[x] Go to the japanese legend section, you have questions about hair, or something like that.

So somehow, Thinking about hair then forgetting it a second later is... snakes?

[x] Go to the japanese legend section, you have questions about hair, or something like that.

Sure, I'll take it.

Could use a Thouhou as a hook, though.

[x] Go to the japanese legend section, you have questions about hair, or something like that.

[x] Go to the japanese legend section, you have questions about hair, or something like that.

[x] Go to the japanese legend section, you have questions about hair, or something like that.


Thinking about that, you were thinking about hair for a while. You don't really expect dream to make sense, but you have a vague memory of watching an Asian film with a girl having similar hair. You might find something by checking this out.
Let's see, japanese section, japanese section... Ah! You're here. Now, let's find out the “mythology & religion” subsection.

Taking a huge book from the shelves, you drag it to the nearest table, and you drop it with a huge “THUMP”. Then, you open it, and you start looking randomly. Gideon told you that long-haired girl was called a Yuri, or something like that. Damn, just check the table of contents, it'll be faster that way!
Closing the book, your turn it over, and open it again. You find no Yuri. However, there's a “Yurei”. Reaching for the “Yurei” page, you find a very interesting article about japanese ghosts. And a link to another article named “Onryō”. Following the link, you find what you looked for to begin with.
“Onryō, vengeful spirit, often seen as a woman wearing white clothes, with contrasting black hair”. Yes, that's more or less what you saw. Except that the girl you saw look pretty legit. Well, you don't really remember, but if she was a ghost, you think you would remember it.

You close the book, causing another loud noise in the library. Then, you reopen it, to check something else in the table. Is there any legend about the moon? Maybe you can-
Hold on. The last page was blank last time you checked. Definitely blank.
And now? It's not blank any more. There's a name written in the blank page.

”Icarus”
Just that. Nothing else. And yet, you're pretty sure that's wasn't here last time you checked.
“Icarus”. What does that mean? When you hear that name, you think about that music band, but sometimes tells you you're wrong about that. Better ask Gideon, he knows stuff about that.
Closing the book for the last time, you put it back on its shelf. You can't find anything else here, but since you're here, better take it easy for a while. As you're thinking that, you slowly move to the fiction section.

You're back into the dorm, after several hours spent in the library. Of course, you knew it was impossible to find any King book, but they do have a pretty fine collection of the oldest English fictions. Like that book, The Valley of Fear. An interesting book so far, about a mysterious murder. Because of Gideon, you can't use your computer too much, since he's always buggering you to look for some strange stuff. Like last time, where he asked you to look for a thing called a “blue waffle”. But you decided, to actually ignore his suggestion.
“Hey, what do you have here, neighbour?”
Oh, look at that. It's James. Well, you call him James. Mainly because he asked you to. You don't know his true name, and, to be frank, you don't see him often enough to really care about his name.
“Hello, James.”
“Professor James, please. I'm not studying biology to be called like that!” he says, with an exaggerated move, making his speech seem far less arrogant.
“Of course, Professor!” You answer, my voice dripping with sarcasm. Don't pay too attention, that guy is nice too, but he's quite... original. Probably because he's always acting like an actor on the stage.
His appearance is quite disturbing too. Always wearing a hat, not matter where he is, and also having a long black coat, making his appearance quite creepy. If it weren't for the bruises on his face and his black eye. Rumour says his room-mate is fond of karate, and enjoy trying new moves on him. You never asked him, so you're not going to tell you more about that.
“That aside, young man, it looks like being that close to me brought you fine tastes, indeed! The Valley of Fear, from all books! But if I dareth suggest one, I would suggest the Final Problem! Because it's really epic and stuff! Lots of stuff happens, and most of it outside of England!”
You answer flatly, trying to cut out his verbiage.
“Well, yeah, maybe after this one. I'll see after finishing this one, okay?”
“Of course, I wasn't criticizing your tastes at all, dearest neighbour! Not in the slightest! On this quite ominous note, I shall take my leave, after leaving you a warning, your friend Gideon is trying to cook something! If my pathetic self would dare something like, I would suggest you to go and prevent that catastrophe, that cataclysm!”
Gideon cooking? OH. MY. GOD.

“Gideon! Stop that felony right now! Your evil stops now and for hell!”
“Oh, hello darling. Already back? What are you blabbering about?” Freezing, you slowly blush. Maybe James rubbed some on you, to make you act like that. In that stupid overly dramatic fashion. But fortunately, Gideon doesn't mind. “Come on, it's only canned food. I'm not going to kill someone with canned food.”
“You could. Remember last time? You tried a a double boiler. While forgetting the water. The can exploded. It was hell to explain everything to the headmaster.”
“Haa, don't be so cold with me. In the end, we fixed everything, right?”
“Grmbl. What are you cooking?”
“Boiled roast!”
You're going to eat it anyway, because you can't say now that it's going to be disgusting. It would be a dick move. So you're going to be a nice guy and eat something that's going to be disgusting.

“So, darling, how was your day?”
“The day's not over. And don't call me darling.”
“Cooooome on! We shared so much things! We even slept in the same bed.”
“Sh-SHUT UP! Don't speak about that!”
“Then, what do you want me to talk about?” He winks at you. Sometimes, you don't know if he's joking or not. But since he's asking...
“Can you tell me about Icarus?”
“Mmm? The music band?” He says, while absent-mindedly chewing on that “boiled roast”. And, you were right, it IS disgusting. But you're hungry and not really picky, so...
“Is there another meaning to it?”
“Yes. I think there's a legend about it somewhere. Something about going too close to the sun. Can't remember it properly. Old metaphor about truth, by the way. I saw it used in that film, 'I as in Icarus', by the way. Pretty cool film. But why are you asking that?”
“Oh, I was checking something at the library, and it was written in a book.”
“Wow, what a surprise. Something written in a book. You're surprising, young man.” He says, his voice sounding really surprised. When he's like that, you want to hide my face. Because you know he's going to make fun of you.
“It was written in a Japanese mythology book!”
“Now THAT'S surprising. As far as I know, Icarus isn't really from Japan. Probably Greek or Roman. I'll check after the lunch. But why were you reading a book about that?” Good, now he sounds serious. When he's like that, you can actually talk to him.
“Because of a dream I had. About a woman.”
“You're dreaming about women now? I'll have to bring you into a brothel someday, or it'll get troublesome. It starts with dreaming about women, it ends up with touching yourself at night.” Okay, you take back what you said earlier. He's unreliable.
“Seriously, please, Gideon? Would you mind giving me a hand here?”
Jumping to his feet, Gideon answers, with stars brimming in his eyes.
“I WAS WAITING THAT FOR A LONG TIME! THE ANSWER IS YES!”
You turn red again, because you understand what you just said.
“NO! HELL NO! I DIDN'T MEAN IT THAT WAY!”
But Gideon isn't listening, and is already making big plans about 'our' future. And you know him, he's not going to stop that easily. So, close you ears, and wait until he calms down.

“Seriously now, mind telling me more about that dream you had?”
It took a while, but Gideon is finally ready to help you. Again. It's not like you really need his help, but he's well-versed in foreign legends.
“Okay, so in my dream, there was a beautiful girl, with long black hair.”
“Pretty girl, long black hair. What else?”
“The moon. And after that, something else. It was black, and it was crawling.”
“Interesting. Well, I'll do what I can, because it seems interesting. But I must say that I'm rather interested in something else.”
“What is it, Gideon?”
“The fact that you associated your dream to Japan, even through nothing you said seems related to that country.”
Now that he says it... You checked Japanese legends immediately, without any doubt in mind. And yet, there was nothing obvious about Japan in your dream. Black hair? You can find them everywhere. The Moon? You can see it from anywhere. So what?
“That's strange...”
“Yep. As strange as that 'Icarus' written in that book. I know the librarian, he would gladly cuts hands rather than letting people scribble in his books.”
“Is that really that strange?”
“What, you mean people randomly writing a single name in a precious book, risking to be discovered and beaten to death by the librarian? Yes, it is.”
“Bah. Anyway, I have plan for this afternoon. I can't spend all day being shut-in, like you.”
“Oh? You're leaving again? Too bad. Well, does that mean I can use your computer?”


[] No, you'll stay here, and ask for his help. You're more and more curious about that dream.
[] Okay, let him do the work, you're going to work with James. A biologist's opinion might be useful for your own work.



=================

I miss my proofreader. Sorry about possible typos. Picture is a spoiler.

[x] No, you'll stay here, and ask for his help. You're more and more curious about that dream.

Why the fuck not.

god dammit fatal errors

[x] No, you'll stay here, and ask for his help. You're more and more curious about that dream.

[x] No, you'll stay here, and ask for his help. You're more and more curious about that dream.

Might as well learn more, even with the fears of our roommate's sexual tendencies.

[X] Okay, let him do the work, you're going to work with James. A biologist's opinion might be useful for your own work.

god damn parasites crawling under your SKIN injecting toxin in your body!

[x] No, you'll stay here, and ask for his help. You're more and more curious about that dream.

Letting Gideon alone with YOUR computer? Are you sure that's a good idea? Just kidding, you know it's NOT a good idea.
“On second though, I'll stay here. Maybe you can help with that?”
“Anywhere, anytime. So, let's see...”


You're sitting in front of the computer, Gideon standing right behind you. You're feeling uneasy about that, but he says he was fine.
“Okay, so let's see.” You silently jump when he starts speaking. “Black hair, and the Moon.”
“Yeah. I already checked legends about ghosts, but I found nothing.”
“Look for something called 'the Tale of the bamboo cutter', you may find something interesting.” Grabbing my hand, he moves the mouse over the screen, and click on the encyclopedia. “And here, you write 'bamboo cutter'. Go on, write it.”
“The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter... Wow, there's really an article about that!” You say, your voice dripping with excitation. You found something, and you're going to get closer of that girl from your dream.
“HA-AH!” Screams Gideon, making you jump again. “See here! There's a description of that Kaguya woman! Long black hair, and she comes from the Mooon! You found your girl, pal!”
“Yeah! Brofist time?”
“Brofirst time!”
You jump to your feet, and you brofist with Gideon. You finally have a name to put on your mysterious girl!

The article itself is quite long too. It includes the basic tale, the retelling of the same tale from the 12th century, and a recent retelling from the tale, written in 2020 by an anonymous author. The last tale is far more interesting than the other, because it adds a last chapter.
The basic tale goes like this: a poor bamboo cutter finds a baby in the stalk of a growing bamboo plant. Taking the girl to his home, and raising her as his own daughter, calling her “Kaguya-Hime”. After taking her home, he discovered that whenever he cut down a bamboo stalk, a small gold nugget came out. Making him rich quickly. After that, several men came to the beautiful girl known as Kaguya, and she turned them down with impossible requests. And then, she went back to the Moon, leaving several immortality elixir behind her. Here, the original tale stops, while the most recent continue. According to the 2020's tale, Kaguya never wanted to leave Earth, and she left the lunar expedition, with only her best friend. They escaped in a bamboo forest, a true maze, guided by a white rabbit, while the lunar expedition quickly got lost. After that, the lunar people gave up and went back to the moon, empty-handed, while Kaguya and her friend lived forever, hidden in a true maze of a forest.
“That's interesting. I wonder who wrote that most recent tale?” I ask, while rolling my eyes at Gideon.
“Um? Oh, not me. I'm fascinated by those old legends, but I would never write one.”
“So, who is that anonymous author then? It came out of nowhere?”
“No, darling.” Answers Gideon. “It's obviously written somewhere. Search again. Maybe on a forum... Anyway, I have a appointment. Take care, darling, you'll be all alone tonight!”
“Mm? Now that you say it, you're pretty and clean. How unusual.” You try to mock him.
“How do you know so much about my personal life? Are you my husband?” He answers in a shocked tone. That totally backfired at you, great job!
“N-NO! No!”
“Just kidding.”
And, with just that, he leaves, while you're staring at the wall absent-mindedly. HIM? Having an appointment? Are you deaf or something?

After several hours, you finally have a result. Of course, you had to lurk on some foreign forums, while using an online translator. The translated page was quite unreadable, but you noticed that there was many reference to a woman nicknamed “Purple Queen”. Or maybe “Queen in Purple”, you're not really sure. But the most interesting thing is that telephone number. You're not sure about the owner, but if he talks english, he will be able to help you. Taking your own mobile phone, you frantically write down the number, and you stick the phone to your ear.

After several ringing, you finally hear someone. Probably a woman, from the voice. She speaks a language you don't know, so you wait for her to finish, and you politely speak in english.
“Excuse me if I disturb you, but I don't speak japanese.”
There's a brief silence, quickly cut by the same voice, this time speaking a perfect english.
“I can hear you. Good morning.” You return the greeting, and you give your name. “Okay. Hello. What can I do for you?”
Okay! This is where it starts! Don't screw up!
“W-well, sorry to bother you but I found your phone number on the Internet and I though you might be able to help me since-”
“Calm down, please. First, why do you need my phone number?”
You breathe deeply, and you keep speaking with your business-like voice.
“I am myself interested in the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, and I wanted to have more informations about the recent retelling of that tale. According to my researches, the author was nicknamed 'Purple Queen', or something like that.”
There's a chuckle at the other end of the line. Look like that woman is cackling at you.
“Purple Queen, yeah. Let me guess, you didn't translated it yourself, right?”
“You're right, Miss. I used an online translator.”
“Listen to me, now. If you use another translator for the same runes, I'm ready to bet that it will says 'violet countless clouds'. And I'm right, isn't it?”
“Y-yes. You are right.” You're slowly panicking. That woman sounds like she's playing with you, and you have no idea about her final goal. “But how can you-”
“Why are you interested in that retelling, young man? That was just a sage writing about old tales. Why are you intetesred in something that nobody else reads?”
You don't know what to do any more. Tell her the truth? She's been playing with you since the beginning. Maybe she's not even going to answer your questions. Are you really going to tell her that you dreamed about a girl, and that that girl may be an old princess from a foreign tale? No. You're not going to tell her that. But you're not going to lie either.
“I'm interested in this. That is all I'll tell you.”
There's another brief silence, as you listen to her breathing for a while.
“That's won't do. I can't help you if you're not telling me everything.” Her tone changed. Earlier mocking, now completely cold. “So, I'll ask again. Why are you interested in this?”
You try to suppress your panic, only to fail pathetically.
“B-b-because I dreamed about a similar girl. N-no, I mean...”
“I see. Hold on for a while, I'll be right back.”
You hear the phone being put on a table, and nothing. Waiting like that several minutes, you screams in fear when you hear the knock, as if someone was knocking at your door. As you move to open it, you quickly think about something. You have many friends in that dorm, and none of them would knock.
So whoever is knocking right now, is NOT from the dorm. But you quickly forget it as you open the door.







The first thing you feel again is the pain. Your right hand, little finger. Twisted, bent in a unnatural way. It hurts you so much it wakes you up. Second thing you feel is that you're wet, completely drenching, and totally soaked. Third thing you feel is that you're laying on your belly, back against the sky. Fourth thing is that it's raining.
You roll on your side, trying to get a hold of the situation. What is the last thing you remember? You were in front of your computer.
And after that? You used your phone. Tried to call someone.
And after that? Someone knocked at the door. You opened the door, and you're here.
Slowly sitting, you still don't understand. Your head is spinning like a centrifuge, and your little finger is broken. You try to get up, but you feel too tired to move. Should you stay like this, under the rain? Probably not, you're going to catch a cold like this.
You cough. At first, it's not relevant, but you quickly end up spitting blood. Are you wounded? Perhaps you should stay still until you feel better.
But you know it's not a solution, as you see several flashes. It's a thunderstorm. You can't stay outside, or you're really going to die. Explanation will come later, the first priority is to find something.

With difficulty, you get up, using a broken branch as a walking stick. You're too weak to walk properly, but you can move, so it's better than nothing. Looking around you, you understand that you really need a shelter. That rain is so heavy that you can't see a damn thing. Like a fog.


[] Move toward what seems to be a forest. You shouldn't be under a tree when there's a thunderstorm, but at this point, you care more about rain than about lightning.
[] No, not the forest. You're definitely not going here. Try to walk around, and find a house. Or just a shelter, you're not picky.

======================

That one was funny to write. You can have so much fun with online translator.

[x] No, not the forest. You're definitely not going here. Try to walk around, and find a house. Or just a shelter, you're not picky.

>2020
holy fuck are you a wizard from the future

[x] No, not the forest. You're definitely not going here. Try to walk around, and find a house. Or just a shelter, you're not picky.

>>24056
No, I am an alien from the MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!

[x] No, not the forest. You're definitely not going here. Try to walk around, and find a house. Or just a shelter, you're not picky

There be demons in them hills, boy.

[x] No, not the forest. You're definitely not going there. Try to walk around, and find a house. Or just a shelter, you're not picky.

[] No, not the forest. You're definitely not going here. Try to walk around, and find a house. Or just a shelter, you're not picky.

Curious as to where this will lead.
That being said protip: Proofreading is a must for any writer, whether or not English is your first language.

>>24061
Trouble is: I know only one person who wants to proofread for me, but I can only contact him by pure luck. He suggested me another proofreader, just in case, but this one is now missing, and I have no idea where to find him.
So, right now, I am all alone to write that story, and the /underground/ story.

>>24062
Whip it out anon can help, and in the offchance I cannot, I can easily ask a few friends to help out.

[x] No, not the forest. You're definitely not going here. Try to walk around, and find a house. Or just a shelter, you're not picky.

You should be logical. Right now, you're completely drenched, you're cold, you're hungry, and for some reason, your little finger is broken and bending in a unnatural way. Even walking is difficult for you. And yet, you wanted to go in the forest, during a thunderstorm. Hell no, you're not going that way. You decide to follow the safe path, and to actually avoid the forest at all cost.

Limping away from the forest, you move forward, sailing through the storm. Walking bravely through the heavy and cold rain, you don't even notice that every lightning is making you jump. Perhaps you're tired, or too cold to even notice it. What the hell happened anyway? Just five minutes ago, you were quietly in your dorm room, and you found yourself hurt, with a finger broken, probably not by accident, in an unknown place, under a heavy rain.
You mean, last time you checked, it wasn't raining. The weather forecast even said “Sun all week”! So where are you? Are you still in England? Or was the weather forecast wrong? It's still possible, even with that demented technology. But even if you're still in England, you should be able to find your way back to the university. If you can find a road before dying from cold. You already lost any sensation in the fingers, but at least, your broken finger doesn't hurt any more.

You no longer have any sensation in your legs. Walking is more and more difficult, but thankfully, you can see a house near. Well, a house is kind of an overstatement. You'll rather call it a shelter. Or a shack. But to be honest, the best name you can come with is “bunches of sticks”. If you could create a house from a faggot, you would probably obtain this. But you're not going to be picky. You can't feel your hands, nor your legs, and you're probably going to spend the next week in your bed, with a good cold.
You knock against the door with your cold and lifeless fingers. No reaction. You're not even sure you knocked properly. No sensations from your fingers, and too much noise from the thunderstorm. Maybe you just touched the door.
“Damn, damn, DAMN!”
Throwing yourself against the door in frustration, you only manage to hurt your head. And it doesn't looks like there's any handle, so you can't really enter. What are you going to do then? Obviously, sitting near the door and wait near the door, like a good boy.
“Yeah. Like a good boy”.
Screw your parents for raising you like a good Christian boy! You can't break a window to enter, and you can't break the door either. Well, there's no window, and the door is stronger than your cold and sleepy self, so even if you weren't raised as a good Christian boy, you would still be stucked. With maybe less frustration. But that's not the point.

You can't feel your arms now. The thunderstorm keeps getting stronger and stronger, and now there's practically a wall of water around you. But you're already drenched, so that's doesn't make any difference. Or maybe yes, since you feel more and more sleepy. Is it the cold that's killing you, or are you just tired?
“??????”
You slowly raise your eyes. In front of you, instead of a mean storm, there's now a girl. Younger than you, yet with white hair. She's wearing red pants with a white shirt, and her face is undoubtedly Japanese. But the strangest thing about her is the fact that she's dry. You mean, you're completely drenched, probably half-dead by now, and she's... just fine. Like there were no rain to begin with.
“How is that possible? That doesn't make sense.” is the last thing you can say before fainting from exhaustion, cold, and possible wounds.


By the way, while you were in the university, you were studying:
[] Biology, like James. You were preparing a thesis about DNA mutation due to radiation.
[] Psychology, like Gideon. You were preparing a thesis about how basic instincts were suppressed by the need to reproduce.
[] Sociology. You were preparing a thesis about women and their influence in ancients civilisations.
[] Astronomy. You were preparing a thesis about the Moon being theoretically able to bear life.
[] Write-in


======================================

My apologies for the short update, I guess I shouldn't force myself writing when I don't feel like it. Main character doesn't speak japanese this time, and since Yukari already broke your finger, I think you're not going to ask her.
As you may have noticed, I'm trying to write all my stories in some kind of ... continuity. However, that continuity is giving me trouble, as I gave up on some of my stories. In other words, I'm going to retcon and rewrite several secondary characters. This will not affect that story, since it's happening before, but I though it would be fair to warn you.
>>24064
Tell me more please, I'm interested.

>>24068
I'm not a writer by any means, nor are my friends (as far as I know), but I'm more then sure one of us can point out any grammartical errors for you.

Anyways, My vote.
I'm kinda deciding on if I want to go with linguistics or one of the pre-wrote options. So, Does anyone speak Japanese here, or do they all speak english?

>>24069
You mean the characters?
Most of them are just speaking japanese. Some of them can speak english.

>>24070
So then my vote is now [x] Linguistics.

[] Sociology. You were preparing a thesis about women and their influence in ancients civilisations.

Sociologist Anon would have a freakin' field day with Gensokyo.

>>24071
"Linguistics" will not allow you to magically speak japanese.
Just saying.

[x] Sociology. You were preparing a thesis about women and their influence in ancients civilisations.

[x] Sociology. You were preparing a thesis about women and their influence in ancients civilisations.

[X] Astronomy. You were preparing a thesis about the Moon being theoretically able to bear life.
-[youknowitbetrue]Reaching back to ancient Egypt, there's been a single cabal of powerful individuals directing the course of human history. However the common man prefers to believe they don't exist; which aids their success.

[X] Astronomy. You were preparing a thesis about the Moon being theoretically able to bear life.

Crazy conspiracy theorist Anon sounds lovely.

[X] Astronomy. You were preparing a thesis about the Moon being theoretically able to bear life.

Double major in
[x] Sociology. You were preparing a thesis about women and their influence in ancients civilisations.
[X] Astronomy. You were preparing another thesis about the Moon being theoretically able to bear life

and minor in
[X] Foreign Language : Classical Chinese

Explaination for Classic Chinese, wall of text ensues, requires basic knowledge of the japanese writing system:

Classical chinese is where modern day kanji comes from (actually the 'traditional modern kanji', known as kyujitai, and classic chinese kanji are nearly the same, if you know one you can probably read the other save for a few variant characters that you can as easily guess the write corresponding kanji as an american can guess that 'consensus' is the same as 'concensus'), and kanji is where most of the meaning of a japanese sentence usually is (except in senteces of the basic level, made completely or mostly out of japanese homegrown words, in which case it could be solely hiragana). It is also what the Japanese used to write before they invented phonetic systems (which have evolved into today's kana) to write down the native words. Since many of the residents of Gensokyo are very old, they will probably understand the written form of classical chinese (those characters have stayed nearly the same over the last 2000+ years. Before the importing of the Chinese texts, there was no writing system in Japan, So I would have said ancient Japanese, but that goes back to be written in Classic Chinese. Also, modern day Japanese uses far less kanji than the classical or modern day chinese, so he shouldn't encounter kanji he does not know. Finally, I picked not to learn modern Japanese because an MC that just conviently happened to be studying Japanese is overused about as much as Yukari randomly giving MC the power to be fluent in Japanese. I would not be suprised, however, if Yukari/magic gives us the ability to speak vernacular Japanese.

Furthermore, Classical Chinese is hard, and fits in with a hard working type, which one must be in order to double major in college.

Yes, I just made a descion that is a combination of the currently tied votes, with my horrid write-in tacked on to make it look like MC actually worked hard back in college. If my write-in is to far fetched, just please disregard it and use the double major option. Thanks for reading a noob's crappy write-in.

>>24080
I don't have anything against that write-in.
Feel free to vote for it if you wish.

>>24080
Interesting. Is the Chinese written by people from, say Taiwan, or in the Chinatowns in the US or other countries, Classical Chinese? My mom often tells me how ugly Simplified Chinese looks, but is modern Unsimplified written Chinese the same as Classical Chinese?

>>24084

Short answer? No.

sage
>>24084

Skip to the bottom for the short answer. Otherwise, continue on with this wall of text. I must be such an strange person if I keep writing walls of text about grammar and language differences lol.

I'm the newfag that proposed the write-in. I shall explain: I would be a lying bastard if I said that they (kyujitai/traditional Chinese characters) were the exactly same as the characters used in classical Chinese, variants common back then may have been removed/changed by the standardization of Chinese characters (kanji) by the modern world. However, they are still mutually intelligible (character by character), and as sad as it is (for I am a person of Chinese descent), the Japanese Kyujitai have preserved some of the orthodox forms of the Chinese characters that traditional Chinese in Taiwan today has decided to trade for the more popular hand written styles.

Example: Japanese kyujitai and orthodox version in the KangXi dictionary (1700's, made by the Chinese emperor's command) = 爲, Chinese modern traditional = 為 (Sorry for those that do not have CJK language support...or if imageboards do not)

The modern traditional looks extremely alike the orthodox one and my Taiwanese Chinese teacher was easily able to tell that they are the same character. (I am fluent in Chinese, but I am taking Chinese because I was illiterate, and now I am only half illiterate.) Even my Chinese mother, who grew up in Kommunist China and learned a significantly different simplified character for that word was able to read both after surfing on the traditional Chinese forums long enough.

New meanings may have been added to the words, and many old meanings have become archaic (however since we still have these meanings recorded, MC's studies of classical Chinese should lead him to learn these). However, this much is to be expected when it comes to languages. Look at English. New meanings being added is merely part of languages growing. In the school I used to go to, the freshmen would say "dirty" to denote that something is cool. People used to say "sick" or "wicked". All of the previous words ought to have a negative connotation to the, yet people use them to say something is good.

For English people that study Shakespearian English, Classical Chinese is what the modern Chinese student suffers. You do not get any grammar lessons or special vocabulary sheets. You can pick it up, and despite some difficulties, one that has mastered the modern descendant can get the meaning of the older text. Of course Classic is different from modern day in terms of grammar and vocabulary choice (吾 vs 我), as it is so with English and Shakespearian English (Thou/thee vs you). However, the meaning of the characters remain the same by large. (My parents knew the meaning of the archaic "I" (this character:吾) even though they hail from simplified using mainland, as I, a native english speaker, have picked up on thee and thou without activly learning it) However, while English students grovel at the thought of Early Modern English, Sometimes Classical chinese will not make sense at all to a modern reader because there are even more differences (cut it some slack, it is 2000 years of change to grammer).

Chinese characters, are good at retaining their meaning and shape through time, language evolution, and even when crossing the borders of what language they are in. Call me creepy, but I study Chinese so I could get a basic grasp of Japanese Touhou vocal songs' meanings if they have Japanese lyrics but no translations. When a translation does come out, I usually had a decent rough translation. Of course I missed quite a bit, but the fact a good chuck of meaning and the main points can be generally be derived from kanji is very useful to me, and to MC should this write in win (which probably won't now because I have drowned it in linguistics).

Do take note that pronunciation has changed significantly from the ancient era to today. (but does not matter much since we won't be speaking to people that know modern chinese)


Conclusion; semi-short version starts here:
In short, the modern traditional characters shapes and meanings are essentially the same as their classical (and ancient) counterparts (character for character), give or take some natural evolution of the language (dropping a few strokes, sometimes making a character more elaborate for decorational or disambiguation purposes, adding new meanings to existing characters). However, the actual language (now including grammar) of Classical Chinese is different from that used today in Taiwan or Hong Kong, because the grammar usage and vocabulary choice is significantly different. If you were to speak classical Chinese with modern pronunciations, you probably would not be understood because Chinese is a tonal language, and the amount of homophones (the words that sound the same) put 'there their and they're' to shame ('shi' sound has over twenty meanings). Modern Chinese has two words next to each other to mean something, like English’s ink-pen, except with most words to avoid confusion. Classical Chinese is just one word for a noun/verb/etc, and thus many people (my Chinese relatives, and my Chinese teacher) acknowledge that Classical Chinese has a high meaning density per character. If MC really studied his classical Chinese, he would end up seeing and passivly learning the added new definitions as well. Not that grammatical changes and modern slang definitions really matters, since MC will be using this to get a basic grasp of Japanese (using the kanji, which typically use the ancient meanings) or using it communicate to the older beings of Touhou. Since simplification of kanji/ Chinese characters has only occurred in the last seven (?) decades (after 1945), MC does not need worry about such, for Gensoyoko was sealed in the 1800's.

Of course I made even the short answer too long (in part because it was also my conclusion). Do I really like rambling on that much?

Short short version + I answer the anon's question:

How the characters are written and their meanings essentially the same, some new meanings are added to old characters, some minor stroke changes. Vocabulary choice, grammar, and such have had massive changes to the vernacular, spoken type of Chinese in the last century; therefore Modern Traditional Chinese is not the same as Classical Chinese when it comes to being used in the real world.

Picture somewhat related. I can read the characters I know from the tablet, and if you give me a chinese radical dictionary I could figure out the rest. This is script from around 100 AD.

Sorry for this wall of text, I think I am prone to rambling on and on and on.

>>24093
In short, that write-in will allow Anon a limited interaction with some of the oldest girls?
Combined with the hard-working side, I must say I like your suggestion (even if I'm pretty scared by the "going to write everything in old english" side).

