>>41280377
You were glad to finally leave that encounter behind and return home. A pause in your daily activities leaves nothing but your sleep deprivation to worry about - it feels like a truck ran your head over, several times. You try to spend the few hours remaining before the nightly patrol to get at least a little sleep, but you're called on to eat dinner, and after spending the time to do that, you just don't trust yourself to get up in time.

Earlier, you decided that you won't slack off. This is your problem, so you'll deal with it yourself. You won't put people in danger because of your own negligence.

When the time comes, you swap with Chappy, leaving the artificial bunny spirit to pretend to sleep in your own body, while you head out in Shinigami form to the designated meet-up spot. You come in last tonight - both Ren and Naoko are already there, waiting for you. The patrol begins as normal, save for Ren whining about her sore limbs.

...

>Bring up what happened with Paul earlier today.
>Keep quiet for the time being. There is no need to worry them; at least not until you know what can be done about it.
>Other. (Write-in).

>>41280391
Bleach time!
>Bring up what happened with Paul earlier today.
We should discuss with our team-mates.

>>41280391
>Bring up what happened with Paul earlier today.

Hope you've had a good week, Mushroom!
Looking forward to getting back in contact with mophead and getting an update on Kimiko.

>>41280528
My week was pretty cool!

And we'll get there soon! Though I recall saying that about something else and it actually took a while.

>>41280570
I'm sure it'll be fine either way!

>>41280391
Voting over, writing!

>>41280391
Hope they take this decently well, Naoko especially might be reminded of her own shenanigans.

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>>41280423
>>41280432
Your explanation is pretty brief, but you tell them everything you know: that Paul can't see spirits (or so he claims) and that he destroyed a soul just by nonchalantly walking through it. The other thing you can't help but bring up about him is that strange fit he had once, just a few days ago, where he acted like a highly-coordinated zombie and cut off a Hollow's arm. And once more, from what you understand, when he encountered Kurotsuchi Mayuri. And those injuries never healed.

...Could it be that he has those sorts of 'fits' regularly, and it's just that you didn't see him do it? Well... it seems that he doesn't need to put in even an ounce of effort to demolish a ghost, so maybe he actually, well, doesn't need to go through all that whenever he sees a ghost.

Ren is surprised and somewhat impressed to hear that Paul also has some involvement in the spiritual world, but she doesn't seem to understand the severity of what he's done. Naoko, on the other hand, is fully aware of what it really means; the stare she directs at you is somber and diligent, almost like she's expecting and wishing to hear your immediate orders to resolving this situation.

When she sees that you do not, in fact, have any solutions, her gaze drops and she spends about a minute in thought. "People who can't see ghosts can't interact with them either. Since your brother can do things like that to them, it means that he has spiritual power - which also means that he should be able to see them."

You shrug a bit; you don't really know much about the subject, but she's probably right. "I guess that's logical enough, but... does that mean that he's lying about not seeing them?"

(1/2)

>>41281257
"That must be it," Naoko declares. Your skepticism about that is easy enough to notice, so the girl thinks a bit more as she continues to stare at you. "Maybe he believes that what he sees is abnormal, so he doesn't admit to it?"

"You're saying that... Paul thinks he's hallucinating?"

The girl nods in response, looking fairly confident in her theory, especially after you voice your interpretation of her words. "I can't think of any other reason." She adds, though to you, that only incites more doubt, as if she's admitting that she might be wrong.

"...If he really thinks that he's just a schizophrenic, we can disprove that by having Ren and you point to a ghost." You tell her, and Naoko nods again. "But who knows when the hell a ghost is gonna just come around, though."

Ren, hesitantly speaks up, probably humbled a bit by her lack of knowledge in the topic. "Well, Clarissa... you're a ghost right now, right? We could probably have you come up so we can all point at you."

...

>"Yeah, I can act as bait. We'll all be at school tomorrow. We can try it there."
>"Think we can convince a ghost - if we come across one tonight - to help us out with this?"
>"I don't want to do it myself or especially get more innocent spirits involved in this - it's dangerous. Paul is dangerous. We should just keep him away from anything spiritual."
>Other. (Write-in).

>>41281286
>"Yeah, I can act as bait. We'll all be at school tomorrow. We can try it there."
What could go wrong?

>>41281286
>"Yeah, I can act as bait. We'll all be at school tomorrow. We can try it there."

