Lucky Lulu

Admittedly, the odd looks were not unmerited. Humans weren't exactly common guests on the youkai mountain, outside the Moriya Shrine--they certainly weren't regular sights in the lands where the tengu made their home. Even for someone as famously eccentric as Masako, bringing them here was rather strange. Not that Masako seemed overly worried about it, if she cared about the staring at all. She seemed content just to wave at a few familiar faces as the unusual group walked or flew on by, while she lead them to... Well, who knew where? It was probably becoming increa

"Oh. You shouldn't. I assume, anyway. It's mostly only the defense force that picks fights, after all, and they're not who we're here to meet. Speaking of, as for you-" Masako flew up to the guard without any concern for the others watching the group. Landing before the weary-looking wolf, she gave him a Look that would send fear through the heart of any sane tengu. Or even most insane people, human or youkai, provided they had interacted with Masako before. "They are my guests. I should think that more than merits ignoring the order, shouldn't you? Certainly it's more than enough rea

"It's a mystery," Masako said, mysteriously. Despite refusing to explain anything, she at least seemed rather pleased by Sanae's reaction as the miko took the poster. "I'm sure it won't go too terribly. Or, if it does, I won't be the one blamed for it." "Anyway-" Masako stretched her wings a bit, glancing further up and off the mountain path. "Inubashiri appears to be gone, so yes, we'll head back home. Do be sure to pick up the pace some; she seemed a bit serious about me stopping in to report, this time. More than usual, at least. And I do still need to drag Yayachan into meeting you

Ignoring the (admittedly entirely true) comment from Momiji, in complete and uncharacteristic silence, Masako reached one hand into her jacket. From this she extracted a large, rolled up bundle of some sort of paper, unknown within Gensokyo proper. The world seemed to hush as she gripped it in both hands, carefully unfurling it for the miko to view it and the image so elegantly crafted within. An image depicting a man wearing green power armor with a yellow-gold visor, backlit by an alien sunrise. "Here," said Masako, handing it over. "You like this sort of stuff, ri

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh..." Masako continued making a vague, noncommital sound for some time, before finally relenting. She instead watched the newcomer spar with her fellow tengu. It WAS fairly unusual to see someone other than Konpaku using two swords at once. Particularly, specifically, something of the Niten Ichi-Ryu school according to the original interpretation. "I suppose we should, before they pick a fight with someone who will actually hurt them. It isn't terribly important, but if someone wants to drop more people near me to help solve my cases, I gue

Masako gave Momiji a Look. Then, with the Look still fixed on the white wolf tengu, she reached into her coat and pulled out the notebook in which she, indeed, wrote down everything. This she waved around vaguely. ...To be fair, it was a pretty silly question. Of *course* she took notes on them. She always did. Whether she'd share them without getting repeatedly bothered about it was an entirely different question, and to which the answer was generally "no, but bothering does work, so whatever." Tucking the notebook away, Masako gave Osada a glance, then shrugged a

"Who, the gap hag?" Masako ignored the glare she received from Momiji, apparently unconcerned about Yukari taking offense. And unconcerned about being called a weirdo, for that matter, though perhaps even Masako realized that was a debate she couldn't win. "No, no, I don't believe it has anything to do with whatever film noir is. It's not as though she's omniscient, particularly when it comes to Incidents, so there are plenty of reasons for someone like her to retain a detective. And it isn't as though she could resort to her usual contacts, given they were all driven mad with bloodlust.

"Hai, Inubashiri, it's me. I ran into a bit of an issue with the gap witch." She said so as if she expected anyone listening to just accept it, as if it explained everything without elaboration. Which, for most residents of Gensokyo, it probably would. At the very least, Masako found no particular reason to explain herself before she had the chance to land and dust off the last of the residual brimstone dust still clinging to her clothes. "Honestly, she never ceases to be difficult." Masako folded her wings behind her, straightening up a little as she spoke to her fellow tengu

Masako chose to ignore the obvious hesitation in Isobel's tone, just giving the two of them a prim nod. "Well, do try to keep up, then. If you're going to walk, there will be a lot of climbing on the way--the Moriya shrine is up near the top, after all." That saying, she turned back around and started flying off for the youkai mountain.

"Hm?" There was another series of wingbeats, as Masako--who was just about to take off on whatever nonsense she had in mind--reversed course. The was now hovering about a meter above Empi and Isobel, leaning over slightly to peer at the pair with an idle curiosity. As the moment began to stretch on, it seemed from the look in her eyes and the way she rested her cheek upon her hand that she were considering something. Or, perhaps, debating something. Until, at last, she shrugged. "Well, I daresay you're correct, Miss Powderbelle; you can certainly trust in my sanity

"This is..." Masako yoinked the paper from IP's hand, quickly scanning the contents. Beyond it being written in English (for some reason), and the location, there didn't seem to be anything all that unusual about it. Assuming that Yukari actually owned this land and was able to give it away (Masako highly doubted it, but that was a separate question from whether there was even anyone down here who would really be actively opposed to their presence and trying to kick them out), then everything appeared to be in order. "Incredibly dull." The tengu sighed, folding up th

Masako gave a glance at the still-sullen Reimu, then shrugged, popping a few more bits of food into her mouth before finally laying down her chopsticks. "These were rather good, Konpaku-san. I'm sure I'll stop by again on some piece of business or another. But, for now..." The tengu rose, hopping over next to Yukari to peer into the eldritch mass of the beyond. She wasn't entirely sure, but she was pretty sure one of the eyes winked at her. Definitely not sure how she felt about that, or what it was implying either way. Not that it mattered. "Well, I suppose I'm curious enou

