Oh, and of course, snow. Everywhere. Thick white blankets layered the rooftops and the tops of stalls, piled on corners and rooftops, clinging to branches, thirty centimeters deep in places that hadn't been cleared. At least the main walkways of the festival had been properly shoveled before people started arriving. The packed paths were clean and crunchy underfoot, a thin layer of frost still sparkling faintly with each step.
Kayda turned her head back toward me, her lips curling into a smirk. "Oh right, you don't want me to undo it, isn't that right, Kitsu~?" she teased, lowering her voice into that sultry, playful tone that always caught me off guard. Her gaze narrowed in a seductive manner.
'That's not it,' I thought, flustered, heat rising up the back of my neck.
"Hey, hey, we have kids here," Ann interjected from beside me, sounding exasperated, though there was an unmistakable note of amusement in her tone.
"Y-Yeah, Kayda, how can you-" My stutter broke midway when I noticed Katie herself staring wide-eyed at Kayda, her jaw slightly slack. "Hey! Why the fuck are you giving Kayda that look?"
Katie snapped upright like I had just doused her with cold water. "Cough, sorry, her smile just surprised me," she said quickly, trying to explain herself before I could snap further.
"Tch. You, come here!" I growled, entirely ignoring Katie. Marching forward, I reached out and grabbed Kayda-not by the hand, but by her wing, tugging her away without ceremony. My irritation didn't leave much room for subtlety. I dragged Kayda into the crowd, leaving Ann and Katie behind.
"Hey, don't just grab my wing like that-" Kayda began, but her voice trailed off, shrinking when she caught sight of my expression.
Her chest tightened. 'She really is seriously pissed right now,' she thought, a flicker of shame passing over her features.
When I finally stopped, the press of festival-goers around us drowned out the sight of the others. Lanternlight painted the snow in amber, the glow bouncing across Kayda's face.
"Now that we're alone, we can enjoy ourselves better," I said flatly, releasing her wing. The words sounded colder than I had intended, but they were honest.
However, inside my head, I felt far from calm. Fucking bastard dumb demoness, she isn't available-I cut the thought off before it spiraled. I could already feel the rabbit hole forming, one that would end in disaster.
"Kitsu, I'm sorry," Kayda murmured, head lowered, her voice trembling with genuine shame.
I didn't respond immediately. My chest ached, conflicted between irritation and something warmer. Instead of words, I simply reached for her hand and intertwined our fingers.
"Eh!" Kayda gasped, eyes widening. She stared down at our hands, then up at me, then back down again, as though her brain was failing to catch up to reality.
'Oh god, please don't let me die of a heart attack,' I thought, my pulse racing far too fast, almost painfully so. The heat in my chest and ears became unbearable, forcing me to reinforce the illusion wrapped around my body. No one could see me blushing like this.
"Come on. If we don't start now, we won't be able to visit every stall. I'm also quite hungry, rawr~." My tone was carefully even, emotionless, my illusion helping to portray the mask I couldn't maintain on my own.
Kayda didn't reply with words. Instead, she giggled, soft at first, then bubbling out like the sound of water over stones. It was pure, joyful, and childlike, and it made my heart stumble even more.
"Sigh, at least we got a giant budget for today, rawr," I muttered, trying to ignore her laughter.
"Okay, so what do you want to eat first?" she asked, tilting her head with a bright smile, the lantern light dancing in her eyes.
I shrugged. "Don't know. You've been to this kind of thing before. Festival food, I guess, rawr?"
Her smile widened. "Okay, so candy apples."
I grimaced immediately, my face twisting in disgust. "That sounds like it's going to be too sweet for me."
"Oh, come on, just try it," Kayda insisted, already tugging me forward by the hand.
"Tch. "Fine, I'll try it," I grumbled, feeling defeated before I even had a chance to argue.
"Yay! Let's go before they're sold out," Kayda said cheerfully, her pace quickening.
There's no way they'll be sold out already. 'The festival just started,' I thought sourly.
[5 minutes later]
"There are only three left, huh?" I said flatly, staring at the nearly empty tray in front of the stall. Three lonely candy apples glistened under the lamplight, bright red shells catching every flicker of flame. My gaze shifted upward, locking on the stall owner, who was smiling at me with an expression far too smug for someone selling sugar-coated fruit.
"Two or just one candy apple?" the stall owner asked, his grin widening as his eyes flicked down at Kayda's and my still-interlocked hands.
