Disclaimer: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona belongs to ATLUS. Touhou Project belongs to Zun. I have no ownership of the copyrights of either series in any way.
Chapter 30: The Stars Outside
"Marisa…" Huh, that's funny. I think I heard my name being called, but I don't know whose voice that is. It's not Reimu's that's for sure, and Alice's wouldn't call me like that either. "Marisa, wake up…" I heard again in a soft, calming tone. It reminded me of the way Minato would call my name, but it was definitely a girl's voice. As girly as he can be sometimes, he's definitely a boy. Though I'm still tired, I guess I should see who it is, especially since they're shaking me. Also what's that crashing sound woosh sound? Geez, calm down, I'm getting up.
Opening my eyes, I saw that I was currently being cradled by a girl who I didn't know. It was dark though, so I wasn't able to make out her features. I then casted a night vision spell to get a better look… she's cute. Red hair, and red eyes; cute, though unusual clothes… but her stare seems a bit familiar. Why is that?
"Good, you're awake. Are you okay Marisa?"
"Woah!" I jumped out of the girl's arms, but I was too quick and ended up flopping onto the sand… sand? I lifted my face up, and in front of me was a giant body of water… No matter how far I looked, I couldn't see the other side. It just seemed to span infinitely in every direction away from the land. Is this the sea? I've never seen such a thing before. That sound then… it was the sound of crashing waves. I've read about it, but this is… I don't know how to say it. Just, "Wow…"
"Right, Gensokyou doesn't have an ocean nearby." I heard the girl say. My whipped around faster than I could even register her words. Did she say Gensokyou? She knows about Gensokyou? Am I not in the outside world… but the thing she said seems to indicate this isn't Gensokyou. A-and this is the ocean? Hold on… this is too much…
Okay slow down Marisa, remember what happened. I first used my special furnace booster to rocket myself past the barrier, then after a few seconds, I think I heard something break, or at least sounded like breaking, but it wasn't exactly that. Then afterwards I saw lights on the ground before I tried to steer around, but lost control. The last thing I remember then was seeing the ground come up… Okay, that's what happened. So now I'm up and this girl here apparently was looking out for me. Welp, I suppose nothing better to do than to ask her who she is.
"Hey, who are you?" I asked as I hopped onto my feet, but the sand was looser than I expected, causing me to slip a bit before catching myself. Ew… I feel crusty. This sand is sticking to my clothes, and is that salt I taste?
"You're not used to the ocean huh?" She said as she came up to me and started patting me… no, dusting the sand off my clothes.
"Hey, I asked you a question, ze!" I bat the girl's hands away. A bit too touchy feely for my tastes… though it did make me feel better.
"Huh? Oh, right. I was so caught up with you being here, that I forgot about…" She looked down at herself as her voice faded out. What a sleepy way of speaking. It's just like Minato's. Is she related to him? She basically acts exactly like him, even down to the whole being slightly spaced-out kind of deal. "Uh, maybe this will help." She brought up her hand that had a ring… on… it… Wait that's Minato's ring that he got from Alice!
"Where did you get that!" I grabbed his hand to take a closer look. There's no mistake. I'd recognize Alice's handywork anywhere. It's as clean as she is. Not only that, but it's also definitely Minato's. These engravings are only on his ring. Alice is too much of an 'artist' to not try and her works unique. Just as I was about to try and yank it right of this skank's hand though-
"I got it from Alice when I was learning under her." What? What did she say? But that's supposed to be Minato… Is she saying that she is… what?
"Huh?" I looked back at the girl. Despite looking… well nothing at all like Minato, and being a girl at that, her presence, posture, and expressions were exactly like his.
"Marisa, it's me, Minato…" But wait… hold on… huh?
"How? Is it… well I mean… just why?"
"Yukari's fault." Oh… okay. That explains that.
"Alright, that makes sense, ze." I shrugged my shoulders. Yukari's done weirder and wilder.
"Is that really all you need?" Minato, I guess, asked.
"Well I mean, this is pretty up there for weird even for Yukari, but I can see it, ze. She's done worse, for less. Though if you don't mind my asking, do you have any idea why she turned you into a girl?" I mean, that's a pretty big change all things considering. That earth rabbit didn't mention this at all. Probably did it to prank us if we decided to follow out.
"It's because I'm supposed to be dead." I blinked, after hearing him say that.
"Oh, right… yeah. I forgot that. Guess normally you're not supposed to see dead people in the world of the living, ze. Yuyuko's gate's been open for so long, it's easy to forget that's not supposed to be there." Heck he even lives there too and is the prince of the place. Though he doesn't act like it at all. "Doesn't explain why the change is so drastic though…"
"Well she tried to do something less drastic but was prevented by something. Apparently I resonated with this form, but even Yukari didn't know why." That's weird; Yukari not knowing something. Either that youkai is lying, or it's really bad, and I can't tell which it is. "By the way, what are you doing out here?" I jumped from hearing his question. Oh crap!
"That's right! I was looking for you!" I said as I grabbed hold of him… her… Minato. "We were so worried about you when you suddenly disappeared. No one could find you anywhere, and you didn't say anything beforehand… We looked everywhere for you!" The words started to come out of my mouth faster than I could think them.
