The subject of the scene was Reimu Hakurei, the shrine maiden who kept the balance of the land. She was in her familiar red-and-white garbs, and sporting an all-too-familiar glare. She flew through the air with focused, yet graceful movements, as she chased down her target and summoned forth a plethora of colourful lights that were intended to track down and annihilate her foes.

The image captured at that moment perfectly portrayed a majestic yet terrifying sight, no doubt inspiring fear and awe in any who would incur her wrath. It even inspired admiration, and more importantly, ideas for headlines in the photographer who dared to get close enough for said image.

Being so close to such danger however, was how one brings out the most impressive imagery to go along with potential headlines. There was plenty worth highlighting, like the ferocity of the shrine maiden, or the intricacy of the light patterns filling the surroundings. The best thing to do in this situation, as decided by the photographer, was to simply take as many photos as possible and sort which would be the best later.

"I'm going to break that camera in two if you don't get out of my face!" Reimu hollered, throwing her youkai-punishing needles with all her force, which ended up missing by a large margin as her would-be-target sped through the air around her, continuing to take as many unsolicited photographs as she wanted.

"But that belligerent energy you're showing off is what I like the most! Keep it up, keep it up!" A polite, chirpy voice replied to the shrine maiden's displeasure, followed by the click of a camera shutter. Despite the swaths of needles and amulets coming fast from all sides, she narrowly dodged all of it and even looked like she was having fun all the while.

Even with as fast as her target was moving, Reimu kept track of the blurring silhouette. She could never mistake details like the geta that just barely slipped out of the corner of her vision, or the tokin headgear that somehow never fell off that head of dark hair. All the signature trademarks of a crow tengu, alongside the confident smile that Reimu wanted to wipe off.

This was far from the first time that Aya Shameimaru took such a pushy approach to gathering material for her Bunbunmaru Newspaper. Whenever Reimu ended up being featured in Aya's articles, the chances of having strange and unappealing things written about her were extremely high. As such, whenever Aya pointed a camera her way, Reimu's first instinct was to put a stop to it.

...Which was easier said than done. Aya was exceptionally good at playing keep-away and staying the perfect distance to both stay safe and also capture the shots she wanted. That didn't stop Reimu from trying to shoot down the reporter with all her might.

"I'll show you belligerent..." Reimu grumbled as she chased after Aya, not yet having decided whether she wanted to wring the reporter's neck or to stomp on her. "I'm not even doing anything worth putting in your third-rate youkai paper!"

"You are too modest!" Aya chatted back as she flew away from Reimu. "A model reporter like me excels at finding newsworthy truths from the most unassuming of sources. One just needs to look closely enough!"

"How about you look closely at this!" Reimu announced before summoning her special weapon made just for this occasion: Her giant, anti-reporter talisman. The talisman was larger than Reimu herself, and she sent it flying straight towards Aya.

"Aw, you still have this prepared just for me?" Aya felt flattered upon seeing the giant, hazardous missile closing in on her faster than she was backing up through the air. "But you should know this won't stop me from getting my scoop!"

Aya suddenly slowed down, which confused Reimu since it appeared to make the talisman's collision with her inevitable. In a fraction of a second, however, she pivoted herself in the air and swerved around the talisman as it just barely grazed her. She swerved around the air so severely that she ended up behind Reimu, who only turned around a second later to be met with several more camera flashes.

Aya lowered her camera after that, looking very satisfied with herself. "That was an excellent display all-around! I should have more than enough for my 'Menacing Shrine Maiden' headline this month. Thank you for your time!"

"Don't you dare-"

Before Reimu could do anything else, Aya immediately turned around and flew off at full speed, leaving Reimu by herself within a second, much to the shrine maiden's chagrin. She could only yell at the air left behind by the reporter.

"Argh! ...At least write 'impressive' instead of 'menacing'!"

"I will consider it!" Aya's voice echoed back, her silhouette already long out of sight.

---

High up among the steep cliff sides of the great Youkai Mountain, there were many twisting paths both deep within it's forests, or along the rocky surfaces. One area of the mountain in particular was considered the secluded and impenetrable territory of the tengu. No humans or even other youkai would callously approach the tengu's grounds, and if they did, they would be driven off by the wolf tengu in charge of protecting their borders.

