Chapter 2: Act Two: Love Sign

To say Marisa was enjoying her freshly paid for bean cake was an understatement, the aftertaste of whatever flavour of coffee Rinnosuke had let her borrow (supposedly) was mixing well with fresh dough and sweet beans. The only downside was that she had to walk, after all, despite literally everything in Gensokyo being magical, most of the humans were still rightfully scared of Youkai and magic.

That being said… Marisa didn’t bother to hide her power the nanosecond she was past the gate to said village. Really, the point was moot since everyone knew that she could fly on her broom. The wind in her hair, no one shooting her because they were angry about her ‘borrowing’ habits, and a full stomach. A good mid-point to a less than stellar day.

Which made the fact that the ordinary Magician forgot Alice and Patchouli knew where she lived sting all the harder. Both magicians were there, unamused and giving her a stare that could freeze over Old Hell.

“…what?” she said sheepishly, knowing that Alice’s dolls had probably already grabbed things to replace what was borrowed. “I’ll give stuff back. You just have to-“

“Wait until you’re dead. Yes.” Patchouli coughed, the flight over draining more of her stamina than she probably would’ve liked. “Would you like to make that happen?”

“You’ll get the stuff back!” Marisa said as her hat was removed by a group of tiny hands. Alice’s dolls looking mad as they checked it for any hidden items. With a few bags of coin, a tanuki, Nue, and a sack of dirt fell out of. “…Listen.”

“I’ve already helped Miss Patchouli get her hot water bottle back.” Alice deadpanned, not giving Marisa an inch in the conversation as her dolls restrained her. “And I’ve taken the liberty of getting spare parts to replace the parts of my abode you damaged. So that debt is settled.” As she finished, the dolls that weren’t inspecting all of Marisa’s pockets pulled out tiny spears.

“It was just borr-“ a spear was put to her nose. “Fine. I’m sorry.”

“And?” Patchouli added, looking a little angrier at the half-baked apology.

“And I won’t take that stuff again.” Marisa finished, trying to give as honest a grin as she could with weapons at the ready. “Promise.”

The dolls confirmed with a mirror her fingers weren’t crossed. Getting the Ordinary Magician released. She brushed herself off and reaffixed her hat, not missing that she was getting off much easier than usual.

“So, anything else you girls wanna talk about?” she said, trying to force it to be a casual meeting rather than a reverse shakedown. Or if she was really lucky, find out more things to borrow. “I mean, I have all afternoon so…”

There was a pause as both magicians gave her unamused looks. The dolls were not amused either and simply returned behind Alice. There was a lack of noise aside from the wind as they stood there, not letting Marisa into her own house.

“No.” Patchouli said simply, readying herself for a flight back with Alice’s assistance. “If you hadn’t tried to steal again, we would’ve asked your opinion on a book we found.”

“But since you won’t learn unless there’s a punishment beyond physical, you don’t get to find out.” Alice finished, knowing that this was more than enough bait for Marisa to fall for. She loved magic, aside from her kleptomania, she was genuinely an intelligent magician. When she wasn’t acting reckless of course. “So, we shall tell you if we find anything interesting, but until then you have to wait.”

Marisa looked horrified as they flew off, not letting her get any begging in to try and get that sweet, succulent, freshly baked bun of magical knowledge that was being held from her. And thus, the carrot was affixed to the stick, with the two Magicians flying off and leaving Marisa on her front doorstep.

At least, on the doorstep while she went in, grabbed her special magic weapon, the Hakkero, and flew off after the duo. Fire burning inside her as she needed to know, even if it was going to be difficult. The temptation was too much. The urge to know, just to look at this thing, was too much.

The door was left open as she flew after them, assuming they were heading to the Scarlet Devil Manor.

«««

“We should be far enough away from Marisa that she can’t hear us,” Patchouli hummed, happy that the dolls were supplying the energy for flying this time. “Will we have enough time?”

“If it’s her? Yes.” Alice said, knowing that they were going to be followed. “It won’t be hard to stall her. Since you got permission from your Mistress to do this. What do you think her plan is?”

