/jp/ - Otaku Culture

With Reisen angrily staring at her, Reimu stomped outside, and after shooting Reisen one more look, I joined her as we began to head down the path out of Eientei. After a moment, I asked Reimu if she was okay. "Fine." She muttered, in a very 'I'm-not-fine' way. So, I asked again. "Yes. No. Maybe. It's fine. Not your problem." Her being upset was my problem. "Look, I just...I was just a bit frustrated, okay?" I tried once more to ask her what was wrong, but she pushed me away this time. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it." I had a suspicion, but I didn't voice it, mostly because I wasn't sure what I could do about it. I had Yamame. Marisa and Tenshi had struck up some sort of friendship-and-slash-or-relationship, and even Lady Kasen had...Well, herself. Reimu was still mostly alone at the Shrine apart from when Aunn was around. It seemed like she was just lonely.

I spent the time until we left the Bamboo Forest of the Lost thinking, and found myself unable to come up with a solution. Before I knew it, we were back in the village, and Reimu was muttering complaints to me about the village kids being rude. I had probably been one of those once, but I imagined that Reimu had never had the luxury of being an obnoxious punk with her friends in the village as a child, which only made me feel a little more unsettled. Then, as if no time had passed at all, Reimu was leading me in the direction of the caves, and despite my desire to say something, I couldn't seem to find the right words. And then, It was too late. "Right, er, I guess I'll see you in a while." Reimu awkwardly said, looking a little unsure about what she was going to do now. "Take care." I stared at her for a moment, then wrapped her in another hug, possibly my tightest one yet. I was trying to put the things I couldn't quite phrase into it. After a few moments, Reimu pushed me off of her and stepped back. "Um, yes. Er, thanks." And she lifted into the air and disappeared into the distance, leaving me standing there worrying about her.

I sighed heavily and trudged into the caves, hoping that hugging Yamame for a few hours would make me feel better. I’d have to try and talk to someone about Reimu, and I wasn’t sure who’d be the most suitable, but I knew that I could trust Yamame to talk with me about it.

Still, at least I had the Grassroots Youkai Network meeting to look forward to. …As long as I could convince Yamame to attend it.