This place was paradise.
A colony of stray cats, with catnip growing everywhere—this place was literally paradise!
Yimi crouched down and stared curiously at two cats stacked on top of each other, doing something she couldn't identify. One cat was riding on the other...
"Don't look at that—it's way too early for you!" Chen blushed furiously and cupped Yimi's face, turning it away.
"Mya?"
Yimi shook her head and stored the harvested cat grass in her storage space. She hadn't actually gotten that much, roughly one cubic meter's worth. The storage space itself was limited in capacity, and she still needed room for other things.
Like souvenirs for Mama and Grandma.
Chen looked a bit disappointed. "So you can even control the propagation of cat grass? Are you some kind of harvest deity too?"
She'd been hoping to use Mayohiga's abundant cat grass supply to lure Yimi into visiting regularly. Turning her into a shikigami seemed to be off the table, but Chen genuinely liked cats.
Yimi bent down and plucked at the cat grass on the ground. "It tastes so-so."
It was actually decent, but after sampling the variety Yuuka had provided, the ordinary stuff seemed middling by comparison.
"Well, obviously—I haven't been taking good care of it lately." Chen planted her hands on her hips, then puffed up with a hint of pride. "I didn't plant nearly this much at first, but they just grew so well that it turned into all of this."
Yimi's mouth opened slightly. "They seed themselves?"
Chen patted her head. "Of course they do. All plants have their own way of spreading seeds—otherwise how would they grow in the wild? I've heard Lady Ran say that you can even breed improved varieties—the seeds from improved plants are premium quality. But since mine were already growing so nicely on their own, I never bothered."
"Mm..." Something seemed to click for Yimi.
She took out a few of the seeds Yuuka had given her and placed them on the ground. Then, just as she'd been researching for the past two days, Miracle in the left hand, Third Magic in the right, she stopped trying to lay down a magical field over an area like an orthodox magician would, and instead focused the power directly onto the seeds themselves.
She planted them in the earth.
Nothing happened.
"Mya? Did you do something?"
"Failed again." Yimi stood up sadly, patted the dust off her behind, and looked at the darkening sky. "I gotta head back."
"You don't want to play a little longer?"
"Gotta watch the shrine."
"A place like that wouldn't get robbed even if nobody watched it... Oh well, I'll come find you next time." Chen didn't push.
"Bye-bye. Holy shit." Yimi waved her paw at Chen and bounded off in the bouncy stride unique to small children.
"Mya?" Chen was a little confused.
Did she just... say a bad word? Must have misheard.
Aya Shameimaru's speed was among the fastest in all of Gensokyo, and as someone who made a career of offending people, she maintained a constant state of alertness—always ready to be attacked at a moment's notice.
But Reimu Hakurei, Gensokyo's biggest hax character, was not without her methods. And in certain respects, Reimu could be surprisingly crafty.
For example: setting a trap by deliberately walking hand-in-hand with Marisa to lure Aya out for a photo op...
"Ptoo!" Reimu spat on her hand and rubbed her palms together in disgust.
"That's so mean—my hands aren't even dirty! It's not like you've never touched them before!" Marisa snapped Aya's camera into several pieces and followed up with a magic cannon blast to prevent repair.
"No, it's just that the thought of walking down a country lane holding hands with you gives me the creeps."
Reimu crouched next to Aya and rifled through her pockets. She clicked her tongue. "Broke-ass—going out without a single coin and calling yourself a journalist? How do you plan to compensate me for emotional damages?"
Aya lay face-down on the ground, tears streaming, legs clamped together with both hands clutching between her thighs as she trembled: "Using the crotch-slam on a girl, of all things..."
She felt like something inside her had just... awakened.
"Oh, this one's not bad—'Notorious rumor-mongering crow finally receives her comeuppance.' If that ran in tomorrow's paper, it'd sell like crazy, wouldn't it?" Reimu poked Aya's head with the little stick in her hand.
She'd made it all the way to Youkai Mountain before realizing the kitten had swiped her gohei. With no other option, she'd snapped a branch off a tree to whack Aya's head with.
After they left, Momiji Inubashiri—who had been cowering off to the side under threat—finally crept over to check on Aya.
The two of them bickered constantly, but Momiji's ability to see great distances meant she occasionally collected intel for Aya in exchange for small favors. She'd nearly gotten caught in the crossfire.
Her position as a Mountain Patrol Tengu was inherently absurd anyway. Making a weaker tengu stand guard over a stronger tengu, of all things.
"Heh heh... heh heh ha ha!" Aya suddenly burst into laughter.
"Wh-What are you laughing about?!" Momiji looked in horror at the tree that had served as the instrument of punishment, but didn't spot any suspicious wet marks on it.
"Foolish humans. Completely unaware that cameras have film rolls." Aya peeled herself off the ground and produced a film roll.
Paper bag in hand, Reimu returned to the shrine. She compared the little stick she'd just picked up with the one Yimi had given her earlier and found that Yimi's was straighter.
She'd use that one to make a new gohei tomorrow.
She walked to the pond's edge and poked Genjii with the stick.
No response.
She poked again. Still ignored.
"Genjii?"
Reimu's eyes went wide. She grabbed the rim of his shell and hauled him out of the water.
Genjii finally stuck his head out, looking at her in bewilderment.
"Never mind, just checking on you." Reimu set him back in the pond.
Genjii: "..."
It had been a little chilly lately.
Reimu walked inside the shrine and lit the lamp, setting the paper bag on the table. "Kid, you asleep?"
She'd gone out for a barbecue dinner (Marisa paid) and had the leftovers packed up for Yimi.
She looked down and spotted the bedding laid out on the floor, a small lump rising and falling rhythmically beneath the covers.
"Tch, you're in my bed again? Who said you could climb in without taking a bath first?" Reimu peeled back the covers and shook the drowsy kitten loose.
Yimi latched onto Reimu's clothes and leaned against her. "Made you... dinner."
"You can cook?" Reimu felt as though she might have just discovered a way to extract rent.
No reply. The little cat buried her face in Reimu's clothes and drifted off again, draped against her.
Reimu gently pried each tiny claw free, set her back on the bedding, and tucked her in.
This must be one of those folktale repayment things. Last year the Human Village had gone through a phase where those kinds of stories were all the rage.
Reimu walked over to the stove and had a look. She could see that her usual low tea table had been pushed to one side, presumably so a little girl who couldn't reach the counter could stand on it as a stepping stool.
She lifted the pot lid and peered inside. Stewing in the broth were several things that looked suspiciously like skinned mice.
The girl stared in silence for a few seconds, then ladled up a spoonful of broth and tasted it.
"Blegh!"