The next morning, just as the sun is half obscured by the horizon, Marisa awakens soundly in her bed. Not to get up, however; she seems to feel a bit lethargic. Simply lying there, half nude and messily covered in a quilt, eyes open and staring at the ceiling while half-open but not moving. She feels as if she weighs double and is paralyzed for some unidentifiable reason.

"Why can't I just sleep a little while longer?" she asks herself as she attempts it but can't seem to doze off once more. Not even turning her head, just closing her eyes and hoping that works. She simply lies there in a dazed state, waiting in vain.

Another hour passes before she opens her eyes again and realizes how futile of an attempt that was. With a great sigh and groan mix, she turns onto her side and continues to lie there for another minute. Eventually, she gets up and walks up to the most nearby window in nothing but her bloomers. It's bright despite only being morning; she scowls grumpily at the outside and bangs her head against the window lightly. This goes on for a minute, then she decides to sit at her desk and slump over.

She does nothing for another half hour, then decides she's hungry. Checking the pantry results in nothing but getting pelted by poorly-placed random objects that happened to fit in it. There's practically nothing that she can find that isn't wild herbs, which don't make a meal. She lets out a loud groan, then goes off to get dressed and retrieve her thieving bag. She heads out pondering on what to do about the eventless morning with an empty stomach, only taking a moment to decide to go and visit Reimu once more and hope that she's awake.

A few minutes later, and she's just in front of the torii on the edge of the steps where she also spies Reimu lying in the grass and staring up at the sky. Marisa lets her things down for a moment and waltzes over to her, then makes a sly smile, "Is this one of your 'purifying experiences'?"

In response, Reimu sweeps her arm under Marisa's foot, tripping her and making her yelp out in an awfully high pitch, then slamming face-first into the grass right beside her, "Quiet."

Marisa groans obnoxiously, then rolls onto her back and coincidentally half on top of Reimu, who does not appreciate the gesture. She grabs Marisa's arm, pulls it against her chest, and - just as Marisa is about to react - puts her into a rather tight and painful arm-bar. Marisa's eyes shoot open and she starts to try and thrash around, yelling, "Hey, hey, hey, quit! Come on, I was just joking! Joking!" Reimu doesn't let up; she lifts her leg and throws it down on Marisa's hip and leg, then starts to pull harder!

Finally, Marisa fights back and starts to try and roll herself on top of Reimu, overpowering the leg and half of the hold, successfully getting on top! "You're going to ha-" she begins to taunt, but Reimu punches her in the face! "Okay, I was just coming over-" and again, another face punch! "Dammit, will you quit!? I'm-" and another! "This is getting-" once more! "Reimu!" and the last before she notices that the last one gave her a bloody nose. "Oh, it's on." she finally scowls.

She pins Reimu's arms down within moments, but is immediately taken over by her flipping the two over again, now Reimu is on top! She grabs her collar and starts to lift and bash her from and into the ground; Marisa retaliates by grabbing Reimu's face and punching her in the boob! This stuns her long enough to roll them over again, where she starts to slap Reimu in the face repeatedly, with her flinching. Finally, she parries a slap and yells, "Oh, we're playing dirty!?" She reaches for Marisa's ponytail and yanks her head down with it, then knees her in the ass, making her recoil in pain while Reimu rolls them over again.

Just then, Suika stumbles in and slurs, "Eeeeey! You two rastlin'? Lemme do it!" Both of the girls simultaneously plead "No" over and over; Suika scratches her head, takes a swig and asks, "Well'y not-t-t...?" stuttering with the last T.

Reimu comes up with an excuse "We, uh...were just finished!"

"Really? That was short." Marisa yells, but Reimu slaps her and tells her to shut up.

Suika shrugs, then stumbles away with a disappointed furl. The two get up and watch her walk away before they speak. Reimu goes first, "What was that?!"

Marisa turns to her and raises an eyebrow, "What?"

"You punched me in the boob!" Reimu points at the offended boob.

"You kneed me in the ass!" Marisa retorts.

