Not noticing that anything was missing, Reimu patted her pillow and prepared to lie back down for a few hours of extra sleep.
"Reimu! Reimu Reimu Reimu!"
Why did someone always show up to ruin her rest the moment she tried to sleep?
This time, Marisa didn't even wait for the door to be opened—she wrenched it aside herself. Sunlight flooded in, and the first thing she saw was a haggard-looking Reimu (dark circles from a bad night's sleep), who only yesterday had looked perfectly fine.
Through Marisa's eyes: a Reimu so weakened she could barely prop herself up on one arm, yet still forcing herself to rise and greet a friend despite her condition.
In reality, she was getting up to find a broom to chase Marisa out.
Marisa clutched at her chest, the last wisp of hope and denial crumbling away.
Her gaze swept to the other side of the room—the kitten's bedding, left in a rumpled mess, proof that a second person had been living here.
So she'd been putting on a brave face yesterday? And her closest friend hadn't even noticed...
Marisa eased Reimu back down. "Don't move. Rest. I've heard everything."
"...If you hadn't come, I'd already be resting. And what exactly have you heard?"
Without a word, Marisa dug a handful of mushrooms from her pocket and set them down.
Reimu looked. They were matsutake.
"Where did you get these?"
"There are tons of them in the forest. Stop talking, sick people should lie down quietly. Whatever you want to eat, I'll buy it for you!"
"Huh?" What's wrong with her?
Reimu rubbed her eyelids.
Did staying up late really make her look that rough?
But eyeing the matsutake on the floor, she settled back with an air of perfect ease, caught between annoyance and amusement. "Leave the stuff and get out. I'm not dying—just need some rest."
She's still trying to comfort me. Doesn't want anyone to see how bad it is.
Marisa rubbed her eyes, stood up, and headed for the door. "Don't worry. I'll make sure to teach that kid properly for you."
"?"
Take care of who? Let you teach someone? That would ruin them for life.
Reimu sensed something was off, but she couldn't quite pin down what.
Sliding the door shut, Marisa nearly walked into a pint-sized figure strolling over without a care in the world—Suika Ibuki, one of the Four Devas of the Mountains, and someone on passably good terms with Reimu.
"Oh, you saw the morning news too? That crow's really got some nerve." Suika greeted Marisa casually.
Marisa clapped a solemn hand on her shoulder. "Reimu's not looking good. Let her rest for now."
"Huh?"
"Meow meow, meow meow, meow meow meow~"
Humming a strange little tune, Yimi tapped and swung the gohei as she walked. Every now and then a minor youkai peeked out, only to flinch back at the object in her hand.
"Did you see..."
"That's the next shrine maiden..."
"The thing in her hand still reeks of the Crimson Slasher. Quick, tell everyone—the news is real!"
Hushed voices rustled from the bushes.
She was nearing the Human Village again. Keine-sensei had warned her yesterday that this path was crawling with youkai, but after all these trips, Yimi hadn't spotted a single one.
"Mm, ears." She reached up and rubbed her own cat ears. Mokou had said those were what got her reported yesterday.
But she'd forgotten to bring back the hat from the last world.
Yimi shifted into her cat form, tucked her shoes into her storage space, and padded toward the Human Village with an elegant gait. Being a small cat felt much more natural.
"Meow meow, meow meow..."
"Meow?"
"Rustle—"
The grass beside her stirred, and a brown-haired cat girl in a green ZUN cap poked her head out.
Her eyes shifted into oddly stylized slit pupils, darting left and right before locking onto the rather peculiar-looking cat on the path.
The cat youkai swished her two tails, pursed her mouth into a little triangle, and crept closer on tiptoe.
"Meow?"
Yimi vaguely sensed something. Her steps slowed.
Seeing Yimi go on guard, Chen pounced—clamped her jaws onto Yimi's scruff and bolted.
Cat-napper!
Yimi immediately shifted back to human form. The sudden weight in Chen's jaws sent her tumbling head over heels, though at least Yimi was there to break the fall.
"Ow ow ow, what are you doing?" Chen propped herself up, rubbing her head.
She'd had no youkai power at all—how had she suddenly turned human?
"You tried to steal a cat." Yimi stood, looking down at the seated Chen, her gaze lingering on the ears atop Chen's head.
Same child-sized body as hers, but like her, a little cat who hadn't grown into a fully grown cat yet. That gave Yimi a certain sense of kinship.
Still, despite having a tail, this little cat somehow managed to wear a skirt.
Yimi's gaze dropped lower, and she pointed at Chen's rear in shock. "You have two tails!"
"Obviously! I'm a nekomata!" Chen stood up proudly and brushed off the dust.
Yimi gave her shoulder a sympathetic pat.
This little cat was even more unusual than she was. At least Yimi only had one tail, like a normal cat.
"Meow?"
Chen flicked her ears in confusion, looking Yimi up and down. "How can you turn human? You don't even have youkai power."
"Because I grew up."
"Huh?"
"You tried to steal a cat." Yimi was suddenly holding a grudge about the earlier incident.
"Nobody was stealing a cat! I just wanted to bring you somewhere safe—I take care of lots of little cats, you know." Chen grabbed Yimi, leaned in and sniffed her.
"No youkai scent, and not human either, or anything else I recognize. How weird. Is it because you're too weak?"
Chen's eyes shifted back into those oddly stylized slit pupils, her triangle-shaped mouth broadcasting mischief across her entire face. "Do you want to be my shikigami?"
"Shikigami?" Yimi didn't know what that meant.
"Once you're my shikigami, I'll give you yummy food and fun toys and treat you like my own little sister. All you have to do is help me out when I get into fights."
"Do you have the kind of grass that smells really nice?" Yimi hadn't forgotten about that.
"Cat grass? Stick with me and you can have as much as you want."
"Then I'll do it."
Her scheme having succeeded, Chen held out a little paw and produced a Spell Card. "Let's sign the contract!"
She was about to become a youkai with her own shikigami, just like Lady Ran and Lady Yukari!
"Fwoosh—"
But when her youkai power pushed the card toward Yimi, it was repelled—shooting away and embedding itself deep into a nearby tree.
"Hm?"
Chen tried again, refusing to believe it.
Still bounced right off.
She plucked the Spell Card from the tree trunk, crestfallen. "I thought I knew how to do it..."
Binding a shikigami—becoming a great youkai like Lady Ran—that was her dream.
"Forget it, you're my shikigami now anyway. We'll do the contract properly once I've practiced more." Chen took Yimi's hand. "Come on, I'm taking you to meet Lady Ran!"