/jp/ - Otaku Culture

"Seija", the Yama began, not bothering to wait for any words on our part "You should temper your greed. Performing your role as an Amanojaku is admirable, but you've crossed the line more then once now and the results are becoming more devastating."

As expected, Seija merely replied with an offensive gesture.

"What will you do when it causes you to lose the small collection of people you care for? The man at your side now might've thrown himself to oblivion, will you also endanger your child in the same way?" She preached in a level tone.

At this, the Amanojaku crossed her arms and turned away, the sermon having a small effect.

"As for you Goro, you should no longer associate with Youkai and forsake your service for Yukari Yakumo as much as you're able. I cannot grasp what flight of fancy or indulgence caused you to embark down this path, but know that a terrible fate, worse then all you've suffered, lies in wait if you do." She judged.

I breathed deep and exhaled from my nose. "And that will save my soul?" I smiled.

For a moment the Yama closed her eyes and was quiet. "It will not, but at the very least you can live your remaining life with dignity."

To my surprise, I felt a small, seething rage creep up within me. Who was she to judge me? To judge anyone? By what standard but her own had she measured everyone in the world while she stood at the lever of punishment? And what good had it done? Crisis loomed and the world was teetering on collapse and what, we should be less greedy? Live our lives with dignity?

"Just a self-righteous judge using others for your own gratification." I muttered under my breath as the Yama continued to talk in that even tone of hers.

I ignored what she had to say and quickly fed Seija, who eagerly awaited my signal, a series of targets.

In an instant, the sands and muck of the shore were thrown upwards and we were behind the judge. Seija struck at her with an attack that just managed to graze her, shredding some of her uniform.

"And another thing." The Eiki said, summoning her fae servants and preparing for battle "The both of you should make peace with your weakness, or you'll suffer forever."

---

To validate her message, Eiki threw the whole farm at us. Hails of bullets, platoons of fairies, and jabs with enormous rods of remorse that she effortlessly materialized. But by far the worse was her ability.

Where Yukari thrived on orchestrating chaos, Eiki was capable of establishing absolute order on it. Such a thing wasn't alien to me, since my deals also had the same 'absolute' principle, but this was her territory in more ways then one and it was the best I could do to keep up.

'Stop trying to be fancy and just give me a route to smoke her!' Seija's thoughts screamed.

'Her defense is ironclad, we can't commit until we're sure.' I replied, sending her the fulcrum of one of the massive rods that she subsequently flipped into another, buying us some precious space. Eiki remained unperturbed.

Damnit, it was happening again, the jaws of defeat were closing in on us just like with Flan, Hana, Yukari, and we didn't even have a go at Kasen. I gnashed my teeth at the prospect with what little room I had to while searching and feeding Seija data. Were we really just fodder? Bit players on a board set hundreds of years ago by these insane matriarchs?

'Become Yukari.' Satori had told me. The idea made me sick, using people, it would only come to haunt me. But what if there were people that weren't destined for autonomy, what if they were too deluded to see things for what they are and act of their own accord? I could only enter contracts on good faith, so who could in their right mind would refuse me?

I looked at Seija and how her black hair twirled and bobbed around her horns. I looked at the bracelet and perceived the small life we'd planted. I looked at Eiki and her placid expression.

Using others to gratify your own justice? You want to be the fulcrum on which good and evil sit? Then how about we use you just as intended.

A smile crept onto my face.

>>45209308
That's not even the worst offender, Eiki about to pull up every single act of racism Hana has ever committed. They're not leaving judgement for at least a decade