/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>45551966
>Now, I could turn my attention back to wondering who this ‘Re’ figure that Hearn had mentioned was.
Do not.

(1/1)
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“ARE YOU INSANE?!” I don't recoil from Eirin's tone, much less the audible thud as she hits the stack of papers on the counter, her eyes exuding spite. Mine, of course, remain calm and unaffected. “You want to use another's species ovule—somehow perfectly mixing one of yours, so the kid comes out more you than the oni you got this from—fertilize it, and then grow it inside your womb like it's not an affront to nature?! How much farther you intend to go before just overcoming your own inability and adopting a child?!” My eye twitched, and it took a great deal of self-control to not rip Eirin's throat—we're business partners, after all.

“My, my—you, the researcher, questioning a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? Because of some… confrontation with Mother Nature? And after all the pounds of foreign and untested medicine we pumped into a human's body—your last was a fluke, too. While I like the taste of blood, I don't want my man bleeding every time we make love." I felt delight with her face contorting with many thoughts, hand caressing the chin, so easily distracted by her own failures and whatnot. “Why exactly can't you do it, Eirin? Because I think you can.”

She sighed, sinking into the chair, looking sick. I wonder what goes on in her mind—is she blaming me for all this? Precious, although hardly a matter to worry about. She's so deep into her own quicksand of mistakes that trying to point a finger at me would just sink her even more.

“… I can try, Yukari. I can. But can you understand the consequences of this? The oni genetic strand and yours are too far apart, stabilizing and—” her voice had an immense distaste to it. “—merging them with magic… The byproduct—”

“The infant.” I corrected.

“The byproducts, Yukari. There's a chance—probably high—that whatever leaves you will be a sad excuse for existence, incapable of surviving, yet feeling all the pain—”

“Then I'll just manipulate the gap between everything needed to make it perfect, Eirin. Ugliness and beauty, retardation and smartness, dying and healthy—simple as that.”

Eirin's eyes narrowed, and, for the first time ever, I saw horror painting her features, which prompted me to raise an eyebrow. Her horror morphed into disbelief, free hand holding her forehead, eyes wide. “… Do you even care about the child?” If the pressure in the room was bad before, now it's almost unbearable. Eirin's voice didn't falter. “To play god with its existence, just thinking about the results and not what they'll have to go through… You may be condemning an innocent soul to years of suffering just to satisfy whatever sick desire you have for motherhood, Yukari—don't you have a heart?!”

I got up, parasol in hand; Eirin got up too, prepared. I approached her with elegant steps, our bodies practically shivering and thirsting for battle. Face to face, eye to eye; “I'm not 'playing' god, Eirin.” There's nothing more to say. Searching my face, Eirin deeply sighed, turning her back and going up to the counter, faking tweaking with papers—I could see she was using the furniture to support the crushing weight of her body.

“… I can't guarantee anything. With just one egg to work with, the chances—”

“Don't worry. I made sure to bring with me at least twenty spares.”

She looked at me with ultimate despise; “You're a monster…”

“… Have you ever looked into a mirror, Eirin?” The bite behind her eyes worsened, now consumed by a revolted dosage of self-hatred. “Don't lie to yourself—you want to see where this is going; research whatever comes next. You'll never have another opportunity like this. Losing it now would lose you a research paper with its weight in gold—not that it matters, right? What truly matters to you is knowledge—the answer to 'Would it work, or would it not?' That's all you have in your life, losing it now… We're not that different, Eirin—I'm just seeking something more to call mine,” a gap opened in front of her, a second VIP ticket to the HSE. “Why don't you seek something more to call yours too~?”

I waited, in silence, watching as she looked at the golden ticket, this whole conversation putting her on the edge—which is a good thing, unlike living in a bubble.

Sometimes it is important to look inward and understand yourself.

My smile didn't go away as she crushed the ticket and threw it to the side, bitterly preparing a lot of papers—the ticket, after all, wasn't even ripped apart. “I'll… research more. I'll need all you have already collected and harvest what I think necessary. This, Yukari, never leaves my office. If it does, I'll kill you and then myself.”

“My, my~” I giggle. “Leave it for a Lunarian to be so dramatic.”

Her eyes of pure rage never went away, but I didn't care. My hopes of finally bearing a child—one I'll call mine and who'll love me unconditionally—high, which in the land beyond common sense is perfect! Just thinking about it in my arms, so soft and innocent—

… There’ll be no father. Reimu is recovering…

I feel wrong, lonely.