[X] Tripped him. Before he got up, she would twist and turn her neck around him!

---

This was an opportunity to try something new! Hidden by the tree trunk, Sekibanki grabbed onto the railing with both arms and legs. When her prey was close enough, she leaned back and rapidly extended her neck across the road, sinking her teeth into a house's support beam. This kind of tripwire would stop a horse, a human had no chance!

Or so she thought.

She must've miscalculated the height her neck would be at, because instead of two smaller impacts, she felt one large, delivered with such force that her teeth couldn't hold. Sekibanki found herself flung through the air, screaming incoherently. She saw the canal's railing pass right by her nose. This ball on a chain would've rolled the willow her body was next to up in a rokurokubi giftwrap if not for the sacrifice of a few brave heads flying in its way. That, and a couple of branches.

When the world stopped being upside down and full of leaves, Sekibanki could finally see the result of her work - the man was down on his back, clutching his gut. Seizing the initiative before he could recover, she wrapped his limbs and body tight, preparing to make a slight weakness in the arms for when she would have her fill. Moving her head closer to his face, she bared her fangs. Yes, this was it! His rapid breathing, his eyes darting between her heads, his panic-stricken face!...

...that soon let out a relieved sigh. "Oh, thank goodness.", he mumbled. What!?

"Whew, and 'ere I thought those bastards caught me. Hehe.", he said, mirthfully chuckling. "Now that was a scare! Ya must be famous 'round 'ere!". Annoyed at his sudden nonchalance, Sekibanki squeezed tighter, making him let out a gasp that didn't stop his laughing fit. Her body, no longer holding the railing in a vice grip, walked toward this ball of yarn, hands on hips.

"Shut it! What the hell is going on!", she shouted right to his face. This did nothing to sour his mood. "Ya can let me go,", he said, "I ain't no human.".

In disbelief at this whole situation, she took a good look at him. He looked average for a well-off villager, a bit plump, which his baggy clothes had hidden well, but his face betrayed it. She could finally see that the white symbols on his haori were some familiar-looking kanmon - a vertically positioned leaf with a bit of it missing near the stem. In fact, now that he was closer, she could see on him a similar leaf - in his hair.

A wave of disappointment hit Sekibanki as she groaned in a choir. A tanuki. You've got to be kidding.

"Now now, no need to get all down.", the tanuki continued. "This 'ere is a good opportunity for ya, girl!", he said in a tone of a carnival barker. At least half of rokurokubi's eyes were on him in a questioning stare.

"Ya see, I'm in a bit of a rough spot right now. Some goons are after me, and I need to get out of town. Can ya help a guy in need?". He squirmed a bit, and Sekibanki heard the sound of coins ringing. A lot of coins. "And that's just what's upfront.", he continued his sales pitch, "What do ya say?".

She decided to:

[]Help the tanuki. She was broke and needed some cash.
[]Squeeze him for more info. He didn't say nearly enough about his situation to trust him.
[]Let him go. The less she had to do with tanuki yakuza, the better.
[]Help whoever chased after him. Whoever that was, they were probably less shady than this guy. Probably.
[]Shake him down and throw him into the canal. This prick was getting on her nerves.

[x]Help whoever chased after him. Whoever that was, they were probably less shady than this guy. Probably.

---

Sekibanki didn't even think about it, how obvious the choice here was. Who was this guy fooling? His cash was guaranteed to be flat, yellow-green and bendy, and not the ten thousand yen kind. With this kind of attitude, he likely just swindled some blokes, possibly some youkai bigger than him, seeing how scared he seemed. So she would hold him here until his victims catch up for a "talk".

One thing caught Sekibanki's attention - despite being disguised, he wore his clan colours! He was right, this was a good opportunity - she could publicly embarrass a whole tanuki yakuza clan! This wasn't exactly the kind of reputation she wanted for herself, and it could lead to trouble, but from what she understood, the clan would rather attempt to maintain face by getting rid of him, rather than her. All in all, it was a risk she was sure would pay off.

"Hmm, that sure sounds like a lucrative deal.", Sekibanki slowly said with a mock pondering, "But I have a better idea. Why don't I ask the other guys first?"

"Woah, woah, 'ey, wait a minute.". His voice retained the same salesman qualities, but his smile looked a bit strained. "They're not the kinda guys you'd wanna deal with. There's no need for that."

"Exactly what a conman on his last leg would say.", she shut him down with a smug smirk. "Why should I trust some tanuki to tell me the truth?"

"Whatever ya think of me, those guys are ten times worse!". The tanuki now began sounding really nervous, "Don't do this to yerself, they'll kill ya! Slowly!". He was thrashing in Sekibanki's grip frantically.

"Yeah, yeah, keep on yapping, dog. Should've stuck to bothering farmers." Her head on a nearby roof brought something to her attention. "Oh, I think I see some lanterns! They're getting... close...", she said with dying confidence, that was rapidly replaced with worry.

Sekibanki's train of thought crashed with no survivors when she realised what she saw. There were twelve men in total. Six of them were in simple clothes, some with lanterns, and all with shimenawa-adorned mancatchers. The other four wore dark-colored haori, the Hieda kanmon displayed proudly on them. Two men were in front of the group. One of them wore an expensive-looking beige haori and a round metal helmet, and waved his jitte around, shouting orders. The other man...

The other man made Sekibanki feel fear for the first time in a long time. They brought an exorcist with them, and he looked like the sort of guy red-white would call if she ever got into actual trouble. With his tall stature, long grey hair and beard, and a yamabushi garb, complete with a tokin and a shakujo, one could easily mistake him for a tengu. And his hard gaze was fixed on where the two youkai were.

Pulling herself together, Sekibanki screamed her lungs out. "Why didn't you say you got the fuzz on your tail!?".

The tanuki was unprepared for this assault. "Agh, my ears!"

"What did you do!?", she asked, shaking him for a good measure.

"Nothing, I did nothing! It's just a misunderstanding, that's all!" Somehow she didn't believe him.

This was bad. She could try to untie the tanuki in time and make a break for it, but the cops would still see her and give chase, taking her for an accomplice. And if they didn't, she was haunting out of season, they'd definitely give her crap for that. They were both screwed, one more than the other.

There was no getting out of this unscathed, she just had to bear with it. The police squad has finally arrived. Shouting orders to stand down, the men surrounded them, weapons at the ready. The frightening exorcist's gaze became quizzical as it focused on the rokurokubi.

The man in a helmet pointed his jitte at Sekibanki. "You! Youkai! Hand over the suspect, immediately!" Must be the yoriki.

"Alright, alright.", she said, her body's hands lifting. "He was getting annoying anyway. Fair warning, his hands will come out first."

A few patrolmen came closer to the yarn ball, the tanuki was getting nervous. "'Ey, I've told you already, chief! You've already got yer man! Or woman. Whatever, I've got nothing to do with this!"

"Shut up already!", simultaneously rang from both Sekibanki and the yoriki, eliciting a mutual stare full of confusion and, somehow, understanding.

This moment was all the tanuki needed. Feeling the grip on him loosen a bit, he suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke, emerging from the neck coils in his true form of a small, fluffy animal, dashing between the cops. Sekibanki quickly got knocked to the bottom of this moshpit.

"He's getting away!"

"Nab 'im!"

"Gotch-Ow, he bit me!"

"I think I got him!"

"That's my leg, you moron!"

Making it out of the pile of bodies, the tanuki soared into the air, heading toward the houses. The exorcist's shakujo was shining brightly. "Most unwise, Honma.", he said to the floating beast. "I might just leave nothing to arrest."

The tanuki turned to the yamabushi, and as he was about to reply, several lasers shot from nearby roofs and trees hit him in the back. He fell to the ground like a rock.

The exorcist and the yoriki both looked up from the unconscious furball to see Sekibanki's heads floating down from hiding.

The officer, now a lot less agitated, spoke to the closest head to him. "I'll admit, that was good work."

The head was not amused. "Yeah, sure, whatever, now can you order your men to get off my body?"

A bit annoyed at her lack of tact, he nevertheless told the rest of the squad to stand up, revealing a girl's body with a several ken length of neck. It stood up, and the neck began to shrink to a normal, for a human, size, with a fresh head replacing the previous, beaten-up one.

"Alright,", the yoriki called out, "let's get this scumbag to the slammer. Yoshinaga, cleanup duty." One of the officers fixing his disheveled coat waved to a few common-clothed patrolmen to get to him, and they started looking for something in the vicinity. "Everyone else, follow me.". He looked back one last time with a weary expression. She could've sworn she heard a quiet "fuck them tanuki" as he went.

The exorcist lingered a bit longer, the tanuki on his shoulder, barely recognisable under a layer of ofuda. He walked closer to Sekibanki, making her step back a little. His weathered face in combination with his long white hair and beard made him look beyond time itself. Forget mistaking him for a tengu - he was as if Soujoubou himself had a shorter nose. She couldn't help but feel nervous. "It's best that you stay at home for a while.", he said in a low, even voice, and walked away to join the rest.

Letting out a breath she didn't know she held, Sekibanki turned to finally get out of this crazy place, only to be greeted by the officer that stayed for "cleanup". He looked rather typical for a samurai policeman - dark hair tied in a topknot, black haori that made his shoulders look broader than they probably were, brown, dust-covered hakama, a pair of swords and a jitte on his belt.

"Hold on, miss, I've still got some questions for you if you don't mind." he approached her with a polite smile. "Sorry, part of the procedure, nothing I can do about it."

"Well, I do mind.", she said, and went past him.

"Alright, I won't take your time." He said in something of a wistful tone. "You'd have to get rest for tomorrow's community service. Strange, the youkai are more docile than ever, and yet I hear the haul is getting heavier lately with all the feral maulings."

That stopped her. He continued, voice hiding slight condescendance. "After all, that's what youkai citizens who misbehave out of season usually do, they aid their community with the mourning for the senseless loss of life, no?". Sekibanki turned to him, the anger on her face contrasting his polite expression. "Come on, it's obvious what you've been doing here at this hour. Now, yoriki might've let that slip for helping the case, but he's usually a bit more by the book, so to speak. You won't be this lucky again."

"What do you want?"

"Nothing much. Just aid me in this investigation, and I'll cover your tracks for this month. Maybe longer."

Sekibanki considered her options. If he's telling the truth, working with him would only be beneficial. Fear wasn't something you could save for a rainy day, this was a golden opportunity! On the other hand, if he was lying, she'd just do his work for him, for free! But then again, was what he said about the community service true? She never got caught, and thus never knew what it entailed.

At this point, she just wanted to go home. "...fine."

"Great! You won't regret it, miss..?"

"Sekibanki."

"Yoshinaga. Now, what can you tell me about what happened here?"

---

"What an awful beginning to a Sunday."

"Ehh, I've had worse. Remember that time fifty years or so ago when I got chased out of that inn?"

"So much blood..."

"Can you keep quiet? Noisy..."

Sekibanki was lying in her futon, trying to not self-brainstorm what just happened. She still had an hour or two to rest before work. But her mind was just in too much turmoil, the heads around her house wouldn't shut up!

"This whole deal stinks, that copper was no less shady than that tanuki."

"Yeah, and I still don't know what that prick's deal was. 'confidential House Hieda business' my stump. I don't know if meeting him this Monday night is such a good idea, might just scam me."

"And that exterminator! Did you see how he looked at you? Was he even human? And what with that cryptic warning? Or was that a threat?"

"Ugh, enough already!", Sekibanki in futon shouted, dispelling the other heads. Enough! She had to come to a decision or she would never rest!

Sunday:
[]Go to work. Aside from some meager savings, she was broke. Sunday tips alone could provide her with for a whole week.
[]Stay at home. The work's part-time anyway, she could just laze for a day, definitely not scared of that exorcist, nope!

Monday (night):
[]Meet with Yoshinaga. He was rather shady-looking, but being able to haunt whenever she wanted was just too good to pass up.
[]To hell with Yoshinaga. No human threatens the Rokurokubi Horror!

Sunday:
[X]Go to work. Aside from some meager savings, she was broke. Sunday tips alone could provide her with for a whole week.
Monday (night):
[X]To hell with Yoshinaga. No human threatens the Rokurokubi Horror!

---

With silence finally taking over after her heads babble died down, Sekibanki looked over her house. It sure wasn't a cozy countryside minka, just a single multipurpose room she rented in a one-story rowhouse, as cheap and cramped as one should expect it to be for being in the tail-end of the Village, but it wasn't like she needed more.

After a moment of deliberation, Sekibanki got up from the futon and went to a corner of her sleeping area. There she lifted a floorboard to reveal a paper package. She oppened it, taking a look at it's contents: one shu, fifty-ish mon on a string, around two thousand Outside yen... all in all, not good enough to be called savings. Curse those jumping tobacco prices! This sight was enough to put away the image of that menacing exorcist out of her mind.

As for Yoshinaga... eh, screw him. She helped him enough with his stupid questions she didn't even bother to remember. And his attempts to scare her into helping more were pathetic - what idiot tries to frighten a youkai with corpses? So, with that out of the way, she could finally get some shuteye.

---

Kanfukutei was having a great day. The customers were aplenty, and the orders were expensive. The same couldn't be said about its owners.

"Welcome, welcome! Please have a seat!" It was only an hour past noon and Saburo was already tired of saying it over and over again. How did Naomi and Oseki keep up their cheer all day long was beyond him. He led the new customers to the recently freed table.

"Honey, the manju!", his wife called to him across the hall.

"Wha- oh dammit!..." He quickly ran back to the kitchen to watch the manju. Boiling fine, just in time. He had to relieve his wife of at least some of her duties, lest she collapse onto the ongoing birthday party, but he was already at his limit. Where was Oseki? Sure, she could work whenever she damn pleased, but she never skipped Sunday, and now she was needed more than ever!

Speak of the devil, a red blur entered his vision, moving through the kitchen to the changing room with what sounded like "SorryI'mlate!", nearly knocking him onto the oven.

In the changing room, Sekibanki quickly put on her apron over her kimono, lightly slapped herself on the cheeks, made the best smile she could fake, and recited the holy mantra to the head she was using as a makeshift mirror. "Welcome to Kanfukutei! I'm Oseki, can I take your order?"

"So sweet I'm gonna puke.", a male voice behind her commented.

"Perfect, now I'm rea-eh?" Wait, that wasn't the head in front of her. She turned around to face her disappointed boss. He was around his early forties and somewhat thin. He stood in the doorframe, arms crossed and foot impatiently tapping on the floor. His cap was in his hand instead of on his head, dripping with water.

"Uhh... Sorry for being late, had some trouble this morning.", she said in her best attempt at being sheepish. She decided against mentioning how she overslept.

Saburo lifted a brow. "Is this what you should be apologising about?" That wasn't it? What was? She retraced her actions up until this point. She ran to the cafe, entered through the curtains, ran through the kitchen, bumped into something there, got into the changing room... oh.

She sighed, repeating the apology that was getting worryingly usual, at least to the owner. "I'm sorry for acting recklessly in the kitchen, I promise I will be more responsible in the future."

With a smile, he nodded. "That'll do. Now come on, Naomi needs backup."

She picked an empty tray and sent some heads into the hole in the ceiling. "Aye-aye, sir." Leaving the room as quickly as she could without getting a lecture on workplace safety from Saburo again, she looked over the dining hall.

The stars had aligned, and now three simultaneous birthday parties were celebrated in the cafe, which, of course, meant wave after wave of children running around the tables, threatening to knock the tray and its contents onto her. Add to that the unusually high client rotation, and it was a miracle that Naomi could stand at all. Speaking of, there she was, running between tables with enviable energy like she was sixteen, her apron dirty from all the times she inevitably bumped into a toddler.

This sure still was this week alright.

A few more customers arrived, and Sekibanki, as usual, directed her heads above where Naomi sat them. Two pairs of men, the first ones in simple garbs and with some carpentry tools on their belts, likely on a break from work, while others wore nice-looking kimono, perhaps merchants. Right after them came one shady-looking blonde girl in outsider clothing. She was wearing pants so short they were hidden behind that soft-looking jacket sort of thing she had, a bit heavy for the heat, with a hood and a hat with one of those stiff brims in front, like a duck's bill, and her eyes were hidden by a pair of dark-tinted glasses. Sekibanki decided to watch her for now from the ceiling, using a cut some meathead once made to spy on her.

While Naomi served the shady girl, Sekibanki listened to the conversations of the new arrivals, just to be sure they weren't trouble. First, the carpenters.

"Hope we can finish early, I've got some plans for the evening, if you catch my drift."

"What plans? Knowing you - oh, don't tell me..."

"Yep."

"Sankichi, I was joking back then. Going to that youkai-only bar will get you killed!"

"Exactly why it'll work out, they like brave ones! Besides, like you wouldn't try!"

"Well... Are they at least cute?"

"That's the point - they can't not be!"

Ugh, enough of that. No harm here, only idiocy. The shady girl seemed to just lazily eat her youkan and sip tea. Waiting for someone? While taking the carpenters' order, she overheard the merchants' talk.

"Well, what's up? I've got good and bad news. You?" It was a smoker's voice, low and in a good mood.

"Only bad ones." And this one was a singer's voice, clear and in no particular mood.

"I'll start then. We've got the scholars and the old man under our thumb."

"So it worked? Won't they break out without us looking?" Break out? Sounded suspicious. She couldn't look at them right now, as she walked to the counter to get the tea and manju, so her head above them moved the ceiling board just enough to make a peephole. They were at a four-seater right next to a window. One was closer to the entrance, to the left, a bit taller than average and with a well-groomed beard and mustache. The other sat opposite, a young man with a ponytail, looking somewhere past his companion, to the counter.

"Nah, the boss brought the old crew from Aikawa, real pros. Tofu munchers got nothing on them." So the smoker was the taller one. Aikawa? Never heard of that place. Some kappa outpost? "So now our friends're so scared of what we might do, they keep hush about it. The problem's that people got paranoid, so instead of thinking it's just her, they think it's all of us."

"I figured. Boss won't come to the meeting."

"What!? Damn, how so?"

"I saw him with our friends. Barely recognised him behind all that paper."

"Good thing he left us instructions. The evidence will lead our misguided friends to the truth."

"Shame about what will happen to her."

"Well, that's life in a big village."

"There's something else." He jerked his head slightly up as if to point to something. The other one turned around.

As Sekibanki finished collecting ordered sweets on her tray, she turned to deliver them and froze. She saw the guy with a ponytail looking right into her eyes with an inviting gaze. Yeah, it was obvious what he was trying to do, so she ignored him and continued her work. What did he expect? That she would throw her tray away and run off with some dodgy thugs? What a loser. She thought she saw the shady girl stealing a look toward those guys as well, but she was sitting close to them, so it could be a coincidence.

"Haha! And here I thought you just wanted to share some of that gold! Is she trouble?" Yep, just like she thoug- wait, trouble?

"Back then I saw a goon talk to a redhead at the scene. Couldn't get close enough to hear them."

"Heh, well, I'll just leave this to your magic, she should serve us soon."

Great. Just great. That whole escapade did make her a target for tanuki after all.

Right as Sekibanki finished her round and went toward the tanuki to show them the exit, the outsider girl stood up and walked up to their table, arms in the pockets of her jacket.

"Oi, should you really be talking about that kinda stuff here? There're kids here, ey?", she asked them with a wide, bright smile not fitting her words.

The younger tanuki's face barely betrayed annoyance. "None of your business."

His companion was a bit less reserved. "Yeah, get lost!"

"Is something the matter?" Sekibanki asked as she walked to the commotion.

"Oh, nothing. Just some crooks who mistook a 'sweets' shop' for a 'tea house'." The said crooks looked mad, but she shut them up before they could say anything. "I just wanted to offer 'em to go someplace more fitting, say...", she took her glasses with her left hand and put them back into her pocket "...prison?" Her yellow eyes started to look familiar...

Less than a second later. She quickly pulled out her hands toward tanuki's faces, holding an octagonal box to the beard on her left and a couple of vials between her fingers to the ponytail on her right. Sekibanki could not believe it - black-white witch was about to make a shootout in the cafe! Just her luck!

There were gasps and whispers throughout the hall. Some customers chose to leave while they still could. "Hey! If you're gonna fight - do it outside!", shouted Saburo while hiding behind the counter with his wife.

"There won't be a fight if these legitimate businessmen will go with me to the precinct! Now get up, nice and easy."

It happened in an instant. The bearded tanuki grabbed Marisa's hakkero hand and tugged it up. In a rush, Marisa fired the furnace, its two ken wide rainbow beam annihilating most of the ceiling and four of Sekibanki's heads. Her right arm jerked toward the ponytail tanuki, breaking the vials with his face. What followed the sound of cracking glass were sun and thunder up everyone's eyes and ears.

The one head that was outside quickly flew into the newly-made entrance in the roof. All of the customers who didn't leave were on the floor, screaming in confusion as they lost their senses. The ponytail tanuki was adding to the chaos, shooting danmaku blind, breaking walls and furniture. Marisa and the bearded tanuki were still struggling for her hakkero - no wait, he picked her up with his other hand and threw her out the window! What a savage!

It was time to show these barbarians where their place was! Dropping her deaf and blind head, Sekibanki replaced it with a fresh one. Then, she smacked the tanuki closest to her upside his ponytail with her tray, breaking it in half. "Get out! Out!" she screamed while grabbing onto his clothes and adding him to witch's company - out the window!

She turned to the one fluffy prick left. He was rubbing his eyes, blinking rapidly. Good, he ought to be just as easy! As she tried to repeat the feat, he, quite deftly, knocked her arms from him and created some distance with a straight to her chest. He got up from the seat, his eyes looking in her general direction, unfocused. He extended fully his left arm, presenting a spellcard with only his thumb and index finger holding it - two card duel, melee allowed.

"I saw your neck was bandaged. Good! Makes ripping your head off so much easier!"

Sekibanki got a card out of her pocket, repeating the gesture. "Be careful of what you wish for..."

