The wind blew back Aya?s hair as she zipped through the air, her hands wrapped around her beloved camera. With a loud whoop, she spun mid-air and began to descend into the vast expanse of trees beneath her. Finding a small opening where she could enter without hitting any branches, she dived down, causing some of the leaves and branches near her to be blown back. A wide grin split her face as she maneuvered around the forest with a recklessness that would catch even the most rash denizens of Gensokyo off-guard. A second didn?t go by where she wasn?t millimeters away from running face-first into a tree. After a few exhilarating moments of traversing the forest, she burst into a clearing and came to a stop near a rather ordinary house housing someone anything but.
Taking her fan out, Aya began to wave it in front of her as she walked towards the building, her ever-present smirk growing wider with each step. She probably could?ve just found the clearing from above and flew down, but there was no fun in that. Seeing the windows covered by curtains and the locked door in front of her, the tengu briefly considered breaking in and taking a surprise picture. After a moment?s hesitation, she sighed dramatically and put away her fan, replacing it with a pen and notebook. She was here for an interview this time, and from many painful experiences with a certain miko, Aya learned that surprising people tended to make them less than eager to answer questions about themselves.
Giving three quick knocks on the door, the tengu began to brainstorm some questions to ask. To be honest, she didn?t know too much personally about Marisa, besides the reputation she?s gathered. Thief, loose cannon, and a general nuisance, the magician has nevertheless stepped up to every incident that has hit Gensokyo and solved them alongside Reimu. She had written several articles on Marisa?s numerous burglary attempts, and encountered her in the middle of incidents. But Aya wasn?t here to squeeze what little more she could from the girl. The human magician had withdrawn from public eye for a week, and that was something that caught her attention. Marisa was almost always out getting into her usual antics.
It was definitely not because there was nothing else going on and she really needed something to report on...
?Ayayaya?? she muttered under her breath. Tapping her foot, she turned her head to the side and listened to see if she was approaching. ?I wonder what?s keeping her. I know she?s not at the shrine since I was just there. Perhaps she?s off ?borrowing? something again?? Aya mused.
After a few more moments, the tengu reporter shrugged and decided to enter. She gave the magician fair warning, and she wasn?t about to back out just because she wasn?t answering the door. Not expecting too much, she reached down and twisted the doorknob.
It opened.
Laughing at the irony, it was cut short as a strong odor passed by her and almost made her gag. Pinching her nose with her pen hand, she slowly pushed the door aside and peered in. The various books, objects, and magical ingredients on the ground were to be expected, but it was something else that caught her eye.
Opened sake gourds laid strewn across the floor at random spots. The reek of excessive alcohol made Aya?s eyes burn as she tip-toed across the minefield, trying not to gag. It smelled almost as bad as the one time she went to interview the oni while sober. After a quick once-over of the room, she set her eyes on the person responsible.
?Whosh there?? the girl slurred, her hand slamming the desk she was at as she turned around. ?Store?s closhed, leave me alone.?
Aya would?ve laughed if she didn?t risk inhaling more of the smell than she wanted, so she settled for a smirk as she raised a finger and pointed out, ?It?s not like you sell much of anything anyways. I?ve never seen you actually run the store.?
Marisa spun around the second she heard the tengu speak, her eyes narrowing immediately. ?Aya? Hell are ya doin? hare? Not in the mood fer ya right now, so ya better git out before I make you.?
?Sorry, as the foremost reporter of Gensokyo, I must investigate any and all events of interest to better inform the general public.? Aya cheekily replied, taking the time to get a better look at her soon-to-be interviewee. Her hair was disheveled, with loose strands sticking out all over and the golden mane reduced to a bird?s nest. The witch hat that defined her look was lying on the ground, in the middle of the heap of items on the ground as if it were carelessly thrown away. Stains appeared all over her clothes, and judging by how the smell got infinitely stronger the closer Aya got, the tengu assumed she hadn?t washed herself ever since her strange disappearance. Marisa?s normally bright golden eyes were rimmed in red, and a scowl was directed in Aya?s direction. Aya would be lying if she said this didn?t surprise her, as her smirk dwindled to a grimace as she realized just how bad of a shape Marisa was in.
The magician didn?t seem to notice, as she put down her sake dish and scrambled for something on her desk. ?Don?t give a damn about the public. I?m serious. Git out of here, now.?
