The beast in front of Marisa was an ugly primal thing. A crime against even the bloody nature of Youkai, something that shouldn't have been allowed to exist in this state, but it was still tough. Clearly resistant to her magic, her Blazing Star burning but failing to completely pierce through its hide. In the end brute force would not be enough.

That was fine. Her magic was more than that despite what others might say. Granted that was something that she had preferred they'd think. Much like this simple beast in front of her.

Her opponent began to charge and Marisa didn't hesitate to act.

"Love Sign: Master Spark!"

The beam hit the monster straight in its chest. Though it would likely fail to burn past its scales a little was all it took to give it the kinetic force that was needed to send it flying.

Marisa might prefer the brute force approach but that didn't mean she didn't think about the future. To strategize, to plan carefully and enact said plans at the right moment. To study magic meant one had to be meticulous and planned in their research. To survive battle meant to adapt and retain composure. To thrive in either meant to be focused. So she focused on what was in front of her, the objectives she had to accomplish and the goal she had to fulfill.

She always had a plan despite appearances. She knew what she had to do but was more than flexible enough to wing it and allow her methods to be a reflection of such.

Her goal here was to simply fell the beast, but there were still several requirements she had to fulfill while doing so. One which took priority was to get the beast away from the area. If this thing was allowed to rampage anywhere near her classmates or what was left of the village then the damage would be immense, both from the beast and from herself. If she was truly going to go all out, if she was truly going to exterminate this Youkai, then she needed to make sure that there would be no one else caught in the fighting.

The second her spell ended Marisa jumped on her broom and took off after the monster.

If this was a Spell Card battle she would be free to go all out as much as she wanted. If it was a Spell Card battle it would be fine to lose, as long as you had fun. This wasn't a Spell Card battle though. This was a battle that she wouldn't lose. It was a battle that she had to constantly be aware of everything that she did.

That was why she struck it as hard as she did with her first spell against it. Even if she was well aware of its resistance to fire, heat, and light from Lys's efforts, it was worth it just to send hurtling in the opposite direction. Now it was just a matter of making decisive use of the mana that she had left.

As she flew the skies darkened, black clouds seeming to appear out of nowhere.

Convenient. She would have to make use of that.

Marisa shifted to the right grazing past the wooden spike that had been thrown in her direction. The beast roared and rather than charging directly at her, it ran in another direction. She countered with a medley of stars, most of them hitting the mark. The damage they did was negligible but it was still enough to piss the damn thing off. It immediately began to chase after her once more.

So it was smart enough to use its environment as a weapon and change its strategy once it realized what it was doing wasn't working. But how smart was it really?

She dodged once more and continued firing at it with a steady stream of bullets. Like that they played a continuous game of cat and mouse for quite some time. Only the beast didn't realize that it was the mouse being led to a trap.

In the end it wasn't very smart. Prone to focusing on little else but the short term. Something easy to exploit.

Somehow the beast began to roar even louder than it had previously. Enough to cause Marisa's ears to ring. She fought through the pain and made sure to stay focused on the fight. That was how she had enough time to quickly swerve out of the way when the beast suddenly accelerated and pounced on her position in mere seconds.

It had been clearly holding back then. But if it could reach this sort of speed then how was Lys able to get away from it for so long? Lys was decently speedy for people in Gensokyo but not that fast, it could've just ended her in an instant.

Marisa gritted her teeth, her hand clenching onto her broom. So if that was its game then she had no choice but to toy with it too.

Eventually they emerged from the forest and arrived at a flat field. No cover for either of them to use as the rain began to fall like a torrent. Water quickly soaked through Marisa's clothes and began weighing her down. Still, she remained steady, staring the Youkai down as it closed the distance. She reached into her hat, pulled out a glass vial, and pulled off the topper in order to expose the maroon liquid inside.

Her opponent though was clearly resistant to a variety of elements. Heat and fire especially.

She was a Magician of Love. Her specialty was Star Magic, but in the end as a magician she was practiced in a variety of elements, only ever sticking to one out of preference. Of the many elements that she knew there was one that hadn't been used yet against this beast. She knew this because it was the one element that troubled Lys the most.

The rain in her immediate vicinity froze. The droplets hovered in midair collecting all the other water that fell before gathering into her vial. A vial that never seemed to get full.