>>41281286
>"I don't want to do it myself or especially get more innocent spirits involved in this - it's dangerous. Paul is dangerous. We should just keep him away from anything spiritual."
2scary!

I dunno about Naoko's theory, he should have SOME kind of reaction surely. I guess if he's seen them long enough...that's scary in its own way though, wonder how many spirits he's extinguished.

>>41281286
>Other
"Can people without spiritual power see your bow?" Because if she hangs out with us while it's manifested at our house, and Paul asks why Naoko's carrying around a bow, that'd be good evidence.
If so then yeah

>"Yeah, I can act as bait. We'll all be at school tomorrow. We can try it there."

But don't stand directly in his path.

>>41281512
>But don't stand directly in his path.
I'd sure hope we wouldn't!
And yeah, a fair question too.

>>41281286
Voting over, writing!

Clarissa the lab-rat it is!

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"Yeah, I can act as bait. We'll all be at school tomorrow. We can try it there." You give Ren a tap on the shoulder, quietly commending her for the idea. She doesn't look too happy about it, though, not after hearing you refer to yourself as bait.

"If you think it's dangerous, then you shouldn't do it, Clarissa." She mumbles, but you shake her shoulder a bit and tell her to relax. You just need to make sure to stay away, or, well, at least try to not walk into him by accident. That would be a clumsy way to go, getting scattered into spiritual atoms or whatever the hell it is that spirits are made of.

...You don't really feel too cool about this plan anymore. You glance at Naoko. "Can people without spiritual powers see your bow?"

"My... bow?" She asks, apparently puzzled.

"You... shot those arrows with a bow or somethin', right? I sort of assumed that was the case, but..." You begin to feel a little awkward, but Naoko shakes her head.

"Well, it's... true, I can use a bow if I need to. From what I understand, it's the standard weapon of the Quincy, too, but I don't use it normally. I simply liquefy the items I make - like the gloves I usually wear, for example - and propel them at a target with a little spiritual power," The girl sheepishly looks away. "I couldn't get the bow to work properly. It's hard... you have to maintain it in a constant state of focus. The method I use - solidifying spiritual particles into items - is actually much easier..."

You and Ren trade glances to measure how well the other understands her explanation, and then stare back at Naoko, who seems to be suddenly embarrassed, for whatever reason. "...I suppose it's unacceptable for me to have slacked off on mastering it." She murmurs and throws a poorly concealed glance your way. Naoko then raises a clutched fist, and pumps it lightly. "I'll train harder." She whispers with a fiery determination in her eyes. You exchange confused looks with your red haired friend once more.

(1/2)

>>41282066
Why is Naoko so cute?

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>>41282066
"...So would Paul see it or not?" You speak up, knocking Naoko out of her weird self-motivational monologue.

"Huh? Oh, he wouldn't see it if he doesn't have spiritual powers." She replies quickly and uneasily turns away. Maybe she realized that she zoned off just now and feels flustered by it. Ren is chuckling about something, her eyes darting back and forth from you to Naoko.

"If you say that you can't keep it up too well, let's just go with our original plan. If that Mayuri guy didn't die even when he friggin' carried my brother around, then neither will I just from having him look at me. I'll play it safe, and it's all gonna be fine." You firmly declare, earning reassured nods from your friends.

The patrol continues. The coast is clear so far - not a soul in sight, quite literally.

...

>Naoko mentioned that a Shinigami was in town. Ask if she can track him down, and if she can, go check him out.
>Keep training that ribbon sensing technique. It's probably best that you don't get seen by other Shinigami.
>Focus fully on the patrol. Just because it's quiet right now doesn't mean that things can't go to shit at any given second.
>Other. (Write-in).

>>41282108
>Naoko mentioned that a Shinigami was in town. Ask if she can track him down, and if she can, go check him out.
I wanna know who it is!

>>41282108
>Keep training that ribbon sensing technique. It's probably best that you don't get seen by other Shinigami.

>>41282108
>Keep training that ribbon sensing technique. It's probably best that you don't get seen by other Shinigami.

But...shinigami...

>>41282270
It's a bad idea, We need to stay hidden

>>41282347
How hidden can we really be after the displays of power Clarissa's been presenting?
Oh well, looks like our fourth voter is AWOL anyway so I guess we're training!

