Marisa's Delightful Gensokyo Tour
A Touhou Project fanfiction in 7 Parts

Author's Note - This is set in the same Gensokyo as Alice's Glorious Homestead Defense and Alice's Daring Alpine Infiltration. If you don't remember those stories too well, but can nod along with strange extra-canonical elements like an alluded-to-but-never-yet-featured new village, "the Master Spark" being a primal force of the universe, and an attempt to characterize those three random village girls who come to watch matches in Hopeless Masquerade, you'll be fine! There will be a few original characters in addition to them, so fair warning if that's a turn-off.

Content Notice - Since we're following Mari, there's more coarse language and some suggestive themes (nothing explicit) this time around. The last two chapters have references to loss-of-self and abuse - I haven't gone full grimdark, but I don't want to blindside anyone.

In the woods there stood a cottage, charming on the outside but stuffed wall-to-wall with dusty debris and dreadful magic. Beneath was a secret cave carved by years of training, with regions Spartan and luxurious to match the whims of its digger. And in that cave, a fearsomely powerful magical reactor rested on the rocky floor and a short, wiry witch in an oversized nightshirt sat meditating over it, letting her mind mingle with its currents and diligently keeping it from exploding.

Morning meditation had once been the hardest part of Marisa Kirisame's training, but today she felt great, even as she started to get cold and wet and achy in odd places. After a moment to make sure the mini-hakkero had wound down safely, she stood and stretched expansively, enjoying the feeling of her body struggling against itself. These last few days of research had been grand.

Marisa gestured and made a firm demand of the universe. Wind! Sure enough, a little dust devil kicked up around her knees and she did a quick dance with it, laughing. It was a pitiable bit of magic, but a nice return on her efforts after years of less. Fire and lightning had been just as hard once. Now she was broadening her repertoire, thanks in part to Alice's help.

Leaving the mini-hakkero for Alice to study had been a sort of test. What would she be able to learn? Would she try to harness it for her own purposes? Could she be trusted with its awesome power? If worst came to worst, Marisa could still have conjured it to her hand at a moment's notice. But even after their first meeting, she knew she wouldn't have to.

It turned out that Alice couldn't stand to keep it from her. Marisa had just taken those days to focus on mycology and potions, but she was touched (and embarrassed) by her new friend's concern. Early one morning, unannounced, Alice had arrived at her door and presented it in a box lined with research notes, then bustled off to some negotiation with the village. And what notes they were! Like all of Rinnosuke's creations, the mini-hakkero was far more complex and artful than even he knew, and its ability to channel the Master Spark had only been the start. Alice's work suggested that the eight trigrams weren't just a decorative flourish, but an indication of its features.

Judging from the wear on the knots of spellwork beneath each, it seems that you use the Heaven, Fire and Thunder trigrams most heavily. (That's fitting for you, I think.) If this combination directs the hakkero to tap into the Master Spark, it might be possible to reach other sources of power by activating different combinations of trigrams. I was not courageous enough to attempt using it myself, but when I held it while working other spells, I could see the water trigram starting to prime. The spellwork itself seems reminiscent of…

Marisa knew for certain that she liked Alice when, after reading through the notes, she'd settled on cheerfully impressed instead of frustrated or envious. Maybe she could accept an upstart teaching her a little about her metaphorical right hand because she'd already been able to help Alice with her own research. Or maybe she was just maturing.

Perish the thought!

For all that she'd enjoyed the cold, the Mari-cave's lodge was blessedly cozy as she prepared for her day. A burst from the hakkero made her bathwater just this side of scalding, though it was tepid by the time she'd thumbed through a volume of Thaumaturgy Quarterly in it. Another burst heated an experimental ham and mushroom casserole that was repulsive but at least filled her up. Marisa sang snatches of half-remembered songs as she dressed for the day and stuffed her apron pockets with potions, snacks, tools and a few secret weapons, largely but not exclusively mushroom-based.

Even though this was a day off from research, it would still be busy. First, she'd be getting together with Alice to work on their sinister living doll project and maybe make a joint spellcard together. (She was hoping to contrast their styles, something like Friendship Sign – Cosmos of Chaos.) In the evening, they'd be meeting up with a newcomer named Manar, one of the humans who'd come through with the new village, and showing her around Gensokyo. Marisa thought that this one might have potential as an incident resolver, but since they didn't recruit, all they could do was show her which way was up and hope she jumped the right way when the moon turned to green cheese or whatever.

