Chapter Text
// Ran/Chen 62
“—And it was SO fun! WE hopped around, clashed swords, fought on top of the chandeliers when Ranryu opened a portal to the sea of something~we oughtta do that again! Can we now? Please?” Flan begs, hands together and eyes glimmering. Chen nods by her side, parroting every word as her tails wiggle. Keeping my attention on them is much better than the cackling Amanojaku or the amused man, my cheeks red while I struggle to remain neutral—not that I wouldn't like to repeat the pretending play, but I've got a reputation to mainta—
“Even a 'vixen' like you needs your fun, huh? Ha! Not so stiff after all!” The horned one snickers, and I let out something between a sigh and a huff as I open the door. Yukari's decor and thoughts are present everywhere from the very first moment, though I pay little attention to mine and Yukari's combined genius, my focus on keeping myself together. “Wait… This is boring!” With an infuriated gesture, she points to what can only be described as an arbitrarily infinite library. Flan reacted similarly, floating around with Chen and searching for anything vaguely amusing to do—was she… booing the bookshelves?
I raise an eyebrow, sleeves joined. “Not fancy with unlimited knowledge?” She looks all the more pissed, though the man by her side looks stunned.
“Nue-san could only dream with this… Stairs leading towards more stepping stairs,” his head bends back as he follows the winding paths leading up; his neck goes all the way back. “You could build a country on this foundation.”
“Blah blah blah—at least the bed is kind of nice!” One would expect a rugged fellow such as an Amanojaku to prefer the ruthlessness of a tough mattress, yet here she is, drowning in the fluff. “But a bed in the middle of the damn room? What if a book falls on my head?!” She faces up, looking at the hypnotizing climb towards oblivion, or maybe at Chen and Flandre trying to tumble one of the bookshelves—
“Yukari-sama thought about that; it won't.” To Chen's dismay and Flan's annoyance, we'd also made the bookshelves collapse-proof. I let out a small smile, enjoying the space I was given to calm down my nerves. “It was an enjoyable thought exercise, creating infinite bookshelves and filling them with infinite books~”
“How does that work, if you don't mind me asking?” The man comes forth, curiosity swimming behind those eyes.
“Ah, of course. It's a rather simple yet ingenious 'while True' loop using the Gap~let me explai—” Cleaning my throat for a short explanation, I'm cut off by a bored vampire coming from above and sitting on my head, striking a pose similar to one pictured in the book she was holding—The Thinker, if I am not mistaken.
“To bee or, ugh—ah: to not bumblebee…” She parroted, forgetting the line in the middle of the sentence and having to re-read it. Chen sat on the man's head and held one book too, though she struck a much more relaxed pose of a cross-legged Buddha performing vitarka.
“I'm frens with everyone.” She repeats the classic Buddhist quote.
With his hands joined, the grinning man mumbles “Namu Amida Butsu,” in response to Chen's pitiful religious take. I hum, gently taking Flan off my hatted pointy ears. Her words are immediate: “I'm bored, Ranryu…”
“And I'm, sadly, busy. I won't be able to entertain you, Flan-chan.” I put her on the floor, crystal wings flapping up and down cutely—reads ‘perilously'.
“But, Ran!” Chen asks, frowning with closed fists.
“That's all the time I can spare; this room doesn't have a mechanism to slow down time yet.”
—Flan kicks the floor, ripping an entire chunk from it that flew across the room and pierced one wall, awakening a drowsy Seija. Her pout seemed irritated. “Fine. You won't play with me, then. I'm not mad, just disappointed.” Her judgment laid, she turned her back on me to look at the others. Goro struggled to contain his laughter while holding a befuddled Chen. Seija stared with explicit amusem*nt… Both died upon seeing the excited grin of the vampire, gleaming red eyes like a blood moon and fists closed, as if thirsting for a good brawl; it brings memories of her strikes with her sword in the pretending play... Ugh. “Okay! That leaves just us~let's play and have tons of fun, everyone!”
Chen cheers, though hides well her sadness and discontent; I've had no time for her recently, and with our family already shattered…
… Poor Chen.
Exchanging a quiet nod with the broker and the Amanojaku—Flan ignores me…—I walk up to Chen and give her a tight hug. It takes a moment, but she reciprocates: “We'll have fun later, okay? Anon and I will cook you something very nice, I promise~” I whisper, and she feels incredibly tense while nodding. “Che—”
“I wanna talk later… with everyone, 'kay?” She mutters, my tails bushing for a moment and whole body tensing. Softly, however, I just nod and release her…
She looks harrowed—tired.
I calmly leave then, mind on fire and estrus entirely forgotten…
I need to prepare for tonight’s meeting.
// HSE Gakkuran Special 1
Anon woke up in a bed that was not his own. Opening his eyes, he was boxed into a small room. Painted drywall surrounded him while a ceiling fan spun above his single-sized bed, just a few feet away from a cluttered desk and chair tucked in the corner. Just one window let in natural sunlight, illuminating posters of rock bands, mecha movies, and a young idol band. Sliding out from his sheets, something was felt wrong.
His entire body felt full of energy, like he didn’t have to sleep at all! Stretching his arms and legs, none of the usual aches and pains accompanied it. Hell, he couldn’t even see any wrinkles, stretch marks or scars! Sure, the libido was a bit annoying, but Anon hadn’t felt this good in years! Whatever was going on today, it was starting off great!
Investigating the desk, Anon noticed how… juvenile it was. The drawer was a mess, and the surface littered with notebooks and textbooks. Pens and pencils rolled freely, not a single element of organization present to prevent their escape. Worst of all, a messenger bag was hastily dumped on top of everything, as if to drive the point home that this student couldn’t care less. Looking for clues to his environment, Anon opened up the bag. It was completely empty, save for an ID card. It read:
~~~
HAKUREI GAKKOU EXPERIENCE
STUDENT: ANON HAKUREI
CLASS B
~~~
Next to the information was a picture of a young, hopeful-looking fellow. Figuring it was just a placeholder image, Anon pondered how the yamawaro put everything here to together while he was asleep and what kind of scenario he was going through today. Opening up his closet, it was completely bare save for a gakuran set and dress shirt. With no other clothes to wear, he put on the attire and went to the bathroom to freshen up. In that room, he saw the same image on the ID card staring back at him from the mirror. At one point, Anon may have been shocked. Really, he was just surprised Yukari went through the extra effort for this scenario. All cleaned up, Anon gathered his school supplies and neatly packed them into his bag.
Entering his living room, Anon was surprised to hear something sizzling. When he got into the kitchen, he found a familiar face dressed in an apron and gingham.
“Takane? What’s going on?” The yamawaro turned to give him a rather forced smile.
“Oh, you’re finally awake! Are you ready for school? Breakfast is nearly ready, so don’t leave yet!” Takane lifted two omelettes out of the skillet and wrapped them for portability. “One’s for you and one’s for Goro. Don’t eat too much chocolate before you get home, my little ‘heartbreaker’!” Anon could hear the strain in her voice.
“Don’t worry, I guess? What, are Goro and I heading to a candy store after school?”
With artificial surprise, Takane gasped. “Oh my, did you forget? Today’s Valentine’s Day, Anon! I bet every girl in the whole school will be lining up at your desk to hand you a homemade sweet.”
The theme made too much sense and not enough. Still, it wasn’t like Anon could refuse to play along. “I see… Well, thanks for the food. I’ll see you after school.” Hoping this wouldn’t end poorly, Anon left through the front door into a peaceful little alley straight across from what he presumed to be his school.
___
Takane sat down at the table, munching away at her omelette. For the fifth time this morning, she read over the flyer in her hand.
~~~
SPECIAL VALENTINE’S DAY COURSE – HAKUREI GAKKOU EXPERIENCE
Do you wish to experience the pure, naive love only two young souls can have together? Do you wish to give a heart-throbbing confession to your one-and-only?
Today only, give your chocolate and your love to your special classmate, Anon-kun! Our star performer has been “adjusted” to today’s theme: He’s young, energetic, and if you care about that kind of thing, he’s even pure! Feel the love from Anon in his rawest form!
Special offer: Today only, if you can confess your love to Anon, he’s yours—to keep! Simply follow these two simple steps to take Anon home with you today:
1. Confess your love and chocolate
2. Anon eats your chocolate
In just two steps, you can take home Gensokyo’s most eligible bachelor!*
We only have two minor rules to keep the game fair: No telling Anon, and no using unique powers. The only thing you can seduce him with is your feminine wiles!
*rules subject to change
~~~
It was just as hard to read now as it was the first five times. The yamawaro sighed and thought to herself: “Goro, just stick to the plan and keep him busy. You can’t screw this up.”
___
Footsteps echoed behind Anon. A young man with bright, blonde hair was running towards him. “Yo, Anon, wait up for me!” Ah, that was probably Goro! Waving with the omelette in his hand, Anon held it out and waited for his friend. Just as quickly as he appeared, a streak with a red highlight sped by, taking Goro and the omelette.
“What the hell was that for? We made a plan!” Goro’s heels skid to a halt against the asphalt. He was all the way at the edge of the boundary, brought there by a girl who refused to be straightforward.
Seija stood tall, her navy blue seraf*cku making her highlights stand out. “Yeah, and that plan stinks! You and Takane were soooo convinced that all you have to do is talk to Anon all day, you never considered what might happen if one of these hags start a fight!”
Goro’s checked his loafers for scuffs. “We went over this already: No unique abilities meant these ladies won’t risk fighting. Especially with Anon’s approval at stake. He’d never accept someone that beats up his friends right in front of him.”
“Dumbass, Yukari joined the competition too! Do you really think she, Yuuka or his pervert daughter would hesitate to pound your stupid face in?” Seija took a bite of Goro’s omelette before spitting it out onto the road. “Bleh, too dry.”
Yukari was supposed to take on a role as headmistress, but she apparently wasn’t interested in sitting still. Worse, as the sole organizer of the event, she alone had the power to modify the rules at her whim, save for the ban against unique powers. There was no way in hell she was going to play fair. “So, I’m guessing we sabotage their confessions before they have a chance to try? We could steal their chocolates too; They can’t have Anon if he never eats their sweets.”
“That’s all? I can do better than that: If all these bitches want a piece of Anon, they’ll have to get past each other! We’ll turn them against each other until nobody’s left to confess to him! Gahahahahaha! I won’t even have to lift a finger!” Against the likes of Yuuka, Yuugi, the tengu, and any youkai with more than one trick up their sleeve, this was the perfect way to indirectly get rid of them. Especially without Seija’s ability to flip their own power against them. As Goro pondered her plan, Seija pulled out a plain carton from her skirt and popped something into her mouth.
“Y’know, smoking is against the rules.” Without a word Seija walked closer to Goro and brought her face up to his. Something pulled at his ankle from behind, sending him into Seija’s arms. Her cheeks were rosy.
“I l-love you.” Quickly, the amanojaku locked lips with Goro. Something was being pushed into his mouth and forced down his throat. Just as fast, Seija ended contact. “T-There! Those Myouren skan*s can’t say sh*t anymore, because I own you now! You’re my prize, fair and square!”
Goro reached into the amanojaku’s pocket and snagged a little malted ball himself. With a cat-like grin, he went on his offensive. “I love you too.” Popping the store-bought candy into his mouth, Goro returned the favor to his aggressive girlfriend. “You’re my prize too.”
“You… Dumbass! Asshole! Pervert! Freak! We don’t have time for this sh*t! Let’s go ruin Valentine’s already!” Turning away from Goro to hide her blush, Seija pulled the human down the road leading to school.
___
Anon was fascinated with the school. Having arrived half an hour before classes began, he explored the building. Near the entrance a “You must be this tall to enter” sign was posted. A room with clear windows revealed a Chen wearing a hard hat and overalls, a Flandre that looked quite dour, and a few fairies that didn’t seem to mind. It seemed Sakuya was assigned to watch over them.
Between three floors of classrooms, the only other students he saw were all youkai women. Some threw him flirty glances, while others were just having fun dressed as students. Up on the rooftop, some of the flowers he grew with Yuuka were set up in planters. With his classroom being on the second floor, Anon took some time to water them before class began. At the five-minute bell, he found his class and sat down at a desk close to the window for a chance to see the scenery.
At the one-minute bell, students began filing in. At the forefront was a green-haired woman wearing a point hat with her sailor uniform that clung to her curves. Her curves ended at the waist, leaving only a ghostly-tail under her skirt. Anon expected her to stand at the lectern. Instead, she floated right in front of Anon and slammed a box of chocolates down on his desk.
“Let’s get this over with, shall we Anon?” Mima took a deep breath. “I love you. Now, eat the chocolate.”
Anon was all kinds of confused. His face turned red as he stammered out a dozen questions at once. In reply, Mima picked up a chocolate and fed it to Anon by hand. Forcefully. “There. Now, let’s get you to Marisa…”
A ping came from Mima’s skirt. A text message popped up on an ancient flip-phone:
~~~
2(a). Anon must eat your chocolate himself.
~~~
“Damn it, so that’s how you’re going to play this, gap hag?!”
At this point, Anon became a bit scared.
// Marisa 15
She's not lying.
She's okay with the baby growing inside of me.
Reimu's changed…
… And she could've been helped earlier.
'Of course I'm crying, idiot!' I wanted to yell but couldn't muster the strength to do it, brows furrowing, supporting myself on the broom. Reimu remained serene, watching with that f*cking smile on her face. The words elicited a range of emotions, from unrelenting rage towards the suffering Hana and Anon went through to a despairing fear of confronting the reality that the past two decades of suffering in the lives of two—three, once upon a time—people I care deeply about could have been avoided…
I could've prevented it if I had seen whatever Ran saw in Reimu. But I didn't. I wasted my spring of life robbing, coveting a married man, wallowing in misery and loneliness… Everything while the friend that turned into a monster could've been helped with what: A few words? Some questions? Someone to give a damn?!
What a sick joke—
—I jump slightly when a hand lands on my shoulder. Though now confused, Reimu's smile endures. “What's wrong, Marisa?” She asks, applying pressure to her hand and pulling me down to a sitting position, and I sigh of relief as the pain—stood up for too long—subsides. The one inside my heart does not.
“Why did you never tell me?” I blurted out, looking straight into her eyes. She winces but doesn't move her eyes away. “I could've done something; helped you… We were friends da-ze!” Rage seeps into my tongue. “Nothing of this f*cking mess would've happened if you j-just had…” Although my heart thumps and my muscles scream, I don't have the heart to finish the words, aching mind spinning.
Reimu, however: “… Sought help?” I slowly nod, expecting fury or any kind of defense— “You're right.” She follows the statement with a nod of her own, staring at our reflection on the pond, those crimson flames gone. “I wish I could go back in time and spew everything I told Ran to you, to Anon; beg for your forgiveness. I could have given Hana the life she deserved, made amends, and lived a meaningful life rather than just existing… I dream of exactly that sometimes,” she scoffs, closing her eyes for a brief meditation that yields eyes I hope to emulate someday. “But I can’t go back in time; this is the life I have created for myself, and I intend to make the most of it… I am the choices I made—back then and now—and no one other than myself should feel responsible for those choices; not even you, my closest friend.” She stares at my belly and a surge of protectiveness washes over me… Reimu merely smiles. “… Don't blame yourself, Marisa.”
I desperately want to refute her. Of course, it is! We spent most of our lives together! Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame, Gensokyo's incident resolvers! Always together, always protecting each other's backs... For thirty years, I failed her.
The guilt is oppressive.
“I should've done something back then—anything! I could've changed this future…” I mutter, expecting the same song and dance from her: 'You didn’t know; how could you? It’s not your fault.' My body itches with rage just thinking about it—
— “You can do something now, Marisa.” My thoughts are cut short, and bulging eyes focus on her. She is resolute. “We cannot change our past or future...” W-What?! What does she— “But we can do our best until our futures reveal themselves, and everything I've done from the moment I stopped existing and started to live was for my family. I will go to any length to ensure that they live a happy life for once.”
The sheer confidence of these words took my breath away. The cold that followed, however, made me clutch my belly tightly. I look her—Reimu Hakurei… It’s been so long—in the eye and say, “E-Even…?”
She understood immediately… She smiles. “It'd be worth it.” Words of placidity, eyes soft and focused on the still water.
Unwavering.
My heart pounded, my lips felt dry, and my hands held my belly with a silent promise that, for them, I'd do the same. Yet…
“… Y-You just came back-ze… Why do you want to go away so soon?” Her eyes light up with tiredness when she hears my words, a reflection of the exhausting nature of life.
A reflection of us.
Without expecting input, I laid my head on her shoulder, witch hat falling to the ground with a silent thud. I feel her neck bending forward to look at me before returning to the lake, and she hums: “Every good story is as good as its ending—after everything mine tells, I just wish it to have a… positive ending.”
I frown, heart throbbing. “You sound like Kasen-ze.” She gawks at me and, a moment later… Just laughs out loud.
20 years…
… It's been 20 years since I've heard her genuine laugh.
“Do I really?! Man, that sucks! I've become a loudmouth grandma~!” I don't try to contain my laughter; it just comes out. Tears follow behind.
Our decisions make us—I hold my big belly…—and though I can't change our sad past, the future is not written in stone…
I choose to give her a chance.
// Hana 157-158
By the time the laughter had died and the stirring rustle of the trees took over again, Hana was a simmering puddle of anger and Reimu awkwardly looked to the side. She couldn’t believe that she was treated like some fool again, it was insulting, degrading even, to be laughed at like that! Hana couldn’t help but turn on her heel, her back facing her mother and off towards to the beginning of the tree-line, a stones’ throw from where they stood. Even though she heard her mother’s words of ‘Hey, really. I didn’t mean to laugh so hard…’ and ‘It was just a little funny is all, you’ll see the humor in it too eventually!’ she didn’t care to forgive her for this any time soon.
By the time Hana had turned around, after biting her tongue to control the scalding words she wanted to shout, her mother seemed collected again as the awkward women cleared her throat loudly. Despite her sour mood that sound was ingrained into Hana, and the girl quickly found herself standing a bit straighter. Hana cursed her instinct as her mother didn’t seem to realize what she had done, this woman…
Her mother seemed hesitant for a second more to as she let an, “Uhm, so your power… ‘the ability to never be chained’ wasn’t it?” Hana nodded quietly knowing her mother would continue, “You say it allows you to move strangely through the air and even through walls?”
Nodding along, and vaguely surprised she wound up understanding the half of it, Hana felt slightly mollified as she added in, “Something like that, it’s kinda hard to explain and all-“ Hana coughed lightly into her hand, unwilling to acknowledge her mistake earlier, “W-why don’t I just show you how it works? It's like squeezing the world a bit and then you can-“
With a lingering word Hana let the lines of the world tighten as she moved ‘forward’ taking the quickest and slightly roundabout route as her body just naturally turned in place as if she were walking on the inside of a strangely shaped ball. By the time she reached her destination and reoriented herself to be right side up only a split second had passed. In the time it would take for her to blink she had traveled through the air and any obstacles like nothing was there.
Secretly hoping she could see that monster of a woman jump back in surprise, Hana was disappointed to see her mother’s eyes catch up quickly to her new position. Letting out an ‘ah’ was all she did as her expression changed to one of deep thought, which irritated the juvenile miko a bit. Not wanting to be shown up Hana followed up with a favorite trick of hers, letting her voice carry she whispered a teasing, ‘over here!’.
Seeing her mother try to resist before glancing over her shoulder in the opposite direction felt like a small victory. Without saying anything Reimu quickly turned her head back to where Hana stood, and Hana was slightly annoyed that her prank had only caused a smirk to form on her amused face. Did she whisper too playfully? Did her mother think she forgave her for that laughing fit? Did she think that Hana was trying to act friendly?
This couldn’t stand, and before her mother could do more than sigh out ‘oldest trick in the book~’. Hana had perked up now and letting in more defiance than she expected she loudly gave her challenge, “I’ll show you exactly how effective it is in danmaku!”
Hana wasn’t feeling overconfident per se, she had seen what the women floating in front of her could do both physically and in danmaku many times over. She knew that she’d lose handily normally, even with her ability, she’d eventually lose out as Reimu got used to the way she moved. On the top of it all Hana only had one spell card, and while she’d adjusted it since she’d got it to suit her own way of moving there was no delusion that she’d be able to win even by timeout.
With gohei in hand Reimu seemed unusually relaxed as the cold wind buffeted them both. Despite the fact that the chill most definitely was cutting through her sleeves and gloves, she seemed almost relaxed. As if ignoring Hana’s annoyance pointedly there was a certain girlish giddiness in her mother’s voice as she chatted, “The field behind the shrine always has tranquil air during the evening, doesn’t it?”
Her mother seemed a little carefree as she raised the gohei and let the air flutter the paper tassels. Hana couldn’t help but respond to the provocation, her blood getting a bit hotter in defiance of the chill in the air, “Isn’t it? It’s a perfect place to show off your power to people who look down on you!”
Hearing Hana’s banter Reimu smiled widely as a fire seemed to light in her eyes, “It’s always the smallest dogs that yap the loudest, why don’t you show me how much you’ve improved?!”
With those last few words, the two women summoned their danmaku, two orbs took their spot at Reimu’s side and on Hana’s summoned seals flew behind her. Hana made the seals fly in a pattern that looked like a yin yang, something she’d been cooking up for just such an occasion. Like something that lay dormant waking up, the world felt brighter as the first patterns of danmaku started taking off.
// HSE Gakkuran Special 3-7
“Hold on a second! This is way too fast! I know that you were in the hokora, but I never knew you felt this way about me! I-I mean I’m not rejecting you, but I just never expected something like this! I-I it’s just—“ Anon’s head was spinning a mile a minute while Mima simply gave him a cold stare.
“Don’t think too hard about it. Once this “act” is over, you’ll be thanking me. Just do what I say and everything will be fine, understand?” Still trying to rationalize how this turn of events came about, Anon finally noticed how many girls filled the classroom. Some were shocked that Mima was quick and straightforward. Others were laughing at her feeble attempts. Two girls were standing up with a camera… were Aya and Momiji filming this?!
“Anon Hakurei, *sigh* I love you. Now, eat. The. Chocolate.” The spirit’s words were an obvious lie. Maybe that was the scenario: She was being blackmailed by some mean girls to ask him out! Why Mima of all people, he wasn’t sure. Still, something about her cool demeanor and the way her shirt strained to contain her cleavage compelled Anon to go along with her words.
“Alright, thank you very much.” Anon chose a piece of dark chocolate. It was high-quality stuff, likely made by an artisan. As he chewed the candy, Mima’s phone beeped again. This time, Anon heard it play at least 30 more times. Every single girl in the classroom got the same text at the same time. Unique to Mima, however, was the anger in his face.
“You have to be kidding me! Screw this, If Marisa wants this, she can do it herself!” The vengeful spirit took the box from Anon and headed straight for the door.
“Wait, what happened to Marisa? Was she supposed to be in class today?”
“Didn’t you see the sign? Faculty won’t let her in because of her height… Looks like I have to set her free.” With her mission stated, Mima phased through the wall, mumbling to herself. Anon caught a little snippet: “Feh, he doesn’t even have a castle to his name. Who would court a landless man?…”
___
Aya, Momiji and Hatate had everything figured out. While Hatate assessed and scouted out their rivals (in person, meaning she had to get off her lazy butt for once), Momiji and Aya would go in for kill: Aya had already confessed and cooked for Anon, this was a cinch for her! Should anything get in her way, Momiji skill with martial arts and her own fondness for Anon made her the perfect wing woman and backup. One way or another, Anon was coming back to the mountain.
Another update to the rules came in while Mima was floundering with her pitiful giri. Momiji and Aya brought their own homemade honmei, and Yukari’s latest addendum only validated their decision:
~~~
1. Confess your love and chocolate to Anon
1(a). Your confession must be genuine
2. Anon eats your chocolate
2(a). Anon must eat your chocolate himself
~~~
Of course an old-fashioned hag like Mima could never understand the honest, pure, natural appeal Anon had! Aya sat back in her chair, legs resting over the top of her desk. “So, how does the battlefield look?”
Momiji couldn’t sense people 40 ri away anymore, but she still had her heightened senses and Hatate’s reports. “With Mima gone, we’re the only players in class B. Everyone else is just here to enjoy themselves.” It was a luck break; It was fate! “We better act fast, though: Anon’s next periods put him in Class C with Tewi, Gym with Alice, the lunch free-for-all, then Class H.”
“Hana and Aunn should be in Gym, so they’ll protect Anon until lunch. Or, we could snag him now!” Aya climbed on top of her desk and bounded over to Anon, using her agility to mask her fear. Tewi was a trickster, but could be fended off. Alice was a non-issue. But Class H? The desperate Kanako and the raging Yuuka were bad enough; Yukari herself resided there. She would use every underhanded tactic she had to win the right to Anon forever. She couldn’t negate any new rules she made, but she would definitely make up something like “Only Yukari can verbally confess” or “Only blonde girls with white chocolate from Spain are eligible” on the spot!
___
“Aya! Nice to see you!” Anon looked down as he greeted the tengu. She may not have noticed, but her choice of travel left her skirt flapping dangerously high. Already a bit jumpy from his encounter with Mima, Anon didn’t want to risk offending Aya. Momiji made her way over in a more dignified manner, flanking Anon together. Just as the two tengu began to gossip, a textbook slammed against the lectern.
Smartly dressed, Ran took command of the classroom. “Today, we’ll be review integration for the area between curves before practicing with 3D objects.”
Aya tried whispering to Anon, but was soundly cut off by another loud slam. “Talking in class will NOT be tolerated, Miss Shameimaru.”
