/jp/ - Otaku Culture

[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
>>45774613 | part 11

[last thread chapters]
>>45776200 | Hana/Reimu shitpost, erotic family transformation! On!
>>45776914 | 75-76-Aya
>>45776941 |
>>45781346 | 27-Keine
>>45782896 | 77-Aya
>>45789367 | 55-Ran/Chen
>>45794434 | 2-3-Shinki
>>45794447 |
>>45799308 | 10-11-Mokou
>>45799329 |
>>45799522 | 18-Kasen
>>45801148 | 156-157-Yamashiro/Seija
>>45801345 |
>>45804040 | 138-139-Hana
>>45804045 |
>>45810256 | 12-13-Mokou
>>45810266 |
>>45813274 | 158-160-Yamashiro/Seija
>>45813279 |
>>45813283 |
>>45820619 | 28-Keine
>>45823275 | 140-141-Hana
>>45823283 |
>>45831197 | 29-30-Keine
>>45831204 |
>>45832773 | 4-5-Shinki
>>45832783 |
>>45833643 | 78-80-Aya
>>45833648 |
>>45833655 |
>>45844823 | 142-146-Hana
>>45844830 |
>>45844835 |
>>45844847 |
>>45844849 |
>>45850391 | 19-23-Kasen
>>45850403 |
>>45850410 |
>>45850418 |
>>45850423 |
>>45866962 | 4-Momiji
>>45869092 | 2-3-Kanako
>>45869116 |
>>45872345 | 161-Yamashiro/Seija
>>45880383 | 31-32-Keine
>>45880391 |
(867 entries)

[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
>>/jp/thread/45678335 | nineteenth thread
>>/jp/thread/45774548 | twentieth thread

And for writers, here's the Pastebin that'll be used in the finale to store all the information on the finale and what'll be happening during it:
https://pastebin.com/zqS1Krp7

I have no idea how Kasen's story can end in a satisfactory way apart from everything getting to be too much and she just kills herself
there was so much misery heaped onto her from every possible angle that resolving it all would be months of writing
also I've probably just forgotten but what's the deal with arm-chan in this? Ibaraki-douji's there but I don't remember if Arm-chan was even mentioned

die already

>>45888607
there's only one option, Anon: fuck it, we learn to live with the crushing pain and forgive ourselves for things out of our control and make up for all that we have destroyed and harmed, learning how to lean on the people around us that want the best for us and finding a small measure of peace on flawlessness, for no one is perfect or needs to be perfect. Mistakes and wounds can be mended and while you live, reinvention of self is possible, but can only be achieved by you alone. You can't control fate, but you should do what you can until it reveals itself to you
you know, that kind of stuff

>>45888607
>spoiler
in the Hana chapters Douji was in the chest in Kasen's room back at Senkai and made Hana pass out, but it was shown in recent chapters that at least some of Douji still lives in her, probably looping back to kid Reimu not knowing what the hell lust is. Probably the arm is still needed for a full-blown Douji comeback, though

>>45888607
silly anon, everything will be fine when Hana, Reimu and Kasen start a incestuous square between them and Anon. That should fix Kasen post-HSE

fuck off

>>45888656
>>45889074
it's okay anon, finale soon™
then it's only about two threads of epilogues and individual endings

No new Relationship Graph today, I'll do it tomorrow since I'm busy.
In the mean time, any suggestions?

>>45889155
please give the stick figures a win

>>45889155
alternative reality for the Hana/Reimu shitpost of last thread, finally completing the fabled incestuous loop! Takane apparently is getting sweet with Hunter-san and Sekibanki's older son just a shitposting because of a small mistake Takaneanon committed
And maybe divide Aya's babies into two unnamed boys and two unnamed girls

>>45889221
Also voting for this, most of them got roasted last time and at least a few of them deserve a win at this point.

>>45889221
I'm the Relationship Chart guy not the guy doing the plot chart, I'm the one who wrote the non-canon side stories posted to Ao3.
That said, I do hope the stick figures get a win.

>>45889424
oh sorry, there's like four charts, pastebins, and previous thread posts at this point so I keep getting mixed up

>>45889452
tip: three of those are made by the same guy

>>45832783 (53/?)

Soon after Alice’s creators went to hide upstairs, Tewi and the others came knocking at the door. As soon as the young magician opened it, the damned rabbit strolled on in with her brood saying, “Ahhh, it’s nice to be back indoors. Now tell me, is there any cake left? I’m starving usa~”

At the very least, Kosuzu and Aunn were more polite and waited to enter. The little bookkeeper even thanked her. “Thank you again for your hospitality. We got a little turned around.”

Aunn huffed, “We only got turned around because you let Tewi lead! I could have gone from here to the shrine and back in the time you were wandering around the woods, and yet she still got to lead.”

Kosuzu gave Aunn an apologetic look, “I for one trust in your ability to navigate, but…”

Kosuzu glanced back Tewi, who helped herself (and her tag-alongs) to oversized slices of cake from Alice's chilled box. Her dolls were protesting valiantly, but the rabbits didn’t seem to care. Or rather didn’t seem to care until Shanghai and Dolly began pulling Tewi’s ears, prompting other dolls to do the same to uhh Sally and Sera or whatever their names were. That prompted Tewi to begin batting them away, resulting in the dolls performing a tactical retreat.

Alice sighs, “It’s fine, come in and make yourself at home. After all, it seems like someone already has.”

Tewi, seemingly delighting in Alice’s annoyance, took that as an opportunity to come over and give her a hug, nuzzling against the young magician. “Oh, I’m sorry it’s just that your cottage is so nice. Can you blame a bunny like me for getting cozy ~us-”

Mima interrupts, “Enough of these games, what’s your angle here?”

Tewi fakes a whimper, placing her hand over her (flat) chest. “Wha? Can’t I visit my friends? My fellow honorary mothers of Hana? I-”

Leveling Tewi a cold look, Yuuka replies. “You have no right to call yourself Hana’s mother and if you do so again you’ll regret it.”

Tewi rubs her chin as if pondering something of importance. “So you are fine with being called Hana’s mother? What’s so different between us two? We both care about Hana and we both certainly have an interest in Anon. If you’re worried about me stealing him away, don’t. I’m sure he can handle more than just the Inaba usa~.”

The gall of this millennia-old brat. How blind must she be to think that her perversions placed her on the same level as Yuuka, much less Alice. N-Not that Alice considers herself Hana’s mother. Though if Hana wanted to talk, or practice magic with her, o-or needed her stitching redone (?), Alice would of course be happy to oblige.

A-Anyway, Yuuka snarls at Tewi, showing more teeth than a human should have. “There are many differences between us. That you speak of him like something to be taken, to be owned is proof enough of that. Is your solution to all of this to lock him up in some rabbit burrow? Trap him with your cancerous spawn after having them gangrape him? Do you truly believe a cage of obligation is superior to a cage of magic? That Yukari’s only crime is framing? That saying nothing of whatever lechery you intended to and have forced upon Hana. No, we are nothing alike.”

>>45889942 (54/?)

Sophia and Shiloh cower behind their matriarch, folding before Yuuka’s hostility almost immediately. Said matriarch was less impressed. Judging off of her flat look (one of Tewi’s many flat traits) and twitching ears, Alice would even call her annoyed.

Marisa in contrast looks ashamed, rubbing her stomach when Yuuka went on about cancerous spawn. Alice makes a mental note to talk about that with Marisa. Pregnancy hormones must be getting to her if she’s comparing herself to Tewi of all people. The thief is many things, but she’s not a rapist.

Mima tried placing an arm on Yuuka’s shoulder to steady her, but the Flower Master brushed her off with an indignant huff. Yuuka didn’t even break eye contact with Tewi while doing it.

Kosuzu stayed back in the corner. A corned and conflicted expression on her face, while Aunn-

Aunn was distraught, the poor girl had already gone through so much and this was yet another betrayal (although one that she’d have been aware of if she wasn’t dozing off in the corner when Tewi was boasting about her clan). Aunn’s voice was unpleasant, something torn between anger and despair with a strong desperation behind it (was she hiding these feelings to reassure Hana?). “I-Is it true? Are you… did you… why?”

Tewi takes a step back from the Komainu, her face contorting into a frown. “It’s not like that. Me and the girls just had a little fun with him, Yuuka is just blowing things out of proportion. He wanted it, even if he-”

Tewi coughs, uncharacteristically looking uncertain. Before the rabbit could continue, Yuuka scoffs. “A sentiment I’m sure most ‘patrons’ of Yukari’s abomination share. I would call you delusional, but at least it seems like you don’t believe the drivel you’re spewing.”

Tewi prepares to reply, but after a glance at the many unfriendly faces in the cottage, she pauses. Finally, she says, “I can see that I’m not wanted. Pushing people away won’t help your cause.”

With that, she takes Shithead and uh… stupid and moves to leave. Both Yuuka and Aunn move to stop them, but they’re halted by Mima and Kosuzu respectively.

After the rabbits are gone, Mima addresses the room. “That was a waste of time. She is a waste of time. Take your seats, there is much to say and do yet so little time."

Short I know and maybe a bit sloppier than normal, I just wanted to get something out. I know no one wants to hear it, but family issues on top of a busy schedule have been sapping any will to write. Now that said family issue is currently in a psych-ward, I should be able to write more. Warplans tomorrow. As always, apologies for the lateness. As for why the Tewi fell apart, I couldn't see the jobbers having the patience to deal with her shenanigans, especially not when Yuuka starts projecting onto the bunny.

>>45888607
Join me, Douji, and I will show you how to harness destiny and become the greatest Youkai in Koridai! or else you will DIE."

>>45889964
>>45889942
Oh, so it was this type of roasting! Just as good as the one over by the fire~
Also, thanks Alice by the remarks about Tewi's dote. Very cool~!
Though all things considered, Tewi got out scot free, even ate some cake. The rabbit wins yet again! Interesting you said projecting, first time I read her words they seemed more like righteous fury; but an underlying tone of projection can be perceived upon second read. Damn... Yuuka will need some hugs to deal with that particular 'I'm so strong yetI was incapable of saving her while she was right in front of me' complex...
Thanks for the chapters!
>spoiler
that's one hell of a situation, man. I'm sorry you have to go through it, dealing with bad people in the family is so fucking straining; was there at one point. You have my sympathy. Stay well, and thanks for yours efforts to write anyway!

Added the Hakurei God Weeps timeline, Rocky and his daughter, as well as Aya's babies having updated text.

>>45893389
thanks for your work~
still can't believe they had to kill off The Rock to not break the finale's power scaling. Truly sorrowful…

last thread's flowchart here, boys!
https://files.catbox.moe/b78xav.png
for writeanons to guide themselves and for readeranons to keep moving forward despite everything.

>>45889942
>>45889964
Heh, Tewi's already won her victories that day.
She got Yuuka to project on her entirely despite the flower youkai's actions being objectively worse.
She helped Hana sort out her demons during the Hana healing.(conflict with this story, honestly not sure how to reconcile it)
She bridged the gap between the inaba and herself.
She lowkey accepted her sinkink.

Tewi is on the up and up, even if Yuuka is salty her first interactions with Anon would make red room operators blush!

>>45895144
the lolibaba is truly the strongest!
>(conflict with this story, honestly not sure how to reconcile it)
I'd just act as if Mimaanon had never done the continuity mistake or maybe Tewi and the other girls just left for a moment to check on Aunn when Marisa returned, since she was sad and angry for Marisa letting Hana alone with Reimu -- then returned to the party with Suzu and Sana and Sara.
It's a mistake too little to discard the character interaction

>>45895144
Tewi is one of the few characters whose life has turned out for the better during the story. Her family is going to expand greatly and even if she doesn't get Anon at least Hana is pretty friendly with her.

>>45895424
Throughout Heaven and Earth, she is the Honored One!
Praise be Tewi Inaba!
Domain Expansion Tewieientewi: Endless Mapaku!

>>45895424
>Tewi is one of the few characters whose life has turned out for the better during the story
I can't think of any other, really. Even the OCs are screwed
>Goro-san was raped; had his soul doomed to eternity and is being traumablended by Sekai into surviving the finale for the sole purpose of getting Sekai's sisters to be born
>Sekai is a fucking amalgamation of suffering, pain and hopelessness, conscious inside her own womb because of her hack powers and forced to witness one of her parents suffer daily in 4x slower speed and the other's descent into complete madness
Kogasa's life? She barely had any development, though. Maybe Keine, then? She went through the grinder, but things are growing a lot better up to stellar if her plans work
though, Seiga is very content with things for all the wrong reasons, so I think she fits it

>>45896110
>>45896110
Time will tell what happens to Seiga. Eirin is reaping the benefits of the pregnancy crisis and has a mountain of data and the uberbabies because of it. Byakuren has to deal with the shakeup at the temple but she's in a position to assist with the coming generation. Not counting minor characters pretty much everyone has been affected negatively in one way or another.

>>45896110
sagume was only in the story for like one real chapter and one cameo but all that's happened to her is she gained a lingering confusion over how selective racism works and why everyone's obsessed with some earthling shit
doremy's life has turned into a hellhole though with all the incest rape dreams going around

>>45896110
In a way, Reimu's life turned out much better
>forced her to go through a long period of famine, embarrassment and reevaluate how she viewed some things as guaranteed (Anon's and Hana's love)
>got Ran to slap some mofu therapy into her and treated her laziness, the first making Reimu completely revamp her personality from the ground up through blood, sweat and cat hugs; the second got her to start foraging for food so she's not starving out of complete incompetence and the arduous rebuild of the shrine and, symbolically, herself, which ended with her communing with her god for the first time ever
She was going to die a miserable stain in the life of many, but now she's living as someone determinated to clean such stain no matter the cost.

>>45896678
isn't she going to die right after the solstice or something though?

>>45896739
she did said she was probably going to die if Ran hadn't come around, so getting to live more and make up to the people you love, even if just a little, is an improvement. Her death is still up in the air tho, all we know is that her fire has consequences

>scrapped two chapters just today because of autistic perfectionism
that's what you get for writing drunk, boys. Editing process is a goddamn nightmare and trying to salvage parts of the chapters are just a gargantuan cope...
really jealous of OGabuseanon now

>>45897140
Don't give up skeleton!

>>45897140
you guys do editing?

>>45897172
Anon…

>>45897172
I know right, it's called autocorrect and the free version of grammerly

>>45776200
—
“It was terrible of you! How could you two do something like that?!” Kasen yells, one index finger pointing up, the other four holding onto the sheath of the sword. Hana is blushing too much to say anything and Anon gives me a pitying look, petting the two sleeping Aunns on his lap. “Don't you two understand how foul such a tactic is?! Biological m-mother and daughter just… L-Loving each other in ways no mother and daughter should ever!” The light of the campfire enhances her reddened face.

“We needed a way to defeat you, Kasen—”

“And having your daughter suck on your clothed bust was the best idea you came up with?!” She holds onto the sword's scabbard by the very tip, extends her arm and hits the handle of the katana against the top of my head. Multiple times.

“Stop that, Obasen! That thing can steal my soul!” Blushing furiously, I push the thing away from me, then glance at Hana. She was cherry-red! I wish I had gotten Aya's camera to take pictures… So cute~, though the context will forever embarrass/haunt me. “Besides, none of us did it out of some lustful desire for each other's bodies—it was mere necessity. Right, Hana?”

“O-Of course!” She jolts, her voice so loud that it gets the Aunns’ attention before they go back to sleep. Nervously laughing, she goes on. “Therapy with Eirin-sensei has ridden me from all that…” Hana pauses, squirming a little. “Bad lust, you know?” It warms my heart to witness her courage, even more when Anon reaches forward and pats her on the head with pride. Hana beams. “I was really surprised it worked out, though… Like, who'd have guessed the trick to defeat the Oni Sage was doing THAT with my mother…” Kasen sighed and pouted, a sermon ready—if Hana hadn't continued. “But… W-Would it work again?”

It was as if I were a child again and Sakuya had just stopped time. But it hadn't, and all eyes were on Hana. Anon glances at me, puzzled; Kasen blushes before scratching her nape, apparently too mortified to speak. I'm about to melt.

“H-Hana…” Kasen starts, abashed. “I d-don't know what to say, really. But I think it's for the best if the question remains unanswered—Anon, could I have another skewer, please?”

“O-Of course, Kasen!” He latches onto the subject change immediately, preparing the skewer and rolling it on golden farofa in record time before extending it to the oni, who was about to keep speaking—

“B-But knowing would be beneficial! What if, one day, you lose control of Douji and we have to stop you?” Hana hammers on, embarrassment spreading like wildfire. I love my daughter a lot and would gladly die for her… But by the Hakurei God, she can be a lot sometimes.

Kasen just stares at her, then at me and, in unison, we look at Hana: her eyes are big, her posture tense, her mouth a line. She’s very quiet.

“Hana… do you feel like you're…” I moisten my lips, looking at Anon for support. He nods with his head, tense too, as expected. “Relapsing?”

“What?! I'm not! I'm just… curious about an important matter!” She stomps her foot on the ground, developing a characteristic Hakurei liquid courage reserved only when you need to butt your head against a massive wall. “It's crucial information! So, K-Kasen, for the good of all of Gensokyo, you as a youkai MUST watch me and Mother have steamy forep—e-execute our Hakurei technique!” She says it out loud, trying very hard to remain neutral despite the steam coming out of her ears.

I sigh, deflated and dirty. Yep, she's relapsing…

A silent conversation happens between me, Kasen, and Anon—the latter facepalms, the sleeping Aunns mumbling at the movement.

Dreadfully, I remember Eirin's words about what to do during a relapse: play along until she understands what's happening and feels guilty… So, brooding, we play along. Moving to her bedroom—so Anon doesn't have to see this and get memories of the days in that place—I and Hana—who's very hasty about it—transform—

She is on top of me before I know what is going on, groping my exposed thighs and attacking my lips with hers. Kasen watches, arms crossed and blushing. I can hear her heart pounding. “I-Is this working… Kasen-nee?” Hana asks out of breath, fingers teasingly pinching a pink nipple that fed her when she was a baby…

“N-No, it's not—that's confirmation enough, right?!”

Yes…

“Absolutely not!

WHAT—

“How?! You're in such a lewd pose, dressed so skimpily and her nipples—” Kasen utters, gawking at me. I gestured a 'no'.

“What if you acquired resistance after the Solstice?! We need something more… We need to go deeper!” I swear, there are pink hearts in her eyes.

—

Still petting the Aunns’ head, Anon hears a faraway, muffled yell, ‘FORGIVE ME, MASTER!”

An hour later, only Kasen returns. “… Is it that bad…?” He asks.

She sits down and stares at the fire, quiet—still. Her eyes look dead. “I had to fake Douji’s losing control so she'd stop. She was exhausted and went to sleep immediately; Reimu’s searching for her album of baby pictures…”

Oh—It's very bad…

>>45898136
continuing the masterpiece of last thread since I was too retarded to finish the chapters for today.
Remember: 0% canon in this reality, 100% shitpost.
Keine tomorrow and maybe Patchy/Meiling too if I have the time, though~
have a nice one!

>>45898136
Most normal night at the shrine

>>45899629
all ends well when it ends well~!

>>45898136
Hana, please…

>>45896110
Megumu's made it out pretty well, one of her subordinates is about to give her godchildren and the rest are having fun.
Hatate finally wrote an interesting article.
Flan made some friends.
Okina is having fun(?)
Rinnosuke obtained a vintage bottle cap.
Anon's soul has been exposed to quite a few new experiences, bringing him ever closer to Samsara and release from the painful cycle of living.
Hakurei-sama might have a slight bit of influence outside of existing in yinyang[/spoiler) balls.
Even if it generated untold amounts of mental and physical anguish, the sexual please the HSE has generated for lonely women in Gensokyo is overall greater... probably.

>>45906064
that's some good examples, damn
though, about Anon's soul, 3 years (adjusted to 5 months of Hana out of the picture + maybe 4 months from the start to the Solstice) of living in a rape dungeon must've made him strong as steel mentally. Dude is going to become a fucking Buddha at the end of this

>>45906096
Especially after seiga's nonsense. Lol

>>45831204
—
My interactions with Aya were few but enough to make me dislike her. Anyone who regularly frequents Yakumo's whore house deserves judgment—even Keine's allies—and in the crow's case, she's quite the regular there, or so the tengu jijis say; and they’ve taught me how to cook ginkgo seeds, so I trust those bastards with my life. Couple that with the bullshit she spews in that newspaper, praising Yukari as if a God, and I really want to rip her arms off for even daring to hold my baby… But Keine—bless and mega curse her kind soul—decided to welcome the reporter into our home. First those two idiots and their cursed letters, now a Yukari lover… Ugh.

I let my harsh feelings paint my face in its entirety and Aya, who was talking to Keine, squirms in place, holding Aki—whose wings gently flap up and down; she's happy~—a tad tighter.

The crow was sitting on the couch parallel to mine and Keine, with Suzu by her side—they know each other. Hm… Perhaps I need to perform some reevaluations? Suzu wouldn't mind telling me more about her relationship with the Yakumo scum, right? Especially if I threaten to melt those funny bells onto her scalp. I glance at her, arms crossed with a spiteful look, and Suzu freezes wide-eyed—

—Keine elbows my side, and I groan. Mystia giggles, now sitting on the other side of my bride-to-be; Mochi in Keine's arms tries to reach for her bento hat. “As I was saying, Aya-san, this is not an insurrection but instead a call-out for truth.” Recovering from my death glare, Aya gently seated Aki on her thighs and wrote in a notebook. “Force should be used only if pushed upon us—our crowning goal is to expose and fix the wrongs of the Hieda Clan while aiming to better the coexistence of humans and youkais throughout all of Gensokyo.” I smile to myself, remembering the hours she spent repeating her speeches to herself in the mirror.

“Hm~it's a noble goal, indeed—but isn't that the job of our shrine maidens? They keep the balance of Gensokyo, after all.”

“The shrine maidens deal with incidents regarding youkai and use violence at the end of the day; while it works for the incidents, it cannot solve everything. The problems we're aiming to tackle are of the kind a strike of the gohei cannot solve.” Though Aya nods, Keine turns to Mystia. The night sparrow doesn't need words before she starts to elaborate on the many troubles of weak youkai like her, from the illiteracy in a world built upon the human language to the necessity of throwing their weak young to death just so the nest survives. Aya writes furiously, the tiredness of before gone and replaced by a thirst for knowledge. Expected of a reporter…

Though there was a personal, excited shine in her eyes. I wonder…

Softly, I hum, noticing, with the side of my eye, Mochi looking at me…

I can’t resist, so I play with his chin with a finger, his wee wings going up and down before his little hand reaches out and catches that finger in a tight grip; so tiny~he laughs, eyes shining—it's just so sweet…

One thousand years…

They feel worthwhile at moments like these.

Still, problems—old and new—resurface from the depths of my mind: Yakumo, this plan… the knowledge of what could have happened if Keine hadn't been there to save them that night haunts me…

And just… for what? Why did that need to happen? Why did my kids need to go through fire and flames for the mere chance of survival? Gensokyo should be a place of happiness, beyond the nightmare that was prior to its existence—I shudder just remembering the last major war that happened in these lands before the barrier, feeling bitter…

Why must this land beyond common sense mimic the outside world's reality so much?

“It doesn't need to be like that, Aya-san.” Keine's words grab my attention. She looks determined, and Aya very curious, though still interested. “Humans also had to live only from hunting when the world was buried beneath ice and no plant could survive—but that changed over time. The world heated up; changed, as everything does, and humans adapted. Youkai are mirrors to humans; they can even breed with each other—so what’s not to say they can't change too? They don't need to eat fear forever!” Oh, that… “Change will occur no matter how much we try to stop it, but we can make this change be for the better—for the past three decades, the number of youkai hunting humans has decreased immensely thanks to the new generation of mikos that have befriended various youkai; the HSE…” She pauses, recollecting herself. “Has also shown humans and youkai can coexist, just as it created a responsibility towards the fruits of it. The writing on the wall says everything: Gensokyo will experience a boom in births by the following year, and things cannot remain the same after what these two tangents have shown us. Otherwise, I fear we'll have failed as a society—if the worst-case scenario happens, I’ll use my powers of writing the future to change Youkai forever.” There's fire in her eyes.

