User:NekoRex/SDM2

	Right, well, I may as well go, then.... *	Reimu_Hakurei starts, sighing as she tries to think of a good story. Unfortunately, her mind is a little foggy due to that sake she had been drinking earlier. 	Bah...I guess I'll just tell this one; it's pretty short compared to the other stories. 	Once, long ago, there was a cruel Daimyo who punished any citizens who could not pay their taxes by drawning them on an ox court. When the Daimyo finally died, Enma looked down at him and condemned his very soul; he was to become a horrible monster, hated by all. And, when his life as a youkai was over, he would go straight to hell. *	#Scarlet_Devil_Mansion :You're not channel operator *	You are now known as Kogasa_Tatara 	Now, this Daimyo had been turned into a Wanyuudou by Enma, and he wandred about all of Japan, seeking humans. He would take the souls of anyone that looked at him and drag them straight to hell as punishment. *	Remilia_Scarlet gives channel half-operator status to Kogasa_Tatara 	Marisa Kirisame's phantom floats through the mansion walls, quite impressed by the decorations all strewn about. Eventually, as Kogasa's story ends, she wanders into the main hall where the storytelling is taking place, finally finding Reimu. She doesn't know what's going on yet, so she hangs back and listens herself. *	Sakuya_Izayoi raises an eyebrow, already fairly pleased with Reimu's story thus far. 	Time after time, the Wanyuudou would wander about, collecting the souls of the living as he passed by. Once he felt he had enough, he would dump them in hell again, there they were tortured by the hellwardens for all of eternity. Now, it just so happened that there was a particularly skilled swordsman around at the time called Shingeki no Takahashi. He eventually learned about this Wanyuudou and set out to put a stop to i 	Long story-short, he confronted the Wanyuudou, who attempted to steal Takahashi's soul from him, but he was protected by Inari no Myoujin, who is said to protect warriors. With Inari's blessing, Takahashi was able to fight the Wanyuudou without losing his soul. It was a hard battle, as the Wanyuudou had many tricks up its slee--..er...spokes. 	It's, ah...a head floating in the middle of a wheel, you see.... *	Reimu_Hakurei pauses for a moment to take another sip of sake before continuing. 	However, even with Inari's blessing, Takahashi's sword would deal no damage to the Wanyuudou, so he eventually had to retreat. Thus, the monster continued on it's rampage. 	((*its)) 	"Oh? A Twist? I wonder what he did then?" Kogasa whispers. 	Now, it's around this time that the Wanyuudou wandered into a particularly special place, where there are lots of other youkai. Takahashi observed where the Wanyuudou had went and sent word down to the people in the area, warning them of the impending danger. Luckily, the Wanyuudou wasn't in much of a hurry, so a horse could outrun it, but it was still close. 	(I don't get it, are they telling old tales?) Marisa thinks to herself, floating nearby. (I'm surirpsed this lot would enjoy stories about other youkai.) 	So, the town did all that they could to prepare for the youkai, but on such short notice, they were only able to prepare one spiritualist. In fact, this spiritualist was a miko, much like myself. She got together some charms and awaited the youkai's arrival. 	And, again, to make a long story short and avoid telling a tale that would take all night, the miko eventually drove off the Wanyuudou. It did return a few times, each time having to be repelled. *	Kogasa_Tatara frowns. "Oh, that's all?" She was expecting something more climatic. 	But that's not even the scary part. It's still around, you see. In Gensoukyou, actually. It comes arond every so often and is very, /very/ annoying, and so I have to show up and do something about it. The end. *	Sakuya_Izayoi makes an overly-dramatic gasp at this reveal. <Sakuya_Izayoi>	Oh no, how horrifying! I hope our gatekeeper never has to deal with such a thing, that sounds awful! *	Remilia_Scarlet giggles softly. <Marisa_Kirisame>	(Are all of these stories just about people boasting? How lame.) <Reimu_Hakurei>	It could have been far longer, but...there's no need for that. *	Reimu_Hakurei shrugs, making her way into the next room to extinguish a lantern. *	Reimu_Hakurei emerges from the room with the lanterns and takes her place back among the crowd again. <>Ambiance<>	 With an excited splutter, one of the fairy maids fight their way to the front of the crowd, and soon start telling one of their stories! It seems to be all about how they once saw a ghost while doing their work here-- although, from the sounds