Work Text:
“I’ll Take Your Entire Stock”
On the third floor of a condominium in Lumina Square is the shared residence of a blue haired oni named Soukaku, a young oni that had an enormous appetite for food. Accompanying Soukaku is a mechanical intelligent construct whose personality is very eccentric to what many expect of him, Billy.
Soukaku's guardian, Tsukushiro Yanagi, was a half-oni half-human hybrid who took the responsibility to take care and acted as the Deputy Chief of Section 06. She was working past her shift as she had to cover for Section 06's report to H.A.N.D. As a result, she needed a babysitter and Billy was recommended by Harumasa to take care of Soukaku while she stayed at the office of Section 06.
The pair were sitting on the floor, chip crumbs and plastic laying around the smooth wooden floor of the residence while watching TV. On the screen was the first episode of the show Starlight Knights.
Billy was no expert in taking care of children but if there was anything he could do, he could definitely entertain them for hours on end with his enthusiasm... and love for Starlight Knights.
"Wow...! So cool!" Soukaku said cheerfully, watching the animation of the Red Knight slashing through an ethereal.
"See? Wait wait- here comes the best part of the first episode!" Billy was ecstatic, for once he could bond with someone interested in the show as much as he was.
As the episode played out, he would end up explaining to Soukaku all about it as she watched. From start to end, explaining each character with greater and greater enthusiasm while Soukaku got more and more interested in the show. As the episode ended, a knock interrupted the pair.
Billy opened the door to see a tall and mature lady with pink hair and baggy eyes. It was none other than Soukaku's guardian, Yanagi. She was carrying a brown bag filled with red bean buns for herself and Soukaku.
"Billy, thank you for your help in taking care of Soukaku for me." the woman said with a smile before entering the room, greeted by Soukaku snuggling up to her, "Did you have fun, Soukaku?"
"Yeah! Can Billy come back next time to hang out with us, Nagi?" Soukaku beamed at Yanagi with a smile and hoped that Yanagi would approve.
Yanagi gave a soft laugh, “I don’t know, Soukaku. would you be alright with that, Billy?” the half-oni said before looking at Billy.
"Soukaku is very nice and gentle, though I'll probably be busy with the Cunning Hares to spend some time with her." Billy scratched the back of his head, bashful at Soukaku wanting Billy to come over again.
"Allow me to get the dennies for you, Billy." Yanagi grabbed her wallet from her pocket and gave Billy 10,000 dennies.
"10,000 dennies?! Are you sure about this, Miss Tskushiro?!" Billy was astonished at the payment, earning a light chuckle from the Deputy Chief. He bowed politely before leaving the two Onis.
"Nagi!!! Nagi!!!" Soukaku hugged Yanagi again, "I'm hungryyyy~" the young oni whined.
Yanagi patted her hair softly before smiling at her, "I bought us some food for dinner, I got the best red bean buns for you." Yanagi grabbed the biggest red bean bun to give to Soukaku before she began devouring it.
"Nagi!!" Soukaku said as she ate the red bean bun, "Can I ask you something?" she said softly, looking at Yanagi as she took a bite out of her red bean bun.
"What is it, Soukaku?" Yanagi's maternal instincts flared, feeling worried about what Soukaku was feeling to ask her something in a soft tone.
"Can we get all the tapes for Starlight Knight?" Soukaku said to her guardian.
In a bustling and quiet corner of New Eridu was Sixth Street. Far from the city life of Lumina Square to be overcrowded but close enough to be bustling and lively enough for small businesses to flourish. One of these small businesses was Random Play, a video rental store. To New Eridu, it was managed by two upstanding citizens, Wise and Belle; to certain groups, it was a cover for the legendary proxy, Phaethon. Business today was lively as usual with many customers coming in and out.
The afternoon came with a familiar quiet with the usual lunch rush. With business slowing down, the siblings were able to sit back and enjoy a well-earned break.
"So many customers, so many dennies!" Belle smiled as she saw Bangboo 18 count the dennies laid out on the counter, her pupils turned into denny signs.
"Now, now, Belle. Let's be responsible with this and spend it wisely." Wise said, he placed away the dennies and returned it to the register.
The younger sibling pouted in response, "For your information, I was going to spend them on ramen and definitely NOT gacha." she folded her arms and looked away from her older brother.
"Second Assistant, Master is lying." Fairy interrupted, causing Belle to blush in embarrassment.
"Bruh, you snitch, Fairy!" Belle bursted while Wise laughed at her expense.
On the sidewalk, Yanagi walked her way to Random Play. Fortunately for her, she hadn't been stopped by fans of Section 06 which made her walk in calm and serene steps. As she arrived at the door, she breathed a sigh of relief that it was open before slowly opening the door.
"Manager? I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Yanagi's voice pierced through the quiet room, easily grabbing the attention of both Phaethon siblings.
"Miss Tsukishiro?! Wise, did we take a bad commission?!" Belle said, looking at Wise a bit panicked by the presence of the Chief Deputy.
"Relax Belle, we're not getting arrested." Wise patted her, Belle was the primary sibling that handled their proxy business. He turned his head to face Yanagi, "Right, Miss Tsukishiro?"
"Of course not." Yanagi grew wide-eyed at the accusation, "I'm just here to rent some video tapes for Soukaku." she said as she looked around the store.
"Master, Cissia found your stash of snacks again." Fairy suddenly interrupted, catching the attention of Belle.
"Oh HELL no!" Belle said, "Big bro, you can help Yanagi right?"
