/jp/ - Otaku Culture

Reposting >>46816308 from last thread since I didn't realize there was a new one.

>>46810172
That night, you could barely sleep at all.
You kept having odd nightmares where you'd be falling through a black void as hundreds, no, thousands of eyes stared at you, each time awakening in a cold sweat and fearing you'd find someone in your room again.
Needless to say, you felt fatigued once morning came, though still lucid enough to realize something very bad was happening and that you would need help. You decided a visit to the Hakurei girl would be in order, scary as it was also to think what she'd do to you once she learned what you had been up to. So, you got dressed, got your cane, put on your straw hat and packed some snacks for the long and dangerous trek to the shrine, and were on your way as soon as you could.
It took several hours of hiking along a path that just kept getting worse as you progressed through the familiar rice paddies outside of town and into the forest of magic. You couldn't help but feel as though being watched. Perhaps it was just natural, given there was not a soul in sight, and the thick canopy of trees made it hard to track the sun and time. There were also a lot of stories about youkai and strange witches dwelling in this place, after all.
This would have made sense, yes, but you had felt that presence as soon as you had set foot outside of your home. You had already lost track of how many times you had looked over your shoulder.
"Just like in those nightmares..."
You trailed off as, at long last, you could begin to see the steps of a long staircase leading up a steep hill. Finally. You began your ascent, not sure whether you'd even make it after all this exhaustion. Who decided putting a shrine here would be a good idea? No wonder nobody ever comes here.
But at last, you could see over the top and through a series of red gates the main building. A lone girl in red and white was sweeping the stone path leading up to it, and you knew it had to be her. It was also about this point you realized you had been so tired and distraught over what had happened since last night that you hadn't really thought of what you would tell her. "Hello, miss Hakurei, I may or may not have summoned a millenary youkai and who knows what else from reading forbidden books at my local library. Help me, please, pretty, please?" If some youkai did not kill you now, perhaps she would for your foolishness, but it wasn't like you had much of a choice now. Here went nothing.
As you slowly approached, the sound of your sandals against the stone alerted the girl to your presence, who now seemed to have sparks in her eyes.
"A visitor! Welcome!", she greeted you.
"Good day, I-"
"Donation box's right over there! I'll show you the way!", she continued, walking away.
"What? Wa-wait!", you tried to stop her, but she did not.
Was she just not listening? You realised you wouldn't get to talk unless you followed her, so you began walking after her.
Eventually, you reached the old, dusty box, whose only contents seemed now to be a a spider and her web. The girl stood next to it, looking at you expectingly. By now, you were gasping for air.
"Miss... Hakurei... Ahh... My apologies, but I have not come for a donation..."
"Ah? What do you want, then? If you were looking for charms, we sell those, too."
"No, I need something else."
"You came for our purification service?"
"No, I didn't come to pay for anything. I need your help."
At that point, her face drooped, and she began seeming a little annoyed.
"And I need some coins. Running a shrine ain't easy, you know? I can't just be giving away services for free. What do you think I-"
"I might have summoned dangerous youkai from a book."
She stopped midsentence, and for a moment just stared at you with a blank expression. Then her annoyance from before gave way into some sort of resignation as she sighed, put her broom aside and let her head droop down.
"What book?"
"Here", you took it out of your pack and passed it to her.
She took it and began eyeing its pages. After a while, she asked,
"How much of this did you read?"
"All of it..."
You couldn't help but look away after saying this, but you could still catch her lifting her face from the book to glare at you, then returning to it.
As she read, she asked, sounding displeased,
"Have you noticed anything odd since?"
But just as you were going to try to explain, someone interrupted,
"My, Reimu, have we got a new visitor?"
An unknown voice. It forced you to return your gaze at the girl.
"Ah! How many times have I got to tell you not to show up like that?", the girl said, startled.
And right beside her...
"Awww, you're no fun!"
"Hard to be when there might be a new incident brewing, courtesy of my 'new visitor' over here."
there was...
"Yukari. You wouldn't know anything about this, would you?", the girl continued.
"Well, who knows?"
The youkai's purple eyes, now staring at you from one of her gaps.

