/jp/ - Otaku Culture

New years edition of the graph, if I missed anything or you have any suggestions just let me know.

>>45678421
it's her year now!
thanks for the graph!

>>45678335
>flits with lesbians
Smallest of corrections: I specified Raiko had done both in the past. She is a free spiritgenuinely one of the kindest Touhou outside of Doremy after all!
>>45678421
I have been laughing at that ms paint bow for the last five minutes. I don't know why. I've also started to play Persona 5. I'm an hour in, but what scant scenes I've seen of Goro make me want to see him suffer, but in an endearing way.
Also the bracelet kid stuck in the HSE was named "Oiwa"
I cannot wait for the clusterfuck that will be the new Yakumo family reunion five years into the future.

[All entries of the HSE here in chronological posting order!]
>>45324110 | part 1
>>45324120 | part 2
>>45324127 | part 3
>>45324134 | part 4
>>45324150 | part 5
>>45324163 | part 6
>>45407358 | part 7
>>45442424 | part 8
>>45515189 | part 9
>>45587647 | part 10

[last thread chapters here]:
>>45586580 | 9-Meiling
>>45589958 | 132-133-Yamashiro/Seija
>>45589963 |
>>45591177 | 5-6-Patchouli
>>45591188 |
>>45591285 | 10-11-Yuuka
>>45591289 |
>>45599793 | 3-Sanae
>>45603302 | 10-11-Tewi
>>45603309 |
>>45611754 | 1-2-Seiga Christmas special
>>45611763 |
>>45614814 | 1-2-Yukari/Maribel Sparda, 'Christmas' special
>>45614830 |
>>45614840 | 1-9-Hana and Gensokyo vs Father Christmas, Christmas special
>>45614846 |
>>45614855 |
>>45614870 |
>>45614881 |
>>45614888 |
>>45614910 |
>>45614915 |
>>45614919 |
>>45615166 | 1-4-Anon is visited by three jobbers, Christmas special
>>45615303 |
>>45615434 |
>>45615617 |
>>45620574 | 1-Myouren Christmas Special
>>45622217 | 48-Ran/Chen
>>45624378 | 3-4-Seiga Christmas Special
>>45624391 |
>>45628868 | 49-50-Ran/Chen
>>45628875 |
>>45629543 | 1-Dolly, the coolest doll around
>>45630282 | 134-138-Yamashiro/Seija
>>45630285 |
>>45630290 |
>>45630293 |
>>45630313 |
>>45634588 | 23-Yukari
>>45634597 | 4-5-Sanae
>>45634609 |
>>45635924 | 139-140-Yamashiro/Seija
>>45635952 |
>>45640322 | 114-117-Hana
>>45640327 |
>>45647554 |
>>45647558 |
>>45653229 | 51-53-Ran/Chen
>>45653236 |
>>45653246 |
>>45654240 | 1-Shinki about to dive bomb the lake of sin; nothing bad will come out of that
>>45658058 | 141-143-Yamashiro/Seija
>>45658069 |
>>45658082 |
>>45658599 | 118-126-Hana
>>45658609 |
>>45658623 |
>>45658630 |
>>45658641 |
>>45658648 |
>>45658651 |
>>45658658 |
>>45658664 |
>>45668313 | 144-145-Yamashiro/Seija
>>45668323 |
>>45668887 | 6-8-Sanae
>>45668898 |
>>45668910 |
>>45669455 | 66-68-Aya
>>45669959 |
>>45670299 |
>>45674197 | 28-Rikako/Lemontene
(772 entries)

>>45678494
extra because writenanons went fucking bananas last thread and there wasn't enough space for this
[for phoneanons that can't access the dead threads, here's all of them]:
>>/jp/thread/44478667#p44783853 | starting point
>>/jp/thread/44802165 | first proper thread
>>/jp/thread/44846425 | second thread
>>/jp/thread/44889557 | third thread
>>/jp/thread/44930736 | fourth thread
>>/jp/thread/44991041 | fifth thread
>>/jp/thread/45037580 | sixth thread
>>/jp/thread/45076441 | seventh thread
>>/jp/thread/45122397 | eight thread
>>/jp/thread/45164037 | ninth thread
>>/jp/thread/45214506 | tenth thread
>>/jp/thread/45270851 | eleventh thread
>>/jp/thread/45324060 | twelfth thread
>>/jp/thread/45332185 | thirteenth thread
>>/jp/thread/45340894 | fourteenth thread
>>/jp/thread/45407283 | fifteenth thread
>>/jp/thread/45442364 | sixteenth thread
>>/jp/thread/45515120 | seventeenth thread
>>/jp/thread/45586295 | eighteenth thread

[Ao3 link to the HSE collection]:
https://archiveofourown.org/collections/The_Hakurei_Shrine_Experience

[If everything fails, here's the entirety of the HSE's part 1 (506 entries)]
https://files.catbox.moe/jo96iu.rtf | Part 1
https://files.catbox.moe/cxdwig.rtf | Part 2

>>45678475
>I specified Raiko had done both in the past. She is a free spiritgenuinely one of the kindest Touhou outside of Doremy after all!
oh, yeah, just checked. Sorri!
>second spoiler
my condolences, man. That game will fucking consume your soul...
>third spoiler
trust me: it could've been much, much worse.

every day I pray for patchyanon's safe return and meilinganon's awakening from his coma...

>>45678719
>my condolences, man. That game will fucking consume your soul...
Not gonna happen! I can timebox it and when I want to stop I'll just think about how angry I get at JRPGs railroading me, the Japanese Penal system, or how much I'd rather be playing a REAL SMT game with hard drugs and real punk vibes.

>>45678760
Anon…
… they're happy and at peace in the big desktop setup + mechanical keyboard + word + grammarly premium in the sky.

>>45678901
do people actually use grammarly? I think I've heard it mentioned in the past, but it just sounds like it's more for people who didn't learn english first to catch mistakes they might not have known about.

>>45678941
helps a lot during long revisions where some words/lines might blend with each other and, in a second of distraction, you miss a tiny yet egregious mistake. It doesn't replace good english and multiple revisions, true, but that's not the purpose of a tool anyway.

last thread's flowchart!
https://files.catbox.moe/twlvht.png
for writeanons to guide themselves and readeranons to find Waldo, but Waldo in this case are the mistakes I commit, sorry for those!

>>45668910
—
Rage inside builds like the Tower of Babel, piercing heaven—or so Ran told me—, my eyes on Yukari's like solar flares. She holds Hana tightly, as if a prize, and Aya's words echo inside my skull as if carved there, lighting my body afire with motivation.

The Gohei is in my right hand and shines a heavenly blue as I take a step forward, Yukari takes an unconscious step back…

The fury is infinite, and it could be unleashed upon the Gap Sage right now.

… Hana…

Images of a baby—a sweet baby with hair like mine, eyes of her father. In my arms, so tiny and exigent of protection…

For once, I'd like to hold her like that again.

—

Reimu. What the hell is Reimu doing here?! Questions flooded like a broken dam, and my mind struggled to organize the information, a surge of confusion washing over me. Why didn't I feel her getting close?! I'd have! She can't use Gaps, I made sure of that; Kasen wouldn't dare go to the Hakurei miko; and—

… Okina.

I resist the compulsion to grit my teeth, facing Reimu in the eyes. Not all is lost. This is sudden, yet not out of my depth. Years upon years of defeat and self-destruction have made her an embodied cautionary tale; whatever she has to say or do won't change the fact that I have already won. Okina might think this is a triumph, but I know better! I can see in her eyes the utter anger begging to be unleashed, and it will, because Reimu Hakurei is nothing but a freak! A monster that cannot control her own whims! Compared to me, she is—

Reimu moves so fast it's mere reflex that saves me—the Gohei in her hand and her eyes of pure iron, a Gap opening with the incoming attack—

—She passes through my Gap as if immaterial and is behind me in no longer than a moment…

Pain never came.

She floated. This disgraced, drunkard and self-destructive woman… Despite all that rage that painted her complexion like muck, she floated.

My chest swelled, and the rush of fear that took over me was very much real… Feeling an emptiness in my arms, I refused to look down, calmly recomposing the absolute annoyance that took over my face, easily hiding the little tremble of my arms that, slowly, went to my sides.

This is just a minor setback. I'll solve things, put them back in order. This means nothing—nothing!

Such words echoed inside my head like the buzz of static.

—

So, I do it.

Hana in my arms is a bit heavier than what I remember; taller, too—about an extra 5 feet? Heh…—, yet, she looks just as fragile as 17 years ago, shaking like an ofuda against the mightiness of stormy winds, sobbing, deaf to the world around her, cocooning herself so as not to feel pain anymore. I want to cry. My little girl that bravely went against her crazy mother and took the reins of her life, having to bear the weight of another monster taking advantage of her; the fury burns like a thousand suns… But this isn't about me, so I gulp down the tears as I see her squirming stop, confused with the change of grasp and movement, my heart beating on top of my throat, fear taking over, and—

—numb eyes stare at me, puzzled by the woman holding her. Like all those years ago when I first held her, I freeze… Hana Hakurei is her name. My daughter.

The daughter I failed.

I don't speak, though there's much I'd like to say. I look at her with reverence, a love profound and pulsating, and my body warms up with good memories, yet I do not demand reciprocity—if she knows it exists, that she can seek it at any time… Then it’s enough.

Her precious eyes remain bewildered, nebulous, as if she had just woken up from a deep slumber and didn't know how to react. I walk forward, keeping eye contact, my body strained. Yukari was staring at my back, exuding a miasma of death… My back is all that she'll see—this wasted life, this decaying body.

This wall.

I stop in front of Marisa, her eyes on mine of emotions impossible to discern, hair all disheveled and a protruding baby bump. She sees me staring, moves her mouth, but words don't come… I look at Hana, and there's an infeasible fright in her eyes. She denies with her head in a silent plea, her body trembling. I looked at the disgusting Yakumo uniform… Then I gave my Hana a soft smile, one that said, 'Be brave'.

As Marisa begins to weep, I tenderly lay my Hana on her arms. She fumbles in surprise, wide-eyed and mumbling a shaky 'bwuh?!', just like 17 years ago, and I smile ever so slightly, taking a step back to look at my Hana in her arms; the others watch with mixes of sheer hope and disarray…

It doesn't take long for the mess of a witch to fall on her knees, embracing Hana as if her own daughter, ululating apologies.

I give another step back, this one with a shaking to it, and watch as the women flock to Hana, despair and worry on their faces, hugging her with thick tears and whispering words of comfort, kisses on her skin and huffs of relief. Still, Hana's wide eyes are on me, the situation finally dawning on her: Despite everything, they still love her a lot.

>>45680334
—
"I wasn't expecting to see your face so soon." Her voice grates on my ears and, tall and mighty, I give my back to Hana and face Yukari. The minutiae of her expressions are beyond me, but a calm rage predominates, a mirror to mine. The Gohei, stored before I took Hana in arms, burns against my skin—the sight of that sickening statue itching around my bones like a tiny yet legion of ants crawling inside—, whispering, tempting, this woman's sins boiling inside my mind. To attack would be easy; to let the rage out even more…

… To play her game, it'd be immensely easy.

I breathe in and out, placid yet stoic in my bottomless rage. Yukari narrows her eyes ever so slightly. "Your shikigami saw it every day, repassed all onto you… Don't pretend you're not a sicko that likes stalking others." I maintain my voice leveled with a note of disgust; coming here could put Ran on the hook, as she is one of my closest friends—this should at least take any suspicion out of her.

Yukari smirks, but there's nothing substantial there. Just another facade.

Behind, Hana mutters something, eyes on my back akin to electrocution; shivers of anxiety aplenty. "Hm… Your timing is impeccable. Okina enjoyed the show?" I don't answer, glancing again at the statue of gold, eyes sharp as razors. "Oh? Did you like it? It's just a representation—true love. The very thing you were never able to give your daughter." The trap is there, begging me to fall for it…

… The gift close to my chest swells, but I suppress it. Not now. Soon. Yukari’s face tenses, her trap futile: "That's your representation of love?" Frowning, I look directly into her eyes. "… You have never felt love, have you, Yukari?" Just like that, her body freezes. "I was told the things you did to my Hana. To my… ex-husband—" Hana held her breath. "—you raped them, took their freedom away and plated it in gold and marble, because that's all 'love' you know. A lifeless representation of a shining ideal—"

"Who are you to talk?! You know nothing!" She points, cracks appearing on her face for but a moment before, tensely, recomposing herself, iron in those purple eyes. "Pointing these fingers like you understand love in the slightest—what are you if not a rapist?! You tortured your daughter for her entire life! Your husband! I saved them from your claws and am giving them a life they'll thank me for in the coming years!" Sneering, she points her parasol at me. Hana whimpers. "Who are you to talk—"

"A monster." My voice thunders the whole house, bystanders holding their breaths; I try not, but I focus solely on Hana's every sound—is she proud? Is she embarrassed? Happy? Sad?—my body tightens, scalding for battle… If it weren't for hours upon hours sat at that pond, I'd have already thrown myself into caprices and ruination. I remain in front of my only daughter, steel. A wall between her and this devil. Yukari scowls, trying to say something, but I cut her, spite in full display. "You think yourself special because of the things you have done; I heard it all—you gave and gave and now expect return without any, ANY, consequence!" I point my finger, rage used with finesse. "But you're not special, Yukari! I know what I'm saying because, every day I awake and look in the mirror, I see the same things: I see someone who thought themselves special and who could use their powers to take without restrictions because of the good she had done throughout her WHOLE life! That woman that looks back at me in the mirror is a monster—and so are you."

It takes a monster to expose one.

She bares her teeth, composure breaking like glass: despair. "You have no right to condemn my actions…" A smile of scorn paints her face. "Comparing us, taking me down to your level—has your brain turned to mush?" She looks behind me with a fire in her eyes. "Hana-chan, isn't that unfair to me? This… woman and her comparisons—you know Mama did the things she did because she loves you, right? I'm not like her! I'm better for you, for Anon! Only with me, you'll find family, you know that!" The grossly sweet intonation of her voice, the words of utter manipulation, the faux grin…

… Yet, it's unsurprising how many of those were traps, her fatal flaw exposed to the world: she doesn't know how to love, and when the wound is shown, her attempts at it are laughable.

I'll have to repay Aya eventually. "Hana," my voice is soft and, gently, I turn to her. My face is of placidity, not of saccharine lies—instantly her eyes leave Yukari's, and I can feel the Gap Sage rage grow volcanic. "… I made your life hell. Your father's life hell. I prevented you two from making connections; confined you to that shrine. Controlled your life…" I took a deep breath, looking straight into her eyes. "I raped your poor father. I am a true monster, and you're right in hating me." Her eyes are the size of plates. "… Yukari did all that too, didn't she?"

Nothing more is needed. Understanding shines like a bonfire inside her eyes.

>>45680341
—
What is this? What is happening here?! A moment ago, everything was lost; our sweet Hana was being taken away and our every word would be used against us. Then, Gensokyo's most infamous woman waltzed in out of nowhere and… Fought back. The last time I saw her, she was nothing but a stammering drunkard; her life, talents—wasted. A woman of falling strength, fated to die in silence and misery…

… A woman no one had any hope for.

Tears streamed, my arms holding dear to Hana's head, who stared in dead silence at the miko's eyes of iron, not a smidgen of weakness there as she exuded an unparalleled pressure in the air akin to a heavy gas. Yuuka's mouth was a line, watching in expectancy; Mima had a small and calm smile, eyes sharp, Alice looked as shocked as I, and… Marisa was impossible to discern. Those eyes that watched in confused awe were eyes that only experience could explain. And, as I turned to Yukari and saw that her breath had hitched, that words had escaped her… I opened the widest of grins. Of course, we were fools! We were fighting a monster by her own rules, bringing us to her level, threading on glass, trying to discern facades!

Reimu came, exposed everything, and fought Yukari head-on.

Those words of hers—the comparison—no matter how delusional Hana's thoughts of Yukari might be: those are words she'll never be able to disregard, to turn her face away—bitter truths, direct from the source.

Yukari never expected this, and so she lost.

It tastes sweet. If I could, I'd kiss Reimu right here and now.

She doesn't await Hana’s answer, 'tsk'ing as her eyes go to that wicked statue again. "You knew your father never liked gold, Hana? He'd say it could be beautiful, but more often than not, it was twisted to show off more than to pass an actual message. A symbol of wealth, of greediness… I scoffed at the beginning, but recently, it really rubbed on me." Swiftly, she marched towards the statue, oozing confidence; Yukari doesn't even move, watching with a frown, and I ask myself why she's not using her Gap…

The sudden, sheer pressure filling the air answers the question. Reimu stops in front of the statue, her Gohei brandished—w-wait, what?! She expects to do anything to it with the—

"Sorry for the mess, Alice."

—She swings the Gohei in a hammering motion; a flash happens, and the gold and marble sink into the ground in an explosion, chilling my spine and raising a cloud of dust; the furniture shakes like if a true earthquake had just happened.

What the fuck?!

Crackling of fire is heard as the dust slowly settles. Marisa laughs maddeningly, hiding her eyes, the mix of feelings reaching critical mass; Alice sighs, though still with a slim smile; Mima's smile resembles a knife's edge; Yuuka watches, inspired.

Hana… I can't put it into words.

Yukari's eyes are wide and stony, dissecting Reimu as if a lab rat; her tight hold on her parasol exposes her true feelings.

Behind the red miko, infernal crimson flames consume what remains of the statue, gold turning to a puddle and heavy marble crumbling; the sinful thing no better than rubble. Confusion, though, spreads like those raging flames that frame her threatening figure; what are their origins? It's clearly not danmaku; it's not a spellcard either… "What are those flames, Reimu?" Yukari asks, voice raspy, facade of sweetness gone.

"You'll know, Yukari. Soon."

A second of heavy silence hangs, suffocating…

… Then, with a calm smile, Yukari turns to Hana. "I'll be taking my leave, dear Hana. Know that I don't blame you for this. I love you, and you're welcome back home anytime! Your mama and papa will be waiting for you!" There's no answer; Hana's wide eyes stare at her as if under a new, awful light. Yukari reacts to none of it; she might've lost here, but that doesn't mean she won't keep on the fight. She's relentless, after all. "And Reimu… I take you have fallen to your mother's level?" The red miko doesn't answer, which prompts a terrifying smile to spread on Yukari's face, the Gap blossoming behind her, taking over all the wall, bloodshot eyes wide. "… I wonder if you'll have the same ending—mercilessly killed by a friend."

Without another word, she entered the Gap—

—"AND DON'T FUCKING COME BACK!" Marisa gets up, fumblingly taking off her shoe and, with all the might of a very angry 4'9 tall pregnant lady, throws it inside the Gap. A Gap teared above her head and the shoe came flying off it, easily caught by Mima's staff. Marisa had already thrown her second shoe when the Gap closed, the shoe breaking one of the windows. Alice sighed. The witch looked proud anyway, chest swelling with wild breaths, smile shaky, eyes shining.

"What a primal way of expressing anger." Mima uttered, hand holding Hana's.

… Marisa turned, looking at everyone, then Reimu…

A second later, she collapsed from exhaustion. Yuuka gently caught her before she hit the ground.

The crimson fire burned still, Hana staring intensely at her mother’s back.

>>45680344
>>45680341
>>45680334
Mother-daughter confrontation comes tomorrow~

>>45680344
>"… I wonder if you'll have the same ending—mercilessly killed by a friend."
Big words coming from a woman who has only had two-to-three friends in her entire life, not to mention two of them are dead and the last is a homeless drunk.
Yukari wishes she had people who cared enough about her to mercy kill her.

>>45680344
>>45680341
>>45680334
Holy shit the 'Mu got around to actually trying to mother properly and her literally dropping dead right after this would kind of feel bad.

>>45680976
No, it would be good
Reimu finally gets her 'that's my daughter you bitch' moment, but right when hana thinks she and reimu could be a family, she dies in her arms telling hana some last words. It should feel sad, because the only time reimu got to actually act in her daughters best interests, it cost her life
Something sad happening doesn't equal something narratively bad happening

>>45681191
M8 you just enjoy suffering porn, you may as welllet yukari rape anon to death and have gensokyo burn down to the ground in the process.

>>45681206
Yes, Reimu dying would be the perfect end for her and Hana's arc and fitting thematically with the whole 'passing the gohei' thing we've been building for a while. On top of that you have the fact that she' is genuinely a horrible person and is at constant risk of relapsing into her previous self, karmatically its only way to resolve her character arc without it having be a situation where she gets off scot free from her terrible life style choices. Then we have the whole exchange of her future for better health things that Reimufag hinted at before.
Reimu living would be the worst possible way to write her ending.

>>45681631
You know what anon, you do you.

>>45681631
There's a ton of death flags for Reimu already set up, so it seems to be going that way. I think on the most idealistic end of the spectrum, Reimu losing her powers as the Hakurei miko and trying to help her family heal without getting to be part of it again could work. I'd be a sucker for a really sappy yet bittersweet ending where Redeemed Reimu gets to see Hana and Anon happy, just with other people. It's just that Reimu has to face some consequences (besides being cucked by hundreds of youkai and subsisting for months) for her actions and getting off scott-free would just be narratively unsatisfying.
'mu death seems inevitable, but it's not like death is that big of a barrier in Gensokyo, especially if some of her past friends take pity on her after her atonement. It actually works perfectly for the type of ending where Reimu can be happy for her family but unable to interact with them.
Or it could just go dark horse route and Reimu kidnaps Anon with her super Hakurei powers, proving Yukari was right all along and setting everything back to square one. The pain will never end.
We agreed on multiple endings earlier on anyways. Could be interesting to see how different writefags decide to go about it.

Vengeful spirit mu kino, hanging out with the mima and plotting to get revenge on the yukari in the yukari win scenario? Maybe the Yama makes a deal with reimu just to get her judge hands on yukari?

>>45680334
>>45680341
>>45680344
She finally stepped up to be the mother she always should have been. Granted it's after everything is ruined, but it helps.

>>45680344
>>45680341
>>45680334
Top shit, guess the Hana Yakumo ending is gonna be a stretch. Though we'll see how well everything pans out for her.
We still got the 'mu and 'ana talk, the 'ana coming clean to the jobber squad(i wonder if she'll admit what happened between her and Anon, probably won't... maybe), and the cleanup.

>>45681811
IIRC it was suggested threads ago to leave Reimu's life or death fate ambiguous so different endings could tie that loose end up in their own way. Whether she barely recovers and lives out as a normal human woman, or succumbs to the stresses placed on her and dies should be let up to the endings.

>>45681943
>Maybe the Yama makes a deal with reimu just to get her judge hands on yukari?
I could see that, Eiki letting her return as a vengeful spirit or arranging for Orin to do her thing so it happens naturally while she practiced her swings while shouting, 'black, Yukari is 100% black!'

>>45682030
I know Reimufag had something planned, whenever it gets revealed should be when the real discussion should occur

Gonna post something relating to the birthday party tomorrow. Can't RN since it's really late. Hope you guys enjoy it

>>45682498
man, posts like this get me excited; who the fuck is behind it?!

>>45682030
it's not a very good idea to end it in ambiguity for the main characters; after all the build-up and struggle, to go out without closure could leave a sour taste, kinda like the first Sherlock Holmes and Kanji in P3P. For altendings, authors can change happenings to their hearts content, so it wouldn't be too much hassle.

>>45684898
>Kanji
reads Shinji

>>45684898
>it's not a very good idea to end it in ambiguity for the main characters
we'll have a split off point in the finale probably for writefags to go ahead and branch off with their own stories so it'll be fine.

>>45680344
—
I watch as the flames devour the gold and marble, leaving behind a pile of acrid and rancid junk—somehow, just as ugly as before—my expression troubled in deep anxiety and fear, barely containing the shake of my body… So much weakness shown in my face; Hana shouldn't have to see any of this. She just had a terrible day full of stress, the shake of her body and sobbing reverberating inside my head and lashing out at my conscience; that's all Yukari's fault! She has made my little girl suffer so much… But that wouldn't be the whole truth. Taking this responsibility off my shoulders is just not fair to her, to Anon—to myself.

As I store my gohei, the crimson flames dart towards me, harmlessly licking my skin and disappearing beneath my clothes. Shouldn't waste those: I have a limited supply…

With a strangled inhalation, I forcefully bury the light of my eyes, blocking tears from streaming, and turn to Hana, my tired complexion saddening with the sight of her arranged in that white uniform and not her Hakurei miko's, not even capable of feeling proud she has made her own choices—for all I know, that thing was forced onto her—, our eyes on one another's, hers broad like a doe's, body frigid and cogs of the mind visibly turning. In another, better world, that vision would be funny.

Mima still holds her hand; Sanae the other. Kazami gently places Marisa on the couch, and Alice's eyes are thoughtful as she cleans up her remaining tears, sticking by Hana's side protectively.

Finally, words shatter the silence: "Why… Are you here?" Hana slowly asks, a pinch of revolt in her tone. Hurts, but it's more than understandable.

"I heard you were in danger, so I came." It's instantaneous: her eyes turn to absolute suspicion, body language hard to tell beneath those symbols and flowing white. "Han—"

"Don't lie to me! You were stalking me, weren't you?! I don't want you in my life—you just ruin everything you come close to!" The bite in those words spawns from many places; it's old and bottled up, an anger taking form as she steps hard on the ground, her body shaking with the sudden surge of abrasive emotion. I take everything with open arms. "Every problem I have exists because of you! YOU! Me, in danger?! Don't fuck with me—I know exactly why you are here; you thought that ‘saving’ me from M-Yukari would get you any favor?! That I would just forgive you and welcome you back into my life? Forget everything?! Things don't work like that! S-Saying all those things about d-dad…" Her tears are hot and her features contort in utter spite—confuses me the conflict that burns inside her eyes, harrowing and disorienting; yet I pay no attention, focused on how quickly my heart combusts in sorrow. "You're the worst…"

"I know, my daugh—"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" She yells, leaving the women’s hold and brandishing her gohei as if prepared to fight. Mima and Sanae tense, ready to stop her and—

"… I know, Hana." Simple words, and her eyes go wide. Any fight she expected faded into thin air with the sight of warm, extenuating tired eyes. "But I did not lie. I came here because I heard you were in danger—" she tried to speak again, but I couldn't stop talking; too human to not let it out. "—and that I love you." Weakness tries to leave, and I bare my teeth, rapidly cleaning my eyes, feeling on the edge. Hana watches, arrant confusion blossoming throughout her whole frame.

"Y-You're lying," she moves her head as if denying, eyes wide. "YOU NEVER LOVED ME! FATHER! If you loved us, you wouldn't have been that person! You'd have stuck to your promises! But you never did! It's all lies, lies, and lies!" She holds her ears shut, a sudden urge pushing me to close the distance… I hold my scarf hard, gulping down the feeling. I don't deserve that, nor should I seek it, no matter how much my heart breaks apart.

I look at that damaged, bleeding thing, despairing for a life I had at my fingertips yet so ultimately wasted… I try casting it aside—there's no coming home for me…

… Still…

It's suffocating! No matter what I do, it still longs for it—

Her eyes—images of a tiny baby in my arms; of infinite love unlike any other; of a duty beyond just swinging the cursed gohei.

STILL…

Her smile so sweet towards me—her idol, her savior. Her mother.

It's love unbearable.

— "PLEASE!" I yell out of nowhere, Hana freezes, dumbfounded and startled. The dam had broken and, with teeth bared, thick tears streaming down and whole body shaking, I fell to my knees, hitting my forehead so strongly on the floor that it began bleeding. My voice was shaky as an ember. "I d-don't want you to forgive me, Hana! I'll never ask you to do it! I'm trying to be better, for you and for Anon! To give meaning to my time on this earth! Don't forgive me; don't want me in your life—I understand!" Blood pours down my face as tears thicken. I stare at her, chest screaming with this humane display. "But, please… just hear my words; they're no lie: Hana, I love you."

