/jp/ - Otaku Culture

(1/4)
Goro knocked on the door of the hut in a strange rhythm.
The place was dingy with the only sign of class being a set of wind chimes hanging from the roof, which was just fine with me, rebel little wind chimes! Fight back against your drab little surroundings all you’d like!
“Hello? Ah Goro-kun! What brings you here?” Kagerou unabashedly answered, her tail beating frantically behind her.
“It’s a shakedown mutt, hand over your valuables and we’ll only thrash you a bit.” I say with a whistle.
The mutt eye’s narrow. “What are you doing here? Goro, why are you with this woman? Is she bullying you?”
“No, no, no, we’re just acquainted through circumstances. Seija-kun’s joking of course, saying the opposite of what she means.” He said.
I feel like I was going to be hearing that excuse a lot. Whatever, confusing people by double meanings was an amanojaku’s privilege after all!
“I brought some sweets.” Goro said, raising his basket.
The dog’s mood instantly flipped to excitement as she hastily ushered us into the household. At her meager table already sat the pathetic tuna Wakasagihime and that recluse Sekibanki who both gave me nervous and indifferent glares respectively.
“Well well well, how fortunate to happen upon this gathering of losers. All that good karma I earned must be coming back in force.” I cackled with my hand on my hip.
“So, it would seem. I didn’t take you for the romantic type and here you are side-by-side with a man, truly a blessing for someone with a rotten personality like you.” Sekibanki waved.
“Pardon? Goro if you were looking for a youkai partner, I could have recommended much better candidates!” Wakasagihime chimed in.
Goro waved his hand. “It’s circumstances, circumstances!” He said jovially. “Fortune makes for strange bedfellows after all.”
“Bedfellows, that’s…” The mermaid blushes, sinking into her chair.
“It’s a manner of speech. He means they’re business partners, not that they share a bed.” Sekibanki explained.
“Yup. We’re in the process of becoming estranged, this one sleeping on the floor.” I said, jamming a thumb at Goro.
“Any who, when’s the last time you all went to the village? I brought some sweets.” He interjected, distributing sweets among us, leaving me a spicy cookie, which I eat whole and down immediately with an entire cup of tea.
Only losers wasted time sipping and exchanging pleasantries like these bores were doing now. In the meantime, I just rock back in my chair balancing myself between stillness and falling.
“… so that’s the reason for my visit, Yukari’s finally gone off the deep-end and almost everybody who’s anyone is getting up to put a stop to things.” Goro finished.
“So, you want to use the Grassroots Network as canon fodder?” Sekibanki asked with raised eyebrows, an edge to her voice.