(in which we have a school board meeting)
We're on the late-day road aga~in!
It's dark. Well, not really all that dark, but it's gloomy and dim out, 'cause the sun's already set and stuff, but night's not quite here yet.
The village roads still have a hustle and bustle to them, though. What… do they do all day, exactly? How economically sound even is this place, 'cause it don't seem to be very!
We meander down the road half-drowsy, still wakin' up. 'Cause, like… yeah. Genkan's hugs are pretty awesome. Now if we got Genkan and Kasen together, that'd be like, the snooze button dude.
"There's something ahead." Genkan lifts an arm ahead of us. "Perhaps we should avoid the square."
Hell do ya mean…
Looking ahead, I see a big guy in a gold suit of armor, along with an enjambment of guards and bullshit. Yeah, perhaps the side alleys would be safer.
"I… kinda wanna know what it's about." Maria has a different opinion! "I haven't seen that big guy in a while."
Aw. Big gold armor, yo. "Who's he?"
"A jerk." Maria gives the good answer.
"That much was implicit." Taking in the air, Genkan slowly stretches her limbs, before looking around…
Smiling at our reactions, Maria elaborates. "I think he's called Yoroi Chikara. He's a youkai hunter, but doesn't really show his face around the village a lot..."
Ahead, some of the guards start to spread out and move down the streets…
"I've already lost too many men." The burly armored guy's loud enough to actually be heard from over here. Not that there's many plaza people…! "Hurry up!" And that was hard to not hear!
...There's some vague noise from the guardly guy before him, but it's not as easy to hear because the guy doesn't just reverberate into your soul.
...Also, calling this dude's big's kinda an understatement! Tall, ultra burly, clad in armor that probably makes him look twice whatever his base size is, and it's freakin'... very broad-looking plates. It doesn't look convenient to move in!
He's also got this purple cape with some raggedy fuzzy shit on the end, but it's seen better days.
...Unfortunately, big tall gold guy- or Yoroi was it- just says somethin' offhand to the guard and wanders off. Hoh.
"Good youkai hunters." I nod at the big burly guy. "Is there actually any rhyme or reason to youkai hunters, o~r…?"
"Not really." Maria starts moving ahead now that the activity's dispersed. "There's a few really strong ones, but they're never around when it seems like they should be. Like, Meira, him, Albus… Shurui Sutoro's the 'head' of the village's youkai hunting military division, but... I've never even seen him before."
Hoh. I almost forgot Meira existed. That samurai chick, right? Where the hell's she been? Albus, though… I dunno if he's much of a youkai hunter after what happened!
We start to pass the Golden Grin, which compared to the other buildings, freakin' stands out…!
"Does this village have government, even?" Genkan is not hopeful!
Maria snorts, giving Genkan a fun stare. "Well- yeah. There're big people for the leadership positions, and people operate under them. We have a chief, too..."
Y'know, that makes me wonder… "Where the frik's the capital? Town hall government building thingy?" I haven't seen the freakin' central place ever. It sure as hell ain't in the square!
"Your leaders don't seem to lead." Genkan immediately grills the government here.
"They really don't…" Maria agrees…!
Ho~h. Anyway, we stop by this dinky-lookin' house right between the Golden Grin and Small Packages. The roof's a little charred, and the front door's ajar, but that's about it!
We slow to a stop, as Maria looks the house over, and sighs.
…I forgot to have Genkan give me my kimono back, so we're still wearing each other's stuff. Not that the resistances really matter right now, since we're in the village and everything.
"This is where I lived." Maria steps up to the door…!
Pushing the ajar door open, she steps into the main room. To the left, there's a broken table, some half-eaten and well-past-expiration-date bread, and a black stain on the floor.
The window over the wall's pushed open, it seems. Airing the place out, yo…
Before the table is a chair. Maria gestures to the black bloodstain before it. "This is where I found Mom."
...A~nd the implication of Matt shanking 'er just kinda hits me! Oof. Man, Gensokyo's freakin'... surreal.
...Genkan just kinda takes in the visual, eyes scanning the floor and table.
"I haven't been back here in… awhile." Breathing out, Maria carried further into the house, gazing about idly. "Last time I was here, I bummed out until the village guard relocated me, after my… bar thing fell under."
There's some other rooms aside from this front one, here. What's in this back room, yo…
Stairs! Really, really tiny stairs… and little buckets in the back of the room, some tipped over.
"Those were our drinking buckets." Maria looks into the room as I progress into it. "They're empty, now…"
...Drinking buckets.
"Drinking… buckets." Genkan echoes this thought…!
...Maria gives us an enduring grin! "Yeah, we're poor. It's actually not an uncommon practice…"
...As I step up ta the buckets-
Clack, clack. Freakin', why's the floor echoing over here? S'it hollow?
"I- I think I lost our candles somewhere…" Maria sighs. "We'll have to get out of here once it gets too dark, or we won't be able to see… and somehow a hole burned into the roof, so…"
Pullin' out Youkai Inconveniencer, I light up the room with the flashlight mode! "Hoh. I got lights, yo. The most powerful holy spell."
"...Right, yeah." Maria looks like she forgot…!
Cla- clack. This floor, dude…
I jump in place!
Clack! Freakin'...!
Stepping back, I stare down at the floor bit that echoes! It's like half 'a the room, so…
"I don't know why it does that." Maria kinda waves it off. "For as long as I lived here, it always seemed like the floor was hollow, but… it can't be, I don't think."
I'll be the judge of that! Castin' aside my holy hanger, I draw my~ Hard Winter and bring it up, buffin' myself as I get ready to violence the floor!
Maria holds up a hand. "He- hey, um-"
Bam! ...bam… bam! Hittin' the floor made echoes, dude!
...Furrowing her brows, Genkan held an arm out-
Kri~ng! A blade of ice erupted from the wood before us!
...As it retracted, it left behind a hole. You'd think that'd leave behind a hole every time, but weirdly it doesn't so this is actually a unique occurrence…
"That… was kinda overkill." Maria criticized the showing of power!
Indifferent, Genkan looms over the hole. Since it's just black and shit down there, I take my holy hanger and aim it down, flashin' the light into the abyss…
Ground seems to be right there! Well, then…
I jump in! A~nd-
Oof! Good land, yo. Fell about five to ten feet, managed to not break legs!
...Genkan floats down into the hole next, transporting Maria with her arms.
The cave's a freakin' downward ramp after a few steps forward. It's also as wide as the house above it, but there's soil and dirt blocking the areas that'd otherwise be hollow soundin' too. How's this stable…?
"Wow…" Maria looks around somewhat befuddled. "There's a cave system under my house, I guess."
...After going forward and down some ways, we reach a series of deviating paths, some blocked off, and some going for an undetermined distance. I just keep goin' forward for now…
Eventually we reach a point where one 'a the leftmost tunnels has light down it. Ooo…!
"Let us follow the light!" I direct us towards it…!
"What is this place…?" Maria's fascinated by the dirt tunnel!
"This doesn't appear to be a natural cave system by any means." Genkan notes how artificial these tunnels seem!
After continuing forward, we reach the light source!
...We seem to be under the square, or something. After entering this big cave, I realize it'sa bit more than a big room of dirt.
Stone walls, windows leading to dirt, stone tiles and stone ceiling! We've found a tiny buried structure!
...Also, there's wind in here. Cave plus winter plus cave wind equals freakin' cold, although Genkan's kimono lessens the impact...
The light came from the very center of the room. It was dim, faintly luminescent and glowing just enough to warrant attention.
What was glowing seemed to be… a statue of a fairy. Her wings're weird abstract shit that goes all over the place, and her haircut seems to be short and bobby. Random surfaces of the statue glow, as does the base before it.
Around the room are four statues of harps, although they all appear to be the same type. It's got wings, weird rings, but very simplistic strings. Why make statues of harps when you could've left us actual harps…!? Some ancient culture this is…!
"...What have we found?" Genkan's mystified by the underground temple thing we've located.
...Maria steps up to the statue, and leans over to examine the writing.
"We found Atlantis, dude." Nodding with satisfaction, I pan my gaze over to Genkan… "Now we gotta save the fish people."
"I don't think so." She meets my stare…!
"Didn't know Atlantis was buried in dirt instead've water…" Maria bites back…! "Aah…" Aw, she found something, yo…
Kneeling down, she read from the statue. "To they who held harp, divinity and blood right in hand. May they recite the wind's aria, revive the innocence, return this land to peace. In their absence, I will sleep forever."
Oh, boy, riddles. It's Legend of Zelda time, son!
Crouching further down, Maria finished the poem riddle thing. "In loving memory of Tsubasa-ken Hakurei, wonderful harpist taken too soon."
Who? Hakurei? Hoh, shit!
All things considered, that riddle's not something we're supposed to be able to do anything with! It sounds like it's meant for Hakurei folk or something…
"...We might not belong here." Genkan began glancing around again.
Oh, hey, on closer inspection, the roof's got the same pattern as the village square does.
"There's some playing instructions here…" Springing back from the statue a little, Maria stands up. "We don't have a harp, though.
"Where would we even locate a harp?" Shaking her head, Genkan begins to turn around. "Such an instrument is rather obscure… and-"
Putting away Hard Winter, I take out Fairy Harp. "I have a harp hanger!"
"Are you serious…" Dryly, Genkan turns to me, before lookin' the hanger over…! "...Less graceful than anticipated. I've set my expectations too high." Wahaha!
"It probably won't work, I think." Maria looks around at the three string harp statues, then at my like four-five string ghetto harp. "...I think."
"Let's try it out, yo…!" I move over to the statue!
...My light hanger does not help read these faintly luminescent instructions. Freakin'...
After turning off my flashlight, I can read 'em!
...Well, they sure aren't made for the musically capable. These instructions are literally inscriptions of harps with strings highlighted. There're only three strings though, so…
...Twing. Twi- twi- twing, twing, twing. Twing.
...Nope, nothing happened!
…
Twing. Twi- twi- twing, twing, twing. Twing.
I won the grand prize! No~ change…
"Lemme…" Maria takes Fairy Harp from me, and gives it a try herself.
...Twi- twi- twing. Twing, twing, twing! Twing!
...I tried reciting Medli's temple theme from Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. You're just plucking away randomly…!
"Are you two actually following the notes…?" Genkan's expression is dry.
"...No." We both hesitate to answer…!
Well, I wanna actually try now. I reach for my hanger-
"N- no, I can…" Maria doesn't wanna give it up…!
"Give me that." Pluckin' it from us outright, Genkan holds the freakin plant hanger like a legit harp- as best she can anyway, it's kinda tiny compared to a harp- and starts playing for realsies.
Twi~ng… twi~ng. Twi-twing, twi~ng, twi~ng, twi~ng… twing.
Fwoo~sh. The note inscriptions start to glow a brighter shade of cyan…!
…
That's it. What do we do now…!?
"Aah…" Marching around, Maria examines the statue. "Nothing else changed."
…
Reaching forward, Genkan presses her hand to the statue-
The cyan energy glows brighter for a moment, before flickering and becoming red.
"Hmm…?" Blinking, she brought her hand away. "...The affinity changed."
Wat. "Some kinda… elemental thing?" I take a guess!
"Yes." Genkan glances over at me. "Draw your fire weapon."
...Taking out Flame Salvo-
She plucks it from my hands, and presses it to the notes. The hanger glows as she channels magic through it, flames licking onto the statue's surface-
The red energy glows brighter and brighter, before flickering out and becoming green.
"It keeps rejecting the mana." Genkan reveals. "For some reason…"
What the hell is this statue.
...I grab onto Fairy Harp, and Genkan lets go of it. Stepping around the side of it, I look the statue over…
You know, if… there's glowy spots all over the statue, despite them being the same boring cyan from before, and that poem riddle had a lot to do with wind…
Freakin', dropping my flashlight, I take back out Hard Winter. "Hey, Genkan." Might need some help! "Think you can channel earth magic into this harp and make it shoot wind?"
"Do you think me an elementalist?" Critically, she drifts up to me…! "Unless your hangers somehow provide all of these."
...I give her a hard grin.
"Naturally." She takes the hangers from me, presses them together, and aims them at the statue… and as they begin glowing-
Fwoo~sh! Earthy green wind mixed with sparkly fairy dust is expelled from the hanger!
"Aa- achoo!" Maria gets clipped! "Nn- achoo~! Ach- nnh…!" Covering her face- "Tsst!" -she sneezes into her arm…
"Sorry." Genkan flatly apologizes for triggering fairy dust fever-
Fwi~sh! The statue's glowy stuff turns entirely white! The note inscription itself is sending out a fierce golden aura…
...We still not done here!?
