/jp/ - Otaku Culture

Koishi 2

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The Earth Spirit Palace was both more and less lively than usual, the brawl between the Oni and outsiders had left hundreds hospitalized, one of the now former outsiders had decided to stick around to clean up the mess the ice god had made, and then there was the news of the younger sister to the youthful mistress of the earth palace being pregnant, nearly nobody had even heard of such a girl mere days before. Hopefully, the information hadn’t slipped to any outsiders. “Koishi, are you okay?” Satori asked, seated across from her, sitting in a wheeled chair too big for the elementary school-sized mistress of the palace.

Koishi’s half-lidded third eye met her sisters, Koishi’s thoughts still unreadable, “Yes Satori, I’m fine really.” Koishi smiled as she spoke, radiating a happiness that Satori couldn’t trust.

Satori’s expression hardened, anger flaring in her eyes. “You can’t just say that after what that woman did to you.” The offense was clear in her voice and so was the subject. Neither that man nor Koishi, being indisposed as she always was, could have consented. “I half have a mind to send Ok-”

“Sister.” Koishi interrupted. ”Please, I don’t want that man any more trouble. We’d just be adding towards the mess.” Koishi bowed forward from her chair, making an earnest plea in the face of her sister's boiling rage.

The stillness of the palace made the beat of silence feel like it lasted much longer than it did, both of the sisters staring each other in the eyes. Taking the initiative, Satori presses her sister, “What do you remember?”

Looking to the ceiling with half-lidded eyes. “It’s like a dream. All of it, my life before and after I closed my eyes. I know what happened, and my feelings stay the same, but I see my actions through eyes different from my own.” Her vocabulary and sentence structure had gotten more complex, even though Satori still could not read her mind, it was a sure sign something was different. “Even now, I feel half awake, like any moment I might jolt awake or fa-”

She hadn’t been able to finish the word before Satori slammed her hands on her desk and pushed herself up from her chair. “Don’t, I won’t allow it, that’s an order.” Satori loved her sister, no matter what she was, but she won't allow the opportunity to restore her fall out of her hands.

Koishi nodded as she continued to smile. “It’s okay Satori, I won’t ever close my eyes again, I don’t think I could if I wanted to.” Koishi broke out into laughter as she finished her sentence, eerie and carefree, echoing through the halls and filling the minds of all who heard it.

The idea of wanting to close her eyes was hilarious to her now, although she didn’t know why. It’s not like she harbored any particularly strong emotions about it or opened her eye anyway, from her point of view they were just events that happened and held no weight to her personally.

Satori shook her head, she didn’t understand her sister at all, not before she closed her eye, and not after it became half-lidded. “I shouldn’t have let you wander, it may have been an accident, but it was my fault you closed your eyes, I should’ve stopped you.” Neither of them had known their parents, in truth, they didn’t even know for sure if they were related or how old either of them were, but their first memories were of each other, and that made them family in each other’s eyes.

“I-I-i.” Satori stuttered as she broke down crying. “I should have been there for you!” She screamed, “I-” She stopped as she found herself enveloped in her sister's arms. “It’s okay Satori, I don’t blame you, no one does, it’s my fault I closed my eye, and no one else's.”

Even as Koishi remained as youkaish and attached to the world as she was, she foolishly stumbled towards enlightenment, perhaps one day she might grace the likes of the buddhas and saints, or fight in some grand conflict, but just for this night she could afford to only be Satori’s sister, and in the coming years a mother.

Meanwhile, Oni schemed, rabbits played, ancient gods older talked, new gods would be born and perhaps even die, humans lived and died, youkai played games, the world turned around, and everybody collected Karma, both good and bad.
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>>45064687
By the way, Koishi can't really be said to have gotten what she wanted, sure she's not lobotomized anymore and that's good, but her personal goals of not being hurt and having fun have basically stayed the same thought this entire mess. She's a pretty simple person deep down, which is probably why she'd do good at stumbling foolishly towards enlightenment.
Relatively speaking of course, it's not like Byakuren or any youkai have been more successful than Koishi here.