“So, Parsee, what's worth checking out down here?”

Learning more about where you're going and what else there might be worth checking out seems as good a time-waster as anything, you figure. Especially if you're going to be down here for a while.

“It depends on what you're interested in 'checking out'...” Parsee says, turning her head to look at you

“You know, like places. Interesting landmarks, historical sites, that sort of thing.”

“Oh. Well, aside from my wonderful and lovely little bridge, there are tunnels, and rocks, and more tunnels, and more rocks...”

“I like rocks.” you say.

Because you do.
You really, really do.
Not so much as eggs, of course, but only on account of the fact that rocks are not nearly as edible.

“Well, aren't you in luck, then?” Parsee says in a way you can't tell if she's being sarcastic or not. “Aside from that, there's the oni and their little city if you're into those sorts of things...”

“'Those' sorts of things?”

“Oh, you know. Drinking. Fighting. Partying. It's always something with them.”

“Sounds fun.” you remark, as you feel Parsee's fingers tighten around your arm.

“Yeah. Yeah, it does, doesn't it?” Parsee mutters. “Not that I would know, of course.”

“Um...”

“Oh! Don't get the wrong idea!” she says, noticing the vaguely uncomfortably look that was apparently on your face. “My work just doesn't allow me much time for that sort of thing, is all. It's not like I've never been invited or anything! I've been invited plenty of times!”

“Uh, I didn't mean to-”

“Even though I can't go. Someone has to guard the bridge, after all. And they know it. They know it. They know I can't go, and they ask me anyway. Isn't that nice of them?”

“If you wanted to go do that stuff, why didn't you just go?” Medicine asks.

“She just said it was because she had to guard the bridge, Medi.” you say.

“But she's not guarding it now.” the little doll-girl points out. “Why couldn't she just do that before?”

“Because, you little-” Parsee starts to glare at the doll-girl on the other side of you, but stops herself. “...wait. That's a good point. Damn, why didn't I ever think of that?”

“You never tried just leaving, before?” you ask, amazed that she had apparently never even considered the notion of not doing something if she didn't want to do it.

“I didn't know I could!” the green-eyed bridge-guard exclaims. “It's not like anyone ever said anything, and...oh. Oh, those whores! All those years! All those years, and they knew! Ough! The next time I see one of them, I am so going to-”

“A-anyway! What else is there to see down here, Parsee?” you interrupt, in hopes of getting her to calm down and maybe stop digging her nails into your arm.

It kinda hurts.

“Huh? Oh! Right, right...” she replies, her grip easing up from 'painful' to just 'mild discomfort'. “Well, there's not much else down here to see. There's the Palace, I guess, but no one in their right mind ever goes there. Beyond that, there's the fires, and then that 'reactor' thing everyone's been buzzing about.”

“Reactor?” you ask., while wondering if it's just your imagination that Rikako was suddenly not quite as far ahead of you as you remember.

You had heard something about something underground, but beyond it supposedly being in some way connected to geysers you never really paid it much thought before.

“Yeah, 'fusion' or whatever they call it. 'The power of the sun' they say. Psh! Like anyone down here even remembers what the hell the sun looks like!” Parsee scoffs.

Of course, the fact that most youkai tend to be nocturnal, and thus wouldn't normally even be active while the sun was out might also be a factor, but you decide against pointing that out.

“Is that it, then?”

“Pretty much.”

A city full of horned drunks, a palace everyone avoids for some reason, and two places that sound like they're very, very hot?
If nothing else, at least there aren't a lot of places you'll have to look for the ice fairy, you suppose.

“So~.” Parsee says, pressing against you slightly. “Why did you all come down here for, anyway?

“Well, it's kind of a long story, but...”

You give Parsee a brief summary of the events of the past day or so, or at least the ones most related to your current situation of trudging through a cave while hiding from the scary youkai lady you pissed off.
Parsee listens intently, a curious expression appearing on her face from time to time.
Even after you finish, she remains silent for a moment, looking as if she were considering something..

“Do you fancy her, then?” she asks, suddenly.

“Er, excuse me?”

Turning your head, you are greeted by a pair of green eyes peering right back at you.

“That girl you're looking for. Are the two of you involved with each other?”

“Well, not really, no.”

“Interested in her, then? She is rather pretty, isn't she?”

“Um...”

“I only ask because it's curious why you would go to so much trouble for someone you only met today, is all.”

“Ah, well, you see...er...rocks, and...”

She smiles, pressing a finger to your lips to silence you.

“Or maybe you're just that nice, hm~? Always willing to help someone in need of it? But there's a problem with that, isn't there?”

“Mmm?”

“Oh yes~, quite a big problem. After all, there are so many in need of help, aren't there? Where do you start? Where do you end? How do you decide who is in more need of it than others? Who is more deserving of it?”

As Parsee speaks, her finger begins to slowly slide its way from your lips, down your neck, and to your chest.

“Even if most of them are satisfied with such an arrangement, what of those few who aren't? The ones who wanted more, needed more, only to be denied it as your attentions drifted elsewhere?”

You can do nothing but listen as the green-eyed woman continues to speak, her finger slowly tracing circles on your chest.

“Can you even imagine how it must feel? To be given the thing you want, you need, only to be cast aside once it's been decided you've had enough? Because your turn is over? It's a lot like love, in a way, don't you think?”

“Um, I don't know...maybe? I guess?”

“When you think of it like that, would it not be possible to simply help just one, instead of many?”

“Just one?”

“Just one. No matter how many others there might be, no matter how much they might need it themselves, there would be one and only one for whom you would devote your attention.”

“And what about the others?”

“They don't matter.”

“But-!”

Once again, you are silenced by a finger on your lips.

“To look in one direction means there are directions in which you're not looking. To be in one place, there are other places you are not. People are not much different. So, tell me. Why do you do this? What do you want?”

As Parsee stares at you, waiting for your response, you're only vaguely aware that you are no longer walking. You're not sure what Rikako is doing. You're barely even aware of what Medicine is doing right next to you.

Right there, at that moment, all you see are those green eyes, the strange light of the tunnels making them almost appear to glow.

“Uh...we're still taking about helping people, right?”

“Oh, but of course~.”

“Okay, just checking. In that case...”


[ ] I want to help everyone I possibly can. It's the right thing to do.
[ ] I want to help the few people who need it the most. If they want to help each other while we're at it, maybe all at once, then that's cool, too. It's the right thing to do.
[ ] I want to help just the one who needs it most. Even if I wind up regretting it later when I meet someone who seems to need it even more. It's the right thing to do.
[ ] I want to help myself, and only myself. Even if no one else will give me a hand, I know I will. It's the right thing to do.
[ ] I want to to answer this thing you have asked me, because I feel it is an important thing to address. And I will, at a later time and date of my choosing. It's the right thing to do.
[ ] I want to reject these answers, and substitute my own. It's the right thing to do.