Deeper within the tengu's territory was their own self-made expanse and community, a village of their own, right in the heart of the mountain. It might have appeared like any other urban landscape, except it was entirely populated by tengu.

One such tengu was of course, Aya Shameimaru, who was gathering some things in her home. She sat up from her desk, which had various old drafts and references organised in chronological piles for her convenience. Her camera and boxes of film sat in the corner next to the papers, and hanging on the wall in front of her was where she let her hauchiwa fan sit, since it added a nice bit of colour to the wall when she wasn't using it.

Her house was fairly compact, which was to her preference, with every room connected to one larger one in the middle. From her desk, she only needed to take a few steps to access her kitchen, which was ideal since it was convenient for keeping herself sustained while working late nights.

As she stepped away from the desk, she took a quick look over the pinboard on the other wall. Multiple photos and notes were pinned and arranged by their potential worth as headline material in an order that only Aya herself understood. The pinboard was good for putting down stray thoughts that may prove useful at later dates, not to mention that it was also just nice to look at the progress that lead to finished articles, much like the ones currently in her hands.

When Aya left her house, she was holding a few papers and photos collected in a bundle, which made up articles she had prepared over the past week, now written and ready for print. Among them, she had picked out the best photos among her recent collection to highlight 'the shrine maiden's impressive stature'.

During this bright afternoon, the roads were as bustling as ever with its citizens moving to and fro. The air filled with the sounds of chattering tengu, half of them with their geta clip-clopping along the ground, and the rest soaring through the sky above since the clear and sunny weather made it comfortable to do so. Most of the pavements and roads started low and then progressed higher along the mountainside as the paths ventured deeper into the more developed districts.

Aya joined the bustling crowd, making her way out of the residential districts. Most of the buildings around this area were houses, some built into the rock of the mountain, others situated along the river that flowed through the center of the landscape, and a few built to sit high among particularly tall trees.

Getting one's story printed was a regular routine that just about every crow tengu knew by heart, since crow tengu as a whole were assigned the role of informants and journalists, in charge of collecting and reporting on any and all worthwhile information. Aya in particular wrote more about matters regarding events and people outside Youkai Mountain, especially when it came to humans, more often and with more authority than anyone else. She took pride in covering the latest scoop for her readers, which included not just her fellow tengu but everyone in Gensokyo who she could hand her papers off to.

Aya took a relaxed pace on her way to her destination. Along the way, she passed by a modest cafe along the street, one of many along this road. Those kinds of places were always filled with tengu taking a break from their work at any given time. The most common kind Aya would find were the white wolf tengu, since they rotated different shifts to guard their mountain territory. In this hierarchy of theirs, it was decided that wolf tengu made for the ideal defense force, and Aya always took time to greet whoever was guarding the entrance when she returned from collecting material.

Tempted as she was to stop by for a snack, Aya pressed on to the bigger business districts. Most of the buildings here were for offices where many different kinds of work is done, such as the hanataka tengu and their business management. The hanataka tengu were likely to spend all day within their offices charting out plans, allocating funds, or other related duties. The hanataka didn't often step out of their districts very often, since they have all the resources and ability to do their work from indoors, which reminded Aya of a crow tengu she knew. Despite the fact that they didn't have much public presence, they were the authority on business-related matters, so if the hanataka decided for whatever reason that film and ink costs were to suddenly be increased by thirty percent, then everyone else just had to deal with that. Though some other tengu might be jealous of the way the hanataka get to do things, Aya thought such a role would be far too boring for her tastes.

By now, Aya had reached the printing building, run by the yamabushi tengu. The yamabushi actually ran a number of factories and manufacturing facilities, which included their large collection of printing presses. Every yamabushi decided their own pace when it came to work, and so if they wanted to take it easy and make a crow tengu wait an extra day or three for their papers to get printed, that was their prerogative. That didn't stop Aya from being insistent if need be, which was very often.

Most reporters opted to simply mail their finished drafts to the yamabushi tengu, but Aya prefered coming down to the printing building in person, so she could make sure the photos and text were arranged by the yamabushi exactly how she envisioned, with the photographs being highlighted and framed perfectly for maximum attention-grabbing.