>>45906904
—
And I frown, cold in my heart.

It's unnoticeable to others, but I hold her hand every night; am there for each nightmare—the reason behind it used to elude me, but since she told me about the meaning of that symbol on the cloak, things have become clearer: her power to write history could ensure the problem of “Youkai dying if not feared” wouldn't exist, 'it’d be a simple fix', she'd said… But what'd that mean to Gensokyo? That someone can shape their collective reality and future to fit whatever mold they like on a whim? People like Yukari, Okina, Kaguya, and I have equals. We can be fought against, stopped by physical and magical barriers…

… But who can fight fate? I sealed mine 1300 years ago and nothing will ever change my decisions, no matter how much I regret them. To hold such power over the future, with the only saving grace being a selected few are unaffected…

I look at Keine with a mix of pity and disappointment, her body tall and eyes laced with sheer determination and calmness. Suzu and Mystia look proud and happy, giving words of support, unaware of the innuendos of her statement on changing youkai forever: to exercise such control over the people of Gensokyo would make her a 'tyrant'… And that'd be great. It would be a certainty that the youkai we're trying to help—and our kids—wouldn't need to worry, and the only thing we'd need is that no one ever discovers that SHE changed things. Youkai could live and prosper from, I dunno, common food like everyone else? Maybe something more esoteric if not, like happiness or whatever… But that'd bring forth nothing but corruption, and she doesn't want that.

I call it bullshit.

Power exists to be used, and hers will do more good than bad—it's just infuriating! So what if it's 'tyrannical'?! It'd make things better…

That symbol I had woven into her cloak comes to mind, my eyes narrowing, a seed of doubt blossoming inside. Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely, she'd told me there…

Sulking, I glance at Aki sitting on Aya's lap, the baby watching in awe at the crow's massive, pitch-black wings, even brushing her tiny ones against them—my frown creases…

… Am I corrupted by my powers?

'Course not! All those times I attacked first and thought later were to protect my family—against the Yakumo scum; the reporter… They deserved it for threatening my family.

Aki giggles as her tiny hand catches a feather that might as well be a sliver of midnight. Aya jumps a bit, though she follows with a genuine, soft laugh—same for the three mothers around her—her cheeks rosy as she petted Aki's head. “Heh, you’ll have big ones too someday~” Resuming her words with Keine. In my mind, I see Mochi playing with that hound and Seija; the cursed man holding Aki as if a gust of wind could break her in two…

I tsk, suddenly feeling overwhelmingly bad. It was all for my family that I didn’t want to lose; it had justification! It wasn't just uncalled-for violence… Stupid fucking heart.

“It must be really stressful to juggle all that, Keine-sensei,” Aya says, better material than whatever echoes inside my head. “Still, I must say I'm happy at the initiative; not that I align myself with rebellious acts against authority, no, heh~but some of my… Friends are having half-human babies too in the future, and it's nice to know a born human like you is striving to make their lives better.” She bows with a smile, to which Keine reciprocates. “Could I know why you are doing all this? Is it to solely recover your reputation? Your job, maybe?” Aya holds the pen and notebook with expectancy; the question is valid…

… Yet, out of the blue, Keine laughs. Mystia simply smiles; Suzu has a beautiful gleam in her eyes, and I almost tsk'd again. Is Aya stupid or something…?

“Aya-san, you have half of my reasons to do all this sitting on your lap~” Gently, Keine taps Mochi's back, the baby munching on his fist barely reacting, his eyes focused on the wall. Keine looks radiant nevertheless, and Aya's smile grows with clear understanding. “And this precious little idiot is the other half of it!”

“Ahaha~I guess it makes some sense. Ten minutes, and I think I'm in love too!” She shrugs dramatically.

“It happens to the best of us,” Suzu says sweetly, and they all share a fit of laughter and I can't help but huff with amusement too—

Knocking on the door reverberates, muffled mumbling coming from the other side—Keine's name was loudly cited.

She visibly stiffens before relaxing, my hand gently catching hers. The first curious and maybe angry villager came to quench either feeling, and, with them, one more step towards changing this rotten place. “Well, that's my leave—I need to get all this edited and chuck it out! Thanks for the interview, Keine-sensei! Remember to buy a Bunbunmaru issue to know what cool things I wrote about you~! Bye!” She handles Aki to Suzu and, with a silly gesture, takes off flight through the window, nothing but a distant shadow in the next second.

>>45906913
>>45906904
sorry Ayaanon for holding the tengu for so long, it's very fun to bully her~!

so much for the solstice finale huh

>>45907427
writeanons agreed on two threads to get their characters in place after the warplans are done; though Mimaanon was deep in personal trouble and couldn't finish last thread, so probably will be this thread that he finishes plus one/two
two weeks, trust me~

>>45906419
c'mon, Anon, bathing in viscera and freezing blood that was bottled up inside a rotted corpse maintained alive solely by magic is sexy, even, dare I say, romantic!

>>45906904
>>45906913

Aya will at least have a nice article to write about all of this. Also am I reading this right in that Keine is aware that Anon might be the father of all the children?

>>45910741
Aya is a busy lass: articles, prenatal and even terrorism!
>spoiler
not Anon specifically, but the HSE brought human and youkai closer, like Seija and Goro, and she's under the impression that generated that bunch of half-youkai she saw back at Eientei. Sorry if I didn't make it that clear

>>45911312
I thought that might be the case. Thanks for the confirmation, just wanted to make sure.

>>45907463
Writeanons are liars, crooks, cheats and scammers! Give 'em one thread, and they'll make eleven! Give 'em two threads and they'll stretch it out for weeks with nothing but shitposts!
So keep shitposting so I can write the last 20 Aya parts in 90 days please and thank you.

(1/3)
—
It's a weird feeling.

Days of everlasting paranoia, of extensive planning and re-planning, making sure no corner is cut, and every question was answered just… Faded away. My problems didn't: who had the gall to tamper with my creation? Hana was swayed by that pitiful woman and her confusing yet oppressing new powers…

Nothing of that doesn't matter anymore.

This newfound certainty makes me feel light as a feather; the ease of mind guides my actions as if natural, ending with a dragon bowing down to me. Why fear when you're above even dragons?

I gently touch my belly as I leave the Gap to the cool breeze of the shrine, a calm smile taking over me. Seiga finished while I was making sure the sword had no more surprises and putting Ibarakasen back in her proper place, meaning Anon should be taking a break right now—

—Faraway laughter answers the question, and I decide to walk to Anon and the girls instead of using the Gap, humming along the way a tender lullaby that a girl a thousand years ago, under a cursed cherry blossom, taught me. Odd how inside these walls of magic I've erected, with a parody of the Hakurei Shrine in its center, it’s the only thing that feels real.

The rest is so… fake.

I brush the feeling aside.

Anon was sitting on the veranda, two knitting needles in hand, giving life to what seemed to be a sweater of red and yellow, simplified bats embroidering the fabric in equal intervals. Three cups on a tray stood by his side, one of bitter tea and the other empty, though I can safely guess they were of hot chocolate. My attention is caught momentarily by the two 'children' playing on the trees circling the pond, a sort of flying tag—Flandre was clearly faster but couldn't for the life of her win against Chen in 'mind games', if you could call them that.

Anon freezes upon hearing me, turning immediately and stumbling to get up. “D-Dear, I wasn't told you—”

I kiss him gently, silencing him and making him return to sitting. It hurts my heart how the mere contact makes his skin shiver and his body jolt back, his years of experience keeping him still and capable of kissing back satisfactorily. “No matter~” He squirms in place, trembling as he fastens his hands, the habitual sensual juban replaced by proper clothing to withstand the cold. I find myself preferring this. “For how long are they at it now?”

He recomposes himself calmly, a shadow of a smile there. “About twenty minutes. Flan is trying to understand the 'language of the trees', though Chen said she's an expert on it since she survived having a tree explode on her face… I couldn't follow the thought process, but it must make sense on a conceptual level.” The smile painting his face is fake, the lightheartedness too, and it pinches my stomach. “Sakuya is cooking inside right now and… Yukari, are you okay?” That worry lacing his eyes is fake too.

I don't know why, but the thought struck me and, frowning by his side, I look at my surroundings. The snow falling is magic, representation; the house an imitation…

Every tender, loving feeling we shared here is also pure lie…

That ease had suddenly vanished and given way to a crushing, unnamed feeling I had never felt before. It made me want to throw up, body cold and tense, Yuyuko's words—begging me to stay by her side, leave all behind, and go have my children in safety—echoing inside like gongs. What's happening all of a sudden?! This is what I wanted! I'm achieving my objectives! I'll have a child to call mine; dragons bow to me! I will win when the time comes, and then I’ll rule supreme, never to be trifled with or have rivals—when everything is said and done, only I'll have power, which I'll use to make the safest, happiest place possible for me and my children… I'll be loved, and I will love without worry.

Happy for once.

Everything I worked so hard for will be achieved…

… Then why…?

I look at Anon's eyes, which appear to be in utter shock; why—? I touched my face, confusedly looking at one solitary tear that' I had shed.

… I'll have everything I've ever wanted when it's all said and done—my hands hold my belly tight, Anon frowning at the gesture…

And, like this worry in Anon's eyes, it'll be all fake.

…

…

“Anon…” I whisper, my teary eyes looking forward, gulping down the block of ice that took hold of my throat, hand knots just as white as my gloves. He keeps silent, staring at me as if I were a stranger… Yet the words struggle to come out, locked inside my throat.

Just say it—just say you’re pregnant!

It might change everything. I-It might make everything okay, it might just be enough; it might just be my only hop—

We stare at each other as the seconds pass, feelings I can't name eating away at my insides, destroying my thoughts and accomplishments from within—the truths cold showers—Yuyuko's words deafening…

After all is said and done, and I reign supreme, my child and I will stand at the top…

… Alone in this fake world I’ve created.

It feels like an abyss.

>>45915457
time for an 'oh, no! It's the consequences of my actions!' mini-arc~
Reimu answered that with bettering herself and changing from the inside out; surely Yukari, symbolically opposite of Reimu, will do the same, right?

>>45915428
I feel immensely attacked…
>spoiler
will do~!

>>45915428
it's hard being a writeanon, the shitposting quota it's tough to fill, I'll tell you

hoping Hanaanon moved safely~

>>45920860
Sorry, i'm dead...
I just finished settling in and am now busy busting my ass to find a new job and get things on track. Just started being able to write again.
Thank you for your patience!

So why the hell is Yukari so obsessed with Anon and wanted his baby? Like does she actually love him, does having a child give her a special super mega power up?

>>45924090
gappy autism is completely unmatched, not even seto kaiba can compete
the whole thing started with her doing it as a convoluted plan to get reimu and anon back together because he broke a promise that he made to her, but her ulterior motive was that she wanted a baby and it wasn't happening by normal means

>>45924090
did you miss the last 20 threads?
>groomed him for Reimu, though he always was very kind to her even after he married; and there's no better way to Yukari's heart than the slightest show of affection
>their separation meant Anon broke his promise to always be by Reimu's side, so it was the perfect opportunity to start a massively convoluted plan to get them back together and be sure they never break again: the HSE. But that was also a mental cope for her to exercise her retarded idea of love. Reimu stated later that Yukari doesn't know what love is
>wants to make a real connection since she has been traumatized by Renko and Yuyuko's deaths and doesn't consider Ran and Chen to be real people, but more like automatons that love her by duty, where her baby would love her for who she is
>the sword is just the realization of her a thousand years of trauma, as its sole purpose is to destroy anyone that might want to take away from her again
Sprinkle that with autism, and you have a woman so broken you could pass her for a successful ballistic test!

>>45924090
Anon is one of the few people that actually got along with her. So when he left his wife she decided to make her move, but since she was still traumatized from losing Yuyuko she enslaved him so she would never lose him. The baby is just her desire to have a family and be and loved as she rejects the love of Ran and Chen as fake.

>>45924330
>>45924259
>>45924957
the hag was supposed to be a mindless evil baddie, not make me an emotional train wreck....

>>45924957
how the fuck is she still traumatized by yuyuko it was like a thousand years ago and she's not even gone, she's right fucking there as a ghost that you can still touch and feel
move on dumb hag

>>45925287
Anon…
>she's so powerful with the Gap, manipulating all boundaries and such, but couldn't manipulate a wound made by a small, dull kitchen knife that took away the only person that loved her for who she was and didn't fear her, meaning Yukari ended blaming herself for even letting that happen
>had to bury her under a cursed tree since that was her last wish, making her come back to 'life' to always remember Yukari of her weakness -- she also slowly forgets her life, meaning Yukari (probably) has to remind her of it
>have no one to tell it and is too proud/scared for therapy, everyone else either fears or hates her and her mind is so fucked that even the people that clearly love her are seen as robots simply because she 'created' them
if anything, Yuyuko returning as a ghost made everything worse for her

>>45915457 (2/3)
—
B-But that shouldn't matter! It isn't the first time I've felt crushing loneliness or this intense hopelessness—under that pink tree… blood, mud, and rain—and there are ways out of this abyss! My child and I won't need to live surrounded by darkness, so far away from everyone in this world of mascaras and falsehoods—there'll be a father! There will! I won't let their future be of a pain comparable to mine… No, I'm their mother! All I have done is make sure they live in a happy, pain-free world! Their love will then be genuine, final and absolute…

… Otherwise, why did I do everything I have done?

What can I do? What can I change? What more can I control so the future isn't a vacate and cold world for them like it was for me? The HSE has done its job, but… Maybe I should keep Anon with me. He'll be there for the stages of my pregnancy; he'll see my belly grow heavy with his seed; he'll hold me; and then… he'll love us. Yes, that makes sense! He'll love our children, me—our family!

But t-that's just the first step to guaranteeing happiness for my family… I'll have to take measures—by that point, I'll have my sword; I'll be capable of killing gods and making the world bow down to me; however, that'll mean nothing if death claims them. No amount of omnipotence will change a death by tripping on the stairs…

That means I'll need a safe place where not even natural death can threaten them. Yes, I can do that! I can create an environment safe from even the natural course of the universe! I can already stop their aging; I can maintain their healthy bodies with my Gaps, and they'll never suffer if I control every single interaction they have. And—for once—I'll be happy, because I'll be able to cultivate true affection in that safe environment where no disgrace would ever dare blossom.

My smile is anxious, my skin pallid like a cadaver’s, but I do not care!

To achieve that outcome, I'll just need to work harder and continue doing what I do. I've been like this for centuries, so more of the same is barely an issue—

—I meet Anon's eyes. They are dark with confusion: his shaking hand, which I hadn't noticed moving, holding onto mine, his grip gentle, yet also very frightened. His tender hold wasn't kindness born from the desire to see me happy and well. It was just his duty.

The plan I had made streams through my mind again, though now it carries a perplexing cynicism that fills my mouth with acid.

Because that plan wouldn't garner his love…

… Nor from our child.

My heart feels hollow, my throat swollen, and I clutch my belly tightly, praying that I'm wrong and that everything I did would end anyway in caring and warm love—that this cold and empty world would eventually subside. My thumb caresses the back of his hand, trembling a little, almost imploring… All I feel from him is a repressed desire to pull his hand away.

…

… Something. There must be something else I can do. Something I can c-control and—and—

Voices. Muffled voices catch my attention, and I turn to see Flandre and Chen coming in our direction, the latter's eyes bearing confusion, tails low and ears pressed against her head; but the former… There's authentic worry in her eyes. I get up, pushing the automaton out of my way—Anon yelled words I couldn't hear, and something deep inside my heart pulled me, lacing my blood in remorse, urging me to repent… I ignored it. So what if the thing breaks? I can build a new one—there wouldn't be a difference—and, gently, catch Flandre in my arms, lifting her from the ground with a sudden yet heartfelt laughter. Her immense red eyes broaden and her cheeks are beautifully rosy. A mirror to my overflowing joy.

… Love.

This is love; this is genuineness!

This is what I want to see in my child's eyes when this world, tailor-made for our family, welcomes it.

Flan says something, but it's lost to me as I hug her—

—she returns the hug, and at last I hear: she sounds all giddy. “Y-Yukari-san, what is happening~?!”

“I simply wanted to hug someone I like very much; Flan~is that a crime of which I wasn't aware?” I express it with a smile, rubbing our cheeks together. She giggles and I drink from it with fervor. Perched on my arms, laughing and blushing with adoration…

She looked so very natural…

My eyes rush to Anon, longing for him to be with us in this eternal moment of bliss, of true happiness—

—He holds Chen in his arms, her knee scrapped and bleeding; my eyes lock with hers, and there's a devastating sadness behind them. My smile fades, confusing shame growing inside—why?! It's just a shikigami—a machine! Its feelings are fake and can be c— “WATCH WHAT YOU'RE DOING, WOMAN!” Shocked, my eyes whip to Anon. He looks furious, pointing a finger at my face, brows creased, his body tall. “SHE HAS DONE NOTHING TO YOU—and doesn’t deserve to get hurt! I don't know what has gotten up to you, but you have no NEED to hurt her! You should be ashamed of yourself!”

And, with her in his arms, he leaves.

>>45927850
Finally, Anon reveals his true colors as a (emotionally) violent, (verbally) abusive, and (probably) irrational man! Yukari really did Reimu a favor by taking this ticking time bomb off her hands. I can only pray he won't ruin Yukari's life like he did the Hakurei miko. That shrine really went downhill a few decades after they got married. Coincidence? I think not.
And so the 'Anon with a spine' arc begins. The knife trick from OGAbusemu might not work on the likes of Seiga or Yukari (or maybe it does extra damage to Yukari because of Yuyuko trauma lol), but he knows all of his rapiest clients pretty intimately at thus point. The psychological warfare can begin. Except Seiga, she'll probably just think it's cute...

>>45928282
>Anon leaves the picture
>within a year, Reimu is back to being a respectable, hardworking and calm person, even to the point of rebuilding the shrine from the ground up and stop her rampant alcoholism
who'd have guessed? Yukari really DIDN'T do anything wrong!
>spoiler
Seiga would probably hype him up and, if he'd chicken, she'd force him to stab himself all while carving a breach in his body so the knife would just go right through him. A certified Seiga tomfoolery~

>>45921960
>Sorry, i'm dead..
NOOOO!!

>>45927850
she dug her own grave, huh? It's over for evilwomanbelievers...

>>45933396
Name one thing she did wrong!
Other then raping a man in front of his daughter, then forcing him to work as a proustite, attempting to let his wife die to further manipulate him, and exploiting and molesting a vulnerable teen to have a useful pawn/daughter surrogate, enslaving a wioman trying to run away from her past and causign her to undo almost all the work she's done to do it, hiring and encouraging a woman that eats babies, trying to upend the known laws of the universe, and making a tacky statue.

Everyone was working hard. Toutetsu-San, the Myouren Temple gods, Ran, Reimu, Aya-san, even being pregnant, was still doing what she could, and all the while Anon was still enduring this place...

I can't just sit still and do nothing while everyone's working so hard!

So, when the alarm went off and Takane-san went to see to it, I followed. Next to Ran-san and Yukari-sama, she was the most informed about this place. If she was being summoned for something, it must be important! Maybe something that I could tell the others to help Anon escape even! The thoughts of everyone praising me cause me to giddily skip besides the Yamawaro, maybe this all didn't have to end in one big fight after all?

My day dream ended the second we came to the entrance area. The guests, many different kinds of Youkai, all had their gazed locked and were poised like beasts to strike, the white wolves stood in front in perfect order, their large blades all drawn, and the air, the air felt....it felt absent and smelt like burned spices.

"What's going on here?" Takane asked the nearest white wolf guard, who without turning her attention, answered.

"That damned broker is at it again." She said curtly.

Our attentions turned to where the air felt more lost and the scent was stronger, and, at the center of the crowd Seija and Goro stood surrounded on all sides.

"What are you playing at?" Seija spoke, a serious expression on her face.

"Don't speak traitor, we'll be taking you into custody. The Yakumo will know what to do with you." The wolf in front spoke.

"No. Call them off!" Takane told the closet wolf, pulling at her sleeve.

I felt my hair stand on end and my eyes widen. She was right, my friends had told me about many dangerous people, like the wicked hermit and the cunning mob lady, but 'Seija' they told me 'Seija is the most volatile of them all'.

"Captain, you can put away your sword." Goro smiled, stepping forward. "We both serve the Yakumo after all."

At this Takane-san breathed a sigh of relief. Of course, Goro-san was always with Seija lately and he seemed nice. Maybe he could calm everyone down?

"There's no 'misunderstanding' Human, we all recognize those energies from when you chanted in front of this building before. You're probably a bomb just waiting to go off. Now lay down and put your hands on your back." She stated.

"That's unfortunate..." Goro said casually taking a few more steps toward the captain.

She steadied the sword toward him, I could her hands clenched and her breathing slow, her eyes sharpened, ready to strike him at any second. Then Goro placed his hand on the swords side.

"You know, the legends they tell about these things? They say that, one day an old human blacksmith owed a debt to the Tengu guard, and, when he asked if he could make you all something in exchange and what you wanted, you all joked 'bigger and sharper fangs'." He said, running his fingers on the shiny blade.

"The blacksmith, perhaps as a joke, forged the first one of these broad swords, using all the iron he had in the shop, dubbed it 'fang', and presented it the Tengu as his last act in life. Of course, you all loved it! And now here you stand bearing those blades to this day."

"An intriguing fantasy, now, you have five seconds before I slice your neck with it." The captain growled.

"Perhaps you missed the point. What I mean to say is, you're sworn to protect this place as I am so..." He began, placing his other hand on the pommel of the blade, bone-like fingers lightly brushing the captain's.

"...why are you bearing your fangs at me you rapid mongrel?" He finished with a calm expression.

If the air in the room felt weird before it was choking now, like summer had suddenly appeared in the midsts of winter! All of it was centered around Seija and Goro and I was stuck in place, sure this would all end in a horrible fight.

"Hup two hup two!" I heard shouted accompanied with clapping.

"Attention! All White Wolves in attendance, 200 Sword Kata Swings, 10,000 yard run, 500 push-ups, 100 pull-ups, and 100 squat jumps on the double!" Seija shouted.

The room turned to her, flabbergasted.

"What are you maggots looking at? I heard Tengu operate on a hierarchy? Who's wearing the Tabard's here?" She asked, pointing to the symbols on Goro's outfit and her own, the same one's Ran, Flan, Yukari, and I wore.

As if suddenly possessed, the white wolves put away their weapons and formed an orderly line, retreating from the room, as they did, the strange property that had possessed the room vanished and the HSE patrons that were on their guard slowly returned to the attractions, waiting their turn in line.

"Well, you almost made a mess of things, what exactly were you up to that put them on edge?" Takane-san asked, approaching the two.

"We walked through the front door and they encircled us before we knew it. The Scarlet Devil Mansion visit was 'fruitful', by the way" Goro explained, tossing a small notebook to Takane-san.

>>45933621
Catching it, she began flipping through the book, carefully analyzing the content.

"And how have you been Chen-chan?" Goro asked.

"Good!" I answered, surprised at being addressed so casually.

"Don't scare the poor girl like that." Takane began, shutting the notebook. "We may be able to change gears on a dime, but children shouldn't have to get used to that kind of thing. Anyway, can I keep this for a bit? Need to copy a few things down." She asked, gently shaking the book as she did.

"Suit yourself, just don't read my personal affairs." Goro answered with a shrug.

Takane-san eyed the two for a moment, but simply shook her head. "I caught up with Kogasa by the way, she's agreed to help out."

"Oh really. Will I get a 50% commission fee on that?" He asked with a smile.

