/jp/ - Otaku Culture

Kurodani-Hakurei, I corrected. "Ah, yes...That, too, needs an explanation. Oh, I've a lot to do. You've given me a large workload, young man." I stammered something nonsensical, then reminded her that she wasn't all that much older than I was. "Don't be silly, Reiki. I've got many times more memories than you do." Ah, I supposed that was true. "Now, I believe I will need to ask you a few more-"

At this point, two hands grabbed Akyuu's wrists. Kosuzu Motoori spun her around, the layers of her kimono swinging from the motion. "Akyuu! Don't wander off like that, or I'll have to come looking for you. You promised me that you wouldn't do any Chronicle work today!" Here, Miss Kosuzu took notice of me. "Oh! Mister Reiki!" I'd only seen Miss Kosuzu a few times before, usually as Suzunaan, but once or twice when she had visited Akyuu while she was babysitting me as a child. "I really enjoyed the ceremony! The outfits were so pretty, too!" I smiled and thanked her for her words. "And - I had no idea that Miss Yamame was a youkai...You introduced her to me at the bookstore once, didn't you?" Nodding, I told her that I hadn't really been advertising it at the time. "Oh, don't worry, I can keep a secret. I won't tell anyone in the village." She raised a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture, which seemed...Fairly trustworthy, I supposed. "But - If you or your wife have any books that aren't being used-"

Akyuu slapped a hand over Miss Kosuzu's mouth. "No, I think that's enough of that. Let's not indulge your obsession with collecting books even if it isn't a good idea, or I shall have to call Reimu. Reiki, I'll have to take her somewhere to calm down." I thought for a moment, then suggested the steps of Mugenkan. I was heading in that direction to talk to Shameimaru anyway. "Ah, that'll do. May I ask that you lead the way?"

Nodding, I turned and led the two across the grounds and deposited them at the steps leading up to the top of Mugenkan. I wasn't sure, but I thought that it was more for Akyuu's benefit than Kosuzu's, because the Hieda girl was looking a little tired. Leading them there for the time being, I ascended the steps and placed my hands on the stone railing. "Quite the speech you two gave. Yuuka, too."

Shameimaru squatted on the railing, her camera in her hands. She was in the middle of what I assumed was taking out the previous roll of film and inserting a new one. "Print Shop'll have my head when I try and print all this stuff out..." She muttered under her breath. "Let's see...That many rolls used...This many left...Yeah, should be fine for the party." She nodded, then looked over at me. "Once the sun has sunk just a little bit more, I'm doing pictures for whoever wants to be in them. That's when you'll get the best lighting. The golden hour, I think they call it in the Outside World. It's when you get the best lighting." I nodded and told her that she should probably let people know. "Already did." She said, waving her free hand. Out across the grounds, I could see little squares of paper - What I assumed to be notices. "It should be fine. I want a bunch of just you and Yamame, though. Your dark hair should catch the light well, and it'll make Yamame's look even brighter." I wasn't exactly an experienced photographer, so I just had to trust in her words. "Well, I know what a tripod is actually supposed to be used for, which probably puts me ahead of my boss already."

Curious, I asked Shameimaru if we were really being spied on from the mountain. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Probably got at least a few white wolf tengu watching, and that shut-in waste of print shop space is probably desperately trying to figure out what she needs to search to watch you and Yamame-" At that point, there was a loud laugh from below, cutting Shameimaru off. Looking down, I saw that to my relief, it was just Komachi, who'd finally located Kisami and was talking to her excitedly. Standing opposite Kisami was Hong Meiling. "...There's definitely something weird between those two. You don't just look that much like someone you're not related to at all." I'd seen a bunch of crow tengu in Madame Komakusa's gambling den who'd looked like the spitting image of Aya Shameimaru, so I didn't say anything.

based
shut the fuck up old man i just want to upgrade my weapon

"Alone? Feh, sure. Always alone." Yuuma shrugged, squatting back down. There was a strange sort of smile on her face, like she was trying her hardest to clamp down on some sort of emotion. "Tried to coax Chiyari out. She said that she was staying off of the surface until Chupacabras were back in fashion. I heard about this through a very long chain. It seems that Reimu Hakurei told a cat, who told her master, who told her own master. But, along the way, the cat told her friend, who - From what I gather - Was not a fan of the idea. Regardless, the cat's friend - A certain kasha - Told Chiyari, who told me. How was I supposed to know that I would be running into my dear old friend Ran today?" Toutetsu looked up at the shikigami, who merely stood straighter. "Interesting outfit, by the way." She was still speaking to Ran, though I'd thought that she was speaking to me for a moment since plenty of people had already complimented my outfit today. "The restraints are certainly thematic. How is that chain around your neck, Ran? The one Yukari Yakumo put there, I mean?"

Ran proved to have a stronger grasp on her emotions than Yukari ever had, because her eye didn't even twitch before she replied. "I'll make a note for Chen to be more discreet...There are no chains on me, Toutetsu. I am only bound by the will of my master who I've sworn myself to. You, however, continue to live by the shining law of the Animal Realm."

Ran tilted her head. "In the end, which one of us is more bound?" I didn't really get it, but I assumed there was some sort of ideological struggle going on between the two. Of course, I decided not to get involved with the conversation, since I was certain that both of them could talk rings around me. "Me, by the master I choose to serve? Or you, by the rules that you made core to your being?"

"You sure do talk a lot more high and mighty now that you've got someone else pulling your strings." Yuuma murmured. "I'm not here to fight you, Ran. Nor am I here to convince you to leave those tepid waters of yours. I was only here because I was curious as to what this event was." She looked over at me with eyes that seemed guarded. I wondered if that was for my benefit or Ran's. "I was rather surprised to see that it was for the man whose house Chiyari lived in for several months." She tilted her head. "Yamame Kurodani, I assume." I nodded. "As I thought. The two of you certainly seemed close. She's a quite a good fighter, you know. Fought me in the Hell of Blood Pools once upon a time. I won, but plenty have put up a worse fight." Yuuma gave another of those smiles that showed her rows of sharp teeth. "Well...My congratulations." She said, tilting her head. "Having such a close bond with someone is a rare thing." There it was, again. That look in her eyes - That...Guardedness. What was it? Was it really to do with Ran? I knew they knew each other. Ran had mentioned 'Toutetsu' when I'd pushed her slightly too far on something. Yuuma, too...She'd said something when she left my house. She'd heard of a fox buying fried tofu.

...Couldn't be. Could it? Dear old friends, as Yuuma had said. From the Animal Realm. ...Huh. Looks like I'd been right about Ran being from there, too.

"Well, as...Pleasant as your company is, I really do have business to be getting on with." Ran suddenly announced as she straightened up, the slight jingle from her various belts very evident.

"Be seeing you, Toutetsu." She politely bowed, turning and carrying on toward Mugenkan. "And - Once more, good luck with the ceremony." This part was directed to me, and I swallowed slightly nervously. Thus, I was left with Yuuma Toutetsu, who watched the fox's retreating figure silently. She was incredibly hard to read. One moment, she was laughing, and then she'd be threatening, and a moment after that, she'd get a look on her face like she was thinking about something in the past that still hurt like twisting a knife. I couldn't seem to understand her.

"Ran Yakumo..." Yuuma mused, watching the fox go. "Pointless waste of talent." She muttered, looking away. "What a waste, what a waste..." She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, then shook her head. "Let's put that to one side. I never felt that I properly thanked you for helping me find Chiyari." She'd given me...A lot of money. Like, a lot. Too much, probably. "That was a fraction of a fraction of the Gouyoku Alliance's finances, as recompense for Chiyari living in your house. No, I never thanked you for telling me where she was." Yuuma paused, standing to her full height. She thought. "Chiyari might be - Well, Chiyari, but she's still important to me. First person to be important to me since Ran left. I'll admit that to you, and we'll say no more about it."

The worst part about knowing that there was an interloper present was knowing beforehand. I knew from the moment I saw the scrap of clothing, and I didn't know where they were, how to find them, or how to stop them. I didn't know how long I had before Miss Yuuka came to start the next part of the wedding, either. All I knew was that I could feel the prickling on the back of my neck, and it would likely stick around until the wedding ended.

So, I did the only thing one could do at a time like this. I went and found my big sister. Reimu was standing somewhere between the conversation going on between Toyosatomimi no Miko and Byakuren Hijiri, her eyes flicking back and forth between the two suspiciously. To me, their conversation sounded similar to the veiled threats and smugness that Miss Yuuka and Yukari Yakumo had been exchanging. Beside both the Buddhist and the Taoist stood their followers, glaring daggers at each other. Ichirin Kumoi did not seem to like Mononobe no Futo. Well, I supposed that made sense after their last interaction. "What's up?" She asked me casually, her gaze not breaking between the two. "I'm keeping an eye on these two. They're currently topping my list of people most likely to start a fight." I needed to talk to Reimu quietly. It...Was probably dangerous. Reimu's expression didn't change, but she casually crossed her arms, tapping her fingers against her gohei. "Laugh like I just said something really funny in a second." I blinked in confusion, then laughed when Reimu poked me. "Alright, talk. What's up?" I opened my palm to reveal the scrap of clothing I'd found and then explained what had happened to Sekibanki. "Oh, so you finally found out who she is, huh?" Seemed that everyone except me had known. "Well - No, maybe...If it's any consolation, I don't think Yamame knew either. Marisa told me that once upon a time, she ran into Sekibanki trying to pull some shady stuff by the canal in the village. She beat her up, but Sekibanki apologised."

