/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>45717951
Soaking in the warm water across from Anon, Aya crossed her legs out of consideration: The tub was easily long enough to accommodate two people. This was a conscious obstacle to keep her from playing footsie during a serious conversation. Now that she was in the tiger’s den, all she had to do was find her words and talk to Anon, face-to-face.

For ten minutes, Aya stared at Anon’s face. She dared not to lower her gaze any further. Controlling his fight-or-flight instincts, Anon broke the ice: “So… is the water hot enough?”

“Yeah… hot…” The tengu’s face was already flush from the room’s heat. Still, she could feel it burn with embarrassment. It shouldn’t be this hard for her to open her mouth and just spit it out! All she could think about was Anon’s face expanding in her view – wait, what the hell was he doing? “W-Wait a minute, don’t come closer!”

A hand came to rest on Aya’s right shoulder. “You’re doing great. I know this must be hard for you to handle, but you said we had to talk. I don’t want you to leave here with any regrets about things left unsaid.” This wasn’t just hard for her: She had to quash every thought in her head before they became action. He had a point, but she just needed to figure out the right way to say it! Suddenly, Anon grabbed her left shoulder too! “Don’t think about it! Just let it all out!” With how close his concerned face was and how commanding he got, how could she deny him?

“I-this- I know this was a bad idea! Still, I had to visit you visit you one last time, consequences be damned!”

Anon’s expression changed from brief happiness to confusion as he backed away. “’Last time?’ You mean you aren’t coming back?”

Aya started to think about how to answer him, then cut herself off and let loose. “Last time, definitely. I can’t come back after today. It’s not because of those pills – I only had enough for the week anyways. It’s for another reason.” The tengu stopped talking, seriously considering if now was the time to tell him. It was her responsibility anyways. He has a right to know, right? Even if he was angry, she could leave. If he was happy, it would be even better!

“Could you tell me why? I can’t do much to help you, but you could talk to me about it.” There was genuine concern in his voice. Leaving him with this worry would be wrong… but telling him would be worse.

“...I can’t, sorry.” If Anon knew, he’d only have one more (four more, really) thing to worry about helplessly. Aside from the danger she would be in if Yukari ever found out, did she want this be to be the place Anon found out he would have four more children? The first memory of his darling kids, tainted by the prison he was trapped in when he found out. Only someone under extreme mental duress or a complete fool would disregard how Anon would feel after hearing that kind of news! “But it’s something I’ve got under control. It’ll just take a few months until everything’s handled. By then, I promise to tell you absolutely everything.”

Anon sat back and cracked a smile. “If you say so, then I’ll believe you. Just be careful out there. If things get too rough, I’ll always be ready for you to visit again. Heck, if I knew this was your last visit for a while, I would’ve prepared something special.”

“’For a while?’ I mean it! The next time you see me will be far from the HSE! But if you’re offering special treatment, I know one thing you can do for me.” The tengu got out of the tub and threw a towel to Anon before drying herself off and wrapping one around her abdomen. She laid on the floor, scooting her legs back until she made a right angle at her knees and arching her back. When Anon finally dried off, she raised both of her arms upwards, giving him a wink.

He took the hint! In one clean motion, Anon lifted the tengu’s lithe body her knees and back. Aya didn’t miss a beat, wrapping her arms around his collarbone as tightly as she could. It felt exhilarating to feel his arms carry her like a bride through the living room. He only stopped to give a quick nod to Dolly, whom was bewildered until she flew back to her hiding place for the night. Aya watched intently for the moment they crossed the threshold into the bedroom together. Sure, the doorframe was a little cheap and the bedroom wasn’t her own. But once everything was over, she’d make sure they did it for real.

(Part 65)