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 Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 12:40 pm
((Note for time of year: It is Late spring!!))
[Kyouko :: Forest of Magic :: Marisa's house]
Kyouko was tired from today's training. She and Marisa had been working on a new spellcard for her. It was in its base phases at this point still. She had finished preparing for bed, and gotten in, but was taking a while to fall asleep. Finally, she was within 2 minutes of being sound asleep, when she was disturbed by some voices from Marisa's room. She heard Marisa...and someone else. 'Huh...I don't remember hearing any of the doors open and close...' Kyouko thought. They weren't talking loudly, so Kyouko gave up on trying to listen in and went back to trying to sleep. After about a minute and a half, the other person said something, to which Marisa replied almost yelling. "How could you say that?!" she said, before continuing in a voice was quiet enough to once more be unable to hear anything specific. The other person said something even more quietly, the only thing detectable in her voice was that it was very calm. Kyouko gave up again on listening in, and fell asleep finally.
THE NEXT MORNING
[Forest of Magic -> on the way towards Hakurei Shrine]
Kyouko woke up to the sun shining through the window into her face. "Huh...?" Sitting up, she looked around. It was about 11:00... "Weird...why didn't Marisa wake me up? She said we'd work more on the spellcard today." She got dressed, and started wandering around Marisa's house, looking for her mentor.
After searching the entire house twice (You never know, she could have been hiding or moving around the house in the same direction), Kyouko was a bit worried. "Hmmm...Has Marisa gone missing?!" Kyouko asked to no one, before calming herself down. "Maybe she's visiting Reimu at her shrine! ...I'll go check!!" She then grabbed an apple for breakfast, and dashed out of the house, closing the door behind her. SHe managed to get out of the Forest of magic without a hitch, and continued towards the shrine.
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Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 3:25 pm
[Reimu :: Human Village :: Hakurei Family Main House]
Reimu, however, wasn't at the shrine. At the moment, she was sitting resentfully with her head lowered in shame before perhaps the only person in Gensokyo who could compel Reimu to lower her head: her predecessor as Hakurei Shrine Maiden, Hakurei Misae. Misae had quite a bit to say about Reimu's shortcomings as a shrine maiden, to the point where Reimu was coming to suspect that this lecture was the true reason she'd been called to the main house.
Misae paused a little in her litany to take some tea. Reimu took advantage of the silence to surreptitiously wipe away the tears that had welled up in her eyes. I wasn't crying, she thought insistently. At eighty-five, Misae was ancient. The past decades hadn't been kind to her body, and it was with great effort that she stood to get the kettle. Only her eyes retained the sharpness of the woman at whose feet Reimu learned her art, who Reimu had idolized from before she could even write.
"Don't misunderstand me," Misae continued, "you are an excellent exorcist. Certainly better than I ever was. Maybe even one of the greatest in history. But, Reimu, there's more to being a shrine maiden than exorcism!"
Reimu glanced up resentfully, the urge to defend herself rising. "I maintain the shrine alright. It hasn't fallen apart or anything, has it?" Well, not counting earthquakes. Or Yukari.
Misae shook her head. "I'm talking about public relations, Reimu. The shrine's barely received any donations during your tenure, has it? It's even gained a reputation among the humans as a place of evil and a hive of youkai. Which is another problem! The company you keep is - "
Here, Reimu had to interrupt. "The company I keep? The company you kept as shrine maiden was just as questionable. What about that Mima person?"
"Yes," Misae conceded, a coy smile spreading over her face, "but my friendships with youkai were not public knowledge."
"Tch." Reimu looked annoyed. "Well, what do you expect me to do, anyway? Most of them just show up whenever they feel like. It's not like I'm inviting them."
"You could banish them if you wanted to."
"Not Yukari." Here, Misae couldn't help but laugh. "What?," Reimu was indignant.
"Sorry, sorry, it's just that when Yukari openly visits someone, usually its an occasion. You're probably the only person she visits so casually."
"I know a few others."
"Look, Reimu, the point is, shrine maidens already skirt the boundary between youkai and humans. You have to live by yourself in the middle of the wilderness, you aren't allowed to raise a family, you spend your time dealing with youkai in one capacity or another . . . it's very common for shrine maidens and youkai to become close. But shrine maidens are supposed to be the champions of humanity in Gensokyo. So, Reimu, you need to make a real effort to maintain your reputation among humans. That is also one of your ancestral duties."