"Well, I'll be getting an earful either way." Masako's response was flippant, albeit true. The relationship between certain gods and the tengu was complicated, to say the least, and introducing a new one was sure to ruffle some feathers. The higher ups in the tengu hierarchy were sure to be a bit displeased until she could explain herself properly. And even by youkai standards, Masako was rarely inclined to explain herself on the first go. "So I hardly see what further payment I could make. Working through that will be a higher cost than you could ever hope to extract." "Stil

"Oh, don't you start." Apparently, the legendary youkai of boundaries didn't intimidate the tengu in the slightest. At the very least, it seemed that Masako was about as fazed by Yukari's response as the gap hag was to her own assault, taking the time to rob Walmond of yet another piece of gyōza. "The agreement was implicit on your end from the moment you dragged me into this case--no, from the moment you dragged me into this mess more broadly, as you know perfectly well. If you thought you could wiggle out of that, you'd be sorely mistaken. And given the facts of the case and its resoluti

"No, no," said Masako. "This is hardly the time to be talking of such things." She started reaching across the table, only to have Yukari lean back. So she reached further, and further, until she was basically lying on it. All for the simple goal of giving the other youkai a firm bap atop the head with her kiseru. Say what you will about Masako, but she was NOT about to tolerate shenanigans. Those that weren't hers, anyway. The tengu plopped back atop her cushion, resting the empty pipe against her cheek while glaring at the youkai. While, naturally, using her

"No, you don't. And no, it isn't." Masako poked Reimu right in the cheek with her pipe, as if to emphasize her point. "This is my case, after all, and I didn't beat you senseless so you could steal it out from under my nose." She stopped prodding the miko, examining her for a moment, before adding, almost (oddly) kindly. "Besides which, you need the rest. You're hardly in a condition to help, as of yet, and even the gap hag was worried about you. So it's best you just relax and have something to eat with the rest of us before we decide how to proceed."

"I'm not sure why you would expect it to go differently, when you're going around putting on possessed masks, of all things." Masako caught her hat as it finally floated back to ground level, resting it once more upon her head. "Still, if you aren't going to give me the commission I've rightfully earned--with a well-deserved bonus, I might add, now that I've returned you to your senses--I wouldn't mind hearing exactly what you remember regarding this whole incident."

The shattering of the danmaku, cut through by the cursed bullets, was almost akin to a bomb and of itself. Certainly it was enough to kick up clouds of dust as they raced down the chain of glowing spheres back to Masako, the first few slamming into the ground beneath her as the rest burst into motes, leaving the area where she'd been casually floating nothing more than a vast, rising column of smoke. For a moment, it seemed, that was that; the tengu had proven far less clever than she'd pretended, and been thoroughly stunned and overpowered by the shrine maiden, with her own danmaku backfiri

The Hakurei miko was blessed with many talents. Many were connected to the usual tasks of those in her position; the arts of performing blessings, exterminating youkai, and invoking the native gods of the land, unreliable as both she and they might be. Others were connected to the particulars of her line and their connection to Gensokyo itself, manipulating seals and barriers with ease that even more diligent shrine maidens couldn't hope to match as part of their role in maintaining the Great Hakurei Barrier. But perhaps the most unique and intriguing of her abilities was the ability to flo

"Still you, I'm afraid." Masako backed off as Reimu righted herself, adopting an only-seemingly-lazy pattern of hovering, wings relaxed at her side in a way that would allow her to use their leverage to bolt any way necessary in the event of an attack. "If you're feeling unappreciated, go take it up with someone when we've finished with you. I'm sure the Moriya shrine people or that one so-called hermit or those fairies you always have hanging around would love to help. But for now, you definitely don't get to complain." The tengu glanced to her side. After a moment's examina

"I see." As the danmaku stilled for a moment, and with Hikari bringing her back to her senses, Masako removed the kiseru from her mouth. The thin trail of smoke still rising from the bowl served almost to obscure part of her face as she held it before her as if to inspect it. And, for a moment, it seemed almost as though she'd lost all interest in Reimu. She merely floated, almost still, examining the reflection of the smoke in the metal. As if seeing something there, she gave an almost imperceptible nod. The smoke shifted. Masako closed her eyes. "I

Masako gives herself a shake, glancing at the fairy out of the corner of her eye. While Empi's yelling had managed to snap her back to her full senses, it was pretty clear that, as the fairy quieted down, she was apparently falling under the affects of the Saigyou Ayakashi herself. The detective tilted her head, considering as she shifted just enough to let one of the shadow creatures sail past her as it attempted to leap and bite. Given the way her free hand was poised, it seemed likely she was considering slapping the fairy back to sensibility. But, with a shrug, she seemed to

Masako glanced to her left. Masako glanced to right. "It strikes me," Masako said, raising her kiseru to her lips. "That, barring an intensive debate on the nature of underwater boats from alternative universes and the complex status of shikigami, I am the only youkai here. One can only conclude, then, that you mean to exterminate me." "Terribly rude of you, really. And insane, though given that mask you've managed to strap to your face, perhaps that part can be forgiven." With a few quick movements of her free hand, Masako lit the pipe. The ten

"You see?" Masako said, in her lofty tone, surrounded by an aura of pure smugness. "The soup slips through the strainer, and the noodle is left behind. It really is quite simple, when you think about it. Still, I suppose it's no easier for some to grasp the principles without a solid foundation; I'll have that fixed soon enough." "In any case." Masako finally found what she was looking for, pulling out what appeared to be some sort of old pocketwatch. She glanced at it for but a moment before shrugging and stuffing it away again. "Should just be a few minutes. Let's all ju

"Patience," said Masako, apparently indifferent to the eruption of anger around her. She was FAR more concerned with watching the approach of the ghost. "You'll see in a moment. Whether this works or not, your fairy friend will (probably) be fine. Until then, I will have to ask that you remain calm and pay careful attention."