faster, and you can take more punishment.)

A CQC expert is more useful here: everything that isn't inmune to bullets shouldn't be shot. A monsters will not infest this place for a while anyway.

>>179906
We don't know how many monsters Yukari hasn't gotten to yet. I think it's safer to assume there's SOME roaming around. Also Youkai.
Berserker's also kinda meh in Killing Floor.

>>179907
Yukari has her hands full keeping specimens dead as fast as they come in before anyone sees, but she's still mostly on top of things. So encountering any non-youkai monsters would be rare.

Also,
>Berserker's also kinda meh in Killing Floor
Say that to my dosh fuker not online see what happens

>>179908
Are we going to be welding things aside from DOAHs? Because Gensokyo has a devastating lack of weldable entryways.
Also Berzerker is 2ez, medic is for pros who help their squad.

[X]Field Medic (You're not a doctor, but you can stop the bleeding well enough. Also better armor and you run faster.)

Why medic of course

Alright, calling it for both the mystery building and being a medic. Expect an update soon.
Also, something I forgot to mention: you also have ??250 in your inventory. How silly of me to forget.

[X]Head towards the mystery red building.
[X]You are now a Field Medic.

Well, the last time you tried to hole up in a mansion didn't go so well, and quite a lot of things could go wrong in the forest. So it looks like you're going to investigate whatever that spot of red was. After drawing your pistol and making sure the safety was off, you head in that direction, watching for anything hostile on the way.

It's not that long of a journey, and soon you find yourself at the treeline of this odd forest. Just ahead, you can see that the red you saw was actually the decorative gate or whatever it's called to a shrine. You saw a few while flying over Japan, but this one was unique in that it wasn't surrounded by the bodies of those who thought that simply praying the specimens away would actually work.

It also looked rather clean, which more than likely meant someone was still living there. Which meant that you could find out both where you were, and possibly have an ally if shit hits the fan.

As you continue watching, you spot movement near the back of the shrine. After a few moments, what appeared to be a little girl wearing a sleeveless dress stumbled around the shrine, into your view.

Also, said little girl had large horns sticking out of her head.

You couldn't help but voice your thoughts on the matter. "What the bloody hell..."

Your small outburst goes unnoticed, and the girl takes out an oddly shaped purple bottle and starts to chug from it. You can smell the alcohol from where you're sitting.

As she finishes drinking her fill, you go over your options. Horns or no, she looks completely shitfaced, so it's likely she won't really act completely rationally upon seeing you. On the other hand, she could be one of those people who is excessively friendly when intoxicated.

[ ]Go up to her and say hello.
[ ]Stay hidden and keep watching, just in case.
[ ]Screw this, go back into the forest and go somewhere else.


Also, this seems like as good a place as any to mention how death and bad ends will be handled for this story. While the usual "back to last choice" option will be present, there will also be two other options available in that situation, both of which offer a more "permadeath" atmosphere: option one is a hard reset to the beginning, where you can start from scratch, with a new character and perk, if you wish. The other option is to basically "play it through", as it were, where you start fresh as a new character, but everything you had done as the previous character still applies to the world. This means that some progress towards whatever long term goal will be preserved, but if you're not careful, you can completely fuck your chances of accomplishing said goal.

Of course, none of this matters quite yet, I just thought I'd bring it up now, as opposed to bringing it up later and causing a bunch of confusion.

>>179915
>?250
LOADS E' MONEE
[X] Go up and say hello
Everyone loves alcohol.

[x]Go up to her and say hello.
-[x] Ask her where can we score some dosh

>>179917
[x]Go up to her and say hello.

She doesn't seem infected and the place seems peaceful. Keep our guard up though just in case.

>none of this matters quite yet

Yea right, and I'm the queen of England. I've seen too many "eaten by guarddog Suika" ends in my lifetime to fall for that one. Your tricks won't work on me.

[X]Stay hidden and keep watching, just in case.

[X]Stay hidden and keep watching, just in case.

[X]Stay hidden and keep watching, just in case.

Oh boy, I can't wait to write more of this KF story!
>votes are tied
Well shit.
Next vote is tiebreaker, and don't be a muppet and vote for the one option no one voted for just to make this longer.

>>179936
I wish I hadn't already voted or else I'd vote.

[X]Stay hidden and keep watching, just in case.
better safe than sorry

>>179938
Thank you for breaking that tie.
Alright, next update coming somewhat soon.

[X]Stay hidden and keep watching, just in case.

Yeah, you're not gonna get involved with this just yet. It would probably be a better idea to wait and see what happens.

As you continue watching, another girl comes around the shrine. This one thankfully didn't have any unnatural body parts, and was dressed in white and red robes of some kind.

Upon seeing the drunk girl, red-white begins yelling at her, in what sounds like Japanese. You can't understand what she's saying, but from her tone, it sounds like this is a regular occurrence, and she's pissed at that fact.

Drunk girl slurs something, and red-white just facepalms and says something else, her tone now less angry. She turns to the drunk girl for confirmation that she heard, only getting a hand waving her off dismissively. Sighing, red-white walks over to the stairs leading away from the shrine, and holy shit she's flying.

As you watch with your mouth agape, the girl simply glides through the air, heading to a medium sized settlement a bit further from the shrine. Well, if nothing else, you found out where you could find more people.

Once red-white is out of view, you look back at drunk girl, who was snoring loudly in the same position she fell in. Wherever the hell you are, it sure doesn't seem like you're home anymore. Or anywhere close to home, for that matter.

You wait a bit longer, just in case any other newcomers show up, but apart from the girl's snoring, the place is quiet. Glancing back down at the settlement red-white flew towards, you do your best to think of a clear plan, given what you had just seen. On the one hand, investigating that settlement would probably bring you a lot of answers. Then again, this shrine looked to be pretty much empty, save for the unconscious horn girl. Snooping around might also provide results.

Before you can properly decide on a course of action, you look up just in time to see a yellow and black blur fly overhead, landing just in front of the shrine. It looked to be, of all things, a blonde-haired witch hovering on a broom.

Seriously, a bloody witch, hat and all. You had already been surprised enough for one day, so your reaction was more akin to a glare that strongly conveyed the message "are you fucking shitting me right now".

Soon after stopping, the witch starts flying again, this time heading to the back of the shrine. Not too long after, you can hear rustling coming from there. Looks like she's a thief, too. Probably.

[ ]Forget it, go see what that village is all about.
[ ]Wait until the witch leaves, then investigate the shrine yourself.
[ ]You've witnessed the end of the world, but that's no reason to allow senseless looting to go unpunished.
-[ ]Deal with her yourself.
-[ ]That drunk girl's still here, why not just wake her up?

Oh boy the first guaranteed character interaction vote, better not fuck this up!

[x]You've witnessed the end of the world, but that's no reason to allow senseless looting to go unpunished.
-[x]That drunk girl's still here, why not just wake her up?
She will find what we do to looters... with some help.

>>179942
[X] What this guy voted for
We wouldn't want someone stealin' our Dosh, now would we?

[X]You've witnessed the end of the world, but that's no reason to allow senseless looting to go unpunished.
-[X]That drunk girl's still here, why not just wake her up?

[X]You've witnessed the end of the world, but that's no reason to allow senseless looting to go unpunished.-[X]That drunk girl's still here, why not just wake her up?
[X] get a rock to alarm her no need to reveal are selves

[x]You've witnessed the end of the world, but that's no reason to allow senseless looting to go unpunished.
-[x]That drunk girl's still here, why not just wake her up?

[x]You've witnessed the end of the world, but that's no reason to allow senseless looting to go unpunished.
-[x]That drunk girl's still here, why not just wake her up?

You didn't really like looters or thieves. Even though nearly every time you encountered one, they proved to be useful allies. Although they did usually die soon after.

Anyway, you should probably stop that witch from knicking whatever she's looking for.

You're about to head to the back of the shrine yourself, but just as you take a step, the drunk girl lets out a particularly loud snore. That gives you an idea. She seems to live here, after all, why not have her be the one to confront that thief?

Grabbing a nearby rock on the ground, you toss it up a couple times, to get a feel for the weight, and then chuck it straight at the girl.

You miss.

Cursing softly, you take another rock, and try again. This time, you manage to hit her in the head, and she starts mumbling something. Just as you think she's getting up, she just starts snoring again.

Annoyed, you repeat the process, this time smacking her in the stomach. This gets more of a reaction, and she rolls over, mumbling a bit louder.

Apparently the thief hears her, too, as the rustling at the back of the shrine suddenly stopped. Soon after, the witch poked her head around the building, spotting the drunk girl just as she's shakily getting to her feet, probably muttering what were probably various obscenities the whole time. As the two begin to notice each other, you do your best to stay hidden in the bushes, waiting to see what they do.

Of all the things you thought would happen, the witch breaking into a smile and greeting horn girl like an old friend was not what you were expecting. The two converse for a bit, you facepalming the entire time, until eventually the drunk one curls back up on the ground and falls back asleep. The witch laughs softly, and starts heading back to the shrine.

You've honestly had enough of this shite, so you prepare to bug off to somewhere else-

*crack*

-and of bloody course you step on a twig. The universe sure does love throwing you into the fire, doesn't it?

As expected, the witch notices the sound, and whirls around, looking for the source. You're still well hidden, however, so when she doesn't see anything out of the ordinary, she just shrugs and continues what she was doing.

You let out a small sigh. "That was too close," you whisper to yourself.

"I know, she nearly found us!"

"Well, we're still hidden, so-" Wait, who the hell were you talking to?

You whirl around, and come face to face with another girl, this one with light blue hair. She was wearing an equally blue dress, and also had strange wings on her back because why the fuck not, after all you've seen so far today.

To your credit, you didn't scream like a girl upon finding out someone was right behind you without your knowledge. However, you did jump back a couple of steps, yelling out a grocery list of curses while drawing your handgun. This commotion summons the attention of the witch, obviously, so you back up a good number of steps so both her and the blue girl are in front of you.

The witch cries out something in surprise, reaching for one of her pockets, while the blue girl just waves at the witch, further confusing her. The two have a brief heated argument, ignoring you for a short moment, and you use that time to think over a quick detail.

That blue girl spoke English. Does everyone around here know it, as well? That would certainly make things easier for you.

The two had stopped speaking with each other by now, and they were both staring at you, as you moved your sights from one to the other. It was moments like these that you were thankful for your gas mask, so they couldn't read your face.

"So, you speak English?" the witch finally says, her voice free of any noticeable accent for some reason.

Once you heard your own language being used, you slightly lower your pistol, but still keep it ready. "...Yes."

She smirks. "Well, in that case, mind telling me what you're doing snooping around this shrine?"

You want to point out how hypocritical she's being, but that wouldn't really improve your situation at all. You have a good number of options here, so you better not screw this up. That witch still has her hand in her pocket, and that makes you nervous.

[ ]Time for some diplomacy.
-[ ]...yeah, uh, why were you here, anyway? (write-in)
[ ]You have some money, maybe you could bribe them to look the other way while you run away?
[ ]Your gun has helped you out of many a jam before, why should this be any different?

[X]Time for some diplomacy. Gun diplomacy.
As much as I know this is a fast track to bad end, I can't not vote for it.

[x]Time for some diplomacy.
-[x] I'm new here so I was looking for some guidance when I found you, er, 'snooping' around this place. Didn't know if you were a friend or a looter. No idea what blue wings or drunk horns is doing here though.

>>179948
[X]Time for some diplomacy.
-[] "I came to this shrine, to hide from potential specimens and to figure out were I am. Speaking of which I'd appr?ciais or you coups awnser that question as well as a few other such as why does this kid has horns, or this one wings? Is it because of the virus? And how did that red-white girl fly?"
Or course we keep the gun leveled at them in case they try anything

>>179951
This is the second time I've heard something like this come up, so I'll settle the issue here:
The specimens aren't created by any infection or virus. They're quite simply disposable clones, all of them. So there's no zombie infection at work here. Just letting you all know so you don't base any major decisions on that.

>>179951
It's like you didn't play KF or something.
[x]Time for some diplomacy.
-[x] I'm new here so I was looking for some guidance when I found you, er, 'snooping' around this place. Didn't know if you were a friend or a looter. No idea what blue wings or drunk horns is doing here though.

>>179953
They can't be a definite number, because then they wouldn't have taken over the world. How do they multiply?

>>179958
There's a cloning machine that just keeps popping out killer mutants.
Do you even KF bro?

[X] Snooping? Why, I am but a simple pilgrim. Come to pay homage to the patron deity of this sacred place. I was hesitant to approach because of the horn demon standing guard.

>>179959
Nope, sorry.
I wanted to, but it was too late and it was under the 1.6 syndrome (people still playing are too good for you and don't take kindly to strangers) For what it matters, I'm all aboard this story.

>>179961
Well, there was a single player you could've used if you were really worried about that.
come on m8

>>179959
...Why haven't they just nuked the cloning machine to death?

And don't tell me they don't know where it is or that it's too deep underground. It's not difficult to find its location based on the epicenter of the clones' dispersal, and as for being deep underground, repeated use of excessive firepower would render it no longer underground.

>>179964

...Maybe it's guarded by the endless clones it produces?

>>179964
If I remember correctly, it wasn't exactly public knowledge.
I mean if you were Great Britain you wouldn't really want to be nuked y'know?

>>179966
It's also hinted that Horzine had cloning machines in more than one location.
And part of the reason nukes weren't used is because it would only slow down the specimens for a bit, and that radiation might make them even nastier, like making flying fleshpounds or some shit.

Anyway, diplomacy wins out in a democratic fashion. We shall discuss matters with the demons in the next update.

>>179967

>flying fleshpounds

[x]Time for some diplomacy.
-[x] I'm new here so I was looking for some guidance when I found you, er, 'snooping' around this place. Didn't know if you were a friend or a looter. No idea what blue wings or drunk horns is doing here though.

I can't be arsed to find specific character images so have a look at what you look like.

[x]Time for some diplomacy.

Well, this isn't really a situation to lie about. "I was lost, and I found this shrine. Nothing more, nothing less." After thinking a bit, you decide to point something out. "Besides, weren't you snooping around, too?"

She smirks again. "That's different. I was just looking to see if a friend of mine had something I was looking for." She turns to look at blue hair. "But what were you doing with her?"

After a second of thinking, you shrug. "Never seen her before in my life."

"I spotted him in the forest, so I followed him!" blue hair helpfully adds.

