[x] knock them both on the head, lightly, to get their attention.
-[x] "Is there a problem here, ladies?"

We'll sort this out one way or another. They need to relax.

[×] Order one of them (or both) to move their carts if they're going to make trouble.
-[×] Don't threaten to expel either of them, otherwise they might take you up on that offer.

Let's start by laying down the law. Mokou is less riled up than Mystia, so it's probably not necessary to talk to her.

I'm still worried over how effective this idea'll be, since we didn't get too many tengu to attend.

I'd like to add a preemptive vote:

[×] If you run into any tengu dissidents, tell them not to make trouble and risk getting the tengu loyalists to leave.
-[×] If necessary, tell them your plan, but not about the oni.

Kind of grasping at straws here, but...

Start slow.
[x] knock them both on the head, lightly, to get their attention.
-[x] "Is there a problem here, ladies?"

Preemptive vote:
[×] If you run into any tengu dissidents, tell them not to make trouble and risk getting the tengu loyalists to leave.

[X] Ladies Ladies what's going on here.

[X] Knock them both on the head, lightly, to get their attention.
-[X] "Is there a problem here, ladies?"
-[X] SERIOUSLY, Don't start a fight. Once the oni get their thing running, they might be able to run interference on a fight, but wait until then.

I groan. "Should've known this would happen," I mutter, hurrying over to where the two of them are facing off. Well, to where Mystia is facing off. Mokou just doesn't seem to care. Quickly, I rush up and whack Mystia on the head before she can make her enraged lunge, causing the sparrow to yelp in pain. Mokou starts to laugh, but I shoot her a warning glare and she shuts up quickly, raising her hands in a gesture of peace. "No fighting," I say firmly.

Mystia grumbles a bit, but relaxes her stance. Mokou still doesn't give a damn. Calmly, I take a position in between the two of them. "Is there a problem here, ladies?" I say carefully, looking between the two like I wasn't concerned in the slightest. You know, like Mystia's talons and Mokou's fire didn't worry me, and my delicate plan wasn't in sudden danger of going to pieces before we'd even opened up.

...This is gonna be a long day, huh?

Mystia thrusts a long claw at Mokou. "Do you not see what she's going to cook here?!"

"Yes, Mystia," I say in a calming tone of voice. "It's chicken. It's what Mokou sells. I'm a bird youkai too, and you don't see me getting worked up about it."

"Exactly," Mokou grunts. "And I'm sure if there were any lamprey youkai hanging around, they wouldn't be kicking up a fuss about what you make." She pauses. "Are there any lamprey youkai in Gensokyo?"

"Not that I'm aware of," I say hesitantly. "I mean, I hear that there's a mermaid in the lake-"

"Hel-LO!" Mystia shouts, "Still angry here!"

Mokou flips her off. "Fine by me. I got a stand to set up."

"Mokou, you're not helping," I sigh. "Now please try to get along with your fellow vendors... or I'll have to have a word with Miss Kamishirasawa about your lack of social skills." A bit of a shot in the dark there, but worth a try.

Judging by Mokou's suddenly pale face, and rigid posture, I've hit the bulls-eye. "Y-you wouldn't," the immortal sputters, "I mean... she'll put me in that dress again, and force me through those damn etiquette lessons, and make me act all girly, and... and... well, sparrow-girl started it!"

"Enough," I say wearily. "Mokou, please try to be cooperative with your fellow vendors. Mystia, it's a bunch of chicken. Non-intelligent life, and not even your species. Are you really upset about it... or are you just trying to corner the market for your own stall?" I shoot the sparrow a suspicious look.

Mystia freezes. "Uh."

I face-palm. "Oh, come on, Mystia..." I grumble wearily.

The night sparrow just laughs awkwardly. "Um... well, you can't blame a girl for trying, now can you?"

Mokou narrows her eyes. "Looks like you're still up to your tricks, eh sparrow? Still trying to screw people out of an honest yen-"

"I said enough," I say a bit forcefully. "That's more than enough from both of you. Listen, if you're going to be disruptive, I'm going to have to ask you both to leave. Which would be a shame for all of us, so let's not go there, eh?" The two feuding chefs grumble a bit, but ultimately pack up and shift positions so that they're further away from each other. I sigh in relief. Well, that's the first crisis averted.

Hina comes up and gives me a gentle hug. "I think you handled that very well," she says warmly.

"Thanks," I sigh. "I just-"

"By the way, the Oni just showed up," she adds.

"What, huh?" I straighten up, looking around in confusion. "Where?" Hina points to a group of large figures in heavy cloaks marching towards the special exhibition hall. You can't make out their features at all beneath the heavy cloaks... aside from their large stature, and the fact that a bunch of them are lugging around heavy clubs. Also, one of them tips a garish hat at me as it leads the way into the hall. "Goddammit, Papporo..." I groan.

"Sorry about this," Yuugi Hoshiguma speaks up, walking up to me from the tree-line. "Oni don't do deception all that well, and getting them as organized as this was like herding cats. Still, it should leave us anonymous for a couple of hours at least. Hell, this might even raise interest in our little exhibition!"

"Well, as long as they aren't too blatant about it, I guess," is my reply, watching the line of cloaked Oni as they make their way into the private gallery. Then some of them start to sing boisterously. "Hey, Yuugi...?"

"On it," the deva responds, marching towards the singing, not-so-incognito figures. I sigh in her wake, and Hina strokes my wings reassuringly. This is going to be a very long day.

*******************************************

>12:00

"I hereby declare the trade show... open!" I declare, to a round of applause. As soon as I give the word, fairy attendants start ushering people in through the main entrance, and people make their way up to reception to grab a flyer, over to the food stands, or just make their way down the paths to the individual exhibitions.

I nod in satisfaction. Aside from that rocky start, things have started to go smoothly. The rest of the participants showed up on-time and grabbed a stall for themselves, kappa and artists filtered into their respective galleries, and I even was able to greet a party of tengu as they came down from the village. Some of them smiled as they greeted me, others pretty much gave the cold shoulder, but all were craftsmen with goods to show off. It was a decent amount, so at the least stories will circulate around the tengu village. It's a start, anyway.

"Hello, Aya," a familiar voice intones. I turn around and oh holy crap look at Kogasa. The karakasa is strutting up to me wearing a ridiculously revealing outfit that makes everyone who sees it practically trip over themselves. The thing is, the woman wears it well, striding through the crowd with pride and confidence. This is a woman with nothing to hide, and no concern for what other people think. And goddamn if she doesn't make it look good.

The karakasa titters at my reaction. "Ohhhh, yeah, just drinking in the surprise right about now. This is gonna be a good day~!"

"What happened to not wanting to overdo it?" I ask numbly.

"Word was getting around about that trick," Kogasa shrugs. "I figured that I'd get one last hurrah out of it at the very least. Besides, I've learned that I'm not ashamed of my body at all!"

"...Byakuren's gonna be pissed at you for dressing like that," I comment.

"What's she gonna do, spank me?" Kogasa retorts. "Besides, if anyone tries to cop a feel, they'll find that I'm surprisingly good at defending myself."

"Aren't you pushing that surprise shtick a little too far?" I wonder out loud.

"Um... I mean seriously," Kogasa replies, scratching her head. "I've been taking self-defense lessons from Shou. So don't mind me, I'm just gonna soak in the surprise today. By the way, have you seen Yamame?"

"She's inside the shrine, napping," I reply.

"Thanks~!" Kogasa sings, swaying her way inside. I shake my head. Definitely gotta figure out what's going on between those two.

Then I hear Yamame give a high-pitched shriek from inside the shrine, and my heart leaps up into my throat. Oh gods, what is that crazy Karakasa doing...?!

"Miss Aya, Miss Aya!" Daiyousei the fairy wails, rushing up to me. "Miss Byakuren and Miss Miko set up stalls across from one another, and they look about ready to rip each other's heads off! You gotta do something!"

"Hey, Aya!" Lily Black shouts at the same time as she walks up to me. "Your people look ready to have a brawl between themselves. Apparently some of them want to look around, and the others aren't letting them. Might wanna break it up before things get ugly."

Off in the distance, I can hear the sounds of the Prismrivers starting to play.

OhgodtoomuchatoncewhatdoIdo.


[ ] Gotta help Yamame.
[ ] Gotta keep Taoists and Buddhists from each other's throat.
[ ] Gotta keep the tengu from fighting.
[ ] Gotta PANIC!!!

[x] Gotta keep the tengu from fighting.

Well either Tengu or Taoists and Buddhists. Tengu are more important.

When in danger, or in doubt,
Run in circles, scream and shout!

[ ] Gotta keep the tengu from fighting.

Yamame's not likely in any real trouble(likely the opposite) and I imagine Miko and Byakuren will be able to control themselves at least for a little while, but the Tengu are the whole purpose of this thing and need to be dealt with immediately.

[x] Gotta keep the tengu from fighting.

The problem here is that tengu aren't being let in, defeating the purpose of this trade show.

As much as I wanna see more Byakuren ASAP she and Miko aren't our main priority. We will want to get to them right away after dealing with the tengu though.

>>28509
I don't think they're more important... but they can probably hold a few minutes without beating each other.

[x] Gotta keep the tengu from fighting.

[x] Gotta keep the tengu from fighting.

That and afterwards I want to see what's going on with Yamame just to settle my curosity (that scream could mean anything)

As far as the two factions? If they were able to be civil once they'll be able to do so again... at least long enough for us to get there.

[X] Gotta keep the tengu from fighting.
-[X] Byakuren and Miko next, though.

We're keeping the peace, it's our job.

[X] Gotta keep the tengu from fighting.
-[X] Byakuren and Miko next, though.

>Reading Story
>Suddenly realises up to the latest part

Wait what.

Anyway... what I suggest is this:

[X] Get Daiyousei to find Hina or one of the sisters; they could probably help intermediate between Byakuren and Miko.
[X] Go stop the Tengu from fighting.
-[X] Preferably, you should try and be diplomatic and not insult the Elders in front of the loyalists. If you have to, though, at least be entirely factual; you do spread The Truth, after all!

For the first option, I suggested it because if we actually let a fight break out between Byakuren and Miko, the collateral... won't be good.

>Reading Story
>Suddenly realises up to the latest part

Wait what.

Anyway... what I suggest is this:

[X] Get Daiyousei to find Hina or one of the sisters; they could probably help intermediate between Byakuren and Miko.
[X] Go stop the Tengu from fighting.
-[X] Preferably, you should try and be diplomatic and not insult the Elders in front of the loyalists. If you have to, though, at least be entirely factual; you do spread The Truth, after all!

For the first option, I suggested it because if we actually let a fight break out between Byakuren and Miko, the collateral... won't be good.

Whoops. Didn't mean to post twice.

[X] Get Daiyousei to find Hina or one of the sisters; they could probably help intermediate between Byakuren and Miko.
-[x] They should remind Byakuren of the purpose of this event. She will likely cooperate.
-[x] Promise Miko that we'll take Futo out of her hair again and at least try and help her to integrate with modern Gensokyo a little better if she'll hold it in for just this one day.
-[x] Being able to get along during an event like this would reflect quite nicely on both of them in the eyes of prospective followers; meanwhile, aggression might turn them away from both of them at once.

[X] Go stop the Tengu from fighting.
-[X] Preferably, you should try and be diplomatic and not insult the Elders in front of the loyalists. If you have to, though, at least be entirely factual; you do spread The Truth, after all!

Remeriz... Er that is
Aya do evertthing

[x] Gotta keep the tengu from fighting.
Limited resources, gotta prioritise. Hopefully Byakumiko does not evolve into full hatesex in the meanwhile.

[X] Get Daiyousei to find Hina or one of the sisters; they could probably help intermediate between Byakuren and Miko.
[X] Go stop the Tengu from fighting.
-[X] Preferably, you should try and be diplomatic and not insult the Elders in front of the loyalists. If you have to, though, at least be entirely factual; you do spread The Truth, after all!

[×] Go stop the Tengu from fighting.
-[×] Above all, be diplomatic, and do not insult the Elders in front of the loyalists.
[×] Get Daiyousei to find Hina or one of the Akis to to stop the Byakuren-Miko dispute.

I hope this isn't a trap. I have a sneaking suspicion sending the pariah tengu to settle the tengu dispute might just make things worse...

>>28526

I'm pretty sure that it is a trap. It is generally best to send a neutral party to mediate disputes. Aya has taken clear sides in the tengu conflict, and Hina is a co-leader of a rival faith. Aya has also gotten a glimpse into the personal lives of Byakuren and Miko, making her additionally qualified to settle that argument.

[×] Go stop Byakuren and Miko from fighting.
[×] Get Daiyousei to find Hina or one of the Akis to to stop the tengu dispute.

>>28527
Yeah, you know what? I'm going with my original vote:

[×] Go stop Byakuren and Miko from fighting.
[×] Get Daiyousei to find Hina or one of the Akis to to stop the tengu dispute.

>>28529
> to to

We really need to stop copying that typo. Also, maybe we should let Lily do some conflict resolution some time. After all, a side purpose of this event is to improve her status.

>>28529 here
Keymaster, just disregard my previous vote: >>28526

[X] Go stop Byakuren and Miko from fighting.
[X] Have Lily Black try to manage the Tengu for the moment.
-[X] Have Daiyousei inform the Aki so they can step in if things get out of hand.
Get Daiyousei to find Hina or one of the Akis to to stop the tengu dispute.

I was all for Jumping on the "stop the tengus" bandwagon because it's the most pressing matter however, as has been stated, Aya's probably not the gal for the job so my vote will go for

[×] Go stop Byakuren and Miko from fighting.
[×] Get Daiyousei to find Hina or one of the Akis to stop the tengu dispute.

>>28533
Not sure if anyone else is really better though.

[×] Go stop Byakuren and Miko from fighting.
[×] Get Daiyousei to find Hina or one of the Akis to stop the tengu dispute.

I suck in a deep breath, forcing the panic down. Okay. Problems are bound to arise, that can't be helped. This is a big event, and things like this are just going to happen. No worries, I can deal with this.

"...Okay. Daiyousei, go get Hina or one of the Aki sisters, explain to them what's happening, and have them go mediate between Miko and Byakuren. Those two have dealt with each other before, I'm sure that they can suck it up for another day. Not like they want to give themselves a bad reputation, in any case. Lily, you're with me. Let's go see what the tengu are fighting about."

"What about whatever's going on in there?" Lily asks, jerking her thumb back at the shrine, where sounds of a scuffle are taking place.

"...I doubt it's anything we need to be worried about," I say after a moment. "Besides, we can get the details from Yamame later. Now, let's go." I lead the way into the woods as Lily falls into step behind me, Daiyousei rushing off to find one of the Mikami.

I have to say, this place is actually bustling. The Prismrivers are playing somewhere off in the distance, I can see a list of performances due to play on a list hanging form a tree, and fascinated people are roaming all over the place. Humans from the village are perusing the wares of, and showing their own wares off to, youkai from all over, while kappa roam the stalls along with youkai from the Forest of Magic. Beings of all stripes rub shoulders easily, and I can see a vast array of goods on display, some exhibits still being set up. Everything from musical instruments to tapestries to metalwork are proudly being shown off, and craftsmen are already talking quietly, discussing the finer points of their trade.

And right in the middle of it, attracting attention like a miniature storm, are my own people. A sizable group of tengu mutter angrily at one another, their voices occasionally rising to a shout. Their products have yet to be fully laid out, and there are two groups facing off. Tempers are visibly rising, and those around them... are placing bets. Thanks a million, people.

Within the crowd of tengu are a few familiar faces that I met through Momiji and Hatate, while standing aside from the group and looking troubled are the aforementioned reporter and white wolf themselves. Ichiro also stands among them, a weary look on his face.

"So what's the situation?" I ask, walking up.

"Exactly what you'd think," Ichiro replies wearily.

"There are a bunch of tengu in attendance who aren't supposed to be here," Momiji elaborates. "Plus, a large number want to wander around the show, while others insist that they follow the elders' dictates and stick together, letting people come to them and not spreading out."

"It's a blatant attempt to limit our exposure to other people," Hatate sighs. "I mean, they're not even trying to be subtle about it."

"Well, too bad," Lily grunts. "They're involved now, and this isn't tengu turf. They can either play along, or look like a bunch of idiots and clear out early. Remember their whole reason for being here, Aya."

I look down at the fairy and nod. She's right. This isn't tengu territory, and this isn't their event. They'll have to play by our rules, whether they like it or not.

"Lily, do you think we could mix things up a little bit?" I ask, "You know, convince a few merchants to move around for... reasons?"

"A few of the latecomers could probably be persuaded, yeah," the fairy nods. "Why? Planning to break things up here?"

"Yes," I confirm. "I'm not letting them form a silly little clique. They're going to deal with other people whether they like it or not. Come on." I lead the way into the fray.

"Why the hell can't I go look around, dammit?!" These words are spat about by a wolf I recognize as Naoko, Momiji's young protege.

"Because the elders gave us clear instructions on how this affair is to be conducted," a tengu merchant I vaguely recognize says imperiously. "You are to obey their will, even here!"

"And if I refuse?" Naoko growls. The merchant's eyes narrow dangerously. Off to the side, I see a couple more members of Momiji's troop looking worried, even that sergeant who didn't like me very much (Kyo, that was her name). Hatate's friend, Hiro, looks to be beside himself with panic.

Well, the best way to deal with obstructive bureaucracy? Hit 'em with even more bureaucracy. I grab a clipboard from under Lily's arm, much to her surprise, and stride up to the group. The clipboard is a list of available refreshments, by the way. I kinda wonder what Lily was up to. But never mind that, there's a fight to break up. "Okay, who's in charge here?" I ask in a bored tone of voice.

The merchant looks over at me in surprise. "What? Oh, it's you. Well, I'm the official representative here-"

"Right, right, Kanako gave me the folder on you," I blatantly lie, looking over the sheets in front of me like they mean anything. "Okay, I'm to coordinate with you and help you get set up."

"...We are set up," he says slowly.

I look over the little clutch of stalls the tengu have taken over. "Not according to our procedures," I say dismissively. "Anyway, may I have a compete manifest, please?" I hold out a hand. "Any day now, I'm a busy woman." Stunned, the merchant hands over a neat file detailing a full list of visiting tengu, goods provided, acceptable profit margins... I mentally file the latter as being 'useless crap,' and push on. "Right, here's how we're going to split you up. Any non-merchants are now on security duty. I need a bunch of you over to help break up a potential ruction between the Taoists and Buddhists."

"On it~!" Naoko sings. She cheerfully skips away to where Momiji is already leading some tengu off.

I point over at some of the clearly more conservative tengu. "And you lot, you're to help keep the art gallery in order."

"Now what just a-?!" the merchant tries to sputter.