[]Take the fight outside. She couldn't risk more damage to the cafe! Oh, and customers, but who cares about those?
[]Fight inside. With these holes, they were pretty much already outside, it would be best to finish this here and now to not attract more cops to her.
{Write-ins for tactics welcome}

[X]Take the fight outside. She couldn't risk more damage to the cafe! Oh, and customers, but who cares about those?
-[X] Guerilla tactics: Hide heads amongst the rooftops to shoot at him from ambush angles; retreat heads after shooting to avoid detection (especially by the public)

---

"...you might just g-WAH!" A fist grazed Sekibanki's ear, ruining her perfect comeback. The bearded tanuki rushed toward her with a flurry of punches she barely managed to dodge, moving deeper into the ruins of Kanfukutei's dining hall. Large clouds of steam were emerging from the kitchen, meaning that the next batch of manju was gone-woah, enough distractions, these swings were no joke! Not like anyone here cared about sweets at this point, lack of hearing and eyesight were much more pressing concerns. The crackling of burning furniture and children's crying were blending into the background, with her attention now being entirely on the beast.

Allowing hand-to-hand in a two-card duel (Two cards! The nerve of this dog!) made him look rather sure of his jiujutsu, and now she could see that it wasn't just bravado. His strikes had great form, speed, and power, but his brown eyes weren't on her. From how her less lucky head was feeling before she hid it, after that light from Marisa's vial he likely could only see a vague shape instead of the youkai waitress in front of him and was punching blind.

A weakness that proved to be more difficult to exploit than expected.

Sekibanki thought to throw him off balance, and with the help of a bit of a flight, made a good kick to his shins without changing her posture much. That backfired nearly immediately, with the tanuki pushing that foot up and then forward, hooking her other leg, forcing her to retreat. She saw an opening when he readied his right hand for a punch and tried to launch some point-blank danmaku to his side, only to almost get clocked by his left fist - a strike way too accurate for someone with the sun up his eyes. He kept pushing, not giving her a single chance to counter, and soon her defense started showing cracks, as she missed a blow to her abdomen. The punch felt barely within dueling limits as it knocked air from Sekibanki's lungs, making her take a few steps away. His missed left hook turned out to be a feint, as she failed to stop his sudden roundhouse kick to her temple from sending her crashing onto a table.

The world was hazy and upside-down, and the tanuki towered over the beaten rokurokubi. "Betcha thought you were real clever.", he mocked with a wicked grin, hand on his beard. "Nature has more tricks than a city slicker like you can imagine, and they're all up my sleeve!" His eyes regained his focus, just how did he recover so quickly? Weren't they also brown, not gray? And what were those black spots on his cheeks? They weren't there before...

Overall, this was looking bad. She couldn't keep up with this guy, she would be out before the first spellcard was played! The cafe was too cramped, she couldn't make any distance, and even if she could she didn't want to ruin the cafe even more with her bullets, not to mention Saburo's ire if she'd hit any clients. Oh, and the clients themselves wouldn't be glad, she guessed, but no one asked their opinion.

Still, even if she pushed him outside, she would be at a big disadvantage. For all the reputation the tanuki get, those hicks didn't need to care about subtlety as much as everyone thought - they could always just change disguise and get away scot-free after causing a ruckus. Meanwhile, Sekibanki was out of moves - all of her spellcards required unnatural positions of her neck, including a lack of it. And she wasn't going to give up decades of hard work just to wipe out some thug! What he knew of her efforts, her precautions, the lengths she took for the general populace to not know that she was the dreaded rokurokubi?! Yes, of course, go on! Just throw it all away! Fly instead of walking! Ask around the human markets about blood supplements! Flaunt your stupid ears! Screw you, Kager-alright, she was getting off track. That kick almost sent her poor head to the clouds.

The beast drew his right arm up, ready for a finishing blow. "What, no witty retorts? Hah! All bark, no bite. Nighty-night!" She tried to think of something, but it was a bit hard to do upside down, with her head spinning...

"Why you bastard!"

A sudden shout from the hall brought some respite. One of the carpenters lunged at the bearded tanuki, grabbing onto him.

"Oi, we're dueling here! Get offa me-ow!", the tanuki exclaimed as the human's elbow connected to his nose. "That's it, I'm kicking your ass next!"

He punched, kicked, bit, and cursed at the beast for a solid minute, not bad for a simple human, giving Sekibanki some time to recover and think. With how crowded it was, tying him with her neck was out of the question, and she couldn't summon her heads to multiply her firepower either. Unless...

With the tanuki distracted, she sent all of her heads sans the one on her shoulders up the hole in the ceiling, hoping to hide them among the rooftops. This would be difficult - roofs in this district were more tile than thatch, but they'd have to do. Remembering how she finished off that tanuki this morning, a plan was forming on the go.

By the time she got up, the brave and foolish carpenter was flying through the wall near his table. The crash woke up his partner. "Sankichi?! Shit, not again!", he shouted as he got up and went to fuss over him through the man-shaped hole. Foolish humans.

Feigning nervousness, she looked back to the tanuki. Credit where credit was due, he did sport some bruises and a dislocated nose that he was in the middle of fixing. "Gah... Back for more? No worries, I'm not done with you yet!"

She allowed herself to be shaken off his side by his sudden kick, flying into the window, right into a crowd of villagers gawking at the duel above them. The black-white witch and the ponytailed tanuki were going at it about a chou high in the sky, dropping enchanted rice and star-shaped pastry below, with the onlookers moving aside from the danmaku falling near-harmlessly beside them, trying to stop their children from catching some.

Seeing her dynamic exit from the half-ruined cafe, the crowd gave Sekibanki some berth. Good, she needed that thug to see her to lure him. She also needed a place to lure him to. Her heads flew from roof to roof, hidden from the view of those below, trying to look for a good spot. She was hoping that they would be distracted enough by dueling above and below to notice them.

Soon enough, the bearded tanuki jumped from the window, all smug and with a card in his hand. "And just where you're going? Givin' up already? We're just gettin' started!" She retreated to the middle of the street, with the crowd dispersing even more, parents hiding their overjoyed and cheering children.

"Sharks've gifted me with sight without eyes." Sharks? The hell was he talking about? "No need to leave you out of their generosity!"

"Transformation [Shark's Crocodile Tears]!"

Out of a sudden puff of smoke emerged the tanuki, a bizarre variant of his previous, more human form. He no longer had any hair on him, his skin became a smooth gray-white gradient, and on his neck, a few protrusions appeared, almost like gills.

He fired streams of danmaku, a mix of shining blues and reds, like sapphire and ruby teardrops. They flew in horizontal and vertical arcs, forcing Sekibanki to stay within one area or be hit, with every third or so red sphere bursting into pellets upon hitting the ground, keeping her on her toes. Was this an attempt at sophistication? To make matters worse, he seemed to be closing in, slowly picking up speed. Never mind then, he was still a brute.

She needed to avoid friendly fire on Kanfukutei, any mon that could saved by not hitting it counted. Thankfully, the space here was just right to avoid collateral. Figuring the right amount of power needed for them to dissipate around three ken away from her, she fired off short, wiggling, spine-like strings of danmaku, forcing him into a corridor to make him move slightly at an angle, finally making them parallel to the cafe. Add to that triple shots of bullets about one shaku in radius, and she could keep the tanuki off her long enough for her heads to finish their search.

"The main street? No, too crowded, same with the market square."

"Shame, the angles near that pawn shop looked good..."

"What about this garden? I could make potshots from the trees, and-"

"No, you talking manju! Can't you see it's in the back of this manor? Do you want to get in trouble with a noble?"

"Keep quiet! The humans might hear us!"

"Hmm... This residential backyard seems empty..."

"Let me see... it's rather close too, good."

"And the closest path there is through this zigzag of an alleyway... Perfect."

Now she just needed to lure him into the ambush. The tanuki was getting close, prepared to jump at her, but Sekibanki got ahead of him and leaped through the wall of danmaku to the northern alleyway, narrowly avoiding bullets to her neck and three rows of teeth to her leg (In the middle of a crowd? Was he nuts or something?), pulling out her card as she landed. Her heads were in position on two corners, hidden in the shadows made by the roofs' dormers and valleys. She would have angles on him on every turn, and even if he would make it through, the backyard would be his doom.

With everything set, Sekibanki declared her card.

"Flying Head [Seventh Head]!"

She could see his face change to confusion for a brief moment, trying to mouth out "se" and "be". Just perfect, he was ignorant of what was coming for him. Her English skills were finally of some use!

She then flew backward, following the path to the yard, goading him to follow with some shots from her eyes, to which he obliged with enthusiasm. The trap was sprung.

As they flew to the first turn, Sekibanki stopped right at the wall. When the tanuki was about to grab her neck, she saw him through four angles - most of them above. That was a signal, there was no escape. Hearing the sound of beams sizzling in the air, he just barely managed to dodge lasers shot from the front and left sides of a roof's valley of a row house making the corner, jumping away, only making himself an easy target for the head looking down from a roof's hip to his right. A direct hit to his side launched him right through a wall, with screams coming from the inside, a resounding success! Using that, Sekibanki rushed to the next ambush spot.

"Hiding familiars?" He peeked from the hole he made to the roofs surrounding them, his hair having returned and his sharkskin now absent. "Clever, but not enough." He threw some danmaku onto the spots he thought the shots were coming from, and for that, the unseen heads rewarded him with a shower of blue spheres. "Ah, shit!", he cursed as he jumped away from the bombardment.

Recovering from his sudden dodge, the tanuki saw his target running to another corner. Thinking himself clever for not getting fooled by the same trick twice, he flew higher, pelting the rooftops with danmaku. Sekibanki judged his joyful expression as him finding that ensuing explosions of blue spheres left nothing but scorch marks on tiles. Good, he must've not noticed the heads getting away, and thought that he got rid of all her familiars. She cemented this illusion with a look full of worry and bolted straight to the finish line.

The yard was just a few ken away when she heard a shout behind her. "You ain't getting away!"

"Transformation [Tsuchinoko's Lies]!"

Running past some drying racks full of wet clothes, Sekibanki saw herself from above, moving closer to the center of the yard, which would be fine if there also wasn't something long and dark brown moving quickly from the tanuki's right arm towards her. She tried to dodge it while turning to face him but suddenly saw how it wrapped around her back and stuck to her right arm. A jolt of sharp pain went through her, as she realised what it was - a big, fat snake had it's fangs in her shoulder, her red kimono becoming a bit darker. What the hell?

"Come 'ere!", the tanuki shouted as he pulled his snake-arm-thing. Sekibanki tumbled to him with a spin and soon was nearly completely bound with a snake. Thug's left arm added to it, grappling her neck in a chokehold. This was it, now he'll force a surrender, or try to knock her out... Only instead he suddenly started to painfully pull her head up, forcing a choked cough out of her! What was he doing? With an effort to keep her neck the same length, she tried to turn her head to get a look at him, and found him with an evil smile and murder in his eyes.

"What, ya thought I was joking? About your head?", he sneered, straining from effort. "Ha! That was our wager! Boss'll have a snitch's noggin for his head-viewing ceremony!"

Oh really now? Was he hoping she would get somewhere isolated to assassinate her? Or was this some pathetic tough guy act? Sekibanki couldn't help but chuckle.

"Wh-What the hell?! I'm killing you right now, you know!" His murderous facade crumbled, and the chuckles became harder to resist. "That's no laughing matter!". That's it, the dam was broken. She was now howling with laughter.

"Ahh... Sorry, but you're going to need more than this head for your rank, you two-bit hatamoto!"

It was time to finish this. Her many angles on him confirmed it - he was in the middle of a perfect killbox. It didn't matter if he was going to kill her or not, for that snake bite she wasn't going to spare him. All she had to do was to pull the trigger. And, with some struggle, she pulled the card out of her pocket and spoke its name through her teeth.

"Glinting Eyes [Hell's Ray]!"

With the declaration finished, she bit his left hand as hard as she could, there was no escaping this. Tanuki's cry of pain was silenced by the cavalcade of lasers shot from the rooftops surrounding them. They filled the air, most of them hitting the tanuki in the back, she felt every impact.

By the time she ended the spell, his back was a mess of small burns and bruises, his fine kimono totaled. His grip was nonexistent as his arm was no longer a snake. Sekibanki slipped from under him, and he fell like a cut tree. His ears and tail were for all to see, just as messed up. She felt a foul taste in her mouth and spat out a tiny piece of flesh she had bitten off his hand. Disgusting.

The bearded tanuki was finally finished. Sekibanki relaxed, perhaps too much, since she fell to her knees and let out an exasperated exhale. She didn't risk getting one of her heads close, but even from here and afar she could see how messed up she was - torn apron, dark spot on her shoulder, disheveled hair. She could only imagine how her face must've looked...

Something in the air caught her attention - or rather someone. Kirisame Marisa flew toward the yard, with an unconscious body in tow. "Oi! I see you're done having fun!", she called out. Lowering down, she dropped herself and the beaten-up ponytailed tanuki off her broom. Now that the fight was done, Sekibanki recognised her getup as a "hoodie" in her usual colour scheme, along with a "baseball" cap. Barely a scratch on her...

"Pushover, right?", Sekibanki asked as she got up.

"Oh yeah, complete amateur, didn't even get to use my Spark!" The witch's smile held for a second or two but got a bit strained when what she said sunk in. "I mean-"

"Didn't get to use, huh..." Sekibanki's face was blank, an eye twitch betraying her state of mind.

"Now hold on, I didn't-guh!" She pulled the magician off the ground, to her eye level.

"Didn't get to use!? What the hell do you call that then!?" She just let it all out, not bothered by something octangular pressing against her abdomen.

"I didn't think they'd be crazy enough to actually start a fight there! Relax, or I'll relax ya!"

"Relax?! Kanfukutei's in shambles! Where do you think I'm going to work now?!"

"Uhh..." Marisa lifted her eyes, was she actually thinking of something? Oh, don't tell- "The fire department?" Yes, that again.

"So you have an employment agency now? 'Kirisame's Reliable Freaks', right?" She let go of the witch, turning around and crossing her arms.

"Ow!" Marisa did not expect to land on her behind but quickly recovered. "So, how about it?"

"No."

"Oh, come on, you'd do well on fire watch-"

"Do you even realise what nonsense you're suggesting?"

"You had no trouble with Saburo, what's the issue?"

...Really now? What's the issue? She couldn't be this ignorant, could she? "I said no, and that's final."

"Alright, alright. Jeez, you're always this difficult? Barely got you to work here..." Marisa got up, dusting herself.

"And now you got me back to the streets again, thanks a lot! Now I can return to the good old days of stealing from people I scare half to death, happy?"

A sigh from Marisa interrupted the pause before it got too heavy. "...Nah, you won't. Cafe's gonna be fine, I'm paying."

"That's what I thought, no better than a tanu-eh?" She turned her head to the brightly smiling black-white.

"I said I'll pay for the damages." She prodded the unconcious youkai with her broom. "These two will nab me some good bounty. 'Sides, not like I want to throw Saburo and Naomi under a cart, they got nothin' to do with this."

The bounty:
[]Trust Marisa with the tanuki. If she was lying she'd kick the money out of her later, with blood as interest.
[]Accompany Marisa to the precinct. She'd just run off with the money otherwise. Hell, she might even be a tanuki trying to fool her. Better safe than sorry.

The tanuki:
[]Interogate them before leaving. She has to know how deep into this mess she was.
[]Leave them be. Ignorance is bliss.

[X]Accompany Marisa to the precinct. She'd just run off with the money otherwise. Hell, she might even be a tanuki trying to fool her. Better safe than sorry.
[X]Interogate them before leaving. She has to know how deep into this mess she was.

---

It wasn't Marisa being reasonable that surprised Sekibanki, it was that it wasn't the first time that happened.

Ever since she started working in the youkai hunting scene alongside the Hakurei miko, she had to keep her eyes on the witch, if only to avoid her better. Thankfully, eavesdropping came to her naturally, and with tales of her prowess both in and out of danmaku, a most unflattering profile was coming together: burglar, liar, swindler, charlatan, vandal, even heard someone call her a wannabe once, the list went on. Of course, none of those epithets came from the villagers, but she was sure that if she found the right discussion among the more knowledgable of those hypocrites she'd find charges far worse.

Yet ever since Marisa got her the job she started seeing another part of her. Whenever she was at the cafe, it was always on some errands for the locals, from advice on mushroom picking to finding someone's lost outsider friend before they were gone forever, and no one seemed to complain about the prices of her services either. Hell, she even took commissions from some of the local youkai - the same ones that would talk behind her back when they got what they wanted. She always stopped by for a chat with Saburo and Naomi, asking them about the day. Even offered Sekibanki some coupons from the kappa market, "in case you'll need a drink". It was almost suspicious, how different she seemed from when they fought.

And here she was, paying for the damages she caused. So that a family that owned the place could have something to eat. So that a youkai could have some semblance of an honest life and work instead of causing trouble. It was still somewhat in line with what she heard of this half-pint menace, and yet-

"Oi, anyone home? Or do you need a change of brain?"

Getting out of her little daydream, she shook her head and looked down at the magician. In a way, Sekibanki was glad Marisa interrupted her mind-wandering. What was she thinking? Truly, a saint she was for blowing up half of Kanfukutei! Not to mention allowing her and other infamous youkai to go on with their life of terrorising people unimpeded! Rubbish, all of it. To think that this pathetic opportunist was anything other than self-interested was foolishness. Should have spent less time listening to that mermaid, this optimistic naivete was unbecoming.

Marisa proudly stood beside the pile of unconscious youkai, broom in hand. The new arrival, the ponytailed tanuki, now had his hair loose, trading the ponytail for a bruise on his jaw and burns all over his clothes.

It looked like the oddly dressed witch realised at last that a thick hoodie wasn't the best choice for this heat, her sleeves were rolled up and she was fanning herself with her other hand. Her smile was still wide but got a bit undermined by her quizzically raised eyebrow. "You should get that looked at.", she said as she pointed to the rokurokubi's right shoulder.

Sekibanki checked the wound. Two holes in her kimono and a bloody spot would be annoying to get rid of, it also still stung a little, but otherwise, it wasn't that bad. "I'll manage. Tsuchinoko aren't that venomous, right?"

"Actually, they're- wait, that was supposed to be a tsuchinoko?" Marisa broke into laughter like it was the funniest thing she heard that day. "What a riot, it looked nothing like it! Plump, sure, but they're never that long, and their snouts are much shorter."

"Yeah, great, still doesn't answer my..." Wait a second, she saw the snake? When did Marisa see how she got bitten? "...Just how long have you been here?"

"Uh, got here right before you sent this guy to Mount Kachi. Thought it was a python..." That was... quick. Perhaps a bit too quick. She was unscathed too... Didn't she blind herself? Something didn't add up.

Marisa crouched over the tanuki. "Well, time to pack up! Be sure to tell Saburo the good news!" She rummaged through her big front pocket and pulled out two vials. "Just have to give 'em a sleeping mixture. Couldn't bring any chains in this disguise."

It would be so easy to just let her take the thugs away and forget that all of this happened, but this attack troubled Sekibanki. How much did the tanuki know about her? They came to her cafe, but did they know about her home? Would they continue to stalk her? "Not yet. I have some unfinished business with them."

"Ya sure? The sooner I get them caged, the sooner you'll get your money."

Sekibanki gave her a stern look. "You sure you don't mean 'your money'?" That made her smile a bit less wide. "Don't pretend the thought didn't cross your mind."

"Oh, come on, what did I do to deserve this? When was the last time I swindled anyone?"

"When was the last time you've exhaled?"

Marisa was silent for a moment. "...Shoulda added 'from the Human Village'.", she quietly said, as if that changed anything.

"That's not my only concern, anyway. They didn't come to Kanfukutei just for a business meeting with a cup of tea. You heard what they said about a redhead?"

"Well, you do look pretty good in that outfit." Sekibanki's stare became steely. "Kidding, kidding. I've heard. Pissed them off real good, yeah?"

"Good enough for them to try and kill me in broad daylight. Not that ripping my head off could do me in. Got one of them arrested this morning. By accident, mind you. They could be out to get me."

The witch chuckled. "Oh, don't be ridiculous. I know their oyabun. She might let them teach you a lesson, but killing? Not her style. Sure, he bit you, but that happens in melee duels sometimes. Don't tell me ya actually fell for their 'tough yakuza' schtick."

"Oh, so it was just a schtick? What's next, do they give to charity?" This farce was leading them nowhere. "Whatever, enough wasting time with your jokes. Now wake them up, we need to talk."

Marisa scratched the back of her head. "Well, sure, but..."

"'But' what? Is there a problem?"

Black-white just looked at the captives. What's with this odd hesitation? The pause was getting long, but soon enough, she sighed. "...No, let's get them somewhere quiet."

---

They decided to get the tanuki into an alleyway to the east of the one Sekibanki turned into an ambush spot. That way they wouldn't be seen by any gawker who decided to follow them from the cafe. Not that it mattered - with her heads on the rooftops they would know of any passerby. The unconscious beasts were sat on a bench against a wall of some machiya. It took some attempts - their tails made it harder than it seemed.

Marisa pulled out two pieces of cloth, throwing one to Sekibanki. "Tie it over your nose and mouth.", she said as she did so. "We're gonna deal with stuff dangerous for human health." Now that was just low. Still, bearing this mockery, the rokurokubi obliged - any small detail could give her away. The magician crouched over the tanuki, pulling out a... salt shaker? It was full of some glittering powder. "Nice, didn't melt. Whew, this heat's killing me." Letting the shaker down on the bench, she pulled out and uncorked a vial. "First, let's paralyse them neck down. Open wide!" She made them gulp down some murky liquid. They stirred, ready to wake up. "Now, to block any spellcasting..." She picked up the shaker and started peppering their magic leaves.

