Author's Note:
Yo! This upload is a lot sooner than normal, so I bet quite a few of you (at the date of this upload, anyways) are wondering what the deal is. There's a few factors involved, really.
I got a week off of work for vacation right around the time Stage 6 went live, so I've basically been pouring my new surplus of time into writing. I was hesitant to announce anything in-terms of progress, since it could easily backfire, but it seems I got at least one chapter out in my break.
- This chapter's a bit shorter than normal, so it didn't take as long to put together.
- I'm getting more confident in my writing, so gradually my writing feels like it's speeding up (speaking subjectively).
- Most importantly, I've been a little dissatisfied with the slow pace I tend to have, and have been steadily adjusting parts of my writing process to try and see if I can improve that part of myself. For the last few chapters I swapped from an original "rough draft - 2nd draft - final draft" approach to a "rough draft - final draft" one. I think to some extent I've sacrificed quality for speed because of this. If you happen to notice that and it bothers you, please feel free to let me know. I'm still an amateur when it comes to actually publishing my written work, after all, so feedback really is appreciated as I work on this project. It could just be that I'm overthinking things, but any sort of comment or spared thought helps.
I think that's all the comments I have for now! Let's see what's happening back in Gensokyo...
~ STAGE 7: Seven-Colored Rainbow ~
[START]
A week passed by in total silence. No grand incident began to unfold, no secret youkai conspiracy was unveiled, nothing. Absolutely nothing.
It was honestly the biggest, most gigantic let-down ever for Marisa.
"Seriously," she thought on her way back from a youkai extermination job. "I thought something super interesting was gonna happen."
It wasn't so much the arrival of the outsider that had clued her into that. Sure, she was weird, but that was about it. Rather, it was the total silence from every single major youkai group in Gensokyo that made her suspect something major was coming. A whole bunch of incidents had been stirred up by all sorts of youkai since Reimu put the Spell Card rules into play. With so many parties clumped together, each with their own goals, Marisa figured it would've only been a matter of time before something started up. The random outsider with a mysterious past showing up just made her even more certain. Hell, the outsider herself could cause the incident for all she knew.
… But! In spite of it all, nothing had happened yet. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
It was so booooring!
Wasn't the whole point of setups like this to kick straight to some serious action? A mysterious stranger enters the fray with no memory of their past, and suddenly an incident no one was expecting starts! Filled with strange new characters with cool and bizarre new abilities, and kickass action on every other page! That was what she signed up for! She wanted a refund!
Ahh… Oh well. At the very least, there wasn't a shortage of small fry work.
"Thank you, young lady." The old farmer handed over a small pouch weighed down with coins. "I'm still not sure what led those kamaitachi to start appearing so closely near the village, but you've saved us quite a lot of trouble.
"S'no problem." Marisa wore a devil-may-care grin. "A bunch of displaced weasels aren't a match for me."
There had been a minor infestation of sickle weasels that had taken up shop near the village's farmland. As a result, there were infrequent incidents where the farmers would be attacked while working. With the grain harvest approaching as autumn neared its end, it was almost the time of year to start fermenting alcohol. The last thing anyone needed was some youkai ruining their drinks. Marisa especially; the money the job paid was definitely one reason she took it, but the main reason was just because she wanted to try making some mushroom shōchū before the year ended.
With her work for the day done, Marisa snuck a glance back to the sky. It was still early in the day, not even past noon, so she had time to waste. What to do?
Hm, I could go poke around the shrine and see what's up. Oh, but before that…
Shadowy underbrush the sun couldn't reach, each damp pocket filled with its own assortment of colorful, noxious mushrooms. The dancing spores were a familiar sight in the Forest of Magic, and would have been enough to knock out any normal human. Good thing she was an ordinary witch instead; with how long she'd been working around mushrooms, they didn't really affect her much anymore.
There wasn't a path to follow, but Marisa hopped along as if following one. She'd lived in the forest for too long to get lost carelessly, especially when she was taking such a specific route.
A clearing opened up from the dense foliage, revealing a small, pristine house. Surrounding it, a well-maintained metal fence and gate with no signs of age or rust. As usual, Marisa hopped the fence without bothering to check if the gate was locked or not.