Reimu went back to tapping her fingers across the gohei, deep in thought. "As punishment, Marisa got her a job with that old man. Knew him from something or other. Might have been a friend of her father? I don't remember." She blinked. "Sorry, you got me distracted. This cloth - Where'd you find it?" I explained the events further. "Behind her storage shed..." Reimu chewed the bottom of her lip for a moment. "...Yeah, I don't like the sound of that. Making me feel all off. Something's going on, and I don't like it one bit." What were we supposed to do, then? "Stay calm. I've...Got a bad feeling. We don't really want to get everyone involved, even if most of them would be happy to help. I'll casually let the group know. Marisa, Tenshi, Kasen...Hell, I'll even mention it to Yukari. We'll get her." Her? "Er, them. It's probably a her, though." ...Yeah, it probably was. "Don't let on that something's wrong. It'll just make whoever it is do something different."

Reimu...Seemed to have a suspicion about who it was. "...Yeah, I do. Had one as soon as you said that Sekibanki was flipped upside down." Was she going to share it? "...How are your sessions at Eientei going?" Reimu asked slowly. "About the Vampire Incident." Well...Fine, I supposed. I was getting better at talking through it. Why was she asking about that? "Because I'm pretty sure I know who it is. And it's not going to be good for you." Just tell me, I begged. "No." Reimu told me sharply. "I'm not going to, because it's the last thing you need on your wedding. Listen to me." She turned to me and pressed both of her hands against my face, resting the gohei against her leg. "Let us handle it. That's what we're here for."

I wasn't going to get anywhere with her. Maybe that was for the best. Reimu was convinced that whatever it was, it was something that my knowing about would be bad. I supposed that I would just have to trust her. "Alright, look. Just...go and mingle or something like that. Talk to, uh...Someone." I breathed in, squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, then nodded. "It'll be fine." Reimu promised me. "Trust me, she's not escaping. Once we find her...Well, there's a lot of people here who'd love to give someone a good beating." ...As long as she deserved it, I supposed. "Oh, if it's who I think it is, then she absolutely does." She slapped me on the arm encouragingly, then turned and, spotting Marisa and Tenshi, headed in their direction. That left me standing there, watching her go and wondering why there always had to be something going wrong. Back by the storage shed, I could see Kogasa talking to Sekibanki. She'd looked very frightened when Sekibanki's little incident had happened. I wouldn't have been surprised if it was because she was worried about spending a few more months worried that she'd caused something bad to happen.

>>45869116
Kanako stood at the Genbu Ravine calming herself. This was the time to put on her businesses face and focus on the task at hand. A wandering mind would do her no good in this discussion, as it would require tact to handle well. It would be hard to handle negations when the back on her mind was drifting away imagining the potential contents of upcoming tasteful erotic art. It really was an issue flying right from her meeting with that tengu to the kappa, but it was nothing a few moments of medication couldn't handle. Kanako closed her eyes and tried to imagine anything but holding that man in her arms, holding him close and-

“You needed me?”

Almost out of nowhere, Nitori was by her side. Kanako tried to show startled she was. It would be unbecoming of a god to be surprised someone the size of a young child.

Kanako looked down at the kappa, her kama demeanor switching on. The worst parts about having extended talks with kappa was working out the crinks in her neck afterwards. “You’ve been made aware about it but I’m here to talk about that place” Kanako hoped she wouldn’t have to go into detail about what ‘that place’ was. It wouldn’t bode well to embarrass herself right out of the gate.

“The HSE? Yeah I heard as much. Come on in, we’ll talk businesses” Kanako followed Nitori inside the tunnel to the kappa’s hideout. Luckily for her they were made to be roomy enough to contain plenty of space to move shipments through, so all she had to do was duck inside. “I knew that place would fall apart sooner or later. Lots of the workers there have let it slip that the place is on edge and they seem to be preparing for trouble. I guess you aren’t the only one with an issue with that place, huh? It’s really falling apart at the seams, but I guess that’s what you get when you get tengu and mountain monkeys to run the damn place” Nitori tsked. Even on a good day, the kappa, the yamawaro and the tengu never really liked each other that much. There was the old conflict between the kappa and yamawaro over their choice of living arrangement of course, but all three pointed to the others and claimed they were untrustworthy xenophobic hustlers that only cared about themselves. Of course, this applied to all three of them, but Kanako was nice enough not to mention that.

Steeping out of the way of a kappa moving machinery on a handcart. Kanako spoke up “Our position on the HSE has always been the same. We believe it’s untenable and that it would be best for the mountain to cut ties with it before it all collapses into a mess. Of course, the kappa’s help with this would be greatly appreciated”

Nitori turned around and smiled. “Noted. So what’s the plan?”


Now here was the hard sell. “Well as you know the tengu are one of the main supporters of that place. If their support were to be pulled away before everything collapses, then we could avoid a potential political nightmare. That place would shut down much smoother, the tengu could avoid getting caught in the aftermath, and we’d be able to avoid outright hostilities against them so the shrine should be able to recover. So we need some bombs”


Nitori paused and looked up, eyebrow raised. “Bombs?”

“We have an agent working with the tengu. If a few targets are struck, with deaths being avoided of course then they’ll get cold feet and cut ties with the HSE. It’s the best outcome we can hope for, and of course since we need high quality explosives, only the kappa can help us with this”


Her confusion having faded, Nitori had a smirk on her face. “Well you’ve right about that. You caught us at a good time. we can supply you with whatever you need explosive wise. You sure this isn’t about getting revenge on the tengu for spreading all those rumors about you? After all, they really slandered you”

Kanko bit her lip. It briefly crossed her mind to ask details. Just out of curiosity’s sake, maybe some of the steamier ones would actually reflect well on her and could give her ideas when she and Anon-

“I’m not that petty. Now that the rumors have been proven flase, I can deal with it in due time. Do we have a deal?” Kanako reached out a hand, bending her knees slightly.

“Heh, who would have thought it was that hermit all along. Never thought she was like that. But yes, we have a deal. For the future of Gensokyo and better deals between us, count us in on your little plot” She took Kanako’s hand and they shook.

“Now what kinda bombs are we talking about? I’ll put in the order for them” Nitori pulled out a clipboard from somewhere in her backpack, pen ready.

"Small explosives that can be carried around easily and concealed. Not too much power. Multiple triggers would be nice as it would give our agent some room to plan things out” A thought crossed Kanako’s mind. Aya would be tossing these all over the mountain where they lived, and kappas were error prone. “Make some of those duds. What are you up to that you can make these in short notice?”

"Do you know what a nakodo is?" Reimu asked me, the day before the end of March. "I've been thinking about it recently. I mean - I was thinking that it wasn't necessary, but..." A nakodo...That was the matchmaker, wasn't it? The person that gets thanked in the vows. I'd seen a wedding or two in the village before, and there'd been talk in the pubs of who the nakodo was for whoever the couple getting married was. I hadn't known them, and I'd only even been in the pubs because I'd had little else in my life at the time. So...Yes, I knew what one was, but I didn't know what relevance it had. "So - It came from, uh, the samurai classes hundreds of years ago. A man and a woman would be introduced to each other by the matchmaker to consider the possibility of marriage, back when marriage was more for tying two important clans together or increasing influence rather than, you know, for love." Reimu knew a lot about it, apparently. "I know a lot about a lot of things." She told me, shrugging. "Mostly esoteric rituals, dances, and things like that." And an encyclopaedic knowledge of practically every Shinto god under the sun, and those above the sun too. I'd seen Reimu, once upon a time, sitting cross-legged in the Shrine's Hall of Worship, dead still with her eyes shut, and I'd have thought her asleep were it not for the murmur of her lips as she spoke to the gods directly. It was...Strange. "But, I also know a lot of history about certain things, and I happen to know a bit about this one too."

So...Why was she asking? "Well, like I said, it was for arranged marriages, but yours isn't one. There was also some sort of thing about how if there wasn't a matchmaker, friends or family could take the role too, but - Well, we don't even have a head priest here, so we're already going off the books for this, and I've just had an idea." What kind of idea? "You were introduced to Yamame, weren't you? Not quite in a normal sense, but...There was something that led to you two meeting." I thought for a moment, then felt the dots connect as I understood what it was Reimu was getting out. "Ah - You get it, right? See, I thought about Marisa initially, but she didn't actually introduce you to Yamame, and then I thought of Tenshi, because of the peach, but - But, it's neither of them, is it?"

