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

[X] Give her the papers and let her know she can come to the mansion for more ideas and suggestions.
- [X] Then catch up to the others.


You nod to yourself and put away the pencil and unused papers, then organize and straighten the notes before sliding them across the table. "These are for you," you say, and she looks down curiously at the top page. "Some more notes and ideas, especially for things we didn't go over." She looks up and stares at you, and you shrug. "I am going to be a bit busy for the next week, but after you've studied these a bit and started thinking about how you're going to go about things, you can come to the mansion and I can probably help you a bit more." She tries to say something, fails, and tries again - then wipes her eyes with her sleeve and smiles.

"Thank you. I'll … I'll work really hard at all this!" She picks up the papers and holds them against her chest, then stands quickly and bows. "Thank you. I'll …." She trails off and her eyes widen fearfully. You cock your head as she hunches her shoulders.

"Is something wrong?" Lulu stands up worriedly, but Kogasa shakes her head.

"N-no, I - I was just going to say that I'd go back to the cemetery and start studying these, but that scary youkai is probably still there, so …." You smile and shake your head.

"It's alright, Kogasa. That's just my sister. Be polite and don't try to bother her and you'll be fine." She stares at you.

"Your … sister?" You nod.

"Yep. Oh, if she stares at you, make sure to apologize for trying to scare her earlier." She keeps looking at you, then nods and takes a deep breath.

"Okay. Be polite, and apologize if she keeps watching me. Thank you." She bows again and starts to turn, then stops and looks at you hesitantly. "Is … is it really okay for me to come to the mansion?" You nod and stand up.

"Yep. Meiling will be at the gate during the day, so just talk to her and if I'm home she'll let you in." She relaxes and stands up straight, then smiles at you and bows again before hurrying off. Ilya finally stands up and stretches. "So, shall we rejoin the others?" Lulu looks after Kogasa.

"Hm, you don't want to see your sister?" You frown.

"It's not that I don't, but I do have a responsibility to the others, even if Sakuya is still with them, and Remilia probably wants to be alone right now. Besides, if we went now, it would seem like I don't trust Kogasa." You start moving around the table, and Lulu reluctantly follows after you pass her.

"So why did you decide to help that girl?" You look back at Ilya and shrug.

"I don't know, really." A mischievous grin spreads across her lips and she looks slyly at Lulu.

"Hmm. Maybe Lulu's hypnotizing you while you're asleep!" Lulu spins around indignantly.

"I am not hypnotizing Flan. She's just being a nice person!" That makes Ilya laugh and applaud, and Lulu turns back to you. "Flan, I'm not -" You put a finger against her lips and smile, then hug her gently.

"I know you aren't. Even if someone were hypnotizing me, too many people would notice, anyway. And Ilya knows that, too - she's just teasing you. Right, Ilya?" You let Lulu go and give your other friend a stern look. Before Lulu turns around, Ilya sticks out her tongue at you, but her expression is contrite by the time Lulu sees her.

"I'm sorry, Lulu. Flan's right, I was just teasing you - but it's your own fault for being so cute when you're upset, and so easy to tease besides." She chuckles as Lulu starts blushing, and kisses her cheek before dancing away. "So, where are we going?" Lulu tilts her head to the side, then smiles and dashes away. You and Ilya look at each other and shrug, then you hop forward and sweep her into your arms before flying after Lulu. After a few seconds, however, Lulu slows to a halt and looks back. You slow along with her, and as her expression turns from curiosity to indignation, Ilya waves. "Well, we don't know where we're going." You nod solemnly, and Lulu breaks into laughter before waving for you to follow her and starting off again at a walking pace. You set Ilya down and catch up.

"Sorry about that. Zest is going to be dueling the head monk, and I don't want to miss it, since this will be the first time I've gotten to see him fight in a long time." Come to think of it, you and he still have a duel to settle … but with Lulu seeming so happy, you aren't going to bring it up just now. Agito waves from one of the district-separating gates and the three of you walk a bit quicker to reach her - although you can tell Lulu wants to break into another sprint and is holding herself back for your and Ilya's sakes. And possibly that of decorum, although you don't think Megane will mind all that much.