"Two, please," I said curtly, raising two fingers with my free hand.
"Coming right up." The man dipped the apples into the bubbling pot of liquid sugar, the sweet scent thickening in the air as he coated them carefully.
"Tch. What a shame," Kayda mumbled under her breath.
'Tch, my ass, you weirdo,' I thought, rolling my eyes at her soft pout.
"That'll be one silver each," the stall owner said, holding out the finished apples with one hand and extending the other expectantly.
"One? You've got to be kidding me. It can't be that much," I snapped, narrowing my eyes at him.
"Come on, lady. My stock's almost out anyway. Be a gal and sponsor this old man," he said, his voice syrupy, his grin plastered firmly in place.
"But you're robbing us, rawr," I muttered.
"Are you going to take it or not?" His eyes hardened slightly when he realized I wasn't going to fall for his pity play.
"Yeah. One silver for both, at most, rawr," I shot back.
"Kitsu," Kayda whispered, her tone pleading as she looked at me with those eyes that made my chest ache.
"Tch. Fine," I muttered reluctantly, slapping two silvers into his hand and snatching the apples away.
"Thank you for the business," the stall owner said cheerfully, waving us off-though not before pulling a lever hidden at the side of his stall. In an instant, the lone apple on the tray was replaced with a full table piled high with fresh ones.
"Huh. Nice trick, rawr," I said dryly, unimpressed.
"Yeah, I know, right?" the man chuckled to himself.
"Whatever. Good luck with your business, rawr," I said, waving my hand absently-the same hand still holding Kayda's.
"Kitsu?" Kayda mumbled, noticing how my grip had gone cold enough to make her hand tingle with numbness.
"Hmm? Come on, say goodbye to him too, rawr," I said, smiling thinly.
"You better share yours later," she muttered, waving politely to the stall owner.
I blinked. "Umm, what?"
Before I could get clarification, Kayda tugged me along again, changing the subject. "Why did you freeze the apples?" she asked, taking a delicate bite out of hers.
"Because he's an asshole," I said simply, glaring at my apple.
"But then why did you gesture to me to defrost it?" she asked, head tilting again.
Apples spoil quickly when they are frozen and then reheated. There might even be worms hatching inside right now," I explained with a wicked grin.
Kayda froze mid-bite, her face twisting in disgust. "There's no way it happens that fast."
"No, it'll take a few hours before the inside turns mushy. But even now, it'll already taste like shit."
"It will?"
"Yeah. You've never tasted an apple that was pulled straight from the freezer and then baked in just seconds, right? My grin widened.
"Ugh, don't even go on with that," she groaned, nearly gagging at the thought.
"Now you get it, rawr," I laughed.
"But... what about the customers after us?" she asked, worry flickering in her eyes.
"Hmm. Technically, we just wasted their money, but it's not our problem. They will not become ill; they will only be unpleasantly surprised.
"You're sure they won't get sick?"
"Positive. At worst, they vomit from the taste. The sugar might cover it anyway."
Kayda looked down at her apple, then back at me. "...I see."
"Yeah. Anyway, how is it, rawr?" I asked, nodding at her half-eaten treat.
"I've had better. But it's not bad," she admitted.
"I see, rawr," I muttered, finally bringing mine to my mouth.
Crunch.
The sweetness hit instantly, cloying and sticky. My eyes squeezed shut. "Mhmm. "It's too sweet," I complained, scrunching my face.
Kayda burst into laughter. "Pffft-hahaha! Your face!"
"Bleh. "I knew it would be too sweet," I said, sticking my tongue out dramatically while adding a playful growl.
"Hahaha-cough, cough-so you're not going to finish it?"
"Nope. Here, you take it," I said, shoving the apple toward her.
"Hmm. Just one more bite from the other side, then I'll take it. And it has to be the same size as your first one," she said, pointing at the untouched half.
'Is she after an indirect kiss, rawr?' My cheeks flamed, but the illusion held.
"Sigh. How troublesome. Crunch." I complied anyway, taking another oversized bite from the opposite side.
"Mmmmm. "Mmmmm, this is even sweeter than before," I groaned, with my eyes squeezed shut again.
"Haha! Your reactions are adorable," she teased, her tone dripping with smugness.
"Don't be so mean, Kayda, rawr," I whined, pouting.
"Hehe, sorry. I'm just teasing."
"Sigh. You're going to be the death of me."
