/jp/ - Otaku Culture

It was raining outside, but it was the dreary sort of rain, which meant it was miserable, wet, and people who did go outside would be shuffling along with their head down, desperate to hide in a pub for hours on end until the world was just a little bit nicer. I looked over at Yamame, who was fiddling with her hat and muttering to herself about how she should have made it more waterproof, and I smiled. At least this way, there would be less people out on the streets to stare, or potentially accuse her of being a youkai. Hopefully, no one would recognize her from her last, more ill-fated visit to the village. I rolled my shoulders, then took Yamame's hand again and led us toward the village.

As I had predicted, the village might as well have been deserted. There was little sound other that the dull drone of the rain, and the whole place had a lethargic feel to it. "It's weird, being here." Yamame said to me, and I remarked that it was always slightly odd when the place was completely empty. It reminded me strangely of that time, years and years ago, when everyone had become strange, like we'd all lost all hope. Thankfully, it hadn't lasted all too long. "What should we do?" Yamame asked me, and I rubbed my chin. Obviously, going near the Myouren Temple would be a recipe for disaster, but there were plenty of other places in the village. Suzunaan was a good choice, since I couldn't think of the last time I had been there. It had to be as far back as when I had just met Marisa. Miss Kosuzu was very nice, too, and I hoped that she wouldn't be able to tell that Yamame was a youkai. But at the same time, I didn't really want to drag Yamame all the way here just to look at a bookstore. That said, she might appreciate a few new books for her collection, but...

"Are you thinking too hard?" Yamame asked me sarcastically. "Don't worry, I'm happy with whatever you want to do." I shook my head and decided that Suzunaan was a fine choice. We proceeded down the rainy streets, and I wondered what the people in the pubs must have thought, since we didn't look all that much like a typical pair. I could only hope they'd explain us away as a funny little pair with weird fashion choices, though I refused to explain that phrasing to Yamame. Eventually, just as the rain was beginning to work its way into my sweater instead of my coat, I spotted Suzunaan. The paper lantern outside the door was fighting a valiant battle against the rain, though it already looked as it if was close to a decisive defeat.

I went to push my way through the flap covering the entrance, only for someone else to walk through from the other side, bumping into me. They were either massively strong or somewhat inhuman, I thought, because no regular villager would be able to push me back quite so hard just by walking into me, and yet I stumbled backwards, nearly fell over, and finally managed to regain my balance, sweeping my coat out behind me. "O-Oh my, it's you!" I heard a voice exclaim, and I looked up.

The girl had two long braids that stretched down her back, and she wore a grey coat that was perhaps even longer than my own. Over her head was a massive straw hat, and she had the distinctive long earlobes of a Jizo. More to the point, she was familiar. Miss Narumi! I hadn't seen her since our ill-fated date. She'd been frightened by the Horismriver Ensemble practicing in the Ruined Mansion off of the Misty Lake, and it had caused her to fall on top of me, which had caused some grievous bodily injuries that only the tender - or not so tender, it had turned out - mercies of Doctor Yagokoro could fix. I'd already been going to the sham that was my physical therapy sessions by then, so my memories of the time were still a little hazy.

Miss Narumi bowed deeply, and without really thinking, I reciprocated. "I haven't seen you in so long. And then, when I tried to find your house, someone from the café nearby said that you were dead!" I shook my head and told her that reports of my supposed death had been greatly exaggerated. "Ah, that's a relief. I was worried that you'd gotten yourself injured even worse than before." Miss Narumi looked over my shoulder, where Yamame had sort of shrunk against the wall as if she was trying to hide her presence. "Who's your friend? She's very pretty." I looked back and saw Yamame break her gaze to stare off at the ground. She was proving herself to be very weak to compliments on this trip, but it was very cute, so I simply took her hand and brought her to stand next to me. Since Miss Narumi wasn't exactly human either, I hoped that she would be at least somewhat amenable to the idea of Yamame in the village. I decided to err on the side of caution, so I simply introduced her as Yamame without mentioning her last name. "Hello, Miss Yamame." Miss Narumi said, bowing again. "I'm pleased to meet you."

>>19579483
sure I would love to be friend with narumi, she seem like a nice girl.

it about time yatadera narumi have her own thread

I like Naruko because she's a cute magician who's friends with Marisa.

>>17458174