/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>45463219 (2/2)
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The hollowed eyes and outstretched arms are easy to discern with the crystal-clear water, etching in my stomach a terrible feeling not even counting the saturation of powerful magic in the air. It was like breathing inside an old and particularly barbarous slaughterhouse. Koishi and Kokoro stand on the very epicenter of cosmic unrest, eyes on the sword, and I approach, heart pounding and ignoring the disapproving looks from the onis on the shore.

Kokoro notices me first and behind those calm eyes another mind watches with sick interest… I’d not be surprised if she expected these events. The sages are warring against each other, and see people like me as but pawns. It boils my blood, but the truth is that if me, Yuugi, and Suika want to fight Yukari for Anon's safety and bring her downfall, we need Okina.

The carnivorous fox, the bloodthirsty hound…

… You call these people your 'sisters sages', Kasen?

I narrow my eyes at Kokoro, ignoring her and stop ten feet from Koishi. Palms sweat, my nape feels sore, and my voice—humiliatingly—gets stuck in my throat. The water beneath my feet doesn't move; the waterfall further ahead magically feeds the pond without breaking its surface—focus, Satori! Focus… "Koishi…" I force it out. She doesn't move, standing straight, back to me, trembling a little. "I—"

"You omitted what she could do for me…" Koishi's mind is impossible to read, but the small, angry jolt of her body says everything.

"… Koishi—"

"I killed my own psyche out of desperation. Spent years of my life without a clear thought, forgotten, had a sexual affair with someone unwillingly and don't even remember it…" She stops and, despite those piercing words, her voice remains calm and concise, a hand massaging the surface of her belly. "… Things are looking back up, sister; my eye is reopening, beautiful life grows inside me. Yet, you never considered telling me, and I would never know if Kasen-san hadn't appeared." It takes a long moment, but she turns to me, and the face she's making is one I desire to never see again: hurt, confusion, betrayal. "… Why?"

Don't cry, Satori. You're the big sister! Don't cry… "You know why, Koishi. You saw what Yukari did to Kasen—this very sword! That woman wouldn't help you! She'd use you!" I feel my heart clenching.

"You preferred to see me in that state, then? With my third eye closed—the worst period of my life?"

It hurts, these words. "I'd prefer to never see you suffer, Koishi!" I take a step towards her, and I feel my third eye widening in suffering. "Please, understand—I lied because I love you, to keep you safe from a monster!" Another step. Don't cry. "You're the last person I share my blood with; to keep you safe, I'd do anything… Yuugi, Suika, and I… w-we're allying with Okina! Together, we'll defy Yukari!" I yell, my teeth clenching, body tense, mere centimeters away from Koishi—her big green eyes go wide with confusion, brows creased.

"W-What…?! Y-you… You saw what she can do, and you're intending to go against her…?" Her demeanor completely changes with my statement—which might as well be a suicide letter.

"That hardly matters. We'll free Anon so he can meet your children; help in your recovery! We'll save Kasen from her clutches! Because that woman is the devil itself, and nothing—NOTHING—would be too costly to keep you safe from her!" She holds her breath and, within seconds, I see a spark of realization in her eyes. "… All the time you stood here, watching that sword… You were pondering about going to talk to her, right?"

Answer is silence, my third eye touching Koishi's in the illusion of a hug—both eyes quietly cry.

A hurtful smile rips my face, and Koishi's complexion looks troubled. "S-She'd ask you to join her, to fight with her against Okina and if you'd to win, she'd—maybe—put a gap in your powers like she did on mine… B-But…" The words are harsh in my throat, words I hid from Yuugi and the deepest roots of this decision. "… Would you fight against your own sister, Koishi?"

I don't need to look: Kokoro stares at me with wide eyes, Okina laughs inside her mind, not even trying to escape my psychic powers—as if wanting me to know about her amusement—; and Koishi…

"… She might kill you." She whispers.

"No cost is too great to keep you safe from yourself."

Koishi's eyes are haunted and, despite standing on a lake made of sin, she looks at me with the greatest fears. Silence stretches; she holds her forehead, gulps down something, her pupils staring at nothingness, then at me, seeking fractures.

I do not bulge, yet my third eye keeps crying…

Her expression twists into immense sadness and by the next second, Koishi, heartbroken, flies towards the palace.

… I just admitted to my sister that I'll stand between her and the devil, and used that to force her hand into not making a terrible choice.

I feel hollow, yet filled with purpose.

"Okina." I utter, turning to Kokoro. She sighs, as if expecting that. "We need to talk."