"15%. you don't know what I had to do to get that umbrella to sign up." She stood firm.

"Bah, stingy. I'll take 20% and we'll call it even. Good enough to know that she's not wasting her talents, that girl is so needy to be useful, yet to stubborn to do what's she's good at. Is Yukari in? We need to speak with her urgently."

Wait, Umbrella? That sounded familiar.

"Yeah, she's in her office. Be careful, she might ask about the commotion." Takane-san said, jutting a finger down the hall.

"Thanks. Oh, Chen-chan, will you do something for us?" Goro asked, turning to me.

I felt my ears flick in curiosity.

"Stay out of trouble, all right?" He smiled, before walking with Seija down the hall.

Takane-san sighed. "Well, I'm going to try to wrangle a new guard rotation. Chen, make yourself busy why don't you ? I'm sure some Festival preparations could use a helping hand." She told me before walking off herself.

So there I was, left alone in the entrance area, surrounded by only the odd patron and the befuddled Tanuki door greeter, who, just as quickly as she had gotten back up to her station, hit the deck once again as a red streak came thundering through the door and crashing beside me.

"Did I beat them here?" Flandre asked, panting and huffing as she did.

As the shock wore off and the confusion cleared I shook my head. "Seija and Goro-san just came through here."

"Dang it! No fair!! They cheated and got a head-start!!!" She pouted, stomping her feet as she did.

"You were, racing them?" I asked.

"Yeah! We were all gonna come back from the mansion together, but they just suddenly dissapeared!" She explained.

This was all so strange. How had those two beaten Flandre here? What was that weird aura they were giving off? Why had Goro acted all scary to the captain? and maybe, most strange, of all, why hadn't Seija said anything besides to stop the fighting? Seija, who everyone told me was fowl mouthed and always causing trouble? A plan starts to form in my head.

"Flandre-chan have you ever spied on someone?" I asked.

The vampire tilted her head. "No? Is that a fun sort of thing to do?"

"Yeah! It's like playing the rogue! We just gotta be quiet and follow those two, without them knowing, and we can figure out the mystery!" I said excitedly."

"Sounds fun! Do we stab them at the end?" Flan excitedly asked.

"If you find out they cheated, sure!" I told her.

It might be wrong, watching people behind their back, but it was for a good reason! Maybe we could learn something that could help us stop the fighting.

>>45933469
and even IF she had done something wrong, she's pregnant + sad backstory, which means she'd be completely pardoned and seen as misunderstood. Truly, a woman that cannot do wrong

>>45933621
>>45933636
that whole interaction with the white wolves came out from left field, not sure what to think of it, considering how well the Yakumo war machine was stated to be. But that's a touhou moment. White wolves action is always welcome too~
>"Sounds fun! Do we stab them at the end?" Flan excitedly asked.
please let her stab them, it'd be hilarious, trust me. It was also funny when Mokou burned them alive, wasn't it~?
thanks for the chapters!

>>45933868
>that whole interaction with the white wolves came out from left field, not sure what to think of it, considering how well the Yakumo war machine was stated to be
Autism time.
It's because they stink of 'nothing' as a result of not existing so they saw them as an alien threat, but aside from that, they're probably prejudiced against the pair since Seija's a known miscreant, Goro almost nuked himself in front of the HSE, they came in through the front door, and unlike the rest of the Yakumo team they're not Youkai like Yacchie or Konaga nor are they hermits like Seiga.
Goro's also friendly with Takane and at least Momiji calls Yamawaro dirt kappa, so there's lots of reasons the white wolves may not be so keen on the two. Although notice that when Seija reminded them of the Hierarchy, they obeyed. Tengu are Tengu afterall.

>>45844849

Hana didn’t know when she fell asleep, only that now she had woken up it was quite dark. With the shutters down over the windows, the door firmly closed, and small lamp struggling to brighten the room it was hard to tell the proper time of day. In these few initial moments of consciousness Hana thought it might have well been a century for all the meaning time had.

Now that her senses were coming back to her, Hana could feel the chill seeping in through her tabi socks and miko outfit. A numbness was busy replacing feeling in the ends of those limbs as she cuddled up on instinct, rubbing her hands together she sat up. Using a leg, she pushed the sack of presents off of the disheveled futon, surveying the damage from earlier with tired eyes.

Sanae’s prayer book was tossed out an arm’s length away from the futon, the horn was a bit closer laying next to her pillow, and… a box? There was a green and red box sitting there upside down. Hana realized rather belatedly that during all the confusion of the day she’d seen the box here and there, but simply didn’t get around to opening it proper.

The freezing girl was about to reach out to grasp it when her mind caught up to her, it was cold and her fingers were about to fall off! The disheveled miko got up to her feet, patting down her dress where it twisted before she grasped her hand in the other. She tucked her freezing hands into her sides and endured a small shock, where were her gloves and muffler at anyways…? Ah, that’s right, she had left them behind at Alice’s during the hasty flight to the shrine.

Undaunted by the freezing chill the fine wardrobe stood upright and proper with only some dust on the handles to mar its beauty… as well as the teenage girl who flung open it’s drawers as she hunted for the- There it is! An older pair of mittens and shawl she got as hand-me-downs a few years ago.

Faded reds and whites made up the shawl itself, the fur that lined the end of the shawl was still the color of eggshell and warmed her upper arms. The mittens were more delicate, white with a red ribbon that swam around the wrist. Hana put both on with haste, spurring the fact that her warmer lounge wear was sitting back at home. It did help at least, while she’d rather cuddle up under her futon she just wasn’t tired at the moment.

Sighing and letting the warmth thaw her flexing hands Hana turned to face her room, and with that the memories of what happened before came trickling back. The memories cast a painful tinge on the sparse room as her groggy mind recalled the most recent events with her mother. Hana wanted to groan but shoved it down, sound traveled easily through the walls after all, and she didn’t want to give mother the satisfaction of knowing how deeply under her skin she’d gotten.

Her mother would just throw it in her face later, Hana knew her mother after all and that farce she saw… It was just a charade to throw her off. Hana had seen it before she’d thought, maybe that one time where mother apologized with sake-stained breath the morning after a bad night…? No, there was no way any of the times she acted the victim before came close to her performance that entire night. It felt different in a way she couldn’t describe in words properly, like at the party there was an underlying affection that Hana only ever seen in the eyes of those closest to her.

Quiet slippered feet walked up to the crumpled present, she needed a distraction and that little red and green trinket from the earlier chaos would be preferable to pondering problems as bitter as her mother. She grabbed the small thing gingerly and turned it right-side up letting the ribbon regain some of its life.

It was a rather appealing little present she thought, red and green? She thought the colors contrasted nicely; they were strangely nostalgic in a comforting way. The little box was placed on the dusty vanity and Hana’s curiosity got the better of her. Hana leaned into the box examining it closely wanting to see who it was from, though she didn’t see any real markings to indicate it’s sender.

She glanced in the mirror of the vanity as she leaned down, catching a glimpse of her own thick woolen vest. For a moment she glimpsed at her ascot, the old thing was as worn as it was green. Used for years, at least since she became a teenager, and as frayed and sewn back together as you’d expect. It’s a miracle it’s as stainless as it is given the years the objectively crude thing lived, it wasn’t that high of quality when Hana had obtained it either.

Her attention glanced down at the box itself, a similar shade to her ascot, and smiled at the seeming attention to detail. It was a small thing to notice something like the shade of a small accessory and favorite color, but it brought a bit of joy to Hana’s overtaxed spirit.

>>45936797

Hana was hesitant at ripping the paper at first, it seemed to be wrapped from one of those stores and must have cost a pretty penny or two given the quality of the paper and bow. A bit of a game was played as Hana made the sacrifice of the warmth of her fingers. Braving the cold she took off her mittens to manipulate the lightly glued wrapping with dexterity. It was only a few places on the ends where it had that bit of wax, but taking it apart without ripping it was an art in of itself. Her fingernails dug into the paper and with satisfaction she opened the paper folds without incident. She repeated the simple motions of digging in and unfolding until, almost without incident, she was able to take apart the present without ripping the paper too deeply. Underneath the decorations sat a simple and small cardboard box with slightly crimpled corners.

Her fingernails quickly found purchase in the folds of the box and opened the container with blazing curiosity. The lid flipped and sitting there, still tightly folded in on itself to display the simple red and white four-leaf clover embroidered into the material, was a delicate ascot. The material making up the cloth was fine, the sewing itself seemed to radiate a certain ease that seemed warm and nostalgic.

Hana couldn’t place a finger on the strange feeling until she unfolded the cloth itself letting out a small folded card that seemed to be tucked away into the folds. The cloth unfolded further and she admired the way the pattern seemed to wave a bit as if swirling into something bigger. As Hana followed the lines it hit her, it must have been father’s handiwork! However, something struck her as a thought came to the forefront: If it was her father’s gift it would’ve been with the letter or at least mentioned in there?

If it wasn’t her fathers than whose? No one else she knew used that distinctive pattern, not even herself. Hana was unable to figure it out; Marisa could sew, but knitting like this was a different story. Yuuka might be able too, though none of the clothes she’d ever worn had such iconic stitchwork and besides, she just didn’t see her as the type that would devote herself to something so domestic. Alice could’ve pulled it off of course, but she had her own style and would’ve mentioned it or presented it with the letter. Sanae could’ve, but she doubted she did much knitting herself.

Breathing in the slightly dusty air through her mouth, letting the cold air chill her lungs, and sighing out warm breath Hana picked up the envelope that fell out hoping that it was more than simple cardstock to wrap the cloth around. She quickly spotted the writing on the tan colored and coarse paper that immediately caught her off guard, it was her mother’s handwriting!

A slight sense of dread overcame Hana, when did her mother learn to knit like this? She had always been terrible at it and even when she applied herself the quality was shoddy at best. Still, Hana brought the letter out into the open and it read on the outside ‘To my daughter, Hana’. Gulping, Hana opened the card up and in ink it read: “I will always cherish your smile”

>>45936805
>>45936797
comfy chapters, they warmed this heart~
>“I will always cherish your smile”
right on the goddanm money, fuck man... B-but it's like they say: suffering builds character! Wait... Without time and contrasting feelings to build said character it's just plain suffering anyway and what develops in such situation are deep-seated traumas? That doesn't make any sense!
Thanks for the chapters!

>>45936797
>>45936805
cute! Hopefully it's not followed by Hana going to confront her mother who's bathing in the shrine's pond and cleaning(?) her fire wings. Ladies need time to do that, Aya would confirm
no, seriously, that's not a shitpost. I'm begging you HanaAnon.......

>>45934392
>Autism
mate, you needed that single word for me to comprehend everything~
the actual points make sense, thank you for it! Also, since we're writing Yukari at the same time, could you make Goro and Seija hold off information about Sekai herself and, at most, be vague about it? I have plans for their first meeting in the following Yukari/Anon chapters

>>45936797
>>45936805
Cute. I never figured Reimu would be so good at knitting, it's a lovely gift.

>>45941157
She had a training arc in the Chen healing chapters

>>45940552
Oh yeah no worries the literally can't tell anyone about their children or Senkai because Sagume's power

>>45942240
oh, sorry! I misremembered and was under theimpression it was only the two magical fetus. Thanks for the clarification!

>>45927850 (3/3—p1)
—
I watch, heart thumping and still as a statue; in my mind's eye, that expression of his is like an intriguing painting—barely contained fury, clutching what he considers precious, whatever dead or fabricated it might be; skin shivering with intensity with the tall posture of a man ready to take on the world…

Those were true emotions.

Layering them on top of all interactions we've had comes naturally—the hours spent in each other's arms, his meek adoration of every inch of my body, thrusting deep inside and murmuring delightful words in my ears—the usual excitement of the thought is lost when comparison bitterly follows; truth always known yet until now ignored, for living in a sweet lie is much easier: there was never an ounce of passion in his eyes or truth to his words.

Why would there be anyway?

… Because it was with me. Me and him…

I wanted him to feel just as strongly as I was feeling.

“… 'Kari?” I turn to Flan, still in my arms, her features puzzled and disconcerted, all very unfit for Gensokyo's cutest nuclear device—results of her life inside that dammed basement. “Why did you hurt Chen?”

That pull of anguish and guilt inside, pleading me to go check on Chen, forms the next words. “Sorry you had to see that, Flan-chan~I was… Excited to see you and hadn't seen Chen, and so did what I did.” She frowns and, gently, I play with a lock of golden hair… So beautiful, of a shade just a tad livelier than mine. “Sometimes you just happen to have your eyes focused on something so intensely, you turn blind to the world around you… Be careful with that, okay? Don't be like me…” It's all said with a playful tone and a sweet smile, yet the words taste acidic in my mouth. Why? For the same motives I’d often go to that precipice and scream my woes to the uncaring world.

Flan slowly nods, thoughtful. Very cute~

“Anon said your maid was cooking, right? Why don't you go help her? Cooking is something everyone should know how to do~”

A moment of silence follows, her deep red eyes on mine—wearing those clothes, looking like a miniature of myself; this flowing golden hair and unparalleled strength to stand above everyone else as a god in everything but name… If I stopped thinking, even if for just a moment, this right here… It could be perfect; it could be everything I so very much seek—yet it's only that: a moment, which is broken by her beautiful shining smile. “Hm, okay~! I'll go help Sakuya-san after checking on Anon and Chen-chin~!” She swiftly jumps out of my arms and anxiously rushes inside the shrine.

My arms feel hollow, as if an empty bird’s nest.

… But it's not perfect. She doesn't carry my blood, my Gap—her love have limits and stronger bonds could sway her away from me… She'll never be perfect.

Alone in the empty world of snow and surrounded by a fake living forest, I tenderly touch the only thing that may be real here.

You'll be perfect…

Yet, you'll take some time to grace my life, right? Nine months… Mama can barely wait for you—because when you arrive, everything will be just right…

I close my eyes, recomposing my semblance, leaving those thoughts for my dreams. The present are those eyes of fire that have burned themselves into my mind, their allure growing stronger with each step I take towards the inside of the shrine. My skin heats up and my core shakes like a tree against a storm—such a weird reaction to words of spite, of muscles expressing rage in a sonata of primal manhood, eyes like bared fangs, strong arms clutching life, tiny and frail—not truth: a human could never hope to equate a youkai's strength… Yet, at that moment, things didn't seem so simple.

A gap takes off my shoes as I mull over my reaction to his little outburst, and I stop when I notice I hadn't even questioned for a moment what'd be punishment for speaking up against me like that… My lips pressed, plans put in the back burner and thunderstorm of feeling dispersed, usual calm and elegance returning to me, a perfect mask of porcelain…

But beneath it, the question had an answer: it was genuine.

His innocent love before his breakup with Reimu tempted me, took tight hold of me and laced my heart in stuporing love. I drank and drank from that well until, before I could notice, it had dried up. Love can still be cultivated in that soil; poetically, the seeds would be the fruits of his seed growing inside of me~

What he showed me is that—even if the well dried under the salt of fake smiles and pleasantries, of love making without love—there is still genuineness inside him to be given… in the form of deep-seated hatred.

That hatred towards me, hidden and bottled up, all mine…

My heart pumped and my legs wobbled, femininity excited, body intoxicated by this discovery, tepid warmth turned firestorm when fantasies start to form and grow and grow—

Love and hatred, me and you—two sides of the same coin, a wafer-thin boundary.

… A giggle escapes me.

In the end, you do feel as strongly as I do, Anon~

>>45944626
Uh oh

>>45944626
Love and Hatred in equal measure with a line finely drawn between them. Gap moe: Yukari's ultimate fetish cultivated and ready to bear fruit.

>>45944845
winning is back on the menu!

>>45944626
Curious how yukari views Hana in relation to her pregnancy, does she even care about Hana? Is Hana going to be used as an older sister for her child in yukari's eyes or will she see Hana as competition for anon's affection for her child?

>>45944626
Bros, I don't think gappy is going to change for the better.

>>45946769
about how she sees Hana, I'd say like “A means to an end”;
>Hana was first used to destroy Anon so Yukari could traumatize him enough as to complete the initial “fuck Reimu and Anon so badly they will never break up/harm the other again”, rebuilding both as she saw fit
>but it soon evolved into Hana being used as a failsafe for Anon to not just off himself when she's not watching, probably seeing the 'emotional void' state he was as said by Patchy, though that abated with mainly Chen/Ran/Takane/Aya to keep him together.
>Then Hana was used as manpower for her side and an emotional nuclear device on the Jobber Squad, but that failed with Reimu coming to the picture
so while Yukari does “care” about her, she sees her more like a darling slave she keeps close for the benefits/enjoyment and will mercilessly use to further her interests. If Yukari wins, no doubt Hana will be used more explicitly than Reimu was to keep the Hakurei Clan alive and so the great barrier -- probably still important, even with the sword plan, as Yukari desires to keep Gensokyo's state as a haven.
that's just my views on it as Yukari's writer, though. Everyone sees Gensokyo a tad differently, after all~
in relation to her pregnancy and the child, Hana would indeed be a big sister.
>Hana
>competition
heh
but without joking, Hana hardly classifies as even a possible threat, Yukari has too much power over her for that; there's Anon too, who's not really fond of fucking his daughter and would likely use his spellcard [Seal of the Suicide King: Knife Trick] if he'd still have to fuck her even without Yukari's interference
but, again, that's just me.

>>45889964 (55/?)

As Tewi leaves, Marisa cannot help but wonder about the rabbit. Yuuka was definitely correct, but did she have any moral pedestal? She committed the same crime.

She raped Anon and conceived a child under false pretenses. B-But he at least wanted to do it. Did he want to do it with Tewi? D-Did he want to do it with all the inaba? And what of the pregnancies? Did he know? Is he happy to have so many children or did they force him one after another?

Tewi clearly feels no guilt, so Marisa would want to say that Anon wasn’t abused, but perhaps Tewi is more shameless than she appears. If so…

Before Marisa could finish that thought, Mima began. “Allow me to state the obvious, we are at war. Before, it was my intention to adhere to the customs of Gensokyo’s incidents. Doing so would have afforded us a considerable level of protection and greatly diminished the risk of bloodshed. Now, however, that would be foolish. Yukari has shown her hand; she cannot be trusted to keep to any pacts or abide by any set of morals. At this point, I fail to see anything she would not be willing to do to secure victory. For that reason attempting to maintain any level of decency would be putting everything we care about at risk.”

It’d be incorrect to say Mima was pacing because she lacked legs, but there isn’t a better word to describe the way the vengeful spirit floated back and forth. She’s so assured, entirely confident in her path. Marisa wishes she could feel the same. “Wars are won and lost on initiative. Yukari has seized on our blindness and taken it. She has allies, she has done unspeakable things to those we care about, and she is preparing countermeasures. We meanwhile have been building strength and stockpiling potions. I will not say those efforts were wasted as without them we likely would stand no chance against Yukari, however, at this point, little can be gained from a few more days of training. Now is the time to gather intelligence and sabotage Yukari in any way we can. To do that we need to know her allies-”

Yuuka interrupts suddenly, the slightest beginnings of a blush on her cheeks. “I have a list. I do not know if there are any others, but the information I have gathered seems quite extensive.”

Mima ceases her pacing and blinks before giving Yuuka a confused look. “You have a list of her allies? How did you get it?”

Yuuka clears her throat, her cheeks beginning to properly heat up. “Her lackeys, the incompetent monk and his Amanojaku… mate approached me with some questions. Basic things like if we planned to actually destroy Gensokyo and my trip to heaven to acquire Hana’s gift. In turn, they gave a list of her allies. If I recall, a Taoist witch, the Scarlet Devil Mansion, the Kiketsu family, a strange Oni, various Tengu, and tentatively Kasen. Apparently, her loyalty is uncertain.”

Eh? The Scarlet Devil Mansion? Patchy and everyone? Why would they get involved in this, it doesn’t concern them. Why… why’d…?

At the very the other guests share similar expressions. Alice looks wary, Aunn is furious, Mima looks slightly confused while Shinki-wait, Shinki is back?

The Goddess of Makai is indeed back and seems to have things to say. “I believe we are forgetting something here.”

Mima tilts her head at Shinki, even more confused than before. “What is it?”

Shinki nods towards Kosuzu who panics as the room’s attention falls on her. Shinki continues, “Kosuzu has been a faithful ally so far, but the danger has drastically risen now. The current situation is perhaps more than she initially signed up for. There would be no shame in leaving now and looking after your kin.”

Aunn places a hand on Kosuzu’s arm while giving her a resolute look. “Don’t worry if you can’t go any further, we’ll… we’ll beat every single one of their butts extra hard for you!”

Kosuzu looks down, avoiding Shinki’s eyes. Marisa expects to hear the bookkeeper mumble out an excuse as to why she can’t continue, but she is totally silent.

Shinki shrugs, “I will not force your hand, but you will need to make up your mind soon. Now where were we?”

>>45947687 (56/?)

Looking away towards the far wall, Mima clears her throat before speaking in an even more professional tone. “Well I… I am not the most up-to-date with the modern powers of Gensokyo. Could those with more experience give their impression about this force?”

Well, Marisa certainly knows a lot about the SDM, she’d sto-borrowed indefinitely from them for quite a long time. “The Scarlet Devil Mansion is definitely the scariest of them ze. They have five powerful figures: There’s a maid who can freeze time and is really good with a knife, a youkai magician who’s… probably weaker than me and Alice after all that training, a Chinese martial artist who has qi and stuff, and two vampire sisters. One of the vampires has the ability to manipulate fate and the other has very strong destruction powers. I wouldn’t want to face either in a fight ze.”

Alice shoots Marisa a look before adding, “She has beaten both in spell card duels before. To add to that, it’s strange that they are getting involved. The SDM is not normally an ally of Yukari’s and it’s been uninvolved up until now. Them joining now is strange.”

Yuuka concurs, “There’s nothing for them to gain here. All this will do is make them enemies, myself included, and put them in danger. Perhaps Yukari is lording something over their head? Still, as prideful as those vampires are, I find that unlikely.”

Mima sighs, “Perhaps there is some secret to their involvement, but I wouldn’t hold my breath about finding it. As it stands, the vampires are the easiest targets to prepare against. Silver weapons, wooden stakes, and sunlight. We’ll need to make something to harness the sun against them in Makai. If we can disrupt her magic, the magician should easily be crushed by a physical fighter. Youkai magicians are fairly weak in that regard. The maid… is she unquestionably devoted type?”

After seeing quite a few nods, Mima continues. “That makes things easy, I’ve fought her type before. Repeatedly target her master and she’ll be clambering to take hits for her. The martial artist… rain curses on her I suppose.”

As Mima continues, one of Alice’s dolls raises its hand. Unfortunately, Mima doesn’t seem to notice as she asks, “The witch, does anyone know who that could be in reference to?”

Marisa, Alice, and Kosuzu share a look. There’s a long pause before Kosuzu finally says, “She’s… she’s pure evil. Her name is Seiga Kaku and she… she has a jianshi and she uses fetuses to fuel her spell cards.”

There’s another pause. Mima looks up Shinki who is staring back at Sariel. The first one to speak is Aunn, who sums up the room’s thoughts succinctly, “Wha! WHAT?!?! Why… why didn’t anyone tell me? I always knew that she was weird and Reimu said to stay away from her, but…”

Mima takes a deep breath (which is strange since she shouldn’t breathe), before stating, “I should have seen this coming. The influence and power of the human Gods of Gensokyo have clearly faded to almost nothing. This in turn has allowed Youkai and their affiliates to embrace some of their darker tendencies without repercussions, as the only powers to hold them to account are Youkai or Youkai-affliated the only real rules are to not annoy the existing powers that be. Still, how could you have let this happen.”

That doll from before seems to grow more agitated. She’s jumping up and down, in a bid for attention, but she gets very little as Yuuka begins to talk. “It is becoming abundantly clear that I have been neglectful to Gensokyo. I have gazed too long inwardly at my garden and neglected the crimes happening beyond it.”

