"Hey, everybody!" said Tani, "The Quasi-Raccoon Cuties are here to show you more fun on Heiya Island!"
"So what are we doing today, Tani?" asked Naya.
"Today we're doing the Obon Festival," said Tani.
"Hmm...I'm betting a lot of our viewers don't know what the Obon Festival is," said Date, "Shall we tell them?"
"Certainly," said Tani, "The Obon Festival, or Bon Festival to some, is a Buddhist holiday meant for remembering the dead on a day where ancestors' spirits are most likely to return to the land of the living."
"Oh, you mean like Halloween?" asked Naya.
"Actually, it's more like Dia de los Muertos," said Date, "It's more about family reunions and respecting those who are no longer with us."
"And there are many traditional things that people can do to honor the dead," said Tani, "Like cleaning up the cemetery." At that, a shot of a currently unused area of Heiya Island was shown, nothing but scattered bushes, trees, and rocks. "Oh yeah, we don't have a cemetery," said Tani.
"You know, we're pretty lucky that no Animalians have ever died yet," said Naya, "And considering how healthy conversions make people and how they can be restored to their primes, we probably won't have any Animalian burials for a long, long time."
"And so far, there have been no bones found on Heiya Island," said Date, "But plenty of people who have moved here have lost family members and they have their own ways of honoring them."
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Here, they cut to a small shrine. It had a few photos on it of a family of humans. Though probably not everyone would notice the difference between different Asian languages, but those who'd know would notice the characters bearing the family's names were written in Thai. It became clear why when they saw the person tending to the shrine was Liao, who had been abducted from her family while the rest were killed.
"Liao, thank you so much for sharing this personal moment with us," said Date respectfully.
"I've learned not to cling too much to my past," said Liao, "My parents wouldn't want me stewing over their untimely demise for the rest of my life. But I can still honor them while I build my own future."
"Er, Muxing isn't around, is she?" asked Naya, "I'd rather not risk her attacking my camera again."
"She and Li-Wei are at the festival," said Liao, "I'm surprised you girls aren't there."
"Oh, we just wanted to give our viewers a glimpse over what this particular holiday is really about and how it's celebrated privately," said Tani, "Now we'll show how it's celebrated publicly."
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The streets of Heiya Island were largely occupied by fair booths, outdoors dining, and people walking around. What was noticeable was that most of the people were wearing kimonos.
"You know, I'm sure most of our viewers are wondering 'Why is everyone wearing dresses?'" said Naya.
"First off, kimonos aren't dresses," said Date, "They're a unisex robe. Secondly, these are specifically yukatas. They're lighter kimonos made from cotton, more appropriate for summer weather."
"Because the Bon Festival marks the unofficial end of summer," said Tani, "So everyone is out to have one last hurrah of summer fun."
Plenty of notable inhabitants of Heiya Island were seen walking about, including the Five Elements. Each one was wearing a yukata colored like their respective element. They weren't all in one group, with Huoxing taking Gang and Fang out, Shuixing and Nate by themselves, and Jinxing seemingly going stag, but talking/flirting with some off-duty Interpol agents. They also saw Muxing and Li-Wei, the latter wearing a custom yukata for their four arms. The Quasi-Raccoon Cuties kept a respectful distance from them.
One group they did approaching was Tuxing, who was with Lenard and Mikey. "So, we didn't expect to see you still here," said Date.
"Well, summer's almost over and I thought we might as well have some fun here before the school year starts," said Lenard.
"Hasn't the school year started for you?" asked Naya.
"My school says that I can come to this festival," said Mikey, "But I'll need to give a report about it when I go home."
"And I'm sure they're seeing a lot with you around," said Tani.
Tuxing was probably blushing under her fur. "They're good people," said Tuxing, "I'm just trying to make the most of what time we can manage together."
"And we appreciate it very much," said Lenard.
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The next shot happened at night. They down at the beach were several people were setting out paper lanterns to float across the water.
"This is one of the last parts of the festival," said Date, "Here, they set these lanterns adrift to guide visiting ghosts back to the spirit world."
"Fortunately, the sea's pretty calm today," said Tani, "This is usually done with rivers, but Heiya Island doesn't have any big rivers."
"Of course, there's still some dancing later," said Naya, "But here's something I think everyone would want to see more.
The final shot was from the sky, most likely from a drone. The view showed several bonfires along one side of the island. They formed the shape of a star-shaped kanji. Most people would recognize it as the shape of a Fire Blast, but the character meant 'large' or 'great'. Certainly a good symbol for the end of a big summer.