"Hey Kid, hold up a minute."

Isika Valao froze in her tracks and tried not to look too nervous as an Alliance personal walked over to her.

"Sorry for the holdup, I just didn't expect to see a child unsupervised," said the man, crouching down to her level. "You going alone?"

"Y-yes sir," Isika said nodding furiously.

"Easy there kid, this isn't an interrogation," the man said appeasingly. "But I gotta ask, do your folks know you are going?"

"I…" Isika had trouble meeting the man's eye. "I live alone."

"That so?" The man had a look somewhere between concern and suspicion. "Can I see your ticket for a minute?"

Isika nervously handed her ticket over, wondering if she was going to be denied.

The man looked over the ticket. "Hmm… Seems to be in order. Have you got money? They don't accept credits there you know."

Isika nodded again, feeling the weight in her pocket reassuringly. It wasn't a lot in there, but she felt it might be enough if she was careful how she spent it.

"And have you got your accommodation sorted?" He said.

"Yes, I have," Isika said. She had managed to get a relatively cheap place that offered breakfast with the lodgings. It had still been rather pricey for her, but she hoped the breakfast would mean she had to spend less on food.

The man sighed. "I guess you got it all sorted then." he said, handing her back the ticket, much to her relief. "Just watch yourself. Reitaisai itself is pretty safe, but a lot can happen to a child on her own, and some of the characters that boarded looked pretty shifty."

Isika nodded gingerly, feeling nervous again.

The man caught this, and reassured her. "Hey, forget I said anything. Just stick to the festival grounds and don't follow suspicious strangers, and if you get in trouble, just find an official like me. We are here to help." He pointed to his ID badge. "Sorry for holding you up, go right on in."

"Thank you sir." Isika said nodding respectably, before continuing to the shuttle.

"Have fun at Reitaisai, you hear!" he called after her.

One of his colleagues walked up beside him. "Cute kid. Wonder why she's alone though?"

"It's not our job to ask." He said, shrugging. "Politest Asari today though."


Isika exited the spaceport, her eyes filled with wonder.

She had been lucky enough to get a window seat and had the privilege of seeing the festival from above. It was a sea of colours and lights, stretching for miles, and from the ground it was no less impressive.

She walked around, just looking at the various stalls and booths, selling food, trinkets, and other oddities like books. There was just so much to see.

"It really gets you on your first time doesn't it?"

Isika looked up in surprise at being addressed.

A tall Alliance woman was beside her. She wore odd blue clothes and had bright pink hair topped with a strange blue hat. She had a relaxed, almost dreamy expression.

She was also floating.

Isika blinked. There was no signs of biotics, or any kind of disturbance in the air. She was just, floating, a barely perceptible bob up and down the only thing making it apparent she wasn't just frozen in the air.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" the woman said.

"You're floating!" Isika said.

"Indeed I am little one," the woman said.

"How are you doing that?" Isika said incredulously.

The woman smiled indulgently. "Why, it's because I'm a ghost of course."

"A… Ghost?" Isika said, tilting her head, unfamiliar with the word.

"A spirit of the deceased. A dead person in layman's terms," she said.

"You're… dead?!" Isika said in shock.

"For over twelve hundred years in fact." She giggled at Isikas expression.

"But... then… How are you here?" Isika said.

"As if I'd let a little thing like being dead make me miss out on such wonderful festivities, they really are pulling all the stops out this year." the 'ghost' said, "What about you, you looking for anything in particular?"

"Not... really," admitted Isika, "But how can you be dead when you are right here?"

"You seem really fixated on that don't you?" the ghost woman said. "Well I don't think I can really explain the mechanics of the afterlife to you, but in the most simplest terms… Magic."

"Magic… That's the thing the Alliance uses instead of Eezo right?" Isika said.

"I suppose." the ghost says, thinking before she brightened a bit. "Want to see some?"

"Can I?" said Isika, curious "Is it dangerous?" She had seen the vids of what Ambassador Flandre could do after all.

"Not really." said the ghost, "Here, watch."

She held out her hand, and placed her other hand above it. There was several motes of light that seemed to condense into a strange glowing shape. Isika watched transfixed, as it slowly shifted into a strange glowing creature, with intricate wings, that gently flutter in the breeze.

