/jp/ - Otaku Culture

Lady Kasen then explained to me that while I was staying here, I would have to undergo some training. "You ate a Heavenly Peach, which means you've shifted just a little beyond ordinary humanity. Your life span will have changed, as will your general durability." I hadn’t known about any of that. She raised her bandaged arm, one finger outstretched. "Many cultures have had their own concepts of something that grants immortality. The Norse gods, with their golden apple. The Greeks, with Ambrosia, to name a few. The Celestials of Heaven eat nothing but peaches every day. They are very secretive about their peaches, and as a certain manipulative youkai I know would put it, they don't want anyone ascending to Heaven." I didn’t really know who the Norse or the Greeks were, but I decided not to derail her. I told her that I wasn't really concerned about ascending to Heaven, because I had mostly just been a bit hungry when I had eaten it.
Before Lady Kasen could respond, I heard a growling sound as something passed by the door outside. I asked Lady Kasen what it was, and she told me that it was just one of her pets. I'd already spotted a second, even more massive eagle earlier that morning, who Lady Kasen had introduced as Kume. He was old, and Kanda, the eagle who Reimu, Marisa and I had followed to the dojo, was his replacement. He didn't seem very interested in me, but Lady Kasen told me that he was just being grumpy. Sometimes I wished I was a simple animal. Then my biggest worries would be no more than when I was going to get my next meal. I poked my head out of the door, wondering what it could be, and before I could react, something large, striped and on four legs bounded into me, knocking me to the floor as it went past. I rolled over onto my back and looked up, finding myself shocked as I watched a massive tiger nuzzle against Lady Kasen's leg. "Ah, this is Houso. I brought him on to guard the dojo while I'm away. He's very gentle as long as you don't attack first. Isn't that right?" The giant tiger growled in what I assumed was agreement, though I couldn't help but feel a little concerned either way. I hadn’t even known that there were tigers around here. As Lady Kasen scratched Houso behind the ears, I wondered just what kind of person I had decided to stay with. Maybe I would have been better off asking Yamame if I could stay with her.
Eventually, Lady Kasen got around to explaining what exactly the training that I would be doing while I was here was. I would undergo some ascetic training, but would not need to pursue the more rigorous training that Hermits went through unless I really needed or wanted to. Reimu would visit from time to time, to fill Lady Kasen and myself in on any updates to the investigation. If I wanted to leave, I could, as it was assumed that anyone who was keeping tabs on me wouldn't know that I was on the mountain. At the same time, I would have to be very careful if I went to the village, or I might risk catching someone's attention.
I noticed, when I had a chance to see Lady Kasen's kitchens, that there were several sweet things stashed in various hiding spots. I wondered what they were all doing there, because I thought that hermits were able to subsist of mist. That was one of the few things I had gotten right when Lady Kasen had asked what I knew about hermits. Did Lady Kasen really need all of this sugar? During my tour of the upper floors, I also noticed a strange, rectangular box sitting upon a shelf in Lady Kasen's rooms, but when my attention lingered on it just a little too long, Lady Kasen quickly shooed me out. It had strangely felt like it was calling out to me. On my way back to my new room, after the tour, I turned a corner and happened to find myself frozen in place. In front of me, sniffing and hopping across the corridor, was an ordinary rabbit. It was nothing special. Just a simple rabbit, probably looking for food. But suddenly, I wasn't in Lady Kasen's dojo.

>>36699540
But Kasen likes Animals and I want her to like me, so acting like one should make her like me.