(in which the village is trustworthy)

We leave the like… fifth bar this day. We've kind of got a system to things now!

"Earthen Spirits, check…" Maria writes an X next to another bar. "That makes five."

Really, it's pretty much as simple as walking in and asking 'are you being illegal' and they just kind of let you search, some bein' more paranoid than others, but all of them coming up relatively clean. One dude did need ta see my badge, but the smaller bars don't really care.

"The day is growing late…" Staring up at the dimming sky, Genkan slows a little. "Perhaps just a few more, then we rest."

"That sounds good…" Maria agrees to this. "I'll probably be all tired out by then."

Ho~h. Yeah, I probably would be, too. I haven't gotten into any more bar brawls but oof. Can I cast ice magic on myself?

...As we continue down the village road, Maria looks down at her list again, checkin' it twice! Well, more like the fifteenth time now, but the sentiment still stands! "This next place is called… Lovely Lagoon." Oh.

Genkan furrowed her brows. "Lovely Lagoon? That sounds improper."

"It sounds like a strip joint!" I will be honest with you, yo! "We might actually find something shady there…!" Like… we've gone to five bars and two of them were almost mom and pop-type places. One was a generic place, one was Brisk Barrel, which was curiously tame, and then one was like Brisk Barrel but with less people and less violence… and less.

"...This is true." Genkan doesn't look entirely enthused. "Let us head there next, then."

"It's another place on the rim of the village, but not quite." Maria starts walking ahead. "Come on, guys."

We mo~ve, through the stree~ts! All day, villagers just haven't felt like coming out. Maybe it's cold, I can't really tell. Maybe they're just freakin' rattled by the explosions and the kabooms and the shit…!

Arriving at the square, Maria leads us towards the job board. "Let's see if there's anything new…"

"There's probably nothing new." Genkan is not optimistic!

"...Well, I just like checking it." Maria reinforces her stance! "It's kinda funny sometimes. And, a little telling of the village, if I'll be honest…"

As we approach the board, we look it up and down! I… cannot tell if anything has changed! Too many papers…!

...After a moment of reading, Maria revealed stuff to us! "They fired that Tao guy, and guard captain Hagane." Aw. Get owned. "...Umm. That's about it. We have only been gone for a few hours."

"I should hope they laid off some of those fine minds of the council." Genkan had a flat expression. "Genuinely…"

"...Yeah." With that, Maria carried forward again. "That place should be this way, or so…"

The sky began to give way to a dim blue as the sun began to set in the background…

Hoh. It's rather pretty out…

"Maria." Genkan makes herself known!

...Half-pausing, Maria turns back towards her, our collective pace slowing. "Ye- yeah?"

"What was the school like?" Ooh. This insight came outta nowhere, sort of…! Good 'ol Yumi, yo.

"...It was fun." Maria gave the kind of non-answer I'd give my own parents. "Sort of. Well, it was something to do."

"...Something to do." Genkan echoed her answer. "...Did you have any friends?"

Pausing further, Maria seemed a bit displaced. "Aah. Well… not really. I didn't really want to be friends with the other kids. We didn't have much in common." Ooh. There's something we have in common…!

"...I see." Genkan nodded… "Pardon my curiosity. Also, did Kamishirasawa teach alone? That's about what I'd been hearing."

"Well… yes and no." Maria began to press forward again, but still went slow. "She always had to change out teachers and stuff. We had a few regulars, though, 'cause they were good people. A lot of people came to her with less than honest intentions, and she'd flush them out. I hear she's got scrying spells in every classroom…"

Scrying, ah? Keine's playin' tricks, man…!

"...I suppose it's necessity." Genkan seemed vexed, for some reason. "...What causes this volatility?"

...Me and Maria look towards her kinda curiously!

"...Allow me to clarify." She reads our own vexation! "What causes the human villagers to be… so volatile?"

"Oh…" Maria kept moving forward… "I… don't know."

...Didn't know Genkan asked those sortsa questions, yo! Lookin' back at her, I smirk. "...Wha' was that about all humans bein' evil?"

She pans her head over to me. "What I've seen recently has… rapidly altered my perception. While I'm certain humanity at large suffers some kind of crippling dementia, it's not out of place to wonder why. Especially when there are exceptions..."

...That was a really roundabout way of callin' us not bad people, wasn't it? Although…!

"Yeah." Can't help but agree, really! I really would like to know what other people are thinking. Well… "Seems like these villagers don't really… do much together." I decide. I really don't see much mingling on the streets.

...Genkan looks to Maria. "Is this true?"

"...Yes and no." Aa~h! "We have stuff where villagers get together, and things like that. Just, outside of festivals and stuff in the square, no one wants to be outside. The village is dangerous, and only a few kinds of people… like, are okay, in that sort of environment..."

The village is dangerous. Accurate but disheartening statement!

"So, socialization is a little weak for that…" Maria admits. "I think."

I mean… if we wanted to look at like, why so many people are scumbags, we'd look at their upbringings, and how the common village upbringing is.

"...That's unfortunate." Genkan states the obvious…!

Maria agrees. "It really is."

I wanna know, now… "Sa~y. How would ya say the common villager upbringing is like? How long's Keine's school last, anyway?"

...Maria peers back at me for a moment, raising a brow. "Um. Okay, I guess. And, her school takes... a few years to get through. She typically separates classes, so older and younger students aren't together, but mostly only young children attend at all, so… yeah. You can generally attend from the moment you're around ten until you turn twenty or twenty-five." Hu~h.

That's interesting. Pretty different from how school is handled otherwise…

Also, quality of life. "How happy are people here, generally?"

Maria focuses on me, expression sardonic. "Do you really think any of us are happy?" ...Oh. Ow~...!

...Then, she stops, turning to me fully. "I- I'm sorry. It's just… sorry." Pivoting around, she marches ahead again.

...Genkan simply sighs, giving me some kind of stare. Why're ya starin' at me…!?

"...Just askin' some statisticalmystical questions, yo." Time to fix this conversation up, with Flex Tape! "Didn't mean to, aah-"

"I- I know." Maria slows again… "I'm just being… unreasonable, right now-"

"About what?" Genkan swoops in with the interjection…!

Maria grins at her! "You were just giving him a stare, and then you say that…!" Now that's a lotta damage!

...After taking a moment to process this, Genkan raises her brows. "...True. Even so." Wahaha!

...I mimic her stare back at her, and she shakes her head. "Come, now…"

...

"This village just kind of makes me angry." Maria resolves, after a moment of thought. "My dad died, my mom died, my stepfather died, my… people were awful, school was… okay, at least, and… everyone in this village either doesn't wanna talk to you, has nothing to talk about... or just wants to drag you down. I hate most of this place."

Considering how many chapters I've just been freakin' tossed around here, I can relate! At least Keine's sane again and not freakin' chasing me down.

...Staring ahead at that, Genkan doesn't vocalize anything about it herself.

"Societies're fun, yo." Especially this decrepit one! Lot'sa fear, which is probably the preferred outcome now that I think about it… for all the youkai involved anyway.

"Perhaps we should search that bar, before waxing philosophical." Genkan reminded us of the task at hand! "They're bound to close eventually."

"O- oh, yeah…!" Maria was reminded! "Yeah, let's get going!"

After we romp ahead at a slightly accelerated pace, we're there!

Outside looks just as dusty and dirty as the places around it, which is pretty much a running theme for the whole village. There's Japanese on the front on a big sign, illegible to me.

"Lovely Lagoon…" Maria reads it off. "I'm banking on it not being a combination strip club bar…"

"You've jinxed us." Genkan begins to hang her head…

"A- aah…" Maria softly recoils at her mistake…!

...Then, she begins moving inside. "Won't know until we find out…"

The door's pretty neat, though. One of those standard wood doors with a little crossed window on the top, rather than saloon swinging doors.

Di- di~ng. As Maria swings it open, a little bell rings. Hoh.

...As we process inside, the place is pretty well lit. Like, there're uniform rows of hanging candles from brass chains across nearly the whole ceiling, keeping the place very well lit.

