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THE STORY SO FAR:
The world has ended, but five (well, it’s complicated) humans get a chance to do it over, and make things right. Only problem is, for their second go around, they're not going to be 'human'...
Kudamaki Kosuzu is making her mark in the Animal Realm. Having been gifted a grimoire by Yakumo Yukari, she, along with Mayumi and Kicchou Reimu, were sent to rescue a young girl in the clutches of the Keiga. Despite their rescue attempt being compromised, between Kosuzu’s quick thinking and the danmaku techniques she learned from the grimoire, she was still able to liberate the young girl, and deliver her safely to the Haniwa Corps’ territory.
The young girl’s true identity was revealed to be Okazaki Yumemi. Like the Immaterial Children, she has traveled through time - though, unlike them, she travels using scientific means, as part of a stable time loop. In fact, it seems that the fortune-teller Ichi was in fact an older Yumemi. While some of her actions may have been to facilitate her own rescue, her ultimate goals remain unknown.
In the process of rescuing the young Yumemi, Kosuzu managed to take Kaku Seiga’s hairpin for herself. In hopes of replicating it, she was directed to head to Keiki’s city library, and meet one of its librarians - none other than the spirit Motoori Mabuchi, the man who, in her last life, was her dear grandfather…
Previous Threads:
Redo/Reimu >>205449 >>205720
Again/Akyuu >>206017 >>206302 >>206595 >>206906 >>207202
Yester/Youmu >>207370 >>207705 >>208027 >>208337 >>208664 >>208978
Kaizou/Kosuzu >>209221 >>209492 >>209799 >>210140 >>210522
Epilogues and Shorts >>/shorts/2804
Or read the story archive on Ao3:
https://archiveofourown.org/series/4062991
(10) First question: What was he doing here? In the Animal Realm? He had died by this time in her last life, too, but surely he wasn't meant to be here?
(14) No wait, did he say he told Mayumi some bits? Did he know about her being a youkai, somehow?
He gave a gentle smile, reaching out. Kudamaki Kosuzu was stunned.
But the little voice in her head roared. She lurched forward, all but breaking into a run even over the few steps she had, and hugged him-
He was cold. As cold as ice.
Grampa gave a mildly surprised grunt, but laughed it off. “Ah, I’ve been wanting to meet you too, Kosuzu. Thought I might never get the chance, if Lady Keiki hadn’t scouted me out.”
She looked up, starting to tear up. “G-grampa…”
She was… she’d been gone, this whole time. And his life had been and gone. Motoori Mabuchi was, in many ways, her inspiration. He’d been the one to found Suzunaan, and his passion for Youma books had inspired much the same in Kosuzu. He’d been wise, and had taught Kosuzu many things.
…And with her memories only coming back this morning, she hadn’t even begun to process the fact that he would have died already, to plain old age. And yet, even as he held her close, she could feel it. The chill of his skin, and the stillness of his chest.
Not to mention, she'd never expected to find him here. Why… why was he here? This was the Animal Realm. He himself had taught her about it - about how it was the place where those who were cruel to animals went. She’d never, ever expected he’d end up here, of all places. He was Grampa! The man who'd once needed both Akyuu and Kosuzu to help him stand just because the Hieda's cat sat on him until his legs went dead! Not a single memory of Kosuzu's could serve to make meeting here even slightly coherent with her past life.
For his part, he simply turned to another member of staff. “Apologies, but I’ll be helping little Kosuzu for a bit.” He knelt down next to her, wiping a tear from her eyes.
“Mayumi and Lady Keiki found me when they liberated some Gouyoku territory. They told me the whole story, about you and the other Immaterial Children. You’ve been very, very brave, Kosuzu…”
She took a shuddering breath, starting to openly sob. “I-I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I couldn’t - I didn’t remember-”
“Shhhhh…” He ran his hand through her hair, pulling back the strand that always hung down the middle of her face.
She took a few shuddering breaths, turning back to the haniwa. “…thank you, Mayumi.” The soldier dutifully saluted.
Grampa smiled. “Now, what brings you all here? After all, I’m not too surprised you came to this library, but your surprise tells me that this reunion wasn’t your original intention.”
Kosuzu lifted the hairpin. “Um, I want to understand this magical artifact better. I have a book of fox magic that will probably help, but we might need more books to research the effect. And maybe see if I can make my own version.”
Grampa smiled. “Ah, from knowledge comes power? Truly, a Motoori at heart… yes, let’s see what we can find, shall we?”
Fortunately, it seemed that part of Keiki’s calling ahead was to give Kosuzu the sort of permissions she needed. Before long, five tomes of various related disciplines had been selected to join the ranks of Ran’s training grimoire.
Grampa was, naturally, very interested in the dark blue book. Now that Kosuzu was working with it as well, she had to agree - perhaps it was a testament to its author, or some other matter, but the kitsune’s tome had a strong sense of magic permeating the pages
“So this book was given to you by a lady named Yukari?”
Kosuzu nodded, smiling. “Yeah. And it’s really, really good, too. It’s… actually helped me once already.”
Mayumi nodded, saluting. “Kosuzu managed to hold off a pack of wolf spirits by herself. For a young fox who got the book only today, she’s proven exceptional aptitude for its contents.”
The old man raised an eyebrow, smirking. “Ah, is that so? Perhaps you’ll be able to beat the shrine maiden one day.”
Kosuzu shook her head rapidly. “P-probably not. Reimu’s still way stronger. Part of why I’m trying to get other magic tools, like this.” She waved the hairpin around.
The librarian looked at the hairpin, curious. “Is that an accessory of some sort? It’s rather sharp for one.”
“It’s actually a tool.” Kosuzu mimed carving a hole in the table they were sitting at. You can use it to cut holes open, and they go away after a while, no permanent damage. Normally it takes a bit of time to cut bigger holes, but I don’t need a big hole to climb through myself. In fact-”
Her voice died in her throat, before she could say it. Mayumi looked at her, confused. She shook her head, waving it away. “Um, nothing.”
Grampa’s attention had turned back to Kosuzu. “Mmmm… say.” He turned to look at her, appraisingly. “What kind of fox are you, Kosuzu?”
The tube fox blinked. Mayumi saw this as a chance to step in. “Oh, well, the story going around is that she’s a Kitsune-”
“A-and that’s entirely true!” Kosuzu blurted out. Mayumi glanced over at her, confused. “A-after all, this book was made for a kitsune, so, so-”
Grampa slowly shook his head, and Kosuzu’s heart caught in her throat. “Ah, that’s not what I meant. I was wondering what species - your fur pattern is a touch different from the wild foxes I remember from Gensokyo. Though, maybe that’s your Motoori part causing that.”
“O-oh.” Kosuzu felt her face flush a bit. Grampa paid it no mind, picking up the hairpin and inspecting it. “U-um, yeah. I’m not sure, actually - I never actually met my father in this life, so…”
Mayumi turned to her, curious. “Who was your father, actually?”
“...I don’t know. Mom said he left her when she fell pregnant.” She sighed. “And she doesn’t like talking about him otherwise, so… I don’t know what he’s like.”
Grampa scoffed. “Well, in my eyes, he’s missing out. A cute little thing like you is a delight to be around.” He handed the hairpin to her. “Got any friends on the surface?”
“Um…” Kosuzu stammed. “A-akyuu! M-my best friend is Akyuu. She’s a rabbit. From the moon, actually.” Well, it wasn’t technically a lie.
Mayumi tilted her head. “She’s one of the Immaterial Children, no? Odd that she didn’t surface your memories herself…”
“Errr, well…” Kosuzu’s ears flicked back. “I-I just mean, none of my friends in this life compare to Reimu and Akyuu and the others. I’m a lot closer to the other Immaterial Children.”
Her grandfather merely chuckled. “On the moon? My word, you really did get scattered. Speaking of, is young… Reimu, was it? Behind that cute little bandage of yours?” Kosuzu nodded. “Where would she happen to be?”
Mayumi scanned the room, pointing up to the mezzanine. Reimu waved back, trying - and failing - to get Yumemi’s attention away from the book she was reading.
The old man looked surprised. “She’s the Dragon Miko, no? I heard she actually was a dragon, but… She looks human enough to me.”
Mayumi nodded. “Well, we’re having special rings made for them. Allowing them to go back to their human families without raising a fuss. Reimu’s got the first one.”
“I see, I see. That’s good to hear!” He gave a mirthful grin. “As much as it would be interesting to see Suzunaan staffed by a Kitsune, it’s probably for the best that it’s a bit more subtle, no?”
Kosuzu nodded, slowly. “Mmmm. I… I’d like that. To go back to Suzunaan.”
Grampa smiled down at her. “...Though, of course, your mother in this life would miss you too, no? She made quite the impression when I saw her with you.”
Kosuzu saw the chance to jump topics, and took it. “You’ve seen me and my mother? How would you even know it was us?”
The librarian’s face fell. “Ah… that’s… an old shame of mine. It ties in to why I’m down here, actually.”
He paused, searching for the right words. Kosuzu felt worry stir in her. Had he seen them out causing trouble and not wanted anything to do with Kosuzu as a result? …Actually, perhaps she was better off not knowing. “Um, if you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine. I can understand that.”
“No, no, you deserve to know. And after all, no secrets between family, right?” The moment he took to gather his thoughts gave Kosuzu time to swallow her guilt. “...It happened not long after you were born, or… weren’t born, rather.”
“We were naturally devastated. Our dearest little child, taken from us…” He sighed. “The last bite of the Hakutaku’s feast, and unlike the others, we were by far the most humble family. It took us completely by surprise. Of course, we didn’t know Keine’s involvement yet, and it’s only last month that the reason for such tragedy would start circulating.”
Kosuzu nodded, slowly. Poor Keine… she knew well enough the stories of the Immaterial Children Incident. And… thinking back, it had really been the Motoori case that had locked in Keine as a suspect, hadn’t it? And made it all the more stressful for the crowd. After all, if the no-name daughter of a bookstore family could be taken, anyone could be next.
“While we were still grieving, a certain woman came into Suzunaan.” He scowled. “A blonde woman who called herself Shirohime. And… she encouraged me to use the magics from a certain book.”
“Shirohime…” Kosuzu mouthed the words, uncertainly. The faintest hint of a memory tickled in her, so vague she wasn’t even sure it was real. “What was this book?”
“I don’t know if she found it or brought it, but… it was a dangerous tome. One dealing in forbidden magic. Cruel magic. She encouraged me to use a certain spell, one that would… well, one that would bind an animal spirit to serve as my eyes, while making them almost undetectable to anyone else.”
Mayumi tilted her head. “What sort of spell would do that? Sounds powerful…” Kosuzu nodded, hesitantly. With a spell like that, there’d be no need for a tube-fox at all.
The librarian shook his head. “Well, I won’t go into the specifics with girls your age. Let’s just say… I knew full well that taking that path would lead me here.”
The words hit Kosuzu like a truck. “T-to find me, you used a spell like that…?”
Grampa nodded. “It was against my better judgment, but… Shirohime wore me down. Eventually, I… I did what I needed to do to make the spell work.” Kosuzu looked down, trembling.
He closed his eyes, thinking back. “...And what I saw, Kosuzu, was you. The very same girl in front of me now, sleeping peacefully in your mother’s arms. Well, I assume your mother’s, at least. And when I saw you like that, my own hands still stained with the sin I had just committed… I knew I’d made a terrible mistake.”
…So while she’d been sleeping away… Grampa had been damning himself. For her.
He looked down. “I told Shirohime that I wouldn’t… pursue that magic further. I later realized that all she wanted was to find out it worked… the book was stolen not long after, and the only one besides me who knew it was in Suzunaan was her.”
Kosuzu sagged. “So… so because I wasn’t there…”
Mayumi turned to her. “Kosuzu?”
The little fox shuddered. “I-I didn’t know… I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
Grampa reached out for her, concern writ plain on his face. “Kosuzu, it was my choice, not yours. You don’t have to take the blame for it, okay?” He sighed. “I just… felt you deserved the truth, is all.”
…The truth.
The truth that it was her fault.
The same truth as always.
She pulled away from him, leaping from her seat. Mayumi and Grampa tried to stop her, but their voices were already falling behind her, and what could they do to catch her in time?
After all, she was faster. She was a fox. A stupid, worthless gutter-fox who ruined everything. And she couldn’t even tell her grandfather that much.
She ran.
Kosuzu huddled, in between the books. Yumemi passed by again, quietly calling out her name. “Kosuzu? Where are you?”
The fox didn’t say anything. She held her breath and her tears, waiting for the girl to keep walking. It was only a few seconds later that the time-traveler wandered off, giving Kosuzu's breath break into a sob.
It was shameful. It was probably ruining everyone’s afternoon, trying to look for her, but… if they just gave up, that’d be for the best. She’d only make things worse, after all.
After she’d ran, some spirit or other had heard her grandfather calling out, and got in front of the door. Without the ability to escape through that way, and with most of the windows shut, Kosuzu had been forced to hide in the library itself, at least until they gave up.
It wasn’t a routine she was too unused to. There were plenty of times when a kuda-gitsune would have to cut and run. The pursuers would give up eventually, or assumed they escaped. At least, that was the plan.
But the girls and Grampa were not giving up. It had been at least a half hour now, and they were still patrolling the halls. Mayumi had picked up the hairpin, too, so that option wasn’t available. She curled her tail up, trying to think of a way to get away.
“So Youmu is safe?” Reimu’s voice. The shrine maiden seemed to know at least the general area she was in, never straying far. Must have been her infamous intuition.
“Yes, and I can only apologize.” It took Kosuzu a moment to place. Yukari? “I was so eager to meet young Suzu, I forgot to tell you both. But yes, Reiuji Youmu has returned to the surface. Along with her twin sister, Okuu.”
“Mmmmph. Twin sisters, huh? …How did Youki react to that?”
“Well enough.” The gap youkai chuckled. “All in all, I believe that relationship is at least not going to give Youmu undue grief.”
“...Alright then. And the Moriyas?” Reimu said, concern tinting her voice. “Did they have something to do with the whole damn tengu flock swarming the village?”
“...You could say that?” Yukari sounded surprised at Reimu’s inference. “Where did you get that from, Reimu?”
She heard the jidiao let out an irritated huff. “It’s my gut feeling. That the Moriyas are involved with this whole incident, from the very beginning.”
Kosuzu could see them now. Yukari chuckled, rubbing her chin. “Is that so? …I suppose you could say that, too. Another oversight on my part, honestly… Ah, but perhaps that matter is better discussed with you both, no?”
Reimu sighed. “...Not giving me much hope if you’re this distracted… Do you have any idea where she is?”
“Perhaps?” Yukari smirked. “I at least am fairly sure she doesn’t want to be found.”
The young miko folded her arms. “Please, Yukari, if you have any way of finding her…”
The gap youkai nodded. “Yes. I will put what resources I have to spare into calming her down, and bringing her back. Mr. Motoori is owed that much, at least.”
Reimu sighed. “Right, I’ll start from -”
Yukari shook her head. “Perhaps you can go gather the others?” A gap opened behind her, revealing Chen in her Orange disguise. “A shikigami can scan the library quicker than everyone else combined, after all.”
Reimu… hesitated, but Yukari leant down. “If she doesn’t want to be found, it’ll take more than running around to do it. Just let the others know you’ve called in the big guns, and we’ll bring her back soon enough.”
The shrine maiden… looked up at Yukari, pleading. “...If you say so… Just please let me know as soon as you know she’s safe, alright?”
“She is safe, Reimu.” Yukari smiled. “And she’ll stay safe. I promise.”
Reimu nodded, slinking away. Yukari turned to Chen, whispering to her - Kosuzu had to strain her ears to hear. “Chen. Ensure nobody gets too close to this area until my signal minutes.”
The cat looked at her, confused. “Don’t you want me to look for Kosuzu?”
“There’s no need for that. Just leave it with me, and look busy, alright?” The shikigami nodded, marching off… leaving only the great sage watching her go, and the little fox quivering for fear of being spotted.
As soon as Chen was out of sight, Yukari’s eyes locked onto the space where Kosuzu was hiding. Slowly, she strode over, reaching out…
Kosuzu flailed, suddenly stumbling forward on two legs. Yukari caught the fox-girl, steadying her. She whipped her head around, examining her body. “H-huh?”
“Easy, easy. I just manipulated the border between your two states.” Yukari let the girl go as soon as she was stable enough to stand on her own. “There. It's a bit hard to have a talk when you’ve sequestered yourself in the back of a bookshelf.”
As the girl stammered, Yukari’s eyes locked on to the talisman on her ear. She took a moment examining it, before smiling. “A bandage? I see, using it for makeshift sterilization… it doesn’t hurt, does it?” Kosuzu shook her head, prompting the older youkai to smile. “Rather talented, that young Hakurei. It takes great care to do that.”
“Y-you…” Kosuzu looked at her, finally managing to reassemble a coherent thought. “Wh-what are you doing here? Y-you’re not the one who sold us out, are you?”
“No, I’m not.” The elder youkai gave a conspiratorial grin. “Want to see what I was actually doing?”
She opened a small gap. Kosuzu hesitantly stepped towards it, sticking her head in and examining the contents - some kind of badly-damaged vehicle, unlike any of the others she’d seen around the city. “Is that… Yumemi’s vehicle?”
“Indeed - the Probability Space Vessel, I believe?” She smirked. “Such a fascinating piece of technology. Leaving it with the neanderthals would be such a waste.”
The young fox looked up to her. “You’ll… will you give it back to Yumemi?”
Yukari nodded. “I’ll have some of my shikigami examine it in case it’s giving off any concerning radiation - and I’ll use that time to get what information I can from little Yumemi. At least make sure she’s not going to cause too much trouble in Gensokyo proper. But speaking of little Yumemi… Well done on your rescue. That must have been trying.”
“Y-yeah, I guess…” Kosuzu sagged. “I-I really didn’t do much, though.”
Yukari chuckled, reaching out to pet Kosuzu. It was slow, and gentle, and Kosuzu almost felt like her legs would give out beneath her. “Oh, by all accounts, you more than outdid yourself. Beating back a pack of wolves, getting your hands on a certain magical artifact… After all the havoc, the others were saying you used Hyacinthoides to quite dramatic effect.”
“Hi-a…” Kosuzu struggled to pronounce it. “Hi-a-sinfoiders?”
“Hyacinthoides Scripta. The codename we were using for the grimoire Ran made.” Yukari’s petting was soothing - clearly the actions of one used to having pets. “You like it? Even when it seemed like we’d never get that young kitsune to train, she kept working on it. She’d be over the moon to hear a glowing review from you.”
Kosuzu nodded, awkwardly. “U-um, yes. It’s a good book. Really good.” She sagged. “So good, even a useless gutter-fox like me can use it.”
Yukari turned to her. “Pardon?”
“I-I’m just… I’m useless.” The fox started to weep, openly. Why… why was she telling Yukari this? “I-I keep screwing up, a-and making everyone hate me, or, or make them hurt themselves. Grampa… he’s only down here because he was looking for me. And, and when he finally found me I was lying to his face, and if he finds out, he’ll, he’ll hate me-”
“Shhhh, shhhh… It’ll be alright. I’m quite sure he won’t hate you.” Yukari knelt down, next to her. “...What did you lie about?”
“A-about being a kitsune.” Kosuzu fingers went through the edge of her top. Yukari was silent. “I-I’m not anything that fancy… I’m just a tube-fox. E-even being with my friends might hurt them, if I screw up. Or maybe I’ll hurt them even if I don’t.”
She sniffled. “I-I know I should… should tell Grampa the truth. Right? I-I should just come clean… at least then, I can’t make it any worse.”
There was a pause. Yukari was… oddly silent, for quite some time. Just petting the girl, slowly.
“...You know, Suzu. I don’t know if I’m quite the person to be asking about telling the truth.” She gave an awkward chuckle. “I’m rather notorious in regards to that myself.”
Kosuzu looked up at her. The gap youkai gave a small smile. “But I believe there is a third option. After all… you’re not human any more.”
The young fox sniffled. “Wh-what do you mean?”
“Like I said before, the boundary between different types of youkai foxes isn’t insurmountable. ” Yukari gave a small smile. “Perhaps it will be easier to come clean about your lie… if you make it the truth, first.”
Kosuzu blinked. “Is… is that even possible?”
Yukari pulled at the fox, sitting Kosuzu in her lap. “…Let me ask you something, Suzu. A kappa, if you take it from its river, becomes a yamawaro, correct?” The young fox nodded. “Then, what happens if people merely don’t know that there’s a river where it lives?”
Kosuzu tilted her head. “What do you mean? If it visits a river, but people don’t realize it does? …It’d still be a kappa, wouldn’t it?”
Yukari shook her head. “No, actually. If it becomes generally accepted that it’s a kappa living without a river nearby, it’ll start shifting into a yamawaro, whether it intends to or not.”
The little fox stared up at her, shocked, as Yukari continued. “A youkai is formed from belief. Belief is what defines us, sustains us… and shapes us. And so, if beliefs about us change, so do our very beings.”
Kosuzu tilted her head. “B-but wouldn’t that take a long time?”
“In most conditions, yes. One would take more than any human’s lifespan to shift one’s species drastically - you’re certainly not going to convince people you’re a jidiao like Reimu while anyone remembers you as a fox. But few really know the minutiae of the different species of similar youkai. And of course, it’s easier to form a different impression from reality if nobody knows who you are in the first place.”
Kosuzu thought back. “Lady Keiki and Reimu’s mother… they were competing over introducing me as an Inari or a Kitsune. Was that…?”
“Quite possibly.” Yukari mused. “Perhaps they were trying to push you away from being a kuda-gitsune.”
Kosuzu blinked, as the gap youkai shifted her position. “So… you’re saying that if I became a kitsune in full…”
“Then you can tell your grandfather the truth - the whole truth. You can tell him that you were on the path to being a common pipe-fox, but strived to be something nobler - and succeeded.” The sage had a mischievous gleam in your eyes. “That, I think would be something any parent could be proud of.”
Kosuzu gulped. “B-but surely it can’t be that easy?”
Yukari’s mischievous look only got more so. “Oh, for most it’s quite difficult. After all, even after changing species, one’s past form will not be completely severed. Many freshly-shifted will find themselves struggling to master the skills of their new forms, or forced to make awkward facsimiles. And that perception can crumble, rather quickly, given the right influence. But… you have a guide, from the most powerful kitsune in Gensokyo, and you’ve taken to it like a fish to water.” She winked. “I think you’ll be just fine, Suzu.”
She gently pulled the girl off her lap. “While I don’t know the details of the mistakes you regret. So… are you ready to go down and meet the others? Nobody’s mad, I promise, just worried. And if they are mad, well, I’ll just do something to make them even angrier so they forget about being mad at you.”
Kosuzu let out a weak chuckle, as she was stood up. “...Lady Yukari? Why… why are you trying to help me so much?”
“Well, I’d like to say getting a chance to cuddle a fox pup is it’s own reward…” When Kosuzu’s face didn’t budge, the Sage sighed. “...Consider it a penance. After what happened to the fox that would have been a shikigami candidate… helping you is the least I can do.”
As the two of them made their way down, Kosuzu took a few deep breaths. Was… was it really possible? To become a proper kitsune? …She found her heart latching on to it. Desperately clinging to that hope. “I think… I’m going to try. Thank you, Lady Yukari.” The older youkai beamed, giving Kosuzu one last pet as they strode off.
That hope was like a fire in her. She huddled close to it, letting it fill her. Just as burning was a few fascinating questions, surfacing in her mind. Still, she’d probably only get the time to ask one before they got back to the others.
[ ] The talk of kappa had brought Kosuzu’s mind back to the start of this whole adventure. What about Maneki-neko? Could one of those have something similar happen?
[ ] …What happened to the fox the Hyacinthoides was originally made for? It seemed to be a rather sad tale…
[X] …What happened to the fox the Hyacinthoides was originally made for? It seemed to be a rather sad tale…
There's a lot to unpack this update. Won't comment on anything yet, though... I'll do it later when I'm off work. Lots of stuff breaking today :(
[X] …What happened to the fox the Hyacinthoides was originally made for? It seemed to be a rather sad tale…
[X] …What happened to the fox the Hyacinthoides was originally made for? It seemed to be a rather sad tale…
So it’s G???. It seems that there’s a high chance it’s a 4 letter word. That leaves my candidates at:
Grip
Guts
Guilt (More unlikely each update)
In that order. However, with Yukari officially stating that we can become a Kitsune, the stat could be the Gap between Kosuzu and being a Gitsune or the Gap between Kosuzu and being a Kitsune. It could be more simple, the stat could just be Gitsune. Although neither of these are four letters.
[X] …What happened to the fox the Hyacinthoides was originally made for? It seemed to be a rather sad tale…
Also, I would like to find out right now if the book could be a danger to us.
Hyacinthoides non-scriptus is just a flower, with non-scriptus meaning unmarked according to Wikipedia. So our book is just a marked (whatever that means) flower. It’s probably just a play on words though, with scriptus.
Then again, asking this might just give us a variation of the tragic Greek story, but it’s probably more useful than asking about the makineko route.
[X] The talk of kappa had brought Kosuzu’s mind back to the start of this whole adventure. What about Maneki-neko? Could one of those have something similar happen?
[X] …What happened to the fox the Hyacinthoides was originally made for? It seemed to be a rather sad tale…
>>210838
Okay, I'm sorry, but I can't let this pass by.
How on earth do you look up that Hyacinthoides is a type of flower, and then not mention that it's specifically referring to bluebells?
[X] …What happened to the fox the Hyacinthoides was originally made for? It seemed to be a rather sad tale…
A note on the stats (will vote when i am done work or on lunch.) But Kosuzu's instinct I think should be at 1? It raised by +1 when she became Reimu's foxscarf(tm) for the flight to the warehouse.
And the first part of the update, ouch =( i'm glad Yukari came in for the win there...
Also Shirohime? There's nto a character by that name correct? If not, them i'm guessing its something to do with how that translates out, White Lady? Is that bwcause of her clothing or physical attributes? Though with the deal on top of that i do have 2 candidates, both from Makai... Either ...letsee if i spell this right Sariel(?) Or just straight up to the top and Shiki (for her hair?)
[X] …What happened to the fox the Hyacinthoides was originally made for? It seemed to be a rather sad tale…
>>210843
Ms. "White Princess" is almost certainly Tsukasa, the "Wicked White Fox Who Whispers in Ears."