"Right..." The witch doesn't really seem convinced, but it looks like she's dropping the issue for now, as her hand is no longer in her pocket. Likewise, you lower your handgun.

She looks you up and down, no doubt judging your odd outfit, before speaking again. "Never seen an outsider dressed like you are, before. Seen 'em in masks sometimes, other times in suits, but never both."

Something she said stuck out to you. "Excuse me, 'outsider'?"

She looks back at your face. "Oh yeah, you're clueless about all this. Well, let me make this brief." She walks over to the top of the stairs and waves out an arm, showing off the admittedly beautiful scenery of the nearby area. "Welcome to Gensokyo, where magic and stuff is real, separated from the outside by the Hakurei Border, lots of dangerous beasts and whatnot here, yadda yadda."

Great, a land full of magic. At least now you can not even bother questioning the horns on that drunk girl or how almost everyone you've seen can fly.

"So," the witch interrupts your thoughts, "mind telling me what your getup's all about?"

You look over yourself, also taking the time to holster your gun. "You mean you don't know what's going on in the wor- er, the 'outside'?"

Her smirk turns into a look of confusion. "What, is something bad happening?"

"Well, you see-"

You don't get to finish that sentence, because at that moment you felt yourself fall through the ground. There was a flash of purple, as well as what looked like eyes for a split second, before you end up landing on a simple folding chair in the middle of a black void, the impact nearly knocking it over.

Confused as all hell, you try to draw your pistol again, but find that you can't move your arms. Looking down, you see some sort of dark purple band holding all your limbs to the chair, so the only part of your body you could move was your head and neck.

"Hm, looks like I underestimated the ability of outsiders to not die immediately upon appearing here."

You bring your head up to look at the source of the voice, finding the owner of it immediately. She looked to be a woman in her late twenties, maybe early thirties, and she was wearing a dress with quite a lot of purple on it. An equally purple umbrella was held in her hands, though it was obvious she didn't need it for anything other than a fashion statement.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" you say.

The woman chuckles. "It doesn't matter who I am, what matters is where you are. The witch already gave you the brief rundown of Gensokyo, correct?"

Since you couldn't do anything else, you just nodded.

"So you know that this place is sealed off from the outside world, yes?"

"Seems like that's the case."

"And you've no doubt noticed that those... specimens running rampant in the outside aren't here?"

You narrow your eyes at her, even though the mask makes it a futile gesture. "That's because of you, I take it?"

She smiles. "Good, you're a smart one. That makes this much easier."

Suddenly, the smile is gone, and she's in your face, gripping your neck. Despite her appearance, there is a lot of strength behind her hand. "Gensokyo, overall, is a peaceful place. Sure, we have incidents every once in a while, and honestly it's hardly safe for the average human, but it's still peaceful." She lets your neck go a bit, letting you take in some more air, which you gasp for.

"You humans are quite inspiring," she continues. "When nature tries to snuff you out, you not only fight back, you turn the tables entirely. Where we have magic, you have science and technology." Her grip tightens again, and she brings her eyes almost right up against the visor of the mask. "But then that science goes too far. Or perhaps it was simply a single human who lost it. In either case, those monsters began to roam free, slaughtering all in their path."

She lets go of you and walks away a couple of steps, and you start coughing. "You know the border isn't perfect?" she suddenly asks, looking back at you.

"W- What do you mean?" you choke out, still regaining your breath.

"Occasionally, outsiders like yourself can wind up here in Gensokyo because they happened to wander into a weak spot of the border." She turns around, her face unreadable. "The same is true of those beasts. Every day, almost a dozen of them slip inside. And every day, I eradicate almost a dozen of them." She leans down to you again, but thankfully doesn't grab your throat this time. "Gensokyo is a peaceful place, its inhabitants happy. Just because the outside world is dying doesn't mean I'll let that change."

It doesn't take long for you to put the pieces together. "You're keeping the end of the bloody world secret?"

She smirks ever so slightly. "Now, it isn't necessarily the end of the world. Just the potential end of the human race. In the outside world, at least."

You shake your head, partly out of disbelief and partly out of sick amusement. "So, cut to the chase. Why are you telling me all this?"

Her smirk turns into a smile. "Smart, and straight to business. I like you." She turns away again. "Back when that whole mess started, when the occasional surviving human made it through, I would simply place them back in the outside before they even encountered anyone. When less of them started showing up, and more specimens did, I started to ignore them. Which worked out, as the ones who made it at that point were usually injured enough that the wildlife could finish them off with no one noticing." She looks back at you, her face once again unreadable. "At least, until you showed up. Since I can't just send you back without causing questions to pop up, I'll offer you a deal."

Suddenly, a couch dropped in out of nowhere behind her, and she sat down on it. She pulled out an unmarked notebook, and started reading, but she kept talking to you. "Don't tell anyone what the situation on the outside is. I don't know what lie you'll come up with, and frankly I don't care. Just don't let them know the truth, and I'll let you stay here, away from all that death and destruction." She puts the book to the side and stands up, holding out a hand. "So, what do you say?"

Your bonds disappear, and you get up and look at the outstretched hand. After weighing the pros and cons of the decision, you shake it. "Sure, mate."

She smiles again. "Good. Oh, and, by the way," she picks up the notebook she was reading, and hands it to you. "This is pretty decent so far. I just think you should finish it."

At first, you don't know what she means, but then you realize that she was reading what you had written down for your autobiography. Snatching the notebook out of her hands, you put it back with the other one.

"Remember, I'll be watching," she says, just as you feel yourself falling again. When you hit the ground this time, you're back in front of the shrine. The witch and blue hair are still there, and drunk girl is still passed out, but it seems that red-white arrived while you were gone. At the sound of your landing, the three that are awake all turned to look at you. The witch said something in Japanese to red-white, and soon they're all standing in front of you.

"What the hell was that about?" the witch asks, confusion evident on her face."

"Hell if I know," you lie. "What did I miss?"

Rather than getting an answer, red-white speaks to you. "So, you're the oddly-dressed outsider, then?"

"That's me."

"Did you get the rundown on Gensokyo?"

"Yep."

She stretches, showing that her sleeves aren't actually attached to the rest of her outfit. "Well, since I'll have to ask Yukari just what it is she was doing later, I guess you're free to go wherever, as long as you don't cause any problems."

Yukari? Must be the name of that weird woman you just spoke with. "Wouldn't dream of it."

She nods, and is about to head back towards the shrine, when you can spot a gleam in her eye. "Also, as an outsider arriving in Gensokyo, you are required to pay a small tax to the Hakurei Shrine."

She stretches out her hand as if waiting for something, and you just stare at it. "Surely you can't be serious?"

"I'm serious," she asserts.

"Wait, her name isn't Shirley," blue hair says from behind red-white. Everyone facepalms at that, you included.

"Well, alright." You start digging in your pockets for some cash, before settling on a couple of ?5 notes. You give them to her, and she noticeably droops upon seeing the bills, but just shrugs and pockets them.

"Okay, you can go do whatever now." She turns and heads to the shrine, leaving you with the witch and blue hair.

"Sorry about Reimu," the witch says. That must be red-white's name. "She has a habit of being a bit cold to anyone she doesn't know."

You shrug. "Can't say I really blame her."

"Say, you never did say what was going on in the outside, did you?"

Shit, you thought that you'd have a bit longer to come up with something. "Well, you see, uh..." Suddenly, you get an idea. "There was a war going on where I was, and I was going to work when we were attacked and I had to put on this mask. Plus, I kinda like it." She'll buy that, right?

"Then why do you have a gun?"

You remember her reaching for something. "What, you don't have a weapon on you at all times?"

She looks at you skeptically, then grins and pulls out some sort of octagonal device. "Point taken."

As you look around, you notice that blue hair was gone. She must've bugged off.

"Say, what's your name, anyway?" the witch asks.

"Just call me Mr. Foster," you answer, reciting the same line you've given a number of times back in the outside. "And you?"

"Well you can just call me Marisa!" She grabs her broom off the ground, and hoists it over her shoulder. "So, what're ya gonna do first here in beautiful Gensokyo?"

[ ]That village is still there, why not pay it a visit?
[ ]The mansion you saw earlier... who lives there?
[ ]Why not go for a walk through the forest? You are armed, after all.
[ ]Making a choice is hard. Just ask Marisa to make it for you.

>>179973
[x]That village is still there, why not pay it a visit?

Might be nice to see a place free of the horrors of the war.

[X]Making a choice is hard. Just ask Marisa to make it for you.

[X]Why not go for a walk through the forest? You are armed, after all.

>>179973
[x]That village is still there, why not pay it a visit?
-Go looking for dosh and such

[x]Making a choice is hard. Just ask Marisa to make it for you.

Free will is overrated

[X]Making a choice is hard. Just ask Marisa to make it for you. As long as it involves dosh gathering.

[x]That village is still there, why not pay it a visit?

We're more likely to find something useful in the village. And we might even get a job there or something.

[X]Why not go for a walk through the forest? You are armed, after all.

Welp, once again, votes are tied. There are 3 votes for going to the village, and 3 for having Marisa pick for us.
As last time, first tiebreaker wins.
I'm still not sure if constant ties in votes is a good thing or not, from a writer's standpoint.

>>180036
[x]That village is still there, why not pay it a visit?

[x]That village is still there, why not pay it a visit?

You look down the stairs, at that village Reimu went to earlier. "I think I could go down there, see how things are."

Marisa follows your gaze. "The human village, eh? Not a bad first stop, if I do say so myself." She starts walking towards the forest, broom in hand. "Well, I gotta be going now. Important business to take care of. Try not to die, maybe I'll see ya again, Foster!"

With that, she flies off, leaving you alone with the still knocked out drunk girl. You could probably just leave her be, so you started walking down the stairs towards the village. Hopefully, while you're there, you could find a job of some kind. ?240 could only get you so far, and you're pretty sure whatever currency they primarily use here, it's not pounds.
===============
It isn't long before you reach the gate of the village. Tall wooden walls surrounded the settlement, and if the path didn't lead straight into it, you wouldn't have noticed the large door cut into the wall.

There were a few guards positioned around the gate, some armed with simple swords or spears, others holding primitive crossbows. At least now you know that this place is a little bit behind, technologically.

The guards spot you almost immediately, and eye you with a cross between curiosity and apprehension. You don't blame them; you look like shit.

When you get within speaking distance, a pair of guards stop you and bark something in Japanese.

"Sorry, any o' you speak English?"

The two that stopped you looked at each other, puzzled, but then a third walked in front of them. "State your business here, outsider."

Is it really that obvious you're from the outside? "I'm new here, and I was told this is where most humans go."

The guard seems skeptical, but he tells the others to stand down. "Are you armed?"

"Well, yes." You pull out your handgun and knife, to show them. No need to tell them about the grenades you have stashed in your suit...

"Then either relinquish your weapons to us, or make sure they are unusable." He looks at your knife again, then adds, "The knife can stay, though."

Shrugging, you go through the motions of unloading your pistol, also removing the chambered bullet, the guards watching cautiously the whole time. After returning everything to their rightful place, the guard nods, and barks something at the other guards. Soon after, the gate to the village begins to open, and when it's open enough for a person to walk through, you thank the English speaking guard and head inside, the gate shutting loudly behind you.

You know, you weren't sure exactly what you were expecting this place to be like, but somehow the reality matches your uncertain expectations. The buildings were a strange cross between modern architecture and medieval construction. People bustled about the street, going to restaurants and bars, open markets, or their homes. Pretty much all of the signs were in Japanese, but a good number of them also had English printed just below it.

Without a real destination in mind, you just walked down the street, weaving through the crowd. You got plenty of odd looks because of your outfit, but you paid them no mind.

It doesn't take long for you to realize that, even though you're getting farther into town, you're getting nowhere as far as what you came here to do. Sightseeing could wait, first was to... well, what?

[ ]Get a job, you lazy bastard.
[ ]You'll need to find a place to crash at night, so might as well get that out of the way.
[ ]You still have some dosh. See if anyone will accept it.

[X]You'll need to find a place to crash at night, so might as well get that out of the way.

[X]You'll need to find a place to crash at night, so might as well get that out of the way.


We still have two bloody great handfuls of dosh here, so no need to hurry with getting a job.
(Besides, it probably won't take too long until the fleshpounds and scrakes start showing up in Gensokyo, and then we'll get all the dosh we'll ever need.)

[X]You'll need to find a place to crash at night, so might as well get that out of the way.

[X]You'll need to find a place to crash at night, so might as well get that out of the way.

I'm not really sure if dosh is legal tender in Gensokyo.

[x]Get a job, you lazy bastard.
Those islands got so comfortable with the end of the world, thinking they'll never have to work again. Well think again.

>>180048
[x]Get a job, you lazy bastard.

We need the local equivalent of dosh, besides we've probably slummed it before what with the world ending and all.

[X]You'll need to find a place to crash at night, so might as well get that out of the way.

Well, while you'll probably need to earn some money pretty soon, but it's probably a better idea to arrange for permanent living arrangements, first. You more than likely couldn't afford just staying in an inn every night.

The problem was, besides buying a house, which was currently out of your reach, inns were the only option as far as having a place to sleep. You could always just set up a camp outside the town, of course, but if what you've been told was accurate, that might not be such a good idea.

Since you knew absolutely nothing about this place, you ended up going into bars and asking the barkeeps for advice and/or directions. Barkeeps usually were pretty knowledgeable, and that fact thankfully wasn't any different here.

However, while they certainly helped you find your way around, none of them could help you with finding a long-term place to stay.

You were about to just give up and stay in an inn for tonight, when someone taps you on the shoulder. "Excuse me, are you the outsider looking for a place to stay?"

Damn, gossip travels fast, here. "Yeah, what of it?"

You turn around and come face to face with a woman who was about your height. Her hair was bright purple, framing her piercing red eyes, and a pair of rabbit ears extended from the top of her head. Her outfit consisted of a suit similar to your own, though much less worn, and a skirt.

She pauses slightly upon seeing your mask, but continues speaking anyway. "I believe I could help you with that."

You raise an eyebrow as if she could actually see it. "How so?"

"You see, I work a the clinic in the bamboo forest, and we've decided that we needed someone to help deliver shipments for us. Think you can do that? Your payment will also include living arrangements."

Well isn't this nice. An opportunity for both a home and a job has just fallen into your lap, and all you had to do was be a courier. This almost sounds too convenient, if you were being honest. "I'd be stupid to refuse an offer like that."