"What's this about Zest dueling Byakuren?" Agito winces and shrugs as she leads you toward another gate. Through that gate, you can see the beginnings of a crowd forming. "And are those spectators?" She nods unhappily.

"Well, you remember back in that chin- chi- that place where that Shou person lives with the pagoda thing?"

"'Chinjudo'," you correct her, and she scowls and waves it off.

"Well, there was a spear in there, so Sir asked if she wouldn't mind sparring with him, since that's what he uses, too. But Byakuren said it wouldn't even resemble a fair fight, but that she would gladly accept in her place." She shrugs and after a moment Lulu hurries ahead. Agito looks over at you and you shrug, taking shelter under Ilya's parasol as the Unison Device quickly follows Lulu.

"Do you think he'd want to fight Berserker?" You gently bop Ilya's nose and she giggles.

"That might be a good exercise for Vita, but please don't try it against anyone else without telling them about him - especially the part about how good he is about controlling his strikes." She looks at you, frowning, and starts to reply, then laughs when she realizes that's what you meant.

"Alright, alright. Hm, looks like we get good seats." You nod and walk toward the space between Lulu and Nanoha, leaning against the tree and letting Ilya lean against you. Lulu, of course, sits up next to her mother, and after a quick smile at you goes back to staring intently at Zest. Ilya shakes her head slightly, but doesn't say anything, but you can tell that she's paying quite a lot of attention to the combatants as well.

You look over the crowd - an assemblage of humans and youkai, none of whom look particularly powerful, all dressed as monks - and Byakuren's immediate supporters, Ichirin and Shou; the latter looks unhappy about something. Not getting to fight, perhaps? Byakuren herself looks quite peaceful, not yet in a guard stance, holding a plain spear … and with a strange scroll floating beside her. You cock your head curiously.

"It's something like a Device, it seems," Nanoha says, and you glance at her. "You were wondering about her scroll, right? She said she uses it to enhance her physical abilities. They're not going to use flight or anything apart from spear fighting, though - no Spell Cards or magic-enhanced attacks." You nod and look again at the fighters - Byakuren's spear is a simple straight-bladed affair, suitable only for thrusting and possibly draw-cuts, quite unlike Zest's multi-pointed weapon, which is more suited for slashing but also has good hooking potential. The two ready themselves and a gong sounds.

As the two start slowly circling each other, you cock your head. Byakuren's movements definitely don't seem like those of a trained fighter - her balance is too off, and she's walking rather than properly shuffling. Is that because she doesn't know what she's doing, or is she confident enough in her abilities that she feels she doesn't need to use proper footwork? After a few seconds of circling, Zest makes the first move, lunging and lashing out for a cut at her trailing leg, but she blocks the strike by slamming the butt of her spear into the ground, trying to take advantage of the hook on his spear to gain the initiative. With her hands so close together, however, she can't actually strike before he can yank it back, shuffle to the side, and your eyes narrow as you study her stance and her blocks. When Zest finally manages to knock her spear out of line - by utilizing the gap between the prongs of his spear and pushing it to the side - you sigh.

Byakuren isn't actually trained in the spear, but she is trained in the staff. She's just fast and strong enough that it doesn't matter as much - and if she decides to use the longer grip for the staff, it won't really matter at all, they'll just be using different disciplines with the same effect. Zest, of course, probably knew before you - but Lulu doesn't, based on her gasps and cheers. You shake your head as Byakuren launches yet another too-stiff strike, but as Zest pushes her spear out of line and prepares to riposte, she hurls herself across his front, hooking his spear in the process, and then shoves him back. Of course, he easily regains his footing, but he loses the initiative, and Lulu gasps in shock as Byakuren drives him back, finally using her spear as its intended and launching rapid-fire thrusts at Zest's face and chest. Whether she's slowing down so she doesn't actually impale him, or if he's just good enough block them, she isn't able to actually strike him. Instead, he constantly retreats, flowing easily from guard to guard, until finally he has the distance he's looking for, and sweeps his spear from left to right at chest level. Byakuren, of course, hops back outside his range and starts to advance, and when she sees his strike mutating into an overhead blow, she sweeps her spear into an overhead horizontal block - that, of course, Zest cuts through before stepping back and spinning to recover his weapon into a proper guard. You laugh and applaud, and after staring at the two parts of her spear, Byakuren bows and accepts her defeat gracefully. The assembled monks-in-training all applaud as well, following Ichirin and Shou's leads, and even you manage to clap politely. Lulu, much to Megane's shock, rushes out into the arena and gives Zest a hug, followed by Agito - and they would have been followed by the horrified Megane, but Fate holds her back. Byakuren takes it in stride, however.