Picking up my flashlight hanger idly, I freakin' shine it about…
If it's white, maybe we should try holy. Aiming at the statue, I prepare to cast that point blank holy sphere thing…
Oo~h that mana cost-
Fwi~sh. An expanding orb of light generates and disperses within the statue's form-
Fwi- Fwii~sh!
Blinding light! Aaa~h!
…
Slowly, the freakin', great light fades.
Oh. It didn't fade, I was just overexposed until I was blinded, so my eyes are readjusting. Since the room's got no light though, it's readjusting to pure blackness!
...I channel energy into my holy hanger for more light again.
Before us, there is a fairy! She's drifting slightly off the ground, her gaze currently stopped on Genkan.
I glance over at her, only to see her standing completely still, form crackling with holy energy. Oh.
"Um…" Maria's rubbing her eyes. "What happened?"
...The fairy's the same one from the statue. In fact, the statue's gone now, so I'm willing to bet she was the statue.
"Tsu-chan?" The fairy looks around with a blank expression, her eyes devoid of pupils. "It's so dark…"
Floating down towards me, she holds out a hand towards my hanger, before laying delicate fingers on it-
FWASH
Oh shit, that made me jump…!
...Her touching the hanger caused the whole room to light up as bright as day, the tunnel ways around the ruin illuminated as well.
Letting go of it, she leaves the hanger to glow, before panning her blank gaze around. "Why… humans and youkai?"
"Hi." I introduce myself. "I have a plant hanger that can shoot fairy dust…!"
...She doesn't emote to that. Help.
"Who're you?" Maria asks her the good question.
She opens her mouth-
Ooh. Well, that sounds uncomfortable! She's speaking in really hollow, sharp 's'-esque noises, which reverberate and kinda hang in the air as she speaks them. The room's wind shifts, as well…
…
"I'm still trapped…" Hugging herself, the fairy shuts her eyes. "Tsu-chan…"
Freakin'...
...Walking up to the paralyzed Genkan, I clamp my hanger- a~nd, can't get it free. Even so, I jerk the arm it's in and kinda aim it at the fairy-
Woosh. Have fairy dust and wind!
...Looking over at the hanger, the fairy seems to speak that language! "...How… imprecise. Empty…"
Aw. Hmm…
"Wh- what… are you talking about?" Maria questions her!
She doesn't listen to her words, still looking around confused…
...Hmm.
Walking up to the fairy, I start fanning my arms at her aggressively!
...Looking over at me, she tilts her head. For a moment, she pretends to fly against the current of my flapping, before stopping and blinking at me.
That went well! We learned a lot, dude.
I start doing jumping jacks!
"Are you okay, Brad?" Maria's not sure what the hell I'm doin'!
"No…!" I deny! "My brain hurts, yo!"
...Pursing her lips, the stout fairy with abstract, almost plastic-looking wings starts doing jumping jacks before me herself.
Hoo, ha, hoo, ha! Feel the burn, son!
I- ah, huh. What other ways can I flap wind about…?
Actually, you know what? When I was a kid, I used to love to fuck with wind by throwing clothes or towels about with both arms! So you know wha~t!?
Stripping my kimono off- oh my god it's cold down here and that wind helps nothing- I undo the sash, slide my arms out and start flailin' it about!
I like, hold both ends of the cloth, and just wave it like a big flag! I- I'm also shivering…!
Maria gives me a pitiful look. "I- I'm sorry I didn't buy panaceas…"
The fairy raises her eyebrows at my antics. In response to the splashes of wind I make, she begins to do spinning jumps that seemingly mirror the air current I splash about.
We're interacting… on a primal level! Wahaha!
"So you are not affiliated with it…" The fairy says weird words, before making hollow noises again. Freakin'...
...Stopping, the fairy gazes at me with her empty green eyes. "Kindred soul. Why do you communicate with me?"
Daa~h. "I dunno, yo. I just kinda found you, and wanted to solve that riddle you put up!"
She blinked. "...It is of very low probability that a non-Hakurei descendant or chosen may be able to master it."
It's like low-tier Legend of Zelda bullshit, friend. "It- it really wasn't that hard, y'know…"
"Explain." The mature fairy is skeptical! "Your magical prowess is weak, and your spirit, while wild, wispy and weak, wettable by wind's simple whisper. One gust would do, not even. You are no native to Gensokyo."
Real observant! "Well, I got a buncha magic equips, and I had my pal over there," I gesture to Genkan, "help blow magic wind on ya to wake ya up."
"You could not solve the harp puzzle." She counters. "Its message is simple but has served as a deterrent for decades."
...Stepping up to Fairy Harp, which is still in Genkan's frozen hands, I play random notes!
Twing. Twi- twing… twi- twing… twing!
"See, yo?" I grin at her!
…
Shaking her head, she smiles. "Foolish… but such flightiness cannot be faulted. Yes. I like you."
Oh, good. I like you too, friend.
"Does the barrier still stand?" Her expression hardens. "Her affiliation, and your nativity, could only mean one thing…"
I nod. "Yeah, I just kinda fell into here by accident. I'm the exception, not the rule, yo. Gensokyo's still boarded up as ever!"
...The fairy turns away from me. "I've not had freedom to listen beyond these corridors for decades."
So…! "Who the frik're you, yo?"
...Focusing on me again, she stares unblinking. "I am a fragment of wind. My name matters not anymore."
A fragment 'a wind… wat.
"You are confused." She notes.
"You are confusing." I counter idly. "We have a lot in common…!"
"...What do you know of magic?" The fairy begins subtly rotating in the air…
"Very little. Nothing." I confess. "Negative. Zero…! It- it's going backwards! It's slipping away…!"
"...Okay." The fairy closes her eyes. "What do you know of gods?"
"They're godly." I'm well-informed, du~de!
…
After a moment, she replies! "Do you know the distinction… between Shinto deities and autonomous elemental entities?"
I shake my head. "N- yes." Then I nod! Basically, like… the difference between Kanako and Hina versus like, Shinki.
"...I, like all fairykind and gods, are to be considered the latter." She explains. "Do you know what fairies are?"
"...Magic?" I wanna sa~y?
"Nature." She amends. Well, more like adds, 'cause they're both true!
"Ah." I nod at that, steppin' about restlessly a little. "Yeah, that'd figure."
"...Gods, too, are nature." The fairy adds even further! "...What is the difference, between a god and a fairy?"
"Fairies die if you sneeze on them, and gods make you die if they sneeze on you." Circle of li~fe! But, who sneezes on the gods…!?
"Gods are whole." The fairy's rotating's made her do a full three sixty rotation in the air by this point, allowing her to flex her wings and stare out into space. "Fairies… are incomplete. I'm incomplete."
...Ah. "So if multiple fairies just bash skulls together… they become a god?"
...The fairy gives her head a single shake. "It is not a matter of… synthesis or combination. It is purity of nature, and how elements perform at their purest. Only through hundreds of thousands of identical fairy combinations without disruption, extra-elemental bonding, and precision may come close to the strength of a bond needed to properly form a force of nature incarnate."
...Haa~h. So… basically, it's something that would require really specific circumstances. "...So they can't die during that process, and uh…"
"They must not wear generated clothing. They must not have differentiation past minor alterations." She clarified for me! "...It is a situation that can no longer occur. Nature supports life now. Not that such was how it happened; before nature manifested in shards, it simply was, and only gods, the elements incarnate, had bonds and synergy that would allow them to eventually find forms."
...So I'd suppose… "Would it be accurate to say that u~h… while fairies rely on nature and represent it… for gods it can be the other way around?"
"If you want to look at it that way. Correct." That lack of expressiveness, yo...
...I'm freezing my ass off!
"I remember the early days of this planet." She informed me! "When Earth was but rock and fire, and nature. Before life had begun to evolve."
How freakin' old're you supposed to be…!? Well, if you're nature, or at least the windy part of it, I guess infinitely old. Jesus…!
…
After glancing over at Maria, I see that she's just kinda been taking it all in…!
Giving me a glance back, she blinks a bit… "Aa- aah…" Yeah, me too.
…
Well then! "Why'd you u~h, freeze my yuki-friend?" I gesture to Genkan…
"My seal petrifies youkai in time for self-preservation purposes." The fairy reveals. "It is to prevent ambitious looters and knowing harvesters from enslaving me."
Nothing for human looters, though, which is probably fair enough since most humans are freakin' noobs.
"Are you certain you may trust her?" The fairy looked Genkan over… "Did she lead you here?"
"No, yo." Time to repeat myself! "We were lookin' at her house," I gesture ta Maria, "and the floor was hollow in a place, so we blew it the fuck up and ran down here."
...The fairy looked over at the deviating tunnel we came in from, and just stared.
Ting.
"Ha- aah…!?" Genkan flinches back! "Aah…" Looking around wildly, she tries to feel at herself, before noticing she's still holding both hangers.
"So who's this aa~h… 'Tsu-chan'?" She brought up that name, and I think it's the Hakurei the mural bit's commemorated to, but some more story'd be nice.
...Glancing back at me, the fairy proceeds to ignore me as she looks back at the corridor we came from. "What year is it?"
"We're in the hundred thirties." Genkan starts to drift forward, connecting to the conversation… "How long have you slept?"
...Still unanswering, the fairy looks around, before turning to us. "I'll follow you. I want to see… if this is the Gensokyo Tsu-chan wanted."
I give her a thumbs up! "I gotchu, fam. One entire Gensokyo, coming right up!"
==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====
...Genkan precariously lifts us out of the hole in the house floor. The fairy follows us out, too.
We're now in the bucket and stairs room. Happy home, dude. Offscreen, I also collected all the crap I threw about earlier because that was a mess!
The windy fairy makes for the door, prompting me to- holy shit I better put that kimono back on…
"I should probably ask why you undid your kimono." Genkan just now thinks it relevant to question my partial nudity. "I'm not going to redo it for you if you're going to get naked every five seconds."
"Freakin'..." I hobble after the fairy as I slip it onto my shoulders and awkwardly wrap it around me without doin' the sash! "It's cold!"
"And that's good." Genkan smiles.
"Ho~w?" Shakin' my head, I make it out the front door!
...The wind fairy's out there! She's just kinda still, moving her head around…
Man, this kimono, yo. Fifty percent resistance is a big difference when it's cold as shit out!
...Eyes unblinking, the fairy panned her head around, looking at the freakin' impoverished village.
…
"Where are we?" The fairy continually rotates, looking over the village repeatedly. "I would not, could not sleep here..."
Time to fill her in on the past ten million years! "The human village-"
"So~..." Oh, there's a Suika just over there. "Wha's goo~d?"
Down the road from her a little is some fatso on a tiny bumper cart. "Suika Ibuki…" Shaking his head, his arms jiggle on the control handles of his little cart. "You are wanted, for acts of-"
"Ya~p, ya~p." Suika interrupts him.
"YOOOU HAVE THIRTY-SIX! MILLION! YEN! ON YOUUUR HEAD!" Holy shit, he can yell! "DOOO YOU THINK... YOU HAVE ANY PLACE TO-"
"Haa~h?" Suika held an arm to her ear, stumbling to the side as she does so. "Ca- can' quite hear ya. Y'might hafta speak up."
"YOOUUKAI!" Slowly, he starts to drive his cart towards her.
...Lifting up a bottle she had, Suika pours a little sake into her hand. "He~y, tubby. Wha's the difference, between you 'n' me?"
"YOUUU!" Tubby cart guy shouts! "ARE A FILTHY, UNGRATEFUL…"
Suika flings her hand, tossing the small pool of sake she had in it.
"DISGUSTING!" Sneering, the blue-lipped bald guy stops his cart-
Splash!
He's sent skidding back, a shockwave of sake splashing in the air from where the tiny drops hit him. "AGHUAUGH!"
"Ya still dunno~?" Gaining a sneer of her own, Suika marched up to the freakin' tiny metal cart-
Patatatatat! Freakin' machine guns fire from the sides of his cart! The village fucking has those…!? "THE ONI BONES WILL MELT! GRINDED... TO A FINE POWWWDEEER!"
Patatatat- Bam! Suika latched onto the front of the cart, her body literally unaffected by the bullets.
Kra- krang, kra- a- ang! Twisting the front up, she made the machine guns awkwardly point up, unable to hit anything anymore. "It's…!" Suika looks increasingly pumped, as she glares into the tubby guy's weird ass eyes.
...Then, she lets go, turning away. "Ya don't deserve ta know."
"CUUURSE YOOOU!" Shaking his wiggly arm, the guy brought his other arm back to make the cart awkwardly rotate.
"He- hey…" Maria steps up to the fairy, and starts pulling her back by the shoulders. "Du- duck inside for a little…"
Unblinking, the fairy offers no resistance as she's taken back. I rewind back inside with them…!