A series of glints spread across the yard in front of the house, like light reflecting off strands of hair. Attached to them were a small team of finely-dressed, pint-sized maid dolls. With how precise their movements were, someone seeing them for the first time could have been forgiven for thinking they were alive. A few grouped together and were ferrying around a reel mower, while the rest had settled into other more involved tasks, like weeding. Following the trail of wires back to the house, she'd see a slightly larger doll floating at the porch, watching the other dolls like a senior. The wires of all the 'junior' dolls all flowed into the senior doll's tiny hands, its arms moving like the doll itself was the puppet master. Of course, a closer look revealed another thin wire connecting the supervisor doll back inside the house.
"Whoa, a new face and a new trick! Alice is workin' you girls hard today!" Marisa grinned as she approached the porch. The doll didn't respond, instead shifting to the side as the door behind it creaked open. It bowed politely, like a servant letting in an honored guest. "Thanks a bunch~" Marisa tipped her hat and slid past.
The sight of hair-like wires were just the same inside—if anything, it was even more crowded. A controlled set of floating dolls, all occupied with all sorts of tasks; dusting, sweeping, reorganizing shelves and furniture, everything. They moved with a coordination that made it seem like they were trained maids hard at work, perfectly selling the illusion that they were alive. That illusion was even more believable when one looked at the young woman standing at the center of the action.
"Yes, over there is good. —Ah, don't forget to dust behind there. —Shanghai, is the tea almost ready?"
Her words made it sound like the dolls were all living beings following her orders, with each one responding in time with her commands. But a closer look would reveal thin wires trailing from each doll, leading back to the young woman's fingers. They moved with delicate, precise motions, with no mistakes or wasted movement. It was a beautiful show, watching her move. The gentle look in her eyes as she commanded her dolls, the slight smile as if she were speaking to her very own children. The way she was able to manipulate so many dolls at once with such precision while still maintaining her weird habit of talking to them. All of it was 100% Alice Margatroid.
Altogether, it made Marisa's heart run a little lap in her chest.
Alice didn't immediately respond to Marisa's entry. In fact, she only barely seemed to notice Marisa was standing just a few feet from her.
Here's my chance~
Slipping past the dolls that were working, Marisa snuck right up behind Alice as she was delivering orders. Still no response; she seriously didn't realize she was there. With a devious grin, Marisa leaned in—and, pecking in-and-out like a woodpecker, delivered a swift kiss right on Alice's cheek.
"—"
For a brief moment, the wires (and subsequently, the dolls) twitched as if an electric shock had just shot through them. Marisa heard a sound like one of them snatching something fragile in a panic.
"Afternoon, Alice—whoa!" Marisa ducked past a small strand that whipped by her head. "Hey~! That could've hurt~!"
Alice was looking away so it was hard to make out her facial expression, but her ears were bright red as she continued moving her dolls around.
"Ooh, isn't this some seriously cold reception?" Marisa swayed around playfully, sneaking a glance at the wires dancing around the both of them. "I've still got no clue how ya avoid tangling yourself on these things. Seriously, can you do it at least once? It'd be pretty funny if I walked in and saw you all tied up like that."
A series of 'clack!'s rang out as a trio of dolls finished dusting a shelf with delicate glassware. With a flick of Alice's index finger, the dolls swung to seated positions and stopped moving. A sigh. "Good afternoon, Marisa." Alice didn't turn to greet her, instead dedicating her attention to the dolls still working. "If I wanted to tie anyone up, it'd be the uninvited guest waltzing into my home like she owns the place. Speaking of, you still haven't returned those grimoires you 'borrowed'."
"Hey, when you're dating, shared custody is a policy, right?"
"Me stringing you up so badly you turn into a doll is also a policy."
A fake gasp from Marisa. "What a cruel threat to make! You're an evil woman, Alice!"
She caught a small glimpse at a smirk. "An evil woman who's making tea. If you don't mind, I'd like to finish cleaning so I can enjoy some. You'll help yourself anyways, so go ahead and take a seat in the kitchen."
With such words being exchanged, one would think there would be some venom flying around. But there was no malice in the air; rather, the exact opposite. With a smile of her own, Marisa snuck past the cleaning dolls and over to the kitchen. Sure enough, a familiar doll model had just finished dutifully preparing black tea for two, a tiny bit of steam rising from the cups. With a curtsey (and a flick of a wire), she flew back off in the direction of Alice. Translation: I'm almost done, I'll be over there in a moment.
After just a minute, the puppet show closed its curtains and Alice stepped into view.
"You used a ton more dolls than usual this time." Marisa leaned back into her chair, her hat now resting on an open space on the table. "Don't think I've seen that greeting doll you had at the front door, either. She got a name?"
