[X] PANIC!

CAPITAL LETTERS FOR CAPITAL PANIC

[X] Panic?

Uncertain panic.

[x] Calmly take an additional sip of tea and repeat your spittake. This shit is seriously mind boggling business.

[x] Calmly take an additional sip of tea.

[X] Panic?

Uh-oh, the tengu are striking back with the press.

[x] Calmly take an additional sip of tea.

[x] Calmly take an additional sip of tea.

Why did we miss out on dinner again?

>>136789
Batman decided to play with the new grapnel Nitori gave him.

[x] Calmly take an additional sip of tea.

Instead of freaking out or revealing my hand, I calmly take a sip of tea, assessing the situation. Koishi and Satori have some red tea on them, but thankfully Genji uses prestidigitation, and quickly potential stains are removed from their clothes. But more importantly, there's the newspaper in front of me. How am I supposed to deal with this issue? Further inspection details the writer: Hatate Himekaidou. She writes that the Batman is most definitely real, and that she is undertaking investigative reports to find out what the Batman is; a monster? A youkai? A freak of science? A man in a silly costume? I frown as I read through this.

"What the hell, Bruce?!" Uh oh, Koishi looks really mad now. She looks ready to say more, but Satori cuts her off.

"Bruce is sorry about that." That wasn't quiiite what I was going to start with, but Satori's reputation for knowing what people are thinking clearly enough to say what they're going to say is enough to Koishi to turn to her. "He's been really busy at work, as you can see. Why, he was so tired he fell down the stairs." She points to my bruises, and Koishi nodnods at her, giving me a less grumpy look. "He's also promising to... what's that Bruce?" Satori smiles a bit. "Take us out for lunch at the Luna Azure?" Satori makes a mocking grin of pleased surprise. "Why, thank you, Brucie! You're truly a generous friend."

Damnit, bamboozled again. I nod sheepishly, Koishi turning to me with a huge grin. "Yep, that's the plan. Go to the main hall, once I get dressed I'll catch up with you and we can go." Koishi lets out a "yippie!" and runs off, Satori winking to me before she follows. Once they're out and the door's closed, I let out a long sigh.

Those crazy, crazy kids.

~

The Luna Azure is a high end Italian restaurant on the edge of the business district. It used to be populated by the godfathers of the Italian mob, company Bruce Wayne would have never kept, before a certain Batman cleaned them out. Now it's open to all members of the upper class, and soon enough I find myself in a tuxedo, with Koishi and Satori sitting across from me, eating away. I myself ordered a grilled pepper penne, with extra garlic bread.

"And then, and then..." Koishi begins a joke, halfway through her third glass of wine. "And then I told him 'Busy? Sir, it's a madhouse!'" Koishi laughs loudly, Satori rolling her eyes at Koishi's silly jokes. I chuckle a bit myself, looking out the window. Satori looks to me.

"Hey, Bruce." I look back to her, meeting deep eyes staring into my own. "What do you think of this whole Batman thing?"

Urk.

[ ] I think he's a menace and should be behind bars.
[ ] Well, it seems like he's trying to help.
[ ] I bet he's a monster or something.
[ ] Batman? What, did Bat Boy grow up or something?

[x] Shrug noncommittally.

[X] Batman? What, did Bat Boy grow up or something?

Avoid the question, Bruce! Snark is an added bonus.

[X] Well, it seems like he's trying to help.

[X] Well, it seems like he's trying to help.
-[X] But that's not a reason to believe he's above the law. He could become as big a threat to the public as the criminals he fights.

Great, now I'm worried Satori will go down the Hugo Strange route, while Koishi becomes Harley Quinn.

[X] Batman? What, did Bat Boy grow up or something?

[X] Batman? What, did Bat Boy grow up or something?

[X] Well, it seems like he's trying to help.
-[X] But that's not a reason to believe he's above the law. He could become as big a threat to the public as the criminals he fights.

[x] Well, it seems like he's trying to help.
-[x] But that's not a reason to believe he's above the law. He could become as big a threat to the public as the criminals he fights.

[X] Batman? What, did Bat Boy grow up or something?

I hope not. Bruce needs friends, with Barbara being in another dimension and all.

>>136833
also the best way to fight crime is to prevent it. If we can stop some of them from ending up a villain then things will be better for it. But it'd be pretty hard if he ends up going "oooh shiny toy" and go running out on social engagements.

>>136836
Of course, just because you stop them from turning rogue doesn't mean you stop others from doing so. Note in the other options for the childhood friends choice:
Shikieiki -> Two FaceColor
Alice -> Ventriloquist
Yukari -> not sure, maybe Riddler?

