#divergentxpaths

[nekofantasia]

力 + Planeswalking

Send “力 +” and a superpower for my muse to wake up with that ability.

This...is not Mayohiga.

Was she still in Gensokyo? Even in the most secluded parts of the land, the young one was certain that she was still there thanks to the border. But this time? She couldn’t perceive a single trace of it. Was she in hell again? It was hard to tell. Even hell had some sense of familiarity.

And none of it was found here.

Aware that nothing productive could be done by staying in the same place, the nekomata trusted her gut in choosing the best route in order to find clues on how to get back home. Some times she walked, some times she flew, and some times she simply looked around. It’s been a while since felt this disoriented.

Not to mention hungry...How she wished to feast on tons of food right now.

And just like that, Chen was found in some festive town. The townsfolk dancing around, while others were singing light-hearted songs as they swayed their booze around, all muffled with the noise of cheerful chatter and many other games played by the youngsters.

It went without saying that that scent of fresh bread and festival food added the pleasant atmosphere of this town, which it was nice and all, but...

How...How did she get here? Wasn’t she in the middle of nowhere? There’s no way a lively town like this could be found in such area. That’s just ridiculous!

And before she ditched her reasoning to enjoy the town’s festivites, the nekomata found her home again. The Yakumo household was as impecable as ever and judging its peaceful silence, it was safe to assume that her masters were yet to even notice her absence.

Yeah...It was probably better this way. What mattered  now was that she’s finally home and safe, and still on time to grab something before bed!

Her master eventually appeared and jumped a little in surprise the moment she laid her eyes on her shikigami. “Chen?! What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean, Master? I was always here?”

“But...I just tucked you in your bed.”

...What?

[nekofantasia]

Prompt: Chen's first visit to the Hakurei shrine!

This place sure was quiet, the little one thought.

As the days got warmer, it became easier for the nekomata to play outside her room. She never did well in the cold weather so she was more than glad that she could finally step outside without the aid of a coat or a muffler. Plenty of ideas ran through her mind as she put her shoes on at the entrance. After all, she even went as far as doing her homework and chores early so she could spend the rest of the day outside as much as she wanted.

One could really tell that she was looking forwards to this day for quite a while now.

“I’m leaving!” Chen said in a slightly loud tone. Ran already left the household for her duties and Yukari went to sleep not too long ago, but the nekomata still announced her departure mostly from habit. It was probably easier for her to bid so long regardless of presence or absence in her home. Always remain courteous, even if no one is watching!

Sliding the door open, the young one took a step outside and welcomed the warm day with open warms.

Figuratively of course. Actually doing that would be weird, even if she’s on her own at the moment.

But for a day she was looking forward to, her plans did fall short way sooner than she expected. Her subordinates behaved better today and her friends were busy with other things since they also had the same idea on getting the best of this weather. Great minds think alike, huh? A little amusing, but still disappointed at the lack of people available to play with today.

Eventually, she found herself walking around with no destination in mind. The idea of getting lost was of no concern but she would love to see some unusual place to explore, just a little something to keep herself busy. The nekomata kept her mind open to anything that would catch her attention, there was no point in being picky after all.

A long sigh escaped her lips and looked around her tracks in her never-ending search for something fun to do. A little hum was made when she realized that the path she was currently treading on was an unusual one. Melting snow was scattered around as if no one bothered to clean this area in case of travelers going through. Even if snow wasn’t the issue, the brunette could still find all sorts of branches, leaves, rocks and other things lying around.

It seemed to her that this path was rarely travelled by humans. But there’s gotta be a reason on why such road exists. Where would this lead to? Not being able to contain her anticipation, Chen quickened her pace and rushed towards the end of this unusual path.

Stair after stair after stair, the curious kitty was welcomed by a torii gate which appeared to be in good condition. Although she could tell it reeks of age, which is to be expected from most sacred buildings. As she stepped further, the young one noticed that the grounds were kept neat unlike the path that took her to this place.

She could see a fountain not that far from where she stood and upon taking a closer look on it, the fountain appeared to be abundant with water and several ladles were carefully placed across the borders so the ladles wouldn’t float around the water. Her hands were more than clean so the fountain was of no need for the time being.

Turning away from the fountain, the young one’s eyes took interest in the building before her. Slowly and very lightly, she walked towards it as if she was avoiding to get caught despite not knowing if there’s anyone besides her at all. It was probably a quirk of her own instincts as a cat, but it didn’t kill her to be cautious at unknown territory. As she got closer to the main building, the nekomata could perceive traces of human presence. Not exactly the most prominent human scent she ever sensed but it was hard to dismiss it.

‘So there are people here after all.’ And here she thought this place was pretty much abandoned, like her village. Glad that she took cautions when walking around, now that she knows there’s people living in this place she better not take anything. Not that she was planning to anyway.

At the entrance of said building, a wooden box was neatly found in the middle along with some rope hung to its side. ‘Ah…’ Chen thought to herself. This was a place for offerings, with the fountain and other auxiliary places the nekomata was able to piece her judgement together as she tried to recall the name of such sort of locations.

This place was a shrine, no mistake about that.

If it’s a shrine, then some deity is worshipped in this place right? She couldn’t help but get curious about that. Maybe she could get a hint by examining inside?

Her plan came to a halt when she heard someone approach the shrine’s grounds. A small wave of panic travelled through her body as she took a deep a breath and hid herself in the crown of a nearby tree. In this position, she would be able to see if the person was nothing but a brief visitor…Of the few that actually travel that one neglected road. She had to wonder what kind of devotees come to this place. Maybe that would give her a hint about the deity of this shrine? She had to remain patient and watch closely as the person’s steps became more and more audible upon their arrival.

Her eyes widened as soon as she recognized the “visitor”’s shrine maiden outfit. So this was no visitor after all, huh…Maybe she would be lucky enough to see the shrine maiden perform a ritual? The nekomata thought about it as she watched the shrine maiden go inside. Seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into…Well, a lot of time.

Seems nothing interesting will happen any soon. Chen sighed as she told herself to drop this whole waiting game. Perhaps she should try again in another day. The nekomata climbed down and took one last glance at the shrine and hummed to herself.

Even though she was a youkai…Was she allowed to do that?

Well, the shrine maiden wasn’t looking so better take advantage of this opportunity.

Chen sneaked towards the box of offerings with the best of her stealth and reached to her pockets, now with a handful of coins enclosed by her hand. Trying not to make a lot of noise, the nekomata figured that she had to drop the money right under the barred top of the donation box.

However, much to her dismay, the box was emptier than she expected and her offerings were welcomed with a rather loud sound that could easily attract the shrine maiden’s attention.

Crap, I have to get out of here!

Panicked once again, the nekomata left the shrine for good. She didn’t want to take any chances had the shrine maiden taken notice of her, even if she came here with no harmful intentions.

But it was fun while it lasted, so at least she was able to thank her for being there to humor her when she was bored to death.

Maybe I should visit again someday, she thought to herself.