Oh dear, do the people who voted to see something more in the grue's eyes really understand the extent of the consequences of their vote? Oh, you'll survive, but you went and gave me another way to have fun with this.

---

I could swear I saw a flaming bird fly over my head, which was more than enough incentive to try and twist my head free to get a good look at my savior and fail miserably since I'm already in too deep. Not that I needed to since only one person I know of fights with phoenix fire. I should thank her properly if she gets me out of this.

I also can't help but note that just before that little event that Rumia's eyes seemed to contain more than her elation, gloating victory over me, and hunger. Perhaps I was imagining it but there seemed to be some sort of desire in her eyes, not just born of hunger either.

Now there's a scary thought. My hunter falling in love with me even as she tracks me down to kill me? That sounds like something out of a spy novel or some such nonsense. Silliness aside, that's the last I see of Alice's house for now.

One day later...

"Enough. You won't win." Kaguya stands tall against the black intruder that snuck into Eientei for the sole purpose of removing one of its patients while he was still recovering. A peculiar haze comes into being any time the intruder strikes her, and the princess launches an increasingly dangerous assault against the grue through it. "You cannot hope to beat the power of eternity, even if you are the queen of the night as you so claim."

"Give me a break, all I want to do is see whether or not he's died!" Rumia skids back as she blocks heavy laser after heavy laser, then brings her swords around to launch another wave of darkness against the princess, which is just as ineffective as anything else she's tried thus far.

"It's true that he has suffered some serious damage at your hands, but he is no more dead than I am capable of dying. Now leave." The princess seems to emit an aura of command as she speaks, as though she were born to lead. Her tone,

You wake up in a flower field.

You see a displeased woman with green hair and a parasol standing in front of you.

She then swings it at you and cuts your throat wide open, killing you.

The End

First of all, I should check what that note is since no one I know would bother to leave a note behind on the outer window sill like that. Most of the time if someone has something to say they'll come to me in person, which can entail breaking the front door down at times if I'm not quick enough or are otherwise preoccupied. ...I really should reinforce that door as well as the hinges so it can't be taken down as easily.

Regardless, I slide open the window just enough to retrieve the note, with I see has been tied shut with a crow's feather stuck between the paper and the string. I guess this takes care of the question of who sent this. I unfurl the note in order to read it.

Dear Ivan,

I'm writing this because I'm interested in making a proposition. I realize I can't have made the best impression on you earlier today and can only ask that you don't just crumple this up and toss it out before reading all the way through.

Now that that's out of the way, I'll get on with this. I stumbled across some old papers of mine detailing Letty's exploits while she was human and figured they might be of interest if you're really intent on figuring her out.

What do I want in exchange? Simple. Cooperation in figuring out if this Letty and the one I have records of is one and the same since the living human Letty was very interesting.

Just leave this note out on your window sill with your response written on the back and I'll come to take it in the morning.

Best Regards,
Aya Shameimaru

This crow is assuming too much, but she's playing against my curiosity. I don't know Aya well enough to trust her explicitly, but she has shown me that she won't lie about what goes into her paper and this would be a steady source of information. Having a contact wouldn't hurt either...

[X]Accept
[X]Decline

I pocket the note for now since I need time to think my answer through, and turn my attention to something considerably more important. Namely, getting a functional jacket that won't blow up in my face since I'm still in need of a way to withstand exte

...

Careful...

Careful...

Ah, that's it. Mokou hasn't woken up yet so I'll have to keep being nice and quiet if I want to make it out with my intended prize.

Oh, this probably doesn't make any sense to you does it? Of course not, you were dropped right in the middle without so much as an introduction, so I'll try to explain as I go.

My name? Not important. In fact, I'd like to keep this short if at all possible since one wrong move could mean a nice third-degree burn and another trip to Eientei. Yes, again. I'm an alchemist you see, and I'm quite tired of none of my clothing keeping out the cold for more than fifteen minutes. Even my thickest clothes, the ones modified for warmth are insufficient in this wretched cold! But in the process I recall one Mokou Fujiwara, a woman that has the powers of a phoenix. Surely she could help me!

...If only it were that easy. You see, I have nothing that really interests her, and the item I've deemed most likely to succeed, the one I need in a bad sort of way made her treat me like some kind of creepy stalker. I need just one strand of her hair to work with, and I have acquired one in the past. In fact, more than one. Many more. So why do I sneak up on this firey woman seeking more?

For me, alchemy is a very imprecise art when it comes to making something you actually wanted to make. Most of my results had to be scrapped because they ignited themselves, threatened to inflict hyperthermia on me, incinerated themselves... The usual. And I have to admit I don't enjoy the total pain inflicted on me by Mokou. All six third-degree burns, all twenty-four second degree burns, and all one-hundred and nine first degree burns. All necessitating a trip to Eientei, either by my own crippled at the moment hand or Mokou taking pity on me and taking me there herself.

In fact, I've probably visited the clinic far more than any other villager, but that's to be expected in my line of work. Kind of like the sorry man who invented gunpowder, except my inventions are used for things other than senseless violence. Even if explosions are

This board needs more life.
Here, have a pretty flower youkai.

Merry Christmas, /coriander/.

It looks like the rules...just got screwed.

"Oh, who are you?"

Opening your eyes, you find yourself lying flat on your back, Yellow sunflowers and a face framed with green hair peer down at you.

what do you do?

We are Anonymous, we are legion, we never forget, we never forgive.

We control all boards.

This one is no exception.