First of all, this is a story about going to the rice shop. Depending on the area, people's living environments can differ greatly.
Some places have a large shopping mall within walking distance, while others don’t even have a convenience store nearby. And with trains no longer the main form of transportation, buses have taken over as the primary way to get around between cities.
The development of a dense, widespread bus network running at relatively short intervals has greatly changed daily life. If you need to go somewhere, just take the bus — that has become common sense. Unless someone has special needs like transporting heavy equipment, even Awakeners normally use buses now.
There’s also the unspoken expectation that if something happens, an Awakener on board might help. Even if they don’t intend to, staying stubbornly inactive in an emergency would ruin their reputation, so in effect it’s pretty much mandatory. Because of all that, bus rides are free for Awakeners.
Naturally, this creates a positive cycle where Awakeners use the buses even more.
And of course, Inari also rides the bus... But of course, there was no such thing as a "bus that goes directly to a rice shop."
She knew she could look it up online — she did have that knowledge — but having never gone to a rice shop before, Inari had no way of knowing which one was good. So she simply picked the first one that showed up online, and now she was at the bus stop to head there.
However... maybe because it was a Sunday, she was now surrounded by a group of children who looked like they were on their way to play somewhere.
"Whoa! This tail's real!"
"The ears aren't even a headband!"
"Hey, why are you wearing a shrine maiden outfit?"
"Say 'noja' for us!"
"Can I pull your tail?"
"Ye must not be pulling on my tail, nor may ye touch my ears without permission, mind ye!"
Her tail was already being pretty roughly grabbed, but such was the relentless strength of children in any era. Still, Inari could somewhat understand: if kids see something like an animal, of course they want to touch it.
Thus, she decided to show a little mercy.
"Kyaa!? Why, thou rascal! Tried to pluck the hairs of mine tail, did thee!?"
"Waah!"
"Run away!"
She didn't know which one it was, but apparently one of them had tried to yank out some of her tail fur. Of course, it wasn’t just any animal tail — so it wasn't something that could be pulled out easily. But having it tugged at so shamelessly still made even Inari’s patience fly out the window.
"Honestly! Children these days, honestly! Hast thy mothers not taught thee not to pluck the fur from a young maiden’s tail...? Well, mayhap not."
Muttering to herself, Inari nodded firmly. She glanced over at the children peeking from behind a nearby object — and when her gaze fell on them, they froze on the spot. It was rather cute, honestly.
She checked the bus’s arrival time… then glanced back to see them inching closer again. Another sharp glance, and they froze stiff once more.
“Daruma-san ga koronda...? Wait, I never said I was playing that game…”
Apparently, she had been roped into playing without her consent. Well, that was just how kids were. And from the children's point of view, a pretty girl — or at least someone who looked their age — dressed like that was just begging for attention.
Inari herself, though, was simply perplexed about what to do... When, at last, salvation arrived in the form of the bus.
"Oho, the bus hath arrived. Now then, be sure to play safely, mind ye!"
““"Eh—!!"””
There were some half-hearted boos from the children, but Inari had errands to run too. She couldn't spend all day playing with kids who had the energy to run until sunset.
From the outside, though, the scene looked rather heartwarming. It was only natural: children roughhousing with what looked like one of their peers. And that "peer" happened to be a well-known Awakener often seen on TV lately.
To adults watching, it just brought out warm feelings like, "She's still just a kid after all."
As a result, Inari’s reputation improved even more — though she herself had no real idea why everyone was looking at her so kindly.
Once on the bus, she could hear whispers.
"Hey, isn't that the one who's been on TV a lot lately...?"
"Yeah, Inari-chan..."
No one came over to sit next to her, but it seemed almost everyone on the bus recognized her. Inari couldn’t help feeling rather self-conscious about it.
“Hrm... Seems I have become rather famous.”
There were already Awakeners treated like idols, and being FoxPhone’s mascot practically made her one too. Apparently her merchandise was selling well, too.
But Inari just couldn’t quite grasp it. She wasn't wearing especially cute outfits, nor singing and dancing on stage — why would anyone treat her like an idol?
Well, given that she mostly watched baseball and home shopping channels, her knowledge about idols hadn't been updated in a while. Even if she learned about it now, she'd probably just say, "Ah, so that's how it is," and move on.
Thus, carrying the somewhat awkward Inari along, the bus headed toward its destination: Akabane, on the border of Tokyo and Saitama.
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Daruma-san ga Koronda = Red Light, Green Light