"And we have arrived," Kayda announced with a little jump, landing in front of us with her arms thrown into the air like a child finally arriving at the candy shop she'd been begging her parents to take her to. Her yukata sleeves fluttered in the breeze, and the motion of her landing kicked up a light spray of powdery snow from the shoveled walkway. The cold air made her laugh sound sharper, brighter, as it carried through the winter air.
I sighed, rubbing at my temple. "Sigh, your yukata is going to get loose, Kayda, rawr." The way she moved around so carelessly in that festival attire was a disaster waiting to happen.
However, as I looked past her, I couldn't deny that the scene in front of us was impressive. A bustling festival ground had transformed the wide open space where we had fought devils just a week ago. Hundreds of stalls were lined up neatly on both sides of the paths, lanterns strung above them in long chains that swayed with the evening breeze. Food scents—sweet, salty, spiced—drifted across the air, mixing with the faint smell of burning wood from the braziers people gathered around to warm themselves.
And there, in the center of it all, still burning as though it had been set aflame only moments ago, was a giant rose wreathed in golden fire. My "masterpiece," as Ann had sarcastically called it. The flames licked upward endlessly, illuminating the snow around it in a brilliant amber glow. A landmark of destruction turned into art. People had even set up benches around it, treating it like a monument.
Oh, and of course, snow. Everywhere. Thick white blankets layered the rooftops and the tops of stalls, piled on corners and rooftops, clinging to branches, thirty centimeters deep in places that hadn't been cleared. At least the main walkways of the festival had been properly shoveled before people started arriving. The packed paths were clean and crunchy underfoot, a thin layer of frost still sparkling faintly with each step.
Kayda turned her head back toward me, her lips curling into a smirk. "Oh right, you don't want me to undo it, isn't that right, Kitsu~?" she teased, lowering her voice into that sultry, playful tone that always caught me off guard. Her gaze narrowed in a seductive manner.
'That's not it,' I thought, flustered, heat rising up the back of my neck.
"Hey, hey, we have kids here," Ann interjected from beside me, sounding exasperated, though there was an unmistakable note of amusement in her tone.
"Y-Yeah, Kayda, how can you—" My stutter broke midway when I noticed Katie herself staring wide-eyed at Kayda, her jaw slightly slack. "Hey! Why the fuck are you giving Kayda that look?"
Katie snapped upright like I had just doused her with cold water. "Cough, sorry, her smile just surprised me," she said quickly, trying to explain herself before I could snap further.
"Tch. You, come here!" I growled, entirely ignoring Katie. Marching forward, I reached out and grabbed Kayda—not by the hand, but by her wing, tugging her away without ceremony. My irritation didn't leave much room for subtlety. I dragged Kayda into the crowd, leaving Ann and Katie behind.
"Hey, don't just grab my wing like that—" Kayda began, but her voice trailed off, shrinking when she caught sight of my expression.
Her chest tightened. 'She really is seriously pissed right now,' she thought, a flicker of shame passing over her features.
When I finally stopped, the press of festival-goers around us drowned out the sight of the others. Lanternlight painted the snow in amber, the glow bouncing across Kayda's face.
"Now that we're alone, we can enjoy ourselves better," I said flatly, releasing her wing. The words sounded colder than I had intended, but they were honest.
However, inside my head, I felt far from calm. Fucking bastard dumb demoness, she isn't available—I cut the thought off before it spiraled. I could already feel the rabbit hole forming, one that would end in disaster.
"Kitsu, I'm sorry," Kayda murmured, head lowered, her voice trembling with genuine shame.
I didn't respond immediately. My chest ached, conflicted between irritation and something warmer. Instead of words, I simply reached for her hand and intertwined our fingers.
"Eh!" Kayda gasped, eyes widening. She stared down at our hands, then up at me, then back down again, as though her brain was failing to catch up to reality.
'Oh god, please don't let me die of a heart attack,' I thought, my pulse racing far too fast, almost painfully so. The heat in my chest and ears became unbearable, forcing me to reinforce the illusion wrapped around my body. No one could see me blushing like this.
"Come on. If we don't start now, we won't be able to visit every stall. I'm also quite hungry, rawr~." My tone was carefully even, emotionless, my illusion helping to portray the mask I couldn't maintain on my own.
Kayda didn't reply with words. Instead, she giggled, soft at first, then bubbling out like the sound of water over stones. It was pure, joyful, and childlike, and it made my heart stumble even more.
"Sigh, at least we got a giant budget for today, rawr," I muttered, trying to ignore her laughter.
"Okay, so what do you want to eat first?" she asked, tilting her head with a bright smile, the lantern light dancing in her eyes.
I shrugged. "Don't know. You've been to this kind of thing before. Festival food, I guess, rawr?"
Her smile widened. "Okay, so candy apples."
I grimaced immediately, my face twisting in disgust. "That sounds like it's going to be too sweet for me."
"Oh, come on, just try it," Kayda insisted, already tugging me forward by the hand.
"Tch. "Fine, I'll try it," I grumbled, feeling defeated before I even had a chance to argue.
"Yay! Let's go before they're sold out," Kayda said cheerfully, her pace quickening.
