3369/Touhou Kakudai Stage EX - The Tour of Gensokyo

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Touhou Kakudai Stage EX - The Tour of Gensokyo
Date of Scene: 11 November 2015
Location: The Realm of Gensokyo
Synopsis: Shinki and Alice are on the run and retreat to one of their own safer places, Gensokyo, near the Hakurei Shrine. The chase continues!
Cast of Characters: Kotone Yamakawa, 319, 385, Reina Kinney, Sanary Rondel, 807, 847, 882
Tinyplot: Touhou Kakudai


Alice Margatroid (807) has posed:
    It's the afternoon in Gensokyo, Alice's house is locked tight with dolls around the perimeter. "We should be okay here..." she starts, Alice's eyes darting around the room. "Where did Hourai and Shanghai run off to. It's unlike them. No matter. Do you want some tea, Mom?" she questions, a soft smile on her face, "I don't think they'll look here. Or even in Gensokyo for that matter." what little does the Dollmaker know.

    "Thank you for picking me up from there. A Master Spark hurts no matter how many times you get hit by it, it's still painful. And Konoe's new spellcard..." the tea kettle whistles with hot enough water, "Where should we look next... I heard that Etria is a good place, if you don't mind the monsters there. Could be a good point to try, wouldn't you think? Could also see about Tomoeda, but definately no danmaku there... that one will be negotiated peacefully..."

Fayt Ravus (319) has posed:
    It's about time he got to this.

    Awhile back, Fayt's home had been invaded by devils. Soon after, very similar Devils invade other places, and then he hears Alice was involved, who as luck would have it ALSO broke into his house once!

    To be fair that was an accident that was dealt with peacefully, but still...

    Fortunatly for Fayt, thanks to a certain party from even further back, Fayt knows where Alice lives so lets go have a word with her!

    By word we actually mean word. Fayt's not a very vicious person and he's honestly more confused than angry at this point.

    With all that said, Fayt calmly makes his way towards Alice's house, his staff carefully heald in front of him, just in case.

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     Way to be wrong, Alice.

     For certain people that called Gensokyo home, more or less, it would be the first place to look. And with that in mind, a certain cat priestess has made her way into the Forest of Magic to check on something. The last time Konoe came here, she ran into Yuki and Mai, and basically got a royal beating. But....it didn't look like she was here to fling around ofuda today. Her expression was a difficult one, as if unsure of what she should be doing.

     But nonetheless, she came. Settling in the air over Alice's house as last, the red and white robed figure descended, touching down a safe distance away from the front of Alice's house. She saw the dolls, and decided it would be better to stay back.

     As if to show that she meant no harm, Konoe held her hands up, showing that she wasn't brandishing any talisman, needles, or any other youkai sealing tools. "...Alice-san! Are you in there?" She called, raising her voice loud enough to be heard. "I'm not here to fight! I just want to talk is all!"

     Hopefully those dolls didn't open fire on sight. But for now, she'd have to wait for an answer of some kind.

Reina Kinney has posed:
    Gensokyo, a weird and unique place in the opinion of Reina Kinney, elite hunter and GUARDIANS operative. But then again, a good portion of the Multiverse can be described as that too. Nevertheless, Reina's form appears in the area as she teleports down from her shuttle. The form then becomes solid as Reina appears in the area. She looks around and nods as she checks her wrist device. "Looks like the spot," She says as she spots Fayt and quickly takes off after him, her boots clicking on the ground a little as she speedwalks towards him. "Weird place we're in," She comments to nobody in particular, "But I suppose a little weirdness now and then makes things more interesting if you get my drift."

    She starts to smile, but then her smile fades, as if she's just remembered something that's bugging her or has realized this isn't the time for jokes or something like that. She pauses and looks down at the ground for a moment, but then looks up and tries to brush it off as she continues walking. She stretches her arms over her head a little as if trying to let go of that brief moment, taking a deep breath.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
     Why was Sanary here in Gensokyo? Why was she wearing a kimono? Why did she have an /apron/ on over it? She had heard from some not-so-reliable sources that dressing strangely was the norm, so what better way to get some intel on the area than by trying to blend in?

     Of course, blending in would probably be easier if she wasn't carrying a freaking kite shield on her back. At least she didn't have her gunaxe on her. That would've just been silly.

     Luckily enough, her path took her towards a certain house belonging to a certain dollmaker surrounded by.. Dolls? The cleric had to keep reminding herself that weird things are normal here. Still, it was quite an odd sight, watching a blue-haired guy leading a red-haired catgirl towards the doll-covered house while a relatively-normal looking redhead came up from behind them.

     How suspicious. Clearly, this was going to be location of some strange goings on soon! Sanary's only viable option: Stroll on up behind them and announce her presence with a light-hearted wave. "Evening! Aah... Some kinda party going on tonight?"

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Fayt's not the only person who needs to have a few words with Alice.

