Solarstream
It's all in the cards
- Location
- Zombie World
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] So I Like Foxes Don't Judge Me
Fool Bloom (A Magical Woman Quest)
- Thread starter ArlequineLunaire
- Start date
- Original Fantasy Modern
- Location
- Pittsburgh PA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] So I Like Foxes Don't Judge Me
- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Incidentally, this gets me picturing what a Magical Girl Heart of Darkness would look like. Whereas Fool Bloom so far I guess has been a Magical Girl Northanger Abbey/Snow Queen mashup (with a bit of Kokoro in there maybe)
Vote closed
- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
The Long Winter Thaws 2.5
- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] So I Like Foxes Don't Judge Me
-[X] "Koyomi could act like that back then, but the years must've taken their toll on her."
-[X] Inari, the genderfluid deity of rice and a ton of other things, you could tell by the white stone foxes around.
-[X] Join in with his theatrics. "Yes, a spellbinding adventure awaits! Gods, heroes, princesses, cute boys!"
-[X] "Koyomi could act like that back then, but the years must've taken their toll on her."
-[X] Inari, the genderfluid deity of rice and a ton of other things, you could tell by the white stone foxes around.
-[X] Join in with his theatrics. "Yes, a spellbinding adventure awaits! Gods, heroes, princesses, cute boys!"
"Yes, a spellbinding adventure awaits! Gods, heroes, princesses, cute boys!"
The Yuuki boy paused in his monologue when he heard Miyako chiming in like that. "Right, who said that? Ahem, I mean, what cretin doth intrude upon an orator's speech with such, er, bad acting?" he snapped.
"Bad acting?" Miyako snapped back, "I was acting just like you were!"
"Well, yes, but that doesn't count. It's the wrong context entirely!" he said as he stepped down off the stage and approached, then stopped once he was close enough to see it was Miyako. "Oh, it's you! D-do forgive my outburst, I failed to realise your voice was the same as whom I beckoned to our humble theatre." He then bowed, a one-kneed, hand over heart variant rather than the Japanese norm, and added, "You are addressing Yuuki Reiji, er, I'm the theatre owner's son."
Miyako went along and bowed back, and then some, "And thou wouldst be addressing Nozawa Miyako. Now rise, O Yuuki Reiji."
Both back on their feet now, Reiji asked, "So, what brings you here? Audition, script submission, upcoming plays, er, prop maintenance? We don't have any shrine maiden roles right now, but we're always looking for new scripts."
Only with that did Miyako realise she still hadn't changed out of her miko uniform. At least the hakama does a good job hiding my, er, bulge, she had to think. And she'd have given anything to say that Well I do have this Hanazakari fanfic you could adapt, but she reluctantly filed that thought away, being here for a more pressing reason.
"Actually, I wanted to ask you about Kai Kazuya, since you brought him up when we first met," she said. "I know he had his emotions stolen, and that his family's acting all weird about him."
Reiji's joie de vivre sunk like a stone. "You're… not here about the theatre?" Nevertheless, he moved onto say, "Right, Kai Kazuya. We were in the same class in high school, I guess his parents thought sending him anywhere more prestigious would attract attention."
"Wait, why? If him having his emotions taken was embarrassing, couldn't they have gotten a Hanazakari to thaw him?" Miyako asked.
Reiji then told her, if not directed her, "Nozawa, try to get inside the mind of an aristocrat. Calling a Hanazakari in would mean admitting to someone, anyone, the government or a corporation even, that the heir to your prestigious lineage was but another victim of the Frost Fair. At that stature of society, it'd be sheer humiliation!" He then lowered his voice, "In their defence, I wouldn't be too trusting of the Hanazakari myself."
Miyako chose to ignore that last comment. Instead, she homed in on, "Wait, even if they gave him up for adoption or something, you know he's a Kai!"
"But of course, it's an open secret in town nowadays, despite the Kai's efforts. And since adoption could leave a paper trial, they just stick him in the attic," Reiji said then sighed, "All this and they still don't purify him, I'd judge their status and refusing to do so for twenty years has left them all the more stubborn.
