[13] Help Kotohime. Forum friends had to stick together, after all!
-{1} Just yell a warning, and stay out of the way.
-{1} Maybe they could interfere with the spell if they got to the caster?
-{7} Shadow Puppet Powers, Activate!
-{4} Unknown-ify the spotlight! What good is bringing shadows to life if you don't have any shadows?
[8] Stay back, let Kokoa finish whatever she was doing.

There was no time to think - Marisa broke into a run. Whatever Kotohime had mentioned about the Hakurei Shrine Maiden, she wanted to know more.

“Look out for the shadows!” The shout got the police officer’s attention, and she looked up at the wall - before rappelling two feet down to dodge the lunge of a serpentine silhouette. Kokoa swore, flipping her head back to look at the new arrival - and squinting into the light.

Marisa shoved her hand into her pocket, pulling out the cracked virtual pet on a keychain. Spinning it rapidly around her finger, she swung it around into the edge of the light - creating a shadow resembling a ball-and-chain, with a correspondingly heavy effect on a draconic image that was caught in its swing. The islander heard the groan of branches snapping, and the topiary dragon that silhouette came from seemed to have its head sag slightly.

“Woah, tricky!” Kotohime gave a big grin, glancing at her own moving shadow. “Man, that’s a good one. Not good enough to catch me, though!”

The police officer half-climbed, half ran in a diagonal, avoiding the snake silhouette’s bite, and emerging out the far side of its shadow. She flipped off the wall as she got above the reptilian outline, creating a loop in the rope - whose shadow caught on the serpent’s neck, choking it and hoisting it upwards. Marisa heard the snake’s bushy counterpart uproot itself, with an explosion of dirt showering just outside of the floodlight. Kokoa cursed - in a quite literal sense, judging by the red glow she was spitting with her words.

The changeling grinned, deciding to try another idea. Palming the small keychain, she put her hands together and made the vague shape of a wolfs’ head. The shadow that formed seemed to have a mind of its own - Marisa felt her hands jerk downward to snap at the dazed dragon, seizing it by the neck - she could even feel leaves between her fingers. She yanked back, pulling her wolf-shadow and the dragon upwards with it - and got a shower of soil and leaves for her troubles.

She gave a cocky grin, trying to think of what to try next - but the older youkai was on her now, reaching out to snatch at the young kid. Marisa dived to dodge the woman’s grip, rolling through the upturned dirt as something small rushed through the grass past her.

“Where the hell did you come from?!” Kokoa spun on her feet, launching herself at Marisa again. The islander dived back into the spotlight’s glare, and fired a blast of danmaku at the demon. “Are you that child soldier she mentioned?!”

“No idea what she’s talking about,” Marisa said with a cocky grin, “but don’t you think a sneak attack’s a low blow?” The closest she got to an answer was a yank backwards by the neck of her jacket. She hit the ground hard, bewildered - and it didn’t help when something began to press on her chest.

She looked to the spotlight, and realised she’d been caught by the shadow of a bat statue further ahead. It leant over her, close enough for Marisa to feel its breath on her face. Kokoa growled, straightening up.

“Just stay there, brat. I’ll get back to you shortly.” She turned to the wall Kotohime was on, reaching out to snatch for her. Being significantly closer to the spotlight, it made her twice the size of the climbing woman - allowing her to easily reach above her opponent, and grab the rope. The police officer let out a squawk as she was hauled back from her attempted kick on another shadow.

Marisa squirmed, trying to get free of the bat statue’s phantom grip. Its stony embrace left no room to maneuver, and trying to push it off was a fool’s errand. She scanned the ground around her, looking for anything she could grab - but there was nothing she could find.

Then… she felt something. An ominous presence above her. She turned to the silhouettes on the wall, only to see the black phantasm of a crocodilian maw hanging over the bat. The statue’s phantasm looked up, slowly, reluctance in every part of its body.

“Let go… of my friend!”

The crocodile’s maw snapped shut - and the statue exploded into rocks, showering the changeling. Marisa didn’t waste a second, scrambling back to her feet to run out the side of the light once again.

