Balls, I forgot to edit out the filename at the top. Disregard that.

Hopefully this story will make YAF stop whining at /blue/. Let's see how this fares.

[X] My dedication of studies have kept me smart and strong, both when fighting and when at home. Though I'm still learning, I've become very skilled, and my loyalty to lady Yuyuko runs as deep as any ocean.

[X] Panicking. Waah! I'm not done yet, so please no one show up! I-I'm not even dressed yet!

Dependable and easily flustered Youmu is best Youmu.

Also, shouldn't this go on /border/? Or will the story takes us to other places apart from the Netherworld?

[X] My dedication of studies have kept me smart and strong, both when fighting and when at home. Though I'm still learning, I've become very skilled, and my loyalty to lady Yuyuko runs as deep as any ocean.

[X] Worried. I haven't seen Lady Yuyuko like this in a long time. What's happened?

Let's have a Youmu that isn't too soft this time.

[X] My dedication of studies have kept me smart and strong, both when fighting and when at home. Though I'm still learning, I've become very skilled, and my loyalty to lady Yuyuko runs as deep as any ocean.


[x] Curious. I'm happy to be of service, though I'd still like to know what's going on.

What is happening here?

[x] My dedication of studies have kept me smart and strong, both when fighting and when at home. Though I'm still learning, I've become very skilled, and my loyalty to lady Yuyuko runs as deep as any ocean.
[x] Agitated

She DID say she didn't like being treated like a servant.

Also Youmu story YESSSSS

>>50688
It'll go other places. All over the place really.

[X] My dedication of studies have kept me smart and strong, both when fighting and when at home. Though I'm still learning, I've become very skilled, and my loyalty to lady Yuyuko runs as deep as any ocean.

[X] Panicking. Waah! I'm not done yet, so please no one show up! I-I'm not even dressed yet!

She is the softest~

[X] My dedication of studies have kept me smart and strong, both when fighting and when at home. Though I'm still learning, I've become very skilled, and my loyalty to lady Yuyuko runs as deep as any ocean.

[X] Panicking. Waah! I'm not done yet, so please no one show up! I-I'm not even dressed yet!

Youmu never gets any love in stories. Good to see someone finally taking the initiative.

[x] My dedication of studies have kept me smart and strong, both when fighting and when at home. Though I'm still learning, I've become very skilled, and my loyalty to lady Yuyuko runs as deep as any ocean.
[x] Agitated. I don't like being roped around like this. I just wish she'd tell me what's happening!

Lets see where this goes.

[X] My dedication of studies have kept me smart and strong, both when fighting and when at home. Though I'm still learning, I've become very skilled, and my loyalty to lady Yuyuko runs as deep as any ocean.

[X] Panicking. Waah! I'm not done yet, so please no one show up! I-I'm not even dressed yet!

Panicking seems like the appropriate response.

[X] My dedication of studies have kept me smart and strong, both when fighting and when at home. Though I'm still learning, I've become very skilled, and my loyalty to lady Yuyuko runs as deep as any ocean.

[X] Panicking. Waah! I'm not done yet, so please no one show up! I-I'm not even dressed yet!

Girl is cooking...

"Youmu, darling, the guests will be here soon!"

Wait, what?!

"You best hurry~"

Aw, crap.

Okay, you tell yourself. This is no time to panic.
This is a perfectly good time to panic!


"Waaaaah!" You cry, pushing yourself into overdrive. You begin to flip the stir fry in one skillet as you set the soup to a simmer, then with the same hand pull the lid off of the rice cooker. Carefully but quickly, you grab a spoon and begin scooping the rice into bowls while still tossing the stir fry into the air. Once you finish the rice, you turn the stove eye under the skillet off, set the skillet off to the side, and make your way to the fridge.

Oh no no no no... you groan to yourself. You hadn't had time to make your way to the human village yet! You slam the fridge shut and check the freezer outside, where you got the ingredients for the stir fry.

Nothing! At least, nothing to supplement veggies and rice. Oh this is bad! This is really bad! You run back in and fling open the cabinents, searching for maybe something canned at least.

Nope, it's all gone! Why does she do this to me?! you think. At such a short notice! I swear when I'm through today I'm going to give Lady Yuyuko a piece of my mi-

"Miss Konpaku?"

Guh!
Slowly, you turn to face the door, trying to ignore the fact that you're not... really wearing much. You silently thank the gods that you're wearing an apron, since really all you've had on all morning is a short skirt otherwise (hey, it's not like Hakugyokurou gets a lot of visitors, you think). Standing there, looking quite calm, stands Sakuya Izayoi, head maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

Well... this is embarrassing. You stifle a yelp the best you can, and, hoping you don't look absolutely unhinged - what with your rapid-fire heart and heated blush - smile at the maid...

-=-=-

Well, Miss Konpaku, it seems that you're in a bit of a bind! All the training in the world doesn't seem to help against Lady Yuyuko's demands, and with the first of the guests here (surely, Sakuya didn't come alone, after all), you're way behind, and half-naked, to boot!

Fortunately, Sakuya is always kind to you. Unfortunately, for you anyway, you've always looked up to her. What should you do?

[ ] Stay calm. You're a warrior, damnit! Act nonchalant. This is just nothing, after all!

[ ] Panic mode OVERDRIVE. You couldn't possibly be more embarrassed! This day keeps getting worse!

[ ] Thank the gods for Sakuya's appearance! She can help you through this, hopefully before anyone else shows up!

-=-=-

(The first option you chose from before - the one about Youmu being a confident warrior - won't take effect right yet.)

[X] Thank the gods for Sakuya's appearance! She can help you through this, hopefully before anyone else shows up!

Panicking is useless! Though perfectly justified.

[x] Thank the gods for Sakuya's appearance! She can help you through this, hopefully before anyone else shows up!

No half-ghost is an island.

[x] Thank the gods for Sakuya's appearance! She can help you through this, hopefully before anyone else shows up!

>You silently thank the gods that you're wearing an apron, since really all you've had on all morning is a short skirt otherwise
>all you've had on all morning is a short skirt
This seems like a good look for her.

[x] Stay calm. You're a warrior, damnit! Act nonchalant. This is just nothing, after all!

We have EVERYTHING under control! Really!

[x] Thank the gods for Sakuya's appearance! She can help you through this, hopefully before anyone else shows up!

[x] Thank the gods for Sakuya's appearance! She can help you through this, hopefully before anyone else shows up!

"Ah, Miss Izayoi!" You greet, ignoring the fact that your eyebrow just twitched slightly. "What a pleasure to see you here! As you can see, I'm quite busy right now, so..."

"I can see that," chuckles the maid, setting down a hefty-looking sack at her feet. "It's a shame you don't have any help, though. Miss Saigyouji seems to be working you to the bone today."

You laugh nervously and rub the back of your head. "Only today, really," You tell her. "I've been up since before daylight today... I haven't even had time to get dressed!" Okay, maybe I shouldn't have admitted that...

"I know, I watched you briefly before I spoke," Sakuya admits, leaning down to open her back and pulling out a large box. "It may not be proper, but I was curious as to how the Gardener of Hakugyokurou prepares meals in a hurry." Her face flushes slightly. "I must say, though, you are quite fast, and have good balance."

Oh... You aren't used to compliments from anyone other than Yuyuko (and certainly not about how hard of a worker you are), so it's definitely a nice change. You smile at the maid, who returns it, and for a brief moment, despite your racing heart and a little tick in the back of your head that's screaming at you to hurry, you and Sakuya have a moment that only two people who have to work hard for their masters can have together.

"Say, Miss Izayoi," you say after a moment. "If you don't mind... can you help me? I mean, I still have so much to do, and I still have to change before everyone else shows up, and-" Sakuya interrupts your rambling with a laugh.

"I wouldn't have come in here if I didn't already plan on it, Miss Konpaku," she says, walking past you and setting her box on the kitchen counter. "Here; I brought some ingredients for the meal today, since there will be so many people here. Consider it payment for having to suffer my presence."

Suffer your presence? Most definitely not, Miss Izayoi. As Sakuya begins to unload the box, you can't help but be shy, just for a moment. This is the woman, after all, that other than Yuyuko, you've probably spent the most time with. Granted, it wasn't much, but still, there was... something. An outside worldview, from someone in a similar position as yours; servant to a powerful master. Granted, you knew that Sakuya probably had it much worse than you, but to remain so upbeat despite the possibility of being used as dinner one day never seemed to bother her all that much.

You finish helping Sakuya unload the box and take it from her, setting it aside. "So, I have to ask," you begin. "What's all this about?"

"I honestly have no idea," Sakuya admits, peeling an onion. "All I can tell you is that for the past few days, my mistress has been upset over something, and hasn't been willing to explain. She's had the Young Mistress locked back up in the basement, and I'm to push Meiling harshly should she become lax. Not even the shrine maidens are allowed it, let alone Mari- the witch." She shrugs. "Her and Miss Knowledge have been speaking to the boundary youkai quite a bit lately."

"It's the same with Lady Yuyuko," you respond. "Although her and Lady Yakumo have been friends for a long time, only recently have they been talking daily. I've never known her to speak with Lady Scarlet, though, so seeing you here is a pleasant surprise."

"I understand," Sakuya says. "To tell you the truth, it was Miss Yakumo who invited us, not your master. She said she did so on behalf of your master, as well as all the other invitations,"

"Who else is coming?" Clearly, Sakuya would be there for more of these things than you would, given that she hardly left Remilia's side.

"I know that some people from both the Moriya Shrine and the Myouren Temple are showing up," answers the maid. "Supposedly, so shall the Hakurei maiden, as well as a few others."

Why so many important people? You wonder. What could possibly necessitate all of these people?

For the briefest of moments, you feel highly unimportant, and stop cutting the cucumber you had grabbed earlier. You mind starts wandering, but only for a second, as Sakuya nudges you.

"Hey, go get changed," she says to you with a smile. "I can handle it here. A bath couldn't hurt as well."

"Are you sure?"
"Yes, go. I've cooked for large gatherings before, so this will be no different."

You smile. "Thank you, Miss Izayoi."
"Anytime, Miss Konpaku."

-=-=-

You sigh and relax in the bathtub, staring absently at the ceiling. Before long, you're going to need to get out and put some clothes on. You glance at your standard outfit, hanging up on the door, then back toward the mirror behind you. Designed to be used while in the bath, you look at your hair for a brief moment. Although it's been a while since the incident with the Taoists, you hadn't bothered to change your hairstyle back to what it was previously. Yuyuko had been demanding it, but it had been slipping your mind.

Maybe it's time to cut it. You think, looking at the scissors on the bathroom sink. You stand up out of the water and reach for them...

-=-=-

Well then, Youmu, here you are sitting naked in a tub. You don't really have time to think about it, so if you're going to make a choice about your hair, I suggest you do it now.

[ ] Cut my hair. I've been meaning to, for Lady Yuyuko's sake.
[ ] Don't cut my hair. Perhaps she can forgive this act of rebellion, but surely she understands that I won't be a child forever.

[X] Don't cut my hair. Perhaps she can forgive this act of rebellion, but surely she understands that I won't be a child forever.

New hair Youmu is best Youmu. And bobcuts are shit.

[X] Don't cut my hair. Perhaps she can forgive this act of rebellion, but surely she understands that I won't be a child forever.

We need a before/after photo.

[X] Don't cut my hair. Perhaps she can forgive this act of rebellion, but surely she understands that I won't be a child forever.

So edgy.

[X] Don't cut my hair. Perhaps she can forgive this act of rebellion, but surely she understands that I won't be a child forever.

'Just-woke-up' hair stays.

[x] Cut my hair. I've been meaning to, for Lady Yuyuko's sake.
You guys are crazy. Youmu's TD hair is hideous and suits her like a hole in the head.

[x] Don't cut my hair. Perhaps she can forgive this act of rebellion, but surely she understands that I won't be a child forever.

While I don't love the messy look letting it grow out is a step toward a long-haired Youmu and that is nice.

>>50722
>We need a before/after photo.
Have this. Took a grueling 5-6 seconds to find.

>>50721
Agreed.

[x] Don't cut my hair. Perhaps she can forgive this act of rebellion, but surely she understands that I won't be a child forever.

Long-haired Youmu eh? I'm liking this already.

[x] Don't cut my hair. Perhaps she can forgive this act of rebellion, but surely she understands that I won't be a child forever.

Superior

[x] Cut my hair. I've been meaning to, for Lady Yuyuko's sake.
You're all horrible.

[X] Don't cut my hair. Perhaps she can forgive this act of rebellion, but surely she understands that I won't be a child forever.

Because messy hair is delicious.

>>50729
But it isn't long, just messy.

[x] Don't cut

We can always choose to later, if Yuyuko bothers us about it.

>>50735
>But it isn't long
We can get it there though.

[X] Don't cut my hair. Perhaps she can forgive this act of rebellion, but surely she understands that I won't be a child forever.


Unforunately for Yuyuko, you've actually grown to like your hair.

You sit back down in the bathtub and take a deep breath. You really need to get up and moving, but the bath is warm. The sucky thing about being half-ghost is that you're usually cold. Normally, it's not a problem, but when getting up out of hot water, you get goosebumps all over and can't help but shiver.

Nope, can't do that, though. You reach for the soap and begin getting all the grime off of yourself. Briefly, you remember back when Yuyuko had to help you bathe, shortly after the incident that you helped to create. You were so weak, you couldn't hardly move. It was your first time using the spellcard rules and... well, a samurai-in-training isn't really cut for flinging magic bullets around. You think you did good, holding off Sakuya for a while... but even your most powerful spells couldn't cut through Sakuya's experience and time-altering powers.

You sigh. Now wasn't a time to think about things like this. You wash the soap off and grab the towel folded neatly next to you. As you stand to dry off, you hear the door slide open.

You used to get horribly embarrassed when Lady Yuyuko walked in on you, stark naked. Unfortunately for her, the joke wore off after a while. As you start to dry your hair, you open one eye and stare at your mistress. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Just checking in," Yuyuko says, smiling. "The guests are beginning to show, and I need you to provide the air of perfect hostess." She hands you the uniform from off the door.

"Yes, Lady Yuyuko," you reply, tossing the towel aside and grabbing your outfit. "After I get dressed, I'll grab my blades and do as you wish."

"What about that mop of yours?" Asks Yuyuko, staring at your hair disapprovingly. You cut your eyes to the side, back toward the mirror.

"I... have no time, right now. Apologies," You lie. It's not the first time you've ever lied to Yuyuko, but it is the first one in a long time. You have more than enough time to trim your hair at least, but you don't want to get rid of it just yet. You glance back at Yuyuko as you slip your bra on and clasp it together. She stares at you for but a second, looking as if to say something (probably not nice, either), but switches subjects instead.

"You've grown, Youmu," she says, giving you a once-over. A calculated assault against your modesty - her own way of petty revenge, in a way, but not at all hostile or mean; just teasing.

"Well... I'm growing up, you know..." you reply cautiously. One of the things Yuyuko had been teaching you over the years was how to speak as a person of influence and power; Samurai, after all, were warriors and nobles both, and one of the things about being a noble was weighing your words appropriately. It fit right in with your code of honor. "I'm... I'm not a little girl any more... ma'am." You finish putting your panties on (I need to eat less... you think dourly) and unfold your skirt.

"No, you're not," Yuyuko responds, and this time she smiles at you. "I guess it's time I started treating you more as an adult, then?"

Damn. There was no good answer to that. Oh, she's good, and you forgot that. Instead, you switch the subject. "Aren't our guests waiting, my Lady?" Yuyuko chuckles, approving of your deflection. You button up your shirt and begin to slip your vest on.

"Yes, yes. Do hurry, love," she responds, backing out of the room and shutting the door. You can't help but smile.

Lately, Yuyuko had been playing the "Word Games" with you more often. You think you may be getting better, but certainly not on your level. This was one of those rare wins for you, possibly. No, Yuyuko wouldn't look at you as a child anymore, but certainly she wasn't ready to look at you as an adult. But that was okay; baby steps. After all, you didn't want to be her servant; you wanted to be her friend.

You step out of the bathroom as you finish getting dressed, leaving you headband off for now. You wanted to let your 'messy' hair do whatever it wanted for now. Hey, if the compliments were anything to go by, you look pretty, so there was that at least. And besides, it made you feel better thinking that you were pretty.

As you walk back to the dining room, you catch a glimpse of Sakuya, already serving drinks. The two of you lock eyes and exchange smiles briefly as someone lightly taps on the door. You go to get it, sliding it open... and pausing.

"Greetings, Little Konpaku," greets Kaguya Houraisan. Behind her, Reisen and Eirin stand patiently next to each other, taking in Hakugyokurou's scenery.

What in the gods would be so important that you needed to leave Eientei?! you shout to yourself. "G-greetings, Miss Houraisan, and welcome to Hakugyokurou," you say, bowing deeply. Kaguya returns the bow. "Please, come in." The three return your bow and walk in, slipping off their shoes. As Reisen walks by, however, you grab her arm.

"What in blazes is going on?" you whisper to her.
"I honestly don't know," whispers back the Lunar rabbit. "And for it to be so important that Miss Eirin and Lady Kaguya have to leave... I don't think I want to know."

"Hey, Youmu!" A familiar voice calls from the dining room. "We need more food!"

Yukari.
You let go of Reisen, who goes to catch up with the others, and walk behind her to the room... and your breath catches in abject fear.

Reimu, Marisa.
Remilia Scarlet and Patchouli Knowledge.
Yukari and Ran.
Yuuka. Fucking. Kazami.
Satori Komeji.
Even the Buddhist Hijiri Byakuren and the Taoist Toyosatomimi.

It was a bleeding who's who of Gensokyo! Briefly, you glance at Yuyuko, an entirely too solemn look on her face.

Mistress, what the hell is going on?!

-=-=-

Well then, Miss Youmu (I guess I need to start calling you Miss now, since you don't want to be considered a child), something big is happening. The question is, what is it? Do you even want to know? Marisa jokes that you're only a "Stage 4 Boss", whatever that means, but you're certain it's some sort of insult.

[ ] Ask directly as to what's going on. Whatever's going on, it's important enough that all the big players in Gensokyo are involved.

[ ] Eavesdrop while doing your duty. You're not even considered important enough to be part of the conversation, after all.

[ ] Don't bother. If it's truly important, Yuyuko will let you know.

Also, as before, I must know, Miss Youmu... how do you feel right now?

[ ] Worried. Something big is happening.
[ ] Excited. Whatever it is, maybe you'll be invited!
[ ] Cautious. This much power in one room can't end well. Too many hotheads.
[ ] Angry. Why aren't you involved?!

[X] Ask directly as to what's going on. Whatever's going on, it's important enough that all the big players in Gensokyo are involved.

[X] Cautious. This much power in one room can't end well. Too many hotheads.

Cut through to the heart of the matter. Like a proper samurai.


>Marisa jokes that you're only a "Stage 4 Boss"
But that's wrong Marisa.

>>50739
Well.. yeah, Marisa is totally just driving home how she's more powerful than Youmu. It's not like the writefag forgot that Youmu is a Stage 5 boss/Stage 6 midboss.

Nope.

[X] Ask directly as to what's going on. Whatever's going on, it's important enough that all the big players in Gensokyo are involved.

[X] Cautious. This much power in one room can't end well. Too many hotheads.

Sensible, this should work. Since even Yuuka is here, I imagine that this is pretty serious. The fact that this story is in /others/ makes me think this isn't just about the next incident. I'm excited to see what's in store.

[x] Ask directly as to what's going on. Whatever's going on, it's important enough that all the big players in Gensokyo are involved.
[x] Cautious. This much power in one room can't end well. Too many hotheads.

So shit's going done. Huh.

>>50744
It may also be going down.

[X] Ask directly as to what's going on. Whatever's going on, it's important enough that all the big players in Gensokyo are involved.

[X] Cautious. This much power in one room can't end well. Too many hotheads.

If these are all the power players in Gensokyo, why isn't Shikieiki here? It's strange that she's missing.Or am I just grasping on straws that aren't there?

[x] Ask directly as to what's going on. Whatever's going on, it's important enough that all the big players in Gensokyo are involved.
Maybe point out that we need to know about potential threats in order to properly protect Lady Yuyuko, particularly if they're large enough to warrant a gathering such as this.

[x] Cautious. This much power in one room can't end well. Too many hotheads.

>>50746
Shikeiki has no horse in this race... yet.
(I've got something in the works for her, but I don't think anything short of an asteroid falling on Gensokyo would get her to move as of yet.)

[X] Ask directly as to what's going on. Whatever's going on, it's important enough that all the big players in Gensokyo are involved.

[X] Cautious. This much power in one room can't end well. Too many hotheads.

>>50738
>pic
>ghost holding stuff

I've been meaning to ask, can our ghost half do anything useful? i.e. other than just float around

>>50750
In the fighting games it can turn into a copy of Youmu and attack with her... and that's about it.

[x] Ask directly as to what's going on. Whatever's going on, it's important enough that all the big players in Gensokyo are involved.
[x] Cautious. This much power in one room can't end well. Too many hotheads.

Eh, bandwagon-hopping.

[X] Ask directly as to what's going on. Whatever's going on, it's important enough that all the big players in Gensokyo are involved.
Fffffffuck the chain of command...


