[IC] TotMV:G^2: Touhou: Twilight of Paradise Butterfly

[Chevaleresse]

Rory feels a bit nauseated at the rapid changes, and is fairly certain there was at least one stop on a state that was not strictly male or female, but the feeling subsides as the coin bounces away. Apparently, it had to be flipped with at least some intention. 

 

"You may call me Yakumo Yukari." She shifted her attention away, back to the curious mage. "You really would like to know, wouldn't you?" She smiled coyly for a moment. "Some. . . acquaintances from another world left them. Thank you for cleaning them up; I might have broken a nail dealing with them myself." Yuyuko looked entirely too amused by Yukari's answer, though there was an undercurrent of something else that was hard to identify. 

 

At this moment, Youmu appeared from the kitchen, balancing a sizable tray containing a teapot and already-full teacups. The load didn't seem to bother the small swordswoman as she passed them out to the group expertly. Sampling it would reveal it was of a quite high quality in traditional Japanese style. It was difficult to compare across varieties, but it was almost as good as Sakuya's. "The food should be ready soon. And, um, thanks again for helping us out."

 

"Thank you, Youmu. You've done such a great job, you know?" Youmu looked  embarrassed to receive the praise, mumbling what was probably a thank you before retreating back to the kitchen.

 

Getting some tea in her system seemed to have restored a small bit of Reimu's mood. "So who are all of you, anyway? I don't recognize any of you, and I try to keep track of everyone around here.  And what's a Trespasser? Clearly, you mean something or someone specific."

[EryaHistoria]

UB-65 continued to look through her notebook as she sipped the tea that had been brought out. Without looking up from her book, "Trespassers are interdimensional creatures that sole purpose is to destroy everything in the universe the come into. Or at least that's what I have been told so far by the group, since Im newer to this than some of them. They would know more about them. As for introductions, I am UB-65." She glanced quickly to one of the sides of the room, nodded, and then went back to her notebook as quietly as before.

[kj1225]

Rory raises a hand in greeting. "Rory Gilroy... Hey, not that I don't love helping people for free, but I don't suppose we'll be getting rewarded for the work? Typically I'd just make my own but uh... I try not to do that with people. Bit gross." They shrug a little, like they were talking about cleaning a toilet rather than breaking a person down for materials.

[ElfCollaborator]

"Empi Powderbelle, matchmaker for hire. Well, not really for hire. I'm guessing you're the local fixer."

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Walmond

 

"I see. Thank you" Walmond replied, both to Youmu and Yukari as he took a sip of the newly made tea. He figured that Yukari, being as carefree and mysterious as she liked to act, wouldn't give anymore details than that, but at least they knew that she knew the person that left them. For now, his attention was turned back to Reimu, finally seeming to get her head straight once again thanks to the tea provided by Youmu, "My name of Walmond Reigard, simple scientist and inventor. My companion here is Lambda, an automaton I created to assist me in field research" he greeted, gesturing a free hand to the robotic maid behind him, who simply gave Reimu a polite bow as her own greeting.

[AzyWng]

IP looked around for a moment, before asking, "I noticed during my fight with Reimu that my weapons appear to have been modified in some fashion. What exactly is the nature of the modification, and why was it made? Is it somehow related to 'danmaku'?"

[Chevaleresse]

"Oh, a U-boat? What an interesting development. I suppose, if it would be any one. . ." Her musings were cut short by Rory's question. "Ah, silly me, I nearly forgot." A small gap in space opened up directly in front of the hunter, and out spilled six slips of paper. 

 

Miko Ticket x3 obtained!

A ticket bearing a picture of an annoyed-looking shrine maiden. Bring it to the Smithy and something interesting might happen.

Cherry Blossom Ticket x3 obtained!

A ticket that reminds you of spring. Bring it to the Smithy to craft unique gear.

 

Reimu tilted her head at Empi's question. "I don't know if it's exactly what you mean, yes, but it's usually my job to deal with problems that arise in Gensokyo. I exterminate youkai that are becoming too much of a threat." The lack of reaction from the multiple youkai in the room might have indicated that "exterminate" didn't mean what it usually meant.

 

"I made some modifications to your abilities so they would fit within the spell card rules. Outsiders such as yourselves would have little practice with danmaku, so I gave you a helping hand. Rest assured that you won't need to worry about them functioning oddly anywhere else."

 

"Ah, you really are from Outside, aren't you? Danmaku is the art of bullets. It's a way to resolve problems that relies less on the power of the combatants and more on their skill and grace."

