/jp/ - Otaku Culture

A few more customers arrived, and Sekibanki, as usual, directed her heads above where Naomi sat them. Two pairs of men, the first ones in simple garbs and with some carpentry tools on their belts, likely on a break from work, while others wore nice-looking kimono, perhaps merchants. Right after them came one shady-looking blonde girl in outsider clothing. She was wearing pants so short they were hidden behind that soft-looking jacket sort of thing she had, a bit heavy for the heat, with a hood and a hat with one of those stiff brims in front, like a duck's bill, and her eyes were hidden by a pair of dark-tinted glasses. Sekibanki decided to watch her for now from the ceiling, using a cut some meathead once made to spy on her.

While Naomi served the shady girl, Sekibanki listened to the conversations of the new arrivals, just to be sure they weren't trouble. First, the carpenters.

"Hope we can finish early, I've got some plans for the evening, if you catch my drift."

"What plans? Knowing you - oh, don't tell me..."

"Yep."

"Sankichi, I was joking back then. Going to that youkai-only bar will get you killed!"

"Exactly why it'll work out, they like brave ones! Besides, like you wouldn't try!"

"Well... Are they at least cute?"

"That's the point - they can't not be!"

Ugh, enough of that. No harm here, only idiocy. The shady girl seemed to just lazily eat her youkan and sip tea. Waiting for someone? While taking the carpenters' order, she overheard the merchants' talk.

"Well, what's up? I've got good and bad news. You?" It was a smoker's voice, low and in a good mood.

"Only bad ones." And this one was a singer's voice, clear and in no particular mood.

"I'll start then. We've got the scholars and the old man under our thumb."

"So it worked? Won't they break out without us looking?" Break out? Sounded suspicious. She couldn't look at them right now, as she walked to the counter to get the tea and manju, so her head above them moved the ceiling board just enough to make a peephole. They were at a four-seater right next to a window. One was closer to the entrance, to the right, a bit taller than average and with a well-groomed beard and mustache. The other sat opposite, a young man with a ponytail, looking somewhere past his companion, to the counter.

"Nah, the boss brought the old crew from Aikawa, real pros. Tofu munchers got nothing on them." So the smoker was the taller one. Aikawa? Never heard of that place. Some kappa outpost? "So now our friends're so scared of what we might do, they keep hush about it. The problem's that people got paranoid, so instead of thinking it's just her, they think it's all of us."

"I figured. Boss won't come to the meeting."

"What!? Damn, how so?"

"I saw him with our friends. Barely recognised him behind all that paper."

"Good thing he left us instructions. The evidence will lead our misguided friends to the truth."

"Shame about what will happen to her."

"Well, that's life in a big village."

"There's something else." He jerked his head slightly up as if to point to something. The other one turned around.

As Sekibanki finished collecting ordered sweets on her tray, she turned to deliver them and froze. She saw the guy with a ponytail looking right into her eyes with an inviting gaze. Yeah, it was obvious what he was trying to do, so she ignored him and continued her work. What did he expect? That she would throw her tray away and run off with some dodgy thugs? What a loser. She thought she saw the shady girl stealing a look toward those guys as well, but she was sitting close to them, so it could be a coincidence.

"Haha! And here I thought you just wanted to share some of that gold! Is she trouble?" Yep, just like she thoug- wait, trouble?

"Back then I saw a goon talk to a redhead at the scene. Couldn't get close enough hear them."

"Heh, well, I'll just leave this to your magic, she should serve us soon."

Great. Just great. That whole escapade did make her a target for tanuki after all.

>>43740131
You know what, you've convinced me. I'll give a human woman a chance. I saw a cute redhead in the village the other day, I'm gonna ask her out.

>>34993774
You guys are all a bunch of perverts. You should find a nice, human woman like this waitress at the local restaurant.

a cute

>>19206139
Sekibanki