Oh yes, and Ryoichi too. He was conceived just after Kazuya says he had his emotions taken, a new heir to replace the old."
"So he wouldn't want his big brother purified more than anyone," Miyako said. "That'd be his whole raison d'etre gone…"
"Ah, succession crises, not so thrilling when they're no longer on the stage," Reiji said.
"But we can purify him!" Miyako proclaimed with her fists clenched, "The Head of the local shrine may not be a Hanazakari, but she says she'll try anything."
"Purification without a Hanazakari, now that'd be something," Reiji said, rubbing his chin, "My, overturn the whole order of our post-Frost society even, I guess stranger advancements have been made.
Problem is though, even in some flipped script where the Kai are okay with it," Reiji suddenly stopped, and only slowly said, "Kazuya, you see, has had… things happen to him, things that are going to haunt him if his emotions return."
"You mean, someone hurt him?" Miyako asked. She was a runaway trans girl, so there was plenty she wished she could block out herself.
Reiji took a while to answer, with him opening his mouth to decide those weren't the right words several times. Finally he said, "Nozawa, I am ill qualified to breach this topic, but… do you think there can be consent when you can't feel emotions?"
Miyako gasped. "You don't mean…"
"I had to keep taking lessons from teachers I knew had violated Kazuya," Reiji's voice went cold, "Kazuya may not have been able to feel anything, but I sure did for him."
"…Then that settles it," Miyako stated, "We have to thaw his heart."
"Nozawa, believe me that I want that as much as you do, it's just…" Reiji said, "What will Kazuya feel if his emotions do come back?"
"But if his emotions don't come back, people could try to do that same thing to him again," Miyako said.
"Well we could- no, you do have a point," Reiji relented.
"And even if we do need a Hanazakari," Miyako then said, "There's- look, I know you don't like her, but there still is Arisugawa Koyomi, 'that Witch'."
"Her?" Reiji raised his voice, "Oh come on, you've seen how volatile she is! How can you be sure her black heart won't end up killing Kazuya in the process?"
"She's not volatile!" Miyako shouted back, "She's just, y'know, been through a lot." But that still made Miyako think, Is that really why Koyomi said she wouldn't get involved? Because there's a risk she could lose it and kill Kazuya?
"If you say so," Reiji muttered, but then asked, "Nozawa, pray tell, how long have you known Kazuya?"
"Er, a day," Miyako had to admit.
"Does seem a lot of effort for someone you barely know, heroic as that sounds. Still, Kazuya's someone I know, so I guess that balances it out," Reiji said.
Er, I've mostly been asking other people to help him, now I think about it, it occurred to Miyako. Is he thinking of me like some typical theatrical hero? ...'Cause actually that sounds pretty cool! Kinda.
Reiji then asked something else, "Can I make a request? When you try purifying Kazuya, I want to be there, especially if that Witch shows up too."
Article: To that Miyako could only say:
[ ] "Of course you can come, Kazuya's your friend. When his emotions come back, it'll be good to have someone he knows around."
[ ] "Sorry, but no. It's too dangerous, if not for Koyomi, then definitely for that Heart Leech."
[ ] "…I wanna say no, but you'll just come anyway, won't you?"
[ ] "I'll check with Higashi-sama if she'd be okay, she's the head priestess."
[ ] "Actually, there's something else you could do. If Kazuya's family get suspicious, could you distract them instead?"
[] "Look, you're worrying too much, the purification's gonna go fine!"[Miyako lacks the Emotional Strength to stay this]
[ ] Write-in
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MordredRaal
Agitating
- Pronouns
- She/They
[X] "Of course you can come, Kazuya's your friend. When his emotions come back, it'll be good to have someone he knows around."
I do think it's important to have someone he knows nearby, if his emotions coming back resurfaces trauma or something similar.
Don't think that the family keeps close enough track of him to prevent the purification and afterwards we're gonna be on their shit list either way.
I do think it's important to have someone he knows nearby, if his emotions coming back resurfaces trauma or something similar.
Don't think that the family keeps close enough track of him to prevent the purification and afterwards we're gonna be on their shit list either way.