After spending an hour inside politely pestering the workers inside, Aya came out of the building, satisfied that her articles for the month were now in production. She still had a full day ahead of her, so she figured she might head home and get a headstart on editing the material for her special, human-village-edition of the Bunbunmaru. It was busy work, appealing to so many different audiences, but a traditional reporter like herself wouldn't have it any other way.

As Aya headed down the stone steps built into the hill, she glanced to the scenery off in the distance. The yamabushi's printing building was fairly high up, so from her current position, she had a good view of the entire rest of the tengu's domain. She could see the various facilities and shops she liked to frequent, and also the line of residential homes a little further behind, including her own house which was perched at the far end of the river's path.

Rested higher along the mountain than any of these though, and built larger and more grand than any other structures, were the administrative buildings that were usually only ever occupied by the daitengu and Lord Tenma, the head of all tengu. The daitengu, who answered directly to Tenma, were the managers of their society, and said to represent the greatest of the tengu's power and wisdom. All other tengu then deferred to the daitengu, and that was how it has been for as long as the hierarchy of their society has existed. The rules as they currently were meant that every tengu lived by the role assigned to them, a role which is decided at birth.

To almost all tengu, including even the daitengu, this hierarchy was simply a fact of life and it was how tengu have always operated. Aya was one of the few who still remembered a time before all of that, many centuries ago, when everyone's life was a bit more flexible than the rigid roles they are assigned today.

Even some of the daitengu might have forgotten, but she remembered when every tengu was working together as equals to form something special on their own. What the daitengu, alongside their Tenma, eventually created was the society they had today, and it was certainly worthy of the admiration and reverence that they now received. Likewise, Aya treated those at the top with the proper respect she believed they deserved as well, regardless of the fact that she remembered being there when most of them were infants. ...and regardless of how the hierarchy they had created meant a crow tengu like Aya would always be stuck to only being an informant for them, and never anything more.

...Not that she didn't enjoy her current job. Her Bunbunmaru was an important asset to everybody, both to the tengu's network of information, and to all her readers, including the ones who tried to deny receiving her paper. She would continue taking great pride in delivering stories in her own special way.

With that bit of reminiscing done, Aya continued her way down the steps. She soon noticed someone else approaching, also on their way towards the printing presses. Aya was the first to give a greeting. "Well now, are you on your way to publish your latest scoop?"

"...Most people say 'hello' before prying into business, you know?" Hatate sounded annoyed, though she returned Aya's smile with one of her own. "And maybe I do. If you want to spoil my articles, you won't do it just by asking."

Hatate Himekaidou, who runs the Kakashi Spirit News, tried to sound indifferent, though the eagerness in her voice and the folder in her hands made it quite clear that she was there to submit a story that day.

Though Aya still thought Hatate was fairly fresh to the journalism scene, at least compared to Aya herself, she and Hatate had established something of a 'rivalry', where they decided some time ago to be the ones pushing each other to do their best, lest either of them were to get complacent about the quality of their papers.

Aya shook her head. "I already have a scoop of my own. As it happens, it is already in print. You could stand to be a little earlier, I think now is about the time the yamabushi get really busy."

Hatate wasn't worried about that in the slightest."The fact that you're here sooner than me just means you haven't put as much time refining your writing."

"I refine my words exactly as much as I need to highlight my photos. Otherwise, I'd just be bloating the word count to make it look more substantial than it really is. I am all chop-chop and snip-snip for efficiency, you know?" Aya replied in her usual carefree tone. "It makes me wonder how your stories will compare to mine this month."

"I can totally tell you're trying to bait me into sharing mine first." Hatate gave a flippant wave of her hand, brushing off the fact that she was just a little curious as to what Aya's newest paper was like. "You are soooo not as subtle as you think you are. I am going to take my time today, making sure they print my paper exactly how I envision it."

"You do seem the type who'd only be satisfied with handing in your work in person. Careful, some of the printers might not like you telling them how to do their jobs."

"That doesn't stop you, does it?" Hatate was already suspecting that the yamabushi tengu within the offices today had to deal with Aya's pushy self earlier. "I'm way more polite than you are. After dealing with you, I'll cheer them up by spreading some of my good mood today."

Aya had to admit, there was something slightly more bubbly about her fellow reporter than usual. "Oh, and what's got you in such a good mood?"