I sigh loudly, cutting him off. "Look, we can either argue about this and stay even further behind schedule, we can go before Lady Kanako so you can file a formal complaint, or we can get this damn show on the road. What's it gonna be?"

"Er..." the merchant suddenly realizes that Hatate and Ichiro are suddenly hauling off even more tengu to their 'assigned positions,' and that he has totally lost control of the situation. "Well... where do you need us, exactly?"

>1:00

About an hour later, the tengu are carefully split up across the trade show, and are being swamped with curious consumers, all badgering them with questions bout their products. Wily human merchants are trying to get good deals, while blacksmiths loudly talk about their forging techniques with flustered tengu metalworkers. Elsewhere, the more curious tengu are cheerfully taking in the sights and sounds of the trade show, and I'm pretty sure that I see a few of them flirting with other attendees.

"That went well," Lily says approvingly.

"Thanks," I say gratefully. "Well, it's a start. Anyway, maybe it's time to take a breather and do the rounds before the big reveal."

"Well, we could always head to the stage," Hina says, popping up out of nowhere. "You'll never believe it, But Futo and Ichirin are having an honest-to-heavens magical girl battle!"

"What?!" Lily squawks, "That stage is set aside for the Prismrivers for at least another hour!"

"They wanted a break," Hina shrugs. Lily grumbles darkly in response.

"That sounds nice and all, but I could use a hand myself, Aya," Minoriko says as she walks up. "Listen, that hermit, Seiga? She's set up her own stall, and the stuff she's selling... it's kinda of questionable morality, if you get my drift. A bunch of folks are having a conniption over it... or are getting curious. I could use some help breaking it up."

Shizuha walks up, eyes wide. "Aya. Flandre. You have GOT to see what Flandre did. Right now. Holy shit."

Off in the distance, I see Yamame and Kogasa walking around together, looking at and enjoying the exhibition. Curiosity wells up in me even as I am assaulted with demands.


[ ] Magical girls!
[ ] What is Seiga up to?
[ ] ...Flan, what did you do now?
[ ] Hell with it, go talk to Kogasa and Yamame.

[x] What is Seiga up to?

This sounds like a pressing issue.

[X] Check out the magical girl duel.
-[X] Get Futo to help you handle Seiga after the battle.

>>28538
I like the way you think, sir.

[X] Check out the magical girl duel.
-[X] Get Futo to help you handle Seiga after the battle.

[x] Hell with it, go talk to Kogasa and Yamame.

I get the feeling we'll never truly stop all the problems and that for each one we take care of 2+ more come up and at that rate we'll never really find out what happened.

My feeling with Kogasa and Yamame is that we shouldn't really interfere. If we want things to work out, we have to give them a little space.

[X] Check out the magical girl duel.
-[X] Get Futo to help you handle Seiga after the battle.

Yes this please. Magical girl duel.

>>28541
This is assuming things are working out well as opposed to something else. Going and seeing them would actually settle what's going on so we (at least me) can focus on other things.

[x] What is Seiga up to?

As much as I want to see the magical girl battle, making sure the trade show stays free of problems is more important.

[x] ...Flan, what did you do now?

[X] What is Seiga up to?
-[X] If we get a chance, get to Yamame and Kogasa, make sure they're alright.

So, only one of these is actually a problem, the other three are just really interesting. And by "interesting" I mean they're the culmination of three separate subplots, all of which would be disappointing to miss out on.

Screw that.

[x] All of the above. Make it work.

>>28547
Interesting point there, though I think Keymaster's trying to buy time by having all these issues come up. And I suspect that if we some out find a way to deal with the current ones, he'll think of some new ones.

In short if we're too focused on problem solving, we'll miss out on other things.

Changing my vote slightly:

[X] Check out the magical girl duel.
-[X] After the fight, have Futo and Lily handle the issue with Seiga.
--[X] Make sure that they're getting along okay before you leave them though.
[X] See what's going on with Flandre.

[×] All of the above. Make it work.

[x] What is Seiga up to?

Let's deal with Seiga first, it looks like the most pressing issues. We can spectate after that.

[×] What is Seiga up to?
-[×] Then, Magical girls!
--[×] THEN, ...Flan, what did you do now?

Yeah, like everyone else, I really hope we can get a chance to do everything (save for the Kogasa/Yamame thing, which I'm sure isn't a problem).

Thought this might be relevant. Ignore the bit with Rinnosuke.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ICpRT855-DI
Miracle Hina!

People are so greedy. Okay, so Aya will be seeing what Seiga is up to. Followed by a bit of magical girls, with a small side of Flandre. And it's not even 2:00 yet.

>>28562

Oh dear god that is so cute.

I suck in a deep, slow breath. Okay. Get a grip, Aya, you can handle this. You can totally handle this. It's just absolute chaos that you put together yourself. There's nothing to be worried about-

Hina grasps me and looks deeply into my eyes. "Aya. Calm down. We're here for you, okay?" I feel something heavy being tugged away from me as Hina devours my misfortune. All of a sudden, this doesn't seem so bad, really. Just handle things one bit at a time, and it'll all be fine.

I clear my throat. "I'm going to go see what this Seiga is up to, and if I need to do anything about it. Can the rest of you keep an eye on the tengu and make sure they don't try to run away or cause problems?"

Hina nods warmly. "Of course! Leave that to me."

"I'll go see if our... special guests need any help," Shizuha offers.

"I'll do the rounds and mingle a little bit," Minoriko puts in.

"And I'm gonna go see if any of my dumb subordinates are shirking their duties," Lily grumbles. "I'll see you all later." With a final round of nods, we set off to our respective tasks.

It doesn't take me too long to find Seiga Kaku's stall. It's the incredibly garish one with a huge crowd in front of it. Also, the zombie... jiang-shi... undead girl standing out front. And of course, Seiga herself, who is preserving her modestly with a giant feathery fan as she prances around, and not a whole lot else.

"Thaaaaaat's right~!" the nearly naked hermit sings as she skips around happily. "Come one, come all, to Miss Seiga's house of romance! Need something spice up your love life? I have a whole bunch of things that will blow you away! There's a full load of exotic artworks, 'toys' for grown-ups, a few special additives for your food guaranteed to get you blood flowing-"

"This stuff is totally indecent!" A housewife screams, covering her husband's eyes.

"...Things to put a little more spice into the good old marriage, as well!" Seiga sings, somehow avoiding showing any of the good stuff. The woman is clearly having the time of her life. Unfortunately, this crowd is starting to look a bit ugly, what with those scandalized with how in-your-face Seiga is being about this stuff, and those looking ready to buy everything she owns in a heartbeat. Most worrying of all are the angry-looking housewives glaring at their husbands. You never want to piss off the housewives.

I sidle up to the undead girl standing to one side, who is holding out free samples. Her face is utterly expressionless, and I have to wonder if she can even talk. Her outfit, a very abbreviated chinese dress, makes her seem like a mannequin more than anything else.

"Um, hello?" I try.

"Hey," she responds. Oh, so she can talk. "Can I interest you in any of Miss Seiga's... wonderous... romantic aids oh gods why am I doing this?" The woman groans, looking terribly embarrassed. "I really wish I could bend my elbows right about now."

"Why's that?" I ask.

"So I could hide my face," she grumbles, turning her head with a sickening crunch to watch her master sell some items in a box to a horribly embarrassed group of people. "None of her stuff works, you know. She's just doing this to screw with people, and maybe cause some trouble for married folk. It's funny to her."

"Ah," I say knowingly, "So that's the kind of person she is."

"You'd think that being a hermit would bring you some kind of enlightenment, but nope," the undead girl turns her head to look at me. "Name's Yoshika, by the way."

"Aya. Nice to meet you, Yoshika."

"Likewise." the jiang-shi pauses. "Um, can you lean a little closer? I'm still awfully stiff, even with all of the exercises that I've been doing."

I lean in. "What's up?"

"Save me from this," Yoshika mutters. "Listen, just..." the undead whispers a plan to me, and I can't help but snicker with amusement. "Yeah, I've had plenty of time to figure out how to get back at the bitch. Friggin' stick me in a body like this... anyway, you in? She's kinda screwing up your show." In fact, Seiga's performance is sort of clogging up the walkways... and a number of those housewives look to be on the brink of violence. The last thing I need is a riot started by angry wives. Or fatalities committed upon their husbands.

Whistling innocently, I pull out my fan, take careful aim, and launch a burst of wind at one of Seiga's bottles of 'aphrodisiac.' The slender bottle goes flying through the air, popping open and dumping all of its contents over the prancing hermit, who shrieks as that violet oil douses her body.

There's a moment of silence as the crowd takes in what just happened. Then Yoshika starts speaking in a very loud monotone. "Oh no! Now Master's libido is completely out of control! The world is doomed unless some brave man helps to keep her desires satisfied!" Approximately one point five seconds later, a small horde of men charge the stage, loudly shouting about their suitability for this role, while Seiga panics at the sudden attention, clutching her fan tightly around her body.

"Aw. No good with men?" I ask.

"She prefers to be the hunter, not the hunted," Yoshika corrects me. "Either way, she's an awful bitch. I mean, do you know how often she makes me clean out the gunk between her toes? I'm dead, and even I find that gross. Then there's all that stuff the gets up to..." the jiang-shi stops. "Sorry. Point is, my boss kinda sucks."

"Yoshika! A little help here!" the hermit yelps.

"I think she just said to go enjoy myself," Yoshika comments, turning away. "See you later."

"Aren't you worried about her?" I wonder out loud.

"Eh, she can get away any time she wants." There's a panicked scream as Seiga takes to the skies. Oh, she's wearing a bathing suit after all. "See? And I am going to check this place out... as soon as I can figure out how to move around without flashing everybody." Yoshika looks down at her dress in consternation.

"...Want me to get you some shorts?" I offer.

"Yes please," Yoshika sighs.

***********************************

With a potentially angry mob dispersed, and Yoshika having gotten some halfway-decent attire, I make my way over to the stage where an incredibly bizarre battle is taking place. It's got rolls and flips. It's got heart-shaped danmaku. It's got Taoists and Buddhists in leotards.

"Take this, oppressor of the freedom of love!" Ichirin Kumoi shouts, firing a bright pink laser.

Futo Mononobe dodges with an elegant flip. "You dare call me an oppressor?! Love is meant to be free, not contained within such strict dictates!" She launches a burst of heart-danmaku in response.

Ichirin dodges easily. "Your words are as empty as your black heart! What you pursue is not love, but a lying illusion!"

"Y-you dare?!" Futo squawks, charging her opponent. "You couldn't embrace the power of love if someone gave you an illustrated guide!"

"Wh-what did you say?!" Ichirin shrieks, charging in turn. What results is... sort of a slap-fight, but with heart-tipped scepters? I just... I don't...

"Well, the kids seem to like it," Shizuha comments, stepping up to me. "The girls, anyway."

"What the hell are they doing?" I say distantly.

"Besides annoying Lily?" Shizuha smirks. "I'd say that they're tying to out-hero each other. They're each trying to be the good guy while making the other out to be the villain, and it just isn't working."

"...Their acting is terrible," I admit, watching the leotard and miniskirt-clad magical girls duke it out... sort of. The high-pitched screaming puts me more in mind of children having a temper-tantrum than warriors of love or whatever having a duel.

"Yuugi would like you in the special exhibition hall," Shizuha continues. "She'd like your help in setting up the big unveiling."

I turn to reply when my response dies in my throat. Off in the distance, I see Flandre Scarlet. Dressed in a crisp white uniform, and dragging another blond girl around behind her. Said girl, dressed in some sort of outsider school uniform... with an incredibly short skirt... looks to be on the verge of panic, and keeps shouting things at Flandre. The strange pair disappear into the crowd, leaving me even more curious than I was before.

"...What was that?" Shizuha says flatly.

"You know what? I don't wanna know," I say confidently. "Anyway, the... special guests are just about ready to make their appearance?"

"In just a little bit, yeah," the leaf goddess nods.


[ ] Go to the special exhibition hall, help to introduce the Oni.
[ ] Let the Oni handle things on their end, keep an eye on the tengu so they don't run away.
[ ] Let the cards fall where they will on their own.

Thank you so much for that Seiga part, Keymaster.

[×] Go to the special exhibition hall, help to introduce the Oni.

The Tengu already know we're here, and they probably know the show was set up by the Mikami. No sense in trying to hide things.

Time for the moment of truth!

[X] Go to the special exhibition hall, help to introduce the Oni.

[x] Go to the special exhibition hall, help to introduce the Oni.

[x] Let the Oni handle things on their end, keep an eye on the tengu so they don't run away.

are we going to find out what happened with Kogasa and yamame after this?

[x] Let the Oni handle things on their end, keep an eye on the tengu so they don't run away.

Yeah tengu are a bitch to take care of.

[x] Go to the special exhibition hall, help to introduce the Oni.

She did ask for help.

[×] Go to the special exhibition hall, help to introduce the Oni.

Please tell us who that was with Flandre eventually, I'm burning with curiosity.

[×] Go to the special exhibition hall, help to introduce the Oni.

It begins

[X] Get someone to make sure the Tengu don't leave immediately. Panic is bad, help stop it before it starts.
-[X] As for Aya, Go to the special exhibition hall, help to introduce the Oni.

[X] Go to the special exhibition hall, help to introduce the Oni.

Flan what at you doing?

[X] Go to the special exhibition hall, help to introduce the Oni.

This is Aya's big moment, and she should be in the spotlight for it.

>>28577
Chiyuri, maybe?

[x] Go to the special exhibition hall, help to introduce the Oni.

>>28580
Hina's already on it, remember?

[×] All of the above. Make it work.

[x] Go to the special exhibition hall, help to introduce the Oni.

It is time, let's make it happen and not shirk responsibility for our end of the work. Especially not when Oni are involved, that's a real good way to lose cred.

>>28584
that was with the earlier incident, not so much what might pop up now.

[X] Go to the special exhibition hall, help to introduce the Oni.

"Okay, then." I take a deep breath. "Looks like the real show is about to start. I'll head to their exhibition hall and get ready to make the announcement. In the meantime, can you and the others keep an eye on the tengu? Make sure they don't bolt when they realize who else is attending, that sort of thing."

Shizuha nods. "Sure thing. I'll talk to Momiji, Hatate, and Ichiro, and see if they can't help keep your people calm."

"Good idea," I agree. "Well... here we go then."

I make my way through the throng to the special exhibition hall. I see a number of familiar faces; the Prismrivers, on their way back to the stage; Tokiko, wandering around with a contented expression on her face; I even glimpse Momiji's protege, Naoko, in an excited conversation with a rather awkward-looking Akyuu. The wolf is absolutely fawning over Akyuu's historical displays, and the purple-haired young lady doesn't seem to know whether she should be pleased at this or not. Well, one step at a time, after all.

I finally make my way to the Oni's special hall to see Albrecht the bartender standing guard outside. He nods as I walk up. "They're just about ready. All that's left are a few more preparations, and they'll be ready for the big unveiling. Are you ready for this?"

I chuckle. "I sure hope so. This is really the point of the whole thing, after all. Well, I might as well take a peek."

He nods in response. "Good luck to you." Opening the door a crack, Albrecht ushers me inside, closing the doors after me.

I look around and nod a bit in appreciation. For all their reputation as a bunch of dumb brutes, the Oni have clearly gone out of their way to look as presentable as possible. They're all dressed to the nines in the finest suits and robes. Papporo has a cart piled high with delicious-smelling food, and various gentlemen have their wares proudly displayed. Also, an blue-skinned Oni woman seems to be offering tours of the underground. Yeah, good luck getting me back down there.

The next moment, someone throws their arms around me in a bone-crushing hug. "Little sis~!" a familiar hell raven sings happily.

"Hi, Okuu," I gasp out. "So you came here too, huh?"

"She insisted on taking a day off when she heard about the whole affair," Yuugi explains, walking up. "Satori and a bunch of other underground youkai came with us to show off their wares."

"That's fine, there'll still a whole bunch of open stalls. We made sure to reserve some." I struggle a little bit in Okuu's loving grasp. "Hey, uh, can you let go of me now? I'm kinda busy today."

"Unyuu..." Okuu says mournfully, reluctantly letting go of me. "But you look so cute dressed like that..."

I self-consciously straighten my shrine maiden outfit. "Well... we can hang out later, okay?"

"Okay!" Okuu says cheerfully, all sunshine again. Which is kinda fitting, I suppose.

I take a few minutes to walk around and make sure that all of the Oni are in position and know to stay on their best behavior. Surprisingly, they seem quite determined to make this work. Behind the easy smiles and relaxed speech is a bit of uncharacteristic nervousness, and a bit of hope. I get the feeling that the Oni want this to work as much as I do.

>2:00

Still, the hour rolls around, and it's time for the show to go on. I nod to Yuugi, and the deva, clad in her blue kimono, raps on the main doors before hauling them open with one mighty tug. Albrecht immediately comes in and starts walking around, completely at ease. A few bemused individuals follow behind him, looking around in fascination. I suspect that the bartender was playing things up a little bit. I'll have to do something nice for him later.

Meanwhile, a few Oni and other undergrounders are slipping out side exits, likely to set up some stalls elsewhere or just wander the grounds. That's fine; I want them to run into the tengu on relatively neutral ground. Hopefully, they'll get along well enough. But anyway! I have a job to do. Making my way to the main entrance to the special exhibition hall, Okuu shadowing my steps for some reason, I clear my throat and call out to the fairgrounds:

"Everyone! The special exhibition hall is now open! Thank you for waiting, and please come take a look!" At once, a small sea of people start flowing over. I nod in satisfaction; curiosity has completely taken over. And at the former shrine of a misfortune goddess, at the very base of Youkai Mountian, who cares if there are a few Oni around?

Momiji and Hatate walk up to me, smiling. "So this is it, huh?" my wolf friend says, looking over the gallery. "Not bad. Not bad at-"

And then a gigantic meal cart is wheeled out of the gallery, pushed along by an incredibly garishly-dressed Big Papa, a massive grin splitting his wide face.

Momiji and Hatate freeze, staring up at him with white faces. Hatate makes a strangled squeaking sound, while Momiji starts to slowly back away. This is not a good start. I need to-

"Ohohohohoho!" Big Papa laughs, interrupting my thoughts. He strides forward, clapping both of the tengu on the shoulder. "Well look at these fine little chickadees! You must be friends of Aya! Well, any friend of my old friend is a dear friend of mine! Here! Have a taco, made with extra looooooove, on the house!" The massive Oni shoves a pair of enormous tacos, nearly bursting with toppings, at the stunned tengu pair. Wordlessly, they take the offered food, unable to look away from the huge Oni. There's a crunch as they bite into their snacks, and then-

"Wow!" Momiji's eyes light right up. "This thing tastes amazing!"

