Dark Side of the Moon

I'm still floating around.

I meant just a written confirmation that he's still with us and hasn't spaced out.

Oh, my bad; I stand corrected.

Sorry guys, I've been away.  A close friend of mine's father passed away and I had a really bad bout of food poisoning/stomach flu.  I mean, I was gushing out from both ends!

Not the most pleasant of things. Do get well.

Speed, Speed, speed.

Would 'raised' work as a suitable alternative?
<-- watches too much media where 'threatening with a sword' = pulling out sword extremely fast and holding the 'target' at a dangerously close range.

We require a Sakura Otome game with:

- Shirou Path
- Shinji Path
- Archer Path (?!)
- Rin Path. ( =w=)

Then I will be happy.

Uchiten

It appeared he had touched a sore spot.

Uchiten felt the frame of his glasses dig into his nose as the woman pushed at it a second time in punctuation, a false smile of the most polite and dignified seeming overtaking her face. Oh, and it was indeed a honed and masterful expression; it could've fooled him, if he wasn't who he was, or hadn't seen that same smile many times in the Fujiwara court. She must have been truly altered by his comment to need this facade to disguise her feelings.

He couldn't help but think her reaction had been such a fun one. So much that understanding escaped even though there were things that would've made him even angrier if said to his face; so much that when he normally would have felt much irritation from someone poking at his person like she did, the emotion did not even occur to him. To another, however, the slight was not something so easy to let go.

A transparent figure shimmered next to Uchiten, pointing the tip of an invisible sword dangerously close to the woman's neck. In the moment that happened, the onmyoji's eyes narrowed behind his shades and changed their target. Wordlessly, the sharp stare quieted it, and it disappeared.

Caster had been expecting a reaction from this man, but not from a familiar of his -- she hadn't picked up the traces of spiritual distortion floating around in the air, mostly because she expected that it was all coming from this 'evil spirit', not an entity separate from him.

Not having fought at all for a while and leading an arguably 'normal' life had put a dent on Caster's more cautious habits, also dimming her natural wariness of her surroundings.

The moment Caster began fiddling around with the old man's glasses, she picked up an intent that was not so far from one being murderous in nature, giving her a small window to react to whatever was coming. She felt an intense glare aimed at her neck, and 'something' was raised towards its direction.

Leaving no room for possibilities, Caster quickly inched away from the invisible threat. Using the weight of her body and the momentum of physics, she naturally found her entire body doing a hundred and eighty degrees motion -- perfect for transitioning into a handstand. Well, she wasn't there for gymnastic; the handstand was one part of the side-flip she was performing as an evasive maneuver.

From standing to a sideway handstand. From a sideway handstand to another standing position. A maneuver made up of two phases, but when witnessed in action, seemed like one fluid act.

'Why the pause on the handstand, rather than doing a normal cartwheel?' would be one's question.

To gauge wherever one had played into their own hands by evading, or into the enemy's hands rather. Flexibility was an important thing.

As a Servant, and one that was raised into a land where martial proficiency was expected even of women, one would think that it wasn't a warrior's evasive move, but rather, a dancer's elegant performance.

Caster landed without even putting the slightest strain on the floor beneath. She then quickly melded her form into a defensive stance. Of course, she first made sure that her shopping handbags which she had thrown in the air during her evading slid safely back onto her hands first.

Uchiten

Unfortunately, it was all it took for the air to be filled with tension.

Uchiten almost sighed. He emptied his drink and laid it down to wave goofily with his other hand, dispelling the atmosphere as he spoke in an exceedingly cheerful tone.

"Oh my, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I should know better than to always believe this childish familiar. Please forgive her mistake."

'Hey!'

He ignored the mental complaint and simply continued to speak. "Although, I should remind you that just as there are things you shouldn't say, there are still boundaries one should be mindful of when reacting to them."

In emphasis, his aura spread from him and creeped out slightly, like tendrils of shadow slowly crawling out from him.

Caster eyed the 'threat' that had showed up for a moment, but seeing that it was strictly under control, and that the man in black didn't seem to be wanting to pick up a fight, she decided to make the ofuda that had appeared in her hand vanish.

The piece of paper which had been conjured via the power of cursecraft disappeared as swiftly as it had materialized in Caster's hand while she had reacted, burning away unto an ethereal and 'cold' fire of a violet hue.

"Your shiki are very impulsive. Maybe that you should tighten the leash around their neck..." Caster retorted with a little hint of bitterness. A display of aggressiveness was still just that to her: a display of aggressiveness. It was far from being a pleasant experience... nevermind that internally, she was quite unbelieving of how much caution she had lacked there -- if it was a Saber or Lancer class servant that had swung their weapon, her head might've been gone.

"...but I suppose that intruding on the personal space of others was my fault too. Then if possible, we can just leave it at that and call the situation fair and square, I suppose?"

She didn't want anymore trouble from here -- Caster already acknowledged to herself that walking into the place just for the sake of getting some cheap drinks had been a terrible idea.

But now that she was here, the young lady might as well go the full way now.

As if 'luck' had struck her, Caster's antics with the 'evil spirit' had caught the bartender's attention... but sadly, not in the best of lights.

Rose
But there was a more important matter to attend to...

Her eyes turned to Uchiten, and his conversational partners. "Excuse me, dears? I'm afraid there is no fighting permitted in my bar." A smile graced her lovely features... and then opened wider, further than any face had any right to, revealing only to them the manifold thorns of this most delightful Rose. Then everyone blinked, and it was as though the sight had never been there: just white bone concealed by pink flesh. "This is your only warning."

'Great, so even the barkeeper is a weirdo.'

But hadn't Caster expected that from the moment she observed the clientele of this tavern? Maybe that she had been a bit too much of wishful thinker... yes, while it did not hurt to be optimistic, the young lady had perhaps been a little bit too lenient on inevitable realities.

"Aiya... sorry for the ruckus."

Caster spoke with a little bit of nonchalance, giving a light awkward laugh rather than appearing downcast or ashamed of her acts. She after all, never was one that had been too apologetic. She had her pride as a woman of the court, and as one of the peerless beauties of Eastern Asia. It was only when she was with her Master that she'd allow her facade to drop.

"But... I should do what I came here for. Do you mind if I buy a whole bottle of Juyondai Sake? I saw that there was a discount on its price."