Summertime Celebrations ; event ; Kuro

The Bakeneko seemed to wander around almost aimlessly. Such was the impression she most likely gave to those who would actually noticed the smaller cloak figure slowly approach a town. But in reality, there was always a goal to the things that Kurome did. Even if it was a simple one like right now, a mere reconnaissance. After learning what she had to do in order to bring her sister back, the feline was going from town to town in search of potential targets to obtain the required spiritual energy from. Hosenka was one of the few places she had yet to visit at all.

And so the rather unusual architecture for this nation welcomed her, along with the feeling that something strange was going on in this place. Trying to move as far away from the crowded streets, she would remain hidden by the expensive looking black fabric and hoodie, only those crimson eyes of hers peering out to observe the things that were going on around her. Normally she just walked around and observed individuals that stood out to her, judging whether they would be of use to her or not by their outward appearance and the way the acted.

But this time, something else was stealing away her attraction. “An event..?” Whispering to herself, the girl quickly realized that she somewhat recognized this setup. People hurriedly moving about, setting stands up, catering to small structures that were hidden beneath sheets of fabric so that their wonder would not be spoiled prematurely. She heard not of this event, as she did only the most basic research about this place prior to coming here. A flashy place that was famous for spas that many couples and singles alike visited all year round. But if it really was such a tourist hot spot, then it made sense for them to hold events like this.

In the end, however, the girl was not here for something of that nature. And she felt that participating in silly human parades would only be a waste of her precious time. Shaking her head and pulling the hoodie a bit more into her face, she decided to march on, uncaring of the preparations going on around her. Though such a thing was easier said than done, as another sheet-covered structure quickly caught her attention while she walked, making her not quite pay attention as to where she was going.

With just that much, her body came to a rather sudden stop as she collided with something. Or rather, with someone. Given her small frame and fragile nature, it was obvious that she would be on the losing side of that conflict, having to accept that her body stumbled backward and fell to the ground without giving her an option to save face. “Ugh..!” Thankfully her bottom didn’t hit the stone flooring too hard. But the hoodie did manage to slip backward during the fall, revealing her raven-black hair and above all, cat ears and peering crimson red eyes.

Looking up as she rubbed her backside, it seemed that the person who she bumped into was quite unlike the regular Joe you could see in the crowd. Long white hair, somewhat fancy attire and sipping some… milk tea, it looked like? Somehow, Kuro was slightly entranced by the appearance, perhaps because this stranger’s color theme reminded her just a tiny bit of her own sister that she was trying to save, no matter what. Though the stare probably invoked much more of an awkward situation than if she were to simply get up and brush the accident off like it never even happened.

It was quite ironic. Kurome always thought about how clumsy humans were, their bodies often inflexible and quick to start hurting if one were to strain them too much. And yet, here she was on the ground, being the one who stopped being attention and thus became actually the clumsy one. Something that flustered her a bit, even. But alas, she accepted the hand and tried to grasp it as firmly as her own flesh would allow her, quickly getting up from the dirty ground. “It’s… nothing.” The cat would reply as she looked over her coat.

The high-quality black fabric now bore awfully obvious dirt and dust on it, prompting the lass to do her best and brush it all off with her bare hands while there was seemingly a moment of silence before the other girl would speak up again. The voice actually made Kurome turn toward her rather quickly, those feline ears of hers twitching and seemingly directing themselves toward her as well in the process. It a surprise that she was still standing there and trying to make a conversation instead of just moving on like most people in this place probably would.

“Not particularly. What… even is this ‘festival?’” She had to admit that she had little idea and learning about the local customs would probably make it easier for her to move about, which was always a bonus. But even more unexpectedly, the strange girl decided to introduce herself. Fair, what an amusing name it was. “You may call me Kurome.” Trying to keep her introduction as short as possible, the cat girl would finally brush off the last bit of filth from her coat and sigh. Hand already on the hoodie and ready to pull it over her head, she suddenly stopped.