- Location
- Germany
[X] "Of course you can come, Kazuya's your friend. When his emotions come back, it'll be good to have someone he knows around."
Well, that turned rather dark very quickly. So yeah, he probably can use a friendly face around to help him settle.
Well, that turned rather dark very quickly. So yeah, he probably can use a friendly face around to help him settle.
- Location
- Earth
- Pronouns
- He/Him
One way or another, we're sending Miyako back to the theater.
I mean, so far Miyako has just run around town trying to figure out if anyone else can do something.
[X] "Of course you can come, Kazuya's your friend. When his emotions come back, it'll be good to have someone he knows around."
I like the strategic angle of NHO's suggestion, but Miyako feels more sentimental than strategic to me.
StarSingerBlue
Zenryoku Zenkai !
- Location
- The City of Lights
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] "Of course you can come, Kazuya's your friend. When his emotions come back, it'll be good to have someone he knows around."
M-my plan won...
M-my plan won...
- Location
- Earth
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Foxes are pretty neat. The sun is a mixed bag.
- Pronouns
- He/They
[X] "Of course you can come, Kazuya's your friend. When his emotions come back, it'll be good to have someone he knows around."
- Location
- Pittsburgh PA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] "Of course you can come, Kazuya's your friend. When his emotions come back, it'll be good to have someone he knows around."
Hestia&theCourt
Turns out we're plural too.
- Location
- In transition
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] "Of course you can come, Kazuya's your friend. When his emotions come back, it'll be good to have someone he knows around."
- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Little behind the scenes info: If Miyako trying to restore Kazuya's emotions herself had won, the idea is she would've tried to do so by dating Kazuya. Miyako then would've started worrying if someone with their emotions drained could give consent, where Kazuya would've brought up being assaulted himself.
That might've been a more natural way of bringing it up, but at the same time you wouldn't have heard it from Reiji's more impassioned perspective
Solarstream
It's all in the cards
- Location
- Zombie World
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] "Of course you can come, Kazuya's your friend. When his emotions come back, it'll be good to have someone he knows around."
- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yeah, good catch. I'd say Reiji leaping to that conclusion still makes sense, given he'd be used to self-sacrificing heroes from theatre and other media. But I might edit the post to have Miyako at least think that in response to him
Vote closed
- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
The Long Winter Thaws 2.6
- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] "Of course you can come, Kazuya's your friend. When his emotions come back, it'll be good to have someone he knows around."
Miyako then put any fanfic theatre-pitching to Reiji on hold, as Reiji then bid her to come with him to the Kai manor.
"No need to worry, I'll have little issue in helping Kazuya on out of there," he grinned at first, but then had to admit, "Well, mostly because his family couldn't care where he goes, just as long as he can't be traced back to them."
Another reminder of how isolated Kazuya was by on his family made Miyako wince. On the upside, it wasn't that long a walk from theatre to manor, even if it again was uphill. Likely bydesign, Miyako could only see the pointed rooftops of the manor behind its looming grey walls, though it sure looked imposing now the moon had risen.
Rather than just crouch down, Reiji dramatically dove into the bushes surrounding the walls, poked his head out briefly to look in all directions, then started to sneak. Miyako however mostly chose to shimmy along the walls but kept looking side-to-side at every second.
It wasn't till they'd reached the other side of the manor that Reiji pointed up to Kazuya's attic window. He took a stone off the ground, started winding his arm up like he'd only heard a pitcher described to him, and threw it at said window. Well, he tried to, it ended up bouncing down to the gutter, but did still get the attention the two were hoping for.
Kai Kazuya approached the window and looked down, seeing that girl who held him and that guy from school waving up at him. He opened and stepped out of the window and began casually walking down the sloped roof, which made Miyako want to scream at him to be careful, it looked like he could fall at any second.
Nevertheless, Kazuya made the leap onto the surrounding walls without looking like he'd even put in effort. Miyako and Reiji both spread their arms to catch him from there… yet they missed, with Kazuya plummeting straight onto the ground.