of it, it sounds like it may have just been another fairy with a pillowcase on their head.. <Marisa_Kirisame>	Marisa waits around awhile while some of the faeries tell some stories. Quickly, she figures out what's going on. (Ghost stories, eh?). The stories from the faeries weren't too fantastic either, so she quickly came up with a fun little prank to play. <Marisa_Kirisame>	After another fairy gets done with a story, Marisa quickly floats over and settles next to Reimu, suddenly 'appearing' as her familiar form, and probably sending literal chills up the spines of anyone sitting nearby her, and suddenly catcalling, "Yawn. These are the kinda stories you guys listen to at night?" *	Sakuya_Izayoi stiffens up a little when there's a sudden and fairly unwelcome voice piping up amidst the others seated around her, and with a frown, she glances over, eyebrows raised. <Sakuya_Izayoi>	When on earth did you get here? <>Ambiance<>	Marisa's making a concious effort to hide the fact she's a phantom, for both the obvious reason that she'd rather have few people know she's actually dead, and for the fact her planned 'prank' will be more funny this way. *	Reimu_Hakurei glances over at Marisa as she spawns in, having felt her presence collectively build up beside her, so she's not too terribly startled. However... <Reimu_Hakurei>	Uh...Marisa, shouldn't you be at Alice's house or something? *	Remilia_Scarlet startles at the unexpected voice, eyes focusing on Marisa. When did she show up? And how did she manage to get in without her knowing...? <Marisa_Kirisame:Marisa>	grins. "Magic." she replies to Sakuya. It's not like her ability to sneak into the mansion hasn't been tested before. <Sakuya_Izayoi>	.... A lot of work to put towards attending a party.. <Flandre_Scarlet>	Ahhh? Marisa? *	Flandre_Scarlet giggles softly to herself, a brief flicker of power flooding the room from Flan's direction. <Flandre_Scarlet>	Hey...Marisa... <Marisa_Kirisame>	She kinda winks at Reimu but ignores actually answering her query. She then frowns at Flandre. "Eh? What is it? I'm about to tell a better story then what I've heard from you chumps so far." <Sakuya_Izayoi>	My story's better than anything you could have cooked up, thank you. <Remilia_Scarlet>	Hmph. I have my doubts, but I will humor you. Go ahead. *	Remilia_Scarlet waves a dismissive hand before sitting back again, folding her hands in her lap once again. *	Flandre_Scarlet spreads her wings somewhat, as though in preparation for taking off in the air as an aura of power begins to radiate from her. <Flandre_Scarlet>	Want to have a rematch, Marisa? <Reimu_Hakurei>	-- Remilia! *	Reimu_Hakurei speaks up, tossing a glance in the hostess' direction. Clearly, she was asking her to do something about her little sister before things started to die. *	Sakuya_Izayoi glances warily over at Flandre, wondering what's up with her so sudden-- but she's not too concerned. At least, not until she opens her wings up. <Sakuya_Izayoi>	Flannie, you need to stay still.. *	Remilia_Scarlet huffs softly, standing up and touching Flandre's arm gently. Her voice is soft, but there's a hint of a stern tone behind it. <Remilia_Scarlet>	Flannie, please. After the party is over, you are welcome to play your games. But not during. *	Flandre_Scarlet hesitates, looking at her sister before huffing softly, wings drooping back down into their resting position. <Flandre_Scarlet>	Okay... *	Flandre_Scarlet has been pacified for now, but that may not be the case if Remilia has to leave the room...  <Marisa_Kirisame>	Marisa herself looks a bit startled, but tries to play it off. "Eh heh heh, we can have another rematch later, but I think we oughta listen to some stories still, right? Right, so, listen up." *	Reimu_Hakurei sighs in relief, glad that things' didn't turn into fire and brimstone just as things were getting started. With that, she glances at Marisa again. <Reimu_Hakurei>	So...what's your story? <Marisa_Kirisame>	"So, There was once a greedy, greedy woman. She liked all kinds of things. All sorts of gold, shiny baubles, food enough for kings. Anything she could get was hers from mundane stuff to precious rings." *	Sakuya_Izayoi reaches out to gently pat Flandre's shoulder, feeling a little bad that she's dismayed for now.. but there'll be some time eventually. <Sakuya_Izayoi>	.. Sounds like you. <Marisa_Kirisame>	There ain't nothin' she didn't want. She'd buy from each store front. Spent and spent and spent her cash, she collected things to add to her stash." <Marisa_Kirisame>	Marisa ignores the snide comment, quite aware of who this story might be about, although she was definitely exaggerating her own tendencies.  <Marisa_Kirisame>	"But it didn't last forever, and one day, she ran outta gold. How would she get more stuff, you think? It'd have to be something bold." <Marisa_Kirisame>	"But the crafty woman got a plan in mind. Most insidious, they soon would find. The perfect idea, she'd just loot and steal! She'd have what she wants, at a five-finger deal!" <Reimu_Hakurei>	Guess we're all telling stories about ourselves, eh, Sakuya?  *	Reimu_Hakurei says, having more or less figured all that out. Not like it was hard or anything.  <Sakuya_Izayoi>	Does that make you a floating disembodied head in a spoked wheel?  *	Sakuya_Izayoi winks.  <Sakuya_Izayoi>	But, yes, I suppose we all are..  <Marisa_Kirisame>	"How would she do it, you might want to know? Well that's a secret, that's not for show. The story is about this greed, Unending want, this woman's need!" <Reimu_Hakurei>	Yes...large disembodied head, that's me alright.  <Marisa_Kirisame>	Marisa's story takes a feverish pitch as she goes faster and faster with the lyrics of this tale. "It must me mine! I'll have it all! Every trinket, token, book and doll! I'll add it to the great big pile! They'll never suspect me, all the while! I'll sell it just to get more yen, then I'll take it back right then!" <Sakuya_Izayoi>	(This isn't even a ghost story..)  <Marisa_Kirisame>	"Ahaahahahaha!" Marisa laughs, apparently amused by her own story. "It's mine, it's mine, it's mine, ALL MINE!"  <Sakuya_Izayoi>	... Well, you can't have the books in the library, so if that's your intention, maybe you should leave..  <Marisa_Kirisame>	But Marisa suddenly stops her frantic pace, coming to a dead stop as she takes back a serious look.  *	Reimu_Hakurei casually wonders if Marisa has gone insane by being dead...  <Marisa_Kirisame>	"But that's not the end, and it's not about me, I'm not done quite yet with the tale, you see."  <Marisa_Kirisame>	"Quite suddenly, the woman was dead, crushed by her pile while sleeping in bed."  <Marisa_Kirisame>	"She wasn't done though, though she was toast, in fact, she soon got back up as a ghost!"  <Marisa_Kirisame>	"The spirit of greed, it was far too strong, the ghost had hunger and she couldn't wait long!" <Marisa_Kirisame>	"It was a hungry ghost, and none could compare, she wanted every turkey, fish, apple and pear!" <Reimu_Hakurei>	Talking about a gaki, then.... <Marisa_Kirisame>	"She was so hungry she even soon ate her pile! Reduced to nothing in quite a short while! The ghost was too insatiable, she'd probably eat even this fable!" <Marisa_Kirisame>	Marisa slows down, going into hushed tones. "It's said the ghost still wanders about... still eating every thing in her route..." <Marisa_Kirisame>	"Who knows where she is, and what can you do...?" Marisa says quietly, though loud enough to hear, before suddenly, she vanishes... <Sakuya_Izayoi>	I wonder what would happen if she met the ruler of the netherworld? Who would win? *	Sakuya_Izayoi giggles softly at the thought. <Sakuya_Izayoi>	... Oh. That was unhelpful of her, she didn't even put out a lantern. <Flandre_Scarlet>	--!! Hey, wait, I wanted to play with Marisa...! *	Flandre_Scarlet says, seeming rather upset that she had missed her chance at a rematch. *	Remilia_Scarlet looks up as Marisa's voice suddenly fades out, and looks around, before huffing. Leave it to her to...turn invisible or something. As Flandre reacts to the sudden disappearance, she reaches over, lightly touching her sister's arm again. <>Ambiance<>	"Maybe... soon..." Marisa's voice echoes through the room, as the phantom floats around the circle. Suddenly, she reappears on the other side of the circle, swooping down at Sakuya and some fairys from behind, yelling "SHE'LL COME EAT YOU!" *	Sakuya_Izayoi makes a sound almost like a growling hiss when there's such a terrible shout from behind her, her first instinct to lash out with a knife-- but there's nothing there. A bit disorientated, she steps back, sheathing the knife. <>Ambiance<>	The fairys near the swooping Marisa shriek and scatter about, thinking maybe the witch might eat her after all, although she just harmlessly passes above them to float above the ring of storytellers. <Marisa_Kirisame>	"Fun story, right?" <Reimu_Hakurei>	...Marisa, are you done messing around, yet? If you're done with your story, go put out a lantern in the other room. <Sakuya_Izayoi>	Perhaps.. but that disappearing nonsense is a bit annoying.. <Marisa_Kirisame>	"Fine, fine, I'll just assume the applause was implied." Marisa says, floating off to the other room. *	Kogasa_Tatara seemed rather entertained, though, saying "Oh! Neat! What fun! That wasn't too bad!" <Sakuya_Izayoi>	