"THIS DOES NOT END HERE, SUIIIKA IIIBUKIII! YOU MAY'VE SEEN THE LAST OF MY CRUSHING KART, BUT III'LL FIND YOU AGAIN! HUHUHA… HUHAHAHAAAH...!" As he drives off, his cart starts playing this freakin'... depressing muted siren. He's also having a hell of a time, for a guy who just took a sake shockwave to the face, and got his, uh, bumper cart crushed.
"Aah, yeah…" Suika gives him a dismissive wave as she walks back over to Small Packages. Aw, that must be a fun time…
We~w. From in here, I watch tubs 'a fun drive the cart down the dirt road, looking extremely focused…
"That's, um…" Maria seems to search for his name. "...I know he's our Chief Justice."
Are you for real?
As the tubby guy goes down the road, he speaks into some kinda intercom on it. "DEATH! DEATH! DEATH!..." It trails off a bit as he continues…
…
"I know what I've said about the village…" Genkan brings a hand up to her face… "I've called its people hopeless, condemned humanity, and demonized its presence with what may have been exaggerated jeers. I still can't accept what just happened."
...I turn to the wind fairy, who still hasn't blinked yet.
Looking back out after the freakin homicidal Chief Justice, I step outside. "Let's follow him, yo…!"
"Wh- why?" Maria looks opposed…! "I don't like him…"
"We haven't much else to do. Unless the incident is over, but I'm unsure…" Genkan stares down at my kimono. As in, my kimono which is on her, not her kimono which is mine- I mean, on me, not… aaa~h! "Since it became colder, however… this kimono is truly something else. Where did you have it crafted?"
I think I told her already, but… "Alice Margarita, dude." I remember reading a fic where someone called her murder droid. Wahaha!
Stepping out into the road, I look down a nearby alley-
Woosh! A suited, green-haired person slides to a stop, looking behind themself…! Oh, that's Aiko Kuro! Kitty lady! I remember her 'cause she's a freakin' menace…!
She's got a stout monk in her arms, for some reason.
As me, Maria, and the fairy all stare at her, she glances back at us, before-
"Stealth walk!" Her feet slide around in place at blurring speed-
fwish. A single black and purple ring slowly expands into the air as she seemingly vanishes from sight. It's kinda freakin' weird-looking, because the monk she's holding doesn't vanish, but she does.
The monk's still being carried, too. When Aiko darts off, it makes it look like the monk just flew off at high speed!
…
"Whah?" Maria doesn't know what she just witnessed. I don't really, either!
"Deadman fluffmoney, dude." I express my confusion verbally, before moving to follow after that freakin' tubby justice.
...Looking back, I see the fairy still staring back into the alley. Her head's sorta tilted, and mouth slightly open.
Noticing what I notice, Genkan assists by pushing the fairy along gently.
==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====
We're somewhere in the districts behind Akyuu's estate. I~'ve never been here before! It's… an actually developed section of the village, holy shit!
The four of us progress down the road after cart man, but man…
These houses… look a lot like normal houses. A bit oriental, but still normal houses! Paper walls, decorated, ridged wood walls, freakin'... yo! Also- two stories! And wide! And look like they got… more than four rooms!
Movin' past the spiffy, lit and fenced-in homes, we continue after the tubby guy. Dude- this road's even paved. You can't even say that about the main roads or the square.
"The village hall's down this section…" Maria speaks to us lowly, probably so CJ donuts over there doesn't catch on. "It's… kinda big, but not really, I think."
Kinda big but not really, you think. I know what to look for now!
...Ahead, we see the tubby guy take a turn down another paved road.
...Once we get up it, we see that it leads into a paved clearing, capping off at a two-story-lookin' building with a little squat dome cap atop it. Compared to the nicely designed houses around here, it's a little ugly, but still more than the regular villagers got.
"This part of the village seems… well off." Genkan notes the obvious…!
...As we stare ahead at the dome-
Ah- yo, yo! Some boy just pushed me…!
After looking at who pushed me, it seems to have been some seven-foot-tall thing clad in freakin'... turquoise, round ass armor, his face obscured by a white mask, orange dots visibly where eyes should be. He's got this big stupid like… half mushroom, half beetle shell design out of armor on his head, past his face. What the fuck is that….!?
"Out of my way, worm." He dismisses me as he marches past, trotting towards the village center. He~ just outright ignored my party pretty much, too. Hoh.
"That's our chief of medicine…" Maria watches him go. "I've only ever seen pictures of him, but…"
"My confidence in this village's government is sinking further than I thought possible." Genkan shakes her head…
...From here, we can see the tubby guy get out of his clown car and hobble inside. He's got legs, yo!
Oh, before he gets inside fully, he makes some kinda remark we can't hear to medicine man- "Hahaha!" -and laughs about ten octaves louder about it.
As they progress inside- the armored medicine guy barely fitting in- we start moving to go inside…
"I'm not sure if we can take, um… her," Maria points at the wind fairy, "inside. You know how the village is about youkai…"
I wave it off. "Aa~h, if she gets closer to tha' ground, no one'll bat an eye much, I think…" Even if those wings are massive. And atypical…!
...Genkan exhales. "Fairy. I detest to ask you this… but, may you hide your wings?"
Fwish! In a moment, the fairy hides her wings with a brief pulse of light, but she remains floating.
"...Ah." Idly, the yuki-onna reaches forward to bring our fairy friend closer down to the floor. "There."
Moving towards the big law building, I get ready to see what's inside…!
...As we move through the front door, we see a lobby. It's kinda small, and there's two doors directly before us.
A single guard is stationed by either one. They both look really tired…
To the left and right seem to be halls that lead down into back rooms and stuff. We won't freakin' sequence break the place yet…
...Picking the rightmost door, I move towards it-
The guard tilts a pointy spear in the way. "Na~me."
"Aah." I look over at him. "...Big. Big guy."
"Na~me." He demands again!
"Rusty Shackleford." I give the good name.
...He lifts the spear, letting me inside!
He holds it down for Maria, too. "Na~me."
"Ma- Maria… Yamada." She gives her actual name.
...Next to be quizzed is Genkan! "Na~me."
"Ice blizzard." She doesn't even try…!
...He lifts his lance anyway. Oh, okay. Ice blizzard's a legit name, apparently!
...Ah? Where'd windy fairy go-
As I turn my head, I see she's in here with us now. Freakin'... just teleported or some shit.
Inside…!
It's a big meeting room! There's a myriad of bored-looking villagers dotting the uncomfortable wooden chair rows before the main platform.
The central platform takes up the other half of the room, raised a little bit above the wood floor we're on, and it's got a rug. It being rugged doesn't mean shit, 'cause it looks like the village council gets to sit at this like… giant, round desk that goes around the entire latter half of the room like a big balcony, except the front stretches all the way down to the floor.
Dim chandeliers illuminate the tops of the huge desks. Up there, I can already see the Chief Justice dude's gotten himself arranged…
At the very right, some dude with a regular straw hat- more like a sun hat really- and one arm is sitting, legs up on the desk, revealing his wood sandals and freakin' shorts he's wearing. It's the middle 'a winter, dude…!
...After a moment, medicine man comes out of a door up atop the desk floor, clad in what looks like under armor instead 'a the big fuckoff thing he had on earlier. Also, no weird shell hat! Still got that freakin… mask on, though.
Two black-haired guys show up, but they don't look particularly freakish compared to the first dudes. One guy has an eyepatch and a business suit, the other's just in some guard armor.
...Aw, dude! Akyuu's up there, too! ...She doesn't look like she wants to be here…!
Actually, most-... all of these dudes don't wanna be here. No one likes jury duty, yo…
The dude with long black hair and guard armor stands up. "Call to sessio~n! Ten minutes!"
…
Wading into the sea of chairs, we all find some good seats, dude…
"I've never actually… been to a village meeting before." Maria speaks to us, yo… "I didn't know we held these. Well- I did, but, like… no one ever really talks about them."
There's only like ten other people here, so…!
"I wonder why." Genkan frowns at the council. "Are we sure some of these council members aren't youkai themselves…?"
...Maria tilts her head. "I really have no idea…" How's the government so screwed…!?
Minute or so later, some new faces begin showing up!
One of them is- aah… oh. Oo~h.
His robes are like… purple, black, and neon red. You can only partially see his face, and his staff has fucking- it has two little spiky flail bits attached to the ring at the top!
That's it, dude. We found him. This is the edgiest edgelord to ever edge. Council position: edge king. Matt's got competition…! As a side note, he doesn't seem to have a shirt on under his robe, so freakin'...
"That's…" Maria shakes her head at him. "I don't know."
Hoh. The main door in the back up there swings open, and some dudes walk out, escorted by guards.
One's an old dude, with the longest beard ever, a stupid cone hat and a cane. The other's a burly dude with some kinda apron on, as well as gloves. Looks like a~ blacksmithy sorta dude! He's also got a rather unique beard design, and short but straight silvery-grey hair.
"That old guy's the chief, I think." Maria announces! "Hoshi Kawata. The other guy I think is our lead blacksmith. I know we... have one of those..."
I point at the dude with the straw hat. "Who's that relaxin' dude?"
"Shurui Sutoro." Maria supplies! "He's the youkai hunter person."
Aw. So being one-armed is his tactic, then…!
The rightmost door opens again to reveal one last dude. Some old guy in a green suit, with greying black hair… and glasses.
…
Once things are quiet, the old guy raises his arms. "I~... would like to call this meeti~ng… to atte~ntion…!"
…
"Kauf- kauf." Someone coughs in the audience.
"Aa~h…" Nodding at this, the old guy looks around. "...Before we begin today, I ha~ve a few… announcements."
Silence. Aa~h, back in the days of school assemblies, yo. Can I lie down on Genkan's lap and fall asleep?
"We~ currently have an… absent slot, fo~r the Director of Education. Still. A~nd… we're doing our best to screen a replacement as we speak. You~ will be kept updated..."
...Man. This guy looks like he's on death's door.
Suddenly, I hear the sound of furious writing behind me. Aw… someone's taking notes!
"Additionally…" The guy pauses to look down at something.
...Curiously, since Maria's also lookin', I glance back at the person behind us.
It's a cuddly girl, with short black hair, and a doofy brown hat on. Aw…! Actually- wait a minute, she looks a little…
...Glancing up at me, she blinks at me, before grinning. "Hi, mister. You go to meetings often…?"
"Hi, Aya." I take a gamble! She looks like Aya, even if the eye color is different.
"You're not a total idiot!" Smiling, she continues writing in her notebook. "...That was a serious question by the way. You go here often?"
"Yes, all the time, dude. Religiously." I confess my obsession…! "Everyday- I don't leave. I sleep here, dude- I eat here, dude!"
...Aya just gives me a jaded expression…!
Turning around, I see some of their eyes on me because of my outburst. Oh, shit…!
"Ah, yes." The chief finds his place… "We a~re… we- when we run meetings, we… typically seek a volunteer as the commoner representative. I~s there anyone who would like to? If not, then I'll simply… read down the list of participants, once it-"
"Pick me!" I stand!
"No." Genkan grabs onto my leg.
...Turning to her, I grin! "Yes…!"
Maria exhales. "Oh, no…"
"Oh, yes…!" I grin at her, too!
"Ooo~...!" Aya likes that!
"Alright- well then, first reaction like that in, aah… eighteen years!" Big chief likes it, too!
I stand up- my kimono's still not tied properly, so my freakin' torso and undies are exposed to the world- so I try to keep it somewhat secure as I freakin'... hobble up there!
...Next question, how the hell do I get up there? Do I go around the back, or-
"Hold on, hold on…" The guy taps his cane on the floor. "Aah… oh, right… um- someone, activate the lever…"
The one armed dude lets his arm drop from his lap-
Click. Aw…
Fwi~sh. The floor glows with dim, golden magic, as a stairway erects from the left of the humongo desk to my seat somewhere on the right, among the somewhat sane-looking suited guys.
The blacksmith-lookin' dude turns to the chief. "His name."
He pauses. "...Aah, we'll ask when, ah, we go around the room 'n'... introduce ourselves."
...Using both arms to keep my kimono attached- and raised so I can walk up the stairs without tripping on it- I make my way up the whacky ass inflatable stairs.
...Once I've climbed to the top, I have to step over the desk's top to reach the chair waitin' for me on the other side. I'm on the rightmost side 'a the room…
Seating positions! Now that the gang's all here, I might as well go over all of us…
From left to right: Chief Justice yells-a-lot, medicine man with dune beetle armor or some shit, king edge, Akyuu, chief, blacksmithy, me, green-suited dude, armored probably-guard-captain dude, black-suited eyepatch dude, and the freakin'... redheaded straw hat guy on the very far right.
