Mochi Munching

Valentine’s final lesson with Dan would be her most difficult - that was the warning he’d given her. However, she wasn’t exactly one to back out of plans for no good reason. A little challenge could be fun every once in a while; a nice way to work her brain and do something she wasn’t used to doing. She supposed she was partially nervous, though it was thoroughly outweighed by excitement.

The bell rang as it normally did overhead, announcing her entrance just as well as her hoovesteps did. She waved to Shibani, who was, to her surprise, awake and behind the counter, though they shared no words. He did look like he was nodding off already, and Valentine had no intention of stopping him from doing so. She could assume Dan had put him behind the counter as it wasn’t a one-off experience, but she was sure Dan and her would probably be done before his nap caused any problems. In a way, it reminded her of Hops and how she would always drink on the job, though that was a bit more troublesome at times. It didn’t exactly pair well with her clumsiness, after all. 

Nevertheless, Valentine remembered that she had a job to do. She slipped past the counter to stand in front of the door Dan had been behind last time, gently knocking against the wood twice. It didn’t take long to hear footfalls behind it, slowly trailing to be closer and closer until the door itself creaked open to reveal the taller succubun. Even Valentine’s use of hooves never seemed to quite make up for the distance between their heads, though Valentine didn’t mind too much. It felt familiar - comfortable.

“Thank you for being on time. Everything’s already set up.” 

She looked past him as he spoke, surveying the kitchen until she could discern what he was talking about. A square basket hung over a steaming kettle, filling the kitchen with the moistened scent of sweet rice. A mortar near the counter had a bowl of water next to it that she hadn’t seen the day before, leading her to believe it was part of the set up, too. She stepped inside, already trailing towards the sink to wash her hands. As the kettle was nearer to it, the scent of the rice was much stronger - though not unwelcoming. 

“What all is on the plate today? I know you said this last one would be a bit more difficult -” she could barely finish her sentence before Dan pushed a mallet into her freshly washed hands, looking past her to the basket over the kettle.

“We’re going to be pounding the rice into dough. After that, I’ll have them stored to be made into mochi for next year. It’s too late in the month for these to be ready to eat now, so we won’t cover how to make them specifically. The recipe book will cover that part.” He took the basket as he spoke, dumping the contents into the mortar. The rice stuck together in a wet clump; still steaming and shining with the moisture it held. Valentine joined Dan before it, clutching the mallet and waiting for his instructions.

“One person - that’s one - will pound the rice while the other folds it and adds water with their hands. Since I don’t want you to flinch and mess up the process, I’ll be the one taking care of that. We’ll work on audio queues - you make a noise when you go in for another hit and I’ll make a noise when I go in to fold. The most important part of this is that you don’t hesitate. The second you go down too fast or mess up in any way, I come away with a broken finger. You can’t be scared to hurt me - that’s what’ll get me hurt. You listen to the queues and neither of us will end up upset with eachother. Got it?” Valentine nodded, though she couldn’t deny the lump forming in her throat as she readied the mallet over the mortar. Dan’s hand shifted into position and he nodded, beckoning her to start. The first noise escaped her mouth as she slammed the mallet down, and the noise Dan made soon sounded when she lifted it. It took a few tries before the rhythm became much steadier and easy, shaking away the nerves she’d accrued in favor of the work. 

Slowly, the rice melted into eachother; slowly becoming smoother and more of a unit with each fold and each swing. Each grain became more difficult to point out; blending easily with every other grain until she could no longer see any individual pieces. Dan withdrew his hand a final time and steadied her own into a halt, giving her a few moments of peace to observe the dough they’d made. It was unassuming - simple and white and unsure of what it would end up being. Glittery mochi? Gold-dusted mochi? Either one was possible, but not concrete. She licked her lips, glancing back to Dan for his next instructions. She could feel a bit of sweat along her browline, though she hadn’t noticed it before.

“I’ll take care of bagging this. You can go sit down in the main area. I’ll be out soon with your reward.”

Valentine’s leg hadn’t stopped bouncing since she sat down, her knee violently rattling the table each time it knocked into it. Dan had been taking much longer than she initially anticipated - did it really take that long to store mochi? She had no experience in doing so, so it wasn’t exactly something she could contribute to. She cast feverish glances at Shibani every once in a while, though his dreams seemed to give him no indication of it. She steadied her frantic leg-thumping for his sake, trying not to create enough ruckus to interrupt his napping. She was sure he only had a few minutes left to do so once Dan was finished, in any case…

Instead, she turned to the window to watch the crystals’ light reflect and cast golden glows down the street. She could see a few succubuns meandering about, flitting in and out of shops and laughing with their friends. A few held food wrapped in crinkly wrappers, dripping in sauces and being picked at by the dolls that held them. Valentine’s mouth watered at the sight, her stomach growling as she imagined the scents of the street outside. She certainly wouldn’t complain if a bowl of tofu donburi materialized on her table at that very mo-

A loud thud and a quiet clink broke her from her daydreams, sending her head on a swivel until she had spotted both Dan and what he had dropped on her table. The blue hard cover bound book and the matching pouch on top of it were expected, but Valentine noticed an oddity in the form of a pair of pink mochis on a bed of rose petals delicately laid out on a porcelain plate. Her hands were still for a moment before they twitched forward, gently cradling the soft dough in her hands and looking to Dan for an explanation.

“I remembered you said that one was your favorite. Consider it a thank you for your hard work.” He turned before Val could even give him her own gratitude, though she still managed to spot the hint of a smile decorating his face. He made his way behind the counter where Shibani had been sleeping, shaking the disgruntled bun awake.

“You can go. I’ll take over from here.”