No, I shook my head. It was Kogasa Tatara. She was the one who knocked me down the hole, and was therefore the one responsible for Yamame and I meeting. "Did you invite her?" Reimu asked me, and to my amazement, I found that I hadn't. I hadn't actually seen her since the party, for that matter. "Alright, well, we can't have that. The idea's just too good. I'm going to go track her down." I squinted at Reimu, my eyes narrowing slightly. What was she planning to do once she did find her? "Kidnap her, probably. She'll take ages to convince otherwise, and we don't really have ages." Well, that was certainly true, given that the wedding was in less than a week. That said, kidnapping her seemed a little bit over the top. "Well, unless you want to come and wander around looking for her with me." Reimu's face flickered through thought, before settling on annoyance, and she groaned. "Ugh, I hope that working for Hecatia means you'll be able to fly or something. Not that I mind having to carry you around, but, you know..." No, I replied, I hoped so too. There was only so long that someone could get dragged around by their wrists or by their waist before it got just a little bit tiresome.

I'd asked her, the last time that I'd gone back home to Yamame's house. It had been two days ago, and things had been working at a fever pitch. Moon Lady Hecatia had been loudly rattling off different materials that they had, and how they'd need to carefully layer things, and Hell Lady Hecatia had been responding by asking Yamame question after question. Once Earth Lady Hecatia had seen me outside, she'd called for things to come to an end for that particular day, telling Yamame that they'd be done in time. The other two versions of Lady Hecatia had waved from the ledge upstairs, before disappearing in a swirl of that strange light that was like the night, but not necessarily darkness. That left Earth Lady Hecatia standing there, so I'd curiously asked her about that sort of thing. "If you could do that? Yeah, probably. It's something you'd have to...Like, train at, but we could probably have you moving all over the place like that soon enough." Well, that was an exciting prospect. "Glad to see you've still got enthusiasm for the job." Lady Hecatia told me with a slight smile. "Now, we're running up to the finish line for Yamame's outfit, and I do have to say that it's going to be a real stunner." Most things she wore were, I replied.

Man shut your stupid asses up I hope all of you fucks doing this get kidnapped by Amazons and Dark Elves.

>>46121537
Shut up tranny youre a man wearing women's clothes.

>>46046551
—
There’s something here; what it is ain’t exactly clear. It's small, like an ember… Yet it's everywhere, embroidering the mouths of hardworking parents, of skeptics and optimists alike and even wide-eyed teens.

It takes form of a simple question: “Who’s lying?”

Most people wouldn't care for that at first, not with the already hefty workload that is quotidian life—'doesn't impact me, why care?'

Something everyone mentioned above has is care for children and taxes to pay. Children in a place like Gensokyo, where youkai prowl all over, are extremely important, and all children need schooling; taxes keep the world spinning; no amount of 'Beyond common sense' will change that. The same person who manages our teaching institution and our hard-earned money is now under fire for allegedly mistreating one of his most esteemed subordinates, a teacher of decades who kept the village safe when the Moon made youkai go bananas…

That’s bad.

And what does Mr. Hieda do first? Take everything down; censor all of it.

… That’s very bad.

There's a woman with a gun over there, and Mr. Hieda just picked up the gun and shot himself in the foot.

—

“M-Mr. Hieda, a moment!” I sighed, looking at the direction of the voice. Another man approaches me, puzzled and wide-eyed, his wife, I assume, trailing behind. We're on school grounds and the students are just leaving; the sun being consumed by the horizon. This is not an evening of sweet relief like usual, but rather one of exhaustion and annoyance—a low growl escaping me as my worried and agitated entourage stops by the massive Ginkgo Tree on the right side of the school. I have been tormented by one topic all day long, like a cockroach that never dies: Keine's letters. Collecting everything and burning it away—rightfully ending the disgusting, fake piece of literature—wasn't quite enough to pacify the masses. “I'd like to ask about Keine-sensei's let—”

“Sorry, but Mr. Hieda is very tired and does not want to talk,” one of my bodyguards interrupted the man as he tried to get closer. “His advanced age takes a massive toll on his body—” That should've been enough, and I was already about to resume my walk back to the estate, though this nagging itch begging to be scratched layered the bottom of my mind, a constant throughout the whole day. What a headache…

“—The things that Eirin-sensei said don't match your words about Keine-sensei!”

… What?

I turn to the man, and he seems scared, teeth bared and sweating; the woman behind him remains placid and… There's just something about her eyes—

“Based on E-Eirin-sensei’s records, Keine-sensei never went to Eientei for an abortion!” His loud voice and my presence gathered attention, and the itch grew and grew. My other bodyguards immediately tensed, handmaiden to the left trying her hardest to pull me away from the man and the forming crowd, some people I recognize from earlier who've also tried interrogating me…

Oh, but none of that is relevant.

That may not have occurred in Eientei, but so what? It changes nothing! That viper aborted my Akyuu; I simply know it! “Your words don't match, Hieda-sama! Did you really lie to everyone?!”

“Please, get away from Mr. Hieda now!” The bodyguards tried to hide me from the public eye, whispers all around me of curiosity, confusion, and, outlandishly, even some agreement! The itch grew, and in my mind I saw a baby Akyuu in my arms, an innocent soul that'll have to wait years before she can return to this world, all because of that woman—

“Answer us, Hieda-sama!”

“Where did you get records anyway…?” Someone asked, but their voice was snuffed beneath the unrest that spread like wildfire.

“H-Hieda-sama, please, let’s move!” The handmaiden pleaded.

“What more did you lie about?”

“C'mon, there's no real evidence about these 'reports'!”

“Hieda-sama, what's happening?!”

“Yeah, why did you fire that hot teacher?! Her dress was so tight I could see every curve, man! This school stinks!”

“Mr. Hieda, answer us!”

“Are you idiots being paid by her?!”

“Paid?! Shut up, you bootlicker!”

Fights were starting; fingers pointed—

—And my Akyuu's name was being defiled, her terrible passing denied... All because of that goddamn woman!

“She aborted my Akyuu!” It came out with a shaking voice and limbs, fury leaking into my words and broad eyes; the crowd and my bodyguards—who were frantically trying to drag me away—froze still. “So what if it wasn't a physical abort, if there wasn't a baby to start with?! She spiritually did it! She's a monster! I don't need evidence; it was revealed to me in my dreams! It is shameful even one of you heard a word that woman spewed!”

I was the focus of thirty sets of eyes. All but one were aghast…

PICHUN~

… Holding a camera, the first man's wife grinned.

Her back suddenly sprouted dark brown wings, and she quickly took off, exclaiming, “Megumu-sama will love this!”

The ‘husband’, relieved, fell on his buttocks. “Sorry…” He mumbles. I don't even hear him.

>>46107205
>to express
Im in a middle ground here. First of all, i want to say that i hate reddit faggots. Those mother fuckers put themselves on a higher moral ground... wich, trust me, they dont have. But man, (i will talk in general next) if saying/posting things like "ohhh Su, i want to fuck you soooo bad. Momoko's tits are hugeeee, look at them, or i want to anal rape Moa" is how you "express" yourself on a fucking social media, then you should shut the fuck up and keep that "opinion" to your fucking self because you are a fucking idiot. Not so long ago, idiots were ashamed of being idiots and say idiotic things. Now, they are proud and "express" their idiotic ideas every single time they have. Miss old good idiots so much (random Su pic because she is gorgeous)