In his young form, Anon’s brain still had the plasticity to understand Ran’s lecture. Being over a thousand years old and lacking any intention to learn, Aya and Momiji were utterly stumped. It was odd, really. Under normal circ*mstances, he could easily ignore Aya making an innuendo about log and wanting to see his ‘log’, or Momiji glancing under his desk while she didn’t think he was looking. A combination of two voracious tengu in seraf*cku and Ran’s mature appeal kept him on edge for the entire class, having nowhere to look after he was done with his classwork. He wondered if something interesting was out the window, then quickly regretted it.
___
Class H was outside for gym practice. Excused with a note from home, Yuyuko was the only student allowed to sit out. Nobody dared to approach the track field, fearing the two monsters racing each other. It was nice that Yuuka and Yuugi could tire each other out: It meant less competition when Anon finally arrived.
A girl with cascading blonde hair decorated with red ribbons played tennis lazily with Okina. Hardly any effort was necessary to keep the paraplegic under pressure while exhibiting her unparalleled, youthful beauty to a particular voyeur. Women gathered here, thinking they had a shot at taking Anon: In truth, Yukari amassed an audience to witness Anon fall in love with her! By now, Anon should be feeling the effect of the lust curse placed on his gakuran. Not to mention the libido of a young, ripe man pumping adrenaline through his body. Ah, the poor boy must be suffering for the embrace of a woman by now. After being approached by a garden of enticing women all day, Yukari would sweep Anon off his feet and offer him sweet release in her embrace. Ahh~ then they’d go to prom together—
A cold wind blew against Yukari’s face, alerting her to the incoming ball. “Jeez, Okina! If I can’t gap chocolate into Anon’s mouth, you aren’t allowed to use the power of the seasons!”
“Nuh uh! You clearly stipulated ‘unique powers’. Anyone can harness the power of the seasons, which is why I gave up my backdoors.” Leading her response with a strong spring breeze, Okina returned the ball. “It’s your fault for thinking the manipulation of gaps is something unique just to you. Besides, you modified yourself and Anon with gaps. How is that allowed by the rules?”
“I did it last night so it counts! Now stop cheating and play fair, I can’t do my backhand if you keep making my wrists cold!” The young, fair, and gorgeous young lady continued to trade the ball back and forth, listening intently to her earpiece. It seemed the rules would need a bit more clarification once first period ended…
___
Turning away from the field of jiggling breasts and sweaty, voluptuous bodies, Anon helped the tengu with their classwork. It actually turned out to be fun: Aya hated repeating work when she got something wrong, so she seemed really proud when solving problems by herself. Momiji worked diligently, but Anon could tell she was hungry for praise.
“...And that should be it. Man, just a minute to spare. Sorry you guys didn’t get much time to speak.”
Aya chirped up. “It’s fine, really! How about we meet up at lunch on the rooftop? It’s a nice, breezy area with few entry or exit points—It’s the perfect place to eat!”
“Precisely. We’ll share our bentos as well—The food here smells suspicious. Really, the maid should be cooking instead of babysitting.” Momiji’s sentiments came just before the bell rang. With class dismissed, the tengu jetted out immediately, eager to leave calculus behind. To Anon’s surprise, Ran stopped him before he could go.
“Hmm? What’s the matter Ran—er, Sensei?”
The kitsune’s cool attitude began to melt. The shikigami’s skin reddened before reaching underneath her lectern for a bag of homemade brownies, tied off with a bow. “You know it’s Valentine’s Day today, and, well, I do l-love you, so it felt right to prepare this for you. Chen wanted so badly to try one, but I promised you would be the first to taste it.”
“Thank you Ran, this means a lot.” Giving Ran a hug, Anon realized how warm the kitsune’s body was. And how good she smelled, how soft her fur was against his skin… it took a lot of willpower to tear himself away. Biting into one of the chocolate squares, a thin crust gave way to a rich, moist mouthful of cake. “Mmph. It’s perfect!” As he gave his praise, a beep came from Ran’s blazer. “Jeez, I better run to my next class. I’ll see you later, Sensei!” Ran smiled and waved as Anon left, her nine tails and ears drooping once he was out of sight.
___
Tewi was excited. Yukari could make up as many rules as she wanted, but she’d find a way around it. This one was way too easy; Anon wouldn’t dare brush a girl off!
~~~
3. Physical contact must be maintained for 10 uninterrupted minutes.
~~~
Class C was on the top floor, something Anon resented at this very moment. Convincing Aya to give him a ride wouldn’t have been hard, if she were still here. Anon ran up a flight of stairs and all the way down the hall, leaving him defenseless to the inaba’s attack. As soon as Tewi grappled Anon’s arm, he was stuck.
“How rude, it’s Valentine’s Day and you didn’t look for me first thing this morning? I think I’m gonna cry!” Tewi pulled Anon into the classroom with far more force than her petite body should have been able to muster.
“Uhh, well, I didn’t think you would be here considering your… stature.”
The earth rabbit perked her ears straight up in response, then co*cked her head in confusion. Combined in height, her ears put her just above Marisa standing straight. It was enough to clear the hurdle that claimed Mima’s student. “What are you talking about? My body is the epitome of JK appeal!”
“Nevermind. Let’s just find seats before they fill up.” Surveying the room, Anon was surrounded by rabbits. A sea of ears twitched while listening out for Anon. Primal feelings of danger and curiosity were feuding within him. Looking towards the front of the classroom, Anon spotted a green head of hair sticking out of the crowd. “Come on, let’s go towards the front so we can listen to the lecture.”
Sitting at the front of the class, Anon was confirmed it was Sanae. “Hey, is it really you?” Turning her head to his voice, the miko shot out of her seat and hugged Anon as fast as she could.
“Long time no see! I never thought the next time I would see you again would be in school! How have you been? I can’t believe you look so young! It’ll be weird having the grizzled guy from the village as my classmate, but I’ll be sure to watch over you!” Talking a mile a minute, Sanae never let up, making up for lost months. She also never let go of Anon’s arm. On the other side of Anon, Tewi was still clinging to his arm, vying for his attention. The rabbits behind him were all murmuring to each other, and it wasn’t hard to guess what about.
In an uneasy stance, Class C’s teacher Keine entered. She made her way to the front of the class, politely pushing through rabbit after rabbit. “Today, class, we’ll be reviewing the Sengoku period. Our lesson plan clearly states that we’ll be going over the role of *sigh* concubines and their place in the evolving political climate. Not poetry or succession conflicts, no, that would be too interesting for a lesson!” Clearly dissatisfied with her job, the hakutaku made little effort to control her class. She allowed the students to talk amongst themselves while she read a book and muttered to herself. Between conversations with Tewi and Sanae, Anon could catch little complaints. The most striking one was “I wanna trade with Sakuya. I bet Flandre would appreciate the lesson more than my last class.”
Things came to a head after about ten minutes. After clinging to Anon for dear life, Tewi glanced at a clock and suddenly let go. Her focus instead turned towards a rucksack she carried with her. She was looking for something. Desperately. “Is something wrong, Tewi?”
“Nothing you have to worry about! Nothing’s wrong at all!” Her actions said otherwise: Tewi called over a rabbit nearby and quickly sent her out the door. As she did, Sanae finally let go of Anon and started looking through her own bag.
The class finally stood silent when the Moriya miko stood up. “I’ll give you until the count of three! Whoever took my chocolate, I want it back now!” Instead of the slightly naive, yet cheerful expression Anon knew from Sanae, she wore one filled with anger.
“Calm down, girl. Nobody here would take your chocolate. Why would they, when you can get better from a vending machine?” Tewi laughed at her own joke, expecting the rest of the class to laugh along. Instead, they stared at Sanae in fear.
“YOU! You stole my cookies and sent them out with your follower, didn’t you?! I saw you whispering to her!”
Tewi didn’t take the accusation kindly. “Really? I think the only cookie thief here is YOU, since mine are nowhere to be seen!”
“Oh, how original! Blaming me for the crime you and your posse committed!” At this point, Sanae whipped out her gohei, preparing for a throw down.
Instead of backing down, Tewi stood admirably against the possible slander. “You can throw useless accusations against me all you want. But my inaba? That’s going too far, missy!”
The classroom door opened, letting in a barrage of fireworks that crackled, boomed and smoked up the room. Getting while the getting was good, Anon ducked out of his desk and fled the room. He could hear danmaku firing and the distinct sound of a pi-chuun behind him. He didn’t stick around to find out who it was. Instead, Anon ran into another short girl. It was a miracle he didn’t skewer himself on her horns.
“Mr. Hakurei! What do you think you’re doing outside of class?!” Standing as tall as she could, Suika’s smile never left her face as she asked Anon a question that could get him thrown in detention.
“I think I should ask you the same thing! You’re out of dress code and wandering the halls, just as fireworks fill up the class!” It was all bluff, but it was all he had to go with.
Suika’s only grinned wider. “Well, as headmistress of the HGE, shouldn’t I be enforcing discipline and investigating classrooms filled with smoke?” Not a hint of smugness tainted the joy her face: It was all fun and games for her.
“I apologize, Suika-er, Sensei! I just assumed Yukari would be the one overseeing today’s operation.” It did raise a good question: If Suika was the headmistress, where was Yukari?
“Well, Yukarin isn’t in charge right now, so it’s up to me to decide your punishment. Since your classroom is full of hooligans and ne'er-do-wells, I think I’ll let you off with a warning. Walk with me, Hakurei!” Marching like a drill instructor, Suika led Anon down to the first floor. Honestly, an hour with Suika beat a dull lesson any day.
Near the entrance, he could hear Mima arguing with Sakuya: “What kind of shenanigans are you trying to pull here?! Anyone can use magic, so why is mine prohibited?”
“I’m sorry ma’am, but you listed yourself as a ‘Goddess of Magic’. This necessitates prohibiting your magical abilities, as it uniquely identifies you on the roster. In addition, you tried to destroy the Hakurei Gakkou Daytime Center, where Lady Flandre currently resides. I cannot approve the use of your powers, by rule or by good conscience.” Mima still wasn’t satisfied with the answer, arguing back and forth while Marisa stood by the window.
“See, Anon? That’s where you’ll end up if you don’t follow the rules: Arguing fruitlessly against someone who really doesn’t care about your personal problems.” Continuing on their journey, Anon noticed a door with a paper sign taped on labeled ‘BETTING ROOM’.
“Is gambling allowed on campus?”
“Oh, right. I probably should’ve taken that down. Eh, you already saw it. It’s just a place for people who don’t want to interact with the school environment to place bets on what they think will happen. I hear Jo’on went all in on Ran—poor girl refuses to leave the room.” A flash of inspiration struck the little oni. “That’s lesson two! Never bet on something unless you’re 100% certain you’ll win!”
“Suika, that’s terrible advice. Not just for a student, but in general. And where are we even going?”
“Oh, you’re coming with me to my office. There’s some high proof whisky on the top shelf I can’t reach. If you get it for me, I’ll let you stay for the rest of the period. I’ll even let you have a sip! How’s that for a cool principal?” Suika’s eyes were gleaming too brightly for Anon to refuse her. So, the student helped his principal get drunk in exchange for cutting class.
___
“Gahahahahahahaha! Did you see her smack into the desk? Oh boy, and when Tewi knocked over the bookshelf—serves that froggy bitch right!” Seija was having the time of her life while Goro tried desperately to find an empty room or closet to hide in. There were no janitors in the HGE, so Yukari skimped out big time. He went over the building schematics dozens of times, but for the life of him couldn’t find an abandoned area. Too many people were busy exploring an academy from the Outside.
“You have to quiet down! The headmistress already took Anon, so the only monitors we’ll run into are from the Disciplinary Committee.” It was easy enough to turn Tewi and Sanae against each other, the only issue was getting Anon out. The rockets were a last resort. Once Eiki heard, he wouldn’t be getting off easy…
“Ah, would you lighten up already? We just blew up a classroom and got away with it! Plus we scored something sweet for our thankless efforts.” Tearing open a neatly wrapped bag, Seija took a bite of Sanae’s cookies. “Not enough sugar. What, is she afraid Anon’s diabetic?” Next up was one of Tewi’s. “Eh, maybe she’s got it right. This thing’s got enough sugar to put him in coma.”
A snap interrupted the two troublemakers’ escape and their snack. Turning towards the noise, three tengu stood across the hall from them.
“Stealing, reckless endangerment, disrupting public order, skipping class; Just wait until Eiki sees all of this~” Aya played with the straps on her camera, taunting the amanojaku.
“We can’t let them—“
“GET BACK HERE YOU BIRDY BITCH!” Before Goro could warn her not to draw attention to herself, Seija ran straight after the tengu. Remembering the Discipline Committee’s office was on the third floor, Goro went for the stairs. Even if it meant facing three tengu at once, he had to cut them off.
The bell rang, signaling the end of Anon’s time with the drunken loli. Gathering his things, the student closed the office door softly to avoid startling his principal. She was nice enough to let him relax, so it would only be fair to let her stay unconscious in peace.
The gymnasium was close by, so Anon could take his time. Strolling to the locker room, Anon slowly realized something important: 99% of the student body was female. There was no need for a male locker room. Hell, he didn’t even have a change of clothes in the first place! Standing in front of the door for a solid minute and mulling over his options, he didn’t expect a poke at his back. “Dad?”
Even at this age, her voice awakened an unforgettable love and urge to protect. Turning around to see his daughter, Anon saw Hana and Aunn staring at him in rapt glee. This time, it was Anon’s turn to hug her, lifting his teenager off the ground.
“I missed you too, Dad! But can you put me down? It’s a little embarrassing when you look about the same age as me…” Despite her protests, Hana still clung to Anon. Aunn did too, but she couldn’t contain her excitement. Hearing Anon’s predicament, Aunn scouted out the room to find a locker with Anon’s name on it next to Hana’s. She and Aunn could shield him from prying eyes while he changed. Protected by a tight daughter-dog barrier, Anon made his way to a corner, shielding his eyes from peeking at any other girls.
___
Seeing her father young was… weird. He was so still bigger than her, but just in height. Hana’s Dad was always bigger than Mom and her. It just felt odd to see any other body as her father.
That didn’t stop Hana from peeking at him in the changing room. Under the guise of protecting him from other women, she got to stay close to her dad and the weird feelings welling up inside of her.
“Y’know, it’s probably hard enough for you to recognize me like this. Since we’re nearly the same age, I bet something like ‘Onii-chan’ would probably be easier for you to call me, wouldn’t it? This isn’t exactly a dad-bod anymore!” As always, Dad was trying to lighten the mood. But calling him Onii-chan? Maybe it wouldn’t be that bad if she tried it.
“How has your day been so far, Onii-chan?” Just like that, something cracked in Hana. The barrier between her father and her had thinned, the taboo of age eroding away.
“Well, it’s been pretty hectic, Imouto-chan. Hahahaha!” Anon’s laughter did nothing to mitigate the effect. Hana was his imouto? He was her Onii-chan? He would protect her, always and forever, and hold her tight when things seemed bleak? And as his imouto, she would brighten up his day, their shared blood being nothing but a red string of fate that bound them together despite everything around them trying to tear them apart?!
“I bet everything will be better now that I’m here, Onii-chan~”
___
Hana seemed to really get into the idea of being siblings. As long as she was having fun, he was doing a job well done. All dressed to start moving, Anon couldn’t help but notice all the girls in tight gym clothes. Shaking off his perversions, Anon led his daughter and their dog into the gym.
Coach Shinki was already training one student before the rest of the class filled in. A blonde girl was trying and failing to climb a rope in the middle of the room. “Come on, Alice! Shanghai is already at the top! You can do it, I believe in you!” Indeed, Alice’s doll was already touching the ceiling. She started after Alice, climbed over the girl’s body, and made it to the top before she got halfway.
Blowing her whistle, Shinki shouted out today’s curriculum. “I’ll keep it short and sweet! Do whatever you want to do, as long as you aren’t sitting down and texting! I wanna see blood pumping, not fingers dancing! Back when I visited the Outside, kids had to run laps around the whole school perimeter! Don’t let yourself get lazy like them! A rolling rock never grows moss!” Despite her increasingly-rambling lecture, the girls were all eager to try out different equipment. Nobody was content to sit still.
Wondering just how much his body changed, Anon found the weight bench. Since the youkai girls were unfamiliar with everything, he had full freedom to attach his body weight to the barbell. He knew he was getting co*cky. He knew he was showing off. He knew it was probably the recklessness of youth clouding his judgment. “Aunn, just stand next to me in case I need help, could you?”
“Of course! Just say the word and I’ll take it off your hands.” With just one hand, Aunn picked up the barbell and waited for Anon to get into position. For some reason, Anon didn’t feel like benching anymore.
// Keine 33
There’s something here; what it is ain’t exactly clear. It's small, like an ember… Yet it's everywhere, embroidering the mouths of hardworking parents, of skeptics and optimists alike and even wide-eyed teens.
It takes form of a simple question: “Who’s lying?”
Most people wouldn't care for that at first, not with the already hefty workload that is quotidian life—'doesn't impact me, why care?'
Something everyone mentioned above has is care for children and taxes to pay. Children in a place like Gensokyo, where youkai prowl all over, are extremely important, and all children need schooling; taxes keep the world spinning; no amount of 'Beyond common sense' will change that. The same person who manages our teaching institution and our hard-earned money is now under fire for allegedly mistreating one of his most esteemed subordinates, a teacher of decades who kept the village safe when the Moon made youkai go bananas…
That’s bad.
And what does Mr. Hieda do first? Take everything down; censor all of it.
… That’s very bad.
There's a woman with a gun over there, and Mr. Hieda just picked up the gun and shot himself in the foot.
—
“M-Mr. Hieda, a moment!” I sighed, looking at the direction of the voice. Another man approaches me, puzzled and wide-eyed, his wife, I assume, trailing behind. We're on school grounds and the students are just leaving; the sun being consumed by the horizon. This is not an evening of sweet relief like usual, but rather one of exhaustion and annoyance—a low growl escaping me as my worried and agitated entourage stops by the massive Ginkgo Tree on the right side of the school. I have been tormented by one topic all day long, like a co*ckroach that never dies: Keine's letters. Collecting everything and burning it away—rightfully ending the disgusting, fake piece of literature—wasn't quite enough to pacify the masses. “I'd like to ask about Keine-sensei's let—”
“Sorry, but Mr. Hieda is very tired and does not want to talk,” one of my bodyguards interrupted the man as he tried to get closer. “His advanced age takes a massive toll on his body—” That should've been enough, and I was already about to resume my walk back to the estate, though this nagging itch begging to be scratched layered the bottom of my mind, a constant throughout the whole day. What a headache…
“—The things that Eirin-sensei said don't match your words about Keine-sensei!”
… What?
I turn to the man, and he seems scared, teeth bared and sweating; the woman behind him remains placid and… There's just something about her eyes—
“Based on E-Eirin-sensei’s records, Keine-sensei never went to Eientei for an abortion!” His loud voice and my presence gathered attention, and the itch grew and grew. My other bodyguards immediately tensed, handmaiden to the left trying her hardest to pull me away from the man and the forming crowd, some people I recognize from earlier who've also tried interrogating me…
Oh, but none of that is relevant.
That may not have occurred in Eientei, but so what? It changes nothing! That viper aborted my Akyuu; I simply know it! “Your words don't match, Hieda-sama! Did you really lie to everyone?!”
“Please, get away from Mr. Hieda now!” The bodyguards tried to hide me from the public eye, whispers all around me of curiosity, confusion, and, outlandishly, even some agreement! The itch grew, and in my mind I saw a baby Akyuu in my arms, an innocent soul that'll have to wait years before she can return to this world, all because of that woman—
“Answer us, Hieda-sama!”
“Where did you get records anyway…?” Someone asked, but their voice was snuffed beneath the unrest that spread like wildfire.
“H-Hieda-sama, please, let’s move!” The handmaiden pleaded.
“What more did you lie about?”
“C'mon, there's no real evidence about these 'reports'!”
“Hieda-sama, what's happening?!”
“Yeah, why did you fire that hot teacher?! Her dress was so tight I could see every curve, man! This school stinks!”
“Mr. Hieda, answer us!”
“Are you idiots being paid by her?!”
“Paid?! Shut up, you bootlicker!”
Fights were starting; fingers pointed—
—And my Akyuu's name was being defiled, her terrible passing denied... All because of that goddamn woman!
“She aborted my Akyuu!” It came out with a shaking voice and limbs, fury leaking into my words and broad eyes; the crowd and my bodyguards—who were frantically trying to drag me away—froze still. “So what if it wasn't a physical abort, if there wasn't a baby to start with?! She spiritually did it! She's a monster! I don't need evidence; it was revealed to me in my dreams! It is shameful even one of you heard a word that woman spewed!”
I was the focus of thirty sets of eyes. All but one were aghast…
PICHUN~
… Holding a camera, the first man's wife grinned.
Her back suddenly sprouted dark brown wings, and she quickly took off, exclaiming, “Megumu-sama will love this!”
The ‘husband’, relieved, fell on his buttocks. “Sorry…” He mumbles. I don't even hear him.
// HSE Gakkuran Special 8-10
Carpentry did wonders for Anon’s strength, and his stamina wasn’t lacking either. He broke his workout records from before he came to Gensokyo easily. Being one of the few people knowledgeable about the equipment in the room, a small crowd formed to ask him questions. Starting from the basics with most of the students, Anon became an impromptu teaching assistant. Something that drew Coach Shinki’s interest. After blowing her whistle, she motioned Anon over to her and Alice while indicating for the rest of the girls to continue exploring.
“What can I do for you, Coach?”
“Since you’re so good at leading the other girls, why don’t you help Alice do some sit-ups? Just hold her feet down. Don’t be afraid to give her some tips, okay? Maybe talk about what kind of food you like. I know Alice can’t resist my famous strawberry shortcake! Why, when she was little, she actually drooled on the floor—“
The indignant, tired Alice cried out. “MOM, that’s embarrassing!” The blonde witch blushed and instinctively wiped away the sweat near her mouth before facing Anon. “B-But I do want your help…”
“I’d be happy to. Let’s just get in position, and we’ll have your abs toned in no time!” Encouraged by Anon, Alice laid down on the floor and propped her knees wide apart. The sight of her crotch displayed so defenselessly was a bit much for Anon’s heart.
Grabbing her knees, Alice let out a small yelp before Anon slid them together. “Th-They shouldn’t be too far apart, you’ll cramp like that. Now, try lifting your upper body as far as you can.” Following Anon’s instructions, the puppetmaster of the forest managed a solid 10 degree differences between her back and the floor. Anon was about to get up before Shinki whistled at him.
“KEEP YOUR HANDS ON HER FEET!” Panic shot through Anon’s brain. “Gym isn’t just about staying fit: It’s about teamwork! Now, I just need to grab something from my office. Keep your hands on Alice while I’m gone, or it’s a week of detention!” Backing away from the pair while maintaining a strict sight-line, Shinki left the two teenagers frightened and touching.
“Well then, let’s take it slowly. Focus on your belly and tighten your core. Practice that a few times, then try to lift up again. I’ll just… keep holding you.” Shinki’s bombastic demeanor wasn’t the only thing confusing Anon: The girls around him started to whisper:
“Why is Coach trying to help her win? Are they going to share him?”
“Abuse of power! Coach is flaunting the rules!”
“The rules already flaunt themselves, stupid! This is probably the only way anyone can get around the dumb rule changes.”
“It’s not fair! Anon should be between my legs, not hers!”
Anon could’ve sworn he heard Hana’s voice among the sea of chatter, but couldn’t pick out her words from anyone else. Looking down at Alice, it was clear she could hear them too. It was time to snap out of this funk and help his classmate! Keeping one hand on her feet, Anon slid over to Alice’s side. She would get her workout one way or another.
“Why did you let go? What are you—Ahh! Wait, I’m all sweaty back there!” Anon pressed his free hand against Alice’s upper back.
“It’s fine to get a little help the first time you do this. You just need to get the hang of the motion. Now rise!” Letting Alice lift herself up, Anon gently followed the arc with his hand. He exerted barely any pressure: It was all about making Alice think he was pushing her. First she lifted herself 45 degrees. Then 60. On her third attempt, All Anon had to do was touch her with his finger to bring her to a full sit-up.
Sweaty, embarrassed in public and out of breath, Alice finally did her first sit-up.
Anon coaxed only 2 more out of the witch before her stomach started hurting. Still under Shinki’s orders, Anon sat down next to her as she rested, Hana and Aunn bringing over cool water. Not wanting to be left out from her ‘brother’s’ attention, Hana commanded Anon to watch her while did stretches, jumping jacks, squats, and yoga poses that were supposed to heighten her spiritual senses.
“That’s a lot of calisthenics, Hana! Don’t you wanna squeeze in a little weight training?”
“Weights? But you were watching me, right Onii-chan?! You don’t think my poses were special or elicited any weird feelings?”
“I’ll tell you what they elicited: Pride! You’d be a fantastic gymnast, Hana! Now that you’re loosened up, let’s see some iron!”
To his surprise, Hana was flustered. “I-It’s supposed to be Imouto, baka Onii-chan!” Grabbing Aunn by the wrist, his daughter ran off to the locker room. Maybe she was having more trouble with his physical form then he thought. Damn, thanks to Coach, he couldn’t go after her.
Speak of the devil, Shinki was coming back with a heart-shaped chocolate cake on a tray. Alice looked terrified.
“Good job, Anon! As a reward for helping Alice and understanding the meaning of teamwork, you get a special treat!” The two gilded forks on the tray paled in comparison to the delicacy Shinki presented. Rich fondant encased an elegantly decorated cake. Extravagant didn’t begin to describe it. It could top a wedding cake and still look too fancy for the event. In red, crystallized syrup, there was a message in cursive writing:
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY
MY TRUE LOVE, ANON
ALICE MARGATROID
Still lying on the floor, Alice grabbed Shanghai out of the air and hugged her knees together, using the living doll to hide her beet-red face.
