/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>46221109 (63/?)

Elegantly taking a sip of the boiling coffee, Shinki replies. “I suppose it must be difficult for one can’t create her own help, though I believe we may have strayed a little far in this conversation. What were you saying about these designs of yours?”

Yukari twitches when Sinki mentions creating help. She’d always been envious of Shinki’s abilities to create. After all, while Yukari was more than capable of changing, warping, and distorting things, creating or protecting life was beyond her.

Still, she rather quickly moves past that when Shinki gives her the opportunity to gloat about her plans. “As you well-ahem, as you may know, the order of Gensokyo went awry when Reimu began abusing her husband, Anon. After two decades, he abandoned her and his oaths to the Gods to remain with her faithfully. This trouble in the Hakurei clan threatened the order of Gensokyo, so I was forced to intervene.”

Shinki was sufficiently aware of the chain of events at this point, so Yukari’s words came as no big surprise. Still, she had to ask, “And yet you did not intervene in those two decades before?”

Yukari frowns, her eyes shifting down to her tea, “It was not my place.”

Shinki presses, “And what changed?”

After a prolonged sip, Yukari replies, “Oaths to the Gods were broken and the stability of the Hakurei clan passed the point of no return.”

That’s… a bold-faced lie and not a particularly convincing one. Raising a brow Shinki replies, “I never knew you were a pious woman, though would not agree that the point of no return for a family comes well before a decade of abuse?”

Yukari chuckles, though there’s little mirth in it. “Oh, you’d be surprised. Sometimes a bit of trouble is what is needed to mend bonds and restore the proper order of things.”

Shinki deadpans, “I suppose I would be, I prefer to not have the bonds broken in the first place.”

Yukari cleared her throat before continuing, “As I was saying, this place is how I shall fix the mess Reimu made. It’s been quite successful so far, Reimu you see is just a few steps away from being properly humbled, and once that is done I can take a more… active role in maintaining the Hakurei clan. That should prevent any nasty matters like this from occurring again. Now, I’ve laid my intentions bare, so I must ask why it is you’ve come.”

Left unsaid is the fact that controlling the Hakurei clan would in effect mean controlling Gensokyo and that she has definitely not laid her plans bare. Neither of those are particularly surprising, however. “You see, my little Alice is quite smitten with that Anon fellow.”

Yukari interjects before Shinki could continue, “Unsurprising. Are you aware that she’s plotting against me?”

Shinki nods, “Vaguely, she mentioned something to that effect. That was one of the reasons I came here. While Alice is a big girl who can make her own decisions and I will not seek vengeance if she’s defeated, I want assurances that no serious harm will come to her. If so, I may be forced to act.”

Yukari snorts, “Alice? She’s insignificant. I’ll give a slap on the wrist when I triumph and nothing more. A puppeteer who lives in the woods is the least of my concerns. But you said that there were multiple reasons you came?”

Shinki answers, “Two more. For one, I’d like to meet this man who launched a thousand ships, and I was hoping that I may drag my daughter along for parts.”

Yukari deadpans, “That is… the purpose of this building. Not everyone who visits Anon breaks in and chats. You don’t need my permission-ah, you are concerned that I’ll act against Alice? Again, she’s a minor trifle. I care not if any of those rats visit Anon as long as they do not cause trouble. This will all be over soon anyway.”

Oh… Shinki didn’t really expect that answer, “You must excuse this mother and her worries, but could we perhaps get this guarantee written out? Preferably signed in blood if it is all the same to you.”

Yukari nods, “I’ll write out the terms; anyone who comes peacefully and uses the building for its intended purposes will leave unmolested.”

Hope I wrote Yukari well enough. I feel she has some weird feelings regarding desiring validation from and feeling superior towards the other hags, so she'd take the opportunity to gloat and talk. I'll admit the contract thing might be a bit too far, but I want a way to justify Marisa and Yuuka talking to Anon. If there are serious hang-ups about it, I'm fine with voiding it.