"Woow," Isika said, watching as the little light creature took to the air, fluttering around her. "What is it?"

"Its a butterfly, made with magic," The ghost said as it touched down on Isikas hand. "I am quite fond of them."

"It's so pretty," Isika said, lifting her hand to look at the butterfly. Her skin prickled slightly where it touched her, but she barely noticed.

In then took to the air again and started fluttering in circles a few meters away.

"It seems it wants to take you somewhere." The ghost mused aloud. "Why don't you go see where it leads?"

Isika looked up at the ghost quizzically. Not sure how to feel about such an invitation from a stranger.

"Go on, I mean you no harm. It will take you somewhere interesting, and maybe you might learn a thing or two about ghosts if you follow it. It's not as if you have anything else planned right?" The ghost said.

Isikas curiosity won over her caution. "Alright then. Thanks Miss Spirit."

Isika walked off, following the spectral butterfly into the crowd.

The ghost watched her go.

"Didn't keep you waiting did I?" Yukari said, stepping out from behind her.

"A bit," said Yuyuko, "But I met someone interesting, so no foul."

"Looks like it." Yukari said, "Might have to keep an eye on that one. Shall we go?"

The two old friends went off in the opposite direction to the young Asari, chatting amicably, the crowd subconsciously parting in their presence.


Isika followed her impromptu guide through the festivities, occasionally stopping in front of interesting locations.

For some reason this seemed to include rather a lot of food vendors. Not that Isika minded, as Alliance food seemed to be very interesting, with very flamboyant cooks. Even though she wasn't too hungry, and couldn't afford to impulse buy, she appreciated the spectacle some of the cooks put on.

There were a lot of interesting games too. Things like 'ring toss', 'goldfish scooping', 'toy gun firing ranges', and 'skee-ball' being among the simpler ones, which tended to offer prizes. There were other more complicated ones that made her head spin, like trading card tournaments, wargames fought with tiny figurines, and she has sworn she has passed at least 3 game arcades. Her discipline wavered a bit on some of these, and thanks to some lucky shots at the firing range, she now owned two Plush toys. One was nearly half her size, and was some sort of creature called a 'wolf', it was white with red lines all over it, and had a round thing on its back, that she had to carry in her arms. The other one was a small one she had put in her bag, it was of an alliance woman in a pointy hat, who the store holder had referred to as an 'Ordinary magician'.

There was also various performances occurring throughout the Festival. There was dances of a startling variety and complexities, some being slow and melancholy to others being lively and full of life, Isika spent a great deal of time watching these. There was also feats of skill and strength, like wrestling, martial arts, archery, and other such things that Isika observed with mild interest.

But at some point when Isika stopped to catch her breath, she noticed something lying on the ground, and she walked over to get a closer look.

It was a deep purple and vaguely conical in shape. It seems to be made of folds, with a stick poking out the bottom of the cone.

'What is that? Did someone lose it?' Isika thought to herself.

She bent over to get a closer look at it.

A long tongue extended from it, and licked her in the face.

"Eeiiii!" Isika exclaimed in shock and confusion, dropping her Plushy. Causing several nearby people to look at her in alarm, only for most of the Alliance people to look away and keep walking.

The object then stood up and opened up, and a small Alliance woman with blue hair, matching outfit and mismatched eyes to slide out, resting the now open umbrella on her shoulder. "Haha, oh wow I really got you good huh?"

"Wuh?" said Isika, stumped. "What, how?"

"It was a surprise silly," The girl said, as a small camera drone hovered down from above, "My name is Kogasa, and I am an umbrella youkai, nice to meet you."

"An… umbrella youkai?" Isika said, still confused.

"This thing." Kogasa said, tilting her umbrella, which only now did Isika notice the large tongue lolling out of it, and the large red eye. "And it's my job to surprise people. And I really surprised you, didn't I?" the girl looked very expectantly at her.

"Umm… yes very surprised," Isika said, her heart finally calming down.

"There you have it," Kogasa said, turning to and addressing her drone. "And this girl marks my twelfth Alien scare of the day. Who knew it was this easy? My fifty Alien goal is looking pretty good right now. Keep watching, folks at home. I'm going to give our new neighbors a welcome to remember."