>>45686833
—
"T-That abominable woman I was, that destroyed your life, your father's life… She couldn't see it, understand it—there's no excuse for any of that; she had lost all hope in herself and was too stubborn to see there were still people there for her… Such a stupid idiot, heh…" I hiccup hard, an infinite moment of absolutely regretting every single action I have ever taken in those sixteen years, trembling hand trying to clean my face, yet amounts to nothing to stop the flood of lacerating feelings. "… But that has changed. She's trying to b-be better; she repents everything and would die euphoric if she could apologize for everything she has done and try to make up for it, even though she knows it might be too late already… Because she loves you so much." Hana keeps staring, speechless and perplexed; the same is true for the bystanders, though I can't fathom taking my eyes away from Hana—not when the next words leave me to the sound of a thunderous heart. "… But you don't have to accept any of that, Hana! You do not! I—anyone—won't judge you for what you do with these words of mine: If you want to extend a hand, try to see for yourself and… t-talk to me; or just ignore it all and don't ever think about looking at me again… Any choice you make, I'll be content, because it'll be your choice!" The smile that shines on my face could light the sky, though it lasts only a moment.

It aches that I laid my heart bare in such sad circumstances, bitter with the execution, but I couldn't fight love—not when it was the very thing that saved me from that dark pit.

Still… I feel relieved.

Hana understands Yukari's sins; she has beautiful, loyal people by her side and, with this information, should be able to make a choice by herself. It fills my heart with so much pride…

Would you also be proud of me, Ran? Chen? Anon…?

Of this step, I know I'm proud.

Hana moistens her lips, hands shaking, eyes looking everywhere but inside mine, clearly mulling my pleading words again and again, words jammed down her throat. Struggling a bit, I get up on my feet, cleaning off the blood from my face. "I'll leave you now; you already had a terrible day and should rest; so should they… Gee, even Marisa is pregnant. I guess it's a dream of hers come true." I rub my eyes, finally putting a lid on the dam and share a last glance with Hana; she steadfastly turns her eyes away, trembling. Hurts so much yet feels so impossibly good—making her own choices, heh~… She's a big girl now. "Don't rush things, okay? Reach whatever conclusion you feel at peace with…" I look at the women flocking to her like a bunch of very worried chickens—Mima nods slightly, contemplative about a past far gone; Yuuka is similar, though she gives me a small, kind smile; Alice and Sanae stare in awe and confusion… Marisa snores.

They probably should leave for somewhere safe from Yukari, like the Moriya Temple. Alice’s house, after all, is a mess.

I should save up to repay her. Yeah…

The walk towards the door is an otherworldly experience, like astral projection, heart thumbing in my ears yet mind placid and serene; Hana's eyes are on my back, I can feel them…

A million words to say, a million supplications…

This isn't about just me.

… So I decide against turning, and merely, with a voice loaded with reaffirmed yet disregarded love, I express barely louder than a whisper. "And, Hana…?" Hana's gaze intensifies; she probably expects the worst, a rationalization… "I'm very proud of you." 'For holding yourself together despite the pain; for walking away that day, thinking about you and your father; for taking care of him when I did not; for doing your job and always being kind; for simply being born', is unsaid but, hopefully, understandable.

With those words, I leave Alice's house and fly back to the shrine.

In the nocturnal silence, only the moon above watches. Cold brushes against my skin and soothes my soul, closing the wound on my forehead and comforting the massive one in my heart. Memories of a tiny, adorable baby; of a man holding such baby with the biggest of smiles…

… Memories of happiness…

Cherishing them with the biggest smile on my face as tears of joy pelt the clouds below, even though I drift alone in the ocean of darkness that is the stygian night, I can't help but feel at peace with the likelihood of never talking to my daughter ever again.

After all, she'd have made her choice, and that makes me unspeakably happy.

>>45686843
>>45686833
onto Hananon! Hope you're ready to make sense of the shitload of trauma this girl experienced in one night~!
also, left the 'Mu present scene out since it'll be a more Hana-centric moment; though, if you don't want to write that, say it and I'll do it! Thanks for bearing with me!

>>45680591
>Yukari wishes she had people who cared enough about her to mercy kill her.
damn… that's a mercy kill by itself, Jesus
>>45681999
>Granted it's after everything is ruined
I didn't hear no bell!
>>45682028
thanks~!

>>45686843
>>45686833
Absolutely heart-rending and the jobber squad has jobbed entirely. The Inaba gang, Mamizou, and 'suzu have escaped successfully.
As always the Maribullying was the icing on the cake, I hope Aya got a good scoop.

>>45686861
Poor Hana is gonna be listless for at least the next day or two, I can see the jobber squad going entirely overboard on trying to protect Hana. I can't wait to write her processing everything, the awkward jobbersquad sit-down, and Yukari trying to sink her fangs back in.
Also can't wait for Shinki to show up confused as hell

threadly (?) reminder that finale never ever

>>45687526
lies

>>45687174
>The Inaba gang, Mamizou, and 'suzu have escaped successfully.
the idea was to have it be really vague so Ayaanon and Suzuanon could write whatever they wanted their characters reacting to be like
>Aya scoop
c-c'mon, Aya wouldn't do that, right? She wouldn't again use her friend's misery as profit, right?

"AND DON'T FUCKING COME BACK!" The ordinary human magician scrempt, throwing her show into the purple eye-laced void of the gap sage. This entire scenario was such an odd sight to see. It was one part heart-retching and another phantasmagoric. Those crow Tengu could only dream of getting something this juicy on live camera. Strange how Aya isn't here.

Lemontene couldn’t even muster anything to say but a simple “Wow”. I mean, how does someone more simple-minded react to something like that with words?

“I haven’t seen a rollercoaster of emotions this intense since… Well, I don’t think there was a last time!” Ruukuto piped in. “So you mean to tell me that Alice, Mima and Miss Hakurei are all both innocent AND now working under the same umbrella? Goodness, I don’t ever think I could’ve expected this outcome. Good thing you had the idea to hold this steakout, Miss Asakura! Otherwise we might’ve just picked an unnecessary fight.”

“Wait… does that mean we’re leaving now, Miss Maid?” Lemontene asked the robot in an inquisitive manner.

“I guess so! I’m actually quite glad in retrospect. While I feel we constantly underestimate ourselves in terms of power, trying to win a fight against so many of Gensokyo’s most powerful in one fight just felt like a fool’s errand. I was a bit scared to share my true opinions on it at first, but boy am I glad we can put this complicated matter behind us now. Time to make like a tree and LEAF!”

...

“No. We’re staying. It’s time we finish what we started.’

Lemontene and Ruukuto turned over to their buddy Rikako in a confused manner. Out of the three, She was the one paying the most attention to everything happening around them. It’s clear that this whole situation, while convoluted, clearly wasn’t as dangerous as they thought. It no longer really required their attention. It's the best ending, So why is her face grimacing like that?

“There’s still a child trapped in there with a vengeful spirit, abusive parental figure you can barely call a mother and several other untrustworthy freaks. You’re really just gonna walk away from all this without a second thought?” Rikako asked in the most emotionally manipulative bitchy tone.

Lemontene was the first to speak up. “B-But Reimu just defended Yukari from kidnapping the baby. A bad person wouldn't do that, right?”

“One random instance of heroism isn't enough to redeem anyone. Reimu has proven time and time again that she is an abuser who never learns from her many mistakes for entire decades. Do you really think she’ll improve just because of one singular good deed? Actually, nevermind. I shouldn't expect a dumb fairy like you to ever understand.”

“Hey! That's not nice!” ‘Tene bit back.

Ruukuto couldn't believe what she was hearing. “Mrs. Asakura! I understand having month's-worth of progress being destroyed in one night is crushingly frustrating, but that does not mean you get to become brash and bully people! I’m sure if we just go back home and talk things out-”

“Go back where, The Human Village? So you can get made fun of again for the fifteenth billion time for not being born normal? So you can get laughed at by everyone else for failing yet another one of your hypothesis? So people can continuously laugh at you for wearing “that stupid and dumb lab coat”? So an entire restaurant can embarrass you for daring to try & create something new? So you can be humiliated by fucking WOODEN DOLLS?!? Big whoop. I refuse to continue living my life as nothing more than the world’s living punchline any longer. We're staying and finishing the mission. Now activate your battle gear.

Ruukuto still just couldn't believe what she was hearing. Is this a dream? What has gotten into this wonderful person she’s gotten to know after all these years? “Mistress, Please!” she cried. “Your rage is clearly unhealthy. It’s making you not think straight. Just relax so we can talk this out casually and-”

“Do you just refuse to listen to me or something? Which one of us is the ORDER-TAKING maid made of bolts and metal again? Active your battling equipment AT ONCE. That is an order, not a request.”

“...Understood. I’m sorry for questioning you. Preparing Danmaku Mode.”

>>45688681
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Trust me, Yukari has tired them out. This job will be easier than ever.”

“RIKAKO! What are you doing?!?” Lemontene scempt, panicked over everything around her moving too fast. “Y-You’re going Mimamaniacal! We don’t need violence anymore! Call miss maid off, Stop it! This isn’t you!”

“Blah Blah Blah. Look, you want to help Gensokyo become happy again? You want to show me what being a “best friend” is all about? Then take that Bat and smash everyone into a fine paste. I don’t care who it is, hell you could probably target Hana if you wanted to, but as long as you’re busy killing somebody else it’s fine. Gensokyo already has a pretty high death count, what harm will a few more do? Let’s save the world amirite?!?”

“NO! YOU ARE BEING INAPPROPRIATE! I DON’T WANNA DO THIS ANYMORE!” Lemontene shouted. So many bizarre feelings had begun shifting around in her head. Such thoughts like the freakout with Daiyousei began circulating again. She couldn’t even begin to try and transcript everything she wanted to say with her mouth if she wanted. Luckily, someone she wasn’t expecting to appear to hopefully help take heat off from the situation

“...Am I interrupting something?” Aya asked.

Unbeknownst to the three, their bickering had made them completely lose focus on what was happening inside. They didn’t even notice that Reimu had left the party. Thankfully, the materials used to build Alice’s House made it rather soundproof to anything that was happening outside. However that doesn’t mean everywhere else was soundproof either. The Bunbunmaru Master of Paradise, who had returned to the scene of the crime after finding out that filthy sage left, had just heard almost everything.
The cover has been blown. They have been discovered.

The world stood still for what felt like minutes before she spoke up again.

“Are you guys okay? I heard shouting. What’s with like the Barrels-”

“NOW!” Shouted Rikako. Before anyone could even comprehend what she could’ve meant by that, Ruukuto transformed her left arm into a laser cannon and blasted a shockingly powerful beam into the wall of the Margatroid residence. In mere milliseconds, it had completely evaporated

Unfortunately for everyone, Yukari Yakumo was no longer the only unwelcome guest to tonight’s party. It’s gonna be one of those days.

>>45688710
This doesn't really work with the pacing of the party. Maybe it would be better to have Rikako and the gang run into Shinki and Sariel outside the house?

>>45688710
>>45688681
Anon, we discussed there wouldn't be fighting; this just doesn't fit the party's tone. I agree with Anon here >>45688764, please rewrite the ending of that chapter otherwise we best consider it non-canon and proceed as if Aya had just blasted Ruukuto for trying to destroy the house for the sake of the main story

>>45688764
I agree. A serious fight should happen far away from the party if it has to happen right now, or the break-in should happen way after the party is over for comedic timing. Either would fit the pace of the story far better. Rikako shouldn't break in after Reimu just left. Then it's just a buzzkill not unlike the alpaca scene in YIIK.

>>45688906
>>45688710
I didn't know we had a fellow Yiik-er in this thread, I'm sure all of us fellow gentlemen could come to an understanding.
Violence is never the answer after all

>>45688930
honestly, just rewrite the last few lines. Alice, being a friend of Marisa's, must have reinforced her walls more than enough to withstand massive laser beams considering the Master Spark and all. Just have the next part start by clarifying that the last two paragraphs of the previous part were Rikako's imagination and she actually didn't do any damage to the wall and no one even noticed it happened

Curious, if worse comes to worst for Yukari, what's stopping her from breaking down and going "If I can't have Anon no one can!" before offing both herself and him?

I think the raw emotions of the party are starting to get to me. Why the HELL did I make this entry so full of angsts lmao

>>45688764
>This doesn't really work with the pacing of the party.
I was afraid of somethin' like that. Apogees if this is a little messy on my end. I had actually planned to release this yesterday but delayed it in order to polish it and admittedly IMO it still feels kind of rushed for some reason, which is weird since I hit every important story beat I was aiming for.
I'm a rather slow writer so trying to coordinate with everyone else on this is a bit of a challenge for me. By the time I finished this and the small new years sneak peak, the other anon writing for Reimu and Yukari was able to churn out like 8 posts of phenomenal well-written spicy goodness which made me anxious that I would lag behind and (as per usual for my ass) not get to do anything before we moved on to something else.
>>45688878
>we discussed there wouldn't be fighting; this just doesn't fit the party's tone.
Goddamn it, we did? I thought it was still sort of up in the air. Or at least until after the situation with Yukari was finished. My bad.
However now I'm just kinda confused on where to go from here. There's not really any time left in the story after this besides the Solstice Finale but so many things are gonna be happening by then that I feel shoving the confrontation in there will just tank plenty of things like pacing and their relevance in the narrative. Maaaaaybe I could squeeze it in between the party and finale?
>>45688906
>Then it's just a buzzkill not unlike the alpaca scene in YIIK.
KEK you chose that on purpose for the lemonade reference you cheeky little rascal

You guys think I should give my characters to another person for the time being? I felt I was fine during the earlier chapters but now I'm starting to feel like I've increasingly become a roadblock due to not equipped well enough to keep up with everybody else.

>>45688974
she's probably too proud to think that, even at the very worst of situations, she might lose. Or maybe she'll de facto try a desperado at the end
who knows!

>>45688975
that's tough on your side man; keeping up with the main writers must be a nightmare, but still, you shouldn't give in your characters; rewrite the last sentences of the chapter, and you have a hook for them entering the Jobber Squad and understanding the situation; or maybe, considering you know yourself as a slow writer and saw that the pace of the main story is too much, that's not what you should be trying to do.
>Rikako just tried violence in a situation she doesn't understand in the presence of Aya, who stops it quickly and lecture them; Rikako internalizing that and realizing she should listen more to Tene or just outright sperging, trying to fight during the Solstice and having her ass handed to her, maybe fight a nice battle before being saved by her gang. That's self-contained enough so you don't have to worry about keeping up pace
sorry if it's unrequited advice, but a major part of a writer's life is to change their approaches when things aren't working out

>>45688975
I don't want this to come out the wrong way, but Rikako and the gang aren't essential characters. You writing them slowly isn't really an issue unless it pushes into a core plot event like the party. I definitely wouldn't give them up. All you have to do is adjust the last bit and change it to an encounter with Shinki or as this anon suggested >>45689124 Aya.

>>45688975
I know those nerves too well. There's going to be a brief reprieve between the party and the finale while we wrap up loose ends and actually plan out the finale, so don't feel too compelled to get something delivered ASAP. The benefit of other writers handling the main characters is that you can hang back and write out your characters on the sideline.

The only real issue with this chapter is Ruukoto blasting a hole into the drama. It's a sharp turn of events where the gang is forced to pay attention to something else entirely while this whole emotional rigamarol is happening. As other anons have suggested, resolving Rikako's stakeout on the side with Shinki and Sariel would be best. It could probably even serve as an excuse for them missing out on both Yukari and Reimu -They had to deal with these chuckleheads loitering near Alice's house!

You don't have to and probably shouldn't relinquish the rights to your characters. They've mostly been a lighthearted re-contextualization of events showing off how ridiculous some of HSE stuff can get. I like it. Just remember that there's a time and place for everything. This was unfortunately not one of them.

>>45689315
If one fairy writer can leave another can, fairies attract secondaries anyways.

>>45689354
Trip on, Hieda no Akyuu. This is like the third time you've posted something like this. Your gimmick is getting old.

>>45689616
It's a very important characteristic, please understand

>>45689616
It's not a gimmick, I complain about other things like the Komeijis and the underground in general.
To an extent I also dislike Junko, Hecatia, the Lunarians, and Eiki. Although they aren't as egregious desu.
Anyways I'll continue to complain about the things I dislike in the story, also those are some funny words coming from someone using Felix the cat instead of something actually /JP/ related

>>45689354
I haven't vanished, just been busy recently

>>45689781
Sounds like the lady complains too much

>>45690285
I also don't like Goro's crossdressing arc, I was already souring on it the second time it was brought up but the conversation I saw last thread and the pic of Goro posted made me firmly dislike it despite my normal appreciation of what Yamawaroanon writes.

>>45690383
Goro's most defining feature is being the most feminine of Yukari's minions.

Yeah yeah Fem!Goro is cool but where's Masculine!Seija

>>45690438
That's just normal Seija, she's a tomboy, albeit a different flavor than Cirno or Marisa.
What do you want her to do, start lifting weights and get mega jacked to the point she looks like one of those deformed pitbulls.

>>45689781
hi, original sagume writer here
obviously this didn't pan out, but in my mind, I would never have had the lunarians (or doremy) interact with the other cast. they would have been more or less entirely separate and you'd only know what they know from whatever snippets sagume heard on her walks through the capital or from yorihime and toyohime shouting at each other because they forgot sagume was even in the room, or from doremy's alcohol fuelled depression rants
of course, then halfway through the same thread that I wrote the first two sagume posts in, there's seija and goro, meeting them
so I just shelved the whole thing

>>45690563
Hananon here, just wanted to update that I got way too busy today with stuff and didn't have time to write. Update tomorrow.

Hananon here, just wanted to update that I got way too busy today with stuff and didn't have time to write. Update tomorrow. and a fairywars update if I have time

>>45690383
>>45690391
Yeah, I think that picture had the same effect on me lol. Thing's a psycho hazard.
I brought it back because I was about to write the Tsukumo chapter with the JakuDuo curb stomping Raiko and the other two from DDC and then extracting the info, but I thought that was too formulaic and instead decided to go with the bar side chat. In retrospect, I should've just dropped the sex reversal and the chapter wouldn't have changed much, but live and learn.
>>45690438
Was in the non-canon chapter. She's a quick-shot
>>45690563
>of course, then halfway through the same thread that I wrote the first two sagume posts in, there's seija and goro, meeting them
Sorry If I ran over your idea. I tried to forecast that meeting at the start of the Hell arc, but I'm not sure if the foreshadowing was clear. I think I wanted to nip the 'Sagume is Seija's Mom' theory in the bud for some reason.

>>45690680
take it easy!
also, Rikaanon was apologetic about the chapter he wrote, so I wouldn't consider it canon as it ruins the entire party atmosphere

>>45519426
(20)
Things had gone well up to the point. The food and drink had flowed freely, and everyone had much as they wanted. The more I got to know Yuuka, the more I got to know the woman beneath the terrifying mask she was known for. She was so charming and intelligent, I never would have imagined such story telling skills from a woman of her repution . Hana for once, was acting like how a teenage girl should, free of any worry about the future and wanting to enjoy her youth, loving all the attention given to her. Even Mima seemed to enjoy herself. I caught what could almost be a smile on her face a few times. It was going so well, the social faux pass made by Tewi admitting she was having relations with Anon was forgotten soon enough. But something as simple as a door opening can ruin a mood.

All heads turned to the intruder. Yukari was as unwelcome as being thrown into an ice cold lake and just as sobering. It was like the last few drinks had just vanished from my system, although I’d they didn’t. The dulled senses of drunkenness would be so much better then feeling of stress flooding my body and grasping my heart in its claws. But I wasn’t the only one feeling the pressure. All around me, the others guests bristled with energy, ready for anything. I glared over to Yuuka, and it seemed like the amicable and talented woman I had known was a lie as she stared ahead, parasol literally glowing with energy born of rage. Mima was the same, staff out and crackling with some sort of magic that I dared not dwell on. As I tried to breath in and calm my heart, I silently pleaded they would get the message. Even I understood why Yukari was here. It was a trap. She had to have some plan, an ace up her sleeve to come here away from the protection that the HSE provided. To attack her would to fall into her hands. But also if a fight between all these powerhouses, then everyone that couldn’t stand up to them would die in the crossfire. I wasn’t going to die like this. Just be cowardly for once, please.

My prayers were answered in the form of a small rabbit. Tewi had bounced up and with a few words and a kiss, had attracted all eyes on her and made everyone focus again on the party. The party lurched forward, not dead but close to it. I moved towards Marisa as Yukari made her entrance, feeling safer with her nearby. I had to say something, anything to look natural and keep the mood flowing. I opened my mouth and said the first thing to come to find.

“I had to give away most of my old baby stuff, just thought you should know, sorry” Real smooth Kosuzu. I glanced up to Yukrai, she was ignoring me, good. Marisa sighed and put a hand on her stomach, not paying attention, not that I minded much.

“It’s fine, we can worry later” Marisa groaned, eyes fixed on the intruder. Her face flushed, forced into a grimace like she was about to be sick. Ah, all this stress could not be good at her or her children. I tried my best to keep things natural. How we needed to get her house ready for the children, potential books they could learn to read from. Speaking of books, if we got out of here I needed to ask her about those books she borrowed a long time ago. Mamizou’s approach made me put those put those thoughts out of mind for a bit. She didn’t say anything, but her reason for coming over was clear. But it didn’t do too much to make me feel better. My heart thumping hard in my chest, as it were a wild animal trying to free itself from a trap. I took a few ragged breaths, hoping to calm myself, but a glimpse of long blond hair made my knees wobble. Mamizou and Marisa both looked on, concerned.

“I just need to lay down for a bit, I’ll be fine” I said. Me having to get rushed off to the doctor would set off all the tension in the air, and it wouldn’t be good for me, clearly. I flopped down on thew couch, trying to shut off all outside sighs and sound and focus on my body, trying to reign my heart into its normal rhythm. I was never all that good at mediation. Some of the dolls, driven by whatever strange motivation exists for them, floated down onto my body, holding me close. A shield or a blanket, I couldn’t tell. It felt nice, I just had to close my eyes for a few minutes and then-

Someone was shaking me. I opened my eyes, the dolls not already distrusted noticed this and flew off before I could sit up. Aunn’s face was there to great me. “Miss Kosuzu, we’re having the cake, join us!”

>>45519426 (Dead)
(20)
Things had gone well up to the point. The food and drink had flowed freely, and everyone had much as they wanted. The more I got to know Yuuka, the more I got to know the woman beneath the terrifying mask she was known for. She was so charming and intelligent, I never would have imagined such story telling skills from a woman of her repution . Hana for once, was acting like how a teenage girl should, free of any worry about the future and wanting to enjoy her youth, loving all the attention given to her. Even Mima seemed to enjoy herself. I caught what could almost be a smile on her face a few times. It was going so well, the social faux pass made by Tewi admitting she was having relations with Anon was forgotten soon enough. But something as simple as a door opening can ruin a mood.

All heads turned to the intruder. Yukari was as unwelcome as being thrown into an ice cold lake and just as sobering. It was like the last few drinks had just vanished from my system, although I’d they didn’t. The dulled senses of drunkenness would be so much better then feeling of stress flooding my body and grasping my heart in its claws. But I wasn’t the only one feeling the pressure. All around me, the others guests bristled with energy, ready for anything. I glared over to Yuuka, and it seemed like the amicable and talented woman I had known was a lie as she stared ahead, parasol literally glowing with energy born of rage. Mima was the same, staff out and crackling with some sort of magic that I dared not dwell on. As I tried to breath in and calm my heart, I silently pleaded they would get the message. Even I understood why Yukari was here. It was a trap. She had to have some plan, an ace up her sleeve to come here away from the protection that the HSE provided. To attack her would to fall into her hands. But also if a fight between all these powerhouses, then everyone that couldn’t stand up to them would die in the crossfire. I wasn’t going to die like this. Just be cowardly for once, please.

My prayers were answered in the form of a small rabbit. Tewi had bounced up and with a few words and a kiss, had attracted all eyes on her and made everyone focus again on the party. The party lurched forward, not dead but close to it. I moved towards Marisa as Yukari made her entrance, feeling safer with her nearby. I had to say something, anything to look natural and keep the mood flowing. I opened my mouth and said the first thing to come to find.

“I had to give away most of my old baby stuff, just thought you should know, sorry” Real smooth Kosuzu. I glanced up to Yukrai, she was ignoring me, good. Marisa sighed and put a hand on her stomach, not paying attention, not that I minded much.

“It’s fine, we can worry later” Marisa groaned, eyes fixed on the intruder. Her face flushed, forced into a grimace like she was about to be sick. Ah, all this stress could not be good at her or her children. I tried my best to keep things natural. How we needed to get her house ready for the children, potential books they could learn to read from. Speaking of books, if we got out of here I needed to ask her about those books she borrowed a long time ago. Mamizou’s approach made me put those put those thoughts out of mind for a bit. She didn’t say anything, but her reason for coming over was clear. But it didn’t do too much to make me feel better. My heart thumping hard in my chest, as it were a wild animal trying to free itself from a trap. I took a few ragged breaths, hoping to calm myself, but a glimpse of long blond hair made my knees wobble. Mamizou and Marisa both looked on, concerned.

“I just need to lay down for a bit, I’ll be fine” I said. Me having to get rushed off to the doctor would set off all the tension in the air, and it wouldn’t be good for me, clearly. I flopped down on thew couch, trying to shut off all outside sighs and sound and focus on my body, trying to reign my heart into its normal rhythm. I was never all that good at mediation. Some of the dolls, driven by whatever strange motivation exists for them, floated down onto my body, holding me close. A shield or a blanket, I couldn’t tell. It felt nice, I just had to close my eyes for a few minutes and then-

Someone was shaking me. I opened my eyes, the dolls not already distrusted noticed this and flew off before I could sit up. Aunn’s face was there to great me. “Miss Kosuzu, we’re having the cake, join us!”

>>45692475
(21)
The cake dominated the table. A large thing, made from hours of hard work in the kitchen. It was a bit much for what was intended to be a small party, but discussion on how Hana deserved something special resulted on what stood before us. As the candles were lit, the song begun. Despite the situation, it was genuine. It was like everyone decided if we sand genuinely enough and gave smiles all around, Yukari would be compelled to leave and let us have this party. But as the last notes of the song dissipated, and the usual tension returned to the air Alice came in to divide the cake. A mouth full of cake is one not lobbing insults, after all.

But any hopes of a confection fueled cease-fire were dashed as Yukari pulled Hana onto her lap, feeding her cake and doting on her like a child. Everyone else had split into different groups to avoid spoiling their appetite by sitting at that display. I found myself in a group with Mima and Mamizou , who were trying to one up each other with different stories. Mima tried to claim how she used to tutor a king known as Solomon a long time ago, while Mamizou told some convoluted story on how she tricked someone by pretending she was tricked, all to tech him a lesson. They were engrossing enough that I only took a few glances over at the table in to see Yukari was still fretting over Hana like a toddler. Hana was way too friendly with Yukari, something was very wrong. While no doubt I was alone in wanting to find out what was going on, the party demanded we all pretend that we didn’t notice. But when Hana excused herself and left the room, the atmosphere instantly changed.

