/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>45273789
“So anyways, there’s also the invisibility. Kasen may have a mastery over hermit arts, but she—“

Momiji slapped the counter, rattling the pills. The crow quickly collected them and set the bottle back in the cupboard, resolving a potential altercation before returning to the one she was trying desperately to avoid. “AYA! Why are you counting Anon’s pills? Do you have any idea how dangerous these things are? These are not something to be trifled with!”

“Well, uh, you see… during my first investigation, I saw the bottle! Back then, there were 29 pills. That means two more pills were taken since then! I’m just keeping track of an important variable!” That had to believable enough, it was mostly true!

“You don’t get it, do you? This is incredibly potent. Everyone here knows never to mess with these drugs. All it takes is one pill to make Anon’s sperm fecund. After that, all it takes is one drop here—“ The wolf grapped Aya by the upper pelvic region “—and a new life will, a new life… a new…”

——

She knew Aya slacked off sometimes, but she still kept her figure. This bloat, however slight, was firm. Moreover, she could feel something hard underneath. Slightly prodding the vague shape allowed another to move in and take its place. This was not a normal egg cycle. Her belly was too warm. It felt too… lively.

“You know, Eirin said it would take less than two weeks to start showing. If you count the time I spent inside the HSE with Anon, it’s probably been about that long.” Aya’s voice cracked when she mentioned the man. Tears were streaming down the left side of her face. When Momiji took off Aya’s mask, it revealed puffy eyes and a wet spot forming on her bandage. “I just wanted them to spend some time with him before I layed them.”

The reporter was trembling, clearly trying to hold herself together. If Aya was pregnant with Anon’s children, that meant one of those missing pills was Aya’s fault. Yet, she came back for a whole week. Pregnancy and sanity pills, scheming against tengu, plotting with gods… what was she doing?

Calm and firmly, Momiji began to speak. “Aya. I need you to answer something honestly; Don’t lie to me. Were you serious when you said you loved Anon?”

“I love him. I love him and I hate what I did to him. It’s all my fault this happened. If I just never—“

Momiji wrapped her arms around Aya, feeling her grasp back tightly. She knew what kind of guilt Aya was chiding herself for. Momiji was thankful herself for Aya’s embrace, as she realized there was another dimension to her sin against the crow in the bathroom. She was no paragon herself. Furthermore, their struggles was no longer a fight for love and justice. They were giving Anon a chance to see his children after the end of this. That alone was enough to keep fighting for.

——

Aya nearly broke down while confessing the details of her “accident” to Momiji. While she was relieved that Momiji agreed to keep helping her, she felt happier in the moment to have her emotional support. Perhaps noticing her sadness, Dolly had come over and touched her arm, giving the tengu some impartial support… How long has the doll been watching?

The shock snapped Aya back to attention: The doll saw her take out the pills, count them, and put them back while her and Momiji talked back and forth about pregnancy. Shit, what if Alice made that doll a tattle-tale to relay information back about all of Anon’s partners? Even if that wasn’t the case, what if Dolly showed Anon the pills because she was curious and somehow mentioned Aya? Dammit, even after she made her tea, the doll would be Aya’s undoing! “Momiji, we gotta do something about Dolly. Look, I know a kappa interested in dolls. We can smuggle her out in my bag and—“

Momiji just faced the doll and put a finger to her lips. “This is very secret talk for grown-ups, okay? If you tell Anon about this, he’ll be very sad. When it’s okay, I promise we’ll tell him everything. Until then, you have to keep our conversation secret, okay?” After her proposition, the wolf offered her pinky. Taking a full minute to consider her conditions, Dolly finally shook back, interested in keeping Anon happy. The two smiled to each other, quickly becoming friends over their shared secret. Aya watched on, just a little guilty about trying to kidnap the automaton so quickly.

As Anon left the bathroom, the two tengu quickly excused themselves in. The night was still young, and Aya only had so many minutes to talk with Momiji all alone. Between the crow’s newfound hatred of Tsukasa, arguing whether the accomplice was Kasen or some mysterious interloper Aya wouldn’t let go of, and discussing secret paths in the HSE Momiji could carry Anon down, the two girls chattered on and on while Anon mulled over a cupt of tea why Aya, of all people, brought a friend over.

(Part 52)