[X] You can't leave it at that.

As a Meiling fan, I now feel like an utter cock.

[x] You can't leave it at that.

Fuck no, we didn't bring her here to die.

[x] You can't leave it at that.

However, do this by helping Meiling, and not by outright arguing with Yuyuko.

We must assist our new little sister's introduction into the family with a helping hand and a wise word, not by telling Yuyuko off.

Also, I never thought I'd see the day when I referred to Meiling as an imouto. What the fuck.

[ ] You can't leave it at that.

[x] You can't leave it at that.

If you don't care, I'll just take her off your hands then.

[x] And the way it has to be.

[ ] And the way it has to be.
God damn it Meilingfags, KEEP THE FUCK OUT OF THIS ONE.

[x] And the way it has to be.
Family comes first

[x] And the way it has to be.

We should've just swerved the van and thrown Meiling into the master spark to die, I guess? What the fuck.

[X] And the way it has to be.

[X] And the way it has to be.
Business is business.

Hey blanktripfag, do you have a grid? Like, you know, a schedule for updating?

Also, what's your timezone? I never got to see you posting anything, just seeing things already done.

[X] And the way it has to be.

[X] And the way it has to be.
Isn't it sad, Meiling? ;_;

What the fuck, people? We aren't asking for a Meiling route, just to save someone that doesn't deserve this shit.

[x] You can't leave it at that.
via the method in >>2697 .

>>2725
US timezones. Schedule is whenever I can find sufficient time and energy to write. Unfortunately, lately that's only been happening in the wee hours of the night/morning, 2AM onwards, due to certain housemates refusing to shut up and turn off the TV etc etc. I'm slow (update of average length takes about 2+ hours to write, more to polish to what I'm satisfied with) and can't work well with distractions, so yeah. Trying to get better about it this week, although I'm too busy with other things to concentrate tonight. Probably the usual single update coming later on.

Sometimes I also wait a bit to see if votes will bring in anything interesting. Like this one, I'm kind of glad I didn't start writing Can't Leave it at That already.

Feedback appreciated as always.

[x] You can't leave it at that.

We brought her in to this and we're bringing her out.

[+] And the way it has to be.
It's not a total death sentence. Really. If she proves herself, she has a chance.
Cut her loose, and the SDM folks will have her dead.

I wonder if Yuyuko will call us out on the fact that we seem to really care about Meiling's fate, but didn't give two shits about feeding Marisa some bumper.

[x] You can't leave it at that.

[x] You can't leave it at that.

[X] You can't leave it at that.

Yuyu's way. Not yours. You pulled that girl up, made her help you, saved her indirectly from a firey death and directly from a slashy one and brought her before Yuyuko Saigyouji herself. After all of that, the notion of leaving Meiling to die in the halls of Hakugyoukuro is deeply abhorrent to you, even if you can't articulate exactly why.

And die she would, if Yuyu were to have her way. This is the Netherworld, and living here is the same thing as being dead. Worse, really, since Hakugyokuro itself is a nexus of spirits, and most of them are rather less than benevolent. It's clear Meiling's still alive in there right now, but you're dead certain she wouldn't last out the week. Not all by herself, sitting in a room with no company save the silent Youmu, worrying so hard about being forgotten that all the ghosts will make sure it comes true.

Is that it? You don't want her to be forgotten?

"That's so like you. Very well, you can speak with her when we return." You hadn't even decided on what to say, much less opened your mouth, but Yuyuko responds anyway, somehow, as she steps across the border and vanishes from your sight. Not for the first time, you wonder just how far her perception truly extends as you follow her through.

It's a long hike to the Moriya Shrine on foot, but Yuyuko strolls cockily ahead anyhow, appearing to all eyes as a relatively normal human girl who can't fly. You trail a bit behind her to avoid the impression that you're together. As predicted, only a few of the activists on the streets try to interact with either of you, and all of those that do are on Yasaka's team and let you pass with no more than a few words of encouragement when you tell them your destination.

The shrine itself is considerably more congested when you reach it at last. Shoving her way through the crowd, Yuyuko bypasses all of the political handwaving at the gate and heads for the shrine proper. You try to follow suit, but find that fairy physique is ill-suited to pushing larger beings aside, and are eventually forced to settle for a quick buzzing flight over the mob. Hastening to catch up with Yuyu before you lose sight of her, you set course for a flash of green hair, kick off your shoes and whisk through the door, only to be confronted with someone entirely different.

"May I help you, madam?"

Your path is blocked by an aqueous shrine maiden, replete in bubbling blue clothes and hair the color of seaweed. Inwardly cursing Gensokyo's magical fashion trends, you try to look around her for Yuyuko, but in vain. A large button with a shimenawa rope border, rather out of place pinned on the miko's otherwise traditional outfit, proclaims 'MY NAME IS Sanae Kotiya AND I'M PROUD TO SUPPORT CHANGE!' as she awaits your answer.

"Ah..." Your mind spins rapidly. Asking for a tour now would be iffy. Yuyuko's plans didn't include you speaking to anyone, but here you are, caught alone at the entrance. You can't ask to use the restroom since there likely isn't one inside the shrine, you really aren't dressed properly for prayers, and trying to directly deliver the letter is out of the question. What other business might someone have at a shrine?

"I'm just here to make a donation." You bow slightly and try to put on your best no nonsense business fairy attitude, hoping it gets the girl off your back. If there's anywhere a shrine's staff would be sure to find something, it's in their donation box.

"I'm terribly sorry, but Lady Yasaka is unable to accept offerings in person at this time. Please don't be disappointed. I can, however, offer you our personal guarantees that your contribution will be remembered and properly acknowledged once she takes office." Sanae quickly bows back, nearly having to fall to her knees to make sure her head gets lower than your own, then indicates a modest wooden box with slits in the top tucked inconspicuously by the door.

"Thanks. No need for that, just keep fighting for change." Turning the envelope to hide its seal from the shrine maiden, you discretely drop it into the box, bow to her again and stroll away without signing the registry Sanae offers you.

Not quite as planned, you suppose, but it'll do. Keeping an eye on the shrine, you hang around the outside of the crowd at the gate and try your best to look interested at the speech currently being shouted as you wait for Yuyuko to show up. You've no hope of laying eyes on the speaker or even hearing them clearly unless you were to fly up, but then again, you hardly want to. All you can make out is nonsense about taking back the city and uniting for better lives and truly terrible catchphrases.

"Yeaaaaaah! Let's open a Kan an' Kook Ya Sauceka on the man!" Someone behind you screams the worst slogan yet. Recognizing the voice, you forcefully step backwards and stab the points of your wings into the speaker. She yelps in surprise, and you feel the soft pressure on the back of your head start to vanish, then resolidify.

"Ah hah, you little bastard, catching me when we're out like this! I'll have to pay you back for that later."

"No parents, can't be a bastard. Besides, you deserved that. Sauceka?" You smirk at Yuyuko's momentary childishness as she steps around you. As far as you can tell, it isn't an act, and at times you much prefer this Yuyu to the princess of death. "Where next?"

"Eientei and Hakurei, of course." She hands you two more envelopes together, and your street sense tingles, asking why she didn't give you all three envelopes and destinations together. "Whichever you please."

[ ] Eientei first.
[ ] The Hakurei Shrine first.

[ ] Eientei first.

Coin Flippan Gaems

[X] Eientei first.

One is as good as the other.

[x] Eientei first.

BUNNIES

[ ] Eientei first.

VOTE EIENTEI 2008

[X] Eientei first.

Let's get this bandwagon on the road!

[X] Eientei first.

>>2767
The cotton fields lay fallow, the niggers, they do nothing.

In other news today:
[ ] Eientei first.

[X] Eientei first.

[+] Eientei first.

[X] Eientei first.

"Eientei first." You sigh theatrically. "Do we have to go to Hakurei too? I've already had enough of shrines for today."

"Yes. Your errand is the same, just put the letters where someone of importance will find them. Have lunch if you wish, there's no rush, but come back to my place when you're through." As the Moriya crowd's noise recedes, Yuyuko turns a corner in front of you. When you round it, she's gone, but her voice continues as a sudden commanding hiss in your ear. "Be circumspect. Do not link yourself to the envelopes. Be gone before they are opened."

"Dammit, Yuyu, stop vanishing like that. I'll be fine. Do I look like an idiot to you?" Masking your growing apprehension with a grumble, you clutch the envelopes a little tighter. To your side, an eerie grin half-appears behind your reflection in a shop window. You ignore it and move on.

Minor odd jobs, much like these deliveries, have constituted the bulk of your work for the family to date. You can't recall screwing any of them up lately, or ever for that matter, except for running into that shrine maiden a few minutes ago. Then again, you also can't recall Yuyuko ever giving you such candid orders. Usually she just tells you what to fetch and where to fetch it, with a certain measure of discretion going understood, and the Master's occasional requests are even softer spoken. This feels like just another petty errand, but for her to drop the facade and outright tell you not to be spotted... No longer certain that the envelopes really contain letters at all, you put some spring into your step, hop, skip and launch into the air.

People sometimes speak of the city having an underbelly, consisting of the poor, the Scarlets, and good honest misunderstood law abiding folk like yours truly. While that may be metaphorically true, the existence of an overcity is an honest reality. Everywhere you look, rooftops have been appropriated and decorated for those who prefer flight. Food, shops, and even living spaces for some of the more rugged youkai dot the tops of buildings, rising in value and opulence with the height of the skyline. Though all the business of the ground is still going on just a short distance below, the air is like a totally different realm - and Eientei is its crown palace.

Soaring far above the spires of SDMcorp's titanic skyscraper, you watch for a telltale glimmer in the air. Eientei would seem to be hard to find, as it's technically outside the city (and thereby beyond the reach of its mental mapping), invisible to most forms of detection outside a certain distance, and often moves, but there are always rainbow glimmers around to point travelers towards it. On a day like today, you can likely also watch for other fliers heading there. Sure enough, you quickly spy a slow cloud of dark dots moving through the clouds to a certain point and follow their lead. As you break the radius of the cloaking field, it occurs to you that you could have walked to the grounded entryway. That isn't nearly as fun, though.

Eientei's floating headquarters is breathtakingly beautiful, yet unmistakably alien to your eye. Lunarian design sense, you suppose. Its form is cubic and rounded at the same time, in the same places, indescribable expect with fuzzy adjectives like "perfect" and "unearthly" and "makes Vice President (now Acting President?) Ran scream and claim that it's geometrically impossible." It also makes your eyes hurt if you stare at it too long, and never looks quite the same way twice, save for the entrance and the ethereal rainbow streaming from it.

Floating in and gently alighting on the entrance platform, you rack your brain for an excuse to be here - and beyond that, a way to drop off your payload undetected. Moriya and Hakurei rely on divine power to forestall accidents, but you're reasonably certain that the second largest industrial conglomerate in Gensokyo employs somewhat harsher security measures than a polka-dot shrine maiden. Houraisan might not have to worry about assasination attempts, but she's known to have an odd paranoid streak nonetheless.

The stream of people ahead of you breaks into tributaries as you enter the building's Grand Plaza, a large, perfectly circular concourse bustling with activity. A scaled, holographic model of the moon lies in its center, easily a few stories high, but itself dwarfed by the many staircases and doors that rise around it, filled with uniformed rabbits rushing about, and above them all the great transparent dome that looks out into a starry black sky. Eientei should still rest well within the atmosphere, but given the other absurdities apparent in its construction, you wouldn't be surprised if the dome really did poke straight into space somehow. The true moon isn't visible from where you're craning your neck up to look, but you're sure it would be from the center, inside the illusionary moon. Few people fly in the central area, even though it's obviously constructed with aerial accessibility in mind.

The Plaza does seem somewhat flashier today than on the other occasions you've visited, and the cause is easily found in the sheer number of reporters taking pictures of anything and everything around. They are the least well-dressed of the crowds. Ahead of you, some opulent businessmen leisurely examine the multitude of technological and cultural exhibits on display. Shields made from salamander scales, clay bowls with supernatural auras of serenity, polished cowrie shells, sparkling lunar gemstones and more float in glowing boxes in the air, all with holographic plaques under them describing the artifacts in detail. You gawk at a few of them yourself, shaking your head. Anywhere else, anyone else, and you'd say half this junk couldn't possibly be authentic, but Kaguya is the one woman you wouldn't doubt to actually amass such a collection.

And every single one of them could, no, likely does have a camera inside the box somewhere, a mechanical eye staring back at your flesh. You walk on, following guiding lasers in the air up a ramp, through an automatic glass door, and towards the executive offices, moving into a quieter, nearly hermetic corridor. Past the Plaza area, the walls and floors are mostly monotone. They're still quite pretty, decorated with flowing murals, but the art itself conceals doors, offices, and whatever else may be back here in a silent repeating pattern.

