Defense Build and Kasumi

A few days after the fourth stratum opened…

The guild members had completed the initial exploration and gathered at their home

to report the results.

"I've been doing some leveling and a few quests," Chrome began. "I mostly hit up the

fields outside of town. Lots of yokai-looking monsters. Feels like more monsters that

cast magic in general."

Iz nodded, adding, "I was also out there gathering materials. Honestly, it's pretty rough

going without someone to fight for me."

"I took the twins and went one gate at a time," Kanade said. "I figured the rest of you

would skip over those areas, but they've got plenty of quests and shops with materials

you can't buy farther in. Here's the data…"

He passed out files with the full breakdown.

"Yui and I explored some, but the place is so big!"

"Definitely the biggest one yet."

They both shared what they'd found. But every member was stuck at the same torii

gate.

"And you, Maple?" Sally said.

"I bought a kimono and got an instant death skill!"

"...Ooookay, we'll need the full version of that later." That small snippet was more

than enough to safely assume Maple had done something outrageous again, so Sally

decided now wasn't the time for a deep dive. "But one thing's clear—we all got pretty

far in."

Her comment was about the access permits.

Without one of those, players could barely do anything on this stratum.

Going farther into town required completing quests to raise your access rank, and they

were all fairly intense.

Chrome and Kasumi had clearly figured that out, but Maple was never one to actively

pursue this type of information. It was news to her.

"Then our access is, like, amazing?"

"It's certainly a big advantage."

They were allowed to skip right past a number of barriers blocking the average

player's progress.

For a while, the conversation focused on what quests could be found where, but

nobody else seemed interested in trying Maple's quest.

"Well, send a message if anything comes up!" Maple said, sending everyone on their

separate ways.

They were all exploring, but the fourth stratum's town was so much bigger than any

previous areas that it was starting to feel endless.

One afternoon several days later…

Maple was taking a break at the Guild Home, sipping some tea Iz had made.

"Well? Enjoying the town?"

"It's… big."

"I've found some interesting materials, but… some of them are only available in one

shop, so my overall progress has been pretty slow."

With Maple Tree's access level, all of them could go pretty far in—but there was plenty

to discover in the outer areas, not to mention the fields outside of town.

Even just gathering materials was quite a bit more involved than any previous map.

"I've learned how to make some new items. Not enough materials to mass-produce

anything yet, but they should come in handy in due time."

"Nice!"

At this point, the front door opened, letting Chrome, Mai, and Yui come in.

"Oh, Iz! Perfect. I gathered some mats for you while finishing up that quest."

"Thanks," she said, grinning. "Well? Want a drink? Some of these are new on this level."

"…This floor's materials have some dubious names, so I think I'll pass."

Chrome had spotted a smirk behind Iz's grin and quickly decided he'd stick to coffee.

Mai and Yui ordered cocoa. Everyone joined Maple at the table.

"Whew… So, Maple, any luck in your travels?"

"This place is so big! I've been running all over."

The twins nodded sympathetically.

"We basically live on rickshaws now."

"It's expensive but way, way faster than walking!"

"There are so many quests. And shops. They're mostly selling decorative stuff, though…

Still, always worth a look."

"All that expensive furniture… I think I'm good just window shopping."

"Some of these quests require you to drop money on 'em, too. How and when are we

supposed to afford anything extra?"

Maple had been in all kinds of shops but only bought consumable items.

"We've got rooms here, so I'd like to decorate a bit."

The Guild Home had a private room for each of them. Maple didn't like leaving hers

empty, so she'd bought something for it on each stratum.

As they talked, Sally and Kanade joined them, and Kasumi later emerged from her

room.

"Oh, we're all here now!"

"Was that planned?"

Maple told Sally what they'd been chatting about so far.

"I really haven't done much," Sally said. "Just checked out some new items and poked

my nose in a few promising corners of the field while I was out questing."

"My only real find is a shop selling wooden puzzles. Good ones. Lemme know if you

wanna borrow any."

Kanade had already completed all of them and was currently pestering Iz to make him

something harder.

"But there's still tons of town to explore. If I see anything you'll like, Maple, I'll make a

mental note of it."

"Great, thanks!"

"It's not all combat-oriented stuff, either. I think… you might enjoy the shops around

here," Kasumi said, opening her map and pointing to a few locations.