The bearded tanuki sneezed something powerful, then looked up to his captors groggily, his slightly charred ears twitching. His long-haired companion jerked his head up from the sudden noise, hitting it on the wall. "Argh... Wait, I can't move!"

Both thugs looked around themselves, desperately trying to find out what was happening to them. "Gah, something's wrong, I can't... Why can't I change?", the bearded one seemed especially distressed. "What have you done?!"

The puny human stood over them, chuckling, hand on the brim of her cap. "Trade secret! Might sell it to ya for, hmm... thousand ryo?"

"Why, you! I'll get you for this!", he screamed, futily jerking his head, as if trying to bite.

The rokurokubi decided to put him in his place again. "That's if you live through the boiling."

That got his full attention. "T-the boiling?"

Sekibanki noticed that she still had some of the tanuki's blood on her mouth from when she bit him. She pulled down the cloth and licked her lip, suppressing a grimace from how awful it tasted. "Ugh. Needs some ginger."

"Garlic and pine needles.", Marisa played along. "It's the only way to be sure."

"Say, did the cops need them dead or alive?"

"No clue, but I'm sure the yoriki will appreciate some tanuki-jiru right now."

The future soup ingredients exchanged a look.

"They can't scare us with this, right?", the larger one said, his voice a bit shaky.

"No, they can't.", the other replied, devoid of worry.

Then they declared nearly simultaneously:

"We won't talk 'till court!"
"We'll tell you everything!"

The bearded tanuki looked at the calm long-haired one, surprised and betrayed. "A-aniki, how could you?! After all we've been through!"

"I'm saving us, this whole gig was doomed from the start."

The larger thug closed his eyes. He could do nothing but mutter a few unintelligible swears, and lower his head in defeat. The attention turned to the long-haired tanuki, Sekibanki gazed down. "Talk. Don't bother lying, we've heard your conversation in the cafe, all of it."

A heavy sigh escaped him. "...Alright. But before I begin I want you to promise something."

"Oh, that's rich. You're not in a position to bargain."

"I'm not bargaining, this is for your benefit as well." He leaned in and continued, lowering his voice. "Promise that you won't involve the Hakurei in this."

At that Marisa covered her mouth, suppressing a laugh. "Won't need to! I'll deal with you before she'll finish reading that new novel!"

"You'd better." The tanuki's eyes narrowed. "We've got hostages. If there's even a word of the Hakurei miko investigating this, they're as good as dead. And if they die, the Human Village will collapse."

That's... No, it had to be a bluff, it had to be. Some gang of trash eaters couldn't threaten the Village's stability that easily! But back then, they did mention having someone under their thumb, someone they were afraid of breaking out...

Both interrogators had the idea of sharing a look. Sekibanki was sure she would find nothing but mockery on Marisa's face, an eye roll, something, anything that would tell her that it was a lie, but behind a veil of confidence she found fear in her eyes, thrice as big as her own. Worst of all, it didn't look like a shock from a sudden reveal. It was more like a terrible premonition she had got confirmed.

She was in neck deep, she could tell. What she couldn't tell was the neck's length.

They turned back to the sitting crooks. The bearded tanuki was clacking his teeth in rhythm of some tune, making the ears of both beasts twitch periodically. "Cut it out!", Marisa snapped at him, then pressed on. "Y-ya sure talk big, got anything to back that up?"

"Nothing. I don't even know how we got them, nor am I supposed to. I was there to cover the retreat in case the plan failed." He lowered his head, his ears drooping forward somewhat. "It almost did. No one was supposed to know about it, but they had exterminators ready. Someone must have told them about our plans." Then, he brought his eyes back up, straight at Sekibanki. "Someone like you."

That almost made her step back. "No way, I just found out about all this! And I don't deal with you yokel yakuza types anyway!"

"I can see that now. But I've already made my report to most of the family, what will happen to you is out of my hands. They know you as a police informer, some even suspect you to be a full-time okappiki."

What was he talking about? The great Rokurokubi Horror? A youkai okappiki? "They're all nuts! Go tell them I'm not, then! We'll let you go if you do!"

Before Marisa could object, the tanuki shook his head. "Pointless. After you've got us, it'll be too suspicious if I'll tell them you're not a snitch. Besides, the lieutenant will want his revenge for getting him jailed. He's vindictive like that, and I don't think oyabun will mind much. You've painted quite the target on your back, it seems."

So that's the length of it. An entire yakuza family on a hunt for her heads, exactly what she wanted for her day off.

"Oyabun...", the magician said to no one in particular. "Crap, so it is Mamizou's gig?"

"You know any other big tanuki in Gensokyo? Of course it's oyabun's plan."

"That just doesn't make sense..." Marisa stepped aside, lost in thought.

"By lieutenant, you mean that 'boss' you've mentioned? What's his name..." Sekibanki was sure she heard that creepy yamabushi call him by a name, what was it... "Right, Honma?"

A barely noticeable twitch went through his face. "That was our boss, yes. But I've never heard of anyone named 'Honma'."

"But-"

Marisa pushed her way back into the interrogation. "Wait, who're the hostages? Whatchu done to them?"

"The big ones. We've got the guilds' representative, I believe this time it was Ki-"

"Nah, nah, the important people! Who did you get?"

A hint of a smile went through his lips just as quickly as it disappeared. "How is he not important?" The question put a frown on Marisa's face, she was now staring daggers into him. "He's the head of one of the biggest mer-"

Suddenly she grabbed the tanuki by his kimono and started shaking him. "Are you deaf? Who do ya have?! The Hieda?! Answer, dammit!"

Now that was out of nowhere, not once did she see the magician this mad! The beast proved to be clever, pushing her buttons like that, though it could be something else, her behaviour has been odd through this entire day... "Let him speak then!"

"He's hiding something!" Marisa got up right into Sekibanki's face. "Tryin' to distract us with useless crap!"

"Are you sure that isn't just you? He was fine spilling his beans just now."

"But-"

A long, almost whistle-like piercing whine interrupted their bickering. They turned back to the captives and got an odd sight - the bearded tanuki's face contorted as if spelling out words with great effort, but instead of speech that bizarre drone came from him. The long-haired tanuki sighed. "Guess that it's time to say goodbye..."

"He's tryin' to escape!", Marisa shouted and, like on instinct, they both kicked the thug's head from the sides, clamping it between their shins. As he fell face first, the witch pointed her hakkero to his head, shooting a small laser point-blank for good measure. "Well, not like he could do anything. Throat singing could use some work if you ask me." Sekibanki nodded, it was getting on her nerves. Marisa turned her head to the one dog still in his place, pulling her leg up to rub her shin. "Now, go on, you were sayin'?"

The sitting tanuki just stared at the opposite wall, silent and motionless.

"So you are deaf, huh? I said keep talking!" The witch was getting impatient and gave him a light kick, but didn't even get a grunt out of him.

"...The hell?" Sekibanki snapped her fingers and waved in front of his face. No response whatsoever.

Marisa kept jumping between them, doing whatever she could to get them out of this trance: checking on their pupils with her furnace lit up, making them smell some grass from her pocket, stepping on their tails... All useless. "Dammit, how, why?..."

The human and the youkai turned to each other, one's worried fussing tested the other's patience. "You said you've blocked them!"

"I did, I really did! You'd have to be a god to break this, and even some of those failed to do it!", Marisa replied, desperation clear in her voice. She poked her finger into the bearded tanuki's hair, studying the glittering dust she sprinkled on him.

Sekibanki couldn't help but be put off by how Marisa had been acting throughout this ordeal. Her scoring an easy victory despite being blinded, her strange reluctance to even do this interrogation, and finally her sudden outburst right before the moment of truth that gave those dogs a chance to silence themselves... She didn't want to consider it, but high chance the magician wasn't who she appeared as.

"Alright, Kirisame, if that is your name." Sekibanki tried to crush the shorter girl with her gaze. "Take off your cap."

Marisa's confused yellow eyes met her crimson ones. "What?"

There was only one way for Sekibanki to bring her true identity to light - to carefully mention one thing she was certain only they both knew. Black market items had to be exchanged in secret, after all.

"Take it off right now, or you'll be the one giving me that drink, no kappa involved, no coupons wasted."

A flash of recognition in Marisa's annoyed glare was all that she needed. "Oh, the things I do for..." She took off the baseball cap and ruffled her hair, but even without that Sekibanki could tell - standing before her was the real Kirisame Marisa. Oddly enough, it felt like this wasn't the first time she was doing this kind of demonstration. "See? No leaf, no ears, braid on the left, not a tanuki, alright?"

And there really was no leaf there. So- Wait, braid? What did it have to do with anything? No matter, the witch had more than enough to explain.

"Let's say I believe you're not one of them. Why'd you butt in and mess with the questioning?", she asked, arms crossed. "Made me think you were biding for time so that these two could do... whatever it is they did."

Marisa looked ill at ease, constantly dropping her eyes to the ground as if to avoid Sekibanki's gaze. "Look, that guy he mentioned? I already knew he was in trouble 'cause of tanuki mischief."

"You knew they had hostages!?", the youkai exclaimed, grabbing the human by the shoulders.

"I didn't! His household donated money to the police to pay bounties! I thought he fell for a scam, made a bad loan, anything but this!" Despite everything, she sounded genuine. Reluctantly, the rokurokubi eased her grip. After a deep breath, Marisa continued. "But really, if you know how the Village works, he's not as important as some might think. If they thought they could wreck the place, then they must've kidnapped someone actually big! I needed to know, so I-"

"So you blew it right when he was this close to telling us everything!" Sekibanki exploded in her face. "Now you won't know anything!" She then sat on the bench, right above the bearded tanuki. She needed a moment, or else she'd go through with that demand for a drink, so she cupped her face with her hands. If only she could do it with all of her faces, but alas, hands didn't grow on trees as far as she knew. Local comunity of dryads aside. "I should've just let you take them to the cops..."

She had no choice but to follow Marisa to the precinct now, didn't she? Forget about making sure she would get her share of the bounty, after this blunder she couldn't trust Marisa with tying her own laces. Sure, she had plenty of reasons to avoid that place: the yakuza goons hidden in the crowds on the way there, the cops that could recognise her, that shady doushin who 'offered' her some work... But Kanfukutei needed that bounty, just like she needed the cafe to be safe and prosperous. She wouldn't give it up because of someone's trigger finger.

Now mostly calm, Sekibanki got up, her hands on hips, and exhaled slowly. Time to get this over with. "Get your broom. I'm going with you before you lose one of these mutts." She gestured to the tanuki, making circles with her hand. "Load them up, I don't want to drag them around."

The witch didn't protest. She got her broom hovering in front of her. Not the best cart, but it was either that or hauling the captives on their shoulders. "At least it wasn't a total waste of time.", she remarked.

"Oh, shut it, you're giving me a migraine." Sekibanki massaged her temple, wishing once again she had more than two hands. "Make that three."

---

Marisa, hoping to avoid more hassle with the tanuki, decided that going through a side street parallel to the main one leading to the precinct was the best way - not too large a crowd for other yakuza to hide in, but if they were jumped, others would notice and call for help. She was pulling her broom forward, with the thugs hanging on it like fresh pelts, while Sekibanki limped behind, playing the poor damsel who barely got out alive from the claws of monsters. Well, in a way, she was one, but she doubted a damsel would fight a beast youkai hand to hand, let alone get off with just a few cuts and bruises.

Sekibanki's heads followed, flying rooftop to rooftop discretely, watching the crowd from above for anyone suspicious. The sight below was a common one for the lively weekends in the Village: merry bands of drinking buddies shambling about, singing bawdy songs; kids begging their parents for a pinwheel from a peddler, or dragging them into the evergrowing line of a dango stand; couples window-shopping or just strolling about... To most people, the cacophony of the streets seemed as natural as the soft murmuring of a stream. Murmuring so hypnotic, it was no surprise that these fools would lose themselves in this false paradise, not giving much thought to the terror walking beside them. See no evil, hear no evil... How pathetic.

"We're almost there. First right, then straight, and that's it.", Marisa quietly noted, as if Sekibanki hadn't lived in this Village for a century.

As their little convoy turned to the precinct proper, a sudden crash punctuated by cries of surprise and pain made them stop and look back to the junction. Several people were lying on the ground, covered in tofu and miso. Beside them, near a ramshackle mess of a cart lied the supposed culprits behind this traffic accident. The rokurokubi noticed them running toward the crossing when checking the crowd earlier but lost track of them after figuring they weren't after them.

A tofu seller was running behind them then, from the south. Large basins full of the stuff on both sides of a yoke were straining his shoulders. Now their contents covered everyone involved, and the poor man himself was torn between fussing over the fate of his wares or his hurt left arm and leg.

At the same time, from the north, a courier was moving with immense haste, shouting for all to step aside. While she had a traditional strongbox hanging on a pole on her shoulder, her clothes were anything but: a blue jacket and trousers along with a flat, top-wide cap with a small brim in front, making her look like a postman from the Outside World. The strongbox was the only thing unaffected by this accident, the courier lying on the ground in a puddle of miso, trying to get out of the pile of people that suffered the same fate.

But, no matter how odd that person looked, it paled in comparison to the owner of the cart - a redhead with two pigtails that was rushing from the west. Her greenish-black dress in that foreign style that refused to die even after about a hundred years seemed far too elaborate for her to work with that cart, not to mention her unhidden cat ears... Now she recognised her - during those times that umbrella dragged her to haunt the temple's cemetery she often thought she saw a kasha with a cartful of haul. It seemed she was correct back then - the cat was loading whatever fell out of her cart back into it. Most of it seemed to be all kinds of accessories: hairpins, earrings, bracelets, trinkets one could probably find in a grave. However, one thing stood out - a torso-sized piece of flesh, with ribs sticking out of it. How careless of her to haul something like that right through the Village. Not that anyone here had the guts to do something about it.

As she finished putting belongings, though likely not hers, back into her cart, the cat turned to the man she crashed into, scratching her behind her ears. "Ahh, sorry there, mate. I know, I know, 'eyes on the road' and all that. Can I make it up for you?" She pulled out a wallet out of seemingly nowhere. "How much did all this cost?"

"N-no no, it's fine, really.", the deliveryman stammered. One could mistake it for polite refusal, but Sekibanki knew better - she recognised a tinge of desperation in his voice.

"That expensive, huh." She got three gold coins out of the wallet. "Don't worry about it, I'm not the type to leave debts unpaid."

So that's what this is about. Whatever money this kasha gave, there was an additional price attached to it, a price the human was rightly afraid of. But now that she presented her 'generosity', he had no right to refuse. The classic 'it's you or your firstborn' blackmail.

"Ah, thank you!", the man accepted all too eagerly. The fool. "Now I only need to worry about the restaurant, the chef will kill me for not getting his miso in time."

The courier, now standing, walked up to the duo, now laughing. "You won't be alone in that!"

They all laughed. The courier, the kasha, the folks around them, Marisa, even the man who just sold his afterlife for a bunch of fermented soy. Only Sekibanki didn't feel like it.

Here she was, hobbling on her completely fine legs, clutching her slightly hurt shoulder as if mortally wounded, making each unbothered breath seem like her last, trying to look like any villager would be like after almost meeting their end. It wasn't easy to fake the subtle trembling of broken limbs, or not exaggerate her breathing too much, but the few concerned gazes she got from the villagers told her that practicing was time well spent.

And yet whenever she found youkai in the Village it didn't feel like they ever bothered with not being found out. Two arms and two legs - that's the limit of their effort, and sometimes not even that. And it wasn't just their looks either - these brazen antics should have them chased out of Village at the very least, but they never were and never will be, and they had full confidence in that fact.

One day, this arrogance would be their downfall.

Were all the youkai blind to how fragile their dominance truly was? To the potential consequences of such permissiveness? Sure, they could afford to have the villagers ignore the occasional wing or tail out of fear right now, but it was a mistake to think that this would last forever. Fear, the same thing keeping youkai alive, was a double-edged sword that could easily be turned against them. The moment the humans would understand just how cornered they really were they would turn the Village inside out, and no youkai would be safe.

They were too obvious, too complacent. She wasn't. Not anymore. They would suffer greatly for this folly. She wouldn't. Never agai-

"Ya know, you're overdoing this."

Marisa's sudden remark made Sekibanki turn from the commotion to her. "H-huh?"

The witch looked at her with a smile, her eyes giving off an odd sense of weariness. "No, really, there's no point in it. First off, your legs are fine, so quit slowing us down. Second, you don't look hurt enough to breathe like that, you're not even pale. Third, your..." She swatted her hand through the air and resumed her walk. "Ah, forget it, do what you want, I don't wanna deal with this right now. Not like you'll listen to me anyway."

Was Sekibanki overplaying her act? It didn't seem that way to her, it was well practiced... well, it was twenty or so years ago. And Marisa was a human, she had a different perspective on someone trying to act like one. She didn't like it, but she had to admit, her words did make sense. Overdoing a disguise was just as dangerous as not having one, especially when you don't have all that much to hide. For all her talk, it was exactly what Sekibanki was becoming - complacent and obvious. She could add inattentive to that, too - she almost mistook the corpse that kasha was hauling for pork ribs, that's a new low! If she was as sharp as she had once been she'd be resting tomorrow without any fear of being stalked by a bunch of talking dogs. She's had it too easy for a while.

However, this also made the old question rear its head again. Why is Marisa trying to help her blend in better? What did she gain from it?

The answer to that would have to wait, the precinct was already in sight. An old office complex of some long gone shogunate official, surrounded by a wall. If you looked closely you could still see the outlines of the triple hollyhock behind the Hieda kanmon. It was always somewhat multipurpose - even after it was turned into a full-time police station the notice boards remained beside the gates, full of ads for public events. The most noteworthy change from the old times, however, was its bell tower - or rather a clock tower, as some decades ago the bell ringer got replaced with a huge mechanical clock, a pet project of some merchant trying to suck up to the House. Sekibanki remembered when it was just a bunch of springs and gears lying beside the tower. Wonder before which youkai did they have to grovel for those parts...

As they got closer, a small squad of patrolmen, led by a doushin, ran out of the gates to the main street. They could already hear them shouting among themselves.

"Man, more youkai ass to kick? Lucky week!"

"Shut up already! You've talked about nothing but youkai these days!"

"Getting soft, eh? Go marry one if you love 'em so much!"

"Well, my wife might as well be a youkai..."

One of the komono turned around as if to cover the squad's advance, only for his eyes to go wide as they met the little convoy. "Guys, aren't those the ones we're looking for?" The rest of them turned around.

The eager patrolman's enthusiasm quickly dissipated, replaced with anger. "Damn it, every time!", he loudly swore and threw his sasumata to the ground. What a baby. The others ran toward them, not giving that tantrum much notice. Sekibanki decided it would be better not to be the center of attention here, and stepped behind the floating pile of bodies, her back to the cops. Hopefully, they would think she's too shocked to talk.

Marisa whistled. "Rapid response, ey, officer?"

"Flying everywhere's a bad habit, Kirisame. Makes you impatient.", the officer in question rapidly responded.

Sekibanki twitched. She glanced from behind the unconscious youkai, and yep, it was that cop from this morning, Yoshinaga. It just had to be him, didn't it? He tried to look authoritative and confident, one hand on his hip and a jitte on his shoulder, but all it did was make him look overworked and tense. Strands of hair broken out of his topknot, dark circles under slightly red eyes, a light twitch in his sword arm - he likely hadn't slept since the last time Sekibanki saw him, maybe even longer.

The doushin stepped beside Marisa and began checking out their cargo, prodding the tanuki here and there with his baton and opening their eyelids. If he saw Sekibanki, he didn't show it. "Five and six... Let me guess, they started chanting something strange, and now they have achieved Zen."

"Heh. 'Course you'd be in on this." Marisa waved around the crooks. "So what's this, then, a common practice?"

Yoshinaga nodded. "All of the Futatsuiwa boys and girls we've got shut themselves up, yeah. If only that bigwig we nabbed this morning did the same. Kept yapping about his rights all day. But in general?" He shrugged. "First time any of us has seen anything like this. Exorcists are stumped as well. They say that it's almost as if this isn't a spell. Worst of all-", he stopped for a deep yawn, "Worst of all, I have a hunch that the higher-ups aren't telling us everything. Hell, I have no clue what did they even do..." He glanced at Sekibanki, as if waiting for her to join the conversation. "Their charges are pretty severe, however. That I know for sure. And now we can add assault to that, too. Youkai hunting people in broad daylight, and within the city walls too..." He tsked while shaking his head. "Surely you'll want to press some... additional charges?"

The point of the seemingly innocuous question was obvious - making sure her decision to meet him tomorrow night would stay the same. Her frown and her silence were answers enough.

Yoshinaga sighed wearily, like he was keeping it in for a while. "Now look, Se-"

"Just Seki.", she interrupted with quiet frustration. Almost blew her cover, the prick.

"Right, Oseki-san. I know we haven't begun off the right foot. I wish to apologise for that." He suddenly bowed, waist-deep. The patrolmen behind him started whispering among each other. Marisa stepped aside, wide-eyed. "This case has us all on edge, and I said some things earlier today without thinking them through. Now, I can see that you don't wish to have anything to do with us. It's... fine. But even if you've made up your mind, please hear me out. You might still be in danger. Just follow us to the precinct, I'll explain everything as we book our guests."

[]Follow inside. Not like it could get any worse, might as well enter the belly of the beast.
[]Wait outside. No way she would go into the precinct. If he wanted to talk, he would have to do it elsewhere.

[x]Follow inside. Not like it could get any worse, might as well enter the belly of the beast.

