Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Touhou characters, settings or any other original material created by ZUN or any other affiliates. All Touhou copyrights belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 7: The Plot Widens

A young, blonde haired girl flew through the sky, one gloved hand gripping on to the broad brim of her witch hat, the other gloved hand tightly holding on to the handle of the broom she was riding on. Her face was ducked against the rushing air as she flew through the autumn sky, wishing she had a third hand to stop the incessant drumming of her heart.

Before long, the clouds parted to reveal a modest and traditional Shinto shrine in a large rectangular clearing of the forest. Hovering hesitantly in the air for a moment, the girl berated her own silliness and landed in defiance of her thumping heart on the stone paved courtyard. Her hands still clutching her hat and dismounted broom, the girl marched up purposefully towards the main building, climbed the steps onto the porch, and breathed in deeply before raising a hand to knock on the front sliding doors.

"Haah… R-Reimu…? Reimu… A-Are you in…?" the determined witch less-than-determinedly whispered.

Two seconds.

Kirisame Marisa promptly turned around, "G-Guess she's not in, huh? T-Too bad, ze…" she nervously chuckled and started to mount her broom-

Slide- BANG!

"W-Wah? !"

"KIRISAME MARISA!"

A fallen Marisa was on her side right on the edge of the porch, her eyes on the kneeling brunette girl before her with nervous guilt. Hakurei Reimu, the sole shrine maiden of the Hakurei shrine, was on her knees just before the door, having slammed it wide open with all her strength. She was dressed in a rather unique adaptation of the miko's costume – It was red and white, as in tradition, but it consisted of a red sleeveless blouse with a yellow ascot, a matching frilled skirt, and white detached sleeves. Her face was flushed yet kind of angry.

"What… are you doing here, sneaking around like a thief?" her deep brown eyes narrowed.

"I-I-I came here t-to steal some tea ze- I-I-I mean I came here to borrow!" Marisa put her hands up before her in a vain attempt to defend herself from Reimu's formidable glare.

"… Well at least you were honest with me the first time…" Reimu muttered, a little amused but still angry looking.

"Aha… Ahahaha- Reimu is that tea I see on the living room table…?" getting back on her feet, Marisa noticed over Reimu's shoulder the two cups of steaming tea accompanied by a tea set in the living room, which until now had only one occupant.

"…! I-I-I was waiting for a guest!" Reimu stood up and quickly turned her back to Marisa, "And it wasn't you, I'll have you know that!" she looked over her shoulder sharply.

"Ahaha… O-Of course it can't be me, I didn't even tell you I was coming- Hii!" Marisa jumped back mid-laughter as the Hakurei Shrine maiden rounded upon her fiercely again.

"… Hmph…" Reimu turned away and sat herself at the Japanese-styled table, "Well… since you're here… Why don't you make yourself at home?" she gestured across the table.

"… Of course, ze!" Marisa grinned and sat down, and before Reimu could even offer her, sipped her cup of tea that was 'meant for someone else'. The moody Reimu before her was starting to feel familiar again… Not an inch of her had changed. Her sharp eyes, her distantly considerate character… What was I so worried about, da ze…?

"… T'ch…" Reimu, at Marisa's stupid smile, turned away, a little hot and bothered.

"Haah… Your tea's not the best, but it is nice in its simplicity, ze!" Marisa sighed after draining her cup significantly.

"What sort of compliment is that…?" Reimu asked, not at all feeing complimented, "It's like you're saying I'm only good at simple stuff…"

"Haha… Isn't that you, da ze?" Marisa grinned again.

"Hmph…" Reimu looked away, although with a small smile.

"So… About this other guest you were supposed to have…" Marisa sat up and looked about her, faking expectation of a third party to come in at any moment, "I hope I'm not imposing upon you by being here," she said.

"Oh, not at all…" Reimu played along, "After all, once he's here, you'll simply fade into the background."

"Eh…? I'll fade into the background?" Marisa crossed her arms in mock disbelief, "Who is this guy to be able to overshadow the great Kirisame Marisa, ze?"