>>24094
An author replied to my post. My week has been made.

Anyways, yes, this will allow MC to have limited interaction to the older girls. Technically, it limits interaction TO the older girls and girls that would know multiple languages (looks at Patchouli and Keine), but not limit his ability to communicate with them. If you wish to limit his ability to do communication with the older girls, you can always say he has a lower proficency in chinese, or how the older girls have gotten rusty from not using classical chinese in...about 1200-1500 years (kana came around between 500-800 AD, it is currently 2020 in the story). He also could have [bold]extremely[/bold] limited communications with people that write in japanese, thanks to kanji.

Take this in whatever direction you wish to take it, for you are the author.

Also, if someone with good knowledge of kanji/chinese/japanese says that he should have understood Yukari's name (abeit as purple eight clouds) without a translator, I often times translator spam the entire page, especially if there is simply too much kana, and google translate (or whatever is used in 2020) can turn that into english.

And of course, this smaller wall of text has spawned in the message box.

>>24080
>>24093
>>24095
You know, I dont know what any of this means, but if I did know, that guy over there would still have his legs. And at least one of his balls.

Vote called for:
Double major in
"[x] Sociology. You were preparing a thesis about women and their influence in ancients civilisations.
[X] Astronomy. You were preparing another thesis about the Moon being theoretically able to bear life
and minor in
[X] Foreign Language : Classical Chinese"

Astronomy and sociology reached a tie, so I'm fusing them. The minor in Classical Chinese is a bonus. Expect an update soon.

Hartmann was feeling fine. No headache, no sudden urge to kill someone with a shovel. Yep, everything was fine today.
"Maybe I should start writing the update now?" He wondered. Sure, it's been a while since the last update, and his honour code commanded him to write. Because, somewhere, someone was probably having a bad day. And writing may make someone happy.
That was for a pretty noble reason that Hartmann decided to write. And also because he's very arrogant and he enjoys being useful.

So, opening his OpenOffice documents, he started thinking about the last update. Story stopped after the main character passed out, right? Then...
"HEY BRO! I'M BACK FROM IRELAND AND I WANT TO PLAY STARCRAFT 2 SO CLOSE EVERYTHING!"
His brother was back.

=======================================

Sorry about the slowness.

[x] Sociology. You were preparing a thesis about women and their influence in ancients civilisations.
[X] Astronomy. You were preparing another thesis about the Moon being theoretically able to bear life
[X] minor Foreign Language : Classical Chinese


Shivering, you roll on yourself, trying to find a comfortable and warm position. You can't open your eyes, and yet you still seek heat. Nothing else matters but heat.
So cold. You have a blanket, but you're still cold. Rolling on yourself, you cover your head with the blanket. That doesn't help at once, but you slowly feel warmer and warmer. Until you roll on your broken finger.
“AAAAAAAAH!”
Screaming, you quickly jump to your feet, before falling again, your knees failing to bear the sudden charge, and you personally tasting the floor.

Well, the pain is excruciating, but at least, you're fully awake now. Enough to look around you. And, quite frankly, you don't like what you're seeing. Because that's not your usual dorm. Of course, if you were still in your usual dorm, your finger wouldn't be broken to begin with, so the fact that it's broken is enough to prove that you weren't in your dorm to begin with, but... Damn it! Don't try to think too hard, you're not good at this. You're only good at working. Gideon and James are good at thinking. Not you!
So, now that you proved that you're not in your dorm, let's check that place out. You're in what seems to be a living room. The walls are made of woods, tied together in a really interesting way. It looks like a bunch of raft placed together to create a house. At first, it looks fragile, but as you softly knock it, you understand that those walls are solid enough to withstand the storm still screaming outside. Interesting enough, there's a low table placed against a wall. The owner probably moved it before. On the floor, there's some kind of strange mattress. Well, you call that a mattress, but calling it a carpet would be far more accurate, since it's not that comfortable. That aside, you're really grateful for it. And also for the blanket you're still holding wearing like a coat. Perhaps you should look for the owner, and thank him yourself. Or maybe go back to sleep, under that warm blanket.
No. You're fairly certain that without assistance, cold could have killed you. You're not certain, since you're not biologist.
Thinking about that, now that you have some free time, you decide to check a few things before going back to sleep. Your little finger is still completely broken, and is still bending in the wrong way. And since you rolled over it, it hurts a lot. It's probably not going to heal easily. Shouldn't you place some kind of splint? No, don't try anything funny. Maybe you'll be able to find a doctor later, and he'll help you. Anything else? Oh yeah, you were splitting blood earlier. Passing your fingers in your mouth, you notice that you have a very bad breath, but luckily, nothing red. Maybe you just bit your tongue or anything. In short, except for your finger, you're fine. You'll visit a doctor later. If there's one, of course.

As you lay down again, you wonder where you are. It's obviously a place with a very low technology level, since, well, that house is kind of rustic. But, hey, you can't be sure. Maybe it's just a kid hut. No, impossible. That girl you saw yesterday was younger than you, but you can't call her a kid. So what? Is she some kind of hermit? Or another sort of asocial? Or maybe even a tramp? No, she was too beautiful to be a tramp. You never saw a tramp, but you know they're really negligent and dirty. So that girl wasn't a tramp. So what?
Rolling on your back, you realize that even if you're still shivering, you won't be able to sleep. The dorm tagged you as “coward”, and even Gideon told you you were “too nice for your own sake”. But you're like this! Half-excited, half-worried, you don't know where you are! It's delicious, and yet scary.
Stay calm. Since you won't be able to sleep anyway, why not take a walk in that house/shelter/hut/whatever? Maybe you'll find the owner, and then you'll be able to thank him for his help. Thinking about that, the only being you saw was a girl. Or was it a teenager? You're not sure. But one thing for sure: she's not the one who helped you. Or else, she's stronger than you expected. Or maybe she just dragged you? No, that's impossible. But she couldn't carry you! That...
AAAAH, SHUT UP! You're not the smart guy! Stop thinking! You're not the “can-figure-everything-just-by-thinking” guy! That's James, and also Gideon, but not you! You, you are the “read-everything-in-a-book-and-is-damn-hard-working” guy! You're not doing the right thing to figure what's happening, so look around! Find the owner, have a nice talk, thank him for his help, and go back to the dorm!

As you visit the house, you slowly understand the main idea behind the design. The living room, in which you were sleeping, is located in the middle of the house, and is better protected than the other rooms. The kitchen, for example, is really damp, and you feel the wind blowing through several little holes in the walls. If you can call those rafts a wall, of course. But that's not the question. Beside, you're already busy trying to figure if those rooms are placed according to some old belief. For example, you're in the living room right now, so in the middle of the house. In front of you, there's the damp kitchen. At your left, a damp closet. At your right, a damp corridor, leading to the last room, located behind you but inaccessible from the living room. The last room being a damp sort of damp trophy room. You said trophy room to be nice, but the good word is “bloody mess of a garbage pile”. You wish you studied Feng Shui a little more. For some strange reason, the main door is located in the damp “bloody mess of a garbage pile” room. Which means that, if you want to enter that house, you have to zigzag between huge pile of metallic and potentially dangerous garbage. After that, you reach the damp corridor, and then you can finally sit in the living room. That house is clearly not created to greet guests. But you're not going to criticize.
Fumbling and fighting to death with the door, you finally manage to understand how you were supposed to open it. You tried to push it, like your usual door. But that one is supposed to slide. You don't really get the point, since anyone can enter, but you're too busy being ashamed to worry about something like that. Because, yeah, you were almost dying from cold outside because you were freaking UNABLE TO NOTICE THAT DOOR WAS SUPPOSED TO SLIDE.
“Well done, young padawan”, like Gideon would say.
“Nice job jackass”, like James would say.
Finally opening the door, you're greeted by a huge and wet slap in the face. Look like the storm is still alive, despite everything. You don't know how long you were out, but maybe that storm will live longer than you if you don't take care.

“Hey, hey, HEY!”
Brutally opening the door again, you walk outside, facing the angry storm, to check if you saw that right. Because, for just a second, you think you saw a silhouette. A silhouette of a girl with long black hair. You're probably overreacting because of that dream you had, and because of the recent events, but this is something... You mean... You can't find the good word to speak about it, but when you saw her, you had that little absence. How do they call it? “Déjà vu”.
Yeah, this is strange.

[] Leave the blanket here, close the door, and follow the silhouette.
[] What's happening? Stay in the house, but be careful. That storm is strange.

[x] Leave the blanket here, close the door, and follow the silhouette.

If we stay in the room, we just might die to a shark

[X] What's happening? Stay in the house, but be careful. That storm is strange.

I'm not afraid of SHARK END.

Could someone please explain what this elusive "Shark end" is?

>>24130
Came from a VN, iirc the scene was there was noises outside, and you had a gun. If you decided to stay in the room long enough, you would go through a series of choices that would lead to a shark end no matter what.

Do you guy seriously think I'm the kind of guy using abrupt end? Ha ha ha ha.
Okay, I did it before. With "YaJaB". But that was an accident. Depression, et caetera. Not gona happen twice.
Happened too with GT, but that story was shitty anyway. I should ask some admin to remove it from the archive.

Okay, maybe I used a lot of Shark End. But the point is: I'm not using them anymore! So don't be afraid! There's no shark!
Speaking of which, I'm researching crocodiles for an upcoming update. Do you know what else kill for no reason?

>>24136
Errr, Bunnies. Pink, fluffy bunnies. They'll like, hop on you to death or something.

[x] Leave the blanket here, close the door, and follow the silhouette.
[x] What's happening? Stay in the house, but be careful. That storm is strange.


You can't decide. Should you follow that silhouette, or should you stay where you are? You're still very obsessed about that dream you had, and you really want to know more. On another note, you just narrowly escaped death, and your plan is to charge through a storm. Not really the cleverest plan, you say.

Shared between the two opinion, you don't notice the bunny hopping to you. Not until it's too late.
It hops in your arms, putting you in a trance. SO FLUFFY! SO PINK! Hugging the rabbit tightly, you squeak happily like a little girl.
“So fluffy! Too fluffy!”
Still hugging the little rabbit, you don't notice that a whole horde of them is coming. Right after you.
“Oh my god, more fluffy bunnies to hug!”
Gideon always told you had a girly side. He was obviously right. You never though you would be the kind of guy chasing and hugging more and more bunnies. You need more bunnies! Your arms are full of bunnies, but you need MORE bunnies. MORE FLUFFINESS! MORE FUR!
“Jesus Christ that's too soft! I'm going to Heaven, Mom!”
Walking to the living room with your arms full of fluffy little rabbits, you manage to trip over some metallic garbage, falling against the ground, breaking your nose against the wood, and scaring all the bunnies.
“NO! I MUST CATCH THE BUNNIES!”
But they are afraid of you. In a common accord, they all turn against you, attacking you, hopping on you until you drop dead.


=================================

Here's your joke update about rabbits. I wanted to write something quick, but there was a tie, so I decided to accept >>24140's challenge, and write a SHARK END with BUNNIES! So it's a BUNNY END.
Hey, I manage to ruin life's day with BUNNIES! Take that, Cave!

Joke aside, that update was written in 15 minutes, and is probably full of typos. So, feel free to vote and break the tie. Or next time, the rabbits won't be pink, but white. And you don't have any holy hand grenade.

[X] What's happening? Stay in the house, but be careful. That storm of bunnies is strange.

Chinese anon back, I am very intrested on your take of the "hardworking" aspect. Most certainly not what I had expected, but it is funny, and after reading the your underground story it seems very fitting to your style of writing. Alas, I had meant smart and hard working, like the asians that had designed and use the cruelly hard language. Never the less, I enjoyed your unique take upon the characteristic, and I am looking forward to your next update.

Also is not afraid of a possible silly shark bunny end

>>24146
alright whipitout anon pointing out what went wrong in that update (next to nothing actually just pointing out some typos)

>Not really the cleverest plan, you say.
should be 'Not exactly the most clever plan you've thought up' or something along those lines

>Shared between the two opinion,
'Shared between the two opinions' is more like it

>It hops in your arms,
i believe it should be 'into', not 'in'. of course i'm by no means an expert on how grammarticallyness works

>Still hugging the little rabbit, you don't notice that a whole horde of them is coming.
'you didnt' would be better

>You never though
thought*

>“Jesus Christ that's too soft!
should be a period after christ

these are all extremely little things that even the greasts of writers make, bar missing a key letter to a word (option = options though = thought), but other then that there's really not much i can say

also if you really want me to wall you with grammartical errors i can read through one of your updates and point out whatever i can and have more to spare, that is if you want me to take into account all the tiny errors

>And you don't have any holy hand grenade.
wait we at one point had one WHAT DID WE USE IT ON FUCK

[x] What's happening? Stay in the house, but be careful. That storm is strange.


What the heck is happening? You don't get it. First, you have a lucid dream. Okay. You can explain it logically. Then, you wake up, in an unknown place, with a broken finger, under a heavy rain. Did you said 'heavy rain'? The good word was 'freaking storm'! It's a goddamn storm!
You close the door, and you walk back to the living room. For God's sake, you just escaped death, you're still shivering, and you're thinking about going outside?! Once you find a doctor, you'll have to check your head too. Your reaction aren't logical. You should really follow your common sense here.
Laying down, you pull the blanket over you, and, after moving and rolling for a while, you try to sleep again, rolled in the blanket like a pancake. So warm, you feel alive again! The wind is still blowing over the house, but at least, you're warm now. You're still shivering, but you're warm now. Warm...
“THAT'S A FREAKING FEVER!” You scream, while throwing the blanket away.
You put your hand on your forehead. Nothing wrong. Maybe you're overreacting. Or maybe your hand is hot too, and you can't notice it. Wait. Wait. Calm down. What are you supposed to do when you have a fever? What are you supposed to do? You should ask James! But he's not here!
Stop panicking. That's not going to help you. Shit down, take a deep breath, and think. What's a fever. Abnormally high temperature. So you're too hot. Cool down your body. That's it!
You jump to your feet. You need to find something cold. You walk to the kitchen, seeing a sponge right over the sink. Wringing it as strongly as you can, you use it to wipe your forehead.
Haa, that's better. Not perfect, but you already feel less dizzy. But maybe it would be better to just lay down and try to sleep again? With or without the blanket?
Dropping the sponge in the sink, you walk back to the living room, lay down on the hard mattress again, and you try to sleep. Is it you, or is the wind stronger than before? Whatever, you try to sleep.

You're flying. The sky is disgustingly blue, the clouds are horribly white, and the sun is horrifyingly yellow. You feel slowly submerged by panic, as you understand you're FLYING. Without any device. Without a plane. With just your clothes. You're flying. Flying.
And then you fall.
“AH!”
Raising suddenly, you understand you're still in the same cabin. The adrenalin disappearing, you feel dizzy again. Is it the fever coming back? Yeah, it looks like it is. For a second, you wish you had some survival guide near you. As you limp with difficulty toward the kitchen, in order to bury your head in cold water again, you remember there's water outside. Then, without you noticing, your path change. Maybe it's the fever, maybe it's laziness, but your reasoning is not right. Not right as in 'deeply flawed'. You need water, right? There's water outside, right? But you almost died last time you went outside! Still, unable to think clearly, you can't anything else but slowly limping to the door.
“Water.”
Is it because you're thirsty? Is it the fever altering your judgement? Whatever the reason is, you open the door, and you leave the shelter, walking totally randomly in the storm.



You're burning. You can't think any more, you can't even form a sentence. You're still walking, but that's a miracle. The only thing keeping you alive is your thirst. You want to drink some water. You don't even think about opening the mouth and drinking the rain. Blame the fever, but in your tortured and burning mind, the only source of water is the tap. So you're looking for a tap. In the middle of the storm. And you're burning. So hot. Sweating. You want to drink water. Just some water. Just letting your finger in, and placing the unique drop on your tongue. Please. Ask them to give you some water. Just a little.
“.....!”
You can hear someone speaking. Or maybe it's just your imagination? So hot. It has to be your imagination. Your head is spinning now. Placing your hands on your lips, you notice how cold they are. Everything is so cold, and yet you're so warm. How is it possible? So cold, and so warm.
“.... …. ….!”
The voice are getting closer. If they are really voices. If they're not some kind of hallucination created by your tortured mind, to give you hope.
“Meanie...” is what you're trying to say, but your lips aren't obeying you any more. Every breath you take is like swallowing an ice spikeball, tearing your throat from the inside. You try to warm your hands by blowing on them. It's not working. They're not moving. They're not answering you any more.
Where are you? How are you? You should find some water. And, then, come back to the shelter. And wait. Until the storm is out. Find a tap.
So much winds. So much rain. You can't walk any more. Or so you think. But you're still walking. Still walking.
“.......!”
Someone is right behind you. Shouting at you. Trying to shout your name. But that's not your name. And you don't understand what that person is saying. So you just ignore it. You'll find some water, and then you'll listen to them.
Someone grabs your shoulder, you pull you violently, making you fall. The last thing you remember is seeing a young girl, with long white hair, watching at you angrily, and screaming several things. After that, losing your balance, you fall head first, and hit the ground with a loud THUD.




You cough. Just a little. There's just something stuck in your throat, and you cough to get rid of it. Cough, cough.
“.....?”
Someone is speaking. Not at you. Probably to herself. As you open your eyes, you're briefly blinded by a white lamp, directed toward your eyes. Someone raise your eyelids, flashing the light in both your eyes. After several flashes, the finger release your eyelids, and you blink several times in succession. Then, you look around you.
It looks like you're in a hospital now. Not a real hospital, with instruments everywhere, and a bed with metallic bars. More like a field hospital. You're laying on a mattress, more comfortable than the last one, but sill harder than your bed. The room itself is very clean, and, while being built in wood, gives you an impression of... maybe safety? Yeah, that's it. You feel safe here. You can still hear the storm raging outside, but you feel like nothing is going to happen here. Next to you, there's a woman, quietly waiting for you to examine the room before speaking.
“.........., …. …....?”
She speaks, but you don't understand. Mainly because she's using a language you don't know, and also because you're closely examining her. Her hair is silver, not white. You don't know if they're natural or not, but they're pretty. She made her hair into a long braid. You think she should let them free, instead of braiding them, but you're not going to say it. She's wearing a very long red and blue dress, with several stars motifs over. Her figure is obviously not European. She's probably Asian. Japanese, or Chinese.
If she's Chinese, she probably doesn't speak English. You decide to speak classical Chinese, and see if she reacts.
“Good day.”
You expected a negative nod, but instead of that, you were rewarded with a comprehensive smile.
“Good day to you.”
Oh boy. It's your first time actually speaking that language. Sure, you were preparing a minor in classical Chinese, but you don't really know how to SPEAK it. You can write it, and read it, but speaking it is very difficult for you.
“Who are yourself?” You mumble with difficulty.
“Medical brain Eirin Yagokoro.” Okay. You're not sure you understood everything in that sentence, but apparently, she's a doctor. And her name is 'Eirin Yagokoro'. Good to know.
“Good day. What have I?” You want to say 'am I fine?' but you fail pathetically. Blame your nervousness.
“You were dead, bitten by cold.” Bitten by cold? Does she means frostbite?
“Fine I am?”
With a comforting smile, the woman answers as warmly as possible:
“Some fingers of you are dead. We may cut them.”

A cold chill runs on your back. Dead? Does she means necrosis? Amputation? Is she going to cut your fingers? Half-panicking, you try to grab hand.
She quickly moves away, her eyes flashing in anger. She must be thinking you're trying to attack her. But that's not what you want! You're not good at speaking Chinese, so you want to write it down.
Placing your finger on the ground, you draw several Chinese symbols, trying to write a correct sentence. She looks at you dubiously, and finally understand.
'Are you going to cut my fingers?' is what you wrote.
'Unfortunately, it will be necessary. You were exposed to cold too long' is her answer, written on a thin paper.
You take the paper from her, and you write 'which one?'. She answer with 'several toes, young girl'. Wait, girl? God damn it, Gideon, it looks like you were right after all. You write 'I'm a boy' on the paper, and you show it to the woman. After reading it, she laughs happily. 'Sorry about it then, young man'.

After several minutes talking through paper, your host explains she must be going, but that she will be back soon.

[] Stay in your room. Don't move too much.
[] You're going to stay in this place for a while. Better exploring it now.

===============================

Revelation: I don't like this update. I like how the main character is unable to speak Chinese, while being able to read/write it, but Eirin's description and MC's ramblings, I don't like that.
Also, "Whip It Out Anon", do you have skype or something?

[x] You're going to stay in this place for a while. Better exploring it now.

totally not because of >>24136

also yes, I do have a skype, but i'd prefer not to give mine out in public. though be warned, no mic.

[X] Stay in your room. Don't move too much.

Eh, time to try and stay calm with the knowledge of upcoming finger amputation. Have fun!

[x] stay in your room. Try not to move much.
Due to the fact that ancient Chinese's phonology ( how you pronounce it) is mostly reconstructed through various methods, the fact that his spoken Chinese sucks is very fitting. Chinese anon approves
--[x] Ask Eirin about where you are, how good she is at medicine and surgery, and if her medicine has advanced to the point where it could be possible to regain new toes to replace to cut off ones.

Eirin's ingenuity in creating new medicines is unrivaled. If she can make an elixir of immortality, she can regrow and transplant some toes to replace the old ones. I mean, today, about a decade before the story takes place, human doctors can reattach cut off fingers and toes, and granted that the lunar technology is far greater than that of today's, this should pose no difficulty to the "brain of the moon".

>>24154
I agree it would just be strange if Eirin couldn't do something as simple as reattatching a few fingers.
also [x] Stay in room,lest you risk further injuring yourself.

>>24154
Eirin is a first class genius, a lunarian, and more or less a god. But how do you think she is? She's canonically testing medicines on rabbits. How do you think she'll act with an innocent and hard-working human?

(While you're busy wondering what I'm planning, I can take my time to writing peacefully. I'm so clever, mou hou hahaha!)

>>24161
I see... Is that how fanon (possibly canon) views Eirin? Perhaps I am merely deluding myself, but I always thought that Eirin was more of a motherly and loyal figure, as seen when see desperatly tries to get Reimu/Marisa away from Kaguya during Impersiable night. I can understand that she might test on bunnies, because everyone develops some kind of quirk, otherwise we wouldn't be indiviuals. Also, humans test on mice. Doesn't making you look at Narzin's sad, sad eyes make you feel guilty now?

As for how I think Eirin will act the way I have deluded myself to believe, but I am expecting anything. That is the glory of Touhou, how the interpertations of a character can vary greatly. In one story, they could be MC's lover. In another, they could hate MC's guts. They could be viewed as a vigilante hero, or a sinning thief. They could be justified in their fighting, or view as suppressors. They could be a sane lover, a pyschcopathic killer, a knowledgeable god, a childish god, and insane lover that would kill their lover, they can be anything. Comrade, Show me your Eirin! SHOW ME THE TRUE COLORS OF WHAT YOU BELIEVE SHE IS TO BE! THE PEOPLE VOTERS HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE, ONLY AN EIRIN TO GAIN! URA! 起来，同志们!It says "ARISE COMRADES!"

>>24163
>I see... Is that how fanon (possibly canon) views Eirin? Perhaps I am merely deluding myself, but I always thought that Eirin was more of a motherly and loyal figure, as seen when see desperatly tries to get Reimu/Marisa away from Kaguya during Impersiable night. I can understand that she might test on bunnies, because everyone develops some kind of quirk, otherwise we wouldn't be indiviuals.

Eirin has shown herself in SSiB to be devious, even ruthless, in protecting what she feels is important to her.

And don't forget she also had a hand in creating Lunar society, in all its sterile glory: the racial caste system, extreme xenophobia, and apparently oligarchic government.

Physicians are quirky to begin with. Now compound those quirks over millennia, and you'd get Eirin Yagokoro.

>>24166
Except that Reimu said in SSiB last chapter that lunarian are "nice and cheerful".
Besides, it's mentioned somewhere in Maribel's story that you can travel to the moon.

In other words, probably only a handful of lunarian are actually xenophobic. Probably the eldest, if you ask me. Because they know how the moon roll (purity, sin, et caetera). The youngest lunarian are probably more curious than the eldest, and less xenophobic.

But that's just how I see things. Whatever, just don't annoy Eirin.

[x] Stay in your room. Don't move too much.

You... don't know what to do. You're going to lose several fingers, and you don't like that idea at all. Looking at your hands, they look fine. However, your feet are another story. There are several toes being in a bad shape, some of them going black and apparently decomposing.
You lay in your back, half-crying, and half-panicking. Are you going to be fine? What if you can't walk any more? What if you can't get back to the University? Where are you anyway? That woman you talked with was Japanese, so maybe you're in Japan? But HOW? And WHY?
“Why is this happening to me?”
Hiding your face under the blanket, you slowly cry in despair. You never wanted this. You just wanted to know! Was that asking too much?

You can't sleep. Too worried. You want to move, but you can't really walk with your rotten toes. Just looking at them makes you want to puke. Thank god you were mostly into sociology and astronomy. You don't even want to know what kind of abomination James must witness. Damn biology. You're weak to this. Learning that you were just a disgusting piece of meat making plashy and disgusting noises made you throw up. And you were 12.
Throwing the blanket aside, you watch at your feet again. Black. Rotten. Soon, flies will lay eggs in your wounds, and it will be swarming with worms. Just thinking about it makes you cry.
“........?”
“..........., …!”
There's a loud conversation in the corridor near your room. You can't identify the voices for sure, but you think that Eirin is speaking. But, you can't be sure, her voice sounds really different now that she's speaking a language you can't understand. You hear a muffled laughter, and a submissive sigh. A few second later, the door to your room opens, and a cute girl enters.
Looking at her, you wonder where you are. The first thing you notice is that she's dressing like a secretary. Short sleeve white shirt, a red belt, and a blue skirt. A very tiny skirt. The clothes asides, she's very cute by herself, even if there are several strange things about her.
First, her eyes are red. That's not really uncommon, since there's a chance she might be albinos. But albinism means a very white skin, right? That's not her. She's pale, yeah, but that's not the disgusting white skin of someone spending her life in a room. Finally, she's having a handkerchief on her head. Yeah. She tied a handkerchief on her head. You can understand that, since she's having very long hair, but you find it strange. Usually, you wear that kind of thing because you're cleaning stuff, right? But she's not here to clean stuff, right?
“Hello.”
You try to approach her, but instead of answering, she just walks to you, grabs your chin, turns your head a few times, looking at your eyes, and walks away without saying anything.
Too dumbfounded to react, you're frozen. What just happened? Who was that girl? Why did she... OH! Of course! You talked in english! She probably doesn't speak english. Next time, try to speak chinese, perhaps she'll understand.

Hours passed. You want to say it was silent, but fortunately, it wasn't. You don't know at all where you landed, but one thing for sure: this clinic's kindergarten is full of excited kids. Just listening to them, running through the corridor, jumping, hopping, and all those things only kids can do, makes you smile. Just a little. It-it's not like you actually want to be a kid again! Not like that at all! It's not like you want to leave that TINY room and go play with those kids.
… In fact, you want. But you can't. Because you are 20. You are not a kid. You are an adult. You have responsibilities. But that doesn't mean you don't want to take it easy once in a while.
The girl with a handkerchief on her hair came back several minutes ago, bringing you a bowl of rice. You tried to speak to her in Chinese, but she didn't answer. Is there something wrong with your attitude?
Luckily, Eirin is visiting you. Otherwise you would feel alone.
“Good night.”
“Good night, physician.”
Your words are still hesitant. But you don't want to write everything down. Because you're probably going to speak Chinese more and more, so it's better for you to be good at it.
“Feeling good?”
Eirin is really a considerate person. Instead of using long and complicated sentences, she's using shorts one.
“Yes. That looks bad.”
You try to answer in the same way.
“It's dead. I can heal it, but it will be probably painful.”
Hearing that, your heart jumps. There's a way to keep your toes? Really?
“Do that please!”
“Excuse me?”
You examine Eirin's face with attention. Her voice was lightly shaking, and her eyes opened wide when she heard your request.
“I'm sorry? Is that...” You try to find the good word. “Unusual?”
In a flash, Eirin regains her smile, and answers like a teacher.
“Most human would cut their leg, should they fall in a trap.”
“Falling in a pit and cutting their leg?” You... don't understand it. How is that supposed to help?
“Not falling in a pit, falling in a trap!” Eirin's voice grows impatient. There's something you don't understand, and she doesn't like that.
“A bear trap?” You're not sure that word is correct in Chinese, but you don't remember if there's a word for the 'jaw trap crushing your leg when triggered'.
“Yes! When falling on it, most of the time, they'll cut their leg off.” She's saying that the current tendency here is to cute your leg if you're in danger? That's either a retarded place, either a very dangerous one.
“Can't you open the trap instead of doing this?” You're feeling frustrated by your lack of knowledge about classical Chinese. But hey, you can't help! You're used to READ it, not speak it!
“Rather than thinking, they prefer acting.”
Sounds like a really dangerous place indeed, if one prefers to saw his leg off rather than thinking about another solution.

The conversation went weirder and weirder after that. You tried to ask Eirin where you were, but they started speaking about a “Fantasy Land”. You quickly lost any interest in the conversation after that. 'Fantasy Land'. And why not 'Disney Land'? And worse than that, Eirin started mixing a strange dialect with thee Chinese, making you totally unable to understand what she was saying. Still, it looked like she was taking pleasure in watching your anxious face.
She's probably a sadist, like Gideon. Taking pleasure in making you blushing. You'll have to be careful.

=======================
That's a protoype. I had this on my hard drive for a good while, untouched. Just remember that this story is Still Alive.

Hooray!

This was a triumph~

You've just made rememeber how much I miss this thread. But cheers for the prototype!

