Ken's POV
(Hmmm.....I really don't want a battle to happen between Marisa and Reimu.)

(Sure they are best friends but Reimu may try to provoke combat from me too. She is a friggin' Youkai exterminator.)

(If that's the case, i wouldn't survive long since its REIMU. I need a more subtle way)

I shuddered, thinking about getting hit by Reimu's balls. Marisa recovered her broom from when I kicked it out of her hand earlier, while cracking her hand.

"Ken, ready to go?" asked Marisa. "I don't like this."

"Wait Marisa, i have a plan" I said.

(At a cost.)

Reimu's POV

I stand awestruck at the huge mark in the courtyard, the grass seared, and part of the courtyard back. Marisa used Master Spark on my courtyard, making it look inauspicious. I narrowed my eyes towards the faint two people in the sky, appearing to be doing something, while I readied my ofuda in my hand.

(Those damned idiots!)

I screamed Marisa's name, looking with disdain towards the mark on the ground in front of my shrine now.

(If my shrine doesn't look pretty, that means people are going to think my shrine is inauspicious, and if that happens,)

(No donations!)

I look at the grass around my shrine, beginning to fade out around the shrine. I sighed, reflecting on my life.

(I don't want to live off grass for a long time! The tea is good but it gets boring after a while. And I need my tea if I don't want to go on a rampage in Gensokyo.)

I fell sullen while I turned my back to the mark, walking towards the shrine storeroom to the back of the shrine and dropping the feathery-like Ofuda on the ground.

I grunted, not willing to go to so much trouble to punish Marisa.

(This will be a pain to sweep.)

I heard a boom when I was close to the storeroom, a large burst of wind went through my clothes as they flop high in the air before returning to my limbs. I heard four feet clapped the ground, indicating a landing.

"Eh~?"

I turned around to see a very dirtied Ken with Marisa holding hands. Ken is holding a sword in his hand while Marisa was carrying a broom at her side.

Ken seemed to have tears in his eyes with a very red face, while he let go of Marisa's hand.

Marisa looked horrible, not used to the sudden amount of speed then stopping so suddenly for a few minutes before returning back to normal.

(Impossible!!! This idiot can't have powers like this already....why is he crying...)

Ken looked fine even though some of his clothes were partly singed, his tears dripping down into the ground.

Marisa, having returned to normal, put a reassuring hand on Ken's back and rubbed it up and down.

(Are these two...)

(Just a few days ago, they were angry at each other, and now this happens. What an unlikely chain of events.)

(Time to let them know how I feel about this HUGE MARK ON MY COURTYARD.)

I cleared my throat, getting their attention.

I said, "Marisa~! What gave you the idea to use the spark on my shrine?! You could of destroyed it, and you KEN! you haven't been punished yet....I will.."

Ken ran towards me, dropping his sword onto the ground, and outstretched his arms.

Before I could raise my arms to repel him, he hugged me, in a tight squeeze.

His tears fell down onto my clothes, while I felt embarrassed and surprised at the same time.

(I'm confused. What's going on? Does he miss me? He's still getting his punishment.)

I felt warmth rush to my cheeks, while Ken still embraced me tightly. I looked past Ken and saw Marisa narrowing her eyes towards me.

(After how i treated him, he's hugging me now?)

(But, if he's trying to get away from his punishment like this...I...I)

"Ken....wh-what the...." I stuttered.

"I'm sorry, Reimu, for calling you greedy. And for hitting you with your own money. Please accept my apology" Ken whispered into my ears.

I became shocked for hearing those words, rendering me speechless.

(I never really ever get apologies, let alone from this guy)

"Ken..I...I"

I struggled for words as the hug was quite sudden and surprising, interrupting my thinking process.

(He apologizes.......and is hugging me. No one has ever hugged me before.)

I felt sad, since I was the one who made Ken do this in the first place.

(No Reimu.....be a brave shrine maiden....you can....apologize back. If I know how..)

I started to have tears in my eyes due to Ken's apology, making me grow less angrier of him.

Tears then fell out of my ears landing on his clothes as I wrapped my arms around Ken too, laying my head on his shoulder.

"Ken...I'm sorry too~!" I screamed into his clothes.

Now we were both crying and hugging together, I noticed sudden gasps in my voice while I was crying.

"But i called you mean names" said Ken.

"I almost got you killed" I replied.

We cried for five minutes while we still hugged. I heard footsteps coming towards us, then I felt Ken pulling away from me.

(That....and this...was nice.)

Ken was pulled along with it as Marisa began to drag him towards the spring.

