Chapter 4: Magic Teacher Marisa
It has been two days since Nijiko first visited the Human Village. Like usual, the girl is seen in front of Kourindou, sitting in the grass and meditating with her palms held at each other, trying to summon her Magic. The familiar rainbow-colored sphere appears within her hands when...
"BOO!"
A figure pops out behind her, scaring Nijiko and causing her to jump.
"KYAH!" she rolls forward, while the sphere of light in her hands is dispelled due to the concentration break.
"Hahah, I got you!" It shown to be Cassida standing behind her, with a satisfied grin on her face. "Who knew you are this jumpy?!"
"Hey, I am trying to learn Magic here!" Nijiko cries out, with a cute pout on her face.
"See ya later then!" the Tortoise Beetle Yokai shrinks herself down and flies off.
"I hate Yokai like her." the heterochromatic girl grumbles and stands up. She actually hoped, that when she first encountered Cassida by the Human Village it would also be the last time to see her, but now now it seems she was wrong. Thinking back, Nijiko actually enjoyed her first visit in the Human Village and getting a new friend in Kosuzu. The book shop Suzunaan was also a charming and incredible place. Then of course, Marisa popped up and gave her a new book which she... borrowed?... from a place called Scarlet Devil Mansion. The name alone gives the chills to Nijiko.
"I wonder how Mari-san is doing." she looks up to the sky, before she hears Rinnosuke calling her out:
"Akimitsu-san!"
"Coming!" Nijiko replies and heads back to the shop.
...
"ACHOO!" Marisa sneezes. "Either my place is too dusty or someone mentioned me."
She looks at the large heap of items inside her house. Books, grimoires, glasses containing strange liquids and other magic items – Marisa is known as an intensive collector of these things, but she just keeps them in any place she could place them, therefore her place is even messier than Kourindou.
"Where is that book?" the witch begins to dig deep within her heap of items. She is currently searching for the books that her teacher, Mima used to teach her Magic from. She managed to find two of them, but the third, containing the basics of Light Magic, is still missing.
Some time later, the blonde witch pops her head out of the heap:
"Man, I cant find it anywhere, ze! Maybe Alice has it or a copy of it." she says, remembering that her fellow Magician, Alice is almost as a big collector as her.
Marisa climbs out, and after dusting off her clothes and taking on her hat, she grabs her broom and flies off to pay Alice a visit.
...
The place where Alice lives is a small, but tidy European-style mansion, located not far from Marisas house. It is a much more welcoming place compared to the messy house the Ordinary Magican owns, also coming with a pretty garden of flowers.
"Alice!" Marisa knocks on the door but no answer. "Oh, maybe she is not at home. Even better."
The witch grins and heads to the back window.
"Dont worry Alice, I am just going to borrowing it..." she is ready to open the window, when she suddenly gets an uneasy feeling. "Something tells me I shouldnt look behind me."
And she was right. Behind her, several dolls are holding jousting lance-like weapons at her.
"Marisa!" Alice is also seen there with an annoyed expression, glaring sharply at Marisa.
"Oh, what luck, I was just looking for you..." the witch grins awkwardly.
"Yes, you are lucky that I was able to stop you before you would steal anything." the dollmaker says. "What brings you here, anyways?"
"Well, I was looking for that book about Light Magic, which I learned from with Lady Mima, but I cant find it anywhere, ze."
"Typical Marisa..." Alice sighs and opens the door. "Well, you are in luck that I have a copy of it. But remember, I am only doing this for Akimitsu-san."
Later, the two Magicians are sitting by a table and having tea, after Alice brought the book to Marisa.
"Wow, this is that book, ze!" the witch exclaims. "Thank you Alice, I knew I could counting on you, ze!"
"Dont mention it." Alice sips her tea. "Speaking of, how it Akimitsu-san doing?"
"She visited Suzunaan recently and made friends with Kosuzu-chan." Marisa says. "As for her Magic, she is still struggling to summon it long-term. This is why I am going to bring her these books."
The witch slides the book into her bag which already contains the other two.
"Oh, and did you tell Lady Mima that you are teaching Magic to someone?" Alice asks.
"I almost forgot, ze! I think I am going to stop by the Hakurei Shrine and tell her."
"And there is an another thing. Have you noticed that the light Akimitsu-san summons... is a bit odd?"
"You mean, cause its colorful like rainbow? There is nothing odd about that, ze! Her light is just more colorful than mine." Marisa shrugs.
"As her mentor, you should pay more attention to her development." Alice sips from her tea once more. "I am just saying, Akimitsu-san might be more than meets the eye."
"Kay, I am going to keep that in mind, ze!" the witch stands up after drinking her tea with one fell swoop. "See ya!"
She casually walks out, grabs her broom and flies off towards the Hakurei Shrine. The doll-controlling Magician glances after her:
"I hope you are going to learn some responsibility, Marisa."