"Now…" Nodding, the chief turns to his right, which is the left side of the room for all intents and purposes. "Why don't we start, ah… introducing… ourselves?"
Uh oh. This means yells-a-lot gets to go first…!
"III!" Oh, god, my eardrums. "AM KANO KEEEN! HUMAN VILLAGE CHIEF JUSTIIICE! NOOO CRIMINAL, YOUKAI OR- SCUM! -OTHERWISE WILL WALK THESE STREETS, AND NOT RUE THE NAME, KANO KEN! HUHAHAHAAA! MY TRIALS... EFFECTIVE! MY-"
"Ye~s, ye~s." The masked marauder next to him dismisses his introduction from going further. "We know, Kenny. You like to be loud."
"SIIILEEENCE!" Ken snaps! "III DO NOT WANT TO HEAR... YOUR DISGUSTING, BLIIITHEEERIIING! TAO, RYO-"
Suddenly, he goes quiet, although it still looks like he's yelling.
The chief slowly lowers his cane. "Alri~ght, settle down, Ken…" Ken is a weird last name… "And, you next…"
"Ahem." Freakin', mask dude takes a breath. "My name is Tao Ryoshi. I, as all of you, am glad to serve my seat on the council. I am our chief of medicine." ...His voice seems to be kinda synthesized by his mask, too. It's definitely not totally natural! Too much reverb. He's also really smug…!
"Thank you, Tao." Nodding, chiefy glances right- your left- again. "Next…"
...Edge king's turn, yo. With a hand that's not on his ridiculous double mini flail staff, he pulls up a whip-
Whap! -a~nd he hits himself with it! "Nrh…"
Tao facepalms. Ken's still yelling…
"Toma Shinobu…" Glancing around at us, he nods. "High Priest, present." No wonder. This is our saintly dude. What in the nine fucks.
...Looking down at Maria and Genkan, I give them a hard grin! These guys're freakin' more off the rails than me…!
...Nodding his head, chiefy gestures to Akyuu. "Mmm."
Nodding as well, Akyuu looks around with vague cynicism at all of us. "...Hieda no Akyuu, Child of Miare." She don't wanna go any further than that…!
...Wit' that, old chief introduces himself. "I am Hoshi Kawata. I am the chief of the human village." Well, at least he didn't pause awkwardly like he does during his other bits-
I'm gonna be up soon, aren't I? I don't even know what name I'm 'onna give…! Considering my state of dress, I'm pretty sure saying I'm doctor dynamite superteeth will get me sent to the mental ward.
"Yamauchi Tokuma." Blacksmith dude introduces himself bluntly. "Lead blacksmith."
...A~nd it's my turn!
"Next." Chief Hoshi calls on me! "...Aah, right, the commoner representative…"
Looking over at me, he raises an arm. "So… we'd just like your name, and perhaps how long… you've been at the village…"
Hmm. I don't wanna reuse Rusty Shackleford- not that that's a very good cover name anyway. Hmm~...!
"I am…" Gettin' that formal presenter voice out, son! "Brad… Nugget-" Wait, actually, I changed my mind. "Trig Jegman, dude."
I look over to the peanut gallery!
Genkan's just splayed out on like two chairs, half dead…!
Aya's standing up, leaning forward as she takes notes!
"...Could- could you repeat that?" Hoshi looks a little curious! "I thought you said two names there…"
"Trig Jegman, man." I repeat for the old timer.
"...Trig Jegmanman." He confirms.
Good enough. "Yeah, yo."
...Nodding compromisingly at that, he questions me! "And how long… have you been at the village?"
"Two~ months!" Proud of it, yo! And- y'know, that's more like my total Gensokyo playtime, and not actual human village habitation…
"...Two months." His eyebrows were raised! "Um- where did you live… before?"
"Home." I give him a warm smile…
…
"Where?" The answer was so abrupt it threw him off.
"Just, y'know, the outside." This could be interpreted in different ways!
"Oh, okay…" He seems to take this in stride. "What is… your occupation?"
Dynamiting superteeth. Actually- you know what? "Give me a moment, yo…" Time to dig and see if I've still got that badge…!
Alri~ght. Dig dig dig… freakin'... table, nope. Ow- glass shard, no. Water. Fucking- something… something soft. Aa- ooo! Something metal!
...After some pulling-
I get out my Youkai Exterminator badge! "Oh, shit, I still have this…!"
"Aa~h, I was wondering…" Nodding, Hoshi glances down at his- he doesn't even have a paper there. Oh. "It wou~ld figure, wouldn't it…?"
...Well, Kenny seems to have stopped yelling! That's probably a good sign!
"I, ah, thank you, for your service." Givin' me a nod, chiefy's eyes transition to the dude next to me.
The old, green-suited fellow stands up. "Okane Dokusen. Call me Doku. Farmer Baron."
...Then, he sits down. Farmer Baron…? The hell's he do?
The guard fellow stands up! "...I'm Hagane Gisei. Captain of the village guard." ...A~nd sits down. Actually kinda glad we got some lunatics in the room now, these guys're freakin'...
Suited dude, numero two~! The rise- "Okita Soji. Chief Financial Officer. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." -and fall, yo.
...We all stare at the red-haired hatted guy expectantly.
...After a moment, he tilts his hat up with his sole arm, lookin' around at us as he's still reclining in his chair.
"Hua?" Smiling, his eyes dart around our forms… "...Oh, we still doin' that 'meet 'em and greet 'em' thing?"
"You… could say that, yes." Old chiefy exhales. "Name and occupation, as always."
"Pfta~." Becoming disinterested, he begins staring up at the ceiling. "Shurui Sutoro. I stab people fer a living."
"Proper occupation, if you'd kindly…" Old guy tries again…!
"...I stab youkai for a living." Tilting his hat back over his face, the guy brings his arm behind his head as he reclines… "S'tha' the right 'mount 'a style 'n' humor fer ya?"
"...He's Shurui Sutoro, the head youkai exterminator." Hoshi summarizes the summary for us. "With that, I~... think we can call this meeting to proper order." Oh, man. It took us twenty million years just to introduce ourselves…!
Yawning himself, chiefy looks around as if to gather his thoughts. "...We've, um, had youkai attacks recently, right?" O~kay, who is this freakin'...
"Nothing our men weren't able to handle." Guard captain man stands up! "Despite these past few incidents, our walls have held. There's been a few youkai-related crimes, but distress has gone down significantly."
S'that so~...
"Just in the past few days, however, there've been a string of youkai-related bar robberies." The captain delivers crime news! "...An octo-katana wielding feline girl with stealth capabilities has been routinely attacking some of the village's bigger name establishments, and others have reported mysterious loss in stock after questioning."
Aiko~.
"...There've also been more guard-to-youkai confrontations, but that's simply because we've increased our anti-youkai policies." The guy shrugs casually. "Give it a month or two, and it'll drop down to zero, as long as our walls hold and the guards do their jobs. I'll see to reinforcing them, as well." He looks pretty pleased with himself about this.
...After some silence, Chiefy looks around. "Any… opinions?"
...Ken's giving the chief an intent stare. I'm not sure if his facial structure lets him death glare, but he'd probably be giving a death glare right about now.
"Oh, right, sorry…" The chief taps his cane on the floor-
"EXCELLEEENT!" Oh, sweet Jesus… "IF III WASN'T SUCH A BUSY MAN, I WOULD BE PATROLLING THOSE WALLS, CRUSHING SICKLY SCUMMY YOUKAI SKULLS WITH YOU, CAAAPTAIN!" Tilting his neck back like a freakin' rooster, he guffaws. "HUHAHAHAHAAA!"
...I look back at the captain. He's just got this freakin'... offput expression!
"...Wasn't there that…" Finding his volume again, the captain speaks up. "That caravan the Coda family sponsored-"
"AAAHHH!" For fuck's sake…! That- that literally wasn't even a word! "I HEARD ABOUT THAT! AS SOON AS THE WORD CAME IN, I BEGAN TO ASSEMBLE... AN ANTI-YOUKAI STRIKE FORCE. HOOWEVER… SUIKA, IIIBUUKIII! THAT ONI INTERCEPTED MEEEE! THERE'S AN ONI IN THE VILLAAAGE!"
…
"BUT…" That's it, I'm gonna freakin'... plug my ears…! "I WILL TEND TO HER, ONCE WE ARE DONE HERE. I ONLY LET HER LIVE BECAUSE-"
Boom. There's an explosion in the distance, for some reason.
...Shaking his head, Ken resumes. "BECAUSE I WILL SHOW HER LIFE AS A CRIIIPPLLE!"
Jerking his head about, he let himself nod compromisingly. "AND I HAD TO ATTEND THIS IMPORTANT MEETING, OF COURSE. IIII AM TOO IMPORTANT TO WASTE MY TIME ON UGLY YOUKAI." Your lips are blue and your eyes are freakin'...
"Wi~ll you shaddap?" The red-haired guy readjusts his hat! "I can't sleep 'ere if y'just keep-"
"III DON'T WANT TO HEAR-" ...Peace returns to the planet Earth, as the chief casts a silencing spell on Ken again.
Realizing this himself, Ken jerks his head towards the chief.
Sighing, the Chief taps his cane again.
...Ken speaks again. "I~ don't want to hear-...!" Looking back at the chief again, his face contorts in anger! "What is this!?"
"Aah…" The chief blinks. "It's a… 'lower volume spell'. The book said it was useful on bad audiences, but-"
"I sound like a chil~d!" Ken yells as loud as he can, which is still pretty loud!
"It wears off…" Chiefy waves off his concern. "Not sure how long…" Wat. Alright, who the hell's this noob sittin' in as chief…!?
"In any case," Guard captain Hagane interjects himself, expression vain, "we need a fu-... we need a recovery team for whatever else is left of that caravan. I was about to do that earlier today, but then I had to get ready for this meeting."
...Nodding as if he was in a zen-like trance, the chief just stares at him.
"An' why couldn' ya jus' sent a hunter?" Shurui plays with his hat summore, lookin' over at Hagane. "Since it was fairies that broke the cart, I'm sure that old man wit' a sake bottle even coulda smashed their faces in 'n' brought tha' cart right back."
"As if we can find any of them." Hagane countered! "Which is supposed to be your job."
"Aa~h, this place you can get from one gate ta the other in one sprint." Waving the jab off, Shurui stares up at the ceiling. "You got a few hundred military boys. A little scavenger hunt oughta be exciting, yeah? Can't jus' keep 'em staring at walls all day in case a youkai mi' pop out."
"Define sprinting distance." Hagane bites back…! "...But, yeah. I guess we'll cut our losses and move on. As soon as I leave here, I'm looking for that caravan."
"Careful, lad." Shurui keeps poking! "A pretty youkai lady might slap ya in the face and suck ya dick. Wouldn' want that now, would we?"
"Gentlemen." Chief man intervenes! "...You may as well bicker, but keep it formal."
Sitting up, Shurui gestures to the small audience of like eighteen people, including Genkan, Maria, and Aya. "Y'kidding me? This is a joke, man! I remember the day I thought fitty a' a time was sad, but-"
"Shurui." The chief shakes his head at him. "You may be a great youkai exterminator and everything, but you still have a lot to learn when it comes to the village."
"You've been chief for unda' two months, lad." Shurui sits back down… "Hell, the commoner rep 'ere's probably more suited than you, if we talk time."
I don't know about that, son…!
...Ignoring the jab, the chief looks over at Okita, the suited man with the eyepatch. "Okita. What was the village's earnings for this month?"
"Twenty-two billion, seven hundred thirty-two million, two hundred thousand, three hundred twenty-six yen." Wh-... holy shit that sounds like a lot. "Additionally, our expenses have amounted to about…"
He glances down at a paper he brought. Someone came prepared! "Twenty-two billion, one hundred twenty-three million, six hundred seventy-three thousand, one hundred thirty-five yen. Our net profit with these values combined is six hundred ten million, five hundred twenty-six thousand, eight hundred sixty-five yen."
"...We definitely seem to have declined in our earnings." Chief stares down at the audience. "What are our profit demographics?"
"...If I may remind you," Okita gave him a vain stare. "...We don't have them."
...It takes some processin' time, but the chief gets this! "Oh, oh, yes, right. We'll have to look for them again next time, stop losing them, yes…"
Why wouldn't they have those? Freakin'...
"That should be enough finance talk, then, yes, wouldn't want to… bore anyone." Smiling, the chief scans us all again…
Y'know, what do we even need a Chief Justice for if we don't have trials? Actually- do we have trials? 'Cause in this town, nine outta ten crimes seem to be solved with a sword to the gut or a bullet to the head!