Yuna is geared up in her Light Suit as a general precaution; there are plenty of youkai in Gensokyo who keep mistaking humans for 'edible,' and Yuna's prepared to chase them off if any make that mistake with regards to herself or Fayt. However, she's not carrying the Matrix Divider unless she actually needs to point it at something (whether or not she also has to pull the trigger); she can will it to materialize quickly enough that it's not a big concern.

The whole Matrix of Light is with her as well: the little robo-faerie Elner flits along with Yuna, keeping track of movements and life signs in the vicinity, and the trio of Jiina, Marina, and Erina follows fairly close behind them, staying in their armored forms. They may draw more notice this way, but given that Yuna's garbed for combat, the three 'girls' seem to have decided this is more appropriate than trying to look civilian.

Yuna's sort of hoping they don't draw TOO much attention, but her attention is mostly on following Fayt, watching out for trouble, and trying to sort out what she'll ask Alice when we find her.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa had once again be on the trail of the devils behind the madness in the multiverse but now is in the world of Gensokyo and she's curious now. She take in the whole place and is moving to tail Fayt at this point the infamous Stuff Getter should know where this is right? He's been in the multiverse forever, right? She also knows Yuna nd trusts her well enough anf well for once she's pretty casual and is not in the form fitting stealth suit she's often see wearing.

Shinki (882) has posed:
    "Her skills are as fun as ever," the crimson-clad devil pipes up from her seat on the sofa. Since Afterus, Shinki has naturally replaced her wardrobe, and the various injuries have since recovered. For the moment, seated as she is, she toys around with one of the sentry dolls, tugging the arms up and down with a delighted look on her face, "I don't know where those are, though. I have a hard time telling them apart from the rest." On the subject of tea, she releases the doll-- who gratefully zips off to return to her post-- and claps her hands twice, "Ah, tea would be lovely~."

    Eyes closing, she tilts her head from side to side in consideration, "Ideally it'd be negotiated peacefully everywhere. If it's been fights opening up everywhere like what happened at Afterus, I'll have to.." She pauses, lifting a finger to her lips in thought with crimson eyes focused ceiling-wards, "...~Discipline~ those naughty devils." Dropping that hand, she beams, "After all, the goal is to promote growth in Makai, we shouldn't be scaring them away!"

    When there is a knock and voices at the door, Shinki to her feet, crossing the home while she chats, "Etria was promising, though~. Tomoeda has its own demographics that might be good, too. We should look at New Port again~..." On the other side, all that can be heard is muffled, unintelligable words that indicate someone is home. The door latch clicks, and then it swings open.

    Filling the doorway is the Devil God of Makai clad in resplendant crimson and white robes, eyes glowing red beneath the shadow cast from her silver bangs. Almost like lasers, that glower travels from Konoe at the front to Fayt, then behind them across Yuna, Reina, and Kotone. She lingers a half-second longer on Sanary, before those eyes return to the catgirl miko and the chaos mage immediately in front of her.

    Beat.

    Shinki claps her hands together, the menacing visage disappearing into a bright smile, "How wonderful~! Guests!" Turning at the waist, she calls out, "Alice~! Your friends are here!"

Alice Margatroid (807) has posed:
    "I wouldn't use the word fun when playing danmaku with Marisa." Alice comments, shaking her head some, "I can show you where they are later, but yes, from the reports, its usually the people at the location that throw the first bits of danmaku... and in some cases, it's just Marisa." a sigh, "But it'll be okay, we'll find a good place to grow Makai and I know you'll be happy to be out of there." One of the dolls brings over the tea kettle and pours a cup, perking just a bit as those voices and the knock is heard. "New Port, huh? I'll take a look there as well." with a nod, she sips at the poured tea.

    Not but a sip in, Alice does a spit take, ruining the tablecloth below. A few of the sentry dolls move to try to mop it up as Alice pulls a card from the sleeve from her shirt. "Guests? I wasn't expecting any..." Alice moves to the side to see past her doorway blocking mother... Oh, the stuff getter... and Fake Miko... and is that Yuna? "Mom, get ready to flee. I don't think they're here for talk..."

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     "........"

     Oh, Kanako.

     Konoe froze once the door opened and Shinki revealed herself. She still hadn't forgotten that glare the crimson robed mage had given them when they...kind of cratered Alice. Yeah that was probably a dumb idea. But it was the heat of the moment!

     THe miko almost jumps and squeaks when Shinki is suddenly RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER, visibly shaking. Oh Sanae's gods, what to do, what to do? Maybe she could preemptively bomb with Prominence Seal and make a run for it? Great Fire of Meireki and Dragon Flame Blossom were out because they took time to set up. M-Maybe she would feint with Flame Sanctifier Orb!?

     Nonononono Every scenario in her mind ended with her spellcard swatted aside, followed by her getting turned into a laser pincushion and then stepped on! Ahhhhhhhh! Okay screw it, she was just gonna have to go and-

     'Alice~! Your friends are here!'

     "....Wh-"

     Blink.