[X] …What happened to the fox the Hyacinthoides was originally made for? It seemed to be a rather sad tale…
[X] …What happened to the fox the Hyacinthoides was originally made for? It seemed to be a rather sad tale…
[X] …What happened to the fox the Hyacinthoides was originally made for? It seemed to be a rather sad tale…
>>210843
Double checked and Kosuzu started from 0 and had a +1 without other changes so yeah, she should be at Instinct 1 now
The most interesting thing about all this is that Yukari always calls her Suzu (鈴 / Bell) and not Kosuzu (小鈴 / Little bell)
Regarding Shirohime, it could be anyone, but many would say it's Tsukasa due to his clothes and his title.
[X] …What happened to the fox the Hyacinthoides was originally made for? It seemed to be a rather sad tale…
[X] …What happened to the fox the Hyacinthoides was originally made for? It seemed to be a rather sad tale…
I hope we still get time to do what we need to with the artifact. It's really important.
maneki-neko could be shifted around to bake-neko. that's a fairly obvious answer to us readers, so im getting a feeling that asking that one would reward us with a some info like how akyuu first talking to eiki about youki despite us knowing he'll be fine led to more information on go chiyuri.
... but then again, that's just a feeling. and there's another question we've been speculating about for a while now and we can get some answers more pieces of the puzzle to add to the discussion.
[X] …What happened to the fox the Hyacinthoides was originally made for? It seemed to be a rather sad tale…
>Many freshly-shifted will find themselves struggling to master the skills of their new forms, or forced to make awkward facsimiles. And that perception can crumble, rather quickly, given the right influence.
HMMMMM isn't that interesting?
Yeah i was thinking similarly or possibly to avoiding the possibility of it turning out that mayohiga is where the teat tube incident happened and having Kosuzu have a panic attack from being wround the person she thinks put her in there...
I say that but i am probably going to vote that way when i get home and just worry about it all night.
Also anyone else notice that our attention has been drawn to the talisman on her ear twice in quick succession?
And I am wondering if we had admitted to gramps that she "is" a gitsune he'd have shown confusion. (After all, he just pointed out that he's gotten a good look at her mother, i wonder if he would've expressed confusion on if Gitsune could have multiple tails or not.)
Oh she has that title does she? That might explain why he ended up in animal hell rather than old or new hell... How does that work anyway??
[X] The talk of kappa had brought Kosuzu’s mind back to the start of this whole adventure. What about Maneki-neko? Could one of those have something similar happen?
I'm gonna throw out a guess that the plot thread of Kosuzu going from a weaker youkai type to a stronger one is the one Gooboi liked from the Mike/Mamizou route and wanted to work into this route. So I wanna see what that's about.
[X] The talk of kappa had brought Kosuzu’s mind back to the start of this whole adventure. What about Maneki-neko? Could one of those have something similar happen?
We can take a moment to imagine what could have been on the Mike path.
[X] …What happened to the fox the Hyacinthoides was originally made for? It seemed to be a rather sad tale…
Hot fox goss please.
[X] …What happened to the fox the Hyacinthoides was originally made for? It seemed to be a rather sad tale…
If this is what it appears to be, we may unveil at least part of whats going on with Kosuzu.
To be honest, if it is the Kitsune!Kosusu origin, then I still want Tsukasa to have SOME good reason to have taken her away, if only because she should be smart enough not to tempt fate like that.
>> “I don’t know if she found it or brought it, but… it was a dangerous tome. One dealing in forbidden magic. Cruel magic. She encouraged me to use a certain spell, one that would… well, one that would bind an animal spirit to serve as my eyes, while making them almost undetectable to anyone else.”
Interesting...
>> He looked down. “I told Shirohime that I wouldn’t… pursue that magic further. I later realized that all she wanted was to find out it worked… the book was stolen not long after, and the only one besides me who knew it was in Suzunaan was her.”
Another lead for the mystery. I believe it's very plausible Shirohime is Tsukasa like >>210845 says, but I think we can't know for sure yet.
>> “Hyacinthoides Scripta. The codename we were using for the grimoire Ran made. You like it? Even when it seemed like we’d never get that young kitsune to train, she kept working on it.”
So... either there's another fox in play here, or this has huge implications for Tsukasa's role in this whole affair. I'm guessing this will be answered if the secon option wins.
Bluebell ties into two themes: Kosuzu specifically (like asutnima said in >>210850, she's "Small bell") and also the color theme of the Yakumo family (Yukari-purple, Ran-indigo, Chen-orange): Blue comes after indigo in the rainbow.
>>210843
>>210849 was me, I forgot to put Kosu in the name.
>>210854 Good point there. It's stated that she struggled... doing normal kuda-gitsune stuff...
>> As the hole in the wall opened, it was Mayumi who leapt through first, firing on the few wolves immediately around them. Kosuzu and Yumemi clambered through next, the former turning around to yell. “Reimu! Time to go! I’ll cover your escape!”
>> The jidiao took a deep breath, and released one last gout of fire. Kosuzu could see her tilting her head around, likely hoping to catch or drive back the whole pack. Satisfied, Reimu turned and ran for the hole, danmaku and wolves nipping at her heels. One almost managed to make its mark on her leg, before Kosuzu’s shot caused it to dissipate.
>> The jidiao took off as she leapt through the hole, soaring up into the sky. Kosuzu fired a few more rounds at the incoming wolves, before the hole finally started to close again. Reimu yelled down at the group. “Kosuzu, cover our rear! Mayumi, go where you’re needed!”
>> The fox nodded, running as fast as she dared at the back of the pack. She yelled to the Haniwa, who was at the front of the ground-based trio, if still behind Reimu. “Mayumi! What was that liquid stuff?!”
>> The haniwa chuckled. “That’s fuel for a fire!”
>> “Are you trying to burn the building down?!” Yumemi yelled, following close behind the haniwa. “Petroleum’s not gonna be hot enough to melt the infrastructure!”
>> Mayumi shook her head. “The fuel’s only gotta get to the propane tanks I tore holes in.” She flashed a wicked grin. “I’m not trying to burn the building down. I’m trying to blow it up.”
>> Suddenly, the ex-hostage had found a fresh burst of speed, tearing away from the building. Kosuzu took that as a sign that she should speed up too.
Finally managed to look at the wiki for Tsukasa, and yeah, that is her title, and it mentioned that she was blonde too...
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Also regarding my comment about attention being drawn to kosozu's ear and the talisman on it? yeah, I thought it was just Reimu and then Yukari, Grandpa Motoori brought attention to it too!
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[X] …What happened to the fox the Hyacinthoides was originally made for? It seemed to be a rather sad tale…
I am curious about how the Neko option would have turned out? but not at the cost of missing this bit of info as far as I can tell, is there something more to the other option that I am not seeing? could we get a hint of why we might want to pick that option over this one Gooboi?
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>>210858
I think I figured it out...
>And… she encouraged me to use the magics from a certain book.”
>I don’t know if she found it or brought it, but… it was a dangerous tome. One dealing in forbidden magic. Cruel magic. She encouraged me to use a certain spell, one that would… well, one that would bind an animal spirit to serve as my eyes, while making them almost undetectable to anyone else.”
>“I told Shirohime that I wouldn’t… pursue that magic further. I later realized that all she wanted was to find out it worked… the book was stolen not long after, and the only one besides me who knew it was in Suzunaan was her.”
Its The Book.
"Shirohime" got the book, but I'm guessing that she couldn't get it to work after she stole it, and if Gramps wasn't willing to use it for her... then just like the book, she was the only one other than Grandpa to know where one more Motoori that the village wouldn't miss that was able to read it was. (and she would have hit the jackpot if that was the case thanks to Kosuzu's ability.
though the weakness to this theory is in that case, why hasn't she gotten Kosuzu to use it yet? is it related to the cost?
Though if she was able to get at least the one spell Grandpa figured out working... then we're in trouble, as she is probably seeing everything in the library right now!
Wait, if Shirohime and Tsukasa are one and the same, what was she doing with a book on forbidden magic? Maybe Seiga had something to do with that, too?
[X] …What happened to the fox the Hyacinthoides was originally made for? It seemed to be a rather sad tale…
>> “It’s a bit tricky to get to both places in any reasonable time.” Reimu said, shrugging. “The library is about as far from the industrial district as possible.”
>> Mayumi nodded. “Would it be worth splitting up, then?”
>> The jidiao shook her head. “It’s… a bit early for that, I think. There may be retaliation from the Keiga. Better to stick together, just in case.”
>> She turned to the two potentially needing directions. Yumemi was pleading with her… but Kosuzu was hitting her full-force with the puppy dog look. Tail limp, ears back... everything short of actually becoming a pup. And Reimu had always struggled to resist her. “And with that in mind… I think it’s best if we go to the Library first.” Well, if she had even a hunch of who that librarian was, that was an absolute priority anyways.
Counting to >>210863:
Main Choice:
[3] The talk of kappa had brought Kosuzu’s mind back to the start of this whole adventure. What about Maneki-neko? Could one of those have something similar happen?
[17] …What happened to the fox the Hyacinthoides was originally made for? It seemed to be a rather sad tale…
:3
that we know of. we have whomever the Immaterial Children were sent back to stop that we don't have a clue of yet. (though when I posted >>210861 that was my first clue as to a motivation as to why Tsukasa would attempt to kitnap someone from the Yakumos! Not a SMART motivation one mind you so it might not be it, but something other than someone we don't know of ordered her to. it depends just how strong the spells in that tome are. Kosuzu even says
>With a spell like that, there’d be no need for a tube-fox at all.
though that wording is weird, in that case, why would a Tube Fox want it...?
(it isn't the necronomicon that Marisa finds in chapter 1 of FS is it?)
>>210864
This look can induce heart attacks. Good art!
I really didn’t think it was important at the time, but looking at it in hindsight, it’s a pretty blatant link to Kosuzu. Thanks for correcting me.
At this point the Ran implications are coming on so thick I'm starting to think it's a red herring.
[3] The talk of kappa had brought Kosuzu’s mind back to the start of this whole adventure. What about Maneki-neko? Could one of those have something similar happen?
[17] …What happened to the fox the Hyacinthoides was originally made for? It seemed to be a rather sad tale…
Kosuzu turned her head back to the gap Youkai. “Lady Yukari?”
“Mmmm?” Yukari turned, giving her a small smile. …Then, her eyes suddenly narrowed. “Kosuzu, are you alright?”
“Huh?” Kosuzu blinked. “What do you mean?”
“For a moment there…” Yukari sighed. “...No, nevermind. Not now, at least.”
“..Uh, okay…?”…After a moment, Kosuzu continued with her original thought. “I… wanted to ask about the Hi, Hiyacinthatha… Bleh! …Ran’s Grimoire.”
The sage chuckled at Kosuzu’s stumbles. “Ah, yes? What were you curious about, Suzu?” …Whatever concern Yukari might have had the moment before was now either dismissed, or expertly hidden. “The construction of the book? The magic cast on it, maybe?”
“Actually… I was curious about its owner.” Kosuzu looked over the book again. “The fox it was originally made for. …Is it okay if I ask what happened to them?”
Yukari took a deep breath. Kosuzu started to stammer, a bit of dread starting to build in her. Oh no, this wasn’t like Grampa’s story, was it? “U-um, if you don’t want to-”
“...I don’t, but… you do deserve to know.” Yukari took a few more moments, slowing slightly. “...That little fox was Ran’s kit, actually.”
Kosuzu gasped. “Ran’s… child?”
Yukari nodded. “Mmmm. It happened as a bit of a confluence of events. Ran’s always been the maternal type - as anyone who’s seen her with Chen knows - and while investigating a particular incident, she found herself driven to try taking it further.” She looked out, over the library. “I agreed, with… a caveat. That any child born would be kept a close-knit secret, for as long as was feasible. And at least trained to make an potential shikigami, if they had the appropriate aptitudes and affinity.”
The young bookkeeper tilted her head. “Why?”
“...Well, I’d like to say… that it was for the kit’s own good. That the best way to prevent someone striking at the most vulnerable was for them to not even know there was someone to strike at.” Yukari sighed. “...But that was not how matters played out, in the end.”
“Ran naturally had an extended leave of absence - one that I refused to divulge the meaning of to anyone. Naturally, my most loyal shikigami disappearing immediately in the wake of such an incident was concerning.” Yukari scowled. “We ended up attracting no small amount of attention, but… as long as they didn’t know what the truth was… we hoped the child would still be safe.”
They started to climb down the steps, to the next level. Kosuzu took a moment to choose her next words carefully. “When… did it happen?”
Yukari looked up. “The kit’s third winter. Long enough for me to get a touch lazier about my precautions, maybe. A single youkai stole in and took the young fox. And that is where my shikigami came undone.”
She raised her two pointer fingers, placing them side-by-side. “Ran is… normally, about as perfect as a shikigami can get. And that’s because the shikigami program and the kitsune are in perfect alignment, only augmenting each other’s goals. But… I slightly miscalculated how Ran would react if her child was stolen.” The two fingers split, slightly. “She rushed out to chase after them in a panic, fearful of the little one’s fate. And while the Shikigami factored in capture, punishment, and her own well-being… the kitsune was solely worried about the child’s safety.”
“It may seem like a small distinction, but it was the one type of difference Ran couldn’t handle. The shikigami would propose an attack that had a miniscule chance of the child being harmed as a result, and the kitsune would reject it outright. The kitsune would see a chance to rush for the child by throwing herself through some trees, and the shikigami would pull back from a high risk of grievous injury.” The gap between her fingers got wider and wider. “Each difference weakened her synchronicity, and her power with it. Ran… lost complete control of herself.”
Kosuzu looked up, nervously. “She… didn’t hurt the child, did she?”
The sage sighed. “No. Ultimately, when her rage had completely overwhelmed her… the vile thief vanished, without a trace. Ran desperately tried to pick up the trail, but if there were any leads… she didn’t find them. …She was out so long that the one who actually woke me up was Chen, having awoken the following morning to find no hint of either fox. And by then, no tracks of the scum remained.”
Kosuzu looked down. That such a thing could happen… “Is Ran… did she ever find her kid?”
“...No, she hasn’t yet found them. She has searched, though, ever since. For any trace of the child’s whereabouts.” They finished descending the ladder, Yukari turning to the young fox. “The hope that the kit is still alive is all that’s keeping her together. …At times, I worry she blames herself more than the kidnapper.”
Kosuzu looked up. “Sh-she shouldn’t do that! It isn’t her fault if someone did something like that...”
Yukari… had a small smile creep up on her face. “You know, I’d imagine she’d have much the same to say to a certain young fox after her own actions earlier.” The sly look Kosuzu got made her blush. “But yes, you’re right. As much as she could be said to have made her mistakes that night, they were only the actions of a desperate, panicked mother, without a stabilizing hand to help her. It is ultimately the wretch who acted upon my oversight. If there is only one of them, that is.”
Kosuzu blinked, as the older youkai sighed, rubbing her head. “There’s still… too many questions. Why did they do it? Did they act alone, or did they have an accomplice? And… how did they vanish into the night? Until I have those answers, Ran’s child could be right in front of me and I still would have my hands tied.”
Kosuzu’s ears flicked back. “Because… you don’t know if you can protect them from the culprits…?”
For a moment, Kosuzu could see it. The weight of years on the youkai before her. “…I do not lack for those who may wish me or my shikigami ill, after all. If I act rashly to reclaim the child, and don’t rip the problem out at its roots… the retaliation might be even more cruel, to say nothing of the possibility that what I see may only be the surface. If I tell anyone else about the child, and they prove to be aligned with the kidnappers - or seek out Ran’s kid for their own ends?” She wilted, sagging in exhaustion. “...And yet, I can’t help but see parallels to how this all started…”
Kosuzu reached out, putting her hand on Yukari’s side. The elder youkai gave a weary smile, before pulling herself together. “Of course, this is all to stay secret, for now. Not to put too fine a point on it, but half of your little circle is gossips, and the other half can’t keep a secret to save their life. But now… you know a secret even the Hakurei doesn’t know.” She put a finger to her lips, and Kosuzu did the same. “Now… come on. Your friends are waiting.”
Kosuzu looked over, in the direction of the table. “...Lady Yukari? If you find the kit, would you want me to give the book back?”
“Ahhhh, well…” Yukari smirked. “Don’t lose too much sleep on such matters. We’ll talk about that when the time comes.”
As soon as the fox rounded the corner, she was set upon by a dragon. She flailed, stumbling for balance as the shrine maiden put her off-kilter.
“Sorry for worrying you.” The other girls and grampa were not far behind her. “I just… It’s a long story, and I’m really not ready to tell it yet.”
Mayumi stepped up. “...My apologies if my actions played any part in your emotional turmoil. I only wanted to reunite you - I never considered the possibility-”
“It’s fine, Mayumi.” She smiled. “Thank you for bringing me here. And… I’m sorry if I worried you, Grampa.”
She bowed, but the old man’s look of concern didn’t fade. “...Are you okay now, Kosuzu?”
Kosuzu shook her head, slowly. “...Not quite yet. There’s things that have happened that… that I’m not ready to tell the Motoori family.” She took a deep breath, and looked him dead in the eyes. “But… I’ve got a path to fix it. And once I’m on the way to fixing it, I’ll come clean, I promise.”
Grampa nodded, slowly. “Alright. Well, whenever you’re ready to talk about it, I’m here.”
Kosuzu stepped closer, giving him a hug. …This would be okay. When she was a kitsune, she’d apologize for lying to him, heart and soul.
Yumemi came in to hug her, too. “...Whatever’s going on in your head, Kosuzu… you’re the reason I got out of that warehouse safely. If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know, okay?” The fox nodded, smiling at her.
Reimu took Kosuzu’s hand. “We’ve got a bit of time before dinner, so how about we spend a bit more time reading before we go? And don’t worry, we’ve set it up so these books are officially borrowed. You can even take them home, if you want.”
Kosuzu grinned. “Yeah, I might just have to… I wanna learn all I can.” A bit of doubt began to worm in her… but Reimu seemed to catch on, piping up in her support.
[ ] “If you need any help, we’re here for you.”
[ ] “Don’t worry. You’re gonna get stronger.”
[ ] (Write-in)
{ } Well, now she had the books, all she had to do was study the hairpin and see how she could replicate it. It would likely be a complicated process, and she doubted she’d get more than a rudimentary understanding tonight, but… kuda-gitsune or no, it was a powerful tool to have.
{ } Despite borrowing the books on the artifact, Kosuzu turned her attention back to the chapters Yukari had bookmarked in Ran’s Grimoire. She wanted to learn more fox magic, as soon as possible, and the spells on sound control were already giving her ideas.
{ } On the other hand, the sealing spells could be intriguing. Perhaps it would have been undermined by the wicked hermit, but now the best tool the Keiga could have used against it was sitting on the table in front of her.
{X} Despite borrowing the books on the artifact, Kosuzu turned her attention back to the chapters Yukari had bookmarked in Ran’s Grimoire. She wanted to learn more fox magic, as soon as possible, and the spells on sound control were already giving her ideas.
Let's just say I have a sneaking suspicion that we already own the most useful book we could possibly have.
Also, I'm looking forwards to Kosuzu's reaction when she figures out who Ran's missing kit is.
... and I forgot to vote on the first choice. Oops.
Continuation of >>210872, then:
[X] "Don't worry. You're gonna get stronger."
I don't think Kosuzu's worried about Reimu being there for her. She trusts the shrine maiden implicitly. It's her own abilities she's concerned about, and that's the proper area to reassure her in.
I'd say this makes the kitnapper Kudamaki theory all but confirmed, or at least the core of it. Still a lot of open questions.
Of course, there's also the possibility that this is all a massive misdirection / red herring of some sort, but that's looking less likely about now.
{X} Despite borrowing the books on the artifact, Kosuzu turned her attention back to the chapters Yukari had bookmarked in Ran’s Grimoire. She wanted to learn more fox magic, as soon as possible, and the spells on sound control were already giving her ideas.
As long as she learns more things about Kitsune, it will be better for Kosuzu.
>>Kosuzu looked over, in the direction of the table. “...Lady Yukari? If you find the kit, would you want me to give the book back?”
>>“Ahhhh, well…” Yukari smirked. “Don’t lose too much sleep on such matters. We’ll talk about that when the time comes.”
Well... Yukari also begins to believe that she has found Ran's lost child.
So the town that Kosuzu mentioned was Mayohiga and the traps there were for Tsukasa?
>“Mmmm?” Yukari turned, giving her a small smile. …Then, her eyes suddenly narrowed. “Kosuzu, are you alright?”
>“Huh?” Kosuzu blinked. “What do you mean?”
>“For a moment there…” Yukari sighed. “...No, nevermind. Not now, at least.”
...Yukari just sensed Tsukasa using Kosuzu's eyes via that spell didn't she?
Will vote later.
at this point the immaterial children so far either have 3 moms (yachie, keiki, and haru for reimu, ran, tsukasa, and mrs. motoori for kosuzu) or no moms (akyuu was born from a vat and the reiuji/konpaku twins had the rest of their clutch and presumably their mother eaten by a hellhound). go big or go home, i guess.
[X] "Don't worry, you're gonna get stronger."
picking at random here, might change this later.
{X} Despite borrowing the books on the artifact, Kosuzu turned her attention back to the chapters Yukari had bookmarked in Ran’s Grimoire. She wanted to learn more fox magic, as soon as possible, and the spells on sound control were already giving her ideas.
i think most (if not all) of us can say our faith in tsukasa is completely lost by now. we still need a stealth specialist to balance out reimu and mayumi (and quite possibly yumemi if she joins us), though. i say even if tsukasa kit-napped us, we still picked up a few things from her and i don't see why we should let it go to waste.
[X] "Don't worry, you're gonna get stronger."
{X} Despite borrowing the books on the artifact, Kosuzu turned her attention back to the chapters Yukari had bookmarked in Ran’s Grimoire. She wanted to learn more fox magic, as soon as possible, and the spells on sound control were already giving her ideas.
This, I believe, is the spite Tsukasa option. Seriously, the moment the characters find out what’s going on, we are telling Yukari, and then dropping the bitch in front of her. I imagine she can come up with far better torture methods than we can, and it would be a nice bit of catharsis for her.
>>210877
And Marisa will probably have a youkai mom, her human mom and Mima.
[X] "Don't worry, you're gonna get stronger."
{X} Despite borrowing the books on the artifact, Kosuzu turned her attention back to the chapters Yukari had bookmarked in Ran’s Grimoire. She wanted to learn more fox magic, as soon as possible, and the spells on sound control were already giving her ideas.
[X] “If you need any help, we’re here for you.”
The other one is probably more what Kosuzu wants to hear, but it feels more in-character to me for Reimu - most especially this Reimu - to avoid encouraging potentially-toxic individualism in people other than herself, favouring instead reminders that Kosuzu has friends and support now that she can rely on and be relied upon by.
I should probably figure out a write-in to emphasize the mutual nature of that, because I think Kosuzu's gonna hear this as-is as pretty backhanded, but I'm not immensely emotionally sensitive, so I'll take some time to think on it.
{X} On the other hand, the sealing spells could be intriguing. Perhaps it would have been undermined by the wicked hermit, but now the best tool the Keiga could have used against it was sitting on the table in front of her.
Last time we had this choice, I thought, "hey, we have a grimoire of Yakumo magic, we should focus on the stuff that deals in gaps and boundaries, that's their specialty!" Now we have even more reason to want Kosuzu to be more like her dear old (probably-)Real Mom.
>>210880
Oh, wait, duh. There's a perfect conversational cliche for exactly that purpose.
Adding:
-[X] "I know you'd do the same for me."
Plot twist: Tsukasa had stolen the kit which meant that Kosuzu was a kitsune all along (which would also explain why Tsukasa would not talk about her father) (ofc that's my headcannon)
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[X] “If you need any help, we’re here for you.”
{X} Well, now she had the books, all she had to do was study the hairpin and see how she could replicate it. It would likely be a complicated process, and she doubted she’d get more than a rudimentary understanding tonight, but… kuda-gitsune or no, it was a powerful tool to have.
[X] “If you need any help, we’re here for you.”
-[X] "I know you'd do the same for me."
>>210881
sounds pretty good and will help a lot to trust her friends and herself.
[X] "If you need any help, we're here for you."
-[X] "I know you'd do the same for me."
{X} Despite borrowing the books on the artifact, Kosuzu turned her attention back to the chapters Yukari had bookmarked in Ran’s Grimoire. She wanted to learn more fox magic, as soon as possible, and the spells on sound control were already giving her ideas.
>>210882
Don't worry, I think a lot of us are thinking it.
So perhaps Kosuzu's flashback of her and Tsukasa running away from someone really was Tsukasa taking her away from Ran. And it's possible the reason why she saw Ran as a hands monster was because of her shikigami programming interfering with her instincts as a kitsune.
[X] “If you need any help, we’re here for you.”
-[X] "I know you'd do the same for me."
{X} On the other hand, the sealing spells could be intriguing. Perhaps it would have been undermined by the wicked hermit, but now the best tool the Keiga could have used against it was sitting on the table in front of her.
Still trying to figure out why Tsukasa would kitnap from the Yakumos of all people. While I don't have the best understanding of her character, she does seem to prefer playing both sides for her own benefit. If she were to kitnap from them, I imagine she would have waited a bit for the heat to die down, and then act like she found the kit to try and get in their good graces. I can't really understand why she would keep her around and raise her for 10 years. The risk of the Yakumo's wrath far out weighs the benefit of spiting them and having to raise a kid, at least to me, but I'm not Tsukasa, so who knows what her priorities are.
[X] “If you need any help, we’re here for you.”
- [X] "I know you'd do the same for me."
Wanted to add a write-in of my own, but I think this one is also very good.
>>210880
i see your point on avoiding kosuzu becoming individualistic. would also serve to ruin tsukasa's grip on kosuzu even further by actually letting her put her trust in and relying on others, growing her social circle and undoing the nasty controlling stuff. plus i'm always down for some fluff! kosuzu deserves it before we shatter her worldview entirely and pull the rug out from under her by pushing her to discover that her "mother" stole her from the yakumos.
anyways, >>210877 here, changing my vote:
[UNDO] "Don't worry, you're gonna get stronger."
[X] “If you need any help, we’re here for you.”
