/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>46038677
>>46038677
Megumu wasn’t a daitengu just because she was tall. While she was suggesting names for Aya’s kids and planning a baby shower, she was also scrutinizing the reporter’s manuscripts personally and making as many changes as she could get away with. Megumu wasn’t trying to make waves with the tengu’s greatest business partner. She was just maintaining a certain level of quality barely above trite. In order to free Bunbunmaru from the muck of Yukari’s mandates, it needed a story about something new, fresh, and exciting.

Thus, Aya was sent to the Human Village. Humans were still enamored with the on-going saga of the brothel, but youkai readers were getting bored. The tried-and-true method to get their attention was pointing out how the monsters hidden in plain sight infiltrated the settlement and what kind of tricks they were up to. Aya’s subjects had both appeals. Seija was old news, but her traveling companion was a human. From what the tengu gathered, he was apparently connected to the Myourens before he was sighted doing all kinds of things with the amanojaku. More importantly, they were in Old Hell before a fight broke out between two of Gensokyo’s Sages and one of the Big Four, sometime before flipping the Sanzu River on the Yama’s head. Simply put: They were hot news.

Surprisingly, this was the last thing on Aya’s mind. Not long ago, a very famous and recently-secluded witch barged into her home and forcefully contracted her photography services for Hana’s birthday. On one hand, she did pretty well getting through the mountain without making a fuss. The little thief’s physique probably helped her remain unnoticed. On the other hand, she tried and failed to hide how her body was growing. Thing is, it wasn’t her legs that grew. Marisa’s belly was full of life.

Given Marisa’s attempt to mask her baby bump with a couple of sweaters beneath her dress, Aya felt it would be rude to acknowledge it. What didn’t line up, however, was the timeline: As far as she knew, Marisa was still a full human. For a youkai like herself, pregnancies could be variable depending on their species. Marisa couldn’t be this far along if she got pregnant from Aya or Nazrin’s actions. So, she must’ve been affected by the first incident. Considering how frequently she visited the HSE before her sudden isolation and how large her belly was, the tengu came up with some very, very plausible theories explaining why a witch with lots of experience around magical concoctions would suddenly stop visiting Anon. Coincidentally, they explained why Anon was missing a highly effective virility pill before Aya came around.

Of course, it was all conjecture. Pure hypothesis. Not at all a ticking time bomb that would inevitably lead to everyone in Gensokyo learning that one of their famous incident-solvers stole not just possessions, not just bloodlines, but the HAKUREI bloodline. Surely, this theory couldn’t eventually link Aya to the HSE as well, dragging both of their names through the mud once their children were born, necessitating that this sick timeline of love and drugs be buried forever.

Besides, she had bigger things to worry about. Like telling Reimu about the birthday party immediately after Marisa told her not to. It was an honest mistake! Aya was merely being the faithful and honest reporter she always is by telling Reimu every detail she knew and pressuring her to visit! Really, it was Marisa’s fault; If Marisa were considerate enough to notice that Aya was pregnant, she’d realize that as a mother, the tengu would understand Reimu’s maternal suffering and offer her an opportunity to reunite her with her kin. As a mother herself, Marisa should have been aware of this global motherly consciousness that united all mothers together and absolved Aya of all blame and responsibility for her actions. Truly, it was all Marisa’s fault. If she didn’t want Reimu at the party, she just should’ve bought a camera at Kourindou or from the kappa.

Sighing to herself, the tengu finally caught sight of her targets. Hopefully work would take her mind off of the complicated politics of children. They were in the market, not really causing a fuss. However, Seija was a known swindler and this ‘Goro’ was apparently some sort of businessman-monk before his big protest in front of the HSE. The way they sat together while eating sweets was also suspicious. What, were they on a date? Do amanojaku even know what love is?

A red-white figure appeared behind them. Oh boy, this was getting good. Perching on a nearby rooftop, Aya pulled out her camera and notepad, ready to make some real Gensokyo news.

(Part 78)