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After the sun sets and it's way past the hours when most reasonable people would still be awake, Aunn sneaks away from her usual guarding spot in front of the Hakurei Shrine for a little covert rendezvous.
Actually, it's not like she really needs to sneak off.
It's not like Reimu expects to Aunn to be at the shrine 24/7. In fact, the shrine maiden seems pretty indifferent about the komainu youkai's presence in the first place, and seems pretty content to let Aunn come and go whenever, without really asking any questions.
But for some reason, Aunn feels like she needs to be a bit sneaky about this. Especially considering who it is that she's meeting.
When the sun is down and the full moon is high in the sky, Mystia's food stand is always a great place for a late-night snack.
By the time Aunn gets to the food stand (which is quite busy for this time of the night), Chen is already there, casually reserving one of the seats by resting a hand on the stool next to her.
When the young cat youkai spots Aunn, her face lights up, and she waves. "Hi!"
Aunn smiles, taking the seat next to the bakeneko. "Hello, Chen!"
"Heya!" Chen smiles back, and then frowns. "So, uh. Somebody spiked all of Yukari-sama's food cupboards with super-spicy chili powder today."
Aunn freezes. "You don't think…?" She groans, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Reimu, why."
"It would make sense," says Chen. "As revenge for the time Yukari-sama slipped that ghost pepper juice into your shrine maiden's sake."
"I thought your master's house was hidden somewhere?" asks Aunn. "How could Reimu have gotten to it?"
Chen waves her hand dismissively. "If you know the trick it's not that hard to find. Your shrine maiden is clever and stubborn enough to actually pull it off."
Aunn frowns. To be honest, Reimu can be pretty lazy sometimes. Almost to a fault. But when she has her mind set on something, it's almost scary what she can accomplish. And she's the Hakurei Shrine maiden, no? She carries a significant share of the burden of maintaining the Hakurei Barrier. She would have the know-how to throw even the gap youkai for a loop, if she really put her mind to it.
"Besides," continues Chen. "That ghost pepper was just payback for the time your shrine maiden threw that paint bomb into Yukari-sama's hair. It took us hours to wash out, by the way. She made me and Ran-sama help scrub!"
"But that was only because your Yukari slipped that purple hair dye into Reimu's shampoo."
"But that was 'cuz your shrine maiden misled Yukari-sama about where that specific book she was looking for was, leading her on a wild goose chase all across Gensokyo, when actually your shrine maiden was literally squatting on it that entire time."
"But that was only because your Yukari misled Reimu about a key detail in that last incident. That ruined a perfectly good dress, by the way."
"But that was only because…" Chen frowns.
"How far back does this even go, anyway?" exclaims Aunn. "This is so stupid. They're acting like children."
"I know, right?" says Chen, shaking her head.
"I wish they'd just talk things out."
"If only it was that easy!" says Chen, throwing up her arms.
"Do you even remember how this all started?" asks Aunn.
Chen shakes her head. "No idea!"
"Me neither," says Aunn, sighing. "I don't know who started it, and I honestly don't care! I swear, if I see a gap appear with that Yukari of yours lurking around the shrine one more time…"
"And my tongue is still burnt from the spicy chilis from earlier today," says Chen. She raises her arms, letting out a growl. "I'm so annoyed! Seriously!"
Aunn lets out a sigh. "Is there anything I personally can do? Maybe if I make up a gift of forgiveness and pretend it's from Reimu, will your Yukari cut it out?"
Chen pouts. "I don't think so. I mean, no one really knows what's going on in that weird head of hers. Even Ran-sama says she doesn't really know what Yukari-sama is thinking at times." She glances at Aunn. "What about your shrine maiden? If Yukari-sama said, like, 'I'm sorry' or something like that?..."
Aunn frowns. "No, I think Reimu's too petty for that. I feel like she's not going to let up until your Yukari actually grovels on her knees and begs for forgiveness."
Chen thinks for a moment. "What if we lock them in a room together and then don't let them out until they agree that they've made up with each other?"
Aunn tilts her head. "Uhhh. Doesn't Yukari-san have like… portals?"
"Oops right. I forgot." She frowns. "I dunno what to do, then."
"I don't either!"
Chen growls. "We're not counsellors dammit! We don't know how to solve this!"
"Yeah, exactly!"
"Those two, seriously! Stop making problems for other people with these petty hang-ups you have about each other!"
"Yeah!"
"You're causing problems for other people!"
"Yes!" Aunn clenches her fists. "Just talk things out like reasonable, mature grown-ups! It’s not hard!"
"Swear to god!"
And so, united in their frustration about Reimu and Yukari's seemingly endless petty exchanges, Aunn and Chen order their food. And to avoid souring their mood further, they decide to change the conversation topic to literally anything else.