>>46810172
That night, you could barely sleep at all.
You kept having odd nightmares where you'd be falling through a black void as hundreds, no, thousands of eyes stared at you, each time awakening in a cold sweat and fearing you'd find someone in your room again.
Needless to say, you felt fatigued once morning came, though still lucid enough to realize something very bad was happening and that you would need help. You decided a visit to the Hakurei girl would be in order, scary as it was also to think what she'd do to you once she learned what you had been up to. So, you got dressed, got your cane, put on your straw hat and packed some snacks for the long and dangerous trek to the shrine, and were on your way as soon as you could.
It took several hours of hiking along a path that just kept getting worse as you progressed through the familiar rice paddies outside of town and into the forest of magic. You couldn't help but feel as though being watched. Perhaps it was just natural, given there was not a soul in sight, and the thick canopy of trees made it hard to track the sun and time. There were also a lot of stories about youkai and strange witches dwelling in this place, after all.
This would have made sense, yes, but you had felt that presence as soon as you had set foot outside of your home. You had already lost track of how many times you had looked over your shoulder.
"Just like in those nightmares..."
You trailed off as, at long last, you could begin to see the steps of a long staircase leading up a steep hill. Finally. You began your ascent, not sure whether you'd even make it after all this exhaustion. Who decided putting a shrine here would be a good idea? No wonder nobody ever comes here.
But at last, you could see over the top and through a series of red gates the main building. A lone girl in red and white was sweeping the stone path leading up to it, and you knew it had to be her. It was also about this point you realized you had been so tired and distraught over what had happened since last night that you hadn't really thought of what you would tell her. "Hello, miss Hakurei, I may or may not have summoned a millenary youkai and who knows what else from reading forbidden books at my local library. Help me, please, pretty, please?" If some youkai did not kill you now, perhaps she would for your foolishness, but it wasn't like you had much of a choice now. Here went nothing.
As you slowly approached, the sound of your sandals against the stone alerted the girl to your presence, who now seemed to have sparks in her eyes.
"A visitor! Welcome!", she greeted you.
"Good day, I-"
"Donation box's right over there! I'll show you the way!", she continued, walking away.
"What? Wa-wait!", you tried to stop her, but she did not.
Was she just not listening? You realised you wouldn't get to talk unless you followed her, so you began walking after her.
Eventually, you reached the old, dusty box, whose only contents seemed now to be a a spider and her web. The girl stood next to it, looking at you expectingly. By now, you were gasping for air.
"Miss... Hakurei... Ahh... My apologies, but I have not come for a donation..."
"Ah? What do you want, then? If you were looking for charms, we sell those, too."
"No, I need something else."
"You came for our purification service?"
"No, I didn't come to pay for anything. I need your help."
At that point, her face drooped, and she began seeming a little annoyed.
"And I need some coins. Running a shrine ain't easy, you know? I can't just be giving away services for free. What do you think I-"
"I might have summoned dangerous youkai from a book."
She stopped midsentence, and for a moment just stared at you with a blank expression. Then her annoyance from before gave way into some sort of resignation as she sighed, put her broom aside and let her head droop down.
"What book?"
"Here", you took it out of your pack and passed it to her.
She took it and began eyeing its pages. After a while, she asked,
"How much of this did you read?"
"All of it..."
You couldn't help but look away after saying this, but you could still catch her lifting her face from the book to glare at you, then returning to it.
As she read, she asked, sounding displeased,
"Have you noticed anything odd since?"
But just as you were going to try to explain, someone interrupted,
"My, Reimu, have we got a new visitor?"
An unknown voice. It forced you to return your gaze at the girl.
"Ah! How many times have I got to tell you not to show up like that?", the girl said, startled.
And right beside her...
"Awww, you're no fun!"
"Hard to be when there might be a new incident brewing, courtesy of my 'new visitor' over here."
there was...
"Yukari. You wouldn't know anything about this, would you?", the girl continued.
"Well, who knows?"
The youkai's purple eyes, now staring at you from one of her gaps.