The upper halls of Eientei resemble those of Hakugyokuro in many ways, but there's a subtle difference between death and sterility. Even the strange and sometimes corrupted remains of life are infinitely friendlier to your nature than a blank space where life never truly should have existed in the first place. Working here for a week, you think, would creep you out more than spending a month at Yuyuko's home. Though it would be admittedly less lethal.

What you're looking for, and betting on existing, is some mass of important people in a hall. Today of all days, there should be some commotion, some distraction, something you can use to walk past and drop the envelope out of view of any potential electronic spies. You abandon the lines of light tracing your path for a while, wandering randomly, following the odd rabbit and pretending to admire the murals full of stars and arcane symbols.

It takes an annoyingly long time, but eventually you catch up to some ritzy ladies who seem to be earnestly admiring the art, led by a dutiful rabbit in a suit. Winding through their legs, you tip one of the envelopes out of your pocket with a single finger, not even glancing at it as it pads to the carpet, and squeeze forward to check out a depiction of the constellation of Draco as a real dragon flying across the heavens.

"Did someone drop this?" Another rabbit calls from the back of the group. Some of the women turn around and cluck negatively. You make sure to keep yourself among the ones who barely throw a glance backwards before moving on.

And on.
And ON.
God, don't these birds get tired of postmodern Lunar art, or whatever the heck this is?

Half an hour later, bored to tears, but careful to keep yourself looking attentive, you finally reemerge into the Plaza and head for the exit. You pass straight by the lines that point towards Ground Exit, wishing for nothing more than a happy fall through open air to ease your aching eyes, when your ears detect a pair of footsteps start to briskly jog towards you from behind.

Then a hand descends on your shoulder to interrupt your escape. You freeze, nightmare scenarios and escape plans running through your mind as a disapproving voice booms out.

"Hey, shouldn't you be at work?"

You pivot around, glaring into the face of your accuser.

It's Letty Whiterock.

"Lunch break. Extended. Shouldn't YOU be at work?" Your heart beats again.

"Lunch break, extended." Letty smiles, and you exhale, very slowly, and try to turn your glare down from ready-to-kill to teasing.

"And how exactly does one take a lunch break from running a diner? Shouldn't this be the time you're working hardest?" You just made that up on the spot to keep the conversation flowing naturally, but actually, it's quite a fair question.

"All right, you caught me. I closed it today to go out sightseeing. Summer vacation's so close, I couldn't resist taking a day of it early." Flinging her hands up, Letty sighs. "Are you happy now, you mean, ruthless fairy you? And how are the exhibits?"

"Boring," you answer truthfully, "and weird. They never change."

"Hmph." She leans in towards your face, quite suddenly, closes her eyes and sniffs. It's an oddly intimate move, and somewhat pleasant after wandering Eientei and having your face pressed into old ladies' waists for 30 minutes. "You haven't actually eaten yet, have you? How about I pass on the shiny moon rocks and we can go grab a bite together?"

[ ] Accept. Yuyu said you'd have time for lunch.
[ ] Decline. You have too many things to do today.
[ ] Tell her you have a quick errand to run, but promise to eat with her afterwards.
==========
Sorry about the weird update (lack of) schedule.
Good news: Housemates are leaving all next week, I'll be here alone taking care of the sick cat, much writing will ensue.
Bad news: End of July, I'm off on a ~10 day vacation myself, and this isn't quite on pace to be done by then. We'll see what happens.

[x] Accept. Yuyu said you'd have time for lunch.

If what we just delivered to Eientei was a bomb or anthrax or something I think it'd be a good idea to get Letty the fuck out of there ASAP. But that's just me.

[ ] Accept. Yuyu said you'd have time for lunch.

[x] Accept. Yuyu said you'd have time for lunch.

Because of this >>2799, but also because it gives you an alibi. I have a bad feeling that Letty's presence isn't exactly serendipity, rather that she's trying to usher you out for your own protection.

[X] Accept. Yuyu said you'd have time for lunch.

[x] Accept. Yuyu said you'd have time for lunch.

>>2798
>and this isn't quite on pace to be done by then

Don't rush it, the story can go on hiatus if it has to. Quality over quantity.

>>2805
This anon speaks truth.

>>2761
>[X] You can't leave it at that.

FUCK! FUCK THIS SHIT! FUCK YOU FUKCING MELINFAGS! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU! FUCK YOU ALL, FUCK FUCK FUCK!!

Now, to read the actual update...

>>2732

Hey, no problem. I actually like the pace os this VN, it gives me time to actually vote at important moments. I don't have much chances to vote since I can check for updates only once per day, so I tend to be left out of the CYOAs. And that makes me sad, I coud have helped avoinding a lot of shit if I could have voted too(and before anyone asks, I may not be able to vote, but I can read everything by putting the txt files in my Cellphone)

And like >>2805 said, quality over quantity, so it's okay if you take more time than the others to write a good update. Just look at all the walls you built, your time was well spent.

Hm, now that I read at least the first update, what is the criteria you use for the voting system? First to X or most popular for X time? And when there is a tie?

[BAAAWWW]fuck you meilingfags[/BAAAWWW]

>>2813

Well that certainly took long enough. Tell me, why all the rage?

>>2815
Winning choice is whatever looks best for the story when I sit down to write the next update. Will of the majority is not necessarily absolute, I am more easily swayed by discussion and reasoning. In some cases a single good write in could win. I think Can't Leave It At That was actually behind by a couple of raw votes at the end, but it fit somewhat better and had more people explaining why they wanted it.

Good write ins are always allowed and encouraged. The choices I write are as much part of the story as anything else, and while I try to avoid giving you any nonviable options, that doesn't mean I'll spell out all the viable ones.

[X] Accept. Yuyu said you'd have time for lunch.
I do believe Yuyu knows of our friendship with Letty. I think she was giving us a little hint as to what we ought to do.

[X] Accept. Yuyu said you'd have time for lunch.
[X] "My treat."

[X] Accept. Yuyu said you'd have time for lunch.

"Sure, I'd love to. My treat. Let's get outta here." Still barely breathing, you take Letty's hand and tug her out towards the aerial exit, breaking into a run. She, of course, barely has to jog to keep up with you before the two of you leap over the edge into freefall. Down, down, down, back towards the welcome city and away from the House of Eternity and whatever it was you dropped off there.

The sensations of air and wind whipping past you bring genuine relief, as well as a spare moment to ponder as you listen to Letty's delighted laughter. You're not one to turn down a friendly face showing up in the middle of the day, but Letty appearing in Eientei now can't be a coincidence. Even in her most adventuresome moods, she isn't really one for sightseeing, but you do know she'd kill - figuratively - for a year round cool, static environment. Most likely, then, she intends to support Kaguya in the upcoming election.

Just as the ground rushes up to interrupt your thoughts, Letty's arms catch you around the waist, and she straightens you into a soft embrace and gentle downward float. You'd planned to cut as close to the street as possible for a thrill, but this - this is nice, too. Possibly nicer. Neither of you say anything as you drop, savoring the moment.

Letty further confirms your political speculation by drifting in an obvious course for the Eientei-owned Satellite Sidewalk Cafe, which would be a fabulous choice for any day but today. While the food there is great, the service leaves much to be desired in the way of speed, and that other envelope's burning an imaginary hole in your vest pocket. Still, Yuyuko did say there was no rush.

"Not a fan? You're paying, we can go anywhere you like." Letty's concerned face appears upside down in front of you. Dammit, can everyone read you like a book?

"Ah, it's fine, they're just a little slow, and my lunch break's already kind of extended." You try to laugh it off, but she's clearly having none of it. "It's fine, it's fine, really, the old people will keep."

"You..." Letty purses her lips, thinking, then loosens her hug, nearly letting you go. "... aren't working there today, are you? I'm sorry, you must be busy, we can have lunch another day."

"No! Really! It's fine!" Surprising both her and yourself, you instinctively lay your arms over Letty's, failing to reach all the way around her back but pulling her closer nonetheless. She pauses before asking again.

"You have other things you need to do, don't you?" Her voice is comforting in your ear. Ah, what the passers-by must think, if they saw the two of you right now. Fortunately nobody else seems to be looking.

"Just one," you admit. "A little errand. It'll keep, it's not like anyone's going to die waiting for me." Except Meiling, but another hour won't hurt her, not with Yuyu's promise to let you speak to her.

"Oh, go on and do it," Letty softly urges. "I'm not going to die waiting for you either, and it'll just hang over your head if you don't do it now."

"Nuh-uh. Don't be like that, I'm not gonna ditch you." She's right, as usual, but if you wanted to run your errand first you would have said so. Alas, you realize instantly that you've talked yourself into the worst possible situation, aaaaand....

"Then could I come with you, maybe wait outside?"

That would be why. It's an innocent request, and you'd be well within your rights to turn her down, given that she's probably figured out the errand has something to do with your mysterious other occupation. In the realm of logic, that would be the thing to do. However, you are currently floating on a street corner with your best friend, arms mutually wrapped around each other, and therefore far too entrenched in the realm of emotion to consider denying her. It could be all right. Maybe. You're just going to the Hakurei Shrine, and you'll need to make up a pretense for being there anyway. In fact, going with Letty could be a good pretense by itself, as long as nobody asked her any questions. Yuyu wouldn't need to find out about it, and if she did find out, she wouldn't be upset anyhow. She's the one who told you to take it slow and throw in lunch, when she ditched you. Maybe she even knew this would happen, you certainly wouldn't put it past her. Maybe you're just trying to make up justifications. Heck with it.

"I guess that would be all right. I'm going to the Hakurei Shrine, so it might be boring. Not about politics," you make haste to add, imagining Letty's eyebrow arching as you think of the perfect excuse. It might even be true. "I just need to pray for someone."

"The Shrine? Oh, that'll be nice." She exhales, her misty breath tickling the back of your neck, and shifts to holding hands with you while you start flying down the street. The two of you float in sync, nearly at a walking pace, but maintaining a bit of distance from the ground. It removes the need to worry about your differing stride lengths, and, more importantly, adds another little touch of pleasure to the journey. You've never even been interested in going to a shrine before, though you visited Hakurei's once, but Letty tactfully chooses not to press you further about your newfound piety.

Perhaps it's understandable, given where you're going. The Hakurei Shrine doesn't bear much resemblance to a place of worship at all. There's a traditional building in the back, a bit smaller than Moriya's, and you've heard that used to be all there was, but over time the Hakurei faith has morphed into a glitzy megachurch. The current main structure is more of a complex than a single building, housing a large ampitheatre for occasional services, halls of prayer wheels, rooms for religious (and not so religious) schooling, daycares for both human and youkai children, and on and on and on, all built and maintained by the donations of its mostly affluent members. Remilia Scarlet is by far the biggest contributor, a fact that both parties love to play up in the news despite the vampire being an avowed atheist and claiming to only support the faith's humanitarian programs.

The one thing all of Hakurei isn't known for, though, is internal organization. You're positive that a letter dropped anywhere on the floor in Eientei is guaranteed to work its way to an authority, but here it stands a better chance of working its way into a trash bin. With this in mind, you fly Letty straight past all the glamour to the simple traditional building. At least anything left there has a better chance of being spotted by the few who still care to use the old structure.

"May I..." Letty suddenly speaks up when she notices your destination, uncommonly stumbling over her words. "If you don't mind, I would like to pray for someone special, too." You pat her hand and let it go, and she alights on the ground, bows and enters the shrine, turning to the right inside. You make sure to turn to the left as you enter.

The interior of the true shrine - you can't help but think of it as such - is much darker than you expected. Nothing more than a few candles, placed in niches here and there, light the quiet hardwood halls. There's no incense burning, but the smell of herbs and smoke is baked into the walls themselves, mixed with another rich scent you can't quite place. No one else seems to be here, though you saw a few more shoes out front. Well, all the better.

You quietly slide open a random door and enter a prayer room, coming face to face with a single candle placed in the center of the floor. It's surrounded by a thin puddle of wax, nearly burnt out, and flickers wanly as you close the door behind you.

Staring at that solitary candle, all alone in this nearly dark room, makes you think of...

Something. Someone. Many someones. A warrior waiting for you, beaten but not yet gone. A corpse eternally at the end of their life, not waiting for anyone, meditating alone. A ghost, a single flame long burnt out but never extinguished. An old man, preserved somehow. A winter youkai with an empty diner. A fallen fairy who turned her back on carefree nature and now spends her time and energy brooding in dark rooms on really sappy things when she's supposed to just drop a stupid envelope on the floor and get on with going to lunch already.