Once she was well clear of the risk of blinding herself, she turned to the floodlight, meeting Mike’s worried look with a big grin and a thumbs-up. Seeing her friend safe, the maneki-neko pulled her arms back, jamming on a switch with her elbow - and throwing the area into darkness.

“Heyheyhey, why’d you turn it off?!” The islander ran up to her friend, nearly running into the floodlight while her eyes were adjusting. “I wanted to try more puppets!”

“But I wanted to try this,” was the catgirl’s response, as she flourished an ability card. She slammed it onto the control panel, giving a nervous smile as the Seed wormed in. “Aim it at that Kokoa woman!”

Marisa nodded, glancing out over the grounds and spinning the device to focus on the angry youkai now rushing towards them. Mike put her hands together, yelling out something like a buddhist sutra and making the shape of a prayer. Though judging by the fact the changeling pretty clearly heard ‘spotlight’ in there, it was probably a fake-out of some sort.

It wasn’t much longer before she figured out the real purpose. She grinned, smirking at the guardian now hesitating before her friend. “With the blessings of Goutoku-ji…” Marisa raised her fist high. “We smite you, demon!”

She slammed down on the switch, hitting Kokoa with the full force of the spotlight. The light didn’t look any different to her… but the youkai screamed in fear, launching straight up into the air. Marisa saw two leathery wings burst out, as the youkai flew around the side of the building to take cover.

The two girls cheered, sharing a high-five - but it was only seconds later that their celebration would prove premature. When the winged Kokoa swooped around from the far side of the building to lunge at the girls, it was already too late to re-aim the faux-holy weapon. The imp’s danmaku forced the pair to dive to the side, letting her reclaim the spotlight.

“You damn brats and your little tricks- do you have any idea what you’re doing?!” Kokoa roared, glaring at them as she touched down on the ground. “Whatever trick you used for that, I’m gonna make bloody sure you regret it!”

Marisa back up, keeping her friend behind her. “You were gonna use your shadow magic on her! We had to do something!”

“No, you didn’t! All she’d be left with is a headache!” The imp through her arms wide. “We’re not allowed to go about killing inconvenient idiots, because we have to lay low - don’t you realise what’s at stake?! We can’t just - just let some powerless whackadoo go running about our building! Do you have any idea how much trouble she can cause?!”

“No, they don’t… and I’m sure you don’t either.” Kotohime’s voice was icy, taking on a chill that seemed wholly disjointed from the woman they’d heard earlier. The trio of youkai paused, looking around frantically for the source of the voice. Mike was the first to see the answer - and when the other two saw where she was looking, they followed her gaze skyward.

The police officer was riding on a cloud about as wide as a car, glaring down at the imp with an eerie intensity. She was surrounded by floating black orbs, with red glows coming from the center of each one. The employed youkai was at a loss for words, sputtering. “Y-you… you can…?”

“If you’re a youkai, and you’re threatening a pair of kids… then I’ve got no reason to hold back, Miss Kokoa.” Kotohime raised her hand high, the orbs around her spinning ever faster. “So let’s put an end to this, shall we?”

Marisa felt dread clutch at her. As Kokoa pulled away from the flying policewoman, she got to her feet, hauling her friend up despite the catgirl’s confusion. The changeling rushed for cover, leaping over a hedge as the orbs surrounded the employee.

And then they exploded. Danmaku shot out in all directions, tearing holes through the topiary bushes and chipping the stonework. When the bullets stopped whizzing, the two girls slowly peaked their heads over the hedge - to see that the area in their direction had largely been spared.

But that was the sole exception. The rest of the nearby grounds had been torn to shreds - most of the topiary bushes still planted in the ground were missing limbs, and the nearby statues were chipped and cracked. Kokoa herself was crumpled up in a small crater, one of her wings twitching weakly.

Kotohime came down to the ground, hopping off her cloud and rushing over. “Whew, wasn’t sure that’d work here. Hey, you two, are you okay?” Mike was still a bit stunned at all the damage, only giving a distracted nod.