After a good while, she finally leaves, while saying that she'll “look into things to help brave people.” There's a large chance you completely misunderstood what she meant. Maybe she's going to take a shower or something.
Important thing is that you're alone. Totally alone. In that big room of you. While kids are playing in the next room. You really want to give up on everything, and go play with them. But you can't. You're an adult.

With a sigh, you crawl to the paper door, and you slide it open. You're greeted by a huge gust of wind. Closing the door, you understand that you're really blocked here.
You sigh. You really miss Gideon's jokes now. Of course, you're not gay, and you're sure that Gideon wasn't either. Maybe. But now, you understand that him joking was the only way he found to make you react.
“There are so many things I regret now.”
Spending less time in the library, and more time with your friends, for example. Of course, despite his behaviour with you, you still consider Gideon as a friend. James, on the other hand, is... not really a friend, but you still consider him as someone reliable, here to help. When Gideon was assaulted, and sent to the hospital, he came everyday to see if you were fine.

Funny enough, the current situation, being locked in a room, reminds you a little song Gideon used to sing when he was depressed. How was it already?
“Kagome, Kagome, Kago no naka no Tori wa, itsu, itsu, deyaru? ”
Yeah, it's something like that. You don't know any Japanese, but you're still able to remember a sad song like that.
“Yoake no ban ni.”
Back in the days, Gideon explained you what this song was about. A sad story about a bird trapped a in cage.
“Tsuru to kame to subetta.”
Gideon also explained you that song was probably based on Oda Nobunaga's betrayal. He was betrayed by “the one standing behind him”.
“Ushiro no shoumen daare?”
Still according to Gideon, the bird Kagome trapped in the cage is probably blind. That makes the song even sadder.
“Kagome, Kagome, Kago no naka no Tori wa, itsu, itsu, deyaru?”
You're not fond of songs you don't understand, but Gideon's explanation really moved you. And you thinks it's really fitting the situation here. You don't know what's going on, you're locked in your room like a good boy, and you feel like everyone wants your head.
As you begin to sing the last part, you notice the sudden silence. And then, a voice sings the last part.
“Yoake no ban ni, tsuru no kame to subetta. Ushiro no shoumen daare?”
You look around, surprised. And you see. There's a tall girl in front of you, holding the door to the corridor open. She probably heard you singing.
Her face is... just divine. She looks like the perfect Japanese woman, born from Photoshop. But the thing attracting your total attention is her hair. Long, black hair, like, really long. Awfully long.

She's the girl from your dream. The girl with long black hair. No, the woman with long black hair.
Open-mouthed, you don't notice that the woman keeps singing, her eyes closed, her mouth softly smiling. The song over, she looks at you, speaks a few words in Japanese, and enter in your room.
Frantically, you try to greet her in Chinese, but all you can get is a negative head shaking.
After a few tries, the black-haired woman gives up on talking with you, and, with a smile, leaves the room without making any noise. And you're still dumbfounded.

“So, I was told that the Princess saw you?”
Eirin is back, for another check-up. She puts some kind of ointment on your feet, while discussing. Well, trying to. You're really bad at speaking a language you never really used.
“The Princess? She heard me singing Kagome.”
“Kagome? How irony. Princess' favourite song.”
“Who's the Princess?”
Hearing my question, Eirin stops for a second.
“She's... someone needing someone.”
“I heard many people while resting. And that girl I saw earlier too.”
It's really frustrating to be unable to speak what's on your mind.
“They're servants. The Princess is, well a princess. She can't really be friends with the servants. Or she won't be a princess any more.”
“I want to help you, but I'm afraid I do not speak her language.”
She stops again. And then, she smiles. In a really scary way.
“There is a way. To make you reliable for her. Are you okay with that?”
“What do you mean?”
“There is a way. But I need you to be okay.”

[] “Uh, not too sure, but yes, I guess?”
[] “I'm okay, but would you tell me more before doing, well, what you want to do?”

[x] “Uh, not too sure, but yes, I guess?”

and then anon jumped in head first.

[X] Don't agree to ANYTHING without an explanation. We don't want to get screwed over just becase we didn't know what we were getting into.

>>24473
Write-in refused. Available answers are only "yes" or "yes, but...". Please choose between those options.

[x] “I'm okay, but would you tell me more before doing, well, what you want to do?”

[x] “Uh, not too sure, but yes, I guess?”

[x] “I'm okay, but would you tell me more before doing, well, what you want to do?”

Nothing wrong with wanting to know more about what's about to be done to you. Like what, exactly, she's going to do

[X] “I'm okay, but would you tell me more before doing, well, what you want to do?”

It's always best to read the fine print, or in this case know more about the situation.

>>24477
Wait, are you ddyk, or just someone else saying this?

If you are ddyk, I guess that means we can't just turn this offer down in the first place?
(If you aren't, I don't particularly see why you would go around saying write-ins are refused, but whatever)

...Meh, I'll go with the option that at least gives us a chance to refuse being changed.

[X] “I'm okay, but would you tell me more before doing, well, what you want to do?”

>>24516
The idea is that the main character is too dumb innocent to think that it would end bad. The votes will only affect his nervosity level toward Eirin's excrutiatingly painful nice and happy experience.

Reason is, the main character was saved by a woman. He can't refuse helping her. For him, it would be like being helped by someone, and then telling him "I'm not helping you, go fuck yourself". Just too rude for that stupid nice guy.
And, yes, I'm ddyk, but I try to avoid using the trip too often. Just in case someone were to use Cthulhu's story downloader.

>>24516
...Crap, this post sounded a lot less dickish in my head...

>>24517
Ah, yes, with this it makes sense!
This character is pretty trusting, all things considered.
By the way, I really like this story, and I'm glad I started following it lately!
Looking forward to seeing more characters.

(Hopefully Reisen!)

[x] “I'm okay, but would you tell me more before doing, well, what you want to do?”


Uh, making you 'reliable'? Is she, um, going to teach you more songs?
“I'm okay, but would you tell me more before doing... whatever you plan to do?”
Hearing your rather erratic sentence, Eirin's smile disappears swiftly. She hides her mouth with her hand, thinking deeply for a moment. You can briefly hear her muttering something in another language, but you can't make sense of it.
“Well... I am afraid I can't really explain it. I do not want to insult you, but... how can I say it? Even if I could say it properly, you would not understand.”
“Is it, umm, an operation? A heavy, no, a hard operation?”
“Mmm... You could say that. Even if it would be a great misuse of that word.”
Eirin goes back in her 'monologuing' mode, while you're shaking. Operation. You remember having a discussion with Moriarty about some medical procedure. Your memory is a bit fuzzy, but you remember your reaction quite well. You were deeply shocked. Like 'you can do THAT without killing him?' rather than “that's awesome!'. Yeah. That day, you were so shocked by how far one could go without killing the people he's working on. And during the night, unable to sleep, you decided to never study medicine.
“W-well... I...”
Don't want to do that. Having your chest opened, your guts played with, and your body completely naked is a scary perspective. What if you wake up during the operation? What if you wake up and see your lungs hanging from the ceiling?
“Yes?”
Eirin leans on you, displaying a huge and almost innocent smile. Frankly, she looks like a kid who found a new use to an old toy.
“I... agree...”
Nothing obliged these people to help you, and yet they did. You owe them. You're not going to show your back to them, when they're asking your help.
“Wonderful! Ingest that drink!”
Eirin's speech pattern suddenly changed. From the calm and collected woman, she regressed into an excited and almost frantic woman. You feel like you did a big mistake, but, hey that's too late. Grabbing the bamboo cup she's giving you, you drink the whole cup. You immediately feel dizzy.
Soporific. You remember reading something about the Mayas using soporific on their prisoners before sacrificing them. You felt so happy when you read that! Sure, people were killed, but at least, they died painlessly.
“I... am afraid...”
Gently grabbing your head, you can feel Eirin cradling you like a baby.
“That is fine. I will not hurt you.”
The last thing you feel is your body being lifted, like a light pillow. She was so strong...


You feel something soft on your cheek. A hand. You briefly open your eyes, and you're rewarded with a nice eyeful of that albinos girl's breast. Usually, you would be looking away quickly, but now, you're too tired to actually understand what are those jelly things dancing in front of you.
Finally, the soft sensation on your cheek disappears, replaced by the coldness of a hospital bandage. You let out a surprised groan, startling the girl. She quickly moves her body, until her eyes are staring into yours.
Albinos. Red eyes. Even today, albinos are frequently marked as 'strange'. And saying that is a nice way to say 'ostracised'. You know that, even now, in Africa, albinos are chased down and killed. Official reports are saying it's because of local belief. But you... Wait a minute, what were you thinking about? Oh yes, you were thinking about the bunny girl.
The bunny girl.
The bunny girl.
The bunny girl.
…
“....”
You try to speak, but your throat doesn't answer. You want to panic, but your brain is paralyzed. You want to move, but your limbs aren't moving.
“Calm down. I do not want to harm you.”
HEEEEEEEEEELP! There's a striptease artist in your room!
“I am not a.. whatever you call them. I'm a rabbit. It's natural for me to have ears.”
HEEEEEEEEEEELP! There's a cute rabbit turned into a girl in your room!
“Cute? Um... I'm using my eyes to mentally speak to you, so could you calm down, please?”
You can see her slightly blushing. Just slightly, because you quickly close your eyes, trying to calm down.
What's happening to you? Are you still in that place?
“That place is called the Eientei. In your language, it's literally House of Eternity. Or Eternity House.”
What's happening to you? Why can't you move? Why are covered in bandages?
“Well... That is kind of difficult to explain. So I'm just going to say that you're recovering from Master's operation.”
You feel calm enough. You open your eyes again. Strangely enough, even through a GIRL is close enough to kiss you, you're not flustered. Not even blushing. In fact, you feel good and relaxed.
She puts her hands on the sides of your head, and she comes even closer.
“Forgive me for invading your personal space, but having a mental connection through the eyes is really tiring, so I'm going to make it short.”
Bumping her forehead with your, she triggers... something. You don't know what. It was, like a flash. A flashback. With many pictures. You briefly saw yourself, lying down on a metal table. Eirin is preparing her tools, while Reisen is getting you undressed. Once your body is naked, she pulls some clean hospital blanket over you, while Eirin is preparing a check list. A very long checklist.
And then it's gone.
“What...”
Is all you managed to say, before your throat goes numb again.
“I changed a few things in your brain. Exchanging memories. It won't last, don't worry. Since we're from different species, I can't really change your brain for long. Well, I probably could, but it will probably cripple you. Really bad.”
“Who...”
“Ha! Yes! I forgot to present myself! I should have done it first! My humble name is Reisen Inaba. And Master trusted me to take care of you until you're back to your feet!”
“Reisen...?”
“Yes. Mmm, like your nurse. Or your assistant if you prefer. But, don't ask me anything too strange, okay? I don't-”
From this point, Reisen's speech becomes unintelligible again. Guess it was really short. Too bad.
Hold on, shouldn't you be horrified by how fast you accepted so many strange things? Your body needing recovery from the operation? WHAT operation? A rabbit turned into a girl? Mental contact? And Eirin giving you your own cute nurse? What's happening to you? What was that operation? What was...
“...”
Mumbling something, Reisen makes you drink something. Probably another soporific to calm you down. Better drink it, then. Maybe things will be clearer once you'll be awake.

===============
I waited too long for that. So, here, have the first part. Next part in 7̴̉̉ͬ͒ͫ̿̿͘͏̺̤̳̹̙̯̯̣̟͖̳̲̞̠̭͙̖̯̤͢ days.

Reisen~
I liked this!
Quite a lot, actually!


Looking forward to the next part, when it gets done.

You're walking. Well, not exactly walking. You're staggering, with Reisen holding you by your shoulder. You're still enveloped with bandages, but Eirin came earlier and asked you to do some exercise. She said something about the operation being quite long, and that you needed time to recover.
What exactly was the operation, you still have no idea, but Reisen has been taking good care of you so far. Bringing you food, helping you with your daily exercise, and even keeping you distracted. You really enjoyed your time with her. Sometimes, she's behaving like a nurse, and sometimes, just like an older sister, not letting you wandering in the gardens, making you eat vegetables. Of course, it's still difficult to discuss with her, but you began learned japanese. Can't be harder than traditional chinese, right?

All of that was a week ago. Now, you're alone. In your room.
In front of you, a big mirror. Eirin told you that you could take the bandages off. Reisen came with the mirror, placed it in your room, and gave you a thumb up.
But now... you're scared. Not worried, no anxious, but really scared.
Moriarty was the biologist. You are a sociologist. But even you know that if someone needs to relearn how to walk after an operation, then it means that said operation wasn't trivial.
Make you reliable. Eirin wanted to make you reliable. What does it mean?
Your whole body is hidden from sight. You can only see your silhouette, and your eyes. And they changed. Not in a good way. Your eyes were blue before. Now, they're brown.
“I...”
Your voice also changed. A lot.

You can't stand the suspense, but you're also afraid of what you're going to see once you're naked.
You already have an idea, but... That's so silly, so ridiculous! Beside, nobody can do THAT!
…
You begin to tear the bandages off. You're so scared that you can't even think rationally. But, this is going to happen sooner or later, so you decided to... just face it.

And you weren't expecting that.
That singing princess you saw yesterday, that perfect woman, born from Photoshop, that matchless wonderful woman.
Is in front of you.
But that's impossible.
In front of you, is a mirror.
She can't be in front of you.
Right?
She can't be?
Right?
She can't be?
Right?
She-


The mirror is scattered on the floor. You kind of snapped, and you threw it on the floor. Then, you kicked it, again and again, until you couldn't see that woman any more.
Your feet hurts. Several glass shards are stuck in your feet. But you don't care. Rolled in a corner, hugging your knees, you stop caring about pain several hours ago. If Gideon could see you like this, he would be proud. He would probably say something like 'I made you a real man'. But if Gideon could see you like this, he probably wouldn't be able to recognize you.
You hear the door sliding. And a feminine gasp. You don't need to look to know it's Reisen. She walks to you, and touch your face. She sees your red eyes, your blank stare, your bleeding feet. She grabs your cheeks, and force you to look her in the eyes.
”I'm sorry.”
That's not telepathy, or whatever you call that. You know, just by looking at her face. Her ears are flopping, her mouth is just a line, and her eyes are apologetic. But why is she sorry? That's not her fault! You're the one who accepted, without knowing what the 'operation' was about.
Now, you know. It was about making you harmless. Eirin never wanted a male near the princess. So she castrated you, and turned you into a princess clone. That's... quite unusual. You mean, double and spitting image were often used in arts, cinema, and sometimes in political business, but as far as you know, it's the first time one is turned into a double.
Focusing on your thought, you don't notice that you started crying. In a very ladylike way, as you sarcastically notice. You're not hiding your way, you're not screaming, you're just crying. Just having water dripping from your eyes.
But you look at Reisen. Why is she so sorry? That's not her fault.
“I shouldn't have left you alone.”
Is she sorry about the mirror? Maybe breaking it was a mistake?
“Udonge.”
Reisen instantly moves. If you were able to think properly, without the tempest in your mind, you would be able to notice that she instinctively adopted a protective posture, and that your eyes are now staring at her bottom. And if you were still a man, you would probably be aroused by that nice view.
But instead of that, you're now a man in a woman body. Your mind is broken, and it will be difficult to recover. But you have the willpower. Gideon was a prankster, but he taught you to never give up. You remember when you opened your computer in front of the whole class, to expose your thesis about woman and their roles in ancients civilisations. But then, you noticed that Gideon replaced your background picture by a pornographic picture. Everyone in the lecture hall started laughing, and you instantly blushed. Your desire was to find a sink, and drown yourself in.
And then, you saw him. In the middle of the crowd, impassive. He nodded, and winked at you. And you opened your file, and you started talking, despite the general laugh. And you made it. You got them interested.
Reisen starts speaking to Eirin. You can understand their conversations, but you don't care. Your feet hurts. Perhaps you should remove those shards?
“Was it necessary to leave him alone?”
“I gave you an order, Udonge. You obeyed to it, so what's the deal?”
“You saw him, right? He's broken!”
“It's 'her', Udonge. Not 'him'. Not any more.”
Udonge keeps speaking in that fast tone. She's hardly polite, but you can feel that she's trying not to slaps Eirin. Eirin, on the other hand, is calm and relaxed. From her voice, it looks like that nothing serious happened.
“Udonge, I asked her if she wanted to help, and she accepted.”
“But you never mentioned the details!”
“She was lacking the vocabulary. I could not explain properly.”
“But-”
“ENOUGH.” Eirin's word freezes the whole room. For a second, it sounded like it was someone else's voice. A godly voice. A voice able to shatter your very bones with just a word. “Give her a blanket, and bring her to the princess. I'll decide your punishment later.”
With that being said, Eirin closes the door, and leaves. Reisen goes back to your eyes, staring at you.
“Why did you accept? Why?”
Surprisingly enough, you manage to speak a few words, in a surprised tone.
“Because? She saved me? I had to help her?”
“Are you just going to nod your head each time she'll ask you something?”
You don't answer. Your mind is already elsewhere. You don't notice that Reisen pulls a blanket over you, before helping you getting up. You don't notice as she slowly makes you walk through the almost infinite corridors of the Eientei. You don't notice as she makes you enter in a single room, where someone looking exactly like you is startled by your appearances. You don't notice when that princess calls Eirin for an explanation.
You don't notice anything, because your mind is wandering near the limit of your subconcious, barely keeping you sane and awake. If your mind wasn't wandering, you would already be either insane, either fainted.
“Eirin, I do not appreciate that kind of joke!”
“Princess, this is not a joke. This is about security.”
“Eirin, I am immortal! I cannot die! Why would I need a bodyguard?”
“Princess, there are things worse than death.”
“So your plan is to make an innocent die for me? Awesome plan, Eirin!”
“No Princess. My plan is to protect you.”
“And what about him? Look at him! You turned him into... into ME!”
“It was necessary.”
“Grave my words, Eirin Yagokoro. You may be the Brain of the Moon, but if I learn that you turned that human into.. this thing just to amuse yourself, or because of some misplaced jealousy, or because of some pervert plan, I'm going to make you regret it!”
“My only worry is your security and well-being, Princess. This is my path, and I'm going to stick to it, whatever the circumstances are.”
“Dismiss, Eirin. Leave me with him.”
“As you wish, Princess.”
“One last thing, Eirin.”
“Yes?”
“Do not punish the Inaba for voicing her opinion. Honestly is a rare quality.”
“With all the respect, this is an authority matter. I'll deal with it as I see fit.”
With that being said, Eirin leaves the room. She sounded very polite and respectful, but if you could just look at her face, you would understand that she was also furious. She wasn't angry, she was... rather disappointed. In fact, if you could look at her eyes, you would understand that her actual desire is to take the Princess over her knees, and to paddle the shit out of her.
But you're lost, wandering in your own world. You will be able to remember everything that happened, but only after, way after it happened. Have you been able to thing properly, you would understand that Eirin was going to vent out her frustration on Reisen.

The floor creaks as the Princess is drawing near. She sits next to you, and slowly place a hand on your forehead, moving your hair as she's inspecting your face. Your scared, traumatized and blank face. All at once.
“Poor thing. You lost your sanity, and I lost a possible friend.”
Whispering those words, the Princess grabs a hairbrush, and starts brushing your hair.
“Sadly, even I can't undo what Eirin has done. I can only hope that you'll forgive us one day. But, if you're going to live with my face, then you should be pretty.”
And, for today, you became the Princess' living doll. For the whole day, until she decides she's got enough of it, and asks the rabbits to bring you back to your room, and to prepare you for the night, as you're still unable to move by yourself.

You're laying on your back, on the blanket. The rabbits cleaned the room and put you to sleep, but you can't sleep. Tempest is in your head, and Caliban is in your mind. You won't be able to sleep.
“Alone.”
If Gideon was here, he would be able to help you to carry on. If James was here, he would tell you that everything's gonna be alright.
But you're alone.
Totally alone.




Or maybe not?
[] Go sleep with Reisen.
[] Go sleep with Kaguya.

==================================
Get your minds off the gutter. Also, I tried to write Kaguya as a real Princess. And Eirin as someone... driven by some horrible guilt. Or is it jealousy? Too soon to know!
Also, yeah, I heard that some people here wanted a Reisen route, so... I prefer to deal with that now. I don't want you to vote for Reisen each time you see her name in the options.

That really was not what I was expecting. Like, ridiculously so.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNOPE,sorry but im out of here.

>>24564
It saddens me to learn that.
Really. No irony intended.

[X] Go sleep with Reisen.

As a caveat: I'm not actually taking this option in pursuit of a Reisen route. I'm taking it because, when a man's identity is stripped from him completely, spending all night staring at a reminder of that fact is the last thing he would ever want to do.

Please don't let this routelock us.

>>24567
Understood. No routelock yet.

[] Go sleep with Reisen.

Reisen was the one helping Anon for the last few days, so it makes sense to go to her for comfort/safety.

[x] Go sleep with Reisen.

She appears to legitimately care. That's enough for me.

Personally I'm hoping we can find a way to hit up Yukari for a swap back to Team Man.

[X] Go sleep with Reisen.

...Uh...
We will get to become a guy again, right, ddyk?

At least if we get routelocked into Reisen, because I want a Reisen story.


So, yeah, I want routelocking, into Reisen.

>>24571
I wouldn't be too sure of that if I were you.

Remember the first law of gender bending, "Once a girl has been created, circumstances will conspire to keep her a girl"

[x] Go sleep with Kaguya

[X] Go sleep with Reisen.
Poor guy. Yeah, he's still a guy.
Goddamnit Eirin.

>>24571
Sorry to break it, but it's impossible.
Because it's not just genderswap. If it was just genderswap, it could be possible to revert to procedure. But no. It's more extreme. Extremer. Ummm... More extreme, yeah.

In case you haven't read that well, I'll repeat it. Eirin didn't just genderswapped him. She also completely remade his body, to make him look like Kaguya. He's not a feminine version of himself, he's a man looking exactly like Kaguya.
And this is why he's so freaked out (and this is why I'm probably crazy to even write something like that in the first place).

>>24574
No way at all of changing back huh? And here I was kind of looking forward to this. Such a shame.

Good luck at any rate.

>>24574
Oh come on, really?

...Well, time to try and find Yukari.
She's about the only one we can turn to, in order to fix this and actually get to be a male MC again (which seems to be a majority wish here).

Because there's no way in hell Eirin of all people can do something Yukari can't mess with.
No. Way.

>>24576
I'm right behind you. Let's do this.

>>24576
>Yukari
>Helping

>>24579
It's our best option, though.
Yukari is the only one we can really go to for this, so we might as well try.

[X] Go sleep with Reisen.

Maybe not totally alone.
There was that nice girl, with bunny ears. Where is she? You're alone.
You slowly move, raising your body like a sleepwalker.
Where is the nice girl? You want to see her again.
You walk to the door, and you automatically open it, not even thinking about it.
If you were able to think properly, you would be amazed by your apparent calm behaviour. But the truth is that you're too shocked to react yet. You saw what you turned into, but you can't accept that fact. You briefly pat your face. Even your skull feels different. You remember having a bump here, consequence from a bike accident where you were young. It's not here any more. Your skin is so soft and so smooth, you can't- you can't- you can't-
Stop thinking.

You are in a corridor now. At your left, an infinitely-long corridor, with an infinite number of rooms. At your right, the same thing. If you were still sane, you would be hesitating. But your head is a total chaos now. So you don't. That's a good thing. Maybe.
Walking totally randomly, you're still lost in your thought. Still, there's some progress. At least, now, your logical side is back. And he's active enough to let you know that... it will be difficult to deal with your current situation.
You open another door. That's Reisen's room. You don't know why, nor how, but you know it.
“Mmmm.”
It's the smell. You briefly wonder what shampoo she's using.

Entering in the room, you see that it's empty. There's nobody. You walk to a corner, and you just sit here, waiting. You feel better, just staying here. It's like... that storm in your head is slowly calming down. Very slowly. You should try to focus. Focus on something.
“In 1965, Ranger 8 crashed in the Sea of Tranquillity, after taking over 7,000 pictures of the crater. Those pictures served as proof that the Sea of Tranquillity wasn't really a sea, but rather a crater of basalt. But if we suppose that the Mare Tranquillitatis was full of water, the lack of atmosphere, the loose gravity, the extreme cold and the lunar radiation would likely decomposes the water through the process called photodissociation, making the surface uninhabitable, for any species coming from Earth.”
You're reciting your thesis. That's the only thing able to calm you down. Gideon made fun of you very often for that, but since it works, you don't see why you should change it. Besides, you really need to calm down. You need to calm down, study the situation, and think about what you're going to do.
“For one living on Earth, suddenly living on the Moon without suits is impossible. As mentioned before, water can't stand the lunar atmosphere. The human body contains from 55% to 78% water, depending on body size. Therefore, if the extreme cold, the pressure, or the lack of air don't kill the person, the lunar radiation will decomposes him.”

The door slides, making you jump. You stop babbling, and you look at the newcomer. That's her. Eirin Yagokoro. Carrying the nice bunny girl over her shoulder.
“Oh. Hello again.”
Seeing you sitting in a corner, she greets you in Chinese. Then, with her free hand, she spread a mattress, and gently place the nice girl on it, while you're blankly looking at her. Once her deed is done, she pulls a blanket over her victim, and walks to you.
“Feeling better?”
You don't answer. You can't answer. She was the one who did THAT to you! There's no way you can speak, or even talk to her!
“Still shocked? You'll get better. The question is why you're in this room accurately.”
She means 'precisely'. You misunderstood.
“You're probably attached to Reisen. Be careful with her. Don't break her.”
And with that, she simply goes, leaving you alone with the sleeping girl. You crawl toward her. You don't have anything planned, but you want to be near her. That's all.


It's morning. Sleep was a huge no for you, so you just repeating your thesis. During the whole night. To yourself. Nobody was listening. Nobody was reacting. There was only you, and 'Reisen'. But now, you're feeling good. Pretty good. Good enough to think. Good enough to decide.


[] This is a major trauma. You won't fix anything by staying as you are. You must panic. Do something!
[] Stay calm. There is a way to fix this, right? Right? Ask everyone. Nicely. You are nice. You will stay nice.


================================
I don't like this update, because I'm not using my usual keyboard. And also because writing a blank character is annoying. And also because I'm not using my own computer.

>>24582
And also, there's a typo.
>lunar radiation
It's supposed to be solar radiation. Shame on me.

[x] Stay calm. There is a way to fix this, right? Right? Ask everyone. Nicely. You are nice. You will stay nice.

Panicking never solves anything.

[x] Stay calm. There is a way to fix this, right? Right? Ask everyone. Nicely. You are nice. You will stay nice.

And, of course, if nice doesn't work there's always the alternative of not-so-nice.

[x] This is a major trauma. You won't fix anything by staying as you are. You must panic. Do something!

>>24584
When you're facing a tiger, you have 2 things you can do. The first one is trying to pet the beast, while saying "what a cute little cat!". The second is panicking.

>>24585
Fun fact: while Moriarty is smarter than "Successful Eviction of Xu fu's main character", he's also far more emotive, and will be more aggressive.
Other fun fact: "Successful Eviction of Xu fu's main character" is REALLY nice.
Last fun fact: "Successful Eviction of Xu fu's main character" is kind of boring. If you have a suggestion for a name, let me hear it. Restriction: the name must sounds british.
Thank you.

Name? Here's a few.
>Jack
>Joshua
>William
>Thomas

>Restriction: the name must sounds British.
Not exactly sure what a British name sounds like.

>>24589
I just don't want Anon to suggest me a Japanese name.

>>24590
Ah. Western names then. Gotcha.

How about Richard?

>>24595
Exactly! If I could give you a cookie, I would.
Here, have an Internet cookie!

>>24595
RICHAAAAAAARD!!
That was too easy.

Hooray, glad this is continuing!

[X] Stay calm. There is a way to fix this, right? Right? Ask everyone. Nicely. You are nice. You will stay nice.

There's a few who can fix this, or, if it comes down to it, can danmaku Eirin until she gives us our body back.

So, yeah, let's be nice.

[x] Stay calm. There is a way to fix this, right? Right? Ask everyone. Nicely. You are nice. You will stay nice.

With a weird smile, you slowly poke the nice bunny girl, hoping this will wake her. But that doesn't work. Whatever Eirin did to her, she's not waking up. She can't help you. Not now, at least.

Well... You hoped you could fix this while staying here, but that would be too easy, right? So, yeah, you should, you know, leave this room. You didn't really paid attention yesterday, but there are many people living in this... place? Area? Hospital? Dungeon? No, you have to be fair and square. That's a hospital. Even if what Eirin did was awful, you guess they're still treating people. You can't just call it a dungeon. That wouldn't be fair.
When rising, you can't help but grimace. You're lighter than before, that's a certitude. But you're also way weaker than before, and even getting up is difficult. You just hope you won't have to carry anything too heavy.
Slowly opening the door, you peek in the corridor. Nothing in sight. Wonderful. You slowly leave the room, careful of any noises able to give away your position. And then, you remember that you're not the guilty one running away. Hey, you're the offended person! You can basically ruins the whole hospital and nobody could tell you anything! But you won't. If people are really healed in that hospital, burning it down would make them suffer. So no.
Peeking left and right, you decide that you are... completely lost. You're in the middle of the corridor. Left and right are the same, and wherever you go, you get the feeling it won't differ, and that in the end, you'll end up at the same place.
Wait.
That doesn't make sense. Hold on. First, it's observation, then, experimentation, and finally, modelling. You saw that the corridor was weird. Now, it's time for experimentation. You're going to just pick a direction, and walk until you find a dead end. You're going to walk back, and explore the other direction. This way, you'll prove that this corridor isn't infinite.