"Oooh, I see… I'll check it out. You know a lot, Kasumi!"

"Mm? Uh, yeah… Just lucky, I suppose," she replied, quickly putting the map away.

Iz and Kanade finished conferring, and she offered drinks again.

"Nah, better not. I'm heading straight to the fields."

"Okay. Careful… and good luck."

Everyone watched Kasumi go, then Maple frowned.

"She's been visiting the field a lot lately," she said.

"Maybe she's just low on cash like the rest of us?"

"Yeah… we're so broke…"

The twins' theory made a lot of sense to Maple.

"…Considering how much grinding she's done, I doubt that…"

Iz had a much firmer grasp on the prices of materials and items, but then Kanade's

puzzles came to mind and promptly pushed everything else out of her thoughts.

"Either way, Kasumi's not the type to do anything stupid, and I've gotta get crafting!"

"Oh, you're starting on my order already? Make it a really hard one, please."

And once again, everyone went their separate ways, enjoying the new stratum on their

own terms.

Kasumi sneaked back in late that night when she was sure her guildmates had long

since finished playing for the day. Once the door to her private room closed behind

her, she let out a sigh.

"…This is heaven…"

Her room was filled with row after row of purchases she'd made the last few days.

Pottery that caught her eye, swords she had no intention of ever taking into battle, and

everything in between.

Unlike in the real world, being broke in NWO just meant you had to go kill some

monsters. A few shopping sprees never hurt anyone.

But perhaps Kasumi had taken things a little too far.

"Just one more run to the store…! Then I'll have to go earn a bit more."

The gold listed on her stat menu was getting worryingly low.

And what she was after was hardly cheap. Her tastes ran on the pricey side.

But she had never had so much fun.

"I'll go farther in than anyone else! Heh-heh…"

She glanced down at her access permit. Without telling the others, she'd raised it to

six.

What treasures lay within that untouched zone?

"Let's find out! Time's a-wasting!"

She put the permit back in her inventory and flew out of the Guild Home.

Ten days later, Kasumi was in her room again, staring at her stat screen.

Specifically, at one corner of it.

"Urp…"

Kasumi had been gradually saving up money all this time, having found no real use for

it—but now she'd blown all her savings on random things that didn't even affect her

stats.

The total amount: five times the gold required to found Maple Tree itself.

Each torii gate a player passed through brought them ever closer to the heart of the

town. Despite the clear partitioning, the whole place was so massive that each area

took ages to explore.

Even so, Kasumi had been to every single antique shop.

The time she had spent gazing at all the merchandise had been the purest bliss.

And her passion for it had loosened the strings on her purse… or rather, cut them right

off.

"Okay, that's enough to buy something."

She'd hunted enough monsters and wasn't about to let that gold burn a hole in her

pocket. She made a beeline to a shop just past the gate with the kanji for seven.

"I love how there's no risk of anyone else buying the last one…"

Finding the exact same thing you've already purchased still for sale was certainly a

classic gaming experience.

On this visit, she decided to pick up a pricey mug she'd yet to acquire… and

immediately found herself can't-even-buy-a-potion broke yet again.

"You're a very loyal customer! Thank you."

"Mm? Oh, uh, sure."

These were the first words the shop's owner had uttered that weren't directly related

to processing a purchase, and Kasumi was rather caught off guard.

"As a token of my appreciation… please take this."

He handed her an ancient-looking piece of paper.

"A map to where my warehouse once stood. I'm too old to reach it these days. Do

whatever you'd like with the contents. They'd prefer that to never-ending slumber, I'm

sure."

Kasumi thanked him and left the shop, staring at the map.

"It's way out at the edge of the field… Worth a look, I guess."

She'd already bought everything in town she had her eye on.

Plus, she was so broke that the usual penalty for dying (losing half your gold) was not

really a concern.

But more than anything, the potential to get something special drove her on.

Because of the perpetual night on this stratum, the field was naturally always dark.

Kasumi headed for the far edge at a run, occasionally checking the map.

"Around here… no, it's a little farther this way. There!"

Her foot had struck a handle resting on the ground, just barely peeking out of the dirt.

Without a map to guide her, she never could have found it in this darkness.

She brushed the dirt off the door and pulled it open.

Dust flew everywhere, and beneath the hatch was a staircase plunging into darkness.

"…Here goes nothing."