>>41282108
Voting over, writing!

>>41282066
You could have just said we never saw Naoko use a bow, you know. As opposed to Clarissa pulling knowledge out of nowhere.

>>41282155
>>41282167
"Naoko, is that Shinigami still around?" You ask her, and the girl quietly goes through the process of manifesting ribbons into the air and checking their colors in short order; two of them are red, and keeping in mind that one belongs to you, the second one indicates the presence of one additional Shinigami. "Is he far?"

Naoko grasps both of the red ribbons and carefully evaluates them. She does nod after a pause, but she seems rather uncertain.

"Good," You say. "Let's keep it that way. That Urahara guy said things would get shitty if anyone else knew about me, and I'm not gonna distrust him on that one." Naoko agrees with your opinion with a nod. "Explain the ribbon trick again, Naoko, would ya?"

You and Ren attentively listen to her and then try it for yourselves, but the results are exactly the same as yesterday - none at all. Rather than training, it turned into a bit of a challenge between you and your red haired friend; like a puzzle to be solved, or an unproclaimed bet to be won. Whenever one makes even a little bit of progress over the other, it's declared proudly and loudly - though it's hard to prove and measure, considering it all comes down to "I felt that" or "I totally saw Ren without looking at her for a moment" and other vague things along those lines.

Suddenly, Naoko tenses up and shoots a glare across the street, hand touching the silver cross on her chest. It seems to vibrate just slightly under her touch, but you can't make it out for certain.

"There's a Hollow." She confirms it, making Ren visibly flinch in worry. Naoko turns back at you, expecting you to say something.

...

>"If we rush in and deal with it before the Shinigami comes around, he won't get to see us."
>"Let's stay out of it. Don't want to get spotted by that other Shinigami; he can take care of it."
>"Think the Shinigami is going to come around? We could peek on him while staying hidden."
>Other. (Write-in).

>>41283004
>"If we rush in and deal with it before the Shinigami comes around, he won't get to see us."

>>41283004
>"Think the Shinigami is going to come around? We could peek on him while staying hidden."
I assume we intervene if it's gonna hurt someone.

>>41283004
>"Think the Shinigami is going to come around? We could peek on him while staying hidden."
Unless it seems to be actively menacing anyone.

>>41283004
>"Let's stay out of it. Don't want to get spotted by that other Shinigami; he can take care of it."

>>41283004
Voting over, writing!

Spying is wrong anons!
Well, I guess it's fine.

>>41283064
>>41283097
"Think the Shinigami is going to come around? We could peek on him while staying hidden." You propose, to which Naoko nods obediently and Ren shrugs. "We'll obviously take the Hollow down if he's not coming. It shouldn't be a big deal, since Naoko can just shoot it down from like a mile away, and I can throw a sword at it."

You tell Ren to stay a bit behind when you spot the Hollow so that she doesn't run the risk of getting hurt; your plan for hiding from the Shinigami is to just phase into someone's apartment and look from a window, if there is such a need. Otherwise you'll just be peeking behind a corner - Naoko and Ren's plan for hiding is to act naturally, like humans that can't see ghosts. After all, there's no threat to them even if they do get discovered.

When the quiet streets are shaken up by the evil spirit's roars, you quicken your pace, Naoko leading you straight to the monster. It takes a few minutes to get to the place of its emergence; if you followed your patrol route more rigorously, without pausing for the sake of spiritual training, you'd probably have it pop up right on top of you, for better or worse.

You and Naoko spot the beast - red skinned and resembling an oversized hound, its mask in the shape of a rat's skull. Its shrieks are high in pitch, and it gives them off generously. Its nose greedily sniffs the air, head twitching back and forth in search of prey. The dog finally abandons its initial position, apparently having discovered a suitable trail, and then moves away, tainting the air with its foul, hungry breathing, its large tongue hanging out freely.

(1/2)

>>41284262
You find the thing that got its attention shortly after it does - there's a young woman trying to hide in a nearby alleyway behind the trash containers, but clearly to no avail. The Hollow shrieks once more, in anticipation, most likely; the woman takes it as a signal to realize just how hopeless her situation is and breaks out into a desperate run. The red beast dashes after her: its 'steps' are leaps, each one spanning more distance than the height of several grown men. Their succession is brisk, with maybe half a second of delay between every jump.

