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[X] "Have you met other hunters before?"
[X] "What places are near here?"
[X] "Has anything unusual been happening lately?"
[X] "You said it was dangerous to travel... what are the chances those children could have survived on their own in this Netherworld for a few days?"

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"Have you met other hunters before?" Vincent asks.

Yuyuko takes a sip from her tea before speaking.

"A few. Unfortunately, those meetings ended pretty quickly."

Vincent clears his throat. Might be better not to push that subject any further.

"What other places are near here? Any place you recommend visiting?"

"Interesting places? Hmmm," she says as she pauses to think. "Hakugyokurou is in the Netherworld, so there aren't any places that are very close. However, there are several points where the border has been weakened."

She takes a bite of meat before she continues. "You can head to the Sanzu River, where souls cross over to be judged. There is a lazy shinigami there that is usually slacking off, so you can probably talk to her." Youmu almost chokes on her tea as she hears the word "lazy", but she stays silent.

"You can also visit the Poltergeist mansion. The Prismriver sisters live there; I sometimes have them play concerts here when I have parties." Youmu mutters something to herself, but Vincent only catches the word "cleanup".

She hands her empty bowl to Youmu for a refill. "You can also head down to Gensokyo, where a whole bunch of interesting humans and youkai live. If you do decide to go there, I recommend heading to the Human Village first, since it is the safest place for humans."

"I see," Vincent says. The nearest places seem to have inhabitants that are involved with the world of the dead. At least, they don't sound hostile to the living. But it might be wiser to head to someplace with regular humans instead. He can think about that later, though.

"Has anything unusual been happening lately?" he asks.

"Interesting you should ask. I met with Reimu and the others this morning. Apparently human disappearances, youkai attacks, and some other minor incidents have been increasing lately. Of course, everyone claimed that they weren't involved, but Reimu insisted that something is going on."

"She is probably just getting cranky because her shrine never gets donations," Youmu says succinctly.

"Ara? Are you still mad because she borrowed a couple of ghosts last summer?" she asks. Youmu stays silent and focuses on her meal. "In any case, I think that the miko might be right this time. Especially suspicious was when she asked everyone about any new Outsiders arriving in a strange manner. A few of the others seemed to be uneasy when they said that they didn't meet any. Can't blame them though, Reimu would probably beat the living daylights out of anyone she suspects."

Yuyuko puts down her cup and looks straight at Vincent.

"And with our new guest here, I am quite positive that something very interesting is about to happen."

Yuyuko gives him a strange smile. Youmu glances at Vincent darkly before returning to her meal.

"I-In any case, you mentioned that it was dangerous to travel. What are the chances that the children I mentioned could have survived on their own in this Netherworld for a few days?" Vincent asks.

Yuyuko hands her empty bowl to Youmu for another refill.

"Chances are dim for them, especially if they didn't arrive near this place. Evil spirits still wander the Netherworld, and they may have been possessed or devoured. However, I don't think that this is the main problem with your search." Yuyuko thanks Youmu for the bowl of rice. "From what I gathered, the children you mentioned have entered this world years ago. Even if they did survive, I most certainly doubt that they would still be children."

Vincent takes this in thoughtfully. She has a good point. But still...

"In any case, would you like to accompany me this afternoon? I'd like to take a walk around the grounds, and it's been a while since we've had a guest," Yuyuko asks. "Or perhaps, you would rather spend your time with Youmu here?" she says with a sly smile. Youmu blushes slightly, but says nothing.

Vincent thinks about what to do next.
[ ] Accompany Yuyuko.
[ ] Accompany Youmu.

Vincent thinks about what to do with the skull.
[ ] Bring it with you.
[ ] Leave it with Youmu.