"I just feel like I have an extra spring in my step today, like it's pushing me from behind! You better watch out for the sales of whatever you publish, because I have a really good feeling about Kakashi Spirit News this time."

Aya couldn't help but grin as Hatate walked past her, the other's enthusiasm was even a little infectious. "In that case, I will definitely look forward to-"

Aya stopped short, momentarily at a loss for words when she saw Hatate from behind.

"...Hatate? Hey, Hatate?!"

"Hm?" Hatate stopped and looked over her shoulder at Aya, who was now staring at her in surprise. "W-What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I… don't think your story is why you've been feeling perky today." Aya said as she stepped towards Hatate.

"What do you mean-" Hatate had started to turn around before Aya held her by the shoulders so that her back was still facing the other. "H-Hey, what are you doing?!"

"I assume you haven't noticed this? The door on your back." Aya asked, giving two knocks on the door that was situated right on Hatate's back. The sound of wood being tapped on behind her made Hatate's jaw drop. "Hello, hello? Anybody home?"

"A what on my what ?!" Hatate craned her neck to try and see, and her hands scrambled for her back to find the door. Its presence was obvious now, and she realised just then that her shoulders had felt heavier all day, yet she had somehow missed it until now. "What is this!? How?! Whyyyy-"

While Hatate was scrambling in place, Aya took a step back and stared quizzically at her with arms crossed. "I've seen this phenomenon before. You remember when I told you about it, don't you? During that incident with the seasons."

"R-right, I remember now…" Hatate let herself calm down, just a little bit. "Wait, so did you put this on me?! Get it off right now!"

"I did nothing of the sort! As for getting it off, we can try the simplest solution first…" Aya then gripped onto the edges of the door's sides with both hands, before beginning to pull and trying to pry the door off Hatate's back.

"Ow!" Hatate nearly lost balance as she felt herself being tugged backwards. "Take it easy! I don't want to lose any feathers!"

"I am barely putting in any strength-" Aya was just about to pull harder, when she noticed a faint light emanating from the door.

In the next moment, there was a bright flash as the door suddenly swung open, with something coming out in a rush. It caused Hatate and Aya to both stumble and fall to the floor.

Floating in the air above them was a pair of strange figures, who glanced around their immediate surroundings.

"What…" Aya looked up in bewilderment, before quickly recognising the pair.

"...Are we in the right place?" Mai Teireida said, adjusting her green dress and resting a bamboo stalk over her shoulder. She looked to her left and right, taking in the sight of the mountain walls and buildings in the distance. "This is where the tengu live? I was expecting something like a big nest."

"It's sorta like that, isn't it? Plus, there are two tengu right here." The second of the pair, Satono Nishida, wearing a pink dress and holding a branch of ginger in her hand, spoke as she looked down. When she glanced at Aya though, her face lit up with surprise. "Oh, not just any tengu either! I can't believe we've run into each other again..."

"You two...!" Aya quickly stood up, as the two of them descended to the floor. "Why are you of all people here?!"

"More importantly…" Hatate also picked herself up from the ground, still rather dazed about the whole thing. "D-did these people just come out of my back?"

"Geez, we just arrived and the first thing that happens is us being bombarded with questions." Satono said with an amused tone. "I guess crow tengu really are all busy-bodies. Right, Mai?"

"Don't I know it. It's none of your business!" Mai quickly said to the tengu before turning away from them. "Say, Satono, let's start checking out the sights of this nest. I wonder where they lay their eggs?"

Mai and Satono giggled among themselves, and turned towards a different direction. Before they took more than two steps though, Aya zipped right in front of them within a blink of an eye.

"It is very much our business!" Aya got over her surprise fairly quickly, and looked between the two of them with great suspicion. At the same time, she had her pen and notebook ready in her hands.

Aya knew Mai and Satono as the 'dancers' and servants under the employ of Okina Matara, the 'secret god'. She couldn't imagine for what purpose the hidden sage would send her servants into the tengu's home, but any outsiders appearing uninvited was cause for alarm and would likely invite a lot of clamour, especially from the higher-ups.

...And it was also incredibly potent material for an article.

"A 'busy-body' like me isn't going to just let you off until you explain and elaborate on everything." Aya stepped closer, and was practically right in the two's faces. "Why are you here? Wait, no, we should start from even earlier. Perhaps an anecdote about why you two are as eccentric as you are."

