Disclaimer: Touhou belongs to Zun.
A/N: And now, lets get walking! On with the show!
Sunset, Bamboo Forest of the Lost:
Mystia, having had no idea how else to transport that meat, suggested we grab her cart. Plus, that would allow her to cook it far fresher, and a great deal easier to sell. Not as many people would buy a steak that wasn't hot, and they had to eat without a plate or utensils. Heck, a large portion of those willing to do such things were here with us! Only Rumia, Mystia, and Sanae were willing to eat in such a way, now that Gensokyo was a far more civilized place. To pass the time, we shared stories.
"One day I was rather hungry, and this human bastard wouldn't pay for his meal, saying 'You're a Youkai, what use is money to one such as you?' so I took his advice, and I cooked him up as payment. After that, I started selling him, after eating my fair share, of course. That had to be the most visitors I've ever had in a day! Heck, there was even this one creepy human that bought some of the guy. However, I found that doing this only chased off alot of my regular human customers for awhile, so I did the most difficult thing, ending my addiction to human meat. Even now, just thinking about the stuff has my stomach growling... I wonder, just what is it that makes humans so tasty...?" As we were walking along, Mytia had relayed a tale, one that somewhat worried me. If Rumia so easily almost took a bite from me, what about Mystia? Will she give into the craving for human flesh as well? ...it's kind of awkward to be considered eddible by my friends...
"Is that so~?" Rumia had a feeling that the story wasn't entirely true. She seriously doubted that the girl would give up human, just like that.
"Ahh, me next, me next! So, this one time I was going along, minding my own business, when suddenly this hornet Youkai came out! She challenged me for the role of queen of the insects, and we began to fight it out! She was realy tough looking, but ended up being a bit weak... In the end, she had gotten my eye with her stinger, while I had finished her off with my ultimate move, a Wriggle Kick! Boy was that messy, I hit her head... The thing popped like an egg!" Mystia glared at Wriggle for the comparison to an egg, which Wriggle simply ignored.
"A kick...?" I was shocked that such a simple thing could be considered an 'ultimate move,' as she had put it.
"Yeah! I even knocked out the Black-white with it, once! It was actually an accident, as she got in the way while I was landing, you see." My disbelief was to be expected, heck, everyone who heard about her kick was surprised at first. Other than Sanae, who simply accepted it as a good ultimate move. It was actually Sanae that named the move, saying that it sounded better than just calling it a kick.
Mystia knew the bamboo forest well, so we never once got lost within it. We had finally cleared the forest, on our way to pick up the meat from Cirno's house. Now that there was even ground, Aya was the one to pull the cart. She was not only the strongest among us, but could run at break neck speeds, while still doing it with grace. An ideal cart puller. She, in return for the work, was promised full scoop coverage from myself and Cirno. Always had to be a catch, didn't there.
With Aya pulling the cart, those who could fly, flew, while carrying myself and Cirno. We were next to weightless before to strength of Rumia and Mystia. ...Am I the only one that thinks that it's a bad idea to let the only two man-eaters of the group carry the only two humans of the group...? Regardless, I blushed at being carried bridal style by Rumia, who was grinning at me, while Cirno thought nothing of being slung over the shoulder of Mystia, like a sack of potatoes. Thankfully, at the new speed, we were at Cirno's house before we knew it. It took us about ten minutes to load up the cart with meat.
"And thats the last of it!" Shouted the cheerful Mystia while licking the blood from her fingers, before slinging Cirno over her shoulder once more. Once more I found myself in the strong arms of Rumia, carrying me as she did her best to keep up with Aya's cart pulling.
"You smell so tasty, you know?" Rumia grinned, while giving me the strangest compliment I had ever recieved.
"Uhh... Th-thank you...?" Rumia chuckled at my responce. Oddly, the compliment had made me forget that she had nearly taken a bite from me earlier, making the mood between us far less tense once more.
Before long we had arived at the steps of the Hakurei Shrine, the sun having had recently left the sky, making way for night. Aya would need help flying the cart over the steps, so myself and Cirno were left to make the trek up the steps alone. There had to be a good 200 steps, because we were exausted by the time we got to the top.
To greet us at the top of the steps was Mima, dressed as a Shrine Maiden. The look, as one would expect, suited her.
"Ahh, it's you two! Still human I see." Mima had a grin on her face, glad she wasn't the only one still stuck like this.
"H-hello... Mima...!" I did my best to respond, but I was a bit winded by the climb. You try and climb 200 steps at about age 8, because that was about how old our bodies looked. Going from fairy to human, we didn't grow at all. Probably for the best, going by Cirno's actual age, she would have turned into an old woman, or worse!
"Heh, you two need to exercise more!" Mima only earned a glare from the pair of children as a reward for the joke. Everyone in Gensokyo knew how to fly, save for the ordinary humans. Funny thing, really, as they are the only ones that Reimu actually wants to visit, yet the shrine is quite hard for them to reach.
We bid farewell to Mima, and began to make our way about the grounds. We were getting some odd looks from the Youkai, who wondered just how a pair of humans, let alone children, had made it to the shrine unharmed.
We spent awhile looking for our friends, but we were now being followed by a pair of the more savage, yet weak, Youkai that lived near the shrine. Youkai that enjoyed kidnapping, and eating, children. Before we knew it, we had been obducted by the strangers, a hand pressed against each of our mouths. Just as the Youkai were about to make off with us, they found themeselfs suddenly weightless, and no longer moving. Their actions hadn't gone without notice of the more heroic Youkai around the grounds. However, it wasn't one of them that helped us. It was one of the more cruel Youkai. The pair of lesser Youkai looked back to see just who had the guts to stop them from enjoying a meal, before their eyes widened. They were being held in place by no other than Kazami Yuuka, supposed pure evil sadistic monster who enjoyed the screams of children watching their parent be mashed into fertilizer. ...Yuuka had Aya to thank for that image, but she didn't mind it particularly. It was quite usefull in getting what she wanted, namely, the safe return of those girls. She was in our debt for saving her like that, even if Cirno never did return the Border of Dreams to her. Heck, it was probably in better hands with Cirno as the owner, honestly.
"G-ge-g-get your own meal...!" The Youkai, who had me in her possession, began to piddle herself. Even I could taste his fear, and that's saying something. Yuuka simply grined at her.
"Y-yeah! F-fuck off, you monster!" The other youkai, with Cirno in its grip, shouted. Yuuka's grin widened, and redirected the grin towards said youkai.
I could feel the Youkai who was holding me quake with fear, her knees were knocking together. The youkai who had Cirno tried to get away, ripping off her own shirt which she was being held by. Yuuka, being the nice girl that she is, grabbed her my the skin of her back.
"Ah, ah, ah. Who said you could take my little friend with you? Drop it. Drop. it." Yuuka talked to the girl like she was nothing but a misbehaving dog. It actually worked, and Cirno dropped to the soft ground.
"L-l-let me goooo...!" The obedient Youkai had her wish granted when Yuuka threw her directly towards a mountain. We couldn't hear it, but we all knew that the Youkai had gone 'crunch' against the mountain. Unlike with Aya, Yuuka had thrown the little miscreant with all of her strength.
"Good girl~!" Shouted Yuuka, towards the mountain. Obviously the Youkai couldn't hear her, but she found it funny.
The other Youkai dropped me, and was simply let go.
"And if I see you again, I'm feeding you to my flowers~!" Yuuka happily threatened the retreating Youkai.
"Now, lets get you two to your friends, shall we?" Yuuka simply smiled at us, in a far warmer way than she had towards the pair of Youkai. ...I'm really glad I'm on her good side...