Various trucks were gathered once again in front of the service counter at Mama Shanty's Truck Stop.
"Seriously, can't we do something about them? I can't get any enjoyment from this anymore, if they keep taking them!"
For once, Shade had been awake and vocal about the recent events. The targets that she had were taken from her, leaving her without an outlet to vent her pent-up frustrations.
"I'm not sure that's a good reason to be sending people to the other world," laughed Jester. "But it has become quite the issue. It seems like the new method is starting to spread and encroach everywhere. Thoughts, Vera?"
Vera blew some air through her grill, causing her tie to float gently in front.
"A dang goose interrupted and sent off the wrong person to the other world. I wanted an Uke to compliment the domineering guy that was waiting for him there! Now, it's just going to be two tough jerks who are just going to butt heads and not get anywhere for the entire plot! Though come to think of it… Would that BL ship work?"
A bead of cold sweat dripped down Diesel's side. He couldn't understand the appeal of her tastes, but whatever it was, she had been quite irritated.
For Diesel himself, he was only bothered by the fact that he wasn't gaining karma as quickly, but for the others, it had impacted their enjoyment and style. The geese had essentially trampled upon their reasons for being Truck-kuns to begin with.
He looked around at the circle of trucks that had gathered to express their complaints and vent over a drink of food-infused gasoline. A few unfamiliar faces were there that Diesel hadn't met before.
There was a truck that preferred to call herself 'Insidious,' mainly because she boasted how she liked to roast her targets on occasion. When asked how that was done, she showed off her front grill, which had an emblem of a small horse on the front.
'Strange. I wasn't aware that Mustang made trucks…'
Diesel's thoughts were soon interrupted by a puff of fire that came out of the emblem where he had been staring. Rolling quickly back in surprise at the sudden flame, Diesel realized that he overreacted because the fiery puff soon dissipated. The heat from the fire hardly singed his antenna, and it appeared to be a shallow form of intimidation, rather than a real threat.
"Oh, come on Sid. Stop teasing the newcomer. We all know that your 'roasting' is just empty threats," Mama Shanty chided her.
"Bah, you're no fun!"
Next to Diesel was another unfamiliar face. Unlike the others, this one had the design of a food truck, complete with a well-stocked mini-kitchen and preparation area. The scent of roasted meat lingered from him, driving Diesel absolutely nuts from hunger. He would have to settle for the burger-flavored gasoline he had ordered.
"I'm going to run out of supplies if I don't gain some karma back. This shawarma isn't going to magically restock itself when I run low!" He cried.
Apparently, this truck, named Somad, had the hobby of providing food to the general public. He was a charitable person in his past life, so his motivation for gaining karma had been his hobby of spreading joy in the form of tasty food to the humans he met. Obviously, the food had to come from somewhere, so he had devoted his karma into magically stocking his truck with it.
"Hey Somad, we'll order something in exchange for karma!" Shade called out to him.
"Oh? Sure, but why? What would you even want?" He looked questionably at the trucks, since they couldn't consume human food.
"Cheese."
"Cheese."
"Cheese."
They collectively asked.
"Why the hell would I have cheese?! Look at my menu, right here! It says, 'Somad's Shawarma and Eats'! What gives you the idea that I would have any cheese?! Cheese doesn't belong in this cuisine!"
While Somad yelled in fury, rattling the kitchen utensils and shelves inside, Diesel tilted his body in confusion. It must've been some kind of running joke that he didn't understand. He simply shrugged it off and took another sip of gasoline.
Suddenly, Diesel had a thought.
"Hey guys, they are just geese, right? If they cause too much trouble, then won't they get like, uh… I dunno… filleted?"
In his mind, he couldn't see the geese as threatening. Annoying, yes, but who would be afraid of a small, white bird that requires the element of surprise to pull off their requests? They'd soon have pitchforks and torches coming after them. At least, it wouldn't make sense for the humans to try attacking a truck.