"Eccentric? We prefer 'mad', like bamboo and ginger'!" Satono said, taking a slight step back to put some much-needed space between her and the reporter.

"I don't know what is so 'mad' about either of these things, but it's catchy." Aya quickly noted that down. "Now continue to spill. Spill!"

"Hey, hello?!" Hatate frantically waved for their attention, pointing again at the door on her back. "Can someone explain this first?! Or better yet, get it off me!"

"Oh, that?" Mai met Hatate's agitation with a nonchalant tone. "You just happened to be the first tengu we spotted outside the mountain, so thank you for showing us the way in."

"Wha… How long were you two hiding behind me?! How does that even work!?"

"Stop scaring the fledgling." Aya said to Mai. "She'll go back to being a shut-in."

"No, I won't!" Hearing that made Hatate calm down just a little. She moved beside Aya, grumbling to herself. "I'd like to see you try to stay calm when two people pop out of your back…"

Aya then turned her attention back to Mai and Satono. "Neither you have answered what you're even doing here."

"You really want to know?" Satona asked. She and Mai shared a smile between themselves before she further answered. "I guess we can tell you."

"The gist of it is…" Mai and Satono clasped hands, and then struck a dramatic, symmetrical pose to the two crow tengu, before declaring their intention in unison. "We're here to cause trouble!"

The tengu just stared at the dancers as they held their pose the whole time.

"Wow…" Hatate in particular was incredulous at the pair's attitude. "Just coming right out and admitting that, huh?"

Aya meanwhile, almost seemed amused. "I suppose I can appreciate being straightforward. Did you two just feel like it, or…?"

The dancers dropped their pose and Satono answered Aya in a cheery tone. "As it happens, we're here on business. You see, Master has given us the important task of observing all the residents of this mountain. We're to evaluate the routines and practices of various youkai, all part of checking on the status of this strange land called Gensokyo. Naturally, that included our Master's ancestral enemies, the tengu."

"When you say Master… You're talking about Matara-jin, right?" Hatate asked.

"They are." Aya was the one to answer. "Okina Matara. I recall her saying that she was still plenty curious about this land and it's youkai."

"But just watching is boring!" Mai suddenly, even more cheerily than Satono. "So we've decided to run an experiment alongside our observation! You tengu are big about rules and order, aren't you? So we got to wondering how well you'd all handle something unprecedented. I bet this society has never had intruders appearing inside their home out of thin air, right?!"

"What kind of reason is that…?" Somehow Hatate found herself feeling even more incredulous than she was a few moments ago. "If you were ordered to 'observe', then you're just messing up your own job on purpose!"

"Hey, don't try to tell us how to do our jobs!" Mai said, defensively. "There is more to our work and intentions than could be understood by a mere crow tengu like yourself."

"You literally just said it was because you're bored…"

"Oh yeah. I did, didn't I?" Mai paused for a moment, then just laughed to herself "...Okay, maybe you do understand it."

Satono herself let out a small laugh at that. "Oh Mai, you're so easy to read. That's one of your charm points, though."

Mai shrugged. "We can't all be as enigmatic as Master, you know!"

Hatate looked between the two of them with an utterly baffled expression, before turning to Aya. "What's up with these two?"

"That's just how they are." Aya said flatly before addressing the dancers. "More importantly, if you go ahead and start making a ruckus here just for the sake of it, that is as good as declaring war on all tengu, assuming you're not torn apart in mere seconds by every tengu present. It would be such a short-lived scheme that even I would have a hard time writing a worthwhile article about it."

"Oh?" Satono seemed strangely pleased at hearing that. "You think our 'experiment' will be worth putting in your newspaper?"

"Well, it is my specialty to find scoops in even the most unassuming of places, so-"

"Ooh, is that a promise?" Mai suddenly got up close to Aya, grinning as she spoke. "Seeing a tengu newspaper covering our exploits against the tengu themselves would be a rather fun and ironic way to gauge your reactions. It might actually make a tengu paper worth reading!"

"I suppose… Yes. Yeah, that's right!" Aya was quick to let the insult slide, if only because she's heard far worse from those closer to her. Instead of lingering on that, she found herself happily boasting about her pride as a reporter. "If either of you two did anything newsworthy here, a model reporter like myself would naturally be on top of it!"

