Akira looked up. He was curious about what his guardian could possibly need his help with, besides washing dishes in the cafe. “Do you want me to brew the coffee?” he asked hopefully.
“No, no, I can handle that myself. Besides, you’re still learning.”
“I could start the curry, then. You taught me the special recipe and I’ve gotten much better at making it.”
“It’s not like that,” Sojiro said, looking serious. “It’s my daughter, Futaba.”
“You… have a daughter? Why am I just finding out about this now?” Akira looked at his cat, Morgana. The cat just shrugged and went back to grooming. “Sojiro?”
“It’s a long story! Futaba isn’t well. Her mother committed suicide a couple of years ago, and it’s always been hard for her. Over the past 6 months, it’s gotten much worse. She refuses to leave her room at all.”
“Oh,” Akira said gently. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” He looked down for a moment, feeling awkward. Then he raised his head defiantly. “Wait a minute, what exactly do you think I can do about it?”
“Oh, come on. I know there are things you aren’t telling me. Things that you can do. Stuff like those ridiculous Phantom Thieves that are always on the news.”
“You think I’m-”
“No. Let’s just leave it be. I don’t want to know anything more than I have to, alright?”
Akira nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Just help me out! If you save Futaba, I’ll… give you her hand in marriage or something.”
Akira and Morgana went up to their room in the attic. The cat spoke, referring to Akira by his codename. “So what are we going to do, Joker? We’re going to help Futaba, aren’t we? It sounds like she might be in serious trouble.”
“I agree,” Akira replied. He opened the MetaNav and spoke the name ‘Futaba Sakura’ into it, instantly getting a hit. “She has a palace. It sounds like we might need to change her heart. I’ll contact the other Thieves right away.”
(Photo from Megami Tensei Wiki)
“Anything you need!” Mona replied. “So what’s the plan?”
“We’re going to trick the serpent,” Joker replied. “See those eight doors? The snake will be coming to this very spot. We’re going to put out some bait to slow it down,” he said with a mischievous smile.
“What kind of bait?” Mona asked. Joker opened his bag. He pulled out 8 bowls, a big container, and a thermos. “Wait, did you seriously bring a bunch of coffee and curry with you?”
Joker nodded. “The curry should make it feel full, slowing it down. Least that’s what it always does to me when I eat it. And the coffee will make it feel hyper and dizzy.”
“I see,” said Mona. “So we’re going to feed half of its heads the curry, and half the coffee, to confuse it, right?”
“Right!” Joker exclaimed with a brilliant smile.
And so they put out bowls of coffee and curry. Joker and Mona waited patiently in the shadows. Then the serpent came and ate the curry, and drank the coffee. It became sluggish and dizzy, losing motor control due to the conflicting states it was in. Joker began shooting some of the heads, while Mona aimed his slingshot at the others. Before long it was knocked down, and Joker dealt it the final blow with his knife. When it was quiet again, a short girl with long, orange hair emerged. She gave Joker a shy smile. “Thanks! You saved my life.”
“Come on, we have to hurry and take the treasure!” Mona said excitedly. They joined the rest of the Phantom Thieves, finished the job, and headed home.
They arrived at the cafe just before closing. Akira and Futaba walked in together, with Morgana hitching a ride in Akira’s bag. Sojiro almost dropped the mug he was holding. “F-Futaba! I can’t believe it!”
“Curry please, Sojiro, I hunger!” Futaba announced, sitting at the counter. Akira sat beside her while Sojiro dished up two plates of his special curry for them. When they finished eating, Sojiro’s smile faded into one of shock.
“What’s wrong with your face?” Futaba asked.
“Oh, uh, I sort of… promised this guy your hand in marriage if he rescued you,” Sojiro replied with a blush.
Futaba looked at Akira. “Hmm. I might be down with that. I guess time will tell!”
(Photo from Pinterest)
Author’s Note:
This story is based on The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi from Romance of Old Japan by E. W. Champney and F. Champney. In the original version, the princess Kushinada-hime’s parents offer the god Susa-no-wo her hand in marriage if he saves her from the serpent. He leaves out 8 bowls of sake, and the snake becomes intoxicated. Susa-no-wo easily kills it, and marries the princess. I have based my retelling on characters from the game Persona 5. Akira (Joker) and Morgana (Mona) live in the attic of Sojiro Sakura’s cafe. In the game, his daughter Futaba asks Akira’s group of vigilantes, The Phantom Thieves, to change her heart. They have the ability to enter a cognitive world in people’s minds when their thoughts become distorted, using a navigation app on their phones. They steal the core of the distortion, thought of as a treasure, which triggers a “change of heart” by changing their cognition. In my version, I decided to mix the two together. One of the game's many enemies is Yamata no Orochi, who is based on the eight-forked serpent of Koshi. I thought it would be fun to have Sojiro offer Akira his daughter’s hand in marriage for saving her life. Since all they serve at the cafe is coffee and curry, I liked the idea of being able to slow down the snake with the things our heroes had on hand at the cafe.
The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi from Romance of Old Japan by E. W. Champney and F. Champney. Web Source.
Hello, Angela.
ReplyDeleteLet me start out this post by saying how eye-catching your story was. Because your story began with dialog I was immediately pulled into the story and tried to figure out what was going on. Your story made me wish I had read the source text. Hopefully, I can read it for some extra credit. Great job.
Angela, your writing is so engaging — I hadn't read the source text for this story and I don't know anything about Persona 5, but I didn't feel like I had to to understand it. I appreciated your use of dialogue in this story, because it moved through the plot of the story quickly and naturally. It's really cool how you're combining these stories for class with stories you're already familiar with. Keep up the great work, and I hope I can read more from you throughout the semester!
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