Shinki nods, “Something to that effect. It simply became more pleasant to look at Makai and ignore the outside world, but now it seems we must take a more active role in guiding this land.”

Aunn seems to still be hung up on the matter, “W-Where does she even get them? Does she take them from the villagers or does Yukari take them from the outside?”

Shinki shrugs, “They’re easy enough to grow if you’re knowledgeable in alchemy, especially if you consider them disposable.”

There is another silence before Mima says, “Anyway, we are unbinding that one, sealing her magic, and then we are killing her. I presume we are all in agreement regarding that?”

The nods came readily.

>>45947701 (57/?)

Clearling her throat (again a redundant action), Mima continues, “Little can be said about the Tengu and the Oni. If the latter isn’t easily recognizable they likely aren’t particularly strong. Raw magical might and maybe some beans should suffice. Now what about this family?”

Alice and Aunn both look towards Marisa who wracks her brain to recall the beast incident. “So the Kiketsu family is one of the warring factions in the animal realm of hell. She’s in charge of the otter spirits and can make you lose the will to fight. She’s relatively tough but… Kiketsu! She’s enemies with this Goddess named Keiki whose whole thing is about creating powerful idols and protecting the human spirits of Animal Hell. We could ally Keiki against Kiketsu and Yukari!”

The doll begins flying around attempting to grab people’s attention, but she’s ignored as something odd happens. Sariel speaks up, “Why are there human spirits in animal hell?”

There’s a long pause after that before Shinki replies, “People are animals, aren’t they?”

Sariel frowns, clearly dissatisfied with that answer. “Yeah, but don’t they have the rest of hell?”

The little doll lands on the table and takes a bow before a vaguely masculine but very indistinct voice shouts, “WHY DOES IT MATTER?! YOU HAVE A WAR TO FIGHT!”

The room jumps at that, before Aunn asks, “Mr. Hakurei God?”

The voice replies, “Hello Aunn, I hope you are doing well given the circumstances.”

Aunn looks down, ashamed. “It’s a lot… how are you here?”

Before the voice could reply, Alice interjects. “Why do you assume that’s the Hakurei God?”

Aunn smiles, “Oh, that’s simple! Sometimes when I curled up into a ball around the Yin-Yang ball, I’d hear a voice calling me a good girl and saying that they were proud of me. It’s the same voice!”

With an uncharacteristically uncertain look, Mima adds, “It’s faint, to the point that I couldn’t notice it until looking for it specifically, but I can feel the Hakurei god’s presence. What’s happened to you.”

The voice huffs, “So many years with no proper prayers. There was faith enough sure, but no direction of belief to it. My names, my legends were forgotten. I’m a shell of my former self with a wretch of a shrine maiden whose daughter rejects me and said shrine maiden’s husband locked in a Youkai’s brothel.”

Before anyone could reply, the Hakurei continues, “Enough of this, there is business to be done. An alliance with Keiki is obvious. She and her human spirits could assist you against Yukari and in return you can give them sanctuary in Makai. With the worship of the spirits and Keiki’s aid, I could regain a form and Mima could actually ascend to godhood.”

Mima blinks, “You would ally me? After everything that’s happened, you’re willing to ignore all of that?”

The Hakurei god sounds nonplussed, “Of course. You’ve obviously changed and I need allies. It is natural we work together against our common enemies. Even after that, faith is not a zero-sum game so cooperation would benefit the two of us.”

>>45947722 (58/?)

After a few moments of consideration Mima sighs, “We can discuss this later. Kasen and Yukari. Both are major threats, how are we going to deal with them?”

The Hakurei god is the first to respond, “Kasen may be convinced to switch sides. Failing that, she is the weakest of the sages. Discretion should be taken with her, even if she sides with Yukari, she likely will hold back given her torn loyalties. Yukari is another beast entirely. You must distract her, diminish her powers, and then overwhelm her with extreme force.”

Mima nods, “Right, as we’ve discussed before. To sum it all up, in the time remaining, we should focus on my apotheosis and forging an alliance with this Keiki fellow. When the day comes, we should launch a strike force of myself, Alice, Yuuka, Reimu, and Aunn. After distracting them briefly, I shall act as a catalyst to force the HSE and the land around it into a Makaian pocket dimension designed to strengthen our magic and weaken our enemies. From there the forces of Makai and potential Keiki will lie in wait to turn the tides of battle, Hana may take the field at this time too. In the chaos, Yuuka and a force of dolls are to breach the HSE proper and begin fighting their way to Anon. We should prepare countermeasures like sunlight and silver against the vampires, countermagic for the witches, and seals for Yukari. From there we can only hope for success. Oh, and should the pocket dimension plan fail, we shall force Makai’s manifestation in Gensokyo proper and that should hopefully achieve a similar effect. Anything to add?”

Shinki casts a glance at Marisa, which makes the little magician shift uncomfortably. “You know, there are ways that Marisa could take the field if she wished. We’d simply need to speed up the pregnancy or transfer it.”

Mima frowns, “Sariel hit Shinki for me, please. That is not something you can spring suddenly on a pregnant woman. Marisa, know it is an option, but do not feel forced to do anything regarding your child.”

As Sariel carries out Mima’s request, Yuuka says, “If I could just get something to Anon. It’d greatly help my efforts to rescue him, it's a tracker of sorts.”

Rubbing her forehead, Shinki replies, “I could handle that, I was considering meeting this Mr. Anon anyway. I’ll just say I’m interested in seeing what all the fuss is about if she asks.”

Yuuka frowns for a moment before nodding, “Perhaps me not going in person is for the best. Who knows what Yukari might do.”

Writing this felt like pulling teeth and I both feel like I went way too long and barely touched any of the things I wanted to cover. Sorry if there are problems with grammar, it is very late and I want to go to bed. The next chapters should be fun though.

>>45947738
>>45947722
>>45947701
>>45947687
>silver weapons for the vampires... One that can manipulate fate to never be hit and the other that'll obliterate from existence anything that comes close
>thinking Yukari will face them face front, with all her allies spread thin and fighting individually and not as a cohesive unit
>"Kasen is the weakest of the sages"
perhaps that's why they're called the Jobber Squad, kek. Will be funny them going there expecting no support, and suddenly comes Okina with half Gensokyo. If one thing, that'll create a juicy confusion Yukari would immediately seize upon~
Thank God they have Reimu on their side, otherwise this would be a comedy
But it's nice to see their war plans blossoming into something articulable. Better than going there with no plan at all!
>spoiler
take it easy, Anon...

>>45948011
Not any of those anons, but remi's power, at least appears to me, that everything will generally work itself out in her favor even if she loses a fight, going by what I've played of eosd since despite getting her ass kicked things were good for the mansion. I think the scarlet girls will end up ok regardless if yukari fails or succeeds. Remi only cares about okina being weird about her sister (Justified) and eliminating that threat and could care less for the rest of yukari's antics so long as yukari doesn't get weird about her sister too.

>>45888607
I understand, so I shouldn't read this.

>>45948396
makes sense, but it'd say that's because of spellcard rules where you can't make yourself invincible, and without them Remi could manipulate fate to favor her so immensely she'd likely leave this war without a scratch. That's how I view her powers, tho, her writer may write it differently in the finale

>>45944626
Oh no, she developed a fetish for making Anon angry with her...

>>45951760
Lmao, or her fate control is the most impressive chuuni bluff we've ever seen, such is the power of charisma.

>>45952410
that's always a possibility with her…

>>45948011
>"Kasen is the weakest of the sages"
True though, even in canon Kasen is the jobberist of the sages.

>>45954573
kasen's the weakest willingly though
oni kasen is the only one to just completely shrug off every single attack reimu could throw at her until she got the sword shard out

>>45954573
>>45954615
There's no evidence Kasen is weaker than Yukari or Okina, they've simply never fought and thus we have no idea. For how hyped Yukari and Okina were neither seemed to actually be that powerful, Kasen is the only sage we know that was a violent warrior previously and while her evils are sealed away there's no proof that she's any less powerful physically or magically than her peers.
In fact the only ones confirmed stronger in some aspect are Yuuma, Flan, Yuugi, and Suika. Even for them its only in some aspect like Yuuma and Flans ability, Yuugi's strength, and Suika's magic(in relation to being stronger than Yuugi magically

>>45944626 (3/3—p2)
—
The inside of the shrine was, as always, pristine. Memories laced every corner of it, yet I paid no attention; my eyes focused on the kneeling man in the living room. Tenderly and with clear experience, he cared for Chen's scrapped knee, the bakeneko mumbling something I couldn't hear with him, stopping when her ears twitched and those big eyes, pictures of fear, turned to me. Guilt twinged inside but was obfuscated by this electrifying discovery—love and hatred. Me and him~

Still, I gestured with my hand, stepping closer. Anon jumped a little before tensing up when a Gap opened on Chen's knee, bandages falling to reveal no trace of wound. “… Not everything must be solved with power.” He mutters as I stop behind him, rage and bitterness perceivable in his tone, though drastically neutered. The bakeneko lowered her head to avoid meeting my gaze.

I hum, containing myself and my passionate fantasies. Planning, watching—striking when time's best. That's Yukari Yakumo. “A mistake done, a mistake corrected. It’s just my way~Chen.” I turn to her, the bakeneko refusing to lift her head until Anon, bearing a sweet smile, rubbed her two arms and their eyes met, a conversation done without words. The next moment, she timidly met my gaze, squirming in place. “I'm sorry for hurting you, okay? It wasn't my intention.” I kneeled by Anon's side, the man so stiff one could think of him as a statue. “Today's been a very… hard day for me, and seeing Flandre, someone I've grown to care a lot for recently, made me not think of my actions.” I take her hand on mine and am not surprised by the lack of desire to pull away, eyes large with tinted hope and conflict. She's just a robot without feelings, after all—she'd never refuse her master…

Yet, this warmth in my heart…

A night where she'd appeared all battered and bruised, blood covering her clothes and face, flashed through my mind. The perplexing pain of being ignored for the first time, too…

“You forgive me?”

“… Y-Yeah…” It's said fast and low, though it's also coupled with a nod. “Can I go now? I-I'm hungry…” The lie was said while not looking at me but at Anon, who softly patted her head before making space for her to leave. Chen ran away, tense and befuddled, joining the voices coming from the kitchen.

Alone in the living room, I gently caught Anon's hand on mine—his innate desire to pull didn't strike my heart now—turning my eyes to meet his, amazed if for a moment with the profound conflict I saw in there, which was swiftly given life: “Y-Yukari—Dear, I… please don't take that too seriously. That o-outburst wasn't me; I swear to you! I didn't mean any of those words. Don't take offense; I don't want someone hurt because of my mis—”

I shut him up with a kiss.

What a sweetheart, selflessly concerned about others first~. Considering the threats I made months earlier, it’s understandable. Ah, if I were to be aware of this back then… It’s surprising how thoroughly repulsed I am by him returning our kiss with pretend fondness and love.

No… Lies and facades won't do anymore, not when our beautiful child—our world~—grows inside of me.

Love and hate, crashing waves of ecstasy that shake my very core, heartbeat quickening as the kiss ends, hands tenderly gripping his face, those wide eyes hiding fear and choler as the silence grew. Now that he has shown me his true feelings, it's impossible to continuously miss the vein of hatred pulsing inside those pupils, the stiffness of his strong hands on my body or the unwillingness of his lips to meet mine—a complete and utter despise held back by threats and submissiveness that were coded into him.

I’ll put all that to an end now~

The voices in the distance suddenly fade, and he scowls. “Don't fret—they'll be enjoying making dinner in a paradisiacal house of mine on the Caribbean~” My hands go down, touching strong muscles that jerk as if set on fire. “When all is done, me and you will too… But for now, Anon, I want you.”

A usual detachment spreads on those eyes together with a smirk so fake it's vomit-inducing, his hands about to reach my weak spots, mouth preparing one of the many trained lines—

“—… You hate me, don't you?” It's said abruptly and with an innocent smile.

He freezes, eyes bulging, facade shattered; honesty blinks in there for a moment, ‘yes’, but a fake smile quickly drowns it out. My heart thunders and my body salivates for action—a guttural fire lifting the sides of my mouth.

“W-What? I… I don't understand, dear, what do you…?” I don’t contain my serene giggle, his brow creasing in disarray—but, oh, visible it is in each inch of his face and quivering body. He looks like a bird struggling to open its wings. “… W-What do you want from me?! Is this a trick to punish me for that out—”

I come face-to-face with him, my eyes gleaming and smile lovely. “Tell me the truth, Anon… Now.” I whisper.

He stares; the melodic silence near infinite. A moment all ours~

No hesitation: “… Yes, I do.”

>>45955259
next chapters will be smut, hopefully I still know how to write those; been so long~

>>45955279
chokefucking yukarin~

>>45955259
>moments before yukari flips his gap between love and hate

>>45955349
would be fucking hysterical, though she's sperging hard about genuine feelings, and reversing his feelings kinda defeats that

>>45955259
>You hate me, don't you?
This gives me ideas.

>>45954573
>>45948011
Nice to see Mima's assessments cause some arguments. For the record, Mima's assessment is intentionally flawed and biased. I for one think that absolute fate manipulation is just a little too bullshit to fit well, though Kasen is definitely stronger than Mima gives her credit for. She's just looking down on the sage because Kasen's not really a spellcaster.

Though the real answer is that relative power in Touhou is intentionally vague and can be whatever is convenient at the moment

>>45955449
Takaneanon…? Why are you taking ideas from the woman-that-did-nothing-wrong discovering her degradation fetish?

>>45947738
Would have never expected the Hakurei god to help out directly. But with the way things are going he really needs to give them a hand.

>>45955279
I have a bad feeling about this.

>>45955279
This only works if anon dies during it.

>>45957943
poor attempt, sex cat.

>>45957450
I believe in Anon. Yukari's gap fetish is nothing to be concerned about. Let his faith in his friends and his perfect hatred preserve him. There's nothing the fox or cat can't heal.

>>45957001
greetings, Anon. I'm part of the Honorary Affiliation of Gensokyo's Superwomen, or HAGS for short, a group that aims to improve the lives of Gensokyan women that have suffered massive ridicule for their status as experienced individuals. I have noticed you used wrong terms when defining the very young and lively pink Hermit. Please, in the future consider the replacements:
>Fat
Plump. She's beautiful in every right place
>Dumb
Creative. You need a bunch of that stuff to talk to animals, after all
>Hag
That's a terrible word with terrible connotations. Kasen is young and full of life; so much so she's worthy for two! Use experienced as a replacement.
Thank you for your attention, have a nice day!

I've never seen anyone consider kasen a hag before. Even ZUN thinks she's an older sister type

>>45958635
I always felt Yuugi acted more like a older sisterly type; Suika the fun sibling and Kasen the straightforward mother who's very caring anyway, though perception of hagness really goes from person to person for the likes of Kasen.

Happy 2,000 hits, Hakurei Shrine Experience!

>>45959668
right on the 4th month, too! Nice~

I would imagine Hata no Sekai would go full blown Allied Mastercomputer on Yukari and her HSE buddies if Anon ended up dying.

>>45962818
it'd be very dramatic indeed, but she's got Yuyuko's power over life and death, so probably not. And considering what she did to Seija/Goro and the things she said to Patchy/Meiling, doubtful she'd have any qualms on manipulating him back into life

>>45962818
>Sekai goes haywire with her father dead, and kamikazws the HSE and everyone inside
>dead, Yukari meets Eiki
>"Yukari Yakumo, you little fucker. You made a shit decision with your trash HSE. It's fucking bad this trash brothel. I'll become back my sanity. I hope you will in your next time a cow, in a milking farm, you sucker"
>gets sent to superhell
the good bad-ending.
I'll stop shitposting and go back to writing...

>>45964350
If in some ending Yukari were to die, Eiki would be frothing at the mouth for the opportunity to judge her. Her judgment is made instantly, but she wants to savor reading out her long, long list of sins.

>>45965933
Yukarin and her year-long judgement~

>>45944626 (3/3—p3)
—
The following silence was piercing.

Such admission would've guaranteed horrible things in a different life, different world… But here, said with such ravenous eyes and stalwart posture, a stockpile so deep and pronounced of hatred born from two years of continuous punishment, it shamelessly made my heart thump like crazy. His words—always sweet, supportive, and caring—lies upon more lies. So many women experience that same fake love he'd show me; a few that I'm aware felt shards of a love that, a long time ago, was Reimu's, tainted by time and her deeds. They all drink from a dried-up well, fighting for scraps…

… But his hatred and my love, together—this resonance…

It's ours alone~

Still, those eyes lose confidence egregiously fast; fears and doubts settle as the silence grows into a mighty beast. I gently place a hand on his chest, my smile welcoming. “Why do you hate me, Anon? Tell me every facet of that hatred—I want to know a side of you no other woman knows~”

His stare transmutes into jagged knives, throat swollen with a block of ice and body tense, all hairs up. He knows that was an order; the consequences of disobedience still echoing inside his mind… But, oh, it was good, wasn't it, Anon? To finally let an ounce of that pressure out, to stop pretending and just lash out against the world that has been pushing you down for two decades now—a mere bucketful, taken from a sea of hidden feelings. “… I hate everything about you.” Despite his rational mind screaming about that being a bad idea—the consequences of playing that kind of game with someone like me—, the allure of freedom to a caged bird was simply too much. I brushed his strong chest, my core trembling with necessity. “I hate what you've done to my family, to my Hana… You've twisted a sweet and diligent girl, my daughter, into a lustful monster that doesn't consider the desires of her father anymore! And I… I still love her so much, despite everything she has done to me! Every day, I curse you for defiling my little girl… And I hate my powerlessness to change anything.” Each word is like a snowball, growing as he speaks with ferocity, physical reactions visible in contracting muscles, exaggerated expressions of utter pain, tears welling behind those beautiful mirrors…

My heart screams, my body is lit afire. I caress the bend of his neck, his body begging for him to move away, but the struggle against deep-seated threats is futile. “I prefer her like that~so gullible.” He bares his teeth as his tears fall, his physique reflecting that of a caged beast. “What more, Anon?”

“… E-Everything you've done to me, to the people I love… What did we do to deserve this?! Was I a monster in my past life? Is maintaining a failed marriage a sin?” Building and building, like a volcano about to erupt. “… I despise myself for creating wonderful things in this hellhole.” Oh? My heart leaped at the unexpected turn of events and the intense emotion—exclusivity~ “Takane-san brings me back to a time when I had no worries; Ran, Aya, Alice, Marisa, Yuuka… They were like Reimu when we married, with that gleam in her eye and a certainty that the future would be very bright and full of joy…” The man is sobbing with pure, unadulterated rage; I wonder if my arms around his neck feel like chains. “C-Chen brings me back to when Hana wouldn't look at me and see a man, but a father—she'd show me things she thought were neat; ask about what there’d be for dinner; and…”

I press my chest against his, our hearts connected, both furiously beating for opposite—yet so equal—motives…

Our eyes met, the second of silence long…

For a split second, wrath became uncontrollable, hands circling my neck like my arms circled his.

His hold, however, is a choke.

… Though there's no strength behind it, no grip, his eyes narrowed and mine widened, but not because of the 'attack'. No, that meant nothing.

“I hate you with every fiber of my being…” He mutters as a conclusion comes from the depths of his heart with a tone of, surprisingly, relief. “You're a monster through and through, like Reimu—the way you harmed Chen… Just like Reimu, you destroyed me. You've shattered my peace and my being.” He tries to strengthen the grip around my neck; he tries hard, but nothing comes. “… And I hate myself for thinking there's still hope for you.” Everything comes to a full halt.

What…?

Something deep inside, a voice from a thousand years ago: “Stop this. Change… Last chance.”

… It sounded exactly like Yuyuko…

I remember her eyes under that cherry blossom tree. Full of life, gleaming, smiling at me—

Her lifeless eyes, her slit throat, the rain above, and blood everywhere. So much blood, isn't it so, Renko…? The Gap can prolong the future but never unmake the past.

Weakness…

… Not again. Never again…

I gently take one of his hands and move it to my cheek, his thumb catching a small, stranded tear; my other hand creates a Gap over my body.

The next moment, I’m fully nude.

>>45968303 (3/3—p4)
—
His eyes drink from my body and reactions are immediately visible: death and spite in his pupils, yet excitement in his manhood, hands gripping me strongly, tense yet anxious. A man, through and through—despite it sometimes fading away. Nothing that the Gap and Eientei's medication couldn't easily solve—and I come closer, ignoring the few tears escaping me for whatever reason—joy, must be. To be connected by this carnal resonance that conjoins internal feelings of self with the flesh, 'The Mind', and 'The Body', at last finding harmony in the sheer magnitude of my love and his hatred. “Your rage is deep, unseen until this moment. It'd be unlike of you to show it, after all—you're a calm and sweet man, Anon, and those women only see that side of you… I'm now witness of your rage. Of humanity hidden right here~” I poke his heart with a finger, hand slowly descending towards his unwanted erection. “Imprint everything your lovely soul will never show any other woman on my body—shower that hatred onto me… Your only outlet, Anon~”

And so I take his mouth on mine. For a moment there's weakness, his arms falling to the side and a groan of tiredness—weary of routine—leaving him; but his mind knows that must not be the case: first were the threats, urging him to follow every rule of mine as if gospel; then, the delicacy that is burning internalized rage. A cruel, cruel world that crushes the man who’d dare to shout his woes to the skies. A man that'd be ridiculized for lashing back against the Hakurei Miko, who endured for 20 years a life of unmitigated misery and unfairness, of torture that was passed down onto his next generation.

An unprecedented rage welled up inside a good soul…

… Rage that had, finally, found a way out.

Anon pulled me to him as streaming tears fell, brows creased, eyes closed, and he took my mouth with intimate, ferocious kisses unlike any others we have shared. It did not stop when the air became rarefied, arousing, and dangerous, like a dance over a hanging rope, my mind going blank and my lungs screaming. His hands gripped my biceps with strength, and an overwhelming energy of virility crushed me. The air was consumed like a feast, a conflagration of emotions that brought us to the floor and toppled some decorations along the way—I couldn’t care less about them—my back hitting the wood hard, exposing my naked femininity as his tears and our saliva built up in the maddening kiss. His throbbing dick poked my thigh, fertilizing an entire acre of lust inside of me.

When our lips finally parted with a loud ‘pop,’ a concupiscent speed followed, us both panting desperately for air and nearly purple from the suicide kiss.

Our love-making of before and now layered on my mind as I watched him rip the juban off as if hateful of the thing, exposing a scarred body—mine and the world's victim—resentment in every movement. Gone were the slow motions, sensual in nature, and 'passionate', and I can't help but be glad all of that disgusting copulation never bore a child—our world growing inside of me shouldn't be the fruit of a union without emotion.

Oh, how happy I was during the IUI, crying out of joy when our child was finally conceived. You'd be crying there too, wouldn't you, Anon? I’m so happy, it hurts…

It hurts so badly…

“Why did you bring me to this cursed place?!” Gripping my arm, he turned me so that my face pressed against the carpet and my belly flattened against the ground, towering over me. “Rehabilitation?! I was happy already! With Hana, Kanako, Marisa—everyone! I was healing back then!” I closed my eyes in sheer excitement as his strong hands gripped my hips and pulled them up, my back arching and my dripping pussy presenting itself to him, reddened hand marks branding my skin. Love and hatred combine to create fireworks. “But then you came, and I received you in my house warmly… Just so you could drag me into a Gap and destroy my life.” He pressed the tip of his dick against my wet entrance, pleading for his embrace, driven by blinding rage and threats from the past. “Why did you do all of this…? Why did you destroy my life?”

“… Because I love you.” It came out before any thought could be formed, mind hazy with uncontrollable lust and the devastating beauty of intertwined love and hate. He stared at me through the tears and unchained anger, disarray lacing his eyes before his teeth bared; tears thickened and, with one mighty push, invaded my insides.

