/jp/ - Otaku Culture

"A family photograph." Patchouli looked over as Yamame emerged from one of the rooms, a tray in her human hands. She placed it on the small table between the armchairs before taking, curiously, not the armchair closest to Patchouli, but the other one. Come to think of it, that particular armchair looked like it didn't see much use. How mysterious. "Quite the adventure, that was. Wrangling together a hundred-and-ninety-two sons and daughters, not to mention a number of my sisters was no small task, I assure you." She looked at the photograph, and a smile crossed her face which lit up her eyes. "My human...He was exhausted by the end."

"You must miss him terribly." Patchouli commented, sipping her tea. It was surprisingly good. Not quite Sakuya good, but it wasn't far off.

"...Sometimes, yes." Yamame smiled again, and this time, Patchouli caught the slight pain in her eyes. "Just...Sometimes. He is always with me. He's with me in my heart. He's with me in the faces of my children. In their smiles and their laughs. In their eyes and their souls. I never stopped loving him." Patchouli could see it in her eyes and her smile. Yamame wasn't here right now. She was in the past. With her husband. Patchouli hadn't thought that she would care, but...She'd seen that look before. She'd seen it on Anon's face. She'd seen it in those moments of quiet between his customers, when he'd murmur Hana Hakurei's name wistfully and stare off into the fake sky beyond the fake shrine. Sometimes, he'd even whisper Reimu's name. Patchouli should have interrupted Yamame and moved on with what she was here for, but...Looking at her now, she found her vocal chords paralysed.

"...Tell me about your children." Patchouli finally croaked. Why? Why would she care? Unthinkingly, she materialised Sekai's book and opened it.

"Oh, plenty of them are out in the village." Yamame vaguely indicated in the direction of the cave's exit. "We've some work there, you see. Some have stuck around here, and some are deeper in the caves, toward Former Hell. They always come back to see me. Ever since they were born." Patchouli cast her eyes downward for a moment, looking at the first line she saw.


Are they spiders when they're young?


Of course, she realised. That conversation she'd looked at - It wasn't until now that it became relevant. "Are they spiders when they're young?" Patchouli asked. Yamame looked over at her questioningly. "Professional curiosity." Patchouli elaborated, shrugging slightly.

"When the egg sac opens, yes. They are half-youkai, though, so it wasn't long before they were able to take on human forms." Yamame sipped her own tea and another smile briefly flashed across her face. "Hm. It drove my husband insane. He was terrified that he'd step on one of them accidentally." Patchouli briefly smiled back, looking back down at the book.


Wow, I didn't know half-youkai worked like that! It would have been nice if the spiders in the HSE could talk to me...Or at least talk to my true Father. He's lonely so often...


"Your husband...Has anyone ever mentioned that-"

"That he looks like someone else? Why, you're the second person to make that comparison, you know." Yamame didn't look upset, at least. "A certain cat that I've been instructing. She brought it up first."

Patchouli nodded. "I know of her." Chen had never taken notice of Patchouli or Meiling while they were stuck in the HSE, but the two Remnants had definitely noticed her. "Just a coincidence, I imagine." One more message caught her eyes in Sekai's book.


Wow, they do look alike!


"My human was never very big on coincidences. He preferred to blame his awful luck." Yamame shook her head with a slight laugh. "May I ask you why you keep looking at that book?" Patchouli thought for a moment. She'd made a mistake, coming here. Not because she didn't like it. No, it was because something - Some part of her, had been drawn into the spider's web. She felt like...She should have spoken to Yamame Kurodani before now.

I NEED spider leg hugs

>>45530693
I cannot...