"I'm… I'm sorry. Didn't Yukari say anything?"
"Not a damn thing. We had to learn where you were from one of Kaguya's rabbits. If it weren't for that rabbit, none of us would have known you were out here. Why didn't you say anything?"
"I didn't really have the time. I was kind of just stuck out here before I knew it. Marisa?" I hadn't realized that my hands had covered my eyes. I was crying. When did that happen? I did my best to wipe it away before looking back at him. Minato's expression was serious, as serious as I'd ever seen it.
"What?" I tried to say it louder, but for some reason I just couldn't.
"I'm truly sorry about not letting everyone know that I had gone to the outside world, and I'm sorry for worrying you." I wanted to reply, but something caught my throat and it ended up in a pathetic hic. I swallowed it back down and tried again.
"Just… just don't do that again okay. Don't disappear like that ever again."
"I won't. I'll make sure of it." The seriousness of his expression didn't falter. It was the kind he made when he intended to keep to his decisions. I would always believe in him when he looked like that.
"You better," I still replied, not wanting to totally just forgive him. I was about to, but he needs to be punished just a bit for making us worry… God this wasn't what I had planned at all…
"Marisa? What's wrong?" Again, my body is moving before I can think. For some reason I was looking down at the sand and not at him.
"Nothing just… I… I'm just happy to see you, ze." This was supposed to be me getting a leg up on everyone, but now that I'm here, I'm just floundering. "I really missed you." God what am I saying! I pulled my hat down so that he wouldn't see my face.
"Ha… I… yeah. I missed you too Marisa." No don't say that! That's going to make me- Argh!
"Enough!" I said as I pulled my hat back up. "Anyways, what are you doing out here?" I said as I pointed back at him. "Why did you leave Gensokyou?"
"Well… there's sort of a thing I want to help take care of out here. I originally wanted to get back as soon as possible, but I kind of just can't leave things the way they are." His explanation was vague, but it makes sense for him. He's a bit of a goody two shoes, but it does make him nice to be around. Still weird hearing that voice, but with the same personality.
"So is it like an incident or something?"
"Kind of, yeah. It's just that it will take a bit of time to solve. It's not like in Gensokyou where we can just beat people up with Danmaku." Really? Well that's weird.
"Why not?" That doesn't make any sense.
"Magic not supposed to be out here, remember? Magic is just a fairy tale on this side." Oh right… why is he the one explaining this to me? I should already know that.
"Right… though if you're going to be out here for a bit, I guess I'll just have to stick with you for the time being, ze!" Now's my chance! Can't back down from this.
"Well… it's not like I know how to send you back in the first place. Um, it's late…" Minato pulled out a weird slab thingy that lit up brightly in the night. "Let's head back to the town and stay there for the night. We can meet up with the others in the morning."
"Oh, are you working with other people?" Not more competition I hope. I grabbed my broom and sat on it, hovering above the ground for whenever he would take off.
"Yeah, it's because of them I decided to stay. I'll just let you see them for yourself tomorrow. They're good people, so I think you'll get along with them." We'll see about that.
"I'm not that much a people person honestly, ze. I live away from the human village for a reason. Though I'll meet them just because it's you," I told him honestly. He scratched the back of his head upon hearing my reply.
"I guess that will do. Anyway, let's get going."
He rose up into the sky while I followed not too far behind. Despite it being night, there were lights that dotted the ground. They didn't look like fire, and some were blue rather than orange. It was odd. It was like there was a starry sky on the ground too. We didn't fly for too long as the town was apparently close by. It wasn't hard to miss though because it was more lit up than anywhere else by a long shot.
Nowhere in Gensokyou would ever be that bright at night. The buildings were so angular and tall, a lot of them were taller than the ones back in the human village. Outside of Remilia's mansion, I don't think I've seen buildings so tall. Though some places did look familiar, it really felt like another world out here. So much metal around as well. There were even a couple of places that seemed like nothing but a metal roof on top that had lettering on it I couldn't read. It wasn't Japanese that's for sure. Is it that English language Remilia talked about once? Or was it French?
"Down there," was all Minato said before he flew down. Naturally, I followed without issue, matching his descent with ease. As we got closer I saw we were landing at a shrine of some kind. So even out here they have shrines. Honestly, it feels kind of comforting to see something like this with all the weird architecture they have out here.
"The place I'm staying at is actually close by, but I don't want to have to wake her this late. We'll stay here until morning, then we'll head over to somewhere else and meet everyone." He walked up the steps past the offertory box and took a seat on the wooden flooring.
"Alright I guess, ze," I said as I sat down on the steps. I looked up at the sky and frowned a bit. The stars were harder to see out here. Was it all the lights? Even so, from what I could make out, the stars were still the same. I don't know how to describe this feeling.
"Is something wrong?" I heard Minato ask.
"The stars are a bit hard to see," I answered. I don't have any reason to be coy. It's so lonely to see the sky so empty. It just doesn't feel right. If Minato weren't here, I'd want to hightail it out of here back home.
"Really?" He doesn't see it? "This isn't a bit city, so it's easier to see the stars than in other places. Though compared to Gensokyou, it would still be a bit too bright out here then."
