/jp/ - Otaku Culture

"I've apologised." She replied. "And I'll make it up to you. You know I will." Will...How? How? Oh, this was becoming a nightmare.

"Wedding!" Reimu finally shouted in a strangled voice. "Here to tell you to - I mean, here to invite you to the wedding! Officially, I mean!" She breathed in and out heavily for a moment afterward, so I decided to simply confirm what she'd said more clearly.

"Wow, you're moving quick, aren't you?" Tenshi said, placing her bowl to the side. I hadn't noticed, but she'd served herself a significantly smaller portion than she had for Marisa. I supposed, just like me, she had a strange appetite. "Or...Well, I suppose it's not that quick, actually. Especially for you two. Never seen two people more head-over-heels for each other." I blushed slightly and looked away while Reimu muttered something about looking at another pair just like that right now. "So...What's the plan? I've not been to the Shrine recently." It was sort of a shame, I thought, because Tenshi and I had been really close during the Eientei Investigation and then I'd been side-tracked with Yamame and she'd been side-tracked with Marisa, so we hadn't seen each other much recently.

Either way, I got to business. April fourth, I said. We would be getting married in the Garden of the Sun. "Garden of the Sun? That's, uh, Yuuka's territory, you know? Are you sure about that?" Wait, surely Marisa knew that I'd met her, right? "Er...I think you mentioned something about that? What, did you make friends with her?" I...Supposed so. She was quite nice now that I'd gotten to know her. "That's not something I expected to hear about Yuuka Kazami today." Marisa replied softly. "Well...Reimu, is that for real?"

"Seems to be." Reimu replied, scratching a cheek. "I thought it was a bit weird, too, but he does have a knack for befriending youkai." I laughed awkwardly. "Anyway, it seems that she was the one who asked them to host the wedding there, from the way he described it." Yeah, I added. She thought that holding it under the peach tree would be particularly striking.

"Under - Wait, under the peach tree. The..." Tenshi looked at me with narrowed eyes. "What peach tree would this be?" Ah. I...Hadn't done a very good job keeping relevant people informed about this. The peach tree, I replied. The one that had come from the pit of the peach that Tenshi had given me months ago. "Wait. You - You planted it? The pit? But - It's from Heaven. It - It shouldn't even grow on the surface!" Tenshi seemed to be struggling with this concept. "Why'd you never tell me about this!?" She cried sharply. Marisa reached over and patted her on the back, which made Reimu cough slightly. I shrugged a little uncomfortably. Everyone seemed to be like this. It wasn't like I was trying to keep things hidden, it just ended up taking a while to get around to it. "Alright, tell me. Right now."

I tried to get through it as quickly as I could, but Tenshi took exception to a few bits. "A peach from Heaven, and you decided to just dump the pit in a tiny little flowerpot in the corner of your house!?" I'd not known better, I replied hotly. It wasn't like I'd been left instructions, so when Miss Yuuka had shown up, I'd just agreed that she probably knew better. "Hmm..." Tenshi hummed, watching me with narrowed eyes. "...Fine, I'll accept that. I'm assuming that she took it to the Garden of the Sun, then. It shouldn't have grown very well, though. The soil in Heaven's a completely different beast to the surface world." Well...The last time I'd seen it, it had been well over the height of Miss Yuuka's mansion, which was itself very large. "...What?" Tenshi bluntly asked. "What the hell is your green thumb!?" She cried, throwing her hands up in frustration. "I've got to get you to plant some more things. Do you know how long it took me to get that stuff down!? Like...Two hours! Two hours!"

"Two hours...?" I heard Marisa ask Reimu in the background. "Is that supposed to be a long time? I've been working on magic for over a decade."

"I started learning the Shrine Maiden rituals and tools before I could even talk. I think Tenshi's just a different breed." Reimu replied quietly. "Hey, where'd you get the chicken for that food? I could do with some. Actually, what was the whole recipe?"

While they talked, I explained the rest of the story to Tenshi, and she thought for a moment. "...Yeah, I guess it makes some sense. If the soil is as alive as Yuuka thinks it is, then I suppose it could, uh, intersect with the Heavenly aspects and...Give the whole thing a boost, I guess." Tenshi didn't sound entirely convinced but I supposed it was hard to understand without seeing the tree itself. "Are you sure it'll be in bloom by then?"