"You sound like a womanizer when you ask like that." Alice sat herself opposite Marisa. "To answer both your questions, I haven't picked a name for her yet. And I decided to try using her and the other dolls today for research purposes."
"Test run, huh?" Marisa thought back to the unnamed doll's puppeteering. "Trying out some kinda autonomous control or somethin'?
"Mm." Alice sipped her tea. The thoughtful look in her eyes always gave them a special shine that was easy to get lost in. "Of a sort. It's not complete autonomy, but the principles behind her would put me a few steps closer to that."
"Huh, is that so?"
Marisa had intended to come in for another matter entirely, but she ended up getting totally sidetracked. It was too easy for her to lose track of time whenever she was with Alice. While the tea was hot, they talked about a few different things. Alice's new doll (Marisa started putting forward the name 'Jugemu Jugemu—' only to get rejected right away). A new type of mushroom Marisa had begun cultivating (a magic glowcap mushroom; still a work-in-progress). All sorts of stuff.
Just like the flavor of the tea they were drinking, their relationship had quite the complex history behind it. A fragrant, fruity aroma that she had come to associate with Alice. Just taking it in made the normally eyes-straight-ahead Marisa a little nostalgic, old memories flashing by with each sip…
Makai, the demon realm.
A little under a decade ago, back when Marisa was still training under her master, an endless swarm of demons had started flowing from the demonic realm and making a giant mess of Gensokyo. It didn't take long for word to spread about Reimu heading straight in to investigate the incident. Marisa being Marisa, she dove right in after her. For her own reasons, of course. A demonic realm had to have some interesting stuff lying around, right?
It turned out that most of the demons in the place weren't actually all that strong. Reimu had already plowed through most of the small fry by the time Marisa even got to the edge of the capital. But…
Well, she'd missed one.
"What is this?! Look at all the damage you're causing!" A cute girl who looked a tiny bit younger than her cut her off. Judging by her reaction to the destruction, she'd probably narrowly avoided extermination-by-shrine-maiden and assumed Marisa was the one responsible. Not like she'd deny it—she probably would've done even more damage, actually. "Just what are you humans doing?!"
"Well, I dunno what the first person to blow through here was thinking, but I'm just here to take whatever I want."Marisa smirked as she leaned forward on her broom. "Wanna help me out? I bet there's lotsa treasure lying around a place like that."
The girl recoiled. "Why would I help you steal from my mother? Even if I told you, you wouldn't be able to get away with anything."
"Ohh? Your mom's the goddess of this scary place?" Marisa rubbed her chin. "You don't look all that demonic, though. Plus, everyone who's tried to stop me so far has been super weak. I could probably blow 'em away and just fly right through. You wanna join 'em?"
"Aren't you full of yourself? You don't even look that strong yourself, witch!" With a wave of her hands, a pair of dolls made a crude formation around her. "I bet you won't even be able to lay a finger on me!"
"Like I've even gotta touch you." Marisa casually extended her arm out, summoning a star-shaped sigil to her palm. "If it's a small fry like you, I can just blast you instead. "
"Why you!"
The sounds of flashy magic and crude dolls colliding rang out across Makai's sky.
—The fight was a total stomp. In spite of the girl's bravado, Marisa basically knocked her aside without any actual difficulty. She actually felt a little bad when she heard her trying not to cry.
"What were you expecting? Ya gotta apply yourself more, sheesh." Was the best she could offer for advice before flying off.
The rest of the incident hadn't been all that interesting, in the end. It turned out the whole demon swarm thing had been a result of some weird tourism misunderstanding, and the god in charge of the place was already looking into the issue. Sure, they'd had a bit of a fight with the goddess in charge after that little detail was cleared up, but the whole dramatics of it was totally ruined by that reveal. What kinda final boss motivation is a tourism overflow?
She was mostly just in a sour mood because she didn't find any cool souvenirs to take home, but there not actually being a major incident to resolve after all didn't help.
Just as she was patching up her expectations and heading on her way home…
"Finally. You're here. You kept me waiting."
In a small pocket of the realm, cutting off her path was the cute girl from before. She was pouting all dramatically, like she'd been planning some destined rival battle but the other half showed up thirty minutes late. Tucked in her arms was a thick grimoire she hadn't been carrying earlier. Oh, had the girl taken her up on her offer?
