/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>46557316
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I peered at the verse for a brief moment, letting a puff of white smoke—thanks to the cold weather—leave my mouth. “At least she writes to her parents.” Meiling laughs at the joke, though the melody of her voice carries a more… guttural intonation, and I look at her face to try finding its source; was it the shining eyes? Or was it the faint blush on her cheeks, combining with the voracious red of her hair? Perhaps it was one or it was all at the same time, but all I could read on her face was joy. “Do you want to have the honor of reading the brat's words for us?” I offer the letter, Meiling gently nodding with a mumble of 'sure' before taking the letter from my hands—carefully, likely still a bit tense after the comical display with Sekai's book—and leaning back on her seat with a beaming grin. The sight of a behemoth I've personally seen redirecting Yuuka's beam of sheer power, cast by a goddess on top of it all, holding such a small piece of paper as if a great treasure, made me feel joy too.

And to think, after such imprisonment, it was Sekai who showed her the world—a world I saw myself inside her head, with an oppressive tree looming in our futures.

Yet…

“… If we fail, this letter may be all that remains of Sekai.” Meiling's words freeze me, my eyes darting to hers. The tenderness eternally lies there, swimming in the green but tainted by frowned eyebrows and tense musculature—

—'That's the way it is', A glacial wave comes and hits like Marisa's spark, the words twisting something inside of me. Sekai had told Meiling those words just after assuming her suicide—a scar born together with the sight of Sekai's first ounce of Ki. With understanding comes pain not even numbness magic can hold back, and I moisten my lips, the world around us feeling a tad colder as no immediate words come to the forefront.

Usually, I'd have stayed silent. Silence is often the wisest of choices, and only a fool speaks because they need to speak.

… Still, something beats inside, akin to a drum…

Remi's skeletal arms, speaking so very much yet so little at the same time; holding Meiling in my arms and taking on half her burden; holding Sekai's cheek, feeling her tight, emotional-driven hug, and for no reason but an innate desire, tenderly petting her head.

Everything loudly yells one thing and one thing only: action.

And action I take—uncharacteristic action, probably still affected by yesterday's tearjerker—reaching my hand forward… and slamming it on the book's pages, silencing the violent brewing storm.

Meiling jumps a little, staring at me wide-eyed. “W-Wha—?”

“We made two promises, Meiling!” I say it with a harsher tone than usual, getting up from my seat, hand still against the pages brimming with power. The pain is acute, but bearable. “One to Sekai, the other to each other. If you dare think you can break the promise you made to that little girl, then how do you expect me to believe you'll be able to bring ours into effect? Heed these words, Hong Meiling: I won't fail. I will save that little girl and give her a life… Then, I'll see the Wudang Mountains, and I'll eat good food in the monastery that lies there.” I gaze inside her eyes, burning the snow and, hopefully, scrubbing away the last remnants of doubt from her mind. “And you, Meiling? Are you really expecting to fail her when she's put so much trust in us? I'll make sure to find another suitable Ki Master if so.”

Meiling… stares. She simply stares for a long time.

Then she bursts into laughter, clutching with her free hand the bandages that'd popped off during the small fit of giggles.

I watch it all, mystified like I was again that wide-eyed girl learning the absurd and lunatic ways of the magical world. To think all that would bring me here, friend of the—scarlet, hm—devil, mother to a greater being and yet acting so humanely… What a perplexingly fascinating world. A world I'm sure to show you, Sekai.

“Another Ki Master? In such short notice…?” The smile remains there as she pulls up the plain letter, reading the words in black once more.

An infinite moment of waiting, confusion, and expectation.

“… I'm very sorry, but you're not finding a better Ki Master than me!” Despite the joking tone, my mind echoes: Of course not, fool! You're the best one in this world! “So, to spare you the search, be assured, Lady Patchouli! I've heard your words loud and clear! Sorry for even doubting we'd succeed in saving our 'misbehaving daughter' and give her the life she deserves!” She rises and her towering height is one that resonates with truth and safety—memories of pink lightning being perfectly deflected. The green of her eyes shone with fervent determination, not an ounce of doubts remaining to smudge our promises…

“Good, good.” Simple, effective.

Perfect.

Meiling snickers as we slowly take our seats back, the atmosphere soothing this aching bones and flesh. “With these such truths out of the way, would you kindly start reading, Meiling?”