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Chapter 40: The Bunny Situation
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I dropped to my feet with a thud. The peak of the mountain during April was filled with snow, and wind was a constant presence here.
"Mhm,"
I spent a quick moment appreciating the atmosphere. I felt the chill of the icy air, as the mountain air was thinner and cooler than the one on the surface of the planet. The wind's steady blow on my skin was a welcome reminder of my current position, the chilly breeze making every movement feel more alive.
Then, I began to look around, scanning with my [Copper Sight] to locate the perfect place to sit down. I walked to a spot and each of my steps made a crunching sound as the snow beneath my feet turned into powder, disappearing quickly beneath the wind and the moonlight.
"Good enough," I stood over a spot where my preferred aura affinities were the most present and sat down. Then I took a deep breath of the fresh air, sucking in the Qi all over me, and relished in the peace and quiet that surrounded me.
Then, I began to [Cycle] Qi within myself.
…
Hours later, my concentration was a little weakened as I felt gazes on me again. It was more than one this time, there were two beings looking at me from somewhere.
Do they not have better things to do? How annoying.
I shook my head and returned to cycle my Qi. Neither of the presences appeared to be hostile, so they could voyeur around as much as they wanted. They seem to be locals of this mountain, meaning they were either Yokais or Gods. As an outsider, I couldn't complain if they were just watching, instead of telling me to go away.
Oh well. Enjoy watching me sit for hours.
* * *
[Third Person Point of View]
Konohanasakuya-hime watched her large water bowl again, where the scene of the mountaintop was being shown. This time, a friend of hers accompanied her, helping her confirm the identity of the boy.
"You're right, Sakuya." Her friend nodded, calling her by her other name, Sakuya-hime. "He's not from the Phenex Clan, let alone a devil. If I'm not wrong… he is that young boy who's chosen by Tsukuyomi."
"Oh…" Konohanasakuya-hime, or Sakuya for short, blinked. She abruptly remembered that incident when Lady Amaterasu asked the Gods for permission to reincarnate two innocent and wronged souls.
That boy was one of them? That was so amazing! Soon, Sakuya realized a problem. She turned to her friend in a hurry, looking at her worriedly. "You are not planning to hurt him, are you, Bishamon?"
The War Goddess Bishamon looked back at her, her purple slit eyes filled with intent. Unlike what her revealing clothes might suggest; a slick hat, an open jacket that showed her bra-clad chest, and a super short skirt — she was actually a warrior God. As one of the four Heavenly Kings, belonging to a total of Four Mythologies, Bishamonten was a High-Grade God with strong divinity. As a God of War and Warriors, her battle powers were matched by few in the entirety of Shinto and beyond.
[Image Here]
She just happened to have bad blood with the God Tsukuyomi, currently known as the Delivery God Yato. So for this boy to be the chosen one of that God, even if it was the Great Lady Amaterasu who blessed him, Sakuya was concerned if Bishamonten would do anything to him.
Thankfully, her friend shook her head, she took this matter lightly. "Come on now, is that the type of God I seem to you? I might hate that bastard, but this human doesn't even know about his existence. Why would I ever take out my anger on him? I am not the one who's a mad warmonger between him and me."
"That's good," Sakuya nodded, smiling. "In that case, should we go meet him? I wanted to meet him last time but I fell asleep."
Bishamon shook her head. "That'll be a waste of time. He seems to be training his Senjutsu, let him be. We shouldn't interrupt him. Why would you want to meet him anyway?"
"Oh," Sakuya deflated. "Well, I haven't gotten a visitor in so long since the tourist month is closed."
Bishamon shook her head. "You're too soft, Sakuya. That's why those devils thought they could talk you into selling Fuji."
"I am not that soft." She looked offended at that accusation.
Sakuya was the Goddess of Volcanoes, but at the same time, she was the Goddess of Cherry Blossoms as well. She is a symbol of delicate earthly life. So unless provoked, she's a very gentle and laid-back Goddess.
Bishamon laughed just a little, patting her on the back. "Well, then, I'll get going. I just came here to hear about anything new on the Devils. Remember, if they come back with any kind of threat, you are supposed to call me. I'll remind them that Japan isn't for sale."
Bishamon had come to meet her just to see if she was all right — if the devils had tried anything — and to tell her that she had her support. Sakuya felt happy and compelled at those words, as she nodded.
A bit later, she saw Bishamon off as she flew off riding a Pegasus in the sky.
* * *
[First Person Point of View]
The voyeurism ended at one point, but I was too busy cycling to care. I decided to finish for the day when my alarm clock rang off and reminded me of the time.
