"Reika? Are you here?" Marisa asked upon entering the Hakurei shrine.
"Marisa? You're wearin' your old get-up." Suika half-stumbled into the room Marisa was in.
Marisa nodded. "I always wear this when I visit Reimu. It doesn't do me any good if she can't recognize me. Now, do you know where that hard-head went?"
"Went out to spend time with'at darkness youkai, I guess," Suika said. "What you wanna talk to her about?"
"It's not really your business right now. I want to get everything sorted with the people directly involved first, so it would actually be best if you went back up to heaven for a little while," Marisa said.
Suika nodded. "K, then. See ya later, Marisa." She left the shrine and flew away.
"What was that, Marisa?" Reimu materialized next to the witch.
Marisa started. "Gah! Holy- Reimu, don't do that next to people!"
"You'd think, given where we live, that you'd be used to it by now." Reimu chuckled.
"Yeah, but I'm not used to you being the one that's doin' it! Now if it were Yukari or somebody…" Marisa's grin faded. "Which reminds me. Reimu, you aren't going to like what I'm about to say, but keep your mouth shut and just do what I tell you to, okay?"
Reimu raised an eyebrow. "Uh, Marisa? What's going on?"
"There's no way Yukari doesn't know that you're back, so why is she taking so long to come visit? And don't assume she's asleep. Never just assume Yukari's asleep. And even then, it's getting late, so even if she was asleep, she'd be waking up soon. And, another thing to consider; if any Hakurei shrine maiden could become a minor goddess, then why did this shrine not have any until now?" Marisa crossed her arms and looked pointedly at Reimu.
Reimu huffed. "The shrine always had gods, they were just…"
"Just what? Gone? Missing? Any other words to describe 'notably absent'? Something happened to them, Reimu, and I'm willing to bet my whole library that 'something' involved Yukari," Marisa said.
"Alright, then, say we assume Yukari's the bad guy, here, then what? What are we gonna do to stop her? I haven't fought since I came back, but I can tell it'll be different. I wouldn't be able to get used to it fast enough to beat her, of all people. I'd rather just assume that you're wrong, and then if she does try anything, then I guess we'll give it our all, won't we?" Reimu crossed her arms.
"Actually, I can stop her. That's probably why she hasn't shown, yet. But, I need to go get Reika. Otherwise, knowing her, she'll be out all night playing with Rumia and them. So, I'm going to stop Yukari from entering this room. However, that means you'll absolutely a hundred percent need to stay in this room. Do you understand?" Marisa said, emphasizing her point by pointing at the center of the room.
Reimu sighed. "Marisa, not to be rude-"
Marisa cut her off. "Reimu, ten years is a long-ass time. Trust me." The witch cast her spell, and left to go get the new girl. Reimu sighed and sat at the kotatsu in the entrance of her shrine.
The problem with getting Reika was finding her. Even after her seal had been removed, Rumia never really stayed in one place. In fact, the only two of their group that were really findable were Cirno and Mystia. Marisa didn't have the cash on hand to buy lamprey, so hopefully Cirno'd know where the two of them were. To the Palace of Ice it was, then. But first, she transformed her clothes back to her normal white shirt and blue skirt. Didn't need everybody asking her why she was wearing her old clothes.
Marisa knocked on the door to the rather small ice-made palace. A small fairy opened the door and said "Oh, Lady Marisa. Boss's upstairs."
"Thanks, Jill." Marisa floated up the stairs, not wanting to embarrass herself by slipping on the ice… again.
"Oh, hey, Marisa! Been a while since you came around," Cirno said.
"Yeah, sorry about that. Reika's been keepin' me busy. This place is a bit smaller than the last time I was here, though," Marisa said with a grin.
"You really haven't been here since then? Wow… But, yeah, I figured, that, since I wasn't causing any incidents, I didn't need the big, imposing building anymore. It's a heck of a lot easier to maintain this then it was to keep all that garbage frozen in the middle of summer. Anyways, what brings you around? Another incident?" Cirno said, crossing her arms.
"Not yet. Hopefully it won't be, but…" Marisa said.
"You wanted to know where Reika was, just in case it became one, right? Well, I might know, but…" Cirno grinned.
"I don't mean to be rude, Cirno, but I really don't have the time right now. If this does become an incident, the main instigator is going to be Yukari. And if my guess is right, she'll be tossing the rules to the wind for it." Marisa sighed.
Cirno raised an eyebrow. "Wow, that bad?" She shook her head. "Fine, but I expect you to at least come visit within the month, then."
"I'll try, but… Can't make any promises, you know," Marisa said.
"Course. Well, Reika and Rumia showed up a little before sundown and said they were gonna go visit Yuuka. I don't have any idea what they wanted to do over there, but…" Cirno shrugged. "She's probably kicked them out by now, though. You know her."
Marisa chuckled. "Yeah, kinda like Reimu was, ain't she, nowadays. Except worse." They were both silent for a time. "I'm kinda worried about her. It's good that they went to visit, but… I'm not exactly sure that those two are the best to try and pull Yuuka out of whatever weird, flowery shell she crawled into."
"Yeah, I get what you mean." Cirno sighed. "Man, I miss Reimu." She made a sound something along the lines of a laugh, but it sounded more upset than anything. "Now I'll never really know when I do become the strongest."
"Still hung up on that? Well, I'm pretty sure I measure up pretty equal to her, now. You might just be able to compare yourself to her yet." Marisa gave a sad little smile.
"You know I'm bullshitting about why I miss her," Cirno said.
"Yeah, I know." Marisa sighed. "Well, I'll be off." The witch waved goodbye, and the ascended fairy responded in kind.
Marisa'd been standing at the door to Yuuka's manor for twenty minutes. She was starting to get a little irritated. "Yuuka Kazami, get your sorry ass out here before I bust down the doors and drag you out myself!"
The door slammed open, almost striking Marisa in the face. The Flower Master dragged herself out, her clothes disheveled and her hair long and unkempt. "What."
Marisa glared at this sorry excuse for a once-legendary youkai. "Yuuka, it's been ten damned years. People die. Get the fuck over it."
"You don't under-"
Marisa shoved her face into Yuuka's. "I don't understand? What the fuck don't I understand? Compared to me, you hardly fucking knew her, and yet I'm the one that's trying to get you out of a funk? Are you just going to lock yourself up and forget that the rest of the world exists because humans die?"
Yuuka pushed the witch away from her. "Yes." She grabbed the door and tried to yank it shut.
Marisa shoved her broom's shaft into the doorway, keeping it open. "I'm not done yet. If you really want to live an empty life, that's fine by me, but Reika and Rumia were here earlier. Do you know where they went?"
"Mystia's. I think." Yuuka kicked the broom out of the way and slammed the door. Marisa shook her head and flew off.