>>“What have you done to upset me? Oh please, as if you didn't have a clue. You ignore me for who knows how long, not even bothering to stop and make an offer, and then you all of a sudden expect me to be sympathetic and charming. Well, that ain't gonna happen. No way, no how, bub.” It's strange, but you think that the booze god honestly hurt. “I'm not a cheap deity that you can just pledge your allegiance to and then forget me. I'm not satisfied with just that.”

Is our Lord sure he isn't still a woman?

...it might be better that way, actually. A drunken tsundere booze goddess? I'd worship it.

>It'd probably be best to observe to get more of a hang of things. Just like yesterday.

hooray.jpg

You take this opportunity to ask her about PE. She explains that most of your assumptions are correct. About the changing and the uniforms. She also says that she allows the students to propose their own physical activities and merely supervises so no one gets hurt. How civilized. If only gym teachers were that understanding everywhere.

You hang around the school helping Keine out. There's not much that needs to be done. Just putting back some equipment. You enlist the help of a couple of boys to do that. They help carry the goal post and ball back to the equipment storage chamber. This is the big structure you saw the other day. The lock has been removed and the door is open. It's full of equipment for sports as well as boxes. You put the stuff near the entrance and leave. The place is dark and smells, not somewhere where you want to hang around much. You thank the boys and leave the storage building.

After that, it's lunchtime. So again there's not much to do. You're not hungry since you recently ate and instead dedicate your time to helping Keine supervise. You sit by a tree off to the far end of the field and watch the kids play around. It's amazing how they have boundless amounts of energy. Its fun to watch them play around. Reminds you of your own school days.

After lunchtime is over, it's your turn to teach. This being the last class of the day, the students aren't very focused. But you teach anyways. You note to yourself that you should plan your lessons according to your student's mental state. Right now it's probably no good to try to explain complicated terms. A simple activity like sketching would be adequate. You can't do that now since you didn't prepare the materials but you could ask them to draw different examples of erosion. Yeah, it might be nice if they draw things from around here as well. That way they can combine what they already know with different concepts.

Their state is pitiful and you end up cutting them some slack. It's best to do the heavy-lifting at some other time. You teach them miscellaneous facts, trying to make it seem interesting. You get mixed results. It does interest them when you relate your lesson to the landmarks around them. It looks like they appreciate learning more about the things around them. All is not lost yet. So you continue teaching them until time is up.

The students leave for home and your work is done. Boy time flies by fast when you're working. Maybe it'd be another story entirely if you had a desk job. Yeah something like that is surely hell. You don't think that asking Keine out twice in two days is that good an idea so you just say goodbye to her and leave for home.

This would be the standard pattern for you for the next couple of days. You'd wake up at an appropriate hour, get ready, go to school, teach, go home, maybe dine with Kaguya and the others, and then do nothing very interesting at night. In retrospect, it was boring. This daily grind wasn't very exciting at all. But you got to know your students better and you think that you were becoming a good teacher. In the course of a few days you think that you made them slightly more interested in science. Math was a lost cause, except on a select few, so you can't really blame yourself in that area. And as an added bonus you think that Keine approved of your efforts. She'd told you one day after school how she was glad that you came to help her along.

Asking her out for a drink or something else proved to be a bit complicated. She'd always give you some excuse, or this one time she was willing to go Mokou showed up and dragged her off to god-knows-where. You told yourself that you can't always be lucky and that it was only a matter of time. You'd eventually be able to win at this.

On the home front, you didn't see much of a change. Eirin is mostly sequestered with her work. She was swamped by more rabbits that needed to be isolated. That kept her busy most of the time and you could only see her for short intervals. Reisen, as such, was being overworked. She was almost around the clock helping Eirin out and when she wasn't, she was busy with the household chores.

Kaguya spent most of the day sleeping and most of the night doing her own things. As such, you didn't get to see her much. Only in the precious few hours in the late afternoon and evening in between your arrival and when you had to go to bed. The more used to work that you became the happier she seemed to be. You happily spent time with her and sometimes Eirin when she would pry herself away from work.

And, it need not be said what happened the few times you saw the last of the big four. You ran into her once around the back of Eientei. She was giving some sort of briefing to the rabbits, with maps and charts. When she saw you she shooed you away and told you to forget what you saw. You saw her walking around the corridors as well, skipping along with no care in the world. You greeted her and she greeted you back. But that was it. She carried on her way. What a strange girl.

Things carried on in a slow and generally unexciting day until about the end of the week. It was the day before the weekend. The day after would be only a half-day at the school and the subsequent day was a holiday. Things really started picking up again. Morning classes were over and it was now lunch time. You had just finished teaching classes, using Albion as a tool. You had the kids take a small quiz and you used her to patrol the desks to make sure no cheating occurred. After they handed the quiz in, you let them out and they all went out to play.

It was then that you noticed your problem. You hadn't brought your lunch. You had a class right after this so you needed the energy. Well then, you think you have enough time to go through with any of the ideas that occurred to you. You thought that each one had its benefits and drawbacks. Hindsight would prove you right.

[] Bum off Keine. Ask her to share her lunch with you
[] Head into town and buy something to eat
[] Rush back to Eientei. You should be able to get something there
[] Starvation is in vogue right now
------
Yeah, yeah, I'll cut out the boring fluff and clearly define the choices. You won't get stuck in a 'nothing happens' limbo. Things are going to move along just fine.

[X] Rush back to Eientei. You should be able to get something there

You know how, when someone comes home unexpectedly during the work day, they can wind up seeing something they wouldn't normally have seen, like their wife sleeping with the mailman or something?

[+] Head into town and buy something to eat
Because this is the first thing I'd think to do in his situation.

[ ] We haven't been over to see Alice in quite a while. Maybe we should drop by and pay her a visit.

Pissing into the tide.

[x] We haven't been over to see Alice in quite a while. Maybe we should drop by and pay her a visit.

Great Idea, i bet she will cook something good.

[x] Catch and kill a wild Yukkuri.

{X} Rush back to Eientei. You should be able to get something there

>>8664
>>8663
It's not like you have infinite time. Just going to her place and back will consume most of your time likely. Let alone waiting for something to get cooked. Weak excuse, I know. But you might see more of her sooner than you expect. I could write it but I'd much rather prefer that you choose one of the options I laid out in this case. Trust me, things will be interesting this way.

>>8671
Fine, be that way! It-it's not like we're waiting for your updates or anything! Sheesh!

[] Head into town and buy something to eat

[] Head into town and buy something to eat

>>8671
No Alice Route in my /eientei/?
YOU DISAPPOINT ME TERUYO
Next thing you say will be that there will be no Marisa route.

>>8677
Such scathing sarcasm. You almost broke my sarcasm detector. Good thing I spent the extra 50 bucks for the surge protector.

Still, this give me a good chance to say something I've been meaning to bring up. Not all routes necessarily end with Shirou paired up to a character. At least not romantically. However, all routes ARE heavily Eientei-related and its inhabitants will be at the center of the story. So yeah even if, hypothetically speaking, Nitori had a route (trust me on this one, she won't even appear) it'd ultimately relate with the characters and intrigue of Eientei. I've always viewed the story as Eientei-centric, no exceptions.

>>8672
*fapfapfap*

Also more votes before I write again. Not enough votes and the choices are tied anyways. This goes for you too, Mr. Sarcasm. Vote.

[x] Head into town and buy something to eat

>>8678
>the choices are tied
No they weren't, unless somebody just deleted theirs and didn't re-vote.

[x] Head into town and buy something to eat

You put away your teaching material. You then tell Keine that you're going to go eat lunch in the village and take off. Around this hour most people seem to be taking a break. You see shopkeepers eating lunch and talking amongst one another.

There's no way that you can afford a proper meal. So something like steak is out. But you think that you could probably get a snack somewhere or something. Your stomach grumbles. You're quite hungry. You look around for a restaurant or something. You're mainly following you nose here. You follow the scent of food like a hound to a steak and find yourself smack dab in front of a bakery.

Bread is fine too. You shrug your shoulders and step inside. There are various shelves and tables filled with different kinds of breads. A man sits behind a counter towards the back of the shop. The first thing that you notice about him is a large scar that extends from his right temple down to his jaw. He's wearing a baker's apron and has a hairnet on. Despite his surly looks he greets you nicely.

“Welcome. May I help you?” The man asks. You decide that it would be best if you asked for his help.
“Yes, I'm looking for something for lunch. Any recommendations?” The variety of bread is quite large and it'd be best to just go with whatever is suggested.
“Lunch, huh?” The man gets up from his place and walks over to a shelf. He's quite tall and has a buff body. If you saw this man in a dark alley you'd flee, but in this context he seems harmless enough. “I recommend one of these, sir.” He picks up a piece of bread with a tong.

It's a pretty normal-looking mini baguette. It's got a nice color to it. Yeah, this will do.

“That would be fine, thank you.” You tell the man, walking up to the counter.

The man brings up the bread to the counter and places it in a small paper bag.

“If you're interested, I can also sell you a bit of cheese and some other things if you want to make a sandwich.” The man with the serious expression tells you.
“Really? In that case I'll take a few things.” You tell him. He tells you briefly of a few things that he has and you choose from amongst them. Since it's just a small amount of stuff it's not really expensive.

You pay the man and thank him. He thanks you for your patronage and tells you to come back again.

You leave the store and find a place to eat. You settle for the secluded spot where you passed with Reimu a few days back. The small park. You sit on the bench there. It's nice and peaceful. There's grass and a couple of trees that adorn the place. There's no one here except for yourself. You open your bag and assemble your sandwich. You don't have a knife so you just rip open the bread with your fingers. It's inelegant but it gets the job done. You then place the stuff that you bought inside of the bread. You strategically dot around the sandwich, forming a strong show of flavor from tip to tip. It's simple stuff like a piece of ham and cheese. You also got a few slices of a tomato. Apparently the guy took it from his own lunch.

You assemble your sandwich and dig in. The bread is nice and crunchy. Without being hard to eat. And it looks like you made the right choice in choosing these ingredients. You leisurely chow down, taking the time to enjoy yourself. The sky is overcast. It might rain soon. It's inconvenient not to have proper weather forecasting. You have to pretty much guess how the weather is going to be every day. Well, it's not that bad. At least you have that element of surprise to look forward to.

You finish your sandwich and leave the bench. You've still got a bit of time left before classes begin again so you should be able to do something around here. Maybe take a look around the shops or something. You barely have any money left, but that doesn't mean that you can't window shop. You walk towards the main square and notice that a small crowd is gathering on the far end. It looks like they're all trying to get something from someone. Huh, funny that, they're all men as well.

[] See what's going on with the crowd
[] Go to that tailor Mokou recommended
[] Search for potential gift opportunities
[] Investigate if there's any special shops that you haven't seen
------
>>8679
I could have sworn when I looked it was a tie between going to Eientei and to the village. It's easy to make mistakes counting votes, I guess.

>>8660
I forgot to comment earlier. But Kaguya totally changes personality and becomes a cold-hearted dominatrix when you step out. She dons a leather outfit and starts whipping and torturing anyone who crosses her path. She gets off on seeing her victims tied up and humiliated. It turns out that Eirin is a masochist and not a sadist as popular opinion would have you believe. She enjoys getting it from Kaguya. *cough* Yeah, that's the truth of it.
...really...
...
Well, I can't blame you if you don't believe me. I sometimes don't believe myself.

[x] Go to that tailor Mokou recommended

I feel like we got closer to the Unlimited bread works ending.

[] Go to that tailor Mokou recommended

Trouser'n gaems

>>I forgot to comment earlier. But Kaguya totally changes personality and becomes a cold-hearted dominatrix when you step out. She dons a leather outfit and starts whipping and torturing anyone who crosses her path. She gets off on seeing her victims tied up and humiliated. It turns out that Eirin is a masochist and not a sadist as popular opinion would have you believe. She enjoys getting it from Kaguya.

I was thinking more along the lines of overhearing someone plotting against us while we were supposed to be out for the day, but that works too. Of course, I'm now saddened that we are too far along to have any hope of Eirin getting it from us, too, but oh well.


[X] See what's going on with the crowd

It's gotta be either hookers or booze.

[X] See what's going on with the crowd

[X] See what's going on with the crowd

This is time-sensitive. We can get Mokou pants anytime.

[+] See what's going on with the crowd

>>This is time-sensitive. We can get Mokou pants anytime.

I can't help but read this as:

>>We can get into Mokou's pants anytime.

[X] See what's going on with the crowd

This is the reason why Keine doesn't liek Shirou.

>>8684
Drats and double drats, right?
>>8690
You know what they say, once you go immortal you don't go back.

Writing now. Also using this as an excuse to post this picture.

>>8691

WAT TEWI?. HOORAY

>>8692

Loli Reisen DO NOT WANT.

[x] See what's going on with the crowd

There's something about a good ol' fashioned crowd that you just can't resist. How could you pass up investigating what a crowd of men is after? You near the crowd. It's exclusively made up of males actually. And they all seem to be of... a certain age range. You don't see a single guy that looks to be under thirty. Instead the hustle and bustle is coming from a bunch of balding, sweaty, middle-aged guys.

You'd only expect this kind of turn out from a strip joint or horse track betting. You tap the shoulder of a stocky fellow on the edge of the crowd. Luckily for you the guy turns around. He looks like a jolly fellow so you ask him what's going on.

“You haven't heard what's going on?” The stocky guy asks you. “I can't believe it. Every man in the village knows. What are ya, some kind of slowpoke?”
“Maybe I am. Give a guy some slack. What exactly is happening?”
“Ah fine kid. I'll tells ya.” The man stops and wipes a bit of sweat from his prominent forehead. “There's supposed to be some sort of sale goin' on. From that weird bunch o' people that live deep in the bamboo forest. Sellin' us medicine.”

Medicine? Bamboo forest? That's definitely Eientei. But doesn't Eirin sell her medicine to a supplier instead of directly? What's with this?