“You know, Alice baked this herself! She’s quite handy in the kitchen. Plus, this message comes directly from her and her alone: It was piped by her hand!” The way Shinki enunciated herself, it seemed like Anon wasn’t the only person she was talking to. “Don’t be shy: Take a fork and try it. Now.” Coach said it with the same energy Mima presented earlier this morning. There was no room to argue. So, Anon took a bite. The blend of chocolate, coffee and raspberry seemed to melt in his mouth.
From Shinki’s pocket, an electronic chime that signaled doom played again. She wasn’t happy.
___
She prepared for everything! Sure, Alice lying down on the floor of the gymnasium in front of a gawking crowd wasn’t part of the plan, but Shinki had to improvise! After learning that Yukari could change the rules on a whim, Shinki pulled her daughter out of the previous two periods to raid the Home Ec class for a proper place to write Alice’s confession down on her cake. The first rule change was fine, Anon wouldn’t be able to resist a Makai recipe! The second was no issue—Alice made this with love! The third was annoying: Thankfully her daughter didn’t oversweat. She made her that way. But this? She just needed to push Alice just a little bit further, and her little girl would finally be happy!
“Anon! Get back in front of Alice this instant! Let’s see if your teaching paid off!” The creator of all Makai dropped her phone to the ground, ready to seal the deal no matter what Yukari pulled.
~~~
1. Confess your love and chocolate to Anon
1(a). Your confession must be genuine
2. Anon eats your chocolate
2(a). Anon must eat your chocolate himself
3. Physical contact must be maintained for 10 uninterrupted minutes.
4. Prove your love with a kiss~
~~~
___
Fear was the operating emotion in Anon’s mind. Shinki’s aura was a terrifying, demonic force that eclipsed any youkai Anon had met before. Operating on self-preservation instinct, Anon sat rooted to the ground while Coach knelt down to Alice and whispered something in her ear. Her rejection was clear.
“NO! NOT IN FRONT OF YOU! NOT IN FRONT OF EVERYONE! NOT EVEN IN FRONT OF SHANGHAI! That’s too embarrassing! That’s too far over the line! W-What if I do it at lunch, when nobody’s around? Please, please, Mom!”
Another beep came from Shinki’s phone and the crowd of ogling youkai. A stare from Shinki was enough to prompt one kappa to relay the message to her.
The poor girl’s entire body was trembling “O-One chance.”
“What?”
“E-Everyone only gets one chance! It starts as soon as you clear rule 1!” Unable to take the pressure, the kappa ran away from the gymnasium. A few girls followed.
Shinki paused to consider the girl’s words. Against Anon’s best hopes, it only made her more aggressive. Shanghai flew up to guard her master, but was easily tossed away. “Alice, you’ve come too far to let it all slip away now!” The goddess knelt down to Alice’s meek form and pulled her as hard as she could. “Just… One… Sit-up!”
Anon didn’t know exactly what was happening, but it was definitely bad. “C-Coach, I think the lunch bell is about to ring. I should probably go now.” With a vice-like grip, Shinki grasped the back of Anon’s head and held it over Alice’s knees. She repeated the same to her daughter, trying her damnedest to make them meet in the middle.
By a green-haired miracle, Shinki’s arms were wrenched away. Two Aunns held Shinki back, allowing Anon and Alice to escape. Hana threw on a blazer and tossed Anon’s gakuran at him. “Just get as far away as you can, Dad! We’ll be fine, we just have to make Coach settle down.”
“But Hana—“
“Go!” By his daughter’s plea, Anon slipped his uniform over his sweaty gym clothes and ran out with a crowd of scared youkai. As he escaped, he could hear Shinki let out a cry of anguish that transitioned into wild sobbing.
Seija’s reputation was put to the test. It was completely accurate: Without any cheat items or her bothersome ability, she went down quickly. All the tengu had to do was find a corner hallway. Once they turned, Momiji was left behind to jump the amanojaku at the blind spot and subdue her. The only issue was her non-stop yelling.
Goro is just a human. Blocked off a corridor or something, tengu are naturally faster than anything in Gensokyo. She and Hatate can just find another path to Eiki-sama’s office, where his crimes would be exposed for everyone to see. Without those two nuisances, it would be a piece of cake to snag Anon! Cuddling, kissing, confessing, feeding him sweets: Yukari just made this day better and better! This lunch would go down in history as the day Aya rightfully won Anon’s heart by fighting for justice! Better yet, it was the truth!
Flying up the stairs, Aya and Hatate split up to find Eiki’s office… only for the two of them to meet each each other on the other side of the building. “I thought you said the Disciplinary Committee room was next to the staircase!”
“Well, it was last time I checked! I went up a floor, then it was right there—“
Momiji caught up to the pair and spoke in unison with Aya “You birdbrain! We started on the first floor!” Seija was cackling wildly on the wolf tengu’s back while the two karasu jetted back into the stairways to the top floor. By the time Aya saw Eiki’s office, that blonde, smug bastard already coaxed the yama out of her office. The tengu dropped to the ground and walked, trying to follow as many rules as she could to appear innocent.
It felt as if dimensions shifted and the distance between her and Eiki shrank to nothing. Prostrating herself, Aya fell to her knees and offered up her camera. “Please, oh great and powerful head of moral forbearance, before you pass judgement on myself and my companions, know that this man and his girlfriend have committed far worse atrocities!”
“Goro has already confessed his sins to me. He will be held responsible to clean up the classroom, bake cookies for Sanae and Tewi, and accept whatever punishment they see fit.” That smug jerk was loving this. Just because he followed his dharmic virtues and reaped the benefits! That smile wouldn’t be on his face for long!
“Did he tell you one firework hit an inaba right in the ear before exploding?” Goro immediately began to refute the claim, but Aya was faster. “There’s proof on camera!”
“—idn’t see that happen!” With Eiki’s eyes turned towards him, the male began his defense. “Even if it did, there was no way we could have accounted for one of the girls jumping that high! It was out of my hands at that point!”
The Yama simply tutted at him. “Neither intention nor expectation can erase the consequences of your actions. Not only did you start a fight between two students, but it appears you directly hurt a third. This won’t do at all.” Without turning, Eiki pointed her rod to Aya. “This doesn’t absolve you of your crimes, Shameimaru. Skipping class, trespassing, assaulting a student: You will have to repent as well.” From across the hall, Komachi carried a still-struggling Hatate to the meeting while a silent Momiji followed obediently. Damn, they didn’t get away after all.
“Could our penance wait until after lunch? I have prior commitments.”
“Yeah, like being rejected because you smell like rotten eggs!” Close enough to strike, Hatate jostled her elbow into Seija’s ribs for her insult. Momiji and Komachi had to restrain their respective prisoners to keep a full-on fight from breaking out.
“No. All of you will be spending lunch in my office. We have much to go over before the beginning of the final class.”
It didn’t hurt that Aya missed her chance to confess to Anon. That would be a slow burn for the rest of her life. What stung worst of all was that she couldn’t keep her promise to meet him for lunch.
___
Since the gym was all the way on the first floor, it made the most sense to run straight to the roof. Climbing stair after stair, Anon was beginning to regret trying to show off in class. He was young, but he was still human. After three floors of ascent, his legs felt like lead when he got to the roof access. He pushed the door open, quickly closing it behind him to cover his tracks.
Anon doubled over and took a minute to catch his breath. He wondered if he somehow got here before the tengu. It wouldn’t be like Aya to be late, and Momiji would never let her forget. He heard footsteps approaching him. Straining his neck upwards, the beautiful girl in front of him definitely wasn’t a tengu. Taking a whiff of the air, he’d recognize the scent of sunflowers anywhere.
It was Yuuka, and he just interrupted her gardening.
// Seija/Goro 138-139
"Come on you brats! Even with four of you, there's still not a scratch on us!" I loudly joked as Seija and I leap from another book case before a flurry of crimson bolts blew it up. My Amanojaku partner was, uncharacteristically, quiet and focused, although I couldn't blame her, despite my jokes we really were in a pickle.
"Being mean all of a sudden isn't going to save you mister Goro!" One of the Flans shouted, before shooting a volley of danmaku in our direction, which we just managed to graze.
Seems like the rumors about Flandre just being a vicious and volatile brat were unfounded, she hadn't used these clones when last we fought and even then, only pulled them out once we proved too hard to handle. She was still a demon, that much was sure, just a little more tactful than she was letting on. It was just like Gensokyo I guess, quick to accept everything, but just as quick to pass over the minute details.
"We'll have to overwhelm her." Seija quietly said as she flipped us to the other side of a few oncoming attacks.
"I'm working on it, just be ready." I retorted. Calculating counters to one crazed vampire was enough of a lift, doing it for three more while under a ravenous assault was exponentially worse.
'Now!' I thought, just as a massive, steel-bound copy of 'Buddah and his Dharma' was hurtling toward us, until we ceased to exist.
Sailing through nothingness wasn't as hard to get used to once you understood the principle. Despite not existing, we did, and that displacement of 'nothing' would eventually push us out of 'Nowhere' and back into reality exactly at the point in time we left it, albeit a couple feet forward. The displacement didn't require 'movement' so much as 'thought', my thoughts did exist, so they displaced 'nothing' and thus we were buoyantly pushed away from the massive book and in the direction I currently wasn't thinking about least we get pushed away from it.
In the far-flung blackness I could see that tree, glowing and casting a light across everything that didn't exist. At its root, sat Sekai, a touch frustrated I imagined? Either way, I couldn't tell from this distance and my thoughts were elsewhere, what was important is that the tree served as a good reference point until we were eventually ejected back into reality.
"Here we go you insatiable munchkins! I hope you're ready for a thrashing!" Seija yelled, back to the rude, obnoxious self I knew and loved. Did hopping through nothingness have some effect on her personality? Questions for later, as we now had maybe a second before the vampire flock regained their composure.
With a swipe, Seija produced four lime red lasers that directly bared toward the four, backed by a cascade of supporting pellets. The vampires easily grazed the pellets and eagerly prepared to dodge the lasers, until Seija snapped her fingers. The air around the trajectory of each laser vanished, and, the seemingly straight and consistent path of the beams of light became erratic and wavy, like the tides of a lake in rainfall. This caught the Flan's more off-guard, yet still, next to Hana and Reimu there was probably nobody with a more natural talent of dodging danmaku and they would just barely make it. So, I snapped my fingers.
From the crashed bookcases and shredded tomes, a tide of pages, inked with cursed text emerged and made like hail toward the girls. They shot out retaliatory shots to intercept the papyrus missiles and some found their mark, but many other flowed, duck and weaving away from the missiles and toward their targets. To cement the absolute mess that had become the small, battered section of the infinite library, Seija began indiscriminately flipping the field, causing even more disorientation, but not enough for me to miss my mark.
Gently, I tapped Seija on the small of her back, our 'go signal', since now, it was all or nothing.
Again, we hopped into non-existence, and again, and again, and again. Each time re-appearing not a second later in the chaotic battlefield to get closer to our target, because even despite all the hazardous conditions, the Flans were making a stand and would probably conquer our little field in just a few seconds. But between the volley of cursed pages, irregular lasers, the flipping of the field, and our hope through nowhere we had found our path and, finally, I pat the vampires white poofy hat from behind.
"That's game Flan-Chan." I Said happily as the chaos of the field subsided into a strange calm.
"How'd you do that?" The vampire asked, turning on a dime midair and shoving her face onto mine. "Those wavy lasers I mean? They were all like woo-hoo" She explained waving her arms.
"You remember skipping stones? It's a bit like that." I said, forgoing the long explanation of 'fields' and 'fluid dynamics' that were more suited to Ran-San's tastes.
"Skipping stones..." The vampire murmured as she flicked her wrist in the air, trying to understand the relation.
"All right kiddo, you know the deal, we were able to lay a hand on you, so playtime's over." Seija said with some authority.
"Okay!" Flan said with a salute. "Oh, but first..."
Each Flan, two for each of us, give Seija and I a peck on the cheek. "That's a good night kiss as thanks for playing with me! There's a lot more where that came from, so let's fight again soon okay!" one clone said as the four little scarlet dressed kids soared to the door of the room.
When finally I heard the door shut I laid myself against Seija, exhaling.
"You're okay?" She asked, supporting me.
"Yeah it's just, ugh..." I gripped my head, woozy from all the effort "I can handle doing one or two target calculations just fine, it's managing four at once that's just, ahh, it's not just four times the effort, there's also more mistakes so it's so much worse."
"Well congrats, we gave those quadruplets a beating they won't soon forget." She said, placing my head against her chest. "Although I don't know why we didn't just 'blink' them? It's not like we need to hold back against that girl."
I shook a hand. "We don't know enough about what'll happen, you remember Konnaga's sword? Flan may have spirit, but she's also undead, I don't want to risk her being stuck there, enough children already are."
"Yeah..." She said, stroking my head. "Hey, it's been a long one right? Let's go get a bath!" She said.
"Ughh, I don't want to be around a bunch of weird, naked woman, let's just go to bed" I complain.
"And risk ruining their relaxation time with our own? Not a chance! Also, you're starting to smell and I don't want that seeping into our new bed!" Seija retorted.
"Oiwa! Tsukuyomi! Your Mother is taking your father to a weird bath in a whor* house!" I weakly joked aloud.
// HSE Gakkuran Special 11-13
Anon was completely out of breath. Seeing Yuuka here, he sat down near the rooftop access. Between her and Coach, he hedged his bets on Yuuka. Hopefully the flowers would keep her calm.
Instead of making a scene, Yuuka just kept re-arranging the planters. After his heart rate finally leveled out, Anon took notice of what she was doing: Most of these planters were placed randomly. Some sensitive flowers were at the mercy of the unrelenting midday sun.
Now that he had enough air to survive, Anon broke the silence. “Sorry for disturbing you. I’ve just been having a crazy day. Did you see anyone else come by?”
“Nobody’s been up here but us. It seems the workers paid little mind to these young ones, and the guests miss them for the rest of this school’s oddities.” She was careful while transporting her precious pots of life, a picture of elegance and warmth. Although, she held them a full arm’s-length away from her uniform. Seeing a few fresh droplets on the floor, Anon realized his visit this morning was the reason why.
“That’s fine, I’d like some quiet time. Let me give you hand with this.” Spotting daffodils near the edge of the roof, he got to work on transporting the delicate beauties to a more suitable environment.
“I appreciate the offer, but I’m fine, really. You seem tired. Have you even eaten yet?” The Flower Master’s revitalizing outfit contrasted with the gentle concern on her face.
“That’s a good question. Just an omelette and a few bites of chocolate. I can share some of Ran’s brownies with you? I know I’m supposed to eat it myself, but I think I should pace myself. Plus, dessert tastes sweeter with friends.” Most of the planters had been swapped, brown rings scattered across the rooftop. There was just a group of green orchids that needed to move.
The smell of sunflowers manifested behind Anon before he turned around. He caught Yuuka’s disapproving glare staring back at him. “That won’t do. Please let me take care of these and sit down. I’ll share my bento with you.” With no escape, Anon presented the green orchids to the master gardener.
“You’re the boss. Here you go, Yuuka.” Strangely, Yuuka hesitated before taking the flowers from him. He scrutinized the green orchids to see if anything was wrong with them. Maybe a bug had gotten on it? Nope, everything was fine. They were practically begging to go with Yuuka. After a while, she blushed and carried the delicate stalks to join their friends.
Finding a spot to sit near a bushel of gardenias, Anon waited for Yuuka to finish her arrangements. Instead of a simple perimeter around the roof, the plants now felt like part of the environment. They breathed life into the sterile concrete of their temporary home. The vitality radiating from the greenery was matched only by the green-haired gardener whom took a seat next to him. Reaching into her bag, she unveiled a hearty slab of grilled steak on fluffy white rice with a knife and chopsticks. Cutting off a bite-sized cube, she picked it up and held it in front of Anon. “You want a piece?”
“Sure. Do you have an extra pair of sticks? I’ve got none.” Yuuka’s blank stare told him that wasn’t the case. “Right… I think I’m good.” That apparently wasn’t good for Yuuka. Insistently, she held the cube of grilled meat close to Anon’s face and turned the knife in her other hand towards him.
“Eat. You can cut, and I’ll feed us.” With no real reason to refuse and a knife in play, Anon acquiesced. For the rest of lunch, he quietly sat and shared a meal with her.
___
How did things end up like this?!
The only reason Yuuka joined this contest was because Shinki and Mima convinced her they had a plan to save Anon! Yet, all she saw was Mima failing, Yukari playing dress-up, Yuugi challenging her to feats of strength, and Shinki starting Danmaku fights because Alice isn’t married. The only thing worth her time here were the plants. She could only catch a glimpse of them before first bell, freshly watered by Anon. The poinsettias may not have survived the day if he hadn’t intervened.
Now they were alone together. While she was trying to think of a way to thank him, he made it clear he was expecting someone else. Figures, someone else managed to get a rooftop date with Anon before she even had a chance to say hello. But the oddities didn’t stop: He handed her a green orchid and invited her to sit near a bushel of gardenias! One meant fertility and refinement, the other hidden love… Not to mention the strong musk coming from him: He smelled like a hard day’s work in the garden. At times, his gaze was even… predatory. He was a young man now, his body must be playing with his good sense!
And yet, she was feeding him cuts of beef while indirectly kissing him with her chopsticks. She dared not disturb this peace with her confession, just for Yukari to ruin it. This moment was perfect.
Full of starch and protein, Yuuka and Anon let the almost-natural sunlight seep into their bones. As she considered nodding off, the gardener looked to Anon and saw his hand was completely defenseless. If she started holding it now, maybe she’d be able to make the ten minutes before Class H. While he was asleep, she could confess her love, kiss him, then when he woke up, offer him a chocolate. She could finally protect him from Yukari.
The moment she touched his shoulder, the bell rang and Anon woke up. “Ahhh. Thanks for keeping me company, Yuuka. I have to head to class now.” As Anon got up and gathered his belongings, Yuuka’s chance began to walk away.
___
“Wait, you have Class H, right? We can walk there together!” Yuuka was tugging on Anon’s sleeve. He likely didn’t have a choice to say no in this matter.
“Sure thing. I think it’s just down the stairs and to the right? It’s weird the Discipline Committee's office is so close to it. I’m guessing the students are supposed to be either the worst behaved or the most mature.”
“They’re both.” Yuuka sounded certain of herself. The short walk down to the classroom was interrupted by a woman with purple hair and the tightest fit into a seif*cku Anon had ever seen.
“Anon! There you are! Come, you need to head to the Discipline office immediately! I’ll escort you there.” Kanako reached to grab Anon before being intercepted by Yuuka’s grasp.
“Why? He hasn’t done anything wrong.” The threat in Yuuka’s voice was obvious to anyone to hear. Students heading down the hallways quickly reversed their paths.
“He got the headmistress drunk on campus. I think it would work out best for him he ‘confessed’ and ‘stayed’ at the office for Shikieiki to decide his punishment now, or else the consequences later might be worse.” A second conversation was happening over Anon’s head. Nobody was being honest with him:—not even Kanako! She never set foot once in the HSE! Yet just like Sanae and everyone else, she was part of some bigger plot only he was ignorant to!
“Is this another Valentine’s Day thing? If it is, I’d rather just sit through class. It can’t be worse than the rest of my day.” The second he reached for the door handle, the united might of the Goddess of Wind and Rain and the Master of Four Seasons started pulling him down the corridor. “Hey, what gives?!”
“Are you really looking out for his best interests? With an outfit like that, I wouldn’t doubt for a second you have chocolate stashed away in that room!” Yuuka’s scathing accusations didn’t affect her grip.
“Yes, she just found out about a hidden clause from one of the workers—A Myouren monk. As long as he lasts until the end of school, he’s golden! And th-this is a perfectly fine uniform! I only made cookies last night because Sanae might need a second batch! I’m just here to make sure she’s doing okay back in school!” Even if he wasn’t sure exactly what the topic was, Anon could tell Kanako was being less than truthful.
“If you really want me to go, maybe you could ask me instead of forcing me!” Indignant and frustrated, Anon lashed out at the pair. He was done being strung along! All day long, girls were passing him around like a doll and this school a dollhouse! And damn it, they kept pressing their tit* against him like he was a cold, emotionless sage! He was at his breaking point!
The door to Class H slammed open. From the open doorway, a young girl about Anon’s age strutted towards him. His eyes were focused on her golden locks and delicate features. She had the mien of a princess. No, an empress. In a word, she was enchanting.
“Now now, ladies. Are you trying to keep Anon from getting to class on time?” The two ladies exchanged rough looks before letting their captive go. As Anon walked closer to the new girl, they walked close behind him. Yet, Anon didn’t notice. All he could focus on was the beautiful girl in front of him.
“Th-thanks for the help. I don’t think we’ve met before. If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your name?”
“Fu-fu.” A jolt of panic raced through Anon’s spine as the familiar laugh pierced his ears and her lips cracked a dangerous grin. “You may call me Merry, Anon.” As soon as it came, his fear faded under her silken voice. “Excuse me for just a moment.” ‘Merry’ pulled out her phone and quickly began typing. After a chime came from Yuuka and Kanako, Merry didn’t put her phone away. Instead, she showed the screen directly to Anon. A series of red and blue flashes enveloped his vision. Then, he was gone.
___
This bitch…!
~~~
5. No interrupting other people’s confessions unless they’ve been rejected
~~~
“Now, Anon, come join me in front of the class so they may see us both and shudder!” Silently, Anon followed her. Yukari wasn’t even pretending anymore. She cheated, and she won.
There was much to explore about modern Japanese school culture. After gapping various magazines and literature into her hands, one day Yukari found out about the most powerful technology used by students. With this technology, even the most disgusting, lazy, worthless man could convince anyone to love him unconditionally. All it did was unearth the intrinsic desires of its victims and enforce it.
This technology went by many names. To her, the most elegant was the simplest: Hypnosis App.
Yukari stood before the classroom of wretched women attempting in vain to recapture their youth (and Yuyuko) with her soul mate obediently standing beside her. Eirin had her nose in a book, trying to hide her jealousy. Okina sat with a smug look on her face, desperate to maintain her facade of sapphic indifference to Yukari’s happiness. But, Yuugi, Kasen and Byakuren were honest. Their shock and awe was a sweet succor to Yukari’s great triumph! And poor Kanako and Yuuka, trying so desperately to find love that they latched onto the closest man with a pulse! Too bad he was already taken! But most important of all was the camera displaying a live feed of Class H to every room in the school! Seethe in anger at the young debutante that is Yukari Yakumo!
“I’m sure all of you are well aware by now that there is nothing you can do to stop me! As the Hypnosis App can only awaken the dormant desires already buried in its target, it means Anon can no longer deny his feelings for me! What’s more, his acceptance of my confession is by his will, no matter how weak it may be!” Their anger was exhilarating! Such impotent rage, straining against their tight shirts~
Finally, Yukari turned to Anon, staring straight into his vacant eyes. “Anon. You’ll hold my hand, won’t you?”
A flat, emotionless voice responded. “Of course, my love.” Anon took hold of Yukari’s left hand, squeezing it to convey every pulse of his devotion. She nearly fainted on the spot at the brazen display of affection, but she wasn’t done yet!
“Anon, you’ll accept my chocolate of love, won’t you?” With her free hand, Yukari pulled a small box from her skirt. Inside was an artisanal white chocolate heart made by the finest chocolatier in Spain. Placing it on her thin index finger, she pushed the tiny treat towards Anon’s lips as he licked it clean.
His voice was deeper. Full of need. “It’s delicious, my love. But it pales in comparison to your skin.”
“My my, how salacious! Not here, Anon!” Unfortunately, he stopped at her word.
“Are you gonna kiss him yet or keep beating around the bush? We have badminton practice after school!” Okina’s jeers didn’t matter to her. This wasn’t Okina’s moment or Yuuka’s moment or even Anon’s moment. This privilege, this RIGHT belonged to her and her alone!
“Anon, would you like a kiss from me?”
“Yes. I’d do anything for a kiss from you! Please, darling, what do you require of me?” The process was taking root. It was nearly complete. Just one last push.
“Tell me I’m the only woman you love.”
“You are the only woman I could ever love. Nobody could hold a candle to you, Honey.” Yukari felt goosebumps as her man confessed.
“Prove it. Tell me how much all those other women disgust you! Tell me, in front of every woman who yearns for you!
“Of course, my darling. There is one old, disgusting, vile woman whom makes my skin crawl just thinking about her. Every facet of her being is pure evil.” There was no forgiveness in his voice: Just revulsion.
“Go on. Tell me more about her.” This was golden. By the time she was done, every woman in Gensokyo would know how much Anon truly hated them!
Anon took a deep breath. “She is vain, finding no fault in herself. It’s borne of willful ignorance. She refuses every part of reality that does not conform to her narrow view of the world. She grasps at youth despite being well past her prime. She presents herself as a beacon of truth and goodness, but she’s nothing but a lying, jealous, thieving, desperate attention-seeker!” He stood and addressed not just Yukari, but his shocked audience and the camera. He was truly getting into it! “To call her an attention-whor* would imply she has any sexual worth, but her loneliness is enough evidence that nobody has or ever will ever seek her company! She lacks in bed, home and motherliness! To call her a woman is an insult to women as a whole!”
“Now, tell me the name of this old, undesirable waste of space!” The anticipation was killing her. Could it be Marisa? Maybe Kanako, the permavirgin goddess! Ooh, whose heart was Anon breaking today?!”
“Her name is Yakumo Yukari, the gap hag of Gensokyo!” Silence filled the room. The dull sound of distant laughter reverberated through the floor. Okina nearly fell out of her seat.
“A-Anon?”
