/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>45091141
Seeing Reimu again was supposed to be a death sentence. Listening to her orders was painful enough, but Ran revealing her pregnancy completely destroyed her composure. Some random at a bar, a secret boyfriend, Okina’s backdoor; Lies and alibis were constructed in her head until Toutetsu locked eyes with her. Letting the truth out, guilt burned her heart and her throat as she confessed her sins, begged forgiveness, then realized who she was bowing to. Reimu’s gaunt limbs and heavy eyes were gone: She was once again the Crimson Slasher that defied gods and suppressed the strongest youkai. Even weakened by Sanae, Aya decided that someone had to stop her before she hurt Anon again. Before she hurt Hana again. Before she could hurt her children.

When she put away her gohei, Aya realized the Crimson Slasher wouldn’t hurt anyone. Reimu was standing in front of her again.

Aya clung onto the miko tightly, letting all of her fears, anger and resentment flow onto her shoulders. Two decades of animosity were swept away in a tide, revealing the good days of banquets, incidents, and friendship that were smothered underneath. The tengu wouldn’t stay dry either: Like a little girl who found a lost toy, Reimu returned the embrace tenfold, releasing the heavy chains that weighed her heart down. Slowly, the stoic mistress that held Anon in bondage faded away, replaced by a mournful woman searching for atonement. The tengu could hear sniffling coming from neither her nor Reimu, but it wouldn’t hurt to keep that a secret. She’d make the mob boss cry another day, this moment was between her and Reimu!

Reimu composed herself first, letting go of the mother-to-be. Whether it was some senior instinct to protect her younger friend, maternal hormones, or a fear that letting go of Reimu would mean losing her again, Aya pulled her back in twice before Toutetsu had to force them apart. “Alright, alright, that’s enough now! *sniffle* Crying over each other isn’t a planning meeting. Look — Ranni and Chen already left us behind!”

Aya wanted to retort, but Toutetsu had a point: She came here to discuss liberating Anon and just started fighting with Reimu and Ran. It would be inevitable, sure, but freeing Anon from Yukari’s treacherous clutches took precedent over the cunning shikigami and the somewhat-less violent miko. Instead Reimu spoke up: “Sure, but isn’t the meeting pretty much over without Ran? She’s going to be necessary for a fight against Yukari, so there isn’t much left to talk about without her.” With those characteristically aloof words, Reimu turned towards home and prepared to leave.

The reporter chirped up: “We can still discuss an escape plan!” Capturing the miko’s attention, Aya delved into her proposition: “My delivery day is only two months away, so I’ll still be able to fly when the solstice comes around. Between Eirin’s pills and Okina’s backdoor, I’ll have the strength to locate Anon and pull him out of harm’s way before anyone” — that’s too broad, be specific! —“working with Yukari can catch me. Physically. Yukari’s barriers probably have secret countermeasures made to stop a jailbreak and the HSE building itself is definitely full of kappa traps that won’t be merciful.” She looked over to Toutetsu, signaling her to share.

“Yeah yeah, there’s a shitload of distractions packed into every inch of that place. I’ll take care of the most important trap since it’s not something you guys can handle delicately.” Toutetsu pointed her spork towards the miko and tengu that relied on strength and speed over strategy, annoying both. “The rest of them shouldn’t kill anyone of your caliber, but it’s another story for a human. That’s why you’ll take the easy way out.” Breaking out a grin, Toutetsu started describing the system of interconnected staff tunnels that held fewer traps and predictability than a frontal assault. While Reimu listened intently, Aya tried her best to to simultaneously remember everything and think about nothing.

This was it! This was what Aya needed to save Anon — and that’s the furthest she could let herself think. While Reimu discussed ways to pull attention away from the exits and entrances, Aya halfheartedly responded with affirmations of “that could work” and “I should be able to manage that.” Come on, stop thinking and just soak it up! She tired distracting herself with her tengu problems for a bit: Maybe she could use the staff entrances to catch the rumormonger when they left the HSE… It hit her immediately: The rumormonger was using the secret exits!