"How is our armory?" Chiefy looks to the blacksmith…
"Sufficient." One word answer. Ho ho…!
…
That was apparently enough, because the chief moved on. "Any new developments in medicine?"
Masked man Tao looks up from his desk portion! "Aah, why yes, chief! Recently, our team has developed a rather pleasant smelling solvent that prevents the stunning effects of the uncommon 'Denki-no' flower. We'll probably profit off selling it as a perfume, or something."
Good. Credit to team.
"We are also making breakthroughs on reverse engineering the elixirs we've acquired from Eientei." Tao provides. Oo~h…!
Chief's interested, too! "Oh? What'd you learn?"
...Tao nods generally. "It does not work on dead people. This includes the recently dead, long dead, and skeletal remains."
Shurui exhales…! "Y'do know elixir recipes're just-"
"I'm not reading some impetuous, unholy magus scrawl to accomplish my work, Sutoro. Need I remind you the endless flexibility of a human mind compared to a fickle, emotional youkai brain?" Tao's voice's got some edge ta it!
"S'that so different from usin' their crap ta make more of it?" Giving him a hard grin, Shurui counters! "If ya'd open a book sometime-"
"Do not tell me how to learn, accelerated vermin." Tao retorts! "We all know you're no good without that arm anymore. Why don't you-"
"Ryoshi." Chief interjects! "...Must I arrange a duel for you to stop harping on about this? We will not dishonor his bravery and- and skill, nor his contribution to the village."
"As much as I would love a duel, chief, I've far more important matters to attend to." Tao's voice is noticeably sharper when he's irritated. "I am a man of science."
"I'd like ta see ya fight outside 'a tha' big beetle shell you call armor." Shurui jabs at his weird fuckoff suit!
"The human body is what we make it." Tao clenches his fists…! "A worthless specimen-"
"In any case…" Chief has spoken! "...Akyuu."
Aw. Little miss looks up from her parchment, yo…
"How goes your writing?" The chief speaks to her more leisurely than with the other clowns…!
"It goes well." Nodding, she glances back down at her parchment… "I'm still working on the next edition."
...Nodding, chiefy runs his gaze over the, uh, high priest-
Whap! "Nhn." He~'s whipped himself again. I wonder if the high priest is also a high priest.
...Letting this set in, chief asks him a question. "Do our churches need more funding?"
...Idly, the priest looks over at him, before tilting his head. "Unlikely."
Does the village even have churches? I've never seen a church-like structure…
"How is the general populace?" Chief asks… a question. What kinda question is that?
"Lost. Searching, and finding." High Priest Toma tilts his head to the other direction. "...About as depressed as usual. I had anticipated more followers, after the educational system broke down… however, it seems they seek solace in the teachings of youkai outsiders."
Aw. I wonder why, yo.
"Unfortunate." Chief shakes his head. "...Give them time and teaching, and I'm sure they'll come around. Aah- Hagane, when will we be able to-"
Sitting up, Shurui flips his chair around wit' his arm and sits in it backwards, with the chair facing away from the desk. "Hey- we kicked out the one person who knows how ta teach, but we still got these religious factions all runnin' about and-"
"I'm working on a solution." Hagane's voice comes out hard! "I don't know about you, but it's pretty fucking hard to restrict access when even the Hakurei isn't on your side. Drunkard just waltzes in with her merry band of youkai and youkai affiliates, and suddenly everyone thinks it's open season to just walk in here. We won't get anywhere if we don't put a foot down. I'm sure of it."
...Shurui's staring at the ceiling with a mocking expression.
You know… "What if…" It's time to speak, dude!
...Everyone turns to me 'cause I've been pretty quiet this whole time! Well, so has green suit next to me and blacksmithy- and Akyuu- but…
"What if all youkai aren't bad people?" ...I'm keeping my badge out just to remind everyone I'm not evil!
…
"AAAHHHH!" I've gone and done it, son…! I've awakened the monster! "HAHAHAHA! THAT IS… IMPOSSIBLE! INCONCEEIVABLE! YOUKAI WERE BORN TO BE HUMAN'S SWORN FOE! IT IS GOD'S RIGHT, HONOR, PRIVILEGE! TO LET US PROVE OURSELVES!"
"Youkai have stronger forms inherently, yes…" Tao's turn to criticize my statement! "But, they waste it. Gruesomely. Tell me, have you ever seen a youkai engineer itself to be stronger?"
...I raise a finger! "Do kappa count?"
"Themselves, child." Tao counters…? "Do they ever build upon their flesh, and create a stronger species?" What the fuck're you…
Actually. "...Does what Eirin have goin' on count-"
"You will never mention her name again!" Oh, shit, Tao doesn't like Eirin, apparently…!
"But- she works on bio stuff!" I'm not shuttin' up just 'cause, though! "How-"
"She is a fraudulent, smarmy, bloody worm!" I'm gettin' Tao pretty riled up, here!
...Then, he sighs. "You just don't understand. I can't expect you to ever understand. I apologize, child." I'm gonna dynamite your superteeth, son…!
Lookin' over at me, the guard captain makes his remarks next. "...Have you ever had a youkai kill your family?"
Well, no. "Have you ever had a human kill your family?" Y'know son, homicidal maniacs are a two-way street…!
"Good men don't do that." The captain retorts.
"SEELLLDOM HAVE I EVER HAD TO SENTENCE A GOOD HUMAN MAN." Ken projects his voice across the entire Milky Way galaxy.
"Yo, yo." I raise a hand, standin' up…! "Keyword bein', 'good' man. Not all men are good men!"
"You think we don't fu-... we don't know that?" Hagane almost swears at me! "Do you know how many crimes youkai commit compared to men, kid?"
Aw. Nothin' personnel, kid. Hyonk, heyonk, heyo~nk…!
"Enlighten me, yo." I give 'em the go ahead! "What's the ratio? Twenty million ta jack nothing?"
He snorts. "Fifty to one."
"HUHAHAHAHAAA!" That freakin' laugh, dude…!
Well, that's nice and all, but… "So how many 'a them youkai're actually youkai?" Considering how the guard is…!
...Hagane just looks at me like I'm retarded. "What?"
"Your men, do they actually know who the hell's a youkai and who isn't?" That seems like a pretty big oversight! "'Cause-"
"Oh, shut up." Grinning, he waves me off. "Wha~t, someone stop you from stealing a purse? My men're as loyal as they need to be." This isn't about loyalty son…! Where'd you even- freakin'...!
"The only good man is a smart man." Tao inserts his derangement into the conversation…! "Those who seek anything else are worthless and weak. Liabilities." Cool the e~dge…!
Freakin'...
Looking over at green-suit next ta me, I wave an arm at him! "...What's your opinion, yo?"
...He blinks at me. "I shoot youkai." Good opinion.
"Hagh- Hagane." Whatever your name is! I look back at 'em! "Do your men actually have consistency-"
"Who gave you your badge? Name 'em." He grins wider at me.
"Meira." Actually, it was that poor fella named George, but he served under Meira I think, so… good enough!
...At that, his grin fades a little. "Seriously?"
"You still haven't answered my question…!" I'm not gonna let this shit go, son! "Do ya men know how to tell who's a youkai 'n' who-"
"Yeah!" He snaps! "Yeah they do! The hell do you know!?"
...Shakin' my head, I stand back, pushin' my chair all freakin' smarmily…! "Look, dude. They call me a youkai, they call Reimu a youkai- we're a~ll youkai now, dude!"
"Maybe if you stopped dressing like a stripper we wouldn't make that mistake." Hagane glares over at my kimono and exposed nature…!
And, yeah? "Maybe if you guys had a spell that detected youkai- at the very least-"
"I think that's quite enough…" Chief had to butt in, dude. Had had no choice but to. "...Um, Treeg, to our knowledge, there isn't such a thing as a youkai detecting spell."
Yeah, okay. It's magic. You can scry, you can make the Hakurei barrier, you can nuke the entire world, but you can't tell if someone's a human or not. Seems legit, son.
"I have confidence in our military to identify and… respond to threats." Nodding confidently, the chief smiles. "I'm sure our people do, too."
"Today, I am the people, son." I'm on a roll now, son. "And-"
"Well, you are just… one person." Chief makes his own counter! It's all-star mode, dude! "All things considered, I am of firm belief… that our people know how we operate and appreciate it." Pffft…
Yeah, appreciate you freakin' muggin' them because they dress funny. Your military of like, a few hundred sword dudes versus… y'know…
"Now…" The chief looks around. "On to the next-"
Not done yet, son! "Yo. Yo."
...He gives me the stinkeye! "We are to go onto our next matter of-"
"It's important." Bullshit school bargaining skills go! "It's an emergency. Very important. Please. If you don't lemme dude, I'll piss myself." ...Maybe I should dial those skills back a bit!
...Giving me a hard grin, the chief shakes his head and throws an arm up. "Fine."
...Takin' a breath, I speak! "How many youkai are in Gensokyo?"
...Blinking, the chief looks around. "Hmm. That's actually... a fine question…"
"TOOOOO MANY!" Yes, thank you, fuck…!
Standing up again, Hagane huffs. "To my knowledge, there are… numerous youkai outside the village."
...You must be some kinda fuckin' brain genius or somethin'. Not just one youkai outside the village, numerous. That's a fuckin'...!
"Numerous youkai." Shurui called him out on that, too! "Wha~, you mean there ain't just one? Aw shit…"
"It's not like we know how many." Frowning, Hagane pivoted over to him, before gazing out into the general speaking area again. "That's simply impossible."
"TOOOO MAAANYYY!" You need to get strep throat.
"More common than vermin, and twice as pesky." Tao, what's with you and vermin?
I place my arms on my desk bit! "...Well, if youkai are just everywhere, and youkai can include just… gods, animals, colorful people- anybody, including vastly powerful freakin' demigod behemoth people, wizards, technological warlords, space aliens, and the elements themselves… is no one gonna question how they haven't just waltzed right on in and instantly killed us?"
Like… not only are we outnumbered, we are outgunned, outwitted, outmagick'd, outscience'd, outresourced, and… freakin', we're a colony of ants by comparison…!
"Too stupid." Tao, you're not helping. Everyone who's not you falls under that classification. Maybe the reverse!
"YOU OVERESTIMATE THEIR FEEBLE, SLIMY SCALES! ALLLLL IT TAKES IS A BULLET TO THE BELLY!" Ken, I don't wanna hear this from a man who drove a clown car into an oni and broke it.
"We're doing something right if that hasn't happened." Hagane smirks at me. "Guess we should keep it up." Son.
"You say that…!" I raise my finger! "Except! I see Yuuka, Suika, other powerful people just walkin' around, not a single care in the world!"
"We're adapting to them." Hagane replies to the surface level value of my statement… "My predecessors haven't given me much to work offa'. Give me a month or two, we'll find ways. If it moves, we can make it stop."
"So why don't they just blow you up before then?" Assuming you can even accomplish that. "Like, walk up, slam buildings, dead. Rocks fall, everyone dies. What's stoppin' them?"
…
Aw. That one was a real brain twister innit?
"Probably…" Oh, boy. Hagane's joggin' that noggin'! "The-"
"They're complacent." Tao, where the hell-
"Maybe they just really like our flowers and alcohol." Okita jokes formally…!
"The youkai religions." Hagane publishes his thoughts! "And the Hakurei. As long as we remain weak and affiliated- as long as the youkai are able to syphon something valuable from us, they hold back."
Oh, man. So close yet so far. Do they just not know they feed off fear, or…? Actually, yeah, they wouldn't, 'cause that'd kinda defeat the point, wouldn't it? Aw, shit…
"That's kinda~..." He's losin' me on that theory, there. "Y'got anything on that? Like, proof stuff?"
...Giving me a vain stare, he replies. "Well, why the hell else are they so invested? Like you said, why don't they just walk up and fuck us?"
Thank you~. "Maybe they… don't want to." I grin-
"Because they want something." He grins back!
"What could they even want." I spread my arms out…! "What if they want friendship? Or ta just spread their religion?"
"And if that benefits them and screws us over?" He glares at me. "Sure was a fuckin' smart thing to do, huh!? Let them in and fuck us up the ass!"
"How do ya know that, son!?" I beg for real answers!
"Because youkai kill people!" He kicks his chair back! "You dense motherfucker!"
"And, the village's been real good wit' Keine gone, innit?" I point out how her absence is a thing and probably not helping.
"...I'm sure she fucked over her fair share." Man, Hagane's just goin' all in, ain't he…!?
"Now, now…" Chiefy waves a hand. "Let's not speak ill of Kamishirasawa. Youkai she may have been-"
"Fu-... Chief." Hah. Can't swear at your superiors, son! "...Fine. But we all know what she could have done." Coulda woulda shoulda. 'Could' is not a strong argument…!