It's 4:00 AM.
Cultivating vitalizes your body enough that you can replace it with sleeping for the most part; on top of that, I could stay awake far longer than any normal human anyway. So it's not a problem that I skipped sleep, not any issue at all.
I decided to return to the resort, it'll be harder to manage being unseen if the sun rises. I still have an hour on my hands, but it's better to be careful since it's my first day here.
"Mhm~" I stretched a little as I stood up, and then kicked the ground. I blitzed through the sky, stepping in bare air and Blinking forward.
….
When I was above the hill that held the onsen resort inside it, I paused for a hit as I noticed a figure standing near a cliff. It was a bit far from the backyard of the resort, and a river ran down the cliff. If someone were to fall, they would die for sure.
I dropped to the ground dozens of meters away from the figure and approached the scene. I was worried if it was Akane or not, so I decided to check on the person. She did jump from a bridge in the canon timeline, it wouldn't be strange if she decided to jump from a cliff this time around.
As I approached closer, I realized it was not Akane at all. Odd how I didn't notice from afar, but it made sense why I didn't, given who the person in question was. It's the girl whose presence makes everyone's senses dull.
"Hey, Mai Senpai." When I called, Miss Sakurajima turned around. She wore a white tee shirt and a blue skirt, and her lovely thighs were clad in black tights. Her bunny ears and tail were white now, oddly, unlike the black I saw before. They were also in full visibility, not half transparent.
Mai's blue eyes locked with mine; her lips parted and trembled for a moment. But she quickly composed herself.
[Image Here]
"It's you again," she said, looking back in the distance. Into the mountain range before her. "You should leave."
"Or else what?" I stepped closer, standing beside her and looking where she was. "Are you going to turn into some furry bunny girl monster under the moonlight and eat me?"
As I had intended, she laughed. It was the first time I saw her laugh, she looked lovely. "No, not that. It's just… hah, never mind. You can stay."
"Don't be shy, admit you love being around me." I gently hit her shoulder with mine. She scoffed, making me laugh. "Why are you awake this late, though? Can't sleep?"
"Why were you outside this late; can't stay at one place?" She asked me back, making me gasp in feigned surprise.
"Oh no, you know." I was a little surprised she knew, but my reaction was fake. She knew that and finally turned to look at me. "Are you here talking with me just because all the other girls are asleep?"
I leaned my right hand on the stone border that was around the cliff. "You are making it sound as if you're some kind of late choice, love. You do know how gorgeous you are, right?"
"Looks aren't everything," she frowned. "It is the personality that matters. I'm a boring girl. Didn't you notice… there was nobody who talked to me today?"
Ah, Mai's opening up. Her situation must be growing really fast if she's awake so late, pondering over her life.
"I did," I reminded her. "I fed you two- no, three pieces of yakiniku. You forgot? I am hurt."
Mai hugged her arms and blushed a little in embarrassment, frowning. "Other than you, I should have added. You are weird, so you don't count."
"Uh-huh, sure." I smiled. "I don't think it's because of your personality, love. Well, it kind of is, but the reason your personality is so down these days is because of your condition. It's the same condition that is making people not notice you. They are not avoiding you, they physically don't even notice you."
"But you…"
"I'm special."
Mai giggled. "How arrogant of you. Aren't Yuki and Mem-Cho also supernatural? Why don't they notice?"
I shrugged, leaning backward on both of my elbows now. "My eyes are special. My soul is more. They are supernatural girls, sure, but by supernatural standards they are normal. While your condition, I realize, is a high-level supernatural incident. What is up with you?"
"...I don't know." She told me truthfully. "I just know it's some magical shenanigans, but I don't know the details."
"I thought you'd know," I genuinely did. "Given you are a Yokai. Have you tried to contact your family about it?"
"..." she looked away.
"So you didn't. You should have."
"My only family is my mother and a half-sister. I don't talk to my mother anymore." Apparently, she was in the mood for talking today as she explained. "My half-sister has less knowledge about these things than me, as she is only half Yokai. So I'm a bit lost."
I stared at her in silence. I understood her situation somewhat; and although it may sound stupid that she isn't consulting her mother about this, it made sense to those who knew her past. She didn't tell me about it, but I knew anyway thanks to my Bunny Girl Senpai anime knowledge.
Let's see…. In the original anime, all these magical shenanigans triggered in people — mainly young people — who were dealing with a particular emotional problem and deeply wished it got solved in some way, granting them supernatural and annoying abilities that manipulate reality itself on a small scale.
