Tengu Reporter Quest (Touhou) (World 7 - Wheel of Time)

Go investigate the sound.


You nod and look into the distance. How long will it take you to get there, especially if you aren't obvious about it? "You heard that, did you? I'd say don't bother - it's probably someone who bit off more than they could chew and didn't have the sense to run. But you look like someone who'll go to help someone in need." You chuckle.

"Go to watch, at least, and maybe help. Will you be here for a while longer?" He shrugs and tosses the line back into the water unbaited.

"Maybe. Traveling itch's died down a bit, and now the Garden's traveling, too, so ... for a bit, maybe." You nod and start walking toward the snarl as another sounds. You were really asking about whether he'd be here, specifically, but ... if he knew that, he may have simply chosen to respond with a bit of vagueness. And if he didn't, it's probably not worth the time trying to explain when there's a potential story happening right now! You break into a trot as you finish crossing the river, an easy ground-eating pace that takes you to the fight just as the stakes increase slightly.

It's the tattooed boy from before, and he's indeed fighting a large reptilian beast. It's the second one that roars angrily that changes things, and it rushes forward to snap at the boy. He skips back, then backflips and just barely evades the attack as the second T-Rexaur shoves aside its smaller compatriot, which sounds ... almost grateful. No language in the roars and snarls that the necklace lets you understand, but they do seem to be communicating with each other, anyway. Perhaps they're friends, or family? In any case, as the second creature turns more fully toward - Zell, that was his name - he blurs slightly and a distorted image seems to overlap him for a moment. The skinless creature, which looks rather like one of Remilia's bat-winged demons, glances at you, then pushes down toward the ground as if blocking aggressively, and both T-Rexaurs stumble and droop. Zell dashes forward, very quickly for a human, and his fists and feet blur as he pummels the newcomer, leaping onto its head when it reels under the rain of blows.

Two-on-one isn't inherently fair, however, and the boy is forced to leap off his target as the first creature snaps at him. "Damnit! Not fast enough!" You shake your head, then take out your camera and start taking pictures. "Wha-? You! What're you -!?" And the idiot boy starts to face you instead of keeping his eyes on the things that want to eat him, only narrowly avoiding a whip-like tail swipe. Neither creature appears to be paying any attention to you, at least not yet, but you're already cataloging its weaknesses and strengths, how you would fight them with and without weapons, what kinds of abilities and powers to use. "Just gonna stand there and watch?!" At least he's paying more attention to them than you, so he doesn't see you shrug.

"For now. This looks like a good story. 'Student picks fight with big lizards, stops paying attention to them,' is the kind of thing no one would believe unless it came from a trusted source, after all." He snarls at your response, and the creatures let out resonating roars that force him to cover his ears. It doesn't seem as bad from where you are, but of course, you aren't their target, and you're a good bit farther away. The smaller one lunges toward him, and he responds with a flung crystal that shatters against the creature's forehead. Ice magic, perhaps? The lizard flinches and snarls, and Zell skips back to give himself a bit more space. He's backing a bit close to the trees, and you'd think he'd be a bit more cautious about those plant-things interfering - but maybe they're too afraid to get involved with a fight with the T-Rexaurs nearby?

"Rgh, fine! Can you help a little? Distract them, or something? Look, I know I did some stupid things last time, but ...." You raise an eyebrow and consider his request. He does sound apologetic, at least as much as someone in a fight can, and he's certainly acknowledging his past idiocy. And you do want to get some firsthand experience fighting one of these things .... You shrug and start walking forward, whistling nonchalantly. Notebook and pen get put away and you draw your sword languidly, making a few flourishes. The smaller beast notices you and turns to face you, backing up a few steps before trying to rush you. You brush your sword along one huge leg, paying attention to the flex of the blade and making sure to not put too much pressure on it. You don't even break the skin, though, and the T-Rexaur dances in place, alternating between trying to grasp you with its arms and stomp you with its legs. The larger creature glances at its companion before focusing its attention on Zell, but the delay works to the boy's favor, and he rushes forward again. The mysterious creature - his GF, most likely - seems to shimmer briefly around him, and his movements accelerate as he leaps up to launch a barrage of kicks at the beast's face. He hangs slightly in the air, not falling nearly as quickly as he should, then hauls himself forward and begins work on the T-Rexaur's snout. You can hear bones snap under the assault - or perhaps the same bone cracking in multiple places - but after several seconds Zell slows noticeably and is forced to jump off as the creature attempts to snap up and bite him.

Your target, meanwhile, stops trying to stomp and lumbers away, rapidly swinging its hindquarters to lash at you with its tail before charging again. The tail swipe misses easily, and you leap up and forward to drive your sword into the creature's eye, half-blinding it as you swirl the blade before pulling it out so you can land on the beast's back. It roars mournfully and stumbles, then turns about. After two rotations, it starts lumbering away from the fight, and the larger one starts backing away from Zell.