You should go and put out a lantern, Marisa, if you intend to stick around... there aren't many left, you might get the last one. <Marisa_Kirisame>	"Yeah yeah, lemmie find one in here that's still lit..." she says, looking about the other room for a lantern that is still unquelched. <Marisa_Kirisame>	"Oh, there's one." Marisa says as she finds the last one, using a bit of negative to snuff the life out of the flame. <Marisa_Kirisame>	Marisa returns to the room where everyone else is. "What was the point of that, anyway?" *	Sakuya_Izayoi looks to and fro excitedly, quite curious to see if any spirits show up after the last flame is put out! <>Ambiance<>	As soon as the final lantern is extinguished, a strange silence settles over the mansion. Quite suddenly, all the remaining lights, in all of the rooms, wink out, plunging the entire house into darkness. The temperature seems to drop by several degrees, bringing a distinct chill to the air. <>Ambiance<>	A faint blue light shines in through the mansion's few windows, and seems to be moving around outside, as if it were circling the mansion, looking in through one window at a time. The temperature continues to drop, while a thick fog blows in from the lake. <Reimu_Hakurei>	Oh come on, what happened now? *	Reimu_Hakurei complains, her spiritual power radiating out somewhat as she glances about in the darkness. <>Ambiance<>	Several lanterns in the corner of the room flare to life, shining with a soft blue light, barely enough to light up the room, but enough to reveal the robed figure sitting almost casually amidst the lanterns. *	Sakuya_Izayoi shivers a little, drawing up close to Remilia as everything goes terribly cold and-- wait, not dark? *	Hyakumonogatari_no_Seitoukai chuckles softly, brushing some hair back over his shoulder before looking over everyone present. <Hyakumonogatari_no_Seitoukai>	Stories well told, but nothing I hadn't heard before, really... <Sakuya_Izayoi>	(Woah, we actually summoned someone..!) <Hyakumonogatari_no_Seitoukai>	Still, I suppose I should applaud your efforts... <Marisa_Kirisame>	"Everyone's a critic." Marisa deadpans, having not floated far past the door towards the group. <Reimu_Hakurei>	Ehh? Who might you be? *	Hyakumonogatari_no_Seitoukai slowly claps, not really putting much effort into it. <Hyakumonogatari_no_Seitoukai>	I could give you a name, but it wouldn't mean anything to you. <Reimu_Hakurei>	Fine, then. Why are you here? Don't tell me you spawned or something from the Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai? <Reimu_Hakurei>	That would be terribly annoying, after all. <Hyakumonogatari_no_Seitoukai>	Well, as someone who enjoys stories, you could say that... I heard you all calling. <Kogasa_Tatara>	"Oooh, someone new appeared... Are you gonna tell us a story too, mister? *	Hyakumonogatari_no_Seitoukai turns to look directly at Kogasa, unblinking, smiling ever so slightly.  <Hyakumonogatari_no_Seitoukai>	I was going to do just that~!  <Reimu_Hakurei>	By all means...I guess.  <Sakuya_Izayoi>	Oh, so we've got one more story? I hope it was better than the one about the massacre..  <Kogasa_Tatara>	"Oh boy!" Kogasa says with a smile. She'd learned a few things today, but maybe she'd learn something extra special from him1  *	Hyakumonogatari_no_Seitoukai leans forward, his smile taking on a distinctly unfriendly manner.  <Hyakumonogatari_no_Seitoukai>	My story is about a house - a rather large, stately home, where many gathered for a night of entertainment. There was food, and there was drink, and many a story was told. But the people of this house made one mistake...  <Hyakumonogatari_no_Seitoukai>	Perhaps it was an illusion, or a trick of the fading light, or indeed perhaps they were simply so taken by their mirth, that they  lost touch with reality, but they all saw something that night. At least, so they would say when asked... <Hyakumonogatari_no_Seitoukai>	The night would end, day would break, and the people that had gathered would all return to their lives. For a while, it seemed as if those curious events would be nothing but a strange memory, but with each passing day, they would go through the motions of their lives... <Hyakumonogatari_no_Seitoukai>	... they would live, and they would die, and find themselves back in that house, telling those stories, and then they would leave, and return to their lives, but as before, none of them would live past two weeks, and that same night would come again...  *	Hyakumonogatari_no_Seitoukai leans back, laughing softly. <Hyakumonogatari_no_Seitoukai>	... is this a curse? Some strange power at work? *	Sakuya_Izayoi perks an eyebrow, not necessarily certain she likes where this story is going. *	Hyakumonogatari_no_Seitoukai looks over everyone present, staring at them each for several seconds, before closing his eyes and shaking his head. <Hyakumonogatari_no_Seitoukai>	No, this is just a story, and stories can always be told again. *	Hyakumonogatari_no_Seitoukai slams shut a book that had appeared in his hands, before grinning. <Hyakumonogatari_no_Seitoukai>	But that is a rather grim ending to the story, so why don't I give you a chance to rewrite the final chapters, hmm? You have one week to tell the tale... tell it differently, and we shall see if the ending changes...~ *	Hyakumonogatari_no_Seitoukai disappears, letting the book fall to the floor, while all the lanterns go out. <>Ambiance<>	The chill in the air vanishes, and the lights come back on, as if nothing had happened. <Marisa_Kirisame>	"I think everyone's overdone the 'it turns out it's a true story' twist a hundred times already." Marisa says with annoyance, having the feeling he's pulling the same thing. <Sakuya_Izayoi>	.. Reimu, don't you dare say "I told you so". I'm going to stab you if you do that. *	Sakuya_Izayoi glances over at the miko, looking not all that terribly pleased. She's honestly expecting being berated about this all being a terrible idea! <Reimu_Hakurei>	I hate to say it-- well, not really, but I /did/ tell you that something bad would happen. You should have listened to me. *	Reimu_Hakurei sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. <Marisa_Kirisame>	(Well, I've already proved the story wrong, whatever the case. I'm already dead, so joke's on him.) Marisa thinks to herself, before also looking at Reimu. *	Sakuya_Izayoi makes a sort of hissing noise as she breathes in, rolling a knife over in her fingers a few times.. <Marisa_Kirisame>	"Yo Reimu, if the party's over, we gotta go, I have stuff ta' tell you and I don't wanna wait longer then I need to. <Sakuya_Izayoi>	... But you're just as responsible as everyone else, you told a story as well! You need to stick around and help us figure out what's happened!  *	Sakuya_Izayoi sighs.  <Marisa_Kirisame>	"I have more pressing matters then solving a cryptic mystery, and I think Reimu'll agree with that."  <Reimu_Hakurei>	Marisa, I don't know if phantoms can hear properly, but that certainly sounded like a curse to me, and it does seem to have affected everyone here. It'll have to wait, I think. Also...even if I didn't tell a story, it wouldn't have made a difference, you'd have continued without me.  <Sakuya_Izayoi>	Well, it's nice to know that you're on our side for once. You're one of the few people who we can mutually tolerate, Reimu.  <Marisa_Kirisame>	"Aaah!" Marisa says with surprise, not exactly wanting it broadcast she's a phantom. "Don't say it like that!" <Sakuya_Izayoi>	... "Phantoms". What? <Marisa_Kirisame>	Marisa frowns intently, explaining, "I know how to find Yukari, but you're the one who's pals with her. I need you to help me, and it's important." Marisa says, gritting her teeth. <Sakuya_Izayoi>	Oh, that's not a bad idea.. When Patchouli gets back, we could ask her about contacting the gap-hag about this curse.. *	Kogasa_Tatara is still sitting where she has been, and now se's just getting confused. "What's going on, now?" <Marisa_Kirisame>	"Wait, Patchouli knows how to contac- ooooh no, I'm not sticking around to deal with her." <Reimu_Hakurei>	For goodness sakes, Marisa. I don't exactly know how to contact Yukari. She calls me, I don't call her. In fact, that's what irks me about Yukari in general, but like I said, it sounds to me like we all got cursed. Including you. Whatever it is, I'll help you with it once we cleanse the curse, alright? <Marisa_Kirisame>	"But I know about her shikigami, and there's always one around here. They can't be that hard to find. Curse or not, I need to take care of you-know-what before something worse happens." Marisa argues. <Sakuya_Izayoi>	... No, really, you've got me interested now. What's this about phantoms? *	Sakuya_Izayoi looks at Marisa cautiously, surveying her every little detail. <Reimu_Hakurei>	It's not really important, Sakuya. The blasted things are pretty much everywhere you look. But for now....I don't even know. We have a week or something, right? Ugh... <>Ambiance<>	The witch stares unflinchingly back, seemingly unamused by this whole event. She looks pretty normal, although she strangely doesn't have her usual broom, floating around... Sakuya is probably too far away to notice how chilly it is around her. *	Kogasa_Tatara still had not much clue of what's going on. What's all this about a curse, anyway? She certainly doesn't feel cursed.