EZMode !iIyIHD.1G6 2008/09/09 (Tue) 00:28 No. 58858 [x] Put the bottle back in the fridge; Yuyuko went to bed early, but maybe the Prismrivers will be willing to have a drink with you.
[x] Find Youmu. Show her the sword; ask for her appraisal and where you can store it temporarily.
You should stow away that alcohol for now, since you won't be drinking with Yuyuko. Though, the Prismrivers might still be up, one of them might be up for a drink. You should probably show Youmu the sword as well, see if she has anything to say about it. Right then, off to the library.
By the time you arrive, one of the issues seems to solve itself, as Youmu is standing in there holding the sword, looking it over with curiosity. She's still in her robe from earlier as well, and a large white blob floats around her lazily. She looks over at you, a little confused.
"This yours?" she asks, looking back at the blade.
"Ah, yeah." you reply. You're not going to exactly tell her the truth.
"Where would you get something like this though? It's pretty old, and it emanates a pretty powerful aura." she says, turning it over in her hands. "I would expect this to be in some kind of shrine or temple..."
"I actually found it in a pile of junk," you say, telling the truth. "It seemed pretty odd compared to the rest of the garbage, so I kept it. I didn't really know it was anything special." Youmu hums with a slight questioning tone, sliding the sword back into it's sheath and looking over the sheath more. "I was actually hoping you could tell me a little bit more if you could, and maybe help me find a place to store it around here. Someplace easy to get to, so I could come back if I happen to move on to a new body and need to come back and pick it back up."
Youmu throws you a suspicious glance.
"Wouldn't it be a little of a sign that you are possessing someone if you always carry this around?" she asks.
"Well, yeah, but I don't carry it all the time, and the only ones that know about it are you and my last two hosts, as I had to go pick it up from them too. No one else knows a connection as far as I know." you say. Youmu turns the blade over a bit more, then tucks it under one arm.
"I'll hold it in my room for a while then I guess. I'll find someplace for it later. Besides," she says with a small grin. "I can imagine you'd probably eventually ask me for some lessons in the future. I don't imagine you would actually know how to properly handle a sword." she says, sounding a little condescending as she does. It is true, you're not exactly a swordsman after all. Youmu picks up the bottle as well and looks at it.
"This yours too? Been carrying it from body to body for some reason, trying to find some kind of use for it?" she asks sarcastically.
"No, I actually only got that today, from..." you pause, not really sure if you want to reveal the details of today to Youmu. "an acquaintance I've made around here. I was originally wondering if Yuyuko wanted a drink, but she was asleep, so I don't really have anyone to drink with. Unless..." you trail off, suggesting Youmu have a drink with you. She gently shakes her head in response.
"I try not to drink too often. Lady Yuyuko and yourself could down several sake bottles and not get drunk unless you wanted to. Being 'higher' ghosts allows you that freedom to choose what affects you and what doesn't. I'm still partially alive, I don't get a say in such things, so I prefer to keep my mind sharp so I can protect my Mistress more effectively."
Youmu walks towards you and hands the bottle to you as she passes, heading towards the door with the sword still under her arm. "You can leave that in the fridge however," she says as she reaches the door. "I don't think there's anyone here that would be up to drinking at such a late hour as it were. I'm off to bed myself as well." A slight movement out of the corner of your eye catches your attention, and you see the white blob floating towards you, looking as if it's going to pass you by on it's way towards the door. As it does, you reach out and prod it out of curiosity, and in the doorway, Youmu yelps and there is a clatter of the sword hitting the floor. Youmu turns to you angrily, holding her sides with her arms defensively, much in a way you remember Cirno doing when Yuyuko was teasing her.
"Hey!" she calls to you, fuming. "What do you think you're doing?" You look at her with confusion as the white blob coasts towards her and circles behind her.
"What?" you say. It's all you can manage, really, you have no idea what just happened. Youmu fumes for a few more seconds silently, then takes her hands away as the blob floats in front of her. She places her hands on top of it.
"This is Myon, it's part of me. Well, half actually." she says angrily. You blink in response. What? "I'm a half ghost, and this is how it manifests, since it's easier on me than this." she says, stepping aside. You're about to ask what she means when the blob shifts and spreads, quickly turning into a perfect replication of Youmu. That's right, you remember that now, she was fighting 'herself' before, this must be it. "Anything you do to it, I feel it too, I can see through it, and I control it independantly of my own body, so don't try doing anything weird to it, because I'll know and hit you twice for it, once for the both of us."
"I'll take that into consideration." you say, half seriously, as you find the idea of pestering someone remotely to be a little amusing. Youmu seems to catch on to your train of thought from your slight grin and grimaces.
"I mean it, Lady Yuyuko already teases me enough with it and I'll allow her that much." she says as the second Youmu dissolves back into a blob.
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen that blob for a while." you say, thinking back throughout the day.
"Well, of course. The gardens would never be kept adequately if I ever stopped completely. I used to swap back and forth, switching roles with Myon to handle different chores, but since you'll be taking over the kitchen and house chores I can dedicate both my forms to the garden, though I did have other things to do today that kept me inside most of the day."
"That seems pretty handy, but also kind of tiring." you say, a little impressed. She never stops working? Well, aside from now, but she's probably done with the day's chores as it were.
"It's my duty." Youmu replies adjusting her robe a little. "Until I have a child myself, that is, then they would take over part of the housework when they came of age."
You feel a bit of a jump in your chest, not that you have a particular reason to. You're just a little surprised to hear it, considering she still looks like she's only about 15 years old. Still, given that this entire world seems to be a big step into the past, it's probably a completely normal mindset for girls even at that age to consider the possibility of having a family. Once you come back from your thoughts, you notice that Youmu is holding the sword again.
"I'm going to bed now." she says, giving you a small bow. "Have a good night yourself." With that, she leaves the doorway, leaving you in the library. You look down at the bottle in your hand. You could probably go offer a drink to one of the Prismrivers now, if they're still awake. Youmu did say that no one would probably be up for a drink, but it's still worth a shot, even if you can't really think of anything to say right now. You remember Cirno again as well, though you don't really imagine you'd want to offer her or Daiyousei a drink. You could always head to bed as well, there'll always be time tomorrow after all.
---