---

The miserable and the insignificant, if given even a tiny bit of power, will always pull those above them down by what little means they have. In Sekibanki's eyes, the police of the Human Village were the prime example of this axiom. With them being 'backed' by House Hieda, she had no doubts - they must know that they were there just for looks, for without that veneer of safety the villagers' panic would bring an end to this cursed place. So, of course they would enforce what little 'law' they could on the youkai who had to live here: surprise inspections of youkai-run businesses, made-up licenses that humans didn't need, stalking 'potential perps', that damn arbitrary haunting schedule "to decrease stress on the populace", she could go on. Sekibanki could count herself lucky that she didn't have too many run-ins with the cops in her decades - most of their puny tyranny remained rumours to her. The little adventure this morning made her certain of this truth, Yoshinaga being exactly how she imagined a cop would be: sly, condescending, one could even say cruel if such a thing applied against youkai.

And now, just a few hours after threatening her with the nastiest of community work, he was... apologising for misconduct.

That felt wrong to even think about. She was a youkai, for crying out loud! Wasn't he going to abuse his authority? Make Sekibanki do his job for him? Release his frustrations over being nothing but a glorified herder?

Of course, she could easily explain Yoshinaga's unadherence to the stereotype. The first one was simple inexperience - he did look in his early twenties. He must be only a rookie. Give him a couple of years and he'll be abusing his station just like everyone else. One does not need absolute power to be corrupted absolutely, especially people this small.

But that would be then. Perhaps he still hasn't gotten over his reservations, his conscience, his honour, if he believed in such a thing. So, when he thought he had gone over the line, he bailed, pointlessly trying to save face for doing his job. Perhaps even his promise to cover her hauntings was genuine. How chivalrous. It was as if he was begging her to abuse this chivalry of his.

The other possibility was even more banal, if troubling - this was just an act. While she couldn't see any signs of him faking it, it wasn't a guarantee that he wasn't. And if he was then she would not even notice if she was being played.

Still, while she could just wait for Marisa outside, with yakuza on the hunt staying alone wouldn't be the best idea. And if she was being played, it was probably too late to change that. She'd have to push her worries about law enforcement aside. Hopefully, it would be quick: answer a question here, put a fake signature there, refuse medical attention everywhere...

"Fine then." Sekibanki pointed a finger at the officer, who now stood straight as a stick. "Just don't think you're off the hook yet. Doushin or not, you don't just throw these kinds of words around."

Her words seemed to put some life into the tired officer. With a determined face, he turned to his squad and started shouting orders. "Alright, enough gossip you hens! Show 'em their room!" The rabble was as if replaced with seasoned soldiers, who, with a thunderous "Yes!", quickly got to work, dragging the tanuki inside. He gestured to Marisa and Sekibanki. "Follow me. We'll talk at my desk."

Going through the gates, Sekibanki couldn't help but notice Marisa's odd look jumping between her and Yoshinaga. What was it? The cops in the inner yard looked at them as they moved by, some bored, some jumpy, most coming closer to see what's the ruckus all about...

Or was it something else? The walls didn't allow her heads hidden on the nearby rooftops a good view of the yard, but from what she could see, it looked awfully like they were cutting off escape routes...

No, how could she be tricked so easily!?

Marisa led her into a trap!

That look - she was preparing to pull out her hakero on Sekibanki! Was her share of the bounty not enough for that thieving wannabe witch?

She knew this would happen, the only way she'd ever get inside the police station would be in chains, beaten halfway to the Sanzu by sainted weapons wielded by cackling cops, eager to 'get even with their oppressors', then thrown someplace damp and dark, waiting for someone to seal her in a jar for a century or two... Ah, how could she be this careless? A child could see this coming! And now it was too late, a single step and she would be inside! She braced herself, ready to bolt out of there the moment anyone moved toward her and-

She felt Marisa bump into her back. "Hey, why'd you stop all of a sudden?"

-and there was nothing?

Sekibanki cautiously looked around the busy reception area of the precinct: officers and patrolmen arguing among themselves, running about with reports, some grannies complaining about their neighbours to the receptionists... It felt not that different from Kanfukutei.

The cops that followed them went past Sekibanki and Marisa, all to pepper Yoshinaga with questions, and quickly dispersed when he waved them off with a short answer that had everyone groaning: "Two more, same thing, got bounties to pay." They gave a stinkeye to Marisa, her only answer a sly smirk. The only attention the secret rokurokubi got were a few concerned glances at her bloodied shoulder. At least the disguise still held.

But it wasn't like she felt completely safe here now that the immediate danger passed by. She noticed a few of the 'customers' on the benches: about twelve youkai of all shapes and forms, all in restraining ofuda. The line to the torture chambers, surely. And she could join the line at any moment. Good thing no one outside of (probably) Marisa noted her healthy dose of caution.

As they moved into a corridor, Marisa looked back to the lobby. "Man, what is this, a market? What's with the crowd?"

"It's those damn tanuki! Couldn't just play crooks like the rest, no! Now we have to jump through hoops, blind and tied!" The floor creaked from the sudden power Yoshinaga gave to his steps. "Their's a sneaky lot. We barely managed to get the ones we could. They got us so confused we couldn't tell what was a red herring and what wasn't. A sake merchant with a leaf stuck in his hair, a nekomata, a normal cat-"

"Get out!" Marisa jokingly brushed him off. "You guys can't be that bad."

"That's what the yoriki said. The first part, that is." He pulled his sheathed sword from his belt. "This is clearly something major, yet we got almost no help from any specialists! And not a word from the Hakurei! Useless bastards..."

They arrived at the main office area. It had personal knee-high desks of each officer in two rows across from each other. The policemen inside were too busy filing reports and arguing to notice them coming in. There was a larger table on the far side of the room, separated from the rest by paper dividers and a half-open door.

"Ah, the yoriki left." Yoshinaga noted as he put his katana onto the common weapons rack. "Must be an emergency meeting with the head of the House, he's been having a lot of those lately." He sat behind his desk. It was a mess, she couldn't see it behind piles of documents and notes. Even his name plaque was buried - she barely noted the character for 'Yoshi' on it.

"I'll fill in the form for your rewards, better to do this now before I get called away again. Where was it... " He started rummaging through the pile. It was a miracle that it didn't instantly collapse onto them. "Now, about what I wanted to mention. If it's true, we're all in a lot of trouble." He pulled out a form and looked at them as severely as his condition allowed him. "Their oyabun might still be at large."

"What, did you expect her to come to you on her own?" Sekibanki mocked, arms crossed, "She's a mob boss, of course she'd be working far from her underlings."

"You don't know Mamizou, that's not her style.", Marisa interjected, looking more confused than anything before turning to the doushin. "Might?"

Yoshinaga checked his colleagues. After making sure that no one was listening in on them, he quietly continued. "I was told by the yoriki that we got her, but none of the officers I've asked could remember that, and she's not in any of the cells." He pulled out a pen, his exhaustion didn't seem to affect the speed or quality of his writing. "Someone overheard that the exorcists are keeping her someplace else, some private prison, but that might be just bull to not lose face." The doushin exhaled through his teeth. "The tanuki's recent attacks have been too organised, we were lucky you weren't the only 'concerned citizen' who happened to help us."

"Great, even shmucks who don't know what they're getting into are more competent than our brave boys in black. Maybe you should hire them and retire."

The officer chuckled at Sekibanki's scoffing. "Oh, we'd love to, but our policy doesn't allow hiring youkai full-time."

Now that got her attention. "Youkai?"

"Yes. And from what I've heard, they were targeted this morning, just like you." He pulled out two sketches out of a pile of them, both of them face down. "There was a karakasa who decided to break haunting regulations at a rather unfortunate time..." Could it be...

Sekibanki looked down at the pictures as the officer turned one of them around. There were two portraits on it. A young girl with short hair, a small smidge of light blue paint to show its colour, and a goofy-looking umbrella with a single eye and a tongue lolling out.

Oh.

"...and a visitor from the Bamboo Forest, ambushed on her way from the inn she was staying at."

He turned another sketch, again double. On both halves was the same young woman with long, dark hair and a calm look in her eyes, the only difference between the pictures being a set of canine ears.

Oh no.

They're trying to get her through the Network. Why did she even keep in contact with them, this was exactly what she feared!

Yoshinaga stopped writing and looked her in the eyes. "Do you know them?" Sekibanki maintained a neutral expression as best as she could, shaking her head slightly. His gaze lingered on her for a moment, eyebrow raised just slightly. He knew. Crap. "If you say so..." He checked some other records, then continued writing. "However, she really could be behind bars now. That is, if... that thing turns out to be real."

There was a chance that this 'Mamizou' was in the hands of those psychos? Not enviable, but well deserved. "What thing?", Sekibanki asked.

"Well... You didn't hear me say this, but there are rumours of the Hieda Estate having some... hidden cellars. Sign here, please." He gave the paper to Marisa, who quickly scribbled her signature and slid it back. "And, this might just the nobles being overcautious, but I did hear that the security of the Estate got increased somewhat, maybe even with some help from the exorcists."

The witch turned her gaze to Sekibanki, the question clear in her eyes, but right as she decided to object, Marisa spoke up. "They have, uh, other reasons for that."

"What would those be?"

Marisa went around the desk, leaned in, and started whispering something to Yoshinaga. At some point he closed his eyes in a pained expression, grumbling something. When Marisa sat back in her place, he leaned his elbow on the desk, propping up his face. "Well, shit. At least that explains why they left us in the dark. Was the yoriki to know, he wouldn't leave a single stone in the city unturned."

There could not be a worse scenario for Sekibanki. The cops would use this to make the lives of all city youkai hell, she knew it! She could probably handle that, she prepared for this possibility her whole life, but what about the rest? Knowing their arrogance, it would be a bloodbath...

"In any case, it would be for the best for you to not stay alone.", Yoshinaga said. "I doubt you'll join our witness protection program, though it's there if you want to." Sekibanki would've laughed if it wasn't dire. He still didn't get how you don't need to treat a youkai like a human. Seriously, witness protection?

"So, we done?", Marisa asked, "We have a lot of work to do now."

"Right, right." Yoshinaga gave her the paper. She looked through it and whistled. "You know who to give it to. The cash is yours."

The girls stood up to leave, but it seemed that the officer didn't finish. "And, Oseki-san, if you change your mind about tomorrow, you know where to find me."

Sekibanki did not respond and headed out. Marisa asked her some trivial questions on their way back, but they too were all ignored as they left the building.

---

"...so he turned right, big mistake - the window between stars is deceptively small, I've only ever seen Reimu try to dodge through that! And so, he fell onto a roof, where I nabbed him!"

Marisa got to retelling the account of her defeating the youkai with great enthusiasm. Sekibanki, or rather Oseki the poor, overworked waitress, wished she put more of that enthusiasm into her sweeping. It didn't look like she used that broom of hers for its intended purpose too often.

Kanfukutei was in ruins: most of the roof was gone, many chairs and tables got smashed, burnt decorations littered the floor, and the only thing left beautifying the pleasant light green wall was a man-shaped hole. Ironically enough, the manju didn't get overboiled - she saw some kids leaving the cafe with some as compensation for their ruined holiday.

Naomi didn't look too amused. "That's great, honey, but that still doesn't explain how you got all this money."

"I was getting there, actually. Those youkai got a huge bounty on their heads for, uh, robbery, yeah.", Marisa quickly made up something believable. Were she in her place, Sekibanki would try to avoid calling the thugs youkai, but everyone here was in the know, so it wasn't that big of a deal.

"Would be funnier if it was vandalism, don't you think?", Saburo said, annoyed at the girl's nonchalance. "Well, can't get too mad now that you're paying, but still, we'll have to close for this week."

"Yeah, my bad. But, look to the bright side, there's two fewer criminals in the city, and those two will be getting some work!", she gestured to the carpenter duo, sitting on one of the intact tables. The one who was thrown through the wall was wearing nothing on his well-built, bloodied upper body, his companion was rubbing some Yagokoro balm onto his wounds, and a small handful of bloody splinters was near them.

"More work's good." He nodded, looking at Sekibanki. "I'm really glad that everyone's fine. Hope you kicked that tanuki real g-GAH!"

The other carpenter laughed as he added another splinter to the pile. "'Scuse me there, Sankichi, missed one. That should be all of them."

Sankichi turned his head to him, face red. "That's what you said the last ten times, you butcher! Gods and Buddhas, if only I had eyes on the back of my head..."

"Oh, quit whining. Have you ever seen anyone in the crew complain about splinters?"

"Of course not, I'm always the one pulling them! I could be a physician, you know." He turned back to the 'waitress', now calmer. "Speaking of, you sure your shoulder isn't hurt, Oseki-san?"

She let out a tired sigh, trying not to look at him. Not this again. "It's fine, just a scratch."

"Even scratches can kill, you know. Let me dress it, I've dealt with with similar injuries. Might also need to tighten those bandages on your neck as well."

The hell was he thinking about, playing doctor? There was no need to do anything with her bandages, they were still in... place...

Sekibanki stopped as she felt something she shouldn't have while double-checking her neck. The bandage seemed to slip just slightly on the left, and now she felt her fingers on her neck seam. Just how long has it been like that, since her fight? How many people could've seen it, then?

And now one of them was not-so-subtly hinting at it, for whatever nefarious purpose he had in his head. What was he trying with this? Extort her? Rat her out? Something worse...?

"Uh, you alright there?", his seemingly confused question followed.

Alright, no time to panic. The rokurokubi decided on the approach. Slightly scowling, she threw her broom to him. He caught it, just like he caught her gaze full of (played-up) scorn, and followed her with his eyes as she headed for the exit. She threw her apron to Saburo. It was good that he was surprised - he and Naomi likely paid more attention to Marisa's tall tale than to the carpenter's scheme. They would surely mistake it for Sankichi offending her in a more mundane way. No need to involve them in anything - not in the tanuki mess, not in this.

As Sekibanki heard everyone in the cafe call her out, she picked up the pace, running behind the corner and into an alleyway. Here she would wait for Marisa to come. She still had one head rolling around on what remained of Kanfukutei's roof, and while she couldn't look inside without being found out, she could still hear whatever was going on inside.

"Alright, mister. What did you do to Oseki-chan?" Naomi's voice was as ice.

"Nothing, I just offered some help, and she just ran off!", Sankichi stammered. "What's up with that?"

"Wait a sec," Marisa said calmly. "Is this about..." She couldn't hear the rest of it, the witch got too quiet to hear through the wind up there.

She could only assume Sankichi nodded his answer, as the witch whispered her explanation. He suddenly interrupted her. "T-that's not how I meant that!"

The other carpenter was having a blast, judging by his laughter. "Congrats, man, you blew it!"

Marisa spoke before Sankichi could snap back. "Now, I'll be busy this week, but after it..." She heard the rustling of paper. "Here. Just be sure you're serious about this. Tough customer, if you catch my drift." There was no question as to what it was - she was advertising her youkai extermination skills. Sekibanki would need to be careful in the future when dealing with this loose end. If he wanted her gone, he would not be alone.

Regardless, it at least seemed to have made him reconsider his earlier plan. "I-I'll think about it." She hoped that he wouldn't act before she did.

Now that Marisa bid everyone farewell the head could take its leave as well. Sekibanki called out the witch as she passed by. She approached the alleyway with a frown. "Now, can you explain what the hell was that all about?"

Sekibanki wasn't about to divulge anything to the potential future threat. "This is none of your concern, unlike the tanuki business."

Marisa's annoyed gaze made her look ready to mouth Sekibanki off for her caution, but she then calmed herself with a deep breath. "Fine, whatever. What now? You're not gonna stay at your place, right?"

Sekibanki loathed the lack of privacy that came with cohabitation, but staying alone really wasn't safe. She couldn't stay vigilant for the entire night - she did need to sleep at some point, even if it was less than a human would need. So, she considered her options.

She could stay with one of the members of the Grassroots Youkai Network who was attacked today. She was... acquainted with them enough to trust them somewhat, and they could help with the investigation in their own way. However, there would be a very real chance of information leaks - the whole point of the network was seemingly just gossip. And that's not taking into account individual problems they could bring along.

Of the Grassroots members, Kogasa was the only other youkai in the Village whom she could both trust and had a house. Too bad it was in Kimon District - the most wretched hive of scum and villainy one could find this side of the valley, which is precisely why that silly umbrella chose to live there. No doubt the Futatsuiwa had a business or two there, so she would have to hide in plain sight, and she wasn't as familiar with that part of the Village, but at least it was still home territory... somewhat.

The other options would have Sekibanki leave the Human Village for a while. There was a big issue with this. She didn't know how exactly it worked, but it seemed that all the locales in the valley... drifted away from each other very slowly over time, something to do with 'additional landmass brought in with forgotten places' or something like that. If she were to travel back to the Village she'd have a lot less time to spare during the day because of this 'forgotten landmass'.

The closer one was Kagerou's place. Living in the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, it was well hidden from anyone who couldn't follow the bizarre logic of that cursed grove, and the wolf-woman could share some insights on how to deal with fellow beasts. The issue, again, was the place itself - she would not be able to enter or leave without Kagerou's guidance. And getting lost there could mean a fate worse than death, even for a youkai.

Lastly, she could go with Marisa. There was no need to involve anyone else in this sensitive case, and she felt that she could end it all quicker that way. Ironic, but her place was also the furthest from the Village - a third of the day just to get there on foot.

[]Stay in the Village...
-[]...with Kogasa in Kimon District. That fool of an umbrella chose the worst place in the Village to live, but it could be a boon now, as could her skills.
[]Stay out of the Village...
-[]...with Kagerou in the Bamboo Forest of the Lost. She had to know more about the beast youkai and had the best place to hide. Travel time: 2 zodiacal hours by foot, 1 by flight, guide required
-[]...with Marisa in the Forest of Magic. If she was going to get involved, she was her best bet at ending this quickly. Travel time: 4 zodiacal hours by foot, 2 by flight
{Write in if you think other places work best, or if you want something else to be done before traveling}

[X]Stay in the Village...
-[X]...with Kogasa in Kimon District. That fool of an umbrella chose the worst place in the Village to live, but it could be a boon now, as could her skills.

---

Sekibanki mentally reviewed what she could gather from those two tanuki. She figured that even if their operations were spread throughout Gensokyo, their goal of undermining the Village's leadership demanded that their efforts remain focused on the largest, most important settlement in the Human Lands.

And even if there were a lead that led outside, traveling in and out of the Village would be best kept to a minimum, for it was time-consuming, very noticeable, easily traceable, and wrought with danger outside of the dog yakuza. She knew that well - every Network meetup demanded quite a voyage, the road taking her an entire Tuesday evening, with her returning home Wednesday morning, all while maintaining several disguises to dissuade the people at waystations and human hamlets from wondering about why a lone young woman was heading to the Lake of Death.

So in the end, the best choice was to stay with someone in the Village. However, best did not mean perfect. There were always issues.

The first one was that 'someone', who had an overly cheery attitude and zero aptitude for scaring people despite being positively ancient. Tatara Kogasa, the bumbling karakasa-obake, would no doubt prove to be a nuisance. To make matters worse, she didn't have much of a choice about it: it was either Kogasa or an inn, and she would not stay at an inn, ever. It may have been decades since then, and she did destroy all the evidence, but she would not risk someone making a connection to that case.

Kogasa being targeted by the dogs was another worry. At the very least most other Network members that could be in danger got good places to hide and wait it out. Kogasa, being good at making life choices, chose to get stuck in a slum. Not like Sekibanki really cared, but this could turn out badly for her as well.

Speaking of slums, the second issue was the karakasa's lovely place of residence - Kimon District, the cesspit of violence and vice worthy of its name. No wonder many youkai chose life there, for a certain definition of life. Or were they the ones making it worse? Whatever was the case, it was the closest thing to Hell without actually going to Hell.

Unfortunately, those issues were also part of the reason to stay. The tanuki yakuza would obviously work through the criminal underworld of Kimon, where they likely had paws on more than one business. All of their moves could be followed there, and Kogasa's forge would be good for staking them out. Maybe she could even put the forge itself to good use - some tools for entering uninvited would be great.

Everything put together, she would stay at Kogasa's place.

Having made up her mind, Sekibanki answered to the waiting witch. "I've got a bolthole in Kimon. I'll manage."

"That place, huh." Marisa adjusted her cap by its brim. Nervous? "I'm surprised you don't just live there. A lot of youkai do." Ah, no, just being herself.

Sekibanki wasn't going to take that jab. "Who do you take me for? A criminal?"

"Well, ya kinda are-"

"Speak for yourself." The last thing she needed was to hear that from Marisa, who might as well be a Kimon resident.

If there are any humans left there by now, she thought.

Marisa rolled her eyes. "Suuure. Anyway, if you're done crying over your definitely broken heart, I have some leads I wanna check out before it's too late. You better rest now, tomorrow we've gotta strike back."

Ah, right, she did see through her ruse. Oh well, that wasn't a priority right now. "Good. We'll meet near the Dragon God statue, at the Monkey's hour. By then you'll have something figured out, I imagine."

---

Now, just like it was decades ago, Kimon District was the worst place in the Human Village to live.

Illicit trade, gambling dens around every corner, occasional brawling in the streets... The only kind of people that place attracted were the most brave or deranged of humans, unafraid to be soaked in its dark aura, and an uncertain number of urban youkai, feeding on humanity's darkest desires, and fighting with their neighbours daily for their place under the moon.

At least, that's how Sekibanki remembered this place was like. While she was confident in her abilities, the territoriality of the local youkai seemed like too much of a bother to deal with each day. And she never had much reason to visit the district often. Not that she needed any local wares or services too often. Things could've changed around here - for the worst, undoubtedly.

What she found strange about it was that there were always humans who claimed it was entirely normal and safe, just like any other place in the Village. Anyone with a bit of brain knew better than to listen to those bite-covered fools.

And now that there's a tanuki with a stake in this place, who's to say that any of those humans are, or ever were, what they appear as?

Still, despite having to watch out for any pickpockets, she did feel a bit... familiar here. At least she wasn't in the middle of some woods. Besides, she wasn't going deep into Kimon's seedy heart just yet. Kogasa thought that by settling in Kimon she would be considered fearsome and tough, if only by association. Even so, while she could imagine a number of ronin were into this kind of pastime, it wouldn't do her business well were her customers mugged on their way to her place, if not worse. As such, she lived on Kimon's outskirts.