- [X] "I know you'd do the same for me."
on another note, this caught my attention while i was re-reading:
> and while investigating a particular incident, she found herself driven to try taking it further.
it's a small detail and i don't know how much it'll matter in the end, but i have a feeling that the incident mentioned were the first instances of the immaterial child incident. timelines match up with kosuzu being the youngest out of the initial five (both youki and kosuzu's grandpa said that the motooris were the last family to report an immaterial child) and with both the hakurei and hieda involved, ran would absolutely be invovled in investigating and probably was on the scene early. and since the matter revolved around children, she had a lot of time to contemplate on maybe having one of her own. the perfect position for a little nudge in fate.
I'm not sure of the first vote myself right now... On two fronts:
Firstly, Kosuzu has been feeling like she isn't enough. ("A useless tube fox" or something to that effect.) That is dragging the others down. Part of her introduction/possible voting options was her happy for the chance to step up to stand beside Reimu and the others.
Secondly. I'm pretty sure Tsukasa is using Kosuzu's eyes to spy on the conversations right now. And she will probably when she finds a chance to isolate Kosuzu from the rest, even momentarily, try to use whatever is said here against her. And from the sounds of things has been telling Kosuzu she is too weak and useless to stand beside her friends for a long time. The "I know you will do the same." Writein sounds a little in the right direction to mitigate the base vote, but i am not sure it is enough...
[X] "Don't worry, you're gonna get stronger."
{X} Despite borrowing the books on the artifact, Kosuzu turned her attention back to the chapters Yukari had bookmarked in Ran’s Grimoire. She wanted to learn more fox magic, as soon as possible, and the spells on sound control were already giving her ideas.
We'll probably have time for the artifsct soon. I agree with the sentiment of building Kosuzu up.
In my opinion, Yukari doesn't only suspect Kosuzu is Ran's child, she absolutely knows it's her but she just can't say it outright for now:
>> "...If I act rashly to reclaim the child, and don’t rip the problem out at its roots... the retaliation might be even more cruel, to say nothing of the possibility that what I see may only be the surface..."
[X] “If you need any help, we’re here for you.”
-[X] "I know you'd do the same for me."
{X} Despite borrowing the books on the artifact, Kosuzu turned her attention back to the chapters Yukari had bookmarked in Ran’s Grimoire. She wanted to learn more fox magic, as soon as possible, and the spells on sound control were already giving her ideas.
I agree Kosuzu has the more important book right now and I want her to learn the most she can from that book, the hairpin can wait for a bit.
The only part that really worries me, is that if Tsukasa really does have the ability to see through Kosuzu's eyes, she has a backdoor on the book even if she can't access it herself. Meaning that she could be learning the tricks in there through her "daughter"'s eyes. And that's trouble.
>> Reimu chuckled. “Well, if we’re talking haircuts, you’ve changed yours, haven’t you? Made me even more worried when I saw you like that.”
>> “...Well… last time I remember seeing you like that, you were possessed.” Kosuzu’s eyes blinked, as she flashed back. Oh, yeah… that whole ordeal with the Night Parade Scroll. “Made me worry you were getting haunted or something.”
Reimu was onto something.
[X] "Don't worry, you're gonna get stronger."
{X} Despite borrowing the books on the artifact, Kosuzu turned her attention back to the chapters Yukari had bookmarked in Ran’s Grimoire. She wanted to learn more fox magic, as soon as possible, and the spells on sound control were already giving her ideas.
[X] “If you need any help, we’re here for you.”
-[X] "I know you'd do the same for me."
{X} Despite borrowing the books on the artifact, Kosuzu turned her attention back to the chapters Yukari had bookmarked in Ran’s Grimoire. She wanted to learn more fox magic, as soon as possible, and the spells on sound control were already giving her ideas.
:3
[X] "If you need any help, we're here for you."
-[X] "I know you'd do the same for me."
{X} Despite borrowing the books on the artifact, Kosuzu turned her attention back to the chapters Yukari had bookmarked in Ran’s Grimoire. She wanted to learn more fox magic, as soon as possible, and the spells on sound control were already giving her ideas.
I think at least a few people are voting for the sound spells for the sake of learning more from/getting closer to (in a sense) Ran, in which case, wouldn't the seals option be even better? I'm pretty sure that's also from the Hyacinthoides - sound and seals were the two options we didn't pick last time Kosuzu had a chance to study it, and it lines up better with where Ran's own specialties lie.
[X] "Don't worry, you're gonna get stronger."
{X} Despite borrowing the books on the artifact, Kosuzu turned her attention back to the chapters Yukari had bookmarked in Ran’s Grimoire. She wanted to learn more fox magic, as soon as possible, and the spells on sound control were already giving her ideas.
Ran is absolutely going to murder Tsukasa if this isn't a red herring.
[X] “If you need any help, we’re here for you.”
-[X] "I know you'd do the same for me."
{X} On the other hand, the sealing spells could be intriguing. Perhaps it would have been undermined by the wicked hermit, but now the best tool the Keiga could have used against it was sitting on the table in front of her.
[X] "Don't worry, you're gonna get stronger."
{X} Despite borrowing the books on the artifact, Kosuzu turned her attention back to the chapters Yukari had bookmarked in Ran’s Grimoire. She wanted to learn more fox magic, as soon as possible, and the spells on sound control were already giving her ideas.
Realistically the only danger I can see studying the book more is that Tsukasa could either try taking advantage of the contents (by using Kosuzu's eyes) or would panic about her 10 year investment going away in front of her eyes and rush to try and salvage something. Meanwhile studying the book more probably plays into assisting Kosuzu's (re)transformation into a Kitsune.
Tsukasa's best hope is probably Kosuzu arguing in her defense, ironically enough. That plus ratting out whoever gave her the hairbrained idea to kidnap Kosuzu in the first place should be enough to leave her maimed but still technically alive.
Of course, at this point the speculation probably goes down to WHO put her up to this. Avoiding the speculation that its either member of the Probability Space Vessel, the most likely options are
- One of Yukari's many enemies. Keeping them as one group because all of their motivation would be relatively the same, the primary target would be to make sure that Yukari doesn't get any stronger from the addition of another powerful Shikigami to her ranks. The issue I can see is that most of her enemies wouldn't work through Tsukasa if they really wanted to deal with Kosuzu to weaken Yukari.
- Mysterious Incident Causer. Whoever caused the incident caused Kosuzu to be kidnapped to prevent more youkai at the powerlevel of the Paradox Children from showing up and possibly foiling their plans. Assuming their own limitations prevent them from taking direct action that far into the past, an acceptable backup could be having Tsukasa kidnap Kosuzu and sabotage her potential by changing her into a Tube Fox. The issue with this is that its probably a bit early for the mastermind to start showing up, but bypasses the strangeness of using Tsukasa to do the deed.
Of course, Tsukasa may of just chosen to do this at the promise of getting a Kitsune under her thumb (not knowing that overtime Kosuzu would become a Tube Fox due to the boundary effect), but Greed in itself seems TOO likely for as savvy of a sneak like Tsukasa.
[X] "Don't worry, you're gonna get stronger."
-[X]You've already been so Wonderful so far!
continuing from my post in >>210891 , I'm pretty sure that M.Kosuzu already knows very well that Reimu and the others will be there for her (Reimu has said as such already after Kosuzu told her of the time she got trapped in a test tube. >>209961)... but she thinks that she either isn't going to be there for them, or worse, drag them down with her presence... and it seems encounter after encounter that has been drilled into her...
but let's look at what she managed already in one day"
(and mind you I an saying this as probably one of the more vocal against voting her to be a Fox during the first vote of the arc)
Less than a minute after she was out of sight of the lobby she spots an opening in the Kichou defences, and then less than 5 minutes if not less than 3 minutes since she left everyone’s sight, Kosuzu is sitting smack dab right in the middle of the Kichou family's most valuable secret.
Which to re-emphasize, this is the Kichou family she pulled this off on. Not only that, but a Kichou family still fresh from the Yuuma debacle and thus still in the mindset to be on the lookout for someone trying to outsneak them… and Kosuzu walked through their defenses like they never existed*
And then she faces down Seiga head on, and manages to stagger her in one shot! (and that is after Kosuzu puts together a plan that neutralizes Yoshika without alerting anyone!)
She has been Awesome and yet she thinks that she hasn’t done anything, REIMU! Set the Record Straight!!!
Also as stated in the previous post I’m pretty sure Tsukasa is going to try to undermine Kosuzu when they next meet up… from what I can tell, Tsukasa has long ago dug deep into attacking Kosuzu’s personal worth. Its not others failing Kosuzu that she is worried about, its things like what she was told happened with Megumi, of Kosuzu failing them that is the target of Tsukasa. Convincing her that is isn’t, and hasn’t I think is the successful option.
I used “wonderful for the write in to build off of ‘wonderful shrine maiden of paradise” but I’m not sure if there is a better word that H. or H. Reimu would use…
*Man I wonder how those three otter spirits are feeling right now, Reimu is pretty close to a lot of them, and they seems to adore their little dragon princess in return, and then just a little over a month later, and she was this close to being endangered again, and it was their fault!
As for the other vote…
{X} On the other hand, the sealing spells could be intriguing. Perhaps it would have been undermined by the wicked hermit, but now the best tool the Keiga could have used against it was sitting on the table in front of her.
Bit more Ran magic, as the vote states, the best counter for it has been removed… and I am still convinced that Kosuzu is being spied on using her own eyes… I think the other two options stand a chance of being used against her. Seals are I think a bit further out from Tsukasa’s grasp and thus might not be used against Kosuzu in what I feel is the oncoming confrontation.
Bit too long of a post already, will post some replies later.
[X] “If you need any help, we’re here for you.”
-[X] "I know you'd do the same for me."
{X} Well, now she had the books, all she had to do was study the hairpin and see how she could replicate it. It would likely be a complicated process, and she doubted she’d get more than a rudimentary understanding tonight, but… kuda-gitsune or no, it was a powerful tool to have.
The longer it takes us to Replicate the hairpin the longer Seiga has her sight on us (we should get rid of wicked hermit agro as fast as we can).
Also IF Tsukasa is Shirohime and is using the forbidden spell to spy, what do we want to give her 1) Kitsune level magic or 2) a powerful tool? I think giving her a tool is the lesser of 2 evils. I am unsure if she is Shirohime and if so if she would use the spell herself since with Kosuzu Grandfather she didn't want to use it herself and had someone else use it for her. This tells me Shirohime doesn't want to suffer the consequences of using that spell.
I am still holding out a little hope that Tsukasa is Kosuzu's mother but it is looking less and less likely. If Tsukasa is Shirohime and stole Kosuzu from Ran that means that she knew the Kosuzu was one of the Immaterial Child when she stole her. IF that is all true she might have stole Kosuzu to find out what caused the Immaterial Child incident or did it for someone who was looking into it.
>>210902
>> what do we want to give her 1) Kitsune level magic or 2) a powerful tool?
I had the same thought before deciding to actually use the book, because we're looking at some stuff that Kosuzu will find useful and doesn't give Tsukasa a lot of an advantage (sound manipulation).
In my head using the book drifts Kosuzu further from Tsukasa while not giving her something actually useful to her (like sealing does) or the means to replicate the tool (there's the risk of Tsukasa stealing the hairpin before Kosuzu can analyze it, though).
Counting to >>210902:
Main Choice #1:
[13] “If you need any help, we’re here for you.”
[7] “Don’t worry. You’re gonna get stronger.”
Main Choice #2:
{2} Well, now she had the books, all she had to do was study the hairpin and see how she could replicate it. It would likely be a complicated process, and she doubted she’d get more than a rudimentary understanding tonight, but… kuda-gitsune or no, it was a powerful tool to have.
{13} Despite borrowing the books on the artifact, Kosuzu turned her attention back to the chapters Yukari had bookmarked in Ran’s Grimoire. She wanted to learn more fox magic, as soon as possible, and the spells on sound control were already giving her ideas.
{4} On the other hand, the sealing spells could be intriguing. Perhaps it would have been undermined by the wicked hermit, but now the best tool the Keiga could have used against it was sitting on the table in front of her.
Potential Additions:
For [x] "If you need any help...:
-[12] "I know you'd do the same for me." (>>210881, >>210884, >>210885, >>210886, >>210887, >>210889, >>210890, >>210893, >>210895, >>210896, >>210899, >>210902)
For [x] "Don't worry...:
-[1] You've already been so wonderful so far! (>>210901)
:3
>>210903
I didn't think of that. I will try putting a little more thought into this.
to build on this and to make my guess on the timeline here:
-we're about a year or so into the Immaterial children incident, having hte Hakurei heir be one of them would put the Yakumos on the case pretty much on the get go. though I would guess that even with them the investigation wouldn't get anywhere until Akyuu became the next one. at which point either Yukari was either told (<.< or more likely Spied on...) Eiki saying that the souls had been redirected from their intended destination.
-so with that in mind the hand of Fate prompts Ran to think... well if that's the case and there is possibly one more... can we set things up so that we end up with one of them. makes the suggestion to Yukari, and it works.
-BUT mr. Motoori in grief over his lost Grandaughter is convinced by totally Tsukasa Shirohime to use a spell to use a beast youkai's eyes... which I am guessing was Chen's... to see where Kosuzu ended up. (perhaps ~1 year after Kosuzu was born.)
though that does introduce a wrinkle here: did Yukari Tell Haru about this? or had she sat on this for the three years? (it could go either way. they had Kosuzu, but well she was a baby and couldn't say jack squat. so they had been waiting to see when she was older to see if there was memories or something... and then she was taken. OR Haru is going to be Greatly Upset with the Yakumos in one of the upcoming epilogues...)
but Tsukasa is a tube fox, and solidly one at that. Would she be able to steal and use the sealing magic? I would guess that she would have greater luck with the sound magic than a Ran special?
and speaking of Tsukasa, do we have a plan for what to do When Tsukasa tries to verbally undermine what Reimu says here? I can see how she will try to undermine the "We're here for you" option. being something along the lines of "but you aren't strong enough to actually stand with them, not without dragging them down that is, like you almost did to poor Megumi." heck, if Tsukasa has been spying through Kosuzu, she could use the caar chase as another example. which Kosuzu already feels guilty about.
for the "you'll get stronger" option, I can see her trying to directly attack with "no you won't get stronger." but I can see Kosuzu being able to see her growth in that able to counter that... is there something you guys can see that Tsukasa could say to undermine it?
Really the most troubling thing about the timeline is that Shirohime had the instinct to look for Kosuzu of all of the Immaterial Children. While its possible that she knew that none of the other family would go through as much trouble as Grandpa Motoori to get some sign of the Immaterial Children, it could also indicate that someone had fed intelligence on which family was most likely to produce a useful hit.
The net result is a immaterial child that hasn't been groomed from birth as a combat/mystic monster under the resources of a sage of Gensokyo.
Assuming its the Pyre Mastermind (working through Tsukasa), it creates an even bigger headache because it means we have at least 1 more time traveller feeding intel about the identities of the Immaterial Children to give themselves the advantage in the final incident conflict. We already had some idea that they were present at this point (how else would Tsukasa have made the delivery of the Stone Cherry to Suwako), but having intel from the future means we can expect further escalation to try and derail the Immaterial Children and Paradox Pair.
There was a 2ish-3 year gap between grandpa motoori using the spell to find Kosuzu and her kidnapping. And the book also is a factor here
I have two ideas on that, either 1: going against the theory that this is a move from the pyre mastermind, and instead this is all focussed on the book. Shirohime gets grandpa motoori to use the book to help her figure it out... But a couple of years it she gets stymied on it and needs someone from the motoori family to read it... And hey she knows where one is. (Or also she needed someone to act as her eyes elsewhere for the spell she does know.)
Or B: The book was the payment the mastermind gives Shirohime. And the reason to go after Kosuzu might not need as much instinct. Yukari pointed out that Ran disappeared right around when Kosuzu wasn't born where she was supposed to. Which she even said attracted a lot of attention. And while she said that they managed to not have anyone know the truth... Except we know that is not the case. Grandpa knew... And so did Shirohime. So there would be a possibility of the culprit would have a strong suspicion that Ran ended up with Kosuzu. Which was then confirmed thanks to that spell. The next question is why the delay following. It sounds like the kitnapping happened right when Yukari let down her guard slightly... Was Shirohime using the spell often to tell when she could grab Kosuzu, intending to do so from the start, or did something emerge a couple of years later that made grabbing Kosuzu a priority?
And if it is Kosuzu's father from this timeline who is behind the kidnapping?, after all Ran was investigating about IC and the only one who could know anything would be his partner.
She was away out of the public eye to take care of her daughter and the Motoori grandfather as mentioned asked him to use the spell that binds animal spirits to make them her eyes so it is possible that someone from the animal realm is involved in this.
Now why didn't tsukasa give her back to kosuzu her "father", well she has always acted as a double agent but always getting some benefit during th18 and 19 and she saw it better to have her as a tool apart from the fact that she can use that spell to have others extra eyes when she worked.
The trouble here is (assuming this isn't the mother of all red foxes herrings) that we know the who and what, but the why of it is still a mystery.
The cui bono is still vague. Did Tsukasa need a subordinate spy? If so, why would it have to be Kosuzu? Wouldn't anyone else still work? Why would she undergo such a massive risk? What benefit has she extracted from this action? Is she working for someone else? If so, who and why? Was she threatened? Was she promised something? If it is the hypothetical Pyre Mastermind (which I personally doubt), why take such a vague and long-term approach? If she's working alone, doesn't that add even more enigmas? Was she really after something else, but took Kosuzu - out of spite? As a mistake? Jealousy? Maybe it was a Yondu-type situation, where she was hired to kitnap baby Kozusu, but either couldn't or wouldn't deliver to the final client?
We’ve got a lot of assumptions here.
For one, if the goal was to have Kosuzu use the evil book, why was she so convinced she couldn’t even do fox magic? And wouldn’t she have reacted more specifically to Grampa’s story?
For two, can Tsukasa see through Kosuzu’s eyes? The way the spell is described to me sounds more like some sort of necromancy, killing an animal and binding its spirit in some way. With him describing his hands as being stained with sin, that sounds like they were bloody or something like that. And Motoori mentions seeing both Kosuzu and her mother, which means the only option for binding would have been Chen - who already has a shikigami spell on her.
And assuming that Tsukasa is looking through Kosuzu’s eyes regardless, wouldn’t she have reacted a lot sooner to Yukari appearing and giving her Ran’s book?
Back on the matter of the vote, I see a few comparisons between this vote and the car chase vote. we have the rely on the others option which we took the last time which kept G___ at the same level. vs the vote that would have had Kosuzu actively help.
there was a write in there too (which might've been what stopped it from gaining a point?)
Just throwing it out there to see if I can chance some votes towards giving Kosuzu some confidence in her ability to help her friends herself.
It would be kind of sad if all the things people assume Tsukasa is doing as part of a calculated program of abuse and gaslighting are actually just the infliction of generational trauma.
> Until I have those answers, Ran’s child could be right in front of me and I still would have my hands tied.
Really Yukari… right in front you say.
As much as I want to dive into the book, I’m having some worries with the entire possible spying thing. However, let’s say we manage to clone the hairpin perfectly, what’s stopping Seiga from attacking us exactly? Even if we give her back the hairpin, she’d probably still want to kill Kosuzu for stealing it and humiliating her in the first place.
{X} On the other hand, the sealing spells could be intriguing. Perhaps it would have been undermined by the wicked hermit, but now the best tool the Keiga could have used against it was sitting on the table in front of her.
This seems to be the most logical of the two, and I don’t see what Tsukusa would do with sealing magic.
[X] “If you need any help, we’re here for you.”
Kosuzu’s friends are there for her, unlike a certain kuda-gitsune who the evidence is stacking up against.
(this post was 210913, just made an error with the formatting)
>>210911
another option involved was I believe Yukari said the spirit would be unseen? one sec, let me find it.
>one that would bind an animal spirit to serve as my eyes, while making them almost undetectable to anyone else.”
so it might've been Chen (and/or the animal spirit involved in her shikigami contract.) then, but maybe its not specifically Kosuzu now, but a nearly undetectable Animal spirit spying on Kosuzu. (not like there is a lack of animal spirits to use in the area.
>>210910
The book I'm thinking was either the reward and/or the reason. Kosuzu had the ability to read all languages, and Shirohime needed Grandpa to figure out the book, and then there was a 2-3 year gap between when she took off with it and when Kosuzu was taken. so it is possible that she wasn't able to get any further with the book and needed a Motoori in order to access it further, and the village was getting more and more locked down, but hey! there is a Motoori that is not in the village (ok, yeah, a really weak argument as the alternative is the Yakumos )
the alternative is that the book itself is the payment to Tsukasa which we only know one of the spells within, which Kosuzu felt
>With a spell like that, there’d be no need for a tube-fox at all.
maybe Tsukasa had a similar idea to what Yukari is trying to convince Kosuzu about and is trying to make herself more than a Tube fox? maybe whatever she has been doing to convince Kosuzu that as a Tube fox she is useless is not just Tsukasa trying to cut Kosuzu down mentally, but also something she believes herself? and was offered the book as a means to gain power to make her be known a more than just a tube fox?
sorry! just wanted to fix the error with the broken bold part!
i also shows why Ran hasn't shown up at all here, she probably wouldn't be able to restrain herself like Yukari is.
>Kosuzu’s friends are there for her, unlike a certain kuda-gitsune who the evidence is stacking up against.
I'm pretty sure now that her memories are back Kosuzu knows that her friends will be there for her and isn't worried about that, what I am worried that she is worried about is whether she can be there for her friends and have the strength to do so. be a hero with them rather than a load they need to protect.
>> The problem was with Kicchou Reimu herself, or more specifically, the pile of plushies in her room. Her second life had not been spent with many people her own age for any extended period of time, and those that were around naturally handled her with a bit of caution. Which had, she realised with a bit of heat growing on her face, mixed poorly with her only slightly-remembered first life.
>> Because right now, at the beach house, there was a custom crow-coloured eagle plushie with a magician’s hat sewn on, one otter with two swords, another purple otter with a flower behind its ear, and a small wolf pup with a bell on its collar, among others that new perspective tied back to her past life, like a blue catfish and a pink snake. And if Reimu started asking the otter about Marisa, Youmu, Akyuu and Kosuzu, they’d assume that group of plushies was what she was talking about.
>> She’d much rather ask that sort of question to someone who didn’t know her too personally. Or, actually, she’d rather be dead than let anyone know that was how she remembered them at first.
Kosuzu has been told she did good several times by now, and believed it exactly none of those times. Telling her that one extra time isn't going to make a difference either way. I think it's going to be better to keep reinforcing that she has a support network there for her now until she's in a better enough place to believe in herself on her own.
>>210917
Kosuzu has been shown repressing the influence of her past life on a few occasions now, so I'm not so sure she's as convinced as she should be about that. She also sure seems determined to convince herself that people will turn on her at any provocation.
Now we just need a picture of Reimu in her plushie pile. Possibly with Yachie or the otters watching... or catching her at it.
>>210920
you seem to have misread the choice, the choice here is for her to be told she can get stronger... which Yukari just told her that she in fact could be stronger... Did Kosuzu disbelieve Yukari? no. She didn't.
and I don't see her disbelieving being told that she has done well, maybe downplay it (because she was weak, so what could she have actually done... maybe if she thought she could be stronger? hm?)
>She also sure seems determined to convince herself that people will turn on her at any provocation.
And that is because...? it doesn't happen to be from *her* "failure & weakness" that they had turned on her? Or did Tsukasa tell her that Megumi is going to crack her skull open for the Tengu's own kicks and giggles? or was it because Kosuzu had "messed up"?
As I said Again her worry isn't that her friends aren't going to be there for her, her worry is that she will drag them down no matter what she does.
>Kosuzu had been itching, for a long time, to step up. She’d been inducted into the inner circle of Gensokyo a few years before disaster struck, and had been trying to train herself up, to properly join them not just as a confidant of convenience, but a full-fledged member of the inner circle. Even in the gap, she’d been considered the backup of the rememberers, not a protector and combatant in her own right. If there was ever a time to change that, and become a real force, now was it.
she WANTS to be able to Step up, but for 7 Years been told that there was no way she would. Yukari pulled her out of the latest bout of this mindset of this, that her very presence is going to hurt and thwart her friends, by telling her that she CAN grow stronger, from a Kuda-Gitsune to a full fledged Kitsune.
So we can tell her something that has JUST worked, something that she has wanted to be since the start of the Arc. or something that has holes that Tsukasa already has used to attack, and will doubtlessly use again given the opportunity. “Yeah her friends will be there for her. As she sits helpless to help then in a way that matters, until she messes things up for them.”
>>210922
I wad primarily referring to the write in about telling her she's been "wonderful so far," which I suppose I assumed was you, since your writing style is pretty similar. Was it? Sorry for the mistake if not.
That said, she's also been told she can get stronger before and not believed it then. Yukari only seems to have gotten through to her just now, and in that case either it doesn't need further reinforcement until it next starts to falter, or hearing it from someone she's less willing to accept it from will only undermine Yukari's success.
>And that is because...?
This is just splitting hairs. It doesn't matter what reason she thinks people have for abandoning her. All of that is founded in a deep-seated insecurity and inability to trust in unconditional love - remember how she was convinced her grandfather hated her? "Not being good enough" is just confabulation; no amount of getting stronger will make her secure in the strength of her relationships. She could be as strong as Reimu and she'd still be paranoid about people abandoning her and hating her for letting them down. Getting stronger will do nothing to fix the actual personality problems at the root of this! Her insecurity has nothing to do with the material realities of her abilities!
It's much more helpful to try and make her more open to her social support network right now. I know she wants to be the hero this time, and I've been voting in that direction, but inadvertently encouraging her to continue to isolate herself and paper over her insecurities with the pursuit of power won't help with that.
Also, in terms of Tsukasa's manipulation, it really does not matter what we pick. Yeah, "you're alone" has been one of her main angles, but so has "you aren't good enough," right from the start and regardless of the actual reality. Remember the stuff about Kosuzu's diet, for example? If Tsukasa still has her claws in Kosuzu, it's not going to be hard for her to convince Kosuzu that the successes so far were flukes and Yukari's faith is misplaced.
Anyway, we added the "I know you'd do the same" write-in specifically to emphasize that it's a mutual thing, and Reimu believes in Kosuzu's ability to return the favour. ... my only worry there is that Kosuzu will hear that as meaning the support is transactional instead of unconditional.
