Flandre's Quest (Touhou) World - (Madness Quest)

[X] Shopping.
- [X] Bring Cinque to model.


Lindy's gaze sweeps over the room one last time before she turns to you. "Very well. Thank you, Flandre. You are dismissed." You rise and curtsy, then turn to the audience and curtsy to them as well before heading back to the stairs. Fate stands as you approach and you follow her out of the room, although you do notice that no one else so much as gets out of their seat. So they're still going to discuss you for a bit …. Once you get to the car, Fate finally relaxes, and you pat her shoulder sympathetically.

"Would you like me to drive? I remember how to get back to Long Arch." You've never actually driven a car before, but it doesn't seem that complicated.

"… You don't have a license, do you?" Fate sounds genuinely curious, and after a moment you shake your head. She sighs, relieved, and rubs her eyes. Did she actually think you'd managed to get one at some point? "I'm sorry, but I can't let you." You nod, a bit disappointed, and she starts driving.

"… If I have another request to do something, would you prefer to hear it now, or should I wait a few days?" She looks up at the red light and sighs tiredly, then motions for you to continue. "I'd like to go shopping for some things, especially for Ilya, and in light of that, since Cinque resembles her fairly well, I'd like to take her with me." You consider asking to bring her sisters along as well, but you doubt that would be allowed. Even without that request, Fate is silent for much of the way back.

"Giving you some time to go shopping isn't a problem. Taking along one of the Numbers … I'll see about it. If it's just one, I might be able to get something done." You smile happily.

"Thank you, Fate! And I won't say anything, in case you can't get permission." She looks embarrassed, and makes a point of keeping her face turned away from you after that.

---

The next few days pass without incident; a troop of cadets come one day to use the training facilities, and you help with some of the paper-shuffling for lack of anything better to do. During the nights you teach Satsuki some more, and you keep playing your games with Fate and the cyborgs.

Then, as you're playing your sister's composition, a timid knock on the door catches your attention. "Come in," you call out, and a long moment later the door slides open, and Nove sheepishly sidles in, closing the door behind her. You turn to face her.

"… Um, sorry for interrupting. I … didn't really think you'd hear that." Another case of wanting to tell you something but not being able to bring herself to make that final push? "Um, anyway - Fate told us you'd be taking Cinque out shopping tomorrow, and, um … thank you." You blink and cock your head curiously. Nove's expression turns from one of nervousness to something just plain miserable. "Cinque … they can pin specific events on her. The only reason she's with us and not locked away somewhere like Dieci is because … because of me. Because I'm easier to handle when she's around. Even though all this time, she's the one who's actually wanted to get better, who's remorseful about what she did and wants to make up for it." You nod and Nove relaxes a bit. You consider the brown-haired gunner.

"Have you been able to talk much with Dieci?" Nove hesitates before nodding, and finally a more positive expression crosses her face.

"Yeah. She'll be on restrictions, just like Cinque, but … not as harsh. Not as lenient as Wendi and me, but …." She trails off and shakes her head. "They'll send her here, too, but not until after you're gone." You nod, not all that surprised; Dieci's experiences with you haven't been entirely healthy for her, after all, and even your appearance seemed to have a significant effect on her. Having to be around you would probably giver her a breakdown … "Poor thing, deprived of the glory of your presence due to human frailty." You very carefully keep from laughing at Headless's commentary, and Nove shakes herself. "Anyway, um … thank you, again, for letting Cinque get out and do something. It's … it means a lot to us." And then she tries to scurry out of the room, but loses any remaining shreds of dignity when she runs into the door, having apparently forgotten that she closed it. You wait until you can't hear her running footsteps before laughing and turning back to the piano. What a silly girl.

---

You hum happily to yourself as you leave the jewelry store. Cinque looks around nervously, and you smile at her. "Thank you for the suggestion. I got a little focused on looking for a particular thing and didn't think to look at what was available." She nods and starts to look melancholic.

"My sisters would sometimes get the same way. We all have our specialties, so when they were being taught, they would look at a problem through the lens of their own particular skillset. We - my older sisters and I - would try to teach them to look at the situation as a whole, first, to see what options could be taken, and then apply their own skills." She shakes her head and, for some reason, smoothes the sleeves of her dress. "Still, I did not expect you would be so attracted to the synthetic gems." You laugh and pat the case you're carrying. You weren't sure what Ilya would like, so you got her several necklaces, all of different colors, and two tiaras - one of gold, with opal, moonstone, and pearl, and the other of silver, with a star ruby as the centerpiece, supported by blue and green sapphires.

