There were many plants all throughout Gensokyo that flourished during the summer season, and Yuuka was spending a lot of her time going around to admire or check on them. The sunflowers in her favourite garden were in full splendor, the hills that lined the path towards the village contained many hydrangeas that were blooming nicely, and the irises along the lake were the most beautiful they have been all year.

Her trip today brought her to the Forest of Magic. The strange forest contained a wide variety of plants, some dangerous, some deadly, all beautiful in its own right. The forest was so peculiar that even what species of fauna and fungi that grew in it seemed to completely change as time passed, which was always exciting to the various magicians who resided within, and for flower enthusiasts like Yuuka.

Yuuka was currently taking a stroll through that very forest, her parasol shielding her from the rays of sunlight that managed to seep through the heavy foliage above. The Forest of Magic had a unique atmosphere in that the air always carried an aura of unnatural energy to it, as if it was constantly tinged with magic, and there always seemed to be a sense of something unseen watching from the distance. Most people would probably find these qualities disturbing, but Yuuka thought it gave the place a uniquely special and quirky atmosphere.

She stopped in front of a specific tree when something caught her eye. Growing near the base of the tree were some particularly interesting flowers. Yuuka's first assumption was that they were lavenders, but their shape and shade of colour weren't quite like anything she had seen before. She kneeled down, and stared intently at them with a captivated smile. "How delightful…"

"Heeeey…!" Before Yuuka could think to do anything else, a loud, familiar voice rang through the forest. It sounded distant at first, but then closed that distance in no time. "Don't touch those flowers!"

Yuuka stood up just in time to see a black and white figure zooming towards her on a broom. Even before it slowed down to be recognisable, she knew it was Kirisame Marisa, an ordinary witch who resided in the forest.

Marisa landed on her feet next to Yuuka, and her broom flew into her hand, while her other hand held a basket. She pointed one end of the broom at Yuuka, and addressed her with a cheeky smile. "It's nice to see you, Yuuka, but I'm going to ask you to step away from those rare specimens."

"I haven't decided what I was going to do with them, if anything." Yuuka nonchalantly replied. "Do you know what these flowers are?"

"Not a clue." Marisa happily stated before kneeling down to get a better look at them. "There's been more and more unnatural mutations among the forest's plantlife. It's been a real hassle trying to document them, but I think I might be starting to understand a pattern of correlation. I'm this close to figuring out a way to produce a whole new slew of potential magical ingredients."

Despite calling it a hassle, Marisa was positively beaming as she talked about the work she's been doing. Yuuka nodded in understanding, unsurprised that the strange flowers are the result of some magical influence. "This forest is always exciting, isn't it? To think new species of flowers can just spring up like this. I think these in particular would sit nicely on my drawer..."

"Hey, hold that thought. Didn't I already ask you to stay away from these specimens?" Marisa stood up, turning to face Yuuka with a protesting stance. "I don't yet know when and where these flowers are prone to pop up, so I need to take these ones back to study."

"But if they're that hard to come by, then I can't pass up the chance to take them with me." Yuuka likewise wasn't keen on just letting the matter go either. "I'd even be careful to keep them enriched in soil, while I'm certain they would just die in your hands before you make it to your house."

"Don't you have thousands of funny-looking flowers in your home already? You can spare these ones for once, right?"

"Can't you go pick up some mushrooms today instead? This forest has no shortage of trivial knick-knacks you like."

"There's no need to insult mushrooms!" Marisa clicked her tongue, and set her basket on the floor. "Seems like there's only one way to settle this. With a duel!"

"My, my, Marisa, are you sure? With flowers as the prize, do you really want to face me?"

"I should ask the same of you, facing me when my research is at stake is a fool's errand." Marisa responded with a determined grin, before taking to the air with her broom.

"Don't expect any mercy." Yuuka said with a sly smile as she followed after Marisa.

