"Marisa, please don't tell me you're stealing young girls now," a tall man with glasses and white hair said to Marisa as she began rummaging through the product of the store.
"Nah. Just borrowing," Marisa replied casually.
The man turned to Lysithea who simply nodded. "She is just borrowing me for the day. Showing me around."
The man nodded. "I'm Rinnosuke. Welcome to my shop. You wouldn't happen to be a new arrival from outside?"
"Yes."
"Then did you happen to bring any objects or artifacts from where you're from?"
Lysithea shook her head.
"Shame. Even if you did, I'd imagine the SDM would've claimed them by now."
"How did you know I stay there?" Lysithea asked.
"Your clothes. They originally belonged to Patchouli Knowledge and were worn for the sake of Magical Research."
"Kourin's ability lets him know the name and use of any man-made object," Marisa explained.
"That's cool."
"Yes indeed. In fact the preferred clothing of Witch's can date back to-"
Lysithea could only sit there and listen as the man suddenly went into a long tirade about Witches, their clothes, and their tools, along with some of the other objects the SDM had collected. At first it seemed rather interesting, and she was used to long lectures by Sensei, but at some point she realized that some of the things he said didn't seem right.
Yes, a Witch's hair acted as a repository for magic… but they wouldn't, or Sensei wouldn't, actually stitch hair into their clothes. That would just leave them open to a curse if a magic-user got their hands on it. Also, how were Gameboys a doomsday device?
"Kourin's ability doesn't tell him how to actually use an object or how it was made," Marisa suddenly leaned in and whispered. "So half of the things he says you probably shouldn't listen to."
"Why did you bring me here then?"
"Because when he does make something… they're pretty cool." Marisa turned to Rinnosuke and started shouting. "Yo Kourin! Could you take Lysithea's measurements and make her some clothes?"
"It'll take me a few weeks, but I can do it," Rinnosuke replied as he took a measuring tape out from his sleeves. "Should I put it on the SDM's tab?"
"Nah. Put it on mine," Marisa replied. "I'll collect it from them myself if I have to."
Rinnosuke glanced at Marisa, then at Lysithea, before his gaze returned to Marisa. "I have some inkling of what you're planning Marisa, but please don't do anything that might anger them."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Marisa replied cheekily.
Lysithea wasn't sure where Marisa was taking her now that they were done in the village and at that strange shop, but the older girl had insisted they stop by one last place. As they flew away from the village, past the forests, and over a stone path, eventually a large amount of stairs appeared that seemed to lead to somewhere. Rather than walk Marisa simply adjusted her angle and flew along the steps.
"Walking would take a bit too long, but I figured I should still take you along the scenic route. You see that big red gate up ahead?"
"Yea."
"It's a Tori. It's meant to mark the entrance to a sacred place and in this case it's the Hakurei shrine."
Lysithea had heard about the Hakurei. She had been told of their sheer importance by her Sensei to the realm of Gensokyo. This was where the keeper of balance, the shrine maiden floating between boundaries, where the current Hakurei Shrine Maiden lived. A truly fearsome and powerful person.
"Why are you bringing me here?" the younger girl asked.
"Cause every human in Gensokyo should drop by here at some point," Marisa explained as they flew past the Tori and landed on the Shrine Grounds. "And Reimu could always use more visitors."
They walked along a paved path. It was so… simple. Worn but taken care of. It wasn't really what she had expected after all the stories she had heard.
The shrine itself, though, looked pretty cool. Though there was a girl just lying down on the floor nearby and drinking from a large gourd. Her face was red, there was a wide smile on her face as she drank. Oh, and she had horns coming out of her head.
"Yo Suika," Marisa greeted the Youkai.
"Yo Marisa," Suika replied before looking at Lysithea. "Who's the Chibi? You steal her?"
"Borrowing," Marisa corrected as she tossed a coin into a large wooden box, rang the large bell, and then clapped her hands together before bowing her head. Once she was finished she then gestured for Lysithea to do the same.