[X] Cautious. This much power in one room can't end well. Too many hotheads.
...because they're all hotheaded holier-than-thou meatheads.

No update yet, I'll write one when I get offa work.

[x] Ask directly as to what's going on. Whatever's going on, it's important enough that all the big players in Gensokyo are involved.
[x] Cautious. This much power in one room can't end well. Too many hotheads.

You need to find out what's going on. To protect your land, your Lady, and your friends, you need to know. But there's no way you're going to walk up to any of these people - not even Yuyuko, given her mood - and ask them "Hey, what's going on?" At least, not yet. When any one of these people can blow you up without a sweat, or teleport you to a pit of monsters, or any matter of grisly death. Yeah, Yuyuko might make them pay for it later, but she'd still be fully dead by then, instead of half-phantom.

Still, this is important. You walk around the room, helping Sakuya and Reisen set down the multiple plates of food and cups of tea for all the guests. Briefly you consider asking Marisa, but the witch has made in no uncertain terms that she holds no love for you (or Yuyuko, for that matter), so that would definitely be a bust. You glance over at Reimu, but you decide against that, as well; given her face, she doesn't want to be here as well, and she's never been willing to divulge information.

Either way, willing or not, someone's gonna spill. You back away from the table and scan the room for someone easy to grill, when someone knocks on the door. You turn about and open it, to reveal the perfect target.

Sanae bows low. "Greetings, Miss Youmu!" she chirps happily. "Thank you for allowing us here!" You can't help but smile just a little. This'll be like taking candy from an ice fairy.

"Welcome, Miss Moriya," you reply, bowing low as well. "You're coming alone?"
"Yeah, Kanako and Suwako have some pressing matters to attend to," Sanae says. "They were supposed to come, but sent me instead. They said, 'As a living God, you must deal world-altering incidents."

Oh?
"Well, please come in," You say, stepping to the side. Sanae takes her shoes off and walks into the building. "What do you mean by life changing?"

"Well, I don't know the details, but apparently the balance of power amongst all the... I think Kanako called them 'sanctuaries', places like this one - has shifted in favor of Gensokyo, because off all the recent editions."

"People like yourself?" Sanae follows you to the commotion in the dining room.
"Not just us, but the adddition of Toyosatomimi especially tipped things toward us. It's got a lot of people upset in other places... and according to Yukari, they're doing something about it."

"How s-"
"Okay, everyone, let's settle down!" Yukari suddenly shouts over the noise, standing up and waving her hand, dimming the lights. "It's time to explain why you're all here, and what we should do."

"We know why we're here," Remilia says, crossing her arms. "We just need to come up with a plan."
"Yes, but we need to review, anyway," Yukari responds. "Hey, servant, get out."

You bristle. "I have a name."
"Whatever. Out, girl," Yukari waves her hand dismissively. "It's time for the adults to talk. Take the dog with you."

"Dog?"
"The Scarlet's maid." Across the room, Sakuya tenses, turning her head to glare at Yukari.

"Excuse me?" She growls.
"Hey! Don't refer to Sakuya as a dog!" Remilia shouts. "If anything, that nine-tailed bitch you have following you around is the dog!"

Yukari grins. "Well, at least unless yours she's a model of civility. I raised mine from a pup. I don't have your... taste for stray animals. Oh, and tell the mutt not to bite, cause I can see it." In the dim light, you can faintly see the gleam of a knife in Sakuya's hand.

"Mistress, just say the word."
"Oh, 'say the word,' how rich!" Yukari laughs. "Little stray, can you do nothing without your master's permission?"

"Yukari..." Yuyuko begins.
"No, Yuyuko, it's about time someone but this loli in her place."

"I am not a goddamn loli you-" Remilia shrieks, standing up and slamming her hands on the table. "Just try me, old hag!" Yukari's eyes narrow, and the room gets a little colder.

"What did you say?"
"I said, 'OLD HAG!"

"You little slut, I should have killed you a long time ago!"
"Ha, I'd like to see you try!" Remilia unfolds her wings to their full length behind her. "I can kill you, then take that bitch of yours as my pet! Or, maybe I'll give her to Flandre. She needs a new toy!" She bares her fangs.

"Simmer down, you two," Byakuren begins.
"SHUT UP!" Remilia shouts at her, then turns back to Yukari. "I've had enough! I don't care about your little message!"

"Fine by me! Let's see what you can do!"

The vampire and the youkai stare at each other for a brief moment.

"DIVINE SPEAR/AERIAL BAIT!"

-=-=-

This is bad, Miss Youmu. If Yukari and Remilia get into it, then everyone will start slinging spells, then everyone will be dead. You're the only one in position, or apparently the only one to give enough fucks, to do something about it. What is it you do?

[ ] Speak up. Nothing will be accomplished if we're all screaming at each other.
[ ] Back off. Let the two tire themselves out. This is no fight for you.
[ ] HELL REALM SWORD

[x] Speak up. Nothing will be accomplished if we're all screaming at each other.

Having the "servant" speak up and lay down some Common Sense? I believe is the sweeter option. What a way to make that FUCKING YUKARI feel embarrassed. Although I'd say go easy on Remilia, she's only sticking up for Sakuya. Gotten into a fight once or twice due to others going for the low blow against friends.


Although I'm half-tempted to just vote for [x] No Fucks Given and let everyone die.

[x] Speak up. Nothing will be accomplished if we're all screaming at each other.
They are Lady Yuyuko's guests. This is Lady Yuyuko's home. Their childish behaviour threatens both her safety and reputation as a host.
Neither is to be permitted within Hakugyokurou's grounds.

[X] Speak up. Nothing will be accomplished if we're all screaming at each other.

Violence is an option if those two buffoons refuse to listen.

You really need to get a proof reader.

>"Welcome, Miss Moriya,"
Sanae's family name is Kochiya.

>They said, 'As a living God, you must deal world-altering incidents."
>"What do you mean by life changing?"
That wasn't what she said.

>because off all the recent editions."
Because of all the recent additions.

>"Hey, servant, get out."
>You bristle. "I have a name."
>"Whatever. Out, girl," Yukari waves her hand dismissively. "It's time for the adults to talk. Take the dog with you."
And here's the worst part of this update. This is wildly out of character for Yukari. Sure, I can see her being condescending towards Sakuya, but in canon she acts like a mentor towards Youmu. Not to mention the faux pas of insulting the servant of her friend, which can be viewed as an insult towards Yuyuko herself.

>"Well, at least unless yours she's a model of civility.
Well, unlike yours[...]

[x] Speak up. Nothing will be accomplished if we're all screaming at each other.

>>50804
I'd have to agree with this guy, because you suddenly shifted point of view around:

>Yeah, Yuyuko might make them pay for it later, but she'd still be fully dead by then, instead of half-phantom.

I was confused there for a second, thought the "she" was referring to Yuyuko.

[X] HELL REALM SWORD

Time for a [X] BOOT TO THE HEAD

[x] Speak up. Nothing will be accomplished if we're all screaming at each other.

The GM wouldn't put us in a situation where we'll be killed before anything happens, would he?

>>50809

Go ask /tg/ and see what happens.

>>50810

Next time should I emote my sarcasm?

[x] Speak up. Nothing will be accomplished if we're all screaming at each other.

All of the power of the world and they have the civility of a 5-year-old. Sigh.

[x] Speak up. Nothing will be accomplished if we're all screaming at each other.

Why isn't Reimu doing anything about this? She's probably already irritated being here to deal with things in the first place. But well, I guess this our best choice right now. It seem this is the best choice for now I guess. Somehow I get the impression that Youmu is one of the weakest characters ever here even though she is a stage 5 boss like Sanae, Sakuya and Reisen

Stupid me accidently writing the same thing twice...

>50804
Enough!" You shout. "Stop it, both of you!"

A pregnant silence. Yukari blinks and stares at the blade nearly touching her nose, while Remilia takes a deep breath and sits down. "Look, I don't know what's going on, and I might just be a servant to Lady Yuyuko, but this is still my home, and my Lady's, and that gives you no right to disrespect us by getting into an argument! If truly, there is something so important going on, that all of you need to be in this room, then we should be working together!" You look back and forth between Remilia and Yukari.

"My... you are serious, aren't you?" Yukari asks.
"My blades are out, aren't they?" You respond. "Tell me, Miss Yakumo, at this distance, can you dodge my two-hundred yojana?"

"Would you even use it?"
"To defend the honor of Hakugyokurou, and my Lady Yuyuko? I would."

Yukari looks at into your eyes, appearing to think. It seems that you've ruined her fun. You look the other way to see Sakuya whispering something into Remilia's ear. The vampire nods.

"I relent," she says calmly. "Based on my maid's good word, I will accept standing down for now. She seems to see the sincerity in Miss Saigyouji's servant." The vamprie and maid enchange glances for a brief moment before Remilia sighs and turns to look up at you, steepling her fingers in front of her face.

You turn to look at Yukari and lower your swords, sheathing them. The two of you have a staring contest for a brief moment before Yukari finally sighs and throws her hands in the air.

"Fine, fine, I'm sorry," she says. "I'm sorry, Yuyuko, for being a bitch."
"It's fine, I understand," Yuyuko replies, visibly exhaling. You float down and land next to your Mistress.

"Are you done then?" Reimu suddenly speaks up. "Look, I'm all for a brawl to alleviate the boredom right now, but this is supposed to be important."

"Yes, you're right, Reimu," Yukari nods. She turns to look at you. "I guess you can stay. So can your maid, Scarlet."
"Thank you," Remilia says, although you detect a hint of sarcasm in her voice. You sit next to Yuyuko as Yukari begins her... presentation?

"If I told you that there were lands other than Gensokyo," she begins. "How would you feel?"
There's a brief pause. "...truly, that wouldn't be surprising," Yuuka answers for everyone. "There are multitudes of youkai till out there, after all."

"Not just youkai," Yukari begins to explain. She whispers a few words, and a map of Japan shimmers into existence in front of you. A glowing light designates Gensokyo's relative position. "This is where I first sealed off Gensokyo, years ago. In order to protect both the youkai, and to seal humans from us, I erected this barrier. But, this was not my idea." She reaches toward the map and pulls her hand back slowly, which makes the image of Japan zoom out, revealing many lands you are only familiar with in the academic sense. China, Korea, parts of Mongolia... but also other lands, far to the west. A chain of islands far to the west also has a similar point designating a land like Gensokyo.

"Far off in Europe," she says. "For example, is a mystic land called Avalon. It was the first of sealed off lands."
"Wait, Avalon?" Sanae pipes up. "From King Arthur's legend?"

"You know of it?" Yukari asks.
"When I was still outside, we touched briefly on European mythology in one of my classes," Sanae explains. "Avalon is the legendary burial site of King Arthur, the greatest European king to live. He wielded a legenary sword named Excalibur... I guess the best analogue to it I can think off is Kusanagi." You nod. You can understand that, you suppose. Yukari waves her hand, and a few more lights pop up in the distance between the two distant lands.

"...Are all those sealed lands?" Reimu asks.
"Yes, and each one has someone there with powers similar to, though not as powerful as, mine and yours, Reimu."

She lets that sink in for a second.

"Wait, wait, wait," Marisa stands up. "There are more of you?!"
"Not quite," Yukari shakes her head. "I said 'similar'. Mostly, they can manipulate boundaries in a more limited sense, although..." she highlights a land roughly in between Avalon and Gensokyo. "Here, the primary beings, called djinn have the power to grant wishes on par with Kociya Sanae's miracles. And in China," she highlights another land. "The legendary Chinese dragons have hidden. Not as powerful as Gensokyo's god, but there are many of them."

Remilia asks the obvious question. "Why are you telling us all this?"
"Because of balancing power," Yukari responds. She disposes of the map and brings up another one, similar but focusing mainly on the West. "Gensokyo's power is balanced by these other lands, so that none of us are any stronger than the others. In this way, none can threaten the stability that we have all worked toward. However, recent events," she glances at the Taoist. "Have heavily shifted the balance of power towards us. This has upset... many people."

"How so?" Satori asks.
"Many people already didn't like the balance," Yukari answers. "And now that we have the most power, many seek to undo us... in order to 'reset the balance', as the excuse goes. Outside beings, similar to youkai, have been seeking to undo the sealed lands and get their powers - and ours - and now, they move to act."

"...where did you get all this information?" Remilia asks, narrowing her eyes.
"I have eyes everywhere, Scarlet," Yukari answers. "Even if I didn't, the movement of the outside supernatural forces is all I need to see. Even your own people in Europe have begun to make plans."

"Other vampires?"
"Quite," Yukari nods.
"Hah, mere shadows of my power," Remilia half-boasts, though you can tell that the new information clearly has made her uneasy. "Those bloodsuckers couldn't hope to match me."

"Maybe, but generations of their kind have expanded greatly, and they are the driving force behind this."

"So what do we do?" Marisa asks. "We can't just leave Gensokyo. Many of you might cease to exist outside the Barrier."
"Not quite, but we would be weaker, yes," Yukari admits. "However, there are six of you in this room that would not be, due to being... well, mostly believable outside of Gensokyo." Marisa sits down.

"You mean myself, Reimu, and Sanae at the least."
"But I can't leave Gensokyo," Reimu says. "If I do, the whole barrier collapses."

"True, but Miss Kirisame and Miss Kochiya have no such problems. Neither does the Head Maid of the Mansion, being human."
"This is true," Sakuya nods. "I could reasonably leave, although my time manipulation may be weaker."

"And," Yukari continues. "Lately, humans of the outside truly believe that there's a good possibility of the existence of vampires, Scarlet." Remilia grins.

"You really trust me outside of here?"
"I wouldn't trust you as far as I could throw you, but desperate times call for desperate measures," Yukari says. "If the other sealed lands fall or ally themselves with your Kin, it could mean a trouble in Gensokyo that none of us could solve. They would bring with them humans who do not believe, who are shielded by their lack of faith, and we would fall. I predict that none of us would survive." Remilia snorts.

"You don't suppose I could reason with them? I left Europe for more than one reason, you know," she says. "Too many politics, too much angsting about being a vampire, instead of utilizing the gifts given to us,"

"And you could be the destabilizing voice that destroys their organization before it even gets started," Yukari says.

"Wait a minute," Sanae tries to back up the conversation. "Who else could survive Outside without being weakened. You said six people."

"Well..."

Yukari looks down at you.

-=-=-

Well..."

[ ] Wait, me? But I've never been outside before!
[ ] Only if Lady Yuyuko allows it, but still...
[ ] What is it you would have me do?
[ ] Write-In

[x] What is it you would have me do?

Gensokyo's her home too. Gotta protect that.

[x] 'People believe in half-ghosts? Even I find the notion quite ridiculous'
[x] What is it you would have me do?

>>50822
> People believe in half-ghosts?

[x] What is it you would have me do?

Supernatural war? Interesting.

[x] What is it you would have me do?

>"I have eyes everywhere, Scarlet."
Heh.

[x] What is it you would have me do?

I think this story just peaked from being another interesting story to possibly the most interesting story in THP right now. For me at least

>>50835
Same here. Introducing the Englishmen's everdistant utopia, European vampires and Eastern genies at the same time will do that.

[x] What is it you would have me do?

Even in death, I still serve.

[x] What is it you would have me do?
God damn we are professional. Aside from the hair, of course.

[x] 'People believe in half-ghosts? Even I find the notion quite ridiculous'
[x] What is it you would have me do?

[x] 'People believe in half-ghosts? Even I find the notion quite ridiculous'
[x] What is it you would have me do?

Very interesting, very interesting. Regarding the various other beings like the vampires or djinn are their powers for this story based off primarily their legends or something more eosteric? For instance vampires from the Dresden Files are different from vampires from oWoD, and both are quite different from Type-Moon. And that's just vampires.

Whether or not people believe in half-ghosts isn't an issue so long as the rules that govern power weakening outside of gensokyo are in favor of the human portion of half-ghosts.

Like a "best of both worlds" Kinda thing.

[X] What would you have me do?

>>50847
>Very interesting, very interesting. Regarding the various other beings like the vampires or djinn are their powers for this story based off primarily their legends or something more eosteric? For instance vampires from the Dresden Files are different from vampires from oWoD, and both are quite different from Type-Moon. And that's just vampires.

For things like the djinn, the Chinese dragons, and Arthurian legend, I'm mostly pulling from old tales written about them.

Vampires are mainly of the European archetype, although mainly they're modified versions of oWoD.

[x] 'People believe in half-ghosts? Even I find the notion quite ridiculous'
[x] What is it you would have me do?

You stare back up at Yukari.
"You realize I'm half-ghost, right?"

"Ah, well, there's the rub with you," Yukari says. "People believe in ghosts, and they're human, so you're covered! I know, I know, it sounds farfetched, but trust me when I say you'll be just fine out there."

You look toward Yuyuko. "...Lady Yuyuko, what do you think?"
"I don't like it," replies your Lady. "I don't want you going out there. But, if it is to save Gensokyo, then it is fine by me," she looks out toward the others. "But first, we need a plan."

"That's easy," Marisa grabs her hakkero. "Blast everything in our way!"
"For once, I concur with Kirisame," Yuuka says, nodding. "It would be easier to simply eliminate everything that would be a threat to our land."

"Or, we could try talking to them," Byakuren answers, offering a more sensible approach. "Perhaps if we reason with these forces, we can convince them not to attack Gensokyo. I mean, surely we can find common ground, right?" You shake your head.

"I'm sorry, Miss Hijiri, but simply put," you look down at your blades. "The best way to kill a serpent is to cut off the head. If we find the leaders and dispose of them, then surely the rest of the enemy will surrender." You nod. Yes, that makes sense.

"I agree with Konpaku," Reimu nods toward you. "Even in incidents, we tend to ignore the cannon fodder and go straight for the leaders." Yuuka raises an eyebrow at that.

"Before or after you waste several hundred fairies?"
"Well..." Reimu shrugs. "It's an idea. I don't know what the enemy is like."

"Well, if they're vampires..." Sanae offers. "Then many of them can be killed in the classical ways, surely; holy symbols petrify them, running water weakens then, and the sun would kill them outright, as well as decapitation and a wooden stake through the heart."

"Not quite," Sakuya suddenly says. "Holy symbols don't work if they aren't blessed by an ordained priest of some sort, and it doesn't petrify them, it only disorients them. Furthermore, the sun's effect on a vampire is inversely proportional to how powerful they are; as in, weaker vampires will catch fire and burn, but stronger ones, like my Mistress, are only slightly weakened. I find that silver works better in most cases."

"And how do you know that?" Marisa asks. "I don't think your boss would be willing to let you in on their weaknesses." Sakuya shrugs, sipping her tea.

"I used to be a vampire hunter."

Another pause fills the room.
"W-w-what?!" Sanae exclaims. "But what happened?!" Sakuya just waves her hand as if saying 'unimportant', and goes back to being silent. However, you notice that she appears uneasy, as if she made a mistake saying all that.

Oh well. The proverbial cat is out of the bag now.

You look again at Yuyuko, who seems fixed on Remilia. As does Yukari, although you still notice the hostility in her eyes. You don't know what made them so mad at each other, but you're not sure you want to know either. As long as they don't blow up at each other again.

Yuyuko takes our her fan and waves herself with it, propping up on one arm as she does so. "So, Miss Remilia Scarlet, you've been quiet until now. What's your take on this?"

"..." Remilia closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. When she opens her eyes, her pupils are dilated, unfocused. "It's not as easy as Sakuya makes it sound," she begins. "Furthermore, you don't want to go in spells flying, either. Like myself, the other Kin have a tendency to gather people around them. Some of them are used as food, others work for them unknowingly, and others are basically enslaved by them."

"How so?" Yuyuko asks, putting her fan in front of her face; you refer to it as her "planning face".
"Two ways. First, When a human drinks vampire blood... it's like a drug. They become hooked on it, needing more, and they'll do whatever it takes to get more. We call them Ghouls. However, secondly, a strong enough vampire can simply take over the mind of someone they want, and in doing so basically turns that person into one of Margatroid's dolls: they may appear to act on their own, but someone is pulling the strings," she blinks, refocusing her eyes. "Personally, I find both practices detestable. I like my servants working for me of their own will."

Sanae looks at Sakuya. "So Miss Izayoi isn't..."
"No," Sakuya shakes her head. "I work for the Mistress. I am not her slave."

"Anything else we need to know... Miss Scarlet?" You ask, already formulating a plan in your head on how to minimize or zero out civilian casualties.

"Yes, actually," Remilia nods. "If my Kin are indeed trying to make others their allies, in an effort to invade Gensokyo, then I doubt any of them actually know they're working for vampires. Many of us are very old, and although I am over 500 years old myself, there are a scant few even older than I. Not only that, but these vampires do not work alone; many of them have Sired others into our - their - fold, and one of the many rules of vampiric etiquette is to remain loyal to your clan," she shrugs.

Yuyuko asks the question on everyone's mind. "Have you ever..."
"No, I never did. The only person I've ever had interest in turning was Sakuya, and she won't have it. That makes me and Flandre the first - and last - of our clan."

You look into Remilia's eyes, and for the briefest of moments you see... regret? You're not sure, as it's gone as soon as it was there.

