/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>44670839
“Ah hell, I wish I were an oni right now, or dead” Marisa had woken up sometime before noon, and had beaten dad to the punch while doing so. She was more capable at holding her booze then she looked. No doubt she had a lot of practice. “I knew I should’va picked up something from the village instead. Damn oni sake” She had finally remembered how to speak up after stumbling around and getting her bearings. Dad wasn’t too much better either, wordlessly gulping down another cup of water with a glum look on his face. “When you’re ready to drink, don’t bother with the oni stuff, it really is like going to hell, ugh” I suppose there were consequences living in a world where most of the social functions include drinking. You either had to get used to it and apologize to your liver or stay out. But if my hangovers were going to be as bad as this, maybe I should ease myself into it.
“Ah, consider your training off for the day Hana, we can make up for it later. I’m good enough to head home. See you two later” With that she made her exit and picked up her broom and wobbled out into the streets. I made sure she at least turned the corner safely without face-faulting, anything after that was out of my hands. Now I only had one sloshed victim to look after. Dad rubbed his forehead. “At least it’s morning. Just give me a couple more minutes and I’ll be ready to go” he said as he waved me off. I saw no reason to stay around and nurse him. After I scarfed down breakfast and made sure dad was awake, I made my rounds.


It might because we were heading into fall and the world was slowing down with us, or I dad somehow almost single-handily solved every youkai related issue in the village, but the jobs were slowing down. I had performed a single exorcism and peddled some charms today, not nearly enough to earn our keep. Maybe I would have to get a side job after all. Serving up drinks or sweeping up floors would be much preferable to living like a pauper. As I moped about the future, I noticed a crowd gathered on the streets. I stopped by to see what it was. A green haired woman in a white outfit and blue skirt was addressing the crowd. “Even as the weather cools and you have to spend your days inside, the gods will still look after you. I hope you will all enjoy yourselves” Green hair, shrine maiden, odd choice in hair accessories. So this must be Sane. Shrine Maiden of the Moriya shrine. Direct competitor to the Hakurei shrine. Living god. I hardly knew anything about her, I guess I really was sheltered. Well, there was always later. As the crowd left, I heard her say “Excuse me! Wait” I saw the woman I assumed was Sanae squeeze through the crowd towards me. “You’re Hana Hakurei, aren’t you?” “I am” I told her. “Ah good! I’m Sane Kochiya. I’m part of the Moriya Shrine. I haven’t seen you since you were a little kid. I heard you moved away from the shrine, how old are you now?” “I’m sixteen” I said, getting a little tired of all the answers I had to give.

“Sixteen, oh wow. Where did the years go?” she said as she shook her head, slight disbelief on her face. “It only seems like a few years you were a little girl playing around on the shrine grounds. I know this is sudden, but do you want to get something and we can catch up? My treat” If my mother was right about one thing, it was to never turn down a free meal. “Sure” I said.

Sanae had me follow her through the streets until we arrived at a soba shop. I gave it a once-over. The shop was tucked away and almost unnoticeable, as if the shop itself was wanted to hide. The banner was faded and frayed. The furniture was older then me, possibly by several times and chipped. A few customers were already tucking away at their meal. The scent of all the spices and ingredients used were almost overpowering. The owner looked tough and old enough that he had a second job that involved throwing bodies into the river. In other words, this place must have been great. The two of us took our seats and looked over the menus. After a while, the owner turned his attention to us “What are’ya having today?” We placed our orders. I had the basic dish while Sanae got something ridiculous, If I remember. The owner crept into the kitchen to deliver the order. “Since I heard you left the shrine I wanted to see how you were doing, but I never got the chance. I had no idea where you lived and we just got so busy. There’s been a lot more business to our shrine” Sanae explained. I could make a guess why. “So how have things been going? Are you doing okay?”

I gave a bit of a shrug “Work’s been slow for me lately, but we’ve doing good. Dad and I are happy” Sanae gave me a bit of a smile “I see, but that brings up something I wanted to asked you. I have a business proposition for you”