/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>46245463
—
A numbness of bliss caressed my exhausted mind as my legs rhythmically propelled me forward, arms pointing backwards, purple hair flowing, lungs burning, and eyes wandering. A year of freedom, of walking from place to place with no worry about running out of breath, having an asthma attack or just outright passing out because of a low count of red blood cells. 130 years lived in meekness, of never experiencing this strong wind displacing my hair, buzzing in my ears and heart pounding like crazy… Still…

My thoughts move to Sekai and the meeting inside her world, the words I cannot remember and the unrestrained desire to know more, to comprehend… One year of this torment, of this freedom.

Slowly, my pace halts, breath shoal and hair a mess, hands immediately rising to fix it and my spectral bonnet: perfectionism demands only the very best of results—in a way, almost a meditation to parse these thoughts that've been hounding me for so long now.

I'm being played. That’s obvious.

Hata no Sekai brought me and Meiling to her world not simply to share her avowals about what'd Gensokyo's fate be should her desires not be fulfilled; she wants something out of us that can only be done here and that she alone cannot do—I turn and, without even taking a breath, start to run the way of the Fake Shrine—; otherwise, she'd have been straightforward and guided us on how to get her what she wanted and not erase a part of our memories… But what is it that she wants? And even more, beyond memory loss, why has she 'cured' my ailments, made me experience such freedom? Because this wasn't supposed to happen: The spell I used to connect mine and Meiling's soul to the barrier doesn't create translucent bodies like these, keep a thinking consciousness, or the capacity to use our major abilities like Meiling's Ki and my magic…

My eyes narrow, the feeling of walking in circles is not new—the urge I'd felt when I experienced her world; this freedom of a healthy body and a year to empathize with her father… All coupled with her having access to Remilia's power of fate…

Are my actions predetermined?

The desire to know more about her world, to find a way to keep the freedom of a healthy body, to even help that unlucky fool…

What does that girl truly want from me and Meiling—

“—Oi, Patchy! What are you doing?!”

I nearly scream, my eyes widening and darting to Meiling, who had suddenly appeared before me, her expression tense but exuding some sort of thrill. The scare is so intense I cannot stop running, colliding directly with—a lot of things happened very quickly: Meiling did movements akin to martial arts and handled my body as if a paper bag, the gravity shifted, and, before I could understand, I was standing straight and not tumbling on top of her in an undignified show. Wide-eyed, I stared at her and before I could properly consider rationality, it just left me: “… M-mukyu?!”

“… What? No! C'mon, Patchy! I think I discovered it!” She fiercely grabs my hand, a hold that'd have otherwise crushed mountains, and essentially drags me towards the Fake Shrine. “Yukari just arrived and spoke some cryptic stuff; then she pushed Chen and Anon just… exploded! But that's not just it; I felt something happening when he exploded—” We were back at the Shrine, her face possessed by a grin, big eyes on me as 'we' closed on the shoji doors, my body flailing like a stringless doll—if I could feel pain, I don't think I'd be conscious now. “—Anon's feelings, emotions… They're much more complex than we thought, but the reason for that is insane! There was more, Patchy, just beneath my nose! Anon is—”

We clip through the shoji doors to the living room of the Fake Shrine…

… Anon is on the floor, rapidly pounding Yukari’s vagina with his penis. She’s moaning very loudly.

Meiling freezes, pale as ghost… Well, more of a ghost, like that girl we'd ofttimes jest is Sakuya's lost daughter.

“Anon is… copulating with Yukari? That's what you wanted to share?” I ask, turning to the pale gatekeeper. It lasted a brief moment before all her visible skin was as red as her hair, face trembling, and her wide eyes focused on a very specific, lewd spot.

She then gawked at me, mouth agape and in the next second, hurled herself out of the shrine… A slight grin cut my frown. Humorous moment~

Still, I soon followed the redhead, who was now bent, hands on her knees and gasping for air—was she crying, too? Probably out of embarrassment. I'd be the same if I were in her place, words about to leave me—

But she rendered her open hand in my direction, a universal gesture of 'keep silent'. “That… wasn't w-what I wanted to share…” Color me surprised. “And, uh, sorry you had to see that.” I hum concordance; breeding is an important part of studying Old Magic… for some reason. “B-But, what I wanted to share is that Anon…” She pauses, takes a shallow breath and, with an awkward smile, says, “He’s a master of Ki!”