"From you? Never." Marisa's grin only seemed to grow brighter as Yuuka threw the first bullet, followed by the next several dozen.

At the end of a long battle that was far more intense than really warranted, Marisa descended to the ground as the proud victor, getting away with just a few bruises and some singes on her hat. "Hah! You should have expected nothing less!"

Yuuka floated back down to the ground as well, both her clothes and her parasol in disarray, but neither was the reason for the dreary expression on her face, her eyes downcast and her voice dismal. "This is terrible… I could have taken good care of those special flowers, but now there is no hope for them."

"...Hey. Could you stop?"

Yuuka did not stop. "I've doomed them to their fate at the hands of an uncaring witch, with the least green thumb in this land."

"Shut up! I forgot to water my houseplant all of two times, and you still won't let it go?!"

Marisa rolled her eyes. Even though she knew that Yuuka was probably just messing around, she still felt like she was being criticised.

"Look, I will be very careful with these flowers, okay? I'll extract what I need from them and then I'll plant them back in the forest's natural climate. Is that fine?"

"Oh my!" Yuuka instantly perked up, or perhaps she just dropped her act from a second ago. "The witch might be gaining an appreciation for nature after all."

"Yeah, yeah." Marisa knelt down and proceeded to go about carefully picking the bunch of strange flowers. All the while, Yuuka was still standing nearby and watching, and Marisa couldn't help but feel self-conscious, taking extra care not to damage the flowers as she collected them in a basket.

"So…" Yuuka decided to fill the dead air by speaking. "What kind of breakthrough are you expecting to find with these plants, anyway?"

"A big one." Marisa boldly stated. "The intimate relationship between the forest's energies and its effect on living things has always been more of an abstract concept, but these flowers might be empirical evidence of that. If one thing leads to another, I could end up learning how to manipulate the very magic that makes up the composition of our surroundings! It'll be like manipulating reality itself!"

"That's a bit of a leap, isn't it?" Yuuka was suitably awed, but not as much as she was skeptical.

"Well, you gotta shoot for the stars, otherwise what's the point?" Soon enough, Marisa had transferred all the flowers into her basket. With satisfaction emanating from her very being, she sat on her broom which proceeded to lift her up. "See you around, Yuuka. Maybe the next time you see me, I might even be running the entire forest!"

"Good luck." Yuuka waved goodbye as Marisa zoomed away. "I'm pretty sure you already have your run of the place."

There was a knock on the door, and a consistent rhythm of knocks every five seconds, which remained consistent for the next thirty seconds. It somehow carried the sense of someone patient, yet urging for whoever was inside to hurry.

"-coming! I'm coming!" Marisa finally made it to the door of her house, not bothering with taking off the kitchen apron she was wearing. When she opened it, she was mildly surprised at who had arrived. "Oh, Yuuka! It's been what, a week since we saw each other?"

"Good afternoon." Yuuka politely greeted as she closed her parasol. Tucker under her other arm was a big grocery bag. "I happened to be thinking about you and your project today, and wanted to come check in on it. May I come in?"

"Project? ...Oh, right. Yeah, sure." Marisa allowed Yuuka to come in. The house was slightly less messy than its usual disorganized default state, enough that Marisa had no qualms against letting a guest inside. "What's the bag for?"

"Later." That's all the answer Yuuka gave before glancing around the house. "So, are you still holding on to those- ...Oh."

Just as Yuuka was asking about them, she spotted the strange flowers that she had fought over with Marisa over a week ago. They were each situated in their own pot, and lined up somewhat haphazardly on a table, right under a window.

"Hmm…" Yuuka moved closer to the potted plants, inspecting them closely. Some of the colour was a bit drained from their petals, and most of them were drooping to a significant degree. "They're looking a little sad, don't you think?"

"Hey, you thought they'd be dead before they reached my house, didn't you? Compared to that, I'm doing wonders." Marisa started with an exasperated defense, but soon dropped it with a resigned sigh. "Well, okay, they're not doing great, and neither is my 'work' with them."