Attempting to resist the temptation to wallow further in cathartic narcissism, you approach the candle and pinch it out, laying the envelope on the floor beyond it. Darkness and peace envelop the room, and this you do let yourself enjoy for a minute or two. You even offer a few prayers in your mind, for everyone you can think of. Then you turn for the door, blinking for it in the gloom, and see a shadow deeper than the rest of the blackness slightly move.

"Just like that. The candle goes out, and we're still here." A ruined voice croaks from the dusk, feminine but filled with pain and mourning and rasping from bouts of sobs. You remain quiet, unsure of what to do, and the shadow creeps forward and rises up to you. It would be terrifying, but the voice inspires more pity than fear.

"You're a fairy." It, or rather she, traces a hand over your face, across your back and wings. As your eyes adjust further, you can make out a woman of human stature in black lace. She must have been sitting in the corner when you came in. "Why did you come in here?"

"I don't know," you answer, keeping your voice to a whisper out of respect. "It seemed like a good room to pray in."

"Random?" Her voice cracks with hope, then fades back into despair as she bends over you, feeling further. "She would have liked that."

"Who?" Silence follows your question, then the dark woman drops to her knees and crawls backwards, folding back into the corner.

"A dead girl. No one important. Except to me. But she never knew." The shadow's bitterness mixes with the smell of the room and the vanished candle's smoke. "Do you want to know about her? You came in here. I'll tell you. Her name was Marisa. She was human. She was strong. She loved herself. She loved others. She wasn't afraid of anything. She did a thousand miracles. A car hit her. I wasn't there. And nobody helped her. So she died from something stupid. The end."

"I'm sorry." That seems insufficient. You aren't even sure if you said it out loud, or just thought it. A car has to be driven by someone. You know what happened; you knew deep down from the moment she didn't get up.

"Don't be sorry. She would have died anyway. Eventually. You understand. You're a fairy. They all die. Everything, everybody. I'll die too. Maybe you will. I'm not sad about her dying. I'm not. I just wish I could have talked to her. Before she died. Because now she's dead." The voice, never exactly stable, nearly becomes a keening wail, then settles again. "My name is Alice. Do you understand? Have you ever known someone that's with you almost every day always there for you larger than life and doesn't care about anything you do wrong and you really do love them but you haven't told them and you know if you do it will just end badly anyway?"

[ ] She's insane with grief. There's nothing you can do for her.
[ ] Tell her about Letty.
[ ] Invite her to lunch with you and Letty.
[ ] Confess your role in Marisa's death to her.
=============
Good writeins and ideas encouraged as always.

Fuck. You know Anon isn't good at dealing with girls, let alone grieving girls!

uuuh....
Fuck it. Letty route is go.
[ ] Tell her about Letty.

[ ] Tell her about Letty.

[X] Offer to take her to Hakugyokuro; surely Yuyuko can do something about letting Alice and Marisa talk one more time.

Don't really know if this is how it works, but we need to do something to help.

[X] Tell her there's someone.

I wouldn't want to come right out and say it is Letty. Lets say Alice figures out who took out Marisa and ends up wanting revenge. She would attack/kill Letty an in turn, we would attack/kill Alice and that could potentially spark even more unneeded violence.

Anyway, the way Alice talks makes me want to hit her in the face.

[ ] It's insane with grief. There's nothing you can do for it.
Just ignore it, no need to get involved with it.

>>2874
Harsh, man. Harsh.

>>2868
>Have you ever known someone that's with you almost every day always there for you larger than life and doesn't care about anything you do wrong and you really do love them but you haven't told them and you know if you do it will just end badly anyway?"

[X] Tell her about Youmu.
[X] Offer to take her to Hakugyokuro; surely Yuyuko can do something about letting Alice and Marisa talk one more time.

Comparing Letty here is severe hubris. Youmu was the prime mover in your fall, the "rival" who has spoken a total of three sentences to you your entire life.

Second, Youmu has nothing to fear from Alice, unlike Letty. If we tell her about Youmu, she won't even consider Letty, who acts in a completely different manner.

If this girl wants to hurt you or if she is truly in the need of help, either way you should bring her Hakugyokuro now, before she can track you down.

[x] Tell her there's someone.

I want to give her sympathy but I don't want to have Letty be our Uncle Ben, because if she finds out that WE'RE the one that killed Marisa, and she's the "Crazy in the coconut" kind of Alice, well, you know what they say about a woman scorned.

[X] Tell her there's someone.
My heart bleeds for you, Alice.

Also, only just started reading this VN, and it's superior.

[X] Offer to take her to Hakugyokuro; surely Yuyuko can do something about letting Alice and Marisa talk one more time.
[X] Make a short prayer for Marisa and Alice before leaving.

She just wants to talk to her. It's a small kindness; you don't have to tell her you caused it.

I just don't want to see a seven-colored butterfly next time we talk to Yuyu because we left this girl to suicide.

Can we get confirmation here? Does our character know if people can talk to the dead in Hakugyokuro, and if Yuyuko is okay with us bringing someone in for that?

If so, I'm voting for that too.

This story amazes me every time I read it. How can a fairy be written to seem so damn... gritty?

>>2885

Everyone's ghost passes through Hakugyokuro before its final destination, and the ghosts do vocalize as we've seen when we brought Meiling over. The question is whether it's still there or not. Considering how Yuyu was so flippant over China, it's unlikely escorting a neutral would be a problem; moreover I don't think it was accidental the way Yuyuko showed the main character Marisa's fate. The fairy is done with her mission and should report back soon anyway. Not taking Alice with you now leaves a witness and the strong possibility of her taking the letter (which would let her know we're from Hakugyokuro anyway).

>>2816

Actually, I dunno. It was something too spontaneous. I guess it's because I already had a perfect vision of what would happen if the other option had won and was actually expecting it too.

I think Meiling was supposed to take care of herself during her stay. You know, kinda a test. She had to succeed on hew own and all that rubbish.

>>2886
All the information you need is in the story to date.

> People voting "Tell her there's someone"
Cool beans, but since there's a bit of debate between Youmu and Letty, it'd be great if you could also specify which (if any) someone you're intending to refer to.

>>2887
>>2883
> others
D'aww, thanks. Really appreciate hearing stuff like this, doubly so since it's basically the only feedback I've gotten at all.

>>2889
Wait seriously? I'm usually pretty vocal, so I lose track of these things sometimes.

Even as an Anon, and even though you'll never know what other posts I make unless you're a fucking insane stalker or some kind of speech pattern analyst for the FBI, I'd like you to know that this is one of my favorite running adventures so far. You haven't exactly had long to screw up, but the story is positively enthralling.

inb4 slurp slurp slurp

>>2888

I see what you mean. Still, any pep talk we can give to wake the dragon in her can't hurt.

>>2880
>a woman scorned.
Oh, you mean how they'll be the subject of a horrific and/or repulsive ending?

>>2891
follows Scarlet Devil doujin canon?

>>2889

I was the one who started the write in. I was talking about Letty, I think the others were too but I'm not going to speak for them.

>>2893

Yeah, I'm a sucker for badass Meiling.

>>2889
>>All the information you need is in the story to date.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

Seriously, I groped through pretty hard coming up with that write-in. There are ghosts laughing at us, getting riled up, unloading our loot, and... lying, apparently. Which is I though why maybe Yuyu can do something to enhance the consciousness of the ghost long enough for Alice to say what she needs to say.

But, what are ghosts? Are they the entirely the souls of the dead that are awaiting judgement and reincarnation, or just the ones that left something unfinished in the mortal world and can't let go yet?

I'm pretty fucking desperate, ya know. I broke into a cold sweat during the butterfly and have being silently BAAAWWW'ing this entire time. A brilliant, happy, care-free, and loved person struck down in the prime of their life because some shmuck couldn't take 2 minutes to make a coherent plan? It's as depressing as real life.

>>2897
>because some shmuck couldn't take 2 minutes to make a coherent plan

I know, right? Using a slow-activating giant laser to obliterate the getaway van of the thieves who beat you to the punch, along with the loot and anyone inside who can't reincarnate, is a pretty stupid plan.

>>2897

Alice needs to tell Marisa that she loved her. Even if Marisa's ghost is a hollow shadow, deaf, dumb, and blind to the living, it still serves to give Alice closure.

A miracle will appear. I'm certain of it.

[X] Tell her about Letty.
[X] Invite her to lunch with you and Letty.

We can't just leave her like this, but I'm not so sure Yuyuko would be so nonchalant about us bringing in some random, mourning civilian than she was about an SDMCorp employee and possible bargaining chip.

>>2889
I was >>2883 , and I wasn't really aiming to mention anyone specific, but if I had to choose; Letty.

No problem BTW. This is ridiculously well written thus far.

>>2898
A tip of the hat for attacking my post hoc ergo propter hoc, but a wag of the finger for using a non sequitur to do it. Call me out and leave it at that next time.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO VOTE.

>>2907
Yeah, it's awesome like that.

[x] Confess your role in Marisa's death to her.
[x] "I felt her bones crunch beneath those wheels. It was like popping bubble wrap."
[x] Run like hell.

>>2874
Changing my vote since there is potential for delicious, painful Alice mindfuck torture.
[X] Offer to take her to Hakugyokuro; surely Yuyuko can do something about letting Alice and Marisa talk one more time.

>>2900
>We can't just leave her like this, but I'm not so sure Yuyuko would be so nonchalant about us bringing in some random, mourning civilian than she was about an SDMCorp employee and possible bargaining chip.

There's already a number of work-related reasons to bring her to Hakugyokuro:
1) Eye witness; has to be silenced one way or another (veiled threats, bribery, sworn oath, etc.)
2) To secure envelope without her picking it up
3) Danger of leaving behind a possible enemy agent/assassin
4) Yuyuko knows you killed Marisa
5) Eye for talent--if she really is broken, a girl like this is putty in Yuyuko's hands
6) We need to extract mission-related data; who was Marisa working for? If just herself, then who gave her the tip-off?

If we are upbraided by Yuyuko, I would be extremely surprised.

[X] Tell her about Youmu.
[X] Invite her to lunch with you and Letty.
[X] Offer to take her to Hakugyokuro; surely Yuyuko can do something about letting Alice and Marisa talk one more time.
[X] Make a short prayer for Marisa and Alice before leaving.

I think Anonymous is a pretty cool fairy, eh follows her heart and doesn't afraid of anything

[ ] Tell her there is someone (YOumu)

"There is someone. Someone I try to reach, someone I care about. But even tough we're together most of the time, we're not close. She doens't notice me...seh'e kinder to people she met in less than a day, but not to me, even after a whole year..."
"I hate this...but I can't change her...I can't reach her...it hurts...it hurts but I can do nothing about."

[X] Invite her to lunch with you and Letty.

Don't want her to hate us.

And blankfag, you better actually GIVE us choice to see or not Meiling instead of making us go there. C'mon guys, Youmu was nicer to a hostage, an enemy we capture, than she has been to us in one year.

[X] Tell her about Youmu.
[X] Invite her to lunch with you and Letty.
[X] Offer to take her to Hakugyokuro; surely Yuyuko can do something about letting Alice and Marisa talk one more time.
[X] Make a short prayer for Marisa and Alice before leaving.

Though telling her it was us and that running her over reminded us of bubblewrap is very tempting, this one works better in my mind.

Guys, Youmu doesn't really fit the situation.

>"My name is Alice. Do you understand? Have you ever known someone that's with you almost every day always there for you larger than life and doesn't care about anything you do wrong and you really do love them but you haven't told them and you know if you do it will just end badly anyway?"

It would be easy for us to get our feelings through to Letty, but you could say the same about Alice and Marisa. It sounds like she never had the courage to try.

[X] Tell her there's someone (Letty)
[X] Invite her to lunch with you and Letty.

Don't mention her name. Even if Alice agrees to come, it might be kind of awkward with her knowing that we secretly love Letty.

[x] Tell her there's someone (Letty)
Only fitting choice.

[ ] Tell her about Letty.
[ ] Invite her to lunch with you and Letty.
Taking Alice to the realm of the dead in her current state strikes me as a bad idea.

>>2936

I don't really like Lety, but I guess your explanation works right.

[X]Tell her there is someone (Letty)

Don't invite her to come, that will only slow us down and need to end our quest ASAP.

>>2925

Heh, I guess that's reasons enough.

[X] Tell her about Youmu.
[X] Invite her to lunch with you and Letty.
[X] Offer to take her to Hakugyokuro; surely Yuyuko can do something about letting Alice and Marisa talk one more time.

[x] Confess your role in Marisa's death to her.
[x] "I felt her bones crunch beneath those wheels. It was like popping bubble wrap."
[x] Run like hell.