     Blink blink.

     "Wh-Whuh-?" Konoe intoned dumbly, completely caught off guard. Her heart rate, which was going a mile a minute finally slowed down and she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "U-Um...S-Shinki-san? Sama?" Konoe blubbered, unsure of how to address the woman before her. "...We wanted to talk to Alice-san about...well, before."

     She nervously raised her hands, indicating she wasn't holding any weapons or purification tools. "Can we see her?"

Fayt Ravus (319) has posed:
    "GAH!" Fayt jumps a moment as a terrifying demon emerges from the house, glaring at everyone! qucikly he aims his staff!

    'your friends are here!'

    Fayt stares. He then stares some more. He then proceddes to stare a little more for good measure, mouth opening and closing as he try tries to respond but finds himself unsure how to actually reply. Eventuall hesettles for a simple, very awkward sound. "Um... Hello?" He glances at Yuna, an utterly confused look on his face.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Well, that wasn't what Yuna expected either. Face to face with Lady Shinki herself? Alice apparently wasn't kidding about Shinki being her mom.

Yuna just takes a deep breath ... then bows politely, and fairly deeply. "Good evening, Lady Shinki, Alice." She continues as she stands up straight again, "I don't think we meant to impose on your hospitality quite like this, but ... we *do* need to talk. To both of you. There are quite a few questions which have come up about your minions' ... *visits* to other worlds, and the manner in which they've conducted themselves on those visits. I'm sure you can understand our concern," she finishes with a probably-far-too-sunny-for-the-situation smile.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
     ... Right. Guests. That's what's going on, clearly. Sanary's definitely not going to contradict Shinki, at least, especially after getting that look from her. The eyepatch'd maid does relax considerably once the lady breaks into a smile, and she even returns it with a broad grin of her own along with a quick salute. "So it is a party! Awesome. Wait. Does that mean..." She pauses for a moment, looking from person to person at the mixed reactions to SHinki (and even spotting a few familiar faces in Yuna and Kotone) before turning back to the.. Matron? Mother?

     "... Should I have brought food, then?" The cleric seems fairly calm about the whole thing, although it's probably due in part to the sorts she usually associates with.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa is wondering just how over her head she is however she's freeted and she bows lsightly she's going to keep up the respect levels. There's no need to taunt or be rude to someone being a host. Wait Alice was home? Shinki seemed very happy to see them too. She honestlywas more than a little bit confused at this point but this was a world populated mostly by non humans after all. Kotone now does reconsider kicking down the front door she was not expecting to be welcome like this at all.

"Wait what you were expecting us Lady Shinki?! Still we'd come to talk on the matter of some of Alice's creations causing trouble upon other worlds..."

Reina Kinney has posed:
    Almost as soon as the demon appears, Reina jumps back a little, gasping as she does so. When she learns that there's no hostility imminent, she relaxes a little but remains on alert all the same. After all, anything can happen in situations like this. "Yeah, look, we're trying to sort out the problems stated by my colleagues here, so that's why we're here. We're not gonna cause any trouble..." She trails off a little and narrows her eyes, darting them from side to side as if expecting something to happen.

    When nothing does happen, Reina looks up again. "I mean we're not going to hurt anyone or anything like that. We just wanna talk to Alice about what she's doing."

Shinki (882) has posed:
    "Ah~!" Shinki claps her hands once more, still looming over Konoe, "If you wanted to apologize, it's not necessary. We all got a little carried away, I think~. But I accept, and I'm sure Alice will, too." When the blonde leans around her, the elder of the two steps aside with a gesture, "We were just discussing that, too! What timing~!" Completely unbidden by Alice herself, Shinki makes another, more sweeping gesture with her arm and sleeve, "Come in, come in~! Alice was just making us some tea, but I'm sure we can find a few more cups."

    "Miss Kagurazaka," Those red eyes sweep towards the idol, "I will address the behavior of my underlings, but before I can answer that.." Her serious look melts into a glowing smile, "When is your next album~?" And as she welcomes Fayt in, "Mister Mage~. I hope my creations haven't been too much trouble for you."

    With Kotone, she shrugs, "I cannot see the future, but I suspected someone would come looking sooner or later. It's only natural for humans to do so." To Reina, she closes her eyes with a dismissive, "What she's doing is because of what I'm doing, so~..."

    Red eyes open again, squinting at Sanary. Straightening, she points, glancing towards Alice, "I don't remember this one. Did my industrious little Koakuma pay a visit to a world I wasn't aware of~?"

Alice Margatroid (807) has posed:
    "Mom, you're being entirely too casual about this." Alice mutters and as the elder invites them in, Alice shakes her head, "Mom..." a pause, "Welcome to my cottage... would you like some tea?" with a look towards Sanary, "No, that one I know from Steve's world. Sanary was it?" she questions, moving towards the kitchen. "I'll go make a fresh pot of tea or two. Please... have a sit wherever. Just don't go into any of the rooms."

