Morning in the Forest of Magic. Not that it makes much difference, with the dense canopy of leaves and all. It's not a bad thing, though; there's always interesting mushrooms to pick up.

Today, I decided to get breakfast in a part the forest I don't really frequent. Usually, I'd stop by Reimu's place to see if I could mooch a free meal, but since she was running low on supplies, I thought I'd give her a break.

I'll just stop by for lunch.

As I was picking up some pretty ordinary mushrooms (those that have some extreme psychedelic effects), I spotted one I'd never seen before. It was pretty small, but it looked kind of rare, so I picked it up anyway. Maybe it gave some kind of mystical powerup or something.

Back home, after sifting through a pile of old books (mostly Patchouli's), I dug up an old guide of mushrooms. I didn't really need it anymore; I had memorized most of the mushrooms by now. But it was still pretty useful for the super-rare ones. That included the mushroom I picked up earlier.

…

I found the mushroom description and preparation, but the text describing effects were illegible except for the words 'effects are extremely powerful.' The guide was old, so the ink smudged a little. It wasn't listed under the section of poisonous mushrooms, so I suppose that it's safe to eat.

Magical mushroom soup was the main course for today. I hurriedly prepared the concoction along with the usual breakfast. What kind of power up would it give me? Super magic? Attraction to wealth? Sudden size increases?

… Nothing happened. My magic was normal, the lottery ticket I bought yesterday was (once again) a loser and I didn't grow. Anywhere.

Hmm, maybe I got it mixed up with another mushroom. Well, it didn't kill me, so I guess there was no harm done. But it would've been pretty awesome if something interesting happened.

Touhou After ~It's a Magical Life, Ze~

"Uahh, what a day." I stretched out my arms after pouring over a book that I had recently borrowed, without permission, of course, from Alice's house. Though most of her books are about dolls and sentient life, she does have a few interesting grimoires. After breakfast, I spent most of the morning researching magic.

I checked the clock on the wall. "Oh, this late already?" It was a little bit past noon. Time for lunch. "Well then, off to Reimu's." I picked up my hat and broom and left the house.

The flight to the shrine was pretty uneventful. I make this trip practically every day, so I could probably guide myself there blindfolded.

…That might be interesting to try sometime.

I arrived at the gate in a flash. As usual, the grounds were more or less empty. Seems like Reimu also thought it would be a good time to stop sweeping for some tea. I kicked the donation box as I passed by it. A hollow sound. Also as usual.

"Oi, Reimu, I'm hungry. What's for lunch?" Around the shrine was the place where Reimu really lived. She already sat at the table, about to dig in.

"Really, at least say that you're going to come beforehand? You're lucky I-" she looked up at me as I approached and gave me a strange look.

"…Uhh, Reimu…? You there, ze?" That seemed to have brought her back, as she blinked a few times and returned to normal. Well, except for that light blush.

"I-it's nothing. Come on in." She motioned for me to enter without another word. Weird. She's a lot more inviting today.

"Then don't mind me." Shrugging off the unprecedented act. I climbed inside and sat across from her at the small table. A simple meal sat in front of me. Not that I had any right to complain, as a freeloader.

Throughout the meal, Reimu's weird behavior continued. She didn't seem to eat much (not that she had much to eat) and she kept on staring at me. And whenever I looked up at her, she would turn away quickly. All her responses sounded rushed and strained.

So after the meal, I'd usually wait outside on the veranda while Reimu put the dishes away. Then she'd come and join me with a cup of tea and snacks. Only enough for her, of course. Then I'd complain about her lack of hospitality. Today, she took longer than usual.

Reimu finally came out. "Oi, what about-" I started to say out of reflex.

Clack.

She placed a cup of tea next to me. She even placed the plate of snacks (incidentally, cookies) between us, instead of on her far side. At a normal shrine, this would be fine.

Of course, this was the Hakurei shrine.

"…Reimu, are you feeling okay? You've been acting really strangely, ze." I glanced at her concernedly. She perked up at my voice.

"O-of course, n-never been better." She still refused to meet my gaze with that shaky voice of hers.

I was still skeptical, so I moved closer to her and bumped my forehead against hers.