It was unreal how good it was, like electrocution killing every thought and replacing it with melted lecherousness.

He pumped and pumped inside, my legs reacting with confused movements, arms trembling as I tried to lift my upper body and fell once or twice back on the floor, the force of every penetration creating lewd sounds that ricocheted against the walls.

Every thrust bore a sea of hate, of injustice and unfairness, lashing against a world so very cruel…

… And I took everything—the only one that would~

>>45968318 (3/3—p5)
—
It was raw and wild, animalistic—but more. Much more, as no animal could ever dream of comprehending the avalanche of feelings between us, the magic of connected love and hatred, a sheath uncapable of harm, and a sharp blade capable of stabbing through anything: standing by themselves, trailing a path of destruction, the maker of it and the victim… But together?

Yin-yang.

I moan loudly and move spasmodically, the thrusts hitting deep and giving no rest or thought, sex stripped down to its most basic components, melting my mind and making my flesh dance and my throat sing. Anon groans and huffs, his tears dowsing my back and disappearing in accumulated sweat, one of his hands squashed against the ground beneath my breasts and the other with a grip so tight on my hip I fear it’d draw blood; though care I did not, one hand maidenly moving my hair away from my face and the other against the ground to keep myself supported lest I'd be grinding the wood as if a cheese to an iron grater. My entire body ached, his pounding hips reddening my ass and vaginal fluids slickening down my knees. Unfocused eyes stared at the wall, the hammering reverberating through my flesh with waves of pleasure, a hand of mine unconsciously going to my mouth and holding it open, finding delight in munching my fingers to lessen the overwhelming necessity to just—

—OH! I scream, my legs quivering wildly, belly feeling as though it were spurting out molten lava, my throat tightening as my body suddenly erected, supporting itself on the knees, sloppily hugging Anon with arms arched back. I had just suddenly cummed, Anon's hot breath on my hair propelling the sensitivity that much more, drool escaping the sides of my mouth, his arms squeezing my midriff.

it came so out of nowhere and unexpectedly…

… To lose yourself in love and stimulus, in hatred and pain, a mixture so supernatural yet so natural too…

These last 10 minutes of sublimate ecstasy put every hour-long session we've ever had to utter shame.

I close my eyes, steadying my breathing as sweat poured down from the connection of our bodies, the orgasm-induced tightness choking his dick like a hangman's rope—though here it could be better described as a suicide—and stopping him from moving, his face buried in my hair. “Anon…” I mewl, giving him a side glance, movements displacing my hair and revealing the face of a weary, shamed man; the first was obvious, though the second… “You are liking this~to let go of that hatred, to destroy this body of mine and ravish it like it's revenge… I love you so much, and you hate me so much—earth and sky, bound together~”

The words achieved their goal as he resumed his movements, forcing me to the floor again with sweet genuineness; he prefers to look, do, anything else rather than stare truth in the eye. The pain of being fucked while so sensitive spread like wildfire, but that's just how love is—love hurts.

My chest hurts, my body hurts; my soul has been hurting for so long…

… Here, at least, it hurts good, because if love hurts, the pain of his hatred is just another facet of budding love.

A love that'll fully blossom into a new, beautiful world for the both of us~

Love and hatred, me and you. With this connection, our lonely feelings are not alone anymore, Anon~

His velocity increases, as do my moaning and squirming on the floor; the incoming flood noticeable, result of two entire years we had to know each other's bodies. I move without thinking, following the simple and dearest desire to gaze into his beautiful eyes, switching positions to a missionary-like. He did as he was instinctively taught, though the hatred that permeates every action added a measure of urgency, need, and fury to the way he grasped and lifted my legs, spreading them to reveal my blushing body and bouncing breasts, my fair skin marred by the rough floor and sticky with sweat; his thrust taking on new and maddeningly vigor, presumably from his loathing of the sight of the woman he has come to detest smiling so goddamn mirthfully.

I shed thick tears of joy as my hands spasmed around before meeting their target and tightly holding his chiseled face, nails sinking in need, lips pursed and violet eyes gleaming, mumbling prayers for his love that, with a hurtful moan from him, turned true when his semen exploded inside of me in a way he had never done before, smacking the tip of his rod the farthest he could, his entire sweat-covered body jerking with the overflowing release. It lasted seconds, and I, frowning, stared at our kissing crotches in complete dumbfoundedness, though also silly joy.

All that filled the room next was heavy panting. He curved over my body, still holding my shaking legs up in the air.

This blessed connection…

This singular connection of sheath and sword, unique in nature and composition; one he'll never find in any other woman…

Love and hatred…

… Me and you—our little world~

Anon never stopped crying. Neither did I.

yup, she's lost it

>>45968443
she's just a maiden in love, Anon!

>>45968443
Gappy just finally had her affection returned, she's never been better!

>>45968712
Anon she doesn't love him though, she loves herself and her plans and all of her stupid narcissistic nonsense, but she doesn't give the remotest shit about him. He is a means to and end for her because she herself wants a child for the explicit purpose of having something that loves her unconditionally. She needs to be put down for her own good because a person like that cannot love something else. She will only cause endless pain to her own child and everything around her until she is put down, literally the worst kind of demons aren't those caused by hatred, it's those by love, twisted broken insane love like this.

>>45968943
>She needs to be put down for her own good because a person like that cannot love something else. She will only cause endless pain to her own child and everything around her until she is put down,
Tripcode on, Konngara.

>>45968943
a man that is completely right. Total Yukari death will be swiftly delivered!

>>45968337
>>45968318
>>45968303
these last chapters have put me in a perpetual "it's so over/we're so back" loop regarding Yukarin, fuck man......

>>45959668
I feel like those tags could use a bit of work. Some characters are missing & I feel some tags related to the ongoing story are much appreciated

>>45979202
I handle the fic archive, suggestions would be appreciated and what characters I missed, since I go mostly by characters that protagonized chapters and obvious standouts! Thanks!

>>45979325
What amazes me more than the 2.1k views is the fact that more than 1% of those viewers gave it a kudo. We have an approval rating quantifiable with integers!

>>45979382
yay~!
okay, now back to writing

>>45968943
Hana can fix her

>>45979924
if only Hana could fix herself first…

>>45968905
>she's never been better!
these world define perfectly the next chapters tomorrow~

>>45933636
"So this is a vent." I pointed to the opening to the metal tunnel with the coin I'd just used to take off it's covering.

"We're going to crawl into it and use it to follow Seija and Goro undetected!"

Flandre raised her eyebrows. "Couldn't we just follow them normally, like this?" She said, jumping side to side at such a speed that I could barely see her.

"I think they'll be expecting that. But nobody looks up at the vents, Ran told me not to play in them after all, so nobody we'll be the wiser." I say, beckoning her inside the tunnel.

"Are you sure it's not just because you're a cat?" Flandre asked, tilting her head.

"We'll lose them like this! Come on!" I yelled, ignoring her and batting at the entrance.

Eventually she followed me, snuggled side-by-side, we carefully crawled through the ventilation, peering through each vent to track our progress through the dark, metal, tunnel. Looking through one, we saw a locker room where two naked white wolves sat, the Captain Goro-san had threatened and one of her subordinates.

"The nerve of those two! Throwing out threats and ordering us around-" The subordinate growled, before receiving a quick slap to the neck.

"We were the ones who stepped out of line. We've been charged with serving the Yakumo and they answer to the Yukari-sama directly, they're above us." The captain stated plainly.

The subordinates ears drooped and she mewed quietly "But they're clearly up to something with that strange aura and Humans and Amanojaku are apt to misbehave..."

The captain simply glared at her, unmoving. "I understand Captain." She relented. "Even if our betters act unreasonable, if we besmirch our honor, the fault is ours."

The captain nodded approvingly. "You're mostly correct, but your outlook is still immature. A good master is not nessecarily a fair or kind one."

"Oh?" The subordinate asked, tail wagging in anticipation of some interesting fact.

"It may take you, a wolf with less then a hundred years, a little more time to understand, but a 'reasonable' master spoils their subordinates and, in just a few decades, they become weak and meager. A true lord, will sharpen their charge's skill against a whetstone of adversity, acting within their station and with a firm hand and giving praise where it's due, but still, never flattering their underling's accomplishments. It is the highest honor of any white wolf to receive even a nod of praise from such a lord." The captain said, ears slightly flicking as she did so.

"Even so Senapi! That man seemed so ready to attack you, I could hardly call that a firm hand!" The subordinate protested.

The captain waved her finger and flicked her tail, "And who did that man have at his side? An Amanaojaku."

The subordinate tilted her head, confused, until she realized something and her face and pale skin went red, complimenting her snow white fur. "Ah! So their actions had the opposite feelings and...oh, oh dear." She murmured, fidgeting side-to-side.

"I have a feeling we shouldn't be listening to this." I whisphered to Flandre, who's eyes closely followed the swaying white wolves tails.

"Do you think Sis will let me keep one?" She asked.

"Maybe if you ask nicely? Come on, we gotta catch up to those two!"

For some time we squirmed in the vent, going as fast as we could without making too much noise, until finally we arrived at another slit and I saw the familiar black and red-flower embroidered robes as well as the girlish skirt with a reverse-bow, facing off with the scary Oni-looking swords man. Oh no, they've run into Konngara.

The two parties were silent as they faced each other in the hall, both sizing up the other, before, thankfully, Goro stepped to one side. But Konngara didn't walk past them, instead, she turned to Seija.

"So, I see Yukari brands just about any feeble Youkai who'll serve here with those symbols, How dissapointing. And I even paused my sword craft in the hopes whatever commotion would provide some entertainment." The woman said, clicking her tongue.

"Forgive me if we don't meet your expectations, Konngara-San. please, you needn't waste any time on us, the way is open." Goro said, gesturing down the hall. Seija said nothing.

"I don't recall addressing your tool whelp, and yet, it addresses me anyway? How strange." Konngara stated.

For a moment, Goro's eyes widened in surprise, until a relaxed smile grew on his face. "How pleasantly old-fashioned of you! I wondered why such a, allegedly, powerful and ancient Youkai wasn't more well-known, but I suppose it's no wonder. You're so spiteful and narrow-minded."

Konngara's expression didn't change.

"Are you mad because you can't stand being under the same roof at us? Or is it because Yukari-Sama can't rely on unsociable brutes like yourself?" Goro asked, taking a step forward.

>>45982865
In the next few moments, I saw pictures of what happened, could tell that some time passed between Konngara putting her hand on the hilt of her sword, a scar appearing on both sides of the corridor, first her left, then the right, the blade sinking into Goro's neck precisely 0.05 Millimeters, and Seija, appearing besides Goro, catching the sword in her hand, preventing it from traveling further.

"Do you know why you died?" Konngara asked.

Goro didn't say anything, unmoving.

"You turned me around once, an impressive reaction, but a meaningless act for anyone capable of sufficient speed, I merely turned a full circle." She explained. "What's more, you two may have managed a second action, but it was only to catch my blade, a cowards act. Were you both anything worth bothering with, you'd have killed me twice over."

"Ah, blood..." Flandre whispered, watching the bright red liquid leak down Goro's neck and onto Konngara's razor sharp blade.

"Not now Flan! This might be trouble." I whispered.

"We have mutual interests Konngara, and you dying would be a problem for us. Don't mistake our prudence and patience for weakness." Goro stated coldly.

"Mutual interests? No such thing Tool. They're two things in this world, what I cut down and what I use to cut other's down with. I'll give you five second to decide which one you are." Konngara stated.

Goro shut his eyes and exhaled from his nose as she started counting down, 'five', 'four', I grabbed Flan, pointing to the vent below, 'three', 'two', Flan readied herself, gripping the metal of the vent so hard that it contorted like a dough in her hands, ready for her to shoot herself toward Konngara. 'one'.

Ran-san has told me there's no such thing as an 'instant', that time was something like water, it can be infinitely sub-divided, over and over again, and all we see if an illusion at whatever fidelity our brains can process. What I saw made me doubt her words.

In one moment, Seija and Goro were in front of Konngara and in the next, they were behind her, Seija holding her blade to her neck. Even as a Shikigami, who's perception should be near perfect, I couldn't see them move there, not by any movement, or magic, or any teleportation. It was as if no time had passed between their two stances. The air, as if it had detected the fault as quickly as I did, rushed passed Konngara, flowing through her hair, pushed out of the space occupied by the two and sucked into the empty place they had come from.

"Nobody's allowed to mark my man but me you fake Oni bitch." Seija growled.

Konngara turned and smirked. "Excellent. At the least there's one thing you two might be good for."

"Of course!" Goro said happily, melting whatever chill his voice used to carry. "It's not our intention to get in your way at all Konngara-chan, on the contrary, it's as you say, we'll be enabling you."

Konngara cocked an eyebrow. I leaned closer to the vent, ears peeled.

"You see, all of you are well-known to our enemies, meaning they probably have some annoying plans drawn up for each and every one of you supernovas. Except, we only figured out how to pull off this particular trick this evening, so they probably aren't even considering us. In short, we'll set the stage for you." Goro explained.

"So that's why you didn't kill me. Hmm, that's a little bit interesting..." Konngara said.

"Well, it's one reason. Truth be told, I like your horn."

Flan's slight panting stopped, Konngara's smirk turned to a frown, I flicked my ears, and Seija turned and started yelling.

"Idiot! What are you doing looking at another woman's horn when we're in the middle of it? Are you trying to piss me off?" Seija turned, gripping the stolen sword tighter in her hand.

"Hey! Beauty is beauty okay? I mean, Konngara-chan, I can tell you put a lot of work into that thing! Almost as much work as you put in polishing this sword right? It would be rude not to appreciate the effort!" He retorted.

"So, you like em' big huh? Big, red, shiny horns right? You can see it's not even real you know!" Seija pointed.

"Well yes, but immatation is the sincerest form of flattery you know! Why are you so upset anyway, you know I like your horns the best! They're small, cute, and elegant after all, the perfect size to rub you know." Goro replied.

"Not in front of the-" Seija began, before the sword in her hand shattered and broke apart.

"Ah, well, this is your fault." The Amanojaku said, tossing the hilt at the ground in front of Konngara. "That thing broke so easily, probably has no real will to exist."

Konngara, regaining her smirked, began to explain "Well of course, that blade only had meaning in my hand after-"

"Seija you're bleeding!" Goro said, grabbing the Amanojaku's hand.

"Are you daft? Of course I am! I grabbed a sword with my bear hands! And who're you to worry? My wound will heal up easy, but you've got that gash in your neck!" Seija admonished.

>>45982870
"It's a nick if anything! This'll leave a mark on those dainty hands of yours. Come on, let's go find some bandages." Goro said, leading the Amanojaku away.

Konngara looked down at the sword hilt and sighed, murmuring something about '...one more until I get a real blade' and, deciding she was done being a bully, walked off.

I turned to Flan and asked. "What do you make of all that?"

The vampire thought for a second before answering. "Ah! Sakuya told me about this! It's called 'posturing', a charisma technique! But it's weak to surprises." The vampire said, nodding in satisfaction.

"No no, not that, I mean when those two 'moved' behind Konngara. How'd they do that?" I asked her.

"Stopping time maybe?"

Stopping time... That seemed plausible? But could they really have the same ability as Sakuya-san? That seemed unlikely. Whatever the truth, this wasn't something anyone else knew about! If I could figure out a little about how it worked, then maybe I could be of some help to everyone!

"Come on Flan, we're gonna see what Yukari-Sama has to say about this." I say, pushing forward in the vent.

"Kari...." She murmured, remembering the strange incident where Anon had yelled at Yukari-Sama.

Ah, this could be bad. If Yukari-Sama was still in a fowl mood from that event, she might lash out at the two and it'd be dangerous...

No! This wasn't the time to be cowardly over a little tension! Anon and everyone else was counting on me after all! If I could find something to help me stop the fighting, it'll all be worth it!

"Come on Flan, let's get to the bottom of this, it'll be fun!" I said, grabbing the Vampire's hand and giving it a squeeze.

Instantly her frown turned into a smile, her sad departing her, and she snuck with me. Onwards to Yukari's office!

---
Brief explanation of what happened because I'm not sure I communicated it well, but need to go to sleep: Konngara got fliped before she swung her sword, but since she's an 'astral knight' she just did a 180 degree turn to correct for it.

>>45982865
>>45982870
>>45982880
Ooooh! Konngara & Seijgoro interaction! Been dying for one of these. I'm-
>'...one more until I get a real blade'
..one more what?
Can this bitchass Oni stop saying cryptic shit please? Just last chapter she was ominously praising Ran's built-in abilities and now this. I do not want to see what her idea of a happy ending looks like but we're getting there if Gappy & Friends don't get soul insurance soon

>>45982880
>>45982870
>>45982865
The autism is heavy here, I'm almost coughing, Jesus Christ!
>"Do you think Sis will let me keep one?" She asked.
c'mon, they already have a chupacabra and barely feed the poor thing...
Wasn't expecting to see Konn here, funny if they had actually tried to kill her, wouldn't she just ista-teleport with Daiyousei's ability and laugh at them? It's like a god-damned jobber fest...
But don't kill your peers, please, Sekai doesn't need to see that. Think about the eldritch god children!
thanks for the chapters!

>>45968303
>>45968318
>>45968337
So much for loving Anon. She's for desperate for any sort of honest attention then love at this point now that she's got the baby.

>>45985186
I think she does love Anon, but in a sense she loves more the idea of a special connection with somebody rather than that somebody; solely convinced/delusional that even if his side of the connection is of pure hatred, it can be ultimately changed with the coming of their baby. Still, considering the deep trauma of loss and deep-seated fear and aversion of loneliness she has, even if for some miracle that'd happen -- she'd have her baby, Anon would forgive her and form a family with her, and sprinkle in Sekai for good measure --, she'd still try to control everything, always uncaring for their feelings and desires and, at the end, ruin things for herself and her family. She really should've listened to Yuyuko, that'd at least guarantee therapy and healing...

>>45985621
I still find it funny ( and tragic) that if she actually tried to get closer to him after he left Reimu she would have had a chance to get him to genuinely fall for her. It's not like Anon hated her before and she could easily helped them put their lives back on track. But that would require her to not be the socially stunted lunatic we all know and love.

>>45985767
man…

>>45983183
>..one more what?
>Can this bitchass Oni stop saying cryptic shit please?
It's a reference to how she wants to steal the cursed blade at some point and also a throw away gag that this is the second sword she's broken on a fellow alliance members. It's almost a trend....
>>45984648
>The autism is heavy here, I'm almost coughing, Jesus Christ!
Thanks.
>funny if they had actually tried to kill her, wouldn't she just ista-teleport with Daiyousei's ability and laugh at them?
Depends, Ran taught the Jaku duo to keep their guard up, which is how they reacted to the swing twice, but 'Astral Knight' and all that. Could just turn into a chain of 'teleports behind you'

>>45987858
>'chain of teleports behind you'
that'd be the most touhou thing in the history of the HSE since Aya was knocked out by being pinched very hard on the love handles...
kek, thanks for the mental imagery

>>45985767
Tragedy of the yandere getting what she wants. After all the lies, rape, and manipulation, she finally had a moment of clarity. Then she coped and mae Anon's anger into just another thing to obsess over.
Does Yukari know about Anon's impregnation spree's and/or the specific story-related hu's that were affected? I vaugely remember Yukari learning about it but not caring, but I could easily be mixing that up with an Okina update about her looking over Gensokyo's future population boom. There was also pregnant 'risa at the party but I can't remember if Yukari put 2 and 2 together on that. I'd just like to know for the sake of maximum emotional damage.

>>45988665
>Tragedy of the yandere getting what she wants. After all the lies, rape, and manipulation, she finally had a moment of clarity. Then she coped and mae Anon's anger into just another thing to obsess over.
a nice overall description of what she's going through here
>spoiler
Ayaanon… considering she contracted Seiga based—not that based—on feeding Anon's surplus babies to her, I think she knows about it...

>>45988665
She knows 100%, not about all of them but most and could access the information if she wishes. She just doesn't care beyond what she can use for her purposes, however.

>>45988696
>spoiler
I completely forgot that's why she's on the team. Thank you for reminding me of the obvious.

>>45988789
you're welcome, man!
and it's okay, I know how it is—I STILL haven't figured how icechat works properly…

>>45936805

Hana couldn’t sleep after that, the present was just the cherry on top of the insanity of the day she’d gone through. It kept her mind distracted and spinning in a rut while she laid there dressed for bed in her worn juban. The only comfort she had in that little dark room was the warmth the multiple thick woolen covers provided her weary body.

Waiting in that little room was tedious but she didn’t want to face what lay beyond her doorway in a hurry. Feelings of petulant irritation and the ghosts of rage mixed with the underlying dread she’d been accustomed to feel when she thought of her mother. Just what gave her the right to play so hard into that victim role she wore like a fitted coat! It was disgusting how that alcoholic treated Hana as gently as she did, getting under Hana’s skin using every tactic in the book.

Pain and anger were the only way mother communicated with Hana in all her 16 years of life, and now of all times she’s ready to open up? After father and her left, after the nightmare the last few months have been, after she’d been working so hard to keep her sanity together?! It was unacceptable that mother could just pretend she’d always loved her, the bitch even admitted that she purposefully ruined her life!

Hana squirmed inside her fortress of blankets, fuming but unwilling to venture out of the futon just yet. She just needed a minute to wake up and get her body heat going again, a minute that she spent thinking over the gift laying on her vanity.

Did she really make that ascot? Did she really not see her face to face in months and divine that she needed a wardrobe upgrade? There was no way! No way that her mother cared about Hana enough to devote her time to learning to knit, not hers.

She crawled out of the covers, convinced of her own fragile explanation, and shivered as she slipped on the quilted footwear before her body fully woke up. Tucking her hands into the folds of her sleepwear she relished every second they could stay warm before she opened the shutters on the windows, letting in the weak morning light in hopes it could warm up the place.

Yellow light from the unclouded sun lit up the modest room and Hana soon found herself hovering in front of the vanity. Bracing for a moment Hana slipped her fingers over the sash that tied the juban together and with a flurry of graceful movements shrugged off the robe. Bare skin met the cold air as only her bloomers kept off the chill from her waist, she hurriedly fumbled last night’s outfit that lay folded and waiting.

With all the elegance of a mosquito circling their annoyed prey she climbed into the outfit, getting on the layer of underclothes like she was dragging herself through a rocky path. Before long the slightly-tight thick woolen vest and dress that ended below her knees quickly started doing their job of keeping the chill from her core.

Finally, she put on her sleeves, did her hair up with her ribbon and hair clip, and tied her ascot… she was halfway through tying it when the opened box caught her eye. The present her mother supposedly made her sat unfolded and ready for use, its enticing deep greens and red-white four-leaf clover symbol promised to outshine the shabby little rag she habitually wore.

Her hand reached for it, but she stopped short of actually grabbing it. Wear that thing? She couldn’t do that, Hana didn’t keep grudges as she wasn’t that kind of girl, clearly. That said, her mother was a terrible person and if she were to give her the satisfaction of seeing her wear that ascot then… It would send the wrong message for one and she can’t have that, of course. There was no way she could give her mother the impression that she was forgiving her or anything.

>>45988983

If she wore that finely made ascot, that sat there with the promise of being the lynchpin of her outfit, Hana could be signaling to the world that her mother had done anything to redeem herself in her eyes! Hana grumbled to herself about nothing in particular as she felt the material of that ascot again. It was nice~ the stitchwork was fine and it just the right size to tie it easily, it’s vivid greens and reds were just way too appealing. When you combined that with how fine the cloth was compared to the usual material she wore…

Quality was something Hana always had an eye for, much like in reading people, it was just something she was good at ever since she was a child; a side effect of her father’s hobby. That hidden ability was how she knew that the Yakumo outfit was of the highest quality, and much like the Yakumo outfit it had a certain… style all its own.