That was a stupid idea. It feels like you've been walking for several hours, and yet, the corridor is still the same. Just what's wrong with that?
“Hi?”
“Hi.”
Answering absent-mindedly to the little girl, you keep on thinking. It's impossible to have an infinite corridor. Because it would need an infinite amount of wood, an infinite amount of time, and an infinite amount of workers. And there's no infinite amount of wood near. Well, you did saw a forest earlier, but a forest isn't an infinite amount of wood. You're fairly sure you heard children playing while you were sick in your hospital bed, but children can't build, so they can't be considered as workers.
“Excuse me?”
The little girl asks again. This time, you stop thinking, and you take some time to look at her. Nothing really unusual. She's little, with blond hair, a white little dress, and nothing else. Yes, that's right, nothing else. Not even shoes. Not thinking about that, you still answer.
“Yes? Can I help you?”
Gideon called that a verbal tic. Each time you want to greet someone, instead of saying “welcome”, you say “can I help you?”.
“Ha.. Hu... You look like you're lost.”
You quickly understand that you're intimidating the girl. Kneeling on the floor, in front of her, you try to smile.
“Yes, I am. Can you help?”
It looks like it works, since she's not stammering any more.
“Yes! I mean, I can help!”


The corridor is an riddle. That's how you understand it. According to the girl, following it leads you to the moon. While you're pretty sure that's not literal, you don't really want to walk on 384,400 km to check this out. While the corridor itself is a riddle, it's really easy to get out once you know the way. Like any labyrinth, in fact. All you have to do is going outside.
You draw a mental map of the place. There's a corridor itself. It's an infinite (?) line. Along the corridor, are the rooms. Reisen's room was one of those. Each room is a square, with 2 doors. The first one is leading to the corridor, while the other is leading to the outside. According to the little girl, the corridor itself has no beginning and no end, and going in a room is the only way to leave it.
You don't buy it. There's something fishy about this corridor. Call it “obsession after a trauma”, and that's probably true, but your scholar sense tells you that there's something wrong with that labyrinth.
“I have to work now.”
“All right. Good bye.”
Letting the girl walks away, you can't help but be intrigued. You're in a Japanese place, quite obviously. But you can't speak japanese. You're pretty sure that only Moriarty can, but he was strangely obsessed with that. And yet, that little girl, who was clearly younger than you, was speaking a very crystal clear Chinese.

Looking around, you improve your mental map of the place. The weather apparently calmed down since you arrived, but it's still too cloudy for you to know exactly what time is it. The hospital was built in the middle of a bamboo wood. You don't really understand why, it's like they wanted to hide it. Well, after all, considering what they did to you, it's normal to hide yourself when you... do that to strangers.
The hospital itself is protected by a tall wooden fence, surrounding the whole area. You suspect it's more to avoid intrusions. Or evasions. There's a shiver coming down your spine as you think about it.
Walking around the fence, you understand that there are several buildings. The one you're coming from, that you're calling the hospital, is the bigger around, but there is also another one, in a remote place. You suspect it's the laboratory. No, wait, it can't be the laboratory! Because moving patients from their rooms to this place would be a bother. No, it's something else. And you're going to check this out.
Oh, it's a storehouse. Nothing interesting about it, then. Not for now, at least. You quickly leaves the storehouse, and you keep on walking. On the other side of the hospital, you find a big rice paddy. And it's very populated. You count, maybe, twenty or thirty girls working in the giant field. You guess that's where they get the food.
And with that, that's all for the outside. So you decide to go back inside, and see if you can see someone who doesn't look like a little girl or a silver-haired scientist.

Okay. So apparently, the hospital is bigger than you expected. This time, you took the main door rather than sneaking inside. But the thing that you don't really understand is the fact that, according to your calculations, after walking 5 meters, you should logically be in the corridor. You even counted how many steps. And you're still in the main hall. Main hall who doesn't look like a hospital main hall. You mean, hospital main hall are supposed to be white, clean, and full of sick people coughing their lungs off. But in this case, the main is clean, but not white. In fact, it looks more like... a shelter rather than a hospital. Well, of course the floor is clean, but there's no electricity, no tap water. You shoulda noticed that before, but you were kind of busy.
Wait, wait! You're losing your objective! Objective was to ask everyone is there was a way to fix yourself! Right?
Well, since you're in a hospital, you just have to act normally. So you just walk to the desk, ring a bell, and wait for someone to arrive.

Oh, surprise. It's another little girl. You were expecting lot of kids, but they're all girls? That's strange. But, that would explain why... you're like this. The fact that Eirin changed you because she suspected you of being a pedophile is kind of disturbing. No, no, don't jump to conclusion. You're sure she's got a very good reason for that.
“Kon'nichiwa, ojo!”
Annnnd, here goes your hope. You can't even understand what she's saying. You just shrugs, and you walk past her, leaving the girl confused. She's just another little girl. With just a white dress, and nothing else. You wonder if it's warm. Going without shoes, that must be cold. But if she's working in a rice field, she probably can't wear shoes. They'll get stuck in the mud, or something like that.
Hey, wait! You can't communicate with her, but maybe, if you give her a name, she will help you?
“Hey, you? Hum, can you lead me to Eirin?”
“Hai!”
Wonderful!

“Eirin.”
You speak immediately after entering in the room. Well, room... it's more like a study than a personal room. There's a desk, and several furnitures, holding thousands of vials, keeping God-knows-what.
“Ah, Princess? No, wait, she can't speak Chinese. So it's you.”
“It's me.”
Still working at her desk, the silver-haired woman does not even look at you. She's apparently too busy writing down something.
“I must admit that you recovered faster than I expected.”
“Can I change back?”
“No.”
You briefly waits for an answer, but that's all. She just says “no”, and that's all.
“Ah. And why?”
“Too long explaining.”
You're a very nice person, but you don't like being turned into a fool.
“I'm a hard-working person. I'll understand.”
“Fine.”
She brutally closes her books, with a loud “THUD”. You almost jump, but you remember that you didn't do anything wrong. She's the one who did that thing to you.
“I'm listening.”
“Basically, I can't change you back. What I did what a complete genetic reconstruction, from scratches, to an existing model. Without the model, even I can't do anything. I can still try, but the result will be random.”
“So, basically said, you destroyed my body, and then, you remade it, using an existing person?”
“That's like that, yeah.”
“Haaa...”

[] “Who was the original?
[] “Why would you do that?”
[] “How could you do that?” Practical question.
[] “How could you do that?” Ethical question.
[] “What am I supposed to do now?”

===================================
I'm not really a biologist myself, so I'm not sure if Eirin's operation is possible. As said, before, she didn't just genderswapped him, but she remade him completely, using Kaguya's ADN.
Also, here are a few remarks you may find interesting:
-he was too shocked to remember what happened yesterday, so don't be surprised that he doesn't remember Kaguya.
-yes, some rabbits can speak chinese
-I'll try to upload a map as soon as I can figure how my scanner works, I'm not confident at all in my descriptions skills.

[x] “What am I supposed to do now?”

Just accept your fate, anon.

[X] “How could you do that?” Ethical question.
[X] “Why would you do that?”
[X] Start planning to fix this, even without Eirin's 'help' - there has to be a reason this place hasn't fallen into chaos, right?
Someone out there must keep it in control...

We're not going to accept it, and I find it unbelievable that anyone would even think that in the first place.
You know, I'm wondering if Reimu would be interested in this - maybe a visit from the shrine maiden/incident solver (and turning a regular human into a copy of Kaguya certainly sounds like it could create a headache for her) would make Eirin, spontaneously of course, remember how to change us back (especially if we manage some donations towards Reimu's Shrine) properly.


And, of course, there's always Yukari.

[x] “How could you do that?” Ethical question.
[x] “Why would you do that?”
[x] Start planning to fix this, even without Eirin's 'help' - there has to be a reason this place hasn't fallen into chaos, right?

Looking at it again this seems like a really stupid idea for someone like Eirin to try if only for two glaringly obvious reasons. The MC is not immortal so when the inevitable happens with Mokou attacking and killing him there's going to be questions about the new, obviously not-Kaguya, corpse. And then there's the lack of the knowledge, mannerisms, and abilities that Kaguya has that make her easily distinguishable from a simple twin. For what is, apparently, a one-use body double Eirin has gone out of her way for the troublesome route that begs for outside interference.

[x] “Can you, please, tell me where I can find that princess?” Time to meet the original. If the rabbits are minding their own businesses, it means that they can't help me figuring out Eirin's plan.

I trust Kaguya more than Tewi.

[x] “Can you, please, tell me where I can find that princess?” Time to meet the original. If the rabbits are minding their own businesses, it means that they can't help me figuring out Eirin's plan.

She's already shown a clear distaste for what Eirin's doing so she should be willing to help. Tewi's too likely to try and make sure she profits from it somehow for my tastes.

Ah, why would we want to meet Kaguya, again...?
That means spending time in a building with Eirin.

You know, personally?
I'd say we go with Reisen, when she sells stuff at the village.
Because then we can meet Reimu, and can start "Nice place you've got here, shame if anything were to happen to it" and see how she suddenly remembers how to turn us back.

That's our best option.


So, yeah!
[X] Head out with Reisen as she sells stuff at the village.

>>24674
I frankly have no idea if you actually read the story, or if you're just trying to spoil ddyk's stories for fun.

>>24674
Reisenfag detected.

Okay, seriously, do you really think forcing Reimu to help us is a good idea?

I still think that we should go along with whatever Eirin is planning right now.

We should strike only when we get more information and/or allies.

>>24675
Well, alright then, seems most want to go with talking to Kaguya, to get some help.
I can deal with that, not as bad as some other stuff.
Long as we make very sure Eirin isn't anywhere nearby when we talk to the royalty.
>>24676
To be honest, I mostly just wanted to go to the village so we could have a shot at finding Reimu (I'm not sure where 'forcing' her to do anything came from, though - it's more about bringing something to her attention).

...Although, now that I think about it, it might not be the best idea to just walk around freely, in the nearby area, without having our character talk to Kaguya first, to let him know about the situation (and, more importantly, the dangers nearby) before we head anywhere casually, to get allies.

So, yeah, I'm going to be changing my vote, I guess.

[x] “Can you, please, lead me to your Tewi?” Ruling a bunch of kids must be something. That Tewi must be quite a person. She will probably be able to help me.

I don't know why no one's commented on this before, so I'll do it now!
>“So you don't have any reason, right?”
>“What? Of course I have a good reason! But you don't need to know!”
>“Then you don't have any!”
>“I have!”
>“Don't have!”
>“I have!”
>“You have!”
>“I don't-

>Obeying your command, the little girl tightly hold Reisen, in a very efficient way. The poor >bunny girl can't escape, and in fact, cannot move, due to the fact, that the little girl >basically holds her hands behind her back. Taking a bowl from the tray, I feel more like a >torturer rather than a feeder, but I'll have to roll with this.
>“Okay, Reisen. Feeding time. Say 'AAAAH'.”

These parts got laughs out of me.
Both because of the dialogue and because of the funny mental image.
Thanks for that, ddyk!
Keep it up!

[X] “How could you do that?” Ethical question.
[X] “Why would you do that?”
[X] Start planning to fix this, even without Eirin's 'help' - there has to be a reason this place hasn't fallen into chaos, right? Someone out there must keep it in control...

“But how?”
“Excuse me?”
“How could you do that?”
“The process is too complicated, you wouldn't understand it.”
“No, I mean... how? I mean, I'm human! You can't change me like that!”
“Of course I can. I'm a god. I can do as I want.”
For a while, you don't know what to say. A god? Really? Is she just just disgustingly arrogant?
“T-there are laws against... what you did!”
“I'm not from this planet. I'm above law.”
You think you're slowly understanding that person. You though at first that she was a nice person, but in fact, she's extremely arrogant, and you suspect that she's not completely sane. Seriously, 'not from this planet'? If she was an alien, there's no doubt that she wouldn't look like a normal human.
But, think about this carefully. Does she look like a normal human? Silver-haired, really tall, and not a single wrinkle. You wonder if... but you'll think about that later.
“Fine. Let's say that you can do what you want. Can you say me why you did that?”
“No.”
She said with a large and childish smile. Immediately, I remember Gideon's lessons about dealing with kids, and I retort.
“So you don't have any reason, right?”
“What? Of course I have a good reason! But you don't need to know!”
“Then you don't have any!”
“I have!”
“Don't have!”
“I have!”
“You have!”
“I don't- ooh, you clever girl.”
You allow yourself a smile. You never though it could work, such a petty trick. Gideon told you to use that on kids. You never though it would work on that woman too.
“So, what's the reason?”
With a brief smile, she finally answers.
“Political. You're not the Princess, and you won't fool anyone. However, you look like her, and that's all I need.”
“I don't get it. You needed someone, looking like your princess?”
“Yes. Complicated. Not going to explain. Now, you can leave.”
“Leave? But, where am I going to go?”
“I mean, leave this room.”
You don't have any answer, but you won't get anything else from that woman. She acts childish, but under that mask, you can feel pure arrogance. Eirin is probably even more arrogant than Moriarty, and that's something.
“Okay. I'll see if I can help around.”
“Please do.”
You're pretty sure that's her polite way to say 'I don't care as long as you don't create explosions'.

Quietly leaving the room, you don't know what to do. A part of you wants to freak out, while the other just want to settle down and help. Freaking out would probably help with your mental state, since each time you try to understand the situation, you panic. But freaking out now would be ridiculous, so you're just going to keep yourself busy, until you're definitely calm enough to think about all this. Might take a few days. Maybe more, as you notice that even your hands changed. Hey, your whole body changed! That's not something you can overcome in a few days. Especially since nobody asked for your opinion before doing this.
“Forgive me.”
Hey, it's that blonde little girl from earlier! The one who speaks Chinese for no reason!
“Hey, no, wait!”
Despite the fact that she's busy carrying a food tray, the girl nicely stops. I immediately take the tray from her arms. I mean, I have no reasons to let a young girl carrying such a thing by herself.
“N-no! You can't do that!”
“Why not?”
“You're a guest!”
On tiptoe, the girl tries to reach the tray from your hands, but you're far taller than her. Therefore, all she can do is looking adorable, trying to take that from you.
“I would feel bad letting you carrying this. Allow me to help.” Still holding the tray, you begin to walk away, when you notice something important. You stop. “Where are you going with this anyway?”


Reisen's room. Of course. For some reason, she cannot move, so the rabbits are bringing her food. That's nice. Reminds you that time when Gideon was sick. He spent the week closed in the bathroom, making horrible fart noises. And some other noises. The kind of noises that makes you feel sick just by hearing them. During the whole week, Gideon and you ate only rice. You don't really know how it works, but Moriarty told you that in case of diarrhoea, you were supposed to eat rice. Well, that's beside the point right now.
“Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” You automatically says, before correcting yourself. Eirin told you that you were looking exactly like 'her'. She also mentioned a princess. So, in short, that little girl has a look-exactly-Princess to do her work. Explains why she was so nervous about this. You're too nice to be planning a revenge against Eirin, even after this, but nothing stops you from being involved in the house chores. And if you look like that Princess, it will make things difficult for Eirin. Gideon called that a “passive-agressive scary thingy”. You call that “polite revenge”.
You put the tray on the floor, next to Reisen's mattress, and you call for the girl before she leaves.
“Hold on. Would you mind staying here?”
“Ahh... Okay.”
What was that hesitation? Bah, probably nothing.
“Okay. Reisen, can you stand? Ah, right, you don't speak Chinese. Nor English. I should resume learning Japanese, it would really help here.”
Fortunately, the girl understand your intention, and, walking to the other side of the mattress, pulls Reisen's shoulder, to help the bunny girl.
Awakening from a deep coma sleep, the bunny girl blinks a few time, sees you, blinks a few more, and greets you in the most wonderful way.
“Uh?”
“Hold her tight, girl.”
“Okay.”
Obeying your command, the little girl tightly hold Reisen, in a very efficient way. The poor bunny girl can't escape, and in fact, cannot move, due to the fact, that the little girl basically holds her hands behind her back. Taking a bowl from the tray, you feel more like a torturer rather than a feeder, but you'll have to roll with this.
“Okay, Reisen. Feeding time. Say 'AAAAH'.”


Having finished the task of feeding a half-stunned Reisen, you ask the girl to release her, and you pull the blanket over the sleeping bunny girl. You have no idea what Eirin did to her, but she was really groggy, and it'll take a while before she's up again.
“Say, girl.”
“Yeah?”
“Who's in charge of this place?”
“I... don't understand.”
Having pulled the blanket over Reisen, you leave the room, gesturing the little girl to follow you.
“There's a person here, probably making sure that this place isn't falling into total chaos. Who is it?”
“I'm... not sure I understand, but Mother Tewi is the one giving us orders.”
“Tewi? Nobody else?”
“Well, perhaps the Princess? We rabbits are mostly thinking about our own business.”
Rabbits? That girl is a rabbit too? So those white things that you though were decorations are actually real ears?
You pinch your nose. You still don't know if it's a dream or not, but you know that you need counselling. Like, really soon.


[] “Can you, please, lead me to your Tewi?” Ruling a bunch of kids must be something. That Tewi must be quite a person. She will probably be able to help you.
[] “Can you, please, tell me where I can find that princess?” Time to meet the original. If the rabbits are minding their own businesses, it means that they can't help you figuring out Eirin's plan.

======================
Same update, but without the narration switch.
Important: the picture DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING! I was just out of Eirin pictures, having used the few I had in FAG.

[x] “Can you, please, lead me to your Tewi?” Ruling a bunch of kids must be something. That Tewi must be quite a person. She will probably be able to help you.

>“Of course I can. I'm a god. I can do as I want.”
Fuck you, Eirin.

[x] “Can you, please, lead me to your Tewi?” Ruling a bunch of kids must be something. That Tewi must be quite a person. She will probably be able to help you.

Just because meta-knowledge should never factor into a decision.

Personally, I don't really like telling about my life in a story thread (not the subject, who cares, etc...), but I think that, while I don't owe you the story (writing for myself, etc...), I still owe you some explanation, especially about why I haven't updated in a while.

To be short, it's family matter.
To be long, my cousin fell from the third floor (or fourth if you count from an american perspective, not too sure how that works), and there's a huge probability he might die and/or be crippled for life.

Now, I try to separate my stories and my personal life, but I consider myself as unstable, I'm afraid that I may slightly change the story. And I tried to write this story as light-hearted as possible (not sure if correct), and I don't really want to write something grimdark, and screw everything again, and...

Sorry, I'm losing my point here. But to be short, I'm not really in the mood for writing, and I'm afraid that if I force myself into writing, it may turns out bad.
So, in the meanwhile, I think I'm going to stop writing for a while, or just write shorts stories.


TL;DR: Writefag pussied out and doesn't want to ruin everything. Story on indefinite hold until further notice (aka "until I feel like continuing").

[x] “Can you, please, lead me to your Tewi?” Ruling a bunch of kids must be something. That Tewi must be quite a person. She will probably be able to help you.

>>24733
Fair enough. Good luck.

[x] “Can you, please, lead me to your Tewi?” Ruling a bunch of kids must be something. That Tewi must be quite a person. She will probably be able to help you.

For some reason, the idea of meeting the 'original' worries you a little. Besides, you're looking for the leader here. Even if the rabbits are thinking about their own businesses, like the girl said.
Hold on, did she said 'rabbits'? You think she did.
You pinch your nose harder. Stay calm, Richard. You can make it. You can find a way out. There's always an exit. You open your eyes again. Rabbits, right. Explain why she's got those white things on her head. You though she tied a handkerchief on her hair to protect it, but no.
You smile. Not in a pleasant way. It's more like a 'oh-god-I'm-going-to-snap-soon' kind of smile. Stay calm. Stay focused.
“Ooookay... Can you, if you're free, lead me to that Tewi person?”
“I sure can. You helped me with my chores, so I can help!”
Happily bouncing around like a rabbit, the girl supposed-rabbit urges you to follow her.
That's a totally new experience for you. Following a rabbit looking like a little girl, to meet the leader of a bunch of kids, hoping to find a way to turn yourself back to normal... That's new alright.

“She's here! That's Mother Tewi!”
What, the little girl in a white dress? The one standing in the middle of a crowd? Little girls crowd, on top of that?
Bah. That's probably about camouflage or something like that. In order to avoid doing chores, or...
“Wait a minute?”
“Yes, Princess?”
“Can I talk to her?”
The girl looks unsure for a while.
“I... am not sure I understand your question.”
“We're speaking Chinese. Can she speaks Chinese?”
“Of course she can!”
“Oh. All right then.”
I walk to the Tewi, and I briefly introduce myself.
“Greetings. I am-”
“I know who you are, Princess.”
Tewi interrupts you rudely, with a smirk splattered all over her face. That's the typical 'there-is-a-mischief-waiting-to-be-done” kid's smile. That girl is leading a bunch of kids, and she detected that there's a mischief to do. You almost recoil instinctively.
“I... I think there's a misunderstanding, because, you see, I'm not the Princess.”
Not listening to you, Tewi gives a few order, the crowd quickly disband, leaving the three of you alone.
“I know, but you look like you're funny to tease. So, what can I do for you, your Divine Majesty?”
You blush instantly.
“Ha... Please don't call me like that...”
Tewi's mischievous smile turns into a sadist smile.
“That aside, what can I help you with, your Divine Lady?”
“Lady... Urgh...” You raise your hands, and slowly and softly pat your cheeks. Yup. Those are girly cheeks. “I wanted to know if there was any way to undo that.”
“Undo what, your... ummm... More Than Divine Queen?”
“I'm a girl! How do I fixed this?”
You unintentionally made a mistake. Let's say your tongue slipped, or something like that.
“Well, honestly, your Highness, I doubt that anyone else but the Master can fix that.”
“The Master?”
“The doctor Yagokoro. I don't know why, but Reisen calls her the Master.”
That's illogical. And a little kinky too. Maybe you should ask Reisen, or... no, that's probably too personal.
“Nobody else?”
“Look around you Princess. Most of those kids don't even know what's the difference between a boy and a girl.”
You blush again. That girl is kind of... logical. Really logical.
“Hmm... Nothing else?”
“Inside the Eientei? Nope.”
Aaaah, maybe there's still a hope for you! She said 'inside', so that means you can find some help OUTSIDE!
“And outside? Anything?”
“Raise your eyes, Princess. See the sky?”
“Gray. What about it?”
“First, this mansion is located in a remote area, in the middle of a bamboo labyrinth. Second, there's storm coming. Even if you can find the way out, you'll die from cold before being able to find any help.”
“Ah...”
She's REALLY logical. Able to see the flaw in any plan. She's probably the sarcastic kind of girl. The one saying in a casual tone: 'Oh, so your plan is to risk your life by jumping over a huge hole? Good luck!'
“However, Princess, once the storm is over, I MIGHT help you by asking one of my girls to lead you.”
You may be nice, but you're not stupid. Well, not stupid any more.
“What will you gain from it?”
Her smile goes wider. She's looking like a shark, that's scary. A shark in a white dress.
“Distraction. While everyone will go after you, I'll be able to do what I want.”
“Thank you. But you're probably right, that weather will kill me. Especially with that weak body.”
You don't need to be a biologist to understand how fat is important to protect one against the cold. And it's not like you can put newspaper inside your clothes to protect yourself against the cold either.

So, long story short, you're stuck here. And you look like a girl. You'll really need to find a remote place to snap and scream and freak, but not now. Now, you have something to do. Probably.
…
FIND SOMETHING TO DO! You can't loiter around like a homeless person, or like a fanfiction writer! You have to do something!

[] See if you can help around the house. You can't stay inactive when people are working.
[] Try to find a library. See if you can find a book that you can peacefully read.
[] Paper. Now. There's a girl leading other girls. That's like the Lord of the Flies, but with girls. Study that! There's research to be done.
[] Time to meet the original, the one they call the Princess.
[] Write-in.

===============================

I'm seriously wondering if Reisen is cursed or something like that.
Also, as you can notice, I'm a little out of inspiration. I hope I'll be able to fix that.
Anyway, you're in a mansion, isolated by a storm, with a crazy Master who genderswapped you, your only ally is an alien and is in a coma. What can possibly go wrong?

[x] Paper. Now. There's a girl leading other girls. That's like the Lord of the Flies, but with girls. Study that! There's research to be done.

May want to keep our mind off things until we're more used to it.

[x] Time to meet the original, the one they call the Princess.

[] Time to meet the original, the one they call the Princess.

Okay, we've had enough time to go from genderswapped and horribly traumatized to merely genderswapped and notably unhappy. Let's start working on coming to terms with this, instead of just trying to distract ourselves.

[X] Time to meet the original, the one they call the Princess.

This still seems our best option.

>>24764
It's not been that long, man.
Either way, revenge on Eirin should still be very high on our list of priorities.

[x] Time to meet the original, the one they call the Princess.

The paper option is kind of interesting too, though.

Question: Just how thoroughly genderswapped is Richard? Is he an exact copy of Kaguya, even down to the naughty bits?

[x] Time to meet the original, the one they call the Princess.

Truth to be told, you're afraid of your own decision, but... it's time to see the original. According to Eirin's ramblings, that 'Princess' looks exactly like you. Well, no, YOU look exactly like her.
Well, it's not like you really took the time to observe her with attention. First time you saw her, it was a dream. Second time, you were singing. Not really the best introduction ever.

You want to pee. Bah, just go in go in a corner, and... Oh no. No. No. You start to chuckle. That's impossible, right? You pass your hand on your face. Sweaty. Hot. Your face is hot. Probably because you're barely holding your laugh.
How could you forget about that part? You weren't exactly a doctor, but you know the differences between a guy and a girl, right? So, why did you forget THAT?
“Pfff. That's funny.”
You try to reason. Stay calm. That's just something you can shrug off, right? You mean, you have SO MANY things to do, you don't have time to flip out and stuff and panic and whatever you have to be calm and not freak.
“Gn.”
You clench your teeth and cross your fingers. Breath deeply. Relax. Don't think about it. Just close your eyes, and everything will be back to normal.

You blink. Nothing changes. Your smile grow wider. That's not a nice smile. That's not a Gideon-like smile. That's a Moriarty-like smile. A Cheshire smile.
No, no. Don't lose your focus. Stay on tracks. Stay calm. You wanted to do something, right? Do it. Don't think about... the rest.
“Excuse me, girl?”
“Are you all right?”
“Fine thanks. Where can I find that person? The Princess, I mean?”


There you are. Waiting. Trying to calm yourself. You mean, everything's going be just fine, right? What can you possibly be worried about? It's not like she can controls your moves like you are a voodoo doll. Yyyyeah, obviously NOT the case. But you're still scared about that anyway. Damn your imagination!
You knock to the door. The blond girl who showed you the way disappears, saying something about 'duties'. Trying to not completely panic and run away, you gently open the door, and enter in the Princess' room. And there she is, sitting on a cushion, gently playing with a shamisen. For a while, you want to quit everything and just sit to listen to her playing, but as soon as she sees you, she stops playing, and slowly puts the instrument on the table. Then, slowly, gently, she gets up, and walks to you, smiling happily.

Of course, being the “cute clumsy guy”, like Gideon used to say, you forgot one important thing. The fact that the Princess doesn't speak any other language than Japanese. And you don't speak Japanese. You mean, you know some symbols, because they look like Chinese symbols, but that's all.
So here you are, trying to write a few question to the original, in some awful and horrible Chinanese. Well, you try at least. Because, of course, the Princess doesn't have any ballpoint pen, so you're forced to use a brush! And, OF COURSE, the clothes she gave you has long sleeves. Like, REALLY long sleeves. And you're just noticing, then the Princess pokes you in the shoulder with her fan, and points at your left arm, soaking with ink. And then, you have the MOST retarded reflex. You try to hide your face with your hand, conveniently forgetting that you're still holding a brush.
The feeling of a cold liquid dripping all over your face reminds you that the ink doesn't stick. It drips. You sigh really loudly. This is going to be difficult explaining your situation to the laughing princess.


“What happened to me?” is more or less what you wrote on the paper. Of course, any sensible person would laugh at your pathetic grammar, and your strange Chinanese. But the Princess doesn't.
You have to recognize it, she indirectly ruined your life by being in your dream, and you look EXACTLY like her, but at least she's nice.
Like Reisen, too. And Tewi, too. She's nice. In her own way. BUT NOT EIRIN! Eirin isn't nice! She's mean! She's a meanie... fatty... your lack of insulting vocabulary is frustrating.
“I do not know” is the Princess' answer. Mimicking your limited Chinanese, she manages to write an understandable answer.
“What do I do?” That question contains everything.
“Obey Eirin.” You manage to read Eirin's surname, despite the fact it's written in some old symbol. Maybe there's still hope for you.
“Nothing other?” You wanted to write “nothing else”, but you don't have enough vocabulary.
“She has something on plan.” You're probably supposed to read “something planned”.
After that, you quickly go frustrated with the difficulty to interact with the Princess, and you give up on discussing with her. But she doesn't take that as an answer, and she decides to play dolls with you.
Your manliness will never recover from that. It's better for you to forget everything, and to pretend that nothing happened. Even that part when she stripped you and forced you into wearing a nightgown. Yeah, forget it.

Half-crying, you enter in Reisen's room. Mainly because you don't want to leave her alone for too long, and also because you don't remember where your own room is. And the only rabbit speaking Chinese is nowhere to be seen.
You briefly check Reisen's state. Still in a deep coma, she doesn't react to your presence.
You sigh. It's true that you can't really communicate with her, but she's still the one showing you the most compassion in this place. You think the original considers you as a toy, while the rabbits are considering you as … something just passing by. And Eirin is the one who did you that. So you can't count on her compassion. Unless she was forced into doing.. this. And you don't really believe that.
You mean, SERIOUSLY? It's not just making experiment on people! She STOLE you! Well, she stole your very identity! You can't recognize yourself in the mirror! And it's not like you're just scarred, you can't go and say “it's still me, with a scar”. No. You're someone else! You're something different! And you said “thing”, but not in a good way. You said “thing” as in “disgusting and strange thing”. Because that's what you are. Disgusting and strange.
Just think about it! You can't even piss straight now! You have to sit! That's just awful and inhuman!