"Shit, it's fast!" You exclaim and raise a hand, readying to take action - the woman will be caught in a matter of seconds. At your gesture, the air beside you ripples; through that disruption of space, the sharp tip of a sword emerges. Naoko suddenly grasps your shoulder and pulls you back, as if to quietly - and quite roughly - tell you to halt. You want to turn and glare at her, but a glint catches your eye - something reflecting the moonlight for just a moment.

The Hollow stops dead in its tracks. The alleyway is straight ahead of you; it's narrow enough to leave only the monster's rear visible, leaving the woman obscured. It reminds you of how it was with you, back when you were first saved by Kimiko and obtained your powers. As the evil spirit peacefully dissolves, you can make out a figure clad in black robes, but it's both too far and too dark to make out any details. Before your vision gets the chance to adjust, the figure blurs out of existence, leaving you with a dissatisfied frown. The purified spirit of the young woman slowly disappears in a flash of light.

"I didn't even fucking see him. What the hell!" You hiss, throwing your gaze about to try and spot the Shinigami as he leaves, or maybe in hopes of finding a trail of some kind.

(2/3)

>>41284301
Wowee.

>>41284301
"She moved in a strange way. I couldn't see her while she wasn't stationary, either." Naoko says and lets go of your shoulder. She was gripping it pretty harshly, so it still hurts a bit; probably a spur of the moment.

"She? You saw who it was?" You rub your slightly hurting arm and pat your black uniform back into proper shape.

"It's Urahara's partner. That short blonde girl. Hiyori."

"You think she saw us? Hell, the way she did stuff, it's almost like she didn't want to us to see her."

"I don't know." Naoko says it curtly. She doesn't look at all happy with knowing that the ill-tempered blonde is here.

...

>Track Hiyori down and have a chat.
>Don't bother her and just get the patrol over with.
>Other. (Write-in).

>>41284345
>Don't bother her and just get the patrol over with.
Better not poke the hornet's nest.

>>41284345
>Don't bother her and just get the patrol over with
Yeah I don't really wanna deal with her, we probably should talk to Urahara directly. Though the fact that she's still in the area is probably significant.

>>41284345
>Don't bother her and just get the patrol over with.

>>41284345
>Track Hiyori down and have a chat.
She's a good girl inside! Veeeery far in.

>>41284345
Voting over, writing!

>>41284700
Why is Hiyori so scary in this quest? Even more so than in the manga! Too scary!

>>41284861
because we are meeting her at a comparatively lower level than when Ichigo met her.

>>41284954
She doesn't have to bully so hard...
Well, I guess we're really careful bordering on paranoia as well, so it's not that surprising.

>>41284954
Maybe not? It's unclear how strong we actually are.

>>41285440
Pretty damn strong when unleashing full power but we're not exactly comfortable with that. Pretty shit when not, compared to Strawberry.

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>>41284861
You make a grimace to show off your displeasure at this sudden revelation. When Naoko glances at you, she wordlessly agrees.

"Really hope we won't have to deal with that chick any time soon. She's loud and annoying as hell." You complain a bit about her, then the two of you head off to meet up with Ren; she's been keeping herself hidden behind a tall pile of boxes, just like you told her to, though you did find her peeking out of her cover on your way here.

You help her up - her legs sore enough to make her stumble back onto her butt when she tried to stand up with her own efforts - and explain what happened. Ren nods a couple of times in understanding, looking a bit bemused to learn the events. The previous encounter with the short girl left a poor taste in her mouth as well, unsurprisingly.

"You think she'll try to pick another fight?" She asks, to which you can't do much but shrug. You don't really know what Hiyori's doing here; but regardless, she seems to be killing Hollows and purifying souls, which must be why you haven't encountered any tonight. Nevertheless, you continue with the patrol, with Ren still trying to grasp the ribbon sensing technique - with no success - leaving you with only the quiet Naoko as company for the remainder of the night. Needless to say, you haven't talked much.

When you come to the end of your patrol route, Ren yawns and stretches cheerfully, or at least tries to, until the muscle pain prevents her body from getting too relaxed. After she notes that tonight was pretty thrilling, the three of you split and head back to your respective homes.

(1/2)

>>41286344
Peaceful times!

>>41286344
You return to your body of flesh and make yourself comfortable in your bed. It's warm and pleasant under the blanket, but... you can't shake off your unease.

