/jp/ - Otaku Culture

"-Talk to Reimu about the, uh, first half. The part with just the close family. Have you told Mum?" Reiko was asking Kisami, standing stiff and straight with her arms crossed.

"I thought Yams already told her." Ki replied, taking a bite from a rice cracker that she'd gotten from somewhere. Had she really brought a supply with her? "You seriously don't want one? C'mon, Rei, you're too skinny as it is."

Reiko slowly turned her head to look at Kisami. "...Ki, I'm not being funny, but not all of us can eat anything we want and have it go straight to our chests. Just because you're-"

"I do not!" Ki replied hotly. "Don't worry, Rei, you've got plenty of your own appeal." She did have a chest, though. Quite a lot of chest, even. Yamame even complained about how much chest Ki had sometimes. Usually in a 'when she jumps at you, it's like being hit by a bloody oni' kind of way, though. "Maybe if you just moulted- Oh, fine, moving on...I'm sure I saw Reimu while we were on our way here." Probably having just left, then. I wondered how long it would take them to actually notice that I was standing behind them, because they weren't doing a very good job so far. "Hey, you know how Yams somehow managed to rope the goddess of Hell into working with her? Do you think we'll get any construction jobs down there?"

"Doubt it..." Reiko mused, trying to sweep back her hair even though it was already pulled back with a headband. "Heard that the Ministry is flat broke down there. I don't think Hecatia Lapislazuli needs to hire earth spiders to get things built, either. Who knows? Maybe Yams' lovely husband will wrangle something. Seems to be his wheelhouse."

Finally deciding to butt in, I asked how I was supposed to do that, and both spiders shrieked and shot forward, straight off of the steps and into the open air. Fortunately, before the panic could finish surging through me, they'd taken to the air and turned around, both breathing rather heavily. "Y-You snake!" Ki shouted at me. Blinking, I asked her where she'd learnt that particular name for me. "Yams uses it all the time! Now, it's looking like she was right, too!" If I apologised, would she forgive me? "Probably!" Ki shouted. Shrugging, I bowed my head and told them that I was sorry for spooking them. "Good! I'm gonna hug you now!" That was about all the warning I got before Ki barrelled into me, nearly knocking me over while she went on with her usual barrage of hugs and kisses.

Reiko came in for a landing soon after, and much more sedately. "Well, good afternoon, at any rate. That's one way to greet us." She said, pulling a lock of hair behind her ear. "Not...Exactly a fan, but still." Finally, I managed to push Ki off of me while she tried to plant more kisses on my forehead and cheeks, and I pulled her hair down in front of her eyes. "Er - So, is Reimu here?" I shook my head and explained where she'd gone. "Oh, I see...Ah, because she knocked...Clever. Well, we were only here to update her on the Garden of the Sun's current status." How was that part coming along, anyway? I hadn't really heard much apart from that there were people working on something over there. "Well - We have to be careful, because there's so many flowers around there and even one getting damaged in the slightest would see Yuuka Kazami tear us all limb from limb." Yeah...I could see her doing that. "So, we're trying things that we've never really done before. It's actually quite an interesting challenge."

"Yeah, interesting, like having to figure out how to build when we can't put any foundations down. Don't worry, we're getting there. It's not looking like rain any time soon, so it should be sunny on the actual day." Ki explained, spreading her hands. "So, we don't need to do much about the weather. Yuuka said that she couldn't offer everyone use of her house for reasons that would be clear to you and Yams, though she wouldn't tell us what those reasons actually were." I thought about how to phrase my answer, then carefully said that she had a point and anyone going into Mugenkan was putting themselves at...Risk. "Right, I'll get Yura to tell everyone to stay out of there, and if they have to go in, go in with Yuuka..." That was probably acceptable. Elly would likely be a good option too. "It's not all hard work, though. Did you know that Yuuka bakes? She brought us some, uh, really tasty pastries the other day. I don't think anyone's ever been that generous with us before."

