Not even Kurama expected the first move he'd make to go after his mother. He's changed from before. The stakes have risen.

I had to have Kurama cut her off at the end for obvious reasons. Sassy Botan is not holding much back. I expect another 1-2 more dinner posts? XD Maybe Botan won't get dessert for her bad behavior.

Very nice.

The rough draft in my head is him pulling her aside and getting an answer of some kind, since he had been patient so far, but boy is it hard to keep him ignorant of what's with her xD

I'm thinking he could put two and two together tonight since Botan wouldn't blow his cover, something clearly must be afoot.

Whew, what a freaking delay. Sorry about that.

I know there isn't a WHOLE lot to get into, but I didn't want to end the dinner and rush them to bed without hearing what you wanted to brainstorm up. My second option was just Kurama taking Botan to his room to talk and see just how bad she has become. But it's still early. As hastened as her affliction is due to the possessed student knowing of her true identity, I think there may still be a shred of the true Botan in there who is against all that she is feeling. Hurting Shiori, I feel, would hurt Botan inside too, no matter how troubled she is, but the interpretation is of course all you, dude.

If there was nothing else, I could end up skipping them to the next day in my next post and having the appearance of the possessed student. You know how badly I want some fluff for these two right now?

Pretty god damn badly.

Woooo, Kurama to the rescue! I felt so bad about Botan saying all that...really, it was a tough post to make. :/

We could totally use some fluff though I don't know if any can come until after she tries to drown herself? And Botan is going to feel real bad about offending Shiori. There may be a brief moment of 'relapse' in which she for a moment breaks through the depression/demon's hold over her but I don't think it would be anything big. I think if we skipped to the next day, that would be good. I could lead us in at the end of my post. Botan is probably going to throw a hissy fit and go to bed. Urgh, parents just don't understand. XD

Honestly, as I wrote that, I thought to myself, "Wow I bet this is going to make Gen feel even worse about it." What Shiori said in my post was so simple, but I felt like you would feel the pain of what Botan said to her, as I did.

The following sentence, "We could use some fluff after she tries to drown herself," is hilarious to me. xDDD You don't have to have her relapse here but I'm also not against it. It may be more of an emotional thing if she does it after her little scare, which prompts Shiori to embrace Botan and cry, because she felt so powerless to help Botan. And here she finds out she was drowning herself. Tears, tears all over Botan.

You can lead us to the end of the day if you'd like and I can continue us off in the next one. Gonna make the possessed student a girl, probably.

Dude, you're gonna make cry. Stop lol

Urgh my heart.

I think it wouldn't a huge stretch if Botan had a moment of snapping out of her trance. The other two victims didn't have someone who could closely notice the signs I think we could say. Maybe with Botan and Kurama's spiritual power along with Shiori's outreach, it could give Botan a moment to plea for help. Awh.

We may need to drum up some images of the student(s) working for Goshikuro. I know we floated a few images many pages ago but we may need to store them in the CS tab?

<3

We never settled on how the possession worked, only that it was strongly invisible to people with respectable amounts of power like Kurama, so it wouldn't be any sort of stretch to say that Kurama's energy and Shiori's plea helped Botan break out momentarily. Though, the part where she breaks out after drowning herself, what exactly is it that allows Botan and Kurama to finally give her back control? It can't be too flashy, because Kurama running down those halls to the pool is going to attract attention, and eventually people will find them. Did Yoko use some of his demon energy to overwhelm the possessor, so Kurama transformed and tested that theory?

I was actually going to search, but only after my next turn. I wasn't sure if it was a boy or girl that was behind the possession, so I held back.

I think we looked at males, but it's also probable there are both males and females who work for Goshi. I think in terms of Kurama or Yoko breaking the control when Botan is saved, would depend if we want one of Goshi's close servants/slaves to be captured sooner as opposed to later. I think if Kurama exudes enough energy, it could be enough to thwart their hold on Botan. It might also be a possibility in which Kurama and Botan do something to secure the school itself. Maybe Genkai could help with a protective ward?

Goshikuro feeds off of negative energy, but at this point neither Kurama, nor Yoko, fully realizes that these demons are just the subordinates of another, more powerful entity they faced in the past. So by knowing that Botan was attacked and placed in danger, Kurama is unknowingly exuding a dangerous amount of anger that would in turn strengthen Goshikuro. I think sadness contributes a lot to his recovery, but the rage of someone like Kurama is double that, so that was why Botan was moved on. I don't know the true level of how it will work, but let's say Kurama being angered for even a moment is enough to put Goshikuro's recovery a week ahead, etc etc. It's a work in progress.

