If you don't want to eat it, just don't eat it. Why punish a cat over it?
Today's Reimu was actually pretty reasonable—she waited until Yimi woke up the next morning and was about to leave for school before grabbing her for a proper scolding.
A pair of cat ears drooped, wounded and innocent. Little hands tucked in front of her, chin tilted up at Reimu, making the shrine maiden feel like she was the one doing something wrong.
In the end, Reimu flicked Yimi's forehead, too annoyed to bother further. "Go to school. Next time you stew a mouse, I'm spanking you."
"Mm."
The little cat had been kind enough to worry about you going hungry, climbed up on the table and cooked you a meal, and you still had the nerve to complain.
Adjusting her shrine maiden hat and changing into her clothes, the little girl ran off to school waving her gohei. After wearing pants for so long, switching back to a skirt gave her a strange feeling of not being able to take full strides, but the outfit Marisa had given her came with Gensokyo's standard-issue safety shorts. No matter how much she bounced and ran, there was zero risk of flashing anyone.
The stares in the Human Village seemed more numerous today. Most of the content in the Bunbunmaru Newspaper wasn't particularly relevant to the humans here, but the recent report about Hakurei Reimu's alleged imminent demise and plans to pass her title to a youkai had stirred up quite the commotion.
"Hey, kid. Come here a sec."
Today, someone even called out to her.
Yimi trotted over and looked up at the man, puzzled.
He was getting on in years but still hale, a sturdy old fellow. His expression was complicated as he studied her, and he even reached out to flip up the brim of her hat.
"What are you doing?" Yimi clutched her hat and stepped back, on guard, opening her storage space with one hand ready to draw a weapon.
Back in the seafaring world, Auntie Xia had told her that any man who started getting handsy the moment he saw her was no good.
The old man crouched down and stared hard at her face. "She doesn't really look like her..."
He held that unreadable, complicated expression for a long while.
Finally, he produced a basket and handed it to Yimi. "Take this home with you."
"Meow?" Yimi took the basket, confused, and lifted the cloth draped over the top. Inside were the things Mokou had brought to Keine-sensei yesterday.
What a strange man.
She stowed the basket in her storage space and backed away slowly, keeping her eyes on him the whole time. The sight of the wary little girl treating him like a suspicious stranger drew amused looks from passersby.
At last, he hesitated, then said: "Don't tell Marisa I gave those to you."
With that, he retreated into a shop and picked up a copy of the morning paper—the one infamous for its unreliable rumors. The front page carried two photos: one of a girl walking hand-in-hand with a smaller girl dressed identically to herself, face turned away; another of the same child walking intimately with the Hakurei shrine maiden.
He let out a long sigh. In that moment, he seemed to age years.
Yimi looked up at the sign of the shop he'd returned to. Kirisame Shop.
No idea what they sold.
Yimi jogged the rest of the way to the temple school, where Mokou scooped her up by the collar at the gate. "Don't run so fast. It's not like there's a dog chasing you."
"What are you doing here?" The little cat looked up at her.
"Keine stepped out, so I'm watching the class for her." Mokou glanced back at the gaggle of chattering girls inside. "Can you lot settle down? Don't make me try out Keine's practice-makes-an-expert headbutt on you!"
She patted Yimi's head. "Go on in. Keine said you should all review what she taught yesterday."
"Review?"
"It means go over the stuff you learned yesterday." Mokou extended a finger, looking tremendously pleased with herself as she explained.
Every time she dealt with kids this young, it gave her the pleasant illusion of being a top student.
Yimi nodded, walked into the classroom, and reviewed: "Holy shit."
"Holy shit." Wriggle raised her hand in solidarity.
Mokou: "..."
They'd already been scolded for that yesterday. Surely Keine wouldn't rehash it today?
She hopped up onto the lectern desk. "Hey, brats. Was the road blocked when you came in this morning?"
"For a youkai like me, blocked roads aren't exactly a problem." Mystia ruffled the wings on her back proudly.
"Fair point. I figured the path on Youkai Trail might've gotten overgrown with grass." Mokou idly flipped through Keine's teaching materials, looking for something she could actually handle teaching.
She'd heard this morning that the area near Myouren Temple across the river from the village edge had been blanketed in some unidentified plant. There were even signs it was creeping across the river toward the Human Village. She'd gone to take a look and only found a meadow with a few cats lounging in it.
Probably just some seasonal growth spurt. Though the residents along the river swore the area had been completely bare when they went to do laundry yesterday. The sudden bloom inevitably called to mind a certain Flower Master's past incidents, but so far nothing seemed particularly abnormal.
Wriggle pointed at Mokou. "Can't you shoot fire? Just burn it all down."
"Sheesh! You little brats have zero safety awareness." Mokou snapped the textbook shut.
"Back when I used to fight that shut-in in the Bamboo Forest, I almost accidentally started a massive wildfire. You know what would've happened? Your precious forest would've been scorched bald."
"Who were you fighting?" Rumia asked, her focus entirely missing the point about fire safety.
"That Bamboo Cutter recluse... ugh, why am I even telling you this?"
"Why were you fighting?" Daiyousei looked at her with worried eyes.
"Why? Because everyone's got that one person who just pisses them off." Mokou folded her arms with a conflicted expression, and Keine's terrifying face flashed unbidden before her eyes.
She hastily corrected course: "That's bad behavior, by the way. Don't follow my example."
"If someone pisses you off, just take 'em out. You idiot." Cirno climbed onto a desk to look down on Mokou, then whipped out a Spell Card. "Like this!"
She flung it straight at Yimi.
The card warped and veered off course. The cat turned her head and jabbed a finger at Cirno, unamused. "Dumbass!"
"Ahem! Huh? What did you say?" Mokou choked on her own spit.
"Cirno, you can't fight in the classroom." Daiyousei tried to stop her.
"Who cares? That headbutt lady isn't even here... who's that?"
The ice fairy was lifted from behind. Whoever had grabbed her slowly rotated Cirno to face them.
Naturally, it was Keine-sensei, who had appeared behind her at some unknown point, wearing a smile that was anything but friendly.
Cirno thrashed in panic. "Let me go, you idiot!"
Thwack!
The headbutt landed square on her forehead—the very technique invented specifically for disciplining students.
Cirno slumped across the desk, temporarily out of commission.
Keine turned her gaze to Yimi. "What did Yimi just yell? Care to say it again?"
The little cat shrank her neck into her shoulders but answered honestly: "Dumb—mmph!"
Keine clamped her little mouth shut. Squeezed rather hard, too.
Her eyes glowed with menace as she slowly turned toward Mokou.
"?"
Mokou pointed at herself in horror. "It wasn't me this time!"
But the disbelief in Keine's eyes was unmistakable.
"Everyone go home early today. There might be a situation in the Human Village." Keine released Yimi's mouth and tapped her forehead. "Since it's your first offense, Sensei will let it slide. But that bad word—you're not allowed to say it again, understood?"
"Understood." Yimi rubbed her little mouth.
"Good girl. Go play."
Keine shooed the children out and shut the door.
"Keine? Keine! You gotta believe me!"
The commotion inside continued.
Yimi stomped her foot, then stared down at the path beneath her—what had been plain dirt just moments ago.
Cat grass. It hadn't been there when she walked in.