"I know!" Hatate enthuses. "I mean, there's just so many flavors... this is great!"

Big Papa booms with laughter. "Little chickadees, I do hope this is the start of a long and beautiful friendship! But you must excuse me! I have tacos to sell, and looooooove advice to give! You sir!" Big Papa starts pushing his cart towards a startled young man, apparently there with his girlfriend. "Now, that is a beautiful woman you have with you, my friend! Well done!" About thirty seconds later, the Oni's overwhelming charm has completely won over the two humans, and they're laughing along with Big Papa like they've known him for years. The sheer pull of his charisma is pulling other people around in a fascinated circle. Big Papa may well be the biggest diplomatic tool the Oni have in their arsenal.

"Wow," is all Momiji can say.

"My former boss, Papporo," I explain. "He's... changed a lot, from the old days. What do you think, Hatate?"

A quick glance reveals that Hatate is currently being cuddled by a delighted Okuu, who is hugging the smaller crow tightly and nuzzling her with an expression of sheer joy. "Ohmygosh you're just so CUTE!" Okuu squeals. "I mean, you have those adorable twintails, and your dress is so cute, and you're just so tiny, and I wanna dress up just like you, or you like me, and now I have two sisters!"

Hatate turns a strained look my way. "Aya. Help."

I slowly shake my head. The torch has been passed, my junior. I turn around, trying to make my way from the overly affectionate hell-raven, when the tengu merchant from earlier gets right up in my face. "What is this?!" he hisses, eyes wide with panic.

"What is what?" I say blankly.

He thrusts a shaking finger at the special exhibition hall. "This! Them! The Oni of all people! What are you doing, inviting them up here?! They're even wandering around, all over the place!"

"I don't see any reason to exclude them," I shrug.

The merchant shakes his head at me in disbelief. "You're utterly insane. Have you forgotten the histories? The Oni will enslave us like they did in the past!"

"I lived the damn histories," I growl, "And the Oni have changed. If you'd just take the time to talk to them-"

"No," he says flatly. "No. No, no, no, this is too much. You're even more mad than they say. I am going to gather up all of the tengu right now and march back to the village, and you can have your insane little party all to your-"

"I never expected such cowardice from the tengu, of all people," a voice interjects. The merchant's head whips around, eyes blazing with affront. Meiling Hong returns his look with a bland expression, completely unconcerned. "I expected more from you."

"Indeed," says Yuuka Kazami, arm loosely linked with the gatekeeper's. "The tengu are supposed to be a proud, courageous race. To think that they would turn tail and run merely at the sight of someone larger than they are."

"You... you don't know what you're talking about!" the merchant sputters. "I mean... it's the ONI, for crying out loud!"

"So what?" Meiling jerks a thumb behind her a the crowds. "Just about everyone else here is having a great time talking to them. Do you really want word to spread that the tengu chickened out at the first sign of an Oni? That would be utterly disgraceful, I'd think."

The merchant gnashes his teeth at this, but falls silent. With one last frustrated look at me, he starts to stomp back in the direction of his stall, shoulders slumped in defeat.

I heave a relieved sigh. "Thanks," I say to Meiling.

She shrugs. "Well, I was just passing by and saw what was happening. Figured it was the least I could do. You need a hand?"

"Huh?" I blink.

"We're offering to wander around and keep the tengu people from running away in terror," Yuuka explains. "A few choice words should be enough to reinforce their spirits. Or at least shame them into not running away. No offense, Miss Inubashiri, Miss Himekaidou."

"None taken," Momiji shrugs.

"She won't let go," Hatate grumbles from within Okuu's delighted embrace.

Meiling pauses. "You're doing a lot better these days," she notes.

"Yeah. I'm surprised, too," I nod.

"You're different than you used to be," Meiling presses.

"...I guess so, huh?" The of us shift around awkwardly.

"Burning your house down was something I did in a fit of rage," Meiling says quietly. "Given what I've learned since then... I have come to regret my actions."

I shake my head. "Don't. It... may have had to happen. And I was lusting after a little girl, after all. One who may as well be your little sister." A moment passes.

"Sorry," we say as one.

"Don't be," I sake my head. "Just forget about it, okay?"

"Same to you," Meiling says with a gentle smile. "Anyway! Security work. Sort of. On it." The pair of gatekeeper and flower youkai wander off, with Yuuka casting a longing look at one of the underground's dressmakers. I just let out a breath, and consider my next actions.

"Seriously, she won't stop cuddling me!" Hatate wails. Okuu, for her part, is eying Momiji's tail with fascination.


[ ] What the hell was Flandre doing?!
[ ] Follow up on the Byakuren-Miko thing.
[ ] Go look for Yamame and Kogasa.
[ ] Hang around the Oni's exhibition hall.
[ ] Wander the grounds.

[X] What the hell was Flandre doing?!

[x] What the hell was Flandre doing?!

[x] Go look for Yamame and Kogasa.
She needs our help now. Be a bro here.

[x] What the hell was Flandre doing?!

Okuu gonna have so many little sisters before the day is done.

[x] What the hell was Flandre doing?!
-[x] Take Okuu along.

What can I say. I like our big sis and would like to collect alot of little sisters for her.

[×] Hang around the Oni's exhibition hall.
-[×] First, pry Okuu off of Hatate.
More than anything else, I want to see if Suika is talking about her recent epiphany about the relations between human and Oni.

>>[ ] What the hell was Flandre doing?!
"Was". Past tense, implying it's not happening anymore.

>>Okuu gonna have so many little sisters before the day is done.
She's gonna hug them and pet them and call them George!

I would think Aya, of all people, would hold on to concepts such as there being a point where "retribution" is entirely disproportionate. And hurting people not being okay just because you don't like them. And especially that an attack intended to prevent potential future attacks is still an attack, not a defense.

But, no, she deflected even a completely half-assed apology as unneeded. I guess Meiling's karmic escape artistry continues.

Anyways,
[X] Follow up on the Byakuren-Miko thing.
Let's take responsibility for this show.

>>28602
Would it make you feel any better if Aya stuck her sword into Meiling's skull, you jerk?

Besides...
There's a more Aya-like way of getting revenge...

>>28602

In case you didn't realize, a hell of a lot of apologies are like that in real-life, especially if both parties know that they were in the wrong. Awkward as all hell, followed by trying to move on to stop the awkwardness and get on to more important things.

[X] Follow up on the Byakuren-Miko thing.
-[×] First, pry Okuu off of Hatate.

>>28602
Really this is just a result of keymaster fitting two stories together that don't fit in a few places.

In being meiling Aya wasn't even a character - she was a plot device, a walking gag with no depth. In that story burning down her house was just for lulz, since it didn't really matter. Then comes this story staring Aya herself; suddenly she's a real person with motivations and history. It was like a dumb cartoon villain suddenly being replaced with a well written one from a novel, it made no sense.

The only weak parts of this story, in my opinion anyway, have been when keymaster has attempted explanations about why these two characters are actually the same. There will always be things that don't translate from a gag to a world that's actually sane.

I don't blame keymaster though, I think he never imagined he would be writing a second or even a third story in the same universe.

[x] Go look for Yamame and Kogasa.

Let's just get this over with so we know for sure how things work out. It's not like putting this off is magically going to make it go one way.

>>28603
different anon but please tell us some *waits eagerly*.

Spider butt we wants it.

[x] Follow up on the Byakuren-Miko thing.
-[x] First, pry Okuu off of Hatate.
--[x]... by mentioning just how fluffy Momiji's tail is.

I'm glad Aya and Meiling have finally apologized to each other. Maybe they can be friends after all this.

[x] Follow up on the Byakuren-Miko thing.
-[x] First, pry Okuu off of Hatate.
--[x]... by mentioning just how fluffy Momiji's tail is.

"Omochikaeri!"

[X] What the hell was Flandre doing?!

I am very curious about who that other person was.

[X] What the hell was Flandre doing?!

Either she succeeded in making a destroyer girl, or forced a fairy maid to be one instead.

>>28612
It's probably going to take a while before they can be friends, but yeah, I'm glad they've patched things up.

>>28610
I originally thought about taking incriminating photos of Meiling when she gets drunk or something, but I wonder if we shouldn't just dump overly-clingy Okuu on her. I wonder how rought her life'll get when she has three girls clinging to her?

>>28601 here. I'd like to tweak my vote a bit...
[×] Hang around the Oni's exhibition hall.
-[×] First, pry Okuu off of Hatate.
--[×] ...by talking about how soft and pillowy Meiling's breasts are.

We get revenge, and we get Okuu off Hatate. (Also, I don't want to see Okuu dumped onto Momiji. C'mon guys...)

[X] Follow up on the Byakuren-Miko thing.
-[×] First, pry Okuu off of Hatate.

[X] What the hell is Flandre doing?!
-[X] First, pry Okuu off of Hatate.
--[X] ...by talking about how soft and pillowy Meiling's breasts are.

[x] Follow up on the Byakuren-Miko thing.
-[x] First, pry Okuu off of Hatate.
--[x]... by mentioning just how fluffy Momiji's tail is.

[x] Follow up on the Byakuren-Miko thing.
-[x] First, pry Okuu off of Hatate.
--[x]... by mentioning just how fluffy Momiji's tail is.

>>28625
Would Okuu actually be interested? So far her interest has been in fellow birds of a feather.

So, I count a tie between Flandre, and Byakuren/Miko. Sudden death, next vote takes it.

[X] Flandre

>>28635

That was fast. Thank you, and called.

"Um... can I help you with something?" Momiji asks the hell raven nervously. Okuu just watches the wolf's tail with rapt fascination, slowly lifting her gaze to stare at Momiji.

"...Your tail looks so shiny!" Okuu finally speaks, voice full of enthusiasm. "How do you keep it so soft and fluffy? You gotta talk to my friend Orin, she has the hardest time with her tail fur! It's all the sulfur in the pits down below, you see."

"...Oh," Momiji blinks. Slowly she begins to smile, warming up to the conversation. "Well, it's all in the stuff I use to treat my tail, you see..." Their conversation goes into the details of fur care and all of the effort that goes into wing maintenance. All the while, Hatate gives me a hopeful look.

"You know, Okuu," I say carefully, "There's a whole bunch more tengu here at the grounds. Including a bunch of crow tengu."

The hell raven's eyes light right up. "Yay! All kinds of little brothers and sisters! You have to introduce me, little sis!" She nuzzles Hatate at the last bit. Yeah, the younger reporter's on her own here; Okuu's clearly in too much of a huggy mood. Besides, there's something that I want to check out.

"Well, I'm gonna go check out the show grounds. Take care, all of you!" Okuu and Momiji cheerfully wave goodbye, while Hatate seems resigned to her new position as Okuu's younger sister. Also, she's started to relax into the hell raven's cuddle. Okuu's hugs have that effect on people.

I make my way through the trade show, exchanging the occasional polite greeting with someone. This thing is a roaring success, no two ways about it. All throughout, tengu are wandering around and talking to people. The Oni are making the rounds as well, clearly trying to put on as much charm as they can. What's really fascinating is when a tengu and an Oni actually meet, with the tengu being paralyzed with fear while the Oni greets them like a long-lost relative. That's probably how I looked, come to think of it.

I'm pretty sure I recognize the figure of Yukari Yakumo off in the distance, bustling off to some exhibit or another, and I double-take at a figure I barely have any information on at all. Still, the figure of Eiki Shiki, the local judge of the dead, isn't one that someone easily forgets. Nor is the very distinctive figure of Komachi Onozuka. I have no idea who the guy on Judge Eiki's arm is, although he does look strikingly familiar.

I have little more time to think about it, though, as I finally reach a section of the trade show that has been completely taken over by Flandre Scarlet. "Living Board Games," is the title of the attraction, and her entire booth is covered with diagrams of rooms that have been converted into gigantic gameboards. I don't recognize most of the names, although I think she was hosting one of them at her sister's wedding. Risk, or something.

As for Flandre herself, she is decked out in a crisp white uniform that looks distinctly military, back straight and hands on her hips, mouth split in a delighted smile. I can't recognize the girl next to her, though; long blonde hair, some sort of hair ribbon, and an extremely short miniskirt. Whoever the girl is, she looks distinctly unhappy about the situation.

"That's right, you haven't played a game until you've lived a game!" Flandre declares proudly. "Why roll the dice and move the pieces when you can be the pieces and make your own luck! That's right, Flanflan Ltd. is pleased to announce that we have been working hard on a vast array of board games that people can enjoy like real life! Be the player, be the participant! Authentic uniforms, and rooms carved out so that you actually think that you're there!"

There is a fascinated rumble from the crowd at Flandre's pitch, and I have to admit to being interested myself. Just what has this girl gotten up to?

"My latest project is the classic western game of Battleships! Have you ever wanted to command your own naval force? Well, now you can, and all on the waters of the misty lake!" The vampire throws her arms wide. "And don't worry about crews or anything! The special ships of Scarlet Battleships will listen to your every command! Isn't that right, sweetie?" She nudges the baffled girl to her side.

The blonde in the sort-of school uniform stares around in confusion. "...Where the hell am I?!"

"Language!" Flandre scolds her.

"No, really! Where am I? Where's the ocean? You're no admiral! None of this makes a lick of sense!" The unknown girl clutches her head in confusion.

Flandre gives a good-natured laugh and pats the girl on the head. "Okay, you got me there, folks. Scarlet Battleships is still in development, and we only have one ship right now. But! Come play one of our many board games, and you can bear witness to the development of what is sure to be a Gensokyo classic!"

The blonde looks over at Flandre. "...I'm a destroyer, not a fake-boobed battleship," she pouts. "And what the heck is a Gensokyo, anyway? Arrrggghh, none of this makes sense!"

Flandre giggles and pulls the girl into a hug. "Isn't she cute? I'm making a whole fleet!"

...Flandre making a military force? I wonder what Reimu thinks about that. The whole exhibit is absolutely packed, and I can't get any closer, but a few fairy maids flitting around overhead do pass out flyers to anyone interested. Honestly, some of these strategy games look kind of interesting.

Anyway, this place seems to be under control for the moment. It's still only 3:30. I suppose that I could check out another exhibit or two.

[ ] Go hunting for Yamame.
[ ] Check in on Miko/Byakuren.
[ ] Wait, isn't that the Makai exhibit?
[ ] The Eirins haven't destroyed anything yet. This worries me.
[ ] Go looking for someone else? (please specify)

[×] Check in on Miko/Byakuren.

Miko-slash-Byakuren, you say?

[x] What are the judge of the dead and her personal shinigami doing here?

Because you can never have enough Eiki.

[X] Check in on Miko/Byakuren.

Squaring squabbles, seeing sights, scripting stories. Savvy?

[X] Go hunting for Yamame.

Nothing going wrong? Time to check in on a friend!

[x] Go hunting for Yamame.
Time to be a bro.

[x] Go hunting for Yamame.

Time to see where things finally go.

Though having a Kancolle character in a touhou story feels so.... dirty.

[X] Wait, isn't that the Makai exhibit?

I'm a little worried about the lack of activity from the Eientei quarter, but I'm assuming that Reimu took care of everything.

...Unless, of course, she ended up getting cloned by the machine in the process. If so, I suggest that we head for the hills.

[x] The Eirins haven't destroyed anything yet. This worries me.
Battleship moe~

[x] Check in on Miko/Byakuren.

That was a serious thing that happened and we kind of need a followup to it

[x] Check in on Miko/Byakuren.

[x] Check in on Miko/Byakuren.

I can just see it. Daiyousei managed to at least get them calmed down, but of course there would still be tension.

However, some oni gentlemen passing through noticed, and tried to resolve it. With booze.

Now they're drinking like merry friends, sharing stories of dealing with their subordinates' eccentricities, and drawing a decent-sized crowd of fascinated onlookers...

[※] The Eirins haven't destroyed anything yet. This worries me.
As much as I would like to see Reimu cloned and arguing with herself....

[※] Wait, isn't that the Makai exhibit?
SHINKI is love!

[x] Check in on Miko/Byakuren

>>28651

>Now they're drinking like merry friends, sharing stories of dealing with their subordinates' eccentricities, and drawing a decent-sized crowd of fascinated onlookers...

I can't see Byakuren drinking, though I can see her getting friendly with Miko. Very friendly, in fact. And then Shou and Tojiko join in...

[X] Check in on Miko/Byakuren.
We need to make sure this thing is running smoothly, and the Eirins will probably rein each other in out of a desire to not let "that two bit clone" do anything.

The reluctant battleship girl is pretty interesting. I'm hoping that the next story, if you decide to write another, focuses on her and how she adapts to Gensokyo. It might be interesting to have another semi-outsider perspective like with Pleasant Meadows. Plus, it would be a good way to shift back to where things started at SDM, though other parts of Touhou might get involved (the plot would probably involve the poor confused girl running away and trying to find a way back to the sea). If you have a different idea though, that's good too; you have come up with a lot of cool ideas for your stories, and I'm interested to see what you have next.

[X] Check in on Miko/Byakuren.

>"Isn't she cute? I'm making a whole fleet!"
Flandre should use Kiso for the cruiser just so people confuse her for Murasa.

Damn. Outvoted.

[x] Check in on Miko/Byakuren.

...Come to think of it, how did things go with Miko and Byakuren? I told Daiyousei to send one of the Akis to look after things there, but never followed up on it. Then again, I haven't heard any sounds of rioting going on, so I assume that things turned out all right. Well, might as well take the time to go and investigate.

I make my way through the crowds, noting that the tengu are starting to warm up to the people around them. That does my heart good. They're still a little nervous around the fairly intimidating Oni, but one step at a time, after all. It took me a while to adapt as well.

I finally find Byakuren and Miko in opposing stands. Byakuren has put together a bunch of scrolls filled with beautiful calligraphy; Buddhist chants or something, I suppose. Miko, for her part, appears to have made a large number of ivory carvings, figures carved into a variety of beautiful shapes. Both individuals appear to be marketing their goods as meditation aids.

Did I mention that both Byakuren and Miko are so obviously ignoring each other that it's almost painful to watch?

"That's right," Miko warmly informs a few people browsing her creations. "A good meditation aid is one that stimulates the senses and brings the mind to a deeper level of self-awareness. Why clutter your thoughts with useless trivia?"

Byakuren speaks up, talking to her own customers. "Reading words of wisdom is the perfect way to focus the mind. The sutras bring with them enlightenment. Meditation is meant to be a relaxing, yet serious exercise. Why do it foolishly, in a manner filled with laziness?"

The two share a glance, and almost purified wrath seems to travel between them for a moment. Then they're back to talking to people, discussing both their respective goods and respective faiths.

"Yow," I mutter out loud.