Here it was, casa del kasa. For someone so weak, Kogasa had managed to get quite the piece of real estate. She had enough space to have a private backyard to go with her hut - for fire safety it was likely a necessity that her forge had to be separate. She could see the forge's furnace, along with tools and a large heap of slag. A new development was three straw mannequins on poles. They must've been a recent addition - no burn marks from target practice. Also notable was that smoke was coming from the furnace's chimney, yet Kogasa was nowhere to be seen. How odd...

She walked to the door of the hut and immediately froze. The door seemed to be slightly open, but no noise came from the inside, just total silence.

This wasn't right. Sure, Kogasa would want to frighten anyone who came to her, whether or not the time was appropriate, but it wasn't like her to be this quiet, and her umbrella would always stick out somewhere.

No... Was I too late? Have the tanuki already gotten her?

Without moving a sun further, Sekibanki examined the door. No signs of any padlock, nor could she see the silhouette of the hook latch from inside. Someone must have broken in. The scenario she played in her heads so many times has become a reality. They might've already taken her away...

Or, they might still be here, waiting in ambush for anyone who comes to help!

Sekibanki carefully snuck up to the side of the door, then suddenly threw it open, hoping to spring the trap and ambush the ambushers.

She nearly screamed as she felt two hands grabbing her by the head from behind.

And then, she heard it.

"Surprise!"

Before she could turn to the familiar yell, her head got pulled up and spun round, meeting the culprit's eyes, one turquoise, one red. "Gah, what the hell, Kogasa!"

The karakasa cheerfully laughed, and her umbrella self hopped about with similar joy. "Told you I'd get you one day!"

'One day' there will be a meeting between an umbrella and a knee.

"What were you thinking, just leaving your door open like that?!"

"Wh- It's always open. I do it all the time, it's fine."

Sekibanki couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Are you just used to waking up with half of your inventory missing?" She quickly stopped the tsukumogami's rising protest, "Enough, we don't have time for fooling around. Get inside, now."

Kogasa did as she was told, even if she didn't hurry that much. She picked up a bag she dropped to perform her not-quite-little prank and went inside, annoyingly refusing to let go of Sekibanki's head.

Time to teach her a lesson. Again.

As soon as she closed the door, the head's stump stretched, tying around Kogasa's humanoid part into a knot. The umbrella managed to slip the grip. The rokurokubi's body stood in front, arms crossed and a new head formed on its shoulders, unamused. She stared Kogasa down like she was a misbehaving child.

"Wah! What are you doing, Banki? This isn't funny!"

"And potentially blowing my cover was? What if there were humans on the street?"

"But this is Kimon! You told me they expect there to be youkai here!"

Always this excuse. Explaining it was getting so tiresome. "They expect youkai who live here, Kogasa! What if they saw me somewhere else later, knowing what I am? What then?"

All three of Kogasa's eyes looked away from her, guilty and teary. "...Sorry..."

Alright, enough lecturing the girl in her own house, that would just make staying over awkward. Save it for if Kagerou forgets about her ears again. She retracted the neck, leaving the head to be on the lookout. The umbrella hopped back into her other self's hands.

"This better not happen again.", Sekibanki said as she unslung her pack. "We can't afford to deal with this, not now."

Kogasa nodded energetically, which only made Sekibanki certain they'd have this conversation again. She never learns.

The rokurokubi sat at the table to check if her belongings weren't snatched on the way. It was an important task, yet her attention kept jumping to the table itself. Its height, its size being a bit too large for one person, the tablecloth's... being there at all.

In fact, Kogasa's entire interior was an eyesore. It wasn't that it was gaudy, far from it, but it felt... superfluous compared to her own spartan flat. Maybe it was just the difference in their homes' purpose - Sekibanki's was a temporary shelter, Kogasa's was a permanent residence. But some parts of the decor felt unneeded.

She had little wrought iron sculptures of one-eyed youkai, local and foreign, standing on shelves, on the table, here and there. Kogasa claimed that making cyclopes made her feel one with the forge, solidifying that aspect of hers. But for that to work, she had to show them off outside, or directly in her forge, not just in a few corners of her hut. If no one knew about them, they served no purpose, just took up space. No wonder no one found her scary - doing something for its own sake was too humanlike. Especially making pointless nicknacks.

Enough of that, she quickly got through her things: the same measly savings, spare clothes, some personal trinkets she'd rather Kogasa didn't see...

...She just had to forget her tobacco, didn't she? Now her pipe was useless, how would she go through the week now? Oh well, at least her favourite cape was still with her.

And she hadn't forgotten another important thing, one that hadn't seen use for its intended purpose for a long time - her ever-expansive 'makeup' kit. A youkai couldn't completely rely on its vagueness of form unless it could shapeshift, after all. Here's hoping that none of the dyes have dried up.

Kogasa put a teapot on the stove, then looked over at her guest's things. "I didn't know we were having a sleepover!"

Taking in the clue, Sekibanki stood up and went for the cups. "Call it what you want. Can't stay at home, and I needed a place."

Kogasa paused while pulling out sweets from her shopping bag. "Wow, must be quite the trouble! If you want we can call the meetup early, and discuss how to deal with it."

"No, and I don't think we'll have the time for it. We'll probably have to skip this week." Well, not like they would offer anything useful or interesting anyway.

At that Kogasa perked up. "What!? But we never skip out! Even you always show up, though you say you're not a member-"

Sekibanki put the cups down on the table harshly. "There's too much risk involved now, okay?"

"You didn't have a falling out with Kagerou again, did you?"

"It's not that, it's..." She sat down again and took a moment to collect herself. Explaining this mess was not going to be easy. "Alright, let's start from the beginning. Where were you this Saturday night?"

"Hmmm... Well, I felt really bummed about a client ruining her knife right after I fixed it... five times in a row. So, I thought scaring someone into next week would cheer me up!"

Sekibanki felt like she had already heard this story a hundred times. "Let me guess, that turned out to be a mistake."

Kogasa let out a mischievous giggle. "Like you wouldn't do the same."

"Of course I would not. I have patience." She must never know. "So?"

Kogasa rested her head on her palms. The umbrella's eye drooped. "Well, it was mostly nothing, literally - not a soul, not even a phantom. Then suddenly!", she burst out, almost sending a thankfully empty teacup to the floor, "Some guy ran right into me! With a crowd behind him! It got messy, but then they managed to tie that guy up. Turned out they were police, and I just helped them capture a criminal! They even thanked me!"

Bitter laughter escaped from Sekibanki's mouths, both of them. The sheer joy with which she told of the cops' gratitude... Seems that some tools will always be tools, even when they have a grudge against humanity. It's almost endearing. Almost.

"And then earlier today some crooks tried to corner me! They asked some weird questions, like 'how many of you are under the fuzz's payroll' or something like that. They got so into it that they didn't notice the officers behind them, so we all got a trip to the precinct! I don't recall when was the last time I got to write a statement!"

"Did they tell you about any other victims of that gang?"

"Well, they told me that I'm not the only one, but nothing other than that, no."

She wasn't told, huh. Was she the first to get attacked, then? Or, maybe...

What was Yoshinaga's play here? When he pulled those police sketches of the Network members, he must've been checking if there was a connection between the victims. Was this just for this investigation? Or was he looking for a more solid means of blackmailing her?

She hated that she couldn't tell if he was actually or accidentally shady. Damned cop.

"Is that bad?", Kogasa asked innocently. How the hell does she survive in this place?

Before Sekibanki said anything, the teapot began whistling. "It's best we talk over our drinks." She'd rather do this with something stronger than tea, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

---

With the tea ready the two of them sat down, and Sekibanki explained everything that had happened, leaving out almost nothing. Aside from a few approving nods when she told her of her fight, this might've been the most still and attentive Kogasa had ever been, as far as Sekibanki knew. Maybe if she was like this more often she wouldn't be getting urges to open her in a storm...

"So yeah, we're in deep." Sekibanki took a sip of her umpteenth cup of tea, as countless as the many heads she had changed when the taste got old. "I don't think any of us are getting any rest until we deal with the tanuki yakuza, and I think the best way is to get their boss. We do that, and the rest will either fold or tear each other apart. The only problem is finding her."

"But how? They could be anyone and anywhere! Especially her!"

"They're here, in Kimon. No doubt about that. Do you know any local businesses her mob might own or 'protect'?"

"No, I never heard of any tanuki doing something like that."

So, either they're sneaky about it, or Kogasa was completely ignorant. Sadly, the latter was the more likely case.

"Now that I'm thinking about it, there was one thing. A month ago I heard that someone bought an old warehouse somewhere in the middle of the district. Could it be them?"

"Hmm, not a lot of people can afford to just buy a warehouse. But a gang could. What's with it now?"

"Not much, it has been closed for renovations since then. It's one of the largest buildings in Kimon - whoever owns it now must've been preparing something big."

Sekibanki sighed. They'd have to snoop around a construction site that might not even be relevant to this mess. To make matters worse, they might even have to deal with the workers. Then again, if it really was a tanuki project, Mamizou was very likely to be there, overseeing it.

"Though I'm not sure going after Mamizou-san is the right way. I have to agree with Marisa here - this is not like her at all!"

This again? The way people speak of her, she might as well be a bodhisattva. "Oh? A crime boss having a scheme is something unheard of?"

"Completely! She may seem all shady and sinister, but she's actually very nice!"

Sekibanki couldn't help but raise a brow. "Really now?"

"Yeah, she took on helping Kokoro adjust to life here."

...She took on who now? Oh, right, that menreiki troublemaker. So that's what Mamizou's 'kindness' was all about - filling young tsukumogami delinquents' heads with propaganda, making them loyal, disposable soldiers. Didn't she know that's as old a trick as organised crime itself? Or any organisation, really.

Still, that did make her a decent lead to follow up on. That, or she could deliberately lead them on a wild goose chase to cover her patron.

"We could ask Kokoro about it-"

"Alright!", Kogasa exclaimed. Seemed that she had already come to a course of action for both of them. "I don't know where she lives, but she does hang out at the Myouren Temple a lot. Maybe she and the other people there know something."

"We shouldn't go further than that, however. We're not telling her anything, especially not about the hostages."

"But we've got to let others know!"

"Unless we'll have an opportunity to check on Kagerou, no. Getting too many people in on this is risky. I'm already putting it all on the line just by telling you."

At that the karakasa made a pout. "What's that supposed to mean? I'm not a load!"

"Never said you were," Sekibanki said while pensively checking the ceiling. "Though you may have let some potential spies in your home..."

"What, are you suggesting my customers are spies?"

"They don't have to be, what with your wide-open door."

"Oh, that?", Kogasa said, carefree, as if their trouble with the tanuki mob had evaporated. "I wasn't away for long, just needed to get some custom sheaths for my latest order."

"And some snacks..."

"Yeah, then there was that whole precinct trip. Don't worry, the neighbours would see if anyone entered while I was gone. And even if somebody wanted to spy around, they'd think twice before messing with a fearsome youkai such as I!"

With an attitude like that, Sekibanki could imagine that Kogasa really was used to her stuff getting stolen. "Well, nevermind that. What's this about sheaths? They're actually letting you make weapons now?"

Upon hearing that Kogasa looked absolutely giddy. "Not just any weapons! Come on, I'll show you!"

She grabbed her bag and ran to the backyard, and Sekibanki followed. They came closer to the trio of straw mannequins that she was now sure were for testing the new wares. Kogasa stood her umbrella self on the ground and got out of her bag what appeared to be a simple walking stick like the ones sometimes used by older villagers and pretentious youkai. Oddly enough, she held it up, like she would her umbrella. She casually strolled towards the mannequins, when-

"Urameishiya!"

A quick flick of her wrist made the upper (bottom?) part of the cane fly up, revealing a thin, two shaku long strip of metal connected to the handle. She'd struck with it just as quickly, all in the second or two it took her to shout. By the time she was done, the targets were in halves on the floor, and the thrown part of the cane fell back onto the blade, hiding it as if it was never there.

Kogasa turned back, beaming with pride. "How's that for a scare?"

Sekibanki just stared in awe. She knew Kogasa could make some good tools, but this was something else. And to handle it with such finesse? Perhaps she would be of more use than she expected...

"I see you liked it! It's called a shikomizue. You can have this one - I was going to make a surplus anyway."

"Surplus? Who would even need this many?"

"The police, of course! Now that I have a license, they're ordering all kinds of undercover weapons. Even an extendable spear, oh, you'll love that one! Though for now it's just these shikomizue."

Sekibanki decided not to mention how the same blades could one day be used against them. Best to deal with the immediate problems first, With what she might soon face, she'd need any help she could get.

She took the cane sword. Its edge looked impossibly thin, like it would break if you blew on it. She made a test strike against the remains of one of the targets. The blade dug deep into the mannequin's wooden core, and, after she rather easily got it out, showed no signs of damage to the edge. That's youkai forging for you.

This also meant that, if the wielder focused their killing intent, it had a most worrisome quality to hurt not just flesh, but spirit as well. Best be careful with this thing.

Sekibanki sheathed the sword, making it a cane once more. "Thanks. Though I can walk just fine, any other ideas for the look?"

Kogasa looked thoughtfully to the side. "I have a few, but this might take a couple of days. Know how to play a shamisen?"

When one gets over a century old one picks up all kinds of odd skills. "I think I can get out a chord or two. Anything else you can pull up? Any minor thing could help. Preferably something that's just as easily concealable."

"Hmm... Anything larger than the canes defeats the purpose... Oh, I know, the needles!"

"Needles?"

Ignoring the question, the karakasa dove into the pile of metal refuse, unbothered by its sharp, prickly contents. After a while she emerged, holding a bundle of large needles.

Sekibanki recognised them instantly. "Sealing needles? Where did you get those?"

"Well, I do get orders from the Hakurei from time to time. The needles are hard to make, but even the failed ones can be used!"

"Ah, so you're the one I have to thank for my free acupuncture sessions?" Kogasa made a nervous laugh, a telling answer to the rhetorical question.

Seriously. Umbrella. Knee. One day.

Sekibanki grabbed a few needles. They appeared to be partially inscribed with the tiniest prayers she'd seen in her life, often stopping mid-sentence, likely where Kogasa made a slip-up. Most of them seemed fine for throwing still. They could serve well for distractions or markings.

A few of them were bent, those could serve as makeshift caltrops. Sure, most important people could fly, but not a lot of them bothered to remember that.

Some of the needles, however, were bent only slightly near the tip, reminding her of another way Kogasa could be useful today.

She showed one of the bent needles to Kogasa. "Could I get more of these?"

"What for? They're not of much use."

"They could be when dealing with locks."

Kogasa's eyes widened. Her tool self hopped close to her. "H-hey, isn't that illegal?"

Sekibanki rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Why does this matter? We're youkai, human laws should mean nothing to us."

"But we still have to deal with them. Otherwise we wouldn't be living here."

That... was a sound point. Were they completely disregarding of the law, they'd either be driven out or dead.

However, this time was different. This wasn't a usual haunting or even an incident, no law played a part in this. To even the playing field they needed every trick up their sleeve and be willing to use them.

Kogasa doesn't see it this way, she considered. Perhaps showing her that this would be a victimless crime is a better approach.

"Think about it this way.", the rokurokubi began illustrating her point, "It would be undignified if whatever we need to deal with the tanuki is behind a lock we can't do anything with other than stare at. And I don't think the cops will care much about how this issue is dealt with, only that it is."

She let the umbrella have a moment to consider. "Alright.", Kogasa said, still looking a bit unsure. "But this better not come back to bite us. Gather anything that looks good from the pile, I'll fix them and file the needles clean."

"No worries. It's not my first time." Be it lockpicking or digging through trash...

---

Making picks and probes took the rest of the day, and while Sekibanki would have loved to spend the night awake, Kogasa insisted that they needed rest.

But, with all that happened today, she was ill at ease. Laying in the spare futon in someone else's house made her feel powerless. Even wishing somebody else goodnight did not sit well with her. Not that it ever would - she was a youkai, but still. She should be back home, not here. Now it was unattended - someone could be crawling in it right now.

Not that they would find anything there, she pretty much picked it clean. Wasn't that hard, youkai do not need much for life. Even if looking at Kogasa's abode one would think otherwise.

Perhaps that was the thing bothering her? Her home was just another rented room among many like it. It's main purpose was to be small, cheap, and disposable, and that worked perfectly - all of her possessions fit into her backpack, and she could leave it at any moment if trouble arose, just like now. The only place better would be somewhere condemned.

So, why did she care about it at all?

It was as temporary as any living space she had before. She shouldn't be getting attached to it. Then again, youkai shouldn't work as blacksmiths either. Or as waitresses for that matter...

Going by the heads she posted to guard the approaches to the Kogasa's hut, no one was around. None of them were inside, however - there was already a brainstorm going on, and she didn't want to wake up the hostess.

"I don't like this.", the head watching the starry sky mumbled. "None of the leads we have are solid enough. I'd say we'll end up chasing ghosts, but that might make a better plan."

"In that case Kogasa will chase nothing but ghosts.", replied the head looking westward. "We'll have to work with what we have. The Temple could be a good starting point."

A scoffing exhale came from the head facing south. "Yeah, if you want to be misled by a possible yakuza pawn. Or, better yet, listen to a bunch of boring monks. We should stick to Kimon and check the construction site instead. It has to be their turf, I just know it!"

"Exactly, we might just go straight into their den, then what? Get captured? If I wanted that I'd go anywhere outside the Village and just shout 'Hey, I'm that snitch you're looking for!' We need to start safe."

The stargazing head shifted. The roof's thatch was getting oddly comfy. "I think you're forgetting something - Myouren Temple is outside the Village."

"You're exaggerating. It's so near it might as well be within the walls. Should take almost no time."

"It's not time that I'm concerned about, it's-"

The sudden tapping near the futon stopped her. She turned her bed head around, only to meet the umbrella's sleepy eye. Kogasa called to her in an equally tired tone.

"Banki-chan, I don't think the ceiling can answer you yet. Could you stop talking with it?"

"S-sure." Maybe she did need rest after all. Could've sworn I've had a track of which me was talking...

The umbrella hopped back to its rack, and the light shuffling from Kogasa's direction told her that she was fast asleep.

All of her heads went silent, but one brought up what would be the last question for today.

"What about Yoshinaga's offer?"

"We'll see. If Marisa comes up with something urgent, we might not have time for him."

This was truly one of the most awful days in a long while, the week preceding it seeming like paradise in comparison. Worse yet, she knew one thing for a fact.

It was going to get worse before it was going to get better.

[]Steal into the tanuki-owned business in Kimon. It was either the end of the case, or end of us.
[]Look into Mamizou's connections at the Myouren Temple. Waiting there were either clues, or a boring cermon.

[X]Look into Mamizou's connections at the Myouren Temple. Waiting there were either clues, or a boring sermon.

---

Long, monotonous whistling welcomed Sekibanki into the morning.

Guess even the birds here have a terrible song.

Her bed-headed head floated from the bed towards the irritating hiss, eyes half closed, her body following close behind. The heat and smell of sweets engulfed her. A bluish spot moved about in front, and the whistling was replaced with the sound of something pouring.

...And they're also teapot shaped.

"Morning, sleepyheads!" She was greeted by the spot, who soon took the shape of Kogasa sitting at the table.

"Morning." Sekibanki's head on top of the forge threw herself into a water basin below. Its cold sacrifice got her brains awake and working. She sat down and got to work on the tea and sweets. "Ugh, what time even is it?"

"It just dawned, so late Tiger's hour, I think." Kogasa must've been an early riser. Or I got too used to sleeping in.

"Yeah, that's good to hear. I was worried it would be noon. The early morning makes sneaking out a bit easier."

"Sneaking out of where?"

"The Village. We're going to try and visit Kokoro." She thought she saw Kogasa pump a fist. Somewhere in the corner of her eye, the umbrella did the same with its tongue. "It's the safer option. We barely know anything we could use against the tanuki mob, let alone Mamizou. Going into what could be their den blind is suicide. No need to get ahead of ourselves."

The karakasa's face became serious. "If that's the case, Kimon can wait. It's not like their building can go anywhere, right?" She looked lost in thought for a moment. "Unless... the building itself is a tanuki!?"

Sekibanki chuckled a bit at the mental image. That's just silly, they'd need a giant one for that, wouldn't they? Or enough of them to turn into all the boards and nails... But what if they do have giant tanuki? Or an entire horde? Or a horde of giants?

She shook her head. "Let's not go that far. Instead, let's think about what we do know about our culprit." She got out the notes she made yesterday evening. Maybe her sleepless hours weren't a waste. "Mamizou arrived in Gensokyo not too long ago."

"Called here by the Nue-"

"Called here by someone who calls herself Nue, yes." Everyone knew that the Nue was dead. And even if she wasn't, there was no way she'd agree to live in a temple of all places. What's next, oni roving the streets of the Human Village in broad daylight? Yeah, right. "Since then, Mamizou liked the Myouren Temple as a hangout, and became somewhat friendly with the local youkai, right?"

"Right.", Kogasa nodded, "I remember that time she had a transformation contest with the Temple's nyuudou, Unzan. You saw him, right?" Sekibanki shook a 'no'. How in the world would a nyuudou be good at shapeshifting?

"Umm, anyway, they morphed into objects, people, caricatures of people, it was a riot! However, Unzan was supposed to be attending a sutra reading at the moment, so Byakuren-san - that's their head nun, by the way - had to end it. And right when they were mimicking her, that was fun to see." Kogasa paused, her expression becoming even more fond. " But in the end, I think she didn't mind. She scolded them afterwards, sure, but you should've seen her barely contained smile while she did it!"

Even the head of the Temple, huh. She sure knows how to get a good spin on the tanuki legend. "But she never made the Temple her territory?"

