Ever have a really stupid idea. Like, you know it's a stupid idea but there's something about it that eats at you, gnaws at you because part of you kind of wants to know what exactly the flavour of stupid you're about to revel in is?
That's where I, the author of this piece, sit today for reasons that will become quickly apparent - but it is also where Lum sits. Or hovers. Floats? Regardless. She was only here to help out. A little coverage while Shinobu's friend was sick with the cold. The pay was actually pretty good, not in currency but with... favours. Little pieces of advice to make her life easier.
Yet still. Lum could hardly resist but peek inside this door...
"Temp, I do hope you're not planning on peeking into a future you're not supposed to!" a rabbit warned ominously. He wasn't even looking at Lum.
"No, no. I just thought I, uh... Saw a strange mark on this door. Guess it was my imagination, tcha!"
Lame excuse, but it seemed to have been bought. Really. She shouldn't take advantage like this. It would get her in trouble. Which would get Inaba in trouble. Which would lead to Shinobu no longer inviting her to Girl’s Nights. Which would lead to the failure of Operation Find Out What Human Guys Like About Human Girls And Use It To Seduce Darling. Not exactly brilliantly named, but Lum had put a little too much thought into the operations procedure.
"This is why I've been assigned to watch you, by the way!" the rabbit said. One of the full time workers. "An extra pair of hands is always useful, but temps always think they can get away with murder. Not under my watch. Those doors will remain unopened until someone with the proper clearance arrives, and don't try anything funny to distract me either. I've seen every trick in the book and nothing you can come up with will -"
A whistle blew.
"Lunchtime!" the rabbit cheered, and rushed out of the room as fast as his legs would carry him. As he was a humanoid rabbit, that was pretty damn skippy.
Which left Lum alone with the doors. The doors to destiny. Okay. So, she couldn't exactly do anything like, you know, get away with destroying - for example - any and all futures where Ataru and her don't get married or have a miserable marriage or don't have the perfect fairytale life together or something like that. But, you know, what was the harm in checking in on a future where they <I>did</i> have a fairytale happy ending?
"Nah, I'd better not," Lum sighed. She leaned back against the door, thoughtfully staring upwards into the endless vortex of possibility laid out in front of her. "I'd definitely get in trouble if I - Yipe!"
Cue an Oni tumbling into the future with quite a lot less grace than she usually showed. Luckily for her, nobody seemed to have noticed her, so she dusted herself off and shrugged. "Well, since I'm here a little peek couldn't possibly hurt."
She looked around, and the house didn't look too bad. A bit of a mixture of human and oni design. It seemed to be on Earth so far as she could tell. Thankfully they seemed to have moved out of the home belonging to Ataru’s parents. She had seen some timelines where they stuck around. Mr. and Mrs. Moroboshi weren’t <b>bad</b> people but they were bad for Ataru, in Lum’s opinion. So, a good looking future so far.
"Where is Darling and where am I?" Lum pondered.
Then she heard the front door open, and she dove beneath the couch. It would probably be a bit rude to be caught trespassing on her own property.
What she heard made her frown. An unfamiliar girl's voice. "Oh, Darling! You're so frisky!" the girl tittered. "I like that. Mm... Hold me a little closer."
Who... Who was this floozy? Hitting on Darling like this, in their own home! Oh, stuff improper behaviour! Lum flew out from behind the couch with electricity flaring around her, ready to strike at a moment's notice -
"Mother!" yelped a young girl with long navy blue hair wearing n a tiger print bikini, with a figure that put Lum's to shame and a cute face that looked oddly familiar. "It's not what it looks like!"
“You mean it’s not me kissing you?” The boy said. He then resumed planting kisses on her shoulder.
"It is exactly what it looks like!" the young girl admitted. "Uh, you've met Soshu Mendo. You know, Shutaro and Asuka's eldest?"
“Father has tried to murder Mr. Moroboshi with a katana at least once a month.” Soshu said. “I think she remembers me dear.”
Wait, wait. Mendo and Asuka have a son? Scratch that, they have multiple children?! Huh! Wow, Lum couldn't even imagine. She kind of figured that anyone trying anything with Asuka would die of a crushed... everything the moment it got remotely fun.
