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(https://x.com/chamaji33/status/1356168610943623168)
By any account at any glance, it was Suzunaan’s most extremely ordinary kind of day. The sun, she beamed joyously; the wind sang softly outside and never brought inside the early winter chill. The scratchy tones of a phonograph - needle bouncing along the grooves of a chiptune record - and that pleasant kind of bookshop dust sweetened the air behind the curtained door. A handful of customers sat or stood in this corner or that corner (or were Sekibanki, bravely striving to look cool and intellectual by being in both at once and another besides, while appearing to read all at once books by authors with strange foreign names like Haideggaa, Kirukegooru, and Kamyu). Every single one of them had paid up their late fees and returned all their outstanding books.
Kosuzu whistled softly as she sorted out the ledgers and worried about when, exactly, it was that the hammer would fall. This was the kind of perfect day that usually only happened when some kind of mean sucker punch was hiding behind it.
She eyed Komachi, idling in the comedy aisle and giggling like a girl half her age (how old was she? … maybe half of half of half her age?) at an Outsider manga about being Emperor instead of the Emperor, or some such thing. Kosuzu had long since written off the books loaned to the shinigami as gone for good. Dropped in the river, maybe, or perhaps just made off with.
That assumption had turned out somewhat ungenerous, and now Kosuzu was in possession of an entire year's worth of unexpected late fees. Only slightly less generous was the subsequent assumption that this was a sign of some unwholesome scheme.
Komachi continued to flip pages, too absorbed in it to care about petty, worldly concerns like being forty-five minutes into a fifteen minute break… but if she was doing some surreptitious wrong other than that, there wasn’t the slightest sign.
Sekibanki was looking up from her books to see if any of the other customers were appreciating how intelligent and philosophical she came off.
Mamizou was flipping through back issues of the Kakashi Spirit News and fingering her pipe restlessly.
Reimu was bent over a desk, furiously consuming a compendium of myths. She seemed to have gotten stuck on a page midway through. She would read it, snarl, ball up her fist, and then read it again.
Minoriko - and wow Kosuzu was honoured to have the harvest goddess in Suzunaan! She would have to find some excuse to give her a discount - was making a valiant effort to browse the trashy romances without appearing to be looking at borderline erotica. Her strategy was to slide out a book, pretend she didn't see the cover, flip through the pages, and, if it wasn't to her tastes, make an affronted gasp, and replace the book on the shelf. It might've worked better if that section of the store wasn't so clearly marked.
The gramophone kept playing; Kosuzu's pencil kept scratching. Nothing kept happening.
“What the hell is this!?”
And then Reimu slammed her fist into the desk. The blow shook dust from the rafters–and books from the bookshelves, and buried one of Sekibanki's heads. The other two decided that whatever happened next was that head's problem, and Sekibanki swiftly abandoned herself to her fate. Kosuzu's heart went with her out the door, and she would've liked it if her body could've gone too.
Komachi quickly decided she felt the same and hey wait you have to pay for that stop and she was gone. Minoriko gave an ungodly shriek and threw herself to the floor, where she seemingly tried to hide under her hat.
Mamizou slunk into the shadows to watch.
Reimu stormed up to the counter, and slammed the book down. It was open to the page on binbougami.
“If you damage it, I'm gonna have to ask you to buy it…”
“Look at this!” She jabbed her finger at a particular paragraph with the same energy she usually reserved for needles.
Kosuzu meekly did as she was told, and soon understood the great and terrible wrath of the Hakurei.
There were stories there. One told of a man who had treated a binbougami as an honoured guest, and his graciousness transformed the poverty god into a god of good fortune. Others told of poverty gods who, properly invoked, warded away poverty; yet more who transformed poverty into prosperity.
In summary, a great and exciting variety of wonderful things that the binbougami currently living in Reimu’s home was not doing.
“That-” Reimu began, a volatile quaver in her tone, “that- that- thatthatthathat miserable borderline-youkai scum-sucking raggle-taggle knotweed crabapple treacherous rat leeching-”
She gasped for breath.
“-blue blistering bum! Where's my good fortune, I ask you!? I take her in, I give her food and shelter and clothing and friendship and you know what I get?” Kosuzu ducked under a flailing arm that had gone particularly wide.
“A friend you can count on?”
“A leech who sucks up my money and makes every noodle I've ever eaten in the past…”
She stopped to count up the time, quickly resorted to using fingers, then gave up.
“... makes all of my noodles soggy before I can even touch ‘em! Just by being there!”
Wham! Reimu hammered the counter again.
“Well, I'll show her gracious hosting! If she doesn't change up quick, I'll show her gracious hosting right where the sun doesn't-!”
“H-hold on! Wait wait, wait!”
“For what?”
The silence, as Kosuzu grasped for a way to phrase the thing she was about to say that would not set Reimu off even harder, was long–not to mention fruitless.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but have you been… actually… gracious?”
“... Say that again?”
“Well, you've pretty much had her under house arrest… in your house… right? Have you been making her feel actually at home? The book says… I mean, you actually ought to venerate the poverty god like you would any other god to make them lucky, basically.”
Reimu stopped to mull this over.
“But I could also just beat her ass until she realises how gracious I've been for not doing that all this time, right?”
“N-no, I think you'd just get cursed into more pover– uh, into poverty…”
This at last seemed to give Reimu pause. “Ugh,” she groaned, clutching her own shoulders and shivering.
“Anyway, she's your friend, isn't she? That's the really important part! Sounds to me like you’ve been taking her for granted and letting tiny grudges build up. Maybe you should try opening your heart to her a bit more!”