I looked at his face, his face was red with tears in his eyes, he gasps for air while he is being dragged on the floor.

Marisa stopped and looked at me, grinning at me while somewhat twitching her eyes.

"Can we use your spring, Z-ze~?" Marisa asked. "Ken's a dirty boy"

I nodded, Marisa continued to drag Ken towards the spring pulling him by the neck of his shirt.

(hehe...he apologized to me first...and i got my first hug.)

I smiled and giggled, feeling warmth come into my cheeks again.

(I never felt this warmth before...)

Marisa stopped and looked at me again, narrowing her eyes again at me, along with an angry glare.

"Don't get any funny ideas, ze!" Marisa warned.

Marisa walked towards the shrine after putting Ken next to the spring.

"Huh?" I grunted.

(Now that I think about it, this seems a little fishy.)

(.........)

Ken's POV

(Wow Reimu can't be that gullible.)

I smiled, my plan fortunately came to fruition surprisingly while Marisa dragged me towards the spring.

(Ah that hurts dragging me by my neck, and my ass is gonna get burned from being dragged like this!)

I held out a thumbs up behind my back while i looked up to Marisa, trying to ignore the pain in my ass.

*flashback

"Ok, Marisa...My plan is to fool Reimu into not punishing both of us." I said. "This may not seem likely, but it's better than running away from her and dying" I said, feeling confident.

We were hovering over the forest of magic after our recent danmaku training, getting the fruits of two new cards.

Marisa shook her head at me, gliding towards me now slowly.
"I don't know Ken.....Reimu isn't easily as fooled as the others" said Marisa, doubtful of our plan.

(Because of her DIVINE duties to protect the Shrine and blah blah blah...)

(She's just a nosy miko who nobody really likes because she's practically a Mass-murderer.)

"I am going to try to make her feel apologetic by crying" I said. "It may not work, but we gotta confront her somehow"

Marisa raised her eyebrows, then rolled her eyes.

(Oh you disrespecting now?)

"She could just see through that" said Marisa, lazily.

"That's why i need you to make it look genuine, slap me" I ordered.

Marisa opened her eyes wide at me, surprised.

"What?! I don't want to hurt you" said Marisa, beginning to blush.

"I don't care! Just do it! I ain't a friggin masochist but i need you slap me a lot so we don't get our asses kicked" I replied ferociously. "You saw how you backhanded me, making a big red spot on my cheek."

(And it still hurts. I hope I have the right idea in mind.)

Marisa looked at me with a worried face, glancing at my cheek, still red from the accidental backhand.

"Ok" Marisa conceded.

Marisa raised her hand, then she slapped my cheek really hard while averting her eyes.

"Ow" I grunted, feeling my cheek with my hand.

(That's one slap. Like something I remember about hitting the sin sack.)

"Tsk Tsk Tsk You told me too, ze!" said Marisa, toyfully.

"I know! Just keep doing it and don't stop" I said, taken aback by the last word in that statement.

(That sounded really wrong, I hope she gets what I meant.)

I was faced with an onslaughter of slaps, each beginning to hurt more than the other.

(The skin better not erode away to muscle like this.)

Marisa seemed to be increasing in speed, making it hurt more each time, using both of her hands.

(Jeez....must endure pain to make it look realistic...)

I started to tear up, Marisa hesitated for a second but then continued.

After about 2 minutes, my face has a really sharp pain on both of my cheek worse than TWO cold sores in my mouth. Marisa stopped, looking at her red hands.

My face felt really hot and I was crying, feeling tears sooth my cheeks.

(At least i won't get sealed after all this...)

"So why exactly did you need me to slap you, ze?" Marisa asked.

"Make it more realistic, she won't believe me if i only cried. Let's go before its not red anymore.

(My cheeks are going to probably be inflamed for a long time though.)

"Ok, ze!" she agreed.

Then I grabbed her hand, making her blush, and flew towards the shrine with a sonic boom behind us.

(Is it me, or do I hear cheeks flapping and someone screaming. Nah, must be my imagination.)

*Flashback end

I was now lying in the hot spring with only my shorts on. I just finished recollecting about the plan.

(And it still hurts to this day, even dunking my head in the spring didn't help.)

I saw Marisa and Reimu go into the shrine, Reimu having calmed down from the emotional hug I set up.

(Heh, dirty boy I am.)

(Still, Reimu is known for being really nosy. Its a good thing i told Marisa to slap me, but then Reimu's nosiness might still see through it.)

(I also hope Marisa doesn't tell Reimu about our plan....she is that straightforward..)

