/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>46858939

A small period of idle chatter set in after Reimu came back with a small snack, rice crackers. After the plate was set down, then a nibble, and another nibble saw the crackers vanish into the maws of the peckish women. Tea was sipped with renewed fervor as the crackers dried out their mouths, Hana’s own cup was sweetened with just a scoop of sugar, contrasting her mother who drank it bland and Sanae who put in two.

The lunch hour was quickly approaching as the vestiges of the morning flashed by. In tandem with the sun’s power, the importance of the conversation seemed to ramp up, which was for the best as far as Hana was concerned. Sanae and Reimu didn’t really talk to each other much, and aside from business and pleasantries there was an undeniable awkward air between them, they could never engage beyond small talk.

Hana figured they must not have realized it, but at least to Hana it was obvious. They both seemed to primarily focus their conversations on keeping Hana’s ears hot from the constant barrage of questions and stories. It was like dancing between Marisa’s guiding streams of danmaku as they crisscross, she was rather happy to have this barrage time out.

After the crackers were a memory and the tea started running low, the bubbly miko steered the conversation from planning to show Hana some of her more… performative prayers, into how they’re planning to keep her safe. The change in subject made Hana a bit uncomfortable, glancing at her mother and Sanae’s reaction she saw that they were very keen on continuing. A strange pang of guilt fired off in her head, she hated the fact that Sanae had to go out of her way just to help her out of problems she made in the first place…

Taking one last sip of her tea and placing it onto the table with a dignified clack, Sanae seemed to slip back into her role as the shrine maiden of the Moriyan gods, “Yesterday we were able to get the bulk of the work done preparing the shrine, and this morning I was able to get all my cute acolytes to put the finishing touches on the decorations!”

Sanae seemed to beam at that last part, a sort of parental pride made her puff out her chest as she continued, “You’ll love to see the all the color we put on the onbashira Kanako-sama placed down around the shrine! Suwako-sama even drew a bunch of frogs on some, but I think she was teasing Kanako-sama in some weird way. Those two always butt heads~”

With a sigh from the living goddess, and a short dry cough from the human shrine maiden opposite of her, Sanae found it in herself to slip back into her business mask, “Of course, none would be able to easily breech that barrier easily. Even a sage would have to pause before testing a barrier Kanako-sama went through such pains in showing off for.”

Hana couldn’t help but feel the sense of guilt rising up over this, it did make her happy to be loved like this, but to go to such lengths…? Before she could speak up and answer those gentle eyes that Sanae stared at her with, her mother piped up, “It won’t do much when it comes time for her to leave, I assume you’re not trying to adopt her right?”

Her mother smirked a little at her own joke, which made Sanae smile in turn and bat her hand in front of her face like a gossiping granny, “Oh please, don’t tease, you know we don’t have any young men in the family for Hana to date~ I haven’t had time for that, and there’s no way Kanako-sama has some hidden family somewhere!”

At that, for a reason Hana didn’t understand, the two mikos shared a laugh that lasted for a few seconds too long. Once Sanae recovered, wiping a tear from her flushed face, she shook her head and stammered out, “N-no, nothing like an adoption. Instead, they should just be putting the finishing touches on their homework for today!”

Sanae pushed her hand into a small pocket on the hem of her hakama, before rummaging around and pulling out two little figurines. Mother’s eyes grew wide for a second, as she seemed to recognize them before stifling another laugh, Sanae seemed rather proud as she presented them. A small figure of that hat thing Suwako wore with its googly eyes in a smile, and an onbashira with its shimenawa vaguely resting along it’s middle with the shide sort-of forming a dress.

As if remembering good times, Sanae’s wide smile continues with all pretense of business gone, “Reimu-san, remember that time I formed that idol group with Kanako and Suwako-sama? I was super lucky to have held onto a few extra Pyontas, they got super rare after they sold out every time we made more! And since they’re already made to carry their spirit in them like little shrines, they’re perfect for our plans! Ah the real ones are back at the shrine; these are just extras~”