Hong meet Lung

You aren't having the best of weeks.

It seemed to start well enough, the shifting of seasons expressing itself in a waning of some blossoms, and a resurgence of the other seasonal flowers of the garden, except oh wait, that second bit didn't happen quite right. Portions of the garden are actually quite behind the others in their blooming pattern making the patterns seem splotchy and lopsided instead of straight, even and vibrant. As the major gardener of the manor, this reflects poorly on you, but it really wasn't your fault. You even had fixed the problem by going out to find that firefly and pressganging her into moving the sudden influx of plant lice and aphids elsewhere. Still though, the mistress had made her displeasure known if only subtly.

Then of course there was the intrusion the next day that you were woefully incapable of preventing, that damnable black and white girl blasting you in the face almost as an afterthought as she pushed past to make a 'book borrowing run' during her 'library visit.' She had wrecked several paintings and ornamental vases on her way through the manor, and Sakuya had been most displeased over that.

The next day almost seemed like it was going to be something different, as you saw that kappa of all things coming up the path, seemingly to seek out some engineering texts she had been informed the library might have. So perplexed were you by her politeness in this endeavor as well as her query, you didn't even notice the return of the Black and White, who proceeded to casually inform the Kappa that there was a "Procedure to entering the library da ze" and she casually once more blasted you in the face, though this time with a flurry of unstable and apparently explosive tinctures that you suspect were meant to be potions to keep oneself awake during study. You suspect this as after returning from unconsciousness you were INCAPABLE OF SLEEPING FOR THREE DAYS!

Oh, and Nitori proceeded inside and casually informed Patchouli of why she thought she was supposed to be able to request a text. Patchy gave her the book with a stern warning not to get it wet and to return it, but still, another failure on your part known to the manor.

Then of all things, on the fourth day, you fell asleep on gate duty, and the Red White apparently came by. Apparently some superstitious villager thought they saw an omen of bad luck, and due to context associated it with Mistress Remilia, they got enough idiots together to bother Reimu about it. Surprised as you are that the lazy shrine maiden would follow up on such a thing, the point stands she did, and she apparently flew right past you.

She didn't do anything really, nothing was broken, no duels erupted, she even brought back a book that Marisa had left with her presumably by accident. The whole matter passed by with no trouble whatsoever… except that you had obviously been asleep on duty again. There are no glares of irritation from the household, but somehow that just makes things less bearable.

Ugh, right, and then there was the incident (not Incident thankfully) with the bear. The less said about the bear the better. Where did it even get the hat and monocle!

So here you find yourself, standing out at the gate once more, the barely above par state of the garden behind you, the singed gate closer and even more noticeable. Love powered magic your ass! You sure weren't feeling the love. Soreness maybe.

You begin your exercises, flowing through the various motions of Tai Chi, immersing yourself in the practice of the martial arts. The warming sensation of Qi suffuses you near instantly, the familiarity you feel with the life force so readily coming forth. You know intuitively how to let its strength flow throughout your form, from your abdomen to each of your limbs in a strike, in the invisible ball you rotate and twirl between your hands. The smooth fluid motions as you pivot your trunk and set your weight apart on your legs, tracing arcs and graceful curves with your hands, elbows, feet, knees, every point of articulation. It's fulfilling even with the soreness of before.

Perhaps that was what love was? The sensation of fulfillment that once it has struck you, must remain at that level, else bitterness fills your heart like the pains of hard labor and exercise, the feeling of loss really being the sourness of the opened soul and one's wounded Qi.

Or perhaps you are indulging in nonsense philosophies because you've been hopped up on magical super caffeine for three days and it finally wore off.

You open your eyes and-

Oh dammit, Yukari is right in your face, why!? What did you do to the world!?

She seems slightly tipsy, and her eyes are slightly reddenned as if her sleep was disturbed. Regardless, it's only polite you try and greet her. You aren't going to even try and fend her off, it simply isn't going to happen, frankly, you are surprised she bothered to even lean out of one of her gaps at the gate instead of proceeding straight to whatever she wanted.

"Lady Yukari, to what do I owe the pleasure." You query, your smile slightly forced. If she's here as opposed to in the manner, it's likely she is meaning to get your attention specifically. Not even gods could know WHY, but with the Youkai of Borders it's foolish to even try and puzzle such things out anyway. She could just change her reasons on a whim even if you knew them at first, just was the way of things.