A smart, gentle youkai and a brilliant, sexy human, Marisa mused, looking herself over in the mirror and running a hand along the brim of her hat. Could you ask for a better pair of Gensokyo tour guides? Looking forward to their day-long teamup, she glanced over to the doll she'd adopted, slumped against the wall on her bedside table. These days, it wore a doll-sized version of Alice's favorite outfit and stood by to relay any messages between them – once Shanghai Orange, it was now Shanghai Alice. As she finished dressing, it suddenly stood up and waved its arms, signaling that a call was coming through.

"What a coincidence!" Marisa said, sitting on her bed and grabbing the doll up. "I was just thinkin' about you!"

The doll shuddered as its distant master took control, then spoke. "Hello, Marisa." It didn't have Alice's voice, but flawlessly took on her inflections. That had been eerie the first time they'd talked this way, but now she thought it made the doll weirdly cute – a teeny robot Alice. "Er, how are you?"

"Doing great! But you'll find out all about that in just a bit, yeah?"

The expression on Shanghai's face was familiar; a little contrite, but mostly just tired. The witch knew what it meant even before her friend said, "As it turns out, I, ah, won't be."

"Come on, really?" Marisa whined. "This is the third time in a row!"

"Yes, really. I don't think I can make it out today."

"Man! What could be so engrossing?" Marisa's tone was ambiguous even to herself, half cheerful, half frustrated. "Alphabetizing the old sock drawer? Halfway through a bodice-ripper you just can't put down? Or, ooh, do you need help burying a body? I'd totally help you with that."

"No, no. What? If I were to murder someone, you'd never even find out. I'm more circumspect than…" The trace of lightness in her voice faded and Marisa sighed. They sometimes had moments where it felt like they could get a good banter going, but Alice always dropped them. "No, I'm sorry. That might be the best way to put it, what you said. I'm… engrossed right now."

"All I'm saying is, you'd better have a doll-based superlaser or something next time we talk."

The doll's voice fluttered oddly. "Or something."

"What?"

"Nothing. I don't know." Marble eyes flicked up and down. Her friend was having a hard time even making eye contact with the doll on her end. "I just… something is coming up, an engagement of sorts. I have to make a decision about it, and it's been taking a lot of my energy."

"Alice, what are you talking about? Is this some kind of spooky witching-hour youkai thing or something?" A hint of concern pushed through Marisa's annoyance. "What's the deal with you lately?"

"Just what makes you think I have to explain-?" Alice broke off with a sharp sigh and continued more calmly. "You don't have to worry about it. It's fine. Th-thank you. If, if you still want to test the mounting for the hakkero doll, I should be able to…"

"Look, let's just not make plans right now," Marisa said wearily. "Just take care of your thing, whatever it is. I guess I'll see you whenever."

Alice was silent for a long moment and the doll's expression flattened out in an irritatingly familiar way. "Once again, I'm sorry I can't make it today. I wish you luck with the newcomer." The doll went limp.

Marisa stood holding it for a few seconds, staring into space. Yeah, I probably screwed that up. Also, the conversation stung a little because Alice was on the short-list of people she'd tell if she ever murdered someone. She thought fleetingly of her friend's wistful tone in the Prismrivers' guest-room, describing the carefree person she might someday be. But for now she's the old her, or the real her, with all that baggage… but come to think of it, what baggage? She'd had half a mind to ask, but Alice had canceled all of their get-togethers since then.

Marisa let the tension out in a sigh and tossed the doll onto her bed. She knows what she's doing, I guess.

Autumn grew heavier and darker as the few remaining leaves shriveled in the chill air. Light, indecisive rain came and went, carried by cold wind whispering through bare branches. It should have been gloomy, but for some reason Marisa always found overcast days like this energizing.

Turning a wide loop above her house, she considered opening her Anything Store for the morning, but business was always lousy this time of year. Besides, this was a day off! She hopped to her feet on the broom and drove her weight down, dragging its bristles through the treetops as she finished her loop. I'll just go bug someone. Who'd be up for shenanigans?