She'd bought several lanterns since reaching this stratum, so she took one out of her

inventory and headed down.

Her path was lit by nothing but the lantern's flickering red light. The only sound here

came from her own footsteps.

At the bottom of the stairs, she found a steel door.

"…Promising!"

With a mix of anticipation and anxiety, Kasumi pushed it open and stepped through,

raising her lantern high.

"Nothing…?"

The chamber inside was quite large… and entirely empty. The lantern light caught

nothing but bare floor. There was only absolute silence and the smell of dust. She

raised the lantern, bringing the corners into view, but all she found was more dirt. Not

exactly what came to mind when she thought of the word warehouse.

"Is there some other trigger? It's not very clear what that could be…"

She couldn't just give up, though.

"Wait…" Her ears caught the sound of something breaking. "Is there something here?"

Her guard now up, Kasumi drew her katana and moved deeper into the room.

The lantern light revealed what had been too dark to see before.

Littered all around were the remains of the wares housed here.

Broken swords, smashed vases, shattered crystals…

And at the center of this devastation—a sword, floating in the air, wreathed in a faint

purple light.

Each time it came into contact with something, sounds of destruction rang out, almost

as if the blade itself was consuming whatever it touched.

"…And I'm next?!"

The floating katana seemed to notice Kasumi. Its tip turned toward her—and she

readied hers.

Perhaps it viewed her as a threat—the purple glow grew brighter, coiling around the

blade like smoke.

For a moment, it shivered. Then purple fire engulfed the floor and ceiling, flooding the

room with light.

Kasumi took a few steps back, putting her lantern aside. The katana made no move.

"Not attacking first? No—can't let my guard down yet."

The living weapon had a sense of foreboding about it.

Her instincts were right.

A moment later, the katana shot toward her.

She exhaled, and her blade clashed against it—but the flying katana was able to move

as it pleased, and it was hard to predict what direction its attack would come from.

"Fighting Shin… had unexpected benefits…! Ha…!"

She'd recently fought one of Flame Empire's top players and his flying blades in the

last event.

Swatting aside this sentient katana felt awfully familiar thanks to that experience.

The loud clang still hanging in the air, Kasumi leaped back, waiting for her strange

opponent to make its next move.

But despite keeping her watchful gaze from wavering—the sword vanished.

"Wha…?! Ah!"

The next thing she saw was a purple katana buried in her chest.

And not just her chest.

There were more protruding from her legs, belly, arms—everywhere.

She'd seen this before—after all, it was a skill she had used herself.

When her eyes opened again, she was in the square right by the entrance to the fourthstratum town. This was where players spawned after dying on this stratum.

"...Heh. Heh-heh-heh-heh. Fascinating… I'm gonna get my hands on that before

anyone else does! No way I'm letting a sword beat me!"

The frustration proved to be incredibly motivating for Kasumi, who began working on

a plan.

A few days later, Kasumi stood before the flying katana once again.

She'd made more than fifty runs.

"…Okay, this time—!"

As she reached the base of the stairs, the blade came to meet her.

"..."

Kasumi drew her sword, visualizing her plan of attack. The blades slammed into each

other.

The shrill sound of metal on metal filled the warehouse.

There was an HP bar floating over the enemy katana, and Kasumi kept a close eye on

it as she fought.

"Leap!"

After she chipped a bit of the sword's health off, she bounded forward.

A moment later, multiple blades skewered the place she'd just been standing.

This katana would take certain actions at specific HP thresholds. But there were

several variations, and it was extremely difficult to grasp them all. On top of that, the

raw DPS of these moves could easily tear through Kasumi like tissue paper—which

explained her high death count. Still, after dozens of runs, she'd learned to avoid this

attack easily enough.

"First Blade: Heat Haze!"

Closing the gap once more, she swung her sword, then took a single step to the right.

She'd known a blade would come shooting out of the floor.

Trading blows with the floating katana, she moved a step at a time, tracing a circle

around it.

More blades shot upward a beat after each step.

A moment's pause would be fatal, but she couldn't move too fast—as long as she kept

circle strafing at this range, her opponent's attack pattern would remain unchanged.

And there lay the key to her victory.

It had taken her a long time to discover this strategy.

As she completed a full circle, the katana's HP reached the next threshold—causing it

to shift to a new phase.

The blades from the floor were replaced with purple fire raining down from above.