The inside is very posh and clean. There's green paint on the interior walls, along with brown-painted wooden beams stretching up to the ceiling… which look kinda like chocolate bars! The windows into the place are sort of cluttered with curtains, as well as what looks like menus on signs and a tall booth that seems to be kinda walled in except from the outer window. With like, Japanese dividers.

There're some nice-looking generic people in here, eating food, wining and dining… normal people stuff. Girls in dresses, even! Dudes in dress clothes! Now we're the barbarian people!

...We get stares as we enter, that's how different we are!

At the bar counter ahead is this spiffy-lookin' dude, with glasses and short scraggly hair, and this like button-up dress shirt with suspenders. Freakin'...

We make our approach…!

As we near the barren counter, he gives us a prompt little wave and leans into the counter. "Hey- how ya doing?"

"Good." I nod at floofy man. Now, as we've learned from trial by fire… "We're here to investigate! Orders from high up, we investimagate all the bars! No touchy touchy unless we find somethin' fucky fucky, y'know man…!?"

Was that really overdoing it? Was it really, yo!? No- don't you stare at me, Genkan…!

"Orders from who?" The guy narrows his eyes at me, but only slightly.

Oo~h. Might need that badge this time 'round! "Reimu Hakurei, yo." Hakurei is bae.

...At that, he plops a bartender standard dish cloth onto the counter. "I'm afraid I'll have to ask you three to leave."

Alright, son. Reachin' into my bag, I pull out tha' badge.

"Also, the youkai hunting thing." I shine my badge at 'em repeatedly…! "'Cause yeah."

"I'll see your badge revoked- if you don't leave…" He glares me down, just kinda starin' me out. Freakin'...

"Go ahead, yo." Double dog dare ya, son. "Can we search first?" This guy looks spiffy enough for me to get my way by being an annoying piece of shit…!

"Seriously, I'll have you reported, if you don't leave." He waves me off! "We- we have customers here- and you're kind of… well, I don't mean to be rude- you're just-"

"Please, dude!" Clamp hands together and shake 'em 'cause that might do something! "We just wanna search- you can watch us, yo."

"...What are your names?" Shaking his head, he looks around. "Don't have a paper- hrrm- hold…" He starts searching his suit, before-

He pulls out a notepad and a real, modern pen! Hoh, shit, modernism son! "What are your names?"

"Bobby Andy." I give the good name.

...He looks over at Maria.

"Ah…" She blinks. "Ya- Yami… Blue." Wat.

He nods at this. Oh, okay. Then, he looks over Genkan…

"White Snow." If only you'd reversed the words, yo. Snow White and the seven Gary Stus. Actually- I should write that one down somewhere…

With our 'names' down, he frowns at the notepad, before slipping his stuff away. "I'm reporting you to the IRD…" The who. Aw- we're reported, dude! This is what we get for hacking at Pizza Hut Tycoon V-point-two-point-three.

"Oh no." I monotone. "So can we?"

"No." Shaking his head, he folds his arms. "...Who really sent you?"

"Me." This freakin'- "Can we?"

"No." He frowns deeper!

"But can we?" C'mon…!

"N- no." Son!

"But can we?" I'm gonna…!

"Yo- you're going to jail…" He looks away, glaring at the distance. "You know that- right? You're going to die in there." Alright, son!

Maria tries, next. "Pl- please, mister."

...After a moment, he looked over at her.

Genkan speaks, too. "We would-"

"You said you worked for that shrine maiden, right…?" Approaching the counter proper, he looks us all over.

"Ye." Boy talked over Genkan, he did. Oof.

"I'll let her search." He points to Maria. "I would like- I would like you two to stay here."

Uuh? "...Why." I- ah, what. "Why, yo."

"I- I trust her…!" He nods at me like this is obvious! "She- she's not some shady debt collector like you people."

"Son." This dude, my dudes…!

"We go two at a time, or we search by force." Genkan asserts herself! "We-"

"I- I…" He looks her up and down. "Youkai, right?"

"Sure." Genkan gives a non-answer-

"No can do." He shakes his head.

"What would it take…" Press my arms on the counter! "...To getcha ta let us search ya without knockin' your socks off!?"

He jerks his head back. "I- I beg- what…?" So~n…!

Genkan huffs. "You have ten seconds." Oh…!

"Wh- what…!?" Looking back and forth between me and her, he starts moving for the back rooms. "Alright! alright! Search! Just- let me lead, okay? You-..."

Trailing off, he turns and enters the back rooms.

...I look over at Maria, pointing where he went. "Ya know this dude?"

"No…" Maria denies it. "I've never seen him before."

That's weird. Maybe he's just got a thing for chicks, but Maria's young and all. What's even the proper age of sexification in this village…!? Is there one!?

==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====

We are now… in the back.

This place is also fancy. Also- is this room as big as the front face of the bar, or what?

"Here's the kitchen…" He half-heartedly shows us this room. "I- I swear- if you break anything- I…"

...Looks like a kitchen. Aisle with counters in the middle, a classic-lookin' stove, some barrels for drinkage.

"Brad." Genkan holds out a hand…

I give her Fairy Harp, and she holds it up-

Woo~sh! After channeling mana into it, she made all the cabinets open with the wind.

...After looking around a little, she nods. "This room is fine."

...There're three doors out of this room, and they're all sealed, as the wind didn't kick 'em open.

This place was not as big on the outside. I think. "Alright, yo…"

As I march towards the back door, the guy gets in front of it. "Can-... leave."

"No, noob. I'm nuzzleable." I assure him of my nuzzleability. "Open up…!"

C'mo~n, noob. Open up! Freakin'...

"Do we have to do this for every room?" I freakin'- enh…

...He presses himself against the door. "This is my room. You don't have to look in there."

Yeah- okay. "Now we have to especially look in there! Son- just freakin'-"

"Hey…" Maria speaks up!

...The guy looks at her, before allowing himself a small smile. "Yes, sweetie?"

"Can you set aside that flintlock along your pants?" Maria's staring at his knees. Aah…?

Oh, she wasn't making a boner joke. I don't quite see anything, though…

...He just smiles. "Oh, you kids. Come on- this is my room-"

"You guys see it, right?" Maria looks over at us. "It's not uncommon for villagers…" Uh?

...I'll play along to put pressure on the boy. "Yeah, yo. Dirty noob, dude, dirty noob."

"Stop lying and just go away!" The guy grimaces at me. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Seriously, son." I hold out a hand. "Just let us search, yo, and it'll be easier. We won't take nothin'. Pardon the freakin'- double negative. I think." Help.

...He just kinda stares at us-

"That flintlo~ck." Maria stresses again. "Please, at least hold it out so- so we can clearly see it. It makes us uneasy."

...At that, he sighs, before crouching down slowly-

Rip! What the fuck…?

The side of his right pant leg came off like velcro, and he slipped a flintlock out from inside. "Fi- fine. I-"

"Hold it... by the barrel, one- one hand." Maria insists. "Please."

"Okay…" Flipping around, he holds it by the barrel with one hand as instructed. "Yo- you're making me feel very unsafe right now- we're going to court over this. I shouldn't be doing this."

"Yeah, yeah, you can sue us later." I wave my hand at him, and stomp in place. "Open the door, ya freakin'..."

"Okay…" Turning around, he twists the knob-

Cli- click. The way he twisted it made it open without needing a key, the door swinging open readily. For some reason, the inner frame's a little wider than the door itself, as it swings out.

This room i~s indeed a bedroom! We must search everything- except for the bedsheets and the pillows! Actually, idea…

As Genkan raises Fairy Harp to wooshy woosh search everything, I raise my arm up to cast…!

Woosh. The few cabinets this room has fling open, and the bedding ruffles a little.

Poof. A crusty pillow descends from the heavens, landing on his bedspread. "Here, dude. Pillows…"

Maria blinks. "Ooh. I didn't know you could make pillows…"

Ahah. "Ah- yeah. He, he. He he, he he." Flat maybe giggles, son.

