/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>45750778

It’s funny how quickly confidence can be shattered. When I stepped back into Alice’s home I was filled with fire and determination. With the full extent of the injustices committed by Yukari being exposed to us, any mother-no anyone would be driven to take action, to correct these injustices. But the fire that burns the hottest also burns out the fastest, and soon after we returned and the battle plans were drawn, the fire pulsing through my veins cooled them until it was cold as ice. I knew Yukari was dangerous and unknowable. I knew that very well, even if she was sure not to reveal anything to me in the past decades after we first met. But I naively thought it would work out with the all the strong people we had in our corner. I had no delusions about charging in alongside someone like Yuuka or Mima, but I just assumed they would handle it. But I blinded myself to the danger I was putting myself in. The new knowedgle of all of Yukari’s allies made it clear that the odds weren't on our side as much as I had hoped. I knew the tengu and the yamawaro were in on it, of curse. I met the Amanojaku and tGoro before. It was strange for a seemingly ordinary man to be one of her henchmen and he didn’t seem that dangerous even if he did trick me, but anyone working for Yukari and that could get along with a jaku couldn’t be all that good of a person.

But the others I didn’t know about were really concerning. The Scarlet sisters and their cohorts were a serious threat. Powerful and well-connected, not exactly the enemies you want to make. I wondered if this meant I was banned from their library. Shame, it was an amazing library even if the librarian was a little distant. Well, she was pretty weak physically, so if it came to a fist fight then I might have the upper hand then so if I-no, forget it. Seiga was another awful enemy to have if even half the stories I heard about her were true. She made my skin crawl just by being around me and the books she asked for whenever she forced her presence upon me made me glad she hadn’t found out about my Youma book collection. Kasen just broke my heart. Even if her allegiance to Yukari really was shaky, she was still working with her and betraying her friends. What happened to her? If it really came down to it, would she still stand against us? I knew nothing about the last of Yukari’s allies. All I had to go on was Marisa mentioning they were some criminal gang in hell with a leader that could get you to give up. She must be a criminal mastermind then if she’s able to rule in hell. The oni it seemed nobody knew anything about, other then she was likely to be powerful as oni tend to be.

So it was no surprise when I was told to simply drop out and let them do all the work. I was no magician or tactician, I was a middle aged woman that could barely throw a punch. I was a liability, dead weight. Even before I knew Yukari was behind this, I was just planning on letting someone else do the rescuing, but things had changed. Yukari wasn’t only dangerous, but she was unstable, with an awful obsession with a poor innocent girl. She knew about each and every one of us plotting against her and was prepared for us. She had powerful allies on her side. Just hiding away at home and hoping Anon would forgive me for my uselessness didn’t seem like an option anymore. I was now a target, my entire family was. A hole opening in my children's wall as they slept, my husband being found in a ditch with a slashed throat, someone breaking into my home and lifting me up by my neck only to-

It was all because I caught wind of something strange going on and charged ahead without thinking like a dog chasing a rat, hoping someone else would protect me. I was a fucking idiot who hadn’t learned any lessons since I was just a young girl dabbling with getting involved with youkai. I barley paid any attention to the battle plans being discussed. It was high-level magic anyway, talk of dimensions and counter spells, as if I needed more proof I was out of my depth. Even the Hakurei God making himself known was barely more then a dull acknowledgment out of me.

So I found myself back at the Suzunaan. Looking at it now made me feel no joy whatsoever. I stepped inside, preparing myself for the worst, only to see-my husband putting away some books. I stepped forwards and waited for him to be done, wrapping him in a hug. He hugged me back, and the feeling of his arms around me gave me some safety “Hey, did you have fun at the party or did you just feel like a hug?” he responded as I just felt content to stay in his arms and listen to his heartbeat. I couldn’t tell him. Kato, Daisuke, Fumiko. They never knew the things I did. I had to keep them in the dark, no matter how much I wanted to tell them. If they were targeted they’d die and never know I was to blame.

I did my best to hold back my tears.