Mini-Mayhem At Mayohiga Part 3

A bit of cleanup, a bit of set up, and all three participants sat down on the veranda. Ran had quickly laid out a pillow for Lady Yukari to sit upon before rushing off to help Chen clean up. The bakaneko had thankfully not damaged any of the flower bushes and somehow had miraculously avoided dirtying the kimono.

A quick dab with towels had Chen clean enough, and Ran Gapped a few motion sickness pills from the medicine box to calm the cat’s stomach. While she preferred doing things by hand, just this once, Lady Ran indulged in a bit of magic to help prep tonight’s viewing.

After dinner came the moon-viewing proper and Ran had long prepped all the refreshments beforehand. A table slipped out of a rip in space. The rip shrank to a slit and out slid a parade of small snacks; humble snacks such as senbei crackers to high-end and professionally made tsukimi dango to occidental mysteries such as Turkish Delight. Lady Yukari’s tastes were as boundless as there were boundaries to play with, and so Ran endeavored to sate them all.

Chen didn’t quite drool at the array of delicacies, but it was a close thing. When the teapot came out though, Ran found herself failing to hide a coy smile as Chen underwent the motions of a tea ceremony, making sure to set each teacup for each participant in manner of importance. While her form was a bit off, forgetting to hold the cover in place as she poured, Chen didn’t make any catastrophic mistakes as she poured for Lady Yukari, then Ran herself, and finally a cup for the bakaneko herself.

A bit rushed, a bit messy, Ran found herself relaxing as the moment went on and nothing disastrous or stressful happened. All three were seated, all three were sipping lovely, lovely green tea, and all three were nibbling happily. In the case of Chen, Ran was happy to see that the bakaneko had remembered to not eat too much or take too much at once. She was still eating the most, but in the amounts she was taking and… perhaps just a bit slower on chewing, Chen could almost pass for approaching demure.

After such a stressful dinner, Ran was just happy to finally have a nice, peaceful moon-viewing. Best of all, the drinks and snacks were sure to keep from any more talking.

“How goes the blooming?” Lady Yukari asked, suddenly breaking the contemplative silence, growing bored already.

Ran smiled. Otherwise, she’d start crying. Why couldn’t she even luxuriate in peace now? And what blooming? What was Lady Yukari--

Ran’s eyes widened as she realized what Lady Yukari was referring to. She then wondered why she decided to bring up such an important favor for her dear friend in front of Chen. It was too late in the night to be thinking of how to speak so that Lady Yukari could understand but Chen would not.

Before she could answer though, Ran felt her stomach pang when Chen suddenly chirped, “Oh, are you talking about Lady Ran’s other mission! With the ghosts?”

Chen was clever. Ran knew this and found quiet pride in her Shikigami. Just this once though, the kitsune wished the bakaneko wasn’t quite so clever. Why couldn’t Chen have eaten more dango? That way her mouth would be glued shut and not risk speaking.

“Hmm?” Lady Yukari’s fan snapped open, hiding her mouth even as the Gap youkai gazed intently at the young bakaneko, swallowing heavily.

Ran wished there was a doctor she could see. Her stomach hurt from all this stress.

Gulping the last of her Chinese-styled mooncake, Chen wilted under the full weight of Lady Yukari’s attention. She licked her lips anxiously, “Was that a secret?”

“Not a particularly deep one, but yes. It was meant to be a secret. Humor me for a bit though,” Lady Yukari fanned herself lightly, “What do you think is Ran’s… mission?”

Was this simple teasing? Or an actual test? Ran refrained from rubbing her temples, and instead opened up a small Gap to retrieve a bottle of chilled sake and a cup. Pouring her master a drink, Ran silently slid it over and met her master’s eyes, quietly asking for her to tame her whimsy.

Blinking languidly at Ran and then once more at the bakaneko deep in thought, Lady Yukari considered the unspoken request, sipped the proffered sake, and then spoke, “You don’t have to answer now. Consider it a--”

“Flowers,” Chen interrupted, coming out of thought, “Sakura flowers.”

Ran’s eyes widened while Lady Yukari’s eyes narrowed in interest.

“That’s related to what Lady Ran’s doing, right?” Chen sighed, hands lifting up to poke her fingers together, “Flowers? Sakura flowers?”

Lady Yukari leaned in, mai-ogi open to cover her face, “And what makes you say that?”

Leaning away, Chen took a deep breath like Ran had taught her, gathering her thoughts before speaking, “Well, I help Lady Ran with caring for the smaller shikigami, crows and cats and stuff. They like to talk, and they talk story a lot.” She trailed off.

Snapping the fan shut, Lady Yukari commanded as light as the weight of the sky, “Continue.”