Lysithea did the same as Marisa, while Suika watched. "Where'd you come from anyway?"
"Another world," Lysithea replied.
"Where you staying? The Village?"
"The Scarlet Devil Mansion."
Suika whistled. "No wonder Marisa brought you here. If you do decide to stick around, look me up. We'll go and party somewhere."
"I'll think about it," Lysithea replied and bowed her head politely before following Marisa as she stepped onto the shrine. "What does Chibi mean?" she asked the human Magician.
"She was basically just calling you tiny."
Lysithea bristled, incredibly annoyed. "I'm not that small."
"You kinda are," Marisa teased before rubbing her head, much to Lysithea's annoyance. "Don't worry you're human, you'll grow."
Marisa slid the door of the shrine open to reveal a girl resting in some sort of combination of a table and blanket. She had straight long black hair and wore a large red ribbon tied to the back of it, much like Lysithea did with her ribbon, though the girl also wore a peculiar pair of tubes on her sidelocks. They seemed strange at first, but they sort of worked on her?
The girl opened her eyes and looked at Marisa and then Lysithea before returning back to Marisa.
"You stealing little girls now?"
"Borrowing," Marisa replied as she took off her shoes, closed the door behind them, and then walked up to the table before sitting under the blankets too. "Come on Lys. Get under the Kotatsu."
Lysithea took off her shoes and did as instructed. As she slid underneath the blankets she was pleasantly surprised to find that the entire table was heated. It was actually very cozy and comfortable. Soon she was yawning and burying herself into the blankets like the other girl did.
"Kotatsus are great, aren't they?" Marisa asked.
Lysithea nodded, her eyes closed, and head resting on the table.
"Try not to fall asleep or you'll catch a cold." Lysithea opened her eyes to find the girl with the red ribbons looking at her lazily. "I'm Reimu Hakurei."
Once again, Lysithea's expectations didn't quite match up to reality.
This was Reimu Hakurei? The great Youkai exterminator? The Red White? The person you never wanted to make mad or you'll get a Fantasy Seal to the face?
"Your name's Lys?" Reimu asked.
"Lysithea."
"Doesn't sound like you're from around here."
"I'm not."
"Where you staying at currently"
"The Scarlet Devil Mansion."
Reimu raised an eye. "Dangerous place for a human. Surprised you made it out."
"My Sensei, Patchouli, has been taking care of me."
"That old bookworm? She took you in as a student?"
"I know. I was surprised too," Marisa commented. "Seems to be pretty fond of her."
"Hmm." Reimu glanced at Marisa. "Get us some snacks and drinks."
"Aren't we your guests? Shouldn't you be treating us?"
"Lysithea's a guest. You're just a persistent intruder."
"Fine, fine," Marisa stood up and made her way to the kitchen. "The usual?"
"Yea."
Soon Lysithea was left alone with Reimu. Not that she minded. Reimu seemed… lazy, but okay.
"We get some outsiders once in a while," Reimu started explaining. "If I happen to run into them before the Youkai do, then I usually bring them back here so I can send them back."
Lysithea's eyes went wide. "You can do that?"
"Yes. I can drop you back in the Outside World if you want."
"I'm from another world. Fodlan."
"Hmm…" Reimu let out a weary sigh. "Haven't sent people from other worlds back yet, but I think I can pull it off. It'll just be a bit harder to set up. You can stay here while I'm figuring it out."
"Oh…" Lysithea simply stared at the girl in awe.
This, this was her chance to get to Fodlan. To her parents. If she stayed here and took it…
Then she'd be leaving Sensei behind. Along with any other chances of becoming a Witch. Of being able to live.
"Can I come back later?" Lysithea asked.
Reimu raised her eye again. "You can. Not everyone goes back. A couple do choose to stay with the human village if that's what you want."
"I want to go back to the SDM and talk to my Sensei first."
Reimu returned to her same listless expression and sank deeper in the Kotatsu. "Your choice then. Feel free to visit anytime and donate."
