Chapter Text
Loud noises echoed around the small cave that Uke Mochi called home. Roused from her sleep, she growled as she rolled out of bed.
"Disrespectful brats," she muttered. "Is this what several thousand years of living will get me? I used to be worshipped as a goddess!"
"That was when you used to produce food from your body," the tiny Dumpling spirit that followed her around peeped. "Now you're just a giant mouth. With tentacles."
"I wasn't talking to you," Uke Mochi said. She happened to be more powerful in this enhanced form. That didn't stop low-grade spirits from mouthing off at her, apparently. Maybe she should eat them. It would certainly enhance her more...
She emerged into the sunlight to find a small group of Food Souls clustered around the entrance of her home. There was a brown-haired man surrounded by tiny ducks; a boy with a cape and a crown, who flew around on large grey wings; a boy with a gigantic scroll and calligraphy brush; a girl with blonde hair in two pigtails, carrying a rifle; and a girl with pink hair in loops, carrying a shallow bowl that smelled like rice porridge.
"My dear friends," Uke Mochi began, trying to be friendly. Instead of talking, however, the Food Souls attacked. Annoyed, Uke Mochi began blasting away at them, trying to get them to give up and go away.
After several minutes, however, Uke Mochi was tired. It wasn't worth it, to keep battling these darned Food Souls. She just wanted to go to bed. Thinking hard, she thought of what might make them go away.
Finally she had an idea. She belched up a handful of free vouchers she had collected for the skin shop in town, and threw them at the Food Souls. "I'm going back home to sleep..." she declared, and swept away, leaving the Food Souls scurrying to pick up the skin coupons.
Little did she know that the next week, more Food Souls would come, hoping to get skin vouchers...