Story: Mundane Musings of the New Generation: Introductions (chapter 9)

Authors: dragonfire5000

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Chapter 9

Title: A Child\'s First Taste

[Author's notes: I've always wondered: when do oni start drinking sake?]

Hoshiguma Parsee knew that something was up when her daughter Kihana came stumbling into the room, but she did not expect the little girl's breath to smell of sake.

"Kihana! What's wrong?! What have you been drinking?!" she cried out, running over to steady her tipsy daughter.

"Ah...Daddy left her sakazuki on the table and I was thirsty..." Kihana groaned. "Mommy, why are there three of you...?"

"YUUGI!" Parsee yelled out, causing the taller oni to come running in.

"W-What is it, Parsee?" Yuugi asked, looking a tad nervous as her eyes flicked back and forth from her fuming wife and her daughter. "What's wrong with Kihana?"

"She drank from your sakazuki, that's what! You shouldn't be so careless!"

"Ah, I was wondering why most of the sake was gone..." Yuugi bent down so that her eyes were level with Kihana's. "How are you feeling, kid?"

"Daddy's got two horns now...when did Daddy have two horns?"

"Geez..." Parsee pulled Kihana over and, after sitting down, laid her daughter's head on her lap. "Nothing much to do but rest it off." She gave Yuugi a curious look. "But what in the world did she drink? She should be able to handle what you normally drink even at this age..."

"It's a new type of sake from the gap youkai," Yuugi said sheepishly. "I really didn't expect it to be that strong, to be honest." She smiled fondly at her daughter. "Still, I kind of wished that I was there when she drank it. An oni's first sip of sake is a special day, you know? It's like a rite of passage!"

"Well, I still think she's too young for this ‘rite of passage,'" Parsee replied disapprovingly, though her tone had softened considerably as she stroked her now snoozing daughter's hair. "By the way, why did you leave your sakazuki behind anyways? It's rare of you to not carry it when you're drinking sake."

"I was finishing up a gift," Yuugi said, her expression brightening. "Look at what I've been making for her!" She pulled something out from behind her back: a strange shape wrapped up in paper. As Yuugi pulled the paper way, Parsee saw it was a miniature red gourd with Kihana's name written on it in green symbols.

"...You want to give her a gourd already?" Parsee asked incredulously.

"Hey! It's important for an oni to have her own personal drink container, you know! Besides, don't you think it looks good? It has our colors on it!" She pointed at her own horn as well as Parsee's eyes. "This way we'll always be with her!"

Parsee couldn't help but smile at that. "Geez..." She motioned for Yuugi to sit down next to her, something that the oni gladly complied to. Parsee leaned to the side to rest her head on her wife's shoulder. "You have such nice shoulders...I'm jealous."

Yuugi laughed. "But it's of no use unless you have someone lovely resting on it right?"

"Mm...flatterer."

[End notes: Kihana uses the kanji for 'demon' and 'flower.' She has blonde hair and green eyes as well as a single red horn on her forehead. She gets jealous easily like her mother but takes it as a drive to always do her best and never give up.]

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