You sigh again. Things are really, really complicated. You don't know what to think, and you don't even know what to do. Eirin has probably something in mind for you, and given what she already did to you, that's not something you're going to like. In the best situation, you would just give up on everything and run away, but Gideon explained you many time that it was stupid and immature to flee. That's it! You're going to stand and fight! You don't know how, but you're going to fight!


You walk. Toward Eirin's laboratory. Then, you brutally reach the door, point at Eirin, and VIGOROUSLY insult her!
“Eirin!”
“Yeah?”
“You are... mean! And fat! And mean!”
“... what.”
Once again, your poor vocabulary doesn't help you. You're not really a good insulter in English, but you're an awful insulter in Chinese.
“That's all I could come up with!”
“That's a little short, young girl. You could have said, oh, so many things.”
“Like what?”
“Sadist, dominatrix, lesbian, moron... Those kind of things.”
“I can't call someone a sadist! They might want to prove me I'm right.”
There's a soft sound when Eirin drops her pen on the ground, obviously irritated.
“Listen, girl, I'm really busy here. If you want to fool around, go play with some rabbits.”
“But... I have to...”
She turns to face you. Doing so, she sees your inked face. And she falls on the ground, laughing. Blushing in embarrassment, you quickly leave.


[] Go find a library or something like that. You're a scholar, and you want to stay that way.
[] Go take care of Reisen.
-[] Bring a book from the library to read it aloud.
[] Write-in.

===========================

That story is frustrating, because I know WHERE I'm going (Eirin's political manipulation, and that stuff), but I have no idea HOW to get there, and I don't want to (what's the word?) makes things going too fast.
That's really frustrating.

[x] Go take care of Reisen.
-[x] Bring a book from the library to read it aloud.

Nobody except her is being nice. Perhaps being around her will calm your nerves.

I want him to study, but this vote is too cute to ignore

[x] Go take care of Reisen.
-[x] Bring a book from the library to read it aloud.

[] Go find a library or something like that. You're a scholar, and you want to stay that way.
-[]See if you can find something that would prove useful for learning Japanese.

Good luck getting any mileage from reading aloud when Reisen wouldn't be able to understand what the hell you're saying. (Also, fie on this old version of IE for sometimes failing to display when my namebox has text in it.)

Well to hell with you too, Eirin.
I'll just pick something that won't be likely to involve you.

[x] Go take care of Reisen.
-[x] Bring a book from the library to read it aloud.

[x] Go find a library or something like that. You're a scholar, and you want to stay that way.
-[x]See if you can find something that would prove useful for learning Japanese.

[x] Go take care of Reisen.
-[x] Bring a book from the library to read it aloud.


Everyone hates you. They're all laughing when you pass, it's embarrassing. It's time to retreat. Going in your room or something like that. Or maybe washing your face. There are just too many things happening at once! You can't think! You need some time for yourself!

You need a book. Any book will do. Even a book about tomatoes will do! Anything is fine, as long as it keeps you busy. Your mind was already constant mess with Gideon's teasing, that whole situation is making it worse.
“I need holiday.”
But you can't. You still have your... OH FUCK! YOUR HOMEWORK! The teacher won't buy the “I-was-turned-into-a-woman-after-waking-up-in-the-middle-of-nowhere” excuse.
“Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck FUCK!”
Rubbing your temple, you try to think. What can you possibly say to your teacher? What? “My clock didn't worked”? Stupid! Idiot!
HOW ARE YOU EVEN GOING TO CONTACT HIM TO BEGIN WITH? That's hopeless! That's hopeless! You're doomed. You won't be able to do your homework in time, and that asshole will send you back to kindergarten!

Wait a minute! You're in the middle of nowhere, right? RIGHT? Therefore, he can't find you, RIGHT?
“Ooof... Had me scared for a while.”
You almost want to sing. You feel so happy and so light right now, you could almost fly, should you be shaking your arms.
“Damn fucking close.”
That being said, and a huge danger avoided, it's time to take it easy. Go find a book, and relax. Hey, no, wait! Even better, find a book, and go read it to Reisen! It's probably good for her to have someone near. Just in case she needs help.



You slowly and cautiously open the door. Then, you peek. Nobody. Good.
You carefully enters in the room, careful not to make any noise. Somewhere, your logical mind is thinking that you are stupid for sneaking into the Doctor's private library, but since it's THE ONLY library having Chinese and English books, you don't have any choice. It's either that, either being forced to read more Japanese books. And, let's be frank, you think you're hating kanjis more and more. Or are they furiganas? You never know. Maybe you're too old to learn another language? You heard somewhere that you're supposed to learn other languages while being young. As you grow older, it's harder.
You can't help by be amazed by your uncanny ability to think about old and unrelated crap while trying to sneak in a mad doctor's private room. You should write a book about that. You'll call it 'the art of being unfocused on everything'. But for now, you just try to focus on your current task. Current task being: 'find an interesting book'.
That one will do. You're not in the mood for a long reading, and you don't want to be caught trespassing in Eirin's room. Mainly because you're afraid of what she would do, but also because, despite everything, she still saved your life. Without her, you would probably be dead.
AAAAAAAARGH! Just... stop thinking, okay? Stop thinking until you're safe!


“That's weird. The book is part Chinese, part Japanese.”
You're kinda disappointed. You wanted to take it easy, by reading a book written in a language you already know, but it looks like you took the wrong one.
“Bah. Let's read it.”
You briefly turn your head toward Reisen. Still sleeping like a baby. You don't know if you're reading for her or for you, but you don't want to leave her alone.
“Chapter one. Girl on girl, roleplay”
You're half-speaking, half-whispering. You want to read it aloud, but you don't want to wake up Reisen either.
“...”
Hold on, is that a diary? You close the book, and flip it to inspect its cover.
“The best lesbians stories.”
Holy crap.
HOLY CRAP.
…
You should read it.
You know, just in case it's actually what you think it is.
Or maybe just to make sure it's really what it says on the cover. You heard many times of romance stories being called lesbians, even through there was almost no sex in the story.
Maybe, you can't really get excited about girls, right? Because you're... a girl.
“Fuck.”



“I keep wondering why Eirin keeps that book in her room.”
By this point, you stopped reading aloud. However, you're still commenting.
“Hooray, another IKEA-like description. It's like the author doesn't have any idea about what's happening. Listen to that, Reisen: 'her fingers went to work, as if her opening flower was a piano keyboard, on which she was carefully playing. It was really a good idea to cut her nails.' Seriously, does that guy actually read what he wrote? First, there's a long complicated sentence comparing a piano to a girl's … private part, and then it suddenly cuts to a totally unclimax-like though about how you can't … stimulate yourself if you have long nails!”
Completely blushing, you keep on reading. That book is so bad, abandoning it would be like admitting your defeat! Like your dad always said: 'never give up!' You're going to finish that book, no matter how awful it is!
“I seriously wonder who wrote this book. It's just completely lame! I'm pretty sure I can find better stuff on the Internet!”
You're still loudly complaining about how awful the book is, but you're conscious that it's just an act to cover the fact that, willing or not, you're still reading a pornographic book. Stolen from the doctor's private room.


“Reisen!”
Jumping, you quickly hide The Book under Reisen's futon-thingy, before getting up.
“Yes?”
“Ah, you're up.” The door opens, revealing Eirin. “Oh, my bad. I though I called Reisen. Since when is your name Reisen?”
“Ah... Uh... In fact...” THINK THINK TINHK TINKH INTKH. “I was... in dream! Yeah! In dream!”
“Are you feeling all right? You're blushing.”
“It's a little hot here!”
“And you're breathing a little too fast.”
“I was... doing push-ups!”
“In the same room than Reisen?”
She stares at you. Right in your eyes.
“Yeah! I mean, I didn't wanted to leave her alone, because, yeah, she's nice and stuff, so, uh, I though that maybe I could, like, keep my eye on her while, um, working myself!”
“Right...”
“Yeah! But anyway, since you're here, then she's not alone, so, hu, I can go around and walk and do some stuff!”
“All right then.”
Taking the occasion, you quickly move for the door. Only to be stopped by Eirin grabbing your collar as you walk by.
“But before you go, give me your name.”
“My name? Why are you interested?”
“Because I hate ignoring things.”
“The name's Richard Cromwell. I usually don't say it, because there's always someone to say, like, 'HAHAHA ur cromwell ur republican lol r u gay folk's friend' and that's really annoying and stuff!”
“Okay, you can go.”
With a light swat on the back, she quickly makes you leave. You don't ask for more, and you quickly walk away, trying your best to calm down.


As you arrive in the garden, you're calmed again. Your body temperature is back to the normal, while your heart is quiet again. Let's thank the rain for that. Damn doctor! Arriving as you were about to finish the- FUCK! The book! You forgot the book!
“FUCK!”
What are you going to do? What are you going to do?What are you going to do? Is there ANYTHING you can do? Like, you don't know, walking back in the room, and taking the book without Eirin noticing? Impossible, she'll be curious, and she'll ask if she can see it.
…
Then you have a very little small doubt.
A very, little, small, petty, and silly doubt.
But a doubt.
You found that book in Eirin's book. And that book was about lesbians.
Now, question. Eirin is a woman (well, at least you hope so), and Reisen is a woman too (well, apparently she's a bunny girl, but she still looks like a girl).
What's Eirin doing exactly to Reisen right now?
Is there a chance that, maybe, probably, possibly, there might be a slight possibility of them doing “push-ups”?

You feel like your face is on fire again. You better find something to do quickly, before exploding.
[] Storehouse! EXPLORE!
[] It's not your face! Everything is hotter now! INVESTIGATE!
[] Lie down on the terrace, while listening to the rain crashing on the roof. RELAX!


=============================
Do you want to meet the red bird of flame-iness?

[x] It's not your face! Everything is hotter now! INVESTIGATE!
Sports for indoor types?

[x] Lie down on the terrace, while listening to the rain crashing on the roof. RELAX!
--[x]If the heat doesn't die down, try sticking your head out in the rain for a bit.

[] Lie down on the terrace, while listening to the rain crashing on the roof. RELAX!

[x] It's not your face! Everything is hotter now! INVESTIGATE!
Why yes, I do want to meet the red bird of flaminess.

>>24903
That one figured out the truth.

[x] It's not your face! Everything is hotter now! INVESTIGATE!


and in before someone votes for the relax option to keep this stalemate on.

[x] It's not your face! Everything is hotter now! INVESTIGATE!

Why is everything so hot? There ain't no heat wave or anything! Hell, it's raining right now! So why are you so hot? Are you feeling hot for some stupid reason? Is it that book that you read earlier?
…
Or maybe it's the world around you. Maybe there's something getting things hotter? Maybe it's some kind of weird technology! Or maybe you're just close to the boiler.

That's probably that, yeah. Probably.
“Heeeeyyyyy!”
You jump, startled by the sudden shout. Looking around, you don't see anybody. The rabbits are nowhere to be seen. They probably ran for cover inside the building.
In other words, you're all alone here. And yet, you heard that voice. Are you turning crazy? Well, considering you're a girl right now, you wouldn't be surprised to learn that everything is a hallucination, and that you're in fact quietly lying in a padded room, in a nice straitjacket.
“Heeeyyyyy!”
You raise your eyes, finally understanding where that voice comes from. There's someone on the roof, simply... Not on the roof. She's flying. That girl calling you is flying.
“Okaayyyy...”
You automatically try to make sense of what you see. Bunny girls, you can still shrug it off by pretending it's cosplay. But a girl flying in the middle of a storm? That's hard to ignore.

That girl floating over the ground, hands in her pockets, doesn't really care for your psychological distress about her current situation. She's speaking in Japanese, so you can't really understand, but, from her tone, it sounds like she's taunting you.
And that's when you recognize her. She's the girl you saw before passing out. White hair, red pants, and a semi-translucent shirt.
You briefly wonder why she's flying, but mostly why she's flying in the middle of the storm. But where are your manners?
Waving at her, you try to invite her on the terrace, under the roof.
“Hey, don't stay in the rain, you fool! You'll catch a cold!”
She simply blinks at you, not answering. Right, you were speaking English. Mmm, in Chinese...
“Come under the roof!”
She blinks again, totally unamused, and speaks again in a provoking tone. Then, she flies away, landing in top of a bamboo tree, still shouting taunts. At this point, you stopped caring about flying girls and stuff like that. You're too busy staring at her to think about all that crap.
“Bollocks.”
You walk back inside the building.


The word 'storm' isn't an understatement. Even with the clothes nicely provided by the Princess, it's like the cold rain is hitting directly your bones. You can't feel your hands any more, and you lack pockets to warm them while walking.
You have no idea who that girl is, but there's no way you'll let someone outside while it's raining like that. Not if you can help, anyway. Well, inviting her in Eirin's hospital is probably overstepping your guest rights, but you were turned into a girl by that wicked doctor, so fuck politeness.
“Ha ha ha ha ha ha!”
You raise your eyes again. The white-haired girl is right here, half-floating, half-sitting on a bamboo tree. You decide to try Chinese again.
“Hey, follow me! Don't stand here!”
She tilts her head, and you can distinctly see her amused face as she speaks again in that scorning voice.

It's during her speech that it happens. There's a flash as you're threw on the ground, unable to see as the flash temporary burned your eyes. You're also screaming in pain, but you're barely aware of that.
It's only after a few minutes that the pain finally disappears, allowing you to understand what happened. It was a lightning. So close that it burned your eyes, and popped your ears. Luckily, those wounds aren't permanent, as you're now able to hear again the rain falling around you. You also become aware that you're lying on your back, in a cold puddle. So cold.
You quickly get up, and you try to locate the white-haired girl. If your calculations are correct, then she was directly under the lightning. And you find her.
“Oh my goodness.”
She's a mess. Quickly jumping to her side, you make sure she's alive and breathing.
“Not breathing... But her heart is still beating!”
If you were more educated in biology instead of being versed in sociology and astronomy, you would be noticing her lack of burns, and the relative mild injuries. But you're not, and so you're quickly panicking over the action to take.
“Not breathing, not breathing, what should I do? What should I do?”
You look around, hoping for someone to arrive and help, but there's nobody. Nobody but you and the unconscious girl. You look at her again. Her head is bleeding a lot, probably because of the fall. You try to wipe her face clean with your sleeve, but the rain is making that task difficult.

What should you do? Should you try to move her to the hospital? But what if she has broken limbs or something like that? Or maybe you're supposed to help her breath through artificial respiration? But what if her arms are broken? No, wait, you're not supposed to move her arms if she's not drowned! You just have to place them on her chest. But that's moving them anyway! And her face is still bloody, despite your constant and frantic wiping! If you really have to ventilate her through mouth to mouth, you'd rather kiss a clean mouth rather than a bloody mouth, but this is an emergency, you can't be picky!

[] Carry her to the Eientei before the rain get the best of you.
[] No time to lose! Artificial respiration!

=======================

Think before voting. That's all I can say.

[x] Carry her to the Eientei before the rain get the best of you.

[X] Carry her to the Eientei before the rain get the best of you.

Seems less awkward than mouth to mouth right there in the rain

[x] Carry her to the Eientei before the rain get the best of you.

The wise choice.

[x] Carry her to the Eientei before the rain get the best of you.


That rain is pissing you off. What kind of moron decided it would be a good idea to create falling water, and then, make the water COLD? It's like a chinese torture device!
Anyway, you can't really spend your time here. The rain will get the best of you, and you don't really want another unnecessary operation from Eirin's hands. Last time, you were supposed to lose only a few toes, and you ended up turning into a Princess. You don't really want to know what you're going to turn into if you're lost in the rain one more time.
Putting your hands under the unconscious girl, you grab her lifeless body, and lift it with difficulty. It's not that the girl is heavy, but your body is way weaker than before. You couldn't really understand Eirin's explanation, but you suppose there's a pretty good reason for your strength to vanish like it did.
Not like you were really the muscular type anyway.


Your arrival to the hospital is glorious. Under the rain, holding your defeated enemy...
Well, it would certainly be more glorious if you had shoes. Or if you were used to your clothes. Because, yeah, a girl with long hair looks awesome under the rain. But a girl wearing a muddy dress, with her hair looking like some kind of black veil hiding her face, holding another burned girl isn't awesome. It's ridiculous.
“I think I'm going to hate this.”
You're a nice guy. That's what everyone told you. Moriarty, Gideon, even your PE teacher, when he tried to teach you kick boxing. But sometimes, a man has to show what he's made of, and prove to the whole world that he's not to be messed with! Sometimes, a guy has to...
Ha, right. Let's say, a girl then. Sometimes, a girl has to show what she's made of, and... No, that doesn't work. That's not the same thing. Don't do it. Forget it. Let's say it never happened. You never tried to think that. Never.

You open the main door, leaving muddy footprints behind you as you walk toward Eirin's office, still carrying the white-haired girl. Unfortunately, due to your wet hair covering your head like some kind of helmet, you fail to notice the fact that you're constantly banging the girl's head against the walls as you walk. And also the fact that she's moaning in pain each time you bump her head against the wood.

“Eirin! Urgency!”
“Umm? Oh, it's you- hold on.”
You don't really like Eirin, considering that she turned you, an average student, into a model of feminine beauty, but seeing her surprised is enough to consider yourself paid back.
“I found her in the wood, after a lightning made its way through her!”
You should've turned that differently, it sounds weird.
“And you brought her here?”
“Yeah! It's a hospital, so...”
“That's... really nice from you, but about your clothes?”
“There's a girl here who just tried to play 'catch me if you can' with a lightning, and you're worried about clothes?”
“She'll get better. Put her in the floor.”
You gently put the unconscious girl on the ground, but you don't notice that you unintentionally bang her head against the floor, causing her to moan in pain again. But this time, you heard it.
“Eirin, you said something?”
“Don't mind that. Look, she's getting better.”
Shoving the hair to gain a clear view, you notice that, indeed, the white-haired girl is getting better. You're not sure how that works, unless she managed to rescue herself while you weren't looking. But, again, but your hair everywhere, you couldn't see a damn thing.
“Eirin, can I cut my hair?”
“Denied.”
“Darn.”
And this is when the white-haired girl opens her eyes.


“I'm sorry!”
You try to apologize, but the girl is still on her knee, looking at you as if you were some kind of dead meat.
You didn't mean it! But when that girl grabbed your neck, it kind of startled you, so you, um, kind of, kicked her in the groin.
You look at Eirin, expecting some kind of help. But the crazy doctor is collapsed on her desk, hiding her face with a book. But you can very distinctly hear her laughing and commenting:
“That was something new.”
But you're not in the mood for that! You just wanted to thank that girl, and instead of that, she got stuck by lightning, and you kicked her in the balls. Well, not really in the balls, but you still kicked her in that part. And the worse thing is that she thinks you did it on purpose. And you can't really apologize, she doesn't look like she speaks Chinese.
You really screwed things here.


And in the end, you couldn't apologize properly. As soon as she was back to her feet, the girl slapped you, and ran away, gritting her teeth. You tried to get an explanation from Eirin, but, well, she can't really talk right now.
“HAHAHA!!”
You don't think you ever saw her laughing like that, and judging by everyone's face, that's something new for them too. Screw everything, you're going to leave Eirin by herself, find a sink or something, heal your cheek, and go watch Reisen.
In the end, it was pathetic. And the worst part is that you can't blame anybody else for your own mistake. Well, it's not like you're going to do it anyway, but, still, you would feel better if you could shift the blame to someone else.


“Damned!”
Alone in the bathroom, you curse in the most classy possible way. There are many other words that you want to spit out, but looking at your reflection in the mirror, you can't be that rude.
And, despite the fact that you're kind of used to it, it's still extremely disturbing to see a girl in the mirror, where a boy used to be.
“What am I going to do now?”
You probably can't go back to the University, so you can't finish your studies. You're stuck in this place, where everyone is speaking Japanese, save for a crazy doctor, and some kind of rabbit girl.
…
You briefly wonder if Gideon slipped some mushrooms in your breakfast this morning.

You observer your reflection. You're damn pretty. You're now the kind of girl you could like, if you were still a dude. There's a red mark on your cheek, where the white-haired girl slapped you, but that's slowly fading. Your hair is really long, it seems unnatural. Long, black hair. You grab a few of them, and play with them for a while. They're real. Really real.
You sigh. Staying like that isn't good for you, you need to do something! You need to move!

[] You need to find your place in that place. When you're not nurturing Reisen, go around, and try to figure things.
[] You don't know what's going on. In other words, you're free until someone decides something from you. Use your spare time to study Japanese, you need it.
[] That body of you is WEAK. You have to train it! When you have free time, go jogging.

YYYYEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

[] You don't know what's going on. In other words, you're free until someone decides something from you. Use your spare time to study Japanese, you need it.

[] You don't know what's going on. In other words, you're free until someone decides something from you. Use your spare time to study Japanese, you need it.

This communication gap is going to cause nothing but tears.

[] You don't know what's going on. In other words, you're free until someone decides something from you. Use your spare time to study Japanese, you need it.

Decided to come back and actually vote this time.

[x] You don't know what's going on. In other words, you're free until someone decides something from you. Use your spare time to study Japanese, you need it.

In the following days, in order to keep your mind busy, you decided to study Japanese during your spare time. And you're very happy to say that you managed to get a good understanding of Japanese. Of course, you can't hold a philosophical discussion, but at least, you can discuss properly with the rabbits.
But things would be better if Reisen was up. You're not sure what Eirin is doing to her on a regular basis, but she's still down. Barely answering, in fact.


“Eirin?”
“What is it, Richard?”
Ha, she's finally using your name, instead of just saying 'you'. Even if she's butchering your name with that accent of her, it's good to be called by your name. Even if it's pronounced in a Chinese way.
“What's wrong with Reisen?”
There's a distinct noise as Eirin suddenly freezes.
“... Why are you interested?”
You scratch your nose.
“I just want to know, that's all.”
“You just scratched your nose. Either you're uneasy with me around, either you're lying. And it's been several weeks, so I hope it's not the former, otherwise I will be worried about your social skills.”
“How nice from you to be worried about me...”
“Do not switch the topic. Why are you worried about Udonge?”
“Because she's the only one being nice to me so far.”
“I've been nice too. Tending your wounds, and saving your frozen toes.”
“And also turning me into a girl. No, even worse, into a princess.”
“You said you agreed. Nothing wrong with that.”
You stare at Eirin. Her eyes are emotionless. She really doesn't have any remorse. It's like... she really doesn't understand what's wrong. You quickly decide to drop the topic, that can only ends up badly.
“All right, never mind that. What are you doing?”
“Well, I'm currently trying to find a cure to lunar dust poisoning, because, you see, it affects each person differently. It's probably reacting to one's personal metabolism, adjusting its behaviour to match the host, but still act more or less like a cancer, and- oooooooh you clever girl, don't change the topic.”
You wave your hand.
“No, no, I'm genuinely interested. So, the Moon's surface is toxic? I didn't know that.”
“That's not something easily detected. Besides, most often, lunar dust is in an inactive state. It needs an action to become active, and therefore to be able to harm.”
“That's a really interesting defence mechanism, but I fail to understand that. I mean, I have been taught that the Moon was mostly composed of Potassium, Phosphorus, and some other rare elements, based on the fact that the Moon is basically a huge chuck of cold magma. But yet you're describing that lunar dust as... aware? Almost sentient? How do you even know that anyway?”
Eirin doesn't answer the question. Instead of that, she just smirks, and change the topic.
“Udonge will wake up soon, you should stay with her.”
And she returns to her work, ignoring you. But as you leave the room, you swear you can hear her sighing.

===============================
I can't really say I hate that story, but it's really difficult for me to write it. For many reasons: because Richard is NICE, because he's more a background character than a main character, and also because he's quite cultivated. And also kind of dumb.

So does this mean you're putting this on hiatus? If so that's a shame, but understandable.

>>24992
I'm not putting that on hiatus. I'm just focusing on Friction About Ground, because I prefer it.
And also, I'm trying to come up with a decent plot. Again. Not gonna bother you with a wall of text about my own problem.

Also, Alan Wake is finally out on Steam, and I suggest giving it a try. Why?
Because there's a character called Doctor Hartmann, and he's obviously the best guy around. Hell, I'm sure he's a nice guy.

“Reisen?”
Back to Reisen's room, you try to talk to her. She moans a little. Does that mean she's finally waking up, after spending 3 weeks totally unconscious?
You wave your hand in front of her face, but she doesn't react. You listen to her breathing. It's normal. Nothing wrong.
“Hmpf. Eirin says you were going to wake up. I'm waiting.”
You spoke in Japanese, just in case Reisen is already awake.
“Hmm...”
Ah! She moans again! You sit near, staring at her sleeping face.
Nothing weird with that! She just shown consideration to you, it's normal that you take care of her! That's called being nice! It's not like you actually like watching at her sleeping face. Only a creep would enjoy that.
“Heey, Reeeiseeen...”
Tilting your head over Reisen's face, you gently call her name. It's while you're in that compromising position that she suddenly opens her eyes.


For a long time, red is all you can see.
Pure red. Red silhouette of a bunny girl over the red of the futon. Red eyes shining in red. Red hair hanging from your head, red hair sprayed around Reisen's head.
And then it disappears, and you feel something warm covering your eyes. Like tears.
Groaning in pain, you stand with difficulty, and wipe your face with your sleeve. More red.
“You're bleeding, Richard.”
You turn your head to stare at the man leaning against the wall.
“Gideon. What are you doing here?”
“I though you might need me, so I'm here.”
It's Gideon. Your room mate. But at the same time, that's not Gideon. Gideon doesn't have his throat cut, with blood dripping all over his shirt. Gideon doesn't have a knife in the chest. So that's not Gideon.
“Who are you?”
“I might ask you the same question. The Richard I knew was a cute guy. And now, you're the perfect princess. Mind explaining me?”
You're vaguely aware of someone screaming and shaking you, but Gideon is far more important.
“Stuff happened. The local doctor did things to me.”
“Do you see a doctor here? Look around you, Richard.”
And so you do. And you see that the whole mansion is burning.
“Wh-WHAT? What happened?”
“How do I know? I'm dead, Richard. I can help you, but I can't tell you anything you don't know.”
You stare at Gideon again. He always have this teasing smile, his relaxed and easygoing attitude, and his eternal pink shirt.
“What do I do, Gideon?”
He shrugs.
“I don't know. Run away, before you die, maybe? That's a good start.”
And so you do again as Gideon says. You run away. You're vaguely aware of someone trying to get a hold of you, but you don't see anyone, so you're probably dreaming. You also think you hear someone crying, but that's probably your imagination too.


You run and run, leaving the burning mansion behind you. You don't know what happened, and you don't care. The only important thing is the future.
After running for several minutes, you stop, and look again at the burning mansion. You don't understand. The fire is high and hot, and yet you're feeling so cold.
It's the rain. The rain is making you cold. But why is the fire still alive?
“You're overthinking things, Richard.”
“Gideon. Help me. I don't know what to do.”
He sighs, causing his wound to spread even more blood.
“You never know what to do. That's the problem with you, my lovely friend.”
“All right then. Tell me. I'm in a totally unknown place, I don't know anyone, I'm cold and hungry, and I'm a fucking GIRL!”
“Kaguya?”
That voice isn't yours or Gideon's. That's someone else's voice.
“Heeey, hello!”
You happily wave at the white-haired girl coming from the woods.
“What's the plan, Kaguya?”
Okay, she has some kind of accent, but you can understand her. Hey, wait, Gideon talks Japanese, he can help you!
“Wait!”
Pointing your finger at the white-haired in an universal sign of 'wait here', you look around, trying to find Gideon. But he's nowhere to be found.
“Don't point at me like that!”
Oh boy, now she's angry.


[] Try to calm her down. There's a fire at the hospital, so that means there's probably an arsonist somewhere.
[] Try to find Gideon. With his help, you'll be able to speak with the white-haired girl more easily.
[] Ask the white-haired girl where's the local authority.

[X] Try to calm her down. There's a fire at the hospital, so that means there's probably an arsonist somewhere.

What could possibly go wrong?

>>24995
I must confess to not even having looked at that. If its as good as or better than this is, then you will have another loyal reader.

[X] Try to calm her down. There's a fire at the hospital, so that means there's probably an arsonist somewhere.

[X] Try to calm her down. There's a fire at the hospital, so that means there's probably an arsonist somewhere.

>>25000 here.
Just finished reading F.A.G.
I love you ddyk, can I have your babies?

>>25005

[x] Try to calm her down. There's a fire at the hospital, so that means there's probably an arsonist somewhere.

Ha shit, now she's angry! You should calm her down, there's an arsonist on the run!
“No, don't get angry-”
“Don't tell me what to do, Kaguya!”
“Ah, bu-but I'm not Kaguya! I mean, I'm Kaguya, but I'm not her!”
You're frustrated by your lack of vocabulary, making the discussion difficult.
“Yeah, right. You're dressed like her, you look exactly like her, and yet you're not her?”
“Listen to me, please! There's an... an...” How do you say 'arsonist' in japanese? “There's a fire doer somewhere?”
“A fire doer?!?”
“I mean a fire maker.”
“What?”
“Someone placed fire in the wooden house!”
“What?”
“Oh, for crying out loud!” You scream in English. Grabbing the girl's face, you spin it toward the fire, and then you point at it. “I was talking of that, for this fire is in the place I was in live.”
She slaps your hands, and proceed to scold you.
“Don't try to snap my neck like that, and don't accuse me! And what with that idiot language you're using?!”
Your lack of vocabulary is making the discussion difficult and frustrating for everyone. You mean, how can she ignore a fire like this one? If you don't run away quickly, you'll be nothing but a toasted unwilling transsexual. Try again one more, and keep your cool.
“There's a fire maker in this place! You should run!”
“Of course there's one. And she's right in front of you.”
Oh my god, that suspendered freak is actually the arsonist behind that whole shit! You have to do something!
“If I were you, Richard, I wouldn't do anything.”
You turn your head, seeing Gideon leaning against a bamboo tree.
“All righty-ho then? What should I do? Give her poisonous cake?”
Gideon frowns.
“Ugh, no. Only Moriarty would do that kind of crazy shit. Let the creep use the poison, good people aren't violent.”
“So what am I supposed to do?”
“First, stay calm. Second, wipe your eyes, and look.”
You do as he says. You wipe your eyes, take a deep breath, and you look again.