Seems good. We take a weigh off our coinscience, tell her what really happened, and everybody stays happy.

[ ] Back away slowly.
Or just:
[x] Tell her about Letty.

Alice, the shadowed girl calls herself. She waits in silence for a bit, then folds her head back down, becoming an indistinct lump in the darkness. You can't just leave her here. Briefly, you consider taking her to Hakugyokuro out of sheer pity and allowing her to plead her case with Yuyuko. You have no doubt that Yuyu would be able to solve her problem, indeed, all of her problems, in one tiny flap of a butterfly's wings. That would be something of a waste. By the way Alice spoke about Marisa, you can deduce that she isn't human, and probably has quite a long life still in front of her. A life to spend in regret? You recall evenings spent with Youmu, the push you felt to speak to her, times with your family, days with Letty. Ah, Letty, probably waiting outside for you even now, wondering what you're doing. She'll never know exactly, because you can never tell her. But even without you telling her, didn't she manage to see through you and guess?

"Yes." Finding your voice, you answer Alice's question. "There's someone for me. A couple of people, actually, and I can imagine how you must feel. But you're still alive, and death - like you said, it happens. If you loved her that much, I'm sure she knew."

"She never said it. Never said anything. If she knew then she hated me." A muffled voice responds from the shadow.

"Hey, don't be that way. I mean, one of those people I mentioned? I know she doesn't like me much. But if they're that important, you can't let that kind of thing get to ya. And you, Marisa wouldn't hate you at all. Marisa Kirisame, right? I knew her a little bit, saw her at bars here and there. She probably just didn't want to get you involved in rough stuff." This is all sheer conjecture, made up on the spot, but it sounds about right from the little you knew of Marisa. Granted, this Alice girl seems very much like the creepy stalker type that would have gone out of her way to make sure Marisa never did notice her, but you're inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"You smell like death. Everything smells like death. I ran away. She wasn't worried about death. She wouldn't be worried about me. That means she hated me. You hate me, too. You'll kill me. Your mother will kill me." Alice slowly rasps and rants, and begins to crawl towards you again, immediately making you regret giving her the benefit of any doubt whatsoever. If she's somehow sensed your connection to the Saigyoujis...

"My mother?" You keep your voice as neutral as possible, backing away from the crawling blackness. "I'm a fairy. What are you talking about?"

Caught, Alice scuttles backwards.

"Projecting," she hisses. "I want you to have a mother. So I can hate her for not killing you. For being alive. Mine is dead. Marisa is dead. Don't mind me. Just hate me. Everyone does. I'm crazy."

"You're, ah, pretty fucked up right now, that's for sure. Wanna come to lunch with me and my friend?" While your brain is busy being relieved that Alice definitely wasn't referring to Yuyuko, your mouth pops out some words on its own. You immediately regret them as the girl starts shaking and making noises that sound vaguely like laughter.

"You're a good little fairy. Such a nice girl. Telling me the truth. No one else will. So happy. Someone you love." Her voice suddenly rises several decibels and changes from a childish singsong into a pure, seething snarl, the most furious howl you've ever heard. "GO AWAY! LIE TO ME! RUN FROM ME!"

Running, or even turning your back to her, seems unwise at the moment. You tense and prepare for Alice to attack you, but she doesn't. Seconds pass, ticking into minutes, and she slumps further into a heap on the floor, her hands twitching occasionally and making quiet rustling sounds. Idly, you wonder if she's some sort of darkness youkai, and whether or not Letty will think you're standing her up. No, she's too nice for that.

"So..." Your mouth quirks into a smile, though you know she can't see it. One of you has to make a move. Maybe you're turning a little crazy yourself. "Lunch?"

"No." At length, Alice speaks again. Her tone has returned to a normal level, perhaps the calmest and most rational you've heard her, though still throbbing with sadness. "Thank you, but I don't think I could take that right now. Thank you for coming in here, and. And talking to me. I'm sorry if I disturbed you." You start to reply that it's perfectly understandable, but she raises a dim hand to shush you. "Please don't tell me who you are, or if you work here and get paid to do this. I'd rather not know. Go on and have lunch with your friend."

Slowly, you step for the door, but Alice beats you to it, getting up and sliding it open in a single motion. The sudden glare of the candles in the hall makes your eyes water, but you finally get a decent look at her as she leaves. Blonde, matted hair, ivory skin, perfect save where it's smudged with makeup and raw from crying, a blue dress with long white sleeves and a red ribbon, lovingly made but obviously worn for days - she might be beautiful when cleaned up. Her eyes are left in deep shadow, but her mouth is pursed in wonder. In one hand, she holds a heavy book, bound with clasps and straps. Alice's other hand cradles a set of small dolls to her chest, made of cloth and fabric and crystal. They seem new, and the crafting is breathtakingly good.

One of them is a perfect likeness of yourself, in a pale gray dress.

When you overcome your shock and look out into the hall yourself, the unsettling girl is gone. Closing the door softly on Yuyuko's envelope, you walk quietly out of the shrine. Letty's waiting as expected, and you quietly link arms with her again, rise off the ground and start floating towards some sort of eatery, you don't really care.

"Did you happen to see a girl in a blue dress come out, a minute ago?" You ask her, curious but expecting you know the answer.

"No, I haven't seen anyone but you." Letty disengages her grip, throws her left arm around you and then holds your hand with her right. "See, I knew you should take care of it first. Now it's done, and you can get it off your mind."

"Mmph." Still too preoccupied to give her more than a grunt in response, you follow your friend's lead, and roll your eyes when her choice of destination rolls into view: Sweet Creams. "An ice cream parlor, Letty? Again?"

"Of course! Remember, you're paying!" Beaming, she rubs your wingtips softly with her elbow, bringing to mind the fun you had last night. "Besides, they have more than ice cream. There's bananas, and strawberries, and hot fudge, and cherry syrup..." She trails off, blushing and sighing in culinary bliss. And you haven't even entered the shop yet. Oh yes, this girl is very much to blame for your sweet tooth.

The establishment itself is nothing special to your eyes, just a hole in the wall with a dozen tables, some booths against the wall, and an air conditioner set refreshingly low, but it's clearly well-tread ground for Letty. She greets the servers and orders a banana split with an imposing number of scoops ("To share!"), two blueberry sundaes with the promised hot fudge ("You have to try one, they're so delightfully different!"), and a tub of pudding that would challenge the appetite of Yuyuko herself ("For dessert!"), before having the nerve to turn and ask you what you want.

"Ah ha ha, I think that'll be enough if we share it all!" You grin nervously, wondering just how much all this will cost.

"She'll have a brownie. Cook it and chill it."

Minutes later, and out a decent chunk of spending money, you're finally able to relax in a booth and start enjoying your "light lunch." The price isn't actually as bad as you'd feared. Should've known you could trust Letty to know where to get the most calories for your change. Indeed, she's already through most of her sundae and working on the banana split before you've even finished your brownie, and - good gods, is she eating that with her eyes closed? Yes, she is, and savoring every bite, too. You can actually see her muscles relax as she leans back into the bench and licks her spoon clean. Opening one eye, Letty catches you staring, smirks, grabs your hand and places it firmly on your spoon.

"Eat. Eeeeaaaat! It's gooooooooood."

"Watching you eat is funner. Don't talk and suck your spoon at the same time, you sound like a zombie."

"Dooooo booooth at the saaaaame tiiiime!" Holding her spoon in her mouth, she plucks a pair of blueberries from the bottom of her sundae bowl and holds them over her eyes. "Raaaaarrrrrr." The absurd image parallels Alice's shadowed face eerily closely, but you shake it off and laugh, spitting a few drops of cream on the table. Taking another bite of sundae to replace it, you have to admit in spite of yourself that Letty's literal sense of taste is impeccable.

"If you don't hurry up, I'll eat the whole thing!" Letty baps your nose with her spoon and, as you watch, carves out nearly an entire scoop of vanilla ice cream from the split, balances it, puffs out her ample cheeks, and then slowly opens her mouth and engulfs the whole thing. "Mmmm-m!"

"Hmph! Cheater, your mouth's as big as my whole head! Fine, take the ice cream, but no fruit for you!" Scrunching your nose and exaggerating for effect, you respond by snatching the banana from the center of the dish and cramming as much as you can into your jaws. A mad giggle sounds from across the table as Letty accepts your challenge, lurching forward to chomp onto the banana's other end. You engage in a tug of war with the fruit, neither contestant willing to pull their head back enough to pry it apart for fear of losing the majority of it to their opponent. Predictably, Letty manages to eat about two thirds of it before her forehead bumps into yours.

Mumbling something that could be "I won't be outdone!" around the banana, you tilt your head back, inching your mouth forward to grab what last distance you can. This pans your eyes up to Letty's, which are closed again, their long lashes fluttering in the artificial breeze. Her face is frozen, completely serene. At the same time, your lips run into something warm and squishy, with an underlying coolness and a decided chocolate aftertaste. Though the banana finally splits, for a few moments longer, the two of you do not.

Then Letty's lips twitch, her eyes open, and she pulls her head away, a deep blush invading her features. She coughs, the noise sounding suspiciously like an apology, and you look down and quietly continue eating your ice cream. A moral victory, you suppose. Neither of you speak for several minutes. You can't imagine what's running through Letty's head, but in your own, the words of that grieving girl echo. Someone with you almost every day... It's enough to wipe away all your cares about Meiling and the Saigyoujis and politics and killing and death and life. At least for right now.

"Letty?"

"Ye-es?" The musical lilt to her voice has a tinge of nervousness, and her eyes flit up and down, afraid to make contact with your own.

"This is..." You leave the sentence hanging, but she doesn't pick it up, instead looking down at her spoon and twirling it. Fine, then, be that way. After a while, Letty glances back up, shrinking a bit as she sees you frowning at her. Then she yelps as you kick her leg under the table. Hard. "Say it!"

"... really fun?"

"Really fun." You nod in contentment, baring your (no doubt rotting) teeth at her in a spontaneous grin. She slowly joins you in it, her glittering eyes wandering around your face, your hair, your arms, all of you. You wonder why they're glittering.

Once any time that could conceivably be called lunch has long passed, you float out of the parlor, Letty at your side. She looks at you, inquisitively, and you toss your head in a vague, random direction.

"Gotta get going now. Stuff to do, work, you know the drill. Or you don't, cause you're a slacker that closes up shop to goof off!" Laughing good naturedly, you bring a smile to her face once more as you wave farewell. She doesn't wave back just yet, though.

"You know, the Prismrivers are having a concert tomorrow night. Didn't you say you liked them? I could..." Letty hesitates, blinking in thought. "I could ask Lily to get us some tickets, if you'd like to go. If you're not busy, that is."

[ ] All good things must come to an end. You already made up your mind on this.
[ ] Go, dammit, you'll make Yuyuko herself guarantee her safety if you have to.
============
Mass writing week is a go, though from how things are turning out it'll be longer updates rather than more frequent. Will try to get them in daily at least, though.

[ ] Go, dammit, you'll make Yuyuko herself guarantee her safety if you have to.

[ ] Go, dammit, you'll make Yuyuko herself guarantee her safety if you have to.

So yeah. I don't know where the whole Letty love interest thing came from, but I am liking it. A lot.

>>2952
Long updates are good, walls are love.
Also, FUCK YEAH LETTY.

>>2954

I don't. I want to break Youmu down and make her ours. HARD MODE ON.

[ ] All good things must come to an end. You already made up your mind on this.

Do not go back on your acts, we've been trough this once, the outcome must to be the same.

[X] Go, dammit, you'll make Yuyuko herself guarantee her safety if you have to.

If things end up sounding unsafe, we can cancel it.

>>2961

I don't think we will be able to do so. In any case, better to prevent than to remend.

[ ] All good things must come to an end. You already made up your mind on this.

>>2952
This was a triumph.
[x] Go, dammit, you'll make Yuyuko herself guarantee her safety if you have to.
There's no way we're going to be able to shield her from everything forever. Besides, the thought of partying Letty is too delicious to ignore.

[ ] All good things must come to an end. You already made up your mind on this.
Letty is a spy, ordered to get data on Saigyouji's through us, let's not give her anything more than we already have.

[X] Go, dammit, you'll make Yuyuko herself guarantee her safety if you have to.
Letty is love. Youmu here does nothing for me.

>One of them is a perfect likeness of yourself, in a pale gray dress.

Bricks. Not bugging out was the right choice.

[x] Go, dammit, you'll make Yuyuko herself guarantee her safety if you have to.

I'm pro-Youmu, but Letty is also love. Even if she's a spy you can change that for the better; she'll confess before it comes to boiling point, which means that you get a double agent.

