/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>46772575
After a very… tense meeting in Mayohiga with Toutetsu, Reimu with her daughter, Ran with her kinda-daughter, and Okina with… whatever she was doing with Satori… Aya was safe in her own home, with some friends. Sneaking guests into Youkai Mountain was made much easier using backdoors. Ran and Chen were fine: Nobody would think of harassing Yukari’s shikigami. There was no telling how much trouble she’d be in for hosting the leader of the Gouyoku Alliance.

Chen was still shaken from Reimu’s conviction to fight Kasen and her dragon, but she was doing her best. After clearing off a coffee table, Aya brought her pearly-white pride and joy from the tengu’s bedroom into the main living area. Despite the mob boss’ insistence she was just joking, Aya wasn’t letting her mouth anywhere near her kids. Ran offered to help, but Aya saw how she was scrutinizing the home. Aya trusted the kitsune to be careful with her babies, but not enough to let her into her most private sanctuary. Foxes are instinctively drawn to snooping: It’s a known fact. Lugging the incubator herself, Aya displayed her immaculate bundles of joy for her guests to marvel at.

Toutetsu was the first to comment. “Huh. I thought they’d be bigger. Hard to imagine a busybody like you hatching from these little things.”

“You’ve got to be kidding! If they were any bigger coming out, I don’t think I could walk anymore.”

“Oh please, I’ve seen cats lay bigger eggs than this and run a marathon afterwards!”

“I’m not competing with a cat to see who can lay bigger eggs, these are my kids! Besides, cat eggs don’t even have the pearlescent sheen my babies do.” Aya started to think about all the care routines she could show Chen: Applying natural oils, checking for cracks and scratches, listening for any noises — it gave her a sense of pride she scarcely felt before.

The corners of Toutetsu’s mouth curved just a little as got ready to take another jab at her host. “Yeah, yeah. They say you eat with your eyes first, but I say the taste is what really matters. Yasha eggs are a rare treat, y’know? Too bad we can’t compare your eggs to see which one is better!”

Without a hint of amusement, Aya walked over to her fridge. She knelt down and disappeared behind the door, reappearing with two eggs roughly the size of footballs. “How do you want yours done? Hard-boiled? Scrambled? Eh, I could make omelettes for everyone.”

Instead of a response from the taotie, she got one from Ran. “Those eggs look similar to these ones… those wouldn’t happen to be your own eggs, right?”

“Of course they are. Why would I keep some other tengu’s eggs in my fridge? We’re crows, not cuckoos.” Aya could appreciate that Ran might not understand how different fertilized and unfertilized eggs are, but she didn’t have to wince each time she cracked one. Seeing a new target for teasing, Toutetsu took a seat near her old partner and spoke in a low voice while elbowing side. Chen, on the other hand, wasn’t satisfied with that little information. Joining Aya in the kitchen, she plied her with question after question.

“So… It’s not weird to eat these ones because they don’t have babies inside? Even though they look the same? What if you find an abandoned egg outside? Is there a way to tell which ones are fertilized?”

Barraged with four questions at once, Aya decided it wouldn’t hurt to have some fun with the bakeneko. “Well, an egg IS an egg. If the pantry is empty, would you let it go to waste?”

Chen’s eyes went as wide as saucers, her demeanor completely flipped. “No Ayaya! You can’t just eat babies when you’re hungry! That makes you as bad as the creepy blue-haired lady!” The concern on Ran’s face intensified while Toutetsu sat back and watched the show unfolding in front of her.

Aya held up a finger to Chen while whisking the contents of her bowl vigorously. “You should stop right there, young lady! I never did say I ate fertilized eggs, did I? You assumed that on your own. It seems like you forgot my lesson about deception: “Never lie to yourself.” Just because something is possible or implied doesn’t mean it’s true. It’s very easy to fool somebody just by letting them come to their own conclusions.”

Ran perked up at the conversation, the two tails of her hat standing straight up. “What do you mean by ‘lesson?’ Chen, why didn’t you tell me Aya is teaching you to tell lies?!”

Assaulted by both tengu and kitsune, Chen tried in vain to defend herself. “But-I didn’t-Miss Ayaya said-”

Not wanting to make the poor girl cry, Aya placed a hand on her shoulder. “That’s good initiative, lying by omission. But, you need to have a little more confidence when being interrogated. You know what? Why don’t we have another lesson now: I’ll teach you how to be a convincing speaker — fact or fiction!”

(Part 93)