Kayda nodded eagerly, her smile bright. "Of course. She better win it for me. Remember this-I want that teddy, okay?" She pointed dramatically at a massive human-sized bear behind the stall owner, its button eyes reflecting lamplight.
"Hey! Why do I have to win something for you? I want one of these." I jabbed a finger toward the back shelf, where a standing dragon teddy loomed like a guardian beast.
"..."
"..."
"Because I'm your date," Kayda said plainly, with a face so serious it made my stomach twist.
"But I'm also your date, rawr." I replied sharply, my tone filled with irritation.
"Kitsu," Kayda said again, softer this time, but with an edge of dissatisfaction that made me feel like I had already lost.
The stall owner raised his hands quickly, stepping in before things could escalate further. "Woah, woah, no need to start a fight now, ladies. Since you're today's first same-sex couple, why don't we make the situation interesting with a deal?"
The way he said it made my eyes narrow immediately.
Kayda and I turned toward him in unison. "I'm listening," we both said.
"Okay. If you can hit all twenty shots and knock the boxes over, I'll give you both teddies," he said, flashing another devilish grin.
I crossed my arms. "Okay, but I get two test shots. They won't count if I knock anything over. Obviously."
"Hmm. Alright, deal." The stall owner nodded, though the flicker in his eyes told me he thought he had the upper hand.
'He thought smugly that the test shots wouldn't matter, but his smile revealed his true feelings.' 'She won't knock them over anyway.'
"Great. Then let's get started, rawr." I reached for one of the guns on the table, lifting it to inspect closely. The barrel was crudely made, the wooden stock rough beneath my fingers. Looking inside, I noticed something off.
'I see. So that's why Kayda's shots veered left every single time.' My lips curled faintly. It wouldn't be enough to stop me.
"So I just load this here and shoot, right, rawr?" I asked, sliding one of the corks into the barrel.
"Yes, ma'am," the man said with mock cheer. "The guns will create the air pressure on their own."
"Uh-huh." I hummed, pretending to be unimpressed. Aiming at one of the bears in the back row, I squeezed the trigger.
Poof.
The cork sailed slowly, veering low and left before smacking harmlessly near the bear's shoulder.
'Left low, huh? Damn, no wonder Kayda struggled. It's slow, too, rawr.'
I hummed, tapping the side of the gun until I noticed a small circular dial. Curious, I twisted it. Air hissed faintly. I twisted more, then tried again.
Bang!
The cork flew out with much more force this time, though it still missed. Better speed, though. Much better.
"You ready?" the owner asked, a hint of nerves in his voice.
"Yes. Now bring it on, rawr."
I steadied the gun, focusing on the stacked boxes.
Bang!
One toppled.
"Oh, she got one!" someone from the growing crowd shouted.
"Hehe, one down, nineteen to go," Kayda giggled beside me.
Bang!
Another.
Bang!
Another.
Bang!
Another fell. "And another one bites the dust, ptataaa," I muttered, humming an old tune under my breath as I reloaded.
Bang!
"And another one!" the crowd shouted together, startling me.
I winced. "Ugh, please, no," I muttered, refusing to look back.
Reload. Aim. Fire.
Bang!
"And another one!" The chorus rang again, this time louder.
I risked a glance and spotted Kayda egging them on, her grin wicked.
"Kayda, can you not make them do that, rawr?" I snapped, though I already knew her answer.
"But that song you hummed was funny," she said smugly.
"It's embarrassing, Kayda, rawr," I hissed, letting my illusion tint my cheeks faintly red.
"Heh. But it's cute when you blush."
"Tch. How is it adorable when I turn red like a boiled shrimp, rawr?" I said, snapping my head away.
"Don't you think I'm cute when I blush?" she teased, pressing closer.
"...Now that I think about it, Katie and Ann-since their skin is red, how do they blush?" I asked suddenly, shifting the topic as fast as I could.
Kayda blinked. "Wait, that's true. Huh. Never thought about it."
"Exactly." I used her distraction to line up my next shot.
Bang!
Another box toppled.
"And another one!" the crowd bellowed.
"Fuck! That didn't help at all," I growled.
"Haha, you failed," Kayda mocked.
"Tch. Whatever."
One after another, I fired, each cork slamming into the weak spots until the shelves were bare.
"They're all done, rawr," I muttered finally, exhaling.
"Woah!!! She did it!!"
"All twenty targets down!"
The crowd roared.
"Tch, they're so loud, rawr." I covered my ears, frustrated. Even my enchanted earbuds couldn't block them out, so I froze my ears over instead, muffling the din.
