u/Atiklyar

Dango had become her favorite snack.

Nareko bit down on the last of the sweet dumplings, pulling it free from the skewer. The shrine maiden and magician had played a cruel trick, gifting her some on the day the world started moving again.

Although that wasn’t the cruelest thing they had done to her. The dirt absorbed the impact of her boots with ‘thwomps’ as she approached the shelter. 

The remnants of an ancient shed, situated far from the village. Several large logs had been placed along its sides, creating an A-frame to keep the weather away. Not every youkai lived in a cave or slept under the stars.

“Nina?” She called out, shoving the door with a hip. Two more dango skewers rested between the fingers of her left hand, and her right arm held a bundle of supplies. “You here? I brought back dango!”

The inside was dim, piles of colorful rocks stacked like pyramids, old ceramic cups and plates scattered over the low tables and dirty tatami mats.

“Transfats!” A shout echoed through the small abode. A trailing blonde mass of hair erupted from the small closet, the head attached to it sticking out to gaze at Nareko.

The dousojin tilted her head. “Huh?”

“Em ess gee, artificial sugar!” Nina pulled herself free, her dress flowing as she stepped towards the other woman. “Empty calories, and-”

The would-be health expert suddenly had a dango stuffed into her mouth, prompting her to bite down. After a second, she started to chew.

“And it’s good.” Nareko stepped further in, setting down the supplies. She waited, noting Nina was still chewing, a look on her face like she was searching for the right words.

Nareko sighed, shaking her head. “What were you even doing in there?”

“Hrrh!” Nina exclaimed through her chewing. Her steps bounced along the floor as she hurried back to whatever project she had been in the midst of.

Nareko blinked as sunlight flashed awkwardly off a pair of objects. Nina hurried back, holding up what looked like upside-down funnels made of crumpled metal.

“What… is that?” Nareko used her free hand to take the one offered to her.

“Hats!” Nina nodded. “To protect us from tengu mindreaders!”

A frown formed on Nareko's face. “What are they made out of? Where did you get this stuff?”

She tried to think back through the human villagers, but no one came to mind.

“The antique shop bequeathed it to me! At a fair price!” Nina announced with a smile.

Nareko’s fingers went still. “A-” She stopped whatever had initially formed on her lips. “You mean Kourindou?”

“Of course.”

“And you didn’t suddenly happen upon money of your own?” Nareko’s fingers tightened, prompting the foil hat to crumple.

“Money has no inherent value.” Nina scoffed. “It is for the people to deter-”

The tinfoil hat suddenly impacted her head with the full force of Nareko’s palm. “You damn clam!” She shouted. “No amount of metal will keep your brain safe!”

—

The bird songs looped.

At least Nina was fairly sure they had looped. She knew that some people believed no birds were real, but she preferred the idea that there were real birds, with only some of them being used for spying. Probably by the tengu.

But couldn’t the tengu just ask the real birds? Wouldn’t the kappa use the fake ones? Did the fake birds need to watch the real birds while the reals watched the fakes? Nina pulled the hem of her dress up as she stepped over several large tree roots. The birds watched her carefully, she was sure.

She held the tatami mats folded under her arm, her small frame making them look like they should have been exhausting to carry through the woods. The shen youkai had no such qualms, though. The weight would only bother her if the reptilians turned up the gravity, but then their buildings would collapse and they didn’t want to clean up that mess.

Hor-em-akhet stood in front of the cottage’s door. Nina called it a cottage, it was more like a forgotten storage shed. She also called the woman with flowing blue hair and gold-and-blue jewelry Hor-em-akhet. Nareko didn’t seem to enjoy it when Nina used her real name, so Nina assumed it was supposed to be secret. 

They were good friends, though, so Nina decided she would still call her Hor-em-akhet.

“Why do you have those?” Nareko tilted her head. She spread her stance, crossing her arms even as she didn’t carry her staves. Nina halted mid-stride.