The Youkai jumped at her once more.

"Water Sign: Deep Sea Requiem"

Water emerged from the vial as a roaring current. The waves surrounding and constructing the beast's limbs before finally encasing it in a large sphere of water. It struggled, thrashed, and roared but all of the sounds it made became muffled by its prison. Soon it began to drown its lungs filled with liquid as it expelled the last of its air.

Maria let out her own puff of air, that spell taking a bit more out of her than expected. There was just one last thing to be done.

"Kirisame… I always hated that name. Hated who I took after it from… but I guess Patchy and Kourin were right. It does suit me. Do you want to know what it means?" Marisa asked the Youkai as she approached the prison that she created. She stopped just steps away and raised her Hakkero so that it touched the very surface of the sphere.

The rain around her began to fall on her once more. The water weighed the brim of her hat down so that it covered most of her eyes.

There was no Spell Card. Just raw heat and energy jettisoning itself out of her beloved tool and into the sphere. In it there was no disbursement of energy as the water conducted and contained the full brunt of her magic. Every extremity, every inch of the Youkai from inside and out was consumed by the heat. Eventually the beast simply stopped fighting and Marisa finally released her grip on its prison.

The sphere exploded from the top, bellowing out heat and steam until it all evaporated, until all that was left was a charred corpse on the ground.

"Gentle Rain."

Marisa sneezed. A chill traveled through her body before she wrapped the blanket she was using even tighter around her body.

Maybe standing out there in the rain for so long hadn't been her brightest idea. Especially with how chilly the climate got around here. Thankfully this room they got her was warm and cozy with the fireplace now lit.

"Drink this."

Marisa looked down at the bowl that was abruptly placed in front of her before looking up at the man who had handed it to her. A man who for some reason captured the interest of many of her classmates.

"Soup?" she asked. At least she thought it was soup. It sort of looked… weird.

"Nutrients to combat the strain of battle and the cold."

Marisa sniffed it and didn't find anything too objectionable about it before gulping it down. She put down the bowl, pleasantly surprised. "It's good."

"Jeralt told me it has to taste good or people won't drink it."

"That an issue you had before?"

The man remained suspiciously silent before taking a seat on the chair that he had apparently brought with him. "You did good with that beast."

"Yea well… it kinda pissed me off," Marisa admitted. "Surprised you aren't telling me off though. Hanneman and everyone else in my class was screaming at me about how reckless I was." Except for Felix, but well she was starting to discern a pattern when it came to his interactions with the Blue Lions.

"Your choice to isolate it was strategically sound. Only Catherine and I would have the experience to deal with a creature of that strength. Everyone else would've been injured or killed."

"Well… is there anything you say I could improve on?" She would happily accept the praise but that didn't mean she wouldn't accept an outside opinion.

"If you had angled yourself fifteen degrees west you would've arrived at a lake for your spell and wouldn't have had to rely on the rain. Weather can be unpredictable and unreliable."

Marisa blinked, took another deep drink of her soup, and then smacked her lips. "I did not know there was a lake there."

"You should read the maps."

"Thought I'd see enough flying around."

"It's obscured by a cluster of trees, so seeing it from above is difficult. But it is there and recorded on the maps."

"Noted." Marisa conceded the point. Living in Gensokyo all her life, maps weren't really needed due to how small the place was when you actually took the time to measure it out. She just knew where almost everything was and anything that wasn't easy to find, well they were well hidden for a reason. "I'll make sure to study the maps in the future."

"Good."

"Hey… is Lys?"

"She's in her room. Isolating herself."

Marisa nodded. "Yea give her some time. Ignore the weird noises that come out of the room. Sometimes she'll bury herself in whatever work or research she can come up with."

The Professor tilted his head. "Does that help?"

Marisa snorted. "No. She'll realize that eventually, get some rest, and then I'll check up on her once things are quiet."

"Hmm." The Professor stood up. It was hard to tell if he accepted her answer or not when he didn't speak. Hell, it was hard to figure out anything about him with that blank expression of his. Scholars could spend years trying to discern meaning in even the smallest of expressions in that stoic visage.

Before Marisa could comment on that the door to the room opened to reveal her classmates behind it.