"Wha- what are you doing…!?" He runs up to the bed. "What are these!?" Reaching forward with his offhand, he grabs one of the pillows, and holds it up. "I- it's crusty. Is it a bomb…!?"

Are you mental. "Freakin'- no, it's a pillow with my fermented jizz on it!"

He flings his arm, throwing himself away from the bed! Pff- wohahaha~!

...I don't think my party members even believed me, judging by the dry stares rather than actual disgust!

Crouching down, I look under the bed. No~ trap door lookin' things, no guns, no… things. Nothing!

...There's even a little, little window outside in the back of the room. Hoh…

"Place seems clean- in the 'illegal stuff' way." Ho ho. With that, I start to continue back into the main room…

"Next room." Genkan drifts past me, moving for the next side door in the kitchen.

Drifting up to this door, she jiggles the handle. It rattles, but doesn't open.

"Hold on- let me…" He moves to the door himself, and Genkan floats out of the way…

Cli- click. The door clicks weirdly as he swings it open…

Inside i~s… shelves. Okay.

Woosh. Genkan makes the room woosh with the hanger again, and the shelves all flick open. Marchin' inside, I make a quick runabout, and just see supplies and stuff.

"Not mu~ch in here…" Mmm. "Just… stuff and things, but nothing weird."

"Good. No- now leave." The guy wants us to skedaddle again…!

"There's one room left, son." Freakin'...

"Be patient." Genkan's probably affirming this to both of us! "We're almost done…"

Walking up to the last door, guy person-

Cli- click. -works his weird freakin' voodoo shit on it, and swings it open. "Go- go in."

I march inside!

This room's dark by comparison to the others; there being one dim torch in the back and all. A bunch 'a barrels line the walls, and that's about it. Seems ta be a drink holding place that's different from the main kitchen.

"Barrels are cuddly." I express my affection for barrels, dude. They're round and tubby, and tubbable-

Woosh. Genkan's air surge just makes the room rattle, somewhere in the middle. Nothing else happens, though.

I adventure deeper in, and see there is a door to the side, here. It's a little worn, and smaller than the others. I reach forward and jiggle the handle, but it doesn't open either.

"Oh…" The guy walks in and looks at it with me, Genkan 'n' Maria approaching as well. "That's- that's a closet I never found the key for."

Reaching forward, he jiggles the handle. "Might be stuck, haha. I dunno what." That laugh, yo.

Stuck, huh. "Aw, dude. We could open it for you-"

"It- it's okay." He waves his hand. "Don't wanna replace the door- and- and…"

...You know what I just thought of? "Y'know son, we can make skoolatoon keys out of ice-"

"I- I wanna open it myself…!" He decided. "And…! That day… it- it will come, eventually! I- my family, there's- a secret, and…"

Moving towards the door, he starts to get in the way. "Ple- please…"

...Well, if we can't unlock it, there's only one way to do it!

Reaching into my bag, I draw the Bawmber. "Move outta the way, son."

"What's that…?" He eyes it feverishly…! "What is that!?"

"A bomb, son." Wahaha! "We're blowin' this door up!"

"I…!" His eyes are wide!

He puts both hands onto his flintlock, flipping it-

Fwash! Both hands were frozen to the pistol, the weapon trapped in a block of ice. Genkan's quicker on the draw, yo!

"Rrgh…!" Frustrated and alarmed, he thrust forward-

Genkan grabbed onto his side, immobilizing him. "Stop."

"I- I know the guard!" The guy begins to yell! "I know the council! I'll get you hung! Idiots!"

"Freakin'...!" This boy! "If you'd just relaxed and let us open stuff, you'd'a been fine!"

Can you imagine if there was really just some family heirloom behind this door? Freakin'- with how much this guy whines, I almost feel a little guilty about going all SWAT officer on his shit, but he's been really uncooperative.

Alright…

...Lookin' to the sides, I see the wine barrels are a little too close to the door for comfort. "Genkan- couldja freeze the wine? Just so I don't blow us all up if the blasts set any of the nearby barrels off…!" Not sure if that's how it works, but not taking any risks!

"Mmm." She nods, before casting a hand around-

Krik- crack- crack, krik krik. Stuff freezes and snaps…

"You are all making a big mistake." The guy insists! "You do not have any idea how… how idiotic you all are being!" Aw~. Idiotic, dude.

"Maria, cast ice stuffs on me after each kaboom." I am gonna get my teeth kicked in! I don't expect this door to fold easy. They seem kinda thick, even if just wood.

"Al- alright." She nods at me.

...I run up to the door and lunge into it!

Boom! Oo~h…!

Fwa~sh! Ice strikes my back, undoing the pain! "Oo~kay. Frea-"

Boom! Another strike, a~nd my arms aren't really liking-

Fwa~sh! More frost! Reloaded, recharged, and ready for-

Boom! -a nice long nap, and maybe a shoulder massage-

Fwa~sh! All this weird healing and hurting makes me feel freakin' weird. Arms still hurt, body feels good, and there's an awkward inbetween where pain just throbs occasionally into the rest of me. Ooo~...

On the upside, the door's looking sadder. Cracked a bit, scorched a bit, a~nd… yeah.

"Perhaps…" Genkan drifted past me, still holding onto the noob-

Fwa~sh! Ice ran along the door, as she rested a hand on it. "Try now." Once she finished, she began to drift back and away, the entire door frozen.

Yeah, this looks easier. Reeling the hanger back, I hit the door again-

Boom- Cra~ck!

Oof…!

The ice chunks all collapse inward, the wood shattering into chunky parts. Yo ho ho…!

Fwa~sh! Maria heals me up, yo. Ooo~...

"Is it working?" She examines me curiously… I think she means the healing, since the door's broke now.

"Ye." Nodding, I move for the room ahead.

...Well, for one thing, this ain't no closet. It's also way too dark to see anything more than a foot in- and the wall way in is ultra thick.

...Takin' out Youkai Inconveniencer, I put away my bomb-

"Stop!" The guy yells! "Sto~p!"

Yeah, yeah. Turning on the flashlight-

There's a pile of boxes in the middle of the room. On the left side of the room're… what're those, shackles? Uuh.

...I move up to the boxes. "Genka~n."

She thrusts up with an arm-

Kri~ng! An ice blade erects from the floor, smashing aside the boxes and stabbing into the ceiling.

Shoo~f… After a moment, it sinks back into the ground, revealing a cellar door it broke on the way up.

"Yo- you all…!" The guy starts yelling! "I- I'm not-"

Fwa~sh! Genkan seems to have frozen him solid. "...He was moving to attempt hitting me." Ha~h, no shit…? Freakin'...

Lookin' down into the cellar, I see a dirt slope going down deeper into the place.

With my flashlight aimed down the hall, I drop down into the small indent in the floor and crouch down to get past the floor on my way into the dirt land. Freakin'... this is pretty sketchy.

"I'll keep the bartender here." Genkan calls out to us from above, as Maria hops down into the shaft with me. "Call if you need help." She's right, the boy could have some anti-status shit or somethin' weird on him. I know that one kappa did...

"Aye~." And now, into the abyss…!

As we start to come into a part where the tunnel widens, Maria exhales. "This is… so weird. Do you think we found something?"

Maybe. Probably. That, or the dude just likes basements. I mean, Maria had a deeper shaft under her house, although it was pretty clearly not put there by her.

Inside this bottom room, I pan my light to the right. Oo~h. There's some crates blocking an entrance way to some other tunnels, which look more like the ones we used to get to the statue room. This room looks like a crappy D.I.Y. by comparison.

"...Haa~h…" Breathing, huh. Alright, what freakin' noob is-

I pan the light to the left and oh boy.

After shining my light around, I stopped it on a wood post. There was a girl there, one who looked to be about Maria's age, tied up to the top and the bottom, naked. "Haa~h…" She let out a breath, eyes shut from the light from my hanger. "A- ah…"

Maria had her hands over her mouth. "O- oh…!"

Well. I think we just found something more than a little fucked up.

"Oh- oh my god…" Stepping towards her, Maria passed through the light as she got closer.