Coming into contact with these flames would leave her stuck at AGI 0 for ten full

seconds.

The katana itself began swooping around wildly—without high Agility, these

movements were impossible to evade.

Kasumi had been thwarted by this rain of fire longer than anything else.

She simply could not dodge the flames long enough to reach the next phase.

She'd been forced to go through every skill she had, looking for a way out.

"Final Blade: Misty Moon."

The results had boiled down to get it before I get got.

A lightning-fast twelve-hit combo struck the floating katana as if trying to snap it in

half.

The sword's HP dropped like a rock, but Kasumi wasn't celebrating.

This combo would blow right through three of the katana's phases, bringing it to the

final stage.

Only a few dots remained on its HP bar—but that was unavoidable.

No matter how strong her attack, no matter what tactics she used—it would always

retain those last few points.

Kasumi's Katana Arts skill gave her a whole series of numbered moves she could call

upon. Misty Moon was the greatest of these, but any uses would temporarily halve her

stats—and lock the whole move set.

She had to finish this battle in that condition.

This incredible challenge was what had pushed her attempt count into the fifties.

"..."

The katana teleported to the far corner of the room, glowing with an even more

ominous light.

A burst of flames encircled Kasumi, reaching as high as the ceiling before giving way

to full-blown walls of fire, leaving only a path that led right to the katana.

Twenty-five yards away. The path itself was only three yards wide.

Kasumi would have to dart down this gauntlet to land her final blow.

"Hah!"

Exhaling sharply, she broke into a run—noticeably slower than before.

Not only was the katana launching blades at her, but jets of flame were shooting out

of the walls on either side.

If she paused for even a second, a blade would skewer her from below.

This was the longest twenty-five yards of her life.

"Haaah!"

Batting aside a missile with the flat of her blade, she shifted her path ever so slightly,

never breaking stride.

The flames would crater her AGI, so she couldn't afford to be hit by them. The blades

rearing up from below were similarly fatal. But the swords flying at her from the front

were another matter.

If she got this far without taking damage, she could afford to get hit by three of them.

She reached the halfway point in good shape, and her instinct told her it was time.

"Superspeed!"

She'd kept this in reserve to propel her through the so-far-insurmountable last stretch.

Yesterday, she'd taken a break from fighting this sword to ask Sally and Shin for help

improving her ability to dodge flying blades.

The training had paid off, and she could see the projectiles better than ever before.

But as she got close, the attacks came too fast for her to react in time.

"C'mon…!"

She took hits to her left shoulder, her right side, and her left thigh.

Painful red sparks sprayed like fresh blood.

But still, Kasumi did not stop, forging ahead like a warrior possessed.

She thrust forward with the sword in her right hand—and touched the flying katana.

Instantly, the weapon lost its light and began to fall. A scabbard, completely covered

in talismans, rose to catch it.

The raging walls of fire and the blades piercing her body all vanished, leaving only

darkness.

"..."

Kasumi reached out and picked up the fallen katana.

"Heh-heh… ha-ha-ha! I did it! I finally did it!"

Unable to restrain her joy, she shouted in celebration as she inspected her new

equipment.

Yukari, the All-Consuming Blight

[STR+30]

[Blighted Blade]

[Self-Repairing]

Blighted Blade

While equipped, provides a set of five skills, each of which comes with a cost: HP

reduction, MP reduction, temporary stat reduction, permanent stat reduction, or a

physical limitation.

Self-Repairing

While sheathed, regenerates durability.

"Worth a try. Let's find a monster to use this on!"

Kasumi equipped her new cursed blade and went looking for a damage sponge

monster to try it on.

It didn't take her long.

"Good, good, these have loads of endurance."

As Kasumi drew her new sword, she found herself enveloped in purple smoke.

"Uhhh… hmm?"

The smoke itself was soon carried away by the wind, but it had left its mark.

Kasumi's outfit had changed dramatically.

Deep purple hakama cloaked her from the waist down while her chest and arms were

wrapped in pale purple strips of cloth—and nothing else.

Purple smoke trailed from the blade and the sarashi around her arms, billowing

ceaselessly behind her.

"..."

Kasumi tried to sheathe the blade but was so rattled that she missed the first time and

had to take a breath before trying again.

When she did, the smoke enveloped her once more, and her clothes thankfully went

back to normal.