>>46093007
>Yep, I'm officialy a Nogibro. The hosts and the girls won me over. I wasn't too crazy about the same 3 new gen whores Nogi posters seem to spam here but so far 1ki has been really great.
Welcome and enjoy the ride
>I'm noticing that the early 2010s variety were much better than the current slop we're getting (Maybe that's why I couldn't get in Hinatazaka). You can tell that the hosts and show producers are not holding back at all. (Senbatsu announcement are more cruel in nature, mean spirited pranks, perverted jokes, etc).
Nogizaka still didn't have their current image of clean and cute group, Shitara has also gone old and soft and you will notice it going forward.
>* Loving all the short skirts and exposed fat thighs.
This will change as their image changes
>* Nishino might have the best combination of a must-protect and a cum inducing succubus face I've ever seen in an idol. Fucking hell, what an adorable brown bijin. Ten-chan could never. Nishino-san could stroke my fat pigeon any day iykwim.
She loves your fat pigeon anon
>* Shiraishi-san, I am in love with your smile. I don't care how much of a vapid stupid shallow whore you might come across but please, please, have sex with me.
You are not white enough
>* I'm avoiding spoilers to the best of my ability, but you just KNOW Nakada Kana would grow to become an even more beautiful succubus whore. That face of hers is literally made for JAV.
Would you consider checking her PB as spoilers? I don't think of it like this
>* What the fuck is wrong with Takayama? This woman is legit autistic kek. Also she's apparently insecure about her big butt, what the fuck? Is this a thing in Japan?
Smartest girl from Minamiboso
>* The Himura slander is making me sad for him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glbtlmBRtag.. It's one thing to get called ugly, but the creep and dirty eyes comments were pushing it. We're actually having a Flirting vs Harassment situation here with Shitara and Himura. Man... Sometimes I really fucking hate women. I wouldn't have recovered from this if I were in Himura's shoes. Props to him for laughing it off. On a more positive note, Sakurai in this clip could choke me with her fat thighs any time she wants.
The birth of HK3
>* I'm liking the more strict senbatsu and how it actually affects the lineup for the show. It makes things even more competitive and it forces the members to be better at variety. Kawatsuki not making the first 2 senbatsu was some bullshit though.
Are you talking about Wakatsuki? She had some predebut scandal of her being pictured in a purikura with a man
>* I'm liking the approach of having more guests in the show. Seeing a young Tsucchi was a nice surprise. Also my man Kojima. I don't know why, but this guy always cracks me up.
This will change
>* Bananaman are a really good duo. I love how much of an asshole Shitara is to Himura kek.
Still true today, but a bit softer than back then
>* I'm sorry, but I really, really, hope Ikoma isn't the Techi of early Nogi (I doubt it), because she's really fucking boring. Hopefully I see some Hashimoto, Nishino or Shiraishi center soon.
You really don't know anything about Nogizaka? I'm envious
>* Please someone make Inoue SHUT THE FUCK UP. What an annoying fucking voice she has.
Trust Shitara
>* Favorite song/mv so far goes to "Guuzen wo iiwake ni shite"
First 3 singles? for me it's https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztAJrJFfcHc

As you see the girls grow, remember not to get too attached to them.

Blog time.

I'm back >>46057245. First Nogi tier list after watching 40 episodes of Nogidoko. (3 singles)
Yep, I'm officialy a Nogibro. The hosts and the girls won me over. I wasn't too crazy about the same 3 new gen whores Nogi posters seem to spam here but so far 1ki has been really great. They're also much better at variety than Keyaki/Sakura. I stand corrected.
I'm noticing that the early 2010s variety were much better than the current slop we're getting (Maybe that's why I couldn't get in Hinatazaka). You can tell that the hosts and show producers are not holding back at all. (Senbatsu announcement are more cruel in nature, mean spirited pranks, perverted jokes, etc).

Random notes:
* Loving all the short skirts and exposed fat thighs.
* Nishino might have the best combination of a must-protect and a cum inducing succubus face I've ever seen in an idol. Fucking hell, what an adorable brown bijin. Ten-chan could never. Nishino-san could stroke my fat pigeon any day iykwim.
* Shiraishi-san, I am in love with your smile. I don't care how much of a vapid stupid shallow whore you might come across but please, please, have sex with me.
* I'm avoiding spoilers to the best of my ability, but you just KNOW Nakada Kana would grow to become an even more beautiful succubus whore. That face of hers is literally made for JAV.
* What the fuck is wrong with Takayama? This woman is legit autistic kek. Also she's apparently insecure about her big butt, what the fuck? Is this a thing in Japan?
* The Himura slander is making me sad for him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glbtlmBRtag.. It's one thing to get called ugly, but the creep and dirty eyes comments were pushing it. We're actually having a Flirting vs Harassment situation here with Shitara and Himura. Man... Sometimes I really fucking hate women. I wouldn't have recovered from this if I were in Himura's shoes. Props to him for laughing it off. On a more positive note, Sakurai in this clip could choke me with her fat thighs any time she wants.
* I'm liking the more strict senbatsu and how it actually affects the lineup for the show. It makes things even more competitive and it forces the members to be better at variety. Kawatsuki not making the first 2 senbatsu was some bullshit though.
* I'm liking the approach of having more guests in the show. Seeing a young Tsucchi was a nice surprise. Also my man Kojima. I don't know why, but this guy always cracks me up.
* Bananaman are a really good duo. I love how much of an asshole Shitara is to Himura kek.
* I'm sorry, but I really, really, hope Ikoma isn't the Techi of early Nogi (I doubt it), because she's really fucking boring. Hopefully I see some Hashimoto, Nishino or Shiraishi center soon.
* Please someone make Inoue SHUT THE FUCK UP. What an annoying fucking voice she has.
* Favorite song/mv so far goes to "Guuzen wo iiwake ni shite"

This, I was not sure about. "Well...She likes me, apparently. That's why her kasha talks to me like that. At least - I think it is. Rather, I hope it is." There I stood, somewhere I'd only stood once before, and in strange circumstances. The similarities were there, though. There was an earth spider by my side, a youkai who had been the one to bring me here once before. "You've got your thinking face on." She said to me. "Oh - It's not a thinking face now. That's more of...A consternation face." Was that better or worse? "Er...Well, it could have been a constipation face instead." I turned to stare at Yamame incredulously. "Right - Yeah, you know what? Let's just, er..." She awkwardly waved a hand in the direction of the wrought iron gates in front of us.

Following the visit from Akiru Kurodani, everything seemed to speed up. Perhaps it was just getting over what we'd both perceived as a hurdle, or perhaps it was the whirlwind experience that had been Yamame knocking down part of the wall of her bedroom to install a window that she could open and shut. It seemed to give an excellent view of her work yard, which I supposed was at least better than it giving an excellent view of the cave wall. "For a bit of a breeze. I was looking to change something up in here, anyway." She had informed me seriously. Clearly, she wasn't willing to take any more comments from the Kurodani matriarch on the matter, though I wasn't entirely sure why she was refusing to admit it to me. I also wasn't sure how much breeze you'd even get underground, but Yamame assured me that it would all be fine. Then, she'd promptly sent me off to the village in search of incense. Fortunately, if there was one thing that the village never lacked in, it was arts and crafts. That meant that it took me minutes to find a shop that was selling incense by the bucket load. If only I had brought a bucket. Still, I figured that filling all of the pockets of my coat with bundles of incense sticks would have to do.

On my way back, I'd almost crashed into Nai in the tunnels. "Wah!" She'd cried. "Don't scare me like that!" Personally, I'd thought that I, the big lumbering man with the massive coat, would be easier to spot than the very thin and very slight figure of Nai. "What's that smell?" She had asked with a frown. I'd blinked, my eyes still adjusting to the darkness of the tunnels, then realised that it was probably all of the incense sticks. Even though they'd been bagged up, they were still fairly strong. Curious, I'd asked her what she'd been up to. "Er - I was going to the surface, actually. There's a bazaar - Kappa, in the Ravine. They don't like us, but they like money more than they dislike us, so..."

Yamame had filled me in on what had happened when she'd gone to meet her sisters, so I'd already had a suspicion that it was about woodworking. Asking her, she'd been surprised. "How'd you know that!?" She'd jumped back slightly then, looking at me suspiciously, until I reminded her that her big sister had told me. "Oh, um...Right. Yeah..." She'd trailed off, fidgeting slightly. Finally, she'd found the courage to ask the question that had clearly been weighing on her. "How did - Um, I mean, how was...Our mother?" Intense, I'd replied after a moment's thought, but in the end, she'd given us her blessings. "Oh...That's good. Big Sister looked really worried about it before...Actually, they all did. I don't think our mum is that bad..." Well, I'd replied with a shrug, I supposed it was something that you couldn't quite understand until it happened to you. Maybe it was an age thing. "Uh...Yeah, maybe." Curious, I'd asked a question that had been bugging me. I'd sort of expected that Akiru Kurodani would have spider limbs coming out from her back. "Oh, um...We don't really show them off unless we need to." Nai had replied, scratching her head. "I mean, we all have them, but...Maybe she was trying not to scare you?" That was a curious thought. She'd seemed fairly intent on scaring me in other ways. Nai blinked twice, then shook her head. "Sorry, er, I'd better get going." Nodding, I stepped to the side and wished her a safe trip. "Um, yeah. thanks." She awkwardly nodded and disappeared toward the surface.

I hadn't even known that Nai made surface trips on her own. I supposed that with everything else that had been happening, I hadn't really spoken to her much. Not since I'd seen her while she'd been working on the Hot Springs, anyway. Shaking my head, I 'd made it back to Yamame in time to find her hard at work on her impromptu house extensions. In the end, it had taken her several days, during which my job had mostly been to pass her whatever tools she needed. I'd not really internalised that she was just as capable in the building department as she was in the clothing department, mainly because she'd not been all that involved in the Hot Springs project, and I hadn't actually seen her working on anything before that.

Akiru Kurodani raised a hand and swept her hair back, revealing her other eye properly. It also revealed what looked like a slight scar just above the eye, which had been hidden by the hair. "Oh, Yamame Kurodani. I wouldn't miss something like this for the world. Not for one of my daughters." She stepped forward, over to Yamame and wrapped her in a hug, though it was a far gentler one than she'd given at the door. "And I am proud of you." She murmured, releasing Yamame. Yamame didn't really register it for a moment, which gave me time to realise that Akiru was approaching me. She stepped closer, placed her arms around me, and then whispered to me, which was much easier since she was close to my height. "If you hurt my daughter, no one will ever find your remains. Not even the Shrine Maiden." Swallowing nervously, I nodded and mumbled back that if I ever hurt Yamame, Akiru would be in line after all of Yamame's sisters who had already threatened me. "They learnt from the best." Akiru said with a smirk.

