Nakama (3)

We all head to the bakery and stuff a bunch of bread and cookies into the magic bag. I stop by the butcher and the grocer to grab some dried meats and vegetables, respectively. After that, we head back to the forest, waving to the guards on our way out. I keep in mind that I'll have to treat them better now that they've stuck their necks out for me. We walk to the woods where we meet with Inari and Woohee."

"Did you bring the goods?" Inari asks me in a very serious voice.

"What is this, a drug deal?"

"Is that a no?" Her eyes narrow as she asks me.

"Of course, we brought them. Let's head down to the den and unpack."

"You guys are gonna love all the cookies we bought. We got sugar cookies, cinnamon cookies, and oatmeal cookies that are in the shape of little houses and look really cute…." Sakura chronicles all the cookies we purchased as we descend into the cave.

"Hoooooo, hoo, hoo, hooo."

I hear the sound of Shinobu weeping softly as we reach the basement.

"What's that noise?" Sakura's face fills with confusion as she turns to me for an explanation.

"Welp, we've got a new teammate," I explain. The room is lit up when we enter, and I see Shinobu huddled near a wall, sobbing into her knees. "We're back!"

I try to sound happy and excited to remove the heavy air in the room.

"Ah, I–welcome back." She wipes her eyes and smiles brightly in our direction. I figured she wouldn't want to make a scene, so it looks like I made the right call.

"Shinobu?" Shock replaces the confusion on Sakura's face.

"Hi." Josh, on the other hand, is completely unperturbed.

"Hello, it's good to see the two of you again." Shinobu stands up and wipes the dirt from her clothes. Even from this distance, I can see how red and puffy her eyes are.

[She must have been crying for a while.]

"Okay, let's sort the goods." I spread the tarp out on the ground and remove the contents of the magic bag one by one. The old man wasn't kidding when he talked about how much the bag could hold. My mouth begins to water at the stacks of cookies coming out of the magic bag. Not just mine, everyone's eyes are glued to the sweet confections. I also remove the food, cloth, blankets, and spell rods.

"So, what do you think?"

"Wooaaah!" Shinobu puts her hands on her cheeks in surprise. "Where did you get all of these?"

Her hand moves over the variety of spell rods on the table. I can see her eyes sparkling at the sight.

[She might really like magic. I'll try to use that as a conversation starter.]

"My, I've never seen such pastries before." Inari flies over the cookies. She doesn't even try to hide her excitement.

"Well, dig in." I wave toward the cornucopia of cookies.

"Don't mind if I do." Inari snaps her fingers and floats above the dishes. We all look at each other in confusion. Suddenly, a loud whooshing noise begins to emanate from the entrance. I remember this sound from the last time I was at the fairy village.

"If anyone wants any cookies, they should grab them now," I call out to the kids as I snatch a couple of cookies before they all disappear. The others do the same. The storm grows louder until a flood of fairies pours into the room. Most of them wear clothes we've made, but about a third of them still wear leaves.

[We need to expedite those clothes. It would be terrible if a Sneetches-type situation arose from those with clothes looking down upon those without.]

The flutter of fairies flies over to Inari. She has them well-trained because they stay by her side even as they bump into each other and drool over the sight of the cookies. Inari turns to her subordinates and explains the rules.

"Okay, everybody gets one. I don't want to see any fighting or arguing."

"A single file line might help." I offer a suggestion.

"That sounds like a good idea. Everyone form a line, no shoving." The fairies quietly move into a line in the air. I can see the anxiety in their eyes at possibly losing the right to take a cookie. Oog manages to take the front position. He looks very proud floating there with his hands on his hips.

"Is everybody in line?" asks Inari.

"Yes!" the whole flutter calls out in unison.

"Okay. Oog, you're first." He grabs a big pumpernickel cookie and flies to a wall with a smug look on his face. One by one, the fairies grab a cookie. I see some pulling at their faces in anxiety as the piles begin to thin out.

[Just watching the fairies emote is incredibly enjoyable. I can see why Inari gets so much satisfaction out of it.]

