Side Story: Soap Bubbles

Soap bubbles, Rokuko, and Niku.

On that day, Rokuko had obtained something interesting from a peddler and was looking for someone to show it off to.

And so she found Niku training in the backyard.

"Hey Niku, come here for a second."

"What is it, Rokuko-sama?"

Rokuko casually pulled out a small bottle and a long, slender tube.

Niku thought it might be something to drink, but that didn't seem to be the case.

"It's soap bubbles! A toy I picked up from a place called Spanner's Shop that sells all sorts of weird things!"

"Soap bubbles…"

"Watch, this is how you play with it."

Rokuko dipped the tip of the tube into the liquid inside the small bottle, pulled it out, and gently blew from the side that didn't have liquid on it.

As she did, a bubble formed on the other side, wobbling and swaying as it grew larger and larger—

And then it popped.

"How about that! That soap bubble was pretty big, wasn't it?"

"Yes, the rainbow colors were beautiful."

"But it's actually pretty hard. There's a trick to making them big. Here, try it, Niku."

Saying that, Rokuko handed the small bottle and tube to Niku.

Niku imitated what Rokuko had done, dipping it in the liquid and blowing.

With that, small soap bubbles came out in rapid succession.

"Ahaha, you blew too hard, Niku! You need to blow more gently to make big ones."

"Muu, it's difficult. But aren't the small ones pretty too?"

"That's true, they're beautiful in their own way."

The soap bubbles floated gently through the air. Niku tried to poke one.

… But it drifted away from her.

"Mu."

She tried poking two or three more times, but she couldn't seem to hit them. It was almost like they had minds of their own.

Frustrated, she reflexively drew her Golem Blade.

Taking aim and slashing, she cleanly caught a soap bubble this time and popped it.

Niku relaxed her shoulders with a satisfied "huff."

"… Got it."

"Oho."

Seeing this, Rokuko readied the tube. Then she blew small soap bubbles at Niku.

"!"

Pop, pop. Niku chased after the small soap bubbles, slicing each one.

Giving in to her instincts, she chased and popped them.

"Ooh, nice work, Niku! Look, there are some behind you too!"

"Teyah!"

Niku chased them around, popping them one after another.

Having popped all the soap bubbles in sight, Niku let out a satisfied "mfuu" breath.

But that's when Rokuko blew more soap bubbles at her.

"…!"

"Now then! Can you defeat my Bubble Army!?"

Niku's tail wagged back and forth.

At this point, it was no longer a game. I repeat: soap bubbles are not a game.

Rokuko kept blowing soap bubbles until the liquid ran out, and Niku kept popping them in opposition.

… As a result, they ended up soaked with soap liquid and their mouths got all bubbly, but that's a story for another time.