Yuuka was the first to strike. “There’s plenty of cake, despite there being more guests then we intended. Don’t be shy in taking more for yourself when you’ve done feeding Hana”

Yukari just tilted her head a bit, not even moving an inch in her chair. “I’ll consired your kind offer, but I’m fine for now. You can always have more if you want. All that vigorous exercise you’ve been up to must have shed a few pounds. You can sneak in a few more slices”

A sudden metallic ting rang out, followed by the sound of something hitting the opposite wall. Yuuka placed her fork on her plate, now having lost its head. “I apologize, I’ll replace it later” she said in response to Alice annoyed glances. I wondered if a fight broke out over this if the table would save me. Probably not, but it might leave enough of me for a funeral if things didn’t get too ugly.

As if smelling my fear, Yukari waved me towards her. Oh no, not me. Not now. Knowing I had no other choice, I didn’t even bother looking over to the other guests for support. Like a prisoner approaching their execution, I marched forward, reminding myself to keep it together.


“Kosuzu, it’s been too long. How’s the family?” Those deep purple eyes stared at me. Too deep, like the endless void of space where it goes on and on and-
I shook my head and carefully thought of my words “They’re doing good, Daisuke and Fumiko are starting to learn how to do their chores around the store. Kato’s been looking into expanding the Suzunaan so he’s been making some preparations. He wants it to be ready to go by spring”

“That’s lovely to hear they’re doing well. Maybe I’ll stop in sometime when I need more reading material” Those purple pools got a little deeper and darker. Nothing else needed to be said, the message she was sending me was clear.

“So, I also hear you’re offered to do some printing work for us, isn’t that right?” she said, maybe a little too louder. I wince a bit. Even if it was my cover, it still hurt.

“Yes, I did” I say, doing my best to look her in the eyes. Mima jerked her head towards me and floated our way. Just the thing I needed.

“Good. We’re planning a festival for the winter solstice, it’ll need to have pamphlets and flyers distributed, and you’ll be a big help if you could take on some of the duties for us. Can you help?”

I look towards Mima, pleading in my eyes for answer. She glared back at me. “Yes I can” I squeaked out.

“Good, I'll have it all sent over. Thank you for being so understanding, your support means so much” Even if her words were only intended to cause a superficial wound, they still stung.

“So I’ve been wondering about this festival. Will the women draw lots for their turns with Anon, or do you have something more special in store? Maybe some sort of show?” Mima butted in as she studied Yukari for any reaction. I nearly gagged.

Yukari’s face didn’t face “Oh, you wound me so. You'll understand soon what he does and why he's more then some cheap whore you want him to be"

Thankfully Hana entered the room before the conversion could continue

>>45692501
>>45692475
Man, those were tensions at their lowest and Suzu almost had a panic attack, poor woman...
>Thankfully Hana entered the room before the conversion could continue
oh no...
maybe I'll have to reverse her entrance in the tribute?
It's nice to have some Suzu again! Considering it was left vague when Tewi took her and the others out, feel free to have the Suzu return at anytime man!

Back from a good night's rest. I'm gonna try and upload an updated version eventually without anything that disrupts the fabric of mood & time. Here is what jotted down have so far. Note that this is nowhere near final.
>Basically same everything except nobody else shows up near this time. Aya still shows up but not until later
>Leads into """fight scene""" where Rikako (and only her) defeats literally everyone in the span of a paragraph
>Everything gradually deteriorates as it becomes blatantly clear that something is wrong. Prime example being when she takes Mima's decapitated head into the human village to gloat about killing the beast & that one asshole from Keine's story appears out of nowhere to stroke her ego and ask if she can bare Akyuu's reincarnated baby
>hard cut to next scene where it turns out that the mega laser of death actually didn't do shit to Alice's house. Which made Rika so bloody mad that she, in a fit of rage, accidentally gives herself a medium-sized concussion. [\spoiler]
>Funny interaction with Aya and the other two stooges. Maybe I'll throw in a scene where she thinks they're gonna dispose of Rikako like she's a corpse or smth idk I haven't had much time to think anything else out as much yet

Thoughts? I'm thinking about maybe replacing Aya with Shinki & Sariel due to popular demand from everybody else but I'm not sure if that's even feasibly possible since AFAIK she's only supposed to appear after everything involving the party is done. That'd just result in me fucking with space and time again.

>>45693372
>Fucked up the spoiler
GRAAH THIS IS MY PUNISHMENT FOR TYPING ON MOBILE INSTEAD OF WAITING TO GET BACK TO MY DESKTOP

>>45693372
>thoughts
I'd say remove the actual laser happening altogether. In Kako's dream world it's okay, but outside it serves no purpose if it won't do anything to Alice's house, though it'd still produce light and sound, which would be the same as if it had done something to the house. Better to just have Aya/Shinki/Sariel knock down Kako before she can give the order, which would achieve the same result of the concussion without doing damage to the atmosphere

>>45692475
>the social faux pass made by Tewi admitting she was having relations with Anon
That would imply tewi did it by accident, Suzu is so innocent

>>45693066

I'll see what works for her returning or not. She's not going to want to stick around when things turn for the worst because the the last place any normal human would want to be is stuck between powerful people that are rearing up for a fight. But her being around for the aftermath would help keep her in the loop and give her some closure. I'll figure something out

>>45693894
such is the conundrum, hoping to see what you come up with!

>>45693372
I'm with the other guy on this, doing the laser at all outside of her dream would kill the emotional tension in the Hana chapter to come as they'd have to cut situation to deal with Rikako's jobbing. Too much jobbing spoils the soup, after all

>>45653246
—
Konngara's room was… very different from the others. I walked off the Gap, a chill running down my spine not shown, sleeves conjoined as I looked around, just as eerily astonished as I was when I walked inside for the first time: there were no colors. Everything was of this dead achromatic quality, as if the whole world were seen through a black and white filter. The furniture was also non-existent, and the architecture resembled an old shrine of prayers… Yet, all that littered the ground were weapons—swords, knives, war axes, halberds. Spoils from enemies is my best guess—double wooden doors open to show an infinite forest of darkness, tree line barely visible against the sky pitch-black; the only illumination and real color being either the sun or the moon, impossible to tell them apart with the celestial body being of a deep blood-red coloration.

Yukari had delighted herself, saying it’s her ‘art’, and that mirrors perfectly a wretched heart.

Sat by the entrance and under the red light, a whetstone in one hand and an old sword in the other, was the oni. "Do you need something, Shikigami? I don't recall asking for anything." She put the sword by the side, picking another from the pile on her left and started to sharpen it with a precision more well described as 'ingrained'. Every weapon looked so very old, too—centuries, millennia…

"I've simply come to check on you. Are… 'accommodations'," I look around, not even a futon in sight. "Up to par?"

"I have everything I need right here." She gestured at the whetstone and thousands of weapons. "Some of us have relinquished indulgence, if you're wondering about my tenancies. Ideals and oaths can carry you a long, long way…" She raises the sword to eye level, flickering the blade and so reflecting the right side of her face on the metal: a placid red eye and an expectant smile stare back at me. "Vengeance, however, can carry you anywhere." I ruminate a simple 'hm…', though on the inside I can't help but groan. Yukari's decision to have a rabid dog fight by our side just to put it down after the fight is done will never cease to amaze me.

Though, thinking about Reimu fighting this twisted thing, a flesh puppet to a burning, frenzied desire for bloodshed—characteristic so easily recognizable from my days living in the Animal Realm—in the front lines makes my heart boil with a weird feeling: a pure desire to protect, akin to what I feel when Chen disappears for too long…

But Reimu is strong and has shown that not even time or destructive whims have put her down. Whatever happens when the time comes, I know she'll not let me down.

Konngara watches for a prolonged moment before returning to her whetstone. "Careful, Shikigami. Battle approaches the same way the sun rises—attachments getting in the way could be the death of yours; theirs, too… Though, like vengeance, attachments can get you anywhere—even crossing the boundaries that separate the living and the dead." What the hell is she talking about…? Konngara gently puts the blade on the right pile, picking up another sword in what’s starting to feel like a maddening cycle. "Oh, don't worry much about my words—just babbling my loneliness away."

Did I…? No. If it were that clear, I'd have known; if there's something I can be confident about, it's my observational skills. Worst scenario happens, I can explain to Yukari that the time guiding Reimu's punishment has made us close.

Her words, however…

… How far would I go for Reimu's sake?

In my head, images of a tiny miko clad in red and white, sitting alone on the front porch of the Hakurei Shrine, her mind tampered with to forget two of the most important people in her life… Young, alone, and full of responsibilities. Toutetsu's words echo, though guilt has dispersed; duty has not.

Far enough.

"I see, so there's nothing you'd like?" I better leave; I'm getting sick of her.

"… Akatsuki." My ears perk up. The oni analyzed the blade she had just sharpened, putting it to the side and taking another. "A bottle of Akatsuki would be appreciated, Shikigami." Such an expensive taste, but expected from an oni.

I gap one cold bottle from our personal cellar and a sake bowl, the red-horned oni rapidly displacing the sword she was sharpening and using it to catch the falling bottle by her side with the flat part of the blade, brutally efficient in her movements; then using her horn to pop-off the cork, an intoxicant smell filling the air.

"Ah, it brings back memories. Thank you, Shikigami." … Hm, I can't help but feel like I'm missing something here—not that it's important, of course— "The Gap… Incredible power, by the way." She fills the bowl and, innocuously, starts to drink.

What a weird character…

"I'll send the compliments to my master." I bow in fake respect, and, by the next moment, am already gone. I prefer Flandre ten thousand times over this woman.

Anyway, next should be Seiga…

… Out of the frying pan, directly to the raging fire. Amazing.

>>45695902
just a small Konnga piece as I finally get close to finishing Keine~!

>>45693372
The exact time of her appearance doesn't really matter. The only reason I've not brought her in yet is to not mess with the writers before me (and I want to give her a little more characterization before throwing her to the wolves). No problems here which shouldn't be surprising as I was the one who suggested the idea.
-t. Mimafag

>>45696546
Anon's a good Christian, he'd never marry and have a happy life with at least three children with the devil itself!

>>45696612
Of course not, he'd take responsibility and marry the devil's favorite fallen angel too.

>>45696637
I'd definitely marry both of them.

>>45693775
one of my favorites to read about is the Suzu because of that; Innocence and grounded make for a delightful combination

Damn this might be a new record of longest gone without a bump

>>45671004
Forget to post this last thread, but I only drink my coffee black and from the french press, creamer is always too rich and upsets my stomach no matter if it has milk in it or not and I don't know enough about coffee to do anything other than that.
I don't like adding sugar either, in the morning it's too early for sugar and later I'd rather have my sugar in the form of a side.

>>45699662
5 hours? That's most of the nights, though yes, after the record of chapters last thread, this one is rather slow. That just means more time to write!

>>45699889
Anon you might be lactose intolerant

>>45700218
kek, what a way of (possibly) discovering that
speaking of which, now that Yukari is free I should get to writing the next Eirin chapter

>>45700928
I was already aware, but how do you respond to a comment like >>45700218 ?
Yeah I'm racist against milk, it's not like I'm a lactose intolerance denier or anything.
Those do exist btw

>>45701766
>Yeah I'm racist against milk
that's the perfect answer

>>45591188 (1/2)
—
Another day, another failure.

I open my spectral eyes with a sigh, letting the ropes of Ki leave my mind and body. Anon by my side tenderly tells fairy tales of the Outside to a wide-eyed Dolly sat on his lap, a big mug of fuming hot cocoa for him and a thimble for her, both clad in size-appropriated blankets and watching the snow fall. I hold a—spectral—mug too, yet my eyes are on Patchy, who’s methodically branding the ground with magic and spectral glass, rebuilding her broken sigil.

After going to Sekai's world, the confusion I had about what was wrong with the HSE's Ki became bitterly clear: everything converged in that luminous tree—'The Womb of the World', as Patchy dramatically called it—and trying to feel Ki inside of here is like running circle laps, always ending at the same place, even though there's a clear entry point that maybe only Sekai can feel.

Doesn't mean I'll stop trying: It's one of the few things I can realistically do to try to make a connection with the outside world with Patchy still obsessing over Sekai, anger boiling inside killed off before it could spread and create roots. I understand why she wants that: it's a unique opportunity, one she may never have again, to explore a new world that was a mystery to her. I understand—in any other circumstance, I wouldn't mind waiting…

But in the circumstances where a godly unborn child has asked us to make her parents aware of it and its sisters’ existence, otherwise she’d do it herself and so bring great suffering to Gensokyo for the gift and curse of their births? No.

I wonder how I end up in situations like these…

Trying to convince Patchy with words has proven a waste of effort, and I can’t just pick her up like a child and ground her on the tall chair until she stops being a jerk and get us out of here… Heh…

"Sakuya would probably have done it AND made it work…" I mutter to myself, remembering the knives that'd she often try lodging themselves in my body; always a great exercise to catch them with eyes closed.

… I miss her and the others so much…

"Sakuya…?" Anon whispers, frowning. Dolly looks at him.

If I were human, my face whipping towards him would've broken my neck twice over. I-I heard it correctly! There's no way I misheard it! Anon said Sakuya's name for no apparent reason.

Heart immediately on the three digits of BPM, I get up, mug forgotten, my spectral hands tightly clasping Anon's shoulders. "ANON! I SAID THAT! CAN YOU HEAR ME?! ANON!" I scream in his face, Patchy looking at me with a grimace.

Anon looks past me as if I weren't there. "Oh! Yeah, I forgot to tell you—you were sleeping." Dolly pinched his wrist, and he giggled. "Sorry, sorry~! But Ran said she, Sakuya, Chen, and Flan played pretend together!" W-What the…?! "It made me so happy to know Flan has so many friends; she used to be quite the lonely kid, if I remember correctly… Anyway, where was I? Ah, yes: the cat then discovers it's not a bounty hunter, but Death itself!"

Wide-eyed, I freeze, sounds turning to static.

I-It was a coincidence…? Again…? No, no, no—it's impossible: first the Mapo Tofu, then Sakuya. It cannot be a coincidence! There's something I'm missing here: a way to communicate with Anon, no matter how briefly—

"What's happening?" Patchy asks by my side, her face a puzzled scowl. Even when she comes to ask me questions, she's still reading and writing, flying books and pencils around her, rewriting those millions of words. It makes me impossibly mad but, calmly, I kill the rage.

"Anon… He heard me."

The books and pens stopped. "… Are you sure, Meiling?" She frowns, pausing for a second before going to his other side, the man completely unaware as he gently brushes the doll's golden hair with a finger. Patchy's eyes narrow, swaying her hand in front of his face, speaking random words laddered with magic and so on. He remains oblivious. "Did you say anything specific?"

"'Mapo Tofu' the first time, 'Sakuya' the second," I say, my thumbing heart impossible to properly calm down. Why those words specifically? What's the trigger? What am I missing?! It cannot have been a coincidence; it cannot have—

A book hits the top of my head, taking me out of my mind. "Calm down—the path to achievements is not unfolded by letting your mind run rampant." Even if she's scowling, to not see her deep in her own mind, ignoring me and maddeningly trying to open a rift in space-time—probably that, I wouldn't know—feels rather nice. "Those words… I tried them with different levels of sound magic, yet I got naught."

"It's a failure, then…?"

"Nary." She negates with her head. "If I'd say, the words are too random to be what reached him; there must be something else—but what should that be…?"

I expected sheer wonder and curiosity to fill her eyes…

… But all I was met with was a cautionary gaze, shivers running down my spine as I remembered one crucial detail: Patchy doesn't want to leave until after studying the Womb of the World…

>>45703242
Poor Meiling is losing it, it won't be long till she's babbling in a corner about Anon, secret phrases, moon cycles, and Dolly

>>45704709
she's not crazy! She heard it! Magical words like 'Sakuya' and 'Mapo tofu' hold true power. Trust Hong's plan.

>>45704907
There is no Hata no Sekai. It was all an illusion Patchy conjured to distract Meiling. All her research is just acting to keep Meiling's spirit up during thier eternal imprisonment in the quantum rape dungeon.

I think I liked original meilinganon more
and especially patchyanon

>>45705136
Patchyanon did have a way with words, though this meilinganon is good imo. He clearly enjoys what he's writing and seems to have something of a plot in mind

>>45658664

Just a few feet away sat a hole deep as Hana was tall and about as wide. The rest of the house was surprisingly untouched by the two monsters that nearly rampaged through its humble interior earlier. As for the statue itself; it was nothing but a well engraved memory by this point. Not even the liquefied remains of the metals and molten marble remained, those crimson flames consumed all in its wrath.

The large cake that adorned the table barely had a few slices cut off. Everyone's appetite, much like their enjoyment, had been stomped out entirely like the life of a rodent under Yukari’s heels. Replacing that light hearted merriment was now a deep-seated anxiety. As the women crowded around the tear blinded girl their affection, they saw Hana moved to the couch. Perhaps they came to some mutual agreement that even that hole was too much of a risk to the poor girl now that they were driven by an intense urge to protect her.

Hana was a shell of herself, a phrase she never truly understood till now. The racing thoughts and excitement from earlier had started to simmer, but even now threatened to overflow. Her eyes gave no help in focusing on something else as they were blurry with tears and obscured her vision. Her nose must have been red just her cheeks were and she still trembled lightly. She felt pathetic, she felt enraged, and she felt betrayed, but by who?

Like the child she tried so hard to grow out of she was ultimately powerless, back in the shadow of her mother and something to be pitied. Was she even an adult? Were these past ten years a lie? Was she still some six year old brat trembling and crying after the horrors of her domestic life caused her to shut herself in her room, clasping her hands over her ears, clutching her stuffed animal companion while pretending not to hear the loud and obnoxious horror beyond her paper thin walls and hoping that once again, it won’t visit her?

Rationally she knew that she wasn't alone now. Her head was held by Yuuka, who tightly pressed her against her bosom as she stroked Hana's head in the same manner she saw Yuuka tend to her flowers. Hana's hand was held with a comforting cooing by Sanae, who whispered comfort in that practiced near-motherly voice. Alice had vanished for a moment, reappearing with some piece of clothing draped over her arm. Marisa… slept… and loudly at that as her snores filled the quiet air.

Hana didn't have the will to look around, to see if Mamizou and the rest had filtered back in. Instead, she was forced to piece it together, why did it feel wrong to be with Mama? Was it just the shame of betrayal, the infectious horror and fear in the eyes of her loved ones? Was it something deeper?

Rei- her mother's words too, she knew she was right… Yukari had done the same thing to father as mother did, she had done bad things to her too. She plunged Hana into a slow-burning, almost surreal nightmare that almost got herself killed. Hana wanted to go back to believing she only did it out of love and kindness, yet something about it felt wrong. As wrong as it was getting saved by mother. Mama was so kind to her wasn’t she? Mama… she understood her, accepted her love and lust in equal measures. So why? Why did it feel wrong to accept her, it was her choice wasn't it?

The nights they spent together… while Hana was powerless to refuse, the love they shared with father… while his dead eyes bored into them, the times they spent together training as mama helped her hone her abilities… while emotionally keeping Hana at arm’s length…

No matter how many times Hana asked herself these questions, no matter how many times she replays her many memories of Yukari; the pain of everything and stress of potential mistakes washes over her like a crushing tide, no clear answer presented itself to her. Would it be alright then to ask them? They… she could trust them, right? They already knew about her and mama, but they aren’t looking at her with hate and scorn… Hana made up her mind as she sat up properly, leaving the warm embrace of Yuuka who almost didn’t let go, though if merely from her absurd strength or from a deeper desire was unknown.

Her limbs were no longer shaking, and she could feel the heat from her eyes lessening along with the pressure in the lump of her throat; for how long?

>>45705429

Wiping her eyes with a detached sleeve made of fine yet durable cloth that seemed to make up Hana’s new outfit she looked down at her gloved hands and twirled one of the long locks of dark brown hair that reached just past her shoulders. Alice was the one to speak first, her gentle voice drifting across from behind her and over the backrest of the couch as if it were to display all the affection she’d been bottling up, “If you don’t wish to speak that’s fine, there is nothing you have to explain.”

Hana didn’t respond, not openly anyways, her mind on the other hand was buzzing with the fear of rejection. It was irrational of course, her logical mind that was just getting back up on its feet told her so. She really didn’t want to be here anymore, she wanted to bury her head back in Yuuka’s bosom or even excuse herself home. Though it wouldn’t solve anything, it would only push the problem for another day.

Steeling her nerves Hana opened her mouth, her voice was thin and she cursed the trembling in her voice, “Was I so wrong? I just wanted everyone to be happy and…” Sanae put an arm around her and rubbed her exposed upper arm, “This happened instead and- and I just thought that I could make it work”

Hana lifted her face, her eyes filling with tears again. She looked in front of her and across the table over the backrest of the other sofa, her eyes focusing on the far wall of the room ignoring the figures she saw in her peripherals. The trembling in her voice grew as she felt the corners of her mouth dip as if shuddering, “Is Yu- Yukari really that bad of a person…? She didn’t used to be that bad before right? S-she said I could trust her and she wanted to help me, she even helped me get better at making barriers and understanding how to use gaps. I want to believe that she isn’t bad but… was Rei-mother right about her…?”

For a panicked second as Sanae’s arm slowed her caress and she could practically hear the sounds of gears grinding. The thought of how they were about to shout at her, overreact like rabid animals as they tried harming just like all those years ago clawed their way up to the surface for a second that lingered on like hours. Hana felt clammy, memories flooding her of past abuses visited upon her by red-white fury and suffocating her like purple malice.

Part 2 of the jobbfest coming soon, I hate being busy.

>>45705429
>>45705436
you know she's flabbergasted when Hana thinks about sinking her face in Yuuka's chest without an ounce of horny thoughts. Hopefully the healing will vanish such preconceptions...
>>45705446
You monster, I could taste the incoming catharsis of a bunch of protective, caring and supportive mothers helping the retarded daughter! I even put "Call your name" to play -- how dare you have a life?!
take it easy! We'll warmly wait for updates, so no worries! Thanks for the chapters, man!

>>45705436
>>45705429
she's not recovering from that so soon...

>>45705590
>you know she's flabbergasted when Hana thinks about sinking her face in Yuuka's chest without an ounce of horny thoughts. Hopefully the healing will vanish such preconceptions...
You can take the girl out of the incestuous relationship but you can't take the incestuous desires out the girl. Give her time to not be traumatized and you'll see the worst of her desires in due time...
>>45706643
Lets see if the jobber squad can stop jobbing for five seconds and avoid having Hana head off alone, Yukari will 100% sink her fangs into Hana again the second they aren't around

>>45706905
if Hana chooses to hear Reimu and they get a heart to heart that ends, the incestuous thoughts should leave her like it's a fucking exorcism; the sheer second hand embarrassment Hana will feel by Reimu saying how proud she is of her will be great enough to overpower any lewdness

>>45707007
>that ends relatively well
fugg

>>45707007
Trauma absolved at the root often fixes a lot of things, unbeknownst to the traumee.

>>45707063
makes sense, especially for Hana when put into context:
>extremely strict life, decided from birth, instilled in her a morbid desire for wrongness and hate towards a specific group of people;
>abusive household towards just one of the parents instilled self-loathing, "I'm the problem" thought, low self-esteem, general mommy issues and lack of connections to people of her age made her cling hard to the few positive constants in her life, Aunn and Anon;
>later, immense guilty since she had the power to change things yet did not, until she finally did it;
>though that guilty came back in full force when she 'let' Yukari kidnap Anon and start all this mess; so great indeed that the Sagume chapter showed she'd return to Reimu immediately if she had come in time to save Anon;
>from such guilt spawned a burning desire to help her father any way she could; the mommy issues, situational despair and lust for wrongness warped that honest desire into incest
that whole tree of trauma resides upon Reimu being a shitty parent and circumstances (the miko job), if the first works to make amends and, at the very least, gently burns the bridge after a heart to heart and the second is resolved by something like letting Sanae help with the shrine, the incestuous desire and racism should crumble at a swift pace

>>45707007
>>45707063
On her list of problems it would fix:
The victim complex
allow for the recovery of her sin kink
allow for the recovery in her electra complex

Though in all honesty the girl still needs lots of therapy to fix that sort of deep seated sort of thing. Gaining some kind of resolution with Reimu would be a huge step, but only the first one. No way 16 years of trauma will be resolved by a 'sorry'. Not after what Hana's been through.

>>45707314
Of course it's not gonna just fix everything in one go, but Reimu really did do a lot for her daughter here by uprooting a lot of old weeds tying hana down and now there's a realistic chance for a happier ending in time.

>>45707682
Now lets see if it'll get her to stop fucking her dog, that'd be the biggest feat.
I suppose it'd also help if Kanako would play match maker so Hana can feel that there are other men in the village aside from Anon Lmao, imagine Kanako undoing all the progress towards undoing her electra complex with her 'advice'

>>45707692
Yeah lmao, hana girl went through a lot of changes she doesn't consciously or emotionally understand yet, maybe the dog fucking will no longer scratch an itch that no longer exists. Maybe.

What was her major malfunction?
was it in-part due to autism?

>>45707948
100% autism

>>45707692
>Kanako matchmaker
>spoiler
Yeah, ha ha, that would be terrible…

>>45708248
such needless bullying! She tries her best!

>>45709739
Kanako will have her chance when Anon is freed. Who better to lend their support to a fellow shrine family then a goddess? After years of being sexually abused and emotionally manipulated, Anon will feel safe around a hover-handing virgin. Invest in Kanako-coin before it goes up!

>>45710953
nah anon would just get stolen by either suwako or sanae, kanako is kind of screwed in every timeline here.

>>45712173
>there's only one timeline where she wins

(1/4)
—
Yukari has come here many times; the procedure has become routine. But today's different, important: the IUI will be done using one of my genetic masterpieces.

Udongein noticed the tension yet kept silent; she knows well the secrecy of this procedure and whatever results it wields, though not the full extent of it… She'll know when her time to bear one of my masterpieces comes, but all in its due time. Yukari, however, seemed on edge with different topics—topics I do not care about if they don't pose danger to my perfect child. Not like I'd try getting information from Yukari of all people, anyway.

The provided semen is fresh and healthy and, gladly, hasn't been exposed to air—gapped from inside herself? Intelligent—, a silent fury filling my chest; just to think of this foul sludge tampering with the perfect DNA of my child… It's been many centuries, but it's refreshing to know I haven’t lost my touch on complex and gory imaginary scenarios of vindication~

Nonetheless, I've prepared for this and am totally confident I'll be able to destroy all the sperm's genetic code but the chosen chromosome during the process.

Oh, the thrill—so close, so very close…

Yukari's cold eyes are on me as Udongein prepares the catheter, and I can't help but ask. "Doubting your doctor, Yukari?" With utmost care, I take the first vial out of the vitrification sealment—the safe still back at my laboratory; Yukari must believe this is the only egg that survived—a pinch of fear growing inside my heart; to part ways with such excellence, to let the unpredictable world take it… Ah, the aches of being a mother.

"… What's the chance of success?" Her voice almost sounds weak. Almost. Perhaps the gossip that the Inaba nurses were whispering about, namely the bullying of their human sister by Yukari, is not entirely one-sided? Reisen's attempts to pretend she's not listening are as unconvincing as ever.

"There's no true percentage—but it's very low." That's a lie. With all my hard work and flawless method, Yukari will get pregnant, no matter how much her body tries to stop it. Still, this lie should be a good excuse to harvest more eggs from her in the subsequent checks. "Not as low as before, mind you."

She nods, deep in her own thoughts. Good. The less attention she pays to the procedure, the easier it'll be to get what I need.

"Well, anything you want to say before we start the IUI?" I fix my mask and gloves; Udongein replaces hers with new ones.

"I need—” she emphasizes the word, “—this personal victory. Do not fail me anymore, Eirin.” A threat? Towards the woman who'll be inseminating her using hands, syringes, and tubes? Bold. It even got poor Udongein tense like a rod, giving me eyes of expected fear.

