/jp/ - Otaku Culture

"Ugh, don't remind me. I blame Yams, she said it was nice. Well, I guess it was nice, but it was much more than nice, and that wasn't so nice, so..." I'd made it down the corridor and was now stood outside the door to the room. I considered knocking, but before I could get the chance, the door was thrown open. "Yam- Oh. Huh." Yura started by shouting at me, then trailed off when she saw that I was not her beloved sister. "Yam's boyfriend." She finished. I decided to head off any potential disappointment and said that Kisami had brought me. "Ki did? Huh. I guess that works. If she trusts you, I trust you. Come on in." Yura stepped back from the door and motioned me in. "Well, maybe I trust you with talking to the oni." I asked her what she was talking about, and she cast an eye over me with what looked like concern and a bit of pity. "I don't think I'd trust you with fashion..." I looked down and remembered that I was wearing Lady Hecatia's T-shirt. "How does Yams let you leave the house looking like that?" I looked back up at her and shrugged. It seemed like she was okay with it. "Oh, my heart just breaks for my poor sister. Her fashion sense is being corrupted!" She seemed to like working with Lady Hecatia, though...

"Can we get back on track?" Reiko asked, looking as tired as she had sounded. I wondered if she was sleeping properly. "So, you're helping us out?" I nodded. "Good. Did Kisami tell you what we're doing?" She'd been a little vague, to be honest. Something about talking to the oni? "That's part of it, yes. Hoshiguma's got to go over all these contracts and sort out our payment. She's got Ibaraki and Ibaraki with her, too." They were still down here? I must have looked a bit incredulous. "Er, yeah. I think the one with the hair buns might have left a couple times, though." Well, that was good. At least that meant that someone was still looking after Lady Kasen's pets. I frowned. What about Suika? "Ibuki? She comes and goes. Every time someone catches sight of her, she vanishes into mist a moment later." That did seem like the sort of thing that Suika would do.

"But first," Yura said, stepping forward and brandishing several pieces of paper. "I need to find something for all of the girls to do so that they're not just sitting around idly." Curious, I asked her why she hadn't just sent them back home. She got a little bit shifty then, and her eyes slipped to the side for a split second.

"Yes, Yu." Reiko butted in, crossing her arms. "Why haven't you told them to go home yet? Do tell."

"Because - There's still...Er, There's still work to do!" Yura stammered, sounding very forced. I raised an eyebrow. "Shut up! I'll tell Yams on you!" I didn't especially think that would do much, but it was becoming clear that Kisami had been right when she had said that Yura was dragging her heels on sending home the other Kurodani family members. "S-So, er, where is Yams, anyway?" I recounted the explanation of what Yamame was up to yet again, and Yura nodded. "So she'll be down here in...What, a couple hours? Reiko?"

"Three, at most." Reiko supplied. I looked between them, slightly confused. "A hood? Yams will have that done in no time at all. Helps when you've got a bunch of extra limbs to use." I stared blankly. "Her spider limbs? Surely, you've seen them?" I didn't think that I had, but it seemed like the sort of thing that I should probably talk to Yamame about. "Wow, Yams. What are you doing?" Reiko muttered under her breath. "Well, anyway, she'll be done in no time, so you'd best get moving." I kind of wanted to dwell on the spider limbs comment some more, but Reiko snapped her fingers. "Best not dwell on it before you've had a chance to talk to Yams about it. Go with Yura, there you go." She told me, stepping around from the table in the centre of the room which she was standing at and ushering me over to Yura, who watched me approach with a calculating look on her face. Truth be told, I still didn't really understand what I was supposed to be doing. "Yu, you'd best take him to sort out the girls. You're so emotional, and we both know you'll never manage it on your own. You'll have a breakdown. Start crying. Bawling, even."

"Oh, shut up, you slave-driver." Yura muttered, pushing me out of the room. "I'll show you just how emotional I can be. Come on, Yams' boyfriend." I frowned as she pushed me out into the corridor and shut the door behind her. I had a name. "Shut it. I've got too much to think about without you having your own name too." She stared at me for a moment, then sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean..." I raised my hands and said that I got it. The whole project looked very complex. "Yeah. Er...Yeah. Okay, let's get going."

I thought to myself that it seemed that I'd be having a slightly less relaxing time in the Hot Springs Town on this occasion as I followed Yura down the stairs, listening to her complain about getting stiffed with the bill on some other jobs the Kurodani family had done.