    In the kitchen, Alice grumbles, "Why are they even here? What is there even to talk about..." the stove's lit and water runs into the ceramic pot, "Six more people to make tea for, Dolls. Get them some plates and cups and get some snacks out of the pantry, just some biscuits, that will do for the guests..." Alice peeks out of the doorway, "Does anyone take sugar with their tea, or honey or lemon?"

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     "....A-Ah...right." Konoe muttered, staring nervously up at Shinki.

     ...This was awkward.

     But it would be rude to refuse. So Konoe woodenly made her way past Shinki and inside Alice's house. She already knew what the place was like, having slept there countless times by now, but somehow, this time just felt strange.

     At Alice's warning not to go into any of the rooms, the miko paused and stared aside in the direction of Alice's bedroom, narrowing her eyes. ...The mysterious, unseen land that yet remains hidden from her gaze. One day, she would get in there and find the Marisa doll she totally knew that dollmaker was hiding. ...Among other things.

     Konoe had great ambitions.

     Putting that aside, she removed her sandals at the entrance and then plodded over to the couch, awkwardly having a seat to wait. "...I'll take sugar." May as well. She wanted to say more, but she'd wait till everyone was settled in properly.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa has not yet gone to get her weapons, but then again who knows what good it would do but yes lets try to talk before the wepaons comes out. She looks to Shinki and ahs as she geta an answer about how Shinki expected people.

"I see."

She seems to wilin go join the rest of the group when Alice offers tea.

"Tea would be nice, thank you."

She'll sit down when she finds a group.

"I'll just take my tea plain please."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
"If it's Western tea, I'd like ... either one cube of sugar, or a small amount of honey. Thank you very much!" Yuna answers Alice first, then turns her attention to Shinki.

Who'd have guessed that the demon queen was one of Yuna's fans? It does make her smile.

"As for my next album, it should be coming out in early December," she answers. "It's probably going to be less Christmas-focused than the past couple of December releases have been, but I hope you enjoy it as much as you have my others!" Big bright warm smile, and a friendly/polite bow to punctuate it.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
     Sanary blinks slowly in confusion at the mention of apologies. Just how many people were involved in this party or... Whatever was going on here? The mention of underlings and creations certainly doesn't help matters much, but it'd be hard to just ask Shinki what she meant without making things a little awkward.

     So of course, it's up to Sanary to ask just that. "Er... Ma'am? What're you talking about? Visiting worlds and underlings... Are you a-" There's a pause as she hears Alice speaking, the mention of Steve's world drawing a understanding 'ohhh' from the girl.

     "You mean the flying girls, right? Yeah, I've seen 'em around a few places. They were... Behaving alright last I saw, yeah." A short chuckle later, and she finally steps inside! The tension definitely doesn't go unnoticed, but at least she's not letting it stop her too much.

     "So are you their creator or something?" And without missing a beat, she turns her gaze towards the kitchen. "Sugar's good, thanks! You need a hand in there?" It's almost as if she feels mildly guilty about getting herself invited in without warning. She's not about to turn down free food and drink, though.

Fayt Ravus (319) has posed:
    "Erm... just Fayt is fine?" Fayt makes his way into the house, still looking terminally confused as he takes a seat, sliding his staff back onto his back as he enters, offering Alice an awkward wave as she peeks out of the kitchen.

    He'll try to keep near Yuna if possible, she seems to be handling this better than he is. "Um, some honey please? I can have some tea sent over later if you need it."

Reina Kinney has posed:
    "Is that so?" Reina says to Shinki with a cocked eyebrow. "That's interesting to know. Thank you." She definitely has sarcasm in her voice, and it increases as she says, albeit to nobody in particular, "Tea at a time like this?" A moment passes, then she shrugs. "Well, I suppose it's only fair, or something. I'll take a little cream and sugar in mine, thanks." Her request is formal in tone as she speaks. "Name's Reina Kinney, by the way."

Shinki (882) has posed:
    Once the entire party has entered, Shinki closes the door and trots up at the back of the pack, hands tucked into her sleeves for a moment. "Thank you, Alice, you're such a peach~." The remark about how casual she's being about a house full of people who may or may not want to kick her butt is somehow missed. Or maybe she disagrees! It's really difficult to tell with this one. One finger raises, "No sugar, please, but a spoonful of honey~."

    She waits for people to get situated before addressing them one by one. Eyes first cross Konoe, but when no questions come up, she glances instead towards Yuna, "Splendid~! The Koakuma seem to like it, so I'll get the advertising ready~."

    The only serious question levied towards her comes from Sanary, towards whom Shinki peers briefly, then straightens her posture. Regardless of what the group does, she remains standing, hands moving to rest on her hips, "Some of you have met me before. But others have not, so I'll provide an introduction--" She raises a hand to place it over her collarbone, "I am Shinki, the Demon God of Makai. The Demon World. All devils that you associate with Gensokyo are actually from Makai, and all of them are my wonderful creations. One might call them my children, but I would say that's a disservice to my daughter, who is not my creation." Shifting, she uses that same hand to gesture towards the kitchen, where Alice is clearly visible getting tea things ready.