"Well, they're better than they were earlier," A familiar ibis youkai says, stepping up next to me.

I smile over at Tokiko. "Hey there. Fancy meeting you here!"

"Hey yourself," Tokiko chuckles. "Quite a scene you've put together here."

I shrug modestly. "It seemed like a good idea a the time. Honestly, I have to give full credit to Kanako; this was her idea. Come to think of it, I haven't seen their exhibit yet..."

"Prayer goods for the most part," Tokiko informs me. "Also, lots of potatoes for reasons I have yet to fully grasp." I groan. "Um... something wrong?"

"Long story," I cough. "So, um, I don't suppose you know what happened between those two?"

The ibis gave a low whistle. "Yeah, I saw the whole thing. Wow, there was this aura of sheer danger swirling between the two. I mean, I didn't want to walk between the two of them for fear that I'd burst into flames or something!"

I sigh. "Figures. So what happened?"

"Well, the Aki sisters showed up and managed to talk them down a bit," Tokiko explains. "Which didn't really resolve the situation. They were still glaring death at each other. But then that tiger, Shou, suggested that the two of them solve their differences like adults, since they were disturbing the patrons. That ghost, Tojiko, seconded the idea."

"So... I missed a duel?" I lament.

Tokiko purses her lips. "Not so much a duel, really.

"Then what?" I ask.

Tokiko grins. "More of a catfight."

"WHAT." I lean in close. "Explain further."

The ibis bursts into laughter, and I suddenly realize that Byakuren and Miko are taking pains to be as official as they can. Almost like they got caught in doing something they shouldn't have. I give Tokiko an intense look, and the ibis holds her hands up defensively.

"Okay, okay!" she laughs. "There isn't much to it, though. They just borrowed an empty stall, covered it with a tarp, and I figured that they were just going to try and talk things over like adults. I was about to walk away when I heard their voices rising into yells. Next minute, they're rolling around on the ground screaming at each other.

I gape. "Was there hair-pulling?"

Tokiko giggles. "Yes. And scratching, and a few good punches too. More than a few rude comments on their respective belief systems, parentage, and someone did call someone else a whore at some point. Then they realized that people were taking bets. On whether they'd start making out." She giggles. "Poor Shou and Tojiko. They looked so embarrassed!"

"Did you win anything?" I tease.

"Yeah, I bet against them doing anything major, and won a bunch of money," Tokiko laughs. "They seem to be behaving themselves now, though." I look at the humbled Taoist and Buddhist and decide to investigate for myself. Walking up, I wave to the both of them from the middle of the walkway.

"Good afternoon, you two!" I call out.

"Good day, Miss Shameimaru," Miko nods at me.

"Hello, Aya!" Byakuren says.

"How are things going for you this afternoon?" I inquire.

Miko coughs. "Fine, fine... a few rude people hanging around, but such things are merely to be endured."

"Indeed, though some people are truly difficult to ignore," Byakuren says with a serene smile. "Still, such are the tests that life sends our way. And might I say Aya, you have a wonderful diversity of people here."

"And some individuals actually conduct themselves professionally," Miko adds.

"And some seem to find that task impossible," Byakuren adds. I can feel the hostility rising.

I frown. "Is somebody making a bet?" I ask, looking down the walkway. Byakuren and Miko's heads whip around, the two staring in horror. "Ah, no, he was just making a purchase. Never mind." The two settle down, shifting uncomfortably.

"Well... if you'll excuse me, I do have customers to attend to, and people to greet," Byakuren says with a fixed smile.

"Yes... as do I..." Miko murmurs, adjusting her earmuffs. The two go back to speaking to some amused-looking customers, and I suppress a chuckle. Well, at least that sorted itself out.


[ ] Talk to Tokiko for a bit.
[ ] Look for Yamame.
[ ] Go look at the Makai exhibit.
[ ] What are the Eirins up to?
[ ] Something else? (Specify)

[x] What are the Eirins up to?
either someone's keeping them in line...

or they're planning something big

[×] Talk to Tokiko for a bit.

Unless I'm mistaken, this is the first time Tokiko has ever appeared in the Keymaster-verse. And considering that Rinnosuke was responsible for what happened in Pleasant Meadows, I'm curious as to what she's been up to since Marisa took over Kourindou.

>>28662
She popped up earlier in To(M)F, actually. Explained that she was well and truly over Rinnosuke. I'm pretty sure she's doing fine.

That said,
[X]What are the Eirins up to?
Because trusting one Keyrin is already a bad enough idea.

[x] Look for Yamame.

Why not just get this over with before it gets dragged out over the next two threads?

[X] What are the Eirins up to?

[X] What are the Eirins up to?

>>28664
The reason I don't vote for Yamame is because we are pretty much guaranteed to know what happens to her and I wanna get to as many people as possible while the trade show is still going.

Wandbagon

[X] What are the Eirins up to?

>4:00

I nod at Tokiko. "Well, I'll see you later. I'm gonna go see just what Eientei is up to."

Tokiko straightens up a bit at this. "Oh, mind if I come with you? I haven't had a chance to check out that exhibit yet."

"Yeah, sure! The more the merrier, I say." The ibis starts to walk alongside me as we make our way through the trade show. "So, heard anything about what they're doing yet?"

"Nothing much more than that there are two exhibits," Tokiko says thoughtfully. "Which is kind of odd, but I suppose if anyone could pull that off, it'd be doctor Yagokoro."

"You hadn't heard about their experiment with the cloning machine?" I ask wryly.

Tokiko stares at me. "...What about the cloning machine?" she asks with a voice full of dread.

"Oh, nothing~!" I say innocently. "You'll just have to wait and see!" Tokiko gives me a worried look but falls silent, glancing around as we finally come to an open area completely dominated by the Eientei exhibition. Both of them.

Front and center is Princess Kaguya herself, dressed in what appears to be a sexy nurse uniform, and with a completely defeated, resigned look on her face. Muttering greetings to passers-by, she hands out two sets of flyers to anyone who will take them. Which turns out to be quite a few. Not gonna lie, she really makes that outfit work. Also, I swear that I hear Mokou laughing somewhere.

And then there are the Eientei exhibits. Side-by-side, each one apparently designed to look even more ostentatious than the other. The result is a bizarre, overdone mess of bamboo carvings, strange glowing structures, and complicated diagrams of human and youkai bodies.

On the left, One Eirin stands tall and proud. "People of Gensokyo! I present to you now the key to perfection! Have you ever wished to be smarter? Stronger? Perhaps you have desired better skin, cleaner hair, more muscle and less fat? Have you ever wished to exceed the boundaries of your bodies? Of course you have! And now, that seemingly-distant dream can be a reality!" She sweeps her hand over a long array of silvery glittering bottles. "These new, special Yagokoro Clinic treatments are absolutely guaranteed to make you a better being in every way! Ah, but you needn't take my word for it! Tewi, tell them!"

Slowly, Tewi Inaba steps out, wearing a miniature version of Kaguya's nurse outfit. I do a double take when I see her. "Hey, Tokiko, does something seem a bit off here?"

The ibis frowns. "Well, she does look a bit taller... maybe a bit curvier? And then there's that look on her face."

I nod, taking the small rabbit in carefully. Tewi looks a bit grumpy, which isn't surprising, given what she's been roped into... but there's a general feel to her irritability that seems oddly familiar. I wonder what it is...

"Hello, everyone," Tewi says in a monotone. "My name is Tewi Inaba. Boy, this sure is a nice day, isn't it. How are you all doing? I am fine. Totally fine. Yeah."

Eirin clears her throat. "Tell them how you feel, Tewi."

Tewi slowly turns her head to glare at Eirin before staring back at the gathering audience. "I feel great," she says flatly. "Yep, these treatments from Eirin, all available in bottle-form to be force-fed down your throat, really did a job on me. They made me taller and faster, made my hair more lustrous and shit, and even gave me more in the tits and ass department. Whoo." Her eye twitches. "Yep. It feels like every sensation and drive has been enhanced. Every. Last. One." She shifts uncomfortably. "Buy Yagokoro Pharmaceuticals. Please. Or she'll make me drink it all."

A sudden, sharp clapping can be heard over the murmurs of the crowd. A sarcastic sound, somehow. I turn my head to see another Eirin walk out of her booth, smiling condescendingly, as the crows murmurs in surprise. "Enhancement drugs. How quaint. You'd certainly be popular with sports-team managers. Or perhaps the owners of brothels? I'd expect something so tawdry from a mere clone."

The Eirin on the left whirls, fuming. "You dare call me the clone, you pathetic replica?! Why don't you show us what you have on offer, then?"

I slip over to Kaguya. "There's still two of them? I thought Reimu paid you guys a visit."

Kaguya gives me a tired look. "Yes she did. And she started beating people up, as usual, and was going to wreck the machine. So they bought her off."

I blink. "With what? She's loaded now."

Kaguya shakes her head. "A lifetime's supply of various supplements or something. Maybe iron? I don't know the full details."

Meanwhile, the right-hand Eirin has finished her mocking laughter and throws an arm out demonstratively. "Fool! While you restrict yourself to mere drugs, I have been hard at work pushing the limits of biological science! Udonge, please some on out."

Reisen then steps out of the stall, looking... perfectly normal. That's odd, given the circumstances. "Hi folks. How interested are you all in fashion?"

"Fashion?!" Left Eirin scoffs. "Is this some sort of joke?!"

Right Eirin chuckles. "Hardly. The world of biology has many secrets for us to discover. Are our clothes not made out of plant fibers? But what if you were to take it to the next level?!" Pulling out a control, Righty pushes a button, and Reisen is suddenly wearing a nurse's uniform.

The moon rabbit looks down at herself in shock. "Wha... you never said it could do that?!"

Righty chuckles. "Made out of polymorphic organic material, this clothing has many characteristics. It protects you from harm and the elements! It strengthens your body! Why bother with bulky armor or crude 'supplements' when you can be all that you ever dreamed simply with a new set of clothing?!"

Reisen seems to shift around and bounce in place a bit. "I do feel a lot lighter," she admits.

"You see?!" Righty howls with triumph. "But that's not all! This clothing can adjust itself to the circumstances! Perhaps you need something for a harsh battle..." the Eirin presses another button, and all of a sudden Reisen is decked out in some sort of advanced combat gear. "...Then you are provided for with merely a gesture!"

The crows 'ooohs,' as Reisen looks down at her new outfit with admiration. But Righty is just getting started, it seems.

"Or perhaps you have a job that requires dedicated service!" An other button, and Reisen is suddenly in a maid uniform that hugs her curves.

"Now wait just... what exactly are you trying to sell, here?!" the moon rabbit complains.

"Or maybe you need something for infiltration work!" Righty presses on, and Reisen is now decked out in a tight catsuit. "Going to a pool to relax!" Bikini now. Small one, too. "Or entertaining honored guests!" Another press, and...

Oh my. Entertaining, indeed. That thing looks transparent. Is Reisen supposed to dance...?

As for Reisen, her response to this turn of events can be summed up in a single word: "GYYYYAAAAAHHHHH!!!"

"...I could totally make that outfit work," Tokiko asserts confidently.

"Me too," I agree with a raised eyebrow, as Reisen frantically attempts to maintain some modesty. "I totally could."

Righty is on a roll, eyes bulging out with fervor as she continues speaking. "And for those lonely nights, the outfit even come with a vib-"

Then Reisen dive-tackles her and the two start rolling around on the ground, struggling for the control. Lefty looks on with an expression of utter wrath, before grabbing a couple of the heavier-looking bottles and wading into the fray. Tewi starts idly poking around Righty's products.

Meanwhile the audience is applauding heartily. Kaguya raises a hand half-heartedly. "The Yagokoro Clinic, everyone..." she says wearily. A cheer goes up, and the princess just slumps, clearly wishing she was somewhere else.

"Those supplements look exciting," I comment.

Tokiko pokes at her outfit. "I want a set of that clothing. Strictly for fashion reasons, of course."

I smirk. "Of course."

Tokiko snickers. "Hey, I'm better at meeting men than you might think."

I'm about to continue the debate over the sound of fighting Lunarians, when Momiji strides up, looking troubled. "Hey, Aya? There are some Tengu missing. I mean folks from both sides of the argument. I've been looking around, but I can't seem to find them anywhere. I'm not sure if I should be worried or not."

"Well... the grounds are fairly extensive," I point out. "Maybe they just slipped away for a nap in the tree branches? Maybe you just keep missing them?"

"Maybe... but do you think we should go look for them?" The wolf asks.

[ ] Sure, go look for the missing tengu.
[ ] Go investigate the Makai exhibit.
[ ] Go look for somebody else to talk to. (An exhibit, a couple of people... Specify!)
[ ] You could talk to Tokiko. She's standing right there.

[x] Sure, go look for the missing tengu.
i'm getting a VERY bad feeling about this

> "-and even gave me more in the tits and ass department."

So that's why Tewi's so chesty in Tenjou no Tempest.

[X] Sure, go look for the missing tengu.

I can't possibly imagine where this is going. Nope, nosiree, not at all.

[x] Sure, go look for the missing tengu.

[x] Go investigate the Makai exhibit.

Bah, the worst thing that could come out of the tengu issue is a couple of dead bodies and a civil war. Time for fun now.

[x] Sure, go look for the missing tengu.
>>28673
Yeah, good point

>"And for those lonely nights, the outfit even come with a vib-"

oh my.

I am highly amused by this development.

(someone go expand this idea in /at/)

[x] Sure, go look for the missing tengu.

Might as well tackle this as it's most important. Hopefully we'll get a Yamame choice next.

[X] Sure, go look for the missing tengu.
-[X] Make a mental note to punish Reimu for her greed later.

[×] Sure, go look for the missing tengu.
-[×] Make a mental note to punish Reimu for her greed later.

You can't even begin to imagine how pissed off I am right now. Reimu is the strongest being in Gensokyo, and she decided a box full of Eirin's Shady Drugs™ were more important than doing her job, and saving Kaguya, Reisen, and Tewi from misery. She couldn't have just stolen them after she resolved the incident, citing it as "payment for inconveniencing me?" I hope she gets so infused with iron that she turns into a statue.

Keymaster, one of the reasons people love your work so much is because you go against cliched Touhou fanon. Don't mess that up by turning Reimu back into a greedy Miko who cares more about herself than her job. She was very sympathetic to me before, and now I hate her.

[×] Sure, go look for the missing tengu.
-[×] Make a mental note to punish Reimu for her greed later.

[x] Sure, go look for the missing tengu.


>>28676
If you want a Yamame choice, you create a Yamame choice. Authors allow write-ins for a reason.


>>28683
Isn't it a bit much to say that she's suddenly a greedy bitch because the Eirin's managed to bribe her into not smashing the cloning machine to pieces since either of them could "die" from it?

The way I see it, it's not so much "here's some stuff so that you won't do your job", and more "have some free products, just don't 'kill' me/us".


Besides, it's one line of text. We don't even know if that's what actually happened, since Kaguya admitted to not really knowing herself.

[X] Sure, go look for the missing tengu.
-[X] Make a mental note to admonish Reimu for her greed later.

It's not really our place to punish her -that's Remilia's job- but we CAN express our displeasure with her.

[X] Sure, go look for the missing tengu.
-[X] Make a mental note to admonish Reimu for her greed later.

>>28686
OK, good point. By the way, by "punish", I didn't mean hurting Reimu, I meant telling someone, like Remilia, Yukari, Kanako, Byakuren, Miko... Someone who could change things.

Anyway, tweaking my vote:
[×] Sure, go look for the missing tengu.
-[×] Make a mental note to admonish Reimu for her greed later.

[x] Sure, go look for the missing tengu.

[X] Sure, go look for the missing tengu.

Greed? You don't know what iron supplements are good for, do you? Here's a hint: it's a treatment for anemia.

>>28683
You hate a character just because it did one thing you don't like? Please.

[x] Sure, go look for the missing tengu.
-[x] Do not 'admonish' Reimu: it is not your place-nor you're one to talk.

[X] Sure, go look for the missing tengu.
-[X] Make sure to let the Mikami, Kanako, and if possible Reimu know about it, just in case.

It isn't really Reimu's jurisdiction yet, but as has been said, advanced warning about something that could become a problem for her would almost certainly be welcome. Letting the Mikami and Kanako know should be obvious.

[X] Sure, go look for the missing tengu.

Business first!

I bite my lip. "Well... maybe. The last thing we want is for a fight to break out, right?"

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," Momiji sighs. "And if a bunch of them headed back to the village..." she trails off. "Sorry, but are there two Eirins there? Or is that a lookalike?"

"Nope, two Eirins," Kaguya sighs, wandering over to us. "Sorry about all this. Cloning machine mishaps, and all that."

Momiji raises an eyebrow. "And Reimu did absolutely nothing about this?"

"You said she got bought off by supplements or something?" I put in, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"To be more exact, she burst in while the two of them were rolling around righting. For the umpteenth time." Kaguya rolls her eyes. "It looked sort of like... well..."

"It looked like they were having a nice round of angry fucking," Tewi says blandly, walking over wearily. "She noped the fuck out of there right fast, I tell you what. Once things had calmed down a bit, she struck a deal with the Eirins: they got to keep the machine running, at least until they confirmed who was real, as long as they never used it on anyone else."

"And the supplements?" Kaguya asks with a frown.

"Iron supplements," Tewi explains.

Momiji blinks. "But why...?"

"Kinky vampire sex," the rabbit says evenly.

There's a moment of silence as we take this in. Kaguya stares down at the small bunny nurse. "How the hell do you know this, anyway?"

Tewi scratches her ear, looking disinterested. "Eh, I got bored one day, and sneaked into the mansion, just to see if I could. Got to see the two of them in the act."

All of a sudden, my interest is piqued. I lean in a little closer, as does Tokiko, Kaguya, and Momiji. "Go on..." the ibis says with fascination.

"Is was quite the sight," Tewi admits. "Sorta romantic, really. Just picture it: there they were, dancing in mid-air. Reimu leans back, relaxing in Remilia's arms, dressed in something sheer and filmy. Then Remilia gives her a bite in a pretty sensitive area."

"Oh wow," Kaguya says, blushing a little bit at this information. "Um... where, exactly?"

Tewi shrugs. "Reimu's armpit. Go figure. Anyway, I'm out. See ya." The rabbit wanders away, leaving us standing in silence, feeling awkward and a bit disturbed.

"This is why I never ask about other peoples' love lives," Tokiko sighs, turning away. Kaguya just shakes her head and wanders over to break up the ongoing brawl.

Momiji glances at me. "The tengu?"

I nod. "The tengu." The two of us leave to go looking.

We ask around a bit, and a few people did note that they saw small groups of tengu flying higher up the mountain. Leaving the trade show, as opposed to arriving at it. On its own, this wouldn't bother me; maybe some of the conservative types just had enough and wanted to leave, after all. It's only when we talk to Naoko, the young wolf tengu, that a bad feeling starts to form in my stomach.