"No, not really. She and her tanuki friends just played pranks on the visitors, made merry when the head nun wasn't looking, you know, just... hung out. And there never were too many of them - some of the crew didn't like the place, I've heard Mamizou-san say."

Interesting, perhaps even worrisome, was that they even allowed her to the temple grounds. Neither preachy busybodies nor competing youkai would want the raccoon yakuza close.

"And as of their business in the Village," Official business, that is. "They were moneylenders?"

"Yeah, I saw her disguised as a human a few times, when some villagers were paying their loan back to her. It's a trick she apparently learned back home - there it made her so close to humans that they enshrined her!"

"If she did this as a god then, why bother doing it as a human now? Is godhood no longer good enough for her? Does she want a more 'direct' connection to humans? Like, say, lording over them?" Not like that's new for gods either.

"Again, that just doesn't seem like her."

One of Sekibanki's heads buried her face into the roof's thatch with a groan. "Look, we've been over this. She's a mob boss, a youkai one at that. She cares about nothing but power. Her 'friendly aunt' act is just that - an act."

Kogasa looked down with uncertainty. "I don't know, she seemed so genuine helping Kokoro..."

"Yes, emphasis on 'seemed'." She really was hopeless when it came to trusting the right people. At least she's better at baking. These sweets are fresh, and it doesn't feel like she rushed them either... "Speaking of, what was that incident all about? I didn't really get how was she connected to that brawling fad."

"Well, Kokoro could probably tell you more about that. As far as I know, Mamizou basically saved her life, and was with her all the way through her recovery."

"So if anyone would have a clue about what Mamizou's been up to recently, it's Kokoro."

"Yes. We can also ask Nue-san if she'll be in a talkative mood, they're close friends. Even the Temple's monks might know a thing or two."

"It's not so much that if she'll be in a talkative mood, it's if she'll be in an honest mood." Considering she's already lying about her identity, that's a tall order. "As for the monks, I'd rather not get lectured if possible."

"Come on, they'll help us in any way they can, we just need to ask!" Kogasa looked at her with puppy eyes. "I know they won't stand for this whole kidnapping thing! The peace in Gensokyo is more important than lecturing us!"

...And those hypocrites make it onto Kogasa's 'trust without question' list. Great. Still, considering the situation, maybe they could be of some use.

"...I'll think about it." Alternatives were all well and good, but it was best to focus on the more solid lead - Hata no Kokoro.

---

With nothing to do while waiting outside for Kogasa to get ready, Sekibanki double-checked her gear. She'd borrowed a few small bags from Kogasa, and managed to find a rope dark enough to tie them to the back of her shirt without it being too conspicuous. They fit most of her tools, with the exception of her disguise case. A small amount of the more common dyes and powders would have to do. Lastly, she managed to fix her shikomizue on her back, between the bags. All that, and yet her cape could still hide all of this kit.

I'm as ready as I can get now. There was a certain desperation in that thought, though for some reason it also made her feel strangely content.

Soon, Kogasa exited the hut. Walking with the cane sword in her hand and her umbrella in the other made her stride look almost snooty.

"You've got everything you need?"

Kogasa looked over herself, each of her bodies inspecting the other. "Yep!" She didn't look like she was carrying all that much. Maybe I could've off-loaded the disguise case onto her? No, it's too large, it'll stick out.

Sekibanki slowly moved back to the entrance. "Sure you're not forgetting anything?"

"Yes?" She looked very confused.

"Suit yourself." The rokurokubi leaned against the door. "Well, there's not going to be anything left when we get back, I might as well go empty your pantry myself, then!"

"That's alri-wait, no!" Kogasa jumped in front of the door, and quickly closed a padlock on it. "Why're you always so mean?", she said with a nervous laugh. Good to see she has at least some common sense.

After a thankfully peaceful trip through the outskirts of that crime-ridden hellhole, they arrived at the eastern wall. It was more like a large, sturdy fence. With it being Monday, Sekibanki doubted any people would see them fly over it. Still, she'd rather be safe than sorry. One could never be sure if there was a nosy kid or a particularly observant grandmother around the corner.

Using a cart holding some crates nearby, she easily climbed over the wall in a way that was still believable for a human to pull off and jumped down. "Now toss me your..."

She got ready to catch Kogasa's cane and umbrella, only to see her casually float over the wall.

"Toss my what now?" The karakasa smiled, carefree and oblivious.

"...Nevermind." Couldn't she at least try to be subtle for once?

They followed the wall north, then west, until they could see a small grove to the northwest. A paved path stretched right to the Temple, surrounded by woods and stone lanterns. It had been much more isolated when the only thing it led to was a cemetery, kept just clear enough for the visitors and undertakers to feel at least a bit safe from angry ghosts or hungry youkai.

Soon enough, they saw the outline of the Temple's garan between the trees. Kogasa giggled a bit. "You know, I always thought the way the Temple looks is a bit silly."

"How so?"

"Whoever built it didn't seem to either know or care much about buddhist architecture beyond some basics. I don't remember seeing this kind of a mishmash of styles much. Most of it looks like a Zen temple, with those bell shaped window arches and evened-out landscape, but they practice Shingon there, and temples of that school tend to be more minimalist and rustic, kind of like a big shrine."

Sekibanki humphed. She'd question all that, but, knowing Kogasa, she probably saw the first Zen temples being built. "I don't know. If you ask me, that only makes it more fitting, considering the clergy."

She wasn't overly familiar with the youkai there, but she could recognise their kind of 'false innocence' ploy anywhere. Upfront they were a boring, suicidally peaceful sect of reluctant monsters that called eventually starving to death 'enlightenment'. But if one looked closely one could see their true colours - just a bunch of monk-like youkai forming a gang to gather influence and power. The only real worshippers in their temple were the human fools, mislead by their false prophet. It didn't matter if the temple even fit a particular school's style, Shingon, Zen, Pure Land, whatever. They just needed it to look buddhist enough for humans to not suspect their trickery.

They probably don't even have to follow haunting regulations. Lucky buggers.

As they moved along the path, someone's unpleasantly loud side of a conversation blared up.

"NO, HAVEN'T SEEN HER EITHER! ...OKAY, I'LL TELL YOU THEN! ...WHAT? OH RIGht-"

Though there was still some distance to the gate, they could already see that cacophonic monkey-dog talking about something with a blue-robed nun. Beside them floated a large pink cloud with an old man's face on it; that must've been the nyuudou Kogasa mentioned. He determinedly looked around, as if in search of something... or someone.

"Ah, there's Kyouko! Ichirin and Unzan as well!" Kogasa exclaimed. Was she that familiar with them? "Let's go greet them."

Sekibanki pondered about it a bit. While getting info from the monks would be convenient, there was the question of trust. After all, if the monks knew about Mamizou's gang, why did they allow her here? Simple. The beasts must have already infiltrated the Temple's hierarchy. Those visits by Mamizou and small groups of her 'friends' were likely check-ups. Alternatively, even if the monks weren't in cahoots, they could be oblivious they were now working for the raccoons, that's how deep their control could be. Not that Kogasa would believe that.

She stopped, halting Kogasa with her hand. "It might not be wise to speak with them. Or with anyone here other than Kokoro, really."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"I don't think we can trust them with certainty to not be tanuki. You said it yourself, 'anyone and anywhere', no?"

"Look, they seem to be searching for someone. What if they're also hunting for the mobsters?"

"We can't be sure of that. It might be best if they don't see us at all. Let's take your usual route. There shouldn't be anyone in the graveyard in the morning."

"And what if there is someone there? That could just get us into more trouble than if we just walked inside and asked!"

[]Go in through the front gate...
-[]...and just ask whoever might know about Mamizou. No point in being more suspicious than the raccoon goons.
-[]...but don't speak with the monks about the tanuki; pretend it's a normal visit. The Temple has ears. Maybe even tails.
-[]...but put on a disguise. To beat the tanuki one has to think like one.
[]Sneak in through the graveyard. No witnesses - no problems.
{Write-ins welcome}

[X]Go in through the front gate...
-[X]...but put on a disguise. To beat the tanuki one has to think like one.

---

A rustling in the woods beside them interrupted their argument. Sekibanki signalled for Kogasa to be quiet, expecting an ambush. They stood still and scanned the surroundings for suspicious movement, but saw nothing but a single leaf floating in the air. After a few pirouettes, it landed perfectly on top of Kogasa's head. Something about it made the rokurokubi consider the situation from another perspective - a tanuki one.

A grin found its way on her face. Inspiration struck. The tanuki think their disguise magic gives them a monopoly on the whole concept. They're in for a surprise.

"Let's not get caught then." She moved off the road, motioning Kogasa to follow her. "Do you know where they keep their laundry?"

---

Sekibanki sent a pair of heads over the temple walls without incident. That nyuudou either hadn't considered making more than one set of eyes, or simply couldn't. Once they got on top of the main hall, she began scouting out the area. Voices were coming out of it. They must be reading sutras right about now.

Kogasa yawned near her. "What's taking you so long? It's not that far."

"The clothes are only a part of what we need. We have to act as nuns as well.", the rokurokubi explained. "When you want to enter a defended position, you need to know all about its garrison. The patrol routes and passwords in particular. You don't want to get caught because you said 'hello' the wrong way, do you?"

"That shouldn't be too hard. Just say a koan, nod sagely, and look serene, right?"

"If it was that simple, I wouldn't be doing this. We have to be just like the real deal." Granted, most of the nuns here are already fake. And likely to be tanuki. A rokurokubi pretending to be a tanuki pretending to be a different kind of youkai pretending to be a nun is too much for me, let alone Kogasa.

With no further protest from Kogasa, she continued the survey. She hasn't been in any buddhist temples for a long time, so she needed a reminder. Not that this would be a good one - the dress code seemed lax from what she saw, and the etiquette was rather casual for a monastery.

Below, a number of monks and nuns seemed to be walking about on a lookout. Not only that, they were either in pairs or threes - not exactly on high alert, but lacking that sleepy carelessness which made morning the best time to infiltrate.

One of the pairs came closer to her position. She recognised the drowned spirit among them easily - nobody else would wear a sailor's uniform while living in an inland temple. "Argh, this is pointless! She's probably out of the Temple at this point, having a laugh at us. Come on, Sugiyo, we should be attending the sutra reading now." So they really are looking for someone...

Her companion was a more traditionally dressed nun. Some odd hair ornament stuck out of her hood, almost like the eyes of a crab. "I'd rather keep looking, Captain. I'll rejoin everyone by group meditation."

"Speaking of, what's today?"

"Zazen. Head nun thought it worked well last time."

"More of that Zen garbage?" The ship phantom blew some air in annoyance. Impressive, considering the lack of lungs. "I swear, sooner or later she'll replace that disciplinary stick with a lash!"

"I'd still take that over the sutras." The crab nun shivered.

"That bad, huh?" She nodded. "Hey, it's just a little exorcism. You'll get used to it."

Suddenly Sekibanki saw another group of youkai clergy take flight in her peripheral vision. Not good. This isn't like the Village, I can't be sure no one will look up if everyone is up. She used the shadows created by the roof decorations to hide, then maneuvered between the segments of a pagoda, where she came across a two storey building.

Back in the woods near the Temple, Sekibanki whispered to Kogasa. "I think I'm near the living quarters."

The karakasa perked up. "Alright, there should be a small wing coming out of it. There will be drying racks next to where the laundry is."

The heads flew as quickly as they could across the empty space to the housing's roof, and saw the wing Kogasa had mentioned. No one's doing the laundry. Perfect. Inside she spotted some neatly stacked robes and attachments - she recognised the brown and gold kesa that nyuudou-tamer wore. Even being recently washed, the smell of incense still lingered in them. The attire as a whole was rather baggy - no need to look for an exact size.

Right as she was about to grab some, she heard a voice roar from outside. "Nue! I swear, if you've been hiding there all this time, I'll have Hijiri use your skull as a bell ringer!"

The heads dove deep into a pile of clothes. The steps got louder, their frequency told of at least two people coming in.

A shrill voice spoke quickly in a slightly mocking tone, "You have a way with words, master. Were she here, she'd most certainly come out to beg forgiveness."

"Keep looking," the 'master' ordered, ignoring her subordinate's cheek. Rustling of cloth began permeating the room. "I saw something fly here, it could be one of her Seeds. Not to mention your rods' pointing here."

With a sigh, the other person joined this shuffling about. From the sound of it, despite her lack of interest, she was searching both quickly and thoroughly. Sekibanki hated having to rely on sound alone, being used to seeing the situation, most of the time from multiple angles. This searching continued for what felt like an hour, though it couldn't have been more than a minute. Suddenly she felt some of the clothes getting lifted from the pile her heads were hiding in. For a moment she considered making a break for it in hope that two flying heads would cause enough confusion for them to escape. However, experience won out, and she held her panic at bay and waited with bated breath for if she would be discovered. Thankfully, she was worried for nothing. The servant seemed to have reached the limit of their patience, and returned the clothes she picked up back to the pile.

"There, nothing. And the rods are still showing 'east'. You know, into a wall? We're done here. Now let's go and look for where she actually might be." The first person humphed, but seemingly relented, as the heads heard both preachers walking outside.

Sekibanki back with Kogasa exhaled, making sure the other two heads didn't as well. "Nearly got caught," she answered to the karakasa's worried gaze, "But now the coast should be clear, and we'll take up orders in no time. And another thing - Nue is out."

"That's pretty normal, she goes out a lot."

"Is it also normal that the rest of the Temple spends the whole night looking for her?"

"No, that is odd. She's rarely gone long enough to make people worried."

"In any case, if we're careful, we should get to Kokoro without trouble." Unless we end up making some...

---

Waiting for the right moment for her heads to dash back across like speedy sheet ghosts gave Sekibanki some time to brainstorm through the various hints that could give away their disguise, so the moment the heads arrived they were ready to dress up.

She considered dyeing her hair, but chose not to - the robe's hood hid it enough, and it's not like deep-red hair was all that unusual in this cursed place, even among the villagers. Though her hair being common didn't mean her ribbon was. It had to go with another head. She also thankfully grabbed a few coloured contacts from her disguise case, so they didn't have to worry about Kogasa's eyes. Lastly, one thing that couldn't be hidden subtly enough was Kogasa's umbrella. It wasn't just its gaudy colour - the giant tongue was a bit of a giveaway. Putting it in a bag and hoping for the best would have to do.

Now they were getting closer to the Temple's gates. "Alright, here we go.", Kogasa whispered, "What now?"

"If they ask about the bag, tell them you're a fish youkai collecting fishing rods. Other than that, the less we say, the better - let them fill in our excuses for us."

"O-okay." Kogasa put on a determined face. It looked serious enough to work.

At the gate, the nun and the nyuudou - Ichirin and Unzan, if she got it right - took note of them. The yamabiko - who she believed to be Kyouko - got inside and began sweeping the yard, chanting a sutra to herself.

Ichirin hailed them. "Hmm? You guys have been searching outside?" She held a hand to her head and yawned. The nyuudou, however, seemed to have a more vigilant gaze.

A sleep-deprived gate guard, good. She should be easy to get past. Though I don't like the way the old man is looking at us, we better make this quick.

Kogasa began with an even voice. "We needed to use the ba- the grounds outside the Temple, yes."

At least she salvaged it quickly. "Yeah, we couldn't sleep that well with what happened, so we thought a walk could do us good. Kind of lost track of time there..."

"Yeah, haven't been resting well either." The youkai nun yawned. "Well, at least you're back right in time for breakfast." She's half listening. We're almost through!

The conversation caught the yamabiko's attention. The disguised karakasa turned to greet her. "Good morning, Kyouko."

Kyouko waved to her. "Good morning, Kogasa!"

The words made something sink inside Sekibanki. ...Or we'll get our cover blown, without making even a single step onto the grounds! She held herself from either running or grabbing the cane sword on her back, silently judging the situation.

Everything went still. Sekibanki could hear a needle drop. Everyone but Unzan had their eyes wide open with the realisation of what just happened. Ichirin blinked a few times, as if she just realised she was talking to someone. Kogasa was stuck in place, nervously looking between the buddhists, unsure about what to do. The thing that broke the silence was one of her contacts popping out in surprise, revealing her red eye.

The yamabiko, oddly enough, was the first to snap out of it. She seemed to share the infiltrators' fear, like she didn't want to uncover them. "Uhh, I mean, good morning, someone who I know is not Kogasa!" As soon as she finished, she began whispering to Kogasa. "The voice, change your voice!"

"Y-yes, mornin' there, good fella!" The karakasa replied with a really bad rural accent, "Sure is good to see ya! 'Specially after walkin' through Buddha knows where for the whole night!" The yamabiko's uncomfortable grimace told Sekibanki what everyone must've been thinking.

The rokurokubi couldn't bear it at this point and leaned to Kogasa. "That sounds like a discount tanuki, quit digging us deeper!" Whatever the karakasa wanted to continue this charade with did not come out.

Ichirin chuckled. "Alright, that's enough. Nice try though." She turned to Kyouko. "How'd you know it was her?"

The small monkey-dog tilted her head. "Wait, you didn't recognise her voice? I thought everyone knew that she always spells out her Ks and Gs with her umbrella body." She looked around confused. "What, am I the only one who can hear that?"

The karakasa hugged her bag closer. "No I don't! ...Right?" She put it close to her ear, and quietly spelled out her name. The look on her face was a sight to be seen.

"Huh. You learn something everyday." The nun turned back to Kogasa, with a mean grin and her hands on hips holding giant rings. The unflappable nyuudou was floating behind her. That's it. We're dead. "Now, why are you dressed up like this, huh? Where'd you even get our kesa? Got one tailored for you?"

"Umm, well, you see..." Kogasa's eyes jumped all over the place as she tried and failed to think of an excuse.

The situation was completely out of control. If there was any silver lining, it was that Sekibanki didn't seem to come under suspicion yet. The only way out was to throw Kogasa under the carriage to solidify her as a nun. At least one of them had to get in.

"Alright," the disguised rokurokubi put her hands slightly up, "She talked me into getting her robes so that she could pretend to be a nun. My apologies."

"Uhh, yes. I'm sorry, Ichirin!" Kogasa picked up on the plan quickly, sporting her best puppy eyes. "I'll never do it again! I'll even wash them as an apology!"

Ichirin and Unzan had a whispering argument for a few seconds. "Aww, you're no fun.", she groaned with mock annoyance, before returning to the disguised duo. "Okay, but make it quick. I don't want Hijiri to hear about this, she's in a bad enough mood already."

Sekibanki held her face straight, despite the surprising luck. And that's it? That was easy. Way too easy. Still, she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. She made a bow, Kogasa picked up her contact lens then waved to Kyouko, and they walked past the gate.

"Hold on, one last thing." They stopped and turned around. Ichirin motioned for Sekibanki to come closer. Not out of the frying pan just yet.

The youkai nun leaned closer and whispered. "It's good that you two had fun and all, Kogasa is harmless, but some less trustworthy types might want their hands on the robes. They could be a danger to our reputation... and to you. Just be careful, okay?"

Sekibanki didn't flinch at the lecture, though she really wanted to. "...I will. Thank you, sister." Danger to me? Did she think I was a human? Either I'm a lot less rusty than I thought, or she's gullible enough to let anyone through.

She rejoined Kogasa. "What did she say?"

"They apparently have a reputation to keep." Could have fooled me. "But other than that, we're free to go. Let's go look for Kokoro."

The tsukumogami let out a breath. "Phew, that was a close one. Now can I get myself out of this bag? It's really stuffy."

Sekibanki thought on what Ichirin had said. There was no way of telling how many tanuki could be crawling through this unholy site. They had to keep the disguise for as long as they could. "Not until we return the clothes, sorry. Better to use them to their fullest for as long as possible, we can still pass as nuns as long as there's no inspection."

"Aww..."

---

The monk disguise was proving itself. Since everyone else in the Temple was also searching for someone, looking for Kokoro allowed them to blend in perfectly.

As they were passing by some garden they found someone doing a slow dance with fans on her lonesome. Odd time to practice Noh of all things... Her long, pink hair was bare, safe for a mask on top of it, for she didn't have any nun's robes on her, wearing a turquoise plaid shirt and a long skirt with a pattern of cut-outs resembling frowning and smiling faces instead. Sekibanki wasn't sure if her expression, caught somewhere between neutral and nonexistent, made her graceful moves more dignified or comedic, though ultimately it would not matter when a mask would cover her face.

"Looks like we've found Kokoro," Kogasa quietly exclaimed. "My, she's so sullen!"

"So that's the menreiki?", Sekibanki rubbed her chin, keeping her distance while continuing to observe. "She's the type to get stone-faced when upset?"

"Banki-chan, how can you be so insensitive?" The karakasa looked at her with disbelief. "Just look at her!"

Sekibanki did so, and noticed that the mask on Kokoro's head was that of a sad, downright miserable old woman. Right, she's all masks. Tsukumogami are an odd bunch.

Suddenly, Kokoro tripped and fell onto the grass. She stayed laying there, letting out a sigh. "Where could they be..."

Kogasa walked up to her, Sekibanki following close behind. "Hey, are you alright there?"

"Hmm?" Kokoro remained still on the ground as she noticed the newcomers to the garden. "Ah, hi there, Kogasa. And hello to you too, umm..."

Sekibanki had a list of names prepared in case she needed to hide her identity. Since she was here as a youkai, a foreign one could do. "My name's Sloane, I'm newly ordained."

"Don't mind her, she's a bit recalcitrant. I'm sure you'll get along fine." Recalcitrant? I wasn't that terse, was I?

Kokoro's face stayed the same, though Sekibanki thought she saw her eyebrow twitch upward for a moment. "...Alright then. Anyway, congratulations on getting the cloth. As for me, I'm fine." She made herself smile with her fingers. "See? This is my 'fine' face." Her voice and the mask on her head told the opposite.