"Aa- aah…" The girl began to struggle against the ropes as Maria neared.

I move up to 'em, too. I think Sharper than Darkness'll work on the ropes on the post.

"Are- are you…" Maria tries to speak to her, only to catch herself. "...You- you're…!"

Takin' out the applicable hanger, I work on the ropes, sawing through 'em kinda sorta quickly-

"To- Tomi…" Maria put her arms on her shoulders-

"N- nnh…!" The girl jittered at the touch, before going still.

"...What happened?" Maria was just at a loss for words. "Tomi…"

Snap! Top ropes're done!

...Tomi's arms flop to her sides. Whelp.

...As Maria helps her not fall into oblivion, I crouch down and work on the bottom ropes keeping her ankles in place. It's a little weird, 'cause I have to keep like my shoe on the holy hanger for light, but otherwise I can focus on sawing.

I'd ask if Maria knew her- she seems to- but this seems like a bad time if there was ever a time that was bad.

...Snap! Bottom ropes done, yo.

The girl kind of flops into Maria's arms…

"Sh- she smells…" Maria scrunches her nose a little. "Tomi- can-... do you understand me?"

...If she can, we can't understand her, 'cause she's hardly doing anything.

Sliding a health potion from my bag, I approach. "Lemme see if she'll drink a potion- actually…" Wasn't quick casting a thing? Almost forgot that existed- lemme just…

Tossing the bottle into the air, it glows before vanishing! There we go. Weird freakin'-

Di- di~ng! The luminescent liquid splashes onto Tomi, her form glowing briefly.

"Are you okay now, Tomi?" Maria spoke to her, trying her best to stand up while hugging onto the girl. "Tomi?"

...I think that lack of response is a solid 'no'. "Alright, let's a~... get out of here perhaps, and steal some 'a that boy's clothes for her." Maybe we'll freakin' steal his valuables while we're at it, 'cause I don't think he's going to need it where he'll be going.

...I don't think Maria can drag her alone by the looks 'a things, so I'll just awkwardly attempt to lend a hand here…

So. Here we are dragging… Tomi out of a ditch in some guy's secret rape dungeon. She's got like, shoulder-length blonde hair. Don't think I noted that before.

...At the indent up, our combined strength sucks, so I call for some backup. "Hey, Genkan…!"

...She floats over to the hole. "Yes? I-..." She sees the girl.

"Help." My request is simple.

...Floating down, she lifts the girl from the both of us with ease, lifting her up bridal style.

"Is-... she well?" Genkan questions.

"No…" Maria climbs out of the indent, as I do too. "I-... she's…"

"Unresponsive." Being relatively serious for once feels weird but this is one of few moments where it's pretty much necessity.

"...I see." At that, Genkan just stares at the girl.

...I move up to mister ice block, and stare 'em over, yo. This boy…!

...After a moment, I move for the door. "Let's get goin'. Genkan, can ya~..." Hmm. We gotta bring-

Crack! The ice block snaps from the floor and starts sliding behind her as we move. Oh, good, ice-kinesis. We also gotta have Maria dress 'er up and all that, and then kick out all the bar patrons 'cause yeah.

==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====

Tomi now had some poorly fitting clothes on, but they were clothes.

...Maria tried to urge her to walk, but had to catch her when her legs buckled. "A- ah…"

Genkan was standing nearby with her arms folded, looking pretty displeased. Looks like she's about ta freakin' kill a boy…!

"...Wow." Maria's pretty taken aback, still.

"Was she a friend of yours?" Genkan steps on a probable land mine-

"Not… really." Maria admits. Oh. "But… still."

Looking the blank girl over, Maria frowned. "She's different, now. She used to talk, for one thing… and, a lot, too."

...Sighing, Genkan looks over at the door. "Let's go."

Leavin' outta the bedroom, we move through the kitchen… a~nd then back into the main room.

There're some people at the counter, now! They look expectant…

"I ordered half an hour ago." A short-haired dude pipes up! "Where's my food?"

"Hello, friends!" I call out to the bar goers. "...So."

My party members emerge from the door behind me. Well, Genkan was already ahead of me, but Maria continued to lug Tomi along, and the ice block of sin slowly followed them…

As people start freakin' being loud, I point at Tomi. "So this girl… was found naked and tied up in the barkeep's basement! We're youkai exterminators, and we found this girl tied up, in here, in basement, while searching!"

...Aw, there we go. They quieted down to listen to my rambling!

...I move over towards the ice block. "This boy!? Yeah, think about it! This asshole, this girl!" I point at both 'a them…! "That dude had a sex dungeon!"

Ohp- lemme climb over the counter here… there.

Once on the other side, I move over to some people eating their food at one of the inner booths, who're just kinda watching with their eyebrows raised. Aw, it's a couple, too!

"How's that steak taste, yo…?" I ask them the casual question.

Slowly, the uproar of customer dissatisfaction begins again!

"What the fuck!?"

"Where's my money!?"

"We~ll…"

"You think this is a cover-up for something…?"

"These youkai…"

People start making for the bar counter…! Quickly, Maria hobbles out of it and away, meanwhile Genkan just drifts over everyone, and the iceblock-

Shoo~f. -slides along, people getting displaced by it, and some stopping to hit it with daggers and blunt objects on its way out.

...So after a few moments, we escape! We got a filthy criminal- a genuine one, a girl, and, yeah. Oh, right, we didn't steal all the money. Too late for that now! Pretty sure the customers got that one covered…! I'll be surprised if this place is still standing tomorrow with that crowd.

Once we're outside, Maria passes Tomi off to Genkan. "He- here…"

...Sighing again, Genkan carries the girl bridal style. "...At the very least, that crowd was sane about the situation."

"Tomi…" Maria stared at the girl. "...Do- do you think she'll… get better?" Oof.

...The question just makes Genkan look displaced, which is oof. "...She may get better, but she'll never forget." Oww~.

It's pretty late. Stars're out, and everything. I don't think the council is in session at this hour, and I'd rather get this crooked keep to someone who can reprimand his ass in, compared to locking him in a closet or something. For all we know, dude knows some magic on the off, or some shit.

"Where're we going?" Maria has realized I'm taking us nowhere!

"...Y'know where Keine's place is?" I wonder of her! Since the village recently got its permissions all screwed up, Keine should be back at her place situating herself. We'll see if she can take Tomi in, too, 'cause yeah. Think she might be a mite better at the homely things than I am.

"...Yeah. Let me lead…" With that, she turns us in the opposite direction. "It's actually close-ish." Ho ho ho, son…!

==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====

"I can't believe we found something li- like that…" Maria expresses her disbelief as we move slightly into some backer alleys. We're nearish to the school, too.

"...Me either." Genkan admits. "I wasn't sure what I expected… but it wasn't this."

"Yea~h." I kinda echo their sentiment. Not much else I can say…

Tomi is as quiet as usual. Mmm. Oof…

"Here." Maria points ahead.

...Oh, right, I think that is Keine's house! I feel like I've seen it before. Maybe not. I dunno…!

...We arrive at the porch.

I turn to her. "You wanna knock, o~r…"

At that, she steps up the steps- me and Genkan following- and bops the door a few times with her icy staff.

Clu- clu- clunk! Hoh…

Crea~k. The door swings open-

"The fuck do you…" Oh. Hello, Mokou! "...Ah?" She recognizes us, yo!

"Hi." I give her a cuddle wave.

"...S'you." She blinks at us. "What's up?"

...Maria's just kinda staring at her, and Genkan doesn't look like she wants to talk, so~...!

"This girl." I point at Tomi. "...Long story short, we found her after busting a sex dungeon... legitimately. Aah, the guy who owned it, is back there…" I point at the block behind us. "We were- well, this girl was one of Keine's students, I think."

"What." Mokou's just sort of taken aback!

...Genkan kinda emphasizes Tomi by sliding forward subtly, causing Mokou to look at her, then down at the girl.