"Hey." Hatate then nudged Aya with her elbow. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Without waiting for an answer, Hatate pulled Aya off to the side and started whispering to her.

"Aren't you being a liiiiittle too lax around these weirdos? We should turn them in to the white wolf tengu before they do anything bad."

"I never took you for such a law-abiding citizen." Aya whispered back.

"It's more like if these two break something, I have a feeling the blame is gonna find its way to us somehow! Why are you so calm about this!? I thought when it came to the order and upkeep of our domain, you were as uptight as any other old coot."

"None of those are accurate to describe me… But I'm not worried either. If these two actually tried to cause any harm, I would blow them into next week without a second thought. That's why I figure we might as well try to squeeze a scoop out of them while they're right in front of us. Where's your reporter spirit?"

"I guess I get it… So you really don't think these two are any dangerous?"

"They might be a danger to public peace, but as long as I have my eyes on them, they are not going to- Where did they go?"

Aya glanced over her shoulder, only to see that Mai and Satono were no longer standing there.

"Ah! Over there!" Hatate shouted as she pointed in the distance. Mai and Satono had taken flight off the edge of the hillside and were heading towards the busy and crowded heart of the district crossroads.

"Hey! What are you two doing…?!" Aya called out, but they either didn't hear her or they were ignoring her. It was a bit of a worrying thought for Aya. Two intruders suddenly making themselves present in the heart of their secluded society was surely going to result in chaos.

"Oh my gosh, I thought they were at least going to try to be sneaky about it or something, but they're heading right for a crowd… What are they going to do?"

"I don't know, but come on! We have to follow them!"

"Right! ... First, tell me if there's still a big gaping hole in my back-"

"No time for that!"

Aya flew towards the main streets in the distance alongside Hatate. Just as they had landed close by, Mai and Satono had positioned themselves in the air directly above the crossroads. From there, the pair announced themselves to the bustling crowd.

"Hear ye, hear ye! All you tengu, of all types!" The two of them shouted in unison. Any tengu who didn't already notice them floating in the air above them was now looking up at them in shared confusion.

Now with the crowd's undivided attention, they proceeded to introduce themselves, the first of them twirling her bamboo stalk to start. "I'm Mai Teireida!"

"And I'm Satono Nishida! The two of us come with a message- No, an announcement from our master: The hidden sage, the tengu-warding secret god of impairment, Okina Matara! You might have heard of her!"

Already, there was gossiping and whispering among all the tengu present, yet all of them were transfixed on the two and what they might have to say. The same was true for Aya and Hatate, who were also both watching from afar.

Their voices carried clearly through the air, easily reaching everyone. Mai continued the 'announcement' while gesturing dramatically. "You tengu might have had your fun, controlling the flow of information in Gensokyo, but that's only because our master has allowed it all this time! She has eyes and ears everywhere, and her influence reaches deep within all who reside in this land, whether they be human or youkai, and your society is no exception!"

This got the biggest reaction out of the crowd of tengu so far, all expressing varying but all angry reactions of disbelief.

"We're here today to let you all know in advance that she'll be going back to controlling the information from all beings as she sees fit, so frankly, all your services are now obsolete." Satono picked things up, spreading her arms out for dramatic effect. "Any interesting news you might find from here on out will only be because of her doing, so this is us telling you that you can all stop working so hard and so pointlessly! Rejoice! And dance for that!"

As Mai and Satono continued twirling in the air, Hatate nudged Aya and whispered to her. "Aya, are those two for real? You've met this 'secret god' before, so how does all this stuff they're saying track?"

"It does not quite fit with what she told me last time, though it hardly matters." Aya said as she observed Mai and Satono with a narrowed stare. "Those two already said themselves they are just doing this to provoke a reaction out of the tengu."

"Yeah, and it just might work too! I mean as far as anyone else knows, they could be telling the truth. It wouldn't even be the first time that a god wanted to encroach on our territory, except this one's being even more brazen!"

"Those two definitely know how to work a crowd…" Aya glanced to the rest of the dancer's audience. As shocked as the tengu were by the dancer's statements, they were completely engrossed in the 'performance'.

...It helped that Mai and Satono were also literally performing as they spoke, now locked hand-in-hand, facing the crowd as they raised their legs in synchronized kicks from left to right.

