"So... What's up?"

I said to the two of my best friends, as I took another bite of my ice cream sandwiches

Currently, we're at our usual meeting spot, right outside the mini-market, but this time we took a seat on the side of it, on the elevated floored tiles, as if we're some kind of delinquent

It has been a couple of years since the Krakens incident, and we've now grown into the age of 9 and we've grown considerably in both size and power

Oh, and also, I managed to get myself a green-colored skirt and bought it right after that Kraken incident... Well, not right after, but a week or so... And brought more every time they didn't fit anymore

Staring at Reimu who has a face full of boredom while I'm doing my usual 'Slav Squat' position, she points her index toward Edward as she drinks a bottle of apple juice

"Say that to Ed, I got no idea why we're here"

Looking at Ed, he just shrugged as he began to speak

"Well, the thing is, I felt like we've only been training every time we have a meeting, so... Yea, I figure why not relax once in a while"

Staring at Ed with a deadpan face, Reimu said "So... Why am I here then?"

"Well, because when you're relaxing with us, the two of us are usually off to train, I want all of us to relax together this time"

"Hmm, fair enough... Not that I got much to do these days anyway, so, what should we do?"

"W-well, about that..."

With Ed getting flustered, I started to wreck my brain about it for a bit, getting an idea, I held my hand up and offered a suggestion

"Oh oh! Why don't we just fly- I mean, walk around then? Something might grab our interest, and I have a nice route we could take"

Staring at my face, and seemingly convinced of something, Reimu added "And you never take that route, did you?"

"Nope! I usually fly around you know? Although I hate to admit that sometimes, I almost hit power lines because of the 'no flying high' restrictions while I have these big wings of mine, which is why I don't fly close to the route I'm talking about in the first place: a lot of cables in the air over there"

"And the reason why you don't walk there?"

"I hate problems, I don't want to be cleaning the streets off from my burn mark again..."

"You..."

"It was a one-time accident, I swear! There's no way I could avoid that stray quirk attack! So I had to shoot it down!"

"... I don't even want to hear anymore, anyway, what do you think Ed? For me, it's... Alright-ish..."

"Hmm... Alright, I guess we'll do just that"

After finishing our food and drinks, we began walking toward that part of the city to explore

As we walked, we saw some villains being chased by heroes here and there with the civilians cheering for the heroes, and after a while, we finally arrived at our destination

Looking at the street of this part of the town, now it makes more sense why there are a lot of cables around and in the air

We look around in wonder as we're surrounded by many kinds of stalls and shops on both sides of the streets, shopkeeper yells fill the street, trying to lure in customers and sell their merchandise as deactivated neon signs decorate the high building around us, making Ed let out a sigh of wonder

"Wow..."

"Hehe, first time going into a place like this, Stone Boy?" I said to him while looking at a fish store on the side

"No, it's just... I thought you could only see stuff like these in festivals"

We then go forth and explore the place, buying a soccer ball, some snacks, and some drinks in the process

*Ring~ Ring~*

Looking behind me to see whose phone it is, I see Ed grabbing his phone and looking towards us

"Uh, it's my dad... Give me a minute"

Ed then walked to the side and talked to his dad on the phone, of course, waiting around is boring, so I moved my head here and there and walked around to look around at our surroundings while playing around with the soccer ball by flinging it into the air and then catching it

The place reminded me of a Market place I used to know back in my past life, only that it's cleaner, from here, I can see many different types of stores, from people selling fried foods, fruit vendors, fish, a bird store, balloons and much more

As I keep on looking around, I notice a big black witch hat at the corner of my eye, inside one of the shops... 

... Wut?

Turning my head to my right, I saw the big witch hat more clearly, and it was clearly, one giant hat that I've known to love

... What the hell is Marisa doing- wait, she's bigger than us! 

While I stare at the fifteen years old looking Marisa who's currently picking which vegetables to buy with confusion on my face, Reimu notices me and decides to ask

"Hmm? Something caught your interest, Okuu?"

"Well... You could say that"

I then point my hand towards the Magic genius, looking at the direction I'm pointing at, Reimu's eyes went wide for a second before going back to normal

"Oh, that is quite a big hat"

You ain't fooling me Reimu! 