    "So, no doubt you have questions about what has been going on~." Shifting again, she tucks her hands into her sleeves, "Alice is her own youkai, but I will address inquiries not directly asked of her. After all, the Expansion Plan was my idea, and I imagine that's what you're all here about~."

Alice Margatroid (807) has posed:
    Alice shakes her head "I've got it." she replies to the offer of help, "And thank you, Fayt. Still sorry for breaking into your house that one day." meet casual with a casual voice. The pot starts whistling and the dollmaker nods, listening to her Mom as she starts. "Let's see, spoonfull of honey for mom... and Fayt... sugar for Yuna, Sanary and Fake Miko... plain for Kotone. Cream and sugar for Reina." getting the cups ready, a nod is given as dolls start flying out of the kitchen with filled cups. Some of the dolls are in maid outfits, others look like they were waiting for a battle.

    "It's not western tea but I think you may like it either way. And as she said, she's my mother, not a creation like the koakuma who helped. So you're truely here to just talk and not start a danmaku fight? Even after Afterus?" she questioned, "It seems a bit strange, but, people outside of Gensokyo are a bit strange."

    A couple dolls pull up a chair and place it near Shinki along with another one for Alice, "So, what do you need to know?" a few more dolls come flying out with a tray, small cookies and cakes on it. Alice shakes her head, "I said the biscuits, not the cakes or cookies..."

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     At Shinki's introduction and the addressing of the main point of this entire visit, Konoe finally speaks up. "Yes, about that..." She rested her hands in her lap, fidgeting a bit. "...I've see your devils in multiple worlds, and...well, the first assumption was that they were there to attack and take over." She paused, feeling a little silly now that she's put some thought into the whole thing.

     "But they're not actually doing that, are they?" She tilted her head in thought for a moment before straightening up. "Last time, you said something about an office? ...This expansion plan...is it really just some new business and not an aggressive takeover of other worlds?"

     Another pause, and then a clawed finger is brought to her cheek, brows furrowed in confusion. "...If it is....I don't get why it played out like it did. Couldn't you and your minions have just said so from the start?" Evidently, someone hasn't gotten involved in Gensokyo incident resolution very long if she's asking that. She received her tea from a doll, nodding in thanks after, but not actually drinking yet. Hot tea is hot.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Advertising?

Yuna looks at Shinki again, her head tilted slightly to the side. "I wasn't aware we had an advertising or distribution affiliate in Gensokyo's Makai," she says slowly. "But we can get back to that ..."

She accepts her tea from a doll, smiling and nodding thanks - then does a small double-take at Alice. Well, as long as it's not Japanese green tea that got milk or sugar added. She takes a small, cautious sip, because it's rude to refuse tea that's been offered by one's host, even if it tastes like rancid dishwater (which Yuna has had to deal with politely). "If I were here to start a fight, danmaku or otherwise," she says, "it would be because of the 'invasion' of Shiraokadai, my home town, on my native version of Earth. But yes, this 'Expansion Plan' seems to be the core issue," she finishes, her attention shifting from Alice back to Shinki.

Fayt Ravus (319) has posed:
    takes his cup, saying a quiet "thank you" to the doll as he des so. "Yeah about that, um... why was my home invaded... again?" He glances between Alice and Shinki for a moment. "I'll admit I've been a bit out of the loop on what's happening due to work getting hectic around this time of year, so I can't recall off the top of my head what happened at Afterus, either way I don't plan to pick a fight." He then blinks at Konoe. "A business? Huh, whoever invaded my home kept calling me prey. I still don't know what they we're doing there to begin with..."

    Fayt blinks a few times, seeming to realize something. "Oh..." He looks over at Shinki. "Um..." he starts. "Is everyone... back to normal size? There was a bit of an accident and well.. it shouldn't have lasted more than a few days tops. I kinda need to keep track of that."

Reina Kinney has posed:
    Accepting the tea, Reina nods and tahnks the doll politely. She doesn't say anything just yet, since the others seem to have the statements and questions handled well. She simply sits there sipping her tea and listening to the 'conversation' at hand. There's apparently little that needs to be said on her end.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
     Sanary seems easy enough to please, at least. She might even be one of the few people who didn't come planning to fight someone! Or.. On purpose, even. She raises an eyebrow at the mention of advertising, looking from Shinki to Yuna for a moment. Some sort of business arrangement, perhaps? But if Yuna's not even aware of it... "Maybe there's someone else trying to sell your stuff? Like those... Whatchacallits. Counterbands?"

     She sits up a little straighter when those dolls come flying out, watching as they bring everyone their tea. "Whoa. Uh. Thanks." Mental note: Figure out how they do that and how they compare to shinki. Not Alice's mother, but the other type.