Kogasa crouched closer to her. "What's on your mind?"

The grounded tsukumogami turned her eyes away. "Nothing."

"Come on, if that was the case, you would be wearing your 'nothing' face. You can trust us, we can help." Kogasa sat onto a nearby bench and patted on the free space next to her.

"Well... fine, I'll tell you." The menreiki floated upright, and sat down on a bench with Kogasa. Sekibanki chose to stand beside. Kokoro began to tell of her troubles. "A friend of mine, Mamizou-san, seems to have gone missing. Do you know her?"

Jackpot.

"The tanuki lady? Of course!" Kogasa nodded.

"I don't." Sekibanki lifted her brow. "What's she like?"

Suddenly Kokoro got a lot more lively. The old woman mask was gone, replaced by a jolly old man. "She's only one of the few good and honest people I've met here! She's kind and wise!"

Sekibanki suppressed a bitter chuckle. One day I'll meet someone who isn't gushing about a crime boss, but that won't be today.

"Not only that," the menreiki went on, "She saved my life! In fact, if not for her, none of those credit-taking priests would bother with me, and the entire Gensokyo would be a wasteland!" She got so excited, she nearly ended up hitting Kogasa with her flailing arms.

Sekibanki maintained a polite smile throughout. Guess Mamizou got her good. I'll have to be careful with what I say. "That's great and all, but what I meant was what does she look like? You know, so that we can go look for her?"

"Oh, well, she's..." Kokoro was about to start talking, but suddenly she perked up, and the mask on her head flipped away for a moment, replaced by a surprised, gilded Raijin. "Ah, that's right!" She produced a few monochrome photos. "On the day she disappeared I had a performance here. A nice tengu lady took some photos of the event, and Mamizou-san convinced her to give us a few spares. This is what she looks like."

Nice Tengu Lady? Two of these words don't mesh with the third. Sekibanki took a look at the photos.

The first one had Mamizou and Kokoro. The menreiki wasn't that different from now, expression, or a lack of one, included. Though the mask on her was that of a smiling woman.

The raccoon boss looked about as Kogasa had described her: pince-nez, pipe in hand, smug smile, longer hair of what was said to be her usual human guise. The only thing that gave off her nature was a large leaf on her head - so large it could be mistaken for a hat. Her clothes, however, weren't casual - a black coat displaying her clan's crest, just like the one that other tanuki wore. If not for that, I'd pin her as a snake oil seller. Though that's more of a kappa thing. Even so, she also really did exude that 'cool aunt' aura that tricked people like Kogasa so well. The fact that she managed both of those impressions together showed that she was truly a professional con.

The second one was a group photo of Mamizou with some of her underlings: two twin girls and two men, one of whom she recognised as that same tanuki she accidentally jailed. He looked slightly slimmer and his hair had a lighter hue, contrasting harshly with a rather dark leaf on top of it, but that was to be expected - on the night she met him he must've changed himself to look more inconspicuous while still recognisable to his own. If they don't just tell each other apart by smell, that is. What was different was his expression - the smile of a slimy salesman was still there, but in his eyes was cold, almost regal contempt. Sekibanki couldn't remember if he had the same gaze two days ago. It could just be that he was looking straight at the tengu photographer, but still...

Near him stood the girls. Despite them being shapeshifting fluffy animals, Sekibanki couldn't help but notice a sort of resemblance of forms between them and the jailbird, perhaps even a familial one.

No, that's ridiculous. Youkai don't have families, outside of crime ones. Only humans do.

Both of the tanuki twins had long dark hair, like Mamizou, but their leaves in it looked more like brooches, including some flowers. The kinds of flowers, however, were interesting - innocuous for a layman, they told a lot to someone with some knowledge on poison. On the head of the one closer to the current prisoner she recognised a branch of water hemlock, roots of which brought a slow, painful death, while the one closer to the other man had a datura flower, which could put one into a delirious coma. Never thought I'd remember that from... no, best forget it.

The last one was the man near the girl with the datura. In contrast with the other one, he had a much more youthful appearance. While she could see his joyful face clearly, his hair, already light in hue, got too much light in the photo, as she could barely see the outline of an otherwise rather large maple leaf.

A common theme beside them all wearing the same coats was becoming clear: out of the four crooks, the younger man and the datura girl's smiles seemed to be the only genuine ones. Not a grain of trickery or threat. Probably didn't notice they were in a photoshoot.

At least now Sekibanki knew what the gang leadership looked like in their preferred forms, the first step to putting an end to this mess. Still, while it would seem obvious in hindsight that they were tanuki, she doubted she'd recognise that if they would be in any other guise. And even if they did meet in person, unlike the common raccoon rabble these were likely to be shapeshifters worth their salt, and thus excellent actors, as much as it hurt her to admit that. Anyone who thinks the most dangerous youkai are those who look you in the eyes while killing you don't live for long. I need to know more about them if I'm to stand a chance.

Sekibanki pointed to the familiar raccoon. "I think I might've seen this guy somewhere, who is he?"

Kokoro's mask changed to the one in the first photo."Oh, that's Rokuemon-san. He and Mamizou-san go way back. They went separate ways, but got reunited when he moved into Gensokyo with his family. That's them in the photo; his two daughters, Makoto and Oyasu, and his son-in-law, Kinchou."

A Futatsuiwa clan reunion? Interesting. "Way back, you say?"

"Yeah, you know people are close friends when they have embarrassing nicknames for eachother! Mamizou called Rokuemon something like 'Great Lord Honma'. Not sure what it means, but there's a funny story about it that she said she'd tell us when... well..." Noticing the return of her downer mood, Kogasa applied a tactical hug.

Great, now everything is coming together. If Rokuemon is that lieutenant I got arrested, could the rest be the 'real pros' those two thugs mentioned? If so, they must be the kidnappers!

"They all look rather fancy." The rokurokubi pointed to their clothes. "About to head to a restaurant, I'm assuming?"

"I don't know. Mamizou-san said that she prepared a surprise, she just needed to speak to some important people in the Village to make it happen. She was supposed to return the next day, but..."

"She vanished," Kogasa concluded, "And now Nue-san is missing as well."

The menreiki seemed to shiver. "I bet she went to look on her own. Nue-san's held down by no one."

Kogasa blinked. "You're being held here?"

In an instant, Kokoro's mask changed to that of a wrathful Hanya, covered in blue flame. The karakasa's face shifted from concern to regret immediately. "It's all the head of the temple, Byakuren! That gutless preacher! She kept distracting me, saying that it's all probably a part of that surprise, that I should stop worrying and keep training! In other words, do nothing and wait! Just like her! I can sense she's just as worried about Mamizou and Nue as me, I get to hear her talking about 'helping those in need' daily, and yet she does nothing!" Sekibanki could've sworn she felt the same powerless anger she heard in the tsukumogami's voice somewhere inside her for a moment, but it subsided just as quickly. So that's how she got everyone brawling, huh? Not that they needed much encouragement.

After the outburst, Kokoro's head sunk, and the depressed mask returned. "I can see how it'll go. All the monks will finish their nightly stroll, call off the search for Nue-san for today since there's no point in looking for her if she doesn't want to be found, and then just wait until everything gets sorted out on its own. That's so like them." She looked up to Sekibanki. Perhaps it was just a trick of the light, but for a moment she could see tears in the menreiki's eyes. "But I can't wait any longer! Not while they might be in trouble! You've got to help me find out what happened, please!"

[]Grill Kokoro for more information. Because of her fondness for Mamizou, there was little reason to trust her at the moment.
[]Take Kokoro with them to look for Mamizou and Nue. She'd open up more if they at least pretended to help her.

[X]Take Kokoro with them to look for Mamizou and Nue. She'd open up more if they at least pretended to help her.

---

There was a mix of impatience and desperation in Kokoro's voice as she practically demanded action. Sekibanki didn't wish to drag the menreiki into this, especially not with how she venerated Mamizou, but it seemed like the youkai youth would eventually get involved, with or without them.

Therefore the best decision would be to get her in on their terms. Better to keep an eye on her, prepare her for the inevitable reveal of Mamizou's true nature as an ally, rather than leave her to wander around and possibly get indoctrinated further by the raccoons.

Besides, this presented an opportunity: if they could get her to trust them, Kokoro might be more willing to tell them something important, maybe even lead them to a tanuki gathering. It was a risk worth taking.

Can't be worse than lugging Kogasa around, and she hasn't been much of a nuisance so far.

Sekibanki put her hand to her mouth smugly. "I thought we already agreed to help you?"

As she said that, Kokoro's mask switched to a rather goofy face that reminded her of one very annoying customer that visited her cafe last week. "Really? You'll help?" she asked, her voice full of hope.

Sekibanki's own mask of trustworthiness nearly fell off to laugh at the sudden contrast, but she held strong. "S-sure, you're free to join us."

"Alright!" With that, Kokoro jumped up with her fist in the air. The mask of a jolly old man held itself on her head for a moment, before an awkward-looking monkey took its place. "Wait, no, I forgot, the monks won't let me out. How do we get past them?"

The rokurokubi gave a sly smirk. "Luckily for you, sister Kogasa and I were just about to do the laundry."

The karakasa played along, pretending to be pensive about it. "Oh, but won't Ichirin be mad at us for skimping on our duties?"

"I'd say refusing a soul in need would be skimping on our duties. I'm sure the head nun will back us up." Sekibanki kept the act up, but immediately regretted it as she suppressed the desire to retch at her own words. Ugh, that was too cloying. Definitely ditching this head later.

They had no problem getting another robe from the laundry - they just had to get a larger cowl to hide Kokoro's masks better. After Kokoro put it on, they exfiltrated through the graveyard with ease. Its only guard wasn't even stationed there - the nyuudou seemed content with just looking over it from afar.

Sekibanki turned to Kokoro as they left the graveyard and took the path towards the Village, "Now, where do you think would be a good place to start looking?"

The menreiki stopped to think for a moment. "We should go to Deux Noix, in Kimon District. It's a bar that Mamizou-san's friend Reiji-san owns. Her tanuki pals often hang out there when visiting the Village. They might know where she is, and even if they don't, Nue-san has likely been there recently. If she really is looking for Mamizou-san, we could find her and combine our efforts."

Sekibanki couldn't help but smile. The tanuki gathering ground being a bar was the best she could hope for. The likely inebriated patrons were less vigilant than those stationed at the tanuki-owned warehouse, and could spill some useful info.

"Let's hope that this incense blocks the smell of smoke and booze, then. Can't believe people can handle that stink all day long." Probably why the 'monks' have their robes incensed in the first place…

—

Returning to Kimon went smoothly - thanks to the relative abundance of youkai, Myouren Temple focused its 'missionary' efforts on that gods-forsaken slum, so the guards stationed at the gates there didn't see a bunch of youkai monks as anything out of the ordinary. With these costumes we should be safe here. Maybe I should 'borrow' them like that witch would.

The first thing one always noticed about Kimon was the noise, in many senses of the word. Loud music from every corner, smells of spicy foods attacking the nostrils, locals wearing the gaudiest outfits broke gambling addicts like them could afford, it was a crime to unleash all that on the senses. And that wasn't even mentioning the actual crime - as they walked through the streets, Sekibanki counted five danmaku duels, two of which involved youkai exclusively, three hanafuda circles, and at least two kappa peddling what could be either useless junk, illegal weaponry, or both. While a few businesses seemed to at least try to pretend to be something legitimate, it was still obvious what they were just from their address.

The way the youkai mingled with the locals of Kimon only highlighted the kind of people that would chose to live here. It was only natural that some humans would want some kind of escape from the awful reality of their existence. One of the only ways to feel at least somewhat in control of their lives open to most humans was to turn to a life of crime. But, no matter how high they thought they got, anything they did was 'playing yakuza' compared to youkai machinations, and they only got themselves further down the bottom, away from any actual freedom. Not that they'd consider it; anybody living here was in total denial of their place in the world. They had masked their inescapable misery with bright colours and hedonistic pleasures, ignorant of the consequences living this close to youkai brought.

Still, the sheer audacity of one particular establishment really stuck with her. The humans here were so blind to the danger around them that one of the buildings in the area was actually a paid 'haunted house experience'. Who in their right mind would want to go into a haunted house, let alone a fake one?

"Hey, look! A haunted house!" Her umbrella acquaintance did not share her sentiment. "We should go there once we're done with this!"

...Kimon residents, apparently. And the exorcists, of course.

"Ooh, that one is awesome," Kokoro chimed in, "Mamizou-san and I went there once! Humans can be really scary when they want to!"

"You have no idea." Kogasa seemed spaced out for a moment, as if remembering something horrible.

No idea? Didn't Kokoro fight the Hakurei miko last month? What, are toddlers worse to deal with than an angry exterminator?

"W-well, if this is for fun, sure." The karakasa said as she got out of her seemingly nightmarish memories. "We can even bring Kage-chan there with us."

"If that's what you want, then be my guest," Sekibanki said, "Just count me out."

Kokoro turned to the rokurokubi with a monkey mask on her. "Huh? How so? It's fun!"

Seems that Mamizou bringing what is essentially a child into the seedier part of town bore its fruit. Then again, it's not like youkai really have childhoods. Not unless…

She broke that line of thought. "Let's just say I don't like Kimon and leave it at that."

"Kokoro-chan, you don't know? Sloane-chan is a world-class buzzkill." Kogasa teased. "If there's a natural born monk among us here, it's her."

Strong words coming from a babysitter. At least she remembered my cover name for once.

"Regardless," Sekibanki said while giving the far too easygoing karakasa a serious look, "We should gawk less and search more. Mamizou might be in trouble now, after all. The sooner we find her, the better."

"...You're right. It's just that Kimon is always so lively!" Despite Kokoro's lack of expression, the fire-blowing Hyottoko mask she was wearing made her look rather bubbly. "That's why Mamizou-san took me here so often, to experience real cheer! It's like a neverending festival!"

Yeah, one that's punctuated by human sacrifice. "Anyway, are we getting close?"

"Yeah, it's just further to the west, near a small shrine. Though it might not be open yet. Reiji-san does need to sleep more, being a human and all."

Sekibanki raised an eyebrow. "Wait, he's a human?"

"Yes," Kokoro nodded, "And he's an outsider too!"

"Wow, an outsider that's actually living in Kimon?" Kogasa said. "That's rare!"

"Yeah, Mamizou-san rescued him back in the Outside World, and offered him a chance to start a new life!" The menreiki struck a few combat poses, implying a 'thrilling' story behind it, one that anyone but her was probably sick of already. "You should meet him, he's really cool!"

"Rescued, eh? Interesting way of putting it." Having an outsider as the 'owner' of your business is very clever - any weirdness going on can be simply dismissed as an Outside World custom. "Any other people we should meet there?"

"Well, anyone who went with her for that meeting would be good to run into, especially Masako-san." Kokoro said, only belatedly realising Sekibanki might not know who she was talking about. "Ah, she's the second oldest tanuki around, Mamizou's right hand, basically. She should have a clue. Rokuemon-san and his family would also be good."

I don't have the heart to tell the girl, but he's definitely not showing up. Unfortunately, his 'family' might. Hope they won't see through my disguise, or Kogasa's for that matter.

Soon enough the small shrine was in sight. So much for 'gods-forsaken'. Not that this little thing makes this place any less impure, I've seen home shrines bigger than this.

In the yard near the micro-shrine was Deux Noix. The 'owner's' bizarre and drab outsider sensibilities reflected on it, or at least, she assumed they did. Instead of wood or plaster, its walls consisted of near seamless ceramic tile, making it look rather monolithic. The only wooden part was the front door, designed to swing rather than slide open.

There was some metallic railing near the wall, made up of ten small parallel rows. It could be for tying horses, but with how narrow it was, you'd barely manage to tie two, let alone ten. Instead, tied to it was an odd contraption - a bare metal frame with two wheels and two 'seats', one saddle-like above the pedal set, and a small platform above the back wheel. It fit neatly between the two railings. I'm surprised there aren't more vengeful horse spirits around if this is what they're being replaced with in the Outside World.

All in all, the bar's bleak exterior made it no less an eyesore than the sea of eyesores surrounding it. Most likely, it was only saved by its gimmick and owner - villagers would pay anything to feel like they're a part of the Outside World, even if only for a moment.

There was a sign reading 'closed' hanging on the door, but they could hear the noise of a loud argument coming from the inside. Sekibanki came closer to the window and stood there innocuously, as if just hanging around, so that whoever was inside would not suspect her of listening in. Unfortunately, her companions either didn't understand or didn't care for what she was trying to do, and just snuck next to the window to peek in like a pair of children.

What are they, fairies? Sekibanki thought, then, with a long sigh, joined them at the window. No point in being subtle now, the most she could do was to station some of her heads on the roofs nearby in case someone passed by.

The interior was a welcome surprise, as it looked much more ornate and inviting: high quality furniture, good spacing between tables, actual glass bottles on the bar rack. It was still an eyesore, but at least it was an expensive-looking eyesore. Leaves alone could not have bought all this.

The hall was full of tanuki, both in humanoid and, surprisingly, beast shape. The audacity would usually annoy Sekibanki, but considering their panicked mood she could imagine them forgoing disguise for an easier getaway from the cops. They were arguing loudly, and what little she could get out of it wasn't jolly.

"-can't believe it, the cops have betrayed us! After all those years!"

"No, that can't be right, it must be a mistake! We haven't pushed anything too far, right?"

"It's just what Rokuemon told us would happen... No one believed him, and he was right all along..."

"It's all your fault! I told you not to steal the cops' bento!"

"They wouldn't call a manhunt over their freaking lunch! It's obviously because you cheated when playing mahjong with that nob!"

"That's called 'having game sense', you lunchbox burglar! And unlike you, I didn't get caught either!"

"That's it, put 'em up!"

Going by the sounds of things, the common tanuki rabble don't seem to know about the kidnappings. Maybe the tanuki that attacked me and Marisa in the cafe were much higher than I thought.

The only one who seemed to keep his cool was the gruff bartender. Even just cleaning glasses he looked more like a yakuza than the most of the gathered raccoons. Pretty impressive, considering he was a lone human among youkai, and wearing a fancy butler outfit to boot. Presumably, that's the 'owner', Reiji. One mean type from the looks of him.

A gap in the crowd revealed another eye in this storm: a pair of tanuki were sitting at one of the tables. Just as it looked like the argument was about to become a brawl, the elder tanuki lady in tinted glasses tapped on her drink to get everyone's attention. "Everyone quiet! We won't be getting closer to cleaning this mess if we just keep on gossiping like a bunch of foxes!"

The tanuki riot unleashed a barrage of barely intelligible questions, but the older raccoon shut them off with a single gesture. "Now, I know you're all worried about the police seemingly breaking our agreements. But throwing around accusations for things that clearly wouldn't warrant them going to war with us? That isn't helping anybody. We need to calm down and think about what could have caused them to turn on us. We should start by looking back to our meeting with the project's sponsors, then work our way back from there."

That seemed to have done the job. The panic simmered down, and she slowly patted her way to her place at the table and sat down. That must be the second-in-command, Masako. She certainly seems to carry herself with authority.

A girl with the water hemlock branch in her long, dark-brown hair was sitting across from her. She started chuckling softly. "Oh, I think we all know exactly why they're hunting for us, captain."

Masako gave out a tired sigh, bracing herself for an argument she'd clearly had many times before. Sekibanki found herself glancing over to the karakasa by her side for a moment. "Not now, Makoto-"

Now the other tanuki was laughing out loud, covering her mouth in a lady-like fashion. "No, I say now is a great time for this! Better late than never, after all!" She got her hand down and pulled up a lacquered case. "Father warned us all about something being afoot, but did any of you listen? Now many of our clan are suffering in prison. And, of course, not only has your precious Mamizou done nothing to help, she left the Human Village entirely."

Golden Raijin appeared on Kokoro's head in surprise. Must not have expected her idol to flee with her tail between her legs. Then again, this Makoto might be just covering for her, or throwing her under the cart. Things are getting complicated…

Masako's ears twitched. "How dare you… And after all she did for you and your family?"

"After what she did to my family?" The crowd started murmuring. "Oh, I dare."

"He did that to himself. He should've known that disguise was a terrible idea."

"Don't insult my father!" She rose up to punctuate. "If he was in charge, none of this would've happened!"

The bartender spoke up. "Except him getting the stripes, with his kinda attitude that's hard to avoid."

Sekibanki thought she saw Makoto make a small scowl for a moment. "Please keep your walking aid quiet," she said while keeping her gaze on Mamizou's captain, barely paying the human any heed. "Tanuki matters are to be discussed among tanuki."

Way to put that tool in his shed.

Reiji didn't seem to take that insult all that seriously, and neither did Masako. "Thanks for proving him right. You and your pops just don't seem to get how we do business here."

...Odd. Did not expect her to defend a human like that. Perhaps he's more important than I realised, if only because a front man like him is hard to come by.

"Oh, I get it pretty well." Makoto sat back down and opened her lacquered case, revealing it to be a kit for tea ceremonies. One of the tanuki got beside her, bringing a steaming tea kettle. "Mamizou has twisted your minds, made you play her little game of pretend, and now that it backfired, she's tying up loose ends."

"Loose ends? What are you implying?"

Makoto's face turned serious. "That she never cared about anyone but herself. Think about it - the moment the meeting went crazy she vanished, alongside anyone with leverage. Now the entire Village is out for our hides, we get picked off one by one, yet there's no sign of Mamizou. Not a note, not a meetup in an alleyway, not a whisper from one of her tsukumogami, nothing.

Whispers spread throughout the crowd, everyone looked uneasy, if not straight up panicking. A few tanuki looked at their captain with unhidden suspicion. Her expression was unreadable, not helped by her sunglasses. "What nonsense. Do you even understand what you are saying?"