 

"It also allows beings such as myself or your tengu friend to attack humans without killing them. It would be quite problematic if we had to stop."

[AzyWng]

IP nodded at the explanation, then flinched as she realized something. “Miss Konpaku... when we first met, when she said that she would ‘cut it out of us’ if we didn’t say how to help you...” IP turned to Yuyuko, the gynoid's mouth twisted into a painful smile. "It seems I have... several failings in judgement I need to atone for..."

[kj1225]

Rory looks over the tickets approvingly before nodding to themself and sliding them into a pouch on their chest. For their part they looked slightly worried about the casual mention of extermination, followed by looking even more so at the mention of attacking humans. Sure, they payed up so it was a bit late for Rory to have moral qualms about this, but that didn't sound good...

[ElfCollaborator]

"Sorry, had to ask. There's this chick I know back home, name of Reimu. Does the same kinda thing. Well, with less shooting. Generally back where I'm from, us supernaturals don't solve things by blasting everything with magic; makes our insurance premiums shoot up through the roof and there's at least fifteen different laws against it."
Fairy court was also the last place Empi wanted to get into. The last time she'd been there was as a young and "naive" girl at Ishtar University for drunk and disorderly conduct and she'd ended up polymorphed into a pony working some farmer's land for three days as punishment. She shuddered to think what kind of punishment they gave you if you did something actually wrong.

[Powder Miner]

Isobel turned towards Reimu. "I'm Isobel Low, for the record -- I'm a botanist by trade, but to provide an answer that's a little bit more helpful... we're a world-crossing group of various... soldiers, adventurers, uh, I guess I'll say heroes, and other people who can fight and help other people fight. We're basically a small piece of a very, very large war, but it's a barely coordinated kind of thing -- there are these creatures called Trespassers that are trying to devour worlds, and this is one of the ones that they've been trying to. It looks like they establish a relatively small presence at first where they... corrupt some items or people, and then spread that from there until they've taken the place over. We've only seen and dealt with these starting points, so the spread is a bit of conjecture, but I think it makes sense. We've dealt with the incursion here, though I don't think there's any guarantee that it won't ever come back, so keep on your guard for similar incidents."

 

LOTUS, now in tablet form, also spoke to the miko, now in a masculine and electronic voice. "I am the Logistical, Operational, and Tactical Uplink System -- an intelligent being created by humankind, although I took fairy form in this place temporarily thanks to actions of Yukari there." The green dots that represented eyes on his screen shifted to signal that he was focusing on Yukari now. "I suspect you were being intentionally vague about this, but I am going to ask for more details: were these items actually carried over by people from other worlds that were corrupted by the Trespassers? Did they directly deposit the items into the box from outside of this dimension? Did they directly corrupt an item or somebody here and then create and spread the others from there? It sounds most look you mean the first of these possibilities, but it's important to be clear about this because it tells us a great deal about just what the Trespassers' capabilities are on a wide scale. The implications are very far-reaching."

[Chevaleresse]

"She really said that?" Yuyuko pursed her lips thoughtfully for a moment. "She might have succeeded. I think whatever you said was reasonable." As if on cue, Youmu reappeared from the kitchen, precariously balancing a number of plates filled with a variety of traditional foods (and a disproportionate number of sweets) in her arms. It appeared that the samurai girl was using her ghostly half as a serving tray. 

 

"I wasn't sure what our guests would like, so I made a variety." The foods seemed to be remarkably well-selected; each guest ended up with something fairly close to their tastes, as long as there was a Japanese dish that approached them. Once the food was distributed, she took her own seat at the table, eating a relatively plain meal of fried rice.

 

"I see. Does she have a pile of freeloaders at her house, too?" Reimu grumped, before digging into the rolls of sushi before her. "At least nobody destroyed the shrine this time."

 

A slight smile appeared on Yukari's face as Reimu spoke; unusually enough, it did not seem to be a coy or conspiratorial one. Her good cheer faded back into the typical mysterious mask as she returned her attention to LOTUS. "They indeed came from another world. I only caught a brief glimpse, but I don't believe that the ones who delivered them here were from the same world as the items themselves." The more dangerous smile returned. "Now, what price shall I extract from you for giving this information so straightforwardly. . . ?" She shifted position, lounging further back. "I'm sure I can think of something."

 

 

 

[AzyWng]

"I have not explained myself entirely. In response to Youmu's words, I... threatened to use lethal force." IP let the words hang in the air as Youmu arrived.