“Okay,” Reimu heaved a truly gargantuan sigh, “Proper god revering stuff. So I just gotta ply her with wine and flowers and stuff like that, right? And then I can roll comfortably in dough for the rest of my life?”
“... Is that normally how you'd worship a god? Or be good to a friend?”
“Close enough. Thanks, ‘Suzu! I'm gonna head out now! I'll buy you lunch when I get rich! See ya!”
The soothingly scratchy gramophone tunes continued playing. Sekibanki's head rolled out from under that pile of books. Minoriko found a book while cowering on the floor, paid for it, and left.
Kosuzu slumped over–sighed–and congratulated herself on a bomb adroitly defused. Honestly, though, she was happy knowing that she'd made a difference! She could really feel it; she'd gotten through to Reimu, no matter how much the shrine maiden tried to hide it under her usual grumpy facade. She was sure of it!
Mamizou sauntered over, set one elbow on the counter, and took a long drag from her pipe.
“Not inside the shop, ple-”
“Y’ain’t got no idea what you might've just set in motion, do ya?”
Reimu waved to Aunn on the way past, stepped over the drunken heap of Suika on the front porch, and entered her home… such as it was. In one corner a worn-down bucket safeguarded the tatami from a leak in the roof; in the other a rat trap stood empty (Nazrin had complained). In-between, Shinmyoumaru was hard at work mending clothes on top of the kotatsu; Shion was passed out underneath, clutching tightly to her skin-and-bone chest a black-red cat that seemed only mostly outraged by the situation.
Reimu’s hand went to her chin. Eyes closed; head tilted. This was what ‘thoughtful’ looked like for her, though it did not guarantee that her thoughts were full of anything in particular.
Properly venerating Shion didn't need to involve stopping her from getting what was coming to her, right? If she wanted to get mauled by Rin, who was Reimu to stop her? And anyway, waking her up unsolicited was definitely, absolutely, beyond any doubt not proper worship. Waking Reimu up early was something that ought, she felt, to be punishable by summary execution; waking up a god was probably a ticket straight to the Animal Realm, or maybe Hell, or even worse.
Reimu slid the kitchen door closed behind her.
She threw open the pantry.
She stared. Her left eye twitched slightly. She reached out and groped at the empty space, as if perhaps the food was all actually there, merely turned invisible by some malevolent spirit.
She stopped. She looked to the side.
“I wasn't involved,” said the less malevolent spirit haunting the shrine.
Kana brushed a cookie crumb from her cheeks. A purification needle pinned it, and her, to the wall.
“... The cookies, obviously. Not the rest of it. Don't be silly!”
Reimu crossed her arms; she tapped her finger against her elbow restlessly. She glowered. She glared. She snarled. She held up a sealing talisman, and opened her mouth to speak.
“No, I really wasn't involved! Mostly!” Kana protested, “It was mostly Shion! And a little bit me. But mostly Shion.”
Reimu fought the urge to let her scary face drop to pinch the bridge of her nose, or rub her temples. She could feel the migraine coming on. How was she supposed to throw Shion a big fancy meal if Shion…
“What happened?” Was the flat-toned reply she allowed herself.
“All I did was give her a little surprise, you know? You'd think she'd be used to it, living in a haunted shrine. She's so sensitive! Any way you look at it, resorting to fire was an overreaction.”
Right! Back to work!
Reimu brushed her hands together and trudged back towards the kitchen (Kana, bound up in sealing talismans, meanwhile hit the stone paving with a pleasing thud).
Shion's fires didn't really burn like normal flame, but they were very good at consuming anything that might be considered wealth. Which meant a shopping trip tomorrow, but for now, left the Hakurei Shrine just stocked up enough for one solid meal, and a little extra.
Reimu tied off her cooking apron, and set to work.
...
[ ] Just a normal meal today. The real work could begin tomorrow. It'd be weird to give specifically Shion a particularly fancy spread, right?
[ ] Give specifically Shion a particularly fancy spread. Sure, the other freeloaders will complain about unfair treatment and blah blah blah, but it was… probably… some kind of anniversary or special occasion or something else that would justify it, right?
Hello! It's me, the author of What Colour is the Unpainted Maiden? from the Halloween contest. As you can see, I finally decided on a pseudonym.
... as you can also see, this was a bit more delayed than I promised. Very sorry about that. A bunch of unexpected problems came up, and will probably delay at least the second update as well.
Nevertheless, here I am to give running a CYOA a go! I'm starting small, with the least ambitious of the ideas I've got... although the fact that RomCom is not exactly my area of expertise creates other challenges... but this is still the very first time I've tried something like this and I don't much know what I'm doing, so please go easy on me!
I look forward to setting out on this journey with you!
[X] Just a normal meal today. The real work could begin tomorrow. It'd be weird to give specifically Shion a particularly fancy spread, right?
As much as I want to treat Shion, I do think rewarding her for her mistakes doesn't sound like a good idea...
Also, heya author! Good to see you again, looking forward to this.
[x] Just a normal meal today. The real work could begin tomorrow. It'd be weird to give specifically Shion a particularly fancy spread, right?
[X] Just a normal meal today. The real work could begin tomorrow. It'd be weird to give specifically Shion a particularly fancy spread, right?
Reimu's approach to all things is to frontload all the effort and then stop trying just as the hard work starts to pay off. Through deep introspection, a more successful idea has come up: er, don't do that.
Appreciate getting to see some underloved characters get some attention, even a PC-98er! I have good feelings about this story.
