/jp/ - Otaku Culture

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Watching Hana and Aunn disappear behind the shoji door felt like an ode to penitence, and my hand caressing the side of my pregnant belly only emphasized the feeling. The moon above shone and, slowly, I turned back to Reimu, skin trembling and mind turning, her eyes staring at my belly with a feeling impossible to describe—thoughts of those wings of flames hidden inside, the way the fire danced as the solid gold statue and marble turned into mold washed over me, leaving every nerve and muscle in its wake frozen still…

… But also did the image of her on her knees, begging for forgiveness and for Hana's attention. Was it real? It felt so real, like staring at a mirror and seeing 30 years ago, when her eyes were still of the Reimu I knew and called a friend.

Yet the first law of magic states that nothing can exist in a vacuum: Anon's body destroyed and the many times I tended to his wounds; a small Hana crying, confused and sad, seeking anything to quench the pain of a shattered household; Reimu's terrible words that day when she found out about the same stone now in Hana's pocket… 7 years of inactivity then. A small respite, followed by this hell—'a hell I partook in', my mind whispered, conscious about my pregnant belly.

The memories, the confusion, this situation. All so tiresome—

—shit, shit! When did Reimu get so close?!

She was basically on my face, about a foot of distance between us and looking at me from above, her eyes cold and thoughtful—just enough to freeze every remaining cell on my body. This is it. This is fucking it! The moment I try to move, she's going for the kill. Oh, but she's clueless if she thinks I'm gonna bite the bullet without a fight! A hand effortlessly reaches for a spellcard, heart sinking yet beating with an abrupt frenzy, weary body springing to life in a colored spark, ready to fight face-on against this monster in sheep skin— “Heh, you look silly.”

…

“B-Bwuah?!” Her words threw me off. Her relaxed posture threw me off and those eyes—those fucking eyes—full of harmless smugness took me back three decades once more. “Silly…? W-What the hell does that mean, you snake-ze?!” Is that some tactic to take me off guard? It's fucking working!

But why would Reimu, of all people, need it?! The bitch is jacked and though once she was a starving corpse, the way she faced off Yukari spoke the absolute opposite of my weakness.

What the hell is happening…?

“So tiny, but sporting that big pregnant belly—like a kid faking pregnancy with a football, heh~” My face turned bright red at the sound of another laugh, but my scowl was tinged with disbelief. Has she gone mad…? Gah, and the fact I've got to look at her from below just hurts even more now; what sick genetics even gives someone that'd often go hungry almost 6 feet of height?!

My fight turned to aluminum in sulfuric acid, anger erupting in a torrent of flames that thawed my body and made me feel insanely agitated. “This is what you tackle first; how silly I look while being pregnant-ze?! After all this time, everything you've done… And that is the most important thing on the fray?!” She was laughing… She was laughing! “Stop laughing!” Possessed by something supernatural, I pulled up my broom and hit the end on her head repeatedly.

“Sorry—sorry—just—wanted to—take that—out—of—my—system~” She keeps on giggling as the broom strikes, barely seeming to be affected by the powerful blows.

Teeth bared and heart screaming with an earthquake of feeling, body sensitive and quivering, my strikes don't cease as Reimu just keeps on passively taking them, a soft smile visible beneath the arms shielding her face, one that flares inside wrath of almost two decades of suffering, all put on the end of the broom as it hit the shrine maiden: watching Anon, Hana… Reimu herself suffer, a feeling I always felt shame about; why pity her too, the fucking monster doing all the harm?! The one that rapidly snatched the man I loved and had a family with him, all while rubbing her happiness on my face?! That proceeded to haunt their lives forever! In my blind rage, I barely noticed I was whispering all of those words, lashing out blows that, even if powered by rage, soon began losing strength… Her eyes feel like a mirror. “Why have I stopped trying? Why is Anon still locked in that filthy place…? Why haven’t you done something?” My eyes shut, and I fiercely ignored the salt water cascading down my face. So many failures to so many people I loved; a life of robbing, coveting; and destroying bonds… Anon's words the day I came out with my pregnancy don't sound like caresses I hear in my dreams anymore, but curses and—

The next blow is caught, and I look at Reimu holding the broom's end effortlessly. Her face, illuminated by the moonlight, boasts a kind smile. “… I always thought Hana wanted a sibling, but never talked about it because of me—I'm glad I wasn't the person to give her one… Thanks for taking care of her, Marisa, and congrats on the baby~!”