"Wait, this isn't a big city? But there's so much here!" He's pulling my leg. There's no way this isn't a big human city.
"I used to live in a bigger city. The buildings would go way up into the sky. Inaba here is considered the countryside." Inaba? I guess that's the name of this place. Still-
"No way. You're lying."
"I'm not. Though I can't prove it. Regardless, we should get some rest. I think tomorrow is going to be pretty busy."
"If you say so… Hey just one more thing. About the whole you being a girl thing…" Before I could ask how I was to address him, he already was poised to answer.
"Do whatever you're comfortable with. I'm trying not to put much thought into it, and I don't care otherwise. After all this is over, I'm going to force Yukari to undo it… Oh but, when we're with others, call me Kotone Shiomi. I can't exactly use my actual name when I'm supposed to be dead." He explained.
"If you say so." Still going to be a bit weird, but I can deal with it. "Hey, are you still awake…?"
I wanted to talk to him some more, but… he's already asleep. His breathing's always the same as that when he's out. He slept while laid out on the floor. Talk about an unladylike way of sleeping though I guess I'm not one to talk. Even as a girl, nothing about him has changed. I couldn't help but smile. It was good to have him back, even if he wasn't gone for that long. I guess I should follow his lead then. One star, two stars, three stars… four stars… five… stars…
-0-0-30-0-0-
"So I'm assuming you're going to introduce who this is?" Some brown-haired guy asked. Not that I really cared to be honest. Right now we were in a place called Jyu-nesu… or something. I don't know, the name was weird. Weirder still was that small room we went in that somehow made us go to the roof top with just the press of a button. I wanted to examine the magic that was inside it (and maybe see if I could snag a few parts), but Minato forced me out before I could do anything. We sat down after getting something to eat, and not long after a group came over to where we were and started talking.
"I mean, I can't think of any other reason why you'd be the one to call us here," The brown-haired guy continued. Not important though, at least compared to what I was eating. Minato called it a Pi-sa… za? Either way it was delicious. I don't know what was on it, but when he said they had mushrooms for toppings, I just had to go for it. Convenient to eat too. No utensils required. Maybe not as convenient as a good old onigiri, but it is close. My hand's slippery though. Is it oil? Hmmm… I'll just wipe it on my apron.
"Uh, you can use a napkin."
"Hmm?" I looked up to see the girl in red talking to me, offering me what looked like poor quality paper. "No thanks. Doesn't look like I could write any spells on that."
"No, it's for wiping your hands of the grease from your pizza," she was apparently explaining. Well that seems like a waste of paper though. Better used for spells than something like that, but I guess it would keep my apron clean though. Besides, it was poor quality paper, so it's not like you could use it for spell cards in the first place.
"Alright, I guess…" I took it from her and wiped my hand with it. Huh, well what do you know? My hands are cleaner, though the paper seems completely ruined. I was right about the quality.
"Sorry, this is Marisa Kirisame. She's a friend of mine who followed me over from… that place." Hearing my name being said, I stood up with my broom pointed to the sky.
"Marisa Kirisame, the Ordinary Magician, at your service, ze!" I proudly declared to them. Now be in awe!
"Magician? So like a witch or something?" The girl in green asked, looking more confused than impressed. Did I do my introduction wrong?
"Kind of, but I'm still human though," I answered the green girl.
"Still human?" the silver haired boy said in an odd tone… huh. He seems similar to Minato. Less sleepy, but still pretty quiet looking. "I'm Yu Narukami, by the way. It's nice to meet you Marisa." Even the fact that he's introducing himself like that is similar.
"Oh right, our names… uh, I'm Yosuke Hanamura. This guy's partner," the brown-haired boy scrambled to say after Yu, sticking his thumb out at his 'partner', as he put it.
"I'm Chie Satonaka," the green girl was next to introduce herself.
"Yukiko Amagi, it's a pleasure to meet one of Kotone-san's friends from the other side." Huh, do they know about Gensokyou? Also, they do seem to be using that name Minato told me to call him.
"I'm… uh, Kanji Tatsumi. It's nice to meet you." The weird looking guy wasn't making eye contact with me. Wait, is he looking at my hat?
"Aw, are you nervous Kanji-kun?" the red poofy haired girl spoke up.
"N-no… well… No, shut up!" Kanji, apparently, stammered to reply, only to receive a small but overly sweet giggle from the red-haired girl.
"It's okay Kanji-kun. Anyways, I'm Rise Kujikawa. Kotone-san's actually been staying with me for the past few days." Really? Hmm… she doesn't seem like competition. Her eyes though… she's glancing towards the silver haired boy every other minute. I see. She's safe then.
"And I'm Teddie!" A blonde-haired pretty boy pranced about in a manner a bit too lively for my tastes. "Say, how about going on a date with me so we can get to know each other a bit more." The hell?
"Hell n-"
"Teddie, remember what we talked about," Minato interrupted me before I could reject this weirdo.
"Huh? Was that being too pushy boss?" Minato nodded to Teddie, causing him to become a bit downcast. "Man, this is harder than I thought, but as you say boss! Observe first, then action!" Before I could speak up again to reject the guy outright though.
"You said you were a magician. Does that mean you can do magic?" Yu asked me, my eyes lighting up at the question.