"It's the weirdest thing," Noako says thoughtfully. "I mean, we were all having a lot of fun, right? Then this Oni mentioned how it was too bad that more tengu weren't visiting the show. I thought he had a point, but this crow I was hanging out with got this funny look on his face and said that the Oni was right, and more of our people should be at the show."

"What did he do, Noako?" Momiji presses gently.

"Well, he just walked off, right?" Naoko frowns. "And I saw one of those no-fun types hurry after him. You know, the guys who don't want us spending any time down here just because they said so and shit. I mean, whatever, right? But yeah, I haven't seen them since. You... don't think it's a problem, do you?" The young wolf looks a bit worried now.

"Probably not, but we're just making sure," Momiji tells her reassuringly. "Anyway, Aya and I are going to look into this. You just have fun, okay?"

"Okay, thanks!" Naoko beams, then gets a wicked look on her face. "You know, I hear that just about anyone can hop up on that stage later on. I think I might take part myself~!" Giggling to herself, the young wolf bounces off, leaving Momiji and I to ourselves.

"...Do you think we should be worried?" Momiji asks quietly.

"I'm not sure," I mutter, "But if things are coming to blows, we'll need to do something about it. Let me get my sword, then we'll go take a look."

"Your sword?" Momiji asks in surprise.

I smile faintly. "Yep. Hopefully I won't need it. But if I need to block someone form doing something stupid, better to have it than not, know what I mean?" Momiji just nods grimly. It takes me mere moments to recover my weapons from the central shrine, then the two of us are heading up the mountain slopes.

It's... surprisingly quiet. No duels in mid-air. No tengu shouting insults at one another. No bloody fighting, or even fistfights. Just silence.

"...Where did they go, then?" Momiji wonders out loud.

I shrug. "Dunno. Maybe back home to tell all their friends?" I chuckle lightly before a cold chill runs down my spine. Slowly, Momiji and I turn to face each other, expressions of horrified understanding spreading across our faces. The next moment, we are heading towards the tengu village at top speed, praying that we will not be too late.

In one sense, we aren't. There isn't any fighting in the streets, at least. In another sense, we are woefully late. Two lines of tengu are forming in the streets, shouting at each other. On both sides are tengu young and old, man and woman, wolf and crow. From where we hover above the scene, I can tell that some of them are holding weapons.

"Godsdammit, I've had enough of this shit!" A male crow shouts. "Why the fuck can't I just go have a look, huh?! Why the hell are we always stuck here, anyway?!"

"How dare you?!" An outraged wolf male shouts, dressed in fine robes. "You dare cast aside your oath of loyalty to the village? To your elders? To your own kind?!"

"Fuck you, and fuck the elders, too!" A wolf woman scream, face red with anger. "We all know that the official histories are a load of shit, anyway! Why don't you tell us the truth, huh?! What the hell are you hiding?!"

"ENOUGH!" an older crow woman strides forth form the conservative ranks. She's familiar; I remember her sitting on the elder council. Hitomi, that was her name. An innocent name for a hardened battleaxe of a woman. "We have spoken, Clearly, permitting attendance to this event was a terrible mistake on our part. Go and retrieve our fellows from this 'trade show,' and then go home. We shall speak of this no further. The elders have spoken." Imperiously, Hitomi spins on her heel, the matter resolved in her mind.

"Make us, bitch," A wolf male speaks up.

Elder Hitomi whirls, eyes blazing with rage. "What did you say to me, lowly wolf?!" A rumble of anger from the wolves makes Hitomi hesitate. She just overstepped herself there, and she knows it.

The male crow from earlier moves away from the ranks of those that want to explore. It's the same crow that spoke up earlier. With deadly intend, he draws his katana and levels it at the elder. "My 'lowly wolf' colleague told you to make us comply, you hideous bitch," he growls. "So. Make us."

Elder Hitomi blinks.

But it's too late. Weapons are being drawn on both sides. Growls of anger cause the very buildings to rumble. I smell the familiar scent of bloodlust in the air.

"Please... no..." Momiji breathes, voice full of dread and despair. For a moment, terror paralyzes my heart.



[ ] Civil war imminent. What do you do?

[X] Land right between both groups and tell them both to stand down.
-[X] If they don't, use a wind gust to force them back. Do NOT draw your weapon.
--[X] Make every threat in the book, up to and including shrine maiden rampage. Bluff if need be.
---[X] If all else fails, bash Hitomi over the head.

Just throwing ideas out there, but some kind of immediate action needs to happen. I don't think Aya should actually try to fight, at least not yet; we can still aim to defuse this mess.

If that doesn't work, we'll probably need to grab anyone who will listen and try forcing a cease-fire.

Here's the thing that's bothering me: Do we go get help, or not? Obviously, if we do, we should send Momiji by herself, since Aya should try to diffuse the situation.

I doubt we should send Kanako: she has an obvious stake in this.

Reimu has explicitly told us she doesn't want to get involved in the tengu's civil war... Unless it turns into bloodshed. This would probably qualify, but I'm not sure if her style of incident resolution would fit here.

The oni, I think, would definitely intimidate the conservative tengu, but they might frighten the liberal ones as well.

The Mikami have stated they'll happily support Aya no matter what, and, while they're powerful enough, I'm not sure what they'd accomplish, besides putting a few more bodies by our side.

So, thoughts?

Well, I'm glad that things got explained about Reimu a little bit. From the extra information, it sounds less like a bribe and more of a concession they gave her after the usual Incident beat-down.

I agree that getting help could lead to some problems. We might have to tackle this ourselves with the Mikami. The question is how.

I'm going to get so much shit for this, but...

[x] Blood for the Blood God!

>>28707
I'm not. He has been 'adding' facts just for the sake of pleasing some vocal minority and their inane babbling and it has to stop. It has caused problems before (see Meiling retcon regarding her torching of Aya's house) and it will do so again. He has to realize that he can't please everybody and that it isn't necessary is a bad thing.

Anyway.

[x] Intervene.
-[x] Try to explain the consequences of escalating the conflict right now and offer a compromise
-[x] If that doesn't work, invoke veiled threats: Kanako, Reimu, you and the Oni, in that order.

>>28709
Hi, I'm >>28693. I was able to figure out what he meant to imply from the start, and I was right. He's not changing things, he's clarifying things because some people are apparently unable to grasp subtlety. The only retcon regarding Meiling's torching Aya's house was everything going up with it. And that fits right into a time that was originally described by a single sentence. Which, IIRC, was something along the lines of "and then we burned her house down." tl;dr - calm your shit, and pay attention to what you're reading. Please.

[X]Intervene.
-[X] Try to explain the consequences of escalating the conflict right now and offer a compromise.
-[X] If that doesn't work, invoke veiled threats: Kanako, Reimu, the Mikami (and You) and the Oni, in that order.

>>28709
So what if he's "adding facts?" It's his story, he can add whatever the hell he wants to it. And he has to, because half the people who read this story jump at whatever chance they can to "hate" a character because they can't grasp basic concepts.

It shouldn't have been that hard for people to figure out what purpose iron has in the human body and why Reimu might need extra. It's not like she was given a dose of the hourai elixir, just some stupid vitamins.

>>28710
Hi. You seem to be confused as to what I meant. Not really important, since I wasn't talking about your post anyway. Thanks for the advice though.

>>28711, >>28710

In my defense, I missed the word "iron" so I thought they were some other type of supplements. That was why I jumped down Reimu's throat over it.

>>28708 Here. Changing my half-joking post to

[X]Intervene.
-[X] Try to explain the consequences of escalating the conflict right now and offer a compromise.
-[x] If that fails, shame the conservative Tengu. With their own claims of "honor." Try to convince the liberal tengu to sheathe their weapons and leave. Let the conservative tengu know that if they try and stop any unarmed tengu, they will lose any honor they have.

Making any sort of threats are possibly the WORST idea so far. Do NOT give any threats, veiled or otherwise. Instead, hit them where it hurts most. Their honor.

[x] Intervene.
-[x] "Enough. Lower your weapons. I will not allow anymore blood to be shed."
[x] Take control of the situation.
-[x] If the 'rebel's want the the truth about their history then give them the 'Truth', every bloody moment of it. Maybe then they won't be so eager to brandish weapons.

We need to show some of that backbone we showed here >>/youkai/24529 because by the time we can get someone to help people will get hurt. Not sure how to deal with the elders, hopefully someone can add it.

I'm not sure that these things fit together well, and I'm probably copy-pasting them out of order somehow, but...

[x]Intervene.
-[x] "Enough. Lower your weapons. I will not allow anymore blood to be shed."
-[x] Try to explain the consequences of escalating the conflict right now and offer a compromise.
-[x] If the 'rebel's want the the truth about their history then give them the 'Truth', every bloody moment of it. Maybe then they won't be so eager to brandish weapons.
-[x] If that fails, shame the conservative Tengu. With their own claims of "honor." Try to convince the liberal tengu to sheathe their weapons and leave. Let the conservative tengu know that if they try and stop any unarmed tengu, they will lose any honor they have.

[x] Ask Momiji to go tell everyone relevant what's going on. Right now.

I don't feel that we should directly use Kanako or the oni as a threat, but we should keep our options open, and it would always be nice to have backup if we fail.

im waiting for a clutch save by DyCirno

[x]Intervene.
-[x] "Enough. Lower your weapons. I will not allow anymore blood to be shed."
-[x] Try to explain the consequences of escalating the conflict right now and offer a compromise.
-[x] If the 'rebel's want the the truth about their history then give them the 'Truth', every bloody moment of it. Maybe then they won't be so eager to brandish weapons.
-[x] If that fails, shame the conservative Tengu. With their own claims of "honor." Try to convince the liberal tengu to sheathe their weapons and leave. Let the conservative tengu know that if they try and stop any unarmed tengu, they will lose any honor they have.

No, they for just fine together.

Ask Momiji to get DyCirno. Maybe the great heroine's righteousness can help calm the tensions between the Tengu. Have her, the former lowly ice fairy, shame the Tengu. Not all change is bad; if an mere Ice Fairy can become one a protector of the denizens of Gensokyo, as well as a powerful player in her own right, then what's to stop the Tengu from improving themselves?

Or something. I don't know, but I do know DyCirno is at the festival, and we need more DyCirno.

[x]Intervene.
-[x] "Enough. Lower your weapons. I will not allow anymore blood to be shed."
-[x] Try to explain the consequences of escalating the conflict right now and offer a compromise.

Throw our sword (still sheathed) so it lands point down into the road between the two factions, simultaneously getting attention and symbolically disarming ourself.
Land slowly with dramatic wind on the roof of the elders building if it's nearby; this puts us in view of everyone, and if the elders want to respond to us they will have to leave the building.
[x] If the 'rebel's want the the truth about their history then give them the Truth.
Tell them why we gave up the sword, speak from the heart about why we love our frustrating, stubborn people, and why fighting each other now over visiting a tradeshow would be a tragedy every bit the equal of one of those ancient bloody fields.

[X] Pray to our goddesses. Never have we needed strength, guidance, and serenity more than now.

[x]Intervene.
-[x] "Enough. Lower your weapons. I will not allow anymore blood to be shed."
-[x] Try to explain the consequences of escalating the conflict right now and offer a compromise.
-[x] If the rebels want to know the truth, explain the truth.

The elders are misguided but their intent is true. Let them know that

[X]Intervene.
-[X] Try to explain the consequences of escalating the conflict right now and offer a compromise.
-[x] If that fails, shame the conservative Tengu. With their own claims of "honor." Try to convince the liberal tengu to sheathe their weapons and leave. Let the conservative tengu know that if they try and stop any unarmed tengu, they will lose any honor they have.

[x]Intervene.
-[x] "Enough. Lower your weapons. I will not allow anymore blood to be shed."
-[x] Try to explain the consequences of escalating the conflict right now and offer a compromise.
-[x] If the 'rebel's want the the truth about their history then give them the 'Truth', every bloody moment of it. Maybe then they won't be so eager to brandish weapons.
-[x] If that fails, shame the conservative Tengu. With their own claims of "honor." Try to convince the liberal tengu to sheathe their weapons and leave. Let the conservative tengu know that if they try and stop any unarmed tengu, they will lose any honor they have.

On the whole, these are the options that seem to be coming up most often, so... consider it called!

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUOp0w6jzRM)

No.

I won't let this happen. I WON'T.

I suck in a deep breath, forcing down both panic and terrifying memories. "Momiji," I say carefully. "Go get help. Get Kanako. Get Reimu, I don't care, just get whoever you can to help stop this! Talk to the Oni, maybe they can lend a hand."

"R-right," Momiji stutters, voice thick with panic. "But you-"

I fix her with a stare. "Trust me," I say quietly. For a long moment, the two of us say nothing. Momiji starts to reach out to me, then stops, wrestling with herself for just a moment before nodding sharply and turning tail. In a blur, she's gone, leaving me alone above a village about to explode.

The two ranks of tengu are marching toward one another. Weapons are out, shouts and insults are barreling back and forth, and utter rage is nearly palpable in the air. It's going to come to blows, unless I stop it.

So I'll stop it. Easy as that.

A flap of my wings, and I hit the ground at near-sonic speed. The shockwave and windblast slam into the approaching tengu, knocking them back in a mess of surprised shouts. I crouch there in my priestess garb as the two lines gather themselves, looking at me in astonishment. A confused murmur goes through the crowd as I rise to my feet.

The angry crow from earlier tries to say something. I silence him with a glare so fierce that it sends him reeling. Elder Hitomi scowls at me, mouth opening to say something as well. She gets the same treatment, and flinches, staring at me in shock.

For just a moment, I'm the center of attention in the village. All eyes upon me, I decide to make the best of it. I set one hand on my sheathed sword and raise my fan warningly. "Enough," I say calmly in a voice that carries across the plaza. "Enough. All of you, lower your weapons. Now. I will not allow this to go any further. I will not allow any bloodshed this day. Now all of you, calm down."

"Fuck you!!!" A tengu liberal screams, face red with rage. "Why the fuck are you on their side all of a sudden huh?"

"Why the hell should we listen to you, you wretched excuse for a tengu?!" a conservative shouts. The village explodes into a barrage of shouts, insults, and demands. Some of them are leveled at me, others at people on the opposite side of the divide. But it doesn't matter in the long run who they come from or where they're going. It's too late. I'm too late. There's too much hate, too much anger, and nothing I can do will stop it. Hesitantly, I grip the handle of my sword. Must I draw it against my own people, just to make them listen? This cannot be the way...

And then a massive sword slams into the ground with enough force to make the streets themselves shake. A cry of shock goes up from both sides of the divide, and all eyes fall upon the immense cleaver which now juts out of the ground. I stare at it, heart pounding, as its owner slowly floats down from above.

Huge, powerful wings spread wide as he touches the ground, folding behind him with a slowness that speaks of their raw power. Tenma is wearing only a pair of pants, his feet and torso bared for all to see. A network of scarring, muscle and flab covers him. He's let himself go, no two ways about it. But the power is still there, plain to see, and his eyes, glaring with a clarity that I haven't seen in centuries, pierce every last member of the crowd. Elder Hitomi and a few of her cohorts step forward, clearly planning to address him. Tenma's glare hits them with such force that they actually cower back from him, gaping in shock.

The Lord of all Tengu holds the village in his thrall with just his gaze for a long moment, meeting every set of eyes. Slowly, he sets one hand upon his massive sword, ancient and plain in design, and utterly lethal. I've seen it in action enough times to know of its might.

Tenma speaks then, in a quiet voice that nonetheless echoes across the plaza. "Aya Shameimaru is speaking. Remain silent, and heed her words." No-one dares to question him on this. He nods to me, solemnly, and I nod back.

"About time," I say under my breath. "Where the fuck have you been."

"Drunk," he says with an expression I know to be a gentle smile. "No longer. Now please, speak."

I turn to face the tengu, sweeping my own gaze over each and every last one of them. "I was a warrior, once," I say evenly. "Perhaps the greatest warrior the tengu have ever known. None were a match for me. Not even Tenma." A whisper of surprise runs through the tengu at this. Tenma merely nods, accepting the truth of my words. "And I fought. With talon and beak, I fought. With sword and claw, I fought, and I killed. Until I grew sick of it. As much as I hate the lies and deception that have consumed our kind, as much as I loathe the complacency that grips us, I will grant this: it stopped us from fighting."

"What's wrong with fighting?" a wolf grunt.

"Would you kill your own?" I demand of him, piercing the wolf with a glare that make him flinch. "Would you murder your child? Your mate? Your parent? You sibling? One of your pack? A cousin, a neighbor? Would you truly dare to cut down one of your own?" I look at all of the tengu, some of whom are looking at their hands in consternation, confused at my mention of talons and claws. "I know the smell, the feel of bloodlust. I know what it brings. It brings only death, and the regret at what once was, and will never be again. Civil war. This is what you would bring upon us with your mindless hate. I will not stand for it." My voice quivers with outrage.

"All we want is the truth!" A tengu woman protests. "We want to know what really happened! We're sick of being lied to!"

"We're killers," I say flatly. "Or, we once were. I remember those days, when we didn't walk with human-like forms, but were truly the monsters depicted in the oldest of human legends. And we killed. That's it, really. Occasionally, we stole something from humans. But we killed. We killed, we bathed in blood, and we ate the corpses of their fallen. Sometimes, we ate them alive. We ate innocent children while they sobbed for their mothers, and called it right. It was enough to make me sick, and I threw my sword down in disgust."

"Would that I had followed you in that," Tenma intones. "But I was too proud of my might. Too proud to admit to any wrong. And even as we changed, even as we gained bodies like a human, and thoughts and feelings much the same, I refused to see the lives before me as lives, precious in and of themselves. Even when we murdered a village full of innocents."

A gasp goes up at this.

"...No," Tenma says quietly, voice still carrying as he closes his eyes. "It was then that I understood what lay within us. It frightened me. Sickened me. And I turned my back on it all, too much of a coward to acknowledge the truth. I found refuge in sake, and never left ever again."

"Great Lord, please do not say such things!" Elder Hitomi wails, looking stricken. "Such words... they shame all of us tengu! Thank of our honor-"

"HONOR?!" I shriek, whirling on her. "You dare to speak to me of honor?! When the tengu murdered a village full of innocents, and forgot their very names?! When we dared to mock all others merely to make ourselves feel better?! When we warped our very history, all to glorify ourselves?! Even today, we refuse to even acknowledge the precious lives of others, holding ourselves above those who may as well be our kin. Even today, we lie endlessly about everything, all to satisfy an agenda that was worthless from the word go, and you dare to speak to me of honor?!"