"Yes, I am, as is everyone able to put two and two together." Makoto poured some water into a cup and began mixing. "She sold all of us out. That's all that this 'project meeting' ever was - a cover for her scheming with the humans. Then she sent her stooge here to distract us as we get taken care of by the police, without her revealing her betrayal. And all that's going to be left are her and her closest allies. If she hasn't sold them out as well."

The volume rose, as did the heat of the raccoons' row. Guess none of them were a part of this deal.

"My father holds you in high regard. What you did for our kind back in the day is immeasurable." As Makoto said this, Masako slumped, as did her ears. "As such, I'm willing to give you a chance. You've got time until I leave to confess. Tell us where that traitor is and it'll all be over."

The crowd erupted. About a half of it loudly proclaimed Mamizou a traitor, drowning out the other half. Pleas and accusations were thrown at Masako. She seemed hesitant to answer, though Sekibanki couldn't tell if it was because she felt confused or guilty.

Either way, if this keeps going, I won't have to deal with all of the tanuki. Maybe even none of them.

Her hopeful thoughts were interrupted as she felt Kogasa shake her a bit. "Ah, Kokoro! Stop!"

By the time Sekibanki turned to check, the menreiki was already around the corner. Damn it, I should've left a head watching her!

Suddenly, the door to the bar opened. Everyone went quiet and looked at the entrance. There stood Kokoro with a fox mask on her head. She could not have chosen a worse mask to wear! Wait, can she even choose them?

Makoto put her smile back on her face. "Ah, Kokoro-chan, what a surprise!"

"You shut your lying mouth, Makoto!" Kokoro shouted, as a solid blue naginata formed in her hand, which she slammed on the ground, shaft down. "I won't let you besmirch Mamizou's good name! And you all," she pointed at the crowd, "Mamizou-san did so much for you, and this is all it took for you to turn on her?"

Sekibanki fully expected half of the raccoons to rip Kokoro apart in their righteous rage, and prepared to make a distraction for the foolish menreiki to escape. However, her sudden interjection caused the mood in the hall to shift. The tanuki whispered among each other, unsure of what to make of the tsukumogami's words.

"Is Makoto trying to swindle us? Can't believe we jumped at the boss' throat this quickly."

"No surprise to me, Mamizou always seemed shady. Kokoro just got attached, that's all."

"Nah, can't you see? If Kokoro couldn't feel any malice towards us from oyabun, then she didn't have any! She's innocent!"

"Kokoro is right," Masako made a rebound, feeling the momentum return to her, "Even if there is a rat in our midst, it could not have been Mamizou. She was probably captured alongside Rokuemon. Hell, assuming she has done nothing wrong, she might've even turned herself in to clear this mess."

Makoto huffed. "I find that hard to believe. Mamizou is too powerful to contain and too proud to simply surrender. Especially considering what passes for exterminators here."

"Just like your father, I assume." The captain jabbed in response. There was a hint of an ear twitching from under Makoto's hair. "Either you're underestimating the local exorcists, or Mamizou truly is innocent."

"Or you're underplaying her deviousness. After all, you've all seen her handiwork in the Kitsune Forest."

The older tanuki sighed and then rubbed her eyes beneath the glasses. "First talk of her betrayal, now spreading plagues. What's next, is she going to steal the moon?"

Sekibanki and Kogasa shared a worried look. Spreading plague? And it's something that can affect beast youkai?

"Oh, but there was a witness. She apparently sent a note to the human authorities, one they 'failed' to act upon. Did she imagine someone gathering her wild brethren to be injected with something? Were the symptoms that manifested exactly three days later also a figment of imagination?"

"You'd rather trust a fox than one of your own?" Makoto remained conspicuously silent. "We can't be sure unless we speak with her, and with us being wanted and them quarantined, that can't be done right now."

"Let's hope that Mamizou won't dispose of her by then. One fox should be nothing for the great Danzaburo-mujina, quarantine or not." Makoto casually twiddled the tea whisk in her hand, seemingly bored. "Don't get me wrong, I have no sympathy for those tofu munchers, but if she's going to cull them, we're going to be collateral!"

The hall went oddly quiet, with a lot of the tanuki, even some that were previously on her side, giving Makoto some odd looks. "What?" She said, suddenly looking out of her element.

Masako meanwhile has put her glasses on the table and looked at the younger tanuki. Sekibanki could not see her eyes from this angle, but from the way Makoto couldn't hold the eye contact, the stare wasn't pretty. "I could possibly see Mamizou laying low for a spell after her plan went wrong, but this? She'd turn all of Gensokyo against herself, for real this time! No place here would be safe for her! She'd have to be insane to even try!"

"If you're saying Mamizou, of all tanuki, is somehow against killing kitsune, then you are not just brainwashed, you're an actual idiot! We all know the stories of her deeds! It's why she has become as big as she is!"

The captain cupped her face with her hands. "Oh, merciful Kannon, you really don't get anything… All of it just went in one ear and out the other…" As she spoke, her voice was dripping with disappointment.

"You just want to lower Mamizou-san to your level!" Kokoro butted in. "Too bad all of us here know how generous and kind she really is!"

"Oh, that's a good one, coming from you." The tanuki girl replied with indignance. "Do tell us about how she tamed one of the strongest tsukumogami out there purely out of the kindness of her heart."

"You really think she fought basically everyone in Gensokyo, risked her reputation by setting herself up to lose, spent almost every day making sure I could recover and live normally, all just so she can get a shiny new tool?" Unexpectedly, her mask changed to a laughing old man. "Nue-san was right, too many videogames fill the mind with garbage."

A wave of chuckles followed from some of the crowd. Even Kogasa quietly joined in. What's a 'video' game? Was that the thing Kagerou mentioned the other week?

At this point Makoto was clearly irritated, unable to rerail the conversation. "If anyone is filling minds with garbage, it would be Mamizou! Look at yourselves! A bunch of uncouth gangsters laughing at a bad joke from a one-child kabuki performance. Is that the kind of image the Futatsuiwa clan want to project? Where's your pride, where's your dignity?"

A shrill voice blared somewhere from the corner. "If by 'pride' and 'dignity' you mean playing court like some fox fop, then you and daddy-dono should've left that back on Shikoku, Your Highness!" Now most of the crowd was howling with laughter. Those that didn't were either too panicked, or stood near Makoto, looking a bit embarrassed.

Makoto just stared daggers, first at the tanuki that made the joke, then at Masako. When everyone started quieting down, she lifted her hand. "You know, water hemlock can make one suffer for days. The victim is overtaken with seizures, until succumbing to cardiac necrosis."

Masako tilted her head a bit. "And you're telling us this, why, exactly?"

"Because it doesn't matter how long they keep thrashing around." She pushed the cup forward, and continued with such hatred Sekibanki was sure her 'tea' could kill an oni. "Rotten-hearted scum like Mamizou will get a deserving end."

With that, Makoto got up from the table, turned around, and stormed off, shoving past Kokoro on her way out. Some of the tanuki slunk after her, thinning the crowd just a little. The choking tension her last words created seemed to diffuse somewhat, replaced with the raccoons choking the menreiki with hugs, seemingly relieved to have her present. Like an excited child, Kogasa nearly hopped through the window to join Kokoro inside, but Sekibanki had at least anticipated her mindlessly jumping into a potentially dangerous situation and pulled her back by the shoulder.

"Hold still!" The rokurokubi whispered. " A moment ago that Makoto girl looked ready to tear into their captain's throat, but instead retreated. Something's not right."

Kogasa settled down, now looking unsure. "If you think there's going to be trouble, then we need to do something! Kokoro-chan is already inside!"

[]Follow Kokoro inside the bar and ask around. While she had the captain's good graces, it was a golden opportunity to get information.
[]Tail Makoto and see what she's up to. If this was a civil war, they needed a view on both sides.
[]Get Kokoro and escape. The risk was not worth it, they all needed to get out of dodge.
[]Hide outside the bar and wait. Something was about to go down, and they were not going to be a part of it.

{ } Have Kogasa join Kokoro inside. See if she could find out anything.
{ } Send Kogasa to tail Makoto. Umbrella aside, a Kimon 'local' might stick out less.
{ } Ask Kogasa to keep watch outside. She did have two sets of eyes, after all.
{ } Keep Kogasa with Sekibanki. Too risky to spread themselves out right now.

[X]Follow Kokoro inside the bar and ask around. While she had the captain's good graces, it was a golden opportunity to get information.

{X} Ask Kogasa to keep watch outside. She did have two sets of eyes, after all.

—

Trying to think on what to do next, Sekibanki turned back to the window. Inside Deux Noix, Kokoro was sitting amidst the raccoons, chatting with Masako. The tension had subsided, and so had their immediate caution, with only a few of the tanuki still looking a bit nervous. That helped the rokurokubi come to her decision.

It was tempting to go after Makoto. The insight into the divide in the yakuza ranks would be invaluable, and Sekibanki thought there was some credence to her words, despite the other tanuki’s odd dismissal, making her a potential asset. However, she doubted she’d get much out of her in this state. Unless they were completely cornered, someone so humiliated would just get too defensive and suspicious if approached. To try to build her up right now would be a waste of time at best. …thus, we learn to tread with care and master our own lack of restraint…

Besides, if she were to follow her discreetly, her makeshift team would get too spread out, and thus vulnerable. The tanuki in the bar seemed like a better option. Now that they were in a better mood, it was a good time to get information out of them. However, she had to do this on her own – even if Kogasa tried to remain unrecognised, Kokoro would almost certainly call her out. That, in turn, would kill their chances to learn anything.

With her mind made up, Sekibanki turned back to Kogasa and whispered. “Alright, here’s what we’re going to do. You stay here on the lookout, while I go inside and ask around now that the mood has settled a bit.”

The karakasa tilted her head. “Why not the other way around? You’re a much better sentry than I am, and Masako-san probably heard of me from Mamizou-san.”

“First, I’m not the only one here that has more than one pair of eyes.” Sekibanki said while pointing at Kogasa’s umbrella body. “Second, you being a familiar face is exactly the problem. I’m sure they already heard about a certain karakasa getting some of their buddies jailed. Twice, no less.”

“Didn’t you also get some of them flung into jail?” Kogasa said, leaning on her cane sword.

“That fiendish rokurokubi did, yes. Not this humble nun.” She made a mudra with her hands. Her stare became vacant in a cheap attempt to look sagely – mimicking the way the Myouren monks did to swindle humans. “I’m just here to help Kokoro find her missing friend, I seek no quarrel with anyone.”

At least that’s what Kokoro believes for now, and that better stay that way.

“Besides, if something does happen, at least one of us should get the intel to Marisa.” Sekibanki’s vision doubled, as she made a second head to follow Kogasa. “I’ll relay whatever I’ll hear to you. Make sure you don’t miss a word.”

The tsukumogami got serious again. “Right. Just be careful there. You’re only bringing one head with you. Try not to lose it.”

She left her umbrella part near the window, while her humanoid part followed the head to the valley of a nearby rooftop. A bit risky, both separating her bodies and staking out on a roof, but it did give her a wider field of vision, and hid her from any tanuki peeking outside. Besides, sitting on top of buildings didn’t seem to be all that unusual in Kimon.

Sekibanki got to the front door, and pulled it open slightly. “Hello, I’m looking for some-”

The door immediately slammed shut, almost pulling her to crash against it. Once she regained her bearings she could clearly hear Kogasa stifling a laugh with all her ears, much to her annoyance.

“Can'tcha read? We’re closed!” Some tanuki barked from the inside.

She furrowed her brow at this show of great customer service. “Look, this is Deux Noix, right? Is Kokoro inside? Tell her that Sloane is here!”

After some murmuring from the inside, the door half opened. Kokoro peeked out of the entrance, along with the tanuki door guard. "Sloane-san!” She tugged on the mobster’s clothes. “Let her in, she's with me!"

Hearing that, the tanuki reluctantly let Sekibanki in, still looking a bit cautious. After doing a round of precisely half-hearted bows towards the crowd inside, the twice-fake nun turned to Kokoro. “Thanks, this could have become a long back-and-forth.”

“No problem!” She said with a thumbs up. “Anyhow, where’s Kogasa?”

The mention of the karakasa twisted something inside Sekibanki’s gut. She could already see some of the raccoons beside them whispering.

Have they seen us coming? Maybe they’ve been following us all along… And now Kokoro all but confirmed that I'm working with Kogasa! If they put two and two together, I'm done for!

Her head outside looked at the yard, trying to spot any stray leaves on the furniture. What if they had hidden sentries in the yard? Maybe it’s that odd metal thing. Nobody sane would put something like that on their storefront!

Her quick search revealed nothing, which bothered her more than if it had.Still, none of the tanuki seemed eager to make any moves. Sekibanki assumed that, had they known, they'd already be drinking from one of her skulls, so they likely didn't. Though it could instead be them biding their time to strike.

I need to downplay any connection to Kogasa, neither tanuki nor Kokoro should know about the real extent of my involvement in this.

“Don't worry, she’s where you left her, keeping an eye on things.” She said with a wink.

“Oh!” Kokoro replied with a knowing nod.

Guess she got it.

“I’ll go get her then!”

Guess she didn’t.

“No no, I said she’s there keeping an eye on things.” Trying to get the point across, Sekibanki winked twice, now harder.

“...Alright.” Kokoro said, her confused mask returning for a moment while she scratched her head. To Sekibanki’s surprise, she didn't pry further.

At least she knows when to shut up – the bare minimum of street smarts.

“Please excuse the lack of hospitality, the kids had a rough weekend.” The tanuki lady called in a friendly tone from the table closest to the bar stand, though without turning her head. “Come, have a seat.”

Sekibanki followed Kokoro to the table. Now inside, she could clearly see the cups of glass rather than stoneware or cheaper kinds of porcelain. The smell of smoke was surprisingly mild, interspersed with a scent of some indeterminate flower. The warm colours of the interior would likely be relaxing with a smaller amount of raccoon brown in the current palette. The furniture definitely looked comfortable – soft cushions on fancy lacquered wood.

It almost made her not want to call the whole thing a waste of money. Almost.

Both of the youkai in cloth sat opposite of the tanuki second-in-command. She looked only slightly fancier than the rest of her gang. Below her crest-bearing coat she had a blue kimono with a pattern of white triangles. Stretching the definition of a ‘tanuki leaf’, her light-brown hair was tied around two bushy cedar branches. “I’m Houjou Masako, and these pups are my responsibility. Who would you be?”

Kokoro perked up before Sekibanki could answer. “This is Sloane-san, from the Myouren Temple. She's been helping me in finding Mamizou-san.”

I can introduce myself… actually no, the less explaining I have to do, the better.

Now all the secret rokurokubi had to do was to maintain the guise of an ignorant, innocently curious fool. It was the usual approach for getting information out of someone: people like to feel smarter than the one they're talking to. Pretend to be ignorant, don't correct their falsehoods, praise the 'wisdom' of their answers – and they won't even notice how much they'll give you.

“Pleased to meet you, Masako-san.” Sekibanki said politely, with a slightly formal tone. Her waitress gig wasn't much for exercising this kind of politeness, but she was confident she could manage. “And thank you for letting me into this fine establishment before the opening hours.”

“All praise should go to Reiji. This is his place, after all.” Masako now turned to face her, and adjusted her surprisingly thick sunglasses. “He’s been taking care of it for a year now.” She held her hand out to the side, introducing the outsider. He nodded with a hint of a smile while pouring a drink to one of the raccoons.

The rokurokubi considered him for a second. While his rough, somewhat scarred face made Sekibanki assume that he had years of experience in the underworld, she doubted any of it involved dealing with creatures of myth. Unlike with Masako, she'd have no issues hiding her true intentions from him. At the same time, feigning some interest in their bar would solidify her disguise, and from how legit their business would prove to be (or, at least, look) she could judge how much she could trust anything they said.

Sekibanki looked around the interior with fake enthusiasm. “Couldn’t believe it when I heard of this place, but it really does look like the pictures of Outside World eateries! And that… contraption in the yard…”

The human raised his eyebrow. “You mean my bike?”

Sekibanki’s attention was split for a second by Kogasa’s bemused comment. “Wait, you didn’t know? Was that why you were staring at it?”

“Hush,” Sekibanki said to her, trying to focus back on the meeting. “So that’s what a ‘bike’ is… Reiji-san, are you an actual outsider?”

“Yep, like I told you!” Kokoro cut in, something that didn’t seem to bother the man much. “Reiji-san, show her the thing!”

With a nod, the bartender pulled out a small, rounded rectangular box. He held it in one hand, fiddling with it with the same hand’s thumb. In a few seconds he turned it for everyone to see. This face of the box was split in two parts: the bottom one had three rows of bumps with symbols on them, some of which were numbered; the upper one was showing a motion picture of a bunch of cats playing.

Sekibanki leant in, staring at the intricate detailing of the kitten’s motions. It wasn’t anything a youkai proficient in illusions couldn’t do, but the fact that it didn’t use any locally known magic? And outsiders just carried these around in their pockets? It’s even in color! The Outside World really is full of marv-

“Hey, what is it?” Kogasa asked impatiently. “Did Reiji-san show you something special? Come on, you’re blocking the view for my other body!”

The karakasa’s childish curiosity for the outsider’s trinket returned Sekibanki to reality. Both of her faces must’ve had the same foolish expression as Kogasa had just now.

Besides, she’d been expecting nothing heady, and even though it had surprised her it wasn’t that impressive. Hell, even the lowest of beast youkai could pull something like that off, if not better.

“It’s nothing. Just some cheap trick for yokels to gawk at.” the head replied to Kogasa, the entire being having composed herself.

“Wow, that’s impressive.” Sekibanki commented on the ‘spectacle’ with subdued interest. “It must've been tough setting it all up.”

“But it was worth it in the end, seeing how Deux Noix is the best bar in Kimon!” Kokoro proudly exclaimed.

“Oh, it’s a cosy little joint, but I wouldn’t go that far.” Masako said, waving off Kokoro's enthusiasm. The ‘humility’ didn't surprise Sekibanki; establishments like this relied on being ‘cozy little joints’ while also chasing the Outside World chic in order to be the hottest places in town. “But, considering your vocation, I’m sure you’re not here for the drinks. Now, I believe…” She ran her hand through her hair, struggling with her next words a little. ”Kokoro-chan said that you were looking for Mamizou and Nue.”

Sekibanki nodded. “Can you help us find them? The entire Temple has been worried, we’ve been looking for a day already.”

“They’ve been gone for that long?” Masako made a fingertent. “Well, then I’m afraid I have some bad news. The local police seem to have some… disagreements with us, and have taken some of our members into custody, Mamizou likely included.”

Kokoro got sullen, her worries confirmed. Masako put a hand on her shoulders to comfort her, with Sekibanki quickly copying the gesture to seem friendly. The pause got a bit long, and the rokurokubi could feel the old tanuki’s gazing at her even through the glasses. “You don’t seem too surprised. Has the word spread already?”

“Umm, well…” Sekibanki felt a drop of sweat trickle down her neck. She had to hold back a shudder as it passed the seam. She couldn’t believe she forgot that she wasn’t supposed to know that. “I just assumed something serious has happened. That can't be that rare in your line of work.”

“It’s quite unusual actually. Outside the haunting seasons, at least.” Masako explained, crossing her arms – not a good sign, but could be worse. “Our relations with the police are usually quite impeccable – something of a necessity for our usual routine to work, you know. So their current beef with us makes no sense.”

Right. If they have enough money for that warehouse in addition to the bar, bribes are practically spare change.

“I see…” Sekibanki put her fingers to her chin to seem impressed, “Your setup is more elaborate than I assumed.”

“A big family tree requires strong roots and a stable foundation,” Masako said without any assessable pride, reaching for her cup of tea. “However, we couldn't have done this without Mamizou, and her absence is strongly felt.”

Sekibanki suppressed a groan. One would hope that at least the second-in-command has a more subdued view on the leader, but no, it’s worship all around.

Masako was about to take a sip of her tea, when suddenly Reiji’s voice cut through the ambience. “Houjou-sama, are you sure that’s your cup?”

A sniff of the brew Masako was about to have was enough to make her grimace. It seemed that her cup and the one Makoto handed to her got mixed up. “My goodness, ain't that nostalgic…” She made a deep sigh, and handed both cups to one of her subordinates. As the raccoon passed by, Sekibanki could feel a hint of an earthy, bitter smell, well hidden behind the scent of tea. Fern. Upset stomach, blindness, or death, depending on the mix… Not my kind of thing. Never was.

Kokoro looked around, somewhat confused. “Why are you both so tense about it? Some tea got mixed up, so what?”

Masako motioned to Reiji to order something else, yet Sekibanki couldn’t help but notice her open palm ball up slightly for but a brief moment. “I'm just not in the mood for tea anymore.”

Reiji, still behind the bar, moved closer to their table. “The usual, then?”

“A bit early for it, but sure.” Masako looked back at her guests. “Anything you girls want for the road? It's on the house. I know you aren't supposed to drink, but we also have tea. Without any… additives.”

Sekibanki was unsure how to proceed. With this poisoning attempt on Masako, she and the rest of her gang were likely even more on edge than before. Sekibanki now had to be even more subtle and careful about her questions.

On the other hand, Masako was likely distracted from whatever suspicions she could have had about her; pushing now could lead her to results quicker, allowing her to leave this damn place sooner.

There was also the matter of the drinks. Obviously, the Myouren monks were all fake, but they still had to keep up their appearance, if only to avoid the wrath of the head nun. Ordering something stronger than tea could make people doubt her disguise. Though, considering there was no such oversight here, it might have the opposite effect.

Besides, she needed a damn drink…

[]Keep pushing. The quicker she got her answers, the better.
[]Be careful. This was the middle of enemy territory, it would be better not to push her luck
{}Play it safe and order tea. Better for her to keep a clear head for whatever comes next.
{}Act uncertain about which to get. Play the part of a totally legit nun and let someone else convince her to drink.
{}Go big and order something stronger. If she was copying the best of the worst, she needed to act like the worst of the best.