We all watch the procession until everyone has their share. Woohee flies over to me and sits on my shoulder. I giggle as she struggles to eat the confection that's almost as large as her. A thought strikes me.

"Is it okay for all of you to be away from the village?" I face Inari as I ask my question.

"It's fine as long as we comb the village when we return. Our biggest threat is humans, so we need to check for traps or predators that have managed to breach our perimeter." She folds her arms with a frown as she describes their situation. Woohee nods her head at her leader's words. I look over at her and see her cheeks bulging as she eats; crumbs are pouring down her chest, sticking to her face.

"You're a messy eater." I laugh lightly as I use one of the spare rags I bought to wipe the mess off her small face. She swallows and sports a big goofy smile.

"It's really tasty." She takes another bite as soon as she finishes speaking. Some of the fairies fly over to the kids and start talking. One finds a comfortable spot on Josh's head and stays there. Josh generally doesn't move much, so it's a fairly stable platform. We pick at the food while the fairies all munch on their cookies. It feels like a banquet is happening at the bottom of this damp cave. After everyone finishes, the fairies prepare to leave. New friends have been made, and bonds have been strengthened.

"Bye, everyone!" Sakura waves both her arms over her head at the flutter of fairies.

"Bye!" The shrill cacophony of fairy voices fills the cave. They all wave as they leave to head back to their village.

"That was fun," I say as the silence returns.

"Yes! We need to do that again! There were so many fairies!" Sakura jumps up and down in excitement.

"Oh my, yes! I can't wait!" Sakura and Shinobu join hands as they cavort around. They're clearly overjoyed at the idea. As they prattle on planning the potential party, I walk over to a rack. It's still morning, so I want to get a good workout. My whole body still aches from the blast I took yesterday, so I just do some light upper body training.

"What are you doing?" Shinobu runs over to me with a quizzical expression.

"This is called weight training. It's used to strengthen your muscles. Since you have a seal, it would be best to start doing the same."

"How do I do that?" She places a finger on her chin and tilts her head to the side as she asks.

[Adorable.]

My heart rises as I see the cute look on her face. It also strikes me how much easier she is to deal with when she isn't being annoying.

"Let me show you." I spend the next hour or so explaining the three main lifts to her. I want her muscles to get used to those before moving on to any ancillary lifts. After my little class, we all workout for a few hours.

"Hey, Josh. Do you think you could build a small staircase?"

"To where?"

"Nowhere in particular. I just want to use that as a stair stepper. If you build a small staircase, we can walk up and down for exercise."

"Will that work?"

"Yeah, let me show you." I guide everyone over to the incline up to the surface. "Alright, we'll run laps up and down the cave. It's a little dark, so be careful."

"Okay," Josh and Sakura answer back enthusiastically.

"Is this really going to help?" Shinobu seems skeptical.

"Like you wouldn't believe." The path isn't very wide, so only two people can run at a time. We decide to form teams, boys versus girls, and race up and down the length of the cave.

"Ready, set, go!" Sakura and Josh burst off from the starting line. With their boosted stats, they look like Olympic sprinters. They fly up the slope and back down again within seconds. They cross the finish line almost simultaneously. At that, Shinobu and I take off. It's immediately obvious that she doesn't stand a chance in our race. I return to the finish line before she can reach the surface.

"Come on, Shinobu! Let's go!" Sakura encourages her teammate, but no amount of cheering will make up for the stat difference. She comes back down while breathing a little heavier than when we started. As soon as she finishes, the newlyweds take off again.

"How are you all so fast?" Shinobu has her hands on her hips to help her catch her breath.

"My agility is almost fifty, and my endurance is over sixty; I assume their stats are about the same."

"How many points have you spent? You must have gotten a lot from all the Punctastars you're hunting." She scratches her chin and looks away as if she's talking to herself. I make a circle with my hand and hold it in front of my eye.

"Zero. We haven't spent any points. That being said, we have quite a few to spend if needed.

"What? How is that possible?"