/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>45428700 (23/-—p1)
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"Okay, okay—caution, now… There~!" The pride in my voice is visceral as the tepid wind of a particularly hot autumn day strikes me and flutters my hair, clouds above fluffy and white, the day is clear, and the skies are of a vibrant blue, a gigantic smile threatening to rip my face open… Because my hands I held the cutest babies ever, their tiny bodies outstretched and eyes full of confusing wonder and bliss—though Aki seemed bothered to not be nestled in her bed or Aunt Suzu's arms—their cute wings wide-open, letting air flow beneath the cartilage and keeping them afloat.

Of course, they can't understand my words, yet to fly is a natural instinct of every night sparrow—or so said the book Suzu gave me—and also that the species start it very soon, about a month old.

Kuramochi giggled, looking at me with those sparks inside his eyes, making my already shaken heart quake with emotion—enough to forget the various trips to the bottom of freezing, raging rivers; the financial problems; the whispers and disgusted gazes… I smile, filling my lungs and letting the air out, watching the golden clouds lighted by sunlight.

—Oh, my eyes shine; they managed to stabilize themselves with the air currents! They're naturals at this~ "Okay, okay, now… Let's be very careful." I gradually stop moving, though Kuramochi and Aki keep trying to fly forward, so it takes some fiddling before we're all standing still. "I'll let go of you; the current is weak, so you won't be carried with it. All you have to do is maintain altitude." My body tenses up as the words leave me, ready to spring into action and catch them if they start free-falling. It was shocking to know that an important and proven-tested exercise was to let them fly on their own, and terror made me remember Mystia's words: they're so fragile and tiny…

Will they even manage to fly by themselves? What if the strong wind simply rips them apart? Or take them away and I can't reach them—

They stared at me with gleaming eyes.

Eyes once full of pain, terror, crying as the world engulfed on them with ultimate cruelty…

… Mystia never believed you could make it.

Heart on top of my mouth and skin shivering with a high dosage of adrenaline, I calmly let go of them, concentrating: If they show even a smudge of struggle, I'll be there, I'll be there—despite the immense terror and heart beating like crazy, I could feel my smile widening as they just didn't fall, wings rapidly flapping up and down, clearly not accustomed to it but… Just not falling.

So, I let go of the last thing connecting us—their hands.

Clad in matching layers of autumn clothing with holes in the back for their wings… They just kept watching me, flying by themselves.

… What's the name of this? Of this impossibly huge surge of pride that warms my entire body? That makes me think of future versions of these small bundles of joy, soaring through the skies and remembering my lessons? My hands on theirs—

—H-huh?

They began flying towards me. It was janky, confused, and weird, but they flew towards me. Wide-eyed, I moved to the side, and they changed directions… I did it again, and they changed directions again.

They're following me; such behavior described in that book as them… them seeing me as…

I could feel the tears streaming already.

I cleaned my eyes, took a deep breath and gently caught them in my arms before they ran out of energy—no more than 20~ seconds of solo-flight—and, wordlessly, was about to make my way back to the village…

…

I shouldn't…

… Still…

With an explosion of force and eyes of iron, I set for a specific point in the Forest of Magic, flying through canopies as thick tears streamed—echoing from my throat giggles of sheer retribution—, arms holding these precious lives that…

… That see me as their mother.

With my velocity, the trip took mere minutes, breaking the foliage and landing on strong wood with my bare feet, displacing the air. I stared at her—

—Mystia stared back, wide-eyed and glowing Danmaku on her fingertips.

This is the balcony of her nest, a door behind her leading inside the tree… From this same balcony, she threw her children into the cold arms of Death. Her eyes narrowed before bulging, and her next stuttered words carried fear. "K-Keine?! You survi—"

"THEY DID IT!" I yelled, panting, my tears already having dried minutes ago, but I still looked terrible, yet I pridefully paraded a smile of victory. Mystia was utterly confused, frowning, wings tense—until she looked down at my arms and saw big, shining eyes, Aki munching on her fist and Kuramochi trying to eat a bundle of my hair. Her fear drained, and everything in that dumb face of hers was shock. She tried to say something more, but I cut her off. "They survived the cold of that night! Being eaten, lying on freezing ground for hours, hunger… THEY SURVIVED! I've learned to care for them, be the mother they deserve. And just now they flew by themselves… You were wrong. We survived."

>>13046345
I-I like Keine...