She smiles. "Good. Show up at the clinic, Eientei, in a couple of hours for your first assignment, as well as paperwork. Just go into the bamboo forest outside the village, and stay on the path."

She waits for you to nod in confirmation, then walks off, leaving you alone in the street. Your first day here, and already you have job prospects. Things are looking up for ol' Mr. Foster.

Who knows, maybe you could finally find someone willing to publish your autobiography? You're all but certain the most recent chapter, An Orgy of Skull Cracking and Mutant Warfare, would make it an instant bestseller.

Oh well, that's for the future. You're still in the present, so it would be best to think in the present.

Still, she said you still had a couple of hours before you had to show up. Might as well do something with them.

[ ]You still have some cash, see if you can buy anything worthwhile with it.
[ ]Speaking of your autobiography, maybe it's due for a new chapter.
[ ]You know what, you should just go to that place she mentioned now. If anything, they'll appreciate you being early.

[X]You still have some cash, see if you can buy anything worthwhile with it.

>>180070
[x]Speaking of your autobiography, maybe it's due for a new chapter.

Might as well seeing as we have a few hours

[x]Speaking of your autobiography, maybe it's due for a new chapter.
As long as we make it on time.

[x]Speaking of your autobiography, maybe it's due for a new chapter.
-[x] Find some library or other quiet place to write in-you know have that luxury

[x]You still have some cash, see if you can buy anything worthwhile with it.

[x]Speaking of your autobiography, maybe it's due for a new chapter.

Wonder what happened to the other KF characters.

>>180070
[X]Speaking of your autobiography, maybe it's due for a new chapter.

>>180089
I know I hope they appear later

[X]Speaking of your autobiography, maybe it's due for a new chapter.


Clearly "Young Women of an Insane Fantasy Land" is a suitable follow-up to the previous chapter.

[X]Speaking of your autobiography, maybe it's due for a new chapter.

Well, you have a couple of hours to kill, and this latest turn of your life is certainly worth writing about.

After a short walk, you find yourself in a park near the center of town. Unlike the streets, it's nearly empty, so you choose an empty bench and sit down. After taking out your notebook and pen, you finish up the last chapter, then start writing a new one.

Chapter Nine
Young Women of an Insane Fantasy Land

This is where the story of my life gets weird. That is, weirder than being thrust into a gross perversion of a zombie apocalypse.

While me and my squad were flying over Japan for some reason or another, we were hit by one of those husk buggers, and I fell out of the chopper. Instead of the death I was expecting, either from the landing or from the zeds, I found myself in the middle of a strange forest.

The rest of the chapter was spent further detailing your encounters in Gensokyo. It occurs to you that hardly anyone will believe this, assuming you return to the outside and get this published, but you like to think on the positive side of things. At least, as positive as you can be when an enraged flesh pound is barreling its way towards you.

For a second, you can almost hear that god forsaken roar, and you shudder slightly. Are you really developing PTSD from all that? Strange, your mental health was pretty much fine while you were fighting for your life.

Ah, well. That's a problem for the future. For now, it's been about an hour and a half, so you might as well start heading to that place. What was it she said, through the bamboo forest, stay on the path? Yeah, something like that.

After asking someone where the bamboo forest was, you were on your way towards work and a home. The trip was mostly uneventful, since this forest seemed like it was mostly abandoned, almost. You take great care to stay on the path, just like rabbit girl said, and pretty soon you find yourself at the front door of a fairly large building. A sign near the front said something in Japanese, probably reading "Eientei" or whatever she said.

You weren't told what to do upon arriving, so you just walked in through the door. Inside was a room that looked quite a bit like a hospital waiting room, probably because that's exactly what it was, if the smell was any indication. Even when you had to fight through a blood-soaked and infested hospital, you could still smell a hint of that hospital smell.

Seeing nothing else to do, you picked a chair and sat down, waiting for... something. You weren't sure what, but something had to happen eventually.

Eventually, something did happen. The door leading further into the building opened, and that rabbit girl emerged. She looked a bit surprised upon seeing you. "Oh, you're early. That's good. Follow me, please."

You did, and she led you through a number of hospital hallways. This part of the building was much less abandoned, as there were many more rabbit girls bustling about, these ones being smaller than the one leading you. As always, you got more than a few odd looks.

Soon, she brought you into an office, where another woman was sitting behind a desk. She had silver hair, yet she looked to be only slightly older than rabbit girl. Her outfit was red and blue, and she wore an almost stereotypical nurse's cap on her head. Judging by the size of her office, as well as its location at the end of a hall, she must be the one in charge here.

She looks up, and smiles upon seeing you and rabbit girl. "Ah, the new outsider. Glad to see you're on time."

She stands up and offers her hand, which you shake. "I was told I'd get a job and a place to stay here," you say.

"Ah, and he gets right to business. Good." She takes out a small list and a map of Gensokyo, and hands both of them to you. "You see, this clinic sells various remedies and medicines across Gensokyo. So much, in fact, that we've fallen behind on competent delivery people."

You look at the list, and read off a pair of names, along with their order.

"Oh, where are my manners," the woman says. "I am Eirin. The girl who brought you here is named Reisen." The rabbit girl gives a small bow upon introduction. "And you are?"

"Just call me Foster," you say, still looking at the list. A bottle of aspirin to a Ms. Margatroid in something called the 'Forest of Magic', and asthma medication for a Ms. Knowledge in something called the 'SDM'. The map clearly labels both locations, as well as many others, in both English and Japanese.

"Well then, Foster," Eirin continues, "you can see your first deliveries right there. Reisen will bring you to where you can pick up the items to deliver. And make sure you receive payment when you deliver them, as well."

Only two deliveries today? Seems easy enough. "So, I do this, and you'll give me a place to stay?"

"Of course. Eientei is a big place, so we have more than a few spare, empty rooms." She returns to her desk, but then looks like she remembers something. "Oh, yes, are you armed?"

"Yeah." You show your still unloaded handgun and knife, which seems to please her.

"Good, that means I can trust you know how to handle yourself. Now, go ahead and get started, and I'll wait until you get back to ask about the mask." She grins slyly as Reisen leads you back out of the office.

As she leads you to wherever they keep the merchandise, you can't help but feel that this is all going a bit too easily for you. Maybe Yukari was pulling the strings in your favor, or something?

Either way, you're not one to complain when things go right for you.

Reisen brings you to a storage room, where she gets you a bag with the two deliveries you have to make.

"Of course, you know that you'll have to deliver more once you're officially working here," she tells you.

"Figured so. Otherwise, this would be way too bloody easy."

"Just make sure you get back before nightfall, and she should be happy."

"Good to know."

With those parting words, you head back down the path, a bag with medicine in it hoisted over your shoulder.

Right then, from the way things look on the map, it would probably be best to swing by the Forest of Magic, first, even if Ms. Margatroid's house isn't marked. Also, SDM appears to stand for the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Charming name.

Suddenly, your stomach makes itself known at that moment. Right, the last time you had eaten anything was several hours ago, and it was only a single military ration. You could probably get some real food, here, though there was still the problem of money.

[ ]Swing back by the human village and see if you can order some takeout with the dosh you have left.
[ ]Bugger it, just go into the forest ASAP. You could probably shoot a small animal or something there, at least.

[X]Bugger it, just go into the forest ASAP. You could probably shoot a small animal or something there, at least.

[x]Buy food and eat it

Dying of hunger would be the most stupid way to go after all that happened.

[x] Swing back by the human village and see if you can order some takeout with the dosh you have left.

[x] Swing back by the human village and see if you can order some takeout with the dosh you have left.

If the medic solves problems with healing grenades and copious amounts of adrenaline/morphine (?), how will this work story-wise? Can we just heal ourselves out of hunger?

>>180123
At most, long games on KF last only like forty minutes. Not nearly long enough to become hungry.
Also, all your nades are standard frags. So no throwing them at your feet and tanking damage.

[x] Swing back by the human village and see if you can order some takeout with the dosh you have left.

>>180115
[x]Swing back by the human village and see if you can order some takeout with the dosh you have left.

>>180124
What rank of medic are we?

[x]Swing back by the human village and see if you can order some takeout with the dosh you have left.

>>180127
For the purpose of this story (and this goes for ALL perks), you have all the skills and bonuses of having a level 6 perk, with the exception of straight damage bonuses and mag size increases (and spawn bonuses, but that goes without saying). To balance this, all weapons are as strong as if you were using the appropriate level 4 perk, regardless of what perk you're actually using.

[x]Swing back by the human village and see if you can order some takeout with the dosh you have left.

Honestly Mr. Foster being a delivery man seems like a situation for us to discover mutants who've wandered in whilst travelling.

[x]Swing back by the human village and see if you can order some takeout with the dosh you have left.

Fooodz

[x]Swing back by the human village and see if you can order some takeout with the dosh you have left.

Well, even if the money you have isn't the kind everyone uses here, you might as well see if anyone will accept it. Besides, you're damn hungry.

After making sure the bag holding the deliveries was secure, you start heading back towards the village. You know you saw a restaurant or two while there, but you don't know for sure if you can get any food "to go" from them.

Oh well. You never know until you try.

There are just as many people milling about as there were before, though they pay you slightly less attention now. It doesn't take long to find where all the restaurants are, since if the time of day is accurate, everyone would be flocking to places to have lunch.

As you search for places that serve food you actually like, you come across an odd sight. A decently sized food cart was set up not too far away, and it was currently being operated by a pink-haired girl with bird wings. From where you stood, you could tell that she was more or less running the stand single-handedly. A menu hanging from the top of the cart displayed what she had to offer, in both English and Japanese. And, just as you expected, the prices were listed in yen, though a small footnote said that "prices may be negotiable".

You stride up to the cart, reaching for your bundle of cash. The girl notices you just before you get there, and like everyone else, she pauses for a second as she takes your appearance in.

You don't have time to answer questions, though. "'Scuse me, Miss, do you accept pounds?"

The confusion on her face doesn't leave. "Pounds?"

"Yeah, like British pounds." You show her your wad of cash, and her face lights up with slight recognition.

"Oh, I've seen those a couple times before. I'm not sure what outside world exchange rates are, but I'll go ahead and say that one pound is equal to a hundred yen. That sound fair?"

You had no idea if it was, but it works for you. "Sure, mate."

"Well, now that we got that out of the way, what'll you have to eat?"

You glance at the menu, and realize that pretty much everything here is some sort of seafood. You do notice, however, that lamprey must be the signature dish of this place. Odd, but what's the harm in trying new things?

Well, there was that time you ate at that one Chinese place. You couldn't leave the bathroom for over six hours.

But it's probably different here. Hopefully. "I'll take a couple orders o' lamprey, and can I get it to go?"

She smiles as she turns around and starts cooking your order. "So, why is there an outsider wearing a gas mask attending my stand?"

"You don't hear me asking why your hair is pink, do you?"

"Fair enough."

You sit and wait while she does her thing, and pretty soon she has a small paper bag holding your food sitting on the edge of the cart. You pay her ?10 for the food, and take it. At least now you wouldn't starve.

Well, you still have a job to do. To the Forest of Magic you go.
===============
While you had no problem eating the lamprey (you honestly weren't a fan, but it wasn't horrible), once you got your mask off, you were now almost completely lost. This map Eirin gave you only has a couple of indistinct dots marked in the forest itself. One of those is probably where you need to go, but you can't tell how far away that might be.

Just when you're about to consider turning back and asking for more specific directions, you start to faintly hear a commotion through the trees. Just when you go to investigate, the noise stops. Confused, you keep heading towards where the noise was coming from, only to narrowly avoid a colorful projectile flying straight at you.

After picking yourself off the ground, you look at a tree behind you, which had a multicolored burn mark left on it. Whatever that was you just dodged, it nearly took your bloody head off!

[ ]Go look for the source of... whatever that was.
[ ]If something was shot at you, someone probably doesn't want you here. Get the hell out of there!

[X]If something was shot at you, someone probably doesn't want you here. Get the hell out of there!

Ammo is precious.

[x]If something was shot at you, someone probably doesn't want you here. Get the hell out of there!
-[x] Keep an eye on your location, you DO NOT want to get lost here

[x] If something was shot at you, someone probably doesn't want you here. Get the hell out of there!

[x]If something was shot at you, someone probably doesn't want you here. Get the hell out of there!
-[x] Keep an eye on your location, you DO NOT want to get lost here

We're a medic, not a zerker

[x]If something was shot at you, someone probably doesn't want you here. Get the hell out of there!
-[x] Keep an eye on your location, you DO NOT want to get lost here.


Actually, you don't want to get lost anywhere, but here is especially bad since we're still not 100% certain where (or what) here is.

[x]If something was shot at you, someone probably doesn't want you here. Get the hell out of there!
-[x] Keep an eye on your location, you DO NOT want to get lost here

[x]If something was shot at you, someone probably doesn't want you here. Get the hell out of there!
-[x] Keep an eye on your location, you DO NOT want to get lost here

Yeep, no fighting

[x]If something was shot at you, someone probably doesn't want you here. Get the hell out of there!
-[x] Keep an eye on your location, you DO NOT want to get lost here
--[x] Make sure your gun is loaded, but leave the safety on for the moment.

Because while conserving ammo is important, it's more important to be prepared if it turns out to be a grue. And loading a gun takes at least a few seconds of attention, which he might not have later.

[x]If something was shot at you, someone probably doesn't want you here. Get the hell out of there!

Yeah, you generally want to avoid places where you get shot at. Wherever that thing came from, it's obvious that whoever sent it doesn't like your presence in this part of the forest. Looks like you'll have to search elsewhere for that Ms. Margatroid.

Making sure that your gun is loaded and the safety's on, you walk in the other direction, keeping in mind your general location. The last thing you want to do is get lost in these (potentially hostile) woods.

And while you keep a pretty good idea of where you are relative to where you entered this forest, you're pretty sure you're no closer to finding your destination in here. In fact, were it not for your excellent ability for keeping track of your current location, you'd be hopelessly lost. Instead, now you're just a bit lost.

You know, maybe going into the dangerous forest on your first day in Gensokyo wasn't such a good idea. The world may not be ending here, but there are still a good amount of things that wouldn't hesitate to eat your face off.

While on the subject of the state of your world, you couldn't help but think back to the people you had been fighting alongside up until your surprise change of location. They were an odd bunch of bastards, but they fought just as well as they bragged. They had to, or they wouldn't have lasted as long as they did.