She finishes her tea and walks into her workroom, where she grabs an unfinished doll she is working on. It has the head and the right arm completed, with black hair and heterochromatic eyes, similar to Nijiko.
"Lets see if I can see Akimitsu-san using Magic properly by the time I finish her doll." Alice smiles.
...
Marisa flies through the sky and lands near the Hakurei Shrine. She is about to enter, when she suddenly sees a minor explosion, which whips up the dust outside.
"What the heck is going on, ze?" the witch thinks is she is coughing from the dust. "Hey Reimu, is everything okay?"
When Marisa enters the shrine, she is shocked at the scene what welcomes her. She can see Reimu holding out her gohei in her right hand and holding some paper talismans in her left, standing against a ghostly woman. The woman has green eyes and long green hair, as well as dark-blue bat-like wings of Magic energy. She also wears a white blouse, a long blue dress with yellow accents, a blue capelet, and a blue wizard hat on her head. Instead of legs, she had a white ghostly tail and she holds a silver staff with crescent moon ornament on its top.
"Mima, could you please stop being an annoyance for this once?!" Reimu exclaims with an upset look on her face.
"Oh, come on! You know how boring can be being sealed away all the time." the ghost woman, named Mima, replies.
"Lady Mima!" Marisa exclaims in joy and runs to her.
"Oh, if this isnt Marisa, my favourite disciple." Mima turns to the witch.
"Oh Marisa, what a timing..." Reimu sighs.
"Is something wrong, Reimu?" Marisa asks her friend.
"Nothing just Mima had to break out of her seal yet again."
"Well, I actually came to visit her this time, ze." the Ordinary Magician turns to her former master. "Lady Mima, now you have every reason to be proud of me, ze!"
"Oh, I wonder, what could that be." the ghostly Magician sounds surprised.
"Well, I recently got my own disciple! And she is..." Marisa begins to say proudly, but then looks at Reimu who glares back at her, with hands on hips:
"Marisa!"
The witch gulps and looks back at Mima:
"Well, I cannot reveal who it is just yet..."
"Oh my, but I have become so curious. Please Marisa, tell me!" Mima says with an unnerving smile amd preparing her staff, causing Marisa to sweat.
THWOMP!
A few moments later:
"Awww..." Marisa is seen sitting on the ground, holding a large hump on head, with her hat having fallen to the floor besides her.
"So, Marisa has began to teach Magic to an another human named Nijiko Akimitsu." Mima remarks.
"Yeah, although we didnt want to reveal her until she masters her Magic to the point she could participate in Danmaku battles." Reimu said, while looking aside at her witch friend.
"Just leave it to me, ze!" Marisa exclaims proudly, standing up.
"You sure you dont need some assistance?" Mima asks. "I could help in anything "
"No thanks I can handle it, ze."
"This is what I am afraid of." the shrine maiden remarks sarcastically.
"Dont worry, I have all the books I was taught from, ze. " Marisa holds up her bag containing the books.
"Oh, then it seems I have nothing to worry about." the vengeful spirit sports a smile. "I am looking forward the results, Marisa."
"I wont disappoint you, Lady Mima!" the blonde witch salutes. "Now, if you excuse me, I have an appointment with Nijiko-chan!"
"Good luck!" Mima says as she and Reimu see Marisa to mount on her broom and fly off.
"You are taking it awfully easy, Mima." the shrine maiden remarks, looking at the ghost.
"Well, its about time that this young witch to learn about taking responsibility." Mima says with a smile, then turns to Reimu, preparing her staff. "Now speaking about responsibilities, lets continue where we left, shall we?"
"I swear I am going to seal you for eternity this time!" Reimu prepares her gohei as the battle resumes.
...
Back in Kourindou, Nijiko is currently sweeping the courtyard. She has spent the previous hours to place the items in the shop further in order, so Rinnosuke could find the specific item he is seeking. However, her thoughts were on something else.
"I really hope I can summon my Magic... no matter how much I read from the book or try, I am always failing..." she sighs.
"Yo Nijiko-chan!" a familiar voice called out to Nijiko, disrupting her thoughts.
"Mari-san!" the heterochromatic girl exclaims in joy seeing her witch friend arrive.
"You ready for some Magic-learning session, ze?" Marisa asks.
"Well..." Nyoko wanted to say something, but she then sees how eager Marisa is to teach her Magic. She didnt wanted to bother her with her own doubts. "I am ready."
"Thats the spirit, ze!"
Marisa then hands the books to Nijiko, explaining that they are the books which she learnt her Magic from.
"Since your Magic is similar to mine, I figured it would be the best learning from my books. Nijiko-chan,have you managed to learn the basics of Magic Theory?"
"Well, yes, but..."