“They were at the kappa recycling yard!” she nodded. “Stolen for their immense value, I’m sure.”

“Wrong.”

Nina stopped, letting Nareko’s response mull over in her head. “Then we must have a poltergeist!”

“Wrong.”

The pause held longer this time. If not the kappa and not a ghost, then who? Hor-em-akhet adored her riddles, but they weren’t usually this difficult. Perhaps the shadow government? But what desire would they have for the tatami mats?

“I tossed them.” Nareko’s words shattered through Nina’s thoughts. “They’re rotting.”

Nina gave a gasp. “Hor-em-akhet?”

“That’s not my name.”

“How could you do such a thing?” Nina set the mats onto the dirt path, lining them up against each other. Rotting may have been an exaggeration, but the mats were clearly old: their inner cores were cracked or shattered, leaving the covers sagging inwards and creating uneven surfaces. “If you line them up, it creates a perfect groove for a futon!”

“That’s not how you had them.” Nareko leaned forward.

Nina frowned as she looked up at the dousojin. Nareko still stood in front of the doorway.

“A riddle!” Nina shouted. “For permission to pass!”

Nareko’s boot pulled back slightly as she shifted her weight. Her shoulders lifted and her eyes sparkled for a moment before she cleared her throat. “Even if I move, we’re still replacing them!”

Nina was quiet as she lifted the tatami mats into her arms anew, smiling as she stood up straight.

Nareko’s boot tapped on the wooden porch as she groaned. She took in a deep breath, and then exhaled and let her shoulders relax. “I have cities but no houses, mountains but no trees, water but no fish. What am I?”

“A map!” Nina blurted her response without so much as time to blink.

“N-no!” Nareko stuttered, dropping her signature response. “It’s an unfinished sketch!”

Nina pursed her lips at the response, prompting Nareko to turn her head and break her locked gaze. She didn’t waste the opening, rushing forward with the mats held tight against her chest. Her feet brushed the porch, kicking up dirt as she dove for the open doorway.

An arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her back through the door. Nina’s legs kicked, reaching for purchase within the home.

“Nooo~!” She screamed, kicking at air and finding herself back outside. “This is false imprisonment! A felony!”

“We’re tossing them and getting new ones!” Nareko yelled as she dragged the flailing Nina with her. The dousojin grunted against the efforts of the nearly feral youkai.

“I have the right to travel! I do not recognize your jurisdiction!” Nina’s heels smacked against the dirt and grass.

“I am literally a god of roadsides!”

“I want to speak to your supervisor!”

Nareko grunted, having stalled less than a meter from the doorway. She wrapped both arms around Nina, lifting her higher to stop the dragging battle. A reptilian seemingly brushed the gravity dial, though. The kicking and squirming made it a struggle for the dousojin to keep moving.

“Nina!” Nareko finally shouted, having failed to take another step. “We can stop and get mochi on the way!”

Both of Nina’s legs gave one final kick before falling still. Her shifting slowed substantially, and the screaming fell silent.

“Fine.”

Nareko sighed, taking a moment to breathe. “Are you going to walk?”

Nina’s legs remained limp, Nareko’s grip on her central mass loosening slightly. “No.”

The dousojin groaned quite loudly. She took a moment to catch her breath and confirm Nina was serious. Then, Nareko continued dragging.

I work overnights retail, which leads to long shifts and being tired most days. I keep my actual reading limited to 3-4 series at a time, usually, but I recently decided to take advantage of the audiobooks of "I'm in Love with the Villainess" to listen through the series while at work. It was rather enjoyable, and I know quite a few LNs get audio adaptations.

Anyone else do enough listening to have strong opinions or recommendations? I really enjoy villainess-isekais, comedy, action, and side-romance. Not a fan of pure power-fantasy stories, so a lot of 'traditional' isekai (arifureta, loner life, etc) are misses for me. Big fan of the likes of Mynoghra, Otome Heroine's Fight for Survival, Reincarnated as a Slime, etc.