Isika was now even more confused when Kogasa turned back to her. "Thanks for being such a good sport by the way, most of the others kinda got angry at me, or ran away screaming. Here."

She handed Isika a handful of the plastic bills, "Enjoy Reitaisai, I know I am."

Isika was now even more confused. "Wha?"

"Oh wow, I surprised you again." Kogasa beamed, "I am on a roll!" She then took off into the air being carried as if her umbrella caught a breeze. "Look me up on the web if you want. My website is called 'Kogasa Does Spooks'. See ya round!"

Isika sort of blinked stupidly, and looked down at her open hand. She was now suddenly richer then she had been a minute ago.

She looked up to where 'Kogasa' has flew off to. "That was... interesting." 'Is that kind of thing normal around here?'

The butterfly caught her attention, and picking up her wolf doll from where she had dropped it, she resumed her meandering tour of Reitaisai.


The butterfly had finally seemed to have reached its intended destination, a sort of bookshop looking booth with a sign that read 'The chronicles of Gensokyo' with a smaller title, underneath reading 'youkai information here'. It was quite a large booth, with many counters, although only one was currently occupied.

"Youkai information huh?" Isika murmured to herself. 'Maybe this is what the ghost lady was talking about learning stuff?'

The butterfly landed on her head at that point, and seemed content to rest there.

She walked over, making a beeline for the counter, and was surprised to find a girl who looked even younger than she did sitting behind the counter. She was dressed in very colourful and extremely fancy looking clothes, and had long purple hair decorated with a large flower.

"Hello, I am Hieda no Ajū. How may I help you?" The Little girl said graciously. "Do you wish to know more about Youkai?"

"Yes, please." Isika said. "Are you a youkai miss?"

Ajū laughed, "Oh goodness no, I am a human. I just happen to be very knowledgeable about youkai. What would you like to know?"

There was a lot she wanted to ask about youkai actually, ever since seeing Ambassador Flandre on the extranet. But she asked the most important one first. "I'm just wondering, about the types, there are lots of different types of youkai right?"

"That is correct, youkai is a blanket term more than anything. It encompasses many different species, and their powers and abilities are wide and varied."

Isika spoke the next question carefully. "I'm just wondering, is there any youkai that… umm, mess with people's heads? Like really badly?"

Ajū smiled knowingly. "Plenty. While mental magic is far from the most common form of magic, there are plenty of youkai who have the ability to 'mess with people's heads' as you put it."

"What sorts?" Isika said.

"My, you are strangely interested in this subject." Ajū said teasingly, but continued anyway. "Satoris are a prime example, they are passive mind readers, and some are capable of some truly frightening mind magics, Back in my previous incarnation, I knew two who were particularly powerful, the Komeiji sisters, one could attack you with your own past traumatic experiences, trapping you in your own painful memories, the other could move unseen and unnoticed wherever she went, only lingering in the minds of children. And there is Reisen Udongein Inaba, a moon rabbit, who has a power called the eyes of insanity, who can render anyone who looks her in the eyes temporarily mad. Parsee Mizuhashi, Doremy Sweet, to name a few more of the more well known ones."

"So it's pretty normal then?"

"Well, I wouldn't say normal, it is a rare talent. And historically those who possessed it were often feared and shunned. However times have changed, and now it is considered a perfectly acceptable, albeit rather invasive school of magic."

Isika nodded, while thinking, 'so not normal, but accepted. Maybe that could mean…'

"Anything else you want to know?" Ajū said. "And would you mind awfully if I asked a few questions myself? You are the first alien to come to my booth after all, and I must admit I am curious about a few things."

"Ummm…. Sure." siad Isika, warming up to the tiny girl, "I was kinda curious about someone I met earlier today, she called herself a ghost…"

Isika spent the next hour or so chatting amicably with the small girl, And while she left eventually to see the rest of the festival, she decided she might visit again tomorrow. After all, there just seemed to be so much to know.


Isika sat down in what was designated as a rest area, gently licking what was apparently called an 'Ice Cream'. It was incredibly tasty, but she had been warned as to not eat it too fast.

