/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>46956407
She's been knocked into the outside world, collided with sumireko and killed her, and then bounced back into gensokyo
yukari is considering giving her a reward for services to gensokyo

*NOTICE*

*DUE TO ISSUES OF A PERSONAL NATURE, PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB ME FOR THE NEXT DAY OR SO*

**YES, YOU TOO, YOU SNAKE**

***AND YOU, NAI***

****AND ESPECIALLY YOU, KISAMI****

That was the note that greeted me when I made it through the snow and back to Yamame's house. I peeked through the windows, but I couldn't see anything, so I really had no idea what the notice was about. I hadn't noticed anything, and she hadn't said anything to me about any specific personal issues, either. She had, I supposed, mentioned the itchiness, but she'd thought that she probably had a little longer before it became a problem, whatever that meant. I stood there for a few moments, shivering in the cold and wondering if Nai or any of Yamame's other sisters were around to explain what was going on. I even went over to Yamame's work yard, above which were all the webs that I'd fallen through on my first meeting with the Kurodani family, and called up to ask if Nai was there. "She's in the Hot Spring Town!" Someone yelled back down. "Get lost! Big Sis Yamame's not coming out of there for a day, at least!" They continued, so I decided to make myself scarce before someone got upset and decided to air out some old grievances.

I looked over Yamame's house again and continued to see no signs of life. Sighing, I decided that I'd best respect her wishes, so I turned and began to trudge out of the caves once more. I could always go and sit around in the café, trying to make Oseki crack a smile. That girl was notoriously reticent. I'd been there more than enough times to see customers make a pass at her, and if they didn't get ignored, it was because she was scolding them instead. I'd probably gotten about as familiar as one could get with Oseki, which meant that she looked annoyed when I walked in, even if she was still the perfect waitress. I wondered what she got up to in her spare time. I'd never really seen her around. Maybe she was something of a recluse, and spent all of her time outside of the café in her home.

I reached the mouth of the cave and sighed a second time. It had started snowing again. At this point, the sky was just starting to darken, too. I wondered if I would have to get all the way back to the Shrine so I could sleep tonight, since it seemed like I might not be able to return to Yamame. If it was earlier, I might have tried to reach Lady Kasen's dojo, but I didn't know if the route had changed, and either way, it was dark, cold and snowing, so I doubted that I'd be able to follow the route even if it hadn't changed. Plus, once I got there, I might have been in store for Raki having another go at me, so I decided that I'd steer clear of that, at least for now. I still believed in her, but I thought she might benefit from a bit more of a break. I also wondered if she and Lady Kasen were thinking about merging together once more.

What would the original Ibaraki-douji be like? Given all of the hints and clues I'd received from the oni I'd spoken to, I had a feeling that she was extremely emotion and swung between moods quickly. She was also apparently the type to break down in tears during a wedding, which made me really wonder what it would be like if she was the one who came to mine and Yamame's wedding, assuming it happened. At least, I was fairly certain that it would happen. Unless Yamame had decided that she was done with everyone, and that's what her notice had been about. I knew it was irrational and there was no way she'd do something like that, but either way, my mood had darkened as I waded through the snow in the direction of the village.

I reached the village as the sky darkened to a deep blue. Not that I could entirely see it, because the clouds were covering the sky, and I could barely see in front of me thanks to the snow coming down in droves. I found my way, though I had to jump back once or twice to avoid a snowball to the face from some village kids who were having a snowball fight with each other across one of the main streets. I supposed that most people were probably inside, either at home or in the pubs. In fact, as I walked past Geidontei, I saw that it was packed to the brims, with people standing, sitting, or leaning against the wall outside. I could hear a lot of noisy conversation going on inside, and a sudden burst of laughter almost made me jump. For a split second, I thought about going in. About talking to the villagers who I hadn't seen for a long while. A second later, I thought better of it. I wouldn't particularly fit in there anymore. I was the guy who'd disappeared for months, leaving everyone thinking I was dead. Most of the people I spoke to now were youkai. I probably didn't even really count as a villager anymore.

I wished Yamame was here.