"Marisa we just wanted to ch-" Dimitri finally noticed the man in the room. "Oh apologies Professor. We did not realize that you had come to check on her too."

"She's fine," Byleth replied as he stood up and made his way out. "I'll leave her to you all."

All Marisa could do was watch the Professor's departing form and shrug once he exited the room. What a strange guy. "So Dimitri, you guys here to check on little old me now that you've calmed down?"

"Of course. You're our classmate after all," Dimitri replied.

Marisa glanced at Felix who looked grumpy as usual.

He rolled his eyes. "I told them you were fine, that they could've just waited until you got some sleep. But no, they didn't listen and had to drag me here too."

"It's the thought that counts Felix," Mercedes replied. "Even if it isn't necessary it's still good to get together as fellow classmates."

"Besides it's the least you could do," Annette said. "I mean what else were you going to do? Mope in a corner"

"I would've done something productive. Like preparing a meal so that she can replenish herself after a taxing battle," Felix replied.

"You can cook?" Dudue, who had previously been remaining stoically silent for the gathering, asked.

Felix turned and looked at the man. "Of course I can. It's a necessity when trying to be self-sufficient."

Marisa chuckled. "Well I would love to force Felix to cook for us-"

"Who says I would-"

"The Professor's already got me fed," Marisa gestured toward the bowl she had set aside. "Probably is doing the same for Ashe right now."

At that the Blue Lions went silent.

"Lonata was a fool."

Except for Felix. Cause well… Felix.

"Felix! You can't just say that!" Annette shouted as she punched his leg. Sadly her tiny fists of justice did little to dissuade the man.

"It's the truth. Ashe is not responsible for that man's actions, his actions are his own. To blame himself for all of this is foolish. Everyone that fought here made their choice in the end."

"Honestly. I agree with Felix here," Sylvian replied. "The actions of the father shouldn't have anything to do with the son. Unfortunately, he's left carrying the burden of his father's mistakes anyway."

Dimitri coughed. "While there is some merit to this I don't believe this is something that Ashe would wish to hear."

"It's something that he needs to hear." Felix glared at the Prince. "Trying to hide behind a façade and putting your issues aside will only lead to him falling apart in the future. We already have one boar in this group, the last thing we need is another."

Dedue began to position himself between Dimitri and Felix. "This is not the time to be insulting his Majesty."

"You all need to hear the truth, even if it makes you angry. Lord Lonato was- OW!" Felix rubbed his head as he turned to Marisa. "Did you just hit me with your broom!?"

"You are being an ass. That's the truth," Marisa replied plainly as she set her broom back next to her bed. "And even the truth isn't useful if you don't find a good way to present it. And if you start making another fight in this room I will Master Spark you."

"Is that a threat?"

"It's a promise."

Felix grumbled but otherwise maintained his silence.

Marisa smirked before turning to the rest of the present Blue Lions. "But anyway we should try to treat Ashe normally. If he doesn't want to talk about his father then we shouldn't force it and acting like he's made of glass will only remind him of that. Sometimes people just need their own space to move on."

She would know. Running away and living alone in the forest had done wonders for her mental health as a child. Look how well adjusted she was!

"I don't think a well-adjusted person says their thoughts aloud," Felix replied.

Marisa covered her mouth. Oops.

"… Are you okay Marisa?" Mercedes asked.

"I'm fine," Marisa waved her off. Probably just a little stress. New world and environment, fighting for her life and all that, just needed a bit of time to adjust. They didn't look like they believed her though so she just decided to change the subject. "So that Professor of Lys's. Seems like an interesting person."

Dimitri immediately perked. "He is. You know he saved my life at one point."

"Really?"

"It was back when the students were gathered for a training exercise at the start of the new year. We were waylaid by bandits and Claude decided to run off…"

"Achoo!" Claude rubbed his nose, the sneeze a result from all the dust he let fly around while digging through a room filled with old documents. It was a habit of his and good sense to snoop around after recent events and well this room certainly brought up more questions than answers.

Lonato had kept meticulous records, everything carefully written down and dated, even his plans for the rebellion. It seemed that he had been hell bent on making it so that his words and actions wouldn't be buried under the propaganda of the Church. Unfortunately, that was likely what was going to happen with the man dead so Claude likely only had this one chance to before all of this was buried or burned away.

