>>50123314
"I know, I got a little sidetracked from looking for my hat after I found this...completely...different hat on a whim? It came with a note telling me to bring it to Reimu's Shrine for some reason, happen to know anything about that?"
The Sun Fairy took the hat for a wordless inspection, but could gleam nothing of interest from the fancy headpiece.
"Don't think so, never even seen the thing before, but you're gonna wanna be careful of Reimu's Komainu if you're headed up there soon! The two tend to be a little inseparable this time 'a day if Reimu isn't already out."
"Oh, I get it...like a guard-dog or something?"
"Isn't that what all those stone statues technically are for Shrines then?"
The two briefly turn to look at Star Sapphire inside, idly commentating while cleaning out a few stained jars from their quaint kitchen.
"Well sure, I guess so, but a girl like Renko still deserves to know ahead of time! That little dog is good at sniffing out pranks when she's focused and frankly, if you ask me, this whole hat-delivery job reeks of someone setting you up for a good pranking!"
"And I guess you would know a thing or two about a Good Prank, right?"
"Hey..! Watch the attitude there, BookSmarts! Jeez...b-but that doesn't even matter right now anyways."
With a huff, the small fairy changes her tune and pulls out Renko's handbag from behind her back. The previously broken and slightly burnt strap, much to Renko's newfound delight, had been tenderly patched over with a small assortment of quilted fabrics that re-completed it. They were tightly layered and re-woven into the remaining leather with thick thread, perfect for lasting through many a long expedition ahead.
"And before ya start throwing any more accusations, I'm sure you'll find that we've left all your important things inside just as they once were. We've even prepared a few going away trinkets for you~!"
Renko had already begun rifling through its contents by the time Sunny started speaking, having noticed right away it felt ever so slightly heavier, though was again surprised to be greeted with an assortment of small fruits, multicolored flowers and a number of miniature corked bottles carefully wrapped in moss.
With the patchwork shoulder strap alongside everything else, the whole assortment nearly felt like a gift someone would get from their grandmother.
"So then what's with the fun-sized potions here? Some kind of ticking time-bomb juice to explode my papers?"
"What?? No! We're not /that/ evil, those are Helpful potions from our secret stockpile!"
"Well, more like samples from that stockpile really. But think of them as little bottles of medicine from the other place you're trying to get to."
The college girl was still skeptical in the face of Star's reassurance but, trusting these tiny drinks at least wouldn't kill her on the spot, she unwrapped and de-corked a random one from the bunch in hopes of potentially calling their bluff. The fairies had all been nice so far, sure, but she knew she was still dealing with a gaggle of life-long tricksters deep down.
The glowing orange contents of the bottle went down smoothly, almost tasting like raw soda syrup, before a highly rejuvenating force washed over Renko's entire body with a shivering flourish. Not only was she somehow no longer parched, but all the fatigue she'd been sustaining from her extended hike over suddenly felt like little more than a great work-out!
"Oh...oh Wow! This is actually fantastic, no way! And all these little colorful potions are like that?"
"Well, they may not all have the same 'concentrations', but it's the best we have to give! It ought to carry you far enough."
Sunny crosses her now freed arms in front of herself proudly, though it was still pretty obvious she was feeling just a bit smug over the whole situation as well.
"Awesome...you guys are real lifesavers for this. I mean that."
"Don't sweat it, the last thing you want is to feel too indebted to a Fairy like me~! Hah!"
It doesn't take long for Renko to reorient herself back towards the Hakurei Shrine with renewed determination, saying her final goodbyes to the Three Fairies for now with nearly everything once again in-tow and making sure she was ready to face her current destiny.
Sunny Milk waited until she saw the girl make her way past the tree line before slowly closing the front door, smiling and waving at their departing guest the entire time.
She stood for a moment, back pressed against the other side after hearing the latch click shut, before her widening grin broke out into a sinister chortle shared with her other current coconspirator.
"You made sure to de-label the Fresh one we put in there for her, right?"
"Oh yeah, the one we scooped out of Marisa's wrecked house, right? Totally! Hehehehehehe...that was from her batch of animal-related potions too."
"Let's make sure to hope she opens it up at the perfect time then~"