(If any of that happens, at least we gave it a shot.)

I felt my cheek, a sharp pain coursed through my cheek, making me cringe in pain.

(It still hurts as hell though...ah well time to relax in the the spring.)

I relaxed my muscles while I began to feel good submerging my body in the water leaving only my head exposed.

I closed my eyes and thought about a 101 ways how Obama change the U.S. if he was a Touhou fan.

(hehehe....Yes eye can...I am the Strongest!!!)

An hour passed, my skin thoroughly wrinkled by the water, becoming bored of thinking of any other way about Obama being a Touhou fan.

(There's nothing I can come up with. I can't get past tanks using Master Spark and soldiers learning how to graze bullets)

All of a sudden, my face felt really cold, feeling definitely weird that I am warm and cold at the same time.

I opened my eyes and saw it was dark, with a red fog clouding my vision.

(Hmm~..Red Fog, my face being cold. Its dark now. I did notice when my eyes were closed that what I saw from a bright orange to a blackened reddish color.)

I thought about what could have caused all this, then two words struck out in my mind.

(REMILIA SCARLET! THE CHARISMA BRAT!)

Quickly i rushed out of the spring to tell Reimu and Marisa, then I rushed back in, feeling soothed by the warm waters.

(Shit!!! way too cold!!)

(Ok, I got to get to the shrine really fast, if I flew out the hot spring water really fast, the water would spread around and make me feel even colder.)

(I have no choice but to get out of the spring first, then rush to the shrine.)

I hurried and grabbed my shirt on the edge of the spring.

(3....2...1..GO)

I ran to the shrine as fast as i can while putting on my shirt.

I was just about to reach the door when my shirt got stuck.

(Gah~! I can't see!)

I kept running because I didn't want to die of frostbite, but my vision was hindered in the sense of direction with my shirt over my eyes.

(Damn this really thick cotton.)

Then, I hit a paper wall, It pushed me back with a thud as I fell back with my shirt still stuck.

I groaned, grimacing at the pain on my back.

My legs ended up on the wooden platform as my head was in mid air inches before the ground.

(Hopefully Marisa and Reimu heard that thud....ah my head...)

(Oh crap I'm still outside.....i don't want to die....but now my arms are stuck in the shirt as well.)

The water from the spring on my body hasn't dried, starting to bite back on me by turning cold.

"Brr~" I shivered.

I heard the door slid open, Iheard some giggling, then I felt two warm hands grabbing my legs and pulling me in.

"Ow~!" I grunted.

While they pulled me in, I hit my head against the platform, giving me a headache and hearing more giggling.

After the door was slid close and I was inside, I immediately took off my shirt then put it on properly.

I stood up from the ground, seeing Marisa and Reimu just sitting there with tea in their hands giggling.

(.........useless)

(Oh yeah. I should probably tell them about the messed-up weather outside.)

"Reimu! Marisa! There is a red fog outside!" I yelled.

"Stop making up stupid lies.....i don't see anything" Reimu said.

Then I stood there surprised with my eyes wide open.

(Ehh..she knew i was bluffing?!)

"I saw through your lie when you were at the spring. I didn't want to punish you right then because you didn't cause the mark and the fact Marisa slapped you many times in the face was good enough for me" said Reimu.

(What?! How does she?)

I dangerously glared at Marisa who was sipping her tea then looked at me, shaking her head.

(Did she tell Reimu all about our plan?)

"Anyway, I'm serious~! There really is a red fog out there" I said. "I would still be in the spring if it didn't happened.

I slid open the door behind me, seeing more red fog, as it was even colder, robbing me of the little warmth the shrine offered.

Then it began to enter the shrine so i quickly closed it, in fear of my warmth being robbed even further.

Both girls were sitting there wide-eyed in silence, especially Reimu.

Then Marisa finished sipping her tea and put the cup aside.

"Reimu, Does this mean...?" Marisa asked.

Then Reimu dramatically put her cup down with no tea left. I rolled my eyes.

(Too late for that.)

"I see. This is another........incident" Reimu answered, with a dramatic pause.

(That was a dramatic fail, what hype could you get from the word "incident.")

(Did she just get that from the Touhou Anime Project?)

(Either way it doesn't make a difference right now...)

(This is beginning to turn out like EoSD...if everything else is the same...)

(This may be an easy adventure....I don't know the difficulty though and danmaku takes a whole new perspective in 3D.)

(I guess i will try to assist one of the girls to the SDM and fix this incident i tried to fix for many days on my game, that I failed.)