[x] Human Village

"You have some business in the village?"

"Not really, no. But I just felt like passing by since it's on the way back."

"Hmm," said Meiling. "Are you sure that it's alright for you to miss breakfast? Mistress might get upset..."

"Don't worry about it. In the worst case, we'll just say that I had you accompany me on one of my little adventures."

Meiling stopped in mid-air and turned to me.

"B-but that's too reckless!"

"Not as reckless as an 'ordinary' human wandering around the Bamboo Forest alone."

Mokou hovered only a few feet away, with her hands in her pockets and her eyes to the sky. Despite that, she did seem to be interested in our conversation. Meiling tightened her grip on my hand and gave me a worried look. We were still synchronized, so that wasn't because I might fall. Clearly, she was more concerned about last night. I just shook my head and smiled at the gate guard.

"Just a slight lapse in good judgment."

"That's what you said about the time you faced off alone against that ice fairy by the lake!"

"Huh? You still remember that?"

"Of course! Everyone was so worried when you returned to the mansion with your arm completely frozen! If you had been a few hours late, Patchouli wouldn't have been able to restore it!"

"That was a long time ago..."

"Then how about your little 'hunting trip' in the Forest of Magic? I heard that you were chased by a horde of fairies all the way back to the mansion."

"An unfortunate misunderstanding."

"If Rumia hadn't helped you escape, the wild fairies would have killed you!"

"Not without a fight."

"That's not the point!"

The rest of the flight to the village went on like that. Mokou stayed mostly silent, with an occasional comment here and there, while Meiling and I argued. None of it was really new to me, of course. Every time I had a close call, Meiling would start acting like this. She would keep checking me for wounds or injuries, even if she clearly wasn't familiar with human physiology. The, she would lecture me about how dangerous Gensokyo was, or how this or that creature in this or that place could easily kill me. Not that she was wrong about any of it, of course.

But I always managed to return in one piece, didn't I? Well, almost. More or less. But weren't they overreacting? Just a few weeks ago, I was no longer allowed to wander outside without someone with me. And for some reason, that 'someone' was almost always Meiling. Did Remilia really think that I needed a body guard? Well, whatever.

It was 7:20 AM when we had finally reached the village. It felt good to be walking on solid ground again. A familiar face was waving at us. I quickly waved back.

"Nice to see you, Keine."

"Nice to see you, Keine."

I blinked a couple of times and turned to Mokou. Did we just say that at the same time? We both raised an eyebrow. A short, but awkward silence followed. Sensing the mood, Keine quickly interrupted us.

"It's been a while, you two."

Meiling landed right beside me and gave the village guardian a polite bow.

"Good morning, Miss Kamishirasawa."

"Eh? Ah! No need for formalities here, Miss Gate Guard."

Meiling's eye started twitching. Her smile began to waver, but I couldn't help but be amused.

"In any case, why don't you join me for breakfast?"

"Breakfast? Ah well -"

"- I kinda have something..."

Deja vu. Mokou and I glanced at each other once more. Another moment of silence.

"Oh, don't be shy, you two..."

[ ] "Sorry, but we better get going."
[ ] "Meiling and I would love to join you."
[ ] "If you have room for three more, why not?"