/jp/ - Otaku Culture

(1/6)
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Ran and Ms. Goat were having secret meetings about saving Mr. Anon, and now I am part of the team. Then Ayaya got in too, and we coined our group 'Anon's Frens'—Ayaya lost the rock-paper-scissors game, so that's why—and, together, we're gonna stop Yukari from doing evil things and help Mr. Anon… Yet I'd be lying if I said I feel comfortable with all this. No matter how much I say to myself that I hate what Yukari does, that she deserves punishment, I still have a nagging feeling that makes my heart rate skyrocket and my eyes tear up. I look around and see myself surrounded by friends intending to stop her bad deeds…

But then I look at her, be it from afar or during the rare times we still eat together, and she's always alone. Even when there are people around her—the workers of the HSE, customers, Ran—she's distant, apparently inside her own world.

It hurts that not even I, Chen—hi…—can enter that world, no matter how much I try.

Flying through the afternoon cloudy skies, spinning to keep myself afloat and my scarf fluttering on the wind, my face bears traces of sad which I struggle to dispel. I thought that flying a bit around would help me untangle the maze my brain had become, but, with a sigh, I noticed it wouldn't be the case.

What exactly am I doing? I'm looking out for something—anything—that'll bring me closer to Yukari. Something nice would make her smile, right? And if she'd smile more, It'd become much easier to get close to her, yet… I don't have the money to buy expensive stuff, nor can I have a good talk with her and ask what she'd like since that night she told me about Mr. Anon. I quickly clean the tears before they fall; the wind on my face is not helping.

Life is so weird: suddenly you're happy, things are good, and you have new friends—but then, like clockwork, the world is sad again, and you're full of anxieties and fears. Why are things like this?

I sigh, eyes closed and frown creased, my thoughts dwelling quickly into places that make me shiver and—

A droplet hits my nose.

Puzzled, I open my eyes and look around, and my heart drops when I notice the clouds above are much darker than they were… How many hours ago?! I don't know for how long I've been flying, and the fact I also don't immediately recognize the area makes my little heart start to pound. As if mirroring my shock, the skies thunder, making me wince, and a torrential rain starts to pour down like it's mad at me for being so childishly and—gah, no, no! No time to think!

Spinning as fast I can, I dive into the layer of trees to protect myself from the rain; the little light the black clouds didn't cover up now gone, and I have to rely entirely on the mirror layer of my vision to see and it's so awkward to do so when you have to constantly spin to keep flying and things just start to mesh together, dodging is weird, and the skies are thundering, my heart filling with fright, and I want Ran and Mr. Anon's arms to hold me because it's so dark and scary, and I think I'm lost—

A lighting flash hits a tree close to me, erupting it into a cloud of fire, death, debris, and acrid smoke, and it surprises me so much I have to dodge it quickly—from behind a dark spot in my vision left by the flash, a tree materializes, and I can't dodge, hitting it face first and being flung around like a doll, rolling across the ground, and—ow, ow, ow, everything hurts! Danmaku doesn't hurt like this—the rain doesn't stop, and the ground feels muddled, my arms trembling to support my weight as I get up, head spinning, clothes damp and covered in muck. I reach for my face, nose burning like a fireplace, and my eyes bulge when I retract the hand, and it's all covered in blood.

I hug myself, looking around with bushy tails and ears flat, the scarf Mr. Anon knitted for me torn, the tree burning like a pyre, and I start to walk with trembling legs, not an ounce of idea where I'm going to.

How can things get like this? It was already so bad… why does Yukari do bad things? Why is she threatening Mr. Anon's loved ones? Why is our family being torn apart?

Ran promised we'd be there for her, to support her, to love her like always—yet…

Why are we still so far away despite being so close by?

The rain pours as if trying to put me down, my body trembling, and the hug doesn’t keep me warm. I wonder around but find no help, darkness settling and the rain pouring as if enraged—I slip on mud, scraping a nasty wound on my right knee. My nose stopped bleeding a moment ago, but my head feels so light…

With tired eyes, I see a small cave on the face of a hill, barely hidden by foliage. Good enough.

I stumble inside, and it gladly goes up instead of down, meaning water won't flood it.

Tired like I've never been before, I sit on the harsh ground, my scarf torn apart and soaked in blood, dress crumpled, and I've lost my hat…

"Boo!" I wearily look to my side. There's a purple umbrella there. “Did I scare you?”

… I start crying.