     Sanary takes a careful sip of her tea as she listens to Shinki, nodding slowly after a moment. "Huh. They're an interesting bunch, although a little... Aggressive. Not that that's a bad thing or anything, though, since I heard they're behaving over at Steve's place." Laughing lightly, she takes another sip before shaking her head at the last statement from Shinki. "Actually, I... Uh. I just saw a bunch of other people crowding around. Figured something fun or weird was going on. Name's Sanary. Erm... Good to meet you all." She even bows her head once!

     "This 'Expansion Plan', though... Do you have it mapped out or anything? Maybe we could work something out."

Shinki (882) has posed:
    "Well~," Shinki glances towards Alice when the girl sits beside her, then shrugs and glances back towards the accumulated guests, "To answer the question that seems to be on all your minds-- The Expansion Plan itself!" The god reaches into her sleeves and pulls out, of all things, a rolled up poster. This is unfurled and set up, helpfully held aloft by a few unoccupied dolls. On it, there's a few cartoony looking figures-- A black sihouette of a castle with demon horns and then three different circles clearly representing famous human cities: There's the Eiffel Tower, Tokyo Tower, and Empire State Building sticking out of each one. There's also groups of little figures in equal numbers on each one.

    Next, Shinki produces a pair of glasses and dons them. Ask what you want, she feels like they make her look smart.

    "The Expansion Plan!" the Demon God repeats, clapping hr hands, "First, Koakuma spread out to other worlds." Little black figures with wings flit from the castle to the three cities, "And set up Offices there." After a bit, the cities each gain a little black building with wings and devil tails sticking out. "These offices educate the humans about the fun activities and sights that there are to be had in Makai, and humans decide to visit."

    Red people figures travel along lines to the demon castle and start milling around, little ! and $ symbols floating around. "After they've had their fill, they go home, of course," And the figures travel back. But the $ marks stay, "But Makai has made a gain. As more humans take vacations in the Demon World," The process repeats, with more symbols building up, "Than Makai's economy grows and Makai can expand~!"

    Ominously, the castle with demon horns gets larger, sprouting wings and a tail of its own.

    Eyes closing, Shinki holds up her little pointer stick and collapses it, "The behavior of my creations in all but one occasion is the unfortunate result of my Devils getting too pushy, I think." Eyes opening, she taps her chin with the collapsed pointer, "Or did someone attack them before they could say anything..?"

    Eyes shift to Konoe as soon as she's done saying /that/ line.

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     Konoe nodded along throughout Shinki's explanation of the plan, understanding most of it.

     But at the mention of attacking before they could say anything, the miko pointedly looked away, bringing the tea cup to her lips.

     Lalala, that had nothing to do with her.

     Really.

     Totally.

     OW this tea was still hot!

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
And this is the other reason why Yuna has Elner with her ... at least sometimes. The robo-faerie does a good job of supplementing Yuna's own memory for things like this.

And it does so now. "When the Koakuma first arrived in Shiraokadai," Elner states, "I detected their life signs without any sign of how they had gotten there, and deduced that their means of arrival was magical, reporting as much to Yuna immediately. Given the recent history of Fraulein Earth, coupled with Yuna's own status as an Elite, a cautious reaction seemed appropriate. A friend of Yuna's mentioned that the Koakuma had shown a propensity for property damage on previous occasions, which reinforced the defensive stance which Yuna was taking before direct contact was made."

"And that," Yuna picks up, "was about the point when I approached the flying maid with the swords. I didn't take the first shot, but I *did* presume her intentions were hostile; she did nothing at all to present herself or the Koakuma as being there for peaceful reasons, and she was the first to launch a danmaku attack on those of us who were confronting her. The Koakuma dived at groups of civilians, although they didn't launch attacks until they had been attacked."

She carefully sips some more tea, still trying to determine her opinion of it.

"If your minions were there to establish a business office," Yuna adds in a deliberately mild tone, "they really should have done so in a manner that didn't involve trying to scare or intimidate the native residents, don't you think?"

Fayt Ravus (319) has posed:
    Fayt blinks at the presentation, nodding slowly. "I see. He looks over at Yuna, then back to Shinki. "To be honest. If you we're looking to set up an office, I'm not sure why my home was chosen as a location, I kind of live in the middle of nowhere." A pause as he sips some tea, then adds. "That said, now that I think about it. I recall them being a bit surprised to find I actually lived there. At least, they didn't seem to be expecting to meet anyone."

Sanary Rondel has posed:
     That plan sounds... Innocent enough, actually. Sanary seems almost disappointed, but at least it means less work for her in the long run. At least the little figures look like they're doing their job amusing her!

     "So you're... Trying to make money, then? Doesn't sound too bad." The cleric strokes her chin lightly before leaning back in her seat, taking another sip of that tea. "I don't have a problem with that. They behaved alright over at Steve's place those two times, and... Uh. Well, most of 'em behaved that one time at school, so." She chuckles while recalling what had happened at Alexander, conveniently avoiding mentioning a certain laser-happy witch.

