/jp/ - Otaku Culture

"Storm Shutters." I nodded. "Offertory box." I slowly nodded, but then realised that I hadn't done that. "Make sure any laundry is in." Since it had already started raining at least a day ago, I would have been amazed if any was left outside. "Tea." That was Reimu's job, not mine. "Fine. Pull up a bucket or two of water now so you don't have to go outside when it gets too windy. " I'd already pulled up two, anticipating the storm to last a day or two. "Food?" I'd done a check of the pantry, but since we couldn't leave the Shrine, it wouldn't have made much difference if it was empty. "Did you make sure Aunn doesn't try and spend the storm outside, thinking that she can handle it because she could when she was a statue?" I hadn't actually seen Aunn - the one who actually talked, anyway - in days. "Oh. Kasen might have sent her off to spy on the Moriya lot, actually. Well, make sure the other one doesn't get blown away." The other Aunn was the one who rarely talked and always seemed like she was in a slightly bad mood. She typically hung around the grounds, so I'd caught her and told her to make sure she stayed safe in the storm. She hadn't really reacted, but I hoped that she'd gotten the message. I wasn't sure if a youkai komainu statue can really get all that damaged, but I hoped not.

Preparing the Shrine for a storm had somehow escaped Reimu's priority list in-between the illness and dealing with all the guests who came to waste time and-slash-or carry my unconscious body around, so when she had finished kicking me in the shins enough times to wake me up and make me actually release my arms, which were wrapped around her so tight that she could barely move her hands, she had starting rattling off the lists of things that needed to be done before the wind picked up. Luckily, we were still just barely safe from the worst of it, thought it was clear that while it was early morning, it would be too heavy to venture outside within an hour or two.

Knowing that I had better brave the storm now, I'd gotten dressed in just about everything that I had - which hadn't amounted to much, truth be told, since some of my clothes were still in my home in the village and the rest were in Lady Kasen's dojo - only for Reimu to speak up. "I wouldn't bother with the clothes." She said, looking up at me from where she sat at the table. "You're just going to get soaked through, right? And we won't be able to properly do laundry until the storm ends." She pulled herself up to her feet, leaning slightly more on the table than I would have liked, and approached me. "Take it off." She said, in the sort of tone I imagine she would comment on a piece of meat at the butchers in the village. I felt something shoot through my brain when said that, like some sort of tingling, though I didn't know why. She was staring at me impassively, and it made me feel slightly sluggish, so when my arms didn't move immediately, she clicked her tongue in annoyance and stepped closer, slipping her hands underneath my shirt. I stiffened slightly as she slid her hands up and over my chest, bringing the shirt up with it. "Arms." She told me, and I dutifully raised them. She pulled the shirt over my head, then from my arms, leaving me shirtless.

For a moment, it looked like Reimu was about to do something else, her hands frozen in mid-air with my shirt still hanging from them. Then, she shook her head and dropped the shirt to the side. "You can keep the rest." She said, her voice sounding strangely strangled. "But get done and back as quick as you can, yes?" I nodded, not at all looking forward to this. I slipped my shoes on, then, taking a few deep breaths to steel myself, I threw the sliding door open and ran outside.

The rain was hammering down, and I thanked myself for putting the storm shutters out earlier, then cursed myself in the same breath for forgetting to bring the offertory box in, even though it was probably empty anyway. Knowing that I'd have no choice, I tried to pull the storm shutter open just slightly, and I still felt far too many raindrops immediately hit my face. I grit my teeth, then pulled the shutter open enough for me to squeeze through. The rain lashed at my skin immediately and I nearly fell when the wind threatened to pull me off of my feet. I stumbled forward, forcing my weight down with each step to keep myself steady, and staggered across the courtyard to the Hall of Worship. There, I found that the offertory box had already collected a thin layer of water - and no donations - at the bottom, so I cursed and pulled the storm shutters for the Hall of Worship open, took hold of the offertory box with both hands and lifted it up so the water could run out. Then, I carried it into the Hall of Worship and placed it in a corner, since I didn't really know where I was meant to put things in here. I stepped back out and pulled the storm shutters shut again, and braved my way back across the courtyard.