/jp/ - Otaku Culture

Reimu shifted, moaning a little. I turned my attention back to her, and found she was trying to speak, but when I looked closer, I saw that her lips were dry. I got to my feet, fetched some water, hurried back and, carefully, poured some into her mouth. She swallowed with a gasp, which soon turned into a body-wracking cough. She curled up into a ball on her side, her eyes screwed shut and her breathing ragged. I thought for a moment that she might be properly awake, but when she opened her eyes, they were glassy and unfocused. I knew that deliriousness was a possible symptom of a bad flu, so I hoped it wouldn't be too bad. "You..." Reimu gasped out. "You're meant to be dead. Am I dead?" She looked like she was panicking, and I was quick to tell her that she wasn't dead, just extremely ill. "You're lying! You can't be here, I watched you die!" She began thrashing, throwing her covers off. Worried for her health, I quickly leapt on top of her and pinned her arms down before she could do damage to herself. "...What?" She growled; her eyes completely unfocused like it wasn't me she was seeing. "Come to take me to the other side? I made a promise." I stared down at her, trying to figure out what I should say. I asked her what she had promised. "I'll keep it. I swear." She told me seriously. I had no idea what she was trying to say, but I nodded regardless, hoping it would help her calm down. "I just need to..." Her eyes were closing again. "Just..." Her head fell back, and I slowly let her arms go. She was unconscious again.

I shifted myself back to sit at her side, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Reimu had seen me, or someone who looked like me, who had died. She'd apparently made them a promise. For all I knew, it was just the midst of a fever dream, and it had no meaning at all, but I couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't quite so simple. I looked over at Reimu and saw that she was sweating again. I pulled the cloth out from the basket that Lady Kasen had left me, then soaked it in the water I'd pulled from the well earlier. I would have preferred not to waste the water, but beggars couldn't be choosers. Carefully, I wiped down Reimu's forehead, neck, collarbone and armpits. I then debated with myself for a while, before finally lifting up the bedsheet gingerly. Repeating to myself that this was just for taking care of her while she was ill, I undid the lower buttons of her sleeveless shirt, so I could wipe her navel and lower back. I swallowed heavily when I spotted the mottled, bruised skin running down her arm, the side of her stomach, and snaking down to her leg. I could only assume that it was where she had hit the ground after falling down the same hole that I had. Somewhat embarrassing task done, I decided to leave the covers off in case it just played havoc with her body temperature even more. She still looked awfully pale, and now that I could see her bare stomach, I realised that she looked even thinner than Yamame. I got up and searched for her food stores, just down the hallway, and was surprised to find them still mostly full. Why wasn't she eating?