The shelf of the Bubblegum Daifuku was only dimly lit by the stray lighting from the other shelves. A lone daifuku occupied the center. Its beard flowed down its lower hemisphere and trailed on the ground like a bride's dress train.

Surely, the chomp thought, the mochi was wont to trip if it attempted propulsion.

"What do ye want?" It asked grumpily in a tired old squeak.

"You," replied the chomp candidly.

"Ah, so you seek the power of the Bubblegum Daifuku. Be wary, young chomp, for with great power comes great-"

"Chomping?" The chomp interrupted.

"No", said the last of the Bubblegum Daifukus irritably.

"Don't interrupt me now! As I was saying, be wary, young chomp, for with great power comes great-"

This time the old mochi was interrupted by a high-pitched scream that seemed to originate in the display room of the shop, followed by the sound of some creature meowing very loudly, as if it were in much distress.

"Floof!" The chomp exclaimed in consternation.

Suddenly, there was an alert kind of silence in the mochi storage room. The beatboxing had stopped, and slowly, the lighting in the room dimmed till it was pitch black, as if the neon mochis had shut off their bioluminescence one by one.

"We have intruders", said a voice from the other room, presumably from the same source the scream had come from.

"Search every nook and cranny of every room. Leave no mochi unturned!"

The order was followed by multiple thumps, a short pause, and then around the same number of thumps - closer this time to the door to the mochi storage room.

"The Bubblegum Ninja Chomps! Has to be them!"

"Ah, so they hunt you then?" Asked the old mochi.

"Apparently they do. So, will you consent to being chomped?"