"He's tall, dark and handsome," Reimu was gazing out the window with her chin propped on her hand, "And he's got a great character to boot."

"And… you and he are in… some sort of relationship?" Marisa too had her chin on her hand as she leaned in across the table amusedly.

"He's my boyfriend," Reimu answered poker-facedly, still gazing out the window.

"Which is to say he's a figment of your imagination, da ze!" Marisa laughed, "If someone like Reimu can get such a guy, the world must be coming to an end!" she joked.

"Hmph…! You don't have to be so mean…!" Reimu finally looked round pouting, "Anyways, you're talking too much! Just keep quiet and drink your tea! That's what you're here for, right?" she scolded as she reached over to refill Marisa's cup.

"I actually came to borrow tea leaves ze, not to drink," Marisa chuckled.

"I'm not about to just start letting you borrow my tea leaves too, you take home enough of my stuff…" Reimu chided.

"What's the difference? Borrowing from you is like borrowing from Kourin, only through you, ze!" Marisa grinned, referencing a poor half-youkai store owner in the human village long victimized by the two.

"W-Well, that's true…" Reimu sheepishly chuckled- Oh? Though startled, she did not move her hand away, which was suddenly under Marisa's.

"… Marisa?" she looked up and asked calmly.

"… A-A-Ahhh! !" Marisa sharply withdrew her hand, as if shocked by her own actions, "I-I'm sorry! I don't know what made me do that!" she started apologising profusely- "Hah…!"

It was now Reimu that was clutching her hand. "Welcome back…" she smiled gently.

Marisa blinked, before smiling back apologetically, "Sorry for not visiting you."

"Haha… Hahahaha…!" the two giggled, finally feeling comfortable with each other again after the longest while.

Above the two, in a corner of the room, an eye was watching intently through a gap in space.

"This… This is an unacceptable development…" a clenched jaw declared quietly.

"Did you really think you could have fooled us forever? !" Hourai thrust her lance towards Koishi's face in an effort to intimidate her. To help her was one reluctant Shanghai, made by her elder sister to hold a single lit candle over their heads, like that of a lone lamp in an interrogation room. Koishi was bound to a kitchen chair, although her delighted face looked far from intimidated; framed within her short greenish-gray hair were her still rosy cheeks. She wore a yellow frilled blouse with a green skirt, and sported a black bowler hat. But most distinctive of her appearance was a strange blue sphere over her left breast, connected to her feet by what looked like really long blue veins.

"Who sent you! Why are you hiding out here! Are you plotting to attack my Master? !" Hourai questioned fiercely, each question punctuated with a nudge of her lance.

"H-Hourai-nee-chan…" Shanghai mumbled awkwardly in disagreement.

"Quiet, Shanghai!" Hourai turned around and whispered urgently towards her sister, "I need to do this properly to get a confession from her!"

"Ara, ara…~ You're being so serious at this… It's really cute!" Koishi beamed, "Two lovely little living dolls doing all they can to protect their maker from harm!"

"R-Really? ! I-I mean, of course we have to be serious!" Hourai quickly covered up her delight with a stern expression, "Our Master's safety is at stake here- Hang on… Shanghai, she knows we're living dolls!" Hourai suddenly waved her lance, all panicky, "Quick! She knows too much! We have to kill- Ouch!"

"Will you get a grip on yourself? !" Shanghai had taken the candle holder, flaming candle still in, and whacked Hourai upside the head with it, "We're the ones that revealed ourselves to her!"

"R-Right…" Hourai winced apologetically.

"… You know…" Koishi sat obediently in her bindings, thoroughly entertained, "I was hiding in Marisa-onee-chan's house, so… doesn't that, you know… make my target more likely to be Marisa-onee-chan?" she reasoned smilingly.

"… Sh-She's right!" It was Shanghai's turn to be panicky, "Quick, Hourai-nee-chan! We have to kill- Ow!"

And… it was Hourai's turn to whack Shanghai upside the head. With the same candle holder. With the same flaming candle still in.