"So what do you suggest we do, then?" Yukari asks. "You're the only one here who actually knows how vampiric society works."

"That's easy," Remilia leans back, reaching up to take off her hat. She sets it down next to her then holds up one finger. "First, we need to disrupt their operations closest to us... probably Korea or China, most likely, although Siberia is home to some vampire clans as well. Second," she holds up another finger. "I will have to find the vampire leaders and convince them that it's in their best interests to not invade Gensokyo - by force if necessary, but I'd rather deal with established leaders than a young upstart who thinks he or she can take us on."

Remilia nods. "That would be the best course of action," she decides. "But, I can't do my part alone. I'll need a bodyguard."

Sakuya blinks. "But, Mistress, I..."
"No," Remilia shakes her head. "Sakuya, you'll have to lead the first team. You know how to hunt vampires better than anyone I've ever met - you nearly killed me, even, which hadn't ever been done before," the way she says it so lightly makes you wonder if there's any truth to it. "One of the others will need to go with me."

"Well..." Yuyuko looks at Yukari, who slowly scans the room and looks at you, Sanae, Marisa, and Sakuya. "What do you think, Yukari?"

"I don't like resting everything on an immature brat," Yukari says flippantly. "But, she is the only one who knows how to handle this situation properly. Furthermore, she's right about needing to split our forces. If we didn't, six people asking strange questions will get far too much attention."

"Well, I'll go with Sakuya," Marisa pipes up. "We've worked together before, so I see no reason to not do so again."

"I'm fine either way," Sanae says. "I'll do whichever Miss Konpaku does not."

All eyes turn on you. "Lady Yuyuko?" You turn to face your mistress. "Which would you have me do?"
"This one is entirely up to you, Youmu," replies the ghost. "Either you go help Miss Izayoi fight, or you become Miss Scarlet's bodyguard. I leave it up to you."

You nod and look down...

-=-=-

Well, Youmu, you have two options.
The first option, going with Sakuya and Marisa, will probably lead to a lot of life or death battles, probably some lethal danmaku battles (you sincerely doubt the other sealed worlds have spellcard rules), and probably a lot of running and screaming. The possibility of permanent death is very high, but so is the possibility of showing these backwater worlds what true honor is.

The second option, going with Remilia, will be a change of pace at the very least. You've never been in the care of another master, let alone someone like Remilia, and you're not sure how you feel about that. From what she says, there won't be a lot of fighting, but if there is, you can bet it'll be much harder with only the two of you (although Remilia is very powerful). That said, you'll be cutting the head of the serpent personally, but you're not sure if that's important. You'll be spending a lot of time Outside rather than the sealed worlds, although you're certain that you'll be spending a lot of time in those same worlds as well.

The choice is yours. Once you make it, you can't turn back. What do you do?

[ ] Go with Sakuya and Marisa
[ ] Go with Remilia Scarlet.

[x] Go with Remilia Scarlet.

Keep with what we've always done best, be a bodyguard. Plus I just think it'll be far more of an interesting story dealing with the politics and negotiations with the other Not-Gensokyos. Don't think for a second that we're gonna just do nothing but play a very long Diplomacy run of Civilization, we'll have our chances to kick ass and chew bubblegum. And we certainly will be all outta gum.

[x] Go with Remilia Scarlet.

Whoa! Now that's the kind of choice I like to see in a CyoA. Too long have we suffered these wishy-washy authors and their arbitrary choices.

I like your style, Glen

>>50854

Seriously, this is some CLASSIC CYOA-Tier stuff right here. Maybe that's why I'm finding myself quite addicted to this story already.

[x] Go with Remilia Scarlet.

Glen... Are you a genius? Because I certainly think so. I have never been this excited over a story such as this before and I find myself refreshing the site every 5 minutes even though it is probably impossible to put in a new good post in such short amount of time

[x] Go with Remilia Scarlet.
Ha ha time for buddy cops!
Also, can our sword cut the bond between vampires and their ghouls/puppets?

[X] Go with Sakuya and Marisa
Kicking some vampire ass with Sakuya? Sounds alright.

[X] Go with Sakuya and Marisa
Yeah this takes me back, high stakes higher risks, clear choices. Classic CYOA material here.

I was all willing to go in and smack some sense into the knights of the round but since this universe is from WoD I guess going all Gehenna in their asses is a better choice.

[x] Go with Remilia Scarlet.

[x] Go with Remilia Scarlet.

Any chance we'll be seeing Asgard? Because any chance to go against Vikings will be awesome.

[X]Go with Sakuya and Marisa.

[x ] Go with Remilia Scarlet.

Oh, this is going to be fun.

It is kinda rare to see choices without a bunch of sub choices right under them. They can be just as complicated.
>>50863

If we are, it'll be awhile. Seems like we're going to mainland Asia first. Maybe we can take.

>Any chance we'll be seeing Asgard? Because any chance to go against Vikings will be awesome.

Ah if only we could had a story with Vikings and Touhou as the main parts of the storyOh wait, that was Gensokyoland Saga. Fuck you Norseman.

>>50866
At least you got your chance and it was a good, long story; even if it didn't end.

As for me? I'm yearning for a fate/crossover and kind of freaked out when I read Avalon... what a fake-out.
Anyway, High Hopes for this story.

[X] Go with Remilia Scarlet.

Sounds like a perfect job for Youmu.

[X] Go with Remilia Scarlet.

Really, there's only one option, because as far as your concerned, there's really only one incredibly untrustworthy person also

leaving Gensokyo.

"I'll go with Miss Scarlet," you finally decide. "I'll help her get to the heart of this matter, that way we can be home before

the next season's end." You hear Remilia chuckle.

"You're insane if you think this'll only take four months," she says. "But... I like your drive. You'll make a fine

guardswoman." She nods. "Miss Saigyouji, if we're going to do this, I have to make some arrangements back at the mansion.

Without me there, Patchouli will be in control, so I will have to lay out some plans," she stands up and looks around. "The

food was excellent, Miss Konpaku. Come, everyone, let's go." As she turns her back to you, Sakuya grabs her and Patchouli by

the arm... and they vanish.

Yuyuko looks at Yukari. "What do you think she's planning?"
"I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure it involves upsetting the balance of power when she returns," replies the blonde. "There's

no way she'd be helping us if she didn't get something in return. Just because Gensokyo is her homeland too doesn't mean

anything to her."

"Indeed," Yuyuko snaps her fan shut. "Youmu, I need a favor from you."
"Yes, my Lady?"
"Whilst you are out saving the world, I need you to keep an eye on Remilia Scarlet."

You nod. "Yes, Lady Yuyuko. I understand."
"No, I don't think you do," Yukari stands up. "The rest of you may leave now. I know you all have a lot of planning to do." The

other nod and stand up. "Thank you for your time."

"I think I'll get to Alice's," Marisa begins, pairing up with Reimu as the two head for the door. "She's probably got some things I can use to help me out."

"Since I can't go, I'll prepare something for you and Konpaku," Reimu answers. "I want to contribute as well..." The two put on their shoes and exit, chatting about what their plans are and what they'll do for Marisa's part in the mission.

Byakuren goes to leave with Toyosatomimi. "I'll prepare the defenses, with your help," she begins, looking at the Taoist.
"You gonna try and get that airship of yours to take off?"
"If I can help it, yes. A mobile base to help defend Gensokyo will be a big help."
"I'll see if I can get the others to help."

"Oh, wait!" Satori catches up with the two. "If you're going to get that thing running again, I can get Okuu to power it..." You lose track of the conversation as the three leave together. All that leaves is Yuuka, who stares at Yukari quietly for but a second.

"You mean to say the two of you aren't planning something as well?" she asks, a smirk on her face. Yuyuko and Yukari look at each other before giggling like schoolgirls.

"I'm always planning something, Yuuka," Yukari says.
"Well, whatever it is, keep me in the loop," Yuuka opens her parasol, waves it, and vanishes, leaving only the three of you (plus wheverever Ran is hiding). You stand up with the intent to clean up the mess, but Yuyuko grabs your arm.

"Um... yes, my Lady?" Yukari and Yuyuko are both staring at you.
"There is one more thing," Yuyuko says. "Yukari?"

"I kind of expected this," nods the blonde youkai. "I knew Remilia would be all for going off on her own with a weaker person in her employ... no offense," you shake your head; you know without a doubt Remilia is stronger than you. "So, in preparation, we've been going around and getting some favors from a few of the others."

"You mean... you knew I would do this?" You ask. You suddenly feel like you've been played.
"Well, I had a good idea," Yukari admits. "I intentionally insulted you and Yuyuko, as well as picked a fight with Remilia, in order to get you to step up and take action. In doing so, you've proven to the others that you are not to be treated lightly. This allowed you to stay... 'in the circle', so to speak. I knew you would jump at the chance to prove yourself, so I forced Remilia into dangling the bait; that is, I got her to admit she couldn't do it alone."

"And I fell for it," you say flatly, staring at Yuyuko. "Didn't I?"
"I'm sorry!" Yuyuko exclaims. "But we needed you to be genuine. You're still inexperienced when it comes to... well, manipulation. By keeping you in the dark, we ensured that everything you did was what we needed you to do!"

"And in doing so, ensured that Remilia thinks she safe to make plans against us, should she choose to," Yukari adds. She reaches into... soemwhere... and pulls out a small dagger. "This is a silver dagger, charmed by Reimu to be highly effective against vampires." She sheathes the blade in a green-white case and hands it to you. You take it cautiously. "If you ever feel like Remilia is going go turn against us-"

"-then stab her in the heart. No where else will kill her," Yuyuko finishes. "Furthermore," she looks at Yukari, who reaches toward you, fingers spread.

"I'm going to tap into your subconscious," Yukari says, and you feel a tingle in the back of your head. "It will allow you to understand the same languages that Remilia does, as well as speak them. She will not know you have this ability, so you must keep it hidden. Only use it in front of her if you absolutely must."

Not once do you take your eyes off of Yuyuko. You can see the regret in her eyes for not telling you of the plan, or of involving you directly. "Yes, Miss Yakumo," you say blithely.

"And... there!" Yukari pulls her hand back. "You should be more or less prepared. Now all we have to do is wait for everyone else to be prepared."

"...I'm going to go trim the hedges," you say, turning your back to your mistress. "I'll be back shortly." You go to leave.
"Wait, Youmu!" Yuyuko calls.

You shut the door and head for the far end of Hakugyokurou. You look down at your clenched fist and...

-=-=-

[ ] Punch the nearest object. Why didn't they involve you in their plan?!
[ ] Take the plan and run with it. Yukari and Yuyuko were acting in your best interests... right?
[ ] Screw it. Go with it.

>>50871
Wow the formatting got all fucked up. I hate notepad. Sorry guys.

[x] Punch the nearest object. Why didn't they involve you in their plan?!

I'm not one for manipulation AT ALL. Plus you gotta take out that stress somehow since I doubt talking to either of them would do anything.

Although I kind of wonder if these more aggressive/renegade choices may lead us into a route where we aren't such a good little Youmu. Nothing extreme like defection but just a route where there's many of our decisions that are many shades of grey and not light nor dark. Think like KOTOR and Jolee Bindo or later EU Luke Skywalker.

I do wonder why Yuyuko and Yukari are so distrusting and hate Remilia and believe she's an evil shady being who's most likely gonna turn on them. While Remi won't be a shiny example of paragon Renegade for life yo , I don't believe someone who allows Sakuya to have free will is truly evil.

[x] Punch the nearest object. Why didn't they involve you in their plan?!
I just love character-building choices (all of them so far, I think)
As for this choice in particular... as a 'almost but not quite there' strong person, in both raw power and influence, I'm pretty sure she's tired of getting out of the loop all the time. Even more so when her friend (and master) treats her like a pawn.

>After all, you didn't want to be her servant; you wanted to be her friend.

>>50873
If that means we're gonna be 'pulling a Bindo' in the middle of the mission, I'm all for it.

>>50875

So you mean marry Remilia in the middle of the mission secretly?

Eh, I'm game.

[x] Punch the nearest object. Why didn't they involve you in their plan?!

They don't believe in me at all?!

What I would have thought in this situation. Even though our elders probably know the hard truth and choose the most efficient way of doing things. This is only getting better and better though. I can't wait untill our adventure starts. And I wonder what preparation Reimu was going to do for us

[x] Punch the nearest object. Why didn't they involve you in their plan?!

Understandable on their part? Maybe. But Youmu is growing up, and is bound to be getting sick of being led around all of the time.

>>50872
Wordpad master race.

[x] Punch the nearest object. Why didn't they involve you in their plan.

>>50873
Not so soft Youmu? I like.

[x] Punch the nearest object. Why didn't they involve you in their plan?!

You punch the hell out of the nearest object. The unfortunate support beam cracks under the weight of your blow.

Damnit, it's not fair! you scream in your head. Why do I get to be led around on a leash, being used as Yuyuko and Yakumo's pawns?! You take a deep breath and clench your throbbing hand. I'm sick and tired of being treated like this... Yuyuko should trust me more than that.

You walk away, as far away from the door as you can get. No, it wasn't right to think like this, but sometimes, it was just too hard... even if you're just a servant, you feel as if Yuyuko by now should trust you more. You want to blame the Yakumos, but that wouldn't be fair to Ran and Chen. No... it's all Yukari.

"Stupid manipulative gap-tossing bi-" You clamp your mouth shut. You weren't about to start cursing just because you didn't get your way. You were trying to grow up, not throw a temper tantrum. You take another deep breath, and draw out your Roukanken. Lifting it above your head, you take another breath and bring it down in an overhead slash, stopping just as the tip of the blade is level with your nose. Then you lift the sword up and do it again.

And again. And again. You close your eyes as you go through the motions, knowing that each time the blade would come to a perfect stop at the same spot, just as it always did once you learned to fully control the weapon. You learned by doing this same thing, day after day, under Yuyuko's watchful eye. You were supposed to be teaching her, you briefly recall, but how can you teach someone swordsmanship if you weren't a master yourself?

An immaterial time passes before you open your eyes. Leaning up against a young cherry tree, Yakumo Ran watches, her slitted pupils focused on you. You are hardly surprised; Yakumos have a habit of randomly appearing, after all.

"I'm practicing, Miss Ran," you say bluntly. "If you must know."
"I'm well aware," replies the nine-tailed fox. "I was just watching. Your appearance says that you're calm, but I can see internally that you are angry. I suppose my Mistress's plan went off without a hitch?"

So even her shikigami knew... am I the only one who didn't know? You wonder, your frustration coming back to the surface. You sheathe Rankouken. "Yes, it did," you answer. "But I am not happy with it."

"Pawns are hardly happy with their situation," says Ran, walking up to you. She removes her hands from her sleeves, preferring to cross her arms instead. "I must admit, though, I didn't expect this level of emotion from you. Normally you go along with Lady Saigyouji's plans."

"This is far different," you say, looking down. "I'm tired of being pulled around like this. I want to be a part of things! I want to be treated as an adult!"

"As an adult..." Ran walks up beside you, leaning to look at you closer. "Or as someone above your station?"

Eh?
"...maybe a bit of both," you mumble. You look up into her golden eyes. "But is that so wrong, to want more than what we're granted? Is it so bad to be seen as an equal?"

"No..." Ran walks around you, causing you to slowly turn and watch her moves. "It is not. But to be an equal, you have to be as powerful as your Master. Just as I am Yukari's shikigami, you are Lady Saigyouji's servant... and her protector. We fight so they don't have to. And we work for them... because we are not their equals. Do you understand?"

You look down. "...yes," you answer quietly. "But... I just want..."

What do I want?
You feel a pair of arms envelop you. You blush.

"You want to be heard, and seen for who you are," Ran says for you. "And that's okay. You want to be seen as a child growing up, and you're almost there. Lady Saigyouji may not see you as an adult yet, but I think you will persevere."

"You really think so?"
Ran laughs. "Of course! Just like Chen won't stay my shikigami forever, you will not be a servant forever."

It's like being held by a mother. You can feel your anger ebbing away. "Thank you... Miss Ran."
"You can call me Ran," replies the kitsune. "Amongst us, there are no formalities." You nod. "Now, don't you think you need to set things right before you go venturing off across the world?"

"Yes, you're right," you nod. "Absolutely, Miss... Absolutely, Ran." Ran lets go of you, and you turn to face her. "I'm a lot calmer now... but I still feel a bit frustration." Ran laughs at you.

"You will, and you should!" she says, smiling. "Turn that frustration into ambition, and the entire world will be at your fingertips!" She laughs again, turns, and with a swish of her nine tails, vanishes.

-=-

The entire rest of the day, you thought about what Ran said. Although it still hurt that Yuyuko didn't trust you, at least now you can understand. Simply put, you aren't strong enough or smart enough to be on her level... yet. But you think you can reach it.

As you roll your futon out to sleep, there's a knock on your door. It slides open to reveal Yuyuko, staring at you with sad eyes. As you turn to face her, your anger, for the briefest moment, resurges.

[ ] "What do you want?"
[ ] "Miss Yuyuko, I..."
[ ] "I understand now."

[x] "Miss Yuyuko, I..."

This just feels like the choice where both can have a good honest talk and see if they can kiss and make up.

>"Turn that frustration into ambition, and the entire world will be at your fingertips!"
Words to live by, honestly.

[x] 'I understand now'
Well, she does. Ran's move was quite smart.

[x] 'I understand now'

Seems like a good choice. If it isn't a follow upp to: I understand now... You f***ing hate me or something like that. But I don't think so so I will choose this anyway

[x] "Miss Yuyuko, I..."

I don't fully agree with Ran's logic. Youmu may not have the same level of raw power or experience that Yuyuko or Yukari do, but that really doesn't justify her being jerked around like that.

There's a big difference between being a loyal servant and a tool. Between trusting and being trusted, and just being utilized.

In any case, I think this vote strikes a good balance.

[x] ...

I can't say that any of these options came to my mind after reading this update. Rather, it's a mix. I'm still angry at Yuyuko but I also understand what Ran was saying. Therefore I vote to remain quiet and see what she says.

[x] "Miss Yuyuko, I..."
I agree with what >>50893 says. Yuyuko is treating Youmu here more as a tool/utility then really as a trusted servant. She really displays quite a lack of trust in Youmu.

[X] "Miss Yuyuko, I..."

[x] "Miss Yuyuko, I..."

You take a deep breath and stifle the anger. You turn to smile at your master.

"Lady Yuyuko, I-"
"Don't."

Yuyuko walks in the room and bids you to sit down. "I need to talk to you, Youmu. I need you to listen."

You open your mouth, then close it, nodding. You keep your eyes focused on her as she talks.

"I know that lately, I have been very unfair to you," she begins. You open your mouth. "No. You know I'm right. I've been cruel to you, and for that, I'm sorry."

"No it's okay-"
"Hush, Youmu, I'm talking," Yuyuko interrupts you. "Ever since Yukari told me everything she told you today - one month ago - she had been pressuring me to let you go on the journey. She told me, 'Youmu is ready. Youmu can stand just as tall as the others,'" she shakes her head. "I didn't want to believe it. How could the girl I've raised, truly be ready for something of this magnitude?" You look down at your hands as they grab the futon tightly, coiling the fabric betwixt your fingers. "So I told myself that you weren't ready. You were my servant, not a warrior; you would serve me no matter what I said. So that's what I did. This past month, I've tried to make you negect your studies, made you focus instead of doing chores," you hear... a sound... before Yuyuko continues.

"I... I don't want you to do this. I want you to stay here, in Hakugyokurou, with me. I want you to stay safe. Outside... I won't know what happens to you. If you die, I won't know until you come back to me in the afterlife, if you come back to me. And there's a good chance you will die! Please, Youmu..."

You take a deep breath, and notice that your heart is racing. "You know I can't do that, my Lady..."
There's a brief pause. "I know..." replies Yuyuko. "I know you can't. You're... truly growing up, aren't you?" You finally blink and look up at your Mistress as she desperately tries to fight off crying. Lady Yuyuko...?

"I... I am," you choke out.
"I know it doesn't excuse my behaviour, and if you never forgive me for that, that's okay... but I want you to know that... if... no, when you come back, things will be different. I'll look at you the way you want me to look at you."

"...y... yes, ma'am," you say to her. Part of you is screaming that she's lying to you again, that it's all an elaborate act to pull on your strings and make you dance. But as you look into her eyes, you notice a deep sincerity that you don't think can be faked. "I... thank you..."

Slowly, Yuyuko stands. "Youmu... tomorrow, you're leaving Gensokyo. It may be days, weeks, months... even years, before you return," she looks away. "Please... tell me you'll return."

You take a breath. There's no way you can promise her that.
"I promise I'll return," you lie. "I'll come back to you, Lady Yuyuko."

"Good," Yuyuko opens the door to your room. "Sleep tight, Youmu..."
"...yeah, you too."

Yuyuko shuts the door, leaving you alone. You take another deep breath, feeling something wet hit your hand. You don't look at what it is as you lay down on the futon. Above you, your ghost half swirls around above you before finally descending and resting next to you. You reach out and pull it close, hugging it as you close your eyes.

Tomorrow begins your journey, Youmu. There won't be many moments like this one left. Once you leave Gensokyo, there will be no turning back. There will be no way to contact home until the mission is complete. There is a very good possibility that you will die out there, alone, with only a Scarlet vampire as company... assuming said vampire isn't the one that kills you. The only thing you can depend on is yourself.

