Spin-off: Four Demonly Kings
Part 8 (END) of: Photo Contest arc
Oshimo confronts Haruko over the contest result.
Oshimo made her way briskly through the wooden corridors and stairs leading to the secret lab under Haruko's home, her mini-origami-figures flying around her. Lining the walls were framed paraphernalia, all brightly lit: paintings, photographs, paper pages, pressed plants. Most prominent of them all, a minutely detailed painting of a plant dressed with charming pink flowers took up a large portion of the wall, dwarfing all others; each leaf, each flower, each layer of petals were rendered in the most masterful brushwork, as though a real plant had sprouted from the canvas. Below the painting, a plaque read:
Maiden camellia
(Camellia japonica f. otome)Typically flowers between March and April; produces approx. 7 ~ 10 cm medium-sized pink flowers. The colour otome-iro 乙女色 is a shade of pink named after this plant.
The second the lab door cracked open, a distinct swirling scent of herbs and perfume leaked out and assaulted the masked tengu's nostrils. Inside that room was a display of chaos: an assortment of minis ran, crawled, flew about between shelves and tables loaded with vibrantly coloured substances, operating lab devices running with vigour. As Oshimo set a foot into that wondrous realm, all paused to observe her just before a certain zashiki-warashi walked out, clad in a pristine white kappōgi apron. Painted upon her round lips was a vivid shade of cinnabarine red a mite lighter than the red of Oshimo's mask.
"Mamma mia, if it isn't White of the Labs. What an unexpected surprise," said Haruko, pink eyes cheerfully gazing up at the tengu towering over her.
"Good day to you, Pink of the Inconvenience Store," replied Oshimo coldly before she produced from inside her lab coat a sealed pack. "Here it is, freeze-dried Ozian lunch-box tree blossoms like you requested. If you don't mind, I have business to attend to promptly."
"Come on, swan girl, why leave so soon? I need your opinion," Haruko replied. "How do you think this new shade of lipstick looks? I plan to start a Gary-Stu-based makeup line; I'm calling this shade the Concrete-Smashing Macho Stu."
"You gave me ingredients I want, so I give you ingredients you want. That's the extent to which I repay your favours," said Oshimo. "Besides, once again, I'm a crane, not a swan."
A spider the size of a sun hat swiftly crawled across the glossy tiled floor towards Haruko's lacquered wooden sandals. The spider, Hanna the mini-Aragog, spoke with a menacing hiss, "Is wing lady threatening Mistress? Yes, yes she does, wicked, nasty wing lady with the nosy maskses."
Soon the other minis in the lab gathered behind Haruko, with the speaking ones throwing out clamorous cries of mostly Mistress, sprinkled with a few calls of maîtresse and maestra. Haruko sighed, then said to the lot, "Now, now, mes chéris, don't get ahead of yourselves. Swan girl means no harm. Why don't you have a little rest? Let us have a talk by ourselves."
That said, Haruko waved her hand; all minis in the room, including Oshimo's mini-origami-figures, turned into a flurry of paper talismans flying towards her. She then handed Oshimo three of them. "Here ya go, these three are yours."
Indeed, Haruko was someone never to be trifled with. She was a much more skilled onmyōji than Oshimo could ever hope to be; to unsummon the shikigami of another was a skill that only those with the adeptness of Abe no Seimei could manage.
With the lab empty but for the two of them, Haruko continued, "You can no longer fool me with that mask of yours; you're not here just to give me the blossoms. What is it you're looking to discuss? Make it quick, I'm quite busy today."
"About that photo contest of yours," said Oshimo. "You promised Arare a seat in this dumb Supervillain Sentai gang if he wins first place, and yet you went back on it. What is the meaning of this?"
"Mamma mia, I already told him I never promised him the post; I only said he could get in. Che fastidio; youngsters nowadays have no comprehension, do they? Besides, why'd you have to call us supervillains? You know we yōkai are cooler than that."
"He admires you; he's gone to great lengths to get accepted into your ranks. He has powers, he beat one of yours in a fight, and he fits your ridiculous naming and colour theming requirements. What more do you want?"
"Ma chérie, do I have to remind you that I'm the leader? No one gets to tell me who I can admit. Besides, do you still not understand the point of the Seven Wonders? We're for the sake of Otomeshiya; we contribute what we can to the company's success. Why should I accept that fro-yo rabbit doo-doo into our ranks when he can't provide any of that? He's always trying to scare people, while we need people to adore us, remember us, buy from us, throw money at us. You on the other hand provide valuable service with your scientific expertise; I can help make you beautiful like you wish, and we all can slowly amass wealth and influence, become the top dogs on this island compound, work towards an Age of Ayakashi."
"I couldn't care less about domination; I'm only in this stupid gang because you've been helping me. I, however, do care about my friend, and don't appreciate that you deceived him."
Haruko burst into syrupy laughter. "Mamma mia, the minds of youths and their fanciful beliefs! What other sappy nonsense do you believe in? Are you perhaps upset on behalf of those foolish humans that didn't win first place as well? Why, pray tell, should I care one whit about humans? They are powerless, toothless, useless, and yet they rule the world. We live longer, we are more powerful; why should we bow to them? I'll see to it that they worship us, like they should."
That said, Haruko made for a copiously locked chest kept in the back of the lab, which she then nimbly unlocked. She took from it a small velvet box and showed Oshimo what lay inside: a perfect gold coin, upon which the words strawberry land were stamped.
"Behold; this mini-Gold Sand Dollar is my most treasured shikigami," said Haruko. "Have you read the novel The Golden Demon by Ozaki Kōyō? For a trashy newspaper novel, it does have a character with a philosophy I can somewhat agree with. The banker's son, Tomiyama Tadatsugu, he of the dazzling diamond ring, he who knows nothing of love or honour. Gold is all that matters to him. Such a philosophy, I find it sensible. I denied those humans the first place for a reason; I can't give them every cool thing we have to offer all at once. Like a flower that never has enough nectar to fully sate a bee in a single visit, I must entice them to come back for more, spend more money on us. That is true power. I'm old and I'm cute; I can trick them over and over again. Ah, now I've wasted quite a bit of time, haven't I? Thanks for the blossoms, swan girl; now will you excuse me, I have lots of work to do."
Oshimo saw no need to waste her breath any longer with the grating old woman, and so she left the lab promptly. Unbeknownst to her, Haruko had placed a talisman on her back as soon as she turned around. The talisman bore no magical properties, nor esoteric writings; upon it were simply the words:
I have chicken legs and ugly toenails.
A/N: Otomebara Haruko is largely inspired by Dr. Doofenshmirtz (Phineas and Ferb), which is why she is an evil scientist and comes up with wacky schemes to rule a tiny area. While Haruko is an inarguable villain, I take measures to make sure her villainy doesn't violate the PPC spirit, nor cause a large-scale catastrophe. As usual, community feedback is appreciated.
