Chibi Charms and Secret Hearts

※ New Years ※

As they left the ema area, a familiar sense of wary suspicion crept over Yui. Their catgirl companion had mysteriously vanished—a telltale sign that chaos was undoubtedly brewing again.

“Ne, has anyone seen Narumi-chan?” she glanced around, the silver bells in her hair tinkling helpfully in unknowing. Colorful crowds of festival-goers drifted past them in waves of chatter, but there was no sign of their energetic catgirl companion.

Ash's gaze was methodical as he scanned the festive crowds. “She darted off right after hanging her ema,” he offered, gesturing toward some stalls. “Seemed pretty excited about something in that direction.”

“Ara ara, you know how excited Narumi-chan gets at festivals” Emi giggled. “Remember last year when she tried to adopt all the goldfish from the kingyo-sukui stall?”

“Poor ojiisan from last year...” Akari nodded sagely, her looped twin tails bobbing. “He didn't expect anyone to actually catch all one hundred and eighty-seven fish.”

“TADAIMANYAAA!”

The muffled declaration came from somewhere behind them. The group turned to see Narumi bustling up to them, her arms precariously filled with an assortment of what seemed to be every type of food available at the shrine festival. People politely stepped aside with bemused smiles as she approached, carefully avoiding her teetering tower of treats. Clenched between her teeth was a taiyaki, the fish shaped cake flopping up and down as her eyes gleamed with pride above bulging cheeks.

“Mmmph mmnya mmphng fmmm evmmmyone!” She attempted to communicate around the pastry, causing several dango to wobble dangerously close to freedom.

“N-Narumi-chan! How much did you—” Yui's scolding was cut short as Narumi deftly transferred a still-steaming taiyaki into her hands, followed by yakitori skewers, a container of takoyaki, a burning hot yakiimo wrapped in paper and several dango sticks.

Before Yui could recover from suddenly carrying an entire banquet in her arms, Narumi was already piling a similar assortment into Akari’s arms, then Emi's, and finally Ash’s.

With a triumphant gulp that somehow sent the remainder of her taiyaki directly down her throat without chewing, the catgirl finally announced, “I got snacks for everyone nya!”

Her tail swished happily behind her as she proudly admired her own customer service, “Dig in, minnyaa!”

"How did you... even carry all this?" Yui managed to ask, as she struggled to pry open the takoyaki container while balancing the mountain of food in her arms.

“Nyahaha, cat skillz!” Narumi grinned in self-satisfaction. “And a little photon enhancement!”

“Herrokero! I love yakiimo!” Akari exclaimed with pure delight, eagerly biting into the freshly roasted sweet potato. Her eyes widened comically as realization struck a millisecond too late.

“Ahh! Hhhhhot! Hhhhhhot!” She frantically fanned her open mouth, hopping from one foot to another, looped twin tails bobbing wildly.

“Here, Akari-chanya!” Narumi produced a small paper cup of water and paper napkins from the small assortment she still carried. “Use these, nyaa!”

As Akari gratefully accepted the water and napkins, Emi giggled. “Ara ara, our Narumi-chan is like a walking konbini tonight! What other treasures are you hiding?”

Piyo piyo! Mochi fluttered frantically around their heads, his beady eyes executing rapid scan patterns of his airfields. (Multiple high-value nutritional payloads detected in all airfields! Requesting immediate sharing protocols be initiated!)

“Hai hai,” Yui broke off a piece of her steaming yakiimo, carefully blowing on it until it cooled. With delicate fingers, she extended the morsel towards the eager little bird. “Here you go, Mochi-chan.”

Piyo! (Nutritional payload acquired! Commencing taste analysis!)

Ash held up a skewer, examining its grilled chicken pieces that had been charred to perfection, steam rising gently from its surface. Upon taking a bite, savoury umami burst in his mouth as the succulent chicken released its juices.

“The yakitori is superb,” he nodded appreciatively

“Hehe,” Narumi practically vibrated with happiness at the praise, her tail standing straight up. “I made sure to get the ones from the stall with the longest line, because that means they're the yummiest, nya!”

Illuminated by the warm glow of lanterns, the group stood together munching contentedly on their surprise feast, a happy little island of companionship amidst the flowing river of festival-goers. Yui shook her head, silver bells chiming softly as she smiled. Sometimes Narumi's impulsiveness led to disaster—but other times… it created these perfect, chaotic little moments of joy that made everything worthwhile…

That was, until Narumi suddenly perked up again, nose twitching as she detected a new scent in the air.

“Nyaa! Is that amazake I smell?!”

The sweet, rich aroma of a familiar fermented rice drink wafted through the winter air, luring Narumi towards its source. Without a second thought, she was off again, bustling towards the warmly lit stall where an elderly vendor was carefully ladling the steaming drink into traditional ceramic cups for their growing queue of festival-goers. “Nyaa!! I want some amazake!!”