>>136839

I think Yukari would be more like the Joker instead of the Riddler. You don't know what they will do next.

[X] Well, it seems like he's trying to help.
- [X] But that's not a reason to believe he's above the law. He could become as big a threat to the public as the criminals he fights.

The classic response.

>>136852
Considering she's the owner of a company, wouldn't she be more like The Great White?

[x] Well, it seems like he's trying to help.
-[x] But that's not a reason to believe he's above the law. He could become as big a threat to the public as the criminals he fights.

Not really sure if I shouldn't go for the Bat Boy vote instead, but oh well.

>"And then, and then..." Koishi begins a joke, halfway through her third glass of wine.
Koishi, you lush~

[x] "Well, it seems like he's trying to help."
-[x] "But that's not a reason to believe he's above the law. He could become as big a threat to the public as the criminals he fights."

Satori nods, twirling her spaghetti with her fork. Her eyes don't break from mine, gazing into my heart, my brain. "I see. A very reasonable answer, Bruce." The spaghetti on her fork becomes a larger and larger spool. "I wonder if he thinks the same way..." Satori sighs, before taking a bite out of the spaghetti. Nom.

"I think..." Koishi looks over with a biiig smile, leaning forwards and pouring her bottle of wine into Satori's empty water glass. "I think you need to have a little and quit bein' so serious." Satori yelps and leans back, the wine flowing freely into her glass. "Come on, Brucie's buyin', you should have as much as you want~"

"Koishi, you shouldn't be drinking so much before work." Satori speaks bluntly, grabbing the wine bottle away from her. "What would the director say?" Koishi rolls her eyes.

"Who cares what that ol' stick in the lick says?" Koishi grabs Satori's glass and downs it, giving me a blushing look. "Besides, Brucie here is a lotta fun, huh?" Dangit. I consider reaching over to take the glass from her, but something else catches the corner of my eye, and I turn to look at it, leaving Satori to try to calm her sister down.

A woman in a trenchcoat with a red and white bow over her head. A woman in an office uniform, a strange looking hat on her head that defies explination. I recognize both; Hakurei and Yamaxanadu, the District Attorney. The two walk to a corner booth, taking a seat and discussing something I can't hear.

"Bruuuuucie!" Koishi speaks up more loudly, grabbing my attention by tapping the table with her fork. "Tell Satori I'm fine!" Satori, next to her, facepalms.

"Bruce, tell her she needs to wait til after work."

1.
[ ] Satori's right.
[ ] Koishi's right.
2.
[ ] Make an excuse to escape, then go eavesdrop on Hakurei and Yamaxanadu
[ ] Make an excuse to escape, then go approach Reimu and Yamaxanadu.
[ ] Stay, you jerk. You can talk to Hakurei tonight.

[X] Koishi's right.
[X] Stay, you jerk. You can talk to Hakurei tonight.

Stand them up once, it's acceptable. Stand them up twice, you can hardly call yourself a gentleman anymore, Brucie.

[x] Satori's right.
[X] Stay, you jerk. You can talk to Hakurei tonight.

I'm mainly siding with Satori because I don't want to see Koishi do something stupid at work or get fired.

[x] Satori's right.
[x] Stay, you jerk. You can talk to Hakurei tonight.

I don't give a shit about the Director, Koishi doesn't need to be tipsy when dealing with inmates.

[x] Koishi's right.
[x] Stay, you jerk. You can talk to Hakurei tonight.

Koishi is a big girl, and has presumably done this before. She can handle herself. Besides, I don't want to ruin her good mood.

[x] Satori's right.
[x] Stay, you jerk. You can talk to Hakurei tonight.

[x] Satori's right.
[x] Stay, you jerk. You can talk to Hakurei tonight.

[X] Satori's right.
[X] Stay, you jerk. You can talk to Hakurei tonight.

Koishi needs to learn some restraint. Getting hammered before you go to work at an insane asylum is not a good idea. She is supposed to make rational judgements about her patients.

[X] Satori's right.
[X] Stay, you jerk. You can talk to Hakurei tonight.

[x] Satori's right.
[x] Stay, you jerk. You can talk to Hakurei tonight.

I decide against eavesdropping on Hakurei. It's regrettable, but I have a feeling she wouldn't want to see me, anyways. I look back to Koishi, this time deftly reaching over and taking the wine glass out of her hand, and pulling it out of her reach, eliciting a whine from the woman.

"Your sister's right, Koishi." A somewhat stern tone, but understanding. "You've got work after this. You should save your fun time til your day off." Koishi gives me a pout.