My neutrality immediately fades away.

… What?

"HAAA... HAAA.... HAAA...haa...haa..."
Meiling didn't remember the last time she was this out of breath and all she did was sprint back into the backstage room
*Snrk* "Ahahahahahaha! Why did you run away like that? You could have jus-OW"
While Raiko was busy laughing Lunasa had entered the room and bonked her in the head
"That was way too far Raiko!"
"What? No hold on, it wasn't on purpose! you know i'm not like that"
"I'm starting to have my doubts about that"
"S-she's telling the truth" Meiling interjected "I can sense she's being...haa honest"
"I honestly thought the casino was still empty" Raiko added giving an apologetic smile
She then turned to Meiling "I'm very sorry sis, i promise i will make it up to you"
"And you know" she continued "I'm sure the audience found you quite adorable, maybe you should jo-OW"
Now the three sisters bonked her in the head
"Let's start the show, the quicker we do the faster they'll stop talking about what happened to Meiling" Lunasa and her sisters dragged Raiko to the stage
Before she left she added "Feel free to help yourself to the fridge sister, you earned it"
"Y-you too.. wait! i mean-"
But The girls already left the room
Dejected Meiling approached the mini fridge, it had mostly drinks on it, very fancy ones at that, she settled on one called Fluffy dream, it sounded like something that would calm her nerves
After being on stage for a mere couple of seconds she wondered how her sis- the prismrivers could spend hours on it playing songs without turning into nervous wrecks, she gained a new respect towards musicians that night.

"Y'alright, dear?" Meiling looked up from the book she had just jobb- Er, dropped, at the woman running the stall. She looked just about human, but Meiling saw enough humans to spot the failures of her disguise immediately. "Not what you were expecting?" Meiling shook her head, trying to will the blush away from her cheeks. "Not to worry, not to worry. Can't say I've seen you around here before. First time?"
"No - Um, I mean, yes. I think I saw it before it was built." Meiling stammered, her hands awkwardly trying to put the book back on the pile while at the same time afraid to pick it up again. "What - Um, sorry. What's going on here...?" The woman smiled a little sympathetically at her, and Meiling was certain that she'd seen a shimmer in the air just behind her. Hidden wings? A tengu? "C-Can you really have this stuff out in the open?"
"Oh, yes! Dispensation from Yakumo herself." Meiling had only rarely seen Yukari Yakumo, and had fought her only once, during the daily feasts that had occurred at the Hakurei Shrine a long time ago. "That there," The tengu leaned over the counter and pointed at the big, ugly building. "That's the HSE."
"The...What?" Meiling repeated, still unable to stop herself from glancing down at the pile of books before getting embarrassed and looking away again. "What's the HSE?"
"Wow, you're really new to all this? I've always wanted to introduce someone!" The woman clapped in excitement and hopped over the stall, clearing it so easily that no human could ever have done it. She went to sling an arm around Meiling's shoulder, only to realise that Meiling was substantially taller and she couldn't do it. "Okay, that there is the HSE, the Hakurei Shrine Experience." She stared at Meiling and then seemed to come to a decision. "I'll skip the word-mincing, I think. You go there to get fucked."
Meiling stared blankly. "You what?"
"Youkai, humans, whoever. They say that it's for you to experience being the Shrine Maiden, but really, you just go there for a good, hard, cock." The woman's smile was very clearly based on experience and not fantasy, and frankly, it was beginning to fog up Meiling's mind just as much as it was turning her face bright red.
"Wh-What? Youkai going there? C... Cock...?" Her voice shrank to almost nothing by the last word. "But... Youkai in the village..."
"Like I said, special dispensation. Yakumo don't care none, long as we don't go flaunting it about." The woman looked at Meiling closer. "D'you want a book?"
"Huh?" Meiling asked, her voice raising an octave. "Oh, um, n-no!" She frantically waved her hands around in front of her. "I just, um, I was looking for - for someone."
But Remi loved unique things...
No, Hong, no! Do not buy the Slightly-Less-Young Mistress a pornography book! E-Even if the man on the cover is your type...
"Who're you looking for? I've seen all sorts through here. Even saw an oni once. Can't imagine that poor boytoy looked very good after her!" The woman sighed. "Ah, well... I'm only a few sales off affording another full VIP session, too..." Well, now it was Meiling's duty.
"U-Um, I guess I can take one book..." Meiling mumbled, trying not to look at the woman in the eye. "Two." Even quieter, that time. "Th-This one..." She picked two random books.
"That one? Okay, I guess... If you're into that." Meiling wanted to die, right then and there. At least the woman gave her a bag to hide the books in. "Can't believe she wanted vanilla. What a strange woman." Meiling heard her mutter under her breath as she stormed away, trying to resist the urge to bash her head against a wall.
But now, Meiling thought as she leaned against a wall around the corner and kept an eye on the HSE, what was she to do? No sign of Patchouli, but she'd apparently been around the HSE recently. And the consequences of returning to Miss Sakuya without having succeeded in her task... No, best to keep searching. And that meant...
"Ah-ha, knew you couldn't resist!" The woman she had bought the book from called as Meiling walked up to the HSE, her face as red as her hair. "Tell you what, ask for the 'Caught by the Shrine Husband' scenario'! It's right up your alley!" It took all Meiling had to not turn right around then and there.
Meiling pushed the door open and was surprised to bump into a woman with hair the colour of fire. She looked down, deliberately not meeting Meiling's eyes, then pushed past Meiling and disappeared into the distance. Confused, Meiling pushed through the doors and looked around. A room designed with extravagance in mind, but it felt like it was trying at it, while Remi's designs for the mansion exuded effortlessness.
At the counter, up a small set of steps, there was a green haired woman leaning against the counter, boredom etched on her face. "Huh? Whazzat?" She looked like she'd just snapped out of a deep daydream. "Oh, cust'mer?"