Marisa was marginally more composed - at least enough for something coherent to bubble to the surface. She cleared her throat, turning to the police officer slowly. “Hey, you’re- you’re Little_Bunny, right?”

The older woman chuckled. “Good guess. And judging by the ears on this young miss, you’re Calicoin - and you’re obviously MysterySpark. Are you both well, little ones?”

Mike hurriedly pulled her hood up, belatedly realising that the damage was already done. Marisa bristled a bit. “Hey, I’m not that little!”

“If they’re making protests like that, they’re probably fine,” a new voice sounded, regal and foreign. “But I wish we could say the same for the garden. The Scarlet Matriarch set it out herself, after all.”

The trio turned, Kotohime stepping out in front of the young girls. There were two new arrivals - an even taller redhead with a long ponytail and similar youkai traits to Kokoa, and an older european woman with silvery-blue hair wearing expensive clothes. The latter was gazing out at the destruction with an inscrutable expression, even as her accompaniment bowed.

Kotohime blinked. “Huh? A clone?”

The other redhead chuckled, speaking with a loose and casual tone. “No, no. We’re sisters - two of four, in fact. But before I get distracted…” She bowed deeply. “We can only apologise for the inconvenience.”

“Eh?” Mike managed to regather herself a bit, looking back at the damage. “But the garden’s ruined…”

The older woman spoke, slowly. “It will be alright. We have the means to make this little scene disappear for a time… at least long enough to start a whole garden makeover. Minnie, you can make the call later, yes?”

“I’ll have a veil over the grounds tonight, milady. Already got just the right person in mind. Though… if we have it rebuilt while the Mansion’s still getting settled, Lady Remilia won’t be able to offer her input this time… so it may end up being a touch less distinct.” The second imp’s comment had the diplomatic tones of someone who was carefully masking their thoughts on whether such a ‘distinct touch’ was a benefit or not. “For now, though… it’s time to explain some matters. Miss Kotohime… would you and your entourage care to join us for a spot of tea?”

The changeling scowled. “What, now you want to talk? How do we know you’re not gonna just try to throw us out again?”

“Because the powers you demonstrated knowledge of proves that a fool’s errand.” The european woman turned, walking back towards the talent agency’s building. “We have no need to keep it secret from young youkai and proven magicians.”

“Huh?” Mike tilted her head. “I don’t get it.”

A dirty hand clapped down on the maneki-neko’s shoulder, causing her to yelp and pull away. Kokoa swayed unsteadily on her feet, nearly falling over before her sister rushed over to offer support .

“What the lady means… is that I got my ass beat for no bloody reason.” The imp’s eye appeared to be twitching. “If you wanted in to a building of supernatural people, Kusohime… you should have just used your powers in the first damn place.”

Zanmu stepped out of the Scarlet Talent Agency, double-checking to make sure her illusion was back up. The sun seemed to have set completely, with street lamps now providing the only illumination across the terrace. It gave the various tacky statues a bit more of a sinister look; their open siege of good japanese decor now reimagined as a clandestine infiltration - at least, if you ignored the gaudy vampiress in the middle of the garden.

She took a moment to readjust the folder under her arm, before turning to her escort. “I gotta say - Medi, was it? - that file-finding trick of yours is really handy. Got me everything I needed real quick.”

The oni patted the folder a couple of times before continuing. “And that machine, the one that made a copy of all the documents - I have to get one of those for my office. Do they make them in ones that’ll work without scientific electricity? Or maybe I can ask that animal realm craftswoman…”

The twin-tailed redhead didn’t offer much in the way of response, staring down at the ground. Zanmu turned to face her more fully, noting the dull eyes and slumped expression, and sighed. Some people perked up faster than others, but the first hit of nothingness tended to be the worst.

“Look, I was being serious. There’s a kid who I’m sure this information will help out in one way or another, and, ah-” She paused, fishing in her jacket to pull out a small card. “If your agency wants to discuss my actions later, you can find me here. But some days I just can’t take no for an answer, y’know?”