"Why not? They're better than 'natural' ones, and do you know how hard it is to find red diamonds that big and pure? Natural red diamonds are rare." She gives you a skeptical look.

"I didn't know diamonds could be red." You nod.

"Yep. Red, blue, pink, green, yellow. Green diamonds are actually quite nice." You look around. "Anyway, now we need to find a cosmetics shop." Cinque blinks and stares at you.

"Make-up?" You nod.

"I don't wear it, of course - not much point - but it will be good for Satsuki to learn. And if she already knows, then it's something she can use." Cinque keeps looking at you for a moment, then turns and starts walking. You follow her steady pace. She can't be more than forty meters from you without having the security implants activate - or more specifically, forty meters your Device, but only when Loki is activated; if Loki deactivates or is removed from your possession, it counts as her being too far away. She can't move too quickly or in a pattern that's 'too evasive'. She isn't allowed to use any terminals, Devices, or other communication technologies …. In spite of all the stupid restrictions, she seems to be enjoying herself, and people aren't looking at her strangely. You have your mask on, of course, and Fate did explain that there are laws against too much mobbing around celebrities - there have apparently been incidents in the past where things ended poorly for everyone involved.

Of course, you don't spend much time in the cosmetics shop - without any knowledge of the brand names, all you have to go by is what's available, so you simply pick one of the more comprehensive kits. It's probably not as high-quality as it should be, for Satsuki, but since you're going to be teaching her, it's good for her to start with something not as good, so she can feel the difference when she uses something that's actually nice. You consider getting something for Ilya, too, but you definitely want something that's good enough for her. And if she doesn't know much about cosmetics … hmm, maybe you could get Satsuki to teach her, using Patchouli? Major purchases completed, you and Cinque walk toward a clothing store, more to look around than to look for something specific. As you walk above a dining area, however, Cinque does something very strange - she stumbles, then scurries away from the railing she'd been walking along. You frown at her, then look over the edge at the dining area. Nothing strikes you as something to fear - in fact, you see Lutecia and her mother almost right beneath you!


What do you do?

[ ] Go say hello and see what they're doing.
- [ ] Whatever Cinque's afraid of, you'll protect her from it!

[ ] They're probably enjoying some family time; leave them for now.
- [ ] Get something for Cinque at the clothing store; maybe they have embroidered eye-patches?
- [ ] Ask her what bothered her.

[ ] Other?

[X] They're probably enjoying some family time; leave them for now.
- [X] Get something for Cinque at the clothing store; maybe they have embroidered eye-patches?


You cast your gaze over the rest of the dining area once more, searching for anything obvious that would have made Cinque afraid, then hop back from the railing. Whatever it was, it either vanished or isn't something immediately apparent … probably the latter, considering that she's still almost as pale as her hair and desperately trying to keep from shaking. Lulu doesn't get to spend all that much time with her mother, still, and you'll have plenty of time with her once you get back to Gensokyo, so they don't need you and Cinque intruding on their precious family time. You gesture with your head for Cinque to follow, then gently push her alongside you when she hesitates. It's only when it's clear that you won't be heading down into the dining area that she relaxes and starts keeping pace with you on her own.

"… You … aren't going to ask me?" You see your target now - the clothing store that takes up nearly a third of the shopping center. You shrug in response to Cinque's question.

"I mean, I didn't see anything that looked like it deserved that kind of response, which means that it's something personal. So not only is it not necessarily my business, but also that I'm probably not the person to talk to about it." She frowns unhappily as you slip past a group of rambunctious teenaged children. "That would be Nove. Let her know that she's not the only one who can let fear of something prevent her from acting." Cinque's expression turns thoughtful, and you examine the store directory. You probably won't find anything for you or Remilia - the wings make it difficult for most non-customized clothes, after all, the dresses you got in Mitakihara notwithstanding - but if there's anything that looks really nice you might be able to get something for Ilya. And you can probably find something that would suit Satsuki, of course …. "Hm? What's this 'costume' section?" Cinque shrugs in confusion, so you find a store associate and ask him the same thing. He frowns at you, head cocked in confusion, then shakes his head.