“Yes, my lovely Merry?”
// Keine 34-36
My body is tired, my bones hurt, and I have shaken so many hands that I feel like mine should fall off at any moment. My smile has been stuck to my face for almost thirteen hours straight. I’m starving, constantly occupied with conversations or outlining various aspects of my plans, including past and current affairs, to adults who seem incapable of thinking by themselves… I mentally inhale and exhale, trying my hardest to maintain my façade while releasing the anger stemming from fatigue and frustration. The moon is high outside, and the village has already been engulfed in darkness and gossip alike.
Mr. Hieda messed up.
The fact that a tengu had quietly approached him and tricked him into publicly admitting the terrifying extent of his lies was not shocking at all. After that, it took only two hours before those who hadn't seen my revolution for themselves and those that disagreed arrived and started to either talk or fight—Mokou… 'calmly' dealt with the latter, and the former spawned a lot more words, conversations, explanations, and so on.
Suzu returned when she heard about what happened to Mr. Hieda, so at least all the workload wasn't solely on mine and Mystia's shoulders.
Also…
“16 fried lampreys; 4 rice balls with c-cicada filling; 1 scholar's ginkgo; 1 Sichuan boiled fish; and a peach tapioca—coming through!” Mystia joyfully cried out as she and Suzu came back from the kitchen carrying the food, their infectious smiles spreading to the faces of everyone in the living room. Similar to love, the stomach is the pathway that leads to a person's thinking brain~
I joyfully take my plate and beverage, “Thank you, Mystia!”
Mokou grinned broadly as she squeezed herself onto my side to take her own plate. “Thanks, birdie~!”
“Don't worry, you two; it’s my pleasure~can't forget the 2 baby bottles too!” She gives one to Mokou and one to me, Aki now on my lap; the immortal feeds Mochi on hers and eats at the same time, looking a little silly and clumsy… Just the way Mochi seems to like~
Before I ate my own meal, I calmly fed Aki the entire baby bottle; the smoked honey ginkgo soothed my weary body. “So good~” Conversation filled the air, not as heated up or thoughtful, though much lighter in prosody and heart…
Especially the men that surrounded Mystia when she sat down to eat her meal. “N-No, I'm not married…”
“Do you want to be? I know I want—and today has made me consider cute youkai women a lot, ha!” A manly voice.
“W-W-Well… I-I dunno, heh…” You could taste the flushed face in these words.
“Your hair smells so nice~” another male voice.
“GAH?!”
“And your wings are so fluffy—just imagine falling asleep on top of these cute things after a hard day of work… Heaven.” Yet another male voice. Mystia was positively fuming in embarrassment.
“P-p-p-pl-plea-se, n-not the w-wings; they're sensitive!”
The three men erupt into laughter with her stutter, and Mystia has to cover her face; her hands are searing in the heat just like a lamprey.
Watching this scene play out makes me grin: a pretty woman without a husband who can cook this well, with a level head on her shoulders and just the right amount of inherent awkwardness to make it endearing... I look to my side, and Mokou raises an eyebrow—reminds me of someone~
—She moves forward, kissing me with a mouthful of incredibly spicy fish—gah!! It burns!! “Why?!” I ask, Mochi giggling.
“You were bullying me in your mind, right?” She asks with a smug, and all evidence she needs is my quiet after I hastily down my sparrow sake. “Heh, knew it! Don't take after her, you two! Your uncool mother is a menace!” Laughter flares around me and it's impossible not to blush in embarrassment…
Even more impossible is ridding myself of this silly smile.
Eating good food after a harsh day of teaching and explaining complex concepts to wide-eyed, curious people; a strong arm over my shoulders pulling me close to the furiously beating heart inside the rather plain chest of the woman I love; my two children happy—people throughout the day even approached and asked to hold and play with them~!
I look at Suzu and other women teasing Mystia, the men throwing compliments left and right, all eating food made by a youkai without paying a second glance…
… Fear does destroy opportunities like these, huh?
Aki's little babbles demand attention, so I nestle her head onto my breast, resting her ear against my throbbing heart. Her wings flap softly up and down—love. “Feeling happy, my little girl?” She giggles, her gleeful eyes narrowing and her cute face wrinkling with delight. It's almost enough to make me cry. “… Me too. That's yours and your brother's fault~”
A kiss lands on my head's crown. “Can I share the blame with them?” I hum in delight.
As requested, Mystia started to sing, and for a brief while, I was reminded of the night her voice had blinded me and brought all of those monsters…
… Her voice sounds angelic.
My smile is sweet, and I kiss Aki’s hair.
A thousand heavy boots followed by harsh knocks on the front door make my smile fade away, and I lock these happy memories deep in my mind. True happiness is transient, a luxury that should be kept close to the heart… Justly difficult to find, too.
It wouldn't taste as sweet otherwise.
I maintain the kiss on Aki's head for just a moment longer, savoring true happiness before whispering a promise there: “Don't worry, my little girl… I'll build our happiness.” The next moment, Mokou—tense like a glacier, eyes focused as embers sprinkled around us like a rain of diamonds—gently takes Aki out of my arms; Mystia approaches, mouth a line and hands together mimicking a prayer position. Suzu comes next, and despite the unusual tension lacing her face, she looked determined.
The three women's unmistakable, steadfast support makes my heart sing, and as I make my way toward the front door in the quiet stillness under puzzled, frightened, and determined looks, I know I’m not alone.
I open the door softly, as if casual.
Mr. Hieda's face is demonic.
Mine is a placid smile. “Mr. Hieda, good evening.” I bow slightly to him, his hands together. About twenty men surround him, all openly armed with weapons outside humans have stopped using—ancient revolvers and bolt-action rifles, Mr. Hieda himself sporting a revolver tucked in his obi—a wave of fear spreads within, though it’s rapidly frozen by determination. He might be delusional, but he's not about to defile Akyuu's memory like this…
… Nevertheless, I am relieved that I can feel the temperature rising as the armed men tremble at Mokou's murderous glance. Not Mr. Hieda. “Look at you, a demon in human skin…” He spews with palpable wrath, hidden hands trembling, eyes narrowing. He glances inside, his eyes going from the intense Mokou cuddling our kids; a pale Kosuzu staring straight into the weapons; and Mystia, who moved to shield Suzu—she might be the weakest youkai of Gensokyo, but at this moment, those bright eyes were as violent as Mokou's. “… A demon and her followers.”
“No one here is a demon, Mr. Hieda. We're all people who want a better Gensokyo for—”
“—I've heard of your lies again and again!” He points a finger at my face, but I don't give him the satisfaction of backing down. His brigade holds tighter to their weapons, everything under the morbidly curious, enraged and even amused gawking of villagers inside and outside my house, people having followed him and his men to witness the purpose of twenty men dressed like the samurai of old and armed to the teeth…
It was to fight one teacher.
The moonlight painted this moment in beautiful silver.
“You think that sending a tengu to trick me into playing on your hand changes anything?! You still come off as an unsavory individual that endangers the regular person's life by bringing those abominations here—”
—I suddenly step closer, now face to face with the man; eight weapons’ barrels are pressed against my body, “STAY AWAY FROM MR. HIE—”
Wings of fire unfold behind me and the men wince back, trembling weapons ready to pepper bullets at the burning figure that towers behind me, one hand holding the top of the door frame and eyes, crimson like blood, exuding a deep-seated rage that could burn a man to ashes by itself… But not Mr. Hieda, who had his revolver against my stomach. No, those two did not waver. “I'm getting sick of you; you stomped my f*cking garden… I will murder you all and set your clan's home on fire if even one bloody shrapnel grazes HER OR MY f*ckING HOUSE!” Mokou yells it with utter rage and cadence…
No one can misunderstand it; this is not a lie.
I feel a surge of pride, but I reserve it for next time we are in bed. “You won't do that, Mokou.” I say firmly, and her head whips to me. “You won't do that because Mr. Hieda won't shoot.” Mr. Hieda co*cks the revolver, spinning the cylinder, not looking amused. My heart is about to burst out of my chest— “Because he knows Akyuu would hate him forever if he’d do so.”
His eyes go wide, firmness of his hand breaks, and the revolver shakes; my skin feels cold…
… Aki, Mochi…
Is your mother being a fool? I'm afraid he'll shoot, I don’t know him; the extent of his hatred… Mokou wouldn't be able to react in time—don’t blame her, please; she’d have to fight them—and I'd bleed out in my own house… I don't wanna die. I don't wanna lose you…
Still, it's my responsibility to give you a great life, my utter hope that continuing to live will pay off with your happiness.
Your mother has gone through worst, and even if she'll always fear her death, no matter what, she'll keep moving forward…
Because your mother loves you two a lot.
I don't dodge Mr. Hieda's gaze, his men still pointing their weapons at us, Mokou's fire gently touching my skin—'I'm here'. “Mr. Hieda, there is no 'abomination' here. No gods, kings, demons, or such—only people. So, will you join us to talk as a man… or as an abomination your daughter will forever despise?”
Six inches long and.455 caliber, though the revolver's barrel pressed up against my belly quivers slightly in Mr. Hieda's hand, a bullet from this close will hit. The weapon dates back to the Great War, which I studied in great detail before beginning my own revolution—I ignore the irony; it was also a pistol-shaped ember that ignited that nightmare…
… I could kill Mr. Hieda with danmaku, but he—in reflex—and his men would still shoot and hit something. Mokou wouldn’t be able to block all bullets; the living room behind us is full of people… Mochi, Aki…
My hands sweat, staring deep inside his eyes of venom and delusion. Despite my words and Mokou's flames, I feel cold yet still am drenched in sweat…
Mr. Hieda sneers, dodging my eyes to stare at Mokou's murderous, piercing gaze. She’d be the death of his clan if things went awry.
… Almost gently, the revolver's barrel recedes, with Mr. Hieda taking a step back before tucking the thing away in his obi. “Lower your weapon, my samurai—but be ready; five will follow me inside… We'll talk to the devil.” Finally, he joins his hands, ancient eyes cold with deep scorn.
It takes all of me to not sigh of relief at the sight of weapons being lowered and fingers leaving triggers, immediately turning and opening space for the men, saying before proceeding past Mokou, who had moved to the side, “Please, take off your shoes.” Mr. Hieda didn't hesitate and took off his, putting them away in the crowded kougen. His men seemed concerned before following his lead, the heavy-duty boots drowning out the others shoes.
People outside kept watching, a legion of curious villagers and disguised Youkai that usually are solely in the HSE district; inside, however, some of mine had hurried left, mumbling words of deep fear—no one stopped them, though Mokou and those that remained made sure to yield each 'coward' a glare of disappointment. I do not blame those who fled when the real threat of a revolution became apparent, and even though it stings, these people—Mokou standing behind me, Mystia by my left holding tightly to my hand, hers trembling, and Suzu by my right holding my sweetly oblivious children—help to ease my pain.
The now empty couch parallel to mine was solely taken by Mr. Hieda, his armed men standing behind him; surrounding us were the villagers that remained—even Mystia's little masculine entourage kept to her side, much to the night sparrow’s struggling blush~
In the suffocating atmosphere, Mr. Hieda started: “Those words you said about Akyuu, Devil, are all lies.”
“You got a f*cking mouth on you, huh?” Mokou scowls, and I feel my blood cool. “Stop calling her a 'devil' and show some respect, else I'll—”
“Mokou, please—”
“I'll address you later, red demon.” Mokou growled but contained herself. Mystia tenses up, looking between us, and Mokou whispers ‘sorry’ to me. I gulped the tension down. “My Akyuu would've seen through your lies the same way I did and would've done the necessary to keep us safe from youkai.” He spits, turning his eyes to Suzu, who seems to freeze. “You of all people should feel ashamed of yourself. You know how much Akyuu loved her home—her people, her culture, and her village. You two were like sisters in your earlier years… Yet here you are, working with Youkai to defile all that—for what purpose, Motoori-san? What sick desire are you fulfilling by working against what my Akyuu loved so much?” The spiteful words hit true, methodical in her cruelty.
I was prepared to step in and stop the vicious and open personal attack, but Suzu cut me off, her wide, tense eyes yet determined. “M-Mr. Hieda, with all due respect… Akyuu would've fought against the HSE with teeth and nails.” Mr. Hieda scowls at the abrupt topic, opening his mouth to cut her off, but Suzu's voice bears monolithic strength: belief. “Yet you haven't raised a finger against it.” Her bells ring with a head motion, arms holding tighter to my babies, the man's gaze turning into piercing knives that aimed to threaten, but Suzu kept going anyway. “Akyuu loved the village, but what you don't seem to understand is that she not only loved the village; she wanted the best for it—she wouldn't have fought the HSE because of its youkai, but because it is a cancer in our community… What have you done to better our community this past year, Mr. Hieda?” There is no answer—an answer by itself. “I believe that if Akyuu were here right now… she'd be sitting by my side and not yours. Thank you for listening.” Suzu respectfully and silently bowed down beneath the enraged gaze of Mr. Hieda and his men, the latter glancing around with confused and anxious eyes that cried out ‘displaced.’ But much to Suzu's embarrassment, the audience chose to show their support with applause and encouraging remarks.
“Well said,” I whisper to her with a voice full of pride before addressing Mr. Hieda, my worn mind invigorated by how well the discussion started for our side—can't waste this momentum!
// Mokou 19
It fills you with pride to watch the person you love succeed, though I struggle to hide it and keep my war face, a rather easy task when the old sack of bones sitting across my bride-to-be acts as the most insufferable precious little victim I've ever had the displeasure of knowing, ignoring every point Keine tried to elaborate on and the minutiae of our rebellion. Deaf and dismissive, the worst combination. “We didn't hire a tengu to deceive you, Mr. Hieda. It is more likely that Aya Shameimaru, who conducted an interview on me this morning, told people in her circle and that is why that reporter pursued you. The blame is not ours.” Keine tries to reassure him, but all he does is frown, the revolver in his obi shuffling and making the night sparrow flinch. I mull for a moment, then place a hand on her shoulder, heavy and sure. Mystia jolts, gives me a side glance… Then rebuilds her poise, trying to mimic Keine's soundness as best she can. It's cute. “Nor the blame for the things you have said.”
“I do not believe a word of that, nor have I spoken a lie, woman!” His incredulity is palpable. “With your powers, there's no need for Eientei… You magically aborted my little girl, devil.” My eyebrow twitches, mouth purses, and it takes a lot to not commit heinous acts in front of my children. This jiji…
“Mr. Hieda, you keep saying that, yet you have no proof but that they were… 'revealed to you in dreams'.” A low laugh sounded from the crowd of villagers as Suzu spoke. “You've almost ruined a person's life, and you don't even have tangible proof to back it up? Please, stop tainting the Hieda name.” It was cathartic to watch the growing bewilderment and embarrassment behind those ‘scary samurai masks' of the men behind Mr. Hieda, who weren't laughing like the fool in the crowd was.
“Thank you, Suzu,” Keine bowed with a smile before returning to Mr. Hieda. “Beside all those points, this revolution is not just about me; it's about a way we can change relations between humans and youkai—it's about the world that we’ll leave for our children, which also means the world Akyuu will live in.” She gestured to Suzu, who tenderly put Aki and Mochi on her arms. Keine's automatic smile as her hands caught them made my posture soften, if only for an instant. Mr. Hieda's disdain only deepened—strangely, though, it wasn’t the same outrage he had displayed up until now. A millennium ago, when I'd see my reflection, that same anger would be present. I doubt I’ll ever forget those eyes on the water’s surface—my eyes—staring at me as if seeing the beast itself… “This one is Aki, and this is Mochi. They're my children, and the Gensokyo I want to leave for them is one that'll welcome them as the civilized—” Mochi grabbed a lock of platinum hair to munch on~ “—people they'll grow to be.”
“You goddamn retard, they're youkai; they’re born monsters!”
“They weren't born monsters; no one is, Mr. Hieda!” Keine's voice rose, sharp and tense, though it softened soon after. “… Circ*mstances and choices—those make us who we are. These are mere babies. They may be murderers or monsters in the future; who knows…? But today, here in my arms, they're just my son and daughter.” She gently passes Mochi back to Suzu, the boy joyfully trying to reach for the librarian's bells. Gently, Keine then stroked Aki's sparse pinkish hair, her tiny wings slowly flapping up and down. “… Akyuu's death was hard for everyone, but for you, it was devastating.”
“Silence! She didn't fully die! She's waiting on the Sanzu! She'll come back that same girl, and it would've been sooner if you hadn't—”
“—What'll be there for her when she comes back, Mr. Hieda?!” She cuts him, the man's eyes wide and forehead sweaty. “It was devastating for you, but what did you make out of the hardships her departure caused? You didn't improve as a person; you didn't better the world for her next incarnation, despite having the power—the support—to do so… No, you've spent years lying to yourself and that's it.”
“You don't know a thing about me, you devil…” He utters, eyes narrowing dangerously. But Keine didn't back down. Not with our daughter in her arms.
“You'd do anything for your daughter.” Said without hesitation or doubt, no words spoken back; All Mr. Hieda could do was uncomfortably stare inside her eyes. “… Would you become better for the next Akyuu? Would you let the wounds of her passing heal, Mr. Hieda? Because we can do that together! We can make the village better and provide a less fearful and challenging life for the next Akyuu! The HSE, for all the bad it represents, has shown that youkai and humans can live together, even love together… Please give this change the chance it deserves—let’s work to leave a better Gensokyo for our children!” Keine's eyes were wide and overwhelming, and every muscle in my body felt tense. This could be it.
Do or break…
… Years of lying, of hiding behind delusion. Hopefully, the disgrace of a man will see the truth for once.
// Kanako 4-5
Kanako stood at the Genbu Ravine calming herself. This was the time to put on her businesses face and focus on the task at hand. A wandering mind would do her no good in this discussion, as it would require tact to handle well. It would be hard to handle negations when the back of her mind was drifting away imagining the potential contents of upcoming tasteful erotic art. It really was an issue flying right from her meeting with that tengu to the kappa, but it was nothing a few moments of medication couldn't handle. Kanako closed her eyes and tried to imagine anything but holding that man in her arms, holding him close and-
“You needed me?”
Almost out of nowhere, Nitori was by her side. Kanako tried to show startled she was. It would be unbecoming of a god to be surprised someone the size of a young child.
Kanako looked down at the kappa, her kama demeanor switching on. The worst parts about having extended talks with kappa was working out the crinks in her neck afterwards. “You’ve been made aware about it but I’m here to talk about that place” Kanako hoped she wouldn’t have to go into detail about what ‘that place’ was. It wouldn’t bode well to embarrass herself right out of the gate.
“The HSE? Yeah I heard as much. Come on in, we’ll talk businesses” Kanako followed Nitori inside the tunnel to the kappa’s hideout. Luckily for her, they were made to be roomy enough to contain plenty of space to move shipments through, so all she had to do was duck inside. “I knew that place would fall apart sooner or later. Lots of the workers there have let it slip that the place is on edge and they seem to be preparing for trouble. I guess you aren’t the only one with an issue with that place, huh? It’s really falling apart at the seams, but I guess that’s what you get when you get tengu and mountain monkeys to run the damn place” Nitori tsked. Even on a good day, the kappa, the yamawaro and the tengu never really liked each other that much. There was the old conflict between the kappa and yamawaro over their choice of living arrangement of course, but all three pointed to the others and claimed they were untrustworthy xenophobic hustlers that only cared about themselves. Of course, this applied to all three of them, but Kanako was nice enough not to mention that.
Steeping out of the way of a kappa moving machinery on a handcart. Kanako spoke up “Our position on the HSE has always been the same. We believe it’s untenable and that it would be best for the mountain to cut ties with it before it all collapses into a mess. Of course, the kappa’s help with this would be greatly appreciated”
Nitori turned around and smiled. “Noted. So what’s the plan?”
Now here was the hard sell. “Well as you know the tengu are one of the main supporters of that place. If their support were to be pulled away before everything collapses, then we could avoid a potential political nightmare. That place would shut down much smoother, the tengu could avoid getting caught in the aftermath, and we’d be able to avoid outright hostilities against them so the shrine should be able to recover. So we need some bombs”
Nitori paused and looked up, eyebrow raised. “Bombs?”
“We have an agent working with the tengu. If a few targets are struck, with deaths being avoided of course then they’ll get cold feet and cut ties with the HSE. It’s the best outcome we can hope for, and of course since we need high quality explosives, only the kappa can help us with this”
Her confusion having faded, Nitori had a smirk on her face. “Well you’ve right about that. You caught us at a good time. we can supply you with whatever you need explosive wise. You sure this isn’t about getting revenge on the tengu for spreading all those rumors about you? After all, they really slandered you”
Kanako bit her lip. It briefly crossed her mind to ask details. Just out of curiosity’s sake, maybe some of the steamier ones would actually reflect well on her and could give her ideas when she and Anon-
“I’m not that petty. Now that the rumors have been proven false, I can deal with it in due time. Do we have a deal?” Kanako reached out a hand, bending her knees slightly.
“Heh, who would have thought it was that hermit all along. Never thought she was like that. But yes, we have a deal. For the future of Gensokyo and better deals between us, count us in on your little plot” She took Kanako’s hand and they shook.
“Now what kinda bombs are we talking about? I’ll put in the order for them” Nitori pulled out a clipboard from somewhere in her backpack, pen ready.
"Small explosives that can be carried around easily and concealed. Not too much power. Multiple triggers would be nice as it would give our agent some room to plan things out” A thought crossed Kanako’s mind. Aya would be tossing these all over the mountain where they lived, and kappas were error-prone. “Make some of those duds. What are you up to that you can make these in short notice?”
Of all the things Kanako expected, this was the last of them. The cavern they were in was massive, but even then the imposing metal titan in front of her was almost touching the ceiling. It was truly a marvel of engineering, and it was even more impressive that all the kappa were able to all work together on a project like this. Ever now, they busy working. They stood on the scaffolding surrounding the robot working on some details or they worked on components on tables off to the side or were hauling boxes to and fro. Kanako had never seen this many kappa all united and functional on a single goal. Gazing up at the mecha, Kanako knew it looked familiar.
“This is the contraption you build for that festival, isn't it? No, it seems different. What’s this?” Kanako couldn't help but gawk at the giant robot, which as everyone knows is the pinnacle of scientific achievement.
“That was just a giant toy, something to draw eyes to the festival and make money. This is no gimmick. This is the real Hisoutensoku! The embodiment of everything we are capable of, all our hopes and dreams. He is the burning torch that will shine brightly and light the way to the future!” Nitori outstretched her arms, a gleam in her eyes as her voice rose.
“Did Suwako put you up to this again?” Kanako wondered.
“Nope, she didn’t. With everyone here so focused on that brothel we were able to move around and build this right under their noses. Might as get your blessing now, since we’re in the same plot together and you’re getting the munitions we’ve prepared for this project”
“I see. Sanae would love this” Kanako said, still a bit awed from the whole thing,
“Even she wouldn't be able to find any way to improve this! A Nuclear power core! The best armor we can field, most firepower would struggle to even dent it! Rocket boosters that can speed it across Gensokyo in minutes! Heavy laser guns aided by computer tracking! Rocket-powered drills for close range combat! RPG launchers! Surround sound! Heated leather seating! He’s perfect!” Nitori’s voice continued to raise, the gleam in her eyes seeming a bit manic at this point.
“What are you planning to do with this thing for? This is a deadly weapon, and I see no reason for you to develop this” Kanako wondered if it was too late to back out on the deal.
“A weapon hurts, it takes away lives for the benefit of the owner. This is a protector of the weak! All these past years has shown how the weak are trampled on! Reimu abused her family and nobody could do a damn thing! Yukari and Kasen are involved in the HSE! Everything seems to be falling apart, and the innocent suffer while the guilty laugh. Well who’s laughing now!” Nitori threw her hands up in the air, and a few heads turned towards her as she shouted. “Hisoutensoku is the uplifted of the weak, the savior of love and justice! If nobody steps in to protect them, then we’ll make a protector! Not just the kappa, but all those who are trampled on by the mighty. It doesn’t matter who you are or how weak you are, as long as you’re pure of heart and mind Hisoutensoku will accept you as his champion! So he’s not a weapon, he’s the future!” Nitori breathed in, adjusting her hair back in place, having come undone due to her wild gesticulations.
Kanako took a while to take it all in. “What’s all this about being pure of heart? If it’s a tool it can be used by anyone, and this kind of power is a lot to hand over to someone”
“Like I said. It’s more than a machine. Not everyone can control him, it seems like you need to be the right sort of person to do to. Focused on protecting without any ulterior motives, from as far as I can tell. Even I don’t know how it fully works. I just get the feeling that there’s someone he’s waiting for, you know?”
Kanako looked up, trying to sense any sort of divine energy. If Nitori was right, then maybe all the worship and hope of the kappa put some sort of life into it? She could grasp something, but it wasn't anything close to a god. It was almost like a baby’s beating heart, it was weak and early in its life but it could grow into so much more. Well at least she wouldn’t have to deal with a divine sentient mecha anytime soon, although Sanae would love that. “Well I suppose we could check in on this. We’ll see how things develop from here” Kanako said as she turned towards the elevator. It didn't sit well with her, but now wasn't the time to intervene. After the HSE fell then there would be plenty of time to deal with it. Part of wasn’t paying attention anyway, listening in on Aya’s conversation with Suwako and-
Kanako’s face turned bright red when she heard what was being said about her.
// Hana 159-160
A deep orange illuminated the quiet shrine as the dimming sun wanned, the frosty temperature of the late evening threatened for an extra cold night now that the dark was creeping in. The delicate paper lanterns were being lit here and there inside the shrine itself and the heater had been summoned to the living room. Warmth was making its presence felt as Hana closed the paper door of the shrine’s living area, trying to entrap the radiating heat that belted out from the sturdy little machine.
