/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>44565260

“Hana, don’t say things like that. You’re making it sound like all of this is your fault. It’s not like that” he reassured me. He took some time to gather his thoughts. “She wasn’t always like this. I wish I knew what went wrong. She was so different when we first met. Sure she could be grumpy sometimes and she still liked to laze around, but she was capable of being kind and she had all sorts of friends. It was great, we really did love each other. ” He closed his eyes for a second “Things changed sometime after we got married. Youkai started to run rampant, attacking people, causing chaos. She was running ragged trying to protect everyone and figure out what happened. She even accidentally bruised me while sobbing once after a really bad day. It was eating away at her and she tried to become distant. I thought I would set something up with her and Marisa so she could relax for a night.”

“She came home drunk. She was angry that I told Marisa that she accidentally bruised me. It was the first time she beat me” He sighed as he dug up the painful memory. “I was so willing to forgive her. It was a mistake she made while drunk, she said she was sorry it would never happen again. But it’s like she stopped trying after that. She was cold to me and got angry more easily. She continued to beat me and no matter how many times she break down and apologized and promised to never do it again, she never did” I sat there in silence, not sure what to say to such a frank testimony of what he went through.


“Then Aya published an issue about what was going on. No doubt she’d been spying on us. It was a nightmare at first. There was so much controversy we couldn't even leave the shrine. People would stare and talk about us, some even tried to confront us directly. There were so many ridiculous rumors flying about. Her friends weren’t happy about it either, of course. Everyone’s disdain really shocked her out of it and she made an attempt to change” He said. “It seemed like she would leave it all behind her and that everyone would accept the new her. It worked for about a year, but then she slipped back to the way she was. The beatings, the drinking, the coldness and anger. She was even worse then before. But she found another chance when we found out we were having you” Despite the story he was telling, a smile formed on his face.

“She stopped being hostile and a little more gentle. She had to take things easy, for your sake. I think she secretly liked having an excuse to be doted on and take it easy and all the gifts she was getting” He said, looking a little embarrassed at bringing it up. “Everyone seemed to be so willing to forgive her when they found out. I still remember when Marisa found out. I was chopping firewood at the back of the shrine grounds and I heard her yelling from all the way from the entrance. We all thought this would be the end of it, that she would change and become who she used to be” His smile fades. “For a while, it seemed that way. But as you got older and needed less attention, she slipped back. The friends that still stuck around just left her. Kasen gave up on her and stopped coming over to try to correct her. Sanae never appeared unless it was needed, she even once offered to take me in as a worker in her shrine to protect me but I rejected her. Marisa used to come over all the time, but by then she only talked to Reimu when it was about an incident or event going on, and had to sneak around her back to talk to us. Everyone had stopped coming to her parties, even when it was for her victory in solving another incident. When she met new faces they might stick around for a bit, but then they would leave like that when they found out what was going on” He snaps his fingers

I try to digest everything I heard. I learned so much about her but it seemed like I was no closer to understanding her. What drove her to be abusive, again and again​? Was it simply the stress of everything, or maybe her personalty had something to do with it? Maybe the way she was raised? I couldn’t recall her ever talking about her parents. I had to know. If it was in her blood then what would they mean for me? I felt my chest twist into a knot as I struggled to figure out my thoughts. It wouldn’t be right to dig up more, Dad had already admitted so much, it must have left him drained. Maybe I should do something to lighten the mood. I had an idea. “Dad” I said “I’ll be seeing Marisa again soon. Why don’t I invite her over for dinner? It would be great to have have around now that we’re away from her”
Dad’s smile returned “That sounds great, I’d really like to catch up with her. It’s been way too long since we’ve last met” He got up and rolled his neck. “Speaking of, we should really start to prepare it. It’s getting late” I followed him in the kitchen and helped him with the meal. It kept our minds off things.