"Who's at the door…?" Keine steps up-

"You need to look at this." Mokou moves through the door, pushing past us. Hi- hello, yo…

"Look at-..." Keine sees us. "Oh. Um, good evening, Maria-"

"Miss…" Maria gestures to Tomi. "Yo- you remember Tomi-chan, right?"

"...Well, yes?" Looking around, Keine rests her gaze on the girl.

"She needs help." Maria continues, holding her staff behind herself. "We- we found her tied up. She- she's not herself, anymore…"

...Keine blinks, a couple times. "...Wh- what?"

...I look back, and see Mokou just eying the guy in the ice, her hands in her pockets.

...Lowering her arms, Genkan tries to prop Tomi up in a sort of walking position.

"Tomi…?" Stepping towards her, Keine crouches slightly to stare directly at her. "Tomi, what's wrong?"

...She just kinda looks at Keine, eyes still dull.

"Tomi…?" Furrowing her brows, Keine searches the girl's form with her eyes-

The girl tries to step forward, before her legs give up-

Catching her, Keine's face begins to fall. "N- no…"

Hugging Tomi closer, Keine begins to cry. "He- heavens, no…"

"So…" Mokou walks up to us. "You just found her. Where, how?"

"Reimu sent us on patrol." I explain ta her. "Gave us a list 'a suspicious bars, and we've been searchin' since afternoon or so. Last place we hit, this guy ran it, didn't want us checking the rooms." I gesture to this guy ova here, wit' his ass on ice.

...The next few moments are Keine's sobbing into the girl's shoulder. Mokou turns around, head tilted down towards the ground ahead.

FWOOM! Mokou turns into a pillar of fire some distance away from us…!

Fwoom. In the next moment, it goes out.

Turning back towards us, she's just glarin'. "Tomorrow. You guys find me in the square." Oh okay…!

Then, she turns to the ice block, stepping towards it.

"He- he…" Keine looked at it, herself. "...He did this to her?"

...I just kinda nod. "Yeah."

...Standing up, Keine almost parts from the girl, only to notice her balance issues.

"Le- let me… bring her in first." Quickly, she whisks the girl into her arms, and marches back into the house.

"This little…" Mokou stared into the guy's eyes- which were still lookin' about from within' the ice, so he's probably been watching himself get dragged over here all silent like. Ho ho ho…!

Fwo- fwoom. Mokou had her arms out, stretching her fingers, her limbs burning and her looking just about ready to freakin' snap and homicide this dude.

...Then, she exhales, stepping back. "I'll wait for Keine."

...And, after a few moments, she returned.

Instantly, she just kind of passed us, moving up to the ice.

...Noticing the guy's consciousness, Keine reeled her arm back-

Cra~ck! She smashes the ice before his face.

"Nngh…!" He doesn't like that, but yeah.

...

Pfft- the boy won't speak now. He knows he's fucked. You know it, I know it, everybody knows it; believe me.

"Why?" Keine asked of him. "...Why? Why!?"

...No~ response.

Mokou jabs her hand into the block's side-

Sss~. There's a hiss-

"Aagh! Aa- aah!" The guy jerks his head about in agony.

"An- answer me." Keine gets close into the guy's face…!

"Nngh-..." Mokou's stopped burning him moments ago, so his pain's winding down. "...I- I'm… I-..."

"Tell me…" I don't recall Keine being this angry during the mind conditioning, even...!

...Back into silence, the guy refuses to respond to her.

Sss. Mokou prods his side with her hand again, this time only her nails.

"Grhh!" Baring his teeth, the guy starts to writhe again…

"I want you to tell me." Keine grabs onto both sides of the ice holding him.

"I- I don't kno~w…!" Oh, christ. That non-answer.

"Yo- you don't know!?" Keine practically roars at 'em…! "You…"

"I- I swear…" Now that Mokou's done prodding him, he actually speaks. "If- if… if you let me go-"

"Tell me why~!?" Keine roars!

Cra- crack. The sides of the ice she's clutching crack, the damage spiderwebbing.

"I- I was just…" He tries to cower away, but being totally encased in ice makes that difficult it would seem. "She. She~... I- we were playing-"

Crack! Keine finally broke the sides of the ice, shaving down the prison slightly. This guy's really not good at lying.

"What…" Keine lets out a sob. "What sickness makes you… do this? Why?"

...And, silent again.

Sss. Mokou rams her middle finger into his side-

"Aaa- aaa~h!" The guy begins to cry from the pain-

"Do you know what you've done!?" Keine's so loud… "Do you know!?"

Mokou removes her finger-

"Hrrh…" The guy's teeth chatter as liquid flows from his orifices. "I-... don't- I-"

"Why~!?" She's pretty much just screaming- "No~t!?"

Letting out some sobs she'd repressed, she lets herself take a step back. "You-... you just- you take someone's life… and- and you destroy it. You break it. Why!?"

She leans to the side. "Is- is it money!? Are-... are you just sick!? What is wrong with you!?"

"I'm- I'm sorry…" The guy speaks. "I- she-... I was only-"

Bam- Cra~ck!

Lunging forward, Keine smashed her forehead against his-

Thud. He splayed out on the ground, the force of her blow having freed him from his already partially melted, smashed, and fragile ice prison.

...Stepping over to him, Keine lifted him by the thigh with one arm-

Mokou caught him, Keine having tossed him to her.

"Mokou…" With her face nearly entirely wet, Keine made a request. "I... I want to set an example this time. I want to stop this."

...Mokou just listens.

"I want you…" Keine draws a breath. "Take him to the Hakurei. Have his magical capability sealed. Then… I want you to build him an obsidian and stone cage, with your fire, the misty lake's water, and… if you could, lava. Have it fortified by the most competent magician you know… and, I'll look up some things myself, here. When you're done, bring him back, in that cage, alive. This has happened too much for me to quietly... sit here and watch lives be ru- ruined."

Lugging the guy over his shoulder, Mokou nodded. "With pleasure."

...With that, Mokou began marching off, probably to begin her task right now.

"I'm s- sorry… you all had to see that." Keine shakily continued past us. "Thi- this… shouldn't have ever happened. If only I'd-..."

Shaking her head, she sighed, arms shaking too.

Bam. Her door closed loudly, the ensuing sobbing audible for a few moments longer.

"My- my god…" Maria was crying now, too.

...Is- is even Genkan visibly upset about this? Woah.

...Well, that reminded me how genuine anger felt, about. I tend to forget it exists most times- except for if I'm grievously wounded or hitting people or the likes- but it's pretty recognizable once it's there. That freakin'... headache-esque feeling. Hard not to get caught up in the moment with Keine there!

Well.

"...How~'s about…" Not sure how to put this…! "We call it a night…?"

"Yes…" Exhaling, Genkan drifts ahead idly. "This would be… most optimal."

Maria begins to move off the porch. "Yeah..."

...Hmm. Where'll we go~...? Keine's an obvious no since she needs time to be angry and sad, and now's not really a good time to commandeer the stuffington's place.

Maria begins to lead, actually…! "We- we'll go to Marcus's shop. He'll take us."

==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====

Well.

There was a giant tree in the midst of Marcus's shop.

"Freaki~n'…" He's currently crouched over, examining these roots that're pointing out of the ground in the road all around his place. "Go to brew tea for two~ minutes, and someone grows an unholy youkai tree in my shop. Tsk, tsk, tsk…"

"What happened, now…?" Maria just gives the tree a jaded, drained expression.

...Looking up at us, he snorts. "Oh, hey. You guys look more upset than I do, and it ain't even your store…!"

Maria snorts at that. "... We, um… we need somewhere to stay."

"Ah…" He pauses to consider this. "Me too! Except, I do have a house in my name, for when this happens. Why, last time someone committed shop terrorism on me was, hmm…" He tilts his head. "Well over a few years ago, surely… I checked up on the place like five months ago, I'm sure it'll be fine."

...Ah. Well, it's better than breaking and entering for a place to sleep!

==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====

We're in some suburbs in the sector that holds some key structures, except in the midst of an area I've never really went down. Key structures like the Golden Grin, Maria's old house, Small Packages, and Fred's house. Freakin' Fred.