It had been hours since she had left Ajū, and she had needed a moment to sit down and rest her legs.

It was all so colourful and vibrant! There was so much to do and see, and everyone was super nice and helpful. She had been running around non stop, just checking out everything she could, absorbing as much as she could about the Alliance, zig zagging all over the place as different stalls and displays caught her attention.

'The Alliance seems like so much fun!' Isika thought, 'More fun than living on the citadel anyway'

But that had seriously tired her out, so she had bought this weirdly refreshing frozen treat, and was now letting her legs recover.

But while her legs were tired, her eyes and ears were not, and she scanned her surroundings with interest.

Nearby, two alliance girls (She didn't know enough to differentiate the species yet) were conversing loudly. And Isika couldn't help but listening in.

"I'm telling you, let's pop down to the fight club, lots of hot guys and girls with their shirts off beating the crap out of each other, it will be fun!" said the taller of the two, she had yellow hair and wore a large wide brimmed hat, with a pointed top, like one of the dolls she had.

"I am not sitting around watching sweaty people fight just for you to indulge your fetishes." The shorter of the two said dryly. She had blue hair, and was mostly wearing blue. "I'd much rather go and see the avionics display, apparently they are showing off a new type of prototype fighter, that was co-designed By Nitori Kawashiro."

"Geez, Nitori this Nitori that. What is with you Kappa and Nitori?" The taller one said. "I don't see why I have to suffer technobabble just for the sake of your idol worship."

"You'd understand if there was only one human Operative," The 'Kappa' shot back, "Miss Nitori is the best our species has to offer, in both power and intellect, what's wrong with being proud?"

"Wow sorry I spoke." The 'human' said, rolling her eyes. "Still doesn't sort out where we are going."

The Kappa huffed. "No I guess not."

After a pause, the human spoke up. "I know what will though." She reached into her pocket

"What?" The Kappa said, but her eyes narrowed suspiciously, and she also reached into her pocket.

"Well… how about… DUELONETWOTHREEGO!" She said, pulling out a small sliver rod.

A ribbon of light whipped out of the tip, twirling into a about five crescent shaped projectiles.

But her friend had already jumped away, pulling out a much thicker rod, that erupted into a comically large hammer, that seemed to be made of yellow light. "I knew you'd pull something like this!" She roared swatting the projectiles out of the air. "Lets see what you got!" She brought the hammer down hard, causing a visible ripple through the air.

Isika watched, transfixed as the human jumped into the air, and stayed there, the ripple passing underneath her harmlessly, before conjuring countless more projectiles to launch at her friend.

And that is how it went, the two took to the air, the Kappa chasing around the human, swinging that massive hammer around, and creating all manor of strange projectiles and patterns in the air. Her friend nimbly stayed just out of reach, and responding in kind.

Several people in the rest area, mainly council races, hit the deck as the fight started. However most of the Alliance people either rolled their eyes, grumbled, or watched with interest.

Isika on the other hand…

"Wooahh…" she breathlessly intoned.

She could not take her eyes off it. She had heard a lot about magic wandering about today, even seeing a small bit here and there, like the butterfly that was still perched on her head, and the strange powers of the umbrella youkai, and she had seen the vids of the leaders of the Alliance, and the Ambassador and her bodyguard. But seeing it right here, in front of her, it was spellbinding. It was so pretty. And unless she misunderstood human aging, they didn't look too much older than her, and here they were fighting with fire, light, water and sound.

And they were Flying! Free as birds!

And Isika wondered... could she do that?

"Alright you two! Get down here!" came a voice, making Isika jump.

The new arrival was a tall woman, with short red hair, tied in a blue ribbon. She wore a short red cape, with a high collar, that covered the lower half of her face.

The two girls stopped immediately, their faces paling, before dropping down to the ground.

"Eh-heh… We were just-" the human girl said.

"Save it. Not interested." The caped woman said, holding up a hand. "You two want to duel, that's fine, spell card rules are in effect. But this is a rest area. Please take it somewhere else."

"Er.. right. Come on Sammi." the Kappa said, pulling the taller girl away.

"Students…" Muttered the caped woman.

Isika got up and followed them, running past her. "Umm Excuse me!"