One person in particular stood out in your memory. He said he was an up-and-coming DJ before the zeds started rampaging, though you haven't seen anything to prove that. What he did prove, though, was that he could definitely hold his own. You found him when he ran out of bullets, and he had barely a scratch on him, while he was surrounded by the decapitated bodies of both those grabby bastards and those skinless freaks.

You chuckle at the memory. "That crazy son of a bitch," you say out loud.

Suddenly, you're broken out of your reminiscing by rustling in the bushes. You immediately assume a combat stance, pistol at the ready, and wait for something to jump out at you.

However, it doesn't happen, and the rustling soon stops.

After waiting a few more moments, you lower your handgun. Looks like it was noth-

Wait, is that growling you hear?

Out of nowhere, a snarling gray mass leaps at you, and you barely manage to jump out of the way in time, though you still suffer a painful, but not deep, scratch on the arm.

After recovering from your dodge, you whirl around to face your attacker. It was a large, gray wolf, almost as big as you were. It bared its teeth and growled, and then three more wolves just like it emerged from the bushes.

These must be some of the beasts you heard about. They only looked like large wolves to you, but you knew that looks could be deceiving, especially here.

The wolves were all on one side of you, but you could tell that two of them were starting to circle around to try and flank you. You more than likely couldn't outrun them, so you'll just have to stand and fight, it looks like.

COMBAT STATUS
Health: 94%
Armor: Kevlar vest (40%)
Weapons: 9mm handgun w/ flashlight (7 15-round mags), knife, hand grenades (3)
Perk: Field Medic
Current Status Effects: None


[ ]Shoot to kill. No reason to do otherwise.
[ ]Ammo conservation is key, try shanking the blighters.
[ ]Perhaps you could feed them a nice ol' grenade?
[ ]What the hell else could you even do? (write-in)

Well, looks like loading the gun was worthwhile. That said, going into melee when there's any number of enemies able to circle around and hit the protagonist in the back is a bad idea.

[x]Take the safety off.
-[x]Shoot to kill. No reason to do otherwise.

>>180252
[x]Ammo conservation is key, try shanking the blighters.

Shank 'em in the head!

[x]Shoot to kill. No reason to do otherwise.

You know what wolves are good at? Biting people's throats out. In an effort to prevent feeling their teeth sink through our vulnerable neckmeats, we should keep our distance.

[x]Take the safety off.
-[x]Shoot to kill. No reason to do otherwise.

The safety being turned on really bamboozled me.

[x]Take the safety off.
-[x]Shoot to kill. No reason to do otherwise.
Damn, it's gonna to be hard, killing wolves with 9mm... How fast these bastard move? On par with a raging gorefast?

[x]Shoot to kill. No reason to do otherwise.

Save the melee for enemies that are not specialized on it

[x]Shoot to kill. No reason to do otherwise.

The solution to this problem is actually fairly simple, now that you think about it.

Flicking the safety off, you line up the sights of your handgun on the head of the closest wolf. Before they even have a chance to react, you quickly fire two rounds into its skull. When they hit home in a spray of blood, you fire off one more to be sure, and the wolf falls.

Three shots to the head, then. Good to know.

The other wolves seem taken aback by your killing ability, but they don't back down. Instead, they decide to stop playing around, and charge you.

You fire off round after round at the approaching beasts, but you only get one more before one of them closes the distance, knocking you to the ground. Its claws dig into your arm, and you cry out in pain.

The wolf seems pleased with its apparent triumph, at least until you use your free arm to shove your knife into its head. The wolf wails in pain and backs off, letting you finish it off with another couple of bullets. You notice that the slide on your pistol is now locked back, so you take the time to dump the empty mag and replace it with a fresh one.

Meanwhile, the remaining wolf seems at a loss for what to do. While it watches you cautiously, you take out your medical syringe and jab it into your arm, hissing as its contents did their work. You had no idea what exactly those contents were, but evidently it was nabbed from the Horzine labs shortly after the outbreak, and it could greatly stabilize major injuries while almost completely healing minor ones. Not a full replacement for old-fashioned bandages and time, but it did just as well in a pinch.

After putting away the syringe and drawing your handgun again, wincing every time you moved your injured arm, you keep focus on the lone wolf, who seems to be backing away. You're about to let it go, when it lets out a howl.

You cut it off with a few well-placed rounds, and look around the immediate area. That howl was more than likely to call more wolves here, and while you killed four of them on your own, your ammo wouldn't last, especially if they charged you while you were reloading.

Sure enough, soon more wolves emerged from the bushes, growling at you. You didn't bother counting them, since they were well in the area of "too many".

That didn't kill your (possibly suicidal) confidence, however. "Come on, you want some, you ponces?"

At that, most of them charge, and you start shooting again. After you get four shots off, a rather large amount of colorful projectiles flew in from above and hit most of the wolves. Unlike your own shots, these seemed a lot less lethal, only stunning the wolves to the ground.

Both you and the rest of the wolves look up to see the source of the intrusion, and you see that it's Marisa, flying on her broom and shooting from that octagonal device you saw her pull out earlier.

She lands shortly after, and the surviving wolves all run off back into the thick of the forest. Now all that was left in the clearing was you, Marisa, and about five or six dead wolves. While you reload and holster your pistol, she walks up to you.

"Not even a day, and you're already picking fights, huh, Foster?" she says, grimacing slightly at the corpses.

"Hey, those wankers started it."

"And you took down, what, six of them?" She gives a low whistle. "Pretty impressive, for an outsider."

"Maybe those dangerous beasts you mentioned aren't really that dangerous?" you offer.

"Nah, these were just plain ol' wolves." She picks up one of your spent shell casings and inspects it. "Now, if you had run into some youkai, then you'd be in trouble."

Youkai? Probably what they call the bigger beasts around here.

"Anyway, Foster, what brings you to the Forest of Magic?"

Oh yeah, you almost forgot you had a job now. You pull out the list Eirin gave you and read the name again. "I'm doing deliveries for that Eientei place, and I'm looking for a Ms. Margatroid."

"Oh, Alice?" She chuckles. "She's actually right behind me."

Right as she says that, another girl flies in and lands behind her. This girl also had blonde hair, but it was much shorter than Marisa's, and her outfit was a simple blue and white dress, along with a few red ribbons. Oddly enough, a small doll dressed almost identically to her was floating just behind her. You'll just chalk that up to yet another strange sight in Gensokyo.

As Alice lands, she looks at the carnage around you, and winces noticeably. She then starts talking in Japanese to Marisa, who says something back while pointing to you. Alice looks you up and down, and nods her head. "Looks like you're certainly tougher than the average outsider," she says to you.

"Wasn't that bad," you reply, rubbing the spot where your arm was still bleeding lightly. "Anyway, you Ms. Margatroid, then?"

"Yes, that's me." She gives you a puzzled look, which the doll floating behind her seems to mirror, oddly enough. "Why do you ask?"

"I got a delivery from Eientei for ya." You take out her bottle of aspirin, and hand the list over to her, along with your pen. "Just sign here, and I'll also need payment up front."

She takes the bottle, but hesitates on taking the pen. "Wait, payment up front? It's never been like that before."

"Look, that's what she told me," you say.

Alice sighs. "Alright, alright. Here." She reaches into a pocket on her dress and pulls out a good amount of yen coins. She counts them out, then hands them to you, which you put in the bag.

Huh, it feels weird accepting money in exchange for something. Normally, it's you and your mates paying for things, usually guns and other such weapons. You had no idea how that woman got all those guns, or why she was charging people for them in an apocalypse scenario, but hey, it all worked out in the end.

Marisa, who had been watching the conversation silently up to this point, suddenly starts laughing softly while Alice is signing the list. "Aspirin, Alice? Really?"

"It's the only way I can put up with you regularly."

Now it was your turn to laugh a bit, while Marisa rolls her eyes.

Once everything is done, you put the list back in your bag. "Well, nice doing business with you, Alice, but now I should be going. Got another delivery to get done."

"Well, good luck, then," Alice says, waving as you walk in the direction of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

"And try to avoid dying!" Marisa helpfully chimes in.

You wave goodbye to them again, and walk back through the forest, wincing slightly every time you moved your arm.
===============
Thankfully, finding the mansion was a lot easier than finding Alice. You got to the point where you could see it above the trees, just like when you first got here, and from there it was a somewhat short walk to the front gate.

At said gate, a red-haired woman in a green uniform that looked to be vaguely Chinese was leaning against the wall, sleeping. It looks like a pretty deep sleep, too.

[ ]Wake her up, state your business.
[ ]She seems out of it, go ahead and let yourself in.

POST-COMBAT STATUS
Health: 93% (-21% from injury, then +20% from syringe)
Armor: 35%
Weapons: 9mm handgun (5 full mags, 1 partially full mag), knife, grenades (3)
Status Effects: Very minor bleeding

[X]Wake her up, state your business.

[X]Wake her up, state your business.

We don't want to appear rude. Hopefully directions will be shown and the path laid out clear and white before our prying eyes of a combat medic.

[ ]Wake her up, state your business.
Be polite. Be efficient. Have a plan to-oh wait wrong video game.

[x] Wake her up, state your business.

[X]Wake her up, state your business.

[x]Wake her up, state your business.

The fight with the wolves went about as well as could be expected. Getting replacement medical supplies shouldn't be a problem, not when the protagonist works for the local clinic. Ammo is the big issue, and he should probably spend some time looking for a local weapon before long.

>>180388
[X]Wake her up, state your business.

We are British so we should show courtesy.

[X]Wake her up, state your business.

[x]She seems out of it, go ahead and let yourself in.

Just to break the bandwagon. Also to see if we could actually do it

>>180456
Most likely, no. While Meiling is famous for sleeping at works, the fact she's not fired means she does her job well.

[x]Wake her up, state your business.

I have yet to read a story, canon or otherwise, where you could just walk in front a sleeping youkai and get away unscathed.

Besides, we just picked the 'right' choice and we lost a syringe. I can't imagine what will happen if we pick the wrong one.

>>180456
Most works show her to be a heavy sleeper up until somebody actualy tries to just go past her, where she immediatly wakes up ready to punch their lights out.

[x]Wake her up, state your business.

Well, you have business here, so it seems logical that you would announce your arrival, especially to the one watching the front gate. With this in mind, you walk up to the red-haired lady.

"'Scuse me, Miss?"

She doesn't stir. It even looks like she's snoring slightly.

You raise your voice a bit. "Miss?"

Still no response. Well this is just dandy. You want to get inside to get a job done, but she won't wake up anytime soon, it looks like.

Looks like you'll have to shake her awake, then. You place a single hand on her shoulder and shake gently. "Oi, wake up."

She mumbles incoherently in her sleep, but otherwise doesn't react.

You shake a bit harder. "Wake up, you pillock!"

Even with your quiet shouting, she only fidgets a bit, still fast asleep.

You put your other hand on her other shoulder, and shake even harder. Before you can tell her to wake up again, though, her eyes flash open, and the next thing you know, you're on your back in pain. You realize a bit too late that she probably saw you shaking both her shoulders as a threat, and knocked you on your ass for it. Great.

Glancing up, you see her assuming a combat stance from some kind of martial art.

A quick assessment tells you that nothing's broken, but you'll be hurting for a while. "Calm down, jeez, alright?"

She relaxes slightly as you slowly get back to your feet. "State your business here," she says, her voice commanding.

"Got a delivery from Eientei," you say simply, motioning to the bag you were carrying. Thankfully, the only product left in there wasn't crushed by your fall.

Upon hearing this, the woman relaxes completely. "In that case, head right inside." She moves to the gate and pulls it open for you, and you half-heartedly say thanks as you enter, clutching your still-hurting backside.

As you walk up to the doors of the mansion, you take in the building's design. Red was certainly a major theme, fitting of the name, and it overall had a sort of 18th or 19th century feel to it. Not only that, but both the building itself and the gardens surrounding it looked to be meticulously tended to.

You consider knocking on the large front doors, but the woman at the gate said you could head right inside, so you do.

If the outside was impressive, then the inside was spectacular. Red was still a big theme, being present on the carpets and most of the walls, but even a pair of chandeliers above the entryway lit the room with reddish light, somehow.

There wasn't a soul to be seen, however. The halls you could see were completely empty, as were the stairs leading to the second floor, and the whole mansion was filled with an almost eerie silence. If someone didn't live here, you would've taken out your handgun.

[ ]Start looking for this Ms. Knowledge.
-[ ]Take the left hallway.
-[ ]Take the right hallway.
-[ ]Try going upstairs.
[ ]Call out into the silence. What's the worst that could happen?

[X]Call out into the silence. What's the worst that could happen?

Nothing could possibly go wrong with that plan!

[x]Call out into the silence. What's the worst that could happen?

It's only proper to announce ourselves.

>>180463
[x]Call out into the silence. What's the worst that could happen?
You don't just look around someones house, come on we have standards

[x]Start looking for this Ms. Knowledge.
-[x]Take the left hallway.

Normally, I consider wandering around someone's house as rude, and in the SDM, dangerous.
However, we were allowed in by the gatekeeper, so I don't think we'd be purposely harmed by any of the major residents.

>[]Call out into the silence. What's the worst that could happen?
The wording of this choice makes me extremely wary.

[X]Call out into the silence. What's the worst that could happen?

What's in the Mystery Box???

[x]Call out into the silence. What's the worst that could happen?

THE BGOX THE BOX

[x]Start looking for this Ms. Knowledge.
-[x]Try going upstairs.

Let's tempt fate.

[X]Call out into the silence. What's the worst that could happen?

[X]Call out into the silence. What's the worst that could happen?

Hiii~

[X]Call out into the silence. What's the worst that could happen?

Since you're already here, it would probably be rude to just go snooping around. Plus, as big as this place was, there was bound to be someone who could help you find Ms. Knowledge.

Then again, this place almost looks deserted. Probably best to call out, then.

"'Scuse me, anyone here?"

Your voice echoes slightly through the empty halls. You wait a few seconds, then a few more. Well, looks like no one's answering-

"Can I help you?"

You jump, whirling around to face the voice. It was a silver-haired maid, who was eying you coldly. How the hell did she sneak up on you like that, though? You would've heard her footsteps.

"Uh, yeah, I'm looking for a Ms. Knowledge," you tell her, hoping that, sudden appearances aside, she could help you out.

The maid nods her head. "Of course. Right this way." She begins walking down the right hall, and you follow. During the mostly silent trip, you glance at the various doors you pass, though pretty much all of them are unmarked and plain.

