/jp/ - Otaku Culture

Patchouli wasn't sure. It seemed that she'd taken on half of the damage Meiling was taking just in time to stop her from dying, but it was still up to her to wake up. A day ago, Patchouli would have told her that she might very well die. But then, a day ago she hadn't been full of memories of Meiling's reliability across a year spent stuck in the HSE. "I believe that you'll pull through just fine, Meiling." She even found herself smiling slightly. "Tell me about this place and we'll work out what's happening here."

Meiling hesitantly nodded and had some more of the rice. "Well...I think I know where this is. If it's the Wudang mountains, then it's a monastery that I spent many years at." Patchouli looked out of the window again, following the winding path down. "This...We're in my mind, aren't we? I couldn’t seem to control myself when I realised that I was here. I just…I started cooking, just like I would have done in the past. I thought it might have been a dream, but…"

"Correct." Patchouli nodded. "Somehow, I don't think that that child has the capability to throw us out of Gensokyo and into this particular place. No, our spectral selves, the ones that were stuck in the HSE...They've been returned to our real bodies." It was pleasing to know that she didn't actually need to explain any of this. They'd both gotten the memories back, after all. Meiling already knew. She just needed reminding until her fractured mind pulled itself back together. "Like I said, your mind is bearing the brunt of those memories at once. It has chosen to retreat to what must be a place of comfort to you. If this were a dream, I would know."

"...Yeah, that does make sense." Meiling nodded. "I was here for a long while. A long time in the past, but...It's always been something I looked back on fondly." Meiling closed her eyes for a moment, a serene smile on her face. "You could always hear the students in the courtyard. I did the cooking in exchange for this room, and I always loved to just sit here and look out over the mountain."

"That's what I've been hearing..." Patchouli mused. "Your memories." The birdsong, too. All of this was what Meiling considered to be a comfortable place for her mind to retreat. "I suppose that seeing China would be comforting to you, Meiling. This is a very tranquil place, though I must admit that I would prefer somewhere with less sunlight. I wondered if I might see the Scarlet Devil Mansion."

"Oh, er...I do like it there, honest." Meiling waved a hand about awkwardly. "This is just- I mean, it's not-"

"Meiling." Patchouli raised a hand and the nervous gatekeeper shut up. "I'm not judging you. It's your mind. Its inner workings are yours and yours alone. I'm merely here to support you." She knew well enough that Sakuya's treatment of Meiling in the present day left something to be desired. That it was for reasons that were not so easy to fix made things more difficult. "We need to talk about Sekai."

Meiling swallowed uncomfortably, then nodded. "She...Sent us back. To our real bodies – O-Or…No, she sent the memories to us...Sorry, I..." She pressed her hand against her forehead again. "It's really hard to understand."

"I struggled too." Patchouli replied, tilting her head. "We were in both places. Both parts were equally us. We were sent back, and we were sent the memories." She tried one of the bao buns. Much like the rice, it was the best bao bun she'd ever had. "That is not what's important, though. We both made a promise. We promised to save her."

Meiling nodded, gritting her teeth slightly. "We did. I remember that much. No matter what it takes. We'll save her so she can live the life she deserves." Her eyes caught the sunlight again. This time, it reminded Patchouli of a different day in the past. The day that a mysterious, unknown youkai with piercing blue eyes had come to the gates of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, seeking a battle with a strong foe. "Otherwise, everything we went through would be for nothing." Patchouli was glad that she'd remembered enough to smooth out the conversation. She'd been worried that she might have to slowly walk Meiling through the process of recovering her shattered memories, which would have taken a long time. How long was subjective, as were most things taking place inside one's head, but it would have been an unwelcome distraction. "I'm a little confused, though..."

"About?" A bird had just landed on the windowsill. Somehow, Patchouli found herself unsurprised that Meiling's mind was capable of having simulacrum such as this. A Chinese leaf warbler, if she wasn't mistaken.