The girls, turned around as one, looking at Isika with raised eyebrows. "Oh hey, you're one of the aliens." The human, supposedly called 'Sammi' said. "Can we help you?"

"Umm, yes, an Asari." she replied, quickly organising her thoughts. "Was that Magic?"

The two girls exchange 'are you serious' looks, before looking back. "Yeah? Why do you ask?"

"That's really cool!" Isika said, "How do you do magic?"

Sammi rubbed the back of her neck. "Now ain't that a question and a half…"

The Kappa decided to add her bit. "Most beings are capable of magic with the right training, environment and mindset, it is rather difficult to explain how one does perform magic, without first having experienced it first hand."

"You think I could learn magic?!" Isika said, excitedly.

The Kappa opened her mouth to speak, but Sammi beat her too it. "No idea, but the Magical academies are opening a booth somewhere off in that direction." she said pointing off into the distance. "They are trying to test Aliens for magical aptitude. Who knows, maybe you might get lucky."

Isika didn't need to be told twice. "Thankyou!" she said bowing, and running off in the indicated direction.

The Kappa then slapped Sammi in the back of the head. "Ow! What was that for?"

"That was an Asari you nimrod." The Kappa deadpanned.

"So?"

"They are the ones with the Element zero powers, she won't even be able to be tested." The Kappa said.

"Oh…"

"Yes, oh. Poor girl is gonna go all that way just to have her hopes dashed." The Kappa said dryly. "Maybe this will teach you to keep up with current affairs..."


"This is blatant discrimination!" The Asari said, hotly.

"No, its safety." said Koakuma, leaning on her counter. "Asari can't learn magic, too much Ezo."

"So you won't even let me take the test?" The Asari said angrily.

"The Test will kill you, how many times do I have to explain that? Element zero and magic do not mix well, so unless you decide to suddenly stop being biotic, I can't help you." The redhead said. "Now if you don't mind, you are holding up the counter."

The Asari skulked off muttering to herself.

Koakuma sighed, looking off into the distance, and wondered how many more times she was going to have to have that conversation before she gets relieved.

"I-is it true that Asari can't learn magic?"

"Yes yes, for the hundredth time ye…" Koakuma said, turning irritably, only to be met with a teary eyed child, clutching an Okami plushie in her arms, and a glowing butterfly on her head.

"Oh, err, sorry kid. Shouldn't have snapped at you like that." Koakuma said awkwardly. "I've… had a long day."

"Why?" said Isika sniffling. She had rushed over here at fast as she could, but when she had arrived, she had been met with that scene.

"Look, I'm sorry. But like I said to the one before, magic and biotics don't mix. It reacts pretty violently."

Isikas head bowed, still sniffling.

"Hey it's not so bad," Koakuma said awkwardly, almost wishing she was dealing with one of the belligerent ones. "You still have your… biotics… I'm sure you can do some cool stuff with that, right?"

"No… no one really taught me how." mumbled Isika.

Koakuma screams internally.

"Koakuma, are you having... difficulties?"

Koakuma thanked whatever gods that happened to be listening, as she turned to bow to her mistress. "Not as such Lady Patchouli, but… you see…" She turned to look at Isika, before turning back, and prodding the mental link, requesting access, which Patchouli allowed.

"I have a little girl, an Asari, and she seems rather… distraught by the fact that she can't use magic, and I'm having trouble softening the blow."

"I see, would you like me to take her off your hands?"

"It would be very much appreciated Mistress."

Patchouli nodded, before turning to Isika. "Do you mind coming with me for a moment?"

Isika was slightly nervous at following a stranger. But she saw that the woman had an ID, and the man said they were trustworthy, so she followed her.

She took her to a back area behind the booth, where there was hardly any people around. Just a few more oddly dressed people who seemed to stop their conversations to watch as Patchouli looked down at Isika, before crouching down to her level in an effort to be less intimidating. "So, you wanted to learn magic?"

Isika nodded, "It… It all looked so pretty, and cool, and it can do so many things. But Biotics can't use it?"

"I'm afraid so." Patchouli said, "Element Zero, and by extension dark energy have a negative reaction with magic. Mixing them together can be violent, and sometimes fatal for those involved."