Everything is different. Instead of being red, the sky is cloudy grey, causing a cold rain to fall, and the fire is gone.
For a while, you stare in disbelief. What the hell just happened?
“I'm sorry to say it, Richard, but you're having hallucinations.”
You look again at Gideon, at his sliced throat, at the knife stuck in his chest, and you ask:
“Woah, really? I wasn't expecting that.”
“Expect something else really soon.”
“Uh?”
Before you can react, the white-haired girl grabbed your collar and started shaking you like a palm tree.
“NOW THIS IS THE LAST TIME I WILL SUFFER YOUR INSUFFERABLE AND OUT OF TOPIC DISCUSSION WITH A NON-EXISTING THIRD PARTY!”
You're pretty sure you misunderstood a large part of this sentence, due to the fact that the volume and the bad breath are kind of distracting you.
“Eugh, did you washed your teeth?”
Bad move here, Sherlock.
“WHAT DID YOU SAY?!?”
“Ha shit.”
The white-haired girl starts screaming at you, still with her bad breath and that really high volume. If you were the sarcastic guy like Gideon, you would be kissing your ears goodbye.
Her lecture over, the girl releases your collar, and you fall in the mud, totally unprepared.
“Jesus, that's disgusting!”
You've got all over yourself.
“You know, in fact, I'm happy...”
That white-haired girl. She's on all fours, slowly coming at you, in a really suggestive way. Just WHAT THE HELL is going on here? First, you turn into a woman, and then you see your dead friend, and you see fires that aren't here, and now what?
“H-happy for what?”
“I finally get to kill my best friend again. What a wonderful day!”
Placing both her hands on your neck, she starts strangling you. That chick is just insane! Totally insane!
“Arg.”
“Don't worry, Kaguya, everything will be fine when you'll be alive again.”
The white-haired girl's smile is almost friendly as she's slowly killing you. You should do something if you don't want to die. You know, like, DO SOMETHING NOW!
You do the best thing that comes into mind!


You stick your hand in her armpits, and you start tickling her. She laugh in an uncontrolled way. On the good side, she stopped strangling you. On the bad side, she's punching you to make you stop.
“S-s-s-s-stop thaahahahahat!”
You manage to deal with her punches for a while, but when she begins hitting your face, you quickly give up on tickling her sides.
“Stop hurting me, please.” is all you can say with your pathetic vocabulary. You originally wanted to say “Forgive me my lady, for it appears that your delicate and feminine hands are turning my fine face into grotesque chunks of red meat. It would absolutely awesome if you were to stop practising that fine and gentlemanly sport commonly called boxing, and provides me with health attention, as it appears that I suffer hallucinations”.
“What the hell Kaguya? Where are the wonderful days when we killed each other? Where are they?”
And apparently, you're not the only one needing medical attention.
“Right. I'm going to the health house, want to come along?”
“The health house?! You mean the long mansion?”
There's a word you cannot understand here. She pronounces it 'Ei-en-tei', which probably means something like... the long-lived mansion? The house with a great life? You're not really sure.
“Probably that. Wanna come?”
She seems to hesitate for a while. But then, a vicious grin makes its way to his face.
“And you, do you want to come with me? It's a good thing to move once in a while, and do stuff instead of staying indoor.”
That one was tricky to understand.


[] Do as the dangerous irate white-haired girl says.
[] Nah. You saw a mansion on fire, and it's not on fire in fact, and you're cold and hungry and sleepy and you want to FUCKING UNDERSTAND WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK IS GOING ON, with all due respect to everyone.

======================
Writing a nice character is boring. Writing a crazy character is funny. Writing a crazy character having hallucinations, being a unwilling transexual, totally failing at Japanese and looking exactly like the most beautiful girl from japanese mythology might be funny.

[X] Do as the dangerous irate white-haired girl says.

Escape, if in a potentially lethal way.

[X] Do as the dangerous irate white-haired girl says.

If we listen, we might calm her down. Best case scenarion, anyway.

[x] Do as the dangerous irate white-haired girl says.

“I'll do as you say.”
That girl recovered from a lightning strike. There's no way you're getting on her bad side. Well, if you can avoid it, of course.
“Wonderful!”
The dangerous irate white-haired girl quickly grabs your shirt, and start pulling you around. You, on the other hand, start wondering if it was a good idea.

You're stuck in the cold rain, dragged by the white-haired girl like a bag of potatoes, you're hungry, annoyed, and you see your good pal Gideon following you while smiling.
“You have no idea how fun it is for me, Richard. But don't say, I'm merely following.”
The girl drags you in a shelter, before stopping suddenly in front of an unknown woman.
“Mokou, what is she doing here?”
“Found her in the wood.”
So here you're, your clothes soaking wet, yourself being on the blink of a giant flu, in the same shelter you already ran the first time you arrived in that cursed place, and you're forced to stay still while the silver-haired girl and an white/blue-haired woman are arguing about a third girl.
Wait, they're arguing about you. You still have some trouble admitting it, hu?
“Mokou, I already told you to keep your game out of your home. You wanted to build it yourself, so you built it yourself, but it's still unstable.”
“It keeps me warm, Keine, and it resisted the storm. That's all I want.”
That woman -Keine- has an impeccable elocution. You have some trouble understanding the white-haired girl's rambling because she has some kind of accent, but Keine's elocution makes her speech very easy to understand. That's a relief, after everything, to find someone able to speak properly.
“Hey, Richard, you know this place?”
God damn it Gideon, don't butt in!
“As a matter of fact, I do.”
“Should I ask how?”
“When I arrived here, I used that place to avoid the rain.”
Gideon looks bothered.
“Yeah, about that, I never knew how you landed here.”
You blink.
“Honestly, I don't know either. Last thing I remember, you left, and when I woke up, my finger was broken, and I was here, under the rain.”
“And it hasn't stopped yet.”
“Nope.”
“I wonder what's causing that rain. Usually, it doesn't last that long.”
“Go figure that on your own. We're in Japan. Climate is different.”
“Yeah, I know, but still... How long since you're here?”
“I dunno. Probably a month. Or a week. It's hard to keep track of days when you're turned into something else.”
“Probably. But that aside, you should look at the girls.”
“Why?”
“Just look.”
You turn your face. Both 'Keine' and 'Mokou' are staring at you. You feel extremely uneasy all of a sudden.




“Keine, let me kill her! That'll fix her!”
“Mokou, be a good girl, and stop screaming for a while.”
“But Keeeine! That's just Kaguya. Probably just another trick.”
“Mokou, please. What's your name?”
“Richard.”
“Weird. That's not a common name.”
“And that's not Kaguya's name either. Can I just kill her already?”
You look at the white-haired girl and sty to speak as calmly as you can.
“I would like not to be killed.”
The white-haired girl leaves the room with an annoyed sigh. You're now alone with the woman and Gideon. Said woman looks very curious.
“If you don't mind me asking, you have a very childish accent. What are you?”
“I'm English.”
“What kind of creature is that?”
Uuuuh, yeah. You think she's a teacher, but she's not very bright.
“Gideon? What's an English?”
The perpetually-bleeding man answers in the best possible way.
“Tell her we're green creatures sleeping in sarcophagi, communicating by honks, and wearing Egyptian coat. And we're all lords. And we can travel in time.”
Screw you Gideon.
“I was human, if that's your question.”
Japanese is a really subtle language. You're not really sure what was that woman's question, but it seems to her relieved sigh that you gave the good answer.
“All right. Now, if you don't mind me asking, what happened to you?”
Now this is the tricky part. How to explain something complicated with simple words.
“I, uh, was made into this by Eirin.”
Not the best explanation you could give, but it's better than nothing.
“Eirin... You mean Eirin Yagokoro, the physician living in the mansion of eternity?”
That last word was tricky. She said 'Eientei', you're unsure about its real meaning. Just in case, you're going to consider it as a name.
“Yes. She, turned me into me.”
You wanted to say 'made me the pretty girl I'm now', but you're lacking the vocabulary. This is really troublesome.
“I'm... not sure I really understand.”
“Do you speak Chinese?”
She raises her face, looking surprised.
“Uh yes.”
You smile. This is going to be easier than you though.
“Wonderful. Let me make this simple, I'm not very good, nor fond, of Japanese. It's good to meet someone else to talk with. I suppose you're a scholar or something like that, am I right?”
“I'm teacher, yes. But what about yourself?”
“Misunderstanding. I wanted to help around the, um, Mansion of Eternity, and I couldn't understand in time that 'helping' meant 'being turned into a princess to serve as her double'. I'm not even sure about the whole plan itself, since I' wasn't even a girl to begin with, but explanation were an option.”
She's a little surprised, but pleased by your sudden chatter.
“I'm not sure I understand that. You were a man, and the Doctor Yagokoro turned you into a woman?”
“Yeah. And I didn't really asked for this, you know? Well, I kind of asked if I could help, because I don't like being indebted to someone or some shit like that, because I'm kind of like 'fuck that they'll make me clean the toilets with a fucking toothbrush', and that's really disgusting, believe me.”
“Mm, yeah. I'm not sure about what's going on, but I'm sure you're not the real princess.”
“What convinced you?”
“The profanity.”
Yep. She's a teacher all right. Those eyes of her are almost saying 'no swearing in my class, young man'. Or 'young woman'. You'll never get used to it.
“Yeah, sorry about that, I kind of have a screw loose here, and you're kind of like the only sane person I can talk with. You, and Gideon.”
“Who's Gideon?”
“He's the guy you can't see. Hell, I'm not even sure he exists for real.”
“I resent that.”
“He says he resents that.”
“...”
She stares at you. Probably trying to use her teacher-sense to know if you're bullshitting her or not. You raise both your hand.
“I'm not lying here. I'm really seeing a dead ambiguously gay dude.”
“...”
“...”
“Keeeeine! I can't understand what you're saying! Are you using some kind of code to leave me out?”
Screams the white-haired girl from wherever she is.


“Richard, this is Fujiwara Mokou.”
“Greetings to you, Fujiwara.”
“Yeah, I can see you're not Kaguya. You're way too polite.”
“Hush Mokou. And I am Kamishirasawa Keine.”
“Greetings to you, Kamishirasawa. My name is Richard.”
“Just Richard?”
“Yeah. Also, I wanted to thank you, Fujiwara.”
“You can call me Mokou. And what for?”
“Because I used your hut to protect me against the storm.”
“THAT'S NOT A HUT, OKAY? That's a totally legit house!”
“Hahaha!!”
“Hush, Keine. Also, I take it you're the guy I found when I visited a few weeks ago, right?”
“I'm probably him, yeah.”
“Holy crap, you really changed a lot.”
“Mokou!”
“Fuck yeah.”
“Richard!”
“Let's go fucking drinking like pals!”
“I can't.”
Mokou freezes instantly, staring at you like some kind of panther would stare at a venison. Find a good excuse. Quickly.
“I mean, since I kind of hallucinated the whole fire, I have to go back to the Mansion of Eternity-”
“Why?”
“Excuse me?”
“Why do you want to return there? You remember what they did to you, right?”
“I do. But there's a purpose.”
“What fucking purpose are you talking about? We're talking about a woman older than our planet itself. Who knows if there's really a purpose to all this? Maybe she just did it because her fingers were itching, or some other crap like that?”
“Mokou, watch your language!”
You looks through the window, staring at the cold rain still falling outside.
“Perhaps. But I left someone important here. I have a forgive to give. I mean, I must apologize.”
You don't really know what happened to Reisen. When that red flash arrived, everything changed. And now you're having hallucinations, and you see your dead pal waving at you under the rain, while riding a boiler and waving his hat.
You're pretty sure you're still hallucinating. Probably just the boiler and the hat.
“I hate romance like that.”
“Beside, I see strange things. I need to get a patch.”
Mokou and Keine's confused stares make you understand that you spoke weirdly again.


[] Thank them for her hospitality, but you have to go. You'll find your way alone.
[] Keep talking with them.
-[] Keine is teacher. Teacher of what, exactly? And where?
-[] Is Keine Mokou's sister, or something like that?

[x] Keep talking with them.
-[x] Keine is teacher. Teacher of what, exactly? And where?

[X] Keep talking with them.
-[X] Keine is teacher. Teacher of what, exactly? And where?
-[X] Is Keine Mokou's sister, or something like that?

[X] Keep talking with them.
-[X] Keine is teacher. Teacher of what, exactly? And where?
-[X] Is Keine Mokou's sister, or something like that?
Heh This is getting good.

Your story is amazing. It is just plain awesome, asides from the mechanical errors. Can't wait to read more.

Hey, have fun with that while I prepare the update:
http://tindeck.com/listen/uqyi

>>25065

Solved. Was fun.

>>25066
Urgh. Have fun trying to understand where I'm leading you with that.

[x] Keep talking with them.
-[x] Is Keine Mokou's sister, or something like that?

“But before I take the door and my leave, there is a question I want to know.”
At this point, Mokou just stops staring at you when you say something strange. Keine doesn't.
“What is that question that you want to know, Richard?”
“Are you two sisters or something?”
While Mokou breaks in laughter, Keine just stares at you in total disbelief.
“I'll admit I had a few doubts, but now I believe you. You're definitely not Kaguya.”
You look at the white-haired girl.
“Hahahaha sisters that's the best shit I ever heard since Nobunaga told us that joke about how he crushed the Iko-Ikki!”
You think you just said something unbelievably stupid. Well, judging from Keine's blank stare and Mokou's frantic laugh. And you think you can trust them.
“Hey, Gideon, I think I did something stupid.”
“Not as stupid as that time when you told everyone that I liked sneaking in your bed when you were asleep.”
“Okay, just shut up.”
Why does he have to remind you that? You were drunk, and someone provoked you into saying something shameful. It took months for everyone to stop making fun of you with that.
“Hey, you asked. Don't blame the harbinger for his message.”
Ignoring him, you silently leave, leaving the two women behind you.

You're fine with people laughing, but the fact that you can still hear Mokou laughing, despite you being quite far from her house by now does not please you.
And to complicate things, it's raining again. What with that rain, seriously? Ever since you arrived here, it's been raining. And not the nice tropical rain, but rather your usual cold rain.
Isn't Japan closer to Equator? Isn't rain supposed to be warmer here? Seriously, that rain feels like your usual English rain. Cold, and constant.
It was raining like that when you woke up, after...
“How did I ended up here to begin with?”
“That's the question I'm waiting for you to ask since you see me.”
Oh, shut up Gideon.
“Whatever. I'm just going back to that mansion, and see if it burned or if I hallucinated the fire.”
“Wise decision. Staying outdoor under that rain is the best way to die.”
“Because of monsters?”
“Because of the rain, you fool.”
You look at the sky. Gray. Cloudy. And cold. Everything is so cold.
“Urgh. You're right, let's go back to the mansion of eternity. Or whatever its name is.”


You're a fool. Finding you way in a bamboo labyrinth is no easy task.
If only someone here could help you.
Someone able to appears and disappears as he wants.
Someone with a huge wound on his throat.
…
“HEY, GIDEON!”
“What is it, my love?”
“Where do I go?”
“Right behind you!”
You nearly break your neck. Here it is. The eternal mansion. Or Mansion of Eternity. You're not quite sure.
“Wow. Awesome. Thank you Gideon, you're a very helpful friend.”
What is that sarcasm thing he's talking about? You're genuinely thanking him. OR ARE YOU? You can't be sure. Well, you're sure, but he can't. And the doubt is eating him. Slowly. Like a kid eating a cake.


But enough weird comparison, let's just go home and see what really happened.
…
Did you said 'home'? DID YOU SAID 'HOME'?
“Shit.”
You want to throw up in disgust. But, hell, it's too cold for those idiots shenanigans. You're going to enter, get warm, and then you'll throw up in disgust.
Because, yeah, this is the closest thing to a home you have. Now that you are... what you are actually, you can't go back to the university. You can never go back. You're stuck here. Forever.
How charming.

“Why did you ran away?”
“Can I have a blanket?”
“Answer the question.”
You're standing in Eirin's office, shivering, trying to rub yourself. Eirin forbade you to sit, so you're forced to stand still.
“I kind of p-p-panicked. Can I have a blanket or something?”
“Not now. Why did you panicked? Udonge said she woke up, saw you, and you ran away immediately.”
“I'm cold. Are you aware of that?”
“I'm aware of that. Answer the question.”
“You're not human.”
“It took you that long to notice?”
You clench your teeth. It's only when you entered in the mansion that you noticed you left the place barefoot. And so, when you went to meet Eirin again, you left a bunch of dirty footprints all over the place. When Eirin noticed that, you thought she would hit you, but instead she just ordered you to clean up before doing anything else.
“You're definitely not human.”
“Flattery won't help you. Why did you panicked?”
“I saw a fire.”
“A fire. You panic when you see a fire. Interesting.”
“I saw the whole place on fire.”
“Hallucinations. Interesting. Tell me, when Udonge woke up, did you saw anything weird?”
“Well, her eyes went red. Totally red. And then everything turned red for a moment, and then I blinked and everything was on fire.”
Eirin points at the table.
“Sit.”
Grateful, you sit on the table. Eirin takes some lights, grab your chin, and points the light at your eyes. You do your best to stare and not blink, despite the light slowly burning your retina.
“Now this is interesting.”
She lets you go. You blink several time to get rid of the black blob covering your eye. Urgh. That's it, you can see now.
“What's up, Doc?”
“First, it's Doctor. Second, you shouldn't look into Udonge's eyes when she's waking up. She's easily startled, and she can accidentally use her power.”
“And what's her power?”
“Manipulation of insanity.”
“Oh.”
Sitting on Eirin's desk, is Gideon. He's smiling at you. Not saying anything, just smiling.
Asshole.
“I can try to explain the whole thing, but I'm fairly certain you wouldn't understand. And beside, I'm not even sure about that myself.”
“What do you mean?”
The Doctor sighs.
“Your brain burned. Not like a toast, but rather like a sponge taking an shock. Some part of it burned, affecting some of your cognitive functions, while other changed.”
“Does that mean-”
“You're going to say 'wow nice my brain is now working at 100%', aren't you?”
“Ummmm... No?”
“Good girl. A human brain is always working at 100%. Having an organ working at only 10% of its capacity means that it's useless 99% of the time.”
“But adrenaline can help working doing awesome things!”
“Adrenaline is not making you stronger. It's merely erasing all limits you can have. For example, you cannot lift a car. If you're excited or scared, you will be able to lift a car, but you'll pay once the adrenaline’s effect stops, you'll feel pain. The muscle in your arm will be torn apart, and you won't be able to notice it until you're calm again.”
“Oh...”
“In your case, I guess it's more like autism.”
“You're saying I'm an autistic?”
“Probably. You were hallucinating before, and the rabbits reported to me the fact that you talked to someone who's not here.”
“Hallucinations aren't symptoms of autism. Well, I think... I remember reading about that in a book...”
“If they are hallucinations...”
“What?”
“Nothing. Go away now.”
Following Eirin's orders, you jump to your feet, and you leave.
You're not shivering any more. In fact, you feel warm...
HOLY BATMAN BREAST! THAT'S IT! YOU'RE DYING!
You have to do something! Like taking a bath!

While in the bath:
[] Try to talk with Gideon. Find a way to check if he's a hallucination or something else.
[] Do nothing. Just relax.
[] Worry about Reisen.

=============================
Sometimes, I spend week without updating. And sometimes, I sacrify a night to update, because I have the idea to unlock the deadend I put myself in. And sometimes, I screw up with the tiles, and I have to redo the whole shit.

[X] Worry about Reisen.

Maybe she can fix our predicament!

[x] Try to talk with Gideon. Find a way to check if he's a hallucination or something else.

Surely he is real!

>>25072

New reader here, these are my impressions:

>>Isn't Japan closer to Equator?

>>“Wise decision. Staying outdoor under that rain is the best way to die.”

>>Finding you way in a bamboo labyrinth is no easy task

Where is your proofreader? There's many more errors to be found, I just counted the first three. Find him or her and bug them until they proofread your update. Don't ever post an update without first reading it out loud. You'll find the majority of errors that break up the flow of your sentences and make it easier on your audience.

[x] Do nothing. Just relax.

Here it is, the good:

I like your story's concept. The operation certainly through me for a loop. Several moments made me laugh out loud. It inexplicably motivated me to give you some feedback.

The bad:

The narrative feels wrong in several places. Your conversations are too abrupt in some areas and others leave me wanting at times. Whenever Richard's point of view becomes hazy, unreliable, or downright insane, I completely lose direction. The little "random" outbursts also grate on my nerves.

For example:

>>You're not shivering any more. In fact, you feel warm...
>>HOLY BATMAN BREAST! THAT'S IT! YOU'RE DYING!
>>You have to do something! Like taking a bath!

Utilizing caps lock is not the way. Stop it. A simple exclamation point is enough to convey the emotion. But that isn't at fault here. The sudden "randomness" demonstrated is jarring. It makes me want to stop reading your story. Don't make me want to stop reading your story. Cut down on those moments. The protagonist is supposed to be 20 years old. Unless he had serious problems growing up, he shouldn't act like a 10 year on a sugar high.

My recommendation:

More Eirin, Reisen, and Kaguya dynamics. Less insanity and random outbursts.

>>25077
I will take your suggestion into consideration (which means I need to find a proofreader, because honestly, I can't find those typos on those sentences you copied).

>>25077
In fact, yeah, I think I'm going to start a hiatus. The fact that I'm unable to notice typos is really worrying me.

For the randomness, I'm sorry if it grates you, but that's the best way I found to show up Richard's confusion. Either that, either a really long monologues totally unrelated to his current situation.

"Your conversations are too abrupt in some areas."
I'll try to fix that too, but mostly, it's done on purpose, to reflect the fact that Richard he's using a language he's not familiar with. If I'm doing it wrong, please tell.

>>25079

I would serve as a proofreader, but I simply do not have the time. If that changes I'll let you know.

Opinion:
(It's good that you're aware of these issues. The entire language barrier issue just isn't suited to this medium. Hence why many stories bypass it entirely and explain it away. Dialogue is a major part of your story and making it difficult to follow ultimately hurts the narrative. The random outbursts can be toned down and minimized, but the dialogue issue needs to be dealt with. If you must, timeskip forward while Richard studies the language to get a better understanding of it.)

Regardless, you have other readers to please that have been with you longer. I'd ask for their feedback first before making any major changes.

>>25080
Don't worry, I won't change the story so suddenly (mainly because those random outburst are the part keeping me interested in the story, but I can probably tone them down a bit).
However, the part worrying me the most are those typos. I'm not a native speaker, as you know, and I'm painfully aware of the fact that my stories may be weird for an English or an American, but I'm still working hard to write a decent story. And this is why I'm worrying so much about it. Because if I'm really making typos while being careful, and if I don't see them, I can screw my story without even understanding how.

[x] All of the above.

Nothing better than a bath. It's hot, wet, warm, and not dry. In other words, that's awesome.
Now it's time for you to take it easy. Your life changed a lot recently, but you're still the good old Richard, aren't you? Well, except for the 'not a guy any more' part, but you're still the same polite and nice dude ready to work hard.
You want to eat a banana for some reason. You don't know why, you just want a banana. You're supposed to eat a banana while taking a bath, right?
No, wait. Keep yourself under control. You don't want a banana. Why would you want a banana anyway? Do you even know what a banana is?
“I don't...”
You don't know what a banana is, but you want one anyway. How strange, even for you. Is it normal for a guy gal like you to want a banana out of the blue? You remember reading somewhere something about girls and fruits obsession, but it looked boring, so in the end you never read it.

No, no, no. Just relax, okay? No more strange obsessions, no more questions, no more anything. You're putting all your problems in a box, and you're carefully throwing that box through the window.
And you take it easy. You try to appreciate the feeling of hot water against your skin. Back in the University, you couldn't have a bath. Only shower. Twice in a week. Water was rationed. Kind of awful now that you think about it.
You briefly wonder how Gideon is doing. And Moriarty too. They were both really nice to you. You can call them friends. Even if you can't really get their help now. Even if you manage to find a phone.
“Hello, Richard here, for some reason I'm somewhere in Japan, and I'm a girl.”
Gideon will probably answer something like: 'Yeah right, and I'm the President of the United Kingdom'. Moriarty will probably say something like: 'How the hell did you got my phone number, you soon-to-be-dead freak?'
You miss them. You miss Gideon's constant queer chatter, and his deep knowledge of Japanese mythology. You miss Moriarty's constant complains about his room-mate, and his help each time you had a question about biology. Are you they doing well? You can't know.

Suddenly raising from your bath, you remember. There's a way for you to know! Since that weird accident you had earlier, you've been seeing him!
“Gideon?”
“Yep?”
Suddenly appearing in the bathroom, is Gideon. Still with a knife in his chest, still with his sliced throat. You could be scared if you weren't so busy lyng down in the bath again to hide your body from his queer eyes.
“How are you?”
He stares blankly at you for a while before answering.
“As you can see, I'm bleeding, and I've been stabbed to death with a knife. So I'm kind of dead.”
“I mean, are you a hallucination?”
“I don't know.”
That's not the answer you wished to hear. You wished to hear 'yeah', 'no'. Even 'I am, let's sleep together' would be fine. Because it would mean that Gideon is still the same.
“You're not telling me what I want to hear.”
He sighs, causing more blood to flow from his throat.
“What do you want to hear?”
“The truth. I know to know what's going on. I want to know about you.”
“I don't know anything. I'm dead.”
That last line almost makes you hysterical.
“Don't bullshit me, dude! I know for sure I can't see dead people!”
“Fine, fine! I'm not dead. Happy now?”
You turn your head away. He's not helping. The best way to make sure he's not a hallucination is by asking him something you don't know, but he'll probably won't answer.
“Fuck that, you're useless.”
“Sorry about that.”
You feel alone again. You don't know how he did that, but he disappeared.

What are you doing?
That's the real question you should be asking. What are you doing. Or rather, what are you going to do? Right now, your former plan (PhD, job, family) is kind of unreachable in your current state. Well, you still can try.

… Assuming you can get out of this place, walk back to United Kingdom by yourself, without any paper to prove your identity.
Yeah, that won't do. You don't know much about your own country's law, but you know that it's extremely difficult to enter and to leave the United Kingdom. What was the word?
Isolationism. That's this one. Closed frontiers, no immigrants, no emigrants. Only a handful of people can leave the country each year, and only for very specific purpose.
“Argh...”
Just admit it already. You can't go back. But you knew it already, right? Why do you keep repeating yourself 'nothing will be the same'? Why not just accept it already and move on? Because if you don't, Eirin will force you to.

Here's another strange part: you can't figure what kind of person Eirin really is. You haven't really talked to her, but you know she's really arrogant, and a very competent doctor. But apparently, she's not the leader of that place.
Stop thinking, dammit! The more you think, you less you understand! Why don't you try and relax?
“That bath is so great...”
Awesome, hu?


But what about Reisen? What happened to her? Last time you saw her, she was waking up. And then that weird shitfuck happened, and you lost her. Literally. Is she fine? Well, she's probably, otherwise Eirin woulda told you or something like that.
Maybe... Probably?
“Fuck that crap. A man is supposed to relax when he's alone!”
Assuming you're still a man, of course.
“I'm a man at heart.”
True. You still enjoy drinking beer, scratching your belly and loudly burping. You're still a man. Kind of a man, anyway. Highly depends what a man is. Speaking about that, what is a man? A human with a dick? If it's the case, you're goofed.
“Urgh...”
You begin to rub your nose. Relax, for god's sake, relax. Try to list what you're going to do.

The first step is obviously to find Reisen, and have a little chat. Try to figure what happened. Eirin mentioned a power, but you don't believe in magic.
You stare at your hands. Your feminine, white, and delicate hands. This is going to take a while before you can accept that.
Well, you're kind of surrounded by rabbits girls speaking Japanese, a girl able to fly while staying alive after being struck by lightning, and another bunny girl with red eyes making weird shit to you.
But you still don't believe in magic.
“I'm stupid.”
Whatever. Everything is just too complicated for now, so you're just going to deny magic every time you witness it.

So, now that it's fixed, what's the second step?
Probably have another chat with Eirin. Or the Princess. Try to figure out exactly where you are, how you can go back, and that those little things. It's important to know stuff about the world around you. And even if you're pretty sure you can't go back to your dear room and hug in a masculine, manly, and not-queer-at-all Gideon, it's still important to know if there's any way for you to go back.
It's about morale, you see? You need two solutions. Always. Otherwise, you feel cornered, and you panic and end up drinking a lot and throwing eggs at Games Workshop's local head office because they decided that Matt Ward will be writing the Tyranids Codex.
Well, it was funny. Until a cop arrived and took an egg in the knee. Thing was, you weren't throwing chicken eggs, but goose eggs. Heavier, stronger, better. You distinctly remember the 'crac' when the egg impacted his knee. After that, you did something very mature and brave.

You ran away while screaming and panicking. You were drunk, you had an excuse.