Hana sighed as it seemed another night here in the shrine was in order, Sanae had come by not too long ago. The green-haired living goddess of the Moriyan shrine apologized profusely to Hana, supposedly Yuuka, Mima, Marisa, and the rest had spent most of the night in talks with some big names. As an apologetic Sanae put it, ‘-When I finally woke myself that morning, I tried summoning Suwako-sama and Kanako-sama as soon as I could! But there was no way to get them up before noon even though I bothered making pancakes. You know those really cute ones I showed you the other day when you dropp-? wait I’m getting off track- so anyway, by the time we got a working plan it was already getting late and the sun was setting, I barely had time to get ingredients for dinner-!’
With a few more pleasantries and a flurry of mundane tangential stories Sanae had vanished as quickly as she came. Only the last notes of her overly chipper voice from while she gave Hana a suffocating hug, and nearly took the shorter miko’s life via asphyxiation with her generous breasts, lingered in the now-toasty air of the living room. Hana had barely caught her breath and contained the heat in her cheeks by the time her friend and ally left. Despite how apologetic she was at first Sanae seemed to quickly rebound, and Hana amusingly noted that away from Kanako and Suwako she seemed to naturally slip into the slightly air headed girl she got to know from the stories Marisa and Anon would reminisce about.
Committing the feeling of Sanae’s body to memory subconsciously, Hana let the excitement leave her body and took her place under the kotatsu before her feet started to feel chilly. However, Hana wasn’t alone in the living room, at a point she had called her mother as Sanae had to talk business with both of them. Though business was a relative term, after a bit too long of pampering Hana like a pet Sanae finally got around to bringing up the bad news and business of the hour.
Dealing with Sanae’s bubbly self after such a long day, and having to pick off seals from her dress after her duel, tired out the young miko more than she thought. It took all Hana’s willpower not to just collapse back and try curling up, the warmth from the miraculous table would be just the thing Eirin commanded to defeat her fatigue. Instead, hoping to not appear too weak in front of the pointlessly powerful women, the tired miko compromised with her fatigue and settled for tucking her legs in as far in as she could while resting her head on the table.
Hana stared out towards the little shaking heater as it worked overtime to keep the interior of the shrine warm, watching it hum as the Kappa’s esoteric technology labored tirelessly. She got so absorbed that the suddenness of her mother’s voice caused her to jump slightly, “I see Sanae’s still as active as ever, I didn’t get to talk with her last time she came to manage the branch after the harvest festivals… It’s nice seeing how adventurous she still is.”
That feeling of dissonance started building like a headache as Hana could hear the subtle emotion that precipitated under those words, “Still, not even staying long enough to have tea? She must have drunk too much of that overly bitter coffee stuff~”
Uncomfortably, Hana stirred a bit, her mother was right in how rushed Sanae seemed to be. Not like Sanae didn’t have reason to be busy, she always was just from her shrine’s business alone, but you didn’t have to be Agatha Q. to see that she didn’t want to be here. Hana couldn’t say she didn’t understand the feeling, it was why she encouraged spending as much time chatting alone with her friend and ally before having to talk about the situation at hand. Plus, Hana was really enjoying the lap pillow she got, the tender softness of her thighs was something she wouldn’t forget soon~.
Without raising herself up from her position of lazing on the kotatsu Hana half nodded before commenting carefully, “I doubt she has much free time, I’m sure Sanae-san has… er… other places she wanted to visit today”
Picturing her mother nodding Hana felt satisfied, she could’ve put it in better terms but she didn’t trust how humorous she could make ‘because who would want to take tea with an unstable monster?’. Feeling like she said the right thing Hana raised herself up onto her elbows, and to her surprise that feeling of dissonance grew a bit stronger as she failed to recognize the expression her mother wore. There was a moment that Hana thought her mother had nibbled on something sour, but instead she realized that that her face told a different story.
Her mother’s silken black hair fell neatly, flowing freely in the absence of the ribbon she wears during the busier hours, and framed a face that showed a blatant longing. Like she felt a euphoric dream fade away into nothing more than a whisper, a dream so pleasant that even after you’ve already accepted it’s gone, you’d try your best to recall it. It was hard to visualize for Hana, but it was a simple fact that Sanae used to be friends with her mother, wasn’t it?
Hana had remembered an older photo from Kosuzu’s little book, a picture from the Bunbunmaru, taking place when Hana was only a toddler. That picture was part of an article that supposedly was part of her mother’s attempt to ‘de-youkaify’ her shrines reputation, a puff-piece about Hana herself. It was nothing more than showing how ‘even at such the young age of 4 Hana was taking her studies seriously!’, but it showed something Hana didn’t think about much; what a normal day at the shrine could’ve looked like.
That picture showed many youkai she recognized by face, or at least name, wondering in thin disguise in the background of the of her young-self holding a gohei and whacking a training dummy dressed in brightly colored cloth with an old mop for hair. She couldn’t really remember this photo being taken, but she did vaguely remember that time. Like the old article that was pressed onto the paper it was a faded and aged memory, but it brought forth a ghost of warmth severely lacking in her surroundings.
Gulping down subconsciously, Hana felt a certain discomfort that made her squirm on her cushion, something obvious to anyone yet had eluded her till now. It was something that she didn’t want to acknowledge even in part, something that she never even considered till now. The waves of cognitive dissonance intensified as the moment dragged onwards and her mother’s nostalgic mind returned to the present.
With a breath going into her lungs, trying to taste the ghost of the perfume Sanae wore as if to try and distract herself, Hana felt a realization don on her: Her mother was just a human as well.
// HSE Gakkuran Special 14-15
The halls rumbled, but that didn’t matter to Yukari. All she could feel was her heart beating in her throat. Anon had stabbed her through the chest and twisted the blade. The venom in his words and the adoration in his eyes melted her defenses and scalded her ego. A mixture of love and hate carving away at a maiden’s emotions.
It was divine~
Nobody could have thought of this! Taking Anon’s decades-long reserve of resentment and sparking it with the passion of his youth produced a conflagrant inferno! She made it all happen, and he didn’t even know it! Now, all she had to do was push it to its zenith to claim Anon in mind, body and soul!
Yukari began to speak, but no words came out. How odd. Clearing her throat, she felt a trembling in her stomach. Her excitement must be too much for her lithe young body to handle. “A-Anon, your ire for that woman is astounding. You must truly despise her from the depths of your soul to say so much about her!”
“Merry, that’s not all. I haven’t even scratched the surface of that old hag’s wrinkly skin.” Something must be wrong. She didn’t command him to keep going. “For my entire imprisonment, she raped me every night. And every night, as the initiator, she could never last for more than half an hour. It was one night after she passed out on top of me that I realized why: Microgaps. Invisible to the eye, Yukari gaps every fold of skin taut. The amount of mental concentration and physical energy it takes to maintain this facade ensures that she can’t last longer than a starfish. It also means that even though my eyes burn from seeing her abhorrent face, there exists an even uglier version of that hideous c*nt that all of Gensokyo is spared from seeing.” Finally, Anon took another breath. His eyes were still blank, but his smile had drooped into a frown. He was on such a roll! What pulled his attention away?
His finger gently brushed against her cheek, wiping something away. “Merry? Don’t cry, my love. I apologize for my brutal language. I know you could never care about such shallow nitpicks. Yet, that’s all the depth Yukari has.” Tears? It was all so obvious now! Yukari’s soul was refined as ever, but her body was still sensitive to emotional fluctuations. With her abilities restricted, it was impossible for her to gap away her feelings. What a nuisance. But, it would be worth it very soon.
Dominating her body with her mind, Yukari stood tall and forced her mouth to crack a grin. “My my, how vitriolic. But, there’s one more thing Yakumo did wrong. She tricked you. She fooled you into falling in love with her again! You see, Anon, all this time, Yukari was standing in front of you all this time!” From her bag, Yukari pulled out a donned a white bonnet.” I am Yakumo Yukari, your one true love!
For a moment, the room was silent. Anon’s face was blank. Then, he laughed.
“AHAHAHAHAHA! You never fail to crack me up, Merry! There’s no way you could ever end up like that lonely creep!” Yukari’s vision clouded in what must’ve been pure ecstasy. Her body moved on its own, unable to resist Anon’s hate-filled denial any longer. Her love life was finally going to begin. She brought her head closer to his. With a gentle touch, she raised her hand to hold Anon’s cheek.
*SMACK*
___
It was a blur of experiences for Shanghai. After Alice’s mom smacked her away, Anon’s daughter tasked her with defending Anon from any dangers and shoved her into his schoolbag. Unfortunately, she also piled a stack of textbooks on top her her, pinning the doll down. All she could do was listen while Anon had a nice time on the warm roof and got really angry in the building. When Anon started talking really weirdly, kinda like how Alice speaks when she practices Anon’s voice, Shanghai didn’t have to wait anymore.
After a loud slap resounded through the room, the doll heard a zipper. The weight restraining Shanghai quickly eased off. Before she could react, a delicate hand fiercely gripped her and Shanghai became airborne, bouncing off of Anon’s head. As she spun in the air, the doll caught a glimpse of a girl with long, blonde hair running out the room in heels while sobbing uncontrollably. A circle of the bustiest women Shanghai ever saw were surrounding the unconscious young man. His head was laid in Yuuka’s thighs, while Shanghai took a seat on his chest. Only the pink-haired ghost followed the crying girl.
Nobody could ignore the screen. Aya and Hatate were scribbling down pages of notes, Momiji’s tail stood stiff, and Seija never stopped laughing. Komachi and Eiki had handfuls of gift-wrapped boxes and stood close to the door Goro wondered exactly how much of this rant was Anon and how much of it was hypnosis. Truly, technology from the Outside was terrifying.
When Yukari slapped Anon in the face, Komachi cracked open the door and scoped out the hallways. After the gap hag was finished throwing everything in Anon’s bag at him, she ran out the door and pushed through a crowd of gawking girls. After a little while, the students’ phones pinged.
~~~
1. Confess your love and chocolate to Anon
1(a). Your confession must be genuine
2. Anon eats your chocolate
2(a). Anon must eat your chocolate himself
3. Physical contact must be maintained for 10 uninterrupted minutes.
4. Prove your love with a kiss~
5. No interrupting other people’s confessions unless they’ve been rejected
6. UWAAAAAAAAAAAA
~~~
Eiki set down her phone and picked up a box taller than Komachi. “From this moment until the end of Yukari’s punishment, all of you are granted temporary membership into the Disciplinary Committee as deputies. Komachi! Where is the guilty party?!”
“Girl’s Bathroom 3E! Straight and to the left.”
“Good work. The rest of you, clear a path.” With the yama’s command, the tengu immediately began pushing through the crowd and abusing their authority to roughly handle the students. Before entering, the yama stopped. “Kijin. Ensure that the room is empty.”
“Sure thing, boss lady.” With a go-ahead to bust heads, Seija eagerly went in first before returning with a disappointed expression. “She’s in there, all right. It’s just that fattie ghost trying to make her feel better.”
“That’s acceptable. Now, move in! Let nobody through until her punishment has been fully administered. Goro, stay outside.” Eiki pointed to the sign on front of the door. “No men allowed.”
As a unit, the disciplinarian entered the ladies’ room. Yukari’s incessant sobbing echoed from a stall as Yuyuko’s soft consolations went unheard.
“Don’t worry, Merry. I’m sure your skin is flawless as always. He was probably just frustrated.”
“WHY IS ANON SO MEEEEEAN TO MEEEEEE?!”
This exchange continued until Eiki had enough of it. “Saigyouji, step away. I have business with Yakumo.”
“Shikieiki-sama, if you could just—“
“No excuses. If you continue to block my path, you will be tried as well. Do you understand?” Lowering her head in surrender, the ghost floated away from the stall door before Eiki swung it open. The great Yakumo Yukari, rolled up on the bathroom floor and bawling her eyes out. Yukari stared up at the yama with anger and annoyance piercing through her puffy eyelids. In response, Eiki coldly held out one of her boxes for Yukari to take.
“It was chocolate inside. It’ll make everything better.” The yama’s tone was flat and cold. Warily, Yukari unwrapped the box, revealing a Rod of Remorse made of dark chocolate. Having abandoned her dignity, Yukari took a large bite. She immediately recoiled, revealing a golden sheen hidden underneath the thin brown layer.
Shikieiki tutted. “How unexpected. This treat is full of nothing but your sins. Yakumo Yukari, It seems your judgment cannot come soon enough. Komachi? Please guide her to the Sanzu River.” Showing only a hint of hesitation, Komachi entered the stall and pulled up her right sleeve. The shinigami descended upon Yukari, wrestling her out of the corner. Her young body could not stand up to the ferry woman’s strength. In the end, Yukari was unable to stop her head from being held over the toilet and the shallow stream of water flowing through it.
“Please, wait! I repent! I’m shorry! Have mercy on this heartbroken maiden!” Yukari begged and pleaded through her tears for clemency.
The yama was unfazed. “What are you waiting for? Take her across the Sanzu.” Eiki began flushing the toilet. Yukari began flailing her arms. Aya began taking pictures. With the approval of all her peers guiding her hand, Komachi shoved the gap’s head down. Yuyuko tried to leave, but the yama wasn’t satisfied with that.
“Momiji, do not let her leave! She has condoned Yakumo’s behavior, so she must bear witness to her punishment. Komachi, lift her head. She cannot pass to Higan yet, so she’ll receive punishment here.” Eiki opened another box of chocolate and shoved it into Yukari’s mouth as she gasped for air. The yama brought her face close to Yukari’s. “We’re not done until you eat every single piece.”
Hatate had but one question. It concerned the largest box. “Uh, I don’t think this one will fit in her mouth. What’s it for”
Unamused, Shikieiki cleared up the tengu’s confusion. “That one doesn’t go in her mouth.”
// Seija/Goro 140-142
"and... done." Goro said as he put one last crease into his latest creation.
The paper thing, crude as it was, came to life, and quickly began to crawl all about me in his lap. I squirmed a bit, wondering if this thing was some kind of insect, but when It crawled up my hand and its eyes looked in two different directions I knew what it was.
"A Chameleon. Cute." I said, rubbing the things paper-thin chin with my nail.
"Ughh. Maybe I'm not cut out for this craft. Damned leafs of paper always seem to go in the opposite direction of what I want." he bemoaned.
"Hey! I said 'it was cute', so stop trying to fish for pity!" I scolded him.
"Yeah, yeah, I guess yours is the only approval that counts. Well yours and theirs." He said, looking out at the pile of burnt paper that stood a few meters from the bed. "Ready to give it another go?" he asked.
I nodded and flung the cursed paper Chameleon into the air, it soared, flailing around, before disappearing and reappearing in the same moment atop the pile of paper scraps. We both leaned forward in the bed, hopeful, until the thing crumpled and fell lifeless.
"Our kids aren't a fan of reptiles I suppose." Goro joked.
While we soaked in the HSE's bathes, paying no mind to the other clientele who were shooting us all kind of dirty looks, Goro got one of his awful ideas. Maybe, just maybe, we could send our soon-to-be kids, Oiwa and Tsukuyomi, some cursed paper dolls to keep them company.
It was probably a hopeless and foolish endeavor, we could barely navigate that place full of 'nothingness' well enough to show up where we wanted to when we became 'real' again, but trying to find our way within a place that didn't exist itself? Augh, it made my head hurt just thinking about it, so, it was probably pointless, sending little cursed paper doll after doll to our little cursed children, still, it passed the time well enough.
"Say, why name her Tsukuyomi? Are you trying to spite those Lunarian folk?" Goro asked as he placed a hand on my head.
"Yeah maybe I guess. Just figured people look down on the moon, but it lights up the entire night while the sun's off doing whatever, kind of badass right?" I asked.
"Ha, that it is, I'm sure she'll love it." he said after a moment, probably fighting some urge to correct me. Good on him to know when it's not wanted.
"They're both doing okay right?" I asked him, tilting my head back and leaning against his chest.
"Resting I think." Goro said with a smile. "Oiwa stirs more than Tsukuyomi does, but little Yomi cries louder when she wakes up. Strange that I can 'feel' them, yet we still can't 'find' them. It's starting to make me nervous."
"Bah, nervous about what? You saw how we dealt with Konngara and we can even keep pace with that vampire brat now, together, we're unstoppable." I cheered, but Goro's expression didn't change. "Let me guess, you're about to tell me all the reasons why we're screwed."
Goro pulled a sheet from the Tengu newspaper he'd been using as doll making material, instead of the more banal tomes I had retrieved for him. "Reimu-San beat us without lifting a finger, Kasen had you on the floor within less than a second, Mokou would've burnt us to cinders if Keine-Sensei hadn't been there, and if Yuuka or Yuugi had a little less tact, we'd be dead."
"Well that was then and this is now right? We can react almost instantly with those 'raycasts' you're always putting out, travel instantly, plunge our opponents into nothingness, and turn whatever we need to on its head right?"
For a moment, Goro thought on this, but ultimately shook his head. "If this was the typical danmaku you've been playing in and I've watched since time immemorial that might be the case. We can 'blink' ourselves and attacks sent against us, reflect abilities, and a few other tricks, but what if that doesn't work on that strange ability Yuugi has? Or what if Okina somehow opens a door in our brains? And then there's that legendary vengeful spirit magician, Mima, if she's anything like Hijiri, she's probably been making spells the likes of which nobody has seen! On top of all that, we're operating as a team. If they separate us, get us too far away from the HSE, or take one of us out, we'll be down."
"Okay, all those grannies have a strength or two to play to, but you want to know how I dodged all of that back in my rebel days? I played dirty and broke all their codes. They're all to smug because they've had it good for too long at the top of the hierarchy that they can't even fathom someone like you or I could put up a fight. Plus, they don't even know about the kind of stunts we can pull now! I can't wait to show that fiery-headed flower woman who's boss and...and why are you looking at me like that?" I asked him.
"They definitely know." He said.
"How?" I asked.
"Chen will tell them." He said.
I looked out at the pile of crumpled up paper, then up at the endless book cases, and then took the hand of my dumbass lover and bit it.
"Ow, ow, ow, what the hell was that for!" He yelped.
"You knew she was a plant and leaked all that information to her? How? Why?" I asked, angry.
"You seriously didn't catch on when she talked about 'knitting Reimu a scarf'? Or how close she is with Anon?" Goro asked.
"Oh." I said, a little flabbergasted. "Wait then why hasn't Yukari done something about it? Is she planning on doing something to her?" I ask, just a little worried that the low-ranking Shikigami was about to receive punishment from on high.
"I think, since she's Ran-San's Shikigami, that Yukari believe she's incapable of defiance and doesn't see how the transitive relationship may not be iron-clad. it wouldn't be her first oversight." Goro said, waving a finger around the room and the HSE itself where a literal god child was sleeping under her mother's ever so watchful nose.
"Then does that mean that vixen could also be in league against us? And again, why leak that information if you knew she was playing for the other side?" I asked.
"Ran-San very well could be, she's Yukari's direct Shikigami, so it'd be much harder for her to rebel, but maybe she's found a loophole? Anyway, it plays nicely into the reason I leaked the information anyway: If they know about 'nothing' it may lead them to Sekai and if one of them happens upon Sekai, then-"
"-Then they could also happen upon Oiwa and Tsukuyomi!" I said, before frowning once again. "And WHY do you think they would help us when we work for their arch enemy?"
"Because we'll make a deal in their best interes-" Goro began, shaking his hand in the air before I jabbed the side of my head, and my horn, into his shoulder.
"Ow, okay, too late for gags, I get it." He sighed. "We can't tell them about Sekai and we're bound to defend the HSE. What we can do is single one of them out, someone who can be useful to us in retrieving Oiwa and Tsukuyomi, and promising something like 'we'll help you save Anon'. Two birds one stone."
"I get it, I get it, so you leaked information about 'nowhere' in order to get our enemies to dispatch someone who could potentially deal with weird, conceptual spaces or the like to counter us, all so we can strike a deal with this person, exploiting the fact that we only promised to defend the 'HSE' and not keep Anon inside of it? f*cking should've guessed you'd be a goddamned cheat." I said, playfully elbowing him in the ribs. "Although why wait until the Solstice? We could probably strike a deal beforehand."
"Yukari." Goro stated.
Damnit he was right. We had some leeway with the Gap Hag, but not enough to tell someone 'oh hey, we'll help you free Anon if you promise to owe us a favor' without repercussions.
"Geez, all this complicated sh*t isn't my style you know? Wish we could just play it by ear like back in the old days." I said, slumping down in his lap.
"Yeah, when all those boiling tensions just got resolved in a big incident, like, look at this." Goro said, offering me a paper he know I wouldn't bother to read. That's a nice-outraged face the old guy's wearing in the cover photo though, Tengu reporters have their good points I guess. "Old man Hieda came out and admitted his vendetta against Keine-Sensei was based on a fabrication. This has been going on for weeks." he sighed.
"Ain't that teacher pushing for Youkai integration now that she's got some brats of her own to raise? You sure his little lie wasn't just to snuff out that instead?" I asked.
"Maybe. Sometimes people in high office just have a screw loose." Goro said, quickly folding the paper into a paper fan and miming a similar posture to a certain blonde woman we both worked for.
"Either way, I can't wait to see someone else burnt to cinders for a change." I said, waving off the impression.
"Plenty of those unfortunate accidents probably going to be happening in the coming months. The overlap between Youkai and Humans is about to collapse right under the Hieda family's nose and he's off on some delusional crusade."
"You're one to talk about ignoring things right under your nose." I said, jabbing a nail to his chin.
"What do you mean by that?" Goro asked.
"I mean..." I began, sliding my nail across his chin "...'your woman' has been sitting on your lap in an embarrassing as sh*t night gown and your ranting about village politics." I said.
I didn't wait for him to respond, it wasn't an invitation to anyway, instead, I pushed him over and spread out his robe, feeling across his bare chest as I did. He tries to mumble something, but I snuff out the attempt by pulling oh his garments to bring his mouth next to mine. For a while I hold him there, our lips locked, conquering him with my tongue, until I finally drop him on the bed, his body bouncing ever so slightly before I dive onto his chest.
"You're really forward about this today." He said, gasping for air as he did.
"I lived over a hundred years in my head without you, I'm just making up for lost time, besides, it made me realize something..." I begin, making circles around his heart with my finger. "...I want you to give me more children."
"That uh, a little greedy of you." Goro said, softly grabbing my hand.
"Dumbass, it's not just for me. Our kids are gonna be weird, cursed mutts, unlike the cavilclave of Anon's normal mutt brood. They'll be freaks among freaks so... give me a few more okay? So they'll not lonely or f*cking whatever." I ask him.
"Uh, Seija, not to demean but..." He begins, gently rubbing my side. "What do you think we've been doing?"
I feel my face grow flush and red. "I know how babies are normally made asshole! It's just harder for a Youkai and a Human when neither of us are hopped up fertility pills! You should know that!"
"I do." He says calmly as I huff and puff, trying to regain my composure. "So we can take our time and let nature take its course, probabilistically it should be about..." He says, looking up in the air as if trying to pluck the knowledge of the infinite library.
"f*ck that." I say, dragging my long tongue up the side of his neck until I'm right beside his ear. "You're not sleeping tonight until you put another little brat inside me."
Again, I don't let him have a word in edge-wise, immediately pulling his face to mine and guiding his hand to my body. The skeletal thing feels smooth and cold against my breast, against my heart, making me jolt with an eerie pleasure. Weakly, I put my arms around him, letting him lift me into a sitting position.
I was never happy with my height or my small stature, it always gave people the impression that I was just some girl playing around and not the menace I actually was. Now, I couldn't help but be grateful for it, as I felt how easily Goro moved my body about and how helpless I was in his arms to resist it. It made my petite body ache to be joined with his, to be connected, violated, and safe, so much so that the feeling of his thumb slipping off my panties made me gasp, momentarily pulling away from our kiss before I awkwardly shook my head and dove back in, only to break once again when I felt his rod against my ass.
As I gently lifted myself over him and began settling on top of it, I quietly wondered if there was some 'correct' way other girls did this, because I couldn't take him in me in one go, instead we squeeze a little closer, my body would spasm and clench, we'd stop, start again, and repeat until I finally took him all the way to the base.
"Are you okay?" He asked, like he always f*cking did, and I nod, not able to speak with all the lighting going through my head.
When he started moving me, it reminded me of a rocking chair, slow and steady, slipping back and forth. "Harder..." I murmured into his ear as I wrapped my arms around his neck, bracing myself for the feeling. Even though it was only a slight change, a few centimeters more of difference at most, the pleasure was exponentially greater, I clenched my teeth and thought about carrion, swampy water, and cloudy days to escape the intense feelings. "Harder..." I asked him, despite my better judgment, and was hoisted up just a bit more and slid down just a little bit faster as he worked with gravity to meet me in the air. In my agony, I dug my nails into his back. not the first time I'd drawn blood in one of our bedroom sessions, but we had made a deal that he wouldn't tie me up if I didn't make him bleed. 'f*ck that' is all I could think. He was MINE, and, consequences be damned, anyone who dares to look at his naked body was going to know it. "Harder..." I whimpered.
Of course, I came before he did. I always f*cking do, being way too sensitive to this kind of thing, but that doesn't stop him, thankfully, my shaking body and moans only causing him to redouble his effort until he stops, clutching me in midair, and I feel him pouring out inside me.
Once more, we both fall, and sink, into the bed, gasping for air as we both recover from the coitus, his back no doubt staining the sheets red with blood.
"Did, hugh, you have to dig in with, hah, your nails again?" He asks, interlocking his fingers with mine.
"Yeah, hah, yeah I did." I say, pulling myself up to nibble on his ear.