She chuckles a moment, pivoting around on her gap like a child in one of those odd swiveling chairs that shopkeeper had stocked recently, "Oh~ So it is unreasonable for me to simply stop by for a look? It's impossible for there to be no ulterior motive."

You don't dignify that with a response. Regardless of your silence and unchanging expression though, Yukari would have to have suffered a stroke to not know your reply to that. "Oh perhaps it boredom, or something I heard from that White and Green, or perhaps even the incense she requested from Eintei."

Your smile becomes even more strained as you cannot help but reply in the only manner appropriate, "Templates like that are forbidden, extra forbidden even.." You cross your arms over your chest in reply, as you do so, noting one of the ties on your Cheongsam having loosened for whatever reason. You immediately correct this, and notice a flash off to the side.

"An affair between the Scarlet guard and the Mistress of Boarders! What a sco-AYAYAYAEAeEEEEEEE!" Your ashen expression becomes one of surprise as the fleeing tengu is swallowed by a tear filled with eyes. You aren't sure you want to know what Yukari plans to do with her.

Yukari looks distastefully in that direction, though much of her expression is still covered by her fan, which she then snaps shut and away before turning around with a sigh. "Well if you must ask, it's because my servant's servant snuck away once more for some manner of mischief and well, I'd grown irritable with the constant fretting over what she and the Eintei rabbit were up to. Especially so since I've been dealing with some squatters with little respect for my property."

Chen and Tewi sounds like a recipe for an Incident in itself, you certainly wouldn't want to imagine how a week could go with them conspiring. However you don't mull on that much considering the other part of Yukari's statement. How could freeloaders or squatters even begin to annoy a Youkai like Yukari? She could simply gap them away on a whim couldn't she?

"But anyway, this issue aside," Yukari states as she lifts a certain nekomata out of the gap next to her by the back of her dress, "You seem a bit stressed, would you be interested in something of a vacation?"

Aaaaannnnd just like that you are uncomfortable again. "Not really no, not at all." The 'from you' goes unsaid even if it is quite clearly present. "I need to fulfil duties here after all. The mistress has been displeased as is."

"Well as it is it could be a matter of some convenience to me, and I might be able to offer your Mistress a small favor."

That…. gave you some pause, first off, that Yukari would openly offer a favor is something of a shock. A favor from her would be a rare thing, one of great value even, Remilia would recognize that. "That…. might be something a bit more convincing." You admit, even as you uncross your arms and instead grasp your hands politely. "Still, the gate? The garden?"

"What of them?" She replies bluntly, whisking her fan back up as she drops the sleeping nekomata back into gap-space.

You turn to gesture at them, prepared to talk about your duties.

The garden is in full bloom, the blossoms even and meticulous. Their appearance now… versus only minutes ago, the gap is- Oh… right…

Okay… so you can get the message, as surprised as you are. Still, if she's already doing that, you can tell she is less offering and more telling you to do something. There is some good fortune in the outcomes here, but you are still wary. Your loyalty is to Mistress Remilia, but well, it's Yakumo, a certain amount of authority is to be respected here.

She never mentioned a solution to the squatters… if they are something capable of irritating her, then you suppose that means they are a problem to Gensokyo as a whole. You like Gensokyo, it's a good place, and has been for you since your… departure from China. You sigh, close your eyes, and nod.

"Alright, I suppose I could do with a break from these frustrations, when and where am I going." You ask as you open your eyes.

It is dark, you are staring at a poorly maintained warehouse with obscene graffiti in what appears to be poorly grasped English. You are Hong Meiling, and you are most definitely not by gate to the Scarlet Devil Manor.

[X] You don't yell, "Dammit Yukari!"

---- [X] Sigh, take stock of your surroundings.

---------[X]Walk, no need to give away your position just yet.

Though the temptation is great, and it would make you feel better, there is little point in cursing Yukari's name. You take a deep calming breath, hold it a moment, and let it rush out in a sigh as you clench and pop your knuckles. As you raise your head, you glance at the graffiti again, before dismissing it. It is obviously more of gang significance than any artistic delinquency, therefore, it's less a sign of oppression and more a sign of promised violence. Human violence.

You snort, passing off the threat and taking a walk as you familiarized yourself with this new scenario that Yukari has placed you in. She had implied the area might be a bit of a vacation, but surely she has misjudged you if she thinks your idea of a grand time is to pummel squabbling idiots. As such, you don't spend your time baiting any fights either. You stride efficiently, and purposefully, maintaining your distance from what you presume to be the ocean. You don't know where you are, but certain things about urban structure remain constant in all cultures.