"Is there a reason you've come to this mansion armed?" the maid suddenly asks, glancing back at you.

"Well, I have to defend myself in that forest, right?"

You think you see a smirk on her face, but you can't be sure. "Fair enough. Still," she pulls a knife out from somewhere on her person, "it looks like you've used this recently."

Confused, you inspect the knife, and see that it's a combat knife with a good amount of dried blood on the blade. Wait, is that...

You pat your knife holster, only to find it missing. You look back at the maid, who only smirks at you while tossing the knife in the air, catching it by the blade every time. "What- How did you-"

"That's not important." She hands back the knife, handle first, which you reluctantly accept and replace in its holster. "Now then, what was your purpose for seeing Ms. Knowledge?"

"I got a delivery from Eientei for her," you explain, patting your bag.

"I see." You both continue in silence a bit longer, before she looks back at you again. "And what is-"

"The mask for?" you finish her sentence. She stops talking, but the look in her eye tells you that you were spot on with your guess. "I was wearing it in the outside when I ended up here. I guess it just stuck with me."

She lets out a thoughtful "Hmm," just as you come to a pair of double doors that were larger than all the other doors you had passed. "This is the library. Ms. Knowledge will be in the center of it. I trust you can find your own way inside?"

"Sure."

She nods, and opens the large doors. You follow inside, and can't help but balk at the sheer size of the library. Bookshelves stretched nearly forty feet in the air, and the far wall of the library was dozens of meters away.

"How the bloody hell am I supposed to find-" You turn back to the maid, only to find that she's vanished completely.

God damn, Gensokyo was starting to wear on your nerves.

Still, you had a job to do. Never mind the fact that this library alone looked to be as big as the outside of the mansion looked. Just find this Knowledge lady, deliver her medicine, and leave. Easy.

Up ahead, the path between bookshelves split, going left and right. No doubt it was the start of an almost labyrinthine setup of shelves.

[ ]Go left.
[ ]Go right.
[ ]Hey, calling out worked last time. Why not try again?

[X]Hey, calling out worked last time. Why not try again?

Wandering around at random isn't the best option.

[x]Hey, calling out worked last time. Why not try again?

Just never stop yelling.

[x]Hey, calling out worked last time. Why not try again?

[X]Go right.
Because it is the right path to go.

>>180558

This logic is irrefutable

[X]Go right

[x]Hey, calling out worked last time. Why not try again?
Smeghead!

[x]Hey, calling out worked last time. Why not try again?

If we scream loud enough, someone will hear.

[x]Hey, calling out worked last time. Why not try again?

You know what, if calling out got you this far with minimal effort, why should it stop working?

"Oi, got a delivery here for ya!" you shout into the library. For about ten seconds, nothing happens. Then you spot something flying towards you above the shelves. Once it gets closer, you see that it's actually a red-haired girl wearing a simple black and white dress. With bat wings. On her back and head.

Charming.

She lands right in front of you, and as expected, pauses upon seeing your mask. She doesn't pause for long, though. "You said you had a delivery?"

"Yes, from Eientei, for Ms. Knowledge."

She nods. "I will take you to her."

But instead of leading you deeper into the library, she just flies behind you. What is she-

Oh. That's what she's doing.

You were effortlessly lifted into the air, the girl's arms under your own. You let out a few surprised curses, but you calmed down once you saw you weren't in too much danger.

Probably.

She carries you to the center of the library, where a sort of reading area was set up. All it really had was a desk with a hideously large amount of books around it and a couple of small tables. At the desk was another woman, this one with purple hair and wearing a dress that was pretty much entirely purple, including her hat. She was busy reading a book, so she didn't appear to notice you flying in.

Bat-girl sets you down in front of the desk, and you stumble slightly to regain your footing.

Before you can even say anything, purple girl talks without looking up from her book. "I hear you have a delivery for me?"

"Er, yes, from Eientei." You fish out the asthma medication from your bag, along with the list-slash-delivery form. You read off the price, and she actually looks up from the book at you, her eyebrow raised (and it only raises a bit higher once she saw your mask).

"That's more than the usual price," she says, her voice barely changing from its previous uninterested tone.

You shrug. "I didn't set the prices."

Ms. Knowledge stares at you for a bit, then shrugs herself. "I suppose it can't be helped. Koakuma has your payment."

You turn to see bat-girl (Koakuma, you note) handing a pouch filled with yen coins. You accept it, and after having Ms. Knowledge sign where appropriate, you were done for the day.

"Well, I'll be off," you say, starting to leave, before you remember something. "Uh, sorry to ask, but I didn't quite see how to get out of here. The library, I mean. She just carried me," you say, motioning at Koakuma.

"I understand." She nods at Koakuma, and before you know it you're airborne again.

Bloody Gensokyo.

Before she can set you down at the entrance to the library, however, there's a sudden explosion from one of the walls, and she lets out a small yelp and drops you. Thankfully, you happened to be above one of the massive bookcases, so you were able to tuck and roll on one to avoid injury, Koakuma landing shortly afterward to apologize and make sure you're alright.

After that was settled, you both turned to the source of the explosion, which was Marisa floating some distance away from a hole in the wall.

Is that witch following you or something?

She flies over to where Ms. Knowledge was, and the two of them start talking about something in Japanese. Even from here, you can hear their voices, and while Marisa sounds like she's talking to a friend, Ms. Knowledge sounds more annoyed than anything.

"This happen often?" you ask Koakuma.

"More than you'd think," she answers, sounding just as annoyed as her boss. "That witch tends to 'borrow' books from us, saying we'll get them back when she dies."

So your initial guess of her being a thief was correct, then.

Meanwhile, the discussion between Marisa and Knowledge was becoming a bit more heated, until the latter hovered up to the former's level and-

Oh okay there are lasers and shit flying around now.

The two of them began flying around erratically, shooting various multicolored projectiles and lasers at each other. There was little to no destruction showing on the shelves, though, and it appeared that pretty much everything they shot dissipated before they could reach you.

"So what the bloody hell is this about?" you ask Koakuma.

"You've never seen a spell card duel?"

You tilt your head slightly in confusion.

"Oh, right, you're an outsider. You see..."

While you keep watching the dogfight-slash-catfight, Koakuma explains the general rules and stuff of spell card duels. Basically, it was a sort of system where people could fight out disagreements without causing major physical harm or property damage. Naturally, magic was involved in the form of the titular "spell cards", which were like preset attacks or something.

Honestly, you were zoning out for most of the explanation, but you still got the gist of it.

"...and a winner is declared when the other forfeits or can't continue fighting," Koakuma finishes.

You nod. "Makes sense, I suppose."

After that, you just watched the fight without speaking. At this point, they were little more than a black and yellow blur fighting a purple blur to your eyes. It felt like they had been going at it for at least twenty minutes, and it didn't look like either side was gaining an edge.

Suddenly, you heard the doors closet to you slam open, and just when you turn to see what it was, something rockets overhead, nearly knocking you off the giant bookshelf you almost forgot you were on. You looked back at the fight, and a red and yellow blur had joined them, sending even more projectiles into action. Notably, these new brightly colored shots actually damaged the bookshelves pretty badly.

Beside you, Koakuma noticeably stiffens. "Oh no..."

"What's wrong?"

She turns to you. "I think you should leave now. Trust me." Before you could ask what she meant, she flew off into the fray, adding to the fight that was quickly turning into a clusterfuck.

Shortly after Koakuma left, the doors slammed open again, and you barely spotted a flash of silver hair before whoever it was disappeared. You looked back at the fight, and saw yet another blur flying around.

Things were getting pretty damn crazy in here now.

[ ]Koakuma said you should leave now, so it would be best to listen to her.
[ ]This shit's better than most TV. Why would you stop watching?

God damn I am getting so hype for KF2 I can't take it

[c] This shit's better than most TV. Why would you stop watching?

Hopefully from a safe vantage point, too.

[x] This shit's better than most TV. Why would you stop watching?

[X]This shit's better than most TV. Why would you stop watching?

Just needs popcorn.

In other news, what's up with the increased prices from Eirin? It's not inflation, surely.

[X]This shit's better than most TV. Why would you stop watching?

[x] Wait, is this really a grimoir explaining how to conjur popcorn at opportune times? How about that.

[X]This shit's better than most TV. Why would you stop watching?

[x] Wait, is this really a grimoir explaining how to conjur popcorn at opportune times? How about that.

[+] This shit's better than most TV. Why would you stop watching?

We don't know how to leave, so we can't really depart without getting lost.

>>180626
She's taking advantage of the new guy. Hard to complain to someone that doesn't even know Eirin's last name.

[X]This shit's better than most TV. Why would you stop watching?

[x] Wait, is this really a grimoir explaining how to conjur popcorn at opportune times? How about that.

[x]This shit's better than most TV. Why would you stop watching?
- [x] Hopefully from a safe vantage point, too.
- [x] Wait, is this really a grimoire explaining how to conjure popcorn at opportune times? How about that.

[x]This shit's better than most TV. Why would you stop watching?

Better to leave out the stupid extra.

[x]This shit's better than most TV. Why would you stop watching?

Popcorn grimoire just sounds a bit too silly.

[x]This shit's better than most TV. Why would you stop watching?

Screw leaving, you're staying to watch this show. When else will you get a chance like this?

Well, probably a lot, in Gensokyo, but still.

As you watch the ongoing fight, you notice that Marisa and Ms. Knowledge aren't quite going for each other anymore. Rather, they're mostly avoiding the shots from that red and yellow blur, who was also the focus of Koakuma and the silver blur.

You just kinda wish that they'd hold still for a second so you could see who's who.

The whole time, dozens of stray projectiles land all about the library, causing considerable damage. One particular projectile comes a bit uncomfortably close and hits a bookshelf behind you. Strangely, unlike the other shots, this one exploded, though it was far enough that you were just knocked over a bit by the blast.

As you get back to your feet, you notice an open book lying in front of you that was sent flying from the explosion. Strangely, it appeared to be in both Latin and English, and this particular page was about a spell specifically for summoning popcorn whenever you want.

You entertain the idea of spawning popcorn from nothing, but ultimately decide against it. You're more than likely not that magically inclined, so it would probably be in your best interests to not accidentally turn yourself into a giant ear of corn, or whatever. Magic was weird. That could happen.

Looking back to the fight, you noticed that they're not quite staying in the relative center of the library. Rather, they seem to be moving towards one of the walls.

Namely, the one closest to you.

Not wanting to actually get involved in a fight that insane, you look from side to side, searching for an exit. You were a bit too high up to jump to the ground without breaking your ankles, and even then you'd just be right underneath them.

You spot a shelf within jumping distance to your left, so you take the chance. You get a running start, and leap across the gap, barely making it. You run further down this particular shelf, until you're back to being a good distance away from the fight.

Speaking of the fight, it looks like it's finally calming down a bit. The blurs are slowing down enough that you can recognize some of them, but you still can't get a good look at the red and yellow one, because it looks like they're the source of 90% of the flying projectiles. You can, however, see that the silver blur was the same maid who escorted you to the library.

Also, she was throwing knives every once in a while. Given how she handled your own knife, that's not too surprising.

Eventually, all the combatants get to the point where they're just floating in place, even the yellow-red one. You can finally see that it's a young-looking blonde girl in a red dress, with bloody hell are her wings Christmas lights?

All of them start talking in Japanese, mainly Marisa, the blonde girl, Ms. Knowledge, and the Maid. From how they're talking, and how blonde girl is giggling, it appears that she wasn't supposed to be there, nor was she allowed to cause massive property damage.

At least, that's what you think is being said. For all you knew, they could just be setting a date to do this again.

You look over all of them again, but then you notice that blonde girl is looking you in the eyes (or mask, rather). For some reason, just her seeing you filled you with almost as much fear as when you witnessed your first raging fleshpound, and you had no idea why.

The others notice her staring, and look over to see you, as well. You give a half-hearted wave, but you notice most of them widening their eyes slightly. Before you could figure out why, you noticed that blonde girl was now flying towards you.

She was also flying incredibly fast.

You're about to prepare to roll out of the way, when she comes to a dead stop right in front of you. She just looks deep into your mask for a while, and you're unsure what to do.

The others follow behind her, and you can see them keeping some distance from the girl. This only increased the inexplicable fear you were feeling. Why were you so scared right now? There shouldn't be a reason for that.

Right?

At that moment, the girl pokes your visor, and you flinch back slightly. She starts to grin somewhat, and then says something in Japanese. It sounded like it was directed at you, which was backed up by the fact that she was still uncomfortably close to your face.

"Uh, I don't speak-" you begin, only for the girl to let out a sharp gasp.

"Oh, you speak English!" she almost shouts, making you flinch back again. Her smile drops almost entirely, though, and she tilts her head slightly. "So why do you wear the mask?"

You glance at the others behind her, who are all floating there with bated breath. Looks like this is all on you for now. "It's, uh, very important to me."

"If I take that off, will you die?"

Wait, what the hell kind of question is that? "No, but I'd still prefer if I kept it on."

She lets out a "Hmm," seemingly lost in thought. The maid takes this time to float closer to the girl, landing beside her.

"Don't you think it's time to return to your room, Mistress?" she asks, her voice taking on a slightly motherly tone.

The girl pouts, which honestly looks adorable. "But I wanted to play with him, too!"

Everyone else stiffens slightly at the word 'play', including the maid, who looks at you. "He was just leaving, right, Mr...?"

"Foster. And, she's right. I gotta be going soon."

The girl pouts some more, and you almost feel sorry for her.

"If I bring you to the door of the library, can you find your own way out?" the maid asks.

"Yeah, I think so."

She nods, and suddenly you find yourself back at the door to the library. You don't even bother being surprised. You just want this day to be over.

You exit the library back into the halls of the mansion, which look almost entirely untouched compared to the damage in the library.

A few smaller maids floated through the library doors, what looked like some kind of bug wings on their backs. Strange, you only saw that disappearing knife maid earlier.

Shrugging, you begin walking down the hall, trying to remember the path you were led down so you could get back out. The hall turned every once in a while, but it also forked fairly often, only complicating things further.

You soon come to the conclusion that you're pretty much lost. Since you can't really do anything to fix this, you just keep walking down the hall, hoping you'll eventually stumble on the entrance to the mansion.
====================
Well, you're still no closer to finding a way out of here. And you haven't even stumbled into the library doors again, either. This is just great.

The halls were completely empty save for you, which was kinda unsettling. It also meant you couldn't just ask for directions.