"You skipped out on us last night, don't be a narc!" I can't tell her I was learning how to not break my neck using a tool for Batman. "Mister Playboy you!" Her words are punctuated by a hiccup. Satori leans over and rubs Koishi's back, sighing.

"What am I going to do with you..." Satori asks, almost sounding exasperated. Koishi lets out a little whine in reply, folding her arms and pouting... but not moving away from Satori's care. Satori looks to me as Koishi pouts.

"Did you see Reimu walk in?" I nod quietly. "Why don't you go talk to her?" I shake my head again.

"It's been too long. She didn't really like me much when we were kids; it was her mom that wanted to help." It's not a memory I like to speak of fondly; my words are short, and Satori nods and changes the topic.

"I heard the Kochiya's child has made her way back home." Heh, really now? "I'm due for an appointment with her in a couple of hours. Interesting, that." Satori takes a sip of water, eyes never leaving mine. "You have quite a few childhood friends, Bruce."

"I guess." I laugh, brushing my hair back. "But without you two, where would I be?"

"Probably still in bed." A smile plays on Satori's lips.

~

"Mister Wayne, there's someone who wishes to see you." Merlin speaks up as I walk into the office, the girl completely nonplussed at my sudden arrival. "Miss Hatate Himekaidou, of the Kakashi Spirit News." My good mood from lunch is totally destroyed as this comes on me. "She wants to talk to her about her latest expose. Shall I send her away?" Merlin gives me a little smile, and I'm reminded; that kind of article probably seems like a tabloid to most people.

"Also, Miss Kawashiro wanted to talk to you about her former department and some funding issues. She has an appointment scheduled at two-thirty." That's right, I have to talk to Dr. Whiterock for Nitori; she must be scheduling the appointment to tell me. Well, it's two, so I have a little time...

1.
[ ] See Himekaidou.
[ ] Send her away.

2.
[ ] Prepare to talk to Whiterock.
[ ] Batman might be suited for that conversation.

[X] See Himekaidou.
[X] Prepare to talk to Whiterock.

Gotta maintain the "Bruce Wayne" persona in the public eye. Also, it's a good idea to know what Cirno's willing to tell her boss while keeping an eye out for things that don't add up. Then we can do the Batman investigation.

[x] Send her away.
[X] Prepare to talk to Whiterock.

Seeing Hatate would only lend credence to that rag. If the public opinion of her Spirit News is poor, giving attention to it would only serve to our detriment. Instead, we should use this spare time to prepare for our confrontation with Whiterock.

[x] Reschedule with Hatate for in a few days, Your a very busy man after all.
-[x] Make mental note to prove Batmans good intentions to her before the appointment, as Batman.
[x] Prepare to talk to Whiterock.

Maintain innocence until you can improve her opinion of Bats, nothing in her report linked Bats and Bruce directly after all, this maybe innocent opinion gathering. Also she may just barge in or otherwise extract info some other way if we just send her away.

[X] See Himekaidou.
[X] Prepare to talk to Whiterock.

I think we should oblige her but be very Bruce and not so much Batman. I mean like playing it as a chance reinforce things and convince her that we can't be Batman. And there's no need to go batman on Dr. Whiterock just yet.

I'm kinda disappointed that Bruce didn't go further into things. But seriously we should keep our appointments and not flake out on our good friends.

[x] Send her away.
[x] Prepare to talk to Whiterock.

I would like to bang Hatate senseless, but eh. She writes a tabloid, if she really wanted to talk to us she'd ambush us in a hallway.

>>137287
so you'd rather give her a big red flag that we're Batman than not? And not all reporters are rude.

[x] See Himekaidou.
[x] Prepare to talk to Whiterock.

[X] See Himekaidou.
[X] Prepare to talk to Whiterock.

>>137296
1) Following your reasoning, the lunch lady can be Batman because she isn't talking to Hatate.
2) She writes shit for a tabloid.

>>137312
Yet if Bruce talks to her and acts rather playboyish, he might either A) end up charming her or B) convince her that there's no way he can be the ultra serious competent caped crusader.

That and if it turns out that she has some dirt, better to deal with it in a public place than an alley. Though I think she might be less quick to take sides than other Tengu

Hey Inquisitor, are you still alive? Remember that "four updates a week" promise? Two weeks without updates isn't a very good April Fools joke.

He blames his worthlessness of having to do 4 "thick-as-fuck" papers over the past month. I'll personally smack the mexican if he hasn't updated by the time I see him in 2 weeks.

The author says now that he's wrapped up his classes, he should be able to write again and to expect one sometime on Monday or very early Tuesday.