"Oh right, you said something about 'altering reality' or something with these flowers. How did that play out?"

"Did I really say that? That sounds ridiculous. ...And also foolish, because these flowers have provided zero use for my research." Marisa walked over to the flowers and stared at them indignantly, as if wanting them to know that she was disappointed with them. "I examined every cell and aspect, and there is so far nothing to be found. Nothing whatsoever to contribute to any understanding of magical composition, and absolutely no use as a magical ingredient. ...It's okay if you feel like laughing."

"I wouldn't laugh. I think it's unfortunate when effort goes to waste, especially if you spent so much time dissecting these power flowers."

"I was careful! And well… I guess I can't claim it was a 'complete' waste. The sap from the flowers might not be useful for magical purposes, but…"

Marisa moved to her kitchen, which had in fact been the busiest area of her house the last few days. Yuuka had wordlessly followed her there, and came across an interesting sight. One counter on the side was lined with jars and bottles filled with a translucent, orange liquid in them. On the table were several plates of dishes, including pies, sandwiches, and meat slices, some with bites taken out of them, and all with a similar orange substance smeared across them.

"...I found a way to convert the sap into a pretty tasty syrup. I've been trying out different recipes with them."

"Oh wow. That's quite impressive." A greatly amused Yuuka remarked. "When you came upon one dead end, you didn't waste any time trying to find an alternate way to make productive use of your findings."

"Well, I also hate it when effort goes to waste. Before you showed up, I was going to try mixing the syrup with some different alcohols."

"I'm glad I showed up before you decided to get drunk at midday."

"I wasn't going to start guzzling it down or anything!" Marisa quickly corrected. She took pride in how she was responsible with all manner of substances.

"Regardless, I am sorry the research didn't work out. In that case, you won't mind if I take those flowers out of your hands then? I'm certain I can get them to flourish and take on a healthier colour again."

"I don't mind, but... Is that the only reason you came here? Did you know somehow that they'd be useless to me by now?" Marisa crossed her arms and stared Yuuka up and down with suspicion.

"No, no, I had no idea. In fact, I was ready to make an exchange if they were still valuable to you, hence why I brought this." Yuuka said, lifting the bag she was carrying.

"Oho, so you came here to bribe me, huh?" Marisa brought her hands to her hips, pretending to look offended. "Don't you know I take my research very seriously?"

"I do. That's why I was going to offer all these old tomes I had in my closet." Yuuka picked out a book from inside the bag. It wasn't just any book however, but clearly some kind of ancient tome written in some equally ancient language.

"Woah… You just had those lying around?" Marisa's eyes instantly lit up at the sight of the book, written in a language she was only familiar with in her studies.

"I collected them a long time ago, but I haven't had any use for them in centuries. Some of them might even be almost as old as I am. I admit I've been looking for an excuse to clear out some things of mine, so maybe it sounds like I'm just handing off my trash to you, but… Marisa?"

Marisa was only half listening at that point, her attention and her sparkling eyes were completely focused on the newfound prize, and then the grocery bag which apparently held many similar items. "Hey, if you want to toss them into the trash can that is my home, please feel free!"

With that exuberant statement, Marisa practically lunged for the bag, before Yuuka deftly sidestepped the witch entirely. "Wait just one moment. I would like something in return."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, take the flowers with you, I don't care!" Marisa quickly said before approaching again. Though she stopped when it looked like Yuuka was going to lift her foot keep her at bay.

"Well, not just that, not anymore." Yuuka placed the book back in the bag before continuing with a grin. "Since I'm already here, and you've already been busy in your kitchen... I wonder if you'll treat me to lunch?"

Although she was surprised at the 'condition' for a second, Marisa let out a hearty laugh. "Hah! If that's what it takes, then sure. We can talk more over lunch too. Maybe discuss what's in those books of yours, or maybe I'll take the chance to whine more to you about my failed experiments."

