/jp/ - Otaku Culture

(3/3)
>>44828232
Yukari is not safe.
—
Chen should've returned an hour ago. I left for 10 minutes with two easy missions—errands, but Chen likes when I call them missions—, that were: pick up the Eientei shipment and carry the GREEN bag to Anon's room. Simple. I would've returned expecting to see her sitting on her spot in the reception, playing with a flower, or the cats that occasionally visit. But she wasn't there.

I thought she had left to get something to eat or gone to the bathroom. 10 minutes later, nothing; I asked the guards by the gates, and they said they hadn't seen her either. At that moment, worry began boiling in me. I looked around this disgusting place and peeked at every nook and cranny she might have hidden in. With every passing second, my anger was steadily replaced by worry and fear.

And, after an hour of searching, I was heading to the last possible place. There's no possible way she'd be here still. First, even if Anon were dumb enough to attack her, Chen would absolutely stomp him like a fly. There's no other outcome.

But, so, where's Chen?

The worry seed developed into a full-fledged volcanic eruption of fear, wrath, and anxiety. If what she thinks happened is true, she'll kill not only Anon but also Yukari. She created this house of horrors; she put an innocent man in this impossible situation and sold the lie to the entirety of Gensokyo that he was here to lend payback to his abusive wife.

Heart on top of my mouth, eyes wide and drooling bloodlust, I unmade the magical barriers on the door with frenzy, opening the door and—!!

No... Chen, no...

She was lying on him, eyes closed. I didn't think. Danmaku at my fingertips, ready to eviscerate. This is it for me. I'll kill this man and then my master. I'll maybe die, too. Unimportant.

I stomped forward, death imprinted on my tensed-up tails, eyes locked on Chen, ready to take a life like it was that of a fly squashed without a second thought...

But then—

"Shhhh..." Perplexed, I looked at the origin of the sound. Anon had a finger on his mouth and looked disappointed. What the— "Chen is asleep; can't you see?"

H-Huh?!

With eyes wide as plates I looked back at Chen. She wasn't...

... She's sleeping, arms around his neck, tails resting on his biceps.

Relief felt like a bucket of freezing water, and I felt like I was at the center of a circus. Anon, rhythmically, swung his arms up and down, as if putting a baby to sleep, and if Chen's soft purrs said something, it worked. Up and close, she looked peaceful, even.

All she had in her face was either boredom or annoyance in the past month.

"Careful now."

"H-Huh, wha—" Out of the blue, Anon approached and, gently and with a tint of experience, passed Chen onto my arms. She squirmed a bit, and I took a moment to properly hold her, but soon her cheek was resting on my shoulder, murmuring something in her dream world. It sounded like... 'friend'?

A world away from the anger I entered with, I looked up at Anon, watching him sit on the edge of the bed.

Unlike all the times I've come here, he didn't look miserable.

"We just talked. She had a nightmare, and... swinging used to help my daughter." My look must've felt judgmental if he felt like he had to explain himself. The bitterness of the situation struck true: Yukari has eyes on the walls, we keep him caged, and we still suspect him.

It must feel like hell.

"Sorry..." There were more than I wanted to say, but they were empty words.

Yet, Anon's response still took the words out of my mouth.

"She's a precious girl," he looked at Chen with nothing but tenderness, the complete opposite of the women I'd guide in here. "Wise, too," he chuckled.

I didn't know what to say, so I patted Chen's nape and smiled, feeling tired. "Yes; yes, she is," my smile died out. "We're opening in twenty minutes."

Anon simply nodded, turning his face away.

With nothing more to add, I left at a quick pace, ignoring with all my might the worm of shame and guilt growing inside. "I'm part of this; I'm part of this problem," the worm whispered.

And I know the worm is right. I ignored it for sanity's sake.

"Mr. Anon..." The voice came from really close: Chen, eyes barely open, spoke, cat ears twitching, "He's crying now... He didn't choose to be here, did he? He has the sad."

It's information Yukari ordered not to spread...

"No, he did not," I admitted, running my fingers through Chen's hair, just now noting her new pair of gloves. My heart sank a bit. "Yukari doesn't want him to leave."

"Why?"

I can't say that. This is too out of her depth. So I lied.

"I don't know, Chen."

"I don't like this. I do not." I could feel her claws through the fabric of the gloves. I held her tighter.

"... Me neither."

"I'll do something about this." Even though there was might and determination, tiredness called Chen back from the waking world. I couldn't contain a small smile. "I'll help my fren."

Truly, a precious girl—unlike any other.