"That was the last thing we had planned," Nanoha says, and you look at her. "Unless you wanted to do something else while we're here?"


What do you do?

[ ] Return to the mansion.
- [ ] Get that puzzle finished!
- [ ] Cook some things for your friends.
- [ ] See how Kyouko and Homura are doing.

[ ] Other?


DM Note: Little known fact: Flandre can be summoned as a Rider-class Servant.

[X] Return to the mansion.
- [X] See how Kyouko and Homura are doing.


You shake your head, as does Ilya, and you wait patiently for Lulu, Zest, Agito, and Byakuren to get back to you. Fate finally lets Megane go, but of course now there isn't much she can do. "An amazing match, Zest, Byakuren," she says. Zest grunts and nods, and Byakuren bows.

"Hmph. You need to go up against Signum sometime." Nanoha scowls at her companion.

"Vita-chan!" Byakuren just laughs.

"It's good to see everyone getting along." Vita snorts, earning herself a small bop on the head. Byakuren looks over the rest of your group before nodding. "Shall we return to the entrance? Ichirin can inform Remilia -" You hop to your feet.

"I'll get her. There's a path to the cemetery from inside here, or do I have to leave the temple first?" She gives you a look, as if considering whether she should let you go, then nods.

"Yes, if you follow the left wall as you enter the temple, you will come across a small gate leading to the cemetery." You curtsy, wave to your friends, and turn to hurry through the complex, cutting across to the wall and making your way toward the entrance. You find the entrance to the grave yard easily enough - it's a little deeper into the temple complex than the visitors' hall - and slip through, keeping an eye out for Remilia. You don't see her at first; instead, you see the mouse youkai, sitting tensely next to a grave marker, staring intently at what looks like a blasted tree. A second glance reveals that it isn't a dead cherry blossom tree, however, but your sister, with her wings enlarged and wrapped about herself.

"Hi," you say as you draw even with Nazrin, and she leaps a good meter in the air and comes down almost swinging her bent rods. You stop and stare at her - her lower lip looks heavily chewed, her pupils are pinpricks, and her breathing is sharp and shallow. After a few seconds, her face starts turning red and she scoots back, embarrassed. You shake your head and continue down to your sister. "Remilia," you say as you tap the outermost wing. "It's time to leave." After a moment, the wings slither back and shrink to their natural size, and Remilia yawns. Her eyes flicker toward Nazrin and she giggles.

"Pour little mousey. Well, if we're leaving, I suppose we should say goodbye to that woman. Hmm … let's go, Flandre." You link your arm with hers and walk back toward Nazrin; she hunches her shoulders and backs away, scooting to the side so she can then move behind you, and Remilia titters. Nazrin follows you all the way back to the visitors' hall, where you meet up with everyone else and Byakuren. Lulu and Ilya both give you thumb-up signs after seeing you. Byakuren bows to you and Remilia, surreptitiously glancing at Nazrin.

"Remilia, I hope you were not too uncomfortable?" Your sister shrugs disinterestedly.

"I can not say I am fond of sunlight, although the trees did help. But graveyards should have caves." Byakuren blinks and cocks her head curiously. "Caves. Big holes that go underground. Dark and cool, caves make good hiding spots. You should excavate around the cemetery and create a cave." Byakuren's expression cools slightly and she nods.

"I see. We'll take that into consideration." Her voice, however, is still as calm and pleasant as ever. She bows and gestures down the path. "Come, let me walk you to your carriage." Remilia nods and wheels about, and Sakuya appears behind you with a parasol. Ilya and Lulu link arms and hurry to catch up to you, although they stay far enough that you can't link with them. Looking back, it seems like almost everyone else is matching up - Nanoha and Fate, and Megane and Zest - except Agito and Vita. They both have their arms crossed over their chests, and if Vita looks grumpy, Agito looks like she's trying not to burst into laughter. "I wish you all a good day." Byakuren stops at the gate and bows to everyone, and stays there at least until everyone is inside.