Also, we'll get the chance to ask Youmu to dance again.

Well, we already told Yuyuko we'd go to the concert with her. If we tell Letty no we'd have to cancel that, too, in case she decides to go alone.

[x] Go, dammit, you'll make Yuyuko herself guarantee her safety if you have to.
[x] "Actually, I was already planning to go. Want to meet up there?"
Or something like that.

[X] Go, dammit, you'll make Yuyuko herself guarantee her safety if you have to.

[+] Go, dammit, you'll make Yuyuko herself guarantee her safety if you have to.

[ ] Go, dammit, you'll make Yuyuko herself guarantee her safety if you have to.
>>2954
We voted for it. Praise be to Anonymous.

[x] Go, dammit, you'll make Yuyuko herself guarantee her safety if you have to.

The thought of Yuyu meeting Letty is a little frightening for some reason. She might have a beneficial effect with Youmu though, considering that Yuyu is going to pick up on the fact that she's your tsundere co-worker.

We have to introduce Letty to Meiling whenever the latter gets out, though; they'd be awesome friends.

If someone hurts Letty we kill them dead, right?

>>2992
Unless they're already dead, in which case we work out how to bring them back to life and then kill them.

[X] Go, dammit, you'll make Yuyuko herself guarantee her safety if you have to.

Letty, you think, looks a bit like Dr. Kamishirasawa. Same thoughtful pose, mostly the same build, same soft round face, and most of all at this moment the same lecturing voice at the back of your skull. "When you are invited out to a special occasion by a mutual acquaintance you hold dear," you imagine the scholar intoning in as heated a voice as she ever uses, "You say 'YES!' and drat the consequences!"

"Consequences?" Letty's confused smile reminds you of where you are. "It's okay if you're busy, really, you mustn't trouble yourself."

"No! No no no, did I say that out loud? I was just thinking of something else!" It occurs to you as you babble trying to save face that you're doing quite the opposite. "I mean, but not in that way! I mean yes, I'll go! Stop worrying! It'll be fine! Um... bye!"

"I see. Tomorrow evening, then!" Letty, less red-faced than you for the first time in a while, gives you a thumbs up as she floats away backwards.

Rather than become worried or offended like most people might, she pays your flustered ramblings no mind at all. Which is, you suppose, why you get along with her so well. In a friendly sense. You're very good friends, who are going to go out to a concert tomorrow, and that's it. Dr. Kami's drone butts into your thoughts again, lecturing on how denial is the most potent medicine for the psyche, but a swift kick to her imaginary face shuts her right up.

Important business finished at last, for the moment, you fix your mind to recalling the current location of Hakugyokuro's gate, and find it to now be located quite near your own apartment. Yuyuko is waiting for you out front again, having ditched the morning's punk look in favor of a simple kimono and letting her hair down. That's... ominous. She looks relaxed, but then again, she nearly always does. Cautiously hoping that she won't mind your impromptu break, you walk up and take a seat on the steps beside her.

"All done? Any trouble?"

"Yep. Nope." Briefly, you wonder if running into the creepy and horribly unstable stalker/lover of a woman you killed yesterday would count as trouble in Yuyuko's book. Hm. "No, no real trouble."

"My. Any imaginary trouble, then?" Yuyu's eyes seem to laugh at you.

"No imaginary trouble either, except looking out for ghosts in my reflection."

"Oh, good, good." Suddenly you find yourself on the receiving end of a garishly predatory grin, the sort you see only on Yuyuko's face when she's truly serious. "There's nobody who followed you around, or knows that you visited both Eientei and Hakurei, right?"

Oh, bad, bad. Very bad. Letty. Damn damn damn, she WAS laughing at you, if not worse. She already knows, she has to, but at least she's giving you a chance to fess up. Your lungs seem to fill with lead, like the few unpleasant times you've experienced drowning. Sink or swim, little fairy, and if you should swim, kick fast and hard, for there be sharks in these waters...

"One person." Your words come out halfway between a frog croak and a rallying cry. "Letty Whiterock. Friend of mine, owns a diner. We had lunch. She trusts me, so I don't think she'll make any connections. Even if she does, I trust her back."

"Do you." Yuyuko coos.

"Yeah, I do. By the way, she's coming to the Prismriver concert tomorrow night."

As long as you're this deep in the lake, might as well try for the full lap, eh? You snap your head towards Yuyuko's, forcing yourself to make eye contact with her, and try your best to look confident. It doesn't work out so well. Her eyes are filled with crawling, deadly sparks, and she's also turned them just transparent enough so that you can see the dark sockets of a skull behind them. Cute trick, would be cuter if she was trying it on someone that wasn't you.

"She's special to me, Yuyu." Deliberately using the more familiar form of her name, you plunge forward. "I swear, absolutely positively promise, that she will never interfere with the family. Hell, as far as I'm concerned she IS family. She'd never do anything that would hurt me, and she won't get involved with us." You pause from concentrating on your speech for a moment, checking to see if Yuyuko's buying it. Her eyes are unchanged. Blood in the water... No, damn it! What kind of family would deny you that banana split?

"Yuyu, PLEASE. Come on, I don't ask you for anything else. I want to keep her safe. And alive," you hastily add, as the ghost's grin widens and you recall her definition of safety. "Safe and alive. At the very least, just leave her alone." Having said as much as you can, you stare back into Yuyuko's dead orbs and float.

"What an interesting girl." Her face remains a death's mask. You've no idea whether she means Letty, to prompt you to such a display, or yourself. Or both. "I believe you said 'At the very least.' Does that mean you would prefer I do more?"

"Like I said. Help keep her safe and alive. I'd appreciate it. I know, that's the opposite of what you do, you don't have to, just don't kill her. Please." You grit your teeth, recalling the black and white butterfly and feeling its weight around your neck, sinking you.

"No one," the lifeless presence in front of you comments, in due time, "has ever brought me lives on a platter, and then asked me to spare them. You have done it twice in one day." You flinch, guiltily recalling that Meiling is still somewhere inside this place. Hopefully. The silence threatens to become unbearable again, until your princess prods you with a bony finger, poking a corpse at the bottom of a very deep lake.

"If I were to say 'Take one life with your own hands and you can have the other,' I wonder what you would do, sister?"

[ ] ____________________

[X] "I would have already made my decision"

Sorry Meiling, you're gonna die.

That's if Yuyuko isn't playing some sick game.

[x] "If you're asking me to choose between my friend and someone I hardly know, my path is clear."
Really hope it doesn't come to that.

[ ] Meh, Letty'll just regenerate next winter anyway.
Snart-mouthing Yuyuko doesn't strike me as being so smart at the moment, however, so put me down for either of the above.

[x] "If you're asking me to choose between my friend and someone I hardly know, my path is clear."

[x] "If you're asking me to choose between my friend and someone I hardly know, my path is clear."
-5 love for Yuyu.

[x] "If you're asking me to choose between my friend and someone I hardly know, my path is clear."
DIE MEILING DIE!

>>3009
See now Meilingfags where your asshattery brought us, fucking morons.

>>3021

Look on the bright side, Meiling may not be around much longer to distract Mafianon from her main goals.

>>3021

[X] "Do you wonder? You are family, I will not go against you. Letty is family, I will not go against her. Only one choice remains, and it is no choice at all."

[x] "If you're asking me to choose between my friend and someone I hardly know, my path is clear."

Well, damn.

>>3021

Do you really think Yuyuko would have let us off that easy even without Meiling? She loves fucking with people in morbid ways.

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

[x] "y u do dis?!"

>>3032

Well, you have to die to join the family, right? It might not turn out too horrible for Meiling.




I hope...

[x] "Well, then I would be probably cry. Look Yuyu, I'm asking for a favor as my friend, not as my boss. And even if I were to be asking for this as your underling, I would council that despite the apparent selfish nature of these requests, both of these persons are very loyal to those who show them even the smallest bit of kindness. I took Letty with me because it gave me an alibi. I didn't even tell you about Alice, and the way I turned that around was fucking brilliant honestly."

I still believe Yuyuko is testing you, grooming you for some position in the future, which is why she and Youki have told you how busy you'll be in the future, why you get special treatment, and why Youmu doesn't speak to you (it's her orders).

You're an immortal fairy high up in the Saigyouji family who can match their best fighter on equal terms. It would be crushing to them if you were to reveal their secrets to their enemies, and we know that Youki is the one really pulling the strings anyway.

So be the brave little fairy Yuyuko wants you to be and stand up for yourself and others.

Yuyu, you slore!

[ ] "Then I'd get a pretty bad taste in my mouth."

>>3038

You make a fair point. The only problem is that, as a high ranking family member, we'd have to make a lot of shit decisions. This could very well be a test of how we can deal with such. If so, your suggestion could either be taken as strength or weakness of character. Strength because it shows we avoid needless killing and weakness because it shows indecisiveness.

>>3039

>slore

You wouldn't happen to be Californian, would you?

>>3040
No, but a lady friend of mine moved here not too long ago from California. I thought the term was hilarious and have used it at every opportunity.

>>3039
Best answer yet.
[+] "Then I'd get a pretty bad taste in my mouth."

>>3039

[x] "Then I'd get a pretty bad taste in my mouth."

THE COJONES ON THIS FAIRY

>>3044
>>3045

Wow, that's the first time anyone's ever agreed with one of my write-ins.

I feel...warm.

[x] "Then I'd get a pretty bad taste in my mouth."

I think this is better than the long vote because it doesn't mince words. The implication is that we would follow her commands loyally, but also leaves it unmistakably clear that we would be disgusted with her as a person.

[ ] "Then I'd get a pretty bad taste in my mouth."

>>3038
> Youki
What.

>>3057

Gave us the orders for the warehouse job.

>>3038
>>3039
GATTAI DA!
[x] "Then I'd get a pretty bad taste in my mouth."
[x] "Look Yuyu, I'm asking for a favor as my friend, not as my boss. And even if I were to be asking for this as your underling, I would council that despite the apparent selfish nature of these requests, both of these persons are very loyal to those who show them even the smallest bit of kindness. I took Letty with me because it gave me an alibi. I didn't even tell you about Alice, and the way I turned that around was fucking brilliant honestly."

>>3039
I like using "slunt," myself.

[x] "Then I'd get a pretty bad taste in my mouth."

>>3059
Was that him? He was writing poetry and seemed connected to Yuyuko, so I thought it was her father, Saigyou or whatever. Didn't even think of Youki, though now that you mention it that's an obvious possibility.

[x] "Then I'd get a pretty bad taste in my mouth. But, if you're asking me to choose between my friend and someone I hardly know, and there is no other way...then my path is clear."
[X]"I took Letty with me because it gave me an alibi."

I told you guys we shouldn't bring Letty too close, wtf is wrong with you? Well, at least now we can dispose of Meiling with no bad consequences.

Also, shrinking the bigger write-in. Alibi is good, treating Yuyuko as some low life like us is bad.

[X]Tell her about Alice in the shrine

Might as well as tell her what happened at the shrine, this way we can avoid possible problems in the future.

>>3065
>I told you guys we shouldn't bring Letty too close, wtf is wrong with you?

I don't think anyone expected Yuyuko would be this much of a bitch.

>Well, at least now we can dispose of Meiling with no bad consequences.

ಠ_ಠ

"Then I'd get a pretty bad taste in my mouth." Somehow, drowning in the depths, you find the strength to dig yourself a little deeper into the muck. There's no use lying to her about how you feel. "Look, I know it's a little selfish, I'm sorry. But if I can judge people at all, they're..." You fish for a word. "Loyal. They're both very loyal, if you're kind to them. And stop giving me that look, I'm not scared."

"Hmmmm." Yuyuko's face returns to looking human, though she's still glaring sharply at you. "That isn't an answer."

"What answer do you want? You wanna ask me to pick between a good friend and someone I barely know, you... already know what I'm going to say." Sighing, you try once more. "But I'm asking as a friend here, and a sister. if you're fine with leaving one alive, why not both?"

"Oh, I don't care. Have them both, if you wish." Yuyu leans back, suddenly full of smiles and cheer again, and you tense for the hammer to drop. "Happy?"

"Um. Maybe." Are you? No, no lying. "Not really. What the hell was the point of all that?"

"I wondered what made them more important to you than us." Even though you were prepared for something outlandish, her faux-mournful answer catches you wholly off guard. "You've never asked me to a concert, and I so wanted to go. You've never asked me for anything, even though I'm always here, all alone. Except for Youmu, of course, but I hear you aren't very nice to her either. Ah, you'll run a girl over in one breath, and the next bring back some waif to befriend, and sell out your family for a pretty face. Aren't we enough for you?"

