/jp/ - Otaku Culture

"Nice scarf." Reimu mumbled to me as she gave me a damp cloth to hold against the back of my head, which I'd banged against the courtyard after a stray bullet had caught me in the face. "It feels really soft. Did Yamame make it for you?" I nodded, then stifled a groan as the action made the world sway, just slightly. The peach didn't make me as hardy as a celestial, so while it would help with the damage I'd receive from a lot of things and dull the pain a bit, whacking the back of my head against a stone floor was still just as painful as usual. "Er, I am sorry." Reimu put a lot of emphasis on the 'am', I noticed. Probably because she'd been busy ranting about Lady Tamatsukuri for the first several minutes after their danmaku duel had finished and Aunn - Happily, Aunn - Begrudgingly, and Reimu had helped me inside since I was walking slightly crookedly. "I didn't know you'd be coming up the stairs right then."

"No, Reimu, you didn't. That's your problem. Your great-great-great grandmother had something of a gift for knowing who'd be coming up those stairs and when." Lady Tamatsukuri said from the other side of Reimu's table, her arms just as crossed as her legs. She looked as if the entire danmaku duel she'd just fought had not affected her at all. Her face was the same as ever. "Your instincts should really take care of that sort of thing. Perhaps if you-"

"Shut up!" Reimu shouted, looking around from me. "We just had a whole duel over you not shutting up, so I'm allowed to tell you to shut up now!" Reimu pointed an accusatory finger at Lady Tamatsukuri. "I don't need all your cryptic words about which of my ancestors did this or did that." She did look like it was getting under her skin just a bit, and I could see why. Reimu hadn't known that much about her past. I suspected that she knew more than she was willing to reveal, but on the whole, it seemed that a lot of her family was shrouded in mystery. She only vaguely knew her mother from what memories had survived in the dredges of her brain from when she was a child, and I'd never even heard her mention a father. I suspected that she didn't know him at all. "Now, are you finally done here?" She asked with a heavy frown.

Lady Tamatsukuri didn't give much of a reaction to Reimu's words, which seemed to be becoming something of a trend with her. "Yes, Reimu. I am done here, for now. I believe that I am going to have to make regular visits to the Hakurei Shrine a part of my itinerary, though. Just to ensure that you continue to treat your sacred tools with the respect they deserve." Lady Tamatsukuri smiled pleasantly. "I will cook you dinner again and run you a bath from time to time, if it will make you more amenable. I'd rather these not be unpleasant visits, after all. Your family has always been quick to judge when it came to that sort of thing." That got Reimu to pause for a moment, and I looked between the two with narrowed eyes and a furrowed brow. Why did Lady Tamatsukuri keep bringing up Reimu's family like that? She clearly wasn't quite okay with it.

"Um, I've made some tea." The door slid open and there stood Aunn, holding a tray with two cups. For a moment, I wondered how that was going to cover everyone until the grumpier Aunn stepped in behind her, holding another tray, this one with three cups. Having two bodies sure seemed useful. I bet Lady Hecatia having three was even more useful. Grumpy Aunn put a cup beside me, and did not smile when I thanked her. Another cup went to Reimu, and one went to her. Meanwhile, Happy Aunn put a cup in front of Lady Tamatsukuri and took one for herself. "Thank you for teaching me about making the tea like Miss Reimu's great grandmother, Miss Misumaru." At that, Reimu shot Aunn a dirty look, so I elbowed her in the side and shot her a look of my own. Aunn was nice and Reimu shouldn't be mean to her.

"You're very welcome, Aunn. It's good that the Shrine has such a faithful komainu looking after it." Lady Tamatsukuri said, ruffling Aunn's hair. The other Aunn was not spared from this treatment, though she didn't look as pleased by it. She did look less displeased than normal, though. "You know-" She was cut off by Reimu, who rolled her eyes and slammed her cup down on the table.

"Oh, save it! What, you helped install the komainu statues? You maintained them for all these years?" Reimu seemed to be getting very agitated now, and I grabbed her by the waist as she made to stand up. I didn't want her trying to have another danmaku duel, since I knew it was almost noon, which meant that Shameimaru would be coming. I hissed a question at her, and asked if she'd rather Shameimaru be here to record the whole fight in her newspaper for prosperity. At that, Reimu paled slightly. "...No, no, I wouldn't." She muttered. "Definitely don't need more of her attacks in her stupid paper." She did manage to calm down once I'd reminded her of that potential outcome. "Fine, what were you saying?" She asked Lady Tamatsukuri.

Hot off the presses.