"Nice, you found something! You're kinda late, though. I was just on my way out."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" She glared, guard still raised. "This book isn't for you. It's a spell with the strongest magic known to Makai written in it."
"Ooh! Definitely sounds like something I'd want!"
"You can't have it!"
"Aww, please? Trade it for a date? " She winked, making sure to shoot a tiny star from her eye for good measure.
"D—" The girl went bright red. "You are INSUFFERABLE! And I've had enough of you! This is a duel. D. U. E. L! Take this seriously!"
The book flew open and its pages began flipping wildly. Immense magical power poured out, filling the air around them both.
"Ooh!" Marisa's eyes lit up. Flashy! Now she definitely wanted it!
"Tch…!" The Makai girl clearly saw her excitement. She raised her arm, and the full power of the grimoire bent to her will, concentrating into the space around her. "If you're so interested in this magic, then here! Have a taste!"
The second round went a lot better for Team Makai. She wasn't kidding when she described the book as having the strongest magic. The attacks were definitely bigger and flashier, but there was something lacking about them. It took Marisa dodging a few patterns to figure out what it was, but once she did, her foe's grand spellslinging gradually lost its steam. Soon enough, the Makai girl went down, flopping over in midair like a dead fish.
"Why…?" There she went again, choking back tears. The show was cute the first time, but now it was getting sad. It made Marisa hesitate to snag the grimoire she'd been eyeing the whole fight; she wasn't that heartless. "Why couldn't I win?!"
"Heehee," Marisa floated over, laughing a little but still feeling kinda bad. "You definitely had way more power than before, but it was kinda like you were goin' against your style. You were better off the way you were fighting before."
"Huh?" The girl stopped. "W-What do you mean?"
"Yeah. Usin' the grimoire gave you a lot more firepower, but you seriously didn't know how to use it at all. You just kept flinging spell after spell at me." Marisa rubbed her chin. "With the dolls, the power wasn't all that great, but you probably coulda caught me a few times if you had more and moved 'em right. Felt like ya had more of a plan. Plus, it was pretty cool! They looked kinda like they were alive. Suits ya more, y'know?"
There was a brief moment of consideration as she registered Marisa's words. As if realizing she was listening to feedback from someone who had invaded her home and beat up both her and her mother, the girl snapped back to focus and glared. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Hm? I need a special reason to help out a cute girl?"
She went a brighter shade of red than the first time, all the way to her ears. "Y-Y-You—! Are you mocking me?!"
"Maybe~ " With a gremlin giggle, Marisa spun back around on her broom and offered a two-fingered salute. "See ya!"
"W-Wait!" The girl forced herself back upright with a bit of effort. "I said wait!"
"?" Marisa glanced back. "What is it? I'm tired. Wanna go home already."
The girl grunted, likely holding back another angry comment. "Alice Margatroid!" She shouted with what little force her lungs could muster, clutching her grimoire in her feeble arms. "Remember that name the next time you dare to come here! I won't lose again!"
Even as she stood there, shaking from her previous crushing defeats, Alice's words carried a fragile pride. The pride of a weakling who refused to remain as such. Who, with hard work and dedication, would defy the notion of defeat again and again, until she achieved the result she aimed for.
It was a familiar sight to Marisa.
"... Hehe." She flashed Alice a confident grin. Alright, Alice! Next time, then! I don't plan on losing, myself!"
Their meeting had thoroughly improved her mood. It wasn't a bad feeling having someone form a rivalry with her first. Fated rivalries, grand battles in other worlds—such fantasies were what she was hoping for when she chose the life of a witch.
It was settled. She would come back later and duel with the young missus at her leisure. In time, it became a bit of a weird relationship. In-between training sessions with her master, Marisa would sneak off to Makai to check in and spar with her new rival. And with each meeting, each fight, they both improved. Alice's control over her dolls grew, as did the amount she commanded at once. The girl became more confident, more assured in herself. Marisa was even willing to admit she did actually lose a few of their matches. She still managed to keep making Alice mad though, and Marisa continued to laugh it off. Neither one of them missed a meeting, though.
Over time, the normally icy, cool girl became a bit more talkative. A relationship formerly defined just by duels suddenly became more based in conversation.
After a while, one specific topic came up.
"Hey," The both of them rested atop a building in Makai's capital, Pandæmonium. Alice turned to her, an uncharacteristic curiosity in her eyes. "What's it like outside Makai?"