[x] Give specifically Shion a particularly fancy spread
[X] Just a normal meal today. The real work could begin tomorrow. It'd be weird to give specifically Shion a particularly fancy spread, right?
[X] Just a normal meal today. The real work could begin tomorrow. It'd be weird to give specifically Shion a particularly fancy spread, right?
Je storie is funnig en ik heb gelaffed.
[x] Just a normal meal today. The real work could begin tomorrow. It'd be weird to give specifically Shion a particularly fancy spread, right?
Gotta finesse her. Gotta make her buy into it. Gotta make her believe like her luck is turnin'. Gotta plate her up a story, see? Then you can turn the dial up slowly, and then you can start juicin' her.
[x] Just a normal meal today. The real work could begin tomorrow. It'd be weird to give specifically Shion a particularly fancy spread, right?
(https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/89818960)
[x] Just a normal meal today. The real work could begin tomorrow. It'd be weird to give specifically Shion a particularly fancy spread, right?
One, two, three… Seven bowls of rice. One for herself, of course. One for Shinmyoumaru, whose appetite outpaced her size, and then lapped it just to be sure. One for Suika, even though she wouldn’t taste it past the mouthfuls of sake. One deservedly for Aunn. One for Rin, against her better judgement (just go eat your master's kibble, you bum!). One extra; there was always something.…
And one for Shion. Plainly ordinary unpolished rice, just exactly the same as everyone else. It would be a waste, after all! To spend what little she had left on a just barely nicer meal. Also, probably, some kind of breach of ethics, to give more to the reason the Shrine abruptly had less. Reimu had discovered restraint. She didn't really like it.
The last fish from the icebox had just finished roasting, the stewed vegetables were as stewed as they were going to get, the miso soup had been dished out, and the grill was all set up to fry up some hirayachi while they ate.
There was no need to announce anything like ‘Dinner’s ready!’ Five slavering freeloaders and one slavering Aunn were already waiting around the table.
Now here came the tricky part.
“Shutters all shut?”
Aunn affirmed by vigorous nod.
“No fires? No suspicious creaks or leaks? No… hang on.”
Rattle, rat-at-rattle; lottery sticks clattered in their little tube. Reimu had started keeping an extra mikuji setup in the residential part of the shrine - it had become a sudden necessity.
“... 4,” Reimu muttered acidly while she withdrew the appropriately-numbered horoscope. AVERAGE LUCK, in big bold letters. “Could be better, could be worse”--in point of fact one of the better outcomes when living with a poverty goddess.
So the Hakurei Shrine sat down to dinner, and no birds flew in with empty stomachs and out with full beaks--no leaks spontaneously opened in the ceiling over the fish–nor did the table collapse under the vegetables–no candles caught on the old wood-and-paper walls--no calamity was carried out by the infidel winds of whirling Fate.
Before enough time to complete a full in-out breath had passed, Reimu accidentally brushed her fingers against the grill just long enough to really burn them.
The curse she let loose cannot be put to text.
It was long dark outside; snow began to fall, like enough doomed to melt by morning light–warm and red, the Hakurei shrine broke through the night.
Good old-fashioned hirayachi sizzled on the grill, and the combined smell of batter, onions, and pepper cooking away could get any mouth watering. Just like Reimu's mother used to make, in days so far gone by that all memory faded in the sunlight. It wasn't much, but it was everything, too.
Suika made a noise like a drowning bear. It was[/] about the point in the night where she got drunk enough to forget that she couldn't speak through a swig of sake, wasn't it?
Reimu took a sip from her own cup - it was… well, it was swill, but it was warm and it blossomed in her chest and that was good enough - and waited for Suika to figure things out.
“Suzunaan got anything good today?” Although, slurring like sleet in spring, it came out more like ‘S’nan got‘nysin’ g’d’daaay?’
“That’s right, that's right! Has the new Chris Q. serial started yet!?” Shinmyoumaru jumped up on the edge of her plate.
“First chapter's always fun. Who doesn't love a good corpse? The next best bit's when they tell you how the unlucky dumbass got whacked–hey, that’s mine!” But the hirayachi that Shion had been eyeing vanished down between Rin's fangs nevertheless.
“Heh heh. Damn straight, sis.”
“I like it when Miss Melissa catches the bad guys,” Aunn mumbled into her rice.
“Nah, nah…” Suika waved them all off, “I’m thinkin’ more along the lines of, uh…”
Reimu suspected that she had not, in fact, been thinking along any lines, or if she had, the derailment had annihilated the whole station.
“... gods and stuff, you know?” Something misfortunate, something maybe fey or fell, sparkled in Suika's eye.
Reimu's next breath caught in her throat; heart pounding cold suspicion through each vein. Did Suika know? What did Suika know? And, unquestionably the biggest question, what was Suika going to do about it? The petty and pernicious petit had a particular penchant for just completely ruining everything. On purpose.
And the worst thing was no secret could be kept from her. Not if she coveted it enough. Maybe a little curl of fog had followed her footsteps to Suzunaan; maybe the onerous little oni had gotten it into her head to meddle.
“Got some big festivals comin’ up. You oughta do some research! Maybe find out what the god's name is before you hold a flea market in their honour. Heh.”
… but she was also, not to put too fine a point on it, stupid[/]. Reimu couldn't believe she'd been afraid of the little drunkard for even a moment.
“Yeesh, sis, this late in the game? Just go make one up or summat.”
“That would be disrespectful!” Aunn bristled.
“What, and calling ‘er ‘hey, you!’ ain't?”