Saving Anon, protecting the Moriya Shrine and securing her happiness, Aya gave Toutetsu a big hug before flying off for her reservation. While the taotie was caught off guard, she squeezed back hard enough to remind Aya of her massive strength. Heh, secret plans and powerful friends; Everything was coming up Aya!

(Part 41)

>>44843706
Aya woke up that morning relieving her stomach of Anon’s cooking. Ugh. Did the fish go bad? No, he wouldn’t serve rotten food and Aya could stomach worse. Right, it was probably that stupid, bitter pill. The heaving tengu took a little bit of solace in knowing the proof was right in front of her that she kept her body safe. Urp.

After freshening up, the reporter collected all of her notes and carefully went through her memories of the night before. Bunbunmaru was a newspaper for readers of all ages, so she deliberated stopped recollecting her experience after the lights went out. Nobody needed to know what she did. Then again, maybe she could leave in just enough of a taste to hook more readers. No, she’ll do both! Keep the article safe and sanitary while offering a way for interested readers to see even more of the HSE! You’ve done it again, Shameimaru!

With her manuscript completed and sent off to the printers, (>>44792685) Aya still had to fill up the rest of her day. Maybe she could visit the bar for a drink? Nah, she still had a bitter taste in her mouth that sake would just make worse. Perhaps she should some pick up some rumors and start another investigation? No, she was too sluggish and felt a little bloated. Hopefully she wasn’t going to become like that week-late shut-in reporter…

Her thoughts turned to Anon, the very subject her story. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to visit him again? After all, she did leave in the middle of night while he was asleep. It would have been polite to at least leave a note thanking him for his services. Oh no, what if he thought she left because he upset her? That would be terrible! She had to go back and clear up the misconception now before it hurt him! It definitely wasn’t so she could get pampered by Anon again!

Flying over to the Human Village, Aya tried to shake off any doubts she had about her visit. Would Anon be happy to see her again after what she did to him? Well, some her sources were repeat customers, including the ones that tried to break him free. Maybe Anon was used to clients returning. It would be embarrassing to hear his voice again, though. Hearing him call her “honey”, calling him “darling”, acting like a husband and wife in martial harmony with each other-

NO! This visit was for business! A purely professional check-up on an important source! Closing in on her destination, the tengu prepared herself to resist the pheromones infesting that prison. However, something caught her eye: It was a red-white figure walking around the HSE. That’s odd, since the establishment wouldn’t let anyone take the robes outside and none of the stalls seemed to sell a set. The figure had black hair and detached sleeves that showed off her shoulders and armpits a little bit lewdly. It must be Hana, worried about her father. Maybe Aya should check up on her, too. Anon would be happy to hear about how concerned his daughter is over him.

“Hey, Hana Hakurei! Over here!” The tengu called out to the girl, landing a few feet behind the girl. If she’s lucky, she might be able to get some juicy info for a follow-up article. As she pulled out her notebook, the Hakurei successor turned to regard her. Her hair was a bit frizzled and her skin looked somewhat pale. Not only that, the colors of her robes had started to fade, the reds becoming less red and the whites becoming less vibrant. As her cold, dead eyes came into view, she-

Oh shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit!

That wasn’t Hana!

Before the tengu could speed back to her home and to regret her decision, the Shrine Maiden of Paradise locked eyes with her. If looks could kill, Bunbunmaru would’ve already published Aya’s obituary. Reimu’s eyes were like a river in winter: Completely frozen over, not a crack to be seen. But she knew that underneath the surface was a vortex ready to swallow her whole. Her clenched jaw only further proved that the miko was waiting for an excuse to pulverize the next person she saw. Frozen in place, the tengu waited for Anon’s wife to break the silence.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Aya?”

(Part 13)

I didn't write the Bunbunmaru post but linked it to keep "the HSE continuity". I have an end to this story in mind, there are just a few more beats I want to hit. I also thought this was interesting:
https://petkeen.com/why-not-to-pet-a-birds-wings/ (You'll Never Believe #3!)