graysheep

Ding dong.

Color: "Yeah, yeah, cooooming. Unfortunately, any kind of solicitations are a no-go―――"

Spider: "Happy New Year. Would you like some mochi?"

Color: "Huh? I mean, yeah, sure..."
Nurse: "Happy New Year!"

Color: "Happy New Year, everyone. What are you doing in Nurse's apartment?"

Joe: " Spider's family sent over a whole bunch of mochi, so we came together for a mochi party. How lovely!"

Snow: "I'm in charge of making kinako[1] mochi."

Owl: "Nurse and I are in charge of ozoni[2]."

Joe: "And I'm making anko mochi[3]......"

Spider: " 'In charge'? What are you, a bunch of grade schoolers?"

Nurse: "Sorry 'bout that, I’ve got this old habit of asking my little sisters for help like that.
Spider, Color, you can just kick back and relax."

Color: "No way, I’m here to pitch in and help."

Spider: "What should we do...?"

Nurse: "Alright... Could you give this a stir for me, then? Same for the azuki beans used in oshiruko[4]."

Color: "Got it. Wait, the mochi has been pounded to perfection."

Spider: "Anything else on the agenda besides pounding?"

Joe: "I assumed it was a ready-made product, but as expected, freshly pounded mochi is both soft... and chewy. The elasticity is just right, much like the gentle brush of fingers on a baby's cheek. So fascinating..."

Snow: "I'm getting hungry."

Owl: "This apartment smells great, too."

Nurse: "It's almost lunchtime, so let's get things done and eat."

Color: "Spider, do they send this much every year?"

Spider: "Rarely. But when I told them we had a bigger crowd this year, they flooded me with stuff..."

Snow: "Sorry, and thank you."

Color: "I see. They must have assumed we'd eat together, so they sent over enough for a lot of people.
Oh boy, I really can't thank them enough. I won't be stuck doing things that give off that lonely 'vibe' on New Year's."

Owl: "I'm not sure how else to enjoy mochi besides roasting them, so I'm pretty content."

Spider: "I'm honestly glad we've got Nurse."

Nurse: "I can cook with quality mochi, so it’s really great."

Joe: "To spend such a wonderful day so early in the new yeah... eah..."

Color: "Are you gonna sneeze!? Careful, alright?!? The soybean flour is right next to you!"

Joe: "Hyah, hahee... Eeeahh- achoo."

Owl: "Achoo?"

Joe: "Augh, sorry... The opening act was great, but the rest of the story didn’t live up to it; all I could do was sneeze."

Spider: "You're really confusing, dude."

Nurse: "Haha, but I’m glad things didn’t go south!"

Color: "Starting new year's day on a peaceful note is just the best, right?! Alright, let’s eat these and then go to our first shrine visit of the year!"

Spider: "Sounds like a plan. With so many pickpockets hanging around in the crowds, I might as well do a quick inspection while I'm at it."

Joe: "What should I pray for? I can think of countless things I want to include in my prayers..."

Snow: "...... A shrine visit, with everyone."

Nurse: "Sounds fun, huh?"

Snow: "―――Yeah."

Happy new year!
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[1] Rice cake covered with sweetened soybean flour.
[2] Mochi soup with clear broth and toasted rice cake.
[3] Mochi rice cake with red bean jam filling.
[4] Sweet porridge made of azuki beans.