She'd already angled for the Hakurei Shrine, but Reimu was still sore over that whole business with the rakshasa freebooter, who, in Marisa's defense, had given absolutely no indication that he'd seek vengeance when she gave her name as "Hakurei Reimu." Aheh. Maybe give her a little longer.

The new village might've been fun, but it'd be awkward if she bumped into Manar early. Also, the sheriff there had some funny ideas about the ethics of thievery, brawling, drunkenness, dark magic, public displays of affection and basically everything Marisa was famous for, which made visiting more fun most days, but maybe she wasn't up for that just today. So Thunderdome was out.

She briefly considered finding some youkai to spar with, but she was losing interest in beating up on the ones she was likely to find. It was half boredom and half a growing feeling that, however eager they were to face her, she was punching down and being a scumbag by obliging them. Maybe I'll work on some milder spells, like the Reverie. Hmm, hehe, maybe a Master Spark-like Flashlight?

By now, Marisa was at the edge of the Human Village's fields (no alternate name had stuck.) Harvest time in the village was a militarized affair, bound by traditions left over from when it was an isolated fortress against legions of man-eaters. (It still was, sort of, but things had definitely changed.) Most of the village was organized into work teams, usually eight, and sent out in shifts under the watchful gaze of a corps of "sentinels" – low-rent, self-important youkai busters blundering around in armor and working magic with ritual tantos.

Honestly, the sentinels being out in force was such a pain that Marisa almost turned back. They were small fries, but incredibly annoying. As she passed over a fallow outlying field, though, a familiar glint in the corner of her eye brought her up short. Strings?

Below, a huge mechanical ladybug, perhaps a meter and a half long, was trundling in circles, guided by sorcerous strings like Alice's. It bucked and shuddered, swinging a brightly-painted shell around and waving its goofy foil antennae at everything. Scythe-like claws curled at its sides, but thankfully hadn't come into play yet. Despite its awkwardness and precious design, the machine had a strange dignity to it. "I have a job," its buggy eyes said. "And I'm going to do it."

A trio of village girls were gathered around the other end of its strings, enthusiastically squabbling over the rings that anchored them, what they should have the bug do, and life in general. Marisa knew Momo, Mizuno and Nouko vaguely; they turned up for every planned danmaku match near the village to cheer on whoever caught their passing fancy, or just to cheer. Reimu had jokingly called them the 'danmaku groupies' until Marisa put her foot down. When you've had actual danmaku groupies, using the term for a bunch of kids was just creepy.

Nearby was a picnic table set with a neatly packed spread of food (Marisa immediately laid plans to mooch some), a long, low table strewn with books and loose paper, and an outdoor chaise lounge bearing a sleeping Hieda no Akyuu, bundled up heavily in colorful winter wear. This small, frail girl was the ninth incarnation of the Child of Maire, a spirit tasked with maintaining the Chronicle of Gensokyo. She used the knowledge gathered over those lifetimes to help guide the village, but bearing its weight made each life a little shorter.

Marisa landed at a respectful distance and approached quietly; the girls were so absorbed in their struggle that only Nouko noticed her and gave her a nod.

"It's not just your fingers," Momo said, gritting her teeth. The bug danced in place and plunged one of its claws into the ground. She crooked her fingers and tugged, but only managed to make its rear legs pop into the air and waggle stupidly. "You have to tell it what to do in your head, too. I don't think she gets how hard this is for humans."

"Or for dingbats like you," Mizouno suggested, enjoying the show.

"Yeah, genius? You wanna try?"

"I'd, ah, I'd like to…" Nouko started.

"Yes, I would love to try, Momo. Give it here."

Under Mizouno's masterful command, the bug made a horrible grinding sound and flipped onto its back, flailing its legs in the air. Nouko gave a little scream as the scythes whipped out and shoveled air into its whirling mouthparts.

"I'm impressed!" Momo said.

Mizouno slapped her forehead, which somehow instructed the bug to splay its legs and belch smoke. "Oh, go stuff a radish up your – "

"No, I'm serious." Momo took her shoulder with a big smile. "I didn't know the stupid thing was that agile!"

"Hey, but stop!" Nouko cried. "You're breaking it."