>It was just another day for Meiling
>Just standing there waiting for something to happen
>Finally a girl dressed in green and yellow holding a large tube approaches her in a most confident way
>"Greetings friend" she saluted "I would like to have a chat with the owner of this mansion"
>For the sake of having someone to talk to Meiling decided to inquire
>"And why would you want that miss... "
>"Young lady, you speak to none other than the reincarnation of Sun Wukong, you may call me Son Biten" she said gallantly "as for why i bless you with my presence i-"
>W-wait! Sun Wukong?! The legend?! Meiling thought to herself, she was always fond of her country's mythology and always dreamed of meeting one of them
>"Now, may i come in?"
>"A-ah!" Meiling finally snapped out of her trance, "Of course you may come in! I'm certain the mistress would be happy to meet such a legend"
>With a smug smile Son Biten was about to take a leap over the gate before being abruptly stopped by Meiling
>"W-wait please!"
>"Mmh? What is it now" Son biten looked mildly annoyed
>"It's just ah..." Meiling began to feel herself blush
>No! This is not the time to get bashful, she may loose her only chance if she doesn't speak up now
>"A fight! I-i read that your martial skills are legendary, so ah, i-if it's not too much trouble, i mean if it is okay with you"
>"Oho! You wish to spar with the monkey king?"
>Meiling nodded still blushing
>"Oh i suppose" Son Biten said while jumping backwards "It would be unbecoming of me to ignore the request of an admirer"
>"Thank so much miss Biten i promise i won't disappoint!"
>And with that Meiling assumed her fighting stance
>Chuckling Biten also assumed a...fighting stance...
>It looked more like what an amateur thinks a fighting stance is...
>Maybe it's some celestial form that only the gods know, that's it! She's just going all out! And so should Meiling!
>A minute after the fight started Meiling couldn't help but notice that she hadn't received any damage, furthermore it seemed that Son Biten's already unimpressive qi was diminishing
>M-maybe she's just suppressing it! She's always been a trickster, she's just trying to get Meiling to lower her guard, well she won't fall for that, it's time for Meiling to use her strongest attack
>"ROC-KILLING-FIST!"
>Son Biten landed in the floor face first after being launched into the air for several seconds
>She...was not moving
>And her qi was almost non existent now
>Maybe...uuuh
>Meiling stood there thinking that maybe she should stop obsessing over legends
>Maybe she was dreaming like last time
>...
>She wasn't

>>42483767
stop saying such embarrassing things anon

I want to embarrass her with flattery!

>>30497688
Back when I used to be in my full-on Japanophile phase I put a lot of effort into learning some piano arrangements of the IN and SA soundtrack. The sheet music I'd found online was quite tough for me at the time, so I had to practice a lot before I could get them right. My family probably never found out where they were from exactly, but they know them well due to how often I played them.