At that moment Marisa returned with some large white crackers on a wooden plate, some fruit, four cups, a small teapot, and a ceramic bottle.
"What are those white things?" Lysithea asked.
"Salted rice crackers and a bottle of Sake," Marisa answered.
"Sake?"
"Rice wine. You ever drank before?"
Lysithea shook her head.
"Well, this'll be perfect for your first time. Just to try to take it easy for now." Marisa sat down and began to fill the cups with some sort of cloudy white liquid. The Sake had a weird smell that made Lysithea scrunch her nose.
"You'll start liking the smell soon enough," Marisa replied as she and Reimu grabbed their cups and quickly gulped them down. They then began to snack on the rice crackers.
"Take small sips," Reimu told Lysithea. "Get used to it."
Lysithea nodded her head before grabbing her own cup and bringing it to her lips. She immediately grimaced as a weird taste filled her mouth and nose. It took everything she had to swallow it before putting down the cup, a bitter taste left over in her mouth. "Is it supposed to burn?"
"Yep. Trust me though, get past that and it's great," Marisa told her.
Reimu offered a rice cracker to Lysithea who graciously grabbed and bit into it. They were crunchy, a bit salty, and helped to get rid of the taste in her mouth.
"I don't like Sake," Lysithea said.
"Here," Reimu filled the last cup with a steaming green liquid. "You can have this instead."
Lysithea was a bit apprehensive at first but after taking a sip was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't half bad. It was tea, different from the tea she had in the Mansion, but still pretty good. She kinda wished she had some sugar or sweets to have with it.
Marisa and Reimu began to make some small talk and Lysithea simply watched. Marisa seemed so different here than when she was in the village. In the shrine and around Reimu, she seemed more relaxed. Like this was the one place she could act like herself without worrying about anyone else staring.
It was nice. Even if she was just watching them.
"You know," Marisa commented offhandedly. "A lot of people drink here. In fact a lot of the big girls here can go through a ton."
Lysithea grabbed her Sake and tried it again. The second sip… wasn't so bad. And after she washed it down with her tea, she was able to taste a bit of sweetness the third sip she took. She would've liked it if it was a bit sweeter but it was actually nice and suddenly her face was feeling a bit hot. She actually liked that feeling.
"Wow, you really are going to fit in here," Marisa commented as Lysithea finished the cup. "We'll stop here for now and get you a bit more later."
Lysithea nodded. She kind of wanted a bit more, but suddenly she was too sleepy to put up much of a fight.
"Looks like a sleepy drunk. Good, last thing is we need another rowdy drunk around here," Reimu commented. "You two staying over tonight?"
"Nah I kinda promised Patchy I'd bring her back." Marisa reached over and tapped Lysithea on her head.
Suddenly, Lysithea was a bit more awake, though her face was still a bit hot.
"Didn't know you had a spell to sober someone up," Reimu commented.
"Only clears the mind a bit, doesn't really clear out the alcohol or do much for anyone who isn't a lightweight. Also, it's not like I'd use it to ruin the fun," Marisa replied as got up and helped Lysithea up. "See you later Reimu. I'll make sure to come back soon."
"Of course you will," Reimu replied, though with a light smile on her face.
"Reimu seems… nice," Lysithea commented as the cold night wind did its job at waking her up.
"That's because you tossed in a donation. Do that and she'll be in a good mood. She might even treat you to some snacks or tea," Marisa replied as she sped up and flew even faster than before. She wasn't smiling now, in fact she seemed rather somber.
"How long have you known her?"
"Years now. Blew her shrine up once. Fought a bunch after that, competed a bunch, hung out a bunch. We just kind of ended up with each other."
"You're good friends."
"Yea… we are." Marisa glanced back at Lysithea. "Where do you want to go?"
"I thought you were supposed to take me back?"
"Yea but I can steal you away and take you anywhere that you want. You just gotta let me know." They continued flying, bathed in the moonlight.
"What about your Contract?"