“Matte! Narumi-chan!” Yui called after the catgirl.

“Ara, perfect for washing down our food!” Emi clapped in delight, forgetting the half-eaten taiyaki in her hands—now squished flat.

They waited in queue together, finishing off the last of their festival treats. Yui gathered everyone's trash into a neat bundle, giving Ash a shy smile when he thoughtfully held the nearby waste bin open.

As their turn in the queue came, five ceramic cups of amazake were soon distributed, their warmth seeping pleasantly through everyone’s cold fingers. Steam rose in delicate wisps, carrying the sweet fragrance of the traditional non-alcoholic rice drink.

“Ne ne, should we try the omikuji next?” Akari asked between careful sips, her reddish-pink eyes bright with anticipation. “I want to see if the frogs will have a good year!”

“Nothing against that.” Ash said, enjoying the warm sweetness of his amazake.

Yui hummed in agreement, breathing in the aromatic steam from her cup. “We should probably—”

She suddenly turned around, freezing mid-sentence.

Gulp gulp gulp!

“Uwaaaa! Oishiiiii!”

“Nyaa! It’s so yummyyyyy!”

Somehow, in the brief moment they’d been discussing fortunes, Emi and Narumi had not only finished their cup but had already made their way back to the stall, bought several more, and downed them all. Empty cups were stacked to the side of the stall counter as the two young ladies—in elegant kimonos and carefully styled hair, no less—enthusiastically gulped down what appeared to be their ninth (or was it their tenth?) serving. [How do they even fit that much food and liquid??]

“Ojii-san!” Emi called out cheerfully, chest bouncing as she raised her empty cup. “Twenty more please!”

“E-Ehhh?” The elderly vendor blinked in surprise. “O-Ojou-chan, are you absolutely sure? You’ve already had 10 each...”

“HAAI!” The pair chorused in perfect sync, holding out their cups with matching grins.

CHOP-CHOP!

Two simultaneous chops landed as Yui (having to stretch up on her tiptoes to reach them) delivered swift judgment to their heads. The silver bells in her hair tinkled accusingly with the motion.

“Do you two have ANY idea how much meseta that would cost?” Yui scolded, her heterochromatic eyes narrowing. “And how much sugar that would be? You’ve already had enough to power a photonic reactor! Anymore and you two will both be bouncing off the walls from a sugar rush and going home with diabetes!”

“Ittai-nyaa!” Narumi whined, her cat ears flattening. “Yui-chan, so hidoiiii nyaa!”

“Ehhh, nandeee?” Emi giggled, seemingly unfazed by the chop. “It’s so tasty! And the cooking staff just got our seasonal appreciation bonus too!”

Yui’s small hands shot out to grab their arms, dragging her friends away from the amazake stall.

Meanwhile, from a safe distance behind, Akari and Ash watched the brewing amazake chaos.

“Yui-nee-chan always has to be the impulse control officer for Emi-nee and Narumi-nee.” Akari observed sagely[rv1] .

“Rather strict at times, isn’t she?” Ash watched in amusement.

“Yui-chaaan...” Narumi’s heterochromatic eyes went wide and watery, her ears drooping as her lower lip quivered. She somehow managed to look like the most pitiful abandoned kitten in all of Central City. “Pwetty pweaaase, can we have one more?”

“Hora, Yui-chan!” Emi suddenly clasped her hands together beneath her chin, her forearms compressing her twin masses of gravitational anomalies. Unsurprisingly, her F-cups were violently threatening high-velocity escape from their pent-up high-pressure containment within her kimono. [May the kami give strength to that koshihimo cord]

“Just think of how perfectly the sweet amazake complements the spiritual atmosphere! The way its warmth spreads through your body like photon energy… What if it’s actually a sacred drink blessed by the shrine’s kami to bring good fortune!” Emi’s jade green eyes sparkled behind her glasses as she got more animated with each word, completely caught up in her own questionable logic. “So really, we’d be honoring tradition by drinking more! In fact—”

Jiggle. Jiggle.

BOING.

“—we should probably get THIRTY cups instead of twenty! For extra blessings!”

Yui’s eye twitched as she tried to maintain her stern expression. But between Narumi’s award-winning sad kitty face and Emi’s genuinely enthusiastic but nonsensical spiritual theory (accompanied by increasingly volatile bouncing), she could feel her resolve crumbling fast.

Pipiyo piyo... (Warning: Primary Airfield’s defensive systems experiencing critical failure...)

“Fiine...” Yui sighed in defeat, releasing their kimonos. “ONE more cup. Just one! Which means you have to share it!”

“NYAAAAA! Yui-chan is the bestest!” Narumi immediately perked up, her limp tail becoming happily erect in 0.3 seconds as she bounced excitedly back to the stall.