"… They didn't seem like the kind of people who'd get you offended," Vita says suddenly, once the carriage starts moving. "I mean, you said you were going to be staying away from Byakuren because you don't like her, but it seemed like they did something to irritate you and you overreacted and left in a snit." Remilia nods.

"There were four reasons for my leaving, but my manner was influenced only by the lesser two reasons, those being an attempt to irritate Byakuren, and annoyance over Ichirin's failure to introduce her partner." You look at her in confusion, as does everyone else, and she nods. "You did not fail to see the clouds about her person, correct? Those were her accompanying nyuudou, Unzan. She had no reason to conceal his existence, therefore I chose to take umbrage at the insult, particularly as he is the stronger of the two."

"Then why didn't you say anything?" Remilia smiles at Fate.

"Because Ichirin will be punished more harshly when she does finally tell Byakuren of her deceit, and because I would have more fun making them worry about my motives by not mentioning it. My fourth reason for leaving is that there is something buried underneath the cemetery, and I wished to examine the seal keeping it bound. It should hold until spring, as it is supposed to." You look at your sister - she's not saying things, and it's hard to tell if she's doing it just to be sneaky, or if there's a good reason for not explaining what she's doing. Then she yawns rather primly, head down and free hand over her mouth. "Dear me. I am afraid I shall have to sleep when we return." Fate and Nanoha frown.

"Are you okay? If you're pushing yourself just to -" Remilia waves dismissively, cutting off Fate.

"I rarely do anything just for any one purpose. I am, for example, showing myself to Gensokyo, which I rarely do, especially in such a short time after visiting Reimu. Not merely showboating, these visits also demonstrate that I am not afraid of a potential confrontation with Yuuka, now that we are not bound by hospitality laws - never mind that she is being spoken to about solutions to her objections and is extremely unlikely to approach in a hostile manner." You do look closely at your sister - she didn't actually deny that she was pushing herself, after all, and she did exert herself with Loki the other night - but she seems fine and smiles at you.

After returning to the mansion, you ask Sakuya where Homura and Kyouko's rooms are and follow her directions. Despite your invitation, your friends don't accompany you - Lulu stays with her mother, and Ilya goes to visit her doppelganger/cousin. Honestly, it's probably for the better, since you don't want them to feel like they have to be with you all the time and you don't want Homura's group to feel too pressured by having more people around. The question now is, did Homura ask for something this far away from everyone else, or did Remilia have some other reason for putting them on the fourth floor?

Sayaka answers the door when you knock, looking surprised to see you. "Ah, good afternoon, Flandre. Did something happen?" You cock your head to the side.

"No, I simply wanted to see how you were doing. I thought perhaps you might be feeling left out." She smiles and shakes her head.

"No, no, we're fine - oh, right!" She opens the door all the way and steps out of the way. "I'm sorry, please come in!" You nod your head and walk into the entry room, which is open and contains only a few pieces of furniture - a low coffee table, two full couches, two dining chairs, and two loveseats. Each of the girls has a labeled room, and there's a kitchen, a bath room, and a modest balcony patio as well. "Um, is there anything I can get you, or did you just come to see Kyouko?" You eye her curiously, then decide that Homura hasn't made her decision public yet. Well, that's fine.

"I'm fine, but I didn't just come to see Kyouko. Before that, though - is there anything I shouldn't talk about? Anything that might cause friction or bad feelings for the rest of you?" Her eyebrows rise in surprise and she glances at the patio, then sits on one of the loveseats while you hop onto the arm of the couch next to it.