Waterways mean docks, as it is an absurdly efficient manner of trade, waterside property is also appealing, be it to upper classes, nobles, or simply powerful businesses looking to profit off of travellers. So logically, if you keep traveling parallel to the coast, you will either exit the city you find yourself in, or you will reach a more pleasant portion of it. In fact, already you can see the distant gloom of reflected light off the clouds above.

You do not change your pace, merely smiling lightly as some manner of success presents itself. You find yourself frowning at the stench of the surrounding area though. Something chemical in the air, almost like a mix of rot, urine, and some manner of industrial cleaner. THAT makes you pick up your pace, simply to avoid the unpleasantry of it all.

Unfortunately, the distraction almost put you directly in the path of a group of rather irritable looking individuals coming out of one of the alleys between the storage structures. You stop, so as not to run into them, but you don't freeze. You don't sense anything inherently magical about them, so they seem like normal humans, though their attire and shaved heads frankly make them seem ridiculous, as does the degenerate nonsense they seem to be blathering about.

"God damn niggers and gypsies plastering their shit and vomit all over the place again, I swear, we really need to clean these assholes out sometime." Said the one towards the back, a man with a dirty jacket, though the stains seem fresh and wet, probably slipped in something. Judging by the smell, vomit.

"They are useless and kill themselves with their own drugs half the time, it's not a real issue if you watch your step. The chinks are the real problem in this city, fuck that psycho of theirs though man." The retort came from a man just ahead of 'vomit,' he seems relatively collected compared to the others, wearing a long coat, and with a tattoo of a hindu temple marker on his head. Is this perhaps the foulest gathering of monks you have ever seen?

The outside must have changed a lot if this is considered acceptable behavior for buddhists or hindus. It actually keeps you from catching any more of the banter of the individuals as they continue their path, completely failing to notice your presence in the poor lighting as they continued their foul argument. Well, at least you know something of the area you suppose, it appears English is the language of choice, or at least it is likely to be.

You continue your walk as the group drops out of earshot, picking up the pace a bit to make up for lost time, as well as to distance yourself from such persons. Before too long, you find yourself reasonably close to the source of lights, and can smell a combination of cooking grease as well as a fresher sea scent. Likely a mercantile district of some sort. Even as you step around a final corner, you can see the much more cared full wood of a seaside shopping area, complete with restaurants and tapestries, as well as some lighting typical of a kappa settlement. People bartering and making deals back and forth. Its... busy in a way nothing in Gensokyo really ever was.

Then again, you see some flashes of orange light, like flames or flamelike danmaku, back where you came, just in the corner of your vision. But the area back there is quite unpleasant, and really, flight would be the only practical way to reach that commotion any time soon.

[X] Well, you are supposedly supposed to treat some of this like a vacation, why not visit the source of such smells.

You make your way up to the nice seaside establishments, taking a moment to appreciate the view over the water. As you stride onto the well protected woods of the pier like overlooks, you glance back where you came from initially. The signs of conflict within the warehouses are completely blocked from here, but you don't see any movement in the greater dock area itself. That actually puzzles you. Gantries lie dormant, work lighting is completely absent, and you don't even see one trade vessel in motion.

Its like looking on the desiccated corpse of a port, a great beast fallen and no longer able to aide it's master. It is no wonder the place felt so… filthy to you, you were walking on the forgotten grave of the city's treasured strength. What could shut such a place down you don't know, but it seems to be something for which you have long missed the conclusion. You merely now wonder how the city still exists as it is without the vital lifeblood of trade.

You are startled out of your dark thoughts as someone see's fit to engage you in conversation. "That has to be some mixed blessing you have there." A female voice comments from behind you.

You turn around, giving a curious glance to the dark haired woman, one arm laden in shopping bags. "Eh?" You query intelligently, having no idea what the human could be referring to. She seems to be middle aged, some lines of age on her face, and just a bit of a guarded posture.

"Sorry, I just couldn't NOT comment on it, I've done enhancement surgery long enough to know what fake chests look like. I can't imagine that's been all too good on your back." She comments, seemingly sincerely judging by the slight wince. "So, here to see the sights?"

You hesitate a moment in your response, as it finally occurs to you the woman was commenting on your 'assets,' once you finish processing the sheer oddity of that, you eagerly latch on to any other topic. "I suppose so, I was advised to take a bit of a vacation, so here I find myself." You reply, vaguely and truthfully.