I'd give him ten, maybe five minutes tops to recuperate, then it was back on the clock. If we go ten minutes on, five minutes off, we might manage, what, 20 or so times? Maybe if I splashed some alcohol on his back it'd make things more intense and bump up fertility?
Whatever, we had time to spare at the moment. Don't you worry Oiwa, Tsukuyomi, your sh*tty mama will give you some nice playmates.
// Shinki 6-7
Humming a jaunty tune, Shinki made her way to the human village. There were a thousand ways she could get there faster, but nothing beat flying in the early morning light before dawn.
Soaring through the air radiant and beautiful, she could for a moment forget her troubles in this ugly, ugly world. No, not forget. She was never innocent enough to forget, but they could at least be written off as distant and insignificant. Perhaps that is better. After all, what greater joy is there than those fleeting moments of procrastination? A life without worries could not compare to those few minutes of rest gained by refusing the coming day, that last beautiful song played as the city burned, or those years devoted to a project whose sole goal was to distract from the civilizations one has guided collapsing in a gruesome fashion.
Alas, those pleasures came with a pain (and not the fun kind). Inevitably the reality of the situation will become impossible to ignore (usually in the form of Sariel pouring a bucket of water on the bed) and she suddenly would find herself up sh*t creek without a paddle.
Now that expression doesn’t quite work as Shinki could very easily summon a paddle, though ‘sh*t creek’ is a very apt description for the building before her.
She held no great hatred for whor*houses, in fact, there were some that greatly impressed her. Yet this place and its little market stood as a pale imitation of those great temples of Inanna. It was sad really, pitiful women torturing a pitiful man for pitiful reasons. Its destruction could not come soon enough.
Hiding her distaste, Shinki descended to enter the building. Rudely, two Wolf Tengu drew their blades to bar her entry. One of them snarls out, “Halt! The Hakurei Shrine Experience is not yet open. Withdrawal immediately or face detainment.”
Ignoring the little pup, Shinki reached out to scratch her behind the ears. The receiver of pets stiffened and froze with a light blush, caught momentarily off-guard. The other, seemingly jealous, swung at Shinki with a cry, but the blade failed to pierce her dress.
Shinki hardly noticed this however as she studied the magical defenses guarding the front entrance. Finally satisfied, she blasted the door off its hinges and quickly unraveled the flood curses intended to do her harm.
Stepping over the smoking rubble that was once a door, Shinki was greeted by a rather unimpressed fox drinking coffee. It’s a bit hard to hear her over the alarms blaring, but Shinki’s able to piece together Ran’s greeting. “Greetings lady Shinki, the door was unlocked you know. You could've just… opened the door. A-Anyway, are you here for a fight or?”
The bags under the fox’s eyes make Shinki feel just a touch guilty. Honestly, she’d rather have just opened the door, but there’s a decorum to these things. To start a meeting with a peer (as much as Shinki is loath to call Yukari such), can never be a simple affair. Or at least, you can only act normally to those you’re familiar with. Otherwise, you’ll likely give the impression that something is up. After all, who doesn’t want to play layers of mind games in every interaction you have with a person?
Ah, she’s monologing again. Clearing her throat Shinki clarifies, “No, I just wish to speak with your master. Could you quiet this infernal racket? Oh, and a coffee would be lovely if you would.”
Maintaining that perfect stoic demeanor that every top goon of a Gensokyo hag has (herself included), Ran replies. “I’ll see what I can do. How would you like your coffee?”
She’s going to have to talk to Yukari so, “black.”
Ran tilts her head every so slightly in acknowledgment, however, there’s a gleam of approval in her eyes. “As you wish.”
With that, Ran disappears into a gap. A few moments later a Buddhist monk rushes in along with a horned little creature with a black and red aesthetic shouting, “Who the hell attacks before the sun is even up? I’ll kill you!”
To their credit, they make a solid attempt. The pair seem to be bonded and they take full advantage of that fact as they unleash a torrent of Danmaku at Shinki. Still, they’re painfully slow a being of Shinki’s caliber, so she’s able to to leisurely side-step the attack. Or rather she thought she could before the Youkai does something and the bullets change direction directly towards her.
She could prevent them from striking true, but she let them have this little victory. The bullets, though impressive by conventional standards, had little effect on silk brought so close to the platonic idea through alchemy. As the two prepared something else, Shinki had a realization. “Oh, you’re that little Goro boy, aren’t you? Byakuren writes about you frequently enough, though she never mentioned you were working at a brothel. Admittedly, I understand why.”
That gets the Buddhist to stop and then grab the Youkai as she goes to continue the attack. The fashion disaster turns on him angrily for that, “What is it?! She mentions something about that old witch playing monk and suddenly it’s time for tea?”
Goro bites his tongue at the latter remark, “She clearly isn’t trying to hurt us or destroy more than the door, we may as well see what she wants to say. There is more than one way to protect a building after all.”
Serendipitously, the alarm ceases as he says that, prompting the… she smells like an Amanojaku so Shinki will go with that, to huff. Triumph in his eyes, Goro turns back to Shinki and asks, “Perhaps we have gotten off on the wrong foot. What business do you have here and how do you know my… teacher?”
Shinki gives a pleased hum, “So you’re the one with manners, noted. I’m here to talk to Yukari. As how I know Byakuren, we go way back. She became an apprentice of mine after being driven to my neck of the woods for consorting with Youkai. We’ve kept in touch after she left Makai.”
Goro blinks before adopting a defeated look, “That would make you Shinki then, the Goddess of Makai. No wonder you could shrug that off. Ah, where are my manners, Goro and Seija at your service.”
As Goro bows ‘Seija’ scoffs, “Pah ‘great Goddess this’ and ‘terrifying magician that’, there’s just some trick to it. If we-”
The Amanojaku suddenly stops before shooting Shinki a nasty look. The Goddess didn’t particularly care for it. Arrogance could be entertaining, but too much venom ruins everything. Maintaining eye contact with Seija, Shinki advances on Goro just as he rises from his bow.
Before the monk could process her approach, Shinki asks, “So tell me, where do you get off torturing poor, sweet little Byakuren? To work at a brothel for Yukari while keeping this kind of company, I can only imagine the guilt and shame she must be feeling right now.”
To his credit, the monk does look guilty. That still doesn’t stop Shinki from pinching his cheek, however. “Listen well, I know for certain that you’ve not been writing to Byakuren and she’s sick from worrying as a result. I won’t criticize your choice of partner if you truly love her, though if you don’t, what the hell are you doing?”
There were a few more things Shinki wanted to add, but Seija was biting her hand and that was old really quick. Grabbing the Amanojaku by the horns with her other hand, Shinki begins to shake the little sh*t. “As for you, if you hurt him then Byakuren will be sad and I’ll likely have to kill you. I frankly have better things to do, so don’t force my hand.”
Seija is thankfully not too hard to dislodge and she can’t get a word in before Ran returns and announces, “Lady Yukari will see you now. If you’ve finished entertaining yourself with the guards I can escort you there now.”
Shinki wasn’t quite done, but oh well. She has other things to do anyway.
// Kanako 6-7
How long had it been since he last felt love? The kind of love that filled his days with all kinds of excitement, that made him feel like he had his place in the world, that he almost took for granted? It had been snuffed out years ago, and he had spent so much time mourning for it. There would be no turning back time and bringing the wife he loved back, but now it felt like continuing on without her wasn’t an impossible task. The goddess before him-not an actual living goddess-looked over him with a gentle smile. Every feature of hers drew his attention. Her beautiful face, unravaged by the passage of time. A womanly figure that made him desire to hold her and find comfort with her. Her kind and intelligent nature. She reached up and touched his rugged body, holding her hand over his heart before she slowly trailed it upwards and cupped his face. He exhaled and smiled as he closed his eyes. “Your touch is so full of love” he said.
----
“I am not going to write that, you’re making him sound like a girl in a bad romance novel!” Jade Parrot stopped jotting down notes and looked up from her paper at the woman who was feeding her ideas.
Snapped out of her monologue, Kanako looked back. “I think it works. After all he’s been through, he realizes just from her touch that this is the love he has been seeking all those years. It’s romantic”
“If I publish a work with that line, I can burn all my drawing materials as it my career as an artist would be dead. No man talks like that, they’re never that mushy ever”
“Well of course I knew that.” Kanako did not know that. “I just thought with the atmosphere we were building we would be open with how much he enjoys it. It tells the reader how much it means to him”
“Look, I know we agreed he’d seek her out because he wanted someone to help him move past the death of his wife, but men are never open about minor stuff like that. Ever. They hate talking about their feelings”
“They do?” Kanako questioned, ears perked for any potential romantic advice.
“Aren’t you a goddess? You should have noticed none of the men you’ve known over the years have ever talked like that. I’m having him say ‘It feels nice’ and that’s final” JP returned her attention to the paper and wrote down the improved dialogue. “So after that it’s a page or two of them getting ready, kissing touching all of that and they get ready. How do you want to do that?”
----
The goddess was even more beautiful in her all naked glory. His eyes drank in the sight of her as that flame of passion he long thought extinguished roared to life. His gaze was drawn to her femininity and that desire only grew. He wanted the feeling of intertwining their bodies as they thought refuge in each other’s bodies. His experienced hand reached out and touched her, and she gasped. “Mortal, at this moment I cannot offer you any guidance. Never before have I shared my body with another, so I ask you understand this” But the man didn’t seem upset. He smiled, understanding of her and then he moved his rugged body closer and.
----
“She’s a virgin? She’s lived for hundreds of years and she hasn’t even been with a single man? How is that even possible?” JP asked incredulously as she cut Kanako off.
“Well, there could be plenty of reasons. Her position as a goddess makes it hard for people to approach her, she’s been too busy with her duties to look for it. It’s not too unusual” Kanako tried not to sound too defensive. “Besides, did we not agree during the last session that his experience would be the selling point? With the differences between their sex lives, it would make it more apparent”
“Geez, I’d just give up on living if I didn’t get it on by then. But I suppose you have a point. She’ll be a virgin. Now I need your input on something important” JP pulled out a paper and pushed it across the desk. Kanako looked and her eyes went wide. While they were only rough sketches, it was easy to see what the two figures were doing in all of them.
“Now for the main sex scene I was thinking about this” JP said as she pointed to a sketch of a man of top of a woman. “It’ll allow him to lead and it’ll give him easy access to her chest to play with, which he should, considering how huge they are” Kanako glanced down at her own chest mentally took note of that. “But with that and the story we have a few pages to fill out. Anything look good?”
Kanako couldn’t hold herself back from greedily eyeing the page. She wasn’t the kind of woman to enjoy such filth normally, but this was art. Art that showed how two people in love could show it by joining their bodies together. Starting to feel a bit heated, she pointed to two of the drawings that would make her look the least lascivious.
“Huh, I was thinking about those as well. I’ll get to the rough drafts and we’ll go over them next time, okay?” JP marked off the drawings.
“I’ll check in on your progress. Goodbye” Kanako turned and left, her face red.
Back at the shrine, Kanako started to make her way to her room. Her mind was still distracted even after the flight over, but a few minutes alone in her room should solve that. Before she could reach safety, she was halted in her tracks.
“Where have you been sneaking off to lately?” Kanako spun around to see Suwako standing there eyeing her warily. “You’re been heading off on your own quite a bit. If you’ve got some scheme of yours that you’re trying to keep hidden, you should come clean now. Everyone’s been making preparations and the last thing we need is one of your ideas blowing up in our faces” Kanako thought about lying, but it was likely Suwako already had some idea. That laid-back goddess could be quite crafty at times.
“I had to meet with the artist behind that book. It was destroying my image and as a goddess that couldn’t be. So I met with her in order to inform her of what she did so it wouldn’t happen again” Kanako managed to force out.
“So that took multiple meetings? What exactly were you doing?” Suwako said as a wry smile appeared on her face. After working with her for so long, she really knew how to press her buttons.
“Well, the artist offered an alternative, and I thought another book of theirs could help undo the damage, and it would be better than just shutting them down” Kanako squeaked out, feeling very small for a goddess that has lived on this earth for centuries.
“So everyone is busting their ass planning for that day and you think the best way to spend your time is to get more smut drawn. I didn’t think it was this bad. It’s about him, isn’t it?”
“Maybe there are ways I could contribute more, but she offered the idea, and it’s about pure love! It’s much better than anything else she could have written, if I can help my image and get something out of it, then I might as well take the opportunity” While Suwako’s words stung, it was too late for Kanako to back out of her dealings with the tengu.
“Pure love? Oh man. You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?” Suwako said as she slumped against the wall.
“Since you suggested the idea to me, I have thought about it. A relationship with him could be fruitful for me, and he does have an appeal as a man. I really enjoy it if I were courted by him” Kanako wanted nothing more to fade out of existence. Any moment she’d hear the laughter and the jibes. Suwako would never let her forget this and Sanae would think less of her as a god. It was over, her pure maiden’s heart pulled out and trampled on by the people closest to her.
But it never came. Looking at Suwako she saw something surprising. Rather than a smug grin or a knowing smirk, there was a genuine smile on her face. “Here I thought you were just being perverted about the whole thing. but you really do like Anon, don’t you?”
“You’re not mad?” Kanako asked, surprised by the goddess’s reaction.
“As long as you’re genuine about it why would I be? Anon’s a real salt of the earth guy, he’d be great for you. I say go for it”
“It’s not as easy as you’re making it sound. Even after if we save him-when we save him things might not work out” Kanako replied as she avoided Swuako’s gaze.
Suwako rolled her eyes as her hat followed her cue. “You never second guessed yourself when you pulled off a plan before, so why now?”
“This sort of thing isn’t something I know much about. It’s different from approaching someone as a god or an ally or a friend, and his heart might belong to another”
Suwako sighed “Well, he might have someone else in mind, but maybe he doesn’t. Or something might change after he gets out. You can’t just give up right away. The man already likes you after all”
“Really? You think so?” Kanako said breathlessly.
“Well, maybe not in that way. But you saw how happy he was to see you again when we met during the festival. As long as he’s not against it, you have a chance. I can always help you if you need it”
“Thank you, I will think about it” Kanako bowed her head slightly.
“Just don’t think about it too much. We have a job to do. But I’ll be on your side if you ever need help turning his head towards you” Suwako adjusted her hat and looked upwards with a cheeky grin “Besides, it’s been so long since some new life has graced these halls. Maybe Anon can help you with that. I know Sanae hasn’t been making much progress towards that” As Kanako stood with her mouth agape, Swuako turned her head towards the hall behind her. “You hear that Sanae? Kanako might beat you in that regard, you better hurry up and find a man that actually likes talking about giant robots if you want to be first!”
From somewhere down the hall came a frustrated cry
“Lady Suwako!”
// Mokou 20-24
The jiji's face was contorted, his arms were shaking, and he was uncomfortably resting them on his lap, near the revolver—as if he'd have a bone of decency in that wrinkly body. “How dare you… How dare you?!” He spits, unrest growing. My body was prepared to lunge in front of my woman and babies to protect them. “All those words about my Akyuu, as if any of you knew her better than her father—you never held her when she cried in her sleep, thinking about her curse; you didn't walk alongside her on every step of her life, hoping every day the next step wouldn't be the last—I can forgive these; you said yourself, her passing impacted all of us.” His furious gaze lingered on Aki for what seemed like an instant before returning to Keine. “… But then you act as if I have not done my very best to keep this village running and the people inside of it safe? And even use that wicked place as an example of good?!” Keine tried to say something, but Mr. Hieda cut her, suddenly getting up from his seat and approaching. My fire rose to the sound of raised guns, stopping the f*cker from getting closer. It didn't do anything to clear the scorn on his face. “You want to know why I haven't lifted a finger against the HSE? Devil, I will tell you why: I am human. Look at this!” He spins and points at his men, who shudder at the sudden attention. “Samurai that tremble! They're humans, too! Humans that cannot lift a finger to a Youkai like Yakumo Yukari! Do you think I want to become a problem for her? She doesn't need me alive—none of my men alive—to conduct whatever plans she has! And who’s solving this? The Hakurei Miko is a mess, and the Moriyans refuse to interfere! We're powerless to destroy that cancer—”
Suddenly, the old man starts coughing, “Hieda-sama!” One of the samurai closes the distance, and with my heart thumping and hands shaking, I look around: Suzu seems haunted, but also as if wanting to say something. Mystia wings go up and down in clear distress, eyeing Keine…
silent; the picture of calm, thought. She quickly glances at Mystia. What the…?
“B-But here you sit, pointing a finger at me as if I were the one who opened the floodgates, the man who cried wolf, or the monster that has been choking this village! No, Keine Kamishirasawa, I'm none of that!” He finally recovers from the hacking cough, immediately pointing a finger at the woman. “I'm one man without the support of an immortal! Who lived through numerous incidents and kept pushing anyway, even if my world was threatened to ashes because of almighty youkais, the very things you want to have a place in our society! I can not defeat Yukari Yakumo, but who do you think will lead the village back when someone does bring on her downfall or when she’s done with her plans? That'll do his very best so us, humans, are safe, educated, and fed? Do you think it'll be you and your wide-eyed dreams? Your miserable little halflings…?” The next words come with such spite, yet Keine never turns her eyes away from the man's. “You have divided this village once, and when push comes to shove, all you'd do is divide it again. Change history, see it as you may, look so forward into the future you forget the common person by your side… But their leader won't do so. This conversation is over, and I bid you my farewell.” Without another word, the man turns and begins walking away, the silence thick as stone.
Inside, rage burned brightly, flames threatening to grow, though they remained at bay as my focus was on Keine, who kept her silence and calmly rocked Aki up and down as if the Hieda hadn’t just said all those words.
What’s going on…?!
Suzu looked on the verge of hyperventilation, mouth opening yet closing soon after, eyes jumping from the man, Mochi in her arms, then Keine. The crowd watched, expecting something—anything—to be done by the silent revolutionary…
My rage just kept growing. So many words wanted to leave my mouth, a conflagration of thoughts and truths… But it was just so hard to articulate them—anxiety at its maximum after an uncomfortable day full of people—I just needed to say it! Help Keine in any way possible, because all of Mr. Hieda's words were nothing but—
“Do you have anything you want to say…” Keine’s low voice sounded like a gong. “… Mystia?”
“—excuses!” The old man was stopped in his tracks, the samurai behind him tensing, fingers on triggers, as a yell reverberated throughout the room. Mystia Izakaya caught everyone's attention as she stood ‘tall,’ fists closed, eyes blazing, fluffy wings displaying intense rage. “Excuse after excuse! Nothing but excuses!” Keine smiled as if eased, watching Mystia's back from below—a tinge of jealousy inside was swiftly snuffed out. “You think weakness is a valid excuse?! That you should avoid trying because of weakness?! Mr. Hieda, let this one—the Weakest Youkai of Gensokyo—give you a piece of her bird brain: to be weak is okay… But to be satisfied in weakness? That’s nothing but disgusting!”
W-What…?
I gawk at the night sparrow that had until now stood in silence, the firmness of her voice contradicting her shy demeanor throughout the day. It's not only me: the persisting crowd; those watching from the windows; the mighty and tall samurai with their firearms; and the one bearing the most intense of glares, Mr. Hieda, hands together and a sharp stare of choler. Mystia seems discouraged for a moment, and I was about to intervene—a soft hand I've come to know too well catches mine. Keine maintains a sly smile, but the tremors I can feel holding her hand so tightly on mine speak volumes of the sheer terror that echoes inside of her, “When your enemy is destroying themselves, do everything to increase that fire…” I frown at her whispered words…
But then I look back at Mystia, who'd just taken a deep breath, her eyes ironclad again… Then it clicks, and it is difficult to contain my smile as I clasp Keine's shaking hand harder—f*ck off, you~gambling scares you now? Suzu to the side looks so confused, it’s endearing. “Disgusting…? That's rich coming from a youkai who'd constantly harass and murder humans in the past—”
“—Humans also would murder night sparrows for meat in the past! Why do you think we've developed such a humane appearance these last centuries?” Wings fluttering menacingly, Mystia huffs. “But none of that matters anymore! What matters is a future that'll prevent the past, that'll stop our most terrible habits—that's my goal in this rebellion!” The clicks of weapons cause the crowd to flinch and retreat as she moves forward, forming an empty corridor leading to the front door. Yet the perhaps most powerful regular human and the weakest youkai kept unmoved. “My entire life was lived in weakness, Mr. Hieda. I never disputed the clear injustices and wrongdoings happening in front of me, never stopped dad or mother when they threw another one out of the nest to their deaths, and even adhered to principles that I hated because, otherwise, in my weakness, my family and I wouldn't survive! Because of my weakness, my kids would have continued this never-ending cycle of cruelty… But not anymore! I’m here today in front of you because I have promised that never again abhorrent sacrifices will be needed to ensure the nest's survival!” Mystia's words enthralled the crowd, tears filling the sparrow's eyes as Mr. Hieda's gaze twisted with confusion, disgust, and something else—empathy? “… I understand fear. I understand that directly fighting Yukari-san would be dangerous… But in letting such fear—weakness—control you, never changing your ways or transforming the village, how do you expect to stop the next one that tries another HSE? Will you really just stand by and let them abuse your people as they please? That is a horrible cycle of suffering, Mr. Hieda, and people like Keine-san—who was homeless and had to forage for food, who was stoned for a lie!—will continue to suffer! A cycle of throwing babies out of balconies! In your weakness, your people will suffer!”
Eyes shifted from Mystia to Mr. Hieda and his samurai at one point in the speech, the throng encircling them like a tidal wave, their eyes now knives, rage, and that little spark that truly starts rebellions—faith in words.
Completely dumbfounded by Mystia's words—huffing wide-eyed, face red from tears and shaking—I turn to Keine… Her smile vanished. In its place, awe.
I laughed mockingly, a devilish note to it. She was probably expecting Mystia to say some mean words to Mr. Hieda, but the lengths the sparrow went to defend the movement? Devotion to a cause is a beautiful thing~still, Keine's shock didn't last much as she got up and proudly marched to Mystia's side, Aki nestled on the curve of her neck, “Mystia.” Gently placing her hand on the sparrow's shoulder, she smiles serenely as their gazes lock, Mystia's wild and tense. “… Thank you. I'll handle it from here.” Shaken by her own words, Mystia just nodded. “While at it, please… take care of my daughter~” Without waiting for the sparrow's input, Keine tenderly placed Aki on her arms, her already big eyes widening even more as she attempted to get away from it. It was in vain.
… Still…
Mystia trembled as she held Aki carefully, the infant staring deep into her eyes. A moment of infinite silence or just two seconds, it was impossible to know, then: “… I'm swo sworry…” She whispered.
Aki blinked…
… Then giggled.
With tears in her eyes once more, Mystia turned around and walked over to the couch. Few truly understood what had just happened—yet, one could see pieces joining behind people’s eyes like a jigsaw puzzle—but, man… The sparrow's sincere overjoy made me feel fuzzy inside, ugh. I cleaned up a stray tear before it could ruin my tough reputation.
Suzu didn't need to worry about that; her big, gleaming eyes were on Mystia's as she sat down, an angelic smile there, though Mystia was too focused on the baby to notice.
“‘Born monsters’… Mr. Hieda, I kindly ask you to stop bullsh*tting me.” Keine said it with zero hesitation.
I can only imagine what Mr. Hieda was feeling now…
It’s hard to hide my smug, my left hand holding my chin~
Mochi, having forgotten Suzu's bells, munched on his fist and stared at the adult sparrow as Suzu softly drew circles on her back, whispering soothing words to calm the still-crying sparrow, Aki in her arms, giggling and flapping her wings; so energized!
The mob surrounding the man and his samurai stirred with unrest, words whispered, understanding the tender moment of just now spreading like wildfire. A human forgives, a youkai weeps—a vein of fuel for the flames of our rebellion. Mr. Hieda tsked, a hand hovering next to his revolver. “Bullsh*tting you…?!” His tone said what the masquerade of dissatisfaction couldn't convey: he was shaken. “After this absurdity?! My point was made, Devil, I have nothing more to discuss with you and your inability to look away from the sun—you aim so very high, expecting simple men to follow your impossibilities…”
“That's the purpose of a leader, Mr. Hieda: guide others where they cannot reach,” Keine cut him, her fists closed and platinum hair framing an expression of just suicide. “… Things won't be easy from here; no one that stood here after you and your men entered expected as such—but to live one more second of that miserable life…? Of denying my children the world? A life for the next generation that doesn't know better?! Embracing your strength and the resilience of the Human Village, which withstood the worst of Gensokyo, may bring you contentment… But I want more, Mr. Hieda, and no amount of pain I face will change that!” She held her breath for a moment, pondering something no one could fathom… Then, “… Akyuu did the same.” Mr. Hieda's hand clasped the revolver's grip; my flames surged to life, just waiting. The audience, simultaneously agitated and morbidly intrigued by the drama, did not move an inch. “Akyuu’s sickness worsened every day; the physical and mental effort of writing that much… She knew she could and would die anytime soon, yet she never stopped writing the Gensokyo Chronicles. She did her very best so we’d never forget what made us who we are today.” A moment of silence. “You were a great father, Mr. Hieda, and Akyuu idolized you; she never gave up… So why have you?”
In his silence, all the man could do was clench his hold on the gun.
It was answer enough.
“Coward!” Mr. Hieda's face whipped towards the sudden, angry voice. “You gave up on us!”
“Taxes have only been raised, yet no improvement?! Why have you given up?!” From the other side of the crowd.
The wide-eyed samurai surrounding the old sack of bones tried to say something, maintain authority, but the restlessness only grew. “You're not a leader!”
“Y-You fools, don't you understand?! Nothing will improve for you under her daft ideals!” I laughed aloud as he attempted to yell to everyone and no one at the same time, only to be nearly struck by a flying bamboo cup.
