Anyway, I Like It
"……."
Flung out of the Mindscape, Amaterasu barely managed to drag open eyelids heavy as a thousand pounds. She blinked into the blur for a moment, and only when a faint ringing rose in her ears did she realize someone was looking down at her.
"S-Sister! Are you awake?!"
Her head rocked from side to side. A dull ache stirred in her shoulder.
"Susanoo?"
"Yes, it's Susanoo. Sister, are you all right? Nothing wrong? Your divinity, your body—everything intact?"
He rattled it off like a machine gun. The worry must have been eating him alive.
"I'm fine……. I'm fine."
"Truly?"
"That's enough, Susanoo. Keep this up and you'll give her an illness she doesn't even have."
Tsukuyomi scolded him, his face gone sour.
"All finished?"
Pele came over, patting the small of her back.
"……Yes. It's over."
"You worked hard."
Amaterasu stared blankly at the hand Pele held out.
"What are you doing? Take it."
"Forgive me. This is not an experience I am used to."
She caught the hand and hauled herself upright.
"And the others?"
"They went to rest in another room. The child was sent to a special suite set aside for her."
"……How long was I lying here?"
"Not long. Two, three hours?"
Inside the girl's Mindscape, Amaterasu had endured a span of time beyond measuring—long enough that even a goddess felt it drag. Fortunately, the gap between the Mindscape and reality was wide enough that she could breathe again.
"Did anything happen?"
"Nothing, except the Shrine Priest collapsing."
"Tsukumi collapsed?!"
Amaterasu's mind snapped sharp. Pele caught her before she could bolt.
"Easy. It's not serious. You three just pushed a little too hard, didn't you? You yourself were a step from dropping. Your proxy simply caught the aftershock."
She jerked her chin toward Susanoo and Tsukuyomi.
"The dangerous part's already past, thanks to those two patching him up. If it were truly bad, do you think I'd be standing here this calm?"
Amaterasu focused on the thread of soul bound to the Shrine Priest. That tender, gentle soul hung slack, like laundry left out on a line.
"……His strength has ebbed somewhat, but his life is in no danger."
"That's what I said. All that's left for us now is to wait for the child who put us through this to wake up."
Pele gave Amaterasu's shoulder a playful tap.
"Come on. You're up, so show your face. Everyone's worried."
"……Is the honored guest there as well?"
"The Child of Man? No. I couldn't even see where he'd gone."
Amaterasu remembered him as he had been then: the phantom thief who had seized the filth that should never have existed—snatched it the way one snaps wild greens from a hillside—and vanished. He had been nowhere to be seen through the whole restoration of the Mindscape, and he was not in reality either.
Where is he?
Doubt and worry rose together. Doubt, because the thief had looked as if he knew something about that filth. Worry, because he had taken the filth in her place.
"Worried?"
She flinched.
Pele's face filled her vision, and Amaterasu took one step back.
"That look on your face—you're the last one who saw the Child of Man."
"Yes. He vanished from the Mindscape carrying the tree that had been parasitizing the child."
"Is that so……."
Pele stroked her chin.
"Well. He's alive somewhere, I'm sure. He'll turn up when it's time. Disappearing without a word, though—that deserves a beating."
"You mean to punish him……?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
Making a person—no, a god—worry like that.
"That boy lives draped in irreverence. I can't stand it."
"Hehehe."
At the sight of Pele throwing punches at empty air, Amaterasu covered her mouth and laughed.
"There. You're smiling."
"Yes. Thanks to you, I feel at ease."
"Good."
Pele scratched her head as Kana came pelting in, all in a fluster.
"Doesn't look like good news for that one, though."
"P-Pele! Something terrible's happened!"
Kana shouted, gasping for breath.
"Hah—the successor!"
"What about the child?!"
A bad feeling crawled up Amaterasu's spine.
"A-Amaterasu……?! You're awake…."
"Keep talking! What happened to the child?!"
"Eek! I-it's……."
Kana worked her lips and answered in a voice no bigger than a mosquito's.
"I-I think she's lost her memory……."
"What…… did you say?"
Her memory? Lost?
Amaterasu's mind went white.
An unfamiliar ceiling.
Fine-grained wood, free of mold and free of flaws. The timber looked very old, and yet no trace of the years could be found on it.
Where is this?
"Are you awake?"
A voice, clear and beautiful.
She turned her head.
A goddess was there.
Red hair spilled down behind her neck, and her eyes were so clear and blue they called the sky to mind. Not a single feature was out of place, and the air about her was bewitching. Her lips were redder than an apple, her throat looked softer than silk, and her breasts asserted themselves so boldly that even a generously cut robe could not hide them.