I mean really, its not like she had no reason not to wear it after all. It was clothing and all, but it wasn’t unheard of for a valued piece of cloth to take on its own spirit. Sure, a young tool spirit could be stomped out of existence easily enough, but it suddenly waking up thanks to some strange magics like back when Kosuzu told her story of the night parade scroll wasn’t unheard of. It’d be a dereliction of her duty as Hakurei miko to let more youkai just form all willy nilly! Surely, she had to wear it, if only because its her duty and surely not because it would make her look cooler and make people take her seriously!

The face of her mother crossed her mind and made Hana’s excitement sour somewhat, but the thought of Marisa or Yuuka commenting on how cool the ascot was made the thought appetizing again. A storm of thoughts, of backs and forths, raged through Hana’s mind until she snagged out an old coin from the drawers of her vanity. The cool metal and funny designs of the outsider coin shone as it caught the sunlight before it flipped up into the air, it spun over and over till Hana caught it out of the air as it passed by her face.

The coin landed heads up, she’d wear the ascot… W-well, she’s going to be leaving today anyways, isn’t she? S-she could just weather whatever nonsense her mother says today before she leaves. Besides, the thought of seeing Marisa’s, Yuuka’s, …or even the inaba’s faces as they admire the fine accessory was more than enough encouragement to rip the old one off and start tying the new one on.

>>45968337 (3/3—p6)
—
It was pure rapture.

Lying there on the cold, wet floor, panting like crazy and with my legs scandalously spread out, thick sperm overflowing out of my flushed femininity—Eirin's quality control of sperm has come a long way; sweet and dense, rich too—, my hair a mess and my mind an even bigger mess. My trembling hand fell on my stomach as I closed my eyes, delighting in the sweet leftover roughness—an overall divine taste that permeated my whole fatigued and satisfied body.

For almost three years, me and him have had sex…

… Today was the first we made love~

Yet I cried throughout the entire thing, as did he, now sitting naked with his back against the wall, knees brought to the chest and a hand firmly holding a wad of hair, face hidden. His toned body gleamed in sweat, smell intoxicating and begging me to ravish him all over again, each muscle grown through specialized diets, drugs, and exercises, all to maximize stamina and power for every motion of his body… With an odd clarity in my mind, I eyed him and cataloged more and more properties we engineered so his performance would always be outstanding: virility treatments to keep his libido high; eyesight control to keep it sharp; training to deal with different clients and different scenarios; a multitude of medicines to disallow any disassociation during coitus; and the list goes on and on.

Every inch of his body and mind, controlled and improved. He'll reach 80, 90—1000 years of age and still be as vigorous as he was 20 years ago, never falling ill or losing the functionality of a body part. I’ll make sure of it.

To remain stoic in the face of the passage of time—like me—; a thousand years and much more to come, our millenniums that'll be shared with our little world growing inside of me~

A perfect man—my man, my reflection—that I'll never let rot away…

A quick Gap and my fatigue is gone—though the pleasure and bliss remain, the Gap stopping them from fading away—and I sit, legs crossed and holding my left ankle with both hands, a sweet smile painting my face. “… It's great to meet you, Anon-kun. My name is Yukari, but you may call me Yukarin~” I joke, heart throbbing.

It does feel like the first time meeting him again~

The hand hiding his face falls, and calm eyes stare back, as if it were never hatred there to begin with, his glare making my stomach turn; so cold… “Did you get what you wanted?” Despite the stare, his voice carries no anger or rage, tears subsiding.

“I still want more~” I wink. He doesn't react. “… I want more. Your hatred is beautiful and special to me, but we’ve only scratched the surface. Our connection goes much deeper than making love on the floor, and I want to reach the bottom of it…” I cut myself. The words are there: 'before our child is born', but they don't come out—staring inside his intensely calm gaze and dried tears, it suddenly clicked, and my smile grew. “My~you must've liked this as much as I did, Anon—you don't even look mad.”

He closes his eyes and my heart thumbs anxiously. Are those the first embers of a burning love? A confession of 'yes, I enjoyed it' or— “We've had sex, Yukari…” His eyes softly opened, revealing two precious jewels carrying a weird, complex feeling I had never felt before… Yet, it was surprisingly easy to attach the word 'unreachable' to it. “But never once did I think of you.”

I completely freeze. W-What…?

“I closed my eyes and imagined another woman—a good woman—and in my mind I made love with her, bathed her in love and passion… Outside there was only hatred for you, but a hatred I was detached from.” Every word cut deeply, drawing blood and ripping veins and organs like paper… And I stood there, my mouth pursed to a thin line, my eyes wide, heart silent, ears ringing loudly. “… Did you get what you wanted, Yukari? I wasn’t there, so I wouldn’t know.”

It sounded like shattered glass.

I…

… O-Our connection…

It was impossible for a moment to form a cohesive thought; blinding rage threatened to overflow my mind. How dare him?! I bared my heart and my soul, and he says these things?! Trembling hands created Gaps all around him, its eyes wide and bloodshot, ready to cause pain. Anon kept staring intently, unmoving—a meter between us in this cold and dark room of a parody, surrounded by lies and deceit…

… My love and his hatred, our connection…

The one-meter gap between us, simple and small—a dull kitchen knife, 6 inches long, iron—felt impossible to close.

Lies, lies. Lies upon lies…

I felt cold.

With a deep breath, the Gaps circling him slowly faded away, his stone-cold stare never dying.

My hands were shaking…

… Because it doesn't need to be like that—not for long.

I-I still have something, a TRUTH that'll change this! That'll swiftly cleanse and make our connection real and significant, beautiful as it was just one second ago!

Gently, my hands hold my belly, a desperate smile opening. “A-Anon… I'm—”

“You're pregnant. I already knew it, Yukari.”

>>45988992
>>45988983
yay, she wore it~! Man, all that time with Kanako fucked up her mind in subtle ways; now she's tsundering over clothing! At the very least, borderline autism is very cute!
Fun little chapter, thanks for the chapter!

>>45989060
heh
the seething yukari with her coping mechanism of a rape baby vs the ironclad chadnon who doesn't let anything faze him anymore

>>45989060
so this is the soundtrack of anon's life at this point
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W6HhdqA95w
even from beyond the grave, patchyanon's 'emotionally dead' plot point continues

>>45989060
It's funnier because yukari should've seen this coming the moment she made that weird love/hate connection of hers. Now she's gonna give seiga full reign to munch on the baby boom to have anon love only her child, after the sword is complete of course. Right?

>>45988983
>>45988992
Hana is slowly improving. She might deny it, but she wants closure with her mother

>>45989060
Anon on the other hand is not doing great. He's traumatized for life and while he can accept Aya and Marisa having his children, I can't see even him accepting this one.

>>45989060
Apparently Yukari heard
>'no child of mine will be a mistake'
And took that as a personal challenge!
Is this the second to last one? I want to make sure the Jaku meeting properly captures whatever emotional state Yukari will be when this is over. I've flipped flopped my plans several times at this point.

>>45990463
yup, tomorrow or maybe tonight will be coming the last batch of this Yukari side
>I've flipped flopped my plans several times at this point.
thanks for the compliment~
>>45990435
>>45990432
it'll be more fun to know these in chapter form~
>>45990417
not really? It was finally erased with ghost!Patchy; and Anon is much stronger mentally compared to in the beginning threads. tough that music is really nice! Also, thanks for the indirect recommendation!

>>45990562
mentally disassociating and imagining you're somewhere else while fucking yukari doesn't sound all that different to what patchyanon wrote though
wait, so nupatchyanon retconned oldpatchyanon? that's a bit...rude

>>45990581
>mentally disassociating and imagining you're somewhere else while fucking yukari doesn't sound all that different to what patchyanon wrote though
makes sense, though we're still free from the shackles of the 'emotional dead' fuck up
not really retconned, as seen here >>4555763; Anon just didn't break under the pressure of the HSE and become stronger because of the constant support and his own will.

>>45990655
oops, quoted a post from 14 years ago
actual chapter >>45557636

>>45990655
>>4555763
>Just read it already.
O-Okay...

>>45988983
>>45988992
cute 'Ana! It was a treat all that 'may I, may I not?'
https://files.catbox.moe/l27m5i.webm

>>45991233
Hana friends have it good tonight

>>45991233
So cute to see Hana happy.

It's been a while since I've been on these threads, and I have to ask
Has it happened yet?

>>45996584
literally scroll up to the last posted chapter

>>45996596
Oh shit, you're right

Are there any story post where Reimu is teaching Hana the ropes of being a Shrine Maiden?

>>45997015
not that I know; they just met again a while ago, and it was Reimu saving Hana from Yukari to Hana going back to the shrine to be safe from Yukari; though in the OG Hanafic there were some of those

>>45997015
you'll probably have to wait for the original hanafic to continue to get something like that

>>45989060 (3/3—p7)
—
I was at a loss for words.

My breath hitches and my heart feels heavy, like a cauldron full of lead. He knew… And he still said all those things. A piercing pain pumps inside my veins, hot and frustrating. Our gazes remain on one another's, his calm and collected, and, reflecting on those eyes, I could see mine: full of despair and rage, hands holding our beautiful little world growing inside of me.

The room was dark, the cold outside growing with the death of the sun. We were nude—mind and body—, a meter between us.

Anon supports a forearm on top of his knee, ruminating to himself before continuing, “Before you hit Chen, you… You looked like Reimu. Tense and lost inside your own mind, yet clutching your belly like an anchor…” The same crushing longing I would get from staring at the tall Saigyou Ayakashi flashes inside his eyes, and then a well of experience-driven sadness rises there. “… You think the baby will solve everything, like Reimu did. You'll hold it in your arms, look in its eyes and say, 'today, I'll change for the better'… Like Reimu di—”

“I'm not Reimu!” I spit out, body trembling and not from cold, voice lacking the elegant bite it usually has, dumbfoundedness towards the situation permeating deep; denied like that, played as if a toy… The nearly lifeless blonde hair, the angry purple eyes, and the tears that fall all testify to my excruciating pain. “That woman never had the will to do any good with her miserable life, but I do! I did everything around me so my family's life; Gensokyo could be safe! It was a hell of clowns dancing for the likes of Okina, the Moriyans, and the Buddhists—their religions selling peace and prosperity, yet doing nothing to change the obvious faults that riddled EVERY single nook and cranny of Gensokyo! They weren't there to stop incarnated death when nuclear bombs fell on our walls; to save Yuyuko when she had to commit suicide to stop that cursed tree; or Ren… Or when a wolf dressed as a sheep tortured a man and his daughter—but I took action! And things are now better, despite my shortcomings! I gave my all, by myself, to the Gensokyo I love!” My rage came out in thick tears, teeth bared. “… And everything I did, every greedy person and rabid youkai I killed, I did it for the hope someday my family—”

“You did it for yourself.” His voice cut like a sharp sword, calmness fading and giving way to… pity. Pity. He was feeling pity for me—or for our baby, our world? “You don't care about Gensokyo or about my marriage with Reimu—you don't even love me, Yukari… But you do love yourself a lot; you love attention, good or bad; love when people remember you exist…” No, those are lies, I-I… “And I understand it. I truly do.” Tearful thoughts are immediately cut when his own tears resume, shaking his head. “You've been lonely for very long, haven't you? Carried a lot of weight on those shoulders for very long too… Even when you are surrounded by people who genuinely love and care for you, you still feel alone. Yet, those words from just now... There was a time when you didn't feel alone.” He sighs, a shadow of sorrow there. “… A time when you loved too much.”

My hands trembled, begging me to just create Gaps and shut him up—explode his head if necessary…

… Those words, that pity…

Naked in this dark, cold caricature of erected lies, being bombarded by words that made my heart bleed… I've never hurt so much.

“But it was all taken away—someway, somehow—and you've never found a good way to deal with it, and so the HSE was created, a place where you meticulously control everything with a million excuses, all so you never, ever lose someone again… Jesus, Yukari, you're so absurd.” He laughs for some reason. I feel weak; his words grinding inside my head. “… After all, despite everything, I still have hope for you—that you can change like Reimu did. How's that even possible?”

…

… I cannot answer, yet my grip on my belly tightens, tears falling. How can he say my love is fake? It's right here, being destroyed, lacerated, and hemorrhaging by his words! Love hurts… It hurts so, so very much. People around me who love and care? He knows nothing. Nothing! You cannot befriend a computer; it’ll always be predictable and simple. Its love is fake and, with the passing of the decades, it becomes more and more clear…

A computer cannot replace true affection. It’s a very lonely relationship.

“… I asked myself the same question when Reimu was pregnant with Hana. How's it even possible that I still want her to change, despite all that she has done to me?” Anon sighs with a bitter smile that, within long, silent seconds, softly fades away into a profound look of nostalgia—

—suddenly, he’d approached, sitting to my side.

He looks forward, not at me; if so, he’d have seen my utter surprise—necessity. “The answer is that I wanted the best for our kid, even if she took after Reimu…” He looks straight into my eyes. “A parent’s sins are never their children’s.”

>>45999985 (3/3—p8)
—
A simple truth.

Silence followed, my mind loudly howling, 'Hold me, please! It's too cold!'; a necessity so primal and that could so easily be achieved, yet that wasn't fulfilled, as another part of my heart—one that sounded a lot like Yuyuko—softly whispered, 'too much harm done… Stop'. The result is that, in my inactivity, I had lost myself in his eyes; there's a weird serenity there that, drowned by horror and wrath, I had missed…

… It felt like all that hatred I deemed 'him' was all but another cruel lie.

Even though he had diminished the one-meter gap separating us in this cold, dark room, it still felt like an impossibility to close it…

… A bloodied iron knife, dull and small.

The Gap cannot change the past.

“I love Hana. A lot… She's my world.” I took a quiet breath, my stomach heavy. “But Hana borrows a lot from her mother, despite her best efforts to look apart when she was a kid—her face, her mannerisms, her tastes and… There were so many times I looked at her and saw Reimu; remembered what she had done to me—to us. Yet I never hated my Hana for it. She's feeling lost, down and depressed now; she was misguided… I'll help her become someone she'll feel proud to be when the time comes, and I'm free from you.” His eyes once again fixed on mine, a gaze so intense it reminds me of burning coals—controlled, calm… devastating. “Reimu destroyed her childhood, and you destroyed her teenage years—you two took a lot from my little girl… But nothing will change the fact that she still has her father.”

I find myself holding my breath, hands clutching my belly even tighter, a weird sense of peace spreading through my veins and taking over my heart. It's a confused relief of sources that, when identified, made me sick: the old doubts of what'd happen if I'd to lose at the Solstice, doubts I cast aside when a dragon bowed to my greatness! Still, a woman to whom dragons bow down, weeping and clinging to precious life like this…

… So what if dragons bow down to me?

My baby—it's the only thing I truly am proud of…

My love, his hatred. I thought a connection existed there and that I could use it to cultivate love between our little family…

A thousand years ago, under that tree, covered in blood, it was all my fault.

Surrounded by lies and deceit, a parody of home.

… It seems nothing changed…

“You'll never love me…” I mutter, heart shattered, searching for something inside his eyes in this unexpected moment of clarity, eyes big and desperate, feeling as empty as that day under the tree.

“I'll never love you; I don't know if you'll someday manipulate my mind to make me love you—before today, I used to wonder why you hadn't done it yet too…. After everything you've done to me and my daughter, Yukari, I hate you with a burning passion. Every single day, I wish you were dead…” He sighs, and I slowly nod, looking forward, a clawing feeling reaching from the bottom of my being all the way up; it tasted like regret. For the first time ever, I doubted everything that surrounded me: my plans, the HSE, the war to come… Yuyuko's voice from deep inside is a calm hum, alluring. “… But I'll never hate our children. Because your sins—” he turns to me, and, with a tender quality in his eyes, he reaches forward, slowly closing the gap between us…

… Though his hand stopped, hovering above my belly.

Trembling, I gently held his wrist as if it were made of glass.

There was no desire to pull away.

And guided it to my belly, a painful smile on his face and a melodic lullaby inside my heart. It wasn't as cold… “—will never be theirs.”

My heart thumped, words about to come out—

Frowning, Anon looked away from me, as if hearing something…

… His hand landed on my belly.

—The world around us changed lightning-fast, to the point where it took me a second to understand what was happening. Skin shivering and perplexed, one single monolith called for mine and Anon's whole attention: a towering Sakura tree of blue.

Despite wanting to, I couldn't move.

There were two people around us, to which I didn't care…

… The only person who mattered was kneeling in front of Anon and me, her eyes—two nebulas—gleaming with innocent wonder and her huge smile making my heart skip a beat. What was her name, I wondered; she has Anon's eyes, my nose and—

Her hands reach for us, each softly holding one of our cheeks. Warm. Very warm…

Looking into her eyes… An eternal moment of beauty.

Us three…

… True connection.

Her voice, angelic. “Mother, father…”

W-What…

“… I love you.”

The next moment, everything had vanished. The world of blue, the gigantic tree, the sweet girl that called me her…

Stumbling, I gazed at Anon, my heart beating so fast I swear it'd jump out of my chest. Anon gawked at nothingness, confused and shaken. “… Father?” He parroted, his calm gone.

Father, mother…

… My hand was on top of Anon's—warm—, us two gently cradling the beautiful life inside my belly…

Our daughter…

… My smile was immense.

>>46000000 (3/3—p9)
—
… My child, my world…

She had eyes like those of nebulas, yet the shape was Anon's. Her nose was a carbon copy of mine, skin soft and fair, just like her mother's. Her hair was a peachy brown, probably from Anon's side of the family, her smile had dimples; and the gleam in her eyes told of a beautiful, innocent soul… I closed my eyes and in my mind, I saw that baby in my arms, eyes big and smiling.

It was like my heart was beating for the first time in my life.

That was my daughter, my world…

… And, for some reason, she decided to appear before me now, before her own birth. Why did you do so, my child…?

Anon says something, eyes wide and perplexed, but I do not listen, deep in thought and gratification at what had just happened. There were people with her, there was that tree; but all pale in comparison to the main theory about the means she might've used to reach me…

Because the Gap cannot change the past.

Yet…

I recall the day of the IUI, my heart withering and muscles trembling, soul quivering with overwhelming fear and anxiety, praying my child could find its way towards the gift of life; the Gap turned against its master, trying to assassinate a child that hadn't even taken her first breath…

Yet she fought against the cruel world. She fought, and she won.

There's nothing she wouldn’t be able to do.

… She was perfect.

I slowly got up, grinning carefree. Anon watched with wide, uneasy eyes. Nude, I stood tall over him, the setting sun casting its dying rays of gold on my back. “Anon… that was our child.” He had already reached that conclusion, his mouth opening to say something, all calm and serenity gone. I cut him, a Gap forming over my body, my smile growing ever more peaceful. “She has harnessed the power of time. Our child can alter the past… She's a goddess~”

“Y-Yukari…” His mind couldn't comprehend the magnitude of that, but it's okay. The Gap closed and with it revealed my usual elegant purple dress, parasol in my hands, hair shining with life abundant and eyes of a glee so strong they rivaled the sun.

I feel so light…

“Your remarks were quite hurtful, Anon. I was left with many questions about my efforts, my prospects, and most importantly, our family.” I hummed as a gloved hand gently grabbed his chin and helped him stand up. While one Gap cleaned him of dirt and sweat and another dressed him in winter clothes, I couldn’t take my eyes off his stunning eyes, which our daughter would take after~ “But our daughter chose to come back to this point in time where my doubts and pain were unbearable, yet our connection was the strongest… And our daughter showed us the love she carries in her eyes and words—showed that despite everything… you were wrong.” My smile was like a diamond, and tears streamed down my cheeks. “You fell in love with me, and together we raised that adorable little child to be happy and free from the burdens of the world because her mother, a living god, alone made sure we’d all live happily ever after… Anon, I truly love you; I love our daughter and, above all, I love our family.” I walked up to the dumbfounded man and kissed him on the lips without resistance. It lasted a second, yet it felt like the sealing of greatness…

A future for me and my family.

Inside, determination burned like a huge pyre and resolve was ironclad once again. Any doubt I had acquired washed down, though the pain remained—but that's just how love is. Love hurts, and he has shattered my heart…

… Yet, with a few words, my little girl mended it back together.

My sword is going to come out sooner than later, and I'll crush all of my enemies in the Solstice and Okina… Okina will at last understand what it means to fight for something.

I turn my back to Anon with a revitalized smile, opening a Gap in front of me. “… Our little girl has chosen to appear before us and only before us—so, please, don't talk to anyone about this experience, Anon~let's protect what is precious to us.”

“… Yukari…” I give him a side glance, his eyes bearing that same calm of before—the brutal words about not thinking of me during our connection pops inside my head, but they don't carry an ounce of weight anymore—for, in the future… There'll be a father, after all~ “… Don't destroy our daughter like you destroyed mine, please.” Without another word, he turns, a weird finality to his tone and posture.

Denial? He doesn't believe he'll love me in the future or that I'll use a Gap to forcefully cultivate love inside of him. Men~

To the dying sun, I laugh, feeling its warmth bathe my face.

Dragons bow down to me…

I’ll fight against the ungrateful Gensokyo, and I'll win.

… And my daughter will have a father and a mother who'd do anything for her.

Yukari Yakumo will have a happy ending.

Hm~my little, beautiful everything.

My world.

“… Sekai,” I lightly caress my belly, smile genuine. “Your name will be Sekai. Your father and I love you a lot already~”

And so, giggling and blushing, I leave.

>>46000015
>>46000000 holy shit, thanks for the digits, Sekai!
>>45999985
and that's the Yukari/Anon arc! Meiling/Patchy chapters will pick up after Keine's to explain what the fuck happened, though I left some nice clues~
hope everyone liked, and good luck pinpoint this emotional state, Takaneanon! I trust you!
also, here's the reference for:
>Yukari smugly stands naked with her back to the sun dramatically and monologues
https://files.catbox.moe/ymv7qt.jpg
blue board, you know?

>>46000000
checked

>>46000000
nice get

>>46000048
Wait so Sekai is both the child that formed inside the HSE and the biological child Eirin put inside Yukari?

>>46000268
nope, she just gave Yukari that impression. Yukari still has no idea Sekai is the HSE, thus why she thought Sekai had time travelled

>>46000000
Holy fucking digits, HSE. Space daughter ending confirmed.

>>45999985
>>46000000
>>46000015
Yukari not only doesn't learn, she just doubles down. Also nice digits.

>>46000015
I respect that she thinks she has everything in the bag. Unfortunately she can still be defeated with sekai being born.

>>46000280
Awesome! Just wanted to confirm that I had Yukari's delusions straight.

>>46000015
Lmao, when watch the yuk reject sekai because she wasn't the physical child in her womb. Poor building goddess.

>>46000730
That'd be hilariously sad, poor Sekai. At least Anon would still love her a lot...
>>46000722
Nice! Always glad on clarifying her schizo delusions
>>46000712
>>46000410
autism is a hell of a drug, isn't it?

>>45947738
>>45947722
>>45947701
>>45947687
forgot to ask, but are these the last chapters in the Hana birthday party, and you're planning to get other things in place, like the deal with the 3rd family?

>>46000015
Jesus Christ. A random event gets misinterpreted to validate everything she's done and she goes right back to square one. She was so close to being broken, to reflect on herself and realize gravity of it all and face the consequences of her actions, but poor Sekai, despite trying to be nice and helpful to her metaphysical parents, unintentionally made the problem worse.
Will Gappy actually change for the better? Will she ruin everything to validate her delusions? Can Chen fix her? Find out next time on Touhou Ball Ze.

>>46006604
at no point in this story has gappy ever actually deserved redemption
every single attempt to give her a justification just serves to highlight how dangerous her continued existence is

>>46006676
there's no such thing as someone deserving of redemption; you have to craft it yourself and earn it. Though yeah, she's not pursuing redemption apparently... poor Sekai, life for her was suffering before it even began
>>46006604
such is the thought process when you have autismo...
>Can Chen fix her?
cat therapy is NOT fixing that, sadly
… or maybe it can~?