It's a small two-story but very horizontally cramped structure in the midst of a bunch of similar structures.

"He~re we are…" Marcus steps up to the house.

Knock knock. He knocks on it-

Cla- clank. The door handle and the lock fall off, revealing nothing to hold them in place.

He presses his hand to the door-

Fwish. A magical circle on the front flares to life briefly-

Crea~k. The door opens…!?

"Let's see~..." Crouching down, he picks up the lock, looking at the back side. "...Oo~h. People've tried to pick this lock one hundred eighty-two times!" Freakin'... that's a strange lock, son.

...Taking this moment, Marcus moved over to one of the broken windows. On the very other side of the window was a brick wall painted black. "...They break every window, this time? Aww."

As he marched inside, we followed his trail!

The inside living room was surprisingly plain-looking, side from the big dumb brick walls blockading the windows.

Click. The door closed behind us. The side we were on seemed to have a big, proper metal handle instead of the chintzy looking fake things.

There was a green chair before a fireplace. The fireplace was already lit before we entered, apparently burning without any wood inside. Well, there's some- are those bones in the fireplace?

Marcus moved towards this poofy, dusty-looking green chair. There was a fluffle on it, shaking itself about on all fours-

He sat on it. "Check out the stove…!" Grinning, he gestured to the stove with his thumb. "Ge~nuine hellstone fireplace. Well, where the fire's concerned, anyway. Burns forever!"

Hellstone fireplace, huh. Looks warm, yo. S'that some kinda fire hazard, o~r…? Well, if the house is still standing after five months, I think it's fine.

...Looking over at us, he gave us a gaze. "...So, what's with the long faces?"

"We- we'll, um…" Maria was looking around. "Do you have a guest room…?"

"Ah?" The request spurs him to stand… "Ah, yeah, lemme just…"

He moves for the actually normal stairs on the far side 'a the room. Like- there's a rail and everything! Yo!

Maria moves to follow him up the stairs, so I trail behind her, Genkan moving behind me…

...Up here, there's a central hall that leads to the like two other rooms that're on this level.

"On tha' right, here." Moving ahead, Marcus goes to open the door-

Crea~k! The door creaks as it swings open…

This room also has big brick walls over the windows! There's a weird-looking lamp with an unlit like, metal cage on the top, of some sort.

Marcus was casting light from his hand to keep the room lit. Moving further into the room, he reached the lamp, and pressed a big pad on the bottom-

Click. A soft orb of light spawned in the cage, illuminating the room.

"Nifty, ah?" Looking over at us, he grins. "There're some shelves and stuff, too. Maybe some books, I dunno…"

Also, only one bed! That's a slight problem!

With that, he moves outta the room. "I'm guessin' yer all tired, so I'll jus' be checkin' out the place again 'fore hittin' the hay myself…"

Ye. Well- there's only one bed. Ah, we'll manage, somehow.

Click. He closes the door behind us. It has normal handles, so getting back out won't be a problem!

Moving forward, Maria just rolls onto the bed. "Nnh…" The covers have yellow stars stitched onto a blue background.

...Steppin' up to the bed, I look around. "...Well, yo. I ca~n take…" Actually, do I have any tables in my bag? Those might make a nice-

Arms slip around me from behind. Daa~h…

Genkan presses herself against my back. "Sleep." Woah…!

...Well, that quickly offset everything else. I let my eyes close as some good feeling emanates through me. Is… is that the ice affinity kicking in?

The sedative rush comes a lot faster, either from my resistance or the fact I'm just tired in general.

...Allowing my eyes to blink open, I see Genkan facing me, now.

"Sleep." She pulls me closer, for a more proper hug-

Oo~h. Closing my eyes again, I flinch a little from the spike of whatever it is I'm feeling. My head...

As I feel myself sink down mentally, my body also loses its weight. Aah…

I try to open my eyes-... or, not. You know…

I think I'd rather just…

Sinking. I feel myself sink, as a weight rests itself on me.

I'd rather just give in...

==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====

I feel heavy. Oof…

Where're my freakin' pillows. Unless they managed to not fall off me the entire night, which is a like… one in a hundred chance.

I'm surprisingly rested, even! Still… pretty slow.

...Idly, I-

Those aren't pillows. Those aren't pillows at all…!

Opening my eyes, I see Ha-chan, just kinda awkwardly pressed against my cheek. Oh, hi, friend.

...I try to move her, but she's heavier than usual. Freakin'... now I'm reconsidering moving, too. Maybe I should just hug her and call it a morning.

...Actually, I manage to nudge myself to the right and away from Ha-chan, just enough to see-

Genkan's apparently just splayed out on everyone, using the fairy's back as a pillow.

"Nn- nnh…" Maria's a good distance from me, shifting about.

...Also, I feel pretty good! And it's not just because I got a sexy fairy pressed against me, although that helps, too. Sleeping definitely takes the edge off of anger! Hoo~. I'd be stretching, but I'm stuck.

Y'know what, of any morning, this is probably the best time to just go 'fuck it'.

Wrapping my arms around the sleeping Ha-chan, I press her further into me.

...Then, I kinda just let my arms fall, because keeping them up on her is a slight trying! But, the feeling of just being snuggled like this...

...Drowsiness still's got a hold on me, so it's not hard for me to just… drift back to sleep…

"Brad-ku~n, wake up!"

Hoh- shit!

I'm bein' nudged, yo, what's up-

"There're pancakes!" Hoh…!

Me and Ha-chan're the only ones in the bed now, and she's freakin' kneading my intestines violently to wake me up.

"I- I'm up, yo…!" Fight the arms! Fight- ah, she's stopped.

"Let's go!" Ha-chan marches for the door!

Aah. S'been awhile since I've used a bed, and I'm quite familiar to the weight of pillows being on me rather than actual friendly people.

...On my way outta the room, I stop to turn off the magi-lamp that we left on the entire night.

Click.

==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====

Downstairs is pretty bright! There's a magi-light over the dining room table that's emulating the sun.

Maria's chowing down on some pancakes, yo. Ha-chan did not lie!

"Heyo~!" Marcus calls out to us! He's got some pans floating in the air around himself, orbs of fire alight under them. "Pick a chair, any chair!"

...I decide to take the chair between Maria 'n' Genkan-

Ha-chan slides into my lap…! "This chair!" I am not a chair, friend!

Freakin'... she smells like fairy, too.

Cli- click. Two plates of pancakes are set down before us-

"Omf…!" Ha-chan reaches down to the left plate with her hands and just starts eating them like a sandwich. That's my strategy…! Well, when they're not syrup-covered, at least.

"Soo~...!" Marcus rubs his hands together! "What's the big secret? Last night, none a' ya wanted ta talk about nothin'."

...Swallowing her pancakes, Maria decided to start. "We~ll. We were investigating some bars to help with Reimu's, um, village fixing."

Snorting, Marcus extinguishes the flames with a swipe, before placing the final pancakes on a plate for himself. "Boy, does it need it! S'been awhile- in fact, probably the first time a Hakurei's had a proper beat down 'n' sit down with the place in my lifetime!"

"Yeah." Maria nods… "So, we came to this place. It was nicer than the other bars, but the owner was kinda weird. Like- um, all the bars we visited before let us investigate, but this guy really didn't want us to."

"Which place was this, now…?" Marcus rose a brow as he lifted his pancakes magically… "Was it that Lovely Lagoon place that just went under?" This place acts fast, huh…!

"Yeah, actually." Maria's brows were raised! "How'd you know?"

Marcus held up a paper. "Bunbunmaru!" Ho ho! "So you're the guys who blew his sex dungeon thing. Keine 'n' Mokou didn' wanna say more than they had ta."

...At that, Maria glanced back down at her pancakes. "We… we were the ones who caught him, and we had to carry the girl out."

Marcus jerked his head back. "Oo~h! Guys got pretty hands-on, huh?"

"It was fortunate." Genkan spoke up, her pancakes all gone. "...I had half a mind to believe we were needlessly inconveniencing someone, though his nervousness made me doubt he had nothing to hide. I didn't expect us to find that."

