/jp/ - Otaku Culture

This one was truly impressive. It was geometric, all straight lines. Very few of the lead lines curved, and yet they still managed to give the impression of fluidity. All the way up at the top of the window, I could see diamonds of clear glass, which followed a pattern around a long shaft, which ran down to the bottom of the window. Moving down from there, I saw great diamonds of white with interspaced small rectangles of red, which flowed out from two points. I could see a massive red segment of glass, which was cut through with smaller, white rectangles. There, in the centre, was the dark brown. It was a massive representation of Reimu Hakurei. It was incredibly striking, and almost a bit intimidating. "I say, that's certainly impressive. And much clearer, too. Not much symbolism here. That's clearly the Shrine Maiden, and she's clearly doing what she does best. Now, whatever could your subconscious mean by that...?" I couldn't pretend I knew the answer. Maybe it represented how Reimu appeared to me, or perhaps how she appeared to others. Despite the intimidating nature of the art, I felt like I could run my fingers across the lead and feel the glass under my fingers without experiencing anything bad happening. Rather, I felt like I would feel more at east if I was near it.

But eventually, I had to move on, so I followed Doremy down the corridor. "Now, I asked you if you'd like to understand that particular youkai. You got a little distracted, but I've seen your dreams. You really, really want to understand her. Shall I let you in on a little secret?" Doremy's smug smile grew three sizes. "I could tell you what she dreams about, you know?" That was sorely tempting, but felt like a violation of trust, even if I wasn't sure how much I could trust her at the moment. I shook my head. "Hm. Very gentlemanly of you. I could invite her dream self in, too. Would you like that?" I...wanted to say yes. I wanted to talk to her, but I didn't want to talk to the real her until I understood my feelings better. I opened my mouth and-

Jolted, my legs sliding as if I was falling. I tried to flail my arms, but they were both trapped. After a moment, reality reasserted itself and I calmed down. I was still in the Hakurei Shrine. I was under the futon. My arms were trapped because they were wrapped around Reimu's naked waist, and the one on top of her was pinned under her arm. She let out a sleepy mumble, shifting her head so I could see her face. She was still asleep, with her lips just slightly parted and a peaceful expression on her face. I wondered what she was dreaming about. I almost started again as I remembered what had just happened to me. I could still remember the Dream World. I could remember my meeting with Doremy Sweet. It didn't really help, I supposed, but I felt like I'd learnt a thing or two. Reimu groaned. "Mm...s'cold..." She mumbled, before rolling herself over and pressing herself against my chest. I found my arms even more awkwardly trapped from the front, and now I couldn't move them, either. Resigning myself to spending the next day with no feeling in my arms, I let my head fall to the pillow, and before long, I found myself drifting off again.

This time, if I had any dreams, I didn't remember them.