Did the other girl just ask her to join her for the festival? As if hoping to hear it again in case she misunderstood, her cat ears would once again twitch and try to lean forward a bit, as much as they could anyway. “Do you… normally ask strangers to go with you?” She didn’t sense any malice from Fair, so it couldn’t have been that she was some sort of a kidnapper or something. Not that it would matter, Kuro was more than capable of handling herself. But there was something… “Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to get to know this place better by going with someone else.”

Kuro could not help it but raise an eyebrow. She didn’t know what this festival was about either? And she wasn’t from around here either… suddenly the feline realized that her justification of joining someone who knew more about this place to make her exploration easier quickly fell apart. It lead to a mild sigh, but now was much too late to just say she wasn’t interested and go on her merry way. Especially looking at Fair and how gleefully she acted, having a teenager with hurt feelings on her hands was about the last thing Kurome wanted.

Although with her name being so… toyed with, one of the feline’s eyes might have twitched ever so slightly. Closing her eyes and calming herself internally, she simply accepted the fact that she is in the middle of a human settlement and currently following a human partner. She had to expect things like this. “Call me whatever you wish.” That way it would be the simplest. Even if Kuku didn’t sound like her name at all when Kurome recited it in her head. And before she was even able to properly process it all, she was already being metaphorically dragged around by the white-haired lass.

Following without a word, she stopped at the stall and looked the attraction over with a questioning gaze. “What is…” Before she could finish asking, it seemed that Fair was determined to go first and win the game. Though the moment she submerged her head into the bucket of ice-cold water, a bit of the liquid splashed out and managed to wet the black coat right after it was so diligently cleaned again. With a sigh, the feline finally decided to remove it completely. There was little point in it if she was running around amidst all the people anyway.

Beneath it she wore a surprisingly fancy and complex attire which was revealed to the fullest. And along with it, a cat tail that swayed from side to side behind her back. Given how naturally it was moving, along with her ears, there was absolutely no way anyone could confidently say that those were actually fake. Regardless, once Fair managed to fish out her apple and urged Kuro to take her turn, the petite girl would simply squat down next to the bucket and submerge one finger in the water.

“Why would I willingly expose my face to cold water like this? I fail to see…” Somehow the look of both Fair and the stall owner exerted an oddly high amount of pressure on her. With a few sweat drops on her forehead, she would just shake her head, swallow her pride and quickly submerge herself as well. Though to her advantage, the precision and reflexes of a cat, along with pointy and much sharper teeth, she was able to get one of the apples out on her first try. Grabbing it from her mouth with one hand, she quickly shook like a cat after bath and shivered.

“So… cold…” Her skin was normally quite pale, but her face alone now seemed to be pretty red after such a sudden temperature shift. Quickly handing the apple to her companion and grabbing the black coat in her arm so she wouldn’t lose it, she was determined to leave such a vile bucket of terror behind. “Let us move on to another attraction already, shall we?!” It was pretty clear that she did not enjoy the cold water at all, especially having to put her face into it so suddenly.

Kuro’s luck was not all bad today, as the warm weather of the day quickly dried her off even in these later hours of the day. She had also noticed Fair, partly because she confirm where her gaze was fixated by moving the fluffy tail in a specific direction while observing the white-haired girl. It was obvious that she considered non-humans unusual from that alone, but once again, there was no hostility. Rather, she appeared more like a curious child that wanted to indulge its natural desire to learn.

Regardless, she followed to the ring toss. At the very least this game appeared to be much more sensible than trying to fish out an apple from cold water with nothing but your teeth. Although… after Fair decided to spend her jewels on a few of the rounds, the feline quickly started suspecting something. Squatting down next to her companion, she fixated her gaze at the bottle laced with a golden color. To someone like her, it did not take long to figure out. There was an enchantment placed on it. A repulsive field. Rather simple magic, but that was what made it so easy to conceal in most cases.

