/jp/ - Otaku Culture

And then, my usual luck kicked in. "Freeze, punk." I heard a feminine voice, clearly used to speaking at a higher pitch but trying to force it as low as possible, spoke sharply, and I felt something prodding me in the back. "Hands above your head." Slowly, wondering just what I'd gotten myself into this time, I raised my hands. "No sudden movements, y'hear?" Slowly, I nodded. "Now, I got some questions for you, so how about you come on down to the station with me..." At that, I finally felt my curiosity win out and turned my head so I could try and see over my shoulder. "I said freeze, dirtbag!" But my incredulity was now the winning part, because I found myself turning just slightly, so I could see her better. Mostly out of general confusion and disbelief at the absolutely absurdity that was now unfolding.

There was a girl in front of me. She was tiny, coming somewhere above my navel but not quite up to my chest. Nai-sized, I supposed. And, she looked like royalty. Her kimono was a rich purple - always a difficult colour to acquire and usually a sign of wealth - and had curious patterns stitched into it that somewhat reminded me of a flower. Her hair was a rich red, tied into a large ponytail at the back, yet somehow still managing to stick up in every direction at the front. Her eyes were also red, and looked like she was enjoying this whole thing way too much.

"That's it, buddy!" She yelled, then actually pounced at me. Actually pounced! I was still struggling to process it when she landed on my back. Despite her size, she was stronger than she looked, and she was hitting me in the head, so even though I had the overwhelming height and weight advantage, I did find myself stumbling. Eventually, I stumbled just a little too much and tripped, crashing into the floor on my stomach with a cheer of excitement from the tiny redhead. "I'm arresting you for obstruction of justice and resisting arrest! Get your hands behind your back!" I could probably have just...Stood up, but I didn't seem to be in any immediate danger and I somewhat doubted that this girl was going to hurt me all that much, so I decided to oblige her and then let out a few noises of discomfort when she pulled my wrists closer together behind my back. When I felt some sort of cold metal press against my wrists, and then realised that I couldn't actually pull my arms apart, I started to feel a little concerned, but at that point, I really didn't have much say in the whole situation. "Alright, get up!" The girl who I was starting to think was a little crazy shouted at me.

It was a bit of a struggle without the use of my hands, but I managed to struggle up to my feet eventually, the girl watching me with crossed arms. "I'm taking you in for interrogation, you crook! No funny business or I might just have to haul you in after you've been knocked out!" I somewhat doubted that she'd actually succeed at that threat, but I decided to just let things progress. I'd never heard of anything like this in the village before, and the girl was definitely human and probably young, so I figured I'd just play along and hope I ran into Reimu along the way so she could free me. I couldn't shout for Yamame even though I was right next to the café, since the crazy girl would probably attack me again.

And in a way, I supposed that it was good news for me that no one seemed particularly bothered by the sight of me stumbling through the village with my hands cuffed behind my back and a girl barely even half my size shouting at me to stop resisting as she stepped on the back of my shoes to make me trip every now and then. Some people looked with a sort of sympathetic smile, a couple laughed, and one or two drunken old men stepping out of the pub shouted for her to give me hell. I decided to ignore that particular set of comments and hope that the other comments meant that this was something a regular and non-threatening occurrence. Still, I couldn't say it wasn't embarrassing. "I've been wanting to have a little chat with you." She was speaking as she pushed me on through the village, making no attempts to spare me any embarrassment as I was seen by more and more people. "Apprehending suspicious characters are part of what being a good police officer is about, after all. And you're the most suspicious character I've ever heard of!" By this point, we were back to being somewhere near the temple, and as we passed through the market again, I saw that the stall which Koishi had manned was still empty.