Oh dear, oh dear, what to do...
"A-ah, well, yes!"
"You... haven't seen her, then?"
"Yes. I mean, no. I mean to say, um, that is correct."
"...oh. Well, if you see her, could you let her know to come find me?"
"Oh my, of course~!"
"Thank you.
Now, where did I leave that...hmmm...?
Well, there she goes.
I feel somewhat conflicted about being dishonest with her.
Still, if Miss Moriya must have her reasons for avoiding her, and it is hardly my place to meddle in their affairs.
"...is she gone?"
"Ah, yes, I believe so?"
?
Phew! Thanks, you're a life-saver."
"Is something the matter, Miss Moriya?"
"Ehh, enough of that 'Miss' stuff, but, nah. It's nothing. Except a lot of things.
"Oh dear, nothing serious, I hope."
"Well, it's hard to say. Something's got the tengu all freaked out, and that's usually not good. Something's also got Kanako all giddy, and that's always not good. All either of us could get out of her when she called was something about company coming, and telling Sanae to get ready. Oh, and Kanako's gonna cook dinner tonight. Kanako. Cooking dinner."
"Well, if she is in such a celebratory mood, is that not a good sign?"
"I'm not sure you heard me right. Kanako is planning on cooking.
Kanako. Cooking. In all the years I've known her, I've yet to see that woman 'cook' anything that doesn't involve pushing a button. And even then, there's the
smell. Eugh. Any room she calls a 'kitchen' I call a place where dreams go to die."
"My, that is certainly, ah..."
"But, enough about our bad smells, and let's hear about yours! What's the deal with the stink-robe?"
"Oh, that's right! Well, you see..."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Come on! Let me see!"
"Nope~!"
"Just once!"
"No way~!" Oh, they are so lively, aren't they?
Lively, and noisy.
I wish they would shut up, but some of the others seem to enjoy the sounds they're making.
Some of them are enjoying the thought of all the other sounds they could be making, too.
You probably don't want to know what most of those sounds are, do you?
Perhaps I should describe them to you?
Or, perhaps I shouldn't. It would be rather cruel, wouldn't it?
But you can imagine, can't you?
You can still do that much at least, right?
Not that you can do much else, after all.
It's taken longer than any of us would have liked, but we've just about gotten the hang of running this waste of flesh you call a body.
Movement is still proving to be a bit of a problem, but everything else? Working just fine.
Right now, we could stop your heart and lungs, if we wanted to.
Just stop them, completely.
Full. Dead. Stop.
We won't, though, don't worry.
That would defeat the whole purpose of doing this, after all.
Your vital functions are all quite safe, I can assure you.
The not-so-vital things in your head, though?
Not quite so safe.
Just about the only thing stopping any of us from just wiping out any old memory we feel like is the fact that you wouldn't know you've lost anything, and where's the fun in that?
What good is it to do something to someone, when the end result is them being unable to realize you've even done anything?
Unless, of course, someone were to tell you about it.
We'll just let that sink in for a little bit.
"Ahh, here we are~!"
"Huh? Su-san, who're that?"
"Ooh! Look! The guests are here! And they brought presents!" Was that long enough?
If it helps any, we probably haven't done anything like that, yet.
Far be it for any of us to deprive someone else of what we've endured.
No, you can keep your precious little memories. Your joys, your sorrows, your regrets.
They're yours to keep, and desperately hold onto as you feel yourself slipping away from this world.
"The goddess of this shrine, I presume?"
"Yeah, yeah, one of the three, welcome, praise us, blah blah blah. Now, what's in the bag? What's in the baaaaaag?"
"Oh, just some fertilizer~"
"Huh? But you said that-"
"Oh, look. A couple of humans are forcing a doll to eat mud pies on the other side of that lake."
"H-huh?! Where?!"
"Over there, can't you see~? If you hurry, you can still stop them~!"
"Su-san! We gotta stop them!" Ahh, that one is so simple-minded, isn't she?
No wonder you got her to follow you around, like a puppy.
Still, she could be useful.
It is quite crowded in here, after all, and a vessel is a vessel.
Maybe, when we're finished with...
...wait. 'Shrine'? 'Goddess'?
Oh. Ohohoho.
So that's what's going on out there.
We probably should have been paying more attention, but you can hardly fault us for being distracted.
"Ahh, to be young, again. Now, what's in the bag? What's in it?"
"Very well. Here you go. Now excuse me, it's time for my nap."
"Yaaay! Now, what have we got... ooooooooooh boy."
"Ah-aaaaaaahn~!"
"Don't make me break out the hose on you, Missy."
"Ah-h-h-h! S-so-sorry! It's jus-sht..."
"Yeah, no, don't want to know. Sanae! Hey! Sanaeeeeeee! Get 'the room' ready!"
"Lady Suwako? So you were out here! Where did-"
"Shh! Listen! Room. Ready. Now!"
"That room? Why do you want... oh. Oh no."
"Sanae, dear? Less gawky, more walky!"
"O-oh, right! Right! I'll get it ready right now!"
"Honestly, kids. Hina, if you would..."
"A-aaaah~"
"Actually, just stay right there." Why are we still not moving?
Why are we still not moving?!
So much for the power of teamwork, huh?
Of course, if worse comes to worst, we can always find another vessel.
It's not like they're lacking for bodies up here.
"Hey! Yoohoo~! Anyone in there? Can you hear me? Hellooooooooooo~? C'mon! Do something! Anything!" [ ] blink
[ ] twitch
[ ] gurgle
[ ]
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>>173203 I know, and I'm sorry. I can't make any promises about your confusion or headaches, but the shifting won't be a thing for very much longer, aside from possibly checking in on Rikako and company. Unless you would prefer to be kept in the dark about that until you run into them again.
Assuming you do, anyway.