What do you do?

[ ] Let them escape.
- [ ] Interview Zell.
- [ ] Go back and see if the fisherman is still there.

[ ] Finish the kill.

[ ] Other?

Votes are not locked.

Let them escape.
- Interview Zell.


You wipe your sword clean and sheathe it before walking toward Zell. He hops off the T-Rexaur once more, which is definitely looking for a good chance to flee now, and you grab his shirt before he can rush in again. He scowls at you as the creature spins and quickly builds up a good bit of speed. He relaxes as the threat ends, but he still doesn't look happy even as he turns to face you more fully. "Thanks for the help. Ah, you said your name was ...?" You smile and bob your head irritatingly.

"Aya Shameimaru, reporter. Your name is Zell, correct? I'm going to ask you some questions." He frowns, then looks around the clearing. "Firstly, what is your duty here at Balamb Garden?" He blinks confusedly, taken aback by something about your question.

"Me? I'm a SeeD, of course! You're looking at one of the best Garden has to offer!" You make a point of looking him up and down, but of course you don't laugh. Certainly, with the power of a GF the actual appearance seems to have even less to do with physical capabilities than usual, but he's still not terribly impressive a specimen. Wiry and in shape, yes, but he doesn't have the tightened look that most human fighters and athletes develop; he is still relatively young, though.

"May I ask why you decided to become a SeeD?" He straightens a bit, if only to affect a leaning posture that makes his curiosity more visible than his expression alone can convey, then shrugs.

"I guess ... because my grandpa. He was a soldier in the war, you know? Didn't know him well, but ...." He trails off, and it's obvious that he holds the man in high regard. You wait for a bit of the glaze to come out of his eyes before asking your next question.

"Then, your fighting style. Is it something he taught you, or did you learn at a different school?" He laughs and shakes his head.

"Oh, no no! This is 100% my own style. Find what works, and make it my own, that's how I fight!" You nod; orthodox styles become orthodox for a reason, but that doesn't mean that unorthodox is bad, necessarily. And for an individual, unorthodox can work quite well.

"So, about the current situation," you begin, and Zell looks around confidently, as if he hadn't almost gotten himself eaten by a pair of reptiles of unusual size. "Do you think Sorceress Edea was justified in launching missiles at Balamb Garden?" His casual demeanor crumbles and he blanches as you finish.

"Uh, well ... I mean, we did try to take her out, but ... I mean, that's kind of just our job, being SeeDs, fighting for our employer. So she shouldn't have targeted Garden, but ...." He mumbles around in circles, and you get the idea that he really isn't sure what's right in the situation. Which at least puts him ahead of the majority of humans in your experience, who tend to latch onto a tribal mentality with both hands and their teeth and never let go. Does it mean the boy has hidden depths, or is it simply a facet of SeeD training?

"What do you think of Galbadia's decision to invade FH on the grounds that it's an Estharian staging area?" He blinks, stunned into inaction by your question, but after several seconds his expression turns fierce.

"They what?! That's stupid! No one's gonna believe that nonsense! ... Man, we really messed up, didn't we?" You're not sure you were supposed to hear that last bit, and he turns away as he says it so you can't see his expression, but he definitely sounds like he was involved in the attack on Edea and Deling. Hmm ....

"Well, you don't need to worry just yet. It seems the Galbadian preparations were disrupted by some SeeDs who were in the area." He spins and steps up to you, shaking your shoulders excitedly.

"Wait, really? Two girls, one about your height, short brown hair, green eyes? The other's a blonde, blue eyes?" He doesn't mention the gunman - jealousy? Or ... no, if you remember rightly, they said he wasn't a SeeD. You nod and Zell all but collapses, falling to his knees in relief. "Oh, good. Squall, gotta let Squall know ...." Hm, then is Squall on good terms with one or both of the girls? Or is he just someone who feels, rightly or wrongly, that he bears some measure of responsibility for their position? Zell bounces to his feet, finally remembering that you're still here, and his face reddens. "Uh, sorry, I just remembered something. So, uh, what else did you want to know?"


What do you do?

[ ] Keep interviewing Zell.
- Anything in particular?

[ ] Let him go.
- [ ] Follow him.
- [ ] Go back to the fisherman.

[ ] Other?

Let him go.
- Go back to the fisherman.


You tilt your head curiously, then look down at your notebook as if considering Zell's question. "Hmm. Actually, I'm not sure there is anything else right now. I'll probably want to clarify some things later on, if possible, but if you have something important you need to do, you should go ahead and take care of it." Zell looks surprised, a little suspicious, but he recovers quickly and grins at you.