"Oh yeah totally, ze! Watch this!" I grabbed my broom that I laid against the table and hopped on. "See! Broom flying! Totally like a magician right?" I crossed my arms as I hovered above the ground.
"Holy crap!" Yosuke cried out.
"Oh wow that's real. I can't see any strings like in the movies," Chie said as she seemed to be looking for something above me. Can't say why she'd look for strings though. That's Alice's thing with puppets.
"Look! Just stop okay! We got it! We can't afford a scene up here again!" Yosuke cried out once more, commanding me to stop. But why should I?
"Look mommy! She's flying!" I looked over to see a kid and his mother pointing at me.
"Nothing to see here!" Kanji yelled out to the kid.
"Hey!" I waved back only to be grabbed suddenly as I saw the kid get taken by his mother to go somewhere else. I looked over to see Minato pulling me down. "What gives?"
"Marisa, remember? This is the outside world. Magic isn't common out here," Minato told me.
"Not even flight magic?" I asked as I was sat back down. "But everyone can use that in Gensokyou."
"What kind of weirdo Alice in Wonderland place is Gensokyou if flying is normal?" Yosuke whimpered out as he sat back into his chair.
"Huh? Do you guys know Alice? I mean she is a bit of a weirdo with her fascination with dolls." Though how would they know Alice? She rarely interacts with humans. Oh maybe Minato told them.
"I give up…" Yosuke's elbows hit the table as he grabbed his head.
"Um, let me explain then," Minato said as the rest of us ignored the suffering going on at that end of the table. "Gensokyou is kind of a wonderland. The best way to describe it is as a little pocket space where things that are lost end up."
"I'm sorry, what do you mean by lost?" Yukiko asked, though it seems she wasn't the only one who wanted to.
"You don't see things like vampires, kappa, or gods walking around right? Well just think of Gensokyou as the place things like that end up," he continued to explain. Though there was more to it, it wasn't like I was gonna explain it any better. So, meh.
"Wait, so those things are real? Does that mean like old folktales are real too?" Rise wondered.
"Oh, like the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter's Daughter?" Kanji pipped up to ask.
"I don't think that's-"
"Uh yeah. Kaguya's actually living in Gensokyou these days," Minato answered, cutting Yosuke off as I huffed and crossed my arms again.
"Don't get me started on her. She's so smarmy holding those meetings…"
"Kaguya's real?" Yukiko whispered out loud with eyes wider than the table.
"I know you guys probably have questions about that, but let's just move on for now," Minato tried to sway the conversation.
"No way! You can't just drop something as big as knowing Kaguya-hime and not talk about it!" Kanji replied loudly. Jeez, this guy's got energy.
"Yeah, you can't just do that. It's like one of Japan's oldest fairy tales, and you're telling us that's she's not only real, but that you know the person herself too?" Rise followed Kanji's lead.
"She's not that interesting…" I mumbled but was drowned out as Minato tried to take control again.
"Anyways, Marisa," I looked over when Minato called my name. "Are the… are the others going to follow too?" It took only a second to realize who he was referring to.
"Hmmm… who knows. Everyone one of them can be pretty stubborn, which is why I moved as fast as I could to get out here to follow you," I answered, though I couldn't say any details. Not that it's my business for them being so slow to get here. Early bird, and all that.
"If that's the case, then I probably have to go looking for my own place for Marisa and me to stay." Huh? Wait, did he say a place for the two of us? Does he mean that? Oh man, I didn't think that far ahead. I mean yeah that's to be expected, but oh wow. Come on Marisa, calm down. It's just living with him… I can't calm down! Living with not just a boy, but with him? This is a dream come true!
"Huh? Are you sure?" I heard Rise ask, her eyes wide, though so was everyone else's.
"I can't keep imposing on you, and if Marisa being here is any indication, more are going to show up to follow me. I can think of at least three who'd follow me, but there could easily be more. I can't ask you to house all of us if that happens," Minato explained. Hopefully though it would just be the two of us for a while longer.
"That makes sense. It's going to be a bit lonely without you, but you're right. I don't think I could convince grandma to room and board more than maybe you two, and that would require some begging on my end," Rise gave up on the notion with a shrug while laying back into her seat. "It reminded me of the old days at the idol dorms." What now? "Hey what do you want me to do with your stuff that's still at my place? If you want, I can hang on to it, until you find a place to stay. I'll also hang on to that box for you as well…"
Minato went a bit cold before speaking. "Thanks, I'll let you know as soon as we find a place."
"Oh! Be sure to invite us over. We can have a housewarming party for you guys! We can even make it a barbeque with tons of meat!" That Chie girl offered; a huge smile plastered right on her mug.
"That sounds nice, it would go great with sake!" Just imagining it's making me hungry, even though I've already eaten.
"Drinks aside… Now that sounds like a plan, assuming you're the one bringing the meat, Chie-chan," Yosuke said.
"Oh come on! Can't you cut a deal with Junes or something?" Chie asked with a pout.
"For the last time, I can't do that you carnivore! Besides that, my tab is massive thanks to a certain someone who will go unnamed!" Yosuke fired back.
"Well that's just more business for Junes!"