Kayda only laughed again. "Well, now that we've had our candy apples... let's move on to meatballs with sauce!" she said brightly, tugging me toward another stall.
"Ah, finally, something meaty," I sighed in relief.
"And thereafter, cream crepes," she added cheerfully.
"...I talk too much," I muttered, expressing mock despair as my face fell.
I think there will be 4 more chapters of kind of romance. Well, they are there to develop the bond between kitsu and kayda.
Sorry if I am dragging them out. It's not my attention to do so. PS the end of the festival will be quite a cliche. I want to vomit just thinking about it.
Fun fact did you know dragons are my second favourite creature.
After foxes, of course. They are the cutest thing in the world. I want one so badly.
Oh, oh yeah, I changed something in her stats not saying what I changed but hint one: Skill. Good luck. It's easy to find.
TheRealSkolliecreators' thoughts
Download the app for greater interaction!
You can chat with me about my writing experience apart from the comments section!
TheRealSkollie
TheRealSkollie
avataravatar
Chapter 134
Festivals. There are many different sorts of them scattered across the world, especially on Earth. Some are grand, stretching across entire cities, while others are small, intimate gatherings in a local neighborhood shrine or town square. America, for instance, has its festivals that lean more toward being massive parties than truly traditional celebrations. The festival featured flashy lights, loud music, endless food trucks, and people drinking and dancing in the streets until dawn; it was more about energy than meaning.
Japan, on the other hand, with its countless shrines and long stretches of traditions, held festivals that carried centuries of history in each carefully practiced ritual. Lanterns swaying in the night air, yukata rustling as people wandered through crowds, the smell of grilled food mingling with incense-it was less of a party and more of an experience woven into culture.
China could be compared to Japan in that sense. Both were deeply traditional countries, though the ways they celebrated were different. Both carried their past proudly, wearing it like armor. Though, well... those two countries weren't exactly on the best of terms historically. Not my problem. I definitely did not want to think about that while I was standing in the middle of a snow-dusted festival in a demon realm.
Sadly-or maybe fortunately-I had only ever seen Japanese festivals in person. The ones I remembered most vividly were the nights I went alone. I found myself roaming from stall to stall, sporadically stopping to observe fireworks bursting in the sky or take in the melodies emanating from a stage. There was comfort in the noise, in blending into the crowd, even when my hands were empty and my heart ached. The one time I hadn't been alone was when my teacher had taken me. Just once. Even that memory was hazy now, but it still existed as something warm buried in the coldness of my past.
And now? I guess I could add Kayda to that tiny list.
"Kitsu, I can't hit anything!" Kayda whined beside me, her tone dripping with childlike frustration. She held a small air gun awkwardly in both hands, her grip clumsy, shoulders hunched forward as she squinted down the firing range. Thirty-two small boxes were stacked on shelves of different heights, arranged in rows like a miniature fortress daring her to knock it down.
Her wings twitched with annoyance, her tail flicking behind her as she looked back at me for reassurance.
"Hmm, yeah, I can see that. You grazed only one out of your twelve shots, rawr," I said flatly, my voice monotone, carefully void of sympathy.
Kayda's jaw dropped. "Tch, can't you care a bit more?" She pouted, puffing her cheeks out like some sort of angry squirrel, her eyes narrowing at my lack of enthusiasm.
"I do care," I said, my tone still flat. "But it's not like it'll fall even if you hit it, rawr." My voice lowered, almost a whisper.
Kayda let out an irritated sigh. "I know that. I can feel the mana holding the blocks in place." Her tail lashed once, clearly irritated at the unfairness of it all.
"Well, it's not impossible to win," I explained, shrugging as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You just need to hit the right spots. But with your aim? Impossible, rawr."
Her glare sharpened, and she jabbed a finger into my shoulder. "Hey, don't be mean! It's these guns. They're so shitty. So how should it be done, then?" she pressed, her voice tilting into a whine again.
"Ha-ha," I mocked without humor, tilting my head toward the stacked boxes. "It's a magnetic mana trick or whatever he's using. There aren't many of the nodes, though, so they're spaced out. If you nail the sides first and then aim at the upper corners, you can make the boxes collapse. It's about angles, not brute force."
Kayda's ears perked. "Oh excellent, so you can do it. Hey, owner! Twenty shots for Miss Foxy here." She bumped my shoulder with hers, smirking as she handed the stall owner payment.
The man's lips curved into a grin that was just a little too devilish. "Oh, I see you are going for the big prize."