Sitting back down, Hagane seethes. "Someone tell this kid to watch his damn mouth."
"But dude…" I lean onto my desk bit to get a good look at 'em yo. "What if… it was just sentient beings killing sentient beings?" Let's break it down, dude!
"Wiseass." He's not listening anymore, is he? "Talk to the fashion reject over there."
"'Sentient' is a big word for someone of your status." Tao, I'm gonna crack your armor open like a lobster shell and freakin' cast ya to the fluffs.
"Okay…" I place a hand down. "What makes a youkai different from-"
"Who let this youkai sympathizing piece of shit in here?" Hagane's pretty pissed with me! "We sure that badge is real? Shurui-"
"S'real." Shurui's got his arm on the desk, head propped on it.
...Hagane frowned, turning to him. "You didn't even-"
"Saw it 'fore, s'real." Shurui just don't give a fuck, yo.
…
Akyuu's been real quiet, dude…
Making a soft expression, I look over at her and call out gently. "Hey…"
...Too gentle, she can't hear me! "Hey…! Akyuu friend!"
...Snapping up from her parchment after a delay, she smoothly tilts her head over to me. Aw…!
Man, she's such a contrast compared to her entire row. Fat bald blue-lipped, serrated thing, a masked nightmare, a- a freak, and a cute anime girl. "You've been pretty quiet, friend."
"Don't heckle her." Hagane tries to stop me!
"I'll heckle you, son!" I bark back at him…! Then, I return to Akyuu. "Aha- hi."
She smiles politely. "U~m… I just don't feel like… adding to this… meeting."
Ha~h? Aw. "But, friend…!"
She looks back down at her parchment. Ma~n, if Shurui and Akyuu were as into this shit as me right now, we could start a civil war. Actually, maybe let's not do that…
...The chief puts his hands down on his desk bit again. "And now-"
"Hey, about the Golden Grin." Not allowed to progress, son. We're gonna be at this meeting until fucking Christmas.
He just sighs… "Yes?"
"Ain't that ran by Yukari? Yakumo?" Speaking of youkai involvement…
…
"No?" Captain Hagane shakes his head. "I forget who, but I would like to see those rabbits get the hell out of there."
"The land is registered to a Maribel Hearn." Okita supplies the ownership! Also, freakin'... "She was a rather youthful and mature blonde." So it is Yukari.
…
"Can I go on now?" The chief looks like he's had it up ta here…! "This meeting has likely been extended by another three hours thanks to this deviation." Wh- what could we possibly keep talking about. Are you… serious?
...Groans all around. Yeah, you know what? Me too! "Nn~gh….!"
I take a glance down at the peanut gallery…
That wind fairy has adopted a curious posture…
Maria's using Genkan's lap as a pillow. Pf- wh- aa~h…!
...Genkan herself seems to have reinforced her chair with ice. No one's even batted an eye or argued with her.
Aya's… still going strong with that note taking! Hoh, shit!
…
"Now, then…" Chiefy stretches a little. "Aa~h. Now, onto the matter… of the Hakurei." We're going to be here until the fucking sun rises, dude.
Turn one: the big gulp. "SUCH A WEAK, FEEEEBLE LITTLE YOUKAI SLAVE, WHO THINKS... THAT WHAT SHE DOES IS JUSTIIICE! WE SHOULD SHOW HER WHAT JUSTIIIICE REALLY IIIIS!"
"How is she so powerful?" Tao rubs his masked chin. "I know I always say this, but- why?" Apparently you guys don't know what faith is either. Good.
"As long as she keeps out, I don't care." Hagane folds his arms. "But we know she won't. Wants to profit, wants to spread her crappy religion."
Tao shakes his head. "You know, I always learn so much…" Then wistfully, he exhales. "From a live dissection."
...
...Are we the bad guys du~de!? That sounds like a pretty bad guy thing to say! Like- I don't freakin' know about you, but…!
"Tao." Even Hagane doesn't agree! "She's still a girl."
"A~nd?" ...How do you express a smirk through voice when you have no facial capacity? God dammit…!
"Remind me ta kill myself if yer my doc." Shurui jeers at 'em…!
"Don't worry, Sutoro. The pleasure is mine." Tao tilts his head in retort!
...I'm waiting for their plan to be 'let's take the Hakurei Shrine and push it somewhere else'.
…
"Some youkai hunters went up ta the Hakurei Shrine in a raid once…" Shurui smiled. "They came back changed men, y'know? As if any of the hooligans from the village'd match up."
Tao shakes his head. "You think all wrong, Sutoro. All we need is a cunning plan, and a cunning trap."
Shurui tilts his head, gaining a skeptical half-smirk. "Ha~h? Yeah? What kinda plan you think'd work, then? Hakurei're pretty smart, y'know."
"Simple." Tao shakes his head. "We lure her into a room, then we gas her."
...Shurui shifts in his seat, uncomfortable from the freakin'... wooden chair. "Wha' if she breaks the room?"
"We'll station men with ballistic weapons around the doors." Tao reaffirms.
"An' she's just not supposed ta notice…" Shurui's expression becomes vain again.
...Huffing, Tao continues again! "All it takes- I'm sure- is a good incision to the gut. A clean cut, be it blade, harpoon, or bullet- but…" He relents, actually! "That might damage her. We need a way to restrain her."
"Restrain the girl that can summon crushing orbs at will." Shurui lies down on his desk… "Why'd we hire ya again?"
"We obviously knock her out, you sub-normal halfwit. Gas, or impact to the skull." Tao is determined to see this through! "...Or darts. Hmm. Ye~s…"
Magic? Wha~t's magic? Who ha whah?
He begins tracing his finger through the air, bringing it down smoothly, as if sliding it down a pane of glass. "Then, once we have her reserves depleted, we would be free to simply slice open the central cavity. Brush her smooth, pale skin with an even smoother, exact-"
"Sto~p!"
Ooh, hoh! That wind fairy came whirling up to the center of the room!
"What!?" Tao jerks back!
"AAAAAHHHH!" Ken helps no one!
Hagane jolts onto his feet. "Fairy!" Dear god, it's a fairy, Jesus save us…!
Cli- click. Jerking out of his own chair, the farmer baron dude drew two… guns of some kind from his waist, aiming them at the fairy.
...Genkan's got her arm held up as if to stop the fairy, but retracts it since it's obviously a little late now…
Shurui's still laxin' in his chair…
"WHY IS THIS FOOOL STILL BREATHING MYYY AIIIIIIRRR!?" ...I mean, he sounds like he'd need a lot of it!
"This… isn't what she wanted…!" The wind fairy expresses more emotion than in our entire previous conversation! That is, 'slightly less stoic' as opposed to 'monotone'.
"Take the shot?" Farmer Joe looked over at the guard captain!
"Ye- yes!" Hagane was on the desk, but his pathfinding denied him the pleasure of breaking his legs. "Do it!"
Kshoo~f! The fancy farmer shot like a steel peg from his weird bow-esque thing-
Cli~ng! With a swipe of her hand, the fairy batted it aside, a visible slash of wind parrying the bolt. "Where's the Hakurei village…? Where's-"
Kshoo~f! Green-suited farmer shooter man fired another peg!
Cli~ng! She parried that one-
Fwi- whi- whi- whish! A fierce-looking wind shield generates around her form…! "Ts- Tsu-chan…"
Bam! Ken fired a flintlock bullet at her, from a gun he musta had under his desk-
Bam! Tao fired his own flintlock at her. "Leech!"
Ti- ti~ng! The projectiles were deflected to the floor by the wind shield…
"Someone!" She calls out! "Where do the Hakurei live now!?"
Ba- ba- bam! Ken, Tao, and Hagane all fire more flintlocks-
Ti- ti- ti~ng! It ends about the same as it did before!
"You know…" Blinking, the chief looked about-
Cli- click. The farmer attached a hook to the end of his left gun-
Kshoo~f! Clink! He fired it at the ceiling, catching it on a beam above-
"Hup!" Leaping from his desk portion, his gun acted as a grappling hook, allowing him to coast down towards the floor, before the weapon cut the rope and let him roll. "Hngh…"
"Please!" She continues calling for information! "My wind isn't collected enough to allow me to-"
Clink! Tao fires a net from some kinda tubular device he had on him-
She ducks beneath it, frowning deeper. "I know the Hakurei! Please!"
"EVEN WOOOORSE!" Ken bellows at her…!
"Now- people…" Chief stands up, holding his arms out… "People if you'd just-"
Patatatatat! Does Ken have some kinda machine gun on 'em!?
Ti-ti-ti-ti-ti~ng! Yeah, that went about as well as anticipated.
"Stop shooting, you fat bastard!" The farmer looks down at the bullet holes in the ground before him! "You're gonna hit me if you keep-"
Patatatatat! Naturally, Ken keeps firing-
"Everybody, shut the hell up!"
...The room goes quiet as Shurui is now suddenly atop his desk, a single arm comfortably around his waist, upon his holstered sword.
Ken's even stopped firing, yo.
"Why fucking should we!?" Hagane grimaces at 'em. "Whose side're you-"
Shurui snaps his head to him.
…
"Aa- aah…" Hagane flops back into his chair, for some reason. "Fuck off…" Whah?
...Looking back over at the fairy, Shurui brings his hand off his sheathe, and beckons her. "C'mere, girl. I won't bite." He pats his knee for emphasis. "I'll give ya a candy. Actually- that… whatever."
...The fairy blinks at him.
He pats his knee faster. "I'll make sure ya don't get shot on the way out if ya get over here…!"
Slowly, the fairy drifts towards him, her shield still raging. "Will you help me?"
...He takes a lollipop from one of his off pockets. "Yeah, here you go…"
She ignores the offering. "Do you know anyone named Tsu-ch-... Tsubasa-ken?"
"Don't ring any bells…" Shurui shakes his head, slowly lowering the lollipop. "...Yer looking for Hakurei, ain't'cha?"
"The Hakurei village, yes…!" Giving him a small smile, she nods gratefully. "This can't be it. No one would have wanted this."
"There ain't one." Shurui broke it to her.
…
She doesn't blink.
"I couldn't've even been a kid when the Hakurei dwindled down ta one member at a time…" Shurui recounted what he knew. "I'm 'fraid stuff like that's been long lost ta history."
…
Bringing her hands to her face, the fairy covered her eyes. "Ts- Tsu-chan… no…"
...After a moment, she drifted away from him, panning her gaze to me, then to my party down in the audience-
Bam! Ting! Ken's reloaded his flintlock and taken a potshot in this time, but it doesn't really mean anything.
Fwi- fwish. Her form and shield seemingly collapse, before expanding in a different spot in the room's airspace, in some kinda trippy looking teleport.
Fwish. She teleports out of the room, a lingering, powerful gale whipping at our clothes and hair as she departs…
…
Most of the non-combative members of the meet begin to defluff, while others-
"RUN! RUUUN! HUHAHAHAHA!" -seem to still be hyped about what just happened…!
...Okita's still seated in the same posture as before, like nothing happened.
...Akyuu's rising from beneath the desk, casting aside some sort of metal sheet she'd defended herself with.
High Priest Toma looks entirely unfazed by the recent transgression! Not sure what his fazed expression would be!
That farmer's walking around at the bottom restlessly, stranded.
"Well…" Frazzled, the chief looks around at all of us, before huffing. "We~ll with that, I think, uh, we could end the meeting… a little early?"
"Sounds good." Shurui's on board! "Not like we have anythin' else ta talk about anyway."
...The chief stares down at his desk portion. "Well, that's not… entirely true-"
"Sounds good ta me!" The farmer calls back up to us. "I've had my fun for today…!"
...The chief pans his gaze around-
The blacksmith gets up, as does the high priest.
"Ye- yeah…" Akyuu hesitantly gets up, parchment folded up and heavy metal sheet beneath an arm…
"There is research to be done." Tao pushes away from the desk and marches off. "I don't have time to deal with this." Cool.
I guess I'll sta~nd, too…! Those exits to the left and right of the upper level still exist, so~...
Okita smoothly stands, before turning and easily making his way out.
"Ha- aah…" Hagane stumbles out of his chair, clutching his chest. "What-... what the fuck…?"
"Hu~p…" Shurui just jumps right off the upper level-
-before rolling on the bottom level, transitioning smoothly to a slow stride towards the exit. Oh…!
...Chief Justice Ken slowly lumbers out of his chair, shaking his head.
Looks like it's time for me to get outta here! Don't really wanna hang around with any of these faces. Except for Akyuu, because she's soft and cuddly. Ooo- maybe if I get out fast enough, I can catch her…
Taking the side door out, I see that it's just an extension of the long hall from the front of the building, and it just went around the side and up some stairs. Dude, carpeted stairs…
Following Okita towards the exit, I make sure to keep my kimono secure so my everythings aren't exposed to the wind and rain, yo.