After doing an extended twirl, the pair finished off with a mirrored pose before Mai spoke again. "-And if you don't like that, you could try to do something about it, but tough luck! Tengu wouldn't stand a chance against her!"

"They're really good, though..." Hatate couldn't help but be engrossed by their moves. "Being able to talk while moving like that…-"

Hatate glanced towards Aya, only then noticing that the other was staring straight ahead, her hands balled into fists that were just barely trembling.

"...Aya? Something wrong?" Hatate tentatively asked. Her first thought was that Aya was trembling with anger. Someone like Aya who had as much pride in their people as she did, was probably greatly offended at any outsider having the audacity to offend the tengu on such a level-

"I'm about to burst from excitement!" Aya all but shouted with the biggest possible grin. "This might just be the story of the century! Their announcement is like a challenge to our entire society as a whole, daring us to prove ourselves! Such provocation can only be a shock to every tengu alive!"

"Y-You really think so?" Though she asked, Hatate already realised there was a good chance the dancer's bizarre performance might prove alarming especially for the big shots of their people.

"I can already see the inevitable announcement from the daitengu. They'll have a messenger spread the word and hand out instructions about how everyone is to proceed in light of this shocking turn of events."

"Wait, you don't think we're going to take up arms against that secret god, do you?!" Hatate asked, suddenly distressed at that thought.

"Oh, please. Nobody outside the wolf tengu has picked up a sword in over six centuries!" Just the thought of any of this generation's tengu going to a serious battle made Aya want to laugh. "What I do think will happen is that they will want to rely on their most trustworthy reporters to learn everything about what these backdoor people know, and what they're up to."

"Okay, that I can get behind." Past the trepidation Hatate was still feeling, she couldn't help but feel a similar bubbling excitement to Aya, over what felt like a significant scoop brewing. "It's a shame though. Like, why did they have to do this in front of such a big crowd? Now every single reporter's going to want in on this scoop..."

"Well, they weren't likely to give a challenge to all our people just to you in private. Now if it were me, that's another matter."

"Whaaaat? Why in the world would they go to you?"

"Because there is precedent for it! I have faced off against Okina Matara before, remember? Not to mention I was representing all tengu at the time."

"I don't know if you'd have been my pick for 'representation'…"

"Only if you didn't make good decisions." Aya turned away, ignoring Hatate rolling her eyes.

Approaching fast from elsewhere though, were a group of wolf tengu with their weapons ready, calling out to the dancers. "Intruders! Surrender yourselves!"

"Uh oh! That's our cue to leave." Satono said, not the least bit nervous, and Mai nodded in agreement. The two quickly flew lower to the ground… and then headed straight for Hatate.

"Woah, wait, are they coming this way-?!" Hatate stepped back, but the pair were already right on top of her, before jumping right into the door that was still on her back, despite Hatate scurrying about in a panic. "Wargh!"

"Wait, you two! I still have questions…!" Aya spoke fast, and reached out for the door, intending to follow them if need be. However, it disappeared entirely just before she could touch it. "Ah! They remembered to close the door on their way out this time. ...Or should I say their way in ?"

"Gross! Don't say it like that! You make it sound like they went inside of me..." Hatate shivered, and reached for her back one more time to check for certain that the door was gone.

"They disappeared!" The wolf tengu that were giving chase landed nearby, and one rushed up to Hatate. "You! Did you see where those two went?!"

"Uh, well… That's a bit hard to say." Hatate wasn't sure how to begin explaining that they entered a door that was behind her but was now gone.

"You're not collaborating with those intruders, are you…?" The wolf tengu got right up to Hatate's face. "If you're hiding them…"

"Excuse me!?" Hatate barked back. "I'm the most confused here out of anybody!"

"I can explain where they went." Aya spoke up, drawing everyone's attention to her. "It would probably be more efficient to make an official report on it right away. I believe the daitengu especially will want to hear everything about what just happened as soon as possible."

"You're right… They need to be informed as soon as possible." The wolf tengu nodded in agreement. "Intruders appearing like that is a grave matter, and who knows what their intentions are."

"Oh, I can make a few guesses..." Aya couldn't help but smirk. "But whatever it is, you can count on me to uncover the truth of this matter!"