"Well," Reiko said hesitantly, "There was the Moriya, but..." That, I remembered, was the Great Yamame Coffee Incident. Reiko didn't look like she'd had an exceptional time either, if the face she was making was any indication. "Y-Yes, well...Let's just say that I had Yura go and explain exactly what happens when you give a spider coffee afterward."

Akiru Kurodani raised a hand and swept her hair back, revealing her other eye properly. It also revealed what looked like a slight scar just above the eye, which had been hidden by the hair. "Oh, Yamame Kurodani. I wouldn't miss something like this for the world. Not for one of my daughters." She stepped forward, over to Yamame and wrapped her in a hug, though it was a far gentler one than she'd given at the door. "And I am proud of you." She murmured, releasing Yamame. Yamame didn't really register it for a moment, which gave me time to realise that Akiru was approaching me. She stepped closer, placed her arms around me, and then whispered to me, which was much easier since she was close to my height. "If you hurt my daughter, no one will ever find your remains. Not even the Shrine Maiden." Swallowing nervously, I nodded and mumbled back that if I ever hurt Yamame, Akiru would be in line after all of Yamame's sisters who had already threatened me. "They learnt from the best." Akiru said with a smirk.

Finally, she stepped back. "Well, then. I'm glad I came here today, aren't you, Yammy?" I lunged forward to wrap my arms around Yamame as she almost tried to jump at her mother. "I'm only teasing you, dear. Now, I'm sure you're busy, with both your wedding and your work. Still - Think of your dear mother from time to time, won't you?" Akiru's hair suddenly fell back to cover her eye. "Oh, every time..." She muttered to herself. I just about reigned in a laugh, since it was exactly like Kisami's. "Now, I'm afraid I must leave you. But - Well, you'll be just fine, won't you, Yamame?"

Yamame looked up at her. "Y-Yes, Mother. I'll be fine." She took my hand again and squeezed it tightly. "Um, thank you for visiting." She finally said in a small voice.

Akiru nodded down to her. "Ah, I almost forgot to finish my tea." She turned, crouched, and retrieved her cup from the floor, gently blew on it, and then finished it off. "Ah. You've become very good at this, haven't you?" She gently placed a hand on Yamame's head and ruffled her hair, and while Yamame recoiled slightly, she didn't make any overt complaints. Finally, Akiru moved to the door, opening it and stepping through. She turned back to us. "Oh, one last thing. Creating a breeze inside the room is best for clearing away the smell after the act. Or perhaps some incense. I can tell that you tried, though." She smiled genially. "Just a thought." And with that, she pulled the door shut.

"Oh..." Yamame groaned, almost sinking to the floor. "Of course she knew. Ugh, I knew we should have stopped earlier!" She pressed a palm against her forehead while I hauled her back up to her feet and said that I'd thought her mother had seemed nice, if a bit intense. "I can't believe she said that about looming, when she looms over every single one of us, every time she sees us." She grumbled. "Well, that could have gone much worse. I might actually have to start visiting her now." Frankly, I was just happy that it hadn't devolved into arguing. "Yes, well...It wouldn't be the first time."

Yamame stepped forward, but nearly sank to the floor again. "Ooh, all that tension..." She mumbled. "I think I need to lie down. It's a good thing we did sort out the bed, right?" Right, I replied. Honestly, I hadn't really smelt anything. "She's got a sensitive nose." Yamame said.

I helped her onto the bed, then climbed in next to her. At least she'd given her approval. "Yeah." Yamame finally murmured, pulling a cover over us. "That's something." She shifted onto her side and got closer to me. "Seriously, though. She didn't need to tell us who her ideal man actually was. I mean, you're perfect anyway. Why did I need to know what she'd find better?" I breathed out slowly and slipped my arm around her. It wasn't like any tricks would have worked on me, anyway.

Yamame was already perfect for me.

"Sorry, Ki, but I think that'd be a little much for both of us, especially right now." Yamame patted her sister on the head, then gently pushed her back just slightly. "Here, let me..." She slipped a hair tie from Kisami's wrist which I hadn't noticed before, then set about tying the girl's voluminous locks up into a ponytail. I wondered how she'd been able to manage that alone, considering she seemed to have more hair on her head that some people had on their whole body.

