When I arrived at the manor, I noticed that there was a guard different from Meiling at the gates; a girl with long purple hair and black eyes devoid of any light. I believed that Marisa was right in that Patchouli would be expecting her, so she would have probably told the guard about Marisa arriving. As I approached her, she didn't become hostile towards me, so I knew I was safe.

"You're Marisa Kirisame, right?" She asked.

I tried to give my best 'annoyed' expression, in keeping with my fake reason for being here. "Yeah." I tried walking past her, but she spoke out to me again.

"Those are some strange clothes you're wearing."

I quickly made up an excuse. "It's not by choice; someone else thought it would be funny to rob me as well. This-" I made a gesture towards my clothes. "-is what they left for me to wear."

"Hmm, getting robbed twice on the same night?" The girl seemed a little sceptical.

"Anyways, who are you?" I asked, quickly changing the topic. The girl's eyes seemed to narrow slightly before she gave me a smile.

"Meiling has been temporarily relieved of her duties; I'm her replacement." She spoke cheerfully, but I felt like something was wrong. I tried listening into her mind, but I found that something was blocking my power. I couldn't hide the surprise from my face, which the girl noticed. "Something the matter?"

"Why would they change the guard after all this time?" I said, quickly giving a reason for my expression. "If it was because she failed to do it properly, then they would've changed guards a long time ago."

The girl tilted her head slightly to the right. "Don't you have a reason for being here other than chatting away with a lowly guard such as myself?"

"Patchouli isn't going anywhere; besides, I'm curious."

The girl seemed to ponder for a moment before speaking again. "Well, she appears to have gotten sick, if you must know. She stood out in the rain an entire night around five days ago, so it's no wonder!"

It was true that Meiling was out in the rain, but it wasn't for the entire night. I wanted to take a chance and say she was lying, but Marisa had no reason to be so invested… No, that's also wrong; Marisa called me out on a lie before. I could simply use the excuse of being able to tell when someone was lying.

"It takes a liar to know one, although I almost believed you for a second there." I said, eliciting a surprised expression from the girl.

"I-I'm not-"

"You were. I don't necessarily know why you would, but you did." I crossed my arms.

The girl's face became a little tenser. "How would you even be able to tell something like that?"

"Well, if I told you how, then you'll obviously fix whatever it was that gave it away in the first place." I said, continuing my bluff. Luckily, I wasn't nervous at all; I knew she was lying and that was enough to keep me calm.

"I have a tell? Ridiculous." The girl glared in suspicion. "You must have known what happened during that night."

"I can guess; if Meiling being sick is a lie, then why would they replace the guard? Simple; they want to guard the manor from something or someone that Meiling can't handle. Isn't that right?"

Her black eyes stared at me, as though she were threatening to suck me into an abyss; her expression had softened, however. "Alright, if you must know, the manor was attacked by a certain Yōkai. She has silver hair, green eyes and is very slender, apparently."

"What does she wear?"

"Other than, 'it's a dress of some kind', the people who were assaulted didn't give out a very detailed explanation. They were… preoccupied with other matters." The guard gave a sideways look to the ground, keeping vague about the incident; I knew exactly what she was talking about, however. She turned to face me and spoke again, "If you find her, can you please inform me as soon as possible? You see, she has the power to control anyone's mind, but I can nullify that power. It would be in everyone's best interest if I were to confront her."

So that explained why I couldn't read her mind, but the fact that she wanted to confront me rather than simply protect the manor raised a few more questions. My goal was Flandre, however, not understanding who this guard was. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Now excuse me…" I walked past the guard and entered the manor without anymore interruptions. I didn't look back at her at the risk of being found out, despite looking exactly like Marisa in every way shape and form.

When I was inside, I got a few glance from the maids; some being guarded, some surprised and some swooning over me… Well, I'd like to think that last one were true, since there was some awe in regards to how I looked. Naturally, 'I, Marisa will conquer every girl in this manor!' is what I thought, but I couldn't go too overboard with my role-play; it would've caused Marisa trouble later if I did.