A bath is always good. But getting out of the bath is always something extremely annoying. You're quietly relaxing in hot water, and suddenly you're standing, trying to dry yourself with a towel, while trying to ignore the ambient cold.
“There are no words to properly describe how much I resent those old bathrooms.”
Hell, no electric heater, no hair-drier, nothing fancy like that. Enjoy drying yourself with only one goddamn towel.

You stare at that huge mass of blackness sticking to your skull. Hair. So much of it.
“How the bloody hell am I supposed to dry those? I'm gonna need more towel if I want to dry the whole thing!”
You hate having long hair. You also hate being a girl. In fact, you're pretty sure you hate everything in your current situation. Especially Eirin. And your hair. And your lack of dick. And how heavy your head is.
“No going back, no going back, no going back...”
You try to admit it, but when you see your naked body in a mirror, and when you understand that if you were still a guy, you would be incredibly aroused, you're suddenly feeling incredibly frustrated.
“Dammit.”
You sit in a corner of the room, placing your forehead against your knees, hands over your head. You try to breathe, and relax.

You're excited by your own body. That's something incredibly horrible and totally creepy. And yet, you have to admit it.
“So many things to accept so suddenly...”
Don't say that. It's been weeks. You should already be ready, and yet you're not. And why is that?
“Because I avoided everyone and everything and closed myself.”
Precisely. Now, you're not going to do an introspection. Not now. Put on some clothes first.

But you can't. You don't want to move. You just want to sleep, and wake up in your own bed. The one you had at the University. Near your computer.
Near your porn.
“God dammit.”
You want to get up and get shit done, but on another hand, you don't know what to do. Are you supposed to become another Princess? An impersonator? A right hand to carry out a dishonourable wish? A game partner?
What are you supposed to do? Or rather, what happened to you?
“I don't know.”
And that's the truth. You don't know anything about your current situation. You suddenly woke up in the middle of nowhere, probably after being beaten up by some unknown person. And then, you met some strange people, and weird shit happened to you.


You really don't want to move from your spot, but you don't have a choice. You still have so many things to do.
Like... finding out where you are, stuff like that.
And you keep forgetting it. Remember to ask Eirin if she can fix your memory problems. Time to stand up and live like a man!
Well, kinda like a man. You'll never hate Eirin enough for this.

As you leave the bathroom to put on some clothes a nice soul put there, you think. You're in a the Eientei. It means “mansion of eternity”. Which means that this mansion must have a master, right? Princesses aren't living in a mansion, they're living in castles. So this is obviously a temporary shelter.
But that's impossible! Since you arrived here, you've only been meeting women. And Japan is a very sexist country, it's impossible for a woman to manage a mansion like this one. Unless you're in a really remote area, where the locals tradition are stronger.
You suddenly feel excited. An area where women are leading the ballet? That's some interesting food for thoughts you have here. You need to investigate, research, ask, and discover!
What really happened to cause a shortage of male population? Is it a consequence of the Second World War? Or is it a local tradition to drive men away, or something like that?
You need more informations! You need to compare what you're going to learn to what you already wrote in your thesis!
Said thesis is in your computer, far away from here...
Fuck.
Crap.
Shit.
Sudden urge to send your head against the wall rising...


[] Go talk with Eirin again. She's an arrogant brute, but she speaks Chinese, it'll be easier to talk with her. After that, find Reisen.
[] Go talk with the Princess. She only speaks Japanese, but she doesn't give you the constant impression you're just an insect. After that, find Reisen.

==============================
As far as I know, it's possible for a woman to manage an estate if the husband is dead. It's rare, but it happened. Richard is just ill-informed. Also, reason for the update to be posted in 3 parts is because I had to switch computers during the day. Sorry about that.

[x] Go talk with Eirin again. She's an arrogant brute, but she speaks Chinese, it'll be easier to talk with her. After that, find Reisen.

You ... don't have a proofreader, do you?

Send me an email at the given address and we'll work out proper contacts and procedure.

>>25085
Done.

[x] Go talk with the Princess. She only speaks Japanese, but she doesn't give you the constant impression you're just an insect. After that, find Reisen.

[X] Go talk with the Princess. She only speaks Japanese, but she doesn't give you the constant impression you're just an insect. After that, find Reisen.

Eirin's too much of a prick for me to choose talking to her.

[x] Go talk with the Princess. She only speaks Japanese, but she doesn't give you the constant impression you're just an insect. After that, find Reisen.
Use drawings, those usually work.

I should probably explain what's happening.

I sent a link to the proofreader on Skype, but for some reason, we very strangely keep missing each other.
So, um, I can't give you any deadline.

[x] Go talk with the Princess. She only speaks Japanese, but she doesn't give you the constant impression you're just an insect. After that, find Reisen.

You knock at the door, and you enter without waiting for an invitation. It feels weird to be facing such a beautiful girl, but it feels weirder to be unable to react in an... appropriate way. And of course, it feels weirdest to look exactly like said beautiful girl.
Unsure about the etiquette, you vaguely scratch your head while the girl looks at you with interest.
“Hello?”
The girl smiles in a friendly way, while pointing at her hair. She's probably trying to say something.
“Uh? You mean something about my hair? What about it?”
The girl point at her mouth, still smiling. This time, you don't get it.
“This time, I don't get it.”
“You've been talking in your foreign language, young man. I can't understand you.”
Oh, right. Your bad.
“Oh, right. My bad. I'm so used to talk in English.”
“From now on, let us converse in Japanese, if you will.”
“All right. So, what's the story? What's happening? And where I am?”
The Princess smiles mysteriously.
“So many questions, young man. I can't really answer your first question, for this is Eirin's business, and I learned to not put my nose in her affair, for she is not one to explain gently if you can't figure out by yourself. For the last question, I have an answer that won't please you.”
Time to show off your amazing skills.
“I could already figure that I'm in Japan. The language made it obvious, but the architecture means we're in a remote area, because you've been using wood, not concrete. I don't know much about Japan, I mostly know stuff about China, but I know that this country developed during the XIXe century. So this area was, um, isolated since that time, and never went through industrialization like the rest of the country.”
Still smiling, the girls claps both her hands. You're not half-proud of yourself.
“Interesting. For a person not really knowledgeable about Japan, you're not bad. But this is only the visible part of the iceberg, young man, for you won't believe what you're going to hear.”
You put on an annoyed face with a cocky grin.
“I've been changed into a woman and I saw human rabbits. Nobody can surprise me any more.”
“I am from the moon.”
“Okay, I'm surprised.”
You guess that 'moon' is the name of some isolated land. After all, Japan has a mountain called Hourai. Unless it was a volcano. You're not sure. Anyway, she probably can't be talking about that moon, right?
“I am immortal.”
“Okay, let's stop here for today.”
Still smiling, the Princess tilts her head.
“Why stopping, young man?”
“Too much informations. Can't we talk about convenienter stuff? I mean, about simpler stuff?”
“If it is your desire, I shall do so.”
“Well, thank you. So, did I told you my name?”
“I do not think. But do you really want to give me your name?”
“I don't get it.”
The girl stops smiling.
“I told you, young man. I am an eternal being. I will not die, even in dire situation. Even if you cut my head and bury me, I will not die.”
You're pretty sure that asking if someone else tried is NOT a good idea.
“Oh. So I guess I shouldn't give you my name then. Can you give me yours, or are we going to call each other by nicknames?”
“I am fine with giving you my name. I am the Princess Kaguya from the disgraced Houraisan family.”
“Wow. Hello then, Princess Kaguya from the disgraced Houraisan family.”
She smiles again.
“Kaguya will be enough, as long as we're alone. Should Eirin be with us, refer to me as 'Princess'.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Now, young man, are you going to stand all day, or are you going to sit?”
Ooooh, so that's why she constantly pointing at that cushion.


“So, Kaguya, I'm kind of lost here. Why is Eirin thinking that turning me into... well, into you, means safety for you? If you're immortal -I mean, since you're immortal, you don't need security.”
You try to turn your head to see Kaguya's face, but she loudly clicks her tongue in annoyance, so you give up, letting her take care of your hair.
“I'm not exactly sure about that myself. Eirin keeps saying that I'm the head of the mansion, but she has her own plans, and she doesn't share.”
“So you're in charge of this mansion?”
“Not really. I give orders, like 'we're eating this tonight', and Reisen takes care of the rest.”
Your guts are telling you that the hidden message behind this is 'Reisen takes care of everything while I play around'.
“What am I supposed to do?”
“I suggest to follow Eirin's plan. It's probably dangerous, but I don't think you have the choice here.”
Is she suggesting that the mad doctor can find you even if you run away?
“Can't you interfere with Eirin's plan?”
“I probably can't. But I won't. Eirin has her own goal, but she will never do something unnecessary. I may have an idea of what her plan is, but I'm not sure.”
Wait. Think. That woman combing your hair as if you were a doll is immortal. And yet, she can't figure Eirin's plan?
“What kind of person is Eirin?”
“Young man, you know the answer to this question, but for your sake, I'll answer. Eirin is a wicked person. She's loyal, and will never lie, but she will hide the truth if she thinks it's necessary, and her machinations are overly complicated, even for me.”
“What about Reisen?”
“Inaba? She's cute and reliable. She's also very simple, even if sometimes she's overprotective.”
Yeah, you already noticed something like that.
“Should I know something about her?”
“In my opinion, you shouldn't know anything until I know what Eirin is plotting with you, but I know how frustrating ignorance is, and this is the only reason for me to indulge your curiosity.”
This is incredibly harsh. You feel like a curious boy being scolded by his teacher.
“Sorry.”
“There is no need to be sorry. Even if you accepted to be part of Eirin's machination, you were still ignorant of your loss, and you are still ignoring how much you lost.”
And after saying that, Kaguya stops talking and doesn't answer your questions any more.
When you finally take your leave, your hair is perfectly impeccable, even though, Kaguya unilaterally decided that you needed a ponytail for some reason.

[] Go to Reisen's room. She's probably still here.
[] Go to Eirin's office. That's probably where she is.


=====================================
Sorry about the delay, things are never going as planned. Anyway, a couple more stupid choices, and then I'm going to start the plot for real. I swear on [SUBJECT'S NAME]'s head.

[X] Go to Reisen's room. She's probably still here.

How did Kaguya and Richard start talking to each other, if Kaguya doesn't know Chinese or English? I mean how long has Richard had to study Japanese in order to converse with her?

>>25162
They talked in Japanese. Richard's sudden elocution is due to the fact that he's a hard-working dude, that he was already fluent in Chinese, so used to asian language, and also because someone noticed earlier that a main character unable to talk properly is slowing down the story.
There are still some part where his tongue slips, and he has trouble perfectly understand the princess (pretty much why she's using a refined tone), but at least plot can move on now.

>>25163
He's still speaking slowly-kind of.

>I probably can't. But I won't
Yeah that makes sense. Shouldn't it be 'I probably can'

[x] Reisen option.

[x] Go to Reisen's room. She's probably still here.

Update finished.
I'll polish it tomorrow, and I'll send it to my proofreader. This post is to be erased once the update is online.
Now, excuse me, it's full moon and a new president to make fun of.

>>25210
HOORAY!

Pic unrelated.

[x] Go to Reisen's room. She's probably still here.

Well, you would like to have a nice discussion with Eirin, but for some reason, you don't feel like talking with the woman who turned you into a girl.
Not now anyway, it'll have to wait. What you're interested in right now is Reisen.
“Funny. I don't remember you being interested in girls. In fact, I don't remember you being interested in someone other than yourself."
“Shut up, ghost. You're dead, dead people don't talk.”
“Silly you. I'm not dead. Well, I'm kind of dead, yeah, but I'm also not really dead.”
“Mind explaining how you can be alive if you're dead?”
“It's a paradox. Time whiny stuff, I'm not gonna explain. And don't change the topic, Richard you're deliberately avoiding the most important point here, which is your sudden interest in that girl.”
“Unlike you, Gideon, I'm not gay.”
“How cold. I'm not gay, I'm just curious.”
“So am I.”
“Ha ha ha.”
You stop to look at your smiling dead-but-not-quite-dead friend.
“What's so funny?”
“I remember how you were back at the university. Do you know that two, maybe three girls asked me your phone number?”
“Don't bullshit me, Gideon. I'm not in the mood.”
“Oh ho ho. I'm not bullshitting anyone, Richard. I'm a ghost, I wouldn't gain anything by lying to you. In fact, I have everything to gain by telling you the truth.”
And now he's making fun of you again. You start walking, putting some distance between him and you.
“Get lost Gideon!”
“Hey, hey! I just have a question! You're interested in that girl, right? Does that make you a lesbian?”
You instantly freeze, jaws clenched.
“Oh you SON OF A BI-DUCK.”
“A biduck? What's that, hmm?”
Gideon laughs again, this time mockingly. That really pisses you off.
“Get fucking lost, you douchebag! You're worse now that you're dead!”
“Thanks for the compliment, honey! But hurry up, go find your deary rabbit and make out in a hot lesbian orgy.”
If he wasn't a ghost, you would gladly punch him in the face. But he's a ghost. Well, probably a ghost. But even if he wasn't a ghost, you wouldn't punch him. After all, he's still got that thing in his chest. And that huge wound in his throat.
“Gideon, how did you die?”
He stops laughing.

You look behind you. He's nowhere to be seen. Look like you managed to shut his mouth for a while. Time to get back to business.
“But damn he's right.”
No, he's wrong. It's just payback. Nothing personal. That girl took care of you, you're just repaying her the favour. That's all. Nothing like Gideon is suggesting. Nothing like that. You're just going to make sure she's all righ. Nothing else. You're not going to push her down and...
How are you even going to do that now that you're a girl? How could you even forget that to begin with?! No wait, nevermind. It's not like you sleep with everyone on a daily basis to begin with. Sleeping with everyone, male and female, is more up to Gideon, according to his reputation. And that's pretty much why Moriarty hated him. Probably.
Did you just use a past verb to talk about your friends? You're getting too used to this place and this situation as well. On the other hand, it's not like you can go back whenever you feel like.
Ha, this is Reisen's room. An appreciated topic to avoid thinking about your current situation. Or rather, to avoid thinking about the fact that you're no longer in charge of your own fate.


And it's empty. Reisen's room is empty.
And that's terrible. Because it means that you're now forced to return to Eirin's lair. And it's not something you're looking forward to. Or maybe you can just walk around and give a hand to the rabbits. Better than nothing, and you'll go crazy if you don't have something to-
A red flash.
You bring your hand to your forehead. You feel dizzy all of a sudden.
A second red flash.
You can hear someone whispering, but you don't know if it's your imagination, or another hallucination.
A third red flash.
This time, the pain is too strong and too sudden. You fall to your knees, holding your head with your hands, to keep it from exploding.
“Argh.”
You try not to moan. You're already making a fool of yourself by being all fours, you don't want to look more ridiculous by moaning in pain without any apparent wound.
“Are you alright?”
It's Reisen. She's in this room somehow.
“Yeah. I'm fine.”
“Don't lie to me, I can see you're not okay. I'm sorry, I tried to fix your wavelengths, since you weren't noticing me, but I went in blindly and I screwed things up, I'm so sorry.”
“I'm... I'm just fine, okay?”
You try to get it together, but you fail. Of course, It's difficult to believe that someone is fine when said someone is clenching her jaws, wincing in pain, and can't even stand.
“Take it easy, it'll pass.”
Reisen grabs your shoulder, turning you around and making you fall on your back. Then, she sits in a traditional Japanese way, and carefully place your head on her thighs. That feels nice. Not thinking about anything, just looking at the ceiling, your head resting on a pretty girl's thighs.



“Say, Reisen.”
“What is it?”
“What do I look like?”
“You look like a princess from the moon.”
“From the moon?”
“Yes, from the moon.”
“...”
“...”
“Say, Reisen?”
“Yes?”
“Why did you help me back then?”
“Because I'm a soldier. I assist civilians and I don't do anything unnecessarily cruel.”
“Like turning a man into a woman?”
“Try 'like turning an innocent person into bait'.”
“What is Eirin planning to do?”
“The Master never explains her plan. I know she's doing good, but sometimes she puts other people in danger. And sometimes, she puts them in danger on purpose.”
“Reisen.”
“Yes?”
“What happened back then?”
Before answering, Reisen takes a deep breath.
“I screwed up. I panicked and used my power on you.”
“And that is?”
“Madness. As I told you before, I can see wavelengths and manipulate them. Usually, I use that power to confuse people or to defend myself.”
“And?”
“When I woke up and saw you standing over me, I panicked, and I attacked.”
“You attacked me just by looking at me?”
“I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but that's the case.”
You wonder about that.
“I'm not sure that's the case.”
“What do you mean?”
“I remember a red flash. And yet, I looked at you several times, and I never had any trouble.”
“I told you. Usually, I don't use my power. But, back then, I used almost everything. You're lucky to be alive. To be frank, I could've shot you with a pistol and it would have been the same thing.”
She tries to sound calm and stoic, but there was a little something in her voice, kinda like a sob, but it was very short and very brief. You try to see Reisen's face, but she's hiding her face behind her long hair. It's really handy to have long hair, you can hide your face with them when you don't want to show yourself.
“But I'm alive. That's the most important thing, right?”
Still hiding her face, Reisen answers your question with another question.
“You couldn't see me when you entered, right?”
You don't answer.
“I though as much. I had to invert your wavelengths in order to be noticed. So please, be frank.”
She lowers her head, her hair touching your face.
“What else changed with you?”
Suddenly, you find the current situation not as comfortable as before. You're pinned and unable to move. You're being questioned by a girl that is capable of driving someone insane just by looking at them. For real.
You don't have any choice. You have to be frank.
“A lot of things.”
“Tell me.”


And so you speak, about Gideon, about your hallucinations, about the fact that you couldn't see her, about the fire, and about Eirin's diagnosis. At first, she seems troubled, but when you start talking about Eirin, she looks relieved, and kind of remorseful.
“So it's not that bad, right?”
“Eirin said that my brain changed, for better or for worse. I probably lost something, but I can walk and think, so everything's all right.”
“Yes, but you didn't mention the fact that you couldn't see me.”
You jump to your feet, and start stretching your arms.
“I'm fine, Reisen. I just wanted to repay your kindness, and now I'm fine, okay?”
The girl stands too, straight like a rule, her severe stare silently scolding you for your foolishness.
“You shouldn't underestimate me, Richard. Something else changed with you. I can tell. Are you telling me everything?”
“Let's see, the hallucinations, the fire, the rabbit I can't see... Yep, I said everything.”
“Richard. Can you still see that ghost you were talking about?”

[] Nope. Bet he's hidden somewhere.
[] Yes. He's holding a poster with written on it 'you lesbian whore'.

[x] Yes. He's holding a poster with written on it 'you lesbian whore'.

[x] No, he's hiding.
Want to be polite to the only one who really stood up for us.

[x] No, he's hiding.

>[] Yes. He's holding a poster with written on it 'you lesbian whore'.
very tempting, but not very polite, so...

[x] Nope. Bet he's hidden somewhere.

You're not voting for what Richard is going to say. You're voting for what Richard is going to see.

In that case...

[x] Yes. He's holding a poster with written on it 'you lesbian whore'.

>>25221
here changing vote, thought that is what he was going to say.

[x] Yes. He's holding a poster with written on it 'you lesbian whore'

>>25222 here
oh, what he's gonna see huh...changing vote then


[x] Yes. He's holding a poster with written on it 'you lesbian whore'.

[] Yes. He's holding a poster with written on it 'you lesbian whore'.

[] Yes. He's holding a poster with written on it 'you lesbian whore'.

Okay, so apparently I forgot to say it here.
My computer crashed, and I won't be able to get it back before a while (at best, for tonight. At worst, I dunno), so I won't be able to update and stuff.

Workin' on a laptop, close to the end
Of a job I've been doin' since half past ten
I don't believe that it's frozen again
The system has gone down-o, down-o, down-o
I don't believe that it's frozen again, the system has gone down-o

That song is damn catchy-o.

I think you posted that on blue. But, without a tripcode, it wasn't really informative

>>25271
I posted about it on /border/ too.

>>25272
While we're talking, I'd like to add that I love your story.

>>25273
You're probably the only one.

>>25275
I like it too, actually.

[x] Yes. He's holding a poster with written on it 'you lesbian whore'.


“Yes. I can see him.”
He's standing in a corner of a room, smiling hapily while holding a poster.
“Where is he?”
Lifting your finger, you point at the corner.
“Right here. Can you see him, Reisen?”
The girl blinks a few time, but negatively shakes her head.
“No. If it was a hallucination, I would be able to feel it, but there's just nothing.”
Hold on, hold on.
“You can feel hallucinations?”
“Well,” says Reisen while looking at you again, “long story short, I can see if something is an illusion or not, and if I grade my wavelengths on yours, I can see the same things than you do.”
“You know Reisen, I know more than a few things about women living in ancient civilizations, I can talk about the Moon for months, but medical science is out of my field. That stuff is more Moriarty's hobby-horse.”
A spark of interest lights in the bunny girl's eyes.
“Who's Moriarty?”
“A friend from the University.”
“He sounds like an interesting man, but I got the message: that's not a hallucination.”
“You mean that the fire was real too?”
“No, the fire wasn't, but your ghost is real.”
“Really?” You says, while briefly looking at Gideon's dead body. You noticed he was holding a poster, but you failed to read the message written on it. “How classy, Gideon. Somehow, I'm not surprised by your rudeness.”
Written on the brown cardboard, there are only three words. 'You lesbian whore'. You're really glad that Reisen can't see him, otherwise she would probably be pissed. Or blushing, you're not sure. Reisen's personality is kinda difficult to pinpoint. Sometimes, she gives the impression she's going to cry, and three seconds later, she's interrogating you.
“Is there something wrong?”
“NOTHING. Everything is fine, really!”
The bunny girl tilts her head, half-smiling.
“That sounds suspicious.”
“I've got nothing to hide!”
Gideon's laughter resonates in the room. Reisen cannot hear it, but you can and it's pissing you off. It's a damn good thing he's already dead, otherwise you would gladly put your hands around his neck and squeeze.
“Really?”
“Why don't we go see Eirin or Kaguya or someone else? I'm sure we can talk about, you know, stuff. Like, for example, why, from a handsome and athletic guy, I'm now a perfect and beautiful girl?”
“I don't expect Master to give you an answer, but you can try. I always want to ask here if there's any mean to heal you.”
“Heal me about what?”
“About the fact that I fried your brain and that you don't seem to be that worried about it.”
You shrug.
“Stuff happens.”
You cannot really hear what Reisen says, but she mutters something about “deep brain damage” and a great ability to become like “that lazy shrine maiden”.
You decide to ignore her and keep moving. It's good to know what's going on, especially since your long-term plan (graduating, getting married, having a family) is dead an buried, you'd like to know if you can start making another one, or if you're just going to someone's puppet. It's not like you have any choice, but, hey, it's good to know.
“Richard?”
“Yes, Reisen?”
“Who exactly is that ghost you're talking about? Do you know him?”
You sigh.
“Yes, I know him. His name is Gideon Moran, and he was my best friend back at the University.”
There's a beat, and when Reisen speaks again, it's with a thoughtful tone.
“So last time you saw him, it was... three weeks ago, right?”
“Yes. Why do you ask?”
“So he died right after you arrived here?”
You... forgot to think about that.
“No, no, that's probably not related.”
You hope it isn't. Gideon has a horrible reputation at the University, and if his roommate were to disappear suddenly, you're sure there would be an investigation. And given his … eccentric behaviour, he would probably be labelled as gay. And let's be frank, that's not a good label.
You remember something you saw at the TV, several months ago. A new about the police arresting a bunch deviant, dropout and punks. Are gay considered as deviant?
“You're sure?”
You decide to lie.
“I'm sure he's fine. Despite the fact he's a ghost, he must be fine.”
You really hope so. Because if he's not fine, it's probably your fault for disappearing. Even if you still have no idea how it happened

Arriving in front of Eirin's office, you decide to try something.
“Reisen, you go first and explain your things, I have something to check first.”
“A-are you sure about that? I don't want to bother Master without-”
You cut her.
“I know, but I won't be long.”
“Okay, I trust you.”
Swallowing her saliva, the girl breaths deeply, and enters. You don't have much spare time.
“Gideon?”
“What is it?”
Turning your head, you see him, standing behind you, still smiling as if watching you was the funnier thing in the world.
“How did you died?”
“I can't say.”
“Please, tell me. I want to know if it's my fault.”
The smile finally fades.
“I can't tell you much, Richard, but I still can tell you a few things and the more important is: it's NOT your fault. And before you ask, it's not Moriarty's fault either, so don't start thinking he went on a murderous rampage.”
You sigh.
“That's a relief. I though, you know, that since I disappeared, you-”
He smiles again.
“Oh, but I had trouble, indeed. I had to run away from England. I tried travelling to Algeria, but that was a bad idea. I was cornered at the airport, and I had my throat sliced.”
“Oh.”
His smile grows wider.
“Oh? Is that all? Your beloved and friendly big brother was stabbed, had his throat sliced, and finally died in pain several minutes later, and all you can say is 'oh'? You're giving me the cold shoulder, as usual...”
Aaand there we go again. It's Gideon for sure. Nobody else can cry fake tears like that. Next step is rolling on the floor and crying that his adopted little brother is in his rebellious stage.
“I'm not giving you the cold shoulder, Gideon. I'm just trying to figure out my situation.”
“Really? Well, in this time, I'll help you: your best friend is dead, and your other friend is slowly turning into a sociopathic and narcissic mass murderer.”
“...what?”
“Nevermind, I see you're not interested.”
Saying that, the dumbass vanishes.
“Wait! Gideon! You can't just say ominous things like that and go away, you fucking big asshole!”
His mocking voice resonates one last time.
“Flattery won't help you.”
“GIDEON!”
He doesn't answer, leaving me here alone, in this hallway, with Reisen softly calling me.
“Richard? Are you okay?”
“I'm fine, thank you.”
Leaving the deserted hallway, you re-enter in Eirin's office, hopefully for the last time today.



“And what's the problem?”
Reisen and you have been explaining the thing again and again, but each time, Eirin just shakes her head and repeats that there's no problem. According to Reisen, your brain is so toasted that you're just going to have hallucinations again and again, and that it's just a matter of time. You've been repeating that you're now seeing ghosts, or rather just one ghost. And yet, from Eirin's point of view, there's no problem.
“The problem is that unless Reisen constantly fixes my, um, wavelengths, I keep seeing things that aren't here, and it makes me unreliable.”
The mad doctor just smiles again.
“Again, I don't see any problem. You just need to have Udonge close to you, right? I'll order Tewi to put your room next to her, and there, your problem is fixed.”
You want to reply something, but you're too busy smashing your forehead with your palm.
“Of course, how dumb from me to try and find a real solution instead of a quick fix! I shoulda knew that a bandage can heal a broken leg!”
Unfazed by my sarcasm, the white-haired woman just ignores me and talks to Reisen.
“From now on, you take care of our guest. I'm counting of you to do a good job.”
Gideon silentlly appears behind Eirin, giving me a double thumbs-up. I look at Reisen, hoping that somehow she'll say something, but all she does is nodding and leaving silently.
“Uh?”
“Anything else?”
The doctor looks at you, looking quite amused by the current situation.

[] “You're not going to help me, right?”
[] “What's your plan, you evil person?”
[] “Who are you? You're not just some doctor living in a remote place. You're far too skilled.”

======================
I finally updated. And unfortunately, I couldn't get anyone to proofread it (that, and Open Office decided to stop underlining typos), so feel free to point typos, and I'll fix them. Thank for your patience. Sherlock Holmes 2 is quite good, and I'm not saying that just because the main antagonist is a batshit insane dude called James Moriarty.

Option 1 is obvious
Option 2 seems a bit pointless
So...
[X] “Who are you? You're not just some doctor living in a remote place. You're far too skilled.”

[x] “You're not going to help me, right?”

Best be honest.

[] “Who are you? You're not just some doctor living in a remote place. You're far too skilled.”

[x] “Who are you? You're not just some doctor living in a remote place. You're far too skilled.”


“Yes, something else.”
Crossing her arms, the woman smiles warmly.
“Go on.”
“Who are you?”
“That's a simple question, don't you think? My name is Eirin Yagokoro, and, simply put, I'm a doctor.”
“You're far too skilled to be a doctor, especially in a place that remote. If you were that good, you would be living in a town, and you would be famous. Instead of that, your name is unknown to me.”
“Because that's what I want.”
Eirin's smile changes from warm to cryptic. She gives that feeling she's playing with you, like a spider with a fly. It's time to think, time to be smart.
“Who are you fleeing?”
The doctor's smile instantly breaks, her eyes giving you a venomous glare.
“Do you know about Icarus?”
You do your best to hide your panic, and put on a defiant face.
“No, but you're going to tell me.”
“Once upon a time, there was that stupid girl that talked too much. She talked so much that she eventually died. The end.”
Only Eirin's glare is keeping you from bursting out laughing. That woman is clearly nimble and extremely skilled, but she doesn't know shit about mythology!
“Hey, Richard. I feel like there's a morale in that story. Ask her if that girl died after being killed.” Says Gideon, always happy to help.
“Did that girl died after being killed?” You say, while smiling in the most stupid way.
“Get out.”
“Not until you tell me exactly what's going on.”
“You're a bait. That's all you need to know. Everyone will be staring at you. Now get out before I decide to check if I'm still good with a bow.”
You leave, trying to maintain a composed face. And failing pathetically, as you're not one to control yourself.


