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"Really?!" Lumine's eyes lit up like a child's on Christmas morning. "Let me feel, let me feel~!!" She slid to her knees beside Ochiba, poking the tip of Michiko's tail still in Ochiba's grasp. It was soft...deliciously soft!! Without needing further encouragement, Lumine too buried her face into the softness of the wolf's tail (though with Ochiba in the way, she also partially face-planted into her thigh).

Content with her daily dose of fluffy, Lumine stood suddenly, grabbing Ochiba by the back of her shirt's collar and taking the bunny along with her. "C'mon, Bunny-Sensei! We can get more fluffy-fluffy while Michiko's changing into her new clothes!" She set Ochiba down on the table like a stuffed doll and headed out the door - though not before giving an equally adorable and fluffy Ochiba a quick squeeze!

While Michiko and Ochiba collected themselves, Lumine took the time to circle the house for a second time. Thanks to the fact the three were basically in the middle of nowhere within the forest, there was little to no chance of anyone happening by to take her stuff. Still laying undisturbed beside the bathing stall were Lumine's clothes and Seijin's messenger bag. She let out a sigh and collected the bag, leaving the clothes behind to wash later. They could be cleaned with the bathwater, right? She hadn't been that dirty... And it was already soapy, too!

"Okaaaay, I'm reaaady!" The Celestial called out, returning to the front door to wait for her friends.

"C'mon Bunny-Sensei, be nice!" Lumine said, patting the rabbit's fluffy-eared head. "We can annoy Michiko later, once we get her into new clothes. Then, her fluffy behind will be all ours~!" She whispered the last part into Ochiba's ear after lifting one side slightly. Turning to Michiko with a sly smile, Lumine waved the two forward, leading the way into the forest and away from the wolf's home.

The trip didn't take long; despite suffering a crippling head injury not twenty-four hours ago, Lumine remembered the way to the Human Village quite clearly. As they walked, she tried to keep their conversations friendly after that, not wanting to further deter Michiko from completing their intended goal of seeking out a new wardrobe for her. She began to discover that Michiko gave off small signals with her tail, telling what she might really be feeling at the moment - though granted, it became somewhat awkward when Lumine realized she had been staring at Michiko's rear end for the better part of the trip. However, whenever the topic of their adventure was brought up, Lumine could swear she saw a slight wave in the wolf's tail!

In the lulls of their conversations, Lumine's mind wandered to the wayward Shinigami that had run off so suddenly. 'Maybe I overreacted...' she thought to herself, worrying that she might have scared Hanari into seclusion again. If that were the case, it might take more time before she would come to trust Lumine again... Hopefully Ochiba was right, and Hanari only left because she needed to return to her work. In truth, Lumine had been looking forward to sleeping in the Shinigami's arms tonight...


Finally, the trio were approaching the outskirts of the village. It was now nearing noon, and the village was alive with people going here and there, going about their lives without so much of a care. The trio gained a few odd looks from villagers as they passed, but Youkai generally weren't unheard of even in the Human Village, so many didn't even pay attention. So long as they didn't cause trouble, they'd be allowed to go as they please.

"Okay! I guess we should start in the marketplace, right Bunny-Sensei? I still have the money from the other night," Lumine said, patting a small pouch at her hip, "So between the three of us, we should have plenty to trade for Michiko's clothes, and my new hat!" The Celestial squatted down beside Ochiba, gripping the rabbit's shoulders with excitement. "What's the plan, Bunny-Sensei?!"

Lumine noticed Michiko's reaction to the crowd. She skipped over to the wolf's side, wrapping her arm around Michiko's neck in a sort of half-hug. "Don't worry, Michiko! Humans tend to stare at weird people in their village, like us! Just ignore 'em and we'll be fine! C'mon then, Ochiba~!"

With her arm still around the wolf's neck, Lumine guided her down the street, heading towards the marketplace. It was even more crowded than the last time they visited, being in broad daylight as opposed to late evening and night. There was the buzz of the villagers conversing with one another, and the smell of delicious foods being prepared by the many cooks in their own stalls beside the other vendors. The entire experience was unlike the one Lumine and Ochiba shared at night.

"Wow, that smells good..." Lumine offered, having not visited the human village during the day in quite some time. "But I bet you could outdo all of these two-bit cooks any day, Michiko!" Finally releasing her friend, Lumine pushed and shoved her way through the crowd of people, every once in a while hopping in place to get a view over their heads. "Hey, guys! I see a shop selling clothes over here~~!!" She waved back to her friends before diving back into the crowd, wading through their numbers and reappearing in a nearby doorway at the side of the street. "In here, c'mon!"

"Hehe! I'm the best map in Gensokyo - I know where all the good places are! I've traveled a lot, after all~" Lumine beamed, turning to enter the store fully. The shopkeeper inside greeted them with a smile before returning to her book.

Folded on the shelves, draped on walls and off of various racks were a grand selection of different types of clothing, seemingly coming from all corners of Gensokyo. They ranged from simple robes to fancy blouses and skirts. They even had a few pants!

"Wooow, look at all this stuff! None of it's as cool as my clothes, of course, but they're still pretty cool~!" Lumine happily sorted through the clothes, searching for something for Michiko to wear. After a dozen or so different articles of clothing, Lumine had finally found something that piqued her interest, and hopefully would Michiko's as well. "Hey, how about this?" She asked, turning to hold up a unique blue, belted vest. "This would look good! It's not skimpy or anything, but it might show off some of your tattoo!"

Undeterred in her search, Lumine tossed the vest to Michiko and returned to rummaging through other stacks of clothes (which were quickly becoming mish-mashed piles, much to the shopkeeper's annoyance).