The stall owner's face had drained of color. "How... how can this be? I went through so much trouble to-"
"Oi. I won our bet. "Please give us our teddies," I said, with my hand outstretched.
"You... you cheated!" he barked.
"What nonsense are you blabbing now? Tch. I won. Give me my dragon teddy." My eyes narrowed dangerously.
"There's no way you hit twenty in a row and knocked them over so easily!" He ranted, voice shaking.
"Look again, dumbass. I just did, rawr," I shot back, pointing at the scattered boxes.
"I-I had magnets under each one to make it impossible!" he blurted, eyes wide.
The crowd gasped.
"Oh, is that so?" I said smoothly. "So you accuse me of cheating, but you've been cheating from the start?"
His face paled further. "W-what are you talking about?"
"Sigh. I don't care. Please provide us with our rewards, and we will be on our way," I said calmly.
Defeated, he shoved the two massive teddies toward us.
"Thanks, rawr~." I tossed one over Kayda's head, keeping the dragon clutched tightly in my arms. "There's yours. Enjoy, rawr."
"Hehe, thank you, Kitsu," Kayda said, hugging her bear tightly with a smile that could melt glaciers.
Then, from the crowd: "Wait. Didn't he admit it was impossible from the start?"
"Yeah! We wasted our money on his scam!" another voice shouted.
The crowd began to stir angrily, voices rising.
"Ah, let's get out of here before everything goes to shit, rawr," I whispered, shoving Kayda ahead of me as the crowd turned on the cheating stall owner.
avataravatar
Chapter 135
"Where to next?" I asked, turning toward Kayda, my voice casual but my eyes scanning the endless line of stalls glowing beneath lanterns. The snow reflected the light back upward, making everything shimmer like the whole world was caught inside a crystal.
"I think it's more a question of where's the next stall business we can ruin," Kayda commented dryly, shifting the oversized teddy bear she carried so it wasn't blocking her face. The way she hugged it protectively made the comment even funnier.
I snorted, unable to help myself. "Oh, you want to keep going with that line of work tonight? I don't mind. It's actually kind of fun." My words dripped sarcasm, but part of me meant it.
Kayda shook her head vigorously, wings twitching a little in emphasis. "No, thank you. I don't want more people to hate me."
"But we're winning, so there's no downside," I said with a shrug, pretending like I was stating the most obvious truth in the world.
Kayda gave me a flat look, her expression unimpressed. "No, we're ruining other people's experiences." She adjusted the teddy bear, which looked absurdly huge in comparison to her size, as if she were trying to carry around a child.
"Are we, though?" I lifted a hand, gesturing like a philosopher about to deliver wisdom. "Or are we actually saving them money?"
Her eyes narrowed, deadpan. "Yes. We are ruining it for them."
"But they're ruining the event for us," I shot back, letting my tone slip into a mock complaint.
That response elicited a long, dramatic sigh from her, which conveyed the weight of someone regretting their life choices.
"Sigh, you do realize that you won that shooting game fair and square-even though the guy rigged it," Kayda said, her face calm as she explained. "It's not impossible to win. Just very hard."
I flicked my hair back arrogantly. "No, it's impossible for other people. I am Kitsuna, the fox, you know. There's no one like me out there." I puffed up my chest, proud.
"Did you use magic?" Kayda asked, tilting her head sideways, her tone cutting straight through my boasting like it was tissue paper.
"No," I muttered, shoulders dropping. Her lack of reaction left me feeling deflated.
"Then there's no problem," she said simply, shrugging like the conversation was over.
"Fine, fine," I grumbled, unwilling to admit defeat. "But you still didn't answer me. Where are we going next?" I asked, quick to steer the topic elsewhere.
"Let's get those meatballs we wanted before," Kayda suggested, finally smiling.
"Yeah!" I lifted both hands into the air in victory, accidentally letting go of hers in the process.
Kayda immediately frowned. "Don't do that. And store Big Chungus away." She pushed her teddy toward me like she was offering a sacrifice.
"It has a name?" I blinked, surprised.
"Yeah, of course, all my-" Kayda cut herself off abruptly, clamming up mid-sentence.
My ears perked. "Oh? Did I hear something intriguing just now?" I playfully teased her while gently taking Big Chungus out of her arms before she could pull away.
"No, you didn't. I said no such thing." Kayda glared at me, her pouty lips making the expression more comical than threatening.
"Pfft, 'no such thing'? That sounded like denial. As if you'd been caught being nice to someone." My laughter came out quick and sharp.
