[x] Ask Marisa about herself.
[x] Tell Marisa about yourself (keeping it PG, for Alice’s sake.)

You slip off your sandals and take a seat by Marisa.  A doll pours you a fresh cup of tea, which you gladly take.  It’s a little hot, but tasty with just the right amount of sweetness.

“I should make cookies!”  Alice smiles and gives the two of you a motherly grin.  She reaches a hand out and dolls immediately begin getting out ingredients and mixing them together.

“Oni, huh? Marisa asks you.  “What happened?”

“I wanted to get back to here quickly, so I thought I’d ask Reimu for a ride.  These two oni, Yuugi and Suika, were there, and drunk off their minds.  They woke up and decided to give me some attention, but Reimu put a stop to it pretty quick, and healed me afterwards.  I was just a little scratched and bruised.”

“Hah, that sounds like them.  One time I asked Suika to show me one of her spell cards.  Turns out her idea of a spell card is to grab you, jump in the air, and throw you really, really hard.  So if you ever find a me-shaped crater around here, that’s why,” Marisa says, wincing a little just thinking about it.

“Haha, what’d you have her do that?”

“My private collection.  I’m writing a book about all the spell cards I can find in Gensokyo.”

“Do you read the same books as Alice, then?”

“Yeah.  She’s a good neighbor, always lending me her books.”  She gives Alice a sly grin, who frowns back.

“Plus, I like living here cos of all the mushrooms.  They don’t grow anywhere else in Gensokyo.”

“Oh, are you a farmer too?”

“Nah, I’m a treasure hunter.  A scavenger.  I explore long-forgotten ruins, dodging traps the whole way.  I take to the seas, raise the Jolly Roger and plunder merchant ships.  Steal stuff.”  Marisa’s grin widens, which you didn’t think was even possible.

“Sounds… diverse.”

“I do make magic stuff like elixirs on the side too, though I don’t get many customers.  There’s a lot of other people better at it than me living in Gensokyo.  Fine with me though, less work,” she snickers.  “How about you?  What’s your story?”

“What has Alice told you so far?”  You decide to play it safe.  Marisa shrugs.

“Not much.  You’re a farmer, and you became a youkai.  You can make new limbs from the purple stuff on your chest.”  She gestures at the roots showing through your ripped shirt.  “It sounds cool, heh.  Could I see?”

You give a quick glance at Alice, who nods at you.  You wriggle a tentacle out and swish it dramatically through the air a few times.

“Wow, that’s cool.  Is it slave-type magic?”

“Huh?”

“Slave-type magic is a summoned creature or danmaku that can be controlled independently by the user, instead of following a set path or pattern,” Alice explains, making a doll open the oven and bring out a tray of freshly-baked cookies.  It sets them on a tray, then brings them over to the table.

Marisa picks up a cookie and starts munching.  “Alice is great at it, as you can see.  All her cards are slave-type using her dolls.  I’ve always been kinda bad at it though, all I can do is make them spin in circles and stuff.  I’d like to get good at it, I think it’d be fun to have my own collection of slaves.”  She gives a belly laugh at her own remark.

[i]Oh god slaves everywhere.  We’ve got to hang out with this woman.[/i]

Probably best not to respond to that.  “Well, I guess it might be kind of like slave-type magic.”

[i]What?  I’m not your slave.  You’re just my errand boy.[/i]

“Well, sort of.  Not really,” you correct yourself.  “I’m kinda two people in one, we both control the powers together.”

“Awesome!  Are you like a team, taking to the streets of Gensokyo, fighting crime?”  Marisa punches an invisible criminal in front of her.

“Not quite,” you chuckle.  “I’m still getting used to all the new powers.”

“Got any spell cards?”

“A couple.”  You have the feeling she’d know if you were lying.

“You’ll have to show ‘em to me sometime.  Always looking for new additions to my book.”

[i]Oh yes.[/i]

“I-I dunno.  Wouldn’t want any accidents if I misuse them.”

“Pfft.”  Marisa rolls her eyes.  “Didn’t you hear me say I let an oni slam me into the ground, all for the sake of research?  I can take it.”

[i]Yes, I’ll bet you ca-[/i]

‘Calm down already!’

[i]Sorry.  Just got excited.[/i]

Marisa glances at the clock on the wall.  “Well, I should be off.  Better check on my new creations, make sure my house isn’t burning down.”  The witch stands up and grabs the broom that was resting against a kitchen countertop, then scoops up a few cookies, putting them in her apron pocket.  “Nice meeting ya.”  She gives you a wave and lets herself out.  The room’s suddenly quiet without her.

Alice stands up wordlessly and sits in your lap, her back facing you.  You wrap your arms around her waist.

“I missed you a little.”  She leans back against you, relaxing in your arms.

“I missed you too.”  You lean down and kiss the nape of her neck.  You lean your face into her soft hair, smelling her delicate, womanly scent.

“I’m sorry you got hurt.”  She glances at her feet, then looks back up at you, worry on her face.

“It’s fine, really.  There’s nothing you could’ve done about it.  Besides, I was a bit dumb, strolling right up to two drunken oni.”

“Next time you go out, I’ll send a doll to keep track of you.”

“It’s fine, really.”  You reassure her, reaching up and massaging her shoulders gently.

“Mmm.”  Alice relaxes further, as if melting in your lap.  You rub her shoulders in peaceful silence, working out her pent-up tension.

“We should have fun tonight.”  Alice turns up and smiles at you.  “We could do something like two days ago.  Or we could do something a bit more... couple-like.”


[ ] Tender lovings
[ ] Kinky lovings