"Then show me what you have got, ze!"
Nijiko gulps and concentrates, putting her hands together. The rainbow–colored light sphere appears, but shortly after inmediately pops out.
"Well, that aint much, ze." Marisa remarks.
"It happens all the time!" Nijiko gets frustrated. "I am spending all of my free time with studying and practising, but the result is still the same."
Marisa is surprised, but then smiles and approaches Nijiko, putting a hand of her shoulder.
"You know, Magic is not something you can learn from one day to an another. When I began to learn my Magic, I messed up a lot, too."
"Really?" Nijiko looks at her friend.
"Yes. I am still remembering it as it was yesterday..." the witch looks up at the blue sky.
flashback
A younger Marisa is shown, probably in her early teens. She is wearing a different outfit compared to the one she has nowadays: a purple dress with yellow highlights held by a white waist ribbon and a similarly colored witch hat decorated with a white ribbon and a golden crescent ornament. She is holding her hands together and concentrates, summoning a sphere of light.
"Thats it Marisa, just concentrate." Mima is seen overseeing her.
"Alright!" Marisa concentrates further. The light sphere between her hands glows more intensely, but them it blows up into her face, causing her to be knocked to the ground. "AAAAAAAH! Man, I was so close! Why am I not succeeding, ze?!" she throws a tantrum.
"You poured too much power into it, Marisa." Mima floats to her and bonks her on the head with her staff. "Magic is not something you can learn from one day to an another. It requires constant studying and practising."
"I got it, ze..." Marisa stands up, holding her head. "One day, I going to be a Magician who will even surpass you, Lady Mima!"
"Hah, I wanna see that." the ghostly Magician replies.
flashback ends
"Man, I was so naive back then. I still have a long way to go in order to surpass Lady Mima." Marisa smiles.
"Wow, and was that Mima-san such a strict teacher like this?" Nijiko asked.
"Yep, but without her, I could not become the powerful Magician I am today, ze. I still owe her a lot."
Nijiko was surprised to hear all of this. Even Marisa, who seems to be the master of her own Magic, also had failures at the beginning. She achieved her current strenght level through intensive studying and training.
"Alright, I guess I have to try until I succeed." she stands up.
"Okay, lets continue!" the witch grins and sees Rinnosuke observing them. "I see that Kourin agrees as well."
"Huh, Morichika-kun?" Nijiko also looks back at the observing Rinnosuke, who nods. Encouraged by this, she glances at Marisa with determined eyes. "Lets do this! Dont hold back, Mari-san!"
"As you wish, Nijiko-chan, ze! Remember, you must try to manifest your Magic for a long term before we go on with the specifics of the Light Magic!" Marisa grins.
"Here I go!" the heterochromatic girl then begins her practise session with Marisa.
They has been practicing through the whole afternoon, until it came to sunfall. Nijiko has been trying, but the results were still the same: the small rainbow-colored sphere manifested, but inmediately after it vanished into sparks.
"Man, I was so close this time!" Nijiko groans at her failed attempt.
"Dont give up Nijiko-chan! Try to pour more power into it this time!" Marisa encourages her.
"Akimitsu-san! Its almost dinnertime!" Rinnosuke calls out to the two.
"Just let Nijiko-chan to try this last one, ze!" the witch responds.
"Ok, here goes nothing..." Nijiko says in her head and concentrates. The familiar rainbow sphere is manifested in her hands yet again. "Pour... more power... into it..." As the heterochromatic girl is trying to power up, suddenly a rainbow-colored aura flares up around her and a colorful Magic Circle is manifested behind her.
"HAAAAAH!" Nijiko shouts as the sphere in her hands turns into an enormous flash of colorful light.
"GAH!" Marisa is forced to cover her eyes against the flash, even Rinnosuke too, who is farther away from them.
As the light dies down, Nijiko is wondering, what happened:
"What did... I do?"
"Hey, that was amazing, ze!" the witch exclaims, recovering from the stunning effect of the flash. "You have just managed to manifest the power of your Magic, ze!"
"I... did it..." the heterochromatic girl was still in disbelief on what she did, then a smile creeps to her face: "I did it!"
"Ok, from now on, be sure to read and practise a lot, ze!" Marisa tells Nijiko. "I am going to check on you regularly and have practise sessions like this."
"Understood, Mari-sensei!"
"You dont have to go that far..." the witch smiles awkwardly.
"Alright witch girls, time to dinner!" Rinnosuke tells the two.
"Coming!" both Nijiko and Marisa replies.
And with this, Marisa has began teaching Nijiko Magic, but as we all know, our heroine still has a long way to go. How is she going to develop? Stay tuned for the next chapter!
To be continued...
Author Note: I hope you like that I included Mima into this chapter. I plan to have more PC-98 characters later on, but they are going to be included in a much later story arc.