 

"Ah. Miss Konpaku. I have an apology to make for the way I behaved when we first met. I drew my weapon and threatened to use lethal force, if you recall. I did so because I believed you were preparing to do the same... and it seems that my threat was in fact an unwarranted escalation of the situation." IP bowed her head nearly to the point of touching the table. "If there is anything I can do to show my good will and atone for my... reactionary attitude, please let me know."

[Lucky Lulu]

"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 free hand to pick up a pair of chopsticks and snag a dumpling from the plate set before Walmond.  This she waved accusingly at Yukari.  "You can flirt with the humans and whatnot later.  For now, we need to discuss the commission you owe me.  And whatever you want to give to the associates you've foisted upon me, I guess--I'm well aware you already have something in mind for them."

"But I-" Masako popped the gyōza into her mouth, quickly devouring the thing "-am the finest detective in Gensokyo.  Quality like that doesn't come free!  And I have yet to name my fee."

Somehow, it sounded like she had a very particular price in mind.

[Chevaleresse]

Yukari raised an eyebrow, apparently otherwise unfazed by Masako's antics. It seemed that the strike hadn't even deformed the cloth of her hat. "Oh? That's quite bold of you." The woman abruptly sunk into empty space and disappeared. "You know, you should be careful making demands of a youkai like myself." Her voice now came from the ceiling; she was in the exact same position, but upside down, without so much as disturbing her clothing. "I don't recall ever entering a contract with you, either. But, you have saved me some effort. . . name your price, and perhaps I'll humor you."

 

[Lucky Lulu]

"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 resolution, it only makes sense that I demand a rich reward."

The tengu leaned back upon her cushion, stabilizing herself with her wings as she examined the floating Yukari.  It almost seemed that a tension settled on the room as the two watched each other in relative silence.  A tension whose pressure only deepened as the silence extended for what seemed like an eternity.  Until it seemed as if, at the slightest sound, the room might erupt into a danmaku brawl that made the recent fight against Reimu look like nothing more than a child's play at the same.  Until, at last, Masako spoke.

"You and Hakurei will see to the construction of a small, roadside shrine.  It will be built to my exact specifications.  And, lastly..."

The eyes of the two youkai met.  Anyone who looked at them would be sure to see the flash of cunning behind either, built over years, decades, and centuries, buried beneath a fundamentally alien mind and engaged in a constant struggle for the slimmest of advantage.

 

Not that Masako was particularly interested in any of that.  She doubted Yukari particularly cared, either.  But there were humans here, and they were youkai.  It was important to put on a show.

 

Especially given the sheer shock her exact request was liable to elicit.

"You'll see to it that the shrine is dedicated to the name of the goddess Saigai Mitsurugi. Are we understood?"

[Chevaleresse]

"Saigai Mitsurugi. . ." Yukari concealed it well, but there was a definite hint of a question in there. She rotated in midair until she could drop into a standing position, facing Masako directly. "You know that playing this game is not safe." The youkai's voice took a far more serious-sounding turn. "Even I cannot say what might happen if one introduced a foreign god to a world. The boundaries between existences can be fickle and far less distinct than one would assume at first glance. Are you prepared to accept the responsibility of such a choice? Damage can be repaired. . . but it always comes at a cost, and you would be the one to pay first."  

[ElfCollaborator]

"The kinda jokers our Reimu's gotta deal with back home, you'd trade for your freeloaders. Also....what do you mean 'price'? You mean you can't just stick a shrine to my girl Mitsu here around? What, some local god gonna get upset if Mitsu here barges in on her turf? "Cause if that's the case, we can work something out, surely."
While this wasn't Empi's deal, she was personally invested in Mitsu's case. After all, she'd taken it upon herself to lend what help she could to the homeless, stray goddess. Even if it was quite literally above her paygrade.

[Lucky Lulu]

"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."

 

"Still...  She's not so foreign as it might seem."

There was something oddly solemn in her tone, now.  And it seemed, when she looked at Yukari now, that Masako was at last prepared to drop the pretense.  For a moment, at least.  "I put the pieces together easily enough; you're an expert in this stuff, so I imagine you can, as well.  And situations like this are what Gensokyo is for, much as we might pretend otherwise.  Circumstances being what they are, I'm willing to take the risk and accept whatever further payments are necessary, should the cause arise."

"Besides," and in a moment, Masako was back to her usual self, this time stealing a roll of sushi and a bit of ginger from Reimu's plate, "I'm sure I can find some clever way to make use of an indebted goddess somehow.  Especially if, as seems likely, I choose to pursue further cases like this one."

[EryaHistoria]

UB-65 glanced around at those in their debate over payment, price, and otherworldly deities and ate her snack silently. She took the small leather bound notebook and a small pencil from her pocket and begin to sketch the scene before her and take notes on each of the new people in the room. 

