/jp/ - Otaku Culture

"Hmm? Oh, I'm just flipping through recent dreams. See if I can narrow down where this," She waved her free hand around at the city around us, "Came from." I thought I heard an argument brewing in the street below, but when I looked over the railing, I didn't see anything. "It's an echo of a memory distorted by the dream." Doremy told me. "Perhaps this is the creation of an outsider's time in the big city combined with something from you. Haven't you spent time in the Outside World as well?" Spluttering slightly, I asked Doremy how she could know that. Waving her Dream Journal at me, she smugly smirked. "Ah, let's see..." She flipped it open once more. "Hmm...Oh, here we are. A month ago...Dreamt about being on a beach, lots of tall buildings behind you...You said that it must have been 'Australia' and wondered where Miss Yamame Kurodani was..." I opened my mouth. "And then, when Miss Kurodani appeared, you-" I lunged forward to slap a hand over her mouth. Understood, I said. She watched me and even though I couldn't see her mouth, I could practically feel the smugness radiating from her. Removing my hand, I turned and rested my forearms on the railing. I looked over at Doremy to see that she'd dispelled her Dream Journal and leaned with her back against the railing, looking up at the sky. "Can't see the stars...That's light pollution, I believe. Another term an outsider used." I didn't know what that was, but I decided that I didn't need more weird explanations that I didn't understand.

Instead, I wanted to know why I was here. "Hmm..." Doremy hummed, stretching her back against the railing. I hoped it wouldn't fall. "Well, you heard me earlier. About a feast?" So, that had been her voice. "Of course. You've already had a dream or two, you know. I ate those ones because they looked extraordinarily tasty...Which they were! Happy to see that your quality of dream has been improving greatly." Doremy reached over and patted me on the back, but I couldn't exactly claim to understand what had her so pleased, so I just smiled and nodded. "So, I know that you passed out. Tends to give you weird dreams. And I know it had something to do with Yamame Kurodani. She is a very regular character in your dreams, after all." I looked away and mumbled something incoherent. "So, tell me." I looked over at her with a frown. Tell her what? "Why you passed out. I know you know." I sighed and muttered to the sky that I really wasn't going to get rid of her. "Me?" I rolled my eyes at her. "Huh?" Fine, I said, then explained briefly what I'd seen upon entering Yamame's home. I wasn't sure if I should explain it for Yamame's privacy, but Doremy was the kind of person who'd find out one way or another, since I imagined that at least some element of seeing an empty Yamame shell would be appearing in my nightmares before long. "I do keep secrets, you know. When they're important. Oh, I do like knowing them, though..." I swallowed uncomfortably and focused on the building across from ours.

I could see shapes inside, but they were fuzzy and looked like they weren't really there. "Anyway, that does sound like one of the scenarios I usually see in nightmares." Doremy told me, spinning herself over to lean against the rail in the same way I was. "But, I think I can put your mind at ease." That, I replied, would be lovely. I heard something fall into her hand again, which I assumed was her Dream Journal once more. "Like I said, I do keep secrets, but what I'm about to tell you isn't a secret, so it's probably fine..." I loved her confidence, I replied dryly. "Yeah, me too." She told me - Entirely seriously - with one of her usual smug smiles. "Anyway, if I just...Find it..." She was still flipping through pages. "C'mon, c'mon...'C' for...Chiyari - No, Chiyuri...Wait, who? Um, there's...'China'...No, that's a country," She smacked the book against the railing. "Catch up, come on now." And back to flipping the pages she went. "Ah, there it is. 'Chen'." I looked over at her, raising an eyebrow.

Doremy tapped the rail with her finger, and it suddenly expanded, becoming wider until she could lay the book flat on it and slide it over to me. "Have a look at the marked entry." Feeling like I was doing a horrendous invasion of someone's privacy, I looked down at the book. 'Chen - A book about a spider, read by Ran Yakumo.' I blinked, then asked Doremy what I was supposed to take from that. "What you're supposed to - Oh, for-" She sidled over and thumped her fist down on the book. "Stupid thing's always doing this. Try again." I looked back down. 'The spider moults, taking between fifteen minutes and a full day. This process is...' It went on, but I was already looking up at Doremy again because I still wasn't sure what this meant. It did seem to match the length of time that Yamame had shut herself up inside her home, though. "It means - Okay, so...I'm sick of this, hold on." She stomped a foot against the ground.