Mochi Munching

With news of Burrowgatory receiving its first-ever cherubun resident and the Moon Mochi holiday in full swing, the entire population is buzzing with excitement and anticipation for the inevitable change that’s to come. Rapturous cheers and intoxicated laughter roared throughout the underground world as many high-spirited buns were anticipated to receive Allocer’s blessings in exchange for delicious mochi. A tradition, despite being one of the more popular customs for years, that seems to slip under a few succubuns’ noses until the festival is underway.

“So let’s see,” Octavio began with a timorous smile that did a poor job of masking his confusion. “Alistair is a demon who sneaks up on drunk buns and steals mochi then gives them a cool dream before dipping out for the rest of the year?”

His wife, Mimori, and their mutual friend Dan fixed their surprised gaze at the actor midway through creating an abundance of mochi to restock for Dan’s Dango - a confectionery shop named after the owner - for tomorrow. There was a moment of silence after his question was uttered before Dan unapologetically cleared his throat and resumed pounding away the mochigome while Mimori stifled a fleeting giggle.

“It’s Allocer, not Alistair, honey.” Mimori corrected him with a smile as she picked up an elegant box containing an assortment of high-quality mochi from the table. Without missing a beat, she handed the box to Octavio and gestured to him to put it behind the glass counter. 

“And it’s a bit more complicated than that. I’m surprised that you haven’t heard about Mochi Moon when you’ve been in Burrowgatory longer than I have. Did you not care about the tradition or…?” She inquired. 

As the topic sparked the conversation between the married couple, both Octavio and Mimori continued to work alongside Dan to keep up with the high demand for freshly made mochi. Mimori, having spent a long time in the shop and formed a close bond with Dan, provided a helping hand with crafting delicious chewy sweets and arranging them in beautiful packages that she created just for the Mochi Moon festival. Meanwhile, Octavio was tasked with shelving the encased mochi and cleaning up the storefront - with more than enough energy to spare for the discussion.

“I guess I never noticed it before. Buns like to drink all the time and Dan makes the best mochi so it didn’t cross my mind that this month has some tradition to honor a dream demon.” He explained with a lighthearted smile as he turned around to look at her; taking in his wife’s beauty that brought a brighter life in his eyes and causing his golden star motes to dazzle brilliantly. 

But as his eyes briefly shifted to Dan, who was concentrating on pounding the dough with his wooden mallet, an idea suddenly popped up, and stopped in the middle of wiping the checkout counter. 

“Hey, Dann-”

“I told you to stop calling me ‘Danny Boy’, Octavio.” Dan cut off Octavio mid-sentence with a stern voice. His quick-paced hammer swinging showed no signs of slowing down even when he was spoken to. But his standoffish demeanor did not deter Octavio from speaking his mind right after being interrupted. 

“My bad, Dan. Anyway, I was thinking that you and Shibani ought to stay over at our place tonight after we wrap up here. Mimi and I would love to have company so we can eat the delicious soup that she made earlier today!” He suggested with a wide smile while approaching Mimori from behind and embracing her, resting his head on her shoulder and planting a quick kiss on her freckled cheek.

“He means butajiru, but yes we would love to have you and Shibani come over for dinner at least!” Mimori chimed in and nodded. The idea of having all of her loved ones enjoying a warm meal together is a welcoming change for tonight’s suppertime. Not to mention she would be delighted to see Dan wind down and take a much-needed rest after spending the last week working overtime with little time to take care of his slothful companion; let alone himself.

Dan shifted his sharp gaze back and forth between the dough and Mimori with a flat expression. Normally he would reject any invitations for an outing, especially in the middle of the holiday when he needed to put in more work to meet the rising demands for his confectionery. Yet there is always something about Mimori’s serene smile that makes it difficult to disappoint her. Even if it means putting up with her husband’s lively personality that irritates him on rare occasions. 

“...Sure.” He responded just as he gave the mochigome one final strike with a powerful hit from his hammer. “I have work tomorrow so I won’t be drinking tonight, and I’ll have to leave early tomorrow morning to do some prep work before opening the shop.” Dan added, wiping off the small droplets of sweat from his forehead with his forearm. 

Almost on cue, a faint yawn was heard from a short distance, and a white sloth bun emerged from the back room that others have named “the pillow burrow”.  Shibani - Dan’s fondest companion - approached the trio with a languid smile and rubbed one of his droopy eyelids with his clenched hand. 

