/jp/ - Otaku Culture

"So, is it like...Work? Does she just want you as a trophy or something? Someone to show off?" Reimu had her gohei resting over her shoulders and her arms themselves resting upon the gohei. It might have been comfortable for her, but it was slightly less comfortable to know that if she suddenly turned, I'd be the one taking a gohei swipe to the back of the head. "You're sure she's not just trying to steal you from Yamame, right?"

If she was, it would be a pretty weird way to go about it, since she'd be stealing me from Yamame while simultaneously working with Yamame in a different body. I couldn't say I'd ever heard of something like that happening before. So, I said, no. I didn't think she was trying to steal me from Yamame, nor did I think she was trying to show me off to anyone. It had sounded like a completely legitimate offer, even if it was a bit unexpected and confusing.

We were somewhere in the Bamboo Forest of the Lost. It was the middle of the day, and the sun was shining down, though it was not, by any stretch of the imagination, warm. It did lend a crisp feel to the surroundings, though, which was nice in keeping me alert. Supposedly, we were on our way to Eientei, but really, I'd just wanted to talk to Reimu on her own, which I hadn't managed to do for a while, or at least since before Eientei. So, I'd suggested we stop for a bit at a clearing somewhere in the forest, with a couple rocks and a small pond. I felt...reasonably sure that I knew how to get back on the path to Eientei. Probably. And even if I didn't, Reimu could always drag me up into the sky above the Bamboo Forest so that we knew where we were.

I frowned and stared out into the bamboo. "Is it even a real offer?" I looked over at Reimu curiously. "I mean, not to sound rude, but...The offer came to you in a dream. How do you know it's even a real thing?" I recalled the strange experience I'd had following Marisa's sudden Master Spark in Eientei. Doremy Sweet and a ballroom, strange, fleetingly-seen figures that seemed to change from one moment to the next, never quite constant enough to pin down. And while I'd been talking to Doremy Sweet, I'd seen her. Lady Hecatia Lapislazuli, her hair blonde and her smile just tempting enough to draw me in. I'd danced with her, and she'd offered me a job.

Still frowning, I looked over at Reimu. She'd said plenty of things that related to reality, and Doremy Sweet had been there, so it couldn't have just been a normal dream. "I guess that sounds real...I'm really not sure how I feel about you being visited by weird youkai in your dreams. How am I supposed to do anything if they attacked you in a dream?" I had once had Lady Kasen tell me about the time that Reimu had thrown a tantrum in a dream to force Doremy Sweet to accompany her to the waking world, so I imagined that Reimu would find a way. Still, she looked a little uncomfortable. "But...What does she want you to do? What does 'be her representative' mean?" I really had no idea. Maybe I'd have to work with people in Hell. Or maybe people in different worlds entirely. I really had no idea. "That's why I'm worried. What if she comes up to you one day and asks you to stop being human? What'll you say then?"

I paused, looking over at Reimu. She had moved the gohei to rest between her knees and she had a tight grip on it. I moved from where I'd been staring off into the bamboo and sat down next to Reimu, then pulled her into a hug. "I don't want you to do that. To stop being human. I'd have to-" She clamped her mouth shut, but I had a fairly good idea of what her next words were going to be. She'd have to kill me. "Being with and loving a youkai is one thing. There's, um, precedent, I guess. But if you give up your humanity, then I'll - I'll..." I hugged Reimu tighter and began to stroke her hair, then told her that I wasn't about to let that happen without a fight. I liked being me, even with all the bad things I'd gone through.

It took a few minutes to get Reimu to calm down, and she sat back with a shaky breath. "Sorry. It's, er, not like me to get all emotional like that." I waved a hand and told her that it was fine. "I'm supposed to be looking out for you, that's all. Can't do that if you're off in Hell or the Dream World or who-knows-where, doing who-knows-what." Hopefully, I said, by then I'd be able to take care of myself. And besides, I didn't think I'd have to leave my current life, even if I did accept Lady Hecatia's offer. She had a body in the normal world, anyway.