Miyako gasped, then spun her head around to make sure the rest of the kai hadn't been alerted, while Reiji bent down to ask his friend, "Kazuya, are you alright? How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Three. And I suppose I am in pain right now," Kazuya said, though his voice did nothing to indicate that. He remarked on looking up at the two, "I remember. You would be from school some years ago, and you from outside that restaurant."
"Kazuya, it's me, Yuuki Reiji. I wasn't just 'from school', we sat next to each other, we had assignments together," Reiji told him, but this elicited only a nod from Kazuya.
"And I'm Nozawa Miyako, er, again. We're gonna get your emotions back Kazuya-kun!" she beamed, before what Reiji said earlier came back to her. "That is, if that's okay with you, Kai-san. You'd like your emotions back, right?"
"I suppose the 'correct' answer is to say I would," Kazuya said, then tilted his head sideways, "I know my family would not want that, but then again, I am not bothered that they would not either way."
Reiji hesitated, but Miyako cut through by saying, "We'll take that as a yes then. Alright everyone, to the shrine!"
Given the distance she'd already walked from shrine to theatre and then to the manor, Miyako got the idea that they could use the forests surrounding Hinodeharu as a shortcut. But as Miyako had only been at the shrine one day and could only recall it was east of the city centre… that didn't go well. As Miyako swatted away the leaves and bark that now clung to her, Reiji then pointed out, "Hey, isn't this the third time we've passed by this tree?"
Miyako's face flushed, but she then suggested, "Er, maybe one of us could climb it, get our bearings? Kazuya-kun's, well, not in the best condition to, but I reckon I could-"
"I'll do it," Reiji cut in, as he tried to bound up the tree in a series of acrobatics, but this just left him hanging by a branch. Then climbing up the tree more normally, he shouted from above, "I can the shrine! It's… to the west? How lost did we get?" Miyako did not need to hear that last part.
They had to climb a few more trees to keep their bearings straight, but finally the three made it to Hinodeharu Inari Jinja, Asahi already there waiting for them. "There you are, Nozawa-chan. I mean no offence to the young man, but why have you brought another with you? We can't risk the Kai family tracing their son's purification back to us," Asahi said.
"Oh it's okay, Reiji's that theatre boy I mentioned. He's Kazuya-kun's friend, he wants more than anything to see him thawed, he won't tell," Miyako said, pleading up to Asahi.
"Believe me, priestess, you have my utmost gratitude for doing this. It's just, well," Reiji said before taking a deep breath, "There are some memories of Kazuya's I don't know how he'd handle if they came back. I thought if I was there, it might soften the blow."
"Ah, I see. An extra hand may help too, the plan was to have one of us chant the liturgy and another attack Kai's Heart Leech. If we had another to defend him, we could replicate three of the four ways Hanazakari thaw hearts," Asahi said.
"Ooh, we could do all four if we had your son along," Miyako said, then muttered, "Or Arisugawa-sama…"
"I could ask him, but no," Asahi said to that, "If we succeed but the Kai find out, I can't risk Hayato being a target of theirs."
That just made Miyako worry that if the Kai found out, Hayato would become a target by association. But she could see now why a mother wouldn't want her son involved like that.
"Well, I don't mean to intrude, but wouldn't I be better than chanting the liturgy?" Reiji said as he puffed up his chest, "I am trained in the arts of the the-a-tre, after all."
"Yeah, if the plan's to scare off the Heart Leech with hammy acting," Miyako smirked as she couldn't help but say.
"L-like you're any better!" Reiji exclaimed back; Kazuya unfazed the whole while.
"Ahem, as I am the kannushi here, it's best if I handle the chanting," Asahi stepped in, before she instructed, "Normally I would just ask the one to be purified to bathe beforehand… but since all of you are somehow covered in pieces of forest, I'd recommend you all bathe, purification or no."
"Heading through the forest was Nozawa's idea," Reiji insisted, not that Asahi cared either way.
Between the cold night and colder bath, Miyako was left shivering as she followed Asahi, not helping that she'd expected an onsen.
Asahi led everyone to a secluded moonlit waterfall, having instructed Kazuya to chant prayers all the while. If Miyako felt cold, she could only imagine how freezing Kazuya felt, with him per the ritual having stripped down to near nothing, and now about to stand beneath that waterfall. Kazuya made it sound like he still felt pain, he just… didn't care that he felt pain.