It was a really, really weird switch that got flipped. I need to remember that I'm not Marisa, even if picturing her as someone who steals the hearts of women all around Gensokyo was really exciting in a way.

I already knew where the library was from my previous visit, even if it was a little foggy, so I had very little difficulty finding my way there… well, finding the stairway down, anyways. I always wondered why they had such a huge passageway down, but thinking about it now, the library had many books; no matter where you looked inside, there were books as far as the eye could see. Perhaps the distance was necessary after all, since they used up a lot of space for their library. When I reached the end and entered the library, I had to stand still for a moment to process what was happening before my eyes.

Flandre was off in the distance, hovering around one of the bookshelves in the row before me. I had hope that this meant her situation had changed, but I needed to remain cautious since I looked like Marisa.

"Ah, I knew you would come." Patchouli, who I hadn't noticed was to the right of me, addressed me. I turned to face her with my arms crossed, putting on an annoyed look.

"I take it you have something to say to me?" I asked, to which Patchouli raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm, you're actually going to listen?"

"It's been a very long day… well, night, but I'd rather just get this over with." I sighed, continuing to pretend I was Marisa. "What do you want me to do before I can have my books back?"

"I want you to wait." Patchouli stated.

I knew that Marisa, being reckless and impatient, wouldn't let that one slide. "Huh, what do you mean!?"

"You need to fully understand what it means to be patient. To wait and wait for someone to return without any indication they'll fulfill the promise they made." Patchouli said with a scorned smile.

"…Eh? Is it just me or are you acting odd?" I asked, noticing the expression Patchouli made was one I didn't think she would normally make.

"Who knows?" Patchouli was about to turn away from me, but I grabbed her hand and turned her around to face me.

"Come on, Patchy, I won't know what you're thinking if you don't… tell… me…" My voice trailed off when I saw Patchouli's expression; her eyes were completely wide and her entire face was beet red. Her mouth was wide open as well and I could hear her mumbling incoherently.

"Wh-wh-wh-wh, I-I t-told y-you not t-t-to call me th-that anymore…" Patchouli looked to the side bashfully as I couldn't help gaping.

I had just stumbled across something incredible; one of Marisa's previous lovers. I couldn't help but feel a little jealous, so I decided to tease her a little bit more. I leaned my mouth towards her ear and breathed out. Her figure shuddered as a small moan escaped her mouth, making my heart beat a little faster.

"…No, nevermind." I pulled away from Patchouli, her eyes looking at me with hints of desire. "That was unfair of me, sorry."

"…?" Patchouli looked at me like a deer in headlights, completely confused.

"I'll ask about the books later… when it's not so weird between us." I said, flying off into the library before the situation became more awkward.

When Marisa ran away into the library, I found that my voice couldn't call out to her. I just stood in that spot absentmindedly, acting like a complete fool. After a small period of time, I found my voice speaking on its own.

"But… you were supposed to be unfair."

She should've known that it was odd I was able to steal her books; unless I had her house under constant surveillance, I wouldn't have known her defensive measures were down. The plan was for Marisa to catch on that I wasn't after teaching her a lesson… she should have known exactly why I did what I did, and yet, for some reason, she misunderstood completely.

I clenched the area around my chest; it hurt.

"…Didn't you wear that… so you can seduce me? Are you… ever going to come back to me?"

After leaving Patchouli, I saw that Flandre wasn't in the spot she was in when I first entered the library. I knew she couldn't have gone too far, but I didn't know which direction she went, so I might end up taking longer than I needed to find her. I wandered around the bookshelves near where I last saw her and luckily found her on the second one I looked down. I quickly 'explained' the situation by placing some thoughts inside her head; she now knew that I was there and that I was transformed into Marisa. Her head turned away from the bookshelf and saw me moving towards her, a smile spreading across her face.

"Hello, Flandre." I said.

"Hello Ko-…Marisa." Flandre corrected herself. "I am surprised they even let you in, considering how Marisa's like."

"Hmm? Oh, well she had a good reason for coming here today."