“Yeah I see. I thought the medicine gets sold to a middleman first. What's so special about this?” The crowd is pretty loud so you have to raise your voice a bit.
“You really haven't heard?” The man looks at you dubiously for a bit. “Ah well, you look like a good kid so I'll tell ya. This medicine. It's supposed to make you more energetic.”
“More energetic? Like an energy supplement?”
“No, no. That's not it at all. You need to follow me here, kid. It makes you, you know, more energetic” The man does a little a little gesture with his hand. He has his hand closed in a fist and then extends his pointer finger concurrently with his timing on the word 'energetic'.
“Still not following you here.”
“Do I have to spell it out for ya? It makes you... more energetic with the ladies. Even if you can't normally be energetic.”
“Ah, I think I understand now.” You say. That explains the crowd. You thank the man, patting his shoulder.

If there's someone here from Eientei, then it must be Reisen. You shove your way into the crowd. The smell of sweat and peanuts (?) is almost too intoxicating. Still, on you go, shoving and pushing several people out of your way. You dive in to the thick of it. You feel like an explorer going through thick underbrush, all you're missing is one of those hats and a machete and you'd look like the best of them. The crowd gets more vicious the more you close in on the epicenter.

You eventually clear the wall of fat and sweat. In the middle is a nervous-looking Reisen. The bunny girl is handing out small vials and receiving cash in return. Her ears are perked up and it looks like she's a bit distressed. It looks like she's almost out of vials as well. So this is why the men in the front are even more agitated. You position yourself to the side in such a way that you can talk to her without having to shove any more people.

Good timing as well. She hands out the last vial as you get next to her. You preemptively disperse the crowd.

“Oh my god, what is that woman doing with her top off!" It's broad daylight! You can see everything!” You shout out.

Enough men fall for it and turn around. You seize the opportunity to grab Reisen by the arm and drag her off to somewhere out of sight. It's a good thing too. The men frenzy when they notice that she's gone. They're like piranhas that have tasted blood.

“Hey, you have to be careful. Those guys can be scary.” You tell Reisen.
“Ah, thank you Shirou. I was wondering what I was going to do when I ran out. You saved me out there.” Reisen gratefully tells you. This is a nice change of pace from her being disappointed with you. You can dig this.
“What were you doing anyways? I thought you sold your medicine to a drugstore or something.”
“I do – usually. I was told earlier today by my master to do this. She said that we needed funds quickly and this was the best way to do it.”

Eirin, huh?

“Why the sudden need for money? I thought Eientei had plenty.”
“Well, lately we've had to buy more and more food from the village.” Reisen shows a clouded expression. “For the sick rabbits.”

That's reasonable. They would probably need particular foods to recover. Still, there has to be a reason why she chose to sell this kind of medicine. But that's a mystery better left for another time. You look at the time. Your break is almost over. You should get back now.

“I have to go now, classes are going to start soon.” You tell Reisen. “But take care and see you later.”
“I will. I hope you have a nice class.”

You leave Reisen and head back to the school. The crowd has degenerated into an unruly mob that's fighting amongst itself. The people who didn't get to get a vial of medicine are beating up the ones that did. It's sad when brother turns against brother. You shake your head out of pity.

You make it in time to the school. Just as Keine rings the bell calling the students back. Not bad. You hold your afternoon lesson as usual. It's easy to teach once you get into the groove. You don't think you're a genius at this, but you don't think that you're too shabby either. The students don't seem to be bored out of their minds. Which is always a good thing. They're good kids. You've grown fond of them. This teaching gig is a bit boring at times but it's rewarding. Most of these children enjoy school and you can see that their faces light up when you explain something to them and they understand it.

You get through your classes and so another school day ends. You dismiss the children and start sorting out your things. Tomorrow is just a half day and then you're free. You've been caught up in this dynamic of waking up and going to school and you feel that you've lost a significant part of your freedom.

Speaking of which, you should correct and grade those quizzes. You sigh and get your stuff. You might not plan ahead much but you do feel a strong sense of responsibility. You leave the school and go back to Eientei. There's no one to greet you, as usual, so you just head to your room. Taking a bit of time to freshen up, you then go to the dining room. You sit at the large table and get to correcting the quiz.

This takes you a while since you have to apply a different scale for different students. It can't be helped since there's a large gap in exact age. You're pleased to see that most of them got good marks. It looks like most of them do listen to your lessons and don't just stare absentmindedly in your direction. You make a note of all the students that got bad marks; You'll dedicate some time to help those who failed to grasp some of the more important concepts.

Well, you've carried through with your responsibilities for the day. It should be time to kick back and relax. You're free to do as you please for the rest of the day. There's no much of it left, it'll soon be dark, but you still have a couple of solid hours.

[] Drop by the clinic
[] Coax the rabbits to play hide-and-seek with you
[] Take a bath and conclude your epic (pretend) adventures
[] See what Kaguya is up to

>“No, no. That's not it at all. You need to follow me here, kid. It makes you, you know, more energetic” The man does a little a little gesture with his hand. He has his hand closed in a fist and then extends his pointer finger concurrently with his timing on the word 'energetic'.

[x] Take a bath and conclude your epic (pretend) adventures

[x] Take a bath and conclude your epic (pretend) adventures

REISEN MOE~

[x] Take a bath and conclude your epic (pretend) adventures

{X} Take a bath and drop by the clinic.

Bathing doesn't take long~

>>8697
[ ] take a bath
[ ] think about this

[] Take a bath and conclude your epic (pretend) adventures

Because real men play with toys in the bath.

[x] Take a bath and conclude your epic (pretend) adventures

[] Take a bath and conclude your epic (pretend) adventures

[X] Drop by the clinic

Aw, come on. You're not at all curious to drop by and visit the good doctor?

[x] Take a bath and conclude your epic (pretend) adventures

Well, there's only a handful of things more relaxing than a bath. Bathing is your best bet to unwind right now.

You grab a change of clothes and head to the bath. It's a bit early for anyone else to have used it, so you draw the bath. You strip down as the tub fills. You haven't got much in the way of bathing accessories, just whatever of your stuff floats and your imagination.

You use your time efficiently and wash yourself as the tub finishes filling. That being done you get in right away. Sure, it's hot, but it's only a slight discomfort and you quickly get used to the water temperature. There's only one thing missing now. A rubber ducky. It's just not the same without one.

As you soak in the bath you set up the scenario for your adventures. The thing with the whole cold mountain didn't work out. So instead you follow rumors of a great ancient kingdom that lives among the waves. You and your bunny girl are taking a boat around the island archipelago (occasional bubbles on the surface of the bath). An increasing number of marauding murloc maniacs make the trip full of intense action and fighting. By now, of course, you have topped off your magical skills with a proficiency in bladed weapons. Your companion, too, has picked up some skills. She is an adept healer and is handy with her fists.

Eventually you find clues on certain islands on the whereabouts of this ancient civilization. They're literally underwater, protected by a huge dome that can withstand the awesome water pressure. The only way to get in or out is by using a special submersible that runs between one of the islands and the city. You locate the vehicle and power it up. It takes you down to the sea floor. It's dark and there are no windows. The sub takes you to a wonderful city. A place of light and life in an otherwise dark and depressing place. There is but one problem. The city has been overrun by plague-bearing rodents. Dire rats.

You fight your way to the city center and discover a massive archive of information. In it, you see records of rituals that may assist you. You jot them down before the rats burst through. Being chased from place to place, you eventually climb to the central control station. You're besieged, but won't give up. The control station is a small craft that lies on top of the protective dome. You come up with a bold plan to make it out of there. You decide to use explosives to sever the link between the dome and the station. Thusly propelling you to the surface. There are risks involved, mainly explosive decompression, but if this works you'll have escaped.

You go through with it, blasting the rodents. You hang on tight with you companion as you accelerate at an unprecedented rate. You use your hand to pretend that it's the underwater station. You make it rise up from the tub and into the air. You also make a whooshing sound. The adventure finally comes to a close as you think that you have what you need to bring Albion back. You drift away in the security station, hoping to see land soon and knowing that when you do you'll be able to finally end your quest. This is almost definitely the end.

Good timing as well, you're pruning up. You get out of the bath and rinse off. You towel off and put on your clothes. You check the time and see that it's close to dinner time. You head to the kitchen to see if anyone is going to eat with you.

There's no one there. No one in the dining room either. There's some food that's been left out, presumably for you. It looks like everyone else is too busy to spend time with you. Likely Eirin is doing some work and she recruited Reisen. And god knows what it is that Kaguya is doing. Is it really going to kill them to eat dinner together? It's not like it takes very long. You sigh and take the plate. Well, at least you can have the luxury of going wherever you want to eat. Mix things up a bit. That'll help you get over the fact that it's a soul-crushing despair to be all alone like this. Maybe.

[] Just chow down here quickly
[] Go to your room. Eating alone in there is good enough
[] Sit in the courtyard
[] This ain't no way to live, go grab a bite to eat at the tavern. At least you'll have company

errrrr [X] Pick a plate and go find Kaguya?

MAKES SENSE TO ME, if not, we can just eat in our room.

[x] Sit in the courtyard

We'll have achieved enlightenment before we get into Kaguya/Eirin/Reisen's pants.

[X] Sit in the courtyard

[x] Sit in the courtyard

[ ] Sit in the courtyard
[ ] Make an offering to the booze god.

[ ] Sit in the courtyard
[ ] Make an offering to the booze god.

[+] Sit in the courtyard
[+] Make an offering to the booze god.

[x] Sit in the courtyard

You take your plate and head on out to the courtyard. It's already dark and the sky is pitch black. Dense clouds cover the sky, warning you of an impending downpour. You ignore the warning and sit in a comfortable spot. You start to ate your food. You can barely see it since the only sources of light are the lights coming from inside and an almost invisible moon.

Whatever. Your grub tastes alright.

You don't really think about anything. It's just a mechanical shoveling of food into your mouth. You could probably meditate after eating as well. Try to clear your mind. Might do you good.

A voice interrupts your meal.

“You know, it's about to rain. You'll get wet if you stay here.” The voice says.
“I know, don't really care.” You reply, shoving another portion of food into your mouth.
“Oh, in a bad mood? Did you not get to play enough in the bath today or something?”

That last comment causes you to turn your head and confront the voice. It's no surprise who's standing there. Clad in her usual pink outfit, it's none other than Tewi. She's grinning and looking down on your hunched form.

“Ah, it's you. Here to try to bury me alive again? Or this time is it to shoo me away. I'm not interrupting one of your secret meetings am I?” You look around to see if there are any other rabbits.
“Nope. You're not. I'm just giving you helpful advice.”
“Thanks but I don't need it.” The last thing you need is her antics to ruin your perfectly good meal. You jealously grip your plate.
“Relax. I'm really not here to mess with you. Just keep you company.”
“No funny business?”
“At least not for now~”
“Fine. Sit.” You indicate a space next to you. She cheerfully sits down and starts swinging her legs in the air.

You try to block this out and focus on your meal. You're still wary of her. You've hardly seen her and every time you do something happens. You pick up your speed, shoveling food in fast. You don't want to get caught with your pants down. The food isn't really enjoyable like this but you push on regardless. No bunny is gonna get the best of you again.

You finish and put down the plate.

“All done? I'd like to talk to you about something if you are.”
“Is it a threat? Going to blackmail me? I don't care who knows that I play around in the bath.” You say, trying to bluff your way out of this one.
“Oh no, it's not about that. If I wanted to blackmail you I have much juicer material.”

You shudder and look at her. Her expression is completely innocent. It reminds you of the naïve faces that we associate with sheep. Yeah, this one is a real lamb of god. You know that behind that facade is something mischievous. Her words prove that theory correct.

“I'm sure you do. Say your piece, I'll hear you out.” Tewi smiles when you say this.
“Well, lately I've been having a slight problem. Something has been going around the rabbits and it's made things complicated." She sounds like an executive explaining slow growth to shareholders. "Manpower shortages and the like. Operations have been compromised.”
“I feel for you. Get to the point.” You don't want to be rude, but you just can't help to get a bad feeling about this whole deal.
“Alright, alright. I want you to keep an eye out. If you see anything really strange, especially involving Eirin or Kaguya, tell me.”
“Strange? What do you mean by that?” You say almost out of reflex. You've seen a lot of things that could be categorized as strange.
“Anything that's really out of character for them. Or any unsettling comments or actions. You know, strange stuff.”
“And what's in it for me?” You ask the fundamental question. There's no denying that you don't really feel like helping her out. The rewards better be good.
“You're quite pragmatic I see. Not a problem. Well, I can give you my word that I'll always be honest with you.” You look at her incredulously. “What? Don't give me that look. Is my word not enough? Well then, I'll sweeten the deal. Let's see... how about for every piece of information that you bring me I share some of my own information. About people, what they've been up to, rumors, etc. Sound good?”
“I'll think about it.” You say. No need to encourage her any further. If you do accept the deal you'll only tell her when you have something for her.

Something wet hits the top of your head. You look up and a drop of rain falls on your forehead.

“It looks like it's started to rain. Better get out of here before I catch a cold! Take the deal!” Tewi scrambles away without even saying goodbye.

You get up as well, taking in your plate. You're sure as hell not going to get soaked. There's a light drizzle now. You like the noise the rain makes as it hits the tile roof. It should be nice sleeping tonight with this rain. You head to the kitchen and drop of your dirty plate. You then swing by the pantry.

You've been leaving small offerings of alcohol for the booze god every other day. You hope that with this he'll be content with you and not make you make out with a barnyard animal. You leave the offering in a small space by the door and leave. There's not much to do here at night. Unless you're with someone. Next time you get dragged along to some sort of magical land you hope that you'll have time to grab a game boy or something.

Ah tomorrow is a half-day. How blissful. It's not that late, but early to bed early to rise make a man strong and wise (alternatively: 'gives him a small penis size'. You never knew which version was more accurate).

[] Retire to your quarters
[] Chase down that wascally wabbit
[] See if the other rabbit is at the clinic with Eirin
[] Pop in to see Kaguya
------
Sorry for the late update, I was being lazy.

[X] Pop in to see Kaguya

If we're going to take Tewi's deal (and I think it would be in our best interests to do so) I think we should try to spend some more time with Kaguya and Eirin. As-is, how else will Shirou be able to tell when they do or say something strange or out-of-character for them, when he clearly still doesn't know enough to tell what is or isn't strange or out-of-character for them? He couldn't even imagine them doing what they did to Mokou, so I don't think he's got quite a good enough grasp on them to know what is or isn't "strange" for them.