"My my. I find those thoughts quite unpleasant if you are referring to my darlings." A new female voice popped up out of nowhere. A hand tapped gently against Diesel's side.
"Moon Goddess Yue! What are you doing here!?" The other trucks backed up in surprise, as if they had seen a ghost.
A nervous perspiration fogged up Diesel's windshield as he realized that a goddess, with equivalent powers to Kami-sama, had been right next to him. He was speechless as to what to say, since he had just badmouthed another god's 'darlings.' Certainly, he wondered how Kami-sama would react if his trucks were made fun of.
"I see…a young impressionable truck who still isn't set on his ways. Human reason doesn't apply to inhabitants of the divine realm." Yue glared at Diesel with a mischievous look in her eye. "Would you like for me to reincarnate YOU into one of my lovelies?"
Diesel froze nervously, begging for the others to clue him on what to do next. Luckily, he didn't need it.
"Can I ask you to stop licking your lips at the thought of more additions to your goose farm?" Kami-sama appeared from a portal, interrupting her. "This is not a place for you and your geese to be."
"Oh my. I'm just seeing how you and your team are doing…After all, why wouldn't I keep tabs on one who I used to share karma with?" Yue gave a hearty laugh as she faced Kami-sama, who looked a bit bothered by the situation.
"In any case, I have my truck service. You have your geese service. I would appreciate it if you stopped interfering with our requests."
"Hmm. Very well. This was just a greeting to get you to notice me. And a little side project to keep my babies entertained. I have other places my geese can have fun with. I think I'll have them invade some works of art and such." Yue turned away from them, her momentary objectives having been accomplished.
"Rabbit! Reggae! Ushi! Come here!" she yelled out.
Suddenly, three geese flew out from inside Somad, to his shock and dismay. Everyone stared as the geese honked while flapping their wings. Each of them obediently landed upon Moon Goddess Yue's extended arm.
However, it seemed like there was something in their beaks. Was that…?
…
A slice of cheese!
"My dears, get that out of your mouth. You'll spoil your diets." Yue reached out to the geese that were perched on her left arm to remove the congealed slab of dairy that would be bad on their stomachs.
"Here. Your treats." A glow formed within her enclosed palm. When it died down, she opened her hand, revealing some bite size pieces of cake.
As the geese greedily gobbled up the sweet morsels, Yue stared back at Diesel.
"There's plenty of cake to go around, if you change your mind." She smirked for a moment. Without waiting for an answer, a portal formed behind her, which she stepped backwards into. Her form faded from sight before the portal closed with a 'poof'.
A silence continued to envelop the truck stop.
"Well, that was… interesting." Diesel was the first to speak as he looked at Kami-sama next to him. Surprisingly, the god had a conflicted look on his face.
"Yes… quite." The brief response was uncharacteristic of the normally joking, talkative Kami-sama.
"Don't tell me that you have some history with Moon Goddess Yue?"
Diesel meant for it to be a joke, as it was rare for him to find something to tease a god about. However, Kami-sama reacted in a way he had unexpected.
"Yep, we were married once. What a strange fate we had involved ourselves in."
Diesel was more surprised about the fact that the Gods could marry, but that explained Kami-sama's uncomfortable hesitation with her.
"We split up because of her obsession with geese. As you can see, she built a farm exclusively for her lovely pets, and she dotes on them quite often… much more than this old man."
"You sound bitter about that."
"Well, not exactly. I have my preferences too. Just happened to be vehicles. But hers. It got juuust a bit out of hand. Had a hard time doing my job with them all honking at me. Very annoying."
"There. There. All's fair in love and such. Can't help it, you know. Why don't you have a drink to numb the senses?" Diesel said, pushing a table with a glass of liquid towards the somber god.
Kami-sama grabbed the glass and took a big swig as he stared into the distance. As soon as his taste buds registered, he choked and spat the drink out.
"THIS IS GASOLINE!" He slammed the glass to the ground, shattering it.
By that time, all the trucks were already racing down the road. The truck stop was completely empty.