Youmu... are you prepared?

[ ] Yes
[ ] No

Alright readers, this is it. If you vote yes, the story continues. If you vote no, it ends here. Everything you've worked on in the first chapter has led up to preparing you to leave Gensokyo, possibly for good.

Take this opportunity to decide if we even want this story to continue.

[x] Yes.

My body is ready.

[x] Yes.

You are doing very, very good right now. Let's keep on going.

[X] Yes

Although I wouldn't mind a What If post of what happens if we say no. Probably Gensokyo gets destroyed etc etc.

Or if the author really wants to be a douchecanoe

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ButThouMust

[x] Yes
Ready as she'll ever be. Ready to play cat and mouse with beings that turned treachery into a political system. Ready to face a world were paranoia is a way of life and the only peace to be found is that of the grave. Ready to exit the wonderland and go through the looking glass.
Who will this battle of survival? Our heaven or their hell?
Let's rock

[X] Yes

Time to become an adult, Youmu. Let's do this.

>>50920
I might write up a summary of what happens if Youmu decides against going... after the end of the story. It wouldn't make any sense without spoiling.

That sounds like a copout, I know, but I really do know exactly what happens if anon chooses no.

[x] Yes.

I had refrained from voting earlier. Still, you have obtained my interest. Good luck~.

[X] Yes
Frankly the other response won't continue the story, and this story should continue.

Same guy who did >>50926, Glen you mentioned earlier the vampires here are modified version of oWoD. Does that mean the various Roads/Path (philosophies)/Humanity of vampires will be in effect here? What about the generational thing, are there different generations of vampires?

>>50923

Nah that's cool, I understand that part. Although if you're up for it, would you write any of the Bad Ends we miss? Assuming there are any of course. I actually enjoy the Bad Ends more so than the Good/True Ends most of the time.

>>50930
I'm going to be using the simplified version of the bloodlines as seen in VTMB, mostly because I no longer have a copy of the oWoD book. It'll be pieced together here and there with parts of the book I remember that are relevant, as well as adding for the possibility of vampires like Remilia to exist.

Things like humanity and generations are highly important still, mostly because it was so important in oWoD that you couldn't really go without using them.

>>50931
After the story is done, I'll give it my best shot.

[x] No.

called. Update soonish.

>>50933
I think you can look up their bloodlines and skills on the White Wolf wikis.

I have no idea how this question was formed in my head but... Will there be a chance that Youki will appear in this story? That he went missing and all made me sonder if he maybe could be outside of Gensokyo

You slept like the dead. That might be a joke in poor taste, but in your case it was true. Not even a figment of a dream disturbed your rest.

When you awake the next day, you go about your standard routine: you take your shower, speak to a few spirits, then prepare breakfast. Yuyuko awakens surprisingly early, but you don't find yourself surprised; after all, this will be the last day in a long time you see her. You feel her eyes watching you as you cook the fish.

"So what are you going to do out there?" she asks. "I don't think you'll have time to cook Miss Scarlet breakfast."
"Oh, I don't know," you shrug. "Probably go out and slaughter a few people every day so she can eat."

"Eh?!"
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," you chuckle. "Come on, Lady Yuyuko, let's eat." You set the food down on the smaller table you're normally accustomed to, and when you look up- "Oh, I wasn't aware we were having visitors so soon."

Yukari bows. "Eat up," she says. "Where you're going, you won't have time to stop for a snack. I'll be preparing the teleportation. Oh, and one more thing. Ran!" The kitsune steps out of nowhere, holding a brown sack. "Give Miss Konpaku her new clothes."

"New clothes?" You echo, looking down at your skirt and vest. "What's wrong with my clothes?"

"Outside, they don't wear the same style of clothing," Yukari explains. "You'll be wearing something more contemporary." She reaches in the in the bag and pulls out some black and green clothing. "Here, put these on real quick." You nod, taking the clothing and walking out of the room toward your own bedroom.

You toss the clothes down on the floor and begin to undress, thinking briefly about how this could be the last time you see these clothes. It was funny, but at the same time... well, clothes make the woman. You're known for your outfit just as much as you skills (or lack thereof), so to change clothes would certainly be different.

Oh well. Yukari says you can't go around in your proper outfit, so changing it is. You get down to your underwear and pick up the pants: long black pleated ones with a matching belt. You've never worn actual pants before, so this will definitely be a change for you. As you slip them on, you notice that they're surprisingly mobile, despite being tight. You slip the belt through and buckle it securely. Afterwards is a white button up sleeveless shirt, which is... well, awkward. You've never worn a sleeveless shirt before, so your arms being exposed is odd.

You look at the dark green vest and pick it up. It's almost identical to yours, but a bit darker, and made of a different material... yet, somehow it's hard. You open it up and see many small black plates lining the inside of it.

"Miss Yakumo!" you shout. "What are these black plates?"
"Those make your vest bulletproof!" Comes the answer from Ran. You look back at the plates and shrug. You have no idea why'd you need danmaku-proof armor, but you run with it. You slip on the vest, but don't bother to button it up yet. Instead, you reach for the black jacket and slip it on.

Hm. Well, it doesn't look bad at least.
Ah, well, that's alright too. You grab your swords and wrap the strings around your waist along the belt. Roukanken sticks out a little, but you're okay with that. You head back into the main room.

"Ah, perfect," Ran says, walking up to you and straightening your jacket a little. "Yes, you look like you mostly fit in. Since you'll be dealing with the supernatural, your weapons shouldn't be too much of a problem; people will just assume you're there to defend your Mistress should something go wrong. Just don't go out during the day with them."

"Alright," you nod, and turn to Yuyuko. "How do I look?" The ghost smiles and nods approvingly. "Alright, I guess I'm ready then!"

"Finish eating first, then meet us outside," Ran says, turning and walking out. You sit with Yuyuko.
"Wel..." she begins. "Are you nervous?"

"Yes. Very," you answer. "I've never been outside before."
"You'll need to hide your ghost somehow," Yuyuko points out.
"Oh, that's easy," you say. You turn to look at your ghost half. "Myon, hide." The ghost half swirls around for a second before vanishing almost entirely. Only a small wisp, similar in size to a firefly, remains. "I've been practicing this for a while now."

"I see," Yuyuko nods. "Very good."
"Mm..." is about all you can say as you eat some rice...

-=-

"It's time."

Everyone except Remilia have gathered (also wearing different clothes). You stand in the front, watching as Yukari finishes her spell. She raises her hands, and two massive gaps, easily as tall as her, open, their red eyes looking out at you. "There!"

"Here, Konpaku," Reimu walks up to you and hands you a sphere that fits in your hand. "Take this. It's a miniature version of one of my yin-yang orbs. Not nearly as powerful as a main one, but it should help in a pinch."

"Thanks, Miss Hakurei," you smile. "It'll be a big help."

"...wait!" A distance voice shouts. "I'm coming!"
"Oh dear..." Sakuya palms her face. "She's really bringing them."

What?
In flies Remilia, followed by four fairy maids. "I decided that if I can't have Sakuya, then I'll bring some maids instead!"
"...won't they die?" you ask.

"Nah, they'll be fine!" Remilia says. "Trust me on this-"
Yukari walks past Remilia, toward the fairies. Each one of them is different; one blonde, one brunette, a redhead, and a blue-haired fairy. "...hm... they do look like fairies."

"Who else would they be?" Remilia asks.
"...I was just curious," Yukari answers. "Tell me, is your sister locked away safely?"
"Yeah, she's in the basement. She's been instructed not to leave until I come back."

"...alright," Yukari says. "Well, you need to get going. Say your final goodbyes."

You look at the others. Sakuya and Remilia hug, as do Marisa and Reimu. You can't hear what any of them are saying, but no matter. Sanae waves at Suwako, who wishes her good luck.

Yuyuko walks up to you and hands you a black ribbon. "A spare. Just in case."
"Just in case," you repeat. "...goodbye, Lady Yuyuko."

"Goodbye, Youmu, my love," the two of you share an embrace. "Remember, I'll always be thinking of you."
"And I, you," you say. Yuyuko shudders, and when you pull away, her eyes have tears in them.

"Now go," she says. "Before I make you stay."
"Yes, ma'am!" you reply, smiling at her. You pocket the ribbon, feeling something hard inside; ah, you forgot the dagger. You turn and face the gap. "Miss Scarlet, are you ready?"

"Yes," she answers. "Maids, you go first."
"Yes, ma'am," they say in unison. The four maids step up and walk through the gap.
"Sakuya! Be careful!" Remilia shouts.
"Yes, my Lady!" Sakuya answers. Remilia looks at you, grins, and jumps through the gap. You walk up to the gap, taking in its red eyes. You briefly turn around to see everyone looking back at you.

"Good luck, Miss Youmu," Sakuya says to you.
"Kick some ass!" Marisa shouts, pumping her fist in the air.
"Good luck..." Reimu smiles, bowing slightly.
"I wish you well," Sanae tells you, with a spirited "yeah!" coming from Suwako behind her.
"...be careful," Yuyuko looks at you. "I look forward to your return."

You smile at them, face the gap, and leap in.

-=-=-

After a brief period where you feel the need to puke, you land on your ass in a hard, dark area. All around you are rock-looking walls, with the only light coming from way up above, as the sun begins to rise. You scan the area, noting only Remilia's red eyes as she watches you stand.

"That could have went better," you say, rubbing your sore behind. "Where are we?"
"...home," whispers the vampire. "I'm home..." she looks around. "It's different, but I can feel it. I looked outside of this alleyway. The technology is different, but for the first time, I'm home!" she grins and spins in a circle, then stops to grin at you. "Youmu Konpaku, welcome to Paris!"

"Par...is?" You taste the word. It's... well, very foreign.
"Yes, Paris, my old home before I began the trek to Gensokyo," she replies. "I've always loved it here. The sights, the sounds, the Tower shining in the night... yes, this is everything great about the world."

You nod, unsure. "Wait... where are your maids?"
"Over here," one of them shouts. You turn and see them as they run up and surround you. "We've been waiting for you, Youmu."

Wait. You never told this fairy your name, nor would you allow it to talk you by your first name.
The fairies take note of your confusion and begin to laugh. Remilia too, though quieter. The four fairy maids point and laugh at you harder, noting her anger.

Then three of them disappear. The only one remaining stops laughing and strips off the maid outfit, revealing a pink and red blouse and skirt underneath. You watch as her eyes turn red, her hair blonde... and two Christmas-light wings unfold.

"F... Flandre?!"
The vampire laughs. "You really thought I was gonna miss all the fun?!" she cackles.
"Hell, did you even for one second think I would really need you?" Remilia asks. She takes her sister's hand. "No, Miss Konpaku, we don't need you, nor do we want you around. No, I'm going to do things my way, without that gap youkai breathing down my neck. Flandre and I are finally free, and no one can stop us! No one!" she looks at her sister. "Come, Flandre, let's go enact my plans."

"Yes, dear sister," smiles the blonde vampire. The two of them take to the sky and fly away, faster than you've ever seen them go. You consider chasing them, but you know there's no way that, even if you caught them, you'd be able to find them.

You bite your tongue to stop yourself from cursing and...

-=-=-

[ ] Stick to your mission. You'll take out the vampire leaders even without their help.
[ ] Head for the nearest sealed land... after you figure out where "Paris" is.
[ ] Revenge! Teach those Scarlets not to mess with you. Chase them down.

[x] Revenge! Teach those Scarlets not to mess with you. Chase them down.

>>Flandre and I are finally free, and no one can stop us! No one!

Prove those arrogant vampires wrong.

Wait, what's with this "hiding" stuff... can't Myon turn into a copy of Youmu? Pass off as twins or something.

[x] Revenge! Teach those Scarlets not to mess with you. Chase them down.

I can't even begin to imagine the problems the Scarlet Sisters will cause if let alone - hell, they might even risk the mission's success and trump our chances of returning home!. We'd better put a leash on then and make clear who's the boss here before things get out of control.

>>50948
From what I can tell watching a vid of 12.3, Myon turns into a transparent copy of Youmu, so I don't think that'd work.

Ouch, a problem and a truly hard choice right of the bat in chapter 2? You are not really going easy on us Glen. Sadly as much as I want to go after them, I can't see that choice and the solo choice to be anything else than a early suicide. So I will go with this

[X]Head for the nearest sealed land... after you figure out where "Paris" is.

Oh, by the way.
There appears to be gaping plot holes in this. However, trust me when I say, I've already accounted for that.

When I decided to reread the text I got suspicious that maybe Yukari already knew they weren't fairies

[x] Revenge! Teach those Scarlets not to mess with you. Chase them down.
Step one: find a way to contact Gensokyo and inform them that a) Remilia is AWOL and b) she took Flandre with her.

[X]Head for the nearest sealed land... after you figure out where "Paris" is.

Youmu lost in Paris, mmm... sure.

[x] Revenge! Teach those Scarlets not to mess with you. Chase them down.

>>50956
This.
We should have probably asked for some means of communication before we left. God dammit.

[x] Revenge! Teach those Scarlets not to mess with you. Chase them down.

Barely out of the gate and she's already going AWOL with Flan? Goddamn it.

So what are the odds of us figuring out IC that Yukari knew?

>>50960
Unlikely at best. But one thing's for sure, Youmu won't appreciate that she's been manipulated again by Yukari.

>>50961

Is it that time again?

I think it's that time again.

GODDAMNIT YUKARI!

Well... Welcome to our first test in this long journey. If it is a literal test or not, thst is yet to be seen. Now regarding those gaping plot holes... ?heh)

1-the literal gaping holes. I'm pretty sure the task was to distrupt their operations first and go speak to their leaders later. Easily explained by the plot: they divided to do both at the same time. Although how do you convince them to stop the attack without, at least, a small show of strength is beyond me.
2-Locations: weren't those operations located in Korea,China and/or Siberia? Explained by the previous point if we assume that the camarilla leaders are located in Paris (I don't remember)
3-Flandre is insane and completely unsuited for a task that requires finesse and laying low, even if we assume that she's just gonna act as a bodyguard. Explained by Remi's sentimentality and black tewi (headcannon)
4-Yukari's suspicions. She obviously knew. Hell, anyone who knows her spellcards would suspect 4 unknowns (heh) near Remilia at all times. Explained by Yukari being a manipulative bitch.
5-Remilia's speech. Did she just went "After 500 years I'm free, time to conquer earth" on us? Explained by her love of the dramatic and black tewi again.

So... Well that wasn't much to go on. Guess I'm missing something. Anyway, here's my vote:

[x] Pursue Lu Bu

Even if Youmu thinks she can't catch them (she said so in the last sentence) not even the odds can't stand against an iron will.

Well damn. Right out the gate and we already have a calamity on our hands.

[ x] Revenge! Teach those Scarlets not to mess with you. Chase them down.

I doubt we'll actually catch them, but it might be more productive than a Japanese Girl wandering around Paris. I doubt Youmu knows any French, unless we got a device with a sort of Roestta stone effect.

>>50963
>5-Remilia's speech. Did she just went "After 500 years I'm free, time to conquer earth" on us?

Ah, a girl after my own heart!

>>50966
Well, we do:

>"I'm going to tap into your subconscious," Yukari says (...) "It will allow you to understand the same languages that Remilia does, as well as speak them. She will not know you have this ability, so you must keep it hidden. Only use it in front of her if you absolutely must."

>>50972
Which means, naturally, that Remilia thinks she stranded us in a country where we don't speak the language.

Which means they might get sloppy once they think we've lost their trail.

[x] Revenge! Teach those Scarlets not to mess with you. Chase them down.

Wrangling two loli vampires? Mission accepted.

[x] Revenge! Teach those Scarlets not to mess with you. Chase them down.

I have to ask, how much would Sakuya know of this development?

>>50991
How much do you think Sakuya knows?

[x] Revenge! Teach those Scarlets not to mess with you. Chase them down.

Fuck it. If the Queen Bitch of Gensokyo wants to act all high and mighty, you need to knock her down a peg. You look up toward the predawn sky and make out two red streaks headed toward a large metal tower. You narrow your eyes and gather your energies. Wind begins to swirl around you as you lock on to one of them. You quickly deduce that the best way to take them down is to single them out and kill them individually.

But first, you need to catch up to them. As the debris in the alleyway begins to swirl about you, your eyes glow a bright green.

"Hell Realm Sword..." You begin, kneeling slightly. "Two Hundred Yojana in A Slash!" Your coiled muscles, empowered by magic, act. You leap into the air, flying at nearly the speed of light. As you slash through the air, you spread your arms, moving into a flying tackle as you grab Flandre and plow right into the side of the metal tower. Before the vampire has a chance to react, you grab her by the head as the two of you plummet, dragging her face across the metal behemoth before slamming her headfirst into the pavement below. You forward flip and land on one knee, arms outstretched and breathing heavily.

Behind you, Flandre groans and struggles to stand. You draw the silver dagger in your right hand and Roukanken in your left.

"You made a grave mistake," you tell the vampire. Above you, a mote of bright red light begins to rapidly descend. "I can't beat you at range, Scarlet, but I can most likely beat you in martial combat." You grimace as Flandre barely stands up, her face mangled and one eyeball hanging loosely. She grins as she regenerates from the attack, and in seconds she's back to normal, minus the blood all over her face.

"You want to play?" she taunts darkly. "Then let's play! Laevantein!" Flandre summons her flaming sword and charges you, her sword held out in front of her. You quickly recompose your ghost half and put it between you and the vampire as she impales it. You wrap Myon around her sword, forcing her to shoulder rush you back into the air. She grabs you by hair and hurls you downward, making you crash into a metal plate on the ground. Flandre reaches out toward you and clenches her fist.

You cry with pain as you feel your heart clench. Flandre comes down on you as you struggle to breathe, sending the both of you down into the pit the plate covered... then through the floor under that... then the floor under that. You emerge in a giant tunnel with railroad tracks on it.

You're lucky that as a half-ghost, you take less damage than a normal human. However, your arms feel numb, and you're only partially aware of the fact that the dagger and Roukanken have gone missing. You stand and blindly stumble in the half-lit tunnel, hearing Flandre land behind you.

"You're weak," she taunts. "You're not even worth a portion of my power!"
"I... can still..." you begin. You turn to face her. You start to regain feeling in your left arm and draw Hakurouken. You're not even sure if it can harm her, but you have little choice. You point it at Flandre, who's turning the Roukanken about in her hands. "Give me back... Roukanken..." you breathe.

You're distantly aware of the sound of something moving on the track.

"Oh... this puny thing?" Flandre asks, holding it out toward you. You try to reach for it, taking a weak step toward her. Your blood starts seeping into your eyes, blurring your vision... but you can still see all too clearly as Flandre takes Roukanken in both hands and simply snaps it in two, discarding it like trash. "You realy think that dumb thing can hurt me? I'm invincible!" She draws her sword again and charges you. You barely lift Hakurouken in time to block the attack, but can't react to the roundhouse that follows it, sending you sprawling to the side of the track.

The noise is louder. You try to think of where Remilia might be as you feel Flandre pick you up and throw you down the tunnel. You bounce a few times before coming to rest... near the dagger. You pick it up. "M... Myon..." you whisper. Your ghost half is distant from you, and you get the distinct feeling you now know where Remilia is. A dull pain aches at your senses, as if it weren't your own but at the same time definitely yours.

You hear a flutter as Flandre lands nearby. You reach out and pick up your dagger. "Maybe I can..." you say. You summon all the strength you've got left.

"Hm? What's that you have?" Flandre asks. In one swift motion, you roll over and fling the dagger at her, empowering it with your natural speed. The dagger... impales itself in her stomach. Your blurred vision caused you to miscalculate when you rolled.

Either way, the pain must be immense. The outermost of Flandre's lights suddenly shatter, and the vampiress screams in unholy pain as she grabs at the dagger, trying to pull it out.

That loud noise is accompanied by a light, and you struggle to crawl off of the track. Flandre is too busy crying out, turning her head only briefly as a giant... machine... hits her, dragging her through the tunnel past you. You try to look up and can barely make out human faces as the machine screams by like some sort of underground demon. The sound hurts your ears and causes you to grab your head in pain as you finally manage to stand. You grab Hakurouken and lean up against the wall of the tunnel. Taking a scant few steps forward, you fall into an open doorway.

In the tunnel, you hear a screech, and you look at the contraption suddenly lurches to a stop, caving in on itself and exploding in a spectacular fashion. Pieces of metal and debris (...and human parts?) go bouncing around the tunnel, and you think for a moment you can hear Flandre's anguished cry. You drop to avoid a spear-like shard of metal that impales itself into the wall, and crawl a few more feet into the hallway the door led into. You round a corner and find another door, which leads into what appears to be a maintenance room of sorts. You don't recognize much, but there are many boxes with a lightning bolt symbol on them.

"....Myon...." you say again. Your ghost half feels suddenly distant, and you realize that Remilia must have somehow managed to capture it and now has... well, half of you in her possession. You manage to sit up and put your back to the wall.

In one swift motion, you've managed to get your ass handed to you by Flandre Scarlet, lost Roukanken, lost the silver dagger, and failed to kill either vampire. You can't help but feel like you've failed in the most spectacular fashion possible.