"What-"
"Okay thanks!" Belle said before rushing towards her room, leaving Wise alone with Yanagi. He sighed at her behaviour before turning his gaze to an equally bewildered Yanagi.
"Cissia... Isn’t that the new specialist from Public Security?” Yanagi turned her head to Wise with a raised brow, "Is she your roommate?"
"I guess when you word it like that? She moved in after Gilded Carrot Day." The manager said before observing Yanagi exploring the store, "She needed a place to stay, likes Belle a lot, and eats way too many snacks."
"She sounds like Soukaku." Yanagi commented on how childish Cissia sounded. She knelt over to try and find the tapes for Starlight Knight.
Wise's left brow rose as he noticed Yanagi was at the action tapes section. He approached her before speaking up, "Did you decide to stop renting boring movies for a change?"
Yanagi chuckled at Wise's comment, "Well... Not exactly." the half oni rose up to meet Wise's gaze and sighed, "It's about Soukaku."
Wise held his chin, "Soukaku? Wait..." the manager got curious and widened his eyes, "Did Soukaku get interested in action shows?" he inquired.
"She did." Yanagi sighed disappointedly, "I thought if I let her watch the shows meant for her age then she wouldn't watch those shows until she got older."
Wise chuckled at her expense, "Let me guess, she saw one bit of action and got all riled up?" he grew a slight smirk before continuing, "Did Billy introduce her to a show?"
The chief deputy grew wide-eyed at Wise's accurate assessment of her situation, "How did you know?" her voice grew a bit higher and embarrassed she was that obvious.
"Well, Billy introduced Belle to some gacha games during their time together." the manager commented, he could relate to Billy bonding in a similar way, "Plus, he hooked me up with some good anime to watch with Belle. Nicole complains to me that he gets too many shows for the kids at the orphanages she donates their earnings to." Wise gave a small laugh, "He told us that he was gonna do a babysitting gig so that he didn't keep spending the earnings of Nicole."
"I... see." the half oni sighed before looking at Wise again, "Do you have any tapes for Starlight Knights then?" her voice made Wise go pale.
"Starlight Knights?! That's the one show Billy hooked Soukaku on?!" he internally facepalmed and mentally slapped himself, “Out of all the shows he could’ve picked…” he quietly mumbled to himself.
"Manager? Are- are you okay?" Yanagi grew concerned with Wise going pale and approached him, softly slapping his cheek, "Manager!"
Wise snapped back to reality and looked back at Yanagi, "Sorry, sorry." he apologized profusely and blushed in embarrassment
"Is... Is this show not meant for kids for a reaction like that?" Yanagi grew concerned, "If so, I'll have a word with Billy about this–"
Wise raised an open palm to interrupt her, "Well, it's just that..." he paused before looking at her with a nervous smile, "Starlight Knights has 21 seasons and they get better the more you watch so we recommend having all the tapes." Wise scratched the back of his head.
"21 seasons?!" Yanagi echoed, her glasses fogged up, hiding her exasperated reaction and left her agape, "That's about 1,000 hours worth of content, I can't let her watch all that in a day, she'll miss her sleep!"
"Relax, Miss Tsukishiro." Wise said, he cleared his throat to grab her attention from her shock, "You and Soukaku can just watch one or two episodes a day." he proposed to calm her down.
"One or two episodes a day? But you said it gets better every season...?" Yanagi was confused but was willing to hear Wise out.
"It does get better but I think you're overthinking it, you can definitely watch some episodes as breaks or during free time and not at one sitting." Wise said, he looked at Yanagi as her glasses cleared.
"I... I guess that can work." Yanagi nodded, "Soukaku really wants to watch the show and I want the best for her." the half oni turned to face Wise, "Alright manager, I've made my mind. I'll take your entire stock."
A few moments later, Wise would return from the back room with Eous, the assistant Bangboo, carrying two bags full of tapes. He placed it on the counter, "Yanagi, do you have your membership card with you?"
Yanagi grabbed her wallet and gave the card, "Here you go, I believe it's not expired." Wise would scan it, proving it works and giving her an immediate 50% discount.
"Enjoy the show with Soukaku! I'm sure you'll enjoy it." Wise said to Yanagi as she picked up both bags.
"We'll see, maybe it'll be nice background noise to sleep to." Yanagi chuckled. Wise would follow Yanagi and open the door for her.
"I'll see you around manager, thanks for the help." Yanagi smiled at Wise before walking away.
"Any time, Yanagi." Wise smiled back.
As Wise closed the door, he turned around to see Cissia and Belle arguing again over the junk food supplies. He sighed, knowing that nothing really changes between the two of them.
Two days passed.
As Wise was preparing to close the store, he took a stroll around Sixth Street. He saw a bakery with empty shelves, a note saying that all red bean buns had been purchased and had been out of stock for a month.
Confused, he wondered if Trigger caused a red bean bun shortage. Wise grabbed his phone to message her if she knew about the recent empty stock before receiving a message from Harumasa.
Wise wondered what happened to Yanagi and Soukaku, it was unlike them to skip work. That wasn't until having a sharp realization...
Meanwhile on the condominium's third floor, Yanagi and Soukaku were on the couch. Soukaku was still in her pajamas engrossed on the TV while Yanagi wore a bralette and shorts with growing eyebags yet no less engrossed on the show. On the coffee table were a pile of closed boxes with crumbs of red bean buns and on the TV was Season 4 of Starlight Knights.