"Yes, it is big"

"Anyway, we should get going, let's meet up with Ed, he's probably done talking to his dad right about now"

So it really IS Marisa!? 

As Reimu was about to turn back and skedaddle, Marisa turned her head and noticed us, she then happily greeted Reimu with a wide smile on her face

"Oh~! Reimu! Fancy meeting you here!"

"... Who are you?"

Marisa's face went into "shock!" She then dramatically held her chest as if she had taken damage to her heart! 

"Ouch! How can you forget your childhood friend like that!? Anyway, is this your friends?"

"... Maybe, who knows"

With that reply, it's now my turn to have my face change into a "shocked!" Face as I clench my orb in "Pain"

"S-So we're not friends!?"

"No, I mean... I guess you are, but-"

"I see... So you're not Reimu's friend, want to become my friend instead then?"

"Hmmm, I don't know, but it could be fun~"

"Heh, I like you, the name is Marisa, nice to meet you" Marisa said as she stretched out one of her hands

Taking it and shaking her hand, I reply "Mine name is Okuu, it's a pleasure to meet you"

We then sneak a glace toward Reimu with a smirk on our face

"You two..."

Staring blankly at us, Reimu sighed and tried to explain things about Marisa... 

"Well... I guess, that'll do, Okuu, this here is Marisa, she's-"

"Reimu childhood friend! And as you can see here! I've basically stolen all of Reimu's nutrients when we were small, so even though I'm still nine, I already look like this!"

As I look at the two of them, I can feel Reimu's glare towards Marisa as she silently says "It would be more convincing if you said you're my Fifteen-year-old friend" While Marisa replay her with a "Tehe~" Face

That growth... It's probably because she managed to make a growth potion, but with Reimu being known to the human outside, it'll be weird for her to suddenly grow up till she looks fifteen... Also, this definitely confirmed the fact that Gensokyo exists somewhere... 

"Hash, just ignore this empty brain witch's nonsense, we're friends, with an age gap, that's it"

"Heh, alright"

We then talked some more as Ed finally finished talking to his dad and joined in the conversation as Marisa shopped for her vegetables and the three of us decided to follow her and see if there was anything that caught our interest in the shop

"Why are you even buying stuff out here anyway?"

"Well... You know that it's "Mosquitoes" season right? And well, because of that, the market back home has a lot of problems, even more so with you not being there to solve the problem and all"

"... So the "mosquitoes" are giving the town some trouble again?"

"Yeah, and I had to stea- I mean, borrow a book on how to effectively trap and kill those mosquitoes, buttt~~ they didn't work as intended so here I am"

Steal... It's probably fairies rather than mosquitoes, hope Cirno isn't caught up in it, but knowing her... I doubt she wouldn't get caught

"Sorry Okuu, Edward, seems like I need to deal with this one"

"It's alright Reimu, hope we can go out like this again without interruption" Ed said with a smile on his face

"Heh, like he said, but Take care ok? And make sure to not get your butt kicked by those "Mosquitoes" I said to the both of them, making Marisa have a grind on her face while Reimu nodded

"Alright, see you later then, got some work to do"

"Bye-bye~! Hope we'll meet again, Okuu and Edward!"

"Take care you two"

"See ya later~!"

We then watch the two of them fly away with their "Quirk" Reimu with her Float, and Marisa with her "Wind Glide" On her Broom with her grocery tied to it

As they disappear into the horizon, I look at Ed and tell him a bet I had on my mind

"So... Wanna bet that she meant Criminal when she said Mosquitoes?"

"Well... No, cause the two of them definitely meant Criminal when they said mosquitoes"

"Heh, fair enough, let's go then! Let's grab some drink and train again"

"Alright alright, don't rush me Okuu"

And so, we looked for a drink of our liking and took off to our usual training spot to train

==============================

[Marisa's POV]

"So... Did you tell her about Gensokyo or something? Cause I have an inkling feeling that she realized we're not talking about mosquitoes"

I said toward the Shrine Maiden beside me as we flew fast in the sky toward Gensokyo after we used our spell and talisman to ensure no one would see nor track us

Looking at the Shrine Maiden, she thinks about it a bit, no doubt wondering whether or not I'll use the info against her... I'm NOT that bad you know??... Ok, maybe a little, but still... 

