Chapter 1
“I'm home...”
The pneumatic front door to my house closed behind me as I took off my shoes and put them on the rack. I got home a bit late today, after work several of my coworkers took me out for drinks. I only started my new job a few weeks ago so I felt like I had to go so they wouldn't think I was standoffish. We had a few beers then I excused myself as soon as was polite. Even so it was well after dark by the time I got home.
I slid open the privacy door leading to the rest of the apartment and found the room in shambles. The newspaper was knocked off the coffee table and the pages were scattered all over the living room floor. The flower vase was lying on its side and the carpet beneath it was wet. The orchids blooms were gone, only stems were sticking out of the vase.
“Yuyu! Puff!”
My pet Reimu was sitting on the floor in the middle of the hallway. Her cheeks were bulged as she while she used puff-puff on me.
“Yuwaaa! Reimu's is hungry because Mister wasn't here! Bring munch-munch, lots is okay! Understand, easy!”
I sighed. “Alright, I understand.” I stepped around the wet spot on the carpet to keep my socks dry and walked into the kitchen.
Just inside the child door on the kitchen I narrowly avoided stepping into a pile of anko. Reimu must really have been upset, it's been a long time since she left Mister Poo-Poo outside of Mister Toilet. I opened one of the cabinets and pulled on a half-empty bag of dry Yukkuri food. Reimu bounced eagerly in place as I measured a handful into a stainless steel yukkuri food bowl and set it down in it's usual spot next to the refrigerator.
Despite her eagerness, Reimu remembered to wait until I gave the signal before pouncing on the bowl. I ignored the crunching sounds and Reimu's cry of “Happiness~!” as I inspected the latch on the kitchen's child door. It seemed to be working properly, it latched properly with a click as I opened and closed it several times experimentally. I guess I must have forgotten to close it properly when I left for work this morning. I was in a rush and I didn't test the latch when I left Reimu in the kitchen for the day.
I wasn't thrilled with Reimu's behavior but it was as much my fault as hers. On the other hand, the matter of the poo-poo would have to be dealt with. I walked over to the refrigerator just as Reimu finished the last of her food.
“Yuwaa! Mister was late with the munch-munch, pitiful Reimu's Mister Tummy was growling. Uneasy Mister should give Reimu sweet-sweets as compensation, easy! ”
The key to dealing with yukkuri is to not argue with them. From their point of view, their reasoning is inescapable and anyone who doesn't “understand, easy” needs to be punished. Instead I took a different tact.
“Huh? When was I late with the munch-munch? Reimu's can't be hungry because her Mister Tummy isn't growling right now is it?”
This stopped Reimu in mid-demand, you could see her struggling to process it in her mind. Yukkuri understand the passage of time as a concept but they process information based on what they sense and feel in the present. Wild yukkuri understand they need to cache away food for the winter time but it is instinctual rather then a rational act. Reimu was upset because she was hungry because her dinner was late. However, since she just ate she was no longer hungry. The more she thought about it, the less sense her indignation made until finally she wasn't even aware she was angry anymore.
“Yu! Does Mister have a sweet-sweet for cute Reimu who ate all her munch-munch?”
There we are, one problem solved. There was still one other thing...
“Reimu, what is that over there by Mister Door?”
Reimu's braids drooped and she pulled them close as she adverted her eyes. She knew that she did something bad.
“Yuguuu....”
“Reimu,” I told her firmly. “You know that you are supposed to make poo-poo in the toilet.” I pointed to the plastic try near the garbage can. The tray had a picture of Alice winking as it did the Poo-poo dance. The picture was captioned Good yukkuri make Mister Poo-Poo here!
“Yuwaaaa...” Reimu blushed in shame and covered her eyes with the ends of her braids. “Reimu, look at me,” I instructed her. She quivered as she uncovered her eyes which were glistening with unshed tears.
“Reimu, you know what you have to do when you don't make poo-poo in the toilet.”
“Yuyuyu...!” Reimu hesitated and stalled but eventually she picked up the poo-poo and carried it to the toilet. When she finished I knelt down to pet her soft hair. “That's right Reimu, that's how we take it easy together.” Reimu hid her face as she buried her head in my hand.
With the incident resolved I left Reimu in the kitchen while I fixed the rest of the apartment. I sopped up the water in the carpet with a towel and gathered up the newspaper to be placed with the other recyclables. I stood the flower vase back up and threw away the stems, I decided I would take Reimu with me to the park tomorrow so she could gather new flowers.
Reimu was hiding in her yukkuri bed when I went back to the kitchen. Using soft words I slowly coxed her out.
“Yuguuu...is Mister still angry with Reimu?” I gave a little laugh and rubbed her on her head, “No, I'm not angry. Mister was just following the rules when he made Reimu pick up her poo-poo.” I picked up Reimu and carried her with me back to the living room. “And now the rules say that Mister has to watch Mister Drama with Reimu before bedtime.”
Reimu perked up as we watched her favorite nighttime drama. It was about a love triangle between a Reimu-type, a Marisa-type, and an Alice-type. It didn't make much sense to me, as far as I know there has never been a situation where there has been a Reimu x Alice or Marisa x Alice pairing. The romantic tension between the Reimu and Marisa who were competing over Alice didn't make much sense either, they loved each other too but neither one would back down from being the dominant one in the relationship?
Reimu was already starting to nod off when tomorrow's preview for the drama began playing. I carefully picked her up and carried her to the kitchen. This time I forgot about the water and my socks made a squishing sound as I walked over to Reimu's bed. Gently I set her down on the cushion and wrapped the old shirt she used as bedding around her. As quietly as I could with my wet socks, I padded out of the kitchen. I took one last look before I flicked on the light switch for the night.
“Sweet dreams, Reimu.”
Notes: The position of the names in a pairing indicates who is the dominant one in a relationship, in AxB 'A' is the dominant one and 'B' is the passive one. In BxA, 'B' would be the dominant one and 'A' would be the passive one.
Updated by JusticeItEasy