The imp looked up at her, slowly, as Zanmu slipped the card into her chest pocket. “So, for now… just get yourself inside, get some sugar or chocolate in ya, and you’ll be back up and at ‘em in no time. I promise, no long term damage.”

Medi’s expression remained bleak, but she turned around and shuffled off back within the building. Zanmu shrugged, letting her leave without further comment.

Instead, her eye was drawn to the smoke rising from the west side of the building. Well, she’d expected that those kids would get into some form of trouble. They were unlikely to get more than a slap on the wrist tonight, but it might be worth it to check if there were any monetary debts to be settled later - she could probably cover it, after all, and it never hurt to get a few favors to trade in.

But that could wait - at least until she’d had a chance to look at the files she now had. Trust the STA to keep a registrar of these sorts of things. She hummed, strolling out into the street - and nearly bumped into a large man.

“Ooop- sorry, mate, ‘scuse me.” Zanmu looked up - and up - and up, eventually realising she was looking at one of Marisa’s pursuers. The fat man - Daigo, right?

Judging by the larger man’s expression, he recognised her too. “...You. You were the one the boss followed at the market.”

“Mmmm? Oh, you mean Miss Mamizou? Yeah, she got one of those Seeds off me. Just wanted to follow up on her card, y’know.” The oni patted the folder she was holding. “Call it professional curiosity.”

Daigo glared at Zanmu, scowling. “...Marisa. Is she here?”

The short woman shrugged. “The girl you’re looking for? Couldn’t say. There’s been some sort of big commotion, though. If she was here, she was probably part of it.”

The larger man stared at her, unconvinced. Zanmu took the moment to examine him more thoroughly. He did have a doughy constitution - the old phrase about skinny cooks presumably applied to confectioners, too - but as she looked closer, she saw the scars of more than a few fistfights on the man’s knuckles. How tough was he, anyway?

At length, the confectioner cleared his throat. “If there’s anything you know about her whereabouts, I must request you share it. I am more than willing to pay for the information.”

“Are ya? Well, ain’t that interesting.” Zanmu shrugged. There was one way to find out how tough he was… and if Marisa was still around, throwing any pursuer off her trail was probably for the best. “Sadly, I’m in no need for cash right now, so I’ll have to turn down your offer.” She began to walk around the mountain of a man.

She saw his eyes narrow, out of the corner of her eye. “You know something?”

“I’m sure you lot know more than I do. I only learnt about that changeling girl this afternoon.” The former monk waited, watching the ‘slip’ sink in.

The large man’s eyes narrowed. “Where did you-”

“Well, you have a nice night!” She said no more, strolling off casually. The oni turned down the first dark alley she saw, making sure it was clear of any human witnesses.

It wasn’t long before a shadow fell over what light filtered in from the street. Zanmu kept walking, whistling a tune as a heavier set of steps followed her.

“Young Lady.” Daigo’s voice was a deep rumble. “When did you learn that Marisa was a changeling? You must tell me.”

Young lady? The ruler of hell scoffed under her breath, turning her head back with a raised eyebrow. “Oh yeah? And what are you gonna do if I don’t?”

The man focused. Smoke started to billow around him, obscuring his form - but Zanmu could see his silhouette growing taller and taller, his hair becoming a bushy mane. A tree-trunk of an arm clad in leathery blue skin braced itself against the wall, and as the smoke dispersed, two horns could be seen protruding from his head.

A textbook-perfect blue oni. He glared down at Zanmu, rumbling. “Then I will beat the answers out of you. By any means necessary.”

The former monk hummed, readjusting the folder under her arm. “So… you’re playing an oni, are you…?”

She looked up at the giant, grinning as she raised her arm. “Oh, this should be fun.”

---

The rumble that rippled through the fancy conference room only really phased one person within it. Earthquakes weren’t that unusual in Japan, after all, and that one had barely been enough to notice. Marisa and Mike were reacting far more to the fact there were meeting rooms that had miniature fridges built into them.