Marisa crossed to Akyuu's chaise and crouched next to her, smiling. Ah, young friendship.The spike of warmth gave her an impulse to scream "TENGU," grab Akyuu by her kimono and fly away. But no, it wouldn't do to give anyone a heart attack. It would be hilarious, but it wouldn't do. After a brief struggle with her id, Marisa finally constrained herself to softly calling, "Hey, Akyuu?"

"Sxzn-hm?" The chronicler blinked and looked around fuzzily. "Oh. Marisa! Good to see you. Did Alice send you?"

"What? No."

"She was going to come early this morning to help us test this, ah…" Akyuu waved a hand at the suffering ladybug. Nouko had finally gotten a turn at the rings, but was only able to make it backstroke along the ground with its claws. "Doll of hers."

"What is it, even?"

"Prototype harvester."

CLUNK. The bug righted itself with the help of a push from Mizunou. She fled before the claws could come out again.

"Don't you already have combines?" Marisa asked, flummoxed. "And, like, wouldn't just swinging a sickle make more sense than messing with that little guy?"

"Honestly, yes," Akyuu admitted with a quick smile, then turned to the ongoing disaster and raised her voice. "Oh, just stop torturing the poor thing, girls! We'll try again when we can get the dollmaker. Why don't you just enjoy the lunch we set out and then get back to your teams?"

"Aw, but-!" Nouko started.

"Rings," Akyuu said firmly, holding out a little hand.

Grumbling good-naturedly, the girls gave up their minion and retreated to the picnic table, where they gathered in a tight cluster around the food and set about destroying it. They acknowledged Marisa, but only stole glances at her from a distance, tittering and elbowing and "no, you!"ing. Didn't Nouko say she wanted to get my autograph? Marisa wondered. But now they're acting so nervous! Like they get around the youkai who come…

"We're trying to get an alternative to the kappa's wares," Akyuu explained. "Something that would let us keep the efficiency of their combines with less risk of exploding."

"But exploding is half the fun!" Marisa protested.

Akyuu gave her a dubious look. "This is just a prototype. They're not as big as the kappatronic combines, but with practice each farmer will hopefully be able to guide three or four, along with a separate machine to serve as a hopper."

"Sounds tricky."

"The alternative is making them much larger, like Alice's first design. It just made me uneasy when she asked me to imagine phalanxes of them lumbering across the landscape and laughed." Akyuu clutched the air theatrically, apparently mimicking the magician. "So I offered her half again her asking price to miniaturize her design."

Marisa nodded sagely. Letting a magician youkai to build anything that looked like an Army of Doom was one of the classic blunders. Best to avoid temptation. "And, like, why's it a ladybug?"

"I expect she tried to build something that wasn't cute and broke into hives," Akyuu said dryly. "Maybe her very nature as a youkai rebelled."

Marisa wasn't sure if that was a joke, but chuckled anyway. "Sure, but where's the creepy part? Her dolls are always a little creepy, too."

"Take a look at its mouth. Classic Margatroid."

"Oh, yeah. A bright little cuddlebug with whirling death blades? Classic."

Akyuu giggled behind her sleeve. "I hate to ask this, since it's not your specialty, but could you check to make sure that they didn't damage the prototype?"

Marisa hesitated.

"I'll understand if you can't. After all, Alice's handiwork is highly subtle, and…"

Fully aware that she'd been played like a fiddle, Marisa marched over to the ladybug and knelt, resting one hand on it and calling the mini-hakkero to the other. The machine's smooth wooden shell was lacquered to protect it from the elements, but that didn't interfere as she slipped into a light trance and reached out for its strings. The layout was much simpler than she was used to seeing, more a series of levers than the strings of a proper marionette. "Let's see… if he's anything like Alice's normal dolls, you can get him to tell you if he's damaged."

The hakkero spun up and she pressed it to her chest, focusing inward. Death rays and star barrages were one thing, but she needed to pull her power in close for fine manipulation. Odd that she had to do it like this when Alice preferred to push hers out through her fingertips and Patchouli could just let it settle in her belly. It was also odd to think that, even a year ago, this kind of minute focus would have left her reeling and sick. It didn't feel like it day-to-day, but her skills were steadily improving.