"W-will I ever get used to that? I mean… just sarashi?"

But she couldn't bring herself to not use a sword this good.

She cleared her throat and drew the blade again, trying not to blush.

Four of the skill penalties were more or less self-explanatory, but physical limitation

was somewhat mysterious, so she gave the skill a shot.

"Purple Phantom Blade!"

The skill propelled her toward the monster.

Her right hand swung.

Letting the skill take over, she let go of the blade—and then it vanished, reappearing

in her left hand.

Striking home with her left, she let it go again—and once more, the blade appeared in

her right hand.

Alternating hands, she charged in, driving the beast back and landing ten strikes in all.

After the final blow, she released the sword one last time and struck her palms

together.

Ten blades appeared, surrounding the monster and spearing it from all sides.

A twenty-hit combo. No ordinary monster was tough enough to withstand that.

The skill ended, and the blade returned to her right hand.

"So, so good…"

Were it not for the mandatory clothing, it would be perfect—but even as that thought

crossed her mind, purple smoke enveloped Kasumi once more.

"…Oh, it's gone. Wow, did I just drop the sword?"

She tried to pick it up… and belatedly realized her hand was very small.

"Uh…"

The system was keeping her hakama in place, but they were definitely very baggy

now—and the sarashi was no longer wound tight.

At the moment, Kasumi was just under four feet tall.

"You have got to be…"

She was still gaping when another monster came running toward her.

How inconsiderate.

"Hold on…! W-wait, see how cute I am? That means you should… let me go! Argh!"

Her pleas for mercy went unheard, and she was promptly sent back to town.

When she respawned, Kasumi's sarashi had been tightened up again, but she was still

tiny.

She checked her status screen.

"I'm stuck like this for ten minutes…"

She pulled up the hems of her hakama and waddled over to a bench, then closed her

eyes, trying her best to ignore the stares of everyone standing in the square.

Katana now in hand, Kasumi turned her attention back to raising her access rank.

Elsewhere, Maple had been similarly busy. After a week of trying her best, she was

lying flat out on the table at the Guild Home.

"Sallyyyy… my access rank is going nowherrrre…"

"Yeah, I'm not surprised it's rough for you," Sally said. She was sitting on the other side

of the table.

The access permit quests all consisted of errands that involved running across town

or venturing outside of it.

That included plenty of gathering or hunting tasks.

Kasumi had been burning through them like crazy, but for virtually everyone else,

they'd been major time sinks.

Maple had sacrificed a great many things for her single-minded dedication to defense,

leaving her solidly in the lowest rung for movement speed.

Sally's access was already at seven, while Maple was still at her original five.

"I wanna go further iiin!"

But even as Maple wailed, a tremor shook the entire stratum.

"Wh-what was that…?"

"I dunno… oh."

Both of them received a message from the admins.

They pulled it up and read the contents.

A player has passed torii gate nine, restoring the town to its rightful form. Additional

items and quests are now available.

"Sally! Let's go right now!"

"Mm, probably worth checking out."

One step out of the Guild Home and they immediately spotted a major difference.

"Gosh… those are…"

"Yeah, clearly. Ogres…"

They were obviously not human—and it wasn't just ogres, but all manner of spirits

and yokai. All of them were walking around like they owned the place. They were

selling arcane potions and items decorated with esoteric writing.

The fourth stratum had become a town of yokai and witchcraft.

"Sally, are you gonna freak out on me?"

Maple was pointing at a wobbling wisp, the exact sort of thing that usually frightened

her friend.

"It's not coming at me or trying to scare me… As long as it leaves me alone…"

Clearly, she wasn't ever gonna be a fan.

One eye firmly on the wisp, Sally asked, "Think it was Kasumi?"

"She was really going at it."

They considered her the most likely suspect…

…and they were right on the money.

Kasumi was sitting just inside the gate with the kanji for nine.

The moment she'd stepped through, purple smoke had come pouring out of the

buildings around her, accompanied by chanting and blinding lights. Yokai after yokai

had rushed past her, and she'd been so shocked that she lost her footing.

Only when the admin message arrived did she recover her bearings.

"That would explain it. Okay. Whew…"

She got back up and glanced around the new district.

"The next gate is pretty close."

A single road led between them.

She weaved through the throngs of yokai and passed the shops lining both sides. At

the end, she found herself at the tower they'd seen looming overhead this whole time.

