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Mines, Level 61.
"Strange, why is the path leading down open?"
Takane Yamashiro was confused. Usually, she had to smash rocks to find the ladder. Today, the way was clear.
"Boss, have you been here before?"
Leo shook his head. He had just been following Nitori's instructions, mining ore like a mindless drone while Takane cleared the monsters ahead. It was a safe, pleasant experience (Nitori even peeled grapes for him).
"Boss, I caught a rat," Takane announced, walking back from the darkness.
She was pinning down a small figure in a black-and-white outfit.
"Let go of me!" the 'rat' squeaked. "Believe it or not, I'll call my escort and she'll kick you to death!"
Marisa Kirisame was carrying a large red sack filled with squirming slimes. Even captured, her arrogance was boundless.
"Marisa?" Nitori rushed over. "Let her go! Quickly!"
Takane might be a top-tier fighter, but Marisa had Reimu Hakurei on speed dial. A "Green Escort" like Takane couldn't beat the "Cheat Code Shrine Maiden."
"Hey kid," Marisa grinned, dusting herself off. "I was worried when I didn't see you, so I came down myself to catch slimes. Don't worry, I didn't touch your minerals."
She opened her sack. Inside were sand worms (sausage-sized), skeletons, a fire dinosaur skeleton, and a jar of bouncing coal spirits.
"Nice harvest," Leo nodded. Marisa was researching monster farming. "Where's Reimu?"
"Ha! She's too lazy to come down here unless there's money," Marisa laughed. "I was just bluffing."
She joined their party. There was still space in her bag for a few more specimens.
Gensokyo. Bamboo Forest of the Lost.
"Waka, are we really going?"
Kagerou Imaizumi (the Werewolf) carried a heavy bundle of pretty stones.
Yesterday, Waka had flopped all the way from the Misty Lake to Kagerou's house, declaring she had found paradise.
"Don't worry, Kagerou!" Waka beamed. "Mr. Leo promised me unlimited fish and a seaside house! I'll catch fish to support you!"
Waka carried Kagerou's bundle (dried bamboo shoots and mushrooms). Kagerou was a wolf youkai forced to be a vegetarian in the Bamboo Forest. Without Waka's occasional dried fish charity, she would have gone bald from malnutrition.
"Alright," Kagerou sighed. "I'll repay the favor. You just stay home and dry fish, okay?"
They stepped through the portal.
Stardew Valley. The Beach.
A boundless sea. Golden sand. A dilapidated (but sturdy) wooden cabin.
Kagerou's legs went weak at the sight of the vast ocean. Her fluffy tail tucked between her legs.
"Look, Kagerou! That's our house!"
Waka flopped toward the cabin, ecstatic. No fairies. No ice. Just freedom and fish.
"Wait! Don't run so fast!"
Kagerou hurried after her.
She inspected the cabin. Damp. A bit moldy. But fixable. She could gather driftwood for a fire to dry it out. She could make bamboo furniture.
"This will be our home from now on," Waka hugged Kagerou from behind. "No more starving. No more freezing. And most importantly... no more fairies."
"Waka~"
"Kagerou~"
They shared a tender moment.
"Eh? Someone moved in?"
Several small heads popped through the doorway.
Waka froze.
That voice...
"It's Big Waka and Big Doggy," a fairy noted, scribbling on a map. "Noted. Update the Adventurer's Map. Carry on."
The Little Fairies waved and ran off. They were on an official quest from the "Hero's Cabin" to map the valley.
Waka stood there, petrified.
Why?! Why are they here?!
(Author's Note: Imai no Sayaka is Kagerou Imaizumi. Waka is Wakasagihime. but the dynamic remains: Fish & Wolf Best Friends.)