/jp/ - Otaku Culture

Yamame was seemingly torn between trying to intervene or not. While I doubted that Shuuten-douji would kill me, I wouldn't call the experience pleasant, so I managed to choke out that Ibaraki-douji needed help, and then just about managed to gasp Lady Kasen's name, though I don't think Yamame heard it. Immediately, the oni dropped me to the floor, and I coughed violently as Yamame rushed to my side and helped me up. "Hm. How about that? You're not lying. What's that girl done now?" Still trying to catch my breath, I explained in still somewhat vague terms that she needed to talk to one of her oni friends.

"Is that right? I've been watching her from time to time. She's still just like she was back then. A real oni can accept herself for her best and worst." That was the sort of thing I was hoping that hearing from an oni might help to make Lady Kasen feel better. "Are you vouching for him, tsuchigumo?" Shuuten-douji asked, looking at Yamame. After a moment, she nodded. "Good, glad to see you've got some guts. Your family's been responsible for repairing the Hot Springs, right?" Yamame nodded again. "Nice, nice~ The underground thanks you!" She looked back at me, then clapped me on the shoulder hard enough to drop me to one knee. "Arm?" She asked me, with no elaboration. Arm, I replied. "Got it, loud and clear." Then, she looked back out of the tunnel and over to the Hot Springs Town with annoyance. "I need to beat the smugness out of Yuugi, but I'll definitely go and visit poor old Ibaraki later. Name's Suika, by the way. Suika Ibuki." Not Shuuten-douji, then. I offered her my greetings and thanked her for her help. "Don't thank me yet. I might just beat the hell out of her, after all." I supposed that was possible, but at least I'd be pitting an oni against an oni in that situation rather than any of us poor humans or regular youkai. It might be what she needs, anyway. Reimu had suggested it. "That's always that girl's first suggestion as soon as ignoring the problem's off the table. No wonder it took her so long to confront Zanmu again..." Before I could ask her just what had happened in the land ownership incident, Suika Ibuki nodded at Yamame and I again, then punched her fist straight into the wall next to her, emerging with a massive chunk of stone. She began to walk down the tunnel toward the Hot Spring town again. "Good to finally meet you." She said to me. "Reimu's mentioned you a few times." Automatically, I went to ask what exactly Reimu had been saying about me, but before I could, the oni roared so loud that I had to cover my ears instead. "Yuugi! Don't think you're through with me that easily! You alone could never stand against my phantom hordes!" She hurled the rock with such strength that I found myself pushed back against the wall along with Yamame, then gave us a sharp-toothed grin before launching herself out of the tunnel so fast that it left a crater in the floor. In the distance, I heard a roaring laugh, followed by the sound of several blows being exchanged.

Yamame sighed. "Oni. Even the nicest are still like that." She had me raise my head and looked at my neck. "...No, looks like you'll be fine." That was good at least. I heard another crash from the direction of the Hot Spring Town, followed by a large splash. "Ugh. There goes any hope of this work being finished soon." Yamame rubbed her forehead. "Probably just destroyed half of what we've rebuilt, too..." I patted her on the shoulder, wondering if she should be more worried about her sisters getting injured. "No? I mean, we've all done plenty of working around oni in the past, so we're used to that. It's just annoying, more than anything else." It'd be nice if I could say that I was more annoyed about oni ruining my work than killing me. "Well, I don't think you'll want to try and go to the Hot Springs Town right now, then." It certainly didn't look too safe. "Should we go back, then?" Personally, I thought, that sounded just as dangerous. I could only drink so much water in a day. "We could do another outfit!" Yamame told me, rather excitedly, which didn't have me particularly enthused either. But, I decided, there were clearly worse things to be doing. Like repairing the Hot Springs. At least doing another outfit wouldn't have me on the verge of passing out.

Feeling like I'd put some good progress toward resolving one problem, Yamame and I began to head back through the tunnels, picking our way over the rubble where Suika had landed face-first in the wall. On the way, Yamame told me all about the new ideas she'd thought up for clothing.

Eientei loomed in my very near future, but at least I'd be well-dressed when I arrived.

>>20511559
The answer was that simple all along!

I'm horrible at almost every touhou game and I want to die.