Finally, she stepped back. "Well, then. I'm glad I came here today, aren't you, Yammy?" I lunged forward to wrap my arms around Yamame as she almost tried to jump at her mother. "I'm only teasing you, dear. Now, I'm sure you're busy, with both your wedding and your work. Still - Think of your dear mother from time to time, won't you?" Akiru's hair suddenly fell back to cover her eye. "Oh, every time..." She muttered to herself. I just about reigned in a laugh, since it was exactly like Kisami's. "Now, I'm afraid I must leave you. But - Well, you'll be just fine, won't you, Yamame?"

Yamame looked up at her. "Y-Yes, Mother. I'll be fine." She took my hand again and squeezed it tightly. "Um, thank you for visiting." She finally said in a small voice.

Akiru nodded down to her. "Ah, I almost forgot to finish my tea." She turned, crouched, and retrieved her cup from the floor, gently blew on it, and then finished it off. "Ah. You've become very good at this, haven't you?" She gently placed a hand on Yamame's head and ruffled her hair, and while Yamame recoiled slightly, she didn't make any overt complaints. Finally, Akiru moved to the door, opening it and stepping through. She turned back to us. "Oh, one last thing. Creating a breeze inside the room is best for clearing away the smell after the act. Or perhaps some incense. I can tell that you tried, though." She smiled genially. "Just a thought." And with that, she pulled the door shut.

"Oh..." Yamame groaned, almost sinking to the floor. "Of course she knew. Ugh, I knew we should have stopped earlier!" She pressed a palm against her forehead while I hauled her back up to her feet and said that I'd thought her mother had seemed nice, if a bit intense. "I can't believe she said that about looming, when she looms over every single one of us, every time she sees us." She grumbled. "Well, that could have gone much worse. I might actually have to start visiting her now." Frankly, I was just happy that it hadn't devolved into arguing. "Yes, well...It wouldn't be the first time."

Yamame stepped forward, but nearly sank to the floor again. "Ooh, all that tension..." She mumbled. "I think I need to lie down. It's a good thing we did sort out the bed, right?" Right, I replied. Honestly, I hadn't really smelt anything. "She's got a sensitive nose." Yamame said.

I helped her onto the bed, then climbed in next to her. At least she'd given her approval. "Yeah." Yamame finally murmured, pulling a cover over us. "That's something." She shifted onto her side and got closer to me. "Seriously, though. She didn't need to tell us who her ideal man actually was. I mean, you're perfect anyway. Why did I need to know what she'd find better?" I breathed out slowly and slipped my arm around her. It wasn't like any tricks would have worked on me, anyway.

Yamame was already perfect for me.

Yamame brushed past and headed over to the door. Once she was there, she looked back at me as I pulled the door to her bedroom shut and stood in the living room, my arms crossed. I'd chosen to wear Lady Hecatia's T-shirt along with the usual trousers that Yamame had made me some time ago, because I figured that at the very least, it would be a nice conversation starter. I nodded, and she pulled the door open.

"Yamame! Dear me, dear me, it's so lovely to finally come to your home!" Immediately, she was wrapped up in a tight hug, leaving her only able to stammer out some incomprehensible words as her arms waved about ineffectually. Here, I laid my eyes on the Kurodani matriarch for the first time, and...Blinked, because either I was clairvoyant, or she looked almost exactly the way I'd imagined her. Well taller than Yamame - Taller than Kisami, even, though her hair that was closer to platinum blonde, far lighter than Yamame's hair and longer, hanging down in thick strands that covered her eye. I'd imagined her hair to be darker. There was another change, though, because it was the opposite eye covered to what I'd imagined. I'd thought, but not said, that she might have a...figure.

Her eyes, too. They were as sharp and crimson in colour as they'd been in my mind. And, as I watched her squeeze Yamame tightly, my spider's arms left flailing as she tried and failed to escape what looked like her mother's iron grip, I could see for myself that she definitely did have a figure. She was...Big. Big, as in she was taller than Yamame. Big, as in her hair was longer and somehow even bushier than Kisami's. Big, as in she was...Chestier. She'd chosen to wear a dress. Black, with yellow highlights, including some of the bands that I saw on most of the other Kurodani family members. Through the light of Yamame's home, I could tell that her dress, sheer and hugging her curves, was just slightly see-through, as it hung down to her ankles. She was - Curvier. Curvier, as in a man from the village would gladly sprint to the top of the mountain in his birthday suit just to brush shoulders with her.

"Mo-Mother, can't - Breathe!" Yamame gasped, her face squashed against her mother by way of her iron grip. "Mother!" She cried, her arm flailing getting even more wild.

The elder Kurodani blinked, locking eyes with me. The sharp red eyes - Eye, because I could only see one of them - narrowed just slightly, in what I hoped wasn't a dangerous way. A moment longer, and she released Yamame, who staggered back, taking in a big lungful of air that seemed to make her a little lightheaded, because I felt the need to reach out and steady her before she could fall over. Once I'd gotten her steady, she nodded and I realised her. "Well, now. My darling little Yammy told me that she'd met a human boy, and I see that she was not fooling me." The elder Kurodani strode forward elegantly, that one visible eye continuing to examine me. It felt a little bit familiar. Like I was in Eientei while Eirin Yagokoro was in the middle of her sleep-deprived psychosis, looking for an excuse to slice me open.

"Mother!" Yamame said sharply. "Don't call me that!" She sounded a little bit scandalised.

Seeing an opportunity for a good first impression, I bowed deeply as she approached and told her that it was a pleasure to finally meet her. Yamame had told me a lot of things about her. "My, my, is that so? Yamame, dear, just what tall tales have you been telling the poor boy?"

"Nothing!" Yamame replied quickly. "I said nothing." She shook her head frantically. "O-Okay, um..." She turned to me. "So, this is my mother. Akiru Kurodani. Mother, this is - Um, my fiancé." She was definitely struggling with her words, so I nodded encouragingly at her and took over to introduce myself with less stammering.

"Ah, so that's what the fascinating little stone I can see on your finger is for. Show it to me." She reached a hand out toward Yamame’s hand, and she hesitated for only a moment before showing her. The elder Kurodani examined the ring from side to side. "Is this your sister's handiwork?" She murmured. "Kisami?" Yamame nodded jerkily. "So I thought. It does bear her unique...Touch." I couldn't tell if that was a good thing or not. "Much as do you, Yamame. Have you moulted recently?"

Yamame spluttered. "I - Mother, do you want something to drink? Some tea?" My spider looked torn as soon as she'd said it, stuck between making tea and therefore being out of her mother's presence for a moment, and the fact that doing so would mean leaving me alone with her.

"Hmm...Yes, tea will do. Thank you, Yammy, dear." The elder Kurodani nodded slowly, still watching me for my reactions. I looked over at Yamame and politely asked her if I could have some tea too, though I made sure to thank her gratefully for it.

(1/2)
—
Six weeks, ugh… Mother Nature truly doesn't understand civilization, does she?

I remain serene and austere in posture and facade while inside a fire burned akin to a massive pyre, legs begging to cross, heart begging for another thing entirely. Nothing that bothers my workflow, but it really makes things weird when a yamawaro half my size approaches and stays so goddamn close to my—

—I take a deep breath, patiently waiting while writing on a small notebook arithmetic expressions almost absentmindedly. It doesn't calm me as much as it used to…

A twitch of my ear tells me the expected people were approaching, two or three hallways away, and I didn't fight the small smile: Considering everything that's been happening and the stress of our latest reunions, it's a miracle Chen can still smile~I wonder what they're talking about. “So it’s true! Reimu-san beat you two with closed eyes! She so cool~! I thought she was joking when she told me that, but wow… I'll knit her something fancy as an apology.” Chen beamed, gesturing with her arms to an astonished Flandre, the vampire's arms behind her neck. A resigned Goro and an embarrassed Seiga followed the duo.

“It's been so long since I fought Reimu. I wonder what'd happen if we two fought blindfolded…” Flan pondered. “But with closed eyes AND without attacking back? I'd die from boredom!”

“In my opinion, it’s the best kind of duel: no one gets harmed, and you just have fun together—danmaku hurts so much sometimes, ugh… Parsee-chan didn’t react well to my ‘no’ to her marriage proposal…”

“Bleh, I feel you: creepy grandmas are the worst! 'Kina is always showing her panties and asking to see mine in return… But I like the pain danmaku causes! Makes me feel all giddy~but the head pain—” she hits a closed fist on her head as if a coconut. “—of losing a duel where the other doesn't attack and fights with closed eyes? I wouldn't like that pain.”