"Junes isn't my wallet though!" Yosuke and Chie started to argue. Jeez, they're loud.
"Still, they're right," Yukiko said to me and Minato, ignoring their friends. "It would be great to celebrate you finding your own place."
"Housewarming, huh?"
"Thinking of a gift, Kanij-kun?" Rise asked as the young man crossed his arms.
"N-no. Not at all. Wasn't thinking of hand knitting something." This guy gets pretty defensive huh? I wonder why. It's valuable work. I knit my own stuff all the time.
"Subtle…" Rise sighed. "What do you think Yu-senpai. Doesn't it sound fun?"
"Yeah, can't wait." Yu pumped his fist in the air with a confident smile before turning to Minato. "If you need any help with the move, just let us know."
"Oh yeah," Yosuke jumped in, finally done with his argument with Chie. "Don't hesitate to call. We're a team after all."
"Thanks, but we'll probably be fine. We don't have much anyways," Minato explained as I sat back.
"Well, if you change your mind, we're here for you," Yosuke said with a wink. I think he was trying to be cool, but it just ended up kind of lame. A little endearing, but mostly lame.
"What kind of steaks do you want at the party?" Chie suddenly asked us. "Oooh, maybe we can have wagyu!"
"Don't forget the vegetables. It may be a party, but a balanced diet is a must," Yukiko added.
"Mushrooms would be nice," I replied. I mean I once lived a full month on nothing but mushrooms I harvested from the forest. Granted that was also because I was testing stuff, but I still did it.
"If that's a request, then I'll keep that in mind." I like this Yukiko girl already.
"I'll bring tofu, I know that's not barbeque per se, but I think grandma will want to make something for you," Rise offered. "She liked it when you were around, so I think she'll miss you."
"Say, I hate to interrupt this, but is Marisa going be part of the team? If that's the case then Teddie has some work he needs to do." Everyone turned their attention to the weirdo.
"If Minato's in on whatever's happening, then I am too, ze!" I declared. Doesn't matter what it is, if he and I work together, I'm sure we can overcome it! "What are you guy's doing anyways?"
"Uh… well, it's kind of a long story…" Chie was the one to start.
-0-0-30-0-0-
"So that's the just of it. Do you get it?" Yu finished off the group explanation they were giving me. Though I kind of wasn't paying attention.
"Nope, but basically it's just an incident right? Just find the source and beat-em up." Huh? How come you guys look worried?
"Sure, I guess if that's the best way for you to understand it," Minato mumbled. "Just, leave the searching to us, okay? I'll tell you where to point your Master Spark."
"Good enough for me, ze!" Don't see why everyone still looks so worried though. It will be fine!
"Well, let's hold off on it today. Everyone still seems a bit tired from yesterday," Yu started to explain. "Besides, you want to focus on getting a place right?" The guy directed his question towards Minato.
"Yeah. I've got some money from my work with the Bureau, and it's all in modern bills anyhow," Minato answered.
"Can you even rent though? You technically don't exist legally right? So how are you going to do the paperwork?" Yukiko was next to ask.
"Paperwork? Can't he just find a place and make a home? That's what I did." Just picked a spot and made my home. I've been there ever since.
"That's not going to work out here," Yosuke started to answer. "You'd need a construction permit along with land ownership for that. The process could take weeks, if not months."
"What? And you guys call Gensokyou weird." Rules for even that? Talk about lame. If you want something, just borrow it. Nobody's stopped me yet, and anyone who's tried I made sure to beat in danmaku.
"Then I'm not sure. I don't have the paperwork that could-" Minato stopped as a gap appeared above the table. I pointed at the gap and prepared a spell, but then an orange flat bag thing of sorts just plopped onto the table. A second later, a single sheet fell by itself before the gap closed behind it. Minato picked up the singular sheet that seemed to be a letter. He read it in silence, and after finishing it, he pinched his nose and groaned.
"Was that that Gap Youkai lady?" Chie's moved her hands about where the gap was. Seems like she was trying to see if she could get it to open up again.
"Yup, and it seems like the paperwork isn't going to be an issue anymore." Minato let out a sigh as he grabbed the flat bag thing. "The envelope apparently has everything I need, even for those who aren't here yet…"
"Are you sure those will work?" Yosuke began. "I don't think you can just magic up some documents and the government will accept it."
"They'll work. Yukari might be a youkai, but she's more than familiar with modern day minutia," Minato told everyone. I guess I shouldn't be surprised Yukari knows how the outside world works.
"Does she always do that? Just showing up like that, doing something, and leaving?" Teddie also started to look at the air where the gap was.
"Yup."
"She always does that," Minato and I answered at the same time. I looked over to see Minato also looking my way. "A-anyways, I'm finished with my pizza." Don't look him in the eye. "So um… are we done here? Cause it sounded like you guys weren't going to do whatever it was you were supposed to."
"We'll leave the explanation for what exactly is happening for later, so I guess we are done," Rise said. "Would you guys like some help looking for a place?"
"It'll be faster if it's just Marisa and I going around, since the both of us can fly. We'll just need to be discreet about it as we look around," Minato politely refused. Look around, huh?