"Well, it's a bit late for a good view of either the PRT tower or the Protectorate Headquarters, not much draw to this place besides those really. So do you have a favorite? Favorite cape that is?"

You stare at her a moment, a bit of confusion making it's way to your features. "I… can't say I've decided on one no."

That brings the woman up short, as if she had a whole diatribe ready regardless of your opinion, the lack of one surprises her enough that she seems to fish for anything to continue conversing besides the prior topic, "Huh, can't quite place your accent, with the hair and eyes I would have assumed you were irish or scandinavian or something."

This woman… is a bit odd, almost nosy even. She must sense some discomfort however, or perhaps your stare unnerved her, as she mumbled something and began wandering off, bags held tight and securely against herself. Actually, there are a couple of people moving away in clear discomfort, though as you continue sweeping your view you can see most of them are actually avoiding a new group that has arrived, a trio of similarly dressed men of roughly Korean descent, one of them catches sight of you, and frowns, before muttering to his friends and making his way over towards you.

"Hey you, come with us, we need to chat if you're going to parade the colors." His tone is demanding. His friends are grinning a bit, and starring in a manner that is vaguely lecherous.

You don't know what he could possibly be referring to, though in examining each of them they somewhere on their persons prominently display the colors red and green. Between your clothes and your hair, you suppose you do stand out a bit. Still though, you are hardly convinced that you should follow these men. It's not as if they can harm you, but they can bother you.

"I'll pass, and you can just go on about your evening." You reply calmly, turning to face them more fully.

"See I'm afraid that isn't going to fly, so why don't you make this easy and just come with us." He insists, while a couple of his friends make what you suppose are supposed to be intimidating gestures by working their fists against their palms.

[X] Ask him what he's talking about 'parade the colors?' You're from way out of town and don't know what he's talking about.

-[x] If they're so interested in speaking to her, she wouldn't mind doing so over a meal? That way they could tell her everything about the town and they could all get to know each other better.

You stare at the group a moment longer, and one of the men to the rear actually seems to become a bit unnerved as he meets your gaze. You sigh, and glance aside to a nearby store, apparently some manner of restaurant specializing in a middle eastern food, the scents arising from inside are heavy with goat, and beef as well as numerous spices. A lesser Youkai or lesser woman would saliva-... no nevermind, you are salivating.

You look back towards the group, which now seems somewhat troubled by how unconcerned this woman is by three vaguely threatening men. You decide to make things a little easier for them… and yourself to be honest, "I am not from around here, and I have no idea what you are speaking of. If you are going to insist on educating me however, could we do so over food? I haven't eaten today." You query, while gesturing towards the eatery.

The three men hesitate a moment, your attempt at making your tone a bit more sincere and friendly ostensibly having caught them a bit off guard. You continue to stare and await their response, and once more the man in back becomes a bit uncomfortable, and this time reaches a hand out as the leader appears to be about to lose his temper. "You sure you want to eat here? There's a great hibachi place a short walk from here."

You barely pay the man any mind, instead watching the tensing muscles under the leader's shirt. He barely seems to be restraining himself from either drawing a weapon on you, or turning around to punch his companion in the face. There is a bit of a crowd developing however, one that seems to recognize these individuals as something of interest… or something dangerous. The leader relaxes, and straightens his back to be more presentable, "It's true, the boardwalk is a bit of a tourist trap, you can occasionally get good food here, for a month's pay. Kurenai's place is much more consistent, and a… less crowded place."

He's saving face, he can't hit his subordinate or he will look weak for having an underling give an idea he wouldn't give himself. You've seen much much more subtle and mature ways of having the exact events play out in the Mansion. You can tell that part of this is leading you into a place they consider more secure, more, 'home' to them. For a human, this would be threatening, for you, it's merely a change in scenery.

"You have my thanks for rescuing my coin then, lead the way." You reply in a friendly tone and a smile.

The man in back shivvers. He can tell something is off. The other man, who has been silent till now finally seems to be noticing his companions distress, and seems to be growing uncomfortable himself. The leader though, continues to seathe internally, though he seems to be accepting of this turn of events.

"Well Seon, lead the way." The leader bites out, before gesturing you to follow the silent one. You do so with a smile.

Seon pivots IMMEDIATELY and walks briskly, however, with your height advantage you quickly catch up and have to take slower steps than you'd like.