[X] Retire to your quarters
[X] Make an offering to the Booze god.

We neglect our god for so long.
He/She might hate us and take his divine favor back!

>>You are slowly drowning. Tewi is throwing you a lifeline. Now do you take the chance, even though the cord may be cut? Or will you just tread water until your legs fail you?

I understand your point, but think for a second. When have we EVER managed to succeed in tracking down Tewi intentionally?
We don't find Tewi. Tewi finds us.

Besides, I think this was supposed to be a hint:
>>If you do accept the deal you'll only tell her when you have something for her.

In other words, we haven't accepted it because we don't have anything worthwhile to share with her at the moment. If we want to actually have something to offer the bunny, it means we have to spend more time around Kaguya and Eirin than we have, and we're certainly not going to accomplish that by playing games of pretend in the bathtub.

>>8747

Well, we do have something to tell her: We've been having the same symptoms as the rabbits. Still, point taken. >>8745 changing vote.

[x] See if the other rabbit is at the clinic with Eirin

>>8748
Little tip: Telling someone you think you're experiencing hallucinations and feelings of paranoia? NOT a good way to inspire confidence in the credibility of anything you might have to tell them, especially when they're relying upon you for information.

>>8747
Just to be clear on this: if you were to talk to Tewi again you could tell her about the symptoms, or about the weird dreams you've been having, etc. However not everything might be of value to her and may end up hurting you instead of helping. Not just with her, but with anyone. You should try to see what's the benefit of trusting a certain person with information always. There's always pros and cons to every situation.

I didn't mean to say that our current information was worthless, but rather anon had to make up his mind on what is good enough to tell her.

Also, don't belittle the games of pretend. You never know how the relaxation effect that they have might benefit you... Even if they appear to be poorly constructed, self-aggrandizing fantasies. Well, it's all a matter of perspective I guess. You're right in saying that it doesn't really help in keeping tabs on Kaguya.

[x] Pop in to see Kaguya

[+] See if the other rabbit is at the clinic with Eirin
[+] This is a sneaking mission.

[x] See if the other rabbit is at the clinic with Eirin

>>8757
>>[x] Pop into Kaguya

This is what I read here.

Never theless, my vote is
[x] See if the other rabbit is at the clinic with Eirin

[X] See if the other rabbit is at the clinic with Eirin

Hay! I dropped to see wtf is goin on

[x] See if the other rabbit is at the clinic with Eirin

The rain outside intensifies as you near the clinic. My, what a heavy downpour. It almost sounds as if large pellets were striking the tiles and it's not cold enough for it to be hail. You also see occasional flashes of light and after a few moments the roar of a thunderclap. The flashes of light illuminate the otherwise mostly dark walls and corridors. Judging by the delay of the sound, these lightning strikes are relatively nearby. You wouldn't want to get caught out in the open tonight.

The clinic seems to be empty. You take a look around and you can't see any lights nor any other signs that anyone is in. You knock on Eirin's office and try to open the door, but it's locked. You press your ear against the door to try to see if you can hear anything, but all that you hear is the sound of rain. How strange. You wouldn't think that Eirin would leave the clinic unattended while she had patients under observation. Something about this strikes you as odd.

You try to find another way in, but everything is locked or inaccessible. You try the next best thing.

You go to Reisen's room. You don't know where Eirin sleeps. You knock on her door.

...

No answer.

Not wanting to be deterred, you slide the door open slightly and peer inside. It's dark and you don't see anyone in there. Just to be sure you step inside for a moment. Definitely no one here.

If Reisen isn't here, then where can she be? You figured that she might be either at the clinic or in her own room.

The next stop would be the kitchen. You just passed by there, but you don't know if maybe they decided to go for a snack or something. It proves to be a complete long shot, and there's no one there. The same with the pantry, entrance, and other parts. Heck, you even check the courtyard. All you see is a heavy torrent of water coming down on everything.

There's one last place that you haven't checked. Kaguya's room. For some reason you feel a bit of dread at the prospect of going there. It's ridiculous – or so your brain tells you, but you can't help but feel unease. The only noise in the hallways are your footsteps and the sounds from outside. There's a permanent silence everywhere else. None of the many rooms here even suggest that they're occupied.

Finally arriving in front of her room, you timidly knock on the door. There's no answer. You half-expected this. But it still makes you feel uncomfortable. You slide the door open and are greeted by darkness. Not only that, but not even Kaguya's computer is turned on and there is a heavy silence here. There's nothing else for you to see here so you leave.

Where the hell is everyone? Sure, Eientei is a large place and you haven't ever been to every room, but for it to be so empty is unnerving. You resort to calling out loud. Surely someone will hear you. Maybe one of the bunnies. Even one of them would be fine right now. You walk around mostly aimlessly for a while. You end up in the dinning room.

It's here that you finally see signs of somebody else. The lights are on, and there's a cup of steaming tea on the table. You get close to the table to see if there's anyone around. Just then you see a shadow dart right outside of the door. Your body springs into action and you dart right after it. You manage to make it to the corridor just as whoever it is turns a corner. You can't really see who it is since they cleared the corner so quickly. It looked to be human at least.

[] Chase after the shadow
[] Back into the dinning room, drink some tea
[] Try to force your way into the clinic from outside
[] Screw this crap, go to your own room and sleep

[X] Chase after the shadow

If we're not hallucinating, and we very well could be, who would fix themselves a cup of tea, but not want to hang around to chat with us?

[x] Chase after the shadow

[X] Chase after the shadow

Clearly this is all a part of that big surprise party everyone has been planning for us.

[x] Chase after the shadow

inb4 redherringlol

[x] Chase after the shadow

WAIT, TEWIIII!

[x] Chase after the shadow

[x] Chase after the shadow

You can't let this go right now. It's the first sign of life that you've seen.

You chase the shadow, following it around the corner. It's got a large advantage in distance. You can just barely make out a fast-moving figure in the distance. You try running fast, and you can barely keep up with it. These long, mostly empty corridors are great for sprinting. Too bad you're no world-class sprinter. Still, you manage to somehow not to lose the person. You yell out telling the person to wait, but he just keeps on running.

You can't really see their profile very well because of the movement and the poor illumination. Occasional flashes of lightning confirm that it's definitely a human. Long hair, but you can't see of what color. It's likely a woman. The person turns another corner. You follow in hot pursuit.

You've closed the distance a bit when you turned the corner. It seems that the other person slows down a bit around them. Still, it's a straight section, so you start dashing like a madman. You've lost track of where exactly within Eientei you are. You have no idea whether you're near the clinic, towards the entrance or what. You just know that these hallways seem to stretch on forever.

After clearing a few more corners you start to get closer and closer. You're feeling out of breath; Your breathing is very labored. You don't think you can keep this up for very long. Why in heaven's name are these blasted corridors so long? You feel like you've been running forever now. And you still don't recognize where you are.

The person in front of you clears another corner. You follow.

But there just isn't anywhere else to go. You're met with a dead end. It's just a couple of meters of hallway that leads to a solid wall. You almost hit it due to inertia. You collapse to your knees and try to regain your breath. There's no way someone could have passed through here. You try probing the wall with your hands, knocking to see if it's hollow. No such luck. You can barely get a solid thump out of it without hurting yourself. It's rock-solid.

You put your ear to the wall. The only thing you can hear is your agitated heartbeat and the sound of rain. From the wall you hear nothing. You repeat this with the other walls. Nothing. Knocking also yields nothing. You can't believe it. You're sure that the shadow came over here. It was definitely a person. And people don't just vanish into thin air.

Magic? You think you ruled out a secret passage so this is the next explaination that you think makes sense. You have no way of confirming this theory. But if they could just teleport away or pass through walls, then why run all the way here? Surely it would have been better to do so earlier. Yeah, that doesn't make much sense.

Are you seeing things? It's possible. But does it have anything to do with not being able to find anyone here? Boy, you're confused now. You get back up and walk to the corridor you were running in moments earlier. It's a dark expansion, you can't see the other end. In fact, you're lucky to be able to see the occasional doors and entrances on the side.

There's no helping it, so you try retracing your steps. Your footsteps echo on the wooden floor, the only sound coming from the inside of the house. You retrace your steps until you reach your first junction. You're not sure if this is where you turned. When you were running you passed several corridors. You didn't turn into each and every one. You're unsure if you came from this one or from another further along.

[] Go back to the dead end, there must be something you missed
[] Try your luck navigating the dark corridors
[] Search nearby rooms
[] Find a window and go outside; Maybe you can circle back to the entrance
----
Meant to update earlier, blasted internet wouldn't work.

[x] Go back to the dead end, there must be something you missed
[x] TRACE ON

[X] Go back to the dead end, there must be something you missed

If we're certain that's where they disappeared, then it at least warrants a second look.

[X] Go back to the dead end, there must be something you missed

[x] Go back to the dead end, there must be something you missed

What'd we do with Eirin's pills? I think now might be a good time to take a few.

[x] Go back to the dead end, there must be something you missed

[x] Go back to the dead end, there must be something you missed

It's probably to do with this disease going around.

[x] Go back to the dead end, there must be something you missed

[X] Go back to the dead end, LOOK UP
"!"
TACTICAL ESPIONAGE GAEMS

[x] Go back to the dead end, there must be something you missed

Before you get out of this place you should check out the dead end again. There's got to be something that you missed. There's no way things could just end like that. You double back through the corridor. You'll postpone figuring how to get out of here until later.

You take another look around. There are no objects, marks, groove, or anything else that might look suspicious here. In fact, there's nothing but wall. For the sake of thoroughness you repeat your previous tests, banging and feeling around the walls. As before, you fail to discover anything. Not wanting to give up, you extend your probing to the surrounding area.

You look for anything in the hallway that precedes this. Unfortunately, there's nothing there as well. Maybe you've really gone crazy. Still, you feel it in your bones. A sensation telling you that there's something else to this. Ah, yes of course. There's still one thing you haven't checked. The floor. And the ceiling. But that's just barely out of reach. You'd need a stepladder to check it out. You doubt that the person that you were chasing could quickly do something with the roof.

You get down on your hands and knees and search the ground. There's nothing laying there, so you instead look for anomalies on the floorboards. It's all smooth as a baby's bottom. Except for a small spot where the wall meets the floor. It's almost imperceptible, but it's a small indentation. You place your fingers on it. It's smooth. The next step is pressing down on it. It doesn't budge. Not a button? Is it just a random defect? It's the only lead that you've got, so you're not about to let it go so easily. You don't think you heard any voices, so you don't think that it's voice-activated. You doubt it being a biometric sensor of any kind. It's too small. Well, you've got no way of confirming that, so you hope you're right.

And then it hits you. Maybe it's a simple IR sensor or something equivalent. Like they have in bathroom stalls and taps in the outside world. The thought pops into your head for no reason at all and you figure that you've got nothing to lose. You wave your hand in front of the indentation. To your surprise, it actually does something. The whole wall section in front of you rapidly shifts. Rather revolves. Due to you proximity to it, it pushes you into the other side. It stops moving once it rotates and you're left isolated on the other side. You quickly look for another groove to trigger the mechanism again, but there's nothing of the sort on this side. Giving up, you get up and look around.

It's a dark hallway just as before. No, maybe even darker. The construction style is different. It looks more like a part of the clinic than the traditional architecture that you've seen thus far. There isn't any illumination here, even from the outside, save for a dim light at the end of the corridor. You can't even see what's at the end except for that light source. Deciding that there's nothing to be gained from standing around, you figure that going to it would be the best thing. There's nothing in the hallway to impede your path. There are a few doors here and there, but you try a few and they're locked. It looks like there's no way out of this one except for reaching the end.

Well, or so you thought. Only ten meters in or so, you trip. You didn't see for the life of you what it was that you tripped on, but it knocked you over. A loud click resonated with your fall. You try to get back up, trying to ignore the pain caused by the fall. You think that you hit your head. There's a dull throbbing on your forehead. That's going to leave a mark.

Before you get up, however, you smell something. It's an artificially sweet smell, like candy. You start coughing. It doesn't sit well with your body. You try to hold your breath but it's too late, you inhaled a lot of it without realizing it. You feel that your extremities are numbing and you're losing strength. You collapse back on the floor, unable to hold up your own weight. You can't move your arms now, and breathing is getting a bit hard. You just can't feel any part of your body now. And to boot you're feeling very sleepy. So much so that you wouldn't mind closing your eyes for a second...
---------
Yes there's more and I'll post it soon. After I finish writing it. Stupid real life making me do things.

>>8811

Still waitan'

It's a beautiful day today. The sun is shining and the birds are singing. From the moment that you wake up you feel the joy of living. It's only a half day today so you're eager to get the morning over with. You went to bed early last night in order to be in your best form. You don't really recall the exact moment but it was definitely after talking to Tewi. You slept so deeply. Probably because of the rain. You can't even recall if you dreamt at all last night. Heh, probably not. Judging by your inexplicable good mood, if you did, it was probably something really nice.

You stop by the bathroom, as usual, and do your morning routine. You get dressed, and go make yourself breakfast. To your surprise you see that Reisen is up as well. You greet her in passing, since she's busy cooking something (presumably for herself or Eirin) and concentrate on making your own food. After you're done, you bring your food to your room and eat there, while lazily organizing your inventory.

There's something amiss here. You can't for the life of you find the pills that Eirin gave you. Did you lose them somewhere? Sure, they were small, but you didn't think that they'd go missing this easily. You look around on the floor, carefully sweeping the area. Dammit, you should've put them in an envelope or something. Well, at least everything else is still there. It's not like you think that you'll need the medicine anyways, so it's not a big loss. You merrily finish your food and are all ready and set to go.

The rest of the morning goes by real fast. You encounter no problems in getting to school. You have only one lesson today. You spend most of today's time going over the quiz. You try to focus your attention on the kids who did poorly. They're all bright lads, so they should eventually be able to understand. The rest of the class you spend explaining a bit of homework that you've assigned them and you're done in no time. Classes are over and you're free for the day.

Students start shuffling out and you organize your things. Keine seems pretty eager to leave as well. She's moving at an accelerated pace, erasing the blackboard and gathering documents. You're about to ask her what's up, when one of your students comes up to you.

