/jp/ - Otaku Culture

To punctuate my point, Lady Kasen and Raki reared back, then launched their fists forward again. The first time, it had been Lady Kasen's bandaged arm against Raki's normal arm, but this time, it was her normal arm. My eyes widened. The very moment before impact, I was sure that I'd been able to see the energy that was about to be created, and I tried to plant my feet a little more firmly in the ground. This had...No effect, and when their fists met, the resultant shockwave was so strong that I was thrown back against the wall. Yamame was too, and Reimu fell back slightly, but retained her balance. Tenshi, somehow, didn't seem to be particularly affected. Neither did the other two oni, though that was expected.

"Ugh..." Yamame groaned, rubbing her back. I managed to push myself up, then helped my spider up and into a better-seated position. "That's - Really, really incredible." She looked over at me. "Thank you for convincing me to come with you. I'd have regretted not seeing this forever." Anytime, I replied with a light smile.

Lady Kasen and Raki held their pose for a second longer, before dropping back. "Well." They both said at the exact same moment. "Good fight." It sounded weird like that. Especially since they were essentially the same exact voice twice over. Raki was the first to break, falling into a slightly giddy laugh. "Real good fight, partner." She said. "It's like...Full circle, right?"

"Right." Lady Kasen said with a smile. "And - One last time. I'm sorry. For sealing you away again." Raki clapped a hand on Lady Kasen's shoulder. I got the sense that the animosity was completely gone, and both of them...well, they seemed to be in a far better place than they had once been. Lady Kasen drew in a deep breath and stepped back. "Reimu?" She looked over to the Shrine Maiden. "You've got the shards?"

"Ugh, for the last time, yes!" Reimu replied, rolling her eyes. "You keep acting like this is like dying, when it really isn't. We'll be able to separate you if it comes down to it." This was Reimu in her element, I thought. Dealing with youkai. She'd even said earlier that she was all nervous until it was finally happening. Well, the moment had arrived.

But suddenly Lady Kasen and Raki were coming over to Yamame and I, so we hurriedly got to our feet. "Well, now." Lady Kasen murmured. "Here we are. At long last." We were, I replied slowly. "You know, when Reimu brought you over to me, that day in the Summer, I just figured I'd train you in whatever I could and let you live here." It had felt that way at first, I replied with a slight smile. "But now..." She looked over at Raki. "How things have changed. And only for the better." She stepped back slightly and bowed deeply. "Thank you."

Raki cleared her throat. "Partner, you're going about it wrong. He doesn't respond well to that." She looked back at me. "I'm not going to do a sappy speech, don't worry. Still, thank you for putting Kasen's mind toward releasing me." I was happy to have helped. Raki looked to Yamame next. "You too, Yamame. For forgiving me and for talking to me when I was in a bad way. Thank you."

"Oh, um. Yes, you're welcome. I'm happy for you." Yamame stammered, nodding several times.

Raki held her arms out, then looked over at Lady Kasen. "This is what he responds best to." She said with a bit of a laugh. Lady Kasen smiled slightly, then stepped forward, mirroring the gesture. Well, I thought to myself. She wasn't wrong. Stepping forward, I wrapped my arms around them both, just like I had at the beginning of the year. Lady Kasen swept Yamame up too, turning it into some sort of strange, four-person hug. Still, I was perfectly happy with it. "We don't really know what'll happen next, you see." Raki explained as we all pulled away. "How stable or unstable we'll be. That sort of thing. That's why everyone's here."

"Hey, uh, you said you weren't doing a sappy speech, but it sure feels that way to me." Suika called from where she sat. "C'mon, c'mon! Let's get this show going!"

Lady Kasen laughed. "She's got a point, partner. No use delaying it. Shall we?" She indicated the centre of the room, and Raki nodded, following her other. And finally, the two halves of Ibaraki-douji faced each other, smiling. Last time, I had a feeling that the smiles had been false. This time, they felt genuine. "Come on, partner." Lady Kasen murmured, raising her bandaged hand out toward Raki. "This won't be like the last time."

Raki reached her own right arm out toward Lady Kasen. "It sure won't." She said quietly. "In fact, I think we're going to be...Fantastic." She grinned widely.

Not ashamed to admit that I spent several hours last night fantasizing about Raki raping me... but it seriously cut into my fantasizing-about-Kasen-loving-me time. Are there any ways we can combine the two?