"Um, well, Mami-san is … still a little upset about Kyouko staying here, so - I know it's probably hard, if you want to talk to her about this stuff, but if you could not say something about it if she's in the room, that would help. Um, not that that should really be an issue until they come back, anyway." You cock your head and she scratches her head sheepishly. "Uh, they had another … little fight this morning. Kyouko wants Mami-san to stay here, or at least try to ask for some kind of special consideration so she can either stay here part of the time, or live here and go take care of Mitakihara on a daily basis - you know, so she's safer. But Mami-san won't do it, and they both left to go do something else. I think Mami's down in the kitchen, but I'm not sure what Kyouko's up to. Madoka and Homura are on the patio right now; Homura's having … little crying fits, and won't say what's wrong, so I'm trying to keep out of the way. Which isn't too hard, really, since I've got some school stuff I'm catching up on." She looks back out at the patio and shrugs. "I'm not sure what you should or shouldn't say around Homura, though - you'd probably know better than me, really, since you knew her before. And Madoka … she won't like hearing about Kyouko and Mami fighting, or Kyouko leaving, because she's such a nice person. It won't really make her mad or anything like that, but …." She shrugs helplessly and you nod.

"And what about you?" She blinks and gives you a confused look. "What shouldn't I bring up around you?" She blinks some more, then laughs self-consciously.

"Oh, there's nothing that really bothers me. I'll be fine." You cock your head again.

"… Can I ask what you made your wish for?" Her expression freezes and she stops breathing for a moment, then nods stiffly, unhappily.

"Okay, that … that - I -" You put a hand on her arm and nod.

"Okay, I won't ask about that." She closes her eyes and nods. "But things like that are why I asked. It's better to be honest now and avoid worse feelings later." She nods again and takes a few ragged breaths before looking back over at you.

"Okay … yeah, for me, just … don't ask about my personal life, okay? Unless it's something I bring up." You nod. "And the same for Kyouko and Mami-san. I'm not sure what, exactly, happened with Kyouko, but Mami-san's parents died in a car crash. Madoka … well, there are things that will make her sad, but I really can't think of anything that could make her … well, break down or get upset the way the rest of us will for certain subjects. With Homura - do you know about that ring she wears on that necklace?" You shake your head and she sighs. "That's something very important to her - the one time she did anything to Madoka was when she tried looking at that necklace. Homura actually pulled a gun on her, then had a really bad breakdown. So, uh, please don't bring that up." You nod; the ring probably belonged to a previous Madoka, so it makes sense that Homura would keep it - maybe the last one she failed to save?


What do you do?

[ ] Keep talking to Sayaka.
- [ ] About Homura and how they came here.

[ ] Go find Kyouko.
- [ ] Test out her maiding capabilities.

[ ] Go talk to Homura and Madoka.
- [ ] Ask if they're going to Hakugyokurou.
- [ ] Subtly see if Homura has let Madoka know about her plans.

[ ] Other?

[X] Go talk to Homura and Madoka.
- [X] Ask if they're going to Hakugyokurou.
- [X] Subtly see if Homura has let Madoka know about her plans.


You look out the door and watch the scene for a moment before looking back at Sayaka. "Have you been enjoying yourself here? Have you had any problems?" She blinks, then starts to nod, then gets a weird look on her face and scowls at you.

"… Yes, I've been enjoying myself, no I haven't had any problems. Don't confuse me like that!" You giggle and she sighs.

"So what are you working on? For school." She sighs again and slumps over the arm of the couch.

"Writing. We all got different genres to write something for, and I got mystery. And nothing works!" You cock your head, but she waves you off. "No, it's fine, I just can't figure out how to get the investigator to figure out how it happened without making it really easy."

"Does the investigator need to figure it out?" She laughs sharply and starts to respond, then freezes as the gears in her head start turning. Then she scrambles off the couch, almost banging her legs against the table, and sprints into her room, muttering to herself. You chuckle and shake your head, then proceed toward the patio. You knock politely as you step outside, and Madoka looks back.

"Ah, Flandre-san!" She waves and you nod back; Homura stays as she is, however, and you slowly advance toward them. There's no snow on the patio itself, and the air is warm, but the trees and lawn are still peppered by snow.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," you say, and Madoka shakes her head. Homura looks at you, too, and her head twitches in a minute shake. You sit down on a swinging seat and look out into the forest. You can hear some insects, and it seems like a few birds are around, too … it probably seems very peaceful. "Have you been enjoying yourselves here?" You look back at them, and if Homura is as closed-up as she usually is, Madoka is open, if smiling nervously.