"Really? Great, thanks! See ya later!" He flashes a thumb-up at you before running toward down the path, although he doesn't retrace your steps, which seems like a mistake to you, since the simple distance traveled is shorter and he should know that way is safe since you came from there. Oh, well; maybe now that he's got something to work toward, he'll be more interested in just rushing past potential fights instead of getting into them. You shake your head at the foolishness of humans and turn back; that odd young man is probably still there. The trip back is entirely uneventful, and the man looks up when you step on the grate-bridge.

"So? Did you run into him? Find out anything good?" You raise an eyebrow - but then again, you never asked if he knew who was over there or what that person might be doing. And considering his reaction to the T-Rexaur's call, it's very likely that he did. You review your recent experiences, and perhaps you've been a bit too dismissive of humans ... but that doesn't necessarily mean that asking questions is better than going out for yourself. After all, if you had asked this man about the person picking fights with giant lizards, then you wouldn't have gotten to test your sword, and you wouldn't have seen another of the strange entities called Guardian Forces. Actually, now that you think about it, maybe you could ask someone if you could interview their GF?

"I'm not sure about 'good,' but ... interesting, perhaps useful. And I have the opportunity to ask him again, on somewhat better terms than we were on before. But - that's him, not you. Do you mind answering some more questions for me?" He chuckles pulls his empty line out of the water, putting the hook in his pocket before leaning back and looking up at you.

"Sure, go on. No one's doing anything right now, anyway, so I don't need to worry about anything." His grin suggests he's not going to be entirely cooperative, but that's not inherently a problem. You can still learn plenty from false answers, after all. You turn to a new page in your notebook and stand near the edge of the grating.

"My name is Aya Shameimaru. What's your name, and are you a SeeD?" He laughs and shakes his head in amusement.

"Call me Matta, but no, I'm not a SeeD. Still do some work for Garden, kind of a procurement guy and liaison." Ah, the black market? Or just some restricted goods, things the staff would prefer not get into Garden, but since they can't stop it, have decided to join in supplying off the books so they can at least monitor the use or trade thereof?

"And what do you think of the missile attack on Balamb Garden?" His expression falls a bit and he looks around.

"Well ... can't say I like it, of course. And I certainly understand Galbadia's reasoning - maybe they don't know who actually wanted the attack on their leaders, or maybe they just can't work against them, but they can certainly attack the middleman. Considering they aren't terribly fond of Garden as an institution, anyway, it's not all that surprising. They've probably wanted to do something like this for at least a couple years, once people started hiring SeeD to stop Galbadian incursions or make attacks on Galbadian military interests. Now that they're finally willing to actually go against everyone else, why wouldn't they hit the group that's been responsible for most of their losses?" You nod in agreement. That's kind of the way it usually goes - the most powerful group tolerates the dogs nipping at its heels only so long, and once it decides to move, the most vocal or persistent of the beasts is culled first. It stops working once the disparity in strength gets too close, but Galbadia is a nation, and Balamb Garden is a fairly small school.

"And the Garden's decision to start swimming?" Matta laughs and shakes his head. He fishes a small deck of cards out of his pocket and starts shuffling them, doing minor tricks that take a lot of practice to go off as well as he's getting them.

"Like I said earlier, it helps a bit with moving around - Balamb's a nice place, but I don't like sitting around in one spot too much. And, well, a moving target's one that's harder to hit, but also one that's harder for clients to find. So, kind of a wash there. I do wish they'd figure out how to control it, though. Don't like being forced to drift like this. You know what would happen if a real storm hit? We've been lucky, but there's lots of incidental damage from the missiles and the fighting, and so everyone's been trying to just get that fixed instead of trying to get this place properly weatherproofed now that it's mobile. Honestly, kind of surprised it hasn't started taking on water, unless we just haven't been able to find any leaks, or if there's a system down there for pumping it out." Yeah, that sounds like something that would be hugely important for something this size. Even kappa would probably want to make sure something of theirs didn't needlessly start sinking.

"So do you play much?" He blinks at your question, then scowls after looking down and seeing the cards in his hands.

"Sorry, just a bit of a tic. I mean, lots of people play, especially here in Garden. It's simple, easy, doesn't require any equipment. Sure, those boards are nice, but if you have a handful of rocks you can do the same thing, just have one player have rocked cards and the other not. Yeah, some rules are easier to judge with the boards, but Balamb's never had many rules as standard." He finishes with a too-impressive trick for it to be some mere tic and shuffles the cards back into his pocket. "It's also handy for business. Playing a game or two helps calm people down, gives them something else to focus on, you know?" Something about his explanation rings hollow; you don't think he's lying, but he's almost certainly concealing something. Whether it's worth actually grilling him for it, though ... probably not.


What do you do?

[ ] Keep interviewing Matta.
- Anything in particular?

[ ] Thank him for his time and go somewhere else.
- [ ] Keep exploring the Training Area. Maybe there's something besides mobile plants and large lizards?
- [ ] Go to the top of Garden and keep an eye out for anything interesting.

[ ] Other?