You feel scared. Not of your dark room or its shadows, not of the strange and unpredictable noises sometimes emerging in and outside your house, not of monsters under the bed, and not even of your uncertain future.

You're scared of sleeping. You know you'll see a bad dream. An awful, self-loathing nightmare.

And it's that fear that keeps you awake in spite of your unhealthily bloated fatigue. The sun starts to rise, tinting the dark clouds blue. You glance at the time, but your room is still too dim for you to tell. You stand up, groggy and shaky in your footing. Not a wink of sleep; no reason to lay on your numb behind any longer. Should just get dressed and...

...The door suddenly opens. Slowly, carefully, as if to make sure not to wake you up. You look towards it, not knowing what to expect.

A small, pale girl with smooth black hair pokes her head through the opening. She puts up a gentle, warm smile as she spots you, and allows herself in. As she does, she closes the door as carefully as she opened it.

(2/3)

>>41286392
Bwuh!?

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>>41286392
Your heart beats painfully as you watch her approach. You don't know whether you should be glad and hopeful, or scared and miserable. This girl is KIMIKO, but... no...

As she continues to relentlessly inch ever closer towards you, her kind smile never fades or wavers; not even when you take a nervous step back and nearly stumble over one thing or another. She seems to finally notice your hesitation. Rather than asking you outright, she stops and tilts her head. Is that a lock of her dark hair that flicked over to her eye, or is that black blood seeping out of her cracked skull?

You try to mouth a question, but your throat refuses to obey. Unfortunately, the girl understands you even without words, and voices your concern for you. Her voice is sweet and pleasant, just like you remember.

"Who am I?"

...

>Aiko.
>Kimiko.
>no no get away

>>41286446
I'm confus

>>41286446
>>no no get away

>>41286446
>spaghetti uncontrollably

>>41286446
Uh. Uuuuuh. Uh.
Both?

>>41286446
>Aiko

>>41286446
>Breakdown time
Kimiko was Aiko?
That makes no sense right? So what's actually going on?
Who was phone?

>>41286446
I'm scared of answering wrong but...
>Aiko.
Not that I'm sure it matters since I'm sure Clarissa will lose her shit either way!

So it's KIMIKO and clearly also Aiko.
I'm thinking it's some kinda sleep-deprivation-caused hallucination, or possibly just regular nightmare. Seems most likely right? The lack of sleep has been made a point of, after all.

>>41286446
>Breakdown

>>41286446
>Breakdown
Yeah it's the breaking point

>>41286446
>Aiko.
>breakdown

Guessing Mushroom forgot to post he closed the vote?

>>41286483
>>41286544
>>41286955
You... yell at her. You can't answer her question so you scream at her. You can't give her an answer, so you're shouting something incoherent. Her gentle, friendly, saintly smile fades. **** always did hate it when you yelled at her. The slight change in her expression finally makes you stumble and fall.

And yet she keeps coming closer; if anything, she is all the happier for your misery, since now you can't get away. She repeats her question after every inch that she shortens the hardly present gap between you. The girl drops on you, and with her meager weight, prevents you from crawling away any further.

"Did you really forget?" Her expression and voice are both pleading; you shake your head. You didn't forget anything. You chose not to. You can't back out of that choice now even if you wanted to. You wish she'd know that; you wish she'd understand, but you know why she refuses to. You took her life. It wasn't fair. "You keep painting yourself as the victim, but there is only me."

There is something heavy in the girl's right hand; perhaps a metal club.

It's only fair.

"I'm not as strong as you." She smiles again. A wholly innocent, angelic smile. One that ****ko could never replicate, not even after she stole and selfishly defiled her childlike body. "You'll get to live for longer than me."

(1/2)

>>41287653
Shit girl, be gentle!

>>41287653
Her frail hand brings the weapon down on your skull. It breaks through with utter ease, cracking bone as though it was nothing, staining the room with black blood and leaving a trail of sticky gore leading to the edge of her blunt weapon. And yet you're alive; despite the injury, your eyes are wide open, and your consciousness not in the slightest manner disturbed.

She did say, after all, that she was weaker.

"We'll be together for just a minute longer."

And even that much is unfair.