WIth barely a tremble and the shortest of breaths to recover, Chen forged forward, “Some of the older ones talk about how they go past a river to the side that feels like death. They were talking about how it was weird seeing a half-ghost girl on the wrong side of the river. I’ve seen her too, talking with Lady Ran sometimes over there. A black ribbon in her hair and her soul at her side, right?”

Ran blinked. Those meetings were supposed to be secret. How had Chen snuck past?”

“And how did Ran never notice you?” Lady Yukari tilted her head.

Chen shrugged, “I didn’t try to hide. I even said hi a few times. A cat’s noticed only when she wants to be.”

“Hm, true. True. How does that lead to sakura flowers?”

“Because the ghost-girl smelled like flowers, and earlier, you talked about something blooming,” Chen answered, “The crows like to complain about how there’s never anything to snack on over there on the other side of the river, but there is a big dead sakura tree that’s nice to perch on if you could fly high enough. So blooming, dead sakura tree, and you want that tree to bloom, right?”

That was… accurate. Worryingly accurate. While the one desiring for the Hakugyokurou was not truly Lady Yukari, the one who did was one beloved by Lady Yukari. Aside from that? The logic was sound and the conclusion correct enough. Ran’s stomach hurt with how clever Chen’s logic was. A good skill to have, certainly, especially for a Shikigami of the Shikigami of the Youkai that guarded the Boundary of Gensokyo, but was now really the time to be clever?

Lady Yukari so rarely indulged in such large displays of whimsy, but causing the Saigyouji Ayakayakshi to bloom was a far more dangerous one than usual even if she herself was only doing it to indulge her friend. As it was, Ran followed through with extreme hesitance, hoping that her Master had a plan for when it all went wrong, but now she was worried that Chen had gleaned bit too much knowledge.

If there was to be a punishment, Ran hoped that Chen played the rest with ignorance, and allow Lady Yukari a path to be softer. Her Master was… kinder than most of the ones that could claim to be strong in Gensokyo, but the kindness from the strong could still be devastation for one as weak as Chen.

“Bit of a jump, eh? From the gossip of crows to the machinations of mine. Ultimately, these are all just guesses,” Lady Yukari smiled, mai-ogi snapping open once more to hide her face. Whether to hide amusement or something else, Ran genuinely did not know. She had served her Master for centuries, understood her better than most, but perhaps it was stress, perhaps it was fatigue, perhaps it was because her Master was always hiding just another thing, but Ran did not know which way her Master’s whimsy blew now.

She was leaning towards amusement, but her stomach hurt far too much for the kitsune to be confident in that.

“I was guessing for a good bit, yeah,” Chen nodded before smirking impishly, “But you never said I was wrong so I guess I’m right?”

Ran felt her breath catch. Really? That was all she based her confidence on? A guess? It was a remarkably good guess even if she was wrong about who exactly wanted it. And she supposed it was praiseworthy on how well Chen had gone unnoticed, but would this please Lady Yukari? Lady Yukari enjoyed cleverness and well-meant disobedience, but just because Ran’s Master enjoyed something didn’t mean she wasn’t above punishing it either.

It was probably fine. No, definitely fine, but Ran couldn’t help but worry. Her stomach really hurt right now.

Two Shikigami waited for the Master’s verdict. One sip, two sip, a refill by Ran, and another sip, Lady Yukari finally spoke.

“Ran?”

“Yes, Lady Yukari?” Ran snapped into a respectful bow.

“Give dear Chen a charm,” Lady Yukari decided, “An earring will do. Something simple but snappy. One that declares this one is yours.” Left unsaid was that what was Ran’s was also Lady Yukari’s.

And what was Ran’s was Lady Yukari’s too.

“Hai,” Ran intoned, her steady tone completely hiding the banzai fest in her mind.

Yes. Yes. Yesyesyes! It had been a long and winding road with far too many starts and stops that were all bad for her heart, but Lady Yukari had accepted Chen. Maybe. Hopefully. It was a very good sign, but Ran hesitated to confirm even in her own mind Lady Yukari’s whims.

Somehow, they had gone through this night achieving their goal and more. Not only did Yukari have a favorable impression of Chen, she had given Ran permission to interact more formally with Chen.

Her stomach still hurt, but it was a good pain, one achieved only after finally obtaining success from a roller coaster of near failure.

“Ah,” Yukari faux-yawned, arms stretching high above, “I’m tired. I really shouldn’t have woken up, but I was loath to leave you alone on Tsukimi. Now I see I needn’t have bothered.” She smiled at Chen.

“Uh,” Chen cocked her head in confusion, “Sorry?”

