/jp/ - Otaku Culture

My spider shrugged and looked back at Letty. She was somewhere around the centre of the lake now, spinning in a pirouette while the snow surrounding her spun around her like it was alive. "Should we...Head home?" Yamame finally asked me after we'd stared for a few minutes longer. Blinking, I suddenly felt a need to ask Meiling if she wanted to come to the wedding. It was a bit of an insane decision, since I'd only even met Meiling a small number of times and didn't exactly know her that well, but Lady Patchouli had said no already, and I felt like I needed to get something out of visiting the Vampire's mansion. Alas...

"H-Huh? Um, er...I - I mean...I wouldn't mind, but I don't think Miss Sakuya would be happy about giving me the time off since she's planning to take the Mistress, it's important that I stay here to guard the gate..." And that was my second failure. Perhaps that was my fault, though. I'd spent a long time avoiding the Vampire's mansion, after all. Nodding, I told her that I understood and that while it would have been nice if she came, I wasn't upset. "Ah, well...Sorry. Good luck, though. I hope you enjoy yourself." As I turned back to Yamame so that we could leave, I thought I caught a glimpse of Sakuya on the other side of the gate, but a split second later, there didn't seem to be anyone there. Must have been my imagination. I cast another look at Letty Whiterock, still skating across the frozen surface of the lake, and hoped that she'd had a nice Winter.

"You know," Yamame said to me once we had put some distance between us and the mansion, "I wonder if Letty Whiterock shouldn't stay active in Summer." Why was that? Wouldn't she find it miserable? "Well - She can cool down the air, though. People would love her for that. I mean - Can you imagine Reimu not wanting someone who can make the area colder in the height of Summer?" Yeah, I replied, Reimu would absolutely love that. In fact, during the previous Summer, she had complained about being too hot plenty of times, including kicking me out of the covers at night because I was too hot. Yamame chuckled lightly. "I suppose it's good that I'm here, then. It's cooler in the underground and I get cold easily. You're never getting kicked out of my bed." At least I was good for something, apparently. Personal Heater wasn't exactly my ideal job description, but it was one that wasn't too hard. "Oh, shush. Come on, let's get going. Still got to finish those bloody outfits, if nothing else." She took my hand, and we headed in the direction of home.


A few days later, Spring arrived with its usual fanfare. Even in the underground, it didn't seem that one could avoid the herald of Spring. Everyone, from the smallest fairy to the tallest oni, must have been able to hear her voice. If I had been outside, I would have seen her, as I had in previous years. Swooping in every direction, waving her arms about, and with pure joy etched on her face. At the crack of dawn, she'd take flight. "Spring!" She would scream at the top of her lungs, practically deafening to anyone nearby and annoying to everyone else. "It's Spring! Spring has arrived!"

"Crack of bloody dawn." Yamame would mutter darkly for the rest of the day. "It happens once a year, and yet it still manages to be just as annoying." She had dark rings around her eyes, and I felt rather bad. Working on the outfits was starting to take over again, and while going to see Kasen had been a good distraction, it hadn't lasted. She'd only crawled into bed well after I had, fully clothed, and promptly passed out. "Ugh...I'm nearly done with the outfits..." She would mumble to me, while I debated the positives and negatives of giving her some of the coffee supply that I had made sure was well-hidden from her. I wasn't sure it would do what I needed it to, though. For a human, it might have perked someone up. For her, it might have left her exhausted and feeling unbearably hot and bothered. That wasn't going to solve anything. "I know you must think I'm going insane." She said to me miserably. "I just - I don't want you to see it until we're there..." I understood. It was a special moment, though I wondered why she hadn't simply brought in Lady Hecatia to help her, since she was definitely skilled enough for it. "Well, it's funny you should ask that, because-"

The door sounded with a knock at that point and Yamame's head dropped onto her desk in her room. I went and pulled the door open to be greeted by exactly what I'd thought I would see. "Hey, hey, hey!" Lady Hecatia cheerfully exclaimed, clapping her hand down on my shoulder with each word. "Your lovely wife-to-be said she wanted to talk, and I can hardly let a request from someone as cute as her go unanswered." Sighing, I stepped aside and invited her in.

spring and winter