You work on recovery; being a half-human half-ghost, you can recover faster than a normal human. The injuries don't heal, but you can ignore them for a while. You'll still need to see what passes for a doctor at some point... but with no money, you have no idea how to pay for it. There's still the original mission to do, on top of either killing or stopping Remilia and Flandre. Also, people will be showing up to see what happened to their machine, and you don't want to be here when that happens.

Lady Yuyuko... you think. What should I do?

[ ] Continue to chase Remilia and Flandre. It's a quest of vengeance now.
[ ] Go back to your primary mission. Chances are yours and Remilia's quests will converge. You'll deal with it then.
[ ] Let's focus on healing and reporting home. This mission just got a lot more complicated.

Should I add a Paragon/Renegade bar for Youmu?

[x] Let's focus on healing and reporting home. This mission just got a lot more complicated.

Welp.

[x] Let's focus on healing and reporting home. This mission just got a lot more complicated.

So barely a day in and we've had our ass kicked, Roukanken snapped in half, and our ghost-half captured by Remilia? No rest for the weary, I suppose.

Continuing on is pretty foolish, and going back to the mission in our condition is equally so. Let's rest for now, gather our bearing, and hope that Yukari has damn good excuse for all this.

...Damn.

This is going to sound crazy, but... I don't think there's any way we can accomplish the mission itself. Especially if we assume Sakuya is working for Remilia.

So what about working around the situation entirely? Find a way to get humans to stop not believing in y?kai, so that there's no longer a need for these sealed spaces.

Forgot to sage again. Oops - here's my vote:

[X] Let's focus on healing and reporting home. This mission just got a lot more complicated.

And if our reaction didn't fit in with whatever the hell Yukari is playing at, well, that's what they get for not letting us in on the plan. We made a judgement call that Remilia was turning against us, and acted according to what Yukari told us to do in that situation.

Well, almost. We screwed up by attacking Flandre first instead of Remilia.

[ x] Let's focus on healing and reporting home. This mission just got a lot more complicated.

. . . Well then. I can't say I didn't see this going well, but damn, you don't play around Glen.

We're in no condition to fight anyone.

But you know, it's moments like this where heroes rise and fall. Let's get this half phantom standing.

[X] Let's focus on healing and reporting home. This mission just got a lot more complicated.

Yeah. We really, really need to regroup.

[x] Let's focus on healing and reporting home. This mission just got a lot more complicated.
Why so aggressive? Goddamnit.

[X] Let's focus on healing and reporting home. This mission just got a lot more complicated.

Alright, so maybe Youmu wasn't completely thinking things through since she already knew and admitted the Scarlets were stronger than her. We bit off more than we can chew, let's take some steps to get her back up and running.

Damn phone wont copy right now.

[X]3rd vote, recover from injuries etc etc.
-[x]If possible, recover shattered sword and silver dagger.

Also yes to Paragon/Renegadefor life yo. bar.

[X] Let's focus on healing and reporting home. This mission just got a lot more complicated.

Wait a minute. you think. I can too see! How did that go, though? You think to the past, what Yuyuko said about your two halves. That's it!

"Mind Shift, Sight to Sightless," you whisper. Instantly, you feel your soul pull out of your body and sink into Myon's, the two of you briefly becoming whole again. You open Myon's "eyes" and look around.

Remilia has your ghost half trapped in some sort of magic box, you decide. There are six magic circles, one for each "side", which glow faintly with her magic. You notice that they all contain spells to contain the dead. You watch as Remilia carries you toward the front of the machine, where Flandre floats. In her hands are the heads of two of the passengers. "Flan! What are you doing?" Remilia shouts.

"Ah, sister!" Flandre grins and drops the heads, returning to Remilia's side. "Hey, can you help me with this?" she gestures toward the dagger still embedded in her stomach. "That nasty ghost girl threw it at me and now it's stuck. My powers don't seem to work on it,"

"It's enchanted," Remilia says. "However, I can still..." Remilia grabs the dagger's hilt. "Deep breaths, Flan," she says. Flan nods and closes her eyes. "On 3. One-" Remilia yanks the dagger out. Flandre cries and grabs her belly.

"Sis, that wasn't 3!" she cries.
"You would have tensed up, Flan," Remilia explains, tossing the dagger aside. "Now come, let's get you cleaned up. Hey, I brought you a pet! See?" she holds up the box with you/Myon in it. "Unfortunately, you did cause a mess, though, so we'll have to hurry up and get out of here."

"What about those guys?" Flandre asks, though you have no idea who she's referring to. "Do you think Miss Yukari suspects anything?"

"Oh, she probably knows you're here," Remilia admits. The two begin to fly down the tunnel. "However, she probably figured the only way to get my cooperation would be to allow you to come. Too bad she doesn't know that Sakuya is in on it as well."

"Oh, is Sakuya going to kill the others?" Flandre asks, grinning.
"Don't be so hasty," Remilia answers. Her voice gets a bit muffled as they get farther away. "Sakuya has other pns f tm. Kn le..."

Your soul snaps back to your body. The sudden whiplash causes you to cough and wheeze, and you spit out some blood. Slowly, you crawl from under the wreckage. As you stand, you decide to go get the dagger. You can sense Roukanken's presence, but it's under the wreck, so there's no way you'll be getting it anytime soon. Hopefully you can return before it's too late to retreive it. You use your magic to fly again, floating up above the wreckage and easily finding the silver dagger. You sheathe it and hide it on the inside of your jacket.

Turning around, you fly back toward the end of the wreck, land, and start walking down the tunnel. You decide that it would be best not to be here when rescuers show up.

Another service tunnel opens up to your left, and you limp inside. You can hear a distant siren, but can't tell where it's coming from. You head through the tunnel, eventually coming to a ladder. You climb the ladder and, with a blast of magic, shove the metal plate aside. You climb out of the hole.

It's now daylight. The sun rises, striking the tower you and Flandre briefly fought at. The alleyway you emerge in is quiet, save for a few homeless people, and you ignore them as you limp your way down it, avoiding eye contact. As you reach the end, however, you realize things would not be so easy. Hiding in the shadows, all you see beyond the alleyway are streets packed full of strange machines and people... more people than you'd ever seen before. You think briefly before coming to an idea; you adjust Hakurouken to hide underneath your jacket, then button it up. It's cold enough here that no one would question it, and a quick view of yourself in a broken mirror betrays no obvious bleeding, though you do look a bit rough.

No matter. You take a deep breath and make your way onto the sidewalk, doing to best to try and not draw attention to yourself. You walk as normally as you can, despite your body's protestations, and figure out where to go. Certainly, there's got to be a library somewhere...

-=-=-

A few aimless hours of wandering later, you come across a bookstore. You slip inside and greet the proprieter politely, asking for a simple map of the city. He points you in the right direction before returning to his newspaper.

You make your way toward the section labeled "Atlas"... and realize that, although Yukari gave you the ability to speak the Parisians' language, she did not give you the ability to read their language. You curse the gap youkai again and flip through the book, taking in pictures and maps of the city you commit to memory the best you can. You take note that there's at least one... Cathedral"... nearby, replete with religious symbols adorning it. The religion is different, but from what you understand, even foreign religions have some sort of spiritual advisor. You could use them to contact home, perhaps.

You continue "reading", just to be sure. There's also some sort of shop nearby thats adorned with Japanese motifs, but a cursory glance of it reveals it to be just a restaurant... although the symbol of the restaurant's name looks suspiciously similar to a Hakurei talisman. It seems unlikely, but it's your best shop.

Further perusing of the guide to the city reveals that, some distance away - probably several hours walk, compared to the other two - is a Buddhist temple. You don't recognize the face, but the monk there seems to be a good candidate for talking to.

But damn that's a long walk.

"Oi, you alright back there missy?" the man shouts from the front of the store.
"Ah, I'm fine, yes!" You reply. You here a scuffle as you put the book back. The old man walks toward you.
"Ma'am, you're bleeding," he says worriedly.
"Eh?" You look yourself over.

"Your head, missy," the man says, pointing at your forehead. "Nasty cut, too. Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah, I just... fell, is all," you lie, smiling and going to walk past him... and unceremoniously collapse onto the floor.

"...is that a sword under your jacket?"
You roll over and sit up, smiling sheepishly. "Uh... you wouldn't believe me if I told you?" you offer.

The man grins. "I doubt that, missy," he says. "I've been in Paris all my life, since my old man fought in the Great War, and I've seen just about everything there is to see here. But," he helps you up. "You seem like too nice a girl to be carrying around something like that."

"I..." you look away, thinking. "I'm a... vampire hunter, if you must know." There, now he'll think I'm crazy and-
"Ha!" the man barks, deep and throaty. "Well, you came to the right place!" He waves his arm toward the city. "Damn place is infested with the fuckers. I keep telling people not to go out at night, but no one believes me! Seen the bastards myself, I have! Walking around looking all businesslike, but then they smile, and you see those fangs... and yeah, sometimes they just feed on people, right in the street!" he shakes his head in disgust. "You look like you've already fought one."

"Yeah... it didn't end well," you answer. "She was strong... too strong for me," you look out the windows toward the city. "I have to contact home before I do anything else. My mission has been... made more difficult."

"I have a phone," says the old man.
"No, I need... something else," you say after thinking. "A phone won't do," you don't even know what a phone is. "I have to... get somewhere very spiritual to contact home."

"Talking to God are we?" asks the man. "Well, there's no one better to have on your side than the man upstairs when dealing with those bastards, if you ask me!" he chuckles. "There's a church nearby. Do you want me to give you a ride there?"

[ ] No, thank you.
[ ] Actually, I'm heading to the Buddhist temple nearby.
[ ] I was actually thinking that I needed to eat first. There's a Japanese restaurant within walking distance.

[ ] Actually, I'm heading to the Buddhist temple nearby.

Man, it'd suck if this guy turned out to be under the influence of a vampire. I'm wary, but we need to report to HQ.

[X] Actually, I'm heading to the Buddhist temple nearby.

So, Sakuya's going rogue too? Wonderful.

[X] Actually, I'm heading to the Buddhist temple nearby.

Sounds good. Though we need to find a way to properly heal our injuries

[X] Actually, I'm heading to the Buddhist temple nearby.

Damn. If I had voted in the last choice, I would've voted against the paragon/renegade thing so hard.
There's not a single person out there doing things that we consider "Bad" who calls themselves evil. Plus I don't see why we should now restrict our character development to those choices.

[X] I was actually thinking that I needed to eat first. There's a Japanese restaurant within walking distance.

~

[X] Actually, I'm heading to the Buddhist temple nearby.

Not sure, but I think this is the best bet, overall.

And yeah, I wish I'd been around to vote against the meter thing. I just don't like our choices being evaluated,like that, like we have to do everything it such a way to keep an alignment. Oh well. I'll deal with it.

[ ] Actually, I'm heading to the Buddhist temple nearby.

Gotta say this is our best option. French guy sounds cool, hope he's someone on our side.

Also how did our previous option get us more Renegade points?!

[x] Actually, I'm heading to the Buddhist temple nearby.

Something still doesn't fit, namely the reason for the whole betrayal in the first place and her plans for all this. Is she still fighting for Gensokyo while furthering her own agendas, is she just using the whole incident as an excuse to get out of Gensokyo, or is she simply just doing all this without Yukari over her shoulder? Another possibility is that she's been a traitor since the very beginning.

[x] No, thank you.
Fishy as fuck.

Anyway, Remilia probably knew about Myon's connection with Youmu so who knows if Sakuya is truly into them scheme or not? My money's on yes, obviously.

Also, while things look bad, we immediatly discovered her betrayal and its extent (the fact that she tried to kill us means that she is far too gone to be useful to Gensokyo) so it's not ALL bad.

Vote called.
It's interesting seeing what everyone things. I encourage you guys to keep an open mind and remember that, given the influence on this story by other sources, to keep thinking about what's going on and to never take anything at face value.

As such, because of that, and yes, due to popular request, I'll go ahead and drop the karma meter. If you wish, you can keep personal tabs and see if the end result matches up with what you think Youmu will be by the end of the story.

>>51058
Goddamnit I put sage in the wrong field for like the fifteenth time.

This may be one hell of a stretch but? Maybe this is going after plan? But Remilias own plan that is. Instead of getting rid of us in the beginning when knowing maybe we could be a bother she just left with a single big taunt. We took the bait again (just like when Yukari taunted us) and attacked them. We don't use spellcard rules here so we need to rely on our abilities that we have. If you think about it, Flandre could just have exploded us right about now laughing her as of but instead charges into melee with a samurai (giving us a chance?). When we get down into the tunnel and getting ourselves pummeled by Flan Flan she could have once again just ended everything and exploded our human part Youmu right from the surface of earth. But instead she taunted us and got quite a lot of unexpected damage. We hide ourselves from the vampires and spy on them with our ghostly part. But instead of destroying our ghost which she maybe (I'm not saying that she knows but she maybe guessed Youmu can see from her ghostly self?) knew that Youmu could see from it she just let it be as Flandres ?new pet?. Not only do they not destroy Myon but they didn't even try to get rid of the silver dagger that we attacked Flandre with. At least I wouldn't think it was ok to just leave the most potential thing to kill me around in Paris so that a certain someone could pick it up.

So maybe (just maybe), this is only a plan that will make the enemy vampires think that Remi and Flan have betrayed Gensokyo (the vampires could have servants that watched after all) and is actually just tricking their heads of? And maybe the reason Remilia doesn't want Youmu as a direct bodyguard is to make the enemy feel more at ease when they negotiate with other vampires that originally also came from Paris (like Remi said). If so then I bet Youmu won't be so happy to be this manipulated again. Damn this was the longest post I've ever made?.

>>51060
The enemy is unaware of Reimu so this double buff doesn't make sense. And everyone is weaker here so I wager Flandre's kyuu doesn't work.

Try to focus: Remilia is the enemy now. And now, it is personal (literally, she has half-captured Youmu)

>>51061
Yes, yes. I said maybe so I meant it could just be a possibility. But I don't remember that I ever mentioned Reimu in my theory?

>>51062
Reimu = Youmu. The enemy is unaware of Youmu's job as a bodyguard so tricking them about something they don't know/care about is kind of silly.

Please don't ask how I confused Reimu with Youmu.

[x]Actually, I'm heading to the Buddhist temple nearby.

"Oh, no thanks," you wave your hand. "I'm actually heading to a Buddhist temple not far from here. One of my friends back home is a Buddhist, so I'm hoping to contact her that way."

"Ah, well," the old man shrugs. "Are you sure? Nearest temple is about a three hour walk, missy. And you don't look so hot."

"No, I'll be fine," you insist. You begin walking to the door, this time with a little bit more grace. "Thank you though."
"Well... alright," the man says. He puts the map guide back in its correct place. "If you ever need some help, though, can you remember this place?"

"Yes, I think so," you nod. "I appreciate it."
"The name's Brian, by the way."

"Bri...an..." you taste the name. It's weird, but not the Remilia sort of weird.
"Yeah, it's an English name," says the old man. "My family's originaly from Wales." You nod as if you had any idea what he's talking about.

"My name is Konpaku Youmu," you reply. "I'm from... Tokyo."
"Ah, Japan's capital?" The man nods. "Nice place. I visited it back around the late 80s, early 90s. Met a nice woman there at one of those Shinto Shrines. Kochiya, I think her name was. She was pregnant, but still a beaufitul woman." He smiles at the memory.

Hm. That's a bit too much of a coincidence. You decide it's time to leave. "Thank you, sir," you say a bit nervously. "I'll be taking my leave now."

"Good bye then, Miss Youmu. Be careful out there," he grins.

-=-=-

You exit the bookstore and head right. The fastest route would be to head left, but you suddenly have grown suspicious. There is no way that, in a city of this size, you come across someone who, even peripherally, has some connection to Gensokyo. An old man who just happened to meet Sanae's mother on his one trip to Tokyo? You don't think so. Either there's a greater force at work here or, more disturbingly, it ties back to Remilia... somehow.

Either way, there's no time to think about it. You duck through an alleyway, hoping you memorized the map of the city correctly. Coming out the other side, you pull the collar of your jacket up and look down, occasionally glancing up to make sure you didn't run into anyone. As you do so, you realize that... well, Marisa would be at home here. Alice too, perhaps. Many of these people air blonde like them, with wide eyes and slim figures, yet also tall. You've always considered where they could possibly be from - Marisa claims that her old man came from "the West" - and you decide that maybe this "Paris" could be a good spot for their origins.

You chastise yourself. Paris is like Tokyo in Japan, you consider; it's just a city in a larger country. You try to stop thinking of Paris itself as the country, but with all these people... well, they could populate all of Gensokyo twice over. It does make you wonder what Tokyo or Kyoto look like nowadays, even though all you've ever seen of them are pictures and stories from Yuyuko and your grandfather. Either way, you consider maybe visiting those cities sometime in the future.

Assuming you have a future, of course.

No matter; focusing on the now is what's important. You've been holding off the pain in your body for a while now, but you still hurt - medical attention is still necessary. Hopefully, the temple will have some sort of... you don't know, some sort of magic healer on staff. The chances may as well be zero, but one can hope. At the very least, you should be able to use the innate supernatural energies in the temple to contact home, even if few of the people there actually believe.

At least, you hope so. You sigh and look around briefly. To most people in this city, you may as well not exist; which is fine to you, of course, because you don't want to be seen. You do get the occasional glance, but you kinda expect it; after all, a Japanese girl with white hair and green eyes isn't exactly normal.

Instead, it's the longer-than-normal stares that begin to bother you. The first time you notice it is turning a corner, when you bump into a tall man wearing a longcoat. You apologize and scoot past him, but as you do so you can easily feel his eyes burning into your back, and a quick glance behind you reveals much as you suspected. Even though he's wearing sunglasses, it's immediately obvious to anyone paying attention that he's looking right at you. You decide to make yourself scarce and duck into the cafe you're walking by.

"Good morning!" A proprieter greets. You politely give one back and make your way to the ladies room. As you enter, you look back toward the doorway and see the same man from earlier standing in front of it, talking to a strange device he's holding up to his face. You shut the door and lock it, turn off the lights, open the privacy window, and slip through. You quickly find your bearings and walk out of the alleyway you dropped into. Coming out at one end puts you on the same sidewalk you were just on, with the man staring intently into the cafe. You turn and walk the other way, cross the street, round a corner, and walk into yet another alleyway.

When you come out, you're no closer to your destination than you were before, but at least the strange man is nowhere to be found. You briefly wonder what it was he was talking into, but as you look around, you notice many people on similar devices, also talking in their peculiar language. "Perhaps it's some sort of recording device," you decide. "Or some form of communication, perhaps?"

Whatever. You begin walking toward the direction of the Buddhist temple... but as you pass by a bench, two women on it turn and watch you all too intently. As you decide to hurry up, one of them stands. "Ma'am," one of them begins.

Nope.
You walk faster. Your right ankle protests the sudden increase in movement, followed by the rest of your body, but you don't care.

"Wait!" You hear behind you. "Miss, come back, I need you to come with us!"

Nope. Nope nope nope. You wonder if up and flying away would be prudent, but even a cursory attempt causes sharp pains to shoot through your body. You're still too weak to even fly.

One of the women catches up to you and spins you around. You face a blonde woman with blue eyes and a strange five-star tattoo on her face. "Ma'am, you need to come with us. Please-"

You punch her in the nose. It's the only thing you can think of to do, but it staggers the woman long enough to break her hold on you. Suppressing the pain, you decide to run. You break through the crowds of people and make it to an alleyway, hiding behind a long metal object with trash in it and pulling out the dagger. Holding it close, you peer around the side of the object. You see the two women run by, oblivious to where you hid.

You sigh. This trip is going to take longer than you thought originally. Sheathing the dagger, you stand up and walk to the end of the alleyway. Your body punishes you for the effort you just made, but you grit your teeth and pay it no mind. Poking your head out reveals an empty sidewalk, and on the road those strange vehicles ferry people back and forth.

You take a moment to look around. You still need to get to the Buddhist temple. It's the best thing to do, in this situation. Looking left, you see a lone figure with an umbrella walking toward you. To your immediate right is one of those metal plates that cover the underground. Across the street is the entrance to those tunnels that you were in earlier that morning. You know that directly ahead from your position is the temple; you recognize street names. But it's still a good two, maybe two and a half hours walking the streets of Paris.

The underground is slower, but safer. The vehicles in the tunnels will get you there quickly, but if you get cornered down there it might get brutal. You look back at the figure under the pink umbrella-

Wait a minute. No. No fucking way. There's no way she knows you're here! How does she even hide her wings?!

Hold on... you take a deep breath and step back into the alleyway. Remilia hasn't noticed you yet. She talking to someone standing next to her, a tall man with sunglasses. Still, the chances of her running into you at a completely random place are slim to none.

You think back. What did Yuyuko tell you her power was? Manipulating fate? Maybe she's trying to set it up to where she runs into you while you're weak, making it easy to finish you off. Or maybe she's just messing with you.

You peek your head around the corner. Remilia has stopped walking, arguing with the tall man instead. Now is a good a chance as any.