"It's fine I'll return the books I borrowed and take a beating from Patchy if I have to. You on the other hand can head to the shrine or live a nice quiet life in the human village. Simple and safe, maybe even get married eventually and have kids. Lots of people would be fine with that, you know?"
"You weren't."
"True. But you're not me. And you should do what you want, what's best for you."
A quiet life… That might have been a little tempting if she still had much of a life to live. Now though…
No, that wasn't for her. And besides she already had a home now, even if she did miss her old one a bunch.
Lysithea grabbed onto Marisa tightly and buried her face into the back. She might be willing to take her wherever she wanted, but there was only really one place now that she wanted to go. "Take me to the Scarlet Devil Mansion."
Marisa smiled. "Yea I figured. Just had to make sure."
As the Scarlet Devil Mansion appeared, Marisa headed straight for the front and landed just outside the gate where a certain Gatekeeper stood awake and ready for them.
"I didn't think you'd start stealing young girls too," Meiling commented as Marisa and Lysithea got off the broom.
"Borrowed," Marisa replied. "And I'm already giving her back to Patchy."
The Gatekeeper nodded before pushing the large metal gates open with a single tap of her fist.
"Enjoy your visit then. And welcome back Lysithea."
"Thank you Meiling," Lysithea bowed her head respectfully to the gatekeeper before heading inside.
Surprisingly enough her Sensei was sitting in the gardens with Sakuya over tea. Yes, it was night and she still had a book in her hands, but she was outside for once.
"Waiting out here makes it seem like you didn't trust me," Marisa commented as she grabbed Patchouli's teacup and drank from it.
"I try not to expect much from you," Patchouli replied as she set her book aside. "But this was more of a welcome than a precaution. I see my student has received new clothes and a ribbon."
Lysithea blushed lightly and touched the corner of her ribbon. "What do you think?"
"It all suits you and it enhances your natural appearance," Patchouli replied, as if stating fact.
"You should really learn how to compliment girls, Patchy. Just a couple of different words and you'd have them swooning over you," Marisa commented.
Sakuya smiled. "According to my Mistress, Patchy wasn't always this much of an introvert. You'd be surprised by how much she got around in her youth."
"Really? First time I'm hearing about this." Marisa looked at Patchouli in interest, something that Lysithea did too. "Although I guess that explains the Succubus familiar."
"Kaokuma was summoned for the purpose of maintaining my library and my past is irrelevant now," Patchouli replied. "A relic of a bygone time."
"You calling yourself an old relic now?"
"Certainly, in comparison to you."
"It's getting late," Sakuya interrupted the two magic users before they could start trading barbs again. "Perhaps we should head in now?"
"Yea it's about time I headed back," Marisa replied.
"It's late. Have you taken a bath yet?" Patchouli asked.
"No. Had to bring Lys back from the shrine."
"You can stay over for the night then for bringing my apprentice back intact. Sakuya will prepare a bath and a meal for you. A guest room will also be provided."
"Wow that's-"
"Of course this is because I still have need of you for something." Patchouli learned in and whispered something into the girl's ear.
Marisa's eyes went wide. "Wow."
"Just do as you're told and don't overstay your welcome."
"Ok understood… What about Flan though? She's cool and all but I don't think I can play with her tonight."
"Don't worry, I've found a way to keep her busy."
Koakuma whimpered as the two vampire sisters glared at each other.
Devils were territorial creatures and were instinctively fearful or aggressive towards those they deemed stronger or weaker than them. So why did Patchouli decide to have her entertain a pair of Vampires, Devils of one of the highest tiers much greater than Succubi or Incubi, and why were they playing Monopoly of all games!?
This was a game that was an exercise of destruction, hatred, and the breaking of all interpersonal bonds!
"Damn it Flan!" Remy slammed her hand to the ground, creating a crater on the floor. "You rolled an eight now give me my money!"
"You're the one using your ability to make me land on your hotels!" Flan shouted back. "Let's see how you like it if I used mine to destroy all your property."
