“To the left!”
“His stomach’s open!”
“Pin him down, pin him down!”
The basher arcade was filled with battle cries and frenzied advice from spectators as servers smoothly weaved between groups with cheap drinks for their patrons. Students from all over the city crowded every corner, cheering and booing each game’s combatants. Soo-jin took a long sip of tea, wincing at the strong aftertaste as onlookers shouted at the small figures projected in the middle of their table.
“Get him!” one of the boys from Sage Plum Academy cried as an alley basher kicked her opponent in the head. “To the right, to the right!”
The tiny figures clashed again, fists flying as their players maneuvered them to victory. Nga’s eyes were locked onto the projections as she rolled her fighter into a defensive position, raising his arms to shield his chest. Her opponent grinned, his hands deftly moving levers while his fighter pressed in with punches and kicks.
Soo-jin watched the brawl with gritted teeth, waggling her fingers nervously. One boy’s eyes met hers and he pointed a finger at the SPELLS ARE CHEATING sign; irritated, Soo-jin raised her hands and pointedly showed they were free of magic auras before setting them on the table.
The opposing fighter grabbed Nga’s by the waist. Soo-jin’s nails now clacked against the table in a nervous drum beneath the frenzied shouts for a finishing blow. With a smirk, Nga flipped a lever, and her fighter’s elbow smashed downward, his leg swooping up into a powerful kick. There was a shout—a blare of music—and Soo-jin jumped so fast her chair fell over.
Nga beamed triumphantly as the Sage Plum boy groaned, his friends laughing and sighing at his loss. Nga’s tiny fighter raised his fist, roaring silently in victory, and illusory fireworks exploded across the table to illuminate expressions of both dismay and glee around the table.
“Pay up, all!” Soo-jin laughed. Groans echoed above the victory music, followed by the clink of coins falling into her purse as she collected her friend’s winnings. Another round was suggested and a new challenger was already settling into the open seat, cracking their knuckles dramatically as the battle music started back up. Soo-jin cast a quick cantrip over the purse, checking the total, before nodding a quick farewell to the other students and following Nga toward the exit.
Art by Sandra Posada
The heavy scent of cheap tea and fried snacks gave way to the aroma of hot buns and saucy chicken. The sun was bright outside the basher arcade, the shouts of stall vendors replacing the cheers of students. Tired laborers grumbled about the lack of progress on the Surepath highway while young children ran past, yelling about spotting a sundaflora in the gardens. A girl from Soo-jin’s cram school waved politely from a shop known for its buns; Soo-jin awkwardly waved back, trying and failing to remember anything except that the girl had a duck as a familiar.
Nga and Soo-jin walked leisurely to their usual kopi-tiam, greeting Uncle Moon as the smell of coffee wafted toward them. Uncle Moon shouted a greeting back, merrily flipping hot taiyaki from a pan into a wax paper bag. Momo slept peacefully on the counter, purring with one small paw curled protectively over a copper piece.
“May I take your order?” a short tengu server asked as they sat down.
“Two taiyaki, one Xa Hoi coffee, and—” Soo-jin looked over the menu, and something newly added distracted her from her usual order “—one sparkle tea, please.” The server nodded and shuffled off, stopping to check on another customer. Soo-jin added the day’s total to a column in her notebook. “We’re so close, Nga. Just a few more silver pieces and we’re set!”
“I’m getting paid for tutoring on Moonday, so you can add that to our current amount.” Nga accepted the arriving tray from the server and took a leisurely sip of coffee. “You know, if you would take up tutoring—”
“I would rather let Mogaru eat me.” Soo-jin looked out the window. It hadn’t been that long since the giant monster’s attack, but she could scarcely see the water for all the bamboo scaffolding that had sprouted up in the aftermath. The city would be back, bigger than ever, in no time.
“Come on! Everyone wants a Willow Branch student to teach their kids, you’d make enough money for a concert ticket after a week.”
“You’re just as good as any twig,” Soo-jin scoffed, biting into her taiyaki and regretting it immediately as piping hot red bean paste scalded her mouth. She gasped, huffing desperately to try and cool down. Momo opened a judgmental eye from the counter. “You should try to test into another school.”
“As much as my parents would love for me to become a ‘twig,’ I’d rather be the best where I am than become average at a fancy academy.” Nga took a smug sip. “Unlike you, I’m in the top ten in my class.”
“Well, Miss Top Ten, keep up the good work and we’ll get our concert tickets in no time.”
Soo-jin’s eyes swept past Nga’s head to the wall of advertisements behind her, lingering on a poster announcing the upcoming Shining Crystal Muses concert in celebration of Harmonious Spring. Vivid ink paintings of the four Muses reached out to a prism floating above them, enchanted pigments creating tiny flecks of rainbow light that danced across the poster. Even in an ink portrait, Haru’s handsome face stood out, smiling coyly.
Goka had everything—peoples and food and buildings and magic from everywhere on the continent—but the one thing it had that Soo-jin cared about more than all of that was the Shining Crystal Muses. In only two weeks, she was going to meet Haru in person. It was a shame the concert hall wasn’t in its full splendor, as the authorities had foolishly deemed it lower priority for reconstruction.
What if that kaiju comes back? Soo-jin’s mother had fretted, but if Mogaru inconvenienced the city at the most important moment of her life, Soo-jin would personally put the kaiju down and no one could stop her. She smiled back at the poster, sipping her sparkle tea as worries of exams slipped out of her mind, and she focused on what really mattered: supporting her favorite band.
About the Author
Michelle Y. Kim (she/her) is a TTRPG writer and developer with a love for folklore and horror. You can find her at https://twitter.com/_missmyk_ or https://bsky.app/profile/missmyk.bsky.social.
To bring this and other Tian Xia stories to life in your Pathfinder game, check out the Pathfinder Lost Omens Tian Xia World Guide (releasing in April) and the Pathfinder Lost Omens Tian Xia Character Guide (releasing in August), both available for preorder now. Customers who Customers who subscribe to the Lost Omens product line will receive both books and a complimentary PDF of each upon their respective release!