You soon find something other than a plain door in the form of a small stairwell, leading up or down. It might not get you out of here, but then again, there's a chance it could.

Plus, you could always turn around and head the opposite way you were going. That might help you get your bearings.

Jesus, how big is this mansion, anyway?

[ ]Just keep going the way you were going. Eventually you'll find a way out.
[ ]Head back the way you came. Maybe you took a wrong turn earlier?
[ ]Try the stairs. It couldn't hurt, right?
-[ ]Go up.
-[ ]Go down.

>>180676
[X]Just keep going the way you were going. Eventually you'll find a way out.

[x]Try the stairs. It couldn't hurt, right?
-[x]Go up.

The basement is down. We don't want to go to the basement. Besides, it's most likely that Remilia is up on the higher floors and we haven't seen her yet anyway.

[ ]Try the stairs. It couldn't hurt, right?
-[ ]Go up.

[x]Try the stairs. It couldn't hurt, right?
-[x]Go up.

>"Yeah, I think so."
Famous last words.

[x]Try the stairs. It couldn't hurt, right?
-[x]Go up.

This kinda seems like we're purposely metagaming to encounter Remilia, but I have to admit it's pretty appealing.

[ ]Try the stairs. It couldn't hurt, right?
-[ ]Go up.

[x]Try the stairs. It couldn't hurt, right?
-[x]Go up.
Remi!

[x]Try the stairs. It couldn't hurt, right?
-[x]Go up.

Well, you have yet to find a situation where gaining the high ground didn't benefit you. With this in mind, you ascended the stairs, exiting on what you believed to be the second floor. Here, the halls looked a little bit bigger, and there were less doors.

Not only that, but as you kept walking, you discovered a few windows, showing that while it was still daylight outside, it looked like the sun would be setting soon. Unfortunately, the windows themselves showed no way to open them, and you had a feeling they wouldn't appreciate you shattering a window or two.

Still, you knew you were at the edge of the building, now. So you could keep in mind where you were in the building more easily.

For another long stretch of time, you simply walked, glancing out the occasional window that you couldn't open. From the looks of things, you were starting to approach the back of the mansion. Not the right way if you're leaving through the same way you came in, but at this point you'll take any escape from this maze of a home.

Thankfully, fate seems to take pity on you, because after only a couple of blind intersections, you come across a pair of double doors. Not quite as big as the ones you saw at the library, but still notable.

Curious about what it could be, you glance both ways down the hall. After making sure no one is there, you slowly crack open the door. Thankfully, it wasn't creaky, so you were able to peak inside without making any noise.

Not that it helped you see, though. The room was almost entirely pitch black. The only source of light was a pair of glass doors with curtains pulled over them, where a small trickle of sunlight made its way in.

Wait, sunlight? Doors? That could be your ticket out of this place.

Before you can move, however, you hear movement in the room. You look not too far from the doors, and you barely make out the shape of a bed. And also the moving shape of someone in it. In the very low visibility, you could see a girl's head of blue hair, and... more bat wings? First Koakuma, now whoever this was?

You survey the rest of the room that you could actually see, and what little you could see showed signs of being a decently large, well-furnished room. Whoever was sleeping there, they were probably important. Maybe even the owner of the mansion...

The sleeping girl stirs again, and once you were sure she wasn't awake, you decided you needed to make a decision on this. Hardly any hall light was getting into the room, thanks to you blocking a good amount of it, but if you left it open, she'd might notice and wake up. But that left the problem of vision. Apart from the sunlight peeking through the doors across the room, you couldn't see shit once the hall door was shut, at least until you let your eyes adjust to the dark.

Suddenly, you thought of your handgun, and more specifically, the flashlight on it. Obviously, using it full blast would just get you caught, but you learned how to "regulate" the beam by covering it with your hand long ago. That would help slightly with visibility, but it made it a bit more likely that you'd wake her up, and if she did wake up, holding a gun certainly would only make things worse.

[ ]Time to engage a sneaking mission.
-[ ]Just sit and wait for your natural night vision to work once inside.
-[ ]Do that flashlight trick so you're not completely blind.
-[ ]Bugger it, just start sneaking to your goal the moment you're in, no waiting or flashlight needed.
[ ]Forget it, keep wandering the halls.

[x]Time to engage a sneaking mission.
-[x]Bugger it, just start sneaking to your goal the moment you're in, no waiting or flashlight needed.

This looks like the fun option.

>>180687
[x]Forget it, keep wandering the halls.

Don't want to risk it, these girls are crazy.

[x]Time to engage a sneaking mission.
-[x]Do that flashlight trick so you're not completely blind.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

[x]Forget it, keep wandering the halls.

Years of playing video games have told me that you cannot sneak past bosses, and she has the qualities for it. Better to go around and find some powerups.

[x]Forget it, keep wandering the halls.

Sneaking around in Remilia's room while she's asleep? Nice plan, if you don't mind disembowelment.

[x] Time to engage a sneaking mission.
- [x] Just sit and wait for your natural night vision to work once inside.

I don't see how this could possibly go wrong.

>>180687
[x]Forget it, keep wandering the halls.

We didn't survive this long by having the survival skills of a Dodo.

[x]Forget it, keep wandering the halls.

[x]Time to engage a sneaking mission.
-[x]Just sit and wait for your natural night vision to work once inside

[X]Forget it, keep wandering the halls.

[x]Forget it, keep wandering the halls.

The amount of suicidal anons in this thread is ridiculous

[x]Forget it, keep wandering the halls.

[x]Forget it, keep wandering the halls.

[x] Time to engage a sneaking mission.
- [x] Just sit and wait for your natural night vision to work once inside.

I'd say something about how my KF career shows that charging a fleshpound can sometimes be a good idea, but I'd be lying. Thus, I highly doubt this choice is going to be good on us, but it means that we at least get what we came for. Because I mean, really, if we go back to wandering the halls we might as well never have gone looking for Remilia. Why else did we go upstairs?

[x]Forget it, keep wandering the halls.

On second thought, this probably wasn't such a good idea. For all you knew, that girl could crush your head without even trying. Maybe. You wouldn't be surprised, what with how Gensokyo is turning out to be.

Slowly, you close the door, making sure to not make any noise. After you're certain that it's shut, and that there wasn't any noise on the other side, you let out a soft sigh. And you were so close to getting out, too...

Oh well. Maybe another room further down the hall will be empty?

With this in mind, you start moving again, sincerely hoping that the next room you come across won't be occupied. Though, knowing your luck, you'll end up walking up and down this whole mansion before you find a way out.

Up ahead, you spot another door nearly identical to the one you just left behind. Feeling a small burst of hope, you walk up and begin to slowly open it as well.

As before, the other side held a rather fancy bedroom, though this one was a bit more empty, and there wasn't anyone in the bed. And just like the last one, there was a door leading outside opposite of the door you were peeking through.

Looks like you lucked out, after all.

Quietly, you enter the room and shut the door behind you. It was still dark, but you could see the door leading outside, so you wouldn't need any extra light, since you didn't have to sneak past any-

"And may I ask what you're doing snooping around my mansion?"

You jump and whirl around, nearly drawing your pistol as you come face to face with a blue-haired girl with bat wings and wearing some sort of fancy night gown. Wait, blue hair, wings, gown...

This is that girl from the other room, isn't it?

Well shit.

"Look, I have a good explanation for this," you begin.

Her eyes (which you swear are glowing red in the dark) narrow slightly. "Well, I guessed right about English, then. Now, you better have a good reason for me to not escort you from the building in pieces."

Bloody hell, you better have a good explanation for this. You have a feeling nothing but the truth will result in you not being turned into a smear on the wall, so the question lies in how you tell her.

[ ]Straight and to the point. You got lost, and was looking for a easy exit. Simple.
[ ]Try flattery. Maybe she'll let you off easy if you compliment her place?
[ ]Speak your mind. As in, tell her off for having such a ridiculously large mansion with so little people inside. She might appreciate the honesty. Hopefully.

[x] Speak your mind. As in, tell her off for having such a ridiculously large mansion with so little people inside. She might appreciate the honesty. Hopefully.

Perfect plan, what could go wrong, I have a good feeling about this, etc.

[X]Straight and to the point. You got lost, and was looking for a easy exit. Act like a true British gentleman, and maybe she will go easy on you.

[X]Try flattery. Maybe she'll let you off easy if you compliment her place?

Haha, three-way!

In all honesty, maybe Remilia might be susceptible to a bit of opening flattery?

[X]Try flattery. Maybe she'll let you off easy if you compliment her place?

[X]Straight and to the point. You got lost, and was looking for a easy exit. Act like a true British gentleman, and maybe she will go easy on you.

Nah, let's be honest

[X]Straight and to the point. You got lost, and was looking for a easy exit. Act like a true British gentleman, and maybe she will go easy on you.

[X]Straight and to the point. You got lost, and was looking for a easy exit. Act like a true British gentleman, and maybe she will go easy on you.

>>180727
>Act like a true British gentleman

Now I want to try this quest as a chav.

Pretend I posted a relevant image with this update.

[X]Straight and to the point. You got lost, and was looking for a easy exit. Act like a true British gentleman, and maybe she will go easy on you.

Let's review the situation. While making a delivery to a mansion, you ended up getting lost inside, and while searching for a way out, you woke up the owner of the mansion, who was now questioning what you were doing, and she also threatened to murder the hell out of you.

Well, being frank with your reasons has worked pretty well so far. Why stop now? "I was making a delivery here, and I got lost on my way out." After thinking a bit, you add, "Terribly sorry."

She looks at you for a long while, her red eyes staring a hole through you. After a long while, she suddenly lets out a short laugh.

"That's it? Really? You just got lost?"

"Er, yeah."

She laughs again. "You expect me to believe that? Why wouldn't Sakuya escort you out?"

That must be the name of the maid who led you to the library. "She was a bit preoccupied in the library."

Her earlier laughter is gone, now. "Let me guess, that witch broke into the library again?"

"Yep."

She brings a hand to her face, and for a moment the red of her eyes disappears. They return shortly after, however. "Right, well, while you've convinced me that you weren't breaking in, you still haven't convinced me to let you leave right now..."

"Beg pardon?"

She smirks, and you think you can see one of her teeth glint in the darkness, and it looks absurdly sharp. "Well, I am quite hungry after sleeping for so long~..."

She slowly begins to circle around you, in a manner that is simultaneously sensual and scary. What is she getting at..."

Wait, absurdly sharp teeth? Glowing red eyes? Bat wings? Apparently nocturnal sleep cycle?

You suddenly step forward and whirl around, catching her by surprise. "You're a bloody vampire, aren't you?" you ask.

She smiles again. "Well aren't you observant. So I trust you understand what I'm hinting at."

"I do. And I gotta say, bugger that idea."

Her face becomes unreadable, though she doesn't stop staring at you. Then out of nowhere, she shrugs. "Alright then."

You pause. "Seriously?"

"Yes. I see no reason in delaying your exit, so go on," she motions to the door leading outside. "Leave."

You keep looking at her cautiously, but when she doesn't say or do anything else, you go ahead and walk through the double doors, coming outside on a balcony, one story off the ground. The sun was starting to sink over the horizon, throwing a red-orange light over everything.

You were about to try and figure out a way to get to the ground safely, when you suddenly felt a pair of arms grabbing you from behind.

"I never said you'd have an easy exit," that same girl whispers into your ear, before flying off the balcony with you in tow, suspending you high above the ground. Surely she's not-

Yep, she is. She just let you go. You are now plummeting to the ground from one story up.

Panicking slightly, you do your best to attempt to tuck and roll on landing, but the most you get is landing on your left shoulder. Upon landing, you feel a great surge of pain fly up and down your arm, and you let out a loud grunt. Once you pick yourself back up, you realize that you can't move your left arm. Using your good arm, you fight past the pain and feel your left shoulder, which took the main force of the impact.

From the way it feels, it appears that it's simply dislocated, not broken. Steeling yourself, you take a deep breath and shove it back in place, resulting in another huge surge of pain, this one making you cry out briefly. You could move your arm again, but it hurt like hell to do so. Removing your tie, you fashion a makeshift sling for the injured arm, and make sure it's tied properly.

Once the pain subsides to a dull ache, you get to your feet and inspect the damage. Your left arm was more than likely going to be out of commission for at least a few days, and that's being very optimistic. Thankfully, you were right handed, so you could still fire your handgun effectively if you needed to.

Making your way around the mansion, you arrive at the front gate again, where the gate guard notices you and opens the gate for you. She raises an eyebrow at your arm, but says nothing.

After checking to make sure you didn't lose any money in the fall, and that the bag holding it was secure, you start heading back into the forest.
===============
Thankfully, the return trip was much more uneventful. Nothing bothered you in the forest, and you were able to find your way out much more quickly. It was difficult to unload your pistol with one hand, but you managed, and you cut through the human village with ease. On the other side, you entered the bamboo forest just as the sunset began turning into night.

You arrive at Eientei to the sound of a large number of crickets outside. You enter into the still-empty waiting room, and you go ahead and enter the hallway leading to the back. The halls were much less crowded now, with only a few rabbit girls giving you odd looks.

You weren't walking for long before Reisen intercepts you. "There you are. We almost thought you died."

You chuckle. "Not quite. Just hurting a bit, is all."

She looks at your arm. "What happened?"

"Small mishap after a delivery," you say. "Dislocated shoulder, nothing broken."

She lets out a thoughtful "Hmm," while she leads you to Eirin. She also asks about the arm, and you gave the same answer. At this point, your exhaustion caught up with you, so you began tuning out most of what she said. You gave her the bag with the money, and she seemed satisfied. She then counted out a quarter of it and gave it back to you, saying it was your cut of the profits. You accepted it, gaining five 50 yen coins.

Reisen then leads you to your room, and you likewise tune her out, nodding occasionally at her sentences. You just wanted to find a bed, plop down, and fall asleep.

Thankfully, the trip to your room is short, and the moment she opens it for you, you walk over to the bed, fall on it, and begin to sleep.

The moment before consciousness leaves you, you hear Reisen chuckle.


DAY 1 SURVIVED
Health: 75% (3% will be gained naturally by sleep)
Armor: 38%
Dosh: ?240 and 250 yen
Injuries: Dislocated shoulder, left(approx. 4 days)

[ ]Transition
[ ]Transformation
[ ]Evolution

[x] Transformation

[X]Evolution
Hopefully this isn't related to any KF mutants.