"You do that, and you destroy all your property too!"
"At least then, it's FAIR!" Flan spun her head toward Koakuma. "You! Little Devil!"
"Y-yes mistress?"
"Who's right here? Me or my sister?"
Remilia glared at Koakuma in turn.
This was it. This was how she died. Caught between the fighting of two Vampires. Hopefully Patchouli would never summon a familiar as good as she had been.
"I think." Koakuma finally decided to bite the bullet. "That you should roll again."
Remilia's glare turned into bloodlust and it took all of the familiar's will to not collapse into the fetal position on the spot. Eventually though, somehow, the elder vampire turned around and clicked her tongue. "Fine. Go roll again Flandre. And I can assure that I did not manipulate fate to choose your dice roll."
"There's still a lot of ways you can influence a game," Flandre replied, annoyed, but still picked up the dice anyway. She tossed the dice and rolled a twelve.
Oh no.
"Hah, looks like you landed on the Little Devil's property."
Flandre's neck cracked on every centimeter that she used to turn her head towards Koakuma. Her mouth was a thin line while her eyes were the very depths of madness themselves.
For the first time ever, and despite the severe pain to her very being for doing so, Koakuma began to pray to God.
"That giant bath you guys got here always impresses me every time I see it," Marisa commented as she wiped Lysithea's hair dry. "First time I ever used it myself though or stayed the night without Flan having me play with her."
"When you play with Flan do you mean-"
"Danmaku. Lots of it. She can take a lot of punishment and you really need to be on your toes to not get hit by anything… What's wrong? You look surprised there. Don't think I could pull it off?"
"No it's just that…" Lysithea shivered at the memories. "Flandre is really scary. I don't really like being around her."
"Yea that's how a lot of people feel about her. I don't think she's lonely or anything cause she chooses to stay in that basement most of the time, but well I think she does appreciate it when someone stops by to see her."
Lysithea remained silent as Marisa sat on her bed. Technically the older girl was supposed to use the guest room, but apparently Marisa decided to stay in Lysithea's room for the night.
"So apart from Flan, how do you feel about the rest of the people here? They treating you well?"
"Meiling is nice when I talk with her, Sakuya gets me all the sweets I want, and Remy is fun to play games with. The fairy maids were a bit annoying, but they stopped bothering me as much after I threw a few spells at them."
"And Patchy?"
"She saved me. Taught me magic. Gave me a place to stay here… and she even let me see my parents and my old home again."
Marisa suddenly reached over and patted her on the head. "I really was worried for nothing. I mean I did want to show you around the village and the shrine, but I also wanted to show the other options you could choose. Also, Reimu's got great intuition. She would've definitely done something if she felt you were being forced but well-"
"I want to stay here," Lysithea repeated her answer from before. "The people in the village are nice to me but… I want to live here and learn magic. I want to be with my Sensei."
Marisa smiled. "Should've realized it earlier but well…" Her face took on a fond look. "I guess I was projecting a little. Even I had someone there for me in the beginning." She took a deep breath and slapped her own cheeks. "Alright that's enough moping around. Time to go to the library again."
"Why?"
"Because apparently your Sensei has a bit of surprise for you that she told me about, and it's about time I bring you down there now that you're presentable."
Count Ordelia watched the still figure of his wife next to him. She had cried herself to sleep again and another patch of her once brilliant purple hair had begun to gray from the pain. A pain that he well understood himself.
He put his hands to his face and shuddered. His eyes were dry though. He hadn't let himself shed a single tear since… that day.
It was all his fault. He had decided to respond to a call for aid when that civil conflict erupted within the empire. He had provided aid to the rebels that wished to succeed from the Empire. Not for any political reason, but simply because they were people that were starving, injured, and needed help.
When the rebellion was then crushed, no one in the Alliance came to help as the Empire demanded reparations. They killed every important figure in the household, friends that he had trusted and cared for, and replaced them with mages. Every single one of them had skin as pale as death and more masks to hide their faces.