"That's- I- No! That's not what I meant and you know it! Damn it Yuyu, stop fucking with me!" Suddenly enraged at her attitude, the way she's trying to jerk your emotions around, you nearly hit her. But isn't this anger something she's trying to spark, too? Or perhaps worse, does she actually have a point? You never really have been able to think of her as just a comforting friend. She smiles, eyes drifting to your fists, waiting on you, and you... lower them.

"Fine. You're right, I don't talk to you much. I know you're taking care of the family, so you'll be at the concerts and everywhere else already. And you, uh, don't seem like you'd be interested in hanging out or anything else. And," you sigh, "I worry that you'll do stuff like this. It's not that I don't like you, and I'm not selling anyone out. We're family, and if you seriously ask me to do something, I'll do it."

"Would you?" Yuyuko asks plainly. "Even if I asked you to kill your Letty?"

"NnnnnyyyyeeeIdon'tknow. I'm not joking about her being family to me. I might, but I'd probably hate you for it if I did. You want a stone cold killer, no questions asked, do it yourself. Or ask Youmu. I am trying to be nice to her," you add as an afterthought, "but she just blows it off."

"You're taking too many risks. What if Chinagirl goes back to her bosses and tells them about us? What if someone plies Miss Whiterock's brain, or holds her hostage against you?" By now, you've given up trying to read Yuyuko's mood.

"I know. Believe me, I'm not taking these risks lightly." Okay, maybe you are, a little, but... "If something goes wrong, we can handle it. I can handle it."

"Can you?"

"I'll be as strong as my family needs me to be."

That much, at least, you can convince yourself of. Yuyuko bursts into light peals of laughter, and you brace to repeat yourself, but she doesn't disagree. Instead, she pats you lightly on the back, pride reflecting in her pale face.

"Marvelous. That's why I love you." Her sharpness breaks through again for a moment. "But be very careful."

"I will. And, ah, I'd be honored if you joined me at the concert tomorrow night?"

"Of course I'll be there. Now, take these, and go kill that Chinese girl." Yuyuko shifts position, and you glimpse your guns lying on the porch behind her.

"Wha? But, but you said-" Eyes full of butterflies spring up in front of your own, and a cold finger shushes you. Tch. For a moment there, you thought you'd gotten out easily.

"I trust you to work from what you think best." Ice cold, the ghost whispers, parroting your earlier words. "I grant you my word that I will do everything in my power to keep Miss Whiterock alive and safe. Now, you trust me. Believe me, I don't take any risks lightly." She holds you for a moment, till you nod, then releases you and points at the guns again.

As you take the weapons and proceed inside, your mind marvels at her methods. It occurs to you that you wanted to ask her about those envelopes, but Creepy, sure, doesn't give a damn about the living, absolutely, but you have to hand it to her. Yuyuko Saigyouji knows how to get results. You'd wanted to ask her about those envelopes, too, but completely forgot. Surely she wouldn't - oh, hell, yes she would put you through the wringer just to keep you from asking about them, if it accomplished something else at the same time. Trust Rave Mommy Yuyu. Right.

One of the rooms in the ghostly halls, probably the same one you left her in, has "Hong Meiling" written on the door. Morbidly noting that it looks like an inscription on a tombstone, you gather your nerves and enter. She's still alive, sitting on the floor facing away from you, though she already looks feeble and her skin has a nasty pallor to it.

"Heya, China," you murmur, heart racing. "Sorry I didn't mention this yesterday, but the Saigyouji family doesn't forget about people..."

[ ] One shot, right here. Get it over with. Best for her, and for you.
[ ] Announce yourself and tell her why you're here. Let her try to fight, if she wants. She deserves at least that much.
[ ] She can't fight in this shape, and you won't be an executioner. Tell her to go to the center of the cherry garden. That should do it.

[x] One shot, right here. Get it over with. Best for her, and for you.

Don't give her any needless sense of hope by allowing her to fight back, and don't pussy out of this. Lower the curtain, here and now.

[ ] Announce yourself and tell her why you're here. Let her try to fight, if she wants.
Because it's crueler this way. Also, do it with great detail, build a fucking great wall of china.

[ ] Announce yourself and tell her why you're here. Let her try to fight, if she wants.

>crueler

I can't vote. I'm going to feel like too much of a dick if I do.

[+] One shot, right here. Get it over with. Best for her, and for you.
This... reminds me of when they had to kill Old Yeller.

{X} Announce yourself and tell her why you're here. Let her try to fight, if she wants.
Damnit.

[ ] One shot, one kill.

Eliminate.

>>3080

Now that I think of it maybe the killing is necessary. After all this is a crime family, not killing and being too soft would be the path to a BAD END.

[] One shot, right here. Get it over with. Best for her, and for you.

it's the rule of the hunt: kills do not have to be fair, but they have to be clean. having her fight will just make it harder, and won't solve anything.

>>3083
besides, you're dead too. being dead really isn't that bad for a Saigyouji, and maybe that's what Yuyoko intended for China.

[x] One shot, right here. Get it over with. Best for her, and for you.

[X] One shot, right here. Get it over with. Best for her, and for you.

Changing my vote, not going to fuck around. We can't befriend everyone, the more people outside of the family that gets befriended, the greater the risk.

I'm going to trust that Yuyuko has her reasons for this killing. Trust, isn't that what being in a family is all about?

[x] Announce yourself and tell her why you're here. Let her try to fight, if she wants. She deserves at least that much.

This was our fault; we could have just knocked her out and left her at the scene. We owe her a reason at the very least, even if it hurts to say it.

Maybe Youmu will stop us? Or maybe Meiling is already dead? Wait, why would her name be written on the door if she wasn't expected to be here that long?

[x] One shot, right here. Get it over with. Best for her, and for you.
Even though I agree with her, -10 love for Yuyu.

>>3082
No premature bad ends. The story might be more grimndark and tragic depending on what you do, but don't worry about running into "Suddenly, you lose!" situations.

While we're on the subject, no H-scenes either. This is mainly so that people don't instantly vote for the options they think are most likely to lead to one.

>>3089
's ok. you writefags aren't doing a very good job with h-scenes, anyway.

>>3089

How good are we doing? We haven't fucked things up beyond repair right?

[x] She can't fight in this shape, and you won't be an executioner. Tell her to go to the center of the cherry garden. That should do it.

Thanks Yuyuko, I really do have a bad taste in my mouth now. I hope Hong kills us and busts out. And if that happens, so what? Fuck her orders. We're an immortal super-fairy expatriate with CRAZY guns & knives and nothing to lose, working a shit job for a boss who is a total fucking lunatic, where our coworker doesn't even deign to speak to us, where we put up with the worst kind of conditions only to find our skills aren't even being put to use. If we kill China, Yuyu will probably kill Letty too, just to see the expression when she twists the knife even further.

We can always argue our case before Youki: A shrewd man like him knows what kind of asset we are, and knows how to handle Yuyu's frivolousness.

>>3084
>besides, you're dead too.

Yeah, uh no. We're alive because even Yuyuko can't truly kill a fairy. I guess that makes us natural enemies or something.

>>3090
so i herd u don't read HY's or Patchwork's LAs.

>>3091
Depends on what you mean. Different choices lead to different stories fitting them. I have an idiot-proof clause in effect, so to speak, nothing is going to lead to MiG level ultimate failure and despair. If you have certain specific goals in mind, lay em out and we'll see what happens.

Gonna wait a bit longer for input on this one and then write more. As usual, giving some reasons and explaining what you want and why is more convincing than a simple majority vote.

[x] Announce yourself and tell her why you're here. Let her try to fight, if she wants. She deserves at least that much.

>"No one," the lifeless presence in front of you comments, in due time, "has ever brought me lives on a platter, and then asked me to spare them. You have done it twice in one day."

So anyone connected to us is just a living sacrifice for this monster?

I'm about ready to give up voting in this, if this isn't some kind of fake-out and we really end up just executing Meiling in cold blood because we brought her here on a whim. I don't want to be thinking about what we should do after this. I don't want to be partly responsible for what's happening here anymore.

It's different when it's a story that you can't influence the outcome of, a story where none of the characters are supposed to be "you". Isn't it?

>>3097
Anon really needs to learn the consequences of his actions, everybody with half a brain saw this coming a mile away, and hell, we even tried warning you, but you were all "but it's meiling lol cuet let's bring her along ahahahah!". Fucking idiots.

>>3097
Jesus. This is one of the best-written VN's here and just because it's not all roses and us banging every girl in sight doesn't mean you should just give up. We're in pretty deep with a Mafia family; expect bad things to happen.

[x] One shot, right here. Get it over with. Best for her, and for you.
Yuyuko's made it pretty clear that Meiling isn't going to be joining the family anytime. We don't kill her, it'll be our neck on the line. Meiling's nothing to us, she's here because she messed up BAD, and we're going to kill her with absolute minimum risk to ourselves.

>>3097
I hear ya; I'm waiting to see how the day resolves itself. I was rereading and tried to get myself excited over >>A large, extended family that sometimes calls you to do tasks ranging from boring to wacky to grim, though you've mostly avoided the grim to date.

But honestly, we're a cog in crime syndicate. What kind of story would this be if it didn't get all dark with everything organized crime involves? I was kinda hoping back with Alice that if we had managed to get her back here and had consoled and gained her trust/broken her, we'd now have two (potential) subordinates of our own. A kind, but fiercely loyal, member of the family and a squad of the cast offs from the other factions solving problems (/r/-ing the monochrome pic of anon with the 4 touhous around him from one of the early YWUiG threads).

But, Alice wasn't characterized that way, Yuyu's far more stern than I had imagined possible, and answering emotionally seems to be digging ourselves in deeper since it contrasts so starkly with the characterization. How many times have we been told we stepped off the path of a care-free fairy? A few too many for it to coincidence I reckon. It's frustrating and exciting and challenging, all at the same time.

My hat is off to the author, though, for crafting such a compelling story. Kira was the only other writer to get me emotional enough to have to step away.

>>3067

Dude, we are member of a fucking crime family, what did you expect?

[x] Just leave. Fuck this power play bullshit.

Meiling is dead, whether we do the deed or not. But it ain't about Meiling, it's about family. We need to send Yuyuko a wake up call--make sure her brain hasn't started to decompose from all those party pills. We're may be family, but we're not her pet; family doesn't mean we have to take her guff, doesn't mean we'll forgive her, and certainly doesn't mean we'll forget. The family is more than its individual members, more than the princess herself; if she doesn't think we can't make her unlife a hell of a lot less enjoyable for her if we wanted, then she doesn't deserve to lead the clan any more. Hell, even if she could kill us, we answered that question already: We're not afraid of death. No, a fairy's only real fear is boredom, and if Yuyuko is going to keep being a stick-in-the-mud, it might just be time to end this dalliance and find another playmate.

>>3099
No, please do not bring this 20/20 hindsight malarky into this story. It shits up MiG and it shits up YWUiG. Yelling at people for having opinions just guarantees troll votes in the future.

Anyway, I'm gonna throw on some tags to make this obvious: [troll] Might as well embrace the murderer inside: we backed over a little girl and we're going to execute a bumbling idiot. When do we get to curb stomp a puppy?[/troll]

>>3108
That would be an awesome twist: we leave because of this dicking around, they kill Letty to show the effects that you don't just leave the family, and now the story is about our lone efforts to destroy the Saigyouji family amidst a city in turmoil.

Punisher fairy end?

[ ] One shot, right here. Get it over with. Best for her, and for you.

Just do it already.

>>3101>>3106
It's still a great story, I'm still going to read it. I just don't want to feel like I'm part of it anymore. I wouldn't want to try to make decisions for Michael Corleone, either.

But anyway, that's only if this doesn't turn out to be some kind of surprise ghost initiation or something. Yuyuko's a ghost, Youmu's half dead, technically we've died a number of times, so maybe you have to die to join?

>>3108
You think death is the only thing to be afraid of?

[X] One shot, right here. Get it over with. Best for her, and for you.

I don't understand all the "yuyuko is a monster" stuff. This is business. A syndicate like this, especially one that seems to value secrecy amongst all else, is not going to take loose ends lightly. Especially with a girl like Meiling. Yes, she seems fiercely loyal. Why wouldn't that extend to betraying our trust? If she's loyal to her SDM masters, she'd go right back and tell them, as Yuyuko said. We made this situation by ourselves. to >>3097 especially, not everyone connected with us is a sacrifice, but people who we bring straight to the boss of our organization regardless of the risks involved to the family as a whole, are dangerous and should be handled properly.