“Well, Lady Flandre should be waking up about now.” Patchouli grinned as Alice’s face paled. “That should delay her long enough.” Flandre was known for taking playtime to extreme measures, though if it was someone, like Marisa, that the young vampire liked, she normally could be kept within a realm of relative safety. At least, depending on the definition of safety being used.

“Really? She’s using her little sister as a distraction?” the puppeteer sighed, knowing Flandre was too fond of Marisa to risk killing her, intentionally at least. She was one of the first people from outside the manor that met Flandre, and apparently even helped her reconcile with Remilia. However, she was also gifted with the bizarre ability to destroy anything she wanted, so there was a risk.

Especially if they were relying on Marisa to stop and play with the younger scarlet sister. But, knowing how starved they were for entertainment, it probably wasn’t going to be a problem. After all, they needed twenty minutes at most to get everything ready.

However, deep down, they both knew that ‘Low Key’ and Remilia Scarlet were two incompatible ideas. They’d get the time they needed, and then some.

«««

Reimu Hakurei didn’t particularly like getting an invitation to the Scarlet Devil Manor out of the blue. Especially when she needed to try and drum up offerings to the shrine.

At least until she noticed the sack of coins in the offertory box. With the same insignia of the manor.

So naturally, she was expecting trouble. And there was, especially since she was let in without a fight from Meiling.

“I will be releasing my dear younger sister to attend a party that will be starting shortly.” The vampiric mistress of the house said, looking down from a massive chair at the shrine maiden. “That down payment was your invitation, and if you keep my sister in check if something goes wrong, there will be more.”

The thought of large sums of money overrode any sense of duty Reimu should’ve had to stopping youkai. And she immediately kneeled like a knight towards Remilia.

“It will be done!” Reimu said, looking up with the greediest expression anyone in the manor had seen in centuries. “Anything else? I get to touch the money first, right?”

There was a pause, mostly since no one expected the shrine maiden to cave to money so quickly. Remilia looked to Sakuya, who looked to Meiling, who looked to Koakuma, who looked at Flandre, who was vibrating in place because she got to be included in something. And was also looking at her sister, who was repeating this awkward stare cycle for a few minutes.

“You… can touch the money.” Remilia said, motioning for Sakuya to show Remilia the money room. “But be quick sin-“

The mistress was interrupted by Reimu somehow bypassing all barriers, even the stopped time from the maid wasn’t enough to get between her and financial security. A door was thrown from its hinges, there was a high-pitched squeak of happiness, and then the sound of coins scattering across the floor of a side room as Reimu practically Scrooge McDuck’d the money. Rolling around despite the hard metal coins not working as a liquid, but as a multi layered solid.

“When is Marisa coming?” Flandre asked, the rest of the Manor realizing she was out of the basement. “I wanna play!” she said, still vibrating in place, ecstatic that she was about to be allowed to play, and party. So, despite Reimu’s blatant money fetish, the younger vampire just stared at the door. She could blow it up if she wanted to, but then Marisa might not want to play with her after all. “Is she going to be here soon? Can we have pudding? Can we fight too? Can we-“

“Lady Flandre,” Sakuya said, quietly reattaching the door Reimu had thrown off and. “She will be arriving shortly after Lady Patchouli returns; can you wait until then?”

“Uh huh!” the younger vampire beamed; her bizarre gem covered wings flapping in excitement. “And then we can play too, and we can all have fun!” The real question was how long her patience would last, she didn’t like being lied too, and she enjoyed dodging Marisa’s attacks. “Hurry upppppp”

“Sister, she will be coming,” Remilia said, trying to have an air of maturity that didn’t fit her short stature. “You just need to relax, have a snack, the party won’t properly start until she arrives.” That seemed to be enough, at least for the moment, to satisfy Flandre. Even though she was keeping an eager eye on the door.

«««

“Get back here!” Marisa was screaming, her Hakkero giving her just enough acceleration to surpass Alice and Patchouli despite their head start. The two magicians were just able to view the scarlet devil manor as a streak of black, white and a public menace managed to swerve in front of the pair. “Geez…” the Ordinary Magician panted, her arm shaking from using her secret weapon as a speed boost. “You didn’t have to leave me behind!”

