Strange and Uncommon, yet Oddly Nostalgic

Marriage is unnatural; it serves as a trap for riajuu, nothing more, nothing less.

As one grows up, they are constantly bombarded by the pressure to settle down with a human mate. This comes in the form of familial suggestions, peer pressure as all their friends hook up, and adorable little sisters that always manage to disappear at coincidental times. Regardless of where you go in first world human society, marriage is praised like an achievement, a thing to be proud of.

Yet where is the accomplishment in that? Marriage, unlike the natural occurrence of loners, is abnormal. One simply needs to look at nature, the paragon of ancient values that have existed long past our own infant-like civilization. Loners of course, exist in every generation; this alone validates their worth.

The praying mantis is much older than we are, biologically. Yukipedia will condescendingly tell any who ask that praying manti have existed over a hundred million years our elder. They also provide an excellent example of why marriage is unnatural. Like most other organisms, praying manti do not take life-long mates. In fact, the females consume the males, if hungry, after being inseminated.

This is representative of how in modern society, domestic abuse is an ever-rampant issue, though more often than not with gender roles reversed. Many shameful riajuu who fall victim to this hugely underreported issue become so accustomed to it that they don't even fight back. In this sense, and many others, a loner is much better off. Rather than being beaten blue, as is the case with over a quarter of women in Japan alone, a loner would be safe, alone, by themselves. A loner who would instinctively avoid such meaningless relationships would go without the torment and betrayal of a bond this "close".

Moreover, it goes without saying that not all relationships result in violence. However, over a third of them do end up in tatters; over thirty percent of marriages in Japan do not last. This is testament to the fact that marriage is, in and of itself, a trap set up by the system for riajuu. By subjecting thousands to the torment of losing their trust in once significant others, to the pain of being abused by ones held so dear, riajuu who love to mingle are crushed beautifully.

Simply put, to everyone who aspires to marry with high hopes and idealistic views of love, please do yourselves a favour and slit your throats. It'll save you a few years.

…

A woman froze, her long raven black hair stilled by inaction. An elegant hand quivered slightly, and a cold smile graced her thinly pressed lips. The old paper in her right hand wrinkled in her grip; her free hand formed a tight fist that stung her middle finger and pinkie. That pain, unfamiliar and novel, reminded her that it was the past, not the present.

The woman let out a deep sigh, and slowly loosened her grip. This paper was, after all, a decade old; its writer had surely changed their mind by now. Her gaze wandered to the bottom of the page, where they fixated on one particular detail: a flurry of circles accompanied by a perfect score. A wobbly, possibly once wet signature read Hiratsuka.

"No helping it," the woman muttered under her breath.

Despite her efforts, that 'cold' smile melted and a slight grin formed, a real one, a genuine one. Then, if one looked closely, they might even see a mischievous glint appear in her otherwise perfectly calm eyes.

With that glint, the woman called out, to the man she knew was only three rooms down, almost certainly deep asleep.

"Hachiman!"

I wanted to call this a drabble, but apparently those specifically refer to pieces of writing 100 words or less. Who knew? I didn't, until I googled it.

I think the writing piece, though as per the norm being out of character, would have been done sometime in the time frame of the first few novels.

Ah well, 'twas fun.

On a more serious note, those numbers are, I believe, accurate. It's sad to think about it, but 26% of women in Japan are punched/kicked/shoved, whereas another 14% are forced into sexual interactions. I'm fairly sure these are for married couples only. Moreover, the source also stated that 18% receive psychological abuse.

These numbers were taken from a 2013 editorial, which used 2011 data (I think).

Really, it's horrible.

... Well that may not have been the best way to end a piece of flash fiction meant to be 'amusing'.