For reasons unknown to mortal ken, this was apparently hysterically funny. Suika fell over with laughter--contagious; Rin gave in to cackling after, and Shinmyoumaru and Shion chuckled just a little, through mouthfuls of food.
“D-does it matter if I don't know!? I take care of the shrine, I perform the rituals, I-I'm doing everything right! I just, you know, don't know the fiddly little details!”
“... Sis. ‘Fiddly little detail’? Yer god's name?”
“Like that matters! Shion, you louse… uh, august holiness! Back me up here!”
Shion choked on a fishbone.
“Uh, well… I mean, the offerings are the important thing, I guess, yeah. The rituals. And stuff. As long as we get our stuff, I guess it’s fine if the name’s wrong. Hey, maybe I should try that… might actually get some offerings if people don’t know it's me.”
Reimu opened her mouth to gloat… and then a thought occurred to her.
She slid an extra hirayachi onto the poverty goddess’ plate.
Shion stared at it like it would’ve been less incomprehensible if it was an extraterrestrial device just popped in from the fifth dimension.
“Uh… are you… why?”
“Hey, no fair! I wanted that one!”
“You’ve already eaten ten times your body weight, short stuff! That one was gonna to be mine!”
“Well, ‘s an offering. You backed me up, so I've gotta give something. That's how it works with gods.”
“Cronyism! Blatant cronyism!”
“Uhhhh…” Shion kept staring, chopsticks trembling.
“I think… what's Yukari call it, do ut des’ s'posed to happen the other way around, Reimers.”
“Oh, just eat it!” Reimu snapped.
Reluctantly, haltingly, Shion did. She acted like she expected Reimu to suddenly change her mind, and didn’t want to be too committed when she did, lest Reimu reach on down her throat to tear the treat right back.
Then she felt the taste spread through her mouth, and any sense of hesitation - not to mention moderation - vanished. Reimu couldn't help herself but to grin. It was… well, now that she was paying attention, it was kinda charming, Shion's sheer zeal for meals. She'd never seen anyone so vigorously enjoy a plate of humble hirayachi so much. Not without a mirror, anyway.
And… just for a second. Only for less than the blinking of an eye. Invisible if you weren’t looking for it. The gloomy glow that ever lingered in Shion's hair like a pollutive grease, and slid from Shion's skin, spread cinders behind her eyes--chipped away, and something coppery glimmered behind it.
The shadowy blue ate it right back up; nevertheless, Reimu's grin grew that much wider.
The night wore on. Conversation, soaked in sake, grew louder–as did laughter. A very loudly-dressed arm came up from a hole in the tatami and snatched the extra bowl of rice. Shinmyoumaru dropped a bit of fish in after it. Marisa arrived complaining that they hadn’t saved her any food–though she was happy to take an extra helping of drink to make up for it. Shinmyoumaru and Suika ended up wrestling on the tabletop (Reimu made sure to confiscate the inchling's sword first; Marisa made sure to encourage eye-gouges, below-the-belt hits, and really any kind of foul play at all). Rin curled up on the kotatsu as if the fire was still going, as every night. Shion ate every last grain of rice, and went to bed with a well-fed glow… so far figurative, but it would turn literal soon enough, Reimu was sure.
And, eventually, when her hands were chilled to the bone from icy dishwater, but everything was matte clean (‘sparkling’ was a bit of a lofty goal for her old and worn ceramics) Reimu set out her futon, put out the lights, and put herself down to sleep.
The morning sun showered the Hakurei Shrine with her love. Bright rays suffused the drowsy shrine as all its inhabitants rose to their daily business. It was not as cold as it could have been, and the crisp smell of winter on the breeze pleasured the senses.
Reimu stepped over a mound of Suika - her first of three square blackouts a day - with shopping bags in hand, waved goodbye to Aunn on her way out the gate, and… Oh, right. There was Shion, sweeping the steps.
Reimu…
[ ] Decided to ask Shion to come along. To help carry the groceries! But maybe some kind of treat would be… alright. That do ut des thing. Maybe the new kissaten?
[ ] Decided that she was gonna take advantage of not having Shion around, to…
- [ ] Go by the Temple and ask that pestilence goddess if she knew what sorts of presents her sister would like.
- [ ] Kill two birds with one stone. Get her groceries straight from the harvest goddess, and get advice on how best to pamper a god. Also straight from the harvest goddess.
Shion's Fortune remains at 0/13.
[ ] Decided to ask Shion to come along. To help carry the groceries! But maybe some kind of treat would be… alright. That do ut des thing. Maybe the new kissaten?
[X] Decided to ask Shion to come along. To help carry the groceries! But maybe some kind of treat would be… alright. That do ut des thing. Maybe the new kissaten?
For some reason, I doubt that Joon would know her sister any better than Reimu, same goes for the Aki sisters. It's probably better to ask about Shion's preference with the person herself.
[X]Decided to ask Shion to come along. To help carry the groceries! But maybe some kind of treat would be… alright. That do ut des thing. Maybe the new kissaten?
[X] Kill two birds with one stone. Get her groceries straight from the harvest goddess, and get advice on how best to pamper a god. Also straight from the harvest goddess.
Methinks this is also a decent option, though Shizuha may not be able to help much directly 'cause her and Shion's divinities/duties are thematically opposed? Still an interesting venue to explore though.
[X] Decided that she was gonna take advantage of not having Shion around, to…
- [X] Kill two birds with one stone. Get her groceries straight from the harvest goddess, and get advice on how best to pamper a god. Also straight from the harvest goddess.