[Reimu :: Outside the Human Village]
After Misae's lecture was over, Reimu left in a huff. She didn't even touch the food that was her former mentor's pretense for drawing her out there. Somehow, she didn't feel like going back to the shrine quite yet, so she glided aimlessly through the wilderness.
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AldrickZearse Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 9:02 pm
[Sukina: Hakurei Shrine]
Sukina was smiling as she sat in front of the Hakurei Shrine, kicking her feet slightly and watching the ivy that had wrapped around her legs twirl around them.
Why was Sukina, a youkai, at the Hakurei Shrine? Well, frankly, she just wanted to see if she could get Reimu to help her get rid of this pest of a youkai that apparently kept trampling through her ivy. She assumed it was a youkai, though. She never saw who did it, but it was annoying and frustrating. And Reimu was supposed to take care of pesky youkai...at least, that's what Sukina had heard.
Either way, she sat there, her feet kicking and ivy twirling, waiting for...someone to come along. Apparently, no one was home. Not like Sukina had anything else to do today besides more gardening. Even though she really wanted to garden right now...what was taking that shrine maiden so long?
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Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 9:08 pm
[Kyouko :: On route to -> Hakurei Shrine]
Kyouko ran up the stairs one after another, skipping steps every now and then. "Gotta check if Marisa is there, she probably is just visiting her cause she couldn't wake me up or something." She saw the end coming up and made a leap up the last 7 steps. She ran towards the shrine, and noticed a new girl sitting there, with Ivy around her legs. "OhhiisMarisahereI'vebeenlookingforhercauseIwokeupandshewasn'tthereandIthoughtshemightbevisitingReimuandthat'swhyI'mhereandIdon'tseeReimuisshemissingtoo?" She said all in one breath, and then gasped for air as she waited for a reply.
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AldrickZearse Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 9:16 pm
[Sukina: Hakurei Shrine]
The ivy youkai could only sit there and smile at the new girl. Who in the world talked that fast? And of course, Sukina had to translate it in her head.
After a moment, Sukina shrugged. "Apparently. I needed her help with something, and she sure isn't here. She might be missing for all I know. And that Marisa isn't here, either. No one is here except me."
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Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 9:23 pm
[Kyouko :: Hakurei Shrine]
Kyouko's eyes widened when she spoke. "Wait, Reimu is missing too?! THis must be one of those incidents she always solves...except this time, all of humanity has been kidnapped except me! Meaning Reimu can't solve, it, cause she's been kidnapped too!! Oh god!" She jumped over to the girl. "WE HAVE TO SOLVE THIS INCIDENT, TO SAVE HUMANITY!!" she said, grabbing the Ivy Youkai's shoulders. "Who do you think could have done this...Um... OH RIGHT. I'm Kyouko, what's your name?" She let go as she asked and bowed for her introduction.
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AldrickZearse Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 9:29 pm
[Sukina: Hakurei Shrine]
Sukina's eyes widened, but that was the only change in her smiling expression. Talk about violation of personal space! But that didn't really bother the youkai. Not so much as the potential of this being one of those famed 'incidents'. Though, something did stick out in Sukina's head...
"Um, let's see...I'm Sukina, please don't randomly grab me again, and...what do you mean 'humanity'? You aren't human. You have a horn, afterall."
That smile was still there, too, and the ivy had travelled from her legs to her arms. Natural defense, and all.
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Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 9:55 pm
[Kyouko :: Hakurei Shrine]
"Huh?" The Half Oni blinked. "What do you mean? It's perfectly normal for humans to have horns. I mean, it might not be common, but I'm a normal human girl, and I have a horn, so it can't be impossible. Oh, and sorry about the grabbing thing...I got a little excited. I mean, I may actually get to help solve an incident, or even solve it myself!" She looked around. "But with everyone missing, finding someone for info might be hard..."
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Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 10:04 pm
[Chiyo :: Outside Human Village]
Chiyo bounded through the grass and foliage at a rather frightening speed. If she were any more of an amateur, she'd slow herself down for fear of colliding head first into a tree but through her years of tuning with the wilderness, she had learned to anticipate nature.