“You gave up on us!”
“f*ck you! If I knew youkai women were so damn cute, I'd have also started an insurrection!”
“It's not an insurrection, dumbass!”
“Doesn't change the matter at hand—she’s just so cute, man! Did you see those fluffy wings?! They're to die for!” Mystia blushed and giggled at the distraught man's words. Aki and Mochi grew uneasy with all the yelling and movement, Suzu the first to notice and, calmly, nudging Mystia to follow her to the quieter bedroom.
My eyes jumped from Keine's back to them, and I nodded to Suzu; she co*cked her head to the side in confusion, eyes narrowed… “I'll be there in a second.” I clarified, and—flushed—she nodded back, leaving in a hurry with the three night sparrows.
Keine's face looked like a wall, while Mr. Hieda's eyes were full of rage and vitriol. “You're going to be the death of this Village, Devil!” With a trembling finger, he yelled, finesse forgotten at such harsh truths… She, surprisingly, looked hurt.
That's not the moment to be empathic, dumbass!
“… This conversation is over for now, Mr. Hieda—we'll continue it in three days. Farewell.”
As if relieved to hear such words, the samurai vigor grows tenfold, and they excruciatingly lead the fuming old man away. A symphony of booing, mean words, and demands followed as the entourage of twenty-one marched away into the night.
People soon flocked to Keine with high praises and wide eyes, asking to hear more of her ideas, ideology, thoughts or just screaming to see the 'cute youkai women'—geez, these are the revolutionaries fighting for our cause…? At least they're committed.
Keine's smile and thoughtfulness returned in full bloom the next moment, amassing the people for a hopefully short round of explanation and dissertation…
She tried to hide it, but when our eyes connected, it was easy to see near infinite tiredness. She was exhausted.
A plea swam there, too: “Later, please. I need to finish this.”
… I stared back for a long second, sighed, and, silently, went to check on Mystia and Suzu.
The commotion in the living room is still audible but muffled enough that Aki and Mochi didn't seem as agitated as before, the four of them—the twins, Suzu, and Mystia—lying on mine and Keine's bed: Aki on her belly, wings softly flapping with her big, awestruck eyes focused on Mystia's 'massive' wings. Mochi had lost interest in Mystia and was back to harassing poor Suzu, the small librarian expertly guiding his hands away from her hair as if playing a game with the baby, a sweet smile on her face nonetheless. Cute, very cute… Nevertheless, I sulked and scowled as I closed the door, sitting on the bed’s edge with forearms on my knees, bewildered and worried eyes immediately on me. “Mokou-san? Are you okay…?” Mystia tried; her voice choked from the previous crying.
“I’m fine. It’s Keine… She’s taking care of the people that remained—probably will be sending them away soon, though; we should've ended the day an hour ago.” I whispered under my breath, giving in to the urge to caress Mochi's wings—the gentle flapping was encouraging. “She seemed so f*cking exhausted…”
“It was a long day for all of us…” With a mumble and a sigh, Suzu fell backwards onto the bed, much to Mochi's great delight and mine. Hopefully she doesn't look under the mattress… “It is universal; if that soothes you, Mokou-san~my man usually works so hard too, it makes me sick with worry about his health.” She titters as a curious Mochi tries to pull on the bells with no success. Mental note: Remember to spike his baby bottle with lots of protein; that's how babies grow up to be strong!
Mystia laughs, wiping the last of the tears from her face and revealing only a tiny smile as she gently strokes Aki's hair. “Shoot, so it's just me who cannot brag about my partner?” Her smile fades a little, though. “… I never expected human males to be so attracted to me. No male night sparrow ever paid attention to me because of my height and small wing size—I really thought I'd never experience, um, w-what those… human g-gentlemen made me feel today… It was like I was a queen~” Laughter erupts across the room, though I can see why her smile had died a little; she probably went to the HSE because of that…
… It must be hard to live such a short life thinking that you'll never find love.
I gave Mochi's wings a little more tender pat, but my perceptive gaze quickly shifted to Suzu, who appeared to be deep in thought. She looked at me, thought for a moment, and then smiled softly and said, “It's nothing, Mokou-san; just mulling over something I thought of earlier today.” Her eyes then moved to Mystia, her smile big. “Feel free to ask for advice on how to woo a human man if you ever need it, Mystia-san~!”
“B-Bwuah?! I-I appreciate it, Suzu-san…! But not r-right now! We're still in the middle of a revolution!” Mystia tried, her face flushed like a mature apple.
“And? That seems like the perfect place to find love~” I joke, letting my body fall backwards onto the mattress too. Aki and Mochi, adorably enjoying the attention, decided that this was the perfect opportunity to practice climbing: Suzu giggled as the little girl struggled to climb onto her massive bust; Mochi sat on my plain chest with ease, his precious smile doing nothing to suppress the sudden envy…
Ah, if you weren’t so damn cute, my son…
Yet, I never lost my smile. I don't know why or when it happened, but something in this old and antisocial heart felt at peace surrounded by these people, a feeling reserved only for my bride-to-be and children—and maybe Kags?—until now… Feeling a sudden urge, I mumbled, “Thanks.”
Suzu and Mystia's eyes were on me, and the confusion behind them made me feel embarrassed and upset. Geez, are they retarded…?
I mockingly took a bite of Mochi's hand when he tried to poke my nose to detox from the embarrassment, the baby giggling and rolling out of my chest.
“… Thank you for… being here for Keine.” I stopped, pouted a little longer, and then, flushed, went on. “… For my family, actually. You are busy people with your own lives, yet you were the first to be part of her revolution. Without you, she'd have been all alone with two kids, and I doubt she could’ve started any of this…” f*ck, f*ck—no, get this tear out of here! Stop giving me that shining smile, Suzu, you goddamn devil! “I-I'm really just f*cking glad you're here with us. I appreciate you two like you wouldn't believe.” As the words slowly left me, a sense of guilt grew inside; the suspicion I had towards them; the mean sh*t I said and thought…
Still, all Suzu did was giggle, her bells singing, “Don't worry, Mokou-san. I'm certain you and Keine-san would've done the same for my family~”
Mystia, however, caught my hand with a 'tight' grip, “You and Keine-san have given me much more than a chance…” Her empty hand softly caressed Mochi's wings. “No matter what this little story's ending holds for us, I will always be thankful for being a part of it!”
‘What the ending holds for us’, huh…?
The bedroom's door is suddenly opened, Keine's eyes the very picture of tiredness, a yawn escaping her. “Just finished sending everyone home… Ugh, it took so long—”… then her worn-out eyes locked on the five of us and an infectious joy grew on her face as if an infestation. “Did I miss anything~?”
“We that missed you, dummie! Come here now; we were just discussing what man Mystia will be marrying to~” Suzu said, a note of tease there with an easy smile on her face.
“B-Bwuah?! W-Wha—t-that's a lie, Keine-san! Did you forget what I just said, Suzu?!” A choir of laughs echoed as Keine rushed in, eager to be part of the gossip rounds.
I silently stared at my bride-to-be—laughing out loud by my side, unconsciously having caught my hand on hers—, my children—playing carefree with people that care for and love them—, and my… friends, if I may call them that: one hiding her searing red face and the other giggling, this confused sense of peace to her voice, as if forgetting, for even a moment, terrible thoughts.
When and how it happened really doesn’t matter anymore.
It is here, and it’s something to live for.
… Whatever the ending of our rebellion may be…
It’ll be worth fighting for it.
// Ran/Chen 63-64
“ABSOLUTELY NOT!”
I, Chen—hi!—, blink in confusion as Ran and I leave through the Gap to the sight of frightened cats running away from the center of the decayed room, just another of many Mayohiga has to offer. With her fist striking the table forcefully, her pitch-black wings flapping and her tokin crooked, Ayaya was visibly furious and embarrassed, sitting cross-legged on the brioche cushion I’d made for her~the same was true for Tetsu, who sat across from her, pouting like a moody baby, arms crossed behind her neck. “When ya' gonna forget that?! C'mon, Ayaya! It was but a joke—”
“You joked about eating my belly—my PREGNANT belly! You're not coming within ten yards of my precious little eggs!” To Aya's dismay, Tetsu just pouted even more. “Stop pouting! There’s no reason for you to get mad at me; you’d do the same if our situations were reversed!”
“‘Course not; I don’t lay eggs, dumbass! But if I did, my brats would eat yours alive… F-Forget I said that; I wasn’t thinking.” Tetsu looked genuinely apologetic, though the pout had never left her face. Aya hummed a low 'okay'. “… Would you let me see your eggs if I brought you an odd assortment of shiny stuff?”
“Of Course n—” Aya paused, tapping on the table for a moment and recomposing herself, eyes on Tetsu’s big and shiny spork, the crow’s eyes narrowing… “Maybe.”
“Goodness gracious, what are you? Children?” Ran sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose; that called the attention of the women and the cats, who, perceiving the area as not dangerous anymore, returned to loafing around; some even nuzzled on Ran's fluffy tails. I—barely—resisted the urge to crouch and play with them; I have important information to discuss! Cannot lose time! Though Reimu-san isn't here yet, I wonder if she's okay…
“Children? We may be, Ranni-obaa~can you convince her to show me her cute eggs? That kind of insubordination would get her killed in the Animal Realm, you know? Refusing to show your offspring to your boss.” Tetsu ‘informed’.
“You cannot fool a conwoman; that's a lie!” Aya repeated, paused… Then stared at Ran inquisitively.
“Well, it is not a lie per se—refusing an order from your boss would get you slaughtered and feasted upon in the Animal Realm,” the fox said in a suddenly weary manner, making her way and sitting down at the table. Giggling at the reporter's look of distress and curiosity, I rounded the table, giving a hug to her and Tetsu—she almost crushed my bones… the best kind of hug~—before taking a seat by Ran. “But last time I checked, despite your aviary prowess, you aren't under Toutetsu's direct command.”
Aya's smile turned smug, showing it completely to Tetsu, who mumbled, “Not cool, Ranni. Not cool.” Before falling backwards onto her fork, the custom-made cushion sliding on the metal and stopping under her fluffy hair, her pout had also finally disappeared. “Eh, I'll get you some fine chocolate from Greater Hell then. Reporters are easy to buy anyway~” Aya seemed ready to argue, then paused again… And pouted with a huff, Tetsu snickering before turning to Ran. “So, what's on the menu today? Conspiracies? Are we finally diminishing Yukari's forces by killing some of her henchmen? I still believe that's the best way of dealing with things, y'know? Though we'd have to avoid the virgo turtle bitch and her monkey, Gensokyo is still neutral ground… Won’t be a problem when only my alliance remains~”
“Unfortunately, just killing all your enemies doesn't work as well as it used to back in the day,” Aya shrugs, pulling out her mini notebook and writing something down. “There are many pacts to withhold, promises, and so on. It doesn't stop the war from happening, but it'll make the loser regret it a lot. Attacking Yukari unprovoked means she'd twist the story to be as if Okina had started it all and boom: the Dragon God smites our best chance of taking down the HSE—same for the vice versa.” I nod along, not understanding but comprehending.
“Bleh, your politics suck ass; I'll never understand why you chose this bullsh*t over the simplicity of the Animal Real, Ranni,” Ran giggles, a sound of nostalgia that makes me warm inside. “What's so funny, baba?”
“Nothing, just reminiscing about the 'simplicity' of the Animal Realm—like that time we found a bestial egg no one could identify,” Tetsu was suddenly pale, and Aya had a glimmer sparkle inside her eyes, pencil moving fast. Ran had closed her eyes in delight. “Which you proceeded to nurture with so much love I could swear it was yours, and then you—”
Flustered, Tetsu stepped in. Aw… “W-Where's Reimu anyway?!”
“She should be with us sometime in the next five to ten minutes—said she had something to show us, too~”
Tetsu perked up from her lying position, pointy teeth in show. “Ho~any tips on that?” Ran negated, Tetsu speaking some weird words I didn't quite understand—a fling...?—my attention wandering to Ayaya as things turned boring, watching as she scribbled on her notebook…
She looked very focused… Slim, too…
… Wait a second—
“Ayaya, y-you laid your eggs?!” I shouted while getting up, hands slamming the table, being hit by the major happening like it was one of Reimu-san's spellcards—how did I miss it?!—, all eyes upon me. Aya jolted from the loudness of my voice but soon developed a sweet, if embarrassed, smile, scratching the back of her head, her face red. That's a yes! She laid her four eggs! My eyes were glitter, and I was so suddenly warm I thought I'd bleed lava; “That's so incredible, Ayaya!!” I drop and crawl underneath the table, pouncing from below onto Aya's lap and bringing us two barrelling towards the floor, the tengu laughing—though I can hear a muffled 'ow', “Ah, sorry, sorry!! I-I was just so excited—you laid your eggs! Are they all healthy eggs? No cracks or bad stuff? A-And, are they really pristine white and smooth, unlike spider eggs? Yamame said hers were so rough when she laid them, but she loved each one so much, a-and—oh, s-sorry, uh… May I see them?!” The crow was obviously a little intimidated by the tsunami of words, and although a small amount of guilt began to grow inside, it was soon overshadowed by the amusing excitement of learning about four new lives. Probably a byproduct of watching over Spider-Flan's eggs every day? Gah, they're such lazy babies! Taking an entire season to hatch…
Sweating and awkwardly giggling, Aya attempted, “W-Well, Chen-chan, I… you see—”
“Tomorrow, Chen,” said Ran, grabbing our attention. As I turned to look, I caught a glimpse of Tetsu grinning, a smile so big and bright it remembered me of Mr. Anon's smiles—a joy she attempted to hide the instant our eyes met for the brief moment. However, Ran maintained this composed demeanor, a tiny smile adorning her face. “Tomorrow, I'm sure Aya will be capable of showing you her eggs. Let her rest for now; I'm certain it was physically demanding to lay them. Also, congratulations on your safe delivery, Aya; I'm very happy for you.” She and Aya looked into each other's eyes, Ran's of quiet pride and Aya's impossible to decipher; that rage of before returning. Are they talking telepathically without me?!
Aya cleaned her throat, pulled me up by the underarms, and walked around the table to place me in my seat. She fixed my bonnet and had a happy smile on her face, her eyes full of a calming sensation similar to Ran's, best defined as ‘motherly’. “Thanks, Ran-san! And of course, Chen; it seems tomorrow we'll have to blitz a baby shower~! But for now, we—the freedom fighters of Gensokyo—must concentrate on our duties and share information… After R-Reimu,” did she just stutter…? “Arrives, that is.” I hide my pout; was she being sarcastic and actually didn't have intentions of taking me to see her eggs, or was she being honest…?
Well, she's a reporter, and it is a reporter’s job to always be honest. Feeling content with the deal, I frantically nodded. “Okay~!”
Tetsu, after that, petted my head for some reason.
Ten or so seconds of silence passed, with Ran looking over at us with this analytical quality to her eyes she always has when pondering important things, like weird, long math—I wonder if she's thinking about something special, though; mere glimpses of a frown and uncomfortable little movements showed she might be feeling bad inside. Maybe she’s just feeling those ‘cramps’ Reimu-san talks about sometimes? Even if it is just a human trait… Oddly enough, Reimu-san was very sad and depressed when we 'talked' about that—, “Man, this party sucks. You lucky I love you people—anyone has some funny gossip while we wait for Reimu?” Tetsu asked, cleaning her teeth with the claw of a very calm and polite kitten, her horizontal pupils locking on Aya. “You’ve got something juicy for us, right? You better have, or I’ll eat this cat.” The kitten now looked very sad.
I giggled at the morbid prank. She wouldn't eat a cute kitten~
Aya perked up and said, “Well, I’d happily hear the rest of that story about you and the egg; it sounded adorable and your run-of-the-mill, yet lovable, story of the ‘big’ bad with a heart of gold~” Testu trembled and Ran did that weird laugh she sometimes does—'fufufu'—, though the sight of the very sad kitten made Aya cogitate for a moment before resuming, a peculiar smile on her face edging between discomfort and excitement, like she'd chewed on a lemon and then drank cool water. “I was waiting for Reimu to arrive before telling you all this, but considering she was there to begin with… It's about Hana’s birthday party.” My ears twitched. ‘Hana’? Oh, Mr. Anon’s and Reimu’s daughter had a birthday party?! Must’ve been really nice— “… It was a complete mess.”
Oh.
// Kosuzu 27-28
I slumped against the wall of a shop, my breathing coming uneasy and my heart thumping sporadically. That organ had been through a lot of stress in recent months, I really should get it checked out if I-when I survive all of this. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, I was so aware of all the aches and exhaustion I was feeling. My survival seemed almost unreal, despite my tired body proving as evidence otherwise. I knew Keine’s revolution would be pushed back against eventually, but the Hieda family had come in armed, ready to crush it in one fell swoop. A few heated words, one movement too aggressive and the entire home would have echoed with gunfire. But Keine was amazing. Without a hint of fear, she had stood tall against his insults and accusations and had him leave, a crowd shaming him as his posse trailed home. Mystia had surprised me. I had grown to like her over the time we spent together as she has proven herself to be more than some heartless monster that would abandon her children to die. She was honest and straightforward, and possessed a drive to improve herself and help Keine make a world where nobody would be forced to make the hard choice she did. I even no longer felt disgust over her decisions, after pity that she was forced to do so in the first place. She had proven how much she had grown this day.
I had said something too, hadn’t I? I had seen Mr Heida storm in, sputtering out lies and accusations, trying to appear strong despite his feebleness, and I had just opened my mouth. I didn’t even think of what I was going to say, the words just seemed to run out. By the time I fully realized the weight of what I said, it was all over and the crowd applauding-ugh how embarrassing. No matter if we had known each other or not, I had still defied one of the most powerful men in the village and openly supported the revolution. Just thinking about it made my heart ache a bit. But I had to do it. Not just because I couldn’t just sit by and let all the work we’ve done be crushed, but because I found the sight of the man who was in the twilight of his life raging like that and clinging onto some delusion to hide from reality so pitiful.
It was true I couldn’t understand the pain we went through. Even the possibility of my children dying before me filled me with dread, so seeing your own daughter wither away and die and being powerless to do anything most have been devastating. Her death had hurt all of us, but Akyuu would have hated to see him like this. Despite knowing her time on this earth was short, she had never let her pending end crush her. To the end she had kept on writing, not wanting to leave it incomplete. Even then she had made time for her family and friends, knowing she had to make the best use of her time. Her death had hurt all of us. We had all cried and mourned, but Akyuu would have hated this see her father waste the rest of his life clinging onto the past, never letting the wound of her being gone heal. To think he’d rather hold onto some phantasmal hope of some miracle happening that would give him a brief time of happiness rather than find some way to enjoy the rest of his life and make the village a better place for when she returns was just too sad.
I pushed away from the wall, my exhaustion having faded enough to make my way home. It hadn't been long since I left. It couldn’t have been more than an hour since cleaning up after everyone and saying my goodbyes didn’t take too long at all, but the village was bustling already with the news. Our revolution, that started as whispers on the lips of a few people that grown into a mutter when Keine passed along her letters and the news of Mr Heida’s delusion became known. Now it was being openly discussed though the village and it seemed like the whole village knew by now. Who could blame them? The patriarch of the Heida family had assembled a posse of armed men, a sight almost never seen before. The crowd that followed that surely expected them to confront some dangerous criminal or a threat to the village, only to find all of us waiting for them. The open discussion about allowing youkai to live besides humanity, Hieda’s behavior, all of it made sure the news spread fast. I could only hear snippets as I made my way home, but I could see some heads turn towards me and hear some people point me out. My cheeks flushed. I was hoping all the attention would die down.
The way home doesn’t take too long. I ducked into the welcoming insides of the Suzunaan, ready to collapse. I find my husband there waiting for me.
He was worried, of course he would be from everything being said. “Suzu, are you okay? I heard about what happened” I hold up a hand and walk over to the kitchen, slumping at the table.
“Water” I say.
Kato nods and fetches me a cup of water, putting it down in front of me as he takes his seat. I gulp it down eagerly being more thirsty than I thought. “Where are the kids?” I ask when the cup is empty.
“Out playing last I’ve seen them. I don’t know if they know yet. Are you fine? Did any of them hurt you?” He said, concern etched on his face.
“None of us got hurt, but they all barged in with guns. They left without a fight, but it was really close” The reality of how close I was to death came back to me and twisted a knot in my stomach. I breathed in, trying to relax.
“I’m glad you’re safe, but you know how dangerous that was. Do you think you should be staying with them? It was one thing helping Keine with her adopted babies, but now you’re being held at gunpoint and there’s all this talk about allowing youkai to live with humans. I’m worried for you”
“I know, I know. But I just can’t back out. Especially now I told my intentions to stay. It might still be dangerous, or that might have been the last action of a desperate man. I just can’t abandon them. All the stories I’ve heard, the things I’ve seen. I just think the way things are going are wrong. So many youkai are just normal, like us but they have to be treated with scorn. People like Keine have to suffer because of the delusions of one man that holds so much power, its just wrong” The words come out a little bitter as I know I’m not really telling the truth. I've known youkai could be reasonable for years, even before I met Kato. Granted, Aya and Mamizou did threaten to kill me when they revealed themselves, but that was years ago and they’re proven themselves to be friends since. So had other youkai as well. But he never knew, I had kept that from him, the man that had given me so much. It was strange, all those years ago I almost died just to keep up the division between man and youkai, and now this same division was wearing thin, on the verge of collapse if it had just a bit of a push. Could I really just admit to him that I had lied to him for years?
Kato holds my hand “But couldn’t you just try to keep out of danger? Just help them without sticking your neck up, I know you stood up to the Hieda patriarch, and that’s bold of you but couldn’t you just play it safe?” I’m briefly annoyed at him for trying to dissuade me, but he was really just worried.
“I’ll keep my safety in mind. Keine has Mokou, remember? She won’t allow a hair on our heads to get out of place. I’m not going to take any more unnecessary risks, I can tell you that” Kato chuckles a bit and I feel guilty. I already might have doomed them all to die because of my foolhardy actions making Yukari aware of me.
“Fine, but just promise me the moment it gets too risky you pull yourself out of danger. This is serious business. All this talk about letting youkai in, it’s unbelievable. What’s Keine’s plan for it”
I wanted to tell him to just go and ask her, but that seemed presumptuous of me. His wife had just come home from being held at gunpoint while meeting to discuss upending the village and helping youkai live better lives, when so many already thought of them as our enemies. It was a lot to take in, and I was just too exhausted to explain it for now.
“She has one, it’s not as bad as it seems. Could I just get take a nap? We can talk about all of this later”
“Sure thing” he answers. I give him a peck on the cheek before heading off to the bedroom. Not even bothering changing out of my clothes, I flop on the futon and in moments, I’m out.
----
I awake somewhere other the my home. I don’t remember going here, but something about it seems familiar. A white mist covers the landscape, making it hard to see but I can hear the sound of running water. Squinting, I can just make out a river a few yards away. But there’s no other sounds, not of any animals or the wind or any humans. Just silence. Well, no matter where I am sitting here isn’t going to do much. I get to my feet and follow the river. I walk on and on, my only sign of progress being the feeling of my feet moving forward one by one. The landscape still hasn’t changed, how long have I been walking? When I’m wondering if I should change my plan, I spot a faint glow in the distance. I increase my pace, heading towards it. The glow grows bigger and brighter, and I see it to be a lantern hanging onto a food cart, like the one Mystia runs. It looks out of place in this white abyss, but I take a seat, happy to see something recognizable at rest and wanting to rest my legs. Nobody seems to be staffing it and I scour the cart for any sign of being used. As I focus, I’m startled by a voice. It’s one familiar to me, one I haven’t heard in many years. One I missed.
“Kosuzu. It’s been a while"
// Mokou 25
Yesterday, we made history.
It's hard to tell if it's good or bad history; the winners after tomorrow will decide that. Keine and those who did not lose their cool in the face of some heavy weaponry are getting ready, same is true for the old sack of bones… I tsk with a twitch of my eyebrow, suddenly uncomfortable, and take out the cigarette from my mouth, puffing acrid smoke onto the thicket of bamboo surrounding me.
Keine went on and on this morning about how those people couldn't be blamed and that it's in their right to leave when danger is too great… Bullsh*t, but I refrained from quarreling with her about it for obvious reasons—the immortal judging others that fear for their lives.
Still, to want to do better, to have things change… Yet not applying yourself, even with danger involved? What's the f*cking point, then? To talk yet to hide behind fear when push comes to shove; in this I find myself agreeing with the Hieda jiji: amassing weapons and men to go and destroy your opponent and actually following with the threats instead of just sitting down and talking would've got him much better results—in a world without me, that’s it; I'd still have killed him and his entire clan if one of mine had bled.
In mine and Keine's cases, there'd be no risk. I could just burn all them to ashes; she’d take office and that's it. Easy, no risk to squishy people like Suzu and a surefire way to kick-start a better world for our children.
… I sigh. As if things were that simple.
Discomfort persists, and the cigarette provides no peace of mind—not for the future, nor in the form of a cork to stop all these disgusting thoughts or the memories of my sweet little boy looking at me with wide eyes, crying, his hand on fire and—
—Suddenly, a soft hand catches my neck. What the—
And tugs on it like a bow's rope, my body jolting, eyes bulging, falling backwards, cig lost as sheer strength tears my neck apart and draws everything inside out in violent gushes of blood… But with flames leaping to life and wide eyes sparkling with abrupt ecstasy, nothing of that mattered, because Kaguya stood there with a neutral smile, robes smeared in blood and viscera, a sick smirk on my face as I saw her holding my still warm respiratory system—even my goddamn lungs. “I told you I wasn't going to notify you next time~” Her gaze then fell on the lungs, soaked in blood. “Also, smoking? I thought you'd stopped…” All that blood and organ amalgam was evaporated from her by Danmaku, returning the Lunarian to her so prized beauty. “It's a bad habit. It makes the kisses with that teacher taste grimy. See this as an act of friendship.”