"Yes, but … I keep feeling like we don't belong here. Everything here is so … nice and elegant, and I'm … I mean -" Homura cuts her off by leaning against her shoulder and lightly hugging her arm, and you shake your head.

"You're perfectly fine, Madoka. All of you have no reason to worry about your place here." Homura nods.

"See? They even accept Kyouko." Homura sounds perfectly serious - and she may be - but it makes Madoka giggle and you laugh, too, before looking closely at the dark-haired girl.

"Sayaka said you didn't seem to be feeling well. Do you want to have Patchouli take a look at you? You shouldn't have picked up anything here, but if something happened at the shrine …." You trail off, and Homura pales, proving that that is what's been bothering her - but Madoka looks worried.

"Ah! That fairy she saw - could it have done something?" You purse your lips as Homura looks down, unable to keep looking at you.

"Fairies will usually either do something directly or take something. It's not likely that something a fairy did would have a subtle effect. Of course, it's also almost impossible that something malicious could have done something at the shrine, so -" Homura shakes her head.

"I - I'm fine. I'll be … better by tomorrow. I promise." Madoka leans down to look at Homura's face.

"Homura-chan, don't push yourself, okay? If you need longer to get better, it'll be alright." Homura stares at her for a moment, then nods mutely. Madoka hugs her tightly, rocking back and forth, and after a moment Homura hugs her back. You watch them for a few seconds, then wonder if you should leave - you're obviously interrupting them. Before you can slip away, however, Homura jerks back, face red.

"I - I'm sorry, Flandre." Madoka blushes, too, looking very apologetic, and you wave them off, smiling.

"It's fine, Homura. Like Madoka said, take your time and make sure you get better." Her guarded mask cracks for a moment, and she looks truly surprised by your response - but only for a moment. Then she fixes it and looks as expressionless as usual.

"Um, but Homura-chan is right. You probably came here for a reason, right?" You huff lightly.

"I came here for two reasons. The first really was to see how Homura is doing." You nod to Homura, and she nods back, looking a bit unhappy. "The second … I think you heard my sister explain the schedule? In a few days we'll be visiting Hakugyokurou, and I was wondering if you were planning to come, or if you wanted to skip it, too." Madoka looks a little guilty, but Homura tilts her head curiously.

"You aren't curious as to whether we plan to see the Forest of Magic?" You hesitate, then shrug.

"The Forest is of interest mainly to magicians. It isn't that I'm uninterested in whether you wish to visit it so much as you deciding to stay here and rest won't affect much unless you really like seeing potentially dangerous plants or something. Hakugyokruou, on the other hand, is a civilized location. I think Sakuya's spoken well of it, too, if you want a more objective account of what it's like." Homura nods, then looks uncomfortable.

"… There are … actual ghosts there?" You nod.

"Will that be a problem?" She hesitates again, then shrugs.

"Kyouko might have a problem with it," she says simply.

"Is … is there anything you can do?" You look at Madoka curiously, and she nods. "Mami-san and Kyouko-chan, they're really close, but … since Kyouko-chan decided to stay here, they've been fighting, and …."

"Kyouko wants Mami to at least try to make a separate deal with your sister, so she can take care of Mitakihara while also having a safer place to stay and not leave Kyouko alone, but Mami wants to stay in Mitakihara so she can respond to things more easily, and so she isn't reliant on someone else to let her help people." She pauses and gives you a look before continuing. "She hasn't said anything, but I also suspect that she objects to the nature of the mansion's inhabitants." You keep your face straight and don't snort or laugh, only nodding. She's right, of course, but she can hardly just say it outright without being rude, and you can't agree without explaining how you know that.

"I … I don't want you to try and get them to change their minds, but … I don't want them to fight. They're both hurting, but they won't admit it, so …." She squeezes her hands together and hunches her shoulders, and after a moment Homura leans against her, arm snaking around her shoulders in a hesitant hug. Surprised, Madoka looks up, then relaxes and smiles, sparking a teary smile in Homura.


What do you do?

[ ] Go see Kyouko.
- [ ] Test out her maiding capabilities.
- [ ] See if you can get her to get along with Mami for the next few days.

[ ] Go see Mami.
- [ ] See if you can get her to get along with Kyouko for the next few days.

[ ] Take a nap.

[ ] Other?