/jp/ - Otaku Culture

The second morning at the Shrine dawned cold and sunny, just as the previous day had. This time, I woke up to Reimu trying to kick me in the shins, but failing because Yamame's legs had slipped across me and were blocking Reimu from moving. She was glaring at me. "Why do you always hug so - so tight!?" She growled at me. "And now I've got your girlfriend blocking my legs, so I couldn't even wake you up!" I blinked the sleep from my eyes. Was it really that bad to sleep in once in a while? "Well...No, I guess not. You're so lucky I like you." I know, said I. "But seriously, I do need to get up. The courtyard needs sweeping and I need to check that no tanuki came and stuffed the offertory box full of leaves again. I sighed heavily and arduously, since I was quite enjoying having the three of us just lying here, but Reimu clearly wasn't budging, so I tried to release my arms, only to find that Yamame's grip on my upper arms was causing me problems.

"Are you...Uh, okay?" Reimu slowly asked me when she saw me struggling. I explained the problem. "Is this normal with spiders?" She asked blankly, and I tried to shrug. Maybe? I wasn't exactly an expert. Fortunately, I did have a solution. I was just about able to free my arms enough for Reimu to free her arms, so I told her to gently, but firmly, squeeze Yamame's shoulders, like a massage. "That works?" Reimu asked me disbelievingly. I nodded. Like a charm. It was like Reimu's reaction to having the nape of her neck touched. "Wh- Shut up!" Reimu told me, looking a little scandalized. I give her a slightly smug smile, then told her to go ahead. Shaking her head, Reimu managed to get her arms over my shoulders and, looking a little confused by the whole thing, squeezed Yamame's shoulder.

As expected, it worked, and Yamame let out a long sigh and loosened her grip. I nodded for Reimu to keep going, and after a few more moments, Yamame finally released my arms properly, and Reimu was able to drag herself free and stumble to her feet. "Good thing I didn't drink last night. That would've been a disaster." I tried not to imagine that, and instead turned my head to look at Yamame, who was still fast asleep. "Stay there, if you want. I'll even refrain from throwing a pillow at you." Thanks, I said dryly. Yamame had a meeting planned today, so we had to be in the village before mid-day, which also meant that we'd probably need to go back to Yamame's house to get her some slightly more nondescript clothing. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea..." Reimu scratched her head. "As long as you're not too obvious, you should be fine. I'll only have to do something if someone's being a nuisance." I nodded and told Reimu that we'd behave ourselves. "I might be down there today, anyway. I could do with some shopping for winter." Reimu nodded and stretched. "Ugh, shouldn't have slept in my clothes..." She groaned. "Alright, er...Guess I'll see you in a bit?" She nodded awkwardly and left, pushing the door open and exhaling sharply. "Oh, it's really cold now." She shivered, then stepped back inside. "Winter clothes, winter clothes..." She muttered to herself as she walked past us and off down the corridor toward her wardrobe. I decided that I'd take Reimu's advice and stay here for a while longer, so I turned to Yamame, who had rolled over in her sleep, and wrapped my arms around her waist and held her closer, until I fell asleep again too.

And when I woke up, it was Yamame trying to get me to release my arms. "You - You snake! I'm a youkai - I shouldn't be struggling to..." She trailed off when she heard me shifting. "Uh." She told me intelligently. "Hi?" Hi, I said, seizing the opportunity to hold her tighter. "Your - Um, Reimu said that we should probably be going soon if we're going to get to the village on time." I sighed and released her, asking if we couldn't just stay here all day. "Lovely as that sounds…" Yamame rolled over onto her back and flicked me in the forehead, "It's work, so...No." She got to her feet and offered a hand to me. Taking it, she pulled me up with only a little effort. "Plus, I'd rather lie in bed with you at home anyway." She leaned in and dropped her voice to that low, husky tone. "Where I can wear as little as I want." My eyes widened and I looked down at her. She giggled and slapped me on the shoulder. "Don't get too excited!" She exclaimed, heading for the door and leaving me standing there and staring at her. "Now, come on. I need to get changed if we're going to the village!"