And of course, Miyako's eyes ultimately couldn't resist slowly scanning over Kazuya's body, but then Reiji intervened by lifting her chin all the way up.
"It's not the eleventh of the month, but for now tonight will have to do," Asahi mused, before she handed Kazuya a pile of salt and a cup of sake and told him, "Sprinkle this into the waterfall thrice, then spit the sake into it thrice."
"That does not seem to have any coherent purpose," Kazuya said. While Miyako knew he didn't mean that as an insult, if he had at least that would mean his emotions were coming back.
"It is to invite the kami into your body and have it expel your infestation," Asahi told him. Kazuya then did so, as Asahi gave him the next step, "Once you're in the waterfall, repeat till ritual's end: 'harai tamae kiyome tamae rokkon shōjō'." She then brandished a multi-tasselled wand while handing Miyako a simplified one.
"Okay, so what are the bow and blade for?" Reiji had to ask, pointing to the longbow and longer sword Asahi had bought with her. "Don't get me wrong, they're most remarkable weapons, but still…"
"That is an Azusa Yumi, the signature bow of a shrine maiden. The sword is a nodachi donated long ago by a samurai, one of Lord Shingen's men so it is said. Both have been blessed by the kami… and both may prove necessary if this Heart Leech does not go quietly," Asahi went over. She then looked directly at Reiji and asked, "Do you still want to say, knowing there could be danger?"
"I've made up my mind, I won't leave Kazuya!" Reiji said, sounding insulted that Asahi would even ask. Asahi just nodded.
Miyako winced as she saw Kazuya step right into a waterfall, much as she knew he wouldn't care. The participant, the priestess, and the priestess-to-be all began chanting, and given Wand Hanazakari had no single purification phrase the three had to default to established liturgies. This chanting went on into the night, yet still Kazuya didn't look changed at all. Until…
A violent cry seemed to come directly from Kazuya's torso, before his whole body jerked and he suddenly broke into a coughing fit. An overgrown leech coloured stark white, with rows upon rows of icicles for teeth slithered up from his mouth, though the bulk of the creature still lay within him. Asahi then grabbed the bow and shot an arrow right into its gaping maw, but the leech just crushed it with its 'teeth'.
"Kazuya!" Reiji cried, before he ran over to try seizing this leech… to no avail. The leech instead sprang forth and wrapped itself around Reiji's right leg, then in a display of strength threw the theatre boy right at the waterfall cliff, with all of Reiji feeling the jagged stone impact.
Miyako saw all too well that this Heart Leech had had years of suck emotions dry. That didn't stop Asahi, calm and collected this whole time, from suddenly roaring out at the leech, "I won't be fall victim to your likes again!" Yet all the arrows she then fired were swatted away by the leech.
On top of that, Kazuya was starting to sound like he was asphyxiating, the leech still clogging his throat. To this, Miyako grabbed the giant two-handed sword, of Takeda heritage or not, and to tried slice the leech right in two. But the sword being so heavy to wield gave the leech time to wrap its midsection around Miyako's arms, leaving her struggling to chop anything.
Asahi in her fury grabbed one of the fallen arrows and wielded it like a dagger against the leech, only for it to break against its slimy skin. The leech, icicles bared, went to lunge right at her… only for the leech to stop, sensing a new source of heat had arrived.
"Alright, you've got me. Out of practice or not, I can't just leave you be," Koyomi's voice then came from above, as she stood right atop the waterfall climb, before she laughed, "Once more for old times' sake, heh?"
"Arisugawa-sama!" Miyako exclaimed, before it came to her, "No, Starknight Black Rose…"
"After all these years, I'm still…" Asahi muttered, not sounding as relieved as she could be.
"Henshin," Koyomi stated.
On one hand, Miyako was disappointed her transformation phrase wasn't, y'know, more elaborate. On the other, time was of the essence here, and see was still about to see a Hanazakari in action!
