/jp/ - Otaku Culture

I'm not sure how much time had passed since we'd arrived. The sun had climbed high in the sky, and then it had slowly begun to fall. At some point, Reimu and Marisa had begun talking to pass the time. "-Said that she used to see me crying in the forest as a child. That's kinda weird, righ-" Marisa cut herself off. "Wait, look. There she is." I looked down, and felt my heartbeat speed up. I could see, even from here, that Doctor Yagokoro had exited Eientei. "You don't see her out much." Marisa said to me. "It's only since not long before you started ending up in there that she's been doing this." I nodded, focusing on taking slow, deep breaths. Doctor Yagokoro paused to speak with what looked to be her assistant, who stood by the gate. Then, she began to walk away from Eientei, her arms crossed.
"Come on." Reimu muttered. "We're not losing her this time." She began to pick her way across the cliffside, her eyes never leaving Doctor Yagokoro. Marisa and I followed. I asked Marisa why we weren't just flying. "This place is weird. You'd lose your way if you tried to fly, even if you went in a straight line. Reimu's one of the only people who doesn't get affected by it." That was interesting. I had gotten lost a few times at the start of my visits, but I felt like I'd picked up my bearings eventually. We continued picking our way across, the terrain eventually levelling out. "She's not sticking to the path. Reimu, do you think-"
"Shut up." Reimu muttered. "Keep quiet." Thinking back on it, I realised that Doctor Yagokoro probably would have heard us, somehow. She would just know. We pulled back slightly. "She's changed direction. We've always lost her by now."
"Must be your luck." Marisa said to me. I didn't feel all that lucky right now.
We followed her even deeper into the forest. I'd never been out this way, and I steadily noticed that the sunlight was penetrating less and less through the trees. I was worried about being seen, but at this point, as long as kept low to the ground, we would probably be near invisible. It was a good thing I hadn't decided to wear my only remaining t-shirt from Lady Hecatia. "Where the hell is she going?" Reimu almost growled, more to herself than me. "Can't be that wolf. Then...?" I assumed that this was how she worked things out, so I didn't interrupt. Finally, I began to hear the sound of water.
"There's a stream this far out?" Marisa asked. I could barely see Doctor Yagokoro anymore, but Reimu kept going in a certain direction, so Marisa and I followed her. As we got closer to the source of the water, the sounds of a stream became clearer.
"She's stopped." Reimu said. I looked ahead, squinting in the darkness. I could make out something, out in the distance. It looked like a shack, a poorly maintained house. There was no way anyone could be living in there. "Isn't that...?" Reimu slowly asked, and I was amazed to see something like surprise on her face. From our positions, Marisa and I couldn't hear anything. Praying to every god I could think of that we wouldn't be noticed, we crept closer. In front of the house, there was indeed a small stream. It ran across the front of the house, then off into the gloom. In front of the stream, sitting on a tree stump, was a woman. Her head was down, and her hair, something just a shade darker than white, perhaps toward lavender, hung down her back until it was almost sweeping the floor, while shielding her face from view like a curtain. I didn't recognize her, but it was clear that Reimu and Marisa did. "Shit." Reimu cursed, something I wasn't expecting. "It's her."
Doctor Yagokoro was standing in front of her, with her arms behind her back. I couldn't make out what she was saying, but she looked as emotionless as ever. As quietly as I could, I asked Reimu who it was, but it was Marisa who answered me. "That's the guide. Fujiwara no Mokou."

Where does Eirin rank on your favorite 2hus list?

Eirin.