Patting the kitten’s head, Lady Yukari smiled, “Oh, it was quite fun to meet you, you munchkin of a kitten, dear Chen. Nothing to be sorry for. Alas, I must rest for what looks to be a memorable Spring.” Opening a Gap, she paused halfway through and looked to Ran, “Focus on the Sakura Blossoms for now. The Fool can wait. Unless Chen wants a try at searching?”

“Uh, hai!” Chen snapped into a bow as best as she could without tripping over the Furisode Kimono.

“Ah, truly a go-getter. Best of luck to the both of you then,” The Youkai of Boundaries giggled, the sound lingering even as the Gap blinked shut. The Shikigami and her Shikigami held the bows for a moment longer before slumping into relief at near the same time.

While Chen plopped back down onto her cushion, Ran slid demurely onto her own. She then reached into her sleeve to pull out another antacid tablet and swallowed it dry. Ugh. Her stomach really hurt.

She wasn’t anything as weak as a human, but perhaps there was… a stronger version of ulcers for youkai? Youkai ulcers? Spirit tummy-ache? That had been a most stressful meeting.

“Did I do well?” Chen murmured, chin on table and body slumped.

Reaching over and rubbing Chen’s ear, Ran smiled softly, “Yes. However, did you endure Lady Yukari’s test?”

“Which one?” Chen moaned, “She was so… twist-y.”

“The one where she took a sip of sake and let slip an important Boundary.”

“What Boundary was that!?” Chen asked, tails puffing up at the mere memory of that test.

“Existence,” Ran sighed.

“I don’t know,” Chen sighed, “It felt familiar to the Fool’s spell though, so maybe that?”

The Fool had a spell like Yukari’s!? No. What was more likely were that the feelings invoked were similar, but… still… Curiouser and curiouser. Not important though. That mission was on hiatus and Ran could relax just a tiny bit.

“Perhaps,” Ran agreed, pinching one of Chen’s cheeks, “Do try and not tempt Lady Yukari to do those kinds of tests again, though. You did well, but… best not to, hmm?”

“Hai. Hai. Boring is good for me, Lady Ran.”

Chen had done wonderfully. Beyond expectations. Better than Ran herself had in some ways, dealing with all of Lady Yukari’s whimsical tendencies and strange asides. Despite a few mistakes, that heart-stuttering lecture, Ran found herself quite proud of her Shikigami.

Leaning into the petting, Chen enjoyed it quietly. A quiet moment was shared between them, not one as Shikigamis or servants, just a fox and a cat enjoying a quiet moment under the moonlight.

“Can I ask a question?” Chen purred, eyes still closed in contentment.

Chin on her free hand, Ran smiled as she scratched Chen’s chin, “Yes, you may.”

“Am I supposed to be looking for the Fool now?”

“...Don’t worry, you’ll have me to help,” Ran reassured, forcing herself to continue after the short pause.

Having been resting her cheek on the table, Chen lifted her head up minutely only to hunk it down in despair. She was careful not to dislodge Ran’s hand though.

“...That only makes me more worried…” the young Shikigami of a Shikigami murmured.

Ran sighed. She wished she could disagree. Such was the perils of working under the Yakumo Family.

===============

There’s a series of shooting stars tonight if you look towards the north, just to the right of the moon. It’s beautiful. Not really stars though, simply meteors and asteroids entering the atmosphere, but no less wondrous for that though. They came from far away places and in a way, they are made up of starstuff as all are.

...Hm? Oh, you want to know more? Dreamers, the Fairies are being most unprofessional and want to hear me ramble on about stars. I shall not be swayed by their wide, glimmering eyes and their clasped hands and their frowning lips.

I see you all giggling. If you’re going to pretend to be pitiful, don’t do it half-baked. No giggling when pretending to be sad.

I said, no giggling! Stop that! Sad faces! Now! Throw in tears too!

-----

AN: Sorry for the late post! As mentioned before, COLLEGE IS FUCKING HARD! Closing out on Halloween of this morbid tale of a job interview! Chen's unofficial job is now semi-official! Ganbare, Chen! You're on the right track!

Next arc in the Tsukimi Saga is... Ahah! THe SDM! With our first appearances of the Scientists of the Probability Space Hypervessel! My goodness, I've had the dialogue written all out. I just have to add description and then we should, let me just ballpark this..., ooh! We should have a full chapter! Possibly two! I'll try and get that out in a month.

Also, technically speaking, even if it is on the literal last day of the month, I technically still have a chapter out a month at this rate. Huzzah!

I also have three exams in November, so... Yeah. Ganbare, myself! I'll try my best.

As always! Thank you for helping and supporting me!