A circle of vines, leaves, and thorns sprang up from the ground around Koyomi, leaving her now clad in a double-breasted black jacket studded with rose petals, white duelling trousers, and an emerald longcoat decorated with vine patterns, studded thorns, and black rose epaulettes. Her auburn hair went from tattered to flowing, with a single lock on the side of her face turning a silvery white. Her wrinkles even cleared up too.
And in her hands, per her duelling outfit, was a black sword that resembled a quill, its hilt even looking like an ink pot.
"Huh, not quite her old costume," Asahi noticed, "Though I guess it wouldn't fit her anymore."
Miyako then put any fanfic theatre-pitching to Reiji on hold, as Reiji then bid her to come with him to the Kai manor.
"No need to worry, I'll have little issue in helping Kazuya on out of there," he grinned at first, but then had to admit, "Well, mostly because his family couldn't care where he goes, just as long as he can't be traced back to them."
Another reminder of how isolated Kazuya was by on his family made Miyako wince. On the upside, it wasn't that long a walk from theatre to manor, even if it again was uphill. Likely bydesign, Miyako could only see the pointed rooftops of the manor behind its looming grey walls, though it sure looked imposing now the moon had risen.
Rather than just crouch down, Reiji dramatically dove into the bushes surrounding the walls, poked his head out briefly to look in all directions, then started to sneak. Miyako however mostly chose to shimmy along the walls but kept looking side-to-side at every second.
It wasn't till they'd reached the other side of the manor that Reiji pointed up to Kazuya's attic window. He took a stone off the ground, started winding his arm up like he'd only heard a pitcher described to him, and threw it at said window. Well, he tried to, it ended up bouncing down to the gutter, but did still get the attention the two were hoping for.
Kai Kazuya approached the window and looked down, seeing that girl who held him and that guy from school waving up at him. He opened and stepped out of the window and began casually walking down the sloped roof, which made Miyako want to scream at him to be careful, it looked like he could fall at any second.
Nevertheless, Kazuya made the leap onto the surrounding walls without looking like he'd even put in effort. Miyako and Reiji both spread their arms to catch him from there… yet they missed, with Kazuya plummeting straight onto the ground.
Miyako gasped, then spun her head around to make sure the rest of the kai hadn't been alerted, while Reiji bent down to ask his friend, "Kazuya, are you alright? How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Three. And I suppose I am in pain right now," Kazuya said, though his voice did nothing to indicate that. He remarked on looking up at the two, "I remember. You would be from school some years ago, and you from outside that restaurant."
"Kazuya, it's me, Yuuki Reiji. I wasn't just 'from school', we sat next to each other, we had assignments together," Reiji told him, but this elicited only a nod from Kazuya.
"And I'm Nozawa Miyako, er, again. We're gonna get your emotions back Kazuya-kun!" she beamed, before what Reiji said earlier came back to her. "That is, if that's okay with you, Kai-san. You'd like your emotions back, right?"
"I suppose the 'correct' answer is to say I would," Kazuya said, then tilted his head sideways, "I know my family would not want that, but then again, I am not bothered that they would not either way."
Reiji hesitated, but Miyako cut through by saying, "We'll take that as a yes then. Alright everyone, to the shrine!"
Given the distance she'd already walked from shrine to theatre and then to the manor, Miyako got the idea that they could use the forests surrounding Hinodeharu as a shortcut. But as Miyako had only been at the shrine one day and could only recall it was east of the city centre… that didn't go well. As Miyako swatted away the leaves and bark that now clung to her, Reiji then pointed out, "Hey, isn't this the third time we've passed by this tree?"
Miyako's face flushed, but she then suggested, "Er, maybe one of us could climb it, get our bearings? Kazuya-kun's, well, not in the best condition to, but I reckon I could-"
"I'll do it," Reiji cut in, as he tried to bound up the tree in a series of acrobatics, but this just left him hanging by a branch. Then climbing up the tree more normally, he shouted from above, "I can the shrine! It's… to the west? How lost did we get?" Miyako did not need to hear that last part.
They had to climb a few more trees to keep their bearings straight, but finally the three made it to Hinodeharu Inari Jinja, Asahi already there waiting for them. "There you are, Nozawa-chan. I mean no offence to the young man, but why have you brought another with you? We can't risk the Kai family tracing their son's purification back to us," Asahi said.