...With that, Marcus just nods a little. "Mmm~... this village isn't really, y'know, the nicest place. And, I can tell ya right now with all the back room deals, and especially with the recent corruption 'n' dismantling, crime like that's probably more prolific than it has been."

Oo~f. Although yeah, if it's happening somewhere like that, freakin'...

"Really…" Maria's brows were furrowed. "I honestly… didn't really ever think about stuff like that."

"Not like ya should." Marcus shook his head. "But, in this place, ya might have to. It'll take some time 'n' spanking to get this place back in working order."

Apparently. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if that last event stirred the pot a little.

Time and spanking, yo.

Ha-chan looked around. "Who's getting spanked…?" I'm also kind of glad Ha-chan wasn't around for that shit!

Marcus smiled at her. "Aah. People."

Ha-chan wiggled in my lap- freaki~n'…! "But- I'm a people…"

"Not you." Genkan smoothly stands from her seat. "Mokou wished to see us in the square." Oh, yeah. I'd forgotten that after Genkan hugged my brains out 'n' put my ass to sleep.

"Oh, right!" Halfway through eating his pancakes, Marcus looked up. "...Maria, did you know? Regarding that, ah… 'foster' care you were placed in."

Maria snapped her head up. "What…?"

"The father dude in that household, " Marcus kept his expression pretty neutral! "He passed away, the other day."

Maria went back to her pancakes, not really changed by this.

...A small smile slipped onto Marcus's face. "Devastated, aren't ya?"

...Swallowing a bite, Maria responded. "It was gonna happen. Was it blood pressure…?" Complete indifference, yo…!

He shook his head. "Nah. He got punched into a fine red mist by an oni."

Maria snorted. "Wh- what…? How?"

"He had this like, super gun…" Holding up his arms, Marcus pretended to fire a 'super gun'. "So it pissed 'er off, and now he's just air." Oh…!

"...Well." Maria returned to her pancakes. "That's a way to die."

Ha-chan- stop shiftin'...! I just woke up, here!

After a moment, I quickly finish my pancakes 'cause I was eatin' 'em sandwich style. Ho ho!

Maria stands, finished with her food. "Thanks for letting us stay… Ma- Marcus."

"No~ problem!" He gives her a thumbs up! "...You plannin' on runnin' around doin' Reimu's bidding still?"

"Yeah." Maria nods. "If we're the only people doing anything… we- we have to see this through." Hoh!

Standing as well, Marcus grins at that. "Well, at this point, you might not be the only ones. Bu~t, even so…" Taking this moment, he reaches into his pockets…

"It's dangerous to go alone!" He pulls out… a glass lens! "Take this!"

...He floats it over to Maria, who grabs it gingerly. "...What's this?"

"It's a good lens." He nods with satisfaction…! "...It's not the most awesome amplifier, but it lets you shoot la~ser beams!" La~ser beams!

"...Huh." At that, Maria-

Bwomp! A small, white and blue laser blipped out of the lens and into the table. "...Cool!"

"Al~so…" Movin' around the table, Marcus approached her…

Once he reached her, he gave her a little slip 'a paper. "That'll help ya get back inta this place whenever ya need ta, okay? Trustin' it ta you, 'cause yer gettin' about and doin' things, and s'not really like you've got anywhere else to go now."

"A- ah…" Maria blinked at the sheet. It's a spell key, dude. "...Thank you so much."

"No problem…" With that, Marcus stretches… "I'm gonna go see if I can bug a holy person ta save my shop, in the meantime…!"

...I try to get up, but- Ha-cha~n, get up…!

...She's not takin' the hint! I gotta push 'er, yo…! A~nd…

I'm free!

She's forced to stand after I displace her with some pushing. "He~y…"

"I gotta stand, yo." I inform the cuddle fairy. "For adventure…!"

"Adventure!" There ya go, yo.

==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====

We are now… on the main road! To adventure, dude.

After pressin' through the side alleys, we quickly encroach on the main street…

"...Huh." Genkan took in the amount of people that're there, and it's not totally generic villagers!

In the very midst, Mokou was standing there with her arms folded. To her side, Reimu and Marisa were there, the latter wit' 'er broom over her shoulder.

Some distance away, Toyota Camry no Miko and her entire taoist gang were wit 'er, the girl herself talking to her cohorts…

Reisen and Youmu were over near the bunny girl's stall, leaning against the counter and chatting each other up…

...Steppin' into the clearing, we pass the few villagers around the outskirts of the square. Then, we begin to come up on Mokou…

"Took you guys long enough." Mokou approaches us once we're near! "...I didn't expect these other people, but they're whatever." She gestures to all the other girls who've arrived to form their own parties and things…

Reimu approaches us, Marisa following her! "...Hey."

"Hi." I give her a casual wave… "I see people're gonna be busy this morning, yo…"

"No doubt, ze." Marisa grinned! "You guys see that paper, too? The religious factions're about to go ham on the place!"

...Reimu gave her a dry stare. "What kind of verb is ham."

"The good kind." Marisa reaches over to play with Reimu's bow for no reason-

Casually pushing her away, Reimu continues. She stares at Maria in particular. "...If you guys don't want to-"

"We want to." Maria's not backin' down, now!

...At that, Reimu shrugs, nodding. "Alright. Mokou'll help you if you get into anything over your head."

"Mhm." Mokou's behind us, now…!

"...Ah?" Marisa looked between Maria 'n' Reimu. "You guys know somethin' I don't?"

Reimu turns to Marisa and makes it blunt. "Maria and her friends brought the girl out of the bar, and apprehended the criminal."

...Marisa's eyes widen! "No shit!? Woah! Way ta go, Maria…!"

"We- well, we just happened…" Maria's frazzled by the praise…!

"There was little to celebrate." Genkan's not lettin' the genuine anger go. "...Other than the rescue, and resulting justice. We weren't thrilled at the time."

...Allowing her smirk to hang a bit, Marisa nodded. "Yea~h. I'm sure it was pretty fucked up. You feelin' alright, Maria?"

"Yeah." Maria once again confirmed her sanity. "I slept on it. I have my friends, too." Ho ho…!

...Marisa looks us over. "A yuki-onna, a fairy maid, and that dude." She calls me out, yo! "I don't even know how that happened."

Very carefully. "Well, yo, it started when I woke up in this forest, and everything was in third person for some stupid reason…!"

"I wouldn't go that far back." ...After givin' me a dry stare, Marisa waved to Maria. "Well, good luck 'n happy hunting, ze!"

"Um, you too…!" Maria waves back at her!

...With that, Reimu 'n' Marisa begin to meander off together. I assume we've still got a prime directive of 'assassinate all bars'.

Byakuren and her buddhist gangsters're rollin' up down one 'a the roads ahead, the one Reimu and Marisa're starting down.

"Let's get a move on." Mokou cracks her knuckles behind us.

Holding up her list, Maria nods. "Al- alright. Um…" After a few seconds of examination, she starts moving. "...The next place is… the Musky Musket." Oh, okay…!

"What." Genkan rose a brow at the name, too!

"Yeah." Maria began moving… "Maybe… we should hurry." Maybe…!

"I know what muskets are!" Ha-chan reminds us all that she's still following us! "...They're loud."

Mokou gave the lovable fairy an unhappy stare. "Is she with us?"

"Yes." We all pretty much reply simultaneously.

"Why." She looks extremely jaded!

Well… I hold out my arms. "Why not, friend…?" She's huggable.

"...Whatever." Mokou can't argue with that logic, yo!

==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====

"Are you soft…?" Ha-chan rubs Mokou's tummy.

"Wha- no." Mokou almost knees her to get her away! "Fucking- stop."

"Nnn~..." This elicits a pout from Ha-chan. "But, you look soft…"

"And you look punchable, but I'm not rubbing your stomach." Mokou almost grins at her own remark… "Seriously, what the hell."

...Moving to Genkan, Ha-chan tries the same thing, placing a hand to her torso-

Genkan jerks herself away. "Please, fairy. Show some self-respect."