I, of course, don't care.

This is my moment, the very one for which I've been restlessly preparing myself for weeks upon weeks. The moment I'll give a true, palpable meaning to 'perfection'.

Nothing will be able to stop me—us—after today.

I nod, and so it begins.

First on the list: triggering her body to ovulate. Preposterously easy with the use of Gaps.

But then comes the hard part: replacing the egg her body produces with my masterpiece. We settled on not using the Gap for this sensitive endeavor, considering it's the very thing that kills off the eggs, so I have to do it manually. It's a lengthy and straining process; any amount of applied pressure put in the wrong spot, and the egg cracks open like its namesake. In my hands, that possibility is as low as it can get… It doesn't make the two hours it takes to safely remove and store the previous one and replace it with my masterpiece any less boring.

That out of the way, me and Udongein monitor the progress of the egg using a Gap—fantastical power as always, enabling us to watch so closely and so thoroughly something so very small—the Inaba checking periodically on Yukari's entrance and our machinery, no flaw in sight or signs of infection or the like.

With the healthy egg inside, the insertion of the sperm began. Yukari's attention was solely focused on the Gap, oblivious to the faint light emanating from my fingertips around the tube leading inside her. Diligently and quietly, I eradicated every strand of genetic data within the million sperm but their X or Y chromosomes, a feat that only the Brain of the Moon could dream of accomplishing.

It was exceedingly hard to hide my vast grin when, indeed, I made it; my heart rate skyrocketing. Udongein stared at me, confused, but predictably remained silent.

All under the nose of the most paranoid sage of Gensokyo~

The next hour was spent watching as the flood poked at the egg, trying to force entrance—! One made it inside, Yukari's breath rushing, eyes wide, hands together trembling—

Just as it was fertilized, various Gaps began opening all around it, relentlessly attacking it. Yukari paled, the face of a mother watching her child fight an unfair war, her heart metaphorically trying to jump out of her throat…

>>45713316 (2/4)
—
… Yet, bravely, the small fertilized egg fought against the crushing tide, closing Gaps left and right just as more and more popped in around it, bloodshot eyes wide and quivering, exuding a feeling impossible to properly discern, akin to deep-seated trauma. One of the interesting things about studying the Gap genetically, however, was finding its triggers and how they work—such a simple but destructive thing to understand, and exactly what saved us here: loading the egg with a reverse-bioengineered version of the triggers to close any Gap attacking it was our best chance of a defense mechanism, the hundreds of hours of restless work absolutely paying off before my very eyes. Udongein watched in unparalleled confusion, her petite mind unable to comprehend the brilliance and sheer scale of this war; I couldn't help but have pride take over my face: that's my first immaculate child, fighting the world before taking its first ever breath of fresh air…

… Yukari watched in pure awe, her eyes broad as plates and her body trembling like a leaf against a violent storm, tears streaming and clear distress growing as the seconds turned into minutes and the bombardment of Gaps did not stop, her skin losing its pinkness and her hand over her belly clutching it as if attempting to rip a piece off of it. There are few who can say they have seen Yukari Yakumo display such… authentic humanity. It was quite beautiful and, even if for a moment, made me think—what the hell have I done…? Perfection, of course. No gain pondering that.

Humanity led her towards mistakes; a tinge of magic filled the air out of the blue, and before she could ruin all my hard work, I caught her wrist. Her clenched teeth and tense eyes were on me immediately, fury, pure and unadulterated; I didn’t waver. "Don't attempt to close the Gaps. We discussed what that could mean for the child."

Her using a Gap after fertilization was a sudden and unknown variable, making it impossible to predict how the body would react to it; the mere thought of the impact it could have on something as sensitive as a fertilized egg was shiver-inducing. It's better to be safe than sorry. Her most rational mind relinquished emotion and soon understood that too, Yukari calmly nodding before swiftly returning her eyes to the open Gap—open before fertilization and used as a simple observational mechanism, not interfering directly with the egg, so no problem—the war marching on and on, her tears never drying—dosages of saline solution were put in place, keeping her count of minerals and other variable resources at a maximum—sweat shortly covering her whole body and drying with the coolness of the clinic, etiquette forgotten as she unconsciously grabbed my hand with the strength of an Inaba making mochi. "Anon, please…" She mumbled occasionally for whatever motive.

Seconds dragged incessantly, minutes a few turned to half an hour of excruciatingly monitoring the fragile egg and keeping her body healthy, lavender eyes glued to the Gap—

—then, suddenly, it stopped.

The Gaps completely stopped attacking the egg.

Yukari's breath halted for an eternal couple of seconds, expecting something to go wrong—for the egg to implode or any morbidly similar end result… But, smugly, I reached my conclusion: her body stopped fighting against it.

Many theories existed for why her body attacked fertilized eggs to begin with, but I now deem them severely unimportant.

It's over.

Slowly, she looked towards me, my eyes on the wall clock. "XX/12/20X3–13:05—patient number 08-1720-03:::IUI has returned a successful conception. Udongein, go prepare Yukari’s prenatal plan." The moon rabbit nodded with a quick bow, rushing out of the room to start the planning; ugh, it'll be a hell to coincide it with Yukari’s busy chronogram…

Oh, well, she’ll find time: After all, nothing is more important than a baby growing inside of you~

I turn to Yukari, and her eyes shine like diamonds. "Conception and pregnancy are not the same thing, mind you, and we'll be accompanying yours for the next three weeks, maybe more depending on unrelated side effects of human/youkai pregnancy. In about a week time, though, I'll be seeing if the fertilized egg has implanted itself on the uterine lining, so don't take any of this as ultimate proof… Still." I clap for a bit with a tender smile—hiding very well my true feelings and intentions—, startling one of the arguably most powerful woman in Gensokyo… who, slowly, opened the biggest of smiles, giggling like a small child, her right-hand hiding her mouth as many thick tears of overjoy fell down, purple eyes gleaming: "Congratulations, Yukari Yakumo. You might be pregnant!"

—

rest comes tonight if I have the time to finish editing~

>>45713316
>>45713322
Eirin is going to be very cross when her ubermensch ends up a disappointment because it's raised by Yukari.

>>45713322
>>45713316
Heh, Yukari will be largely unable to use gaps or become stressed and without her the HSE will fall in record time. Yukari will get redeemed at the hands of Hana throughout her pregnancy. Seija and Goro will become the new antagonists as they plot to seal a weakened Yukari and take her place(this will kill the child inside her).
Tune in next time to the HSE, the most watched show on the moon!

>>45714100
>Heh, Yukari will be largely unable to use gaps or become stressed and without her the HSE will fall in record time
not banking on that; in-universe the time until the Solstice is barely more than 2 weeks, coupled with the vagueness of her pregnancy happening or not it probably won't affect her during it. Also, it's Yukari, so it'll probably remain a secret but for some key people, namely Reisen that watched everything and Yuyuko, which she'll probably talk to about it.
>Tune in next time to the HSE, the most watched show on the moon!
already spent my life savings in the Reimucoin after that show in the birthday party! Trust the plan, boys!

>>45715810
>spoiler
"I told Youmu and she gossiped about it to Marisa and her friends. You know how young girls are. Oh? You didn't want anyone else to know? Oopsie!"

>>45715810
When all is said and done. When Yukari lies defeated, when the battle of the Winter Solstice rocks the world to its core. when the future Gensokyo is uncertain, Yuyuko will appear and say "You know, you could have just asked him out on a date and avoided all of this, right?"

>>45710953
Kanako needs to back the fuck up, Anon already has a hover-handing virgin to feel safe around.

>>45716128
she's the cutest, so she wins by default!

>>45713322 (3/4—p1)
—
It was as if the harrowing screams had, for once, ceased.

As if Reimu never humiliated me before my enemies, or Okina's plans were far more extensive than what I anticipated, or even the dreading possibility of losing Hana as a pawn and dearest daughter. The darkness of loneliness had faded; the nine-tailed and two-tailed automatons and their fake, coded love vanished. That kind man loved me like I do him and, together, we loved… This little one growing inside of me. What's your name? Are you a boy, a girl, or there'll be two of you, each of a different gender—maybe two boys, two girls, or, oh, oh, even more of you? Three? Four?!

For the first time in maybe forever, I laughed out loud with pure delight.

Eirin said it was not ultimate, but those words were disregarded. My child—my child~—fought hard and beautifully to earn the gift of life; it'll not be put down by mere chance.

It'll be born into this world, and it'll love me infinitely.

Blissfully and without a clear path, parasol over my shoulder and eyes in the sky, I left Eientei, deaf to Eirin's parting words, completely ignoring her concerned eyes. The Gap took me on a line of dreams, of a bright future, of a soft little body—or many—in my arms, a hereafter not far and not impossible anymore…

… A future mine and theirs. Of my family.

"My, Yukarin. Such an unexpected guest~how are you doing? It's been quite some time." A gentle voice asked, taking me off my enrapture, my eyes turning to that pink ghost draped in heavenly blue casually sitting on her kotatsu, copious amounts of food sprawled on it. Outside, the snow fell, the Saigyou Ayakashi naked as always, unable to reach its perfect bloom as the seal stands.

Wide-eyed still, I sat with her on the kotatsu, and a cup of my favorite tea was passed to me. I stared at the big tree for a little longer, she remaining silent—eating with the manners of a gorilla—before it finally dawned on me and I turned to her. "Yuyuko… I'm pregnant."

She stopped eating, her eyes growing to mirror mine. "Heavens… you, pregnant?" I slowly nodded, the bright smile returning. Shock remained for a little longer before a smile surged there and, over the table, Yuyuko clasped my hand. I clasped back. "Congratulations, Yukarin! But, sorry if not… Anon is the father, right?" My smile soured a bit and, confusedly, I nodded. Yuyuko sighed, holding tighter to my hand. "So that was the true motive of your diorama… Your sins have come to fruition, my friend, and now you carry a tortured man's child. Are you content?"

What kind of question is that? It's the happiest day of my awful, empty life! It's a motive after so, so very long! A motive to live! To keep everything I've put in place moving forward!

I'm crying out of happiness! Of true happiness!

"Yes, I couldn't be happier, Yuyuko." I hold dear to my belly, hands slightly trembling. "With them, I'm finally happy. If it's a girl, her name will be Renko… If it's two, Renko and… Yuyuko," I whisper, my voice loaded with joyous emotion. Yuyuko had gotten up and calmly sat by my side. "A boy, Anon—two, Anon and Koizumi…" A smile spawns on my face, and the hug the ghost wraps me in feels like safety. Of what? How'd I know? "Yuyuko… I'll be a mother and, for once, I’ll be loved for whom I truly am. Not coded fake love… Only simple, genuine love. How could I not be happy?" She sighs, and I hastily take some tea to recompose myself.

"After all you've done, do you truly think building a family will fix everything?" Her words are like a sharp knife, though the edge is not meant to cause pain; it's surgical, like a scalpel aiming at a tumor. The implications make me frown; a glint of Yuyuko's genius mind comes to the surface. "You've made enemies everywhere, Yukari; destroyed relationship with a lot that should be close to you and have plunged Gensokyo into changes I fear may break it—the things you have done to the father of your children…" Reimu flashes inside my head and, with barely restrained strength, I hit the tea cup on the kotatsu, silencing Yuyuko. She looks unsurprised.

"Don't you think I have plans? That I'd do everything without accounting for every single possibility?"

"Of course not—it's you, the infallible Yukari." Just the intonation makes me recall a thousand and one avoidable mistakes—a hand reaching mine, unable to grasp it; thinking Anon would eventually escape, that our love would blossom without interference; a dulled kitchen knife; a lifeless body to bury under that cherry blossom. My chest burns. "… I'm very sorry." She tightens her hold on my hand, her eyes growing concerned.

"I've committed mistakes too many already, Yuyuko. There won't be anymore… I have put plans in place: the sword in the lake will deal with Okina and Kasen; they'll obey; any Lunarian even trying to invade after it will feel all of my might; even the outer gods won't be able to stand up to me. Anon will see the right of my ways; that I did everything out of love…"

>>45716538 (3/4—p2)
—
"… With this power, Yuyuko, I'll never… never again…" I gaze at her face and see in those glistening eyes full of life and empathy a love infinite; a compassion unparalleled of a woman that saw the bloodshot eyes of the Gap, my scowl, knew of my reputation and even so extended a hand. In those quartzes, I see—

—blood.

So much blood.

There is so much blood everywhere, painting the ground and the furniture in a nightmare of confusion, my brain hardly compassing my surroundings. It's very cold, and it's thundering outside.

She lies in the center of the blood pool.

A small knife was in her hands.

The Gap cannot undo this outrageous mistake. I'd know. For hours upon her lifeless body, I tried so.

The Gap, powerful as it is, cannot reverse the boundaries of death… So powerful, so powerful—yet unable to reverse a cut made by a dulled kitchen knife…

… My hand on my belly clenches. I imagine a small version of myself and Anon, a perfect combination, lying on that same pool of blood.

"Why did you commit suicide, Yuyuko? Why did you make me bury you? It killed me…"

She pauses, frowning and clearly hurt, but it takes a moment of thought for understanding to paint her features in an arid, sad color. "Oh, Yukari…" She whispers, her hug tightening, though I barely notice it. Why did I say those words? Why am I shaking? This devouring feeling, sucking my soul like a black hole, and just as everlasting… It feels so old. The moments go on and on; an answer never arrives, but I do not need one.

I already got my answer a thousand years ago…

"You still blame yourself for something out of your control, out of your jurisdiction? Oh, to share a lack of discernment about the matters of our fickle maiden hearts… It wasn't your fault, Yukari, and I never blamed you then, nor do I do it now. So, why do you still blame yourself?"

… So much power, yet powerless.

"I could've taken your power of death with the weapon I'm brewing, Yuyuko… The Gap cannot do it, but the sword could—still, that's irrelevant, isn’t it? I couldn’t have made that sword back then… Yet, I could’ve tried something else. Anything. I did not. I never tried finding a way to help you. I remained still as you suffered, and you ended up in that pool of blood." In her irises, I see my eyes; they're of a haunting quality, just like Yuyuko's face. "… If I had moved when Ren…" I have no strength to finish the sentence, but the empathetic hurt in her eyes is more than enough to know the message was passed on. "I finally decided then to break this cycle—I remained still for far too long when that kind man and young girl were being destroyed, and now he's recovering, becoming stronger; Hana’s becoming an adult, growing healthy with me by teaching her; and Reimu, despite her many flaws, is changing… And now I'm pregnant, finally able to be happy."

I look outside to the big cherry blossom where I painstakingly buried a body, my elegant dress and golden hair covered in blood, mud, and rainwater, my tears in that rain a blessing to the boundless dirt grave of one of the few I truly loved and that loved me back.

One of my most terrible mistakes…

Even though thin tears pour down, I feel determined. "I'll destroy all my enemies, Yuyuko. Gensokyo might suffer in the way, but I will make sure to mend it with my hands alone and even make it better… And with so much power, I'll—"

"Enough! I have had enough, Yukari. Stop this madness at once. I can't bear a second more of watching you sink so low!" My thoughts halt as I turn to her, an uncharacteristic firmness to her voice loaded with passion—ah, so ghosts do cry… "The HSE. The war with Okina. Loneliness. Managing Gensokyo… Anon—everything. All of this burden on your shoulders alone has made you lose your mind and turned you into someone else: someone traumatized, insensitive, blind… Give up on that way, please." W-What the— "And come live with me, my friend! We—" she places a hand on top of the one I had on my belly, salmon eyes wide with hope and crushing empathy. "—can peacefully live here, away from all of that disorder, at least for a couple of decades; there's still time to change your circumstances. While you’re away, Ran can care for the barrier; make her the Gap Sage; she can do it; apologize to those you've wronged; destroy all the sins you've erected; and give all of your assets away so they can reform what you relentlessly broke—then come live here, unburdened, and give birth to your child away from the man you tormented… Let yourself and the land you salted heal."

Leave everything behind? Have my child here, away from Gensokyo, Okina, the HSE…?

'Okay, I will' was, surprisingly, at the tip of my tongue. Such an easy way to end it all… To live unburdened, happy, with Yuyuko, someone of confidence, close by… To heal. A weight I hadn't noticed threatens to be lifted off my mind—so much blood…

The tears I shed as I buried her body with my own hands…

… Renko, Yuyuko, Anon…

I hesitate.

>>45714021
at the very least she'll fill him with enough autismo for an entire campaign of Warhammer 40k. That should take him somewhere, r-right?
>>45716031
>>45716018
hopefully she fucking save us...

>>45716580
>Renko
My fan cannon is that she took a GUT(Grand Unified Theory) drive ship into a wormhole to the early heat death of the Universe.

>>45716679
kek
the delights of leaving points like that vague come in such form

>>45716625
Poor Yuyuko is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Between helping her friend out who made a series of massive unforgivable mistakes, and helping mend and clean things up as best she can, there's only so much she can do to help Yukari without taking a side one way or another. What would be interesting is how the other characters view her? Ran is the only one who knows that she's trying to help ease the damage with the incense switcheroo. Others might think she's complacent or maybe supports Yukari's actions given how she basically never leaves the Netherworld.

I patiently tapped my fingers on my throne's chair, listening to my nails gently impact the soft gold. I looked to Sakuya, she stood sentinel by the grand door to my throne room, at my gaze she shook her head, my visitors still weren't here.

Yukari had sent word that some of her agents would come to finalize some logistics of the Winter Solstice festival, share notes about strategy and... talk. But it wouldn't be Ran, no, the fox certainly wasn't much one for conversation, nor would it be Yachie, a fellow dignified woman, or even that stoic and sinister virgin Oni woman, who at the very least had a certain mystique about her, no, it was the Felon Amanojaku and a village borderer I'd never heard of. If I was an impatient woman, I'd be upset, thankfully for Yukari, I was one of the few ladies in Gensokyo with some tact.

I looked to Sakuya again, and once more, she shakes her head.

One should not judge a chance meeting before it happens. Seija, despite her weakness, had faced off against the strongest in Gensokyo and I'd heard this broker that accompanied her wasn't the combative type, yet, he fought with her regardless. So many little questions, was the broker Seija's bullied dog or had Seija signed a contract and become his? Maybe they worked as equal partners? Or perhaps Yukari brought the two together? Power does not always need rest were it is obvious after all and to have one's finger on the pulse of the the smaller Youkai as well as the Human Village certainly counted for something in Gensokyo.

Ah, these are the kinds of sophisticated things that would bore my little sister, Flandre. What an ignorant, poor little girl she was! Never to know what vast chasms of excitement lived in the tiniest of cracks.

I looked to Sakuya again, she nodded her head and made to open the door.

I crossed my legs and made a charismatic pose, either to receive a wretched insult or be pleasantly surprised!

"Hey sis! We all match!" Flandre said excitedly.

In came the three, Flandre sat atop of Seija who was carried in the arms of a man, presumably the broker, who gracefully shouldered the burden of carrying both small girls into the throne room. With some annoyance, the Amanojaku pushed Flandre off, who simply floated in the air until her feet touched the ground, then the man gingerly set Seija down who pretended to be indifferent to the gesture, but looked wistfully when the man's glance had turned. I didn't quite know what to say, so I shot a glance at Sakuya to break the ice.

"Quite the stud to carry two maidens at once." Sakuya commented, beaming at me for a compliment which she wouldn't be receiving!

"Well it would've have just been me, but Seija insisted that she be carried as well!" Flandre said, faking a pout.

"Bah, brats like you will spoil if you get everything you please." Seija said, waving her hand.

"It's no trouble really" The man began, "Both of you are quite light after all, but where are my manners, Miss Remilla Scarlet, Mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, my name is Goro and this Is Seija, we come on behalf of the Yakumo and It's an honor to meet you." Goro finished with a polite bow.

I gazed at the two visitors and wondered, deeply, how... how had Yukari made a duo this cool?!

Seija wasn't dressed in her usual rags, but an outfit much closer to Ran's in terms of style, while still retaining her tomboyish functionality with a short, slightly poofed out skirt. It produced a sort of 'evolved' aura that leveraged her previous homely appearance to magnify the effect of the change to any that knew of her. Just as well, she had an edge of danger to her, while still embodying her rebellious spirit with her proud stance and hands on her hip.

Goro, on the other hand, was pleasantly reserved, wearing a black kimono pleated with red stitches that formed patterns of carnation flowers, and, while the Yakumo runes seemed natural on Seija's outfit, upon Goro's they looked like a white brand, totally out of place on the garment, but unlike a certain fashion pariah of Gensokyo, the punk styling looked subtle and tasteful. He was handsome, but worn in like a kitchen knife that had been sharpened a few times and something else, a subtle aura of malice, like a powerful spice, lingered around him.

When I put both together though, their appeal magnified ten-fold! A brash, proud, girlish, and fearsome Amanojaku and a polite, gentle, yet perhaps cunning Human who may hold a darker essence just beneath the surface, this was exactly the kind of duo I had wanted to put together for so long! The perfect compliment!

How long had I searched?! How many failed pairings had I put Sakuya through? And you're telling me these two just waltz onto Yukari's front door! Hell to that woman! It's so unfair!

"Mistress, would you like to greet our guests?" Sakuya asked, noticing my pause.

"Of course." I started I see you know some manners, but let's see if you're a true gentleman." I stated, putting out a hand toward Goro.

>>45705436

Those memories of pain and torment were storming through her head as she as she sat there, the animalistic back of her brain screaming at her to run. She wanted to cut her losses and leave before anything could happen, before their true faces come out from behind their masks and the nightmare she lives continues in earnest; a nightmare with a different location, new faces, but the same outcome. The logical side of her head knew that it was impossible, that those assembled would never hurt her like Mother and… Mama have; that voice was small and drowned out by her rapid breathing.

Clenching her tingling hands, she fought off the feelings of dizziness and lightheadedness even as they threatened to consume the last vestiges of her rational mind. The silence stretched onwards, Sanae removed her arm from Hana's shoulder and with that a warmth that Hana didn't know she needed receded. She knew it wasn't malicious as well as she knew the silence was merely temporary. None of that mattered as she paled, her rapid breathing was making her light headed.

Interrupting the perceived tension was Dolly and a small squad of dolls, they carried a plain brown paper sack which they held proudly to Hana. Sanae grabbed the bag and held it up to Hana’s mouth letting the air she breathed normalize and despite her rapid breath her racing heart subsided. The tingling in her arms vanished and a sense of normality reasserted itself into Hana’s beleaguered body. She was tired now, tired of this all and tired of today; she wanted to collapse onto her bed back home and fall asleep just to forget for a few hours the pain she went through.

Dolly sat on her lap, the little thing no bigger than her forearm struggled to lift her hand and place herself under it, like a pet desperate for attention. Dolly held her hand on her head, and carried the weight until Hana stroked her hair with stubborn effort. It calmed her somewhat, but it was like a bandage over a gushing wound that a talisman alone just couldn’t stop. Still, it was effective enough, despite the sound of the paper bag crinkling periodically in what was practical silence she could get her wits again.

Soft looks of worry and forced smiles painted the faces of the women that surrounded her, a gentle voice came out of the ether. One she didn’t recognize from the tone itself until she turned her head, Mima spoke with an uncharacteristically gentle tone and face that couldn’t help but express worry, “Feeling better now, Hana-san? You were just a good bit too pale for a second”

Nodding, Hana lowered the paper bag from her mouth, having taken it from Sanae at some point. She stroked Dolly carefully, the affectionate little doll accepted her clumsy pets as Hana spoke up in a low voice barely above a whisper, “I’m feeling better, thank you …”

The silence was threatening to drag on, but a sharp glance from Mima as she looked around at the assembled prompted a response from one of the assembled. Yuuka had gracefully taken the paper bag from her hand and placed it on the stout table before speaking, “You had no fault in what happened here Hana, nor before that… You- You were misled, yes. It may not have been clear to you, but you have indeed been… toyed with…” A scowl appeared on her face, her eyes were like poison and it frightened Hana who shrank back, “That Yukari was- Is many things but, her nature has taken a horrible turn for the worse, she’s nothing more th-!“

A hand found itself on Yuuka’s head, Sanae hid some of the nervousness on her face as she stopped Yuuka in her tracks, giving her a look that spoke enough to get Yuuka to halt her words. She cleared her throat and the violence promised in her face receded like the snow under the sun.

Sanae spoke up now, “Hana-chan, nobody saw this coming. Least of all were you in the wrong for wanting to see the good in someone and trust them. Yukari-san, she… you’re right, she wasn’t someone known for doing things with such malicious means. You are never wrong for wanting to bridge the hearts of others and bring peace, it is your job and the job of your family to bring balance, and such a way like you’ve chosen is to be admired. Regardless- regardless if the one causing trouble is a sage that’s forgotten herself”

>>45717285

Tewi- Wait, when did she get back? Tewi spoke up with a smile and a hop as she weathered the cautious and outrightly weary looks that some of the others gave her, “That’s right Hana-chan, you got played with. You were toyed with entirely and as someone that plays her share of pranks I know a thing or two about misleading others!”

The gazes were turning hostile now, she felt a shadow of that anxiety regrip her heart again, but something about Tewi’s brash way of speaking and confidence borne from experience alleviated the dark claws, “You know, normally I’d say that it’s the fault of the pranked and all…” The pressure in the room reasserted itself but didn’t phase the little rabbit, at least outwardly, “But~ What you went through was just plain one-sided, Yukari-san’s a bunch of things. Even if I don’t know her well and all I’ve seen her type aplenty at Eientei and stuff, no doubt she’s smart. Too smart for her own good, and too smart for yours. If she really wants something she’ll do anything to get it and she’s scary enough to have the power and brains to do so. There’s no shame in getting twisted by the words of someone like that, it’s not something you can do anything about. Especially with how stir crazy she’s been getting~”

Alice spoke up, snippy and her dolls reflecting her true mood by getting all huffy as if ready to smack her down, “That’s enough, Inaba. Your words aren’t helping anything, personally I get enough of you when I head down to Eientei myself and I have little need of more!”

Tewi sighed as she hopped away from the intense gaze of Alice, Yuuka, and Sanae with an ‘Its true you know~’. Before anyone could react further Hana muttered in quiet pain, “S-so, its true. I was an idiot for trying and… and…” Hana looked up and gazed into the eyes of the women around her, “I messed up? I just wanted to help Yukari be happy too, I thought she helped me out and wanted what was best for me… I let her… The stuff she did to me was…”

>>45717296

“Not your fault”

A sudden, and slightly groggy, voice that interrupted her spiral of self-loathing came from a mess of blonde hair unbound by the hat that usually kept the unruly beast under wraps. The care she gave her hair coming easily undone in the ensuing chaos of the day. Marisa had woken up from her slumber at some point, and was content to listen in to the conversation till now, “Tewi-san is right…” She sighed as she scratched the back of her head with a sight, “I’ve been dealing with Yukari-san for years you know. Being an active incident resolver will land you that kind of situation and all ze…”

Marisa stood up and padded over to the front of Hana, her socked feet padded across the wood flooring with barely a sound. Hana looked straight in front of her staring into her unusually grave and golden eyes, “Hana, you can’t let her continue to control you like this. Maybe she wouldn’t have been so bad a long time ago, back when would she still smile normally and use her crazy plans to help others like she did for ‘Suzu way back when ze.”

Placing her hands on Hana’s shoulders she leaned forward slightly, “She’s changed and she isn’t going to just magically get better daze. You can’t fix a women like her, no matter what she’s told you and what her motives are she’s just used you… and violated you…”

A sour expression spread across the petite witch’s eyes, disgust mixed with fury filled them before she forced them down till only a shadow of that remained, “Hana, I remember what it was like being alone and without anyone to care for you. I can’t say I understand everything that happened to you perfectly, but I know that the way she’s messing with your head isn’t right! You aren’t a toy or some pet to be made to walk on eggshells to please someone!”

