/jp/ - Otaku Culture

"That's good, Piece." Lady Hecatia said soothingly. "Now...You're a Gensokyo native, aren't you?" She said to Miss Yuuka, her tone growing decidedly frostier. "I should think that you know a thing or two about the rules you ought to be obeying, yeah?" She stepped slightly closer. "It's, like, super important." There it was again. The blue Lady Hecatia had a decidedly calmer personality, but she still had the strange speech patterns. "Because...If you don't, I just might have to cause a little incident."

"Is that right?" Miss Yuuka murmured, her eyes narrowing slightly. I wasn't sure, but I thought that I saw the flicker of a smile cross her face. Or excitement. "And what makes you think I'd be scared of a little incident? Even a big incident will pass me by like a Summer breeze." She tilted her head. "I take it that you have some relation to Hell?" She eyed Lady Hecatia's T-shirt. "As this curious thing you are wearing supposes."

Lady Hecatia's posture suddenly changed. It was subtle, but I imagined that to Miss Yuuka, it was incredibly obvious. Suddenly, the relaxation was gone. Suddenly, she stood just slightly straighter. Suddenly, her eyes were slightly narrower. "The goddess of Hell, Miss Flower Youkai." Lady Hecatia said sharply. "Now, I will ask you once more to hand my subordinate over to me. After that, I'll get a little...Insistent." I looked over my shoulder and noticed that some of the crowd was starting to pause to watch. They could feel it in the air. I could feel it, and looking over at Yamame, I could tell that she felt it too. There was an energy, a sort of nervous excitement that could only come from a meeting between two powerhouses like Lady Hecatia and Yuuka Kazami.

Get Reimu, I urgently whispered in Yamame's ear. Marisa, Tenshi, or Lady Kasen and Raki, if it was possible. Anyone that could potentially put things to rest between Miss Yuuka and Lady Hecatia before they put the grounds of the Shrine, and probably anyone still on them, to rest. Permanently. "Huh? But-" I looked at her, then pointed at the two in the square. That, I whispered, would probably cause irreversible damage if not contained. "...Yeah, I suppose so." Yamame muttered. "What about you? Come with me; I don't like the idea of leaving you with them if they're about to come to blows." I'd be fine, I replied. And Yamame was faster than me, so she'd be better off trying to get Reimu over here. "...Okay. Um, stay safe and - I don't know, try and keep them from fighting?" I nodded and hugged her, and she took off back toward the courtyard.

Meanwhile, Lady Hecatia and Miss Yuuka's standoff was starting to grow in intensity. The other fairies were backing off, one with long and straight black hair who looked like she wanted to stay and watch being pulled back by another with curling blonde hair and a white dress, while another with orange hair stood further back. "It's interesting, isn't it?" Miss Yuuka said, her eyes shining in excitement. "That someone who's presence in Gensokyo is like that of a newborn could try and make demands of someone who was old before this entire world was a twinkle in Yakumo's eye." Here, I felt like we were rapidly reaching a point of no return. Fearing slightly for my life, I stepped forward hesitantly, then tried to call to Miss Yuuka and ask her if it would be possible to tone down the hostilities. "Sometimes, reputations must be upheld." Miss Yuuka said to me. She reached up and plucked Clownpiece from her shoulders, then handed her over to me. Not entirely sure how to take that, I placed the fairy on her feet, and she looked between the two with narrowed eyes.

"Piece?" Lady Hecatia said. "I think I've just found some good material. Yep, this could be totally fun." She cast a sideways glance at the fairy. "Wanna join?"

"Um..." Clownpiece looked between the two. "Maybe not this time." She finally said. Lady Hecatia nodded, then turned to Miss Yuuka again, who had folded her arms and taken on an impassive stare that made her look like a statue. "Even I'm not enough of a lunatic to pick a fight with her..." She mumbled as she backed away. I started to think that she might have a point.

"Now, I think I'll have to play with you. Just a little." Lady Hecatia whispered. "And...You totally insulted me just now." Suddenly, I knew that Clownpiece had a point. Lady Hecatia's voice had changed. It had dropped, darker and deeper. I'd thought that her T-shirt was probably her berserk button. Now I knew for sure. "For that, and that alone, I'll drop you straight into Hell." The aura around the two was deadly now.