Dagasho & Shibani — Up in Knots

With an awkward hem and hum, Dagasho squinted at the site before him… before peeking over his shoulder at the curious Shibani who observed his work.

“… what do ya think?”
“Umm… well… let’s see…” Wiggling his way under Sho’s armpit, Shibani poked an arm through and gave the assortment of rope a jab with a finger. “Yup. That’s super solid… if this was a shipping container it wouldn’t be going ANYWHERE, but like… if this was a bun then they’d turn into a blueberry in five seconds flat…”
“Gaah. That’s what I thought…” With a tinge of defeat in his voice, Dagasho moved his arms around Shibani’s wiggly figure and began to undo the rope that so tightly bound the pillow he practiced on.

It was curious, really, how Shibani and Dagasho came to the topic of rope art on this fine afternoon. Dagasho had come by early in the morning to plan a collaborative effort between Dan’s Dango and Sparkling Skies Inc. for some special “firework brand mochi” or something to that effect, and the two had finished their business talk much earlier than expected… Dan was much too busy today to “babysit the old man” or so he says, so the task was delegated to an eager-looking Shibani.

Dagasho was a burly sort, you know? He looked a LOT cooler working beside Dan and did his own thing most of the time. Shibani rarely got to invite him over to the Pillow Pile (so he likes to call it), so the normally sleepy bun had a bit more pep in his step as he’d dragged Sho over to indulge in the sleepy pastimes he usually indulged in day by day. This included a long afternoon nap, flipping through several volumes of a new trendy comic (with Shibani explaining the plot all the way through for Sho’s convenience), watching some shows that Dagasho mentioned he wanted to see… and—most recently—trying some rope art after the two found a half-buried beginner’s guide tucked away in all the comics and show boxes. Dagasho seemed eager to give it a go, especially after Shibani mentioned that Dan’s rope skills were quite good… seems like the old man was STILL bitter about some sort of skill spat between pride buns and wanted to somehow one-up his “competitor” in one way or another. Ehh… Shibani didn’t really get it, all he knew was that Dagasho… certainly had a ways to go if he wanted to make these patterns both look pretty and not be so tight as to turn a bun into a trussed tofu roast.

“You know Sho… maybe it’s one of those things where like, since you’re doing it on a pillow it’s kinda hard to like… get a feel for it?” Shibani tilted his head to the side, still half-nestled under one of Dagasho’s arms.
“Yer sayin’ that I should like… practice on a bun instead? Well where…”
“MmmmmMMMMMMM…” With big, round eyes Shibani stared up at Dagasho’s contemplating face.
“… are you sure? Won’t Dan be all…”
“MMMMM… Well Dan uses me for practice all the time, I’m sure he won’t mind. I’m sure if I ask nicely he can just do this one—” Shibani motioned to the rope currently on his person, “—over again for me after he’s done with work. So c’moooooon… let’s dooooo it~! Ummm, I may need your help getting this rope undone so you start with a clean slate, though…”
“Yeah, sure. Thanks for lendin’ a hand—er, body?—for the cause.”

And so the two set out on this little “adventure” in rope art… first stop, learning how to loosen knots!

…

“Oh, oop… um, that’s a little—OOF!”
“Sorry Shibani, sorry! Lemme just like, pull this—”
“No wait Sho, I think it’s supposed to go the other wa-AAAAAAAY…”
“I swear it wasn’t supposed to be like that! Let me just…”

As the voices of Dagasho and Shibani drifted into the back area, Dan had quietly put his mallet down to focus on just what these two rascals were doing in his store. They’d made no attempt to be quiet, so Dan could hear them doing the things they did all through the day… Though just an hour or so ago the two of them had become oddly silent, and now they were saying such strange things and making weird grunting noises. Were they… they weren’t were they? Dan’s normally pointed expression was pulled taut as he carefully stalked outward into the main shop area, turning to the back to see…

“Shibani, Dagasho… what the fuck are you guys doing?”

“Dan, hi!!! Are you done with work yet?”
“Danny-boy! Um. I can explain…”

The scene that Dan encountered was… odd, to say the least. Atop a sturdily-arranged pile of pillows was Shibani and off to the side was Dagasho… it looked as if the two had attempted to follow examples from one of the books that Dan had bought when he first started rope art, but something had gone quite wrong… rather than being adorned in knots, Shibani was the one TIED in knots much akin to how a contortionist poses for zany tourist photos. And Dagasho… poor Dagasho was there with a bundle of rope in his hands doing his best to get all the pieces set right but still somehow failing even though the book’s basic tasks were laid out right there before him.

Dan couldn’t help but bring a hand to his face to pinch the bridge of his nose. He can’t leave these two shits alone for a minute, can he?

“No explanation necessary, old man. I understand perfectly.”
“Ya do? Well…” The tips of Dagasho’s ears twitched in anticipation… but his expectant smile soon faltered as the metaphorical anger lines radiated from Dan’s person as he wandered over to the two buffoons.
“I’ll help you get Shibani free, and you can help me finish up all two-hundred orders of dango I have to complete by the end of the day… right?” Dan’s aura was immense as he kneeled down to inspect Sho’s ropework. Dagasho swallowed hard, looking at Shibani… the two shared a nervous nod.

“Y-yeah! Definitely! Anything for my pal, Danny!”
“And I’ll help, Dan! Just as soon as you get me out of these ropes…”
It was gonna be a long rest of the day for these two, wasn’t it?