OPERATION KOKKURI
1
The air was tense in the parlor. Everyone held their breath and quietly bore witness to the scene.
Surrounding a table at the center of the room, the trio stared at each other—the sweaty-foreheaded Subaru, the brow-wrinkled Beatrice, and the ear-twitching Puck.
As the trio stared with intense concentration, Emilia and Rem watched over them with worry and confusion in their eyes. But at that moment, Subaru didn’t have the mental bandwidth to put their minds at ease.
“Your face is turning green, Beako. If you push that hard, even the hollows’ll wanna run for it.”
“How dare you, I suppose. Who exactly is pushing too hard? I don’t have the faintest reason to get worked up. Though I might ask, why are your nostrils flared?”
“Now, now, calm down, you two. It’s just a game. Don’t take it too seriously.”
Beatrice had answered Subaru’s provocation with a savage smile that clashed with her childlike appearance. Puck was the only one who remained his usual self, stroking his chin as he tried to ease the tension between the two.
“You aren’t wrong, Puckie…but while this is technically a game, I suppose it’s become a serious competition. I can’t let a pathetic human defeat me.”
“Oh dear, Betty, you’re so stubborn. How about it, Subaru? Why don’t you be the bigger person and let Betty have this—”
“Puck.”
Subaru shot down Puck’s attempt at third-party mediation. When Puck gave him a confused look, Subaru continued, “If we’re talking about surrendering for harmony’s sake, you’d better take that fight out of your tail first.”
Silence.
“If you can’t do that, you’re no better than me or Beako. Am I wrong?” Subaru asked quietly.
“Dang it, Subaru, you’re a real headache…” Puck folded his short arms and sighed. Then the small cat spirit penetrated Subaru head-on with his round eyes and said, “It looks like I’ll have to take this seriously, too.”
A wave of pressure burst from Puck with such intensity that Subaru almost fell backward. But he steeled himself and endured the gale, and with an audacious grin, he beheld his two enemies.
“How did it come to this…” Emilia murmured regretfully as she watched the winds of determination blow through the trio.
Emilia pressed a hand to her chest, her violet eyes filled with grief. Beside her, Rem softly rested a hand on her thin shoulder. When Emilia turned to look at her, Rem shook her head and said, “We can’t stop them. All we can do now is to watch over them like this…”
“I’m not sure why they got like this…” Emilia lamented. “They were having such a great time until just a moment ago.”
Rem sighed quietly, squeezing the words out. “It’s because they each have something they can’t stand to lose—”
Emilia’s eyes grew round as Rem looked at the trio and nodded. “I’m sure that each one of them has something they refuse to give up. Because of this, it becomes necessary to butt heads like this now and then… At least, that’s my theory.”
“And that’s what’s making them butt heads like that?”
“I think so, yes.”
Rem said nothing more, her solemn gaze fixed on the trio at the table. Observing Rem’s posture, Emilia put her hands together in prayer and closed her eyes.
If possible, please bring the three a resolution that results in nobody getting hurt…
And to whom was she praying? Given the setting, if anybody, it would be—
“Thy will be done—O mighty Kokkuri.”
Calling the name of the distant, unfamiliar deity, Emilia quietly offered her prayer.
At the table, the trio surrounded a white piece of paper covered in letters and numbers, with a single coin poised atop it.
The trio placed their fingers (and tail) onto the coin, deadlocked in an eternal staring contest. As they focused on their wishes, their expressions were solemn enough to baffle even God Himself if he came down to Earth at that moment.
This story’s true beginnings started with breakfast earlier that day.
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