/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>45833655
The Genbu Ravine was a short flight away. It would be nice to see Nitori again. The last time they really had a chance to talk, she was waiting on upgrades for her camera. Between covering the HSE and Momiji hogging the kappa for shogi, Aya missed Nitori’s enthusiasm for invention. At least she’d finally get to talk with an honest businesswoman.

As Aya neared the kappa hideout, a streak of red flew out past her. Judging by the hint of purple and shiny glint coming from it, the tengu knew exactly who was fleeing the scene. It was a relief that she wouldn’t have to speak to Kanako face-to-face, and a poor omen for Suwako’s future. It felt too ironic to pray for a god’s safety, so Aya decided she’d bother Hatate for pictures of what happened. Besides, a familiar face was waving her over.

At the edge of a cliff, Aya landed in front of the excited engineer. Not wanting to drag their meeting down with the moral implications of their transaction, the tengu went for a lighthearted tone. “Long time no see! Now that you’re in the know, we’re gonna blow the lid off this place!”

The half-joke seemed to land, as Nitori matched her energy. “It’s good to see you too. But, it seems like I’m not the only one who’s been busy making new things.” The kappa looked at Aya’s belly, then to her face for approval. After receiving an affirmative smile, Nitori lightly touched the tengu’s protrusion before hugging it, standing at full height to do so. “Congratulations! If you need anything for the kids, just let me know. There’s a whole line of toys for youkai children coming out of testing phase, so you’ll be getting state-of-the-art products!” Even if she was trying to catch a sale, the kappa’s warmth was appreciated.

Aya and Nitori traveled into the complex cavern system, chatting about little things. Oddly, the caves were pretty quiet. Normally, the sound of metal slamming, grinding and cutting against metal was constant. The only thing she could hear was the buzz of electricity passing through wires. The kappa were always working on something. The possibility of this being a trap crossed her mind, but there was no way this many kappa could be coordinated to drop their projects so soon after meeting Suwako. At least, she hoped that wasn’t the case.

Coming to the end of a tunnel, Nitori walked up to the metal door and typed away at a keypad on the handle. The kappa turned to the tengu and spoke softly. “Watch your step and don’t speak too loudly. The really sensitive devices are stored on gimbals and have lots of padding to reduce shock, but I’d rather not risk it.” With an affirmative beep, the door slowly swung open. Lights turned on in succession, illuminating shelves of plain metal boxes in the warehouse. Labels categorized them differently, but each and every container had a little orange triangle depicting a circle violently disintegrating embossed on the front: This was the explosives depot.

The kappa waived Aya over to a workbench where two identical, metal rods were laying on opposite ends. “Kanako’s request was pretty weird, but it wasn’t hard at all.” She picked up one from the left side of the table, causing Aya to back away on instinct. “There are multiple triggers wired in: There’s an arming button hidden under a latch, a receiver for magic signals, and a killswitch just in case something goes wrong...” As the kappa showed Aya each part of the bomb, the tengu planned out sites to plant the devices and considered how well they could fit into her danmaku. It might add a fresh new flair to her photos!

“Plus, there’s a pressure trigger that activates if it receives too much force.” Suddenly, the kappa raised the pipe over her head for a downward swing. “Like this!” In a split second, Aya had to decide whether to dive forward and grab Nitori’s wrist or back way as far as possible. Considering the only thing around her was more bombs, Aya went for the former. In return, Aya got a hard *BONK* to the shoulder. To her surprise, a wave of fire and shrapnel didn’t follow. Just a lot of pain.

“Well, half of these are completely empty. Not sure why Kanako-sama wants shells when we have enough resources to fill them all up, but I guess that’s what she needs. Um, are you alright?”

Of course! She could use the duds to scare people away while keeping the live ones for immediate use. “I’m just peachy. This is some quality stuff! You’re really doing me a favor with this. Just gimme the goods and I’ll be back soon to-”

Nitori held Aya’s wrist with a mechanical arm and shushed her with another. “There’s just one more thing you need to see. Something… inspiring.” With those ominous words, the kappa led Aya through the depot towards a narrow elevator hidden behind a false wall. Clamped by metal, the tengu followed.

As the elevator descended, the sound of metal against metal returned.

(Part 74)