Forbidden Knowledge Vol.1 (Marisa Kirisame X Male Reader)

Chapter 2 - The Crash in the Forest

The sun had just begun to creep over the horizon, casting warm rays through the window of Marisa Kirisame's small, cluttered shop. She lay curled up on the window seat, her hat tilted over her face, a book clutched in her hands. It had been another long night of research, sifting through dusty old tomes filled with magical theories and obscure spells. She'd drifted off to sleep with the book still open in her lap, the pages fluttering slightly as she breathed.

Her dreams were filled with thoughts of experiments gone wrong, potions bubbling over, and spells sparking in all the wrong places. It was peaceful in its own chaotic way—until the ground beneath her shook violently.

Marisa jolted awake, the sharp tremor rattling through her bones. Her eyes shot open just in time to see the ceiling shudder, dust raining down in small clouds. Her first thought, muddled by grogginess, was that a Youkai had crashed into her shop again. But the rumble continued, growing stronger by the second.

"An earthquake?" she muttered, just as the window seat pitched forward. She yelped as she toppled off, landing in a heap on the floor, her hat slipping off and rolling away. Her shop wasn't faring much better; books flew from their shelves, vials of potions rattled dangerously, and delicate research materials slid off her desk in a cascade of clattering glass.

"Not my potions!" she gasped, scrambling to her feet as the shaking intensified. She darted around the room, her hands flying out to catch as many of the falling vials as she could, stuffing them into the crook of her arms. She managed to save a few—bright, shimmering liquids sloshing in their bottles—but others weren't so lucky. A few hit the floor with soft, shattering thuds, their contents spreading in colourful puddles.

As quickly as it had begun, the shaking stopped, leaving the shop in a state of chaotic disarray. Marisa lay flat on her back in the middle of the floor, her arms full of saved potions, staring up at the now-still ceiling.

"What in the world..." she breathed, dazed and trying to steady her heartbeat. After a moment, she sat up, her gaze sweeping over the mess that had been made. Books were scattered everywhere, broken glass glittered on the floor, and half her research materials were in utter disarray. She sighed, running a hand through her messy hair.

"Guess I've got my work cut out for me..."

But then, something caught her eye—a thin wisp of smoke rising in the distance, visible through the now cracked window. Her brows furrowed as she peered out toward the forest. It didn't look like a normal fire. Something had crashed hard just beyond the treeline.

"Now that's interesting," she muttered to herself. Dropping everything onto the counter with a clatter, Marisa snatched up her hat and plopped it onto her head. Whatever had just landed in the forest, it wasn't natural, and she wasn't one to pass up a chance to investigate a good mystery.

She hurried outside, the brisk morning air waking her up fully as she set off toward the plume of smoke. As she neared the edge of the forest, her eyes widened at the sight in front of her. The once-quiet woods had been torn apart—branches snapped, dirt kicked up, and at the centre of it all was a massive crater. The ground was scorched, fuming from the impact, and scattered all around were... books?

Marisa slowed her pace, her curiosity piqued. She knelt and picked up one of the books that had been flung from the crater. The cover was old and worn, the leather cracked with age, yet it was nothing she recognized. She flipped it open, expecting to see some familiar magical text or a grimoire of sorts, but instead, the pages were filled with strange symbols written in a language she had never seen before.

"What the...?"

She thumbed through the pages, fascinated by the incomprehensible writing. It wasn't any magic she was familiar with, nor any language she had come across in her years of research. Closing the book, she glanced around at the other scattered volumes, a small, greedy part of her wanting to gather them all up and bring them back to her shop for further study.