...Down some stairs and past many completely decorative and unused chairs, tables and other table-esque tables, I find myself at the main lobby…
Genkan and Maria are there. Maria's rubbing the sleepies from her eyes…
"Hey." Genkan drifts up to me once I get in range, yo…
"Hello, world." Ho ho ho.
"...That was an experience." She's not sure what to say about that ordeal…! "I think I have a new perspective… on how poorly this village operates."
"Me too…!" That wa~s enlightening…!
"They're not all bad people, but…" Maria nods compromisingly! "Some of them are. And others are just kinda scary…"
...Idly, we progress towards the door. Before we talk more, we should get the hell outta here before somethin' stupid happens…!
==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====
We are now… outside.
Stars hang in the night sky as we make our way down the road…
"It's gonna be hard to sleep…" Maria stared up at the speckled black above. "That nap we took earlier made us nocturnal…"
"Night's better than day, anyway." Floating forward, Genkan leads our progression back towards the main roads. "...Speaking of, should we go anywhere in this time?"
...As nice as it'd be to get put into a coma by her hugs, I'm thinking we should stop by the Hakurei Shrine, if only to egg Reimu on about starting shit in the village for the sake of cleaning up this freakin'... hellstorm of insanity.
"Probably the shrine so we can get Reimu to come down here and beat up some noobs." I decide on our plan of action! "Mostly 'cause I overheard her say she wanted to clean things up before that unholy fairypalooza fucked everyone up."
"That would be wise." Genkan agrees! "I have a strong feeling the village and the shrine maiden are not on the same page."
These posh roads are well lit, yo. Help, no.
…
"I guess night time is pretty nice looking…" Maria checks out Gensokyo's nightly light show in the sky. "It always makes me afraid, though…"
"Aw. Wha's there ta be 'fraid of?" Ho~h shit, that's Shurui's voice…!
Looking to the side, we see Shurui walkin' along beside us! He's got one arm behind his head leisurely…
"Hello, friend." I greet the one-armed swordsman!
"Cute little posse ya got goin' on, here." He gave me a toothy grin. "I was wonderin' who invited a yuki-onna to tha' party…!"
"...I'm not exactly discreet, am I?" Keeping her gaze on him, Genkan continues to step along with us. "What let you on?"
"Aah, you get an eye for that sorta thing." He dismisses his techniques! "No one'll guess otherwise. Erryone still thinks yuki-onna're some bloodletters like young vampires or wolfmen."
"...I see." At that, Genkan stares ahead, taking her gaze off him. "Why have you come to us?"
"Some chit-chat 'n' time killin'." He stares up at the stars as he walks along with us. "Tha' wind fairy was pretty interestin', weren't she?"
"Yeah, yo." I nod. "We found her in a rock."
He snorts. "A rock, huh? Yeah, I reckon you'd find a lotta things in rocks these days…"
After rounding some corners, we are now back on mainstreet! There's only some guards about now, since it's night, but no one seems to so much as consider bothering us with Shurui here.
"So ya guys all marchin' on up to the Hakurei Shrine?" He gives us a grin. "Not scared by the big bad stories of tha' 'youkai miko'?"
Yeah, yo. "We're actually on a ritual suicide pilgrimage to be consumed by her, yo. She is one and she is many."
...He gives me a funny look! "Ahah, that so. Mind if I tag along? Some fresh air'll be good for the pores, yeah?"
"Sure." He seems chill enough!
Woo~sh. Aw. I am freezing my ass off here. How's this guy getting by in shorts and a freakin'... loose casual shirt!?
As we make our way to the Hakurei Shrine-most gate, Maria speaks…! "...It- it's Shurui, isn't it?"
"Mhm!" Still staring at the sky!
"How come I never see you around the village?" Maria asks the fun question, yo.
...He looks over at her, before smiling. "Aah. Well, let's just say… I've been relaxin'."
"He does only have one arm now." Genkan mentions his crippling condition…! "I don't imagine life comes easily for him."
"Somethin' like that." He doesn't really seem to mind it himself, though…! "Yeah. Took it real hard, mmm."
"How'd you lose it?" Maria pours salt in the wound, yo…! Not that it seems like he cares, though…
...He gives us a grin. "Y'might be a little young fer that one, lad. Pretty strong beast he was, though. Raza~h sharp teeth, this big!"
Woosh! He jumps to accent his point! And holy shit that's a high jump for a guy with one arm. Nearly cleared a house with that one…!
Thud. He lands a little hard, before resuming regular stride.
"You jump high…!" Maria does not let this slip!
...He brings his one hand to the back of his head. "Ah, yeah, I do, I guess."
...I think the better question is how his hat stayed on through that.
We come up on the gate out. Genkan wants to say somethin', but suppresses it as we near it-
"Lemme." Pre-emptively moving before we're really even near it, Shurui makes for the gate himself. "I know this guy." Ooo.
...Stepping up to the guard, he stares him down!
"Oh- hey!" The guard snaps to attention! "I- I…"
Thud. He~ collapses?
...Moving over to the crank, Shurui uses his one arm to reel open the gate himself. "He~re we are…"
After careful observation, Genkan feels the need to state something! "You're different from other humans."
"Wha' makes ya say that?" Moving up to the gate, he looks around on the outside. "These guys up 'n' fell asleep on the job, they did. Guess I spooked 'em!"
"You made them collapse." Ooo~! Icy analysis, yo! "Your strength isn't quite human, either."
...Looking over at her, he smiles. "That's sill~y. I mean, granted, I am an excellent jumpa', I don't think there's such a thing as a-..." He pauses to find words! "What, knockout magic? Tha's technically danmaku, but y'know what I mean."
...Genkan withholds further judgement. Hoh.
...He takes a glance at me before exiting out the door. "So, you kinda fed up with how the village goes about its business, too?"
"Ye ye ye, ye ye." That can be agreed upon! "They're genociding innocent lolis, dude. Also generally making everyone's ease of living messier…!"
"Mmm~..." Nodding, he begins to move down the path to the shrine. "Why don' we go see wha' Reimu has ta say 'bout it? I'm interested in that 'clean up' plan 'a hers you mentioned, and it's not like I'm'onna be arsed to look inta it otherwise."
...As I exit the gate, I notice a guard on the left that's passed out. There seems to be some kinda girl passed out in the bushes ahead, and a few night fairies on the right are lying on the ground, too. What happened out here…!?
Fwish. Aw, that wind fairy! She came back, dude!
"...I know where many things are, now." She communicates with us…! "I wish I didn't. I'll… get over it."
"Awful powerful wind fairy…" Shurui gives her a glance as we move on ahead! "...Ooa~h! She's from that rock below the square, ain't she? Hahaha! Aa~h, by the time I foun' that proper, I only had one arm! An', y'know, didn' really feel like bringin' a harpist jus' for to get 'em killed if we woke up somethin' mean or sprung a nasty trap."
"Tsu-chan wouldn't…" The fairy whipped her head towards him! "...I keep forgetting, how long it's been."
"Who tha' hell's this 'Tsu-chan'?" Shurui asks one of the better questions!
"...My friend." The fairy stares into the distance. Aw, real descriptive…
"...Okay." Shurui just raises his eyebrows and keeps movin' on ahead!
This makes a good opportunity for Genkan to supply information, yo. "To our understanding… the individual she speaks of is a Hakurei ancestor."
"Explains why I never heard 'a her." He nods… "Well, if it makes ya feel any better, one Hakurei's still alive."
"...It's better than none." The fairy concedes. "I'm still very upset." You are far better at containing your emotions than many people…!
…
Maria glances around, before noticing me freakin' shivering in my fifty percent ice resistant kimono. Why is it this co~ld!?
...Briefly, she moves over to the edge of the path-
"Fire!" Ho ho!
Fwam! She ignites a tubby branch on the ground…
...Picking it up, she looks around a little sheepishly as pretty much everyone watches her. "Um… light."
Oh yeah, lighting. The stars're so bright tonight that lighting's not an immense issue, but-
Once everyone starts to ignore her, she passes the burning wood to me. "Here…"
"Yo ho ho…" I accept the vaguely warm torch! "I am now the torchbearer."
...I see the shrine steps comin' up!
==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====
END OF CHAPTER 74
PROTAGONIST: Brad, the Fluffle Slayer, Fairy Slayer, Accidental Human Slayer, Robot Demolisher, Ph. D in Plant Hangers, Scarlet Liberator, Village Liberator, Eientei Crucible, Sinker of the Flufftanic, Factory Disassembler, Assembler of the Legendary Air Ride Machine, Sky Climber, Amateur Espionage Practitioner, Illegal Fairy Harborer, Conscientious Party Member, Winter Warrior, Has Forgotten What Half of These Titles Stood For, Holder of Too Many Titles.
PRIMARY WEAPON: Hard Winter - A earth/ice-elemental plant hanger made from sturdy rock; has a flower curved around the hilt. Able to be used as a jack hammer for demolition purposes. Strikes can be empowered with magical energy. With the addition of an enchanted shaft, it is able to be used as a warhammer and grant the ability to self-cast attack buffs to the wielder. Allows casting of Gaia Seed. Casts Tundra, a weak spike of ice! Allows the user to cast Ice Shard. Extends combo length by one artificially. Allows the user to jump out out of combos smoothly, and leave frost in their trail.
INVENTORY:
[Bag of Holding] - A small bag that always seems to be conveniently unaffected by whatever weird crap happens to me. Never enlarges, almost always gives me what I need if I remember it's there. Infinite inventory space. I would like to know where it actually puts all my stuff though…
==o==
WEAPONS:
Swordbreaker - Dark elemental plant hanger. Boosts the power of dark skills. Has a curvy, fancy design that lets it easily counter swords! It better, with a name like 'Swordbreaker'. Provides a weak but passive boost to defense, magical defense, and evade. Lowers the attack of foes as its on-impact effect.
Youkai Inconveniencer - A holy plant hanger, which works as a flail 'cause of the cross necklaces attached to it! May cast Flash, an attack that blinds; works best on darkness elementals and youkai. Acts as a flashlight via candles. Converted to a flail with cross necklaces! Can cast Shine.
Fairy Harp - A sand-red, cast iron plant hanger. It was used to hold a generic potted plant before being utilized as a weapon of mass skull-cracking destruction. With the addition of a wind-grate, it can cast Gust. By the addition of a steel block, its attack and magic attack increased slightly. Sparkles in the light due to fairy dust, able to reduce the accuracy of weak, biological enemies by irritating their senses with the dust. Can play beautiful, flat-tone musi~c!
Flame Salvo - A red and crimson plant hanger comprised of mysterious gems and metals. Boosts the power of fire skills. Ignites stuff on impact. Never again do I need a lighter or the ability to somehow rub two sticks together really hard to make a campfire! Has a flamethrower nozzle, allowing the user to cast Flamethrower Plus! Allows the user to cast Fume.
Vortex Hanger - Wind elemental plant hanger currently attached to the Yin-Yang flail as a crafting material. Granted a limited hover per swing when wielded, but that ability is what allows the flail-o-copter to fly now.
Deep Blue - A blue and silver plant hanger comprised of mysterious fantastical metals. Can produce limitless fresh water. Boosts the power of water skills. Allows wielder to cast Geyser. The addition of a valve served to allow control of its water flow. I wonder if you could use this in place of a sink...
Yin-yang flail-o-copter - A flail with a standard, maximized Hakurei Yin-yang orb in the sling of it. Unable to have its powers fully activated, as only Reimu can truly harness the power of Yin-yang orbs. Minor affinities from the base orb transfer over, though! Crafted from a Hakurei Yin-Yang orb, a rope of panties, and two bra cups. Ropes were used to attach the Vortex Hanger to the yin-yang orb, allowing the flail to be used as a flying device, although it's a bit straining on the arms.
Sharper Than Darkness - A dark, runed plant hanger constructed from the shards of a dead man's sword. Dark effects promote a glass-cannon style; physical attack increased, physical defense lowered. User bleeds out faster. Can cast Revenge, an attack that increases in power the lower the user's health is. A scythe edge from a mysterious ghoul was added to let it cut!
Bee-Sheventeen-Bawmber - A mechanical plant hanger enchanted to make big booms on contact. Explosions are mostly knockback based, but I think it could gib particularly weak-willed people… magic is weird. With the addition of a barrel, it can shoot singular, yellow danmaku bullets.