Once again… once again, Hana’s eyes filled with tears, she didn’t want to hear this. An empty and indescribable feeling filled her body, starting from the pit of belly and spreading. It felt cold, like a vital lifeline was being severed, that memory of feeling wrongness as mama walked her to the statue reasserted herself, “I know it hurts ze, but what would Anon say about how she treated you! He tried so hard to protect you, you know as well as I do that he could never stand to see you like this!”

Tears started falling freely from Hana’s face as she sniffed and failed to hold back the dam that overflowed again. Hana felt pathetic as Marisa laid out the facts, plain and simple in front of her. Hana didn’t want to believe it all but her father’s eyes when Mama had them bond as a family, Mama’s disregard of her when the first thing came up, the guilt and dread she felt all the time at the idea of them finding out the truth… It wasn’t right what Yukari did, even if she did have her reasons and even if… even if Yukari did have love for her…

Mima nodded in the background, but her acceptance didn’t mean that everyone was same page. Sanae spoke up, with a bit of force in her voice, “Marisa-san that’s enough! Hana get’s it, you don’t need to rub it in her face!”

Marisa looked up at Sanae before leaning back, looking into Hana’s crying face, and grumbling out an apology. Strangely it was Yuuka that came to her defense, “Marisa is right, it is what needs to be said”

>>45717322

Yuuka turned to face Hana on the couch, body turned like it did earlier when she was holding her. The bitter and barely hidden violence in her voice from earlier was gone like the intense heat of the summer sun behind winter’s wrath, “You have to understand, we’re here for you and will always be. We won’t… I won’t… Hana, I’ve chosen to love you as a daughter, unless you were to reject me- no even if you did I wouldn’t stop caring for you in the slightest! When I saw you getting taken away and that I could nothing to stop it I…”

Yuuka’s face was marred by something Hana had never seen before, fear and pain that manifested itself as tears in the corner of her eyes and wrinkles in her brow before they welled up too much to stop. She was surprised at this but didn’t reject her earnest feelings, “I was so scared when you couldn’t hear me, I was terrified that I’d never see you again that I even considered groveling at her feet just to be able to see you again!”

Yuuka ignored the tears in her eyes as she spoke earnestly and from the heart, “No matter what you decide, no matter what happens in the future. The thing I want most for you is to be happy and safe, the times you’ve come over for tea and talk have been pleasant memories without exception. My wish is simply that you can show me that smiling face again and talk without reservations! And when… and when Anon is freed, if you both would come over or -live with me” she said that last bit a bit quicker, yet drew the glances of the assembled to her reddened face just the same, “I hope that we can forget this terrible business and be a true family!”

A simple nod what was Hana gave, a simple nod was all that was needed before Yuuka embraced her in a warm hug. Hana smiled in her embrace, there was no pretense here, nor was there the guilt and desire to keep it hidden from the world. It was almost strange to Hana, how many times had she felt this way with anyone but father and Aunn? It was a rare thing that only burned in her childhood memories and recent past with Marisa, and occasionally Alice, soothing her after one of her daily horrors manifested itself.

Hana hugged back without reservation, her tears once again staining Yuuka’s blouse.

When Hana looked up, the hug over almost regretfully she saw the smiling faces of those assembled, including Sana, Sara, Kosuzu, Aunn, and the others that had reappeared at some time or another. Perhaps they’d been there the entire time? Hana blushed, though the heat on her face was only joined by the new redness and she hoped it wasn’t the most visible thing in the world.

With a satisfied sounding voice betraying a neutral face Mima spoke up, “you hear that my lazy disciples? You’ll simply have to get stronger if you wish to claim your crush, it seems that the flower youkai herself has gotten ahead of you by a vast margin”

Their faces grew red at that comment and she could’ve sworn she heard a ‘tsk’ coming from Tewi who kept her pleasant face perfectly in place with a practice that would put a noh mask to shame. As always, no one else seemed to notice the inaba’s actions...

Another tediously small update for now, we're almost at the end of the party proper. I just gave some space for anyone else to write in their own character interactions and tried keeping the attendees at this juncture vague enough
If someone wants to handle the warplans part of things or add on before the party is fully over be my guest, I was planning for one of the jobbers to recommend Hana spend the night with Reimu at her shrine in order to shoehorn a 'mu/'ana talk or at least establish how the jobbers are going to wing it so Hana doesn't get GAPPED again. That can wait though and as always, feel free to use Hana for whatever purposes you please.
Yukari is going to be a relentless hound in the coming days before solstice proper and I fully encourage other anon's to write ways to cockblock Yukari in their POVs, especially the guy thats gonna write the warplans. I'll write around whatever. Or don't and let the suffering be complete... No way for me to tell which way the water will flow until I get finger to keyboard

>>45717330
>>45717322
>>45717296
>>45717285
Jobber squad did good here, good job 'ananon.

>>45717389
Yukari getting desperate.
She'll probably start yelling at her allies and get more abusive to her subordinates.
Oh yeah, this gives me some good material.

Aya 7 Nights Namek is over. Revision and posting will happen shortly.

>>45488815
The last thing Aya remembered was knocking on Anon’s door before a splash of cold water woke her. Ice was nestled within the exposed skin of her lap and chest, pulling the tengu’ mind away from her instincts. Apparently, she made it to Anon’s table and was sitting quite close to him. A faint hum came from above, giving away Dolly’s location and the large, empty jug she was holding.

“Dolly! That’s no way to treat a guest! Aya’s acting a little funny right now, but there’s still no reason to-”

Understanding the situation, the reporter cut him off. “No, that was very, very good Dolly, good job! While I’m here, I want you to make sure I stop acting weird. Poke me, ram me, shoot me; Anytime I start acting strange, don’t hold back, got it?” Satisfied that somebody praised her for her brave actions, Dolly saluted the scantily-dressed crow and retrieved one of Anon’s sewing needles. The doll began her vigil, prepared to tame the wild Aya at a moment’s notice.

At the tengu’s request, Anon retrieved a spare towel for Aya to dry off with. “You’ve probably already noticed… I didn’t take a pill. The whole supply expired today.”

The human shuffled in his seat, preparing to comfort Aya before realizing how counterproductive the effort would be. “I see. So, if you’re here today, what does exactly does that mean?” Aya could see his mind racing. For every mundane reason he could imagine there were probably a thousand lewd and lascivious ones as well.

“Hmph, you really don’t trust me after all this time? Alright, how about this: I’m going to ask you one simple question. All you have to do is say ‘no’, got it?” The man shook his head in affirmation.

“Will you have sex with me?”

“No?”

Tears began to well in the tengu’s eyes. “But why? I mean, sublime! Now, because I promised that I’d never do anything without your consent, I can’t rape you again tonight!” As much as it broke her heart to hear those words, she knew she needed Anon to put up some sort of resistance to prevent her rampage.

“Well, I’m not trying to nitpick, but rape is non-consensual. I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but—“

“But nothing! Rape is for tengu! Right now I’m your powerless, normal, non-youkai human wife that can’t overpower you and couldn’t resist if you tried to ravage—YAAAAH!” Looking left and right, Dolly was nowhere to be found. Rather, she was underneath the table with a small mallet that had made contact with Aya’s toes seconds ago. The tengu squeaked out a response. “Good job. Now, who’s hungry?”

__
Anon had didn’t mind cooking with Aya. It was a nice change from the ladies who would quickly eat their food and paw at him before digging into the real ‘meal’ at night. However, today’s prep filled the kitchen with far more sexual tension than he ever felt in that space. Even when Suika got particularly frisky during one session and started going down on him while he was chopping leeks, there was an outlet for her lust. Every time Aya banged a pot or dropped a spoon he could feel the air pressurize. The human wondered if this is what it felt like inside of a bomb.

He pondered a sick, familiar joke: His fake marriages paralleled his real one. One wrong move and he’d have hell to pay. The difference was instead of a gohei slamming against his face, he’d have a woman’s hips slamming against his crotch. There were a few key differences, but the fact that things were ‘normal’ with Aya for so long only to unravel at the last minute was disappointing. The cyclical nature of flare-ups followed by self-restraint was almost comical.

Behind him, his sous-chef called his attention. “Hey, could you pass me that? This needs more salt.” As Anon held out the container, the tengu’s fingers touched his and lingered. A chill ran up his spine. Part of his mind told him not to look—it would tempt her further. Yet, he had to know if this was the trigger that would set off Aya’s lust. Still touching hands, the human turned around to face his future.

She was breathing heavily. Every bit of her skin was flush with obvious arousal. The only part of her that didn’t glow pink were her eyes, focused on his. Her pupils were practically hearts. They were gazing at him like prey, a piece of meat to be ripped apart and devoured. With every breath, they trembled a little, keeping focus on his own. Soon, they began to shine as tears welled up and her whole body began shaking, the tengu tightly gripping the shaker. Noticing these new clues, Anon finally saw something else in her eyes.

She was afraid too.

Closing the distance, Anon wrapped his arms around the tengu, letting her nuzzle her head against his chest and get his juban wet. She squirmed a little before settling down, basking in his embrace.

“Let’s skip cooking for today. I have some leftovers in the fridge.”

(Part 63)

>>45717931
Her conduct was utterly humiliating. Sure, she expected to encounter some difficulties inside the HSE, but experiencing them was another matter. The joy she felt in hugging Anon was tainted by the fact that he was doing it because she couldn’t be trusted in the kitchen. While Anon and Dolly stayed in the kitchen to bring some old soup back to life, the tengu sat at the table by herself and tried to think about the best way she could salvage her situation. She didn’t care that Okina was watching at this point—that hag has seen worse. Maybe a few laps around the barrier’s perimeter would tire her out. No, she’d just be avoiding the real issue: Her head was simply too muddled.

Every time she thought of Anon, her thoughts filled up with fluff. At this point, she couldn’t tell whether it was her own internal lust, the incense, both, or neither force making Aya feel the way she did. Even thinking about her own problems just looped back to Anon: Rumors about the Moriyans? Pages of Kanako holding Anon down coursed through her mind. Breaking the deal between Lord Tenma and Yukari? All she could imagine was coming home to Anon, barefoot in the kitchen, and jumping his bones after her mission was accomplished. Bunbunmaru’s death spiral? She’d revitalize it with stories about her marriage to her very own Mountain Husband—

No. That was too far. Bunbunmaru has suffered enough.

Holding onto a shred of her sanity, Aya anchored herself in reality. Bunbunmaru was real. The eggs growing in her womb were real. Anon and his pain was real. Releasing all of her lust on Anon would cause real, lasting damage to him. Clearing her mind, Aya sat quietly until a gentle nudge from Dolly alerted her that the meal was ready. By the time they were done eating, it was just about nighttime.

Anon left the table first. “I’ll bathe first. If you want to join me, you’re welcome to. If not, I understand. Just take it at your own pace.” Despite his kind words, Anon closed the bathroom door a little too quickly. Without a second to waste, Aya raided Anon’s medicine cabinet for anything that could help. She shuffled through bottles of useless painkillers and stimulants. By instinct she located the sperm-booster. There wasn’t any use worrying about it — It’s not like she could get any more pregnant. Or maybe…No! Four is enough for now! Returning to the task at hand, the tengu found her prize: Sleeping pills! Even if she couldn’t shut down her mind, she could shut down her body. Aya was ready to down a handful of the miracle pills before she read a warning label.
_________
Warning: The effects of Napatrix are untested on pregnant and lactating women. Please refrain from taking or Napatrix or administering Napatrix to patients who are pregnant, may become pregnant, or breastfeeding.
_________
Shutting the cabinet with a bang, Aya saw Dolly looking at her from a small distance. There was only so much the little doll could do for Anon. There was nothing that could protect Anon from her desires tonight. Dolly would be in her little space, Ran wouldn’t barge in, Momiji was nowhere near the HSE tonight… The only person that can stop Aya is herself. Rushing into the HSE without a plan was her first mistake. The only option she had left was to keep going.

With single-minded purpose, Aya entered the bathroom. Anon was soaking in the tub, tensing up now that the tengu was here. “Sorry, I’ll be done in a minute, let me just grab a towel and I’ll go.”

“You don’t have to leave. Just make some room for me. We have a lot to talk about.” Cleaning herself quickly, Aya joined Anon in the tub before he could make up his mind about escaping. He was stuck in the birdbath until the crow was done with him.

(Part 64)

>>45717951
Soaking in the warm water across from Anon, Aya crossed her legs out of consideration: The tub was easily long enough to accommodate two people. This was a conscious obstacle to keep her from playing footsie during a serious conversation. Now that she was in the tiger’s den, all she had to do was find her words and talk to Anon, face-to-face.

For ten minutes, Aya stared at Anon’s face. She dared not to lower her gaze any further. Controlling his fight-or-flight instincts, Anon broke the ice: “So… is the water hot enough?”

“Yeah… hot…” The tengu’s face was already flush from the room’s heat. Still, she could feel it burn with embarrassment. It shouldn’t be this hard for her to open her mouth and just spit it out! All she could think about was Anon’s face expanding in her view – wait, what the hell was he doing? “W-Wait a minute, don’t come closer!”

A hand came to rest on Aya’s right shoulder. “You’re doing great. I know this must be hard for you to handle, but you said we had to talk. I don’t want you to leave here with any regrets about things left unsaid.” This wasn’t just hard for her: She had to quash every thought in her head before they became action. He had a point, but she just needed to figure out the right way to say it! Suddenly, Anon grabbed her left shoulder too! “Don’t think about it! Just let it all out!” With how close his concerned face was and how commanding he got, how could she deny him?

“I-this- I know this was a bad idea! Still, I had to visit you visit you one last time, consequences be damned!”

Anon’s expression changed from brief happiness to confusion as he backed away. “’Last time?’ You mean you aren’t coming back?”

Aya started to think about how to answer him, then cut herself off and let loose. “Last time, definitely. I can’t come back after today. It’s not because of those pills – I only had enough for the week anyways. It’s for another reason.” The tengu stopped talking, seriously considering if now was the time to tell him. It was her responsibility anyways. He has a right to know, right? Even if he was angry, she could leave. If he was happy, it would be even better!

“Could you tell me why? I can’t do much to help you, but you could talk to me about it.” There was genuine concern in his voice. Leaving him with this worry would be wrong… but telling him would be worse.

“...I can’t, sorry.” If Anon knew, he’d only have one more (four more, really) thing to worry about helplessly. Aside from the danger she would be in if Yukari ever found out, did she want this be to be the place Anon found out he would have four more children? The first memory of his darling kids, tainted by the prison he was trapped in when he found out. Only someone under extreme mental duress or a complete fool would disregard how Anon would feel after hearing that kind of news! “But it’s something I’ve got under control. It’ll just take a few months until everything’s handled. By then, I promise to tell you absolutely everything.”

Anon sat back and cracked a smile. “If you say so, then I’ll believe you. Just be careful out there. If things get too rough, I’ll always be ready for you to visit again. Heck, if I knew this was your last visit for a while, I would’ve prepared something special.”

“’For a while?’ I mean it! The next time you see me will be far from the HSE! But if you’re offering special treatment, I know one thing you can do for me.” The tengu got out of the tub and threw a towel to Anon before drying herself off and wrapping one around her abdomen. She laid on the floor, scooting her legs back until she made a right angle at her knees and arching her back. When Anon finally dried off, she raised both of her arms upwards, giving him a wink.

He took the hint! In one clean motion, Anon lifted the tengu’s lithe body her knees and back. Aya didn’t miss a beat, wrapping her arms around his collarbone as tightly as she could. It felt exhilarating to feel his arms carry her like a bride through the living room. He only stopped to give a quick nod to Dolly, whom was bewildered until she flew back to her hiding place for the night. Aya watched intently for the moment they crossed the threshold into the bedroom together. Sure, the doorframe was a little cheap and the bedroom wasn’t her own. But once everything was over, she’d make sure they did it for real.

(Part 65)

>>45717964
Tucked underneath the blankets with Anon, victory coursed through Aya’s veins. She won! She beat the incense! All of that worry and concern was for nothing! Here she was, lying in bed with the man she loved and reveling in every second. Even if Yukari and Okina walked in at this moment, nothing could bring her down. She was beginning to drift into a wonderful dream about her four darling children flying around the house...

“Do you really never plan to come back here?” The voice was low and just a little muffled, but Aya could hear him just fine. It seemed this dream would have to wait a bit longer.

“What’s the matter? Like I said, we’ll meet again away from this place.” The tengu rolled around, trying to recover the comfortable position that was carrying her into the world of dreams.

“But what if it takes longer than expected? Shouldn’t you make plans just in case something goes wrong?” Aya abandoned all hopes of slumber and opened her eyes to see Anon sitting up, a morose look on his face. This was too serious to ignore. The tengu joined him, giving him just a little bit of personal space to let him feel comfortable.

“I made a promise to you. I fully intend to keep it, no matter what it takes.” This was clearly more of an emotional issue than a logical one. She just had to support him as much as it took.

Anon’s expression still darkened. “I know you’re doing everything you can, but it’s just… there’s so much that can go wrong. The barrier, the guards, the building… Yukari has a plan to keep me here for a long time until she’s satisfied. I don’t know when she’ll stop, but I can’t help but believe that she’s planned out as many countermeasures as possible. The chance that I’ll ever escape, it’s just…” The light in his eyes that she found to find was starting to fade. No way! Not tonight! Not after so long!

Taking a commanding posture, Aya got off the bed and walked in front of Anon. “I don’t think you heard me correctly. I said I made a promise to you. Are you doubting the word of a Tengu?” Standing firm, she stretched her wings out fully, engulfing Anon’s vision in a field of black pared by Aya herself. A sinister wind began brewing, lightly lifting the sheets. “That’s not working out for me. I’m afraid I’m going to have to put a curse on you.”

“Hold on, what are you doing?” The display of power certainly got Anon’s attention. Most youkai knew better than to display their power so aggressively against the Shrine Husband. The tengu guards would be on them faster than light. Unfortunately, the reporter wasn’t afraid of a few dogs yipping at her. Her pupils glowed crimson as she gazed intensely on the foolish human.

“You’ve been getting too comfortable around powerful creatures, unable to see how truly threatening they are. I’ll have to rectify that by putting a curse on you even Yukari could never hope to lift!” From the tip of her wing, Aya plucked a single onyx feather, brandishing it to Anon’s face as it swelled with power. Slowly, Aya moved her face towards Anon’s neck, pressing the feather against his chest and breathing slowly as she moved upwards to his ear. She could hear his heart beating in his chest. Perfect.

“I believe in you.”

With her curse laid, the tengu folded her wings and knelt down on the bed in front of him, replacing her serious expression with a happy-go-lucky smile.
“That’s it? You didn’t- What was the point of that?” A shame. Anon clearly didn’t understand how this curse worked.

“The point? The point is that I believe in you. Since you don’t believe in yourself, I’ll have to do it. And now that you believe that I believe in you, you believing that I believe in you means that you HAVE to believe in yourself because you know for a fact that I believe in you! And if I ever stop believing in you, the fact that you believe in me will force me to believe in you again!” Aya was proud of herself for giving her explanation without a single slip-up.

Anon was surprised, confused and a little angry. “That doesn’t make any sense!”

“That’s right, it doesn’t! But because I said it, it will never go away. A phenomenon that makes no sense when explained and nobody can stop no matter how hard they try: Doesn’t that describe a curse perfectly?” Anon didn’t respond. He simply grappled with the winged woman, reinforcing the curse that he laid on her heart without knowing it. They wrestled in the bed before Anon leaned over Aya, victorious over the devious enchantress.

“If you’re handing out those kinds of spells, you better make sure you stay safe. It only works if both of us can still fuel it, right? Hey, every spell has it’s magic source. What fueled your spell?” He had the cockiest grin on his face, knowing exactly what Aya’s answer was.

Instead, he heard the chime signaling the end of Aya’s night.

(Part 66)

cuh cuh combo breaker

>>45717991
The tell-tale chime broke the mood. For the first time, it dawned on Aya that this would be the last time she got to touch Anon until the Solstice. To see him in person, talk to him, taste his food. To sit up with him or lay down together in bed. To do all these “wifely” things that were fake yet left wonderful memories. But none of that was important right now. The important thing was leaving in the best way possible.

Dressing herself, Aya left the bedroom and collected her bag before waiting by the entryway for Anon. The tengu thought about only happy, calming thoughts: The spring breeze, the artful leaves of autumn, the loving warmth of summer… but she couldn’t help but think how much she wanted to see it with Anon. To see the real seasons change next to him. No, that didn’t matter right now! She had to give him a proper sendoff!

Anon came to bid Aya farewell. He didn’t say anything. He just walked over, coming far closer than he had initiated before. The tengu was stunned as she tried to keep control over her emotions. Anon brought his hands to her shoulders. They slid over her collar, moving up her neck before finally resting on her cheeks. In his firm grip, Aya looked into Anon’s eyes. They were fixed on hers, scrutinizing every glint and glimmer they could find. Anon’s eyes came closer, and his lips met hers.

Something wet was rolling down Aya’s cheeks. Oh no, did her cut open again? No, it was the left cheek as well. Ah, it must be raining. What a shoddy recreation of the shrine this must be to have a leak in the entryway. It didn’t stop anytime soon. The tengu couldn’t just leave with her face wet, so she buried her face in Anon’s juban as she embraced him for the final time she was sure she could. Exchanging quivering smiles, Aya separated from Anon as she left the shrine grounds as fast as she possibly could.

As she walked into the HSE’s kitchen, Aya composed herself. She’d have to properly apologize to Ran, of course. There was also Okina and the mountain she had to deal with now. Oh, and the whole Moriya business. Jeez, not a single break. As she set a pot to boil, a yamawaro entered the kitchen and walked directly towards her. Finally, a break! She must be one of that young one’s connections! Time to see what materials she could get her hands on from… Takane?!

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” The girl’s short stature did nothing to diminish her frank tone.

“Well, you see, I was given permission to use the kitchen by both Momiji and Ran-”

“I’m not talking about that, I couldn’t care less how you choose to gallivant with Anon. I’m talking about this!” From some hidden pocket on her person, Takane pulled out and unfurled a long list. Shit. This wasn’t good.

“I’m not quite sure what that is or what it has to do with me.” Aya turned her attention back to the pot, stirring tepid water with nothing else in it.

“Really? One of my associates happened to receive this list from someone matching your description, asking for the utmost discretion in obtaining these materials. Would you care to tell me how that naive girl could have possibly ended up with a recipe for domestic terrorism?!” Despite her steady tone and composure, Aya felt the anger boiling underneath the diminutive girl. How about this…

“*GASP* Yamashiro, I’m astounded you would think someone here was capable of such things? Why, this just seems to me like the materials used for traditional fireworks the tengu set off at the end of the year!” Nobody could refute explosives used as fireworks. It was perfect!

Takane was having none of it. “Bullshit! ‘Solid yet splintering wood, scrap metal – the more jagged the better-’ how many tengu enjoy shrapnel raining down on them from the sky?” That was too damning.

The heavy-hearted tengu mustered as much enthusiasm as she could. “It makes… patterns! In the sky! And streaks! The burning metal glints like nothing you’ve ever seen before!”

Takane sighed. “Fine. Where exactly are you using your fireworks? If they’re setting off anywhere near-”

Aya answered immediately, taking the hint. “The Youkai Mountain and nowhere else. The HSE is the last place they’d be set off. Ever. Not while Anon is in the ‘visual vicinity’ of them.” The tengu watched Takane’s next reaction intently, preparing to silence her permanently if the need arose. This was getting too dicey.

The yamawaro sighed again. “Then take your business up with me directly instead of pinning it on the inexperienced runts. I’ll be contacting you with details once I’ve organized these sources properly. Sound good?” She stuck out her right hand. Yes! Progress.

As Aya shook Takane’s hand, the land kappa’s grip tightened. Hard. “One more thing? Never lie to my face again.” The yamawaro left the kitchen without a second glance. At least it was still progress.

(Part 67)

My brain hurts so forgive my grammer:
I'm gonna write some stuff taking place chronologically before the birthday party and wait until after the party is completely written out to post the funny upheaval of tengu society as we know it. There shouldn't be anything too major in these, but some more important details are:

Pre-birthday:
- Aya makes a deal with Kanako and has a strictly-business relationship with Takane for procuring explosives (likely won't be explicitly written transactions, just an explanation for how Aya gets bombs)
- Hatate does release the story accusing Kasen of frequenting the HSE with factual and reliable evidence.
- Aya finally realizes Marisa is pregnant after she comes for the shogi board
- Maybe some other side fluff to tie lore together like Aya stalking Goro and Seija in Hell or hanging out with the 'mu.

Post-birthday:
- Aya will shake up the tengu and thus, Yukari's forces
- Deceit and intriuge regarding Okina
- Youkai Mountain was an inside job
- Aya will attempt to murder the sex fox.

That's as specific as I can be without spoiling the rest of what I have planned. It should not take nearly as long to write this stuff, especially the pre-birthday stuff. If anyone thinks something here is gay or that a detail is going to ruin someone else's ongoing plot then here it is for you to say so. Farewell.

>>45716580
>>45716538
Yukari chapters are always a treat and it's great to see her act when she can let her guard down. If only the Yukari would've asked the fat ghost for dating advice way earlier.

>>45716770
You'd be hard pressed to find a major player that both knows her and assumes she's complacent. I doubt anyone really considers her accountable for this.

>>45717085
I see Remi is a shipper of the worst kind

>>45717931
>Suika got particularly frisky during one session and started going down on him while he was chopping leeks,
Suika is a good girl, she never touched anon without his consent!

>>45717991
>“The point? The point is that I believe in you. Since you don’t believe in yourself, I’ll have to do it. And now that you believe that I believe in you, you believing that I believe in you means that you HAVE to believe in yourself because you know for a fact that I believe in you! And if I ever stop believing in you, the fact that you believe in me will force me to believe in you again!” Aya was proud of herself for giving her explanation without a single slip-up
I see Aya was watching old anime with Sanae again

>>45717330
>>45717322
>>45717296
>>45717285
le heart… always in the mornings too, damn. When I'm my most vulnerable. So cute of everyone to support the 'Ana, though still call her out in the improbability of her actions; and to top it all off, some Maribullying and Tewischemes~
thanks for the chapters, anon!
>>45717389
>warplans
Mimaanon was taking care of that, if I'm not mistaken. Probably good, since I'd b nice to have more info on the Makai Plan
>Hana going to sleep at the Hakurei Shrine
could be good, and I'm okay with doing it; though, would you get Hana there, or would you like me to do it? If you want to, please have Hana take the 'mu present with her if you aren't planning to open it in next updates, onegai!

>>45717686
desirable, but too far off
she'll torture them for efficiency with calm smiles and pat on the back, or "The boss that calls the team 'a family', but with gap powers"

>>45718022
>>45717991
>>45717964
>>45717951
>>45717931
so cute! Thank God she didn't sex Anon, it'd be very weird after that tear-jerker with the 'mu accepting her pregnancy and all. And the feather curse was top cuteness man, dammit! Now I have to study spider copulation while smiling like a retard…
thanks for the chapters!!
>>45718072
sounds all nice to me, and that's saying as the guy who writes Kasen and Yukari. No (much) rush, we'll have a bit of grace time before the finale

>>45719541
>could be good, and I'm okay with doing it; though, would you get Hana there, or would you like me to do it? If you want to, please have Hana take the 'mu present with her if you aren't planning to open it in next updates, onegai!
Feel free, i was planning to save the gift for then anyways. Go ahead and write out the meeting and adventure to as you please.

