Mentioned Characters: Yuyuko, Youmu, Hisami, Zanmu

Yuyuko Saigyouji lives in a world caught in a lingering summer heat. She's dressed in a mostly white yukata, which makes her look less like a ghost and more like an ordinary, corporeal girl. Her crocodile is from the Sanzu River. Almost entirely translucent, it's usually found close by Yuyuko's side.

A fireworks festival was set to take place on the Road of Liminality, near the Sanzu River. By the time it rolled around, Yuyuko had already shown up. Not to watch the fireworks, though. She was there to eat her way through every food stall the festival had to offer, and she'd even skipped a meal earlier that day just to make room for it.

Yuyuko wasted no time getting to the food stalls, tearing into dish after dish. Hands, mouth, stomach, all running at full speed, there was no sign of her slowing down. Youmu, who'd come along as her escort, watched her mistress lost in food-bliss and let out a long, exasperated sigh. Yuyuko wasn't about to let her off the hook, though. "Youmu, you eat too!" she said, piling food onto her plate until it was stacked into a small mountain. "There's no way I can eat all this." "Close your eyes and eat with the stomach in your heart." "It's pitch black. I can't see the food." Still bantering, the two of them made their way down the row of stalls, until they heard quiet sobbing out of nowhere. For a moment, they both thought it might be some vengeful phantom with unfinished business. They were wrong. It was just Hisami, in tears, chewing on a grilled squid.

When Yuyuko and Youmu asked what was wrong, Hisami answered through her tears. "Lady Zanmu isn't coming. We were supposed to watch the fireworks together!" The instant she'd heard why Hisami was crying, Yuyuko had already stopped listening. She was too busy eyeing the squid in Hisami's hand. "That looks good. Where'd you get it?" Hisami barely finished pointing out the stall before Yuyuko left her mid-sob and was already on her way to buy some squid. It turned out to have a satisfying bite to it, and was so good she picked up one for Youmu as well. A while later, Youmu had dozed off right next to her. All that food Yuyuko kept feeding her had finally caught up with her, and she'd simply nodded off. "Is this what they call a food coma? But Youmu's only half-human, so maybe hers is just a half coma?" Yuyuko murmured this to herself, watching Youmu sleep with obvious fascination. Just then, the first fireworks lit up the sky.

Yuyuko sat on the banks of the Sanzu River, watching the fireworks light up the sky with Youmu asleep beside her. She had a mountain of festival food with her, though all of it was gone within minutes of the show starting. She was halfway to her feet, ready to go buy seconds, when a rapid volley of fireworks froze her in place. The sky was suddenly full of color, and the view had won against her urge to eat. "Pretty, isn't it, Mr. Crocodile?" At some point, without her even noticing, the translucent crocodile had settled in beside her. With Youmu fast asleep, Yuyuko was happy to watch the fireworks with the crocodile instead. The sound of the fireworks finally woke Youmu up. Spotting the crocodile in her usual spot, she looked mildly annoyed and sat down on the other side of Yuyuko, as if to say this spot was hers. The three of them ended up huddled close, watching the sky bloom with color, until Yuyuko got bored and announced she was hungry again.