"You punched me. In the boob." Reimu slowly reiterates.

"So what!?" Marisa yells, looking flabbergasted. Reimu pimp slaps her, making her nose start bleeding again. Marisa now looks a bit mad, "Hey, at least you aren't bleeding!"

Reimu looks down with her eyes half-closed and puts her arms down for just a few moments while Marisa holds her nose. With a heavy sigh, she apologizes quietly, "Sorry..." Marisa still looks a bit unconvinced, so she proceeds to hug her lightly and repeat, "Really."

Marisa also sighs and returns the hug, leaking a little on Reimu's shoulder in the process. "So..." she begins, mid-hug "...got anything to eat?"

Reimu slaps her back and gives a single, small chuckle, "Sure, let's go eat something." And so they stroll back into the shrine, shoulder to shoulder.

A while later, Reimu returns with two bowls of rice, to a waiting and partially undressed Marisa. She ignores the impropriety and sets them down. "Does it still hurt?" she asks while sitting down.

Marisa picks up a pair of chopsticks lying on the table, then begins to eat while responding, "A little; you?"

"No-" she starts to answer, but stops to ask, "Hey, aren't you going to...?"

Marisa looks clueless with her cheek filled. The two stare at each other for a few moments, then she shrugs and continues. Reimu rolls her eyes with a faint grin, then bows her head in prayer before beginning to eat.

The two finish quite a while later without uttering more than a couple pleasantries to each other. Marisa eventually just sits on the steps outside and stays almost motionless for at least ten straight minutes while Reimu cleans up the shrine a little. In fact, Marisa is so motionless that by the time Marisa comes to see what she's doing, there's a crow roosted on her head.

"Come on, seriously?" Reimu barges out with. Marisa turns her head with another raised brow, so Reimu continues, "I thought I cheered you up. Why are you still brooding?"

"I'm not!" Marisa pouts, turning her head back to stare down the walkway.

Reimu takes a seat beside her, "Did something else happen? Really, that was just yesterday and you're somehow still not happy?" she starts to ramble, which turns into a rant, "Do I have to spend more on you? Jeez, you're like a spoiled little kid. I mean, I barely have enough for myself, never mind that at least 3 people are mooching off of me constantly and that gluttonous, lazy oni is staying here! You won't even tell me what's wrong with you, this is ridiculous! I know we're friends, but at least give a little back-" The crow interrupts her by screeching and squawking and such. "Get out of here you ravenous little rodent!" she screams at it, trying to swipe the thing as it flies off.

She settles back down and ends her rant, "Sorry, just a little frustrated."

The two remain silent for a bit, with Marisa barely reacting except for saying, "It happened again..."

"What...?" Reimu seems clueless, but gets a faint, grim feeling.

"Another dream...you know." Marisa looks increasingly more depressed and frustrated. "I just...can't figure it out. I can't!" she insists.

"Maybe it's something magical?"

Marisa perks up, but then sinks back down a moment later, "No, I've never seen anything like this in magic, before. This makes no sense, even for magic."

"But aren't dreams like that natural sometimes? I mean, I had nightmares like that when I was younger." Reimu starts to consider.

"But these are different! I know it! These don't feel natural, you know?" she argues. "They - they just don't!"

Reimu yields, "If you say so. I guess tea won't help this one, will it?"

Marisa sighs at the painfully inappropriate joke, but still gives a bit of a chuckle, "No, not this time."

Another minute later, she gets up and asks, "I think I need to rest. Can I use your bed?"

Reimu considers it, then agrees, "It's not much of a bed, though."

Marisa doesn't quite give a damn, but does have a faint glint of an idea in her eye. She runs back inside and scurries to find Reimu's bed, which is essentially more like a sleeping bag on a platform. She settles down, undresses down to her underwear and gets as comfortable as one can be on such a...firm bed. Within moments, albeit with a little trouble, she is fast asleep.

Hours pass without incident, though Marisa does wake up in a small sweat with a backache at around midday. As soon as she does wake up, Reimu is sitting by her and looks a bit worried. When asked about the look, she answers, "You were tossing around a lot. I was about to wake you up."