"Get a hold of yourself, Shanghai!" Hourai chastised. Pointing her lance once again at Koishi, she asked threateningly, "Alright, you get just one chance. Tell us… What is your real reason to be here?"

"… I want to see a kiss scene," Koishi answered.

"Oh… Okay- Wait what?" went both dolls.

"I want to see an intimately, innocently passionate love scene!" Koishi's eyes lit up as she began to lose herself in her daydreams, "I want to see two girls shyly explore with each other, realising that their hearts hold nothing but sweet desire for each other, making promises to each other to be their one and only- Kyaahh! !"

"Kyaahh! ! I know, right? !" exclaimed Shanghai, "So it was you that planted that scrapbook for Alice-sama, wasn't it?" she went over to Koishi and started to untie her newfound friend, "It really got her heart racing- Hyah! H-Hourai-nee-chan? !"

Hourai had suddenly swung her lance in between Shanghai and Koishi, preventing the former from untying the bound satori youkai. Hourai's face was distraught.

"So… It was your doing, wasn't it…?" she continued her interrogation of Koishi, "It was you that planted that book, right?"

"And… What's the matter if it is?" Koishi asked blankly.

"What's the matter…? What's the matter…? !" Hourai dropped her lances and rushed over to grab the front of Koishi's blouse tearfully, "You're furthering Alice x Marisa, that's what's the matter!" she cried, "My… My Alice x Patchouli… It was smashed in one day!"

Shanghai looked on with but a hint of an obnoxiously giant sneer, but Koishi looked puzzled.

"H-Hourai-chan…" she addressed the wailing doll sympathetically, "It wasn't me that planted that book."

"… H-Huh?" "Wha- Huh? !"

"In fact… I had no idea who this Alice-onee-san was until the three of you came here," Koishi told the two truthfully, "I was trying so hard too to force the idea that the table was empty, but it seems to have further reinforced the abnormality instead…" she added sheepishly.

"W-Wait…" Shanghai started, "So that means that… you weren't shipping…?"

"Nope, sorry. I was pushing for a Reimu x Marisa," Koishi giggled apologetically, "In fact, Marisa-onee-chan's not here because she's with Reimu-onee-chan at the moment!"

Shanghai's jaw dropped while Hourai suddenly brightened up. Reimu x Marisa… That's the same as denying Alice x Marisa…!

"K-Koishi-sama! !" Hourai flew over to enthusiastically unbind her newfound ally, "Many thanks for helping me preserve the dignity and chastity of my Master for the more deserving to take- Woah!"

Shanghai had suddenly swung her lance in between Hourai and Koishi, her face distraught.

"Sh-Shanghai! Calm down… This is just a small kink in your designs~" Hourai attempted to placate her sister with an obnoxiously giant sneer on her face.

"Hourai-onee-chan, you meanie! !" Shanghai swung her lance about her, which Hourai simply dodged, sympathetic sneer still on. "Oh, oh, oh…! M-Marisa-sama…! Argh…! There's no time!" she suddenly dropped her lance and flew out of the kitchen.

"…? ! Shanghai…? Shanghai? !" Hourai, alarmed, gave chase. This girl's about to do something reckless…! "Shanghai! Where are you going? !" she called out as she too followed her sister out of the kitchen.

Koishi, now alone, looked about her blankly before spontaneously deciding to follow in pursuit.

T'ch… We have to go to the Hakurei Shrine now! Thought Shanghai as she made a beeline straight for the living room. But… How do I tell Alice-sama this…? Argh…! Never mind that! I'll face the consequences later…! !

Alice was still seated on the couch, looking through the various scrapbooks and grimoires Marisa had put together. Marisa's studiousness, diligence and artistic skills in the recordings of her observations… Why doesn't she show more of this side of herself? Alice thought with growing admiration.

"Hmmm… Come to think of it, we've never put together a grimoire together before, have we…? Oh…! Why don't I suggest a collaboration between the two of us the next time…?" Alice thought aloud with a small blush. Some alone time with Marisa… Wouldn't be too bad… I mean, just for research's sake… N-Nothing else…

Happily, she flipped the page to the next entry and-

Hakurei Reimu.

