/jp/ - Otaku Culture

I supposed I could understand that. I'd definitely felt like I was a bit overwhelmed with things I needed to do before, and I knew how exhausting it could feel. Then, Ran looked away. "There's - Another reason. It's nearly Winter, and I'll..." She trailed off, then shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. That's not your business and I shouldn't be talking about it. Just forgot I said anything." I decided not to try and push her this time, especially after her previous outburst. Instead, I told her that I still accepted her apology and I was just glad that she was here at all. "Yes. Well, it's for Reimu's benefit too." Ran's reply was somewhat stiff. "I'd best get to work." She said, slipping her hands back into the opposite sleeve and stepping past me. "I fear I do not understand why Lady Hearn is so interested in you." She told me as she passed, "However, she seems to approve of your relationship with Reimu, and I believe that she would like you to continue staying close to her." I turned to ask her just what she had meant by that, but she was already passing me by and heading off through one of her gaps in reality. I could see the corresponding gap where she would emerge before she even stepped into it, which made me wonder what the point was beside showing off.

Now finally on my own, I decided to follow Yamame's advice and headed for Reimu's room, wondering if Reimu was really doing as poorly as I dreaded. As I got there, Chen walked out. "Oh!" She seemed a little startled at practically running into me. "Oh, um, sorry, Miss Yamame's human. Reimu told me to begin repairing the veranda damage." She nodded as she spoke, and I told her to take care. "I will! I'm good at avoiding danger! And I've done this before." She looked very proud of herself, so I told her to get going while I went to speak with Reimu. Chen gave me a serious nod, then set about examining some damage I'd seen to the veranda closer to the second room of the Shrine's living quarters. I, meanwhile, stepped into Reimu's rooms and slid the door behind me shut.

Reimu was lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Her legs were underneath the table, and she'd grabbed my coat from outside on her way in and laid it over herself. She tilted her head just slightly to look over at me, then looked back at the ceiling. "Hi." Was all she said. I slowly came over and sat down next to her, then pulled my coat up slightly more so that it came up to her chin. With its length, it still easily covered her whole body. I asked her if she was cold. "A bit. Your coat is warmer than my futon."

Ran could probably get her a new one, I said. She seemed happy enough to do whatever Reimu needed her to do. "Yeah, I guess. I could probably get her to give me something better, but it's just...It feels like pity. I know, I know. I live off of donations - what little there are - and everything, but every Winter, Ran shows up and does all this, and it just reminds me that there's not really anyone else." Anyone else? "Yeah, like...I've got friends, I guess, but most of them are youkai and the few humans are too busy with their own things. I haven't seen Kosuzu - The, uh, clerk from Suzunaan, if you didn't know - for...I'm not sure. Years? Maybe. Even Marisa hasn't shown up here lately." I was feeling a little worried about Reimu now, so I decided that the best thing to do would be to join her until she felt better. So, I stood, dragged out the futon's blanket, despite Reimu's earlier words about it being not all that warm, and dropped it on top of her. "Wh-Oof!" She grunted as it landed on her, and I crouched down to unfurl the blanket properly. In the end, I decided to just leave it running over the top of the table, and then I joined Reimu underneath both the blanket and my coat. "What are you doing?" She asked me as if I was crazy.

I grabbed hold of her hand and squeezed. She wasn't alone, and there was someone else. I was here for her and I always would be. I considered her family. That meant something to me. And it wasn't just me. Yamame was warming up to Reimu considerably after the time we had spent together at Lady Kasen's dojo, and I was certain that Marisa still cared plenty about Reimu, and now Tenshi was becoming less like an antagonistic force and more like a frustrating friend. "Well - Um, okay." Reimu mumbled. "I consider you family too." She continued, finally turning her head to face me. Reimu had mentioned some of her childhood to me before, and it had mostly consisted of her being alone, at least until Incidents had really started to become a thing and she'd been up to her ears in youkai coming to visit the Shrine. "Maybe I'm just feeling sorry for myself. Winter blues or something." She turned her gaze back to the ceiling, so I sighed and joined her. "Everyone seems to have someone." She said listlessly.