/jp/ - Otaku Culture

It was a significantly more dehydrated version of myself who staggered out of the room an indeterminate amount of time later. I was sweaty, still breathing heavily, and I didn't think I would be quite capable of wiping the smile from my face for a while. I'd managed to pull my trousers on, but they had sustained a large rip near the bottom which I didn't have particularly high hopes of sewing up. Fortunately, I was in the company of an extremely skilled seamstress, so I hoped that she would be able to accomplish some sort of miracle. I stumbled into the kitchen and located some water, and after a long drink I let out an even longer satisfied sigh. "Hey, you want something to eat?" Yamame asked me, leaning against the door with her arms crossed. She'd pulled her shorts on, the same ones that I'd seen her wearing when she'd been injured, but had left her top half entirely bare, which I found to be very pleasing to look at. She had pulled her hair up into her ribbon, though it was more like the sort of ponytail that Reimu wore than the usual bun that Yamame had. I shrugged and said that I didn't typically need much food. "But that doesn't mean none, does it?" She pushed away from the door and padded toward me, then began to rummage through the cupboards. "Rice crackers? Hmm...Oranges? I've got some sort of snack from the kappa bazaars here, but - Uh, no, let's not go with that, actually. Meat? There should be some rice around here." After a moment, I placed my hand on the small of her back. "What about - Oh!" She jumped slightly, but stood back up. Oranges were fine, I said.

For a moment, it looked like we were about to fall into a repeat of the night, but my luck-or-lack-thereof finally kicked in, because there was a knock at the door. Yamame's eyes narrowed and she stared at me severely. She poked me in the chest. "If that's-"
"Hello?" Called the voice of Reimu Hakurei. "You in there, Tsuchigumo?"

I'd been expecting my luck to cause something like this for a while, so I wasn't all that surprised, though I did pull Yamame into a hug when she looked equal parts dismayed and annoyed. Quietly, I recommended that Yamame put some clothes on, because I doubted that Reimu would wait forever. I quickly found my own clothes, pulled them on, then pulled out the blanket that Yamame had given me earlier and carried it out to the chair, where I sat down and threw it over myself. Yamame stomped out after a moment, having switched the button-up black shirt for a black turtleneck, and threw the door open, looking every bit the annoyed youkai. "What, Hakurei?" She crossed her arms. "Come back to attack me again?"

"What?" Reimu sounded slightly perplexed. "Oh, er, no. I was just-" She spotted me, wrapped up in blankets, and stared blankly for a moment, then tried to rush forward, only to find Yamame's arm slamming into the doorframe before she could get through. "Do you want me to?" She asked, her voice dropping to something slightly more dangerous as she raised her arm which I knew was where she kept her gohei strapped to her sleeve.

"No." Yamame said, but didn't elaborate. After a moment, I knew that Reimu would never figure it out. Reimu, I called tiredly. Just say you're sorry.

"Sorry for wh-" Reimu began blankly, but when I fixed her with a stare that Lady Kasen would have been proud of, she stopped. "Oh. Um, right." She took in a deep breath. "I...am sorry, for attacking you." I raised an eyebrow and saw her clench her jaw. "In your home. It was uncalled for." I wasn't entirely sure on the sincerity, but it was a start. Yamame seemed to recognize that, too.

"Never thought I'd hear the day that the Hakurei Shrine Maiden apologized for attacking someone." Yamame muttered dryly. Now, I called her name in that same tone Yamame had once used on Nai. "Yes, fine, thank you. I accept your apology and I hope you accept mine. It was wrong of me to inflict a disease on you in my home." To be honest, both apologies felt like false sincerity at best and veiled threats at worst, but I'd take it for now. Finally, Yamame removed her hand and allowed Reimu to enter. She came to a halt in front of me. "I figured you'd do something stupid." She told me, a deadpan look on her face. "Cold?" She asked, and I shrugged and nodded. "You're an idiot." Everyone had been saying that to me lately. "Good. Maybe you'll stop if I say it long enough. What were you thinking?" Thought I could handle it, I mumbled. "Clearly that peach didn't do much for your intelligence." I asked her if she was angry. "Disappointed. I thought you'd have put some more thought into this." That, somehow, did make me feel worse, so I mumbled an apology, feeling a little despondent.