There was not any in-depth explanation of how this process worked, but I do know of the particular solution to Mai's case. The main character confessed to her in front of the whole school to fix her supernatural issue; everyone was reminded of her again. Though I think in this world, her case is a bit more powerful than the one in anime. Otherwise, just being in this show should have fixed it for her.
"Why are you here, Mai?" I suddenly asked, making her tilt her head. "If I have to guess, I'll say your situation was initiated by your desire that people forget you. That you never had to act in the first place."
Her eyes trembled, "Maybe."
"That sounds like a yes." I looked at her.
"I…" she sighed. "I had to do a swimming suit photoshoot. When I was 14. My mom forced me to. I went on hiatus then."
"That's crazy,"
"It is?" She looked at me. "I wanted people to forget about that photoshoot. And for the years to come, people began to forget as I stopped appearing on big screens. I was… happy. Then, people began to forget me on a more fundamental level."
"Like your friends and classmates began to forget that they even know you?" I asked, getting a nod. "Hmm."
I looked at her with squinted eyes. At my current level, I didn't have scanning abilities that'd let me figure out her problem. But from my vast knowledge, I realized what was going on.
The Will of the World.
Some planets have consciousness, maybe not as developed as humans, or sometimes much smarter than humans, but some planets have the ability to think. To feel compassion and empathy. I guess the reason why it's mostly teens who go through the problem Mai is going through is because the mother planet feels empathetic towards her confused children who are about to enter adolescence. If their confusion and feelings are very great, the mother planet reaches out a hand to help them out.
The Planet was helping Mai realize her desire, even if the cost was to make her disappear from the world. Perhaps this earth wasn't smart enough to discern that was a problem, but it was happening.
"I joined this show because…" she gulped. "I don't want to vanish. I want to live."
I stared at her.
"But," she gulped. "Few people recognized me in the first episode, and today when I was checking Twitter, I found no mention of my name at all. My presence in the world of entertainment is gone."
I continued staring at her.
"The filming cast didn't instruct me to do anything today. They can't see me." She said, "This isn't the first time that someone can't see me. My classmates can't see me either. Everything returned to normal for a few days after I joined LoveMy, but now it's back to how it was. No, it's worse."
Today was the day when nobody talked to her, other than me. I could understand why it was a bad day for me.
"The world had forgotten me," she said, looking at me with slightly wet eyes. "I didn't sleep today because I thought… when I wake up, even you, the last person who talked to me, would forget me. You don't know how relieved I felt… when you called me earlier."
There were no romantic feelings involved in her forgetting me, the two of us were not like that. She just knew she'd be in a turmoil if the last person visibly forgot her, and so she felt relieved.
Miss Sakurajima, what a pitiful situation she's in. Looks like, without the main character of the Anime to help her, as he probably wasn't even in our school, she's had no choice but to appear in a TV show. Yet, as nobody tried to talk to her on their own, and she was too tsundere to go talk to people on her own, she was now on the end of her existence within the planet.
"I see," I stared into her eyes as I reached out a hand. "Senpai, can you give me your phone? I want to see your Instagram for a bit."
"Huh…?" Mai shook her head, wiping the corner of her eyes and taking out her phone. "Here you go. What do you want to see, though?"
I took her phone and looked at her account. She had 127k followers. However, on her latest post, she had zero likes or comments. Her social media accounts were dead, as they were an extension of her presence.
I opened the inbuilt camera on Instagram. I didn't need to take a picture, edit it, and then post it. I could post direct pictures, the face of the Venerable One was always pleasing, and coincidentally Mai herself was gorgeous too.
"Come here for a bit," I called her, putting a hand on her shoulder as we looked at the camera.
Mai laughed. "I don't think taking a selfie with you is going to save me."
"True," I agreed.
So, as I pressed-hold on the click button, watching a timer of three seconds go off, my hand that was on her shoulder grabbed her face from behind and made her turn around. Mai's eyes widened in late realization, as her lips widened and I kissed her.
The sun rose in the eastern sky, and the moon grew fainter as its light faded. The snow in the mountain peak afar melted, as vapor filled the area. The air grew warmer and a new sense of life began to return to the world; the changing landscape was a beautiful sight to behold, and under all this light show, I kissed the forgotten girl back to the realm of relevancy.
The next day, as luck would have it, my name was trending already thanks to Ruby's show. So, the next day, Mai Sakurajima returned to reality with a viral shot of her first kiss being stolen by me.
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Master4thWall: That's the 3 chapters of this week. Next chapter will show some conflict as an aftermath of Aqua kissing girls randomly. The next chapter will be on Sunday since we are on low ranks, unless some miracle happens. Enjoy!