“Nice job here, mate.”
Looking around, you see Gideon again. Except that he's different. Instead of having those horrific slashes on his throat, he's intact. Save for his head being turned backward.
“Wow. What happened to you?”
“I tried something different. Instead of running away and being killed at the airport, I tried to confront Moriarty. He got angry and snapped my neck.”
“What? What? WHAT?”
Turning his body, Gideon show me his back, while looking at me in the eyes.
“Different session. Could you feel it?”
“Feel what? Why did Moriarty killed you?”
“Could you feel the world rewinding?”
What?
“Rewinding? So playing around, Gideon, I'm not in the mood for that!”
Gideon's face softens.
“Sorry, sorry. So, any clue about what's going on?”
“Eirin basically told me I'm a lamb to be be thrown to the wolves.”
“Interesting...”
Gideon tries to scratch his chin. It's kind of horrible, watching him contort himself. I try to change the topic.
“Why did Moriarty killed you?”
“Oh, t-that. You probably couldn't figure it, but you're my best friend.”
“That's nice.”
Scratching the back of his head, ghost Gideon keeps talking.
“And I'm sure that Moriarty considers you as his best friend too. But the problem is that we can't get along.”
“I think I noticed that earlier.”
“No, I think not.”
Gideon's stare is dead serious, killing my smile. After all, if they ended killing each other, it means that they really hated each other. And yet, I missed that.
“Why did you tried to confront him?”
“Oh, for fuck's sake,” Gideon's countenance finally breaks, and he start shouting, “he's a crazy asshole spending his days working on … how did he called that? Genophage, or something like that. A crazy piece of shit made to kill specific people, for god's sake! He keep saying it's for science and that he'll never use it against anyone else, but I don't trust him!”
“Even with that, I don't understand. I mean, you know I'm here, right? I'm not sure how your rewind thing works, but you shoulda knew I was here.”
“I don't remember what happens after I die. When it'll rewind, I'll remember that I died picking a fight against Moriarty, and I still won't know what happened to you.”
“What's that rewind?”
“I have to go. See ya around.”
“Hey! Wait for me, you fucktard!”
But he doesn't listen to you, and walks through the nearest wall, probably avoiding an unpleasant topic.
Leaving you alone, with many, many questions.


[] Go see the princess. If you're going to be a lamb, you're going to be a convincing lamb. Learn more about her, her relations, and more importantly, HOW SHE'S KEEPING HER HAIR CLEAN, because your is kinda dirty and weighs a godammn shitload. You don't even want to know how heavy it is if it gets wet.
[] Fuck everything, you're going away. You're a nice guy, but even a sage will get pissed off if a buddha sit in his garden seven times a day. Or something like that, you're not really into asian mythology.

=====================================

And, yes, this is a real choice. Hartmann is not going to appears in front of you to say "yOu ThOuGhT yOu CoUlD rUn AwAy FrOm My PlOt?". It's a real choice I'm offering you here.

[] Go see the princess. If you're going to be a lamb, you're going to be a convincing lamb. Learn more about her, her relations, and more importantly, HOW SHE'S KEEPING HER HAIR CLEAN, because your is kinda dirty and weighs a godammn shitload. You don't even want to know how heavy it is if it gets wet.

[x] Go see the princess. If you're going to be a lamb, you're going to be a convincing lamb. Learn more about her, her relations, and more importantly, HOW SHE'S KEEPING HER HAIR CLEAN, because your is kinda dirty and weighs a goddamn shitload. You don't even want to know how heavy it is if it gets wet.

[x] Go see the princess. If you're going to be a lamb, you're going to be a convincing lamb. Learn more about her, her relations, and more importantly, HOW SHE'S KEEPING HER HAIR CLEAN, because your is kinda dirty and weighs a godammn shitload. You don't even want to know how heavy it is if it gets wet.

As much as I would like to see what's behind door number two, wandering back into hallucination-land, away from our brain repairman, is liable to end up rather badly.

[x] Fuck everything, you're going away. You're a nice guy, but even a sage will get pissed off if a buddha sit in his garden seven times a day. Or something like that, you're not really into asian mythology.
YES AN ESCAPE

Well, off we go. Let's follow the road I planned.
Vote called, and all those things writers are usually saying when they want to write, but aren't too sure about what they'll write and are too lazy to think about it right now.

[x] Go see the princess. If you're going to be a lamb, you're going to be a convincing lamb. Learn more about her, her relations, and more importantly, HOW SHE'S KEEPING HER HAIR CLEAN, because yours is kinda dirty and weighs a godammn shitload. You don't even want to know how heavy it is if it gets wet.


You're definitely going to have a proper nervous breakdown very soon. But not now, you have too many things to do. But once you have some spare time, you're going to isolate yourself in a place where nobody can find you, and then have a proper nervous breakdown.
There are just too many things to do, and so little time.
First, you appear in the middle of nowhere, with nothing else than the name “purple lady” to help you. Then, perhaps the most important thing, you're turned into a girl. And not just any girl, you're turned into the prettiest girl on earth. On the bright side, you can expect people to finally look at you when you enter someplace.
On the other hand, you're now forced to sit when you're going to the bathroom, your hair feels heavy, and when you look at your reflection in the mirror, you're turned on.
That's probably called narcicism. Probably. You're not sure about that. But you suddenly feel like driving your head into a wall. And you won't, because you're an adult, and adults don't act on that kind of instinct. At least, not while someone can see.

You breathe deeply. One time, two times, three times. Okay, you're calm. Time to move on. What's your next plan of action? Ha, right, being a lamb. Well, since you're going to be a lamb, you're going to be a good one.
As you walk to the Princess' room, you try not to laugh. This whole situation is completely absurd. You're going to be used as a bait by a manipulative woman, and your only concern is to do a good job at being bait. If Gideon was here, he would be calling you crazy. And, indeed, it is crazy. You're crazy.
This whole situation is crazy!


You knock at the door.
“Enter.”
You slide the door, penetrating again into Kaguya' room. This time, instead of writing, the princess is busy cutting a bonsai tree.
“Hello again, Princess.”
“Hello again.”
Not waiting for an invitation, you sit near her. She freezes for a small moment, before speaking again.
“Something on your mind?”
“I have many questions.”
“I am indebted to you. Ask, and you will receive.”
“You are the Princess Kaguya, am I right?”
She freezes again.
“Have I forgotten to introduce myself?”
“As far as I remember, it was your friend, Mokou, who told me your name.”
The girl smiles.
“That girl does not consider herself my friend. Which is a shame, I would enjoy her company.”
“But now we're getting to the funny part.”
“Please, share your fun with me.”
“There's a tale with a character named Kaguya.”
“Is it the tale of the Bamboo Cutter?”
“Yes.”
“I am indeed familiar with this tale. But I wasn't aware it was still popular, it's quite old.”
“It appears that before arriving here, I quickly developped a certain taste for old Japanese legends.”
“How peculiar.”
“Isn't it?”
You carefully stare at her face to see if there's any reaction, but Kaguya's face stays composed.
“Is there any reason for you to stare at my face, since you could see the same in a mirror?”
Hearing that, you decide to change the topic.
“Fine, fine. Eirin explained to me what I was supposed to be.”
“Do tell.”
“I am bait. A flare to be stared at, while the mastermind is pulling strings in the darkness.”
This time, Kaguya gives up on cutting her small tree, and carefully places the scissors on the table before looking at you.
“While I do not appreciate this scheme, this is Eirin's plan, not my own.”
“I know.”
“When why have you come to me?”
“Because I have your face. I even have your body. But I don't have your knowledge, or your relationships.”
“The lamb promised to the wolves won't survive.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you so eager to be the lamb?”
“Because I'm not half-doing things! If I'm going to do something, I'll do it right!”
The Princess blinks a few time.
“You may have my body, but you're lacking in sanity.”
“And also in knowledge, so let's fix that, shall we?”
“Fair enough, but before we start, let us prepare.” Grabbing the scissors, she softly hits the table with them, luring a curious rabbit. “Inaba, bring us some tea.”
The rabbit nods and leaves, coming back several minutes later with two cups of tea.


“Well, human, where should I start?”
“Try to present yourself.”
“My name is Kaguya Houraisan. I am the last daughter, and therefore, the head of the Houraisan. Eirin raised me, and became like a second mother to me. What else?”
“Well, what about Reisen and Tewi, for example?”
“I don't pay attention to them. I call them Inaba.”
Oh, and you thought it was Reisen's family name, but it turns out that she has 3 differents nicknames.
“All right. Anything else that could be important?”
“If you're really going to the Moon, you're going to meet the Watatsuki sisters.”
“On the... Yeah, maybe. But what about those Watatsuki?”
“The eldest one, Toyohime. You'll recognize her easily, she's tall, blond, and clumsy. Be careful. Theoretically, we were friends, but time passed, taking friendship away.”
“Anything else I should know about her?”
“She likes high technology, and considers training as a waste of time. She's usually nice, but once angered, she does not calm down easily.”
“And the other Wakakutsi?”
“Wakatsuki. The youngest sister is called Yorihime. I couldn't really get along with her. She considers technology to be unreliable, and she was also a troublesome child.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“On the Moon, women aren't supposed to fight.”
“Yeah, that's logic. In fact, fighting was always the man's job. Women only fight when there's nothing left. For example, during the Hundred Years' War, there was that woman, Joan of Arc. I think she's the most noticeable woman who ever... sorry.”
“So, as I said, women aren't supposed to fight, yet Yorihime always tried to change this.”
“And she managed to change things?”
“I think she did, since her sister and her are now in charge of the security.”
“Interesting.”
So things can change on the moon. Whatever the moon really is. I mean, it can't be THAT moon, right? Right?
“Well, before that, it was Eirin's job, but Eirin is an exception.”
“Really?”
You feel like making a dirty joke about Eirin more like a man than a woman, but that's not the smart thing to do.
“She's a living legend, so she's allowed to do many things.”
“What?”
Eirin? A living legend? Why is a living legend such as Eirin living in such a lost place? You can't believe it's just to take care of Kaguya, there's obviously something else. And you're the bait for that something else.

Waiting warmly for more.

Friendly bump

“And I thought that my life was interesting before, but this is just madness.”
“Excuse me?”
“Oh, nothing, I was just thinking aloud.”


You quickly look over your shoulder as you leave the Mansion of Eternity, with that constant rain drenching everything. Good, nobody's following you. It's not like you're going to do something illegal anyway, but you prefer freaking out when nobody is looking. Going further into the bamboo forest, you start wondering what you're going to do if you survive the travel on the moon. Since you're no longer a man, your long-term plans are now foiled.
Did you even have a plan to begin with? Most probably. You had this “I'll probably do that kind of thing” plan; the kind of thing that you think about for, like 5 minutes, once you're full and kind of sleepy. And that plan was essentially finding a job, getting married, having kids, and dieing happily surrounded by your grandkids.
That was a very good plan, but now, it's out of your reach, for many reasons. The first being the fact that you're lost here, and the fact that you're indebted to a crazy woman able to do whatever the hell she wants. And also, kind of the fact that you're now a girl.

You stop walking. There's something really disturbing coming up; something so disgusting that you don't even want to think about it, and yet you keep wondering.
This is not something to be thought about. You have to stay calm and focused on your current goal; said goal being figuring out what to do. First, you're going to assist Eirin in whatever-her-plan is. That'll pay your debt. Because, even if she turned you from a chips-eating nerd living with a queer rommate into the most beautiful girl you've ever seen, she still saved you and gave you a roof over your head, and you're not someone forgetful.
But let's suppose that everything goes perfectly? Eirin has her own plan, it works fine, and you're free from your debt. What are you going to do then? Settle down? Start a family? H... Have kids?
“Grrblm...”
This is clearly the thing you don't want to think about. Let's think about something else! Hey, you're a smart guy, right? Would you kindly solve this riddle?
“Why me?”
There's clearly a problem here. First, you're not from around here. You're not even from Japan, you're a pure english fellow. And you're also a man, not a woman. So why did Eirin use you, instead of some local chick? That doesn't make sense. She basically used the worst possible material for her plan.
You mean, her plan was to use a woman looking exactly like Kaguya to be bait for some complicated scheme. Yet she used you, a guy, as the soon-to-be Kaguya. That doesn't make sense at all, nobody will be stupid enough to believe that you are really the Princess.
Unless...
“Unless it's exactly Eirin's plan from the beginning.”
Why use something as erratic as a guy trying to act like a woman while looking like one, she'll be sure that everyone will be staring at you for the whole time, and thus...
“That's fairly clever, now that I think about it.”
Okay, you think you figured out Eirin's plan. Looking around you, you see that you're finally lost in the bamboo forest.
Time to snap.


Rambling incoherently, you quickly follow a nonexistent path leading somewhere. Not that you really care about something as petty as this.
“So what? I'm supposed to throw my life and more importantly my studies away just to fulfill some wild bitch's deluded and overcomplicated plan? Why is that bitch living in such a shitty place anyway? Why can't she go back to her fucking moon, with her whole fucking retarded mansion? With all her syringues and scalpels and weird shit, all she can do is bother people, Jesus Christ help me, how can she even think, even for 5 seconds, that it was a good idea?”
Still rambling, you arrives in a clearing.
“And now what? I'm going to the moon, and it's going to screw up my whole life, as if it wasn't already that screwed up to begin with. Hell, I still remember every word from my thesis, both of them. Women in ancient civilizations, ha, my ass, if those women were like Eirin, no wonder they were more or less turned into slaves and child sources. Who would marry such a harpy anyway?”
You don't notice your feet are leading you toward a familiar house.
“And every word of my other thesis, about the moon being able to bear life; it was really interesting to write, too bad I will never be able to find out if it's really possible or not. Freaking Japanese, with their stupid name for everything, naming their kids cherry tree and shining night. What kind of stupid name is shining night anyway? Was her father a huge Stanley Kubrick fan? They're all annoying bitches anyway, except Reisen, she's the only one being either sane or not a total arrogant smartass about anything, trying to look cool and mysterious when I'm betting my ass -literally- to please Eirin.”
Your head bumps against the house, making you furious.
“AAAH! What now?! You think I don't have my arms already full of shit, you feel the need to be in my way just to miss me off a bit more, you fucking wall? You made a powerful enemy today, you dumbass! Take that!”
Crac!
“Take that!”
Crac!
“Take that!”
Crac!
Repeatingly heabutting the innocent wall, the pain coming from your head doesn't calm you. On the contrary, it only makes you angrier than before.
“Youstupidfuckingpieceofshit,it'snotthedaytopissmeoff,turstmeyoufuckingpieceoffuckingshit,I'mgoingtofuckingburnyoudownyoufuckingshitoffuckingpiece!T
akethat!”
Crac!
“Takethat!”
Crac!
“Takethat!”
Crac!
You're vaguely aware of your headache getting worse, and a sudden warm liquid running on your forehead, but you choose not to care.
“Iwassupposedtohavenormallife,makesomefriends,becometeacher,findawife,getmarried,fuckawife,havesomekids,andinsteadofthat,I'mhere,coldandmiserable,un
deragoddamnfuckingkillerrain,bumpingmyheadagainsttheothermostmiserablethinginthatfuckingplace,you,thewall!Takethat!”
CRAC!
“Takethat!”
CRAC!
“TAKE THAT!”
CRAC!
This time, the pain is too strong. The world around you becomes blurry as your fall on the ground, your head being strangely warm while the rest of your body is turning colder and colder. You try to stand, but you find yourself lacking the will. After all, as Eirin said, you're bait. Which means that you're probably going to die. Knowing this, how can you stand? It's like trying something, while knowing you will fail. After all, even if you repay your debt to Eirin, you'll be dead anyway. What's the point in living if you don't have any plan? The natural course for a human being is: grow, have kids, die. But you can't have kids, so your life is worthless.
in this condition, why would you bother? Why would you stand and do something useless when you can give up, stay where you are, and have the same result anyway?


[] Dream about the future.
[] Dream about the past.
[] Dream about [write-in].

[x] Dream about a parallel life where you did not meet Yukari.

-[x]Have that dream segue into the future.

Between strict water rationing and extreme homophobia, this version of the UK feels pretty uneasy. I'd like to know if this coincides with or is caused by Gensokyo's native agendas.

(Is the youkai apocalypse a thing that is going to happen?)

[x] Dream about a parallel life where you did not meet Yukari.

Sure, sounds interesting

[X] Dream about what it would have been like if you had been a guy here and not turned into a stunning Woman

Worth a shot

[x] Dream about a parallel life where you did not meet Yukari.

[x] Dream about a parallel life where you did not meet Yukari.

As you give up, you feel the world becoming warmer under your fingers. The mud against your face with is not cold.. As you black out, you feel good.
And you start dreaming.


There's a woman called “Queen in Purple”, or something like that. Weird. She's apparently very knowledgeable about that “kaguya-hime” legend you dream about.
But there's no phone number, and no mail either, so you can't really contact her. You can still try to post something, but given that you don't speak Japanese at all, everything you'll write will sound like “one that doesn't screw up and have regular sex will not have good dreams” or some other nonsensical shit like that.
“Pfff.” Banging your head against the keyboard, you sigh. Look like there's no way to find out what your dream is about.

And then someone knocks at your door. As you move to open it, you quickly remember something. You have many friends in that dorm, and none of them would knock. So whoever is knocking right now, is NOT from the dorm. But you quickly forget it as you open the door.
“Hello, Richard.”
It's HIM.
“Hello, Father.”
“Can I enter?” Smiling weirdly, he points at the small paper bag he's carrying.
“Sure.” I try not to sound too dry, while pointing at the desk chair. In the meanwhile, You sit on my bed.
Putting the paper bag on the desk, he quickly inspects the room, while faking interest.
“Your friend isn't here? The Welsh one?”
“You're thinking of Moriarty. I told you, my roommate is Gideon.”
“Ha, yes, interesting.” He says, while faking interest. “You know, you should be careful of that man, Gideon. I heard strange things about him.”
“His father is member of the House of Lords.” You laugh bitterly. “Or perhaps you're going to say that the House of Lords is doomed too?”
“Well, the House of Commons was dissolved last month, right?” He asks, fully knowing it's not a question but a threatening statement. “Lord President will probably wait a little more before dissolving the House of Lords. It's famous, after all.”
“I'm happy for you.” Your voice is dripping with pure hate as you lie. “But I admit I'm surprised. You warn me about Gideon, because his father is a lord, but you don't care about Moriarty, despite the fact he's Welsh?”
“His father was a great help to Lord President.” Your father dismisses your worries, waving his hand. “I heard that himself was really intelligent and skillful.”
“Depends what you ask him.” You were under the impression that Moriarty hated his parents perhaps more than you hate your own father. You mean, he practically changed his name. There are only a few people in the University knowing his real name. And yet, according to your father, the Party wants Moriarty to join. “I was under the impression that he was just interested in his own research.”
“Maybe. But I'm not here to talk about your friends.” Your father shakes his head. “I'm here to talk about you.”
“What about me?” You're on the defensive now.
“I've seen your essay. Are you sure you want to try two majors at once?”
“Of course.” You want to sound casual, but the truth is that you really want to. Mainly because being overcharged with work gives you a perfect excuse to not go home during holiday, and also because you want to show him that you can do it. Even through you're never going to admit it.
“Oh well, if it's what you want, I won't interfere.” He says. You brace yourself, knowing exactly what's coming next. “But, still, you believe that the Moon could bear life? That's, umm...”
“Perfectly plausible. And I'll prove it. Hell, I'll even recite my thesis to Lord President if I need to.”
“That's not necessary! I mean, um, you know the professor Michael Wilson?”
“By reputation only.”
“He, um, heard about your thesis, and he thinks that you should reconsider it. He told me that you were going to make a fool out of yourself.”
“If it's the case, I'll assume it.” You try to not clench your teeth, but you fail. In the end, that's the only reason he came here. Just to make sure his son wasn't going to act stupidly. “And I know I'm right! There can be life up there! On the moon!”
Your father just stares at you for a while, and sighs.
“Your mother was as stubborn as you. And I heard that your friends are all stubborns. I look forward to a future where you youngsters are in command. It'll be funny.”
And with that, your father leaves. No kiss, no handshake. Just a “come visit your mother sometimes” and that's all.
Oh well.




You're reading a book about Japanese legends involving the Moon. And while you're reading, Moriarty and Gideon are playing chess.
You don't really understand why they insist on staying here, since they can't stand each other, but at least they're quiet now.
“Check.”
“Fuck that and fuck you, Moriarty. Let's play Old Maid instead.”
“Fine by me. I'll just kick your backside again.”
“Let's see about that, you scottish-”
“I'm WELSH. Call me scottish one more time and I'll make sure you'll never wake up again, am I clear?”
“Pst.”
They're really troublesome.
“Hey, Richie, have you found a girlfriend yet?”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“Who are you talking to, Gideon?”
“To you, Richard.”
“Your naming sense is as awful as your skills for games, Gideon.”
“Funny, I don't remember asking for your opinion, 'James'.”
“And do you seriously think that I won't give it anyway?”
“Quiet you too. What was the question, Gideon?”
“Have you found a girlfriend?”
“Why should I bother?”
“Very good question, Richard.”
“You'll die a virgin, Moriarty.”
“I'm fine with that. Love doesn't exist anyway. It's just an emotion that people are either throwing away, or they're frankly rolling in while squeaking.”
“...”
“...”
“So, why the girl?”
“There's a dance planned for June. Once we're all doctors or professors.”
“And why should I bother?”
“Because if you don't find one, you'll be forced to dance with Gideon, and there are enough rumours flying around about you two as it is.”
“God damn you, Moriarty! You ruined my plan!”
“Hang on, Gideon, your plan was to make me dance with you?”
“There's nothing wrong with two men dancing together, right?”
“It's wrong.”
“It's wrong.”
“Two against one? Where's your fair-play?”
“My roommate stole it after punching me in the face.”
“My father took it with him when he left.”
“SCREW YOU GUYS!”
“Don't throw the cards, you oaf!”
“Shut up, I'm trying to read.”
“What happened to our British sense of humour?”
“It died when the Queen abdicated.”
“Shut up Moriarty! Seriously, don't say things like that.”
“Listen to me, young Welsh. There are two things you shouldn't joke about. Talos, and the Queen.”
“Don't try to switch the topic, Gideon. You still gave up on the game. Therefore I win.”
“Fuck no. I'm picking the cards back! This time, I'll send your ass back home in a blanket!”
“How about you two shut up and let me read?”




“Sit, please.” You do as he asks. “So, Professor Cromwell, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Are you Lord Cromwell's son?”
“Yes, sir.” You clench your teeth. Wherever you go, it's always “Lord Cromwell's son”.
“If I remember right, you were that young man who wrote a thesis about life on the Moon, right?”
“... Yes, sir.” That's not looking good.
“And tell me if I'm wrong, but you were also confined in an institute for having recurring nightmare?”
“... Yes, sir.” You're screwed. They really looked that far.
“And you were friend with that man who created that virus who killed so many people in the subway, right?”
“... He claimed it was stolen from his laboratory.”
“Yes, and he disappeared after that. Isn't it a proof of guilt?” You clench your teeth.
In the end, it's exactly what you expected. He kicked you out. It's been months, and you're still unemployed. Apparently, England doesn't need scientists or teachers.
“H-h-h-hey! You! The smart guy! Give me your money!”
Ha crap, a drug addict. You successfully avoided him at first, but you were so depressed that you forgot about him.
“I don't have any money. Leave me alone or I'll call the cops.”
“Y-y-y-y-you LIAR! You smart guys always have money! Y-y-y-y-you're always so rich! W-while I'm poor! W-w-w-w-why won't you share? We're friends, r-r-r-r-right?”
Yep. Definitely a drug addict. And it's his last line. He'll be dead next week.
“You're dying. Leave me alone.”
“GIVE ME MONEY!”
He jumps at you. You feel your head becoming very light, while your chest suddenly hurts.
You look down.
Well, what do you know.
He stabbed you.
Drug addicts can't be reasoned with.
You made a mistake, and you're paying for it.
The addict start rummaging in your pockets, while you're slowly falling.
Finding nothing, he starts swearing and stabs you again.
This time, you feel the pain, and you scream.





You open your eyes, and blink several time.
What the hell was that? A premonitory dream? Or just your brain screwing around?
You sit, shaking your head.
“Sup.”
There's that white-haired girl eating persimmons. What is she doing here, in the middle of- oh wait.
You're in her house.
“What am I doing here?”
“Saw you outside. Figured out you weren't the pretty moon princess. Brought you in.” Answers the girl, still chewing.
“Am I supposed to thank you?”
“Yep. Totally.”
“Thank you.”
“You're welcome.” She smirks.

I might be able to come up with an update before the end of the week.
Emphasis on "might".

Update basically ready. I need to fix a few things and get it proofread and that'll be okay.

I knew it'd end with him dead!

Anyway, waiting warmly.

>>25385
Worse than that, apparently, F.A.G. can't happen if he doesn't disappears.

“Now strip.”
You stop right in your tracks. You obviously misheard, right? There's no way that hot white-haired girl is going to strip you naked and violate that pretty body of you, right?
No, no, you're on a sloppy rope here. Calm down, okay? Calm down. Breathe deeply.
“Excuse me?”
Considering the girl's wide smile, there's a huge probability of you being currently blushing, and, overall, being extremely easy to read. Nonetheless, she just points at your clothes without adding any sarcastic comment, which is extremely uncommon, considering most people you're dealing with.
“I don't know why, but you slept in the mud. Just look at you, you look like a mud youkai.”
“Oh, right!”
You frantically look left and right, looking for a remote place where you could change without having that girl's stare on you. It's not like you can really tell her “hey, I'm going to get naked in front of you and I don't want you to stare at me”. If I try, she may kick you out. Or not. When you're trying to predict people's reaction, you usually assume the worse. Usually. Sometimes, you're optimistic.
“Hmm...”
“Fine, fine.” The girl holds a laugh. “The entryway, behind me. I won't peek.”
Blushing, you walk pass the girl. She's holding her sides and giggling really hard. Sounds like she's really making an effort to not laugh too loudly at your face.

Finally out of the girl's sight, you sigh at the sight of the storm outside. You feel like it's been raining ever since you arrived here. You really miss England. And Gideon too. And Moriarty too.
Hell, you even miss your father. You would gladly see that bastard's face one more time. He was really a stubborn fellow, wasn't he?
“How is he doing, I wonder?”
“Needs something?” The girl calls from the other room. What's her name already? She told you before. Or maybe you heard from the doctor. But that's not important, because there's indeed something you need.
“How can I wash those clothes?”
“Oh, don't worry!” There's a loud ruckus coming from the other room, and several things start landing in the entryway, at your feet. “Here, wear this! That'll look good!”
You don't trust that girl. There's some kind of perverted jubilation in her voice, but you don't have the choice anyway. It's either wearing those thing she threw at you, either going back home drenched. And frankly, you're desperate enough to wear a rag.

Okay. So first, those are not rags. Those things are decent clothes. Granted, they aren't washed properly, and smell like sweat and rotten wood, but they're warm.
Second, the white shirt you're wearing is weird. You don't know what's wrong with it, but... how can you say it? It's too big.
And third, the red pants. Nothing much to say here. They're a bit short, but they're unusually warm. Even the clothes you had back in England weren't as warm as those pants are.
And fourth, you're now dressed EXACTLY LIKE HER. Not that it bother you or anything, but you feel like you just lost some kind of psychological war and failed to the Princess in favour of that white-haired girl.
“Bwahahaha! It suits you perfectly! It's perfect!” Rolling on the floor, the girl cannot look at you for more than two seconds without laughing again.

“So, what were you doing out there? Got enough of those moon guys?” She asks nicely, but the way she's never directly looking at you says enough about how hard she wants to laugh right now.
“Kinda.” You don't know if you should be sincere or keep things for yourself, so you decide to be prudent. “I mean, what that doctor did...”
“Yeah. That's really fucked up. Even by my standards.” And yet, she's still looking at the wall, so you decide to poke her a little.
“Your what?”
“Standards. I have some, you know?”
“Funny, last time I remember you, you took a lightning in the face because you were standing on top of a tree.”
That doesn't miss. The girl instantly goes red.
“T-that was premeditated! I meant to do that!”
“I know, I know. Otherwise, you wouldn't be standing out here during a storm.”
“Exactly! That's exactly that!”
“Yeah, totally.” That's probably the Japanese language being too subtle, but you think that the girl doesn't really catch the irony in your tone.
Knock, knock.
“I mean it! It was part of my plan to be alone with Kaguya and attack her!” Still staring at the wall, the blushing white-haired girl keeps rambling.
“I believe you. I totally believe you!”
Knock, knock.
“But damn, that moon princess is a tricky one. And what with that weather anyway?! It's been like this for days! Probably the kappas playing around with a weather missiles.” You think you heard something knocking, but with the white-haired girl rambling, it's hard to hear anything else. “I swear, back in the days, when we had sun, we were happy, and when we had rain, we were happy. No need for fancy weather-control-doomsday-device or whatever the kappas are up to.”
Half-listening to the old girl's speech about youngsters and comfort, you leave the room to inspect the front door. It's probably rude to invite someone when you're not the host, but you're sure it's even ruder to let someone in the rain.
“Hey, where are you going?”
Turning your head to look at the white-haired girl, you answer. “I think I heard someone knocking. Can I let them in?”
“Hu? Uh, sure. Why do you ask anyway?”
This time, you're the one surprised. “Well, that's your house.”
She doesn't answer for a while after that, so you decide to check if there's really someone at the door.

Well, you'll be damned. There's someone, sadly standing under the rain, her ears so down they look like they're glued to her head, and a really desperate stare, silently saying “please let me in”.
“Reisen...”
But that's before she sees your face. You guess she was just fooled by your clothes. Well, the white-haired girl's clothes. You swear you heard her name before, but you can't remember it for some reason. And you're getting sidetracked by the way.
The main topic girl is the drenched bunny girl staring at you with tears in her eyes.

[] “What happened?”
[] Hug her.
[] Write-in.

=========================
Guess my proofreader is on holiday.

Poor girl. Let's console the only good thing we found in that old house.

[x] Hug her.