And, a propos of nothing whatsoever, I just realised how inadvertently appropriate Kosuzu being a fox is. The "Ko" in her name may be written as meaning "small," but the same syllable written differently could be "fox."
it was, to re-emphisize the choice itself but my arguements since then have just been for the base option rather than the write-in (If someone gives a better write-in I'd gladly switch.)
she had been told she could be stronger before, by Yukari again, which convinced her to take the book in the first place, so she believed it then. and hold on, Reimu is someone she is less willing to accept it from??? Doing something in response to Reimu's request is the only time we have managed to lower the G___ stats down so far! how is Reimu someone she is less willing to accept it from then the person whose only other encounter Kosuzu remembers lead to the Night Parade fiasco?
Considering that she thinks that its her fault and weakness that she thinks people are abandoning her it is absolute not splitting hairs as it is the core of the issue itself. she is not paranoid about being abandoned she is paranoid of screwing it up for others till they are sick of her!
And as previously pointed out, Tsukasa WILL have an opportunity to verbally encounter her, how has she attacked her? her weakness. Kosuzu left behind the evidence, Kosuzu got herself caught in hte Test tube, Kosuzu is the one lagging behind in ability.
>But where her personal skills are lacking, she is nonetheless an… imaginative girl in many respects.” The fox clasped her hands together. “A position of an advisor may be just perfect for her specialized skillset.”
the correct choice in the tea party was to ignore what her mother said to have the food. so the correct choice you think is to go along with her mother's advice? have her just be there? or maybe that Reimu believes that she can be more than an advisor and stand with them.
And nothing in the you can get stronger vote indicates anything about isolating herself! Where exactly does the option hint at that?
Continuing from my post at >>210924 regarding the write in. A better one for my write in could probably be "and I'll help as much as i can" or something to that effect (i'll figure whether to have it replace it or alongside it when i get up tomorrow, if the update hasn't happened by then anyway...)
Also for my point, compare the part of eating with chen and Mayumi vs. Getting the chance to try out Danmaku against the otters.
Anyways >>210901 here, adding
[X] we'll help you however we can, right Mayumi?
(If someone thinks of a better variant of that, go ahead and post that instead and i'll switch.)
>>210924
Reimu is someone Kosuzu is less likely to accept it from because she is someone that Kosuzu has already not accepted it from.
She thinks that people are abandoning her for being weak because she's insecure about unconditional love and being stronger won't make her more secure because as long as she thinks that people who love her unconditionally will abandon her, there is no "strong enough" to make them not do that. There is no such thing as strong enough to never fail!
Tsukasa has focused on Kosuzu's lack of ability regardless of if it's true or not. She has also convinced Kosuzu that people turned against her, again, regardless of whether it was true or not. So, again, it doesn't matter what we vote for here, Tsukasa can still take her usual angles of attack. Making Kosuzu stronger won't make her confident enough that Tsukasa can't undermine her. If it could, she'd already be plenty strong enough.
How on earth is focusing on making sure Kosuzu understands that she's not alone going along with Tsukasa's manipulations, when she has been constantly convincing Kosuzu that she's alone? How is it having her "just be there?" For that matter, why are you so confident that that was the correct choice when we don't even know that there was a "correct" choice, or what the other choices would have led to? And even it was definitively correct, I think you're severely overrating its applicability to this decision.
Encouraging her to pursue power is isolating because it lets Kosuzu continue isolating herself the way she has been doing. It encourages her to keep focusing on power as though that were the root of her problems and continue keeping people at arms length because she thinks they'll abandon her, instead of doing something that will actually meaningful help her get out from under Tsukasa's thumb. People don't escape from abusive scenarios by becoming badasses, that usually just perpetuates it. They escape by building support networks that they can pull on. Why do you think abusers are so keen on isolating their victims?
Lastly, Kosuzu's getting stronger anyway. Notice that she's going to be studying up and improving her toolkit regardless of the first vote? This is just how Reimu chooses to respond to Kosuzu's breakdown. It's not going to make or break her development. We have no reason as yet to think that this is as consequential as you seem to think. Kosuzu will continue to power up and have lots more time to keep doing that.
I've said my piece. I don't see this going anywhere productive before the next chapter is up, and I don't see either of us changing our minds, so I'll leave things here.
>>210924 I think the difference between now and then is that most of the other reassurances are that Kosuzu is ALREADY good, which has largely bounced off her. The reason Yukari seems to have gotten through is not by saying she is strong, but that she can become stronger - and by specifically giving a path through which she can do so.
>>210905
That was not something against you or anything, feel free to comment anything. I'm wrong most of the time! lol
>>210906
>> Would she be able to steal and use the sealing magic?
>> "Even the most meager of foxes should be able to put a couple of spells from this list together in a few days."
I don't think Tsukasa is powerful, but she's not weak either. With sufficient practice I think she could learn, even if it's complicated and not completely up her alley. As for what uses would she have for sealing magic, I don't know, but would you like to let her learn it and find out?
>>210911
I'll admit binding an actual animal spirit does have it's merit as a theory, and might even be more accurate.
>>210914
That was one of my earlier theories. Right now, I don't quite know lol
>>210917
I think Ran is not here yet but will analyze the hair, realize who's hair it is and come ASAP. Or try to.
>>210919
>>210921
Thanks! About a possible Reimu image, I wanted to do something kinda like that but it would be lots of work for a single scene. Maybe in the future, though.
>>210923
Yes! The kanji for fox (狐 - Kitsune, Ko) is the same as Junko's "Ko" for example. Nice catch!
---
You know what? I'm convinced. I'll change my vote so Kosuzu gets to hear a reassurance of her capabilities while trying to not change the overall message. Might be late but eh.
[UNDO] “If you need any help, we’re here for you.”
-[UNDO] "I know you'd do the same for me."
[X] “Don’t worry. You’re gonna get stronger.”
- [X] “We're counting on you as much as you can count on us.”
From this point I'll be on "wait and see what happens" mode.
Ah, that sounds like a better one! Thank Kosu!
>>210925 here,
[UNDO] we'll help you however we can, right Mayumi?
- [X] “We're counting on you as much as you can count on us.”
Also good point about Tsukasa... With the sealing magic she might be able to counter our usage of the needle, with that in mind...
>>210901 here (as well as >>210925 & >> 210929...)
{UNDO} On the other hand, the sealing spells could be intriguing. Perhaps it would have been undermined by the wicked hermit, but now the best tool the Keiga could have used against it was sitting on the table in front of her.
{X} Despite borrowing the books on the artifact, Kosuzu turned her attention back to the chapters Yukari had bookmarked in Ran’s Grimoire. She wanted to learn more fox magic, as soon as possible, and the spells on sound control were already giving her ideas.
Something to point out, if the whole 'toxic individualism' had come from the fact one option was Kosuzu's friends are there for her. Just because there is a fork in the road doesn't mean that it is a T intersection. Reimu verbalising support in Kosuzu's wish to be able to be strong enough to stand beside Reimu and the rest as an active incident resolver shows no indication of saying that Kosuzu has to be alone to do so just because it is not the other option.
Cute!
While all these plushies are still canon, these lines are actually getting retconned as of today, to deal with the longstanding catfish-related issues. Don't worry, the blue catfish is still canon (and will in fact be discussed as of next update.):
>Because right now, at the beach house, there was a custom crow-coloured eagle plushie with a magician’s hat sewn on, one otter with two swords, another purple otter with a flower behind its ear, and a small wolf pup with a bell on its collar, among others that new perspective tied back to her past life, like a pair of green dogs and a pink snake. And if Reimu started asking the otter about Marisa, Youmu, Akyuu and Kosuzu, they’d assume that group of plushies was what she was talking about.
> There were other plushies, too, many running the gamut of aquatic life - such as the tadpole, axolotl, and catfish - alongside some outliers. Some she could immediately trace back to a specific person, such as a small, hand-made clam named Shinmy. Others eluded her, but tantalised the edges of her memory, half-remembered faces and nicknames she struggled to put together. But whether any of the plushies' counterparts were known to the Kiketsu... She’d much rather ask that sort of question to someone who didn’t know her too personally. Or, actually, she’d rather be dead than let anyone know that was how she remembered them at first.
While this might be rather late and might be getting close to Gooboi updating, I still haven’t heard a bell, so I am going to give this one more go, though If Gooboi says that the voting is locked, then nevermind.
Kosuzu has only been told directly that she can be stronger by Yukari, who is a known manipulator. Something that can be dismissed as manipulation, meanwhile while Reimu has said it, it was to Tsukasa to get her to back off while Kosuzu was very distracted by the direct attention of Yachie. The closest other times was when Yachie and Keiki were suggesting she label herself as either a Kitsune or a Inari, and that was openly described as being a means to manipulate perception for their own ends.
Though speaking of the Yukari moment, Kosuzu may have said “if you say so.” When Yukari told she could get stronger even as a Kuda-Gitsune …but the subsequent post has her happily, and enthusiastically trying the magic out, she even gets competitive and challenges her big sister Chen to a match! I’d say that she believed it then!
Reimu on the other hand is considered so honest, that after a handful of minutes, Yukari came up with a story so that Reimu didn’t have to try to lie to anyone (aka the brainwashing story… that is working like a charm… if not too well, looking at you Youmu…) and is thus going to be much harder for someone, Like Tsukasa, to counteract and try to convince Kosuzu to dismiss.
The last couple of updates have already served to show that Reimu and the others want to be there for Kosuzu by their actions… especially by her grandfather her consigned himself knowingly to end up here to try to find and rescue Kosuzu so far… and in response Kosuzu ran and hid because:
>if they just gave up, that’d be for the best. She’d only make things worse, after all.
I have a really good feeling about having the unavoidably honest one tell Kosuzu, to her face, that she can, and will get stronger. Just need a couple of more votes, write-in add on or no (or even add your own!)
I just read through most of the arc and have the post numbers, quotes and analysis of those posts if you’ll want. It's just a big post and I didn’t want to dump a big text wall for it.
Interesting that a lot of them are aquatic, because Reimu is a water Dragon-Turtle?
Also hey Shinmy! XD
Though speaking of the Catfish, for everyone else… I have one idea who the Catfish would indicate that Tenshi has ended up being family with, does anyone else know of more? The only one I am thinking of is the character that has faced a Catfish in a dream anyway namely Meiling, and hey, sword fighting is a martial art, so it makes sense too! but does anyone else have a possibility of who it could be?
[13] “If you need any help, we’re here for you.”
[8] “Don’t worry. You’re gonna get stronger.”
{2} Well, now she had the books, all she had to do was study the hairpin and see how she could replicate it. It would likely be a complicated process, and she doubted she’d get more than a rudimentary understanding tonight, but… kuda-gitsune or no, it was a powerful tool to have.
{13} Despite borrowing the books on the artifact, Kosuzu turned her attention back to the chapters Yukari had bookmarked in Ran’s Grimoire. She wanted to learn more fox magic, as soon as possible, and the spells on sound control were already giving her ideas.
{5} On the other hand, the sealing spells could be intriguing. Perhaps it would have been undermined by the wicked hermit, but now the best tool the Keiga could have used against it was sitting on the table in front of her.
“If you need any help, Kosuzu, we’re here for you.” Reimu gave her a gentle smile. Kosuzu did her best to return it, quietly resolving to herself to ensure that didn’t happen. After all, the last thing she wanted to do was hold the others up any more than she already had.
__i_ stays at 3.
“Thanks, Reimu, but… come on, this is a library. There’s got to be things all of us can read here.”
The jidiao’s smirked. “I might have to see if there’s any good series I can recommend you.”
Reimu’s gaze suddenly broke, looking behind Kosuzu. “...Yukari? What’s with the stinkeye?”
Kosuzu turned, to see the same sharp gaze Yukari had given her before, just before she asked about the Hyacinthoides’ owner. The gap youkai didn’t respond for a moment, before sighing. “...Nothing much. Actually, while you two get set up… there’s some matters I should cover with both of you.”
The young fox felt her ears twitch. Whatever Yukari was about to bring up, it was clearly an attempt to shift the topic. “What… what did you want to discuss?”
The gap youkai smiled. “Well, perhaps I should cover for you all young Youmu… and the things she discovered yesterday.”
Yukari nodded. “Yes. Apparently, you are not the first group to have your history changed.”
Yumemi sat back, deep in thought. “So we’re not in an alternate timeline, we’re in an alternate alternate timeline. Wow… and to think, the PSV can only move in one.”
Kosuzu looked up from her book to give Yumemi a flat stare. “That’s plenty incredible already, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, but still! That means there’s a whole other version of everyone that even you don’t know about. Even yourselves!”
The thought sat… rather ill with Kosuzu. Reimu, for her part, seemed unaffected on that point. “Are we sure there’s only one more? Hell, for all we know, maybe half of Gensokyo are Immaterial Children.”
Yukari shook her head. “It’s that exact matter that leads us to believe they’re not. To the best of our knowledge, at least one of these first two match the effects of you five getting moved - most noticeably the false pregnancy in the would-be mother. Therefore, they are most likely Immaterial Children like yourselves. Do either of you remember someone named Sanae or Tenshi? Has anyone heard of someone with that name?”
Kosuzu saw Mayumi think it over. “Sanae, Sanae…oh, yes! Now I remember! Reimu, you mentioned Sanae as one of the two named-”
“D-dididididi!” Reimu’s face was suddenly stricken with panic. “Not here, Mayumi! Not in front of-”
The elder youkai glided over next to the Shrine’s heiress, her face oozing with glee. Kosuzu’s tail began to wag, slowly. “Oh? This could be very important information, Reimu. Is this something related to Sanae and Tenshi?”
“Nothing, nothing! There’s nothing of that sort!” Reimu waved her hands frantically, her eyes going every which way. “Just a, uh, I might have some vague memories of someone named Sanae…”
“Can you give me more details?” Yukari’s predatory grin grew slightly wider. “This could be very important, Reimu. We may need to post any sources you have in any newspapers we can find -”
“No!” Reimu pulled the book she’d been reading up defensively. “N-no, it’s nothing like that! I-I’ll do a bit of writing about who I remember, and, and I’ll definitely-”
“But why not just tell me?” Yukari said, leaning even closer. “We don’t need a massive writeup. All we need is what details you can give.”
Grandpa chuckled, giving Reimu a reassuring pat on the other side. “Now, now… all we need to know is what this Sanae is like, right? Surely you can tell us?”
The heiress looked down, trying to think. “Um… she has green hair, most likely. And… and I think she’s related to tadpoles, somehow.”
Kosuzu parsed it pretty quickly. “What about Tenshi? Any ideas there?”
The jidiao hesitated. “No, no, I don’t have any p- uh, any memories o-of, of someone named Tenshi. I-I swear, the catfish isn’t named-” She clapped her hands over her mouth.
Yukari leaned in. “Catfish? Is this a Namazu of some sort that’s involved?”
“Ummm, no - I mean yes! That’s what I’m talking about when I mean catfish! I-it couldn’t be anything else, right?” Reimu’s movements were only getting more panicked and erratic. Kosuzu couldn’t resist any longer, making a dramatic showing of putting down the book.
“Lady Yukari? I believe I can explain this matter.” She gave a devilish grin. Reimu’s face paled.
“Kosuzu, don’t you dare-”
The fox tuned it out, focusing on the spell in the book. The air rippled around them, as the younger girls were enveloped in a bubble of silence.
Kosuzu gave a big grin, feeling it go up. Only her ears seemed to pick up the deadening of sounds across the library - for the rest, Reimu’s stammering seemed to catch it.
The fox turned graciously to the muted Yukari, who seemed to have noted the wall of silence. Seemingly to someone who couldn’t hope ot hear her, she spilled the beans with gusto. “Reimu has a massive collection of plushies.”
The jidiao reared back, letting out a dramatic howl of despair. Mayumi jumped up to quiet the sound before it disturbed the other library-goers… before realizing that nobody seemed to react as she’d expected. Yumemi looked over, eyes wide in shock.
Kosuzu continued, grinning. “In fact, I think quite a few of her plushies are actually named after - even customized to resemble - her friends. She even gave me my plushie counterpart.”
Reimu turned to Yukari, arms flailing in abject panic as she thrust out panicked denials and blatant lies. Yukari, for her part, just smirked from the far side of the barrier, chuckling at the jidiao’s abject panic.
Then she slowly, emphasising the movement, reached up and tapped at her ear. The jidiao stuttered to a halt, letting out a weak whimper.
The very sound of it - the idea of Reimu, of all people, making a sound that pathetic - broke Kosuzu. She doubled over, laughing her gut out, and heard the sound of Yumemi doing the same. Reimu spun around, her face heating up. “Kosuzu!”
“Sorry, sorry, I just…” Kosuzu did her best to regather herself. “It was just… I never, never would have seen you for a plush collector, you know?”
Reimu leaned in, gritting spiky teeth in a still-rather-frantic expression. “That’s. The. Point. I don’t want Yukari to ever find out about the plushies.”
Kosuzu smirked. “Not even her own?”
“Especially not-” Reimu caught herself a bit late. “...Lucky guess. Yes, I’d rather her not see the axolotl plushie - I’m not sure she’d find it flattering.” As they were talking, the gap youkai had stepped around, to whisper some things to Grampa. He seemed happy to chat back - either he was more like Kosuzu than she knew, or he just considered being a spirit in haniwa territory would protect him.
The fox let out another giggle, but did her best to restrain herself. “Okay, okay, I’m done. Sorry, Reimu. I couldn’t resist, especially not with the silence spell.”
Yumemi leaned over, reading from the Hyacinthoides.
While we’ll cover the exact mechanics in other lessons (if you wish to know early, you need only ask), for the purpose of spellcasting, all that is needed to understand is that sound ‘travels’ from the source to the listener; any silence in the way will block all sound, regardless of the sound itself. For the purposes of moving silently, creating a thin ‘bubble’ of silenced air is the same to those outside it as creating a whole sphere, and is significantly more efficient in power usage. However, it is fittingly more fragile, as well, and should be handled with caution. This section covers a series of different forms, and their applications in various scenarios.
Yumemi cooed, reading the book with rapt attention. “Wow… this Ran person seems like a good teacher. The writing styles’ pretty personal, though.”
Kosuzu nodded, a little sadness creeping up on her. Right… this book had been prepared for exactly one person, after all, and it certainly wasn’t a kuda-gitsune’s kit. …She had to do all the reading she could, while she could; Ran would surely want it back soon enough.
She turned to Reimu. “Anyway, what’s this story about a Sanae plushie?”
Reimu gave a deep sigh. “Okay, so… when Keiki was setting those dorms up, I packed a couple of my plushies for an overnight stay. One of them was a tadpole named Sanae. And before you ask, the other wasn’t named Tenshi - I don’t have a plush with that name.”
Kosuzu tilted her head. “A tadpole, huh…? That’s oddly specific. Maybe she’s a frog-related youkai now, then?”
Reimu shook her head. “She’s nothing like that. Dunno why I named a tadpole that, of all things.” She sighed. “Then there’s the other plushie…”
Kosuzu looked up. “What’s wrong?”
The jidiao sat back down, thinking back. “The other plushie was a catfish. And the real person it’s based off of… well, I don’t know if you ever met her, but she didn’t have a lot of friends. I hope she’s alright…”
Kosuzu was about to ask, but felt the bubble crack open. “Ah, bubble’s coming down. Well, we got what we could from Reimu in private, but it was nothing all that useful.”
Yukari flicked her fan out. “Well, good job for handling the situation, Kosuzu. And good job on the spell, too.” She leant down, patting the girl on the head. “You’re gonna be a truly fearsome kitsune, I know it.”
She felt her tail wag, before catching herself and starting to turn to the book. Yukari gently stopped her, though. “Not to fault your enthusiasm, but you’ve done a lot of studying for one day, even if your talent has kept pace.. Make sure to spend some proper time with your grandfather too, won’t you?”
Grandpa chuckled. “Now now, reading books in the same room has always been a cornerstone of Motoori family tradition.”
“True, true, but…” Yukari turned to Kosuzu. “Surely there’s other things you’d like to talk about?” Kosuzu nodded, firmly. Already, her mind was surging with questions, but she wanted to keep it to a general theme.
[ ] Like about her family. Her mother and father both were still a mystery to her, except for that one song.
[ ] Or about what being a spirit in the haniwa corps is like?
[ ] His favorite books. Especially from Suzunaan’s shelves. Even Especially the youkai ones.
[ ] Something else entirely? (Write-in.)
Nice update, (Reimu’s plushie panic was brilliant), but I’m a little sad how the voting turned out. Kosuzu knows she can trust Reimu and the others, it’s herself that she doesn’t believe in. It’s a missed opportunity.
As for this vote, I don’t have as strong feelings on it, but let’s give the little kit some idea of what a happy family looks like.
[X] Like about her family. Her mother and father both were still a mystery to her, except for that one song.
[X] Like about her family. Her mother and father both were still a mystery to her, except for that one song.
Let's help her remember a bit more (and also see if that song was from her human mother Or Somewhere Else ;) )
Man... the mysterious statistic failed again
>>G_i_
[X] Like about her family. Her mother and father both were still a mystery to her, except for that one song.
A four-letter word that starts with G and contains I (probably as the third letter)...
"Grip"? "Grim"? "Grit"?
>>210951
It's GAIN, time to hit the gym Kosuzu!
Not the effect I hoped for, and the write-in didn't make it, but without knowing whether the other option was better, worse, or equivalent, I'm gonna say that this worked out. Kosuzu seems pretty resistant to certain things, so saying this sort of thing once or twice was never gonna make her have an epiphany. I'm still pretty sure of my stance that the core problem of Kosuzu thinking that if she's not good enough her friends will abandon her is "she thinks her friends will abandon her" and not "she's not good enough." And likewise, that constantly asserting that she can and should rely on her social support network is in the long run going to be better for getting her out from under the thumb of her abusive mom than encouraging her to act on the insecurities her abusive mom instilled in her.
... but I should really not try to keep litigating this argument right now. I said I was gonna leave it, didn't I?
So anyway. As >>210951 says, "Grip" does seem like the best possibility right now. It's consistent both with what the stat has affected and the revealed letters. There's honestly nothing really else it seems like it could be; a quick search turns up no other relevant seeming G*i* words.
[X] Like about her family. Her mother and father both were still a mystery to her, except for that one song.
This seems like the obvious thing for Kosuzu, although asking about books might be even more so... especially with how she seems to be repressing her human side, at least at a couple key moments. But no, definitely ought to ask about the family. I really want to ask about that song, in particular, from a metagaming perspective. We don't actually know for sure that's a memory from her last life, that's just what Kosuzu assumed, because it didn't fit with who she thought was her mother. Now I'm strongly suspecting it was Ran, and I want to confirm/deny that.
[X] Like about her family. Her mother and father both were still a mystery to her, except for that one song.
This seems to be the right choice.
>>210952
Lol. I dont think that's it.
>>210951
Grip doesn't seem right, either unless if only refers to a specific person or spirit's Grip on Kosuzu.
Otherwise, I feel like some of the more more pro-Yukari choices would make this stat go down until it eventually starts going up on the Yukari side. Like how the spirit stat goes between youkai and human. I get that she's not really bad at the moment, but she's a still a manipulator and has manipulated Kosuzu in at least the first timeline.
I think Grit is feasible. We were tossing the idea of it being Guts around earlier and this is basically a synonym for that. I'd have to review all of the stat changes (or lack thereof) that it's gone through so far to come up with good reasoning for that, though.
[X] Like about her family. Her mother and father both were still a mystery to her, except for that one song.
[X] Like about her family. Her mother and father both were still a mystery to her, except for that one song.
Obviously Yukari sensed something. This is not news.
It makes me think a little: does Kosuzu's grandpa still have his own familiar? He must have bound an animal spirit to test the spell in book (unless the binding broke when he passed away?). Maybe he's the one trying to snoop on his granddaughter for whatever reason? I still think that whatever that is, it's linked to Tsukasa though.
Reimu's reaction is adorable.
It took me a while to realize Yukari didn't actually hear the plushie revelation (that's just me being ESL).
>> “...Lucky guess. Yes, I’d rather her not see the axolotl plushie - I’m not sure she’d find it flattering.”
In fact, I'd bet she would find it adorable that even when her memories were blocked, Reimu remembered her.
>> "...She had to do all the reading she could, while she could; Ran would surely want it back soon enough."
I think the only thing Ran will want back soon enough is Kosuzu herself.
Can't wait to see her. There's a scenario I can maybe see happen but I won't be saying anything yet. No, not even spoilered text (made you look lol)
It seems that the "you'll get stronger" option was indeed related to the mystery stat, I'm glad I changed my vote but sad that it wasn't enough. Next time we'll get it right.
>>210951
>>210953
By this point I think "grip" is the strongest option for now, but it might still be something else.
Unless it's "gain" like >>210953 says then that's a stronger option! (yeah I know bad joke)
>>210954
I think it was a joke. (I hope so at least)
When I said grip back then, I meant it as "Tsukasa's grip over Kosuzu". I still mean it that way but as I said, we don't know for sure yet.
[X] Like about her family. Her mother and father both were still a mystery to her, except for that one song.
[x] Like about her family. Her mother and father both were still a mystery to her, except for that one song.
Hm? :3
[X] Like about her family. Her mother and father both were still a mystery to her, except for that one song.
[X] Like about her family. Her mother and father both were still a mystery to her, except for that one song.
>__i_ stays at 3.
Bloody called it.
>>210953 it very obviously did not “work out”,
And equivalent? Has any other stat showed up if it wasn’t going to be altered in the first place? And you solution for the winning option to not work is that we just need to repeat it until it does? Just take the L, seriously.
-------------
Let’s take a look at the 4 chances we’ve had to alter the mystery stat.
The first choice after choosing fox we had:
Hero
>[ ] …And not go too overboard. She was, after all, meant to be a hero! A savior! Not just a common kuda-gitsune. She was messing with the Kiketsu here, a deserving target if any, but… if she could do that by saving the Dragon Miko, and bringing her home, that’d be a good start. (Sets Spirit to 0, and ???)
Books
>[ ] But really, the biggest draw were the written secrets. Kosuzu didn’t even really plan to sell what she read, she just was so, so curious about the sort of Youma books a youkai yakuza family could produce. And there was nothing better for nosing out those tomes than a clever fox. (Sets Spirit to 2, and ??? ) (which turns out to set g_i_ to 4)
Mom
>[ ] She wouldn’t screw up this mission. Noble or no, her mother was counting on her. She had the perfect abilities for infiltration, she had the will to seek things out, now there was just proving herself a real tube fox. (Sets Spirit to 2, and ???)
