/jp/ - Otaku Culture

"Hello~?" Kisami's voice called from outside. "Are you two okay? Do I need to come in?" Yamame sighed heavily and pulled me out of the way as she opened the door. "Oh, there you two are. I thought I’d have to come in and find you, little sister. Not even half undressed?"

"Ki!" Yamame cried, scandalised. "What are you trying to say!?" She put her hands on her hips, then decided that it wasn’t enough, so she crossed her arms instead. “Don’t say crude things like that!”

"Well, you were taking so long, so-" Kisami began, but Yamame slapped a hand over her mouth.

"No, Ki! Just what do you think I get up to, huh? No, you'd better not answer that." Yamame sighed heavily. "Look, just - No, I'm not removing my hand, Ki, I don't care what you do with your-" At that point, I could only surmise that Kisami had stuck her tongue out, because Yamame pulled her hand away like it had been burnt. "Ew...Um, anyway, Just take care of him, will you?" Yamame said, patting me on the shoulder.

Kisami stuck her tongue out at Yamame, then turned to me. "Oh, don't worry yourself, Yams. He'll be safe and sound. Everyone's been dying to talk to him properly, little sis." Kisami apparently couldn't resist the temptation, because she ruffled Yamame's hair again, despite her complaints. "I'll bring him back as soon as I can, dear sister. You'll never even know he was gone. Well, unless I take a liking to him. Maybe I'll have to keep him~"

"Ki!" Yamame cried, her face starting to redden. “He’s not yours to take!”

The redhead broke into laughter. "Oh, I'm only joking with you. You really are too easy to tease, Yams. It'll be your downfall, you know." She sighed happily, then crossed over to my side and took my arm. "Well, shall we be off? Poor Yamame might blow a gasket if I tease her any more." I looked over at Yamame and told her that I'd be back as soon as I could.

Sighing heavily, Yamame nodded. "Yes, um, take care. Ki, please behave yourself." There was that moment of fidgeting and hesitation again, and I had a feeling that I knew what was coming. Gritting her teeth, Yamame took hold of my collar, pulled me down, and into a kiss so intense that I forgot what my own name was.

"Wow." Kisami said, snapping her fingers in front of my face. "She really did a number on you." I blinked. I was not in Yamame's house any longer. "You've been staring vacantly like that since we left. It's kind of adorable, you know. Yams seems to love you just as much as I love her.” I was now in a tunnel somewhere, but Kisami was still holding onto my arm and even in the darkness, I could see her fiery hair. "So, I really want to know. Why'd you volunteer?" I breathed in and exhaled, trying to get my bearings somewhat, but the tunnels all looked the same, especially in pitch blackness. "You and Yams have been practically inseparable every other time I've seen you two. I thought that you’d just want to stay by her side forever."

Here was the reason I'd wanted to come alone, then. I looked over at Kisami and asked her if she really knew anything about jewellery. Or more specifically, about rings. "Rings? Er...Yeah. Plenty of us have something we got really into when we were younger. Yams got into clothes, Reiko got into management and languages, and I got into jewellery and gemstones. It’s kind of hard to do any of it with the whole Hot Springs Town restoration project going on. I’m spending so much time down there that I’m starting to get worried that I’ll have forgotten how to do it at all. Why do you ask?" I wanted to ask her to help me with making a ring. "Really? That's not something you see a human asking a youkai about. I thought that you’d have somewhere in your human village for that sort of thing. What do you want a ring for?"

We emerged into the Hot Spring Town, still as lively and full of steam, noise, and lights as it was the last time I was here. Already, I could hear the sounds of music, shouts, and conversations, and out in the distance, I could see that the keystone had finally disappeared. I watched it all for a moment, then turned back to Kisami.

Kisami, I said. I want to marry Yamame.