“Yes, we did,” Patchouli said matter of factly. Looking at Marisa with a level of disgust one would retain for a stubbed toe. “You don’t get to find out what we found; it will be ourdiscovery.”

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“If you want to be included, then stop stealing things.” Alice said, casually keeping them moving past Marisa. “Otherwise, this won’t be the only comeuppance for you.”

“Comeuppance schumuppance!” the Ordinary magician said, now standing on her broom. “You just don’t want me to know because it’ll mean I get stronger than both of you when I master it!”

The pair of Youkai just ignored her boasts as they continued to fly past her. The plan was working, they just had to get Marisa to the manor. Then hope that Remilia had set up a way to stall the Magician. Preferably without killing her.

However, without realizing it, the group was hurtling towards the heavy doors of the Scarlet Devil Manor. Doors that were incredibly inadvisable to crash into. Alice noticed first, and slowed down in time, keeping Patchouli from crashing as well.

But, Marisa, was not so lucky. It happened in slow motion, she felt her shoulder touch the door, which then slowly started to move. The sunlight disappeared as she looked forward, seeing a pitch-black hall greeting her. The door closed with a sudden crash, the lock audibly turning as Alice and Patchouli disappeared from sight.

“…Shit.” Marisa said, trying to make her eyes adjust to the darkness as something started filling the hall. A record scratch, and the slow violin build up that followed. The Ordinary Magician knew that there was someone in the manor that she chose to be wary of, and this music was almost certainly a sign that person was awake.

“Ma-Ri-Sa!” Flandre’s excited sing song voice echoed through the hall. “Patchy said you came to play!”

‘Oh. Oh no.’ Maria thought, knowing that Flandre was fond of her, like a cousin she wanted to play games with. The problem? Those games were usually more property damage than Marisa was able to pay for. ‘Those two tricked me!’

The magic, the spell, it was just a ploy to get Marisa to play with Flandre. At least, that’s what was going through her mind. As she readied herself, let her eyes adjust, and walked towards where she was pretty sure the main hall was.

“Yo, Flandre!” Marisa said, trying to project her voice and sound calm. After all, Flandre was pretty much harmless if people treated her well. The issue would be getting away from her, since once she started everyone would be locked in with her until she chose to end the talk. “Good to uh, see you’re awake? Where are you anyway?”

“It’s a surprise~” the young vampire teased, now sending minor alarm bells off in Marisa’s head.

“Is it anyone I know turned into pudding?”

“Nope! Not this time!”

“Did your sis leave you out of something again?”

“Nuh uh!” the vampire hummed, the music getting louder as Marisa stumbled her way towards the main hall. “She told me about this and let me plan things!”

“Hey, good to see you’re getting along better!” the Magician said, genuinely happy things were improving. After all, they had their fights “But uh, any reason why I was tricked in here?”

“I’m glad you asked!” Flandre squealed, audibly moving her arms up and down in excitement as lights flicked on. Faerie maids flying away into the rafters as Marisa was finally able to see what was going on.

Tables, expensive tableware, a section labelled ‘important, do not steal’ with a mountain of things Marisa was desperate to borrow. Food, drinks, even games that Marisa hadn’t seen in her entire life.

“My sister decided you deserve a party for how much you’ve… procured. From my Manor.” Remilia said, still sitting in a fancy chair that screamed Final Boss. “Loathe I am to admit it, you have skill. So, as the de facto future ruler of Gensokyo, I acknowledge your skill.”

There was a pause as Reimu tumbled out of the money room, somehow with a bottle of the strongest Sake in the world in hand, shattering any illusion of class the situation had. There was a pause as she poured herself another drink, missing the cup for the most part.

“Well, the mood is killed. Congratulations Shrine Maiden, you did it, you killed the mood, the vibe, the drama.” Remilia deadpanned. “I had an entire speech about humanity, and now it’s ruined.”

“She really did!” Flandre squeaked, pulling Marisa towards a table full of sweets. “Big Sis could be a great actor with how into it she was getting!” the Ordinary Magician couldn’t help but snicker, picturing Remilia in her big mansion practicing into a mirror.