I'm thinking Kurama enters his Yoko form and overwhelms the invisible hold of demon energy within Botan--after resuscitating her, of course-- but that does leave the demon that put her at risk in the first place. I think that's a plan they decide on once he makes sure Botan is freed and safe. The demon will have exposed themselves to Kurama, but it could also probably change bodies, and I think only in Yoko form Kurama is sensitive enough to demon energy to sniff them out. Thoughts?

I do like the idea of Kurama's anger and sadness expediting Goshikuro's recovery time, though it still seems too soon for an altercation to happen. Though I recall us wanting to have a fight, Goshi maybe retreating to then kidnap Shiori and cue Kuwabara and the others to come to Kurama's aid in the final fight?

Kurama allowing Yoko to surface is a risky choice, though I'd also believe it's not a state he can endure for long periods of time as Yoko is only just now able to change forms after the tournament. I assume whoever Yoko catches will be killed and the demon would then just go to another body. I was thinking two main henchmen but were you thinking just one?

Ah, and now we're at a point where we're conflicted on what comes next.

The altercation happens when Goshikuro is fully recovered. Kurama's rage only speeds it up, that does not mean that it is complete. It is complete when we need it to be. The fight between them is meant to be on a scale as large as Yusuke fighting Elder Toguro, so it's definitely a 'final boss' thing. Kurama still has to make certain that the demons within his school aren't still manipulating people into suicide.

It's a risky choice, but if he cannot find an alternative then he'll have to use that power to disintegrate whatever hold her possessor had on her. It'll be a brief transformation, nothing super dramatic. There are things in that form he cannot accomplish in his base form, and were it not for a couple perverts he wouldn't have found Botan in time to save her life.

We can do two henchmen. Kurama does not want to act unless he can corner the demon in question, because they could just leave the body that Kurama beats. So they'd need to find some way to entrap them. They put Botan in danger. Shiori isn't safe either. So yeah, they may need Genkai's aid to help secure his household and the school for the time being, at least until those two demons are dealt with.

We could assume Genkai's aid in the protection process does ward off the two demons so they could resort to harvesting anguish (aka power) from other areas in the city, that might get Botan and Kurama to do more battles and train up a bit leading up to whenever the big fight happens?

I think as long as Yoko is quick and isn't spotted, it should be a good enough means to an end. His priority being Botan and also dealing whatever evil is around them. There will be lots of aftermath to deal with either way. Botan will feel rather bad for everything but she would also like to express gratitude to both SHuichi and Yoko.

I think that would be for the best. It cuts suicides from the school, and when Kurama and Botan are on the hunt they don't need to be under the guise of 'students' and be restricted by societal norms when they address a friggin' demon. We can work on the encounters later but for now we'll focus on getting through this drowning bit.

I could have Yoko identify the culprits through spiritual energy he exudes, but by identifying the number of possessed students I think he'd scare them off. They're bold to address Kurama, but they didn't think he had the balls to shift into Yoko. It helps out :D

If the two see Yoko, they would likely flee right away and go report to Goshi that Botan is certainly close to Kurama, as such it would probably plant the seed that Goshi soon go after Shiori. :/

The seals Genkai place will be strong enough to ward them away from Shiori, but a fully-empowered Goshikuro is going to crush those seals quite handily. At the very least it bought them time.

Looking forward to transforming now ;3

Hahaha well I don't think Botan is gonna be THAT gracious XP

Yep, Genkai will have bought them time but it would be no match for Goshikuru.

RISE ROSES, ARISE! THE LAST OF OUR DORMANT ROLEPLAYS AWAKENS ONCE MORE TO FINISH WHAT WE STARTED!

Ahem.

Well it was running WAY longer than I expected so I had to cut the tension short. I'll come up with a full identity of the possessed student, as well as the culprit behind the possessions, by the next reply. I had him hasten Botan's sadness towards a lack of desire to persist living, so Botan heading for the indoor pool is still planned. And you can even have a couple boys try talking to her as she passes them before they end up passing the classroom she left with Kurama and the 'plague master' inside.

I'm rusty, but I'm looking forward to writing out their exchange.

Gotta buckl down for this next post. I should have it up either tonight or tomorrow afternoon. It's gonna be a heavy one that's for sure. Good post as usual and as you might have guessed I made it back safely. I'm still in some kind shock but I'm glad I've got you. :3