>>45720503
nice, will be doing it then after you and Mimaanon wrap things up!

>>45718219
>gets ton of advice on how to court a man properly
>still somehow ends up with a God shattering sword; traumatizing at least fifty people and getting Gensokyo neck-deep in economic trouble and war
autism always finds a way

>>45719541
>and to top it all off, some Maribullying
As you should know this is the designated maribully thread. This entire story? elaborate maribully plot

>>45717085
hey man, can you please never spend another half a chapter describing how immensely cool [set of characters] are when the most interesting thing happening in the scene is a special character's presence, in this case Flandre? That's a quintessential writing speedrun strat to make said set of characters look like goofers and sometimes unfun to read about as it seems like they're being jerked off.
I know Remi's supposed to be retarded to a degree and react to people in autistic manner, but point stands. Or not if you want so. It's your storyline, after all.
otherwise fun vamp chapter

>>45722151
>I know Remi's supposed to be retarded to a degree and react to people in autistic manner
Well that's your answer isn't it? They arrived dressed like chuunis and working for a powerful master. There is no world in which Remi would treat them coldly and not gush.

>>45722094
>first to fuck with the fertility pill
>late pregnancy, so hardly able to do something during the finale
>had to go live with Alice because her house is a dump
can't fucking believe we are the actual maribullying thread…

>>45722151
>can you please...never....jerk... off.
Yes. Touche. I've been struggling to write since I've been on a trip and I got back and crashed, but willed myself to at least start this bit.
>>45722761
>They arrived dressed like chuunis and working for a powerful master.
Spot on, I think he's still right, things should actually happen in chapters.
>>45719573
> "The boss that calls the team 'a family'
Thank you, that's even more terrible.
>>45718022
Funny to think about how it would probably be harder to make IEDs in Gensokyo because the lack of readily available scrap metal.

>>45724298
>Funny to think about how it would probably be harder to make IEDs in Gensokyo because the lack of readily available scrap metal.
The Moriyans owe Aya one after Sanae almost stomped her, a poor pregnant woman that later helped with clearing Kanako's name. Clearly Sukawo can help with the lack of reliable metal

>>45716580
>>45716538
these chapters hurt....
hopefully gappy can have her happy ending when this shit is over, even if it's an alternative ending

>>45726965
>alt ending
Either:
Yukari wins hands down and everything goes her way, at the expense of everyone else. She has her kid, she has Anon, she has Gensokyo in the palm of her hands and everything is just perfect and tied in a cute red ribbon.
Or Yukari barely escapes by the skin of her teeth and effectively steps down from her role in Gensokyo, spends the next couple hundred years in hiding (in Yuyuko's boobs). Leaving Ran to take over her job.

>>45717085
"Oh, I see." Goro said, approaching me.

But as he reached out his hand, another grabbed mine, turned it over, and licked my palm. I looked up to see Seija wiping a finger on her tongue.

"Too much lotion. Soft hands are nice, but men'll look at you funny if you use too much makeup you know?" She jeered.

"Ah, just like a dog!" Flandre said, pointing. "Does Seija lick you as well Goro?" She asked.

"Sometimes, but it's best not to learn from her, vampires are supposed to bite after all? Licking is for more humble Youkai." He answered.

"Ha, I'm nothing if not humble! I live in your little shack and put up with your homely meals every day after all. Nothing like this fancy little mansion you all have here." Seija laughed.

Was I being made a mockery of? By this little commoner? This wouldn't do! I'd have to...

"Perhaps you'd like to continue this discussion outside mistress? I've prepared a fire and the sky is quite clear." Sakuya asked.

---

I'd been relunctant at first to install the fire pit in the midst of the buetiful garden surrounding the mansion, crowding around fires outside was for the lower-class after all, at least, until I'd attended one of Moiyan's bonfires and seen the lively atmosphere it produced. Still, I knew it could be improved, so I tasked Patchy with finding a translucent material that wouldn't warp in the heat to produce a subtle, yet colorful display, wood that wouldn't produce noxious smoke, and seats that put people at ease, while still sitting in a dignified fashion. The witch had grumbled, of course, but nonetheless, I could tell my guests were awed and envious of the accommodation, and as for Patchy, her burn marks only lasted a week.

"So," I began, twirling my wine glass "what is it you came all this way to discuss?"

"A variety of things, which, if you deign to give your input on, the Yakumo would be most grateful. Chief among them, the strategy for the battle that will no doubt erupt from the solstice celebration. Yukari-Sama informed me you had held such a gathering prior, I'd be interested to know what you discussed then." Goro explained with a smile.

"Ah, that party? It was so funny! Hey, did you know Miss Samurai Oni is a-" Flandre started.

"Stoic tactical mind?! Yes Flan, how observant of you!" I interuppted, shooting a glare at my sister. "We, ah, spent more time introducing ourselves and explored our interests you see? Much communication is unspoken after all! Perhaps, you'd like to tell me what the Yakumo has planned and I can give my own input on that instead?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, Yukari-Sama is very 'careful' to share information amongst her servants and has not yet seen fit to divulge her plans onto us. I could, if it pleases you, share my own opinion, although I am very weak compared to yourself and your eccentric sister, so it may seem unsuitable for yourself." He offered, tossing a small candy as he did.

As the thing flew, it unwrapped itself, and as if the wrapping were tiny wings it flapped to my sister, who, like a cat, watched it approach her and quickly snapped at it when it came into range, cracking the thing in her mouth with an expression of immense satisfaction. What an easily appeased child.

"On the contrary young sir, It's rare that I'm able to meet someone of your lower station who carefully choices his words. Please, let me know the thoughts of one weaker then I." I elegantly said.

"Thank you." He said, with a small bow of his head. "As I see it, the problem is that although our alliance is powerful, the aggregate of the forces aligned against is more so: an ancient and powerful mage, the Flower Youkai, and a Secret god, just to name a few. Even though we have the home field advantage, these foes are ancient and cunning as well, if we were to fight them normally, in Danmaku matches, we'd certainly lose." He said.

"But we aren't fighting 'normal' matches are we?" I said, grinning.

"No. They'll come for blood, no spell card rules or decency. So, we show them the error of the ways, if you'd kindly observe." He said, picking up a stone.

Goro quickly tossed the stone at Flandre and, without much thought, Flandre caught the stone and crushed it.

"My! You are perceptive Flan-Chan! Lucky for me, I'd hate to besmirch that cute, smug expression of yours!" He complimented. Flan beamed.

But then Goro quickly threw another rock, one I hadn't seen him pick up, Flan's eyes followed it, ready to crush it the same way she'd done to the other. But Goro hadn't tossed it at her, instead, it hit the fire pit, flying behind her to another rock, and ricocheted, heading directly to Flan's neck. She turned to face it, reaching out at the same time, however her arm missed the stone and it came within centimeters of her face before disappearing. Looking to Sakuya, I could see her idly toss the same stone to the fire pit.

>>45727342
"It's like that you see? I would never be able to hit you even I threw every stone in this garden Flan-Chan, but that's if I tossed them carelessly. with a few tricks and some unfair play, I almost got you again!" He said with a carefree smile.

"OH! Just like the game with the cups! Or with that dungeon we explored with Chen!" Flan excitedly realized aloud, looking to Goro and then Sakuya.

"Fuu, I suppose that's all fine in good with games and stone tossing, but it's only natural that a fight against high-level, SOPHISTICATED, Youkai include some amount of deception. What makes what you did any different?" I asked.

"Did you see when I picked up the second stone?" He asked.

Oh, I know this trick! "You already had it before you even arrived didn't you?" I said confidently.

"A good guess, but no, Seija passed it to me while your attention was fixed on Flan-Chan. Forgive me, I know you love your little sister to dearly and took advantage of that." He said, lowering her head.

"Sister..." Flan looked at me, a little flush.

"Bah, what's your point? Shall we capture all the enemies loved ones and hold them ransom maybe?" I asked, a little annoyed.

"Oh no, although that's quite a bold idea! I merely wanted to highlight that, although you two are quite powerful indeed, your perspectives can be played upon. While I told you I was weak and let you see me pick up a single stone, I also came here knowing a fair bit about you all, and capitailized on that gap in information. I am, of course, very weak, and can't do much without strong allies such as yourself, but our opponents know very little about me and Seija has fought in illicit fights more then anyone in Gensokyo, we can draw out our alliance's full potential and overwhelm the difference of power in a fight that has never been seen before or will ever be seen again." He explained.

What a romantic pitch. I didn't understand all of it and maybe he was laying on the flattery a little I think, but I liked his moxy.

"Why would we need you when we have Yukari? Who has the power of the Gap and over a millennia of strategic experience?" Sakuya asked.

"Hey Brat, does that maid always lie in wait to verbally sucker punch people in conversations?" Seija asked Flan.

"What's a sucker punch?" Flan replied with a tilt of her head.

"I'll show you later. Queen Batty, you know how Yukari's power works right?" She asked me.

"Yukari is capable of manipulating boundaries, such as the boundary between light and dark, husband and wife, and the distance between two locations, with that, she can make spaces deprived of light, sever a marriage, and instantly travel between two locations, as well as much else. A truly powerful and flexible ability. And does raise the question, what do you two do that Yukari cannot? Why does she have you in her service?" I asked, taking a sip of wine after I do.

"Hey Brat, how does that Old Yellow Pervert's power work?" Seija asked Flan, ignoring my question.

"I'm not sure." Flan said, putting a finger to her lip. "I think she can put doors on the back of things and it connects to a space she controls? She can do other stuff to I think, but I don't know too much about it."

"Well at least we know who the honest one is here." Seija said, putting her hands behind her head and leaning back.

This little...

>>45727346
"Yukari's power is not supreme." Goro flatly stated. "It has limits, like her gaps for example, they close without her because the world around them pushes them closed. What's more, we're up against many other's like her, with abilities just as incomprehensible that have known the Yakumo for centuries. They will have many plans to thwart her, Ran-San, Flan-Chan, and the rest of our allies, so, when we do fight, please allow us to act as your humble stage hands." Goro said, getting up from his chair, and taking a knee.

"When the chaos begins, we'll use our abilities to confuse our adversaries and place you on the stage where you shine brightest." He smiled.

There was something warm about his words and posture. Some genuine appreciation and understanding I haven't seen from a normal human in so long. An honest admiration that I craved-

"Hey Goro how did you make the rock go like that?" Flan asked, having been tossing rocks the entire time he was talking.

"Oh, they say it's all in the wrist." Goro said, flexing his hand back and forth. Flan just tilted her head, confused.

"Bah, the Brat won't get it. If you explain things to a Youaki it's gotta be with..." She began, manifesting a bullet with her hand. "...Danmaku."

Suddenly she hurled the bullet across the garden. The little thing soared to the field of roses, but didn't crater it, no, instead it bounced harmlessly off the bush and continued to do so, boyently dancing through the fields like an elastic ball, until one bounce sent it soaring at us only for it to bounce on the ground just outside the fire pit and sail harmlessly into the sky.

"Wow!" Flandre started with her eyes wide. "Come on! You gotta show me how to do that!" She said, pulling the Amanojaku aside.

"Fine, fine, conversation was getting all sappy anyway. Don't just complain when I rough you up a bit." Seija said, walking off with her.

"Hehehe, my apologize Miss Remilla, Seija taken a shine to children recently is all." Goro said, standing up.

"No no, it's no worry, it give us a chance to have a more adult conversation." I said, glad to be rid of the two.

"Fantastic! We can discuss some logistical matters then!" Goro began, sitting down and opening a notebook. "Takane asked me to clarify some of the food and supplies you're shipping, let's start with this pork delivery you have planned, it's quite a lot!"

"Of course, I should be generous with a delicacy the village rarely experiences right?" I said.

"And what preservative shall you be sending it with?" Goro asked.

Preservative? What did he mean? "Surly there's no need, it will all be cooked and eaten soon right?"

"Ah, well there's so much in this shipment and there's not nearly enough space in the villages current dry houses you see, so Takane wanted me to clarify that point, they'll spoil if the weather warms and they're left in improper accomedations, unless they're sent with salt after all." He clarified.

"Oh, right... of course! We used salt after all, it's the most suitable right?" I looked to Sakuya, who give me a quizzical look. Oh no, had I said something foolish?

"Well, we can set that aside for now, what's really important are these spices. We were wondering if you could ship direct to some of the stalls to reduce the risk of theft. We can provide some routing assistance for that if you'd like." Goro said.

Theft? People would steal from Yukari? And what's 'routing assistance'? Ah, my head hurt. Looking over to Flandre and Seija, they were shooting Danmaku pellets out and laughing. But I couldn't just go join them, it wasn't dignified after all.

"Would you like to join your sister? Perhaps you should go ahead, I'm sure Sakuya is capable of handling these matters." He offered.

"Ah, yes, of course! She is my dear sister after all! And it wouldn't do to leave her to that brute" I announced, hopping from my chair and tipping over my wine glass, which Sakuya caught.

"Thank you for your courtesy Sir Goro, I'll leave these matters to you." I said with curtsy before making for the two.

---
I can't actually skip stones so watching people do it is like magic.

>>45727354
I see Goro's secret plan... flirting with the maid!

>>45727107
>spends the next couple hundred years in hiding (in Yuyuko's boobs)
that should heal her fine, and also be a great example for her children

>>45716580 (4/4)
—
Yukari Yakumo, running away…

No.

To let everything I've brought forth, constructed, and maintained for centuries—fighting off atomic devices and the passage of time—, to the whims of Okina, Miko, Kasen, Junko, and the like… Why should I? Why should I let those freaks decide the fate of my conceptions? This land of Gensokyo is my first ever child, however ungrateful, and I'll not let it be twisted by power-hungry mongrels that'd use it for their egotistical motives!

No… I'll hold all the power in Gensokyo and protect it against everything! In this land, a man will never be molested and have his life destroyed by a wolf in human skin again; a child won't grow up alone in hell; a girl won't be eviscerated in the deep dark night; and the circumstances of a horrid power won't take a kind, caring person to suicide…

I'll never let any of that happen again…

I am Gensokyo, and I'll protect it—even against itself.

My eyes, a wall of iron, are on hers; ancient wisdom behind those rose quartzes shows immediate understanding. “Gensokyo wouldn't survive without me; the HSE has already completed its objectives and will be wiped out upon the arrival of spring; I'll kill the wicked hermit and the oni when they have achieved their purposes. I'm this close—” I show her my index and thumb almost touching as an exemplification. “—to getting all I need to restore the beauty of this land! To rid it of all misery! All that stands in my way is a bunch of insects that I'll squash soon enough.” Tears were cleansed, fiery resoluteness consuming my heart and spreading throughout my whole body, centering around my belly, where life, beautiful and latent, grows with the promise of a lifetime. “Yuyuko, I will fight them all; I will win—and, then… I will be happy.”

She remains silent and, as the seconds pass with our eyes on one another's, the day—no, more. Much more—weighs impossibly on my shoulders. I'm pregnant. I'm at last pregnant. So much work for it to happen, so many burdens taken and so many monsters attempting to feed off my accomplishments fended off… “I see.” Gently, she holds my head as if precious and brings it to rest on her vast bosom, and there I close my eyes with a drawn-out sigh. Serenity tastes as sweet as it did a millennium ago, even though the warmth of her fair skin is no longer present. “… That's a lot of work, my friend. Too much for a transient life such as yours.”

Her words are not a scalpel anymore. They're a low weep of sympathy that, in any other voice, would have filled me with wrath. But in hers—a voice I cried out to the heavens to reclaim—coldness engulfed my spirit, one of her hands stroking the skin of my stomach. “If I don't do it, then who will?” I ask, cuddling on her lap, tiredness pulling me to the bottom of the oceans of my mind.

“Someone that didn't suffer as much; with a view of this new millennium and an understanding of this ever-changing world—we're relics of a long-gone and gory past, Yukari, and our time to hold onto power has come and gone. Even a place as far removed from common sense as Gensokyo needs to—must—keep moving forward in order to avoid stagnation and… rot.”

… To live here, to live unburdened…

So much blood. Blood everywhere. Painting every wall and piece of furniture, a lifeless body in my arms, and a thundering rain above.

So much power, yet powerless.

“That day, Yuyuko…” Her eyes thinned, those pearls of salt threatening to return. I stop and place my hand over hers, holding on to the life that is developing inside of me. “… I think I buried two people.”

Silence. Her gentle tears bless my skin as mine did hers so long ago.

Together, we watch the naked and winding Saigyou Ayakashi, incapable of blossoming and forever stuck in death. I close my eyes in trembling arms, letting maybe a day or a millennium of fatigue melt away. Yuyuko's arms don't let go; otherworldly mumblings leave her mouth as fine tears roll down. As the end approaches, mistakes—both old and new—are daubed with an intense, death-red paint that is both apathetic and consuming on this twisted canvas.

However, conflict gives rise to resolution, and a millennium of reflection yields one as unblemished and resilient as a diamond. There's little I, Yuyuko, can do to change the moving pieces. Yukari has sealed a fate either of death or rot and though my prayers lie in an outcome where—gently—her ass is ultimately kicked, I have decided that noninterference has gone too far.

Be what may be, my friend… But your fate will not be your child's fate.

That is what I swear to you.

A power I despise, which I made our final demise.

A warm, celestial light is at my fingertips.

Touching her belly, I sing an old, tender tune to soothe our souls, the light growing and expanding, forming the image of a small tree of light. Blessed by a single shed tear of immortality, the tree returns to being a seedling inside her womb.

I hug Yukari as if to never let her go.

… After this, I never will.

>>45731614
that's Yukari for now!
wait, straightforward answers? Not speaking in the modern equivalent of hieroglyphs…? In a 2hu fanfiction?
You must be crazy.

>>45731614
well, at least little gappy is saved from their mother's retardation. Thanks, fat ghost lady!

>>45727354
"Is it really all right to leave her to play on her own? Don't you two usually fight as a pair?" I asked the man pointing to Seija.

"Hm? Well as long as I'm in a certain proximity I have some auto-casting techniques I modeled after Hijiri." he began shaking his wrist with the bracelet. "So I don't have to fight with her directly. But, I suppose you have a point, I shouldn't leave my partner by her lonesome."

Standing up, Goro pulled from his robe what looked like a large piece of cloth, solid black on one side and white on the other. He tossed it into the air, upon which the sheet began to violently shred itself apart, first in half, then quarters, until what looked like hundreds of paper scraps floated in the air. The scraps slowly began to flock together, flowing and ebbing like a current in the ocean before they flew out into the night, as if they were a group of bats, toward Seija.

"A little technique I've been developing. The two sides of the sheet each have their own curse which targets the other side. They tear each other apart until they form a sort of equilibrium that could be mistaken for an intelligence. Each shred is weak on it's own, however, the swarm dissipates damage effectively across itself, so it's a useful defense and durable harassment tool." He said as he sat down, looking fondly on his creation.

"Ah, you all don't mind if I use curses here do you? I know some people take offense to that kind of thing." He apologized.

"It is the Scarlet DEVIL Mansion you know?" I said, taking a seat and crossing my legs. "If anything, I'm more curious as to why you wanted to single me out like this."

A satisfied smile spread over his face. "I didn't have to try to hard, given the personalities involved, it's only natural Youkai like Amanojaku and Vampires would lose interest in the more banal." He said, holding up his note book.

I stopped time and took the notebook from Goro's hand. Taking out a red pen, I perused the list of provisions, notes, and correspondences. Prudently, I made a list of all the matters we'd need to correct and noted down anything that needed attention for Takane's edification. The manifest was surprisingly well-written, lacking the chicken-scratch I had expected of a fast moving broker, a product of being raised in a religious institution I suppose.

Then I came to a section regarding his personal affairs, denoted by a red, black, and white bookmark and a few small poems. I really shouldn't use my abilities to pry into such matters, but I had my suspicions about this man and I prefer to be judicious rather then have a knife in my back while fighting alongside my mistress.

Flipping through the pages, I saw journal entries detailing tea parties with Tengu, golf sessions with Kappa, and some bits about Ran, Chen, Seiga, and some of the other members of the Yakumo alliance as well as other's like Shiki, Satori, and Kiene. Looking at an entry for Seiga, it read 'self-centered and selfish', beside which it also read 'loves to teach others'. Besides every negative comment, a positive one was written, even for the wicked hermit, whom I couldn't think a single good thing about up till this point. Perhaps this was a way for him to understand others and view them without bias for dealings? Or maybe a technique to control curses and grudges?

Beyond that section there were sketches, most of them were of Seija sleeping. She has quite a cute expression when resting it appears.

Then I came to the very end, where a poem waited.

I see a gap, within, without
Beyond a icy celebration
Curses and Blessings Shout
To a crowd that craves salvation

In a begotten egg, a disaster lies in wait
But all anyone sees is a distraction
With two hands I'll pull their fate
Out of that hellish contraption

What lies beyond, I care deeply
For all who live now are forsaken
But for the new generation that comes quickly
A love and hope we all can partake in.

How romantic. I suppose Yakumo agents are expected to be cultured as well as efficient.

As I made to shut the book, the words began to twist and contort, the characters ripped themselves off the page and began to dance around the paper until they settled down and morphed into a new message.

It's not nice to pry Miss Sakuya.

I closed the book and placed it back in Goro's hand and let time resume.

"Ah, so you're already done I see." Goro immediately said, opening the book.

He noticed? How... "You still have to produce some entropy when stopping time right? I can tell because the book suddenly changed position and these pages are just the slightest bit more worn." He said, detecting my surprise. "I hope you found my manifest readable, I know Ran-San would have probably done it better."

"Well, it's actually a comfort in a way. Ran doesn't write anything down after all and insists on repeating things aloud, it gets annoying, trying to explain to her how much easier it would be for me to just have a written record." I explained.

>>45735120
"Oh, but if you learned her dense vulpine encoding language, you'd communicate exponentially faster!" He laughed.

"Say, are you really as weak as you claim? Not everyone can produce curses and be so perceptive as to detect my ability." I asked.

"Making some paper scraps float and pointing out some minutiae makes for a good parlor trick, but it's very little compared to being able to destroy anything, stopping time, manipulating fate, or anything a Sage can do for that matter." He says, looking out to the playing girls as they tried to snipe the nimble cloud with danmaku trick shots.

"True, but as you said, the upcoming battle won't just be about power, and not everyone so readily compares themselves with powerful Youkai and Sages. Tell me, if you're so weak, how is it that you coned Yukari into taking Seija and yourself in and why would you want for such a thing in the first place? " I say, placing my hand on my chin.

He shrugs "It's fun." He said with a smile, concealing a larger truth no doubt. "And you? Why are you getting involved in this mess?"

"I serve the Mistress and this is what she wants." I say curtly.

"What a beautifully simple existence." Goro chuckled, not with malice, but a sort of admiration.

"So, why did Yukari take in a trouble-making Amanojaku and a fun-loving, self-deprecating broker?" I asked again, so he couldn't dodge the question.

He exhaled and looked out upon the group again, probably thinking in his head about how he could wiggle out of an answer, then deciding that I wouldn't let him off the hook.

"We can close gaps. Likely back doors as well." He said.

So, the pieces fall into place. Yukari wouldn't just bring on two, independently-minded people if there wasn't a sizable benefit. The Wicked Hermit and Samurai Oni were troublesome, but their power made that risk worth taking, while Miss Flandre would be the ideal candidate, powerful and easier to manipulate. These two though, with the cunning to work together as a Human and Youkai, could be poison to a manipulator like the Gap Sage, but a counter to powerful abilities like Gaps and Back Doors? That was an invaluable tactical and strategic asset.

"I was thinking you knew a little too much about the Gap for a layperson." I said, idly bouncing my leg.

"My deal with Yukari-Sama was that she taught me about the HSE and in turn, we would defend it. It's only because of their teaching, Her's and Ran-San's, that Seija and I will stand a chance in the upcoming fight. Even then, it won't be enough, we'll lose." Goro flatly stated.

"You say that like it's certain, but a fight this chaotic can go any number of ways." I remarked.

"Ignore the complexity and take a step back. Yukari-Sama is completly out of her element acting outside the shadows, resorting to hiring miscreants like us and a number of insane projects like that Accursed Sword which won't go as planned. Regardless, the HSE is a bomb and it'll go off taking both sides with it."

"The Begotten Egg..." I said, tapping a finger to my cheek.

"Wow, Miss Sakuya, I didn't take you for a busy body! I pray you're more dignified then a certain Satori." Goro chuckled, breaking the tension.

"Of course, I am a proper maid after all. The mistress is well aware of my photo albums and scrap books and has many of them cataloged in the library for anyone's viewing pleasure." I stated proudly.

"Perhaps I'll take a look later out of grim curiosity." He began waving his hand. "There is a slight chance we could win. A gamble Seija and I are going to be forced to take that will let her use her ability to it's absolute maximum, the ability to turn anything on it's head. Abilities, alliances, perhaps even the flow of time."

"That seems quite impossible, I've never been able to reverse events completly after all." I stated.

"Yes, I imagine such an effect would only be temporary, like putting a dam in a river, eventually it'll burst with all the water rushing into it, or perhaps flipping some properties around density would cause a sheet to properly crumple... Hmm, the complexity of it is fun to fiddle about, but the point is, for a short time and risk, we might be able to do things previously unheard of. Perhaps it self-centered of us, but an ascendant Amanojaku isn't something to scoff at."

"If it turns out how you plan and you two don't poke holes in space-time, I see why you still think our defeat is still inevitable with such a power." I sighed. "But there's something else you want to ask me isn't there?"

"When things look bleak, the SDM forces will be evacuated, most likely by yourself right? There's two additional people I'd like you to evacuate as well, who'll make themselves known after Seija and I make our gamble. In exchange, We'll protect Flandre as well as we protect the HSE." He said, putting out a hand.

>>45735128
"Is this the fabled 'Absolute Deal'?" I asked, bemused.

"No, because I'm almost entirely certain that this isn't in your best interest. But I believe your mistress will find the spectacle interesting, so why not?" he said.

I took his hand and shook it. "It's not as if the mansion couldn't do with another two troublesome residents I suppose, although I suppose their stay will be temporary?"

"If we survive, we'll come for them. If we don't, well, I'll die before I consider that." He said, staring out into the night.

"On another note, does the Mansion always whisper to it's visitors?" Goro asked.

"I've never heard of such things, but I suppose it's possible." I replied.

"I see, on that note, how exactly does the SDM even manage it's vast stores? And by what channels do you get all these supplies." He asked, changing the subject.

"Well it's actually rather simple..." I began, reciting the logistics that drove the mansion.

For awhile, we talked about the finer details of more base matters that enabled the luxurious environment of the mansion. Every so often gazing at the children and the Amanojaku, playing games with depleting curse swarm, noticing that over time, Remilla becoming less strict and more giddy at each one of her successful shots. I took a few breaks to take pictures of the spectacle, nice additions to my private collection.

Eventually the swarm was depleted and the group approached us, mostly satisfied, but intent on something.

"Hey, hey Goro, if you and Seija fought, who would win?" Miss Flandre asked excitedly.

"Obviously a Youkai would win against a human!" Lady Remilla proudly stated.

"I've already won plenty of times against him, it's no contest." Seija arrogantly said, crossing her arms.

"But he's always leading you around? Wouldn't it be the other way if you were on top?" Miss Flandre commented.

"Perhaps a short contest will settle this matter, the two can fight with the loser suffering a suitable punishment." I proposed.

"An excellent Idea Sakuya! The two will battle until one surrenders and the defeated will have to dress as a maid!" Lady Remilla excitedly said.