“Teacher, there's somebody waiting outside for you.” The student tells you.
“Huh? Thanks for telling me. I'll be right outside.” You pat the student's head. He squirms a bit. Looks like he's not comfortable with patting. Eh, duly noted. You thank him again and go see who's waiting for you. You're hard pressed to think who would come visit you at school.

Standing in front of the building, looking a bit nervous, is a familiar golden haired girl. You don't see her trademark dolls floating around her. Ah, Alice, what could she possibly want with you? To come all the way to the village. You greet her with a wave. She looks at you and smiles. Huh, strange, but you feel that you're being watched. Several pairs of eyes are boring into your back and trying to see what this is all about.

Damn students. Go home already. Don't you have anything better to do?

“Hey there, how are you doing? It's a surprise to see you here.” You greet Alice when you're close enough.
“Hello. I hope I'm not inconveniencing you. But I needed to see you.” Alice says.
“See me? What for?”
“Well, I can't really tell you here.” She looks around as if looking for an eavesdropper. There's plenty of those behind you, in the form of the student body. “I'd like to borrow you for a moment. Preferably go somewhere where we can be alone.” She looks at you with a serious face. “Is that possible right now?”
“Right now? I haven't even eaten lunch yet, and I've got to get my stuff as well.” You reply without thinking.
“That can wait. It's imperative that you hear me out.” She leans in a bit closer. You can hear the clamoring from your students. To them it probably looks like she's about to kiss you or whispering sweet nothings into your ear. “You might not like what you hear, though. It's regarding some information I've picked up about your hosts.” She leans in even closer, practically touching your ear with her lips. “I'll understand if you don't want to hear it. It's up to you.”

Alice lets go and looks at you, waiting for an answer. The buzzing coming from your students isn't letting you think properly. She seems serious enough. But you don't know if you want to go down this road yet. There's a strong feeling of unease that makes you doubt yourself.

[] Go with Alice and hear her out
[] Decline and finish your business at the school
[] Decline and go back to Eientei immediately
------------
There, stupid stuff and things.

[X] Go with Alice and hear her out
if we don't she's gonna get MAD, like REAL MAD

[] Go with Alice and hear her out

[x] Go with Alice and hear her out

[] Go with Alice and hear her out

More info can be of use to us, lets do it

[X] Decline and go back to Eientei immediately

It's so clear to me, yes. She's trying to come between us and our NEET. Our NEET and her lovely, lovely hair. She wants to take us away from them, yes. But we won't let her, oh no. We won't.

[x] Go with Alice and hear her out

[x] Go with Alice and hear her out

[X] Decline and finish your business at the school

Come on, be at least professional enough to finish your duties at the school before running off somewhere.

[x] Go with Alice and hear her out.
[x] But before you do that, ask her if it's possible if this can wait until after today's lesson is over.
[x] If not, go with her.

>>8826
Lessons are over. The only thing would be maybe talking to Keine (possibly asking her what's up), gathering your papers and lesson plans, helping Keine close up, and leaving. In any case going with Alice won and I'm writing it now. It's probably going to be done soon.
>>8818
Imagine watching a movie with her head on your shoulder, hair flowing on your body. The silky smooth strands giving you a tactile orgasm... But life is cruel, and some things never come into being.

[x] Go with Alice and hear her out

You accept Alice's proposition. Her serious tone convinces you to tag along. You take a quick glance at the school building. The students idling about pretend that they weren't looking at you. What poor actors. Why must they be so interested in your private life? If only they were this eager to learn.

You turn to Alice and tell her to lead the way. You can pick up your stuff later, or even on the next day of school. Nothing should happen to your papers in a locked schoolhouse.

“Good, let's go somewhere more private.” She grabs you arm and tugs you along. You haven't seen her be so decisive about anything before. It makes you speculate about what could be so important.

She leads you around town, firmly gripping your arm. If it weren't for her serious face you'd be embarrassed at the situation. You're feeling self-conscious and feel that the eyes of the world are upon you. She takes you to a small café on the far edge of town. It doesn't face the main square and is discretely tucked away. You don't think you would have ever noticed it if you were to casually walk by. Almost all of the tables and chairs are made of a series of black metal tubes that loop around and tie around each other. The two of you sit inside, in a dark corner. You don't see any other patrons. In fact, you don't see any waiters either. Is this place even open?

“Thank you for coming with me. When the waiter comes, ask for some food if you like. You said you were hungry, didn't you?” Alice says with a smile. “We can discuss this over food.”
“Ah thanks.” You reply. You didn't say you were hungry, rather that you hadn't had lunch yet. But still, seeing her smiling like this, you can't refuse her.

Sure enough, after Alice mentions this a waiter comes up to the two of you. A lanky tall fellow, more skin and bones than anything else. You have no idea from where he came from, but he hands out two menus to the both of you. You take a quick glance and order a sandwich. It was the first thing you saw. It'll do. Alice just asks for a cup of tea.

“Not hungry?” You ask.
“No, I had some cookies earlier. I'm good.”
“I don't see Shanghai or any of the other dolls with you. Did something happen?”
“Oh no, not at all. It's just that it draws too much attention if people see me with my dolls, they identify me right away.” She looks around, making sure that there's no one around. “And I wanted to speak in confidence.”
“Well, all of my students saw us. And maybe some of them will tell their parents.”
“That's okay, I'm not worried about the villagers.”
“Then who are you worried about?”
“Ah well -”
“Excuse me, one ham sandwich” The waiter interrupts and places a plate in front of you. “And some tea.” He places a delicate set of china in front of Alice.
“Thank you.” Both you and Alice thank the waiter. He, in turn, nods and leaves the two of you alone. You have no idea how, but he completely vanishes again.
“Well, eat up, all you have to do is listen anyways.” Alice encourages you to dig in.

Eh, why not? The sandwich looks good enough. It's got a bunch of lettuce that sticks out and makes it look more full than it really is. You take a small bite. It's okay. Not the best that you've ever had, but at least it tastes fresh.

“Anyways,” Alice sips her tea, “I wanted to tell you about this information I obtained recently. You know how you claimed to be under surveillance by some group? Well, it turns out that that may not be so silly after all.”

You chew your food, trying to follow her here.

“I spoke to Patchouli about it and she told me that the people at Eientei have conspired in the past. All sorts of cloak and dagger stuff. She showed me a book that supposedly was written by some human that had dealings with them in the past. From before they settled in Gensokyo. A couple hundred years back. Said that they were ruthless; Using charm and guile to get what they wanted and then disposing of any witnesses. And they're not above using force to get what they want either. The whole lot of them. Especially the ones still on the moon. They've been deceiving normal humans for years, suppressing them.”

Well, you can see Eirin cheating some people and taking what she needed, but you can't see Kaguya causing anyone else harm. Surely those stories are exaggerated.

“That's not all.” Alice adds. “Marisa told me that the rabbits are acting really strange. She's gone mushroom picking around the bamboo forest lately and they seem restless, even maybe perturbed. She says that they begin acting even stranger at night, especially when the moon is out. It's hard to think of this as a mere coincidence.”
“Coincidence with what?” You ask, not really understanding what she's implying.
“Isn't it obvious?” The usual meek voice that she employs with you is now hardened, showing a serious edge. It surprises you that Alice can be this focused.

With you she's been anything but this. Is it because this is really serious? She's acted shy, insecure, tender, and a whole other manner of ways. But not like this. It's unsettling.

“I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you're implying here.”
“Well, I'm just saying that something is up with them. They're planning something. And I bet it has something to do with you. They're using you. Isn't it strange for them to keep you around like this, for no real reason, then suddenly demand you take on a job because 'someone' is pressuring them? Did they tell you anything at all? Have they ever been completely honest with you.” Alice asks you with a concerned look. She looks like she's really worried. You can see that her eyes are a bit anguished, like a concerned friend. Or is it something else?

Well, even though you haven't come to grips with it, she is supposedly your lover, right? It's only natural that she would worry like this about you. She might be blowing it a bit out of proportion because of this, but you still this that she's got a valid point.

“Tell me, has anything strange happened to you lately? Seen anything strange, noticed something that was off? They're really powerful and I'm not sure just how far this conspiracy stretches nor what it's about. In fact, this is totally baseless, but I think someone else knows about this.” Alice mumbles that last bit.
“Someone else? How?”
“Well, in Gensokyo, when there's trouble, everyone knows it. Usually the shrine maiden is the first to react, but lately she's totally been off her game. Maybe someone is purposefully keeping this from her. But -” Alice starts to explain how she knows. “You can almost taste it in the air. This disturbance. It upsets the whole balance of power. It's just like that time with the fake moon. We could tell that something was wrong. Somehow this whole thing seems similar. I'm sure that I'm not the only one that's noticed. It's been happening for a while actually. I think it was around the time that you came here. It was hardly noticeable at first. But now it's as if I can almost touch it.” Alice stretches out her arm, grasping at some invisible object. “The most frustrating part is that I have no idea what it might be.”

You finish off your sandwich, trying to take all of this information in. It's quite a mouthful. Food for thought, if you will. You don't understand what she means by claiming that something is strange in the air. Then again, you don't think you're very sensitive to magic. This is disturbing indeed. That the people at Eientei are using you? For what purpose. You can't really think of a reason. As far as you know they're happy as things are, so why would they try to change things? Is it something that they're just not sharing with you?

“Is there anything else?” You ask. A number of questions cloud your mind, but maybe Alice has yet to finish saying her piece. Something that's missing.
“Anything else? Not really. I just have a gut feeling that this is no good. Something bad is going to happen. I know it's not much to go on upon... but I can't help but worry.” She looks at you with a confused expression. “I'm sorry, I'm sure that I'm just confusing you. But there's a part of me that won't let me let thing be. I couldn't forgive myself if something happened and I could have done something to stop it.”

Her wording makes it sound as if this is set in stone. Are you really that close to the brink? Sure sometimes you can't communicate properly with people, and you've been freaking out a bit lately, but it can't be that serious. Is it even related at all? It all sounds very vague. Alice hasn't told you anything concrete. It's just speculation and conjecture. You know that the rabbits are just sick and you're sure that you can explain the other phenomena with similar reasoning.

But, what if she is right? You look at Alice and see that she's looking at you with a concerned face. Maybe there's more that she can tell you.

[] Tell her about your hallucination in the forest
[] Tell her about waking up naked in the village after swimming in the lake
[] Ask her if there's anything else that she's noticed or heard about Eientei
[] Ask her for her help; Something might happen to you.
[] Write-in choice
------
Feel free to combine as many things as you feel are relevant. Even adding or removing bits of information that you might feel are necessary - or not.

[x] Tell her about your hallucination in the forest.
[x] Tell her about waking up naked in the village after swimming in the lake and the wierd shit that happened before you passed out.
[x] Ask her if there's anything else that she's noticed or heard about Eientei that was strange or out of the ordinary; moreso than usual.
[x] Mention that one dream where you gave yourself a glasglow smile, it seemed so real...
[x] Ask her about the extent of her ability with the dolls, specifically if she can see through them, or receive signals. Ask if she can do it with Albion because well...
[x] Ask her for her help as a sort of failsafe; something might happen to you, and you need a fallback plan, a palce of escape, a friendly home, or help in a sticky situation. Maybe tie it to signals with Albion.

Suggest a sort of rendevous with Albion as the meeting place where you "ping" Albion, which sends a message to Alice, telling her that you're all right. Think Morse Code, except this will be much simpler.
Two pings equal hot water, but still might be safe. Be cautious.
Three pings if you truly fear for your life.
Four pings if things are very grim and you require near immediate or immediate GTFO.
A series of rapid, panicked pings at any time, not nessecarily the rendevous time means that all hope is lost. Hopefully, it'll never have to come to this, but you have to mention it anyways just to let her know.

If she doesn't hear from you in a day or two, have her attempt to find you. These pings will happen in rapid succession, no more than one second apart. The message ends with a ping going for two seconds long about. Think morse code, again.

Set the rendevous time to be loose, but specific enough so that she can expect it around a certain timeframe. Possibly during the evening, or close to midnight.
---------------
Pic oh so very related.

[x] Tell her about your hallucination in the forest.
[x] Mention that one dream where you gave yourself a glasglow smile, it seemed so real...
[x] tell her about the weird shadowy figure you've been seeing around eientei, and about the dream that included it, omitting the 'sexing kaguya' parts.
[x] then tell her about waking up naked in the village after swimming in the lake and the wierd shit that happened before you passed out.

>[x] tell her about the weird shadowy figure you've been seeing around eientei, and about the dream that included it, omitting the 'sexing kaguya' parts

You cannot comment upon things that you do not conciously remember. The rest of the write-ins are golden though.

>>8835
Just so I make sure that I get the concept (if it's voted upon enough and I add into the story) please clear this up for me; You want her to meet up with Albion? At different intervals? And you would send signals through her? Or are you suggesting that you have a sort of joint custody of Albion.

If it's the latter, then that's impossible, since the doll is manipulated by literally being attached to the user. Only one person can be attached to a doll at a time. If you want her to meet up with Albion, then you have to also take into consideration that there's a probable effective range at which you can control the doll. Too far out and it becomes too much of a strain to concentrate or accurately issue commands. The dolls are an extension of the user's will. Even if they may seem to have distinct personalities at times...

So yeah, please clarify what you want. But I understand where you're going with it (generally speaking) and I wouldn't mind trying to work in a plausible system depending on what you want to do.

Oh and last (unrelated point): I forgot to add it as an option, but you can also choose to leave now if you don't want to hear any more of what Alice has to say.

>>You cannot comment upon things that you do not conciously remember. The rest of the write-ins are golden though.
oh, right.

still, we chased a shadowy figure around the empty eientei just a short while ago, and lost it in a situation we shouldn't have, and as far as i remember the first time we saw it was on the roof, and it wasn't inside a dream, was it?

>>8839
>You went to bed early last night in order to be in your best form. You don't really recall the exact moment but it was definitely after talking to Tewi. You slept so deeply. Probably because of the rain.

Should answer the first part of your question. As for the thing on the roof that was something else entirely. At least description-wise. It was not a shadow at all. See >>6168 for more details. And indeed you are right in claiming that we weren't supposedly asleep at the time.

