/jp/ - Otaku Culture

"Ex." Said Marisa, Reimu and I, all at once. Tenshi glared at all of us, but continued to stroke the cat anyway. "What do I do with her? I don't know how you take care of a cat!" Reimu asked yet again, looking a little panicked. "Do I - Er, need to feed her daily? Every other day? What if she pees on the tatami? What about-"

"Reimu, do try and relax, thank you." Tenshi replied lazily. "Does wonders for your mood." She finished stroking the cat, who laid back down in the centre of the table. "I rather think you'll not need to worry yourself too much. I was listening, you know. Had no choice, actually. It sounded like that shikigami's going to send you supplies."

"Yeah, I'm sure it's- Ouch!" Marisa reached out to pet Kuro too, only to recoil when the cat took a swipe at her. "What the hell!?" She cried, trying a second time to the same result. "Oh, so you all get to pet the cat, but if I try, she swipes me? Is this because I kept trying to get you to stop messing with my hair?" She glared grumpily at Kuro, who licked her paw nonchalantly. "If I say I'm sorry, will you let me?" She reached a hand out tentatively, and Kuro swiped at it again. "Oh, for-"

"That's enough, you." Tenshi moved over and grabbed Marisa's hands, pulling them behind her back. "Unless you want to be tied up again." She let go once Marisa didn't seem ready to make another attempt. The cat watched her for a moment, then turned and hopped down from the table and curled up on Reimu's lap again. "Still, she does seem to have taken to Reimu, doesn't she? Perhaps you've got a secret affinity for taking care of cats, Reimu?"

"News to me." Reimu muttered. "I - I guess I'll just keep an eye on her. Hopefully Ran will be back to pick her up soon enough." I had a feeling that Ran was planning to keep the cat with Reimu for a lot longer than she thought. She seemed to have an eye for cats, if Chen was any indication. "So, er, what's everyone doing now?" She said, looking back up from Kuro, who she was scratching behind the ears.

"I should get home and make sure my house hasn't burnt down, exploded, been overrun by fairies, or a whole host of equally plausible scenarios." Marisa said, trying to get to her feet. She got there, but only for a second or so before they wobbled, and she fell to her knees. "Ooh...Reimu, I'm going to get you back for this. This is not a thread. It's a warning." She tried a second time, and though it seemed to take a bit of strain, she managed to stay up. "Where's my broom and hat?" She asked, looking around.

"Hat's over there," Reimu said, pointing to the corner of the room, "And the broom is...Uh, I think I used it for cleaning, so it's probably by the Hall of Worship."

"Wh- You used my broom for cleaning!?" Marisa cried. "Oh, that's it. The second I'm walking normally again, It's on!" Marisa pointed a threatening finger at Reimu, who rolled her eyes. "I mean it!" She then switched the threatening finger to Tenshi, and then me. It was like her temperament had switched on a pin. "And you two! I'm not gonna rest until I find out who he's seeing! I heard! I was listening! It's that centipede from the Rainbow Dragon Cave, isn't it!?" I opened my mouth. "No, none of your lies! I was bluffing! It's - It's that stupid chupacabra thing from Former Hell, right!?" I closed my mouth, figuring that she wasn't worth reasoning with in this state. "No, you'd never- Wait! It's her, isn't it! There, on your shoulder! That's a blonde hair! And your hat, that's something you'd only get from someone who's good at making that sort of thing!" I just watched her at this point because it almost looked like she was about to figure it out. "It's Alice, isn't it!" Or not, I guessed. I'd never even met Alice, but I'd certainly heard of her from a guy at the tofu shop who said that he'd had to stay the night with her once, and found her unsociable and a little unnerving, so he'd fled at the first chance he got. "I'm right, aren't I!?"

"Yes, Marisa. Of course, it's Alice. Who else would it be? There's definitely no one else at all." Reimu told her, calmly.