Flandre looked back towards the bookshelf. "I'm actually really, really happy right now… I think if I saw you as yourself, I might have hugged you as hard as I can." Flandre explained, worried she hadn't shown me enough gratitude.

"I won't doubt you." I said with a smile. Flandre's expression also seemed to relax when she heard me say that. I let this pause between us continue as she scanned the bookshelf and grabbed a book. "How's the situation here, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Well, it has improved, if only slightly." Flandre said. "Patchouli has permitted me to read in the library, so I no longer have nothing to do…" Flandre trailed off and looked disheartened all of a sudden, worrying me. "You came here to rescue me, right?"

"Of course I did."

"…" Flandre frowned as she ran her finger along the spine of the book she had obtained. "Koishi, I want to stay here."

…Huh?

Looking at Flandre, I could see regret plain on her face, but there was no indication she would be changing her mind about this decision anytime soon. I was about to open my mouth to ask why before she spoke up again.

"There's something I have to do here before I leave. I'm not sure how long it will take, but if I succeed, I will be able to come and go from the manor as I please..." Flandre paused to take a breath; she spoke quickly, as though she were trying to get this conversation over with. "I… I'm grateful for everything you've done for me, and I would like to be good friends with you, but… can I ask you not to visit me for a while?"

"Why?" I asked almost automatically, the sudden decision by Flandre making me confused and hurt.

"I don't want you to be put in any danger because of me." Flandre stated.

"…Danger?"

Flandre nodded. "I saw Patchouli leaving the library early this morning. When I asked her what she was going to do, she told me she had to talk to someone named Rei. She had forgotten that I was unable to know what was going on regarding our situation with… well, when you fooled around with Meiling and Koakuma." Flandre looked off to the side when she referred to my earlier mischief.

"Ha-ha… You found out?" I laughed nervously.

"Sakuya told me the same night it happened." Flandre sighed. "I still have no idea what actually happened, as I never learned about those kinds of adult things, but I understand enough to know you weren't joking when you called your actions that night 'naughty'." I let out another laugh, actually amused this time since I recalled my words during that night. Flandre gave a questioning eyebrow before continuing. "Anyways, Patchouli explained that Rei was replacing Meiling so that we could defend against you, since her power was the ability to block other's powers."

"Ah…" I remembered that I was unable to hear the guards thoughts back at the gate.

"She's also one of the elder Yōkai who guard the human village, so she isn't someone you can simply beat in danmaku; at least, that's what Patchouli told me." Flandre stated. "That's why I can't have you visit me for a while, because of who's guarding the manor."

"But the worst that'll happen is that I lose, right? There's no reason-"

"No!" Flandre yelled, startling me as I backed away unconsciously. She immediately looked regretful, but continued. "If she ends up beating you, she'll capture you with the help of the other elder Yōkai; they have a place for all the Yōkai who are too dangerous… Patchouli said that the plan was to put you in that same place with no hope of escape."

"No escape?"

"…They have someone who can seal away any power, no matter what it is; you will be completely powerless and possibly imprisoned for the rest of your life. I don't want that, so… please."

"But I can't just leave you, even if that's all true!"

"You can!" Flandre exclaimed. "I already told you I'm going to be fine, so you don't need to worry about me!" Flandre paused and took a deep breath to calm herself. "I need you to promise me you won't attempt to rescue me, because I won't be able to succeed if I'm constantly worrying about whether you'll do something and get caught. This is something I want to do, and when it's over we'll be able to see each other again, so please just trust me for now, okay?"

Looking at Flandre's downcast expression, I could see how frustrated she was; she clearly didn't want to be mean, but she felt like it was important to keep me away. I gave a long sigh before looking into her head and finding nothing; she was surprisingly good at keeping her thoughts to herself in this situation.

"...What exactly do you plan on doing?" I asked.

"That's a secret, just know it's not anything you need to worry about."

"How long will it be before you succeed?"

Flandre avoided eye-contact as she spoke in a voice slightly above a whisper. "One year, maybe longer."