“Enough!” the Mistress of the Manor blurted out, her face beet red as everyone, except Sakuya, stifled a snicker. “Let’s just begin the festivities!”

Elsewhere in the manor, as music played and a very drunk shrine maiden caused a minor Incident, the magicians were at work. The library’s innermost chamber, that doubled as the room Patchouli would be found asleep in, cleared of all its items aside from a magical array. The pair of Magicians had finally been given enough of a distraction to get a bit of payback on their human magician ally. After all, silverware could be stripped for possible magic reagents.

Strings carried candles, books were opened, and spells were prepared. The hands of lavender and blue deftly moved, knowing that they needed to do this before the Mistresses of the Manor exhausted their target. And judging by the music and subsequent explosions, they didn’t have as much time as they wanted.

“Magician of the Forest, Magician of the Land,” both magicians chanted, pouring magic into the spell. “Grant us the power to control someone by hand.” The array glowed purple, thin rays of light speeding towards the doors of the Great Library. “Puppeteers are we, and a puppet we need. The Thief who denies her crimes must dance on the strings we weave.” The magic continued, forcing its way towards the main hall as it became invisible to the human eye. Simply searching for the target through a cacophony of Extreme Block Stacking, explosions, and a drunk shrine maiden pushing her luck. All that was needed was a single string to find its mark.

And it found the mark, Marisa’s left wrist. No one noticed, at least, no one who could have a say in stopping the magicians that would’ve done so. The target herself was too occupied with Flandre talking about something from the outside world called a Steam Engine, one by one the magical threads found their marks, not changing anything yet. But the party continued,

“-and then when the water is used the coal cools off and creates steam which makes the engine move and pull the rest of the cars!” the younger sister said with stars in her eyes, expecting a response from the Ordinary magician to be uninterested.

“So... it’s like my mini hakkero...? She mumbled, getting a nod from Flandre. “And people move around with it?” another nod. “I should write this stuff down! This is cool!” The look on Flandre Scarlets face was that of unbridled joy at her words, especially as the human took out a notepad to write on. “so, by using water magic and heat magic...”

“Some trains even move with explosions, but I don’t get how they work so they aren't as interesting.” she continued, with Marisa completely distracted by the vampire. “They carry so much and can even go over water on bridges!”

“Right, so they can also move things too...” Marisa mumbled, still not noticing the two magicians’ spell working on her. The mistress of the manor and her maid however, now had stopped to watch the younger vampire and human. Naturally they were in on the plan, with the shrine maiden either not caring or being too intoxicated with cheap sake and thoughts of money to notice.

The ‘party’ continued, at least, for Marisa and Flandre it did. The younger scarlet sister practically talking everyone's ear off from a distance. Even the human’s tendency to steal things was dampened by the in-depth conversation.

“she’s only taken ten spoons, milady,” Sakuya chuckled, following her mistress away from the increasingly more scientific conversation. “I’d say we’ve gone with minimal missing items.” Only the echoes of the pair's conversation greeted the maid, who held a knowing smile.

“Sakuya,” she finally said as they approached the library. Their steps echoing through the hall overpowering everything. “Ensure that Marisa makes it to her home, safely.” the vampire grinned. “For this will be the last night she will see that eyesore of a shop for quite a while.”

“Yes, Milady,” Sakuya said obediently. “And the Hakurei Shrine Maiden?”

“If she’s only missing for days at a time, the shrine maiden won’t notice unless there’s an incident.” Remilia grinned, licking her fangs in anticipation. “Now then.”

“It’s finished!” Patchouli sighed, slumping into a chair with her dress stained with sweat. “f-finally.” her familiar was already moving water and a towel over to the librarian. Alice was using her dolls to help with the clean-up, focusing more on that than the mistress of the manor’s entrance.

“And nothing will go wrong?” Remilia smirked. “After all, this should make that human more... agreeable as to not breaking in.” she watched as things were cleaned up, Reimu would eventually stumble back to her shrine none the wiser, Marisa would be fine for a few hours, then the spell would take effect, removing a headache from the entire group.

Naturally of course, this is Gensoukyo, and nothing goes according to plan for long.

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