"I know, I know," the young girl pouted. "You told me to stop adding people to my harem, but look at him. He's so handsome and dreamy. Mm, and those stars in his eyes give him this really cool anime appeal. How am I supposed to say no to that?"
“Look I’m not going to judge you by who you da- wait did you say Harem?”
Then the young girl smiled sweetly and kissed him full on the lips for a full thirty seconds.
"Where are my baggy pants," the boy burbled happily after he came up for air. Then he fell over onto his back looking happier than anyone Lum had ever seen before in her life. Lum's brain finished rebooting right about now. Yep. She could believe that this was Ataru's daughter. What a deadly combination this turned out to be. Her looks and oni powers with his... enthusiasm. It seemed as though she was a lot more effective at seduction as well - and did she say she had a harem?!
"So, did you go in for a youth treatment, or did you time travel from the past?" the young girl said. "Hrm... Kind of wish it was the former, tbh." Huh? Tbh? What? "You know how much I've always wanted a little brother or sister to play with, but... You really are from the past, right?"
"Th-That's right, tcha!" Lum said, finally finding her voice after the great big dose of 'what' that just got dropped on her head. "Um... I decided to check out a future where your father and I were happily married."
"Oh, boy. Did you come to the right timeline," the girl laughed. It was really cute, the kind of laugh that sounded innocent and full of joy. "I'm Aoi btw. Aoi Moroboshi, your cute and beautiful, brilliant only child! In spite of your many, many, holy christ so many efforts." She leaned in close, “Protip Mom you need to invest in better soundproofing when you get back to your own time because I could hear your efforts from Jupiter. Though that was mostly because Pan had opened a subspace tunnel between it and my closet…”
"P-Pan?" Lum asked.
"My gf, my bestie, and Ran's daughter," Aoi said. Oh. Ran's daughter.
“So… Rei could actually reproduce?”
“Hahaha no. She’s a clone. Dyes her hair with Mood Dye though. If you ever see her with the same hair color as her mom, run.”
That was kind of sad. She kind of wished Ran could have got Rei in the end, it would've got them both off her back. Oh well.
"Rei's more like their pet than anything else," Aoi said. Then she laughed. "Oh man, you should stick around. Meet Benten's son. He's dating Oyuki's middle daughter, and they're the perfect odd couple -"
"I think that's enough," Lum interrupted. "I really shouldn't stay, and I've seen enough to know what to aim for. It was so nice to meet you. I can't wait to meet you again."
To her surprise Aoi suddenly embraced her. Lum's arms went around her protectively on instinct. Every cell in her body was screaming the same thing to her. This was her daughter. Whatever quirks she had, whatever flaws she'd inherited from her father, she couldn't help but love her. Unconditionally, asking nothing in return. The hug broke, and Lum flew back towards the door feeling misty eyed at the glimpse into her future.
"Hey mom!" Aoi called out. Lum turned back. "Kickass bunnygirl suit! Really high quality stuff!"
Lum blushed and flew inside the door, then took a deep breath. Phew! She strolled away with new plans in mind. Step one, soundproofing. Step two...
"Hey, temp! Lunch is over!" her overseer bunny yelled with a carrot in its mouth. "Get over here and help me label this door!"
Alright. Back to work. Lum put that behind her and drifted over. Then... almost as soon as she was gone, the door she'd been leaning against opened up a crack. A certain girl with navy blue hair and a tiger print bikini poked her head out. She bit playfully on her finger and silently slunk out while everyone's attention was elsewhere.
"I want that little brother or sister," Aoi whispered. "If that means I have to set Daddy up with a harem of his own... well not like dad would be mad.”
- Shortly, Ataru is talking with his friends and gets glomped by a strange girl who calls him Daddy. What does everyone make of this?
- Aoi avoids Daddy for now. Instead, she's going to seduce herself a few allies.
- Aoi takes advantage of where she is, and finds some futures where Ataru managed a harem. Time for a peek into some possible futures for some ideas.
- Aoi runs into the parents of her bf and gf. Things get awkward.
- Something Else
No comments:
Post a Comment