One thing was clear though, someone had come here before him and made off with all the important parts. Entire days if not weeks of gaps in the records. Whoever had been here had reorganized the documents carefully to hide what was missing, but it wasn't enough to fool him. Unfortunately figuring out the ruse didn't mean that Claude had any access to what was taken. All he got in the end was that Lonato had been meeting with someone, if not an entire group that were likely the culprits.

They covered their tracks well and bringing this up with anyone without hard proof would have his words written off as a crazy conspiracy theory. He knew how the Church worked after all.

Still, maybe he could drop off a few tidbits to certain individuals.

The Professor was the person he was most confident in. Introspective, not likely to open his mouth to anyone except his father, Claude had already tested him and had not found him wanting. Though it was too early to say whether or not their goals aligned, the Professor had earned a little bit to mull on. It was simply a matter of telling him a thing or two and seeing how he would act.

Marisa was also an option surprisingly. She was an outsider like him. She would have a neutral outlook on all of this and he knew that she had an open and inquisitive mind despite how she acted. It made her dangerous to be around for a guy like him, but it also meant that she could be incredibly useful if he ever got her on his side. In some ways she was also easier to interact with than the Professor, the girl just wore all her emotions on her face. A lot like Lysithea, a person who he was starting to see where she got some of her influences from.

Speaking of Lys, she still hadn't left her room. More worried about all her secrets than her own well being. Granted he had plenty of secrets himself, but Lys was letting it get to the point where she was getting overwhelmed by them. Not good for her psyche really, she needed to find some way to let loose a little. His successful attempts at teasing was his way of doing that and Marisa's arrival certainly helped to help her open up a little, but the poor girl just had the habit of wallowing in her own misery. Which was something that Marisa had confirmed for him when he had asked. He wasn't entirely sure that Marisa knew what was best for Lys, but he would follow her lead for now.

Hopefully Lys would get better soon but until then he'd have to go to Marisa to satisfy his growing curiosity. Flight on a Pegasus or Wyvern was one thing but to do it so freely in the air like those two did was something that he wanted to learn more about. He wasn't much of a Magic user himself but it all very interesting and it could be of some use sometime in the future. Gensokyo especially just seemed like a place that he'd have to visit for a bit after he graduated. Hopefully he'd be able to cozy up to either of the girls enough that they'd be willing to take him.

"It really is going to be an interesting year," Claude muttered to himself as he left the room with a few documents of his own. Nothing that the Church would notice, especially if they were going to burn it all down like he predicted.

They liked to burn a lot of things around here. Especially things that didn't match their rather limited worldviews. There was just so much to learn if you just opened up your minds and explored a little, but that was asking too much of people. He had learned that the hard way as a child.

"Are you finally done?" Hilda asked Claude as she walked aside him. "Ugh, I can't believe you had me stand guard there. And for what? What could little me possibly do?"

"I'm sure you could've charmed them." Or slam their head against the wall and give them some serious short term memory loss. Honestly either way would've worked out.

"Uuugh. You're so lucky I lost that bet… Never going to bet against you again."

She probably would. Hilda wasn't dumb, but her desires were simple and she really wasn't one for subtlety or backstabbing. It made her a good bodyguard. Someone that he could at least know would tell him beforehand if he had ever made an enemy of her. How he would deal with her in a situation like that… well he'd figure it out somehow.

"And you clearly didn't get what you needed so this was definitely a waste of time," Hilda said.

Claude shrugged. "I got something and sometimes you just got to work with what little you can get. Strategy is all about adapting after all."

"Please don't give me a lecture. You're sounding like the Professor."

Claude chuckled. "Well he might be rubbing off on me a little."

"Ok. Now that we're across that ridge we should arrive at this lake just about… now!"

A young woman put down the map she had been looking at and held out her arm toward… a pile of rocks.

"Maybe I should start reading that map?" A younger girl with red hair asked. Her uniform was worn and incredibly torn, a result of her recent hardship. Though she had a smile on her face it was notably strained. "I know you want to learn how to navigate but we are being hunted after all."

"Oh. I'm sure we've lost them by now!"

"Why do you think that?"