Kayda tilted her head, confusion written across her face. "Where did I compliment someone?"
I sighed like an exasperated teacher. "Don't worry about it. More importantly, what did you say about all your teddies? They all have what now?" I pressed, my grin widening.
"Aah, shut up. You didn't hear anything." She whined, reaching up and trying to grab my head.
I leaned back easily, dodging. "Oh, but you already know my hearing is impeccable."
"Yeah, but you have those earbuds in," she accused, narrowing her eyes at me like she'd just discovered my weakness.
"Not currently," I said smugly, showing her the earbuds resting in my hand.
Kayda's jaw dropped. "That's why you were acting smug!" she cried, sounding utterly betrayed.
"Haha. So let's recount. You said 'all my,' which means you always name your teddies and that you definitely have multiple of them." My tone was mockingly thoughtful, like I was piecing together a grand mystery.
"Aaah, stop talking!" Kayda shouted, lunging for my mouth.
I darted sideways, laughing. "That's so cute. You collect teddies as a hobby."
Kayda stopped mid-lunge, crossing her arms with a huff. "Hmph, so what? They're adorable." Her pout deepened, but her ears twitched in embarrassment.
"Uh-huh. Teddies are adorable sometimes," I agreed, softening my tone-before immediately undercutting it. "But nothing will ever beat your face right now." I reached out, catching her chin between my fingers and lifting it just enough for her to look straight into my eyes.
"Gah, don't look at me like that," Kayda stammered, face flushing before she practically leapt onto me, trying to cover my mouth with her hands.
"Ha-ha, come on, I'm just teasing you," I said between giggles as we half-wrestled in the snow.
"And they said they weren't lovers," Katie's voice rang suddenly from the side, startling us both into freezing.
"I know, right? Just look at them. All this screams lovers," Ann added, her grin sharp enough to cut.
"Huh?" Kayda and I turned in unison, our playful skirmish grinding to a halt. About forty meters away, Katie and her mother were watching us, each holding a small tub of food. Katie looked caught off guard, while Ann's smile was pure mischief.
"Oh, they heard us," Katie said, startled. She quickly handed her tub to Ann and grabbed the wheelchair handles, trying to retreat.
"Nope. You're not going anywhere," Kayda said, instantly appearing in front of them, blocking their path.
"Yeah, no. What is this?" I asked, popping up behind them. My eyes narrowed as I peered into the tub. "Is that supposed to be meatballs? Because it tastes more like deep-fried cabbage."
"Hey, don't take my food!" Katie shouted, leaping at me, only for her arms to pass straight through my body as I dissolved into red smoke.
Reappearing beside Kayda, I held the tub in my hands. "Kayda, was this what we would've gotten if we ordered those meatballs?"
Kayda shook her head quickly. "No. This is the healthy version. The restaurant also offers the delicious fatty versions. I really love them." Her eyes brightened at the mention, almost sparkling.
"Is that so? Oh, here you go. I won't eat your food anymore." I handed the tub back to Katie, who grabbed it protectively.
"You would've eaten it. But I already took a bite," she said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
"Yeah, so? I don't care," I said with a shrug.
"You-" Katie started to argue, but Kayda's sweet, drawn-out voice interrupted.
"Kitsu, what do you mean by that?" she teased, her tone dripping honey, sending a shiver crawling down my spine.
"Kayda, don't even think I care about something like someone else's saliva," I shot back, shaking my head with practiced calm.
"So..." Kayda's voice softened, almost sulky.
I deadpanned. "Are you a teenager on hormones? Indirect kissing isn't a thing."
"I am not," she argued quickly, but her eyes flicked away guiltily.
"Is that so? Then why did you make me take two bites of the candy apple I hated so much?" I grinned at the memory of her smug face back then.
Kayda's cheeks flushed pink. "That's... Wait. If you knew, would you still do it?"
"Hmm, guess you got me there." I smirked. "So you were after my saliva." Shrugging, I began walking away casually.
"No, no! Don't just dismiss my question like that!" Kayda hurried after me, her voice pitching into a whine.
"I'm not dismissing it, rawr." I tilted my head innocently.
"Yeah, you are. You didn't answer properly," she accused, glaring at me.
"...How many teddies do you have? I bet there's one named Cold, Fluffy, or maybe Snowy. Better yet... Kisses."
"Gah, Kisses? What a shitty name! I'd never torture my teddies with that gruesome name." Kayda froze mid-sentence, realizing too late what she'd admitted.
I smirked. "Oh, so you do have special names for all of them."
