/jp/ - Otaku Culture

The scratching stopped, and Marisa heard Eirin's chair scrape against the floor. Now panicking again, she heard Eirin's footsteps coming toward the door, but Reisen moved forward to meet her, just barely close enough to prevent Eirin from spotting either of them. "Good. Results?" She asked, her voice sounding as professionally detached as it usually did, though Marisa could have sworn that there was a hint of something underneath. Some sort of...strain.

"They, um, didn't take. Regeneration showed after several hours, which is up from the previous attempts, but obviously not enough to actually counteract the effects of the elixir." Reisen's feet were scuffing against the floor, which Marisa suddenly noticed had changed to that emotionless, sterile tile that appeared in the clinic. "There's still more samples to go out, though, so the next batch might take."

Eirin was silent for a moment, and though she didn’t dare try to look, Marisa could imagine the impassive look on her face that somehow still showed disappointment. "...Yes, very good. See that the next samples are tested thoroughly." Eirin fell silent, and it lasted long enough that Marisa began to feel convinced that she had spotted them.

"Um, Master?" Reisen finally ventures, her voice finding some sort of emotion to settle on, which she had never once displayed when talking to Marisa. "We're almost out of samples. Why - Why are you doing this? I thought that the elixir was your magnum op-" She didn't get to finish.

"Go to Fujiwara no Mokou and collect more samples, then. I don't need to hear the questions, Udonge. I only need to find the solution. That is what I am here to do. It's the only thing that matters." Marisa could hear the sound of cloth rustling, then the sound of a gloved hand tightening, like Eirin had just clenched her fist. "Dismissed."

"B-But, Maste-"

"Dismissed, Udonge." Eirin's voice gained an edge to it, one that promised bad things if not obeyed.

"...Understood, Master." Reisen's voice sounded slightly dejected, but she stepped back out of the room, regardless. "Um, will you need anything else...?"

"No." The swish of clothing indicated that Eirin had turned around, and the scrape of her chair afterwards confirmed it. Reisen backed out of the room, not looking at either Marisa or Tenshi, but clearly not wanting to look at Eirin. "Udonge?" Reisen looked back up, a flash of hope crossing her face. "Tell Fujiwara no Mokou..." Eirin fell silent. "No, never mind. Dismissed." The hope disappeared immediately, and Reisen trudged away from the room with her shoulders slumped. After a moment, she looked back at Tenshi and Marisa, still crouched at the door, and stuck a thumb behind her, then pointed to the right. Marisa nodded, sure that she was telling them the way out. After a moment, Reisen disappeared into the darkness.

Now all was silent. Eirin hadn't started writing again, and after warring with herself for a moment, Marisa dared to look through the door. The Doctor was hunched over the desk, but a bottle had joined her on the table. She placed a sake cup next to it, filled it, then took a drink. After a moment, she leaned back in the chair, taking a second drink. She continued until she had worked her way through a third of the bottle, at which point, she stood up, staring out of the decorative window in the room. She took another drink, then became still as a statue. Marisa wondered just what she could possibly be thinking.

Then, with no warning, she spun and hurled the sake cup at the wall. The shattering of ceramic and the trickle of alcohol coming down the wall was so loud in the deafening silence that Marisa jumped. Eirin was facing the wall opposite from Marisa's side, so she still couldn't be seen, but she didn't feel all that comfortable either. She could see that the muscles in Eirin's jaw were stretched taut, like she was incredibly upset. Her fist was clenched, and Marisa noted that she was wearing thin, black gloves. They shone slightly where the light caught them, which made Marisa wonder if they were leather. Not surgical, then. Why? "Next time." Eirin whispered to herself. "Next time." She stomped back over to the chair and slumped back into it, rubbing her face with one gloved hand.

There was no chance that Marisa or Tenshi would be able to make her move, it was appearing. Still, they had learnt some valuable information. Marisa looked over at Tenshi, who looked troubled, and gestured toward the exit. After a moment, Tenshi nodded. Marisa took a moment to confirm that Eirin wasn't looking, then stole past the open door, and soon the pair were creeping back through the corridor. Before long, they were at an intersection, and Marisa chose to trust in Reisen's word. She pointed left, and after a moment, Tenshi nodded.

Don't forget your meds!

>>43469427
Her whole office smells of semen.