[X] Tell her about your hallucination in the forest
[X] Tell her about waking up naked in the village after swimming in the lake, the "dream", and how all your belongings somehow wound up back at your room in Eientei
[X] Tell her about the incident with Eirin and the laser
[X] Tell her about the "thing" you saw on the roof at Eientei
[X] Tell her about the illness going around the rabbits
[X] Tell her about Tewi asking you to keep an eye on Kaguya and Eirin

I figure telling someone about all the strange mind-fuckery we're experiencing won't be such a bad idea, and since Alice knows that the whole "we're being observed by some secret group" bit wasn't just us being silly, she might not be so dismissive of anything else strange that we mention.

As for mentioning Tewi and the rabbits, that might give Alice a better idea of the situation at Eientei. The Lunarians pretty much depend upon Tewi to lead her fellow Earth rabbits and keep them in line. If some sort of rift is developing between them, however, then perhaps we have at least SOMEONE in Eientei we can trust, assuming Tewi's sense of loyalty to her fellow rabbits is greater than whatever loyalty she has to Eirin and Kaguya.

[X] Tell her about your hallucination in the forest
[X] Tell her about waking up naked in the village after swimming in the lake, the "dream", and how all your belongings somehow wound up back at your room in Eientei
[X] Tell her about the incident with Eirin and the laser
[X] Tell her about the "thing" you saw on the roof at Eientei
[X] Tell her about the illness going around the rabbits
[X] Tell her about Tewi asking you to keep an eye on Kaguya and Eirin

>>8838
You just destroyed my writein, thanks buddy.

>>Imagine watching a movie with her head on your shoulder, hair flowing on your body. The silky smooth strands giving you a tactile orgasm... But life is cruel, and some things never come into being.

Thaaaat's right, just twist that knife, why don't you?

[x] Tell her about waking up naked in the village after swimming in the lake

[x] Tell her about waking up naked in the village after swimming in the lake

[X] Tell her about your hallucination in the forest
[X] Tell her about waking up naked in the village after swimming in the lake, the "dream", and how all your belongings somehow wound up back at your room in Eientei
[X] Tell her about the incident with Eirin and the laser
[X] Tell her about the "thing" you saw on the roof at Eientei
[X] Tell her about the illness going around the rabbits
[X] Tell her about Tewi asking you to keep an eye on Kaguya and Eirin

>>8851
>Teruyo!Wo5j3FYZRg
>Teruyo
Who do you think this hurts the most? By all means any stab wounds and subsequent infections hurt.

Also, writing soon. After taking care of some things on my end. Picture not really related to the writing. Just was looking for an excuse to post it.

>>8860

SIGMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You see no reason to hold back with her. She seems to be genuinely concerned with you. And it does seem like she can help you. Or at least is very willing to try. You organize your thoughts a bit. It's best to start in chronological order, so that you don't start to trip all over yourself. The first thing would be starting with what you saw that afternoon while meditating. That... inexplicable thing.

“Alice, I'm going to tell you about a couple of strange things that have happened to me. I can't really explain some of them. Maybe you can help me make sense of what happened?” You look at Alice with a serious expression. You want to make sure that she understands that you're going to be forthright with this. “I know a lot of this sounds strange, or even implausible, but it's the truth. Can you hear me out? And maybe help me?”
“Of course I'll hear you out.” Alice replies with no hesitation. She looks dependable right now, like a pillar of strength. Although she looks cold on the exterior, you can feel some warmth behind her words, reassuring you.
“Good.” You smile a bit. “If I had to think back, there's one even that really disturbed me. It was over a week ago. I was sitting outside, meditating...” You feel a bit self-concious telling her that you meditate, you don't know what she'll think of that, but one quick glance at her proves that she's listening intently and seriously. You continue to speak. “And I felt a disturbance. At first I thought that it was just somebody watching me, or my imagination. But when I looked around I saw it.” You shudder a bit at the very thought of what you saw. Even now it's enough to disturb you greatly. “It was beyond words. It defied all of the logic and commonsense that I know.”

You try to recall the exact character of what you say. Its very existance was an affront to the natural order of things. Fear is not what you felt. Most of your cells were letting out blood-curling screams, but that's not what put you off the most. It wasn't the instinct.

“This thing truly frightened me.” You continue as if in a trance. “It wasn't because it was a mysterious thing that was stalking me, oh no. That wasn't it at all. What frightened me the most is that I tried to think about what it was. The conclusions were frightening. From what I know about the natural world and things that should and should not exist, this was a despicable abomination. It's as if the very fabric of time and space were being ripped apart to show something that should not have appeared even according to the laws of chaos and probability.”

You must have been acting very strangely because Alice reaches from across the table and grabs your hand.

“That's enough Shirou. You don't have to describe any more.” She says with a soft voice.

You feel a bit dazed, caught between the residual fear of that unknown entity and the warm feeling coming from your hand. You snap out of it only when you realize that Alice is looking at you with a concerned expression. As if you were disappearing and going to a far away place.

“I'm... sorry.” You say with a weakened voice. Just recalling that thing sapped your strength.
“It's alright. I understand. It's something that should not exist in nature. While I don't really know what it was, I'm sure that its mere existence was disturbing enough.”

You try to speak again, but Alice shushes you. She tells you that it's alright to wait a while and she'll wait until you're feeling better. You sit back and look at the wall, staring blankly. All the while, Alice holds your hand, as if trying to prevent you from being swept up by some invisible current. She works as a safety line for you, and you eventually manage to come back to your proper senses.

“If you don't mind, I'd like to tell you more.” You say to her. You're good enough to continue talking.
“Yes, of course. Don't force yourself.” Alice lets go of your hand but still looks at you with a concerned expression. Do you look that frail?
“Well,” You continue, pushing aside idle thoughts. “It was that very same day. The next strange thing that is. I went to see Eirin after that ordeal.” You recall how you were freaked out. “And she wasn't in her office. But I heard noises coming from the inside. So I decided to check it out. Everything was dark, and I was basically sneaking around. I had no idea what I would encounter. I went into a dark examination room and, from one of the doors leading to the room, an unearthly green glow lit up the surroundings.”

You recall how you were reluctant at first to explore the room, but couldn't help but be drawn to the source of the light.

“When I peeked into the other room, I saw what seemed to be some sort of test. Eirin was standing there while a green laser...” Maybe Alice doesn't know what a laser is, it is a product of science after all. You correct your vocabulary. “err – green beam of light came from a machine. The beam swept across the room, interacting with various objects. Every time it would come into contact with an object, the object would dissipate into a million different pieces. So to me it looked like a tool or perhaps even weapon. After the beam finished going through the objects, it seemed to go out of control. It was rapidly approaching Eirin, and it seemed that she couldn't get it to stop. Before I knew it, I had started sprinting towards her. I mean, I didn't want to see her blow up into a million different pieces, right?”

Alice just quietly nods to your question. You continue the tale.

“It was then that the strange thing happened. According to my memory, I ran and tackled Eirin to the floor. The beam passed overhead, missing us. Then after a few moments the beam came back for us, sweeping across the floor. I... think I tried to stop it. With some sort of magical shield. But I'm not too sure. It failed, and the beam pierced through me. Next thing I know I wake up in a spare bed in the clinic. Eirin tells me that the beam was just for show and I had hit my head when I tackled her. I ask her about what I saw and she just tells me that I must have imagined it when I passed out. I don't have any wounds either, except for a headache and a dull pain where I hit my head.” You motion with your hands, indicating your forehead. “I figured that a bump on the head was all that it was, since I was alive and Eirin was alive. I mean, I thought that we both had died. A concussion sounded like a good explanation.”

You look at Alice. She picks up that you have more to say and doesn't interrupt you. She's unusually perceptive you think. Well, it must be because she's worried about you.

“Well, that wasn't all. I get up later, to see what's up. When I reach Eirin's office I hear her recording something. Something about a test subject. It all sounded strangely familiar, but before I can figure it out I trip and fall. I hurt my wrist. Eirin notices and restrains me using drugs. Well, there's a possibility that that didn't happen either. When I woke up in bed my wrist was fine and after that Eirin acted normal. So it could have just as well been really a dream. Still, I thought it worth mentioning.”
“So you think that she might be keeping something from you?” Alice asks.
“Well, actually I know she's keeping something from me. But it's not necessarily this. You see, I think I understand her a bit. She's always caught up in her research and experiments. She keeps me at arms' length and on a need-to-know basis. So it's not certain that she's keeping something from me with malicious intent. It could just be that she doesn't think it appropriate to be brought up.”
“You seem to trust her... even though you witnessed this strange thing, how come?”
“Well, she did teach me a lot, and I guess that there's a part of me that wants to believe in logic and order. She's a doctor and scientist. I don't think that she'd keep something major from a peer.”

Heh, look at you. You confidently declare yourself to be her peer. With no proof or basis for that claim. It might just be hubris, but you want to believe that you could be matched with her. She did say that she needed your help with something, after all. Something that only you could do. You're not sure what happened to that, come to think of it.

“Well, if you're fine with it, I guess it's not a problem.” Alice comments. “That whole ordeal sounds suspicious to me. You seem to recall it vividly, right? So there should be some truth to it. She is renowned for creating all sorts of medicine.”
“What are you implying?” You ask, already knowing the answer.
“That maybe she's using her skills to manipulate you.”
“But I think that I would be able to tell if I was being drugged, I have enough knowledge in that regard.”

Well, that's what you tell yourself. But to be truthful, you're not very sure. It is plausible. But to keep continuously blocking out memories and inducing to believe in a different sequence of events would require a lot of time and dedication. Was there a window for any of that to have happened? You can't think of any.

“W-well, maybe if it's best that I just carry on.” It's no good to be stuck on a single topic, especially when you've got a lot to talk about.
“Go ahead.”

The next thing to talk about would be that weird experience at the lake.

“Remember that day that I came to visit your house? The last day before I started teaching?” You wait for her acknowledgment before you continue. “Well, after that I took a walk through the woods. It took me down to the lake. It was a ways out from the village and anywhere else. The sun was shining brightly and I just felt like hopping right into the lake. And so I did. I swam around for a bit, enjoying the lake. Everything was good until I noticed something. A red light coming from underwater. I was curious, so I went to check it out. It didn't seem to be anything electrical. I couldn't make it out from the surface either. So I dove underwater.”

You recall how everything was murky underwater.

“I couldn't see what it was but I tried to grab it. To my surprise, something ended up grabbing me.” You have your arms outstretched, reenacting the scene. “I was stuck, I thought that I was going to die. It kept dragging me and I eventually passed out underwater.” You smile to yourself as you see that Alice has a look of shock on her face. Heh, it's cute that she'd get this worked up over you. “Anyways, I had a vision. I was someone else. I was walking along some sort of desolate corridor, and at the end of it was some sort of examination room. There were notes and equipment left around the room. I– the person recognized it. They went to a table and saw two pills, one blue and one red. The person chose neither, and instead took a scalpel... and proceeded to mutilate their own face. They cut a straight line from ear to ear. It was horrible, but the person didn't even flinch. I could see that they were trying their hardest to keep their concentration. After they were done, they walked over to a note on a desk, grabbed it and sat down on the floor. Without even cracking a smile or wincing in pain, the person then swiftly cut a major artery on their neck. They collapsed on the floor, bleeding profusely. The vision ends there, with them supposed dying.”

You pause to gauge Alice's reaction. You omitted some of the more gruesome details. But still, it's enough to make you feel squeamish. To your surprise, Alice doesn't seem to be overtly repulsed, instead donning a distant and collected face. You don't really understand how it's possible for her to be so calm.

“But there's more to the story.” You continue, a bit baffled. “When I came to, I was in this village. Furthermore I was completely naked, just as I had entered the lake. The only thing I had with me was this bloody note.” You take out the note from your stuff and show it to her. “I'm sure that it's the same note from the dream. But I can't read what it says. I showed it to Eirin as well. I thought it was her in the vision, but she couldn't make anything out either. And she seemed fine and unfazed by it.”

Alice picks up the note and takes a quick look at it.

“You're right. It's completely unreadable.” She says.
“Yeah, I thought so. Anyways. I had to run around naked for a while. I went for Keine's house. Since I was certain that she would help me out. After all, I had none of my stuff. So I ran as fast as I could.”
“Keine's house?” Alice interrupts you. “Why her?” She asks a bit dryly.
“Ah well, it's just that she's the only person that I know in town and I had helped her out earlier with Mokou and we're in good standing.”
“Oh, is that so?” Alice asks cryptically. You're not sure what exactly she meant to say with that question. So you just continue.
“Well, anyways. She wasn't there. Mokou was. She helped me out. Lent me a cloak and something else to cover myself with.”
“I see.”
“Anyways, I rushed back to Eientei. But on the way, something else happened. I felt that I was being followed. Something was chasing me. So I stop and try to see what it is. To my surprise it was something completely unexpected. A dinosaur.” Wait, maybe she doesn't know what a 'dinosaur' is. You look at her to check. Yup, she definitely doesn't know what a dinosaur is. “A really big lizard of sorts. Existed millions of years ago.”

She gives you an incredulous look.

“Yeah, I know.” You say. “But at the time I thought that it was real. It didn't eat me and instead communicated with me. I thought it was a long-lost species or something. It gave me a ride all the way back to Eientei. It was only when I got up to the gate that I realized that it couldn't possibly exist. But by then it was gone. And I couldn't see any tracks. But I don't really know if I was hallucinating or what. I mean, it felt real. And I somehow ended up at Eientei. I would have gone to investigate more, but at the time I was more concerned about getting more adequate clothes. I was just wearing a cloak and rag.”

Ah, there's an important detail that you're almost forgetting.

“Yeah, the biggest surprise was in my room. When I opened the door I found that all my things, my clothes included, were all lying neatly there. I had left all of them at the lake. I have no idea how they got there. The only clue that I have is the fact that there was a mark on my kimono. Something like a lipstick mark. And there was also this smell, it seemed to overwhelm me. It smelled familiar, but I couldn't really figure it out whose perfume it was. It's definitely not Eirin's or Kaguya's.”
“Oh? You know their smells that well?”
“Ah, well, you know. I've been living with them. So it's natural that we eat together, or they sit close to me. That's how I know what they smell like.”

Her question caught you a bit off guard, but you think that you covered yourself pretty well. She doesn't look very upset. Just a bit pensive.