Does any of those look like “I need to be around my friends even if I just end up doing nothing that is all that matters?” no? Then that obviously isn’t what determines the stats now is it? Instead we have being more than a Kuda-Gitsune which would have put the stat at 3 and the Mom option put it at 5
And speaking of Toxic Individualism… What was the direction being expressed right around this vote again? I don’t recall
Second cote… which is the only one out of the the 4 we’ve actually managed to lower the stat with we had:
>[ ] …No, she really shouldn’t… her mother said…
>[ ] Well, one cookie wouldn’t hurt, would it?
>[ ] Sweets eaten without parental witness have no calories. (technically the one taken via write-in, -1 to g_i_)
So all three have Kosuzu sitting at something close to a post incident booze TEA party. None of the options have Kosuzu refusing to socially connect, since either way she is going to be there and talk with Reimu. The choice here was to defy her mother’s instructions. (completely nonsensical ones at that when you consider we’re talking about tube foxes…)
The third vote was the car chase:
>[ ] Staying in human shape, so she could play some level of defense while the trio in the back got themselves sorted.
>[ ] Switching to fox form, so as to not make the pile-up in the back worse than it already was. (g_i_ stayed at 3 write-in involved)
Nothing about social connection here. Either she actively participated in the fight or she sat helpless relying on her friends for protection… The write-in was probably the only reason we didn’t end up gaining a point.
And lastly this last vote:
>[ ] “If you need any help, we’re here for you.” (g_i_ stayed at 3)
>[ ] “Don’t worry. You’re gonna get stronger.”
Which one is consistent with not only the first vote list above, but also what Kosuzu had thought right before picking which background she was going to have? That was the right one.
So! Here is a very easy way to tell when the next g_i_ check happens to know which one to pick.
>And, besides. Kosuzu had been itching, for a long time, to step up. She’d been inducted into the inner circle of Gensokyo a few years before disaster struck, and had been trying to train herself up, to properly join them not just as a confidant of convenience, but a full-fledged member of the inner circle. Even in the gap, she’d been considered the backup of the rememberers, not a protector and combatant in her own right. If there was ever a time to change that, and become a real force, now was it.
That tells us exactly what we need to pick. Right there.
>“That’s. The. Point. I don’t want Yukari to ever find out about the plushies.”
Poor Reimu… this is Yukari you are talking about, she already knows question is if she specifically knows about her plushie.
Hmm, not sure what to pick for the vote… the family bit is going to be interesting if only because of how Grandpa is going to draw a blank when Kosuzu mentions the lullaby, or at least if she tries recreating it…
Actually speaking of which… Is Chen here? Yukari called her in to keep watch while she talked with Kosuzu, has she joined the group proper? Or was she sent back (possibly to make sure Ran doesn’t jump the gun…) I kinda want to see big sister (but either hasn’t been told or isn’t allowed to say it yet.) Chen here. XP we’ll have two sets of siblings here! (also if the family votes does end up winning, which it already looks like it is… then she’ll be likely the one to recognize the lullaby…)
Hmmm… yeah. The family vote it is..
[X] Like about her family. Her mother and father both were still a mystery to her, except for that one song.
Yeah, I’m pretty much in agreement that it’s likely (Tsukasa’s) GrIp that is the mystery stat… still possibly considering that it could be GuIlt too though.
If it is grip then that likely means that we only have 2 more chances to lower it (3 if it is guilt instead.)
He was standing right there the second time that Yukari reacted though. So I don’t think so. It might still be the same bound spirit though, might’ve been taken over when the book was stolen or something like that.
And yeah, not quite sure how an Axolotl would be unflattering… it's pretty popular from what I hear so…?
…or maybe that’s the point and Reimu is being Tsundereimu about it.
[X] His favorite books. Especially from Suzunaan’s shelves. Even Especially the youkai ones.
>>210967
Axolotls are neotonous. Comparing Yukari to a creature with stunted growth which don't achieve "proper" salamander adulthood might be a little unkind. But hey, it obviously works for axolotls even if it would be strange for otger salamanders, so...
[X] Like about her family. Her mother and father both were still a mystery to her, except for that one song.
[X] Like about her family. Her mother and father both were still a mystery to her, except for that one song.
honestly i haven't seen too many fanworks that go into detail on kosuzu's parents, and i always love gooboi's worldbuilding for characters. characterbuilding? eh, whatever.
a bit off topic and wayyyyy too early to be speculating about it now, but i'm guessing if village!marisa stands triumphant after the inevitable marisa origin vote bloodbath, we might interact with the hiedas, who may or may not have akyuu with them depending on when in the timeline her arc takes place. after all...
> At least some member of each IC's family will have some relevance. No guarantee that's gonna be parents, though.
and another speculation: it's possible that yachie suspects that kosuzu is ran's kid. ran was originally from the animal realm before becoming yukari's shikigami, and all three of the canon bosses know her (see: udoalg vs dialogue). while saki doesn't seem to know her personally (her win dialogue vs ran only says "hey you were in the animal realm a long time ago, right?", not mentioning her name at all), yuuma and yachie absolutely do (yuuma and ran were old friends, yachie's win dialouge vs ran has her recognizing ran and asking if she remembers her).
while kosuzu is introduced to her as tsukasa's daughter and a kuda-gitsune, yukari's interest in her + seeing kosuzu in action might highlight the similiarities and set off some alarm bells in her head. granted, there's a chance that yachie doesn't know that ran is yukari's shikigami since the two likely haven't been in contact for a long time, but since they're interacting due to reimu being heir to both the kiketsu and the hakurei families, she might have found out about ran at this point.
and though i have no idea how relevant she's allowed to be for kosuzu's arc since she's already been the primary antagonist for reimu's: if word is spreading of a powerful new kitsune in the animal realm, yuuma, being familiar with ran, would absolutely be interested in this information.
>>210970
I mean, it sort of fits for a Youkai who is eternally 17 years old.
[X] Like about her family. Her mother and father both were still a mystery to her, except for that one song.
>>210975
I was thinking pretty much the same think, it is a pretty clever comparison from Reimu (and thus Gooboi) there!
either an alternative idea or an extension, But I wonder if Yachie is in contact with Megumu, she had made reference to the Tengu leader when she was interrogating Kosuzu early on, and Yachie had been reaching out of animal hell even when she was trying to evacuate Reimu from the trap. (see Tewi.) and been talking with sneaky people since then to get Reimu out of animal hell... I think Megumu might fall into that list somewhere and/or Megumu contacted her after news broke about the immaterial children emerged (and after having been working with Kosuzu.) either openly or sneakily trying to confirm details after Kosuzu was abruptly removed from working with her.
especially since she'd probably note that Ran dissapeared right around the final immaterial children events... there is a weakness in the theory as it would require Megumu to simultaneously buy/factor in the lie that Yachie had kidnapped Reimu, while also working on the assumption that the immaterial children had become Youkai... which is what the lie was supposed to prevent... anyone spot what I could be missing here? or is this off base?
Also bringing back up my question from earlier, anyone know of what touhou characters would be related in some way to a catfish? and thus would be an indication of who Gooboi is looking forward to as Tenshi's family? I've only got Meiling from when she fought one in Hisoutensoku
>>21097
Don't think too much on the catfish, that was Tenshi's transformed form in ULiL (Mamizou's attack)
ehhh, I was mostly wondering due to Gooboi's answer for my question regarding Tenshi and the catfish during the Q&A section, one sec,
>Yes, there'll be options for Tenshi to be friends with Reimu. Imo the best option for that is also the one that best justifies the catfish plushie :3c.
which I took to mean her background option would be something that would be a reference to the catfish.
It's quite possible she suspected from the start. The first scene she has where she meets Kosuzu in person, she's noted to inspect both Kosuzu and her (alleged) mother. And then she fires off a series of questions about Kosuzu, some of which sound REALLY telling of suspecting a connection between ran and Kosuzu.
In fact, the most random question she seems to ask - about Kosuzu liking dark blues - makes more sense if she was thinking of Yakumo Ran.
>>210978
I've been wondering about that. That Namazu only shows up in Meiling's dream in Hisoutensoku, but there is actually a second time it shows up - in the Yorigami's campaign in AoCF.
In that campaign, it assists Dream!Tenshi in her attacks heavily. And in fact, the image for that Q&A post references that very fight (>>210283). So it's possible that the reference to Tenshi being very strongly justified being with a catfish is to a potential Baku!Tenshi, who uses the Dream Namazu.
Of course, there's also occam's razor. It might just be a reference to a mama wakisagihime, where tenshi becomes fishe.
Sorry :(
Counting to >>210975:
Main Choice:
[15] Like about her family. Her mother and father both were still a mystery to her, except for that one song.
[0] Or about what being a spirit in the haniwa corps is like?
[1] His favorite books. Especially from Suzunaan’s shelves. Even Especially the youkai ones.
[0] Something else entirely? (Write-in.)
:/
huh, that's interesting, I was taking that the dark blue and the question to the tengu were related (she asks about dark blues right after Kosuzu admitted to working with the Tengu.) but that is an neat alternative possibility!
and we've probably just figured out the three options here XP I was also thinking Meiling as Tenshi was known as the paradox ... hm Paladin, I was misremembering something about a sword... anyways, since she was a swordswoman I was thinking that as various sword styles fall under martial arts that would also connect with Meiling, but the other two... well maybe not wakisagihime from the mobility? though we don't see her at all so, maybe it just took her awhile to find a mobility method?
>> Because right now, at the beach house, there was a custom crow-coloured eagle plushie with a magician’s hat sewn on, one otter with two swords, another purple otter with a flower behind its ear, and a small wolf pup with a bell on its collar, among others that new perspective tied back to her past life, like a pair of green dogs and a pink snake. And if Reimu started asking the otter about Marisa, Youmu, Akyuu and Kosuzu, they’d assume that group of plushies was what she was talking about.
>> There were other plushies, too, many running the gamut of aquatic life - such as the tadpole, axolotl, and catfish - alongside some outliers. Some she could immediately trace back to a specific person, such as a small, hand-made clam named Shinmy. Others eluded her, but tantalised the edges of her memory, half-remembered faces and nicknames she struggled to put together. But whether any of the plushies' counterparts were known to the Kiketsu... She’d much rather ask that sort of question to someone who didn’t know her too personally. Or, actually, she’d rather be dead than let anyone know that was how she remembered them at first.
Nice!!! I do really like the additions, patched up Genjii, the Aunns, and Yukari's face there too! and all the rest!
[X] Like about her family. Her mother and father both were still a mystery to her, except for that one song
I have a feeling that the song will not point to her human family for some reason. So my thought that Yukari was making up the Ran mother theory that I was floating is looking less likely after all Ran seemed fine when we saw her in >>2870 I know that it was released before the current arc and we didn't make Kosuzu's choice yet but the evidence (even the ones outside of what Yukari said) is pointing to the Ran theory.
Also after a reread through the series I was reminded of something that makes this chapter make more sense than the first time I read through it.
From: >>209123
>>She gestured up to the sky. “Well, she goes by a couple of names. She calls herself the Paradox Paladin these days, and it’s not her real name anymore, but… old habits die hard. I just call her Tenshi.”
From: >>210947
>>Kosuzu parsed it pretty quickly. “What about Tenshi? Any ideas there?”
>>The jidiao hesitated. “No, no, I don’t have any p- uh, any memories o-of, of someone named Tenshi. I-I swear, the catfish isn’t named-” She clapped her hands over her mouth.
...
>>Reimu gave a deep sigh. “Okay, so… when Keiki was setting those dorms up, I packed a couple of my plushies for an overnight stay. One of them was a tadpole named Sanae. And before you ask, the other wasn’t named Tenshi - I don’t have a plush with that name.”
>>Kosuzu tilted her head. “A tadpole, huh…? That’s oddly specific. Maybe she’s a frog-related youkai now, then?”
>>Reimu shook her head. “She’s nothing like that. Dunno why I named a tadpole that, of all things.” She sighed. “Then there’s the other plushie…”
>>Kosuzu looked up. “What’s wrong?”
>>The jidiao sat back down, thinking back. “The other plushie was a catfish. And the real person it’s based off of… well, I don’t know if you ever met her, but she didn’t have a lot of friends. I hope she’s alright…”
Tenshi will have a different name in both B and C timelines not sure why I forgot Yester/Youmu wasn't that long ago. Also Reimu's intuition seems to be trying to tell her about timeline A. There were other instances of this happening like when she felt something wrong with the timeline of the Moriya in >>208466.
>>210985
Thanks! Maybe more plushies will be added to the future, who knows. If any more end up being added, I'll try to keep that image updated. Maybe one day we'll see Reimu and her pile of plushies in a single drawing.
>>210987
Tenshi does have another name, a name she had before her whole family became celestials: Chiko.
She ascended to heaven with her parents, even if they didn't quite "deserve" it (the Hinanawi clan ascended because they were servants of the Nawi clan, who got enshrined and ascended themselves. Therefore the members of the Hinanawi clan are seen as "lesser" celestials, since they didn't do anything super noteworthy to ascend themselves, other than serving a clan that did ascend to heaven. Tenshi even more since she was only a child at the time of ascension. This has her original lore in SWR but it was later retconned to "she was born a celestial" after AoCF)
Fittingly, Chiko 地子 (Earth child) was renamed to Tenshi 天子 (Heaven child). Since she's not a celestial anymore, makes sense she's called by her former name.
Sorry for the lack of updates!
Likely none on the mainline tomorrow as well, but to tide you over... have an epilogue from Yester/Youmu, starring a certain (other) pair of sisters.
Don't stress it. It feels like a weird time of year.
[16] Like about her family. Her mother and father both were still a mystery to her, except for that one song.
[0] Or about what being a spirit in the haniwa corps is like?
[1] His favorite books. Especially from Suzunaan’s shelves. Even Especially the youkai ones.
[0] Something else entirely? (Write-in)
“I… I want to know about my mom and dad. A-and anyone else.” Yukari had that weird look on her face again. Kosuzu did her best to ignore it. “I really don’t have many… cohesive memories.”
Mabuchi nodded, slowly. “Ah, of course. I’m sure they’re just as eager to meet you as well. …What do you remember, perchance?”
“...well…” The young fox looked down. “...There’s one thing I remember.” A small smile crept across her face. “...My mother, singing a lullaby. It’s a memory from when I was really little, I think… I know my current mom doesn’t sing much at all, so… It has to be her, right?”
Grampa… was quiet for a moment. “That’s what you remember, huh…?” He leaned forward, taking a moment to think. Kosuzu looked up, anxiously.
Then he straightened up, letting out a lighthearted chuckle. “Ah, that’s a shame. If you were going to remember something, I'd hope it'd be something at least halfway pleasant...”
The fox’s head snapped up, confused. Reimu was the first to actually speak, though. “What’s… what’s wrong with it?”
“My daughter in law… ah, I love her to pieces, but it’s the flaws that make the masterpiece, you know?” He gave an awkward grin. “Her singing voice could bring a smile to anyone’s face… just as soon as it stopped.”
Kosuzu blinked. That didn’t match that memory at all…
Mabuchi smiled. “Still, in its own way, that was a good thing. The first time I saw my son dating her, I knew she was a fine woman.”
Kosuzu tilted her head, scooching in closer. “Why is that?”
“‘Cos your dad loves music. You know as well as I do how he likes to listen as he reads. And I always assumed he’d get charmed by a girl with a pretty voice and a black heart.” Grampa smiled. “Not some woman who couldn’t find a note to save her life. But it meant I knew for a fact it had been something deeper than the surface level that had pulled him in.”
The young girl giggled. “Dad can’t sing either though, can he? His voice is all rough and scratchy.”
Grandpa chortled. “No, he cannot. He can follow a tune… in the same sense a werewolf follows his prey. Not many choirs looking for a gutteral growler like him… though I hear it’s popular in the outside world.”
He smiled, tapping just under Kosuzu’s chin. “You father named you Kosuzu for a reason, you know. It was a wish; that you’d have a voice as clear and sweet as your mother, and have your father’s skill to hit any note you so desire. And that blessing came true - your voice is the sweetest, cutest thing any of us have ever heard. So… hold onto your name, Kosuzu. It’s filled with the heartfelt desires of your parents.”
Kosuzu smiled back, slowly opening her eyes as she surfaced from the memory. Even despite the years, thinking back on the simple moments found their weaves through her heart. “...Right… I remember now.” She chuckled. “Mom’s tone-deaf, and dad’s voice is a scraggly wreck.”
Grampa’s eyes lit up. “Ah, remembering more now, are you?”
Kosuzu nodded…”Yeah… a lot more. But…” Her face fell. “...That memory I thought I had was wrong. My mom - whoever is singing is definitely a good singer, and my mother never got that good at it.”
Reimu tilted her head. “Maybe it was… a babysitter or something?”
Kosuzu sagged a bit. “So I remembered some random babysitter more than my own parents…?”
Yukari… had a small smile creeping on her face. “I’m sure there’s a reason for something like that, Suzu. But… look at it this way. If you’re already remembering things correctly thanks to a few words by your grandfather, the memories of your mom and dad are there. They’re just dormant, waiting to be unearthed.”
She flicked her fan out, side-eyeing another person at the table. “And at least you’re willing to ask. If you don’t ask, you could end up with a core gap in your memory that you’re too embarrassed to admit.”
The jidiao bristled. “...So you’ve been deliberately not telling me?”
The sage chuckled. “And instructed Ran and Chen to do the same, of course.”
Kosuzu looked between them, a question on her lips - Reimu couldn’t meet her gaze. “Don’t worry, Kosuzu. I-it’s nothing I can’t figure out when I get to the surface.”
Yukari smirked, stepping over. “Well, rest assured Reimu knows full well what it’s like to have important gaps in her memory. So please, Suzu. The only one of you that has perfect memory of their past life is that cheating rabbit. Don’t fault yourself for gaps that the right stimulus can fill right in.”
Kosuzu nodded, slowly. “...Okay. If you say so, Yukari…” She looked up. “Now that you mention her… where is Chen, anyways?”
“Over here!”
The voice came from behind her. Kosuzu turned her head, expecting nothing much of subtance, and instead found herself scrambling over the table.
There was a wobbling and waving stack of books high enough to reach the second floor, with a pair of arms and legs sticking out from the bottom and supporting the precarious structure. And two cat tails, as well. “Got some more reference books! There’s books on artifact identification, spells on portals specifically, a few with references to similar artifacts…”
Yumemi stared stock still, craning her neck up, forcing Mayumi to scramble around to cover her. Reimu merely tensed, ready to move the moment she had to.
Yukari just sighed, summoning a gap above the stack and swallowing the stack from the top down, revealing a sweaty-faced Chen. “Quality over quantity, Chen. While I’m sure she appreciates your enthusiasm… that’s rather much for her to study for now, no?”
The bakeneko stumbled without any weight to counterbalance herself with, looking over at Yukari. The sage continued, as the gap moved over to the returns section and began to disgorge what it had swallowed. “Besides, I suspect that Kosuzu will be looking to come back here sooner, rather than later. No need to gather all the books now, right?”
Chen sagged a bit. “I-I…” She turned to Kosuzu, who was still looking cautiously over the edge of the table. “S-sorry… I just wanted to help”
The young fox stood up. “I-it’s fine.” The shikigami still looked guilty, even though she’d been trying to help… a thought occurred to Kosuzu. “Umm… rather than getting them all at once, maybe you could pass me a list? That way I can look them up myself, if I get that far.”
Chen immediately brightened. “Oh! Yes, I can do that!” She started patting around for a pen on her person, before being politely pointed in the right direction by Grampa.
Kosuzu sat down in the now-nearest chair, watching Chen go. “...What was that about?”
Reimu shrugged. “Beats me. I don’t remember Chen ever just volunteering to do something like that last time.” She turned to Yukari. “Is it something to do with Kosuzu having Ran’s book?”
“You could say that, yes.” Yukari smirked. “Let’s just say that, like Ran herself, she’s hoping that book is just the right tool to make a young fox thrive.”
Kosuzu turned to Yukari. “Speaking of… where is Lady Ran, anyways?”
Her question produced a chuckle. “Lady Ran?” Yukari hummed, leaning back. “...Most likely finishing matters up with the tengu. Encouraging them not to enflame what’s already a rather high-stress situation… By any means she deems effective.”
Kosuzu smiled. “You have to tell her… her book’s really good. Hya… the grimoire’s really helpful.”
Yukari shook her head. “As much as I’m sure she’d enjoy hearing your words either way, I think they’d mean more if they came from the actual fox’s mouth. I’ll have to arrange a meeting, as soon as possible.”
Kosuzu smiled. “I’d like that, thank you.” She chuckled, slowly closing the book. “Now, while we’ve got a little more time…” She turned to her Grampa. “Can you tell me more about my mom and dad? Anything that will help me put myself together.”
He gave a wrinkled smile. “Kosuzu… nothing would make me happier.”
“Come on you bastard… therrrrre we go.” The chunk of cement flopped over with a thud, revealing the trapdoor beneath. The door was warped to the point of being unusable, but there were few doors Saki had ever seen that could stand up to the kick of a pegasus.
On her third stomp, one side was beaten in enough to give her a handhold. She pulled one side open, and the other off, finally allowing herself access inside. The sound of a groan from the cavity’s occupant was enough to tell her she found her mark.
Saki squatted down. Thanks to the loops in her hairstyle, the silhouette of the wicked hermit was unmistakable. “Well, I see one Seiga getting up and no Seiga’s still lying on the floor, so hey, you’re alive! I mean, it’s no skin off our back here, but good your little hideout worked, I guess.”
Seiga managed to give her a rude gesture - trust a woman of her time period to know some of the real classics - as she stumbled to the entrance. “Ohhhhh, did it now? How wonderful. Yes, getting tossed into some dingy cellar was all according to plan.”
Saki chuckled. “Well, plan successful!” The glare she earned from the witch was entirely worth it. “Well, that part of it at least. Was it the Dragon Miko, or that new mini-haniwa model?”
“Neither, for your information. It was the little fox that was meant to be a non-combatant.” Seiga reached up, feeling around her hair. She turned to examine what of the basement she could. “...And the little brat stole my hair pin, too…”
The Keiga matriarch whistled. “What, she beat you head on? Must be pretty powerful for a pup.”
“Only when she got creative about her attacks. She’d be no match for me… but I let myself focus on her too much, and got attacked from behind.” The wounded hermit - hah! - looked around. “Where was my dear Yoshika, for that matter?”
“Stuck halfway down a drain.” She gestured over at the stiff. “Probably the fox’s doing, too. Neither of the other two are the type, I think.”
“Crafty little whelp.” Seiga groaned, rubbing her head. “Ugh, and she even ruined my test cases, too. …I’m strangling our little informant the next time I see her, I swear.”
Saki leaned in. “What’s that about test cases, now?”
The wicked hermit waved her arm. “You know what I mean. I never even saw Mayumi, so who knows if my little trick would have worked.”
The pegasus smirked. “Well now… you never actually saw Mayumi yourself, did you?” Seiga looked up at her, confused. “Lucky for you, a couple of wolves held back at the car. And while they weren’t able to stop the escape…”
She pulled out a small fragment of ceramic, handing it to the hermit. Seiga examined it first with curiosity, then with eager attention.
“...Oh. Oh my.”
Saki grinned. “Looks like your arcana’s in line with our noses. This could be the turning point in the battle for the realm. So, naturally, we’re going to need you to cast that spell again. As big as you can go, and as soon as you can provide it, too.”
Seiga hummed. “Well, in most circumstances, I’d say you’d need to wait 8-10 business days and pay a small fortune, but…” She cracked her knuckles. “I’d like to make a more personal examination of that fox. Give me a few human spirits to employ, and I’ll get a battalion-worthy ritual ready as soon as possible.”
“Hmmm…” Saki hummed in thought. “If you’re giving us a tool that powerful, I can’t help but oblige. How soon are we talking, anyways?”
“Ahhh…” Seiga looked up at the sky. “...Hard to say, really.”
The pegasus sagged. “Why’s it so hard?”
“Even if it’s brighter than most, this is still a land of eternal gloom and darkness.” The wicked hermit gave a grin befitting of her title. “Which... makes it oh-so-awkward to say that I’ll have it done by sunrise.”
D'aaawwwwww! Chen's trying to be a nice big sister! XD
and oh dear the poor Tengu, Ran, unable to see her daughter has to deal with the mess topside... she is going to be on a warpath...
and oh SHOOT that last bit doesn't sound good... making their own haniwha? subverting the existing ones? what is Seiga planning? (´･_･`)
Crowbar Yoshika Crowbar Yoshika Crowbar Yoshika
I understand it wasn't in the cards to be a fluffy tamer but she's still down here it's not too late to recruit a zombie crowbar.
On the rest of the chapter, I honestly wonder how many of the memory gaps Reimu has are from Yukari deliberately withholding info until she asked, and how many are from the memories being wiped in her last life as we heard about in A/A.
Hey, If Seiga's plan ends up being that she is trying to take control of the Haniwha, its only fair once we win to take rescue the zombie crowbar Yoshika from her! I'm still in that boat... but yeah there's a lot on the table right now, so I suppose one at a time.
I can't wait for Ran to finally meet Kosuzu to hear what she thinks about the book. Sadly, that meeting might have to wait after we get invaded by the Keiga family.
lol at Yoshika being used as a crowbar.
I want to see the whole deal with the informant. It's still vague, and we still lack the possible culprit's side of the story.
It seems the haniwa factory path would have been useful to learn what exactly could be happening to Mayumi next.
>> “You can create a dedicated frame for them, rather than puppeteering a corpse. And because it’s made for them, you can get a bit more sophisticated with the programming - giving them more thought and independence. Haniwa are like that, but because we’re the only things in our frames, we have to dedicate a good amount of our resources to actually running our bodies. So the more ‘alive’ you make a construct, the more of its resources you have to dedicate to running itself.” She smirked. “If you want to make a powerful haniwa, you need other sources of some form - like the faith of the human spirits.”
So, even if she has a piece of the body of the newest mini-haniwa model and Seiga learns she can reverse-engineer Mayumi, she could lack the amount of souls needed to make a new army of ceramics. Still, I can see two scenarios playing out:
Hacking: Learning how to take control of Mayumi.
Replication: Making her own Mayumi.
Personally, I like the possibility of an "evil Mayumi clone" more than Mayumi herself being controlled.
On the other side, I don't know how much you can learn from a haniwa shard, even if it's the best model yet and super optimized. Sadly the more probable outcome I can see is Seiga using the souls requested to Saki to take control of Mayumi or something like that (her "little trick" she wanted to use, maybe?)
But that's just me thinking aloud. See you next sunrise to see what happens!