Realizing how quickly everything was escalating, Aya held her hands up and gave what she hoped looked like a reassuring smile. ?Hey, I?m not here for any... racy pictures this time,? she said. ?You?ve just been scarce the past week and I decided to find out why. Normally I would?ve heard at least one story of you robbing someone already.?
??I?m just borrowing. Dey?ll git it back once I die,? Marisa defended. For the moment though, she calmed down and picked her sake dish back up before standing up to face Aya. After staggering for a few moments and spilling some of the contents on her dress, she looked warily at the tengu, still cautious as to what she was up to.
Aya bit back a witty retort, wanting to maintain the momentary truce the two had. The tengu brought her notebook up and readied her pen before trying to think of a first question to ask. Wanting to save the question of why she came for later when tensions were a bit calmer, she started off with saying, ?Others have noticed your absence and expressed some concern on your well-being. Should they be worried, or is this some one-time drinking binge??
Marisa sighed and closed her eyes, talking in a more calmer, coherent manner, ?Guess I was worrying them, though Reimu would probably never admit it. Tell em? I?m fine once you see them again. It was just something that came up. No need to put this on the headlines.?
The reporter nodded, jotting what she said down. Aya knew this wasn?t some random drinking binge judging by how testy Marisa was being, but didn?t want to delve that deep so soon. Despite what some might think, she could be subtle and aware of a delicate situation if she saw it. Right now she needed to act professional and make the magician more comfortable.
?Right. I knew you drank Marisa, but there?s enough sake here to take down an oni. How?d you come across such a huge supply??
?Heh,? Marisa gave a cocky smirk, ?Suika?s got nothing on me, ya hear? And how I got it isn?t important and none of your business.?
?Hmm?? Aya hummed, unconvinced but not challenging it. Jotting down a quick sentence on how the thief probably stole some sake, most likely from the vampire?s mansion or the human village judging from the quantity, she lowered her hands and looked at Marisa with a serious expression. Hoping she was feeling a bit more open now, she decided to get to why she came here for in the first place.
?So,? Aya began, ?you?re normally an outgoing human who influences much of Gensokyo?s current events. Your sudden disappearance has sparked many questions, the most common of which being why. If it isn?t too much to ask, why have you secluded yourself in your house the past week??
Marisa shuffled uncomfortably. ?Eh? it?s nothing much,? she evaded, taking a small sip of sake. Aya watched as she placed a hand on her desk and leaned on it, putting on a casual air around her. Her eyes seemed to tell a different story however, even as she turned away from the reporter to hide it.
?If it?s nothing important, then surely you can tell me about it right?? Aya pressed.
?Well?? Marisa sighed, muttering something under her breath. Pretending not to hear the curse words no doubt directed towards her, Aya waited patiently for the magician to respond. Pressing further might make her more reluctant to answer.
?Fine,? she relented, looking Aya in the eye, ?but this is something personal, and I don?t want the whole story to get on the Bunbunmaru. Ya hear??
?But-?
Marisa raised a finger, ?No ifs and buts about this. I swear if I find anything about this on it, I?ll blast you straight into your mountain.?
Aya sighed, ?I?ll see what I can do. At the very least, I?ll try not to go in detail about whatever this is about.? She put away her pen and notebook and began fanning herself, putting on an irritated front but was still quite curious. If the reason why she was gone was so serious that she drank heavily for a week and explicitly asked her not to report it, then it must be something good.
?Guess that?s the best I?ll get from you. Might be good to get this out of my chest anyways.? Marisa said, turning around to put down her sake dish. When she turned back, Aya saw her eyes close as she thought about what to say.
?Ten years ago around this time, I still lived with my folks back in the Human Village. Dad was an ass like always, but Mom?? she trailed off for a bit, lost in thought before continuing, ?she was the best. Tucked me in at bedtime, cooked some of the best food in the village, and always played with me whenever I wanted.?
?She also practiced some magic, though it was mostly with mixing magical ingredients together. Didn?t fire lasers like I do, but she was still pretty damn cool. She played it safe and didn?t try to throw random stuff into a cauldron like I do without trying to research it first. Worst that should happen at that point is when the mixtures make a really bad smell, or simply evaporated and wasted materials.?