"Oh it's okay, Reiji's that theatre boy I mentioned. He's Kazuya-kun's friend, he wants more than anything to see him thawed, he won't tell," Miyako said, pleading up to Asahi.
"Believe me, priestess, you have my utmost gratitude for doing this. It's just, well," Reiji said before taking a deep breath, "There are some memories of Kazuya's I don't know how he'd handle if they came back. I thought if I was there, it might soften the blow."
"Ah, I see. An extra hand may help too, the plan was to have one of us chant the liturgy and another attack Kai's Heart Leech. If we had another to defend him, we could replicate three of the four ways Hanazakari thaw hearts," Asahi said.
"Ooh, we could do all four if we had your son along," Miyako said, then muttered, "Or Arisugawa-sama…"
"I could ask him, but no," Asahi said to that, "If we succeed but the Kai find out, I can't risk Hayato being a target of theirs."
That just made Miyako worry that if the Kai found out, Hayato would become a target by association. But she could see now why a mother wouldn't want her son involved like that.
"Well, I don't mean to intrude, but wouldn't I be better than chanting the liturgy?" Reiji said as he puffed up his chest, "I am trained in the arts of the the-a-tre, after all."
"Yeah, if the plan's to scare off the Heart Leech with hammy acting," Miyako smirked as she couldn't help but say.
"L-like you're any better!" Reiji exclaimed back; Kazuya unfazed the whole while.
"Ahem, as I am the kannushi here, it's best if I handle the chanting," Asahi stepped in, before she instructed, "Normally I would just ask the one to be purified to bathe beforehand… but since all of you are somehow covered in pieces of forest, I'd recommend you all bathe, purification or no."
"Heading through the forest was Nozawa's idea," Reiji insisted, not that Asahi cared either way.
Between the cold night and colder bath, Miyako was left shivering as she followed Asahi, not helping that she'd expected an onsen.
Asahi led everyone to a secluded moonlit waterfall, having instructed Kazuya to chant prayers all the while. If Miyako felt cold, she could only imagine how freezing Kazuya felt, with him per the ritual having stripped down to near nothing, and now about to stand beneath that waterfall. Kazuya made it sound like he still felt pain, he just… didn't care that he felt pain.
And of course, Miyako's eyes ultimately couldn't resist slowly scanning over Kazuya's body, but then Reiji intervened by lifting her chin all the way up.
"It's not the eleventh of the month, but for now tonight will have to do," Asahi mused, before she handed Kazuya a pile of salt and a cup of sake and told him, "Sprinkle this into the waterfall thrice, then spit the sake into it thrice."
"That does not seem to have any coherent purpose," Kazuya said. While Miyako knew he didn't mean that as an insult, if he had at least that would mean his emotions were coming back.
"It is to invite the kami into your body and have it expel your infestation," Asahi told him. Kazuya then did so, as Asahi gave him the next step, "Once you're in the waterfall, repeat till ritual's end: 'harai tamae kiyome tamae rokkon shōjō'." She then brandished a multi-tasselled wand while handing Miyako a simplified one.
"Okay, so what are the bow and blade for?" Reiji had to ask, pointing to the longbow and longer sword Asahi had bought with her. "Don't get me wrong, they're most remarkable weapons, but still…"
"That is an Azusa Yumi, the signature bow of a shrine maiden. The sword is a nodachi donated long ago by a samurai, one of Lord Shingen's men so it is said. Both have been blessed by the kami… and both may prove necessary if this Heart Leech does not go quietly," Asahi went over. She then looked directly at Reiji and asked, "Do you still want to say, knowing there could be danger?"
"I've made up my mind, I won't leave Kazuya!" Reiji said, sounding insulted that Asahi would even ask. Asahi just nodded.