"Wh-Wh-Wha…" Reimu leapt back, almost knocking out one of the screens in her house. "What exactly are you doing?!" She was the reddest I had ever seen her.

"It doesn't seem like you have a fever…" Suddenly, all the pieces fell into place. The meal, the tea, the snacks, her strange behavior….

She was playing a joke on me, wasn't she?

I smiled triumphantly. "You can't fool me that easily, Reimu!"

She looked back, perplexed. "Wh-What are you talking about?"

Was it something in the tea? Was it in the snacks? Were they tainted with a certain Lunarian's strange medicine? It couldn't have been the food, or else she would've toppled over laughing by now.

"So which is it, the tea or the cookies?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

She seemed to be earnest, but with Reimu, you never really knew…

Well, whatever. The tea was getting cold, and I wasn't about to waste the opportunity to get hassle-free snacks.

She observed me closely as I picked up a cookie. It was pretty good, especially with the tea. After I finished one, Reimu spoke up.

"So... how was it?"

"I knew it!" I leapt up and pointed at her accusingly. "What'd you do with the cookies?" Crap, how could've I fallen for such an easy trap? Right now, Reimu was probably-

…In tears and about to cry…? Y-you've got to be kidding me.

"I m-made those j-just now, a-and I wa-wanted to know wh-what you thought…"

I felt extremely guilty. Her expression really was genuine. Hey Reimu, that was no fair.

"Sorry. They were really good." Honestly, they weren't that bad. Sniffling and wiping tears with her sleeves, she began to smile.

"Really? I'm so glad…" She looked as if someone had left some money in her donation box. But looking at her like that...

She was really cute.

Shaking my head vigorously, I purged such thoughts from my head. Oi, Marisa, calm down. You're getting too caught up in the moment. It was like a scene out of some outside-world shoujo manga.

After that, we didn't speak much. It was very awkward, especially with this atmosphere. Well, passing the time in silence wasn't a bad thing once in a while, I guess.

But it was still too quiet for my tastes.

I moved to take another cookie. My hand bumped into something.

"Ah." Reimu withdrew her hand. I looked at her skeptically. "Go ahead."

Apparently, we both reached for the last cookie. Without hesitating, I picked it up, popped it into my mouth, and downed it with the last of my tea. Now that the snacks were gone, I really had no other reason to stay there. And the atmosphere was really bothering me.

"Hey, Marisa…" Reimu spoke out as I was about to leave. "Why don't you spend the night? It's a bother to keep traveling back and forth between your house and mine, right?"

I looked at her disbelievingly. This time, she looked back, gaze unwavering. The miko never invited people to stay over. She would only allow them to, albeit grudgingly, when they were too drunk to fly home. Then as soon as morning came, she'd kick them out.

What exactly was going on here?!

"I appreciate the offer, Reimu, but I have something to do, ze." Something was definitely going on here. And I needed to get out of here fast. I needed to go somewhere and figure this out.

Because the one who fixes incidents is now the source of an incident.

Reimu looked crestfallen. "I see. Well, you're always welcome to stay anytime." She actually gave me an official invitation to come around any time I felt like it.

Not that I needed one. I came here everyday before she said that anyway.

"Y-yeah, see you around." I flew off quickly. It was dangerous for me to stay any longer.

Since the main problem-solver was out, it probably rested on me to fix this mess. First, let's gather information (which was really fly around randomly and see what your could beat out of random people). Closest place was Kourindou, so that means Kourin would be first. Really, what a hassle.

But I couldn't wait to solve this incident and rub it in Reimu's face.

Reimu watched as Marisa flew off. As soon as she passed the gate, Reimu's expression leveled out. "Hey, what the hell am I doing…?"

Afterword:

Reimu is very OOC here, no? I think so too.

The nature of this story says 'crack pairings' everywhere. Also, there might be heavy OOC. I blame the mushrooms. Yes, definitely the mushrooms.

I have to thank PHA... reallylongnameinallcaps (PHAZONFUELEDKID) for use of his idea, as well as for beta-ing. I hope he likes how his plot bunny is growing.

Omake Corner: Coming soon. Probably.