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Kirisame Marisa could not fall asleep.
There have been many instances in the past where she has stayed awake into the wee hours of the morning. But those were all her own doing: because she’d set up a cauldron brew too late and had had to stay up all night making sure it didn’t explode; or because she’d gotten her hands on a new grimoire from Patchy and became a little too invested in it; or because she was just one little push away from getting the experiment to work this time and just tweak the concentration and add this ingredient and refine the chalk patterns and why is the sun rising?
This time, though, there was something else keeping her up, and it was outside of her control. Or more accurately, someone. Two people, actually. Although she only knew one of them.
That was the problem, really.
Reimu had turned twenty-one recently. They’d held a small party to celebrate the occasion. Yukari had barged into the shrine uninvited, as she always does, to congratulate her. But she also said that she’d found a nice, healthy, pent-up young man from the Outside who, as long as he was under the impression that the whole thing was a dream, would be more than willing to help Reimu explore those many new desires that must have been boiling up in her nether regions for a while now wink wink nudge nudge.
As much as Marisa hated to admit it, Yukari was being sensible. Reimu’s been getting up there in terms of years. And, well, the Hakurei Shrine needed its next maiden sooner rather than later…
Marisa tried her best to push away the thoughts of her best friend’s imminent death. If she didn’t, she would truly spiral — she may never get a good night’s sleep again.
“Ah, what the hell, that just made it worse! Fuck… Guess there’s no use tossing and turning all night.”
Marisa got up and out of bed. She yawned while pulling the straps of her nightgown back in place. On the way to the living room, she grabbed a grimoire haphazardly left at the foot of her bed, and sat down next to her reading desk by the window.
With a snap of her fingers, magic lights began to fill the room with a golden warmth. A few pre-programmed dolls (thank you Alice) poured water into a cup. They placed it onto an enchanted saucer that automatically began heating up the water. After it had come to a boil, the dolls placed in a teabag, and served the hot drink onto the table.
She blew into the cup and took a sip.
“Ahh…”
The perfect conditions to learn a new spell or two…
“I can’t concentrate at all!”
Her mind was racing with a thousand unsavoury images, dancing around the fringes of her train of thought. Every time she tried to ignore them, her brain put them under a spotlight. It was like a swarm of flies was buzzing around her, and every time she batted one away, it merely became more persistent.
Marisa slammed her grimoire shut.
“Fine then. I’ll solve this like I always do. Charging at the problem head on!”
She placed the book down on the desk, held the sides of her head in her hands, closed her eyes, and began to drift.
The visions spread out all around her. She focused on one, zooming in, letting it fill up her imagination completely…
The thought of a stranger touching Reimu… there. With his… thing. Making her draw blood… It sent a shiver down her spine.
Hang on, that probably wasn’t very accurate. Reimu lived a fairly active life. There’s a good chance it’d already be broken. She’d broken her own a few years ago, after all, when she was riding on her broomstick…
Marisa slammed her head into the desk. “Gross!” she hissed. “Gross gross gross! That’s disgusting, Marisa. Why would you even think about… She’s your best friend!”
Marisa sighed, trying to rub the tiredness out of her eyes. She decided to keep them open for now. It’d be harder to visualise anything that way.
She reached for her cup of tea. She took a small sip. As she put down the cup, she saw a hint of her reflection in the dark, murky liquid. She almost expected to see Reimu’s outline beside her. It seemed like she drank tea at the shrine with Reimu more often than she did alone in her own home…
…Was it really the fact that it was with a stranger that was making her stomach twist into a million knots?
Once again, she rested her head in her hands. She closed her eyes, and let her imagination run wild.
Except, this time, she started to imagine others in place of the nameless stranger. The boy — a young man now — who Marisa hung out with sometimes at the village. The kappa who Marisa said hi to every time she stopped by the river. The tengu in the purple chequered skirt who brought newspapers to her front door from time to time…
They… They didn’t hurt like picturing what was really happening right now. But it still wasn’t a pleasant thought.
What if it was Alice instead…? Urgh. That brought on a whole mess of emotions that she couldn’t even begin to unpack.
Marisa opened her eyes. She took another look at her reflection in the teacup. Then, she closed them again, and began to dream of her and Reimu…
Well, it… it wasn’t an unpleasant thought. It sent a shiver down her spine, but not in the eerie way from earlier. It was exciting. Electric. Exhilarating.
Marisa leaned into the table, and slumped into her arms. She watched as the sun began to rise, casting an explosion of light as the sky gently embraced the earth.
“Reimu…” she mumbled. “My Reimu…”
She had to admit, it did have a nice ring to it.