"Meowww!"
Across the vibrant waving grass and below the gentle shadow of an old tree, the thin body of young girl stretches taut. She has her upper torso flat on the ground with her arms extended forward, while her butt hangs in the air on her fully risen legs.
"Mhm! Nothing better than an afternoon stretch!"
Kirara allows her bottom part to fall limb as she turns, cushioning her head with her hands and loosely crossing her legs.
Shimmering light seeped through an umbrella of leaves and glimmering crystalflies danced in the air.
"Hmm…"
Kirara takes a glance at the small package next to her, her eyelids hiding a portion of her bright, green eyes with concern.
"A customer that I've never met before, huh…"
She snaps her eyes closed and shakes her head, her cat-ear-like ribbon wobbles slightly as she does.
"Neow!"
She grabs the carboard rectangle and jumps to her paws swiftly.
"You've talked to numerous humans before! This is nothing new!"
She holds the package up in the direction of the clear, blue sky and speaks faintly to herself as she eyes it.
"Just act like that oni…"
Lowering the package with her left hand, she uses her right hand to mimic the gesture of combing her hair, smirking nervously.
"T-That's right, I am the… the one and only nekomata, m-mistress yokai, and gold level courier K-Kirara! At your service!"
She freezes in her posture as her face slowly turns red. She hides her face behind the package in her hand as she looks down. She shivers.
"Gugh, a wave of cringe just washed over me. How does that oni do it…"
Beyond the statue of a winged god, Kirara gazes at the distant windmills surrounded by countless red pitched roofs that pop slightly over the city walls. With wind billowing her hair, Kirara takes a ready pose, leaning forward as she puts the small package in her mouth.
"Too bad noon stretches are over…"
She then jumps forward and in a flash, her body morphs into that of a black cat. Her two tails swing with the motion of her fast running.
…
As the bridge of Mondstadt comes into view, Kirara thinks to herself.
"(Maybe I should turn back… I seriously don't want people to think I stole someone's package.)"
She hops in the air and flips forward as she morphs back into the shape of a girl, her blonde streaks of hair and ensemble of fabric fluttering in the wind. She smoothly lands on her paw pads, her now-damp package in her hand. She takes a second to notice the the gloomy clouds and change in wind speed as her hair partially swooshes over her face.
"(The wind's picking up…)"
She flicks her head and fixes her hair behind her before walking forward, crossing the bridge to the city.
Kirara excitedly looks into the view behind the gate, up at the big walls, and at the lanterns alongside the bridge road.
"(Mew! Mew! Mew! I love how cozy everything looks in Mondstadt!)"
She notices a collection of pigeons in front of her and falls in a instinctive daze, her eyes widening as she readies herself to pounce on the feathered snacks. But she pauses herself before jumping.
"(Now hold… First, deliver the package, then the snacks.)"
She takes a breath and passes the pigeons as they mind their business. As she walks through the gate, she is met by a welcoming mood. Shop keepers voicing their discounts, children playing their games, and people walking their walks. The chorus of bustling and rustling rang with the whistle of the howling wind within.
Completely and utterly distracted, Kirara's walks and spins around with glimmering eyes she observes everything around her.
Walking up a set of stairs, the noises of panics reveal themselves. A scream echoes in the distance.
"The blades are out of control!"
Kirara snaps her neck at one of the windmills to her rights. It's blades are spinning with extreme speed and it's base is wonky.
"Clear the way!"
One man screamed as the others ran way from the danger zone.
"(Gotta hide too!)"
Kirara quickly takes cover behind a building, her heart drumming with an anxious rhythm. Her senses grow sharper as her adrenaline levels rise. The people run with terror in their eye as Kirara watched. But suddenly, her ear twitch. She hears a sound near the windmill and peaks around the corner.
"(Oh, no…)"
Right before the imposing structure with deadly spinning blades, a child is on his knees. He weeps in his helpless position, his body unable to respond to the overwhelming situation.
Time seems to stop as the sound of wood snapping creaks through the air. The blades are loose, flying at a high speed and drawing a straight line in the direction of the child.
Instinctively, Kirara jumps on four legs and zips ahead, keeping her human shape intact. Her pupils sharpen into a thin line as her fangs pup out.