Before that stood a final gate, with the kanji for ten.

And by that gate was a sign.

THE NEXT RULER SHALL BE WHOEVER FINDS THE RED OGRE'S HORN, THE

DRAGON'S SORE SCALE, AND THE DIVINE DEW.

After reading that, Kasumi ran through everything she'd bought so far.

"They definitely weren't available in any stores… but there's more items now, so I

guess I'll have to make the rounds again."

Gathering information on these three items was the perfect excuse. Excited to see

what new treasures she might discover, Kasumi resumed her grand shopping tour.

Nearly every player was doing the same—seeing what new things might await after

the town's transformation. Between the excited players and the new yokai NPCs, the

peaceful town was a hive of activity.

Maple and Sally were in a nearby shop, checking if there was anything new on offer.

The shop's owner had once been human, but now she had a fox's tail and ears.

"She was in disguise?"

"Seems like it."

It was time to examine the new merchandise.

There was so much. Some practical, some not.

"Look, Maple!" Sally said, holding up two sets of three paper charms bound with string.

The set in her left hand was white, and the one in her right was black.

"They do different things?"

"Yup. The black one randomly disables one of your opponent's skills for three minutes.

The white one lets you pick a skill in advance and takes the hit if someone tries to seal

it."

And since there were three of each, you could use them that many times.

"Interesting…"

"You can only have one set of each color, though."

"…Worth buying?"

"I think so. Might come in handy someday."

Certainly couldn't hurt to have on hand. Each of them bought one set of each color.

"Sally, Sally, look what I found!"

Maple was holding up fake horns and ears.

"Wanna try 'em on?" Sally said. The signs in the store clearly said this was allowed.

"Mm… I'll go with this one!"

Maple had picked out some very curly horns.

"Hmm…," Sally said.

"I thought these would look good when I'm all woolly."

"Oh, right, your sheep form. Fair! I think they would."

"Then this one's for you, Sally."

"Uh, no, I'm not…"

Despite her hesitance, Maple handed her a set of white fox ears and a matching tail.

"Just like Oboro!"

"I guess… Well, maybe I can try it when nobody else is around… I don't think I'm brave

enough for the tail, though."

If these took off and everyone else started wearing them, she'd reconsider it then. Sally

and Maple both made their purchases and went outside.

"I've got some errands to run, so I'd better log out…"

"Sure thing! Bye, Sally."

"See you later, Maple."

Sally vanished in a puff of light.

On her own, Maple pondered her next move—then she saw a familiar face passing.

"Oh, Mii! She's headed… what is that way?"

Mii had taken several furtive looks around before slipping down a narrow alley, so

naturally, Maple followed her.

They'd met during the last event and become friends after, so she figured she should

say hi.

After several turns, she heard Mii's voice up ahead.

There was no real reason to hide, but Maple found herself lingering at the last corner,

peeking around it.

"All right… just a little relaxation before I go hunt those monsters," Mii said.

She had her menu open to change her equipment.

And not just her equipment—she also used an item that changed her entire appearance.

Her red hair became long and white, and her clothes were now blue with white

highlights. At a glance, no one would think it was Mii at all.

Red was her most defining feature.

"Here I come!"

Mii opened the door and stepped in.

"...Was that something I wasn't supposed to see? Agh!"

Maple hadn't meant to sneak around and spy on her.

She decided not to tell anyone but figured it was best to give Mii a heads up.

"Uh, this shop is…"

She checked the little sign outside. It said… THE FLOATING CUDDLE ROOM.

"…Okay! Here goes."

Maple opened the door and stepped inside. She paid the girl working the counter and

went on through.

The room she entered was filled with fluffy cats, all suspended in midair.

Mii was in the middle, a look of rapture on her face.

When she spotted Maple, she quickly hid behind a cat.

Despite her disguise, she knew she'd be recognized up close.

After all… her face hadn't changed.

Maple went over and fessed up, apologizing for the inadvertent discovery.

"Oh, don't worry. Maybe I wanted someone to know. Keeping up the act is getting

exhausting… ah-ha-ha…"

"I really didn't mean to! If there's anything I can do for you, just let me know!"

"…Well, if you help me hunt some monsters later…?"

Maple was more than happy to oblige. But first, she joined Mii and enjoyed the pile of

fluff.