--------

It's not a terribly short walk, but not one long enough that flying would have seemed worth the hassle either. During the walk, very few words were exchanged. Seon having turned around a couple of times to seemingly start to say something, but it seems your calm demeanor, and his leader's anger has halted most of his attempts at conversation. The nervous one got around to clarifying on all their names however. Seon is merely a shortened Min-Sun, and is a child of migrants, the leader only lets himself be called Chains while in colors, and the 'nervous one.'

Well, he's named Steve, apparently he came from a foster home before the 'Asian Bad Boys' and he has no idea why someone blatantly Korean like him is named Steve.

You have to admit, his name did cause you to blink a few times in surprise. Not like Seon was particularly imaginative as the regions names went, but even as a foreign name Steve just seems so… plain, you almost feel like it's a joke. Then again, an overly aggressive enforcer type being called 'Chains' is hardly any better… it might even be worse.

You aren't sure precisely why the nervous one saw fit to give these introductions, or why he tried to give some personal details about each of his group. You suspect he has some inkling that you aren't what you seem, and may be trying to endear himself. To his credit, the attempts at appeasement being so poor considering his leader's rudeness is in itself somewhat amusing.

Still, as you arrive at the destination, Seon quickly gets the outer door, and then gets out of the way as if afraid of being crushed, Steve rushes inside and does the same, giving you an increasingly nervous look. Chains, appears to find this display annoying, and berates the two as you enter the establishment.

The place was set up like they had initially merely rented the space underneath the towering structure above, there is an odd array of vents along the ceiling clearly meant to clear smoke and direct it into the nearby alley. You are sure Keine would have a conniption over the fire hazards if something like this cropped up in the human village. Outside of that, the lighting and atmosphere can't seem to decide if it is supposed to be a bar and smoking parlour, or a proper restaurant. Most of the occupied tables have men much like the ones accompanying you, each of them somewhere proudly displaying both red and green.

Then, out from behind a curtained doorway, steps poorly aged woman with a long cigarette holder in hand contributing to the haze of the restaurant. You don't partake yourself, but you can taste the slightest difference in the air that she smokes high quality tobacco. Honestly, if it weren't for that, you would have kicked Chains across the room and left for the insult of bringing you to a dive. The woman has a demeanor that makes it quite clear she believes herself god in this small place, and could be no one other than the eponymous Kurenai.

"Hey, dogshit, you going to pay your tab this time? Or are you going to shove the bill off to your new friend? Oh, and if you mess up my floor again I will feed you your own balls on a dango." She asks, addressing Chains, in Chinese. She isn't paying you any attention whatsoever, apparently writing you off.

You really don't get that, your face and your attire isn't really that subtle. Sure, being called China all the time get's a bit old, but this is almost insulting in a completely different direction. Then again, it's also odd to see this Japanese woman, addressing Koreans, in Mandarin Chinese. You aren't going to try and make any more sense of it. Honestly you are more curious why she has such a title for him.

In your musings, you appear to have missed the conclusion to that little discussion, and find yourself offered a seat at one of the unclaimed grill tables. Chains, or Dogshit, whatever his name is, is again visibly displeased with the gesture the two followers give you. Still, you allow yourself to take the offered seat, and soon find yourself indulging in sake, not what you would call good sake but sufficient.

"So, I suppose now we get into that discussion?" You query, pouring your cup to the rim, and not spilling a drop as you then bring it up to sip at lightly, the steaming alcohol honestly a bit therapeutic given your week.

"Damn straight, alright, so motormouth over there covered some of it. You're showing off our colors, and by ours, I mean the Asian Bad Boys. We are the image of every Asian with a bit of pride left after Japan got fucked up by Leviathan. We all look out for ourselves, and those with any balls at all go out wearing the colors. Now, that means we gotta make sure that someone isn't just flaunting the colors to milk our good will, much less some Gaijin American or Euro shithead."

Chains is really distasteful you realize, you aren't sure you can enjoy your food when it arrives like this.

[X] Interject, he's so sure of himself that it won't do much but piss him off, idiot that he is, but her is sorely mistaken considering you ARE Chinese. Not that you're wearing those colors for that reason.

-[X] In traditional Chinese

-- [x] But if they're the face of Asia, maybe they should remember something of courtesy and manners at the table.

--- [x] If he hasn't blown up yet. Ask about Leviathan. No, you're really not from around here.