The second she finished, Kisami's hair came down perfectly straight and almost regal-looking. The second after that, it all but exploded outward until it was as curly and messy as ever. Kisami caught my eye. "Don't worry." She said. "It does that." Despite how large the tied up portion was, her bangs and the top of her hair still looked exactly the same. I wondered if I was actually still asleep. "Anyway, I guess I'd better help too, huh?" She sighed, then slowly got up and let out a long and laboured sigh. "Alright..." She mumbled, turning and wandering over to the group of sleeping musicians. "One, two, three, four!" She suddenly shouted, slapping each of them in the face in turn. It looked like a very rude awakening by the way they all jumped. "Good morning, one and all!" She called, despite the pained grumbling. I stared and tried as hard as I could to think back. Had they joined in on the drinking at some point?

Meanwhile, Yamame was standing over Yura and Ruka. The two were splayed out over the floor, which was fine, but then I noticed that Yamame was holding the jug of water. Now starting to feel like she was perhaps enjoying herself a little too much - Or the hangover was making her grumpy, I called out to her. She turned and I pointedly asked her what she was planning to do with that jug. "Oh, just...Fun?" I frowned. "Too much?" She asked slightly sheepishly. Maybe just a little, I replied, and she sighed before placing the jug back on the table. Instead, she crouched down and flicked the pair in the foreheads simultaneously, which had them both jerk up in the same way that Kisami had before groaning and clutching their heads. "Up, you two. Clean-up to do." She told them. "Water's on the table."

"Thanks, Yams..." Yura and Ruka both replied in unison. The pair began dragging themselves up while Yamame moved around the room. I pushed the last lot of trays down to the end of the tables, then looked around. Orin and Okuu were still sleeping, but I wasn't sure if I should try waking them up since there was a fair chance that Orin would just attack me. The room was starting to sound like it was waking up now, with the musicians having muted conversation and Yura talking to Ruka and Yamame about the night as they drank some water and got up properly. "Hey, look at Nai." Ruka said, pointing at the still sleeping spider with the cup balanced on her head. "Anyone got a brush? We can draw on her face."

"Don't be so mean, Ruka." Yamame chided as she passed behind them, flicking some of her sister's hair over her eyes. Then, Yamame paused and rubbed her chin. "You can try and stack some more things on her head, though."

"Aw, I knew I could trust you, sister." Ruka dryly replied, grabbing a second sake cup from the stacks I'd created and kneeling down next to Nai. After a moment of deliberation, Yura joined her, a small laugh escaping her on the way.

Yamame joined me as Kisami started to go around the room and wake up the other Kurodani members, who all looked to have similarly awful hangovers. "They'll take a while to get moving, but I'm sure they'll have things sorted soon. D'you want to get going?" She whispered to me. Whispering back, I asked her if we needed to say goodbye. "Well...yeah. But Ki's planning on coming and kidnapping you again soon enough anyway, so I’m sure you’ve not seen the last of them for a long time." We kept the round of goodbyes short, just covering the sisters I personally knew, which meant getting jumped by Kisami and watching Yamame get jumped in turn, but the others all still seemed to be nursing heavy enough hangovers that they didn't do anything except light hugs and extracting promises to come and see everyone again soon.

And finally, we stepped outside. The air was no cooler and I still felt like I was about to pass out. I glanced over at Yamame, who didn't look much better. "I think I need to sleep for a day. A full day." She told me, and I nodded. "Really wish we'd left some food for today..." I knew how she felt because I was thinking the same. All the meat had been gone and what remained was rice, which was good, but not the kind of thing you needed for a hangover. Grasping at straws, I asked her if she had any secret family recipes for hangovers. "There's one that Kisami swears always works, but she won't tell me because I have 'to learn the consequences of my own actions', whatever that means. Personally, I think the consequences of her actions are going to be me, hungover, strangling her."