/jp/ - Otaku Culture

Inside the room, however, stood Reiko, who was currently fussing over Yura, who was nursing a bloody lip and a gash across her eyebrow. "Reik- Reiko, can you just - Stop! I'm fine, sister, honestly, stop your...fussing!" Yura was trying to keep Reiko from dabbing at her lip and eyebrow with a wet cloth, but it was clear that Reiko was having none of it. “You’re no Ki, sister.

"No, Yu, I knocked you down the stairs, so I have to take care of you!" Reiko looked like she'd become even more stressed than she had been before, and possibly had been crying just a little if the redness around her eyes was any indication. "I'm sorry that I got upset at you, so-"

"I tr- Rei, stop!" Yura finally caught hold of Reiko's wrists and held her arms back. "I tripped, Rei! It's not your fault, so please stop crying, sister." Yamame and I watched the ongoing scene slightly incredulously, then Yamame leaned over to me and whispered that while there was rarely large drama in her family, that meant that sometimes the smallest things got amplified like this. "Yams!" She said in relief, spotting us standing at the entrance. "Finally, sister, it feels like forever!" It certainly didn't feel like forever since the last time I'd heard someone say that, I mumbled quietly. "Can you come and restrain this idiot before she worried herself into an early grave?" Yura raised Reiko's wrist, which she still had trapped in her hand, and Reiko finally broke free and went straight back to trying to fuss over Yura once more.

"Alright, alright..." Yamame sighed, stepping into the room properly. "Come on, Rei, leave the mothering to Kisami. You look far prettier when you're not crying." Reiko did manage to let out a little laugh, so I took it as a win. "And Yu, watch where you're walking. Oh, but don't think this means I'm not going to give you a serious lecture later about setting up impromptu work parties."

"Looking forward to it. Second of many, I imagine!" Yura replied dryly. I took the opportunity to raise the various contracts that I was still carrying, and Yura nodded satisfactorily as I placed them down. She looked a little less pleased when I mentioned that Yuugi was using a portion of the money she owed for this party. "Ugh!" Yura groaned, falling back in her chair. "Me and my big mouth! This is all my fault…Please don't hit me, Reiko." She groaned, then raised her hands when Reiko looked at her in horror. "I'm joking, I'm joking..." She shook her head. "Thanks for finding them, Nai." She said, smiling at the smallest spider in the room.

"Oh, er, no problem, Big Sis Yura!" Nai replied to Yura's praise, standing to attention. Given her fairly small stature, it looked more cute than serious. I asked her if she wanted to tell me how the preparations has gone, and while Yamame sorted out Reiko and Yura waved us on, I led Nai out through the door and onto the balcony that I thought had been present earlier, where I could see the hall properly. It was very traditional looking, all tatami mats and bamboo, with some wooden panels and paper lanterns hung where the hall opened onto a small garden. And the place was packed, a bunch of long tables hastily laid out and plenty of spiders sitting along each of them, some in larger groups and some in smaller groups, all chatting to each other. The noise was nearly deafening, but it did mean that no one was really listening. "So, um, after you asked, Big Sis Yura and I went and told Big Sis Reiko. She wasn't very happy about it at first, but she agreed to the whole thing and told us to come here. And then we ran into Hoshiguma." I was surprised that Hoshiguma had been so fast moving, but I supposed that Suika and I had been fairly slow in heading back down toward the centre of the Hot Spring Town, which had given her time. "She said that she'd get the food and drinks together as long as we got everyone here." Nai frowned up at me. "How did she know?"

I explained my half as quickly as I could. "Oh...I see. So, she's happy to do it. Right." Nai nodded seriously. "I wonder what she's planning to bring?" I shrugged and said that it probably included a lot of meat. "That'd be nice." Nai agreed. I looked back down, spotting Kisami entertaining a group of spiders with a story. "I was talking to Big Sis Kisami earlier." Nai said, and I said that she'd better be careful around her, which made Nai laugh a little. "Trust me, I know. She, um, said something. About rings." Rings, I slowly repeated. "Yeah..." Nai trailed off, watching me. "What did she mean?" I blankly stared at Nai and tried to come up with a good excuse because much as I liked her, I really didn't trust Nai to keep it a secret if Yamame asked her directly.