The only reason Marisa even really consciously noted it was the reaction of the blue-haired woman, who’d done more to knock over things than the earthquake did. Minnie offered a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and a cup of tea in the other. “Nothing to be alarmed about, Lady Scarlet. Minor quakes are quite common in Japan, after all.”

“Yes, quite.” Lady Scarlet quickly recomposed herself, still bringing the tea to her lips with a slightly-shaking hand. Marisa was glad that ‘Lady Scarlet’ was an acceptable epithet - the woman had described herself by rattling off a rambling string of names and titles that the islander had frankly zoned out in the middle of, only really retaining that she was ‘of the House of Scarlet’.

“So… Lady Scarlet.” Mike apparently remembered no more than Marisa when it came to the woman’s name. “Are you the Scarlet this business is named after?”

“Heavens, no.” Lady Scarlet shook her head. “That would be the Scarlet Matriarch. Tragically, the Scarlet Blood lies dormant within my branch of the family.”

Kotohime raised an eyebrow, trying to speak with a mouthful of cookie. “Ifn’t all blood-”

“There are only two true vampires alive in the house of Scarlet - both of whom have no children of their own.” Kokoa was wearing a few bandages, trudging about with open exhaustion - but still had enough energy to cut off Kotohime, it seemed. “The Lady Scarlet before you now is descended from one of the matriarch’s cousins - and like most of the house, she is a human in all measurable aspects.”

“I have a few members of my extended family that display some powers of the blood… though my personal branch hasn’t been blessed with any such traits for three generations.” Despite the somewhat ashamed tone Lady Scarlet took, she quickly regathered herself with a twinkle in her eyes. “But! The Scarlet Matriarch herself predicted some eleven years ago that the next true vampire in the family would be half-japanese by heritage… and as it turns out, I am one of the very few bachelorette Scarlets working in Japan!”

As the older noblewoman sipped at her tea triumphantly, the glance between the two imps spoke volumes Marisa could only guess at. The changeling coughed, awkwardly. “Can the Matriarch predict the future?”

“It would be more accurate to say she has a grip on the reins of fate itself - not that we’re allowed to discuss it that openly.” Minnie was plating up a small tray of biscuits as she talked. “Suffice it to say, the Scarlet Family is an infamous menace on the stock exchange.”

Mike nodded. “I’d always wondered about how the Scarlets accrued their wealth.” She turned to her friend’s surprised expression. “They have dominant shares in, or are even the original founders of all sorts of businesses around the world. The Nightless Castle hotel chain, Seven Elements Books, the Scarlet Cross…”

“But with that said… allow me to welcome you three, once again, to the Scarlet Talent Agency.” Lady Scarlet gave them a warm smile. “Home to the supernatural… and the naturally superb.”

Minnie brought over a tray of glasses, all three filled with an exotic fruit juice. The three interlopers-turned guests gladly took them. “We’re a premier recruitment firm, who employ youkai and other supernatural beings to work for jobs where being the best humanly possible simply isn’t good enough. It’s all legal, of course - it’s just that the agreements and laws that manage it naturally need to be kept from the public eye.”

“Why is that, though?” Marisa straightened up, putting a cookie she had down next to her glass. “Why can’t you just be public about magic and stuff?” When the imps looked at her, she coughed awkwardly. “Uh, I’m… kinda new to all this.”

The taller of the two sisters gave a gentle smile. “Ah, I see. Once upon a time, we could do that, but…” She sighed. “These days, it’s simply no longer possible.”

“Youkai are spiritual beings, born from humans trying to rationalise forces they can’t comprehend.” Kokoa reached into the minifridge, pulling out an ice pack and wincing as she pressed it to a bruise on her head. “If we’re out of the spotlight completely, we fade from existence. If we step too directly into it, though, we get ‘explained’... and at best, we lose who we are. At worst… terrible things can happen.”

The catgirl let out a hum. “So that’s why you just watch the forums,” Mike mused, “rather than directly try to disprove the humans. If you have the only places discussing it be true believers…”

“Then we can walk that line, well enough at least.” Minnie nodded, turning to Kotohime. “Though it does mean we have to fend off the occasional… investigative spirit.”

