/jp/ - Otaku Culture

It took three steps through the doors for Patchouli to deem the situation unsalvageable. "No, no, this will not do, not at all!" It was rare that something managed to move Patchouli enough to make her talk in such terms, but the mere sight of the dressing rooms was enough. Racks upon racks of clothing, all a facsimile of Reimu Hakurei's outfit in various shapes and sizes, was enough to almost make her leave this whole sordid establishment right there and then.

"Is something wrong?" The shikigami standing behind her asked, her voice containing a very faint undercurrent of real curiosity. "Are the clothing selections not to your liking?"

"Liking?" Patchouli spun around and stared at the fox, her mouth agape. After a moment, she forced herself to calm down. Losing her temper in a place like this was hardly worth it. "No. No, I shall not be wearing...these." When the fox opened her mouth, Patchouli waved a hand and forced a barrier between her and the entrance to the dressing room. "Remove the idea from your mind." After a moment, she thought otherwise and dispelled the barrier. "Why are you following me?"

"The Shrine Maiden for the day needs to select their desired course." The fox's voice had taken on that stilted tone again that told Patchouli that she was fighting against her master's will, and failing. Course, hmm? Patchouli didn't really care as long as it got her in long enough to examine the interiors, but she didn't want to be distracted repeatedly, either. "Some options include 'returning home after a long day', 'youkai attack in the market', 'visit to the hot springs', 'recovery from an injury', and many more." Many more? Well, it was time to begin her investigation. Just how far could Yukari Yakumo's abilities stretch? What were the limits to these 'courses'?

"A visit to the Scarlet Devil Mansion's library." She finally said, staring at the fox for her reaction.

"The Scarlet...?" She looked slightly confused, then shook her head. "I'm sorry, but we can't accommodate for scenarios involving the private homes of others." As expected. Yakumo never cared for the privacy of others, so why should it matter now? She simply didn't have the power or focus to set up places other than the shrine, or impersonal locations such as the hot springs or the village. Was that due to a lack of care, or was it something else?

"Reading books in the Hakurei Shrine, then." Patchouli conceded, desperate to get the shikigami out of her hair and start investigating just what was causing that strange feeling across her body. The fox nodded wordlessly, looking as desperate to see the back of her as Patchouli was to see the back of her. Patchouli stood still as she retreated from the room, staring impassively until the exact moment the doors swung shut. Then, she spun and crossed into the dressing room. There were sections for every kind of human and youkai, from medium oni to tall tengu, but Patchouli was interested in the Magician category. Yes, there it was. 'Patchouli Knowledge', an outfit that looked like a poor imitation of Reimu's outfit. Next to it was 'Alice Margatroid', looking spotless as if it had never been touched, and 'Marisa Kirisame', who's uniform looked well-worn. Could this place have to do with her sudden pregnancy?

She activated a detection spell embedded into her eyes. Immediately, lines of magic lit up across all of the outfits, thin and barely noticeable, but definitely there. After a moment's thought, Patchouli placed her finger against one of them and pulled some of the magic from it, then gasped in shock as a powerful burning overtook her. She pulled her finger away and staggered back. There was Lust Magic embedded into the outfits. Not enough to be noticeable, but enough that when left on for a long enough period, the wearer's reasoning would weaken and their base instincts would take over. Vile. It took a moment, but the feeling faded now that she was no longer in contact with the uniform.

No, Patchouli would not be donning the outfit. Instead, she stalked back through the doors, where the fox began to give her a slip of paper, then changed her mind. "Normally you would have to wait your turn, but it's empty here right now." True enough, the waiting room was empty. Perhaps the dismal weather was keeping the others away. "So, you can go right in. Please, enjoy yourself." The last words had such vitriol, and so barely restrained, that Patchouli almost asked her what she meant. But then, she thought of the magic embedded into the outfits and realised that there was something she could mean.
Gross.

She shook her head and pushed through the double doors. No, she was not here to participate in any of that nonsense. She needed to determine what the strong energy in the replica of the Hakurei Shrine was, and how to best manipulate it. Inside, she was surprised to see that Yakumo had indeed put more energy into this. While she rarely spent time there, she had no doubt that the replica was perfect.