Tradition's End (A Touhou Project Fanfiction)

House and Home

'The walls have ears.'

It was an old phrase. It urged one to be cautious with their words, lest they be overheard by others listening in.

Eric... supposed that there was some truth in that old adage.

...

Tradition's End was a hotbed for gossip, and, if one cared to listen, an excellent source of insight into other people's lives.

Perhaps it had something to do with the atmosphere of the cafe, but rumors and hearsay flowed like water within its walls.

Eric tried not to eavesdrop; he really did!

He wasn't particularly interested in the latest trends, and the intricacies of his customers' personal lives weren't his business anyways. However, the human mind was naturally curious, and it was impossible to completely block out all conversation.

As a result, he often ended up privy to things that he was never meant to hear.

...

'Do you think Sojiro would take me to the harvest festival if I asked him to?'

'Oh, please! You know he's only got eyes for Hana!

'C'mon... A girl can dream, right?'

...

'It's been months since we've gotten together like this! How are the kids?'

'A handful, as always. Sometimes it feels like I can't get a quiet moment to myself...'

'Ahaha, you say that now, but it'll be a bittersweet day when they finally leave the nest like mine did.'

...

'I had to shoo off some fairies again yesterday.'

'Oh yeah? What'd they do this time?'

'They were tryin' to fly off with my entire cart! Can you believe it!?'

...

'My new teacher's shoes are ugly.'

...

'You shoulda seen the three-headed youkai that was in town earlier!'

...

Normal.

They were always perfectly normal conversations. Ones of no real consequence to anybody besides those who partook.

While the details might have changed from day to day, it was always the same mundane topics that tended to crop up.

In a way, it was reassuring. If everything was normal, then there was nothing to worry about.

Recently though, there has been a noticeable shift in mood, and with it came a shift in topics...

...

'The old tree by the corner is withering away. Where's the rain?'

...

'Those two got into a fistfight again.'

'Again!? What got them into it this time?'

'I don't know, but they've been butting heads a lot lately.'

...

'Why are youkai still buying our food? Don't they eat enough already? They'd better save some for us!'

...

'Hakurei Shrine? Moriya Shrine? Bah, it's not like they're helping us anyway...'

...