Miyako winced as she saw Kazuya step right into a waterfall, much as she knew he wouldn't care. The participant, the priestess, and the priestess-to-be all began chanting, and given Wand Hanazakari had no single purification phrase the three had to default to established liturgies. This chanting went on into the night, yet still Kazuya didn't look changed at all. Until…
A violent cry seemed to come directly from Kazuya's torso, before his whole body jerked and he suddenly broke into a coughing fit. An overgrown leech coloured stark white, with rows upon rows of icicles for teeth slithered up from his mouth, though the bulk of the creature still lay within him. Asahi then grabbed the bow and shot an arrow right into its gaping maw, but the leech just crushed it with its 'teeth'.
"Kazuya!" Reiji cried, before he ran over to try seizing this leech… to no avail. The leech instead sprang forth and wrapped itself around Reiji's right leg, then in a display of strength threw the theatre boy right at the waterfall cliff, with all of Reiji feeling the jagged stone impact.
Miyako saw all too well that this Heart Leech had had years of suck emotions dry. That didn't stop Asahi, calm and collected this whole time, from suddenly roaring out at the leech, "I won't be fall victim to your likes again!" Yet all the arrows she then fired were swatted away by the leech.
On top of that, Kazuya was starting to sound like he was asphyxiating, the leech still clogging his throat. To this, Miyako grabbed the giant two-handed sword, of Takeda heritage or not, and to tried slice the leech right in two. But the sword being so heavy to wield gave the leech time to wrap its midsection around Miyako's arms, leaving her struggling to chop anything.
Asahi in her fury grabbed one of the fallen arrows and wielded it like a dagger against the leech, only for it to break against its slimy skin. The leech, icicles bared, went to lunge right at her… only for the leech to stop, sensing a new source of heat had arrived.
"Alright, you've got me. Out of practice or not, I can't just leave you be," Koyomi's voice then came from above, as she stood right atop the waterfall climb, before she laughed, "Once more for old times' sake, heh?"
"Arisugawa-sama!" Miyako exclaimed, before it came to her, "No, Starknight Black Rose…"
"After all these years, I'm still…" Asahi muttered, not sounding as relieved as she could be.
"Henshin," Koyomi stated.
On one hand, Miyako was disappointed her transformation phrase wasn't, y'know, more elaborate. On the other, time was of the essence here, and see was still about to see a Hanazakari in action!
A circle of vines, leaves, and thorns sprang up from the ground around Koyomi, leaving her now clad in a double-breasted black jacket studded with rose petals, white duelling trousers, and an emerald longcoat decorated with vine patterns, studded thorns, and black rose epaulettes. Her auburn hair went from tattered to flowing, with a single lock on the side of her face turning a silvery white. Her wrinkles even cleared up too.
And in her hands, per her duelling outfit, was a black sword that resembled a quill, its hilt even looking like an ink pot.
"Huh, not quite her old costume," Asahi noticed, "Though I guess it wouldn't fit her anymore."
Article: Koyomi then made her opening move on the Heart Leech:
[ ] Jumping straight down and stabbing it from above.
[ ] Calling on the darkness to surround the creature. The leech could still see in darkness, but the darkness could still drain its heat.
[ ] Surrounding herself in darkness, keeping cool to stop the leech from sensing her heat.
[ ] Surrounding the four non-Hanazakari in darkness, so that this would just be her and the leech.
[ ] Baiting the leech to stretch as far as it could, out of Kazuya.
[] Turn the darkness physical and battering the leech with it.[Koyomi has lost the Technique needed to weave such magic.]
[ ] Write-in
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MordredRaal
Agitating
- Pronouns
- She/They
[X] Baiting the leech to stretch as far as it could, out of Kazuya.
Not sure which option is best, they all seem to have merit, except the third which seems counterproductive since the leech could still attack the vulnerable targets.
Going with this one for now, since presumably the deeper parts of the leech are more vulnerable.
Not sure which option is best, they all seem to have merit, except the third which seems counterproductive since the leech could still attack the vulnerable targets.
Going with this one for now, since presumably the deeper parts of the leech are more vulnerable.
StarSingerBlue
Zenryoku Zenkai !
- Location
- The City of Lights
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] Baiting the leech to stretch as far as it could, out of Kazuya.
- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Since leeches sense by heat (at least these ones do anyway), the idea is that it'd make Koyomi if not invisible, then at least harder for it to track