/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>45529103
Gatekeepers are very flexible...

"Good morning, Anon!" I say, waving to him with a serene smile, watering a massive patch of the Shrine's garden. As always, Anon doesn't recognize my existence and passes through me—warms my heart hearing him hum about what to make for dinner that would satisfy the bakeneko—and picks up the same watering can I'm using, though mine's spectral. Together, we water the flowers with placidity. "Man, it'd be so nice if you could make mapo tofu—it's been what, a century since I last ate it? I remember it was around the end of World War II, around when Remi contacted me~" I delight in the memories for a moment, though don't pay much mind to Anon.

Not like he can hear, fell, or even see me. Patchy made sure of that… As sure as messing with the Shrine Barrier and accidentally splitting our spirits in two and, as to not have our souls destroyed, linking them to the closest source of magic: the barrier itself. The invisibility and intangibility are a pain…

Our bodies and the other half of our spirits walked back home, unaware of what had transpired, leaving us here, connected to this wretched place. Hope they don't die before we merge again; disappearing from the Samsara wouldn’t be fun…

All things considered, being locked with a moody magician in a mega brothel is not THAT bad. It could be worse, for sure: we can interact with the spiritual objects of the Shrine—not physical, though—so it means I can sleep on a spectral futon instead of the ground or anywhere incorporeal ghosts sleep on—

"Maybe mapo tofu?" I instantly freeze, gawking at the man.

He narrows his eyes, deep in thought, before curiously checking a plant's stalk, eyes growing when he spots a weird spider.

But my mind is elsewhere. Did he…? No, of course not! He didn't even react to me, as always!

… Was it a simple coincidence?

My spectral body shivers with tension, feeling the phantom pain of a thunderous heartbeat. "A-Anon?" I call him, searching his complexion, seeking any possible indication that it wasn’t a coincidence, eyes big with expectation.

Yet, all Anon does is study the spider threading his hand. "Look at that, a Red Widow of all things…" He sighs, looking hurt. "So you went from threatened to extinct? In mere two decades…? Poor little guy…"

And quickly he walks off to retrieve a habitat for the spider.

… All a coincidence…

I sigh, feeling deflated with the crushed hope of communicating with someone alive, trying my best to ignore it as it keeps accumulating within my heart—so I focus on watering the plants with spectral water… But at least I can smile knowing I'll be eating good food tonight! I wish he uses authentic Sichuan seasoning~

—

Patchy looks tense, but that’s not uncommon. Spread on the floorboards where she lies are a million spectral papers and notebooks. She writes, reads, massages her temples, and, ’course, groans a lot.

I sit with the others on the kotatsu, picking Ran's spectral mapo tofu—since she got most of the good, spicy stuff. Chen and Dolly don't enjoy spiciness that much—and, as per adorable ritual, Anon feeds Ran a piece of tofu; Ran a tiny spec to Dolly; which then, wielding a regular fork as if a massive weapon, feeds Chen, ending with a full circle where Chen excitedly feeds Anon. That done, chitchatting and proper eating began… And I gulped down the jealousy: I'm on the table, but don't get fed by someone else. Truly, the world is a terrible place…

… But the mapo tofu is SO good! It reminds me of home~

"Could you, if you'd be kind, don't chew so loud?" Patchy asks, giving me a death stare. I ignore both in favor of giving her Chen's version of mapo tofu.

"It's mapo tofu; you cannot chew on it as if it's a banana!" She groans, though gracefully accepting the bowl. So weird how we can still eat and feel all the tastes but don't need to do the number one or two—Patchy's theory is that it turns into energy to keep these spectral forms. Speaking of which… "Are you still obsessing over that?"

"Yes, I am. Without right equipment and the exact tomes, seeing beyond the fourth dimension is one of the greatest challenges. Now leave me be to concentrate." I roll my eyes, but she doesn't see it, focusing on her books. Ever since she linked to the Shrine Barrier, she has been enthralled with an 'outrageous magic strand' to it, saying we're not alone here—disregarding Anon, his friends, and… visitors—and whoever is with us in this 'masterpiece of magic' lives in another dimension entirely.

I've tried to feel this elusive person she's seeking, but the HSE's Ki is impossible to properly discern: so extremely saturated with magics of all kinds and tastes, makes reading it hell itself.

Sighing, I look around. Anon, Chen, Ran and Dolly laugh and talk—three of those, at least—lost in their own worlds.

… And so am I. Lost and locked here until the other Meiling—likely—visits again, and I can merge our souls. Hope she does it soon… I miss my job; Sakuya's voice; Koa’s; Remi's; Flan’s…

At least I'm not alone in this.