/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>46618729
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“What a travesty.” The God comments after Ran leaves and all that remains is us and the shrine, an otherworldly nudge inside my head making me turn to the torii gates. “A worthless copy of greatness with the sole purpose of conducting rituals against the practices of my temple—even the magic inside the gates has been twisted to, rather than protect, imprison my subject! That Yakumo woman deserves no swift death, and her children will suffer as mine did!” His ire overflows in my porcelain vein, making my heart clench and mind burn; but it goes nowhere, as seen by the Hakurei God sighing inwardly. “Doesn't matter. This outrage shall be destroyed before long. My maidens will make sure of that. Proceed to Anon now, humble vessel, and make sure to delight in your time together.” And, without another word from the moody God, his almighty presence recedes to the depths of my mind.

Suddenly alone, what comes next is tiredness, just like all the times he exerts himself through me—Alice really didn't create me with the purpose of containing a sliver of a god…

… I fear I'll blow up one day.

Letting the grim thoughts fade and replacing them with happy, cheerful ones—Anon and I cooking, constructing my personal chair and so many other memories—is something I've grown used to inside the HSE, heart beating fast as I took up flight again towards the inside of the shrine, ruffling of beating pans and utensils discernible from outside pumping me with liquid joy, the mere seconds to go from the gardens to the kitchen feeling excruciatingly long…

But at last, it was finished: there he stood, humming a sweet tone as he fetched pans and separated the ingredients—I recognized the setup; he's making Chen's favorite meal—visibly tired yet never letting the bad stuff of this place get to him; Anon.

—A Gap pops next to his ear, and he turns to me.

… His smile was as wide as it was sudden. “Finally found your way back home, hm?” He spoke, cleaning his hands on a piece of cloth. I ignored, of course, rather preferring the approach of launching myself to his face and gluing there like a spider, hugging with all the might these short and quite thin arms could amass. Anon laughed out loud, hands rising and hugging me back. “It's so good seeing you again, Dolly! Where have you been?! Alice said she was taking you for four days—it's been almost three weeks, you dumb doll! I was worried sick!” He expresses a mix of happiness and fake wrath, and if I were human, I think my eyes would be wet, but I am not, so I have to be content with ferociously hugging. The feelings overflow a bit more as he picks me by the sides and gleefully lifts me up like a baby, watching me from below with big eyes. “And you're hurt, too! Dolly! How reckless can one doll be?!” He sighs and places me on his shoulder, my arms rapidly springing to hug the side of his face; this spot is so very comfortable~

What proceeds is him speaking on and on about what the last few weeks have entailed as he covers the condiments, so nothing nasty gets into them.

I listen intently and soak his words like a sponge—a lot of fun was had without me, just as much as bad days… And, being away, I couldn't help him; the notion aches my tiny heart, but I soothe it by promising to cuddle him extra hard to make up for the missed time—so, with lunch put on hold, he rummages through one of the kitchen's cabinets, picks up a white box with a green cross on it and sits us on the kotatsu: me placed on the wood facing him and the box to my side.

“Sheesh, did you at least have fun outside?” I frantically nod before groaning as he uses a small piece of cotton to clean my face with a burning-cold solution. “That's great to know—is Alice well?” Another set of nods, and his fake rage disperses with ease. “That's great to know; she's so well organized, but never seems to properly take care of herself. I'm glad dolls like you and Shanghai are there for her~” I wholeheartedly agree: Alice is important to us, after all! “What about Yuuka and Marisa?” The conversation goes on and on, finishing with him placing a cut piece of adhesive bandage on my face; feels so oddly sticky, and I want to badly pull it out… but that would destroy his efforts, so I resist! “To the extent of my medical knowledge, that won't heal porcelain—but at least it doesn't leave it exposed to the elements.” He pats my head, and I smile with delight.

I've missed this so, so much!

“Hopefully Alice can fix it next time she comes around—you hurt yourself in the way here, by the way?” I nod, embarrassed. Anon merely laughs. “Clumsy doll~”

Pouting and itching to recuperate my pride as NOT a clumsy doll—terrible offense—I fly around him with a puffed chest and frantically pull on his juban towards the stove.

The message is clear. “So, you wanna help me with lunch?” I nod, a fire in my eyes and determination in my heart. “Sure! Better, since you’ve slacked off so much on cooking duty, I’ll be the sous today!”

Oh, it’s on!