The days that followed were uneventful.
The most notable thing, perhaps, was Sen Getsusa witnessing the Witch's power: with a flick of her wrist Yubaba's Sister turned a pack of forest wolves into little blue mushrooms.
Why mushrooms?
She answered with pride: "Because I like them."
Fine… Back to magic: Sen Getsusa saw mere finger-flicks unleash wonders—no chants, no gestures.
She yearned to learn and broached the subject at once.
She was refused.
"Even a Planeswalker can't study this World's magic—especially mine. If you recorded it and sealed it into a deck to carry away, it would be troublesome."
Sen Getsusa asked why; the old woman only smiled and kept silent.
Days later, conscience-stricken over freeloading, Sen Getsusa took over the cooking and, under patient tutelage, mastered every dessert technique.
Dessert Skill: MAX ↑
—By the way, while accompanying Yubaba's Sister, Sen Getsusa found this "World of gods and yokai" fascinating. Water covered most of the land; travel relied on something called a "Water Train."
Tickets were precious.
So most gods and yokai were poor?
She mused idly and tossed greens into the pan.
Sizzle—
Mushrooms and vegetables released their aroma as she seasoned them deftly.
After many days she could match every local spice and ingredient to its counterpart from her own World.
"Mmm, I smell something good!" Yubaba's Sister sat at the table in spectacles reading the paper; sunlight slipped through the small window, dust motes dancing.
"I really wish I had a grand-daughter like you, little Tsukisa…"
Hearing this, Sen Getsusa smiled behind her back; these days had been happy ones.
"Aren't I already?" she replied, wiping damp hands on her apron before lifting the knife to thunk-thunk-thunk through what looked like cucumber but bore a stranger name.
"Haha, of course! With a Planeswalker for a granddaughter, my sister will die of envy."
"Sister?" Sen Getsusa set the sliced cucumber on the plate and sprinkled on miso. "You have siblings?"
"That woman's impossible to get along with. I'm still wondering whether to send you." Yubabas Sister cupped her heavy chin, watching Sen Getsusa bring the dishes, sniffing the aroma with her huge nose.
"Go where? Is there something you need me to do?"
"Sit, sit." She slipped the apron off Sen Getsusa and patted her back. "Years ago my sister and I opened a hot-spring Bathhouse."
Yubabas Sister spoke in fragments.
"…I could never accept the way she ran things. In the end I simply left the 'sentō' and settled here."
She was still a bit angry, her eyes widening. "By our agreement, today is the monthly dividend day—the only day I may set foot in the sentō."
"But today—"
Sen Getsusa looked up, suddenly understanding. "Ah, I know—the promise with Cat King?"
She nodded. "Yes, the god little Yuesha met last time. Lately too many cat spirits have died from abuse. Even I'm old now; I no longer have the strength of my youth to heal so many vengeful souls at once."
The spirits writhing with maggots, eyes gouged out, skin flayed, scalded until infection killed them—Sen Getsusa still couldn't forget. It had been two weeks.
"Centuries ago such horrors were rare; humans only targeted other humans." Yubabas Sister's face showed bewilderment. "Even cruelty stayed within our own kind."
"Shouldn't the World grow more civilized? Why do animals fare worse and worse?"
"This trip I must check on 'Black Maru' again—sigh."
Black Maru was a black kitten whose paws had been cut off—only the paws, not the whole leg.
The abuser apparently wanted to see how a leg-without-paws cat would walk.
When Sen Getsusa met him, he looked like a tiny robot on four sticks, tottering forward, mewing in pain with every step.
Then he nuzzled her hand and licked her fingertips.
"I'm human too." The girl crouched to stroke his head. "I'm so sorry. You've suffered, Black Maru."
She gently stroked his back; the ghostly kitten gazed at her in puzzlement, then kept rubbing against her hand.
(ノ>ω<)ノ
Adorable and heartbreaking.
Sen Getsusa set down her chopsticks with a sigh. "Humans truly are… peculiar creatures."
Yubabas Sister offered no argument. "I've seen no species more despicable than humans, nor any more noble, more willing to sacrifice."
"Yes. Challenging the strong, creating the unseen. Even bleeding, they use their hands to shield the weak." Sen Getsusa watched clouds drift past the window, eyes shining. "To me that is humanity's virtue and strength."
"But that's not asked of most humans."
Yubabas Sister studied her little granddaughter: fair chin resting on her palm, black curls framing her face, long lashes fluttering, a tiny beauty mark at her cheek.
"All right, all right. Today, lovely Miss Tsukisa, please fetch the dividend for me." She clapped her hands to recall the girl's wandering thoughts.
"Ride the tram, just as when I took you. Six stops; get off at Bathhouse station and you'll find it."
Sen Getsusa nodded, flicked her transit card in front of her to show she hadn't lost it. "I'll be back before dinner. Should I bring anything?"
"Oh, those crunchy fried… kacha-kacha-kacha…"
"Understood." Sen Getsusa chuckled.
She knew the greedy granny meant tempura. "I'll make them tonight. But, Granny, your tastes don't match your age at all—is that wise?"
Sen Getsusa said helplessedly.
Yubabas Sister adored deep-fried, extremely sweet or salty foods; in Sen Getsusa's old World she'd have been dragged off for check-ups long ago.
"I've eaten this way for centuries. Hmph, I'm a Witch, a Witch! And my granddaughter worries about my health."
"A Witch who even knits her own gloves."
Sen Getsusa wiggled her beige mittens, a gift knit by Yubabas Sister.
"I've told you—magic is—"
"—illusory; only what you weave or till with your own hands is real."
Sen Getsusa, lacing her shoes at the door, squinted playfully. "I know, I know. You've said it tons. I haven't sealed a single spell, after all."
She waved. "Wait for me, Granny. I'm off. Give Black Maru and Cat King my regards!"
Creak—
Bang.
The door closed from outside.
Yubabas Sister gazed through the window.
A full-figured girl in a pale shirt, hair to her waist, slim jeans hugging her curves, skirted the marshy puddles, greeted the streetlamp, then followed the fenced path and faded from sight.
The room returned to its original hush.
Yubabas Sister crooked a finger, lifted the steaming porcelain cup, and sipped her black tea.
So delicious—her skill has surpassed mine.
Tsukisa… "Becoming a Witch's apprentice and learning witchcraft never ends well."
She smiled and shook her head.
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