/jp/ - Otaku Culture

"As I said I would be." Patchouli replied, spreading her arms. "A rather successful day, overall." Her bag was bulging with what would look like an eclectic mess of random things to someone else. Fortunately, it was covered in so many stasis spells that she was surprised she hadn't somehow exploded it. "Most likely within the next few days, someone from the Kurodani family will arrive here."

"The Kurodani family?" Meiling repeated, frowning. "Oh - About..." She leaned in slightly. "The library? Is it...That bad?" Ah, Meiling hadn't been in yet. She'd yet to see the aftermath. "Well, er, okay. I'll...Send whoever it is up to the library."

"Very good, thank you. Inform Sakuya, if you can. And - Still, I would like you to come to the library tomorrow, so you can look over Sekai's book yourself." Patchouli almost made to move, but paused. "Have you thought about my question?" Meiling was always brimming with life, after all. Yamame's answer had been illuminating, but she suspected that Meiling's would be something different. "What in your opinion, evokes life?"

"Well..." Meiling rubbed her chin. "I did think about it. It was actually more of a difficult question than I thought it was. I was going to say that good food and drink makes me think of living, but..."

"But?"

"But it didn't feel right." Meiling continued looking out over the horizon. "It didn't feel...Encompassing enough."

"So, instead?"

Meiling remained silent for a while, this time. "I started thinking about China. About when Sekai released us from the HSE." Patchouli, still positioned as if she was about to walk inside, slowly turned back to face Meiling fully. "That monastery - That's what life is to me. The colours. The sights and smells. The sense of peace and tranquillity. That's...I think that's what life means to me." Beauty. Beauty, a place to belong, and...Love. Apparently, Patchouli had needed both answers. "But then I started thinking about how I missed the mansion so much while we were trapped in the HSE. I think I get the same sense here as I did in China. More than I'd realised. So...Being here, able to guard the gate and spend time with everyone...That's life."

Patchouli watched the gatekeeper in silence as she processed her heartfelt words. Neither Yamame nor Meiling had given her anything particularly concrete, but this wasn't the sort of art that came in concrete forms. In something like this, sentimentality was as valid an ingredient as any other. So, in creating Sekai's body, if Patchouli used something that reflected the answers that she'd heard... "That's a very poetic answer, Meiling." Patchouli told the gatekeeper. She blushed slightly, looking away and stammering something unimportant. "But, it might be just the answer I need. Yes, this is for the ritual to create Sekai's body. I've still got plenty of work to do, but I believe that we've moved a step closer, today."

Meiling sighed in relief. "Phew, that's good. She's relying on us, after all..." The gatekeeper smiled in a somewhat dreamy fashion. "I wonder if I could teach her martial arts..."

"She might already have innate experience with them due to our time in the HSE." Patchouli pointed out. "But you could teach her something new. If she really wants to go to China, then..." Truthfully, Patchouli wasn't sure how that would go. She wasn't the most experienced in religious matters, and even less so when it came to unborn gods. Perhaps she needed to go and speak to Reimu Hakurei personally. It was unlikely that anyone in Gensokyo had a more encyclopaedic knowledge of gods and rituals.

No, she was tired. That could wait.

"Either way, I must go and store these ritual components. Thank you for your assistance, Meiling." The gatekeeper blushed a second time and mumbled something about how she'd had nothing to do with it. With that, Patchouli bade her farewell until tomorrow and floated into the mansion. It was quiet, and there wasn't a fairy maid nor a hobgoblin to be seen. Patchouli wondered if Sakuya had already come across her in frozen time, but decided that it didn't matter. She took her well-travelled path to the library, ready to store the ingredients she had collected.

>>46538662
>so if you want to write some fluff, feel free to write whatever they get up to
I see, wasn't expecting to write them in physical form, but can try my hand at it. Thanks for clarifying!

>>16004540
I really wanted to meet you and Patchouli.