It was at this moment Marisa stopped, allowing Aya to digest the information she just heard. Rubbing her arm awkwardly, the tengu had a pretty good idea of where the story was going. Even if Marisa had not asked her, Aya doubted she would write up a story on this with her usual style.
?It was an honest mistake,? Marisa blurted out suddenly. ?Anyone could?ve made it, even me. The two plants were so similar looking, the only real difference was the amount of magic in each. Magicians can usually sense this when isolated, but like all magicians, she was surrounded by magic. Couple this with working late in the night and??
?When she mixed the ingredients together, it created a huge explosion that set our house on fire. She didn?t even have a chance.?
Looking as if she aged ten years, Aya watched as Marisa yanked her chair back and collapsed on it, too weary to even drink from the sake dish. The tengu had never seen the magician so defeated and lost in the world. It looked wrong. Felt wrong.
Was wrong.
?There, you happy now Aya? I know you don?t really care about us human?s lives because of how short it is.? Marisa said, voice barely above a whisper.
That snapped the tengu out of her reverie. Without even thinking, Aya stepped forward and gently wrapped her arms around Marisa.
?What-?
?Shh?? Aya hushed her, rubbing the shocked girl?s back. ?The loss of a life, a mother isn?t something I scoff at. Even if I cannot relate to it, I recognize the pain and loss of those left behind. I?ve written a few obituaries for the Bunbunmaru, and I would never think of making light of death.?
After a few seconds of shock, Marisa leaned into the embrace slightly and sobbed, not caring that she had revealed a secret part of herself to the person most able to reveal it. At this time, Aya saw that she was not the feared magician that sent a laser at every youkai that stood in her way. She was not the remorseless thief that stole books, magical artifacts, and sake from wherever she could get them.
She was just a girl mourning her mother.
?Feeling better?? Aya asked once Marisa pulled back.
?Yeah, I think so.? Marisa responded, eyes redder than before but with a wide smile on her face. ?Thank you. I?d thought my day would be getting even worse when I saw you, but I guess I misjudged you. You really helped.?
Aya smirked and removed her arms from Marisa, standing back up with a prideful tilt to her chin. ?No problem. The best reporters always do their best to make their interviewees as comfortable as possible.?
?By taking surprise panty shots??
The tengu pouted, but there was no sadness behind it. ?Those are not during interviews, so it doesn?t count!? They both laughed at that, with Marisa almost falling out of her chair doing so.
?Alright, I?ve got to get back and pick up Reimu?s slack at the shrine. Who knows how much work has piled up while I was gone??
Aya giggled, ?Too much, I?m sure. I?ve got to get back too and do a write-up on this.?
Picking up her hat, Marisa fixed it on her head and gave the tengu a serious look, ?Hey, I was serious before though. I don?t really want all of this to get on the paper.?
?Don?t worry about it,? Aya gave a two finger salute as she stepped back. ?I?ll just tell the truth and say you were passed out drunk on your desk for a week from stolen sake.?
?Good- hey, wait!? Marisa exclaimed as Aya dashed out of the house, the door taken off the hinges from the amount of force her speed picked up.
?Damned tengu?? She muttered, a smile on her face nevertheless. Just as she was about to turn around however, she saw Aya dart back in with a cheeky grin.
?Oh, and you better wash yourself and your clothes. You smell!? With that, Aya snapped a quick picture of Marisa?s indignant expression before flying away again.
---
Hey, I?m back. I?ve changed my name a lot and wasn?t too outgoing back then(think my first name was Dragonstake?), but I wrote the Dissoluteness of Vengeance story a while back. I lost both motivation and didn?t like what I wrote, but my attempt at rewriting it kinda got put on the backburner. Drifted away from Touhou into other games and fandoms, but there?s been many times where I?ve longed to get back to one of my first obsessions.
I admit, I?m out of touch with a lot of Touhou stuff. The only thing I?ve kept up to date with was the music. So after futilely trying to decide what I should write about and with which characters, I decided to just use a randomizer and wing it. Since the only randomizer I could find was a pairing one, I clicked it and prayed I would get two reasonable characters. Luckily, I got two characters that I remember somewhat and didn?t seem too farfetched in meeting each other.
As always, I accept any and all constructive criticism on my writing. I?m not so sure I want to continue this and wrote it so that it can be a one shot or a chapter-based story. I?ll have to see if I can figure a plotline out for this. Posts probably won?t be frequent, but I won?t wait two years this time.