I heave, breath coming painfully in the midst of my rage. Hitomi just gapes at me, struck speechless. Tenma lowers his head. "...I know their names," he says quietly. "Every last one."

......

"Sheathe your weapons," I demand, eyes burning. "If you point them at one of your own kind, or an innocent, ever... then you lose whatever honor you have. No; you prove yourself to have never had any honor, ever. Now put those weapons away."

The village is silent. Even the wind is still, as though afraid to intrude. Weapons are wavering in the hands of confused tengu. Some are shaking their head, and I see tears in the eyes of others. A wolf drops his sword and starts to cry openly. Disillusionment, confusion, despair, betrayal, grief. This it what remains when all of the illusions are stripped away. When you can no longer wrap yourself in lies. But is that truly all that there is? Is there nothing else behind the lies?



[ ] Will you say anything else?

Took Tenma long enough.

This is the part where the whole village goes down to the trade show all together, right? Or most of it anyways.

They've listened and they understand but the way they're acting makes me think they might turn the same way as Tenma, wallowing in grief. We've got to head that off right now.

[x] Remind them about the Oni, how great and terrible they were, and about how the Oni realized this and changed their ways. How even after all this time they never forgot what they've done and let it motivate them to never revert.
-[x] Bring up Paporo/Big Papa, no way the elders could have forgotten him, and his heartfelt apology.

[x] Remind them about the Oni, how great and terrible they were, and about how the Oni realized this and changed their ways. How even after all this time they never forgot what they've done and let it motivate them to never revert.
-[x] Bring up Paporo/Big Papa, no way the elders could have forgotten him, and his heartfelt apology.

Sounds better than anything I could come up with.

Here's my rough strategy on what we should say. Feel free to offer suggestions.

[X] Yes, we veiled away the truth of our history. But not only did we blind ourselves to our past, we also rejected that there was a future for us, even though there is one.
[X] Remind them about the Oni, how great and terrible they were, and about how the Oni realized this and changed their ways. How even after all this time they never forgot what they've done and let it motivate them to never revert.
-[X] Bring up Paporo/Big Papa, no way the elders could have forgotten him, and his heartfelt apology.
[X] The world is changing, and everyone that lives also changes, whether they accept it or not.
[X] The Moriya gods, the Taoists, the Buddhists, my Mikami...they're all working to find a new place in the world in their own way.
-[X] They all have different ideas on what way to go, sometimes agreeing and sometimes disagreeing, but they all have accepted the need to move forward. And the paths they have chosen are their own, unique from anyone else's.
--[X] This isn't about giving into the humans, or letting Kanako take charge, or giving up what it means to be a Tengu. It's about us realizing that we need to forge a future for us, and to do that we need to open our eyes and see that we are not alone in this world.
[X] I've come a long way from where I started, with a lot of bumps and turns. Nearly got lost more than once. But what saved me, I know, is that I bonded with others who suffered their own crises with the world. We learned that we weren't alone, and that we could actually understand each others' problems, ones we thought no one but us could relate. And together, we chose to move forward and find something new.
[X] This is the dream I have for us- that we can step out into the world, meet with those with dreams of their own, and walk and fly to the future's horizon. Together.
[X] We're at a crossroad now, just as we were all those years ago.
-[X] We can go about our lives and continue to pretend that nothing ever happened. We can give up and fall into despair, our will broken. We can harden ourselves and hate the world- and ourselves, since we are a part of the world, whether we recognize it or not.
-[X] Or, we can share our inner pains with others, and share in their own troubles in turn. Then together, heal and move on, stronger than we were before.
-[X] It's your choice. What will it be?

Can I just say: Yay Tenma?

I mean, geez, it took him long enough - but dear gods he did finally do it. And breaking a habit of a millennium is hard.

>>28729

WAY too long.

Was trying to provide a full, complete speech that covered all the important points and gradually built up to the larger argument. That said, I'm open to suggestions on how to improve it.

While the source was far too long, I'll put forward this selection:
[X] Remind them about the Oni, how great and terrible they were, and about how the Oni changed their ways. How even after all this time they never forgot what they've done and let it motivate them to never revert.
-[X] Bring up Paporo/Big Papa, no way the elders could have forgotten him, and his heartfelt apology.
[X] The world is changing, and everyone that lives also changes, whether they accept it or not.
[X] The Moriya gods, the Taoists, the Buddhists, the Mikami...they're all working to find a new place in the world, each in their own way.
-[X] This isn't about giving into the humans, or letting Kanako take charge, or giving up what it means to be a Tengu. It's about us realizing that we need to forge a future for us, and to do that we need to open our eyes and see that we are not alone in this world.

Also attempted to remove the person switch. Starting as a third party summary and switching into first person quoting bugs me. I'm not satisfied with this answer, but I need to sleep, now.

[X] Remind them about the Oni, how great and terrible they were, and about how the Oni changed their ways. How even after all this time they never forgot what they've done and let it motivate them to never revert.
-[X] Bring up Paporo/Big Papa, no way the elders could have forgotten him, and his heartfelt apology.
[X] The world is changing, and everyone that lives also changes, whether they accept it or not.
[X] The Moriya gods, the Taoists, the Buddhists, the Mikami...they're all working to find a new place in the world, each in their own way.
-[X] This isn't about giving into the humans, or letting Kanako take charge, or giving up what it means to be a Tengu. It's about us realizing that we need to forge a future for us, and to do that we need to open our eyes and see that we are not alone in this world.

This was even better than the clutch save from DyCirno I was waiting for. Keymaster never fails to impress.

[X] Remind them about the Oni, how great and terrible they were, and about how the Oni changed their ways. How even after all this time they never forgot what they've done and let it motivate them to never revert.
-[X] Bring up Paporo/Big Papa, no way the elders could have forgotten him, and his heartfelt apology.
[X] The world is changing, and everyone that lives also changes, whether they accept it or not.
[X] The Moriya gods, the Taoists, the Buddhists, the Mikami...they're all working to find a new place in the world, each in their own way.
-[X] This isn't about giving into the humans, or letting Kanako take charge, or giving up what it means to be a Tengu. It's about us realizing that we need to forge a future for us, and to do that we need to open our eyes and see that we are not alone in this world.

[X] Remind them about the Oni, how great and terrible they were, and about how the Oni changed their ways. How even after all this time they never forgot what they've done and let it motivate them to never revert.
-[X] Bring up Paporo/Big Papa, no way the elders could have forgotten him, and his heartfelt apology.
[X] The world is changing, and everyone that lives also changes, whether they accept it or not.
[X] The Moriya gods, the Taoists, the Buddhists, the Mikami...they're all working to find a new place in the world, each in their own way.
-[X] This isn't about giving into the humans, or letting Kanako take charge, or giving up what it means to be a Tengu. It's about us realizing that we need to forge a future for us, and to do that we need to open our eyes and see that we are not alone in this world.

I guess this is as good as it gets

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USLYyRFfUWw)

Of course there's something behind the lies.

There's the Truth.

And through Truth, Hope.

"I remember the Oni," I say into the stricken silence. A few of my people look up at me, staring blankly. "I remember the old days when they ruled over us as cruel and terrible masters. We all feared the Oni. Everyone with any lick of sense did. The Oni were elemental beings of irresistible power, and everyone despised them for their arrogance. Including me."

Tenma shrugs, chuckling mirthlessly. "Not that hate mattered. The Oni did what they wished, when they wished. At least until the humans deceived them into departing. And that was it. We've been doing our best to forget ever since."

"Very true," I nod. "But the Oni learned something from their exile. The learned regret."

A murmur of interest runs through the assembled crowd. Pretty much every last tengu has to be here now, listening closely to my and Tenma's words.

"The Oni were many things," I say to my people. "Great and terrible. Cruel and monstrous. Powerful and supreme. But they were cast down into the underground, there to remain. But there, something strange happened. They changed. The Oni came to understand why they were cast out by those they had actually seen as friends. They were shocked, wounded, and eventually came to realize the enormity of their crimes. They understood what they had done wrong, and felt the truest regret for it."

"What did they do?" a conservative crow asks curiously.

"I already told you," I reply. "They changed. They never forgot their past, of course. That would shame those they harmed. They remembered... but they moved on. They continued to enjoy life. They learned, they became civilized, they invented and improvised. They made a city, of all things, and it's a marvel." I pause. "Of course, half of their city is bars, but what do you do? Oni, right?"

A few chuckles run through the audience.

"What you are saying is that the Onis' crimes became their motivation," Tenma says solemnly. "Their reason to grow and change."

I nod. "Yes. That's all that I ever wanted from us, Tenma. To continue to grow, no matter how hard facing the Truth may be. Because smothering ourselves in lies is only killing us in the end."

I look around the crowd of my people, who are mulling my words over in silence. Tenma, looking off into the distance, a look of regret on his face. Is he feeling regret for all the years wasted? For all of the opportunities lost?

I take a deep breath. "I met Big Papporo when I visited the underground." Tenma's head whips around to stare at me, his eyes wide with shock... and a bit of fear. Gasps can be heard from some of the elder tengu, and I see a few of them visibly trembling at the name. Papporo still has quite a reputation. But I'm not done yet. Smiling, I continue. "Or should I say: Big Papa, of Big Papa's House of Looooooove and Tacos!"

The entire village stares at me like I'm insane.

"Love... and Tacos?" Tenma says blankly.

I start laughing, remembering the ostentatious Oni. "Looooooove. You need to get it right. Yep, the terrifying Papporo of old... now a paternal being, an excellent restauranteur who provides weddings and relationship advice to all who seek it, all in the name of making the world a better place. I couldn't believe it when I saw him. And I couldn't believe it... when he apologized for all that he had done to me. A real apology, right from the heart."

There is a stunned moment of silence as the tengu of the village try to process the mental image of an Oni saying that he was sorry.

A wolf speaks up. "What you're saying, is that if a terror like the Papporo of legends can change, can feel remorse and regret for his past deeds, and become a truly good man... why can we not do the same?"

I nod "Precisely. That's all that I've ever asked. The world is ever changing. Growing, and I don't mean in size. Why must we remain ever the same, refusing to even acknowledge those around us?"

"Well... but things have gone well for us so far," a conservative wolf says hesitantly.

I look at her. "Have they? Cemented here on the mountain, ever unchanging, have we really gotten the better of the deal?" I shake my head. "The only constant in all the world is change. It always happens, to men, kings, and gods. Many have tried to deny it and been trampled underfoot. Nations have been shattered from trying to hang on to the past. What can a small village of tengu do? In this world that is ever-changing, if we try to hang on to the ways of the past, trying to deny the world around us, we're doomed. The world will just leave us behind."

"And then we fade," Tenma whispers.

I nod. "And then we fade. I don't want that to happen." I look around at all of my people. I know how scary it is to change your life. I know it all too well. But you're not alone in this fear. We aren't alone. Every last living being on this planet is in the thrall of change, whether they want to admit it or not. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Change can be hard, can be scary, but it has so many possibilities as well!"

"You're talking about your gods," an older crow observes.

I shrug. "The Mikami embraced change and grew stronger for it, yes. But I don't just mean them. All the other faiths embrace change in their own ways. Every last person in Gensokyo has come to accept the changes even now unfolding in our land. Every last one of us in Gensokyo, we're working to find a new place in this changing world, each in our own way. Look at me; I went from reporter to priestess. If someone like me can do it, why can't you?"

The tengu look at each other, muttering softly. Elder Hitomi scowls. "What would you have us do, then? Kiss the feet of every Human we come across now? Start hailing Kanako or your own goddesses with every breath?"

I shake my head. "No. Humans are far from saints, but neither are they the the dirt on our feet, like some tengu seem to think. Just as we are neither divine beings, nor ravening monsters. We're all just people, struggling to find our way in an unforgiving world." I look around. "This is not about giving in to humanity, or blatantly copying them. This isn't about surrendering to Kanako, or who you choose to worship. And it certainly isn't about giving up our culture and history; hell, all I've ever wanted to do was fill in some of the blanks. It's about the future."

"The future?" someone asks.

I nod, smiling broadly. "That's right. It's about facing the world and forging our future. About realizing that we need to open our eyes and see the world for what it is, and ourselves for who we are. About realizing that we are not alone in the world."

I spread my arms wide. "We have to stop thinking of ourselves as better than others, when these other beings have more than proven their worth. We have to stop hiding from the past out of fear. We need to come to terms with the world, and embrace it, even if it means admitting to painful mistakes. We're the Tengu. We have it in us to be teachers, protectors, scholars, artisans... friends and companions. Every day that we refuse this potential is a day that everyone misses out. Come on, guys. We're the Tengu. So let's make that word mean what we want it to mean. And let's make it something good."

Whispers spread throughout the crowd. Some are hopeful, some are fearful. But at least people are talking now. Tenma takes the opportunity to clear his throat. "As ruler of the Tengu, I hereby declare that all who wish to attend this trade show may do so, with my blessing. It is not required... but I strongly urge you to do so." Excited whispers spring up at his words. In ones and twos, Tengu rush away, taking to the sky and heading down the mountain. A few more Tengu hesitate, then follow along behind their brethren. A few more remain behind, sitting quietly and meditating on all that they have heard. It takes all types, after all, and not everyone can change so easily.

As for Elder Hitomi, she stands with a group of well-dressed Tengu, most of them looking stunned and dismayed. The current elder council, I realize. And from their ranks, two figures depart. One, a truly old wolf Tengu. Another, a younger-looking crow woman with silver hair in a side ponytail. With respectful nods to both myself and Tenma, they too depart the village. The remaining elders simply stare in dismay before slumping their shoulders in defeat and turning away. The last one remaining is Hitomi, who simply takes a seat on a public bench and heaves a sigh, lost and confused.

"...I actually feel sorry for her," I comment to Tenma.

"That's because you have compassion," he says gently. "It's a virtue, Aya. Anyway, they'll come around in time, I'm sure. It just takes a while to shake off the convictions of a millennium. Believe me, I'd know." He chuckles.

I look up at him. "What changed you?"

Tenma shrugs. "I did some thinking. I heard the shouts in the plaza, and I was afraid. And then you showed up, and I realized that I'd had more than enough of moping on my ass all the time." He looks down at himself. "And by the gods. I need to lose some weight, huh?"

I laugh out loud. "Hey, you said it, not me."

"This time," Tenma smirks.

"Yeah, got me there," I agree. "So. Now what?"

Tenma looks up at the sky. "Well, first of all I'm getting a damned shirt on. Then I'm going to completely reshuffle the elder council. Get rid of all the current faces and interest groups. Maybe get some younger people in there. Ram through some laws allowing Tengu to come and go as they please. And then I'm retiring."

I'm taken aback. "For real?"

"Yes," Tenma nods. "I haven't been a very good ruler. But I have my eye on a replacement, and no, I know you're not interested. She's a young relative of mine, you saw her leave just now. I think she'll keep things in order well enough. As for me... I think I'll take up stone carving. Actually, I have my first project already in mind..." the Tengu lord stares up at the sky.

I smile. "Sounds like a good plan. Until then, wanna go see what's left of the trade show? I'd love to introduce you to the Mikami."

"...An official visit is definitely in order, and I would like to check up on Lady Kagiyama," Tenma admits. "After I get that shirt. And shoes, while I'm at it."

I just laugh, feeling the relief of a crisis averted. I'm interrupted in my joy by a polite cough behind me. Turning around, I see a very confused Momiji standing alongside Kanako, Suwako, Sanae, Hatate, and Reimu. Hell, even Cirno in her DyCirno armor is here. "Are we to assume that the crisis has passed?" Kanako says lightly.

"Eheh, sorry!" I say awkwardly. Tenma coughs in embarrassment, acutely aware of his state of undress as Suwako helps herself to a good, long look.

"Lame!" DyCirno complains. "I'm going back to the show!"

"Sounds like a plan," I agree with a smile. "Tenma?"

"Getting dressed now!" he agrees, hurrying off. I just sigh, feeling the weight of centuries lifting from the village. All of a sudden, the future feels bright for the Tengu.



[x] Look at the Makai exhibit.
[x] Go talk to Yamame and Kogasa.
[ ] Anything else you'd like to see as this thing winds up?

[X] Check on how Lily Black is doing.

We can do other things too, but I want to see how she's feeling after helping manage the festival. She deserves our thanks for that.

D'awwww.

Yaaay!

[x] Find Hatate's parents. Promise them that you will have words with them later about throwing out their daughter.
-[x] For now, you have a show to get back to.
--[x] The Makai exhibit sounds good.

[X] Help Hatate reunite with her parents.
-[X] For now, you have a show to get back to.
--[X] Look at the Makai exhibit.
--[X] Go talk to Yamame and Kogasa.
--[X] Check on how Lily Black is doing.

Hatate's parents were being pressured by the elders, so they might be feeling a little guilty. Now that we've finally settled most of the tension without causing a civil war, I don't think we should start a whole new fight. That said, Hatate probably misses her parents, and now she doesn't need to worry about the elders stopping her from seeing them.

[X] go get Erin to clone you then do everything

[x] Find Hatate's parents. Promise them that you will have words with them later about throwing out their daughter.
-[x] For now, you have a show to get back to.
--[x] How's Lily Black holding up?

This is her big chance. Let's see if everything's going well.

[X] Help Hatate reunite with her parents.
-[X] For now, you have a show to get back to.
--[X] Look at the Makai exhibit.
--[X] Go talk to Yamame and Kogasa.
--[X] Check on how Lily Black is doing.

This is good.

[X] Help Hatate reunite with her parents.
-[X] For now, you have a show to get back to.
--[X] Look at the Makai exhibit.
--[X] Go talk to Yamame and Kogasa.
--[X] Check on how Lily Black is doing.
--[X] Check out the martial arts exhibition.

[X] Help Hatate reunite with her parents.
-[X] For now, you have a show to get back to.
--[X] Look at the Makai exhibit.
--[X] Go talk to Yamame and Kogasa.
--[X] Check on how Lily Black is doing.
--[X] Check out the martial arts exhibition.

--[X] Passively observe as many tengu as you can, especially those who visit the oni exhibit(s?) and the elders who decided to go. We've smashed the ice to bits, but there may still be work left to do. Also, it'll be amusing.

[X] Help Hatate reunite with her parents.
-[X] For now, you have a show to get back to.
--[X] Look at the Makai exhibit.
--[X] Go talk to Yamame and Kogasa.
--[X] Check on how Lily Black is doing.
--[X] Check out the maritial martial arts exhibition.

--[X] Passively observe as many tengu as you can, especially those who visit the oni exhibit(s?) and the elders who decided to go. We've smashed the ice to bits, but there may still be work left to do. Also, it'll be amusing.