"So as long as I am a biotic, I can't use magic…" she said. "What if I stopped being a biotic?"

"... excuse me?" Patchouli said, incredulously.

"Can I do that? Would that be possible?" Isika said, a little spark alighting in her eyes

"I, don't know." Patchouli admitted. "We have never encountered biotics before your race. But would you really be willing to give up something like that-"

"Yes!" Isika said, "I don't even use them. But I would really like to learn magic!"

"Well, while I would normally condone such aspirations… Are your parents around? Would they approve of this?" Patchouli said, wondering how she got into such an odd conversation.

Isika looked at the ground "... I live alone."

"I… see." Patchouli said, sighing. "Well, look. I can't really make any promises… but do you have any contact details, so I might get back to you?"

Isika brightened a little bit, before pulling out her datapad (she couldn't afford an omnitool). "I have an extranet address." she said, showing the pad to her.

"Right." said Patchouli, sighing again, making a note of the address on her wrist-comp. "And might I have your name?"

"Isika." said Isika, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"Very well Isika. I shall try to get back to you before the departure date." Patchouli said, making a note of the name. "Now go enjoy the rest of the festival."

"Thankyou Mi- I mean, lady Patchouli." Isika said, bowing like Koakuma, before running off.

After she left Patchouli was approached by Marisa and Alice, who had been listening.

"Are you honestly going to try and remove her biotics?" Alice said, raising her eyebrow.

"I don't even know if such a thing is possible." Patchouli said, "but at the same time, it was clear why she was so desperate."

Marisa nodded sagely. "Yup. Runaway if ever I saw one. Probably hasn't got much waiting for her back home, if she even has a home."

"My thoughts exactly." Patchouli said. "While I believe her interest in magic is genuine, I believe it might also be in part a desire to find a new home within the alliance."

"And you are thinking of taking her up on it?" Alice said.

"At the very least, we can see about getting her back to her family, or get her in a foster home if she truly does not have a home worth going back to." Patchouli said

Marisa who seemed to be lost in thought, grimaced at Patchouli's words. "Nah, that wont do at all." She muttered, mostly to herself.

"Excuse me?" Patchouli said, raising her eyebrow.

Marisa seemed to come down from whatever cloud she was on, and flashed one of her signature grins. "You girls mind holding down the fort for a bit? I gotta make some calls."

Marisa walked away, bringing up her wrist-comp

"What are you…" Patchouli said, trailing off.

"You can't honestly be considering…" Alice said, catching on slightly faster

"Hey, if you girls won't take her, I will!" said Marisa, grinning over her shoulder. "Just gotta make some preparations first…"


Isika sighed over breakfast.

It was the final morning of Reitaisai, and the time specified on her return ticket. And she still hadn't heard back from Patchouli.

"I'm sure you'll hear from her," The elderly woman in charge of her lodgings said reassuringly. "A Magician isn't the kind of person to break their word, you'll see."

Isika nodded mutely, nibbling on her toast.

She wondered if she could just 'miss' the flight back to the citadel and live here, although she would need to find some sort of income. She was used to odd jobs anyway, although it might be harder to get away with it here though, considering that everyone around here can fly and use magic.

There was a beeping from the woman's wrist computer. "Excuse me dear, while I take this."

As she shuffled off, Isika got a notification on her datapad, and her spirits soared.

Quickly opening the message, her excitement quickly turned to confusion, for it wasn't Patchouli who had sent the message.

Yo Isika

Don't go anywhere. Be with you in a bit.

Love, Marisa. 3

"Oh Deary?" The old woman had returned. "I've just been asked to extend your stay for a few more days. By Marisa Kisame it seems. It might be the wrong Magician, but it looks like you have gotten your response now, isn't that nice?"

Isika just stared up at her, struck dumb, and she looked down at the strange note she had received.

Then the corners of her mouth formed a brave little smile.

And she dared to hope, that maybe, just maybe she would finally be accepted for who she is.


Chapter notes:

Well here we are my second story on this site, and it is an official (Read: TouhouFanatic let me do it) Spinoff to the excellent story: The Boundary Effect, I hope you enjoy.

By the way, would you like Codex pages like there are on the main story down here?