As for my vote, this is the most humane and efficient way. No chance to miss, no false hope, no chance of superficial injury to Meiling or ourselves. Giving her a chance to fight would serve no purpose. The organization has already decided that Meiling will die. There's no way she's getting out of this alive. On another note, Yuyuko could be accepting her. remember that for a person to joing the organization, they need to be dead, like she did with us. Though perhaps they must be killed by Yuyuko's own hand?

>>3114
>not everyone connected with us is a sacrifice, but people who we bring straight to the boss of our organization regardless of the risks involved to the family as a whole, are dangerous and should be handled properly.
And that includes Letty? Even gangsters have wives and families.

ITT:
>>Yay, let's all vote to be a member of a crime syndicate 'cos it sounds awesome.
>>Wait, you mean being in a crime syndicate isn't all fun and actually involves hurting people? DO NOT WANT.

>>3117
>Yay, let's all vote
Oh, it was unanimous? I could swear I voted for something else.

Remember Anon: fairies can't die, but there are fates worse than death.

>>3120

Oh, and the dead can't die again too, so if anyone think they can go againts Yuyuko and the family just forget about that.

I would be writing more right now, but watching this debate is absolutely fascinating.

What, exactly, DO you people want?

>>3120
>Remember Anon: fairies can't die, but there are fates worse than death.

Living on your knees after being forced to send your friends to the gallows is one of them.

>>3122

Shoot her, Yuyuko has her reasons. I've already said that trust is important in a family.

>>3123

Oh, so now Meiling is our friend? When did that happen exactly?

>>3122
>>What, exactly, DO you people want?
1. A bullet through Meiling's head.
2. To continue serving the Saigyouji family loyally (unless they become a threat to Letty's life)
3. More Letty.
4. You to ignore everyone who posts with >>"BAAAAWWWW I'M KILLING MY FAVOURITE TOUHOES."
5. More awesome writing.

>>3122
The best thing you can do is keep telling your story. People have been trained by a lot of the other CYOAs to analyze and choose based on past decisions and what has been revealed by the stories that flow out of them. I went back a perused the first thread. It was extremely cursory, so I apologize if I missed anything, but the first hints of how somber the story would be was right around the butterfly scene (still the best written scene of any of these stories so far, I think). That was near the end of the thread, and only when we actually confronted Yuyu did the full gravity of our past decisions come into focus. Speculation was rampant until then because there wasn't a lot of precedent. Now that we're at the cusp of such a mood setting scene, we're seeing the divides caused in people's perceptions, between the ice-cream fight lovers and the mafia-grit lovers. There've been equal parts both until now, and the drama comes from one faction having an edge. It is a single post, but it's enough to get the fires going.

So, it is time to let us know where this story is going.

>>3122
>What, exactly, DO you people want?

1) CLEANSE!
2) PURGE!
3) KILL!
4) DAMN FILTH!
5) CRY OUT LOUD!

>>3128
>2. To continue serving the Saigyouji family loyally (unless they become a threat to Letty's life)
>(unless they become a threat to Letty's life)

There is an easy way to avoid that. Simply don't tell her what she shouldn't hear, don't show her what she shouldn't see, and more important than that, DON'T TAKE HER TO WHERE SHE SHOULDN'T GO.

Christ.

>>3122

>What, exactly, DO you people want?

I, for one, want to see what other touhous are a part of our life, if there are more. The city is a big place, and we should probably go take a walk/flight through it.

>>3122
I don't want Meiling to die. I want to help her somehow.

But since she knows too much, and Yuyuko apparently doesn't want her, I guess there's no avoiding it?

>>3120
>Oh, and the dead can't die again too, so if anyone think they can go againts Yuyuko and the family just forget about that.

Yeah, no. It doesn't work that way. While destroying a ghost would probably just restart the karmic cycle, Youki and Youmu are mortal and can die.

>>3122
>What, exactly, DO you people want?

What I want is for Meiling to call us "Aneki" and to fight against SDMcorp's Sakuya over her, for Youmu to reveal emotion to us, for Alice to speak her peace to Marisa, for tears as Letty inevitably double-crosses us, and to shake Yuyu out of the nihilistic daydream she's trapped herself in.

>>3109
No, it's you who must stop the bullshit, we told you in no uncertain tones when the votes were cast that we would pay for this. It's not hindsight when it was predicted well before it happened. Now we all pay the price for you meilingfags fucking up everything. It's not a troll if it's an honest opinion, yes, it might be poignant but seriously, it's the internet, grow a skin already.

For the blankfag writer, you're doing a great job, keep them cogs turning and we'll have an epic on our hands. You're doing a fabulous job.

And to the group who wants to go against the family; Yuyuko knows now (if she for whatever reason didn't know before) who our most important person is. Expect her not to live through the night if we do something stupid.

[X] One shot, right here. Get it over with. Best for her, and for you.

This is the only humane option.

>>3124

Yuyuko is a nutjob.

I wouldn't trust a nutjob with things involving other people's lives, even if she was a family member. Obviously not everyone else in the family trusts her either, or Youki wouldn't be the one giving out the important assignments.

Yuyu could be doing this solely out of jealousy; think of it, her first truly immortal playmate is moving up in the world. Yuyuko has just been reminded of Youmu's fragility, Yukari has left for good, and now she's losing you to mayflies?

Every one of her actions since the warehouse has been in order to mindfuck us. There WILL be a conflict with her, and I think we should force it now, before she kills Letty at the concert.

>>3137
>Obviously not everyone else in the family trusts her either, or Youki wouldn't be the one giving out the important assignments.

As Youki is the father, Yuyuko is the mother. She is someone too important for the family to risk losing her. It doesn't matter if it was minor crime or major one, the bosses are not supposed to take part of the fighting.

Unless they are either desperate and their organizations has crumbled or are the Final Boss.

>Yuyu could be doing this solely out of jealousy; think of it, her first truly immortal playmate is moving up in the world.

Are we?

>>3121 >>3134

Interessing. But how are we going to do that? There is no way we can win against any of them.

>>3122
>What, exactly, DO you people want?

Updates.

>>3135
>No, it's you who must stop the bullshit, we told you in no uncertain tones when the votes were cast that we would pay for this.

You are an idiot. You can't use the final result as support of your initial prediction; at the time, it was entirely possible that this wouldn't happen, and it is only because it did that you believe your prediction to have been justified. It doesn't work that way, boke.


>It's not hindsight when it was predicted well before it happened.

Hindsight is what makes you believe that prediction to have been more reasonable than the alternatives. Your so-called prediction is little more than "This is a possibility, so you should all believe that it's definitely going to happen." If you had actually made a reasonable argument and been forceful about it beyond "argh meiling argh", people would have agreed with you. So far you haven't done anything but come across as a whiny faggot with an irrational hatred for Meiling. Where are these posts that contain your well-reasoned warnings "in no uncertain tones", anyway? All I can see is contentless BAWWWWWing about Meilingfags, but maybe I'm not looking in the right place.


>Now we all pay the price for you meilingfags fucking up everything.

Clearly you are a reasonable person with well-thought-out opinions.

[+] One shot, right here. Get it over with. Best for her, and for you.

You guys are missing the obvious.

To be initiated into the Saigyouji family, you have to die. We did.

Meiling has a room with her name on it. That says something about her status here.

This is not just an execution. This is an initiation.

Besides, she's a youkai. She'll get better, albeit slower than we did.

>>3140
Man, this was terribly written. I apologise.

Blankfag, please update. If you don't this shit will go on and on, you must put some order here.

>>3140
hind·sight
–noun
recognition of the realities, possibilities, or requirements of a situation, event, decision etc., after its occurrence.

Please explain to me, how is warning about something problematic happening in the future hindsight? If there had been no comments that this is the wrong course to take before anything happened I would agree with you. But what you are now trying to do is justify your stupidity with a term unrelated to current situation in any way. Go grow a beard, kid.

>>3144
I'm writing, I'm writing. Said it before, I'm slow, takes a couple hours to make one of these skimpy-looking posts.

>>3146
What?

>Hindsight is what makes you believe that prediction to have been more reasonable than the alternatives.

In other words, your "Ha! I was right! Take that, Meilingfags!" relies entirely on hindsight as justification of your prediction and doesn't take into account the fact that what was chosen seemed like a perfectly reasonable thing to do at the time. Emphasis on "at the time". Of course, it could still turn out well, but that's beside the point.


>Go grow a beard, kid.

Not only reasonable, but mature too. I envy you, sir.

>>3138
>As Youki is the father, Yuyuko is the mother. She is someone too important for the family to risk losing her. It doesn't matter if it was minor crime or major one, the bosses are not supposed to take part of the fighting.

She would be hounded to the ends of the Border if she fled. She's not going to do that. She is not going to lose her position, nor will she be scolded. Rather, her handlers would do what they likely always do and take advantage of her laziness & caprice, and then simply overlook our refusal to follow the most unreasonable orders.

>Interessing. But how are we going to do that? There is no way we can win against any of them.

Winning isn't just killing your opponent, it's also hurting them until they lose their will to fight. Make it clear to Yuyuko that we'll bite back just as hard as she will, and she'll lose interest. Furthermore the threat of us revealing secrets would be too great for Youki and the corporate backers to continue giving Yuyu free reign regarding us, especially if he could solve it by just having us report to him directly. No one is suggesting a coup: Seeing as Yuyuko is not acting in the best interests of the family in this situation, we would be in the right to go over her head with this.

>As Youki is the father, Yuyuko is the mother.

No. Not even Yuyuko thinks of herself that way.

>"If I were to say 'Take one life with your own hands and you can have the other,' I wonder what you would do, sister?"

And neither does the fairy.

>Sighing, you try once more. "But I'm asking as a friend here, and a sister. if you're fine with leaving one alive, why not both?"

[X] One shot, right here. Get it over with. Best for her, and for you.

She's just sitting there with her head bowed. Waiting for death, you suppose, like she has been from the moment you took her out of the van and she saw where she was. Saw too much? No, that doesn't quite fit, you're sure that by Yuyuko's pragmatic terms she saw too much the moment she saw your and Youmu's faces.

You could have let Youmu do it back then, right on the spot after you... killed... Marisa. That might have been kinder. Definitely kinder. Youmu still might do it. It's very possible that she's hanging around the estate somewhere. You could go look for her, ask her to come with you, just to make sure. Maybe say you want a witness. You don't really want a witness. It might get her to come, though, and then perhaps you could slip or make a noise or something and Youmu would be forced to do it. Yuyu might be a little upset, and Youmu surely would be, but as long as the job gets done it's fine, right?

Wrong, wrong wrong. Yuyu told you to do this yourself. Her intent was crystal clear, exactly the same way she made her eyeballs. She wants to prove some sort of point to you, or about you, that much is certain. Loyalty? Willingness to dirty your hands? Punishment? Why, Yuyuko, mother, sister, princess? Letty? Jealousy? Truly? She said you could have both lives, for a moment, but the implication was that it would come at the cost of your family. One life for a family? No, you're mixing it up again. Two lives cost the family. One life buys you Letty. She's got you over a barrel.

Right hand up. Check the gun again, make sure the safety's off.

Damn you, Yuyuko.

It's not even an innocent life, at that - you're in a position to know for a fact that SDMcorp's unsavory reputation is well-deserved. Meiling has surely seen and done many and much worse things in her time than you ever have. Until this week, you were just a cog, a glorified errand girl, while she was an honest to goodness fighter. If your positions were reversed, and you had been captured and brought to the Dog, you'd be... well, you wouldn't be dead, that's impossible, but they'd think of something. Vampirized, perhaps, though you're not even sure if fairies can be. The point is that Meiling wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger.

"You came back." You've procrastinated too long, and now you pay the price in hearing her speak. At least she doesn't turn around. She sounds incredibly relieved, with good reason, and places a special emphasis on the verb. "You came back for me."

"Yeah. Told you I would." Your throat is dry, words coming out hollow. 'Told you I would' nearly becomes 'Please don't turn around.'

"Why?" Oh god. Do turn around, do turn around, it would be so much better than asking why.

"Because... I kinda like you." Miraculously, you force yourself to sound casual and light, and still more miraculously she doesn't turn around. It's the truth, you do kinda like her, even though you've hardly met. Evidently much more than you realized, if on reflection you were willing to try to argue with Yuyuko Saigyouji for her life.

This is the kind way. You chose it because you like her. Not because it's the easy way. You think. No chance to miss, no giving her a mock fight and a false hope of victory, no pain. No way for her to come out of this alive, no way for you to escape doing it yourself, and no chance that Yuyuko's going to show up at the last moment and pull some kind of "Oh, it was just a test!" stunt. If Yuyu wanted to pull some symbolic death bullshit, she of all people wouldn't need to ask a fairy to do it for her. And besides, she asked you to trust her. She has her reasons. It shouldn't be hard.

