/jp/ - Otaku Culture

Alice’s house was stuffed with real, living people. This would be worthy of an article if Aya wasn’t sworn to keep Hana’s birthday secret. The participants weren’t numerous, but they were active: Mamizou sat quietly, engaging in gossip here and there and directing dolls if she noticed someone’s plate was less than full. Yuuka sipped tea while watching Hana interact with the active party-goers. Tewi and her bunnies never sat still, eating more than twice their weight and at least four time more food than they brought. Aunn kept watch over them. Meanwhile, Kosuzu and Sanae made sure all the guests were comfortable. Of course, Hana-chan was showing off her powers for everyone to see and having the time of her life. Not that she was the only one…

Marisa was everywhere. Not a single inch of Alice’s house was spared from Marisa’s party-going. The strange part wasn’t her energy, nor Alice following closely behind to pick up after her—that happened every time there was a get-together. As far as Aya could tell, the little drunkard was dry tonight. Maybe that mentor was to blame — the “Goddess of Magic.” Reimu wasn’t exactly a reliable source of information, but she never described the being sealed away as anything more than some stray soul Satori’s kitty never carted. Still, Aya this wasn’t the place for an interview. Maybe in the after-party.

While the room was cozy, it was clear the excitement was dying down. After Yuuka and Hana’s wonderful performance, the atmosphere was light and jovial. Still, how do you follow up something like that? Most girls began gossiping with each other in small groups, bumping into others while retrieving drinks. Even Tewi was defeated, the embodiment of tiredness as Aunn stole her entourage. With enough pictures to last a decade, Aya just needed to find something to swing the party back into overdrive. What could activity could people tired out from a big dance enjoy? That’s it!

Aya ran over to Marisa, dodging past the Moriyan miko and slipping past Alice. She grasped the short girl by her shoulders for balance. “MARISA! Did you you bring that ‘thing’ you borrowed?”

The magician’s face instantly soured. “Seriously? You’re going to accuse me of stealing something here and now? What’s wrong with you?!“

“The ‘collateral’ you took from me. Unless you’ve got a guilty conscience about something else?”

Marisa stared at Aya for a few seconds before she remembered their deal. “Oh. Ohhhh! Right, just give me one second, ze!” As the witch bolted off, Aya had Alice for company. Giving her a look once-over, she wondered what Okina saw. Sure, she had nice hair and creamy skin, but… shit, that alone was creepy. The sooner their partnership was over, the better. Alice began prying into what Aya sent her friend to retrieve. In return, she asked Alice why she left every so often to check on a sealed envelope hidden in her room. Neither girl answered directly. It seemed there would be a little more excitement later.

After far longer than it should have taken, Marisa set a dusty box on a table in the center of the room. It was just polished when Aya gave it to her. Pulling out silver and gold pieces, she set a small cube aside before it whirred and clicked, expanding itself into a 15x15 grid. As Kosuzu and a few others watched curiously, a green-haired ghost made her way over and scoffed. “Really? You could’ve brought cards, dice or any game of chance. But shogi, a solved game?”

Indignant, Aya stood up for her board. “Oh, did you study the game? You’ll find that Tengu daishogi opens up many avenues for opportunity. It’s not quite like the games you played back in the Heian period.”

Mima’s expression was serene, save for a single throbbing vein that contained her rage. “I’ve heard of this ‘drop rule’. It changes little. Anyone with half a brain can and will win every game they play, so long as they pick the correct opening.”

Sitting on one side of the board, Aya stuck her hands underneath and began fiddling. Ravine board? No, that’s for beginners... “Really? Then how about you show me firsthand? I’d love to see an ancient master at play.” The board flipped and shifted, gears biting each other and humming to simulate a flowing river as tiles rose to create a single bridge between two shores. “Here, it’s the Battle of Koromogawa. You should remember this!”

The spirit’s eyebrow twitched. Yet, she commanded Marisa to sit opposite to the tengu. “Wait, this isn’t really my thing. Nitori’s better at this and Aya plays with Momiji so—“

“You won’t be playing alone. Follow my instructions exactly and we’ll sink this impertinent birdbrain.”

As Aya and Marisa set up their pieces, some guests took notice of the quarrel and sat down to watch. This was perfect. Now that Hana was watching, all Aya had to do was make this goddess wish she never crawled out of her hokora.