/jp/ - Otaku Culture

The desire for safety—for something as simple as a mother's embrace—attracts both humans and Youkai, with the shikaisen preventing smoke and flames from entering its interior. I remain in the center, eyes closed and still, pouring magic into the two spells cast simultaneously. A couple of people I'd managed to save lie around the area, either unconscious or sitting whenever they could to rest, discussing with each other what to do or just staring blankly at the looming shadows of sulfur outside the golden walls; three in particular—an unconscious man and two children—are the closest to me for reasons that soon should be breaching the walls of auric light.

… It was disappointing to lose Keine Kamishirasawa so soon after our agreement, but she still did what I wanted in this festival—make sure her revolution treats me as an ally—so it doesn't matter much to me; her departure can be mitigated with some handwork. Before, the structure of the village was too rigid for me to ingrain, but after today, it'll be as malleable as faith…

Still, the Human Village is mostly composed of, well, humans, and though the revolution might be lost, it'll drag the Hieda Clan with it to the depths of Hell—Fujiwara Mokou should make sure of that, albeit it'll be some heavy work to clean the nasty sentiment that she'd a hand on the death of the revolution: not acting as bodyguard to the leader and producing all this fire—taking with them the bad blood. Keine had the perfect qualities to fill the void: she's human and, to a degree, loved by both parties—but without her in the picture, I need someone else with equal qualities…

I open my eyes, watching as Kosuzu Motoori enters the barrier. She looks awful, drenched in blood and sweat, hacking cough dicing her throat and her hair scorched a little…

Yet, her steps never abated, parading to humans and Youkai that'd found their way to my mini-Senkai a sheer courage and determination born from belief.

My… Perhaps this was a cult indeed~?

Should make things easier.

Suzu's eyes land on the three by my feet; new life there as anxiety morphs into throbbing relief, “K-Kato, Fumi, Dai…” New life washes over her, and she runs over to us, muttering under her breath and ignoring the stares. She kneels—gently dropping the dead leader to the side—her clothes scraping the ground as tiny, trembling hands swarm her family, feeling them, making sure they are alive. She shed stressed tears, delighting in the certainty that her family was alive.

While she has her moment, I kneel by Keine and offer a quick prayer—but that's not the only thing I do; though I make sure to be sneaky about it~—then, upon finishing the prayer, stand up and place myself behind Motoori. “Kosuzu-san.” I call her attention away from her unconscious family, giving the librarian time to clean up the tears and recover her strength before turning to me. “Do you know who I am?”

“You're… Toyosatomimi no Miko, right? Keine said you were with us…” At the mention, her eyes jump to the dead woman and narrow slightly—guilt, maybe? “S-Sorry our revolution ended like t-th—”

“Ended?” I ask and bop my head to the side, cutting off the librarian. She stares at me, confused, each of her hands holding one of her children's cheeks. “Keine might've died, but look all around you: there's still people here. People whose future were destroyed, with faith in their former leader that won't fade… People that want to build a future, too.” I approach one step, now to her side, hands hidden behind my back. “Do you think their dreams died with Keine? Do you think she'd like to take such dreams with her to the grave…?”

“N-No…! Of course not!” The bite in her voice is sudden but appreciated—though it doesn't last. “… But what can I even do? All has gone up in flames…”

I pause to give her a moment of quiet while I let the surroundings speak for themselves. Bullets bounce off my golden walls; the fire crackles and heat waves are visible despite the intense light; smoke rises and consumes everything in the darkness.

The poor librarian hears it all…

“I believe, Kosuzu Motoori…” Her fatigued eyes turn to me and, despite the dejection and loss, that determination she had while carrying Keine remains the same. Good~ “… That not all is lost yet.” Without preambles, I present my hands to her, those eyes widening. In between my fingers, I hold Keine's black cloak, drenched in dry blood, yet regal anyway under the golden light. “And YOU can bring these people the hope they've lost.”

“M-Me…?”

“I can’t do it—these people don't know me; I've been with them for mere hours. You, however, were there from the beginning. For these people, you're a pillar… And who better to take action than the one that stood by her side?”

The battered librarian keeps staring at me as if a doe in the headlights; no words spoken but with a pounding heart I could hear loud and clear.

… Hm, maybe another push is needed? “Say, Kosuzu-san… Why, through hell, did you carry Keine's body?”