     It'd probably be better for everyone if she avoided mentioning that detail.

     "But yeah, Yuna's right. If you can get 'em to not be so... Aggressive? Maybe even work with the locals? You'd probably be able to make loads of money that way."A sly grin appears on Sanary's face a moment later. "And if you're looking for some more business partners, I might know a few people that could help with that."

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa ius happy to get the tea which she's drinking peacefully and listerning now. She pauses for a moment as she looks to Fyat with a bit of a shocked look on her face. Wait she seems to have missed something.

"Expanion So that's your plan? Wait so you wanted to try and generate more off world tourism and have people to become aware of you?"

She stares in shock she getst these are not demons in the western sense? She just tries to finish her tea before something else that might make her sputter happens.

"There could be other ways, if you wish to set up tourisum interest I know some ways that might be able to help you without the need for ... combat to arise."

Alice Margatroid (807) has posed:
    "Louise did try to negotiate with this Souji person and failed. Apparently he was looking for rare resources or the like." Alice responds, then turns to Konoe, "Do not act like you didn't start some of the instigation. Remember Afterus or did you have too many catnip hits, Fake Miko." Alice takes a sip of her tea and turns towards Yuna. "Yumeko was a bit hasty and agressive but, combined with the failures from everyone but Louise... you have to understand her position."

    Alice takes a look at the poster, "You've been wanting to use that poster for a bit, haven't you Mom?" she shakes her head, "Well, Fayt, when you see an abandoned-looking castle, you would think no one lived there too. Kotone gets a slight nod, "Mmhmm, we did try this ten years ago, trying to get into Gensokyo but... Reimu and Marisa along with Yuuka and Mima decided otherwise and went on the offensive. Apparently they didn't like the idea..."

    Another sip of Alice's tea and the dolls fly in for refills if needed, "You have any ideas then?"

Shinki (882) has posed:
    "Oh," Shinki closes her eyes again, "I'm not running a business, this is to help the residents of Makai. Money and the like is of no direct interest to me." She tucks her pointer into her sleeve, then does the same with the glasses, "The fights came about due to rambunctious devils getting too excited, or people who felt threatened taking a swing at 'em. Honest mistakes, in both cases~!" A hand raises, waving dismissively, "Though I will be giving my girls a stern talking to about obeying the orders of their creator."

    Turning towards Alice, Shinki smiles, "Yes, isn't it cute~? I've had it for a while now but nobody to show it to!"

    "Regarding the castle," in response to Fayt, "We had intended to move it to a better location and start an office there, we didn't even know anyone lived there anymore~. Sorry about the intrusions!"

    Raising both hands, Shinki claps them together once, "Now that we understand each other better, perhaps the travel offices can be created with much less fuss! Part of the Makai Restoration has been making it a more attractive destination, after all~." She won't even bother explaining what the Restoration is. Probably because 'I accidentally the demon world' is a little embarassing to admit.

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     "Q-Quiet, Doll Creep! You were all pretty aggressive! Anyone would think you were up to bad things with the suspicious way you people were acting!" Konoe hotly replied, cheeks turning a bit red. She huffed and drank her tea in silence, letting Shinki continue speaking meanwhile.

     "...Well." She mumbled after, lowering her cup for a doll to take away. She was done with it. "If you change your approach, and get your devils to not be suspicious, then this might actually work."

     She looked away again.

     "Might."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna sips some more tea, considering what Shinki's said so far. It *sounds* plausible.

She has to deliberately set aside what notions she personally has about Hells and demon worlds from the religions she knows, and the myths and lore and legends she's run across, but it has the potential ring of truth. But there's one question she can't quite get away from.

"If all of this has been about establishing business offices, then when you came to Afterus yourself, why did *you* resort to force?" Yuna asks. "I mean, you didn't fire the first shot in Home, but you could have put up your hands and said you WEREN'T there to fight."

Sanary Rondel has posed:
     "Oh yeah... She did, huh?" Sanary chuckles at Alice's mention of that little detail. "Well... Maybe her and Souji just got off on the wrong foot. Maybe if they tried negotiating over territory that isn't so... Uh. Occupied by a lot of people?"

     Nobody can say she isn't trying, at least!

     The cleric laughed at Alice's and Konoe's discussion about the aggression, taking another sip of her tea before reaching over to pat the latter on the back. "Hey, come on. It'll probably work out! Eventually. Maybe not right away, but... Sooner or later."

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa says "Given often randomn beings like your friends often tend to have very unfornate plans for people. I seen what have happened with several occult disasters it's not pretty. It's honestly a part of why I was chasing after them I admit."

She listens and kidna gets it they get something other than money out of the tourism.

"From what I heard the gods who rule afterus ten to judge on action not what you are. It does sound like we can work this out without more chaos?"

