With slow and determined steps, Kaharu Kahari walked away with his back turned away from the collection of energy he'd pretty much forced a story out of. It hadn't been a natural exit either, he'd demanded information and as he got it, he left.
Despite Kaharu not feeling anything special, being concentrated on his next goal, there was a stingy awkwardness left behind him. A feeling that was picked up by the collection of energy, who redirected its attention from the white-clad back of Kaharu to the ground in front of it. Insects sneaking around on the ground were subjected to another line from the god, as it said with its disrupting voice
"Are you also going to forget me?"
Despite wanting badly to remain there, there was nothing the collection of energy could do to prevent it. The only actual goal for a god was to be believed in, they couldn't leave their designated area, nor could they possess anybody to spread a message of their existence. All they could do was rely on their believers, who'd remember them and pray at the shrine to them. But if it was provided with the choice, despite its immorality, the collection of energy would've possessed someone.
In a sense, the collection of energy was relieved to not have to make that choice. Not that it would've achieved anything in the end.
Everything remained quiet as the insects started escaping the scene.
…
"So, what does it look like?"
"What?"
"The god I just met, what does it look like?"
Kaharu stood in front of the three-boned geezer, by their first meeting place. Its cleanliness had remained the same, his work hadn't been for vain as it proved to be quite a pretty place once cleaned. With trees hanging over the spot, shadows provided by the main shrines back-side and a small stream quietly flowing behind them.
The three-boned geezer rubbed his left horn as he thought about it, the memory was hard to imagine properly. Like an old CD that'd gotten a little bit too many scratches, it didn't project the image properly. But he tried, as he said the things that he did remember
"Uhh…
I think she had short and brown hair, blue eyes, a white kimono and some sort of animal-ears. That's probably all I can remember."
" 'She'…!
Also, you seem to know strangely much, in some detail, for someone who seemed to have such big problems remembering."
The three-boned geezer chuckled as he smiled, but after giving it a thought he thought of something. He asked
"I don't mean to annoy you, but why don't you just ask the god herself?"
Kaharu Kahari got an uncomfortable reminder as the line left the three-boned geezer's mouth, instantly getting seeing the results of his tremendous school-skipping slapped in his face. Kaharu got a little red in his cheeks as he said
"I didn't think of that, I was so caught up with my new plan..."
The three-boned geezer sighed deeply as he grabbed Kaharu's shoulder firmly and closed in while saying
"I figured. So go and do that."
Luckily, Kaharu wasn't wearing his jacket at that moment, it was still stowed away in a safe spot. But the irritation didn't stop just because of that, and that doubled with the feeling of not wanting to pull through with the three-boned geezer's plan. He responded
"I don't feel like doing that, so shut up. I'll make do with the information I have."
"You're worried about your pride right? It's fine, even though it'd probably look a little bit uncool, you're probably doing it for a good cause. In fact, the fact that you didn't think of that already is a stain on your pride, so it shou----"
*GRAB*
Kaharu avoided getting another wave of pain, as grabbing someone's collar apparently didn't count as violence. He rebutted with an angst-filled
"Learn when to shut up, you old geezer!"
The three-boned geezer quickly went quiet. Even though he'd be in the advantageous position in case Kaharu went violent, the aura he emitted still proved to be intimidating as his eyes pierced into his soul. The three-boned geezer, giving into Kaharu's aggression instantly, answered
"Sorry…!
Sorry…!"
Kaharu smacked his tongue in frustration and let go of the collar, instantly turning around to start working on his plan. The three-boned geezer was first confused as to what Kaharu was planning on doing, but as he witnessed him picking up a large rock, he got an idea of what it could've been. But he went quiet in mild disappointment as he saw Kaharu pick up his phone to watch how he could pull off what he wanted to do.
With his phone in front of his face, Kaharu said with a serious face
"Let's do it."
The hours passed as Kaharu worked on his ill-crafted plan, and the spectators of an old man and a fox god looked on as it proceeded. The collection of energy remained by its place as Kaharu ran around and dug at the stone in front of him. He, at several points, was forced to rest after sweating too much. The thought of it being his magnum opus enticed him in a useless way as he continued carving. Eventually, he started running around, both inside and outside the shrine, which was now empty as the workers had gone home. Even the sun had decided to leave the place, maybe as a reaction to Kaharu's creation or as a part of its natural cycle.
…
Leaves brushed against a slightly-dirty school uniform, three sets of eyes were pointed at the main shrine area with eagerness, and a dead silence took place to keep their integrity in place in case of unwanted attention. Even Puri avoided its cheerful squeaks, looking at the very mild smile on Kaharu, as the final piece of the plan approached the statue.
