"Ok I know this is usually coming out of you, but I think this is a new low for us."
The wind whipped up a breeze that fluttered the skirts of the two grown men walking through the parking structure.
The brother in red-white balked. "C'mon Dean, you really think this is worse than when we dressed as priests?"
The man in black-white grinned and punched Sam Winchester's shoulder. "Hey Sammy, ain't you supposta be dressed as a priest right now?"
Sam caught himself before he replied 'that's a priestess'. Sam whacked Dean in the arm with his gohei then, afterwards making a note to be more careful so the gohei doesn't go off. Sam was especially proud of the shotgun he hid in Dean's broom prop.
Sam and Dean Winchester. Brothers with a peculiar destiny, the traveled the country picking up on the bloody trails left by things that had no business being real. Sam, dressed as Gensokyo's resident shrine maiden Reimu Hakurei, was nearly a head taller than his brother Dean, dressed as the black-white magician Marisa Kirisame. They wouldn't be winning any beauty contests, but the modicum of makeup skills Sam picked up in college came in handy. The two blended right into the large herd of cosplayers heading into the convention center.
"How do you know this is our kind of thing, anyway? Could just be your run of the mill serial killer, y'know."
"There were notes in Dad's journal about the pattern up until he left it to us, and the pattern continues. Look Dean, it's worth checking out."
"Are you sure you didn't just want to do my makeup? You really brought out the color of my eyes."
Thwap.
---------------
A cosplayer dressed as Koishi Komeiji drifted through the crowd of chatting Touhou cosplayers, glancing at people's faces as she passed by. Until she did a double take on the Reimu and Marisa that just approached the gathering of people.
'Is that... Jensen Ackles and Jared Padaleski dressed up as Touhou characters? And why has no one else recognized them yet?'
She briefly considered that she may have had one too many 'special brownies' before coming down to the con. Reimu and Koishi caught glances, and the satori's face lingered a bit too long on the shrine maiden's face to be passed off as mere idle glances.
----------------
Sam nudged his brother. "Wait up Dean. That one dressed as Koishi looked like they recognized me. "
"The one dressed as whoozits now?" Dean's eyes were locked on a particular Alice cosplayer about ten feet away.
"Ugh, the one with the hat."
Dean glanced around at the crowd, before looking back at Sam and raising an eyebrow. "You're killing me. Could you narrow it down just a little bit?"
Sam threw up his hands. "I'll go talk to her."
------
Koishi had attempted to look especially interested in the potted plant she was standing nearby, catching glances at the brothers from time to time. 'Ah, he's coming over here.'
A few moments later, there was a tap on her shoulder. "Hey, um, I just wanted to say that I really liked your Koishi costume. It's really well made."
Koishi turned to face him, wide-eyed. 'Wow, he *really* looks like Jared. And now he's chatting me up.'
"Ah, thanks! Your Reimu looks pretty good. That gohei looks heavy." Sam looked down at the gohei and smiled sheepishly, tucking it behind him. Dean flashed a grin and tipped his hat at passerby. An Alice cosplayer blushed.
"Actually there's something I was wondering if you knew anything about. Do you have a minute to answer some questions? See, my brother Dean and I have... a cousin that went missing at a con just like this one. At one of these kind of photoshoots, actually."
"Oh..really?" Koishi turned to look into his eyes and saw a level of sincerity she didn't expect. 'Ok, they sound pretty convincing. This is an impressive act. Or else..'
"And we were wondering if you've heard anything among your friends about this."
"Hm... honestly I can't say I have." Something like this happening was entirely plausible though. Con horror stories abound, and that sort of news may not have filtered down to her outlets yet, she thought.
Sam called Dean over, and they gave the Koishi cosplayer one last look over. "Well, thanks for your time." Dean tipped his hat, as they turned to walk away.
------
"Wait."
The two stopped and turned around.
"I need to talk to you two about something." Koishi dragged them back to the empty corner.
Koishi crossed her arms and mulled over her thoughts. 'Either i'll look like a complete idiots or they'll applaud me for playing along.'
"So stop me if i'm wrong but... You're Sam Winchester, and you're Dean Winchester, aren't you? You guys travel around the US in a car and hunt spooky shit together. Your dad does too, but there's a bunch of drama there. Sam sees the future in his dreams sometimes."
Dean and Sam were in utter shock, which registered in Koishi's mind. "...and I know this because you guys are a TV show, though to be honest i've only seen the first season. I don't know why things are like this, but I want to help."
I took a breath. "Look, what I'm trying to say is... I know what you guys do and what you're about and I want in."
Sam and Dean shared a long glance and a silent argument. Dean piped up. "Alright. How about we talk at the food court then? Hoisin, right?"
"It's Koishi. Or you can call me Nobu. Whatever's easiest."
--------------
"So why do you think these disappearances are connected to Touhou anyway? Couldn't it be a coincidence?" Nobu sipped her drink, across the table from the two brothers. Sam had a weathered leather-bound journal open and was pointing to a collection of maps and coordinates.
"We've tracked a set of disappearances to these particular kind of events in question. All are animation conventions, all of them Touhou cosplayers. Their costumes were literally the last thing they were seen wearing before they disappeared, each time."
"Oh."
A certain youkai's image flashed in Nobu's mind. 'Isn't spiriting away practically her MO? Or is that just fanon? Argh, would the real thing even bother following canon anyway?'
"....are you ok? You kinda spaced out there a second."
"Oh, um..So you have any idea what it is? Maybe a tulpa or something?
Sam stopped. "...yeah, actually. That's one possibility. How did you know that exactly?"