I laughed, body already healed. “How’d you know that, Kags? I thought you were pure~” Wings of fire spread wide, illuminating the Bamboo Forest of the Lost.
“Purity gets boring after a while. I tried going to the HSE, but Eirin and Yukari barred me—said my beauty would forever ruin their guinea pig and husband, respectively.” The world around her quickly fills with the shine of a million and one Danmaku pellets overlaying one another as she muses and smiles placidly. “… That may or may not be the truth, and the truth may be that I was too embarrassed. Winner decides which is truth?”
I crack my knuckles, fire rising like pyres, hair a combustion by itself. “Hell yeah!” And so I advanced, all that Danmaku she amassed propelling forward like a tsunami; some lunatics would've dodged and grazed everything with meticulous precision… Heh, losers.
A walk turns into a run, and a run into a furious flight towards death, a world of pure fire tailing me. As usual, the critical point where my flesh meets Kags's Danmaku felt… heavenly—
Red sprays of blood and limbs scattered in fountain-like bursts, my body nothing but a destroyed torso as the wave dispersed—
—A pillar of fire, and it was all new, and I was still smiling as I rushed Kags, another wave incoming; more of the same ecstasy coursing inside as I reached her and, with both hands aiming forward, took hold of each side of her head… Just to rend it open like a sheet of paper, warm blood painting my skin and clothes, boiling in my fire, feeding my soul the same way the ground would feed from the brain matter—
Hands holding soft skin, hair…
Those big eyes on me, Mystia's words echoing inside…
I am flung aside by a wave of Danmaku, my body torn and hurled towards a skinny tree like a shabby doll, the contact ripping me in two at the waistline. It didn't take more than a second for me to create a new and as strong pair of legs, lifting myself and ready to assault the Lunarian again— “Are you feeling unwell, Mokou?”
“Huh? What do you mean?” I inquire, already on her face, a fire punch tearing and severing chunks of her torso.
“Smoking; that second of hesitation. You typically fight with an empty head—or is that just your modus operandi now?” My arms vanished in a flow of Danmaku. I pouted. She giggled. “Sorry~anything you’d like to tell me?”
“… Well, ugh, you see…”
// Hana 161-162
The dishes had been scoured, the ovens de-ashed for tomorrow, and the warmth in the bathing room was starting to fade in earnest. This night there was little in the way of flashy tricks with flame owls and flash heated ponds, instead it was replaced by quiet moments as the two rested in the living room and whiled away the time side by side. Of course, Hana didn’t do this willingly, the off-duty miko couldn’t stand the face of her bullish mother for very long, but the only other respite from the chill that occupied the rest of their world was the warmth of her futon. In the face of braving the chill of the night alone in her room Hana decided that enduring the clinking of her mother’s knitting needles was the better option.
Sadly for Hana, she simply wasn’t tired yet and didn’t care to spend the next hour or a couple bundled up by candlelight. Enduring the chill of the night while reading alone in the dim yellow light of the candle at her desk wasn’t the most appealing idea at the moment. Instead, Hana came to the logical decision and made the best of the lot she’d been given, so she sprawled she out on the ground, book in hand. After such a long day why shouldn’t a girl just relax? It’s not like there was anyone else here that she cared to impress!
Placing her cushion a bit further along the edge of the curtained table the slothful girl dived forth. She patted down the cloth that swaddled her back and sides, pulling the yukata free from where it got tucked in. While Hana couldn’t help but be lightly irritated at the uncooperative cloth, the way it hugged her body accented her rather nicely… She might take one or two with her when she heads off, i-it might help with… things… like when father comes home and all…
Banishing that parade of thought before it turned her face red, the flustered miko reopened the book to the last page she read. Hana couldn’t help but muse that the yukata was nice though, faded as it is, the garment was in her favorite shade of green and patterned with red torii gates whose deep red complimented the background wonderfully. Even as restrictive as the yukata could sometimes feel, she still found it in her to sprawl out as she inserted a single leg into the kotatsu.
Eyes scanned the book in front of her, an imported romance book her mother had found in her recent foraging. The book itself wasn’t anything special, and she couldn’t follow along on a lot of the plot points; like the whole scene where the heroine is kidnapped and she has to be rescued by her two suitors in a supposedly dramatic car chase. She knew what a car was, her father told her and all so she wasn’t a total bumpkin or anything, he told her tons about the outside world! It was just hard to picture what was going on when the book described the way the car flipped with her in it. The book made it sound like some horrible thing when, after she summoned her lighting magic and used the little black gohei to shock the driver into losing control, the car flipped a bunch and off the side of a bridge. What was so bad about flipping? Hana used to flip all the time even when running around all fast, sure falling off a bridge could hurt, but if you were in a tough box on a cushion like she said that ‘backseat’ was it shouldn’t be that bad, right? outside humans aren’t that weak, right? Bridges are only like a few feet above the water most of the time!
Page flipped after page, Hana shifted slightly in place as she positioned the bookmark between the pages of the book right as the chapters changed. Letting the stagnation out of her muscles the tense miko stretched where she lay and yawned loudly, she could feel her eyes build up a light weight. A thought in the back of her head reminded her of her futon, she could probably drift asleep if she tried. It would help end this little stuffy scene where her mother was… doing what exactly again?
Hana had realized that she stopped hearing the clinking at some point, about the time Hana felt a pang of envy at the heroine as she embraced her lover under the starlight, but didn’t register it as anything important. Placing the book precariously on the table’s edge above her Hana started scooping herself up, sitting up properly she could see what happened to source of that slow steady clinking. Instead of the sight of her mother sitting as tall and imposing as she always does, she was greeted by radically different sight: the always irritated women was defenselessly sleeping without a care.
There were several emotions Hana felt at that moment, as if something was trying to speak to her. Hana couldn’t feel any sort of solid message beyond the vague feeling of… not being tense…? Not on... Not walking on eggshells? Not… wishing the person in front of her was violently killed? It was a strange emotion that she felt as she looked upon her mother’s sleeping face -ah, she’s drooling slightly… A smirk crept onto the edges of Hana’s lips as an idea formed.
Her sleepy mother was a tyrant at the best of times, it was important to not forget that her relapses are usually thread bare. Hana would never fall for believing that she’d get sober this late in her life, old dogs don’t learn new tricks after all; not that Hana would ever word it like that to her mother’s face. Therefore, Hana was justified with whatever she’d do to her mother… probably… She wouldn’t exactly say it like that to Eirin next session.
Speaking of her mother’s face… that idea turned devilish as she mulled it over and stirred it like fried rice. The red peppers of vengeance would express themselves tonight, and that well-crafted mask, always tinged by a lightly grumpy expression, would be her canvas to express exactly how she felt to the defenseless drunk!
Trembling hands held the small, well-used rod she had stashed away in the bottom of her trunk, and the excited miko could barely contain herself as she looked down upon her work. It felt great to… release herself like that! A-and doing it to her own mother, despite the risk if she were to wake up! It was a tantalizing little temptation that promised reward in equal spades to the insane risk presented. How could a girl resist after such a tiring day? Ah, she’d been thinking about this ever since that night where she met her again for the first time in not-long-enough past at that nostalgic pond. she couldn’t wait to see how long it’d take her to find out what she did; the thought alone was enough to send a chill down her body. I-if word got out… Mother probably wouldn’t blab, but what if…
Slipping the rod back into her pocket Hana wanted to kiss the little thing for its intense work just now. That was when a pang of realization set into her dazed mind, if she didn’t hurry up and get that cup scoured and vanish before her mother woke up she might just be finding somewhere else to sleep tonight! With silent footsteps and carrying the tools of her outburst, Hana dealt with the immediate evidence and washed up properly.
With a giggle threatening to push past her lips the stimulated girl slid the door to the hallway open, letting the chill drift in slowly. She moved past the frame with quiet footsteps of slippers sliding over wood, Hana looked back one last time before she retired to her futon and smirked. Laying there, oblivious to her own daughter’s whim, lay the sleeping Reimu Hakurei; who was entirely unaware that the oily paints Hana used would take all day or longer to wash off entirely. Hana expected that tomorrow would be one where she evaded her mother’s anger like danmaku, and she didn’t care; after she stashed her paint brush back where it belonged, she’d sleep like a baby.
For tonight and at least tomorrow, the sight of Aunn and Hana holding hands under the torii gate would be proudly displayed on her unsuspecting mother’s face like a tanuki’s tale. A fine token of her revenge~
// Shinki 8-10
It’s a long walk to Yukari’s office, far longer than the HSE’s exterior would suggest. That’s of course nothing new with Yukari’s buildings, but if the constantly warping boundaries of the hallway are anything to go off of, Yukari is doing this on purpose.
Not only is she doing it purposely, she must know that Shinki knows what she’s doing. It’s a slight against the Goddess, a petty statement from Yukari… though to be fair Shinki did break her door. That being said, knowing Yukari she’d do it either way. This is just how meetings between the powers that be go.
Shinki’s eyes wander over to Ran. She seems… inelegant, lacking the poise Shinki remembers the fox to have. Unsurprising really, the second in command tends to do the most work during an incident, and to have to maintain one that’s been going on as long as this must be difficult.
Seeing that there’s little else to maintain her interest, Shinki states. “Quite the facility you have, quite spacious it seems. Is all this really necessary to run a brothel?”
Despite the fox’s exhaustion, Ran manages to school her expression after briefly shutting her eyes to think. “Given the circ*mstances.”
Ah, a textbook deflection. Answering the provocation with as few details as possible while also not inviting a response. It’s a far more pragmatic answer than Yukari likely will give. Nodding Shinki replies, “Fair, I can imagine there are those who find this place distasteful. Still, I hear it’s a profitable venture?”
Ran’s ear twitches at that, seemingly slightly agitated. There’s a little bite to her reply, “This isn’t a profit-seeking venture.”
A touchy subject clearly. Is she annoyed by a perceived slight on Shinki’s part or does she have an issue with the subject matter? It’s hard to tell without more prodding, which unfortunately will not come as Yukari finally allowed Shinki to reach her door.
Ran politely opens the door and in turn receives a “Thank you” as Shinki takes a seat across from Yukari.
The Gap Youkai’s office is quite spare. She has a neat stack of unused paper along with a brush and ink however beyond that there’s very little to see. Sporting a patronizing smile, Shinki says, “Oh, you didn’t have to clean up for me. I only intended for a brief social visit.”
Yukari replies with her pretension, “Oh do not worry, I did no such thing. I suppose my orderliness may seem surprising to… your sort.”
Yeah, no. Yukari definitely poured all the clutter into some gap when she realized Shinki was coming. She wouldn’t carry so much venom in the second sentence if Shinki’s barb missed.
Shinki could keep the little fight going for a while longer, but at this point, it’s honestly tiresome. It’s been quite some time since the novelty of the Gensokyo catfight wore off. It was fun for what? 100 years? 200 years? After that, it just became routine and then a meaningless ritual after that. Alas, to not play the game would signal that something is amiss.
Shinki covers her mouth to theatrically suppress a giggle before replying in an amused tone. “Oh? Pardon me then, I was unaware of your ‘orderliness’ as you call it. But if you will excuse me shifting the topic, Yukari the fleshmonger? I must admit the news caught me off guard. This is… certainly novel.”
Yukari’s expression is hard to parse even for Shinki, but the manic gleam in the woman’s eyes shows something off as Yukari states, “I must admit I’m surprised you got the news at all, living down in that.”
Yukari trails off seemingly more interested in her own hands than maintaining eye contact with Shinki. After a sufficiently long pause the woman stretches her next word, “... quaint little project of yours. I must apologize, for I imagined that you retired after those rather embarrassing incidents involving Makai. I am quite pleased to see that’s not the case, it truly would have been a terrible shame if Gensokyo was never again graced with your… lovely face.”
Oh Yukari, ever the bitch. Just because she helped the Dragon God make Gensokyo, she acts like the entire place was her creation. Some people, however, don’t need help from the heavens to make their realms. Some people put work into their creations. Ahem, perhaps there’s more than one reason Shinki dislikes the games played by Sages and Gods.
Thankfully, Shinki can mostly regain her composure as Yukari continues, “Now as for me being a-” Yukari wrinkles her nose, “-‘fleshmonger’, you may have gotten the wrong impression. My intentions are purely benevolent. After all, the money matters little to someone like me and I’m not some lecher who’d do it for pleasure, you see I’m neither in a wheelchair nor surrounded by little girls.”
As Yukari pretends that the last bit came out by mistake, Ran quite helpfully serves tea and coffee to Yukari and Shinki respectively. Looking into Shinki’s cup, Yukari nods, “Ah, coffee? I suppose that’s fitting. The Yamawaro, the ones I’ve contracted at least, are also fond of that drink. Perhaps you should seek out their worship. You see they’re always down scrounging around and fiddling with things that perhaps should not be touched.”
Shinki raises an eyebrow, “Oh? And yet you keep them in your employ? And if you’ll pardon me for asking, why Yamawaro? Would the Kappa not be the natural choice?”
Yukari dramatically sighs, “The Kappa are always far too headstrong. They fail to see the wisdom in my designs, unlike the Yamawaro. As to why I bother at all, good help is simply so hard to find nowadays.”
Shinki can’t imagine the Yamawaro were particularly enthralled by Yukari’s plan, though clearly, her coin was able to make up for that. However, what catches Shinki’s attention far more is the way Yukari shoots Ran a look with her last comment. Trouble in paradise?
Elegantly taking a sip of the boiling coffee, Shinki replies. “I suppose it must be difficult for one can’t create her own help, though I believe we may have strayed a little far in this conversation. What were you saying about these designs of yours?”
Yukari twitches when Shinki mentions creating help. She’d always been envious of Shinki’s abilities to create. After all, while Yukari was more than capable of changing, warping, and distorting things, creating or protecting life was beyond her.
Still, she rather quickly moves past that when Shinki gives her the opportunity to gloat about her plans. “As you well-ahem, as you may know, the order of Gensokyo went awry when Reimu began abusing her husband, Anon. After two decades, he abandoned her and his oaths to the Gods to remain with her faithfully. This trouble in the Hakurei clan threatened the order of Gensokyo, so I was forced to intervene.”
Shinki was sufficiently aware of the chain of events at this point, so Yukari’s words came as no big surprise. Still, she had to ask, “And yet you did not intervene in those two decades before?”
Yukari frowns, her eyes shifting down to her tea, “It was not my place.”
Shinki presses, “And what changed?”
After a prolonged sip, Yukari replies, “Oaths to the Gods were broken and the stability of the Hakurei clan passed the point of no return.”
That’s… a bold-faced lie and not a particularly convincing one. Raising a brow Shinki replies, “I never knew you were a pious woman, though would not agree that the point of no return for a family comes well before a decade of abuse?”
Yukari chuckles, though there’s little mirth in it. “Oh, you’d be surprised. Sometimes a bit of trouble is what is needed to mend bonds and restore the proper order of things.”
Shinki deadpans, “I suppose I would be, I prefer to not have the bonds broken in the first place.”
Yukari cleared her throat before continuing, “As I was saying, this place is how I shall fix the mess Reimu made. It’s been quite successful so far, Reimu you see is just a few steps away from being properly humbled, and once that is done I can take a more… active role in maintaining the Hakurei clan. That should prevent any nasty matters like this from occurring again. Now, I’ve laid my intentions bare, so I must ask why it is you’ve come.”
Left unsaid is the fact that controlling the Hakurei clan would in effect mean controlling Gensokyo and that she has definitely not laid her plans bare. Neither of those are particularly surprising, however. “You see, my little Alice is quite smitten with that Anon fellow.”
Yukari interjects before Shinki could continue, “Unsurprising. Are you aware that she’s plotting against me?”
Shinki nods, “Vaguely, she mentioned something to that effect. That was one of the reasons I came here. While Alice is a big girl who can make her own decisions and I will not seek vengeance if she’s defeated, I want assurances that no serious harm will come to her. If so, I may be forced to act.”
Yukari snorts, “Alice? She’s insignificant. I’ll give a slap on the wrist when I triumph and nothing more. A puppeteer who lives in the woods is the least of my concerns. But you said that there were multiple reasons you came?”
Shinki answers, “Two more. For one, I’d like to meet this man who launched a thousand ships, and I was hoping that I may drag my daughter along for parts.”
Yukari deadpans, “That is… the purpose of this building. Not everyone who visits Anon breaks in and chats. You don’t need my permission-ah, you are concerned that I’ll act against Alice? Again, she’s a minor trifle. I care not if any of those rats visit Anon as long as they do not cause trouble. This will all be over soon anyway.”
Oh… Shinki didn’t really expect that answer, “You must excuse this mother and her worries, but could we perhaps get this guarantee written out? Preferably signed in blood if it is all the same to you.”
Yukari nods, “I’ll write out the terms; anyone who comes peacefully and uses the building for its intended purposes will leave unmolested.”
// Reimu 17
Looking into the abyss is human nature.
Its impossible depth and its wonders are what draw you in, descent rather insidiously effortless—I swing the gohei rhythmically, flames and embers fly sporadically in arches as if a ritualistic dance, wings weightless and naked body—femininity protected by flames—moving with youthful vigor—and soon you reach the bottom of such an abyss… where nothing lies but dust and darkness. It wasn't a worthwhile journey…
To ascend out of these depths, then...
It feels—felt—impossible…
My wings beat faster than I anticipated, obscuring my vision with a sea of red and white, gohei striking loose a rock near the pond—but a cloud of dust now—easy recovery a product of experience. I take a moment to find my breath again and calm my mind, eyes closing—stillness settles straightaway, a feat that'd have mystified little me three decades ago~
The cool morning wind hits my face and naked body, flickers these flames, and waves the holy cloth attached to the gohei between my fingers. My free hand rises—hesitates for a second—then, softly, touches those sweet drawings on the skin of my expression; inside, memories of a scarf of red and white.
But with help, things get easier…
… It's nice to not be alone.
A low rumble of wood reaches my ears, my wings retreating to a still position—not really ‘still’: the flames swim from within my skin, cascade the entire extension of the wings, and then return inside, like an endless loop—a natural smile spreading as I turn to meet Hana's gaze. She’s dressed in her miko uniform, with warm clothing layers over it and the crocheted mittens I made for her the night before; brooch on her hair and boots on her feet; the cherry on top the pristine green ascot~no, scratch that: that devious smile and gleaming eyes of a childish evilness... Now that's the crown's jewel~ “Why are you laughing? Is there something on my face?” She seems to need all her self-control not to burst out laughing. “Eh, it doesn't matter. Did you eat breakfast?”
She nods. “I-I did… Thanks.” She squirmed a bit, a nudge of pain and anger calmly destroyed inside. It's been my fault for 17 years. I have no delusions nor do I blame her.
“Good—I was just finishing my training.” It's embarrassing to be technically naked in front of her, so I'm glad I had the hindsight to cloak myself on fire.
Her eyes dodged the drawings on my face and gawked at the towering wings on my back. “… You didn't use that fire during our duel or your float ability.” It felt like an accusation.
I gave a deadpan blink. “Well, yes. I didn't want you dead.” She sulked, and I was about to laugh, but recalled yesterday—heh—and turned to face the pond instead. “Feel free to do whatever. I'll be meditating; remember to stay within a radius of 500 m.” Inside such range, I'll be able to immediately reach Hana if I feel a spike of that bitch's power—
“I’d like to…” I halt in my tracks and turn to face Hana, who was still standing there, clearly uncomfortable, though she looked at my expression and nearly lost her cool. “M-Meditate with you.”
I… blinked, staring her in the eyes, perplexed; why'd she want that? Why now? With me…?
“T-The fire is not gonna hurt me, right? And the flames will c-cover us, so there's no problem there… I guess?” She glances at me inquisitively, and, dumbfounded, I nod positively.
…
… Wow.
It was very, very tough not to glow in joy the moment my chest puffed with air, heart thumping and hands sweating, brain a mess. Meditating with her…
“… S-sure.” I mumble, blink, and then, suddenly energized, exclaim, “Sure, Hana! Uh… Well, I'll go ahead, prepare things—when you're ready, just walk into the fire. It won't hurt you.” Hana frantically nods and with a quick step, I march to the middle of the pond, wings mingling to create a massive cocoon-like dome, me in the center, water below glistering…
None of that mattered.
My hand over my mouth hurt, but it wasn’t enough to hide my giggles: She wants to meditate with me~
It's been over a decade…
Hana never did fully get the hang of meditation, but that’s expected considering her teacher… Nevertheless, she still wants to be here with me. My head spins and tittering is barely restrained, arms and knees trembling as I get down to my usual meditation pose, a bliss unlike any other, making the fire sing.
To my side rests my gohei, and with closed eyes I see the abyss of darkness, an abyss I had drifted to the very bottom and found nothing of worth.
Worthless life, worthless time…
A spasm of the fire prompts me to quickly clear off my tears—when did I…?—, lines of fire shielding the ink from smudging, and glance towards the breach in the fire dome, a flustered Hana entering with her eyes shut, and I can’t help but laugh. She shakes, takes a peek, and, with huge eyes, drinks from the atmosphere—a tunic of fire covers her.
If it can be used for her and his sake, then the hellish climb will have been worth it.
… It’s very nice to not be alone~
// Hana 163
Uranus on fire—hihihi~—the death of the heavens in a combustion; Oceans of glistening, clear water engulfed Gaia. That's the best way to describe the inside of the dome: The serene meeting of two opposites, with Mother kneeling in the center, her wings mere fine lines that linked her to the rest of the dome... Her face still bore the drawn torii gate with me and Aunn beneath it, our hands together and smiles on our faces. It’s hard not to laugh—made easy by the fact I'm nude and on fire… a soothing fire that doesn't hurt, brushing against my skin as if Father's touch; its soft crackling a lullaby—so I decide to start with, “W-Well, what do I do?”
Mother gawks at me, a terrible feeling rising inside—if she burst out laughing again… “Eeeh? Hana, don’t tell me you don’t know how to meditate~” She says with a smug, an even worse outcome considering the drawings on her face. Of course, I do, idiot—you taught me!
Kneeling by her side, mumbling in frustration and red as a tomato, I try to maintain my dignity in spite of the humiliation.
“That's it~!” ugh… “Now, a profound connection to the world outside these walls is almost impossible; so try using them or the water as a reference point to dive into your mind—or even my presence, if you so feel like.” Something nags me about that, so I ignored it, deciding to focus on both water and fire. “… Anything to anchor your mind down and clean it works.”
“I know that!” I pout.
She merely hums with joy, then closes her eyes, hands on top of her thighs, flames dancing all around us… She’s already meditating. Damn…
Silence is a quick way to kill embarrassment, relaxation hard to come by, her words echo inside and bring out a frown…
… I look at her face and, for some reason, don't feel the desire to laugh at the drawings there. Like the fire and water, it's a… Comfortable imagery—a moment of peace, of undeniable love; I remember Aunn's hand on mine, bringing me from the darkness of almost death; the passion we shared on bed, her gleaming, watchful eyes on mine when I was little…
The streaming fire and the still water fall to the backdrop and, to the internalization of that happiness painting Mother's face, I meditate…
…
It was unnoticeable when I entered this dome of fire, but with closed eyes and a mind at ease, feeling the flame licking my skin and the water embracing my knees, the few memories of happiness swimming inside my mind—memories of Aunn, of Father, of the party before Yukari—, a hum could be heard. I didn't know exactly where it was coming from or what its purpose was, but in an empty world aside from the good I've experienced, I decided to follow the hum.
It took a minute. It took a week.
It took the necessary time of swimming in the dawning bliss to arrive at the source of the hum, a mental light that I—suddenly weary—decided to follow… The gentle yet potent warmth persisted, like an unending hug, even within the confines of my mind. The sun shone on my face; the trees around swayed in the soft breeze; and, to my side, Mother stood…
Mother, half my age—perhaps even less—a tiny thing sitting alone on the porch of the shrine. She's crying… “I'm so sorry.” She whispers—to whom; I don't know.
… I touch my own face—a lonely tear. Every human cries, even monsters… “T-The things I did to Father…” I mutter. Mother looks in my direction, her big, child-like eyes overflowing with tears. “… He'll never forgive me. I lost him…”
“You didn't, Hana.” I look to my left. Father was sitting there, a small smile on his face, his hair rocking in the wind. He looks at Mother first, a soft note flashing in his eyes, then at me. “… You're my daughter; I love you. I love you so much, I could never say 'no'…” He's crying, too.
I wonder why Father's crying; I wonder why Mother's crying…
My eyes move, starting at the sky; Father and Mother move before I can react…
Mother hugs me; Father passes his arm around my neck, pulling me and Mother—Mother is all grown up now, yet still crying—to his scarred chest and, softly, he plants a kiss on my hair.
Their warmth is greater than that of the sun, and I feel light like a baby…
… I don't really know them, do I?
“We cry for you.”
Slowly, I open my eyes, confused and disoriented—my eyes hurt. “Are you okay?” I look to my side. Mother is there watching me, smiling. The dome of fire around us feels weird. “You’re natural at meditation; did you know that~? Maybe we could get Byakuren to train you—ah, the places you’d reach with your mind… Though do it in moderation; you don’t want to end up trapped inside your own mind.” Mother happily hums—the same hum I had followed—before looking at me again, frowning with an analytical gaze. A hand reaches forward and, before I can react, she gently wipes a lonely tear from my face. “Did you see bad stuff with your inner eye?” There’s genuine concern in her voice…
“… N-No,” I look down at my hands, feeling the ghost of two pairs of arms. “I didn't see anything bad. I'm fine.”