"Hmm... Well, Short answer is, Yokai reincarnation"

THAT bombshell just made me jerk on my broom and almost make me drop the contents of the grocery bag that's tied to the front of my broom

"W-Wait a minute!? How is that even possible!? Including the fact she doesn't even feel a little bit like a Yokai, how in the hell can a Yokai be born out here in the Human realm!?"

"Aren't you supposed to be a magic genius? Can't you see her Yokai energy?"

"Well sorry for not being a Shrine Maiden that's more akin to a Detective, Police, and Rescuer all in one basket"

I grumble a bit, seriously, how the heck does she even manage to do whatever the hell she did, I may be a genius in magic, but she's literally on another dimension with her being a genius in everything

Seriously, how? And also, did she really expect me to detect that stuff without any spell or something? 

Unlike Shrine Maidens that "Cultivate" Their body with Yokai energy and manipulate said energy like Yokai does, us witch are more akin to those samurai with magical katanas, just with magic spells and tools instead of katana

Honestly, I can't understand why anyone wants to turn their body into a Yokai magnet like Reimu does unless they're a battle maniac...

The act of tampering with the body to fit the usage of Yokai energy comes with the downside of being a literal magnet for every and any energy-hungry Yokai, because what's better than human flesh for Yokai? A human flesh that's been infused and enchanted with Yokai energy...

Then again, with Yokai nowadays being more "Docile" And more "Tame" Than before thanks to the Shrine Maiden influence, I guess they don't really have to worry about that... But it's still a weird thing to do for me

"Ugh, back to the topic at hand! How the heck did a Yokai manage to pop up out here in the Human Realm!?"

"Beats me, if I have to take a guess, it's because a certain group of people has been messing around Gensokyo, and considering I've also found a Satori outside of the barrier, it's definitely because of them, they're trying to harness the power of Yokai even though they're outsiders"

"Ugh, that doesn't sound good at all, can Lady Yukari catch those people already?"

"Currently, nope, seems like they decided to be a little rat and teleport all around places while getting some Yokai energy, Lady Yukari might be a strong, if not, THE strongest Yokai I know, one that wields the power of the boundaries, but... Catching those guys while they can just teleport around, added in to how big Gensokyo is... You get the picture, with her familiar having a hard time keeping up, the only one that could potentially catch them is Lady Yukari"

"Teleportation... Let me guess, because it's a Quirk type, it's hard for her to detect it straight away?"

"Pretty much"

"Damn, at this rate, Lady Yukari might need to upgrade the barrier so that it can detect intruders within it... "

"That's actually what she's been doing if my talk with Grand is anything to go by... But well, it's not exactly easy, the last thing we want is a barrier that eats through all the Yokai energy Lady Yukari has"

"Ugh, yea, I get the picture, she's basically trying to add a detection function unto the already established strength potion and trying to not blow up the person that'll be drinking said hybrid monstrosity, in this case, it's herself"

"... Speaking from experience?"

"Yep, I got bored one day and decided to try and mix two potions into one, one is silent step, while the other is invisibility... They explode my lab rat into a gory mess, on my face"

"... You don't have to give me the mental image, you know?"

"If I have to suffer, so do you! And everybody around!"

We kept on racing through the sky without a care in the world about our surroundings, when suddenly, I got hit by a Yokai energy-filled air, spreading my hand wide, I stood on my broom with a smile on my face

"Aahhh... The sweet smell of home, honestly, I would rather not spend a single minute in the Human Realm with that pollution-filled air of theirs"

"The air outside is not THAT bad, but I guess it would be for someone like you"

"... What the hell do you mean by that!?"

"Exactly what I meant it to be"

Staring at each other, we're about to get into another Danmaku fight before suddenly, a wave of ice energy sweeps over us from the town's direction

"Guess we'll have to put a hold on our duel"

"Hah! As if! Whoever managed to be first to clean whatever that stuff is the winner!"

"Hash, alright, you're on"

And so, we race toward the town at our maximum speed, arriving in just under a minute to deal with a problem that's brewing within the town...