Forgot the first bit, argh! Don't count the above a second time by mistake please!
[X] Decided that she was gonna take advantage of not having Shion around, to…
- [X] Kill two birds with one stone. Get her groceries straight from the harvest goddess, and get advice on how best to pamper a god. Also straight from the harvest goddess.
[X]Decided to ask Shion to come along. To help carry the groceries! But maybe some kind of treat would be… alright. That do ut des thing. Maybe the new kissaten?
[X]Decided to ask Shion to come along. To help carry the groceries! But maybe some kind of treat would be… alright. That do ut des thing. Maybe the new kissaten?
[X]Decided to ask Shion to come along. To help carry the groceries! But maybe some kind of treat would be… alright. That do ut des thing. Maybe the new kissaten?
I'm leaning towards this because while yeah Reimu will be using Shion for work... it also means that Reimu doesn't mind, or even wants to have Shion around... I think it might help?
(https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/69400803)
[X]Decided to ask Shion to come along. To help carry the groceries! But maybe some kind of treat would be… alright. That do ut des thing. Maybe the new kissaten?
Shion had all the coordination of a drunken riot. All it took was a simple sack of cloth, thrown, and instead of catching it, she very nearly went tumbling down the steps. With her gangly arms flailing out of control, she wibbled, wobbled, leaned bodily and precariously out over the slope, hopped on one foot… but just barely caught her balance and pulled the bag from her face.
Reimu rolled her eyes.
“Come on, let's go. I need an extra pair of hands.”
“Er…” Shion stared at the bag, and then at the shrine maiden who threw it, “... mine? My hands?”
“No, I want you to run it back to the shrine and hand it to Kana… Stop! That was sarcasm! Yes, I want you to help. Stop fussing and come on!”
Shion considered this for a moment, and looked about to protest for a second, but in the end shrugged and dropped her broom - which bounced. And kept bouncing, step after stair, down and down and down until it had vanished from sight.
“... And you're picking that up on the way back.”
“Aw, man…”
The Village's dirt roads felt familiar under her feet. It wasn't like she walked them every day, but there was something comfortably homey about them, even with the less-familiar feeling of frost-fringed dirt crunching beneath her boots.
… Crowds stilled as she went. Parents and children, workmen and homemakers alike stopped to watch the Hakurei Maiden go by, wondering where she was going--where the duel was ‘bout to be–who might be about to be exterminated. Honestly. It wasn't like she was a rare sight in the village! But for reasons beyond all human knowledge, half the time people acted like she was some fearful stranger.
“Scram!” Reimu gesticulated angrily, and people sheepishly scattered. Well, it was less offensive than taking off running.
For all the gods’ sakes, this is worse than usual! Any other day, whatever road she walked would turn quiet. Today, people gathered ‘round to gape!
“What’s with them? I swear, Shion-”
Ah. Right. That might[I] have something to do with it.
The poverty goddess awkwardly scratched at the side of her face.
“Heheh… Eh, doesn't bother me none. Bit of a change from back Outside, but…”
“Outside, huh… well, as long as I'm here, no one’ll bother you.”
Shion smiled wanly, “If they wanna fuck around, I'm happy to let ‘em find out.”
“And then I'd have to exterminate you. Again.”
“Awww.”
“Come on, not much farther to the market.”
They heard the market before they saw it. The crushing noise of huge crowds hustling and bustling and fussing over prices and produce. Friends gossiping to each other about the fashionability of this tailor, or whether or not that baker was doctoring his bread. Loud shouting back and forth about the price of rice. That umbrella youkai, screeching the name of some child she had been babysitting and, evidently, lost.
Next was the smell, the indescribable scent of fresh vegetables, frozen fish, orchard fruits, tea, wine, taiyaki, okonomiyaki, grilled bamboo shoots, oden, udon, and gods above only knew what else all whirling together as one.
Just as they approached, a certain servant of the Hieda household stumbled out of the crowd, laden nearly beyond human capacity with groceries.
“Oh! Hey!” Shion shouted above the crowd, “Sekibanki! Hey! Over here! Hey! Sekibanki!”
“SHUT! UP!” came the reply, even louder, while a blur of red and black flashed over to Shion, “In the Village, it's Oseki! Remember! O-se-ki!”
Shion considered this.
“... Seems kinda lazy.”
“S-shut up, I'm not taking that from a poverty god!”
“More importantly, ‘Red’,” Reimu interrupted, “you’ve been behaving yourself, right?”
“... Listen, gotta go, you coming to the next meeting I won’t be there I'm not really a member Hime'd love to see you again see ya bye!”
“See ya!” Shion waved.
Reimu sighed, “Well, if Akyuu hasn't come complaining to me, I'm sure it's fine. Come on, let's go.”
She grabbed Shion’s hand.
“...Eh?” That pale face went red.
“Don’t want you getting separated. Ugh, don’t read into it.”
And then she pushed into the thronging crowd, battling her way forward with one hand and dragging Shion along with the other. Very soon, Shion was reciprocating the handhold with the intensity of a woman whose life was on the line.
… Market day always brought out the strangest people. Naturally and to Reimu’s chagrin, most of them were people she knew. She saw Kotohime ‘patrolling;’ Sakuya for a split-second as she placed coins in a stallkeeper’s hand–and then she and her purchases were gone; Sanae gasped when she saw Reimu hand-in-hand with a poverty god; Shou was being lead around shockingly roughly, though she didn’t see by who; Kaguya waved as she passed; Mokou was forced by Kaguya to do the same. At one point, she saw that Hell goddess’ awful head poking over the crowd (and her nameless friend hovering behind her). Unfortunately, Hecatia saw her, too, and started making a beeline in her direction; thank the gods, the crowd pushed them apart, and she did not see her again.