The silence that followed was uncomfortable. I didn't understand what Flandre was planning at all, but for some reason, I just knew that I couldn't change her mind about this unless I used my powers on her. Naturally, I wasn't going to do that, so was the only option available to me to give up?

"Koishi." Flandre spoke upon noticing my discontent. "Don't you have anything you want to do? Like… if you never met me, then what were you going to do?"

I remained silent, trying to think about an answer to the question. Perhaps I thought about it too long, because Flandre began talking again.

"I have something I want to do, right here… a life goal that centres around who I am and defines me as a person. Until I achieve that, I don't want to leave here. Do you know what I'm trying to say?" Flandre looked at me with her red eyes, resolution clear in her expression. I faltered in the face of her presence, hints of a powerful charisma in her posture and words that weren't there before. It was at that time that I wondered just what sort of goal she had that would change her so much from the girl I met crying in the basement earlier that week to the one standing before me.

"I…" I wanted to say something, but I knew that there wasn't anything else I could say to that. Other than helping out Flandre or Yamane, I didn't have a goal, did I? Was Yamane the same as Flandre; did she have a goal that defined her as a person? Was I in the wrong for wanting to help others… No, for that matter, why do my actions have to do with other people? …What is it that defines me as a person?

"…If you don't know what to do from here, then the answer is simple; find something you want to do. I lived in a basement for over five-hundred years with nothing to do and accomplished nothing but self-inflicted injuries. I will admit that you had an important impact on my life and I doubt that I would have found a goal without you, however… going around and helping others isn't what you truly want to do, is it?"

I couldn't disagree; I prioritized Marisa over Flandre and Yamane, after all.

…Wait, why did I do that? What was my goal when I visited her that day?

Flandre gave a smile. "It seems like you have an idea after all."

I looked at Flandre with a confused expression, but she didn't elaborate any further.

"Well then, I should probably get going now. It was nice being able to chat with you again, but if I don't end this conversation here, I doubt we'd ever stop. Besides, isn't there something else you need to do now?"

With that last question Flandre turned around and flew off further into the library, leaving me in stunned silence. After staring at the space she was previously in for another long second, I made my way out of the library, pondering what my goal was.

As I was exiting the gate, I could see a familiar face talking to the guard named Rei; a shrine maiden dressed in red and white was asking about what happened at the manor.

"—ke I told you before, she's only sick-" Rei insisted, slightly distressed by her upset visitor.

"I was called here because I was told a dangerous Yōkai attacked here, now cut it out and tell me what happened!"

"Why would the famous Reimu Hakurei care about what happens to the Scarlet Devil Manor?" Rei asked suspiciously.

"I don't but-" Reimu gave a 'hmph' under her breath as she explained. "-I owe the mistress of the manor a favor."

"A favor?"

"You see, she…" Reimu trailed off when she saw me approaching the gate, her reaction one of surprise.

Now that I think of it, I'm still Marisa to the eye, right? I guess Reimu wouldn't simply ignore her best friend, but I don't want to be here any longer than I have to be… I still don't have a choice, so I better play along.

"Hey." I casually raised my hand in greeting as I approached the gate, giving a friendly smile.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Reimu angrily asked.

…Huh?

"Oh, Marisa was actually a guest of Patchouli for today, so-" Rei trailed off as Reimu walked right past her and made a beeline straight for me.

"Reimu, is something wr-" I couldn't finish my question as Reimu grabbed me by the collar and glared at me in the eye.

"How much longer are you going to keep this up!?" Reimu yelled at me with full force, confusing and worrying me at the same time.

Reimu's face was livid; there was no way you could see her and assume that Marisa and her were friends. No, with the way she was acting, it was more like they were enemies who hated each other.

Marisa, did you get in a fight with Reimu?

"Awnser me, Marisa!"

I flinched from Reimu pulling me closer towards her. I didn't exactly want to interfere with Marisa's life any more than I had to, so I tried to stop making this situation worse than it already was. Now I knew that they were in a fight, so I had to act like I truly understood what was going on or Reimu would have considered Marisa completely insensitive.