Alice Margatroid (807) has posed:
    Humph. "Hey, they just needed to let out some steam, I promise you they'd have been a bit nicer if you didn't shoot first you fake miko Reimu copy!" ahem... Alice, there are guests AND YOUR MOM present. "Ahem... Ehehe... Mom doesn't know how to hold back once things get going. And I needed to keep people off Mom. You could say it was an afterthought, but perhaps you're right, Yuna." turning back to Shinki, "It is. As for the castle, I kinda forgot to mention it to Mom."

    "I might have Louise try again later. She was successful with Steve... but it might work." turning to Kotone, she nods, "Ah, misunderstandings, the general thing about incedents in Gensokyo." a pause, "Perhaps I should go give Wonderland a rest then, they were actually on guard for us to retreat back to..." she gives a bit of a laugh, "It's been a while since I had visitors there, but it's okay, it can go dark again."

    "We could try working it out without any more chaos. Mom's going to discipline the koakuma and I'm going to have a talk with the rest. Now... hopefully Marisa won't barge in here wanting to laser everything..."

Shinki (882) has posed:
    When Yuna asks her question and Alice addresses it, Shinki merely closes her eyes and raises her hands in a shrug, "To be honest, that's how I respond when I'm attacked~! It'd look bad if the God of the Demon Realm didn't strike back when struck, you know~." Lowering her hands, she adds, "Though I might have gone a teensy bit overboard, too."

    With a 'hmm?', she tilts her head towards Alice, "You'd rather tuck it away? Aww, but you worked so hard~..." Her eyes close again and she bobs her head from side to side in thought, "..Devils will behave, I'll see to that. We'll discuss offices in more detail after... punishment~ has been levied out.." Those red eyes snap open and she lets out an 'Ah!' sort of noise, perking up.

    "We had intended to retreat to Makai, but since we got things settled so peacefully now, that's not necessary," Shinki leans forward, "But~ it'd be a waste if we didn't make use of the things we'd prepared, so why don't we invite our new friends to play in Wonderland before you take it down, Alice?" One eye closing, she raises a finger and wags it, "After all that work, not using it would be a waste~!" Both eyes glance over the assembled hero-types, "So it wouldn't be dangerous, of course~, but would you play with my daughter one last time?"

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     Konoe growled. "Excuse me, you creepy, Marisa doll hugging, miserable otaku?" She glared at Alice. "You want to step outside? Because we can step outside! Right now even!"

     ...These two would never get along.

Alice Margatroid (807) has posed:
    "What's an otaku?" Alice questions, turning to Konoe. "But if you want to step out... why don't you come to Wonderland like Mom said... I could use some play there before I take it down. And I promise not to use anything lethal." a smile, a creepy smile, is given towards Konoe before it turns genuine to the rest, "Mom, I'm still not a child anymore, I'm a fully grown youkai..."

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     Konoe huffed and crossed her arms. "Fine." She stood up at that, and then turned to Shinki, bowing respectfully. "Sorry for all the trouble, Shinki-sama. I hope your endeavors go well from this point on."

     And then she glared at Alice. "And I'll see /you/ soon." And with that, she marched over to the front door, putting on her sandals and then stomping out. "Hmph. To think I was even worried for a millisecond... Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!"

     She took to the air and flew off, growing again. "Stupid Doll Creep!"

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna glances at Konoe and Alice as the former stomps out of the latter's home.

Then sips some more tea, finishing the cup. Only then does she seem to realize part of what Shinki just said. "Setting aside that you did indeed go a 'teensy bit' overboard ..."

For a given definition of 'teensy,' anyway, but back to that later. Maybe.

"... what do you mean by 'play in Wonderland,' exactly?" Yuna finishes, remembering WAY too clearly how Yumeko and the Koakuma were treating the aerial danmaku dueling as a big fun game.

Alice Margatroid (807) has posed:
    Alice just smiles, "Well..." she looks at her unlocked grimoire. "I unlocked it for a reason, but I guess you need to come and see. Sorry for being dodgy on the specifics but... I promise not to use lethal danmaku." she turns to Shinki, "And then after we can all go to Akumakami castle and have tea and devils food cake... assuming Mom doesn't burn down the kitchen... again."

Shinki (882) has posed:
    "Bye, Konoe-chan~!" Shinki lifts a hand, wiggling her fingers in a friendly farewell, "I'll see you in Makai, then?" The tiff between her daughter and the neko miko is largely ignored. By the look on her face, she must be assuming they're the best of friends. After all, this is pretty close to how she acts around Marisa, too! Towards Yuna, she gestures to Alice, who spells it out right there, "I'm not accustomed to these 'spell card' rules, so I won't participate, for your safety." Hands disappearing into her sleeves for a moment, Shinki produces yellow and blue pom-poms, "But I'll cheer my Alice from the sidelines~!"

    The kitchen is mentioned, which deflates the Goddess immediately, and she turns on Alice with a wibbly lower lip.

    "That only happened one time~!" Shinki whines, "Yumeko scolded me for~e~ver~!"

    The Demon God of Makai, everyone.