/jp/ - Otaku Culture

"There. Spin?" Yamame told me, and I obliged. "Much better. You could still knock over a fairy with it, but you won't be dragging it along the floor anymore. How are the sleeves? Too short? Too long?" I raised my arms to inspect the craftsmanship of the sleeves. I didn't exactly have any specialist knowledge, so all I could really say was that they looked nice. A few buttons had appeared along the ends, but they seemed more decorative than anything, because I wasn't sure what occasion I would ever have to roll the coat's sleeves up instead of just taking the whole thing off. The white turtleneck sweater was comfortable, the trousers fit - and I had started to get used to them being tighter than what we in the village usually wore, just as Yamame had said - and the scarf was warm, though it did seem to trail down my back quite a bit. Yamame assured me that it looked just fine, so I trusted in her word. "What about the collar? Are the shoulders still too tight?" I hadn't felt anything when I crossed my arms, so I pushed them as far in as I could and was pleased to feel little tightness from the coat. I shook my head and told Yamame that they felt just fine. "Okay, that's good. I was worried since a mistake there would be hard to fix." Happily, it seemed that it wouldn't be necessary.

"Okay...Well, I suppose that's that. One outfit down, even if it's...not what I would have picked." I already knew that Yamame had little idea what sort of clothing was actually good for someone like me to wear, so I let her complain about my fashion sense as much as she needed to. "Now, let's start looking at some of the others. I've got enough material in enough colours here to make a rainbow jealous, since Miss Hecatia told me that she had plenty to spare." I'd been curious about what exactly Lady Hecatia had wanted from Yamame in exchange for all the material she had supplied, and the answer had turned out to be exactly in line with what I expected. She wanted Yamame as a consultant and to produce some clothing for her. Maybe it would be the start of Hecatia's brand becoming popular in Gensokyo.

I wasn't looking forward to another day of torture, trying on outfit after outfit, and it seemed that my luck wasn't interested either, because it manifested as a knock on the door. "Kurodani?" Reimu's voice called. "You home?"

"Oh, for the love of- Yes, Hakurei!?" Yamame muttered before yelling down to Reimu. I waited until she'd stalked past me, then breathed a silent sigh of relief. I could handle one outfit for now, and I needed a while longer before I was willing to sit - or stand, rather - through another clothes fitting session. "I've just managed to get one of these outfits done, and now you're getting in the way!"

"Too bad!" Reimu shouted from outside, clearly not content with Yamame blaming her for anything. I pulled on and laced up the boots that had come with the outfit, then tucked the hat under my arm and carefully dropped down to the lower floor, landing gently on the wooden floorboards. "Something's come up, so I need to drag my idiot brother back!" Yamame sighed irritably and pulled the door open, where Reimu stood with her gohei over her shoulder. It seemed longer than usual, and I realised that I'd never even thought to ask how she was keeping it up her sleeve. Maybe she had multiple? "Oh, good. There you a-" She trailed off and stared at me. Then, she let out a short laugh and doubled over slightly, slapping her knee with the free hand. "Ha! That colour suits you!" I raised my arms and shrugged, then said that I'd have been foolish to not make use of a master seamstress. "I'll say. Maybe I'll have to take you up on your services, too." This, Reimu said to Yamame, who shrugged.

"You can, but it's not going to be free." Yamame looked more interested in examining her fingernails than Reimu, but at least it was better than the outright disdain the two had been showing each other before whatever their talk yesterday had accomplished. "He's a special case."

"Not even a family discount?" Reimu asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I could increase the price."

"Pfft. Funny." Reimu looked back to me. "Sorry to pull you in from your..." She vaguely gestured around the house, "...Recovery, but I need you." She fixed me with a stare, and I got the sense that she was trying to tell me something. I had a feeling I knew what it was about, so I turned to Yamame and asked her if she was okay with me going.

"You're not trapped here, believe it or not." I did find it slightly hard to believe, since it was almost like Yamame was running me so ragged that I couldn't find the energy or inclination to leave. "Feel free to go if your dear sister needs you." She stepped over to me, grabbed the collar of my new coat, and dragged me down so she could kiss me without having to get on her tiptoes. "Do come back sooner than last time, please." She murmured into my ear as she released me. "I just might start missing you."