"You're right! She's like a puppy!" Lumine said, poking her head around the stack of clothes she was currently searching through. She smiled and returned to her work, now partially looking for a shirt to replace the one she had left at Seijin's home. "It's kinda funny... a little while ago, I was looking for her and had intruded into her house. She had her hand behind her back when I first saw her...thinking about it now, she was probably ready to draw a blade on me!"

"She's opened up a lot though. When we met, she was so...cold, I guess." Lumine pulled a shirt from the pile. It was white and long-sleeved, but... it was much too small for even her small frame. She casually tossed it aside and resumed her story; "Kinda distant, like she wasn't really alive, ya'know? Like someone forgot to flip her switch to 'on' or something. Even when I told her about her momma, she really didn't seem to think much of it at the time..." Another article of 'clothing' was withdrawn; some under garments that were entirely too skimpy and embarrassing to wear! Lumine quickly stuffed them back into the pile and pretended to not notice. "A-And then somehow... she changed. I don't know when it happened, but you must have noticed it too, right? Both of you talked about being enemies, or rivals of sorts, but look at you now! We're out shopping together~!"

Getting a mischievous idea, Lumine took the skimpy underwear and headed over to the fitting rooms. She tossed them over the door of the stall Michiko occupied. "Here, try these on! They'll really show off your tattoo! Hehe~"

Lumine caught the embarrassing undergarments with her head and laughed, reaching up to pull them off and set them aside. "Mutt or not.... I think she's pretty cool. Well, not as cool as me, of course~" There had indeed been something that changed within the wolf in the recent days. She'd shown a strength fitting of her legacy, fitting for one to call herself Seijin's Daughter. She had stood up for Lumine, and protected her when she couldn't protect herself. For someone who so strives to be a hermit, Michiko had shown great compassion for the people about her, and that was something the Celestial would never forget. The forest will have a great guardian protecting those who stray too far from their path...

Michiko then stepped out of the changing rooms, eliciting a small look of awe on the Celestial's face. The new wardrobe changed the aura Michiko held around her. She looked like a different person altogether! "Wooow Michiko," Lumine breathed, moving to inspect the wolf from all angles. "You look really, really pretty! I told you you needed a change!" She lifted Michiko's arms by the wrists, looking over them and the vest she wore. "That color looks good on you! Way better than that boring all-white getup!" Holding Michiko's arms apart now, Lumine moved closer to her, now inspecting the vest. "..Hehe, and I can see part of your tattoo, too! How cute, how cute!!"

Turning to stand parallel to the wolf, Lumine wrapped her arm under Michiko's, holding her in a sort of half-embrace while turning to look at Ochiba. "Well, what do you think?! Do we look cool together or what?" Lumine bore a cheesy grin on her face, the arm around Michiko clasped around her midsection. "...Now if I could just find a hat..."

"Ochiba's right, you'll get used to it!" Lumine patted Michiko's side, pulling her tighter into their hug. "Just think, you'll have to use those blades of yours to bat away all the men who'll come chasing after a doll like you! When they see a pretty girl like you, they're gonna go crazy! Besides, you look like a proper Tengu should, now. Even if you don't wanna go and do stuff at the village, you can still show a bit of pride!"

Lumine hadn't noticed Ochiba run off before, being busy poking and prodding at Michiko's new clothes - It was fun to taunt the wolf, knowing how uncomfortable she was - As such, she was genuinely shocked when the little rabbit produced a shiny new hat to replace the one she had left on Seijin's grave. Excited, Lumine quickly took the hat from Ochiba and placed it on her head, pulling the brim down low to look cool. "Hehehe, niiice~" She left to look in the mirror of the changing room Michiko had just occupied previously. The hat did indeed look a lot like the one she wore before, yet also seemed a bit more stylish with the changed features. "You're right, bunny-sensei! This is great!"

Lumine dove out of the changing room, scooping up the smaller rabbit into a hug, and spun her around as if dancing with her. "Thank you sooo much!! I really owe you, big time! Hehe, now I'm really gonna look cool when Hanari comes back~"

"Hey, don't say that too loudly, Michiko!" Lumine said with a laugh, still happily holding Ochiba in her arms like a small child. She waved goodbye to the slightly disgruntled shopkeeper and lead the way outside, absently patting the rabbit's back as she walked. "It's not often we get time to relax, ya'know? We gotta cherish it while we can, especially when we're with family." Outside, the villagers were still going about their own business, either fully ignoring the party of three or giving them sideways glances, but nothing more. "Besides... we're like, heroes, ya'know? People may not acknowledge it, or maybe not even know it... But we are. In one way or another, we're heroes to somebody, somewhere. ...I wanted to be her hero, once... Maemi's, I mean. I wanted her to think I was cool, and someone she could trust." She let out a short, yet deep sigh, like she had been holding her breath for a long time.

Lumine didn't move much past the shop's entrance. She was staring into the crowd of people, not really at any one of them, but as a whole, watching each one as they went about their own lives in their own little worlds. "...If it wasn't for you two, I don't know where I'd be right now. Probably still out in the woods somewhere... crying. But now, I feel like I have a second chance. At everything! Maybe I can do it better this time... No, maybe now I can do it right." The Celestial bent down to set Ochiba on the ground finally, before taking her hand, then reaching out for Michiko's. "But... either way, I owe it all to you. To both of you. You became my family when I didn't have one anymore, and for that, I... I-I'm--" Lumine bowed her head, the brim of her new hat just barely hiding the tears in her eyes.

"...Thanks...!"