"Hey, do you mind if we see a bit more than just a place to stay?" I asked Minato, tugging on his sleeve. "It's my first time in the outside world, and I kind of want to see what's around! It'd be a waste not to, after all!"
"If you want to do some sightseeing, maybe you'd like to go to Okina City. It's nearby, and since you two can fly, it wouldn't take any time at all," Yosuke suggested, whatever Okina City was. "I imagine it'd be pretty interesting, given what you've said about Gensokyou."
"And even if it isn't, there's tons to do there," Chie added.
"Yeah, they have movie theatres, cafes, shopping, basically everything!" Rise explained, though I didn't understand why those would be interesting, or what a theatre was in the first place. Well, I suppose it would better to learn firsthand.
"Okina City huh?" Kanji made a difficult expression, as did Yosuke and Yu.
"Kanji just be quiet," was all Yosuke said as he returned to silence. "Anyways, if you're going to go, you should probably head there now before it gets too late into the day. I mean it's still early, but you'd probably want to make the most of it."
"Sounds good to me! Come on, you heard him! Let's go already!" I got up and started to drag Minato out of the chair.
"Alright but be careful. We can't be seen using magic, or else we might cause a stir." Pfft… he worries too much, but it's nice to be worried about. Now, to the city!
-0-0-30-0-0-
"Woah…" I looked up, needing to crane my neck all the way back just to be able to see the top. Some of them were really oddly built and in some really loud colors, either painted or from lights.
There was just tons that I didn't understand. Those metal box things zipped by way more often than before too. They seemed to stick to the grey part of the road. I wonder why? Are those stairs moving up and down? They really weren't kidding when they said that Inaba wasn't the city. It's honestly a bit of a mess but organized in some way. Apparently this wasn't even as big as it gets either. There were tons of people around too. I don't think there's even this many people in the human village.
I'd love to fly up a get another look, but I don't want to be scolded again for it. Minato may not scold loud, but even when it's soft, it just kind of makes you feel bad. But then, if it isn't magic, just how is it all working? Is it like the Kappa? Or that science stuff Sanae's goddess talks about? I don't know where to even begin.
"Anything catch your eye?" I looked over to see Minato, or Kotone, ask me.
"What doesn't, ze? How do you handle so much going on all at once?" I'm kind of spoiled for choice here.
"Well, you get used to it I guess," he said with a shrug. Even though he's definitely a girl now, it's still the same old Minato. Yup, not really all that complicated. It's more like a disguise really, just a magic one. Though not actually…
"I don't know if I can, ze… Well, what's that then?" I pointed what looked to be a store with a lot of text on the big sign. I don't know if that was the name of the store, or they just listed their wares, but they'd have to be pretty confident to do something like that.
"Oh, that's the movie theatre."
"Theatre? Do they show plays then?" That would explain all the text. Probably the list of plays.
"Well, no, they show movies. You saw that TV in Reimu's living room right?" TV? That sounds familiar.
"You mean the box thing with the moving pictures?" I didn't much care for it to be honest, but Reimu seemed fine watching it when she had the time.
"Yeah, only it's on a bigger screen. We can see one if you'd like."
"Huh…" there seemed to be a lot of couples walking out of the theatre. Is it something popular for dates? "Sure, we can go see one!" Might as well.
"Alright, let's see here…" He took a second to look at the theatre. "There's a movie I think you'd like, but the showing isn't for a bit. Is there anything else that catches your eye?" He asked, prompting me to look around again.
"Hmm… What's that?" I pointed at a shop nearby to the theatre.
"That's… oh!" That was the most surprised I've ever heard him. Not that that was a high bar, but still. "I didn't realize Chagall Café was a franchise." More words I didn't understand, but café I get. "It's just that I've been to a similar one elsewhere. That's all. They serve some pretty good coffee, among other things."
"Coffee? Is it that bitter stuff? I'm more of a tea kind of girl." That is if sake wasn't on the menu. Remilia Scarlet offered me some coffee once, but it was just painful. No matter how much sugar I added, it was still super bitter.
"They also have tea, so if we go there, you can have that instead," Minato added.
"Sounds good. Also do you know what those bags are for? Those don't look all that useful." I pointed to some girls who walked out of a store with big bags in their arms.
"Huh? Looks like a clothing store… Croco Fur. It's typical for girls on the outside to go shopping for clothes," Minato explained as I walked over to get a close look. Peering inside, I saw clothes that matched what the girls who just left were wearing. I really don't know how to describe it. I've never really been into fashion, so the words are lost on me.
I looked down at my own attire. I kind of stick out like a sore thumb huh. Big skirt and hat don't seem to be the typical fashion. Then again, it wasn't the typical fashion back in Gensokyou either. Meh, who cares.
"Maybe we should get you something. At least for the long term. Is there anything in there you'd like?" He asked, keeping an eye on the store selection.
"Nah, I'm fine the way I am, ze!" I said, waving my hand at the suggestion. I'm fine with bloomers, but pants? Not for me. "Besides, when it comes to the long haul, I've already got some stuff tucked away with magic."
"Ah, that makes sense. Well, I already like the way you look to begin with." I felt flush from his words. How does he do that so cleanly?
"R-really? T-thanks…" Come on, don't focus on that compliment. "Say when does that movie thing start anyways?"
