Reisen Riou stepped out of the Yashiro Commission, mulling over a deeper partnership he'd just sealed with their Endgame Unit. Lost in thought about what came next, he was jolted by a group charging past, yelling, "Move it!"
He dodged aside, watching humans dressed as tengu sprint by. Gotta say, their parkour skills were impressive, Reisen mused.
"Catch them!" came a faint shout from ahead.
"What's up?" Reisen asked a Tenryou Commission Doushin.
"Greetings, my lord. We're chasing the Tengu Party," the Doushin fumed. "It's the Guuji's birthday, so fox shrines across Inazuma held lavish festivals. But those Tengu Party nuts disrupted markets and ceremonies."
"Despite our efforts to keep order, multiple festival sites turned chaotic. The Commissioner's furious, demanding their capture."
"Tengu Party? The humans cosplaying as tengu?" Reisen asked. "If so, I know where they went—down the main road toward Chinju Forest."
"Thanks, my lord."
"I'll tag along. They don't seem easy to handle," Reisen offered.
He was about to join the samurai when he bumped into Kagei Tengu, the tengu clan leader.
"General Takayoshi, you're here?" Reisen greeted.
"Attendant Reisen, what's this?" Kagei Tengu asked, curious.
"Just left the Yashiro Commission when I ran into what must be those Tengu Party folks. Was about to help these guys out," Reisen explained.
"Thanks for the trouble," Kagei Tengu said. They walked on.
They found the samurai resting, panting, faces twisted in frustration—clearly, the chase hadn't gone well.
Reisen and Kagei Tengu learned the Tengu Party had mocked them from a torii gate, calling them slower than snails. Despite the samurai's efforts, the Party's speed was too much.
"Guess we gotta pick up the pace, General," Reisen said. "I'll go first." He turned into a bolt of Electro and vanished.
Not to be outdone, Kagei Tengu whipped out her tengu feather fan, flashed black, and disappeared, leaving the stunned samurai behind. They scrambled to follow.
…
As a thunder spirit, Reisen zipped through Chinju Forest, quickly spotting the Tengu Party. They wore tengu haori, masks, and some had fake tengu feather fans.
He noticed their wings—alchemical Wings of Wind, styled like tengu wings, faster than standard ones.
Didn't excuse their chaos, though.
Reisen flashed in front of them. Before they could speak, Electro surged from his hand, dropping them all, twitching from intermittent shocks.
"Who… are you?" one gasped. Their vitality was solid, averaging LV30+. No surprise—they'd outrun the Tenryou Commission. Reisen was mildly shocked this one could talk so soon after his zap.
His Electro had grown fiercer since his deep exchanges with Raiden Ei. This guy should've been limp.
High Electro resistance, huh?
Reisen didn't answer, hitting him with another thunderbolt to knock him out.
Soon, Kagei Tengu arrived, hauling another batch.
"Why'd you zap them all?" she asked.
"Didn't want them bolting. Tengu Party sounds badass—had to knock 'em out to feel safe. Took effort, you know," Reisen said, grinning.
The downed Party members and Kagei Tengu, who knew Reisen's strength, were speechless.
"Quit showing off. Get them sorted," Kagei Tengu said, rubbing her forehead.
"Fine," Reisen said. His fingers sparked, and the group staggered up.
"See her?" Reisen gestured. "Kagei Tengu, tengu clan leader, Tenryou Commission officer. Wanna test her speed?"
Faced with a real tengu, the Party caved, spilling their hideouts' locations.
"Boring," Reisen sighed. "General Takayoshi, they're yours. I'm out." He flashed into Electro and left.
Kagei Tengu guarded them, later handing them to the Tenryou Commission.
Reisen didn't follow up but heard the outcome. The Tengu Party was a mixed bunch, mostly lower nobles' heirs with good training, hence their high vitality.
Obsessed with tengu's high-flying coolness, they'd learned to craft Wings of Wind from returning alchemist scholars, tweaking them into superior Tengu Wings. They'd also self-taught parkour and climbing tricks, fully flexing their talents out of sheer boredom.
But talent didn't save them from Reisen and Kagei Tengu.
They paid fines, served time in Tenryou custody, apologized to the festival shrines, and were sent home. Rumor was, many were later recruited as scouts—their speed was perfect for it.