Slowly but surely, the shopping bags filled up. Reimu and Shion pushed through the crowd bit by bit, making it eventually to the fishmongers, butchers, farmers, and so forth. Harvest season having come and gone, many of the stalls were well thin on stock, but a bit of this and a bunch of that and soon enough they had spent through all of the shrine’s food budget.
Reimu sighed and steeled herself to spend some more.
When they were free from the roaring writhing crowds, she turned away from the path home. Shion's brow drew together, she passed Reimu a quizzical glance… and she followed silently.
It was a little before lunchtime, and this part of town was not quite busy yet. A handful of people taking early meals; a handful of people finishing up late coffees. The pair were, it seemed, the first of the lunch rush.
“So, uh… I just wanted to say thanks for the help. You wanna grab some coffee?”
Shion's eyes practically sparkled. She stumbled over her words, effusive praise and hyperbolic gratitude jamming in her throat.
Reimu sighed and rolled her eyes, though the corners of her mouth twitched upwards as she led Shion through some nearby noren.
Roasting beans and soft jazz suffused the softly-shadowed kissaten. Dark wood, pale wallpaper--leafy green crawling the ceiling, flowers in the window. Already, or still, the counter was crowded with people, whispering quietly among each other so as not to disturb the music, or else busy with intellectual pursuits--books and empty cups piled up under the sunlit booths, where the next Agatha Chris Q. (or so each one hoped) struggled to pen a tale for the ages.
Reimu signaled for a table for two, and after a little hesitation, angry gesticulating, and slapping a sealing talisman on Shion's arm - for reassurance more than its negligible actual effect - they were lead to a table near the stage, where baskets were provided to leave their bags in (except the fish, which the waitress politely but very[/] firmly informed Reimu was to be left outside). Shion pulled out a third chair to sit her patchy kitten plush on.
Merlin paused in the middle of a trumpet solo to wave a jaunty hello. Reimu rolled her eyes.
“So…” Reimu began, “Is it like this Outside, too?”
“Eh… they're not really like this anymore. And they call ‘em cafes, mostly. Not that I've been very often. Live music like this is really rare for cafes these days.”
“Huh. Really? Seems like a waste. Cake's nice and coffee's okay, but if it weren't for the music, I'd rather just eat at home.”
“There’s music, but it's …” Shion considered her words, “... records.”
“Pff. Why even leave home?”
“Lotsa tourists at Starbucks. Easy to con money out of ‘em. White people'll believe anything!”
Reimu considered this. Remilia came instantly to mind. Sakuya followed slightly behind. She had to admit, it sounded about right.
“Maybe I should introduce you to the Scarlets sometime. More money than’s good for them, those vampires…”
“Oh, Jo'on’s already got a ‘knife on sight’ order on ‘er. Where do you think she got those jewels?”
“Ha!”
Several other patrons turned to shush her.
“Yeah, yeah, sorry…”
The coffee, at least, was served shortly. Reimu idly swirled her Vienna Coffee (what on Earth was a Vienna, anyway?) and drifted off into a moment of memories… Shion, meanwhile, fidgeted awkwardly when she was not sipping at her coffee - black, hot, and sipped with cat's-tongue care and gingerness - unsure what to do about the sudden lull in conversation.
“Uh…”
“‘Uh’ what? Just enjoy your coffee. Honestly. Shouldn't a god who tosses fire around like you do be fine with hot stuff?”
“I don't wanna burn my mouth,” Shion complained, “I wanna enjoy my cake. That'd be just my luck, if I burned my tongue first.”
“Huh.” Reimu took a tentative first sip of her coffee–nice and smooth and full of whipped cream and cocoa flakes–just perfect.
Shion continued fidgeting.
Oh, for all the gods’ sakes…
[ ] Strike up a conversation about…
- [ ] The Outside World. Like, was there an ocean where Shion came from?
- [ ] Sekibanki and her friends. How’d Shion end up acquainted with those dopes?
- [ ] Plans for the weekend. Was she going to visit the market at the Shrine? Even better, was she going to help out?
- [ ] Interests. Food, music… books? Board games? What did Shion enjoy?
[ ] Just drink in silence.
So in theory the problems that made the last few posts so slow are gone now, so I'm gonna try and hold myself to an "every Friday" update schedule. No promises, I have an executive dysfunction disorder. I also don't promise any specific time on Friday. I may be cramming the entire writing process into the space between 11 and midnight. Don't worry, I'm a uni student, I'm used to it!
[x] Strike up a conversation about...
- [x] Plans for the weekend. Was she going to visit the market at the Shrine? Even better, was she going to help out?
Hoping the phrasing here doesn't imply she's going to strong-arm Shion into anything, I'm assuming Reimu's affectionate enough by this point to not try that.
Loving the descriptiveness of the Village here, this has been a pretty strong point of this story so far! Though I'm wondering what the LoLK antagonists are doing there, they are probably an exceptionally rare sight in the Village of all places and there's a decent chance Hecatia wasn't just trying to say hello with her approach. Also seems like they might be encountering a few too many familiar faces in rapid succession? I dunno. Humor is also on-point, it ought to be said! Friggin', racist gods. Rude!
Also: careful you don't burn yourself out by writing overly more than you have the time/energy for! University does NOT help with that, argh.