Not quite from someone like Kurome, however, as she was rather adept in utilizing magical energy directly as a summoner and puppeteer. Placing her hand on the ground, she did something rather sneaky. Ensuring that no one was observing her, including Fair, she had disabled the enchantment by bringing forth a… ‘part’ of one of her servants. A hand beneath the ground and tampered with the rune that was hiding at the buried bottom of the bottle, an easily predictable placement. The moment the repulsion field no longer worked how it was supposed to, the feline would get back up and nod to her companion, accepting the offer to try as well.

Taking the ring into her hand and assuming a good position to toss it, she suddenly froze. This entire thing… felt familiar. A very brief image flashed in front of her as she remembered… herself, holding a rusted horseshoe and throwing it at a half-buried wooden stick along with her sister, parents watching from afar and smiling. How long ago was that now… a full decade? She quickly shook her head and threw the ring, her feline senses once again aiding her to perfectly score the golden bottle without any effort.

Suffice the say, the staff owner stared in disbelief, his eyes alternating between the bottle and the two girls. “We have scored perfect. The prize, please.” With sweat pouring down his face, he obviously did not want to cause a scene and especially not reveal his own enchantment by calling it out and asking what they did to bypass it. So he simply grabbed something from behind the stall and brought it over obediently. A sizable black cat plushy with golden eyes. “How apropos… you can have it, Fair.” Quickly giving it over, Kurome had little interest in toys herself. But the one who was staring at her cat features might have felt differently.

The question was natural. How did she do it? It was an easy explanation but one Kuro knew she could not give. There was a good reason why she planned to walk around the town shrouded in a black hood so that no one could recognize her. While her infamy did not yet spread, she was not exactly the most… heroic of people. A necromancer who did not care about others, willing to kill innocent people if it were to further her goals in any meaningful way. To humans, she could very well be the very definition of evil.

So naturally, she could not just disclose that to Fair. There was a very good chance it would land Kurome in more trouble than she would ever ask for. Thankfully the question was postponed as the other girl received her stuffed prize and decided to show gratitude by embracing the feline. Or rather, actually squeezing it. Which resulted in a “Ugh..!” as the girl did not expect something like this and, well… her body generally did not deal well with physical assault. It was not a gesture actually meant to cause her harm, so she was fine in the end… but she certainly felt for a moment like she could be properly crushed alive in such a situation.

And not just that, she felt like a plushy toy herself, being somewhat dragged along by Fair who was rather enthusiastic about the whole situation. When she insisted on hearing about how she managed to win them the game, the cat would merely shrug and say: “Cats have their own ways of dealing with problems.” Hopefully that was enough for her companion, as she would truly not dare disclose what really happened. Especially since there was clearly still more Fair wanted to see and do.

But before that, yet another giant bucket with water. Or maybe it would be more appropriate to say that this was an actual pool with some kind of jester that decided to insult the young white-haired lass. It made Kuro quite surprised, as she was obviously the easier target for some racially-charged comments. Not that she would give them much attention in a place like this, but Fair clearly wanted a bit of revenge, in a good spirit. The cat followed, taking hold of the plushy when told so and staring at the whole ordeal with a rather neutral expression.

One that slightly changed when the girl managed to effortlessly win and send the man into his own bath. Those crimson eyes of hers easily saw exactly what happened. So when she handed the plushy over and the two walked side by side again, she tried to make it into a casual comment that would hopefully give her more information. “Miss Fair, would you happen to be a mage?” Doing her best to come across as a curious cat that knew nothing about magic herself. Hopefully she would get some sort of an answer before they would arrive at another game that would stop them for a bit.

It appeared that fair was truly into this whole situation. Not that long ago, the two of them were complete strangers that did not even know of the other one’s existence. But now? Kurome was invited for some food after they were done with the attractions of this unexpected event. How did things even get to this point? No matter how many times she asked herself that, she could not arrive at a sensible answer. After all, she was supposed to be a yōkai necromancer, being shunned by society! And yet, someone here was trying to make friends with her now.