“Well, I think I've heard of something similar to that red thing before. But I'm still not sure what it might have been. Moreover, you describe the experience as if you yourself were the person in the vision, but they obviously weren't you. There's also the fact that you and your things, got mysteriously transported to different places. And lastly there's the smell and lipstick.” Alice seems to think for a moment. She goes for her teacup, but it's already empty. She sighs and then proposes a theory. “I think that it might be the work of whoever has been keeping an eye of you. But it all seems to be a bit counterproductive. Why bother with letting you know that you're being watched? It's obvious that the smell and lipstick are being used as a sort of signature. And what's the message behind the vision? If they wanted to scare you, I'm sure that they probably have better methods. I think I better ask Patchouli about that red thing you saw. She could probably narrow things down. I'm not sure what to make of the rest.”

“That's alright. It just feels good to tell someone. I'm sure that I'll figure it out eventually.” You sigh. “You know, I there's still more that I should tell you. I know that it's a lot to take in at once, but I don't really have anyone who I can speak about this with.”
“Feel free to speak as much as you want. I'm here for you.” Alice smiles at you. In that moment, you know that you want to trust this girl with no strings attached.
“Well, later on that day, I went to see Eirin. Like I already told you, I showed her the note. She also gave me some pills; She said I was looking a bit ill. I didn't take them and I lost the pills. But I'm losing my point here.” You take a deep breath. “The thing is, she showed me what was keeping her busy. She took me to a secluded area somewhere deep inside the clinic. There she showed me a rabbit that they were keeping in isolation. Apparently the rabbits have been suffering from some sort of sickness. Eirin says that she doesn't know what it is. It causes them to be paranoid and hallucinate. In more advanced cases, like the patient in isolation, they even attack their friends. That's why it was isolated and sedated. Eirin has been supposedly working around the clock for a treatment, but up till now I don't think she's made any progress.”
“I guess that would confirm what Marisa told me.”
“Yeah.”
“But it's strange timing. You start seeing things, the rabbits as well, you're made to do things...”
“I thought about it. But I'm not sure that I want to tell Eirin. She might just strap me to an examination table and do god knows what. I'm sure that you understand my concerns.”
“I can't blame you. But still, it might be worth looking into if there's any relation between the two. It's a lead maybe.”
“Well, it seems to be affecting the whole organization of Eientei. Tewi came up to me last night as I ate dinner. Didn't even try anything underhanded. She just calmly explained to me that she needed my help. Apparently too many rabbits have been incapacitated and she can't keep her network working well. So she wants me to observe Eirin and Kaguya and tell her if I notice anything strange.”
“So she distrusts them as well?”
“From what I could tell. But I'm not very sure that I trust her. We've had less than smooth dealings in the past. Still she promised to be honest with me and share information with me. So it might not be completely worthless to help her out.”
“She might have some insight as to what's going on. I heard that she's got her eye on a lot of things. It wouldn't surprise me if she just acted like a happy-go-lucky person and was secretly plotting something.”

A silence befalls the two of you. You play with the few remaining crumbs on your plate. You're absorbed in thought, thinking of what to do next. You're sure that Alice is doing the same. The café is completely quiet. Alice breaks the silence after a while.

“I think that you're going to be alright for the time being. If there were some sort of plot, they wouldn't do anything to you while you were working in the village. It'd look too suspicious. Especially since I'm sure that they know that you know Mokou and Keine. Those two would surely try to find out what happened to you.” She says, trying to encourage you.

Truth be told, judging from what Mokou told you about the last time she tangled with Eientei, you very much so doubt she would be able to do anything. Still, you do think she is right in mentioning that they probably wouldn't do anything to you while you still hung around the village. Else they probably would have already done it.

Alice calls for the waiter and asks for the bill. You have no idea where the hell this guy came from, he moves like a ninja, disappearing and reappearing at will. You offer to pay the bill, but Alice insists on paying.

“I called you out, so it's only fair that I pay. Besides, I wouldn't think that you earn much being a substitute teacher at a small school.”

She seems adamant about it, so you just end up letting her pay. You thank her for her generosity.

“I'm going to try to find out more today. I advise you to just carry on as if nothing happened.” She gets up and you follow her. The two of you exit the café.

You appreciate all of this, but maybe there's something more that you can do to ensure your well-being. Dealing with the unknown is frightening.

[] Just thank her again for the talk and say goodbye
[] Ask her if there's anyway that you could quickly contact her in case of trouble
[] Ask if you should try to spy on Eirin and Kaguya more
[] Ask her if you should tell anyone else about this, namely Keine and Mokou
--------------
Yeah, sorry about the delay. Couldn't be helped. I'm not always allowed to just write undisturbed.

Anyways, I opted to make everything into a dialogue instead of just 'you tell her' becuase this way it's a good way to summarize those events AND it gives you a bit of perspective into these characters and how they view things.

Next update hopefully won't take this long.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL

[] Just thank her again for the talk and say goodbye

[x] Just thank her again for the talk and say goodbye

[X] Ask her if you should tell anyone else about this, namely Keine and Mokou

We need to be cautious about who we confide in, and what we say, but we likely need as many allies as possible for when the shit inevitably hits the fan, and those two would surely help us out. Especially if the enemy is someone from Eientei.

This whole thing is getting curiouser and curiouser. Whoever is watching us wants us to know they're watching us. More than that, they apparently want us to know that it's someone in Eientei who is working against us, and that they are also the one responsible for dumping our naked ass in the village and dropping our neatly-folded clothes and items off back at our room.

As curious as I am to know what Eirin or Kaguya stand to gain from screwing us over, I'm even more curious as to what our mysterious "benefactor"/observer stands to gain from helping us. Assuming they actually are helping us, that is.

[x] Ask her if you should tell anyone else about this, namely Keine, Mokou, or the shrine maiden.
[x] Ask her if there's anyway that you could quickly contact her in case of trouble.

Mokou and Keine will of course insist we leave Eientei. Even though we won't, we can be surer of the operations around Eientei and of Kaguya's movements through Mokou. Reimu would be concerned because of the possibility of an "incident" and could possibly keep Yukari in check.

And the second to reaffirm our trust in Alice.

[x] Ask her if there's anyway that you could quickly contact her in case of trouble.

By the way, did we ever pay Keine back for funding our lunch with Reimu?

>>8878
No, not yet.

>>8878
>>8879
If you successfully make it through the teaching tenure, you'll just pay her back. It's not like there's much use for money otherwise in the story. You're better off coveting a swiss army knife or something.

Also, more votes please? I realize that because of the time people probably aren't around, but it'd be nice to have some sort of concrete direction to take.

[x] Ask her if you should tell anyone else about this, namely Keine, Mokou, or the shrine maiden.
[x] Ask her if there's anyway that you could quickly contact her in case of trouble.

[x] Ask her if you should tell anyone else about this, namely Keine, Mokou, or the shrine maiden.
[x] Ask her if there's anyway that you could quickly contact her in case of trouble.

[X] Ask her if you should tell anyone else about this, namely Keine, Mokou, or the shrine maiden.
[X] Ask her if there's anyway that you could quickly contact her in case of trouble.

[X] Ask her if you should tell anyone else about this, namely Keine, Mokou, or the shrine maiden.
[X] Ask her if there's anyway that you could quickly contact her in case of trouble.

[x] Ask her if you should tell anyone else about this, namely Keine, Mokou, or the shrine maiden.
[x] Ask her if there's anyway that you could quickly contact her in case of trouble.

“There's something else that I wanted to ask you.” You stop Alice before she leaves. “About all of this, do you think it's a good idea to tell others? Like say Keine or Mokou, or even the shrine maiden?”

Alice pauses for a moment. She seems to think over your suggestion. It doesn't take her very long to think of an answer.

“If the shrine maiden hasn't noticed, then all the better.” She says with a dry tone. It seems that she doesn't really like Reimu that much. She doesn't make any attempts to conceal her annoyed tone. “She'd just rush in and proceed to try to resolve things with brute force. I have a feeling that this is something better done with tact. It's even debatable whether she'd do anything. She only acts when she has no other choice, which might not be beneficial.”

Her answer on that one is pretty clear. But she has another opinion about Keine and Mokou.

“I don't think that telling those two would be a bad thing. But timing is everything.” She starts to explain. “I think that Keine might try to protect you and seclude you from Eientei, which I think might be dangerous. Who knows what might happen if you somehow break your routine. We really don't know, and it's better to play it safe for now. As for Mokou, I don't really know her that well, but I know she's at odds with Eientei. So it's unpredictable what she might do.”

Unpredictable? Well, yeah, that's a word you might associate with Mokou, but you think that she might be reliable to have as an ally. You express as much to Alice.

“I understand how you feel, but we don't know who we're going up against exactly. Even if we are going against somebody. Hopefully this is just a series of coincidences.” Alice's comment seems to be genuinely optimistic. Hopefully this proves to be the case.

“Well.” You say to her. “Is there any way that we could be in contact? In case something happens?”
“Unfortunately, I don't think so.” She looks a bit disappointed. “That would be our weakness. But I think that nothing will happen for now. I'll keep my eye out, so if you miss a day of school I'll look into things. I think it would be too suspicious if I suddenly started showing up on a daily basis at Eientei.”

That's not too reassuring. You frown. This isn't going to work especially since you've got a flexible schedule.

After this, you part ways with her. She reassures you once again that things will be alright. You want to believe her, you really do. Especially since she seems to be so concerned with you.

The thoughts of a conspiracy or a similar plot disturbs you. You walk around town for a bit, not really going anywhere. It's around mid-afternoon. Some of the villagers greet you. You almost forget to greet them back, but you manage to check yourself. You're getting to be well-known around these parts. You wonder if anyone would make a fuss if you suddenly disappeared. Maybe the schoolchildren would. You like to think that Keine would be upset. Maybe Kaguya as well. Then again, you don't really know what any of them really think. All this talk of cloak and dagger antics has you feeling mentally exhausted.

You eventually sit down on a bench. You're by one of the main roads of the village. Oddly enough, there's not that many people walking on by. It must be a slow day or something. You sit for a while and clear your mind. It helps that you've got your PDA with you. You fiddle around with the settings and check out some of the other features. Huh, it has a pretty good word processor.

“Mind if I sit here?” A voice says to you. It's a man's voice.
“No, go right ahead.” You reply without looking. You feel that someone sits next to you, moving the bench slightly. You don't look, assuming that it's just a random villager.
“You know, I couldn't help but notice that you looked troubled. A fine young lad like yourself shouldn't be depressed like this. Let me guess... girl trouble?”
“...”
“Hey, don't be like that! I'm just trying to help out. Tell you what. I'm going to give you some advice. Yes siree! Before you know it your troubles will be gone and you'll be up on cloud nine! So listen up. If you're having trouble with women it's because you don't get to spend enough time with them. Talking to people about business or working with them are not proper ways to interact. Nope! Not at all! What you need is to be alone. Just the two of you, spending quality time. I recommend asking 'er out to a picnic. Everyone loves picnics. Or be creative and plan something out. The world's your oyster kid!”
“Now listen here, I don't know who you are but-” You turn to face the stranger. What kind of person just randomly sits down and forces advice down your throat?

But, when you look at whoever is sitting next to you, you see that they're gone. You didn't even feel them get up. You feel the seat and discover that it's warm, but when you look around you can't see anyone who was possibly just sitting here. You get up; you want nothing more to do with this stupid bench. Really now, advising you to ask a girl out on a date. Why the nerve! A complete stranger to boot!

You start walking again. The schoolhouse is undoubtedly locked by now. You'll have to get your things on the day after tomorrow. The peaceful and idyllic nature of the village is as persistent as ever. The only part that's even remotely rough is the tavern. And that's just because of the drunkards.

[] Go back to Eientei
[] See if Keine is home
[] Find something to do in the village
[] Think about this date idea seriously
---------
I was being lazy again, so that's why it took long.

[X] Think about this date idea seriously

Even if this was a hallucination, clearly it's like the raptor ride, and one of the GOOD hallucinations. Or perhaps it's our Lord, come down in human form to help his disciple in his time of turmoil.

Either way, listen to the man.

[x] Think about this date idea seriously

Teruyo self-insert is right!

[x] Think about this date idea seriously
[x] See if Keine is home

[x] Think about this date idea seriously
[x] See if Keine is home

[x] Think about this date idea seriously
[x] See if Keine is home

[] Think about this date idea seriously

[x] Think about this date idea seriously

[x] Think about this date idea seriously

[+] Think about this date idea seriously

[x] Think about this date idea seriously

You start to think about what that voice told you. Sure, it's annoying to be told what to do like that, but you can't help but think that there's some truth to those words. You sit down on a nearby wooden fence as you think about it some more.

You've got a day off tomorrow. That means that you can spend the day doing whatever you want. So it's not unfeasible at all. There is a slight problem however, you don't know what you can do around here. The obvious suggestion of a picnic isn't too bad, except that you really have no idea what would be a good location. And then there's the food. You could make something. Yeah, that'll be no sweat. You'll just buy some bread and make sandwiches.

And then there's other options. Depending if you want to be alone or not you could go to places like the tavern or just taking a stroll through the vast wilderness here. This, of course, also depends on who it is that you take out. Well, there's also the issue of your limited funds. Luckily there's not much around here that consumes money. But wait, you're getting ahead of yourself here. It's rather short notice and you don't even know if anyone would be willing to kick back and relax with you. Maybe people already have other plans. The thought makes you feel a bit depressed.

No time to dwell on that. You get up from the fence as you convince yourself that that won't be a problem. It's all matter of planning. There should definitely be an order to this thing. First scout the place and see if it's going to be free tomorrow. Then ask your companion out. Damn mysterious man, not giving you anything more to go on. And well, there's this uneasiness that you feel about the whole ordeal. You're not even sure if you should be tense from ongoing events.

Bah whatever. Relaxing tomorrow will help you deal with life. Hell, who knows, it might even help you mend fences. Or gain valuable information. You have to make decisions now though, before it gets to late to plan anything properly.

[] Scout out a location for a picnic
[] A tavern date might be good
[] Plan out a scenic route to walk around with someone
[] On second thought, this is a silly idea
[] Write-in date option
---------
Short, small update. Sorry for lateness. Keep in mind while voting that you can do anything and you'll later get a proper chance to ask someone (so no need to vote for that now). A well thought-out write in might do you wonders here... people can surprise you when they're out on a date.