[ ] The metal plate. Get underground.
[ ] The tunnels. Also underground, and a sureshot way to get away from Remilia.
[ ] Just run. Run across the street. Maybe out in the open she wouldn't dare to try and kill you.

[X] Tunnels and the train choice.

First off, fuck my phone. Cant even copy what I selected.

Second, this is gonna be a risk for sure and I'm still hesitant on travelling this way. We do need to get the hell outta Dodge now though. I'm a little worried about money. How do we pay for the tickets?

[X] The tunnels. Also underground, and a sureshot way to get away from Remilia.
I'm not choosing the sewers because if this story has even an inkling of oWoD, that place is going to be infested with vampires.

[X] The tunnels. Also underground, and a sureshot way to get away from Remilia.

Fair enough.

[X] The tunnels. Also underground, and a sureshot way to get away from Remilia.

Best option of the three, not that any of them are particularly wonderful. This mainly avoids Remilia and the sewers. Which cannot possibly be good.

>>51091
But they're nosferatu! Mostly.

[x] The tunnels. Also underground, and a sureshot way to get away from Remilia.

[X] The tunnels. Also underground, and a sureshot way to get away from Remilia.

We can farm the alligators that people flush down the toilet for exp and rare drops.

>>51100
And what if they decide to turn Youmu? Yeah I'm not going down that route just yet.

[x] The tunnels. Also underground, and a sureshot way to get away from Remilia.

You decide to head for the tunnels. Trying to act as if you haven't a care in the world, you walk the best you can across the street, pausing only to let a small child walk beside his mother, and put a foot down on the first step. You look up and see that Remilia still hasn't looked your way. Taking this as a sign, you head the rest of the way down.

You can hear the roar of the machines (called "metro lines", you think) deep within the tunnel as you walk toward some strange barricades. You notice people putting small pieces of paper into a slot that allows them to pass through them. Strange, you think. It would be much easier to just fly or jump over them. It must be a way of gaining passage legally, you decide. If you have a piece of paper, you are allowed to pass onto the metro line... thing.

You walk up to some odd looking machine with a brightly glowing window, displaying for you some writing in Parisian... or whatever the language here is called. You poke at it, but can't make a word out of it. You do manage to find a map though, and from there you determine the nearest stop closest to the Buddhist temple. It appears to be a trip of only a few minutes. You nod to yourself and push the most random series of words you can think of, hoping for a response.

The window thing shows you a screen of various other forms of writing, all in languages you can't understand... except for the bottom write, displaying writing in hiragana. You grin and hit the button. Suddenly, everything makes sense... well, sorta. Apparently the metro line is the name of the whole track. The things are called "trains", and you need to pay for a ticket to board said train. You have to pay with something called a "credit card", though, which you've never ever heard of; the only cards you've seen lately are playing cards and spellcards. You reach into your vest pocket and pull out one of them.

No, this won't do as a credit card. Apparently they have sort of black strip on the back, whereas yours just has the name of the spell on the front, and your name on the back. Unlike, say, Marisa, your spellcards were never really flashy.

"Need some help?" A voice asks behind you. "Looks like that card won't do. Looks old,"
You nod. "I just need to figure out how to pay for this."
"Ah," I see. The female voice is French, you realize. You thank Yukari silently for the help. "Tell you what, since you're obviously new here; I'll pay for your ticket, just this once."

"Really?" You turn to thank the person you're talking to. "Thank y-"
You're staring at Flandre Scarlet. Before you can react, she holds up a hand. "Don't," she says. "Just. Don't."

What?
"In case you forgot," you begin. "We just tried to kill each other not even twelve hours ago." The vampiress sighs. You notice that's she's not wearing her normal attire. Instead she's got on a white shirt with a pink vest and black jacket, wish a long black dress. Her hat is gone as well. She's holding a black umbrella to go with her attire.

She's actually kinda cute in that getup, you decide. It doesn't change the fact that she just tried to kill you earlier. "And you know, you started it."

"I started it?" you retort. "I didn't just turn my back on my homeland and decide to do what I wanted instead of the mission I was assigned to do."

"Hey, I didn't start it," Flandre shrugs. She walks to a bench and sits down. "I'm just going along with Sis's plans. Last night I just thought I'd have some fun," You sign and sit down next to her; only with people from Gensokyo is it unsurprising to have a calm chat with someone who's throat you were just at.

"You broke my sword," you point out.
"Oh, yeah, Sis has it now," Flandre responds. She leans back and stares at the ceiling with a bored expression on her face. "Said somehing about holding on to it until you can grow up and leave us alone."

"And my ghost-half?"
"Hey, don't ask me about that," Flandre shrugs. "Remi said it was my new pet, but I haven't seen it since."

You feel a swell of anger but bite it down. "So, it's no coincidence you just happened to be here," you say. "And Remilia is just outside. You guys have been following me."

"No, Sis doesn't know we're down here," Flandre answers. "But I've been following you."
"But why?" You press. "Looking for a rematch?"
"Actually..." Flandre looks a bit sad. "I want to go home. Sis promised that I'd get to have fun, but after our fight, she said, 'Flandre, you can't go around destroying things. My plans require finesse and subtlety.' And then she..." the girl pauses. She looks around for a second then turns her body to face you. Craning her neck sideways, she pulls her vest and shirt down, showing you the edge of some sort of magic circle.

"What... is that?" you ask.
"When Sis contacted the vampire society around here, they remembered the name Scarlet," answers the vampire. "They also remember when we decided that we were done with them. So, they agreed to let us in... but only if they could seal my powers."

"Seal your powers?" I echo. Flandre nods.
"I can't even fly anymore," she looks down. "I am completely useless... and something tells me that Sis knew this would happen. I don't know..." she makes a whining sound. "I think I've been used for something. Remi knew that this would happen, I just know it. She let them do this to me! She stood by and watched while their blood magi sealed off my powers!" she holds out her hand, concentrating; a brief mote of light shows up, then promptly vanishes. I look around, and no one seems to notice. "I feel so... used."

"I... I can understand that," you answer. "So, what's Remilia's game here?"
"I don't know," Flandre says. "She doesn't tell me, and even if she did, I wouldn't understand it. See, after we were turned, one of us got to finish her education. The other one didn't go past the grade-school level. Nope, the other one got to sit in the basement." Her tone of voice is bitter. Being back outside must have made Flandre realize how bad she had it. The girl sighs. "All she'll tell me is that... Gensokyo and the world will be a better place after her plans come into fruition."

"I find that hard to believe," you say.
"Well... I believe in her," Flandre responds. "I mean, she's my sister, and we're the only two Scarlets there are. She wouldn't use me as a bargaining chip and forget about me, right? I mean, she's been ignoring me ever since because she's busy, right? She sealed off my powers because I'm dangerous, so she could work in peace, right?"

"I..." you look down. "I don't know. She didn't even leave you a method for defending yourself?"
"No, but during the day that's not really necessary," Flandre answers. "However at night, Sis says that I have to go to this place. They'll lock me up and make sure no one gets me," suddenly she laughs. "Isn't that ironic? Regain your freedom from Gensokyo and that damn basement, only to get locked up in another?" her smile fades. "Sis'll be really mad when she finds out I talked to you."

"Then don't tell her," you reply honestly.
"She'll find out anyway," Flandre says, jerking her head to the side. "There's a little homeless dude that way, been watching us ever since we started talking. Probably one of their Ghouls. A Malkavian one, probably..."

"Malkavian?"
"Don't worry about that," Flandre stands up and hands you a small card with a black strip on the back. "Here, take this. It'll help you buy some things, but there's not a lot on it. You should be at least able to get your ticket and something to eat. Misss Konpaku..." she looks intently at you. "I don't know you're mission - Sis dragged me out of the basement without much in the way of explanation - but if it's important to Gensokyo, please see it through."

"It might cross paths with Remilia, and not in a good way," you tell her. Flandre shakes her head.
"That's something the two of you have to work out... but," when she looks at you, she appears very sad. "I just want to go home-"

"Miss Scarlet!" a tall man suddenly shows up, looking none too friendly. "You know you shouldn't be talking to strangers! Come, let's get you home."

"...yes," Flandre nods to the man. Looking at you, she smiles and says, "Good bye, Miss! Your French is amazing!"

French?
Oh, crap. You give her a look, but instead of the mischevious look Remilia would give you, Flandre just... looks sad. As she's led away by the tall man, she gives you one last look over her shoulder, and the two start up the stairs.

Briefly you wonder how Flandre is hiding her wings, but then when you think about it, you don't think you want to know. You stare at the card Flandre handed you. It has her name on it, you think; you still can't read French. You go back to the terminal thing and buy a ticket to a station far past the Buddhist temple, just in case Remilia can track it. A weird type of food and drink dispenser is nearby; you purchasae a sandwich and some sort of canned drink, then throw the card in the nearest trash bin.

As you walk through the barrcades, you realize that you could feel Myon nearby when you were talking to Flandre, which faded as she walked off. The problem was that Myon was clearly nowhere nearby. You consider that as the train pulls up. Some people disembark while you and a few others get on. It's probably a good thing this one wasn't havily trafficked, you decide. Or maybe it is, and the events from earlier today have made people suspicious.

Either way, you open your drink and take a sip. Hmm, fruity. As the train gets underway, you consider if Flandre was telling the truth. She doesn't seem like the type to lie, but she could be seeing everything through... however it is she sees things. Maybe you should have just killed her then, but you doubt that you could have killed her, even if she really is missing her powers. She's still got a vampire's strength and speed, and you're still injured.

You take a bite of the sandwich and grimace slightly. It's definitely not good, but at least its tolerable. You also need to get Roukanken and Myon back from Remilia... and then you need to deal with the Queen Bitch of Gensokyo. You also need to figure out what hand Yukari has in all this. And somehow, you want to check on the other team, somewhere in Asia.

Either way, everything starts at the Temple. It doesn't take long for the train to stop at the station nearest. You step off of the train there, looking back and forth to make sure no one is looking at you funny. You finish your drink and throw it in the can, and head up the stairs. The Buddhist temple is within eyesight. Finally, a break your way! You begin heading toward the temple.

As you head there, though, you realize... who are you going to contact, assuming you can? It only takes you a few minutes to reach the temple. You open the front doors slowly, poking your head inside. "Um... hello?" you ask in Japanese. A young man dressed in Buddhist robes shows up after a time.

"Greetings, ma'am?" He bows. His Japanese is a little rough, but passable. "Would you like to make a donation to the temple?" You chuckle on the inside. It's a lot like Reimu.

"Sorry, but, I was actually wondering if you had a side room I could use?"
"For what purpose?"
"Ah, meditation, of course," you tell the young man. He seems to accept that and leads you into a small room about the size of your bedroom. As he leaves you, you get on your knees in the center of the room and close your eyes. Clasping your hands in front of you, you feel for the temple's latent spiritual energies. This temple is full of the stuff; obviously, the monks haven't been using it. You should easily be able to contact Gensokyo, assuming someone is on the other side. It'll have to be a similar place, though, so no Hakugyokurou, meaning Yuyuko's out.

You focus. Gensokyo feels so distant. But you can feel it. You can even feel a presence over there. But... who is it...

[ ] Reimu Hakurei, Shinto
[ ] Byakuren Hijiri, Buddhist
[ ] Miko Toyosatomimi, Taoist

[x] Byakuren Hijiri, Buddhist

Seems the most obvious connection.

[x] Byakuren Hijiri, Buddhist
You are in a Buddhist temple after all. It would be the only logical choice.

[X] Byakuren Hijiri, Buddhist
Buddhist temple, Buddhist figure

[x] Miko Toyosatomimi, Taoist
He (She) has touched many temples like this in his lifetime. Besides, with her reading our desires, we save a lot of time in exposition

[x] Seiga Kaku, Taoist

Because Seiga might be able to send Yoshika to "help", and if there's anything people on the outside are likely to start believing in, it's zombies.

[x] Reimu Hakurei, Shinto

Wouldn't this be the best way to funnel information to Yukari?

You know, I can't help but feel sorry for Flandre here. Assuming this isn't another big trick, Remilia basically just used her as a bargaining chip. "cooperate, and I'll let you seal her powers.' And Flandre KNOWS this, deep down, but she keeps following her sister because she just doesn't have any other options.

Kinda makes Youmu sympathize, huh? Also makes the renegade path more appealing: the simple desire to not be USED anymore.

[x] Byakuren Hijiri, Buddhist

[x] Reimu Hakurei, Shinto

~

well since the site decided to crash I won't be updating tonight. I'll have it ready by tomorrow though.

[x] Byakuren Hijiri, Buddhist

I'm sure she'll understand.

[x ] Byakuren Hijiri, Buddhist

Fits more I guess.

Oh man I thought it was just my computer that was having problems with the site.

[x] Byakuren Hijiri, Buddhist

It would make sense that a Buddhist temple would easily contact a Buddhist. As you feel your spirit connecting to Gensokyo, a familiar presence greets you; that same presence that's everpresent in Gensokyo. It's always been said that it's Gensokyo's dragon god, but you don't know, nor do you really care right now. You feel yourself flying across familiar landscapes, reaching the Myouren temple at the speed of thought, and passing through the double doors.

The sheer speed of crossing such a distance makes you feel a bit woozy. Astral Projection has never been something you were fond of, having helped Alice with it once as an attempt to foster friendly relations between her and Yuyuko. The experience... wasn't pleasant. The first time you couldn't stop throwing up. The second time was only marginally better.

Either way, the experience at least taught you to manifest yourself clearly enough to be seen.

Byakuren is already standing on the other side of the doors when you arrive. "Ah, Miss Konpaku," she greets with a smile. "It appears you've figured out a way to contact home?"

"Yes, but I don't know how long it will last," you tell the monk. "I doubt I have muc time though. Miss Hijiri, please listen to me!" you take a deep breath. "My mission to the Outside has been compromised. Remilia Scarlet has turned against us, just as Miss Yakumo feared."

"Ah..." Byakuren looks down, her brow furrowed in thought. "...as she feared, or as she planned, Miss Konpaku?"
"I'm not sure yet," you answer. "She's also got Flandre Scarlet with her, though."
"I see, I see," Byakuren nods and turns her back to you. "Miss Konpaku, what is it you need?"
"I need to figure out what Miss Scarlet's next move is," you tell her. "I also need help, if any can be provided. If Miss Yakumo is aware of this, I sincerely doubt Lady Yuyuko is, because she wouldn't want me in this kind of danger. I've already fought Flandre Scarlet and lost."

Byakuren nods again. "But you seem to be alive, so that's what matters."
You look down. "I've lost... Roukanken and my ghost half."
The monk turns around, apparently her thinking complete.

"Miss Konpaku, we can't leave Gensokyo without Yukari's, you know that," she says. "However, I do believe it's entirely possible to get things out of Gensokyo in other ways. I'll work with Nazrin on something and try and get you some help. Also, I'll deal with Yukari myself. Once I figure out what's going on, I'll send word to you the best I can."

You nod. "Thank you, Miss Hijiri."
"You know I hate formalities, Miss Konpaku. You can drop the Miss," Byakuren's smile never fades. "For now, though, we must part ways. You're losing your projection," gesturing downward, you follow and notice that everything below your waist is gone. "Miss Konpaku, I hate to tell you this, but you are the only chance Gensokyo has for a peaceful resolution! While the others fight in China, only you can cut the head off the serpent and stop Remilia Scarlet from-"

You're pulled back into your body so suddenly that it causes you to fall backward onto the floor. You gasp for air, roll over, and cough out a mix of blood and bile. Your body shakes with pain and the feeling of shoving your soul back in.

You can't catch your breath. All attempts to inhale aren't working. Your eyes bulge and you make a sound, but can't get it out. You just. Cannot. Breathe!

"Miss, you've been in here a wh- WHOA!" The same young man from earlier sees you on the floor and runs up to you, pushing you onto your back and forcing your mouth open. "Just, just hold on!" You grab your neck as you choke, gagging up more blood and bile.

You've let your injuries go on for too long. Blood's been building up in your lungs, and coupled with the strain on your body from the astral projection, have finally taken their toll on you. You can feel your eyes rolling up in the back of your head, and you're vaguely aware of the monk calling for a doctor, but as you gasp in vain one more time, you black out and think of nothing else.

-=-=-

You wake up with a start. Sitting up on the bed you've been placed upon, you look around. There's an odd sort of tube in your mouth that you can't pull out, and some other tubes and wires connected to your body in various places. You realize that you're stark naked and blush slightly at that, but you push the thought aside as you examine your surroundings.

You're in some sort of room that reminds you of Eirin's clinic on Eientei, complete with the strange medical technology she's so fond of. The weird tubes shoving air in your nose are connected to a socket in the wall, and the machine to your right is making some odd beeping noise. "Where... am I?" you wonder. No one answers, of course, but with all these things stuck in you, you can't move around and ask. You must be in some sort of doctor's office, you decide.

Laying back down on the bed, you wonder what happened. You remember blacking out, but little else. That monk must have gotten you to the hospital before you died. Good on him... you'll have to figure out how to thank him later. You grin as you think of what Yuyuko would say; something perverted about why you shouldn't immediately think of giving up your body.

In just one day, you realize with a yawn, you've almost died. Twice. You've lost your sword, and part of you wonders how you're going to pay so this.

So... tired. You struggle to think, but exhaustion overtakes you. You sleep...

-=-=-

...and in your sleep, you dream.

You dream of darkness. You dream of muffled voices. You dream of an angry, scared voice. Moreover, you dream of having immense power, just out of reach.

There's the sound of tearing cloth, and suddenly you can see. Multiple figures are in front of you, their faces obscured by shadows. You struggle to move, but your hands are shackled. You try to stretch your wings, but they too are locked up. You growl at your captors. "When Sis hears about this-"

"Your sister won't hear about this," says one of the men; the gleam of light off a fang reveals his origin. "You Scarlets have a price to pay, after what you did."

"Nothing less than what you deserved!" you growl back. "What your kind did to us... it can never be forgiven!"
"You don't even know what we did to you," laughed another older man. "Only what Remilia told you."

"Shut up! I know enough. I remember the pain..." you look down at your body. You clearly see the magic sealing circle on your chest. Something is in the middle of it but you can't really tell. "I remember the shame I had, that part of me still has."

The men laugh at you. "She really is pathetic without her powers, isn't she?" one of them says.
"Yeah," snickers another. "Whaddya say we show her what it means to be a woman? Her legs are already spread. And just look at that face; she wants it."

"Not yet," says another. "It all depends on what Remilia says. If she fucks up, then we get Flandre. That was the deal."

"You LIE!" you scream. You glare at them. "Sis would never sell me!"
"Oh yeah? Try us."
You scream at them, a wordless one that comes from within. You imagine the vampires in front of you exploding spectacularly... but nothing happens. Not even a twitch from them. One of the vampires walk up to you, feeling your body up.

"No, we're not ready for you yet," he reaches into your underwear and grinds his hand against your crotch. "Heh... feels like you're ready..." With your legs spread, it's little effort for him to force three of his fingers inside of you. You bite your lip in pain as he pushes his fingers in as far as they'll go. He grins. "Wait'll Remilia hears that her sister wants-"

You spit on him. The only thing you have left, you do. You catch him right in the eye. The vampire grins and backs away, wiping his eyes and pulling his hand out of you. "You bitch!" he shrieks. "Bring the Ghouls in, let them deal with the girl!"

"I'll tell!" You scream at them. "I'll tell Remilia!"
"Remilia will never know because you won't tell," says one of the vampires. He walks up to you and slaps you so hard it breaks your neck. Your body regenerates the break rapidly, but the pain lingers. "Not after we're through with you." The vampire punches you, knocking your head backward against the wall and cracking both it and your skull. He grabs you by your hair and pushes down on you so hard your arms break from the strain. "Not until you learn respect!"

"I'll show you respect you piece of-" you begin, but another slap silences you. Your body regenerates the damage done to it as he unshcakles you. Before you can move, he kicks you in the side and sends you sprawling. You struggle to stand but he and two other vampires hold you down as four more men enter, their faces looking at you like so much meat. The first vampire rips the rest of your underwear off.

"Ready, little girl?"
"Go to hell," you struggle against the vampires, but without your powers you can't hope to fight back. The vampires spread your legs for the ghouls. "S-stop it,"

One of the ghouls gets between your legs and begins to undo his pants. "Stop or... I'll kill you!" You try to look away, but a fourth vampire forces you to look at the ghoul.

"No!" You scream. The ghoul bends over you. "NO! I'll KILL YOU!"

Help me... you begin to cry in your mind. You feel unimaginable pain.

"We'll break you until you don't want to talk to your dear sister," a vampire whispers in your ear. Everyone begins laughing at you.

Please... help me!

Tears form in your eyes as you realize the helplessness of your situation. "There's a good girl," one of them says.

HELP ME! PLEASE-

-=-=-

"HELP ME!" You shoot up in bed, your heart racing. "H... help me... what?" You look around, but you have no idea what just happened. What kind of dream was that?

Your neck and back hurt. So do your arms. Just like the dream, minus being broken, you think.

You realize your bed is wet. You look down and gasp. There's blood... everywhere. It looks like someone shot you, or beat you, or-

-they raped her, didn't they? you think. But... was that real? Or was that a dream? You struggle to stand up, but with all the doctor's equipment holding you down, it's a useless gesture.