"But Goro is a man though? Shouldn't he dress as a butler?" Miss Flandre asked.

"Fu fu fu, It's a punishment my dear little sister, he won't take this seriously unless he's threatened with wearing some frilly garment after all!" Lady Remilla said.

"But, I kind of wanted a butler..." Miss Flandre said, rubbing two fingers together.

"Nah, come on Goro, I want to show these girls how good you look in a dress!" Seija said, putting a fist into her hand.

"Oh, what am I to do? I'll end this quickly then." Goro rose, walking to Seija who's hands were open, ready to grapple him into submission.

"Seija..." He began, "... I love you."

Instantly, the Amanojaku's face went flush, as well as Miss Flandre's and Lady Remilla's. "I-Idiot! We're supposed to fight not flirt!" Seija stammered.

"But I don't want to fight you? I love you after all." He said again, taking a step toward the Amanojaku.

"I know that, but you don't have to state the obvious in front of these people do you!" Seija struggled to say.

"Those two are... together?" Lady Remilla said, covering her face, but looking through the gaps in her fingers.

"You couldn't tell? They're always close and keep looking at each other when they think now one is watching" Miss Flandre said, pointing a shaking finger at the two.

"You'll have to forgive us, I know it isn't too proper, but we're helplessly in love." Goro said, putting his hands around the shaking Seija. "And since she's an Amanojaku, the only time I can shower her with affection like this is when she's absolutely embr-"

"I give up." Seija said, clutching onto Goro.

"So, they're other ways to beat people that isn't fighting?" Miss Flandre noted.

"Ah yes, you see my Dear Sister, woman may have their wiles, but when a lover knows them best they can't help but set that aside and...." Lady Remilla stammered out, trying to regain her composure.

Several times throughout this exchange I stopped time and took pictures of the exchange, getting both Scarlet Sisters embarrassed expressions in one rare shot and several of the couple, which I suppose I'd use if I ever wanted to get Seija to do something.

---

One more chapter to wrap this particular episode up.

>>45731614
Yukari could have been so happy had she not been so traumatized over the death of Yuyuko. Yuyuko must be going through a lot seeing Yukari destroy everything it a attempt to find happiness again.

>>45735198
Yukari's progression gotta be my favorite part of this entire project, it's like watching someone slowly peeling an onion: they show you this shit onion and you say "yeah, that's an ordinary onion. Nothing much about it." Then they start peeling it and it's so fucking rotted in the inside, and it's just so entrancing to see how deep the rot goes. It took 17 threads to get to the core of the gargantuan issue that backs her actions and behavior, and though hardly justified, explain and generate empathy; all while hints were nicely sprinkled throughout the story.
that coupled with Hana's erecting layer upon layer around herself to hide her trauma and pain, to the point she joins the enemy to try suffocating the traumas; and Reimu's struggle to peel the many layers of her reputation and of her own personality, just so she can reform her core identity and make up for those she loves...
hard doubt it was all planned, but I love where this journey took us. Fucking amazing!

>>45735442
Yukari really is the right blend of "evil youkai behind the understanding of humanity" and "socially awkward loser desperate for love" She loved Yuyuko but she slipped through her fingers and even after she began a ghost was unable to recapture the feeling. So she dove into her work to make Gensokyo, isolating herself from everyone expect for a few people. Even then, she thought she wanted more then her friendships and her shinigami family. So when Anon came around as one of the few people to really get her, she latched onto him hard and when the chance came up, she launched an elaborate plan to control him and make sure she'd never lose him. The sad thing is if she had tried to just date him normally, it had a good chance to work. Gappy really is her biggest enemy.

I'm waiting warmly for the 'mu chapter~

>>45735592
I can't write the 'mu with Hanaanon still finishing his Hanasperg and Mimaanon the Jobber Tear Jerker
unless the Yuukahug was the end of Hana's sperg momento and Mimaanon doesn't intend to use Hana for the jobber tear jerker...
........ that's exactly the situation, isn't?

>>45735543
>Gappy really is her biggest enemy.
fugg...

>>45735666
>........ that's exactly the situation, isn't?
Yuuka hug was indeed the end of the Hanasperg/healing moment
Though I can't tell if Mimafag was going to use 'ana for an extra session. Things were kinda wrapped up neatly, so it'd be strange to have an extra cryfest.
Dunno if he's going to wrap up the warplan with 'ana or not but she isn't strictly needed

>>45736214
>Yuuka hug was indeed the end of the Hanasperg/healing moment
… owes upon my smooth brain!
>Though I can't tell if Mimafag was going to use 'ana for an extra session. Things were kinda wrapped up neatly, so it'd be strange to have an extra cryfest.
not him, course, but betting on not using; and thinking about it, the "Jobber Tear Jerker" seems more like something inside the squad, like they talking between themselves about their inactivity in helping Hana, the lengths of Yukari's damage and so on and their mistakes in dealing with the situation. Should wrap neatly with the war plan, Shinki coming with the Makai plan and so on.
Bad idea to include Hana in that after the mental strain she went through and how raw is the wound Yukari left.
okay, so will be hijacking Hana, Aunn, and Marisa first two are obvious; Marisa to build upon her reactions upon Reimu arriving out of the party! Chapters sometime tomorrow~

>>45636476
Alright I was reading the last thread and the idea of the sword in the lake being able to choose who wields and the answer being Shanghai doll sent me laughing so hard I had to see if I could AI prompt the following image.
Funny enough I was listening to this not too long before I saw that spoiler in the last thread.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNZj_eZyq2I

>>45736339
punished mu
A Fallen Hakurei

>>45736390
>alt-ending where Shanghai gets the sword; triumphs with it over Yukari and becomes Sword Sage
already preparing myself to write it! Heh, fun gen, thanks!
the panty shot, though…
… we'll never escape the nightcrawler Shanghai
>Funny enough I was listening to this not too long before I saw that spoiler in the last thread.
nice choice, fucking love fighting Radagon, such a cool boss~
I have the suspicion Yukari would 100% steal him away from Marika and try to revamp the world; turning into an even more cryptic Ranni

>>45736586
Fucking lmao I look forward to that.
>the panty shot, though…
Sadly, it was the best one that generated I was using bing ai because I suck at this and couldn't get them to look at each other.
Here is another attempt.

>I have the suspicion Yukari would 100% steal him away from Marika and try to revamp the world; turning into an even more cryptic Ranni
I am surprised there isn't mod making Ranni become Yukari.

>>45736796
man, these AIs are getting advanced as hell…
writing that bit of the slow yet ever present march of time was a bad idea
>I am surprised there isn't mod making Ranni become Yukari.
one day, maybe, one day
picking a fucking Yukari fumo in the quest line would kill me forever

>>45736457
if she survives, she's ending the story like this

>>45736339
With Marisa you could include her, but i'd recommend not doing so beyond escorting Hana to the shrine. Reason being is because the Reimu and Hana scene should be just that: between 'mu and 'ana. Including Marisa in their sitdown would drastically take away from their reconciliation, she'd be a third wheel entirely and entirely missi out on the warplans.

>>45740833
It could fit in somewhere afterwards, between the warplans and solstice. Give Hana and Reimu their much needed time, and you could have Marisa and Reimu share a few words afterwards.

>>45740833
that was the idea, glad for the reinforcement! Marisa is sticking around just to escort Hana, have a quick word with Reimu then going off

>>45735120
>>45735128
>>45735132
the allegations will NEVER be beaten…
nice poem, tho; tasteful~

>>45743293
>Filename
you cheeky bugger. Hata no Sekai is quite a house.
Anyway, all real men are poets.

They talked briefly as I cuddled on the sofa with Sana and Sara, both asleep, their fluffy ears therapeutic. Dolly gently patted the top of my head, Aunn's lap a comfortable pillow, my eyes on that smoldering trash pile with mixed feelings, thoughts filling my head with lead. It was unbelievably difficult and painful to try to focus, meditate, and take control of my mind…

Mother on her knees, crying unlike anything I've ever seen before; a tragic gleam in her eyes setting that apart from every other time she begged for forgiveness…

Thinking about all that hurts very bad, so I stopped trying.

Marisa approached a moment later, broom in her hands, voice piercing the cotton inside my ears. “We're taking you somewhere safe…” Her expression had a conflicting quality to it, though she also seemed firm.

“Where?” I asked while getting up with a groan: This uniform grips so tightly, like many possessive hands. Sana and Sara kept sleeping, but Aunn was tense.

The rest also came forth, and I locked eyes with Sanae; she played with her fingers, disappointed yet worried. “… We've decided that the Moriyan temple is not safe; if Yukari tried taking you by force, I doubt anyone—even Suwako-sama—, could stop her, not on so short notice… Sorry, Hana dear.” She brushed my cheek, a worry seed planted inside my heart.

Frowning, I looked at Yuuka next, whose semblance was placid yet bore a perceptible pain beneath those blood irises. “I didn't protect you, my Hana. I don't trust myself to shoulder that.” It was not her fault; it was not! My heart thumped, though a warm hand on mine, Aunn's, at least made me remember to keep on breathing. “Eientei is also directly associated with Yukari, same for the Youkai Mountain; anywhere inside the Human Village would be asinine and, well…” She looked around Alice's destroyed house—who had her blue eyes back and the grimoire nowhere to be seen.

Their words all make sense, but they look uncomfortable and tense—minus Mima and Yuuka, who look the calmest—and as understanding dawned, my knees felt weak, my throat dried, and the world closed in around me.

“We're taking you to Reimu,” Marisa finally said, scratching her nape.

The silence could be touched.

Aunn's grip was as strong as a falling tree, her breath hitching. “N-No…” I try.

“She's the only one that did protect you there, Hana,” Alice stated, a firm hand on my shoulder. I looked at her with haunted eyes, begging for it to be a joke, but she didn't waver, tenderly holding me close. It felt like Dad's hugs. “I'll understand if you don't want to, but you know exactly our situation: Yukari will come after you sooner than later, and the weight of knowing you're in constant danger breaks our hearts… Hana, you saw it, didn't you?” She doesn't explain but, astonishingly, I understand exactly what she means.

Yet… recognizing it hurts. It brings from the depths fire—burning, raging fires that are almost two decades old. The overlay of desperate eyes hurts even more—why couldn't she have shown me those eyes so many years ago…?

“You don't need to go if you don't want to-ze, but that's our best option, Hanarin—and here,” she extends to me a small, magic stone: One I'd recognize anywhere. “Me and Anon used to use this to communicate when Reimu did bad stuff to him. Don't be afraid to use it, ‘kay? Something bad happens: you send a signal, and we'll be there in seconds with bloodlust to save our little girl~!” She giggles and, within a moment, I'm surrounded by love and agreement, everyone giving their words that they'll do their best to protect me after failing to do so today. It stings my heart like crazy that they blame themselves for M—Yukari's actions, but I can't articulate the words to pass on that feeling…

It eats me.

Still, Aunn firmly squeezes my hand with loving reassurance; Yuuka's hands on my hair are gentle, as are the dolls'; Sanae's godly aura is comfortable like a blanket; Alice's hand on my shoulder and Mima's presence ground me like bitter medicine—the most effective medicine—, and sensei's love, the sight of my half-siblings growing inside her big belly…

… They make me feel very warm.

Breathing in and out, I tried my best to ignore the hollow feeling, the screaming feeling, the burning feeling, and many others—the fest of misery squirming inside like weeds, meditation not working, and only keeping myself afloat with the sheer love around me… Everything inside told me 'No.', yet time and time again these women have shown they only want the best for me; Yuuka and Mima wouldn't plunge into such an option without thinking about it first, Sanae is very intelligent, she considered every available option; and the others have big hearts…

This truly is the best option, isn't it?

Swallowing a block of ice and controlling my body to stop trembling, I look at each of them and, with a voice barely louder than a whisper, I seal my fate: “Okay.”

… It's been so long, almost an entire year now…

I wonder how the Shrine's doing.

>>45746201
—
Me, sensei, and Aunn had left Alice's house almost ten minutes ago to brave the dark, cold skies of winter towards the Shrine, the travel silent and though Aunn kept close to me, my heart pounded all the way with cryptic speculation—it'll be all the same: an uncared-for dump without Father to fix things up, overgrown taking over; wood rotten and an acrid smell all over… But it'll be safe. At least that's what everyone believes in—fear grows rampant inside, as no one would stay with me since they must contact their other allies to concoct a plan for the Solstice fast; I said I'd okay alone, of course, I don’t want to burden them anymore—though a silly ember flicks inside, wishing things had changed; that Mother fixed the Shrine… As if…

I looked at sensei—one hand steering the broom and the other holding a bag filled with my presents, even the unwrapped ones, and sleeping essentials—, feeling lost, confused, exasperated, hopeless: I have seen this situation so many times…

… I remember Mother's eyes; their gleam.

Shaken, too.

The shrine was visible on the horizon, a decently lit fire amidst the darkness. “Here we are,” Sensei mutters as my heart tries to jump off my mouth, eyes widening and Aunn's hand on mine so tight—

Then we got close, and I was speechless.

… The shrine was repaired.

Even if covered under thin layers of snow, the changes were instantly noticeable. W-What the…?

We landed by the Torii gate and, frightened, I touched it—gasping and taking a step back. “H-Hana?!” Aunn jumped at my reaction. Sensei watched her surroundings wide-eyed.

“I-It's new—entirely new wood and paint… And the seals…” The sealing magic inside was unlike anything I've ever seen or felt, a complete contrast with the past, where the magic inside the gates was absent because Mother never bothered with it… But this? “… It's staggering—so much stronger than Yukari's sealing barriers inside the Fake Shrine.” I left the Torii gates with a confusing, ablaze feeling rumbling inside my stomach, looking around with doe-eyes; the path up and towards the Shrine had been entirely remade, not an ounce of overgrown in sight—

I stopped in front of the stairs by the donation box, hand trembling before gently touching the wood of the rails; the pylons; the walls…

… Everything was new. Made by her hands. Maintained with care.

Sensei whistled. “Reimu has kept herself busy…” Aunn nodded, her face contorted in a frown—a waggling tail revealing her true feelings about the sight of the revamped Hakurei Shrine. Somehow I doubted even the roof tiles were the same.

I can't help but remember a passage from one of Agatha's poems:

'Over time, a ship is fixed by replacing its parts. At one point, every part had been replaced. Is it still the same ship as before, or a new one?'

As always, she didn't answer, expecting the reader to do it… Nightmares echo inside, the crack of wood against flesh and bone, tears hitting the ground, the moaning of sinful pleasure—all the same in a parody of this place, a parody I partook in…

No matter how much it changes on the outside, it's still the same ship.

Sensei's hand lands on my shoulder and Aunn stands by my side, giving me worried eyes—warmth cascades down my face. “Nothing, just… Remembered some bad things.” I clean the tears and sensei is about to say something, probably along the lines of 'we don't need to do this', but inside a flame rages all of a sudden—of pride? Compassion…?

Or of vindication?

A flame that sees all this change and all it can utter is: 'lie'. A leading flame. “I'm okay.” Expression contorting in determination, feelings waging a war inside of me, I knock on the door…

Nothing…

Sensei knocks, her frown creased. “Oi, Reimu! Open this!” Nothing. “I know you know we're here—open this fucking door!”

Nothing. For minutes, nothing.

The flames inside roar. Doesn't she want to see me? After giving that show and begging for forgiveness…?

Who does that woman think she is?!

My fists tremble as hot tears well behind my eyes, mind consumed by a desire to turn tail and never come here again—run away from the venomous feeling of betrayal—, but something inside my heart holds me, and instead of keep knocking, I stomp hard around the shrine, making my way to the back door in the veranda, sensei to my side miming my actions. “I'm so sorry, Hanarin…” she whispers, her face trembling to hide a mass of feelings. Aunn whimpers, tail lowered and embarrassed—

—?

Was the backyard always so… bright?

From the skies and through the tarp of darkness, it just looked like torches, but torches don't shine so brilliantly. A supernatural feeling fills my heart as my pace turns shy, something in the very air compelling me to walk forward; hands sweating; and—

Turning the corner, I just…freeze at the sight: a massive ‘cocoon’ of scarlet fire floats on the Shrine's pond, reflecting on the petrol blue of the water like a radiant pyre.

I whisper the only word that comes into my mind: “Mother…?”

>>45746212
—
It is as beautiful as it is frightening—my chest clenches, legs all wobbly.

Life has shown me weird, confusing things—geometry-based powers, a good start—yet never something struck me as… mystical. The Gap, maybe, but even that has a set of rules, no matter how convoluted and confusing. It makes sense. The condensed ball of faith and fire makes it hard to breathe, its bright light and flames melting away the snow around the pond, the scorching air bears this supernatural feeling…

That's mother. Those are the flames she'd used to destroy the statue…

What's happening here? What is she doing?

Sensei watches awestruck; same for Aunn, though I don’t pay attention to them as, ethereally, the flames start to… rise. Yes, but rising as if a cohesive unit of bone, flesh, and blood—a limb of fire.

As the cocoon dematerializes, Mother appears in its center, closed eyes and in a meditative pose, looking as peaceful as a Buddha. The fire starts to make sense and gain massive form and sense as she, after a short sigh, gets up from the meditation on the surface of the pond. She stretches her arms, the limbs of flames mimicking the movements and feelings in an entrancing show.

Wings. Butterfly wings.

Then, Mother turns to us—the wings following each movement with tear-inducing fluidity—and something gets immediately clear with the fire framing her scarred body as if a sacred heart… Mother's very much naked.

Despite carrying an inferno on her back, she freezes.

I gawk at her bare body: the plump breasts and fair skin, the bewilderingly strong physique, wide hips and thick thighs; her well-maintained femininity, and…

… I feel nothing.

Lust has predominated my recent life like a fiendish influence, taking me down routes and paths I've come to immensely regret every day of my life. Father's body was my doom; Yukari's my forbidden fruit. The pattern was clear and something deep inside whispered about how stunning Mother’s body was, expecting me to follow the patterns, to sin again…

I don't feel an ounce of lust.

I just watched in shock before an arm hid my eyes and a shriek echoed, followed by the sound of someone falling into water. “REIMU! W-what the hell was that?!” Sensei yelled, her hand trembling like crazy and her voice loaded with aggravation. Aunn whimpered lowly, probably hiding her eyes too.

Mother's characteristic hacking cough echoed as her head—I guess?—left the water, shock still processing inside my mind. “H-Hana?! I-I… Bhuwrr, so cold…” I take Sensei's arm off my eyes, something inside withering with the lack of those weird crimson flames, the last embers disappearing inside Mother's shivering skin… It's cathartic to see her suffer.

Just a bit.

“W-What are you doing here?! It hasn't passed a d-day! S-Shouldn't you t-think—aaah—can you all j-just turn for a moment, please?”

We immediately do as she says, and Sensei sighs, scratching her scalp… Though a mischievous grin rises, “So saggy~I'm much prettier, am I not?”

I look at Marisa-sensei's chest. I could use it as an ofuda drawing board. Her hips, thighs, too…

Better not to say that out loud—though she seems to have psychically picked up on it, giving me a long stare—and, in this weird line, look at my chest…

… Don't think I'll ever get to Mother’s level. Aunn leans on me with a kind smile. “Yours are very nice, Hana-san! Don't feel down!”

Sensei giggles, making me blush terribly— “You can turn now.” Mother's voice is tense and loaded as we turn; she's dried off—floated, or those flames?—and is draped in her miko outfit, slightly flush—embarrassment drowned by overwhelming confusion and hope just as great. I wonder if her heart is pounding like mine… “Sorry for the immodesty—my clothes aren't fireproof—”

“We fear Yukari might come back for Hana.” The blush and awkwardness fade away with Sensei's strict and firm voice. In the span of a second, Mother looks ready to battle. “… We fear anywhere else, she'd manage to do it—so we wanted Hana to stay with you as a safety measure.” Mother grimaces, hope scattering as understanding settles; inside, the war of feelings rages on, and the nauseating inclination to throw it all up nags my soul.

“You'll stay here with them?” She asks Sensei, arms crossed, eyes on her pregnant belly with an impossible-to-read expression. Sensei gestures a 'no'. “… You two go inside; I'll be there in a few minutes—” She seemed like she wanted to say more but held it back… Agony.

I peeked at Aunn and was met with a frown mirroring mine. The sudden shift in the atmosphere cools my lungs…

“Go inside, Hanarin, Aunn,” she says, fixing her hat. “Me and the 'Mu have postponed a conversation for some time now.” Marisa-sensei's smile didn't reach me; her eyes wide and posture tense. “… I'll be okay; ze~trust your teacher!”

Another second of silence passed, and, with a distressed Aunn pulling on my hand, we went inside the shrine, wide eyes jumping between the women.

The war inside of me has turned into a storm…

>>45746236
>>45746212
>>45746201
part 1 of the 'Good daughters always come back home' arc! The daughter is, de facto, 'home'.
also, sadly I come to inform that Reimu's not fighting the finale naked AND on fire, despite how metal and cool that'd be. Simply too far off, as it was used here more as a gag to lighten the mood of previous chapters and a view into Hana's mind and what her sin kink will behave like towards Reimu.
Did a small visualization if anyone wants to see, advised it's naked 'mu: https://files.catbox.moe/95c9jt.png

>>45746236
>I don't feel an ounce of lust.
Looks like Yukari will have her work cut out for her

>>45746274
>a view into Hana's mind and what her sin kink will behave like towards Reimu.
One could argue the point that she barely sees reimu as her mother, so the effects are not there

>>45746236
>I look at Marisa-sensei's chest. I could use it as an ofuda drawing board. Her hips, thighs, too…
Every chapter needs some Maribully~

>>45746608
the Marikick-back will be fucking insane

>>45746457
A question of how well the nurture can suppress the nature, and yukari's nurture off doing too well atm

>>45746970
The sin kink may have been kicked off by Yukari, but now that its set in and she's already fucked her dog, dad, aunt(kasen), and granny(yukari) we'll have to see how well the 'mu can break the spell. Hopefully it hasn't set in like a grease stain, always lingering even if faded.
I don't think that Electra complex is coming out any time soon though, not without some Satori brand mind bleach.mm

>>45746929
How will Marisa get ahead? Her ending will have to be the sweetest out of all them. Maybe the near 40 yr old witch can hit a growthspurt after being nerfed by the shooms after all these years...?

>>45746236
>Wings. Butterfly wings.
hehehe, fairy queen.

>>45747323
>How will Marisa get ahead?
… great question
>Her ending will have to be the sweetest out of all them
will probably be; the endearing family autismo will make sure of that. Also, got something in store for the height conundrum

>>45747332
basically that. The idea came from Reimu's butterfly motif and this image here. Though the naked bit + chosen color to the flames (first was baby blue for redeeming mother points, then red and white) are references to elden ring. Though, the scarlet coloration really just links to the name of eosd's menu theme and was mainly picked because of that.
sorry for the sudden bout of autismo~

>>45747470
>sorry for the sudden bout of autismo~
Oh that's fair. Just get ready for me to drop the most autistic chapter too date, upon which many a bad idea was sacrificed.

>>45747309
The sin kink "may" go away if the Hana can identify the root craving where the kink comes from, I personally don't think the mu can do much beyond showing her daughter glimpses of something closer to what a mother and daughter relationship looks like, which probably won't come to fruition till the baby boom comes full swing where she sees a lot of it and chooses to think on it concerning her mom.

>>45747386
>got something in store for the height conundrum
Riding on Anon's shoulders?
Memes aside she's almost 40, she isn't growing and hasn't been for the last 20 years, if it wasn't for Eirin she probably wouldn't survive childbirth

>>45747591
The question is if she can do so successfully, she was at best negligent and will have to get past walls upon walls of PTSD to even remotely approach it, time which she doesn't have in any capacity. I hope she can cut through it in the days/weeks before solstice

>>45747640
>Riding on Anon's shoulders?
… maybe
well, that's life!

>>45747684
not the guy, but my bet is that Reimu is gonna lay the groundwork like giving talks, being a mirror to Hana's actions/sins and mainly a living proof that you can escape the shadow of your mistakes, and Anon will strike at the core of the problem just like Hana did when she left home. Would be nice if the Mu gives Hana the tools to solve her problems and Anon guides her there with his support and love

>>45688710
“NO! YOU ARE BEING INAPPROPRIATE! I DON’T WANNA DO THIS ANYMORE!” Lemontene shouted. So many bizarre feelings had begun shifting around in her head. Such thoughts like the freakout with Daiyousei. She couldn’t even begin to try and transcript everything she wanted to move to her mouth if she wanted.

“You know what? Fine. You wanna whine so much? Then you can sit this one out. Ruukuto! Blast this house away to bits!

“I uh… I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“...I’m out of fuel.”

It was unbelievable how redhot Rikako’s face was getting. It was like her genes merged with that of a fresh tomato. “NO YOU AREN'T, THAT IS A COMPLETE LIE! YOU RUN ON CACTUS ENERGY YOU SCRAP-BRAINED SCUTTLEBUG! YOU DON'T OPERATE ON A FUEL SYSTEM You should be ashamed. How dare you defy me?”

Rikako wanted to continue her verbal assaults, and was just about ready to once again, however a sudden pair of voices started to ring out, stopping everyone in her tracks.

“There! There they are, right over here! I knew I sensed something fishy.”

“Melancholy, I'm sorry but we have some very serious business to be attending to elsewhere. We’re already running late, so I’m not sure if this situation is something me and Sariel need to-”

“EAT SHIT AND DIE!” Rikako malded in white-hot rage, the scientist immediately threw her expensive laser gun at whoever was behind her. In the moment she didn’t know nor care who it was nor the repercussions of her actions, just as long as she could hit something.

https://youtu.be/sFdPrTAVX_4

That something was the god of Makai, Shinki. Accompanied by a very tall, imposing angelic figure and what appeared to be a jumbo-sized version of one of Alice’s Dolls. Rikako, thanks to her hissyfit, has now just thrown a hunk of solid metal into the face of a demi-god. Nice first impression, jackass.

“OW!” Shinki groaned in pain, immediately going to rub her forehead. “That’s not nice. What on earth was that for, Young Lady?”

“See! I told you guys. This is that rotten lemonade fairy from the Human Village I've been talking about recently. Not only do they sell poisoned beverages, now it looks like her & her goonies are spying on Alice too! Or maybe they're gonna try and poison everyone during the birthday party!" said Medicine.

"...You guys sell what?" Asked the imposingly large Angle accompanying Shinki .

“I… I uhh…” Rikako was speechless, all that built-up rage seemingly drained almost immediately. What was once a scowl was replaced with anxiety. She quickly looked to her sides for any potential escape route, but ‘tene and Ruukuto seemed to lack any good answer for what was going on either. It was quite possibly one of the most awkward situations possible to experience firsthand.

"...Huh? We were the bad guys all along?" a confused Lemontene asked to her squadmates. If it wasn't evident enough already, It’s gonna be one of those nights.

>>45747889
Alright, The rewrite's finally out. Only took me like a couple days of procrastination later but it's here.
Have I fixed it or are there still problems afoot? Living on a prayer that it's the former.

>>45747889
>YOU RUN ON CACTUS ENERGY YOU SCRAP-BRAINED SCUTTLEBUG
huh, that's going into the lorebooks. Good to know!
>"...Huh? We were the bad guys all along?"
oh, the misery…
>>45747901
you did well, Anon, you may rest now
but first…
>Asked the imposingly large Angle
who's that character? Are they a master angler? God knows we need one to compete with Keine and Koishi

>>45747889
>Asked the imposingly large Angle accompanying Shinki .
I guess you could say Sariel was being a little... obtuse!

