Maribel Hearn let out a bored yawn. She was lying on the grass of her university's courtyard staring at the bright blue sky. She glanced over at her best friend Renko, who was sitting next to her, studying as usual.
Maribel tried reading along, but the complicated diagrams and equations of Renko's physics textbook might as well have been written in Arabic, and she soon gave up the endeavor.
Her next class was still an hour away, and there was nothing interesting to do. She was all caught up on her homework, and she knew everything there was to know for her next exam. The next club meeting wasn't until next week, and in any case there was very little for her to plan.
She rolled onto her stomach, thinking she might take a nap when a curious sight caught her attention. She spotted a young girl wearing a frilly pink dress running towards the school gate. She was surprised no one else was looking the girl's way; she stood out like a sore thumb amidst the tall college students walking to and from their classes, yet is was as if the child was invisible to all but Maribel.
Much to Maribel's shock, though, she saw that the girl had white rabbit ears, and even a cotton-ball tail! At first, she figured the girl must be wearing a costume, but she saw no headband or sash attached to the appendages. This child was truly a rabbit!
"Oh, I don't want to be late!" she heard the rabbit-girl mutter as she ran past Maribel.
Maribel stood, feeling her inner investigator stir. The rabbit-girl was perfect for the club! She could be its mascot! Or, better yet, the rabbit-girl might know of other creatures the Secret Sealing Club investigated. She was the perfect topic for next week's meeting.
"Come on, Renko! Let's follow her!" she cried, not looking back as she raced after the child.
The rabbit girl led her east, into a small forest near the university. There was a sort of shimmery glow in the air as Maribel entered the woods, but she chalked it up to the sunlight playing tricks on her eyes.
The rabbit soon led her past a small shrine that looked abandoned, as there was no one around and the collection box was covered in dust.
Huh, Maribel thought idly as she ran past it, I didn't realize there was an old shrine near school. I wonder who it belonged to?
"Do you see that shrine, Renko?" she asked, but no one responded. Confused, she peeked behind her for the first time, and was shocked to find that Renko wasn't there!
Had she not heard Maribel's exclamation? Or had she gotten lost along the way? Come to think of it, Maribel hadn't heard anyone else besides herself or the rabbit-girl. Renko must still be at the university, lost in her book.
For a moment, Maribel thought about turning back. She'd be late for her class soon, and Renko may be getting worried about her. After a moment's thought, she decided to keep following the rabbit-child. She'd already read the next chapter they'd be going over today, and Maribel had her phone on her. If Renko was truly worried, all she needed to do was call. And besides, this was an opportunity Maribel simply could not pass up!
So on Maribel went, keeping a safe distance behind her quarry, lest she spook her. Though her legs burned, and her lungs threatened to burst, she managed to keep the rabbit within her sight, though the child got further and further away. It felt like she'd been running for hours, when it was most likely only less than an hour.
I'll impress everyone during gym, she chuckled sardonically to herself mentally.
She'd followed the rabbit into a tall bamboo forest, and there were so many twists and turns in the path Maribel wasn't sure how she'd get out. Come to think of it, she couldn't remember there being any bamboo forests in Kyoto. Just where was she?
Finally, Maribel had to admit defeat. Her legs collapsed from underneath her, and she tumbled to the ground in a purple heap. She lay there for several minutes, gasping for breath and kneading the pain out of her legs.
Once she thought she could stand, she picked up a dead bamboo stalk and used it to hoist herself back onto her feet. She was unsteady, but with the stalk's help she managed to trudge her way slowly down the path.
She pulled out her phone, intending on texting Renko about her situation, but to her horror she found she had no reception whatsoever.
"Surely I can't be out in the country!" she wheezed, holding her phone in the air, hoping fervently to get even the weakest signal.
"How am I to get back home?!" she continued.
The path led to an old-fashioned mansion that looked brand-new. Maribel wondered why anyone would want to build such a lovely building in the middle of a confusing bamboo forest, but she was not one to judge other people's tastes.
More importantly, she spotted the rabbit-child entering the mansion.
Perhaps she or whoever owns it can help me, Maribel thought, hurrying as fast as her abused legs would go.
She knocked on the door, but there was no response. After a moment, she knocked again, with the same result.
Cautiously, she tried the door, and found that it opened without hindrance. She was met with a long, large hallway where the end wasn't in sight.
She called out a greeting as she strolled down the impossibly-long corridor, but no one appeared to be home, aside from the rabbit-girl.
Where did she go? Maribel wondered, and after a few minutes she came to the hall's end. She found a little reception room, with multiple doorways and a little wooden table with a small bottle on it. One such doorway was incredibly small, only a few inches tall. She knelt down and opened the door, peeking through. She saw that it led to a lovely garden with big wooden mortars. The smell of mochi wafted in, and Maribel realized she was dreadfully thirsty.
She stood up and turned her attention to the bottle, hoping there might be water in it. While the liquid was clear, it smelled more like mixed fruit than water. Even more suspicious was the label reading 'DRINK ME' on the side of the glass.
I am quite parched…one little sip won't hurt. I'm sure the rabbit-girl will understand if I explain it to her, Maribel thought guiltily. She didn't like the thought of stealing this drink, but the rabbit-child seemed reasonable, if only Maribel could find her and explain herself.
She took a tiny sip of the drink, finding that the smell matched the taste. She tasted apples, raspberries, blueberries, peaches…
A strange feeling washed over her, as if she'd plunged into an ice bath. She gasped against the sudden, unexpected feeling, and rubbed her hands over her arms in an attempt to warm herself up. The room began growing, and she figured she must be falling to the floor. Her poor tired legs must have finally had enough.
But the room stopped growing, and when she looked down at herself, she was shocked to see that she hadn't fallen—she'd shrunk! She was now the perfect size for the little door leading to the garden!
"That bottle must contain a shrinking potion!" she cried out, rather rhetorically. But it was on top of the table, which was now a good two feet above her head. However was she to return to her normal size, let alone get back home?!
Despair washed over her, and she curled up on the floor, weeping softly. She was such an idiot! Following some random girl into the woods all alone; what was she thinking?! Renko must be worried out of her mind for Maribel, and she couldn't even call her best friend to let her know she was in serious trouble.
She sat there for a long time before practicality replaced her despair.
"Obviously there's someone who needs that tiny door," she told herself. "Perhaps they're in the garden? Yes, I'll search for them there. Maybe they can help me…"
As she stood, though, she noticed a glass case lying near one of the table legs. She was able to hold it in one hand, which was why she'd never noticed it before. Inside were ten tiny éclairs, with the words 'EAT ME' written in chocolate icing.
Maribel's pulse quickened. If the bottle had made her small, then this might make her tall! Eagerly, she scarfed down an éclair. It was the best thing she'd tasted all day, and she was half-tempted to eat another one, at least to stave off her growing appetite. But she forced herself not to; she'd probably turn into a giant, and breaking the mansion was not on her to-do list!
The strange feeling was back, and this time she felt as it she'd stepped into a hot tub. She braced herself, staring at the walls hopefully. To her utmost joy, the walls began shrinking….and shrinking…and shrinking…bonk!
Her head hit something hard, and she looked up to find the roof only centimeters from her face. She was boxed in, almost literally, with very little room to move around.
She gave an exasperated groan as she felt carefully around for the bottle.
Maribel seems like the perfect candidate to have an 'Alice in Wonderland'-type adventure, and Gensokyo is the perfect place to have one!