“You brats are very lucky you are cute; otherwise, I'd…” Seiga murmured under her breath, the man by her side concealing his laughter well. Probably moved by hormones, I decided to join the fun, stretching the Gap I was using to listen to them and walking through it.

“Otherwise you'd do what, Seiga-san?” I speak behind her, my tone high, posture tall, and expression of harsh neutrality. The reaction is immediate and the woman jumps forward from the scare, one much more prominent than what I was expecting; blaming her for being immersed in her head to escape the cute banter wouldn't be right, so I keep my mouth shut. Chen and Flandre didn't react as vocally; the first lived her whole life with the presence of the Gap, and I guess Okina has desensitized Flan at this point.

“Ran!”

“Ranryu!”

Chen and the vampire—whose cute nickname brings back fond memories~—, hug me the next moment, and I can't help but smile as I hold them. Visions of a lovely future flood my mind and I silently say, “Not now,” mentally. “Ran, Ran! Reimu wasn't lying when she bragged about fighting blind!” Chen comes first as the hug comes to an end.

“I was aware—I read on the Bunbunmaru~”

A recovered, yet redder than before, Seiga answers, “I'll kill that fu—friggin’ bird—”

“Don't be mean to Ayaya! I won't stand by that!” Unexpectedly, with red, puffy cheeks—if only I had Sakuya-san's abilities…—Chen charges over to the Amanojaku and gives her a shin kick. With that, Goro-san lost all control and laughed with Flan, while Seiga inhaled deeply and gazed at the ceiling with one eyelid quivering. A gentle head pat, similar to the ones Anon gives me, from a cursed hand calms her anger toward the bakeneko. “Be kind to those who bring us the news; she was just doing her duty as a reporter!”

“You heard it, Seiga; be nice to your reporters; even they deserve respect.” Chen nodded, missing the sarcasm. “Tribulation comes for the wicked… Mainly the financial kind.” As soon as she hears the penultimate word, Flandre covers her ears.

“Boring subject spotted! C'mon, c'mon—let's see your room already!” She demands, and though adorable, I remember that all it would take is one bad tantrum of hers to nuke the entire village…

Faking a giggle, I bow to Goro and Seija. “Sorry for the scare, Seiga-san, Goro-san—” I force Chen to bow too, much to her bewilderment. “And for Chen's way to protect those she likes.” The bakeneko pouts, arms crossed.

“No harm done.” Goro-san immediately returns the bow with a smile, though Seiga takes a moment, grunts, and THEN bows back.

That subject out of the way, I gap myself to the front to lead the group, sleeves conjoined and smile simple, though inside the struggle continues. “I'll show you your quarters now—they were handcrafted by Yukari-sama, so I hope you enjoy.”

With the rest of the group trailing closely behind, the man remarks, “Anything better than the minimalistic approach of the temple. Though, Ran-sama, if you don't mind: what did Flan-chan meant with… 'Ranryu'?”

I blush and, to the side, Flandre’s eyes light up.

(1/3)
—
Watching Hana and Aunn disappear behind the shoji door felt like an ode to penitence, and my hand caressing the side of my pregnant belly only emphasized the feeling. The moon above shone and, slowly, I turned back to Reimu, skin trembling and mind turning, her eyes staring at my belly with a feeling impossible to describe—thoughts of those wings of flames hidden inside, the way the fire danced as the solid gold statue and marble turned into mold washed over me, leaving every nerve and muscle in its wake frozen still…

… But also did the image of her on her knees, begging for forgiveness and for Hana's attention. Was it real? It felt so real, like staring at a mirror and seeing 30 years ago, when her eyes were still of the Reimu I knew and called a friend.

Yet the first law of magic states that nothing can exist in a vacuum: Anon's body destroyed and the many times I tended to his wounds; a small Hana crying, confused and sad, seeking anything to quench the pain of a shattered household; Reimu's terrible words that day when she found out about the same stone now in Hana's pocket… 7 years of inactivity then. A small respite, followed by this hell—'a hell I partook in', my mind whispered, conscious about my pregnant belly.

The memories, the confusion, this situation. All so tiresome—

—shit, shit! When did Reimu get so close?!

She was basically on my face, about a foot of distance between us and looking at me from above, her eyes cold and thoughtful—just enough to freeze every remaining cell on my body. This is it. This is fucking it! The moment I try to move, she's going for the kill. Oh, but she's clueless if she thinks I'm gonna bite the bullet without a fight! A hand effortlessly reaches for a spellcard, heart sinking yet beating with an abrupt frenzy, weary body springing to life in a colored spark, ready to fight face-on against this monster in sheep skin— “Heh, you look silly.”

…

“B-Bwuah?!” Her words threw me off. Her relaxed posture threw me off and those eyes—those fucking eyes—full of harmless smugness took me back three decades once more. “Silly…? W-What the hell does that mean, you snake-ze?!” Is that some tactic to take me off guard? It's fucking working!

But why would Reimu, of all people, need it?! The bitch is jacked and though once she was a starving corpse, the way she faced off Yukari spoke the absolute opposite of my weakness.

What the hell is happening…?

“So tiny, but sporting that big pregnant belly—like a kid faking pregnancy with a football, heh~” My face turned bright red at the sound of another laugh, but my scowl was tinged with disbelief. Has she gone mad…? Gah, and the fact I've got to look at her from below just hurts even more now; what sick genetics even gives someone that'd often go hungry almost 6 feet of height?!

My fight turned to aluminum in sulfuric acid, anger erupting in a torrent of flames that thawed my body and made me feel insanely agitated. “This is what you tackle first; how silly I look while being pregnant-ze?! After all this time, everything you've done… And that is the most important thing on the fray?!” She was laughing… She was laughing! “Stop laughing!” Possessed by something supernatural, I pulled up my broom and hit the end on her head repeatedly.

“Sorry—sorry—just—wanted to—take that—out—of—my—system~” She keeps on giggling as the broom strikes, barely seeming to be affected by the powerful blows.

Teeth bared and heart screaming with an earthquake of feeling, body sensitive and quivering, my strikes don't cease as Reimu just keeps on passively taking them, a soft smile visible beneath the arms shielding her face, one that flares inside wrath of almost two decades of suffering, all put on the end of the broom as it hit the shrine maiden: watching Anon, Hana… Reimu herself suffer, a feeling I always felt shame about; why pity her too, the fucking monster doing all the harm?! The one that rapidly snatched the man I loved and had a family with him, all while rubbing her happiness on my face?! That proceeded to haunt their lives forever! In my blind rage, I barely noticed I was whispering all of those words, lashing out blows that, even if powered by rage, soon began losing strength… Her eyes feel like a mirror. “Why have I stopped trying? Why is Anon still locked in that filthy place…? Why haven’t you done something?” My eyes shut, and I fiercely ignored the salt water cascading down my face. So many failures to so many people I loved; a life of robbing, coveting; and destroying bonds… Anon's words the day I came out with my pregnancy don't sound like caresses I hear in my dreams anymore, but curses and—

The next blow is caught, and I look at Reimu holding the broom's end effortlessly. Her face, illuminated by the moonlight, boasts a kind smile. “… I always thought Hana wanted a sibling, but never talked about it because of me—I'm glad I wasn't the person to give her one… Thanks for taking care of her, Marisa, and congrats on the baby~!”

The trip back from the mountain had been going...Alright, for the most part. Kisami didn't seem like she wanted to spend very long outside, so we'd already been making a beeline for the caves when, of course, something had to happen. We'd been above the path by the Forest of Magic when I'd spotted something on the road. It looked, from my point of view, like a collapsed villager, and I obviously couldn't let that slide, so I called for Ki to stop. "What?" She'd asked me, frowning. "A villager?" I pointed them out and Ki's frown only increased. "But...It's getting dark. Why would...?" It was getting dark. Ki's relief that it had still been daylight outside the mines hadn't lasted long. That was Winter, I supposed. Before you knew it, the sun was gone. Either way, I didn't think it would be a very good idea to leave someone passed out on the road, so I'd insisted that we go and have a look. "Yeah...Probably for the best. It'd make it hard to sleep at night if I let something bad happen to someone."

Down we'd gone, only to find more confusion mounting at the fact that the villager...Didn't look right. Their body looked a bit...Off, like it was shiny or smooth. Like the parts weren't adding up, but I couldn't seem to focus on it. And, for some reason, we couldn't seem to make our minds up on whether it was a man or a woman lying there. Given that Ki and I had still barely recovered from how scary the mineshaft had been, everything about this seemed to be setting off alarms in our heads. "It's - What's going on here...?" Ki mumbled to herself, pulling me closer to her. "Don't go too far from me." She said it like it was a warning, but I had a feeling that she was feeling very unsettled. She tried to stare at the body for a moment, then squeezed her eyes shut.

Then, I heard a rustle, and we both looked over to see...A purple umbrella. It was lying on the floor, next to the body, and I was certain that we should have seen it. "Hey, what's...?" Ki reached out toward it.