"Um..." Yamame hummed, taking a moment. Oh yes, she'd been upset with her sisters in the past, from times that Yura had misplaced her belongings to dealing with the aftermath of Kisami's escapades. "I don't control them, if that's what you're asking. They're my sisters, not my slaves." There was a hint of something not quite like anger in Yamame's voice, now. Being controlled was not something Yamame desired, and she'd never force it on her sisters. Work was one thing, but actual control? "I love them, each and every one, even if they drive me absolutely insane from time to time." Yura, especially... "I don't think I could enjoy my life quite so much if I didn't have my family to fall back on when I needed help."

Kasen's eyes gave away nothing, as if they were a dark abyss from which nothing could escape. "How very lovely to hear." She commented, then had her attention broken by the sound of the staff member returning, balancing a tray on her hand. She placed it down, offloading two cups of steaming tea along with several plates of food that looking a little too unhealthy for Yamame. Either way, it didn't stop Kasen from digging straight in, while Yamame took a small sip of the tea, which did turn out to be rather excellent. "Ah, there's nothing quite like the food of Former Hell. Are you sure you wouldn't like to try it?"

"Um, no, thank you. I'm fine." Yamame doubted she could have eaten even if she'd tried. "Miss Iba- Kasen, um, can I ask you something?"

"Of course." Kasen looked up from her plate at Yamame. "That's what this conversation is, after all. If I'm to know you better, you must know me better in return."

"O-Okay." Yamame drew in a breath and tried to force her thoughts in order. "Do you - Um, sorry. Do you love-?" Before she could finish, she was cut off.

"Do I love? Hmm, but who are you referring to? Reimu, perhaps? My partner - my other self?" She leaned in. "...Him?" Yamame kept her face light and a small smile pressed up on it, but it seemed not to help because Lady Kasen's demeanour changed. She suddenly looked more curious, and more interested. She leaned back in her chair, folding her hands on her lap. "You're worried."

"No, I'm not." Yamame said, quickly, forgetting her own nervousness.

"Not outwardly." Kasen replied calmly. "But being who and what I am, I am well accustomed to seeing when someone is hiding their true self. Perhaps not for malicious reasons. I hide my identity as an oni for certain reasons, too." She leaned forward. "What has worried you so?" She let the question hang in the air for a moment. "No, I rather suspect I know. And here is where we reach the true aim of the conversation, now that the preamble is out of the way. You wonder why I am ever so slightly cold to you. Is this not so?" Yamame opened her mouth, but Kasen leaned forward and pressed a finger against her lips. "Think carefully before you speak." She whispered, almost dangerously, and Yamame frowned for a moment before feeling a fire light in her belly. It sounded like half of Ibaraki-douji was looking down on her.

"I have been wondering that." Yamame finally said. "Have I upset you?"

Kasen tilted her head. "Yes, but not because of anything you've done to me. Can you understand what I am saying?"

"What I've done...indirectly." Yamame ventured, and then, because she was still feeling a little nervous. "Is it because-"

Kasen raised her hand and Yamame fell silent. "I'm explaining. Please, allow me the privilege." Yamame kept her mouth shut, waiting for Kasen's words. "Let me start by saying that, despite what she might say, I do love Reimu Hakurei. She's precious to me, and I want her to be happy." Yamame didn't have much to say to that, because while they'd seemed reasonably friendly in their interactions of the previous day, Yamame hadn't picked up on the idea that Kasen cared for Reimu quite so much. "You may wonder why I am being so forthright with you about this." Slowly, Yamame nodded. "Then, you presumably also know that Reimu considers that man to be family." Reimu had expressed as much, and she had referred to her human as her brother on one occasion. "I, somewhat embarrassingly in hindsight, tried my best to push the two of them together romantically."

"He and Reimu...?" Yamame asked. "But they seem so...comfortable with each other."

"That, in a nutshell, was my reasoning. They seemed to get along well from the start, and I thought that he and Reimu would be..." Here, Kasen looked more than a little embarrassed. "Well, I thought they're be a lovely couple. So, I tried my best. I taught him skills that I thought would help him impress Reimu, and I tried to impress on Reimu in turn that she should be looking for a partner who might just be close already." Kasen's demeanour was starting to get to Yamame, and despite her general nervousness around the woman, her instincts from taking care of her sisters were starting to kick in.