[X]Transition
The other choices sound lame.

[x]Evolution

Talk about a rough first day.

>>180933
[x]Transition
I think this involves less tentacles. Also we need to get that shoulder reset so it can heal properly.

[x] Evolution.

Let nature run its course.

[X]Transition
Still, I feel a little sorry that we aren't the uber-doodle tankie meatshield we used to be in KF. Talk about adaptational(hehe) wimp...

[X]Transformation

What could go wrong?

>>180956
In a more realistic setting (IE, this one), a Field Medic specializes not in tanking ridiculous amounts of damage, but being able to effectively heal and treat serious wounds.
For example, if you were any other perk, you'd be forced to find treatment for that shoulder from someone else. But as a Field Medic, you could both better diagnose the injury and treat it accordingly.

>>180965
Mhmmm, fair point, lad, although I did love to see him having a better damage output in general to make up for that because as fair as I know medical knowledge is not only useful for knowing how to save someone's life, it's also useful for knowing how to end it, like knowledge of vitals spots and where to shoot someone to cripple and maim.
So yeah, just a little point to avoid creating another youkai OP fest and as the very least give our Foster another chance to continue on his autobiography.

>>180969
Medical knowledge, as far as offensive applications, only really helps with nonlethally disabling a target. The specimens are nasty buggers, however, so not only do you want to kill them asap via shooting them in the head, but something that might cripple a human would only slightly hinder a zed.

As for chances for Foster to continue his autobiography, well, that's up to you. You won't be able to brute force everything, so make sure you think on your feet.

[X]Transition
The other choices are just as generic

>>180971
Yeah, but it isn't like we were dealing with normal human, right? Oh wait....
Well, bugger that. As long as these youkai ain't no-sell everything you throw at them, it's fine by me. Canonically, being polite and courteous to everyone in general will save our sorry human ass from being mauled. Generally.

[X]Transition
Eh this sound interesting so why not?

[X]Transition

You feel yourself stirring from a dreamless sleep, and after letting yourself just lay there for about ten minutes, you decide to get up. Wincing as you move your still-hurting shoulder, you take the chance to actually look at your room.

It was pretty bare bones. A bed, a medium-sized wardrobe, and a small desk with a lamp. It wasn't much, but it would work.

Besides, you had slept almost exclusively in camps for the past several months, so this was a nice change of pace.

You couldn't tell what time it was, but it felt somewhat like morning. Stretching, and making sure your belongings are secure, you exit the room. A few rabbit girls were out and about, doing whatever they did here, but they only gave you a glance as you started walking down the hall. The only reason you were staying here was because you got a job, so it only seems right to go see what you had to do today, even with your injury.

Soon, you come across Eirin's office, and you knock. There's a small bit of shuffling inside, before she opens the door.

"Oh, Foster." She eyes your arm. "How's the shoulder?"

"It's been better." You see no point in idle chat, so you cut straight to the chase. "What do I gotta do today?"

Eirin stares at you for a bit, then lets out a small laugh. "You don't have to do anything today. Saturdays are always slow days, and besides, you're injured. While I appreciate your ability to handle it yourself, you still need time for it to heal."

You have the day off? Sweet. "Alright, then." You begin walking off, giving a "Cheers!" as you leave.

Well, today was a new day, and you didn't have any responsibilities to worry about. What should you do?

[ ]Explore this place. If you're gonna live here, it only makes sense to find out what the whole place is like.
[ ]Go to the village, see if there's anything worth buying (or failing that, just look around).
[ ]Go outside, find a nice place to sit, and just watch the scenery. Maybe you'll find some inspiration for your writing.

[X]Go outside, find a nice place to sit, and just watch the scenery. Maybe you'll find some inspiration for your writing.
Get writing faggot.

[x] Go outside, find a nice place to sit, and just watch the scenery. Maybe you'll find some inspiration for your writing.
It ain't gonna write itself.

[X]Go outside, find a nice place to sit, and just watch the scenery. Maybe you'll find some inspiration for your writing.

[x] Explore this place. If you're gonna live here, it only makes sense to find out what the whole place is like.

>>181073
[x]Explore this place. If you're gonna live here, it only makes sense to find out what the whole place is like.
Look for randomly placed boxes of ammunition and guns.

[X]Go outside, find a nice place to sit, and just watch the scenery. Maybe you'll find some inspiration for your writing.

[X]Go outside, find a nice place to sit, and just watch the scenery. Maybe you'll find some inspiration for your writing.

Maybe find mokou?

[X]Go outside, find a nice place to sit, and just watch the scenery. Maybe you'll find some inspiration for your writing.

You know, Gensokyo is a fairly beautiful place. Why not enjoy that fact?

Making your way to the front door of the clinic, you emerge into the bamboo forest. Following the path leading towards the village, you soon find a hill that gave a pretty good view of the surrounding area. There wasn't anything to sit on, but you could make do with sitting on the grass.

You honestly were never much of a nature person, but after what you had seen and lived through, you think you could learn to like it, especially with as nice as Gensokyo looks.

You view was fairly limited, with only the village itself and the distant mountain being easily visible. If you look carefully, you can spot the top of the SDM just above the tree line, but everything else was either beneath the tree line or simply too far away.

Still, what little you could see was pretty captivating. Just the simple sight of the grass blowing in the gentle breeze filled you with a sense of... you couldn't quite put your finger on it. Peace? Nostalgia?

Whatever it was, it was a nice feeling.

Still, as you sit watching the scenery, your good hand keeps hovering near your holster, ready to draw your handgun at a moment's notice. It's probably a leftover instinct from the apocalyptic state the outside is in, but you also tell yourself that it's not too out of place here, given the fact that, as beautiful as Gensokyo is, it's still plenty dangerous. Your brief fight yesterday was a testament to that, as well as that vampire girl dropping you from the second story of her mansion.

Crazy bitch...

You take a break from your inner thoughts to look more closely at that mountain. It was hard to tell from here, but it looks like there is another village on it, and if you squint, you think you can make out another building near the top of it.

Suddenly, you hear a faint click somewhere behind you, along with the sound of bushes rustling more than the wind would cause. You turn around, hand on your pistol, but you find nothing. You wait a couple extra seconds, then shrug and get back to your sightseeing. You must've imagined that noise.

Eventually, after about twenty more minutes of lounging, you decide you've been sightseeing enough. This decision is helped by the fact that you haven't had breakfast yet today, and you're pretty damn hungry.

[ ]Head back to the clinic, see if they have any food there.
[ ]Getting food at the village worked out last time, why not do it again?

[x] Head back to the clinic, see if they have any food there.

Considering we live and work there, we've barely seen them.

[X]Head back to the clinic, see if they have any food there.

Maybe, if we're lucky, it won't consist entirely of carrots and mochi!

[x] Head back to the clinic, see if they have any food there.

There should be a cafeteria, right?

[X]Head back to the clinic, see if they have any food there.

[X]Head back to the clinic, see if they have any food there.

I bet you my hat that click was Aya

[X]Head back to the clinic, see if they have any food there.

[X]Head back to the clinic, see if they have any food there.

Hospitals generally serve food, right? Why should that be any different here?

You begin following the path back into the bamboo forest. As before, the path is completely empty, besides you. This was somewhat odd, as you'd think that a clinic would have a fair amount of people going to it, but whatever.

As the clinic comes into view, you start hearing something faintly over the wind. You weren't sure what it was, but you're pretty sure it's not your problem, so you just keep walking.

Suddenly, something flies overhead, breaking several stalks of bamboo and eventually hitting the ground some distance away. Something else quickly follows, and you turn to see what just happened.

Two figures were facing each other over by where the small crater that formed. One looked to have black hair and a pink dress of some kind, while the other had white hair and was wearing an odd combination of red pants and a white shirt. And were those overalls?

Your clothing inspection is cut short when you realize that black hair, who looked to be the source of the crater, was missing an arm. Strangely, she didn't seem impacted by this at all. In fact, she was shouting something at white-hair, who shouted something back.

Maybe you should look into learning Japanese.

Regardless of your lack of understanding, the two began fighting again, flying around, shooting various projectiles, and the white haired one was also shooting a fair amount of fire around. Strangely, while the bamboo burned on contact with the fire, it didn't spread.

As the fight goes on, including more than a few hits that had enough force to almost liquidate limbs, you realize that you're still hungry. Besides, whatever they were fighting over was none of your business, and you'd like to minimize the chances of you getting caught in the crossfire.

With this in mind, you continue on your way towards the clinic, ignoring the sounds of combat behind you. Inside, everyone is going about their business as they normally did, either completely oblivious or uncaring about the fight happening outside.

Well, if they don't care, why should you?

You roam the halls for a bit, looking for any place they might have food, before coming across what looked like a small cafeteria. More than a few rabbit girls were already inside, eating, and apart from a few glances, they paid you no mind.

Spotting the food counter, which was unmanned, you grab a plate and see what they have. Unfortunately, it's almost all vegetarian stuff, the only thing even halfway appetizing to you being plain scrambled eggs. You weren't sure why there were eggs here, but you weren't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Managing to serve yourself with just one good arm, you sit at an empty table and take off your mask so you can eat.

Your back is turned from the other people there, but you could hear them start talking in hushed tones the moment you took your mask off. They were probably gossiping about you, but you didn't care. You had forgotten what actual food had tasted like. Everything you had eaten in the past several months were either rations, canned food, or roasted small animal. This was a nice change of pace.

As you ate, you could hear that fight getting closer, before both of those girls crashed through the ceiling. The rabbit girls moved to a farther table, but otherwise paid it no mind. You were already a good distance away, and no bits of ceiling fell into your food, so you just shrugged and keep eating as they fought.

Apparently they had given up shooting things, because now they were just beating the living hell out of each other. You could see that the black haired one was still missing an arm, but at some point she had evened the odds, because white hair was missing a leg.

You had no god damn clue what they were fighting about, and you honestly didn't give a shit. As long as they kept you out of it, you were fine.

Eventually, despite the ongoing battle only a few meters away, you finish your food, and after putting your mask back on, you look around to see one of the rabbit girls dumping her plate into a nearby sink. Following her example, you do the same, before leaving the cafeteria and the fight behind.

Just as you're leaving, you run into Eirin, who upon seeing the fight behind you, looks more annoyed than anything. "They crashed through the roof?"

You nod.

She sighs. "That's the second time this week..."

"This a regular thing?"

She chuckles. "Unfortunately, yes. Normally, they at least stay clear of the clinic, but every once in a while..."

You don't have a clue how this could be regular with the damage they incurred on each other, but you don't bother asking.

"You seem to be taking this rather well."

You shrug. "After all I've seen here, this isn't much. Besides, this has nothing to do with me."

Eventually, the fighting quiets down, and you look back to see that both combatants looked like complete hell, missing at least two limbs each. They were just lying on the ground not too far from each other, and you couldn't tell if it was because they were exhausted or they had managed to completely paralyze each other.

Eirin sighs again. "Well, enjoy the rest of your day off, Mr. Foster, I'll take care of this." She goes over to the two, saying something in Japanese, and you start walking down the hall.

Well, that was certainly something alright. Gensokyo just keeps throwing strange things at you, but you're starting to almost expect it. Hell, some day you might consider all this "normal".

Either way, now that you had some food, you pretty much had the day to yourself. What to do?

[ ]Take a look around the clinic. You're gonna live here, might as well find out what the whole building's like.
[ ]Go see if anything worthwhile is going on in the village.
[ ]Just go out for a walk, take a look at what Gensokyo has to offer. What could go wrong?

[x] Take a look around the clinic. You're gonna live here, might as well find out what the whole building's like.

>Sees a bloody fight.
>Whatever, man.
>Eats breakfast while watching said fight.

Then again, he's probably seen worse. Anyway:

[x] Take a look around the clinic. You're gonna live here, might as well find out what the whole building's like.

[X]Take a look around the clinic. You're gonna live here, might as well find out

That and...do something about our dislocated arm at that

>>181374
[X]Take a look around the clinic. You're gonna live here, might as well find out what the whole building's like.

>>181376
He's got the natural British resilience to giving a shit.

[X]Take a look around the clinic. You're gonna live here,might as well find out what the whole building's like.

[x] Take a look around the clinic. You're gonna live here, might as well find out what the whole building's like.

[X]Take a look around the clinic. You're gonna live here,might as well find out what the whole building's like.

[X]Take a look around the clinic. You're gonna live here,might as well find out what the whole building's like.

Typically, it helps to know the ins and outs of your place of residence. With this in mind, you simply pick a direction and start walking down the halls, the only other people being a small group of rabbit girls carrying various tools towards the new hole in the roof.

It isn't long before you find yourself completely alone, and the hospital atmosphere appears to have slowly faded into a more laboratory-type one. Glancing through the windows on doors reveals various test tubes and other stereotypical science things. In fact, it almost reminds you of that one time you and your group stumbled into a Horzine lab...

You shake your head, dispelling the memories. That was a nasty situation, and you'd rather not relive it.

Bringing yourself back to the present, you look ahead to see a door that's a bit different from the others. Unlike the others, which were normal doors, this one was made of metal, and there was no window offering a peek inside. Not only that, but a sign beside the door warned about something in Japanese, though given the apparent security of this part of the building, you can guess what it's for.

You spy a console on the wall beside the door, and though you're no expert on security measures, it looks like one of those fancy DNA scanner things, like the (mostly destroyed) ones you saw in that other lab-

You wince, the memories rushing back. For a brief moment, you remember those dark corridors, caked with blood, the remains of that poor sod whose name you didn't even remember being ripped to shreds by a horde of zeds...

You shudder. Out of all the death you witnessed, his stood out to you, including the last thing he said before a stalker gutted him:

"Don't just stand there, save me!"

Purging the experience from your mind, you ponder what could be behind the door, before you notice something.

Specifically, a barely-noticeable strand of silver hair on your suit. You pick it up, inspecting it. Looks like some of Eirin's hair got on you at some point today. Probably when you passed by her back at the cafeteria.

Looking between the console and the hair, you get an idea. Whether or not it's a good idea remains to be seen.

[ ]Do it. Whatever she's hiding, you deserve to know.
[ ]Don't do it. You can live with not knowing.

[X]Don't do it. You can formally ask Eirin later if you are that curious; breaking in is bad for your reputation.

[X]Don't do it. You can formally ask Eirin later if you are that curious; breaking in is bad for your reputation, and mostly, your life.

