/jp/ - Otaku Culture

To anyone who happened to be looking down that alleyway, it would look like some crazy guy dressed in red had just crashed face first into the snow. Fortunately, once I'd pulled my head out of the snow and thanked whoever I could think of that no one had been down this alley and packed the snow down, I was pleased to see that no one seemed to have seen us. "Oh, er - Sorry." Yamame told me as I staggered up to my feet and shook my head. "Are you okay?" Fine, I told her dizzily, stumbling forward. "Alright, just - Take my arm." She reached out and wound her arm around my elbow, then led me out onto the street. After a moment, I got my balance back.

"I wonder how high you can survive slamming face first into the ground from?" She asked idly as we headed up the street in the direction of the parasol and plaid that I could already see perusing the flower shop. Bluntly, I told her that I was not interested in finding out. "Huh? Wait, no, I didn't mean-" She looked a little panicked, so I told her that I didn't think she did. "Teasing me should be off limits, you snake." She grumbled as we got closer.

"Is the flower shop even running this deep into Winter?" Apparently, there were some people who would buy seeds at any time of year, or so I'd heard when I asked the exact same question. Miss Yuuka was probably one of them. In fact, I was sure that she was. She loved plants, so she probably knew if there were any that she could only get and cultivate during Winter. Either way, she clearly heard or felt our approach, because she stood up straight when we got closer. I blinked, because she looked a little different.

Her hair was longer, and it shone with a sort of vibrancy that made it look like it almost shimmered. Turning toward us, I started to wonder if we'd gotten the wrong person, because her eyes were green. Miss Yuuka's eyes had been red. Was it...Her sister? Did Miss Yuuka have a sister? Additionally, she was no longer wearing a skirt, but a pair of long, baggy trousers that looked like they were probably very warm. She'd kept the vest and shirt, but her hair now flopped down over her right eye, much in the way that I'd imagined it would when Yamame had been telling me about her mother, though it wasn't as long. She breathed out a line of mist that quickly dissipated. "Um...Miss Yuuka?" Yamame asked slowly. "Is that you?"

Miss Yuuka - Maybe - blinked, then bent down to look at Yamame more closely. "Of course it's me, Miss Kurodani. Who else would it be? If there's someone else dressing like me, I shall have to teach them a little lesson about imitation and flattery." Okay, I thought. That sounded like Miss Yuuka. "I assume you are referring to my appearance?" I nodded and said that I'd wondered if she had a sister for a moment. Miss Yuuka shook her head, her green hair bouncing about. "My, my. No, I'm one-of-a-kind. I simply was feeling...Nostalgic." I decided that trying to get into all of that would either see me receive no answer at all, or she'd get annoyed that I'd asked. So, she could just change her entire appearance like that whenever she wanted. Right.

"Now, should I assume that you have come to see me for an update on your precious tree?" I supposed that was half of it, though it wasn't the main priority. "Oh, is that so?" Miss Yuuka's eyes, while a different colour, were no less sharp, and she locked her gaze on Yamame immediately, making her squirm. "Show me your hand, my dear." She told Yamame. While she was fairly kind, it was still clearly not a request, and Yamame raised her hand a moment later. The emerald in her ring glinted in the sunlight, and Miss Yuuka smiled satisfactorily. "As I thought. Congratulations. It looks lovely on you." She looked over at me. "I wondered when you would work up the courage." Scratching the back of my head, I laughed awkwardly and said that it had taken a little longer than I'd expected, but I'd managed it as the sun came up on New Year's Day. "Very good." She told me, which I took as high praise.

Curious, I asked Miss Yuuka what she was doing here. "This flower shop asks for my advice regularly." She indicated the shop behind her. "And I oblige them, as long as they continue to treat those under their ward with care." I spied the proprietor, a man roughly my age who looked slightly in over his head, and he nodded toward me. I blankly said that I had thought youkai weren't allowed in the village. "Feel free to inform anyone you want, if you wish. I shall endeavour not to break them." Miss Yuuka clutched her umbrella with both hands and smiled pleasantly. Somehow, I got the impression that any such attempts would end poorly, and that pleasant smile was just as dangerous as always.