Anonymous 2008/05/01 (Thu) 15:41
No. 28817
Oh ho, why not just write the story ourselves.
You expose Reimu's mother as the one who murdered both your and
Alice's mothers all those years ago. It takes a lot of time convincing
Yuka, Marisa, your father, and even her own daughter to testify against
her, but eventually you file a criminal complaint against her. The
trial is slow and agonizing; as it progresses Mystia becomes mentally
unstable from the reforming memories and her father's apparent
involvement. Eventually, the miko is found guilty of a lesser crime and
charged with a minimum sentence. She escapes jailtime, but is forced
down from her position. But that's not enough for you, as you achieve
much more success with the civil suit, and she becomes financially
ruined.
You can't live at home, after knowing what your father and
step-mother hid, even if they had their reasons. The final straw is
when they have Mystia institutionalized. You gather a few belongings
and, having no where else to go, you move next door. Keine is strict
and allows little private time for you and Mokou, but her pity for you
is deep.
Being in town is hell. People avoid you because they're afraid of
being cursed by the (now former) Hakurei shrine maiden, or because
you've ruined the town's image. Even your sisters have become distant
at school, and the few times you go to see Mystia... well, you don't
even want to think about it.
You and Mokou rarely go to school any more, but you at least put on
a show for Keine's sake. Usually you hang out, but sometimes Mokou goes
to do her own thing, and you go to the arcade. You and Kaguya don't
really talk, you just play games against each other, so there was
relatively little drama on her part when Mokou eventually decided to
follow you one day. Mokou still gets seriously pissed, but acquiesces
with a sigh after you win her a plush truck from a UFO catcher on the
first try. Kaguya steals the truck out of her hands, but laughs and
quickly hands it back to her with a roll of quarters. You begin to
become the friends you once were after that. You and Mokou spend most
of your time at the arcade, especially after business hours when Kaguya
orders delivery and you can all get high and wasted.
This truck. It seems a running theme in your life. And you are
stricken with an insane idea. It takes a month in planning, and you
deplete the bank account created for you with the money from the civil
suit you won against Reimu's mother. You put most of it up as
collateral for a loan, and rope Kaguya into co-signing it, claiming
it's because you have no credit and you need a vehicle. It is only
later at her apartment that she lazily reads the legal documents and
realizes how much money you are borrowing. You ignore her calls. Mokou
comes by the arcade the next day looking for you. For an entire week,
no one knows where you are. Mokou and Kaguya spend most of this time in
the arcade office, out of shared worry and loneliness. Drinking to
sedation, they remember old times together, and even air past
grievances--without serious injury.
It is early morning when a loud airhorn sound wakes the both of
them. Mokou follows sleepily as Kaguya unlocks and opens the arcade
front door to see what the racket is. They are staggered by the sight.
Against the light of the rising sun, a huge trailer truck is "parked"
half-way on the sidewalk. Every inch of it is painted with crazy flames
and moons and phoenixes and UFOs and shit. You kick open the driver
door, and with a big shit-eating grin, you stand on the platform,
slowly removing your Aviator sunglasses. Your two friends stare
slackjawed.
"Which of you would like to play with this truck?"
You extend one hand, then two; Mokou and Kaguya look at each other
with uncertain expressions, and walk towards the vehicle. Exerting
quite a bit of effort, you manage to pull them both up the stairs and
into the cab. The inside is surprisingly spacious, with bench seating
for three people. As you turn the ignition, Kaguya, sitting nearer to
you, is the only one able to speak. "Wha-, um... where are we going?"
she manages while looking around at the interior. Mokou is leaning
against the passenger door rubbing her temple in confoundment.
You shrug, "dunno lol, Vegas?; there's beer in back," and throw the
shift into gear, which sticks out of the floor between Kaguya's legs.
She with an "oh ho" expression looks at your hand and snorts amusedly.
Mokou unfurrows her brow a little, and rifles through the back of the
cab, mumbling "hair of the dog".
As you check your mirrors and turn the wheel, Mokou opens a bottle
of beer with her lighter and chugs it. Throwing her feet up on the
dash, she sighs and hands the beer to Kaguya, who is now fiddling with
the radio controls.
You're only really on the road when Kaguya tunes the radio from
static to playing something recognizable. Satisfied, she takes the
Aviators out of your shirt pocket, and slips them on, sipping at the
beer. Mokou rolls the window down and lights up a cigarette. You
absently begin to sing along with the lyrics, "~hantoshi sugitaga~".
Driving towards the highway on-ramp, you recall that your memories
never really did come back. But so what? The present and future matter
more: The present is all right here in this truck. And the future?
"~nantokanare."