"In about an hour. Want to go to the café until then?" Minato offered.
"Sure! Beats standing around anyways, ze! Let's get going then."
"Alright, follow me."
-0-0-30-0-0-
"And did you see the way the lasers came out of the spines and tail!? I tore through like nuthin' else! Do you think I could do something like that with my broom's bristle's?" Maybe if I attach my mini-hakero one end, and funnel the energy… I'll have to work on it, but I might be able to get it working in a week.
"Knowing you Marisa, you'll probably have it done in a week," Minato said as he continued to munch on that popcorn snack thing we bought at the theatre. The two of us sat on a seat outside waiting until he finished eating.
"Haha, you know me a bit too well, ze!" It's a bit embarrassing how much he knows me. "Hey, give me some!" I cupped a bunch of popcorn before he could respond and threw a couple into my mouth. There's just so many flavors you wouldn't find in Gensokyou. There's just so much of everything in fact. It's still all so overwhelming and stuff.
"It's so weird you know?" I started to say. "I've always heard stories of the outside world, and Sanae would occasionally talk about it, but it's just so different from anything I could have imagined, ze."
"Gensokyou is pretty special too. One of a kind in fact," he returned. I let out a sigh of relief.
"So does that mean you're coming back? Is Gensokyou special enough to come back to?" I asked, hoping that was what he meant with him talking all nice about Gensokyou.
"Well…" he paused. I could see his eyes moving about, thinking, deciding before saying anything else. "As much as I'd like to stay, anything I had out here, kind of died a couple years ago. Perhaps it's just best to leave it behind…"
"I'm sorry… there was probably a lot of things you still wanted to do out here, ze." I averted my eyes, a bit embarrassed for asking such a selfish question. Probably one of the few times I've ever felt embarrassed at all.
"No, it's fine. Not a lot of people get a chance like this. I really should have thought about it a bit more," he admitted as he put his hands in his pockets. "Hmm? Is something the matter?"
"Huh? Is something on my face?" I felt my cheeks just to check. Am I smiling? "I guess I'm just happy to hear that you're coming back after this incident is solved. I suppose I wouldn't know what to do if you said you were going to stay."
"Happy huh?" He murmured to himself. He is going to come back right? I mean it's his home, so why wouldn't he? "Do you mind waiting here for a moment?"
"Um, sure?"
"Thanks, I'll be right back." He got up and walked over and into the clothing store whose name I already forgot. My eyes remained on where he disappeared, waiting for him to come back. I didn't have to wait for long however, as he rushed back out, carrying something in his hands on his way back. "Here," he said as he gave me a small glittery pink box with a red ribbon on it.
"What's this?" I said as I looked between him and the box.
"An apology gift, for making you so worried. Also a souvenir of the outside world, I guess." It's a gift for me…
"I don't…" the words slowly made their way out of my mouth.
"I don't what?"
"I don't know when was the last time I got a gift from someone. Not even my dad has given anything to me in years." Not that I bother with him.
"I didn't know your dad was around."
"Oh he lives in the human village, but he and I are pretty much separated. I just wanted a place of my own. This is for me right?" I just need to check. It's not a joke is it?
"Of course it is."
"You really mean it? No taking it back!" Just one more time.
"Go ahead. I got it just for you." He means it. This is really mine. I stared at the box, a bit unsure of how to go about opening it. Normally I'd just rip it open, but it's a gift from Minato. I couldn't do that. But if I don't I won't be able to see what's inside. It's just a box, the real gift is what's in it. Just pull the ribbon and open. See, not that hard. It's coming apart, nice and easy. There! It's all off. Now to open it.
I took a deep breath as I grabbed onto the top of the box. I looked up to see Minato waiting for me to open it. He's staring. It's making me even more nervous. Well, here goes nothing. Not wanting to wait any longer, I lifted the top up a little bit quicker than I did with the ribbon, just to get it over with. My head was still a bit dizzy, so it took me a moment to realize what I was looking at.
"A star?" I let out as I put the cover down and touch it. It was a necklace in the shape of a star coated with silver with a yellow gem of some kind embedded in the middle. Once I had a firm grasp, I carefully lifted it out of the box, letting it dangle on its chain, spinning in whatever way momentum would carry it.
"I know you like astronomy, so I thought you'd like something related to that." I guess I didn't exactly keep it hidden. I mean my danmaku is sometimes shaped like stars too. "How is it?" To be frank, the metal is cheap. The silver is just a coat, and the jewel is fake. It's made of some weird material that I can't place, but it's certainly not a gem. Despite that, I couldn't keep my eyes off of it. It… it was…
"I love it." It's from him after all. It was a gift for me. Of course I would love it. It wouldn't matter what it was, as long as he was sincere. I held it out to him. "Could you put it on me?" I asked as I pulled my collar down to expose my neck.
"Sure." He grabbed the necklace, undoing the hook as I lifted my chin up for him. He seemed to be hesitating for some reason. Is he waiting for me to turn around?