And suddenly, it spun of its own accord and the massive tongue that I knew I should have recognized licked Ki's face. "Urameshiya!" I suddenly heard the scream, and we both spun to see the oddly coloured eyes of Kogasa Tatara. At any other time, it wouldn't have been scary, but just at this moment, at this exact time, after this exact day, it was enough to make Ki and I both scream. Kogasa's face split into a wide smile and she cheered. "It worked! I didn't think it would, but the fake villager trick really worked!" I could practically hear Ki's heart pounding, but only over the sound of my own. "Oh, um...Are you okay?" She asked, and I looked over at Ki to see that she was actually crying a little bit.

Now that I'd calmed down a bit, I had to calm Ki down, so I patted her on the arm and told her that it was okay. "I - I just..." She took in a trembling breath. "Just too much, today..." She mumbled, so I pulled her into a hug and patted her on the head a little bit. Once she'd sniffled and wiped her eyes a bit, I turned back to Kogasa with my arms folded, and explained that we'd already had a bit of a fright at the old mineshaft on the mountain. "Th-That place!?" Kogasa asked nervously. "Um, I stay away from there...I know I'm supposed to scare people, but it was really scary in there..." I didn't blame her one bit. Sighing, I realised that I needed to get something out of the way and this seemed like an opportune moment, so I quickly asked Kogasa if she had free time in April. "Um...I already got a big job for the year, so...Yes, I think so." Hurriedly, because I was sure that Ki was getting ready to bolt, I laid out the details of the wedding. "You're getting married? To - To Miss Yamame?" I nodded. Kogasa had basically been responsible for that, I said with a bit of a smile. "Um, I'm really happy for you! I'll - I'll definitely come!" I nodded with a smile, feeling a lot better.

And then, I suddenly felt worse. I heard a noise. A sort of...Shifting, or a rustle. Like that of clothes scraping together. And worse, I heard a laugh, but it sounded all wrong, like it was coming from a different voice at every moment, as if I couldn't latch onto what it actually was. "And I'll...Come too..." The voice said. Now feeling very nervous again, Ki and I slowly turned around.

>>46051151
Man shut up

"Obviously. Blindingly obvious, and you haven't even met Kisami - Not properly, anyway. Yamame's big sister, which just makes it make more sense." I did not get it.

"Honestly, it's a good thing you have me." Tenshi murmured. "Not that I'm going to explain it. Suffice to say, it is important, though. You can trust me on that." I definitely knew that I could trust her.

The meeting wound down after that, and talk soon turned from the wedding back to smaller topics. By this, I meant that Reimu and I went back to paying rapturous attention to every little body movement from Marisa and Tenshi as we tried to work out just what was going on between them.

"Well, we'll need to measure up clothes, won't we?" Tenshi said to Marisa. "It's a good thing you're about my size." Was that...True? Tenshi was definitely taller than Marisa, she seemed a little bit...Endowed in other departments too. "Still, I'll measure you, and you can measure me. Maybe we could go...Hmm, The hot springs?" Clearing my throat, I pointed out that a number of oni might have something to say about Tenshi's appearance. "So what? There's no way they're still mad. Rowdiness is just how things go down there."

Considering it had got Yamame's family hired for months at expensive rates, I doubted there wasn't still some animosity. The money that Yuugi had been forced to pay the Kurodani family must have been immense. Especially considering all the extra money she'd had to pay for materials since the oni kept breaking things.

"Well, uh, I think we'd best be going." Reimu said, jumping to her feet and pulling me up with her. "Lots to do, you know. And I should get him back to Yamame's home."

"You sure? Wouldn't mind you staying longer." Marisa asked, shrugging and raising her arms. "Haven't even let Tenshi show you all the stuff she found." It was a tempting offer, I replied, but I did need to get home at some point. "Ah...Well, alright then. Both of you, it was nice to see you. Come round more often. We'll even make enough food for all of us next time." That'd be nice, I thought. Food made by an ex-celestial with help from a witch was sure to be a unique experience.

"Alright, let's go." Reimu said, dragging me over to the door with her. "Tenshi, come by the Shrine after you see Yuuka." Tenshi nodded with a smile, and Reimu wasted no time in getting us outside. "Bye!" She called over her shoulder.

Curious, I asked why she'd rushed us out. "Listen." She whispered as we rounded the house again.

"So, what do you want to wear?" I heard Marisa saying. "Because I'm thinking-"

"Whatever you’re thinking, Marisa, it's probably a bad choice." Tenshi replied. "I've got the much more refined taste of the two of us, so leave it to me." There was silence for a moment. "Actually, let's do some tests right now. Take it off." Reimu looked back at me and repeated the words incredulously. "Yeah, all of it. And get the tape measure. In fact, turn around and put your hands against the wall so I can - Can..." Tenshi trailed off, and then I heard the sounds of restrained laughter.

"Man, shut up." I hear Marisa hiss. "You'll ruin it." I looked at Reimu blankly, and she turned back to me with a very deadpan expression that looked like she was ready to push one of her needles into her brain. "Say something even worse. Come on..."

"U-Um, spread your legs. No, wider. Wider! I'll have to punish you if you don't." Tenshi still sounded like she was struggling to hold back laughter. "Are they still there?" She was extremely quiet, and I suspected that it was the peach that let me hear her at all. I relayed it to Reimu, who sighed and buried her face in her hands. There was another moment of silence, but this one felt much more loaded with tension, like a dam was about to break.

"Oh, Tenshi!" Marisa suddenly screamed in the most exaggerated voice I'd ever heard. "Carry me to our bed, my love! I wish to, uh...Lose ourselves in the throes of passion!" The silence that followed her words was almost thick enough to touch.

"Then, I shall, my dear! I wish not to miss a moment of your sweet voice and your breath against my skin, you - You delicious morsel!" Tenshi shouted back. At this point, even I had figured out what they were doing, which was pretty impressive because I’d almost thought they were serious at first.

"Fine!" Reimu yelled. "We are leaving!" Marisa and Tenshi broke into raucous laughter inside the house, and Reimu grabbed my arm and stomped away, dragging me along with her. "Unbelievable." She grumbled, her face just slightly red. "They're such a deadly pair, regardless of if they're actually together or not." And as we left, I realised that I still couldn't say for sure if they were together or not. If anything, I now had even less idea, and Reimu didn't look like she was any closer either. "We're never going to figure this out."

Perhaps it was just one of life's great mysteries.

>>45989060 (3/3—p7)
—
I was at a loss for words.

My breath hitches and my heart feels heavy, like a cauldron full of lead. He knew… And he still said all those things. A piercing pain pumps inside my veins, hot and frustrating. Our gazes remain on one another's, his calm and collected, and, reflecting on those eyes, I could see mine: full of despair and rage, hands holding our beautiful little world growing inside of me.

The room was dark, the cold outside growing with the death of the sun. We were nude—mind and body—, a meter between us.

Anon supports a forearm on top of his knee, ruminating to himself before continuing, “Before you hit Chen, you… You looked like Reimu. Tense and lost inside your own mind, yet clutching your belly like an anchor…” The same crushing longing I would get from staring at the tall Saigyou Ayakashi flashes inside his eyes, and then a well of experience-driven sadness rises there. “… You think the baby will solve everything, like Reimu did. You'll hold it in your arms, look in its eyes and say, 'today, I'll change for the better'… Like Reimu di—”

“I'm not Reimu!” I spit out, body trembling and not from cold, voice lacking the elegant bite it usually has, dumbfoundedness towards the situation permeating deep; denied like that, played as if a toy… The nearly lifeless blonde hair, the angry purple eyes, and the tears that fall all testify to my excruciating pain. “That woman never had the will to do any good with her miserable life, but I do! I did everything around me so my family's life; Gensokyo could be safe! It was a hell of clowns dancing for the likes of Okina, the Moriyans, and the Buddhists—their religions selling peace and prosperity, yet doing nothing to change the obvious faults that riddled EVERY single nook and cranny of Gensokyo! They weren't there to stop incarnated death when nuclear bombs fell on our walls; to save Yuyuko when she had to commit suicide to stop that cursed tree; or Ren… Or when a wolf dressed as a sheep tortured a man and his daughter—but I took action! And things are now better, despite my shortcomings! I gave my all, by myself, to the Gensokyo I love!” My rage came out in thick tears, teeth bared. “… And everything I did, every greedy person and rabid youkai I killed, I did it for the hope someday my family—”

“You did it for yourself.” His voice cut like a sharp sword, calmness fading and giving way to… pity. Pity. He was feeling pity for me—or for our baby, our world? “You don't care about Gensokyo or about my marriage with Reimu—you don't even love me, Yukari… But you do love yourself a lot; you love attention, good or bad; love when people remember you exist…” No, those are lies, I-I… “And I understand it. I truly do.” Tearful thoughts are immediately cut when his own tears resume, shaking his head. “You've been lonely for very long, haven't you? Carried a lot of weight on those shoulders for very long too… Even when you are surrounded by people who genuinely love and care for you, you still feel alone. Yet, those words from just now... There was a time when you didn't feel alone.” He sighs, a shadow of sorrow there. “… A time when you loved too much.”