"Do you really want to do this here?" I no longer kept a friendly expression on my face as I broke away from Reimu's grip, who still maintained her angry expression.

"Do you really expect me to keep quiet after what you did, especially when I find you here?" Reimu hissed.

Reimu spoke with such spite that I wondered just what Marisa possibly could have done. Whatever it was, it must have been pretty bad, probably something I couldn't apologize about with no knowledge of what happened. I decided to remain silent and walk away.

"Don't run away!" Reimu cut me off from leaving. "How long are you going to keep pretending it never happened!?"

It had been a while since I looked into someone's mind, so I almost forgot about my own power. Luckily, I wanted to know what was in Reimu's mind, for her to be acting like this.

. . . . .

. . .

Reimu's face became completely enraged at my silence. I had looked into her mind and found something so shocking that I ended up processing what was going on, but Reimu couldn't have possibly known that. That's probably why what I said in my daze made the situation that much worse.

"…I'm sorry?"

I said the worst possible thing during the worst possible moment. In the next moment, I felt three blunt hits against my head; the first from Reimu's fist, with so much force behind it that I was sent flying. The second from the open gate which I collided into and the third from hitting the ground. It was a miracle I was even conscious, since the way Reimu clobbered me was without mercy and the way my head landed on the gate sideways was even more so.

Even more dazed then before, I looked at Reimu, who I expected to be worried with the way my head landed, but she showed absolutely no remorse, nor did she even look satisfied with the pain she inflicted.

"To think you were even my friend disgusts me." Reimu looked at me like she wouldn't have minded if I died on the spot. Then, after staring me down for a little while longer, she walked away and headed towards the manor.

"…Ah, wait a moment!" Rei had recovered from her shock of what had just happened and ran after Reimu. It wasn't every day you saw the famous shrine maiden, but to see her act with such malicious intent was unheard of.

I grabbed my throbbing forehead and gingerly sat up, trying to get my bearings. I knew that I had done something that could not be undone, but after looking into Reimu's mind, I knew that Marisa had done something just as bad.

The migraine that assaulted me made the world spin. Becoming unconscious or on the verge of becoming so was almost a daily activity for me at this point, so much so that it made me want to cry. I couldn't fly in the state I was in, so I walked slowly back towards Marisa's house through the forest. The warm wind felt nice against my skin, so I felt a little bit better, despite all that had just happened to me. The shade the trees provided was also nice, I decided, since the glare of the sun would've bothered me right now.

Off in the distance, I could see someone sitting at a tree; a young woman with blond hair holding a doll. I didn't want to take any detours since my energy was fading, so I hoped that she wasn't an acquaintance of Marisa's and continued the path towards her, since it was the fastest way back to Marisa.

As I approached her, my worst fears were realized.

"...Marisa?" The woman looked at me with doubting eyes, as though she didn't believe what she was seeing.

I decided that the best way to avoid conversation was to pretend I couldn't even speak. I knew that I probably looked unwell, so I decided to use that to my advantage and collapsed into the ground on purpose. I had used my arms to cushion my head a little, so I was still conscious.

"Marisa!" Now the woman had worry in her voice as I could hear her footsteps approaching me with haste. I could feel her flip me onto my back and I stared up at her with narrow eyes. "Are you okay, can you hear me?"

I kept up the act and nodded my head without speaking a word. I didn't know this stranger's name so I didn't want to address her at all if I could.

"I'm going to help you up, okay?" The woman sat me up and kneeled down to get my left arm over her shoulder. I could also feel another force under my other arm and turned my head; her doll was moving on its own in mid-air and was helping her lift me up. When they got me on my feet, she asked me if I was okay to walk, to which I nodded. "Okay, just hang on; my place isn't too far from here.

Naturally, I didn't know how long the potion would last, so I needed to be away from her as soon as possible. "No… take me…" I was about to tell her to take me home (to Marisa's place), but I felt my strength leave me all of a sudden. The last thought I had was that this couldn't be happening, but it occurred anyways.

I had fallen unconscious yet again.