There's no way they'll be sold out already. 'The festival just started,' I thought sourly.
[5 minutes later]
"There are only three left, huh?" I said flatly, staring at the nearly empty tray in front of the stall. Three lonely candy apples glistened under the lamplight, bright red shells catching every flicker of flame. My gaze shifted upward, locking on the stall owner, who was smiling at me with an expression far too smug for someone selling sugar-coated fruit.
"Two or just one candy apple?" the stall owner asked, his grin widening as his eyes flicked down at Kayda's and my still-interlocked hands.
"Two, please," I said curtly, raising two fingers with my free hand.
"Coming right up." The man dipped the apples into the bubbling pot of liquid sugar, the sweet scent thickening in the air as he coated them carefully.
"Tch. What a shame," Kayda mumbled under her breath.
'Tch, my ass, you weirdo,' I thought, rolling my eyes at her soft pout.
"That'll be one silver each," the stall owner said, holding out the finished apples with one hand and extending the other expectantly.
"One? You've got to be kidding me. It can't be that much," I snapped, narrowing my eyes at him.
"Come on, lady. My stock's almost out anyway. Be a gal and sponsor this old man," he said, his voice syrupy, his grin plastered firmly in place.
"But you're robbing us, rawr," I muttered.
"Are you going to take it or not?" His eyes hardened slightly when he realized I wasn't going to fall for his pity play.
"Yeah. One silver for both, at most, rawr," I shot back.
"Kitsu," Kayda whispered, her tone pleading as she looked at me with those eyes that made my chest ache.
"Tch. Fine," I muttered reluctantly, slapping two silvers into his hand and snatching the apples away.
"Thank you for the business," the stall owner said cheerfully, waving us off—though not before pulling a lever hidden at the side of his stall. In an instant, the lone apple on the tray was replaced with a full table piled high with fresh ones.
"Huh. Nice trick, rawr," I said dryly, unimpressed.
"Yeah, I know, right?" the man chuckled to himself.
"Whatever. Good luck with your business, rawr," I said, waving my hand absently—the same hand still holding Kayda's.
"Kitsu?" Kayda mumbled, noticing how my grip had gone cold enough to make her hand tingle with numbness.
"Hmm? Come on, say goodbye to him too, rawr," I said, smiling thinly.
"You better share yours later," she muttered, waving politely to the stall owner.
I blinked. "Umm, what?"
Before I could get clarification, Kayda tugged me along again, changing the subject. "Why did you freeze the apples?" she asked, taking a delicate bite out of hers.
"Because he's an asshole," I said simply, glaring at my apple.
"But then why did you gesture to me to defrost it?" she asked, head tilting again.
Apples spoil quickly when they are frozen and then reheated. There might even be worms hatching inside right now," I explained with a wicked grin.
Kayda froze mid-bite, her face twisting in disgust. "There's no way it happens that fast."
"No, it'll take a few hours before the inside turns mushy. But even now, it'll already taste like shit."
"It will?"
"Yeah. You've never tasted an apple that was pulled straight from the freezer and then baked in just seconds, right? My grin widened.
"Ugh, don't even go on with that," she groaned, nearly gagging at the thought.
"Now you get it, rawr," I laughed.
"But... what about the customers after us?" she asked, worry flickering in her eyes.
"Hmm. Technically, we just wasted their money, but it's not our problem. They will not become ill; they will only be unpleasantly surprised.
"You're sure they won't get sick?"
"Positive. At worst, they vomit from the taste. The sugar might cover it anyway."
Kayda looked down at her apple, then back at me. "...I see."
"Yeah. Anyway, how is it, rawr?" I asked, nodding at her half-eaten treat.
"I've had better. But it's not bad," she admitted.
"I see, rawr," I muttered, finally bringing mine to my mouth.
Crunch.
The sweetness hit instantly, cloying and sticky. My eyes squeezed shut. "Mhmm. "It's too sweet," I complained, scrunching my face.
Kayda burst into laughter. "Pffft—hahaha! Your face!"
"Bleh. "I knew it would be too sweet," I said, sticking my tongue out dramatically while adding a playful growl.
"Hahaha—cough, cough—so you're not going to finish it?"
"Nope. Here, you take it," I said, shoving the apple toward her.
"Hmm. Just one more bite from the other side, then I'll take it. And it has to be the same size as your first one," she said, pointing at the untouched half.
'Is she after an indirect kiss, rawr?' My cheeks flamed, but the illusion held.
"Sigh. How troublesome. Crunch." I complied anyway, taking another oversized bite from the opposite side.
"Mmmmm. "Mmmmm, this is even sweeter than before," I groaned, with my eyes squeezed shut again.
"Haha! Your reactions are adorable," she teased, her tone dripping with smugness.
"Don't be so mean, Kayda, rawr," I whined, pouting.
"Hehe, sorry. I'm just teasing."
"Sigh. You're going to be the death of me."
Kayda only laughed again. "Well, now that we've had our candy apples... let's move on to meatballs with sauce!" she said brightly, tugging me toward another stall.
"Ah, finally, something meaty," I sighed in relief.
"And thereafter, cream crêpes," she added cheerfully.
"...I talk too much," I muttered, expressing mock despair as my face fell.