>>Keep in mind while voting that you can do anything and you'll later get a proper chance to ask someone (so no need to vote for that now)

So, we can decide what we want to do to prepare for the date without worrying about asking someone, and no matter what we'll get a chance to ask someone out later. Still, wouldn't it be best to know who we're asking out first, before deciding upon where we're going to do with them?

>>8905
>wouldn't it be best to know who we're asking out first
slowpoke.als

[x] Scout out a location for a picnic

[x] Scout out a location for a picnic

>>8905
Yeah you'll set up details first before asking anyone. Yeah, it's important to keep in mind who you more or less want. Normally the other way around might be best, but there's several reasons why I think it's best to chose the place and plan first. Firstly, going to ask people right now is inconvenient. Because what most people are doing right now is already determined (eg Alice is supposedly going to the Scarlet Mansion). So it's a storyteller's thing really. Because of say instead of, say, talking to Tewi as she stands in front of the mansion (random non-factual example) is an activity and (probably) different flag than spending the afternoon finding a good spot for a picnic. I mean, maybe if you had a few days to plan asking first would be best. But as it stands you're going to go up to a person and say 'let's do x or y'.

Yeah, explaining myself is a bit complicated. But trust me this is for the best. It keeps activities and flags seperated, which helps me organize better, and present things in a more clear manner for you guys. Also it gives you a better chance to think who you want to ask out rather than just going for your first impulse. It doesn't have to be a romantic interest, for example, you may learn more from taking people out of their natural habitat than asking a love-interest out to a common date.

tl;dr things will work out. You'll be able to ask anyone you want. Even if it's early in the morning the next day. Please bear with it. I thought it through.

[x] Scout out a location for a picnic

Someplace secluded, but nice. Maybe with a good view, kinda like the spot Marisa brought us to.

>>8906
Yes, yes, I know. Alice is the obvious choice, but I hardly think she's the best one right now.

>>Hell, who knows, it might even help you mend fences. Or gain valuable information.

Our relationship with Alice needs no "fence mending" and I doubt we would require a date to give us any valuable information she might dig up. She wants to help us, and knowing what risk we are likely in, there is no reason for her NOT to do whatever she can do to so.

We are being given a chance to improve relations with someone who isn't on such good terms with us as Alice is, as well as potentially opening yet another source of information. I think it would be in our best interests to take full advantage of this opportunity.

We still haven't properly apologized to Reisen, for example, and she would be both a valuable ally and excellent source of info regarding Eirin's and Kaguya's activities. Between her and Tewi, we might have a chance of finding out when something bad is going to happen before it blindsides us.

Then there's Aya, who has basically been a huge loose end ever since we last saw her at the party. Aside from the benefit of heading off a possible disaster when she comes calling and spills the beans about exactly what we were doing that night at the party to someone you might not want to know about it, she could also be a good source of information, however biased it may be. With all the snooping she does, she's bound to know SOMETHING of value to us. Information, AND security in the knowledge that your dear Alice won't find out about the side of you that accepts sexual favors from girls you molested after just meeting them. She might not like that, you know.

Mokou might be able to tell something of what she has seen during her infiltration attempts, and it wouldn't hurt to know more about the security around Eientei, should we ever have to evade it ourselves.

Hell, if you want to be crazy about it, we might even try taking out Kaguya or Eirin. Maybe we can find out more about whatever illness is going around the rabbits, or possibly even something even juicier.

After all...
>>people can surprise you when they're out on a date.

Alice is pretty much a sure-thing now. Wanting to add on a few more affections points is fine and all, but I think it's a waste to pass up what could be some crucial info and assistance just for the sake of making someone who basically already loves you like you just a little bit more.

Don't waste this.

>>8911
Well, I was mostly considering the fact that after we confessed to Alice, we've already gone on a friendly date with Reimu (which she knows about) and stayed over at Keine's house (which she doesn't know...yet). Neither of which we've done with Alice. How many more people are we going to add to that list? You can't just consider her "a sure-thing" and not bother with romance anymore when we've barely done anything besides confess.

Note that Alice is the only major character (relationship-wise) who we haven't been a complete asshole to yet, except maybe Eirin. I'd like to try to keep it that way.

>>8912
>>Note that Alice is the only major character (relationship-wise) who we haven't been a complete asshole to yet, except maybe Eirin. I'd like to try to keep it that way.

I am aware of that, which is precisely why I think we should seriously consider trying to make things better between us and someone we HAVE been an asshole to.

Besides, of all the things we've done that could upset Alice, I hardly think "spending the night at Keine's" really ranks near the top of the list. The fact that we've technically slept with Mokou, Reisen, and Keine (though, it was more like we slept ON Keine, really) for starters. Or the handjob we all-too-gladly accepted from Eirin. Or the way we sexually harassed Aya TWICE, and then accepted a blowjob from her. You honestly believe we can have done all of those things, not do anything to make amends to the proper people, and NOT have it come back to bite us in the ass?
Explaining away our lunch with Reimu was relatively easy. Don't think it will be so easy to explain why we did what we did with Aya.

Not wanting to be an asshole to Alice is all well and good, but thinking that it's A-OK to let our past assholishness towards others stand is just plain foolish.

>>8912
Agreed. Just because we've told her we like her doesn't mean she's ready to ride off into the sunset with us just yet. Relationships take time and effort, and this date would go a long way in that regard.

>>8914
Technically, we told her a whole lot more than we "like" her. And while not even confessing your love to someone means they're ready to settle down with you, generally speaking, most people would have enough sense to wait until they're far enough along in their relationship to be pretty damn sure that they are ready when they do confess.
But of course, that would have been a logical and sensible thing to do, which is clearly the one way we are utterly incapable of acting in this story.

[x] Scout out a location for a picnic

The picnic seems like the best idea that you can come up with. You can make the food in the morning tomorrow before you leave. That way it'll be fresh. But for now it might be a good idea to check out any potential spots for the picnic. This way you can use your time efficiently as well. Off the top of your head you can think of a couple of places.

The first is right outside of the village. In fact, it's just beyond some of the outlying fields. You have to cross several of the cultivated fields to get there. It's a pretty standard prairie. There's few to none trees and you're surrounded by mid-sized grass. The advantages of this spot include the fact that it's close to the village, easily accessible, and is a pretty mellow place to be. It's tranquil and there's almost no movement here. Since not all of the fields are being cultivated, there shouldn't be that many people nearby anyways. There are some obvious drawbacks to this place. There's little to no shade. Also it might be tricky to find a good spot amongst the grass. You take a quick look around and see that it's fine now, but it might be a bit hotter out here around midday.

You leave the grassland and go to the next place that you can think of. It's a bit removed from the village. You take a road that leads around to the scarlet mansion. The terrain here is slightly elevated and there are several gentle hills and slopes. Almost any point here off the road might be suitable. It's right next to the lake so there's a permanent nice breeze. It was around here that you took the dip in the lake the other day. The grass here is shorter and there are more trees scattered about. It's a nice place, but you can see two potential disadvantages to it. One is the proximity to the road, no matter where you go it's almost certain that you can be spotted by passerbys. The other is the fact that a large portion of the terrain borders the Forest of Magic. You know that if you steer clear of it there should be no problem, but the strange things that you've seen there still bother you.

Going further along towards the Scarlet Mansion is uncharted land for you, so you don't bother to check it out. It's all the same until the mansion, and you're completely unfamiliar with what lies beyond. So it's a no-brainer to avoid the area. The next stop in your scouting expedition is towards Youkai Mountain. You don't know the terrain very well here, but it's a nice wooded area. There's bound to be several clearings and nice spots. You don't really venture very far, but you can already see some clearings from amongst the trees. One of those will do. What puts you off from this place is the fact that it's completely unknown terrain for you. You haven't been here for extended periods of time and don't really know about the flora and fauna. But it does have a really nice atmosphere and view. Also it's quite cool because of all of the shade.

The last location that you can think of is very near to home. The Bamboo Forest. Just like Youkai Mountain there's several nice clearings here and there. The view isn't that nice, but it's nice and safe as far as you know. It's close to Eientei which can be either a good thing or a bad thing. There's just the matter of the rabbits running around. They're cool and haven't really messed with you in the past much but it is a bit uncomfortable to know that several of them will spot you. This means that Tewi will end up knowing as well. And maybe other people. But, again, maybe that's a good thing.

You sit down in one of the clearings in the Bamboo Forest. It's nice and cozy here and it allows you to think properly. It took you a while to check out all of these places but it helped you get a clearer idea of what you wanted to do. Narrowing things down shouldn't be a problem. Right now you're thinking more of what to make for lunch tomorrow. The solution for that conundrum is easy, you'll buy some fresh bread in the morning and make sandwiches and several different snacks. Maybe even make a bento depending on the other person.

[] Decide on the meadow outside the village
[] The lakeside is good
[] One of the clearings of the wooded area of Youkai Mountain is okay
[] Close to home – the Bamboo Forest is good enough

Vote as well for who you want to go to the picnic with:

[] Write-in goes here

---------------
I waited a while before posting the update to give anon time to read the past few comments and stuff. They're interesting and anon should at least consider the different viewpoints. I'll also only tally the votes in several hours' time. This is to give you guys enough time to think and reflect (and if necesssary) discuss the options and weigh the pros and cons very well.

You won't necessarily drop all of your stuff to ask the person right now. I'll work it in so it's at the most beneficial moment for you. Sometime between now and the actual picnic.

This should go without saying, but votes for idiotic choices (such as random loli student #3) or for people you've met once in passing or something won't do anything.

This outing doesn't have to be about getting closer romantically to someone nor finding out facts. It may be reward enough to simply get to know someone better. With additional insight, comes (hopefully) additional wisdom. Also a happy afternoon might be more rewarding than gaining a few measly scraps of information should you ask someone whom there's an interest to know all what they know. Flies, catch, more of them with honey than vinegar, etc. Just some food for thought. Ultimately almost every choice has its benefits. So think it through well.

[x] One of the clearings of the wooded area of Youkai Mountain is okay
[x] Mokou

ONE CAN HOPE.
Besides, she might know alot about Eientei and its past.

[x] The lakeside is good
[x] Kaguya

stay on target

[x] One of the clearings of the wooded area of Youkai Mountain is okay
[x] Reisen

>This outing doesn't have to be about getting closer romantically to someone nor finding out facts. It may be reward enough to simply get to know someone better. With additional insight, comes (hopefully) additional wisdom. Also a happy afternoon might be more rewarding than gaining a few measly scraps of information should you ask someone whom there's an interest to know all what they know.

[x] The lakeside is good
[x] Marisa, Alice, Reimu as a group

Clear the air.

[] The lakeside is good
[] Alice

[x] One of the clearings of the wooded area of Youkai Mountain is okay
[x] Reisen

Overworked, useless, and only good for sex appeal needs a break. Shirou and her can take it easy~ together.

>>8926

INABA/

[x] One of the clearings of the wooded area of Youkai Mountain is okay
[x] Reisen

[x] The lakeside is good
Aya lives on Youkai Mountain. Otherwise I'd go for that.

[x] Reisen
For a few reasons:
1. We live in the same house already, so it shouldn't seem too suspicious.
2. She's my favorite touhou girl and I can't believe you assholes managed to make her angry. I'm fine with aiming for Alice this playthrough, but we still need to treat Reisen better. A lot better.
3. When shit starts going down at Eientei, she would be one of the most useful allies we could hope for.

[x] One of the clearings of the wooded area of Youkai Mountain is okay
[x] Reisen

>>8928

TAKE IT EASY~

[x] One of the clearings of the wooded area of Youkai Mountain is okay
[x] Reisen

Bandwagonan games.

[X] The lakeside is good
[X] Kaguya

Trust me, i like Reisen a LOT better, she deserves a lot more, but guyaguya might be more interesting now.

[x] One of the clearings of the wooded area of Youkai Mountain is okay
[x] Aya.
Just to be different.

[X] The lakeside is good
[X] Alice

>>Trust me, i like Reisen a LOT better, she deserves a lot more, but guyaguya might be more interesting now.

It's the opposite with me, strangely enough. I prefer Kaguya (or Mokou, or Kaguya AND Mokou) but between all the crap the poor moon-bunny goes through on a daily basis and some of our less-than stellar moments with her, I think she at least deserves a little time away to just relax and have fun.

Even if it means giving up a chance for some alone time with the lovely NEET. The two of us, walking barefoot through the grass. Her hair gently waving in the breeze, the sunlight causing it to shimmer as it does, so close you could just reach out and touch it, hold it in your hands...but, no. No. This is the right thing to do.

[X] The lakeside is good
[X] Alice

>>8934
wat
Ok, i know, she deserves it and all, delicious overworked Moonbunny. But this is a PICNIC, y'know. I mean, LEGENDARY PICNIC DELICIOUS SILKY HAIR STROKING SCENE!
IT IS LEGENDARY, WE MUST DO IT
besides we must interrogate her
KAGUYA DOESNT EXPECT THE SPANISH INQUISITION

[x] One of the clearings of the wooded area of Youkai Mountain is okay
[x] Reisen

[x] One of the clearings of the wooded area of Youkai Mountain is okay
[x] Reisen

REISEN/

[X] The lakeside is good
[X] Kaguya

A final time of happiness with our best friend, before everything turns to shit and she becomes our worst enemy.

[] The lakeside is good
[] Reisen

Seems like the Reisen Fags won this time.

>>8946
Cry harder.

What an unproductive day. Sorry for no updates. I'll update only in a few hours' time. I don't have a good excuse.

>>8958
HY writes again, everyone is over at /sdm/

After checking out these places out you make your decision. It was a close match between the lakeside and the mountain. Ultimately you decide to go with the woods by the mountain. As for who you're going to take. Well, you think that Reisen deserves a break. You haven't seen much of her and it might be nice to spend some time with her. Since you live with her you can talk to her easily. You'll talk to her after dinnertime. She'll be done with her chores and you can just pop into her room and ask her then.

Right now, there's no need to rush about. There's plenty of time. You've already thought out the plan for the food. You'll get up early and get some fresh bread at the bakery. That way the sandwiches will be deliciously fresh. You don't have a basket or anything of the sort, but you think that you'll be able to manage somehow. You can borrow something from Eientei or, failing that, a simple bag or cloth bundle will do. As long as you're careful things will turn out just fine.