[X]Don't do it. You can formally ask Eirin later if you are that curious; breaking in is bad for your reputation

[x]Do it. Whatever she's hiding, you deserve to know.
It's not yolo cuz story, so let's get more info.

>>181667
[X]Don't do it. You can live with not knowing.
Here be dragons!

[X]Don't do it. You can formally ask Eirin later if you are that curious; breaking in is bad for your reputation

- Carefully stow the hair away for later, just in case.

[X]Don't do it. You can formally ask Eirin later if you are that curious; breaking in is bad for your reputation

On second thought, maybe infiltrating a locked room belonging to your host and employer, whom you've only known for about a day, isn't such a hot idea. Still, always planning ahead, you do your best to stash the hair in one of your empty pockets. Hopefully, should you ever need it, you'll be able to find it again.

Anyway, onwards you go. The rest of the building isn't very notable, and before you know it, you find yourself standing at the entrance to the cafeteria again. It looks like the hole in the roof has already been dealt with, and a group of rabbit girls are bustling about, cleaning tables, moving pieces of rubble, washing dishes, setting tables...

Wait, what was that last one?

Yep, they're definitely setting the tables for... something. You can spot plates, silverware, and what looks like wine glasses. This just makes you wonder what the occasion was.

"Ah, there you are, Mr. Foster, I was looking for you."

Well, this is probably your answer. You turn to face Eirin, holding a newspaper under her arm. "Were you, now?"

"Yes, I'd just like your comment on this." She folds out the newspaper, and amidst the unreadable language and mostly blurry photographs, a couple of which featuring people you recognize, you spot something of interest. Near the bottom, in a story that apparently was barely deserving of being front page news, there was a rather clear picture of you, sitting alone in the grass. Judging from the sling on your arm, and the village just out of frame, you guess that this was taken during your introspective sit in the wilderness earlier.

"Bloody hell..." This picture was taken just this morning, and it was already in the papers. Whoever did this, they work fast.

While looking over the picture of you, you look to the small caption below it, only to realize that, like the rest of the paper, it's in Japanese. You hand the paper back to Eirin, who seems to know exactly what your problem is.

"'The first possible outsider sighting in months?'" she reads off, her voice not betraying any emotion. "Looks like you'll have some widespread attention on you now, as if you didn't attract enough already."

You shrug. "I can live with a bit of attention, as long as this doesn't mean I'll have someone out for my blood."

"I doubt it would, though you might still want to watch your back." Looking into the cafeteria, she smiles. "At least preparations are going well."

"I was meaning to ask, preparations for what?"

"Every other Saturday night, me and some friends have a small get-together, along with a few others, and we simply discuss anything that happened during the week over a few drinks."

You spy one of the rabbit girls carrying a container of some sort of liquid, which you bet is the alcohol she mentioned. "And I take it you're hosting it tonight?"

"Correct. Why not stick around for it? It'll be a good way to meet some of the people you'll make deliveries to in the future."

You see no reason not to, so you nod. "Sure, why not?"

"Good." She takes out a pocket watch, which looks almost out of place compared to what you saw in her lab, and looks at the time. "We still have a few hours before everyone starts arriving, so you're free to simply wait until then." As she walks off to manage her own business, you hear her mutter something about Yukari.

Well, this should prove interesting. You weren't much of a drinker, even before the whole apocalypse thing, but a drink sounds nice, and meeting a bunch of other people from this crazy place doesn't sound too bad, either.

While thinking over the situation, you spot Reisen in the midst of the other rabbit girls, helping arrange the tables. Even with your arm in its current state, you could probably help somehow.

[ ]Just sit and wait, let them do their job.
-[ ]Maybe have a drink or two in the meantime?
[ ]Injury or not, you don't want to be a freeloader. Give them a hand.

>>181971
[X]Injury or not, you don't want to be a freeloader. Give them a hand.

[x]Injury or not, you don't want to be a freeloader. Give them a hand.
-[x] but don't overdo it.

>>181973
This guy has it.

[x]Injury or not, you don't want to be a freeloader. Give them a hand.

Eh, may as well be useful.

[x]Injury or not, you don't want to be a freeloader. Give them a hand.
-[x] but don't overdo it.

No sense in risking what allowed him to live until now

[x]Injury or not, you don't want to be a freeloader. Give them a hand.

Avoid being a dick

[X]Injury or not, you don't want to be a freeloader. Give them a hand.
Befriend the sharpshooter.

[X]Injury or not, you don't want to be a freeloader. Give them a hand.

Well, you were never one to sit around and do nothing. You walk into the cafeteria and head towards Reisen. Upon seeing you, she nods in acknowledgement, but otherwise ignores you. At least, until you walk right up to her.

"Need a hand with anything here?" you ask.

She eyes your arm. "Are you really asking to help with your arm in that state?"

You shrug. "Sure."

She pauses, then continues setting tables. "Well, we're nearly done, but you can go ahead and set those tables over there," she says, motioning towards a corner of the room, where a pair of empty tables sat.

"Got it." You head over to where the plates and silverware are kept, and do your best to take as much as you can with just one good arm. Once you get to one of the empty tables, you set everything down, and after glancing at one of the already-set tables, you arrange everything in a similar manner.

Just a couple of trips later, and both tables are filled. Given the way the rabbit girls are acting, it appears that the place is set up, now. You didn't really help much, but at least you helped.

Having nothing else to do, you go ahead and take a seat. Not too long after, Reisen sits down at the same table. It's obvious that she was working far longer than you were.

"So, there a reason you wanted to help, even with your injury?" she asks after a while.

"What, can I not try to be helpful around here?"

"Most people, human or otherwise, would take the chance to not work if they don't have to." She leans back in her chair. "Plus, I still don't know the reason you always wear that mask, or why your suit looks like it was on the wrong end of a bear mauling."

You look at your suit, and you can't help but agree with her: countless encounters with zeds had left it a tattered mess, only held together by several hastily-done patches. You're just thankful that your vest is pretty well concealed under your shirt, as that would probably just raise even more questions.

"You really want to know why I look like this?"

She nods.

Just as you begin to speak, you suddenly have the feeling that you're being watched. You ignore it, however. "Right, well, you see..." You struggle for a bit to remember what you came up with yesterday, before it comes back to you. "You see, my home country, England, is going through some... rough times. Depending on who you ask, it's either in the middle of a civil war, or is being filled with riots."

She lets out a thoughtful "Hmm." "I suppose that explains the mask and gun, then... but mind telling me why your suit looks to have been repaired several times, and not even professionally?"

Curse her eye for detail. "I wasn't exactly big on money at the time, so I'd have to make do for myself after getting caught in the middle of a bunch of muppets." Yeah, she should buy that, right?

Well, she's nodding in understanding, so it looks like she bought it. "By the way, does that mask actually work?"

You're about to answer that it does, and it actually saved your life on a few occasions, but then you realize that the whole time you were fighting for you life in the outside, you only replaced the filter once, and it was fairly early on. The fact that you can still breathe easily is baffling. "It does, but the filter's a bit used up, and I couldn't afford a new one."

She puts a hand to her chin in thought. "I could probably find a replacement one for you, if you want."

Seeing no reason not to, you shrug and unscrew the used filter, handing it to her. "Sure, mate."

She seems to hesitate slightly upon seeing just how filthy the filter was, and then she leaves, most likely to look for an equivalent one. Seriously, you could breathe through all that crap? You must have lungs of steel, or something.

Reisen comes back pretty soon, carrying a brand new filter. "Here, try this one on."

You take it and screw it into place, and although its color clashes a bit with your mostly-dirty mask, it still works just fine. "Cheers, big ears."

She seems both amused and slightly offended by the comment. "My ears aren't that big!"

As you chuckle with her, she looks at her watch, and stands up. "Oh, crap, gotta go." She quickly waves goodbye and leaves you alone at the table. In fact, all of the other rabbit girls are leaving, too. One of them catches Reisen in the doorway and asks her something in... some kind of language you can't understand, but you're certain it's not Japanese. Reisen answers in the same language, and they leave, making you the sole person in the cafeteria.

The guests must be arriving soon, if not right now. You probably have some time to yourself before they actually get here.

[ ]Go ahead and have a drink. Knowing Gensokyo, you might need it.
[ ]See if you can add to your autobiography real quick.
[ ]Just kick back and wait for everyone to show up.

[x] Go ahead and have a drink. Knowing Gensokyo, you might need it.

It's important to fit in.

[x]See if you can add to your autobiography real quick.

I am determined to see this fucking autobiography get finished. It's our life's work.

[x]See if you can add to your autobiography real quick.

Write, damn you.

[x]See if you can add to your autobiography real quick.

[x] Go ahead and have a drink. Knowing Gensokyo, you might need it.

He's going to wind up plastered by the end of the party. No reason not to get a head start.

[X]See if you can add to your autobiography real quick.
Someone might discover what is happening outside the barrier if we keep writing.

[x]See if you can add to your autobiography real quick.

I wonder who was watching us and why

[x]See if you can add to your autobiography real quick.

We will finish it if it kills us

[x]See if you can add to your autobiography real quick.

[x]See if you can add to your autobiography real quick.

>>182233
Yukari, to make sure we don't spill that they are all missing out on the end of the world via zombie apocalypse

>>182233
UPDATED MY JOURNAL

>>182508
"I knowing the teachings of Inaba, I have become stronger"


Updates where?

Oh god I legit forgot about this I am so sorry

[x]See if you can add to your autobiography real quick.

Well, it'll probably be a while before anyone else shows up. That should be plenty of time to start working on that autobiography of yours. Taking out your pen and book, you get to work, detailing some more of the events of your first day in Gensokyo.

Just as you finish writing about almost breaking your neck thanks to a vampire bitch, you hear footsteps, and you look up just in time to see Reimu walk into the room, Reisen hovering in the doorway behind her. The former finds an empty table and sits down, while the latter leaves, likely to greet any further guests.

Reimu almost immediately helps herself to the food table, and only after she sits back down does she look in your direction. "Oh, hey, Foster," she greets, her mouth partially filled with food. You wave in response, and after she swallows some of the food down, she talks again.

"What's up with the arm?" she asks bluntly.

Just when you're about to answer, the door opens again, and in strides none other than that vampire girl, now wearing a pink dress and matching hat. The maid, Sakuya if you remember correctly, follows close behind. Vampire chick looks around the room, and when her eyes fall on you, and your arm, she ever so slightly smirks, before going to her own table.

Bitch.

Reimu catches your glare, even through your mask, and she nods in understanding.

Next to arrive is a group of three. The one leading them is a rather tall woman with dark blue hair and a red dress, with what looked like a mirror on it, for some reason.

Behind her is a green-haired girl dressed similarly to Reimu, though with a blue-white color scheme. Upon seeing you, her eyes widen slightly, with what looks like mild awe.

Before she can rush over to you, however, the girl behind her stops her, and whispers something you can't hear, and couldn't understand anyway. She's wearing a simple purple and white dress, along with a hat with... were those eyes? She also had short blonde hair and wait did that hat just blink at you

Ignoring the creepy headwear, you watch as the three of them sit at their own table, not too far from Reimu, who offers them a brief wave in between bites. Looks like they know each other.

Once again, the doors open, and in floats (seriously, floats) a pink-haired, blue-dressed woman, followed by a silver-haired, green-dressed girl, with a white blob of... something hovering behind her. She also has a pair of katanas, you guess, and you catch yourself doing some mental calculations of how many necks it could slice through before becoming useless.

Floaty girl offers you a friendly wave before heading straight for the food table, the other girl following with a mildly exasperated look on her face. As she passes, you feel an urge to touch the floating blob behind her, but you hold yourself back.

By now, there's a decent amount of conversation floating around the room, none of which you can understand, but you have a good feeling that most of it is directed at you. That liquor is certainly looking more appetizing by the minute...

Before you can finalize your decision to get shitfaced, Eirin enters, followed by Reisen and a girl you recognize as one of the two that was fighting that morning. Notably, she seems to have all her limbs now. You don't even bother questioning it.

By now, everyone has gravitated to a table. Reimu is talking with blue-white, blue-white's accomplices are talking with Eirin and the floating girl, the girl from the fight and the vampire bitch have struck up a conversation, and Sakuya and the sword girl were standing by, though they seemed to be talking as well.

Suddenly, a purple... something opens up in the air, and conversation stops as everyone looks at it. Soon, a woman in a white and blue dress and a pointy hat falls from it, expertly landing on her feet.

Also, she has a bunch of fox tails. Because why not.

She looks at the others, and gives a brief explanation in Japanese, though you hear 'Yukari' in there somewhere. At one point, she looks at you and gives a small nod, but you have no idea why.

After a bit, she goes to join Eirin and the others at their table, and normal conversation resumes, though you think that some of the gossip has shifted off of you.

All that leaves you is the question of what to do.

[ ]Go meet Eirin's friends, see what's up there.
[ ]Give that vampire bitch a piece of your mind.
[ ]Reimu and her friend seem like they're talking about you, why not join them?
[ ]Maybe Sakuya and sword girl would be willing to talk a bit?
[ ]Just stay by yourself. Anyone wants to talk, they'll come to you.

Also, that alcohol is calling your name.

[ ]Have a drink, loosen up a bit.
[ ]It might be a good idea to stay sober for this.

This will also most likely be the last update before the new thread, so now is the time to tell me how good/bad of a job I'm doing.

[X]Just stay by yourself. Anyone wants to talk, they'll come to you.
[X]Have a drink, loosen up a bit.
We're in zombie-free fantasy wonderland, I think we can spare some time to unwind in the not-updating-my-journal sense.

>now is the time to tell me how good/bad of a job I'm doing.
I'm not a critic. At all. So I can't offer anything constructive. But I can say that I enjoy this story and am curious about how it will evolve.

[x]Just stay by yourself. Anyone wants to talk, they'll come to you.
[x]Have a drink, loosen up a bit.

We're probably not used to talking to people in these sort of situations after all the stuff that's happened, but as a Brit we can't not drink at a party.

I like what you're doing so far and I really want to see what will happen.

Also wondering if any other characters from KF will show up.

[x]Just stay by yourself. Anyone wants to talk, they'll come to you.
[x]Have a drink, loosen up a bit.

[X]Just stay by yourself. Anyone wants to talk, they'll come to you.
[X]Have a drink, loosen up a bit.

[X]Just stay by yourself. Anyone wants to talk, they'll come to you.
[X]Have a drink, loosen up a bit.

New thread here, grab it while it's hot
>>184073