>“White people'll believe anything!”
lmao
[X] Strike up a conversation about…
- [X] Sekibanki and her friends. How’d Shion end up acquainted with those dopes?
It would be interesting to hear more about the poverty god’s social life. Plus, learning how Shion treats her friends is directly pertinent to our objective, since we’re trying to be one of them.
Also, seconding >>45166 on the need to avoid burnout. A delayed update is good eventually; a rushed update is crap forever. You gotta take care of yourself.
[X] Strike up a conversation about…
- [X] Sekibanki and her friends. How’d Shion end up acquainted with those dopes?
>>45166
>>45167
Oh, things have shaken out that I don't have any classes for at least the next couple months or more. Plenty of free time for the moment. But thank you for the concern, and I will keep burnout in mind! For now I'm taking getting myself writing regularly as my first concern, but I'll take breaks as needed.
[X] Strike up a conversation about…
- [X] Interests. Food, music… books? Board games? What did Shion enjoy?
I'm curious about what Shion actually does with her time.
[X] Strike up a conversation about…
- [X] Interests. Food, music… books? Board games? What did Shion enjoy?
Could the Hakurei shrine enshrine two gods if we get a cute poverty goddess girlfriend?
[X] Strike up a conversation about…
- [X] Interests. Food, music… books? Board games? What did Shion enjoy?
[X] Strike up a conversation about…
- [X] Sekibanki and her friends. How’d Shion end up acquainted with those dopes?
So unless I've miscounted, that's a tie between Grassroots Youkai Network and Shion's interests, yes? I'd like to start writing soon, so next vote takes it!
[X] Strike up a conversation about…
- [X] Interests. Food, music… books? Board games? What did Shion enjoy?
Something something date stuff
(https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/126563615)
[X] Strike up a conversation about…
- [X] Interests. Food, music… books? Board games? What did Shion enjoy?
“So.” Reimu faltered and the word hung there, begging for a follow-up. She furiously swirled her coffee as if she could beat a conversation topic out of the foam. A wall of frustration built up around her brain; the flowing music crashed through it as loud and irritating noise. She turned to glare at the stage, where one of the poltergeist sisters was performing a spontaneous collab with a Village jazz band–opened her mouth to give them a piece of her mind and–
And…
Oh, the poltergeist sisters!
Reimu gestured at the stage with her spoon.
“So! I think I remember. You like the Horismrivers, don't you?” They had met at a Horismriver Ensemble concert, after all!
… Man, that sounds way more plain than it actually was.
“Huh!? Oh, uh, yeah. I guess so… I mean, it's kinda more Jo'on's thing, really. And I don't know if she likes the music so much as the popularity… Eh, but, yeah. ‘S pretty cool.”
“... Uh-huh. You don’t sound very enthusiastic about it. Do you have a favourite song? Favourite band member?”
“‘Easygoing Egoist,’ easy! And, eh, well, I think Merlin can hear me, so I guess she's my favourite!”
Reimu bounced a sugar packet off of Shion's forehead.
“Ow… what was that for?”
“Being a coward. Come on! Who's your actual favourite? Make someone mad!”
“Uh, sure. Umm… I kinda admire Raiko, you know? She's just… really stylish!”
Reimu flashed back to high-speed mid-air collisions with taiko drums. Sure. ‘Stylish’ was certainly a word that you could use to describe Raiko Horikawa. One of the words of all time, even.
She could still hear the melody Raiko had been playing at the--no, wait, that was Merlin, launching into a trumpet cover of it. Was that her way of voicing approval, or something?
“And you could grate radish on her abs… But the big thing is, eheh, you really gotta admire her. No-name god like that, making it as far as she has? Not just any of us can manage that! Must've taken a lot more work than I like to put in. And a lot more good luck than I have. I mean, I'm a god too. A bigger one than just some tsukumogami, I'm proud to say! But nobody can become anything. It's luck that rules this world and if you're unlucky enough to be born a pollutive kinda god, you won't be a superstar like Raiko Horikawa... But… hm, hm, doesn't that mean.. ?”
“‘Doesn’t that mean’ what?”
“Well, I'm bad luck. Literally! Doesn't that mean I'm practically king of the world!? Eheheh! I might as well be the biggest, most importantest god of all!” Shion chuckled, self-satisfied.
“Sure, sure, just don't go saying that where the sun can see you…” Well, as long as she didn't go shouting that at storm clouds from the roof of the shrine, it'd probably be fine.
…Somehow the topic seemed to be sailing right off course.
“But it's not like the Horismrivers perform every day. There's gotta be something else you do for fun, right?” Not that Reimu had seen much evidence of it.
Shion stared. Her eyes wobbled in place. She was contemplating this very complicated and difficult question with all the intense introspection it demanded.
Reimu tapped her spoon against the edge of her cup. When the ringing engendered no reaction, she waved it in front of Shion's face.
“... Cats,” she said eventually, “cats are nice.”
“They don't like you too much, though.” For the first two months of Rin and Shion cohabitating, bleeding scratch marks had been a permanent fixture on Shion's face. Introducing her to Chen had gone no better. Best not to speak at all of her valiant efforts to court the attention of local strays… “I guess being attacked sure does occupy your time.”
“Eheh… I just love kitties so much! I don't need them to love me back. Would be nice, tho’...”
“Yeah, well, good luck with that. Cats don't love anybody.”
“That’s not true!” Shion slammed her fists against the table–Reimu scrambled to keep her cup from spilling, “Cats are full of love! Cats are love! I've seen it! They're the cuddliest, friendliest, best friends a girl who isn't me can have!”