"From the front please? I have a lot of hair so…" He took a second to respond, giving me just a nod when he finally did. His arms opened up to wrap the chain around my neck, moving hair out of the way as they met behind me. A refreshing cold twinge hit me as the chain hit my skin, contrasted by the warmth coming from his arms. His face was close to mine, focused on putting the necklace on me. I can't handle it. I have to look away. I know I asked for this, but this is still too much. Even though it's summer, I still feel even hotter.
"Hold still, I almost got it." Hurry! I mean don't! I mean… just whatever! He's taking so long to get it done. Why is it taking so long? It's just a hook. It should have been over by now. Come on, don't look at me so closely… "There, all done." He said as he stepped away from me. Finally, I can breathe… That was too much.
"What took you so long?"
"Hm? What are you talking about? It only took about ten seconds." Really? But it felt like forever.
"Was it? Well that doesn't matter." Deep breaths, deep breaths. "How does it look?" I said, twirling my braid with my finger.
"It looks cute on you."
"R-really?" He said it looks cute! "You're not just saying that right? I mean, I don't really look all that girly and…"
"But you've always looked pretty to me." Stopitstopitstopitstopitstopit!
"Stop that!" I gave him a slap on the shoulder. Oh god I'm nervous laughing. I can't stop.
"Are you okay Marisa?"
"I'm fine! Everything's fine!" Got to stop laughing… okay, it's dying down. I let out a cough to clear my throat now that the laughing had stopped. "Thank you." Act like nothing happened at all.
"I'm glad you like it."
"Me too. I mean, yeah I like it a lot, ze." I'll have to cast some preservation magic for the cheap metal. Have to make sure it lasts forever.
"That's good to hear. By the way, we should probably start looking at places to stay. We still need to find one after all," he said as he pulled out his phone. "I think I've found a couple of places, but we have to check them out first."
"Oh right, a place to stay." I almost forgot about that. "Where to first then?"
"The first place is nearby actually, so we can walk there. Come on, it's this way." Minato pointed in a direction with his thumb before starting to walk off. I followed right behind. I looked down. Obviously, I couldn't see the necklace, but I could still feel it around my neck. It made me feel closer to him, closer than I've ever been before. I'm so glad I got here first before the rest of them. I'll solve this incident with Minato and the others and pull ahead. Sorry ladies, but this is my race to win.
-0-0-30-0-0-
"Well, I guess I should have expected that it would take more than a day…" I heard Minato murmur to himself as we sat down at the riverbank. We went through quite a few places today, but every time something would be wrong. "There are still a few more places we can check."
Sometimes the size was no good, other times it was the lay out. We found a place that was otherwise fine, but the price was apparently too much. The last place we went to though, the place for rent itself was fine, the price was in range, but I didn't like the way the manager was looking at me. Gave me the creeps, so I told Minato that we should leave…
"It's annoying that we can't just make something on our own. I could do it in no time if you let me!" I offered again, only to receive a shake of the head.
"As I said, there are laws against it. It's not like Gensokyou, where you're basically free to do as you please within reason." I blew the brim of my hat with as much of a huff as I could.
"It's really getting on my nerves how annoying all these rules are, ze." I fell back against the hill and just stared up at the orange sky. When I just look up there, it felt like I was back in Gensokyou. What an odd feeling. It's such a different place, and it was so close by this whole time. I looked over to see Minato still handling his… I think he called it a phone. He said you could look up information on that, and I guess he was doing that again.
"If worse comes to worse, I think we can rent a room at Yukiko-san's inn for the next few days. We might be able to get a discount," Minato said as he continued to look through his phone.
"They have a hot spring right? Maybe we should go now then, ze?" I asked, as I crawled over to him. "We've had a long day, so why not?"
"I guess you're right. I'm pretty hungry too, so we might be able to have dinner there as well."
"Awesome! A hot spring!" I can't wait! It's been so long. Huh? Somebody was standing at the top of the riverbank looking down at us. Their signature feels real off. I've felt it before from Ruukoto (where'd she go anyway?), but it's still different. She isn't human though, that much I could tell. "Hey, what are you lookin' at, ze?" I asked the weird blonde lady in a big brown coat.
"Who?" Minato looked up from his phone, and his eyes opened as wide as they could go. Wait do they know each other?
"May I have a moment of your time?" the blonde girl asked, her question directed towards Minato, who had frozen on the spot. What do I do? What should I do? What's going on?
Author's Note:
Just a bit of a filler chapter to situate Marisa in. Originally it wasn't going to be a POV chapter from her, but since the chapter was squarely focused on her, and I had scrapped an earlier POV Chapter with her, I decided to just convert it into one during the planning process. The other ladies are on their way, but until then, we've got a bit of a scene before us.
I'm trying to stick to my New Year's Resolution of something new every month, either from this Fic, or another I'm working on. For February it was FiEW who was up to bat, so don't expect the next one until April. This one was a little late because I experienced some pretty hard blackouts for some time, keeping me from actually working on this, and I couldn't find my pencils and pens to write by hand again, so I was delayed considerably from releasing this when I wanted to. At least I was able to get it out.
Playing Persona 5 Strikers (I keep almost calling it Scramble), is kind of getting some ideas going, that and playing Touhou 17 and watching Houshou Marine's streams of Touhou help as well. I hope to see you next time.
As always, I hope you enjoyed yourself, and have a wonderful rest of your day.