/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>45575085
“BENKEI NOOOOOOO!” Marisa wasn’t the only one that mourned his loss. Aunn was similarly affected, although less so that Sanae. She simply became despondent.

“Interesting. Makes sense that even a legendary hero can’t resist the force of nature. Did you account for this too, Mima?” It left more like Yuuka prodded the spirit because she could than because she supported Aya.

As for Mima? She tore up her flowchart and sat (hovered?) down next to her student. “Okay, here’s how we can still win…” After debating for a couple minutes and a few traumatized dolls bringing fresh drinks and snacks for the audience, the specter directed Marisa’s next move with trepidation. Aya calmly waited for Marisa to finish placing a tile down to fortify her eastern shore before the reporter sent a tengu piece into the heart of her defenses. It could have easily taken one of Marisa’s strong pieces, but that wasn’t quite the point…

“Damnit you shitty bird if you do it one more time-” Mima began spinning a star of energy at the tip of one finger. Whether it was a conscious decision or not was unimportant because it couldn’t shut the reporter’s mouth.

“Pichun!” A hole opened up on Marisa’s eastern shore, where Aya’s tiles across the river were ready to switch from protection to assault. Even if there was a possibility to stem Aya’s assault in the east, there was a force just as large on in the west. The tengu had saved most of her flying and swimming units for this late stage, eroding Marisa’s land units until they were all gone. So, the blonde witch scooted next to Aya and whispered to her.

“Hey, I know you’ve got this whole thing going on with Master, but do you really want to drag out this game and execute my general?”

“Nah, not really. I think it would kill the mood if Yoshitsune died. It wouldn’t be that fun either.”

“Marisa! Stop cavorting with the enemy! We have a game to win!” Exchanging conspiratorial grins, Marisa returned to her side of the board.

Making the most of this, Aya pulled a blank scroll out of her bag and began to speak in a gruff voice. “General Yoshitsune! This battle has taken tolls on both of our forces! Shogun Yoritomo will agree to spare your life if you admit defeat in this battle!”

The spirit was utterly confused, while Hana and Sana stifled their laughter as they peeked at Aya’s blank speech. “Defeat? I’ll never be defeated by the likes of you! Now, as for your phoenix-”

Marisa stood up and took off her hat, retrieving a crumpled-up grocery list she forgot to fill. “Your terms are tempting, but we demand recompense! In addition to the retrieval of the warrior Benkei from the river, I request 500 pieces of gold, 400 pieces of silver, 1 head of cabbage, 6 pounds of pork, 2 dozen eggs and 1 carton of milk!”

Aya stood up and flipped her scroll to the upside down, continuing negotiations. “Very well! Your materials will be delivered shortly and Benkei will be fished out of the river in two to four business days!” The gladiators stretched out their hands and shook on the ceasefire, bringing their game to a close as their audience cheered. As soon as Marisa disengaged her hand from Aya, Mima grabbed it.
“Alright tengu, you may have defeated my pupil, but this doesn’t change a thing! Reset the board and I’ll show you what real shogi looks like!”

Behind both of them, Yuuka sat down with Hana, trying to figure out the dials and switches underneath the board. “You did an awful lot of thinking for your pupil’s defeat. Anyways, Aya, could you come show us how this works? Since you won the last game, you can play with Hana first.”

“I’ll do you one better: We can play this one together and I’ll show you guys the ropes.” Without looking, Aya switched to a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. “It’s called ‘Magic Kingdom,’ and more than two people can play at once! There’s a bunch of factions: There’s the Nature Folk, Death’s Messengers, or one that a certain man liked called Sorcerer Society. You see, they have the hero named Ruxor, the Fragrant Mage, and...“

While setting up with Yuuka and Hana, Aya could hear Alice shuffle by to listen in. Whether she won this next game or not, the tengu’s mission was accomplished. Hana even picked her father's faction! Hopefully she was a little more perceptive than he was, because Aya wasn't going to go easy on her. It would be an insult not to give the young woman the challenge she deserved.

Sorry for the slow pace. I'm feeling a little motivated tonight. Maybe it's Solstice magic. Even if we missed the mark a teensy little bit (and I'm definitely part of causing that), at least we got Hana's birthday going before today. That has to count for something, right?