P.S.: I've been working on two drawings but I don't know when I'll be able to finish them since this saturday is my birthday and I'll probably not be available this weekend. I also have doodled some things that I think might be relevant in the future but nothing I can post now because it's purely speculation.
Chen may not know anything but she has the feeling that she is someone close to the Yakumo family.
>>Her question produced a chuckle. “Lady Ran?” Yukari hummed, leaning back. “...Most likely finishing matters up with the tengu. Encouraging them not to enflame what’s already a rather high-stress situation… By any means she deems effective.”
If Ran is trying to calm the situation with the tengus then it is possible that she will talk to Megumu and tell her that she found a peculiar fox youkai
Seiga's plan seems like it is going to create an army or something more dangerous...
Rescue the *Crowbar Yoshika* lmao
Reimu leant against the entrance of the library, her tail swishing anxiously. Nervous, uncertain fingers tapped around the device in her hands, hoping not to scratch the screen. A task made more difficult by the fact the screen side of the device seemed to be little else.
The non-Motoori girls (excluding Chen, who Yukari had regathered and was distracting with a cat toy) had broken off from the family discussion, taking on various other methods of distraction once the books had been largely resolved. Reimu had pulled out a small game she’d brought with her, and had been pleasantly surprised when Yumemi leapt on it. Right up until the point where Yumemi had exclaimed that handling Reimu’s device made her feel ‘like an archaeologist’.
However, the device Yumemi had pressed into her hands as a temporary trade certainly did feel centuries ahead of her own. While hers consisted of small black silhouette-pieces moving about on a green-gray background, this device had full colors, and the graphics looked like they could very well have been alive. Apparently the screen consisted of literally millions of tiny, color-changing panels - Reimu’s mind boggled at the thought.
For what it was worth, Yumemi seemed to be treating the device Reimu had given her with much the same reverence and respect as one would treat an intact relic from a bygone age. Mayumi, for her part, was leaning over Reimu’s shoulder with keen interest.
…Though the haniwa was rubbing her cheek a lot. Reimu raised her head, glad to have an excuse to delay touching the screen any longer. “You alright there, Mayumi?”
“Fine, just a bit of a lingering sting.” She waved Reimu off. “Fresh clay takes some time to settle.”
“Ah, I wanted to ask about that.” Yumemi popped her head up. “Reimu, you are being honest when you say this is cutting-edge, right?”
The dragon-girl huffed. “I get that it looks primitive to you, but not even our arcade machines can keep up with your smart-phone thing.”
Yumemi pointed over at the Haniwa soldier in miniature. “Then… how does Mayumi work? How does any of Keiki’s technology work? Because if this is even close to new tech here, then Mayumi should look more like an original R.O.B. than a living person. But she looks as good as our maid robots. Maybe even better.”
Reimu shrugged. “Dunno. I assume Keiki’s magic just makes her especially good at making stuff like haniwa?” She turned to Mayumi for elaboration.
The young soldier duly provided. “More that the resources to apply it everywhere can’t be spared. Keiki’s strategic facilities integrate magic and specialized haniwa units at all levels. Powerful, precious materials are used for the wiring and the integration, and while many haniwa aren’t built by her directly, her divine power keeps every part of the system running.”
She tapped the device in Yumemi's hand. “Comparatively, Reimu’s little device is entirely made using our understanding of modern world technology. And where Keiki can make leaps and bounds using shikigami, that does mean that devices without that are behind the curve. Most notably, it means that we rely on humans from the modern world to improve our tech, and, well… the most tech-savvy humans of today are all still far too alive for us to learn from yet.”
Yumemi’s eyes were sparkling. “So by integrating magic, you’ve achieved more than half of a century’s worth of advancement wherever it can be used… that’s… incredible!”
Mayumi puffed her chest up, smugly. “Oh yes. In fact, the technological advance was even more rapid than that. This was all grasslands when Reimu was little.”
“Like you remember that.” Reimu rolled her eyes. Yumemi’s attention turned to jidiao, and now it was her turn to talk. “Humans only had a few mud-huts around when I was born. But once Keiki got her first few haniwa soldiers, she was able to work uninterrupted, and things just snowballed from there.”
Yumemi’s eyes went wide. “Haniwa are that good?”
“Yep!” Mayumi thumped her chest. “We’re completely immune to spiritual attacks. Gotta have corporeal power to hurt us, and that makes us a liiiiittle overpowered in the afterlife like the Animal Realm. The beasts can’t use their claws and fangs - they have to fight us on our terms, with lead bullet and steel blade.”
“Which the Kiketsu excel at, to be clear.” Reimu’s interjection was met with an irritatingly indifferent shrug from Mayumi. “Most of the smarter species come to the Kiketsu, after all. Either as parts of the main force, or as smaller allied families like the rabbits of Kousa.”
Yumemi turned to Reimu, her eyes sparkling. “Oooh, oooh! Can we meet the rabbits?”
“...No, sorry.” The Kousa were flaky at the best of times, and while she’d never met their leader herself, something about the faction’s actions reminded her too much of a particularly irritating rabbit from the surface. “But maybe we can take you to see a certain moon rabbit, sometime.”
“Oooooh! Yes please! I wanna see how high she can jump!" Reimu grinned at the scholars exhilaration. “Oh, I have to bring back proof of all this somehow! The scientific community would be turned on its head overnight!”
Mayumi chuckled. “Well, the point is, there’s nowhere safer than with Lady Keiki for you to be. The haniwa are built from the ground up to protect you, so that’s just what we’ll do.” Reimu kept any comments about artillery usage to herself. “So don’t worry, Yumemi. We’ll get you home.”
The young Yumemi curtseyed, gracefully. “Oh, I’m sure. Thank you again, both of you.” She turned to the Motooris, happily chatting away. “...And I have to thank Kosuzu, too.”
Mayumi turned to survey the group. “...Right, Kosuzu… I wanted to ask about that. What’s with Yukari being so interested in her? Do you know, Reimu?”
The jidiao huffed. “Beats me.” Everything Yukari was doing had taken her by surprise, frankly. …She supposed it wasn’t the actions themselves that were surprising. No small amount of Yukari’s missions for Reimu started with teaching her a skill that would either be the catalyst for the sage’s plans to begin, or the tool with which to resolve them. Sometimes both, at the same time.
…But she’d never been on the outside of it before. Spotting Kosuzu seemed to have captivated Yukari - where she’d been little more than problem the gap youkai had seen fit to set off before it became unsalvageable last time, in this timeline she was suddenly taking up more of Yukari’s attention than Reimu’d ever gotten in a week. Maybe even a month.
…Not that she was jealous, or anything like that. It was just puzzling, after all, to see the Sage suddenly so directly moving for Kosuzu. Outright moving to train her, and somehow finding her so quickly, and calming her down as well - Yukari seemed to be putting incredible attention into the young fox. More attention than Reimu had ever gotten, at least.
It was weird. Usually, it was her past self that was the more grounded and practical one of her two halves. But when it came to Yukari, it was the Kicchou side’s caution and detachment that seemed to bring out smarter short term decisions than the emotional cocktail the other Reimu had for Yukari. An emotional cocktail that was not being supplemented with fresh jealousy at Kosuzu, obviously, but an active and changing one nonetheless.
…But it was being stirred, of course, by Yukari herself. Especially if she was keeping that from her. Though, the idea that at least one group was actively doing so made her wonder if Akyuu was doing the same, though she wondered what, or who, could possibly motivate both of them to emit such a key word from everything they communicated to her.
Because it was utterly ridiculous that neither of them had mentioned her old last name yet.
_______ Reimu had been, and still was, the working nom de plume for her past self. Everyone seemed just fine talking about ‘her home’, ‘the shrine’, and occasionally ‘your other mother, Haru’, but the family name of any of these things never seemed to be included. And at some point, everyone must have assumed she must have learned it from someone else and shorthanded it away by default, and now Reimu couldn’t dare ask herself without revealing how long she’d been hiding that she didn’t know. It was maddening.
At this rate, she’d walk right into the Shrine and still not know her own last name. Or what the shrine was called, for that mat-
The sound of Yumemi’s voice broke her out of her funk. “Sorry, what?” She blinked, looking up at the young girl.
“I said I wanna learn more about Gensokyo.” Yumemi scooched closer. “Mayumi was just telling me about your youkai shrine! What sort of youkai lived there?”
…Had she seriously just zoned out and missed - Reimu shook her head, doing her best to hide any hint of distress under a cool Kiketsu gaze. …She could argue the point that it was not, in fact, a youkai shrine, but frankly, with the miko this time actually being a youkai, that reputation was a lost cause already. Instead, she found herself thinking back on past house guests, of varying lengths and stays.
((PICK TWO))
[ ] Such as the diminutive little princess, ever seeking to punch above her weight.
[ ] Or the fairy under the floorboards, an eccentric in every sense.
[ ] Maybe the deceptively small Oni, the one Reimu had incorrectly suspected was framed when she’d heard of the Immaterial Children Incident.
[ ] …And last, but never least, the komainu. Never powerful, but ever faithful. …Right to the very end.
>>210998
You say that as if it's easy to win against Seiga.
oh! that little bit about Hakurei does impact my planned omake (though only needing to swap out the name for ___ ... how do they pronounce it... wll its all internally so a mental blank does work doesn't it?) I do suppose having a cold knock me out from finishing it does have an upside!
and oh Reimu... of course you wouldn't admit not remembering that one in particular... really you're in the same boat as Kosuzu is feeling in regards to the memory of her parents ("I can remember a babysitter better than them?) and you just can't admit it... there there you silly Miko!
I suppose Reimu doesn't want to touch on her 3 little neighbours right now?
I don't know whether to go for it or... hm
huh, incorrectly guessed was framed for the IC incident? that's interesting, why would she assume Suika was blamed?
hmmm. I am debating between Clownpiece not only for her in particular, but maybe to end up touching on the FoL too? or Suika for our little mystery bit there... might be convinced to swap on whichever I pick on what is discussed though.
Aunn either way though...
[X] Or the fairy under the floorboards, an eccentric in every sense.
[X] …And last, but never least, the komainu. Never powerful, but ever faithful. …Right to the very end.
[X] Such as the diminutive little princess, ever seeking to punch above her weight.
[X] Maybe the deceptively small Oni, the one Reimu had incorrectly suspected was framed when she’d heard of the Immaterial Children Incident.
I genuinely have no guesses what possible long-term effects, if any, this choice could lead to. So! The tiny-huge terrors are my favourites, and that's what I'm rolling with.
... Interesting that Reimu has a gap like that in her memory. Going by her comments earlier, I suppose Yukari must know about it, too, which is even more interesting. I hesitate to say something fishy's going on, but I am suspicious. D'you suppose Yukari has gone and deliberately removed that memory? As some kind of test of Reimu's ability to fulfill the role she was born for without knowing what it is? A test of her ability to swallow her arrogance and reach out for help? As some kind of gift, keeping Reimu's duty from monopolizing her life the way it did before? Something else entirely?
Or am I just jumping at shadows?
well it's shaping up that we either do that or someone is doomed (i.e. she is at least involved in the arc's final boss somehow) so I'm just going to make plans for the after so we can focus on the battle itself when it arrives.
[X] Such as the diminutive little princess, ever seeking to punch above her weight.
[X] …And last, but never least, the komainu. Never powerful, but ever faithful. …Right to the very end.
[X] Such as the diminutive little princess, ever seeking to punch above her weight.
[X] …And last, but never least, the komainu. Never powerful, but ever faithful. …Right to the very end.
[X] Maybe the deceptively small Oni, the one Reimu had incorrectly suspected was framed when she’d heard of the Immaterial Children Incident.
[X] …And last, but never least, the komainu. Never powerful, but ever faithful. …Right to the very end.
The classic freeloaders.
Too many good options, but Aunn will have a sad ending so I'm steering clear of her (as good as she is.)
[X] Such as the diminutive little princess, ever seeking to punch above her weight.
[X] Or the fairy under the floorboards, an eccentric in every sense.
All of the three others are good choices, but I feel like Clown and Shinmy really embody Gensokyo. Not to say Suika doesn't, but Clown is a refugee from Hell sent to live a better life in Gensokyo, for the "all fantasy is welcome here" aspect of it, and Shinmy's revolution feels like a more spectacular incident than Suika's party, so she makes for a better story to explain the times when peace is disrupted.
[X] Maybe the deceptively small Oni, the one Reimu had incorrectly suspected was framed when she’d heard of the Immaterial Children Incident.
[X] …And last, but never least, the komainu. Never powerful, but ever faithful. …Right to the very end.
There are many possibilities as to why Yukari doesn't want to reveal, maybe it's a test of whether Reimu can do her job as Miko Hakurei or she doesn't want Yachie to find out that Reimu is an important Miko in Gensokyo.
[X] Maybe the deceptively small Oni, the one Reimu had incorrectly suspected was framed when she’d heard of the Immaterial Children Incident.
[X] …And last, but never least, the komainu. Never powerful, but ever faithful. …Right to the very end.
For me, Suika has been a recurring character who was with Reimu in good and bad times, plus she has spent more time living with her compared to the other options, of course without counting Aunn.
[X] Such as the diminutive little princess, ever seeking to punch above her weight.
[X] Or the fairy under the floorboards, an eccentric in every sense.
I feel like Aunn would be the "responsible" choice since we actually know she's involved in the story, but I'm more curious about people we haven't heard about!
[X] Or the fairy under the floorboards, an eccentric in every sense.
[X] Maybe the deceptively small Oni, the one Reimu had incorrectly suspected was framed when she’d heard of the Immaterial Children Incident.
Clown being tied to 4 nations, hell, and the moon definitely shows off the mythological melting pot that is Gensokyo, so she's a good way to answer Yumemi's question. People have already made good points for Suika, plus I don't remember Reimu thinking about her back in the early threads so I'm curious what that's about.
[X] Such as the diminutive little princess, ever seeking to punch above her weight.
[X] …And last, but never least, the komainu. Never powerful, but ever faithful. …Right to the very end.
[X] Maybe the deceptively small Oni, the one Reimu had incorrectly suspected was framed when she’d heard of the Immaterial Children Incident.
[X] Or the fairy under the floorboards, an eccentric in every sense.
We're in a subsection of hell, let's maximize the hellishness even further.
[X] Or the fairy under the floorboards, an eccentric in every sense.
[X] Maybe the deceptively small Oni, the one Reimu had incorrectly suspected was framed when she’d heard of the Immaterial Children Incident.
[X] Maybe the deceptively small Oni, the one Reimu had incorrectly suspected was framed when she’d heard of the Immaterial Children Incident.
[X] …And last, but never least, the komainu. Never powerful, but ever faithful. …Right to the very end.
Let's go with the earliest freeloader and a very dear companion.
[x] Such as the diminutive little princess, ever seeking to punch above her weight.
[x] Or the fairy under the floorboards, an eccentric in every sense.
[X] Or the fairy under the floorboards, an eccentric in every sense.
[X] Such as the diminutive little princess, ever seeking to punch above her weight.
I'm curious about these two. Aunn makes sense, she died in Reimu's arms (or just about) and Suika was a suspect for the incident. But what the heck are the other two on the list for? Just because they were in the shrine at one point? There's gotta be more there.
[X] Or the fairy under the floorboards, an eccentric in every sense.
Cute.
[X] Such as the diminutive little princess, ever seeking to punch above her weight.
Warm.
Yumemi asked Reimu:
>Mayumi was just telling me about your youkai shrine! What sort of youkai lived there?
>she found herself thinking back on past house guests, of varying lengths and stays.
and all 4 of the options lived at the Hakurei shrine for at least a period of time (or practically lived there.)
Aunn was the shrine's statues even before she awakened.
Suika after her incident (which she started AT the Hakurei Shrine.) has stayed at the shrine so often people can just assume to run into her there. (even as far along as Lotus Eaters!)
Clownpeice moved into the area benath the shrine building, and even after Reimu kicked her out, stuck there anyway from encouragement from the FoL who where her neighbours.
and Sukuna stayed at the shrine for some time after her incident in custody of some sort.
>>211021
But if being a tenant of the shrine is the only criteria, why those four? What makes Clownpiece and Shinmyoumaru more relevant than, say, Kana and Shion? It seems like there may be some point we're missing here.
Of course, it might also be that Gooboi arbitrarily limited the selection to the ones they're interested in writing and/or to simplify the vote.
[X] Maybe the deceptively small Oni, the one Reimu had incorrectly suspected was framed when she’d heard of the Immaterial Children Incident.
[X] …And last, but never least, the komainu. Never powerful, but ever faithful. …Right to the very end.
When I think of Reimu's house guests I always think of Suika Ibuki and Aunn Komano. Both Suika and Aunn have help out around the shrine multiple times and I would like to think that Reimu is thankful for that. Interestingly one of the times Suika helped out at the shrine (by rebuilding it) has been erased since SWR didn't happen in timeline B so it might be interesting to hear how Reimu view of Suika changed without that event (and since SWR didn't happen did Suika spend more time at the shrine since she didn't hang out at Heaven for a time). And as >>211003 had said why would Reimu suspect Suika took the blame. Regardless I hope to see both Suika and Clownpiece's plushies since out of the list of current choices we haven't seen theirs yet (even though I am not voting for Clownpiece I am still interested in her plushie just not as much as I am on hearing about the ever faithful Aunn).
One thing that I find interesting is the fact that Shion Yorigami is not on the list. While Shion is a poverty god and it would make sense to see a god at a shrine, the fact that it is not listed as a choice is interesting. She like Shinmyoumaru Sukuna had a stay at the shrine after their incident though Reimu did seem to get along better with Shinmyoumaru better than Shion outside of their mandatory shrine imprisonment visit.
>>210988
I remembered most of Tenshi's backstory from SWR, just not her name change. Thank you for clearing that up.
Neck and neck...
Alright, I'm going to at least try and do some debate on why I think of the choices it shouldn't be Aunn, since we all clearly like them equally.
Aunn is the only one of the four that we know is dead. (In Timeline B, anyways. She's obviously alive in C.) One of her statues literally had a hole through its chest. A story about her is only going to end in tears.
It's not that I don't appreciate a good cry now and then, but Yumemi is interested in Gensokyo, and crying about our dead dog is going to kill the mood. The least we can do is pull up some happier memories. Doesn't mean we have to just forget the bad times, but we don't have to cut ourselves on broken glass here.
Again, I think it's obvious we like them all, that's just why I'm making this point to try and maybe get some more clear results.
Counting to >>211023:
Main Choice:
[⑨] Such as the diminutive little princess, ever seeking to punch above her weight.
[⑨] Or the fairy under the floorboards, an eccentric in every sense.
[⑨] Maybe the deceptively small Oni, the one Reimu had incorrectly suspected was framed when she’d heard of the Immaterial Children Incident.
[⑨] …And last, but never least, the komainu. Never powerful, but ever faithful. …Right to the very end.
Hey Cirno, why are you here again...? It's the third time if I remember correctly...
You clearly aren't looking for Daiyousei again and you aren't gonna fool me with that excuse about a giant frog being behind me!
:3
I appreciate the focus shift to Reimu. We've learnt a lot since the last time we had insight on what she's going through.
I like not jealous Reimu. If Yukari knew she would tease her even more lol
>> “Most of the smarter species come to the Kiketsu, after all. Either as parts of the main force, or as smaller allied families like the rabbits of Kousa.” Leo DiCaprio pointing meme.jpg
I want to see Reimu's reaction to meeting the head of the Kousa clan.
[X] Or the fairy under the floorboards, an eccentric in every sense.
[X] Maybe the deceptively small Oni, the one Reimu had incorrectly suspected was framed when she’d heard of the Immaterial Children Incident.
I was about to vote for Aunn because even if Reimu gets sad or even cries about her fate last time, when they eventually reunite again it will be even sweeter. At least I hope so.
Also I couldn't turn down the chance for new plushies to potentially appear.
well to be technically fair, as far as Reimu knows everybody was dead (including herself!) aside from the the Hourai immortals when she was sent back in time.
Though also by that logic... Clownpiece is also going to be a choice to be careful of... it is going to be hard to talk about Clownpeice without mentioning her friends next door, which if Aunn's story ends in tears, then the Fairies of Light are going to be worse (in fact, I have asked this before, but since Clownpiece was living beneath the shrine, where was she when it was in the gap?)
... and yes I am the one that voted for both Aunn and Clownpiece...
also... the Q&A part is over, but recently I thought up another question.
{?} Is Rin Satsuki going to be used at all? such as being another arc's Youki?
>>211027
>as far as Reimu knows everybody was dead (including herself!) aside from the the Hourai immortals when she was sent back in time.
I think it's a psychology thing. Like you don't have to confront the reality that someone's gone if they're just gone, versus seeing their lifeless body (or statue in this case) for yourself.
That is to say, Suika, Clownpiece and Shinmy are just "gone"; while Aunn is decidedly "dead".
>>211025
LOL, good work anons.
I'll vote:
[X] Such as the diminutive little princess, ever seeking to punch above her weight.
[X] Or the fairy under the floorboards, an eccentric in every sense.
Alright, I'm locking in Clownpiece for one of the two to talk about, and locking out the doggo to unpack that little bundle of emotions.
So, next vote is the tiebreaker, and the only two options are the pint-sized incident-starters!
[ ] Such as the diminutive little princess, ever seeking to punch above her weight.
[ ] Maybe the deceptively small Oni, the one Reimu had incorrectly suspected was framed when she’d heard of the Immaterial Children Incident.
[X] Maybe the deceptively small Oni, the one Reimu had incorrectly suspected was framed when she’d heard of the Immaterial Children Incident.
Wait Reimu was playing thr Gameboy?
> Seiga managed to give her a rude gesture - trust a woman of her time period to know some of the real classics.
Do you bite your thumb at us, ma’am?
I do bite my thumb ma’am.
Do you bite you thumb at us, ma’am?
No, ma’am, I do not bite my thumb at you, ma’am, but I bite my thumb.
> We’re completely immune to spiritual attacks. Gotta have corporeal power to hurt us
Also take a note of this, it’ll be important against Seiga’s Malyumi.
Anyway, I’m a bit late for the vote, but personally, I prefer Suika so:
[X] Maybe the deceptively small Oni, the one Reimu had incorrectly suspected was framed when she’d heard of the Immaterial Children Incident.
[X] Maybe the deceptively small Oni, the one Reimu had incorrectly suspected was framed when she’d heard of the Immaterial Children Incident.
[X] Maybe the deceptively small Oni, the one Reimu had incorrectly suspected was framed when she’d heard of the Immaterial Children Incident.
I actually like Shinmy more than Suika, but I think Reimu would probably have more to say about Suika.
so just to double check, so this is a new vote and those of us that voted before vote again?
also for everyone, anyone else worried how Seiga said "test cases" when talking about what Kosuzu had ruined? if they knew the team composition from Tsukasa the informant... Seiga would know that Mayumi was the only Haniwha on the team... sooooo what did she have planned for Reimu?
either that or she was doing something with the wolves that Kosuzu dealt with?
He very explicitly called it a tiebreaker. So I’d assume it’s a single vote.
As for what Seiga’s doing… I feel like the fact that the very next chapter was reminding us that haniwa are immune to spiritual attacks (which is canon) is a very big hint. Might be that Seiga was able to bypass that immunity with the wolves
Gooboi said that the next vote is a tiebreaker so as far as I know voting has ended.
hey, i noticed that >>210994 isn't posted on ao3 at all. probably just an accident on gooboi's part, just wanted to let you know for the ao3 only readers!
Judging by the Chapter Title and it's description, it sounds like a Game & Watch. by the time of touhou 17, we were at Gameboys in the animal realm being a hip new thing, so we got some time to go.
[10] Such as the diminutive little princess, ever seeking to punch above her weight.
[11] Or the fairy under the floorboards, an eccentric in every sense.
[14] Maybe the deceptively small Oni, the one Reimu had incorrectly suspected was framed when she’d heard of the Immaterial Children Incident.
[9] …And the komainu. Never powerful, but ever faithful. …Right to the very end.
Reimu hummed. She… wasn’t ready to start talking about Aunn to a girl she barely knew - or, she knew well enough but who didn’t know her, bah - and whether or not Shinmy counted as a youkai was debatable. If you wanted a classic youkai inhabitant, though… “Well… I suppose my longest-term guest was probably the oni.”
That instantly had Yumemi’s attention, and Mayumi’s for that matter, so she continued. “Ibuki Suika. Oni, and previously the sole answer to the question ‘what does Gensokyo associate with the word ‘Immaterial’?’ She has the power to control density, and can do all kindsa things with it. Growing giant and stomping down on her foes, splitting herself into lots of mini-Suikas or a mist, and even making these gigantic vacuums that suck you in.”
Yumemi was amazed. “You - you have someone that can mess with the laws of physics to that extent at your shrine? How can she just… ignore reality like that?”
Reimu shrugged. “Same way anyone else does. Go to Gensokyo.” …And-slash-or get plastered, but she’d learnt from experience that the wisdom of sake was lost on outsiders until they were at least adults. And Mayumi’d absolutely report it to at least Keiki, and maybe even her mother, if she started making alcohol jokes. “The whole point of Gensokyo is to be a place where everything rejected by the outside world can thrive.”
The student scientist seemed to be stunned at the implications. Mayumi, for her part, was turning Suika’s name over in her head, trying to visualize the oni. She didn’t have much to go off, frankly, aside from an orange pufferfish plush bearing the little drunkard’s name.
…That brought back a fond set of memories. Her mother had modified the initial immaterial children’s plushies to Reimu’s request, along with a couple of others like putting the beard on the Genjii plushie, but there were only so many plushies that a yakuza matriarch had the time or skills to make. So most of the plushies that Reimu had, starting with Suika and Kasen, were designed by the spirit of a human toymaker, to her ‘specifications’ provided with images she made herself. She’d never met the man himself, but she’d made sure to write a thank you message after each one she received - something her mother had insisted on, likely so the toymaker would be at least somewhat invested in her happiness.
But what might have been a cute footnote to think back on if she’d never awoken to her past life now carried a uniquely mortifying reality. When it had become clear to Yachie that Reimu’s plushies were tied to memories of her past life, her Mama had immediately surfaced the drawings and ordered a team to investigate. That meant that, somewhere in Kiketsu’s intelligence, there was an embarrassingly hefty file on the list of plushies by name, and the behaviors Reimu had attributed to them over the years.
…And of course, the ‘specifications’.
With images. Made by herself.
Some from when she was five.