>>46006676
Anon on the otherhand still has a razor thin sliver of hope that she can turn it around. But you're also right, even if she comes around and stops meddling in everyone's business, not everyone is patient and willing to bend over backwards to the point of breaking like Anon is. No amount of repenting and good deeds can help her, Eiki will make sure she gets her just dues.

>>46006604
>>46006676
TRIP ON, KONNGARA
OR OKINA

>>46007063
this 17 years old mother-to-be will redeem herself; Anon will fall in love with her and they'll go live with the kids cool auntie, Yuyuko!

>>46006753
>Anon on the otherhand still has a razor thin sliver of hope that she can turn it around.
> “… Don't destroy our daughter like you destroyed mine, please.” Without another word, he turns, a weird finality to his tone and posture.
he likely lost all hope in her here. It's a sad day for evilwomanbelievers…

>>46004643
Ayup.

>>46009877
okay, thanks~!
Suzuanon should be able to write now. Will be releasing tomorrow the last Keine chapters with the Suzu so there's no string attached for him!

>>46009978
That's good to know. Looking forward to the consolation for Keine, not only did I enjoy her story but it should free me up to use her for my chapters as well.

>>46010057
Okay! Glad you enjoyed too~

>>45906913
—
The day started with that scandalous letter in the marketplace—finally, something more entertaining than vegetables going on sale—, and though a lot of the villagers and vendors from the peripheral settlements just ignored it altogether, disregarding the letter as desperate at best and crazy at worst, some curious-cats like you couldn't leave the itch of curiosity unscratched; oh, the gossip in the literature club is gonna be good~

The walk to Keine's house was hefty and demanded a bunch of stops, considering your pregnant belly, but you managed to get there by 10am after leaving the winter supplies you bought back at home, impressed with the many others that sat around, be on the fences, the walkway, or the ground; all talking—a few calm, others angry; a majority thoughtful—periodically, one would enter the house, adding more fuel to the general air of discussion in the area.

Scrutinizing gazes fell upon you, but you ignored them as per usual, approaching a group of concerned women—oh, you know that pink-haired one; she works at Geidontei! You were rapidly assimilated in the group and learned more about what was happening, surprised to know everything that was said in the letter was true: the babies, the Youkai, though a lot was still frowned upon, like Hieda-sama's actions… And a Youkai in the village who didn’t attack anyone, who even made mouthwatering fried lampreys, and who was kind and always smiling? That was new and kind of nice, and though fear still makes your heart pound, knowing the Youkai woman inside and Keine's twins were Anon's, you couldn't help but feel your heart melt with sympathy. To think your children's half-siblings were having such hard times, when yours were going to be born to a relatively stable life…

It was gut-wrenching.

Boldly, you excused yourself and went inside, tensing as you noticed several other villagers gathered around the main couches in the living room, arms crossed, engaged in arguments that ranged from ferocious to civil, though their eyes were on the platinum-haired teacher, listening and never speaking when she spoke, a complex commanding tone working as if an orchestra to the conversation—it felt like an actual teacher's lecture.

You shivered a little when Fujiwara no Mokou's gaze fell upon you, stripping you naked with a suspicion that you swore had a pH of 1… But, oh, those grilled lampreys on the table by the side called you like a moth to a lamp, and you helped yourself to a big portion and a tiny bit of sparrow sake. Hm~familiar taste…

The good food made the ambience more bearable, and listening to the teacher's words easier: “Of course, too fast integration helps no one. A market stall can't turn into a restaurant without first guaranteeing a greater source of ingredients—it must be gradual, and that's what we're aiming for. I'll take it upon myself to train Youkai and human teachers, as well as join the Myouren effort of building lairs for the children in need. Every child under our sun shall have a home, know how to read and do math; and so will be capable of turning Gensokyo into a better place.” You find yourself nodding along; as a writer, more people who know how to read means more sales. This change would benefit you greatly~

Eating your lamprey with a grin, you find yourself looking around the room—! Oh, there they are! You hadn't noticed at first, having dodged Fujiwara no Mokou's knifelike gaze, but she held the two winged babies and… They're just so cute! You couldn't help but imagine if your own offspring would have beautiful eyes like those. Mystia met your gaze as you stared at the twins, and you felt, for a brief moment, jumpy—she giggled, and the fear faded into embarrassment, though the gentle understanding on her face oddly soothed your heart.

“The Suzunaan will happily be a part of that change,” Suzu said, confidence behind those eyes. “Books are the lifeblood of a society, and mine will be available to anyone interested~” Perhaps it won't only benefit you.

You look down, surprised at seeing your small notebook and pen in your hands, a bunch of notes scribbled about stories of love, compassion, triumph over overwhelming challenges, and… Heavy smut? How the hell did that get in there?!

Blushing, you slowly close the notebook and store it. The lewd ideas permeating your mind, though, stay.

Still, you're a busy person, and soon you had to leave—not before asking nicely to hold your kid's half-siblings~so very cute… The fear of the sparrow youkai you had when you entered the house had diminished, and a smile filled your face as you left.

You met some people you knew along the way back home and talked with them about your experiences. Some were surprised, some were uninterested, and others were curious; one even said she wasn’t interested before, but now would go there and check.

You hummed for yourself, caressing your pregnant belly… That lamprey hit just right~

… It'd be nice if Mystia sold them in the village.

>>46014878
next chapters later today! Sorry for turning you guys into a NPC all of a sudden; I'll pay the therapy...

>>45947722
>The Hakurei god sounds nonplussed, “Of course. You’ve obviously changed and I need allies. It is natural we work together against our common enemies. Even after that, faith is not a zero-sum game so cooperation would benefit the two of us.”
A small side thing is that Hana had been growing Mima's faith by advertising her as a partner of the Hakurei god when she'd peddle her talismans. Minor point and all but I thought it was relevant now.

>>46016317
good to know! Hana, the fucking heretic! Adoring outer, fake gods! She deserved all the excruciating pain she went through!

>>45982880
Seija and Goro stood in front of Yukari-Sama's door waiting, apparently still early for their appointment, despite having spent an extra few minutes bandaging each other. Some of the white wolves had stole glances at the two, calling it 'flirting' in hushed tones, gossip I could tell the two heard and ignored, because, I could see the real reason for their foot dragging. It was like when I accidentally broke one of Yukari-Sama's vases and lied about it, I spent hours pacing around the town, knowing I'd eventually have to talk to her.. The odd thing was, she wasn't even mad! Maybe this would be a similar.

"Why aren't they going in?" Flandre whispered next to me in the vent.

"It's 'prot-a-call', they're supposed to wait at the door until Yukari-Sama decides to see them." I whispered back.

The vampire looked at me quizzically. "But I just go in whenever I want?"

"Well you're a special case I think? Ran-san and I certainly couldn't just go in if we wanted to."

"Why?" She asked.

"Because..." I started to say, but stopped.

Why did we have to wait to see Yukari-Sama? She had told us to, of course, but why was that? Was it because she didn't want to be surprised? No, I think it'd be impossible for me to sneak up on Yukari-Sama. Maybe because it was because she couldn't focus when we were around? But Ran-San always helps Yukari-Sama out with computations. Was it maybe because she didn't like being around us? She had pushed me aside for Flan-chan back then...

"They're going in! Come on, I want to know how they cheated at racing!" Flan whispered, pushing me on into the metal corridor.

Right! This wasn't any time for doubt. Anon and everyone else was counting on me! So, Flan and I carefully crawled through the vent, taking extra care to avoid getting our clothes stuck on any stray rivets or creases in the metal, until finally, the three were in view. Yukari-Sama sat at her desk, her hand clasped together holding her face, which wore a happy expression.

"How go the preparations?" Yukari-Sama asked calmly.

"They go well. The Scarlet Devil Mansion has a very capable accountant and I don't foresee any logistical problems with your requests." Goro answered.

"ALL of my requests?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"By their honor of course, but yes, even THAT ask was within their power. Although one wonders why you wouldn't just procure it yourself?" Goro replied with a grin.

"Takane said the same thing, I could ready my own pans, make my own fire, pour all the ingredients and have it bake perfectly, but then it wouldn't have any meaning you know? And a celebration is all about meaning." Yukari-Sama said, punctuating with a point of her finger.

"'Meaning' a whole new vector of 'excess' more like..." Seija murmured, a fist on her hip.

"You'll see soon my dear Amanojaku, no expense is to great for what we'll be celebrating this solstice." Yukari-Sama said with a curt smile.

Something wasn't right. Anon had snapped at Yukari-Sama and said some very harsh words to her, why was she so serene? Had she done something to him?

"Yes, everyone will see soon, but for now we must discuss more pressing matters, like the hole you two poked outside and inside the HSE. I trust you have a good explanation." Yukari-Sama said with the same relaxed smile.

Goro paused, waiting approximately four seconds before answering, keeping his breathing pattern entierly normal and his posture relaxed. This was it, we were about to get our answers.

"We inverted our existence." He stated plainly.

"Show me." Yukari asked.

>>46016576
With a wave of her hand a parade of gaps stormed toward the two and surrounded them from all directions, from above, and below, like a cage it encircled the two with no chance to escape. And then, it dissolved. The ribbons that curtailed the end of each gap frayed and was cast to the winds, the voids themselves did not close, instead they flickered into nothingness, like a jagged wave crashing against the shore. A strange whistling sound could be heard as air flew erratically around the room, filling cavities of atmosphere that had suddenly appeared.

That shouldn't be possible! I'd seen them flip gaps from 'open' to 'closed' before, but it had Goro coughing up blood when they tried to do it over and over again, yet, Goro stood in the same place, totally unharmed, with Seija, who'd leapt in front of him and posed as if she'd cut through all the boundaries with her nails alone, smiling, but not as wide as I'd seen her smile before. Had they done something differently? The gaps themselves were almost impossible to attack, but maybe they had found a weakness? Something that didn't require them to attack it head on?

"I must admit, this surpasses my expectations." Yukari-Sama said, rising from her seat and lifting a hand, dissapearing her desk into a gap as she did.

She began to approach the two. "To turn over existence is quite a feat, but they're many such powers in Gensokyo. Such power, but so little creativity." Yuakri-Sama said, lifting her umbrella to Seija's bow. "Quite underhanded of you to turn over the two spaces that defined my gaps, a border can't exist without one of it's sides after all."

Of course! The Gap can't really be hit because it isn't a thing, but it's a border between two things! And if you can remove one of those things, then there isn't a border at all!

"Not that other's haven't tried before, Okina, Kasen, a few Youkai Hunters, people more experienced then you two, and maybe that's it, 'two of you'." Yukari-Sama said affectionately, now pointing her parasol toward the sigils on Goro's robe. "What a strange intimacy you two have, even though I off-board many calculations to my Ran, I'd never try something so prone to error as a bi-directional feedback system, yet, I could only detect marginal errors in you neutralization solutions, perhaps buying the both of you an extra second or two before being overwhelmed." Yukar-Sama praised.

"Seconds..." Flan whispered. "That's not a a lot right?"

"Ran-San told me it's the difference between life and death for a working Shikigami." I whispered back. A lot can happen in a second.

"We wouldn't be worthy of the uniform if it was only that." Goro said, placing something on the parasol.

With a quizzical expression, Yukari flicked her parasol and bounced the object into her hand. It was a red ribbon with barely visible black lace, the choker Yuakri-Sama was wearing when they walked into the room, but was no longer wearing now.

Yukari-Sama walked two paces back and tapped the parasol lightly on the floor, from which a small tea table rose from the void in between the two with three seats.

"Tell me everything." She commanded, with a gleeful smile.

>>46016584
>inb4 Goro simply says "No."

>>46017024
Disobedience has only one outcome in the Yakumo Household

>>46017058
Sorry sorry yukari, the jaku in me slipped, I apologize.

>>46014892
HSE really was some woman in the village all along.....

>>46017500
the random NPC is pregnant, though. The connotations are not fun. Please never put Sekai in such spot again...

>>46014878
—
A good lesson to learn young is to never play with fire; it obviously burns, but it also spreads. A tiny ember, if given as much as a gust of wind, could turn into a firestorm, ready to consume everything in its path… Not that babies would understand that, but at least it's a great way to distract them.

The clock had just struck midday, meaning people began scattering—not everyone has time to spare for revolutions, mainly not the regular villager—so the golden trio was outside, bidding farewells to the remaining souls that had stuck around to hear Keine’s words… Fucking finally, I say.

Six hours and nearly fifty people to interact with? Ugh…

Never again.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor with the twins in front of me, I swung my right index around, a thin rope of flame following it and so giving 'life' to a battle between flame stickmen. Surprisingly, Aki was the one fascinated by the made-up battle, while Mochi made a valiant effort to catch the ember warriors. I laughed, twirling the fire rope around his head, showing off just to hear more of those sweet little giggles, his large eyes gleaming and wings flapping up and down.

Though the joy was short-lived, a strange, jerky feeling overtook my heart the more I watched the ropes of fire surrounding my son, eyes narrowing, limbs feeling somewhat uncomfortable—

—I imagined Aya's face dissolving in flames; Seija's screams as her half-melted eyes popped out the sockets; and her heart shrank under crushing flames.

The same flames dancing around my son…

… My wide-eyed son, reaching for them naively.

My body reacts before my mind does, as always: “No, idiot!” I shouted, slapping his hand away from the fire. The response came on quickly, those big eyes staring at me with a sudden look of horror, body flinching, wings quivering and fluffing at the unexpected blow; his teary eyes probably a great reflection of mine…

Mochi was loudly sobbing in the next moment.

“Oh, fu—sorry, sorry!” The fire war dissolved into nothingness as I swiftly embraced him, Aki watched it all unfold dumbfounded, not really understanding what was happening. Ignoring her for now, I cradled my weeping son on the bend of my neck, my features tense and brows furrowed as I planted little kisses on his tiny, hurt hand.

What the hell did I do that for?! They don't get burned by my fire; they have my phoenix blessing!

… So why did I just go and hurt my son like that…?

Frustratingly, no answer came.

After a while, Mochi stopped crying completely, his wings cutely flapping up and down at a rather cautious pace as he reached out to nibble on my hair. Aki, who must've been jealous that her brother was receiving all the attention, flew up to land on my arms, only almost crashing twice! A new record for my little girl.…

I held her just as tightly in my arms, as if to never let go.

There's no imminent danger—no Seiga or Yukari. There's no fight I wouldn't take or person I wouldn't kill to keep them safe…

… With me, they're safe.

Absorbed in my little world with the twins, a sudden soft step that I didn't recognize as Keine's closed on us, the hairs on my nape standing upright and the fire inside burning as I instinctively moved Aki away to free up my hand and violently pushed it towards the direction of the sound, a massive fireball licking my skin and ready to melt whoever was dumb enough to sneak up—

—a glimpse of brown and peachy-colored wings stopped me before I turned Mystia into fried chicken, the youkai's eyes wide with gruesome thoughts and small body jolting away from me. “Wow!” She stutters, trembling like a dry leaf, trying to recompose herself. “I-It's just me! M-Mystia!”

The flames faded away—much to the twins' dismay—and my gaze could carve stone. “Don't sneak up on people like that, bird-brain!” I feel ashamed, even though my tone is harsh: attacking one of Keine's allies like this, all because I'm a little jumpy… What’s wrong with me?

Aya's face melted away; Seija cremated until not even ash remained…

I tsked, frustrated, Mystia staring back at me, quiet and tense. “I- uh… I-I heard Mochi-chan crying, and Keine-san was busy and Suzu-san just left to go open the Suzunaan… So I came to investigate.” She sounded mortified, and it took everything in me not to exploit her pathetic display. Keine might have forgiven her, but I haven't.

A mother throwing her—my—kids to death…

In any other circumstance, I’d have her commit suicide.

Though I keep my mouth shut, my feelings are not a justification for possibly derailing Keine's plans. “Nothing to worry about, just…” I suddenly pouted, staring at a reddened mark on the back of Mochi's hand.

Mystia stared too; her frown creased. “Mokou-san, did you…?” She had judgmental eyes…

An intense, inexplicable fury suddenly welled up in my chest. “No! I didn't mean it; it was an accident! Don't look at me like that—not you, of all people!”

She looks at me in abrupt horror, and it takes a moment for me to process…

… Fuck.

>>46019552
more tomorrow! Don't play with fire, kids~
especially never try to heat up your food by putting your glass plate on top of the stove, that'll make the plate fucking explode.

wondering how Ayaanon is doing; man sent the crow down Suwako's death elevator and vanished... Poor Aya, as if being harvested by Eirin wasn't enough

>>45833655
The Genbu Ravine was a short flight away. It would be nice to see Nitori again. The last time they really had a chance to talk, she was waiting on upgrades for her camera. Between covering the HSE and Momiji hogging the kappa for shogi, Aya missed Nitori’s enthusiasm for invention. At least she’d finally get to talk with an honest businesswoman.

As Aya neared the kappa hideout, a streak of red flew out past her. Judging by the hint of purple and shiny glint coming from it, the tengu knew exactly who was fleeing the scene. It was a relief that she wouldn’t have to speak to Kanako face-to-face, and a poor omen for Suwako’s future. It felt too ironic to pray for a god’s safety, so Aya decided she’d bother Hatate for pictures of what happened. Besides, a familiar face was waving her over.

At the edge of a cliff, Aya landed in front of the excited engineer. Not wanting to drag their meeting down with the moral implications of their transaction, the tengu went for a lighthearted tone. “Long time no see! Now that you’re in the know, we’re gonna blow the lid off this place!”

The half-joke seemed to land, as Nitori matched her energy. “It’s good to see you too. But, it seems like I’m not the only one who’s been busy making new things.” The kappa looked at Aya’s belly, then to her face for approval. After receiving an affirmative smile, Nitori lightly touched the tengu’s protrusion before hugging it, standing at full height to do so. “Congratulations! If you need anything for the kids, just let me know. There’s a whole line of toys for youkai children coming out of testing phase, so you’ll be getting state-of-the-art products!” Even if she was trying to catch a sale, the kappa’s warmth was appreciated.

Aya and Nitori traveled into the complex cavern system, chatting about little things. Oddly, the caves were pretty quiet. Normally, the sound of metal slamming, grinding and cutting against metal was constant. The only thing she could hear was the buzz of electricity passing through wires. The kappa were always working on something. The possibility of this being a trap crossed her mind, but there was no way this many kappa could be coordinated to drop their projects so soon after meeting Suwako. At least, she hoped that wasn’t the case.

Coming to the end of a tunnel, Nitori walked up to the metal door and typed away at a keypad on the handle. The kappa turned to the tengu and spoke softly. “Watch your step and don’t speak too loudly. The really sensitive devices are stored on gimbals and have lots of padding to reduce shock, but I’d rather not risk it.” With an affirmative beep, the door slowly swung open. Lights turned on in succession, illuminating shelves of plain metal boxes in the warehouse. Labels categorized them differently, but each and every container had a little orange triangle depicting a circle violently disintegrating embossed on the front: This was the explosives depot.

The kappa waived Aya over to a workbench where two identical, metal rods were laying on opposite ends. “Kanako’s request was pretty weird, but it wasn’t hard at all.” She picked up one from the left side of the table, causing Aya to back away on instinct. “There are multiple triggers wired in: There’s an arming button hidden under a latch, a receiver for magic signals, and a killswitch just in case something goes wrong...” As the kappa showed Aya each part of the bomb, the tengu planned out sites to plant the devices and considered how well they could fit into her danmaku. It might add a fresh new flair to her photos!

“Plus, there’s a pressure trigger that activates if it receives too much force.” Suddenly, the kappa raised the pipe over her head for a downward swing. “Like this!” In a split second, Aya had to decide whether to dive forward and grab Nitori’s wrist or back way as far as possible. Considering the only thing around her was more bombs, Aya went for the former. In return, Aya got a hard *BONK* to the shoulder. To her surprise, a wave of fire and shrapnel didn’t follow. Just a lot of pain.

“Well, half of these are completely empty. Not sure why Kanako-sama wants shells when we have enough resources to fill them all up, but I guess that’s what she needs. Um, are you alright?”

Of course! She could use the duds to scare people away while keeping the live ones for immediate use. “I’m just peachy. This is some quality stuff! You’re really doing me a favor with this. Just gimme the goods and I’ll be back soon to-”

Nitori held Aya’s wrist with a mechanical arm and shushed her with another. “There’s just one more thing you need to see. Something… inspiring.” With those ominous words, the kappa led Aya through the depot towards a narrow elevator hidden behind a false wall. Clamped by metal, the tengu followed.

As the elevator descended, the sound of metal against metal returned.

(Part 74)

>>46025736
oh, there you are!
This was a cute introduction, and probably the best Nitori could get considering how late we are in the story. Thanks for doing her nicely~
>After receiving an affirmative smile, Nitori lightly touched the tengu’s protrusion before hugging it, standing at full height to do so
damn, so cute!
Also, guess the Kappa SUPAROBOTO dream is true... Wasn't expecting that, but guess Flan will have a great time playing with her new toy~
thanks for the chapter!

>>45988992

Hana couldn’t figure out what amused her mother so much that the she-beast kept smirking at her when Hana had her back turned. Mother acted like she didn’t just embarrass herself the night before, she just couldn’t understand the insanity in her mind! It started the second the vile woman saw her, just before the sun reached its peak, while both had awkwardly met in the living room. It was after the aroma from the late breakfast her mother had made drifted across the yard and attracted the hungry miko-in-training like a fly to honey.

Placing the snow shovel against the post Hana stepped up onto the veranda, her breath puffed through her muffler into clouds. She was a bit hesitant on actually opening the door, but an aggravating thought formed in her head: If she was the one that started avoiding the other then it’d show cowardice! There was no way she’d be the one that backs down again!

Solid logic compelled her and was why that, despite shoveling snow only moments ago, Hana felt convicted to go face-to-face with her mother again. Her stomach grumbled in agreeance, intent on facing that woman across that eventful table with only the plates for comfort. She slid the door open and entered the living room, letting a barrier of warm air hit her face as the aroma of a surprisingly delightful meal greeted her nose.

Reimu’s cooking was still something of a stranger to Hana, simply too many unknown variables to trust it implicitly. In fact, despite the silence coming from the back of her bedrag- well kemp and fresh women? M-mother must surely already be whipping out the sake cups an- Instead of the smell of sake intermingling in the air there wasn’t a cup nor bottle in sight. Hana’s nose was only greeted by ghosts of the sensations and sights she was expecting to see, it made her strangely annoyed.

Even the dishes that were out on the table earlier had been at least put away and the table itself cleaned from any crumbs and staining liquid. The living room seemed like it was yesterday afternoon, cleaned and homely, as if the memories conjured weren’t real. With an inward sigh of relief Hana realized that her mother hadn’t said anything yet, maybe she hadn’t noticed her?

Subconsciously stepping in a way that silenced her footsteps she selectively forgot about her mother’s innate sense of perception and tried to fool it. It even seemed to work, at least Reimu didn’t acknowledge the supposedly stealthy sneak. At least until Hana took her place at the table, where shortly after her mother seemed to breath in deeply before moving things off the pans of the stove and plating them.

Her mother turned with the two platters, one in each arm, and approached the table with a neutral expression. The well-maintained apron and hair cover was just as it was before without anything seeming out of place. The whole ‘domestic’ side of her mother was something that gave her a slight feeling of disorientation, she even looked the part of an experienced mother with the ghost of mild dissatisfaction Hana had recently associated with housewives of the village.

Hana forced her eyes to flicker and meet the approaching miso miko, she was determined to meet and hold eye contact and show mother that she wasn’t scared. To her surprise it was the platter bearing women that shifted her eyes first. Though it looked natural for her to turn her gaze to the table, the silent encounter left Hana feeling the winner! Hana even decided to wear her ‘hardball playing bussnessmiko’ face, something she reserved only for those who were having second thoughts about payment.