It seemed as though some people, who've enjoyed a late-night walk, liked to go to the shrine as they were passing by.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Despite being slightly startled first, respectful bows, internal reflections and claps were seen before the final puzzle piece had been fit perfectly into the remainder.
On the other side of that area, over in a forest with a cold feeling, in an empty spot filled with only cold grass, A collection of energy felt something strange.
Its tranquil, yet tragic, reflection was interrupted by a sudden, but welcomed, revelation.
It witnessed a transformation occur right in front of its eyes, starting from its legs, that energy that had lazily hung around in a lazy rendition of a human's body was suddenly replaced with a very familiar sight. But it also felt so foreign in a way, it'd been years since she last saw the sight but it rang close to her quickly. As it reached her stomach, her surprise prompted her to stand up and start looking for answers to the event. She had a sneaking suspicion, but it was hard to believe. He'd just left her alone before after all, how could he have done something like this. There was no other alternative, however. That was the whole reason she got herself into that situation after all.
She ran with all she could, using the feet she'd seen for every day for the past couple of years, fantasizing of a full body.
She regained her sense of touch again as tree branches slapped against her face and body. That supposedly unpleasant feeling was alluring to her, the time since she'd last felt anything towards her body had been long.
But the thing most prevalent in her mind was her existing being allowed to continue, despite her fate being cut off from circulation.
- Am I allowed to exist…?
Has my fate been overturned…?
Am I allowed to exist…!?
Am I allowed to influence people..!?
Am I allowed to help people.!?
Am I!? -
Just as the repetitive nature of her thoughts ended in inconclusiveness, her feet stopped right by a pillar to a torii gate, situated right by the shrine itself.
Kaharu Kahari popped forth from the bushes to the right of the god. He'd checked if people were still lingering before showing himself.
He squatted down as he picked up a piece of weed on the ground, and said with a smile as he lifted the weed up
"I don't think the thing you were growing was a beautiful flower…
To me, it seems like it was nothing but an unwanted, useless weed."
With a completely open mouth, out of shock, the god turned her attention to her left and the row of statues she'd detested for so long. What stood in the usually empty spot was a grande, amateur-looking statue depicting her likeness.
It was incredibly rough, with awkward patches of unpolished stone and blocky renditions of body parts. But there was something there, a likeness to be seen, a personality to be deciphered, and a core similarity to its depiction. Even though it looked so rough, it was possible to see what it was referring to.
The god's heart melted as she thought about it, that sincere action that'd been made. When no one seemed to care about her, or even remembered or knew about her, the man known as Kaharu Kahari, who she didn't even know, had taken time and dedication to create such a thing for her.
She wasn't aware of the ulterior motives Kaharu carried with the conception of that plan, but that wasn't the only reason he did it either. She asked
"But… how did you know about the eight person rule?"
Kaharu smiled as he, still squatting, pointed behind him and said
"This three-boned geezer did, I heard you're quite old friends."
The three-boned geezer also left the bushes, with Puri following slightly after, with a discomforted look on his face as he awkwardly scratched his right horn.
The recently-recovered god held her hand for her mouth as she said quietly
"Kunma…!?"
Before he even had the opportunity to respond with anything, the god shed a tear down her face as she thought about her actions for the past years.
With the clock-face of existence turning to hope, a new perspective on herself had been achieve for the god. Even though she still understood her previous actions, they seemed so cold and unwarranted in after-thought.
After all, they had isolated one of the people who had cared about her, despite her inner complaints regarding the subject. She said
"I'm sorry, Kunma!
My selfishness…
My selfishness isolated us from being in contact despite your efforts…!
You tried so hard, as well, but I just rejected you and sulked about my own problems, without giving a single thought to your situation!"
Kunma peeked his eyes over to the side, displayed a squiggly smile as he continued the scratching of his right horn, with nervosity increasing slightly, as he said
"It's alright. I understand your situation, after all. Please stop though, you're making this old geezer embarrased..."
Puri squeeked a little bit, with an attempt at conveying some though which ultimately got lost, but the effort was picked up by the people there. Kaharu matched the mood, feeling extra sympathetic that day, and offered a rare piece of reflection as he said
"I earlier thought that I didn't relate to your situation. Maybe I've never had to worry about my existence being erased and leaving nothing behind, but it feels like your handling of the situation maybe reminded me of something.
Maybe, I don't know..."
The God lit up at the responses as she jumped forth to embrace the instigator.
"KAHARUUU----! My hero!"
She managed to clutch onto Kaharu, despite his efforts to dodge it. He'd luckily taken off his school uniform earlier during his visit in the bushes, so worst-case scenario had been avoided.
But as her embrace continued, Kaharu, despite his pride in his stone-work, noticed a fatal flaw with the modelling.
He'd totally underestimated the chest-area of the statue.
...