**** will never learn of it, but you betrayed her twice. Once when you killed her, and again when you replaced her. She's dead, and that's why she will never know any of this. The girl who's mutilating you now isn't her. She never will be; she never can be. Perhaps she hates that just as much as you. That's why you want to at least give her the satisfaction of smashing your head into bits.

She brings her delicate hand down again and again. Your eyes sprang out of your head after the fifth strike, and yet one can still see, its fleshy cord vaguely connected to the brain. You can do nothing but watch her raise and lower the weapon again and again.

It's only fair.

>>41287694
You finally wake up. Your body is covered in cold sweat; you are in tears and on the verge of vomiting. You clutch at yourself and quiver in your bed, crying.

You didn't give that girl an answer. For some reason, it bothers you. She doesn't have a name. She's no one. There isn't anyone who can be her. Not anymore.

A substitute that's no longer needed. It only makes sense for her to be angry and spiteful at you, and it only makes sense for her to cause you as much pain as she can.

For some reason, it bothers you.

...

Morning. It's finally morning. You were careless enough to cry yourself to sleep after waking up from that nightmare, but fortunately, it didn't repeat again. You wake up just before your mother enters your room to wake you up herself, and you quickly climb out of bed, covering your face with an arm, using rubbing the sleep off your eyes as your excuse. She mutters something about you sucking all the fun out of the process and leaves. Your mom doesn't have a clue. Good. It's better that way.

You feel incredibly happy to be in the presence of other people. No longer alone. Your hands are shaking as you eat breakfast, but you try to keep that hidden.

Afterwards, you head to school. You remembered to take Chappy with you - you'll be testing Paul today, after all. Ren keeps asking you if you're okay, to which you respond affirmatively every time. Naoko mutters something about 'trying another day', but you irritably tell her to shut up about that. If you keep your mind occupied with things like these, and the more of those things there are, the easier of a time you will have going on with your day.

You're just sleepy. You assure them that by lunch, you will be just fine.

...

>>41287743
>just fine

Riiiiight.

>>41287743
Man, Clarissa is fucked up.

>>41287774
No shit sherlock

>>41287777
At ease, Watson!

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>>41287743
Ending thread for tonight, I wanted to cover Paul in this thread but it's getting late and I don't think I'll make it!

Next thread is tomorrow, but keep a lookout on twitter:
https://twitter.com/Mushroomgami

If you have any feedback or questions, please shoot them my way!

Thank you for reading!

>>41287801
Thanks for running! Looking forward to next thread!

>>41287801
Thanks for writing.
Clearly you should move to the US so you can run when anons are around since they love crowding in around midnight!

>>41287880
I should just run longer!

Who needs sleep anyway. Right?

>>41287925
Right!

Feeling hype for next episode anyway, this one was pretty good!

>>41287939
Thanks! I took more time than I wanted to take on those last two updates, unfortunately.

Just need to get faster!

>>41287962
You excel at those kinds of scenes, for sure. They're always great reads!

If I had to pin down a weakness, pacing and letting players waffle around too much. Latter isn't exactly easy to fix admittedly, but hey!

>>41287994
I'll be trying my best to fix the pacing, as I'm pretty sure I know exactly what you mean!

And the latter is something I should work towards fixing as well, though it's a lot less straightforward. I just need to think deeper into things and choices before I present them. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if I can guarantee that I'll fix that issue for sure, because sometimes, it might be intentional.

>>41288129
I think it's mostly just on anons and Clarissa being super-paranoid and ending up not trusting anyone who could actually help move the plot forward after Kimiko disappeared. Not for no reason admittedly, but it was still unfortunate and it's not like Urahara has been THAT suspicious or anything.

>>41288168
The plot is always moving forward, and will continue to do so regardless of Kimiko! Don't worry, the quest won't run out of things to do just because of player choices.

>>41288225
Yeah no, I get that. To expand on what I mean, from Kimiko disappearing and up to about when we chose to take Urahara's deal, things felt tedious and aimless because there were no good choices and Clarissa had little to no agency for herself. I suspect that's also why the quest has lost a lot of players and activity since then, sadly.

>>41288241
Yeah, you're right! There were better ways for me to get across what I intended to without boring people! I'll try my best to learn from these mistakes.

>>41288317
Hey, don't worry too much. Every QM runs into some kinda issue from time to time! And I'm sure people will trickle in again now that things are getting back on track, as it were!