I want to take her.
The thought rose unbidden.
She wanted to make that woman hers. To part the cloth at her chest with a single finger and covet the fruit beneath. To catch the hem of her trousers, drag them down, and drink the secret warmth hidden there.
She imagined it. If she pinned her down right now—would those eyes burn with rage and fight her anyway? Would she give in and accept it? Or would she weep and beg?
She swallowed.
Her mouth filled with spit. Imagination alone was not enough. She wanted to take it with these two hands. That woman, like a goddess……!
But no.
That was a bad thing.
Right.
Jumping someone whenever you felt like it. That wasn't right.
Why?
Because I'm a woman……?
What does gender have to do with it? Relieve the urge.
Do you really need to hold back?
Hold back, she says.
Isn't it strange to restrain yourself from something you shouldn't do? Like how it's strange not to eat.
No!
It's not strange!
Doesn't it itch? Don't you want to just explode?! Aren't you thirsty?!
What are you even saying.
"You seem to have a great deal on your mind."
The red-haired woman offered her water.
"Can you sit up and drink?"
"……."
Clear water swayed in the cup. She pushed her stiff, heavy body upright and took it carefully.
"Th-thank you."
"Mm. For someone who has lain so long, your voice is not bad."
The woman smiled, warm.
Ah, should I just jump her?
No. You're a woman, you idiot.
Gulp. Gulp.
She swallowed the water, and the desire along with it. Perhaps it was only because she had gone so long without drinking. The hunger that had filled her head was washed clean away by the water's grace.
Handing the cup back, she asked.
"Wh-where is this……?"
"The Divine Soil of the Three Noble Gods."
"Pardon……?"
The Three Noble Gods?
What was that……?
The words felt familiar, somehow…….
"It means the Shrine that serves Amaterasu, Susanoo, and Tsukuyomi."
"Ah……."
So that was it…….
But what was a shrine, and what was an Ama-whatever? Was it something you ate?
"Is there anywhere that hurts?"
"……No."
"Truly nowhere? Your head does not ache? Your memories have not vanished?"
"No."
"Hmm……."
Frightening.
She had thought the woman was only beautiful, but that troubled look carried a strange pressure. The weight of long years, maybe.
Good thing I didn't.
If she had jumped her, she would have been the one who suffered for it.
"Do you remember your name?"
"……My name?"
"Yes. Your name."
Under the woman's deep-set eyes, her shoulders drew in. Sweat gathered in her palms. She felt she had to say every fact she knew.
"……Uh, um."
Name. Name…….
What was her name?
"I-I don't know."
"You don't?"
"No……."
The woman's brow creased into a hard frown.
I've committed a crime…….
I'm sorry I don't know…….
"Who are you?"
"Pardon……? M-me?"
Ugh.
Think. Think.
Who was she? What was she?
First of all, she was a woman…….
Uh……. She had a chest…….
She knew how to eat…….
Uh…….
What was she?
"Who am I?"
"……."
The woman closed her mouth. The frown on her brow crumpled tighter.
"You remember nothing at all?"
"Nothing about what?"
"A mother, a father. A food you like……."
"What's a mom and a dad?"
No—who were they?
"……Wait here a moment."
The woman left.
Her chest is bouncing…….
Knead. Knead.
Mine doesn't bounce…….
She shifted her breasts from side to side. Skin gave under the air, and nothing more. Her chest stayed firm.
If I knead them, will they get bigger?
Knead, knead, knead, knead.
Nope…….
Knock, knock, knock!
The door rattled open.
"Child!"
"Hm?"
The door flew open with spirit, and another goddess stood there.
Huh……. Is this heaven?
This time, the hair was black.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry……. I couldn't do it…."
The face pressed to hers was soft. Whoa. Abundant motherhood. The best. Absolutely, completely the best. She smelled sweet. It felt good. She wanted to hand her mind over and sink into it. So warm…….
Is this what a mom is……?
Ding!
She had grasped the concept of mother!
A mom was someone who felt good to be held by!
"Mom?"
"Hic—!"
Mom burst into tears.
Why was she crying?
Anyway, I like it.
If she was happy, that was enough~~.
But her cheek itched.
Huh……?
Water.
She was crying, too. Amazing. It didn't seem as if the feeling was only happiness. So a mom could be sad as well. Crying made her tired. She would leave it to Mom and sleep.
Zzz~~.
"Good night, everyone."