/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>46568476
MARRY Keine and ADOPT two children right fucking now you goddamn hobo

The way back home is short, yet my heart keeps skipping beats. Having Mokou back in my life… Feels like a dream. I fear it might actually be—I glance at her flying by my side, thrown at how quickly she turns her eyes away from the lower half of my nightgown to meet mine. "A-Aren't you cold in that skimpy thing?" She utters, blushing, hands crossed behind her nape, flying as if floating on water.

I hum. "I was feeling cold when I left to meet you." My eyes soften, feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. "Not anymore."

Her blush deepens, making a sulking noise. "At least it's dark so no one can see it…" I blink at her words—chest clenching—and can't resist snickering. She gets even redder.

Ah~It feels good. It really does. Like having a thousand tons lifted from your shoulders, the world more colorful and the moon shines a silver so pronounced you can lose yourself in it for hours—oh, that's not the moon, that's just Mokou's hair. Heh.

Our flight finally ends, landing on my bedroom's window. Mokou looks rather tense as I open the window—the room hardly illuminated by moonlight, so she has to squint to understand her surroundings, watching me walk towards the half-spent candle. "Be quiet, okay~? They're sleeping." She lifts a brow, looking at me as if I said something stupid.

"'They'?" She parrots, coming to my side.

I giggle and, with a flick of my fingers and a bit of magic, the candle is lit again…

… Mokou turns absolutely pale.

During our apology, when I laughed, I'd thought her brain had shut down… Here, I'm certain it did.

She gazes at Aki and Kuramochi, utterly mystified, moistens her lips, and unconsciously holds onto the cradle to keep her balance. I stare at her expressions with a guttural feeling of sheer happiness throbbing my entire body, drinking from the tiny movements of her muscles; the confusion; the sweet, stupefied smile as she turns to me and, in her speechlessness, have her wide eyes make the question: “Who?”

I titter, eyes glinting. "These are the two beautiful souls I saved in my last stand… My two children."

Gently, I reach inside the cradle and grab Kuramochi, handing him onto Mokou—and, oh, I think the likes of Aya would pay a mountain of gold to see the almighty Fujiwara no Mokou like this: a mess, fumbling hard and stuttering as she confusedly tries to hold the baby without letting him fall, looking at his little face as if worth thousands times more than the just mentioned mountain of gold. "K-Keine…" She looks at me, gulps something down, then looks back at Kuramochi, specifically his wings. "… W-What?"

In the meantime, I had picked up Aki, nestling her in my arms. "They're night sparrows, like Mystia… I adopted them, and they've chosen me as their mother. Things have been hard—really hard—," Mokou's eyes soften, the baby in her arms moving a bit, probably going to wake up soon. "But with them in my life, I've found strength to keep on going. A motive, changes of view—hope and responsibility…" I watched as her red eyes met the baby's blues for the first time, tired and a little numb from just waking up, yet stark under the tender candlelight. The immediate veneration in her eyes was enough to bring back the tears. "This little one here is Aki, as in Akyuu… And that one," he giggled, trying to reach for Mokou's head, likely to eat her hair. "Is Kuramochi." It comes out as a whisper.

Yet it shakes her entire world.

She stares at me, a trembling smile rising as if a phoenix, then at Kuramochi… "Kuramochi… That's your name, huh?" Gently, her index finger meets his stretched hand, and it takes his entire tiny palm to hold it. Her smile is blinding. "Be proud of it—i-it was the name… of a great man." She giggles through tears, swinging her held finger up and down to entertain him.

Aki moans, and I sigh, albeit not losing my smile. She'll be so grumpy tomorrow~

"K-Keine…" I look at Mokou, who, with trembling steps, approaches me, my heart flipping with expectation. "I… want to be part of t-this." Whatever expectation I had was blown out of the roof, my eyes bulging. "Of their lives—of yours. I want us… to be a family…" She carefully touches Aki's cheek, who mumbles. "… Can we?" Her hand goes up and rests on my own cheek. I lean onto it as if it were water in a desert.

I can't resist: am laughing again.

Aki isn't fond of the noise. Kuramochi munches on Mokou's finger.

"Why are you asking that, Mokou? And you really called me a dork? Don't you have any shame?!" I close the distance, placing my forehead on her plain chest, Aki’s and Kuramochi's wings brushing together. She looked down and I up, and our smiles were clear mirrors of the soul. "You're already part of this family, you big, flat idiot~" Mokou pauses, her chest swelling—the sweet sound of the heartbeat there my favorite melody. "Don't shout, please. The neighbors will be mad."

She nods with a snicker, leaning on me and using her free hand to bring all four of us into a tight hug, giggling on my scalp.…

… Perfect.