I felt a pleasant satisfaction as I guided our guests back to the exit of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Seija walked behind Goro, clutching a bag that contained the maid outfit she was forced to wear as part of their wager, Goro walked ahead of her in stride, revealing in his own victory, and Flandre walked in front of both of them, marching like a tin soldier she'd been shown a little prior. It was good to have a peaceful, pleasant meeting for once.

"Hmm." Goro stopped, looking around the halls. "Do you all hear that?" He asked.

"Augh, it's probably just the wind, how's this hall so long anyway?" Seija asked, bumping into Goro's back.

"Oh, oh, I know this one! It's because Sakuya's power over time can also affect space!" Miss Flandre proudly announced.

"That's very good Flan-Chan! Although, I wonder if it couldn't be something else, Sakuya-San, this mansion isn't 'possessed' is it?" he asked.

"It's most certainly haunted I think, but possessed? I don't believe Miss Patchouli would stand for such a thing." I replied.

"So I've been told, Seija, help me out for a moment..." He asked, closing his eyes and hovering his hand in the air as if he was manipulating some unseen contraption.

In that same moment, they vanished.

"Eh? They're going back without me aren't they! No fair!" Miss Flandre said, before shooting through the closest window intent on catching up with them.

I sighed, and made for a broom closet. I hope they didn't get stuck in the walls or something, it took months and many renovations to get the corpse smell out the last time.

---

It was like being submerged in an icy lake.

I couldn't see, hear, smell, feel anything, as if all of existence had collapsed on itself as I had Seija flip open the thread out of which I heard the noise. But how then was it, that I was still 'here'? some part of me was alive or at least, I had some idea of myself after all. Myself...

I clung to that thought and turned it inward, looking at whatever was reflected on my being and I found... nothing. I tried to reach for the bracelet's power, it's way of worming into absolutely anything and swarmed in whatever direction I could and I found... nothing.

Nothing.

But I was thinking, observing myself, that was something, right? And that humming, that whisper I had heard, it came from here didn't it? What if, I stopped thinking?

...

The lights, before they had blinded me, now I could see the void around them, the world, my existence, the light did not exist, the void did, my thoughts did.

I willed myself to move as I would if I had existed and remained still. That wouldn't do, no, I couldn't move as if this world were real, only my thoughts, only the void was. So, I looked out and saw myself, my head, my thoughts, both inside and around me. I sunk into my thoughts, the real within the lights, over and over again, like a mirror within a mirror. I thought about the humming and how it had felt, at once I was within light years of it, in another moment I was within two yards, and at last, I thought myself on that shining isle, with a single tree and a solitary girl, humming some tune.

I tried to call out to her, but she didn't notice me, so I thought myself in front of her and she squeaked.

"My! This is a surprise, I didn't believe anyone's ever snuck up on me." She said, placing a hand on her chest. "Although it's always nice to be noticed and I suppose it would be you to do it, nosy Papa Goro." She said, with a curtsy.

I thought to speak, but there wasn't a message to be conveyed. Words existed after all, right?

"Ah, cat got your tongue?" She said, pawing at the air, in a moment as a cat, then not, but still a feline somehow...

"I suppose it's all fine and good. Mother always thinks how you're most dangerous when you open your mouth." She said.

Ah, how was she speaking? In this place that was in my head? Or maybe this was a space like the HSE? Non-Euclidean as Yukari had called it? No, surly not, how could a space contain itself many times over and still be the same space? It was not as if their existed another direction of travel, quite the opposite, it felt as though the only space that existed was what I've observed.

They're were only a few beings I knew who'd reside in such a space.

I looked from above down at my head and tried my best to pluck things from the real, Yukari? No, she wasn't here, but the Gap? Yes, a reflection of it anyway. Apathy? A little all around. I percieved both alone and the space was empty besides them. Ah, have to perceive the girl as well.

"Thank you, it's rather hard talking like this when one doesn't exists. And as for Mother, you'd be surprised at how much she thinks about you, about everyone in Gensokyo, I'm jealous of all that attention you know? But it's a little better now, after all, you share her curse, to love all of Gensokyo and wish the best for it." She told me.

So that settled it. This was the HSE, but how? That thing has yet to be born after all. And maybe....

>>45748645
I thought of Oiwa, one of my unborn children, but she did not appear.

"My sisters, Oiwa and Tsukuyomi, are here, but they're not as noisy I am, but perhaps if you squint, you can see Seija standing beside you?" She said.

My thoughts turned to Seija, trying to see her, but just the same she did not show. Maybe it's because she wasn't from here? Or, is this the place we all come from? And that name she spoke in the same breath as Oiwa, Tsukuyomi? Had Seija picked a name and told this child? Wait, a place that only exists when perceived, where unborn children lie, I began to panic, did I tell Seija to flip us out of existence?!

"Don't fret! Existence is quite a stubborn thing you know! It has that 'bouyent' property Mother Seija talks about, I'm sure you'll find yourself existing soon enough and don't worry, there's no mass here, so no gravity or time for that matter, not a second passes while you don't exist. On the other hand, aren't you glad? This is the Sagely power Mother Seija and you were seeking after all! The one that will allow Oiwa and Tsukuyomi to be born and just as with the Land of the Back Door or the Realm of the Gap, it exists well before it's future masters."

Non-existence as a location? The way of birthing Oiwa and Tsukuyomi? What had become of me? Where was Seija? Was I within the HSE? Too many questions, too much in the real, I struggled to comprehend it all.

"It's alight, it'll all make sense in time." She said, comforting me. "You know, Mother couldn't conquer her abilities alone either right? She had help from her own partner, an astronomer, someone who gazes at the stars. It's another way you two are similar, although you and Mother Seija have a very different relationship I think. But your existence approaches I fear and there's something I must ask you." She said, plucking a shining leaf from the tree.

"Time grows short and the day of emancipation, Father's, Mother's, my own, draws near. If tragedy is to be averted, many must play their part, including the both of you, but without this, you will fail." She said, motioning toward the shining tree.

I saw it, glimpses of the future. We die, burn alive, get cut, eaten, smashed into nothingness, get shredded at the most granular level by unexplainable phenomenon, and in all of them, our children perish.

"If you take this, one more piece will be set in the right place. For Mother Seija and yourself to exist at your leisure, a skill like unto Mother's gap which took her centuries to tame, you two will have in mere moments. But you will walk a terrible road as she did and know a suffering akin to hers."

Either I accept this or our children die? There isn't much to think about then! And it occurs to me, something that doesn't exist, but may soon, I thought of a happy future.

"Thank you, and, take heart. Watching you suffer may be humorous, but that's only if you live to fumble again." She said.

---

The hallway was sterile and smelled strange. The walls seemed to be covered in strange sort of plaster and the floor was reflective, but didn't feel solid like marble. At the end of it, I heard a pair of cries and walked through the doors to another hallway.

The hallway was the same, sterile and strange smelling. At the end of it I heard a pair of cries, louder this time, so, I ran through the doors faster.

The hallway was the same, save for people, idly walking or standing in place, again, I heard the cries and rushed to the other doors.

The hallway was the same, but now there were more people then before and the cries were now screams, so, I pushed, knuckled, and wormed my way to the end.

The hallway was a densely packed room of bodies, several hallways removed from the first, and I sludge through it trying to make my ways to the deafening cries, until I reached the end of the hall.

The room was empty, empty, except for a table with a basket, at the floor of which was a horned woman in a blue cardigan and a pink dress. In the basket were two babies, clutching each other in the shape of a heart. They were cold, empty, stiff.

All the happiness, all that warmth, it had been snuffed out, traded for the crushing misery. The room was sterile, uncaring, dead.

It was waste, it was wrong, it was evil.

I looked back at the hallway which had impeded me so and found it empty! Empty!! I wanted to cry, to beg for them back, to scream in anguish, to kill whatever fowl thing had taken them from me, to wallow into nothingness, to join them on the other side. But I couldn't, they were gone, they had never be born, so there was no soul to seek out in eternity. And Seija, my wife, she was crushed under the delusion that they'd be waiting for her? Or could she not bear the truth? I couldn't go to her, not yet, not until I put a stop to it.

>>45748651
I snuffed out so many lights that year. It was so easy, so easy to let go and feel nothing at the evil things I did. I began to crave it, that apathetic void, like a pain killer, it kept the mind-killing agony of loss at bay. Every so often I'd relapse, swear I'd confess, confide in someone, make amends, once I even chopped off my hands, but the cold, so cold, would settle in and remind me of what I had to do.

When I had finished, for just a single, solitary second I felt satisfaction. It was the last, errant emotion anyone would ever feel. For one hundred years, everyone was allowed to live, upon which they would die and trade their place with someone new. The world was made constant, there would be no more curses, no blessing, I had slain fortune. So, with nothing left to do, I took my place in line, and waited for my turn to die.

And it was so cold.

---

Serenity. It wasn't an emotion I was accustomed to as an Amanojaku. Really, I thought it was some con invented by Buddhists and the like to get people to live frugal lives and give generously to the cause. Now, I wasn't so sure.

When I had flipped open that thread Goro had pointed me to, it was like the world had opened anew. I didn't shun happiness, love, and the other things other people so enjoyed, instead I sailed above them, happy and content.

I would've been glad to lie there for all eternity, had I not felt the touch of my lover, beckoning me to his side, so I followed, gliding on the seas of the serene world we found ourselves in until I landed upon an isle occupied by just a tree and a little girl.

"Mother Seija, I knew when Father Goro arrived you wouldn't be long." She said.

Like a wisp, I flew around her and prodded her cheek, not feeling the need to jeer or make light of her. She gently shrugged me off.

"My, you seem to enjoy not existing? I'm quite jealous you know." She told me with a smile.

I smiled back.

"Well, another first! a visitor who's not stupified. I almost fear I'll not have moments like this for quite some time. Ah, what I'd do to ask you to stay for a spell longer, if only that were for me to decide, but unfortunately, your existence approaches and something must be done." She said, plucking a petal from the gleaming tree.

"Mother Seija, you haven't forgiven yourself for what you did to Father Goro have you?" She asked.

As if a log had hit me in the head, I stopped. No, this awful feeling, this 'pleasure' that was rapt in pain. I didn't want it! I screamed with my eyes at the girl to take it back, let me have my lover, don't dredge that terrible deed to the surface!

She looked sympathetic. "I'm sorry, but these are your feelings after all, your futures as well as your penance. If you wish for Oiwa and the other child to be happy, you must make amends, it's the only way to set your piece into place."

"Tsukuyomi." I thought, taking the petal.

"Tsukuyomi? Ah, that's a bold name. I'm sure my sister will love it."

---

The battle had been Hell on earth. I didn't know who we had fought or what it was for, all I knew was that we'd won and...

I looked across the field and saw him, Goro, holding our two children, they were crying and he looked at me, an expression of grim acceptance. Across his body where brands, black, encrusted burns that made massive scars across his face and the rest of his body. Closing his eyes, he, and our children, faded from view.

...and that I had chosen my desires over my family.

I gave chase, for years, decades, centuries, I ran after him. Sometimes I'd get a hint, a rumor, enough hope to squash later. Eventually I gave up looking.

Journeying, I went to every temple I could, every pathetic place of worship I could find and I prostrated myself, begging for a chance at salvation, at mercy and redemption of some sort in the small hope I would see my family again. Buddhist, Taoist, Shinto, Christian, Muslim, whatever, they all sent me away, threw me to the winds, and they were right to.

One day, while I was aimlessly wandering, I found a mountain, a heft of pure, solid stone. I set myself beside it, knelt, and slammed my head into it. Again and again, day after day, I wracked my head against the stone. Sometimes I'd pass out, other times weather would take me, but because of this awful, forsaken Youkai body, and the legends I had earned in that battle by my betrayal, I yet lived.

I cried for penance, I yelled in fury at the world, I did everything one could imagine someone slamming their head against a mountain would do, until one day, I was on the other side.

Looking back at the hole I bore, I thought about my family, about the faces so many years of smashing one's head against a rock couldn't erase, and I lied down, and waited to die.

>>45748659
Seija and Goro, in the same moment they had left the SDM, arrived at the HSE. They looked at each other and collapsed in each other's arms. The visions of the future they had seen, were not real, but all the same, the decisions they had made within them in were.

---
Sorry for the extra post, but dinner soon and I don't have time to cut this down.
I had many other bad ideas, pretty sure I picked the best from the lot and it's been awhile since these two were traumatized.
Next chapter will be a Takane one so I can detox.

>"...You guys sell what?" Asked the imposingly large Angle accompanying Shinki .

>>45747889
Those gobbers will siphon off jobbing energy from the job squad. Thank them for their hard work.

>>45749059
A day I the life of an angle.
The angle bemusedly smiled as she clicked post, chuckling to herself, before releasing in horror she forgot to attach the appropriate Koishi avatar image.
In her haste she tried to delete the post, only to find that somebody had responded to her already.
She had been called a redditor and baiter.
Her EGO shattered at the virtual shaming she retired to her bed, turning her gamer laptop off and retiring back under the covers.
Surely no virtual fairy could find her here, surely.

>>45718022
Aya could barely remember sitting down with Hana during her meeting with Ran in Mayohiga. Dozens of stories were popping up around Gensokyo: Pregnant teachers, dead fairies, amanojaku traipsing around with human prisoners… and Aya neglected to investigate almost everything. While ignoring a media whirlwind of this scale would be enough to get a tengu thrown off the mountain, one morning allowed Aya to squeak by.

As usual, Aya woke up that morning with a desperate need to hug her trash bin. Eirin’s medicine supposedly kept her babies fine, but it did little for the mother’s burdens. She considered Toutetsu’s offer to “eat” her visible stomach and wondered if it could extend to every burden of her pregnancy. Imagining what the mob boss would be like after eating two months of morning sickness, fatigue, tenderness, random pains… it was probably better not to.

A pounding came at Aya’s door, the poor thing taking more abuse this past fall than ever before. “SHAMEIMARUUUUU! THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING! COME OUT FOR YOUR EVALUATION!” Crap, Megumu finally stopped acting all buddy-buddy and went into full manager mode. Aya’s recent manuscripts may have been up to Yukari’s standards, but they definitely weren’t up to a daitengu’s. Especially not during a peak season like this. Aya had barely avoided an evaluation for the last week, but she was skating on thin ice. Not the best position for a nauseous mother-to-be.

The reporter eyed her bedroom window, a basket full of stomach acid nestled in her arms as she formulated an escape plan. The seasons were changing, so she should be able to catch a low-pressure system and ride it away from the mountain. Before she could figure out the rest of her plot, her body collapsed as she added to her bucket of regrets. Coincidentally, this was when Megumu caused her door to collapse. All it took was one kick to send it to the floor. Her assistant sauntered in behind her, taking the chance to snoop around the tengu’s home before Megumu’s inevitable blow up.

Aya could barely move as her boss marched into her room. Figuring it was worth a shot, she dragged her heavy limbs into a prostration pose. It was meaningless. The daitengu, wearing her highest geta, picked up her subordinate by the collar until they were eye-level. The daitengu’s red eyes burned with the fury of a thousand middle-managers. “I’m not mad, just disappointed. You had enough time to get all the way to the Bamboo Forest with a little hustle. Yet you’re lying here, reeking of vomit.”

“Seems like someone partied too hard last night.” That damn fox was poking her belly with one finger, prodding it like child. “It looks like you were eating a lot, too~”

“This is a disastrous trend, Shameimaru. Your writing is banal. Your photography looks amateurish. Your personal hygiene is miserable. Your attempts at escape are laughable. None of this is anything like you. You’re even building up fat! Do you have anything to say for yourself?!” Screw disappointed, Megumu was definitely angry. Hanging from her boss’ grip, Aya squeaked out against the accusation that offended her most.

“That’s… not… fat.” Tsukasa started to giggle as Megumu, annoyance blanketing her face, dropped one hand down to Aya’s abdomen. Feeling around the spherical lump that Aya’s belly had become, the daitengu’s expression changed to confusion before she finally set her subordinate down and turned around. Silence filled the room as Tsukasa snuck a look at her boss, then shied away in terror.

“Aya. You’re… pregnant?” Her tone was flat. Unreadable.
“Uh huh.” In less than a second, Megumu hefted Aya by the waist and spun her around, her face nestled against the reporter’s belly. It was wet.

“AND YOU DIDN’T TELL ME?! THIS IS AMAZING!” Every trace of anger was replaced with nonstop, saccharine doting. “I want a report every day! Screw the HSE, Bunbunmaru is release daily updates about my precious subordinate’s little bundles of joy! How many are you expecting?Doyouhaveanynamespickedout? IknowyouneverjoinedanyofthenightcrawlssothisguymusthavebeenreallyspecialdoyouknowhisnamewheredoesheliveIcanforcehimtomarryyouifhetriestorunbutifyoupickedhimhemustbeasweetieTsukasawritethisalldown—“

After an interrogation far worse than any she suffered before, Aya was barely able to convince the daitengu not to turn her newspaper into a maternity guide and more importantly, refrain from ruining relations with the HSE. Thus, Aya was officially ordered to add a column regarding childcare to every new edition of Bunbunmaru alongside her Yukari’s mandated articles about the HSE. Unofficially, she was finally allowed to take back her newspaper, one column at a time.

(Part 68)

>>45749124
I feel like this is a reference to something but I don't know what

>>45749131
>amanojaku traipsing around with human prisoners
Did she ever get around to the article of when Reimu kicked their asses?
>IknowyouneverjoinedanyofthenightcrawlssothisguymusthavebeenreallyspecialdoyouknowhisnamewheredoesheliveIcanforcehimtomarryyouifhetriestorunbutifyoupickedhimhemustbeasweetieTsukasawritethisalldown
This is the first time I've liked this gimmick.

>>45749675
>Reimu win
Not yet, that's one thing I absolutely have to get in. That and some fluff with Reimu. I'll likely cap off with Marisa inviting Aya to the birthday party because that update specifically said it was "two weeks away". I'll probably skim the archives at some point to check out if there's anything else Aya was specifically mentioned in.

>>45748659
>>45748651
>>45748645
So they vist hata, see vision of what could be, and then go insane in the membrane.
Yup I understand completely <---doesn't understand

>>45749131
>expecting?Doyouhaveanynamespickedout? IknowyouneverjoinedanyofthenightcrawlssothisguymusthavebeenreallyspecialdoyouknowhisnamewheredoesheliveIcanforcehimtomarryyouifhetriestorunbutifyoupickedhimhemustbeasweetieTsukasawritethisalldown—“
I wonder if this is just normal for tengu when they get flustered?

>>45692501
(22)

The gifts were a welcome reprieve. All eyes were on Hana and we could ignore a certain purple clad presence in the room, even if her gift dwarfed all of the others, almost demanding attention.

After Hana was pulled to a chair by her two rabbit friends-so nice to see her be friendly to new people- she began opening her gifts. First was Marisa’s horn she had acquired from somewhere. As long as someone’s collection somewhere hadn’t lost a piece, I wasn’t too bothered. Hana tried to blow into it, only for no sound to appear. After Marisa explained it was enchanted so only the person you wanted to would hear it, Hana blew into it again. Judging by how she cringed and cried out, it worked. Next Hana’s hand reached for my gift. I held my breath, eager to see where this went. She removed the wrapping and opened it up, skimming past the introduction and turning to the pages chronicling the articles about her birth. I had debated whether to include them or not, reading about her parents which be the last thing she would want on a day like this. But I figured she had the right to know about how things used to be. Hana was silent at first, fingers hovering over the headline “Hakurei Heir Born!” Below it, a photo of Reimu and Anon beaming with joy-I’m still surprised how young they looked, how things change-and nestled Reimu’s arms was a newborn baby. That day was certainly one to remember. The quiet shrine had bustled with activity, everyone eager to see this as a turning point for the couple. Reimu was overwhelmed with the attention, nodding along with advice given by mothers and muttering out thanks for the gifts that piled up. She was so occupied that Aya was allowed to roam around unopposed, even letting her take multiple photos without even a harsh word. Marisa was ecstatic the entire time, that is until Hana was passed into her arms where she lost all confidence upon holding something so delicate in her arms, struggling to maintain her composure. Anon was as proud as a father could be, taking the time to stay close to his wife and dote on his daughter, like how things should have been.

But as Hana read on, a smile appeared on her face. I let the nervousness leave my heart and let pride come in as I walked her through the rest of the book. Spellcard knowledge, some of her favorite recipes, and the last story Akyuu ever wrote, never published. When she hugged me, I’d admit that I was very full of myself. This was what it should be like. No thoughts of enslavement, of certain death during the solstice, or evil lurking right over my shoulder. Just a teenage girl just happy to live in the moment.

The next gift was from those two rabbits that Hana had befriended, so good to see that all those rumors about her harnessing youkai weren’t true. Hana unwrapped the silly wrapping paper and opened the wooden box within. They excitedly announced the contents to the whole room, and I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. Eientei’s beauty products were pricey and hard to get, and Hana got the whole set. But Tewi had a gift of her own, and Hana pulled it out of the package to reveal-oh my goodness. A revealing piece of lacy lingerie. Even I had never worn something like this before-not like I was against it- so Tewi had some real nerve gifting this to a teenager. By the time everyone started to look around for her, Tewi was already gone.

Wanting to clear the air, Hana grabbed the next gift. It had a lovely quilted cloth case, very excellent quality. Hana pulled out a small leather-bound book. Huh, must be a professional job, is that hand stitching I see? Oh nice. I heard Sanae explained she had written all the prayers herself. So hand written as well? Very nice.

After that, Hana picked up a small envelope. When Alice mentioned it was from her father, Hana’s face turned contemplative. Nobody spoke a word as she opened the letter and read it. The silence continued on until Hana lowered the letter, staring ahead . Aunn had already nuzzled herself up to the young shrine maiden. Fishing around in my pocket, I handed her a handkerchief, because she just had some cake on her face, that was all. Just after the girl was done wiping her eyes, Yukari butted in, forcing me away from the girl as she moved closer. She was so sickeningly sweet at her, calling herself “Mama” Something was definitely wrong, and it only took a few seconds for me to find out when Yukari revealed her gift.

>>45750758
(23)

The box fell away to show what was inside. I had seen my share of art before. There were quite a few artists in the village that produced all sorts of paintings and other pieces of art, and Remilia had let me see her private collection a few times. But this was way more grandiose then even the greatest piece of the vampires collection. Even the photos I’ve seen of statues in the outside worlds couldn’t compare. I was almost caught in by it being made of solid gold that I failed to take in all the details. In almost life-like detail, there was Yukari and Hana, and Hana was in Yukari’s arms and-oh no.

It all made sense now. Hana’s skittishness around Yukari that never crossed the line into fear or anger, how she always tried to get in close and touch Hana, the insistence on being called Mama. Hana and Yukari were- It seemed like everyone else came to the same conclusion, as the tension that was almost buried before reached its ugly head again. Yukari stood over Hana, her hand on her back seeming way too familiar now “As for the uniform, here, Hana-Chan~! Let’s see how cute you are in this”! I stumbled back, wanting to get away as far as possible.

Then all hell broke lose.

A line of dolls appeared before me, knifes and other tiny weaponry bared, for all the good it would do. Something that seemed like a wound in the universe appeared over Hana’s body and her clothes exploded outward, and when the wound closed up she was standing there, teary-eyed in a outfit not unlike Yukari’s.

That was when everyone decided to attack. Yuuka lunged forward to attack, her punch only hitting empty air. Alice glowed brighter the the sun and then in her hands was a grimoire , Youma energy pouring out of it faster and heavier then I could get a track of. Marisa aimed her mini-hakkero, collateral damage far out of her mind. Even Sanae stood upright, her gohei out and a look of pure fury on her face. Before I could say any prayers, I felt a small hand on my own. Tewi looked up at me, tugging at me. I let her rush me out the door, almost not noticing a sobbing and panicking Aunn trying to twist her way out of Mamizou’s grip along side us.

“My, My~look at this, Hana-chan. It seems they don’t approve of our relationship” Yukari chuckled from behind me. The weight in my gut got worse, and it was only with the surprisingly strong grip of Tewi that I was pulled out of the door. Out we went down the path, far away enough so that the house was out of sight. I slumped down, feeling like I had run a marathon. Aunn was on the ground inconsolable as she sobbed, her face ugly with snot and tears.

Mamizou and Tewi looked at each other for a moment and started to back away “This is close enough to the village, the two of you can handle yourselves, yes? I’ve got to look into some things, so be careful.” Mamizou said, sighing to herself. But even she couldn’t hide the edge in her voice. Tewi, Sana and Sara all nodded together.

Mamizou darted off into the trees, while the rabbit trio proceeded to-go a few yards away and huddle together, whispering among themselves, sometimes throwing glances our way.

Aunn rose to a sitting position, still sniffling. “She’s been hurting Hana and I never figured it out” she sobbed “I’m the worst komaniu. I shoulda protected her more, and Anon too”

I reached out to pat her on the back, and she nuzzled towards me. “Hey, none of us knew, don’t blame yourself We’re still gonna make a plan to beat her. We just have to change a few things, that’s all” I hated myself for saying a lie. I had no idea what this meant. Yukari must be aware of all of us plotting against her, and Hana was right under her thumb. It was worse then we could have ever imagined. The real possibility that one of us might die opposing her arose in my mind again, and the pit in my stomach grew. Even if they didn’t target me, they’d target my family and that made me feel-

Angry. It was like a great hand reached into my stomach and yanked out the knot of dread and filled the opening with burning coals. My family, who I raised and loved, who had nothing to do with all of this, being held hostage by someone who did so much wrong. Then Hana, who never had a choice in having a happy upbringing, only to be perverted by the very same woman that tormented her father. Her being called mama made me sick. I was already neck deep into this, backing out is not an option.

Aunn looks over at me, head tilted questioningly. “Come on, we can’t protect her like this can we?” I say, bouncing to my feet. I paused for a moment, looking to hear any explosions or see lights raining down from the sky. Nothing. I guess that means everything is alive then. “We’re going back, you’d be better off at Hana’s side”

Aunn rubbed her face with her sleeve and stood up, putting on her best brave face. “O-of course! I need to be there!”

The rabbits, having finished their huddle hopped back to the path. We followed, ready for anything.

>>45750758
>not like I was against it
S-Suzu...?
I guess the Jobber Influence hasn't completely destroyed her, the Suzu still has a straight spine! That determination after comforting Aunn is the thing that get people to do the most significant and impressive things, good for the Suzu!
thanks for the chapters!

>>45750778
>>45750758
Suzu's stuff is always refreshing. Poor Aunn though, she tries so hard but is always sidelined. Well its better that then getting put on the spot, I can't imagine the job squad being able to take Hana's dog fucking with a smile.

>>45751093
>S-Suzu...?
To be fair Hana would be considered an adult in the village. You know, menji era Japs and all that

>>45751247
I was referring to the lingerie commentary. Lewd Suzu up to wear a lacy and transparent red and white lingerie...

>>45752275
What color would she commison? Red and white is a Hakurei thing, Kosuzu has a color pallette and all but I could see going red-orange, pink, purple, and of course black or white is a given.

>>45752307
probably between a rich gold to match the bells in her hair, which stay on during copulation non-negotiable; fully white, for purity and her simplistic yet fulfilling life-style; and red-orange as you said for her warm and welcoming color palette

Felt just like yesterday we were arguing about stuff the Grassroute network being in two places at once
Boy, how time flies...

Felt like just yesterday we were arguing about simpler things like the Grassroute network being in two places at once.
Boy, how time flies... I can't even remember the last time we had a simple "2hu sexes Anon" entree.

>>45752961
the progression is truly fascinating, and I personally like it a lot.
>I can't even remember the last time we had a simple "2hu sexes Anon" entree.
probably because writeranons decided to not introduce any more characters since there's already a shitton to keep track of