"Oh well, I've thought about it before I guess. Plus I saw the episode where you guys fought the tulpa in that house Dean burned down." The two looked at Dean and he shrugged. Nobu continued.
"Thought-forms, right? I had my own theories about that to be honest, but with you guys here suddenly they sound much more plausible. If a 2-bit paranormal website can conjure a tangible axe murderer in a house, I'm sure the combined Western and Eastern Touhou community could do something much more ridiculous. If it were real, of course. Though I guess with you two here that may be more of a possibility?"
Sam turned the journal to a page and pushed it over for me to look at. "There was also this symbol, paired with the notes on the disappearances. I've run it through databases with no luck."
Nobu thought the circular sigil looked familiar, and on a hunch she checked a certain wikipedia page. She then turned the phone to face the boys. "It's this, isn't it?"
The image displayed on her phone and the journal were identical "What is it?"
"It's the sigil for Yukari Yakumo. One of the Touhou characters."
"So you think this character has something to do with what's been going on here?" Sam looked at me and I shrugged.
"It's plausible? I mean, she does negotiate the borders between things. Between here and Gensokyo included, supposedly."
"Genso-what?"
"The Touhou world, Dean. Didn't you read that primer I made for you?"
"I uh, left it in the car."
Nobu considered what she wanted to say. "If it involves Yukari, these disappearances could be happening for all kinds of reasons. Were there ever signs of struggle? Do you think they could have gone willingly?"
"Are you saying you'd want to be taken by her? Why?" The two were incredulous.
"Well, she could be taking them to Gensokyo... and what Touhou fan wouldn't jump at a chance to go?"
Dean grabbed Sam's hand to raise it for him before getting swatted away.
"You don't know that though. It could be a monster harvesting souls, or worse."
Nobu looked away. "Yeah, I guess..." Or it could just be Yukari harvesting humans for Remilia or something. Youkai were youkai after all.
Dean went straight to the point. "So if its this Yukari thing, how do we kill it? We can't just burn down the convention center, after all."
Sam shrugged and the two looked at Nobu for assistance.
"Hell, we're not even *allowed* to discuss power levels on the Touhou forums I go to. But Yukari would generally be considered the cream of the crop. Conceptually, her powers can do pretty much anything. Even in the fandom there is nothing close to an accepted 'fatal weakness' for Yukari, as far as I know of.. I wouldn't even know where to begin trying to 'hunt' her like you guys would."
Out of the corner of her eye over the shoulders of the Winchesters, Nobu caught a flash of purple and red peek behind a pillar and coughed.
"I uh.. need to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back, ok?" Nobu excused herself, pushing in her chair and walking off.
-----------------
Nobu quickly ducked out of sight, before heading in the direction she saw that shock of color that stood out to her so. Her heart quickened. A few turned corners later, after following the swishing fabric dancing at the edges of her view, she found herself entering a small dimly lit room. She peered around. Empty, all but for some chairs an AV equipment in the corner.
As she turned to leave, she almost ran facefirst into the gap suspended in midair. Nobu fell onto her backside, and looked up.
The gap enlarged, and Yukari Yakumo emerged to sit on the edge. Her face looked warm, mysterious, and inviting, and her smile betrayed little. She held out her hand, sitting in a border that pulsed in a way no prop would, and Nobu reached up and took it with hardly a moment's hesitation.
'Goin' to Gensokyo. Hell yeah. Hopefully Yukari lets me send some goodbye mail later. Sorry, Winchesters.'
The sound of the shotgun, of broken glass, and the disappearance of Yukari seemed simultaneous. Nobu jumped away from the shock. Sam ran over to her and kneeled down, gohei in hand. "Are you alright?"
The realization of what just happened, and what Nobu could have missed out on, clicked. Nobu looked up. No sign of Yukari. Just Sam kneeling in front of me, and Dean cocking his broom in the doorway.
Anger, frustration, and utter shock cycled in her head, and her ears stung. Nobu pounded a fist into the ground and winced at the glass shards. The two brothers shared a glance and Sam helped me to my feet.
"Look, that thing could have been planning to eat you for all you know. These things usually don't end well. Trust us, we know." Sam looked at Dean and shook his head.
"...shouldn't we be leaving? You just unloaded a shotgun during a convention." Nobu looked desparately at the two brothers, and the three quickly vacated the scene.
-------
Although relieved to be back in normal clothes, Dean was reluctant to drive away. "Something's bothering me here. Are you sure we can just leave like this? What if someone else disappears?"
"The disappearances always happened on the second day. We broke the pattern this time. We'll just try again next week at another con." Nobu seemed to have quickly recovered from the ordeal, and they exchanged numbers. Yukari didn't show up at all that Saturday, and they didn't leave Nobu out of their sight that day. That was all they could do.
They took one long look at the convention center before driving away.
"Huh, so that kid really wanted to abandon everyone to live off in some dream world. Who'd want that, anyway?"
"I dunno Dean, is it really hard to imagine some people just want to escape their current life circumstances?"
"That's what beer is for."
-----------
Epilogue:
After the brothers left on Sunday Nobu was hella sad. She was sitting near a large dramatic window at the food court, all sad-like and still in Koishi costume so extra sad points. She then saw Yukari in the window's reflection, and Yukari was all like 'want a happy ending?' and Nobu was like "hell yes" so they left.
Nobu drank too much her first night in Gensokyo and puked on Suika. They're buds now.
Postnote: I was bored and just started Supernatural, and I got the idea for this short fic. Sorry for the self insert. All I can think is 'maybe the Winchesters could be better utilized for a Touhou crossover somehow'? Hope it was enjoyable to read.