/jp/ - Otaku Culture

I suddenly thought of a question, so I asked where Marisa had gotten to while all of this was going on. "Mari- Oh, she, uh, has some work she has to do, so she's not coming." That was about as enlightening as being attacked by Rumia, so I just stared at Tenshi and crossed my arms. "It's...really important work. Trust me." I said Tenshi's name sharply. "Nope, you'll get no answers from me. That routine would never work on a celestial." So, I said it again, but softly this time. And then I returned to staring, and finally, she broke. "Fine!" She huffed. "She got caught up in a turf war between the kappa and the yamawaro and...I think she's, uh, a prisoner of war. Sort of. I mean, she could probably just break out, but I think she's finding it...kind of funny. I don't know. I didn't really get it."

Reimu stared. I stared. Yamame even stared. Ran looked away, and Chen didn't really seem interested at all. Finally, Reimu turned in the direction of the Shrine and began walking away. "That is probably the weirdest response you could have given, seriously. What the hell does that even mean? She's a prisoner of war? No - You know what? I don't even want to know. I'll just make fun of her the next time she's here." Reimu reached the veranda outside her room and hopped up, then stepped inside and shut the door behind her, leaving the rest of us to stand around staring at each other.

"Well, shall we get to work?" Ran pointedly asked. "Chen?"

"Huh? Oh, er, yes, Lady Ran." Chen had been holding a box the whole time, which she offered to Tenshi now. "Here are your tools, Miss Celestial."

"Ex-celestial." Ran said automatically, as if she hadn't even realised that she was doing it.

"Oh, um, Miss ex-celestial." Chen corrected herself consciously. Tenshi stared at her with narrowed eyes, and I thought for a second I was about to have another fight on my hands, so I said her name in that Yamame-like tone, and she looked over at me and stuck her tongue out, then snatched the box and stomped off in the direction of the Shrine.

"Chen," Ran began, "Please go and ask Reimu if there's any work that you can do. I'll deal with the larger items."

Chen nodded seriously. "Understood, Lady Ran!" She turned and took off toward the Shrine, and I wondered if that would just lead to Reimu shouting at her. I hoped not. Still, that left Yamame, Ran and myself, and Yamame looked a little restless.

"I'm going to ask Miss Tenshi if she needs any help." Yamame declared as she turned to me. "Construction is...Well, my wheelhouse, really. I'm just wasted sitting around here when there's work that I could be doing - That I know how to do, no less. Don't worry, I'll only gossip about you a little bit." Yamame watched my mouth go up and down without any real noise coming out, then giggled. "You really are just too adorable." She told me." I couldn't really argue with that, though I wasn't sure what I would be doing if Yamame was off fixing the roof. "You're asking me that?" Yamame blankly looked at me. "I, er..." Finally, she seemed to come to a conclusion, and leaned in closer. "I think your sister could use some cheering up." She did? "Oh, yes. "When you have as many sister as I do, you get used to picking up on the nuances in their moods." With that, Yamame pulled me down for a kiss, which was very nice, then took off in a jog toward the Shrine, calling out to Tenshi.

Which, finally, left Ran and I alone again. Ran, it seemed, still didn't feel like she'd cleared the air properly, because she spoke up first. "I need to apologize." I glanced over at her with a furrowed brow. She already had, hadn't she? "Yes, but - An apology is meaningless if you don't understand why it is necessary." I frowned, saying that I'd thought that revealing further details were against Ran's orders. "Some, but not all. I told you, for example, that Lady Hearn is busy with preparations for her hibernation in Winter, but I didn't tell you exactly what her preparations consisted of." Was she going to? "Not in detail, no, but I will explain in brief. Each year, at the beginning of Winter, Lady Hearn begins to compile a list. This list is a series of tasks that must be carried out before the beginning of Spring. I, and Chen by extension, are the beneficiaries of this list. The burden of running Gensokyo remains on my shoulders until Lady Hearn returns." I slowly nodded, but I didn't particularly understand it. "The list has grown...More complex, as time has gone by. I tell you this only so you will understand that I am under a great deal of stress. And then, I was informed by Lady Hearn that I was to come and obtain a report on the Eientei Investigation from you, when I am already busy enough."

Yamame is helping build city