/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>46084627
I slumped against the wall of a shop, my breathing coming uneasy and my heart thumping sporadically. That organ had been through a lot of stress in recent months, I really should get it checked out if I-when I survive all of this. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, I was so aware of all the aches and exhaustion I was feeling. My survival seemed almost unreal, despite my tired body proving as evidence otherwise. I knew Keine’s revolution would be pushed back against eventually, but the Hieda family had come in armed, ready to crush it in one fell swoop. A few heated words, one movement too aggressive and the entire home would have echoed with gunfire. But Keine was amazing. Without a hint of fear, she had stood tall against his insults and accusations and had him leave, a crowd shaming him as his posse trailed home. Mystia had surprised me. I had grown to like her over the time we spent together as she proven herself to be more then some heartless monster that would abandon her children to die. She was honest and straightforward, and possessed a drive to improve herself and help Keine make a world where nobody would be forced to make the hard choice she did. I even no longer felt disgust over her decisions , after pity that she was forced to do so in the first place. She had proven how much she had grown this day.


I had said something too, hadn’t I? I had seen Mr Heida storm in, sputtering out lies and accusations, trying to appear strong despite his feebleness, and I had just opened my mouth. I didn’t even think of what I was going to say, the words just seemed to run out. By the time I fully realized the weight of what I said, it was all over and the crowd applauding-ugh how embarrassing. No matter if we had known each other or not, I had still defied one of the most powerful men in the village and openly supported the revolution. Just thinking about it made my heart ache a bit. But I had to do it. Not just because I couldn’t just sit by and let all the work we’ve done be crushed, but because I found the sight of the man who was in the twilight of his life raging like that and clinging onto some delusion to hide from reality so pitiful.

It was true I couldn’t understand the pain we went through. Even the possibility of my children dying before me filled me with dread, so seeing your own daughter wither away and die and being powerless to do anything most have been devastating. Her death had hurt all of us, but Akyuu would have hated to see him like this. Despite knowing her time on this earth was short, she had never let her pending end crush her. To the end she had kept on writing, not wanting to leave it incomplete. Even then she had made time for her family and friends, knowing she had to make the best use of her time. Her death had hurt all of us. We had all cried and mourned, but Akyuu would have hated this see her father waste the rest of his life clinging onto the past, never letting the wound of her being gone heal. To think he’d rather hold onto some phantasmal hope of some miracle happening that would give him a brief time of happiness rather then find some way to enjoy the rest of his life and make the village a better place for when she returns was just too sad.


I pushed away from the wall, my exhaustion having faded enough to make my way home. It hadn't been long since I left. It couldn’t have been more then an hour since cleaning up after everyone and saying my goodbyes didn’t take too long at all, but the village was bustling already with the news. Our revolution, that started as whispers on the lips of a few people that grown into a mutter when Keine passed along her letters and the news of Mr Heida’s delusion became known. Now it was being openly discussed though the village and it seemed like the whole village knew by now. Who could blame them? The patriarch of the Heida family had assembled a posse of armed men, a sight almost never seen before. The crowd that followed that surely expected them to confront some dangerous criminal or a threat to the village, only to find all of us waiting for them. The open discussion about allowing youkai to live besides humanity, Hedia’s behavior, all of it made sure the news spread fast. I could only hear snippets as I made my way home, but I could see some heads turn towards me and hear some people point me out. My cheeks flushed. I was hoping all the attention would die down.

The way home doesn’t take too long. I ducked into the welcoming insides of the Suzunaan, ready to collapse. I find my husband there waiting for me.