You're pretty close by to Eientei now. But that isn't to say that you couldn't go somewhere else. There's still quite a bit of daylight left and it's way too early to be going home to eat. You notice that you're being stared at by a rabbit. It's a reminder of the identity of the true masters of the bamboo forest. You think that despite the bug that's been going around, you've made headway with them. They seem to be at ease with you and don't hop away immediately. Well, they still ignore you for the most part, but at least they don't avoid you.

That reminds you, you've still got that strange key you were handed the other day. Along with the mysterious bottle and bloody note you've got yourself a few choice enigmas. You've asked about the bloody note but haven't really inquired about the other items. Maybe someone else knows a little more. After all, they didn't just suddenly materialize (well, the note maybe). It might be worth checking out. But then again, with all the recent stress, it might just be superfluous information. It's hard to take things lightly now.

[] Try to get your stuff back from the schoolhouse
[] See if Eirin is in at the clinic
[] Check out if there's anything interesting around the village
[] Go talk to Kaguya
[] Go elsewhere
-------
Yeah, I know. All this inactivity for... this. Well, c'est la vie. You probably wouldn't have wanted me to write yesterday. Negative modifiers and such affecting my skills.

Also, don't worry about choosing to go to speak with Reisen. You'll do so automatically when it's time. So unless you somehow break the continuity ushering in an invasion of extra-dimensional radioactive slimes there will be a point in which I'll make you disengage whatever you're doing and go talk with her. So, for the moment, choose to do whatever you feel is advantageous.

[X] Go elsewhere

A bottle with stuff that we don't know what it does, a key that we don't know what it even goes to, and a note we can't even read.

Don't know who we could ask about the note, but there's bound to be someone who can at least partially identify the other two items. If only we knew someone who could do it. If only we knew of someone who was good at identifying things and what their purpose is...

[x] Go talk to Kaguya

[x] Go talk to Kaguya

[X] Go talk to Kaguya

>unless you somehow break the continuity ushering in an invasion of extra-dimensional radioactive slimes

[x] Usher in an invasion of extra-dimensional radioactive slimes

Okay, let's do this.

[X] Go talk to Kaguya

If we're already in the forest and headed for home, it seems silly to turn right around. There might be something of interest in the village, but with as quickly as Keine was preparing to leave the school is bound to be locked up by now. ...why WAS she in such a rush to go, anyway?
As for going somewhere else, we don't really have anything pressing for us to do right now, do we?

If we're going to make use of Tewi's offer, we need to start spending some more time around Kaguya and Eirin, and the best way to do that is start by going to where they tend to be. And since Eirin is likely to be busy, Kaguya is the one we should check out right now.

{X} Go talk to Kaguya

>>8980
[ ] Usher in an invasion of extra-dimensional radioactive slimes
Or alternatively:
[x] See if Eirin is in at the clinic

[X] Go talk to Kaguya

[]Go talk to Kaguya
[]"Hey, I just wanna say thank you. Thank you for the hospitality that you offered to me over the past few weeks and the comfort you provided over the internet that brought me back from the brink of suicide so many times. I know I can always trust you."

We make Kaguya guilty if she was doing something behind our backs and if she isn't then we scored bonus points from her.

It's a win-win situation.

[x] Go talk to Kaguya

The walk back to Eientei is a short one. Being in the Bamboo Forest, you only delay in finding the path back. Once you find it though, it really is a matter of only minutes before you're standing at the entrance again. You stop off in your room, leaving your PDA charging. You quickly stop by the bathroom and freshen up as well. Splashing your face with water drains away some of the fatigue that you were feeling.

After doing all that, you head on down to Kaguya's room. As per usual, the hallways are mostly empty. You knock on Kaguya's door. Hearing a reply telling you to come in, you slide open the door and step inside. The room is an absolute mess. There's magazines and food wrappers everywhere. The small table is overloaded with stacks and stacks of magazines and dvd cases. Kaguya herself is lying on the floor, belly up, holding a magazine over her head and reading.

She barely looks at you when you come in, completely engrossed in her reading. The way she's reading the magazine causes her hair to droop down and spread. It looks like a large shiny black puddle from your angle.

“Hey there, am I interrupting?” You greet and ask her.
“Not really, just give me a moment.” Kaguya replies, her gaze never leaving whatever it is that she's reading.

While she finishes whatever it is she's reading, you clear a small space in front of the table of junk and sit down. You grab a nearby magazine and start reading yourself. Well, skimming. Mostly looking at images and not thinking too hard about the content.

“Sorry about that. I lose my place easily so I always finish the article I'm reading before I do anything else.” Kaguya's voice rouses you from your skimming.

You put the magazine down and look at her. She lazily gets up from her position. She sits up and her hair swings down to its normal position. That's neat. It doesn't get ruffled or frazzled easily.

“Did you just get home?” She asks.
“Yeah, I came back a few moments ago.”
“I thought it was a half-day today?”
“It was, I just had somethings to do in the village.” You answer, hiding any hint of what really happened. It's probably best that you tell her just that.
“Oh~? I see.” Kaguya says with a slightly mischievous expression.
“See what?”
“It's nothing. I just find it wonderful how you've adapted to life in Gensokyo. I guess it's to be expected, though...”
“What do you mean by that?” You ask her. Her cryptic comment confounds you. Is she alluding to something you did but didn't tell her?
“Don't worry about it. Like I said it's nothing. I'm glad for you.” She reassures you with a smile. Then she changes the subject. “Say, tomorrow you have day off right? You can sleep in if you want.”
“Yeah, tomorrow is a day off, but I'm thinking that I might be busy anyways. Might even wake up early.”
“Huh, curious that.” She says, but doesn't ask anything further.

You're not very sure, but you think that she looks a bit disappointed. But she masks that well, and adopts a carefree expression again.

“I'd offer you some tea but, as you can see, my room is a mess. I'd be lucky to even find the space to place teacups here. So I must apologize.” Kaguya tells you.
“It's no problem at all. Don't worry about it.”

Now would seem to be an appropriate moment to bring up the reason why you're here.

----
WRITE-IN TIEM. In b4 bible black. Anything acceptable would include an attitude and a general topic/line of conversation. Mind you that this isn't for the whole evening just for a bit. I'm placing my (lack of?) faith on you guys. Prove that cynical bastard inside of me that anon can be smart instead of going for the stupid or boring options (*cough*mostdefinitelynottalkingaboutanyrecentchoices*cough*).

[x] Pledge your undying love to Kaguya

Set sail for nice Boat ending.

Eirin will make a nice glass for Shirou's head and will keep him alive for all eternity and to make another Shirou like MiG Anon out of him.
Can we hit on Eirin next?

I don't know what to vote, so I'll [x] Countervote against the previous two votes.

>>8988>>8989
[x] NOT THAT

[]"Hey, I just wanna say thank you. Thank you for the hospitality that you offered to me over the past few weeks and the comfort you provided over the internet that brought me back from the brink of suicide so many times. I know I can always trust you."

[x]"Hey, I just wanna say thank you. Thank you for the hospitality that you offered to me over the past few weeks and the comfort you provided over the internet that brought me back from the brink of suicide so many times. I know I can always trust you."

[]"Hey, I just wanna say thank you. Thank you for the hospitality that you offered to me over the past few weeks and the comfort you provided over the internet that brought me back from the brink of suicide so many times. I know I can always trust you."

[x] Clasp her hands in yours. Look her directly in the eyes.
[x]"Hey, I just wanna say thank you. Thank you for the hospitality that you offered to me over the past few weeks and the comfort you provided over the internet that brought me back from the brink of suicide so many times. I know I can always trust you."

[x] Clasp her hands in yours. Look her directly in the eyes.
[x]"Hey, I just wanna say thank you. Thank you for the hospitality that you offered to me over the past few weeks and the comfort you provided over the internet that brought me back from the brink of suicide so many times. I know I can always trust you."

[x] say kaguya, i was wondering, would you want to join us tomorrow for a picnic? you see, i'm inviting keine and mokou, and i thought you'd be a perfect addition to an already awesome group.
[x] back 3 choices

[x] Clasp her hands in yours. Look her directly in the eyes.
[x]"Hey, I just wanna say thank you. Thank you for the hospitality that you offered to me over the past few weeks and the comfort you provided over the internet that brought me back from the brink of suicide so many times. I know I can always trust you."

Oh, Shirou. Only you are ignorant enough to kill Kaguya with kindness.

>[x] say kaguya, i was wondering, would you want to join us tomorrow for a picnic? you see, i'm inviting keine and mokou, and i thought you'd be a perfect addition to an already awesome group.
>[x] back 3 choices

must resist... awesome... .jpg

[x] Clasp her hands in yours. Look her directly in the eyes.
[x]"Hey, I just wanna say thank you. Thank you for the hospitality that you offered to me over the past few weeks and the comfort you provided over the internet that brought me back from the brink of suicide so many times. I know I can always trust you."

You take this opportunity to express your gratitude. You'd even go as far as clasping her hands, but there's just way too much junk between you and her and moving around this room is troublesome as well. Instead you just give her a line about how she's helped you out. You make sure to emphasize that her support was quintessential and without it you would have succumbed to the harshness of life. It sounds a bit cheesy, but you think that she might appreciate it anyways. You hope that she buys the trust bit as well.

Kaguya's reaction to all of this is hard to read. She smiles through your whole declaration, not once showing any other emotion. To be honest, it seems a bit patronizing. She replies with a hollow “I see” and not much else.

This is all that you had thought up. Folding under the intense pressure seemingly coming from Kaguya's smile and your own insecurities, you shift around and try to think of an excuse to get out of there. Kaguya helps you on that end. She picks up her magazine again and you mutter something about not wanting to take up more of her time. After all, you just wanted to thank her.

You get up, bidding Kaguya adieu, and wade through the mess. You take one last look at her before you close the door. She's slumped back and is reading a magazine intently. For a moment, you think that she's staring at you off the corner of her eye. You close the door and walk out into the hallway.

You go back to your room and laze around. You decide to wait around for dinner. As a result, you don't accomplish much. At one point you start to play around with Albion yet again, but you quickly desist on that idea. You feel frustrated but you don't know why. Shrugging it off as just the day's events getting to you, you head down to take a bath before dinner.

The bath is nice enough. It doesn't do that much in helping you unwind. It must be a mental thing then. Nothing either compulsive drinking or meditation can't fix. After you get dressed again you try to meditate for a bit in the courtyard.

This does help. You clear your mind and feel that you're now really relaxed. It's a good meditation session and when you're done, you feel like a new man. It feels like you just got a large burden off of you. Just in time as well. The day has become night and it's now time for dinner. Your stomach grumbles. It looks like you're good to good.

Dinner turns out to be a bit lonely. Kaguya doesn't show up, Reisen tells you that she's allegedly too into her magazines to budge. And Reisen also doesn't eat, claiming that she's going to use this time to finish a few pending errands. You're not left completely alone. Surprisingly, Eirin joins you for dinner. She sits down at the table and the two of you eat. The two of you exchange a couple of pleasantries during the meal, but it's not until after that you start up a proper conversation with her.

The topic, curiously enough, had turned to traveling. In particular, modes of travel.

“I particularly like the feeling one gets flying through a clear night sky. The stars above twinkle and the land is covered by that fine veil that is the lunar light.” Eirin says with a complacent smile. You can picture her gracefully zipping through the night, silver hair reflecting the moonlight.
“Flying is great.” You offer your opinion. “It gives you a great view of the surrounding land. When it's a cloudless day you can see many kilometers around. From the times I flew in an airplane I remember looking out the window and seeing that vast expanse stretching out in all directions.”
“Airplanes, eh? I suppose that's how air travel is achieved on most of Earth. Back on Luna we, too, use similar devices for traveling short distances.” Eirin shares with you a small nugget of her past. You think that this is the first time that she's ever told you anything about the moon.
“We can't all be expected to know the secret to flight, now can we?” You say with a goofy grin.
“I suppose not.” Eirin lets out a lighthearted laugh. “Otherwise imagine how complicated the outside would be if everyone could just fly around at will.

You try to picture people flying around. It'd be sheer chaos. Crowded cities like Tokyo or New York would be a living hell with people crashing into each other and into buildings. Not to mention that immigration and border control would be a pain as well. You laugh as well.

It's been pretty enjoyable talking with Eirin. There isn't any tension in the air as the two of you drink some after-meal tea. She's a nice and outright warm person when not engrossed with her clinic nor work. Well, at least it's not like she always makes you feel uneasy. Nor does she seem like that inaccessible genius right now. As far as you're concerned you're talking like equals right now.

[] Continue the small talk
[] Ask Eirin how the rabbit situation is progressing
[] Tell her that you've felt that there's something off around here lately
[] Finish you tea and excuse yourself

[X] Continue the small talk

Two options that appear like they would kill the lighthearted mood going on right now, and one for leaving.

Although, telling her that something seems off might not be a bad idea. It might not be a GOOD idea, but it might not be bad, either.

[x] Continue the small talk

[x] Profess, undying love, Eirin, etc.

[+] Continue the small talk
[+] Ask Eirin how the rabbit situation is progressing

Looks like we struck a nerve there with Kaguya. Success.

[x] Ask Eirin how the rabbit situation is progressing.
[x] Tell her that you've felt that there's something off around here lately

Stop just treading water, or else you'll tire and drown.

A couple of more votes and I'll create a new thread (since we're almost at autosage) with the update. Judging by the slow voting (due to the hour) this might be a while yet.

>>9003
[+] Continue the small talk
[+] Ask Eirin how the rabbit situation is progressing

[+] Continue the small talk
[+] Ask Eirin how the rabbit situation is progressing

>>9017
>>9016
>>9009
I would rather you choose either smalltalk or one of the more serious topics. Since you can have small talk then shifting to a serious topic, but you wouldn't necessary reap the benefits (or downsides) of 'just' casual talk with Eirin. Also, I'll probably only write/post/whatever in 3 or so hours. Mainly due that there's more activity at that hour, also because it gives me ample time to take a quick nap.

tl;dr I'm being picky, deal with it.

[+] Continue the small talk