"Damnit," you curse under your breath. "I need to know... if that was real. But I can't just go walking into vampire territory. And it looks like I'm stuck here."

You look down at your hands. What do you do?

[ ] Stay in the hospital and recover. You can't do anything otherwise.
[ ] Find Flandre. You need to know if that really happened.
[ ] Find a method to recover your sword, or get a new one. You won't be able to do anything without a new blade anyway.
[ ] Continue your primary mission of undermining the vampires in France.
[ ] Continue to try and kill Remilia and Flandre

whoops, forgot to login.
My bad.

[x] Find a method to recover your sword, or get a new one. You won't be able to do anything without a new blade anyway.

We need a weapon to kill.

We didnt tell her about Sakuya. Seriously? God fucking dammit.

[x] Find Flandre. You need to know if that really happened.

Dammit. Just... there has to be something we can do. Give Flandre some moral support, send a message to Remilia... something. Even if we can't confront the vampires, there has to be SOMETHING we can do to help her. Flan doesn't deserve this.

At least when Youmu was manipulated, she wasn't treated as a commodity.

[x] Find Flandre. You need to know if that really happened.

kinda bummed we didn't tell her about sak.

>>51208 Here, changing vote.

[x] Continue to try and kill Remilia and Flandre.

Flandre still needs to pay for breaking Roukanken in half.

[x] Find a method to recover your sword, or get a new one. You won't be able to do anything without a new blade anyway.
She's wrecked, and she needs to rest. Besides the option of 'don't do anything' this is the one that seems to have the least strain upon her.

As for facing the scarlets... she already fought the weaker one and lost, and that was in top condition with 3 weapons. Now we have 1 and we're wounded. Common sense.

Keep your HFY shit out this thread by the way.

[x] Find a method to recover your sword, or get a new one. You won't be able to do anything without a new blade anyway.

Byakuren said there are ways of transporting things from Gensokyo, and I'm sure there are a plethora of fantastic blades to be found there. Tell her to find a few of the more powerful ones and send em over.

[X] Find a method to recover your sword, or get a new one. You won't be able to do anything without a new blade anyway.

Might need to recover, as well.

You had them rape Flandre? Really? Fucking really?

Oh and Myon is the part keeping the seal on Flandre. Hence why we felt all that so vividly, so we also got pseudo raped.

That's just fucked up.

This scene was a massive gut-punch, but it also got me thinking. A theme to this story seems to be "being manipulated by others," and Flandre and Youmu are both experiencing this, being pawns in another's game.

So, Remilia must have gathered what Yukari's plan was and played along with it, so that she could ditch Youmu at a later date; or rather, immediately. But what about Flandre? Did Yukari have an idea as to her purpose, or was it simply too close to go-time for her to object? Or was there a private agreement that they worked out?

As for Remilia's treatment of Flandre, when your crazy sister has been locked in the basment for centuries, it's probably easy to develop a rather cavalier approach towards her. I doubt that Remilia has no regards towards her at all, but she certainly was willing to use her as a pawn.

My thought? Remilia brought Flandre in so that she could be neutralized as part of a show of agreement. It's very medieval; give the enemy a hostage as a show of good faith. Remilia probably even thinks it's worth it in the long run; Flandre will just have to be patient.

Of course, the vampires are already trying to subvert this plan by assaulting Flandre. I doubt that Remilia was actually selling her sister to them, but she doesn't know that. This is all a calculated cruelty in order to drive a wedge between the two of them, and it's working.

And the final bit: has Myon been implanted into Flandre? Is it because Remilia is trusting us to come to Flandre's defense if things go wrong? Or is Myon in Remilia's possession, and she's sending us this dream in order to stir us into action?

Argh, dealing with ancient vampires is such a pain...

Just a word of thought, make things too dark or distasteful, and you're going to lose readers.

Especially when it may not be what they were expecting in the first place.

>>51226

Kinda like that one story in /at/ that went double shitstorm after the MC got raped by four-of-a-kind Flandre eh? I personally don't care about shit like that, but it seems there's a lot of people here that do.

>>51231
Well, i'm just acknowledging that if unexpected, rape and sex is a hard line for many people. I've seen people get turned off stories that simply put a lot of thought into the violence that was going to happen, such as the SDM arc in Favors Owed.

There are many people that are fine with even that, but feel that rape is crossing a worse line.

[x] Find Flandre. You need to know if that really happened.

She's shown just now that she's in a similar situation to Youmu, I'd say she could be an important ally even without her power. She knows French and could probably teach Youmu how to write it or at least be able to help her navigate. We're not going to be able to get around Paris without knowing the language. Flandre also recognized the vampire's spies. Face it, we need an ally and Flandre fits the bill.

At the very least, she seems supportive of the mission. I'd be willing to put aside the recent aggression and rescue her. Myon is definitely attached to her and may be feeding information to Youmu.

Let's not freak out yet, let's prioritize Flan and focus on preventing that dream from coming true.

>>51233
This makes sense. Especially the bit about having an ally who can read French. I honestly don't think they raped her, but I'm sure that if we don't hurry, they will.

[x] Find Flandre. You need to know if that really happened.

One other thing, does Youmu even know who the Vampire leaders are? Getting through to Flandre is our best bet for gathering information.

I like how no one blinked an eye when Flandre murdered a whole trains worth of people.

>>51236

Nobody here is freaking out, and I highly doubt anyone will so long as Glen keeps it within reason. We're just offering some friendly advice.

On the one hand, we have compelling reason to act. On the other hand, we are currently laying in the hospital, on a bed soaked through with our own blood, after nearly dieing for a second time in twenty-four hours...

[x]Evaluate your condition. If you're still on the verge of death, rest and recover.
-[x]If you're somehow in good health, you need to find Flandre.

>>51214
HFY?

>>51220
Yes. Really. Why?
I can understand if you don't like it, and look at it this way: the only way I made it remotely feasible is by severely depowering her.

Look, there's a reason for it. It's a means to an end.

>>51223
>Is it because Remilia is trusting us to come to Flandre's defense if things go wrong? Or is Myon in Remilia's possession, and she's sending us this dream in order to stir us into action?

Or maybe it's to keep Youmu from killing Flandre. Because if Youmu feels everything Flandre feels, if she kills her...

>>51226
Actually I agree with you. Upon further discussion with some people before I finished this part, I scaled back the scene, a lot. Originally it was much more graphic, past the point of being into /at/. As such, I left the actual act ambiguous enough but made it clear what happened.

Note: If I go to far with what I do, tell me. I'm attempting to make it 'dark' (vampires and whatnot, the supernatural), but I don't want it to go into grimdark territory. You can write a dark story with a positive message goddamnit, and that's what I plan to do.

>>51236
I was actually quite surprised that no one pointed that out...
I guess, is total destruction of the surrounding area really the norm around here?

Anyway, vote has been called in favor of finding Flandre. I'll be writing now.

>>51243

Because the vast majority of the time in any sort of story ranging from fanfiction to #1 NYTimes Best Seller book rape gives the feeling it's there for DRAMA and DARKNESS and it's forced (no pun intended). It hardly is ever a seamless and necessary part of the story. It's a very very thin line between those two. Honestly I still don't see why it's necessary for it.

Also most people are used to collateral damage and unintended civilian causalities in a story like this. It's just seems natural to hear about it in a story or real life. There just seems to be a lot more emotion and feelings on a subject like rape.

>>51244
Fair enough.
I'll be honest; I needed to break Flandre and this was really the... uhhh... best way? I could think to do it.

It might be tasteless - I'm not a big fan of rape myself - but I feel like it helps to move the plot along.

[X] Find Flandre. You need to know if that really happened.
[X] Find a method to recover your sword, or get a new one. You won't be able to do anything without a new blade anyway.

You need to find Flandre and get a new weapon... or at least a temporary one. Something ranged, perhaps. Or another melee weapon; you are best with swords, after all.

You close your eyes and breathe deeply. Your body isn't up to its full strength yet - no where close even - but a lot of the pain is gone. Only the throbbing from the nightmare and... well, other places, but you don't want to think about that right now. You open your eyes and tug at the tubes; it seems that they're injecting some sort of liquid into your body, and they're also held in place by some kind of sticky paper.

You pull at the paper and wince; it's stuck on tight. No matter; you rip the paper off both your arms and pull out rather long needles. The machines to your sides protest, but you pay it no mind. You also pull off the little pads attached to wires all over your body. Those things have to go too. They're also not nearly as well-attached and cause only a minor annoyance to remove.

The machine to your left begins to flip out at that; moreso when you take the weird thing off your index finger. It really doesn't like that.

Whatever. You've got to get out of here. You stand up (a bit wobbly) and walk to the clothes dresser in front of you. You open it to find your clothing hung up, with Hakurouken resting underneath it, leaning up against the inner wall. You grab all of it and walk into the washroom next to it. Shutting the door, you see that there's a lack of bath; instead, there's a weird stall with a strange sort of faucet on top. You walk into the stall and play with the knobs a bit.

Ice-cold water makes you start, but you recover quickly as the water rapidly warms up. You shut the strange glass door and begin to wash all the blood off of yourself. There are bandages on your arms and head; you pull those off too, and toss them aside.

You're considering how best to wash the blood out between your thighs when you hear a frantic knocking at the door. "Miss, miss! Are you okay?!" It's a woman's voice, speaking a third language you don't recognize. Fortunately, Remilia did, and so you're able to reply.

"Yes, I'm fine," you say. "I just wanted to shower."
"But, there's all this blood-"

"My period started," you lie quickly. "Sorry about that!"
"... are you sure?"
"Yes, yes!" you insist. You hear the door open anyway. A woman wearing a white outfit - similar to Eirin's, you think - walks in and looks at you through the glass door. You blush slightly. "See? I'm fine. Just... a bit of heavy bleeding is all."

"Ma'am," The - nurse, maybe? - puts her hands on her hips. "You need to warn us before you do that! Haven't you ever been to a hospital before?"

"Not like this," you answer, finding a towel and ridding yourself of the mess. "Not this... advanced."
"You must be from the countryside, then," the woman says. "Am I right?"
"Something like that," you say. You watch the blood swirl around the drain. "I'd like some privacy, please."
"Oh!" The woman quickly turns about and shuts the door. "Sorry, sorry!"

You sigh and finish up. It's not as thorough as a bath, you decide, but at least you wouldn't have to wash the blood out. You step out of the stall and begin to dry off with another towel.

"You're pretty active suddenly," says the nurse. "Considering that you've been asleep for a week."

Wait, what?
"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" you ask, slowly drying yourself off.
"Yeah, when you came in, they took you to the ER because they had to force oxygen into you. You were brain dead for about thirty seconds, but they brought you back. However, your temperature was so low they've been trying to keep you warm ever since."

That's because I'm only half-human, you think. "Ma'am, I've been this cold as long as I can remember." You reach for your pants and shirt; someone washed and dried them for you. But they took my spellcards... No matter, I can make more.

"A temperature of 80 degrees isn't normal!" admonishes the nurse. "And nothing the doctors seemed to do was helping! To evaluate, they had you in a coma for the past week. In fact, before you set off the alarm I was coming to strengthen your dose."

"I've been... in a coma," you repeat slowly.
"Yes, ma'am, and after I change these sheets you're going right back to bed. We've got to get you healed! There's no way your injuries have healed!"

You strap Hakurouken on and put on your jacket. Unfortunately, your ribbon is nowhere to be found. "Injuries?"

"Broken arm, broken left risk, both your clavicles, and your spine was snapped like a twig," the nurse states. "Ma'am, you shouldn't even be walking! You shouldn't be able to walk!"

I can walk just fine. You think. I heal more rapidly than you do. You distinctly recall when you and Marisa managed to break an arm during a spellcard duel gone wrong; you were back to full function in three days; Marisa was whining and crying for three weeks.

No, for you, the worst thing is losing a week's worth of time. You resolve to be more cautious. There's no telling the damage that's been done... what Remilia's been done. You now are unsure if the dream you had was past or present.

You open the door, fully dressed, but your hair still a little wet. "I appreciate everything you've done, really, I do," you say. "But I can't waste any more time. I have something important to do, and it must be done quickly. I've lost too much time." You step to move past her, but the nurse gets in front of you.

"Ma'am," she says sternly. "Sit. Down."
"I don't even have money to pay you with," you repond.
"That's been taken care of. You need to lay down. NOW!"

You really don't want to hurt this woman. But you need to get going. You flip up your jacket and turn sideways, giving her a good glimpse of Hakurouken. "Don't make me use it, ma'am."

The nurse's eyes go wide at the side of your blade. She quickly backs away out the room's door, and you hear her speak to someone. "Security, we have a patient attempting to escape. Patient is armed, please advise."

You back up toward the window and turn to face it. It's large, but a latch on the side allows you to unlock and lift it. You do so with ease and knock the strange metal screen off of it. You take one last look behind you and jump out of the window, channeling your energies and-

-a sharp jolt of pain shoots through your body. You're not well enough to fly yet! You grimace through the pain and begin to make a controlled crash for the nearest tree. You smack into it, but not enough to cause any lingering damage. You quickly scale down the tree and begin running away from the hospital. From behind and above you hear shouting, but you ignore it and keep running, jumping over a fence.

Its then that you realize it's nighttime. You look toward Paris and notice that the city is throwing up enough light to make it look like the pre-dawn or twilight hours. You take the time to marvel at such power, but quickly regain your bearings and continue running away. You have no idea where you're going; your only objective is to find Flandre.

-=-=-

You make it to a lively part of the city and blend in with the crowd. You stopped running long ago - your body isn't that healed yet - and had been walking ever since, pausing to take a couple of breaks. This must be some sort of market district, you think. Keeping your head down, you wander around, hoping that you're far enough away from the hospital that no one will give chase. Given that you have no idea how laws work in this city, you can only hope for the best.

Passing by a large window, a strange flat box on the inside of it is showing some kind of image. You hear French coming from it and turn to look at the strange image.

"No leads yet as to why the Metro suddenly crashed last week," the woman in the image is saying. "Police are still on the lookout for a young girl seen near the sight of the crash," a crudely drawn sketch that vaguely resembles yourself appears above and next to the woman. You snort; that's not enough to give them an idea of who you- "This girl has white hair and may be armed and dangerous."

Oh. That would help people. You make sure Hakurouken is hidden under your jacket and walk away from the images, again keeping your head low.

You didn't think this through enough, you realize. You need to find a new weapon or retreive Roukanken to possibly reforge it, and you need to find Flandre before... well, before that happens to her again. The only way to do that, however, is to find out where vampires hang out at night. That doesn't really appeal to you any, but you want to find her... no, you have to find her.

You continue walking about, quite aimlessly. You have no idea if any of these people around you are associated with vampires, and even if they were, you seriously doubt that they'd give you directions to the nearest vampire prison. You shove your hands in your pockets and twist your mouth slightly, trying to think.

Okay, vampires feed on blood, right? you stop and lean against a wall, absently watching people walk by you. So, vampires would go for easy sources of blood, if Remilia is any indication. She also mentioned that they're a society of sorts here, so they'd probably hang out in the same places, kind of like how we all hang out at the Hakurei Shrine or the village sometimes... and we drink a lot. Bars. They'd hang out at bars. Pick up easy girls, probably. Or guys. Whichever. But not just any; it'd have to be packed, so people wouldn't notice if a few would go missing. Yeah. Okay.

You nod and look around, finding the nearest man and walking up to him. "Excuse me, sir?" you ask. "Can you tell me where the livliest place in Paris is this time of night? I... well, I've had a bad day and I kinda want a drink, so..." you look away, looking shy.

The man chuckles. "You must be new here," he says. He points down the road. "It's called Bloodlust. You'll know it when you hear it. Just take a right up here and you'll run right into it."

"Thank you, sir!" you smile and bow respectfully. Acting like a giddy schoolgirl, you begin to jog off in the direction of the place. That might be the cheesiest name I've ever heard. you think as you take a right. In the distance you can see strange red lights moving back and forth. Wow... Remilia is right. They really are pretentious.

And true to the man's word, you hear the place before you actually see it. Some strange... music"... assaults your ears, and as you get closer, you realize that you may have just walked to a piece of hell.

All around the front door stand people, dressed in quite possibly the silliest makeup you could imagine: wildly done-up hair, enough black leather to reassemble a whole herd of cows, and really large, ugly, black jewelry. An extravagant sign above the door probably telling everyone its name. The "music", such as it is, seems to be screaming about the virtues of suicide and death.

"How nice," you mutter. Your worm your way around everyone, ignoring the eyes you feel on you, and make it up to the front door. A huge guy with huge muscles and a really big stick stand in front of it. "Yeah? Whaddya want?" he says gruffly. You can feel him ripping you apart with his eyes.

"Can I come in?" You ask. You swallow your intimidation and glare back up at him.
"Ha! You ain't even dressed the part," replies the big guy, smirking at you. You look back at the people, who are apparently quite amazed that you just walked up on this guy, then back at him.

"I don't have to dress like an idiot to get in," you tell him. "Just move aside. I have business here." This elicits a guffaw from the big guy. He pats his giant tree branch of a stick.

"I ain't letting you in for nothin'," he says. You sigh. Humans are always this arrogant, you realize. You stare at the stick in question and focus your inner magic.

For you, time seems to slow down, but really you're just speeding up. Your body protests this sudden use of magic, but you pay it no mind as you draw Hakurouken, slice the stick in half, and resheathe it in one swift motion. You exhale and watch as reality catches up with you. The stick falls apart, leaving the man to stare at it, slack jawed, on the ground.

"Can I come in now?" You ask.
"H-how did you-"

You hold up a hand. "I'm pretty sure you know how," you bluff. The big guy doesn't seem very smart, after all.
He quickly runs with it. "My apologies!" he say, backing away from you. "I... I didn't realize you were a member of the Kindred!"

Must mean vampires here. you decide. "Yes. Now, step aside."
The big man moves aside and opens the door for you, muttering apologies. You ignore him and walk in. A feeling like you have to vomit surges in your throat but you swallow it down. Right, let's not use magic unless you have to.

You look around and attempt not to cover your ears at the noise. Not just the music, but the voices. There's got to be a hundred people in here, if not more, all wearing that ugly getup. You step off to the side and watch as some women - teenagers, probably younger than you, and wearing a lot less - walk by, chatting up a much older man. You walk along the wall and find a table. You sit down at it and look around.

Yeah, this would definitely be a place where vampires would congregate. They could easily take a few out of sight and have a light snack, so to speak.

If Remilia shows up, you realize, there's no way you'd be surprised. But she doesn't seem the type to like this kind of atmosphere, so you figure that's not possible.

You lean the chair back on two legs and continue to scan the club. Where would be the best place to start?

[ ] Sneak around. Look for information about Flandre in the back.
[ ] Ask someone. With this much liquor flowing, there's bound to be a Ghoul who's had too much to drink.
[ ] Fuck it. Pick a person and threaten them with the pointy end of Hakurouken until you get what you want.

[X] Ask someone. With this much liquor flowing, there's bound to be a Ghoul who's had too much to drink.
Mingle, but do it inconspicuously. And then Remilia slides into the seat next to us.

Given the news report, have we gotten some kind of headwear to hide our hair yet?

[X] Ask someone. With this much liquor flowing, there's bound to be a Ghoul who's had too much to drink. Mingle, but do it inconspicuously.

[x] Find a method to recover your sword, or get a new one. You won't be able to do anything without a new blade anyway.

[x] Ask someone. With this much liquor flowing, there's bound to be a Ghoul who's had too much to drink.

We really should have kept a low profile, because we're nowhere near full strength and our enemies are numerous. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if they're a few goons looking out for us now in this very club.

Oh well, might as well try and make the best out of the situation.

[X] Ask someone. With this much liquor flowing, there's bound to be a Ghoul who's had too much to drink.

You do guys realize that the dream was to make us do something reckless, like this right?

Anyway, good call on getting out of here though: getting into a coma for a month isn't my idea of fun.

>>51253
No really? Was it the broken arm, broken clavicles or snapped spine? Whatever happens to Flandre happens to us, it seems. I'm honestly not "ok" with this.

[x]Ask someone. With this much liquor flowing, there's bound to be a Ghoul who's had too much to drink.

The music switches to something that's about as digestable as the last one, but it still assaults your ears in a such a way that it makes you desperately miss the Prismrivers. You try to act like you at least tolerate it. A woman walks by, trying to serve drinks, and you slip one off of it before she notices, making your way into the ground. You take a sip of it and grimace; its definietly not sake, that's for sure. It's... not bad though. Maybe if you weren't in a terrible situation, you'd try more of this.

Either way, you make a good show of acting like you're drinking it whenever you notice someone looking at you. As you move betwwen the writhing bodies of the mass in the center, you scan the room, looking for any pariicularly talky individuals. You'd have to see them before you heard them, that's for sure. You squeeze between two other people who are basically having sex on the floor and make your way to the wall opposite where you started.

You sip/spit into your drink again and test your breath. You smell sufficiently drunk if someone smells your breath at any rate. You set the drink down on a table and wander around, listening. You hear a lot of small talk - guys talking about girls, girls talking about guys, girls talking about doing... interesting things to other girls (you didn't know that was possible) - and a lot of talk about the mysterious "new addition" to the society that's apparently been making waves this week.