Marisa doesn't recall anything, but she does have a new idea. "Reimu, could you come by the torii with me?"

Reimu agrees and follows her out there, but hands Marisa her clothes, "Hey get a little decent first."

Marisa ignores her and just charges forth, so she gives up and follows. At the torii, Reimu eventually arrives with a little bit of an awkward expression. "So what is it?" she asks.

"There's something I've always wanted to do." Marisa begins to explain as she turns to Reimu, turning her back to the steps.

"And that is...?" Reimu leads her on, even using the hand waving.

Marisa lets out a large sigh, looks down, then gulps and swallows her pride with clenched fists. She grabs Reimu by the shoulders and lunges forth, kissing her squarely on the lips within moments.

Reimu gasps and panics internally, her entire body locks up out of shock for a split second, but she soon regains composure and instinctually pushes Marisa back with a hefty shove, following that up with a savage punch right into Marisa's chin, almost uppercutting her. This sends her almost leaping right off the top of the stairs, then quickly plummeting downwards. In the few seconds before she hits the ground, she braces herself and closes her eyes. In less than a second, she finally slams head-first into the stone steps, making a loud and clear snapping sound on the first hit. While silent and mostly expressionless at first, Reimu's eyes water up on the first snap, just as it sends shivers down her spine. The second comes and her jaw drops open, another time shivering. The third is a thud, and her hands cover her mouth while tears start to stream down her cheek. The next two thuds and she drops to her knees in disbelief.

As the thuds and snaps fade down the more she tumbles down the steps helplessly, Reimu starts to edge towards it and look down at the aftermath. She stands while beginning to quiver, then starts to walk down the steps. As she goes down, they get progressively bloodier and more frequently so. She goes down at least 20 of the steps before beginning to quietly chant, "Marisa...Marisa..." repeatedly. Shortly after, she glides all the way down, but stops short of the bottom where there lies Marisa, completely motionless. She freezes in place, only muttering, "No..." before rushing over and picking her up rather slowly. Marisa's head is obscenely crooked, as is one arm, and there lies a rather large and gruesome crack in her head with blood oozing from it profusely. Reimu hangs her head down, placing it slowly on Marisa's chest, repeatedly whispering, "I'm sorry."

She starts to sob and slowly collapse forward, "Ma...Marisa, why? I didn't..." She goes on for another minute, grieving over her, but finally resolves, "No, you can't go yet! I'll go...go get help!" She lets go, stands up, then starts to fly up the steps at top speed, going off to god-knows-where. Meanwhile the person who just happens to stroll by her body is none other than the ghastly Yuyuko. She approaches, rather slowly and carefully, saying, "Oh, you've met with a terrible fate, haven't you? I was beginning to suspect as much." Her expression changes from the usual lax and mischievous look to a wide-eyed glare of unmatched creepiness. She waves her fan, folds it, then points it at Marisa before opening it once more.

As soon as the fan opens, Marisa wakes up, back in the bed at the shrine, completely fine. She's woken up in a cold sweat, just barely avoiding sleep paralysis, and looks completely pale. Reimu, who is sitting beside her, puts a hand on her head and asks, "Hey, are you alright? You were tossing around a lot. I was about to wake you up."

Marisa slowly turns her head, mouth agape, and stares at her almost in fear before snapping out of her trance, "Right...Reimu, don't hit me for this."

Reimu is about to question her, but she lunges up and kisses her again, the same as before. She immediately gets pushed away, with Reimu screaming, "Marisa! What the hell is wrong with you!?"

Marisa lies back down, "I just had to see."

Reimu scoffs, "What? There was absolutely no reason for you to do that!" There's a small silence, so she continues, "Just get out."

"Wait-" Marisa tries to argue, but gets interrupted.

"No, get out." Reimu insists. She starts to push Marisa out of the room along with her clothes.

Before she can be shoved out, Marisa blurts, "I was right!" Reimu stops for a moment and waits for her to carry on, "I was right, they're not dreams!"

