/jp/ - Otaku Culture

There can be no worse boss than Okina Matara.

The woman is a perverted, superpowered maniac with not an ounce of care for others beyond herself and every repugnant, wicked whim inside her putrid mind. But she's also the only one capable of opposition against Yukari as things are, meaning I have no other alternative but work for her if I want to guarantee that Koishi's kid(s) have a father who, at the very least, cares… Doesn't make putting up with her any less annoying—

—I wince as a hand gropes my waist, turning with an ugly eye to the secret goddess: “Thought you needed a pick me up~you were sulking so hard, little Satorin. I wonder what was on your mind.” The world around us is that of the Land of Backdoors, Satono and Mai finishing collecting the bombs Aya Shameimaru had spread around the place—confusing chain of events, but alas—, and Cirno and Naz nowhere to be seen. Not that I'd talk to them anyway. The times that I come to this place are short and scarce, yet always awful—so much noise, from the dancers to Naz or Cirno being annoying… the Land of Backdoors is never silent—and for motives that often elude me, like helping Okina supervise her spies and spy through random backdoors, sometimes to no result whatsoever…

“I was thinking about how you waste my talents so egregiously.” Bitterness is clear as I stand with arms crossed, waiting for her to open the backdoor so I can finally go home.

Okina hums, closing her eyes. “Toutsetsu used to whine about that too before I got Aya; did you know that she’s a mother now? Her water exploded in front of me on top of that~!” The vulgar gossip goes as it comes, without any reaction from me. Detective Satori shall make good use of that info for posteriority, likely for extortion and defamation, but leave the future for when it comes.

“I do not care. Can I not go home?”

“My, so much haste! You know, I've been stressed out of my mind trying to keep up with everything Yukari does while maintaining the Land of Backdoors so it doesn't consume Gensokyo in an eldritch fight against the Gap.” I doubt half of her words were true. “Someone to relieve that stress would be welcomed.” I narrow my eyes, and all she does is giggle. An urge to ask why she finds pleasure in torturing those beneath her rises, but to say I don't have the answer would be pretense: she's just Yukari with a different coat of paint, and a God Complex is never something pleasant to witness. “You're no fun, Satorin.” She expresses in a defeated tone, back of her hand against her forehead in dramatic fashion.

… Still, if she and Yukari are one and the same—one is just blonder than the other—a question needs to be asked.

My eyes never leave the sage, my heart rises to a frantic beat. “Okina.” I call her attention, ignoring the backdoor appearing to my side.

I should leave…

Those golden eyes on me are of excitement, ask: 'did you reconsider?'

My throat fills with acid. “After all is said and done—Yukari is sealed and Onikirimaru thrown in the Abyss of Backdoors—then… What do you intend to do?”

Temperatures, always close to neutral, free-fall into a chill I'd feel only when touching the walls of the palace. Satono and Mai struggle to act as if they weren't listening, ignored as I focus entirely on Okina's eyes; they’re placid. Her expression had lost its smile but didn't appear threatening in the slightest. “But would you look at that… I was wondering when such a question would come up. Can you believe no one has ever made it? Hm, I should've expected it to come from you, after all~”

Tsk, curses upon Okina’s and Yukari's techniques to stop me from reading their thoughts; detective job without such a tool is a minefield—

—she moves a hand and, in the background, Satono and Mai leave through a backdoor that had just appeared. The one to my side closes with a loud and sudden bang.

Silence in the Land of Backdoors…

All my muscles are tense, sweat covers my nape.

Okina simply titters, sitting on her throne, calm and casual, as if watching ants behind a glass. “The atmosphere might feel unpleasant, my dear, little fodder Satorin—but be at peace: I'm a benevolent goddess to my allies and have no motives for hurting such a cutie like you. Ever asked yourself why I ask for sexual favors instead of taking them by force, hm?” An eyelid twitch; to think before we became associates, she'd refer to me as the Princess of the Underground. The second part, however, makes me stop but for a moment; feels like manipulation to breach the gap between us, yet even that holds truth sometimes. “… But the question you asked me. It's simple, really. I'm a simple goddess, after all…”

She holds the silence, and I feel rage. Gods and drama—name a worse pairing.

“I'll watch. Watch as Gensokyo recovers; what new developments rise. Did you know someone is striking a revolution in the Human Village? That more than half of the Myouren is pregnant? Things should be fun for a while~”

“… And what after they stop being ‘fun’?”