Clearly they're talking about Remilia, but they only know so much. You overhear a rumor that one of the "big guys" has taken a liking to her. Apparently she's really cute too, but you've never really seen her as such. You sit down at an empty table and listen.

"So yeah, you hear she's got a sister?" one of the guys asks. His hair is doing a swell impression of a hedgehog.
"Yeah but she's like... 9," a girl with blue hair and thick glasses says. She's smoking some soul smelling thing. "I mean, I know that some of the guys up there have unusual... tastes... but she's so small. Kinda gross."

"Yeah, but man, you should see her!" another guy says. "I'm telling you, they let me in her room and - I swear - she just dropped her clothes for me! Aw, man, it was sweet. The only weird thing were her eyes. They were red and... so distant, man. Like they were looking off into space. It was hot, man..."

"You're such a pedophile," the girl says, rolling her eyes. "...you fucked her, didn't you?"
"Naw, they made me go," he sighs. "Didn't even get a good look at her. She's blonde, though. Cute. Very quiet, nothing like her sister from what I've seen."

"Man, what I'd give to be in your shoes," the first guy says. "Being an apprentice of one of those guys. You always have the best stuff. Like that 'rati. Man, who do I have to blow to get that thing?"

"Hey now, I had to work for it," the third guy says. "They still won't let me in on all the secrets. I'm not ready to be... 'Sired'."

You sigh and lean back again, trying to act like you don't give a shit. It's hard though. You feel an urge to run this guy through, but that wouldn't help matters. Instead, you think of the best way to go about it. He's clearly a pedophile, so you won't do anything for him - not that you have a lot to work with anyway. Hm... maybe the best way would be to act interested? It's probably the safest bet.

You stand up and walk toward the trio, leaning up against the table. "What's this I hear about a little girl?" you ask.
"Jean's a pedophile," the girl says. "He likes them young. Ever since he met that new girl, he's been all over her."
"New girl. The short one with the red eyes?"
"That's the one," Jean says, smiling serenely. "She's great. But she don't come here... no, she's above places like this."

"Her words?"
"No, mine," Jean answers. "It's sad. I'd love to get her drunk and take her out for a night, you know what I mean?"

"I heard she's not into men," you say, recalling a rumor you heard from Aya a long time ago about Remilia and Sakuya. "Got a maid fetish or something like that."

"Oh... oh that's hot," Jean's eyes glaze over... not exactly the response you were seeking. "Yeah... you can tell she's from high society. Probably had women waiting on her hand and foot. Probably Sired a few after they got her in the Kin."

You bite your tongue. "You're disgusting," the girl says.
"Hey, I'm part of them now!" Jean protests. "I can do whatever I want! The law can't touch me," he smiles. "That means all the little girls I want."

"Yeah, about that," you lean closer to him. "Where'd you meet the blonde one? I wanna meet her to. We've got... business."
"Business?" Jean echoes. "What kind?"
"Let's just say that her sister took something very important from me, and I need it back."

"Ah..." Jean nods. "Well, I can't take you to her without talking to my boss first. He runs this joint; you wanna come with?"

"Sure," you answer. "But we gotta make this quick." A warning siren goes off in your head; this is too easy. Unfortunately, you don't have any leads, so as Jean gets up and walks toward the back, you follow.

-=-=-

"My master's pretty cool," Jean is explaining as you walk into the rear staircase. The two of you begin to head up. "He lets anyone who wants a piece of the girl in, though he says I can't tell her sister about it."

"And you listen?" You ask.
"Hell yeah! I'm just a human. I ain't one of them, yet." You smirk.
"Well, neither am I, but I'm certainly better than most of them."

The two of you make it to the top of the stairs. On the other side is a heated discussion in yet another language. You can't hear clearly, but you catch bits and pieces. Nothing concrete, though. Jean walks in and shuts the door.

Leaning up against the wall, you wait. The door opens, and you look up to see Jean waving you in. You nod and walk inside.

It's an interesting office, filled with various posters and newpaper clippings, all about the club. Behind a large desk sits a tall man with slicked back white hair and, next to him, a blonde woman with piercing blue eyes.

"Jean here tells me you want to see the new arrivals," he begins immediately. "It'll cost you."
"I don't have any money-" you begin.

"I ain't looking for money. I got enough of that," the man looks you in the eye. "Look, we know who you are. The Scarlet Devil told us all we needed to know about you..."

Uhoh. "Oh yeah?" You keep your panic down.
"Yeah, said you were a former employee of hers, a Ghoul, and now she couldn't seem to get rid of you," he chuckles. "She ain't smart enough to know that, when you get a Ghoul, you get one for life. Isn't that right, Jean?"

Wait, why did she lie to them? you wonder. Maybe to save her own hide?

"Yes, master," Jean says, nodding fervently. He looks at you. "Man, you shoulda told me you were one of us! I'da totally helped you out quicker!"

You helped me out pretty fast. You think.

"Now, look here," you watch as the vampire reaches into his desk and pulls out a syringe, ice falling off of it. It's filled with blood. "This is some blood from Remilia's sister. It ain't as good as hers, but it'll do you fine. You want it?"

You nod slowly. You have a feeling that this is what a Ghoul would do, given Jean's attitude.
"I thought so. You Ghouls are all the same," he chuckles and puts the syringe back where he got it. You stare after it as he does. "Now, there's more where this came from if you do me a favor."

"I'm listening," you say, acting interested.
"Alright. Kill Jean."

"WHAT?!" Jean shrieks. "But, but, master!"
"Son, you've been useless to me this entire time," the vampire says, acting as if nothing was wrong. "All you do is go to the Stocks and jerk off over dead little girls. You're not what I want in my fold. So," he turns to you. "Kill him."

[ ] Kill Jean.
[ ] Don't kill Jean.

>>51261
goddamnit i did it again.

[X] Kill Jean.
[X] Kill Jean's Master too.
Kill the bastards. If there are two things in this world I can't tolerate, it's rape and people who abuse children (In any fashion). And Son, you just combined both of them. Consequences be damned! They all die!

[X] Kill Jean.
[X] Kill Jean's Master too.

Fully agree with >>51263

If you keep making stupid choices, you're going to force the author to give us a bad end and finish the story early. It already happened (It was one of YAF's stories I think, Recollection of something)

[x] Kill Jean.
-[x] Nonchalantly. You're supposed to be an addict.

When we have strength we get to do what we want. When we don't, we do what we must. You know what is the case right now.

As for Remilia's lie, it's either a need-to-know-basis thing or another trick: she knows that we're connected to myon and she'd never actually hurt her sister so there's a good chance of the former.
I'm not sure of what her game is, but she has to die before the story ends, regardless of her true intentions. The end does not justify shit.

[X] Kill Jean.
[X] Play along for now

Come on. I know we SHOULD kill him, but wheres that going to leave us? In an establishment probably filled with vampires and people loyal to vampires with the blood of the owner on our hands.

I know you want to murder him. I really, really do. But you're voting for suicide. Best case scenario, we get the shit kicked out of us AGAIN, and then have the law looking for us more feverently than before, whilst we would have gotten no more information on the whereabouts of flandre.

Please, please please don't vote for suicide.

>>51267
I'm not sure if this constitutes as a "Bad" choice. In fact, by killing him now we avoid having to fight him when we free Flandre, who is weakened and would just be a liability in a fight right now. Plus he thinks we're just a Ghoul, so it would be a surprise attack that he isn't prepared for. If anything this is actually a good choice for the situation.

>>51269
That leaves the woman in the room, plus we're weakened and can barely use magic without puking. So assuming we can even take this guy, we still have to deal with the woman, and everyone else in the entire establishment. I doubt we're going to kill them all subtly enough to get out without raising some eyebrows.

It is not a good choice for the situation. In fact, it is the worst choice I can think of.

[X] Kill Jean.
[X] Play along for now

Killing both of them is just stupid as fuck, most choices turned out pretty shitty for us. Please dont make it worse and kill the owner of a club possibly full of ghouls and other vamps.

[X] Kill Jean.
[X] Play along for now

Jean is scum, and we need to play along for now. Dammit, how long has Flandre been like this? It sounds like they totally destroyed her mind.

>>51263 Here, I thought about it and yeah, I was going full retard. I misread the situation and forgot about the woman. But still, even if we kill Jean we'll have to deal with everyone else once we get Flandre. I would assume she is in the basement or a nearby building full of surveillance equipment. So rescuing her is is nearly impossible at this point anyway. The only hope we have is Byakuren coming through with the "help" she promised and it being something that either A) Restores Youmu's strenght or B) Is someone from the Temple, like Shou or preferably Ichirin since she is a priestess.

Approximately. I'm moving so yeah. Little Internet except or the occasional wifi.

But this story won't die. I refuse.

>>51278

I'm screaming internally at having to wait, but I understand completely. Looking forward to having you back!

[X] Kill Jean.

>>51244 here, I didn't like the implied rape (although glad it didn't go through) but nothing makes me more livid then a fucking pedophile.

Ill enjoy this choice a lot.

But would there be any side effects to taking in Flandre's blood? Draining and injecting blood is the Embrace. Would that turn a half-ghost half-human into a vampire?

Also fuck you and thank you for choosing to base this on Vampire: The Masquerade. I saw Redemption on sale for $3 at GOG and bought it due to this story. So far it's a pretty addicting game, even the Old English speak isn't annoying and feels like its real. Usually Old English is pretty damn annoying

The pathing AI is retarded as hell though. Next playthrough is so gonna use that community patch.

>>51281
Have you played Bloodlines as well?

>>51271
Here, >>51281 could be onto something so I would add
[x] Dont actually drink the blood.
Spit it out if he isnt looking, I dunno. We are still half human, so there could be side effects. While being sired by Flandre might be bad enough, we cant be sure that he tells the truth and its really her blood.

>>51283


No I haven't yet. Waiting for a sale to happen before I pick that game up. $20 for an unknown older game is a bit much for me, plus I got so many other games sitting around ill just wait for the Halloween sale Steam has every year.

Or ill just pirate it later. ARRRGGGHH

[x] Kill Jean.

What kind of game is Remilia playing? There's plenty of things she could have told them about us that wouldn't have given us this kind of 'in'.

[X] Kill Jean.
Some real heavy choices your having us make. Really liking the story, it's a wunderkind.

>>51281
Hey guys, jacking someone's wifi for a bit.
I've been meaning to ask, doing some theorycrafting: Since Youmu is half-ghost, can she even become a Ghoul or Vampire?

>>51294

I... really doubt it. OWoD was really strict when it came to cross-game stuff like that. For instance, vampire blood would absolutely destroy a mage's ability to work magic, and did nasty things to fae, as well. I think it was flat-out poison to werewolves, at that.

As for what it would do to a half-ghost like Youmu... it's pretty much your call. But Youmu's physiology has already been stated to be a bit different from a normal human's. Personally, I don't see it doing much for her.

>>51295
That's not quite true. Being any of the types of full supernatural prevents you from being another. However, you *specifically* can be a Ghoul as a Mage and retain Sphere Magic - though being turned outright burns it out. I expect similar things for Youmu, if she were ghouled.

Also, Wraiths who possessed their old bodies ("Risen", basically non-people-eating zombies) could learn the Disciplines of Celerity, Fortitude, Obfuscate, and Potence, fueling them with Pathos instead of blood (which... mostly only matters for Celerity). Amusingly, what you did with binding Myon to Flandre <i>really</i> closely resembles how Wraiths turn themselves into Risen - they stuff their "dark side" into some object. So you could very easily justify having Youmu pick those powers up (on her own or being taught) without even being Ghouled. Heck, she might very well already count as "having Celerity".

I'd presume Youmu can become a vampire via the usual means, i.e. desanguination followed by drinking vampire blood, but doing so would remove any abilities a vampire couldn't "naturally" have, though existing abilities might translate over.

Honestly I hope she doesn't become a vampire.

[X] Kill Jean.
[X] Play along for now

You nod. "As you wish," you say, turning to face the Ghoul as he backs away from the wall. "Right now?"
"Yes, right now," the vampire says, nodding. "Make it quick. As amusing as it would be to suffer, I've got to spend time finding a new ghoul, so I can't be pressed to wait for him to bleed out."

"...why?" Jean asks. You reach under your jacket and draw Hakurouken. You can feel the woman's eyes staring at you as you reverse-grip the blade, holding it up and getting ready to strike. You... can't feel any remorse for this Ghoul, you decide. His desire for small girls and his apparent willingness to be this vampire's ghoul has killed any doubts you had about killing his fool.

"You should know by now," the vampire tells his ghoul. "The life of the Kindred is a life of betrayal. Now, kill him to get your blood," he looks at you intently. You nod again, unconsciously licking your lips. You've never killed a human; only fairies, which tend to respawn. Jean begins to beg for mercy, but you ignore it. You run him through.

It's a simple act, really. You did it so fast you didn't even register what you had done fully. Before you know it, your doubts are gone and Hakurouken is buried hilt deep in Jean's heart. He gasps and stutters something; blood starts coming out of his mouth. You pull your sword out and spin, slicing his throat from ear to ear in one precise motion. You end up with your back facing the dying ghoul and flick the blood of Hakurouken, sheating it again as he crumples to the floor. He sighs once, and expires.

"Very good," the vampire says. You turn back to face him and try to still your racing heart. He hands you the syringe. With shaking hands, you take it and stare at it mordibly, wondering if it's really Flandre's blood. "Go on, don't be shy."

Your brain searches for a lie. "It's been... so long..." you say.
"I understand," the vampire nods. He turns to look at his assitant. "Help her out, Rene," The blonde woman nods and stands up. She sidles over to you, and looking into her eyes, you can tell she's different; supernatural, definitely, but different. You then realize that it's in her eyes; you can see a more muted version of that same spark you've seen in the likes of Alice and Marisa. "Don't be afraid; she's a mage."

You nod. The woman, Rene, grabs your arm. You tense up at the contact as she takes the syringe from you. She looks into your eyes for a brief moment, as if searching.

"Come back tomorrow night," the vampire says. "You're probably going to be out for a while, so I'm telling you this now. Tomorrow we'll take you to the little one," you look at him for a brief moment before the mage plunges the syringe into your arm and injects the blood.

At first, nothing happens. The woman backs away, looks at her vampire friend, and the two of them nod to each other. The vampire stands and walks out of the door you came in originally, holding it open for the woman in an odd bit of civility, and the two disappear down the stairs.

You stand up to follow them when you feel a jolt like electricity coursing through your veins. You stagger a bit, trip over nothing, and hit the floor. Your body begins twitching, your eyes roll in the back of your head, and it takes all you have to keep from throwing up. This is getting old- you begin when suddenly you feel a surge of... what is that feeling?

You grin for absolutely no reason you can think of... but then you aren't thinking anymore. You feel amazing. You feel like... like you just took a hot bath. No, that's not right. Your fingers and toes tingle with something you've never felt before. You can actually feel your own body's magic interacting with Flandre's blood, and for the briefest moments, you completely understand Flandre; you understand her motivations, her intentions, her feelings about life. You sit up so fast it makes your head spin, but its okay, because you could just absolutely kiss Flandre right now and not give one shit.

You giggle. Your body and Flandre's blood interact in interesting ways. You know there's a huge blush on your face and you manage to stand up and stagger to the desk chair, sitting in it. The chair rolls slightly, and for some reason that's just the funniest thing in the world. You laugh for what feels like hours, finally calming down long enough to set your head on the desk.

What is this feeling? It's the best feeling in the world. You want to feel this again. You have to feel this again. It's awesome. It's beautiful...

-=-=-=-

Awful. It's absolutely awful.
You fell asleep, you think. You're not sure, but when you come to, the clock clearly shows it's been three or four hours; time you're not aware of passing. You stand up and look around, rubbing your eyes. You stare for a second at Jean's dead body, wondering how it got there, then recall that you killed him. You can't understand why, but you don't really care right now. It's time to get out of here.

Tomorrow; the vampire said come back tomorrow. You step out of the room and back into the club. It's quieter now, but there's still a lot of people. You exit the club and walk through the groups of people. A huge guy slaps your butt, but you can't really care about that either. You wander out of the club and head down the street.

You feel refreshed in one odd way; the pain is gone. All of your pain is gone... well, except this desire to get more of Flandre's blood. That was... what was that? That was amazing, whatever it was. You'd do whatever it takes to get more of that... but maybe not in that way. That was probably rude of you to take her blood like that. You don't think she'd approve.

But... wait... you wouldn't approve of that, either. You shake your head and put a hand up to your temple. What's wrong with you? You've got to clear your head. You need to drink some water or... or something. All the shops are closed by now, and even if they weren't, you have no way to pay for it.

It's then you realize that you're also hungry. You haven't eaten for a while. You should have seen if that Ghoul... Jean, right"... had any money on him. It's not like he's using it... but... looting the dead is wrong. You should know; you're half-ghost. It's disrespectful.

You sit down on a bench. A sign shows you a tree and an arrow pointing more down the street...

-=-=-=-

Being injected with Flandre's blood by the Ventrue vampire and his mage assistant has briefly granted you several gifts from Flandre, but has come with several drawbacks due to your half-ghost nature; you briefly enjoyed Flandre's regeneration is the only gift you're aware of, but there are more that you haven't discovered. Currently, you're back to full health, but hungry and thirsty.

However, the drawbacks are fierce. You are now addicted to Flandre's blood. The crash from coming off the high it gives you are fierce, but your resilient nature staves off most of the pain from withdrawal.

Let's be clear, though; you aren't a Ghoul. Being neither alive nor dead, you never really had to worry about that, and you feel no loyalty nor any desire to serve Flandre. When around her, you have the willpower to refrain from demanding more, especially in her current state (you're still a person of morals, after all). That said, the longer you go without, the more likely you are to break the addiction, although it will get very, very hard. This will be represented as an option that must be beaten by a cetain percentage of votes; not a flat number, because that's stupid.

For now, though, there's only a few options presented to you.

[ ] Find food and water, somehow.
[ ] Follow the sign. The tree emblem could mean a garden, which hopefully could mean food that way as well.



From now on, a variant of the below option will be listed, as well as a percentage. This percentage represents Youmu's current resistance to the addiction.
[ ] Find Flandre and rescue her. Perhaps proposition her about more blood. (50%)

[spoiler[If this becomes stupid or you disagree with it, we'll drop it. But I feel like this could be an interesting gameplay element in the story. For you, not for Youmu and Flandre.[/spoiler]

[x] Find food and water, somehow.

It seems interesting; I say keep it.

For the sake of reference, what would happen if we got the addiction to around 75% or 100%? How much would it affect us?

I don't really get the percentage. You say it's Youmu's resistance to the addiction, so the lower it is, the greater the need for blood? What would happen to Youmu if we decide to resist it? And then this:

>The longer you go without, the more likely you are to break the addiction, although it will get very, very hard. This will be represented as an option that must be beaten by a cetain percentage of votes; not a flat number.

So this means the (50%) of the current option means that half the voters need to pick it to fight the addiction, or to give in to it?

[x] Find food and water, somehow.

Its different sure, but I dont really like it. Maybe if it would wear off after a cetain amount of time but not really a fan of this mechanic.

As we close out the first thread, I thought I'd share some background about this story... kinda like those extra features or whatnot.

First off: This story went through several revisions before coming down to what we've got now. Originally, they were two separate stories I had planned.

The first one focused on an interstellar war between the Lunar Capital and Gensokyo perpetuated by the Wakatsuki sisters; this time, however, the Myouren crew would be utilizing their flying ship, sending it to space to combat the Lunarians. Sanae would provide a "wind shield" so everyone could function in space, and Okuu would be the power source of the ship. The story would be combat heavy, and there'd be a lot of naval warfare in it. There's very little of this story left except for a couple of plot elements, and the only indication this was even a thing is that the first line in the thread (that I forgot to delete) is "Touhous in Space".

The second story had Remilia as the main character. She would have been called back to France for a meeting with the Camarilla about the looming threat of vampire hunters (specifically, Hunters from HTR). There'd be a lot of intrigue, a lot of diplomacy, and a lot of planning. Oh, and Sakuya was the main supporting character. I eventually dropped it because it felt too much like your average VTM campaign.

I... honestly have no idea how Youmu came to be the main character, or when the two stories gave way to what happened. I don't care, certainly; this is more fun than either of those stories would be. I remember some talk on IRC about her being the MC in the Touhous in Space story, but that was as far as it went.

-=-=-

Anyway, I'd like for us all to take this time to criticize this story. Tell me what I'm doing wrong.

>>51308
You want 100%. 100% Breaks the addiction.

>>51309
>>51310
Yeah, I'm retarded and didn't elaborate. The addiction does not override your votes; it simply is added to the winning one. I'm not such an asshole that I'm going to say, "No, anon, you can't vote for that."

Wait a tick...
> "Don't be afraid; she's a mage."
> she's a mage
> mage
> OWoD

>>51313
reality-warpers too much?

Oh since we've hit the autosage limit, I'll be posting a new thread here shortly. The first post will simply be a recap of events leading up to now, with the current options (and a better explanation) at the end. Feel free to vote here or there once its up.

>>51316
New thread guys.
We've gotten to a second thread! Awesome.
Let's hope I can keep the quality up that people keep reading!