Perhaps it was simply because Fair didn’t know. If she did, then surely things would be very different right now. But as it was right now, Kurome could not help herself but be reminded of her life before everything went downhill. All those years ago, she did have some human friends… didn’t she? Perhaps it was alright to forget the hardships of life for at least one night and enjoy this to the fullest. Which was why when Fair asked back whether Kuro was a mage, she merely shook her head. “No, not really.” Because if she revealed anything, this conversation would surely abruptly end.

Under any other circumstances, she would have surely broken off from the other girl and left for the dark allies that this town offered. But instead, she just obediently followed to yet another game that Fair wished to try. One that was meant to test physical strength. Just by looking at it, Kuro was quite sure that she would probably not even be able to properly lift the hammer, much less swing it at the plate and put enough force behind it for the result to even register. Something that was confirmed when even someone who appeared quite physically stronger, Fair, could not get the result that high.

Though the feline had to admit that there was something strangely mesmerizing about watching another individual do their best at something, even if she did fail in the end. At the very least it was an admitted defeat rather than having to stand around for hours with no end in sight. “Very well. I suppose my stomach feels a tad empty as well.” Looking around and sniffing the air, it didn’t take long to find what the girl wanted, either. Taking off, she almost didn’t even care if Fair followed or not.

That was because there appeared to be one very specific stand that she planned to buy from. With a giant sigh of a fish at the top, it became quickly obvious why. “I shall take two portions of the fried fish, old man. Make it quick.” Before anyone even noticed, Kurom was already standing right in front of it and demanding the one single item that was on the menu, clearly not a very versatile stand. But one to the liking of a cat, clearly. Even her attitude seemed to be accepted as the bald man merely laughed and told her to not be so eager and that her order will be completed shortly.

And since she had to wait now regardless of what she would do next, the girl finally turned around to see if her companion was still there or if they happened to get separated in her rush to the only store that smelled of fried fish for miles on. She didn’t even know what Fair’s tastes were like, so she also considered the possibility that instead of behind her, she would find the younger girl at one of the other stands.

When Kurome turned around to see Fair who was talking about how she now knew why the feline bolted it to the fish stand, she could only raise one of her eyebrows in a questioning manner. Naturally she just selected the best stand of them all and decided to go to it to satisfy their hunger much like Fair herself suggested, what was there to not understand. Regardless, she just shrugged when her white-haired companion decided to go and order from clearly inferior stalls that were around, luring costumers into buying whatever nonsense they were selling. She herself would enjoy the supreme meal that was the fried fish.

Seating herself at the table, she did not hesitate and bit into one of the fish, feeling the crispy, yet tender texture. It was quite heavenly, she would say. The explosion of flavors, all pleasuring her taste buts in a never-ending onslaught of greatness, that was truly the best dish that this place could offer. Even before Fair got back to the girl, one of the two pieces she ordered was completely gone, leaving in its place merely a plate of bones that were once inside of the fried fish, though the flesh long since rested inside of the feline’s stomach.

Just as she was about to bite down on the other one as well, she was stopped by her companion and an offer of… whatever it was that she had bought herself. “Are you certain that the human body can even fit that much..?” Indeed, the quantity of the food she ordered was the first thing to question, even if she intended to share some with Kuro from the start. Though not that much appeared very appetizing to the black cat, she took hold of one of the french fries and carefully bit into it.

It took her a moment to process the taste before looking up at Fair with somewhat questioning gaze. “Are these… some strange potatoes?” Now was perhaps the strange reveal that the girl actually didn’t even know what half of the things her companion bought were. Living in isolation for the greater part of her life, she had never even seen, much less tasted, french fries until this very moment. The same went for a lot of things that people living in the modern world recognized as perfectly normal. Though at least she was perfectly aware of what the seafood was.

Regardless, she decided to enjoy her second fried fish above all else, it was the only food she needed to reach happiness. Even if that happiness was a strange one… it’s been probably years since the girl shared a dining table with someone else. It made her tail sway from side to side as the positive emotion spread through her body. Although there was some cold tinge to it at the end. “Seems that there are no more games after this.” They tried pretty much everything of worth here. Did that mean the end of their outing?