>"Hi, Okuu," I gasp out. "So you came here too, huh?"
>"She insisted on taking a day off when she heard about the whole affair," Yuugi explains, walking up. "Satori and a bunch of other underground youkai came with us to show off their wares."

Why haven't we heard anything more about this? Add Satori to the list.

[x] Find Satori and the other underground youkai
[xx] Everything else

[X] Help Hatate reunite with her parents.
-[X] For now, you have a show to get back to.
--[X] Look at the Makai exhibit.
--[X] Go talk to Yamame and Kogasa.
--[X] Check on how Lily Black is doing.
--[X] Check out the martial arts exhibition.

--[X] Passively observe as many tengu as you can, especially those who visit the oni exhibit(s?) and the elders who decided to go. We've smashed the ice to bits, but there may still be work left to do. Also, it'll be amusing.

[x] Find Satori and the other underground youkai
[xx] Everything else

[x] Find Satori and the other underground youkai
[xx] Everything else (The hatate bit)

YES! Finally, Satori is in this story!

[X] Help Hatate reunite with her parents.
-[X] For now, you have a show to get back to.
--[X] Look at the Makai exhibit.
--[X] Go talk to Yamame and Kogasa.
--[X] Check on how Lily Black is doing.
--[X] Check out the martial arts exhibition.
--[X] Passively observe as many tengu as you can, especially those who visit the oni exhibit(s?) and the elders who decided to go. We've smashed the ice to bits, but there may still be work left to do. Also, it'll be amusing.

[X] Help Hatate reunite with her parents.
-[X] For now, you have a show to get back to.
--[X] Look at the Makai exhibit.
--[X] Go talk to Yamame and Kogasa.
--[X] Check on how Lily Black is doing.
--[X] Check out the martial arts exhibition.

[X] Help Hatate reunite with her parents.
-[X] For now, you have a show to get back to.
--[X] Look at the Makai exhibit.
--[X] Go talk to Yamame and Kogasa.
--[X] Check on how Lily Black is doing.
--[X] Check out the martial arts exhibition.
--[X] Passively observe as many tengu as you can, especially those who visit the oni exhibit(s?) and the elders who decided to go.

[X] Help Hatate reunite with her parents.
-[X] For now, you have a show to get back to.
--[X] Look at the Makai exhibit.
--[X] Go talk to Yamame and Kogasa.
--[X] Check on how Lily Black is doing.
--[X] Check out the martial arts exhibition.
--[x] Find Satori and the other underground youkai
--[X] Passively observe as many tengu as you can, especially those who visit the oni exhibit(s?) and the elders who decided to go.

[X] Help Hatate reunite with her parents.
-[X] For now, you have a show to get back to.
--[X] Look at the Makai exhibit.
--[X] Go talk to Yamame and Kogasa.
--[X] Check on how Lily Black is doing.
--[X] Check out the martial arts exhibition.
--[x] Find Satori and the other underground youkai
--[X] Passively observe as many tengu as you can, especially those who visit the oni exhibit(s?) and the elders who decided to go.

One more thing:

[X] Check out the Moriya stand.

I want to see how Sanae's little potato ritual has developed.

[X] Help Hatate reunite with her parents.
-[X] For now, you have a show to get back to.
--[X] Look at the Makai exhibit.
--[X] Go talk to Yamame and Kogasa.
--[X] Check on how Lily Black is doing.
--[X] Check out the martial arts exhibition.
--[x] Find Satori and the other underground youkai
--[X] Passively observe as many tengu as you can, especially those who visit the oni exhibit(s?) and the elders who decided to go
[X] Check out the Moriya stand

Looks like some good stuff here. However, I probably won't start writing the final update until sometime tomorrow, due to having stuff on the go tomorrow. So, look for it sometime Friday.

>>28765
She showed up once before, remember? Aya got petted and psychoanalyzed. >>25328

>>28779
>the final update

>>28779
I just have one question: Does the amount of putting off the Yamame choice affect the outcome?

At this point I don't care how things go, I just found the amount of putting off silly for the most part.

>>28782

Not in the slightest. No worries.

>>28779
>final update
Whoa I did miss this. Do you have any plans to write more daily updates with another story?

>>28779
sweet I can't wait to-
>final update
>Final Update
>FINAL UPDATE
>F.I.N.A.L. U.P.D.A.T.E.
....WHAT!?

>>28781

Keymaster hopefully means just for this fic. I'm hoping the next one'll be a LARP of Settlers of Catan. I think that's what Flan was prepping in her basement.

I'd like to see more of the battleship. She seems like an interesting character, and she would offer a unique outsider perspective as she adjusts to Gensokyo.

Tenma's arrival at the trade show sends the Tengu into a tizzy. They start tripping over each other to offer their assistance to the great and mighty lord. Tenma doesn't say a word to any of them. Instead, he resolutely walks over to Big Papa's Cart of Looooooove and Tacos.

"Been a long time, Papporo," the Lord of all Tengu says.

"Sure has," Big Papa replies. He looks Tenma over with a critical eye. "Might I offer you one of my healthy-alternative tacos? Maybe one of my... ahem... small selection of non-alcoholic beverages?"

Tenma looks down at himself. "That may be for the best, yes."

Big Papa booms with laughter. "Then, one healthy alternative coming right up, my good man!" And that is how Big Papa and Tenma made friends in the space of about thirty seconds and began to chat companionably, all while the rest of the attendees, especially the Tengu, looked on in astonishment.

"Tenma looks like he's having fun," Hina notes, her arm linked with mine. A few people notice how close we are to each other. Neither of us really care.

"I think he is," I agree, "And at least he had a gentler waking-up than I did."

"Maybe, but he was certainly wasting away as well, in his own way," Hina points out.

"I guess that's true," I sigh. "Anyway, he wanted to have a word with you later, if that's okay."

"Certainly," Hina smiles. Her gaze moves past me, and her eyes widen a bit. "Ah, Aya...?" Turning, I follow her gaze to see Hatate having a heated discussion with two other Tengu, a man and a woman. To elaborate, Hatate is angrily laying into them while the man and woman look extremely contrite. "Are they...?"

"They are," Momiji confirms, walking up. "Hatate's parents. They came her, and she's finally having it out with them."

"I hope things'll be okay there," I murmur, unable to keep from being worried.

"They will," Momiji says firmly. "Those two have made some mistakes. A lot of them, in fact. But part of that was the environment in the village, and the pressure being put on them from others. Now, I'm not saying that there won't be some issues to work through..."

"...But they will work through them," Hina finishes with a gentle smile. "Because they're family. And they love each other." Hatate at this point has started to break down into tears, and her father gently moves forward to embrace her, her mother following. After a moment's hesitation, Hatate returns the hug. "See?"

"They've still got a lot to work through," I note.

"But they will work through it," Hina insists. "After all, it'd be terrible luck if they didn't and I certainly can't allow that!" She smiles sweetly.

I chuckle in response. "You've got me there. Anyway, I think I'd like to go check out the Makai exhibit. I'm kind of curious as to just what Shinki brought to the festivities."

"You go ahead," Momiji tells us. "I'm going to look around the Oni exhibits for a bit. What can I say? You've got me curious, Aya." The white wolf smiles as we withdraw into the crowd, leaving Hatate to a tearful reconciliation with her family.

************************************

We come upon the Makai exhibit after a few minutes of wandering through the alleys of the show. Around us, people of all stripes are mingling. Tengu speak with Human and Oni, and everyone marvels at the products brought by the strange Youkai of the underground; beings that don't quite have a human form, and show off their wares with spindly arms and luminescent skin, coupled with strangely charming voices. The Mikami: beacons of diversity. That's something to be proud of.

Eventually, we come to the Makaian exhibits, a series of shops proudly showing off the many and varied wares of Makai. Weapons and armor of a peculiar, organic-seeming metal; foodstuffs and handicrafts, books and clothing. It's all so exotic, and the denizens of Makai show it all off with the kind of charm that only they can manage. I'm pretty sure that Shinki made sure to bring succubi and incubi to make sure that her realm had only the most appealing of representatives.

As Hina and I look over the items on sale, I notice something that brings me up short. I recognize Parsee and her boyfriend, Alfred, from the underground. And I of course recognize the Yama of Xanadu, Eiki Shiki, as well as Komachi. But now that I get a better look at Eiki's male escort, I can't help but notice a bit of resemblance to someone else...

"Hey, Hina?" I say carefully. "Those two guys with Parsee and the Yama. Don't they look an awful lot alike?"

The misfortune goddess takes a look herself, doing a double-take. "Come to think of it... they look like they could be brothers!"

"As a matter of fact, that's very close to the truth," a warm, maternal voice says. The two of us turn, and standing not three feet away is the all-powerful ruler and goddess of Makai herself: Lady Shinki, an immensely powerful woman with the gentlest blue eyes that I have ever seen. "In fact, they're twins!"

"Twins..." I muse, glancing back over at the conversation. A maid in red has walked up and is speaking animatedly to Parsee and Eiki, and the undergrounder is shaking her head adamantly. Eiki's companions are urging the Yama on, however, and eventually the judge nods slightly, clearly blushing. This causes a round of applause, and the maid smiles broadly. "Huh. Must be quite the story there."

"Well, quantum duplication can be a very difficult thing to deal with," Shinki admits. The two of us stare at her blankly, and she giggles in response. "Ask your adorable friend Hatate about it sometime! Just remember: it's most certainly not Yukari's fault, as she is so eager to point out!" The Makai goddess' eyes are twinkling with restrained laughter.

"...Remind me to have a long talk with Hatate at some point," I murmur to Hina. I notice that the maid is quickly dragging Eiki Shiki off. "Hm. Wonder what that's all about."

"Well, after a great deal of urging, I finally convinced dear Yumeko to put on a bit of a performance for us her at your lovely show," Shinki explains. "Apparently she wanted a little bit of back-up for it. But anyway! Word on the street is that you two are a loving couple!"

"We are indeed, Lady Shinki," Hina says warmly, wrapping an arm around my waist. "Aya's the best thing that ever happened to me." My heart damned near sails out of my chest when Hina says this.

Shinki coos with admiration. "How delightful~! Well then, in that case, maybe you'd be interested in a personal creation of mine!" Reaching under the counter, Shinki proudly produces a pink and red-bound book. "This book details two thousand ways that a female couple can reach intense orgasm with one another, all carefully researched and developed by yours truly! By following traditional Makaian sexual practices, it is possible for you to enhance-"

I hear the scream coming from a distance as its originator flies in at maximum speed, her voice betraying utter mortification. "mmmmMMMMMOOOOOOOOOTTTTHHHHHHEEEEERRRRR!!!" screams Alice Margatroid, screeching to a halt right in front of us. "What in the hells do you think you're doing, peddling that kind of smut here?!"

"Oh?" Shinki blinks innocently. "Why, Alice dear, you know your mother is far from celibate! Why, Yukari was nice enough to help me test out all of-"

"NOT. LISTENING." Alice squawks, covering her ears in embarrassment.

Shinki tilts her head. "...Would you like me to magically transform your boyfriend, so you two can try it out for yourself? I'm sure he'd enjoy the change of pace!" Alice just screams in horror.

Alice has such a nice mom. I'm kinda jealous. Also, I totally buy a copy of Shinki's book.

****************************************************

After checking out the Makai exhibit, Hina and I make our way over to where the stage has opened up to whoever wants to get up and perform. Hearing that a Makaian maid was going to get up and sing, with help from a judge of the dead, of all people, has got me more than a bit interested. The two of us make our way in to the crowded spot around the stage, when the lights around the area click on, bringing illumination as the sun fades.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Lily Black's voice echoes over the area. "Open Mike has now begun! And now, please give it up for our first performance of the night! Straight from Makai, it's the lovely Yumeko!"

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG9uovbT9Lk)

I see the Makaian musicians in the background first. Then I hear the music. And then the maid from earlier, Yumeko, struts up to the front of the stage, dressed in something abbreviated and tight. Then I see the back-up performers: Two damned appealing Makaian men... and Eiki Shiki, all dressed in much the same fashion as Yumeko.

I gape as the catchy beat echoes around the clearing and Yumeko begins to sing. "A Makaian... idol singer?" Hina asks numbly.

"The Yama as a gogo dancer?" I ask in turn. Well, why the hell not?

"Works as far as I'm concerned," Yamame's voice comes from behind. The earth spider walks up beside us, accompanied by a smiling Kogasa. "Damn. That maid's got a nice set of pipes."

"And that judge has some moves," Kogasa puts in. "Her boyfriend is one lucky bastard."

"She's got one hell of a body, that's for sure," I admit. "Anyway! Dare I ask what the hell you did to wake up Yamame earlier?" I grin broadly.

"Eh, she slipped ice down by back," Yamame sighs. "Dammit, Kogasa..." the karakasa just laughs mischievously.

"Awww, no naughty stories to share?" Hina pouts.

Yamame and Kogasa share a glance. "Well... give us some time to get to know each other better," Yamame shrugs. I nod in acceptance. Somehow, I do think that Yamame and Kogasa should take their time with this. Meanwhile, the crowd roars their approval at Yumeko's singing, and presumably Eiki's dancing. Damn, but that's one limber judge. Also, Hina is eyeing the stage thoughtfully...

***********************************************

After watching the Makain performance, the two of us decide to go investigate the martial arts expo taking place, finding Lily Black surveying the scene with satisfaction. The dark fairy is bustling around in a constant rush, barking orders at subordinates, and clearly enjoying every moment of it. On stage, two pairs of contestants are facing off against one another: Sukuna is bouncing excitedly on Youmu's shoulder, while the gardener has both blades drawn and is facing off against her opponents. In the other corner, Meiling and Sakuya eagerly ready themselves, Yuuka shouting encouragement.

"...and make sure that all of the paths have traffic flowing freely though them!" Lily shouts at a fairy subordinate, who quickly runs off. "I mean it! No lollygagging! Aya, and Hina, what can I do for you?" She looks up at us expectantly.

"Just looking around," I explain. "You look busy, by the way."

"Busy?" Lily snorts. "The night-life is starting to gear up, and I have to be everywhere at once all of a sudden! There are scheduled performances, rogue performers, duels and tournaments, people offering to sell intoxicants both legal and otherwise... this thing is insane!" The fairy grins broadly. "This is the best goddamned party ever! I've already got people congratulating me! Thanks, you two! Now, I can't talk, too many things to do!"

In the dueling arena, blades and fists flash as the battle starts. Hina calls after Lily. "Have you seen the Aki sisters?"

"In the Oni exhibition! Now excuse me, I'm busy!" Another shift of the crowd, and Lily has vanished. Shrugging at each other, Hina and I decide to go look for the other two-thirds of the Mikami.

The party is really getting going now. People of all stripes are laughing with one another, the alcohol is clearly flowing, and strange Youkai from the underground have started to wander, making friends among the dwellers of the surface. There's enough booze going around that nobody particularly cares that these new beings don't really look all that human. I wonder if that will now change in the years to come.

We finally locate Minoriko and Shizuha in the special exhibition hall built for the Oni. Fascinated Tengu are wandering around, taking in all of the sights and smells of this little slice of the underground. The Aki sisters are in a fairly quiet portion of the hall, watching on in amazement as Satori Komeiji reads to children.

The small, slight woman has a two-tailed cat resting in her lap, while a circle of children, both human and otherwise, watch her with rapt attention. Satori seems to be enjoying their attention, turning her focus from one child to another, and taking pains to make sure that all of the children are enjoying themselves equally.

"Figures that a mind-reader would be good with children," Minoriko comments as Hina and I walk up.

"Any sign of her sister?" I ask.

"She came in a while back, wearing fake cat ears and tail, and dressed in a fuzzy bikini," Shizuha explains. "Satori gave her a cookie, and she went away. Didn't even pause in her reading. Damned impressive, if you ask me."

"It looks like Lily has things well in hand," Hina comments. "I'd say that our role has ended for the night."

"The Tengu?" Shizu asks, glancing over at me.

I smile. "I think that things are going to be just fine there." The leaf goddess nods her approval.

"Yep, this whole thing has gone off without a hitch," Mino says with a hint of pride. "So. Wanna go wander the walkways and get trashed?"

I laugh in response. "Why the hell not?"

******************************************

A bit later, the four of us are walking around, taking in the sights and smells as night sets in over the trade show. It's clearly turned into a festival at this point, and everyone seems to be having a good time. Also, I'm certain that I see a Tengu walking into some bushes, hand-in-hand with somebody from another race, and can't help but grin in approval. Looks like things are rapidly progressing to that point.

"Oh, gods," Minoriko snickers with amusement. She points to where Sanae has cleared some space, and is now buried in dirt up to her neck along with a few other beings, including Humans, Tengu, and Oni. A few curious passers-by look on in interest, while Kanako and Reimu are aggressively facepalming a few feet away, being consoled by Suwako and Remilia, respectively.

"Well, I'm glad that caught on for her," I say lightly. "I think."

"Faith comes in many forms," Shizuha agrees. "I suppose that a potato is as good an object of veneration as any."

"How long until Reimu and Kanako force her out of this phase, do you think?" Hina asks lightly.

"I give it another week, tops," Minoriko snickers.

Hina pauses, looking around, then gives me a quick peck on the lips. "Aya, meet up with me at the open mike stage in fifteen minutes, okay?"

"Huh?" I blink. "Yeah, sure, but-"

Hina cuts me off with a smile. "Thanks! I'll see you then!" The misfortune goddess rushes off, and I see her talk to that Makaian maid from earlier, Yumeko.

I glance at the Aki sisters, who shrug. Shaking my head, I follow along with them for a while. "You know, you've really changed things around, Aya," Shizuha says after a moment.

"Hm?" I glance at her.

Shizuha gestures around us, at her and Mino, then at me. "This. Us. You. Everything. You've changed everything up in a very short period of time. It's really amazing."

"Though, par for the course for Gensokyo," Mino puts in.

I just smile as we walk up to the stage. "I guess I have. But you know what? It feels, somehow, like I've finally woken up after a long dream." The sisters smile at me as we take a place at the base of the stage, preparations for the next act having finished.

The next act turns out to be Hina.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5miiaEtPbQ)

She struts out, complete with Makaian back-up singers, and begins to sing, and dance, and spin. She laughs, smiles, and performs with all of her heart for the audience. And the audience loves her. She sings, they sing back. She dances with them, laughs with them, spins with them, smiles with them. And I realize that Hina has finally achieved that thing she secretly desired for so long: to be loved by people.

And this is the woman who loves me.

Yeah. Not bad. Not bad at all, Aya.

I smile as the party stretches on into the night, flanked by the goddesses I follow, watching the goddess I love and adore finally get the respect she deserves. And I realize, at long last, that I did it.

Yeah. It feels good to be me.