Green.. green... green... GREEN EVERYWHERE! Chiyo shook her muzzle, a little disgusted. The scents of things were so potent here. Up in the snow, things... especially smells were muffled and she had learned to track even when scents were long buried by the snow... but here... everything attacked her at once. It made things a little easier... maybe a little harder as well. Bleh.
The white wolf slowed her speed mildly as she neared the scents of humans though she was still traveling at a blur. Humans usually had offerings for mystical wolves, though she couldn't guess about these ones. She was hungry, but didn't want to risk getting turned into a meal herself. Chiyo wrinkled her nose before she spotted something... no, someone... straight in front of her. A shrine person? Please don't curse me into oblivion!
"Oh bludgeoning mush pots- COLLISION!!" Chiyo shouted right as she morphed into the bipedal variant of herself all the while bracing for impact.
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Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 10:15 pm
[Reimu :: Outside Human Village]
Reimu was floating about a foot above the ground, staring wistfully into the distance. She wasn't really paying attention to her surroundings, which is why she didn't notice Chiyo bearing down on her until the last second.
"Bludgeoning what? - gah!" Chiyo collided with Reimu's legs, knocking her to the ground in a somewhat embarrassing pile.
Reimu picked herself up and dusted herself off, trying to re-secure at least some of the dignity lost in the collision. Inwardly, she cursed herself for letting Misae's words get to her to the point where she didn't notice something as obvious as a charging wolf.
"Hey, watch were you're going," Reimu said. Her eyes were cool and her words were harsh, but she extended an arm, offering to help the strange youkai to her feet.
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Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 10:26 pm
[Chiyo :: Outside Human Village]
"Ompfh!" Chiyo groaned as she laid pitifully on the floor. Something in her throbbed but she couldn't quite decipher what was throbbing. An unknown bone, maybe? Her arm, Chiyo came to the conclusion it was her arm that throbbed... that and her right ear. She mournfully sat up, rubbing her right ear in some pitiful manner, her eyes glazed over with a glossy coat of tears.
"T-thanks..." She responded hesitantly, grasping Reimu's hand as she was pulled up. Even standing up, Chiyo had to gaze upwards to see the shrine maiden's face in which she hurriedly glanced downwards in embarrassment before bowing. Her right ear twitched a little as she did and Chiyo swatted at it, making it throb anew.
"Ah... I'm sorry... I didn't ... think... yeah.
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Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 10:36 pm
[Reimu :: Outside Human Village]
"That's just what you get for running around like an idiot," Reimu said. She was clearly in a bad mood. So bad a mood, in fact, that she didn't even feel like taking her temper out on a hapless youkai. Actually, she reflected, some conversation might help me clear my mind a bit.
Reimu looked up at the clear sky in thought, then glanced at Chiyo. "So were you going anywhere? Or just running for its own sake?"
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Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 10:42 pm
[Alice :: Margatroid Home]
Alice smiled as she prepared a small snack of fruits and vegetables for her neighbor and best friend, Kirisame Marisa. She couldn't help but be excited; it was a glorious day. No one would ruin her time with Marisa...Well, if it happened, all she had to do was take her dolls and 'remove' the problem with her cunning. She didn't like people...Unless it was Marisa. Something about Marisa made her calm down and relax. She chuckled softly, setting the lid on the food and moving towards the door. Before she walked out into the sunlight, she made sure to grab her grimoire and her dolls...Just in case.
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Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 10:49 pm
[Forest of Magic :: Alices house]
When Alice opened her door to leave, she would, upon looking down, find something on her doorstep. It was Marisa's Mini-Hakkero Reactor, with a note tied to it, written in familiar writing.
Alice,
I'm sorry things went the way they did a few months ago. However, I'm working on a "surprise" for you, and wanted to let you know things will be different.
~Marisa Kirisame
The note's handwriting seemed rushed, as did the tie on the string.
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Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 11:00 pm
[Alice :: Alice's House]
Alice stared at the Mini-Hakkero Reactor and the note for the longest moment, then let out a scream. A scream of anguish, of anger, of fear, bellowed out loudly in pain for what she had lost. Marisa was gone...She disappeared. Where did she go? What kind of surprise? Why did she do this?! Alice felt tears stinging her eyes as she grabbed the Hakkero and held it to her chest, breathing deeply.
"I will find you myself, Marisa. I don't need help. I'll find you, Marisa." She said to herself, bringing the Hakkero inside her house and setting it on her end table.
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