Marisa found the string she was looking for almost instantly. She gave it a sharp pull and only then worried that she might have just told the harvester to slash her. Its shell quivered for a horrible instant, then it reported, "I'm not hurt, auntie," in the voice of a Shanghai doll.

"What the what?" Marisa shrieked, vaulting four feet into the air and sticking there. The girls whirled, perhaps hoping the doll had gone berserk and they'd witness a battle for the ages, then subsided, laughing. "Did you hear that, Akyuu? That was creepy as all hell!"

"But it called you auntie," Akyuu replied. "So it's cute, too!"

"Point," Marisa conceded, but she still felt off-kilter. She slowly pulled her heart out of her chest and – no, no, she was just lowering the hakkero away from her body. It seemed to resist as she forced it to spin down. She squeezed her eyes shut and tasted the air, getting used to the fact that the magic wasn't part of her. The day rushed in around her; the cold breeze, the smell of the earth, the distant calls of workers, the hushed conversation of Akyuu's helpers nearby…

"…kind of glad she didn't come? She spooks me," Nouko was saying.

"Oh, yeah. And it's even worse now that she tries to be nice," Momo added. "The way she pastes on that smile. And those teeth."

"Yeah, but come on," Mizouno said. "It's not like your teeth are all that great."

Marisa couldn't help but snicker, returning to herself in a flash of disdain. Candy-asses. If they think Alice is scary, I wonder how they'd handle a vampire. Or even Wriggle. She drifted back towards Akyuu, jerking a thumb over her shoulder as she landed. "So are we going to trust the devil bug or do I have to start taking him apart?"

"We can trust it for now, yes. Thank you for your help, Marisa." Akyuu pressed some coins into her hand. "Here. Buy yourself something nice."

Marisa was affronted for a split second, but then she realized just how much Akyuu had passed her and her irritation collapsed into embarrassment. She backed up with an awkward nod, then turned and hopped onto her broom.

"Oh, wait. Marisa!"

"Yeah?" Marisa spun in place and set the broom drifting back with a flick of her boot.

"Your friend Riko's team is just starting their midday break," Akyuu said, smiling slyly. "And I'll bet she's been missing you lately."

Despite herself, Marisa perked up. "You think so?"

"You're definitely on her mind. The kappa came by this morning to replace a combine that exploded, and that nice young lady you're seeing – ah, Nitori? – was with them. I think they really hit it off."

Marisa's jaw dropped. "How did you know about that?"

"Oh, I interviewed Nitori for the chronicle," Akyuu said cheerfully. "We met back when I was doing my writeup on the kappas, not long after the new village came. Don't worry, dear. I won't let anything too juicy slip."

Marisa met her gaze, unnerved. She had no idea if she was looking at a child or an old woman, nor just what bit of gossip she was promising to keep under her ribbon. Was it just the inherent juiciness of a doomed romance between a human and a youkai? Nitori wouldn't have told a kid like her anything compromising, right? Oh, god, she probably had. Once you got through her shyness, Nitori was an enormous blabbermouth. The chronicler probably knew every salacious detail.

Akyuu gave her an angelic smile. "Don't worry about that for now. Riko's with Team 7 this season, so you can find her in the South Fields."

"Um," Marisa said. "Thanks."

"Of course! Just doing my job. Speaking of which, I should really get back to this." Akyuu rolled over on her chaise and took up a brush. Her search for a blank page revealed a few sketches, including a fearsomely smiling Yuka and a distinctly uncomfortable Alice. (The plan had probably been to replace that one today.) Once she was situated, Akyuu glanced back over her shoulder. "Oh, and sometime soon I would like to interview you again, if you can make the time. I don't think I've seen a human quite like you, in any of my lives."

Marisa should have felt proud, but there was something weird about the way Akyuu said it. "Sure. Drop me a line whenever."

"Enjoy your visit to the village, and if anyone hassles you, you let me know."

Marisa nodded, but the chronicler was already lost in the soft rasp of her brush.

Sometimes, it seemed like being the Child of Maire would be a sweet deal – a quiet life defined by constant research and meeting new people, always working on a grand project that would last for generations. But then, that quiet life would get shorter and shorter each time. A twinge of melancholy hit Marisa as she watched Akyuu work. I guess she doesn't have a lot of time to get this edition done.

Right! None of that! Marisa took flight.