"How do you know that?"

Marisa explains, "I know it sounds crazy, but listen. I knew I had to do something that I didn't know, something that nobody would expect, that would never normally happen. If what I did was different than what I imagined it would be, it would mean that it was real because I'd be wrong and that would never happen in a dream! That can only happen in real life!"

Reimu interrupts her, "Now wait, so you decided to...kiss me? There's something wrong with that."

Marisa acts coy, "Well, I mean, I've always wanted to try it."

While Reimu is blunt, "That's weird."

"Hey, but you believe me, right?"

"It's crazy enough to be true. Does that make it an incident?" Reimu looks quizzical.

"I...don't know. I don't know if you can solve it, but it would help. I mean, it doesn't really affect you too much."

"If you say so, but don't go and do anything crazy again."

Marisa nods to that and runs off, taking all of her things within just a few seconds, and leaving as suddenly as she appeared. Just a few minutes after she leaves, Reimu has another visitor: Yuyuko Saigyouji. She ascends from the bottom of the steps very slowly, and alone for some reason. Reimu can feel her coming even from inside, and so runs to the front door to greet her. She doesn't look quite as chipper or carefree as usual, instead wearing a serious frown. She approaches, the two exchange greetings, and Reimu asks why she's there.

"I've come on business. Something has the spirits upset, and it seems to be coming from around here, somewhere." She covers her mouth with her fan and proceeds inside, "I need to ask you a few questions...and if you'd like, we can have a little fun."

Reimu groans quietly, "No, I'm not in the mood at the moment. To play, that is. Marisa was here earlier."

"Oh, so I just missed her?" Yuyuko peers over her shoulder as she passes.

"Yeah, she left a few minutes ago. Something about an incident that she wanted to figure out herself. What, are you looking for her?" Reimu points at where she flew off to.

"It's not a problem, anyways. Have you noticed anything strange lately?" Yuyuko takes a seat at the nearby kotatsu that was being abused in the past few days.

"I think - hey, don't just invite yourself in. Anyways, Marisa was acting strange, but she's always been like that."

"Anything else?"

Reimu approaches the kotatsu as well, but remains standing, "No? I haven't noticed anything besides the usual. But now that I think about it, you may want to ask Suika or Yukari. They're usually in on this kind of stuff."

"I've spoken with Yukari, she told me that someone is making a mess of the 'Border Between Life and Death'."

"Sounds bad."

"It is, but it's a very small hole."

"Sounds good."

"Luckily, but it could get a lot bigger."

"Sounds bad."

"This is becoming predictable. So knowing her, it will probably stay under control until we fix the issue. The problem is that we don't know what's causing it."

"Right," Reimu nods "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"That Kirisame girl might be involved. The spirits have been rather lively, lately, and they tell me of a girl matching her in description."

"Don't the dead have no mouths?" Reimu jokes.

"Don't believe such superstitions. Now what do you think of all of this?"

Reimu has to sit and think for a minute, "Weird things happen around her all the time. I'm not surprised and don't care too much. Just tell me if it gets worse."

"As always, you're just a leisurely maiden. I'll go speak with the little oni, now." Yuyuko begins to leave, but turns back around just before disappearing to remind her, "This is probably going to get serious. I hope it won't come to it, but try not to get too attached to your little friend." She then vanishes into thin air, leaving Reimu alone and a little more than troubled. She sits there with her mouth ajar and staring into the space where she was just moments ago.

Meanwhile, Marisa is flying far above the human village in clear skies. "Geez, still starving but no money. Guess it's time to-" she stops and feels around on her back and broom "wait, where's my bag? Shit." Being a little disgruntled, she decides to dive down into the village and steal some pocket change. After all, nobody will miss that, right? So she lands within a few seconds on top of some bloke's rooftop, then decides to hang upside-down from the roof just above a window to look into it like fucking Spider-man. There doesn't seem to be anybody inside, so she flips off the roof and back onto her broom, then forces the window open with raw force of will while hovering there. This breaks it in half, but it's still open nonetheless.

