/jp/ - Otaku Culture

"Oh, of course." Yamame replied through a mouthful of noodles. She took a moment to swallow after noticing that I was mouthing the word 'swallow' to her. "Ah. Have to eat a good meal sometimes, you know." One of the younger sisters gingerly poked me in the shoulder and asked me where I had gotten my t-shirt, which I said was quite a long story. The girl - blonde, ruby-coloured eyes - looked at Yamame and Ruka, then said that we probably had time, so I shrugged and explained it as having been a personal gift from Lady Hecatia Lapislazuli herself. That seemed to get another round of questioning going, so I sighed and explained myself further while I tried to keep an ear on Yamame's conversation with Ruka.

"-But keep your manners in mind, hmm?" Ruka was saying. "No talking with your mouth full. Kisami would smack you silly if she saw you doing that." I could see her doing that, actually. She was definitely the sort of person to discipline her sisters like that. For the first time, I wondered about who Yamame's parents were. No one, neither her nor any of her sisters, had mentioned them. Perhaps they weren't around anymore, or perhaps they lived much further afield and Yamame simply hadn't found any real reason to bring them up, but it seemed a little like Kisami and whatever other elder sisters Yamame had were probably the ones mostly responsible for raising her. In which case, they'd done a rather amazing job, I thought, since I'd obviously fallen in love with her. I wondered if I'd meet any of the others at the party. Then, one of the younger sisters asked me if I could get them a T-shirt, which got the others asking too, and I had to try and explain that I couldn't just get whoever I felt like clothing.

Meanwhile... "Ki mothers me too much as it is, and she's not even my mother." Yamame muttered, pushing her finished bowl away and eating one of the leftover strips of meat. “The last I need is to hear it from you as well.” Her eyes flashed. "And I don't think I need you in particular telling me how to mind my manners, Miss I-Don't-Need-To-Wear-A-" Ruka's eyes widened, and she slapped a hand over Yamame's mouth before she could get another word out.

"Point taken, point taken. Silence, you little monster!" Ruka told her, finally removing her hand from her mouth so Yamame could pout at her properly. "All I'm saying is," Ruka snagged the last strip of meat from the plate quick as a flash and chomped down on it, making Yamame cry out in annoyance, "How are you going to raise kids of your own if you can't keep your manners in mind now?"

"Kids of my - What?" Yamame asked, sounding very confused and a little panicked. I was now very interested in this conversation, so I began paying more attention to it, and I was fairly certain that whatever it was I was saying to the other spiders began to get wildly inaccurate. I might have already told them that I was from the moon and lived in the Dream World for all I knew. "O-Of my own?"

Ruka looked a little surprised by Yamame's reaction. "Uh...Yeah? I mean, you want to have kids someday, right? Used to be all you talked about when we were young."

"S-Someday!" Yamame replied sharply, and just slightly nervously. "Why are you bringing that up all of a sudden?"

Ruka put her hands on her hips. I think I told the younger girls that I'd met Lady Hecatia in a dream. "Well, I was just saying it...But now you've caught my attention." She leaned in closer, getting right in Yamame's face. "Yams, dear, why has me mentioning kids of your own got you so rattled? Could it be that you’re thinking-"

"Huh?" Yamame seemed to be shrinking away from her sister now. I wondered what Ruka had been about to say. "No reason! Stop trying to tease me, Ruka, it's cruel!" She went for her drink and tipped the whole thing back into her mouth. “You and Yura are the worst, you know. It’s always teasing with you two.”

"Hmm..." Ruka said, standing back up straight. Her eyes flickered between Yamame and me, and then she shrugged. "Perhaps. Perhaps not, dear sister. You know we only tease you because we love you." Her hand shot out and ruffled Yamame's hair into a total mess before she could stop her, and then Ruka hopped back. "Come on, you lot!" She told her younger sisters, who were still clamouring for a T-shirt. "Leave him alone!" There were some moans and groans, but the younger group did step back over to Ruka, who offered as an exaggerated bow. "Well, we'll be off. See you at the party, you two." And with a wave, she ushered the others off and away down the street, leaving Yamame and I sat there on our own.