Kotohime tried to respond, but it was impossible through the three cookies she’d stuffed into her mouth at once. The sight of her trying to swallow them seemed to set Kokoa off. “Yeah, about that. Why didn’t you ever use your abilities?! I must have kicked you out on your ass twenty times now - and you didn’t use those clouds or bombs even once!”

The imp’s yelling seemed to agitate her own headache, and she pulled herself back a bit. “I’d understand if it was to avoid magical sensors - did that bloody well, in fact - but you constantly spoiled your own arrivals and ruined your chances anyway? And now you went out and bought a grappling hook - why would you get a grappling hook when you can just fly?”

The police officer swallowed down the solid mass of cookie, and then followed up with a gulp from her juice. “Look, when I realised you could just go out and buy one… I couldn’t just not do it, right?” The two kids nodded emphatically. “Heck, if that didn’t work I was planning to bring smoke bombs next time. ‘s what disposable income is for, after all.”

This statement seemed to render Kokoa briefly speechless, sputtering with rage. Before she blew up completely, Minnie stepped in with a hand on her shoulder. “We should thank these two kids, really. We were trapped in a bit of stalemate for a while there - but with everything being on the level now, there should be no more need to come pry Kotohime off the building every couple of weeks.”

The shorter sister deflated, slightly, with that realisation. “I… suppose you’re right.” She gave the young mystery hunters a conciliatory look. “As much as I’ll be healing for a while, at least I’ll never have to deal with her again. So thank you… what were your names again?”

Marisa jumped in before Mike could say anything. “Satsuki Rin, and she’s Goutokuji Tokiko.” There was a raised eyebrow from Kotohime, but nothing more. “And actually, we’re looking for a way to get into Gensokyo right now.”

“Is that right…?” Kokoa paused, before nodding. “Well, the Scarlet Matriarch actually made her way to Gensokyo just recently. We’re hoping to get deliveries set up back and forth - perhaps we could bring you along on one of those chains?”

Minnie smiled. “That's a good idea! Though, it would take a couple of weeks to get everything sorted… if that’s not too long for you?”

Mike grinned. “Maybe if we’re lucky, we’ll get to meet the Scarlet Matriarch! There’s all sorts of stories about her business acumen, after all!”

Marisa gave a small chuckle. “Well, it’s our best offer yet, so we won’t turn it down, of course.” The changeling took a deep draught of her own glass, clonking it down. “But we’ll keep looking for our own ways in while we wait. Got a few more legends to check out yet.”

“Just remember not to go blabbing to anyone you don’t know has powers yet, hmm?” The older imp stretched. “I’ll pop down to Medi and see what we can arrange, okay? Kokoa, you just take it easy for a bit.”

The younger of the two nodded, letting her sister depart. “Does anyone else need anything? …No? Then I’ll just sit down for a moment…” Kokoa pulled a large chair up. Slowly, and painfully wincing as she edged herself down into it. Slowly, she leant back, sighing in exhaustion.

Lady Scarlet looked at the two kids, thoughtfully. “You know… if things work out, it’s quite possible the Matriarch would be interested in two young, bright bundles of potential. Would you consent to our aptitude test?”

The catgirl sprung up - and so did Kokoa’s face, her glare utterly full of venom for her boss. “Ooooh,” Mike cooed, “can we?!”

“We didn’t hire Kokoa for her magic’s offensive potential, after all.” The woman in question got up agonisingly slowly as the noblewoman kept talking. “By observing your shadows, she can get a sense for your latent abilities and potential.”

Mike’s ears were twitching in excitement. “That sounds so cool! I’m in!” She turned to her friend. “Ma- Rin, you wanna try it out too?”

[ ] “Sure, why not?” Maybe this’d be a way to get past her natural unknown-ness? And hey, maybe they’d even have an idea for a job she could use her powers for in the future.
[ ] “Ahhh… maybe not.” Mike might be wrapped up in star power, but they were literally vampire aristocrats, and the trio had just ruined their whole lawn. Perhaps it’d be better to keep her secrets in her back pocket.