She slips in and drags her broom with her, then begins to snoop around the place in near total darkness. It's only after wandering around the whole house twice that she remembers people liking to hide things near where they sleep. She sneaks into the bedroom where only a single bed lies, still in almost total darkness. And then she flips the bed over completely with about as much tact as a rabies-infested dog. There lies nothing but a leather sack; she opens it and finds a handful of coins equaling about 500 Yen. Not much, but enough for a snack. She leaves it without putting the bed back and is about to leave altogether, but then sees an unfrosted cake just sitting there on a kitchen counter! "Well don't mind if I do!" she announces to herself as she scoops out an obscenely large chunk of it and devours it.

Just moments later, there's a noise at the front door! Marisa yelps, "Oh shit!" and runs for the back of the house, blasting a hole into some random wall and escaping on her broom! In the distance, she can hear a man yelling from inside the house; she flies off with a snicker, but then immediately turns through an alley and back onto a crowded main street. After she's in the clear for now, she begins to walk around the place normally while looking for a food stall or some such thing, taking only minutes to spot one with her favorite noodles: Somen! She dashes over to the stand that already has most of its seats filled and hops into the second-to-last tall stool.

The server and cook turns to her and finds himself quite surprised to see such an odd-looking person, especially due to her height. Nonetheless, he puts on a smile and speaks, "Well aren't you just the cutest! So what kind of Somen would you like?"

Marisa places the coins on the table, not paying attention to the comment, "What can I get for 500?"

His smile lightens to be more slight, "Well, it's not much, I can put some soy sauce and peppers on it and call that 400."

Marisa shrugs, then shifts all but one 100 Yen coin towards him and stuffs that in her shoe. Another minute of eventlessness ensues until the woman next to Marisa, wearing a rather bright blue Yukata of some sort speaks up, "My, how does a little girl like you enjoy Somen? You should really get something sweeter!"

Marisa glances at her and raises an eyebrow, "What?"

The woman puts a hand on her cheek, "Oh, it's just so salty! My kids won't eat any no matter what I do."

Marisa shrugs, "I just like them. More than Soba, they're too thick."

"Oh, you're still picky?"

"I don't think so, it's just the texture."

The woman returns to her own noodles with the passing question, "What's your name?"

"Marisa Kirisame." she replies just as the cook finishes up hers, placed on a wooden dish with two chopsticks lying beside it. She picks them up and starts to poke at the noodles, swirling them around in the soy sauce for a bit when the woman asks another question.

"Wait, Kirisame? Like the shop?"

Marisa jumps a bit, "Oh, um, Kirisame Magic Shop, yeah!"

"Oh, no, the other." she corrects.

"No, 'fraid not. I run a magic shop, not some run-down place like that!" she sounds more than a little nervous and even manages to almost choke on her food.

"Yeah, I know you!" she insists "You're their little girl that ran off one day, aren't you?"

Upon hearing that, Marisa quickly whips her head around and hushes her, looking quite serious about it. She does, and they both go back to eating for the next minute or two. Upon finishing rather quickly, Marisa jumps up without warning and starts to run off back into the crowd, leaving nothing behind but an empty dish and a puff of smoke. She doesn't stop sprinting through the crowds of people, shoving them out of the way and even tripping a couple to get away as quickly as possible, until she reaches the wall of some other miscellaneous building. There, she slams her back against the wall and takes a minute to breathe deeply, then continues onward for about 5 more feet. She comes across an alleyway of rather curious nature, there being some sort of glimmering object in the middle of it.

She walks carefully into the narrow passage, making sure nobody is following her, then crouches down at the thing. Too bad for her, it's just a 100 Yen coin. That, and a shadow is suddenly cast over her, coming directly from behind. Marisa freezes up almost instantly upon seeing the shadow; a sweat drop forms are her forehead and slowly drips down as her entire face flushes. She turns around very slowly to match her gaze with the figure behind her, and she mutters with the most shocked of expressions, "Y-You...!?"