Million Bucks - A basic green cast-iron plant hanger, from the aged cellar of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. It's a gift from Flandre Scarlet! Has an obsolete map of the cellar's maze, etched by Flandre herself. Shoddily enchanted to give a speed boost when the wielder is lower on health. Lowers defense slightly. With added electric and holy charms, the hanger is slightly electric and holy elemental. Is able to fluidly chain attacks for stringing together longer aerial and ground combos. Allows the user to fluidly transition from combo to jumping. Allows forced aerial combo support. Grants the user the ability to air slide. Increased jump height when running. Gives motion sickness with avid use!
Market Gardener - Critical hits during blast jumps! Otherwise, it's just a normal, old plant hanger. Named after a very similar shovel…!
NERF dart blaster - Nerf guns are cool and all, but don't try defending yourself with one. Please. Unless you're surrounded by fairies who don't know the difference- but y'know- that opportunity's a freakin' million to one.
NERF longsword - 'CAUTION: Do not jab at people or animals'… you know what that means! Maybe one day this will actually come in handy…
==o==
ARMOR:
Kaguya Houraisan Disguise - Wear to become a NEET! Tons of pockets! Seventy-five percent time resistance on equip. Voice, face, and height specifications not included!
Monk Robes - Wear to become a Buddhist! Actually pretty comfy…!
Remilia Scarlet's Mob Cap - Twenty five percent dark resistance. Lets me be a Touhou, too!
Yuki-onna Kimono - Genkan's stock kimono. It's a little big on me, and smells like wet. Fifty percent ice resistance, probably debuffs fire and burning resist to some degree.
Yellow Racecar Helmet - It's like a really knockoff space marine helmet! Fifty percent sun resistance, one hundred percent freezing and blinding resistance. Also gives immunity to electrical stunning. It feels like it's got good physical defense, too… at least for my head.
Lunarian Prototype Space Suit - A suit meant for combat in deep space. So far, it's only got the whole 'exist in deep space' part down…! One hundred percent electric resistant. One hundred percent freezing resistant. Has an oxygen tank, but that's only useful if you wear the helmet to go along with it. Randomly casts Zero Gravity when it feels like it.
Lunarian Prototype Deep Space Helmet - It's a freakin' helmet. Fifty percent blinding resistant! When worn with the Lunarian Prototype Space Suit, it also confers immunity to burning and poison, along with another one hundred percent electricity resistance. Yo…!
Testing Oxygen Tank - The oxygen tank used by the Lunarian Prototype Space Suit. Lasts for two and a half minutes! Not meant to actually be used outside of testing, but it's possible. Refills automatically in breathable air.
MP Prize Pin - A badge that allows the user to drain some of the enemy's mana, forcing it to become mana prizes on the field. For awhile only the user(s) of this badge may pick them up, but after a grace period anyone can. Extends prize grabbing range!
Sun Badge - Fifteen percent sun resistance when equipped. Fifty percent resistance to blinding and electrical stunning. Replaces the on-impact effect of all weapons with Sunfire Flare when worn.
==o==
CONSUMABLES/OTHER:
Forty-one thousand, two hundred Yen - ...Yeah, just in a bag. It's about time I documented how much freakin' money I have!
Four Health Potions - They give you youkai-like regen for like, thirty seconds! No chuggin' these babies to indefinitely survive the cold reaches of outer space. Unless the regen outdoes the asphyxiation, but I think I'd rather die by that point…
Mega Potion - Youkai-like regen for thirty seconds… except for the whole family! Applies to entire party. Good for when we all suck at life!
Four Mana Potions - Restores an average amount of mana, I think. More than enough for someone like me!
Three Panaceas - Cures all status effects. I dunno if it works on debuffs, though...
Akihito's Broadsword - Too big for me to use as a weapon. I wonder if I could use it as like, a tent stake or something.
Butterfly Dream Pills - Makes you dream of being a beautiful butterfly!... now, if only there was a pill for lucid or wet dreams, and then I'd consider Yagokoro the doctor to end all doctors!
Hina's Bad Luck Talisman - I remembe~r! Upgrades a weapon to debuff luck on strike and stuff!
Rope of Red Bikinis - Wahaha! Gonna getcha, son!
Sacred Eagle Feather - A gift from a rambler. It's… sentimental, I think? Help.
Some Fancy Key - A key lent to me by Brittany. Wha- why. What's it for…!?
Youkai Exterminator Badge - I still have this, dude! Yo ho ho! Allows me to not be considered a youkai by most guardsmen!
PARTY:
London, the Multipurpose Combat Doll - What it lacks in brains it makes up for with a suit of armor and some OP utilitarian spells! Can cast basic fire, lightning, and ice attacks, both the magical and physical variety. Has lance, can shoot danmaku. Variety of attack commands now, including intelligent tracking, trailing, patrolling, and defending. Has mana pool for the stronk commands, though, so those should be used sparingly. I really have to remember to use her, at some point!
PRIMARY WEAPON: Shanghai Lance - Burly lance with jabbing ability. Mostly useful as a blunt object, it seems, and intimidation factor. London really likes it, apparently. London shouldn't have sentience, but I can't help but notice the awkward way which it just pauses before it swings this lance.
==o==
Genkan, the Yuki-onna - A bitter yuki-onna from Gensokyo's wildlands, mostly active in the winter, and on particularly cold days. Heals from ice damage. Commands powerful control over frost, and has a wide variety of ice-affinity attacks. Weak to fire and burning.
SKILLS:
Ice Control - Freely use ice to make stuff. Inherent one hundred percent ice resistance.
Freeze - Instantly freezes one to two enemies. Low chance of working on stronger foes.
Creaking Freeze - Generates a spinning, magic snowflake in an enemy's body, which instantly freezes them after a moment. High accuracy.
Glacier - Erects a massive blade of ice from the ground, dealing incredible physical ice damage.
Triple Glacier - See above, but on three enemies! As such, costs triple the mana!
Ice Spin - Spins and lashes out with chilling frost. Probably just an extension of her normal frost powers and not an actual skill…
Yuki-onna's Embrace - Hug. Binds target close to her. Makes the target tired, severely lowers accuracy and magical defense, and makes them comfortable. Skill may only be performed by yuki-onna. Negative facets reduced by ice and freezing resist. Someone with over a hundred resistance will be buffed and healed by it…!
Yuki-onna's Entombment - Final, optional stage of the hug…! Guaranteed instant death inflicted by the draining of vitality. Heals the user for the heat taken from the target. Does not work well on bosses or the instant death resistant. Instant death proc is nullified if the target's ice or freezing resistance is over fifty percent. Skill may only be performed by yuki-onna.
Other Skills - Probably has more spells, but freakin'... I dunno her like a textbook!
INVENTORY:
Camouflage Kimono - This kimono means business, son. One hundred percent ice resistance, and as such renders one immune to all magical ice damage. Dunno 'bout icicles and stuff, though. Fifty percent freeze resistance… not that freezing will hurt with this thing on. Fifty percent dark resistance. Negative fifty percent fire and burning resistance. Hopefully hides you a bit when navigating in the freakin' brush...
Money - Apparently.
I dunno - What would I~ have if I was a sexy ice woman?
[unknown spaces remaining]
==o==
Maria, the Actually Ordinary Magician - A villager from the human village. Used to run the most impoverished bar ever, but that fell under or something. Really low self-esteem! No known resistances or weaknesses. Can cast basic elemental spells!
INVENTORY:
Wood Staff - Good for bonking things!
Raggedy Clothing - Low quality, old clothes from the village. Keeps her covered.
[Travel Bag] - Inventory that exists! Does not take up inventory because it is inventory. Eight slots.
Two Mana Potions - Guess wha~t? It heals, except mana!
[six spaces remaining]
==o==
Shurui, the Head Youkai Exterminator - One-armed human from the village. Apparently the leader of them, too! Dresses casually, even in the winter time. No resistances, because he's a squishy human like me.
INVENTORY:
Casual Clothing - It's casual, dude…
Copper Shortsword - Stabby blade! Fit for one-armed combat!
Unknown - Probably not a lot, since those shorts don't look like they can hold much…
SKILLS?:
High Jump - Jump high!
Make A Boy Sleep - He can make boys go to sleep! Night night, noo~bs! Probably not the actual name of this skill…!
[unknown slots remaining]
==o==
Unnamed Wind Elemental Fairy - A fairy from the early days of Gensokyo and beyond. I don't know about you, but she might be wind resistant…!
INVENTORY:
Archaic Fairy Rags - Pretty different looking from what fairies wear today. Green and yellows!
Unknown - Help…! Can't see…! Lemme in…!
[no slots remaining]
SKILLS:
Zephyr Shield - Impenetrable wind shield. Not actually, but the damage required to break through is probably stupid high. Deflects all projectiles.
Warp - Teleports, apparently. Hoh.
==o==
AUTHOR'S NOTE
HAPPY HOOLAWEEN DUDE
for future friends: this batch was published on hoolawin
also happy anniversary to FREAKIN GENSOKYO, again! it was back on the 16th - w -
not sure what to say yo…!
It's been a long road, again! We're nearing conclusionary parts at some point but again not like soon soonish, I've still got things I wanna do and get done before I even start thinking about the cap-off for this fic.
Group dynamics are a new direction for this fic sort of! I've had Brad travel with friends before but Maria and Genkan're kinda more prominent buddies than whenever I just kinda casually traveled with a named touhou for safety or otherwise. I do have more experience with consistent parties though, namely GENSOKYOBOUND and Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode.
...Okay, it's not that new, is it? XD I dunno yo…!
First review regarding this fic's raunchiness! Therefore I think I'll give a general statement to that sorta thing- I already gave them a private reply, but I wanna just kinda lay down somethin' I want everyone to consider…
Censorship's a strong concept, and individual interpretation of a topic is always subjective. To cater to all the possible individual potential problems with abstract conversation and depiction in a work (where removal / rearrangement / omission is concerned and not actual artistic choice) is both demeaning to the artist- game designer, writer, anyone creating- and demeaning to those who actually suffer from an issue. They are not helped when discussion of it is barred, dismantled and systematically chastised for existing in all contexts and formats and brands of original interpretation; as opposed to only positive or filtered, specific contexts. It's counter-productive, and while theoretically helps those who may be triggered by any reminder, it also demeans those who can deal with their emotions and, I guess in layman's terms, 'counter-trigger' them. There's more effective solutions to discussion than simply telling someone to shut up- be it outright or in an attempt to censor their 'apparently' harmful speech, depiction, creation or decisions, even if such harm is abstract, theoretical and emotional.
...The only reason this fic don't got sex in it, is 'cause ratings told me so! And 'cause I don't trust myself to not make it cringy! I mean, I've had some unpublished practice if ya know what I'm sayin' and let me tell you, pacing in sex scenes is/can be sexy in and of itself but I dunno. If anyone actually wants to make derivative content, though, be my guest…! Just, y'know, reference the fact I exist if my characters do too, for courtesy and reference's sake.
That, and sex needs quite tactful placing 'n' pacing or else it just loses its impact and oomph. Like- consummation of an actual relationship, not so much spamming lewds always. Not that well-executed spam in some places will be bad, but…
But enough about the pervy topics…!
I think the plot is still coherent! I have been doing… consistent events, albeit not necessarily arcs! It helps when my character actually gets vaguely attached to things and doesn't just disconnect from the world and phase into his own plane of existence…!
The action so far's turned out pretty neat. No real iffy segments aside from perhaps some of the insanity during the early TH16 segment but it served a purpose, which is more than can be said of some of the older action. Experimenting with more explorational concepts 'n' things…
Sticking to 10 k words per chapter's pretty difficult! These days I go way over a lot…!
...Anyway! I'm runnin' outta things to say at the moment…
Oh, yeah, this chapter...
the new guys for this chapter - w - the LEAGUE OF SUPERVI- i mean village council
...admittedly they're not all supervillains - w - only some of them (and others are just lunatics)
also fairy from the dawn of man/earth. she's friendly, dude
don't worry, yo, ha-chan has not been forgotten, she's just unconscious in the sdm for the time being - w - although maybe not for long…!
the hakurei lore is pretty interesting because it's one of the more immediate gateways to gensokyo's backstory as opposed to most other people's/families pasts or backstories
that and it gives you a license to be OP if you're a hakurei - w - which is good fodder for protagonists! not that BEIN' OP'S EASY, YO… not in GENSOKYO
and yeah the evidence was there before but 'the truth come out', dude: does bruno mars is gay
XD no actually matt killed maria's parents; the evidence was there to be picked up on but now i'm bein' blatant about it!
and now for my guy to think about what he wants to do in response!
hoh hoh
[insert obligatory review begging]
i know we're all busy this time 'a year yo but enh! happy holidays, happy school/college exams, and happy homeworkmania!
As always, see you all next time!
~ A FREAKIN' SKOOLATOON