"Hm? You mean Gensokyo?" Marisa reclined, her hat resting on her lap. "... Hmm. Well, it's not as crazy back home. The weather's way different. We don't have entire regions made outta just ice and snow, for example."
"Really?"
"Oh yeah, and we have youkai instead of demons."
Alice nodded. "I've read about them. Actually, aren't you a youkai? You are a witch, yes?"
She shook her head. "Nah, I'm totally human. Just your ordinary human witch. "
"Is that so?" Alice squinted. "You're rather powerful for a mere human. You could probably become even more powerful if you—"
"Deee~nied."
Alice tilted her head. "? Why, exactly?"
"Lotsa reasons." A specific person crossed her mind. "But mostly pride. If I give up and rely on shortcuts like that, I'd lose. That's all."
Alice's eyes lingered on her for a bit after that, but she didn't pry further.
"Speakin' of Gensokyo." Marisa looked over at Alice. "Why d'ya ask? Ya never been out before?"
Alice shook her head. "Mm-mm." She tucked her legs in and hugged her knees. "Mother doesn't allow me to leave. And I have responsibilities here. It'd be inconsiderate to just depart whenever I want."
"Huuh?" The words struck a chord with Marisa. A place she hadn't expected to get picked at since she left home. "What's that gotta do with anything?"
"Eh? Well…" A pause. "I owe my existence to Mother. So I should honor her wishes if she wishes for me to stay—"
"Do you wanna see the world outside or not?"
"... I do." Alice hesitated. "I would like the see the world, to learn all sorts of things. But Mother—"
"We aren't askin' your old lady, just you!" Marisa didn't realize she was raising her voice just slightly. "What you do with your life isn't a question for somebody else to answer. You gotta make that choice yourself!" She stood up straight. "Do you wanna live a full life without regrets? Choose your own way of living? Don't let your folks choose for you! Choose for yourself!"
"..."
Alice went quiet, a mesmerized stare into Marisa's eyes for what felt like an eternity. It took Marisa's brain a few seconds to catch up with her mouth, and she realized she'd gotten all heated up all of a sudden.
"... a-ahem." Marisa cleared her throat. "Anyways, it's your choice. I dunno all the details, but it all comes down to your choice in the end. If you wanna stick around here for your family or run out and see the world, that's your choice."
Alice seemed too consumed by her thoughts to properly listen. "Yes…"
—The rest of the conversation was a little awkward. After that, Marisa returned home. She hoped she hadn't scared Alice with that sudden outburst. It wasn't her intention to project like crazy on her all of a sudden, but the choice of words Alice went with had seriously hit the wrong buttons. The last thing she wanted to think about was that old bastard.
The usual time gap between her visits passed by without anything special happening.
It felt awkward heading back to Makai again, but it would've been kind of stupid if she flew into a weird rant and then never showed up again out of embarrassment. She just needed to find her broom and she'd be over there.
"C'mon, it's not anywhere inside…" She tossed aside the assorted knick-knacks arranged into a pile she'd left lying around the front door. Where's it gone to…"
"Right here." A broom handle slid in front of her face.
"Ah, thanks." She took it. "Alright, I'm off—" Stop. Pause. She snapped to the figure that handed her the broom and was greeted with a very familiar tiny doll waving cutely at her. Right next to her, another familiar, cute face. "—eh?"
"Good afternoon." Alice said, in perfect English. "Where are you off to?"
"I—" She blinked, then pointed at Alice. "You?!"
"Me? I'm already here, though." She puffed her cheeks lightly. "You know, it's rude to point."
"No, not what I meant!" Marisa shook her head. "What're you doin' here? Aren't you supposed to be in Makai?"
"Indeed. Now I'm here."
"... How?!"
Alice looked at her strangely. "The same way you always do. There's a gate that goes between Makai and Gensokyo, did you forget?"
Marisa frowned. "Correction: 'why'? Didn't you say you had 'responsibilities' or somethin'?"
Alice's eyes drifted for a moment, as if she were reflecting on something. "Yes, I did. And it wasn't easy to leave. But…" She looked back to Marisa, an assured expression on her face. "Well, it was like you said. I can't let my mother's decisions guide my life. I had to make the decision for myself."
—Marisa wasn't sure if she wanted to congratulate the girl or question her. "So, you just ran away?"
"In a sense. Mother didn't let me go lightly, but she saw my perspective eventually."
Alice's confident tone wasn't fully convincing, but the reality of the situation was more-or-less clear. They were both runaways in their own ways, who'd chosen to leave their home life to choose their own path. Details aside, that was the conclusion to it all.