You spend some time tasting your response before offering it. It has been some time since you've spoken the language, a century of disuse may not affect a youkai much, but missing a century of cultural drift on the other hand is something not even a youkai can wholly ignore. Still, you believe you have a response sufficient for this situation.

"I believe it has become necessary for me to clear up a misconception of yours. Though you seem unwilling to accept it, I AM Chinese. I am Hong Meiling, and frankly I find this behavior of your somewhat distasteful if you are to represent the common asian." You reply, formally, the manner and prose of your speak is something more recognizable as that of the noble rather than the peasant, but given the significant gap of time and usage it is likely the difference isn't appreciated by the rabble here.

The man finally fails to hide his surprise and shock, actually leaning back a bit widening his eyes. "You speak?" He queries, as if you hadn't already made that clear.

"More than it seems you should. My colors are my own, and I wear them without any intended association with the 'organization' it appears you represent. I would be a bit more accepting of it all if it weren't as much a mockery as you seem to make it." You comment with a slightly narrowed gaze, and you can see the sharp rise of anger in the man as he prepares to stand and prepare his fist. "If you are to be as you say, to be the face of Asia, to be the strength and pride of a four thousand year history, perhaps you should start with yourself, and relearning the proper conduct at the table where we accept food."

"Why you little-"

"I have a good twenty centimeters over you and am quite your elder, if I truly offend so much it may be due to having been… out of touch for some time. What is this Leviathan? Why is it relevant?" You cut in.

The man freezes, having gotten even angrier at your initial retort, but honest confusion dominates and disarms him a moment later. The palpable fear from Steve and Seon is also notably deadened as they regard you a bit incredulously. "You really don't know about one of the endbringers?" Again, it is Steve who serves to break the awkward silence. "The thing fucking murdered Japan, place is worse off than Ethiopia or Haiti now. How do you not know that?"

A chef arrives at that moment, bringing steaming plates of beef, eggs, rice, and finely prepared vegetables, he also sets to work with some fresher raw materials to begin cooking at the grill with a level of skill not fitting the environs of the seemingly slapped together restaurant. You never even ordered food, but what was brought so far seems palatable, and as you glance towards the central reception area of the business, you see Kurenai tapping at her cigarette holder, and idly sipping at a sake. She is listening to your conversation, and not being subtle about it. She also is keeping an eye on you without being blatant or terribly rude about it.

As you glance back at your own table, there is a new sake bottle, which you pour your next cup from and find it of a bit better quality than the last.

This is not an arrangement you are familiar with from the Mansion, but it's clear enough that this is in fact meant to be noticed by you. You've done something to make the owner step in. Whether it's to protect you, Chains, or perhaps just her floor, you can't be sure. Still, the interruption has served only to halt your query, and thus, you find yourself having to return to the topic. "So, Leviathan? Endbringers? I truly haven't been up to date with things for a while, so if you could educate me I'd appreciate it."

"Right, right, next you're going to ask about Scion and Capes right?" Seon actually manages to ask this one with a bit of a humorous tone.

You stare. Seon stops smiling. Chains looks angry again, in fact, you are fairly certain he's about to force a confrontation.

[X] Sigh

-[X] Very well, if we must fight let's at least take this outside so that we do not harm Kurenai's establishment

--[X] Take him down a few pegs, but don't spend too much time on it, your food might get cold.

-[X] Request an explanation on capes, Scion and Endbringers once you get back to your meal.

You slump back in your seat a bit and let out a long resigned sigh as you can hear Chains begin to stand. You can hear his companions trying to calm him down, but frankly, you are tired of this. "Very well, if we must fight let's at least take this outside so that we do not harm Kurenai's establishment." You say as you stand, you glance at Chains' nervous companions who stay seated, much to the brute's displeasure. You hear a sharp clack as Kurenai sets down her sake on the counter in front of her, and the sound seems like a beacon for ever patron here, who turn as one to observe the two of you leaving, and then watch through the front window as the two of you walk outside.

The outer door barely swings shut before you hear the sharp click of some manner of weapon unfolding. You let your knees go slack, and you drop into a crouch as the extendable baton swings over your head from an inward swing. Already you are pivoting around though, and you swing your knee around even as you raise your arm to halt is outward strike with the baton, at the same moment you strike his thigh with your knee. He grunts in pain, and already is pulling the leg back, unwilling to take another hit to the thigh.

