Chapter Eight

1:51 P.M.

The flight through the forest was oddly serene. Aside from the odd fairy, no youkai had shown up. The stillness only fed Marisa's anxiety as she continued to scan the area in trepidation for any passersby. As the trees began to thin out, she became aware of a dull but intensifying pain spreading through her body. Before long, her paranoia shifted gears.

"The pendant! Is it wearing off!? It can't, not yet! We're nowhere near Eientei!" thought Marisa. She realized without the pendant's powers, flying would be impossible. "I think the pendant's starting to wear off!" she fretfully announced.

"Oh, dear… we need to find a place to land as soon as possible." said Sakuya. She looked around, and then pointed to a clearing amongst the trees. "Look, we can land over there." Marisa looked at the clearing and hesitated.

"I-I think we can find a better clearing if we keep going…" she muttered.

"Why? Is there something wrong with it?"

"It's just… It's just…"

"Yes?" asked Sakuya.

"…fine…" Marisa sighed.

"Are you sure?"

"It's fine." Marisa said firmly. She hopped off her broom, and Sakuya landed next to her. They began trekking through the foliage. While she wasn't paying attention to the ground, Marisa's foot caught on a root. Her wings —which had grown larger and heavier— hindered her from regaining balance as she fell to the ground. Her legs quavered as she got up. Sakuya extended her arm.

"Would you like some help?"

"Thanks," said Marisa, grabbing hold of Sakuya's arm. She took a few wobbly steps before almost falling over again. This time, Sakuya caught her before she could fall. A few paces later, the same thing happened.

"Hold on." said Sakuya.

"But we have to keep going!" huffed Marisa.

"Miss Kirisame, you are getting weaker by the minute. Don't push yourself."

"Well, we can't just stop in the middle of the road!" she said, pointing a finger to the left. Indeed, there was a dirt road just a stone's throw away from where they were arguing. "C'mon, this shouldn't be such a big deal. It's not like I have to go there. As soon as we pass it, it'll be gone, and that's that…" Marisa reassured herself. Sakuya looked across the road. She saw a little shop, and got an idea. With the parasol in one hand, Sakuya used her other arm to hoist Marisa up over her shoulder and started to carry her down the road. "Wha-? Where are you taking me?"

"I have an idea. I know someone who lives on this road, a shopkeeper. It's a little risky, but I think he'll help us." Marisa froze. There was only one person she knew of who fit that description. This was what she had been dreading.

"No!"

"Don't be stubborn. You need help whether you like it or not. Just look at yourself right now!"

"That's exactly it!" said Marisa. "I don't want him to see me!"

"Miss Kirisame, I'm afraid you don't have a choice. Soon you will be in absolutely no condition to keep going. My mistress told me your wings will continue to grow for hours. Now that your pendant has worn off, we need to find a place to hide. I'm sorry, but the more time we spend out in the open, the more likely it becomes that someone hostile will spot us. Now, come on."

"No! Put me down! Don't take me to Rinnosuke!" Marisa hollered. She struggled to break free, pounding Sakuya's back and thrashing her legs. For all her efforts, Marisa's flailing had little effect on Sakuya.

"Oh, you know him already?" asked Sakuya. As she drew closer to the store, Marisa became more frantic.

"Let me go! He's gonna see me! Let me go! Let me go!"

"What the…?" Rinnosuke, the storeowner, had heard Marisa's yelling and stepped outside to see what was going on. Nearby, Sakuya was carrying Marisa in his direction, who was throwing a frenzied fit. "Something seems very wrong here… Should I get involved or not…?" he wondered. "Getting involved in one of her little shenanigans is asking for trouble… but something's not right. Since when did Marisa have wings? That's definitely her, though…" Rinnosuke made his decision. "Sakuya," he shouted, "just what are you doing to my niece!?"

"Niece?" thought Sakuya. "They're related!?" Sakuya's bewilderment combined with a well-timed elbow to Sakuya's head was all Marisa needed to escape Sakuya's grasp. Marisa tumbled down Sakuya's back and landed barely within the parasol's circle.

"Marisa? Are you okay?" asked Rinnosuke, approaching her.

"Don't look at me!" shrieked Marisa, using Sakuya as a visual barrier. With a shaky hand, she grasped the hakkero inside her apron. "Or I'll—"

"Alright, I won't look." said Rinnosuke. "But please, at least tell me what's going on." Marisa gave him no response.

"I can help explain, Mr. Morichika." offered Sakuya.

"Sakuya, do you have something to do with this? Did Remilia do this to her?"

"Indirectly, I suppose. It's a long story."

"Then, start talking." said Rinnosuke. Marisa couldn't take it anymore. She started crying. "Whoa, calm down!" he exclaimed. "It'll be alright."

"It's… not... my fault…" she wailed in-between sobs. Rinnosuke was skeptical of that, but said nothing. "I just… what happened was… I… I…" Marisa buried her face into her apron, bawling. After an awkward silence filled with her wailing, Rinnosuke spoke up.

"Oh, never mind what happened. Marisa, don't cry; come here." He knelt down and held out his arms. Marisa coiled into a ball.

"I said… I don't want you… to see me…"

"Marisa, right now I don't care about what happened, or what you look like. I'm not going anywhere until you stop crying." Tentatively, Marisa peeked out from behind Sakuya, and Rinnosuke got his first look at Marisa's face. Her irises had become a peculiar, ruddy color—far from the golden-brown they were before, but not entirely red, either. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks. The thing that struck Rinnosuke the most about Marisa, however, was her expression. The fearful and desolate look in her eyes was like that of an animal caught in a trap. Marisa slowly crawled out from her hiding place and embraced him. She sobbed into his shoulder, shaking uncontrollably.

"What… am I… gonna… do!?" she gasped.

"The most important thing you can do is calm down." said the shopkeeper. "Why don't you take it easy and lay down inside for a while?" he suggested.

"O-okay." said Marisa. Rinnosuke tried to stand up, but Marisa clung to him. Sighing, he picked her up.

"Funny, you seem a lot lighter than I remember." he said, carrying her to the shop. The little shop was mostly empty, save for one customer; a little crested swallow youkai was on the floor, contently reading a book. Sakuya held the door to the shop open. The little youkai timidly peeked up from the book as Rinnosuke carried Marisa inside. He carried her past the counter to the very back, where furniture from the outside world was set up in a living arrangement. Rinnosuke laid Marisa down on a sofa. "Sakuya, do you see those blankets near the register?"

"These?"

"Yeah. Hand one to me, would you?" Sakuya did as instructed. Rinnosuke laid the blanket over Marisa and sat down next to her. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was labored. "This can't be good." he said in frustration. "There has to be something we can do!"

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Morichika."

"Sakuya," he said desperately, "you need to tell me what's going on."

"Well, I suppose it all began in the Voile library…"


(Author's Notes: This chapter was really hard to write. My first draft was so poorly written I couldn't stand it. Marisa waltzed into Kourindou without much prodding, and Rinnosuke didn't care what was going on. I had to start from scratch four times before I got a draft I liked. Well, anyway, I feel happy that I finally finished this mountain of a chapter! Sorry if I went overboard on the ellipses.

Anyway...

Thank you for reading, and have a happy Easter/Spring Break!)