"Ah, sorry. You seemed familiar, for some reason. Anyway, it's sort of a holding area for non-standard clothing items. Cultural or religious apparel, holiday wear, copies of famous Bureau members' Barrier Jackets, things like that. Enough people come from other worlds that most stores consider it worthwhile to keep some important items in stock year-round, for people who use a different calendar." You nod approvingly, then smile dazzlingly at the man.

"Thank you!" You give him a quick bow, then grab Cinque's hand and pull her along as you jog through the store. Your first stop, of course, is the normal clothing area. They might have eye patches there, after all, and she's close enough in size to you and Ilya that it won't be strange to spend some time there, first. As expected, of course, you don't find anything suitable for Ilya, although some that might work for Cinque catch your eye … and others catch her, when she thinks you aren't paying much attention to her. She doesn't even seem to suspect anything when you hang around so she can look more thoroughly; instead, she seems embarrassed at having taken so long. You find some things that might work for Satsuki, but nothing looks terribly interesting. And then you find the costume area.

The initial area is relatively ordinary, focusing primarily on relatively exotic clothing styles and materials, including clothes and objects designed to minimize the appearance of prosthetic limbs and injuries - and you do see a stand with a large selection of eye patches … that Cinque doesn't even look at. Instead, she's looking past it, where you can see several dozen areas outlined for being related to different events, and an entirely separate area, on a lower floor, that is marked as formal wear of various kinds. Well, you found what you were looking for …. You walk up to the stand and try to find some that might suit her. A black one with a silver rose, a red one that's shaped like a heart, a black one that has a tiny face sticking its tongue out ….

"Er, Flandre? What are you doing?" You look innocently at a slightly red-faced Cinque, look back at the eye patches, and then back at Cinque.

"… Picking out eye patches that I think might look good on you?" It's easy to tell that she's upset about that; what's difficult is determining if it's because she's embarrassed or angry. After a few false starts, though, she shakes her head.

"Please … it's … the patches I wear have sentimental value. I appreciate the offer, but I must decline." You hold up rose-embroidered patch to her eye anyway, and it does look good - although perhaps it would be better in gold or red than in silver - then sigh and put the patches back on the stand.

"Alright. Then just a couple things to pick up, I think." You walk back to the normal clothing area and look around for some of the things she was looking at. She gives you a confused look as you pick the green tartan-pattern skirt, then the black shirt, and by the time you've picked out a nice red jacket to go with them, she's completely red-faced and sputtering.

"W-w-w- … N-no! I mean, what, why -?" A few people give you odd looks.

"You were looking at these earlier, so I though you liked them. And they probably would look good on you - why don't you try them on?" She almost looks like she's panicking.

"N-no - I - why?" You sigh and walk up to her, then place one hand under her chin, holding her jaw up so she doesn't look like she's trying to bite something inside her mouth.

"I'm not allowed to get you things just because? Well, if you must have a reason, then consider it payment. Not just for coming out with me today so I can use you for a model, but everything you've done - the times you've talked with your sisters and tried to get them to accept me, or at least understand my position. The times you've talked with Satsuki and helped her with something she didn't feel was worth bringing to my attention, or was something I'd told her to work on and she just wasn't getting right. I do notice these things, and I am very appreciative. But I don't know how to express my gratitude, so I'm falling back on old habits. Back when my sister and I were ruling Hesse or parts of it, earlier, if someone did us a service, then we would give something to that person to show our appreciation." Cinque calms down, but her face is still red, and she looks down at the clothes in your arms instead of meeting your eyes. Her hands clench and unclench reflexively, but after a few seconds she finally reaches out to take the clothes from you.

"Ca- … can you … get some things for my sisters, too?" Her voice is almost too quiet for a human to hear, but you nod.

"Sure. Try those on, though, and then come pick things out for them." She nods slowly and makes her way to the dressing room. Of course … how much of her attitude is real gratitude, and how much is incidental effects from being around you? Your mood drops a bit, and you almost wish that Lulu were here alone, or with friends or acquaintances instead of her mother, so you wouldn't feel bad interrupting.


What do you do?

[ ] Do some more shopping.
- What for?

[ ] Time to return to Gensokyo.

[ ] Other?


DM Note: Yes, that second option's a time-skip. Regarding the possible other thing that was brought up (that I remember) - Loki's little thing won't be finishing here.