"Nnn~!" This does not please Ha-chan, either! "But you are soft…!"

"If Brad can resist throwing himself at me, you can too." Ho ho ho.

...Finally, Ha-chan slides up to Maria-

"Hu- oo- ooo~...!" Maria wiggles at the sensation of a belly rub-

Clonk. Genkan fended the fairy friend off with a thin sheet of ice to the head. "Leave her alone, you."

...Giving her a floored stare, Ha-chan finally whirls up to me-

She aggressively rubs my stomach over and over, which feels weird..! "Nnn~...!" She's really focused about it, too!

...After she's gotten enough of molestigating me, we stop before the bar.

Looks as run down as all the others! This one's next to a tiny farm, yo.

...As we size up the crummy structure, we all brace ourselves. That last discovery y'know, kinda left an impact…! Was just- y'know, just a little more than we'd bargained for…!

Behind us, Mokou takes a deep breath… and then, she speaks.

"This isn't gonna exactly be a joy ride." She apparently feels the need to remind us! "...Even if every place isn't harboring a rape victim, I think you guys know you can't let your guard down in this damn village. Shit's happening every day. The only reason we're doing this right now is 'cause Reimu took the fight straight to the top, and no one can say no to Reimu. I bet those stupid fucking religions would just step in if me or Keine ever tried anything, or one of you.

"But, this is our window. This is our opportunity to show these bastards what the hell some of us are made of. And, supposin' we don't even find anything today, we've got tomorrow, the day after, and we've got plenty of time to do the fucking right thing for a change, and make this village safe."

...With all of this said, she takes another deep breath. "...I hope you're all fucking ready to earn your dinky Youkai Exterminator badges, or medals or whatever the hell it is they give you for getting something done. We're gonna do our damndest."

Sweet Jesus. Talk about a freakin' rallying cry…! There's a like, one hundred percent chance the bar we're walking into now doesn't have diddly shit in it now, after that. That's just how the universe works…!

But, even so, the precedent she's settin' still stands, and it probably would be a lie to say it didn't light some kind of a fire in our hearts.

Cla- clack. Maria pushes the bar doors open, and stomps in.

The chatter inside immediately ceases. Ooo~, tense yo.

...We silently march inside-

"Ooo~..." Ha-chan kinda botches the spaghetti western atmosphere-

Still, we march inside silently, giving the bar untrusting stares and glancin' around…

Everyone in here's old farmer-lookin' dudes, pretty much. We're all gettin' sideways stares by straw-hatted dudes- both the rice hat and generic sun hat kind…

Approaching the counter, we occupy the vacant seats.

"Aah- hey, how ya doin'..." This fluffy-looking old dude just kinda shuffles up to us. "Aah… wha- what'd you folks like…?"

Aah. Hmm. "Water-"

"Water." We all request water!

The man nods. "Al- alright, right away. One hundred yen per, please…"

Cla- clack. Mokou apparently pays our whole tab. Hoh!

"O- oh, darn it…" He stands up. "Sta- stay there, please. Lemme go… go to our well."

The old bartender starts to shuffle outside, through the back door- wait. There's sunlight through that back door. This place has two back doors, though…

"It smells, in here…" Ha-chan looks offput.

"You know…" Looking over at us, Maria tilts her head. "I feel like this place in particular doesn't have much to hide…"

"You can never know." Mokou countered. "What if you gave up last time?"

...At that, Maria couldn't argue.

...The guy came back like ten minutes later with our drinks. "He- here you go…"

Actually- hey. "Yo, can we search your back rooms…?" I give 'em a simple request. He's an old dude, so-

"Ah…?" He smiles at us. "Go right on ahead, sonny."

Yo ho ho. Well, that's a good sign.

Getting up, I round the counter and move for the right door out, and open it-

Oh. Also sunlight. This place has no backrooms.

...I turn around and announce my findings. "There's freakin' nothing!"

"Hehehehe~!" The old man giggles at me…!

"Okay, maybe there isn't anything here." Mokou allows herself to look exasperated…!

Genkan props her head up on her arm…

==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====

END OF CHAPTER 77

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, Village Revolutionary, 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.

NON-EQUIP SKILLS:

Lucky Star - Non-elemental attack that does very random damage to one target. Star that drops from abo~ve!

Scent Pillow - A spell taught by Koakuma. Summons a pillow endowed with the user's love fluids… which, for males, is, euh…

World's Wimpiest Fireball - A spell learned from a book given to me by Patchy. Summons a really, genuinely terrible fireball that only ignites the weakest of fairies.

Double Jump - A skill I got somehow! Allows the user to jump twice. Avoid fall damage, maybe!

Perspective Holder - Um…? I am the primary perspective of this story!

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:

Camouflage Kimono - This kimono means business, son. One hundred fifty percent ice resistance: fifty percent of the damage goes into my health pool instead! 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...

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!

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:

Twenty seven thousand, nine 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…

Ice Shard - Advanced ice magic. Generates a chunk in an enemy's body which proceeds to freeze the air around it. Power depends on the user.

Snow - Make it snow locally. Very minor ambient ice damage to everyone on the battlefield, including allies. Has a low chance to instantly freeze someone for no reason.

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:

Absolute Zero Kimono - A better version of the stock yuki-onna kimono. Two hundred ice resistance, although since one hundred of that is inherently from Genkan, she only gains an additional one hundred percent. Gives her two hundred total, though! One hundred percent fire and burning weakness.

Two thousand yen - Her remaining total after spending money on our upgrades.

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! Resistances and weaknesses depend on equipment. Can cast basic elemental spells!

INVENTORY:

Pine Frost Staff - Also good for bonking things! Twenty five percent ice resistance, one hundred percent freezing resistance, allows the user to cast Blizzara and Ice Shard, and boosts the power of ice skills. Negative fifty percent burning resistance. Made with pine wood and an icy reagent.

Wood Staff - Good for bonking things!

Casual Freeze Clothes - Casual, neon villager garb. Bright yellow shirt with a blue snowflake stitched onto the front, a bright blue skirt, and a tan vest. Looks about as garish as your regular Touhou, now! Fifty percent ice resistant. Wearer is immune to freezing.

Magical Lens - A lens that shoots la~ser bea~ms! ...When you input mana into it, anyway, apparently. Gift from Marcus Kirisame!

[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!

[four spaces remaining]

==o==

Hana, the Electric Fairy Maid - Hello again, friend! You're fluffy. Healed by electric magic. Immune to electric stunning!

SKILLS:

Little Zap - Basic electric magic. Zaps a target twice with static from above!

Random Electric - When pressured, uses random electric spells that exist.

Electric Control - With true power, she's able to stun opponents into submission by touching them, apparently.

==o==

Fujiwara no Mokou, the Crimson Watchguard - Legendary Hourai immortal of flame, fire, and anger, son. Probably immune to fire, if not healed by it. Devastatingly wide variety of fire skills and spells.

SKILLS:

Fire Magic - Free control over fire. Limits are unknown!

Spell Cards - Huge arsenal of curbstomping magic!

INVENTORY:

Mokou's Outfit - One hundred twenty percent fire resistance. Fifty percent weak to ice, and one hundred percent weak to water. Randomly ignites the user, when they're not Mokou.

Unknown - Aaa~h! Her sweatpants have pockets and I don't know what's in them…!

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

another fun chapter

i was wondering when it was gonna happen but this fic's finally had a more real SAD moment, although this one was a little impersonal and circumstantial

even still it was SOMETHING FOR THE GIRLS… . w ' and it did buzzkill my guy's constant haze of being a troublemaker

your regularly scheduled casual atmosphere will fade back in shortly, albeit we'll still be cracking down on alcohol-serving establishments as it were yo

and next chapter should be a leeway for some fun things

truth be told this whole event just sort of happened but it's a fun window into how truly dark other little realities within the village can be outside of matt's constant smasharama

that and even matt's only mistreated the commissar and the people he's murderized; this is just oof

as always, see you all next time!