“Ara! Arigatou, Yui-chan!” Emi followed the catgirl with a happy bounce that made Yui immediately question her life choices.

Behind them, Akari sagely shook her head, her looped twin tails wiggling in concert. “Herrokero... I think we need a new impulse control officer.”

***

“Ara ara! Look at THIIIS!” Emi’s excited squeal drew everyone’s attention. Her jade green eyes sparkled behind her glasses as she clasped her hands together in excitement. “They have anime-themed omamori this year!”

The sizable stall was a colorful explosion of traditional charm pouches, each decorated with various designs, including various anime characters in chibi form. The charms were arranged into categories reflecting various aspects of life such as study, wealth, health and family.

“Ehh? Sugoooi! Is this the entire Denshin Collision collection?!” Emi bounced excitedly, her lavender kimono rustling with the movement. “Look, look! They have the Electro booba sword lady! And the broke astrology girl! Oh oh! And the fake purple catgirl! OHH, and wet socks girl!! They’re all so cuuute!”

[Is that how she remembers them…?]

“Ehhh!? They even glow the right elemental color when you touch the charm!” Emi was practically vibrating with excitement. “And they have that kakkoii and yet soo kawaii dragon man with the big hydro blast attack who is actually a big softie that loves the adorable little melusines and makes the weather rainy when he cries! KYAAA!”

“Oba-chan! I-I-I’ll take one of each please!”

“Ehhh!? E-Emi-nee-san! I don’t think that’s a good idea!”

While Akari attempted to prevent Emi from imminent financial self-destruction, Narumi had spotted a lone teal figure lurking suspiciously at the other end of the stall. “Hmmmm, what’s Yui-chanya doing?”

While the others were distracted, Yui had quietly drifted to the far end of the stall. Her fingers hesitated over the “En-musubi” section – where the love charms were displayed. A particularly pretty omamori decorated with two graceful swans caught her eye – their elegant necks intertwined to form a heart shape, glowing a soft pink at her tentative touch.

“Nyufufu... who could that be for, Yui-chanyaa?”

“Hiiie!” Yui nearly jumped out of her kimono as Narumi suddenly materialized behind her, chin resting on her shoulder with a cheeky grin. Her warm, amazake scented breath tickled Yui’s ear as she whispered, making Yui’s face flame even brighter.

“N-N-No one!” Yui’s hands frantically waved in denial, the silver bells in her hair tinkling frantically in unison. “I was just looking!”

“Hmmmm?” Narumi’s grin widened impossibly further as she turned Yui towards a certain someone in a frog T-shirt at the other end of the stall. Her voice dropped to an even softer whisper, “Could it be for—”

“Urusai, urusai, URUSAAAI!” Yui slapped her hands over Narumi’s mouth. “I said I was just looking!”

“Hai! This is for you, ojou-chan.” The shrine maiden’s gentle voice made Yui freeze. Somehow, during the chaos, the elderly woman had already wrapped up the crane-decorated love charm, holding it out with a grandmotherly smile. “Take it as a gift. In all my years at this shrine, I’ve never seen such an honest face – your feelings shine brighter than any omamori could.”

“Eh? I-I… Wh…” Yui’s mouth opened and closed several times like a flustered koi fish, her brain short-circuiting as she tried to form coherent words. Her eyes darted frantically between the shrine maiden’s knowing smile and the charm being offered, unable to process how a stranger could so easily see straight through her.

With a warm chuckle, the elderly shrine maiden simply pressed the glowing charm into Yui’s hands. “Consider it this old woman’s New Year’s blessing. Sometimes love needs a little push from the gods... and sometimes it just needs the courage to take the first step.”

Yui clutched the charm to her chest, her face basically a ripened tomato as she managed a tiny bow. “A-Arigatou gozaimasu...”

“Nyehehee…” Narumi’s gleeful whisper tickled her ear again. “Sounds like the shrine maiden ships it~”

“N-NARUMI-CHAN!”

Clutching the love charm like it might escape her hands any second, Yui hurriedly speed-walked away from the stall, her kimono rustling with each quick step as she tried to maintain what little dignity she had left. She nearly collided with Ash as she rushed past, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on the ground.

“Yu—?” Ash blinked in confusion as the teal, blonde and bright red blur that was Yui disappeared into the crowd, the silver bells in her hair tinkling anxiously with her escape. His eyes followed her retreat before turning to Narumi, who skipped up to him with a playful grin.

“What happened?” He asked.

Narumi bent forward slightly, holding up a single finger to her grinning lips as her heterochromatic eyes glinted with mischief.

“Hi! Mi! Tsu!”

With that, she bounced away after Yui, her twin tails bobbing along.

[rv1]More smoother changes in perspective?