All he could was watch as those mages experimented on his children. One after another, their children died, some without even a body to bury. Until only one remained. Their oldest, Lysithea. She had been eight and had been the last one they had hoped would survive. Their hopes, their wishes were never answered. Dead, gone like the rest.
They had nothing left now, but each other. Even then it was a struggle to get out of bed in the morning. Sometimes he wondered if it would be better to just give away their titles and land to the neighboring territory and just end it all. He knew his wife had thought the same too.
A knock on their door. A butler opened it.
"My Lord… there is someone outside that you and your wife need to meet."
Count Ordelia trusted the man. He was one of their oldest and the remaining still loyal to them. For whatever that mattered. So he woke up his wife and helped her up as they made their way outside.
Was it the Empire again? What did they want now? There was nothing else to take but his wife and if they wanted her… well then they'd go together in death.
As they stepped out into the foyer, he couldn't believe his eyes.
Her hair was white now and she wore a strange loose dress, but there was no forgetting the face of his own child. There was no way that Lysithea was standing before him now.
"Mama! Papa!" Lysithea ran forward first, his wife second to meet her. They met halfway, at the bottom of the stairs where they finally held each other in their embrace.
His wife was holding her. Their daughter, she was real. She was alive.
He felt something wet come from his eyes and then it all came flooding out. His tears of joy of happiness, that came because a miracle had happened. He stepped down the stairs and held his family in his arms.
They had each other. They still had something to live for.
"How many favors did it take to pull this off?" Marisa asked as they observed Lysithea's reunion with her family through a crystal ball.
"Too many," Patchouli admitted. Yakumo was more than willing to allow a small connection to a world where Fantasy and Magic was still thriving, albeit at a heavy price. It would take a long time to pay her off completely along with replacing with reagents she had used to maintain and create the portal in the first place. "Especially to allow my pupil a path between our worlds that she can use regularly, but she deserves a little happiness in her life."
"You're going to send Lysithea off to help work off those loans, aren't you?"
"I can't deny how practical experience has made you especially powerful for someone of your age. Sending Lysithea out to fulfill some tasks in Gensokyo should act as good training." Patchouli turned to Marisa. "I don't expect you to coddle her either. She'll need as much training as possible."
Marisa smiled. "Let her do her own thing and give her a light beating once in a while. Keep her on her toes. Got it."
"Just don't cause her too much trouble."
Marisa smirked. "The thing about that is that trouble always seems to find you. And I heard from Remy that it's the same for your student too."
"Hmph. I'm a Witch. Outside of magic that can manipulate it, both fate and luck have always been against us."
"Then let's see what she does with that. And if it does go against her… well I'm sure she can give them a good beating."
Omake: A Long Night
It was only when her own familiar returned to the library bruised, burnt, and crying that Patchouli realized that she might've crossed a line with her order this time.
"How could you just leave me with those two-two… Devils!" The familiar, who also happened to be a Devil herself, cried into Patchouli's dress. "They were terrible and why did you pick Monopoly of all games? That's the Devils game too!"
"I'm… sorry Kao," the Witch said awkwardly as she reached over and patted the Devil on the shoulder. She was just bad with situations like these. "I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to you."
Koakuma looked at Patchouli, sniffling and tears still at the corner of hers. "Whatever I want?"
"Within reason," the Witch replied cautiously
The familiar wiped the tears from her eyes, blew her nose, and then just stared at the Witch. She just… stared.
"Uh Kao?"
Patchouli was not prepared for her familiar to lunge forward, push her down onto the couch, and then tear her clothes off with a single swipe of her hands.
Kao's face had taken on a predatory gleam. "Then I'm going to need a looooot of magic from you to recover."
Patchouli was quite grateful for the soundproofing spells she had ready for the library for whenever she needed peace… or for moments like these. And judging by the hungry looks on Kao's face as she tore off what remained of Patchouli's clothes, she was going to need them for the rest of the night.
