I can't really say I'm unhappy.

But at the same time, I can't help but feel as if I have no substance.

Thanks to my transformation into a Magician, I now have all the time I could ever wish to have. Time enough to complete my research, test my theories, and live out life in the way I'd always wanted to.

But then again, where was the meaning in that? Was my whole purpose simply to reanimate dolls?

Certainly, I have acquaintances. More than I cared to have, honestly. And although I wouldn't consider any of them friends, there are a select few whose company I genuinely enjoy (in moderation, naturally). But what meaning could I possibly derive from these encounters?

And so, I find myself in a familiar conundrum: Debating with myself over a topic of no real importance and arriving at the conclusion that the topic has no conclusion (truthfully, my over-analytical skills are second to none). As I shuffle about my bed, my eyes drift over to the small figurine next to me. She bears a vexed look, likely a reflection of my subconscious. She was, after all, merely an extension of me.

"Don't be so worried, Shanghai," I say, gently brushing her soft hair with my fingers. "Tomorrow, I'll get things sorted out." At this, Shanghai looked a little less apprehensive, and hovered over to her spot on my workdesk.

Ah, the promise of tomorrow. Frequently I had fallen upon that excuse, and frequently it had given way to the burdens I placed upon it. I can't commit to changing things in my life when I'm not discontented with it. But at the same time, I know I can't go on like this forever.

Restless, I walk over to my bedroom window, gazing at Gensokyo's starry sky. It's in these small lapses of time that my restive mind relaxes. My eyes trace down each constellation, and for a moment I almost feel the childlike sense of wonder that's long eluded me.

"There's just something about the stars, I guess." I smile. Suddenly, something catches my eye. "Is that…?"

As I suspected, a shooting star makes its way across the sky, and I find myself reverting back to a state of youthful innocence. My eyes close, and my lips begin to move.

"I wish… I wish for something. Something that can change me, and lead me from the aggressive uninventiveness of my own life."

In short, I needed something big. Something huge.

-0-0-0-

Although, I really wish it would've waited AT LEAST a day.

It was now later on that night, and standing before me (in the spot where my now destroyed door once stood) was none other than the Black-White Magician.

"Marisa? Just when the hell did the destroying of doors become proper etiquette?"

"Yo, Alice!" she said, waving to me cheerfully (and completely unaware of what my previous statement, I assumed) "There's a lot of stuff going on out here, ze!"

"And there's going to be a lot less of you if you don't leave this instant!" My previous interactions with Marisa had been less than ideal. We'd probably exchanged more danmaku than words, and our limited conversations were mostly magic-related. Needless to say, she was not a person for whom I would excuse destroying my property. Without so much as a wasted thought, my dolls rush to my side, each bearing a small weapon and stuffed to the brim with gunpowder.

"Whoa, whoa!" yelled Marisa, backing away nervously. Her sheepish smile was all too telling of her general apathy. (Or perhaps stupidity. I wasn't really sure) "I don't know what you're so mad about, but we've got something big on our hands!"

'Yes, we do. It's a pest on my porch!' I sent a doll at the witch, who dodged it almost nonchalantly. Much to my surprise, she was still smiling when the doll exploded behind her.

"Look!" she exclaimed, thrusting her broomstick at the moon. "That's the big thing I'm trying to tell you about!"

Annoyed, I looked in the direction Marisa pointed. My annoyance quickly turned to rage when I noticed the object she referred to. "You woke me up, destroyed my door, and bothered me in the middle of the night just because the moon was full?" I pulled the doll's mental strings, and 3 of my creations charged forward with the intent to kill.

Then, it hit me.

I glanced back at the moon, my eyes widening with realization. 'A full moon? There aren't any full moons during this season…'

"Figure it out, ze?"

I look back over to Marisa, who now had a more serious complexion. "I guess ya noticed it, too. We've got a full moon when we aren't supposed to have one."

I drop my dolls to the ground before sending them indoors. I call Shanghai to my side and look back to Marisa. "Is this… An incident?"

She shrugged. "Well, that miko isn't home, so I'm guessin' it probably is." I turn back to the moon, analyzing it closely. Though very similar in appearance, I identified that it was not the same moon which had previously occupied the night. "And it ain't just a different moon, either. Check the time, Alice."

A doll swiftly brings me a watch. "It's 10:30. P.M., obviously." Marisa gestured toward the moon again. This time, the dots quickly connect. 'The moon… It's in the wrong place!'

