"Everyone~ Lunchtime!"
"Cirno, Remilia, Flandre, don't wander too far!"
""Okaaay~""
At the shrine maiden's call, the kids trotted back, each holding fish and frozen frogs, though they were all covered in mud, as if they'd just crawled out of a swamp.
Mokou trailed behind them, her pants rolled up, her legs splattered with mud and water, wearing an embarrassed grin.
"I just... kinda got dragged into their mess."
"Where exactly did you go to get this filthy?"
The former shrine maiden sighed, filling a bucket and scrubbing the kids down one by one.
Strangely obedient, the children stayed still, as if they knew they'd crossed a line.
"Ahem. They said they saw frogs as big as people and mermaids in the mud over there. Dragged me along to check."
"...Then we all fell into a ditch." Mokou scratched her head sheepishly.
No giant frogs. No mermaids. Just mud. So much mud.
"There WAS one! THIS big! And it had HAIR!" Cirno flailed her arms, insisting.
When it came to frogs, she never misidentified them.
That giant, glaring-eyed frog had been real, until it vanished when she went to get backup.
"Sure, sure. Next time you see it, you can catch it. For now, stay still." The shrine maiden dabbed at Cirno's face, expertly cleaning off the grime.
Soon, all the kids were spotless again.
"Your clothes are soaked. Sit by the fire and dry off."
""Okay~""
They huddled around the flames, while Mokou burned the mud off herself with a quick flare of fire.
"Ahhh. Much better." She plopped onto the picnic blanket
Rin also returned, dragging Marisa and Reimu by their collars.
Both were dazed, cheeks flushed, breathing ragged and sweet, as if on the verge of passing out.
"What happened to them?"
"Probably just tired. Didn't sleep well last night." Rin's blatant lie didn't fool anyone.
When he set them down, their backs arched sharply, their mouths gaping soundlessly.
"..."
'That's your ability, isn't it?!' Mokou narrowed her eyes, but seeing the completed homework in Marisa's hand, she kept quiet.
The former shrine maiden gave Rin a conflicted look, but didn't press further.
"Grilled fish and soup are ready. Be careful, it's hot."
"Got it." Rin snatched the homework from Marisa, skimmed it, then tossed it to Mokou.
"All done."
"Nice! I'll definitely come back next time I need help." Mokou grinned, shoving it into the pile without checking.
'If mine's the only one fully filled out, Keine can't headbutt me, right? She might even praise me!' Her smile turned dreamy, 'And once homework's out of the way, I'm hunting down that black-haired beast in the bamboo forest.'
'Gonna pound her into paste!!'
"Here, grilled fish."
"Oh, thanks." Mokou took the fish, her bloodlust momentarily forgotten.
As the former shrine maiden served the kids, Reimu and Marisa finally recovered enough to crawl over.
Marisa tried to sit next to Rin.
But Reimu yanked her away, exiling her to the far side of the blanket.
'If these two get close again, I'm gonna lose it.'
Marisa growled under her breath, her body thrumming with restless energy.
But with kids around, she couldn't act on it.
'Calm down. Calm down. If I keep letting him control me, I'll never recover. I have to be the one on top next time!'
She took deep breaths, her expression, steeling with resolve.
Reimu, watching her, finally relaxed.
'If this idiot dragged Rin into the woods now, I'd actually commit murder.'
This is sacrilege against a shrine maiden's purity!!!
She bit into her fish savagely, imagining it was Marisa's smug face.
Meanwhile, back at the store...
Yuugi, after ditching Suika, finally caved.
She opened the Pandora's Box, the forbidden exodi─ no, liquor stash.
The intoxicating aroma hit her, erasing all hesitation.
'Just one sip. Just one─'
The moment the bottle touched her lips, it was like falling back into the hot spring.
A tsunami of warmth swallowed her whole.
She didn't even remember drinking, but the fiery sweetness exploded inside her, blurring her vision, lifting her consciousness—
Until she was floating, untethered from reality...