Naturally it didn’t phase her mother, but that wasn’t the point; in fact, Hana was thinking up some a little quip about her slacking off by waking up so late when her mother made the first attack, “Thank you for clearing up the path, I couldn’t wake up quick enough and I didn’t realize that I slept in so long. Though I don’t suspect there’ll be many visitors today~”

Damn, a potent attack right off the bat! She was pretending to take the high road it seemed, and her mother thought she can worm her way into her brain with something so basic! That wouldn’t work however, Hana wasn’t the same girl that got her nose broken in the village! Hana would stand her ground and look her mother in the eye, I-If she attacked that was fine by Hana.

Inspiration hit the chilled girl, “Mm, I had to give my thanks for sheltering me last night after all. It’s only right to be a good guest to your host.”

Hoping she’d come across that perfect level of breezy detachment; Hana answered her mother casually. Her mother nodded, and only belatedly did she notice the stare she made; something about how her mother’s gaze took on a strange life as she glanced at Hana bothered her. It felt almost mocking the way the edges of her lips raised!

>>46026610

Quicker than she’d like to admit she blurted out, “It’s just a practical thing and nothing else, I just needed a replacement so-!”

To that end Hana realized that she messed up, but the damage was done and refusing it further at this point was just…! Her mother didn’t react much, simply giving an, “I see, thank you for your help, my guest” with an uncharacteristically tickled voice.

Hana focused on what was at hand and enjoyed the breakfast well enough at least, though after realizing what happened she could hardly make any jab strong enough to hit the mark. She’d just have to endure this embarrassment the rest of the day, then maybe Sanae would have her place ready or they’d even be able to ward off Yukari from her home altogether!

After finishing off the last of her silent brunch Hana gathered up the trays before her mother could stand, it was the least she could do to keep mother playing any more mind games! With a thanks on the lips of Reimu’s briefly surprised face she said with just a bit too much gratitude staining her voice, “Ah, thank you then, you don’t have too of course, and you should rest instead...”

Keeping her voice flat she muttered as she stacked the trays and dishes, “It’s not a problem, just relax while I do the chores and-.“ Hana’s voice hitched as she realized how docile she sounded, “I-In exchange I want you tell me more about my power, its important I get stronger!”

Once again surprise flickered across Reimu’s face, instead of her usual lightly sour expression taking hold again something strange happened; the ever-wrathful miko smiled with a genuine warmth that almost rivaled the room itself. The aproned miko, who sat as still as a tengu chasing a scoop, nodded quickly and agreed, “Of course…! I- how about um, after chores are finished?”

Hana quickly nodded as a strange feeling of dissonance over came her, she carried the trays into the kitchen quickly. She couldn’t wait to leave this place!

>>46026619
>>46026610
good God, tone it down, Hana! This level of autismo could be fatal...
man, I was losing at Hana trying to fucking one-up Reimu during the whole interaction, felt like she was chuunying thoughts straight out from something like Death Note; all while Reimu was just eating and feeling happy by merely having Hana's company, kek
Tsun!Hana is hilarious and cute~
>“I-In exchange I want you tell me more about my power, its important I get stronger!”
oh look at that, that'd be the first time Reimu would properly see Hana's power in play. That'll be fun, hype!
thanks for the chapters, Hanaanon!

>>46026610
>>46026619
'Ana a cute! She's really pouncing on the opportunity of getting some recognition from Reimu, huh? Wearing the alcot, cleaning the snow and even asking for training advice! Good for her, I say: it should pump some happiness in her soul, the poor girl was an inch away from turning into an empty vessel after the birthday party shenanigans...

>>46025736
The way Nitori spoke didn’t sit right. ‘Inspiring’ sounded sketchy. The oni were also ‘inspired’ by Kasen’s fight. Though, Aya was excited to find out what drew all the kappa away from their work. What didn’t excite her was traveling into the earth where her escape routes were limited.

The elevator doors slid open. The sound of kappa at work boomed as machines whirred and cranked around a massive structure, carrying teams of kappa to their assignments. Bright spotlights lit up a golden, reflective statue. It took a second for the tengu’s eyes to adjust and realize exactly what she was looking at.

“That’s… the puppet from that bazaar, right? The steam-controlled one?” It was a lucrative day for the Mountain, but Sanae moped around, mumbling about ‘real mechas’ or something. If she saw this, she’d be singing a different tune.

With an echoing click, the lights in the megalitic chamber dimmed. Without the harsh reflection, the tengu could see the giant nad his upgrades in detail. “Not just a puppet, Aya. Not anymore! Suwako’s suggestions were Hisoutensoku’s humble beginnings; A mere illusion. What stands before you now is the embodiment of justice and enlightenment long forgotten in our desolate wonderland!”

Hisoutensoku’s wings were huge, jointed so that they could bend and retract. His chestpiece was more robust and a lot shinier. The giant’s arms were fitted with massive gauntlets and joints were made to articulate it with more than simple air pressure. His legs were heavily armored and more importantly, seemed to work independently. Although his face was the exact same, covered in that golden sheen, he had a new aura. This was not just innovation. It was a work of devotion.

“He’s an impressive weapon. But, are you sure he’s what Gensokyo needs right now?” Aya didn’t expect Nitori to react as strongly as she did. With a flourish, Nitori threw off her dress and pointed one accusing finger at the tengu.

“You should understand more than anyone what he means! Yukari, Kasen, Reimu— everyone’s turned to cruelty! When Anon came to Gensokyo, he seemed to be a good fit for Reimu. He didn’t have much money, but he put in his best effort for her sake. Even if things went wrong with the miko, Marisa or Sanae would be there to help him out. Humans help each other out, right?” Behind her intense gaze, the pain and helplessness Nitori felt was plain to see.

“But that isn’t how it happened. Nobody was strong enough to save him without being hurt themselves. Anon’s just one example that shows how easy it is for powerful people to have their way…” Sweat racing down her arms, Nitori’s hands fell to her sides as they balled into fists. “Not anymore. NOT ANYMORE! The only one in Gensokyo who can fight for truth, love and justice without a thought for their own selfish desire is one that can’t think at all! No self-preservation, no inhibition, no vice—Hisoutensoku is born with the thoughtless inner peace all hermits strive towards! The Thermonuclear Titan Hisoutensoku can—no, will be Humanity’s Greatest Ally! We can’t wait for a god to save Gensokyo, so we’ll make our own!”

Aya didn’t know when she pulled out her notepad, but she was glad she was writing. A god built by the kappa to even the playing field—this was juicy news! “That’s amazing! What’s he powered by, faith? An electric generator?”

“Nuclear power. Hisoutensoku is the protector of our future, powered by the energy of the future! He’s even got an assortment of built-in tools and rocket boosters to spread justice at the speed of sound!” Niroi fished a complex-looking controller from her backpack. With the flip of a switch, Hisoutensoku’s right gauntlet disassembled from a benevolent fist and reformed into a menacing drill.

“Ah. A nuclear god with rocket-powered drills. I’m sure the Yama would see it as ‘justice’ too.” Despite her sarcasm, the tengu’s excitement was building inside. “So, if it isn’t too much trouble, do you think I might be able to get an ‘inside’ scoop?”

Nitori flashed a devilish smile at the tengu. “Of course. HISOUTENSOKU’S OPENING UP!” At her warning, all the kappa surrounding the robot’s head dispersed. A hatch opened up between his eyes. Flying with wings and a propeller, Aya and Nitori went up to take a closer look.

The tengu took photos of the cockpit from outside. “Wow. This is really cool. Well, now that I’m done, if I could just get my bombs—“

“Don’t you wanna see him live?” Insistently, Nitori pushed Aya towards the cockpit, sending her tumbling into the pilot’s seat. “Lemme just grab a drink and we’ll try—huh?” Without prompting, the hatch closed with a click. Nitori was left hovering outside while the tengu was alone inside of Hisoutensoku.

The kappa kept pressing the hatch release on her remote. It wasn’t working.

(Part 75)

>>46030105
Aya banged as hard as she could on the hatch. “HEY! LEMME OUT OF HERE!” Her pleas went unanswered. Damn it, why’d this have to happen to her?!

There wasn’t much space in the cockpit. Just enough for the pilot seat and a bevy of unlabeled controls. Something here had to open the door. No pulleys or handles were on the hatch she came in through, leaving her at the mercy of Hisotensoku’s levers and buttons. Two handles stuck out like joysticks. Figuring she couldn’t do much damage while the robot was still turned off, she gripped them firmly. The next thing she knew, lightning was shooting through her body.

Aya’s mind was flooded with information. The cries of anguished hearts across Gensokyo reverberated through her heart. Every wire and electrical impulse in Hisoutensoku’s limbs were flowing through her own veins. The wishes of every kappa working on the robot’s limbs pierced her soul. Every minor button and toggle inside the cockpit gained individual purpose and meaning. She understood what she had to protect.

At the same time, Aya’s own thoughts came crashing back against her. Her hatred for Yukari, her disdain for Tsukasa, jealousy against Ran, pity and anger towards Reimu, disappointment and frustration at Megumu, distrust in Okina, it all swirled together and pounded at her head again and again. She was barely able to weather the assault, up until she began attacking herself. She was putting her children at risk, she was betraying an ally, she wanted Anon all to herself, she was holding a moral position despite joining everyone else in hurting him—

As soon as the hatch opened, Nitori started pulling Aya away from the controls. The tengu could feel smoke coming out of her ears. “Wha… what happened to me?”

“Hmm… It seems like Hisoutensoku rejected you.” Nitori started checking the cockpit for damage while Aya processed her words. Very quickly, Aya regained her sense of self. Right now, her self was furious.

“HE rejected ME? Where does your big jerk get off frying my brain without so much as moving a muscle in return?!” The tengu delivered a swift kick to the seat before flying out to safety. For a robot without thoughts, he was picky!

“Calm down! I told you, Hisoutensoku doesn’t have any thoughts or inhibitions of his own. In order to pilot him, you have to be in the same state of mind: Devoted to protecting without holding anything back!” A platform rose to meet Aya and Nitori, ferrying them back to the ground. Hisoutensoku looked on with the same expression, but the tengu could feel something different about it. Was it sadness? Regret? It was like he yearning to have purpose, but couldn’t grasp it himself.

“Well, since he’s completely devoted to protecting Gensokyo, why don’t you pilot him? You spent all this time working on him, so you’d probably be a great fit! Imagine it: Nitori, flying through the sky and meting out justice to all evildoers!” It would be great if Nitori could join the fight in person!

“I... tried.” Knowing what she went through, Aya was more empathetic towards the kappa’s disappointment. It was a pretty harsh rejection, probably even worse for her. “I don’t know if it’s based on the person or just their state of mind at the time, but I know Hisoutensoku can do something great! The right person just needs to come along at the right time. He’s just waiting for the time when he’s really needed…”

Nitori and Aya made it back to the explosives depot. Checking a note on her workbench, Nitori headed into a maze of shelves before coming back with two large cases. She held out one first. “THESE are the explosives.” The kappa switched hands, “THIS is full of duds. Please, whatever you do, DON’T confuse them.” Keeping the explosives in one hand and duds in the other, Aya was eager to finally get out of the cave system. More than that, she was ready to get in bed and rest after the physical and mental abuse she suffered today.

Ambling slowly into her home, the tengu threw the cases into her closet before falling onto bed. It blew up once, she could care less if it blew up again right now. Tomorrow, she’d be doing espionage in the Land of the Backdoor while setting up bombs on a mountain full of the best voyeurs and stalkers in Gensokyo. She could wash the smell of burning, dirt, and burning dirt out of her sheets another day.

(Part 76)

I've been procrastinating a lot so I hope writing this will get me back into gear. There's a lot of focus on him, but Soku could easily be left out or included with anyone. I just felt like throwing the kappa a bone after being neglected so much. The Yamawaro are too big for their britches, time to take them down a peg!

Why was Reimu abusive to anon? I always get the feel that she would be neglectful and take advantage of her husband, the emotional side of abusive rather than being physical to her family. Did Yukari did something to her mind when she was younger or something?

>>46030498
Reimu has a prediliction towards using violence to solve her problems. In the SHoPfic, minor youkai incidents increased after the marriage. Combined with the influence of sake, Reimu was provided with an outlet for her stress. Anon taking it all on the chin only encouraged her to keep doing it. Then she combined sexread as:rape with violence, associating both pleasures in her mind.
There's probably a few parallels between her conduct and Kasen's when it comes to sex. Kasen's repressed that shit so long that it only exists in a debaucherous state for her while Reimu linked her lust to sadism. Then there's Hana with her Electra complex, probably shifting towards her mother as well thanks to Yukari's fuckery.
Keine better start teaching sex ed in her new all-inclusive classes. These girls can't keep getting away with this!

>>46030498
adding to this Anon's great explanation >>46030559, Yukari did indeed fucked with Reimu's head when she was little, apparently following Osana Reimu and Reireimu canon (Reimu's mother; her power; Ran reflecting and regretting OR ending). The fact she was raised motherless and only remembers her childhood as training the gohei and fighting likely built a big package of trauma she couldn't properly solve because she was either busy, too stubborn or too poor to seek help. Then the mofu and cat therapy happened, the problems exposed and she developed a healthy way to cope and reflect on deep-seated rage, loneliness and extreme violence, rather than use violence to 'solve' all of those. The parallels with Yukari and Kasen continue, wity Yukari having her problems exposed to her and offered multiple chances to reflect and change, yet choosing to let trauma guide her actions still; while Kasen is forever haunted by choosing to not face the bad of herself.
>One overcame her traumas and became better; the other is descending this infinite spiral of pain and the latter is forever stagnated as she chooses to not face Douji
pottery

>>46030127
>>46030105
> Her hatred for Yukari, her disdain for Tsukasa, jealousy against Ran, pity and anger towards Reimu, disappointment and frustration at Megumu, distrust in Okina
poor Aya, trying so hard yet failing so hard to fit in a game of gods and people capable of shaping Gensokyo easily; yet still a person on the inside with her own limitations… That's the struggle that sells the Ayacoin on the Moon! Good going~
but man, that was very fun. Really wasn't expecting this motherfucker to pop out of nowhere! But I liked it a lot, also very tasteful to link it to Aya's struggle, despite the joke above
>spoiler
Seems like something nice to add to the Finale, though more as a statement and icon of battle/morale boost than an actual 'big' player, considering the guys on Yukari's side can:
>destroy anything
>destroy anything (with gaps)
>destroy anything (with raw force)
>destroy anything (with time stop)
>destroy anything (with chuuni autismo)
and so on...
It was a very cool set of chapters, thanks for them and the laughs!

>>46030105
>>46030127
Aw yeah, it's him, the dude, the guy, the champ.
He's just chilling.
Does a giant hunk of metal know how to pray? Who can answer his prayers?

>>46032885
>Who can answer his prayers?
Lol, Shanghai doll

>>46033134
>Shanghai the doll piloting the Hisoutensoku
fucking amazing, kek

>>46032160
>destroy anything
Par for course for tensoku to lose, obviously only for uh... hakurei god to hijack tensoku and all that faith to escape the confines of the shrine and his dumb shrine maidens, turning into shin burning hisoutensoku version H. Dummy, goober, baka!
Lol

>>46033134
Another reason why shanghai is best girl.

>>46034722
dangerous shitpost, Anon. Almost shattered my plans for the finale just by reading it. Staggering amounts of autism...

>>46034722
>version H
uhhhhh
also what the fuck is this shit gookmoot? are the ai bots really that bad?

>>46036256
I think anon ment for H to mean Hakurei.
Definitely has that /m/ enthusiasm.

>>46030127
>>46030105
Ayabullying is always a treat to read, and the fact that she's being bullied by a robot of all things makes it a lot funnier!
https://files.catbox.moe/i2mjeh.webm
made a little something~
was feeling so sick today, couldn't even edit and draft any of my chapter, bummer... at least video editing is 10 times easier than writing

>>46033134
>>46034344
Shanghai powers Hisoutensoku with the power of Friendship and overwhelming Fighting Spirit! Big Sis Goliath Doll would be proud!

>>46030127
Today was the day! She gathered patrol path schedules, studied them for nights, and finally put together a route through the Land of the Backdoor AND Youkai Mountain. In just an hour, she’d begin to plant her bombs. Opening her closet, Aya kneeled down to open the case of duds. It was on the left, right? No, before she came home she took the bomb case first… with her right hand? She stopped once when she got tired, so maybe they got switched hands once, so the duds were… uh…

Crap.

She had ONE thing to memorize. ONE! It wasn’t like she could just ‘test’ one of the bombs. If she tested a dud, great! If she tested a live bomb, she’d have a face full of sharpnel and send a signal to every tengu on the mountain that there was a terrorist on the premises. Just a 50/50 shot to ruin her entire plan.

Aya thought about a solution while preparing for her run. She threw off her dirty clothes in favor of a slightly cleaner outfit. Dyed midnight blue and left outside for a bit, it smelled just like nature. It would be obvious she was a tengu, so she donned a full-face tengu mask. Picking up a bag she set aside for carrying the pipes, she looked it over and noticed a loose thread inside. Something minor. Something the maker could never be faulted for, because it was just normal wear-and-tear. Something they would never, ever think about happening in their products.

The tengu took one pipe out of a box and took a look at one of the ends. With a little effort, she cut a slit into her bag. Moving the pipe back and forth, she ripped it open until the hole was just big enough to let it through. With a little bit of flexing, the bag would eventually let the pipe slip through entirely. Something perfectly normal for a bag to do while making quick turns or shifting around in flight. Something she didn’t have to consciously think about and could easily be blamed on faulty gear!

Her ruse fully formulated, all Aya had left to do was figure out what to do about the bombs. The duds were specifically meant for the Land of the Backdoor, but they wouldn’t hurt to spread on the mountain. The live bombs had to be planted on the mountain, but thinking about it a little more, Okina would probably get suspicious if all the bombs she found were duds. It’s not like a live one would hurt her anyways. Plus, she’d have to consciously make a choice between dropping a live or dud bomb, which could clue Okina in on her intentions. Damn it, how could she even choose her bombs when she didn’t know which pipes were bombs?!

…She didn’t HAVE to know which ones were bombs!

In a mad fit, Aya took pipes out of both cases and stuffed them into her bag. To make sure the ruse was complete, she looked away and jumbled the identical shells up inside. It was done! How’s that, Okina?! Aya wished the goddess luck. After all, how could Okina read her mind when even Aya was fooled by her own ruse?! Not even a goddess of secrets could hope to uncover an answer that doesn’t exist!

Jetting off, Aya flew through a backdoor and started at the base of the mountain. Security was a little heavier, but her route should be foolproof. Even if those damn wolves found one, it was better they found it where anyone could plant it. The summit might be more lax, but a bomb up there would immediately alert the tengu that it was an inside job. This was just the first run, no need to get caught for being greedy.

Thankfully, the base was an easy job. Those wolves might’ve gotten a whiff of her if they weren’t busy getting drunk off their asses. The HSE really ruined their discipline. Her real issues came from the crows higher up. It wasn’t uncommon for karasu tengu to spy on each other at night while looking for something juicy. Planting explosives far from common area was enough for tonight. It was an effort to resist planting bundles on homes of tengu she personally knew checked out her house.

Whenever she flew through the Land of the Backdoor, Aya focused on memorizing the dimension’s topography as best as she could. Too many things shifted too frequently, but some general patterns repeated themselves enough to vaugely recognize different areas. At the further reaches of her exploration, she could just faintly feel her attention being called to something far away. Unfortunately, she had no good reason to explore it. All of her bombs were gone, either hidden from tengu sight or strewn about Okina’s dimension for one of her douji or Nazrin to—

Nazrin might get hurt by these…

Eh, it was a risk she willing to take. With her job done, Aya went back to catch another hour or two of sleep before she had to be at Megumu’s office.

(Part 77)

After thinking about Momiji making chocolate but being unable to taste it, Im'ma do a Hakurei Gakkou Experience special for Valentine's. Still need to figure out how to justify all these girls at each other's throats agreeing to go to Yukari's school where she is also a JK. I would like Class Hag(cup) full of suspiciously-developed 3rd-years harassing Anon. Posting about it a week in advance to hold myself accountable for coming up with more than 2 gags.

Been a hot minute, hasn't it?

Granted I'm exaggerating a tad because I've had some decent stuff floating around in my cranium like a gag chapter with everyone playing "Pandemonium Mini-Golf" or a small mini-chapter with Cheery Donut & Friends worrying about a missing Lemontene but the only idea that's really stuck with me so far is Rikako lamenting from regret & shame about what happened back at the steakout so badly that she starts to legitimately consider taking her own life, climaxing in a heartfelt scene between her & everyone's favorite vengeful spirit (it's a bit of a long story, will elaborate if anyone's curious) . But then when I try to put it down to paper I suddenly get overwhelmed with the sense that it's a dumb idea to do this with what's essentially one of HSE's big unserious gag characters and then quit cold turkey.

Thankfully the threads have slowed down a little so I'm not as stressed to keep up as before, but that doesn't solve the fact that I'm currently between the creative equivalent of a rock and a hard place. What do >>(You), the viewer, want to see out of this storyline personally? Do you want to go back to more comedy like the beginning first couple chapters or are you interested in us getting a little more emotional?

>>46038824
Pastebin of what little WIP stuff I've had done so far. Wanted to include it in the OG post so I don't take up 2 bumps but filters are 'tarded and think it's spam

>>46038677
You know I've read all of this and I still don't know why aya is trying to blow up the tengu and okinas backdoor stuff other then pregnancy hormones.

>>46040021
If I'm not misremembering, it's to generate suspicion and make the Great tengu retreat their deals with Yukari; though why they'd do after a terrorism attack and not hunt the culprit like a bloodhound eludes me. Ayaanon must have a plan of some kind

>>46038677
>fucks up with goddamn bombs
>best way to solve that? FUCK things even more in the hope you're so fucked your opponent will never be able to see from what side your fuckery comes from
that should be in Art of War 2: modern warfare, Aya is a genius!
>Nazrin might get hurt by these…
after the fairystorm, that rat's body is ironclad. What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger!
>>46038794
>Hakurei Gakkou Experience special for Valentine's
have I ever said how much I love you, man? Because I do~just imagining that got me laughing while preparing my breakfast, good fucking God. Warmly awaiting that part of the valentine's now~

>>46038824
>>46038838
writer's block and anxiousness of what people will say about what you write are a terrible combination, damn.
>>(You), the viewer, want to see out of this storyline personally?
don't ask those type of questions, Anon, that's just a trap to really not write anything at all. Just write what you want to read while avoiding fucking up with other writers, dumb or not it's no matter; we appreciate lighthearted retardness here to balance out the excruciating pain, sadness, horniness, and tribulations of the main story, Rikako being assaulted by the equivalent of that guy with the thunders telling others to kill themselves is rather funny, tho
If you're in doubt, my best tip would be to just write everything first and then post. It's what I did for this arc in Keine's side-story (though editing is a bitch and have to rewrite occasionally to accommodate with events), that way you have a more concise storyline and can define the tone throughout it all instead of writing while swinging between “it's so back/it's so over”.
good luck!

>>46038547
>picreal
cute Shanghai!

>>46040021
Tengu thing: Read >>46040286. Schmoozing with Megumu will help her out, and Momiji's still honor-bound to help her by the bathroom rape-pact. (Granted, Aya didn't mention using explosives to her) In the end, it's all about how the story is presented to the tengu masses that matters.
Okina thing: Aya doesn't trust Okina, but it's more Suwako and Kanako's plan and they're making Aya do the legwork work. Will become slightly clearer once things are written past birthday party (and Okina's meeting during that party hint-hint), but everything will come together. Trust the plan.

In total I'd say it's about 45% pregnancy hormones and 55% a convoluted plan. All because a human male touched her wings.
Why yes, that was vauge and unhelpful. I'll make sure to spell some of the more convulted shit explicitly once the story comes to it. It's easy to forget things over the course of... 5 months, give or take.