 

Maybe these will come in handy later for identifying specific people of interest if we ever have to come back this way.

[Chevaleresse]

"There is always room in Gensokyo for more gods, even if most are more of a headache than they're worth." Yukari let a flash of exhaustion through her numerous masks, though she went back to her mysterious persona just as quickly. "You should know as well as I do that things from outside the world itself are another matter entirely. Those sorts of problems require more than simple debate or payments of coin to resolve. But, with your acceptance. . . I believe it can be arranged." Another gap appeared behind Yukari as she fell backwards into it, dropping into her original lounging position as if no discussion happened at all. When Masako looked down at her plate, she would find that a fair portion had ended up in various places, including the dishes of Youmu (who seemed bemused,) Yuyuko (who seemed amused,) and Reimu herself (who appeared to be quite done with the shenanigans surrounding her serving.) 

 

"Once you've all finished your meal and thanked our lovely host, I do have some gifts for the rest of you. It was a fine show, after all; sometimes amateurish gracelessness is more intriguing to watch than a duel of masters."

 

Youmu shrugged at IP. "I understand. I was really worried at the time and I shouldn't have been that aggressive." The swordswoman looked thoughtful for a moment. "There's not really that much to apologize for, but I suppose if you really wanted to, you could help out in the garden sometime. You would think there wouldn't be that many weeds in the Netherworld, but. . ."

[AzyWng]

IP raised her head and nodded at Youmu's offer. "Very well. I'm afraid my current priorities mean I cannot immediately assist you, and I have no knowledge or experience in gardening besides... but once I become available, I will return here to assist in any way I can."

[kj1225]

Rory looks up from the furious eating they had engaged in upon seeing the tengu stealing food. It wasn't within manners, but the hunter knew better than to leave you food undefended around people that couldn't be trusted, friends or no. Rory shoves the last few pieces into their mouth and quickly chews and swallows, before turning to the ghost and... whatever the hell else these people were and nodding in thanks. "Uh, yeah. Thanks for the food. And uh, sorry about doing that stuff while you were brainwashed."

[Powder Miner]

Isobel let out an airy, dramatic sigh at some of Yukari's words. "Come now, surely at least some of it was amateurish gracefulness, no? Some of us are quite agile." There was a pause as Isobel recalled more or less getting the shit beaten out of her by Marisa, and her faux-smug expression faded a little. And then she recalled the plan that ended with LOTUS getting eaten, and involving her getting into a lot of arguments with fucking Rory. Her expression faded a little more. And then she recalled the chaotic hellhole of a fight that the battle with Reimu had become, involving slapping people and everybody getting hit by a fair amount of stuff. Her expression, by now, had morphed into something of a non-plussed stare into the distance. "...you know what, nevermind." She ate the last bites of her meal a little sullenly.

 

However, one other piece of conversation seemed to perk her right back up, and she turned to Youmu. "Actually... do you mind if I stop by this garden sometime? I'm a professional botanist by trade, and have done quite a bit of very advanced work with gardening and plants, so I could certainly help. And this garden is very beautiful as well as quite possibly magic (if hopefully not in the way of those saplings)... I would have to kick myself for quite a long time if I allowed myself to pass up a potential opportunity like this! I may be willing to share a couple of very pretty seed types I worked on recently, too, if you decide that they would not disrupt the garden. They're poppies that grow in a variety of bright colors, and both heal and help withstand various sorts of things as well, so they're also useful."

 

Having received the information that he'd desired --and with Masako rather handily redirecting Yukari's attention for that matter-- LOTUS seemed to be largely satisfied, so he remained silent as something of a contrast to Isobel's excited babble.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Walmond

 

For a while, Walmond fell silent, eating his food in contemplation, even when Masako stole a dumpling from his plate. It was only when he was finished with his meal that he seemed to come to a decision, cleaning himself up before focusing in on the conversations happening once more, "I have to commend you, Miss Youmu. Though I'm not familiar with most of the food, this meal was one of the best I've had in quite some time" Walmond complimented, ignoring the quick flash of hurt passing through Lambda's expression as he turned to Yuyuko, "and I should thank you as well, Miss Yuyuko. Despite the chaotic situation we have found ourselves in, your company has certainty been pleasant."

 

With his thanks out of the way, Walmond gave a bow to the two hosts, now shifting his gaze to Yukari, "Miss Yukari, though this does not need to be handled immediately, there is something I'd like to ask you later on. More of a small favor than anything, really."