"... Huh." Marisa rubbed the back of her neck. If that was the case, then... "You got a place to stay, or…?"
Alice nodded. "It's a bit of a work-in-progress. Perhaps I'm imposing, but would it be fine if I stayed with you for just a bit while I work on building my home? It shouldn't take longer than a few days." A smile, brighter than Marisa had seen from the girl before.
"—" Damn it! That smile was too much! "H-Hell, I'll do you a few steps further. I can help you build your place up! I built my own house, after all! Nice to you meet—I mean, nice to meet'cha, neighbor!"
Alice giggled unexpectedly. "Oh? Then I'll be in your care. Thank you for your kindness, neighbor."
At the sound of Alice's giggle, a strange, fuzzy sensation filled Marisa's body. It made it harder for her to focus. What was it? At the time, she couldn't really parse it. It wouldn't be for years until the witch would get a clue and figure it out.
… Come to think of it, that was an interesting story in itsel—
"What are you thinking about, dear?"
The warmth of someone's breath hitting her neck and ear, a whisper tickling at her eardrums, a smile in her voice.
"HWAUGH?!" Marisa's entire body lit up on-contact, bright red like a sunburn. The empty teacup she'd been holding went flying out of her hands, luckily snagged by a Shanghai who shot her a grumpy pout. "W-What the hell?!"
"Humph." Alice, who had backed up just a bit after nearly killing Marisa, puffed her cheeks. "I was trying to get your attention, but you weren't listening to me. Is something interesting going on in that brain of yours?"
Marisa played with her braid, huffing. "Just thinking about how cute and sweet you were when we first met. Now you try to kill me with just your words. What happened to the earnest, nice girl Alice?"
"When were you under the impression that was the only face I had?" A smirk, and Alice's fingers danced delicately, a small team of dolls assembling to pick up their dishes and hustle them over to the sink to wash them. "We've only known each other for how long? Almost 8 years? I would think you'd realize I'm a little more than a cute face. Besides, I'm just paying you back for surprising me earlier."
"Hmph." Marisa nearly splashed her face with cold water. Damn it, she'd walked into that.
Two people who had left their homes, left their old lives, to pursue new ones. A relationship that continued to go strong, in spite of it all. Marisa didn't really get how she got so lucky. All she knew was that she'd gladly hoard that little bit of luck she'd found, that sincere form of love, 'til the day she died.
"So," Alice looked back at Marisa. "What were you coming over to ask of me?"
"A girl can't come by just to play?" Marisa winked.
"I know that sparkle in your eye." Alice squinted, but hid a small smirk. "I only see it when you come by with something you want to ask."
"Aww, I wanted to make you guess." She pouted. "It wasn't anything important, really. Since I finished all my work for the day early, I was gonna head over to Reimu's to see what she was up to. You wanna come along?"
Alice's eyes glanced at a window. Warm beams of sunlight stretched through. "Hm, it is a nice day. It'd be a waste spend all of it indoors." She nodded. "Yes, I do think I'll take you up on that offer."
Author's Note:
Yeah, I kept teasing MariAli content for so long, I needed to do something before someone got mad at me. I hope all you fellow gays enjoyed your food!
Alice is a fun character to write, and while she isn't a main character, I wanted to show off what I could of her personality through in this chapter. She's not what I'd describe as mean-spirited, but her more sarcastic character traits tend to come out in her interactions with Marisa. They're somewhat tempered at this point by the two of them having started dating for a little while, so she's not as mean as she's shown to be in some of the games.
Actually, the scene with Alice whispering in Marisa's ear was something different and a lot meaner, but I changed it to the current variation because it felt a bit more fitting to my version of Alice's character and their relationship. Alice is the kind of person who knows how to punch exactly in your weakest spot. In the case of Marisa, something like tugging on her braid won't do much damage. Hitting her in the heart via aggressive flirting? Yeah, Marisa isn't nearly as strong there as she plays it up.
As for Makai, I held back some of the details on that location, but I should hope you think a little more highly of me than to assume I'm just bringing up locations and backstory "just because". This is supposed to be a story, after all, not a field trip. Though I'll confess I would also probably worldbuild "just because" anyways, since I like that kind of thing, but… No, I should probably shut up before I give something away.
All that aside, now that I'm hitting a stride, I wonder if I can get the next chapter out more quickly…