Another round of glares and shushing followed. Shamed, Shion snatched up her doll and hid her face behind it.
“Oi. I like cats too. Don’t need to convince me how cuddly they are. But I say it’s always ‘cause they want something…” She regarded the stuffed animal she was suddenly talking to with a bemused eye, “Ratty old thing.”
“Eheh. Gatto Nero-chan’s going on forty years now. Jo'on bought her for me when we were kids, and I've been taking care of her ever since! She's almost as good as a real cat!” Shion set the toy back down in its seat, fussing to make sure the little thing was properly comfortable. In sixty years that was going to be one heck of a happy tsukumogami.
Reimu whistled - quietly, lest she be raked over the coals and roasted with the coffee beans - at that. She didn't know what that… er… foreign-ese name meant, but it sounded very elegant and clever and, well, foreign! And, really, she hadn't known that that pestilence god had a generous bone in her body. But also–
“What, you were a kid forty years ago? That’s young for a god. Heh, I almost didn't think you came in that age range. Always seems to be ancient or newborn around here.”
“That’s right, I'm part of the Famicom generation!” She looked awful proud of herself, for some reason.
“The… what?” Sanae had mentioned that at some point, right?
“Oh, it's- uh… How do I explain this… Wait, you at least know what electricity is, right…?” But Shion quickly decided she was playing with a bust hand and folded, “Anyway, I come down to the Village to look at the toy shops sometimes. If I ever had the money, I’d collect stuffed animals. Gatto Nero-chan ought to have sisters!”
“Man, that's… actually kinda sad.”
“H-hey!”
“Sorry, sorry. I meant to say ‘kinda cute,’ for sure.”
Shion's stomach grumbled.
“Less so that.”
“I can't help it. Is the cake gonna get here soon? Hey, how is the cake here? Do you eat here often?”
“... Shion. You've seen what my donation box looks like. What do you think?”
“Oh…”
“And anyway, it only opened last month.”
“So… why?” Shion looked nervous, like she expected the answer to be a hammer blow.
“Marisa says the cake's to die for.”
“N-no, I mean, uh… why stop here now? Why treat me?”
“I already told you. Call it a reward.”
“Mm.” Shion still looked a little unsure, which lasted until she saw the waitress carrying plates towards their table. By the time her tiramisu arrived, she was already slavering over it. Then she was practically shoveling it into her face, glowing with joy. Oh, she halfway looked like she was going to pass out from sheer bliss!
Reimu paused a moment over her own matcha cheesecake.
She clapped her hands together and again, and bowed her head in prayer. She mumbled a vow, dedicating this food to Shion Yorigami, as thanks for her hard work, and as an offering, that she would continue to bless the Hakurei Shrine.
Shion froze. Shion… blushed. Shion stuttered, stammered.
“I, wow, no, thank you, thank you, and again, uh. People never give me offerings! That… that feels… it feels really nice!”
And there was a pulse of copper-colour in her blue blaze–and the trumpet hit a crescendo--and Reimu felt her blood rise, burning like the sun and crashing like waves on stone.
“Well, then, I humbly ask that you receive another offering from this mere priestess.” And she took her fork and a piece of cake, she leaned over the table, and she held out the fork. Shion stared uncomprehendingly, presently regained her wits, and she leaned in to take a bite.
“That one's really good, too!”
“Glad you like it. Oh, you got a bit on your cheek. Let me just…” Reimu leaned in further, reached out, brushed the crumb off Shion’s cheek. The god turned further red--a welcome change from how blue she always looked. Figuratively! But also literally.
Gods, but that trumpet music was pounding in her ears, and gods, she felt like she was practically shaking with energy. And with… Well, now that she was paying so much attention, Shion was just really cute when she was happy. Maybe it was infectious? She was just enjoying her food so much that Reimu couldn't help but share her enthusiasm.
Or maybe… Reimu suddenly found herself appreciating the sparkle of Shion's eyes… maybe it was… and she really, really felt just energized, raring to do something, even if she didn't know what--And then the music struck its final note, and the feeling was gone. Reimu turned to glare at Merlin, who did not even have the decency to look ashamed of herself, no matter how long and how hard she glared.
Reimu weighed the benefits and consequences of just putting a purification needle through her ghostly eye right there in the middle of the cafe.
Instead she turned back to her cake and coffee.
Reimu paid up for the meal, and they left back into the early winter chill. Reimu stretched, got ready to carry her heavy bags the rest of the way, and grabbed the…
… the fish were gone, bags and all.
[ ] … whatever. It wasn't worth it. Just get the rest of the groceries home.
[ ] It was Chen. It was obviously Chen. She'd hunt down that feline menace even if it took her all the way to Mayohiga!
[ ] Maybe someone saw something?
Shion just mentioned her love of cats. Blaming Chen would be kinda mean.
[x] Maybe someone saw something?
If even she only lives here for bits at a time, I'd assume Chen would know better than to irritate Reimu by this point. It's likely someone else.
No, the real question in my eyes is whether to continue chilling out or not. Hummm...
[X] Maybe someone saw something?
-[x] Check for foot prints.
If they didn't leave footprints, that means they flew before and after getting the fish, there's only a flew fliers in the village.
If there's foot prints, unless we could follow them, then we're crap out of luck. (Sorry Shion)
[X] Maybe someone saw something?
-[x] Check for foot prints.
I wonder if this version of Gensokyo has Keine's class of little youkai... maybe if so it was some of the faeries?