“Hi guys. I didn’t hear you guys come in.” As he commented on the couple’s presence and took his spot next to Dan, Shibani glanced around the room to take note of the large quantity of mochi that was made while he was taking his usual evening naps. 

“It looks like the shop is already restocked for tomorrow.” Shibani said with his smile growing at the handiwork between Dan and Mimori. “Thank you for coming by and helping Dan out these last few days, Mimi-Chan. It’s been nice to see you around more often to help him out.”

“You don’t need to thank me for anything, Shibani. I love coming over and spending time with you both. And you know how much I love to get busy with making mochi with Dan or tidying the place up.” Mimori explained.

“You’re still incredible for managing to find the time to keep our home spotless and have enough energy to help around the shop, baby.” Octavio chimed in, keeping her in his loving embrace for a moment longer until he reluctantly released her. 

“But I think we can all use a break for today and get something warm in our stomachs. Do you think you can give us some time to get this place cleaned up so we can head back to our place for the night, Lil' Shi?” He resumed his cleanup work as he asked Shibani the question; brushing away the mess from the counter before picking a broom to clean the floor.

“Mhm.” Shibani agreed with a nod, passively watching the three buns wrapping up the intense workload. Impressed by seeing how they managed to restock almost every item after another busy day, he decided to take a step away from the shopfront to go to the kitchen where he keeps most of his “secret stash” that Dan graciously provides frequently. A few minutes had passed before he returned with a tray in his hands - holding three cups of hot green tea and some skewered dango; matcha, watermelon, and blueberry dango to be exact.

Dan, Mimori, and Octavio thanked Shibani for the snack and enjoyed the delicious treat before they finished with today’s work. Now that the shop is spotless and filled to the brim with sweet rice delicacies, the four buns made their way back to Octavio and Mimori’s manor to chat the night away while enjoying a hearty bowl of butajiru - a miso soup with pork and vegetables. 

After dinner, Octavio accompanied Dan back to the great room while Shibani decided to keep Mimori company as she tidied up the dining room. While the awkward tension hung heavy between the two buns sitting on the couch, it didn’t take long before Dan spoke out just loud enough for Octavio to hear him.

“It’s none of my business to ask, but was it really necessary to lie about earlier?”

Dan’s question, although vague and seemingly bearing no importance, weighs within Octavio’s subconscious enough to make him break out a defeated chuckle and a sheepish smile. 

“What gave it away?” Octavio asked, curious to hear Dan’s deduction. 

“Lucky guess,” He answered, continuing after a brief moment to reflect on his now-confirmed hunch. 

“You seemed to be a bit too calm after hearing about the holiday. I’d half expected you to drop everything and practically beg me to make an unreasonable amount of mochi on the spot.” 

“So that’s it…” He commented as he was somewhat impressed, and terrified, by Dan’s explanation. But it was soon overtaken by a subtle bittersweet smile with his eyes shifted over to the kitchen's entrance.

“To tell you the truth, I kinda forgot about it after a while. It’s a long story, but I was lucky enough to have a moon dream and it was beautiful and all. But in that same dream, I met the most beautiful bun I’ve ever seen, and from there everything felt so…surreal.” 

His voice was softening while his lips curved into a captivated smile, his attention was interrupted by the memories that played in his mind before fixing his gaze back to the pride bun. 

“When I met Mimi that same year…that’s when I knew she’s the same bun I’ve seen in the moon dreams. After that, I didn’t care about wanting to see the vision again because I’ve already fou-”

Octavio stops himself mid-sentence as he notices both Shibani and Mimori entering the great room; each one holding two stunning moon mochi in their hands. The sight of their joyous smiles in union brought warmth to both Dan’s and Octavio’s hearts as they watched the other two approaching them to give them the festive treat before taking a seat on the couch as well. 

Though they never finished the conversation or picked it back up, Dan understood, to an extent, the reason why Octavio would rather skip or forget the tradition altogether. Nevertheless, they began starting up a more lighthearted conversation about the future ahead of them while savoring the delectable moon mochi together - and paying genuine compliments to Dan’s talents for outdoing himself yet again. 

Save for the slight blush that betrayed his aloof demeanor, Dan quietly thanked them and kept his thoughts to himself as he listened to the rest of them chat away with laughter. It was a rare occasion for him to be surrounded by the people he cared for and enjoy a peaceful time together. Perhaps tonight will be the night Allocer will bless them with moonlight dreams, should the leftover mochi please him.