"Because if I have no idea where we're going then there's no way those weirdos can figure it out either!"

"I… don't think it works that way."

"Well it worked for me before. You'd be surprised how many wild animals and rival mercenaries you can lose by just wandering in a random direction."

"So you were lost!"

"Heh heh," the older woman sheepishly scratched her head. "Well I was kinda too embarrassed to admit it."

The younger girl looked at her strangely. "Look I get that you want to look cool for me, but you've already saved me from those weirdos that had me locked up in that dungeon."

"No it's not that… I just really wanted to know how to get around without getting lost for once. I figured having someone around might've motivated me to do better."

It's not from a lack of motivation that you constantly find yourself lost. Also maaaaybe don't try to test yourself while we're being chased down by a small army trying to kill us!

Shez sighed. "Alright Arval. You're right."

"And why do you keep talking to yourself?" Monica asked.

Yes. Why do you!? You realize you can speak with me in your mind.

"Just seems weird to talk with you like that," Shez whispered.

"Aaaanywaaayy, you never did tell me how you ended up finding me in the first place," Monica said.

"To be honest I just wanted to get some revenge."

"Revenge?"

Shez nodded. "Yea. My old companions, the Berling Mercenaries. They got wiped out. I was the only survivor and only because I got lucky and well." She looked at the second sword she held in her hands. One of those gray freaks had been about to kill her when the blade appeared in her hands along with a new power. It also came with Arval, which when all taken together was incredibly lucky for her. Still, if she had this strength earlier maybe her old group wouldn't have been all killed.

Imminent death was just an inevitable part of being a merc. They had known that, she had known that when she signed up. But she figured that when she or her companions would be cut down it would be because of a rival mercenary group[ or some Lord's army that they had pissed off. It was just a job and they were competition, no hard feelings really if they had lost. But those freaks that had attacked them just so they had bodies to experiment with and victims to test those monsters…it was something that broiled her blood to remember.

"I just wanted some payback," Shez eventually admitted. She had bled them and gotten her due. They would probably hunt her down too, but she would readily accept that. Until then she would just have to continue being a merc.

"Well, you certainly got something back. I don't think anyone could've predicted a madman with two swords suddenly storming their base by themselves." Monica gestured toward her head. "Also, the whole glowy horn bit."

It was rather reckless of you.

Hey! I thought you said you'd let me do it.

You're my partner. I'm with you no matter what. Doesn't mean I have to agree or like all of the choices you make for us.

Well, it wasn't like either of them had ended up with each other of their own volition, but Shez couldn't help but grow fond of the boy sharing a space in her head. He was honest and straightforward, like a mercenary, though he did find it insulting to be compared to them. She didn't know why that was such a big deal. She spent her entire life with mercenaries and look how well she turned out!

"So what do we do now then?" Shez asked Monica. The girl was smart, probably due to her noble background and education. Maybe she'd have a plan.

"Now we try to get as high as we can and find the nearest landmark I guess." Monica shrugged. "Or at least that was what I learned in the Academy before I got kidnapped."

"Academy huh." Shez took point and began using her swords to chop their way past the foliage. "I read whatever books I can find but I never really got an education like that."

"Yea I figured," Monica replied plainly, sweat already forming on her brow.

"Is it just me or did it get hotter all of a sudden?"

"Yea by all rights we should still be far north and it's winter. Why did it get so hot all of sudden?"

That question remained unanswered until they walked past some bushes and arrived at the edge of a cliff. Once they were able to survey the land though, one thing had become clear.

"I don't think we're in Faerghus anymore," Shez commented.

"If the flying children with wings on their back were any indication…" Monica commented.

This is… huh this place does feel strange now that I think about it. Like a certain energy is coursing through the land itself.

"Do you think we should get their attention?" Monica asked. "They seem harmless enough."

"I don't think that'll be necessary."

"Wh- Eeep!" Monica shrieked as Shez suddenly swung her blade in front of Monica and blocked some sort of Magical bullet that was about to hit her.

"Because they're giving us a welcome right now!"

A/N

Been a while. Sorry about that guys, new job and all that.

Attached below is my Kofi account. Any tip is appreciated though I will still do my best to keep writing, nevertheless.

/soul249134