"All of that sounds like a delightful way to spend the afternoon." Yuuka happily agreed.

With that plan in mind, Marisa bowed and gestured the way towards her kitchen. "Then please help yourself to Cafe de Marisa."

Yuuka couldn't help but chuckle at the strange gesture. "What does even that mean?"

"I don't know, I picked it up from some book." Marisa shrugged her shoulders.

The two of them made their way to the kitchen, seating themselves at the dining table. Yuuka handed Marisa her grocery bag to be set down on the floor in the corner. When Marisa did so however, she noticed something within the bag, out of the corner of her eye. "Hey, what's this?"

Marisa had pulled out a white envelope that was nestled between two tomes. Despite its small size, it stood out immediately from the worn books.

"A letter? …'Only open when you are alone', huh?" A confused Marisa waved the envelope at Yuuka. "Did you put this in there by mistake?"

"Not a mistake." Yuuka shook her head. "I do believe that right there is some kind of occult object. I didn't quite fully understand it myself when I read it, but apparently its ownership can only be transferred from one person to the next under very specific circumstances."

"Really? This little thing?" Marisa raised an eyebrow at that. The envelope certainly didn't look like an occult object, but then again, those kinds of things had a habit of taking on some kind of unsuspecting guise. "What kind of circumstances, exactly?"

Yuuka gave an enigmatic smile at that. "The kind of circumstances that you'd be happy to have. I think the person who handed it to me was eager to do so, because they wanted to prove that they had those circumstances at all."

"That sounds really vague, but I am curious… What happens if I open it right now anyway?"

"I assume bad things." Yuuka said with a shrug. "How about you worry about that later, though?"

"You're the one who brought it to me… But fine." Even if it sounded suspicious, Marisa was fairly confident Yuuka wasn't out to pull a prank on her or anything.

Marisa tossed the envelope back into the bag, deciding she would examine that 'occult object' first among all her new gifts later, before picking a plate of pie for herself.

Before she took a bite, Marisa spoke again. "Oh, I just thought of this, but do you find it strange, eating something that came from a flower? I mean, the way you talk about flowers sometimes, I wonder if it'd be weird for you. ...Although you are a youkai, so maybe it's a moot point."

"I do eat vegetables, you know?" Yuuka incredulously answered, as she stuck a fork into a plate of syrup-covered pie.

"I don't think I know, actually." Marisa said, stuffing a forkful of pie into her mouth in-between words, and swallowing just as quickly. "Before I saw you drink tea for the first time, I actually thought you just photosynthesised."

"I wish." Yuuka then pulled out her fork, taking with it a solid chunk of the pie, and took a bite.

There was an almost overwhelming sweetness that Yuuka hadn't expected. Her eyes lit up for a second from that surprise, and her lips quivered. Another moment passed as she allowed herself to familiarise with the texture, and only then was she able to differentiate the multiple flavours involved. The sweetness remained incredibly strong all throughout however, even sort of 'tickling' her taste buds, but it was not at all unpleasant.

By the second bite, Yuuka had come to the conclusion that the pie was absolutely delicious. As she chewed with renewed appreciation, it was then that she noticed Marisa was staring at her with a strange look. "What is it?"

"Huh? Um, n-nothing…" Marisa could have answered how she had never before seen Yuuka make the faces she just did within the last twelve seconds. Marisa could have also mentioned the cute sound of satisfaction that Yuuka didn't seem to notice she had made. "I'm just… glad you like it too."

"It's very good." Yuuka gave an approving nod. "Look at yourself, in fact. It's so tasty it's making you blush."

"Y-yeah…" Marisa quietly answered, as she crammed more pie into her mouth. "...I'm so glad I found a use for those flowers."

The two of them continued eating the various dishes laid out on the table. They ended up not discussing anything relating to tomes or experiments like Marisa had planned, but instead talked long into the afternoon about trying different recipes.