/jp/ - Otaku Culture

Yamame stared back, her jaw clenched. I reached out to rub her back encouragingly, and slowly but surely, she relaxed. "...Yes. Yes, I think so. I don't want any conflict, and I don't want any future trouble." She breathed out. "At this point, I just want to keep things going the way they have been." She looked over at me with a smile. "That's all." I whispered that she had done a good job, and she nodded back to me.

"Alright, are we all good?" Reimu asked lazily. "Didn't even get to finish the fight..." She muttered under her breath.

"Almost." Byakuren replied. "May I ask when your wedding is?" She raised a hand when both Yamame and Reimu opened their mouths. "I understand that you wish not to hold it here. I would prefer it if you did, but...That said, I would still like to know, if only to have a look in." After Yamame and I shared a look, I shrugged and explained the details to Byakuren, including the location. "The-" Yamame and I both said 'Garden of the Sun' with her, since we'd heard it so many times now. "Oh, that was rather strange. Still, are you...?" It was fine, I replied. We were sure. "Well..."

"Ugh, would you stop with the weird concern?" Reimu finally sighed impatiently. "Yuuka likes them. It's fine." Byakuren really looked surprised then but nodded nonetheless. "Alright, are we done here?" Reimu asked, sort of generally. Yamame and I nodded, and Byakuren nodded a moment after. "Finally! Honestly, you don't let me finish my fight, and then you take ages to talk." She looked back at Yamame and I. "Are you two fine?" We looked at each other, then nodded. "Alright, good. I'm away." And away she was, just like that.

"I wonder if, perhaps, you interrupted her in the middle of something. She seems very impatient." Byakuren commented, watching her disappear into the sky. "Perhaps I should invite her back here for more meditation. She didn't take to it very well last time, but with some proper commitment-" Somehow, I said dryly, I didn't think Reimu would go for that. Byakuren laughed slightly. "Well, perhaps. Still, I might make the offer regardless. It was rather fun to make her train, after all."

"That sounds a little like torture." Yamame mumbled.

"Perhaps it's simply a matter of perspective." Byakuren replied. "Now, I believe I need to go and reprimand Shou just a little bit more for getting into a fight and damaging our courtyard." She bowed to each of us in turn. "I wish you well. Both for your wedding, and - Well, for the work you've done to get this far." She turned, heading back over to the contrite Avatar of Bishamonten, leaving myself and my spider to stand there, both feeling rather perplexed.

So, we looked toward each other, each mumbled something while vaguely pointing toward the exit, then nodded and began to walk away. I felt a little bit like I'd been thrown through a whirlpool. There had been a lot of people, and a lot of things said aside, and I wasn't entirely sure how things had shaken out to where they seemed to have done. "I can't help but feel a little bit lost." Yamame finally said with a frown. "I mean - I didn't even get to see the temple itself." It was okay, I replied. Quite ornate, but sparsely decorated inside. Not really much in the way of personal effects nor good food, since they didn't do meat.

"Hmm...Maybe it's a good thing she didn't let me join, then." Yamame mused. "Giving up on meat entirely? I'd die." Vegetarianism just seemed a bit like limiting your choices to me. Wouldn't it just go to waste if you didn't eat it? "Exactly! Ugh, it's a nasty thought. Tell you what - Let's eat some meat tonight. Grill it - No, fry it. I'll wash up if you cook it." Was that just because she really liked the way I cooked it? She looked over at me with a slight smile. "Definitely not. I just need to give you something to do so you aren't sitting there looking all tempting. I'll burn it and it'll be your fault, you monster."

She did realise that she was blaming me for something that she was explicitly having me not do, right? "Well, the hypothetical me in my head was very upset about it!" What about the hypothetical me in her head? "Er, no comment." I snorted, then wondered if there was anything else in her head. "Well, actually - What you mouthed to me when you were over on the stairs." I'd mouthed something to her, too. "Hmm..." She thought for a moment. "I don't have enough leather at the moment..." I looked over at her, my eyes widening. "The kappa bazaars, maybe. They might have some stuff, otherwise I'll have to try and get it in the village. I could try, you know. I mean, she presents herself as all prude and serious, then goes and pulls that outfit out? Honestly, it's like she's trying to give me ideas." I was...Absolutely okay with her testing those ideas out. "I thought you might." She smirked at me.