Alice's eyes froze. The entry itself was normal. There was a paragraph describing the basic traits of the subject. There descriptions of the shrine maiden's spell cards. There were illustrations throughout depicting the shrine maiden and her spell cards.

But what really caught Alice's eye was a tiny inscription Marisa had neatly made on the bottom border of the page.

Sigh… I wonder what she thinks of me…~

"… Marisa…?" Alice unconsciously asked the absent witch, almost as if wanting an answer to a question not fully formed in her head. What… does she mean by that line…?

For reasons unknown to her, Alice found herself closing the book and putting on the side table, where three others now lay. Feeling lethargic, she stood up, and…

"Ah… Shanghai…" she greeted placidly as Shanghai came zooming back into the living room, Hourai [and an unknown girl youkai] right behind her, "Just in time. I think we've overstayed our welcome…" she said, "We should be heading home… I-I don't think my diary is here anyway…" her voice continued on its own.

Hourai [and the unknown girl] paused to look at Alice's face in a puzzled, almost apprehensive manner, but Shanghai just ignored her and flew straight out the front door.

"Ah… Sh-Shanghai…?" Alice turned to gaze after the disappearing doll, her face still rather saddened. After awhile though, she snapped out of it when she realised her doll was in fact fast disappearing over the horizon.

"H-Huh? ! Shanghai…? Shanghai? !" A malfunction at this time…? ! "Where are you going? ! Hourai! Quick! After her! !" she gave a swift command, and together, she and Hourai [and Koishi] gave chase as Shanghai flew straight on as fast as she could towards the Hakurei Shrine.

Omake

A quick discourse between Hourai and Koishi as the two are flying through the sky towards the Hakurei Shrine behind Alice.

Hourai: Psst… Hey…

Koishi: …

Hourai: Hey…! !

Koishi: Hmmm…?

Hourai: I just wanted to ask… Why did you create a relationship between Reimu-san and Marisa-san?

Koishi: … Hmmm, that is a good question… Why did I do that?

Hourai: Eh?

Koishi: … I don't know, to be honest.

Hourai: What? ! You mean you're just pairing the two on a whim?

Koishi: … Yes! Yes that's it!

Hourai: *Sweat drop* What's 'it'? You matchmaking them randomly?

Koishi: No! I mean I wanted to see a kiss! I want to see a romantic kiss! !

Hourai: *Deadpans further* You… really are just doing this randomly huh?

Koishi: We want a kiss! We want a kiss!

Hourai: … If you want one that badly, why don't you get one yourself?

Koishi: *Jaw drops in realisation* Ah… Why didn't I think of that…?

Hourai: Sigh… You know, you didn't have to make the situation more messy than it is for just a kiss. I swear, you're like Shanghai, and look at her now! We're rashly chasing her towards the Hakurei Shrine, where Marisa-san is meeting with Reimu-san. Things will get more complex for sure-

Koishi: Hey Hourai, which one should I kiss, Marisa-onee-chan or Reimu-onee-chan? Or maybe even Alice-onee-san?

Hourai: Wh-Wh-What? ! You want all three? ! You want to kiss all three? !

Koishi: … Why not?

Hourai: Because you have to choose! You can't have all three! We're not about to make a harem out of this situation here, that's why-

Koishi: I want to be part of a harem!

Hourai: W-Wait! No! Don't get any weird ideas! !

Koishi: *Speeds up ahead of Hourai* Koishi, Marisa, Reimu and Alice~ Much lovely hugs and many steamy kisses~ Kyahh! !

Hourai: No wait! Get back here! ! GET BACK HERE! ! !

Koishi: *Turns around and winks at Hourai* You know… Love can't be fabricated – It can only be brought out! *Speeds off further*

Hourai: … Wha…?

"… Fufufu… She's rushing to the Hakurei shrine now…?" a voice in the darkness of Marisa's now empty house said.

" This… has been working out splendidly!"

Chapter End