/jp/ - Otaku Culture

"...It does that?" Reimu asked, sounding bemused. Finally, I reached the end of the veranda and stepped off onto the ground below. The pond was situated behind the Hall of Worship, and Reimu's living space was to the side of it, so it left a fairly large open space at the back of the Shrine, which I supposed was what Reimu used for parties. Now, though, it was being used for laundry, because Reimu had set two large poles up, tied a string between then, and hung my coat over it. It looked like she'd cleaned it up slightly, which I was thankful for. "Ah, there you are!" She called, seeing me. "And Tenshi's here too, excel-!" But that was as far as she got before I had walked up to her and wrapped my arms around her tightly, which made her squeak, and after a moment, she let me hug her. I didn't really know why I had felt like doing that, but Reimu had slightly pink cheeks by the time I pulled away. "Right. Er, yes. Thanks." She mumbled, nodding her head over and over.

"How cute." I hear Tenshi mutter, though Yamame didn't say anything. I looked over at her. She was sat on the edge of the Hall of Worship's veranda, and Tenshi was there too, but a little further away and leaning against the veranda rather than sitting on it. Yamame gave me a comforting smile, so I decided to go and hug her as well, for good measure. She hugged me back tightly, and I almost didn't feel like letting go, though I managed eventually. "So, are we all getting hugs?" Tenshi asked, and I looked over at her and told her that she'd already gotten one. "Yeah, but they're nice." Which was true, I supposed, so I went and hugged her as well.

Finally, I was done and could look back over to Reimu and find out what was going on. "Done?" She asked me, and I nodded. "Good. So, your coat should be fine. I asked Yamame and she said that most stains should just come off with water, so that's good."

"Yes." Yamame said, getting up from the veranda. " Yes, it's...Well, I'll leave it at 'it'll clean up well', I suppose. "I made it to be durable, after all." It certainly seemed to be, and I was grateful as always. "Y-Yes, um, you're welcome." Yamame stammered slightly.

"Oh, can you two get any cuter?" I heard Tenshi mutter under her breath. "Right, so, I am nothing if not magnanimous, and I did lose our little bet, so..." Tenshi pushed away from the veranda and wondered over to Reimu. "What exactly are we doing to the Shrine?" Reimu opened her mouth, so Tenshi cut her off. "No keystones, I heard you the first time." She lazily said. "I'm sure you don't want Yakumo destroying the place again."

"That was your fault, because you put the keystone in without asking, and furthermore-!" Reimu began, and Tenshi sighed, then put her hand over Reimu's mouth until she gave up. "Fine. You can start by patching up the leaks in the ceiling." She muttered, turning and stomping off in the direction of the Hakurei Shrine's storage facility. "I think I've got some supplies left..." Before she could disappear, I yelled after her asking what she wanted me to do. "Sliding door!" She yelled back, not stopping, and a moment later, both her and Tenshi were out of sight. For whatever baffling reason, the Shrine's storage facility was located a distance from the actual Shrine itself, and if you were to get anything from it, you had to walk all the way around to reach it. Flying could mitigate some of that, but I couldn't imagine that every person to live on the Shrine's grounds could fly, which only made it more baffling.

"Sliding door?" Yamame repeated curiously, and I turned to her and paused when I saw her drinking a cup of tea. "What?" She asked me, and I pointed at the tea. "Huh?" She blankly looked at it, then back at me. "Oh! Er, Reimu offered to make me some." Never offered me any, I muttered under my breath. "Aw, but you were busy." Yamame smiled and patted the space next to her. "We can share." Smiling to myself, I did take a seat beside her, and she passed me the cup. I took a sip and sighed. Reimu's tea-making skills really were unrivalled. Passing the cup back to Yamame, I asked her how she was doing. "Fine, fine." She told me. "You're quite the worrier. I told you what would happen if I got cold, and the next thing I knew, I was falling and suddenly Reimu caught me. I had no idea what was happening!" I blushed slightly and looked down, mumbling something about how I'd been a little panicked about her getting worse. "I know, and it's very sweet of you." She patted my cheek, and I did feel better about it. "So, it looks like we're stuck here for a while." She spoke. "Well, I'm not having you leave your big sister alone in a cold and draughty shrine, and I don't want to leave you alone either, so I'd rather we both stay as long as Reimu is okay with it."