Despite the fact that the moon should've been roughly a quarter through its orbit, it was now exactly halfway through. "I've been watching it, ze." Marisa's voice turns my head back to her. "It hasn't moved in over an hour."

"What do you suggest be done?" This was a huge problem. At least with the Scarlet Mist and Cherry Blossom incidents, the culprits weren't difficult to track down. But where would one go to find the cause of this? And even if the perpetrator was caught, how were they supposed to move a moon?

"Well… I figure if we just look, something'll turn up!" Marisa winked as she spoke, flashing a grin that invoked an alien feeling within me. Pushing it aside, I returned to pointing out Marisa's terribly flawed attack plan.

"Marisa, that's the most asinine scheme I've ever heard. Honestly, for as brilliant as you are with magic, it translates poorly to-"

Wait.

Wait.

What?

"Did you say… We?" Marisa, visibly affected by the disgust in my tone, smiled sheepishly and begin scratching her head. "Well… Yeah!"

OhnonononoNO! Marisa was NOT going to get me involved in this!

"Absolutely not. Resolving incidents is your business, not mine." I said sharply. Though I enjoyed danmaku, I'd no desire to go pursuing a mystery culprit.

"Aw, come on! It'll be fun! And you'll get to blast youkai!" she happily exclaimed, striking a triumphant pose.

"Marisa, I am a youkai," I reminded her, amazed at her supposed lack of sense. "And besides, spending a night shooting things with you isn't my idea of fun." At this, I began walking back inside, my back now turned to the Black-White witch.

"Hey now! I can't be that bad! Your doll seems to think I'm okay!"

I froze. It was just then that I noticed Shanghai was no longer by my side. I abruptly turned and saw the unthinkable: Shanghai was clutching the magician's leg, looking at me with longing eyes.

'But… Why? Do I… Want to go with her?'

My mind began to race again. Was this the changing event my mind had yearned for? No, it couldn't have been. Every part of me wanted nothing to do with this… happening. So why did Shanghai, the embodiment of my inner-most hidden feelings, want to embark on the quest? Furthermore, why was I rejecting the chance to do something so refreshing? Surely it wasn't due to my proposed partner. When she wasn't obliterating my home, I did somewhat enjoy speaking to her. So then… Why the reservation?

"…yo! Alice! Anyone home?"

I looked up to see Marisa's golden eyes inches away from mine. Startled, I stumbled backwards. "Er, yes. I apologize for that."

"Sheesh, people these days… They just have no manners." The last comment earned a raised eyebrow from me, which caused Marisa to laugh awkwardly and scratch the back of her head.

"So, I'll ask one more time… You in or not, ze?"

I looked down at Shanghai, who was still tightly grasping Marisa's leg. Her eyes told me that all she wanted was to go, and I couldn't help but feel that was best. It was at that moment I made my decision: I'd see this through to the end, regardless of the outcome.

"I'm in." I looked up, smiling softly. "I'll go with you, Marisa."

Marisa's smile widened, and flashed me a huge thumbs-up. "That's what I wanted to hear! I knew you'd come through!"

-0-0-0-

After some final preparations, we began soaring through the forest. It was at this moment that I deemed it best to ask a question I'd had on my mind since Marisa visited.

"Marisa, why'd you ask me to be your partner?"

Marisa suddenly slowed at my query, before turning to answer. "Well… Part of it was that you were close by. And part of it…"

Well, that made sense. We did both live in the Forest of Magic, so I can understand why she thought I'd be the quickest option.

"…and part of it was… Umm…"

This was unusual. The normally outspoken Marisa, stumbling over her words?

"Er… No other reason, I guess! Heh!" Suddenly, she sped off, making keeping up with her a difficult task.

'Hmm. That was strange. I wonder what her other reason was? And why was she acting so flustered?'

Putting that thought out of my mind, I glanced forward to see us approaching another forest. Though I could only guess at what trials, I'd face, I was sure of one thing:

It wouldn't be boring.

Hello, readers! I'm Hanabro, and this is my first officially submitted Touhou fanfic. My favorite pairing is MarisaxAlice (or Mariari, Mariali, MAlice, and what have you). I know that not a lot happened in the way of romance, but I'm trying to gradually build the characters. Any comments/criticism is more than welcome, and thanks for taking the time out of your day to read! I've got more in store, so be ready!