It was a file that Reimu would incinerate if she was ever within five feet of it. Matters were not helped by Reimu knowing for a fact Keiki was trying to build her own equivalent. She’d ultimately decided to clam up and refuse to answer any more questions about future friends without good cause, in the hopes that any misunderstandings would lead to the files being discredited and discarded. Suika was a promising one in that sense, as to her understanding, the current definition had puffer Suika, snakey Kasen, and a never-actually-plushified bear named Yuugi as servants to the Big Pink Whale. And she was pretty sure that there were at least some issues there, even if she didn’t know who Yuugi or the Big Pink Whale were meant to be.
Reimu shook her head to clear it. “Suika’s generally no big trouble as long as she has a steady supply of alcohol. She may get up to some mischief from time to time, but she’s mostly fairly relaxed. …Hard to have a bad time around her, honestly.” She felt a smile creeping up her face.
“So it’s true? Oni like drinking a lot?” Yumemi was brimming with curiosity. “Does the roasted soybeans thing work?”
Reimu nodded firmly. “Yep, it does. Though Suika will even go along with being a real oni to cast out for Setsubun if you offer her the right drinks in trade.” She paused, taking a moment to think. “On the other side of the spectrum, we have Clownpiece. A he- a fairy who lives under the shrine. Fairies are generally super weak, but if they ever - if they get too hurt, they, uh, burst into mist, and then reform themselves later.”
“When they reform, they don’t lose anything, do they?”
Reimu gave a dismissed wave. “Trust me, if they cared, they wouldn’t throw themselves at you everytime things started heating up. Some days you can’t shake a stick without hitting one. And some days they deserve it.” She chuckled a bit. “Clownpiece, at least, is a bit more than that. She’s actually pretty powerful, for a fairy at least.”
Clownpiece, and the Three Fairies of Light - another group she wasn’t quite ready to unpack just yet - all had matching plushies. Little sea angels, small and cute little flappy things. Yumemi thought for a moment before asking. “You say she lived under the shrine. But all this bad-ending stuff… was she there for that?”
Reimu shook her head. “I… don’t know what happened to her, in the end. She left maybe a couple of months before we were pulled into the gap, maybe longer. Hard to say, really - she may have been living under my floor, but fairies can hide away for a long time without ever doing anything to give the homeowner any idea they’re still there.”
She saw Kosuzu and Mabuchi giving a hug that looked… final in its bearing. Lingering for a moment, the young girl eventually pulled away, and turned to the group. Reimu smiled as her friend drew closer. “You’re not gonna bring him along? Or ask to stay at his place?”
The young fox shook her head. “Apparently he doesn’t have much that living things need. Like food. …And besides, I need to clear it with my mother first.” The young fox smiled. “But… but talking with him was… I needed it.”
Reimu gave her a reassuring pat. “Well… if you two are sure, we’ll head back to the dorms, then.” She turned to the Yumemi. “...And I’ll ask Keiki to make sure you have some spare clothes, as well.”
Yumemi curtseyed. “I’d appreciate that, thank you.” Her grin was completely rampant, and infectious as well. “Ha! People will be so jealous when they find out I had a sleepover with a kitsune and a dragon!”
“Well…” Mayumi shrugged. “That, or they’ll think you’ve lost it.”
The jidiao giggled at the thought. But… now tiredness was beginning to hit her, the tension of the day now fully winding down. “Come on, everyone. Let’s get back to base. Or else I'm gonna fall asleep on my feet.”
Honestly, I'd love to see an epilogue that's just the Kiketsu "Reimu plushie intel" file. Or Keiki's equivalent, for that matter. The reaction of basically any of Reimu's friends finding it would be glorious.
I'm dumb. Who's the big pink whale supposed to be? Miyoi? Yuyuko? ...good ole alcohol?
>>211048
Miyoi has pink hair, has whale theme going on, and is, depending on where you're looking, pretty big. She's also Suika's minion, and Yuugi sort of tried to poach her that one time, so I'd be pretty confident its her and the reversed power dynamic is a joke on the oni's alcoholism and Miyoi running a pub.
>>211049
Yeah all my bets were on it being Miyoi and alcohol itself in that order, but wanted to be sure. Yukuko being a pink whale is a funny comparison but didn't make sense in context.
Thanks.
If Marisa ever lays eyes on that file, she won't let Reimu forget about it in any universe or any timeline.
>> “On the other side of the spectrum, we have Clownpiece. A he- a fairy who lives under the shrine. Fairies are generally super weak, but if they ever - if they get too hurt, they, uh, burst into mist, and then reform themselves later.”
>> “When they reform, they don’t lose anything, do they?”
>> Reimu gave a dismissed wave. “Trust me, if they cared, they wouldn’t throw themselves at you everytime things started heating up. Some days you can’t shake a stick without hitting one. And some days they deserve it.” She chuckled a bit. “Clownpiece, at least, is a bit more than that. She’s actually pretty powerful, for a fairy at least.”
>> Clownpiece, and the Three Fairies of Light - another group she wasn’t quite ready to unpack just yet - all had matching plushies. Little sea angels, small and cute little flappy things.
Little Clione Fairies are adorable.
The walk home was mostly uneventful. Kosuzu was blown away by Reimu’s small game, then blown away again by Yumemi’s smartphone. Yumemi had gone to demonstrate some digital books, but there’d been some offense taken on Kosuzu’s part that Reimu hadn’t quite followed. Something about kindling, maybe. And she’d been ultimately unimpressed with the digital versions, saying they lacked the magic of the real deal.
Once the girls had gotten back to base, they’d had a lovely dinner, prepared by the human spirits. The star of the night, in terms of the spirit’s curiosity, turned out to be none other than Yumemi. It seemed strange at first glance, but after serving a dragon-turtle, a few goddesses, and even haniwa who only ate out of obligation, a completely normal (Reimu felt an urge to specify physically normal) human really was the odd one out.
At the end of a three-course meal, the girls had ultimately had a bit of free time - time Reimu and Mayumi used to show the other girls around, introducing some of the more public parts of Keiki’s mansion. Of particular interest to the girls was the games room, with a wall of arcade cabinets. Yumemi had once again both marveled at their presence, and simultaneously made the other girls feel like cavemen compared to her time.
For a time, it had been shaping up to be… just a fun night. A great night, a night with friends - including one Reimu had been dying to spend some time with. And Reimu was… just honestly enjoying it. She’d been wanting to show a friend some of the stuff she’d experienced in the Animal Realm that you’d never found in Gensokyo, and Kosuzu was the perfect audience. And they’d saved Yumemi, too! An unambiguous victory, that made their idleness feel all the more deserved.
…But… all things had to end eventually. And in this case, it had been as Reimu had been walking Kosuzu back from the bathroom. The younger girl had been the one to spot it, her ears twitching. “I hear something.”
Reimu stepped away from the cabinet she’d been leaning on, curious. “...What do you hear?”
“...Sounds like…” She gave a nervous look to Reimu. “Sounds like our mothers.”
The sound had actually come from the floor above the arcade, which had been on ground level. It was a floor mainly for official purposes, unlike the.floor below. This had lead the two to gently float up the steps in search of their target.
They’d eventually found it, in a small nook of the office section. Tsukasa and Yachie were having a quiet conversation. But… while the tone was seemingly casual, there was something just… off about their demeanours. Yachie’s casual breathing was just a touch too smokey, and Tsukasa’s tail was fluffed up. The two girls shared a silent glance, each fretting over her mother’s behaviour.
It seemed they were trying to avoid a scene, and attracting the attention of the various other forces. But… Kosuzu noted a small gap, snuck between two chairs, close enough to listen in on the conversation.
Which meant it was a lot closer than either of the Immaterial Children. They still couldn’t hear anything specific about the conversation. And their curiosity was burning.
Reimu:
[ ] Approach openly.
[ ] Sneak up and listen in.
[ ] Don’t investigate.
Kosuzu:
{ } Approach openly.
{ } Sneak up and listen in.
{ } Don’t investigate.
Best to stay hidden…
Reimu:
[X] Sneak up and listen in.
Kosuzu:
{X} Sneak up and listen in.
{X} Sneak up and listen in.
Kosuzu absolutely should not approach openly. Hearing what Tsukasa says when it's not tailored to her is going to be important.
I'm more split on what Reimu should do, though. Tsukasa's obviously not going to say anything honest, just what she thinks it'll profit her if she tells her audience, and I'm not sure how Reimu's presence or non-presence might affect that. Are we more likely to get something interesting out of her trying to sell to Yachie, or Yachie and Reimu at the same time? Consider, for instance, that she apparently doesn't believe the Immaterial Children stuff, and therefore probably doesn't think that Reimu and Kosuzu are actually close at all.
Tentatively, I'm gonna say:
[X] Approach openly.
The fact that we've been presented with a "Don't investigate" option at all is interesting to me, too. That's so obviously not something the voters will want to pick, and frankly kind of a weird response to this scene (at least from a narrative perspective) that I can't help but think there might be something hidden behind it. But I don't actually want to vote for "actually, let's ignore the plot hook instead" to find out.
A small gap seems like the kind of thing Kosuzu could take advantage of, so...
Reimu:
[X] Trust Kosuzu to investigate.
Kosuzu:
{X} Sneak up and listen in.
I'd say Reimu stays out. If she approaches she'll alert the moms, they know what Kosuzu can do, and that she probably won't be far from Reimu...
Reimu:
[X] Trust Kosuzu to investigate.
Kosuzu:
{X} Sneak up and listen in.
I read this Reimu option as "Don't investigate", just in case.
I feel like both of them trying to sneak in is a bad idea. Reimu especially is NOT a master of stealth, but Kosuzu here is now. Here's what I think we should go with, especially to help Kosuzu feel like she's contributing:
[X] Don’t investigate
-[X] Trust Kosuzu to investigate.
{X} Sneak up and listen in.
[X] Don’t investigate
-[X] Trust Kosuzu to investigate.
{X} Sneak up and listen in.
[X] Don’t investigate
-[X] Trust Kosuzu to investigate.
{X} Sneak up and listen in.
[X] Don’t investigate
-[X] Trust Kosuzu to investigate.
{X} Sneak up and listen in.
[X] Don’t investigate
-[X] Trust Kosuzu to investigate.
{X} Sneak up and listen in.
Isn't there a chance that everyone involved knows that Kosuzu would investigate? I'd imagine Tsukasa especially would be able to hear or detect her presence somehow and redirect where the conversation is going once someone's in hearing range.
It's possible that the book's silence spell could be used in more creative ways so that Tsukasa doesn't detect her.
[X] Don’t investigate
-[X] Trust Kosuzu to investigate.
{X} Sneak up and listen in.
Reimu:
[X] Don’t investigate.
Kosuzu:
{X} Sneak up and listen in.
A matter of abilities here. Reimu doing anything would surely break the conversation they are having. Reimu also isn't versed in sneaking in.
Kosuzu, on the other end, can easily sneak about in fox form, listen in then inform Reimu.
[X] Don’t investigate
-[X] Trust Kosuzu to investigate.
{X} Sneak up and listen in.
-{X} Use noise-cancelling magic to avoid being detected
All in all, I think this would be best.
[X] Don’t investigate
-[X] Trust Kosuzu to investigate.
{X} Sneak up and listen in.
-{X} Use noise-cancelling magic to avoid being detected
[X] Don’t investigate
-[X] Trust Kosuzu to investigate.
{X} Sneak up and listen in.
-{X} Use noise-cancelling magic to avoid being detected
Lovely write-in's.
[X] Don’t investigate
-[X] Trust Kosuzu to investigate.
{X} Sneak up and listen in.
-{X} Use noise-cancelling magic to avoid being detected.
While it’s not necessarily a bad idea to have only one girl go in, don’t forget Reimu’s got stealth too; that was basically her arc, after all, and she can mask her scent. She’s just more likely to choose violence if it’s valid.
With that said, there’s a bigger announcement! Lost Souls started an Outside/Omakes thread in /shorts/!
The story covers the Plushie Lore (tm), for those curious. While it’s written by lost soul, I did give feedback on character behaviour and so on. So while I’ll leave its canonicity just a touch up in the air, it’s designed to be compatible.
I’d appreciate it if anyone else who writes Omakes posts them in that thread. You can find it here: >>/shorts/2947
Counting to >>211078:
For Reimu:
[1] Approach openly.
[1] Sneak up and listen in.
[11] Don’t investigate.
-[12] Trust Kosuzu to investigate.
For Kosuzu:
{0} Approach openly.
{15} Sneak up and listen in.
-{4} Use noise-cancelling magic to avoid being detected.
{0} Don’t investigate.
:3
actually, that is a good point,
and also I realized, that sound cancelling magic works both ways, so unless we drop it once in position, we wouldn't be able to hear the conversation.
>>211077 here
[UNDO] Don’t investigate
-[UNDO] Trust Kosuzu to investigate.
[X] Sneak up and listen in.
-[X] Disguise both hers and Kosuzu's Scent
[X] Sneak up and listen in.
-[X] Disguise both hers and Kosuzu's Scent.
{X} Sneak up and listen in.
-{X} Use noise-cancelling magic to avoid being detected.
Taste and Smell are sort of the same sense, so both are neutralized by Reimu, Touch only works at a distance if we were causing vibrations or something, Hearing is neutralized by Kosuzu, and sneaking will hopefully avoid sight. We are beyond all five senses.
>>211063 here.
[UNDO] Don't investigate
[X] Sneak up and listen in.
The thing is, we want Kosuzu to be able to operate more independently. She can probably do this on her own. Just needs to keep a respectible distance.
>>211079 in that case, then...
[X] Sneak up and listen in.
-[X] Disguise your scent.
{X} Sneak up and listen in.
-{X} Use noise-cancelling magic on both of you to avoid being detected.
-{X} Try to shift into fox form and go on Reimu's shoulders to take up less space to listen in.
combine stealth powers, go! pity we can't do anything about kosuzu's scent, but it's the best we can. don't want kosuzu going alone because if my hunch about what they're talking about is true, then i think she might need someone to ground her afterwards.
>>211072
Reimu
[UNDO] Don’t investigate
-[UNDO] Trust Kosuzu to investigate.
[X] Sneak up and listen in.
-[X] Disguise both hers and Kosuzu's Scent
Kosuzu
-{X} Use noise-cancelling magic on both of you to avoid being detected.
-{X} Try to shift into fox form and go on Reimu's shoulders to take up less space to listen in.
[X] Don’t investigate.
{X} Sneak up and listen in.
[X] Sneak up and listen in.
-[X] Disguise your scent.
{X} Sneak up and listen in.
-{X} Use noise-cancelling magic on both of you to avoid being detected.
-{X} Try to shift into fox form and go on Reimu's shoulders to take up less space to listen in.
>>211079
>>While it’s not necessarily a bad idea to have only one girl go in, don’t forget Reimu’s got stealth too; that was basically her arc, after all, and she can mask her scent. She’s just more likely to choose violence if it’s valid.
Or that is what you want us to think. Jokes aside this is such a good point, that it changed what I was going to vote for on Reimu's side of things.
I would add a write in for an excuse for Kosuzu but I can't think of anything atm.
[X] Sneak up and listen in.
-[X] Disguise your scent.
{X} Sneak up and listen in.
-{X} Use noise-cancelling magic on both of you to avoid being detected.
-{X} Try to shift into fox form and go on Reimu's shoulders to take up less space to listen in.
We might still trip Yachie's mum senses, but this looks like a good attempt to stay stealthy at least
[X] Sneak up and listen in.
-[X] Disguise both hers and Kosuzu's Scent.
{X} Sneak up and listen in.
-{X} Use noise-cancelling magic to avoid being detected.
Sneaky Time
Reimu going too will also give Kosuzu a bit of cover if she does end up caught,
actually there's probably multiple upsides to having both here.
if they both get caught together, then Tsukasa can't use it to try to claim that Kosuzu was acting for her to try to turn Yachie against Kosuzu or something.
but there's also that, well I at least initially, and I don't know how many others are probably making a mistaken assumption that its only going to be Tsukasa saying something implicating... it IS Tsukasa's specialty of drawing out a weakness in a person's desires, and we already know that Yachie has one, losing Reimu. so Tsukasa might poke Yachie into saying something compromising that might be awkward for Kosuzu to say to reimu (but not as much to be heard firsthand.)
course there is also that Tsukasa's usual habit of talking behind someone's back... and we've already seen what she has been saying to Kosuzu's face... so who knows what'll sound like when she doesn't think Kosuzu can hear, and it might be helpful to have a emotional support Miko on hand for that.
there's probably a couple of other things that aren't coming to mind right now.
[X] Sneak up and listen in.
{X} Sneak up and listen in.
-{X} Use noise-cancelling magic to avoid being detected.
Still can't think of an excuse for if they get caught. Maybe something like hoping Yukari is still around?
>>211064
Okay, you got me, I'll change my vote.
Reimu
[UNDO] Trust Kosuzu to investigate.
[X] Sneak up and listen in.
-[X] Disguise your scent.
Kosuzu
-{X} Use noise-cancelling magic on both of you to avoid being detected.
-{X} Try to shift into fox form and go on Reimu's shoulders to take up less space to listen in.
Let's see what happens.
Counting to >>211096:
For Reimu:
[1] Approach openly.
[12] Sneak up and listen in.
-[4] Disguise both hers and Kosuzu's scent. (>>211081, >>211083, >>211088, >>211093)
-[4] Disguise your scent. (>>211087, >>211090, >>211092, >>211096)
[10] Don’t investigate.
-[8] Trust Kosuzu to investigate. (>>211065, >>211066, >>211067, >>211068, >>211070, >>211074, >>211075, >>211078)
For Kosuzu:
{0} Approach openly.
{22} Sneak up and listen in.
-{12} Use noise-cancelling magic to avoid being detected. (>>211074, >>211075, >>211077, >>211078, >>211083, >>211087, >>211088, >>211090, >>211092, >>211093, >>211095, >>211096)
-{5} Try to shift into fox form and go on Reimu's shoulders to take up less space to listen in. (>>211087, >>211088, >>211090, >>211092, >>211096)
{0} Don’t investigate.
:3
Hopefully this isn't wrong...
Reimu:
[1] Approach openly.
[12] Sneak up and listen in.
-[8] Disguise your scent.
[10] Don’t investigate.
Kosuzu:
{0} Approach openly.
{22} Sneak up and listen in.
-{12} Use noise-cancelling magic to avoid being detected.
{ } Don’t investigate.
The two girls took a brief moment to gesture some tactics at each other. It was ultimately decided both would go in, but not without preparations.
The former focused, first casting a silence spell. After a moment’s thought, she shaped it to roll only across the ground, dampening the sound of her footsteps and making minimal disturbance otherwise. Reimu, for her part, focused, and all sense of Reimu’s scent near-entirely vanished.
The young kuda-gitsune shifted to her fox form, and began a lightfoot pad across the empty room. Reimu crept after her anxiously. Some of the eyes peeking out of the small gap were watching her just as closely.
“...so all of this was for some later performance?” Yachie’s voice had just the finest hint of an edge to it.
“Quite right.” Her mother, meanwhile, was oozing with her usual sycophantic demeanor. She had her eyes shut, maybe to avoid meeting the jidiao’s full-bore gaze. “See, the plan was that with the just-too-late tipoff, I would gain their trust without any gain for their own. And from that, it could be parlayed into giving them misleading information for your dearest Reimu’s extraction.”
“You had no permission to do such a thing.” The jidiao’s pose was casual, but her gaze was cold and calm. Looking up at them, the young fox found herself reminded of a still lake’s surface, “On what grounds would you go so flagrantly against my orders?”
“Ah, it was the blue-clad witch that forced my hand.” The fox made a dramatic showing of her hands. “She was performing some foul ritual to bestow upon the wolves some manner of enchantment. One they believed would allow them to take control of the war. I couldn’t just let that crash into the front lines, could I? So I bade the witch leave and take her ritual with her, before she could complete it.”
As her mother spoke, Kosuzu carefully snuck behind one of the chairs. She nestled into position, turning back and giving a nod to Reimu, who’d put herself at an archway just before their mothers. The gap slid over slightly allowing the fox a little more room, while the dragon onlooker lifted herself up, floating above the archway. .
Yachie folded her arms. “An enchantment… Did you at least get an idea of what it was?”
Tsukasa shrugged. “Ahhh, tragically, no. Being overtly curious would have betrayed my hand. However, it affects the wolves, that much was clear.”
“I see.” An ocean of disapproval flowed out from between the words. The Kiketsu matriarch didn’t respond further for some time, leaving the air silent.
Tsukasa broke first. “Y-you may think it was net zero in the end, but I assure you, seeing the excitement these wolves had for this enchantment, anything that might set them back is sure to be a net bene-”
“Why did I hire you?” Yachie’s sudden, toothy smile was bright, like a shining lure.
Her mother was momentarily thrown off. “Pardon?”
“Come now, surely you haven’t forgotten?” Yachie leaned in. “What we discussed just this morning? The one condition I needed you to fulfill?”
Tsukasa took a moment to respond. “Ah, well… it was to support your endeavors in sending your daughter to the surface.”
“Close, very close. It was to protect my daughter. And what did you do?” There was a moment of silence. Yachie’s lure broke, to reveal rows of jagged teeth. “Tell me, Tsukasa. What. Did. You. Do.”
The fox balked under her fury. “I-I… I can only apologize… I-I genuinely thought they’d have escaped long before that Seiga got there.” The dragon loomed closer, her toothy maw billowing smoke. “I-I swear, th-they must have been delayed or, or-or-or…”
“It doesn’t matter. You are lucky, Tsukasa - truly lucky. Because if my daughter had gotten a scratch on her, your throat would be spilling blood across this floor. And if she had been seriously injured in any way, I would not be so merciful as to grant you such a quick and easy death.”
Kosuzu had never seen her mother so starved of a reply. It must have been the Jidiao’s power to break one’s ability to refuse her. Only that could explain the normally slick Kudamaki elder being so devoid of a response.
“From now on, you don’t dare to act without my permission.” The fox nodded hastily. “This conversation will not happen again. You will follow my orders exactly, and you will not recklessly endanger my daughter. Ever.”
“I-I…” The fox sagged. “Y-yes. Of course, Lady Kicchou. I didn’t mean to cause such a risk, I swear. Your choice to spare me is… most merciful.” She turned to leave, tail between her legs.
The jidiao stepped back, her point made. “Honestly, if your plans go this poorly, it’s no wonder that you ended up a lesser fox.”
Kosuzu flinched. Her mother froze, one hand on the doorway. “Pardon?”
Yachie waved her off. “Did I stumble over my words? It’s hard not to see how you ended up a kuda-gitsune if you consider this sort of tomfoolery real cunning.”
Kosuzu saw the kuda-gitsune’s claws dig into the door frame. She huddled close, feeling the eyes from the gap on her trembling form..
Kudamaki Tsukasa straightened up, giving Yachie an icy stare as she hung at the doorway. “Ah, well, I suppose you never have to worry about that sort of thing, do you? Not exactly many subspecies of dragon known for their maternal incompetence.”
Kosuzu flinched. Both of the jidiao narrowed their eyes. “Excuse me?”
Tsukasa flipped her arm incessantly. “After all, all this pomp and circumstance, calling me in the first place - it’s because of your own mistakes, isn’t it? You needed a second opinion, because you’ve lost trust in the first.”
She turned around, walking back into the room. “I did do my background research, you know. I know about your little failed convoy plan.” She gave a sly smile, her words seeping with mockery. “Tell me - what do you view as your biggest mistake there? Was it your escape plan, overlooking the missing otters, or taking Reimu out to your little strategic salient in the first place?”
Yachie glared at her, her previous ocean of calm boiling with fury. Kosuzu held her breath as her mother got even closer. “I was hired, by you no less, to patch those gaps in your tactical strategy. Because you’ve managed to stumble your way into an alliance tilted heavily against you. Because the best strategy you have going forward is sending your daughter away to the land of the living, and you need someone to make sure others don’t steal her away.”
The Kiketsu matriarch growled. “You overstep your bounds, Kudamaki.” Reimu was biting back fire, and the elder Kicchou wasn’t doing much better.
Tsukasa shrugged airily. “I only speak in my role as a consultant. Please, don’t misunderstand, I want only the very best for your daughter. I do realize I’ve made some mistakes, but…” She gave Yachie a lopsided grin. “Haven’t we all?”
There was a moment. Yachie leaned back, as if considering something. The young fox held her breath, waiting.
Then… the stormy seas gave way to calm. The jidiao began to chuckle. Gently, quietly. Tsukasa paused, disoriented. “Wh…what’s got you laughing?! Have you taken leave of your senses?”
“Ahahahahah… ohhhhh, it’s nothing. Just something about that last line…” The jidiao took a slow, deep breath. “Ahhhhh… haven’t we all indeed?”
She looked back, giving Tsukasa a loose grin. “You want to know my answer?” The fox hesitated, as Yachie stood up. “The big mistake I made was underestimating Reimu herself. Trying to curb her potential. I tried to quash her unique qualities, when they were exactly what she needed to make it through.” Yachie raised a finger. “Likewise, allow me to say, do not underestimate young Kosuzu. I believe there’s quite a bit of potential lurking just beneath the surface there.”
Tsukasa… stiffened up a bit. “For as much as our methods differ, I wouldn’t dare think of trying to change the way you’re raising Reimu. Or intervening in her growth.” Her eyes narrowed to a glare. “I would hope you would do the same.”
“Ah, yes, tit for tat…” Yachie shrugged, casually. “I suppose that if Kosuzu’s mother asks me to respect such a boundary, I have no choice but to oblige, hmmm?” She stretched. “Anyway, you should get moving. If that irritating Haniwa goddess gives you grief, just tell her what you’ve told me, and relay any insights she has back.”
Still uncertain, the fox bowed. “...By your leave, then, Lady Kicchou.” She walked through the archway, leaving Reimu and Kosuzu both to quietly adjust their positions. With one last look back, she headed down the hall, and away.
A few moments after she’d left, Kicchou looked up. “And when did you get up there, Reimu?”
Her daughter slowly descended from the rafters. “Errr… just before she started talking about the ritual.”
“Ahhh, I see.” Her mother chuckled. “Your smoke puffs gave you away. Granted, I was smoking just as much as you for a time there.” She sighed. “That fox can certainly raise one’s blood pressure.”
Reimu folded her arms. “Can I say I told you so?”
Yachie chuckled. “Well, then you wouldn’t have young Kosuzu by your side, no? Worry not, we’ve taken precautions.” She turned to the chair where Kosuzu and the gap were hidden. "Lady Yukari, thank you again for your assistance.”