-----------------------------------------------


Approximately one week after the trade show, a lone, winged figure, newly-retired, lugged his finished work out into the middle of a field in the hazy hours before morning. Farmers looked upon it with wonder; a stone monument, more like a memorial, intricately carved with an incredibly lifelike representation of an ancient human village, destroyed by the heartlessness of war. Upon the monument were inscribed the names of all who had died that day, and in the middle of the carving of the village was the joyous sight of two young lovers getting married. All who saw it agreed that the memorial was one of the most beautiful, most touching sights they had ever seen, and a firm reminder of the deep tragedies inflicted by war.

Nobody knows the name of the one who carved it. Everyone knows the names of the villagers.

------------------------------------------------


TENGU OF (MIS)FORTUNE


THE END

Thank you and congratulations on reaching the end of another awesome story Keymaster. I'm really glad to have had the chance to enjoy your stories.

I just finished reading the last update and I have to say I really enjoyed it. Keymaster you truly have a gift for writing. I look forward to seeing what you come up with next.

Magnificent. And to think, people were awestruck when Being Meiling closed after ten threads, yet you made it all the way to twenty. TWENTY! Congratulations, and Shinki bless you.

Thank you for making it this long with us Keymaster.
It was a good end for the story and a happy one. Now I kind of wish to see what else happenes around Gensokyo now that you created your own world there.

All good things must end.

Bloody well done, Keymaster! I'll look forward to your next work, should you make one.
Although you probably deserve a bit of a vacation before then. I honestly don't know how you find the time to write so much so often for so little.

Hey, thanks guys! Glad to know a few people liked this thing. As for another story... eh, maybe. Not anytime soon, though. Need to rest my brain, y'know what I mean.

But anyway, if anyone has any questions about the story or whatever... shoot!

>>28796
Well a reunion short wouldn't hurt but if anyone needs a break it'd be you.

I do have one question: Did you have a clear plan or did you have various things come up as a time buying measure?

So that's the way things turned out.

>>28797

You mean for the trade show? Basically, the plan was that over time, word would trickle back and lead to the confrontation in the village, like you saw. Now, I could have just jumped straight to that scene, but that seemed too abrupt. Plus, I just wanted to play around in the trade show for a bit before ending the story.

>>28796
Was Aya falling in love with Hina planned from the beginning or did you just add that as you went along? Who else could have been a possible love interest for her, besides Yamame?

Really good ending with the statue there. And the 'Being meiling' callback. Good work.

Let us know when your next story is, Keymaster. You've done three different stories with drastically different styles between them, and all three have been EXCELLENT.

Keymaster, once again you have proven yourself to be one of the best writers this site has ever seen.

This story, like all your others, was a masterpiece.
Rather, it would probably be more correct to say that they are all together a single, amazing work of art.

I can truly say that for the entire run, reading the day's update has been the best part of my evenings.

If you have any plans of writing a fourth story, I'm certainly looking forward to it. At this point, I'm quite certain that no matter what you write, I'll enjoy it thoroughly.

>>28799

I hadn't really "planned" out any romances for Aya, not even with Hina. The way I figured it, I would just let the story proceed, and if it felt like Anon was clicking with someone, I'd take things down that path. As it happened, things really seemed to click with Hina after all, so that's how things went for Aya.

Great story all around. There were one or two things that didn't sit right with me, but overall the quality of this story was as excellent as ever. Good work!

It seemed weird to have Aya dig out her sword and then never use it. Did you have some idea of when she would need it when you first introduced it?

>>28811

The sword was always a potential "what-if." If things came to blows with somebody, then having the sword nearby would be pretty damned helpful. But it would also make some people more paranoid of her, like the elders. In the end, though, it was a moot point, and taking up the sword at least let Aya put part of her past to rest.

Great job Keymaster. A wonderful series of ups, downs, hilarity and feels within this story that you have managed to craft.

Considering you've managed to keep a near flawless update schedule for almost nine months, I'm doubt anyone will complain at you taking a most definitely earned break, but we will all most certainly be waiting with anticipation for whatever you may decided to do next.

>>28814

>Nine months

...Did I just give birth?

You are truly without equal on this website, Keymaster. I can honestly say I take no small amount of inspiration from how committed you are to your readers.

I noticed that there were a lot of write in only votes compared to your previous stories. Any particular reason for this?

Also, how did our write ins affect the story as a whole? Did they force you to significantly change your plans for this story at any point?

>>28817

No particular reason, it just seemed appropriate whenever it came up. Also, maybe it just seems like there were more? I mean, this story was twice the length of Being Meiling, at least.

And yeah, some of the write-ins really forced me to adjust my plans. Like that suggestion about allying with the Aki sisters? Never even occurred to me when I was planning things. So I had to do some behind-the-scenes plotting there.

Still, I have to say that I like those write-in only choices from time to time. They're a chance for Anon to get creative, and get more involved in the story. That's how I feel, anyway.

>>28814
If there's a sequel, I'm voting for a focus either on the Three Fairies of Light or Flandre's new battleship girl.

In the former case, a lot of the plot would probably focus on how they adjust to the new changes in Gensokyo. Their old rival Cirno has grown a lot. Plus, since Reimu recruited them as shrine workers at the end of the manga, it would be interesting to see how they're adjusting to Reimu's marriage to Remilia and the new in-laws/workers. With plenty of pranks mixed in, of course.

The battleship girl would also be interesting and allow for an outsider perspective as the confused girl tries to come to grips with Gensokyo. Both stories would also help tie things back to the original story given the links to Reimu and the SDM.

However, anything you write is good, Keymaster, and I enjoy your surprises. Plus, I agree that you deserve a long vacation after all your hard work. Anyway, great job with this story! I have come to love your Gensokyo.

A question: How do you resist the commom temptations that may lead a writer astray from their update schedule (vidya, life)?

>>28819
Eh not sure if I want to see more Kancolle in a touhou fic. It's stolen enough attention as it is.

Honestly, the destroyer girl (it was Shimakaze, FYI) was just a one-off gag. And I actually don't know enough about Kantai collection to integrate it successfully. Besides, Gensokyo is landlocked, so barring some serious AU... yeah, I think I'm gonna leave it to someone else.

>>28820

I actually find it to be a stress-reliever. It's a good way to wind down after a long day. And it's part of why I prefer shorter updates: I can write just a little bit each day, which build up over time without burning me out.

Good point. I still think that the Three Fairies of Light would be fun.

>>28824
You must have some ideas on what to write next. Even if you said that your brain needs a rest it might be hard to actually stop writing after, not sure how long, but 2 years?

If you come up with some ideas why not ask all your readers what they think of them? Or maybe put it to a vote. I would be very curious of what kind of scenarios you have in mind.

I get the impression that Anon's sheer hatred of Meiling caught you completely by surprise. What was your take on this whole situation? Did our feelings towards Meiling affect the story at all?

>>28829
Was it really sheer hatred? At first, maybe, but after the story moved on and Aya started changing, it seemed to me that it fizzled down to a strong disagreement with her methods, and maybe a little bit of distrust. Unless this is just projection bias, of course.

>>28830
I think it was just some people holding on to a grudge for too long.

And please sage, there's other stories being buried by this.

>>28830

As far as I remember Meiling came up in the story 4 times and this is what I thought those at those times.

At Hinas shrine: A bit annoyed but I guess it was justified.
At the bar: I pretty much wanted them to fight too the death right there and then. Felt pretty close too hatred for Meiling then.
At the mansion during the Formal apology: My hatred had subsided but still wanted to give her A good punch.
At the tradeshow: Not too happy with her but the fact that she came out and said sorry for burning our house makes her redeemable in my eyes

That pretty much sums up my thoughts on Meiling

Yeeeaaahhh... the backlash against Meiling was something I figured would happen, but certainly not to that extent. Anyway, after people tore a strip off of me when I tried to calm things down, I decided to just keep the fuck out of the arguments altogether. Also, I kept any interactions with her fairly limited, so as not to totally derail things. Meiling had her own story, after all.

>>28834
Pretty much how I felt as well. Meiling telling us to get over the fact she burnt our house down because we could just build a new one, the sheer manipulative hypocrisy of the idea that it's somehow our fault for being upset that someone burnt down our only lonely home, and not just some random building nobody cares about, made me more upset than I thought a stupid story about magical lolis could ever manage.

Like I'm supposed to believe that Meiling wouldn't be upset that someone burnt down the house she's dedicated her mind and body to protecting. The only reason she could just get over it and build a new one is cause, assuming no one got hurt, she still has friends and family who love and support her. And I guarantee she'd definitely intend to deal with whoever'd done it. The whole point of Aya's house away from the Tengu was that she didn't have anyone like that and even her closest friends couldn't risk getting to involved with her.

But Meiling didn't know that until just prior to finally making her genuine apology that isn't laced with thinly veiled obligation.

Any interesting bits of trivia you would like to share with us? Stuff you wanted to write about but never got a chance to? Favorite part of this story? How different did the story turn out as compared to your original plan?

>>28835
How hard was it to reconcile present aya than her "Being Meiling/Worse than typical fanon" self?

>>28837

Well... the thing with the Aki sisters took me by total surprise. I had some plans for each of the other faiths, and for Hina deciding to go it alone. Byakuren would have been honest and helpful had Hina allied with her, Kanako would have been controlling, Miko would have been... difficult, due to Aya's presence and her opinions on Youkai. Reimu would have refused outright, due in good part to my reluctance to return to the SDM when I already wrote a story there.

Also: Kanako was originally going to be the villain of the piece, trying to exert control over Hina, and later the Mikami as a whole when Hina allied with the Akis. That last song I posted was held in reserve in case of a showdown with the Moriya Shrine. But then I actually started writing Kanako, and that outcome just didn't make any sense, so I changed my plans.

I will own up to one thing: I fucked up the pacing. There were three major factors I wanted to overcome, and those were Aya confronting her past, the Tengu as a whole confronting theirs, and building Hina into a respected deity in Gensokyo. Originally, I wanted all three goals to go at roughly the same pace, but it didn't quite turn out that way, and people picked up on it. I had a revitalized Aya, a stabilized new faith, and virtually no development on the Tengu front. Oops.

I think my favorite moment was just writing Aya opening up about her past and being comforted over it by her friends.

Also: Kogasa is incredibly sexy, but doesn't always play it up. This is now canon for any stories I may write in the future, so there.

Back when the Mikami had secured an alliance with Yuyuko, you gave us the message:

>KANAKO STATUS: OBJECTIVE SUCCESSFUL!

What was that all about?

Also, did you have any specific scenarios you were hoping to write that Anon never voted for (besides just Hina allying with someone other than the Akis)?

>>28847

That was just me messing with you guys. Sorry if it bothered you. All it meant was that Kanako had successively allied with Akyuu.

I think I pretty much managed to write everything I wanted to for this story. Though I wish I could have done Sekibanki a bit more justice. Still, there's a couple other stories right now that are really doing a good job of that.

>>28848
Talking about this: Is there something else that you read on the site?

>>28849

Lots. I particularly like that TF2 story on /th/.

>>28850
anything in /forest/?

>>28851

Yeah, but let's not turn this into Keymaster's Top Ten list.

But go read that Alice story. It's good.

*small smile*

Best Tenma. Love that statue.

>>28853

Which one? Alice's Life (Sucks) or Grimoire of Alice?

Also, is there a way to keep in touch with you, Keymaster, outside of this board?

>>28839
It felt a bit off ending the story with the resolution of the tengu society thing since it was such a sub-plot, even if we did get cameos from the entire cast at the trade show. Of course, we'll probably see more of Yamame, Sukuna, Akyuu (what happened with that Kanako alliance?) etc. in future stories, so there isn't too much to complain about there.

>>28855

>outside of this board.

I'm not sayin that's creepy or anything...but...

I dug through the story again, and it seems it never came up again (or I missed it). We never heard or saw anything else about Ichiro's one night stand. Would you mind cluing us in on who the woman was?

>>28858
good question.

Also I'm curious if you're planning on writing anything in /eientei/ as it could use some life besides Little Soldier Lost (which updates once a month or so)

>>28858

Her name is Kasumi, a lovely human woman who enjoys hunting and taking long walks through the forest, emphatically not at night. She's also a a total freak in the sack, as Itchy found out, and has some surprising muscle tone, which he also found out. Beyond that, I never meant to develop her any further.

Also, no real plans to write in /eientei/. Aside from Reisen, I was never terribly interested in that crew.

Hoe does one sage their posts?

Great job, Keymaster.

>>28857

How should I have phrased this question? I'm not trying to be a creeper or anything like that.

Funny picture though.

Congratulations, Keymaster. You are officially the best storyteller in this site. For that, I salute you.

And judging from the post where Tenma made his appearance, SuwakoxTenma OTP?

>>28861

You put sage in the email field. Not sure if it's case sensitive or not, so use a lowercase 's' just to be sure. Pic related.

Since I'm explaining this anyway, I might as well copy and paste this to head off any more questions about the basics:


Look at the top right of the site. You should see a link labeled "Home". Click on it and you'll be at the sites front page. There are four tabs to switch between. Read both FAQ and Rules.

Once you've done that, go to this thread >>/gensokyo/6052

Please read it entirely, including the seemingly irrelevant comments below. There are some important facts mentioned among the clutter that aren't really mentioned elsewhere.

Finally, this is the news and general information thread >>/gensokyo/1351

This one isn't as important as the others, but please read it if you can spare the time.

Once you've read all that, you should pretty much know everything you need to know. If you still have any questions, feel free to come back and ask us.

Welcome to THP. I hope you enjoy your stay.



Also, there's a recommendation thread over in >>/gensokyo/12083 if you're looking for something to read now that this story is finished. You can find previous recommendation threads by browing through /gensokyo/.

>>28865
one can simply look down the page of each board as there's more to them than just the top story.

>This is now canon for any stories I may write in the future, so there.

Keymaster. You just sent me to heaven.
I can't wait for your next work!

Oh, this is finished now? Guess I'll post my criticisms.
I enjoyed this story immensely... until the consummation of Aya and Hina's relationship. That was very rushed and handled incredibly poorly.
Additionally, after that, it feels like everything took a backseat to the pre-tradeshow filler. In all honesty, Aya's romance with Hina and Aya dealing with the Tengu's societal problems should have been completely separate stories.
Finally, you made assumptions of your readers wishes (the whole 'I thought you guys didn't care about Yamame any more' thing) and when the problem was revealed, simply said 'oh well' and carried on with the plot.

tl;dr: You were too flexible on some things and too stubborn on others. Stick to one theme and tone for a story, don't overcomplicate things.

At several points during this story, Anon was given the opportunity to have Aya restart her newspaper. Anon never went for it, but what would have happened if we had?

Also, what were some of your favorite write-ins during this story?

>>28872

Had Anon voted to restart the paper, there would have been a sub-plot with Aya getting things started again, and negotiating with Hatate, which could have ended with Hatate as an employee, or a friendly rival. Alas, things never came to that.

And honestly, I loved the write-ins that came in when the Mikami was being brainstormed as a new faith.

Also, the potato write-in. Oh man, the potato write-in.

What would've happened if we chose to ally ourselves with the Hakurei/Moriya/Buddhists/Taoists?

>>28880

Think I mentioned this earlier, but to clarify, Reimu would have rejected such a proposal outright (due to me not wanting to return to the SDM after already having done a story there). Byakuren would have played straight and honest, the Moriyas would have been nice, but Kanako would have expected to be in charge, and the Taoists... would have been very complicated, due to their general dislike of youkai.

Speaking of the potato write-in,did Reimu ever find out about her role in its creation,and if so how did she react?

>>28892

She did. As for her reaction... well, it was something horribly embarrassing that resulted from what was basically a drunken bender. How would you react?

Are you planning on writing anything else?

>>28896

Maybe after a while. Right now I got no ideas. But then, that was a pretty long story, know what I mean?

>>28898

Is your keyboard begging you for a break at this point?

>>28898
There's plenty of /at/ waiting to be written. The one you did was excellent.

>>28901
No it wasn't. On its own it was passable at best, but as part of this story it was rushed and tonally mismatched.
Writing it that soon was a mistake, involving Yamame was a mistake, and using a reader vote to determine whether it should be canon or not was a mistake.

>>28899

More like my fingers. But hey, I got a lot of typing experience!

>>28901

Thanks, although I remain a bit skeptical as to its quality. Really, I find lewds to be kinda hard to write. If I were to write something in /at/, it'd have to be something inherently silly, like... I dunno, Kogasa going around and 'surprising' people, or Satori telepathically eavesdropping on everyone's secret fantasies. Not sure if I'm up to it, you know?

>>28901
eh it wasn't bad but well /at/ has high standards, even for vanilla. Winemaker is king of vanilla (that and it has some nice scenes with Hina and Yamame separately)

>>28906
Well, you know what they say about the quickest way to Carnegie Hall...

>Also: Kogasa is incredibly sexy, but doesn't always play it up. This is now canon for any stories I may write in the future, so there.

>>28918
Look up danbo's kogasa, cute but soft in all the right ways.

And hey, if you can't think of anything, don't force yourself. I don't want you to just fall off the face of the Earth like the author of Mind the Gap did. (I don't even want an update from that guy, just some acknowledgement that he's not dead IRL)

>>28924
He's not dead though, look in #touhouporn, he still is the guy that runs the place even if he's afk most of the time.

>>28925

Er, if you don't mind my asking, how? I'm not too familiar with IRCs and stuff like that...

>>28926
Google how to use IRC or something. Takes like 4 mins tops to figure this out. Or there should be an IRC guide on the board or something.

>>28927
In between the time I posted that question and the time you responded, I managed to figure it out, but thank you.

Well, I wish I could at least send the guy an e-mail to tell him how much I loved his work.

Goddammit, this was a good story. I'm only sad that I started reading this just as it was finishing.

By the way, I vaguely remember something about Nitori having a crush on Hina, way back in the beginning. How would that have gone?

Goddammit, this was a great story. I'm only sad that I started reading this just as it was finishing.

By the way, I vaguely remember something about Nitori having a crush on Hina, way back in the beginning. How would that have gone?

Goddammit, this was a great story. I'm only sad that I started reading this just as it was finishing.

By the way, I vaguely remember something about Nitori having a crush on Hina, way back in the beginning. How would that have gone?

>>28951

It was possible, but I hadn't fully fleshed it out in my mind. There would've been more Nitori, though, easily.

>>28874
Fuck. I really wanted to see Aya restart Bunbunmaru (to sort of "resurrect" herself, much like she did with her sword), even moreso now that you say there was a chance Hatate could've joined. I really wanted to see Aya and Hatate's relationship flesh out more.

I don't suppose there's a chance for a one-shot like that in the future?

and then Keymaster was never heard from again!

It sure has been long, tv tropes brought me to this author and I sure as hell am thankful for it.