The fan assembly flies to the child's head, two of its blades surrounding it mid-rotation. One more turn, and it cuts his head clean. But just as it was about to, Kirara grabs him from the back, tightly grasping his small figure. She clings to him as a green shade surrounds the pair. It explodes to shape an indestructible bubble that collides with the blades, shattering them into a hundreds of pieces.
They spin in the bubble until it shatters automatically and they slam onto a wall. The two fall limb as the situation calms down.
Slowly, clouds dissipate and the wind relaxes. People murmur as the remaining shards of the once-flying fan roll on the ground fall limb too.
Kirara, leaning upside-down against the walls, falls to her side as she grabs a hold of her head.
"Meowww… My head is spinning…"
The child readjusts himself to see the one who saved him. He rubs his eyes to try cleaning the fog in his vision as the blurry image of a messy-haired, green-eyed, fang-toothed, cat-like face in front of him. His jaw falls as he voices his words in awe.
"Kitten…"
Kirara shrieks.
"K-k-what!? No! I'm a nekomata! Do you hear me? Nekomata!"
But the kid seems unable to sense anything but look at Kirara's face. She extends a bruised hand to hold his chin, turning it to check for any major injuries. She looks to what he's wearing, a fancy, beige suit with a tiny bow-tie.
("Do all kids these days wear fancy suits, or is it just this kid?")
She checks a bit more. With only some light scratches, he seems fine. She exhales in relief then pulls her other hand to view only to—
"(Ah!)"
—realize the package she was meant to deliver is completely crushed.
"(Neow! What have I done!? The owner will be so mad, and my clean record will now be tainted!)"
Whimpering in silence as she mourns the loss of her precious package that she now can't deliver to its owner, the child next to her takes an interest in it. He grabs it out of her hand with no resistance and attempts to read the torn label written behind it. The incomplete name 'Henry L-' is written on it.
Surprised to see the name, he unwraps it and checks it content: a white hat with a small visor and a curved top. He holds it up to his chest with a grin on his face.
"Thanks for delivering my package, kitten!"
Creasing her eyebrows slightly from being called a kitten once again, she turns her head only to realize what she had just heard.
"Wait…"
Her eyes open up as her feline features morph back into normal.
"It's your package?!"
Kirara's eyes the dusty, white cap in his hands. It's slightly torn from the back.
"I… I'm sorry I delivered the package in this state… The company will issue a new replacement for you—"
"No!"
She slightly is jumped from the unexpected reaction. With a hole in the array of his teeth and his golden eyes, Kirara can easily read the determination on his pouting face.
"The package I got… is perfect!"
A second after hearing that, Kirara chuckles lightly.
"Ahaha, a happy customer is a happy customer!"
She jumps up to her paws, extending one arm away and the other up to her face in a dramatic fashion.
"Remember me, kiddo! For I am the one and only nekomata—
She grins as the edges of her lips curve upwards.
"—mistress yokai, and gold level courier—"
Kirara's face blushes slightly as she raises her voice for the finally.
"Kirara! At your service!"
The child jumps to his feet and claps enthusiastically, cracking giggles of joy.
"Ahahahaha! Cute kitten!"
Kirara's pose beaks as her head falls in disappointment.
"Gugh!"
At this point, a crowed of people is watching the two. A woman from the crowed runs towards the kid.
"Oh my archon, Henry!"
She grabs him and turns him to check every corner of his body.
"Are you okay? Injured? Broke a bone? Head intact? Hungry? Thirsty?"
After realizing that he's totally fine, she pulls him for a hug, looking over to Kirara.
"Thank you."
Kirara nods as the woman continues.
"Is there any way we can compensate you back with? Anything."
Kirara walks a way with a mischievous smile on her face.
"Weeell… you can leave a five star review."
She continues to walk away, walking down some stairs and stopping only when half of her body was visible. She turns to the two and waves.
"Oh yeah, and you can prepare some fish snacks for me when I'm delivering a package next time!"
The mother and her child chuckle as they wave back. The mother speaks with contentment.
"We will."
Kirara moves way from the view of the child and he breaks free from his mother's grasp, runing to get a last glance at Kirara. He reaches the top of the stairs and looks down. But she had already disappeared before he can see her one last time.
"Aw…"
…