Chapter Text

Part III: Amid Water

You abruptly find yourself in a medium-ish room, as if you’d moved from one place to another in the space of an eyeblink. The sudden shift in lighting from Waterfall’s caves to the golden glow of a dozen-odd lamps makes you instinctively shade your eyes with a wince.

“Told ya it was a shortcut.” Komachi chuckles, patting you on the shoulder and leaving her staff by the door with a clatter. Your eyes finish adjusting to the point where you’re not effectively blind, and you get your first look of the interior of Achi’s Grill. (and Bar, you see a well stocked one along the far wall)

The place’s like a compromise of styles: polished wood flooring, furniture and walls and the elegantly simple design of the magic lamps evoke images of an old-time, foreign bar, but the toasty warm air, cheerful conversation of the patrons and antique jukebox in the corner scream small-town diner. The neon sign spelling out Achi’s with a martini glass below is a nice touch.

The place seems pretty crowded for lunchtime. You suppose people are here for the food just as much as the drinks. Komachi, presumably a regular patron, seems completely at ease. “Sup, guys.” she says with a wave.

“Hey, Komachi!” A group of four fairies in their green UDF coats cheer. Their half-finished burgers languish, abandoned, as a card game (for children) monopolizes their attention.

“Greetings, Komachi.” says a youkai, whose multitudinous, sharp teeth overshadow the rest of their features. It takes some effort not to stare.

“Hiya, Machi~” comes from a rabbit-eared woman, already well into her bottle. Her head leaning on the table, she shoots you a wink. “Who’s she?”

“New in town.” Komachi says with a nod of her head, strolling up to the bar and it’s empty, red-cushioned stools. “Name’s Reimu.”

Ordinarily you might be bothered by someone else taking charge of your introduction, but you appreciate it, following her lead and stepping up to the bar as well.

None of these regular customers seem surprised by her abrupt arrival. Or by your presence, either. ...Maybe they figure anyone who’s with Komachi must be fine.

“Hey, ‘machi. Wasn’t you just here for breakfast a lil’ while back?” A heavyset man with a very round face asks lazily.

“Nah, it’s been at least half an hour since breakfast.” Komachi shoots back, her smile in her words. “You mean brunch, right?”

That gets at least a chuckle from most of the others (and an outright howl of laughter from the drunken bunny, who pounds her table with her fist). You smile, a bit too taken aback to really laugh.

“Here, get comfy.” Komachi says, swinging herself onto one of the bar stools. You follow suit, lowering yourself down onto the stool. And down. And down. You’re actually falling what the h-

You reach out and grab the bar’s top to hold yourself up. glancing down to see the stool’s somehow still several feet below your rear end. How’s that happening?

“Come awn, ‘machi.” Round face says with a reptile grin. “Gonna do tha’ every time?”

“As long as it keeps getting laughs.” Komachi shrugs and winks, before snapping her fingers. The stool abruptly returns to its original position, lifting you back up along with it. A few of the other patrons chuckle, and you feel your cheeks redden in embarrassment.

Very interesting. Not certain how Komachi might be pulling that off… but that can wait. The bartender walks over from pouring a jacketed man a glass, and she stares you both down impassively from behind wire-framed glasses. Dressed in a sharp black vest and white shirt with a bowtie, it fits her calm, collected demeanor, and shows she has good taste. What does not fit that demeanor, is her head and hair wreathed in (and mostly concealed by) flames. Suppose that’s why this place is so warm.

“Hey, Achi.” Komachi says with a grin, answering a remaining question. Achi nods politely, drawing a notepad and pen with a smooth motion.

“Let’s order. Whaddya want, Reimu?” She asks, pulling over a menu.

You look down a fairly short list of food and a quite long list of drinks. You won’t be drinking, so that leaves you with only a few choices that look somewhat acceptable. “What’s…” You hold up the menu for Komachi to see, struggling to pronounce the unusual characters. “Poutine?”

“You like french fries?” Komachi asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah.” You nod.

“Well, we gotta give this a try, then.” She nods. “Double order of poutine!”

Achi nods again, departing the bar and entering the back room. She’s pretty short, you realize. The floor behind the bar’s elevated by a couple of feet. She has six wing-like flames emerging from her back, you also realize. ...What’s with all these unfairy-like fairies?

A bit of silence falls. Komachi scratches her head, other elbow propped up on the counter.

Might as well talk with her while you’re still here. “You guys sure have a lot of fairies around here.” Especially when they make up most of the UDF in town.

“Helps keep things lively.” Komachi chuckles. “Literally.”

Oh. That makes a somewhat disturbing amount of sense.

“Half the reason why this place is great, besides good food and booze.” She leans back casually into thin air, in a defiance of physics one would expect from you. “Hard to feel down when there’s fairies around. And we’re the most distant colony from the capital, so that’s kind of a bigger deal for us.”

You can sympathize.

“Achi’s had this place open for a real long time- wasn’t she cooking back in Old Home too?” Komachi addresses that last part to round face, who merely shrugs. “Eh, I’m not sure.” She continues. “I’d ask her, but she’s not really the talkative type, ya know? Makes ol’ Meira look like-”

The back door swings open, Achi remerging with two bowls of fries, a container of cheese chunks, and a steaming crock with a ladle sticking out of it.

“Here comes the grub.” Komachi grins. “Look close now…”

You’re given a full set of Western tableware wrapped in a napkin, and it quickly becomes obvious why as Achi serves the food. First, the bowls of fries are placed before you, still piping hot. Then, the cheese chunks are spooned out generously, the room temperature dairy warming up but not truly melting. Finally, the steaming gravy is ladled out of the crock and poured atop both. Steam rises up from the pile of miscellaneous fats. The smell is… indescribable.

“See, the fries’d get soggy if the gravy got added earlier.” Komachi explains as Achi steps away to another patron. “Want some mustard?”

You look at the yellow plastic squeeze bottle with a bit of apprehension. “No thanks.” It’s not really your thing.

“More for me, then.” Komachi says happily, slathering her poutine with a thick coating of the condiment.

You both give thanks for the food before digging in.

“Sho good…” Komachi murmurs through her food.

It’s hot, and you have to eat it slowly to avoid burning yourself. It’s messy, the gravy being sloppy and difficult to avoid spilling. It’s absurdly unhealthy, you can almost feel your arteries crying. It’s like nothing you’ve ever had before… and you conclude, it’s actually pretty good.

“You look like you’re having a good time.” Komachi comments between mouthfuls. Your mouth being full, you respond with a nod. She grins. “Awesome.”

As the meal continues, the poutine proves to be too much for you to finish, between its richness and the huge portion size. Komachi sees the expression on your face. “No need to force it down. I’ll be happy to take the rest of it.”

“Sure, thanks.” You pass your bowl over to her. “I’m already plenty full.”

“Good to hear.” Komachi says, glancing over. “Hey, I’ve got a question to ask you.” The words and the manner are casual, but something is wrong.

BGM - Premonition

It takes a moment to realize what it is, but the sounds of the other patrons chatting cheerfully have cut off. Achi is polishing a glass, frozen mid-wipe. The utter silence elicits a faint ringing in your ears.

“You ever heard of a talking statue?” Komachi’s smile widens slightly.

It’s enough to make your heart skip a beat, and you can only pray it doesn’t show on your face.

[X] Yes, you have heard of one. Don’t lie, but don’t spill everything when pressed, you’ve learned from what happened with Keine.

[ ] No, you haven’t heard of one. Technically, you’ve met Aunn, you didn’t hear anyone else talk about her.