/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>46242950 (4/4—p1)
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Mother sighs relieved. “It was just Ran, no worries.” She hums, lowering her defense as if a porcupine relaxing, and it takes a moment for me to understand her: R-Ran…?

… Not Yukari.

Heart racing, body tense, a dirty statue, clothes blowing up—it's only been a week, but it feels so long already…

I nodded to Mother, who approached curiously, her hand reaching for my head—my hands tightened about the basket of veggies—but stopped in a clear moment of hesitation, switching to land it on my shoulder. “Hey, it's okay. Ran is a friend; you can trust her.” My eyes on her hand bear an unconsciously ugly feeling, one she notices and acts upon… by removing her hand. I relax, barely… “Let's store these things; this Gap was a signal; she's calling a meeting.” With a small hint of pain on her face, likely a fraction of a larger whole, Mother leads the way inside.

—w-wait, what?! “Meeting…?” I inquire, following her into the kitchen, lips pursed and eyebrows rutted as I put perishables in the refrigerator and others in the cabinets…

It was such a weird day, doing all these things with her—foraging, meditating, the simple act of storing food together… It brought to the surface this nostalgia for days that never happened…

Her eyes are on mine, a frown exposing deep thoughts, those visions I had of her in my meditation returning—a peculiar warmth swims inside, foreign yet familiar. “Yes, a meeting of, uh… Well, you'll see when we get there,” she smiles awkwardly, not really organized in her way of storing things; Father would've done it much better—my eyes bulge, h-huh?! Mother is laughing. “Yes, you’re coming too~It's for your own safety, Hana.”

“B-But, mom…!” It'll be full of unknown youkai, won't it?

Ran Yakumo sent the message and, last time I was in her presence, she had THE mafia boss who defeated Mother with her! Why she—Mother would totally be insanely mad if she met Toutetsu! The thought, too, of being amidst so many unknown youkai…

It was like licking a sawdust.

Mom arched an eyebrow, waiting for me to continue, my heart pounding with this strange, weird sense of shame. “I… I-Is it really my only option? Go with you to be safe.”

Mother pauses, ponders—then giggles. Ugh. “Maybe if I wore blue and could be at two places at the same time, we’d have another choice, but I do not~” My mood sank, a petty, unnamed rage growing inside, yet I couldn't keep talking: A persistent sensation of shame quickened my heartbeat and caused my mouth to dry up; a layer of something acidic covering the back of my throat; a group of powerful youkai; and—likely—just two of us... W-Who knows what might happen? What may they attempt…?

Gah! Whatever it may be, they'll be against two very mad and powerful Hakurei mikos! Yeah, we'll be good! Nothing bad should happen, like they managing to make us powerless in some way, likely with the Gap…

Eventually, we finished storing things up and I swallowed the latent anticipation. Mother gave me this funny look as we headed out, we wearing back our extra layers to fight the outside cold: She carefully draped that scarf of hers around her neck—I wonder if she knitted that too—, and I put back my gloves and cozy outer layers…

…Weird: surrounded by snow and frigid air, but I feel so warm even without the extra layers. “Are you ready?” Mother asks, I nod, and we take up to the skies, that thought forgotten to give way to this perplexing expectancy. Calm down, Hana; it’s highly possible nothing unusual should happen, and if it does, you're strong… They'd pale in comparison to Mother's and my powers, especially with the surprise element!

Eyes wonder to Mother's back, a levity in her motions that spoke of a lack of fright towards this meeting: she's ready to fight if necessary, just like when that Gap appeared and I… Ugh, I really jumped behind her like a scared cat?

… Would I be that scared if I confronted Yukari right now? If so… what’d she do?

In my mind, I see that day in her office. I feel her soft lips pressing against mine—the sickening incense, the magic rewiring my mind, all things that had gone completely unnoticed…

I lowly sigh. So tiresome…

—

I wasn’t expecting to return to this place, Mayohiga. I was tense; puzzled and, above all, ready to fight or flight…

… But I sure wasn't ready for this.

“Ms. Reimu!!” The cat yelled with big eyes, leaping up and running to Mother. I half expected her to grab the gohei and smack the thing on its head… Rather, she kneeled, opened her arms, and, with a wide smile, caught the thing in a hug that went as far as Mother spinning in place, the weird nekomata giggling aloud.

I stood there, wide-eyed, watching without a proper reaction.

“Damn, Reimu, what took ya so long?! Aya was fuc—hecking killing me! Why does a card game have so many rules?!” I jump a little, clutching my gohei at the sight of that goat mafia boss… She looks very friendly, staring at Mother as if they were old friends.

What the hell is happening here…?