However, you have food waiting, and this is not point sparring, so you don't let him get the distance. The moment your leg is back on the ground you begin to straighten. His baton wielding arm is still at extension, and is pressed against the space just above your wrist, and your motion carries his arm high and exposes his side, which as you turn your trunk, you strike hard with a palm from your free arm.

A rib cracks under the blow, and the man lets out a sudden whimper as his kidney takes abuse beyond what he has ever experienced. Turning your blocking arm aside, you grasp his wrist, and pull it down and outward, forcing him to give you his shoulder and expose his neck, which you quickly strike at with a chop over the guiding surface of the limb, before pivoting your stance again to position your leg behind him, and strike hard against his abdomen, sending him to the ground with an ease that seems almost fake to outside observers. The man does not know how to fall however, and takes a chunk of the energy from the fall to the back of his head, not enough to kill him, but enough to daze him and leave him sorely regretting the experience.

He's done, he was probably ready to back off when you broke the rib, and condemned him to red urine for a month. The rest was simply you working off a bit of frustration. Perhaps a bit beneath you, but you'd be lying if you said it didn't feel refreshing. The imbecile is whimpering on the ground, and you simply reach down to drag him by his clothes and back inside.

You pick him up as you go past the foyer, to keep from dragging grit and gravel across the wooden floors, and you lay him across his former seat. You then turn around, wrap one hand around the other fist, and bow gently to the other patrons, "My apologies for disrupting the meal."

The collection of thugs doesn't offer much of a response, lightly waving it off, or grunting their acceptance, with one voice towards the back mentioning it was his problem, not yours.

You then retake your seat and get back to your meal.

The sake bottle was replaced again, it still doesn't compare to what you enjoyed during gatherings in Gensokyo, but it's much closer than the prior offerings. You sigh as a good deal of weight of a terrible week from hell drifts away with drink and food, each of which is replenished almost as fast as you consume it. The chef has been exchanged for another one of superior technique as well.

After sating yourself for the moment, you look towards the others at the table with a slight smile. "So, I believe we were talking about what you meant by capes? As well as these figures you mentioned, Leviathan and-"

Seon cuts you off, "Scion right, er, well, I guess the fast track of it is bout… thirty years ago? Something like that, Scion shows up. No one knows what to make of him, kind of a godly figure really, something like out of a myth or hoax. Cures terminal illness at a touch, shows up to save people from natural disasters, shit like that."

You mull that over while you lean back and sip at your sake. That sounds almost like magic to you, but for a figure like that to arise out of nowhere, with no faith, or fear or legend preceding them? It far beyond unusual.

"Anyway, he never really says anything up until some reporter finally managed to ask him who he was, and well, he responded with Scion. After that, capes, normal people with powers, started showing up, and well… then the endbringers showed up." His tone drops quite a bit, as if just talking about the endbringers was a painful thing, as if just having them to talk about was harmful to humans.

"Leviathan being one of these, were they human? Was Scion?"

Seon scratches the back of his head, "Er… I don't know? I mean, they are all pretty horrifying, but human shaped from what I've heard. Well, Scion is some big golden dude, but is otherwise humanish, Leviathan has two arms and two legs, but is more like a lizard thing, and Simurgh is a, I don't really know."

"Seraph reference, Simurgh's body is a seraphim reference." Steve counters, distracted once more from his nervousness by a chance to offer better information. "Though, not that it really matters, we are totally fucked when it comes to endbringers, nothing really stops them from utterly exterminating whatever they set their sights on other than every cape around hitting them with everything they got, and still getting slaughtered." Steve sighs, before looking at you again, "You hair isn't dyed is it?"

That… seemed random, "No? This is my natural hair color." You comment with a tilt of your head.

"Well that explains Chains getting his ass kicked, though you should probably get a mask, because you are probably a cape, and doing the cape thing with your face exposed is a kinda bad idea." Steve explains.

Seon doesn't even leave a second before chiming in his opinion on the subject, "Well, hey, it's not a natural hair color, and she's got the amnesia thing going on, don't all the 'changed' capes have brain problems? What powers would that even fit with?"

"I don't think Canary has psych problems, do they?"

You get the feeling you are being left behind in this conversation somehow…

Well, you aren't sure you like the direction they could go thinking there is something wrong with your mind, you wouldn't want them to end up spreading rumors you were dim or something. As it is though, it's fairly innocent, and while they aren't terribly bright, they seem to be a good source of information through their banter. However, you can't simply remain idle, you have a very important task here after all.