The gap Kosuzu was next to ascended, and spread open, revealing Yukari up to her chest. “Yes, don’t worry. Me and Keiki heard everything. I’ll stay over here next, and make sure her story’s the same on this side.”
Reimu raised an eyebrow. “So you were spying officially?”
The gap sage bowed. “Counter-insurgency is a vital tactic in matters like this. And… let’s just say that Tsukasa is a bit of a subject of interest.” The gap slid down, revealing her body in full.
The young jidiao was defensive. “Whatever you’re planning, Yukari, you better not hurt Kosuzu in the process.”
Yachie smirked. “Oh, I assure you, Yukari’s not going to harm Kosuzu. In fact-”
“Yachie.” Yukari’s voice was stern. “Young Kosuzu is actually listening in on us right now.”
The elder dragon waved an arm flippantly. “Then close the gap you gave her, or however that works.”
“You misunderstand. She didn’t come at my bidding. She came at your daughter’s.”
Yacchie looked at Yukari, then Reimu. “Surely you’re joking…? ”Slowly, she scanned the room, searching for the other intruder.
After a moment’s debate, Kosuzu revealed herself, stepping out in front of the chairs. With a puff of smoke, she shifted, revealing her full form.
…It was there. Just for a moment, almost immediately hidden back under her emotional control.
But… even if it was hidden, she still saw it. The moment when the leader of the Kiketsu was genuinely shocked to see her. Kosuzu did her best to bow respectfully, but she could feel her tail wagging, giving away her hidden excitement. “Apologies for surprising you, Lady Kicchou. I used a silence spell to creep in as close as I could.”
G__p has become 2.
…After a moment, Yachie rallied. “A silence spell, eh? You’ve certainly applied yourself to that book from Yukari.” She sighed. “Would that Tsukasa was so proactive or respectful.”
The young fox faltered a bit. The little voice in her heart spoke up. “Do… do you think I could get stronger than mom?”
Both of the older women took a moment to consider. Reimu did not. “I’m sure you’ll get heaps stronger, Kosuzu. She’ll be completely shocked.”
“Indeed.” Yukari smiled. “Well done, little Kosuzu.”
Kosuzu grinned, turning to Yachie. “Anything else you need doing?”
The jidiao chuckled, waving her off. “For now, just enjoy your time with the others. We’ve got matters well in hand, so you two should do your best to make young Miss Yumemi and yourselves comfortable.”
“If you’re sure…” Reimu saluted. The two elders nodded together, and with that, Reimu gave up on pursuing the matter. Instead, she turned to Kosuzu, grinning.
“You know, there’s a haniwa here who makes amazing desserts.”
“Oh?” Kosuzu’s tail was wagging more now. “Is there something you had in mind?”
The jidiao gave a toothy grin. “Yeah. Come on, let’s see if we can get all four of us a late-night snack.”
The two girls stepped away, giggling. Yachie sighed, rubbing her forehead as they walked out the door. “Honestly… can’t believe that a fox managed to sneak up on me.”
Yukari turned, giving her a smirk. “You are an exceptional master of the covert, Yachie. So please understand I say this with no intended offense, but… that particular fox? I absolutely can.”
>>G__p has become 2.
we did it guys, there are only 2 more left
>The young fox faltered a bit. The little voice in her heart spoke up. “Do… do you think I could get stronger than mom?”
>Both of the older women took a moment to consider. Reimu did not. “I’m sure you’ll get heaps stronger, Kosuzu. She’ll be completely shocked.”
>G__p has become 2.
YES!!!
also WAY TO GO YACHIE! way to turn my worry back on Tsukasa!
also I had misread in the previous update regarding the gap, I had thought it was a mundane gap in which Kosuzu was aiming for to sneak up to listen in! XD Oops! I got so confused when Yachie started talking to Yukari!
also, yeah, looks like it is Grip... though hopefully that doesn't mean we have only one more opportunity to lower it...
>“Ah, yes, tit for tat…” Yachie shrugged, casually. “I suppose that if Kosuzu’s mother asks me to respect such a boundary, I have no choice but to oblige, hmmm?
>Yachie smirked. “Oh, I assure you, Yukari’s not going to harm Kosuzu. In fact-”
>“Yachie.” Yukari’s voice was stern. “Young Kosuzu is actually listening in on us right now.”
It looks like Yachie is in the know here. I wonder who approached who about this? Did Yachie pick it up quickly or did Yukari approach Yachie?
>>211100
>also, yeah, looks like it is Grip... though hopefully that doesn't mean we have only one more opportunity to lower it...
That would kinda be BS imo because the first few instances of it were not enough info to determine A) what causes it to be affected and B) what the word could be.
>>211100
We've gone from one letter visible to two, so we probably have at least two more shots.
We have to praise Reimu on this one, must have taken a lot of self-control for her to not blow her cover completely (even though Yachie noticed her). Note to self: don't speak bad about Yachie in front of Reimu. I'm sure that will go well when they eventually cross paths with Youmu. Can't wait for that to happen, but we're a long ways to go before that. I know I'm not the only one waiting for this lol
I'm glad Yachie has taken a liking to Kosuzu. I wonder if her feelings about her would have been changed a little if she chose Keiki's suggestion (Inari instead of kitsune).
>> “I suppose that if Kosuzu’s mother asks me to respect such a boundary, I have no choice but to oblige, hmmm?” She stretched.
>> Yachie smirked. “Oh, I assure you, Yukari’s not going to harm Kosuzu. In fact-”
I agree, Yachie seems to know. That implies Yukari has had at least one talk with her about the situation, and she probably wants to help Yukari with that... issue. I wonder how much does she exactly know, though. I can't wait for the eventual payoff.
Now, I worry about what Tsukasa could do now. I hope she doesn't do anything reckless.
Anyways, let's wait and see what happens.
She knows something, but what exactly does she know? If the prevalent theory is correct and both Yukari and Yacchie know about it, then how is Tsukasa even breathing right now?
>>211105
I'd say from the reference to if kosuzu's mother asks, and Yachie assuring Reimu that Yukari isn't going to hurt Kosuzu, I'm pretty sure that Yachie knows that Kosuzu is Ran's kit and not Tsukasa's
As for why Tsukasa is still alive, it is probably to find out the answer that we've been trying to figure out quite a bit at this point: Why?
Tsukasa doesn't believe in the Immaterial Children incident, which is weird because that is exactly why Ran had a child. and on top of that why attempt to take something from the Yakumos. especially if as Yachie points out, Tsukasa's "cunning" leaves something to be desired.
Why did she do it, and also How did she pull it off? which as Yukari pointed out in the library:
>“There’s still… too many questions. Why did they do it? Did they act alone, or did they have an accomplice? And… how did they vanish into the night? Until I have those answers, Ran’s child could be right in front of me and I still would have my hands tied.”
>If I act rashly to reclaim the child, and don’t rip the problem out at its roots… the retaliation might be even more cruel, to say nothing of the possibility that what I see may only be the surface. If I tell anyone else about the child, and they prove to be aligned with the kidnappers - or seek out Ran’s kid for their own ends?” She wilted, sagging in exhaustion. “...And yet, I can’t help but see parallels to how this all started…”
>If there is only one of them, that is.
they need to also find out if anyone had Tsukasa do this, or help her do it, and Tsukasa is the only one they have right now to answer the question.
...hmm... Tsukasa didn't seem to imply anything right now that would indicate she was the one spying in the library... not a chance for it to come up...?
> G__p has become 2.
Alright, it’s almost certainly grip, now all we need to do is begin disobeying and challenging Tsukasa, although, this might cause her to retaliate.
> Because if my daughter had gotten a scratch on her, your throat would be spilling blood across this floor. And if she had been seriously injured in any way, I would not be so merciful as to grant you such a quick and easy death.
Also with everything, I kinda forgot that Yachie is a Yakuza boss, I guess it’s because we only see her from Reimu’s perspective.
I think the most interesting part of the scene is this one, to me:
>>The jidiao stepped back, her point made. “Honestly, if your plans go this poorly, it’s no wonder that you ended up a lesser fox.”
>>Kosuzu flinched. Her mother froze, one hand on the doorway. “Pardon?”
>>Yachie waved her off. “Did I stumble over my words? It’s hard not to see how you ended up a kuda-gitsune if you consider this sort of tomfoolery real cunning.”
>>Kosuzu saw the kuda-gitsune’s claws dig into the door frame. She huddled close, feeling the eyes from the gap on her trembling form.
Apparently this Tsukasa was some other fox before becoming a kuda-gitsune. And she gets pissed if you bring it up.
>>211108
It reads more as good old-fashioned classism to me (to the effect of "if this is what your idea of intrigue is, no wonder you ended up a gofer instead of a director"), but considering the way the differences between fox specializations have been handled so far, that might make more sense.
Thinking about it, if Tsukasa at some point tried to become a full bakegitsune, failed and ended up a mere tube fox, and is still seething with resentment over it... I don't know that it would explain anything, but it might fit with some of her tendencies that we've seen so far.
I have 2 theories that I wanted check and see if there is any merit to them.
From: >>210832
>>“While we were still grieving, a certain woman came into Suzunaan.” He scowled. “A blonde woman who called herself Shirohime. And… she encouraged me to use the magics from a certain book.”
>>“Shirohime…” Kosuzu mouthed the words, uncertainly. The faintest hint of a memory tickled in her, so vague she wasn’t even sure it was real. “What was this book?”
>>“I don’t know if she found it or brought it, but… it was a dangerous tome. One dealing in forbidden magic. Cruel magic. She encouraged me to use a certain spell, one that would… well, one that would bind an animal spirit to serve as my eyes, while making them almost undetectable to anyone else.”
From: >>210871
>>Kosuzu blinked, as the older youkai sighed, rubbing her head. “There’s still… too many questions. Why did they do it? Did they act alone, or did they have an accomplice? And… how did they vanish into the night? Until I have those answers, Ran’s child could be right in front of me and I still would have my hands tied.”
>>Kosuzu’s ears flicked back. “Because… you don’t know if you can protect them from the culprits…?”
>>For a moment, Kosuzu could see it. The weight of years on the youkai before her. “…I do not lack for those who may wish me or my shikigami ill, after all. If I act rashly to reclaim the child, and don’t rip the problem out at its roots… the retaliation might be even more cruel, to say nothing of the possibility that what I see may only be the surface. If I tell anyone else about the child, and they prove to be aligned with the kidnappers - or seek out Ran’s kid for their own ends?” She wilted, sagging in exhaustion. “...And yet, I can’t help but see parallels to how this all started…”
I am now of the belief that Shirohime is not Tsukasa, but is instead either an accomplice or the one who hired Tsukasa to kidnap Kosuzu. And Tsukasa raised Kosuzu either because she wanted to or because she was ordered to. Part of the reason I am thinking this is Shirohime should know that Kosuzu is an Immaterial Child (from the spell) but Tsukasa either didn't or pretends she didn't know that. second Shirohime seems to be one that prefers others to take the risk instead of herself, as she didn't use the spell herself but temped Grandpa to use it.
From: >>210641
>>“We’re… we’re safe?” Kosuzu asked, pulling her head up a bit. Mayumi turned back, nodding - and Kosuzu felt her skin crawl. The haniwa had taken a shot to the cheek, cracking it dramatically.
From: >>210994
>>The pegasus smirked. “Well now… you never actually saw Mayumi yourself, did you?” Seiga looked up at her, confused. “Lucky for you, a couple of wolves held back at the car. And while they weren’t able to stop the escape…”
>>She pulled out a small fragment of ceramic, handing it to the hermit. Seiga examined it first with curiosity, then with eager attention.
>>“...Oh. Oh my.”
>>Saki grinned. “Looks like your arcana’s in line with our noses. This could be the turning point in the battle for the realm. So, naturally, we’re going to need you to cast that spell again. As big as you can go, and as soon as you can provide it, too.”
From: >>211098
>>“Ah, it was the blue-clad witch that forced my hand.” The fox made a dramatic showing of her hands. “She was performing some foul ritual to bestow upon the wolves some manner of enchantment. One they believed would allow them to take control of the war. I couldn’t just let that crash into the front lines, could I? So I bade the witch leave and take her ritual with her, before she could complete it.”
>>As her mother spoke, Kosuzu carefully snuck behind one of the chairs. She nestled into position, turning back and giving a nod to Reimu, who’d put herself at an archway just before their mothers. The gap slid over slightly allowing the fox a little more room, while the dragon onlooker lifted herself up, floating above the archway. .
>>Yachie folded her arms. “An enchantment… Did you at least get an idea of what it was?”
>>Tsukasa shrugged. “Ahhh, tragically, no. Being overtly curious would have betrayed my hand. However, it affects the wolves, that much was clear.”
Current theory on the spell is it is something that lets the wolf spirits be able to attack/damage haniwa. Forgive me if I am wrong but wasn't the reason that the animal spirits possess Reimu, Marisa and Youmu in Wily Beast and Weakest Creature because they couldn't hurt the haniwa without a physical body?
>>210999
>>211110
You're right about spirits and haniwa, maybe I was thinking too much back then. Right now I think Mayumi's ceramic shard will be used as proof of concept of whatever spell Seiga used on the wolves. If they can interact with it after being "buffed" then it means it works, nothing fancy or evil about the shard itself. Maybe? I hope?
It looks like being legitimately independant and somewhat proactive is the ticket for dealing with the Grip stat.
We could have had Kosuzu not do anything or pipe through Yukari's gap in the chairs and she would have gotten the infodump anyway, but since she decided to take it into her own hands and avoid reliance on Yukari...
Unless we absolutely think we need help and it's not coming from a Yakumo or from Tsukasa, we probably should have Kosuzu do things hands-on.
“And then she blasted all the dizzy wolves at once! They went off like firecrackers!”
Yumemi flailed her spoon around, energetically. Kosuzu only blushed further, trying to hide her face behind her hands.
The promised dessert was a big, moist cake, with layers of jam and cream through the middle separating different flavors. Kosuzu couldn’t remember if she’d ever had something this decadent in her past life, but she definitely hadn’t in this one.
Joining the four girls was Chen in her disguise and the sculptor goddess, Keiki. Kosuzu had worried about her diet, but Reimu had insisted her efforts had earned her a reward. The young fox had asked what efforts she meant… and Yumemi had decided to enthusiastically narrate her endeavors.
“I-it really wasn’t…” She quietly took a piece of the cake in front of her. “It was the book, mostly.”
Chen reached out, giving her shoulder a gentle rub. The cat had chosen to sit on Kosuzu’s other side “You know-” She paused, taking a moment to think through her words. “...Lady Ran’s always told me something. That learning complicated material fast relies on both good teaching material and a good student. It’s not like anyone could take the techniques of that book and turn it into raw power.”
Kosuzu looked up at her. The nekomata waved her hand flippantly. “G-granted, that was usually to scold me when I was getting off track…” Chen gave a nervous chuckle, and Kosuzu found herself giggling a bit with her. “A-anyway, the point is, the book might be the tool that gets you there, but that’s only half the puzzle. Studying the spells within and choosing the right moment to apply them… that’s what will make you a powerful kitsune. I know it.”
Kosuzu… nodded, slowly. “...Right. I gotta study my repertoire more. And then… it’s all about how I apply it, right?”
Chen grinned. “And all you’ve got so far is a few basic spells. Imagine how strong you’ll be with even just a couple of serious months training!” Kosuzu’s tail started to wag, and Chen grinned. “So… take the praise, Kosuzu.” She gestured at the cake. “And the prize, of course.”
The fox… she knew she was blushing, but she did her best to settle down. “Thanks… yeah, I will.” Kosuzu saw Chen do a small fist-pump under the table, and chuckled a bit.
…Though, now she was looking at her… “Chen… how tall are you?”
The cat looked back, confused. “...Maybe it’s just me, but… I feel like last time, even a few years from now, you were still… shorter. Right?” She turned to Reimu for confirmation.
The shrine maiden took an appraising look at her. “...Mmmmmaybe? Pretty sure by the time we first met, I’d firmly outgrown you. You do act a bit different, that much I’m sure of.”
Chen chuckled. “Sure you’re not just shorties? It’s the ‘ko’ in her name, after all.” Kosuzu huffed, causing the nekomata to smirk. “Let’s just say I’ve been stepping up a bit to help Lady Ran and your other mother, Reimu. And… well, being a better helper makes me a stronger shikigami, and I don’t want to be caught lacking. Not compared to Aunn! And not when Ran really needs me.”
Yumemi tilted her head. “But… how does that make you actually grow bigger?”
Keiki smiled. “Youkai grow at least partially depending on their mental age. Some can seem to eternally be children, and some can mature rapidly compared to humans. It’s not uncommon for some youkai to experience some form of arrested development if they reach an equilibrium they’re happy with. ...Granted, it's no less uncommon to find them deliberately hiding their age, for one reason or another.”
Yumemi’s eyes went wide. “So, wait, is anyone as close in age to me as they seem?”
“Well, both me and Kosuzu have been growing like we did last time.” Reimu mused. “Probably ‘cos our minds are still human.”
“But the youngest is actually Mayumi!” Keiki said, smugly. “She may look about your age, but she’s only about a month old! Granted, she’s a special case, because I shaped her form. Most Haniwa actually come out of the kiln as full-fledged adults, at least in appearance. But she’s so cute like this!”
Now it was the haniwa’s turn to blush, not helped by Keiki pulling her in for a hug. “Ahhh… well… that’s just a side-effect, really…”
Kosuzu chuckled. “Well, you are cute, Mayumi. That much is clear.” She turned to Keiki. “Lady Keiki… will you be able to get Yumemi home, back to her time?”
The goddess… looked momentarily hesitant. “Well, we discovered that her ship had actually been recovered by Yukari. That’s how we cleared her as a suspect, actually…” Keiki looked away. “She was being coy about what she wanted in exchange, but Yachie managed to strike some sort of deal with her. Would’ve liked to be part of that deal myself… but the point is, we’ve got some of my maintenance haniwa examining it now, and seeing what they can replace.”
Yumemi smirked. “Once the PSV is fixed, I can pop back right to the time I went missing, too, so no-one will even know I’m gone! So I’m just thinking of this as a big holiday, now. Especially with delicious desserts like this!”
Kosuzu gave her a nervous look. “You sure you’re okay? It must have been scary…”
“That’s what I’m saying, Kosuzu!” Yumemi turned to her. “I’m okay because of you. You're the reason I'm having strawberry-topped cake rather than being in the hands of that witch!"
“And she’s just the first.” Kosuzu looked over at Reimu, who was warm smile. “Granted, it’ll be some time before you’re at my level… but if we’re gonna be dealing with the Pyres, we’re gonna need all the powerful Immaterial Children we can get. And I know you’re gonna be right there with us.”
The fox… felt her heart soar. “Yeah… yeah, you’re right!” She grinned, tucking in to her cake slice with vigor. “Just you wait. I’ll be catching up to you soon!”
Reimu's smile got tooty. “Oh yeah? Looking forward to it.”
Kosuzu hummed, sipping at her tea. The hairpin sat next to her, stubbornly hiding it’s true nature.
The night was winding down at last. Reimu and her mother were spending some time together, and Mayumi was doing something similar with Keiki. Yumemi, for her part, was pouring over the magic tomes furiously.
“This is all incredible!” The young girl scoured the books with vigor. “I think I could actually understand all this!”
Kosuzu chuckled. “And can you feel it? The magic in the tomes? It’s nothing compared to your Kindling thing.”
“Yeah!” Yumemi paused for a moment, as she was turning the pages. “You really can feel it… the phone can’t give anywhere near this kind of haptic feedback!”
“Didn’t expect to hear that phrase again today.” Kosuzu chuckled. “But yeah, it’s what drew them to me, too. Even gave me the power to read any language written down.”
“Oooh, really?” Yumemi perked up, looking at her. “Wonder if that works on digital screens…”
Kosuzu shrugged, starting to stifle a yawn. “Ahhhh… it’s getting late, though. We should probably head to bed pretty soon.”
“Mmmm, not quiiiiiite yet.” Yumemi said, flipping a page. “I wanna finish this chapter, alright?”
“Heh. Don’t stay up too late, 'kay?” Kosuzu stood up, flipping the Hyacinthoides shut-
Or, no. That was just its codename, wasn’t it? She looked down at the book, again. There was no name on its cover or spine. Slowly, she picked it up and opened it, starting from the beginning. The first couple of pages were complicated spellwork, likely some form of protective enchantment. It was on the third page that she found the internal title page.
The Bluebell Grimoire
By Yakumo Ran
For my beloved second daughter
May this tome be a light to guide you out of your darkest hour, and see you safely home.
Kosuzu… felt herself sag. This book was written… with so much love, wasn’t it? It was aching with it. And yet… Ran had lost her daughter. For who knew how long, by this point. Reading this… it was as much a tragedy as it was learning material.
And there was more, too. The page after that seemed to be even more personal, a longer bit of writing by Ran.
…She found herself debating. Should she read it? Her curiosity was burning, and maybe in exchange she’d be able to help find her daughter. But… this was absolutely meant to be private. And if it wasn’t helpful, she’d have been nosing in on one of Ran’s most important secrets.
[-20} …No, she should respect Lady Ran. This book was given to her on loan, she should respect her boundaries on principle.
{ ] …Well, maybe just one-
“There you are, Koko!”
The young fox looked up, blinking. Kudamaki Tsukasa was standing by the doorway, looking just a bit irritated.
She snapped the grimoire shut and bowed, hastily. “Mom! Sorry, it’s been a hectic day…”
The fox looked skeptically over at the pile of books. “Not so hectic that you haven’t ransacked a library again, I see. You haven’t forgotten we’re still on the clock, have you?”
“Ah, n-no, of course not.” Kosuzu blushed a bit. She… honestly had, to a degree. She’d certainly been treating this more like a day out with friends since they’d gotten back from the Keiga territory. …Maybe she’d just been trying to put the scariness of her meeting Seiga out of her mind.
…The little voice in her head started to growl. She shook her head, to clear her thoughts. “Did you need anything?”
The elder fox folded her arms. “Yes, I did. I need a moment to talk. I assume you’re not doing anything important?”
Kosuzu shook her head, standing up. “No, nothing… nothing I couldn’t do later.”
Tsukasa looked over at Yumemi, who was staring at her with open curiosity. “...Let’s take this somewhere private, shall we?”
“Of course.” Kosuzu turned to Yumemi, giving her a small smile. “You better be heading to bed by the time I’m back, alright?”
Yumemi rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah… see you, Kosuzu.”
The two foxes left the room, leaving Yumemi to her thoughts. There was only a couple more pages to the chapter… and she was getting sleepy. She yawned, shutting the book the moment she reached the last word.
As she put it on the table in front of her, though, it angled oddly. She lifted the book, to see what had been under it.
And saw the hole-making hairpin.
>>211113
Actually, what got you the point was listening in on the two moms undetected... and what got you there was the silence spell write in.
Small note, I made a mistake. The -20 should be in the other option. I know it's not a real vote, but I don't want things to be confusing.
>>211115
>>[ ] …No, she should respect Lady Ran. This book was given to her on loan, she should respect her boundaries on principle.
>>[ -20] …Well, maybe just one-
thanks for letting us know about the error gooboi
I'm glad that Chen is more responsible and that it affects his growth than in the original line, I also hope that those pages are a trigger for Kosuzu to find out that something is wrong
well it's time to beat these 20 marks
[X] …Well, maybe just one-
Oh no, the hairpin is in Tsukasa's sight.
>>211116
That wasn't a real vote, OP's done it before. Kosuzu and Tsukasa already left the room with the hairpin in it.
>>211117
my bad, I read too fast that I didn't notice it
Laugh if Yumemi just takes one look at the hairpin and instantly figures out it's enchantment. Worse case scenario is if Seiga can warp to the hairpin, which could let her re-snatch Yumemi. I think Seiga's probably busy with whatever she's doing with that Mayumi fragment though.
Normally I'd be commenting on how happy/cute this is, but...
>>Pride Kon-eth
Pride comes before the fall.
And the update ends with Tsukasa dragging away Kosuzu for a chat. This doesn't bode well.
> “Yes, I did. I need a moment to talk."
> The next thread of Kosuzu's fun adventures in the Animal Realm!
...Why do I not like the sound of that?
sadly from the looks of the last update, if anything I overestimated the amount of time we had, there might be opportunities after this to lower the stat further, but it looks like we're about to be hit by at least one big check on g_ip, if not multiple checks here...
> beloved second daughter
Now this is most likely Chen.
But… crazy konspiracy theory.
Earlier, we see that Tsukasa chose to become a different kind of fox, meaning she was originally a different kind.
What if, hear me out, Tsukasa was Ran’s first child and stole Kosuzu either out of jealousy of being “replaced” or as a bid to get back at Ran for some unknown slight.
I’m probably wrong, but this just came to mind while I was reading.
Pretty sure the first daughter is Chen
The book that is addressed to the "second daughter" is called the bluebell grimoire, and bells are a significant theme for Kosuzu. Pretty sure that little preamble was written after she was taken in hopes that it would make its way to her and help her come safely home. Which it has in its own way twice now.
Also on the first daughter bit, look back at how surprising helpful Chen way trying to be to Kosuzu there. (Reimu noted it as unusual from her memory. And also the fact that Chen has grown a bit compared to what Reimu and Kosuzu remembers, she's trying to be the big sister!)
> …Though, now she was looking at her… “Chen… how tall are you?”
> The cat looked back, confused. “...Maybe it’s just me, but… I feel like last time, even a few years from now, you were still… shorter. Right?” She turned to Reimu for confirmation.
> Keiki smiled. “Youkai grow at least partially depending on their mental age. Some can seem to eternally be children, and some can mature rapidly compared to humans. It’s not uncommon for some youkai to experience some form of arrested development if they reach an equilibrium they’re happy with. ...Granted, it's no less uncommon to find them deliberately hiding their age, for one reason or another.”
So Chen thinks of herself as Kosuzu's big sister, and is now bigger than she was in the previous timeline because Chen believes that big sisters are supposed to be bigger than their little sisters. Is that why Okuu is smaller than she was in the last timeline? She thinks of herself as Youmu's little sister and little sisters are supposed to be smaller than their big sisters?
Does that mean if Marisa ends up a fairy, we could potentially get big Mama Cirno after Cirno takes the newbie fairy under her wing?
Kosuzu's adventures continue in thread 7!
>>211127