Stomach acid fills the back of your throat. Damn you, Yuyuko, you know why nobody talks to you? Because you're a fucking nutjob!

It isn't even the killing that bothers you, really. Sure, you feel a little guilty about Marisa's death, who wouldn't? (Yuyuko. Youmu. Okay, bad rhetorical question.) But on the whole, you're okay with it. It was right, it was acceptable somehow. Because... because she was strong. A strong person's death is an event. A tragedy, maybe, but something that works out in your mental scheme of things. Meiling at the warehouse? Fairly strong. You would have gotten over Youmu killing her there fairly easily, all things considered. So why is there a difference? Because the Meiling sitting in front of you, here, is not strong at all.

Of course, this isn't about her strength, or her weakness. It's about yours. That's what Yuyuko (Damn you, Yuyuko!) said. So you pull the trigger quickly, before she can ask any more questions.

A single sharp report echoes through Hakugyokuro, ringing alone in the air. The spirits of the house are silent, in memorial, or perhaps just holding their breath. Meiling... China, you've heard, in low voices across bars that may or may not be true, that dehumanizing them makes it easier. China pitches forward from the impact and hits the floor. A deeper red spot in her hair tells you your aim was perfect. That image burns itself forever into your retinas in the instant before you turn around and start to gag.

You try to think of Letty instead, as the ice cream she fed you comes back up. It's necessary for her, as well as for the family. No matter what sins you commit, she'll still be your friend. She'll still want to be part of your family. Right?

Behind you, back in the room, the ghosts have begun to whisper again. A bead of sweat runs down the back of your neck. This is the land of the dead. Not only can Yuyuko invoke death, she can control it, and the ghosts it releases, with absolute power here. Mechanically, you turn around to see what's happening.

"Nameless Fairy you kiled me and now I am zombie goast..."

F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5

>>3153

SeconF5F5FFF5F5F5F55F5F5F5F5F5F5F5

F5ing like the motherfucking Fist of the North Star

>>3151
>A single sharp report echoes through Hakugyokuro, ringing alone in the air. The spirits of the house are silent, in memorial, or perhaps just holding their breath. Meiling... China, you've heard, in low voices across bars that may or may not be true, that dehumanizing them makes it easier. China pitches forward from the impact and hits the floor. A deeper red spot in her hair tells you your aim was perfect. That image burns itself forever into your retinas in the instant before you turn around and start to gag.

>You try to think of Letty instead, as the ice cream she fed you comes back up. It's necessary for her, as well as for the family. No matter what sins you commit, she'll still be your friend. She'll still want to be part of your family. Right?

>...

>You don't feel any better.

>>3156

YOU...YOU...

>>3156

whats this "you don't feel any better" thing from? i keep seeing it around here

>>3157
>YOU...YOU...

...KOU

>>3158
Anon's Nice Day, a VN project from Anonymous of Colombia. It started as a bunch of sages in an already-dead thread with links to each other, and due to overwhelming popularity, expanded into a full-blown project. The demo has nothing but bad ends, all of which end with "You don't feel any better."

Full version due for summer Comiket, with even more bad ends!

WRITE FASTER

>>3159

DOUBLE CRIMELORD

I'd recommend all you fists of the North Star refresh the main page, by the way. Just in case you didn't realize, we're at about the same post count that we left the last thread on.

>>3163

Yeah, but this time it's a two-posts update, and not a DAY END.

>>3151
>Behind you, back in the room, the ghosts have begun to whisper again. A bead of sweat runs down the back of your neck. This is the land of the dead. Not only can Yuyuko invoke death, she can control it, and the ghosts it releases, with absolute power here. Mechanically, you turn around to see what's happening.

in b4 we see Meiling's butterfly, hear fragments of Sakuya & Remilia talking about her dismissively and of Youmu's voice comforting her. Also in b4 me crying.

Isn't it sad, China? ;_;

>>3166
>Youmu's voice comforting her

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

First we kill Marisa, now we kill China. I knew it, this is a very elaborated versions of FUIG.

>>3168

Then Keine better run her ass off.

Hong Meiling's body, blood running down its collar, rises from the floor and faces you. Your empty stomach rumbles again as you gulp and stare sadly into her dead eyes. Even in death, she looks inordinately happy, and her eyes still have that flame burning in them. The corpse takes a step towards you, more of a shuffle really, and you start shaking your head and talking to it like a madwoman.

"Sorry. If you're still in there, I hope you can hear me. It... I guess it had to be done, in the end. Yuyuko told me to. It's complicated, but... I'm really sorry."

It bobs its head., then closes the distance to you in two quick steps and grabs your shoulders with still-warm hands. Your eyes widen and tear up.

"Yuyuko, enough! Don't you dare play any stupid games now! I'm done, I did it, I'm going hhhhooooomeeergh..." The grip on your shoulders turns into a vise, then two stone walls crushing your arm sockets. Wildly, you wonder if Yuyuko's going to make her kill you again, too, just to top off the day. Maybe you deserve no less, for engendering security breaches and talking back to her, but "Thanks for coming back." seriously now, does she really need to be this cruel-wha?

"Thanks for coming back for me," Meiling repeats, "but with your permission, Mistress Fairy, I'll be leaving now." Her words ooze like lava, each one accompanied by a burning hot gust of breath on your face.

But... no. Bullet. Skull. Blood. You saw. It should be more than enough to kill a weakened youkai.

Unless, of course, she wasn't weak at all.

You may have misjudged her slightly, you think, as your feet involuntarily leave the ground.

Oh, yes, you certainly did, you think, as the room twirls around you in a spin far too fast to be healthy.

She is actually pretty strong after all, you think, in the split second between when you feel her release her grip and when you hit the wall.

A series of heavy, rhythmic thuds reach your ears once your brain starts to function again. Your heartbeat, fast and erratic, and running footsteps in the hallway. This can't possibly be good. You attempt to lurch to a sitting position, and in the process painfully discover that a great many things inside of you are no longer quite where they ought to be. This body's going to give out fairly fast. Maybe, you think, as you search for where your guns flew off to, maybe you deserve no less. But for now, Yuyuko gave you an order, and said she had her reasons. You're only just beginning to see them.

"Haaaahaahahaha, are you serious?! Come back here!" you screech, recovering your weapons and jetting out into the hallway. Meiling's back jumps to the side and vanishes down an intersection as you squeeze off a few shots at it. She can't actually escape the netherworld, and trying to cold-cock her with a gunshot to the back of her head is a little embarassing, but sheer adrenaline is kicking in and erasing rationality along with pain. Even if her survival is temporary, and you'll be killing her anyways... you're glad she found her strength.

Panting and sweating as you fly through Yuyuko's corridors, you're amazed at how fast she can run. Meiling constantly stays just out of your reach, running and taking turns with no apparent pattern to confuse you. It might even work, except that she's dogged at every step by the omnipresent ghosts. Their voices form an ocean roar, moving with her presence, and you can even see a few visible wisps following the girl. All the spirits jerk and cry every time you take a snap shot at her, but Meiling herself doesn't even seem to notice. Her pace doesn't slow, though you're dead certain you hit her several times. Then the wailing rises to a crescendo, around one last bend. Pistols at the ready, you dash around it, and chortle as you find your quarry trapped in a dead end. She turns back towards you, wearing a grim smile not altogether unlike your own at the moment.

"Good!" serves as your unimpressive battle cry as you twitch and fan both triggers. Red, paintlike splotches form and marr Meiling's dress, each one supposedly possessing enough stopping power to bring her down. Yet, somehow, none of them do. She isn't even trying to dodge or block, just taking all the punishment wholesale and standing through it. There's nothing to be done but keep firing until she runs out of stamina. It occurs to you after thirty rounds or so that all the techniques you honed against Youmu are aimed at hitting someone, and you really have no plan versus an opponent that gets hit and fails to drop.

"Tch." With an even more minimalistic overture, Meiling pulls one of her arms back and claws forward with the other. The wisps surrounding her are quickly sucked into her cupped hand, and acquire a crimson tint as they do. Belatedly, you realize they aren't ghosts at all. Then she punches the air, and from thirty full meters away, the air punches you. The last sensation you feel in this life is your ribs splintering like matchsticks as you careen backwards through multiple paper walls.

The ghosts hiss, spitting like feral cats, and you're drowning again in the glittering depths.

"Tell'er I knew she loved me ahready!" a black one calls, pushing aside a mass of hands that clutch at your flesh, trying to pull you down, down somewhere you should not be.

As you shoot upwards and emerge from the water in Yuyuko's indoor meditation pond, you nearly scream. You're alive again - barely. Half remembered, half seared into your soul, your new body is wracked with feverish chills and pains. It feels like there are sudden claw marks on your soul, though you can't quite recall why. Noting your unusually thin arms and poor tone for a new body, you make a terrified mental note to try to avoid dying in Hakugyokuro from now on and look around. Youmu Konpaku, dressed for business, leans against one of the walls with an elegant sake dish in her hand. She gives you a bare glance and returns to gazing at her drink, apparently unphased by a naked fairy spontaneously popping out of the pond. Somewhere outside the room, a rumbling cacophony of ghostly voices approaches.

"Youmu!" You gasp. "China, Meiling, she-" Um. What can you say to her? Nothing, really.

Your flesh kicks into excitement again, and you give the door closest to the noise a crashing pull. It opens on a scene that rivals anything else you've been through today for sheer disturbing power. Meiling is stuck ankle-deep in the floor, viciously pounding on it with her fists. She's now surrounded by real wisps, while a thousand or more dead people scream at once. Stomach turning shadows fly around her head, and the broken "paper" walls in her wake are themselves beginning to stretch into pseudopods and lose their texture. When one touches her and tries to curl around her neck, she snaps her head forward, yanks one leg out of the gray morass of floor, and slams it back in. This produces a shockwave of yellow... energy, something, you're not really sure what, but it spreads quickly around her and rips apart or pushes away all the wisps near her for some distance. A second afterwards, the floor tries to constrict itself on her feet again, but she's already lept away.

She's fighting Hakugyokuro itself, the ancient soulstuff that composes its structure. And she's winning. And coming your way.

"Youmu!" Throwing the door closed again and hoping Meiling didn't see you, you implore the stoic girl again. "She's shredding the whole place now!"

"I know. I was instructed not to interfere." Jolting you again, Youmu actually answers, calmly, and then just as calmly returns to her sake.

Instruc- Oh, damn you, Yuyuko.

Now this is satisfying. It's about time someone actually showed Meiling as the badass she should be.

3 PARTS WHAT OH GOD FUCK I LOVE YOU BLANKFAG

>>3170

Jesus Christ. China is the fucking Juggernaut? I'll buy it.

>"I know. I was instructed not to interfere." Jolting you again, Youmu actually answers, calmly, and then just as calmly returns to her sake.

After we deal with China, maybe we should throw in a freebie and kill you next Youmu? Seriously, this girl.

Honestly. After all the times Sakuya's knives were embedded in poor Meiling's pretty little head, you dumbshits actually thought that she couldn't survive a measly bullet?
Idiots.

She's a master of chi - life energy - and she's here, stuck in the halls of the dead. Of course she couldn't accept this.

>>3176

People tend to forget just how much she could ruin their shit.

Remarkable

>>3176

If you mean to say you saw this coming, you're lying.

We hadn't been given a reason to doubt the guns' stopping power. Youmu made it clear they were deadly given how unwilling she was to let us land a hit with them.

And Sakuya's knives are just silver as far as I know; they're not magicked, so they shouldn't have any lasting effect on normal youkai anyway.

>>3179
>If you mean to say you saw this coming, you're lying.
Irrational statement. You'd have no way of knowing whether or not I saw this coming, and you know this.

>We hadn't been given a reason to doubt the guns' stopping power. Youmu made it clear they were deadly given how unwilling she was to let us land a hit with them.
Or it could just as easily be that the bullets are about as harmful to your average youkai as paintballs, and the whole dodging thing was just to train us to be better gunmen.

>And Sakuya's knives are just silver as far as I know; they're not magicked, so they shouldn't have any lasting effect on normal youkai anyway.
I don't see Sakuya even carrying knives that couldn't leave lasting wounds on youkai.

>"Tell'er I knew she loved me ahready!" a black one calls, pushing aside a mass of hands that clutch at your flesh, trying to pull you down, down somewhere you should not be.
Marisa ;_;

For the love of all that is good and right in this world, we have been/are currently being treated to some of the best story telling these image boards have offered. Do not waste your faculties feeding a troll. Ignore the angry little man, drink deeply of the fine literature bestowed upon us, and heap laurels upon the unnamed writefag.