You click your cup against the sake bottle again, signalling your readiness for another. Meanwhile, your continued rate of consumption has begun to concern the new chef, who glances worriedly towards Kurenai. Glancing back yourself while enjoying so seared tuna, you note an increasing number of the other patrons appear to be staring, some in amazement, others in concern similar to the chef's own, and the remainder equally divided between awe and disgust.

"Whe- where is it even going?"

"Nah, I think Shadow Stalker is just like that." Steve chimes in response to some point you missed during your zealous inhalation of food.

"Stranger maybe? She's not actually eating that much?"

"Alright then, er… well that's really it for capes round here we could verify as crazy or not. I mean, I sure as shit am not going to go looking for the mutie- case 53, whatever." Seon quickly backpedals on a comment as Steve glares at him.

"Think that's how Chai-""No, that's just Dogshit being Dogshit."

"Case 53?" You query.

"Come on, you shot down everything, she's got to have SOME power."

Steve ceases glaring to look in surprise, and then embarrassment towards you. "Oh er, sorry keep forgetting you're new to this. But yeah, with that hair, you probably are a case 53 yourself, as far as we know they all tend to have memory problems, Seon is almost certain that's just a symptom of them all having psychological issues."

"Look, all I'm saying is that sociopathy isn't always obvious, so the sane seeming ones could have some background issue. With the masking rules, nobody really gets to figure out if the ones with some memory are actually remembering themselves accurately." Seon retorts, and after a moment you tilt your head and give him a look. He seems confused for all of a couple seconds, before widening his eyes and waving his hands in a warding gesture. "No- no I wasn't trying to say you were probably a sociopath."

You keep your head tilted, and slowly take a bite of beef, chew twice, swallow, then follow it up with sake.

"Okay look, I'm not even saying you are possibly a sociopath, hey, I'll grab the bill, stop staring at me like that." Seon continues, a slight pleading tone leading to you sighing theatrically and leaning back and giving a nod with closed eyes.

As you open your eyes again, you gaze settles on Steve who finally seems to be noticing the piling sake bottles, as well as the impressive amount of receipt information building up towards your end of the table. The misnamed man glances at Seon takes on a truly pitying expression, and then he promptly begins downing some sake of his own.

Well with that out of the way you are feeling rather relaxed, and even miss the start of the next bit of banter between the two. "-wouldn't ever publicize that, those Protectorate idiots only care about LOOKING good. I mean, be honest here, if they REALLY wanted to kick our asses, there isn't much we could do about it, we have jackall for meaningful power besides Lung really, Bakuda and Lee are terrifying but they can't do enough legwork to keep us going if there is a major crackdown."

"I think you are looking too far into it, the PRT and Protectorate are left hand right hand bullshit. They are official, which means they have to plan and paperwork and be accountable for shit. Even if they managed to set up an operation, they'd have to coordinate with the actual cops to have the manpower and facilities, and the police don't want SHIT to do with para-"

The door behind you opened just after the conversation in front of you cut off, and both of the men gulped noticeably, even Chains seemed to be stirring just slightly in his seat with a groan. You turn around in your seat and see… a very tall man in a jacket and scorched pants, they seem poorly fitting, as if just pulled from a line… or judging from the smell possibly a particularly intact corpse. The man has a metal mask with the image of a dragon, and appears to stare just above your own visage, where the symbol of the dragon rests upon your hat.

His jacket is open giving you view of a broad muscled chest, and the tattoo's lain across it, once more, depicting dragons. Honestly he seems the type to play that sport you heard some of the human villagers discussing once, where exceeding tall persons attempt to throw a ball into a small horizontal target.

Then, on a whim, you stop looking at him and look at him.

Fear, acknowledgement of Power, Legends, these things are all so ready to form around him, for a being in Gensokyo to remain like this would soon result in another Youkai, if they had any magical or spiritual aptitude even the better. Yet, he seems incapable of that, there is no magic, no spirit, no unlocked flow of qi, anything really to mark him as anything other than an exceptional human. Even further, there seems to be a certain imperceptible volume to him, a certain… presence, weight, that refuses to be quantified or shown.

It prompts you to raise an eyebrow at the curious sight. You didn't think it was possible for a person Outside to have such a bearing to them. Still, fear flows to him like water into a ravine, a constant crushing power, but… fleeting, always flowing away. He is not youkai, and he can't be, somehow that makes you pity him just a bit.

He seems to deem it fit to break the stillness that has been in place for the past five minutes. He begins striding directly towards your table.