My hands trembled, begging me to just create Gaps and shut him up—explode his head if necessary…

… Those words, that pity…

Naked in this dark, cold caricature of erected lies, being bombarded by words that made my heart bleed… I've never hurt so much.

“But it was all taken away—someway, somehow—and you've never found a good way to deal with it, and so the HSE was created, a place where you meticulously control everything with a million excuses, all so you never, ever lose someone again… Jesus, Yukari, you're so absurd.” He laughs for some reason. I feel weak; his words grinding inside my head. “… After all, despite everything, I still have hope for you—that you can change like Reimu did. How's that even possible?”

…

… I cannot answer, yet my grip on my belly tightens, tears falling. How can he say my love is fake? It's right here, being destroyed, lacerated, and hemorrhaging by his words! Love hurts… It hurts so, so very much. People around me who love and care? He knows nothing. Nothing! You cannot befriend a computer; it’ll always be predictable and simple. Its love is fake and, with the passing of the decades, it becomes more and more clear…

A computer cannot replace true affection. It’s a very lonely relationship.

“… I asked myself the same question when Reimu was pregnant with Hana. How's it even possible that I still want her to change, despite all that she has done to me?” Anon sighs with a bitter smile that, within long, silent seconds, softly fades away into a profound look of nostalgia—

—suddenly, he’d approached, sitting to my side.

He looks forward, not at me; if so, he’d have seen my utter surprise—necessity. “The answer is that I wanted the best for our kid, even if she took after Reimu…” He looks straight into my eyes. “A parent’s sins are never their children’s.”

>>45982865
In the next few moments, I saw pictures of what happened, could tell that some time passed between Konngara putting her hand on the hilt of her sword, a scar appearing on both sides of the corridor, first her left, then the right, the blade sinking into Goro's neck precisely 0.05 Millimeters, and Seija, appearing besides Goro, catching the sword in her hand, preventing it from traveling further.

"Do you know why you died?" Konngara asked.

Goro didn't say anything, unmoving.

"You turned me around once, an impressive reaction, but a meaningless act for anyone capable of sufficient speed, I merely turned a full circle." She explained. "What's more, you two may have managed a second action, but it was only to catch my blade, a cowards act. Were you both anything worth bothering with, you'd have killed me twice over."

"Ah, blood..." Flandre whispered, watching the bright red liquid leak down Goro's neck and onto Konngara's razor sharp blade.

"Not now Flan! This might be trouble." I whispered.

"We have mutual interests Konngara, and you dying would be a problem for us. Don't mistake our prudence and patience for weakness." Goro stated coldly.

"Mutual interests? No such thing Tool. They're two things in this world, what I cut down and what I use to cut other's down with. I'll give you five second to decide which one you are." Konngara stated.

Goro shut his eyes and exhaled from his nose as she started counting down, 'five', 'four', I grabbed Flan, pointing to the vent below, 'three', 'two', Flan readied herself, gripping the metal of the vent so hard that it contorted like a dough in her hands, ready for her to shoot herself toward Konngara. 'one'.

Ran-san has told me there's no such thing as an 'instant', that time was something like water, it can be infinitely sub-divided, over and over again, and all we see if an illusion at whatever fidelity our brains can process. What I saw made me doubt her words.

In one moment, Seija and Goro were in front of Konngara and in the next, they were behind her, Seija holding her blade to her neck. Even as a Shikigami, who's perception should be near perfect, I couldn't see them move there, not by any movement, or magic, or any teleportation. It was as if no time had passed between their two stances. The air, as if it had detected the fault as quickly as I did, rushed passed Konngara, flowing through her hair, pushed out of the space occupied by the two and sucked into the empty place they had come from.

"Nobody's allowed to mark my man but me you fake Oni bitch." Seija growled.

Konngara turned and smirked. "Excellent. At the least there's one thing you two might be good for."

"Of course!" Goro said happily, melting whatever chill his voice used to carry. "It's not our intention to get in your way at all Konngara-chan, on the contrary, it's as you say, we'll be enabling you."

Konngara cocked an eyebrow. I leaned closer to the vent, ears peeled.

"You see, all of you are well-known to our enemies, meaning they probably have some annoying plans drawn up for each and every one of you supernovas. Except, we only figured out how to pull off this particular trick this evening, so they probably aren't even considering us. In short, we'll set the stage for you." Goro explained.

"So that's why you didn't kill me. Hmm, that's a little bit interesting..." Konngara said.

"Well, it's one reason. Truth be told, I like your horn."

Flan's slight panting stopped, Konngara's smirk turned to a frown, I flicked my ears, and Seija turned and started yelling.

"Idiot! What are you doing looking at another woman's horn when we're in the middle of it? Are you trying to piss me off?" Seija turned, gripping the stolen sword tighter in her hand.

"Hey! Beauty is beauty okay? I mean, Konngara-chan, I can tell you put a lot of work into that thing! Almost as much work as you put in polishing this sword right? It would be rude not to appreciate the effort!" He retorted.

"So, you like em' big huh? Big, red, shiny horns right? You can see it's not even real you know!" Seija pointed.

"Well yes, but immatation is the sincerest form of flattery you know! Why are you so upset anyway, you know I like your horns the best! They're small, cute, and elegant after all, the perfect size to rub you know." Goro replied.

"Not in front of the-" Seija began, before the sword in her hand shattered and broke apart.

"Ah, well, this is your fault." The Amanojaku said, tossing the hilt at the ground in front of Konngara. "That thing broke so easily, probably has no real will to exist."

Konngara, regaining her smirked, began to explain "Well of course, that blade only had meaning in my hand after-"

"Seija you're bleeding!" Goro said, grabbing the Amanojaku's hand.

"Are you daft? Of course I am! I grabbed a sword with my bear hands! And who're you to worry? My wound will heal up easy, but you've got that gash in your neck!" Seija admonished.

>>45955497
man she looks comfy to just cuddle up to in her big mouth thing
soft cuddlepillow plant made for groping like a stress toy before getting some well-deserved shut-eye mmmmm, she can pretend to be the dominant all she wants to but i know in the end i'll be the big spoon and i'll get to fondle her tits and thighs all i want and that's a win in my book

>be me, groundskeeper at golf country club
>trimming hedges around the course underneath an oppressive sun
>sweating up a storm, I fucking hate the sun so much, I wish I could move to the ice kingdom
>in the background this party of hags who are members of the club club are playing some holes on the golf field
>buncha old ass, fat ass filthy stinking rich retirees, a wight and dark mage and anubis and fox hags among them
>just ignore their annoying high pitched screams every time they get a hole in one and try to go back to working
>"Oh my, you look so tired. Having a hard day out here?"
>god fucking damn it
>Creeping Coin hag coming up to me
>why can't she piss off and leave me the hell alone
>"I thought you looked so overworked out here, so I brought this."
>she's trying to offer me this expensive ass mineral water she bought
>force a smile and take it while thinking her and drink, at least this will cool me down a bit
>"That's better! You're very welcome young man, I know this heat must be so dreadful this time of year!"
>she pulls out a handkerchief and wipes my fucking head without my permission
>cringing behind my fake smile at these fucking hags and their lack of respect for personal boundaries
>thank her again but kind of back off at her invading my breathing room
>she just comes closer while ranting on about how it's just not right to make a guy like me work so hard in so much clothes
>I'm only literally wearing khaki shorts and a short sleeve button up, does she want me fucking nake- wait, yeah, she's a hag
>"Haha, yeah, for sure ma'am. Anyway, I need to get back to work now, but thanks for the drink."
>"Oh, certainly you should take a break right about now, you've been out here for hours."
>"I don't get paid if I don't work, ma'am."
>"Nonsense. You should take a break, perhaps you'd like to come join me and my friends and hit a few goals for just a bit? Come on, just a few minutes shouldn't hurt!"
>she puts her arm around my shoulder like we're best friends that knew each other for years and presses her giant golden breasts against me
>"Ma'am please I'm not gonna get paid."
>"Come now just a few minutes won't get you fired!"
>"Ma'am no, I have to do my job, I need-"
>"Just a few minutes, dear boy! Come!"
>"Ma'am my paycheck depends on this. Ma'am!"
>"Only a little break won't hurt!"
>"Ma'am I can't-"
>pushes my head into her cleavage to shut me down
>"If anyone asks I'll just talk to your manager and explain what's up! Come have some fun with u-"
>"MA'AM NO-"
>push her away and run off
>hear her giggling like a predator as I get away
>to the garden tool shed and lock myself inside
What the fuck is wrong with these goddamn hags
Why can't they just leave me alone
JUST LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE I JUST WANT TO DO MY JOB AND HAVE A NORMAL LIFE
STOP BOTHERING ME STOP STOP FUCKING STOP STOOOOOOOOOP
I WILL NOT BE A BOYTOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WILL NOT BE PREY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!